Unsung Heroes of Methodism: Jacob Albright

We’ve all heard the names John and Charles Wesley, but there are a lot of other important names in the history of Methodism you may not know. The Unsung Heroes of Methodism series tells the stories of lesser-known figures whose lives and witness still impact The United Methodist Church today, even if their names aren’t familiar to us.

This article is part of a miniseries on the founding figures in The Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB). The EUB is one of the predecessor denominations to The United Methodist Church. You can learn more about The EUB and its unique history here.

Born to German immigrants in Colonial Pennsylvania, Jacob Albright (Jakob Albrecht) would go on to found the Evangelical Association (one of the predecessor denominations to The UMC). Albright’s early life was marked by tragedy and hardship, which directly led him into ministry.

Jacob was born in 1759 in Douglas Township, PA to John and Anna Albright, who were German-speaking immigrants. Jacob, along with his six siblings, was brought up in the Lutheran tradition. Albright attended a local German-speaking school as a child, but also learned to speak English. During the American Revolution Albright enlisted as a drummer boy serving the Continental Army.[1]

Albright married a woman named Catherine Cope in 1785 with whom he had at least six children, but only three would survive into adulthood. The family lived in Lancaster County (home to one of the largest German immigrant communities at the time) where Jacob worked as a farmer and tile-maker. Several of his children died of dysentery in 1790.[2]

Following the death of his children, Albright found comfort in the sermons of a local German preacher named Anthony Hurtz, who was part of Otterbein and Martin’s United Brethren. Hurtz would conduct the children’s funeral service. The sermon at his children’s funeral would become Albright’s “Aldersgate moment” as he felt his heart moved by the love of God.[3]

Albright began attending class meetings with the United Brethren and by 1796 he been licensed as a lay preacher and was traveling among the German-speaking communities of Pennsylvania to share the Gospel. Albright’s preaching attracted opposition in some circles, especially among the clergy of other traditions who saw him as a competitor. On at least one instance he was attacked by an angry mob and returned home wounded with his clothes torn.[4]

Shoe belonging to Jacob Albright's horse. Albright spent most of later life traveling across the German-speaking communities of 19th Century Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of Mark Shenise of the General Commission of Archives and History.

Though initially attached to the United Brethren, Albright was impressed by the tighter organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Much like Wesley, Albright did not set out to start a new denomination originally. Instead he would have preferred to serve in the Methodist Episcopal Church(MEC) preaching exclusively to German-speakers, but for reasons not entirely clear Bishop Asbury and the MEC leadership opposed the idea, insisting Albright would have to preach in English. Albright refused, feeling God had called him specifically to serve the German-speaking community.[5]

In 1803 Albright called a general meeting consisting of 2 other German-speaking preachers and 14 lay leaders in the home of member named Samuel Liesser. Albright was officially ordained and recognized as leader of the group, who took to calling themselves The Society of Evangelical Friends. They were also known informally as Albright’s Brethren. In 1807 they held their first official annual conference outside the town of Kleinfeltersville, PA.[6]

Albright, who had never been in particularly good health, died on May 18, 1808 at the home of a member named George Becker after a long day of traveling on horseback. Knowing his time was near he asked his host “Have you a bed ready? I have come to die.”[7]

Albright’s movement continued long after his death. They took the name The Evangelical Association (EA) in 1816 and later The Evangelical Church (EC) in 1923.[8] Though The EA would not begin electing bishops “officially” until 1839, Albright is still counted as the first bishop of the denomination today. In 1946 The EC merged with The United Brethren to form the Evangelical United Brethren. In 1968 this denomination merged with The Methodist Church to form The United Methodist Church.

This content was produced by umc.org on June, 27, 2024. Philip J. Brooks is a writer and content developer at United Methodist Communications. Contact him by email.