I found this old magazine in my personal "Methodist Library." Looking at its table of contents I discovered this article which I thought might be of interest to people searching for church records. Although it can apply to looking for church records in all denominations in all states, I'm making it a part of this Kansas Methodist website on the Kansas Heritage Server, since that is where my research and writing is presently appearing. My interest in helping people locate good resources for researching Methodist church records began when I began corresponding on the Kansas-l List Serv with people who were looking for more information about "Circuit Riding Methodist Preachers" in Kansas.

This article was written by Bishop William C. Martin, then the President of the Association of Methodist Hisorical Societies. It serves as a reminder that there are indeed Methodist Historical Societies across America. I once belonged to the one here in Oklahoma, where I've been a Methodist minister for over 17 years, and loved attending their dinners and historical programs at every Annual Conference. But I digress!

Bishop Martin wrote his article to help local church historians, or people in individual local Methodist churches who wanted to dig into their church's history, and do it in an organized (methodical) way -- the way of all good "Method"-ists! It is definitely an article that reflects the name of the denomination; a name first spoken derogatorily to describe it's founder's penchant for requiring regimented and discipled religious lives of his earliest followers.

However, as I pointed out earlier, there are several good pointers in the article for doing research in ANY church..

Bishop Martin starts out by saying that "relatively few Methodist churches really know their history, yet it's likely that illuminating records are stacked away somewhere in [the] church basement, if the janitor hasn't burned them. And sitting in the pews...on Sunday... may be descendants of people who helped found [the] church -- with marvelous stories to tell!"

That lack of historical knowlege referred to by the good Bishop, may have been true for Methodist churches at the time he wrote the article in 1959. I don't think that it's necessarily true now. Methodism celebrated it's 200th birthday some while back (1784 - 1984). And it touched off a wave of historical curiosity within the denomination that has scarely let up as the surrounding American culture has become intensely interested in its roots as well.. In addition, many old churches in the Heartland were either celebrating their own 100th birthday or making plans to do so within a few years of the bi-centennial observances. So old records and new historians began meeting in the strangest places in the ‘80’s.

The Bishop recommends that searchers for a church's history start with it's current pastor. If he (and they were “hes” in the Bishop's day) "senses the value of the past," he's a likely resource of information, or suggestions for sources and further inquiry. There is also the reminder that local history teachers, and librarians are valuable resource persons too.

Bishop Martin lists some resources for learning more about Methodist History. I will put them in Part II and add some of my own recommendations. His resources, as well as many of my own, may no longer be published, but I would be willing to wager (not really, since I'm a Methodist preacher!) that you could find a copy of one or more of these books in one of the larger United Methodist churches nearby that maintain a Church Library. Or if you have a United Methodist College or Seminary nearby, they are sure to have copies of the really old reference books and histories in their Libraries.  Methodist Ministers' private libraries often contain excellent materials, as well and most don't mind loaning a book to someone they know.

Now, for more ideas from Bishop Martin for where to look for the information you need.

• First, the Conference Office. This is the state organization to which a local United Methodist Church is related. It may have published a history of a particular church. Go to United Methodists Websites on the this website for email addresses, websites, etc.
• Next, the present church building itself. “Be sure,” he writes, “you’ve dug out all quarterly conference reports, yearbooks, directories, brochures, programs, bulletins, pictures. Check dusty files and dark corners for anything of possible value.
• “Next, try the parsonage, [the home the church furnishes it’s minister], former church buildings, and the attics, desk drawers, and scrapbooks of onetime officers. Once it was a common practice for officials to keep records at home. You may find a treasure next door [to the church].
• “Local newspapers can be invaluable. Back issues sometimes have surprisingly complete information about [the] church and its members. Ask permission to go through them....
• ...”But no matter how much material you gather from other sources, be sure to interview older church members, founding fathers [sic] or their descendants, former pastors, and past officials -- by mail, if not face to face. Their stories are history at the personal level, colorful and alive. Get direct quotations.”

 

In a sidebar there is additional information:

• Methodist Churches are encouraged by the Discipline to preserve their historical records.
• There may be Conference and Jursidictional historical societies that would have information about the church/minister you are trying to learn more about. They were federated with others into the Association of Methodist Historical Societies, whose offices were established at Lake Junaluska, N.C. -- the national retreat center of Methodism. They have also helped publish a bulletin, World Parish and sponsored research, shrine preservation and book publication. Currently the United Methodist Archives are housed at Duke University.
• The Wesley Historical Society is in Hull, England. They study early Methodism and publish a quarterly. The Methodists of the United Kingdom and Ireland house their archives at Ryland University Library in Manchester, UK.

In addition, there are eight watercolor paintings of historical events, reproduced in this particular issue of Together Magazine. They were joined by four other historical paintings, printed previously, to form “an inspirational slide set” and were available for order from the Methodist Publishing House for only $5.00!

The captions under the watercolors are:

• “Captain Webb exhorting in a sail loft. He fired Methodism with enthusiasm in pre-Revolution years.”
• “It’s 1784: At Barratt’s Chapel in Delaware (still standing) Coke and Asbury lay plans for a new church” “...and send Freeborn Garrettson ‘like an arrow’ to spread the work of the Christmas Conference at Baltimore.”
• “A solemn moment: Francis Asbury is consecrated bishop of the new Methodist Episcopal Church”
• “Abingdon, Md., 1789: Enroute to his inaguration, Washington passes Cokesbury, Methodism’s first college.”
• “Philadelphia, 1789: John Diskins consults a printer as he launches the Methodist Publishing House.”
• “New York, 1789: Morrell, Asbury, Diskins, and Coke formally declare Methodist allegiance to the Republic.”
• "Edward Cox cabin in east Tennessee: Here Methodism broke through the Alleghenies on its march westward.”
 

How to Research...  (Part II)