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Title
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Case, William
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extracted text
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I
Michigan M ethod ism is indeb ted to no o ne p erso n m o re than William
Case for giv ing o ur church its ea rl y sta rt in th e territory which later came
to be the state of Michigan.
W/liam
Father of Michigan Methodism
they preached in t he market house,
us ing a butcher's block for t heir
r ostrum. The sou ls of many people
veal that Michigan Methodists
were quickened for God. Before
have had heroes and mighty men
of valor, who were second to none. boyhood his fami ly moved to the t he end of the year they held a
A current college textbook in hills of eastern New York at Chat- camp meeting with 2500 people
American history devotes a page ham. He had a good c o m m o n in attendance!
to the Methodists on t he Mid- school ed ucat ion. He was conIn 1809 William Case was apwestern frontier in t he early 19t h vel-ted in February 1803. Next he pointed to the Detroit country.
cent ury, and cites an example, became a n exhorter, then a local His circui t cover ed the settlements
Peter Cartwright, most famous of preacher, and by 1805 was recom- a long the Thames River from the
all the early circuit rider s. Cart- mended to t he New York Confer- present Thamesville to Lake St.
wright was a colorful figure, who ence as a traveling i t in era n t. Clair, the New Settlements along
gained fame in part because he Th er e Bishop Asbury called for Lake Erie to t he south, t he towns
ran against Lincoln for Congress, volun teers to go to Canada. W.il- of Malden and Sandwich on the
and publi shed two boo]{s of a uto- liam Case volunteered to go. He Canadian s ide of the Detroit River,
was a ppointed to Quinte Circuit and Detroit itself .
biogr aphy.
as
j unior preacher w ith H enry
Unfortunately Michigan MethAs Case thought about his
Ryan.
odists have not been as literary
ass ignment, his heart almost failed
minded as those in other states.
On his way to Canada, the young him. This was a most isolated
We have almost no published his- preacher was so im pressed as to area, and supposed to be the most
tories or biographies. The accom- his inadequacy, that he dismount- w icked on the continent. Nathan
plishments of our leader s and eel from his hor se, knelt in the Bangs, a r espected m ember of t he
mighty men have not been trump- woods and prayed earnest ly for Confer ence and soon to become an
eted a broad, and are generally for- God's help. Presently he seemed outstanding leader in Methodism,
gotten. In t he hope that we may to hear a voice speaking to him, had tried her e in 1804; he had failbe inspir ed and have our histor- "I wi ll go before thee - will pre- ed utterly in Detr oit and the cirical in terest whetted a bit, I would par e t he hear ts of the people to cuit had been given up. Case did
like to lift the veil on a few of the receive thee." And he r ode boldly not know a single person in this
early leader s in Michigan Meth- on and had a successful year .
area ; he had no missionary money
odism . A man whose accomplishTher e was no Methodist society Ol' visible m eans of support. The
ments were surely as considerable in Kingston; Case and R yan made people wer e said to be rude, unas those of Cartwright, was Wil- a particular effor t to rouse the Christian, and uncultivated. They
liam Case, the man who laid the people there. They would ride into were g iven to drunl<enness, imfo undation of Michigan Methodism , town, put t heir horses in a stable, morality, and gambling, along with
and went on to become a great lock arms and go singing down the crude fronti er pleasures ; they had
Canadian Methodist leader and street a stirring ode beginning no r espect for the Sabbath. The
foun der of missionary work among with, " Come, let us march to Zion's French population was Roman
the Canadian Indians.
Hill. " By the time they reached Catholic and hostile, and quite preWilliam Case was bor n in Swan- t he market place, they usually had dominant, especially in Detroit.
sea, Mass., Aug. 27, 1780. In his collected a lar ge assembly. There Some of the magistrates forbade
forthcoming "History of
T HE
Michigan Methodism" will re-
4
l~
By RONALD A. BRUNGER
I'?·csiclcnt, Detro-it Conference Histo1·ical
Society
MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE
-1
peoplt to have religious meetings
in" their homes on penalty of a
heavy f ine. That year one rough
fellow came to a meeting with a
r ope, declar ing t hat he would hang
Case if he did not preach to suit
him. Case we i g h e d t he odds
against him and wrote: "And to
meet all these difficult ies I f ear I
have neither Wisdom, Gifts, nor
Grace to conduct such an impor tant mission. "
He prayed earnestly f or divine
aid, and r ode westward with hol:v
gallantr y. After a week of r iding
his horse from the seat of conference in New Yorl( City he preached his f irst sermon on h is new territory in a house at Thamesville
on t he text Heb. 13 :2, "Be not f orgetful to entertain strangers : f or
t her eby some have entertained
angels unawares." We smile at
the text. It was a text to r emind
the people of their r eligious duty
and privilege to entertain the circuit rider as he came ar ound on
his sacr ed work, and quite certainly it was needed. He used this text
quite often on his fi rst r ound. He
preached each clay in a differ ent
place, working his way slowly clown
t he Thames River and said, "The
Lor d seemed to work mightily in
the hear ts of t he people."
He went down to t he settlements
along Lake Erie, and pr eached to
t hem on Esau who sold his bir thright. Wit hin a few days t he
people wer e gr eatly affected and
concerned over t heir souls' salvation; a revival broke out and Case
was obliged to delay his f irst visit
to Detroit . On July 16 he or ganized a society with 14 member s,
"the f irst and only Methodist Society in 200 m iles."
It was near the end of September 1809 when W.illiam Case f irst
visited Detroit . As he understood
that there were no religious people
t here, he went str aight to the governor, for he says. "I knew of none
more wor thy than the r uler s ought
to be." He introduced himself as
a minister of the gospel an d req uested t he privilege of pr eaching
in the Council House. The governor was very cordial and ordered
the Council House prepared and
FEBRUARY 28, 1963
there he preached to "crowded and
listening congregations."
Case met up with some of the
persecution in Detroit that he had
expected. On one occasion he had
plainly denounced t he sins of the
people. Some of the youth offendeel at his plain-spoken denunciat ion of their follies, broke into the
stable wher e his horse was kept
and closely sheared its m ane and
ta il. Th e next morning the daunt less minister mounted his hor se
and r ode through town. Some of
the leading cit izens wer e very mort if ied by the indig nity shown t he
preacher and his horse and offered
to pay a large sum for t he hor se
but Case would not sell. H is horse
was never again molested.
In the beginning he met up with
a ver y t rying kind of per secution.
Probably Case had to r ent a r oom
and hire his board at f irst. On his
meager salar y (provided he was
to get it and t his was not certain )
he could not afford this. Tr usting in· Providence, William Case
soon found a f ri end in Robert Abbott, Auditor General of t he Territor y. Abbott had been a f ur
t rader ; I imagine that on his periodic t rips to Montreal he had become fam iliar with th e good work
of the Methodist circuit r i d e r s
whose lar ge circuits cover ed the
Canadian bor der f r om Hamilton
east. Abbott lived a mile south,
down t he river , and invited Case to
make his horne his stopping place.
Mrs. Abbot-t, however , was not so
fri enclly. She slighted him when
her husband was not at horne,
leaving him in a cold room and
neglecting t o feed him.
Case came to Detroit on one of
his r ounds t hat winter , stopping
at Abbott's offi ce. Abbott was
very busy but instructed the circuit r ider to go on to his home
saying that he would follow as
soon as possible. Mrs. Abbott saw
the pr eacher corning and determined not to give hospitality.
Though she !mew he must be both
cold and hung ry, she kept him
standing in the cold until he was
sure t hat he would not be admitted .
He finally went back t o town and
took a hotel room. When Abbott
came home he inquired for the
mini ster. His wife stated that he
had not been there. Abbott went
back, sear ched him out, and
brought him to his home.
The two men spent much time
in private conversation. Abbott
was seeldng religions light and instruction. His suspicious wife,
curious as to what they were
doing, looking thr ough a keyhole
one day, was astonished to f ind
t hem on their lmees in prayer . At
t he end of the year early in J une
1810, a camp meeting was held on
t he Thames River in Canada. Abbott, in his spiritual hunger , went
to the camp meeting, taking his
family and h is own tent. Ther e
Abbott was converted. Shortly
after, his wife also ·was converted,
then her sister and husband, Maria
and William McCarty. This was
t he f r uitage of Case's labor s.
·william Case at the end of 10
and one-half mont hs on the Detr oit
Circui t could report amazing results. Indifference and h ostility to
relig ion had been overcome. Methodism was established in southwestern Ontario and in Detroit . Case
repor ted to t he Bishop that a Methodist Society would be organized
in Detroit that fall when a new
minister came. This carne to pass.
The first Methodist Society in
Michigan was organized with
seven members including the Abbotts and the McCar tys with William McCar ty as class leader .
And for m any year s the Abbotts
would be pillars of t he Detroit
church. Case repor ted that the
people in the settlements along the
Thames River had been quickened
and that a r evival had spread over
the Lake Erie Settlements. Case
r eported 78 members received and
40 pr aying families. He h ad received his eA.1)enses of $30, h is
salar y of $80, some money for the
conference, and $10 left behind to
help pay for two ministers the following year. His faith had been
victorious.
How did Case achieve such
amazing results ? He charged into
a difficult situation with a holy
daring. He made a forthright witness ever ywhere. Once he felt impr essed to speak to a tavern keeper.
Continued on page 19
_,
JA"
William Case Father of Michigan Methodism
Continued from page 5
He obtained a private audience with him
and in "a plain a nd affectionate manner"
told him that God had pronounced a woe
a ga inst him for pu t ting the bottle to
his neighbor's mouth; bes ides he would
be called on t o answer in part for their
loss of t im e and property, the sufferings
of their families and fina lly "for t he sins
they committed while intoxicated and
the loss of their souls at last. Th e man
seemed confounded, owned what I said
was true and .thanked me for my advice.
We parted in fri endship and my soul
had great peace in God."
H e vis ited a man and hi s wife and
exhorted them to s eek the Lord. He
joined t heir hands and "they promised
to set out for Heaven together." He
vis ited a prisoner at Malden and called
on him to repent and put his trust in
Chris t. Thus he worked directly a nd
incessantly.
And I cannot help thinking that Case's
character and per sonality made a great
impact upon t he p eople. Pilcher states
that Case was "a man of athletic f rame,
dignified and commanding in his J1ers onal appearance, of indomitable perseverance, of a strong and vigorous mind,
of clos e obse rva t ion, of a kind and sweet
s pirit." He was indus trious and zealous,
and much more. He was amiable and
cheerful, an interesting conversationalist. He wa s a sweet singer, and often
closed his sermons mos t effectively with
a hymn.
His brother ministers appreciated him; he was unselfishly r eady to
work on the mos t difficult circuits ; he
did not murmur or compla in. A younger
colleague characterized him thus : "William Case, that loving, gentle, Chris tlike di sciple that humble, zealous,
faithful minis t er of J esus - who that
kn ew him did not admire and love him."
The people loved Case. When he r eturned to Canada after the war of 1812
to become Presiding Elder over ci rcuits
he had former ly served (including the
Detroit), the people r ejoiced.
Let us illustrate Cas e'::; pers onali ty
by the following example. Mus ic was
oft en his solace on hi s long rides through
the woods from on e pioneer settlemen t
to another. Once he was journeying
throug h the fores t on a hot, sultry day
wh en the birds were s till, and all nature
seemed to lie in a state of torpor, and
even Ca se was inclined to feel dejected
in s p iri t . This would never do. So h e
hal ted his horse, dismounted, cut a
bran ch, and made himself a whis tle. He
remounted hi s horse and as he star ted
on began g a ily to play his whistle. His
chronicler writes : "His own spirits were
r evived, his hor se seemed livelier, all the
birds beg an to s ing, and he went on his
way rejoicing." Truly this man was a
joyous troubadour f or God!
W e Jack th e s pa ce to do more tha n
indicate briefly Case's s ubsequen t fruitJ"EBRUi\RY 2 8, 1963
fu l caree r, after hi s epocha l minis try in
180fJ-1810 in the Detroit coun t1·y. After
only f ive yea rs of minis teria l experience,
Case was Presiding Elder of two di s tricts
in New York fl"Om 1810 to 1815. At the
end of the war in 1815 he wa s made Pres iding Elder of th e Up J~e t· Canada District, ex tending from Kings ton to Detroit. The times were difficult in t he
wake of the wa r; half the members hip
of the societies had been swept away by
t he antirelig ious s pirit of th e war; there
was an ti-American feeling and Case was
deemed to be the ma n n eeded for leadership.
William Cas e was a delegate to the
General Conference at Baltimore in 1816
and took part in the m emorial service
for Bishop Asbury. In 1816 the Genesee
Conference s witched Case to the Lower
Canada District, including the r egion
about Ottawa and Montreal, and placed
•
Cttrtoon of the Week
•
a nd delega te to the Genera l Confer ence.
Upon the org anizat ion of the independent Methodi st Episcopal Church of Canada in 1828, William Case was elected
g eneral superintendent pro tempore and
served for five years.
After the union with the British Conference in 1833, Case confined himself
t o the cause of I ndian Mi ssions. H e
had ea r ly felt interested in the welfare
of the Indians. H e had dared to try
preaching to the Indians when his fellow
mini s ters thought that they could not
be Christianized. He tried one time to
impress a company of Indians with the
great love of God in giving his Son to
die for th e world. They shook their
heads and murmured their dislike of
the idea that an innocent being should
be made to die for the gui lty. Perceiving
this he told them the story of Pocahontas
and Captain Smith and how Pocahontas
had offered her life in place of the
white man and t hus for her sake Smith's
life had been saved. Now the Indians
approved and unders tood the gospel
message.
hi s colleague Ryan in the wes t. Ryan
was an impetuous man who had strongly
opposed British Methodi st mi ssionaries
who were coming into the Montreal
area . It was felt that Case's suavity
and moderation would bring about better feeling between the two Methodis t
g roups.
From 1822 on, Case vigorously promoted mis sionary work among the Indians. He raised up workers and found
support. After 1833 he gave himself
entirely to the cause. He h eld the posts
of Superintendent of Indian Missions,
Superintendent of Indian translations,
and fina lly Superintendent of an Indian
Ind ustria l School at Alderville. The
work f lourished and g r ew amazingly. In
1831 John Sunday and other converted
Indians went to the S oo and laid t he
foundation of Indian Missions in the
Upper P eninsula.
Ca se vis ited the sessions of the Michiga n Conference held in Detroit in 1853;
he preached and r eviewed the past to
the great interes t a nd pleasure of the
confer ence members who were delighted
to s ee and hear him. At the age of 75,
he was s till active in the work of Indian
missions. He died on October 19, 1855,
as the r esult of a broken leg, suffered
in a fall from his horse!
Case served continuously as Pres iding E lder of one of the two Canadian
Districts until 1828, from 1820 to 1824
again in wes tern Ontario. He preached
in 1820 at the mou th of Pine River (St.
Clair). In 1822 he as sis t ed in the first
camp meeting held in Michigan on the
banks of the River Rouge. In 1824
Case was to have been g iven an important p-osition in the States. Henry Ryan
a t this t ime was ag itating a place for
the local preachers in the conference,
and that Cana dia n Methodis m should be
independent. The Canadian Church was
in s omething· of a turmoil, and the
Bishops decided that Case's presence in
Canada was indispens able to t he welfare
of the Church. Case was an able administr a tor a s well as preacher. He had
good judg ment, courage, and honesty ;
he had th e capacity to discern the talents of hi s f ell ow mini s ter s. He was
elected Conference Secretary repeatedly
Few church leaders were more honored and beloved in their day then
William Case. F ew, outs ide of an Asbury or a Wesley, have matched the
accomplishm ents of Ca se. In his youthful ministry he laid th e foundation of
our church in Michigan and the neighboring area of Canada. For many years
he piloted the ship of state of Canadian
Methodis m. He promoted almos t sing leha nded a remarkable mission to the Canadian Indians. He has been called "The
Apostle to the American Indians," or
ag ain, "The Father of Canadian Mis s ions." Elijah Pilcher in his "History of
Pt·otestantis m in Michigan," pays our
proper tribute to William Cas e: "We in
Michigan love and honor him , and even
venerate him, because he was honored
of God a s the instrumen t of la ying t he
foundation of Methodis m in our Penins ula r State." Su rely, "he being dead,
yet speaketh."
19
Page 1 of2
Rev William Case (1780- 1855)- Find A Grave Memorial
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Death:
Aug. 27, 1780
Swansea
Bristol County
Massachusetts, USA
Sep. 19, 1855
Northumberland County
Ontario, Canada
!Wi
~
l eave IIOWNl:
aruf a nol e
\
v
Rev. William Case was the eldest son of
George and Patience (Mason) Case. Hester
"Hetty" Ann (Hubbard) Case was his 1st wife.
They were married May 4, 1829. Eliza (Barnes)
Case was his 2nd wife. They were married
August 28, 1833. He was a minister in the New
York Conference, Genesee (now Western New
York) Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church/Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada.
A Description of Rev. William Case by Rev.
Nathan Bangs - "He was about five feet, eight
inches high, and in every way wellproportioned, he had a pleasant expression of
countenance, while yet there was an air of
solemnity about him, that could hardly fail to
leave the impression that his mind was chiefly
fixed upon the interests of the world to come.
His voice was clear and he spoke easily and
fluently."
Canadian Methodist Ministers, 1800-1825
He was received on trial in 1805, Methodist
Episcopal, 1805 Bay of Quinte, 1806
Oswegatchie, 1807 ordained and appointed
Ulster Circuit, 1808 Jerseyville/Ancaster
(Wentworth County), 1808 Hallowell, 1809
Detroit, 1810-1827 Presiding Elder of the
Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada and
Northwestern New York, 1816 Smith's Creek
Circuit, 1827 Peterborough, 1828 General
Superintendent of Indian School and Missions
in Upper Canada, 1833 joined Wesleyan
Conference, 1851-1855 Alderville- with
permission to visit different parts of the work,
as his health and circumstances may permit
Hopkins, John Castell, editor
Canada: An Encyclopaedia Of The Country- c1898, Pgs. 300-301
The Rev. William Case
The Ulster Circuit comprised the whole range
of the Catskill Mountains. He was elected a
Canadian delegate to the General Conference
of the American Methodist Episcopal Church at
Cincinnati, Ohio in 1836.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Central United Methodist Church (Detroit,
Michigan) - located at 23 East Adams (the
corner of Woodward Avenue and Adams) - was
designated a Michigan State Historic Site in
1977, listed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 1982. In 1809 Rev. William Case
wrote to Bishop Francis Asbury and said that
http://www. findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=66 l 50667
7/22/20 12
Rev William Case (1780- 1855)- Find A Grave Memorial
Page 2 of2
he found it difficult to find "any serious people"
In Detroit. He finally found a few who wanted
to form a congregation. By 1810 the
congregation was established as the First
Methodist Society of Michigan - thus Central
Methodist Episcopal Church became the first
organized Protestant congregation In what was
then the Michigan Territory.
Family links:
Parents:
George Case (1760 - 1825)
Patience Mason Case (1764 - 1799)
Spouse:
Hester Ann Hubbard Case (1796 - 1831)*
* Calculated r elationship
Inscription:
"Sacred To The Memory Of
Rev. William Case,
the father of Canadian Methodist Missions of
the Canadian Tribes,
died at Alderville, October 19, 1855 in the 76th
year of his life, and the 56th year of his
ministry"
Burial:
Alderville Reser ve Cemetery
Northumberland County
Ontario, Canada
Created by: Mary Jane Haight-Eckert
Record added: Feb 26, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial # 66150667
Accuracy and Copy right Discl a1m er
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bi nlfg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=66 150667
7/22/201 2
u" \VM a . ••
preacher in 1802, describes him as " a very pious man, a man oflllrli.or
love for the cause of Christ, of great zeal in his work na a Ininis~t
brave Irishman, and a man who labored as if the judgment th ter, ": · .
undcra·
.
.
were to follow each sermon. H e was sometimes overbearin~ · th .
-~ In
·-·
administration of discipline, but with that exception he performed~ -~
duties in every part of his work as a minister of Christ as faithiu]l
Yaa
any man I ever 1..-new."
The period of Ryan's Presiding Eldership on the Upper Canada,
District, like that of Black in Nova Scotia, was of quite unusual
length, covering a period of about fourteen years, till the organization
of the Canada Annual Conference in 1824. Ryan remained in Canada
through the War of 1812, being a Briton by ancestry and by pre£.
erence, though by birth he was a citizen of the Republic, and during
those troublous times he was the recognized head of Methodism in ..
Upper Canada. He traveled the whole range of country from Mon.' .
treal indefinitely northward, called out Canadian preachers to supply . ,,
the work, and held at least three _Annual Conferences qn .his own ·
authority, at which he oc~upied the chair of the Bishop.
For some years after the war there was a strenuous movement in
Canada to bring about a separation from the American Church, which, ~
in 1824, led to the organization of the Canada Conference, and four
years afterward to the establishment of the Methodist Episcopal Church
of Canada. To this movement Elder Ryan lent himself with cham~"~
terist.ic vehemence ; but its progress was too slow to suit his impetuous '·"
nature, and, having no great love for the brethren across the border,
he withdrew from their fellowship in 1827, only a year before
. R~_!;J?.:-ati cr• ,,.,. hi~~~ "' !''"lght Wl-'.8 !l.CCOt.!q~!ish~d.
Ip. J. ?.9::l1H~ ~~d.~:.·;.~~~~~~~~
A
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,·i;
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-n e
1\ I u~+r--a+eJ ~ l'.;tM-~
o+ Mef(\ oJ( S\1<
b~ 'Rev. ll\l. H. 't>a.vtiels. New 'Y0 v-k /g<t1, p, 7~ 3,
WILLI~!
CAS E.
Canada in 1805 was William Case, then a young man of twenty..fi,
a native of Massachusetts, a man of deep piety, and destined to a me1
orable career. He was ordained by Bishop Asbury, and the first e
years of ills ministry were spent under the direction of the New Yo:
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Thereafter for
period of seventeen years-from 1810 to 1828-he held the post c
Presiding Elder in Canada; he and Ryan being the two chief admini
tr:J.tc::-s of Dpp<:r Canadian Methodisl1l. In the. htter year Case w:
Case, William