CHAPTER XXV.. The Methodist Episcopal Church.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

Founding of the M. E. Church of America in 1768.--Negro Servants and Slaves among the First Contributors to the Erection of the First Chapel in New York.--The Rev. Harry Hosier the First Negro Preacher in the M. E. Church in America.--His Remarkable Eloquence as a Pulpit Orator.--Early Prohibition against Slave-holding in the M. E. Church.--Strength of the Churches and Sunday-schools of the Colored Members in the M. E. Church.--The Rev. Marshall W. Taylor, D.D.--His Ancestors.--His Early Life and Struggles for an Education.--He Teaches School in Kentucky.--His Experiences as a Teacher.--Is ordained to the Gospel Ministry and becomes a Preacher and Missionary Teacher.--His Settlement as Pastor in Indiana and Ohio.--Is given the Title of Doctor of Divinity by the Tennessee College.--His Influence as a Leader, and his Standing as a Preacher 465