And so, we leave behind the challenge of big city driving and continue on with the last leg of Asbury’s circuit, as we draw closer to the end of this adventure by turning south.

Monday, September 22, 2025: We follow Asbury’s trail… the waypoints becoming fewer, but with greater distance now between each one. Lanoka Harbor, Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton… all in New Jersey. Within Asbury’s time space, we are now in September, 1791. He shares his reflections on these waypoints:

September 7: At Potter’s church (the present-day Lanoka Harbour) I learn some were offended: blessed be God! my soul was kept in great peace.

September 9. At Little Egg Harbour I endeavoured to speak very pointedly on Acts 13:46: my spirit was much moved, and I think, as a preacher and a visitor, I am thus far free from the blood of saints and sinners.

September 10. Rode a dreary, mosquito path, in great weakness, to Batsto works.

September 11. Preached on Luke 19:10. I advised the people to build a house for the benefit of those men so busily employed day and night, Sabbaths not excepted, in the manufacture of iron—rude and rough, and strangely ignorant of God.

From a researcher’s endnote in Asbury’s journal: The Batso Works were extensive bog iron works in Burlington County on the Mullica River. The Batsto, Atsion, and other furnaces of the area operated for nearly one hundred years, having been established as an industry in 1766 by Charles Read at Batsto. Colonel William Richards, operator of the works at Batsto, opened his home to Bishop Asbury. A rude church was later built by Elijah Clark near the site of the present Methodist church and was known as Clark’s log meeting house. It was used by various denominations, but preference was given the Methodists

This is the Batso-Pleasant Mills UMC mentioned in the endnote above. The large monument in their graveyard appears to be for the son of Colonel Richard’s, along with many headstones of his descendants. Finding no one to talk with, I left a Prologue tucked into a front door.

Leaving Batso Works, Asbury traveled to Philadelphia… since we had stopped there during his northerly route, we shadowed Asbury to Strasburg, Pennsylvania:

September 28. We rode to Strasburg thirty miles, where I preached at night in a respectable tavern, on Acts 3:19. I was very plain, and had some energy in preaching although unwell in body. I have faith to believe we shall have a house of worship, and that the Lord will have a people in this place.

Thence to Martin Boehm’s: hitherto the Lord hath been our helper in spite of sin and Satan. We had a good time whilst I spoke on Zechariah 12:10: after sacrament several bore their testimony for the Lord. My soul is much humbled, and brought into close communion with God; yea, I rejoiced greatly to find so much religion among the people.

We shared the road with the Amish horse buggies and marveled at miles upon miles of corn fields, with stalks towering 8-9 feet tall. It was obvious that harvest was in progress, but the only harvest we personally witnessed was one Amish man hand cutting the stalks and laying them across a flat bed, horse drawn cart. Wow. Respecting their desire to not have their picture taken, we chose to take no pictures of the Amish we encountered. We settled for the evening.

Tuesday, September 23, 2025: In the previous excerpt from his journal, Asbury notes that he visited Martin Boehm. Boehm was a Mennonite friend of Asbury’s, and had provided a meeting house for him to preach. Most of Boehm’s family became Methodists, but Boehm remained faithful to his Mennonite roots, but he will later be expelled by the Mennonites. We began our day by visiting Conestoga UMC, as Martin Boehm lived at Conestoga.

The present church was built in 1856. Together, we walked the large graveyard behind the church, but were unable to find any headstones of the Boehm family. Finding no one around, we moved on to Wilmington, New Castle and Whiteleysburg, all in Deleware and settled for the evening in Milford – which is near Barratt’s Chapel, which we will visit in the morning.

Peace
-Pastor Tim