Stamper, Jonathan

Born: 1791-04-27 Madison County, Kentucky

Died: 1864-02-26 Decatur, Illinois

Flourished: 1841-1843 Sangamon County, Illinois

Alternate name: Stomper

Stamper converted to Methodism at a Kentucky camp-meeting in 1810, and later that year he became a minister. He worked as a chaplain during the War of 1812 and afterwards returned to ministering on various Kentucky circuits, where he became well-known as a preacher at revivals and camp-meetings. In 1841, Stamper was transferred to the Illinois Conference, stationed in Springfield for two years and then Quincy for two years. In the 1845 Methodist Church schism, Stamper sided with the Southern conferences, and so he left Illinois and returned to Kentucky. In 1849, he retired from the ministry and the following year, he moved to Decatur, Illinois. In 1858, he came out of retirement to work as a circuit minister in the Illinois Conference periodically until 1862, at which point he retired fully.

A. H. Redford, History of Methodism in Kentucky (Nashville: Southern Methodist, 1869), 2:179, 184, 186, 199-202.