John Early (bishop)

John Early (January 1, 1786 – November 5, 1873) was a Methodist prelate and one of the founders of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, serving as one of its bishops from 1854 through 1866.

John Early
BornJanuary 1, 1786
Bedford County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedNovember 5, 1873
Resting placeSpring Hill cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.
OccupationBishop
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Rives
Parent(s)Joshual Early
Mary Leftwich

Early and family life

He was born in Bedford County, Virginia to Joshual Early and his wife, the former Mary Leftwich. He married Elizabeth Rives in 1821.

Career

Although his parents were devout Baptists, Early converted to Methodism in 1804, appreciating the early circuit riders' eloquence and fire at camp meetings.[1] He was licensed to preach in 1806–1807. His first position was preaching to the slaves of Thomas Jefferson at Poplar Forest, a summer home that the former U.S. President constructed that year outside Lynchburg, Virginia and as a refuge from the stream of visitors at Monticello. By 1811, Rev. Early preached on the Greenville circuit, and was renowned for his conversions. He became a Presiding Elder in 1813.

Early was a co-founder of Randolph Macon College in 1830, and sat on the board of visitors. His pro-slavery position kept other Methodists from consecrating him as a bishop in 1832.[2] He was consecrated as bishop in 1850.

Early was a founding trustee of Central University, a Methodist university, in 1858.[3] It was renamed Vanderbilt University in 1872.[3]

During the American Civil War, Bishop Early supported the Confederacy, and associated with the Holston Conference from 1862–1865. Based in Lynchburg, he led the Conference in its expulsion of pro-Union itinerant ministers during the Civil War.[4]

Death and legacy

Rev. Early died in 1873 and is buried at Spring Hill cemetery in Lynchburg. Randolph Macon College received many of his papers as a gift upon its centennial.[5]

See also
  • List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church

References
  1. Thomas, William K. "Bishop John Early : A Man of Faith, and Works" (PDF). The Virginia Methodist Advocate: 8, 21. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. Stevens, Abel (1867). "Methodism in the South, 1804–1820: Continued". History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States of America. 4. Retrieved 26 October 2017 – via Wesley.nnu.edu.
  3. Clarke, Ida Clyde (February 6, 1910). "Stray Leaves From Tennessee History: History of Central University, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Later Vanderbilt. From Book on "Higher Education in Tennessee."". The Tennessean. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Dunn, Durwood. The Civil War in Appalachian Methodism. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2013. pp. 94-119
  5. "A Guide to the A Guide to the John Early Papers 1800-1856". Ead.lib.virginia.edu. Retrieved 26 October 2017.

Bibliography
  • Gross, Ernie. This Day in Religion. New York: Neil-Schuman Publishers, 1990. ISBN 1-55570-045-4.
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