Rev. James McAden.
ONE name alone on the Conference roll goes back to the last century. James McAden was born on the 15th August, 1795. He is of the long list of preachers that North Carolina has contributed to our ranks. His birth-place is Caswell county. The Methodists held a two days meeting in 1810, near Milton, on Dan river. Young McAden, the grandson of a Presbyterian minister, with nearly all his relations of that church, was among the converts. In 1812 he began to preach. Asbury and McKendree were the superintendents. There were at that time within the present territory of the Virginia Conference hardly twelve thousand members. John Early was travelling Greensville Circuit, with Philip Bruce as his Presiding Elder, on the Meherrin District.
Jesse Lee served Richmond that year. The less famous but great Thomas L. Douglass, was on the James River District. John Buxton, the. Elder, of the Raleigh District, which took in "Haw River, Tar River and Roan Oak," sat in the Quarterly Conference that gave young McAden license to preach. The Virginia Conference (which included, in the main, North Carolina,) held its session of 1814 in Norfolk. McAden's name appears among those received on trial. The two superintendents, Asbury and McKendree, were present. There was no lack of debate. The licentiate found the tongue of the itinerent, like a swivel gun, easily trained on any object at any point of the compass. The "flashes of silence" must have been few. There surely was darkening of counsel by words. The Senior Bishop didn't value men for their much speaking. His journal has this line: "We have been mighty in talk this session." And he did not relish the syllogisms and rhetoric of the fathers! Even they were of like passions with ourselves, and not always wise. It is very reassuring to modern folly, swift to speak. It seems the preachers, and especially the one in Norfolk, had made the fine wardrobes of the sisters a target for their reproof. He was soon "in trouble not as other men," and found how hazardous it was to meddle with "the high heads and enormous bonnets" of the saintly mothers and maidens in Israel. The members brought a pressure on the Elder, and the rash brother was removed. The Conference reviewed the action of the Elder, and a battle of the ribbons, laces and furbelows ensued. Asbury took the part of the girls, and let fly at the dandies in the Conference. He arose amid the debate, and said that he preferred the women even in extravagant dress rather than to see a preacher walk into the Conference room "with fair top boots, red morocco straps hanging down to his ankles, and a great gold watch and seal dangling from a fob. Dr. Bennett, who records this incident, observes "this gave a quietus to the debate, we presume.," A safe conjecture. McAden, at his first Conference, saw the grand old apostle of American Methodism, and saw too the mincing fellows in "fair top boots," badly routed by the batchelor Bishop while the belles in ribbons rejoiced at their discomforture.
The first appointment of the licentiate was Franklin Circuit. It embraced a wide field, probably a territory larger than the present Danville District. One year was the custom. So McAden swung around a great circle in a few years. Franklin, Raleigh, Albemarle Sound, Mecklenburg, Portsmouth, Petersburg, Richmond. He had been preaching eight years and travelling six. In 1820 he laid aside his saddle-bags for a time. A brief note from this venerable minister, now nearing ninety, tells why he ceased to itinerate. There is a subtile humour in the sentence if the reader will "mark the phraseology," as Bishop Early was wont to say. "In 1820 I located, it being the custom in those days that, when a preacher married, he located as a matter of course." "Tempora mutantur." The bachelors now object that the Conference offers a premium on matrimony. In the olden time a "man with a family" was at a heavy discount. Among the eighty preachers of the Virginia Conference present in 1809, Asbury records with evident satisfaction, "there are but three married men." At a subsequent Conference the good Bishop expressed his mind rather freely, saying from his seat, "I wouldn't give one single preacher for a half dozen married ones." Under a rigid rule of marching men out of the ranks " as a matter of course " when they took a wife, we can well account for the zeal of the Norfolk preacher and his brethren in banishing all the bewitchery of dress from his fair hearers. It was self-defence.
In a few years Mr. McAden was re-admitted, and has served through a long period, sometimes as missionary to the blacks, and then on circuits, and for four years on the Danville District, with success in building up the church. Disease now and then disabled him for awhile. He is now a superannuate, and far on in years. Yet, despite his age and infirmities, he has attended to four appointments a month. His work is nearly done. He opened his commission when the giants of Methodism were on the earth. The Church with only one member--a devout woman, Barbara Heck, has "become two bands." The venerable man in a note to this writer says: "I am now waiting the call of the Master."
Marlene King, Andrew Lewis, Rose Ferguson, James Fuller, Thomas Watts, Keith Cook, Leah Conner, Anita Taylor, Brenda Ellis, Judith Sanchez, Joel Ward, Marvin Howell, Thomas Cole, Monica Simpson, Lawrence Moore, Marie Baker, Betty Myers, Stephen Gross, Donald Moore, Harold Silva, Kelly Johnson, Walter Lee, Erin Oliver, Terrence Robertson, Lena Thompson, Jacqueline Watkins, Rosemary Gardner, Joe Williams, Patricia Williams, Judith Maldonado, Anthony Perry, Betty Love, Kenneth Kelly, Gabriel Mitchell, Marshall Bennett, James Medina, Steven Allen, Brenda Moore, William Martinez, Paula Jones, Tiffany Robinson, Joshua Rivera, Scott Rodriquez, Karen King, Nora Maxwell, Brian Johnson, Alice Cox, Timothy King, Douglas Green, Jeffrey Brown, Cheryl Brown, William Bell, Michael Brooks, Ashley Harrison, Emma Neal, Leroy Johnston, Robert Bridges, Timothy Smith, Jennifer Perkins, John Robinson, Jerome Rogers, Max Gomez, Sharon Mendez, Jennifer Carr, Bonnie Carpenter, Diane Barnett, Philip Marshall, Rebecca Miller, Jesse Hicks, Justin Howard, Phillip Diaz, Ellen Perez, David Mack, James Herrera, Beverly Bates, Kurt Carpenter, Bonnie Williams, Susan Wells, Eric Austin, Mary Bowen, Lois Griffin, Darlene Fields, Michael Jones, Gary Brown, Mary Davis, Holly Hill, Jean Davis, Nancy Smith, Rita Martin, Kathleen Logan, Earl Bennett, Terry Brown, Robert Richards, Larry Figueroa, Megan Mitchell, Herbert Lee, Mary Klein, Lawrence Simon, Diane Keller, Jason Campbell, Nancy Figueroa, Kathryn Malone, Ivan Ford, Mary Watson, Tony Davis, Heather Ballard, Barbara McDaniel, Miriam White, Bobbie Jackson, Patricia Reeves, Ruby Wood, June Myers, Larry Ingram, Joshua Jenkins, James Patterson, Elizabeth Jones, Deanna Maxwell, Leroy Hogan, Harvey Garcia, Crystal Boyd, Dale Castillo, Lisa Hernandez, Mary Johnson, Sherry Fields, William Perry, Geraldine Lewis, Peter Bailey, Katherine Perry, Connie Hudson, Thomas Gutierrez, Florence Hammond, Daniel Butler, Arthur Gonzalez, Terri Reed, Martha Obrien, Robert Cooper, Brad Gomez, Robert Stanley, John Morgan, Mary Barber, Jeremy Johnson, Janet Parker, Sylvia Gregory, Donald Thompson, Cynthia Harvey, Ronald Moore, Kenneth Welch, Patrick Glover, David Evans, Matthew Roberts, Beth Brown, Charles Nelson, Anna Bailey, Jeffrey Clark, Christopher Lyons, Roy Lane, Penny Gilbert, David Morrison, Donald Johnson, Eddie Chandler, Leslie Miller, Vanessa Garza, Rose Hunt, Timothy Owens, Cathy Payne, David Stewart, Maria Owens, Elmer Simmons, Judith Griffin, Penny Chambers, Mary Torres, Donald Wright, Allen Sandoval, Theodore Lewis, Jennifer Smith, William Carter, Sarah Long, Bonnie Powers, Stephanie Daniel, Cheryl Cooper, George Peterson, Ethel Swanson, Catherine Ball, Kevin Day, Michelle Wheeler, Courtney Soto, Joyce Davis, Teresa Black, David Smith, Leslie Chavez, Rose Flores, Kathleen Johnson, Deborah Cain, Maria Martin, Margaret Vasquez, Sandra Norman, Caroline Cummings, April Duncan, Melissa McBride, Douglas Powell, Billy Williams, Gertrude Gonzales, Jeremy Neal, Thomas Wilson, David Cole, Irene Bryan, James Cummings, Pauline Williams, Byron Andrews, Jeff Banks, Eileen Rhodes, Dean Perry, Teresa Anderson, Rebecca Keller, Lloyd Vega, Becky Robinson, Alan Davis, Jerry Marshall, Jason Johnson, Heather Vasquez, Raymond Jones, Emma Alvarez, Patricia Brown, Jose Lowe, Jeanette Williamson, Miguel Harrington, Tyler Tucker, Kathryn Kelley, Mary Richards, Martin Washington, David Lucas, Tamara Hudson, Monica Jones, Jo Hernandez, Mary Foster, Linda Lopez, Brad Keller, Patricia Greene, Steven Garrett, Cheryl Davis, Melissa Smith, Christy Riley, Tyler Hunter, Tyrone Barnes, John Smith, Ronald Jackson, Mark Moreno, Richard Summers, Mary Smith, Shirley Ford, Ray Ortiz, David Smith, Gerald Harris, Jeffrey Martinez, Donald Butler, Brenda Patrick, Pauline Bush, Dennis Jensen, Roy Young, Margaret Evans, Priscilla King, Mary Bennett, Kenneth Allen, Willie Porter, Debra Brown, Sylvia Barton, Loretta Torres, Glen Romero, Brian Sanchez, Lena Davidson, Louis Rodriguez, Janet Chavez, Jeffery Roberts, Annie McDonald, Howard Mendez, Dustin Peterson, Kevin Singleton, James Hughes, Robert Thomas, Elizabeth Gonzales, Carol Stone, William Ward, Sharon Long, Esther Green, John Powell, Brenda Lynch, Paul Johnson, Joseph Chambers, Joseph Johnson, Deborah Thomas, Maria Curry, Tanya Barker, Cathy Klein, Gladys Henry, Joseph Park, Javier Sanchez, Sheila Chandler, Nicole Weber, Barbara Tyler, Jason West, Dorothy Dunn, Rick Harrison, Richard Cooper, Teresa Bryant, Edwin Wallace, Catherine Mills, Daryl Thomas, Pauline Johnson, Daniel Perry, Kenneth Sandoval, Justin Spencer, Maureen Rivera, Melanie Watkins, David Austin, James Clarke, Cynthia Hunter, Carolyn Buchanan, Jessie Gordon, Carol Clark, Raymond Miller, Edward Diaz, Glen Gonzales, John Munoz, Donald Lee, Bernard Price, Sarah Hill, Kevin Thompson, Jordan Johnson, John Jones, Mary Morgan, Norma Wilson, Michelle Wilson, Michael Watson, Victor Ruiz, James Smith, Danielle Butler, Alfred Barnett, Wesley Henderson, Thomas Schmidt, Pedro Brooks, Carol Lane, Melissa Haynes, Dorothy Wheeler, Thelma Myers, Roberto Williams, Bertha Garcia, Yvonne Mitchell, Rosemary Williams, Tommy Jackson, Heather Jones, Jonathan Smith, Mary Ellis, Barbara Lambert, Kelly Richards, Dorothy White, Cynthia Scott, Julie Wallace, Gary Byrd, Paul Hudson, Virginia Powers, Michael Smith, Maria Martin, Helen Harper, Richard Williams, Barbara Osborne, Rebecca Morgan, Victoria Edwards, Cynthia White, Daniel Boyd, Carla Davis, Jean Ferguson, Marie Allen, Robert Houston, Nellie Lee, Dawn Newton, Phillip Gonzales, Kevin Patterson, Jeffrey Holland, Charles Martin, Nelson Thompson, Deborah Johnson, Anna Cummings, Elizabeth Clark, Anna Allen, Jeffrey Smith, Mae Porter, Robert Dixon, William Johnson, Annette Hill, Ruth Alvarez, James Ward, Pearl Aguilar, Danny Wilson, Florence Watson, Diane White, Glenda Johnson, Wanda Hughes, Michelle Jones, Melissa Elliott, Curtis Lewis, Josephine Arnold, Joseph Patterson, Johnny Douglas, William Rose, Ann Bailey, Scott Rose, Curtis Brown, Bobby Hunt, Harold Daniel, Dorothy Jackson, Dawn Carpenter, Scott Barnes, Heather Hughes, Christina Garcia, Larry Shelton, Catherine French, Charlie Williamson, Pamela Thompson, Gerald Smith, Joshua Holland, Stanley Williams, Kevin Scott, Christine Davis, Sarah Williamson, Carol Smith, Jerry Hudson, Nicole Miller, Patrick Lawrence, William Brown, Lisa Taylor, Monica Anderson, Barbara Doyle, Timothy James, Thomas Sanchez, Stephen Moore, Martha Hughes, Anna Bush, Charles Diaz, Melvin Collins, Christopher Harrison, Cynthia Davis, Elizabeth Neal, Michael Reyes, Mary Ross, Mary Anderson, Stephen Newton, Sheila Cooper, Marilyn Bishop, Agnes Jones, John Cunningham, David Stevens, Phillip Roberts, John Hernandez, Amanda McKenzie, Amanda Smith, Michael Pratt, Charles Mendoza, Diana Cox, Carl Kennedy, Thomas Reynolds, Rodney Perez, Katherine McLaughlin, Mary Morales, Thomas Quinn, Annie Torres, Gerald Bennett, Mark Adams, Nancy Arnold, Virginia Davis, Brian Jackson, Brittany Brooks, Shelly Lucas, Larry Edwards, Maria Fuller, Ralph Santiago, Kenneth Chapman, Willie Baker, Melanie Davis, June Chavez, Tony Williams, John Lee, John Harris, Elsie Perez, Donald Hardy, Megan Johnson, George Craig, Peter Smith, Nicholas Holland, Minnie Norris, Elizabeth Allen, Catherine Kim, Ruth Garza, Tiffany Brown, Robert Pierce, Freddie Nelson, Robert Hansen, Larry Harvey, Clifton Sherman, Daniel Davis, Danielle Hansen
Jesse Lee served Richmond that year. The less famous but great Thomas L. Douglass, was on the James River District. John Buxton, the. Elder, of the Raleigh District, which took in "Haw River, Tar River and Roan Oak," sat in the Quarterly Conference that gave young McAden license to preach. The Virginia Conference (which included, in the main, North Carolina,) held its session of 1814 in Norfolk. McAden's name appears among those received on trial. The two superintendents, Asbury and McKendree, were present. There was no lack of debate. The licentiate found the tongue of the itinerent, like a swivel gun, easily trained on any object at any point of the compass. The "flashes of silence" must have been few. There surely was darkening of counsel by words. The Senior Bishop didn't value men for their much speaking. His journal has this line: "We have been mighty in talk this session." And he did not relish the syllogisms and rhetoric of the fathers! Even they were of like passions with ourselves, and not always wise. It is very reassuring to modern folly, swift to speak. It seems the preachers, and especially the one in Norfolk, had made the fine wardrobes of the sisters a target for their reproof. He was soon "in trouble not as other men," and found how hazardous it was to meddle with "the high heads and enormous bonnets" of the saintly mothers and maidens in Israel. The members brought a pressure on the Elder, and the rash brother was removed. The Conference reviewed the action of the Elder, and a battle of the ribbons, laces and furbelows ensued. Asbury took the part of the girls, and let fly at the dandies in the Conference. He arose amid the debate, and said that he preferred the women even in extravagant dress rather than to see a preacher walk into the Conference room "with fair top boots, red morocco straps hanging down to his ankles, and a great gold watch and seal dangling from a fob. Dr. Bennett, who records this incident, observes "this gave a quietus to the debate, we presume.," A safe conjecture. McAden, at his first Conference, saw the grand old apostle of American Methodism, and saw too the mincing fellows in "fair top boots," badly routed by the batchelor Bishop while the belles in ribbons rejoiced at their discomforture.
The first appointment of the licentiate was Franklin Circuit. It embraced a wide field, probably a territory larger than the present Danville District. One year was the custom. So McAden swung around a great circle in a few years. Franklin, Raleigh, Albemarle Sound, Mecklenburg, Portsmouth, Petersburg, Richmond. He had been preaching eight years and travelling six. In 1820 he laid aside his saddle-bags for a time. A brief note from this venerable minister, now nearing ninety, tells why he ceased to itinerate. There is a subtile humour in the sentence if the reader will "mark the phraseology," as Bishop Early was wont to say. "In 1820 I located, it being the custom in those days that, when a preacher married, he located as a matter of course." "Tempora mutantur." The bachelors now object that the Conference offers a premium on matrimony. In the olden time a "man with a family" was at a heavy discount. Among the eighty preachers of the Virginia Conference present in 1809, Asbury records with evident satisfaction, "there are but three married men." At a subsequent Conference the good Bishop expressed his mind rather freely, saying from his seat, "I wouldn't give one single preacher for a half dozen married ones." Under a rigid rule of marching men out of the ranks " as a matter of course " when they took a wife, we can well account for the zeal of the Norfolk preacher and his brethren in banishing all the bewitchery of dress from his fair hearers. It was self-defence.
In a few years Mr. McAden was re-admitted, and has served through a long period, sometimes as missionary to the blacks, and then on circuits, and for four years on the Danville District, with success in building up the church. Disease now and then disabled him for awhile. He is now a superannuate, and far on in years. Yet, despite his age and infirmities, he has attended to four appointments a month. His work is nearly done. He opened his commission when the giants of Methodism were on the earth. The Church with only one member--a devout woman, Barbara Heck, has "become two bands." The venerable man in a note to this writer says: "I am now waiting the call of the Master."
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