Circuit Riders / Bishop John Seybert

Methodists first entered the Ohio Territory in 1785, soon followed by the United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical Association. Their bishops appointed circuit riders to their circuits and the church ordained them. These itinerant clergymen traveled great distances, often into the wilderness, preaching daily in pioneer homes, established churches, outdoor camps, and conferences. Among them were Bishop Christian Newcomer, Reverend James B. Finley, and Bishop John Seybert. They also carried German- and English-language religious books to distribute in Ohio and throughout the Northwest Territory. Born in Pennsylvania in 1791, John Seybert came to Ohio in 1822 and preached throughout the Midwest. He served the faith for forty years as an itinerant preacher, a presiding elder, and the first bishop of the Evangelical Association, one of the original denominations now part of the United Methodist Church. As a circuit rider, he traveled on foot, horseback, and by spring wagon for 175,000 miles, preached 9,850 sermons, held 8,000 prayer and class meetings, made about 46,000 pastoral calls, and made 10,000 calls on the sick. He often paid his own expenses on a meager salary of $100 per year. He died in 1860 and is buried in the Bellevue-Flat Rock area.

Bellevue, Ohio · United States