Jesse Walker (June 9, 1766 - October 5, 1835) was the

Buckingham County, Virginia Buckingham County is a rural United States county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and containing the geographic center of the state. Buckingham County is part of the Piedmont region of Virginia, and the county seat is Buckingham. B ...

-born Methodist minister who built Missouri's first Methodist church in the predominantly French-Catholic city of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

in 1819, and the first Methodist church in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1831. He organized this first permanent Methodist group in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

at St. Louis on January 7, 1821, after previously finding 20 members in 1807. On August 10, 1821, Missouri entered the Union as the 24th state. In 1822, the Methodists held their annual conference in St. Louis.

Early life

Walker was born into a Baptist family, but he joined the Methodist Church at the age of 10. Walker married Susannah Webly, who was from a staunch Virginia Episcopalian family. The native Virginia couple traveled to North Carolina and then Tennessee, settling near Nashville. Walker supported his family by dressing furs and preparing deer-hides, the most common material for clothing in this era.

Methodist ministry

Walker was also the founder of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

in Illinois and Missouri. He has been considered perhaps the Methodist Church's most pioneer frontier preacher as between 1802 and 1835 he served from Tennessee to Missouri and from Southern Illinois to Wisconsin. Walker was also instrumental in spreading Christianity to the Native Americans.

Illinois

He preached in Tennessee and Kentucky until 1806 when presiding elder

William McKendree William McKendree (July 6, 1757 – March 5, 1835) was an Evangelist and the fourth Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the first Methodist bishop born in the United States. He was elected in 1808. Early years William was born in King ...

selected Walker to be the lone Methodist representative for Illinois as the previous appointee did not fill out the year, making him the fourth Methodist preacher appointed to this state. Walker, his wife, and their two teenage daughters settled in

St. Clair County, Illinois St. Clair County is the oldest county in Illinois; its western border is formed by the Mississippi River, bordering Missouri. It is a part of the Metro East in southern Illinois. At the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 257,400 ...

. In April 1807, he held what is thought to have been the first camp meeting in Illinois near present-day

Edwardsville, Illinois Edwardsville is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Illinois, and is a suburb of St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri ...

. Years later in 1820, the first Methodist Conference ever held in Illinois was located at a place which became known as

Shiloh, Illinois Shiloh is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 census recorded a population of 12,651. Shiloh is located within the St. Louis metropolitan area History A site known as "Three Springs" for its geological characteri ...

. In 1812, Walker was made presiding elder of the Illinois District which had been organized a year earlier.

Missouri

Between 1816 and 1819, Walker was moved to the Missouri District as he had previously traveled into the state in 1807 and 1809. With little money and materials, Walker was given some Illinois trees to be used as logs for the construction of the first Methodist church in Missouri. The local Episcopalians had lost their pastor and decided to donate their pulpit and pews. This first church measured 25 by 30 feet.

Return to Illinois

In 1826 Jesse Walker established a mission at the head of Mission Creek, just three miles from the present town of Sheridan, Illinois. Walker was sent to

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, in 1828. In 1830, Walker was appointed to the Chicago Mission.

Death

His wife Susannah Webly Walker died in 1832. Jesse Walker died in 1835 in

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. He was buried in a pioneer cemetery. In 1850, his remains were moved to the Plainfield Township Cemetery in Plainfield, Illinois. A historical marker was erected in 1911 by the Methodist Church.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Jesse 1766 births 1835 deaths History of Methodism in the United States Methodist ministers