y fervent segment of Methodist congregations" (Melton 5). The African Methodists' example "was contributing forcefully to the major change of direction that Methodism was undergoing in the New World" and "certainly reinforced the anti-slavery stance soon to be officially articulated by Wesley in his 1774 'Thoughts on Slavery'" (Melton 5). In 1784, the first Methodist Chapel in the City was erected in Baltimore, with a congregation of both white and black Methodists, the blacks numbering 111(approximately 17% of the church's total membership (Melton 6). Melton reports that "The Black members looked on as the movement's leadership passed very strong policy statements concerning slavery in 1780 and 1784" (6). In 1787, the black Methodists began to assemble on their own in Caleb Hyland's boot black cellar for what was termed "an independent prayer meeting" (Melton 6). It was during this period that Daniel Coker(a black slave whose mother had been white(became involved in the Methodist movement, eventually becoming "one of the most important figures i
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