Boehm was a son of Martin Boehm, a founder of the United Brethren in Christ, although he himself became a Methodist preacher. He travelled with Francis Asbury for five years, and knew most of the early leaders of the Methodist, Evangelical, and United Brethren movements. The following quotations are taken from The Patriarch of One Hundred Years; Being Reminiscences, Historical and Biographical, of Rev. Henry Boehm, by Rev. J. B. Wakeley (NY: Nelson & Phillips, 1875; originally published in 1865).
Boehm’s assessment of Harry Hosier, a renowned African American Methodist preacher: “The preaching of a colored man was, in those days, a novelty…Crowds flocked to hear him, not only because he was a colored man, but because he was eloquent….His voice was musical, and his tongue as the pen of a ready writer. He was unboundedly popular, and many would rather hear him than the bishops.” (pp.90-91)
“We were at it five hours without intermission, during which time the people heard four sermons in English and one in German, and yet we were not through, for in the evening John Henninger preached, and Nathan Barnes exhorted. What would people think now of listening to six sermons in one day? How would they get along who can hardly endure one?” (p.210)
“As for rest we knew not what it meant, unless it was on horseback. Mr. Asbury acted as if a voice was ringing in his ear, constantly saying, ‘Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest.’ His motto was, ‘Labor here, rest hereafter.'”(p.394)
“The bishop [Francis Asbury] used to say that the equipment of a Methodist minister consisted of a horse, saddle and bridle, one suit of clothes, a watch, a pocket Bible, and a hymn book. Anything else would be an incumbrance [sic]. I assure the reader our saddle-bags were stuffed full of clothing, medicine, books, journal, etc; it was astonishing how much we could crowd into them.”(p.445)
“In some matters I cannot but think that, as a Church, we have retrograded. The people and preachers in that day were patterns of plainness; we conform more to the world, and have lost much of the spirit of self-denial they possessed….But if there are some things to lament, there is much that calls for gratitude. If we remain true to Methodism,…then our future will be grand and glorious as the past, and the result such as to meet the expectations of the most ardent among us.” (p.492)