Margaret Newton Van Cott (25 Mar 1830 – 29 Aug 1914) also known as Margaret Van Cott or Maggie Van Cott, was the first woman to be licensed to preach in 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 ...

Biography

Margaret Ann Newton was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on the 25th of March, 1830. Her father was William K. Newton, a wealthy real estate broker, and her mother was Rachel A. (''née'' Primrose) Newton. She was brought up in the Episcopal Church, the eldest of four children. In January 1848, Margaret Newton married Peter Van Cott, and in 1852 had two girls, one of whom died in infancy. She was involved with her husband's pharmaceutical business, and when he died she supported the family as a sale's person for a time. Her husband died in 1866 and she joined the

shortly thereafter. She had a significant conversion experience in which she recounted later "light rom heavenstreaming in upon her soul" while passing the

John Street Methodist Church The John Street United Methodist Church – also known as Old John Street Methodist Episcopal Church – located at 44 John Street between Nassau and William Streets in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City was built in 1841 ...

in New York City. Some time after her husband's death, Maggie Van Cott devoted her full time to evangelical work. She made her first public address in a school in Durham, New York in 1866. The same year she also led Bible Study classes in Five Points, New York at a mission founded by Phoebe Worrall Palmer. Her success led her to be invited to conduct a number of revival meetings in February 1868. She continued to be invited to speak a various locations and received an exhorter's license from the Reverend A. C. Morehouse in September 1868, which allowed her to conduct prayer meetings; this was followed on March 6, 1869 with a local preacher's license in

Ellenville, New York Ellenville is a village within the town of Wawarsing, Ulster County, New York, United States. Its population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. Geography The village of Ellenville is about 90 miles northwest of New York City and 90 miles southwest ...

. Although there was some opposition to a "lady preacher," she became very popular and successful. In 1872 Bishop

Gilbert Haven Gilbert Haven (September 19, 1821 – January 3, 1880) was a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1872. He was consecrated a bishop on May 24, 1872 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. He was an early benefactor of Clar ...

said "She is without doubt today the most popular, most laborious, and most successful preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church." It was said that by her 50th birthday she had traveled 143,417 miles, held 9,933 revival meetings, and given 4,294 sermons. She died at home on August 29, 1914 in

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

at eighty-four.

Biography

References

Further reading