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Notes for Michael Coate and Mahetabel

1801 Michael Coate was an elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church in New York. [1] [2]

1804 Michael Coate was an elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church in New York. [3]

1811, 1814 Michael Coate was named as an elder of Methodist Episcopal Church for the West Jersey District. [4] [5]

1812 Michael Coate was one of 14 delegates sent by the Philadelphia Conference as a delegate to the General [Methodist] Conference. [6]

1814 The will of Michael Coate of Evesham Twp, Burlington County was dated July 21 and was affirmed 22 August. Wife Mehitable inherited 10 shares in the Philadelphia Bank stock, 5 shares of the Bristol Turnpike and obligations due from Asahel Coate, John Moore, Benjamin and Caleb Scrieve (Shreve). Mother Sarah Coate received the rights to the house, stable, and garden, which Michael did not feel were his to give away. The Methodist Episcopal churches in Mount Holly and Lumberton received grants. Executors wife Mehatible and brother Asahel Coate. Witnessed by William Page, William Sharp, and Jacob Egbert. [7] [8]

1814 Inventory on 18 August made by John Sterling and Caleb Shreve Jr with value $4288.70. [9] The inventory of Michael Coate's, late of Evesham Twp, Burlington County, taken 18 August 1814, included household items, stocks, history books, Wesley's journal, Walker's sermons, surveyor compass and chain, and debts due as described in the will. Mehitable Coate and Asahel Coate were sworn as administrators. [10]

1814 Reverend Henry Boehm reported that "Michael Coate, of West Jersey District, died the first of August. I had known him for years, as well as his brother Samuel. He was distinguished for strength of mind and soundness of judgement, and especially for the meek and quiet spirit which, in the sight of God, is of great price. The last time he preached was on the multitude John saw before the throne, Rev. viii, 9, and soon he went to join them. He was born in 1767, and converted, died, and was buried in Burlington County, N. J." [11]

1814 On 1 August, Michael Coate died at age 47 and was buried at the Old Methodist burying ground in Lumberton, Burlington County, New Jersey. [12] [13]

A biosketch reports [14]:

Michael Coate
Of The Philadelphia Conference
1795—1814.
Michael Coate was born in Burlington, N. J., in the year 1767. His parents were originally Quakers; but when the early Methodist preachers came into that neighbourhood, they attended on their ministrations, became converted to their views, and welcomed them to their house. In due time, they joined the Methodist Church, and were ever afterwards active in the promotion of its interests. Two of their sons became distinguished preachers in connection with it, and their influence was widely felt in the denomination.

Michael was the subject of serious impressions from early youth, but they seem to have been of only a transient nature. It was under the preaching of his brother Samuel, who preceded him in his entrance into the ministry, that his mind was deeply and effectually wrought upon—he now became overwhelmed with a sense of his guilt and ruin, and besought the Lord to have mercy upon him; and presently he experienced, as he believed, tokens of God's forgiving mercy. The same night to which he dated the surrender of his heart to God, he began to exhort the people to repentance and faith; and from that time he continued to speak in public until at length he became an authorized preacher. His conversion took place in the spring of 1794.

In 1795, he was admitted on trial as a travelling preacher, and was appointed to the Columbia circuit, in the State of New York, in which he continued in 1796. In 1797, he was stationed at Middletown, Conn. In 1796, his brother Samuel, in company with Hezekiah Calvin Wooster, volunteered his services as a missionary to Canada; and their labours were attended with great success. In 1798, he (Samuel) persuaded Michael to join him in a mission through the same desolate region; and, accordingly, he was appointed for that year to the Niagara circuit,—the colleague of James Coleman. To travel in that remote wilderness at that time, exposed to innumerable perils and hardships, and with barely the means of subsistence, must have required a truly self-denying and heroic spirit; but Michael Coate and his associates did not shrink from any sacrifices that were necessary to carry the Gospel into that dark and distant region. And the trinmphs which they achieved, corresponded well to the privations and trials which they endured. A large part of Upper Canada became the scene of a powerful revival, and great numbers were hopefully gathered into tho Kingdom of Christ, in consequence of these benevolent labours.

After labouring in Canada one year, Mr. Coate was appointed to the city of New York, with John McClasky and Thomas F. Sargent. In 1800, he travelled the Pittsficld and Whittingham circuits, in Massachusetts; and the next year we find him returned to New York City. In 1802, he was stationed on the New London circuit, in Connecticut, with Aaron Hunt;* but, in 1803 and 1804, he was again in New York, where his labours were much more than ordinarily acceptable. During this period of sojourn in New York, he was married to Mrs. Mahetabel Briggs, relict of John Briggs. In 1805 and 1806, he was in Philadelphia; in 1807 and 1808, in Baltimore; in 1809, in Philadelphia again; and in 1810, on the Burlington circuit. From 1811 to 1814, he was Presiding Elder of the West Jersey District, where he finished his earthly course.

At the first Quarterly Meeting for the Burlington circuit, in 1814, held in the city of Burlington, he preached on the Sabbath with great animation, and to the great acceptance and edification of a very large assembly. His discourse was on the future glory of the saved; and was founded on Rev. vii, 9—"After this, I beheld, and lo a great multitude which no man could number," &c. His own views of the Heavenly glory, as he afterwards stated, were uncommonly clear and even transporting; and he seemed to have a rich foretaste of the joys he was describing. This was the last sermon he ever preached. The next day, he was attacked by his final illness. His sufferings were most intense; and, though he remarked to some of his friends that it was easier to do than to suffer God's will, he manifested a spirit of most exemplary patience. In the early part of his illness, he complained of a fearful conflict within, and requested that the twenty-third chapter of Job might be read to him, as being adapted to his peculiar state of mind; and, while listening to it, he found himself greatly comforted. Sometime after this, during a fearful thunderstorm at night, he declared that his soul was filled with rapture, and that the peals of thunder seemed to him more delightful than the sweetest music. After this, his mind was tranquil—he felt that his work was done, and he was ready to depart. In this state of calm and joyful hope, he passed away to his rest on the 1st of August, 1814, aged about forty-seven years.

Bishop Hedding, who knew Mr. Coate well, says in a letter to the Rev. Dr. Abel Stevens,—" He was a man of great talents, a solid, amiable, fine-looking man."

From the Rev. Lagan Clark, D. D.
Middletown, February 20,1860.
My Dear Sir: I am happy to comply with your request for my recollections of the Rev. Michael Coate. I saw him first in 1801, at a Quarterly Meeting at Pittsfield, Mass., when I was on my way to Conference, and from that time I was in the habit of frequently meeting with him, both on public occasions and in private intercourse, until within a short period of his death. On the occasion of my seeing him at Pittsfield, he was associated with the Rev. Shadrach Bostwick, and I thought I had rarely met two men whose appearance was more bland and attractive.

Mr. Coate was short in stature, but very symmetrically formed, of light complexion, and with a blue eye, expressive of a most kindly and benevolent spirit. I regarded him as a man of much more than common powers of mind, while yet he was one of the most amiable spirits with which I have been acquainted. You could not possibly be in his company, without coming to the conclusion that he was a true, good and faithful man; and the more you saw of him, the higher would be your estimate of his character, and the more would you wish to cultivate his acquaintance.

I regarded Mr. Coate as decidedly one of our ablest preachers, during the period in which he lived. He had a good voice for public speaking, and he knew how to modulate it to good purpose. He spoke with simplicity and earnestness, and evidently out of a heart full of love to the Saviour and his cause. He did not indulge in flights of imagination, but his sermons were usually close, logical trains of thought, luminous indeed, but still demanding a good degree of attention in the hearer. No man was farther than he from being what you would call a scattering preacher. He always had a distinct end in view, in his discourses, and he marched steadily forward to its accomplishment, without turning to the right hand or the left. I remember to have heard him once preach a sermon on the text,—" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," and I thought it the most perfect specimen of a real John Wesley sermon to which I had ever listened. He was eminently a preacher for thoughtful men—with an exact taste, with the reasoning faculty in a very high degree, with sufficient freedom of utterance, and with a very respectable measure of intellectual culture, he could not fail to pass, with competent judges, as a preacher of high excellence.

Mr. Coate did not speak frequently in Conference, but he always spoke well, and had great influence with his brethren, and indeed all others with whom he was brought in contact. In body and mind, in heart and life, he was altogether an attractive person.

Mr. Coate had a brother, Samuel [Samuel Coate was admitted on trial in the New York Conference in 1794, and located in 1810.], younger I think than himself, who was perhaps even more popular as a preacher, with the multitude, than he. He was a remarkably elegant, accomplished preacher, and combined in his manner a high degree both of force and of beauty. I think his popularity rather waned in the latter part of his life, in consequence chiefly of his going to England, when it was thought he had better have been labouring at home.

Bishop Asbury, it was understood, had little complacency in his foreign tour. Mr. Coate, at a Conference held shortly after his return, made several motions, one of which the Bishop did not like; and he expressed his disapprobation both of the motion and of the voyage, by saying,—"I believe Sammy went to England to learn perpetual motion."
Yours truly,
Laban Clark.

A biosketch reports [15]:

Michael Coate, who was born in 1767, in Burlington county, state of NewJersey. His parents were brought up in the persuasion of the people called Quakers, but became members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and were the first in that neighbourhood who received the Methodist preachers. When but a youth, Michael was often wrought upon by the Spirit of God, which only proved as the morning cloud and early dew, which passeth quickly away, until his brother Samuel commenced preaching, who was made an instrument, under God, of producing that pungent conviction which eventually terminated in his conversion to God, in the very night of which he began to exhort, and from that time continued to speak in public, which was in the spring of the year 1794. In 1795 he was admitted on trial as a travelling preacher, and appointed to Columbia circuit, in the state of New York, on which he continued in 1796; Middletown, in Connecticut, 1797; in 1798, at the solicitation of his brother Samuel, he went a missionary to Canada, and travelled Niagara circuit; 1799, he was ordained elder, and appointed to the city of New-York; 1800, Pittsfield and Whitingham, in Massachusetts; 1801, New-York city; 1802, New-London circuit, in Connecticut; 1803 and 1804, New-York city, in which year he married Mrs. Mahetabel Briggs, relic of the late Mr. John Briggs; 1805 and 1806, Philadelphia; 1807 and 1808, Baltimore; 1809, Philadelphia; 1810, Burlington circuit; 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814 he was presiding elder of the West Jersey district. Our beloved brother Coate, as a man, possessed a strong mind and sound judgment; as a Christian he was much devoted to God, serious, weighty, and solemn in all his carriage. Nothing was more manifest in his character than his meekness and lowliness. In the various important stations which he filled he ever manifested the same humility of mind; no air of selfimportance appeared in any part of his deportment. As a Christian minister, he was lively, zealous, and energetic; he appeared always to have a deep sense of the infinite value of immortal souls, which led him to use his utmost exertion to save them from the wrath to come. He was an excellent experimental and practical preacher, and as such was very useful. With the utmost propriety it may be said of him, that "his praise was in all the churches.

At the first quarterly meeting for Burlington circuit, in 1814, held in the city of Burlington, he preached on the sabbath with great animation, acceptability, and usefulness to a large concourse of people, on the subject of eternal glory. He chose for his text Rev. vii, 9: "After this I beheld, and lo! a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." While preaching he was favoured with a pleasing prospect of that glory, and seemed to anticipate the joys of eternity. This was the last time he preached.

On the ensuing Monday he was taken ill, and continued ill until the Lord said, "It is enough; come up hither;" which was about five weeks from his first illness. His affliction was extremely severe; but he patiently suffered the will of God in his sickness, as he had cheerfully done it in his health: yet he observed to some of his friends, that it is easier to do than to suffer the will of God. In the commencement of his illness Satan thrust sore at him, and his conflict was inexpressibly great: under these severe exercises of mind he mentioned the twenty-third chapter of Job, a portion of Scripture admirably suited to his case, which he requested to be read to him, during the reading of which the power of God filled the place, and his soul was abundantly comforted. Some time after this, in a storm of rain at night, while the thunders were roaring in the heaven above, and the vivid lightnings flashed most awfully, his soul was filled with rapture, and he shouted aloud the praises of God, declaring that the peals of thunder sounded sweeter than the most melodious music. After this his soul was more tranquil, and he viewed death, in his solemn approach, with the utmost composure, and, with the great apostle, knew that "he had fought a good fight, had finished his course, had kept the faith, and that henceforth there was laid up a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, stood ready to impart to him." And on the first day of August, 1814, he took his solemn exit to a world of spirits.


Footnotes:

[1] Minutes of the annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the years 1773-1828, Vol. 1 (1840), 100, right column, [HathiTrust].

[2] Minutes of the annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the years 1773-1828, Vol. 1 (1840), 96, right column, [HathiTrust].

[3] Minutes of the annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the years 1773-1828, Vol. 1 (1840), 121, left column, [HathiTrust].

[4] Minutes of the annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the years 1773-1828, Vol. 1 (1840), 200, 249, [HathiTrust].

[5] Henry Boehm, Joseph B Wakeley, ed., Reminiscences, Historical and Biographical, of sixty-four years in the Ministry (1865), 416, [GoogleBooks].

[6] Henry Boehm, Joseph B Wakeley, ed., Reminiscences, Historical and Biographical, of sixty-four years in the Ministry (1865), 395, [GoogleBooks].

[7] New Jersey Probate Records, 1678-1980, Burlington, Will B-23, image 678, [FamilySearchImage].

[8] New Jersey Archives, Volume 42, page 87, of 87-88, abstract, [GoogleBooks].

[9] New Jersey Archives, Volume 42, page 88, [GoogleBooks].

[10] New Jersey Probate Records, 1678-1980, Burlington, Inventory A-426, FHL film 832947, image 443, [FamilySearchImage].

[11] Henry Boehm, Joseph B Wakeley, ed., Reminiscences, Historical and Biographical, of sixty-four years in the Ministry (1865), 419, [GoogleBooks].

[12] Major E. M. Woodward and John Hageman, History of Burlington and Mercer Counties, New Jersey (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1883), 348, [HathiTrust].

[13] Find A Grave Memorial 7511969, [FindAGrave].

[14] William Buell Sprague, Annals of the American Methodist Pulpit, Volume 7 (New York: 1861), 253-256, [InternetArchive], [HathiTrust].

[15] Minutes of the annual conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the years 1773-1828, Vol. 1 (1840), 255, [HathiTrust].