Jesse Lee (March 12, 1758 – September 12, 1816) was an American Methodist Episcopal clergyman and pioneer, born in Prince George's County, Virginia. A preacher after 1783, in 1789 he visited New England and established Methodism from the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

to the farthest settlement in Maine. He formed the first Methodist class in New England, at Stratford, Connecticut, September 26, 1787. He preached his first sermon (outdoors) on June 7 or 17, 1789 in

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

. He held the first Methodist class in Boston, Massachusetts on July 13, 1792. For his pioneer work in New England he was often called the Apostle of Methodism. He was a friend of Francis Asbury, and served as his assistant from 1797 to 1800. He lacked only one vote of being elected Bishop by the General Conference of 1800, but was appointed to be a presiding elder of the south district of Virginia in 1801. He wrote ''A Short Account of the Life and Death of the Rev. John Lee'' (1805) and a ''History of Methodism in America'' (1807), which has value for the early period. On May 22, 1809 Lee was appointed

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

of the United States House of Representatives He was reappointed on November 2, 1812 and served for two sessions. Upon leaving the chaplaincy of the House he was appointed

of the United States Senate on September 27, 1814 where he served until December 1815.

Speech at Norwalk

In June 1789, Lee, came to Norwalk to preach his first sermon in Connecticut. He had some reason to believe that the

Hezekiah Rogers Hezekiah Rogers (1753 – September 4, 1811) was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from Norwalk, Connecticut, Norwalk in the sessions of May 1786, and October 1787. He was a delegate to the convention in Connecticut to ratify ...

house on Cross Street would be available for the meeting, and word had been sent around among those interested to assemble there. When Lee arrived, Hezekiah was not at home, and his wife hesitated to open the house to a public meeting. A neighbor refused to let Lee use her orchard for concern that the gathering would trample down the grass. Finally, Lee assembled his audience under an apple tree by the roadside and preached his sermon from the text "Ye must be born again." Such was the beginning of Methodism in Norwalk. Today, there is a stone marker at the location.Historical Sermons
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Church at Granville

In 1797 the first Methodist Episcopal church west of the Connecticut River was built in Granville, Massachusetts. On September 19, 1798, Jesse Lee and Francis Asbury led the Third New England Annual Conference there.

Literature

* Minton Thrift, ''Memoir of the Rev. Jesse Lee, with Extracts from his Journals'' (New York, 1823) * L. M. Lee, ''Life and Times of Jesse Lee'' (Richmond, Va., 1848) * W. H. Meredith, ''Jesse Lee, A Methodist Apostle'' (New York, 1909)

References

External links

Jesse Lee United Methodist Church in Easton, CT established 1789

Jesse Lee United Methodist Church in Ridgefield, CT established 1789

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071224064953/http://www.gcah.org/Heritage_Landmarks/Cox.htm Cox Memorial United Methodist Church in Hallowell, ME mentions preaching by Jesse Lee in town on October 13, 1793]
Readfield (ME) United Methodist Church Jesse Lee Meeting House dates to 1795

Duncan United Methodist Church in Georgetown, SC mentions Jesse Lee glanding in February 1785

Jesse Lee preached at Dudley Chapel in Sudlersville, MD (est. 1783)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jesse American Methodist clergy Chaplains of the United States Senate Chaplains of the United States House of Representatives History of Methodism in the United States 1758 births 1816 deaths Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Baltimore) History of Methodism Methodist circuit riders People from Prince George County, Virginia

Speech at Norwalk

Church at Granville

See also

Literature

References

External links