Dictionary.net

An American author, editor, and Methodist clergyman; born in Philadelphia, Jan. 19, 1815; died at San Jose, Cal., Sept. 13, 1897. He was editor of the Methodist 1865-74; subsequently traveled extensively, and settled in Geneva, Switzerland. He wrote many denominational books, among them: "Essay on Church Polity" (1847); "Memorials of the Introduction of Methodism into the Eastern States" (1847-52); "History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century called Methodism" (3 vols., 1858-61); "History of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States" (4 vols., 1864-67), a standard authority on this subject. He wrote also a German translation (1867); "The Centenary of American Methodism" (1865); "The Women of Methodism", etc. (1866); "Madame de Stael" (2 vols., 1881); "Character Sketches" (1882); "Christian Work"; "Tales from the Parsonage"; etc.