James G. Peale was a Methodist circuit rider.
In 1818, he was assigned to the Belleville circuit. Circuit membership remained roughly constant that year.[1] In 1819, he was reassigned to the Cornwall circuit, which saw a membership increase in the Episcopal church of 59, in addition to the 54 members at the start of Peale's term there.[2] In 1820, he was assigned to the Yonge Street circuit, where he rode alongside Thomas Demorest and David Youmans. In a year where there was significant decrease in Episcopal church membership due to competition with the Methodist Church of Great Britain, Yonge Street saw an increase of forty three members.[3]
In 1821, he was assigned to the Perth circuit.[4] Perth was founded and set up by the British government as a place to settle retired veterans, providing them with land, farming equipment, and foodstuffs to support them while the established their farms. As part of this, two ministers were sent to the town by the Church of England, William Bell and Reverend Harris. With two other ministers in town, Peale would wander the backwoods of the province on foot, preaching to those on the frontier, where towns and villages had not yet been established, and roads could not support a horse. Peale was the first itinerant preacher to begin searching the backwoods of Upper Canada to find settlers to preach to, although other members would soon be assigned to what would become the Missionary circuit. At the end of the year, Peale returned 30 members of the church, between Perth and the backwoods.[5] In 1822, he was assigned to the Bay of Quinte circuit, where he rode alongside Wyatt Chamberlayne.[6] One December morning, he preached in Adolphustown. That evening, he had an appointment to preach at Switzer's Chapel, on the opposite side of the Bay of Quinte. The bay's ice was too thick to permit crossing by boat, yet too thin to permit crossing on horseback. Determined to reach Switzer's Chapel, he took to crossing on foot. Finding his boots too slippery on the ice, he removed them, and cross the ice in his stocking feet. By the time he arrived at Switzer's, he was quite ill. There he gave his sermon. Afterwards, he took to bed, and died on Christmas day, 1822, in that same bed.[7]