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Elijah Hedding was of English parentage. Though neither of his parents were professors of religion, his mother was seriously inclined and took great pains to instruct him in truth and Christian duty. Notwithstanding his home training, he became somewhat uncontrollable, through some evil associations. This condition, happily, did not last long. In 1791 his parents removed to Starksborough, Vermont, an almost unsettled country, and here the boy began to develop, both physically and mentally, and showed an adventurous spirit bordering on recklessness. He was active, both in body and mind, and investigated various forms of religious and irreligious beliefs. He never evaded the issue, being open and frank in all that he said or did, until he finally got back to the teachings of his good mother, and became interested in the Methodist church, which he soon joined, and was for a time an exhorter, then a local preacher and about 1800, received a regular license. IN 1801 he was appointed to the Plattburg circuit. It was while here that he became acquainted with the family of David Blish. He was located at many different places, after the manner of the Methodist parsons. In 1824, he was chosen as a Bishop of the Methodist church, which office he held with honor to himself and the church for twenty eight years. He was a remarkable man and universally esteemed wherever he was known.
No children were born to him, but the name Hedding has been handed down through several generations of the Blish family, indicating the honor and esteem in which he was held by the family.
Bishop Hedding died April 9th, 1852, and his wife did not long survive him. The remains of both repose in the beautiful cemetary, on the east side of the Hudson River, a short distance below Poughkeepsie, New York.
References:
- JKB Blish Genealogy 1637-1905
- Hayward's Hist. Gilsum, New Hampshire
- Annals of the American Pulpit
- Life and Times of Bishop Hedding, by Dr. Clark
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