Bangs, Nathan (1778-1862)

Bangs, Nathan -- from Wikipedia Article

Alphabetical List of M. E. Preachers (Author)

Description: Nathan Bangs, a preacher and theologian, wrote a four-volume history of the Methodist Episcopal Church that covered virtually all of the church’s proceedings in North America from 1766 to 1840. This index contains the names of all the preachers ordained by the church during those years. Bangs includes the date on which each pastor entered the ministry, then lists the date each left the ministry, most of the time on account of death. With hundreds of names listed, Americans and Canadians alive today may find the names of their ancestors.

Kathleen O’Bannon
CCEL Staff

History of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Volume I. (Author)

Description: Perhaps no one was better suited to provide a written history of the Methodist Episcopal Church than Nathan Bangs. The brilliant, self-educated theologian had not only served as president of Wesleyan University, but he had also volunteered himself as an itinerant preacher in Canada during the War of 1812. Later, he founded the Methodist Missionary Society. Volume One of Bangs’ four-volume history serves as a preface of sorts for his more detailed survey of 18th and 19th century Methodism in North America. He documents the life of John Wesley, whose lifetime overlapped with his own, then traces the spread and development of Methodism in Canada and the United States.

Kathleen O’Bannon
CCEL Staff

History of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Volume II. (Author)

Description: Perhaps no one was better suited to provide a written history of the Methodist Episcopal Church than Nathan Bangs. The brilliant, self-educated theologian had not only served as president of Wesleyan University, but he had also volunteered himself as an itinerant preacher in Canada during a time of war. Later, he founded the Methodist Missionary Society. The second volume of Bangs’ four-volume history covers the proceedings of the first few General Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal in North America as well as the events of the revivalist camp meetings at the turn of the 19th century. Bangs closes the volume with the Methodist Episcopal Church’s response to the War of 1812 and the simultaneous decline and death of one of the church’s first bishops, Bishop Asbury.

Kathleen O’Bannon
CCEL Staff

History of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Volume III. (Author)

Description: Perhaps no one was better suited to provide a written history of the Methodist Episcopal Church than Nathan Bangs. The brilliant, self-educated theologian had not only served as president of Wesleyan University, but he had also volunteered himself as an itinerant preacher in Canada during a time of war. Later, he founded the Methodist Missionary Society. The third volume of Bangs’ History picks up where the last left off, at the end of the War of 1812. With the Methodist church growing and gaining notoriety, controversies over theology and practice enabled it to better define itself. Bangs includes the names and proceedings of the General Conferences during this time (1816-1828).

Kathleen O’Bannon
CCEL Staff

History of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Volume IV.

Description: Perhaps no one was better suited to provide a written history of the Methodist Episcopal Church than Nathan Bangs. The brilliant, self-educated theologian had not only served as president of Wesleyan University, but he had also volunteered himself as an itinerant preacher in Canada during the War of 1812. Later, he founded the Methodist Missionary Society. The final volume of Bangs’ four-volume history carries the proceedings of the Methodist church up to the 1840s, just decades before the American Civil War. During this time, the church formulated its views on the North American slave trade, becoming a force in favor of abolition. Bangs’ detailed documentation of church proceedings and projects in this volume and those before it provides church historians with an invaluable resource.



Kathleen O’Bannon

CCEL Staff