,illustration3 ,,william ,,black        
,,william ,,black  ,,the ,,apostle ,,of 
,,methodism ,,in ,,the ,,maritime       
,,provinces ,,of ,,canada4  ,,by ,,john 
,,maclean1 ,,ph4 ,d41  ,author of       
,canadian ,savage ,folk1 ,the ,indians  
of ,canada1 ,the ,making of a           
,christian1 c41 c4  ,,halifax1 ,,nova   
,,scotia3 ,,the ,,methodist ,,book      
,,room1 #aijg4     ,entered according to
 ,act of the ,parliament of ,canada1 in 
the year one thousand nine hundred and  
seven1 by ,john ,maclean1 at the        
,department of ,agriculture4            
,,preface4   ,while there are several   
sketches of the life and work of the    
subject of this book1 they are all based
 upon the ,memoirs of ,william ,black by
 the ,rev4 ,matthew ,richey1 ,d4 ,d41   
which was published in ,halifax1 ,nova  
,scotia1 in #ahci4 ,some additional     
information is to be found in ,dr4 ,t4  
,watson ,smith's ,history of the        
,methodist ,church of ,eastern ,british 
,america4 ,the former volume contains   

the interesting ,journal of the famous  
missionary1 and is therefore of great   
value4 ,as it has long been out of      
print1 and it is well-nigh impossible to
 secure an old copy1 and as there is no 
likelihood of it being republished1 we  
have deemed it commendable to publish   
the following pages4 ,we have sought to 
condense as far as possible1 giving the 
chief facts in his life1 and to produce 
in popular form a volume which might be 
read with profit1 and within the reach  
of all4 ,as a study of spiritual forces 
and an appreciation1 it might have been 
enlarged to considerable size1 and it   
has been difficult indeed to keep within
 the limits which we had set for the    
volume1 but that would have been to     
defeat our object1 of writing a small   
book1 in which the salient features of  
his life and work were seen1 and at such
 a price that the poorest in the land   
might secure a copy4  ,we dare not      
forget the work of our fathers1 and we  
must not permit the memory of ,william  

,black to be lost in oblivion1 for he   
builded better than he knew1 and we are 
heirs of his work and influence1 and his
 example is a stimulus to us all4 ,in   
that spirit have these pages been       
written1 and we hope that they will help
 keep alive the memory of a great and   
noble man1 a pioneer and patriot1 who   
gave his life for ,christ and his fellow
 man4                        ,,john     
,,maclean4  ,,wesleyan ,,office1        
,halifax1 ,nova ,scotia4     ,,contents4
   ,chap4                               
,page4    ,i4 ,the ,birth of a ,movement
              #i   ,,ii4 ,making the    
,man                      #ag  ,,iii4   
,the ,maritime ,itinerant               
#bd   ,,iv4 ,the ,intrepid ,pioneer     
#cc    ,v4 ,black and ,wesley           
#dj   ,,vi4 ,personal ,characteristics  
#di  ,,vii4 ,last ,days and ,after      
#eg     ,,william ,,black4  ,i4  ,,the  
,,birth ,,of ,a ,,movement4   ,had      
,longfellow the poet extended his       
studies a few years later than the time 

of the event which formed the subject of
 ,evangeline1 he would have come in     
contact with another race of men1 of    
different breed1 language and faith1    
than that of the ,acadians1 who were as 
brave as any of those who sailed away   
from the valley of the ,gaspereaux4 ,for
 almost coincident with the expulsion of
 these hardy folk from the fertile      
fields of the ,annapolis ,valley1 there 
came visitors from the ,new ,england    
colonies1 induced by offers of land1 but
 these were deterred from settlement on 
account of a fear lest freedom of       
religious worship should not be accorded
 them4  ,brought up under the influence 
of the descendants of the ,pilgrim      
,fathers1 they prized too highly their  
religious liberty to barter it for lands
 or gold1 and not until a second        
proclamation was issued1 granting       
liberty of conscience and worship to all
 ,protestants1 did settlers come in     
large numbers4 ,five years after the    
,acadians were expelled emigrants began 

to arrive in considerable numbers from  
,new ,england and from ,great ,britain  
and ,ireland4 ,this was the beginning of
 a new era1 in which the principles of  
the ,protestant ,reformation were to be 
tested1 upon soil consecrated by the    
faith and piety of the ,roman ,catholic 
exiles1 and an opportunity was found for
 the expression of the new faith in the 
moulding of individual character4       
,while the province was issuing         
invitations for new settlers and wishing
 to grant concessions to sturdy and     
loyal folks1 a great awakening was      
taking place in ,england1 the influence 
of which was destined to become a strong
 factor in making a new race on the     
,western ,continent1 and to mould in a  
great measure the social and religious  
life of the people of ,nova ,scotia4 ,a 
revival of spiritual life was in        
progress under the preaching of ,wesley 
and ,whitefield1 which was quickening   
the consciences of the people1 imparting
 high ideals and renovating the social  

and political life of the nation4       
,methodism was doing greater things for 
the ,english speaking race than ,luther 
among the ,germans1 as it infused a     
spirit of joy and freedom from ritual1  
with greater liberty of thought and     
action4 ,it was an era of great names   
beyond the pale of the national church4 
,the passion for souls became so intense
 in the hearts of many of the clergy    
that they gladly espoused the hated name
 of ,methodist1 while others no less    
zealous stood aloof from the special    
movement because of its ,arminian       
doctrines4  ,whitefield1 the prince of  
orators1 stalked through the land       
proclaiming salvation for sinners1 and  
not content with conquests won in the   
sea-girt isles1 he needs must cross the 
ocean to tell the story of the ages to  
wondering thousands4 ,john ,berridge1   
the witty yet zealous vicar of ,everton1
 itinerated through the country and in  
one year saw not less that four thousand
 awakened4 ,william ,grimshaw1 the      

eccentric curate of ,haworth1           
superintended two ,methodist circuits   
while attending to his own parish1 and  
,vincent ,perronet1 vicar of ,shoreham1 
who was so trusted a counsellor that    
,charles ,wesley called him the         
,archbishop of ,methodism1 gave two sons
 to the ,methodist ministry1 and besides
 being the author of the hymn1 ,all     
,hail the power of ,jesus ,name1 ,wesley
 dedicated to him the ,plain ,account of
 the ,people called ,methodists4  ,the  
great revival brought into greater      
prominence ,rowland ,hill1 the eccentric
 preacher2 ,augustus ,toplady1 the      
author of the ,hymn ,rock of ,ages2     
,howell ,harris1 the famous ,welsh      
orator1 and the ,countess of            
,huntingdon4 ,these and many others were
 brought into closer touch with the     
great spiritual movement1 at the period 
when ,nova ,scotia was bidding for      
settlers1 by the famous controversy on  
,calvinism1 which was full of spleen1   
and has shown us how good men may retain

 their piety1 and still say bitter and  
nasty things1 and use gross epithets in 
their zeal for religious doctrines4     
,but ,methodism1 though treated as a    
sect composed of ignorant and illiterate
 folks1 was not lacking in men of       
culture and force4 ,it had discovered   
the secret of picking men from the      
streets and transforming them into      
saints and scholars1 and it was         
successful in its efforts4 ,it found    
,thomas ,olivers1 a drunken ,welsh      
shoemaker1 and led him on1 till he      
became known as a great force in the    
pulpit1 and the author of that majestic 
lyric1 ,the ,god of ,abraham praise and 
of the tune ,helmsley1 sung to the hymn1
 ,lo1 ,he comes with clouds descending4 
,it laid hands upon ,samuel ,bradburn1  
the shoemaker1 and developed his gifts  
by the grace of ,god1 until his         
discourses1 rich in sublimity1 and      
pulsating with great thoughts1 charmed  
multitudes1 and his eloquence was so    
irresistible that ,adam ,clarke1 the    

famous scholar1 declared that he had    
never heard his equal1 and could give no
 idea of his powers as an orator4 ,in   
its ranks at this period were to be     
found able scholars as ,joseph ,benson1 
the commentator1 ,fletcher1 the saintly 
and acute theologian of the new         
movement1 and ,thomas ,walsh1 whom      
,wesley called1 that blessed man1 and of
 whom he said1 that1 he was so          
thoroughly acquainted with the ,bible   
that if he were questioned concerning   
any ,hebrew word in the ,old1 or any    
,greek in the ,new ,testament1 he would 
tell after a brief pause1 not only how  
often the one or the other occurred in  
the ,bible1 but what it meant in every  
place4 ,such a master of ,biblical      
knowledge he says he never saw before1  
and never expected to see again4  ,there
 were many others possessed of great    
gifts and culture1 whose hearts were set
 on fire with a passion for souls1 and  
the revival started spiritual forces    
which were felt far beyond the shores of

 ,great ,britain4  ,wesley was drawing  
near to seventy years of age1 and while 
travelling incessantly1 and preaching   
every day1 he was engaged in the        
publication of a collected edition of   
his works1 in thirty-two duodecimo      
volumes4 ,the ,calvinistic controversy  
was at its height1 the first anniversary
 of ,trevecca ,college1 the pet scheme  
of the ,countess of ,huntingdon1 had    
just been held1 and ,fletcher was       
writing his famous ,checks to           
,antinomianism1 yet1 the founder of the 
,methodist movement was looking for     
other worlds to conquer1 by the         
preaching of the ,cross4  ,wesley's     
early associations with ,america as a   
missionary to ,georgia1 naturally gave  
him an interest in the affairs of the   
western continent1 and ,whitefield's    
frequent visits helped to deepen        
,wesley's love for the people among whom
 he had spent the early years of his    
ministry4 ,whitefield had crossed the   
ocean and visited ,america seven times1 

and his visits were seasons of great    
power1 when thousands were converted1   
and when he suddenly died at            
,newburyport1 there passed from earth   
one of the greatest pulpit orators and  
evangelists in the history of the       
,christian ,church4 ,his death was an   
invitation to renewed efforts for the   
evangelization of ,america4 ,the        
,countess of ,huntingdon and her        
ministers organized a missionary band1  
which labored with much success in      
,savannah and the surrounding country1  
especially among the ,african           
population4  ,methodism was neither     
silent nor powerless in sharing in the  
progress of the ,gospel1 and striving to
 evangelize the new world4 ,while the   
great revival was stirring the heart of 
,england1 a small band of ,german       
,palatines which ,methodism had redeemed
 from demoralization in ,ireland1       
emigrated to ,new ,york1 among whom was 
,philip ,embury1 and these were followed
 by ,barbara ,heck and her friends1     

through whose efforts ,methodism found a
 secure place in ,america4 ,the new     
movement received an impetus from the   
preaching of ,captain ,webb1 and a call 
for preachers was sent to ,wesley1 with 
the result that ,richard ,boardman and  
,joseph ,pilmoor were sent4 ,later      
,francis ,asbury1 the faithful preacher 
and administrator1 followed1 and        
,methodism became a church4 ,meanwhile  
,lawrence ,coughlan had found his way to
 ,newfoundland1 and laid foundations    
upon which others built4  ,bermuda had  
been visited by ,whitefield1 and in the 
general awakening it could not be       
expected that ,nova ,scotia and ,new    
,brunswick and ,prince ,edward ,island  
would be forgotten4 ,it was a period of 
emigration and revival1 and in the great
 commotion1 the present ,maritime       
,provinces of ,canada shared in the     
blessings of the new movement4  ,during 
the period of emigration to ,nova       
,scotia1 four different parties came    
from ,yorkshire1 ,england1 the first    

arriving in #aggb4 ,it was natural to   
expect1 that coming from a district1    
memorable as the scene of many visits   
from the ,wesleys1 a bit of land        
consecrated with the tears and labors of
 ,john ,nelson1 the stalwart hero1 and  
kept fresh with the hallowed memories of
 the saintly ,hester ,ann ,rogers1 there
 should be among the emigrants many who 
were loyal and devoted ,methodists4     
,yorkshire ,methodism was of that       
strenuous type which must give          
expression to its faith in hearty song1 
and lively preaching1 and these sturdy  
settlers were an acquisition to the     
province1 which the politicians were    
sufficiently alert to see1 could not    
fail to supply the elements of stability
 and growth4  ,the majority of these    
people settled in the county of         
,cumberland1 and began life anew1 with  
intense loyalty to the institutions1 and
 high ideals4 ,the province had not     
fully recovered from the effect of the  
spirit of disloyalty which culminated in

 the expulsion of the ,acadians1        
although there followed a period of     
peace1 but despite the efforts of the   
,government in making roads1 and        
instituting public works1 the           
settlements were sparse1 and the ,indian
 was still in the land4 ,there was only 
one minister in the county1 the ,rev4   
,john ,eagleson1 who had been sent out  
in #agfi by the ,society for the        
,propagation of the ,gospel1 while in   
the province there were a few ,anglican1
 ,congregational1 ,presbyterian and one 
,baptist church1 but places for holding 
religious worship were few and far      
between1 and the first ,methodists      
consequently began prayer meetings in   
their homes1 and through them souls were
 led to ,christ4 ,whatever religious    
services were held they attended1 and   
thus kept alive the glowing embers of   
their faith and zeal4  ,an incipient    
rebellion1 induced by the ,revolutionary
 war1 and maintained by the sympathy of 
the colonists who had revolted in ,new  

,england1 unsettled the minds of the    
people1 and made it dangerous for them  
to attend religious worship1 and        
consequently the cause of religion      
suffered1 and many forsook the faith of 
their fathers4 ,a few still remained    
true1 and amid many discouragements     
prayed for the dawn of a new day4       
,without any propagandist effort1       
,methodism was spreading4 ,spontaneously
 it had gone out over ,great ,britain   
and ,ireland1 and into what is now the  
,united ,states1 to the ,west ,indies1  
and ,nova ,scotia1 but the time was ripe
 for complete organization as a         
missionary church4 ,the time had come   
and with it the man in the person of    
,thomas ,coke4 ,while ,nova ,scotia and 
the ,american colonies were suffering   
from the ,revolution1 ,wesley and ,coke 
had met for the first time1 and thus    
began a union which made ,methodism a   
great missionary organization4 ,the man 
for ,america had not yet come to the    
fullness of his power1 but ,francis     

,asbury was reaching out and getting    
ready to become essentially the founder 
of ,methodism in the ,united ,states4   
,the man for ,nova ,scotia had not yet  
arrived1 as he was only a stripling at  
his father's home in ,amherst1 and was  
still a stranger to the grace of ,god4  
,the introduction of ,methodism into    
,nova ,scotia was not the establishment 
of a sect or a party in dogmatic        
theology1 but it was the revival of     
spiritual ,christianity1 exempt from the
 trammels of ecclesiasticism and the    
exclusiveness of dogmatism4 ,as such it 
became a strong and elevating factor in 
the social life of the people1 imparting
 lofty ideals1 which were wrought out in
 moral strength1 making loyal citizens  
and men and women of power and          
gentleness4  ,there was something       
lacking to secure unity and strength in 
the scattered forces of the new         
movement4 ,prayer meetings and preaching
 services were held1 and souls were won 
to the faith1 still there was no        

organization and there could not be     
until a leader should come forth1 who   
would command by his genius and         
concentrated effort unity of            
administration4  ,though not the        
original founder of ,methodism in       
,eastern ,british ,america1 the man who 
in the providence of ,god was destined  
to unite the scattered forces and to    
give birth to the new movement1 and who1
 by his intrepid spirit and enthusiastic
 and incessant labours as a great       
evangelist1 was to spread the doctrines 
which were so full of power in the      
revival in ,england1 throughout that    
portion of territory now known as the   
,maritime ,provinces1 was ,william      
,black1 a man of faith and power1 whose 
memory is revered by thousands1 and     
whose descendants still abide with us4  
,,ii4  ,,making ,,the ,,man4   ,william 
,black was well born4 ,the time was     
auspicious4 ,the date of his birth is   
#agfj1 and with that date as a centre1  
despite the fact that the tone of public

 morality was low1 there are names      
belonging to the period which suggest   
genius and influence4 ,edward ,young had
 just published his ,night ,thoughts1   
,thomson1 the poet and author of ,the   
,seasons1 and ,isaac ,watts had just    
passed away1 ,lord ,littleton had       
written ,the ,conversion of ,st4 ,paul1 
,gray's ,elegy in a ,country ,churchyard
 was being eagerly read by the people1  
,blackstone's famous ,commentaries on   
the ,laws of ,england1 had made a       
profound impression1 ,johnson had       
completed his ,dictionary and ,oliver   
,goldsmith was writing his immortal     
works4 ,there were others who were in   
the heat of the literary battle4 ,this  
period saw the beginning of the modern  
novel in the writings of ,richardson1   
,fielding and ,smollett1 then too was   
published ,adam ,smith's ,wealth of     
,nations1 ,hume's ,history of ,england1 
and ,gibbon's ,decline and ,fall of the 
,roman ,empire4 ,the two great literary 
frauds in our language were then given  

to the world in ,chatterton's ,poems1   
and ,macpherson's ,ossian4 ,it was the  
age of ,pitt and ,burke1 and ,fox1 of   
,horace ,walpole and ,chesterfield in   
,english politics1 ,benjamin ,franklin  
was then a potent force in ,america1    
,butler and ,paley and ,warburton1 and  
,jonathan ,edwards and ,doddridge with  
many other equally powerful names were  
moulding the theology of the age4       
,greater than any of these1 however1    
were the ,wesleys and ,whitefield1 as   
they raised both sides of the ,atlantic 
to new ideals1 and stirred the nation to
 a larger and deeper life4  ,william    
,black came into the world at a time    
when great events were being done1 and  
though he was still young when he left  
the land of his birth1 the silent and   
unseen forces which work upon men's     
minds and souls could not be without    
their influence upon him4  ,he was born 
at ,huddersfield1 in the ,west ,riding  
of ,yorkshire1 ,england1 an important   
market town1 beautifully situated on a  

slope of a hill in the valley of the    
,colne1 fifteen miles distant from      
,bradford1 and a little over sixteen    
from ,leeds4 ,it was a place of         
considerable antiquity1 being mentioned 
in ,domesday1 but its chief importance  
dates from the establishment of the     
woolen industry1 being now the principal
 seat of the fancy woolen trade in      
,england4 ,kirlees ,park1 three miles   
from the town1 is popularly supposed to 
be the burial place of the famous ,robin
 ,hood4  ,when ,william ,black was only 
five years old ,john ,wesley preached to
 a large congregation in the ,rev4      
,henry ,venn's ,church in the town4     
,this man of ,god was a zealous         
,methodist ,churchman1 who made         
,huddersfield the headquarters of       
extensive labors in all the neighboring 
region1 sympathizing with the great     
,methodist revival1 accompanying        
,whitefield on evangelistic tours1 and  
for more than thirty years1 he          
co-operated with the ,wesleys and other 

workers in many parts of ,england and   
,wales4 ,though still retaining his     
connection with the ,church of ,england1
 he continued in labors abundant1       
preaching in private houses1 barns and  
in the open air1 until old age4 ,his    
son1 the ,rev4 ,john ,venn1 became the  
projector of the ,church ,missionary    
,society4 ,methodism was firmly         
established in ,huddersfield1 and its   
influences were not unknown to the      
,black family4 ,in #agfg1 one fourth of 
the members of the ,methodist ,church in
 the ,united ,kingdom were in           
,yorkshire1 and among the first settlers
 who came to ,nova ,scotia were some who
 were identified with that church1 and  
had listened to ,wesley and his         
preachers4  ,william ,black1 the father 
of the future pioneer and evangelist1   
was born in #agbg1 in ,paisley1         
,scotland1 a large manufacturing town   
noted for its shawls1 great preachers1  
and the birthplace of ,tannahill1 the   
poet4 ,he came of an independent family1

 as learned from the fact that his      
father kept a pack of hounds1 and spent 
his leisure in the chase4 ,when he      
attained his majority he became a       
traveller for a large industry1 which   
necessitated some journeys to ,england1 
and there he met his future wife1 and   
made his home in ,huddersfield4 ,the    
spell of ,scottish literature must have 
fallen upon the young man1 for ,robert  
,burns1 the poet1 was then at the height
 of his fame1 ,alexander ,wilson1 a     
native of ,paisley1 had not yet won his 
place as a poet1 though he too1         
emigrated to ,america1 and became the   
pioneer and founder of ,american        
,ornithology1 but there were other      
writers whose impress must have been    
felt by the ,scotch youth4  ,in         
,elizabeth ,stocks he found a lady of   
refinement and wealth1 and the future   
missionary a good ,christian mother4    
,she had been converted at sixteen years
 of age1 and her influence upon the     
home1 and especially upon the lad was   

elevating1 and destined to leave its    
mark upon the future4 ,the father1 with 
,scotch shrewdness1 made a visit to     
,nova ,scotia to spy out the land before
 removing his family from their ,english
 home4 ,the mother watched tenderly over
 all the members of the family1 but     
,william1 the second oldest1 seemed to  
call for special care1 and her tears and
 prayers found full fruition in after   
years1 when she had passed to her       
reward4 ,frequently did she relate to   
her son ,william the story of her       
conversion1 and with tears besought him 
to serve ,god4 ,alone she prayed with   
him1 and pressed home upon his          
conscience the necessity of being born  
again4 ,surely this child was born well1
 and his future was not all of his own  
making4  ,he must have been a precocious
 child1 or else his religious           
sensitiveness must have been induced by 
his mother's teaching1 influenced by the
 great doctrines of the ,methodist      
revival4 ,we are not now accustomed to  

hear a child of six years of age1       
bewailing his lost state in language    
suggestive of ,bunyan's condition1 when 
he was under deep conviction of sin4 ,he
 tells us that when he was five years   
old he had some serious impressions1 and
 ,god's ,spirit began to operate upon   
his mind1 and when he was six1 he often 
wished that he was a toad or a serpent1 
because they had no soul1 and were not  
in danger of being lost forever4 ,again 
he says1 that many times before he was  
ten years old1 he would have overturned 
,god's government and dethroned the     
gracious ,author of my being4 ,he       
enumerates his early vices and lashes   
his soul in despair4 ,such religious    
sentiments in one so young seem to mark 
him as one who had in his soul the      
elements of a monk1 and we should not   
have been surprised had he become a     
zealous disciple of ,saint ,francis of  
,assisi4  ,like ,john ,wesley1 whose    
escape from perishing in the burning of 
the ,epworth parsonage is noted as a    

remarkable providence1 ,william ,black  
had a narrow escape from drowning in a  
large trough when a child1 and this     
circumstance made a lasting and         
favorable impression on his mind4 ,in   
his mature years he recalled the event  
with gratitude to ,god4  ,several years 
of his childhood were spent with his    
maternal uncle1 ,mr4 ,thomas ,stocks1 at
 ,otley1 where he was placed at school4 
,there he remained until he was about   
thirteen years of age1 when the         
disciplinary rules of the school1 and   
very likely a severe castigation1 so    
annoyed him1 that he left his uncle's   
care and returned to his father's home4 
,his father was at that time making     
preparations for his voyage to ,nova    
,scotia1 and deemed it prudent to allow 
the lad to remain with his mother1      
though he had decided objections to his 
apparent ingratitude and stubbornness1  
in leaving the home of his uncle4 ,under
 the influence of his mother's teaching 
and prayers1 his religious impressions  

were deepened1 but the jests of his     
companions at school made him stifle his
 convictions1 and continue his career of
 youthful carelessness and sin4  ,in    
,april #agge1 the whole family1         
consisting of the father and mother1    
with four sons and one daughter1 sailed 
from ,hull1 and after a prosperous      
voyage arrived at ,halifax1 ,nova       
,scotia1 where they remained a          
fortnight1 proceeding afterward to      
,cumberland1 which they reached in      
,june4 ,a serious blow fell upon the    
family in their new home1 by the death  
of ,mrs4 ,black1 about a year after they
 had settled in the province1 she having
 been seriously injured when boarding   
the vessel at ,hull4 ,unfortunately for 
the lad of sixteen1 so sadly bereft of  
his good mother's care and influence1 he
 was thrown among gay companions1 who in
 a new country gave free rein to their  
passions1 in wild orgies by day and     
night4 ,his evenings were spent in      
dancing and playing cards1 yet amidst   

the frivolity he was unhappy1 and he    
betook himself to prayer1 that he might 
be able to break the chain of evil      
habits4  ,for three years this condition
 of affairs existed1 and the spirit of  
unrest increased1 with discord in the   
family1 but the dawn of a better day was
 close at hand4 ,there were several in  
the neighborhood who enjoy the honor of 
being the first ,methodists in ,canada1 
among whom were the families of ,dixon1 
,wells1 ,trueman1 ,fawcett1 ,newton1    
,scurr1 ,chapman1 ,oxley1 ,donkin1      
,dobson and ,weldon1 whose descendants1 
with those of the ,black family1 remain 
with us till the present day4  ,through 
the zealous labors of these families in 
class meetings and prayer meetings1     
there was a great revival in the spring 
of #aggi1 which stirred the whole       
neighborhood4 ,among those who were     
awakened and soundly converted1 were all
 the members of the ,black family4      
,william was then nineteen years of age1
 and shortly afterward he wrote an      

account of his conversion to ,john      
,wesley1 who introduced it in his       
journal1 under date of ,april #aeth1    
#aghb4  ,the story of his spiritual     
struggles1 his prayers for release from 
the burden of sin1 and the great joy he 
experienced when light came to his soul1
 form a charming bit of biography4 ,the 
change in his own life was thorough1 the
 home was transformed by the conversion 
of every member of the family1 and      
though he subsequently experienced      
doubts and temptations1 he gradually    
grew in grace1 being confirmed in the   
faith1 until the ,sabbath became a      
market-day in his soul4  ,like every new
 convert he became anxious for the      
spiritual welfare of his fellow men1 and
 first of all he became solicitous for  
the salvation of those in his own home4 
,his father having married again1 and   
all the members of the family being     
strangers to the joy of the forgiveness 
of sins1 his first care was for their   
salvation4 ,on the ,sunday that he found

 peace1 he spoke to his brothers one by 
one1 waking them from sleep1 and they   
too1 were led into the light4 ,then he  
roused his father and stepmother1 and   
they besought him to pray for them1 and 
peace came to their souls4 ,and the     
climax was reached1 when next day his   
sister found the ,lord4 ,thus the whole 
family through his exhortations and     
prayers1 became earnest followers of    
,christ4 ,along with the joy of seeing  
all at home possessors of the joy of    
forgiveness1 he set up the family altar1
 and then became anxious for the souls  
of his neighbors4 ,as he passed them on 
the road he lifted his heart in prayer  
for their conversion1 in company1 he    
seized the opportunity of denouncing    
sin1 much to the annoyance of some1 but 
ultimately with spiritual profit4 ,his  
early efforts at winning souls were so  
richly blessed1 that he seized every    
opportunity of speaking of the good     
things of ,christ4  ,in the summer of   
#aghj1 at a ,quarterly ,meeting held at 

,mr4 ,trueman's1 he received so great a 
blessing that he wept1 and the same     
evening at ,fort ,lawrence he made his  
first attempt at exhortation4 ,from that
 hour he exhorted or prayed at every    
meeting1 and though his knees trembled  
with fear1 his tongue was loosened1 and 
he spoke with much liberty4 ,during the 
following winter he was invited to      
,tantramar to hold meetings1 and had    
great joy in seeing many led to ,christ4
 ,assisted by some of the old class     
leaders and local preachers1 he         
travelled over the country1 exhorting as
 often as his duties on the farm would  
permit4  ,his first attempt at preaching
 from a text was in the spring of #agha1
 when he visited a settlement on the    
,petitcodiac ,river1 and the word was   
with power4 ,with so many tokens of the 
divine favor1 it was evident that he was
 a marked man1 and though not quite     
twenty-one years of age1 and without any
 special training1 he was being         
literally thrust out1 and seemed        

destined to be the man who should lead  
the forces1 and lay the foundations of  
,methodism1 far beyond the limits of his
 own neighborhood4 ,the man possessed of
 gifts and grace1 in whom the people had
 confidence1 and who was singularly     
blessed in winning souls had come1 and  
the stripling on the farm was called to 
leave the plough and go forth1 to       
proclaim the great truths of the ,gospel
 of ,christ4 ,he was truly a chosen     
vessel1 and fitted for a great work4    
,,iii4  ,,the ,,maritime ,,itinerant4   
,the population of ,nova ,scotia in     
#agha numbered twelve thousand1 of whom 
there were about one hundred ,acadian   
families1 and exclusive of ,cape        
,breton1 three hundred warriors of the  
,micmac1 and one hundred and forty of   
the ,malicete tribes of ,indians4       
,places of worship were few and widely  
scattered over a large extent of        
country1 and so destitute were the      
people of religious privileges that many
 of them seldom heard a sermon1 and as  

some of these people had been brought up
 in the bonds of the faith1 they        
naturally felt very keenly their        
condition4  ,these facts could not fail 
to impress very deeply such a sensitive 
soul1 rejoicing in his first love1 and  
possessed of a burning passion for the  
salvation of men1 whose lips had been   
touched with holy fire4 ,when his labors
 had been so richly blessed in the      
conversion of many souls1 while         
preaching in the time spared from his   
labor on the farm1 his mind was led     
toward a complete consecration to the   
work of a ,christian minister1 and when 
he had arrived at the age of twenty-one 
years1 he dedicated himself wholly to   
the cause of ,christ1 as the first      
,methodist missionary in the ,maritime  
,provinces4 ,without any college        
training1 or the help of any minister or
 church institution1 he left his        
father's home on ,november #ajth1 #agha1
 and commenced a career of undaunted    
energy1 and boundless influence1 laying 

foundations for others1 and becoming    
essentially the founder of ,methodism in
 ,eastern ,british ,america4  ,during   
the eight years of his life from #agha  
to #aghi1 he passed from the position of
 a raw youth1 entering alone amid great 
difficulties upon the work of a pioneer 
evangelist1 to that of ,superintendent  
of the ,methodist ,church in ,nova      
,scotia1 ,new ,brunswick1 ,prince       
,edward ,island1 and ,newfoundland4     
,with the zeal of an apostle he entered 
upon a career of usefulness1 which for  
courage and incessant travelling and    
preaching1 place him side by side with  
,john ,wesley and ,francis ,asbury4     
,here and there1 all over the province  
he went proclaiming the message of      
salvation1 preaching every day1 and     
sometimes more frequently1 as we learn  
of him preaching eighteen times in eight
 days1 and upon another journey which   
occupied eighteen days1 he preached     
twenty-four times4  ,he travelled on    
snow-shoes in the winter1 and by boat or

 on horseback in the summer1 and when   
these failed1 he journeyed by log canoe1
 or walked over the bad roads4 ,once he 
walked forty five miles that he might   
spend the ,sabbath with the people in   
,windsor4 ,sometimes he was in dangers  
by the sea1 and glad after a hard day's 
work in the winter to have a little     
straw to lie upon1 and a thin cover to  
shelter him from the cold4 ,like the    
early preachers he was often compelled  
to suffer opposition1 rough fellows     
disturbing the services by shouting and 
seeking to break up the meeting1 and    
some who were possessed of education    
demanding his authority for preaching   
the gospel1 but to them all1 he was     
patient1 and some of his revilers were  
soundly converted1 and learned to revere
 him as a man of ,god4  ,as a preacher  
he was eminently successful in awakening
 the people from a state of spiritual   
torpor1 and winning many souls for      
,christ4 ,in nearly every service there 
were conversions1 and deep              

manifestations of the presence and power
 of ,god4 ,when he preached at          
,memramcook1 some were deeply affected2 
at ,french village1 he left the people  
in tears1 and the truth had a softening 
power upon the hearts of the people2 and
 when he was leaving them1 weeping was  
upon every hand1 and they pressed him so
 hard1 that he remained another day1    
when many were deeply affected1 and he  
left them in tears4 ,on the same day and
 the one following1 he was at           
,hillsborough1 when it was a moving     
time1 many were in great distress1 as   
appeared from their heaving breasts and 
weeping eyes2 at ,tantramar1 many were  
remarkably happy1 and one little girl of
 seven or eight years of age1 got up on 
a form1 and told in a wonderful manner1 
what ,jesus had done for her soul1 and  
in this journey of eight days he        
preached eighteen times1 and excepting  
two meetings1 he says1 ,i know not a    
single occasion in which it was not     
evident that many who heard the ,word   

were melted into tears1 if they did not 
cry aloud for mercy4  ,all through his  
journal1 there are evidences that he was
 a preacher of great power1 eminent in  
the conversion of the people1 for the   
pages abound with references to the     
services as a time of power1 where many 
were in sore distress as they hung      
around him1 eager to catch every word1  
and weeping was on every hand1 as they  
besought him to remain longer with them4
 ,when preaching one evening a young man
 trembled exceedingly1 and cried out in 
agony of soul1 and about bed-time1 the  
preacher heard him praying and crying in
 the barn4 ,on one of his missionary    
tours there were so great manifestations
 of power1 that at ,horton many cried   
for mercy1 and others rejoiced and      
shouted aloud2 at ,cornwallis the arrows
 of conviction were felt by some as they
 had never felt them before1 and wept   
aloud most of the time2 and at          
,falmouth1 many felt the power of the   
word1 and rejoiced exceedingly4  ,there 

were many notable conversions under his 
preaching4 ,at ,petitcodiac a lady whose
 sons had been converted looked upon him
 as a deceiver and opposed his work4    
,she wrung her hands in great distress1 
and cried ',o that ,black6 that ,black6 
he has ruined my sons6 ,he has ruined my
 sons6' ,but she too found peace to her 
soul1 after some days of deep           
conviction4 ,at ,horton a lady who had  
opposed the work of grace1 was laid upon
 a bed of affliction1 and she became so 
greatly agitated that for three weeks   
she could hardly sleep1 but when        
,william ,black was praying with her1   
she burst forth into transports of joy  
in finding ,christ precious to her soul1
 shouting1 the ,lord has delivered me6  
,o ,i am happy6 ,i am happy6 ,all       
through the pages of his journal there  
abound remarkable accounts of striking  
conversions1 and of people being        
stricken down by the power of ,god4     
,churches were organized at the places  
he visited1 nearly eighty persons being 

enrolled during one visit to            
,hillsborough and ,petitcodiac4 ,there  
wore notable revivals at ,windsor1      
,cornwallis1 ,granville1 ,horton1       
,liverpool and other places4 ,the most  
difficult part of his extensive field   
was at ,halifax1 where wickedness       
abounded1 and the opposition was so     
great that at one time1 when he was on  
his way to the city1 his friends tried  
to persuade him to delay his visit1 as  
they feared the press gang1 but he went 
boldly forward1 and preached with power4
  ,during his labours he was not        
forgetful of the needs of the coloured  
people1 who flocked to hear him preach1 
and many of them were soundly converted4
 ,in #aghd1 he preached to about two    
hundred of them at ,birchtown1 and      
during the year upwards of sixty of them
 found peace with ,god4 ,of two hundred 
members at ,shelburne and ,birchtown1   
there were only twenty white people1 and
 at ,birchtown alone1 there were        
fourteen classes in a prosperous        

condition4 ,at ,digby in the following  
year1 there were sixty-six coloured     
people members of our church4  ,a study 
of the topics and texts of his sermons  
shows that he preached the old          
doctrines1 from familiar texts1 easy to 
be grasped by the people1 and he laid   
special emphasis always upon sin1 the   
need of regeneration1 and repentance and
 faith1 and as he pressed home these    
great truths upon the souls of his      
hearers1 there was seldom a service at  
which conversions did not take place4   
,like many other faithful ministers1 he 
was often compelled to mourn on account 
of the backsliding of the people4 ,these
 were seasons of depression1 when he    
became subject to severe temptation1 and
 mourned the leanness of his own soul4  
,the beginning of every year however1   
was a time of refreshing1 as he         
regularly and solemnly made the renewal 
of his covenant with ,god4  ,despite the
 fact that the whole province of ,nova  
,scotia and part of ,new ,brunswick lay 

before him as a wide field of           
enterprise1 he yearned after larger     
conquests1 and therefore in #aghd1 at   
the earnest and repeated request of     
,benjamin ,chappel1 he paid a visit to  
,prince ,edward ,island4  ,he spent     
about a fortnight there1 preaching in   
,charlottetown and ,st4 ,peters1 with   
small tokens of success1 and returned   
mourning the spiritual condition of the 
people4  ,after much thought and prayer1
 he was married on ,feb4 #ag1 #aghd1 to 
,miss ,mary ,gay1 of ,cumberland1 an    
estimable woman1 who had been led to    
,christ about two years previously under
 his preaching4 ,she was possessed of   
gifts and grace as her letters testify1 
and was eminently qualified for the high
 duties of a minister's wife4  ,so      
extensive was the territory and so great
 the spiritual needs of the people that 
the young missionary of twenty three    
years of age1 with a burning passion for
 souls1 wrote to ,john ,wesley in #aghc1
 earnestly requesting him to send       

missionaries to ,nova ,scotia1 who      
replied that he had hopes of sending    
assistance a few months later when      
,conference met4 ,there being no        
missionaries1 however1 sent from ,great 
,britain1 he naturally looked towards   
the ,united ,states for help1 and a few 
months after his marriage1 he started   
for ,baltimore where the ,conference was
 to be held under the superintendence of
 ,dr4 ,coke4 ,he travelled by way of    
,boston and preached twice in the city1 
when under the first sermon one person  
was converted1 and at the second service
 several were deeply convinced of sin4  
,as he passed through ,new ,york he     
preached in the ,methodist ,church1 and 
after the services visited a dying      
woman1 whom he found in great distress  
about her spiritual condition1 and he   
had the great joy of leading her to     
,christ1 as she died next day1 shouting1
 ,glory6 ,glory be to thy blessed name6 
,on his journey he preached at every    
opportunity and always with blessed     

results1 and before the ,conference     
assembled in ,baltimore on ,december    
#bd1 #aghd1 he gave ,dr4 ,coke a        
detailed account of the state of the    
work in ,nova ,scotia1 and the          
,conference appointed ,freeborn         
,garretson1 and ,james ,o4 ,cromwell to 
labor in that field4 ,both of these     
ministers hastened at once to that      
province1 but ,william ,black spent some
 time in the ,united ,states preaching  
here and there1 and called for his wife 
who was visiting her friends in         
,massachusetts1 she having been born in 
,boston1 and with the tedious travel he 
did not reach ,halifax till the end of  
,may4 ,as he was returning homeward1 he 
and his wife spent over three months in 
,boston1 where he had the honor of      
laying the foundations of ,methodism in 
that city1 the first ,methodist preacher
 who appeared in ,new ,england after the
 visit of ,charles ,wesley1 says ,dr4   
,abel ,stevens4 ,he preached in several 
of the churches1 removing from one to   

another1 as the edifice became too small
 to accommodate the crowds who flocked  
to hear the young minister from ,canada1
 until the largest church was filled to 
overflowing with three thousand people4 
,a gracious revival followed this visit1
 and as there was no ,methodist         
organization1 the converts united with  
other denominations4 ,after a period of 
thirty years1 he preached again in the  
city in #ahbb1 and many hung around the 
pulpit1 glad to listen to the man who   
had led them to ,christ in #aghe4 ,six  
years before ,jesse ,lee preached under 
the old elm on ,boston ,common1 ,william
 ,black declared the old doctrines of   
,methodism1 and witnessed many          
conversions4  ,with the arrival of      
,freeborn ,garretson the work of        
organization was begun1 as he was a     
leader1 a man of zeal and piety1 of     
cordial spirit and amiable simplicity of
 manners1 but a hero at heart1 says     
,abel ,stevens1 the ,methodist          
historian4 ,he was a gentleman of wealth

 and character1 who as a preacher in the
 ,united ,states1 had been stoned1      
imprisoned1 and his life imperilled by  
angry mobs with firearms1 but he was    
dauntless in his labors for ,christ4    
,under his preaching there were         
extensive revivals in the province1     
societies were formed and churches      
built4 ,there were now five missionaries
 at work1 ,freeborn ,garretson who acted
 as ,superintendent1 and made his home  
at ,shelburne1 ,james ,oliver ,cromwell 
at ,windsor1 ,william ,black at         
,halifax1 ,william ,grandine1 a young   
man who had formerly been a ,methodist  
in the ,jersey ,islands1 and who had    
just begun to preach was at ,cumberland1
 and ,john ,mann who came from the      
,united ,states1 was stationed at       
,barrington4  ,at the first ,district   
,meeting of ,nova ,scotia1 which was    
held in ,halifax1 commencing ,october   
#ajth1 #aghf1 and lasted four days1     
,william ,black and ,freeborn ,garretson
 were appointed to the ,halifax circuit1

 which embraced ,halifax1 ,annapolis1   
,granville1 ,digby1 ,horton and         
,windsor1 a field sufficient to tax the 
powers of a dozen strong men1 but these 
were heroes in the brave days of old4   
,before the next ,district ,meeting     
,garretson and ,cromwell had returned to
 the ,united ,states1 and their places  
were filled by ,william ,jessop and     
,hickson4 ,with the departure of        
,garretson there was lost to the        
province a man who was eminently fitted 
to lead the forces and unite them1 and  
,william ,black mourned greatly that he 
was bereft of a friend1 and a gentleman 
of ability and grace4     ,,iv4  ,,the  
,,intrepid ,,pioneer4   ,the mantle of  
,garretson fell upon ,black and he was  
again compelled to lead the forces1 and 
take the initiative in opening up new   
places and preaching at every           
opportunity4 ,aroused by the sad        
spiritual condition of the people1 he   
spared not himself in excessive labors1 
and so successful were his efforts for  

the conversion of souls1 that ,john     
,wesley became more concerned than ever1
 in the affairs in the ,maritime        
,provinces and ,newfoundland4 ,dr4 ,coke
 who constituted in his own person the  
,methodist ,missionary ,society1 was    
commissioned by ,wesley to visit ,nova  
,scotia1 and he embarked on ,september  
#bdth1 #aghf1 with three missionaries   
for ,nova ,scotia1 but a dangerous storm
 which cast the vessel on the ocean for 
nearly two and a half months1 compelled 
them to land at ,antigua1 in the ,west  
,indies1 and ,black was left without the
 promised help1 as the missionaries     
remained there1 and a new era of        
successful missions was begun4 ,his     
field was large enough surely1 for      
,wesley had said in a letter to him     
dated ,london1 ,oct4 #ae1 #aghd1 ,your  
present parish is wide enough1 namely   
,nova ,scotia and ,newfoundland4 ,i do  
not advise you to go any further4       
,during the year #aghf1 there was a     
great revival in ,liverpool under ,john 

,mann1 a church had been erected in     
,halifax in which ,william ,black       
preached for the first time on ,easter  
,sunday1 and at ,barrington and ,horton1
 there were several notable conversions1
 still through lack of missionaries1    
there could not be given any assistance 
to ,cumberland1 ,annapolis1 ,digby1 and 
the whole ,province of ,new ,brunswick4 
,he was however greatly encouraged by a 
visit to ,liverpool where the revival   
was in progress1 and by good news from  
,river ,philip1 where his eldest brother
 ,john had settled as a farmer1 and who 
had begun to exercise his gifts as a    
local preacher1 and with so great       
success1 that at one meeting1 ten       
persons rejoiced in having found        
,christ4  ,at the second ,district      
meeting held on ,october #aeth1 #aghg1  
in ,halifax1 there were present1        
,william ,black1 ,william ,grandine1    
,william ,jessop1 and the two brothers1 
,john and ,james ,mann1 who had come    
from the ,united ,states to labor as    

missionaries in ,nova ,scotia4 ,after   
the third ,district ,meeting which was  
held in the ,may following1 ,william    
,black spent about a month visiting     
,shelburne1 ,barrington1 ,cape ,negro1  
,port ,la ,tour and ,port ,medway1 and  
when he returned to ,halifax1 he was    
greatly encouraged by the good work     
which had gone on under ,james ,mann's  
labors during his absence4 ,meanwhile1  
the ,rev4 ,james ,wray had been sent out
 from ,england with a general charge to 
superintend the work1 as ,william ,black
 and the other missionaries had not been
 ordained1 and could not therefore      
dispense the sacraments1 but the        
relations between ,wray and ,black      
became somewhat strained1 and threatened
 seriously to interfere with the advance
 of the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,with good    
judgment and much patience ,william     
,black laid the whole matter before     
,john ,wesley1 but without his counsel  
the breach was healed1 and they labored 
again in harmony4 ,james ,wray felt that

 the duties of superintending the work  
in the ,province were too onerous for   
him1 and he requested to be relieved of 
the position1 and ,dr4 ,coke appointed  
,william ,black1 ,superintendent of the 
,methodist ,church in the ,maritime     
,provinces and ,newfoundland1 ,james    
,wray removing to the ,west ,indies1    
where he died in #agij4  ,the growth of 
,methodism was somewhat retarded by the 
fact that ,william ,black had not been  
ordained1 and consequently could not    
dispense the sacraments1 and it was felt
 that his influence would greatly extend
 were he to assume all the              
responsibilities of a ,christian        
minister4 ,an opportunity was afforded  
him of being ordained1 by the presence  
of ,dr4 ,coke at the ,conference held in
 ,philadelphia in #aghi1 and accompanied
 by ,john and ,james ,mann1 who went for
 the same purpose1 he attended the      
,conference1 and on ,may #aith he was   
ordained a ,deacon1 and on the following
 day1 an ,elder4 ,during a month spent  

in that city1 he lost no opportunity of 
seeking to do good1 and was cheered by  
learning of some being blest1 among whom
 was a lady who had been converted under
 a sermon preached there by him1 during 
his previous visit in #aghd4  ,in a     
report sent to ,john ,wesley during the 
year1 there are shown gratifying results
 of the labors of the missionaries in   
,nova ,scotia1 as the church in ,halifax
 had grown in numbers and spirituality1 
and throughout the ,province there were 
about five hundred members1 and with    
pardonable pride and joy1 ,william      
,black remarks1 how greatly he was      
comforted1 as the church had grown in   
two years1 eight times larger1 and eight
 times more serious and spiritual4 ,the 
care of the churches pressed so heavily 
upon his soul1 and there was so great   
need of additional missionaries to meet 
the growing demands of the wide field1  
that ,william ,black hastened to        
,philadelphia to consult ,dr4 ,coke1 and
 had the pleasure of attending the      

,conference held in that city commencing
 on ,may #agth1 #agia1 at which the     
venerable ,bishop ,asbury presided4 ,the
 following week1 he attended the ,new   
,york ,conference1 when six missionaries
 were appointed to labor in ,nova       
,scotia4 ,about three weeks after his   
return home1 he went on a visit to      
,newfoundland1 which was marked by a    
gracious revival1 and the cause of      
,methodism in the ancient colony was    
saved4  ,the story of ,methodism in     
,newfoundland1 reads like a bit of      
romance4 ,the first missionary ,lawrence
 ,coughlan went there in #agfe1 and     
remained seven years1 amid great        
persecutions1 being prosecuted in the   
highest court1 an attempt made to poison
 him1 yet not only was he able to       
rejoice in many conversions1 but his    
enemies were silenced1 as the ,governor 
acquitted him1 and made him a justice of
 the peace4 ,his health failed1 and he  
was compelled to return to ,england4    
,his ministrations in ,newfoundland     

however led to the founding of          
,methodism in the ,channel ,islands1 as 
,pierre ,le ,sueur1 a native of ,jersey1
 during a visit to ,newfoundland was    
deeply convinced of sin under a sermon  
which ,coughlan preached1 and when he   
returned to his home1 spoke of the      
knowledge which he had received1 but his
 friends thought him mad4 ,when ,john   
,fentin1 a recent convert1 returned from
 ,newfoundland to ,jersey1 ,le ,sueur   
and his wife found peace to their souls 
through ,fentin's instructions and      
prayers1 and a great revival commenced1 
which swept through the islands1 and    
laid the foundations of religion1 which 
have continued till the present time4   
,after ,coughlan's departure1 ,john     
,mc,geary was sent to fill the vacancy  
but all that was left of the good work  
were a few women1 and he suffered so    
many hardships and witnessed so little  
fruit of his labors that he became so   
despondent1 as to entertain serious     
thoughts of abandoning the field4       

,william ,black arrived in ,st4 ,john's 
on ,august #ajth #agia1 and spent one   
day in the city1 during which he waited 
upon the ,presbyterian minister1 the    
,rev4 ,mr4 ,jones1 who was a man of     
catholic spirit1 and whose spiritual    
life was deep and genuine4 ,the next day
 he went to ,carbonear1 where ,john     
,mc,geary was stationed1 whom he found  
weeping before the ,lord over my lonely 
situation and the darkness of the       
people1 and when he began to preach1 a  
great revival followed1 and ,methodism  
in the colony was saved from disaster4  
,the power of ,god fell upon the people 
at the very first service1 and many were
 deeply convinced of sin at every       
meeting4 ,at ,carbonear the people cried
 aloud for mercy1 so that he had to stop
 preaching1 and betook himself to       
prayer1 when the sound of his voice was 
nearly drowned by the people weeping1   
and he came down from the pulpit and    
passed up and down through the church1  
exhorting and directing them1 as many as

 three and four persons being in an     
agony of spirit in every pew4 ,even     
after the service closed1 the cries and 
groans of anxious persons could be heard
 at a considerable distance up and down 
the harbour4 ,at ,harbor ,grace1 ,port a
 ,grave1 ,bay ,roberts and other places1
 similar scenes were witnessed1 of deep 
conviction for sin1 and many rejoicing  
in the knowledge of sins forgiven4 ,at  
,conception ,bay during a short time    
spent there1 two hundred souls were     
converted1 but that was not all1 for    
throughout the colony1 ,william ,black  
marched in triumph1 and saw very many   
souls won for ,christ4 ,it is no wonder 
that he considered this visit to        
,newfoundland1 as the most useful and   
interesting portion of his missionary   
life4 ,the ,rev4 ,richard ,knight1 who  
spent seventeen years in the colony     
says1 that he organized ,methodism1     
settled the mission property1 and       
secured it to the ,connexion1 increased 
and inspirited the society1 and obtained

 for them the help they needed4 ,such a 
messenger could not fail to leave a deep
 and abiding impression upon the hearts 
of the people1 and his departure was    
pathetic1 as he stood for nearly an hour
 shaking hands with them1 and at last as
 he tore himself away1 he says1 that he 
left them weeping as for an only son4   
,he secured fresh laborers from ,wesley 
to carry on the work1 and ,methodism in 
,newfoundland was established upon a    
firm basis1 and has continued vigorous  
till the present day4  ,upon his arrival
 in ,halifax he found that the gentleman
 who owned the church property in the   
city1 had severed his connection with   
the society1 and become a bitter        
opponent1 but ,william ,black though    
sorely tried1 was in no wise daunted1   
and immediately he started a            
subscription list1 and secured prompt   
and efficient help1 so as to proceed    
with the building of a new church4 ,one 
hundred pounds were raised in one day1  
and the society took fresh courage1 and 

grew in numbers and strength4 ,having   
set matters in order in the city he     
visited ,horton1 ,granville1 ,annapolis 
and ,digby on his way to ,st4 ,john1    
,new ,brunswick1 where ,abraham ,john   
,bishop was stationed1 who arrived there
 in ,september #agia1 and a week later  
organized the first class meeting in the
 city4 ,previous to that time several   
,methodist ministers had visited the    
then growing town1 through the earnest  
solicitations of ,stephen ,humbert1 a   
,united ,empire ,loyalist1 who landed   
there on ,may #ahth1 #aghc4 ,he was a   
,new ,jersey ,methodist and desirous of 
having a society formed there4 ,william 
,black arrived in ,november1 #agia1 and 
at once began to preach1 but having seen
 some shipbuilders at work on the       
,sabbath1 he denounced their action in a
 sermon on the same evening4 ,a         
provincial statute existed forbidding   
anyone from exercising the functions of 
the ministry without a license from the 
,governor1 and this was used to silence 

the courageous preacher4 ,undeterred by 
this opposition1 and hindered from      
preaching1 he spent his time visiting   
from house to house with blessed        
results4 ,three months later he visited 
,st4 ,john with permission to preach1   
and found a gracious revival in         
progress1 then going to ,fredericton he 
met a class of twenty-two1 most of whom 
were soldiers1 and during the few days  
spent there several conversions took    
place4 ,on his return journey he visited
 ,st4 ,stephens1 where ,duncan ,mc,coll 
was the missionary1 and he rejoiced in  
the evidences of growth1 under the      
faithful labours of that devoted man of 
,god1 and this notable tour1 closed with
 a farewell service in ,may to ,abraham 
,john ,bishop4 ,it was a touching scene1
 the people being much distressed at    
losing the young missionary1 and well   
might they grieve1 for after one year   
spent in ,sheffield1 he went to the     
,west ,indies to labor among the colored
 people and died at ,grenada the        

following year4 ,and thus passed away   
one who was esteemed as an eminently    
holy man1 and ,william ,black was bathed
 in tears4     ,v4  ,,black ,,and       
,,wesley4   ,a memorable year for       
,methodism and ,william ,black was      
#agia1 as on the second day of ,march of
 that year ,john ,wesley passed away at 
,city ,road1 ,london1 surrounded by     
preachers and friends4 ,eight years     
before the young minister in ,nova      
,scotia wrote to the aged man of ,god   
entreating him to send out              
,missionaries1 and also expressing his  
desire to spend a year or two at        
,kingswood ,school1 and the             
correspondence then begun was continued 
until death4 ,with the familiarity of an
 old man toward a youth1 ,william ,black
 poured out his heart in his letters to 
his venerable leader1 who in turn gave  
him counsel in his difficulties1 sent   
him books1 and treated him as a son1    
closing his letters with ,my ,dear      
,billy4 ,there would be a place for him 

in ,kingswood ,school1 but he was not   
urged to attend1 as ,wesley laid greater
 stress on piety than learning1 and     
,nova ,scotia could not well spare1 not 
even for a year or two1 such a brave and
 intrepid soul as ,william ,black4  ,it 
was natural that the intercourse should 
exert a strong and abiding influence    
upon the mind and heart of the          
missionary1 who sent reports of his     
work1 sought advice amid the            
difficulties which confronted him1 and  
spoke of his spiritual yearnings with   
the familiarity of a little child with  
its parent4 ,john ,wesley became the    
model upon which ,william ,black formed 
his habits and character1 and he        
succeeded well1 in a country with       
greater privations and more difficulties
 in travelling than in old ,england4    
,like the great itinerant1 he rose early
 in all seasons1 preached every day1 as 
often as time and distance allowed1 kept
 a journal in which were recorded the   
notable events that happened in his     

work1 or person1 and as he rode over the
 rough roads1 the broad sky became his  
study where he read many volumes every  
year4 ,these were not done through any  
servile imitation1 but because of an    
admiration and unconscious hero worship 
which compelled him to follow where he  
admired4 ,wesley was to ,william ,black 
a saint1 an ecclesiastical statesman1 an
 acute and learned theologian1 a great  
winner of souls1 and above all a        
personal friend1 and when he died his   
loss was greater than he cared to       
express4  ,with the passing of the      
,founder of ,methodism1 there were grave
 fears of disagreement among the        
preachers throughout the ,connexion1 and
 ,william ,black shared in the general  
feeling1 but ,dr4 ,coke gave him peace1 
in his account of the harmony of the    
,conference following ,wesley's death4  
,at the ,conference held in ,baltimore  
in ,november of the following year1     
several preachers were secured for ,nova
 ,scotia and ,newfoundland1 and ,william

 ,black who had gone to the ,conference1
 for the purpose of meeting ,dr4 ,coke1 
was induced at the doctor's request to  
take charge of the missions in the ,west
 ,india ,islands1 in succession to ,mr4 
,harper1 who was elected ,presiding     
,elder of ,nova ,scotia1 ,new           
,brunswick1 and ,newfoundland4 ,leaving 
his family behind1 ,william ,black      
accompanied ,dr4 ,coke to the ,west     
,indies1 visiting the islands1 where    
they found wickedness and bigotry so    
rampant that one of the ,methodist      
missionaries was in prison for preaching
 before he had resided there twelve     
months1 and in some other places the    
society had dwindled on account of      
terrible persecution4  ,the climate of  
the ,west ,indies was so severe upon his
 nervous system that ,william ,black had
 serious doubts as to his duty in       
remaining in the tropical clime1 however
 he was induced by ,dr4 ,coke to become 
,presiding ,elder of the ,leeward       
,islands and to reside at ,st4 ,kitts4  

,after visiting the sphere of his labors
 and meeting the ministers at the       
,conference at ,antigua1 of whom there  
were thirteen present1 he returned to   
,nova ,scotia for his family4 ,during   
this visit to the ,province he found    
that the cause at ,liverpool was in such
 a prosperous state1 that there was     
great need of a place of worship1 and   
with his accustomed zeal and            
determination1 he started a subscription
 list and in a few days secured three   
hundred pounds4 ,his return to the ,west
 ,indies with his family was signalized 
by strenuous efforts for the salvation  
of the people1 but his stay was destined
 to be short1 as ,dr4 ,coke became      
convinced that owing to changes in the  
,islands1 and the importance of the work
 in ,nova ,scotia1 it was necessary for 
,william ,black to take charge of his   
old field4 ,accordingly he was recalled 
after spending one year as ,presiding   
,elder in the ,west ,indies1 and        
singular to relate1 upon the day that   

,dr4 ,coke wrote his instructions for   
removal1 the ministers were assembled in
 ,district ,meeting at ,windsor1 and    
they passed a resolution asking that    
,william ,black be allowed to assume his
 position as ,general ,superintendent of
 the ,maritime ,provinces and           
,newfoundland4  ,no sooner did he arrive
 and was reinstated among his brethren1 
than he threw himself with increased    
vigor into the work of consolidating and
 extending the congregations4 ,prince   
,edward ,island was visited1 where a    
cordial reception was granted him at    
,charlottetown1 large congregations     
being present when he preached4 ,at     
,tryon there had been a gracious revival
 two years previous under the ministry  
of ,william ,grandine1 the results of   
which were still apparent1 the nucleus  
of a congregation had been formed at    
,charlottetown by a class led by ,joshua
 ,newton1 ,collector on the ,island1    
which met at the house of ,benjamin     
,chappel1 and when ,william ,black      

waited upon the ,governor1 ,colonel     
,fanning1 to thank him for the use of   
the ,church1 he spent an agreeable hour1
 conversing freely on the advantages of 
religion to individuals1 and society in 
general1 and the ,governor closed the   
interview by expressing his friendship1 
with a promise of assistance in building
 a ,methodist ,church4 ,methodism had   
grown in the provinces during the years 
since it was established1 so that in    
#agid1 there were eleven hundred        
accredited members1 not including the   
number of adherents who had not united  
with the church4  ,the journal in which 
,william ,black recorded his personal   
experiences1 and gave a faithful        
account1 though brief1 of the           
extraordinary events which happened in  
his travels1 the notable conversions1   
revival services and progress of the    
kingdom of ,god closes with the year    
#agid4 ,limited as it is in the range of
 its subjects1 it was characteristic of 
the man whose sole aim was the          

conversion of sinners and the upbuilding
 of the saints4 ,he was too busy to     
continue the record1 and though there   
were many things coming under the range 
of his observation worthy of            
preservation1 he was too modest to think
 of writing his reflections with any    
view to publication4  ,the year #ahjj   
was spent in ,england1 where he attended
 the ,british ,wesleyan ,conference     
which met in ,london1 and during his    
visit he made a deep and lasting        
impression upon the hearts of many1 by  
his zeal and modesty4 ,he was welcomed  
as the founder of ,methodism in ,british
 ,north ,america1 and had the           
opportunity of meeting some of the      
leaders of ,british ,methodism1         
especially ,jabez ,bunting1 with whom he
 had several interesting and profitable 
conversations1 and who remained till    
death one of his most devoted friends4  
,in one of his letters to him while he  
was attending the ,conference1 ,bunting 
wrote1 ,my letter will1 at least1 be    

accepted as an expression of that warmth
 of ,christian affection and esteem     
which ,i shall ever feel toward you4    
,unworthy as ,i am of your friendship1  
,i trust that a blessed eternity will   
confirm and perfect the attachment which
 my present short acquaintance with you 
has inspired and that1 however separated
 on earth1 we shall together spend an   
everlasting existence4 ,two years later 
in another letter he says1 ,i often     
recollect with pleasure the agreeable   
and profitable moments we spent together
 at ,oldham and ,manchester1 during your
 last visit to ,england1 and am thankful
 to ,god that ever ,i knew you on earth1
 because ,i am persuaded that through   
his abundant mercy in ,christ ,jesus1 ,i
 shall hereafter know you in heaven1 and
 there be permitted to resume and       
perfect that intercourse and            
acquaintance1 which here were so        
transient1 and so speedily suspended by 
separation4 ,in the ,general ,assembly1 
and ,church of the ,first-born1 ,i hope 

to meet my honoured friend again1 and to
 mingle with his1 and with those of ten 
thousand times ten thousand others1 my  
everlasting ,hosannas to the ,lamb that 
was slain4 ,even so1 ,lord ,jesus6 ,i   
was pleased and thankful sometime ago in
 a ,love-feast at ,saddleworth1 to hear 
the testimony of one1 who was awakened  
under a sermon you preached at ,delph1  
from ',behold ,i stand at the door1 c41'
 on the ,sunday you spent there with me 
in ,april #ahjj4 ,i mention this to show
 you1 that you have some seals of your  
ministry in these parts of the world1   
and that your labours of love among us  
were not in vain in the ,lord4  ,the    
kindness shown toward ,william ,black   
during his visit to ,england1 and the   
fact that he was born there1 naturally  
induced him to entertain the idea of    
taking a circuit and spending his       
remaining years in the old land1 but    
,dr4 ,coke was strongly averse to him   
leaving ,nova ,scotia where so great    
success had attended his labours1 and   

his influence was unbounded4 ,feeling   
that he could not very well leave the   
care of the churches to others1 without 
some provision being made for           
superintending them in the event of his 
going to live in ,england1 he drew up a 
scheme of handing them over to the      
,methodist ,episcopal ,church in the    
,united ,states1 and wrote to ,bishop   
,asbury on the matter4 ,there were      
however political difficulties in the   
way1 and being unable to make           
satisfactory provision for supplying the
 churches with ministers1 and the danger
 of disaffection in the event of a war  
between ,great ,britain and the ,united 
,states1 he decided to remain in ,nova  
,scotia and continue his active duties4 
,possessed of administrative abilities  
of a high order1 added to the skill and 
zeal of an evangelist1 he was a man of  
mark1 who could not be left in charge of
 a single circuit1 but must have a wider
 field4 ,consequently at the ,conference
 held in ,philadelphia in #ahjd1 ,dr4   

,coke requested him to take a station in
 ,bermuda for three or four years1 and  
in order to conciliate the members of   
the church in ,halifax by the temporary 
removal of their pastor1 the ,doctor    
wrote them a letter1 in which he said1  
,mr4 ,black has been your apostle for   
above twenty years1 and it is now high  
time that he should be an apostle       
elsewhere4 ,i have no doubt that he will
 have a society of six hundred1 or      
perhaps one thousand members in ,bermuda
 in four years4 ,he may then1 if he     
please1 return to superintend the work  
in ,nova ,scotia and ,new ,brunswick1   
but it will depend upon his own choice  
whether he return to you1 or to         
,england1 or remain at ,bermuda4        
,william ,black consented to go1 and    
went to ,new ,york1 where he engaged his
 passage1 but was prevented from        
reaching his destination by some persons
 from ,bermuda who were opposed to      
,methodism1 and were going by the same  
vessel1 and used their influence so that

 the passage was cancelled4 ,two years  
later the ,british ,wesleyan ,missionary
 ,committee requested him to become     
,superintendent of ,missions in the     
,west ,indies1 and ,dr4 ,coke renewed   
his request that he assume charge in    
,bermuda1 but he declined the           
appointment to the ,west ,indies on the 
account of the severity of the tropical 
climate1 though he was willing to go to 
,bermuda4 ,the ,nova ,scotia ,district  
,meeting however intervened1 and        
petitioned the ,british ,conference that
 he might be allowed to remain          
,superintendent of ,missions in the     
,maritime ,provinces and ,newfoundland1 
and there the matter ended4  ,meanwhile 
the arduous duties of visiting the      
churches and preaching continued with   
much success1 several new churches being
 built and numerous conversions1 among  
whom was ,colonel ,bayard who commanded 
one of the ,british regiments at        
,halifax during the war1 and afterwards 
settled about #cj miles from ,annapolis4

 ,he had been strongly opposed to       
,methodism1 but was led by ,william     
,black to a personal trust in ,christ1  
and lived such a holy life that he      
became known as the ,john ,fletcher of  
,nova ,scotia4 ,in the midst of a great 
revival which swept ,st4 ,john1 and     
through the ,district from ,barrington  
to ,liverpool1 there came opposition    
from some preachers from ,scotland1 who 
spurned the idea of conversion1 however 
success followed the faithful preaching 
of ,william ,black and his fellow       
workers and many souls were led to      
,christ4 ,in #ahji he was stationed in  
,st4 ,john1 ,new ,brunswick1 where he   
spent two years1 but his active ministry
 was drawing to a close4  ,the          
privations and incessant labors began to
 tell upon a strong constitution1 so    
that in #ahab he was compelled to become
 a supernumerary1 though not desisting  
altogether from rendering whatever      
service his health would permit in      
extending the cause that lay so near his

 heart4 ,along with the ,rev4 ,william  
,bennett he was delegated by the        
,british ,conference to attend the      
,conference in the ,united ,states1 and 
lay before the members the question of  
,canadian ,methodism retaining its      
allegiance with the ,british            
,conference1 a task which was faithfully
 performed1 though of a very delicate   
character4  ,increasing infirmities kept
 him in retirement1 though he managed in
 the spring of #ahbj to pay a visit to  
the ,united ,states1 where he preached  
before ,congress1 and the passion for   
souls was still burning in his soul1 for
 the text of the sermon was1 ,what is a 
man profited1 if he gain the whole world
 and lose his own soul8 ,brave and ever 
resolute1 he maintained his interest in 
the progress of the churches which he   
founded1 and it was with a pathos born  
of love to his brethren1 and the        
consciousness that his active work was  
done1 that he wrote to the ministers at 
the ,district ,meeting held in ,st4     

,john in #ahbc1 that he was unable to   
attend1 and sent them his blessing4     
,this man of daring had a definite      
religious experience and all his        
preaching was with the individual in    
view1 his sphere of labours was not     
large in extent of territory1 but he    
widened it by incessant travel1 without 
any show of rhetoric he won his way to  
men's hearts and that is eloquence1 and 
he lived to move ,eastern ,british      
,america by translating his message in  
words imperishable1 and lay foundations 
upon which others have built4 ,he was no
 common man1 but an empire-builder in   
the brave days of old4     ,,vi4        
,,personal ,,characteristics4   ,a man  
above medium height1 stout in body and  
well built1 clad in the fashion of the  
,methodist preachers of the day1 with a 
benign countenance1 his face smoothly   
shaven1 a kindly eye1 a mind ever alert1
 a genial temperament1 and strong force 
of character which fitted him well for  
his aggressive work in a new and rough  

country1 and you have a fair likeness of
 ,william ,black4 ,without any college  
education1 and with no pretentions as a 
scholar1 he was far from being deficient
 in education4 ,the preacher with his   
saddlebags quickly learned the value of 
time1 as he travelled incessantly1 and  
preached every day1 and we are not      
surprised to learn1 that he formed      
habits of study similar to those of the 
circuit riders of old ,england4 ,with an
 intensity which is often bewildering1  
we read of him moving with incredible   
swiftness from place to place1 studying 
at every opportunity to fit himself as  
an able preacher of the everlasting     
gospel4  ,his letters to ,john ,wesley  
and other correspondents bear the       
impress of a cultured mind1 in the grasp
 of the great doctrines which were under
 discussion1 and the nervous strength1  
simplicity1 purity and dignity of the   
language in which they are couched4 ,the
 saddle1 the open road1 and the clear   
sky were his permanent study1 and he    

read with the keen instinct of a        
student1 whose hours were limited1 as he
 had other work to do1 and he must      
furbish his brain1 and warm his heart by
 contact with the masters of literature 
who came at his call4  ,he was a        
constant reader of ,wesley's ,journal   
and sermons4 ,when he was travelling to 
the ,general ,conference at ,baltimore1 
he spent his time on the vessel in      
study1 as he writes3 ,most of my time   
since ,i came on board has been occupied
 in reading1 chiefly ,flavel's ,treatise
 on the ,soul1 ,littleton's ,roman      
,history and ,knox's ,essays4 ,lord let 
none of them prove improfitable6 ,for   
spiritual growth he was accustomed to   
read religious biography1 which is an   
excellent study1 and he found much      
comfort and food for serious reflection 
in the ,lives of ,john ,fletcher and    
,whitefield4 ,but he was not forgetful  
of the benefits of the solid studies    
which are needful for the ,christian    
minister1 and he applied himself with   

splendid energy to the ,latin and ,greek
 languages and works on theology4       
,matthew ,richey who was well qualified 
to speak on the subject1 because of his 
own training1 and his acquaintance with 
,william ,black says3 ,during the time  
of our personal acquaintance with him1  
he possessed a critical knowledge of the
 ,new ,testament in the original1 which 
must have been the result of many years'
 application4 ,in studying the ,greek   
,testament1 ,parkhurst's ,lexicon was   
his favorite thesaurus1 and he knew well
 to discriminate the sound learning and 
theology with which that inestimable    
work abounds1 from the fancies and      
eccentricities both etymological and    
philosophical1 with which they are      
sometimes associated4 ,it was his custom
 for many years to read ,thomas  ,kempis
 ,imitation of ,christ at family prayer 
in the ,latin tongue1 his wife reading  
the translation while he followed her in
 the original1 and ,matthew ,richey adds
 that while he carefully studied the    

,greek ,testament1 he was not forgetful 
of the ,latin language1 in which his    
attainments were very respectable4 ,we  
have no record of the books he read or  
any account of his studies1 but his     
,journal and letters show1 that he was a
 student all his life1 reading theology1
 history1 biography and essays in       
literature with an economy of time1 and 
an alertness1 which put many of us to   
shame4 ,with a yearning after wider     
culture he longed to go to ,kingswood   
,school in ,england1 and when that      
became impossible1 he devoted himself   
with greater enthusiasm to his studies1 
and employed ,john ,wesley to send him  
books4  ,although he was a model        
itinerant and was preaching every day1  
he pursued the method of training his   
own mind and instructing his hearers by 
courses on systematic theology1 which is
 an ideal system for any minister4 ,he  
writes3 ,in my last sixteen discourses  
,i have taken a view of man in his      
primitive state1 and in his fall1 the   

consequences of his apostacy1 to himself
 and to his posterity1 the interposition
 of a ,mediator1 his offices1           
incarnation1 life1 death1 resurrection1 
ascension into heaven1 and session on   
the right hand of the ,father4 ,o1 how  
wonderful is the process of redeeming   
love6 ,living in a real world and deeply
 impressed with the needs of the people1
 he had no time to devote to any        
literary work1 though he might have     
rendered some service by his pen to the 
cause of ,christ1 but modesty barred the
 way1 and he was above everything else a
 pioneer evangelist4 ,only once did he  
consent to have one of his sermons      
published1 and that was a discourse     
preached at ,windsor1 ,nova ,scotia1 on 
,deut4 #cc3ac4 ,he made him to suck     
honey out of the rock4 ,when he preached
 a sermon on ,bishop ,asbury at the     
,general ,conference in ,baltimore1 and 
was importuned to have it published by  
that august body1 he respectfully       
declined the honor4  ,william ,black was

 a great ,christian without any         
singularity or ostentation1 ever        
bemoaning his lack of spirituality and  
yearning after holiness of heart and    
life4 ,as he read the lives of great    
saints of other days1 he prostrated     
himself before ,god1 and craved         
pre-eminence in the attainment of the   
higher virtues of religious experience4 
,humility was one of the dominant       
factors in his life1 which became a     
habit1 through contrasting his actual   
acquirements in piety1 with the saints  
held in much esteem by the ,christian   
,church4 ,he was extremely sensitive1   
and this subjected him to periods of    
mental depression1 when he was severely 
tempted and almost given over to        
despair4 ,seasons of melancholy seemed  
to follow him all through life1         
especially at the beginning of the year1
 when he passed under review his life   
and work4 ,but there were times when he 
renewed his covenant with ,god in       
writing1 and when he was privileged to  

listen to some eminent preacher and     
mingle with his brethren1 that the sky  
shone with a beauty which was divine1   
and bliss serene abode in his soul4  ,in
 one of his seasons of refreshing1 when 
he dedicated himself anew1 he writes3 ,o
 my ,god1 ,i am ,thine by a thousand    
ties1 necessary1 voluntary and sacred4  
,sanctuaries1 woods1 fields and other   
places1 have been witnesses of the      
solemn vows and engagements ,i am under 
to ,thee1 and when ,i presumptuously    
violate them1 they will bring in their  
evidence against me4 ,o6 by thy powerful
 grace1 preserve me thine1 thine        
forever6 ,he longed to be like ,christ1 
and yet he could say3 ,some appear to be
 alternately in raptures1 and ready to  
sink in unbelief and despondency3 filled
 with joy1 or overwhelmed with sorrow4  
,in general my walk 7at least outwardly7
 has been pretty even4 ,through the     
severest exercises ,i have yet met with1
 the ,lord has not suffered me to be    
greatly moved4 ,i do not remember that  

anger ever had a place in my heart for  
one minute against any one1 since ,i    
first knew the ,lord4 ,if ,i felt it    
rise1 ,i looked to the ,lord1 and was   
delivered4 ,blessed be his ,name for    
this6 ,by grace ,i am saved3 and grace  
shall have the glory4 ,i am never       
enraptured with joy1 nor overpowered    
with sorrow3 yet neither am ,i without  
joys and sorrow4 ,at times ,i feel      
,jesus inexpressibly precious3 and at   
such seasons ,i long for holiness1 for a
 full conformity to the divine will4    
,he was a man of prayer1 rising early to
 be alone with ,god4 ,never did hunter  
pursue game with greater zest than he in
 his passion for the souls of men4 ,his 
sermons had ever in view the conversion 
of sinners1 and he often employed his   
pen in writing to individuals about     
salvation4 ,three of these letters      
addressed respectively1 to ,lawyer      
,hilton of ,cornwallis1 ,major ,crane of
 ,horton1 and ,james ,noble ,shannon of 
,horton1 who afterwards removed to      

,parrsboro where he died1 breathe a     
spirit of intense solicitude1 and remind
 one of the writings of ,richard ,baxter
 the noble ,puritan4 ,in the letters he 
pleads with these gentlemen to seek     
salvation1 and with such arguments1     
persuasive speech and love1 that they   
were effective in leading them to       
,christ4  ,in conversation he was chaste
 in language and always spiritual4 ,in  
one of his letters to his father-in-law1
 he pleads with him to be reconciled to 
,god1 and after pressing home the truth 
with fidelity without rudeness1 he      
concludes2 ,this is the religion1 in the
 propagation of which ,i desire to spend
 my life4 ,this ,i recommend to my      
father4 ,but ,i stop1 perhaps ,i offend4
 ,i did not think of saying half so     
much4 ,but this is my darling topic1 and
 therefore ,i must beg you to bear with 
me4 ,he was charitable towards others1  
though he differed with them in         
religious belief1 and with commendable  
liberality1 he held both ministers and  

people of the ,anglican faith in the    
highest esteem1 and associated with the 
,baptists often preaching in their      
churches1 even going so far1 though     
believing in the validity of sprinkling 
as a mode of baptism1 as to baptize by  
immersion1 those who desired that mode  
of having the ordinance administered4   
,whilst holding tenaciously the         
doctrines and institutions of           
,methodism1 he loved those who were     
united to him by a common faith4        
,during the first years of ,william     
,black's evangelistic labors1 when      
several hundreds were converted and had 
joined the church1 he was confronted    
with ,antinomian teaching1 through      
several visits from ,henry ,alline1 who 
resided at ,falmouth1 ,nova ,scotia4    
,being called of ,god to preach in      
#aggf1 ,alline itinerated through ,nova 
,scotia1 ,new ,brunswick1 and ,prince   
,edward ,island1 preaching a strange    
mixture of doctrines1 which unsettled   
the people in the churches1 and many    

withdrew and formed the denomination of 
,new ,lights or ,allinites1 a body which
 had some influence until his death at  
,northampton in ,new ,hampshire1 ,united
 ,states1 on ,february #bnd1 #aghd1 when
 it gradually declined and was absorbed 
by other denominations1 especially the  
,baptists4 ,alline published his        
peculiar views in a volume1 entitled    
,two mites on some of the most important
 and most disputed points of divinity   
cast into the treasury for the poor and 
needy1 and committed to the perusal of  
the unprejudiced and impartial reader1  
by ,henry ,alline1 servant of the ,lord 
to ,his churches4 ,a reply to this book 
was published in a volume by the ,rev4  
,jonathan ,scott1 of ,yarmouth1 ,nova   
,scotia1 which contains copious extracts
 from it4 ,alline misrepresented all the
 leading doctrines of ,christianity1    
assailing predestination and election1  
maintaining the freedom of man's will   
and upholding the final perseverance of 
the saints1 emphasizing strongly        

conversion1 and that the soul is at the 
same moment completely sanctified1 while
 sin remains in the body2 denying the   
resurrection of the body1 and though    
sometimes practising water baptism1 he  
denied its utility4 ,he was a man of    
good address1 eloquent of speech and of 
a lively disposition1 and there was no  
doubt of his piety1 as he was a good    
man1 and these qualities made him a     
successful evangelist4 ,his rank        
,antinomian doctrines caused havoc among
 the ,presbyterian1 ,congregational and 
,methodist congregations in the places  
visited by him1 and ,william ,black     
mourned the withdrawal of two hundred   
persons in a little over a year from    
connection with the ,methodist ,church4 
,it was very natural that the young     
evangelist should consult ,john ,wesley 
on the matter1 but the only help he     
received was a package of books1        
including two volumes of the writings of
 ,william ,law1 the great mystic1 and   
instructions not to mention ,alline's   

name in public1 only to go on his way   
preaching the gospel4 ,though much      
depressed by the loss of so many members
 from the church1 he had the            
satisfaction of seeing some return to   
the old fold1 and toward ,henry ,alline 
himself he entertained respect4 ,there  
remained no harshness1 though the blow  
was heavy by the breach made in the     
congregations1 as shown by a letter     
which he wrote to ,alline when he was   
sick1 in which1 after speaking of the   
souls won for ,god1 and his joy in      
,alline's success1 he added1 ,although  
we differ in sentiment1 let us manifest 
our love to each other4 ,i always       
admired your gifts and graces1 and      
affectionately loved your person1       
although ,i could never receive your    
peculiar opinions4 ,but shall we on this
 account destroy the work of ,god8 ,god 
forbid6 ,may the ,lord take away all    
bigotry1 and fill us with pure1 genuine1
 catholic love6 ,that was charity       
indeed1 but ,henry ,alline went on his  

way denouncing all who did not follow   
him4  ,william ,black had no fine       
capacity for anger1 for with his soul   
aflame with a holy passion he saw men   
and women as related to eternity1 and he
 loved them4 ,with an iron will he      
laughed at danger1 without any austerity
 he was a great saint1 his ideals were  
lofty1 and cheerfulness sat upon his    
lips and shone in his face1 a practical 
mystic was he without losing his head in
 the clouds1 in brief1 he was a man1 a  
brave soul with a woman's tenderness1   
who held his eyes toward the ,cross4    
,,vii4  ,,last ,,days ,,and ,,after4    
,the long years of arduous labor began  
to tell upon a strong constitution1 so  
that gradually the physical strength of 
the pioneer evangelist and missionary in
 the ,maritime ,provinces became so     
enfeebled1 that during the last fifteen 
years of his life he was practically    
laid aside4 ,for forty years he         
travelled1 unhasting1 unresting1 swift  
of foot1 and with an unquenching passion

 for souls1 and the hardships of those  
early times left their abiding impress  
upon his body1 though he still retained 
his natural vigor of mind4 ,a journey   
now and then in quest of health brought 
cheerful patience1 but his work was     
done1 while still sixty years of age4   
,like another ,whitefield he had worn   
himself out in his ,master's service1   
yet he was content that foundations had 
been laid1 and others might build1 while
 he shared their joy4  ,he lived in     
stirring times1 and belonged to a sect  
that moved the world1 recreating the    
national conscience1 without disturbing 
the religious world with a new heresy4  
,in #ahjg the slave trade in the        
,british ,empire was abolished1 and the 
,methodist revival introduced a new     
philanthropy1 which brought a fresh     
impulse into the nation for the         
reforming of the prisons1 greater       
clemency to the penal laws1 with a noble
 and steady attempt to better the       
condition of the profligate and the     

poor1 and the first impetus toward      
popular education4 ,limited in his range
 of vision by distance from the great   
centres of civilization1 and absorbed in
 his noble task of leading men in their 
quest after godliness1 he still kept in 
touch with the larger questions which   
affected the nation1 so far as the      
literature of that day permitted4  ,his 
closing years were spent in the         
quietness of his own home1 with an      
occasional service suited to his failing
 health4 ,with a sublime simplicity and 
faith in the goodness of women1 he found
 a continual benediction in his wife1   
who was a lady of good judgment1        
possessing a cheerful spirit1 and as    
earnest as he in her yearning after     
holiness of heart and life1 and a       
burning zeal for the salvation of souls4
 ,born in ,boston1 ,massachusetts1 where
 she frequently heard ,whitefield       
preach1 she came with her parents to    
,fort ,cumberland1 ,nova ,scotia1 and   
settled there1 when the ,british troops 

evacuated her native city1 and in the   
summer of #agha she was converted under 
the ministry of ,william ,black4 ,for   
the long period of forty-three years of 
married life1 she was the devoted       
companion and helper of her husband in  
every good work4 ,the training of five  
children devolved solely upon her1 as   
she was left alone during the long and  
frequent absence of her husband on his  
missionary tours1 yet she complained    
not1 but counted it an honor to share   
the joys and sorrows of a ,methodist    
itinerant4 ,with the true instinct of a 
mother she governed her home in the fear
 of ,god4 ,when she chastised her       
children1 she did not forget their      
spiritual welfare1 as it was her custom 
after punishment1 to take them alone to 
a private room1 and there to pray with  
the culprit1 and seldom were these      
seasons unproductive of serious resolves
 of amendment4 ,her letters to her      
husband bear the impress of a saint1 in 
their spirit of patience1 sympathy with 

the erring1 and quest after a better    
life4 ,during a period of severe        
sickness in the family1 when three of   
the children were laid low1 and faint   
hopes were entertained for the recovery 
of ,celia1 the eldest1 the faith of the 
parents was severely tried4 ,while they 
were convalescing1 the mother was       
attacked with a raging fever1 and in her
 weakened condition1 she was strongly   
tempted to doubt her acceptance with    
,god4 ,in her distress she mourned3 ,i  
have lived too much at ease4 ,how could 
,i rest without daily and lively        
communion with ,god4 ,but the clouds    
burst1 and she was enabled to rejoice1  
and praise ,god for all his mercies to  
herself and family4 ,she was a saintly  
woman1 active in her efforts for        
ameliorating the condition of the poor  
in the city of ,halifax1 during her long
 residence there4 ,with her own hands   
she made garments for the needy1        
stimulated others in connection with the
 ,female ,benevolent ,society1 of which 

she was treasurer for several years1 and
 by the sweetness and beauty of her     
life1 helped many in the paths of       
righteousness and peace4 ,during the    
last year and a half of her life she    
gradually declined in health yet she    
murmured not1 and when the end came on  
,august #aath1 #ahbg1 as she was        
surrounded by husband1 children1        
grandchildren and friends1 she bade them
 an affectionate farewell4 ,the last to 
receive her blessing was her faithful   
and pious black servant1 but her power  
of speech having gone1 she raised her   
hands to heaven as an evidence of her   
faith and joy1 and passed home at the   
age of seventy-three years4 ,thus lived 
and died one of the most beautiful      
spirits to be found on the pages of     
religious biography1 gentle in manners1 
firm in action1 with a chaste reserve1 a
 noble type of heroic womanhood4  ,with 
the passing of his beloved companion1   
,william ,black felt keenly the vacancy 
in his home where ill-health kept him   

confined1 and to ensure comfort and     
relieve the tedium1 he was induced to   
marry ,martha1 the widow of ,elisha     
,calkin of ,liverpool1 ,nova ,scotia1 in
 the year #ahbh4 ,this marriage was     
highly congenial1 as the lady was       
possessed of an amiable disposition1 and
 she ministered to his needs and        
together they enjoyed good fellowship1  
to his death1 after which event1 she    
returned to ,liverpool1 where she       
resided till she died4  ,the father of  
,william ,black walked through all the  
years of a long life in the ways of     
peace1 and the son rejoiced that he had 
been honored in leading him to ,christ4 
,for the greater part of his life he    
lived on his farm at ,dorchester1 ,new  
,brunswick1 dying there in #ahbj1 at the
 age of ninety-three years4 ,he was held
 in much esteem in the community being  
appointed in #aggi1 ,judge of the       
,common ,pleas1 and in his old age he   
retained so much of his vigor1 that when
 he was eighty-eight years old1 he rode 

on horseback a distance of thirty miles 
to visit some members of his family     
residing at ,amherst4  ,the world may   
not like our ,methodists1 but the world 
cannot deny that they die well1 wrote   
,john ,wesley1 and this sentence has    
been transformed into the well-known    
maxim1 ,our people die well4 ,william   
,black knew the art of dying well1 as he
 always stood on the threshold of       
eternity1 and there was no need in his  
closing days to make special            
preparation1 for with heroic gladness he
 had fronted the foe1 all through the   
strenuous years1 and was ever ready to  
cross the bar4 ,in the autumn of #ahcd1 
the cholera was prevalent in ,halifax1  
and he was deeply concerned for the     
people1 though he was suffering from    
dropsy1 and his end was near4 ,the ,rev4
 ,richard ,knight who was stationed in  
,halifax1 and had ,matthew ,richey as   
his colleague1 was with him in his last 
hours1 and he gives an account of the   
closing scene4 ',i trust sir1' said ,i1 

',you now feel that ,saviour to be      
precious whom you have so long held     
forth to others4' ,he said1 ',all is    
well4 ,all is peace1 no fear1 no doubt1 
let ,him do as ,he will1 ,he knows what 
is best4' ,i referred to his long and   
useful life4 ,he said very impressively1
 ',leave all that1 say no more4 ,all is 
well4' ,we joined in prayer1 and his    
spirit was evidently very much engaged  
in the solemn exercise4 ,on leaving the 
room ,i said1 ',you will soon be in the 
glory of which you have so often spoken 
in the course of your long ministry4'   
',i shall soon be there1' he said1      
'where ,christ is gone before me4'      
,after which he sank very fast1 and     
spoke little1 and that with considerable
 difficulty4 ,his last words were1      
',give my farewell blessing to your     
family1 and to the society1' and ',god  
bless you4 ,all is well4'  ,patient in  
life1 he was triumphant in death1 and   
though there was no exultant notes in   
his last testimony1 his faith stood the 

supreme test1 as he drew near the       
borderland4 ,he died on ,september #hth1
 #ahcd1 aged #gd years4 ,the remains of 
,mary and ,william ,black rest in the   
old graveyard at ,grafton ,street       
,methodist ,church1 ,halifax1 and near  
the vestry door are their tombstones and
 those of their children4 ,within the   
church there are marble tablets to the  
memory of these pioneers of the faith1  
who laid the foundations of ,methodism  
in the maritime provinces1 and in the   
,methodist ,church at ,amherst1 ,nova   
,scotia1 there is a memorial window to  
the founder of ,methodism in these      
parts4  ,there is a larger and more     
abiding memorial of the heroic figure   
who trudged over the country in quest of
 souls1 and that lies in the silent     
influence of his life1 and the          
permanence of his work4 ,he was a great 
revivalist of the enduring kind1 whose  
exhortations were not platitudes which  
spent themselves with the passing hour1 
but1 being based on the leading         

doctrines of the ,bible1 remained as a  
spiritual impulse for the individual1   
and the church4 ,in his ,history of the 
,methodist ,church in ,eastern ,british 
,america1 ,t4 ,watson ,smith quotes a   
characteristic sketch of ,william ,black
 and his wife4  ,the personal appearance
 of ',bishop' ,black in his late years1 
says the ,hon4 ,s4 ,l4 ,shannon1 who    
remembers him well1 was very            
prepossessing4 ,he was of medium height1
 inclining to corpulency4 ,in the street
 he always wore the well-known clerical 
hat2 a black dress coat buttoned over a 
double-breasted vest1 a white           
neckerchief1 black small clothes and    
well polished ,hessian boots completed  
his attire4 ,when he and his good lady1 
who was always dressed in the neatest   
,quaker costume1 used to take their     
airing in the summer with black ,thomas1
 the bishop's well known servant1 for   
their charioteer1 they were absolutely  
pictures worth looking at4 ,in the      
pulpit the bishop's appearance was truly

 apostolical4 ,a round1 rosy face1      
encircled with thin1 white hair1 a      
benevolent smile1 and a sweet voice were
 most attractive4 ,whenever my mind     
carries me back to those scenes1 the    
vision of the apostle ,john in his old  
age addressing the church at ,ephesus as
 his little children1 comes up before me
 as ,i think of the good old man1 the   
real father of ,methodism in ,halifax4  
,when ,william ,black was converted and 
began his career as the pioneer         
,methodist preacher in the maritime     
provinces1 in #aggi1 there was only a   
small company in ,cumberland1 ,nova     
,scotia1 who reckoned themselves        
followers of ,john ,wesley1 but when he 
died in #ahcd1 there were in these      
,provinces and ,newfoundland1 #c        
,districts1 #dd circuits1 about #ej     
ministers and local preachers1 with more
 than #fjjj members of the church4 ,but 
the denomination has grown since then1  
until in the year #aijf1 there are #c   
,conferences1 with #ccb ministers1 #aid 

local preachers1 nearly #db1jjj church  
members1 #fhf ,sunday ,schools with over
 #de1jjj scholars1 #gaf churches1 and   
#bai parsonages valued at more than two 
and a half million dollars1 and then add
 to these statistics1 the value of the  
schools and colleges belonging to       
,methodism in the maritime provinces and
 ,newfoundland1 amounting to #efg1jjj   
dollars1 and we may well say1 ,what hath
 ,god wrought8  ,let us remember that   
when ,john ,wesley died1 there were only
 #bhg ,methodist preachers in ,great    
,britain and ,ireland1 and #eaa in the  
whole world1 and we may well ponder the 
significance of the growth during the   
last hundred years in the new country   
where ,william ,black was the leader and
 pioneer4 ,the movement which began with
 ,black has run through a whole century 
without rest or failure1 the stream of  
conversions has continued to flow1 and  
the spiritual impulse has been          
maintained1 despite many changes in     
manners and modes of thought4 ,the old  

tradition of ,methodism being an        
aggressive force1 embodied in the apt   
phrase ,christianity in earnest is still
 true1 as it emphasizes the great       
spiritual forces of religion1 as        
distinguished from ceremonial and even  
church organization1 as the essentials  
of our faith ever abide within4 ,the    
message of the apostle of ,methodism in 
the ,maritime ,provinces was charged    
with great truths based upon doctrine   
and experience1 and the power which     
swayed the people under his preaching1  
has remained as an abiding spiritual    
force4 ,in ,black's ,journal we have a  
charming bit of autobiography1 which    
reveals the inner life of a man who has 
become a historic figure1 and yet he had
 no desire for fame4 ,he was an         
evangelist first and last1 begetting    
influences more abiding than the        
centuries1 and if you would estimate his
 worth1 and measure the value of his    
work1 look around4 ,he lived in a       
religious atmosphere of his own making  

with the help of ,god1 he learned the   
triumphant secret of religion1 and he   
gave a noble challenge to the world1 in 
a heroic life for ,christ4 ,the pulse of
 his life beats still in the twentieth  
century in the ,maritime ,provinces of  
the ,dominion4            99       99   
99       99       99  ,transcriber's    
,notes  ,spelling inconsistencies1 such 
as labor_/labour and harbor_/harbour    
have been retained from the original    
book4 ,minor punctuation irregularities 
and the following typos have been       
corrected3  ,page #ah3 tim changed to   
time4  ,page #df3 ,britian changed to   
,britain4  ,page #df3 ,williiam changed 
to ,william4  ,page #df3 desti- changed 
to destination4  ,page #di3 tempereament
 changed to temperament4  ,page #di3    
aggresive changed to aggressive4  ,page 
#fj3 yeare changed to years4