Thomas Asbury Morris (28 April 1794 – 2 September 1874) was an American
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
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 ...
, elected in 1836. He also distinguished himself as a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
Circuit rider,
Pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
, and Presiding Elder, and as an
Editor.
Early life and family
Thomas was born near
Charleston (then in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, now in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
). He was the son of John and Margaret Morris, who settled on the
Kanawha River
The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its valley has been a significant industrial region of the st ...
about 1785.
Thomas' early
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
was obtained in the
common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...
s, later pursuing special studies in a school taught by a William Paine, an
Englishman
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
. Before reaching manhood Thomas served three years as an assistant in the office of his brother Edmund, who was
County Clerk. At the age of eighteen, Thomas was
drafted to serve a six-month term in the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...
. Owing to his youth, however, his family obtained a substitute for him, thereby allowing him to avoid
military service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...
(as was common in that day).
Conversion and ministry
For some years Morris was a religious
skeptic
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the ...
. His parents were of the
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
faith. But in 1813, when Thomas was
converted to the Christian faith, he united with the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church. Thomas was licensed to preach 2 April 1814 and was ordained circa 1820 by Methodist Bishop
Robert Richford Roberts
Robert Richford Roberts (August 2, 1778 – March 26, 1843) distinguished himself as an American Methodist Circuit Rider, Pastor, Presiding Elder, and Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1816. He was the first married man in Amer ...
. After serving as a Supply Pastor on a Methodist circuit, the Rev. Morris was admitted into the newly formed
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
Annual Conference of the
M.E. Church, September 1816.
Over the next two years, the Rev. Thomas Asbury Morris traveled
ca. 5,500 miles on
horseback,
preaching some 500 times. During the first twelve years of his ministry he received a mere $2,000 in wages. As a
preacher
A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...
he was concise, clear, instructive, and even sometimes eloquent. His health suffered from his hard labor and exposure in early ministry. In 1820 he was placed in a
supernumerary
Supernumerary means "exceeding the usual number".
Supernumerary may also refer to:
* Supernumerary actor, a performer in a film, television show, or stage production who has no role or purpose other than to appear in the background, more commonl ...
relation, but was sent to
Lancaster, Ohio
Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, in the south-central part of the state. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,552. The city is near the Hocking River, about southeast of Columbus and southwest of Zanesville. It is ...
(at that time, a newly constituted station).
Subsequently, Rev. Morris was transferred to the
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
Annual Conference. In 1824 he was first elected a delegate to General Conference. He would be elected to every General Conference thereafter until his election to the episcopacy. In 1826 he was appointed presiding elder of the
Green River Green River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
* Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River
*Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte
*Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
District. That year he also suffered from a shock of
paralysis, and was afterwards transferred back to the Ohio Conference. In spite of impaired health, however, he remained a dedicated student and a wide reader. After having been stationed in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
for several years, he was, in 1833, appointed presiding elder of the Cincinnati District. In April 1834 he was appointed
editor of the ''
Western Christian Advocate,'' an important
periodical
A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...
of his denomination, headquartered in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
. As early as 1835 he was known to be an advocate of total
abstinence (from alcoholic beverage).
The Rev. Thomas Asbury Morris was elected to the
episcopacy
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of the M.E. Church by the 1836 General Conference. He was diligent and faithful in the discharge of all his duties, traveling extensively through the circuit of the Annual Conferences, which then embraced the whole of the settled part of the U.S.A. In 1844, when the church divided North and South over the issue of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, Bishop Morris remained in the Methodist Episcopal Church (the northern branch), notwithstanding that Virginia was his native State. Needless to say, he regretted the separation deeply. The division was healed in 1939 when the M.E. Church, the
M.E. Church, South, and the
M.P. Church reunited to form the
Methodist Church. In 1968 the Methodist Church merged with the
Evangelical United Brethren Church
The Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) was a North American Protestant church from 1946 to 1968. It was formed by the merger of the Evangelical Church (formerly the Evangelical Association, founded by Jacob Albright) and the Church of t ...
to form the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
. For sixteen years of his thirty-six total years in the Episcopacy, Bishop Morris was Senior Bishop of his denomination (following the death of
Bishop Waugh in 1858). He was practical, witty, and blunt, but kind. His spirit was said to be indomitable, and he possessed charming simplicity, both of taste and manner.
McKendree University
McKendree University (McK) is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois. Founded in 1828 as the Lebanon Seminary, it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. McKendree enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduates and nearly 700 graduate ...
gave him the (honorary) degree of
D.D. in 1841.
Later years and death
For several years Bishop Morris was in impaired health, able to do but little official work. Consequently, the General Conference voted to relieve him from any regular duties. His last
illness
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
lasted a little over a week. He died 2 September 1874 in
Springfield, Ohio.
See also
*
List of bishops of the United Methodist Church
This is a list of bishops of the United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations, in order of their election to the episcopacy, both living and dead.
1784–1807
;Founders
* Thomas Coke 1784
* Francis Asbury 1784
* Richard Whatcoat ...
References
* Cyclopaedia of Methodism, Matthew Simpson,
D.D.,
LL.D.
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
, Ed., (''Revised Edition.'')
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, Louis H. Everts, 188
* Minutes of the Ohio Conference, M.E. Church
Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Thomas Asbury
Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church
American Methodist bishops
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
Editors of Christian publications
American newspaper editors
Converts to Christianity
Converts to Methodism
American skeptics
Religious leaders from Charleston, West Virginia
1794 births
1874 deaths
19th-century Methodist bishops
19th-century American bishops
People from Warren County, Ohio
People from West Virginia in the War of 1812