Francis Asbury

Francis Asbury (/æzbəri/, August 20, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. As a young man in October 1771, the Englishman traveled to America and, during his 45 years there, he devoted his life to ministry, traveling on horseback and by carriage thousands of miles to those living on the frontier.

Asbury spread Methodism in America, as part of the Second Great Awakening. He also founded several schools during his lifetime, although his own formal education was limited. His journal is valuable to scholars for its account of frontier society.

Biography

Francis Asbury was born at Hamstead Bridge, Staffordshire, England on August 20 or 21, 1745, to Elizabeth and Joseph Asbury. Wanting him to become the Archbishop of Canterbury, his mother read the Bible to him, sang him hymns, and prayed over him.

Asbury became a local lay preacher for Methodist meetings at age 18. At age 22, John Wesley appointed him as a traveling preacher. His boyhood home still stands and is open as a museum in West Bromwich, England. In 1771 he volunteered to travel to America. Within the first 17 days of being in the colonies, Asbury had preached in Philadelphia and New York. During the first year he was Wesley’s assistant and preached in 25 different settlements. When the American War of Independence broke out in 1776, he and James Dempster were the only Methodist ministers to remain in America.

Francis Asbury (Lukeman)

Francis Asbury, also known as the Francis Asbury Memorial, is a public equestrian statue, by American artist Augustus Lukeman, located at 16th Street and Mt. Pleasant Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

It was originally surveyed as part of the Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture! survey in 1994.

Description

This bronze sculpture features Francis Asbury seated upon his horse wearing a cape and hat. In his proper right hand he holds a bible. The horse is bending its head down to lick its left leg. The sculpture sits on a granite base (approx. 100 in. x 140 in. x 200 in.). On the proper left side of the sculpture, near the base, it is signed "Augustus Lukeman Sc 1921."

The sculpture is inscribed on the front of the base:

FRANCIS ASBURY
1745-1816
PIONEER
METHODIST BISHOP
IN AMERICA

On the left side of the base it is inscribed:

HIS CONTINUOUS JOURNEY THROUGH CITIES
VILLAGES AND SETTLEMENTS FROM 1771 TO 1816
GREATLY PROMOTED PATRIOTISM EDUCATION MORALITY
AND RELIGION IN THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC
Act of Congress