Richard Whatcoat
Richard Whatcoat (1736-1806)
You can hear an audio recording of this post on episode 46 of the Methodical Methodist Podcast!
He has been described as one of the saintliest men in the itinerancy of Methodism. Richard Whatcoat was a Band and Class Leader in the Early Methodist Movement. He traveled as a circuit riding preacher. He served as a missionary to America. And he ultimately served as the third Bishop of the American Methodist Episcopal Church. From his humble beginnings in England to his pioneering work in spreading Methodism across the American colonies, Whatcoat’s journey is one of faith, resilience, and unwavering dedication to his calling.
Richard Whatcoat was born on February 23, 1736, in the parish of Quinton in Gloucester, England. He was brought up in a Christian home by his parents Charles and Mary Whatcoat who were both members of the Church of England. One of Whatcoat’s pastors growing up was the Reverend Samuel Taylor, the vicar of Quinton, who was also a member of the newly formed Methodist movement. He preached three times every Sunday and held weekly class meetings within his own home.
Reverend Samuel Taylor was an early convert to the Methodist cause. In fact, he had attended the very first Methodist Conference in London on Monday, June 25, 1744. He was one of the six ministers present at that Conference along with John Wesley, Charles Wesley, John Hodges, Henry Piers, and John Meriton.[i] Furthermore, Samuel Taylor was also present at the Methodist Conference of 1746 at the New Room in Bristol.
First Methodist Conference in 1744
And so, the Whatcoat family learned about the Methodist movement from their pastor. Richard Whatcoat’s mother, Mary, became a Methodist herself. In his memoirs, Whatcoat said this of his mother:
“I believe my mother walked in the form and enjoyed the power of Godliness more than thirty years, and died in the triumph of faith in the year 1771.”[ii]
Richard Whatcoat’s father, Charles, died when Richard was very young, leaving behind his widow Mary and their five children – two sons and three daughters. All of the children were trained in the traditions of the church and brought up in the Christian faith.
Charles left behind a small estate, so the children did not have many education opportunities. So, Mary decided that it was important for her sons to learn a trade. At 13 years old, young Richard Whatcoat started as an apprentice to Joseph Jones of Birmingham, although we do not know the nature of this trade. Jones soon moved to Darlaston in Staffordshire, where Whatcoat served out the remainder of his apprenticeship. During the eight years of his apprenticeship, Whatcoat says this about this particular time of his life:
“I was never heard to swear a vain oath, nor was ever given to lying, gambling, drunkenness, or any other presumptuous sin, but was commended for my honesty and sobriety, and from my childhood I had, at times, serious thoughts on death and eternity.”[iii]
After finishing his apprenticeship, at the age of 21, Whatcoat left Darlaston and went to Wednesbury which was close to his hometown to begin his new career. He was staying with a family there in this town while he was getting himself established. Wednesbury had developed a negative reputation for its mobs and riots against the church. In describing the town of Wednesbury, Whatcoat writes:
“Here I found myself in continual danger of losing the little religion I had, as the family in which I lived had no religion at all. Therefore I took the first opportunity that offered of removing to another place. A kind Providence directed me to a family that feared God and wrought righteousness.”[iv]
While staying with this second family in Wednesbury, Whatcoat was brought into even closer contact with the people called Methodists. He began immediately attending Methodist Meetings where he was convicted by the Holy Spirit as he listened to the Gospel being preached by Methodist preachers. Whatcoat describes one experience he had at a Methodist Meeting writing:
“And when the preacher was describing the fall of man, I thought he spoke to me in particular, and spoke as if he had known everything that ever was in my heart. When he described the nature and fruits of faith, I was conscious I had it not; and though I believed all the Scripture to be of God, yet I had not the marks of a Christian believer. And I was convinced that if I died in the state wherein I then was, I should be miserable forever. Yet I could not conceive how I that had lived so sober a life could be the chief of sinners. But this was not long; for I no sooner discovered the spirituality of the law, and the enmity that was in my heart against God, than I could heartily agree to it.”[v]
On September 3, 1758, Whatcoat began feeling overwhelmed with guilt and fear as he was reading Scripture. In the past he had described losing sleep over feelings of fear and anguish because of his sin. But, as he was reading Scripture, he heard this voice whisper to him saying, “Thou had’st better read no more, for the more thou readest the more thou wilt know. ‘And he that knoweth his Lord’s will, and doeth it not shall be beaten with many stripes.””
Whatcoat paused awhile, but then he said, “Let the consequences be what it may, I will proceed.” As he continued reading, he had an incredible moment of conversion when he came to the words in Scripture claiming that we are “the children of God.” It that moment, he was filled with unspeakable peace and joy – and all of his fear of death and judgment was suddenly vanished away. He felt this assurance that God really did love him, and God had forgiven his sins.
Whatcoat began to have several experiences of God working in his life, and he began sharing these stories with others. Soon he became the class leader for the Methodist Society at Wednesbury, and later he became the band leader and steward of the society.
Whatcoat then felt a calling to serve as a travelling preacher on a circuit. He mentioned this to John Pawson who was stationed on the Staffordshire Circuit and was one of John Wesley’s assistants. At the British Conference of 1769, John Pawson presented Richard Whatcoat’s name as a suitable person for the ministry. Pawson sent a letter to Whatcoat notifying him that he was accepted as a probationer, and he was appointed to the Oxfordshire Circuit.
At the age of 33 years old, Whatcoat took up his work on the Oxfordshire Circuit, and he was received better than he had expected. The membership increased by 40, and he quickly developed an affection for the people in that appointment which he said, “never wore off.” He served there until Christmas of the same year. He then moved to the Bedfordshire Circuit, as an associate to John Easton and James Perfect. It was during this time that Whatcoat was admitted into full membership at the Methodist Conference on August 7, 1770, in London England.
Then, during the Conference at Bristol in 1771, Whatcoat was appointed as an associate of Robert Wilkinson, James Perfect, and John Smith to the Enniskillen Circuit in Northern Ireland.
Prior to leaving for Ireland, Whatcoat went to visit his mother who was dealing with an illness. Whatcoat spent the night at his mother’s home. They spoke of his next adventure in Ireland. She was fully supportive of his work as a Methodist preacher, and she was happy to see her son doing the work he was doing. And then, they said their final goodbyes. She lived a few weeks longer before she passed away.
This was a particularly difficult appointment for Whatcoat, partly because of the loss of his mother. He felt like a stranger in the land of Ireland. He hated sea voyage. It took him eight weeks to travel through the entire circuit preaching two or three times a day, holding society meetings, and visiting the sick. In those eight weeks he slept in fifty different places – some were dirty, cold, and damp. They often had meals consisting of only potatoes and maybe a little salted meat. He was exhausted, but he was also excited to see how God was at work. Over 200 new members were added in one year.
On August 4, 1772, during the Methodist Conference at Leeds, Whatcoat was appointed to the Armagh Circuit in Northern Ireland as an assistant to John Wesley and associate with John William. But on his way to his new appointment, Whatcoat became very sick, and he was struck with an illness that lasted 12 weeks. While he was recovering, he stayed in the home of the Armstrong Family just outside Ballinamallard in Ireland.
He finally made his way to the Armagh Circuit, but his sickness returned because he has started back to work before fully recovering. He pushed through, preaching but he has hardly able to sit in a saddle, or stand very long. His illness ended up stopping him for 8 more weeks. He finally did recover, and amazingly, he was even able to increase the membership of Armagh by thirty-seven in the span of one year.
At the Conference of 1773, Whatcoat was sent to the Pembrokeshire Circuit in Wales along with an associate John Boon. Whatcoat writes about this time in his life saying:
“This was an easy, and agreeable, and profitable station to me, and I trust to the people also; for Mr. Boon and I spent the year very agreeably among a few loving people.”[vi]
At the 1774 Conference in Bristol, Whatcoat was appointed to the Brecon Circuit, in Wales with his associates Stephen Proctor and John Broadbent. He served there in Brecon for two years, which coincidentally was Thomas Coke’s birthplace.
At the Conference of 1776 in London, Whatcoat was appointed to the Launceston Circuit, in West Cornwall. He was appointed along with his associates, Thomas Hanson, J. Poole, and James Skinner. This was, by far, the best appointment that Whatcoat had received up to this point. The congregations and societies were large and active. There was a total of 1,390 members in this circuit.
The Methodist Conference met at Bristol on August 5, 1777, where Whatcoat was transferred to the St. Austele Circuit in East Cornwall with his associates: Henry Robbins, Isaac Shearing, and James Rogers. There were 718 members on this circuit. Whatcoat describes this assignment, saying:
“Here, my faith and patience were strongly exercise; for I felt so sensible for some disorderly members at Plymouth Rock, that my poor heart was almost broke; but I call upon the Lord and he proportioned strength accordingly to my day.”[vii]
The next year, at the Conference of 1778, Whatcoat along with William Barker and James Perfect were sent to the Salisbury Circuit, in South Wiltshire. Whatcoat stayed there for two years.
Then, in 1780 he was sent to Northampton Circuit along with Thomas Mitchell. Then he was sent to the Canterbury Circuit the following year in 1781. In 1782 he was sent to the Lynn Circuit in Norfolk. During this appointment, Whatcoat sold his horse and traveled on foot. In 1783 he was sent to the Circuit of Norwich along with Adam Clarke and William Adamson.
Up until this point, Richard Whatcoat had served as an itinerant Methodist preacher in England, Ireland, and Wales for fifteen years. During this time, he was constantly traveling, preaching, teaching, and visiting the sick. While Whatcoat was instrumental in growing Methodism in England, Methodism in America had also been steadily growing. And there was a increasing need to send more Methodist preachers from England over to America in order to spread the Gospel.
As the Conference on July 28, 1784, met in Leeds, Richard Whatcoat expressed very little interest in to America. But that soon changed. Whatcoat writes about this experience, saying:
“Dr. Coke and some others offered themselves as missionaries for North America. Although Brother Shadford expressed his desire that I might go, at first it appeared to me as though I was not concerned in the matter; but soon my mind was drawn to meditate on the subject: the power of God came upon me, and my heart was remarkably melted with love to God and man. A prospect of some travels I was likely to go through, if I engaged in that part of the Lord's work, appeared to me upon which I set apart a day for fasting and prayer.”[viii]
By the end of the Conference, Whatcoat had answered the call to go to America along with Thomas Coke and Thomas Vasey.
On September 10,1784 John Wesley appointed Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury to serve as joint superintendents over North America. Wesley also ordained Richard Whatcoat (as well as Thomas Vasey) for ministry in America. In his journal Wesley writes:
“I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke and Mr. Francis Asbury to be joint superintendents over our brethren in North America; as also Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey to act as elders among them, by baptizing and administrating the Lord’s Supper.”[ix]
Thomas Coke, Thomas Vasey, and Richard Whatcoat sailed for America on September 18, 1784, at 10:00 A.M. departing from Bristol. As they sailed, the passed the time in study and holding religious services. The ship was delayed several days by storms and strong winds which caused them to sail longer than usual.
John Wesley sends Thomas Coke, Thomas Vasey, and Richard Whatcoat to America
They eventually docked in New York on Wednesday, November 3, 1784, at 11:00 A.M. where they received a warm welcome. On Friday, a few days later, Whatcoat and Coke traveled to Philadelphia and made their way to Barratt’s Chapel where they met up with Francis Asbury. Together, they began planning the Christmas Conference which was to be held in Baltimore. This would be a general conference of the preachers to organize the Methodist Societies into an independent Episcopal Church.
On December 24, 1784, Asbury Coke, and Whatcoat arrived in Baltimore. Whatcoat writes:
“We began our conference at 10:00 o’clock, in which we agreed to form a Methodist Episcopal Church, in which the Liturgy (as presented by Rev. John Wesley) should be read, Sacraments to be administered by a Superintendent, Elders, and Deacons, who shall be ordained by a Presbytery, using the Episcopal form (as prescribed in the Rev. Mr. Wesley’s prayer book.) Persons to be ordained are to be nominated by the Superintendent, and elected by conference; and ordained by imposition of the hands of the Superintendent and Elders.”[x]
It was during this Conference that Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury were elected as bishops of the Methodist Church. Richard Whatcoat was among Thomas Coke, Thomas Vasey, and William Philip Otterbein all assisted in Francis Asbury’s consecration and ordination.
The ordination of Francis Asbury
During this same Conference, On September 1, 1784, Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vassey were ordained as deacons. And then, the next day, on September 2, 1784, they were ordained as elders.
Immediately after the Christmas Conference, Whatcoat got to work as the presiding elder over Queen Anne, Talbot, and Dorset circuits. In his journal, on May 22, 1785, Whatcoat writes,
“I preached at Wharton, in Kent County in the morning, and baptized 36 children, and in the afternoon I preached at John Angers, and baptized 50 more.”[xi]
At the Conference in Baltimore, on June 1, 1785, Whatcoat was appointed as the presiding elder to Baltimore and Frederick circuits. On May 7, 1786, at the Conference in Abingdon, Maryland, Whatcoat was assigned as Eder to Kent, Talbot, Dorset, and Dover circuits where he served for a whopping three months. And returned to Baltimore for about eight months.
Then, in 1787, John Wesley wrote a letter to the American Methodists, nominating Freeborn Garrettson and Richard Whatcoat as superintendents in America. These nominations were rejected by the American Methodists following opposition led by James O’Kelley. There were a few reasons for this rejection.
1) Richard Whatcoat was still new to the wilderness and landscape of America, and so he was not qualified to take charge in this role.
2) Members of the conference were apprehensive that, if Whatcoat was elected, Wesley would then recall Francis Asbury and he would have to return to England. (This was a credible reason, because this was ultimately Wesley’s plan all along, for Asbury to return to England).
All of this is occurring following the American Revolution. So, there is some resistance, and skepticism within this American expression of Methodism to follow directives from John Wesley and England. There is growing tension between the American Methodists and the English Methodists. And Richard Whatcoat finds himself caught in the middle. He found a way to be loyal and true to both Asbury and Wesley in the midst of this division.
Richard Whatcoat spent more and more time traveling and preaching alongside Bishop Asbury through Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. Theny then took a trip South and passed through Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. This was very dangerous pioneer land. During this time, Whatcoat would often fill in for Asbury when he was sick and not feeling well. Whatcoat writes about one experience in his memoir:
"As we journeyed towards Holston night overtook us, and we were shut in between two mountains. We gave our horses a little provender out of our sacks, and letting them loose, struck up a fire but the thunder gust nearly put it out. The next day we pursued our journey toward General Russell's and there we were kindly entertained. After a few days' rest we traveled on to the last station, in the Grassy Valley, expecting to meet a company to conduct us through the wilderness, according to appointment; but no company was heard of, and the next morning our horses were gone. That day diligent search was made but no horses were found; so the next day we packed up our saddles and baggage, on Brother Henderson's horse, and returned ten miles into the settlement. After we had been there a little while, two boys followed us with our horses. We traveled about the settlement, and held meetings for a fortnight.”
Whatcoat went on to serve in New York at John’s Street Church, and then later he became the presiding elder to the city of Baltimore in 1792. He continued to serve in similar capacities through 1794. At one point, a great revival broke out, and Whatcoat describes it saying:
“We had large congregations and many blessed revivals in different parts of the district, and quarterly meetings were generally comfortably lively and profitable. Some things appeared of an extraordinary nature," says Whatcoat, "while many were sudden.) struck with conviction and fell to the ground, roaring out in the disquietude of their spirits, or lay in a state of apparent insensibility, after a while starting u and praising God, as though heaven had come ins their souls; others were as much concerned for a clean heart, and as fully delivered. I had to attend forty-eight meetings in the span of twelve months while on this district.”
Whatcoat attended a tumultuous Conference in 1796 because of the controversial topic of Wesley’s authority over the American Methodists. Following this Conference, Whatcoat accompanied Coke and Asbury to Virginia, and he served as the Presiding Elder over the South District of Virginia. Bishop Asbury writes about this moment in time, saying:
“I parted with my dear Brother Whatcoat, after travelling together for about 700 miles. It was painful to part, yet I was well pleased he had not to drive the rough way, and that through the rain. In this I loved my brother better than myself.”
The South District of Virginia, like all of the districts during this time, was very large. It took Whatcoat nearly three months to make one round trips. He would cover six to seven hundred miles, through thirty counties in Virginia and North Carolina. During this time, Whatcoat held several revivals, but he became increasingly troubled at the presence of slavery in the South.
During the General Conference of 1800 in Baltimore, there was growing concern about Francis Asbury’s health. There was also the matter of Thomas Coke’s call to serve in a missionary role for the British Conference. It seemed that there was a need to elect another bishop.
The first ballot was cast, and there was no election. The second ballot was cast, and it was a tie between Richard Whatcoat and Jesse Lee, (A native born American and leader of Methodism in the New England States). On the third ballot, there were fifty-nine votes for Richard Whatcoat and fifty-five votes for Jesse Lee. Therefore, Richard Whatcoat was elected as the third Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church on May 18, 1800. He was consecrated by the imposition of the hands of Bishop Asbury and Bishop Coke. And Bishop Coke preached his ordination service.
Following this Conference, Asbury, Whatcoat, and William McKendree (a presiding elder over the Kentucky and Holston area. He would go on to become the fourth bishop elected in the Methodist Church) traveled to Kentucky and then down to Nashville, Tennessee and over to Knoxville, Tennessee where they eventually parted ways. Camp Meetings and Revivals were becoming more prevalent during this time.
Whatcoat spent his first year as bishop traveling with Asbury, going to nearly every District, preaching, teaching, holding meetings and revivals. He eventually made his way back to Baltimore completing his first tour of the Methodist Societies in his new office as Bishop.
After a while, Whatcoat and Asbury made the decision to travel separately. Whatcoat had gained sufficient knowledge of the land and of his new work as bishop to go it alone. They traveled only when it was convenient, and otherwise, divided their work and shared the Episcopal load. Whatcoat was given the southern route.
On March 27, 1802, Whatcoat had completed his southern tour at Baltimore, bringing to a close another year of his Episcopacy. He was now 66 years old and have traveled about thirty-seven hundred miles in his role as Bishop.
He continued an incredible pace as he traveled all across the country. But, by 1804, the weight of his responsibilities and the demand of his travel schedule, not to mention his increasing age, was starting to wear on him. Methodism had expanded so much that it was becoming more and more difficult to organize and maintain the growing demands of this new Church.
Although Whatcoat slowed down a little, due to his health, he largely persevered and continued traveling and conducting his work. At one point, he writes in his journal:
“Notwithstanding my infirm state of body, through the blessing of God, I have been able to travel three thousand four hundred and sixteen miles in the last twelve months, stopping one-fourth of the time at different places by the way.” 166.
By 1806, Whatcoat’s health was beginning to fail him. While traveling, Asbury intercepted Whatcoat and took him into his own carriage. On the way to a Conference, Whatcoat became very sick and was forced to stop in Dover, Delaware where he was left with an old friend, Governor Richard Bassett. Asbury was forced to continue on to Philadelphia, and the two Bishop shared a difficult goodbye.
Bishop Whatcoat lingered for thirteen weeks, suffering but still full of hope. And then, on July 5, 1806, Richard Whatcoat passed from this life to the next. His remains were buried beneath the altar of Wesley’s Chapel in Dover, Delaware. The church has since been renamed to Whatcoat United Methodist Church
Bishop Francis Asbury preached Whatcoat’s funeral sermon. He had this to say about his old friend:
“Who ever heard him speak an idle word? When was guile found in his mouth? He had been thirty-eight years in the ministry-sixteen years in England, Wales, and Ireland, and twenty-two years in America; twelve years as presiding elder, four of this time he was stationed in the cities or traveling with me, and six years in the superintendency. A man so uniformly good I have not known in Europe or America.”
Citations:
[i] PM Minutes, in A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain, vol.4 (1988), .376.
[ii] William Phoebus, Memoirs of the Rev. Richard Whatcoat (New York, NY: The New York Public Library, 1828), 9.
[iii] Richard Whatcoat, The Lives of Early Methodist Preachers, chiefly written by themselves, ed. By Thomas Jackson (Oxford, UK: Oxford University, 1866), 313.
[iv] Ibid, 314.
[v]. Sidney Benjamin Bradley, The Life of Bishop Richard Whatcoat (1936; repr., Wilmore, KY: First Fruits Press, 2016), 26.
[vi] Ibid, 45, 46.
[vii] Ibid, 51.
[viii] Ibid, 59.
[ix] John Wesley, The Works of the Reverend John Wesley, A. M. (New York, NY: The New York Public Library, 1831), xxxviii.
[x] Sidney Benjamin Bradley, The Life of Bishop Richard Whatcoat (1936; repr., Wilmore, KY: First Fruits Press, 2016), 82.
[xi] Ibid, 85.
