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John Philip Newman was born in New York City on September 1, 1826. Without any significant formal education, he entered the Onedia Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1849.

Newman married Angeline Ensign in 1855, and after a number of appointments was transferred to the New York Annual Conference where he successfully served two of the largest churches in New York City between the years of 1859 to 1864. During 1860 he traveled extensively throught the Near East and Europe which produced the book, "From Dan to Beersheba."

From 1864 to 1869 Newman was assigned to New Orleans to establish the Methodist Episcopal Church in the south. In 1869 he was appointed to the newly erected Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. It was here that he became pastor to President Ulysses S. Grant, his family, as well as other high placed government leaders. He served three terms as Chaplain of the United States Senate in addition to his denominational responsibilities. In 1871-1872 he traveled to Greenland on the naval ship U.S. Congress, and shared in the beginning voyage of the naval ship U.S. Polaris as it prepared for its trip to the North Pole.

Upon Newman's return President Grant appointed him Inspector of U.S. Consulates in Asia and in that office traveled around the world. In 1876- 1879 he again served as pastor of the Metropolitan Church. His next pastorate, 1879-1882, was in the Central Church in New York City where Grant became a trustee

For a third time he returned as pastor of the Metropolitan Church, and served there until he was elected a bishop in 1888. His episcopal responsibilities took him not only on assignments in this country, but also to Japan, South America, Mexico, Scandinavia, and Russia. The Newmans had great interest in Jerusalem and provided through their estate enough funds and property in 1911 to allow the Board of Missions to establish in 1928 the Newman School of Missions in Jerusalem.

Bishop John Philip Newman died on July 5, 1899 in Saratoga, New York and was buried in Mechanicville, New York.

Thomas C. Nixon (1793-1872), an American minister, was born on October 22, 1793, in the Kershaw District of South Carolina. While he was still young, he and his family moved to Tennessee and settled on Duck River in Maury County. His parents were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and his father was a local preacher.

In 1810, Nixon had a spiritual awakening and joined the Church at Mount Pisgah. The Tennessee Annual Conference licensed Nixon to preach and admitted him on trial, November 1, 1812. In 1813, the annual conference appointed him to the Cumberland District, Somerset charge. Bishop Francis Asbury ordained Nixon a deacon in the following year he was appointed to the Illinois District and served at New Madrid. Nixon traveled for three years in the Tennessee Conference before being appointed in 1815 to the Wilkinson Circuit in the Mississippi Territory. The year proved to be a busy appointment for Nixon. Another appointment to both the Holston District and the Wilkinson District while stationed at Lee added to his responsibilities. The following year, 1816, became a pivotal year for both Nixon and Mississippi Methodism.

Due to church growth, the General Conference divided the Tennessee Annual Conference to form a separate Mississippi Annual Conference. The new annual conference covered Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Nixon and eight other circuit riders became the clergy foundation of the new annual conference. Bishop Richard Roberts ordained Nixon as a full elder with all the rights, duties, and privileges granted a minister in full connection. Roberts would appoint him to the Wilkinson (1817), Louisiana District-Attakapas charge (1818), Mississippi District–Amite (1819), and Alabama (1819).

The 1821 Mississippi Annual Conference minutes records Nixon's appointment to the Alabama District, Cahawba charge but also its presiding elder. This is the last time Nixon’s name appeared on the conference appointment list until his expulsion in 1823. Nixon’s journal records the suspension from his official office in the church. The journal also tells a story of sorrow during the same year.

Despite the disconcerting pause in Nixon’s ministerial career, his personal life had positive moments. He married Elizabeth Rawles on May 9, 1824. The couple had eleven children before Elizabeth died during the birth of her twelfth child on May 3, 1846. During this period the Nixon family settled on a farm in Hinds County, Mississippi, where he lived the rest of his life. Despite the disconcerting pause in Nixon’s ministerial career, his personal life had positive moments. He married Elizabeth Rawles on May 9, 1824. The couple had eleven children before Elizabeth died during the birth of her twelfth child on May 3, 1846. During this period the Nixon family settled on a farm in Hinds County, Mississippi, where he lived the rest of his life. Nixon’s journal indicates that the plantation produced mostly corn and cotton crops through the labor of enslaved people.

By 1832, Nixon is readmitted for the first time into the Mississippi Annual Conference. For the next five years, his ministry included the following appointments: Washington District-Bayou Pierre charge (1833), Vicksburg District-Madison and Raymond charges (1834-1836). Once more he locates by the 1837 Mississippi Annual Conference. Before his second readmission to the annual conference, he marries Cynthia Dean. During the 1866 Mississippi Annual Conference, Nixon is readmitted and for the next five years serving at Brookhaven District-Crystal Springs and the Vicksburg District-Cayuga charges.

Nixon retires in 1871 to resume life outside the ministry. However, retirement is short as he dies on March 4, 1872.