EV. JOSEPH HARTLEY entered the ministry in 1776, and was a member of the General Conference of the Methodists in Baltimore, in 1784. During the Revolutionary war, he was bound over in Queen Ann county in a bond of £500 not to preach in that county. Thus not being permitted to stand before the people, he attended his appointments; and after singing and prayer, "stood upon his knees and exhorted the people, until his enemies said he might as well preach standing on his feet as on his knees." He was also whipped and [40] imprisoned in Talnot county, Maryland. This by no means silenced him. "People collecting around the walls of the prison, he preached to them through the grates; and so powerful was the word applied to their hearts, that some of them were deeply awakened to a sense of their lost and guilty state, and began earnestly to seek the Lord. This induced some of the inhabitants to remark that unless Hartley was released from prison he would convert the whole town."

      In 1779, April 28th, a Conference of the northern preachers as they were called, was held at Judge White's in the state of Delaware; Joseph Hartley was present, and the following was agreed to: "On hearing every preacher for and against what is in debate, the right of determination shall rest with him according to the minutes." The right of determination shall rest with him, that is, with Mr. Asbury. The stakes were being set and the cords drawn, and "according to the minutes" which were not then to be found. He also attended the Conference in Baltimore in April, 1780, which was presided over by Mr. Asbury as General Assistant. Here Joseph Hartley with thirteen others, Mr. Asbury included, excommunicated twenty-seven of the Virginia preachers who had held a Conference at the Broken-back (Roger Thompson's) church in Fluvanna county, for having decided to administer the ordinances. What he had helped to form began to press upon him, and in 1781 he is recorded as having located. When Rev. James O'Kelly withdrew in 1792, Rev. Joseph Hartley threw the weight of his influence with him. Mr. Hartley was a "man of great zeal and power," and having suffered much in the first years (1776-1779) of his ministry, his faith was strong; he was able to brook opposition of whatever kind. [41]

[LCM 40-41]