Abell, Asa

Abell, Asa was a distinguished minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and then in the Free Methodist Church, was born in Cheshire County, N. H., Nov. 19, 1796. He was converted at a camp-meeting held near Canandaigua Lake in June, 1815. In 1816 he attended for one term the academy at Onondaga Valley; in 1821 he was admitted to the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. and was appointed presiding elder of the Genesee District in 1827. For eighteen years he was a presiding elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was elected a member of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of 1832, and of the three following General Conferences. Soon after the organization of the Free Methodist Church, he with others withdrew, joined the new denomination, and did effective work in this his new relationship for several years. About three years before his death he had a stroke of paralysis, which affected his powers of utterance. He died triumphantly in the faith of the Gospel, Nov. 9. 1879. Through life he was a man of unswerving integrity; as a preacher, he was clear, lively, forcible, and convincing. He frequently wrote for the periodicals, also composed several hymns. See the Chicago Free Methodist Oct. 13, 1880.