Mcclaskey, Joel

McClaskey, Joel an eminent Methodist Episcopal minister, was born in Derry County. Ireland, Jan. 2, 1756. His parents, who were members of the Established Church of England, in 1772 emigrated to New Jersey; here John was converted in 1782, and, feeling that he was called of God to preach the Gospel, took the necessary steps to enter the ministry, and in 1786 became a member of Conference as an itinerant; in 1792 was appointed presiding elder on Philadelphia District; in 1793-94, to Baltimore; in 1795, to Philadelphia: in 1796-98, presiding elder on New Jersey District; in 1799- 1801, to New York City; in 1802, to Philadelphia; in 1812-13, presiding elder on Chesapeake District, and died at Chestertown, Md., Sept. 2, 1814. Mr. McClaskey was a man of deep and earnest piety; versed in the Scriptures; and thousands of souls were converted through his efforts during a long and useful ministry. Conference Minutes, 1:257; Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, 7:125.