On March 27, 1814, William Smith, a local politician and merchant who represented Maryland at the Continental Congress, died at home in Baltimore. Born in 1728 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Smith moved to Baltimore Town in 1761. At the start of the American Revolution, Smith joined the Baltimore Committee of Observation and, in 1777, became a member of the Continental Congress. In 1789, he took office as the first representative of Maryland’s 4th Congressional District to the First United States Congress at Federal Hall in New York City.
The pictorial field-book of the Revolution. NYPL, 1239453.
26thy – Cloudy morning & a shower of Rain at 12 O’Clock, afterwards very fine day ~ Went to Town, din’d at S. Steretts ~ Paid Frederick Johnson in full to this day & Thos Johnson Jr. $5 on acct.
From the journal of Captain Henry Thompson, March 26, 1814. Courtesy the Friends of Clifton.
American Commercial and Daily Advertiser, March 26, 1814. Maryland State Archives SC3329
25 – Fine clear day – Wind N.W. Did not go to Town to day, but rode over to the Meadows, being busy ploughing for Oats and had 8 bushels of Clover Seed Sown this day on Rye & Wheat, the Ground being in fine order ~Mrs. T. & Children return’d from Town, having been at Mrs. Wirgmans 6 days –
From the journal of Captain Henry Thompson, March 25, 1814. Courtesy the Friends of Clifton.
American Commercial and Daily Advertiser, March 25, 1814
24 – Weather rather more pleasant but still cold – Wind N.W. Went to Town return’d to Dinner – Planted Hedge in front of the House of Thorns procur’d last Spring, also planted Potatoes in young Orchards –
From the journal of Captain Henry Thompson, March 24, 1814. Courtesy the Friends of Clifton.
23rd March – Snow covers the Ground again this morning but was soon dissolv’d – Cold cloudy day – Wind N.W. Went to Town, din’d at S. Steretts with a party of 12 Gentlemen ~
From the journal of Captain Henry Thompson, March 23, 1814. Courtesy the Friends of Clifton.
On March 23, 1814, four months after the death of Phillip William Otterbein, Francis Asbury spoke before the members of the Baltimore Conference. Otterbein’s biographer Augustus Waldo Drury later recalled that Asbury spoke “by request of the conference and certainly at the hearty desire of the stricken congregation” when he delivered a heartfelt memorial in a packed church on Conway Street.
Asbury recorded his personal reflections in his journal that evening:
“By request, I discoursed on the character of the angel of the church of Philadelphia, in allusion to William Otterbein, the holy, the great Otterbein, whose funeral discourse it was intended to be. Solemnity marked the silent meeting in the German church, where were assembled the members of our conference and many of the clergy of the city. Forty years have I known the retiring modesty of this man of God, towering majestic above his fellows, in learning, wisdom, and grace, yet seeking to be known only to God and the people of God.”
Among the many people who had been touched by Otterbein’s religious leadership, present that day was Bishop Christian Newcomer who recorded the scene in his own diary:
“Heard Asbury’s funeral discourse on the late William Otterbein. The church was much too small to contain all who came, among them being Methodists, United Brethren, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians. Bishop McKendree closed the service.”
The memorial must have offered a unique poignancy for Newcomer. He had first met Otterbein on June 3, 1800 at the home of Peter Kemp located a few miles west of Frederick. On October 2, 1813, just weeks before his death, Otterbein laid his hands on Newcomer and made him (along with two others) the first ordained ministers in the United Brethren Church. Otterbein’s remarks to Newcomer before the ceremony that fall highlight the same modesty recalled by Francis Asbury and the knowledge that he was nearing the end of his own life:
“I have always considered myself too unworthy to perform this solemn injunction of the Apostle, but now I perceive the necessity of doing so, before I shall be removed.”
German Church from J.H.B. Latrobe’s Picture of Baltimore (1832). Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, F 189.B1 P53 1842 QUARTO.
22 – Ground covered with Snow this morning but disappear’d by 12 O’Clock, went to Town, return’d to Dinner – Wind very high at N.W. & cold, Mrs. T. & Children in Town~
From the journal of Captain Henry Thompson, March 22, 1814. Courtesy the Friends of Clifton.
