Jesse Lee (March 12, 1758 – September 12, 1816) was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Episcopal

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man and pioneer, born in Prince George's County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. A preacher after 1783, in 1789 he visited

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and established

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

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 into Long Isl ...

to the farthest settlement in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. He formed the first Methodist class in New England, at Stratford,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, September 26, 1787. He preached his first sermon (outdoors) on June 7 or 17, 1789 in

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

. He held the first Methodist class in

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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 Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was a British-American Methodist minister who became one of the first two bishop (Methodist), bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the col ...

, and served as his assistant from 1797 to 1800. He lacked only one vote of being elected

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

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 The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

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 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 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 18th-century American Methodist ministers

Speech at Norwalk

Church at Granville

See also

Literature

References

External links