by Laura Chase Smith, Dutton Press, 1903 Chapter XVII The New Bishop At Work To quote again from the "Reminiscences". the Bishop says: "With what mingled emotions of fear, hope and joy I set off for Ohio from Philadelphia on horseback, as I came, is quite impossible to tell. I remember the cold, the piercing wind, the snow and the slippery roads up and down the Alleghenies. My horse became so strained that I was obliged to buy another, fresh and young. With this faithful animal I kept pace with the stage coach, then passing to Greensburg, not far from Pittsburgh." But to what did the Bishop return?? On the 3d day of March, 1819, he arrived at his home in Worthington, Ohio. His young wife was in her early grave. He was the Bishop of a great diocese in extent, without salary and with practically so few clergy as to make the cause of the Church almost hopeless, five only in number, a vast emigration rushing in to buy the fertile land, ...................What was he to do? An affecting circumstance occurred previous to his journey to Philadelphia, which was the means of bringing great comfort to the home at Worthington. A niece of Mr. Chase, a young widow, who had recently emigrated from Vermont, and soon after lost her husband, came to her uncle's home with her little daughter. Welcome indeed at the time was her presence to the lonely man; and ever, until the Bishop's death, did this lovely woman remain faithful, tender, loving friend of himself and his children, a character as marked as his own devotion to the Church of her love. It was she who welcomed the Bishop when he returned from his consecration to his home, and who cared for his infant son in his absence, and, as he long after said, became one of the chief instruments in founding both Kenyon and Jubilee. There are still some who remember "Aunt Lucia' well as the incarnation of loving-kindness........... After the Bishop's return, Mrs. Russell's presence was a great relief to him in his home, and he immediately arranged his domestic affairs, to enter entirely at his own charge upon his diocesan duty. He hired a trusty man to take charge of his farm, and went on his way, as in the early days of the Church, preaching, baptizing, administering confirmation and the Lord's Supper to many; and wherever he went a blessing seemed to follow him." ............... He believed in his work; it was to him the great and absorbing passion of his life. Nothing else was so important; everything else must give way to the needs of this one cause. .................. Thus in these early days of hardship and toil he became, as has been truly said of him. "one of the makers of our country." .................. .............. During the early visitation St. Paul's Church, Steubenville, Ohio, was organized. The destitute churchmen in Virginia across the river were visited, and a parish at Wheeling was formed. The first diocesan journey over, the Bishop returned to his home to meet clergy in convention for the first time as their Bishop. He was welcomed to his diocese with words of loving kindness which not only touched his heart, but cheered and encouraged hi his hopes. A part of this address is as follows: "With no ordinary feelings, Right Reverend and dear sir, do we advert to the present situation of the Church in the West. It is a rose planted in the wilderness, may it be watered with the dews of Heaven; may it be nourished by the continued blessing of Him who is the foundation of goodness, until it blooms in beauty and perfection." To which the Bishop replied in kind, touching with much earnestness upon the subject so near to his heart, --- the need of more laborers in the field ready and willing to go forth, giving of their best to the great work so urgently needed. Immediately after this convention at Worthington, Benjamin Birge, of Lexington, Kentucky, was admitted to the holy order of deacons, and the same day seventy-nine persons were confirmed by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Chase. This was the convention of 1819, after which the Bishop divided his time among his domestic, parochial, and diocesan duties. ................................. The Rev. E. Searles held a position at the north, embracing more than a hundred miles in circumference. The Rev. Samuel Johnston was in the south, residing in Cincinnati. The Rev. Mr. Doddridge, of Virginia, officiated a part of the time in the eastern counties of Ohio. The Rev. Intrepid Morse ********(Bishop's nephew, son of Abigail (Chase) and John Morse), now admitted to priest's orders, took the town of Zanesville, the newly formed parish of Steubenville and several other places as missionary ground under his care. ............................ In this year 1819, Bishop Chase was married to Sophia May Ingraham, daughter of Duncan and Susanna Ingraham, of Philadelphia. Mrs. Chase was a sister of Mrs. Leonard Kip, the mother of Rt. Rev. Wm. Ingraham Kip, the first Bishop of California; she was also the sister of Mrs. Sparrow, the wife of the Rev. Professor Sparrow of Kenyon, afterward of Alexandria. A curious incident occurred in the same year; Jack, the negro, who slipped away from his comfortable home with Mr. and Mrs. Chase, while they lived in New Orleans, is the hero of an interesting episode in the bishop's history. As before stated, Jack had sailed away in the year 1807. In the year 1819, he returned to New Orleans, was identified, and was imprisoned to await the arrival of the legal powers, to be sold for the benefit of the master. At this juncture, Dr. Dow, the Bishop's old friend, apprised him of these facts, which put a new face upon an old picture. As much as he needed money, the Bishop would never consent to sell the unfaithful Jack but wrote immediately to Dr. Dow and other friends to emancipate Jack and let him go whither he wished, provided he would pay his prison fees and costs of suit. The reason why Jack's story is again referred to will be revealed later, when he became an important person, though only a poor faith less servant; for he proved an instrument in the hand of Providence of rescuing the Bishop of Ohio from great distress in London. End Chapter XVII Harriet M. Chase hatchase@uswest.net