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John Emory (April 11, 1789 – 1835) 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 ca ...
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 1832. He is the namesake for
Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
and Emory & Henry College, both Methodist-affiliated American universities.


Early life and family

John was born at Spaniard's Neck,
Queen Anne's County, Maryland Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville i ...
. His parents were Methodists, his father a jurist who designed him for the law. His mother, however, who had been converted under Garrettson, devoted John at birth to the ministry. His eldest son Robert, born in 1814, became a professor of Latin and Greek at
Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...
in 1836 and later its president. In 1841 he published a biography of his father, ''Life of the Rev. John Emory''. He was educated by tutors at Easton and
Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
, and in
Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...
,
Chestertown, Maryland Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 5,252 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. History Founded in 1706, Chestertown rose in stature when it was named one of the English col ...
. He experienced "saving grace" at a
Quarterly Meeting A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
in 1806. He studied law in 1805 in the office of Judge R.T. Earle,
Centreville, Maryland Centreville is an incorporated town in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, United States on the Delmarva Peninsula. Incorporated in 1794, it is the county seat of Queen Anne's County. The population was 4,285 at the 2010 census. The ZIP code is 216 ...
, and was admitted to the bar in 1808. But his attention soon turned to the pulpit, against his father's protests, and he entered the Traveling Ministry of the Philadelphia
Annual Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...
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 1810.


Ministry

Emory became well known, and his services were much in demand throughout the
Middle States The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional accreditation of public and private schools in the Mid-Atla ...
. He was elected a Member of the General Conference of 1816, and then to each succeeding General Conference (with one exception) through 1832 (when he 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 ...
). He was sent as a delegate to the British Wesleyan Conference in 1820. He was appointed Book Agent and Editor for the M.E. Church in 1824, with offices 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 ...
. While a bishop, he continued his interest in the
Book Concern A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
, and during his management thereof was successful in paying-off all its debts, returning it to a solid foundation. He was especially active in promoting the improvement of the literature of the M. E. Church. For example, he founded the ''"
Methodist Quarterly Review Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
,"'' nearly all the original articles in the first two volumes being from his own pen. He was prominent in the founding of
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
and of
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
, and was one of the principal organizers of
Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...
as a Methodist school. He was an able debater. In 1817 in a pamphlet controversy, he used his literary weapons, not unsuccessfully, against Bishop White of the
Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
. In the controversy of 1828 which led to the founding of the
Methodist Protestant Church The Methodist Protestant Church (MPC) is a regional Methodist Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1828 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, remaining Wesleyan in doctrine and worship, but adopting ...
he was the chief defender of existing M.E. polity. He was of a logical turn of mind, and had command of a pure, clear, and vigorous style. As a bishop he was largely influential in giving the ''
Methodist Episcopal Book of Discipline The ''Book of Discipline'' constitutes the law and doctrine of the United Methodist Church. It follows similar works for its predecessor denominations. It was originally published in 1784, in the Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Epis ...
'' its present form.


College and university namesakes

Bishop Emory died in an 1835 carriage accident near his Maryland home. The next year, Methodists chartered both Emory College (later
University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
) at
Oxford, Georgia Oxford is a city in Newton County, Georgia, Newton County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the city population was 2,134. It is the location of Oxford College of Emory University. Mu ...
and Emory & Henry College in southwestern Virginia. (The co-eponym for the latter is
Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736June 6, 1799) was an American attorney, planter, politician and orator known for declaring to the Second Virginia Convention (1775): " Give me liberty, or give me death!" A Founding Father, he served as the first an ...
.) Both maintain their Methodist associations. Bishop Emory is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Baltimore near the graves of Bishops
Francis Asbury Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the colonies and the newly independent United States, he devoted his life to ...
and
Beverly Waugh Beverly Waugh (1789–1858) was an American who was a Methodist pastor, book agent, and Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1836. Birth and early years Waugh was born on October 28, 1789, in Fairfax County, Virginia, the son o ...
. Emory United Methodist Church in New Oxford, PA, erected in 1887, was named for him after he helped to establish the Emory Sunday School during the church's early years - between 1832 and 1835. University of the Pacific named one of the College Park neighborhood streets in San Jose "Emory Street" in his honor.


Position on slavery

Bishop John Emory owned slaves. Bishop Emory, presiding at the New Hampshire Conference in August 1835, opposed
abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...
.https://www.mtsu.edu/borders/archives/1/Methodist_Bishops_and_Abolitionism.pdf abolition


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 ...


Notes


References

Attribution *


Sources

* Leete, Frederick DeLand, ''Methodist Bishops.'' Parthenon Press, 1948.
Border States: Journal of the Kentucky-Tennessee American Studies Association, No. 1, (1973)
Methodist Bishops and Abolitionism, Fred J. Hood, Georgetown College.


External links


An Emory History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emory, John American Methodist Episcopal bishops Founders of schools in the United States 1789 births 1835 deaths American book editors American magazine editors American publishers (people) American religious writers E Wesleyan University people University and college founders Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church Methodist ministers Washington College alumni People from Queen Anne's County, Maryland Converts to Christianity Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Baltimore) 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American bishops 19th-century Methodist bishops