PRINCETON, N. J. BX 8947 .13^^67^1879 " Norton, A. T. 1808-1884 History of the Presbyterian church, in the state of J'AJM'IZ' SYR. STPJXT '■?/a''srjnjiN sfmrnar ^^C^^r-l^ ^:^^^ ^1^/^^^^^) HISTO|^,,,,,e 'iimf^' OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. BY A. T /NORTON, VOL. I. ST. LOUIS: W. S. BRYAN, PUBLISHER, FOR THE AUTHOR. 1879. Copyrighted, 1879, by A. T. NORTON. Ryan, Jacks & Co., Printers. PREFACE. This volume is called Presbyterianism in Illinois > Volume I. It is, however, confined to the portion of the State upon and south of Wabash Railroad, from Danville to Naples, and east of the Illinois river, with the exceptions of Har- din, Calhoun county, and the sketch of Aratus Kent. I intended originally to have brought it forward to 1876, but the material was much more than I had anticipated, and after severe condensation, and leaving out entirely much that I would have gladly inserted, I have been obliged to stop with the period of the re-union. About a second volume, which may embrace the remaining portions of the State, I have at present no formed purpose. This volume is stereotyped and copy-righted. Another may be prepared, uniform with this and upon the same general plan, if circumstances favor. Of the United, Associate and Cumberland Presbyterian Church, I have not spoken. I have a pretty strong convic- tion that in one or two generations all these will be one with •ours. Neither have I given any space to the Assembly's Portu- guese Presbyterian churches in Jacksonville and Springfield. This is owing simply to lack of space. I have taken no notice of Deacons as such. The practice of our churches is various with reference to this class of offi- cers. Some have none and feel no lack. In very many •churches the office is merely nominal. The records of nearly all our churches on this point are exceedingly defective — so IV PREFACE. much SO that in most cases the making out of full lists is'- utterly impossible. Indeed, with Trustees to hold the prop- erty and look after the material interests of our congregations, I am free to say the office of Deacon in our American Pres- byterian Church is superfluous. Explanations. — When a licentiate is ordained as pastor, I do not say — except inadvertantly — ordained and installed. The ordaination includes the installation. When a licentiate supplies a church, I speak of him as s. s. or stated supply. When a minister, ordained sine titulo, or as an evangelist, supplies a church, I speak of him as supply pastor. This- is the rule, though I am afraid not always adhered to. For my spelling of the principal town and church in Perry county, DucoiGN, I refer the reader to page 352, I prefer it to Du Quoin, Duquoin or Duquoine. Ihe labor of preparing this volume has been immense. I have read twenty-nine volumes of Presbyterial and Synod- ical records and about two hundred volumes of Sessional records. The correspondence necessary to secure the sketches of about three hundred and fifty individuals has. been wearying to the flesh. I have purchased and consulted, numerous books of reference. Complete sets of the Minutes of both the Assemblies have been at my disposal. About forty of the first volumes of the Home Missionary, the vol- umes of Presbytery Reporter, Presbyterian Monthly and di- vers other publications have been consulted. The accumulated recollections of forty-four years of min- isterial labor have been pressed into this service; but it has been a labor of love. I commend the result to our ministers and churches, thank- them for their sympathy and assistance in gathering the ma- terials and their pecuniary aid. Withal, I bespeak their in- dulgence. Aug. T. Norton. Alton, III,, October, 1879. ILLUSTRATIONS. GIDEON BLACKBURN, . - . . . frontisiiece. B. F. SPILMAN, - - 23 JOHN M. ELLIS, 56 JOHN G. BERGEN. -.---. 120 THOMAS LIFPINCOTT, ... . 147 AUG. T. NORTON, - - . . . 233 GEORGE IVES KING, ..... 64+ BENJ. GCXDFREY, . . - . , 70, CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTO RY. The first church — The first Presbytery — First Synod — Constitution of early New England churches — Division of the Synod — Increase of the Church and Ministry — Growth in Virginia — Episcopalian To- ries— General Assembly — Routes Westward — Extension Westward, i-io CHAPTER II. MISSIONARIES AND CHURCHES FROM THE BEGINNING TO 1820. John Evans Finley — John F. Schermerhorn — Samuel J. Mills — Daniel Smith — St. Louis in 1814 — Sharon church — James McGready — Martin B. Darrah — Backus Wilbur — Andrew O. Patterson — Con- cord church, Mo. — Benjamin F. Spilman — Benjamin Spilman — Shoal Creek church — Salmon Giddings — Oren Catlin — Daniel G. Sprague — David Tenney — Edwardsville church — Edward Hollister — Daniel Gould-=-Abraham Williamson — Golconda church — John Crawford — Nathan B. Derrow — Robert A. Lapsley — Hopewell, or New Hope church, ...... 10-48 CHAPTER III. FROM 1820 TO FIRST MEETING OF CENTER PRESBYTERY. Turkey Hill church — Kaskaskia and Chester church — Timothy Flint — Benjamin Low — Mrs. PermehaBurr — John Mann — John M. Ellis — Mrs. Frances C. Brard Ellis — John Matthews — The first Alton church — Stephen Bliss — David Choate Procter — CoUinsville church — The first Presbyterian church in Greene county, or Apple Creek church — Paris church, Edgar county — Isaac Reed — John Young — Elbridge Gerry Howe — Betliel church — Thomas A. Spilman — Greenville church — Solomon Hardy — Jesse Townsend — Mrs. John Tillson — Shawneetown — Shawneetown church — First Presbyterian church, Jacksonville — Carmi church — Sangamon church, or First Springfield — John G. Bergen, D. D. — Hillsboro church — John Tillson — Vandalia church — Illinois Riggs — First Bell, . 48-138 Vlii CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. CENTER PRESBYTERY. First meeting at Kaskaskia — Second at Jacksonville — Third meeting at Vandalia — New Providence church — Sugar Creek church — 'New Haven church — Adjourned meeting — Thomas Lippincott — Cyrus L. Watson — Fourth meeting at Springfield — Theron Baldwin — J. M. Sturtevant — John McDonald — Stiles Hawley — Fifth meeting with Wabash church — Measures taken for a new Synod — Henry Herrick — Benoni Y. Messenger — Horace Smith — Pleasant Prairie church, . . ^- . . . . . . 138-166 CHAPTER V. YEARS 183I TO 1S34. Eight regular meetings each of Illinois, Kaskaskia and Sangamon Pres- byteries— Four meetings of Palestine Presbytery — Four meetings of Synod — Edward Beecher — William J. Eraser — Union church — Gilead church — Palestine church — William K. Stewart — Alton church, the first — Horace Smith — Bethel, or Oakland church — Wil- liam Kirby — Elisha Jenney — Naples church — John Montgomery — John F. Brooks — Albert Hale — Equality church — Pisgah church — William Hamilton — Alexander Ewing — Isaac Bennet — Elkhorn, or Nashville church — Belleville church, the first — Roswell Brooks — First Presbyterian church of Edwards county, Shiloh, or Trinity^ Lemuel Foster — String Prairie, or Walnut Grove church — South Greene, or Jerseyville church — Robert Stewart — Gideon Blackburn, D. D. — Samuel E. Blackburn — Spring Cove church — Carlinville church — Marine church — Sugar Creek church — Lick Creek chuich — Dewey Whitney — Enoch Kingsbury — fohn C. Campbell — Dan- ville church — Darwin church — Brulitt's Creek church, . 166-215 CHAPTER VI. YEARS 1835 TO 1837. Six regular meetings each of Illinois, Kaskaskia, Sangamon and Pales- tine Presbyteries — Four regular meetings of Alton Presbyteiy — Three meetings of Synod — Wm. G. Gallaher — Alfred H. Dasheill, D. D. — Milton Kimball — Frederick W. Graves — Hugh Barr — Man- chester church — Second Presbyterian church of Springfield — Chatham church — Reuben White — Pisgah church, Morgan county —Samuel Baldrldge, M. D.— T. B. Hurlbut— Aug. T. Norton, D. D. — Amos P. Brown — James Stafford — Charleston church- John Silliman — West Liberty church — Upper Alton church — Elijah P. Lovejoy — Enoch S. Huntington — Charles Selleck — ^Joshua T. Tucker, D. D., .... . . 215-262 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER VII. YEARS 1838 TO 184I. Eight regular meetings each of Illinois, Kaskaskia, Sangamon and Pal- estine, o. s.. Presbyteries — Three meetings of Palestine Presbytery, n. s. — Ralph W. Gridley — Peccan Bottom church — Panther Creek church — Cyrus Riggs — John W. Little — William C. Greenleaf — Ed- wardsville church, the second — Daniel E. Manton — L.S. Williams — George C. Wood — Mud Creek church — Walnut Grove, or McClus- key church — Nathaniel Kingsbury — Okaw, or Areola church — New- ton church — Mt. Carmel church — Andrew Todd — Central church, Jacksonville — Greenville church, n. s. — Joseph Fowler — Robert Kirkwood — Luke Lyon — Whitehall, at first Apple Creek church — Pisgah church, Gallatin county — Andrew M. Hershey — Carlinville church, o. s., Dry Point or Bayless church — Henry I. Venable — Robert H. Lilly — Erastus W. Thayer — York church — Belleville » church, the second — Charles E. Blood — Carlyle church — Mt. Ver- non church, o. s. — Crab Orchard church — Shiloh church, Lawrence county — Hebron church, Ashmore postoflrce — David D. McKee — William Chamberlin, ....... 262-307 CHAPTER VIII. YEARS 1842 TO I 845. Eight regular meetings of Illinois, Kaskaskia, Sangamon, Palestine, Wabash and Alton Presbyteries — Thomas Laurie, D. D. — William H. Williams — Salem Church, Macoupin county — Archibald C. Allen — West Union, or Murrayville church — Hubbel Loomis — Troy church — Josiah Porter — Belleville church, o. s. — Waveland church — Sparta, Jordan's Grove, or Baldwin church — Liberty, or Rockwood church — Nine-Mile Prairie, or old Ducoign church — Joseph A. Ranney — Jo- siah Wood — Heniy B. Whittaker — Exeter church — Chauncy Eddy . — Hopewell church. Bond county — Bethany, or Staunton church — Joseph Piatt — Shelbyville church, o. s.^Plum Creek church — Wil- ham E. Chittenden — George W. Pyle — William Fithian — Charles B. Barton — Titus Theodore Barton — Galum church — Elisha F. Chester — Blackburn Leffler — Hurricane church — Williston Jones — Mulberry Grove church — Marion church, ... . 307-35$ CHAPTER IX. YEARS 1846 TO I 848. Six regular meetings of Illinois, Kaskaskia, Sangamon, Palestine and Alton Presbyteries — Three meetings of o. s. and n. s. Synods — Socrates Smith — Harvey Blodgett — Rochester church — Hopewell, or Knob Prairie church, Franklin county — John Smith How- ell— Thomas Woodruff Hynes — Marshall church — Grandview X CONTENTS. church — James R. Dunn — Adjourned meeting of Alton Presbytery — N. A. Hunt — Western Saratoga church — Murphysboro church — John L. Hawkins— P. D. Young— W. B. Gardner— C. H. Palmer — ^Joseph Adams — Jos. Gordon — W. H. Bird — Brighton church — Vergennes church — Liberty Prairie church — E. B. Olmsted — A. M. Dixon — Livingston M. Glover — Joseph Wilson — P. W. Thomson — Lawrenceville church — Joseph S. Graves — Lemuel Grosvenor — John Gibson — George Spaulding — Hickory Creek church — Van Burensburg church, ...... . 355-392 CHAPTER X. YEARS 1849 TO 1852. Eight regular meetings of Illinois, Kaskaskia, Sangamon, Palestine and Alton Presbyteries — Six meetings of Wabash Presbytery — Joseph M. Grout — Robinson church — Third church, Springfield — Rattan's Prairie, or Moro church — James Smith, D. D. — Richard V. Dodge — Valentine Pentzer — Calvin Butler — John Kennedy — John V. Dodge — ^John K. Deering — John H. Russ — Ewington church — Me- tropolis City and church — Ft. Massac — John G. Rankin — Gideon C. Clark — George Pierson, M. D. — Shelby ville church, n. s. — Da- vid Ewing — Redbud church — Pleasant Ridge church — Long Point church — Hillery Patrick — Liberty Prairie, or Cerro Gordo church — Robert Simpson — James Cameron — George M. Tuthill — Joseph £. McMurray — Pinckneyville church — Union church, Macoupin county — Ml Vernon church. Bond county — McLeansboro church, n. s. — John Crozier — David A. Wallace — North Arm church — First and Second Decatur church — Hardin church — David Dimond, D. D.— H. D. Piatt— William T. Bartle, .... 392-433 CHAPTER XL YEARS1853TO1856. Meetings of Presbyteries and Synods — Rufus Nutting — Peter Hassinger — Bethel church, Crawford county — Ebenezer church — Hiram F. Taylor — Caledonia church — Virden church — Robert M. Roberts — Pocahontas church — Elm Point church — Cave Spring church — Samuell Newell, D. D. — Robert A. Mitchell — Martinsville church — Samuel C. Baldridge — Union church — Sullivan church — Henry R. Lewis — Samuel R. H. Wylie — Mt. Vernon church — Carbondale church — John W. McCord — William D. Sanders — Lively's Prairie church— John B. Saye — W. W. Wells— Monticello church— Sig- mund Uhlfelder — Samuel Ward — Litchfield church — Nathan S. Palmer — John H. Brown, D. D. — Noah Bishop — Albert Smith, D. D. — A. S. Avery — Josejih S. Edwards — Shipman church — Pana church — Centralia church — New Ducoign church, . . 433-475 CONTENTS. Xr CHAPTER XII. YEARS 1857 TO 1858. Meetings of Presbyteries and Synods — Edward McMillan — Caleb J. Pitkin — Salem church — James M. Alexander— Friendsville church — Dawson church — Taylors-ille church — Second church, Jerseyville —Robert W. Allen— Charles Kenmore— William S. Post— Church of Gillespie — Richview church— Cumberland Precinct, or Browns- town church — Tamaroa church — P. R. Vanatta — Zion (German) church— Samuel B. Smith— B. H. Charles— William R. Sim— But- ler church — Xenia, or Flora church — Trenton church — Mason church, o. s. — William R. Palmer — F. A. Deming — First and Sec- ond church, Mattoon — John Huston — Ellis D. Howell — Neoga church — Olney church — Hopewell church, Lawrence county — S. K. Sneed — Andrew Laicc — C H. Taylor — Cairo church, . . 47S"5^S' CHAPTER XIIL YEARS 1859 TO I 860. Meetings of Presbyteries and Synods — Greenfield church — Georgetown, or Steele's Mills church — William H. Templeton — F. H. L. Laird — Unity church — Allen McFarland — James W. Allison — Henry T. Morton— Wakefield, or ML Olivet church — Kansas church — Tacusa, or Assumption church — Alton Presbytery and A. H. M. S. — James S. Walton — Almond G. Martin — Mound City church — Henr}' Blanke — David R. Todd — Lazarus B. W. Shryock — Sandoval church — W' illiam L. Tarbet — Prairie Bird church — Westminster church — Mar- tin P. Ormsby — Norman A. Prentiss — Mascoutah church — Bement church — Charles P. Spining — Charles H. Foote — George W. Good- ale — Gennan church, Jerseyville — W. L. Mitchell — Alfred N. Denny SiS-554' CHAPTER XIV. YEARS 1861 TO 1862. Meetings of Presbyteries and Synods of 1861 and 1862 — David H. Hamilton — George D. Miller — New Hope church, Jasper county — Milton church — Beckwith Prairie church — West Okaw church — Thomas Sherrard — E. G. Bryant — Ezekiel Folsom — Thomas Rey- nolds— Joseph J. Gray — H. M. Corbett — St. John's German church — B. C. Swan — ^J. C. Thornton — Union county church — J. W. Stark — A. S. Kemper — Union church, Clark county — David F. Mc- Farland— George W. F. Birch — Nokomis churcli — R. L. McCune — Grayville church, ...... 5S4"576' CHAPTER XV. YEARS 1863 TO 1864. Meetings of Presbyteries and Synods — Morgan L. Wood — William Xii CONTENTS. Barnes — Nathaniel Williams — Samuel E. Vance — Alfred Hamilton —Eli W. Taylor— Elijah Buck— A. R. Naylor— Thomas H. New- ton— William R. Adams — Timothy Hill — James B. Sheldon — Sam- uel B. Taggart — Sandford R. Bissell — Odin church — Bridgeport church — Clark Loudon — J. Jerome Ward — Charles F. Beach — Wil- liam Ellers, 576-593 CHAPTER XVI. YEARS 1865 TO 1867. Meetings of Presbyteriea and Synods — John L. Jones — David R. Love — Thomas Spencer — Watson church — Effingham church — Stephen Jay Bovell — Frederick H. Wines — William B. Spence — F. N. Ewing — Macon church — Charles F. Halsey — George L. Little — Smith H. Hyde — J. Rogers Armstrong — Buffalo church — William Bridgman — Cornelius Van H. Monfort — Mulberry Grove church — John B. Brandt— Garnett A. Pollock— Charles P. Felch— Noble Township church — Prairie City church — Samuel W. Mitchell — Har- ristown church — John H. Dillingham — Mason church — H. N. Wil- bur— James Brownlee — Joseph D. Barstow — Willard P. Gibson — W. P. Teitsworth — Anna church — Lebanon church — John B. L. Soule — G. H. Robertson — Thomas D. Davis — A. J. Clark — Russell D. Van Deursen — Homer church — James E. Lapsley — Elisha D. Barrett — Samuel Conn — Moawequa church — ^Joseph H. Scott — An- drew D. Jacke — Adam Johnston — America church — Tower Hill church — Edwardsville church — East St. Louis church — WiUiam H. Smith — Herman church — Larkinsburg church — Timberville, or Al- lendale church — Thomas Gould — Joseph Warren, D. D. — Eliza- bethtown church, ...... 594-635 CHAPTER XVn. YEAR I 8 6 8. Meetings of Presbyteries and Synods — Asahel L. Brooks — George Steb- bins — Thomas E. Spilman — Henry Mattice — New Amity church — Denmark church — Pinckneyville church — Thornton K. Hedges — Illiopolis church — Washington Maynard — Lucius L Root — Leb- anon German church — George Ives King — Peter S. Van Nest — W. D. F. Lummis — Martin B. Gregg — McLeansboro church — Harris- burg church — Enfield church — George B. McComb — Thomas Smith — George K. Perkins — Joseph M. Wilson, . . 636-654 CHAPTER XVIIL YEARS 1867 TO 1870. Meetings of Presbyteries and Synod — Isaac N. Candee — Robert Gaius Ross — J. A. Williams — John H. Reints — Salem church — Sparta CONTENTS. XIU church — John Kidd — James L. McNair — Edgewood church — Wil- liam W. WilHams — W. W. Harsha — Edward F. Fish — John M. Johnson — Hugh Aiken McKelvey — John D. Jones — James Scott Davis — C. Solon Armstrong — Du Bois church — Vera church — Shob- onier church — Villa Ridge church — Gilgal church — George W. Fisher — James H. Spilman — John Hood — William B. Faris — Don- gola church — Grand Tower church — James G. Butler — Church of Saline Mines — Gilead church — Auburn church — Carbondale church — Greenup church, ...... 655-679 CHAPTER XIX. YEARS 1870 TO 1879. Ninian S. Dickey — John William Bailey — Alfred W. Wright — WiUiam H. Ilsley — William Haslett Priestly — George F. Davis — Ferdinand G. Strange — Adam C. Johnson — Alvan R. Mathes — John E. Car- son— John McRobinson — Samuel M. Morton — Robert Rudd — Si- mon C. Head — Adam W. Ringland — William E. Lincoln — David W. Evans — Harlan Page Carson — Lyman Marshall — R. J. L. Matthews — Alfred M. Mann — Albert B. Byram — Charles T. Phil- lips— William L. Johnston — Oliver S. Thompson — Edwin L. Hurd — Edward Scofield, sr., . . . . . 680-700 CHAPTER XX. Capt. Benjamin Godfrey — Monticello, Jacksonville and Ducoign Fe- male Seminaries and Blackburn University, . . , 701-708 CHAPTER XXL Aratus Kent, .,..,,. 709-726 CHAPTER I. INTRO DU CTO RY. Authorities: — Gillett's History; Foote's Sketches of North Carolina: Pres. Quarterly, Jan., 1859. Freedom to worship God according to the dictates of one's own consience, is the distinguishing trait of reHgious liberty. This hberty has ever been withheld by the Romish Church, when by an alhance with the civil arm it had the power so to do. A determination not to grant this liberty, but to enforce exact compliance with all their doctrines and modes of worship, has ever been the main-spring of that Church's persecuting spirit and practices. After the Reformation, which had made not a little pro- gress in the 150 years from Wicliffe to Henry VHI, had been arrested by the assumption of the supremacy by that English sovereign, the same unwillingness to bestow liberty of conscience continued to exist, and continued to perse- cute almost as pitilessly as under Rome itself. This per- secuting course was, however, arrested, or at least modified, in England by the Toleration Act of 1689. But in those of the American colonies, where the Episcopal was the estab- lished religion, all dissenters, especially Presbyterians, con- tinued to be harrassed by fines and imprisonments, even after the Toleration Act had become the law of the kingdom. On account of these obstructions, purposely and often illegally thrown in the way by Roj-al governors and their satellites, it happened that, though there were hundreds of christians of Presbyterian convictions and predilections in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and the Caro- linas, little progress was made in the way of actual Presby- terian organization till near the close of the 17th century. Aside from the New England churches, which were Pres- byterian in their i nUrfia I stracturQ, the first regular Presbyte- rian church positively known to have been organized in this country was that of Sxow Hill, Maryland, established in 1684, by Francis Makemie, who was born near Rathmelton, Donegal Co., Ireland, and had studied at one of the Scotch 2 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. universities. He was a most self-denying, laborious, itiner- ant Presbyterian minister, traveling, preaching, and visiting in Maryland, Virginia and New York. He found the field white for the harvest, and exerted himself most assiduously to obtain evangelical ministers from London, Dublin and New England. The first Presbytery in this country was called the Pres- bytery of Philadelphia, and was formed in 1705 or 1706. The loss of the first leaf of the record leaves the date un- certain. It consisted of seven ministers — Francis Makemie, John Hampton,- George Macnish, Samuel Davis, John Wil- son, Jedidiah Andrews and Nathaniel Taylor. Ten years later that one Presbytery was divided into three, Philadelphia, with six ministers ; New Castle, with six, and Snow Hill, with three. These with the new Presbytery of Long Island, constituted the first Synod. Its churches extended along the Atlantic coast from Vir- ginia to the eastern extremity of Long Island. Many of them were made up of emigrants from New England. The reasons why they fell so readily and generally into the Presbyterian Church may be gathered from an able article in the Presbyterian Quarterly for Jan., 1859. "The constitution of the individual church in the early history of New England was Presbyterian rather than Con- gregational. This was the case with the mother church of Leyden, of which John Robinson was pastor, and Brewster a ruling elder. They seem to have borrowed their ideas of the proper and scriptural organization of an individual church from the writings of Calvin. In the French Re- formed Church the principles of that Genevese reformer were fully carried out ; and it was these French Reformed churches which the Leyden church took as its pattern." But the Plymouth church, Mass., was, as all know, a branch of the Leyden church transplanted to this side of the Atlantic, and that Plymouth church was the pattern for the early New England churches. The Cambridge Platform of 1648, recognizes the Presby- terian Constitution of the Church. It says : "The government of the Church is vested in its Presbytery of Elders. The Holy Ghost, where it mentioneth Church rule and Church government, ascribeth it to Elders^ It held that " Ruling Elders were appointed for the assistance of pastors in the gov- ernment of the churches, and the inspection of the flocks." INTRODUCTORY. 3 This Platform was unanimously approved by the New Eng- land churches of that day. The natural development of this internal Presbyterian sys- tem would have been into Presbytery, taking the oversight of the churches in a defined region of country, and constituting a Court of Appeal. But this natural development was pre- vented, among other reasons by that vicious union of Church And State, which obtained everywhere throughout the chris- tian world, from the time the Church first allied itself with the Roman Empire, down to the former part of the present ■century. By this system, discipline was exercised by the civil arm. Appeals from individual churches were not to a higher JEcclesiastical body, possessing only spiritual authority, but to the civil power. This power sometimes issued the appeals in its own courts, and sometimes referred the matter of them to Synods, or councils, called by its own authority. The •early Puritans of New England were imbued with this vi- cious, old-world idea that discipline was to be enforced by appeals referred to the civil authority. Hence, even when the union between Church and State was everywhere, in our •country, dissolved, they failed to provide spiritual courts be- yond the individual church, and to this day many of them cannot be made to understand their use and necessity. Some, however, of their leading minds grasped the true view. Prominent among them was President Edwards, who, in 1750, said: "I have long been perfectly out of conceit of our unsettled, independent, confused way of church gov- ernment in the land ; and the Presbyterian way has long appeared to me the most agreeable to the Word of God, and the reason and nature of things." Similar to this was the view of President Dwight, of Yale College. The " Mu- tual Council" appeared to him "a judicatory most unhappily constituted. After its decisions, its existence ceases ; its re- sponsibility vanishes with its existence, as does also the sense of its authority." It has "no common rules of pro- ceeding." He would have the appellate tribunal a " standing body, always existing, of acknowledged authority, a court of record, having a regular system of precedents." What was this but a Presbytery? He preferred a consociation to a council, but said it was defective from " the want of a still superior tribunal to receive appeals." Stone, of Hartford, defined Congregationalism as "a speaking aristocracy in the face of a silent democracy." 4 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Now, when Puritans of New England, imbued with these Presbyterian ideas of the internal government of a church, and feeling the necessity for some outside complement to it, found themselves within the bounds of Presbytery and Synod, they at once hailed them as the Eureka of their desires. These same reasons have for 175 years led a host of other emigrants from New England to form the same Church connections. After some investigation, though not pre- tending to positive accuracy of knowledge, it is my full be- lief that during the whole period of the existence of the Presbyterian Church in this country, at least one-half its members have been, and are, New Englanders, and their descendants. The period from 1740 to 1758 was marked by two oc- currences of special ii^iportance. I. The division of the Synod. This was brought about in 1741. The grounds of it were mainly these . (i.) Differences of opinion in re- gard to the terms of subscription or assent to the doctrinal, symbols — one party held to the ipsissima verba method. The other held that assent to the. confession as containing the system of doctrine taught in the scriptures was suffi- cient. (2.) Differences of opinion in regard to the great revival which swept over the land under the preaching of Whitefield, the Tennents and others, (3.) A fanatical spirit begotten of the revival, in some shallow minds, leading to uncharitableness and censorious judgments. (4.) A cer- tain wrong-headedness in certain quarters, springing from obstinacy rather than firmness tempered with christian charity. This division led to the establishment of the Synod OF New York. Thereafter, in common parlance, the two Synods — that of Philadelphia and that of New York — were designated as the Old side and the Neiv side. This di- vision was happily healed in May, 1758, when at Philadel- phia the two Synods came together under the name of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. 11, The other event which distinguished this period was the rapid and large increase of the Church and the minis- try. When, half a century before, the first Presbytery was formed, the Church was struggling for an existence. " It was persecuted both in Virginia and New York, and had scarcely a foothold in either province. A few feeble churches on the eastern shore of Maryland, one or two ia INTRODUCTORY. 5 Delaware, one in Philadelphia, and one or two in New Jersey, composed its entire strength. Now it numbered nearly one hundred ministers, and more than as many churches. The field of its operations had been vastly ex- tended. Virginia and the Carolinas, the destitute but rap- idly settling portions of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the river counties of New York, were open to its efforts and calling upon it for aid. It was inviting laborers from abroad — from New England, Scotland and Ireland — and training them up at home. Princeton College had gone into successful operation. Quite a number of ministers Avere engaged at once in pastoral duty, and in training pious young men to meet the demands of the churches." All .this increase in troublous times goes to show that periods ■of intense agitation are not necessarily periods of unmiti- gated evil. A storm, with all its dangers, is better than a dead calm. The extension of the Church, before and during this pe- riod, in Virginia was especially noticeable. A mixed popu- lation, among whom were many Scotch and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, flowed up the valley of the Shenandoah. To :supply their wants the Synod of Philadelphia sent several ministers, who organized a number of congregations in that iinviting and fertile valley. It is to be borne in mind that in Virginia the Episcopal was the religion established by law. Dissenting ministers who attempted to preach without license :from the government, were fined and driven from the colony. The buildings where they preached must also be especially licensed. The Episcopalians had a church edifice in every -county seat. This drove dissenters to the country. They .could obtain no license to build in the towns. A movement which resulted in the planting of Presbyte- rianism in Hanover and several of the adjacent counties, ■commenced in a singular manner. A gentleman found in the possession of a Scotch woman a few leaves oi Boston s Fourfold State. Their perusal excited in his mind so great an mterest ithat he sent to England for the entire work. The result was .his conversion. Another person in the same neighborhood obtained a copy of Luther on Galatians, and was led by its perusal to the Savior. Two or three others absented them- -selves at the same time from the parish church from a con- viction the gospel was not preached by the parish priest. Pour of them were called before the magistrate at the same 6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. time to account for their absence. There, to their amaze- ment, they discovered that they held common views. The discovery strenghtened their faith, and led them thenceforth to submit to fines rather than attend a church where they were not profited. They fell into the practice of meeting on the Sabbath for reading at each other's houses. The books they first read were Boston s Foiirfold State and Luther on Ga- latians. Afterwards a volume of Whitefield's sermons fell into their hands. Presently private houses became too small to accommodate their numbers and they built a church merely for reading. Several persons were converted. The author- ities of the Established Church saw Avith alarm their parish churches deserted, and summoned the leaders of the new movement before the Governor and Council. One of the number, on his way to Williamsburg — the seat of Government — being detained at a house by a storm, found there a dust-covered volume. To his great delight, its views of truth strikingly accorded with those he had imbibed from the recently-read books. He procured the volume, brought it with him to Williamsburg and showed it to his companions before they appeared in the Governor's presence. They agreed to adopt it as their creed. The Governor was Gooch, himself of Scotch origin and education. On coming before him they presented the book as expressive of their own re- ligious views. The Governor found it to be the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. He conse- quently denominated them Presbyterians, and dismissed them with a caution not to excite disturbance. The result in a few years was the planting in that region of Rev. Samuel Davies, one of the most distinguished minis- ters of this or any other country. " He was at once the champion of freedom, the friend of learning, the founder of churches, and next to Whitefield the most eloquent preach- er of his age." During the period of their separation both the New and the Old Side made strenuous educational efforts, with the special object of training young men for the ministry. The New Side established Princeton college. To obtain assistance towards its endowment they sent Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Davies to England. Their mission, though pros- ecuted under great discouragements, was successful. They secured from ^20,000 to ^25,000, which in those times was a large sum. The Old Side established a school at New INTRODUCTORY. / London, Penn. Several ministers on both sides gave in- struction to young men, in addition to their parochial du- ties. By these means and the importation of ministers from abroad, much was done towards supplying the constantly increasing demand for ministerial labor. Through the period extending from the union of the two Synods in 1758, to the revolutionary war, the growth of the Church was steady and rapid. In this period were initiated nearly all the benevolent movements which have since taken organized shape under the direction of the various Boards. These movements were both the natural development of the christian spirit of the Church, and the necessary means for meeting those calls for christian labor which arose from the rapid increase and extension of the population. At the close of the period, the Synod contained eleven Presbyteries, Dutchess, Suffolk, New York, New Brunswick, Donegal, Lewes, New Castle, the First and Second of Philadelphia, Hanover and Orange. The influence of the war upon the Church was for the time disastrous. The interest of the country was almost wholly absorbed in that great conflict. The Episcopal ministry and membership were almost universally Tories. They no doubt entertained the idea that if the colonies could be subdued, the Episcopal would become throughout the new country, as it was in the old, the established reli- gion. They sympathized with Old England in that strug- gle because they wished for bishops and bishop's courts, armed with the civil sword, to put down dissent here as was done over the water. On the other hand Presbyterian ministers and congregations were everywhere and always patriots. They and their co-religionists of New England, felt that religious, as well as civil liberty was at stake, and hazarded everything and suffered everything for its main- tenance. Space does not permit me to mention the long list of individual ministers, beginning with Dr. John Wither- spoon of Princeton College, who preached, prayed, fought and often died in their country's cause. ' Tis a glorious record! British officers and their Tory allies, all through the war bore a special spite against Presbyterian ministers and their prominent members, and took special delight in des- troying their churches, plundering their houses and burn- ing their libraries. Soon after the close of the war, measures were taken for 8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the organization of the General Assembly. The Constitu- tion was agreed upon by the Synod of 1788, and pubhshed the next year under this title : " The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America : con- taining the Confession of Faith, the Catechisms, the Gov- ernment and Discipline, and the Directory for the Worship of God, ratified and adopted by the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, May 16, 1788, and continued by adjourn- ment until the 28th of the same month. -^ Philadelphia. Printed by Thomas Bradford, 1789." The first Assembly met in 1790, and was opened by Dr. John Witherspoon. Dr. John Rodgers, of New York, was Moderator. It would be easy and pleasant to trace in detail the his- tory of the Presbyterian Church in this country from the organization of the Assembly to its first planting in the Illinois country. But the space allotted to this Introduc- tory chapter forbids. It may be said,' in general, that the Church increased and expanded with the increase and ex- pansion of the population of the country. Her own sons and daughters were always among the pioneer emigrants whenever and wherever they moved. Hence the Church was bound to follow in their track, looking after her own. This she did, though it must be confessed with unequal step. Her resources of men and means were always inadequate to the necessities of the case. Before the construction of common roads, canals, or rail- roads, emigration followed of necessity the natural water routes. Of these there were five principal ones from the At- lantic to the Valley of the Mississippi, (i.) Up the St. Law- rence and the great lakes, through Green Bay, the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. By this route there were only two short portages — that around the Niagara Falls, and from the Fox to the Wisconsin. This was the route pursued by the Jesuit missionaries and other French emigrants from Canada. By this route they first reached the Illinois country and estab- lished themselves at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, about 16S0. (2.) The same route as far as Maumee Bay, in the southwest corner of Lake Erie ; then up the Miami of the Lakes and down the Wabash and Ohio. By this route there was only one short portage besides that at Niagara Falls — from the Miami to the Wabash. On this route was the old French post of Vincennes — settled 1710 or 11 — on the Wabash, INTRODUCTORY. 9 and Fort Massac, on the Ohio, established 171 1. (3.) The same route as far as the present location of the city of Erie, on the south shore of Lake Erie, thence across to the head-waters of the French, and then down that river, the Alleghany and Ohio. (4.) Up the Potomac, then down the Cheat river and the Monongahela to the Ohio. (5.) By the rivers of western North Carolina, then down the 'Cum- berland and Tennessee to the Ohio. The three first of these routes were first laid open and used by the enterprising French Jesuit missionaries. Their knowledge of them was obtained from the Red Men. The fourth and fifth of these routes began to be used by the colonists of Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas, about 1750. Through these routes the Scotch and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians entered the Missis- sippi Valley. Before the opening of the Erie Canal — "Clinton's big ditch " — the emigration from New England to the Valley was mainly by the Pittsburg route. But the great wave of New England emigration was detained in Eastern, Central and Western New York, and did not reach Northern Ohio until after Kentucky. had become a State, which w^as in 1792. Tennessee became a State in 1796. The^commencement of the present century was marked "by a powerful revival which extended through Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. It was a movement of re- markable power and extent ; was promoted by remarkable tnen and attended with remarkable manifestations. Among these were the "bodily exercises," the solution of which has occupied many thoughtful minds, and has never yet been reached with certainty. In the latter months of this revival fanaticism rode its "high horse " and produced many painful irregularities. In the midst of these, and as one of their natural products, Cumberland Presbyterianism took its rise. It has now be- come a numerous body; is distinguished for its sectarian zeal, and has greatly improved its primitive character. But it represents no great ideas ; has nothing peculiar to itself, and occupies no ground which might not just as well, or better, be occupied by other denominations. Where Pres- byterian and Methodist churches exist this denomination can legitimately find no place, and no work. In such places its establishment only divides and distracts the already too much divided and distracted followers of Christ. Its ex- istence is permitted, no doubt, for wise ends. But fifty years 10 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. hence it will be where now are the Associated Presbyte- rians, of Eastern New York. A denomination which repre- sents no peculiar doctrine, or mode of worship, can have but an ephemeral existence. Thus, in a brief, condensed and very imperfect manner, I have traced the history of the Presbyterian Church from the beginning down to the time in which it began to be planted, and its influence to be felt, in the Illinois country. CHAPTER II. MISSIONARIES AND CHURCHES FROM THE BEGINNING TO I82O. Authorities: Gillett's History; Baldridge's Life of Bliss, etc.; Presbytery Reporter; Isaac Reed's Christian Traveler; Panoplist ; Home Missionary, Vols. I and II ; Spilman's Manuscripts ; Dr. Bullard in Missouri Reporter. The first white explorers of the IlHnois country were the Canadian French in 1673. Between that time and 1686 they had estabhshed several forts and settlements, the principal ones being Kaskaskia and Cahokia. Until 1762 the French were regarded as the sole European proprietors of Canada and the Mississippi valley. In 1762 the French ceded Louis- iana, i. e., the country west of the Mississippi, to Spain. The next year they ceded the valley east of the Mississippi and Canada to the British, thus losing not only Canada but the whole of the great interior valley of North America, after claiming the whole and occupying some small portions of it for ninety years. 'The British retained their hold of the Illinois country for fifteen years, or until they were dispossessed by Gen. Geo. Rogers Clark in 1778. Few, or no Americans had settled in the Illinois country prior to the expedition of Gen, Clark. Until that time the only white inhabitants of the Illinois country were the French and Canadian settlers, and the Brit- ish troops who occupied the forts. So far as I am aware the first Presbyterian minister who visited the Illinois country was John Evans Finley. He was from Chester county, Pennsylvania. After descending the Ohio with some companions in a keel boat and ascend- ing the Mississippi, he landed at Kaskaskia in 1797. Rev. Thomas Lippincott tells us his design was to labor in the ''Spanish colonies on the Mississippi, mainly perhaps with a view to the Indians." If this were so, his labors must have been west of the river. " He preached and catechised, also baptized several of the Red ]\Ien." Though he had sold, his boat and contracted for a dwelling house, he and his companions were induced to leave. To this conclusion they seem to have been led by finding they would be 12 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. obliged to enroll themselves and do military duty in view of an apprehended invasion from the States. As they were American citizens they could not consent to this. They returned and settled in Mason county, Ky. Mr. Finley's name subsequently appears as a member of Transylvania, and then of Washington Presbytery. This latter had been set off from Transylvania, and included the northeast por- tion of Kentucky, and extended across the river into Ohio. Rev. Robert Stewart remembers him as a frequent visitor at his father's house in Ohio. The next Presbyterian ministers — they were licentiates — who set foot on Illinois territory, were John F. Schermer- HORN and Samuel J. Mills. They were sent to the great Southwest by the Massachusetts and Connecticut Mission- ary Societies and by local Bible Societies. They commenced their tour early in the fall of 1812, passing through Penn- sylvania, Western Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennes- see. Their observations of the religious condition of the regions through which they passed were thorough, and their reports deeply interesting. Of Illinois territory they say, "In the Illinois territory, containing more than 12,000 people, there is no Presbyterian, or Congregational minis- ter. There are a number of good people in the territory who are anxious to have such ministers amongst them. They likewise wish to be remembered by Bible and Relig- ious Tract Societies." On the 29th of December, 1812, they were at Nashville, Tenn., and rode out to Franklin, twenty miles, where Rev. Gideon Blackburn then resided. He advised them to reach New Orleans by the river. Gen. Jackson was then at Nashville preparing to go down the river with 1,500 volunteers. Of these Mr. Blackburn was Chaplain. He introduced the missionaries to Gen. Jack- son, explaining their object and wishes. The General re- ceived them with great courtesy, and invited them to take passage on his boat. They gladly complied. They say, " After providing some necessary stores and making sale of our horses we embarked on the loth of January, 18 13. We came to the mouth of the Ohio on the 27th, where we lay three days on account of the ice. On the 31st we passed New Madrid; and on the i6th of February arrived at Natchez." They undoubtedly landed at Fort Massac, and probably at no other point on the Illinois shore. Of course they had no opportunity for personal explorations in Illinois EXPLORING MISSIONARIES. I3; Territory. At Natchez they tarried a few days, and then continued on to New Orleans. At that city they found a Baptist minister, but no Protestant church edifice. Their return was through the Creek Nation, in the upper part of Georgia. They reached their homes in July, 181 3. Full reports of this tour were published in the Connecti- cut Evangelical Magazine and in the Panoplist. Their influ- ence was great in opening the eyes of Eastern christians to the spiritual wants of the vast West and Southwest, and of the eastern population generally, to the wonderful material capacities of those regions. The John F. Schermerhorn, mentioned above, was a native of New York, a graduate of Union College in 1809, and of Andover Theological Seminary in 181 2. He was ordained in the Reformed Dutch Church. He was a Home Missionary in New York, and labored at Middleburg, in that State, from 1 818 to 1829. He was Secretary of the Western Domestic Missionary Society, Utica, New York, from 1826 to 1828; also General Agent of the Domestic Reformed Dutch Missionary Society from 1829 to 1832. He was U. S. Indian Agent among the Cherokees in 1835 and 1836. He died at Richmond, Va., March 6th, 185 1, aged 70 years. Of Samuel J. Mills, I shall speak further on. The next exploring Missionary tour was undertaken in 1 8 14, by the same Samuel J. Mills, with whom was asso- ciated Daniel Smith. The expense was estimated at $2,000, and was borne by the Massachusetts Missionary Society, by the Bible Society of Philadelphia and by the Assembly's Committee of Missions. They started in May. The East- ern part of their route as far as Cincinnati, was substantially the same as that pursued by Mills and Schermerhorn, two years before. But from that place they passed through the Territories of Indiana and Illinois to St. Louis. In Indiana their route was through Lawrenceburg and Jeffer- sonville to Vincennes. Of this Territory they say: "Indi- ana is peopling very fast, notwithstanding the war. In 1810 it had 24,500 inhabitants. Now its population is esti- mated at from 35,000 to 50,000. Its principal settlements are upon the Miami and Whitewater, on the Ohio, extend- ing in some places twenty miles back, on the Wabash and White rivers. When we entered this Territory there was but one Presbyterian clergyman in it, Samuel T. Scott, of Vincennes. He has valiantly maintained his post there for 14 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. six years. His church consists of seventy members. He has three preaching places. Between the forks of White River there is another Presbyterian congregation with about thirty communicants." The reports they make of all parts of the Western coun- try, through which they traveled, are extensive and deeply interesting. But I must confine myself principally to what they say of Illinois Territory. From Vincennes they went to St. Louis by way of Shaw- neetown and Kaskaskia. In a letter dated at St. Louis, Nov. 7, 1 8 14, they say : "In Illinois Territory we were so happy as to meet with universal countenance and approba- tion. At Shawneetown we saw Judge Griswold, formerly of Connecticut. He favored us with letters of introduc- tion to Gov. Edwards and others at Kaskaskia. * * This Territory is deplorably destitute of Bibles. In Kaskaskia, a place containing from 80 to lOO families, there are, it is thought, not more than four or five." In another letter they give further particulars. They say: "Nov. 9, 1814, we left St. Louis, crossed the Mississippi and proceeded on our way to Kaskaskia. Gov. Edwards again expressed his earnest desire that the proposed Bible Society for Illinois Territory should go into operation. * * We did not find any place in the Territory where a copy of the Scriptures could be obtained. * *" "There is no Presbyterian minister stationed, or laboring in this Territory. Members, who have heretofore belonged to Presbyterian churches, are anxious to have at least oc- casional supplies. A Presbyterian minister, of talent and piety, might no doubt receive a handsome support, if he would settle at Kaskaskia, preach a part of his time at that place and a part at Ste. Genevieve, and teach a small school at the former. * * On the 14th of Nov. we left Kaskaskia for Shawneetown, On our arrival, Judge Gris- wold informed us that exertions were making to form a Bible Society for the Eastern part of Illinois Territory. * One man informed us that for ten or fifteen years he had been using exertions to obtain the Scriptures, but without success." From Shawneetown they proceeded to Vincennes, and from thence to the falls of Ohio, where they arrived Dec. 20. On the 5th of January, 181 5, they embarked on a keel boat for Natchez. They recommend that " fifty Bibles be sent to Shawneetown and fifty to St. Louis," and TOUR OF MILLS AND SMITH. 1$ add this remark : " It seems to us of infinite importance that one Missionary at least, be stationed in each of the Terri- tories !" i. e. Indiana, IlHnois and Missouri. In a letter containing a general summing up of their ob- servations, and which was dated on the Mississippi, be- low New Madrid, January 20, 1815, they say: "The lUi- nois Territory contains about 15,000 inhabitants. Until last summer titles of land could not be obtained in this Territory. Now land offices are opened. The principal settlements, at present, are situated on the Wabash, the Ohio, the Mississippi and the Kaskaskia. The eastern set- tlements extend thirty miles up the Wabash, and forty •down the Ohio. They include the United States Saline, where a considerable number of people are employed in manufacturing salt." This was twelve miles back from Shaw- neetown, near the present town of Equality. " Shawnee- town, on the Ohio, twelve miles below the mouth of the Wabash, contains about one hundred houses. It is subject to be overflowed at high water; but it is continually deluged, like most other towns in the territories, by a far worse flood of impiety and iniquity. Yet even here a faithful missionary might hope to be extensively useful. The people heard us with fixed and solemn attention when we addressed them. The western settlements of this territory are separated from the eastern by a wilderness of one hundred miles. The American Bottom is an extensive tract of alluvial soil on the banks of the Mississippi, eighty miles in length by about five in breadth. This land is endowed with surprising and ex- haustless fertility. The high lands back are extremely fer- tile. Kaskaskia is the key to all this country, and must, therefore, become a place of much importance, although at present it does not greatly flourish. It contains between eighty and one hundred families, two-thirds French Catho- lics. The people of this place are anxious to obtain a Pres- byterian clergyman. Six miles from Kaskaskia there is an Associate Reformed congregation of forty families. Besides this we did not hear of a single organized society of any denomination in the county, nor of an individual Baptist or Methodist preacher. The situation of the two counties above this is somewhat different. Baptist and INIethodist preachers are there considerably numerous, and we were informed a majority of the heads of families are professors of religion. A Methodist preacher told us that these profes- l6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. sors were almost all of them educated Presbyterians; 'And they would have been so still,' said he, 'had they not been neglected by their Eastern brethren. Now they are Baptists or Methodists,' In all this territory there is not a single Presbyterian preacher, and when we arrived we learned that considerable districts had never before seen one. Already have the interests of orthodoxy and of vital godliness suf- ffered an irretrievable loss." It will be interesting to notice what these men say of St. Louis. The time to which the remarks refer is Novem- ber, 1 8 14: "It coritains about 2,000 inhabitants — one-third,, perhaps, are Americans, the remainder French Catholics. The American families are many of them genteel and well informed ; but very few of them religious. Yet they ap- pear to be thoroughly convinced by their own experience, of the indispensable necessity of religion to the welfare of society. The most respectable people in town assured us that a young man of talent, piety and liberality of mind, would receive an abundant support. * * * When we consider the situation of St. Louis — just below the con- fluence of the Illinois, the Missouri, and the Mississippi rivers, so that no place in the western country, save New Orleans, has greater natural advantages — we think it highly probable it will become a flourishing commercial town ! " The following general remarks prove those exploring missionaries to have been men of keen observation and sound judgment. " The character of the settlers of these territories renders it peculiarly important that missionaries should early be sent among them. Indeed they can hardly be said to have a character, assembled as they are from every State in the Union, and originally from almost every nation in Europe. The majority, though by no means regard- less of religion, have not yet embraced any fixed sentiments respecting it. They are ready to receive any impressions which a public speaker may attempt to make. Hence every kind of heretical preachers in the country flock to the new settlements. Hence also the Baptist and Methodist: denominations are exerting themselves to gain a footing in the territories. If we do not come forward and occupy this promising field of usefulness, they will. Indeed they have already taken the precedence. Some portions of this country are pretty thoroughly supplied with their preach- ers. Why, then, it may be asked, not leave it wholty to S. J. MILLS AND D. SMITH. 1 7 them ? We answer, the field is large enough for us all. Many of their preachers are extremely illiterate. Besides, there are many Presbyterian brethren scattered through- out every settlement. To supply them with the means of grace is a sacred duty incumbent on us." These two brethren went on to Natchez and New Orleans, and returned to New England by sea, in the early part of the summer. Neither of them was as yet an ordained minister. Of course, in their extensive travels and many labors, they could not and did not administer the sacraments. The reports of the two tours of Mills and Schermerhorn, and of Mills and Smith, were extensively published, and awakened a great interest among Eastern christians in the spiritual welfare of the regions explored. Samuel John Mills was a man of fine talents, of deep humility, of distinguished missionary zeal and intense christian activity. He was born in Connecticut, graduated at Williams College, Mass., in 1809, and at Andover Theo- logical Seminary 1812. We have seen how he spent the three years of his licensure. His ordination took place at Newburyport, Mass., June 21, 18 15, at the same time with James Richards, Jr., Edward W^arren, Benj. C. Meigs, Horatio Bardwell and Daniel Poor. The occasion was one of great interest, as all the young brethren had the Foreign Missionary work in view. Mr. Mills had devoted himself to the service of the children of Africa. In 18 16 he was agent for a school for the education of colored young men. In 18 17 he was agent for the American Colonization So- ciety. He died at sea. May i6, 1818, aged thirty-five. He was one of those rare men whose ambition was satisfied by setting in motion great agencies, while himself unseen and unknown. Daniel Smith was a native of Vermont. He graduated at ]\Iiddlebury College in 18 10, and at Andover Theologi- cal Seminary in 1813. His' exploring tour with Mr. Mills is related above. When in St. Louis, in November, 18 14, the people urged him to remain. He was unable to do so, but his visit there with Mr. Mills was fruitful in good results. Among these it cheered the heart of a devoted layman, whose name is forever identified with the early history of the Presbyterian Church in Missouri. " This was Stephen Hempstead, a native of New London, Conn., and at this time sixty years of age. He had served in the war of I l8 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the Revolution, and for more than a quarter of a cent- ury had been engaged, as his secular affairs permitted, in the service of the Church of Christ. Four of his sons had removed to Missouri, and in i8ii he followed them to St. Louis. For seven months he was in the country with- out hearing a Protestant sermon, and for three years never sa\v a Presbyterian minister." After the visit of Messrs. Mills and Smith, he wrote to a Boston clergyman asking him to send a minister to that territory. He estimated there were more than a thousand Presbyterian families in Mis- souri, while there" was not a single church of their order." This estimate was doubtless too large. After completing his tour, Mr. Smith returned to New England, and was ordained at Ipswich, Mass., to the work of a christian Missionary in the western parts of the United States, September 29, 1815. In February, 1815, Mr. Smith had spent some days in Mississippi, and while there had, at the request of the trustees, performed the dedicatory servi- ces of a new Presbyterian church at Natchez. He became much impressed with the spiritual needs of that State. With a population of 45,000 it had only four Presbyterian ministers. Natchez he thought as important a station for a missionary as any in the western or southern country. These convictions led him to select that city as his field of labor. He was commissioned for that place by the Assem- bly's Committee of Missions. In 18 17 he organized the First Presbyterian church of Natchez. Mr. Smith became a member of the Presbytery of Mississippi. I cannot tell precisely when he left Natchez; but he was at Louisville, Ky., in 1822, and died there February 22, 1823, aged thirty- four years. We are thus brought forward to the year 18 15. Illinois Territory had then about 15,000 inhabitants exclusive of Indians. One ordained Presbyterian minister had landed at Kaskaskia ; another, James McGready, had preached a few times in White county. Three licentiates had pressed their feet upon its soil. Two of the three had made the trip from Shawneetown to Kaskaskia and St. Louis and back. That was all. No Presbyterian minister or church in the territory. The next year, 18 16, was to witness a change. The church of Sharon, in what is now White county, is the oldest Presbyterian church in Illinois. It was organ- SHARON CHURCH AND M GREADY. 1 9 ized by Rev. James McGready, of Henderson, Ky., in 1816, probably in the month of September. The first book of its records is lost. But the following synopsis of the his- tory of the church is found in the present volume. "The first three ruling elders were Peter Miller, James Mayes and James Rutledge, all of whom had emigrated from Hender- son, Ky. The members of the church were from the Car- olinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky. Rev. James McGready had preached for them occasionally for two or three years, coming over from Kentucky where he re- sided." Doubtless numbers of them had been his parish- oners in Kentucky and the Carolinas. " Mr. McGready died about the year 1818 or 19. Then the two brothers — William and John Barnett of Tennessee — who were Cum- berland Presbyterians, came in as missionaries, held a series of meetings and tried to win over the church to their views. They partly succeeded, so that several of the members and two of the three elders joined them. These two were James Mayes and James Rutledge. They organ- ized a Cumberland church called Hopewell, about two miles from where Enfield now is. When James Rutledge found that Peter Miller — his brother-in-law, the only remain- ing elder in Sharon Church — would not join the Cumber- lands, he returned to the mother church. Rev. James McGready was succeeded by Rev. ]\Iartin B. Darrah. After this time the church was visited by two mis- sionaries from the East, Backus Wilbur and Andrew O. Pat- terson, who supplied them for a time." This cannot be al- together correct. "In 18 16 Backiis Wilbur was commis- sioned by the Assembly to labor for two months from the mouth of the Wabash to Kaskaskia, where he was princi- pally to labor." [Gillett.] Doubtless his visit to. Sharon was in the fall, of 1816, very soon after the organization of the church. Of his labors at Kaskaskia I have no where seen any notice. Andrew O. Patterson was sent to labor in Illinois in 1820. He may have preceded or followed Mr. Darrah. B, F. Spilman preached to this church while he was a licentiate, and was ordained to the ministry and installed its pastor in Nov., 1824, by Muhlenburg Presbytery. The members present were Revs. Wm. K. Stewart, David Phil- lips and Isaac Bard. This pastoral relation continued only about eighteen months. Rev. Isaac Bennet preached here 20 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. for a time. After this the church was supphed by a num- ber of ministers. Among them Wm. Hamilton, B. F. Spil- man, John Silhman, who died in 1838 ; Andrew M. Hershy, in 1842; R. H. Lilly in 1843. In latter part of 1843 and beginning of 1844, B. F. Spilman; R. H. Lilly again in 1844. John L. Hawkins, from Redstone Presbytery, sup- plied for about five years, and up to 1850. Wm. Gardner and James Stafford supplied in 1850 and 185 1. B. F. Spil- man in 1852, 1853 and part of 1854. John S. Howell, from 1854 to 1862, eight years. Rev. R. Lewis McCune, a min- ister belonging to^.the Presbytery of Winchester, Va., and who was compelled by the great rebellion to leave his field of labor, Port Royal, Va., was invited to take charge of Grayville, Carmi and Sharon. He complied, commencing at Sharon, July 20, 1862, and giving that church one-fourth of his time. After September, 1863 he gave Sharon one- half of his time until 1864. Rev. Thomas Smith supplied this church occasionally from about 1871 to 1875. It is now under the charge of Rev. B. C. Swan, who spends with them one Sabbath in four. This congregation has had four buildings for worship. The first one of logs, about one-fourth of a mile north of Peter C. Miller's house, in T. 5, S. R. 8, E. of 3 P. M., N. E. quarter of Sec. 21. It had one window only, and was roofed with clap-boards. In approaching this house from the south, one passed through a densely grown up wood, on gradually descending ground. On the right, near the opening that surrounded the house, was a stand, consisting of a raised platform between two trees. Logs and split puncheons and slabs were arranged in the shade for the congregation to sit upon. A few steps from this stand, on the other side of the opening, stood the old hewed-log- house, facing southward, with one door in the south side The pulpit was in the east end, and a small four light win- dow on the right of the pulpit. A hearth of flat rock laid in the floor near the center of the house, served for burn- ing charcoal in cold weather. Such was the appearance of this house in 1828, as described by B. F. Willis. It was in this house that B. F. Spilman was ordained. A man now living in the neighborhood remembers seeing him spread his white silk handkerchief on the floor on which he kneeled during the ordaining prayer. The next building was about two miles southeast of the SHARON CHURCH, WHITE COUNTY. 21 first, in T. 5, S., R. 8, E., S. E. quarter of Sec. 34, near A. H. Trousdale's. This too was of logs. The third house, also of logs, was close b}^ the site of the present building. This last is a frame house, of good size, was finished in the spring of 1864, and cost about $700. It is on S. E. quarter of N. W. qurrter, Sec. 4, T, 6, S., R. 8, E. A cemetery adjoins this church house, and is owned by the congregation. The whole site of church and cemetery is two acres. The cemetery began to be used more than sixty years ago. The three first church buildings have gone entirely to ruin. Besides the three original elders, I find the names of the following : James H. Rice, in 1829; John Storey, in 1837; Peter Miller and Felix H. Willis, in 1843; Win. Miller, Robert A. SiUiman and John McClellan, in 1848; Ephraim L. Smith, Wm. W. Storey and John H. McClellan in 1866; A. Stewart Adams and Henry Marlin, in 1870. January 4, 1869, the. church resolved to use Rouse's ver- sion of the Psalms in their Sabbath worship. This prac- tice is still continued. The use of hymns in social worship and in the Sabbath school is not prohibited. There have been connected with this church from the beginning about two hundred and ten persons. The present membership is thirty. It is a mother church. Carmi and Enfield are largely formed from it. Presbytery held a meeting with this church in September, 1827. It was a season of much interest. Great crowds attended, and services were held both in the house and in the grove. The Springfield and Shawneetown R. R. passes within about three-quarters of a mile of the church building. The postoffice and station are Sacramento. Rev. John SiUiman died while laboring here. His re- mains are buried in the cemetery mentioned above. This church was at the first connected with Muhlenburg Presbytery, Kentucky. Of the ministers named in the above account of Sharon Church I shall speak in this connection only of those who la- bored in the Territory or State previous to the organization of Centre Presbytery. It is worthy of notice that the first Presbyterian church in Missouri — the church of Concord, Belleview Settlement, southwest part of Washington county — was organized within a few days of Sharon, Illinois Ter- ritory. Concord by Salmon Giddings, August 2, 18 16, 22 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. with thirty members. Sharon by James McGready in iSi6 — probably in September. James McGready. I have found no notice of the date of his birth. But he was a native of Pennsylvania, and of Scotch-Irish descent. His father removed with his family to Guilford county, N. C., while James was yet but a child. From his earliest years McGready was remarkable for his conscientious regard to his religious duties. An uncle con- ceived the idea of educating him for the ministry. James had united with the church at the age of seventeen, and was exemplary in hisa-^tleportment. Neither uncle or nephew had a doubt of his piety. But a remark from another, which he casually overheard, at first exasperated, and then led him to such serious self-examination that he renounced his old hope and sought the Savior anew. He commenced his classical studies with Rev. Joseph Smith, of Cross Creek and Buffalo congregations, Washington 'county, Penn. Here, in Mr. Smith's kitchen, he prosecuted, with others, the study of Latin! His theological course was taken under the direction of the famous Dr. John McMillan. He was licensed by Red Stone Presbytery in 1788. He returned the same year to Guilford county, N. C, and set about his work with immense energy. He was uncompromising with the sins most fashionable in that region — dancing, horse- racing and intemperance. The wicked were exasperated ; but great good resulted from his labors. In 1796 McGready passed to Kentucky, after laboring a few months in Eastern Tennessee. His principal field of labor in Kentucky was in Logan county, where from 1796 to 18 14 he was pastor of Gasper River, Red River and Muddy River congregations. Mr. John Mann, now an elder in Chester church, Illinois, remembers seeing Mr. McGready in Logan county, Ky., and hearing him preach. He was a large man. His voice was strong and heavy, and he was commonly called "Boaner- ges." He was one of the chief instruments in promoting the great revival which spread through North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky in the latter years of the last and the first years of the present century. For a time he fell in with the Cumberlands. But he saw his error and retraced his steps. In the latter years of his life he resided in Hen- derson county, Ky., and extended his labors across the Ohio into Southwestern Indiana and Southeastern Illinois. Here, in looking after the spiritual welfare of those who' BEN'JAMIN F, SPILMAN. 23 had been his parishoners in Kentucky, he organized in 1 8 16 the church of Sharon — the First Presbyteiian Oiurch in Illinois Territory. Muhlenburg Presbytery covered the western part of Ken- tucky. It was organized in 1810. " Of it Mr. McGready was a member. As said above he died in 1818 or 1819. His ministerial career must have covered, therefore, about thirty or thirty- one years. His death probably took place before he was sixty years of age. Of Martin B. Darrah I have nowhere found any men- tion save in the record book of Sharon church. It is not probable he was a Presbyterian minister. Backus Wilbur was a native of New Jersey. He stud- ied at Princeton College and graduated at Princeton Semi- nary in 1 81 3. He labored at Dayton, Ohio, and died in 1818. The i\NDREW O. Patterson, who visited Sharon church in 1820, was a native of Pennsylvania. He graduated at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pa. He studied theology at Princeton in 18 18-19. -^^ \i'3iA charge ot Mt. Pleasant and Sewickly churches, Redstone Presbytery, from 1821 to 1834. Subsequently he labored at Beaver, Pa. He was then missionary agent for a time, afterwards pastor at New Lisbon, Pa., Bethel, Ohio, and West Newton, Pa. He died in 1869. Benjamin Franklin Spilman was born August 17, 1796, in Garrard county, Ky., about six miles from Danville. His father was Benjamin Spilman, youngest son of James Spil- man, of Culpepper county, Va. James Spilman was the son of Henry Spilman of Westmoreland county, Va., who emigrated from England and lived and died in that county. He was therefore of the fourth generation, on his father's side, from the original emigrant. There is a well authenticated tradition that the name was originally Sprlman, but it was first mispronounced and then misspelled — an i being substituted for an e. An effort was once made to restore the name to its original sound and spelling. But there was not sufficient concert, and habit had become too strong. Benjamin Spilman — father of B. F. — about 1790 married Nancy R. Rice, of Prince Edward county, Va., and imme- diately emigrated to Garrard county, Ky. Miss Rice was 24 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. descended from an English family of that name — a family- very prolific of ministers. Among them was Parson David Rice, ordained 1765, the pioneer Presbyterian minister of Ky., Dr. John H. Rice of Va., and Dr. Nathan L. Rice, who con- ducted the celebrated debate with Alex. Campbell in 1843. The Spilman family in Virginia were originally Episcopa- lians. Benjamin Spilman, father of B. F., was the only member of a family of eight who did not adhere steadfast- ly to the " Church of England." But early in life he united with the Presbyterian Church, and chose a staunch Presby- terian woman as the partner of his days. She possessed uncommon strengtii of mind and energy of character. It was mainly through her influence that her five sons were all liberally educated and prepared for professional life. The eldest, James F., was a physician, and died in Bunker Hill, 111., at an advanced age. The two next, B. F. and Thomas A., lived and died in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. Charles H. is a physician in Harrodsburg, Ky. The youngest, Jonathan E., after practicing law for fifteen years finally entered the ministry, and is now preaching in Canton, Miss. There were eight daughters — making a family of thirteen children. Of these, B. F. was the fifth. In 1806 Benjamin Spilman removed from Garrard to Muhlenburg county, Ky., into what is called the Green river country. At that time B. F. was ten years of age. In 1 8 12 the family enjoyed the preaching of James Mc- Gready, the same man who in 18 16 organized the church of [Sharon, 111. B. F. was profoundly affected, though he did not profess conversion till some months later. For a part of the time, while residing in the Green River country, the youth, B. F., drove a four horse team from the landing on the Kentucky side of the river to Salem. While stopping to rest and feed his horses he improved his time in studying the Latin Grammar. But the want of a teacher greatly discouraged him. To leave home to prosecute his studies was difficult. The health of his father was poor, and the family large. His services were needed. But providence interposed. A pain in his back which refused to yield to any treatment, obliged him to give up his team- ing business. As he was unfit for any manual labor his parents decided to accede to his ardent desire to prosecute a course of study. It appears that he proceeded to Chilli- cothe, Ohio, and pursued preparatory studies with Rev. BENJAMIN F. SPILMAN. 25 Robert G. Wilson, D.D. He entered Jefferson College at Cannonsburg, Penn., in 1817, and graduated October, 1821. He then returned to Chillicothe and studied theology with Dr. Wilson. He was licensed by the Chillicothe Presby- tery, Dec. 3, 1823, and immediately proceeded home that he might preach his first sermon in his father's house. Meantime Benjamin Spilman, his father, had removed with his family to Illinois. September 6, 18 17, he entered S. W. quarter of Sec. 8, and Dec. 14, 1818, the W 1-2 of S. E. ■quarter of Sec. 8, Town. 6, S. R. 9 E, being in all 240 acres. He sold this land to one Houts, June i, 1836. Probably the date of his entering this land fixes the time of his re- moval to Illinois Territory. But he did not at once settle upon it. His first residence was at or near Golconda, Pope county. He and his wife, Nancy R., were two of the original members of Golconda Church, organized Oct. 24, 1 8 19, and of it he was made an elder, March 18, 1820. This, therefore, was undoubtedly the home of his par- ents, to which the young preacher hastened after his licensure. His text was: "Unto you, therefore, who be- lieve He is precious." The time was probably the second Sabbath of December, 1823. This was his introduction to Southeastern Illinois. There were then only two Presbyterian churches in that part of the State — Sharon, organized in 1816, and Golconda, organized Oct. 24, 1819. With these two churches he at once began his labors, connecting with them such other needy and promising points as he found accessible. One of these was Shawneetown. The exact date of his first sermon there I cannot give, but it was quite at the close of 1823. He found in Shawneetown only one member of the Presbyterian Church — a female. His appointments here at first were only occasional. He fixed his residence at Golconda, probably in the lat- ter part of 1824. He was ordained to the ministry, and installed pastor of Sharon Church, in November, 1824, by Muhlenburg Presbytery, as stated above. It was under- stood, however, that he was to spend with them only one- fourth of his time. This pastoral relation continued only eighteen months. He married, March 17, 1826, Miss Ann B. Cannon, of Cannonsburg, Penn. Without pretending to know, I presume the acquaintance of this young lady con- stituted the romance of his college days. 26 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Here I will introduce a portion of a letter of Mrs. C. W. Baldwin, widow of the lamented Rev. Dr. Theron Baldwin, and addressed to the widow of B. F. Spilman. It is dated June 25, 1870 : " I met your husband only once. That was on my first arrival in Illinois. There were few roads through the State at that time, 1831, and no stages. Travelers from the East went down the Ohio to where Cairo now is, then up the Mississippi to St. Louis. On our way down the Ohio there was at the time of which I speak, a sudden change of weather, which closed the Mississippi with ice, and there was no road from Cairo to any other place. It was, therefore, necessary for us to turn back, which we did, and succeeded in reaching Smithland, Ky. After two weeks delay we went up and crossed the river in a row boat op- posite Golconda. The first person whom we saw on pass- ing up into the town was Mr. Spilman, whom my husband recognized. He kindly invited us to his house. He was living there at that time, and preaching to the feeble churches in that region. The house was a small frame building, but very comfortable. The only bed in it was divided, and one part laid on the floor. We, being guests, occupied the part left on the bedstead, Mr. and Mrs. S. taking that on the floor. The arrangement well nigh de- prived me of sleep, for I felt that such hospitality was a little beyond the Scripture requirement. "The evening was passed in discussing the missionary work. In devotion to the cause these two young mission- aries were one. In doctrinal views and methods of present- ing truth they differed. Mr. S. was a ' high Calvinist and Old School' — my husband 'New School.' Hence it was that they were thrown so little together in subsequent labor. I remember hearing Mr. S. say that evening that when he ' commenced preaching his library consisted of three vol- umes— a Confession of Faith, a Bible and a Hymn book.' " From Golconda we went to Shawneetown, a part of the way on a jumper, and part on a wood sled. At Shawnee- town we procured an emigrant wagon, in which we trav- eled as far as Vandalia, reaching that place December 24. The roads were little more than trails. I remember only one bridge between Golconda and Vandalia." He had fixed his residence in Golconda, probably in the fall of 1824, and must have made that place his home until sometime in 1832. He then removed his family to Shaw- BENJAMIN F. SPILMAN. 2/ neetown. In May, 1826, he organized the church at that place (tradition says with six members — all females.) The first communion was held November, 1827, when there were ten members — two males and eight females. As they had no fixed place of worship, they occupied warehouses and private dwellings until 1832, when the "old log church" was erected. This was followed in 1842 by a neat brick edifice. Mr. S. continued to labor here as stated supph', preaching at first monthly, and then bi-monthly, until the death of his wife. Through these three years — from 1832 to 1835 — he kept up his itinerant labors. He organized the church at Equality May 26, 1832. November 16, 1833, he lost his infant son, James Frank- lin, aged four days. A greater sorrow overtook him Feb- ruary 4, 1835, when he was called to part with his wife. He remarks on this occasion, " Never knew what trouble was before." For about two years he acted as agent of the Western Foreign Missionary Society at Pittsburg. He commenced this service June 25, 1836. For the first year he has left a complete, though very condensed, account of his labors. He visited all the Presbyterian churches in Illinois and the western part of Indiana. The collections he made were small — amounting during the year to ^401.18. His salary was ;^300, and his traveling expenses ^45.18. He traveled on horseback, and his labors were constant and intense. Their result is not to be estimated at all by the amount of money raised. His presence among the churches, his faith- ful preaching, his attendance on the church judicatories, and that general elevation, enlargement of vision and draw- ing out from the shell of selfishness which attended his pre- sentations of truth, were the great trophies of this service. While engaged in these missionary labors he made his home at Sanmel Boyd's, three or four miles west of New Haven, in the edge of Gallatin county, near George Knight's. A daughter of Samuel Boyd, Mrs. Leah Brocket, now resides in Enfield. A little before he commenced this mis- sionary service, i. e., June 25, 1836, his father, Benjamin Spilman, had removed to Montgomery count}^ near Hills- boro, where he ended his useful life, September 15, 185 1, aged eighty-six years and seven months. His wife died January 28, 1848, aged seventy-five years. In the spring of 1838 Mr. Spilman attended the meeting 28 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. of the General Assembly. On his return in June he took board with Wm. McCool, at Equality. In the January next preceding, Gallatin Academy had opened in that village. Of this Mr. Spilman took charge for one year. He attended the Assembly again in 1839. For the year preceding April I, 1840, he labored as a Home Missionary under the General Assembly's Board of Domestic Missions. In that time he supplied seven congregations — Carmi, Sharon, New Haven, Morganfield, Union, Tilford's and Douglas. The last four were across the Ohio river in Kentucky. In these seven churches there were at the end of the year eighty-nine com- municants— thirty-five of whom had been added during the year. Three of the churches had been organized in those twelvemonths. In 1840 Mr. Spilman completed seventeen years of service in Southeastern Illinois and the adjoining parts of Kentucky and Indiana. He had in that time organ- ized thirteen churches, two of which had been dissolved by deaths and removals. At the commencement of the period upon which we now enter, we find this record in his own hand-writing: "After living a lonely widower for more than six years, the Lord, who setteth the solitary in families, has, I believe, directed me in the choice of another companion to be the partnsr of my joys and sorrows, to whom I was married June 22, 1840, and now I am as happy as I ought to be in this changing state. As to domestic happiness my cup runneth over." This marriage took place in Carmi, at the house of Dr. Josiah Stewart. Mrs. Stewart was a sister of Mr. Spilman, and the mother, by a previous marriage, of Mr. Felix H. Willis, now of Enfield. III. The maiden name of the second Mrs. Spilman was Mary P. Potter. She was born in North Brookfield, Worcester county, Mass, in March, 18 14. She went west as a teacher, under the auspices of a society of ladies in New York city, early in June, 1838. She taught for a few weeks in Bethel, Bond Co. ; then, by the advice of Rev. Theron Baldwin, went to Carmi, VVhite Co., and continued to teach there till June 22, 1840, when she married Mr. Spilman. She taught more than half the time after that until 1864, when she returned East with her son and daughter. She is now residing at Boston Highlands, 64 Waverly Street, Immediately after his marriage with Miss Potter, Mr. Spil- man removed again to Shawneetown, and resided there till BENJAMIN F. SPILMAN. 29- Nov. 9, 1845. He was installed as pastor of Shawneetown church, April 22, 1843. On the 13th of November, the same year, he buried his son, John Calvin, thirteen years of age. This child gave good evidence of piety. His labors during his residence at Shawneetown, from June, 1840, to Nov., 1845, were of the same itinerant char- acter. He had the general care of all the churches in that part of the State. This was true, in a great degree, even after the pastoral relation was formed. That relation was dissolved Oct. 4, 1845. He immediately removed to Edvvardsville, in Madison Co., and commenced his labors there, Nov. 9, 1845. His eldest brother, James F., was then located as a physician ia that place. His residence at Edwardsville was continued one year — from Nov., 1845, to Nov., 1846. During that time he acted under a commission from the Board of Domestic Mis- sions. One of his quarterly reports is as follows : " Churches and stations supplied, nine — Hillsboro, Waveland, Edwards- ville, Chester, Liberty, Sparta, Dry Point, Bethany and Belle- ville, all in the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. Number of families two hundred and thirty-five. Total in communion, two hun- dred and forty-one ; number of baptisms, six ; number of Sabbath schools, four ; teachers in Sabbath schools, thirty- eight; number of scholars in Sabbath schools, one hundred and ninety-five ; Bible Societies, five ; Missionary Societies, eight ; raised for Foreign Missions, ;^25.00 ; sermons preached, eighty-one; monthly concerts attended, four ; prayer-meet- ings established, four; visited ninety-six families; support pledged, ^150.00; observance of the Sabbath indifferent; population increasing." From this we gain an idea of his labors from Nov., 1845, to Nov., 185 i. He was much of the time on horseback; preaching on Sabbaths and week days; supplying vacant churches ; attending prayer-meetings ; visiting families ; establishing new congregations, and, in general, doing the work of an evangelist. In Nov., 1846, he removed to Chester and resided there for two and one-half years. He supplied that church on the third Sabbath in each month. He then removed back into the country ten miles. His next residence was in the bounds of Jordan's Grove congregation — the same church called Sparta in his report above. There he resided one and one-half years. This brings forward the time to October, 1 85 1 — about six years from his leaving Shawneetown. In 30 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. that month he went for Mrs. Spihnan, who was in Massa- chusetts. In crossing Lake Erie they were in great dan- ger. At one time the Captain gave up the boat for lost. On the 26th of October he preached in North Brookfield, Mass., Mrs. Spilman's native place. Their return seems to have been by the Ohio river, for he preached in Jef- fersonville, Indiana, November 4th. On the loth they were in Shawneetown, to which place Mr. S. had been earnestly invited to return. There he again engaged in itinerant labor, making Shawneetown one of his stations. In June, 1853, he wag again installed pastor by a committee of Kaskaskia Presbytery. In May, 1858, and again at the close of the year, there was a great revival in that congregation. In June, 1858, he visited Boston with his family, making the trip in three days and nine hours. His death took place at Shawneetown, Tuesday morning. May 3, 1859, of pneu- monia. His age was sixty-two years, eight months, and seventeen days. He was buried from the Presbyterian church, Thursday A. m., May 5th. The exercises were conducted by the Elders. The remains were deposited in the Westwood cemetery. The fu- neral sermon was preached by Rev. Cliarles A. Campbell, then of Morganfield, Ky., on the first Sabbath of June fol- lowing. Mr. C. says : " The church was crowded by a grief- stricken audience. The entire community, as well as the church, seemed to feel that they had lost a valued friend, and a spiritual guide in whom was no guile. Every eye overflowed, and the suppressed sob plainly told how deeply they felt their loss." To correctly delineate the character of Mr. Spilman is a task of no small difficulty to one who knew him only from the reports and writings of others. Most manifestly he was sound in the faith — a Calvinist, but not I think, as Mrs. Bald- win says in her letter quoted above, a high Calvinist. Take the following from his own pen. The article is called, A Key TO Unlock a Difficulty. " Calvinistic Predestination is not fatality, (i.) God from all eternity had his plan laid, by which he manages the universe. In other words ' He fore- ordained whatsoever comes to pass.' (2.) It comes to pass that all mankind are free agents. Then, this was fore-ordained for ' whatsoever comes to pass ' was fore-ordained. (3.) It comes to pass that the gospel salvation is infinitely BENJAMIN F. SPILIMAN. 3 I sufficient for all the human family, and is freely offered to all. This then was fore-ordained. (4.) It comes to pass that all who reject offered mercy and live and die in sin perish. This then must have been fore- ordained. (5.) It comes to pass that God suffers people to sin, /. e. does not prevent it, when we know that he could, by strikino^ the sinner dead, if in no other way. Whatsoever sin there- fore he does suffer to be committed was fore-ordained. (6.) It comes to pass that none are excluded from salvation by any decree of God, as he only ordained to suffer those who are lost to take their own choice between life and death, which they do voluntarily and thus reprobate themselves. (7.) While, therefore, predestination does no one any harm, it makes salvation sure to all who obey the gospel — and God works as he pleases in accordance with the free agency of man." This is Calvinism, but it is not liigli Calvinism, or fatalism. When the great division of 1837 and 1838 took place Mr. Spilmanhad been fourteen years a minister in the Presbyterian Church. He held to the Confession of Faith ; but the above article shows how he held it. It was not the ipsissinia verba method. He claimed the right to put upon the language of the Confession his own construction, and to give it his own explanation. He sided strongly with the Old- School, and was perhaps their leading man in the State of Illinois. He did not live to see the re- union of the two schools, and to share the conviction, now so general, that their differences were mainly referable to prej- udice. His second wife was a New England Congregation- alist. They ever lived in the most perfect harmony. It is not probable that either was conscious of yielding to the other one particle of religious belief. Mr. Spilman was exceedingly laborious. Take a few facts in illustration. In one year from Nov. 9, 1845, he traveled 3,688 miles on horseback. During six years from the same date, he preached nine hundred and fifty-nine sermons. In the same six years he installed eleven Elders, made two hun- dred and fift}--four visits, baptized ninety-eight persons, ad- ministered the supper thirty-six times and received one hundred and thirty-two persons into the churches. When the sacrament of the supper was administered the services usually continued four days. It was customary to hold 32 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. two of those meetings each year in each of the churches.- He was regular in his attendance upon all Ecclesiastical meetings, often traveling for that purpose very long distances. On several occasions he represented his Presbytery in Gen- eral Assembly. Much and almost constant traveling gave him little time for critical study, for converse with the great minds of past ages, or even for any considerable acquaintance with the cur- rent literature of the day. But this disadvantage was in part counterbalanced by his power of concentrating his thoughts in his ma^ny, long and lonely rides, upon whatever themes he chose. His saddle was, in an important sense, his study. Thus he acquired the power of digesting his subjects, and of arranging and fixing his thoughts in his own mind much as others do with pen and ink on paper. This mental labor he was always performing, and was often hardest at work when a spectator may have thought him wholly idle. Hence his power of preaching without manuscript — the method which he always followed — with readiness, fluency, clearness and power. His labors were successful. Shawneetown, where he began them in December, 1823, was one of the most un- promising points for ministerial labor in the United States. He found but one person — a female — who was connected with the Presbyterian Church. In November, 1845, he left them a congregation of sixty-six communicants. In the same years he had organized twelve other churches, two of which were in Kentucky. His success when residing in Madison and Randolph counties may be judged from what has already been said. His second residence in Shawnee- town was distinguished by the occurrence in 1858 of two re- vivals, which brought into that church, within ten months, seventy-seven members. Among them were several who have ever since been the pillars in that congregation. I am not able to state precisely the number of churches he organized during his ministry of thirty-six years, but think it was about twenty. Five or six of these have ceased to exist from deaths, removals and destitution of the preached word. Most of the others have acquired strength and great influence. To have planted in such a place as Shawneetown was in 1823, and watered and matured such a church as ex- isted there when B. 1^. Spilman was buried, would have been of itself a success worthy of thirty-six years of labor. But SHOAL CREEK CHURCH. 33 this was only a part of the grand result of those thirty-six years. Eternity alone can unfold the mighty whole. Mr. Spilman was eminently prayerful. The revivals of 1858 were preceded by days and weeks of the most agon- izing supplications on his part. Indeed all through his min- isterial life his close communion with God was the great secret of his power. The various ecclesiastical relations which he sustained — all in the same denomination — during his ministry of thirty- six years, in the same general region, illustrate curiously the growth of the country and the Church. He was licensed indeed by the Presbytery of Chillicothe, Ohio, because his theological studies were prosecuted in that city; but he came immediately, and without preaching a sermon elsewhere, to Southeastern Illinois. There he came under the care of the Presbytery of Muhlenburg, and was ordained by them in November, 1824. In 1826 the Synod of Indiana was erected, which included all the churches in this State. This brought Mr. S. into the Presbytery of Wabash, which embraced the churches and ministers in Western Indiana and Eastern Illi- nois. In 1828 he fell into Center Presbytery, which ex- tended over this entire State and Wisconsin. His next change was into Kaskaskia Presbytery in 1831. Finally, a few months before his death, he fell into Saline Presbytery. Thus, without changing his general field, he was a member of five different Presbyteries, and of three different Synods. Presbyterianism in Illinois owes much to B. F. Spilman. He was the piojieer in the State. For a time he was the only Presbyterian minister, connected with the Assembly, residing and statedly laboring in this vast domain, now contain- ing three Synods, eleven Presbyteries, four hundred and twenty ministers, four hundred and eighty-seven churches^ and 43,987 members. All honor to the man who stands, in- strumentally, at the head of these grand results ! The Shoal Creek Church was organized by Rev, Salmon Giddings, of St. Louis, March 10, 1819, with thirty-five mem- bers. The first records are lost, and with them anything like a correct list of their names. But according to the recol- lection of widow George Donnell, the first elders were Hugh McReynolds, John Laughlin and John Gilmore. Mr. Giddings, after the organization, paid them occasional visits; and such was the fidelity and activity of the members, that their meetings were held regularly, and large congrega- 2 34 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. tions assembled whether a minister was present or not. Their place of worship was a log house, about four miles north of Greenville, Bond county, in T. 6, N. R. 3, E., Sec. 21, N. E. quarter, near a very small creek running into the east fork of Shoal Creek. The Union Grove Methodist church now oc- cupies the same site. In two years it had increased to eighty-eight members, thirty of whom were new converts, the fruit of a revival at a camp-meeting held by Dr. Gideon Blackburn in the very spring of the organization. Another camp-meeting was conducted by the Home Missionaries, Revs. Oren CatUn and Daniel Green Sprague, in 1823. By this the roll was enlarged to one hundred and fifteen. A third camp-meeting, held by B. F. Spilmanin 1824, brought the membership to one hundred and twenty-two. By the Missouri Presbytery, September 15, 1825, Bethel and Greenville churches were set off from Shoal Creek. April 7, 1832, Kaskaskia Presbytery, at its meeting in Carmi, White county, united the two churches of Greenville and Shoal Creek. From that time Shoal Creek ceased to exist as such, and became merged in Greenville church. Its ministerial supplies previous to the organization of Greenville, September, 1825, were occasional and transient. After that it was grouped with Greenville. It was the mother of Greenville, Elm Point and Bethel churches, and for the first five years of its existence occupied the entire territory now held by these, her children. If B. F. Spilman was the father of Presbyterianism in one section of Illinois, Salmon Giddings was in another. True, his residence was in St. Louis, but a large portion of his early labors were expended in the counties nearest St. Louis, on the East side of the Father of Waters. It is these labors principally that will here be noticed. He was born in the town of Hartland, Hartford county. Conn., March 2, 1782. His parents were not members of any church, but were respected for their industry, intelli- gence and strict morality. They were careful to train their son to fear God, honor his parents and find pleasure in pro- moting the well-being of his fellow men. He united with the Congregational Church in January, 1807. About the same time he was led to consider the duty of preaching the Gospel. Entering upon a course of study, with the ministry in view, he graduated at Williams College, Mass., in 181 1, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 18 14. He was SALMON GIDDIXGS. 35 tutor for a short time in his Ahiia ]\Iater. In December, 1814, he was ordained to the work of the ministry. During 1 81 5, he itinerated in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In December, 181 5, he was commissioned by the Connecticut Missionary Society to labor in the Western country, parti- cularly St. Louis. He h^d read the reports of Mills and Smith, published in the Panoplist, and was led thereby to ■choose that field of labor. He came to St. Louis on horse- back that same winter, preaching often while passing through the destitute settlements. The people were hospitable, fed his horse and made him welcome. He slept in their log cabins, partook of their plain fare, prayed in their families, and talked to their children. He reached St. Louis, April 6, 18 16, and at once entered upon his labors on both sides the river. On Sabbath, August 25, 1816, he preached in Kaskas- kia, and baptized James L. D., son of Robert Morrison. This child was the since well-known J. L. D. Morrison, somewhat famous in military and political life, and still liv- ing. In political speeches he has been known to boast that he was baptized ifito the Presbyterian Church. There was at that time no Protestant church in Kaskaskia. On the fol- lowing Thursday he preached at Major How's. James Gas- ton and his son were present. The father was a Presbyterian Elder in North Carolina ; the son and his wife were members of the same church. The next Sabbath, September i, 18 16, he preached at Irish settlement to a large audience. So far as I can learn, these were his first labors in Illinois Territory, and they correspond in time almost precisely with those of McGready, when he organized Sharon church, in White county. On Sabbath, the 27th of the next October, he preached again at Kaskaskia, reaching the place, as before, by Ste. Genevieve. At Kaskaskia he met Rev. Samuel T. Scott, of Vincennes. He rode with him sixteen miles east, to Irish settlement, where Mr. S. had an appointment. He then rode back nine miles and preached at Mr. Tindal's. On the first of November he started for St. Louis. It is interesting to think of the meeting of those two mis- sionaries at that time — probably by appointment. They two were then the only ordained — John AIcElroy Dickey was not ordai /led until 18 17 — Presbyterian ministers actually resid- ing in the three Territories of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. 36 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. One of them was located in the principal town of Indiana Territory; the other at the seat of government of Missouri Territor)^, and their place of meeting was the capital of Illi- nois Territory. No chronicler has left on record their dis- cussions respecting the spiritual interests of the vast region so soon to become three powerful States. On May l, 18 17, Mr. Giddings purchased a house and lot in St. Louis, for ;^i,o8o. This purchase subsequently be- came a fortune for his widow and son. In the spring of 1820, Mr. Giddings attended the meeting of the General Assembly as Commissioner from the Presby- tery of Missouri, which had been organized at St. Louis, December 18, 1817. He was appointed by the Assembly a delegate to attend the General Associations of Massachu- setts and Connecticut — an appointment which he fulfilled. The process by which Mr. Giddings, an ordained Congre- gational minister, became a Presbyterian is worth noticing. It consisted m traveling from Neiv England to Missouri; at least, if that was not the process, there was no other. As soon as he reaches Missouri he calls himself a Presby- terian, goes to organizing Presbyterian churches, and just as soon as possible unites with ^three others in forming a Pres- bytery ; and in three years more goes as a Commissioner to the Assembly. " But he had papers." No doubt — papers showing his ordination as a Congregational minister. Yet just as soon as he reaches Missouri he is, and ever after ivas^ a Presbyterian. He labored in St. Louis for more than six years without a house of worship, constantly calling upon the people to rise up and build. At length this object was accomplished, and in June, 1825, the first Presbyterian church building in St. Louis was dedicated. On Sabbath, Nov. 9, 1826, Mr. Giddings was installed pas- tor of the congregation. December 4, 1826, he was married to Miss Almira Collins^ of CoUinsville, Illinois, ten miles east of St. Louis. This lady was born in Litchfield, Conn., July 13, 1790, and died in Quincy, 111., May 10, 1872. Mr. Giddings died in St, Louis, Friday, February i, 1828. The funeral took place the following Sabbath from the church. A vast concourse of people was in attendance. Rev. Solomon Hardy, of Bond county. 111., introduced the service. Rev, Mr. Horrell, an Episcopal minister, made the SALMON GIDDINGS. / 3/ address. Rev. John M. Peck, the well-known Baptist min- ister, of St, Clair county, 111., closed the service. The re- mains were deposited in a vault beneath the pulpit. In due time a marble tablet was placed in the wall with this inscription : IN MEMORY OF REV. SALMON GIDDINGS, A. M., First Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in St. Louis. He was born in Connecticut, March 3, 17S2; became a member of the Church of Christ 1807 ; was a graduate of Williamstown College, Mass., and a student at Andover Theological Seminar)'; was ordained to the Gospel Minis- try 1814 ; arrived in Missouri as the First Protestant Missionary, 1S15; organized the First Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Nov. 15, 1817; died in the assurance of a joyful resurrection, Feb. I, 1828, aged 45 years, 10 months, 28 days. As a man, he was kind, prudent and decisive ; as a Christian, he was pious, cheerful and prayerful ; as a min- ister, meek, laborious and persevering. His body moulders in its vault un- der this house of worship, which his labors contributed to erect. His spirit has gone to receive its reward. *' Well done, good and faithful servant." When, in 1853, the edifice was pulled down, that vault was opened. A few bones, clean and bare, were all that remain- ed, save a small residuum of dark, damp dust. The relics were disinterred and placed in a copper urn in a cemetery- vault, and, when the new edifice was dedicated, deposited again beneath the pulpit. A son — Frederick Salmon — was born to Mr. Giddings, Nov. 11, 1828, eight months and eleven days after his father's death. This son is now a wealthy and prominent citizen of Quinc)', 111., and a leading member of the First Presbyterian Church of that city. He has four children. During the entire period of his residence in St. Louis Mr. Giddings continued to make frequent preaching tours in Illi- nois. Besides the labors above recited he organized the church at Edwardsville, March 17, 18 19, with fifteen members ; Turkey Hill, in St. Clair county, April, 1820, with eight mem- bers; Kaskaskia, May 27, 1821, with nine members; Sugar Creek, March 31, 1822, with twenty-three members, and Col- iinsville, May 3, 1823, with nine members. Besides, he was one of a committee of four to organize Bethel Church, which was done Sept. 15, 1825, with sixty-two members; and Greenville 38 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Church on the same day and by the same committee, with twenty-nine members. The place of these two last organiza- tions was the Old Shoal Creek Church, Mr. Giddings, in his short ministry in the West, of less than twelve years, planted and occasionally watered thir- teen churches — six in Missouri and seven in Illinois. The next minister mentioned as having served the Shoal Creek Church is Rev. Gideon Blackburn. But as his name will occur at a later period of our history and in a more im- portant connection, I defer until then a fuller notice of this^ truly great man. ^- Oren Catlin was a native of New York. He graduated at Hamilton College in 18 18 and at Andover in 1822. He Avas ordained Sept. 26, 1822. In 1823 he, in connection with Daniel G. Sprague, labored in Illinois. They held a camp-meeting with the Shoal Creek Church, and on April 30, same year, organized at Carrollton, the " First Pres- byterian Church of Greene county." These two brethren ap- pear to have traveled and labored together while in this State. But they did not long remain. We hear of Mr. Cat- lin as pastor in Warren, Mass., in 1829 and 1831 ; as stated supply of the Presbyterian Church, Cincinnatus, N. Y., in 1832 and 1833; at Castleton, N. Y., from 1834 to 1837; at Fairport, N. Y., from 1838 to 1841 ; at Newstead, N. Y., from 1842 to 1843, and at Collins, N, Y., 1844 to 1846. He died at Evans, N. Y., Aug. 11, 1849, aged hfty-five. Daniel Green Sprague was born in Connecticut. He graduated at Brown University, R. I., 18 19, and at Andover Seminary in 1822. He was ordained Oct. 2, 1822. Home Mis- sionary in Illinois and Missouri in 1822 and 1823 He was- at Hampton and Colchester, Conn., from 1824 to 1844. He was with the Presbyterian Church of South Orange, N. J., from T 844 to i860. David Tenney was a native of Massachusetts. He gradu- ated at Harvard College in 18 15 and at Andover Seminary in 181 8. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Londonderry,. in the third parish of Newbury, Sept. 24, 1 8 1 8, as a missionary to the destitute parts of our own country. He was sent out by the New York Evangelical Missionary Society to Illinois in 1 8 19. In the early summer of that year he began his labors- in the region of Kaskaskia, and died in the bounds of Shoal Creek Church, Bond county, October 21, of the same year. His tombstone bears this inscription : " Sacred to the FIRST CHURCH, EDWARDSVILLE. 39 memory of Rev. David Tenxey, who departed this Hfe Oct 21, 1819, in the thirty-fourth year of his age, and second of his ministry. He was a faithful ambassador of the cross, and a zealous missionary of the New York Evangelical Mis- sion Society, by whom this stone is erected." Edwardsville Church, Madison county. This, following the chronological order, is the iJiird Presbyterian Church or- ganized in Ilhnois. There have hto-n four Presbyterian Churches here. I shall notice in this connection only the first. It was organized March 17, 1819, by Rev. Salmon Giddings, of St. Louis, with fifteen members. The records are lost, and I cannot give their names. Thomas Lippincott and Hail Mason were probably the first Elders. Mr. Lippincott removed from Milton to Edwardsville in the fall of 1820. Jeremiah Abbot and Matthew B. Torrance were elders subsequently. The widow of Dr. John Blair Smith, at one time President of Hampden Sidney College, Prince Edward county, Va., came to Edwardsville in 1817. Ten years later, when resid- ing at Springfield, 111., she says: "When I came to Ed- wardsville I could find no professor of religion in the place, and for eighteen months after no sermon was preached there. I lived to see a church of nine members, and in- creased to thirty." The early members were nearly or quite all of Scotch-Irish descent. Previously to 1828 the church enjoyed no stated gospel ministrations. The fashion was in those days for mis- sionaries to come out from the East and itinerate through Missouri and Illinois, wherever they could find or gather Presbyterian Churches, spending only a few weeks, or per- haps only a few days, with each. In 18 18 Rev. Messrs. Benj. Lowe and Samuel Graham performed services of this kind. Messrs. Edward Hollister and Daniel Gould were here in i82i,and labored more or less in Edwardsville. In 1822 came Messrs. Oren Catlin and Daniel G. Sprague. Salmon Giddings also performed much labor this side the river. I suppose Mr. Lippincott himself conducted religious meetings at Edwardsville when no minister was present. In this way, doubtless, his mind was gradually drawn to the ministry. This was one of the original churches of Center Presby- tery, which held its first meeting at Kaskaskia, January 9, 1829. It had then thirty-three members. From that number it steadily declined. One year later it had only twenty-five. 40 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. The last time it was represented in Presbytery was at Green- ville, September, 1831. The last time its name appears in the minutes of Presbytery is at the meeting in Collinsville, September, 1833. It died, and from starvation. The only ministerial labors it ever enjoyed were those of passing mis- sionaries, remaining one or two Sabbaths only, and an occa- sional visit from Mr. Giddings, of St. Louis. It was only by slow degrees and after many failures that the church came to learn the better way. Edward Holltster was born in Sharon, Conn., Feb. 22, 1796, whence he removed with his father's family to Salisbury, Connecticut. He attended the district school till 18 10. He graduated at Middlebury College, Vt., in 1816. He took charge of an Academy for one year in New Castle, Maine. Then he took the full Theological course at Andover, Mass. He was ordain- ed at Bradford, Mass., by the Presbytery of Londonderry, Sept. 26, 1820, together with Daniel Gould, for Home Missionary work. Oct. 10, 1820, he started for Illinois and Missouri under the direction of the Connecticut Missionary Society, and remained under their care until the spring of 1822. He labored at several places in Missouri, and at Alton, Edwards- ville and other points in Illinois. He returned to New England in the spring of 1822 and be- came pastor of a church in Danville, Vt. He married Miss Mary Trumbull, of Salem, Mass., August 3. 1823. His labors as a pastor were eminently successful, but so arduous that his health gave way. He was advised to try a milder climate. He set out alone, and traveled in a chaise to South Carolina. But his health improved so slowly that the pastorate had to be given up. The wife, with her young son, now joined her husband at the South. At Oxford, N. C, they took charge of and successfully conducted a seminary for young ladies. In the fall of 1834 he removed with his family — wife, two sons and two daughters — to Griggsville, 111., where he engag- ed again in teaching. But feeble health and the urgency of friends again took him southward to West Tennessee. From thence he returned again to Illinois, and for five years labored in the ministry at Chili, Hancock county. Subsequently he was engaged for seven years in the service of the Bible Society, After this he took up his residence with his son, GOULD AND WILLIAMSON, 4 1 Capt. Edward HoIHster, at Alton, III. Here he closed his useful and laborious life Jan, ii, 1870, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. His widow still survives. Their children were Ed- ward, born June 18, 1824, Wm.T., born June 5, 1828, Mary T., born Dec. 24, 1830, and Emily G., born Oct., 1833. These are all living and married except Mary T. who died unmarried. Daniel Gould was a native of New Hampshire, a student at Harvard College, Mass., and a graduate of Andover Sem- inary in 1820. He was ordained with Mr. Hollister, as stated above, and traveled with him to Illinois and Missouri. He remained in those States but a few months. In 1821 he was laboring as a Home Missionary in North Carolina, and was afterwards supply pastor at Statesville in that State, where he died April 20, 1834, aged forty-four. In 1822 Abraham Williamson was commissioned to labor in Illinois. He preached at Edwardsville, Kaskaskia and Shoal Creek, The latter congregation was the principal scene of his labors. He was long remembered with great interest and affection. He was a native of New Jersey ; graduated at Princeton College in 1818 ; studied two years at Princeton Theological Seminary. After his missionary service in Illinois he was pastor in Chester, N. J., from 1823 to 1853; supply pastor at Mt. Freedom, N. J., in 1856, and died June 19, 1869, aged seventy-nine years. GoLCONDA Church, Pope county, was organized Oct. 24, 18 19, by Rev. Nathan B. Derrow, with sixteen members. Here is a verbatim copy of the original record. "GoLCONDA, III., Oct. 23, 1819. "This day a number of persons convened at the Court-house in Golconda, for examination preparatory to the planting of a church in this place. Sixteen persons, whose names are hereafter recorded, gave in their names for members in a Presbyterian Church in this place, and after inquiry respect- ing their belief and practice, it was resolved to be planted in a church state to-morrow. Accordingly, on Lord's day, the 24th of this month, after a discourse from Rom. 4th chapter, the church was planted by the persons aforesaid making the following Confession and Covenant. [These are omitted.] They are, therefore, hereby declared a regular church of Jesus Christ, and as such recommended to the fellowship of sister churches and to the attention of the embassadors of Jesus, By me, " N'n. B. Derrow, V. D. M., " Missionary for Connecticut." 42 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Names: James E. Willis, Eliza Willis, Joshua Scott, Jane Scott, David B. Glass, Francis Glass, Agnes Glass, George Hodge, John Hanna, Margaret Hanna, George H. Hanna,. William P. Hanna, Jane Hanna, James H, Hanna, Benjamin Spilman, Nancy R. Spilman. Elders : James E. Willis was the first. The Elders since appointed are these : John Hanna, Benjamin Spilman and Joshua Scott, March i8, 1820; George Hodge and William Sim, Nov. 26, 1822; Francis Glass and Joseph Glass, Nov. 27, 1824. William A. Glass and John C. Hanna, June 11, 1844; Samuel D. Hemphill and J. E. Y. Hanna, Oct. 21, i860; John V. Sch'uhard, M. D., Jan. 11, 1868; William P. Sloan, Feb. 6, 1869; W. S. Hodge, Feb. 12, 1871. The five last named are the present (1879) Elders. Of their Ministers. Nathan B. Derrow did not visit the church after its organization. Robert A. Lapsley gave them some ministerial services. B. F. Spilman was their next minister. I think it very certain he preached his first sermon here after his licensure, probably on the second Sabbath of December, 1823. It is quite clear that he made his home at Golconda from that time until the beginning of 1832. He seems indeed to have given that church all the ministerial labor it enjoyed from December, 1823, to Nov., 1845. A por- tion of the time his appointments with them were regular. More often occasional, and the occasions far between. To him succeeded William A. Smith, in the latter part of 1845. John P. Riddle gave them some supply from November,. 1852, to November, 1854. Wm. R. Sim was their minister from February, 1861, till about the time of his death, which took place July 7, 1864. He died and was buried at Golconda. R. Lewis McCune gave them some supply from Novem- ber, 1864, to March, 1865. Solomon Cook was with them from May 26, 1867, to the spring of 1872. The last six months of this time he was pastor. A. A.Mathes supplied their pulpit for two years from March 25, 1873. In March, 1877, J. M. Green, of Shawneetown, held a meeting with the Golconda Church, at which thirty-two per- sons were received on profession. About fifteen of these are still reliable members. GOLCOXDA CHURCH. 43 Sherman M. Burton took charge of the church as pastor, Feb. 26, 1877, and still continues (1879). This congregation has from the beginning had two places of worship — one in the village of Golconda, the other in the country, on the Vienna road. In town the place of meeting was the court-house, or school-house, or in a building called the Union Church, un- til, in 1869, they entered their own house, a fine structure of brick, erected at a cost of $8,000. In the country, the place of meeting was at the house of Francis Glass — two and a half miles west of Golconda — un- til about the year 1832. Next at the house of David B. Glass — four miles west of Golconda — until about 1840, when a building was erected called Bethel Church. It was a frame building — never entirely finished — and was used until about 1858. It was then sold and the proceeds put into a building called "Bethany" Church, the title to which was with the Cumberlands. The Presbyterians assisted largely in its erec- tion and occupied it jointly with them until 1877. The next summer our people erected for themselves a neat frame house, called " Prospect " Church, which was dedicated September i, 1878. It is located at the middle of N. W. quarter Sec. 33, T. 13, S. R. 6 E, of third Principal ?kleridian. In April, 1871, a church called Grove was organized, with seven members, about three miles southeast of where Prospect Church now stands, a site selected, and some means for building secured. But the enterprise was aban- doned, and the members re-united to Golconda Church. There have been connected with Golconda Church, from the beginning, two hundred and sixty-five members. The present number (1879) is ninety-six. Sabbath-schools are maintained both in town and country, and both are con- ducted with great vigor. Connected with the country part of Golconda Church is an interesting and venerable widow lady — Mrs. Agnes Hanna, She was born in North Carolina in 1796. She is mother of Elder J. E. Y. Hanna, and resides with her daughter, INIrs. J. S. Crawford, near Prospect Church. Her maiden name was Crawford. Her father, John Crawford, was one of the first pioneers in the Illinois country. Mrs. C. P. Bosman, of Allen Springs, Pope county, 111., has published some interesting facts concerning him. I here introduce one of her papers, and in her own words : 44 PRESBYTERIANISM I\ ILLINOIS. "John Crawford was born in county Antrim, in the north of Ireland, about the year 1761. He was of Scotch parent- age,, but of his early life little is known. He emigrated to America in 1 782, when only twenty-one years of age, and settled in what is now known as the Waxhaw settlement, in South Carolina. In 1785, he was married to Agnes Glass, with whom he lived for more than fifty years. In the year 1801, he left South Carolina for the then unsettled West. Stopping one year in Tennessee, he arrived in 1803 on the east bank of the Ohio river, and settled three miles above Golconda. In 1808 he crossed the river and settled at the mouth of Gfand Pierre Creek, which was his home for twenty-six years. His residence in Illinois was truly pio- neer. He had wild beasts to contend with as well as the forest to subdue. On one occasion two of his little boys, who had been sent to drive his cows from the woods, came running back in terror and reported that an * ugly animal was after the hogs,' and asked that the father would ' go and shoot it.' Not going promptly, the children insisted until he took down his rifle, but remembering it was the Sab- bath, declined to desecrate the Lord's day by shooting ; but the terrified children insisted, as it was a 'very ugly thing, and meant bad to the hogs.' Yielding to their entreaties he followed them, found and shot the animal, wounding but not killing it. Finding he had no other bullet for his gun, he set the dogs on, and the wounded beast rallying, a fear- ful fight began. Holding the infuriated animal by the hind legs, Mr. Crawford cheered on his dogs, while the little boys threw clubs and stones. They finally killed the enemy, who proved to be a panther of the largest size, measur- ing nine feet in length. During the fight the panther struck one of the dogs with his paw, fastening the claws in his ear. The old man took both the hind legs in one hand and with the other removed the panther's claw from the dog's ear. Although an old pioneer, it was his first expe- rience with the most ferocious of American beasts. On re- turning home he announced to his wife, ' Noncy, Xoncy, we've kilt the divil ! ' On his describing the animal, she ex- claimed, ' Why, John, it is a panther.' He had not realized until then the peril in which he and his children had been placed. " Mr. Crawford had other and more troublesome foes to contend with than the wild beasts of the woods. The JOHN CRAWFORD. 45 country on the west bank of the river bore at that time a very bad reputation on account of the bands of counterfeiters and river pirates who infested the whole district, and had their headquarters at Cavc-in-Rock. Some of the gang be- came afraid of Mr. Crawford, who, hving near them, might become acquainted with facts, which would not be pleasant for them if made public. It was their policy to conciliate such of the settlers as would not engage in their nefarious practices, and by free-hearted hospitality and acts of kind- ness gain in some degree the good will of their honest neigh- bors. But our sturdy old frontiersman would not associate with them on any terms, or for any purpose, and they wanted him out of the way. Knowing it was bootless to attack him single-handed, and either unwilling or afraid to kill him, they sought to intimidate him, and by every species of annoyance they could devise either provoke a quarrel or force him to leave his home for a more pleasant locality. They would come in squads of ten or more and lounge around his place all day. On one occasion a dozen armed men came to his house, and sitting about his grounds sent one of their num- ber to aggravate ]\Ir. Crawford to strike him, when the bal- ance were to rush in and put the old man out of the way. But he was prudent as well as brave; and although annoyed almost beyond endurance, restrained his temper and re- frained from anything that could give his foes a pretext for murdering him. He was subjected to these raids and in- sults until the dispersion of the band in 1824, by armed citizens, under the leadership of William Rondeau, James Alcom and Hugh McNulty. After the death of his wife, in 1824, Mr. Crawford sold his property and went to live with his son, the Rev. John Crawford, a Cumberland Presbyterian, and died at his residence in Gallatin county, July 15, 1833, aged seventy-two years. He bore throughout his long life the character of an upright, straightforward, honest man. Late in life he attached himself to the Presby- terian Church of Golconda. Of twelve children, one son and four daughters survive him, and his descendants are scattered over nearly all the Western country. The vener- able widow of the late Geo. H. Hanna, the eldest surviving child of the respected old pioneer, has resided in Pope county more than sixty years." This is the widow — i\Irs. Agnes Hanna — to whom I re- ferred. 46 PRESBVTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Nathan B. Derrow, originally from New England, was settled over the church of Homer, New York, February 2, 1802, where his labors were blessed with successive revivals. In 1807 he removed to Ohio and made his home in Vienna, Trumbull county. During the nine years he was in New Connecticut, he traveled 11,868 miles; preached seven hun- dred and eighty-six times ; baptized one hundred and twenty- three persons ; administered the supper thirty times, and planted seven churches. In June, 1 8 16, he left that field, having accepted a mis- sionary appointment from the Connecticut Missionary So- ciety, for Indiana 'and Illinois. He passed through Ohio to Jeffersonville, on the Ohio river, opposite Louisville. Here he spent a few weeks, and from thence proceeded to Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, about three miles north of Terre Haute. He found that country at once destitute and invit- ing. The population was rapidly increasing. Illiterate and enthusiastic preachers were numerous. Many whole fami- lies were found without a book of any kind. When tracts were presented, he was asked to read them by those who could not read themselves. His labors in the general region of Fort Harrison and Terre Haute were in the fall of 18 17, and perhaps the be- ginning of 1818. He organized at that time a church west of the Wabash, and very near the Illinois line, called at first Hopcivell and afterwards New Hope. Its members resided along the valley of Sugar creek, partly in the State of Indiana and partly in the Territory of Illinois. As noticed above, he organized the church of Golconda, October 24, 1819. He was back again at Vienna, Ohio, in 1825. I can find no further account of him. He belonged, evidently, to that class of pioneer laborers who delighted in frontier work, and in laying the foundations of many generations. Robert Armstrong Lapsley was a native of Kentucky. He graduated at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1819. He was ordained as an evangelist by Muhlenburg Presbytery in 1823 ; was President of Nashville Female Academy in 1834; pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville in 1850; stated supply in Carthage, Tenn., from 1856 to 1865. Died at New Albany, Ind., February 12, 1872, aged seventy- four. The Hopewell Church, named just above, belongs partly HOPEWELL OR NEW HOPE CHURCH. 47 to Illinois. I will notice it briefl}-. It was organized by Nathan B. Derrow, probably in the fall of 1817, with nine members, John Black, Elder. It was visited in November, 1824, by Rev. Isaac Reed, who resided in Indiana, and was returning from Paris, III. At Mr. Reed's suggestion its name was changed to New Hope. April 25, 1825, Mr. Reed says: " It is a settlement partly in Indiana and partly in Illinois. It has been a church for years, but entirely without ministerial Supplies." Between that time and August, 1826. it enjoyed, in connection with Paris, 111., the labors of John Young. An interesting revival took place and the church was increased to seventy. They erected a log house of worship on the south side of Sugar creek, about two miles above its entrance into the Wabash. Mr. Young died at Vincennes about the middle of .August, 1826. In September Mr. Reed preached his funeral sermon, both at Paris and in New Hope churches. The sermon was printed. In 1827 New Hope had these members among others, viz: Elder John Black, Elder Thomas Black, Samuel Peevy, James Baird, George Malcom, Alex. Ewing, James Black, Robert Henderson, David Hogue, James R. C. Ashmore, Thomas McCullock, Martin Ray, Joseph Malcom. Its ter- ritory extended up Sugar creek to within ten miles of Paris, and included several families afterward in New Providence Church. This church ultimately fell a prey to sectarian zeal. Revs. Merrick A. Jewett, of Terre Haute, and Dean Andrews, of Marshall, 111., Congregational ministers, organized two little Congregational churches, one at each extremity of the New Hope Church. Between the two the Presbyterian church was swallowed up. But no good has followed. Of the de- vourers, one is in articido mortis, ^KiA the other has long been in statu quo. Leaving New Hope out of the account — since its church building was in Indiana — there were four Presbyterian churches in Illinois previous to 1820, viz: Sharon, Septem- ber, 1816, Shoal Creek, March IQ, 1819, Edwardsville, March 17, 1819, and Golconda, October 24, 1819. Sketches of these churches, and of the ministers laboring in the Illinois country previous to their existence, and more or less subsequently down to the first meeting of Center Presbytery, January 9, 1829, have been the theme of this chapter. 48 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. I shall continue in the next chapter to make the dates of the organization of the churches the chronological nexus ; con- necting with the notice of each church sketches of the min- isters who labored with it up to Jan. 9, 1829. CHAPTER III. FROM 1820 TO FIRST MEETING OF CENTER PRESBYTERY, JAN. 9, 1829. Authorities. — Bancroft's History; Flint's Travels; Dr. Hill's article in Presbyterian Quarterly, 1861 ; Gillett's History; Original records; Life and Times of Stephen Bliss: Isaac Reed's Youth's Book and Christian Traveler; Robert Stewart's Semi-Centennial Sermon for Bethel Church ; Dr. Bergen's Scrap-Book ; Dr. Dimond's Sketch of John M. Ellis ; Joseph Gordon in Pres- bytery Reporter; Sermons of Dr. Glover, Dr. Reed, N. S. Dickey, and B. C. Swan; Mrs. M. H. Barton. Turkey Hill Church was formed by Salmon Giddings, April 20, 1820, with eight members. Nathan Jones, father of the late Rev. Williston Jones, was one of its elders. An- other is supposed to have been Deacon Josiah Crocker, at whose house the first Mrs. Thomas Lippincott died, October 14, 1 8 19, The exact location of Deacon Crocker's house was T. I, N., R. 7 W., S. E. quarter of Sec. 2. Turkey Hill proper was four miles southeast of Belleville ; but the name came to include a large tract of the adjacent country. It was the first American settlement in St. Clair county, and was commenced by William Scott, Samuel Shook and Franklin Jarvis, in 1798. Deacon Crocker's resi- dence was in that settlement, though four or five miles north of the " Hill " proper. At his house the meetings of Turkey Hill Church were often held. In 1824, the church had in- creased to fourteen members. In 1825, its number was re- duced to seven. Nathan Jones and his family removed to Fulton county. A portion of the remaining members joined the Methodists, and the church became extinct. It never had a house of worship or regular preaching. Kaskaskia and Chester Church. — The oldest perma- nent settlement in the valley of the Mississippi is the village of Kaskaskia, which gradually became a central point of French colonization. We know that Father Gravier was its founder, though it is not easy to fix the exact date of its origin. It was, however, somewhere between 1680 and 169O, i. e., just about two hundred years ago. In 1800 the only portions of what is now the State of 0 50 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Illinois occupied by whites, were the American bottom from Kaskaskia to Cahokia inclusive, and some settlements oq and near the bluff bordering that bottom for the same dis- tance. The whole number, including French and Ameri- cans, was something above two thousand. Of these about twelve hundred were French. The negroes numbered about two hundred, the greatest part of whom were slaves. Kaskaskia had then about five hundred inhabitants. Of these only six or eight families were Americans. Across the river from Kaskaskia, and directly east of that village, was a ^neighborhood which is now the territory of Pleasant Ridge Church, in which, in 1800, were a few Ameri- can families, among them the family of Robert Reynolds, the father of Governor John Reynolds. The family of Joseph Heard, from Virginia, came in 1801. They crossed the Ohio from Kentucky and traveled overland from river to river, finding neither house, bridge nor ferry for the whole distance, upwards of one hundred miles. They settled in that neighborhood because it was near Kaskaskia, at that time the largest and best known place in the Valley of the Mississippi. Joseph Heard was the grand-father of the pres- ent Mrs. Wm. H. Mann, of Pleasant Ridge Church. This is Governor Reynolds' account of his first view of Kaskaskia. It was in the spring of 1800, when he was a little past twelve years of age : " When we approached the high bluffs east of Kaskaskia, we halted our traveling cara- van and surveyed with wonder and delight the prospect be- fore us. The e\^e ranged up and down the American bot- tom for many miles, and the whole landscape la}\ as it were, at our feet. The river bluff rose two hundred feet or more above the bottom, and the prairie lay extended before our view, covered with horses and cattle grazing on it. The Mississippi could be seen in places through the forest of Cot- tonwood trees skirting its banks, and the ancient village of Kaskaskia presented its singular form and antique construc- tion to our sight. The ancient cathedral stood a venerable edifice in the heart of the village, with its lofty steeple and large bell. Around the village were numerous camps and lodges of the Kaskaskia Indians, still retaining much of their original savage independence. " The large common field, with a fence stretched across from the Kaskaskia river to the Mississippi, extended on one side of the village ; and the commons, covered with cattle, KASKASKIA. 5I on the other. Near the bluff, on which we stood, the Kas- kaskia river wended its way south, and entered the Missis- sippi six miles below the village of Kaskaskia. "This was our first sight of civilization in Illinois; and it was so strange and uncouth to us, that if we had been landed on another planet we would not have been more sur- prised. The Kaskaskia Indians were numerous and still re- tained some of their savage customs. Many of the young warriors were painted and decorated with their gaudy and fantastic attire. Feathers of birds were tied in their hair, and sometimes the horns of animals were attached to their heads. They galloped in this fantastic dress around our en- campment." » In that year — iSoo — the Territory of Indiana was organ- ized from the Northwestern Territory, and included the pres- ent States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. William Henry Harrison was appointed Governor, and Vin- cennes was made the capital. In 1809, Illinois Territory was organized, and included the country now constituting the States of Illinois and Wiscon- sin. Ninian Edwards was made Governor, and Kaskaskia was the seat of government. The first Legislative Assembly of Illinois Territory con- vened at Kaskaskia, Nov. 25, 181 2. It consisted of twelve members, five Senators and seven Representatives. They all boarded at one hotel and lodged, it is said, in the same room. Illinois became a State December 3, 181 8. The first State Legislature convened at Kaskaskia soon after. About its last act was the law removing the seat of government to Van- dalia. We will now trace, so far as possible, the religious history of Kaskaskia. From the beginning and down until about 1800 the only religion known there was that of Rome. Rob- ert Morrison and John Edgar were in Kaskaskia in 1800. Their wives subsequently became members of the Presbyte- rian Church of the place. Samuel J. Mills and John F. Schermerhorn were sent out by the Massachusetts ]\Iissionary Society in 1812 to explore, preach and look after the interests of the Bible cause in the West and Southwest. They touched Illinois Territory only at Fort Massac. In 1 8 14 the same Samuel J. Mills and his associate, Daniel 52 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Smith, were sent out by the same society, as related in chap- ter I. Rev. Timothy Fhnt was sent West by the Connecticut Missionary Society in 1815. He started with his family from New England Oct. 4, of that year. The next winter they passed in Cincinnati. April 12, 1816, they started on a keel-boat, between eighty and ninety feet long, for St. Louis. On the 28th they reached the mouth of the Ohio. From thence up the Mississippi to St. Louis, where they ar- rived May 24, occupied twenty-six days. They did not stop at Kaskaskia, but in relating the events of the voyage, Mr. Flint made these remarks : " We noticed the Kaskaskia, a river which runs through the central and bSst parts of Illi- nois. It passes by a town of its own name, one of the oldest French establishments out of Canada, in North America. It is said to be older than Philadelphia. It is a pleasant village,, was then the seat of government and issued a weekly paper." Mr. Flint and Salmon Giddings reached St, Louis near the same time — Mr. Giddings April 6, Mr. Flint May 24, 1816. On Sabbath, Oct. 27, 1816, Mr. Giddings preached in Kas- kaskia. Here he met Rev. Samuel Thornton Scott, of Vin- cennes, or Indiana Church, near Vincennes. Rev. Benjamin Low appears to have been in Kaskaskia in the latter part of 18 17. He says of the place : " Of the five hundred inhabitants of Kaskaskia, one-half [doubtless four-fifths. — N.] were French and Roman Catholics. Among the other half were six professors of religion — two Presbyte- rians, two Methodists, one Congregationalist, and one Seceder. The Sabbath was scarcely recognized; yet many families in the town were anxious for the gospel." Rev. David Tenney began his labors in the region of Kaskaskia early in the summer of 1819, and connected with the Presbytery of Missouri. In the latter part of October of the same year his course was brought to a close. He died and was buried in the bounds of Shoal Creek Church, Bond county. There was another ministerial laborer about this time at Kaskaskia, viz : Rev. Samuel Wylie, of the Reformed Pres- byterian Church. His labors will best be described by an extract of a letter from himself to Mrs. S. J. Leavenworth, of Dongola, 111. It is dated Eden, Randolph county, June 11, 1871: " I was sent a missionary to Illinois, to Randolph county KASKASKIA. 53 and vicinity, in 1 8 1 8. The same year* your parents (Chauncy T. and Mrs. Permelia Burr) removed from Connecticut to Kas- kaskia. I was partially acquainted with your father, but more particularly with Mrs. Burr. She was one of God's children — one of God's precious ones. At that time there were (ew in Kaskaskia to favor religion. The professed religion was mostly that of the Church of Rome. The Catholics had their anti- quated chapel and priest, and Sabbath morning services until eleven or twelve. After that the rest of the day was spent in business or f/ni. The population was mostly French. The first two winters of my residence in this county I spent in Robert Morrison's family in Kaskaskia. I preached alDout once a month at Kaskaskia, But my chief preaching place for the first two years was in what was known as Irish Set- tlement At that time there were but few professing Chris- tians in Kaskaskia or its vicinity. Judge Baker and family, Mrs. Guthrie and family, and Dr. Symington and family, to- gether with a few females, were all that I now recall as pro- fessing adherence to the order of the Presbyterian Church. 'T have been raised a Presbyterian, but not in immediate con- nection with the assembly body. I was and still am connect- ed with the Reformed Presbyterian Church — holding the principles of the Scottish Presbyterians. Many of the churches of the Presbyterian order in Randolph county and portions of Perry, Washington and St. Clair counties have been formed, some in whole and some in part from members of our old homestead in Eden. " Samuel Wylie." Mrs. Permelia Burr, wife of Chauncy T. Burr, kept a diary which is now in possession of her daughter, Mrs. S. J. Leaven- worth, of Dongola, 111. This diary I have perused in part and gleaned some facts of interest. She left her home in Farmington, Conn,, Sept. 13 or 14, 1817, and arrived in Kaskaskia the 2d of November following. Dec. 4, same year, she writes : "Dreadful to view the numbers going to mass and returning, frolicking although it is the Sabbath. Some are dancing, some gaming, some breaking wild horses, some visiting. Children running through the street singing lewd songs." Dec. 14, 1817 — "Only one man in the place be- longing to the Protestant Church, good old Col. Thomas. [I suppose this was Col. John Thomas, the first State treasurer.] * This is a mistake ; It was the year before. 54 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. A few females profess to have been with Jesus." Dec. 21, 1817 — "The few pious females organized a prayer-meeting. Col. Thomas requested permission to join with them." This prayer-meeting continued through 18 18. There was occa- sional preaching by different denominations. In 18 19 she changed her occupation to that of keeping public house. In 1820 sne became the owner of a colored woman. But she was illy satisfied with the relation, and often plead for her freedom, but could not prevail. At length they parted with her. After being owned by another for a time the poor col- ored slave-womajj was murdered. Mrs. B. says she could never think of it but with horror. Her son, Augustus Martin, was born Sept. 6, 1819, and baptized by Rev. Daniel Gould, Dec. 25,1820. Mrs. B. left her public occupation in 1821. Aug. 4, 1821, she became the mother of twins, Julius C. and Juliett P. July 6, 1 82 1, she received a letter from Rev. Dr. Noah Porter (father of the present president of Yale College) her pastor in Connecticut, informing her of a great revival in his parish. In 1821 she mentions a Rev. David Tennee, who had procured for her a Chnstian Herald, and whom she often visited in his sickness in Kaskaskia. This was undoubtedly the David Tenney mentioned above. This brings us to the period in which the Presbyterian Church was organized at Kaskaskia. Rev. Thomas Lippin- cott, in his historical sermon preached at CoUinsville before the Alton Presbytery, April 2, 1846, says: "Kaskaskia Church was constituted May 27, 1821, with nine members, sometimes flourishing under a minister, then famishing for want of one, it lived and was moved to Chester." It is known to have been organized by Rev. Salmon Giddings. The first volume of the records of this church, extending from the organization to 1840, cannot be found. By the comparison of lists in my hands, furnished by sev- eral different persons, I am inclined to think the original nine are these: Mr. and Mrs. David J. Baker, Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie, Mrs. Permelia Burr, .Mrs. Dr. Symington, Mrs. Robert Morrison, Mrs. Martha Heard (not Hurd), and Mrs. Eliza Conn. Mrs. Conn still (1879) survives and resides at Chester. She is French ; was born in San Domingo Sept. 13, 1792, and educated in Philadelphia. Mrs. Conn says that Mr. Baker and Mr. Guthrie were elected Elders, but refused to be ordained. Whereupon tradition says that Mrs. Permelia Burr was elected and regularly ordained K ASK ASK I A. 55 and installed. This is the testimony of her daughter, Mrs. Leavenworth. When the missing records are found this point can be definitely settled. Meantime the evidence that Mrs. Permelia Burr was the first Elder of the Kaskaskia Church is so full and explicit that it can hardly be disproved. Mrs. Burr, however, could not have acted in that capacity long, for her family soon removed to a farm some twenty miles up the Kaskaskia. Of the persons who united with the Kaskaskia Church, after its organization and previous to its removal to Chester, the following are remembered : Mrs. Susan L. Lamb, Mrs. Nathaniel Pope, Mrs. John Edgar, Mrs. Rachel Sweet, Mrs. Margaret Alexander, ]\Iiss Sarah Gillis, Miss Mary Gillis, Miss Julia Fouke, Miss Lavina Fouke, Mrs. Elizabeth Pettit, John I\Iann, Mrs. Alvina B. Mann, James Clendenin, Hugh Heard, Mrs. Emeline Heard. Of these John ]\Iann, his wife Mrs. Alvina B. Mann, Mrs. Elizabeth Pettit — a daughter of Martha Heard — and perhaps others are still living. John ]\Iann and James Clendenin were made Elders in the spring of 1830. These, with Mrs. Burr, are supposed to be the only Elders until the church was removed to Chester. James Clendenin united with Rockwood Church. John Mann was born in Abbeyville county, South Caro- lina, Feb. I, 1796. The name is from the Isle of Man. His ancestors came to America with Penn's colony. Mr. j\Iann came to Kentucky, Logan county, when he was twelve years old. He removed to Illinois in 1828. Mrs. John Mann's maiden name was Alvina B. Balch, daughter of Rev. James Balch. She is now (1879) in her eighty-second year. This aged couple reside about four miles east of Kaskaskia. They are the parents of twelve children, seven of whom sur- vive. One son was mortally wounded at the battle of Chat- tanooga. Mr. Mann has never removed his relation from the Kaskaskia, now the Chester Church, and remains one of its Elders. After the organization of the church. May 27, 1821, we have no record of any preaching at Kaskaskia until Nov. 1825. It is known, however, that Mr. Giddings and others made them occasional visits. But in November, 1825, Rev. John M. Ellis came on from Massachusetts and located at Kaskaskia. He was well received and listened to with at- tention. In July, 1826, he says : " I am fully persuaded from nine months' observation, that access to the hearts of the in- 56 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. fluential class of men is more encouraging now than at any- former period." In a memoir of John M. Elhs, pubhshed in Presbytery Reporter, volume V., is this sentence on page 641 : " Not until he had resided in Kaskaskia about two years was a church of some twenty organized there, which appears to have increased till he removed, and then went gradually down to extinction." Here are two errors ; (i) The date of the organization is as given above. May 27, 1821. Undoubtedly the little church of nine increased in two years under Mr. Ellis to twenty or more. (2) That church did not become extinct, unless re- moval is extinctions In a letter dated April i, 1828, he says of a communion at Kaskaskia just passed: "Two were added to the church on profession, and we have had no communion without the ac- cession of one or more." April 2, 1828, Mr. Ellis married Miss Frances C. Brard. "This lady was the daughter of a wealthy gentleman in Mar- seilles, France. Her parents having become acquainted with a family in Philadelphia, she was sent with an older sister to that city to be educated. They both renounced the religion of their parents and became devoted Christians. Owing to reverse of fortune, but little of their father's property came to them. The elder sister having married Col. Conn, a merchant of Kaskaskia, the younger found a home with her, and event- ually became the wife of Mr. Ellis. She appears to have united in a wonderful degree the sprightliness of her native land with discretion and piety. The testimony to her extra- ordinary accomplishments and virtues, given by her various friends and numerous pupils, is extremely emphatic. Two children blessed their union, and were buried in the same grave with their mother." Mr. Ellis was stated supply of Kaskaskia Church from November, 1825, to April, 1828. An organization called "The Kaskaskia Social Library Association" was made Nov. 7, 1826, during the ministry of John M. Ellis. Its officers were Col. Thomas Mather, Libra- fian ; Miss Frances C. Brard, Treasurer; Mrs. Susan Lamb, Mrs. Bond, Mrs. E. H. Morrison, Rev. J. M. Ellis, Mr. D. J. Baker, Mr. F. St. Vrain, Standing Committee. The sum nec- essary to constitute membership was " from twenty-five cents to one dollar or over, according to the voluntary subscription of each person becoming a member." Some of the books were these: Henry Martyn, Jowett's Researches, Memoirs of KASKASKIA AND CHESTER CHURCH. 57 Brainard, Jenks' Devotion, Chalmers' Discourses, Thornton's Dialogues, Humphrey's Memoirs, Wilson's Memoirs. The cost of the above volumes was ^6 62. Whitfield's Memoirs were donated by Rev. J. M. Ellis. His signature is attached to the receipt for these books. Jan. 7, 1827, Miss Frances C. Brard made a donation to the Library of five dollars. This Library, consisting of such books as those mentioned above, was doubtless a power for good in Kaskaskia. The leading spirits in its institution and management were John M. Ellis and Frances C. Brard. Here is a receipt given by John Mathews to D. J. Baker. "Kaskaskia, March i6, 1830. " Received of Mr. David Baker, (Esqr), Treasurer of the Library society of Kaskaskia, one dollar, sixt}'-two and a half cents to pay over to Mr. Ellis for books bought for s'd soci- ety." " John Mathews." Dr. Gillett says, Vol. U., p. 418 : Rev. John Mathews [Mr. M. himself and Timothy Flint spell this name with one /] re- moved to this place from Apple Creek, Mo., in 1827. But this was when John M. Ellis was ministering to the Kaskaskia Church. Mr. Mathews' removal to K. was probably in April or May, 1828. He remained in charge of that church until April, 1834, He purchased a house and a few acres of land about five and a half miles east of Kaskaskia, and in the same township, t. e., T. 6, S. R. 7, W. Sec. 36 in the S. W. corner of N. W. quarter. His residence here commenced probably in 1829. The house is still standing, but old and dilapidated, and is owned and occupied by Stepheh Hill. From the removal of the seat of Government to Vandalia and the opening of other and more desirable portions of the State to settlement, Kaskaskia gradually but surely declined in population and influence. The State officers formerly re- siding there removed to Vandalia. Professional and busi- ness men sought other localities. The number of the mem- bers of Kaskaskia Church steadily diminished. In 1830 all were gone from the village save two. About that time Mr. Mathews ceased to have regular appointments in the village, and held services in a log school-house near his residence. Nearly all the members of the church were in that neighbor- hood. He also had appointments at or near the Burr farm, twenty miles up the Kaskaskia river. The Kaskaskia con- 58 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. gregation never owned a church edifice until after its removal to Chester. Its services at Kaskaskia were held wherever a place could be obtained — in private rooms, warehouses school-rooms, and a few times in the county house, a large brick building, still standing. In the Mann and Pettit neigh- borhood the place of meeting was a log school-house. From 1834 to 1840 the history of the church is pretty much a blank. Occasional services were held. Joshua T. Tucker preached in Chester probably in 1837. Rev. Cyrus C. Riggs was in charge of the church July 25, 1840, and may have been with them for some months before. The name was changed from "Kaskaskia" to that of "First Presbyte- rian Church of Chester" by Presbytery at Hillsboro, Oct. 9, 1840, The Elders at that time were John Mann, James Clen- denin and James McLaughlin. Mr. Riggs remained as stated supply until Sept., 1845. He was succeeded from about Nov. I, 1846, to July, 1849, by Rev. B. F. Spilman. Dur- ing his ministry there were church difficulties, ending in a con- flict between him and the session. Rev. John Kennedy was their minister from June 14, 1850, to his death, July 21, 185 1. His remains lie in the Chester Cemetery. Rev. P. D. Young was with them from March i, 1852, to March 31, 1857 — five years. Under his ministry the affairs of the church moved on with great order and system. Rev. B. H. Charles suc- ceeded Mr. Young, and left at the close of 1866, a ministry of nearly nine years. Rev. Abram J. Clark commenced here about September i, 1867, was installed pastor, and served the church until March, 1875. Rev. D. L. Gear com- menced January, 1 876, and is still in charge. Seven minis- ters in thirty-eight years. The Elders, besides the three who were in office in July, 1 840, are as follows : Amzi Andrews, inducted March 19, 1843; William Max- well, inducted March 19, 1843; Charles Wright, inducted June 14, 1850; Leonard D. Skilling, inducted June 14, 1850; John Young, inducted, March, 1858; R. H. Crittenden, in- ducted March, 1859; Luman Curtis, inducted May 3, 1868; A. A. Anderson, inducted April 27, 1873; John I. Critten- den, inducted April 27, 1873. The first place of meeting in Chester was Seth Allen's office. This was in 1838 or 1839. The next was a school- house near the present house of worship. It was common to all denominations. ?£/^^^. JOHN M. ELLIS. 59 The present and only church edifice ever owned by the congregation is of stone, occupies a very commanding po- sition, was built between 1845 and 1847, and cost about $1500. Seven years since extensive repairs were made in the interior, and the whole appearance greatly improved. Elder Amzi Andrews in his will left a valuable legacy to this church. At the time I write the validity of these be- quests is in dispute. This church, under its two names of iCaskaskia and Chester, is fifty-eight years old. The following is a part of a graceful memorial from the pen of Rev. David Dimond, D.D., and was first published in " Presbytery Reporter," Vol. V. John Millot Ellis, was born in Keene, New Hampshire, July 14, 1793. His family, like that of the Edvvardses and the Dwights, was of Welch origin. His grandfather. Col. Timothy Ellis, was among the first settlers of Keene, and was an active and somewhat distinguished patriot of the Revolution. His father, Millot Ellis, was a farmer in com- fortable circumstances ; a man of most devoted piety, train- ing his children with goodness and severity in the nurture of the Lord, and lived to a good old age, cheered by the covenant blessings on him and on his seed. His mother is described as a person of deep piety, who died when he was ten years old. Their pastor says that they were conserva- tors of the faith in the place where they resided. This son was converted to God at the age of fourteen years ; at a time when there was not a professed Christian among all the youth of his acquaintance. His conversion was a great surprise as well as joy to his pious father. From this time he showed a peculiar fondness for religious books, and was often found conversing with his elders upon grave questions of theology. Before long, however, he became an appren- tice for several years to learn the business of a tanner. As the close of this engagement drew near, he purchased the last year of his apprenticeship and entered upon extensive business for himself, in Lempster, N. H. His success was beyond his expectations, and his prospects were flattering as he could wish. But now other matters were stirring his spirit, and the voice of a solemn persuasion was calling him to other labors. For a long time the conviction had been deepening and strengthening within him, till it could no longer be resisted. 60 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. that he must preach the Gospel. Under this conviction, he disposed of his business, and though advanced in hfe, ad- dressed himself to a full and thorough course of training, for the sacred office. Some of the studies preparatory to col- lege he pursued in the academy at Meriden, N. H., and en- tered Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1822. He maintained a high character in a class of more than average abilities. Proceeding to the Theological Seminary at Andover he completed his course there in 1825. He had commenced his studies with the distinct thought that he would become a missionary to th^ 'heathen. But the new start which the western country was then just taking, and its evident im- portance as a theater for ministerial gifts and grace, appear to have decided him to devote his life to labors in the West. Writing to his father near the close of his residence at An- dover, he says : " The course has been long but pleasant, far the pleasant- est of my life — yet it will be still more pleasant to engage in the field which has been so long white for the harvest. But . now the question is, how and where can I spend the short period of my life most for the good of the Church, most for the glory of Him who redeemed us to God, by his blood? Our western country, with a population of three millions, and increasing so fast as to double in four years, is very des- titute of established institutions of the Gospel, and yet it will in a very few years have the governing voice in our na- tional councils ; and then what will become of our happy country — this heritage left to us by our pious ancestry, and which piety alone can preserve? But increase the moral poiver of America and we shall do much for effecting the conversion of the heathen. I am persauded that I have the prospect of contributing to the success of the gospel in India, more effectually by laboring in this country, than by going there in person ; and this partly in view of my own situation, and partly in view of the importance of increasing America's moral power, in raising up friends to missions, for the conversion of the world." One remarks here a characteristic of the man; the inten- sity and the positiveness of his own conclusions. In accor- dance with such a temper he wasted no time ; but on Sep- tember 29th, the day following his graduation at Andover, he, with three others, A. Pomroy, L. G. Bingham and L. JOHN M. ELLIS. 6l Alden, was ordained in the Old South Church in Boston, by a council convened at the request of the United Domes- tic Missionary Society of New York, and in accordance with the usages of Congregationalists. Furnished with a hundred dollars as outfit, the young min- ister made his way in six weeks (for the Ohio was low,) to Illinois. There were then but three' Presbyterian ministers in the State. Rev. John Lrich, who resided near Jackson- ville ; Rev. Stephen Bliss, in the east part of the State, and Rev. B. F. Spilman, in the southeast part. The ex- pectation of the Society was, " that he would soon be able to select a location where the principal part of his support would be derived from the people." With such views no place could be so promising as Kaskaskia, the larg- est town in Illinois, and within a few years previous, the seat of government; and having quite a numerous circle of professional and business men, and exercising a large in- fluence upon the country around. July, 1826, he describes a visit which he had made recently to Apple Creek, forty miles south of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, to attend a communion season in the church of Rev. John Mathews, who had re- cently come to that vicinity. " There is a small but inter- esting settlement in the neighborhood, where they are anxious to build a house of worship and employ Mr. M. half the time. They had become nearly discouraged, but I was able to promise such aid as has given them new life and zeal. Mr. Henry Homes, of Boston, authorized me to say that he would give one hundred dollars each for the three first meeting houses that your missionaries should judge needed such aid. Such benevolence from such a distance, from an utter stranger whom they could never ex- pect to see but in heaven, was almost incredible to them. They could talk of nothing else for a time. You could form little idea what a favorable and deep impression such benev- olence makes on these dear people. Think a little and you will see the necessity of permanent places of public worship. Those who have made these settlements, by the time they have paid the expenses of their journey, purchased lands, and built houses, have little left for such purposes as schools and public buildings." During his residence at Kaskaskia he expended a con- siderable part of his labors west of the Mississippi. When the apostolical Giddings was installed, November 9, 1826, 62 PRESBYTERIAXISM IN ILLINOIS. the first in Missouri, Mr. Ellis was present and preached in the morning. The other clergy present were, Messrs, Ball, Mathews, Chamberlain, Robinson, Donnell and Lacy ; these composed the Presbytery of Missouri, which also em- braced Western Illinois. Mr. Ellis was of that type of mind, and from that stock of mankind, with whom it'is an instinct to build colleges. From Elias Cornelius he had received the charge "to build up an institution of learning which should bless the West for all time." He gave instructions himself to a select class near his residence ; and in all his journeys and intercourse it was a prominent subject of his conversation. In Presbytery he obtained the appointment of a committee to advise on the subject. The earliest considerable subscription was four hundred dollars, made by Elder William Collins, of Collins- ville. In January, 1828, Mr. Ellis and Mr. Lippincott went on a tour of inquiry and observation to the Sangamon country. At Jacksonville, so charming was the landscape, so rich the soil around, and so enterprising the people who had settled there, that Mr. Ellis appears to have concluded at once that this was the place for a Seminary in preference to other towns he visited. Within a few days, with charac- teristic promptitude, he purchased eighty acres of land and set the stakes for a building. Mr. Ellis appears to have de- termined to remove to Jacksonville, and in the summer he took up his residence there. In a letter dated Jacksonville, September 15, 1S28, he saj^s: "A Seminary of learning is projected to go into operation next fall. The subscription now stands at ;$2,ooo or $3,000. The site is in this county. The half quarter section pur- chased for it is certainly the most delightful spot I have ever seen. It is about one mile north of the celebrated Diamond Grove, and overlooks the town and country for several miles around. The object of the Seminary is popular, and it is my deliberate opinion that there never was in our country a more promising opportunity to bestow a few thousand dol- lars in the cause of education and of missions." This letter arrested the attention of young men in the divinity school at Yale College, and led to a correspondence between them and Mr. Ellis, and determined seven of them to a residence in Illinois and to aid in the building up of the college. Janunr}' 9, 1829, a Presb}'ter\- was organized in this State, JOHN M. ELLIS. 63 having been set off from the Presbytery of Missouri and Wabash by the Synod of Indiana the last October. As a result of the correspondence between Mr. Ellis and the young gentlemen at Yale College, having been sent Com- missioner to the General Assembly, he spent the summer of of 1829 at the East, aiding them in raising a fund of $10,000 for the college, and in maturing their plans. Two of them, Rev. Messrs. Sturtevant and Baldwin, arrived in Jackson- ville in November, and instruction in the college began the first of January. The original stockholders passed resolu- tions of thanks to the young men of Yale College who had aided in their enterprise, and placed them in the Board of Trustees; of thanks also to I\Ir. Ellis, and to donors to the college. This brings down his history till the close of 1831, when his pastorate in Jacksonville ended. He had projected the college and procured it a real estate. The designs which resulted in the Female Seminary at Jacksonville, and pro- cured its beautiful grounds, were formed in his house. This institution continues to be a monument in honor of him and his accomplished wife. One of his successors has said of him : " His people parted lightly and causelessly with him, as is too often the case in the West." He presently became Secretary of the Indiana Education Society, and while so engaged took an active part in the deliberations which resulted in the foundation of Wabash College, at Crawfordsvilie. For several years a few persons had kept the subject under advisement. On the 21st of November, 1832, eight of them met at the house of Rev. James Thompson, in Crawfordsvilie. Mr. Ellis was chairman of the meeting. After full discussion and prayer they were unanimous in the resolve that efforts should be made with- out delay to establish an institution of learning there. The next day, fifteen acres of land having been given for the purpose, they selected the spot for the building, in the forest, in the midst of nature's unbroken loveliness, and kneeling upon the ground, white with snow, they consecrated the en- terprise to God by prayer. Mr. Ellis contributed thirty dol- lars to the funds at the commencement, and retained his in- terest in it to the end of his days. The next year, 1833, he was prosecuting his agency in Indiana, his family residing meantime at Jacksonville. That town was visited during July and August by the cholera, 64 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. and Mrs. Ellis and their two children were swept away at once. Having heard that the pestilence had reached Jack- sonville, he started homeward immediately, alone and on horseback. He was just setting forward one day after din- ner, when a man rode up whom he recognized as a townsman. " How long have you been from home ? " inquired Mr. E. " About two days." "Do you know anything of my family, sir? " " Mr. Ellis, your wife and your children are dead and buried ! "* For several months following we hear little of him. But the next two years, 1834 and 1835, he was serving the Edu- cation Society, i»-^New England. In the latter part of 1835, having married again, he terminated his agency, and again sought a residence in the West. He entered with great warmth into the designs for the aid of Marshall College, Michigan. He sought to secure lands and funds and friends for it. It was a time, however, when speculation was frantic in that region ; and he presently left the enterprise to others, and having organized a church at Grass Lake he was settled there in the autumn of 1836. The settlement was then quite new, not one resident having been there three years. He preached in a log meetinghouse and dwelt in a log cabin. But hope and joy dwelt with him,, and his parish was a scene of constant revival. The num- ber of communicants rose to more than one hundred, and two churches were set off from its borders. Parsonage and glebe were furnished, a church was built, and an academy. Thus four years passed away, and it was found that the climate was proving extremely dangerous to his wife, and he returned to New England. In the year 1840, he was settled pastor of the church at East Hanover, N. H. This parish is about four miles from the college where he was educated, and from its hill tops and mountain sides, looks down upon the emerald and silvei of the Connecticut river. About this time, 1844, the Society for Promoting Col- legiate and Theological Education at the West, came into existence, mainly under the instrumentality of its secretary,. Rev. Theron Baldwin. The objects of this society were very dear to him, and he had a special right to speak to the peo- ple of New England in advocacy of Western colleges, for he had given to them his early and far-seeing efforts. In the *Vide Repoter, Vol. 5, p. 93. JOHN M. ELLIS. 6$ service of this society he continued, with some interruptions, to the end of his Hfe. At his home in Nashua, N. H., he was taken sick with bihous fever, which terminated his hfe in eight days, Aug. 6, 1855. He was a Httle more than sixty-two years old. Just before Mr. ElHs's second removal to the West, he married with Miss Josephine Moore, daughter of the dis- tinguished Rev. Dr. Moore, of Milford, N. H., a person in every way fitted to grace any position in life. Again two children were given to him, both of whom died during his residence in East Hanover, and he remained childless. During the last years of his life he paid three premiums of two hundred dollars each for essays on important subjects. The first premium was obtained by Professor Noah Porter, of Yale College, for an " Essay on the comparative merits of the Jesuit and the Puritan system of education." The second successful essay was written by Rev. H. C. Fish, on a subject very dear to Mr. Ellis, " Primitive Piety Reviewed." The third essay was written by Prof. Tyler, of Amherst, on " Prayer for Colleges." These are all deeply interesting works, and of great value. After knowing the books it is in- teresting to know the occasion of them, in the wisdom and liberality of such a man as Mr. Ellis. By his will he gave ^3,300, in equal portions, to Illinois, Wabash and Wittenberg Colleges, as funds for scholarships. This munificence may suggest to some that he enjoyed a large fortune. Not so. But he had studied, like Franklin, how to make a little money do a great deal of good. Let us admit that he had found out how. Mr. Ellis was a Calvinist of the graver type. He had a special fondness for divines of the class of Dr. Griffin, whose sermons he is remembered to have selected for the instruc- tion of his people, when he was himself detained. He was no sectarian, and so he became a Presbyterian of the New School. He was the Stated Clerk of his Presbytery in Illi- nois, and his most intimate clerical friend in Michigan was a leader in the councils of his Church during the times of the rupture. He was the chief agent in organizing the Presby- tery of Marshall, and was its first Moderator. That he could pass so easily from the Congregational body to the Presbyterian, and back again, is to some a wonder and a scandal. But in coming hither he had the example of the Edwardses, and going thither the example of half the pas- tors of that venerable church where he was ordained. 66 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Mrs. Frances C. Brard Ellis.* In the stormy close of the last century, Mr. and Mrs. Regis Brard were residents of the Island of San Domingo. From the disturbances occur- ing in that island they removed to Baltimore, in the United States, where their daughter, Frances Celeste Brard, was born in 1795. They returned to San Domingo when she was four years old. We know nothing of her father, but it is remembered that her mother was a very strict Papist, and that she nursed a little negro boy through an attack of yellow fever, which her daughter took from him. Some five years after their return to the islanif, the insurrection of the blacks placed the family in imminent peril. The front of their house was guarded and they forbidden to stir out on pain of instant massacre, which had been the fate of their neighbors on both sides. But the father of the little negro remembered and rewarded the kindness of Mrs. Brard. He traded in a small vessel between the islands and sent his son, by night, to guide them to his boat lying concealed where it could be reached from the rear of the dwelling. They crept on hands and knees, and got out at the back of the garden through a broken paling, and, favored by the darkness, reached in safety the boat which took them to a vessel waiting for them. They landed in Philadelphia and sent Frances to a French school. Some years after her parents left for St. Thomas and placed her in an English boarding school, under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Tuchett, in Philadelphia. When she had completed the prescribed course of study, Mr. Tuchett offered her the position of French teacher in his establish- ment, and she remained there until the death of her mother, in 18 19, when she came to Kaskaskia to reside with her sister, Mrs. Conn. Mr. Tuchett's family were Baptists and Miss Brard went occasionally with them to hear the then much admired Dr. Stockton. Under the influences thus brought to bear upon her she gradually emerged from the bonds of her Popish education and became as devout a Protestant as she had before been a Romist. She united with the little Pres- byterian church in Kaskaskia, and helped to originate a Sabbath school there, also another in the country. Mr. Ellis found her an efficient helper there, and after a mature acquaintance they were married, April 2, 1828, and the ea- *By Mrs. M. H. Barton. FRANCES C. B. ELLIS. 6/ suing autumn found them settled at housekeeping in a par- sonage built for them in Jacksonville. Most of the people in that young village lived in log cabins, and the little building , of one story, some eighteen by twenty-eight feet, was a great achievement for the little Presbyterian church. There were no schools for the higher education of young ladies at that time in this State, except the convents in the old French settlements. As soon as it was known that Mrs. Ellis would take pupils in her house, the privilege of her instruction was eagerly sought. Besides many day scholars from the village, she received pupils from St. Louis, from Kaskaska, and Prairie du Chien, as well as from the neighboring country. V^Hiile her husband was soliciting funds and awakening an interest among Eastern Christians for the establishment of a Female Academy in Jacksonville, she was training pupils to fill it. That little cottage which she occupied five years, and from which she was borne to the tomb with her two children, witnessed the beginning of many enterprises which were destined to have a wide and growing influence, blessing multitudes in after years. Many of her pupils came to the decision to number themselves with the people of God while under her care. Many men and women w^ho have become distinguished for their successful labors in the State, were welcomed to her house, and entertained at her table, while their schemes were being discussed and their plans matured. She entered into all her husband's intense anxiety to plant institutions of learning and religion in this great destitute field, and submitted cheerfully to all the privation, which his untiring labors involved. But however enthusiastic the spirit may be there is a point beyond which the body cannot endure. While I\Irs. Ellis and her husband were spending their energies and exhausting their lives to open fountains of learning, and wealth, and Christian refinement that would in- crease the value of every foot of ground in the vicinity of Jacksonville an hundred fold, their efforts were far less ap- preciated by those who were to reap their benefits, than by Christian friends abroad who helped to confer them. Like most others who unselfishly throw their whole soul into a great work for the good of others, Mr. Ellis made enemies and aroused opposition. In order to obtain the assistance of the benevolent it was necessary for him to tell 6S PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. at the East how low the general standard of intelligence then was at the West, and the echo of his words there througii the public prints returned here. Who were ever pleased with the exposure of their own ignorance ? The result was that the man whose single arm had laid hold of and set in motion forces that would lift the whole region into a higher life, was voted unpopular. Dr. Taylor, his noble friend, who understood him, and worked with him, was dead, and the church which had risen in three years from fourteen to one hundred members under his care, and who were worshiping in a house which he-had largely procured the means of build- ing, through his influence abroad, concluded it would be better to get some new man who would tickle the people, and flatter their self-conceit, and make himself generally more agreeable. It was but another step to take the scholars who had been developed into good material for a public in- stitution of a high grade out of Mrs. Ellis' hands, and use the funds which her husband had collected to open an academy in which she was not even invited to teach the French language, for which her qualifications were so per- fect. If ever laborers had the opportunity to bring a noble work to the great Master, and lay it at his feet in utter self- abnegation, it certainly then presented itself to Mr. and Mrs. Ellis, and those who knew them intimately feel that it was met by them with admirable wisdom, in a grand, almost sublime silence. Ah, could Mrs Ellis, in those last weary months of her life, have heard the loving, reverent words which her few sur- viving pupils and acquaintances now speak of her, and could her husband have known how his honored memory in the beautiful city of Jacksonville would " take root downward and bear fruit upward," as the years roll on, it surely would have been cheering to their hearts, as he went out alone, to lay new foundations and sow new fields, and as she, weary and worn, remained in the home to which death was coming soon to close her earthly toil. "The word you would speak beside the bier Falls sweeter far on the living ear." The summer of 1833 was one of terrible, burning heat^ We had heard with a shudder that Asiatic cholera had crossed the ocean and begun its ravages in our own country, and every succeeding mail announced its rapid progress FRANCES C. B. ELLIS. 69 westward. On the morning of its first appearance in Jack- ville, one of her neighbors passed up the street and stopped to speak with Mrs. EUis at her door, and she told him that the cholera was doing its fatal work in the opposite house. As he passed back she told him that the neighbor was dead. In the evening she too was lying in the grasp of the mighyt ■destroyer. Just before she passed into the death stupor her physician, then a wordly man, said to her kindly, " Don't be afraid, Mrs. Ellis." "Afraid!" she replied, "I know too well in whom I have believed, to be afraid now." In two days more her children had passed through the same dread agony, and the home of the absent minister was desolate. As she lay, robed in garments for the tomb, her sister bent ■over her, and taking in her hand the slender fingers which had been familiar with the pen, the pencil, and the lyre, she spoke, not of the talents, the vivacity, and the elegance which had made the pale sleeper the admired of every circle, but one sentence revealed the tie which had bound her to many a heart. As she folded the white hands over the still, cold breast, she exclaimed, " Oh, the acts of kindness these hands have done ! " Mrs. Ellis was one of those superior women who, though not without defects, have yet such breadth of intellect, such superiority of culture in mind and manner, and such lofty heroism of soul, as to put quite out of sight every blemish and so impress their image upon young and susceptible minds, that death itself cannot obliterate the lines or shroud their memory in darkness. Having been educated entirely under French and English teachers, a spirit of caste had been cultivated in her case as in most Europeans and many Americans, which would better have been changed for humble gratitude to Him who " mak- eth us to differ," and she had not always the perfect control of her temper which Christian gentleness requires in deal- ing with children and pupils. Notwithstanding all her elegant tastes and accomplish- ments, she was willing to put her hand to any useful work. Her house was carefully ordered, and always made a resting place for those who needed hospitality. Laboring men when -employed there found torn clothes repaired, and lost buttons replaced by her obliging hands. As a pastor's wife she was an affectionate and sympathizing friend to every member of her husband's flock, and the lowliest of them was an abund- JO PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ant recijsient of the exuberant courtesy which was as natural to her as her breath. She could not be called beautiful, but she had a fine, ex- pressive eye, and when her face kindled up with her glori- ous thoughts, her whole form was in motion with their ele- gant expression, she was certainly a most fascinating woman to persons of superior culture. In the domain of history and polite literature she was entirely at home ; her wit was quick and keen, and always as polished as it was acute. She had a poetic taste for the beautiful in the realms of nature and of mind, and exhibiting the sparkling vivacity and perfect grace'of manner for which her nation are emi- nent, she was brilliant in conversational power. Above all, her heart was set upon whatever was noble, pure and holy ;. sublime thoughts and emotions welled up from the depths of her soul as from a full-fed fountain, and overflowed in the most glowing imagery and eloquent expression. Many who sat at her feet and listened to the impassioned, glowing utterances which thrilled our youthful hearts, are with her, where the throbbing flesh no longer fetters the soaring spirit. Those of us who linger behind love to go back in memory nearly half a century and think what it was to young minds, wholly unacquainted with society, in the newly settled West, and all unconscious of the mental wealth lavished with such queenly profusion, to be warmed, and melted, and stamped under her influence. The wives of the early ministers of Illinois were lovely, and pure, and refined, and noble. We can recall many whose names are as ointment poured forth : Mrs. Farnham, Mrs. Sturtevant, Mrs. Messenger, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Spilman, Mrs. Gridley, Mrs. Eddy, ?klrs. Gait. They were beautiful flowers transplanted from cultured homes in the East, to droop and die on the prairies, and among them bloomed and withered a brilliant and gorgeous exotic. John Mathews was born in Beaver county, Pa., February 7, 1777. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. He graduated at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pa., and was a theological pupil of Dr. John McMillan. For seven years he was pastor of Gravel-Run and Waterford Churches in Erie Presbytery. In 1 8 17 he resigned his charge to become an itinerating missionary. Starting westward he went down the Ohio in a flat-boat as far as Louisville. Then he proceeded on horse- JOHN MATrlEWS. 7 1 back across Indiana to Vincennes, and then through the Territory of Illinois to St. Louis, where he arrived May 15, 1 8 17. On the i8th he preached in St. Louis. Soon after he passed up the Mississippi to Pike county, where, before the close of the year, he organized the church of Buffalo, with fourteen members. He preached the opening sermon at the organization of the Presbytery of Missouri at St. Louis, December 18, 1 8 17. The Presbytery was organized with four members, Salmon Giddings, Timothy Flint, Thomas Donnell and Mr. Mathews. Mr. Donnell had arrived in the Territory (Missouri was not a State until 1821) on the 4th of September next preceding. April 25, 18 18, Mr. Mathews and Timothy Flint installed Thomas Donnell pastor of Con- cord Church in Bellevue Settlement, Mo. The two ministers — Flint and Mathews — journeyed together to Bellevue from St. Louis, a distance of eighty miles. Of that trip and his companion Mr. Flint says : " The third year of my residence in Missouri we were called to the Mine district to install a young gentleman who had been trained to the ministry under Rev. Gideon Blackburn. The gentleman, though sick with the measles at the time, was inducted into office with happy auspices. I performed the journey in company with Rev. Mr. Mathews, a Presbyterian minister, formerly of Pennsyl- vania, a gentleman of great strictness of principle and char- acter, whose occasional facetiousness and pleasantry had infinitely more force, as they beamed from a countenance naturally hard and austere, and from whom, judging by his tenets or his manner, no such things could have been expect- ed. We made our way among the high hills, the flint knobs, and desolate valleys of the Maramec, cutting short the way with anecdote and narrative, mutually relating the scenes and events of our youth. The second day we missed our way, and wandered about among the hills until after midnight. We had concluded to pass the night under the open sky ; but finally heard the barking of dogs, by which we were directed to a house. We suffered not a little peril, in making our approaches to the place, from a pack of fierce dogs. We ascended a little building and took ourselves out of their way until we raised the master. Although it was but a cabin, and the hour so unseasonable, we were most hospitably received and entertained." August 29, 18 18, Mr. ^lathews and Mr. Giddings organ- ized a Presbyterian Church at St. Charles, Mo., with nine ^2 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. members. He seems to have itinerated and labored princi- pally in Pike county, Mo., until 1825, when he removed to Apple Creek Church, Cape Girardeau county. This church had been organized by Mr. Giddings, May 21, 1821, with forty-one members, just one week before he organized the church at Kaskaskia, III. From Apple Creek Mr. Mathews removed to Kaskaskia, probably in 1828, and was the suc- cessor of Mr. Ellis in that field. When the Synod of Indiana, at its session in October, 1828, passed an ordinance for the establishment of Center Presbytery, Mr. Mathews was appointed to preach the open- ing sermon, and preside until a Moderator was appointed. He performed the required service, at Kaskaskia, January 9, 1829. He attended every meeting of Center Presbytery, near or remote. In the division of that Presbytery by In- diana Synod, October, 1830, to constitute the Synod of Illinois, Mr. Mathews fell into Kaskaskia Presbytery. Its first meeting was held at Vandalia, March 4, 183 1, and Mr. Mathews preached the opening sermon. In like manner did he open the Synod of Illinois at its first meeting in Septem- ber, 183 1. His residence continued in Kaskaskia until the beginning of 1829, when he bought a place at Pleasant Ridge, five and a half miles east of Kaskaskia. This place is in T. 6 S., R. 7 W., in S. W. corner of N. W. quarter of Sec. 36. The house is still standing — an old dilapidated frame, now (1879) owned and occupied by Stephen Hill. He continued to minister to Kaskaskia Church, though that village itself was, about 1830, abandoned as the place of religious service. As several of its remaining families were in his neighborhood he preached for them in a school-house near his residence for four years longer. This neighborhood therefore — where Pleasant Ridge Church now is — may be considered as the half-way house in the migration of the Kaskaskia Church to Chester. Mr. Mathews' next field was Sugar Creek Church, from 1834 to 1837, with his address at Clifton, 111. October 14, 1839, he was dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Louis, and returned to Kaskaskia Presby- tery April II, 185 1. While absent he spent a part of the time in Ohio, a part in West Greenville, Mercer county. Pa., where he had charge of a congregation, and the last part of the period in Bonhomme Parish, Mo., where some of his second wife's relatives still reside. On his return to Illinois he fixed his residence in Georgetown — now Steele's Mills — JOHN MATHEWS. 73 Randolph county, where he purchased a house and contin- ued to reside until his death, which took place May I2, i86i. Mr. Preston Brown, who married Mrs. Mathews' niece — Miss Missouri Smith — still occupies the same house. At their meeting, October ii, i86i, Presbytery adopted the following minute : " Whereas, Rev. John Mathews, late a member of this Presbytery, departed this life on the I2th of May last, in the 84th year of his age and the 52nd of his Ordination: Resolved, 1st. That we return hearty thanks to the Head of the Church for having spared Bro. Mathews so long in his vineyard. 2nd. That his faithfulness and success are ground of rejoicing and encouragement to us who sur- vive. 3rd. That a copy of the above be tr'2*iismitted to the widow and her niece, Mrs. Preston Brown." Mr. Mathews was twice married, first to Miss Nancy Bracken, who died in 1819; second, to Miss Anna Smith, in 1820. He had no children by either marriage. Mr. M. and his second wife are buried in Jones' Cemetery near Georgetown. The inscriptions on their tomb-stones are these : JOHN MATHEWS, Died May I2th, i86l, in the 84th year of his age. He was an active Presbyte- rian Minister for fifty years. In Memory of ANNA, wife of Rev. John Mathews, Born September 13, 1789. Died August 7, 1863, aged seventy-three years, ten months and twenty-four days. This memoir has been drawn from original sources. The statement in the action of Presbytery and on the tomb-stone, in regard to Mr. Mathews' age, is not strictly correct. He died in his eigJity-fifth year, not his eighty-fourth. His pre- cise age at his death was eighty-four years, three months and five days. His will is on record at the court-house in Chester. He was one of the fathers. Born in the early part of our Revolutionary struggle, he lived to witness the commence- ment of our great civil war. In the division of the Presby- terian Church, from 1838 to 1870, he was decidedl}^ with the Old School. I judge him to have been a fair preacher, severe in his morals, and somewhat austere in his countenance and manners. Alton Presbyterian Church was organized by Rev. Ed- ward Hollister and Rev. Daniel Gould, missionaries of the Connecticut ^Missionary Society, June 9, 1 821, with these 74 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. members, viz : Enoch Long, Isaac Waters, Henry H. Snow, Mary Long, Ednah Hastings, Abigail Waters, Lavina Bishop, Brittania S. Brown. The next day the Sacrament of the . Supper was administered. On July 8, August 12 and Octo- ber 9 of the same year Mr. Gould preached to the church. On December 4, 1821, and March 25, 1822, Mr. Hollister preached, and the next morning took leave of the church to return to his native place at the East. Brittania S. Brown died on the 28th of August, and on September 15, 1822, her funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Jesse Townsend. On January 28, February 18 and March 5, 1823, Rev, Oren Catlin preached.^ At the last date, Henry H. Snow was made clerk of the Session, and John L. Ramsey, Mrs. Martha Ramsey and Mrs. Twitchell were received into the church on examination. On April 7 and April 23, 1823, Rev. Oren Catlin and Rev. Daniel G. Sprague visited and addressed the church. April 24, 1824, Miss Ednah Hastings was dis- missed. This is the last entry on the session book by the clerk. But to it the following statement is appended, viz : "At the session of the Presbytery of Missouri, held at St. Charles in March, 1826, a resolution was passed incorporating the church of Alton with the church of Edvvardsville, in consequence of the removal of a-U the members of said church except two, viz : Enoch Long and Mrs. Mary Long. The above fact is certified by the undersigned, who — as an Elder of the church at Edwardsville — was a member of said Presbytery at the time of the passage of the resolution. "Alton, June 18, 183 1. Thomas Lippincott." Wabash Church, Wabash county, at first called "The First Presbyterian Church" in Edwards county, was organ- ized March 5, 1822, with five members, viz: Stephen Bliss, Mrs. Betsey Bliss, George May, Cyrus Danforth and Mrs. Polly Danforth. Those good old-fashioned names, Betsey and Polly, had not then lost their savor. Twenty-five years later they would have been Mary and Eliza. In this day of grace, 1879, the boarding school way of writing them would be Lizzie and Marie. O tempora ! O mores ! have we advanced, or receded ? The history of this church is full of interest. It may be learned from the interesting little volume of Rev. S. C. Bald- ridge — Life and Times of Stephen Bliss. The first Presbyterian family who settled in this region was WABASH CHURCH. 75 Thomas Gould, in the spring of 1816. They floated down the Ohio from Cincinnati to Evansville in a flat-boat, came across in a wagon, and settled in Timber Settlement. In his cabin the Presbyterian Church began her work in this field. Rev. S. T. Scott, of Vincennes, soon heard of the new family, and came down to visit them. On these occasions Mr. Gould would send out runners to invite the settlers, far and near, to a preaching service, and in the evening the cabin would be full. The next was Cyrus Danforth, of Cayuga county, N. Y., who, in the summer of 18 18, located on the farm now occu- pied by his son, Franklin Danforth. In October of the same year came Stephen Bliss and George May, New Englanders, and settled on Decker's Prairie. April ii, 1819, they opened a Sabbath-school in their humble cabin — the first Sabbath-school in the State of Illinois, though Thomas Lippincott and his wife set up one in Milton, Madison county, in the spring or summer of the same year. Bliss and May also established a meeting for prayer, reading sermons, missionary and other religious articles. The church was organized, as stated above, by Rev. David Choate Proctor, and of it Stephen Bliss and George May were made Elders. George May died on the third of August, 1822. The church was taken under the care of Salem Presbytery, and its name changed to Wabash in April, 1825. Its history is so intimately connected with that of Stephen Bliss that it is almost impossible to write one without the other. Mr. Bliss was licensed by Hopkinton Association in the summer of 1823 on an examination had nine years before. He heard of this license August 19, more than five months after the organization of the church. Though active in Sab- bath-school and prayer-meetings, he did not begin to preach until August 3, 1823, when his first sermon was delivered at Danforth school-house. He was ordained by Salem Pres- bytery at their stated meeting in Vincennes, August 4, 1825, and, though laboring much in various other quarters, contin- ued in charge of Wabash Church until within a few months of his death. Wabash is a mother church. Mt. Carmel, Friendsville and Allendale — at first Timberville — in Wabash county; Pisgah in Lawrence county, and Shiloh in Edwards county, are her daughters. Though general bishop of this wide field, Mr. Bliss had helpers. In March, 1831, came Rev. Isaac Bennet, who for 17 years had his home in the y6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. bounds of Pisg-ah Church, doing wonders of labor for the Llaster there, in Wabash county, and elsewhere. In 1839 Rev. Joseph Butler settled in Shiloh Church, in Edwards county, and labored with Wabash Church one- fourth of his time. In the spring of 1847 — Mr. Bliss's health being feeble — Rev. Blackburn Leffler took charge of Wabash and Mt. Carmel churches. December 6, 1847, ^^- Bliss died. In the fall of 1848 Rev. P. W. Thompson took charge of Mt. Carmel and Wabash churches until 1852. Wabash was then vacant until May, 1853, except an occasional supply from Rev. John fc. Hawkins. At the last date, 1853, Rev. Samuel C. Baldridge took the field and has continued in it ever since. About the beginning of 1878, however, he re- signed the care of Wabash, but continued still to labor at Friendsville and Allendale. Since 1878 Rev. J. S. Davis has given to Wabash a por- tion of his time, the balance being devoted to Sumner and Gilead, Lawrence county, and Richland, Richland county. From its beginning until 1 838 this church had no settled habitation, but held its meetings at various places. " Some- times in some school-house, sometimes at the residence of one of the Elders, a few times in Mr. Bliss' barn, and often, when the weather was fine, in the shade of some grove." There was some difficulty about the site ; but the grave of Mrs. Bliss determined it. That sainted woman died May 21, 1836, and was buried in the S. W. quarter of the S. W. quarter of Sec. 32, T. 2 N., R. 12 W. " All felt that burial had decided the location of the church-yard; and the sacred associations of the place where they expected to lay their dead, made it the fitting spot near which to erect the house of God. A neat, plain building went up among the trees of the young woods in the fall of 1838. Mr. Bennet, a famous church- builder, wrought on the new sanctuary. He was permitted to construct the pulpit after his own ideal. The room was wainscoted with poplar. Without one trace of ornament it still stands, sheltered by its trees, with the prairie filled with farms, stretching out to the south and west, and the silent church-yard in the rear." The edifice stands on three acres, given to the congregation so long as used for church purposes. The cemetery, where Mr. and Mrs. Bliss lie, is on these three acres. Directly across the way are ten acres more belonging to the church. Ail STEPHEN BLISS. 77 this land is pleasantly situated and mostly covered with tim- ber. The building in which Mr. Bliss taught and often preached, before the erection of the church-house, stood close by the northeast corner of Henry Thompson's resi- dence. Stephen Bliss was born in Lebanon, N. H., March 27, 1787. His parents were poor, his father being a small farmer at the time of his son's birth, with a cottage in the village, where the family resided. Later his father removed to Glover, Vt. Here in 1808 the family were living in a log hut that had to be daubed up each autumn to guard against the winds of winter. The family at that time consisted of the parents, two sisters and five brothers. Of the sons Stephen was the third. As he approached manhood, his uncle, Samuel Wood, D. D., pastor of the Congregational church, Boscawen, N. H., invited him to become a student in his family. Here he fitted for the junior class, and grad- uated at Middlebury College in 181 2, with a high standing for scholarship. His theological education was prosecuted with the same instructor who had prepared him for college. In 1 8 14 he applied to Hopkinton Association for license to preach. He was rejected on account of alleged defective views of the person, and consequently the atoning work of Christ. Nine years later the Association was led to review their action, and, without any request, or one word of expla- nation from Mr. Bliss, granted his license. After his rejection by the Association Mr. Bliss gave up all thought of the ministry, and turned his attention to teaching. With an old college-mate, George May, he started out to procure a situa- tion as teacher. Both were successful in this, and taught for several years in eastern and central New York. But the confinement of the school-room impaired Mr. Bliss' health, and in September, 18 18, he and his close friend, George ]May, started in a one-horse wagon for the far West. They reached the lake at Buffalo ; went down to see Niagara ; then passed along the lake shore through Ohio, and then across Indiana to Vincennes. Here they crossed the Wabash, and having traveled fifteen miles southwest, called a halt in Decker's Prairie. Palm) ra, on the Wabash, three miles above i\It. Carmel, was then the rising village of Edwards county. It was the county seat and contained a post-office. ]\It. Carmel had just been laid out. In five days from their arrival the friends purchased a tract of land, in the center of yS PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the prairie, on which was a cabin. As the former proprietor could not vacate the cabin at once, they constructed an addition to accommodate them for the winter. The next spring the cabin was given up to them, and on Sabbath morning, April ii, 1819, they opened in it a Sabbath school, which was perhaps the first in the State. In the fall of 1820 Mr. Bliss returned to New Hampshire on foot, making the journey of 1,200 miles in fifty days. April 20, 1 82 1, he married Miss Elizabeth Worcester, On the last day of the same month the newly married pair started, in a two-Jbiorse wagon, for Illinois, and reached the cabin on Decker's Prairie in eight weeks. The wife was tall and fair, of English-Puritan descent. Her father, Noah Worcester, D.D., was born in Hollis, N. H., November 25, 1758. At sixteen he was a fifer in the patriot army, and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, and afterward of Bennington. After the war, he settled in Thornton, N. H., pursued a course of self-instruction, was licensed to preach in 1786, and the next year was settled as pastor of the church of Thornton. In 18 18 he received the degree of D.D. from Harvard College. He died in Brighton, Mass., October 31, 1837. " The new family was a most devout and godly one, after the noblest Puritan type, from the day the pair established themselves in the humble cabin." The organization of the " First Presbyterian Church in Edwards" county, March 5, 1822, afterwards called "Wa- bash," is related in another connection. In it Messrs. Bliss and May had been made Elders. It has also been related how Mr. Bliss received his license and entered upon the duties of the ministry. On the very day — August 3, 1823 — in which he preached his first sermon, Thomas Gould and his wife united with the church. Mr. Gould was soon after made an Elder. " From that time until the close of Mr. Bliss' ministry there was but one year when the church did not receive from one to twenty-four additions." Thus at last, at the ripe age of thirty-six years, Mr. Bliss entered the sacred office. The next Sabbath he preached again at the Danforth school-house ; soon after at Mr. Gould's residence, seven miles to the southeast, and later at the dingy school-house near his home, which stood in what is now Henry Thompson's front yard. In the Spring of 1824 Mr. Bliss assisted Rev. S. T. Scott at a communion season STEPHEN BLISS. 79 held with the Indiana Church, five miles north of Vincennes. The meeting was held in the woods, and sometimes the congregations amounted to more than one thousand. In the following September Mr. Scott repaid the visit. The ser- vices were held at the " New Light" camp-ground, one-half mile south of the present village of Friendsville. Eight persons were added to the church on examination, and twelve children were baptized. In the fall of 1824 Mr. Bliss was elected to the State Senate of Illinois, and spent the next winter, until January 20, in Vandalia. At that time the Legislature adjourned, and Mr. Bliss returned home. The next April he attended the meeting of Salem Presby- tery, at Washington, Ind., presented his credentials from Hopkinton Association and was received under the care of Presbytery as a licentiate. Immediately upon his reception he engaged to supply two vacant churches of the Presbytery on the east side of the river, Carlisle, forty miles from his home, and Fort Harrison, sixty miles — one Sabbath in each month. The Sabbaths not thus occupied he spent with Wabash Church. At the next stated meeting of Presbytery — held at Vin- cennes, August 4 — Mr. Bliss was ordained. Rev. John IMc- Elroy Dickey preached the sermon. His old class-mate at Middlebury College, Rev. Isaac Reed, gave the charge. On returning home he laid off the field of his labors, taking the Presbyterian families which had settled about equally distant from him as his centers. These centers were Dennison, six miles north, Thomas Gould, six miles east, Mr. Danforth, six miles southwest, and the communit}' immediately about his residence. Within the region covered by these appointments he labored till the close of his life. His family consisted at this time of himself, his wife, a son (Samuel Wood, three years old,) and Delia, an infant daughter. He kept " open house," as everybody else did in those times. He was supported from his farm principally. His sheep and cattle cost him little, and were his chief source of income. He kept twelve dairy cows, and "Betsey " was a famous cheese maker. He found in Vincennes a market for his dairy products. His church, having increased from five to seventeen members, met in a congregational capacity. After canvassing the matter they subscribed $123 towards their minister's support. This was Mr. Bliss' second means of livinsf. 80 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. From the time of his ordination Mr. B. took rank among the most prominent preachers of the Presbytery. His address was manly and pleasing. His style was clear, his manner slow, calm and dignified. August 19, 1827, Mr. B. assisted B. F. Spilman in a sacramental meeting in Sharon Church, From that time those two men — the quiet, gentlemanly New Englander, and the rugged and stalwart Kentuckian — la- bored much together. I give here a few extracts from Mr. Bliss' journal : " No- vember 2, 1827. Cloudy. Started in company with Brother Perrin — Rev. Truman Perrin, Principal of the Pres- byterian Seminary at Vincennes — to visit a church on the west of the Little Wabash. Rode fifteen miles to Mr. M.'s,^ where we dined. Six miles farther we reached the river. The rest of the P. M., until nine o'clock, was spent in trav- ersing the bottom, endeavoring to thread our way out to the prairie. The afternoon was cloudy, and the path separated into stray tracks as we proceeded, where the travelers before us had straggled around in the deep woods to escape quag- mires. As night set in the sky was still obscured, and we had to wander on without anything to guide us in the de- sired direction. The wolves howled hideously around us. To crown all, Mr. Perrin was taken sick, and after trying to go on for some time, with frequent stops, we finally unsad- dled our horses and encamped for the night. Having ob- tained a little rest, we again pursued our course, and arrived at a safe habitation." " November 3. Cloudy. Rode two miles to the place of meeting, where we met Brothers B. F. and T. A. Spilman. I preached in the forenoon, Mr. Perrin in the afternoon, and I again in the evening. November 4. Cloudy. A most in- teresting communion season. Brother Spilman preached in the morning and Brother Perrin in the evening. November 5. Cloudy. Preached at 8 in the A. M. to a solemn audi- ence. An affecting parting season in the afternoon. Re- turned within fifteen miles of home." The Indiana Synod met October 16, 1828, at Vincennes. Of Sabbath's meeting, October 19, Mr. B. says: "The most interesting meeting I have ever witnessed in the Western country — sixty-three persons connected with the church."' In 1828 Mr. Bliss received aid from the American Home Missionary Society. This was continued for three years,, and then — at Mr. B.'s request — discontinued. STEPHEN BLISS. 8 1 In his report, dated August 13, 1831, Mr. B. says: "Dur- ing my last quarter I have spent two Sabbaths in Coles county — one at a point eighty, the other more than one hun- dred miles north of this. At the most distant congregation I organized a church consisting of seventeen members, with the prospect of soon doubling. [This was Bethel, afterwards Oakland.] Ordained Elders, and administered infant bap- tism. Found here, in a little log cabin, a theological stu- dent. He spends part of the time in cultivating a field of corn, to procure sustenance for himself, wife and two small children, and the other in theological studies. Next I at- tended a four days' meeting in a congregation twenty-five or thirty miles south of the point just named. [Pleasant Prai- rie.] Here was a church of about twenty members, or- ganized last autumn. Thirteen were received into the church ; several others are indulging hope. Baptized one adult and fourteen children." July 6, 1833, came Adam Shepard from New Hampshire, and entered a tract of land adjoining Mr. Bliss' farm, and made his home, as it proved, for life. This gentleman was a graduate of Middlebury College, in the class of 1826. Most cordial was the welcome extended to this family by Mr. and Mrs. Bliss. Mrs. Bliss died Sabbath, May 21, 1837, with consumption Mr. Bennet came down from Pisgah and preached the funeral sermon on Monday to a great congregation, from Prov. 14, 32 — "The righteous hath hope in his death." Mrs. Bliss' grave was the first one opened in the church- yard of Wabash. It had been customary for each family to bury their dead in a private burial ground on their own farm, though a public one had been much talked of. Mrs. Bliss' interment brought this question to a decision, and also, as has been seen, fixed the location of the church edifice. Says Mr. Baldridge : " Fifteen years of ministerial service only passed and Mr. Bliss was permitted to see four churches gathered and three ministers besides himself laboring effi- ciently in what was once his own charge." These churches were Wabash, organized March 5, 1822 ; Pisgah, in Lawrence county, organized 1835 ; Shiloh, organized in 1835, and Mt. Carmel in 1839. The ministers were Isaac Bennet, R. H. Lilly and Joseph Butler. Two other churches subsequently sprung from the same root, Friendsville and Allendale. In 1839 Mr. Bliss' health began to give way, and Mr. But- 5 82 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ler was called in to supply his pulpit, as his colleague, one Sabbath in the month for that year; the session, however, stipulating that Mr. Bliss was to moderate their meetings, and superintend the affairs of the church. From this time forth his regular ministerial work was interfered with by increasing infirmities. Mr. Bliss was a member of the Assembly, which in 1845, met at Cincinnati, and which passed resolutions which were understood as essentially modifying the testimony of the Church given in 18 18 against slavery. The vote stood one hundred and sixty-eight ayes to thir- teen nayes and four excused. Mr. Bliss was one of those im- mortal thirteen. On Monday morning, December 6, 1847. Mr. Bliss finished his course. In 1875 a monument was erected to Stephen Bliss and his wife by his grateful people. It is a four-sided shaft of fine marble, about five feet high, standing on a square stone base about one foot thick. On one side is this inscription : REV. STEPHEN BLISS, A.M., Born at Lebanon, N. H., March 27, 1787. Graduated at Middlebury College, 1812. Licensed by the Hopkinton Association, 1822. Ordained by the Presbytery of Salem, August 4, 1825. Died December 6, 1847. Pastor of Wabash Church from 1823 to 1847. On the reverse, or north side, is this inscription : MRS. ELIZABETH BLISS, Daughter of N. Worcester, D.D., wife of Rev. S. Bliss. Born at Thornton, N. H., February 27, 1789; married at Boscawen, N. H,, April 7, 1820; Died May 21, 1837. " When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory, that fadeth not away." — i Pet. v : 4. On the west side this : This monument was erected by a grateful people A. D., 1875. " How beautiful upon the moutitains are the feet of him that bringeth g'~«od tidings, that publisheth peace, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth." — Isaiah 52: 7. " I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." — Ps. 17 : 15. "I am the Resurrection and the life." — John 11:25. Mr. Bliss had two children, one son and one daughter. The son, Samuel Wood Bliss, a most estimable man, was for years an Elder in the Wabash Church. His widow still survives and occupies the old homestead. Samuel Wood Bliss had eleven children, six of whom lie in the cemetery and five are living. Of these five, four are daughters and DAVID C. PROCTER. 83 one son — John — now about fifteen. The daughter, Delia, married Mr. Schrader. She resides about one-half mile from Mr. Bliss' old farm, and has two daughters, Maria and Florence, now in early womanhood. It thus appears that Stephen Bliss has eight descendants living — one daughter and seven grand-children. Of these all but one are females. David Choate Procter was a native of New Hampshire. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1818. He was ordained in 1821 as a Home Missionary. On his way to Missouri he passed the winter at Indianapolis. Mr. Baldridge gives an exceedingly interesting account of his brief visit in Illinois, which I condense : Leaving Indianapolis he crossed the Wabash and found a lodging at a village of cabins, on its west side, called Mt. Carmel. In the morning, when preparing to start, his horse was found to be lame. Unable to go on his journey, he began to make enquiries. He was told of two Presbyterian families residing one seven, the other twelve miles north on the prairie. He at ouce set out. On arriving at the first of the two dwellings, the door was opened by a comely young girl, whose face beamed with intelligence. Satisfied he was right, he walked in without ceremony, exclaiming, " I am on Presbyterian ground, I know." His greeting was most cordially reciprocated. It was the house of Cyrus Danforth, and the day was Friday. The next day, March 2, they all went to the home of Mr. Bliss, five miles. On Sabbath a large congregation convened at the school-house near Mr, Danforth's, and Mr. Proctor preached. On Tuesday he preached again, and the church was organized. Mr. Proctor remained through the week and preached the following Sabbath. The next morning, the nth, he went on his way. He may have gone on to Mis- souri, but if so he was back in Indianapolis in the fall of the same year. In 1823 he located in Kentucky, and was stated supply of Springfield and Lebanon churches from 1823 to 1827. He was temporary President of Center College, Danville, Ky., in 1826. He was Home Missionary in Prince Edward county, Va., from 1827 to 1833; supply pastor in Shelby ville, Ky., in 1834, and died near Frankfort, Ky., Jan- uary 18, 1865, aged seventy-one. CoLLiNsviLLE Church (the place was at its first settlement called Unionvi/lc,) Madison county, 111., was organized May 3, 1823, by Rev. Salmon Giddings, with these members, viz.: 84 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. William Collins, Esther Collins, Augustus Collins, Elizabeth B. Collins, Eliza Collins, Almira Collins, Frederick Collins, Oriel Wilcox, Susan Wilcox, Horace Look, Emma C, Look. Seven of these belonged to the family of Deacon William Collins, who came to this place in tht fall of 1822, with his wife, three daughters and one son. Four of his six sons — viz., Augustus, Anson, Michael and William B. — had preceded him by several years. The family was from Litch- field, Conn., to which place William Collins, when a young man, had removed from Guilford, Conn. The church, from its formation until jiie fall of 1843, worshipped in a house erected in 18 18, the first frame meeting-house built in Illi- nois. The stated preaching of the gospel was not enjoyed until 1830, though for nearly twelve years a Sabbath-school had been sustained, and worship of some kind had been held almost every Sabbath. When a minister could not be ob- tained, they met tor prayer and exhortation, or read a ser- mon. From 1830 to 1840 the church enjoyed for half the time, successively, the services of Revs. Thomas Lippin- cott, John F. Brooks, Roswell Brooks and Robert Blake. Up to 1835 it was aided by the Home Missionary Society. Since that time it has received no assistance from abroad. Ministers: Charles E. Blood, pastor, commenced laboring with them July 4, 1840; Thomas Lippincott, supply pastor, 1848; Lemuel Grosvenor, pastor, 1848; David Dimond, sup- ply pastor, 1850; Gideon C, Clark, pastor, 1856; Charles F. Halsey, pastor, 1864; John D. Jones, pastor, 1867; J. R. Barnes, pastor, 1870; George W. Coit, pastor, 1874; Joseph G. Reasor, D. D., pastor, 1878. Elders: William Collins and Oriel Wilcox at the organization ; Horace Look and Frederick Collins, January 12, 1829; William B. Collins, November 10, 1832; Lewis Weeks, August, 1837; Hiram L. Ripley, September 15, 1838; Philander Braley, Austin B. Beach, James Haffy, November 14, 1841 ; J. Vanstavoren, S. Shepard, January 24, 1847; E. B. Lockwood, February 21, 1847; C. C. Tread way, 1861. In the month of January, 1869, at a congregational meet- ing, a change was effected in the organization of the church. Deacons were elected, who in addition to their proper func- tions, should also, with Elder H. L. Ripley, exercise those of Elders. Two other persons were chosen, who should con- stitute an advisory committee to counsel with the Deacons and Elder Ripley. When this Board acted in a judicial ca- APPLE CREEK CHURCH. 85 pacity an appeal might lie either to the Society, or the Pres- bytery, or both. Under this arrangement the following offi- cers were chosen : Deacons — James F. Wadsworth, for three years, J. C. Moore, two years; H. L. Strong, one year. Ad- visory Committee : Joshua S. Peers, for two years ; Cars- well McClellan, one year. The whole Board is at present as follows: Elder, H. L. Ripley; Deacons, J. F. Wadsworth, J. W. Peers, George A. Miller. Advisory Committee — J. S. Peers, C. L. Roberts, J. R. Miller, O. C. Look. The present church building was erected in 1843, at a cost ■of about eighteen hundred dollars. It was badly shattered by a storm in 1879. In addition the church owns property in the shape of lots, a parsonage, and another valuable resi- dence. It is not in debt, and pays a liberal salary to the pas- tor, and contributes, though not systematically, to the benev- olent agencies of the Church at large. The membership at present is about one hundred fifty. The Sabbath-school is quite flourishing ; two officers, fourteen teachers, one hun- dred and seventy-five pupils. The First Presbyterian Church in Green County, af- terwards Apple Creek. — On the last day of April, 1823, the ministers, Revs. Oren Catlin and Daniel G. Sprague, met at the house of Zechariah Allen, several persons who desired to be organized into a Presbyterian church. After two such meetings of conference the organization was duly made in the Court-house, May 4, 1823, under the name of the First Presbyterian Church in Green county, with these members: Zechariah Allen, Elizabeth Allen, Ruleff Stevens, Elizabeth Stevens, Anthony Potts, John Allen, Polly Allen, Thomas Allen, Margery Allen, William Morrow, Jean Morrow, John Dee, Frances Bell, Elizabeth Bell, William Allen, Sally Al- len, Christian Link, Fanny Painter, Lucretia Brush, Lavinia Redel and Lucy Thomas. Elders: Zechariah Allen, Ru- leff Stevens, Anthony Potts and John Allen. The church was long without a shelter of its own. Min- isters were (qw and itinerating. - Services were held as fre- quently as practicable; sometimes in the Court-house, a mere shell of a building; sometimes in an old blacksmith shop, near the northwest corner of the village, and frequently north of Apple Creek, where a large part of the members resided, and where in 1827 a sacramental meeting was held in which there were several additions to the membership. Hence the church came to be known in common parlance 86 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. and on the Records of Presbytery as Apple Creek Church, April II, 1840, the name was changed by the Presbytery of Ilhnois to Whitehall. Hence, too, it came about that on Sabbath, July 24, 1831, a new church was organized in CarroUton, called The Carrollton Presbyterian Church, with these members, viz. : Anthony Potts, Joseph Gerrish, Elizabeth Gerrish, Cor- nelia H. Leonard, Elizabeth Page, Abigail T. Hopping, Mi- riam Turner, Sarah Lee, Reuben Page, Morris Lee, Julius A. Willard and Almira C. Willard. They chose as Elders, Julius A. Willard, Joseph Gerrish and Anthony Potts. Whether this church, or the one organized in the Court- house in Carrollton, May 4, 1823, is the present Presbyterian Church of Carrollton, I leave for casuists to determine. The facts seem to be tiiat the church of 1823 gradually made its center north of and near Apple creek, and hence came to be called Apple Creek Church. The members in and near Car- rollton, seeing that the church of 1823 was practically gone' from them, in 1831 asked from Presbytery a new organization, which was granted. Thus the First Presbyterian Church of Green county became — not by express action of Presbytery but by common consent and usage — Apple Creek Church. In 1840 it changed its connection from Illinois Presbytery to that of Sangamon, and presently died. But the church formed by Presbytery at Carrollton, July 24, 185 1, while Henry Herrick was in charge, is the present Carrollton Church, In May, 1832, Rev. Elisha Jenney took Mr, Herrick's place as stc-ited supply. In July following a meeting of eleven days was held, in which some fifty persons were hope- fully converted. At the close of this meeting Rev. Thomas Lippincott became the supply, and continued until the spring of 1835. Under his ministry sixty-eight persons were received. The next Elders chosen were Samuel D. Gushing, Alfred L. ShuU and John Evans, Mr, Lippincott was succeeded by Rev. Hugh Barr, whose lab'ors extended over a period often years. In 1837, assisted by Dr. Blackburn, he held a pro- tracted meeting, which resulted in an accession of eleven members. About this time J. H. Hinton and Peter Van Arsdale were made Elders. The place of meeting was a long brick building on the southwest corner of the square. A house of worship was erected afterwards at a cost of about twenty-five hundred dollars, and dedicated free of debt. In CARROLLTON CHURCH. Biy 1842, Mr. Barr, assisted by Rev. James Gallaher, held an- other protracted meeting, which resulted in an accession to the church of some fifty persons. At this time William Bates, Lucius S. Norton and Robert L. Doyle were made Elders, After Mr. Barr's term of service. Rev. James Dunn supplied the church for two years. For some time previous to 1850, much disorder existed among this people. An attempt was made to change the polity of the church. Its Eldership be- came extinct by deaths and removals. The aid of Presby- tery was invoked ; and they, in February, 1850, re-organized the church with thirty-one enrolled members. Alexander W. Lynn, Robert F. Clark, Chester Armstrong, M. D., and J. H. Wilson were made Elders. Rev. E. Jenney then supplied the church for one year. He was succeeded by Rev. John G. Rankin, who labored for ten years acceptably and with great success. In these years the church received large additions, and rose to the condition of self-support. They also under- took and executed an important educational enterprise, by erecting the Academy, which stands adjacent to their pres- ent church edifice, at an expense of twenty-eight hundred dollars. During the ministry of Mr. Rankin the church also purchased a parsonage, valued at one thousand dollars. A little before Mr. Rankin's departure, A. C. Hinton was made an Elder. Rev. Morgan L. Wood succeeded Mr. Rankin, and served the church until the summer of 1864. The pres- ent pastor, Rev. Smith H. Hyde, commenced his labors No- vember 13, 1864, has served the congregation with great effi- ciency and success, and still continues his valuable labors. Since 183 1 four hundred and eight persons have been re- ceived into the church ; forty of these died whilst residing in CarroUton, and two hundred and eighty have removed. The present beautiful and commodious house of worship was erected at an expense of $11,000, and dedicated unincum- bered March 18, 1868. Improvements have also been added to the parsonage to the value of fifteen hundred dollars. Thus the sum total of the property of this congregation is not less than ^16,000. The Sabbath-school work has, for the most part, been prosecuted with great vigor, and been an im- portant factor in the church's internal well being and external usefulness. The First Presbyterian Church of Paris, Edgar county, 111., was organized by Rev. Isaac Reed, November 6, 1824, with these members, viz. : John Bovell, William Means, 88 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. James Eggleston, Adriel Stout, Amzi Thompson, Samuel Vance, Christian Bovell, Nancy Thompson, Barbara Alexan- der, Ehzabeth Blackburn, Hannah Baird, Mary Vance. Elders: Samuel Vance, John Bovell, William Means. The next day. Sabbath, November 7, the following wei'e admit- ted: James Ashmore, Miss Cassandra Ashmore, Rebecca Ives, Mrs. Susanna Means, Elizabeth Jones, Polly Wayne, Eliza Stout, Jane Ewing, Margaret Crozier, Betsey Burr, Mj^ron Ives, Mrs. Sarah Ives, Asenath McKown and Rachel Ashmore. The history of this church down to 1855, is so clearly given in a letter addressed by Adriel Stout, a former Elder of this church, to Rev. John Crozier, that I append it nearly entire. " Mr. Samuel Vance and Smith Shaw, were the first set- tlers in Sugar Creek Point. They arrived, I think, in the fall of 1822. Your father's family and your grandfather's ( Means,) family and my own arrived in the spring of 1823. From that time we would meet on the Sabbath and sing and pray together, and read one of ' Burder's Village Ser- mons.' Sometimes, but not often, we would have a sermon from some of our Methodist brethren. Occasionally Daniel Parker would visit our little town ( which was located in the spring of 1823,) and scatter his two-seed doctrine; but we had had no Presbyterian preaching until Nov. 6, 1824. Rev. Isaac Reed had been spoken to by Mr. Vance and your father to come and preach to and bring us into church order, but he failed to come. In June, 1824, I went to Crawfordsville, Ind., to see if I could get a minister to come and organize a church here. Mr. Reed promised to visit us some time in the fall, but did not come until Nov. 6. On that day while he was preaching there appeared to be a special Divine influence on the minds of the people, and many were affected to tears. After sermon those pres- ent who had letters presented them, and a church was formed consisting of twelve members. Immediately after the organization, three Elders were chosen. The Session met the same evening and next morning, and received four- teen others. We had little preaching from that time until the latter part of April, 1825, when the devoted Missionary, John Young, came among us, and labored with us until the middle of July following, preaching one-half his time here and the other half at New Hope Church, Ind. He was loved by the people among whom he labored, and his labors PARIS CHURCH, EDGAR COUNTY. 89 were successful, many being added to the church during his stay with us. After preaching his farewell sermon he left for Vi^icennes, intending to return to his friends in New York ; but he was taken sick in Vincennes, and died about the middle of August, bequeathing most of his property for the promotion of the cause of his Divine Master. Our next minister was Rev. Elbridge G. Howe, whom we engaged to preach to us from March 30, 1827, for one year, half his time; the other half to be spent with New Hope Church. Owing to his own and his family's bad health, he soon returned to the East. We then employed Rev, Alex. R. Curry, for three months. We then employed Rev. Claiborne Young, for six months, or until the arrival of Rev. John Bovell, to whom we had written. Mr. Bovell engaged with us, July 6, 1829, and labored with us but a few months, when he was •called to his final reward. He was an able preacher and much beloved by the church. Dr. Samuel Baldridge then preached for us half his time for about one year. May 27, 1832, we engaged Rev. Enoch Bouton to preach to us for three-fourths of his time for eleven months. He was a good preacher. His sermons were short and well digested. Under the administra- tion of the last six ministers, a space of about six years, a general coldness prevailed, and but few, probably not more than nine or ten, were received to the church on profession. Rev. John Montgomery commenced his labors with us in the fall of 1833, and remained until the spring of 1836. During his stay there were added seven on examination and ten or twelve by letter. He was highly esteemed by all. In the fall of 1836 we employed Rev. R. Rutherford, half his time, for one year. During his administration four or five were added by examination, and ten or twelve by letter. Rev. J, C. Campbell then supplied us one-half of the time until Rev. Henry I. Venable arrived in the fall of 1839. He preached to us about one and one-half years. In this time three or four were added by examination and about twenty by letter. He afterwards engaged in teaching, and did as much for the cause of education, according to the time spent, as any other man in the county. Rev, J. A. Steel supplied us about half the time for six months, until Rev, Joseph Piatt arrived. He remained two years. A revival occurred under his ministry. About eighty were added by examination and twenty by letter. We then engaged Kev. Erastus W. Thayer, who remained upwards of seven years. 90 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. In this time about thirty were added by examination and as many by letter. We next employed Rev. R. M. Over- street for one year. In the spring of 1853 we employed Rev. Samuel Newell, who labored with us with good success. Our Bible Society was organized two days after the organi- zation of the church. Our Sabbath school commenced in the spring of 1825." In a letter written by Rev. John Crozier, to Rev. Samuel Newell, then pastor of the church, and dated April 20, 1869, enclosing the above letter, the following information was furnished: "The church was organized in a log school-house, which stood on corner of the alley directly east, and in the rear of the old Alexander residence, on the south side of the public square and court house. The first communion was celebrated at Elder Wm. Means' residence, about two hundred yards north of where Thomas Means now lives. Rev. Isaac Reed, in a little book called 'The Youth's Book,' published in New York, in 1828, says, Sept. 29, 1825 : 'I was as far out across the Wabash as Paris, Edgar County, 111. Indeed this was the point of my principal aim. I went by the particular and earnest solicitation of some of the people in that vicinity, that I would come and bring them into church order. They had been about two years there with their families, and no min- ister had yet found his way to their settlement. We crossed the Wabash three miles above Fort Harrison, the 4th of Nov. 1824, (Rev. D. Whitney was with me). That night we had a meeting two and one-half miles from the river. There were present three female members of our Church, all of them from the State of New York. One had been seven years there and the others four. Neither had been at a communion since they came into the country, nor had they heard a sermon for about two years, and this purely because they had had no opportunity. The next day at evening we began our meeting in the neighborhood of Paris. Nothing unusual appeared. The people seemed pleased to see us, and in the prospect of a church and the sacrament. On the 6th we preached in town. It was a new and small place, though the seat of justice for Edgar County. The services were held in a school-house. While preaching, a very uncommon solemnity and deep attention prevailed. Num- bers were affected to tears. After the sermon the church was constituted. Paris is a very small place of about eight cabins.' " PARIS CHURCH, EDGAR COUNTY. pi Elders: Samuel Vance, Nov. 6, 1824, ceased to act April 16, 1833; John Bovell, Nov, 6, 1824, died June, 1851 ; William Means, Nov. 6, 1824, died June 11, 1848; Adriel Stout, Sept. 19, 1825, died Oct. 17, 1858; Robert Brooks, Oct. 26, 1828, dis. August 6, 1831 ; Thomas M. Brooks, July 28, 1832, dis. Feb. 5, 1867; Wm. R. Laughlin, July 28, 1832, ceased to act Feb. 17, 1846; David McCord, May 24, 1846, dis. Oct. 1855 ; Andrew M. Vance, May 24, 1846, died Sept. 12, 1869; John Sheriff, May 24, 1846; Noah Harris, March 13, 1859, dis. May 21, 1871 ; Albert B; Austin, March 13, 1859, died ^^ay 21, 1878; Hyslop A. Conkey, March 13, 1859; William Blackburn, May 7, 1871 ; George Dole, May 7, 1871 ; John C. Means, May 7, 1871 ; John C. Collom, May 7, 1871 ; Alexander Mann, June 16, 1878 ; Willett H. Judson, June 16, 1878. Rev. Samuel Newell, D.D., having been the pastor for nearly eighteen years, was dismissed by the Pres- bytery of Mattoon, April 28, 1871. Rev. R. D. Van Deur- sen, was elected pastor by the congregation, July 31, 1871, entered upon his labors Sept. i, 1871, and was installed by Presbytery of Mattoon, Sabbath, April 21, 1872. Rev. Dr. Joseph W. Tuttle preached the sermon. Charge to pastor by Rev. R. A. Mitchell. Charge to the people by Rev. R. F. Patterson. The following facts are given by the present pastor. Rev. R. D. Van Deursen : " There have been received to membership from organization to date, 1,035 persons. Of these during the ministery of Rev. Samuel Newell, D.D., from 1853 to 1871, four hundred and eighty-two, Duringthe min- istry of the present pastor from 1 87 1 to 1878, two hundred and twenty. As to the places of worship, the church was organ- ized in a small school-house which stood just south of the buildings on the south side of the public square, facing the court house. The court house was generally used by all denomi- nations for several years. The Communion of the Lord's Supper was first celebrated at the house of Elder William Means, about two miles northwest of Paris, Meetings were frequently held in private houses, often at Elder Samuel Vance's, near the present residence of Mrs, Dr, Wm. Kile, also at the school-house, then nearly opposite and north of the Christian ( Campbellite ) Chapel. Communion meet- ings were often held in the old court house, . a large frame building on the site now occupied by Connelly & Company on the south side of the public square. The present court house was built in 1833. At that time the 92 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. building of a Presbyterian church was agitated, but not until 1834 was any work begun. Then a lot was secured, and in the fall of 1834 a plain brick church, with sandstone foundation, was built, but was not ready for service until late in the year 1835. Our people had a camp-ground where they held meeting, between the years 1828 and 1832, in a grove of black walnuts on the ground just east of the pres- ent I. & St. L. freight depot. The church was not floored permanently and seated until after Rev. H. I. Venable came in 1839. We have-no record as to time of dedication of this church. It stood on the lot now occupied by the Campbell- ite church. In-^853 a movement was made toward a new church and subscription begun, but there was some differ- ence of opinion as to location. In 1854 the site of the pres- ent church was decided on, and the house occupied in the basement in the fall of 1855. The main audience room was finished and the house dedicated in January, 1856. This is our present house of worship." The dedication sermon was preached by the then pastor. Rev. Samuel Newell, D. D. This church has no parsonage. The pastor resides in his own "hired house," for the use of which he pays two hun- dred and forty dollars out of a salary of fifteen hundred. Isaac Reed was born in Granville, Washington count}^, N. Y., just across the Vermont line. He fitted for college in the academy of his native town, and graduated at Middle- bury, Vt., in 18 1 2. He was a class-mate of Rev. John Mc- Elroy Dickey. He studied law awhile in New York city in 1 81 3. His theological studies were prosecuted with private ministers, the last of whom was Rev. R. R. Swan, of Norwalk, Conn. He was licensed by an Association in Connecticut. On the 2 1st of October, 18 17, he started from Fairfield county, Conn., in company with Rev. Eli Smith, for Ken- tucky. Mr. Smith's residence was in Frankfort, Ky., and he was returning from a visit to relatives in New England. They traveled on horseback through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, up the valley of the Shenandoah, in Virginia, across the Al- leghanies to the Kanhawa, entering Kentucky at the north- east corner of the State. The succeeding winter and until the latter part of July, 1818, he preached in the central counties of Kentucky, wherever his services seemed most needed.' The last of July, 1818, he crossed the Ohio at Mad- ison, Ind., and commenced laboring in that State. It is worthy of notice that Thomas Lippincott and Isaac REV. ISAAC REED. 93 Reed started for the West within one week of each other — Mr. R., October 21, Mr. L., October 28, 1817. Their routes and modes of travehng were different. Mr. R. made the en- tire distance from Connecticut to central Kentucky on horse- back; Mr. L. traveled in a one-horse wagon across the moun- tains in Pennsylvania to Pittsburg, and then down the Ohio in a keel boat to Shawneetown. Mr. R. arrived at Paris, Ky., November 26; Mr. L. at Shawneetown December 30. After laboring in various other places in Indiana, and for five weeks in New Albany, where there was a Presbyterian church of thirteen members, Mr. Reed attended the meeting of Transj'lvania Presbytery, at New Providence Church in Mercer county, Ky., and was there ordained, October 10, 18 18 From Presbytery he went to the meeting of Synod at Lexington, and then returned to New Albany, where he had been invited to labor for a year at a salary of five hund ed dollars. In that year the church was increased to thirty-five members and a house of worship erected. The next year he itinerated, under a commission from the Missionary So- ciety of Connecticut, principally in Indiana, but also in Kentucky. He organized the first church of his ministry at Bloomington, Monroe county, in September, 18 19. The same fall he attended the meeting of Synod at Dan- ville, Ky., and on Christmas day was married to Miss Elinor Young, by Rev. Samuel R. Nelson. In March, 1820, he went to Granville, Ohio, with a view to settlement. But the arrangement was not perfected, and he returned to Kentucky. In March, 1821, he fixed his res- idence at Nicholasville, Jessamine county, Ky., and labored for several months there and at White Oak, ten miles distant. In the fall of that year he went on a missionary and busi- ness tour to Owen county, Ind., where some of Mrs. Reed's relatives were located. While there he entered eighty acres of land. In May of 1822 he attended the meeting of the General Assembly at Philadelphia, and after its close visited his aged mother in his native town. On his return to Ken- tucky he continued to labor in his old field until the latter part of the next September. On the 25th of that month he left Kentucky for Owen county, Ind., a journey of two hundred miles. A four- horse team conveyed their goods, Mr. R. and his wife travel- ing in a one-horse wagon. They arrived in the first week in October, and engaged at once in erecting a log house upoa 94 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. his eighty acres. By Christmas they were occupying the building, though in a very unfinished state. About the time of his removal from Kentucky, Rev. Da- vid C. Proctor, already mentioned, engaged for one year at Indianapolis and Bloomington. The places were fifty-two miles apart; and Mr. Proctor in passing from one to the other frequently stopped at Mr. Reed's house. July 3, 1823, Mr. Reed accompanied Mr. Proctor to Indianapolis. On the 4th he preached in a cabinet-maker's shop. On the 5th, Sat- urday, they, with two other ministers, organized the Indian- apolis Church in that same rude shop. In August of this year, 1823, Mr. Reed was installed pas- tor of the church in Owen county — it was called Bethany. Rev. J. McE. Dickey and Mr. Proctor conducted the servi- ces. In October he attended the meeting of Presbytery, held at Shelbyville, Ky., and from Presbytery went on to Synod at Lexington. That Synod divided Louisville Pres- bytery and formed that of Salem, Ind. This name was given it at Mr. Reed's suggestion, and with reference to its scriptu- ral signification. In April, 1824, Salem Presbytery held its first meeting, and at the town of Salem in Washington county, Ind. It was at this meeting that the church of Wabash and the licentiate, Stephen Bliss, were taken under care of Presbytery. Immediately after, Mr. Reed organized a church in the south part of Washington county, called BethleJiem. The same spring he published a tract called The Christian s Diiiy. This year he organized two other churches, that of Crawfordsville, Ind., and Paris, 111., as already related. The same year he traveled two thousand four hundred and eighty miles, attended sixteen sacramental meetings, received into the church forty persons, and baptized eight adults and sixty-one children. In 1825 there were six ordinations in Indiana, at four of which Mr. Reed was present and took part. The first of these four was that of B. R. Hall at Bloomington ; the sec- sond, that of George Bush at Indianapolis; the third, that of T. H. Brown over the Bethlehem Church, and the fourth, that of Stephen Bliss, as Evangelist, at Vincennes. This year he published three sermons, and a little book on Infant Baptism. The same year he organized a church in each of the three counties. Green, Putnam and Johnson. In Sep- tember he again visited Paris and New Hope churches, and preached the funeral sermon of John Young. This sermon was printed at Indianapolis in October. REV. ISAAC REED. 9,5 Mr. Reed called his house in Owen county Cottage of Peace. He was a decided opponent of slavery. In one of his printed sermons he exclaims : " Slavery, that foul stain upon civilized man ; that libel upon republicanism and inde- pendent America; that stigma upon Christians!" The third annual meeting of the Indiana Missionary So- ciety was held in connection with the meeting of Presbytery, at Vincennes, August 5, 1825. One of its resolutions, moved by Rev. Isaac Reed and seconded by Mr. John Young, Mis- sionary of the General Assembly, was in substance this: "That this Society, feeling a kindred spirit with the other Missionary Societies of the Presbyterian Church, presents its warmest acknowledgments to the Missionary Society of Connecticut, and of New York, and to the Domestic Mis- sionary Society for its aid and its plans of /(?^«//«^ missionaries in churches." The annual report, penned by Mr. Reed, was published. At the next meeting of Presbytery, held with Pisgah Church, in Scott county, in October of the same year, Mr. Reed requested the dissolution of his pastoral connec- tion with Bethany Church. One of his reasons was this : "Entire inadequacy of support. From my congregation I have not had a dollar in money for nearly two years." His request was granted. Mr. R. continued for some time to give occasional supply to Bethany Church, and " endeavored to help them to help themselves!' At the same meeting of Pres- bytery it was agreed to ask Synod to divide Salem Presby- tery into two, by a north and south line, the eastern to be called Madison, the western, Wabash. Synod complied with the request. Mr. Reed's location in Owen county placed him in Wabash. In November of this year Mr. Reed was again at Terre Haute and New Hope. April 5, 1826, Mrs. Ann Young, the mother of Mr. Reed's wife, died at the " Cottage of Peace," Owen county, Ind., aged sixty-three years. Her funeral services were conducted by Rev. George Bush, of Indianapolis. The first meeting of Wabash Presbytery was held with Bethany Church, and partly in Mr. Reed's house, commencing the next day after Mrs. Young's death. May 8, 1826, while on a missionary tour, Mr. Reed again visited New Hope, and preached to about forty hearers. In the summer of 1826 Mr. Reed, with his family, consisting of his wife and three children, trav- eled in a one-horse vehicle from Owen county, Ind., to his native town, Granville, N. Y., and from thence to Moriah, in 96 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Essex county, a few miles west of Crown Point. Here he received a call to settle, and was installed pastor of the church. With an account of this settlement he closes a book of 242 pages, called "The Christian Traveler," in which he details the travels and missionary experiences of nine years. He estimates the travels of those nine years at 18.000 miles. He returned to Indiana in 1828 and located at Bloomington, where his brother-in-law. Rev. B. R. Hall, resid- ed. In 1839 l"*^ was residing at Paris, 111., and was Presi- dent of Paris Seminary. He ended his career at Olney, 111., January 15, 1858. Mr. Reed was "Something of an author. He printed sev- eral sermons and tracts, and two books. One was called " The Youth's Book." It contains two hundred and thirty pages and consists of sermons, addresses, poetry, memoirs and letters of his daughter, Martha D. Reed, with extracts from his diary and letters. The other is "The Christian Traveler." His sermons are plain, sound, common sense discourses. His poetry is above or beneath criticism. His diaries and letters concerning Kentucky and Indiana are extremely valuable. His labors in Illinois were confined mostly to Edgar county. John Young was a native of New York. He graduated at Union College in 1821, and studied theology at Prince- ton. While a licentiate he came as a Missionary, under the directions of the Assembly, to Indiana, in 1824, and spent two months at Madison. In the latter part of April, 1825, he came to Edgar county, 111., and labored for six months with Paris and New Hope churches and with great success. Early in August he started on his return to the East by way of Viiicennes. He was in that place Aug. 5, and made an address before the Indiana Missionary Society, and the Presbytery of Salem. Ten days afterwards he died in the same place, aged twenty-eight years. He was very active and devoted, and his brief ministry was one of great suc- cess. He is still held in affectionate remembrance by elderly- people in Paris and the valley of Sugar creek, Edgar county, 111. He was never ordained. Elbridge Gerry Howe, was a native of Massachusetts. He graduated at Brown University, R. I., in 182 1, and at Andover in 1824. He was ordained Oct. 6, of the same year. Oct. 31, 1874, when seventy-five years of age, he sent a very interesting communication concerning himself,. ELBRIDGE GERRY HOWE. 97 to be read at the Semi-Centennial celebration of the Paris Church, Nov. 6, 1874. From it I make a few extracts : " At the time your church was formed, Nov. 6, 1824, I was riding on horseback through the mud in northern Ohio, on my way to lUinois. I left Andover Seminary in September, and my mother's, in Paxton, near Worcester, Mass., on the 3d of Oct., and reached Vandalia, the then Capital, on the 3d of Dec, a two months' horseback journey of 1,342 miles. Some members of the legislature then in session [our friend Stephen Bliss, was doubtless one of them] asked me to stay over the Sabbath and preach ; but I hastened on to spend the next few days at Greenville and other settlements on* Shoal creek. One of iny hearers was young R. W. Patter- son, now D.D., and Professor in the Presbyterian Seminary in Chicago. I called on Mr. Giddings in St. Louis. He was unmarried and teaching for a living. His church, the First, had I think, only one male member, Stephen Hemp- stead. I then officiated four weeks in Kaskaskia. The people showed me no little kindness. The collection of eight dollars taken for me had this curiosity, that much of it was pieces of silver dollars, which had been made by a chisel cutting the dollars into quarters and eighths, to cir- culate as change in the lack of small coin. On my way North I delayed to preach in Collinsville, Carrollton and Apple Creek. At Diamond Grove, which became Jackson- ville afterwards, a subscription was made for me, and some arrangements to form a church. I went so far as to select the place, where the Illinois College now stands, for a cabin. But the law did not then allow a forty acre lot to be bought, and an eighty was too much for my means. I was near when Jacksonville was laid out. More than once I had to admire the beauty of the site and its surroundings, and rid- den over its untrodden grass. I conducted the first public worship held at Naples, on the Illinois river, the place then consisting of two or three buildings. I held worship in Springfield and other places in Sangamon county ; no Pres- byterian church being yet gathered. In 1825, there was another long horseback ride, this time through Kentucky, Virginia and Washington City, to Rhode Island, for my wife. We returned in autumn by public conveyance to Louisville, where I preached for Dr. Blackburn. I bought a horse and wagon for the rest of the journey to Diamond Grove. In the spring of 1826, it seemed expedient to make Springfield 6 98 PRESBVTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. my residence. There, and in one or two other places in San- gamon county, were materials for churches, as I found by my labors of this year. Pecuniary pledges were made for me in Springfield for 1827." Just here it may be interesting, and perhaps profitable, to introduce a view of this man from another pen, the pen of John M. Peck. I find it in Dr. Bergen's scrap book: " With Mr. Howe, I became acquainted when he first came to the country. He called on me as he was on his route to Green, Morgan and Sangamon counties, and was quite as destitute of common sense ^ any green Yankee from New England- ^om I ever saw. His wife was much the smartest man of the two, for tradition says she wrote his sermons for him. In the autumn or winter of 1825-6, I met him on his field. He had become a circuit preacher on quite a large scale for a Presbyterian. He had made promises to supply the three large counties of Green, Morgan and Sangamon in a three weeks' circuit. Green had two preaching places — Carrollton and Apple Creek. Morgan had three settlements. San- gamon had Springfield, Sangamon town and a small settle- ment on Sugar creek. The joke was he engaged to preach in each of these settlements on the Sabbath he spent in the county. This was rather a hard task, when he had to preach three times the same Sabbath and travel between meetings from ten to twenty miles. He had about three hundred dol- lars on a subscription paper for the year. This he showed me, and I saw the names of lawyers, doctors and trifling fellows, who never paid their washing and board bills, yet put down for twenty and twenty-five dollars. I frankly told him of two objections to his plan. First, he could not fill his appointments. Second, the subscription would never be paid, not even one-third of it. He made a trial for two or three months ; got very few hearers and no pay, and gave it up and sold his horse to pay for him. At the suggestion of some of his friends in Springfield, he opened a school. He began with eight and in a few weeks got down to three scholars. He could neither teach nor govern. His wife was a modest, timid person, and dared not tell any one her distress, destitution and delicate condition. They had no feather-bed and only a few things indispensable to a frontier log cabin. The women had to be called in, in some haste, and the old Virginia phrase, ' My wife is in the straw,' was a literal fact in this case. Some of the women ran home BETHEL CHURCH, BOXD COUNTY. 99 for blankets, and a supply of — ' fixens.' In short they per- formed the double task of having the wife and mother com- fortable, and giving the husband a good scolding for his indolence and shiftlessness." In February of 1827, l\Ir. Howe visited Paris and New Hope churches and made an arrangement with them for a year's service. He then returned to his family. In a few days Milton Vance and his father, Elder Samuel Vance, came to Springfield with two strong horses and a " Prairie schooner," to transport the minister and his family across the country. With much difficulty this task was achieved — six days having been occupied in its performance. His active ministry here continued but three months. Early in July he was stricken down with a fever which brought him to death's door. He was disabled for months. In Feb., 1828, he went into the neighborhood of the Ewings to recruit among the sugar makers. There he was appointed Post- master, and the office was given his first name, Elbridge, the name which it still bears. He returned to New Eng- land that year, and for ten years preached at different places in Massachusetts. He then came back to Illinois, and was a Home Missionary in Lake and McHenry counties until 1848, when he took up his residence at Waukegan. He was then in secular business for twenty j'ears, and buried in the time his first and second wife. In October, 1874, he was living in Paxton, Mass., with his third wife and two young sons. Bethel Church. Bond county. 111. It is in T. 6 N., R. 4 W., Sec, II, N. W. quarter. When Robert McCord, his son-in-law, Samuel Dicicson, and x\lexander Robinson were exploring this region, they came to a spot near where Bethel Church now stands. After looking round they stuck down a stake and said: "This shall be our location." Then kneel- ing down they consecrated the place to God, and called it September 15, 1825, Revs. Salmon Giddings, William S. Lacey, and Elder William Collins, a Committee of Missouri Presbytery, met with the Shoal Creek Church, and divided it into three — Bethel with sixty-two members, Greenville with twenty-nine, and the original church, Shoal Creek, with the remainder. Of the sixt}'-two members assigned to Bethel, only three remained at the semi-Centennial anniversary, September 15, 1875, vi?.. : John D. Alexander, James Robin- lOO PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. son and Mrs. Polly Denny. There have been in connection with this church, in all, four hundred and fifty-nine members. Of these, at the date named, one hundred and forty-two had died, two hundred and thirty-one had been dismissed by let- ter and twenty-one suspended. The following are the Min- isters who have served the church : Thomas A. Spilman, 1828 to 1830; Albert Hale, 1832 to 1836; E. S. Huntington, 1837; Thomas Lippincott, 1838; Lemuel Foster, 1839 to 1845; Charles S. Adams, 1843; Charles Barton, 1847; E. B. Olmstead, 1848 to 185 1 ; N. A. Hunt, 185 1 to 1855 ; Rob- ert Stewart, 1858; William C. Rankin, 1859; William H.Bird, 1859 to 1868; J. Scott Davis, 1869 to 1871; Charles Barton, second time, 1872 to 1874; James H. Spilman, 1875. Mr. Spilman is still, 1 879, in charge. He is a son of the first min- ister, T, A. Spilman, Elders : Robert McCord, David McCord, Alexander Denny, Samuel Dickson, Daniel Douglas, James Davis, James McClung, John A. McClain, J. N. Adams, James Rob- inson, James Denny, James M. Douglas, Thomas Cunning- ham, John H. McCord, I. B. Davis, J. M. Ross, Francis Dres- ser, J. D. Rosebrough and Hugh B. Douglas. The present Elders — 1879 — James W. Robinson, Francis Dresser, J. M. Ross, J. D. Rosebrough, Hugh B. Douglas. Bethel has had its academy, which was flourishing until the establishment of better endowed institutions and the extension and elevation of the common school system rendered it unnecessary. This church was ever the friend of freedom and the succorer of the slave — a regular station on the under-ground railroad, when fugitives could not safely travel by open highway. The Sabbath-school of Bethel Church has ever ranked as first- class, mainly because parents as well as children attended regularly upon its instructions. Their first house of worship was a log building twenty by twenty-five feet — the pulpit boxed up with split clapboards — an open space in the mid- dle of the room where charcoal was burned to warm the house. The same kind of primitive heater was used in the Shoal Creek, the Sharon and others of the first church build- ings in this State. Next a larger frame building was con- structed a rod or two in front of the log structure. The pres- ent church edifice is the third. Near by is a pleasant two-story frame parsonage, surrounded by several acres of glebe land. Tliis church has from the first been distinguished for its re- vivals, several of which were of great power and permanent THOMAS A. SPILMAN. lOI influence for good. Several of the original families were from Tennessee, and remembered the wondrous works of God in that State in the beginning of the present century. It has been greatly blessed in its Eldership. Several of them were remarkable men. Among these Robert McCord was easily princeps. His person tall, well-formed, commanding; his voice rich and melodious, he was powerful in prayer and exhortation. With such elders there was no difficulty in keeping up interesting and profitable public services when, as often happened, they were without the stated ministry. This church observed its semi-Centennial September 15, 1875. Rev. Robert Stewart preached the historical sermon. Thomas A. Spilman was born in Garrard county, Ky., Oc- tober, 1797. He made a profession of religion early in life. His younger days were spent upon the farm with his father, and developed a strong, vigorous constitution which emi- nently fitted him for the hardships of the frontier life which he was afterward called to endure. He taught day and sing- ing schools, and was employed for about eighteen months as a scribe in a recorder's office; but did not turn his attention to the ministry until late in life. ^He pursued his studies for a time with his brother, Benjamin F., and afterward with Rev. W. K. Stewart, who was at the head of a flourishing academy, at Elkton, Ky. He was licensed by the Muhlen- burg Presbytery, and preached his first sermon, September 22, 1827, at Hopkinsville. He went immediately to his brother, Benjamin F., who was preaching in Illinois. They labored together many months in the southern part of the State, on the Ohio and Wabash rivers. He was ordained at Washington, Ind., by the Presbytery of Wabash, with which he was then connected, and until Center Presbytery was formed. He next took charge of the Presbyterian church of Hillsborough, 111. Here he labored as supply pastor for twelve and a half years. Principally by his assiduous toil, and the influence and means of Elder Tillson, the largest and best church edifice, then in the State, was erected. In 1831 he was united in marriage with Miss Clara S. Thomson, of Massachusetts. He was early called to drink the cup of affliction. In 1834 he buried his second child, and in 1840 his wife. Soon after this he closed his labors in Hillsbor- ough. In 1843 he married Miss Susannah Evans, of Mas- sachusetts, at that time residing with her sister, Mrs. Web- .ster, of Carlyle, 111. At this place Mr. Spilman located and I02 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. preached for a few months. In the autumn of 1843 he re- moved to Morgan county, and took charge of two small churches about ten miles south of Jacksonville, called Union and West Union, having also regular appointments at the Sugar Creek Church in Sangamon county. While living in Morgan county he buried two daughters, one an infant, the other about eleven years of age. Mr. Spilman's service upon these fields continued for about nine years. In 1852 a stroke of apoplexy ended his public ministry. On the Sab- bath he preached as usual. On Monday he went with his two eldest sons to^the timber, about four miles from his resi- dence, to procure fence material. While using the maul and wedge he observed to one of his sons that this kind of work bewildered him. His son, supposing he had an attack of headache, did not at first apprehend anything serious. He soon, however, discovered indications of mental derange- ment, and suggested returning home. Mr. Spilman was at first unwilling, but after a time consented, climbed into the wagon in an awkward way and was driven home. He was very fond of music, and on the way sang, very much after his usual manner, the tune set to the hymn, "The Star of Beth- lehem." A physician was summoned, but four or five hours elapsed from the time of the attack before medical aid reached him. His consciousness was nearly gone. For a few days the prospect of prolonging his life was very small. He revived, however, and survived for more than five years of strange mental prostration and bodily affliction — years of pa- tient suffering — an object of Christian sympathy and benef- icence. For some days after he was stricken down he seemed to possess little or no mind. He was long confined; to his bed. His mind seemed more that of a little child than a man. Almost every mental and bodily faculty was crushed and manacled by the power of his disease. Either through loss of memory, or power of utterance, he had great difficul- ty in giving expression to thought, and he would close his effort to express himself by saying, " Can't tell it." This kind of life was prolonged to him for several years. A part of this time he was able to do a little light manual labor, and to attend public worship. He even undertook, on one or two occasions, to conduct the prayer-meeting. If there was any one thing in which he was more like his former self than another, it was in leading in prayer. In that exercise his faculties so far returned to him that he could express himself GREENVILLE CHURCH, BOND COUNTY. IO3 with some ease and entire propriety. What comfort he had came largely through reading the Bible and prayer. His God, his duty and his Bible seemed to constitute the warp, and the woof of what thought he was able to command. Thirteen days before his death he went to bed in nearly his usual health; but the next morning he could not be aroused to consciousness. He lay in this condition with little change until his departure. On the 12th of February, 1858, in the sixty-first year of his age, he was called away. His widow still survives, and five of his eight children. In all the rela- tions of life he was blest and made a blessing. The Rev. James Stafford pronounced him the best sermoniser in. Kas- kaskia Presbytery. Grkexville Church, Bond county, was organized at the the same time and by the same men as Bethel, and with twenty-nine members. From the organization until near the close of 1827, there was no stated supply. But at the last date Rev. Solomon Hardy commenced laboring with Green- ville and Shoal Creek churches. He was installed pas- tor of the two churches, Oct. 12, 1828, by the Presby- tery of Missouri. He remained in that relation until Oct. 12, 1830, when he was dismissed by the Center Presbytery of Illinois. He continued, however, to labor with those churches until the spring of 1831. The ministers who followed Air. Hardy in the service of this church are as follows: Wm. J. Fraser, 1832; A. Ewing, 1833; Wm. K. Stewart, 1835-6; James Stafford, 1837-8; James Stafford, second time, 1840 to 1850, except the first }'ear, pastor; Wm. Gardner, 1850; Wm. Hamilton, 1851-2; T. W. Hynes, 1852 to 1867, pastor; Arthur Rose, 1867; Prof. Geo. Fraser, 1869 to 1872; N. S. Dickey, 1873-6, pas- tor elect; Albert B. Byram, ordained Nov. 7, 1877. From 1825 to 1875 there have been enrolled five hundred and thirty-four names. The membership now in 1879 is one hundred and forty-five. Elders. The original ones were Wm. Nelson, Joseph Howell and i^obert G. White. Since then in the order of their election: John Gilmore, George Donnell, William White, W. H. Draper, John Burchsted, John Denny D jn- nell, James Enloe, John Denny, James Bradford, John F. Templeton, John H. Black. A. Shepherd Denny, Joseph M. Donnell, E. Bigelow, John Smiley Denny, and James Hep- burn. Nine of these are dead. The present Elders are : A. I04 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. S. Denny, J. M. Donnell, J. S. Denny and James Hepburn. In 1875 the church adopted the term plan of Eldership, and now .elects two Elders each year to serve for three years. April 7, 1832, Shoal Creek Church was dissolved, and its members added to Greenville. The reunion of 1871 added eighteen members. In 1832, a house of worship was erected about one mile northwest of the present court house^ in the N. E. corner of the S. E. quarter of Sec. 4, T. 5, R. 3. After it had ceased to be occupied as a church, it was moved a short distance north and used as a stable. The sills still remain and are thirty-six by twenty-four feet. In 1844-5, ^ house was erected in the^illage on the site of the present church edifice. This was used until 1872, when it was made over at an expense of ^2,000, and re-dedicated July 13, 1873. During the pastorate of Prof. Eraser, a commodious parson- age was erected. This church has enjoyed many revivals, sustained the Sabbath school efficiently, and done some- thing in the cause of benevolence. Solomon Hardy was born in Hollis, N. H., Sept. 7, 1796. His parents, Solomon and Mary Hardy, were devoted Chris- tians, and consecrated their son to the gospel ministry. He was fitted for college at Phillips' Academy, Andover, Mass., under the tuition of John Adams. He graduated at Middle- bury College, Vt., in 1824, and at Andover, Sept. 25, 1827. He was licensed and probably ordained by the Presbytery of Londonderry, and commissioned as a Missionary to Illinois by the A. H. M. Society. He commenced his labors in the State at Kaskaskia, Nov. 19, 1827, but soon made his way to the churches of Greenville and Shoal Creek. He was installed pastor of those churches, and remained with them and left them as stated above. From the meeting of the Presbytery which installed him, Oct. 12, 1828, he went immediately to the Synod at Vincennes, where action was taken for the establishment of Center Presbytery. From Vincennes he rode to St. Louis, and assisted in the ordination of W. S. Potts. From thence he went north through Greene and Morgan counties, preaching at Carroll- ton and Jacksonville, and visited the little church in Fulton county. He was married in Jacksonville, 111., Sept. 25, 1829, to Miss Mary B. Barton, daughter of Rev. T. T. Barton, formerly pastor of the First Church, Fitchburg, Mass. In Oct., 1829, the Synod of Indiana, embracing the Presbytery of Madison, Salem, Wabash, Missouri and Center of Illinois, SOLOMON HARDY. IO5 met with the Shoal Creek Church. In his house, consisting of one large room, which answered the purposes of kitchen, parlor and bed-room, he and his wife entertained Rev. J. G. Bergen, of Springfield, and Rev. Calvin Butler, of Indi- ana, with Mr. B.'s wife and infant son. In the Shoal Creek Church there were dissensions and alienations of several years' standing, which resulted, in 1832, in the dissolution of the church as such, and its union with Greenville. Mr. Hardy's pastoral relation with these churches was dissolved by Presbytery, Oct. 12, 1830. He, however, continued his labors with them until the spring of 1831, when he removed to Jacksonville, and took an agency for three months for the A. B. S. After that, for about one year, he was without any stated charge. In the summer and fall of 1832, he sup- plied the pulpit of Rev. Asa Turner, of Quincy. He then removed to Mendon, fifteen miles from Quincy, and there, in February, 1833, organized a Congregational church, with seventeen members. After laboring there one year and six months, his health failed and he gave up his charge. In May, 1835, he was sent as Commissioner to the Assemblj- from the Presbytery of Schuyler. The meeting was at Pitts- burg. From thence he went to his home in New Hamp- shire, and never returned to Illinois. For three years, from Sept., 1837, he labored at South Wellfleet, Barnstable county. Mass. Then at the adjoining town of Eastham for two years. His ministry in both these places was greatly blessed. While maturing plans for returning to Illinois, he was taken ill, and entered into rest Oct. 2, 1842. He was the father of seven sons, five of whom entered the spirit land before him, and one soon after. One only remains, who is an Elder in the Central Presbyterian Church, Denver, and with whom his widowed mother resides. Mr. Hardy died at the age of forty-six years and twenty-five days. Jesse Townsend, according to A. H. H. Roundtree, of Hillsboro, 111., "came to Illinois in 1820, and settled be- low John Street's, west of the west fork of Shoal creek, a few miles south of southwest of Hillsboro. He estab- lished a Sabbath school at Rev. James Street's house, be- fore the erection of the Street church, which enterprise he largely aided. He preached occasionally at the Street house. When about returning East he delivered his fare- well s»^rmon in the Clear Spring Church. He was a man of ■dark complexion, well-knit frame, pleasant manners, and a good speaker." I06 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Thomas Lippincott speaks of him as preaching to the churches and settlements on Shoal creek, and for some months at Edwardsville. He also labored in Missouri, His home, on Shoal creek, was a center of hospitable attractions. He was the only minister who, up to 1825, tarried long enough in Illinois to make it worth while to connect with Presbytery. He did this — joining Missouri Presbytery ia 1824. On Sabbath, March 21, 1824, Presbytery met in the Baptist meeting house in St. Louis. It was sacrament day and Mr. Townsend preached. He preached the funeral ser- mon of Brittania S. Brown, in Alton, September 15, 1822. In 1825 he returned to the State of New York, the scene of his former labors. Shawneetown derives its name from a band of the Shaw- nee tribe of Indians, located there from 1735 to 1760. It contained a i&w straggling houses from 1805. It was the nearest point on the Ohio to" the salt wells, twelve miles west. It was laid out by direction of the United States Govern- ment in 1813-14, that point being chosen on account of its contiguity to the United States salines. But the place was subject to inundations. In 18 1 3 a flood arose to the ridge poles of many of the log houses and swept forty of them away. Tradition says that when, in 18 13, the inhabitants of Shawneetown heard of Gen. Jackson's victory at New Or- leans, they burned their log school-house for a bonfire, such was the exuberance of their patriotic joy. Most of the early missionaries to Illinois and Missouri Ter- ritories came first to Shawneetown, landing there from the river, or, if they had traveled from the East by land, either crossed the river at that point, after traveling through Ken- tucky, or came down to the place from Vincennes. From Shawneetown their almost uniform route was across to Kas- kaskia, via Coleman Brown's — twenty-four miles; Mrs. De- ment's, thirty-one miles; Flack's, twenty-eight miles, and then Kaskaskia, thirty-three miles — in all one hundred and sixteen miles. This was the route pursued by Backus Wil- bur, in 1816; by John F. Crowe ancl Eliphalet VV. Gilbert, in 1 8 17; by Mr. Thomas Lippincott and his family, in Febru- ary, 18 1 8 (he was six days and a half making the distance;) by Edward Hollister and Daniel Gould in December, 1820. John Tillson and his wife, in the fall of 1822, pursued a route to the right of this, which brought them to the Kaskaskia river near Carlyle. Some of these travelers have left on rec- SHAWXEETOWX CHURCH. 10/ ord their impressions of Shawneetown. Mr. Low, in i8i6, says: "Among its two or three hundred inhabitants there was not a single soul that made any pretensions to rehgion. Their shocking profaneness was enougli to make one atraid to walk the street ; and those who on the Sabbath were not fighting and drinking at the taverns and grog-shops, were either hunting in the woods or trading behind their counters. A small audience gathered to hear the missionary preach ; but even a laborer who could devote his whole time to the field might almost as soon expect to hear the stones cry out as to effect a revolution in the morals of the place." Mr. Lippincott says: "We found a village not very prepossess- ing; the houses, with one exception, being set up on posts several feet from the earth. The periodical overflow of the river accounts for this." Mr. L. was here during the whole of January, i8i8. Mrs. Tillson was there in November, 1822. She says: "Our hotel, the only brick house in the place, made quite a commanding appearance from the river, towering, as it did. among the twenty — more or less — log cabins and the three or four box-looking frames. One or two of these were oc- cupied as stores ; one was a doctor's office ; a lawyer's shin- gle graced the corner of one, cakes and beer another. The hotel lost its significance, however, on entering its doors. The finish was of the cheapest kind, the plastering hanging loose from the walls, the floors carpetless, except with na- ture's carpeting — with that they were richly carpeted. The landlord was a whisky keg in the morning, and keg of whisky at night; stupid and gruff in the morning, by noon could talk politics and abuse the Yankees, and by sundown was- brave for a fight. His wife kept herself in the kitchen ; his daughters, one married and two single, performed the agree- able to strangers; the son-in-law, putting on the airs of a gentleman, presided at the table, carving the pork, dishing out the cabbage, and talking big about his political friends. His wife, being Jiis wife, he seemed to regard a notch above the other branches of the family, and had her at his right hand at the table, where she sat with her long curls, and with her baby in her lap. Baby always seemed to be hungry while mammy was eating her dinner, and so little honey took dinner at the same time. Baby didn't have any table-cloth — new manners to me." The history of Shawneetown Church, during the first I08 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. thirty-tlirec years of its existence, is intimately connected with that of Rev. B. F. Spilnian, which I have already given and need not repeat. He began in December, 1823, and labored here a part of the time for thirty years. The next minister after Mr. Spilman's temporary retirement from the field in 1845, was Rev. Wm. G. Allen, from 1846 to 1848 He was succeeded by Rev. J. M. McCord. Mr. Spilman returned to the church Nov. 23, 185 1, was installed the sec- ond time in June, 1853, and retained his pastoral relation until his death, May 3, 1859. The next minister was N. F. Tuck, a licentiate of Ebenezer Presbytery. He was ordained by the" Presbytery of Saline, at Carmi, May 23, i860, and remained with the Shawneetown Church until the next August. His salary was nine hundred dollars per annum. Rev. Benj. C. Swan commenced his labors as sup- ply pastor the first week in Oct., i860. In the fall of 1862, he was appointed Chaplian of the Thirteenth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. He resigned his commission and was re-employed at Shawneetown as supply pastor, Nov. 16, 1863. November 20, 1864, he was installed pastor, and so continued until Aug. i, 1868. Rev. Charles C. Hart, of Logan, Ohio, was called to the pastorate Aug. ii, 1868, and entered upon his work the next October. He was installed Nov. 1 2, 1 868, by the Presbytery of Saline, and dismissed Oct. 9, 1 87 1. Rev. A. R. Mathes was installed pastor by a com- mittee of Cairo Presbyterj^, Dec. 6, 1872, and dismissed in April, 1875. Rev. J. M. Green labored as supply pastor for two years from the beginning of 1 876. The present pastor. Rev. John McCurdy Robinson, was installed Nov. 14, 1878. According to Mr. Spilman, Shawneetown Church was organ- ized May, 1826. Tradition says the first members were si.x females. The first entry in the Sessional Records is this : Shawneetown, Nov., 1827. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to the church for the first time by Rev. Benj. F. Spilman, and the following persons were recognized as members: James De Wolf, Amira Marshall, Achsah Caldwell, Hannah Gold, Mary Oldenburg, Lydia Dutton, Sr., Lydia Dutton, Jr., Ann B. Spilman, Mary Campbell, Judith Castles. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, were considered as mem- bers, but did not commune. Of the above named, Anna Marshall, Hannah Gold, Mary Oldenburg, Judith Castles and Lydia Dutton, Jr., were received into communion for the first time. B. F. Spilman, Clerk. Elders. Washington A. G. Posey, Sept. 27, 1829, died May 20, 1843 ; John Siddall, Nov. 1 1, 1837 ; Geo. W. Cay ton, Nov. 25, 1843; Alex. Kirkpatrick, Nov. 25, 1843, the Lord's song. Such is the brief his- tory of the Edwards county Trinity Church. It was never large. The membership, perhaps, at no one time exceeded fifty. But the children of the congregation and Sabbath school were steadily gathered in. Almost without excep- tion, they became followers of Christ. And wherever they have gone they have lifted their colors and worked quietly, we think effectively, in the church and Sabbath school. Though this locality has never been considered very healthy, that being the principal cause of the emigration, yet tne first members, except Mr. Knowlton, all lived to old age. The next called away was Mrs. Margaret Rice, who died June, 1855, in her eightieth year. Mrs. (Knowlton) Butler, died November, 1872, aged sixty-eight, one month only after her husband, Mr. Butler, in Pawselim, Minnesota. Mr. Freeman Gould died Feb., 1873, aged sixty-four. The other five yet remain, Mr. Cyrus Rice, in his eighty-sec- ond year, and his wife in her seventy-sixth. Mr. Joel Gould,, of Onatonud, Minn., Mrs. Dorcas Gould (now blind) and Mrs. Julia (Gould) Curtis, of our vicinity, all three past seventy.. Passing away is written of the church here, and our name on. earth will soon be known only in legends of the past. Sangamon Presbytery met at Springfield, April 12, 1833. Ministers present: John G Bergen, T. A. Spilman, C. W. Babbitt, Lucian Farnam, Romulus Barnes. Elder: Elijah Slater, Springfield. Ministers absent: Aratus Kent, John McDonald. John McDonald was dismissed to the Pres- bytery of Chillicothe. Lemuel Foster, licentiate, was received from the North Association of Hartford county, Ct. The fall meeting was LEMUEL FOSTER. 1 93 held with Sangamon Church, September i6. Flavel Bas- com, Hcentiate, was received from the Association of the Eastern District of New Haven county, Ct. I\Ir. Babbitt re- ported a church organized by himself in Cook county, August i8, 1833, called "Union" Church, with twelve mem- bers. Tuesday, September 17, Lemuel Foster and Flavel Bascom were ordained. Lemuel Foster was born in Hartland, Hartford county, Ct., November 24, 1799. He united with the church in his na- tive place when fourteen years of age. He graduated at Yale College in 1 828, and studied theology at Yale College Divinity School. He was licensed by Hartford North Association. He and his wife started West in his own buggy from the vicinity of Hartford, Ct., September 5, 1832. He was under commis- sion from the A. H. M. Society. On the way he preached on the Sabbath wherever he chanced to be, and reached Springfield, 111., October lOth. They went directly to Jack- sonville, from whence, leaving his wife with friends, he went to the meeting of Synod at Vandalia, and was assigned to North Sangamon Church. Thither he proceeded at once. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Sangamon in Sep- tember, 1833. After a year's labor at North Sangamon he went to Bloomington. He there organized a Presbyterian church of eight members, which became, at the division. New School, and is now a large, influential church. Mrs. Foster here commenced a school, in a large log school-house, which was soon filled to overflowing. Mr. Foster then erected, mostly at his own cost, a two-story building. The upper story was arched and filled with seats for church pur- poses. Here he, his wife, and his wife's sister taught for five years — Mr. F. having also the charge of the church for three of those years. In the time he organized the Presbyterian church in Waynesville. At the close of 1838 Mrs. F. had a long season of sick- ness, and they were obliged to seek change and rest. Rent- ing their house and academy, they went to Jacksonville. While they were there, a person came from Bethel seeking a minister for that church and for teachers for their school. ]\Ir. F. and his wife were persuaded to go, and there they remained for seven years. In the time that church was favored with three revivals. He united with Alton Presbytery, October 12 194 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS, 14, 1841. In 1845 he went to Upper Alton, September 22, 185 I, he was dismissed from Alton Presbytery, and granted a general letter. He used it to connect with a Congregational Association. In that church he has since remained, and has labored at Atlanta, Onarga and Blue Island, III. He was three times a Commissioner to the Assemby, and was there — as everywhere else — a most decided and out-spoken Aboli- tionist. He has ever been a God-fearing man — not failing to exemplify by word and practice all the boldness of his the- oretical opinions. In 1 870 he was employed upon a fort- nightly paper called "The Christian Cynosure," published in Chicago, at 85 La Salle street — a paper opposed to secret societies. Died at Washington Heights, 111., April I, 1872. He never had children. The Synod of Illinois convened at Jacksonville, Septem- ber 19, 1833. There were present twenty-four ministers and fifteen elders. The appeal of William J. Fraser from the sentence of the Presbytery of Illinois, suspending him from the ministry, was sustained, and the sentence removed. The other ap- peals from the action of the same Presbytery were with- drawn. The Presbytery of Schuyler was established, in- cluding all the territory north and west of the Illinois river. Also the Presbytery of Palestine, embracing the territory north of White county and between the Wabash and the Little Wabash rivers. The Synod reported to the Assembly that they consisted of thirty-three ministers and forty-three churches. YEAR 1834. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Jacksonville, March 20, 1834. The attendance was small. Thomas Lippincott was chosen Stated Clerk. String Prairie and South Green churches were reported. Alexander H. Burritt was present as an elder from the latter. John M. Ellis, minister, and David B. Ayres, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. Robert Stewart was ordained si7ie titiilo, and dis- missed to the Presbytery of Schuyler. The Presbytery re- ported to the Assembly eleven members and nine congrega- tions. The fall meeting was held at Carrollton, commencing STRING PRAIRIE CHURCH. I95 September 25. Gideon Blackburn, D.D., was received from the Presbytery of West Lexington; Samuel E. Blackburn from that of Louisville, and Theron Baldwin from the Pres- bytery of Kaskaskia. -The churches of Spring Cove and Carlinville were received. William J. Fraser requested dis- mission to the Presbytery of Schuyler. This request, to- gether with long papers connected with the case, were re- ferred to the Synod for advice and decision. String Prairie Church, Greene county, was organized by John Bricli and T. Lippincott, October 20, 1833, with nine members — Morris Lee, elder. J. H. Van Arsdall was made ■elder in 1845. Ministers: For fourteen years it had occa- sional preaching from T. Lippincott, Amos P. Brown and Hugh Barr. It was transferred to Alton Presbytery, Octo- ber 2, 1847. The next succeeding winter it was supplied by J. T. King. He was succeeded by James R. Dunn, one half the time, for four years; J. R. Armstrong, seven and a half years; Morgan L. Wood, one year; E. W. Taylor, one and a half years; D. J. McMillan, pastor, two years and nine months; J. Scott Davis, one year; H. G. Pollock, one year; James Brownlee, one year, and up to October, 1878 ; next, J. R. Armstrong, the second time. He still officiates. Eld- ers— besides those named above : William H. Randolph, James Vallentine, Robert A. Hardin, David W. Campbell, John C. Burruss. Mr. Randolph and Mr. Hardin are dead ; James Vallentine resigned; J. C. Burruss removed to Car- rollton ; J. Van Arsdale gone to Rockbridge Church. D. W. Cambell is the only acting elder now on the ground. The parsonage property consists of five acres of ground, with a good, well-arranged two-story building. The house and out- buildings were erected in 1866 at a cost of about three thou- sand dollars. It is half a mile from the church, and is free of . debt. A house of worship was erected in 1848 and dedicated November 19. It is thirty-two by twenty-four feet, and cost four hundred dollars. The building is in T. 10, R. 11, Sec. 24, Greene county. The name of the church was changed by Presbytery, September, 1862, to Walnut Grove. . South Greene, now Jerseyville Church, was organized by Revs. Thos. Lippincott and Elisha Jenney in the house of N. 196 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. L. Adams, near Hickory Grove, February 15, 1834, with eighteen members. Alexander H. Burritt, James Lumsden and M. N. Bossworth, elders. The record of the names of the original members was not preserved. But so far as it can now be recovered it was as follows : James Lumsden,. Reuben Page, Mrs. Elizabeth Page, Joseph Gerrish, Eliza- beth Gerrish, Mrs. Miriam Turner, Dr. Alexander H. Burritt,. Mrs. Nancy Burritt, M. N. Bosworth, Mrs. M. N. Bosworth, John Anderson, Mrs. Jane Anderson, Miss Matilda McGill, Mrs. Sophronia Adams. Elders, besides the three first, as fol- lows : Philander Fobes, McBane Anderson, Thomas McGill, James Potts, Alfr^ed Harriott, R. H. Van Dyke, Arad Brown,, Isaac Harbert, William P. Pitman, A. M. Blackburn, David E. Beatty, William B. Nevins, George E. Warren, William C. Stryker, John C. Winsor and Leonard M. Cutting. The six last named are the present Session, Of the thirteen first named all are dead, save Isaac Harbert, who has removed.. The Ministers have been Amos P. Brown, Joseph Fowler,. Luke Lyons, George C. Wood, Lemuel Grosvenor, Joseph S. Edwards, Charles H. Foote, William W. Williams, George I. King and James W. Stark. Of all these, only Foote, Will- iams and Stark are now living. Mr. Brown labored three years, from October, 1835, to August, 1838. Mr. Fowler, for two years, from September, 1838, to September, 1840. Luke Lyons commenced his labors in 1840, was installed! December 26, 1843, and remained pastor until his death, January II, 1845. The church edifice was dedicated Octo- ber 14, 1 841. It was forty-eight by forty feet, and cost two thousand dollars. Mr. Lyons' ministry was very suc- cessful. An accession of one hundred and seventy-four was made to the membership, and the congregation was in all re- spects prosperous. George C. Wood took the charge, March I, 1846, and remained till April 20, 1850. Eighty-six were added to the membership in those four years. A parsonage was purchased in the east part of the town. Lemuel Gros- . venor commenced October 20, 1850, and remained four years and nine months. In his time the first parsonage was sold,. and the ground occupied by the present parsonage and the lot and building next north were bought. In the same period the church building was enlarged, a bell-tower erected and furnished with a bell. Seventy-six were added to the mem- bership. Joseph S. Edwards labored from December, 1855,. to December, 1858, a pastorate successful and eventful. FIRST CHURCH, JERSEYVILLE. I97 Party spirit ran high. A portion of the congregation with- drew and organized the Second Presbyterian Church. In the autumn of 1856 the present parsonage was erected at a cost of twenty-four hundred and eleven dollars. Charles H. Foote commenced Dec. i, 1858, as supply pastor, and was called to be pastor August 27, 1859. He held that position until Febru- ary 17, 1867. This pastorate was the longest enjoyed by the church, and was throughout harmonious. This was all the more creditable to him and the congregation, because it ex- tended through the time of the terrible civil war. During his ministry ninety-one were added to the church. William White Williams labored here for three years, commencing May 14, 1867. George I. King, D. D., was called to be pas- fore January 4, 1868, and continued until his much lamented death, March 14, 1873. He was a man of more than ordinary intellectual powers, and with a superior degree of culture. Memorial year occurred during Dr. King's pastorate here, in which this congregation, under his lead, raised ^2,093.50. The study, built mostly at his and Mrs. D'Arcey's expense and wholly under his direction, was added to the beautiful and ■commodious parsonage. This study cost six hundred dol- lars. Dr. John W. Bailey supplied the church during the summer months of 1873. James W. Stark commenced his labors, November 9, 1873, and still continues. The whole number in communion in this church, up to 1879, has been between eight and nine hundred. The benevolent contribu- tions of the congregation have always been commendable, and some years large. For several years two of its mem- bers— A. M. Blackburn and Samuel L. McGill — paid, be- tween them, five hundred dollars annually to the cause of Home Missions. Mr. McGill left that Board a legacy of four thousand dollars. Robert Stewart. Tlie sketch of this beloved brother will be given pretty much as he furnished i himself, in August, 1870. I was born in Mason county, Ky., not far from Washing- ton, the county seat, and a few miles from Maysville, May 3, 1798. My father, a genuine Scotch-Irishman, soon got sick of slavery, pulled up stakes, crossed the river and settled n ear it, within what was then Adams, but is now Brown county. I was then but two or three years of age. At that 198 ?M'>)BYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. time the wild Indian still troubled the settlers. Young as T was, I soon began to notice the toil of clearing away the unbroken forests of that region. There was true log-cabin life. My parents, being Presbyterians, united with the famous Red Oak Church. Of this church Dr. E. H. Gillett says: "The church of Red Oak is one of the oldest, if not the very oldest Presbyterian church in Ohio. It was the scene of the first public development of New-Lightism and of Shakerism in the West. Soon after John Dunlavy began to preach as a licentiate — he settled with a small company of Presbyterians at Red Oak, but soon became openly Unita- rian. When detected and exposed, he established a Shaker community in the neighborhood, but afterward removed to near Lebanon. He was succeeded by John E. Finley, who- got into difficulty, was suspended from the ministry, and died here. He was succeeded by Rev. James Gilliland." Upon that church we, as a family, regularly attended, though, it was six miles from our house. Thus from my childhood I was favored with the teachings of Rev. James Gilliland, who was one of the ablest divines of the day. He was a very successful pastor, and always a most uncompromising enemy of slavery. Under his ministry I professed religion at sixteen years of age, and remained a member of his church until I removed to Illinois, in 1826, with my wife and four little ones. We came, as most did, with the view of growing with the growth of this new country. But in a few weeks God removed my companion and turned me to the right about. Then, when there were but three Presby- terian ministers in the State — Bliss, Ellis and B. F. Spilman — the work of the ministry rushed upon my mind. The obsta- cles seemed almost insurmountable. To acquire an educa- tion where there were no schools, and with a family on my hands to care for, was a big undertaking. But I undertook it, and accomplished it, through Christ who strengthened me. I studied three years under private instruction and alone, as best I could, until Illinois College opened. Then I entered that institution and studied there two years. I then studied theology one year under Rev. Albert Hale at Bethel. The Presbytery of Illinois licensed me in the spring of 1833,, and ordained me April i, 1834. During the period I was a licentiate I labored for the American Tract Society as their agent in this State. In the spring of 1834 I became supply^ of the church in Canton, Fulton county. 111., and remained GIDEON BLACKBURN, D. D. I99 there until the fall of 1841, United with Alton Presbytery October 14, 1842. About that time I took the regular charge of Greenville church, which indeed I had already been supplying, to some extent, for several months. Here I remained until, in 1850, I was called into the service of the Presbytery as their missionary. In that work I continued until 1856. Then I labored for Illinois College two years — then for Ducoign Female Seminary one year. During the war I supplied the church in Cairo for two and a half years. Since January i, 1868, I have steadily supplied the church in Troy, Madison county. In the review I can say that, through God's grace, my highest expectations have been far more than realized in winning souls to the blessed Redeemer. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Mr. Stewart was regularly installed as pastor of the Troy Church. That relation continued until a iew months since, when it was dissolved at his own request. He still continues, however, though at the age of eighty-one years, to act effi- ciently and successfully as their supply pastor. Mr. Stewart has been four times married. His last wife, an educated New England lady, is still living, and proving herself an efficient helpmeet. Gideon Blackburn, D. D., was born in Augusta county, Va., on the 27th of August, 1772. His father was Robert Blackburn, and the family name of his mother was Richie, often spelled Richey. They were of Scotch-Irish extrac- tion, and were devout members of the Presbyterian Church, though in very humble worldly circumstances. He lived most of the time with his grandfather, General Blackburn, until he was about twelve years old ; and, after his grand- father's death, his maternal uncle, Gideon Richie — a pious young man without family — observing he was a youth of much more than ordinary promise, undertook to educate him at his own expense. He became hopefully the subject af renewing grace at the age of about fifteen. In the current of Westward emigration, both his parents and his uncle, shortly after this, got as far as Washington county, Tennes- see, then within the bounds of North Carolina. Here his uncle placed him under the care and instruction of the ven- erable Samuel Doak, D. D., the Founder and Principal of Martin Academy, which was only about a mile from the 200 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. place where the Blackburns settled. At this school he pur- sued the greater part of his literary course. But when his uncle removed some seventy miles further West, into Jeffer- son county, Tenn., he accompanied him ; and there they both found a home in the house of his father's brother, John Blackburn, a man of rare excellence. There he completed his literary course, and also pursued his theological studies, under the instruction of the Rev. (afterwards Dr.) Robert Henderson, who then resided five miles distant, near the town of Dandridge. He was licensed to preach by the Pres- bytery of Abingdon, in the year 1792, and ordained by the same Presbytery ia-Sept., 1794. It is worthy of remark that his uncle, to whom he was indebted for his education, instead of being in affluent circumstances, was dependent for his own living upon his daily labor. The scattered population of that region was, at that time, constantly liable to Indian depredations. A company of sol- diers was about to march from the neighborhood in which he lived, to protect a fort on the spot on which Maryville was subsequently built. Mr. Blackburn being doubly armed — having on one hand his Bible and Hymn book, and on the other his hunting shirt, rifle, shot-pouch, and knapsack — joined this company, and marched with them to the fort ; and there he commenced his labors as a minister of the Gos- pel. Within sight of the fort, he built a house for his own dwelling. Shortly after was erected a large log building that served as a church. He soon took charge of the New Providence Church, Maryville, and another church called Eusebia, about ten miles distant. Besides his stated labors in these congregations, he preached much in the region round about, and organized several new churches. During the early part of his ministry here, his situation was one of imminent peril. So long as the Cherokees remained hostile, no work could be done except by companies — some being obliged to stand as sentinels, while others would work, with their loaded guns so near that they could seize them in a moment. As there were many forts in the region, the young preacher would pass, under an escort, from fort to fort, and within a moderate period would preach in them all. He very soon became a general favorite, and his preaching com- manded universal attention. When the people were out of their forts, the place of preaching was generally a shady grove ; the immediate position of the preacher was beneath GIDEON BLACKBURN, D. D. 201 some wide-spread oak ; and he usually stood with his gun at his side, and all the men, including also boys who were old enough to use a rifle, stood around him, each with gun in hand. He was compelled at this period to perform not a httle labor with his own hands ; and his preparation for preaching was made either while he was actually thus engaged, or in brief intervals of leisure which he was able to command. He kept himself not only on familiar terms, but in exceedingly kind relations, with all his people, and exerted a powerful and most benign influence in forming their characters. Mr. Blackburn was an active participant in the scenes of the great revival which took place at the South and West during the early part of this century. I have in my posses- sion a letter to the Rev. Dr. Green of Philadelphia, written in 1804, in which he not only expresses the utmost confi- dence in the genuineness of the revival, but says of the "bodily exercise," or "jerks," as it was sometimes called — " I have not only heard of it, and seen it but have felt it. and am persuaded that it is only to be effected by the imme- ediate finger of God." Not long after Mr. Blackburn's settlement at Maryville, his attention was earnestly drawn to the condition of the neighboring Indians, and he soon commenced a vigorous, and, so far as possible, systematic, course of effort to evan- gelize them. In 1803, he was a member of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church from the Union Presbytery, and was appointed the same year to act during a part of the time, as a missionary among the Cherokees. As early as 1806, he had two flourishing schools in the nation, the second of which was established in August of that year, commencing with thirty scholars. His health about this time was much impaired and he was induced to go to Georgia to seek medi- cal aid ; and while under the care of a physician — not being closely confined, he availed himself of the opportunity thus furnished, to do something toward his favorite object of evangelizing the Indians. In 1807, he made a tour through the Northern States, to collect funds in aid of his missionary operations, and, after an absence of seven months, returned with $5,250, which had been contributed for that purpose, besides a large quantity of books and clothing. The next year, (1808) he made a tour of six weeks through the Chero- 202 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. kee nation, and was much encouraged by the visible marks; of progress among them, though he was prevented, by want of the necessary means, from attempting the estabhshment of any new schools. In the latter part of 1809, he made another similar tour among the Cherokees, which occupied him twelve weeks. Among other services which he performed on this tour was an examination of a wagon road, which the Indians, without the assistance of a white man, had built through a part of their conntry, crossing two considerable mountains. This he regarded as an evidence of civiliza- tion altogether unprecedented in the history of the tribe. Though Mr. Blackburn had lost nothing of his inter- est in the Indian mission, and would gladly have con- tinued in it if the requisite means had been provided, yet, in view of all the circumstances of the case — par- ticularly of his own pecuniary embarrassments, which had been occasioned chiefly by his personal sacrifices for the mission, he felt constrained to retire from the field. Accordingly, having disposed of as much of his property as he could, he removed in the autumn of 18 10 to Maury county, Middle Tennessee, but remained there but a few months. In the spring of the next year he removed again and settled at Franklin, the capitol of William- son county, eighteen miles south of Nashville. Here he took charge of Harpeth Academy, situated one mile east of the town, for the support of his family, while he preached in rotation at five different places, within a range of fifty miles. Though he found the religious state of things very discouraging, a favorable change seems very soon to have occurred ; for within a few months after he commenced his labors, he had organized churches at the several places at which he preached, and at the first communion there were present three thousand persons, and forty-five new members were added to the church. After his removal to Franklin, his health was greatly improved — chiefly, as he supposed, on account of his being relieved from the many toils and ex- posures incident to his missionary excursions. He was honored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Greenville College, Tennessee, in 181 8. He remained at Franklin about a dozen years, during which time, in addition to his other duties, he superintended the studies of several young men in preparation for the min- istry. In May, 1823, he visited, by request, the Presbyte- GIDEON BLACKBURN, D. D. 2O3 rian congregation in Louisville, Ky., and preached several Sabbaths with great acceptance, the result of which was that, on the 9th of June following, the church unanimously called him to be their pastor. He accepted the call, and having arranged his affairs in Tennessee, returned to Louis- ville, where he entered upon his duties on the 12th of" No- vember. His labors here are said to have been greatly blessed to the edification and increase of the church. For the following incident which occurred, as I suppose, in connection with his ministry at Louisville, I am indebted to Curran Pope, Esq. : " There is or was in this vicinity a church called ' Beulah,' erected and donated by a Mr. H , the deed to which was drawn by Dr. Blackburn, and the gift was made through his influence. Mr. H. had been an extensive negro trader to the South, and had accumulated a large estate. He was converted by the preaching of Dr. Blackburn, and in his last moments Dr. B. was with him, and wrote his will, by which he emancipated all his negroes, and provided for their support and removal to Africa, and con- veyed his real estate for benevolent objects. The probate of this will was resisted by the heirs next of kin — he being unmarried — and the will was set aside by the Court of Ap- peals, on account of the controlling influence exercised over the testator by Dr. Blackburn." In October, 1827, he accepted the Presidency of Center College, Danville, Ky. Here he remained, performing, be- sides the duties of President, a great amount of ministerial labor, till 1830, when his connection with the college ceased. He then removed to Versailles, Ky., where he was occupied, partly in ministering to the church in that place, and partly as an agent of the Kentucky State Temperance Society. In October, 1833, Dr. Blackburn removed to Illinois, and never afterwards had a stated charge. In 1835 he was em- ployed by the Trustees of Illinois College to raise funds for that institution in the Eastern States. While thus engaged, he conceived the idea of establishing a Theological Semin- ary in Illinois. The plan which he proposed was this — that individuals should advance money at the rate of two dollars per acre for Government lands in Illinois, for which he would have to pay but one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, that of the surplus, twenty-five cents should be retained by him for his services and expenses, and the remaining fifty cents out of each two dollars advanced, should be invested 204 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. in lands for founding and sustaining the proposed seminary. The plan was embarrassed by serious difficulties; he did not live to see it fully carried out, but the efforts which he made have resulted, since his death, in the establishment of Black- burn University at Carlinville, 111. In the division of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Blackburn went, heart and hand, with the New School. I have seen letters from him written about that time, which show that he had no doubt the truth and right were upon that side, and that if circumstances had favored it, he would probably have been one of the leaders in the controversy. As early as i826,'I)r. Blackburn began to be the subject of a cancerous affection, of which he writes thus, in May of that year, to the Rev. Dr. James Richards — " I have been so much afflicted with a cancer on my lip, for several months past, that it has paralyzed my exertions, and rendered me very uncomfortable. The issue of it is yet rather doubtful." After about a year it was removed, but in 1836 — owing, as was supposed, to excessive bodily exertion — it reappeared in a form so aggravated as to threaten a fatal and speedy ter- mination. He. continued, however, to preach for some months after this, though the exertion occasioned him great pain. In the early part of the winter of 1837-8, he fell upon the ice, and so severely injured the hip-joint that he was never able to walk afterwards. Thus he was confined to his bed for about six months — suffering intensely at times, not only from the injury, but especially from the cancer, which be- came daily more painful. Amidst all his suffering he man- ifested a cheerful submission to the Divine will, and remarked to one of his friends, in his own impressive manner, that the Saviour was at his side directing every pang he felt. In con- versation with his wife, he expressed a hope that the Lord in mercy would send some other disease, which would give him an earlier and an easier dismissal from his sufferings. For this, he said, he often prayed. His prayer was signally an- svvered. Two weeks before his decease, he was attacked with dysentery, under the debilitating influence of which he gradually declined. He died at Carlinville, on the 23d of August, 1838, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. He was married on the 3d of Oct., 1793, to Grissella Black- burn, his second or third cousin. They had eleven children — seven sons and four daughters. Two of his sons were suc- cessful preachers of the Gospel, and one died while fitting GIDEON BLACKBURN, D. D. 20$ for the ministry. One son and one daughter still survive. His second son, James Hervey, was a young man of re- markable promise. He was distinguished for his fine genius, varied and extensive acquirements, and elegant and fascina- ting manners. He possessed many of the most striking characteristics of his father; indeed, it was Dr. Anderson's opinion that of the two, nature had cast the son in the finer mould. This son had been a sceptic until he was eighteen or nineteen years of age ; but through his father's influence and prayers had become a Christian, and had determined to prepare for the Christian ministry. Having concluded his classical and scientific studies, he wished to obtain a -knowl- edge of the Hebrew. His father sent him to IMaryville, in East Tennessee, to study the language with his old friend. Dr. Anderson. He had been there about six months, en- dearing himself to everybody, when he was attacked with erysipelas, and in a few days died. The sad intelligence of his death. Dr. A. communicated to his father by letter, with a request on the back of the letter that the postmaster would hand it to him immediately. The letter arrived on Sunday morning. The postmaster went to church, and when the doctor arrived, handed it to him. He stepped aside and read it, folded it up, put it into his pocket, went into the pulpit, preached as usual, did not make the remotest allusion to his bereavement, and not until he went home, and attempted to communicate the intelligence to his family, did the "great deep " of his grief break up. Then came, as I have heard him say, the most dreadful conflict of his life. For God, as as he said, had laid the pride, the idol, the honor, and glory, of his house in the dust. " I did not know how to reconcile it either with his wisdom or goodness, nor do I yet knoiv ; but I believe, yes, I believe it is all right — all wise — all good — and that is enough to satisfy reason and piety; and pas- sion and selfishness ought to submit, must submit — yea and I do submit, rejoicing that the Lord God Omnipotent reign- eth." Samuel Emmons Blackburn was a son of Dr. Gideon Blackburn ; was educated at Danville, Ky., and came to Illinois in 1832. He labored in Carlinville and Spring Cove. He died in 1 836, on the Ohio river, of bilious fever, and was buried at Shawneetown, 111. He was on his way to Kentucky 206 PKKSBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. on business at the time of his decease. He left one daugh- ter, Jane, who is the wife of P. Y. Stuart, of Bloomington, Ilhnois. Spring Cove Church was organized, June 22, 1834, by- Rev. Dr. Gideon Blackburn and his son, Rev, Samuel E. Blackburn, at the dwelling house of the former, with the fol- lowing members, viz. : Grundy H. Blackburn, John B. Car- son, A. M. l^lackburn, John J. Brown, S. J. Hamilton, M. J. Hamilton, Elizabeth H. Hamilton, Nancy Carson, Eliz- abeth C. Carson, Margaret G. B. Carson, Grissella Black- burn, James M. Carson, William H. Carson, James TuU, Sarah TuU, E. G. Hamilton, Mary Carson, Gideon H. Blackburn, S. W. Blackburn, Elizabeth H. Brown. Eld- ers: James Tull, William H. Carson, John J. Brown, John B. Carson and Grundy H. Blackburn. The first place of worship was at Dr. Blackburn's house; then at a small meeting house, in Macoupin creek bottom, in what is now N. Challacombe's pasture, not far from the residence of R. W. Odell. This meeting house consisted of posts set in the ground for frame and covered. It was also used for school purposes. Afterward the congregation used a school-house on the N. E. quarter of N. W. quarter Sec. 21, T. 9, R. 9 W. Subsequently a frame house was erected in the woods at the top of the hill. This was on N. E. quarter of S. E. quarter Sec. 21, T. 9, R. 9 W. It was built there to accommodate that portion of the congregation which dwelt in and about Chesterfield village. In 1847 eight members were dismissed and organized into a Congregational church at Chesterfield, This left the building at one side of the parish, and soon after it was removed to its present site in Summerville. The eld- ers elected, since the first five, are Peter Brown, E, M. Gil- more, and T. L. Blair in 1848; J. F. Roach and James M. Carson in 185 I ; Luther P. Palmer and Nicholas Challacombe in 1867. In 1872 limited eldership system was adopted. The present elders are Nicholas Challacombe, James M. Carson and John Ashill. The Sabbath-school connected with this church has had an existence, in some form, since 1 834. It has been and is an important means of good. The following per- sons have been superintendents, viz : Thomas E. Blackburn, W. H. Carson, Allen T. Brown, J, M. Carson, L, L. Love, Al- bert Eastham, J. J, Gulick, N. Challacombe and G. B, Car- CARLINVILLE CHURCH. 20/ ison, who is the present superintendent. The following are the MINISTERS who liave served here in the order of their names : Gideon Blackburn, D. D., Samuel E. Blackburn, John G. Simrall, L. S. Williams, Hugh Barr, William Chamberlain, J. A. Ranney, Hugh Barr — second time — W. T. Bartle, S. P. Lindley, H. D. Piatt, Thomas Reynolds, David Dimond, D. D., H. D. Piatt— second time— H. N. Wilbur and W. R. Adams. Mr. x^dams is still in office, and has been since 1S67, with only one brief interruption. Besides those named above, several others have served the church for very brief periods. This church has enjoyed several seasons of spiritual refresh- ing. In all, until 1876, one hundred and ninety-five have been connected with it. Of these thirty have died, seventy-four been dismissed to other churches, eight have been expelled, twenty-seven lost and fifty-six remain. Carlinville Church was organized June 30, 1834, by "Rev. Gideon Blackburn, D. D., with these members : Ellen Moore, Lucy Stephenson, Julia A. White, Alice Good, Lucy M. Greathouse, Mrs. Parks, Malvina Hoxey, Edward Plant, Elijah Harlan, Mrs. Harlan, James Parks, John S. Great- house, Thomas D. Moore, Ruth Holton. Elders : Elijah Harlan ; James Parks, Thomas D. Moore, John S. Great- house, Edward Plant, June 30, 1834; J. R. Lewis, Bela White, December 7, 1834; David A. Smith, June 21, 1838; Orrin Cooley, August, 1839; Dr. W. A. Robertson, August .25, 1839; John Beattie, November 27, 1841; Charles Dor- man, November 8, 1848; D. T. Patchen, May 2, 1855 ; Phi- lander Braley, J. M. Brown, Henry Page, February 13, 1859; Abner Brown, W. H. Parks, December 18, 1870 ; James Venable, October, 1871. May 4, 1872, this church adopted the plan of eldership limited to five years. June 15, 1873, R. B. Minton; June 14, 1^74, Philander Braley; June 20, 1875, D. T. Patchen; May 28, 1876, Charles Campbell; May 13, 1877, James Venable; May 12, 1878, R. B. Minton, were elected on this plan. Ministers — names given in order of their service: Gideon Blackburn, Samuel E. Blackburn, John G. Simrall, L. S. Williams, for four years and a half; J, A. Ranney, one year; J. S. Graves, Joseph M. Grout, A. M, Dixon, C. A. Leach, two years ; Edward McMillan, from 1856 to 1862, when he entered the army as chaplain and died in the service; T. H. Newton, one and a half years ; J. B. L. 208 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Soule, three years ; John Patchen, one year and three months ; Hugh Lamont ; S. A. Whitcomb, installed pastor April, 1874; W. H. Jeffries, J. B. L, Soule, second time, two years, and until August i, 1876; Dr. E. L. Hurd and Prof. Rufus Nutting, jr., have supplied the pulpit since. The first church building was erected in 1835, on lots donated by David A. Smith and Isaac McAfee, and cost about twenty-five hun- dred dollars. The second building was erected in 1869, and cost nine thousand dollars. Both these structures are of brick. In 1873 a chapel and parsonage were added, and cost thirty-five hundred dollars. In the erection of all these church structures, >Elder Philander Braley has borne a con- spicuous part, both in furnishing means and superintending, the work. Kaskaskia Presbytery met at Shawneetown, April 18,. 1834. Ministers T^XQSQnt: John Mathews, William K. Stew- art, B. F. Spilman, Alexander Ewing, Roswell Brooks. Eid- ers present : William H. Brown, Vandalia ; James A. Ram- sey, Sugar Creek ; William Porter, Gilead ; W. A. G. Posy, Shawneetown; James H. Rice, Sharon; Samuel Boyd, New Haven. Marine Church was received. James A. Ramsey was licensed April 19, 1834. Theron Baldwin was dismissed to Illinois Presbytery. Benjamin F. Spilman, minister, and W. A. G. Posey, elder, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Vandalia, October 10. William Hamilton was dismissed to Muhlenburg Pres- bytery. Marine Church was organized Nov. 2, 1833, with sixteen members. Roswell Brooks preached here one-half the time for one year. Next succeeded, Robert Blake, one-half the time for two years. Then the church was vacant until 1840, when T. Lippincott was employed, and continued, one-half the time for three years. A plesant revival occurred and twenty-seven were added to the church. Then followed James R. Dunn. After eighteen months' labor elsewhere, Mr. Lippincott supplied again for one year. The subsequent ministers, named in their order, are these : Calvin Butler, Sigmund Uhfelder, James A. Darrah, C. J. Pitkin, William Ellers, A. D. Jacke, H. W. Wood, J. Scott Davis, C. T. Hal- MARINE CHURCH. 2O9 sey, the last from Jan., 1874, to Jan., 1878. Elders: James Breath, James M. Nichols, Geo. W. Welsh, Nov. 2, 1833 : C. Lyman, Feb. 10, 1842; Geo. T. Allen, April 30, 1843; John Breath, same; A. L. Saunders, Feb. 7, 1848; J. S. Cottrell, same; Joel Simpson, April 30, 1854; Richard P. Marshall, same ; Lewis Potter, April 16, 1864 ; Samuel H. Brown, May 8, 1869; Richard A. Marshall, April 21, 1872. The original members were these : James Breath, Elizabeth Breath, Geo. C. Allen, Mary Allen, James M. Nichols, Elizabeth Nichols, Geo. W. Walsh, John R. Kerr, Wm. Anderson, Eunice A. Anderson, Gertrude Anderson, Zilphatt Parker, Geo. Foster, Hannah N. Foster, Rebecca L. Breath and Mary A. Breath. Calvin Butler came here in 1849, and died Nov. 3. 1854. His house, occupied by his widow and family, burned down in the fall of 1855. For several years past the Sabbath school, and indeed the whole church work here, has devolved on Elder Lewis Potter and his excellent wife. There is a good frame church, built in 185 1. Before its erection, all denominations used the same buildino-. Sangamon Presbytery met at Sand Prairie, Tazewell county, April 18, 1834. Sugar Creek and Lick Creek churches were received. The fall meeting was held at Spring- field, Oct. 14. Dewey Whitney was received from the Pres- bytery of West Lexington, Ky. Sugar Creek Church was organized Nov. 4, 1833, by Revs. J. G. Bergen and T. A. Spilman, with eighteen mem- bers. Its name disappears in 1857. It became absorbed in Auburn and Brush Creek churches. Lick Creek Church was organized Nov. 18, 1833, by J. G. Bergen, with fifteen members. It became mostly merged in Chatham Church. Its name disappeared from the min- utes in 1836. Lick Creek is an affluent of Sugar Creek, fall- ing into the latter from the west, and north of Chatham. Dewey Whitney was born 179^. at Marlborough, Vt. His ancestors were English. In religious belief he 13 2IO PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS, was Presbyterian. He pursued his classical studies in New- England, his theological with Dr. Gideon Blackburn, Ky. He was licensed to preach by Muhlenburg Presbytery at Elkton, Todd county, Ky., April 14, 1823. He joined San- gamon Presbytery, III, April 14, 1834. He was installed pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, Springfield, 111., April 20, 1836. He was married Aug. 28, 1827, to Mildred K. Thornton, of Ky. He had two children, Julia O. born Oct. 23, 1828, and William Dewey, born Oct. 6, 1830. He suf- fered for years with bronchical affection, which rendered it necessary for him to refrain from pulpit duties. His death occurred July 27,^857, ten miles South of Brandon, Frank- lin county. Miss., and was produced by concussion of the brain, occasioned by being thrown from a horse. His daugh- ter, Mrs. Julia O. Allen, resides at 3107 Clark Avenue, St. JLouis, Mo. Palestine Presbytery held its first meeting at Darwin, Clark county, April 18, 1834. Mi?dsters present: Stephen Bliss, Isaac Bennet, John Montgomery, John C. Campbell, Enoch Kingsbury. Elders present : Thomas Buchanan, Wabash; Adriel Stout, Paris; James Smick, Darwin. Bru- lett's Creek Church was received. Isaac Bennet was chosen Commissioner to the Assembly, John Montgomery was made Stated Clerk. The fall meeting was held at Paris, Oct. 9. Three Ministers and four Elders were present. Enoch Kingsbury was born in Langdon, N. H., April 21, 1800. His ancestors were English and Presbyterian, or Con- gregationalists. He was a graduate of Amherst College, in 1827. He studied theology at Auburn, N. Y., and at Prince Edward, Va. He went South for his health. On his return he had a call to settle in Granby, Mass., but the Missionary spirit urged him West. He was married in Simsbury, Ct., to Fanny R. Goodwin, and ordained the same month in South-Hadley, Mass., sine titulo. He must have gone to Illinois immediately, for he was in Danville on the second Sabbath in January, 183 1, at which time he commenced his labors there. His first Western ecclesiastical connection was undoubtedly with Crawfordsville Presbytery, for he was, in 1831, a member of the Synod of Indiana, though Danville JOHN C. CAMPBELL. 211 Church, to which he ministered, was from May, 183 1, (when the Assembly constituted the Synod of Ilhnois) in the bounds of the Presbytery of Sangamon. It was not until the Synod of Illinois, in 1833, constituted the Presbytery of Palestine, that he or his church formed an ecclesiastical connection in this State. He was the father of eight children : James Goodwin, born Jan. 18, 1832; Samuel Lyman, born Dec. 31, 1833, died Feb. 28, 1837 ; Helen Maria, born March 20, 1835, died Nov. 15, 1836; Edward Beecher, born Oct. 20, 1836, died Aug. i8, 1864; Nathan, born Nov. ii, 1838, died Feb. 10, 1841 ; Martha Ann, born May 25, 1841, died Sept. 23, 1864; Mary Candace, born Dec. 27, 1842; Samuel Davies, born July 5, 1846. Mr. Kingsbury's labors were very extensive and arduous. He was stated clerk of his Presbytery for a long series of years. He was ever an out-spoken abolitionist, and a stren- uous upholder of the sanctity of the Sabbath. Danville was his home during his entire residence at the West. For more concerning him, the reader is referred to a sketch of that church. He died there Oct. 26, il John C. Campbell was born Dec. 27, 1802, in Blount county, Tennessee. He was of Scotch descent, the son of Presbyterian parents. He was educated at Maryville College, Tenn., from whence he graduated in 1829; in Sept., of the same year, he was licensed, and in the autumn of 1830, was ordained. In 1830, he removed with his wife to Edgar county, 111., and had under hii charge the New Providence and New Hope churches, situated ten miles apart, where he remained twenty-five years. During this time he preached to the New Providence Church with the exception of about four years, when he was engaged in preaching, one year each, to the churches at Charleston, Grandview, and Paris, 111., one-half the time, and one year he was traveling as a Sabbath school agent, while he preached ocsasionally at various other points. As a result of his labors many were gathered into the church. In 1857, he removed with his family to Cerro Gordo, Piatt county, III, where he remained until his death, Dec. 31, 1862. He preached alternately to the church at Cerro Gordo, and at a point eight miles north. He was married in 1830 to Miss Sibby Ewing, who resided near Maryville, Tenn. She was born April 26, 1809, and was the daughter of strict Presby- 212 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. terian parents. Their oldest child, Wm. A., was born in- 1832, Martha in 1834, Harriet N. in 1839, Jennie E. in 1842, Maggie M. in 1844, and Claiborne Y. in 1847. They were- all gathered into the church in early life. The three oldest and the youngest have long since passed away. Danville Church was organized March 8, 1829, by Rev. Samuel Baldridge, M. D., with these eight members, viz : Asa R. Palmer, Josiah Alexander, Elizabeth Alexander, Mary Ann Alexander, Solomon Gilbert, Submit Gilbert, Pamela Tomlinsori and Lucy Gilbert. Of these, the last only is living. She is now Mrs. Russell. It seems, though irregularly, to have been under the care of Wabash Pres- bytery, or Vincennes as it became in 1830, or perhaps of Crawfordsville, which was organized in the fall of 1829, until the Illinois Synod, in 1833, constituted Palestine Presbytery. Dr. Baldridge labored here half the time for one year. Enoch Kingsbury commenced his labors on the second Sab- bath in January, 1831, and continued to supply the church, statedly about one-half the time for twenty-five years, and after that occasionally until 1866, a period of thirty-five years of stated and occasional service. From 1838 until Sept., 1857, he labored in conjunction with his brother, Rev. Nathaniel Kingsbury, Orrin Cooley and Charles H. Palmer, with each at different times and for different periods. September i, 1857, Wm. R. Palmer took the entire charge of the church until Sept. I, 1861. He was succeeded by James W. Stark, who supplied regularly for two years, after which E. Kingsbury supplied till April 4, 1864. W. A. Hendrickson followed till July I, when D. R. Love took charge till Oct. i, 1865. Then the session again invited Mr. Kingsbury, until a more per- manent supply could be obtained. For the first six years the church was without any house of worship. Though few and feeble, they erected the first church in Danville, and the sec- ond Presbyterian church on the east side of the State. They procured the first bell ever brought up the Wabash above Vin- cennes, and the second bell for a Protestant church that was brought into this State. The first was at Vandalia. That church building cost ;$ 1,400. After answering a variety of purposes for twelve years, in which it had been used by twelve different denominations, it was repaired at ^n expense of two hundred and fifty dollars, and used principally for DANVILLE CHURCH. 213 public worship, though to such it was never formally dedi- cated. In 1859, the congregation fitted up the basement of the new church and worshipped thereuntil the main audience room was completed. That building is fifty by seventy-four feet, the basement twelve feet high, and the upper story twenty-four feet. The audience room is one the best in the State, and furnished with a large, fine organ. The whole structure cost over ;^ 12,000, and was dedicated Dec. 24, 1865. The sermon was preached by Dr. Tuttle, President of Wabash College. During the ministry of Rev. S. Bald- ridge, five were added to the original eight. During that of Mr. Kingsbury and his co-laborers, one hundred and six- teen. Under Mr. Palmer, sevent\'-five. Mr. Stark, thirteen. Mr. Love, thirty-three, and three between that time and the dedication, making a total of two hundred and fifty-three up to that period. The actual membership at the time of dedica- tion was one hundred. Charles P. Felch was immediately called to be pastor on a salary of ;^ 1,200. He entered upon his duties Jan. 22, 1866. He was installed in June of the same year, and continued in charge until June, 1868. Mr. Kingsbury succeeded Mr. Felch as supply pastor, in July, 1868, and continued until his death, Oct., 26, same year. He was succeeded by Wm. R. Powers, who continued but a few months. The present pastor, Asahel L. Brooks, commenced here Dec, 1870, and was installed in April, 1871. Under his ministry two hundred and thirty-seven have been received. In all five hundred and seventy-four. Present number two hundred and eighty-seven. Elders : Asa R. Palmer, Josiah Alexander, Solomon Gilbert, James M. Cul- bertson, Eben H. Palmer, Wm. P. Chandler, James P. Brown, Benjamin Crane. Term service adopted 1870. Since then these persons have been chosen : Wm. P. Chandler, Geo. B. Yeomans, Benj. Crane, James Risk, Eben H. Palmer, James Dougherty, Wm. A. Clements, J. E. Field. This church owns a convenient parsonage, bought Nov., 1870, at a cost of ^4,000. It celebrated its semi-centennial, March 8, 1879, with appropriate and interesting services. Darwin Church, Clark county, was organized, July i and 2, 1 83 1, by Revs. Enoch Bouton and John Montgomery, with these members, viz: James Welsh, James Smick, Will- iam R. Stewart, Laura Stewart, Mary Welsh, Rebecca Chen- 214 PRE5BYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. owith, Esther Bouton, George Armstrong, John Welsh, Wil- lis Fellows, Elizabeth Davidson, Margaret Welsh. Elders : James Welsh, James Smick, Willis Fellows — these were the first. Then George Armstrong, July 29, 1837; John D. Mitchell, October 20, i860; Robert Williamson, October 7, 1871 ; William Marvin, October 7, 1871. Ministers: Sam- uel Baldridge, M. D., October 22, 1832, continued one year; John C. Campbell, occasional, in l834and 1838 ; Robert Ruth- erford, July 29, 1837; Isaac Bennet, occasional, 1839, 1840;. E. W. Thayer, licentiate, was here frequently in 1840, also as minister in June, 1840, November, 1841, and February, 1844; R. H. Lilly,-^t)Ccasional, 1846 and 1847; Ellis Howell, in 1857, i860 and 1866; R. C. McKinney, 1867, 1869; Thomas Spencer, two years from January I, 1871 ; George F. Davis began in 1875, and continued two years. All these ministers had one or more other preaching places connected with this, generally Marshall or York, sometimes both. The first house of worship was built by the Presbyterians and Methodists in Darwin, about forty years since. The present was finished in 1871, at a cost of twenty-five hundred dol- lars. It is in T. 9, R. ii W., Sec. 3, close by the eastern line of the section and half-way between the north and south line thereof. This congregation erected their house of wor- ship without aid from abroad. Dr. John D. Mitchell gave the site and five hundred dollars. The name of the church was changed from Darwin to Walnut Prairie by Mattoon Presbytery in the spring of 1871. The whole number of persons who have been connected with the church from the beginning is not far from seventy. Like Danville and New Providence, this church was connected with Vincennes Pres- bytery until Palestine Presbytery was established. Brulitt's Creek Church, Bromfield postofifice, was or- ganized by Enoch Kingsbury, April 16, 1834, with eighteen members. It was in the northern part of Edgar county, upon and near a creek of that name which runs eastward into the Wabash. Samuel Elder was one of the elders. Its existence was brief. The Synod of Illinois met at Springfield, October 16^ 1834. Members were present from each of the five Presby- THE SYNODS. 21 5 teries, viz : Illinois, Kaskaskia, Sangamon, Schuyler and Pal- estine. A new Presbytery, called Ottawa, was organized. Their declaration on slavery was this : " Synod consider the existing system of holding in involuntary servitude their fel- low-men as a crime of no ordinary character, against which they do hereby most earnestly and solemnly protest." The churches of Alton and Marine were transferred from the Presbytery of Kaskaskia to that of Illinois. The throes of the division earthquake were beginning to be felt. On the question of approving and adopting the " Act and Testimony," the vote was taken by yeas and nays — eight in in favor and twenty-six against. Among the latter was the name of John G. Bergen. William J. Fraser presented and read a communication from himself renouncing the jurisdic- tion of the Presbyterian Church. Synod, while pronouncing his communication irregular, accepted it, and declared them- selves no longer responsible for his personal or official acts. CHAPTER VI. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNOD FROM 1 83.5 TO 1 838, WITH SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES AND MINISTERS BELONG- ING TO THE SEVERAL YEARS OF THE PERIOD. Authorities: Same as as last chapter; sermon of D. H. Hamilton, D. D., Rev. S. C. Baldridge, Henry Tanner. "^^ YEAR 1835, The Presbytery of Illinios met at Carlinville, March 26, 1835. Ministers present: John Brich, Samuel E. Blackburn, Thomas Lippincott, Elisha Jenney. Elders present: John R. Lewis, Carlinville ; Wm. H. Carson, Spring Cove ; James Kerr, Jacksonville ; Enoch Long, Alton. Ministers absent : Gideon Blackburn, J. M. Ellis, Edward Beecher, J. M. Stur- tevant, B. Y. Messenger, Henry Herrick, Theron Baldwin. Benoni Y. Messenger was dismissed to Litchfield South As- sociation, Ct. Elisha Jenney, minister, and James G. Ed- wards, elder, were elected Commissioners to the next As- sembly. William G. Gallaher was received from the Pres- bytery of Cincinnati. The fall meeting was held with Pis- gah Church, Morgan county, Oct. 8. Alfred H. Dasheill from the Second (Assembly's) Presbytery of Philadelphia, Milton Kimball from the Presbytery of Athens, and Hugh Barr from the Presbytery of North Alabama, were received. Frederick W. Graves, licentiate, was received from the Pres- bytery of Geneva. An adjourned meeting was held at Alton, Nov. 18, at which Mr. Graves was examined, and ordained j.astor of the Alton Church. William Green Gallaher was born in Roane county, East Tenn., Feb. 27, 1801. He is the sixth child in a family of four sons and six daughters of Thonias and Mary Galla- her, who were both formerly from the vicinity of Millerstovvn, Penn. James Gallaher, the grandfather of William G., removed to East Tennessee and located on a farm in Washington county. The ancestors on both sides were Scotch-Irish, some of whom participated in the famous siege of London- REV. WILLIAM G. GALLAHER. 21/ ■derry. Thomas Gallaher removed to Illinois in 1833, locat- ing in Sangamon county, where he resided until his death. William Green was in boyhood inured to farm labor. Several of his early years were spent in teaching school. At the age of twenty-three he entered Greenville College, Tenn. He studied theology under his elder brotlier, James, and with Frederick A. Ross. He was licensed in 1827 by the Pres- bytery of Holston. After his licensure he traveled and preached for two years in the Southern States, and two years in Winchester, Ky. He labored in 1831-32 in the Third Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, as co-pastor with his brother James. In that city he married Miss Sarah Kautz, March 12, 1833. The same year he removed with his wife to San- gamon county, Illinois, locating on a farm near Berlin. He soon began to labor with the Pisgah Church. In addition to his ministerial labors he gave attention to agriculture. He continued with that church for more than thirty-one years, and saw it increase from twenty to about one hundred and fifty members. At the close of his labors he was pre- sented with a beautiful photograph Bible. Mr. Gallaher had eleven children, two of whom died in in- fancy. His eldest son, Thomas, died in his fifteenth year, Oct. 26, 1852. His second son, Wm. G., Jr., was a graduate of Illinois College ; also of the law school at Albany, N. Y. He was married, Feb. 24, 1870, to Miss Jennie E. Boyle, of Philadelphia, and died the 26th of October following, at Den- ver, Col. His youngest son, James Allen, died in the Union army Aug. 9, 1862. The names of the daughters are Emil}^, wife of Wm. Russell ; Mary, wife of E. W. Bradley ; Marga- ret K., wife of Wm. E. Capps ; Sarah, wife of Francis A. Riddle. The two youngest are Hannah and Lucinda. Mr. G. resides in Jacksonville, and still enjoys good health. He is one of the trustees of Blackburn University. He is pos- sessed of considerable property, and is highly esteemed for his generous and Christian benevolence. Alfred H. Dashiell, D. D. A very interesting sketch of this brother, from his own pen, has been received. Its length forbids its insertion, and I substitute for it a paper from his son, Alfred H. Dashiell, jr., pastor of our church at Bricksburg, N. J. My father was born Aug. 2, 1793, on the eastern shore of Maryland, Kent county. Of Huguenot ancestry, son of Rev. 2l8 PRE3BYTERIANI6M IN ILLINOIS. George Dashiell. Graduated at University of Pennsylvania. He studied law with Wm, Pinckney, Esq., but was diverted to the ministry by a desire ( he told me ) to serve the Sav- iour and be useful in bringing souls to Him. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia. He was pas- tor of the Mariner's Church, Phila., then of First Church,. Jacksonville, 111., then President of Female Academy, Nash- ville, Tenn., then pastor Presbyterian church, Franklin, Tenn., then for nineteen years at Shelbyville, Tenn., then. President of the College at Rogersville, Tenn., where he received the degree of D. D. from Maryville College. Since- the war he has bee'ri without charge, occasionally preaching till infirmities of age prevented. He is now residing at Brooklyn, N. Y., in the eighty-sixth year of his age. Dr. N., my father, is so infirm, being afflicted with a cancer which has eaten through the roof of his mouth, that I have ventured to give you the above items. I ought to have said that his ministry at Shelbyville was attended with one of the most wonderful outpourings of the Spirit that has occur- red in my day. One hundred, at least, were converted, sweeping all classes of the town. My father refused to go into the Southern Secession from the General Assembly, and remained loyal to it and the country, when several of his children went into the rebellion. He retains his faculties wonderfully well ; he is an omnivorous reader, and bears his. bodily afflictions with a sweet patience, which assures me that he is ripening for the Lord's garner. A. H. Dashiell, jr. Dr. Dashiell's children are as follows : Richard Ridgely,. physician, settled in Jackson, Tenn.; Alfred Henry, minister, Bricksburg, N. J.; George, twin, Merchant, Memphis, Tenn.;. Robert, twin, dead ; Wickliffe Bond, physician, Kaufman,. Texas; daughter, dead ; Elizabeth, married James Murrell,. dead ; Ann, married J. D. Perryman, dead ; Emily, married in Memphis ; Sophia, married B. Carter Harrison, grandson, of President Harrison ; Lavinia, married Dr. Wm. Lytle,. Murphreesboro, Tenn. Milton Kimball was born in New Hampshire, in 1799. He was converted at the age of twenty, and immediately commenced preparing for the ministry. He graduated at Amherst College in 1826. He spent one year at Andover F. W. GRAVES HUGH BARR. 2ig Seminary, and graduated at Auburn in 1829. He was ordained by the Tiiird Presbytery of New York in July of the same year. He was sent as Home Missionary to Meigs county, Ohio, in Oct., 1829. He labored there four years, organized two churches in the time, saw one house of wor- ship erected, and great advances made in the temperance cause and Sabbath schools. He was agent of the A. B. C. F. M., in Illinois and Missouri, from 1834 to 1836, making his residence at Jacksonville, III. He preached at Augusta, 111., for ten years, from 1836 to 1846, and died there Oct. 10, 1865, aged sixty-six years. Frederick W. Graves was born at Leverett, Hampshire county, Mass., March 9, 1806. Graduated at Amherst Col- lege and studied theology at Auburn Seminary. He entered Auburn Seminary in the fall of 1829. He was ordained by Presbytery of Illinois pastor of Alton church, Nov. 18, 1835. He was one of the six original members of Alton Presby- tery which held its first meeting at Alton, April 4, 1837. He was dismissed to the Third Presbytery of New York, April 4, 1839. He commenced his labors with Alton Church June, 1835, and ceased Nov., 1838; though the pastoral rela- tion was not dissolved until April 4, 1839. After leaving Alton his labors were mostly in several of our larger cities and generally for brief periods, and were principally of an evangelistic character. -He died at Canandaigua, New York, Dec. 8, 1864, and was buried at Corning. He married Miss Susan E. Hoyt, in Painted Post, now Corning, N. Y., April 25, 1834. Their children's names are Helen A., born Jan. 7, 1837; Edward Payson, born April 27, 1840; Mary E., born Jan. 29, 1845 ; Frederick William, May 5, 1S52. They are all living, and in the State of New York. Mrs. Graves resides at Corning New York. Hugh Barr was born in North Carolinia, May 12, 1790. His parents were Patrick and Nancy Barr. They emigrated to Sumner county. Middle Tennessee, in 1799, bringing with them a family of eight sons and two daughters, of whom Hugh was the youngest but three. His education was begun and completed in the school of Rev. Dr. Gideon Blackburn, in Tennessee. This school, like the similar ones 220 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. under Drs. Doak and Anderson, while being thorough and liberal, was marked for making men rather than scholars, and preachers rather than theologians. Having completed his academic studies he began life as a teacher, and estab- lished a school at Hopewell, Tenn. In 1813 he married Miss Catharine Hodge, daughter of Joseph Hodge, an Elder in the Hopewell Church. In the Indian war of the South, he went as a soldier under Gen. Jackson, leaving his young wife and .home at the call of patriotism. He served through the whole of that struggle, taking part in its bloodiest bat- tles, particularly that known as the " Horse-Shoe." At the end of the war, he resumed his occupation of teaching. He had now been for several years a member of the church. Through the influence of Dr. Blackburn, he had had his mind early directed to the ministry. Now he set about the study of theology. He was licensed about 1819, and preached his first sermon in Hopewell Church. He was ordained and sent as a Missionary to North Alabama, and was settled at Courtland in 1821. He remained there as pastor for four- teen years. In this, his first settlement, he was eminently successful. Many and large revivals were the fruits of his toil. But slavery drove him away. He could not live in a land where labor was a reproach, and injustice and immoral- ity a part of the organic structure of society. Liberating his slaves, with the offer of a home in Liberia, or in the great Northwest, he came to Illinois in 1835. For six months he supplied the church of Pisgah, Morgan county, and then settled at Carrollton, the shire-town of Green county, in November of the same year, where he remained until the close of his ministerial labors. His health gave way under the severe bereavement by which first he lost the wife of his youth, and then a beloved and promising son. He sank peacefully to rest at Jacksonville, Aug. i, 1862. Manchester Church, Morgan county, was organized last Sabbath in July, 1835, with these members: Robert Hus- ton, Mrs. Mary Huston and Mrs. Martha Thomas. Elders: Robert Huston, 1835; Robert McCrackin, 1838; Joel Sugg, sr., 1841 ; William Stryker, 1849; James Leighton, 1855, ^^^ John Murray in 1867. Ministers: William G. Gallaher, Hugh Barr, George C. Wood, J. M. Grout, Gideon C. Clark, C. B. Barton, Revs. Messrs. Ward, Williamson and Steven- KASKASKIA AND SANGAMON PRESBYTERIES. 221 son. There has been a church edifice, but it is worn out. From deaths and removals this church has become very small and feeble. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Greenville, April 10, 1835. Ministers present : John Mathews, William K. Stewart, Benjamin F. Spilman. Elders: William H. Brown, Vandalia ; William Nelson, Greenville; James H. Rice,, Sharon; James Martin, Gilead ; John Harris, Sugar Creek; David McCord, Bethel. Ministers absent: Albert Hale, J. F. Brooks, Roswell Brooks, Alexander Evving. John Math- ews, minister, and James A. Ramsey, elder, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. William K. Stewart was appointed Stated Clerk. The fall meeting was held with Sugar Creek Church, October 3, 1835. Albert Hale was dis- missed to Illinois Presbytery, and Alexander Ewing to San- gamon. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Bloomington, April 3, 1835. Ministers present: J. G. Bergen, Dewey Whitney, Lemuel Foster, Flavel Bascom, Thomas A. Spil- man. Elders : Elijah Slater, Springfield ; Samuel Waldrow, Tazewell; A. C. Washburn, Bloomington; J. N. Moore, North Sangamon; L. M. Ransom, Farmington. Washing- ton Church, organized November 16, 1834, by Flavel Bas- com and Lemuel Foster, with ten members, was received. Lemuel Foster, minister, and A. C. Wasburn, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. A called meet- ing was held at Springfield, June 18, 1835, at which the Sec- ond Presbyterian Church of Springfield was received. At the same time the Presbytery declared it to be their fixed opinion that the organization of a church without an order of Presbytery was irregular and unconstitutional, though fre- quently done. The fall meeting was held, October 10, at Holland's Grove. Alexander Ewing was received from the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. The church of Chatham was re- ceived. At an adjourned meeting, held November 25, John G. Bergen was installed pastor of the First Springfield Church. 222 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. The Second Presbyterian Church of Springfield was organized by John G. Bergen May 26, 1835. The following ithirty persons were the original members, viz : E. S. J*helps, Samuel Reed, John F. Ragne, Thomas Moffett, William C, Stevenson, Hugh M. Armstrong, Charles C. f helps, John B. Watson, Erastus Wright, EUphalet B. Haw- Jey, E. S. Phelps, jr., William M. Cowgill, Isaac A. Hawley, James R. Phelps, Eliza A. Moffett, Lucy Cabaness, Ann Phelps, Eliza M. Ragne, Ann lies, Lavinia M. Armstrong, Anna Poe, Clementine S. Cowgill, Mary D. Sayre, Isabella G. Hawley, Mary Watson, Mary M. Planck, Jane Wright, Mary Shirrell, Naflcy R. Humphrey, Jane Reed. Elders : The first, E. S. Phelps and Samuel Reed. Since, the follow- ing: Thomas Moffett, Joseph Thayer, John B. Watson, Charles R. Wells, Eliphalet B. Hawley, Bishop Seeley, Ros- well P. Abel, James C. Conkling. Ministers : Dewey Whit- ney was elected pastor, March 25, 1836, entered immedi- ately upon his labors, and continued until February, 1839. In the summer of the same year Albert Hale was elected pas- tor, began his labors November 15, 1839, and was installed July I, 1840. He remained pastor for nearly twenty seven years, abounding in labors which were richly blessed, and resigned his charge, September 19, 1866, to take effect the first of January following. In February, 1867, Rev. G. H. Robertson was elected pastor and installed on the 21st of April following. His successor is George H. Fullerton. In the month of January, 1867, fifty-five persons were dismissed from this church to form the First Congregational Church of .Springfield. Upon the division of the church in 1837 this church adhered to the New School, It was always firmly .arrayed upon the side of human freedom and, during the great civil war, was thoroughly loyal to the country. Its iirst house of worship was dedicated Sabbath, August 23, 1840. That was succeeded by a very large and costly struc- ture, to pay for which has cost the congregation long and painful efforts. Chatham Church was organized June 21, 1835, at the house of Rev. Dewey Whitney, two miles from the present Chatham village, by Revs. D. Whitney and T. A. Spilman, with these members, viz : William Thornton, Judith P. Thornton, Mary E. Thornton, Emma D. Thornton, Martha CHATHAM CHURCH PALESTINE PRESBYTERY. 223 W. Thornton, Mildred R. Whitney, Jonas Whitney, Louisa Whitney, Alonzo How Whitney, Juha M. Whitney, WiUiam •H. Meteer, Ehza Meteer, Harvey Hall, Rebecca Ann Hall. Elders: June 21, 1835, William Thornton ; Nov. 22, 1835, Luther N. Ransom, Cornelius Lyman, William W Meteer; Feb. 3, 1 841, William Holland and Asahel Thayer; April 7, 1844, Cyrus W. Van Deren, Harvey H. Hall, J. R. Lewis; Jan. 15, 1859, John Smith, Henry Thayer; Feb. 14, 1864, Joseph B. Whitney, James Melvin, John L.Turner; March 5, 1876, William C. Lockridge. Ministers: Dewey Whitney, William C. Greenleaf, William Fithian, Josiah Porter, A. M. Dixon, Noah Bishop, E. W. Thayer, W. B. Spence, John H. Harris, John D. Jones for four years ending Sept. 1877; H. G. Pollock, one year. The church building was erected about 1850, and cost $1300. Renovated 1876-7 at a cost of eight hundred dollars. Before this house was erected, ser- vices were held in a school-house on the south side of the square. The parsonage was erected in 1875 at a cost of ^1600. No debt. Tne present membership is forty-two. The Presbytery of Palestine met with Pleasant Prairie Church, April 24, 1835 ; Ministers present: John C. Camp- bell, Stephen Bliss, Isaac Bennet, John Montgomery, Enoch Kingsbury. Elders present : James Ashmore, Pleasant Prairie; John King, Bethel Church, afterwards Oakland; Martin Brooks, Paris. Reuben White was received from the Presbytery of Vincennes. The Church of Pisgah, Lawrence county, was received. The session of Pleasant Prairie submit- ted these questions : " Should we admit to the communion of the Church an individual who holds his fellow being in per- petual bondage, or one who has sold his fellow being for gain as a bond slave, or one who rejects some of the essential doc- trines of the Presbyterian Church?" Presbytery resolved: " That we do not deem it within our province to give an effi- cient reply to these questions; but that it is expedient to enter into a free discussion of them." This was done. In the light of 1880 one can but wonder such questions should ever have needed formal discussion; or that any church judica- tory should ever have dared to dodge their decision. Rev. John C. Campbell was appointed Commissioner to the next Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Danville. Samuel Baldridge, M. D., was received from the Presbytery of Vin- •cennes. 224 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Reuben White in 1805 was studying for the ministry un- der the care of Abingdon Presbytery. He joined Palestine from Vincennes Presbytery, April 24, 1835. He was resid- ing in Paris, 111., in 1 836, without charge. PisGAH Church was organized March 15, 1835. The names of the original members are these, viz : Thomas Buch- anan, Elizabeth Buchanan, Caroline Buchanan, Victor Buch- anan, Rebecca Buchanan, Walter Buchanan, Jane Buchanan,. Samuel Young, Nancy Young, William Lawson, Martha Lawson, James Lawson, Nancy Lawson, Elizabeth Lawson,. Margaret Lawson, Sarah Lawson, Jane Richardson, William Denison, Margaret Denison, Robert Denison, Nancy Deni- son, Alexander Denison, Mary Ann Denison, John Denison, Calvina C. Miller, Elizabeth Melton, Samuel Newell, Sarah Newell, sr., Sarah Newell, jr., John A. Newell, Margaret Ann Newell, Mary Newell. The site of the church consists of one acre. It is on the N. E. corner of the S. E. quarter of the S. E. quarter of Sec. 23, T. 3, N. R. 12, W. of 2. P. M. The original church building is of logs, twenty-four feet square, with a gallery opposite the pulpit, and extending over about half the inte- rior. In front this gallery is about seven feet above the floor* and is nearly level. It is reached by a stairway at the side of the building, to the right of the pulpit. The pulpit is a curiosity, a semi-circular tub, about three feet six inches wide and deep, and six feet three inches above the floor. It is the workmanship of Rev. Isaac Bennet, and precisely like the one he built for the first church building in Pleas- ant Prairie. This Pisgah Church is ceiled overhead, and was never plastered. It is now used as the wood-house of the present church, and is four or five rods back of it. A number of forest trees stand in this acre, and afford a grate- ful shade to the many teams which gather here on every Sabbath. It was erected about 1834, and cost two hundred dollars. The present church building is a frame, and was built in 1857. It cost one thousand dollars. This congregation owns a parsonage which is situated in Bridgeport. It was purchased in 1 87 1, and cost seven hundred and fifty dollars. A study has since been added at a cost of one hundred and thirty dollars. Two brothers of Thomas Buchanan — Walter and REV. SAMUEL BALDRIDGE, M. D. 22 5 Victor — are still alive and reside in the Pisgah congregation. These Buchanans are from Kentucky. Elders: Thomas Buchanan, Samuel Newell, Williata M. Crane, John B. Maxwell, Robert Laughlin, James Watt, Robert Denison, Aaron J. Gould, Daniel Gibbs, Hugh Orr, Milton Laughlin, A. H. Laughlin, Isaac N. Crane, William T. Buchanan, William Gillespie, James M, Buchanan. The whole number of communicants three hundred and twenty- six. Present number one hundred. Ministers: Isaac Ben- net, from organization till late in the fall of 185 i. He was installed in April, 1845. D. A. Wallace, supply pastor one year; B. Leffler temporary supply in summer of 1855 ; John B. Saye supply pastor from October, 1855, till October, i860; John Mack, December, i86i,to April, 1870 — April 2, 1865, he was installed; Robert G. Ross, from May i, 1870, to April, 1876 — he was installed November 25, 1871 ; Thomas Smith commenced here May i, 1876, was installed May i, 1877, and is still in charge. Samuel Baldridge, M. D. The following interesting article is by Rev. S. C. Baldridge, of Friendsville, Wabash county. 111. The reader will see in it the affectionate tribute of a son to a beloved and honored father. Samuel Baldridge, son of John and Margaret (Ferrel) Baldridge, was the third of twelve children, and was born near Guilford Court House, North Carolina, March 21, about 1780. The family were Scotch-Irish. The family removed to Cook county, Tenn., about 1794, and settled on the French Broad river. As he approached manhood, his brother James, the eldest of the children, and he built a "saw and grist mill" on the Clear creek, an affluent of the French Broad. While occupied in this enterprise he experienced religion. His parents were Covenanters, and had trained him in the knowledge of the scriptures with their proverbial faithful- ness, but their prejudices were strong, and when Samuel announced to them that he wished to join a Presbyterian church, his father very promptly assured him that if he did he would disinherit him ; and when he went on to follow his convictions, he was solemnly informed that his name was stricken out of the will. Nothing moved by this, he began to turn his thoughts to the ministry. In 1778 a good man, 14 226 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Samuel Doak, a graduate of Princeton in 1775, had settled on the Holston river among some Scotch-Irish emigrants from Virginia, and opened a school in a log building put up on his farm, and organized a church. Thither the young convert went, and in due time graduated at Dr. Doak's school, by this time chartered as " Washington College." It was some thirty miles only from the Baldridges. "First Tuesday in September, 1805, being a candidate under the care of Abingdon Presbytery, he, with Reuben White, and Alexander M. Nelson, were directed to turn their attention to the study of divinity under the inspection of some member, or°"rnembers of Presbytery, and they were al- lowed to prepare and deliver exhortations." January 23, 1806, he was married to Miss Lucinda Doak, daughter of Rev. Dr. Doak, his venerated teacher. She was a blithe and gentle woman, of very fair complexion, pleasant features, golden hair, and of unusual intelligence and piety. "October 5, 1807, he was licensed at Salem Church, Washington county, Tenn., the pastoral charge of Dr. Doak, and appointed to supply within the bounds of the Pres- bytery until the next stated meeting." October ii, 1808, he was ordained pastor of the united churches of Rock Spring and Glade Spring. 1 809 he was appointed Commissioner from the Presbytery of Abingdon to the General Assembly. Meantime his father and family had removed to Ohio, 1 808, and were living in Hamilton, where he visited them, and be- ing pleased with the wonderful promise of the Miami country, in 1 8 10 he obtained a dissolution of the pastoral relation, and a dismission from the Presbytery of Abingdon to the Presby- tery of Washington, Synod of Kentucky. Another motive which operated in inducing him to leave the South was his growing opposition to the system of slavery. Plis family consisted at this time of three — his wife and two children, a son and daughter. They came across the great wilderness of Tennessee and Kentucky in wagons, with their household effects, during the summer of 18 lO, and reached Lawrence- burg, Ind., in safety. Among the Presbyterian families that welcomed him, was one named Chambers. He had been an elder in East Tennessee, and a fellow-helper'*there, and this msLy have been a reason for Mr. B.'s locating in this village. And then, too, there was an " open door." The fertile val- leys of the Ohio and White water were attracting an enter- REV. SAMUEL BALDRIDGE, M. D. 22/ prising class of settlers. But it was missionary ground. No 'Churches organized — no meeting houses — no salary to sup- port him — no missionary fund to secure him his bread while toiling at the foundations of Zion. How was he to sustain him- self? He was not of a temperament to hesitate long. He procured a large house, still standing in the oldest part of the town, and opened a school. He taught the English branches and the classical languages — his school was academ- ical in its grade. Like Dr. Doak, his preceptor, he taught his students in the classics to converse in those languages in their recitations, and at his table, and in their walks. Be- fore he had time to connect with the Presbytery of Washing- ton, that Presbytery was divided by the Synod of Kentucky, October ii, i8io, and he and Joshua L. Wilson, Matthew G. Wallace, William Robinson, and James Welsh, were consti- tuted into the " Presbytery of Miami." He w^s appointed to supply statedly at Lawrenceburg and Whitewatev. Thus he continued for two years — teaching and going from neigh- borhood to neighborhood preaching in private houses, and far and near where a " door of usefulness " seemed to open. In this time he organized several churches — among them, if .my information be correct, the Presbyterian Church of Har- rison. September 12, 1812, he was appointed to spend two weeks in the vacancies above Dayton — "the barrens of Ohio." October 5, 181 3, he was dismissed to the Presby- tery of Washington. During his residence at Lawrence- burg he studied medicine that he might support himself in the missionary work, and " go a warfare " as a faithful sol- dier of Jesus Christ " at his own charges." He became a successful and highly popular practitioner, and not only supported his family while doing a vast amount of ministerial work, but also in a i^w years accumulated a handsome property. April 6, 18 14, he connected with the Washington Presbytery and was appointed as stated supply of Washington for one-half of his time, and of London for one fourth. The next year, 18 15, he was appointed to sup- ply London and Treacle's Creek. He was recognized by his fellow-laborers as a " natural born missionary," and his zeal and energy were honored by his being freely appointed to the most arduous itinerant labors. " The captains of the saints were cavalry in those daj's," says Dr. Monfort, and here was one who accepted joyfully the burdens of the day. .He had the same spirit, the same sound constitution, the 228 PKICSBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. same delight in preaching the gospel that characterized the Gallahers, and Nelsons, and Henderson, and that whole- generation of evangelists that sprang up in the same region and went out from Dr. Doak's wise and solid training to make the wilderness rejoice. I have heard him say that "in his prime, after a hard day's ride, it would rest him to preach in the evening." As an example of what was often occur- ing, sometimes by order of the Presbytery, but oftener by his own enthusiasm in the ministry, it may be mentioned that in September, 1815, Presbytery appointed him to labor ten days on Paint creek. Deer creek, Big and little Darby and the head waters of Miami. While at London, he had sev- eral students in medicine. April 8, 1818, he was dismissed to the Presbytery of Lancaster, and in September was duly received by that Presbytery. The next spring he received a call to take the pastoral charge of the churches of Salt Creek (now Chandlersville), Buffalo (now New Cumberland), and Pleasant Hill (now New Concord), and the next June he was installed. This relation continued until April, 1823, when he was released from Buffalo and Salt Creek, but con- tinued pastor of the Pleasant Hill Church until the spring of 1824. He was thus pastor and stated supply in that field for six years. In 1824 he removed to Jeromeville, in the bounds of the Presbytery of Richland, and took charge of the con- gregation, at that time a large one, embracing many excel- lent families. He enjoyed, too, from the first a lucrative prac- tice in medicine. He was now in easy circumstances. The late Thomas W. Coulter, his son-in-law, has said that at the time of his settling at Jeromeville he was worth ;$ 10,000. He built a residence there and seems to have contemplated mak- ing it his permanent home. But two blows fell upon him that unsettled him. One was the death of his wife. Mrs. Lu- cinda Doak Baldridge died Aug. 18, 1825. They had been married now nearly twenty years, and had had six children born to them, three of whom were dead. The eldest child, John Witherspoon Doak, lived to enter his eighteenth year, a lad of much promise, and contemplating the minis- try. He died Feb. 24, 1824. At the time of Mrs. B.'s death, the Doctor was near forty-six years of age. His family con- sisted of two daughters — Esther, seventeen years of age, and Eliza, six, and a son, Eliphalet Nott, aged ten. His field of labor embraced the churches of Jeromeville, Perryville and Rehoboth, one-third of the time at each, and innumerable REV. SAMUEL BALDRIDGE, M. D. 220 •preaching places at private houses through the country far and near, for he rejoiced to preach, and never lacked an au- dience. May 25, 1826, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Coulter, daughter of Jonathan Coulter, Esq., of Perr** ville. Dr. Baldridge continued to supply this field until in 1828, when he lost his property by going security, in an evil moment, for Joseph Naylor, of Jeromeville. In the summer of 1828 he came West and located in Eugene, Vermilion county, Indiana, in the bounds of the Wabash Presbytery, to which he was dismissed Sept. 9, 1828. Oct. 15, 1829, the Synod of Indiana met at " Shoal Creek," Bond county. 111. At that meeting, the Presbytery of Wabash was divided and the Revs. Samuel Baldridge, John R. Moreland, Samuel H. McNutt, George Bush, James Crawford, James Thompson, Jeremiah Hill and John L. Thompson, were set off to consti- tute the Presbytery of Crawfordsville, April 4, 1832, he was dismissed to the Presbytery of Vincennes, near Terre Haute, having removed to " Honey Creek Parsonage " and taken charge of Honey Creek and New Hope Churches. The writer's first recollections are connected with that old par- sonage. It was a hewed-log building, and stood in the edge of a grove full of wild cherry and mulberry trees, and front- ing a wide, low prairie, and looking towards Prairieton (now Sullivan.) The whole landscape was overflowed in time of high water in the Wabash, and looked like a sea. An un- paralleled June freshet came once to within a few yards of the door, and stood for such a time over the garden as to destroy it. Flights of blackbirds that would fairly darken the air, lodged in the grove. Whether the property belonged to the congregation I know not. It was while we lived on that romantic and secluded place that the courage and energy of my mother saved her household from violence and perhaps destruction. At the time, father was gone, and the family at home were my mother, myself and two of a sister's children, Lyman B. Matson, Esq., Mansfield, Ohio, and a brother of his, all children. The evening was a bright, moonlit one, and towards bed-time our house dog began to bark violently. One of the children, going to the door, saw a blacked man dodge behind the stable. Mother became ceVtain that some one was prowling around. She got in plenty of wood, and replenished the fires. By and by she had prayers with us as usual in father's absence, and the children were put to bed, and the lonely mother was left 230 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. with no guardsman but God. Closing all the curtains and barricading the door, she sat down at the table with her Bible. She heard stealthy steps around. She was aware of some one looking through the key-hole, at last a hand was. laid on the latch and a shoulder put against the door, and then a heavy push. The slender door cracked under the strain. The heroic mother stood with the axe up, ready to hew at the robber when the door gave way. She called on the sleeping children, by their sir names, to get up and defend themselves, as though they were sleeping knights. But by a merciful Providence, the door did not break in, and the dreadful mora^ent passed. This was repeated one or more times and the villian might have effected his entrance, but toward morning she heard the clatter of father's horse trotting to the gate, and the robber ran off into the grove. This was the place, too, where the great calamity of Dr. B.'s life occurred — an attack of palsy. He had just left a patient and was mounting his horse at the gate, when the bolt fell. He was taken home in an unconscious state, and remained so for several weeks. One afternoon he awoke as from a sleep. When he was able to sit up, one day he noticed the books in his library, and after surveying them in silence, at last asked what they were. Mother tried to explain and to recall them to his mind by reading the titles on the backs. But in vain. Still the poor dazed mind seemed to suspect some hidden harmony in them. At last one day he asked that one of the books might be laid on his lap. But all was empty. The letters and the words were meaningless all. My mother has said that she had a full sense of the bitterness of her grief, when her husband sat there helpless, and his mind a blank. She never could take a book and sit down to teach him his letters, in answer to his importunities, without uncontrollable weeping. One day, however, as she was going through the heavy task, her hus- band all at once turned to her with dilated eyes and trem- bling with excitement, and said, " Mary ! I see it all." From this time on the past more and more yielded up her lost treasures. But his power was gone. A wreck of himself, he removed to Paris, Edgar county. 111., where he bought a farm and lived for several years. At last he exchanged that for a farm in the bounds of the New Providence Church, one-half way between Paris and Terre Haute. Here the family lived for some years — a happy example of how " God can supply REV. SAMUEL BALDRIDGE, M. D. 23 1 all our lack." With no resources, he " gave us bread to eat and raiment to put on." Here he was residing when he became connected with Palestine Presbytery. In about the year 1840, through the kindness of friends, he was invited to take charge of the Presbyterian church in Kalida, Putnam county, Ohio. He had preached occasionally for years — could not live without preaching — but he had had no charge before since the wreck of 1833. He preached, too, at Dills- borough, Dearborn county, Ind. From there, about 1843, he removed to Oxford, Ohio, for the benefit of the Univer- sity for a son. In consequence of a speech in the Synod of Cincinnati, by the President of the University, Rev. George Junkin, D. D., in which slavery was apologized for and defended, he left Oxford and removed to Hanover, Ind., in 1844. In 1846, Sept., 12, he had the great misfortune to lose his wife, a lady remarkable for her piety, prudence, cheerfulness, and a most affectionate and equable disposi- tion. This broke up his home. In 1856, his son, Rev. S. C. Baldridge, in charge of Wabash Church, Wabash county, 111., brought him from Ohio, and gave him a home in his age. Feb. 29, i860, he died at his son's residence. His remains were taken to Hanover, and buried by the side of his last wife. The monument that marks their graves bears the following inscription : " Denique Coelum." Rev. Samuel Baldridge, AI. D., Mary Coulter Baldridge, Born in North Carolina, Born March 21, 1780. Jan. 26, 1794. Licensed by Abingdon Presbytery, Died, 1807, Sept. 12, 1846. Died Feb. 29, i860. The Synod of Illinois met at Union Grove, Tazewell county, Oct. 15, 1835. The six Presbyteries of the State, to-wit : Illinois, Kaskaskia, Sangamon, Palestine, Schuyler and Ottawa, were all represented. The resolution passed last year with reference to " Tlie St. Louis Observer,'' was rescinded, "Synod believing that it is an individual rather than an ec- clesiastical duty to sustain religious periodicals." A protest against the above quoted reason for the act of rescinding was presented, with the signatures of B. F. Spilman, William K. 232 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Stewart, John Brich, Alexander Evving, David Gibson and Smiley Shepherd. The true reason, in the minds of the Protestants, for the vote of rescinding, was that the paper had in several instances published articles " at variance with our standards and, as we think, with the word of God." The churches of Belleville and Bethel petitioned to be trans- ferred from Kaskaskia to Illinois Presbytery. The petitions were refused. YEAR 1836. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Alton, April 21, 1836. Ministers present: Hugh Barr, A. H. Dashiell, F. W. Graves, Edward Beecher. Elders: Enoch Long, Alton; John B. Carson, Spring Cove. Ministers absent: John Brich, Gideon Blackburn, D. D., J. M. Ellis, Milton Kimball, J. M. Sturtevant, Theron Baldwin, Henry Herrick, Thomas Lippincott, Elisha Jenney, William G. Gallaher. Albert Hale, from the Presbytery of Kaskaskia, Thaddeus B. Hurl- but, from the Presbytery of St. Louis, and Augustus T. Nor- ton, from the Presbytery of Columbia, N. Y., were received. E. P. Lovejoy was present as corresponding member from Presbytery of St. Louis. A. H. Dashiell, minister, and Dr. H. K. Lathy, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. Enoch S. Huntington was licensed to preach the gospel. The fall meeting was held at Jacksonville, com- mencing October li, 1836. Of its seventeen ministers thirteen were present and five elders. John G. Simrall was received from the Presbytery of Transylvania, and Amos P. Brown from that of St. Louis. A. H. Dashiell was released from the care of the Jacksonville church. Thaddeus Beman Hurlbut was born at Charlotte, Vt, October 28, 1800. He graduated at Hamilton College, N. Y., in 1828, and at Andover in 1831 ; agent of Am. Tract So- cietv, Virginia, 1 831-32; agent American Educational Soci- ety for Ohio and Kentucky, with residence in Cincinnati, in 1833-34; ordained by Presbytery of St. Louis, September, 1834; agent for American Tract Society for lUinois and Mis- souri, 1834-37; joined Presbytery of Illinois as above; an original member of Alton Presbytery, April 4, 1837; asso- (T/^c^^ . c(^. yz^^z^^to-i^ A. T. NORTON, D. D. 233 ciate editor of Alton Observer, 111., 1837-38; supply pastor at Edwardsville, 111., 1838-39; Home Missionary and teacher, Alton, 111., 1839-43; dismissed to Ottawa Presbytery, Sep- tember 13, 1845 ; supply pastor St. Charles and Lowell, 111., 1843-47; Upper Alton, supply pastor, 1847-52; pastor 1853- 56; supply pastor Concord, Plainview, Brighton, etc., 111., 1857-60; joined Alton Presbytery, second time, October 13, 1848, and was dismissed, second time, April lO, 1858, to Illi- nois Association ; supply pastor Congregational churches, Hammond and West Salem, Wis., 1860-65 J residence in Upper Alton, occasionally preaching, 1865-79. Augustus Theodore Norton was born in Cornwall, Litchfield county. Conn., March 28, 1808. The names of his parents were Theodore Norton and Mary (Judd) Norton — the former born in Goshen, Ct., February 17, 1775, the latter in Litchfield, Ct., September 21, 1775. They were married January 22, 1797. The original ancestor of the family in this country was Thomas Norton of Guilford, Ct., who immi- grated to that colony from England in 1639, and was one of the first twenty-five planters in that place. He had six child- ren, two of whom were sons — Thomas and John, His de- scendants are numerous and are settled all over the country. The subject of this sketch when only three months old was deprived of his father. His mother married again six years after, and he was brought up with his mater- nal grandmother, his mother and step-father until the age of ten. His early life was full of sorrow, hardships and pov- erty. When a child he was sickly and delicate, but out-door exercise, farm labor and boyish games gave him at length a firm constitution, so that in after life he became remarkable for physical vigor and strength. At the age of ten he be- came an inmate in the family of Dea. William Collins, of Litchfield, Ct, where he remained until the age of fourteen. In his fourteenth year he became a hopeful subject of renew- ing grace. He was baptized by Rev. Lyman Beecher, then pastor of the Litchfield Church. From fourteen to eighteen he was part of the time with his step-father, Joel Millard, in Cornwall, and part with Judge Moses Lyman, of Goshen, Ct., who took a deep interest in his welfare, doing him more real service than all others combined. At the age of seven- teen he taught a district school for several months at Salis- 234 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. bury, Ct. In 1826 his preparation for college commenced,, and was completed in less than two years. In the fall of 1828 he entered the freshman class of Yale College, and graduated with one of the highest honors of the class, Aug. 15, 1832. He immediately took charge of an academy in Catskill, N. Y., and at the eame time read theology with Rev. Thomas M. Smith, paying particular attention to the Hebrew language then and during his subsequent life. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Columbia, September 17, 1834, at Stockport, near Hudson, N. Y., and at once commenced his ministerial labors with the Presbyterian Church of Windham, Green county, N. Y. j^- April i, 1835, he was ordained by the same Presbytery. His settlement with this congregation was rather the result of the strong persuasion of others than of his own choice. His cousin. Rev. Theron Baldwin, and his old associate, Frederick Collins, who had been for sev- eral years in Illinois, urged him to come to them. He ac- cordingly resigned his pastorate and removed to Illinois, arriving at Naples, on the Illinois river, where Mr. Collins then resided, October 25, 1835. Here he remained for one year, preaching at Naples and Meredosia. In September, 1836, he passed through a very severe sickness. In October of the same year he removed to Griggsville, Pike county, and labored there, at Pittsfield and Atlas, same county, till April, 1838. At Pittsfield he organized a Presbyterian church in January, 1838, being the first of a large number of churches which he afterwards gathered. He then ac- cepted an invitation to St. Louis, where under his labors the Second Presbyterian Church was organized in the fall of 1838, and where he continued for one year. In February,. 1839, he was called to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church, Alton, 111., and entered upon his labors there on the first Sabbath in March. On the ninth of the next May he was installed. This position he retained for more than nine- teen years, during all of which period his relations with his own flock and with all his evangelical fellow-laborers were of the most endearing and harmonious character. The church flourished greatly under his leadership, and became in its character and influence one of the leading Presbyterian churches in the State. In September, 1859, he was ap- pointed "District Secretary of Church Extension and Home Missions " for the West. For a few months after this appoint- ment his family residence was in Chicago, but in the spring A. T. NORTON, D. D. 235 of 1 86 1 he returned to his home in Alton, though still re- taining the same position. After the union of the New and Old School Assemblies, in 1870, his field was limited to the Synod of Illinois South. In May, 1845, he orig- inated and for twenty-three years edited and published the Presbytery Reporter, a monthly magazine. In December, 1868, he transferred the list of subscribers to the Cincinnati Herald. His religious views are, and ever have been, thoroughly evangelical and Calvinistic. Ecclesiasti- cally, he is a Presbyterian from conviction and preference. The degree of D. D., or doctor of sacred theology, was con- ferred upon him by Wabash College, Ind., June 22, 1868. This honor he did not seek. Indeed no one of the important positions he has occupied in life has come to him in any de- gree or in any sense by his own contrivance, or with his own previous consent or knowledge. He gratefully acknowledges that God has led him. He is a corporate member of the A. B. C. for Foreign Missions, a member of the Board of Trustees of Monticello Female Academy, and of Blackburn University. In early life his political views were those of the old Federalist party, then of the Whig, then Re- publican, and always anti-slavery. Though never active in politics, he has ever held decided views and expressed them fully. In the late civil war he preached patriotic sermons on more than one hundred occasions. November 12, 1834, he married Eliza Rogers, daughter of Dea. Noah Rogers, of Cornwall, Ct. She was born August 12, 1812, and is a lineal desendant of Rev. John Rogers, the first mar- tyr in the reign of "bloody Mary," having been burned at the stake in Smithfield, London, February 14, 1554. The re- sult of this union is five children — two sons and three daugh- ters. The eldest, Augusta A., died when seven years old. The next, Eliza Delphine, is the wife of Capt. Charles H. Phinney, of the ship " Mary L. Stone." The third is Wil- bur T., editor of the Alton Telegraph. The fourth, Isabella R., is at home with her parents. The fifth, Edward R., is in Cape Town, South Africa, connected with the " Standard and Mail," and special correspondent of several papers in this country. Amos P. Brown. A letter from this brother himself will furnish the best account accesible to us of his early years. "I was born in Thornton, Grafton county, N. H., June 15, 236 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. 1791, As to the time and place of my education, permit me to make you my father confessor and write ^'non est." I was hcensed to preach by the Plymouth Association, con- sisting of two ministers, Rev. Messrs. Fairbank and Rolf, sit- ting in my mother's parlor at Thornton, N. H., Jan. 24, 18 16. I was ordained by a council at Campton, same county and State, on the first day of January, 18 17, pastor of the Con- gregational Church, in a meeting house said to contain the last sounding board in that State. From 1822 to 1834 I spent the time in western New York. I entered upon mis- sionary labors in Missouri, June 18, 1834. Within the year I traveled along th^- river counties nearly from the north to the south line of the State. I assisted Rev. Thomas Don- nell in organizing a church on Black river, one hundred and fifty miles south of St. Louis, in July, 1834. I attended a very interesting meeting with Rev. J. F. Cowan at Cape Girardeau, where a church was organized a few weeks after- ward," He became supply pastor of Jerseyville Church, Illinois, in October, 1835, and so continued until 1838. Here he made himself a home on the south edge of the village, and here he remained in feeble health, but cul- tivating his few acres of land, for several years after he resigned the charge of the church. Then he removed to Rushville, 111., and again made himself a home and labored in the ministry as much as his feeble health would allow. He was one of the original members of the first Alton Presbytery, and removed his relation from that to the Presbytery of Peoria, April 20, 1850. He died at his home in Rushville, May 16, 1859, being at the time a member of Schuyler Presbytery. He was twice married. His widow, Mrs. Cornelia H. L. Brown, survived him several years, and left liberal legacies to several of our benevolent societies and boards. She died at Minonk, 111., Feb. 8, 1869, in the family of her step-daughter, Mrs. Joseph Fowler. Rev. John M. Brown, now of Highland, Kan., is a son of Amos P. Brown. In his days of feeble health, when unable for much physical exertion, Mr. Brown wrote many interesting and valuable articles for the religious press. His first wife was Jane Little, daughter of Hon. Joseph Little, Boscawen, N. H. They were married Feb. II, 1817. She died in Jerseyville, Feb. 21, 1836. Their children were Eliza Ann, born October 7, 1818; John, born October 18, 1820, died in childhood; Sarah Jane, born JAMES STAFFORD. 23/ April I, 1825 ; John Mills, born Oct. 28, 1828; Joseph Little, born May 29, 1830. All these are dead save John Mills and Eliza Ann, widow of the Rev. Joseph Fowler, who is in Minonk, Illinois. Mr. Brown's second wife was Cornelia H. Loenard, of Carrollton, Ills., and previously of Bound Brook, N. J. The Kaskaskia Presbytery held their spring session in 1836 with the Gilead Church, in Jefferson county. Their principal action consisted in the reception of Wm. J. Frazer, who had as related previously, withdrawn from the Presby- terian Church. Their fall meeting was held with the Sugar Creek Church, commencing Oct. 15, 1836. James Stafford was received from the Presbytery of Western District. William K. Stewart was released from the pastoral charge of Vandalia Church. James Stafford was the grandson of James Stafford who came from Ireland more than a hundred years since and settled first in Pennsylvania, and afterwards removed to Mecklenburg county, N. C. His first wife died in Pennsylvania, leaving one son, George, who was the father of James Stafford. George Stafford was married to Tirzah Alexander, who was the mother of the subject of this notice. Tirzah Alexander was born about 1770, and, being early left an orphan, was raised by her uncle, Abraham Alexander, an Elder of Sugar Creek Church, Mecklenburg county, N. C. This Abraham Alexander, the maternal grandfather of James S., was chairman of the meeting at Charlotte, held on the 20th of May, 1775, at which was made the celebrated " Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence," the fore-run- ner, and to some extent the model of the National Declara- tion of July 4th, 1776. Mr. Stafford was therefore from patriotic as well as pious and honored ancestery. Until sixteen years of age he worked upon his father's farm. Manifesting an early and earnest desire for a thorough edu- cation, he was sent to a classical school taught by John M. Wilson, D. D., pastor of Rocky Creek Church, Cabarras county. For more than two years he went from home daily, riding over six miles, to attend this school. Here he was pre- pared for College and was sent to the University of N. C, 238 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. located at Charlotte, in his native county. He graduated in 1820 in the twenty-first year of his age. Soon after his graduation he entered upon the study of theology with his old preceptor Dr. Wilson. He was licensed by the Pres- bytery of Concord in the spring of 1822, or 1823 — and was afterwards ordained pastor of the churches of Thyatira and Bethphage — the former in Rowan county, the latter in Cabar- ras county. His ministry here continued for several years, and is represented to have been acceptable and useful, and his standing as a Presbyter good. His residence and labors there would probably have continued for life, but, in the madness and darki^ess of the times, the Legislature of his native State passed a law by which it was made a penal offence to teach a negro to read. Characteristically bold and out-spoken in the expression of his opinions where he deemed a moral principle involved, he was not of such a nature as to maintain a politic and worldly-wise silence. His protest and condemnation of the iniquity made his position uncomfortable. He determined, against the wishes of his friends, to leave the South and find a home where the atnios- phere was not tainted and polluted by the influence of slavery. He went first to Cincinnati, O., and preached a month or two for Dr. Joshua L. Wilson, then proceeded seventy-five miles farther north. The severity of the winter drove him thence, and he located and found a field of ministerial labor in Paris, Tenn. Here his first wife, whom he mar- ried in Carolina in 1825, was buried. He afterwards preached in Raleigh, Tenn. In 1836 he removed to Illinois and set- led upon a small farm in Bond county, two miles north of Greenville and near the original Greenville Church. His ministry here was continued, with slight interruptions, through thirteen years — the principal interruption being a temporary removal to McComb, that he might aid in the incipient efforts to establish a college there. He soon returned to Greenville. Here his second wife died. After leaving Greenville he labored for longer or shorter periods in the churches of Carlyle, Sugar Creek, Trenton, Nashville and Ducoign. From his home near Ducoign he trav- eled to considerable distances, during the last years of his life, to preach to feeble and destitute churches. Thus he labored during his last summer in southern Missouri. He was born in Mecklenburg county, N. C, on the 8th of May, 1800, and died very suddenly at his home in JAMES STAFFORD. 239 Perry county, Illinois, on the 27th of April, 1868. He had just returned from the regular and adjourned meetings of Presbytery at Carlyle and Trenton, where he seemed to be in his usual health. He is represented to have been unusu- ally cheerful and well, and to have spoken, during the few intervening days, with unwonted liveliness of the renewal of old acquaintances, and his enjoyment of fraternal fellowship and communion at the Presbyterial meetings. He preached his last sermon during the visit to the people of his former charge at Sugar Creek church. By invitation of friends he worshiped on his last earthly Sabbath with the Protestant Episcopal church of Ducoign, and seemed devoutly to enjoy the service. He died the next day, Monday. The circum- stances of this sudden death are thus stated by a member of his family: " He had told the household some weeks before that he felt he might die suddenly, and requested to be looked for should he be absent unusually long. On Mon- day, the 27th of April, he had been taking more than usual exercise, ate a light dinner and went out to finish some sod- ding in the yard, which he cut two or three hundred yards from the house and drew on a small sled to which a horse was harnessed. He had laid two loads and had almost reached the house with the third. A little girl found him lying on his back, as she supposed asleep — his horse stand- ing quietly by him. The child ran to a negro man just on the other side of the stable, who did not go until urged the second time by the child. When he reached the spot the body lay there in a very composed attitude, as if he had only fallen asleep, but the spirit had fled." Mr. Stafford was three times married: May 23, 1825, to Miss Dovey Johnson, seventeen years of age. She died April 28, 1833, at Paris, Tennessee. Jan. 15, 1835, he married ^liss Isabella Elliott, of Fayette county, Tenn. She died Feb. 13, 1846. June, 1848, he married Mrs. M. E. Wyman, at Springfield, 111. This lady still survives, and resides at Portland, ]\Iaine. She was the widow of Rev. Robert Wyman, a missionary of the A. B. C. F. M. Mr. Stafford had six chil- dren ; three daughters, Harriet, Dorcas J. and Mary E., by his first marriage. By his second, two sons and a daughter; Paschal G., William Hr >er and Martha Ann. Harriet, Mary and Martha have uied. The others survive. Mr. Stafford was a man of strong intellectual grasp and power, • decided and positive in his convictions, and bold and fearless 240 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. in his maintenance of what he regarded as important truth. As a scholar, he was liberally educated, a man of general reading and information, and endeavored through his life to keep abreast of the times on all the great questions which interest the intelligent, the patriotic and the pious. As a theologian his orthodoxy was never ques- tioned or questionable. He was a diligent student and ever ready to expound and defend the grand and distinguishing doctrines of the gospel. As a preacher he was argumentative, forcible, earnest and impressive — rather than fluent or eloquent. His ministry drew to him the men of thought and culture in the several communities in which he lived and labored."" The spring meeting of Sangamon Presbytery was held at Irish Grove, April i, 1836, by adjournment at Farmington, April 19, and at Springfield on the 20th. Thomas Gait, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Ohio, was received, examined and ordained pastor of Farmington church. Dewey Whit- ney was installed pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church in Springfield, April 20. The fall meeting was held at Hillsboro, Oct. 15, 1836. The Presbytery of Palestine met with Pisgah Church, Lawrence county, April 28, 1836. John Montgomery was dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler. Isaac Bennet was appointed stated clerk in his place. John McDonald was received from the Presbytery of Chillicothe, Stephen Bliss and Thomas Gould were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. The church of Charleston was received. The fall meeting was held with New Provi- dence Church. Charleston Church, Coles county, was organized June 13. i835> by Revs. John Montgomery and John McDonald, with twelve members, James A. Mitchel and James Lumbric, elders. The elders since elected are Stephen D. Shelledy and William Coilum, October, 1837; James M. Millar and Dr. Robert A. Allison, April, 1845 ; George S. Coilum and Dr. James E. Roberts, October 25, 185 1 ; John A. Miles in SYNOD OF ILLINOIS. 24I 1853; John McNutt and William Miller, Dec. 9, 1854; A. Carroll and Richard Roberts, February 27, 1864; W. R. Adams and T. C. Miles, March 28, 1871. Ministers: John McDonald, one-half the time up to the spring of 1843, ex- cept about twelve months in which Stephen A. Hodgeman, licentiate, officiated. In the spring of 1843 Joseph Piatt held a meeting at which twenty-six united on examination. Henry I. Venable in 1844-5. I^ this year the church edifice was finished. Previously to that the church had worshiped in the court-house, in school houses and private residences. Joseph Adams in 1846-49. Robert A. Mitchell, licentiate, one-half the time from 1849 to 1853. Henry I. Venable again in the spring of 1853, for all his time for two and one- half years. R. A. Mitchell was again employed in January, 1856, as pastor. The present house of worship was erected in 1857 at a cost of about nine thousand dollars. Mr. Mitch- ell remained until 1870. Robert ¥. Patterson took charge of the church October i, 1870, and was installed the next spring. He remained until 1874. J. A. Piper took charge in 1875 and still remains. The total number received since the organization is about five hundred. James M. Miller is Clerk of the Session, and was a very large contributor to- wards erecting the house of worship and removing its debt. The Synod of Illinois met at Alton, commencing Oc- tober 20, 1836. At this meeting the Presbytery of Alton was established with these boundaries : Commencing at Bushnell's ferry on the Illinois river, its line ran east with the road through Carrollton and Carlinville, and from the latter point on the road southeast towards Hillsboro until that road met the line of Montgomery county ; thence south with the west line of Montgomery to Madison county ; thence east six miles to the west line of Bond ; thence south with that line to the road leading from St. Louis to Greenville; thence with that road to a point due north of the northeast corner of St. Clair county; thence with the eastern and southern lines of St. Clair and Monroe to the Mississippi; thence up that and the Illinois river to the place of beginning. Thus it in- cluded the whole of Monroe, St. Clair, and what is now Jersey county, the half of Green and Macoupin, and the whole of Madison, except about one township and a half in the southeastern corner of the county. The churches of 15 242 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Carrollton and Carlinville went with the IlHnois Presbytery. The principle of "elective affinity," which had been croping out here and there for two or three years, had much to do with the drawing of this line ; and appeared especially in the fact that Bethel church, in Bond county, had liberty, if it chose, to attach itself to Alton Presbytery, and West Liberty, in St. Clair and Madison, to Kaskaskia. Elijah P. Lovejoy, of Missouri Synod, was present at this meeting as corresponding member. Thomas A. Spil- man and the church at Hillsboro were transferred to the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. The case of William J. Eraser, who had'been received by the Presbytery of Kas- kaskia, came before Synod, and this resolution was passed, viz.: "That the Presbytery of Kaskaskia be, and they are hereby required, at the next meeting of Synod, to produce their records in the case; and that until then, the Synod do not recognize William J. Eraser as a Presbyterian minister; nor at all, until they shall have good reasons to withdraw their disapprobation of the manner of his renouncing our connection, and his positive withdrawal from the Pres- byterian Church." Of that part of this resolution, refus- ing to recognize Mr. Eraser as a Presbyterian minister, no- tice of a complaint to the Assembly was given by John Brich, B. E. Spilman, John Mathews, Alexander Ewing, John N. Moore, William White, Hervey McClung, William K. Stewart and James Stafford. YEAR 1837. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Carlinville April 4, 1837. The following members were dismissed, viz. : Milton Kimball to Schuyler Presbytery, John M. Ellis to Monroe, and Henry Herrick to Union, Tenn. Dr. Gid- eon BlsLckhurn, minister, and David B. Ayres, elder, were ap- pointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. The fall meeting of the Presbytery was held at Carrollton, com- mencing September 29, 1837. Notice was taken of the death of John Brich, which occurred in March, 1837. A. H. Dash- iell was dismissed to the Presbytery of Nashville, and Theron Baldwin to that of Alton. Two papers were presented to the Presbytery, one sustaining the course of the New, the other that of the Old School in the last Assembly. The JOHN SILLIMAN. 243 vote was taken by ayes and nays, when the New School pa- per obtained eleven votes, and the Old School two. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Greenville church, Bond county, March 17, 1837. John Silhman was received from the Presbytery of Morgantown. John S, Reasoner was received as a licentiate from the Presbytery of ■Cayuga, examined and on the i8th of March, 1837, ordained. T. A. Spilman was appointed stated clerk in place of VVm. K. Stewart, resigned. Wm. J. Fraser and Wm. K. Stewart were dismissed to the Presbytery of Scuyler. James Staf- ford, minister, and George Donnell, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. West-Libery church in Madison county was received. A paper on the state of the church, in which decided Old School ground was taken, was adopted by an unanimous vote. The Presbytery, reported to the Assembly nine ministers and thirteen churches. The fall meeting was held at Hills- boro, Oct. 14. The reform measures of 1836 were unani- mously approved. John Silliman. I insert liere a letter written by his daughter, Mrs. A. A. M. Leffler, to Rev. S. C. Baldridge, April 7, 1870. " Rev. John Silliman was born in Rowan county, N. C, Aug. 13, 1786. His parents were John and IsabeHa Silliman, Scotch Covenanters. They were persons of ^exemplary piety and considerable education ; so much so that they fitted their five sons for college without sending them to school. My father was their fourth son, and was considera- bly over twenty when his attention was directed to the min- istry. His father had one of the finest libraries in the land ; living in easy circumstances, his sons had fine opportunities for improving their minds. I remember to have heard my father say that the knowledge he gained in the years he spent at home among those leather-bound books, after he attained his majority, was of incalculable benefit to him in ministerial life. When he graduated none of us can tell. His diploma, with many valuable papers of his own, was turned with the home of his childhood, about 1818 or 1819. 244 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. He studied theology with Dr. John H. Rice, of Virginia, and was Hcensed and ordained by East Hanover Presbytery, at Prince Edward, Va., and was one year a co-pastor with Rev. Matthew Lyle. In i8i8hevvas married (Dr. A.Alexander officiating ) to Julia E., daughter of Maj. Samuel Spencer, of Charlotte county, Va. His choice of a wife proved most happy, as her ardent piety, cultivated mind and pleasing manners, rendered her a most acceptable pastor's wife. At the time of his marriage he had in his possession a * call ' to the church in Morgantown, N. C, and in January, 1819, was installed, and continued their pastor until the fall of 1836, when he removed to Illinois. During that pastorate of seventeen years he received into the church more than six hundred persons on examination, besides those received in missionary stations among the mountains. Dur- ing the two years that my father lived in Illinois he received many urgent solicitations to return and again take charge of the church in Morgantown; and at the time of his death he had accepted an unanimous call to return and take the pas- toral work in his old charge. When my mother visited the place, with her children, nine months after the death of her husband, she was much moved to find a great part of the church in deep mourning for their beloved pastor. He died Nov. 3, 1838, aged fifty-two years and three months. A. A. M. Leffler." He, his amiable partner, and several of their children now rest in the old church yard at Sharon. His headstone bears this inscription: la Memory of Rev. John Silliman, Presbyterian Clergyman, Departed tliis life November 3, 183S, Aged 52 years. The aged people of Sharon church remember him as very sociable and hospitable ; as a preacher, doctrinal and rather . lenghty in his sermons ; as a citizen, full of enterprise and schemes for the improvement and progress of the country. He bought a farm of eighty acres when he came, and soon had up a new house. In 1837 he taught a select school. He furnished the capital for setting up a carding machine. He was full of business. West Liberty church was organized by B. F. Spilman, in the six mile settlement, Madison county, Oct. 19, 1836, with SANGAMON AND PALESTINE PRESBYTERIES. 245 'Cleven members, Samuel S. Rankin, elder. The name of this church was changed to Brooklyn by Presbytery, April II, 1840. Having ceased to exist its name was stricken from the roll April 14, 1845. Sangamon Presbytery met at Springfield April 7, 1837. Erastus W. Thayer was licensed April lO, 1837. Dewey Whitney, minister, and Joseph Thayer, elder, were appoint- ed commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Farmington, October 16, Josiah Porter was received as a licentiate from the Presbytery of Shiloh, and his request to be ordained, sine titulo, was not granted. A long paper approving the course of the majority in the last Assembly was adopted by seven ayes to four nays, thus placing this Presbytery on the Old School side in the great division then spreading through the Church. The Presbytery of Palestine, met at Palestine April 20, 1837. Isaac Bennet, minister, and D. Smick, elder, were appointed commissioners to the next Assembly. At an ad- journed meeting held at Paris, June 2, Robert Rutherford was received from the Presbytery of Chillicothe. The fall meet- ing was held at Charleston, Oct. 13. Ministers present: Samuel Baldridge, Robert Rutherford, J. C. Campbell, Enoch Kingsbury. Elders present : John Dodds, Wabash ; Cyrus Rice, Shiloh; Thomas Buchanan, Pisgah ; James Lumbric, Charleston ; James Black, Bethel. The following very explicit resolution on slavery was adopted by an unan- imous vote, viz : " Believing that slavery as it exists in the United States is a very aggravated sin, with which the Great Head of the Church is greatly displeased, and that all who contenance it are implicated in it ; Resolved, ( i ) That such as sell their fellow-beings into perpetual, involuntary slavery for the sake of gain ought to be suspended from a participation in the sacraments of the New Testament until they give evi- dence of repentance. (2) That this paper be read publicly in all our churches, and that a copy be sent to the Alton Observer and the Western Presbyterian Herald!' On the other questions then pending as between New and Old School, this Presbytery did not at this meeting take any decided ground. 246 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Alton Presbytery, established by the last SyruDd, held" its first meeting at Alton, commencing April 4, 1837. Minis- ters present : Thomas Lippincott, Albert Hale, John F. Brooks and Amos P. Brown. Ministers absent : Frederick W. Graves and Thaddeus B. Hurlbut. Elders present : A. Alexander, Alton ; James M. Douglas, Bethel. The licen- tiate, Enoch S. Huntington, was present. Elijah P. Lovejoy was received from the Presbytery of St, Louis, and was appointed Stated Clerk. This office he held till his death. The first twenty-six pages of the Records are in his hand writing. Joshua T. Tucker, a licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of^t. Louis. Upper Alton church was received. Tlie churches of the Presbytery not repre- sented were South Green, afterwards Jerseyville, Spring Cove, Marine, Collinsville and Belleville. F. W. Graves, min- ister, was appointed Commissioner to the Assembly. A long and able memorial upon slavery was unanimously adopted. It concluded by asking the Assembly to adopt these three declarations. ( I ) " That slaveholding, or the buying, sell- ing, or holding human beings as property is sin. ( 2 ) That the General Assembly will not be responsible for its perpetua- tion. ( 3 ) That the judicatories of the Church ought to take suitable measures to purge the Presbyterian Church of the evil." Here there is no uncertain sound. The fall meeting was held with Bethel church, commencing Sept. 14. Ministers present : Elijah P. Lovejoy, T. Lip- pincott and E. L. Huntington. EldI':rs: Horace Look, Collinsville ; Enoch Long, Upper Alton ; James Davis, Bethel. Elijah P. Lovejoy was made Moderator. The ordination of Enoch S. Huntington, at Bethel, May 26, '^^37, was reported. A memorial to Synod, on the sub- ject of the Church's participation in the sin of slavery, drawn up by Mr. Lovejoy, was adopted by an unani- mous vote. At an adjourned meeting held at Upper Alton, Nov. 15, Joshua T. Tucker was ordained, and Charles G. Selleck, having been received from the Consociation of the Western District of Fairfield county, Conn., was installed pastor of the Upper Alton church. Resolutions were adopted on the death of Mr. Lovejoy. Among them was this one. " That we have entire confidence in the truth and final triumph of those principles of the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press and the freedon of the slave in defence of which he lost his life." UPPER ALTON CHURCH. 247 Upper Alton Church was organized January 8, 1837, by Revs. F. W. Graves, T. B. Hurlbut and Thomas Lippincott, with twenty-three jnembers. It appears that in June follow- ing a union was effected between this and a Congregational church in the same place. By this union twenty-six members were added. One article provides for the election of Elders triennially. E. P. Lovejoy was the first minister. He labored gratuitously. C. G. Selleck was installed pastor Nov. 16, 1837, and resigned the charge in October, 1841. Hubbel Loomis succeeded him as stated pastor until May, 1843. j\Ir. Loomis was succeeded by H. B. Whittaker, who continued his labors here until his death, Sept. 15, 1844. Williston Jones succeeded Mr. Whittaker, and remained until May, 1845. • Lemuel Foster, T. B. Hurlbut and Wil- liam Barnes, labored for different periods. W. R. Adams from 1861 to 1867. Since then Lucius L Root, Rob- ert Rudd, John Huston and Samuel B. Taggart have served this church. The latter is still their minister. Elders : Enoch Long, Ebenezer Dennison, John Manning, Samuel Archer, William Clark, Alfred Cowles, Joseph Gordon, W^inthrop S. Gilman, Russell Scarritt, William Bates, Wm. Cunningham, Myron Ives, J. J. Hastings, S. W. Ball, J. P. Burton, T. R. IMurphy, Joseph Piatt, W. S. R. Robinson and probably some others. The Records have been very imper- fectly kept. The first church edifice was erected in 1836, and occupied the same site as the present one. Previous to that the church worshiped in what was known as the " Brick School House." The first church edifice was burned Feb. 10, 1858. The present building was commenced soon after, but for lack of funds went on but slowly. It was finally finished, and dedicated Nov. 15, 1865. This church has had many difficulties. Among these were its semi-con- stitution ; the vicinity of other strong churches, and the exceedingly fluctuating character of the population of the place. Elijah Parish Lovejoy. Henry Tanner, in 1837. a resident of Alton and now of Buffalo, N. Y., has given a brief sketch of Mr. Lovejoy, and a pretty full one of his death and the events preceeding it. As Mr. Tanner was personally cognizant of these events and one of the defenders of the press on the night of Lovejoy's death, I have decided to transfer to these pages his truthful and graphic account. Mr. Lovejoy was born in Albion, Maine, November 8, 248 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. 1802. He would have been thirty-five years old the day after he was murdered. He was a son of Rev. Daniel Love- joy, a Congregational minister. He was a graduate of Water- ville College, and soon after graduating emigrated to St. Louis, Mo, where for several years he taught a school. Sub- sequently he became editor of the Sf. Louis Times, and ad- vocated the election of Henry Clay for the Presidency. His writings exhibited talents of a very high order and were ap- preciated by his co-workers. During this period Mr. Lovejoy was what is denominated a sceptic, though far from being an infidel; but in a revival of religion in St. Louis, in 1832, he was converted, an^. soon after entered Princeton Theolog- ical Seminary, and, ending his studies there, was licensed to preach by the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia, but was soon thereafter induced to return to St. Louis and take the ed- itorial charge of the St. Louis Observer. His connection with that paper commenced November 11, 1833. His course as an editor was bold and fearless, exhibiting great courage in what was to his mind duty. He soon found himself in con- troversy with Romanism, getting the ill-will of many of that faith in St. Louis, by his strong denunciation of the use of the United States soldiers stationed there, and of the use of the American flag in the public dedication of the Roman Catholic cathedral of St. Louis. And by them he was in turn denounced as an Abolitionist, although at this time he was the farthest removed from that faith. But the cry was raised against him, a Northern man in a slave city and State, and for an object, and it had its effect. His office was for a time closed in consequence of the excitement growing out of this. He denounced his persecutors and made a power- ful, patriotic and, for the time being, effectual appeal to the public of St. Louis that produced reaction in his favor. At this time Lovejoy was contemplating removing his office and press to Alton, and had taken some steps in that direction ; had visited Alton and held consultations with citizens, but no decision had been made respecting it. But now came the murder in St. Louis of a black man by the name of Mcintosh, who was a deck hand on a steamer lying at the levee, and in retaliation for abuse which he could no longer endure, stabbed and killed a white man. For this high-handed offense the black man was chained to a tree or stump and burned to death by the mob in that city. This crime was justified by the city judge, whose name was Law- THE BURNING OF M INTOSH. 249 less — a good name for the occasion. Mr. Lovejoy handled this act of the mob and the charge of Judge Lawless with severity, sparing neither language nor energy in denouncing both. This so exasperated the mob that the old cry of abo- lition was again raised against him, and his office destroyed. Mr. Lovejoy, now in earnest for another place to establish his paper, where he could fire into the enemies of peace and good order, for he was by no means beaten, turned to Alton as a base of operation, being the nearest town to St. Louis, and in a free State ; but previous to re- moving there he had a meeting with a number of citizens of Alton, representing the business and the property of the city to a great degree. They questioned him as to his course in regard to slavery, should he come among them to publish his paper, for but few of them were then Abolitionists. Mr. Lovejoy's answers were characteristic of the man. He said slavery is a subject that ought faithfully to be discussed in our religious and political journals, and as an editor he should never relinquish his right to discuss that or any other sub- ject he might think it his duty to discuss. " I do not know," said he, "that I shall feel it my duty to discuss it here as fully as I did in St. Louis; there, where its enormities were con- stantly before me, I felt bound to lift up my voice against it, as in the murder of Mcintosh. This I claim as my consti- tutional right, a right which I shall never relinquish to any man or body of men. But to discuss the subject of slavery is not the object of my paper, except as a great moral sub- ject in connection with others. jVIy object is to publish a re- ligious journal which shall be instructive and profitable to my fellow-citizens. As to the subjects I shall discuss, and the manner of doing it, I shall ever claim the right of deter- mining for myself, always accepting counsel from others with thankfulness." This was all plain and well understood, and Mr. Lovejoy was cordially welcomed as a citizen of Alton. But notwith- standing all this, the night after the press was landed it was destroyed, it having been left on the bank of the river over night, the building for its use not being ready to receive it, and no one dreaming of any trouble towards it. A public meeting of the citizens was called the following day, and the sentiments expressed on the outrage committed were so strong, and the noble stand to defend the law at all hazards so firmly taken, that the reputation of Alton as a law-abid- 250 PXESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ing city, both abroad and at home, was very high. At this meeting Mr. Lovejoy reiterated in substance the remarks just quoted, and said he claimed the right to discuss any sub- ject, holding himself responsible to the law of the land. He did not ask the citizens of Alton to grant him the right — he claimed this as the right of an American citizen. It has been charged by the abettors of the mob by which Mr. Lovejoy was killed, that he violated a pledge given when he came to Alton, not to publish Abolition doctrines, but this is not true, Lovejoy gave no pledge beyond what the language quoted would imply. He was not a man to promise he would not discuss any subject. He was as honest as he was fearless in the line of what to him was duty. Another press was bought, shipped to Alton and put to work, the title of his paper being changed from the St. Louis Observer to the Alton Observer. The progressive interest, however, felt by Lovejoy in the subject of slavery, although yet calling him- self a Colonizationist, was so strongly marked in his expres- sions, that it raised against him the old cry of Abolitionist, and soon led to the destruction of this second press in Alton, on the night of the 22d of August, 1837. The author- ities of the city made no serious attempt to save this press or disperse the mob. John M. Krum was then mayor of the city, and politely requested the gentlemen engaged in de- stroying the press and property to please disperse and go home, and he was answered that they would do so as soon as- they had finished the little job they had on hand ; and in turn they advised the mayor to go home himself lest he might get hurt, which order was obeyed by the mayor. This act of the mob and the supineness of those in authority, and perhaps the constant thinking that he must have all the time kept up on the subject, brought Mr. Lovejoy to the front as an avowed Abolitionist, immediate and unconditional, and for him to de- cide was to act. He at once issued a call for a convention to assemble at Upper Alton, for the organization of a State Anti-Slavery Society, and on the 26th of October, 1837, the convention thus called convened at Upper Alton. I was present at this convention and amid all the scenes that so rapidly followed. A large number of persons not friendly to the call came into the convention, professing to adopt the sentiments, and enrolled themselves as members, and by their number succeeded in passing resolutions in opposition to the intention of those who issued the call. U. F. Linder, a law- LINDER AND HOGAN. 25 1 yer, and then Attorney-General of the State, and John Ho- gan, a Methodist minister, were the most active and ac- knowledged leaders of those who were bent on obstructing the work of forming a State Anti-Slavery Society, for which the call had been issued. The meeting, however, came to its end, somehow, but whether by adjournment, or by all leaving the room, I do not now recollect. The next day, however, the friends of the call met at the home of Rev. T. B. Hurlbut, in Upper Alton, and about sixty names were recorded as organizing the State Anti-Slavery Society of Illi- nois, and elected their officers. The following Sab- bath, October 29, the Rev. Edward Beecher, then President of Jacksonville College, preached one sermon in Alton and one in Upper Alton, with great plainness of speech, on the subject of slavery; and on the Monday following, October 30, several members of the late convention and many of the principal citizens of Alton met in the store of Alexander & Co., to consult on the expediency of establishing the press again in Alton, and if established, of defending it. After much deliberation, it was advised that Mr. Lovejoy go on and re- establish the press, and that it was the duty of friends of free discussion to stand to the last in his defense. At a subsequent meeting held in the Riley building, the same day, but more publicly called than the former one, the same U. F. Linder and Rev. John Hogan were the promi- nent leaders of the opposition to Lovejoy — the minister Hogan especially, who said to Lovejoy that St. Paul when persecuted in one city fled to another, and that he (Lovejoy) should, as a Christian, follow Paul's example and flee from Alton. At this meeting also, U. F. Linder, Attorney-Gen- eral, made a speech full of bitter denunciation of Lovejoy and of all Abolitionists, ministers of the gospel, etc. All aimed to stir up the mob spirit and to intimidate and drive Lovejoy from the city. After he had concluded his effort, Mr. Lovejoy obtained the floor. He went to the desk in front of the audience, laid aside his overcoat, and in the most calm and deliberate manner addressed the meeting. He repelled the several charges and insinuations that had been made by the principal speakers, Linder and Hogan, saying that it was not true that he held in contempt the feelings and sentiments of this community in reference to the great ques- tion that was agitating it. He respected and appreciated the feelings of his fellow-citizens, and it was one of the most 252 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. unpleasant and painful duties of his life that he was called upon to differ from them. If they supposed he had published sentiments contrary to those generally held in this commu- nity, because he delighted in differing from them or in occa- sioning a disturbance, they had entirely misapprehended him. But although he valued the good opinion of his fellow- citizens as highly as any man could, yet he was governed by higher considerations than either the favor or fear of man. He was impelled to the course he had taken because he feared God. As he should answer to God in the great day, he dare not abandon his sentiments or cease in every proper way to propg^ate them. He told the meeting he had not asked or desired any compromise; he had asked for nothing but to be protected in his rights which God had given him, and which were guaranteed to him by the consti- tution of his country. He asked, " What infraction of the laws have I been guilty of? Whose good name have I in- jured? When and where have I published anything injuri- ous to the reputation of Alton ? Have I not, on the contrary, labored in common with the rest of my fellow-citizens to promote the reputation and the interest of Alton? What has been my offense ? Put your finger upon it, define it, and I stand ready to answer for it. If I have been guilty, you can easily convict me. You have public sentiment in your favor. You have your juries, and you have your attorney, (looking at the attorney Linder,) and I have no doubt you can convict me ; but if I have been guilty of no violation of the laws, why am I hunted up and down continually as a partridge upon the mountains ? Why am I threatened with the tar barrel ? Why am I waylaid from day to day and from night to night, and my life in jeopardy every hour? " He also said, " You have made up a false issue (as the lawyers say) ; there are not two parties in this matter between whom there can be a compro- mise." He planted himself upon his unquestionable rights ; said the question to be decided was not whether a compro- mise could be effected, but whether he should be protected in the exercise and enjoyment of those rights. ^'This is the question : whether my property shall be protected ; whether I shall be suffered to go home to my family at night without being assailed and threatened with tar and feathers and as- sassination ; whether my aflflicted wife, whose life has been in jeopardy from continued alarms and excitement, shall night after night be driven from a sick-bed into the garret LOVEJOY S SPEECH. 2$$ to save her life from the brick-bats and violence of the mob. T/iat, sir, is the question?" (Here his feelings overcame him and he burst into tears.) Many others in the room also wept, and for a time the sympathies of the meeting were with him. He apologized for having betrayed any weakness on the occasion; it was the allusion, he said, to his family that overcame his feelings. He assured them it was not from any fears on his part. He had no personal fears. Not that he felt able to contest this matter with the whole com- munity— he knew perfectly well that he was not — but where should he go? He had been made to feel that if he was not safe in Alton, he would not be safe anywhere. He had re- cently visited St. Charles, Mo., for his family, and was torn away from their embrace by a mob. He had been beset night and day in Alton. Now, if he should leave Alton and go elsewhere, violence might overtake him in his retreat, and he had no more claim for protection upon any other community than he had upon this. He had finally come to the determi- nation, after consulting his friends, and earnestly seeking counsel of God, to remain in Alton, and here to insist upon protection in the exercise of his rights. If the civil authori- ties refused to protect him, he must look to God for protec- tion ; and if he very soon found a grave in Alton, he was sure he should die in the exercise of his duty. His manner no man could describe. He was through it all calm, serious^ firm and decided, no epithet or unkind word escaped him ; yet, he knew he was among deadly enemies. As soon as he left off speaking he left the building, and Linder again took the floor. He treated as hypocritical cant every- thing Mr. L. had said; he held him up as a fanatic, as a dan- gerous man in the community; he was violent against Mr. L. and his friends all, as Abolitionists. The chair- man, Hon. Cyrus Edwards, arose and in a very respectful but decided manner expressed his dissent from the sentiments just uttered. He urged the importance of maintaining peace and good order, and concluded by saying that he wished to take his stand before the country on that. But the meeting was carried on the side of Linder and his followers, and adjourned with the evident expressions of hostility and determination to ruin Lovejoy or pursue him to the death. It had already been published in the city that Rev. Edward Beecher, who has before been alluded to, would preach a sermon in the Presbyterian church that evening, October 30, on the 254 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. times. Threats had been loudly made that he should not be allowed to do so. The mayor had been informed of those threats and asked to protect the meeting, but made light of it ; but the friends of free speech and good order did not feel so quiet about it, and proposed to the mayor that they thought they had the power to enforce order, if with his con- sent, they could carry their guns with them. This he objected to, but said we could privately take them to some place near the church, and if needed we could be called on, and he himself would attend the meeting as we urged him to do. We qui- etly took our guns to the house adjoining the church, and not willing to trust 'the mayor too far, put ourselves under the orders of one of our number, " him to obey." When Mr. Beecher had got about half through with his talk, a stone went through the side window at his head, but missed its mark. The stone had hardly stopped, when the call of our leader was made, "to arms," and a line was, luithout the order of the mayor, almost in an instant formed in front of the church, extending beyond the front far enough to cover each side of the church. The result was to form the outsiders into as orderly a company of citizens as those on the inside — and Mr, Beecher was allowed to finish his discourse. But when he had concluded, and dismissed the congregation, and the citizens with arms in hand were returning to their rooms where they were in the habit of meeting, an alterca- tion took place between the foremost of them and a company of the mobites, in which the breech of a gun, held in the hands of Moses G. Atwood, (if my memory serves me right,) was broken, and the mob were thereafter willing to allow the rest of the guns to pass along. Mr. Lovejoy was one of the number who held those guns, and on returning to his house from the rooms that night, he was waylaid, but passed with- out being known, as he had exchanged his broad-brim white hat for the cap of a friend as a precaution. When the mob found that Mr. L. had passed them, they attacked his house ; but seeing a rifle in Mr. L.'s hands, they prudently retired. Agreeable to the decision at the Alexander store meeting, another press had been bought and was on the boat shipped from St. Louis to Alton. Precautions had been taken to have it arrive at such an hour as would most likely enable us to get it in store without its falling into the hands of the mob on the banks of the river. To this end a messenger had been sent below to meet the boat and ask the THE PRESS STORED. 255 •captain to lay by at the mouth of the Missouri till such time as would enable him to reach the dock at Alton about mid- night. This was easily done, as the boat was owned by some of the parties interested in having the press re-estab- lished in Alton. In the meantime, a company of about sixty volunteers had enrolled themselves under the laws as a military com- pany and tendered their services to the Mayor to keep the peace of the city. This number of men had met for drill that evening, at the store where the press would be landed, and they were armed with good rifles, all well loaded with ball. The captain of the boat was ordered to land the boxes containing the press, and if any attack was made on the boxes, to pull his boat out of harm's way as soon as possi- ble. The sixty men inside had concluded to prolong their •drill till the press was landed and stored, so they were divided into companies and stationed at points overlooking the boxes, and all had received orders that if any unauthori- zed person should attempt to handle the boxes, they were to shoot at the boxes, and if anybody was in the way, it would appear to be the fault of the intruder. A committee of two were sent to call the Mayor and have him at the store, that, at least, he might see it well done. He was a batchelor, and slept at his office near the store. To the first summons he promised to come, but was so long in doing it that a sec- ond was sent, with orders to come with him and show him the way. This was effective, and the committee and Mayor came in together. The press however was successfully landed, no demonstrations of a mob being made, unless per- haps a horn or two blown at a distance. The press was soon transferred from the boat to the fourth story of the ware- house belonging to Godfrey & Oilman, and our military company was left to continue their drill till morning or go to sleep as best they could. This brings us in de- tail to the morning of the 7th of November, 1837. All was quiet in the city, the press was out of harm's way, boxed up and in the loft of a good warehouse, in the keeping of re- sponsible men, and no demonstration towards its being un- packed or put in motion. As night approached, nearly all of the men who had given their names to form that military company went to the building containing the press, one loft of which was our drill room, and were drilled there until nine ■o'clock. Then, as no one apprehended any trouble, the com- 256 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. pany was dismissed, and each was about going quietly home^ when Mr. Oilman, one of the owners of the store, asked if some few of the number would not volunteer to remain through the night, as they could be made comfortable for sleeping on the goods in the store, and he was intending to stay himself as a precaution against any one breaking into the store and committing any depredation. Nineteen men volunteered to stay, and with Mr. Oilman made twenty in all left in the store. Within ashort time appearances seemed to indicate that the mob were gathering, but no one thought of any serious trouble till Edward Keating, a lawyer, and Henry W. West,^ merchant, came to the building and asked to be admitted to see Mr. Oilman, the owner. Some one not possessed of much judgment (for they were both known to favor the mob), allowed them to come in. They, of course, soon took in the small number left to guard the building and press, and they then informed Mr. Oilman that unless the press was given up to the gentlemen outside, the building would be burned over our heads and every man killed. Consultation was had inside and they were promptly given to understand that the press and the store would be de- fended. Some of us were for keeping these parties prison- ers till morning, that they might share our fate, if need be. Early in the night, after the main body had left, the twenty men remaining in the building had elected Dea- con Enoch Long to act as their Captain, if anything should occur requiring concert of action ; and as he had seen ser- vice in the war of 18 12-15, we supposed him the most fit man for such a case, and it was by his orders that these two spies were allowed to depart. About as soon as the mob could get their report, we understood by the wild shouts among them that our numbers were satisfactory to that side, at least, and that we would have work to do. A council was called by the inside party, to take measures for defense, and some advised most vigorous defense, and as severe punishment to the mob, if we were attacked, as possible ; but our Captain overruled, saying our course would be a useless sacrifice of human life, and if the mob, whose shot and stones had began to come, should persist in their attack, after being counseled of the consequences, then he would select some one man to fire into the mob, and no doubt they would instantly disperse. He was promptly told by some that they would not be so selected, that if they fired into that mob, which they were THE SPIES LET GO. 25/ anxious to do, they should fire with all present. And some took themselves to different parts of the building to defend on their own account, but there was thereafter no concert of action by the defenders. The building was in fact two build- ings with ends to the street and to the river, and at one side was a vacant lot. The building was of stone, over one hun- dred feet long at the side toward the vacant lot. The attacking party were covered by this stone wall. The ends of the buildings on street and river would show as two stores — three stories on the street and four at the river end, owing to the formation of the land. The two upper stories were lofts or garrets, the roofs of each resting on the middle wall, and no communication between them without going down the stairs of one, and up those of the other. In the loft of one of those stores was stored stone jugs and jars. Reuben Gerry had stationed himself in this loft, while the writer was in the other. The mob were work- ing in the street in front of both, but more particu- larly under Gerry's part, for the door they were trying to force was more directly under him. In his room, and my own also, were doors fronting the street, under the roof, with small glass windows in the doors, but no other windows. Mr. Gerry had opened the door in his room over the head of the mob, and was amusing himself and them by rolling the jugs and crocks out of the door down on their heads. From my standpoint I was getting the benefit of the effect, but could not communicate with Gerry nor let him know I was there. The mob for a time tried throwing up stones, but they did not go up with the same effect that the jugs went down, and one of their number was selected to cross the street and shoot whoever might be throwing down the jugs whenever he should again appear. By the time the party had got to his appointed place where he could command Gerry's door, my rifle was through the glass forming the top of my door and resting on the sash, perfectly covering the man in the street. I knew him well, and saw him clearly, for it was a beautiful moonlight night. Two men had come up to the room where I was, to get a good sight of the mob, and the street was full. They were asking me not to shoot, for we were getting the worst of the fight already. My promise was readily given not to shoot unless the man raised his gun to shoot Gerry; if he did, he could never perform the act. But Gerry knew of the preparations to shoot him, i6 258 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. and did not know of my position, neither could I let him know, so he kept out of sight and saved the life of one who bragged the next day that he was the one who shot Love- joy, perhaps not one hour later. I soon heard Mr. Gerry go- ing down stairs and immediately went down myself and we met on the floor below ; and while we were discussing the situation with the view of returning to our stations, he to roll jugs and I to cover him, we heard the report of a gun close to us from the inside and the exclamation that a man on the outside was shot. Our captain had put in force his saving theory and had selected one man to fire, and that shot had killed a man by tffe name of Bishop, on the outside. The ball had entered the top of his shoulder while he was stoop- ing to pick up a stone and gone nearly through him length- ways. I heard 07ie call and ask " Who fired that gun ? " and answered " / didy I went to the window and saw four men pick up Bishop, one by each arm and one by each leg, and carry him to Dr. Hart's office, nearly opposite, but I sub- sequently learned the man was dead when they reached the office with him. The shooting of this man seemed to have the effect contemplated by our captain, and the mob with- drew. But the lull was short; they soon returned reinforced, and with savage yells threatened to fire the building and shoot every " d d Abolitionist," as we were all then called, as we might leave the building. Even at this time no orders were given for any concentrated fire on the mob ; but many shots were fired, but with poor effect. The mayor came in the building and we asked him to take us outside to face the mob and order them to disperse, or else in their hearing order us to fire, and we would pledge our lives to clean them out, but he prudently and cautiously declined, saying he had too high a regard for our lives to do that, but at the same time he justified our right of defense. When he returned to the mob from us he could do nothing. His former acts in submitting to being snubbed by the mob, who before his face was destroying the press formerly alluded to, took from him all power now, and he had to look on and see the work of death and of ruin. About this time the mob had approached the building with a long ladder; and operat- ing on the side of the house next the vacant lot, where there was no opening in the long wall, they had got the ladder to the roof and a man on the ladder with material to set the house on fire on the roof When volunteers were called for STRUGGLE AT THE WAREHOUSE. 259 to go out and shoot the man off the ladder, the men on the lower floor — Mr. Lovejoy, Amos B. Roff and Royal Weller — stepped out of the door towards the river, and as they stepped clear of the door to get at the side of the building, Mr. Lovejoy received five bullets in his body and limbs from behind a pile of lumber near by where men were concealed, probably for the purpose. Mr. Roff was also shot in the leg ; and Mr. Weller was shot in his leg, and had a bullet through his hat that just cleared his head. Mr. Lovejoy walked in and up stairs one story to the office, saying as he went, " I am shot ! I am shot ! I am dead ! " He was met at the door of ithe room by all on that floor, and died without a struggle and without speaking again. The two that were wounded also got back up stairs to the same room. Very soon there appeared on the river side of the building the same two men who were in the beginning admitted and let out of the build- ing— Keating and West — and calling the attention- of who- ever was in sight, displayed a white handkerchief and called for Oilman, and said that the building was on fire, but the BOYS would put it out if he would give up the press ; that was all they wanted, and would not destroy anything else, nor hurt any one if the building was surrendered. Mr. Gilman then concluded that inasmuch as there was great value in the building of goods, and also the interests of many firms all over the State were jeopardized, and Mr. Godfrey, his partner, not present, that to save all these interests it was his judgment the buildings and press had best be abandoned to the mob. Others, under the circumstances, could say noth- ing, and so it was resolved to give it up, and the spies were so ordered to notify their fellows. Accordingly our guns were secreted in different places, and all of the number left the building in a body, except Lovejoy, dead ; Roff and Weller wounded, and S. J. Thompson, who remained till the mob entered ; and as the men passed by that vacant lot, it seemed as if a hundred bullets were shot at them from the mob congregated at the other and higher end of the lot, and being thus elevated the balls sung harmless by to the river. The escaped congregated in a hardware store on Second street, a little removed from the scene of action, and after a while each went to their several homes, and the work of de- struction was completed on the press. The next morning, on returning to the scenes of the night, the dead body of Lovejoy lay where it fell, and the dead 260 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. body of Bishop in Dr. Hart's office. Friends procured a hearse and removed the body of Mr. Lovejoy to his late res- idence, his wife being stricken by the blow to utter helpless- ness. Owen Lovejoy met the corpse of his brother at the door. Mr. Lovejoy was buried, I think, the day following. Rev. Thomas Lippincott made the prayer at his funeral, and never a word or intimation but that the death was a natural one. It was a rainy, drizzly day — fit one for such a funeral. No word or allusion to mob violence, and so Lovejoy was buried without inquest or word to tell the manner of his death. After the body was taken home from the place of death, Owen Lovejoy, the brother of the martyred, standing over the dead body, vowed that from henceforth he would fight the cursed institution that had killed his brother. The country knows well how that vow was kept. The names of the twenty men that night in the building here follow : Elijah P. Lovejoy, killed by the mob Nov. 7, 1837; Amos B. Roff, then wounded, since dead ; Royal Weller, then wounded, since dead ; Wihiam Harned, dead ; James Morse, Jr., dead; John S. Noble, dead; Edward Breath, (sub- sequently missionary to Persia), dead ; George H. Walworth, dead ; J. C. Woods, dead ; George H. Whitney, dead ; Reu- ben Gerry, dead ; Winthrop S. Gilman, living in New York City; Enoch Long living in Sabula, Jackson county, Iowa; George T. Brown, living in Alton ; (left the building early in the evening) ; Sarjiuel J. Thompson, (residence unknown) ; H. D. Davis, do not know if living or dead ; D. F. Randall, do not know if living or dead; D. Burt Loomis, living in Stillwater, Minn.; Thaddeus B. Hurlbut, residence in Upper Alton ; Henry Tanner, residence in Buffalo, New York. Enoch S. Huntington was born at Ashford, Windham county. Conn., Sept. 30, 1804. He graduated at Amherst College, Mass., and studied theology at Lane Seminary, Ohio. He was ordained by Alton Presbytery at Bethel, Bond county. May 26, 1837. He was dismissed from that Presbytery March 30, 1838, to Peoria Presbytery. After leaving Bethel he preached some five years in Pleasant Grove, Tazewell county, 111. From thence he went to Clin- ton, Conn., and thence to Danbury, Conn., where he died April 7, 1862. He was three times married, and left a widow, Mrs. Esther Lyon Huntington, who resides in Fairfield, Connecticut. C. G. SELLECK J. T. TUCKER. 26 1 Charles G. Selleck was born in Norvvalk, Conn., Feb. 26, 1802. He graduated at Yale College, 1827. His stud- ies preparatory to the ministery were prosecuted under the care of Hanover Presbytery. Licensed March 2, 1830, by the Consociation of Fairfield West. He was ordained by the same body pastor of Ridgefield church. Conn., May 10, 1831. Removed to Upper Alton, 111., Oct., 1837. Preached and taught at Waverly, 111., eleven years. Removed thence to Jacksonville in 1851. Took charge of the Female Academy there, and preached at the same time at Naples and to Union church for two years. While here his only son, Sylvester, a young man of great promise and excellence, was removed by death. Mr. S. next went to Plaquemine, La., in 1857; took charge of a Female Acade- my and was installed pastor of the Presbyterian church in that place. Here he remained about four years, until July 4, 1 861, exercising considerable freedom of speech he was expelled from his home and charge. He returned to Illi- nois and settled for seven years on a farm in Jackson coun- ty. Finding from experience, the Southern climate more congenial to his constitution, he went thence to Florida, and settled at or near New Smyrna, Volusia county. Here he has opened an orange plantation, and preaches regularly to two or three small churches. Here his excellent wife died Nov. 19, 1878. Joshua T. Tucker was born in Milton, Mass., Sept. 20, 1812. He fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.; graduated at Yale College 1833 and at Lane Semina- 0^ 1837. Ordained by Alton Presbytery Nov. 15, 1837, at Upper Alton. Dismissed to Schuyler Presbytery and from thence to Presbytery of Northern Missouri in 1840. Pastor at Hannibal from 1840 to 1846, and of North Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, 1846-48. Installed at Holliston, Mass., June 6, 1849. Remained there until Nov. 6, 1867. Installed at Chicopee Falls, Mass., April 8, 1868, where he remained until Oct. 1877 — ten full years with that people. He has been largely engaged in editorial work in connection with the pastoral, for a time editing the Boston Recorder, and owning one half of it. He was one of the original founders of the Boston Revieiv, and for eight years one of its editors. He has published a " Life of Christ," a volume of between 262 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. three and four hundred pages; also a journal of an exten- sive European tour in 1859. He is occupied with literary^ work, and resides in Harrison square, Boston, Mass. When he took charge of the church in Holliston, it numbered one hundred and seventy. He left it with four hun- dred and thirty members. His first wife, Mary Oland Stibbs, of St. Louis, he married in 1837. She died in 1844. Four children, of whom the two youngest died in in- fancy. The two older are now Mrs. Mary Ellen Nettle- ton, of Boston, and Mrs. Anna Eliza Richardson, of Chicago.. The latter has a daughter, Edith R. In 1845 he married Miss Annie D. Sitackford, of St. Louis. One child by this marriage, died in infancy. In 1875 Iowa College sent him a diploma of D. D. The Synod of Illinois held its annual meeting at Spring- field, commencing Oct. 19, 1837. I^ was largely attended. The papers presented with regard to the then threatened division of the Church and upon the subject of slavery were of great interest and ability. The narrative was of a very- encouraging character, and most elegantly written. The harassing case of Wm. J. Eraser was settled for the present by adopting these two resolutions: (i) "That the Presbytery of Kaskaskia acted discourteously and unconstitutionally in receiving Wm. J. Eraser without recommendation received from the Presbytery of Illinois, and leave granted by the Synod of Illinois. (2) That the said William J. Frazer cannot obtain a seat in the Presbyterian Church ex- cepting through the Presbytery of Illinois, with leave granted by the Synod of Illinois." The case was appealed, to the Assembly. CHAPTER VII. MEETINGS OF THE PRESBYTERIES AND SYNOD FROM 1 838 TO 184I INCLUSIVE, WITH SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGAN- IZED AND OF THE MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS HERE WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities: Records of Synod, Presbyteries and Churches; Rev. S. C. Baldridge; Rev. R. Stewart. YEAR 1838. This was a momentous year. It witnessed the division of the Synod of Ilhnois into New and Old School. I shall pursue the same course as in previous chapters, giving the sa- lient facts in their order, and letting those facts speak for themselves. Illinois Presbytery met with Pisgah church, April 19, 1838, Ralph W. Gridley was received from the Presbytery of Ottawa, and order taken for his installation over the church of Jacksonville, April 25, 1838. The church in Peccan bottom was received. Edward Beecher, minister, and A. H. Bur- ritt, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assem- bly. A pro re riata meeting of this Presbytery was held in the Presbyterian Church at Jacksonville, July li. Minis- ters present: Hugh Barr, Ralph W. Gridley, J. M. Sturte- vant and Elisha Jenney. Elders present : W. C. Posey, Jacksonville ; Samuel Reaugh, Union ; Ralph McCormick, Pisgah; Robert Huston, Manchester. Ministers absent: Gideon Blackburn, D. D., Edward Beecher, William G. Gal- laher, John G. Simrall and A. T. Norton. The meeting was called to hear a written report from the Commissioners to the last Assembly, to the effect that they approved of and had taken part with the Assembly which convened in the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. This report the Presbytery approved, and justified the course of their Com- missioners by a vote of five to two. The ayes were Gridley, Sturtevant, Jenney, McCormick and Huston. The nayes — ■ 264 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS, Posey and Reaugh. The Moderator, Hugh Barr, did not vote. Against this decision Messrs. Posey and Reaugh en- tered their protest. The fall meeting was held at Jacksonville, September 20. Andrew L. Pennoyer was received from the Congregational Association of Illinois. A. T. Norton was dismissed to the St. Louis Presbytery.. Ralph Wells Gridley was installed pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, April 25, 1838. His la- bors continued a httle over two years. He died Feb. 2, 1840, at Ottawa, 111., at tke house of his son-in-law, William H. W. Cushman, aged forty-seven. He was the son of Rev. Eli- jah Gridley, near forty years pastor of the church at Granby, Mass. He graduated at Yale College in 18 14, and pursued his theological studies under President Dwight. He was set- tled at Williamstown, Mass., October, 18 16, where he re- mained seventeen or eighteen years. His ministry there was greatly blessed. About six hundred were admitted to the church during that time. In the spring of 1834 he left that place and went to Illinois, and in the autumn to the town of Ottawa. From thence he went to Jacksonville. During his ministry at this place a re-union was effected between the Presbyterian and Congregational churches. In 1839 he attended the meeting of the Assembly and visited his former people in Massachusetts. On his return severe disease fastened on his lungs and throat. He resumed his labors at Jacksonville, but was soon obliged to desist. He took a journey to Ottawa and there died. His youngest child, Susan Kellogg Gridley, followed her father within a few weeks. Mr. Gridley was greatly beloved in Jackson- ville, and is spoken of to the present day with love and ven- eration. Peccan Bottom Church had but a brief existence. Panther Ceeek Church was represented in Presbytery at Jacksonville, September 20, 1838, by William Sewall. In 1844 he was still an elder. By 1849 the nameof this church had disappeared from the roll. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Sharon, White county, April 13, 1838. Cyrus Riggs was received from the CYRUS RIGGS. 265 Presbytery of Schuyler. B. F. Spilman, minister, and W. A. G. Posey, eldej^, were appointed Commissioners to the Assem- bly. James Stafford was dismissed to the Pres- bytery of Schuyler. The fall meeting was held with Greenville church, Bond county, September 21. Wil- liam J. Fraser was present and recognized as a member, the Assembly having decided to that effect. He was, at his re- quest, dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler. This Pres- bytery resolved, "That the Assembly of 1838, which met and organized and continued to hold its sessions in the Sev- enth Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, is the true General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church; and that any min- ister or church that adheres to any other body as the Gen- eral Assembly, does virtually secede from the Presbyterian Church." In this position the Presbytery were unanimous. Cyrus Riggs was a lineal descendant of Miles Riggs, who came from Wales to America about 1630. He was the son of Joseph and Hannah Riggs, was born in Mendham, N. J., Oct. 15, 1774, and removed thence with his father's family across the mountains to the wilderness of Washington coun- ty. Pa, He became pious early in life and united with the Presbyterian church. At the Academy in Cannonsburg — soon after Jefferson College — he fitted for college. He mar- ried Miss Mary Ross, July 25, 1797. He graduated in 1803. After graduating he taught in the college, at the same time studying theology with Rev. Dr. John McMillan. He was licensed in 1805, and, after itinerating awhile, accepted a call to the churches of Fairfield and Mill Creek, and was ordain- ed their pastor by the Presbytery of Erie in 1806. Thence in 1813, he removed to the church of Scrubgrass, and was installed pastor of that and West Unity churches. While here he attempted to introduce Watt's Psalms and Hymns in- stead of Rouse's version. But he met with an opposition stop- ping only just short of actual violence in the Unity branch of his charge. He therefore left that part of his field in 1823, though he remained with the Scrubgrass church some ten years longer. About this time he started west and arrived with his family at McComb, 111., in the fall of 1836. He labored for two years among the destitutions of Schuyler Presbytery. In 1838 he removed to Elkhorn — now Nash- ville— church, and labored there, on Mud Creek and at vari- 266 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ous other points for four years. He organized, at a later date, Galum church in Perry county. Thus he spent the evening of his days, laboring with great zeal, patience and energy, until Feb. 14, 1849, when he was suddenly removed by paralysis, while in his study preparing a sermon for the next Sabbath. His body lies with that of his wife, who had died Aug. 17, 1845, ir^ t^^s retired cemetery of the Elkhorn church. Mr. Riggs and his wife were the parents of eight children^ — three sons and five daughters — who are all dead save the youngest son, Rev. Cyrus Riggs, D. D. Their bodies are far scattered — three in Kansas, one in Missouri, one in Iowa and Uvo in Western Pennsylvania. They were all married save the eldest daughter, Hannah, who spent eleven years of her prime as a missionary among the Ottawa Indians, on the Maumee, and there contracted the disease which ended her days. The Presbytery of Sangamon met with the North Sanga- mon church, April 6, 1838. Ministers present: John G. Bergen, Dewey Whitney, Lemuel Foster, Thomas Gait. Elders present : Azel Lyman, Farmington ; Joseph Torrey, First Church, Springfield ; John B. Watson, Second Church, Springfield ; J. N. Moore, North Sangamon ; C. Lyman, Chatham ; S. McElvane, Sugar Creek ; B. Leeper, Bloom- ington ; J. Cantrill, Waynesville. The licentiate, Josiah Porter, was dismissed to Presbytery of Crawfordsville. John W. Little, from the Central Association of New York, and William C. Greenleaf from the Association of Oxford county, Maine, were received. Also Cyrus L. Watson, from the Presbytery of Schuyler. Cyrus L. Watson, minis- ter, and Joseph Torrey elder, were appointed Commission- ers to next Assembly. Alex. Ewing was dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler. The fall meeting was held with the Irish Grove church Sept., 11. John Wilder Little was born in Northampton, Mass ,, May 19, 181 2. His literary course was pursued at the Fel- lenberg Institute, Greenfield, Mass., and his theological with Rev. John Todd. At the age of eighteen he joined the church. He was licensed and ordained in Central New York. He came to Illinois in 1837 and united with Sanga- PALESTINE PRESBYTERY. 267 mon Presbytery as above. He labored with Sugar Creek and North Sangamon churches, and died of pneumonia at Athens, 111., June 2, 1 842, He was married in Whately, Mass., June 17, 1838, to Miss Mary Loomis of that place. He had but two children, Sarah Frances, born April 29, 1839, and John W., born May 20, 1842. This son graduated at Jeffer- son College, Cannonsburg, Pa., in 1869, and at Allegheny Theological Seminary in 1872, and is now pastor of Cross- Roads church, Wexford, Pa. William C. Greenleaf was born at Newburyport, Mass., Oct. 5, 1797. He was of American parentage. Was edu- cated at Bangor, Maine. Ordained at Andover, Maine, by a council of Congregational ministers, in Sept., 183 1. He labored at Andover, Maine, nearly seven years ; at Amos- keag, N. H., six months in 1837. From thence he removed in Nov., 1837, to Auburn, Sangamon county, 111., where he labored six years. His next residence was at Chatham, same county. February, 1847, he removed to Springfield, occasionally preaching at Chatham and other places until a few months previous to his death. He married Clara Par- sons, Oct. II, 1831, at Williamsburg, Maine. They have had no children. He died at Springfield, 111., July 21, 185 1. His widow still survives, and resides in that city. The Presbytery of Palestine held its spring meeting in 1838, at Paris, April 12, and its fall meeting with New Provi- dence church commencing Sept. 19. There was an inter- mediate called meeting in July, at which nothing was done. Enoch Kingsbury, minister, and Asa R. Palmer, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the General Assembly of 1838. Joseph Butler was received from the St. Lawrence Presby- tery. As between the New and Old School Assemblies, the vote was for the Old School, one minister and five elders ; for the New School, two ministers and two elders, and two excused from voting. Isaac Reed was received from the Crawfordsville Presbytery. Joseph Butler was born on the shores of Lake Cham- plain, in 1799. He was hopefully converted at the age of 268 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. eight years. He was educated at Middlebury College, licensed by a Congregational Association at Montpelier in 1825, and ordained by Champlain Presbytery in 1827. In 1836 he came West, and after spending some time in Indi- ana, crossed the Wabash and came to the home of Rev. Stephen Bliss. He was introduced at once to the church in Edwards county, called Shiloh ; and there labored, with but short intermissions for twenty-three years. He removed from Illinois to Pawselim, Minn., where he died Oct. 27, 1872, aged seventy-three years. He was four times married. The Presbytery of Alton convened at Collinsville, Thursday, March 29, 1838. E. S. Huntington was dismissed to the Presbytery of Peoria. Daniel E. Manton, a licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of New Brunswick, examined, and, on Sabbath, April ist, ordained, sine titiilo, The church at Edwardsville was received. Albert Hale, minister, and Solomon E. Moore, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. A revival was reported in the church at Alton, from which forty-nine were received on the first Sabbath in March — forty-seven of whom were by examination. At a called meet- ing held at Alton, July 5, 1838, Theron Baldwin was received from the Presbytery of Illinois. Owen Lovejoy was taken under care of Presbytery and licensed. The Presbyter}' by an unanimous vote placed itself on the New School side. The regular fall meeting which was to have been held at Bethel, failed for want of a quorum. A called meeting convened at Alton, Oct. 30, 1838, at which Joseph Fowler, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Cincinnati, was received. Edwardsville Church — the second one — was organized sometime in the winter of 1837-8, by a Committee of Alton Presbytery. It was received under the care of that Presby- tery, March 30, 1838, Joseph M. McKee being present as elder. Another elder was Matthew B. Torrance. This church was supplied from October, 1843, to April, 1845, by Rev. Thomas Lippincott, in connection with Troy. A little before Mr. Lippincott's labors closed at Edwardsville, Dr. James Spilman, an elder brother of Rev. B. F. Spilman, and SYNOD OF ILLINOIS. 269 a staunch Old School elder, came there to reside. He was friendly, but not disposed to unite with a New School or- ganization. The church being weak, wishing to secure his influence and seeing little to choose between New and Old School went over to him and connected with Kaskaskia Pres- bytery, which had organized an Old School church there, June 22, 1845. For one year Rev. B. F. Spilman was their min- ister. He was succeeded by Rev. Alexander'Ewing until his death, Aug. 12, 1848. At that time the church occupied the Baptist house of worship. In 1856, Dr. Spilman leased the Episcopal house. Rev. L. P. Bates was minister from 1856 to 1859. After Mr. Bates' death and Dr. Spilman's removal, the Second Presbyterian Church at Edwardsville, which be- gan as New School, then became Old School, ended in death, and its name was erased from the roll of Presbytery. Daniel Eddy Manton was born in Kinderhook, N. Y., in 1 811 or 18 12. He graduated at Amherst College in 1831 ; studied theology at Princeton and Andover; was stated sup- ply at Fayetteville, N. Y., in 1836 and at Redding, Ct., in 1836-7; he preached at Edwardsville, 111., in the winter of 1837-8, and was ordained by Alton Presbytery as mentioned above. He soon after returned East, went to the West In- dies, and remained a few months. With health not perma- nently improved, he returned to his mother at Kinderhook, and died there from consumption, March 5, 1 841, in his thirti- eth year. The Synod of Illinois met at Peoria, September 26, 1838. At this meeting was consummated the division of the Synod into New and Old School. For the Moderator's chair two candidates were put in nomination — John Blatch- ford and John Mathews. Mr. Blatchford was chosen by a vote of forty-seven to twenty-three. After various futile at- tempts to bring about a vote of adherence to the Old School Assembly, the minority organized in another place, and chose John Mathews their Moderator. They numbered fif- teen ministers and ten elders — in all twenty-five. The New School numbered forty-five in all. The minority claimed to be the Synod of Illinois. The majority made no declara- tion on that subject, but took it for granted as they were the 2/0 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. majority, held the organization and retained the records. On the then very agitating subject of slavery the New School were substantially a unit — holding slaveholding to be a sin. On this subject the Old School were divided. The Old School Synod altered the bounds of Kaskaskia Presbytery, making it to include all the State lying south of the north lines of Green, Macoupin, Montgomery, Fayette, Effingham and White, thus embracing the whole of the ter- ritory of Alton Presbytery. From this period the two Synods moved on as two distinct denominations until 1870, when the dissevered body was again re-united. Here*-'Commence the real troubles of the histo- rian whose aim and wish is to be entirely impartial. Shall he treat the two bodies as one, only having an increased number of Synods, Presbyteries and churches; or shall he speak of them as two distinct denominations, each claimxing to be itself and the other also, taking up first one, then the other? Either course has its objections and difficulties. He will try to combine the two, so as to bring out the real un- derlying unity arising from oneness of doctrine and polity, and with only so much of difference as the O. S. and N. S., which letters — as interpreted by what went before, what happened in the interim, and what is now following — are reduced from capitals to small letters, o. s. and n. s. This seems like a happy thought. I will follow it. YEAR 1839. The Presbytery of Illinois, n. s., met at Manchester, April 3, 1839. Loring S. Williams was received from the Presbytery of Arkansas. John G. Simrall was dismissed to the Presbytery of West Lexington. Ralph W. Gridley, minister, and Alexander H. Burritt, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. A special meeting was held at Jacksonville, July 18, 1839. The church of Winches- ter was received. Charles E. Blood was received as a candidate from the Presbytery of Cincinnati, examined and licensed. The fall meeting was held at Jacksonville, September 19. George C. Wood was received from the Presbytery of St. Charles. Winchester Church was organized April 24, 1839, with L. S. WILLIAMS — G. C. WOOD. 2/1 eleven members. At one time it numbered eighty members. Its ministers have been George C. Wood, W. H. WiUiams, Josiah Porter, A. L. Pennoyer, and others. It has never had an installed pastor. Elders: Stephen Scales, Edwards Pond, John Moses, W. P. Goldsmith. It has had repeated revivals and great fluctuations in its condition. It has a de- cent and sufficiently capacious house pf worship. Is at pres- ent— 1879 — vacant and depressed. LoRiNG S. Williams was born in Pownal, Bennington county, Vt., June 28, 1796. He was educated at Fairfield Academy, N. Y. Sent out by A. B. C. F. M. as a teacher to the Choctaw Indians. Was licensed by the Mississippi Presbytery, December 20, 1828. Ordained by Tombigbee Presbytery, March 27, 1830. Joined Illinois Presbytery as above; Alton Presbytery, September 12, 1845, ^^^ was dis- missed, October 13, 1848, to St. Louis Presbytery. He has been for some years in Glenwood, Iowa, where he has been occupied with Bible work, missionary service, and for four and a half years as county Superintendent of schools. In Iowa he joined the Congregational church. He is still living at Glenwood, and with his third wife who is twenty-four years his junior. His daughter, Matilda, has taught for many years in Chesterfield, Macoupin county, 111. His youngest daughter is wife of Rev. Marshall Tingley, Sioux City, Iowa. One son is residing in Summerville, Macoupin county. 111. A son and two daughters are, or lately were, with their father at Glenwood. George C. Wood was born in New York City, May 20, 1805. He was sent from home to attend school in early life, principally at Blooming Grove and Newburgh, N. Y. He graduated at Williams College in 1827, and at Auburn Semi- nary, N. Y., in 1830. He was licensed by Mendon Associa- tion, Livingston county, N. Y., Jan. 26, 1830; ordained by the same body, June i, 1830. From Auburn he started for Missouri, accompanied by Rev. B. F. Hoxsey and others, and after a tedious journey of six weeks, by land and water, in wagons and stages, in steamboats and flat-boats, and not very unfrequently on foot, he and his company arrived safely at St. Louis, Oct. 20, 1830. I now quote from a letter 2/2 PRE3BYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. of Mr. Wood to myself: "My first field of labor was at St. Charles, Mo. During the two years of my resi- dence there that church was blessed with two precious re- vivals and from a small beginning became a strong body. The church, however, became divided in the choice of a pastor, a part being for Rev. James Gallaher and a part for Rev. Hiram Chamberlain. The influence of that division and strife is felt to this day. Before leaving St. Charles I was prevailed upon by Dr. David Nelson and the trustees of Ma- rion College, to accept a position in that institution. I was soon, however, convinced of the impracticability of the scheme, and in gogA time left the ship and did not sink with it. I labored in Missouri eight years, and during that time preached statedly to the churches where I was located, and spent much time in destitute places, holding protracted meetings and organizing churches. Some of these are to- day among the most promising in northern Missouri. In September, 1869, I visited, by special invitation, one of these churches — that of New Providence. It was on the occasion of the re-union of that church. And what a glorious sight we were permitted to behold ! Instead of the little band, thirty-five years before organized into a church, we had rep- resentatives from five churches who had met to celebrate their mother's birth day. I resided at Manches- ter, 111., seven years, and next preached at Winchester and Whitehall. At each of these places we were permitted to rejoice in the displays of God's grace. In 1842 there were added to the church at Whitehall forty-five on profession of their faith. At Jerseyville and Greenville, where I after- wards labored, we had frequent seasons of spiritual refresh- ing. I was a member of the Synod of Illinois at its first meeting in September, 183 1, at Hillsboro, Illinois — being then connected with the Presbytery of Missouri." Mr. Wood joined the Presbytery of Alton April 3, 1846. For two or three years he labored in Homer, Mich. He re- turned to Illinois and was installed pastor of Greenville church, Bond county, July 23, 1853. He was dismissed from the same, Sept. 26, 1857. Since 1857 he has resided in Jacksonville, 111., in a pleasant home of his own, laboring as Presbyterial missionary and acting as stated clerk of the Illi- nois Presbytery, and then of the Central Synod. For five years before his death he was afflicted with paralysis. To- ward the close his sufferings were extreme. His groans, ex- KASKASKIA PRESBYTERY. 2/3 torted by his terrible agonies, could be heard in the streets. His tender, faithful wife watched over him to the last, and went down with him to the edge of the river. He died Jan. 5, 1879. He married Frances Emeline, daughter of Gurdon Bulkley, Aug. 3, 1830, at Williamstown, Mass. Henry Hoxsey Wood, son of Mrs. Wood's sister, Mrs. Hox- sey, was born Sept. 17, 1831. He lost his mother when seven months old, and was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Wood as their son, and by request of his mother. Henry married Miss Fanny R. Jackson, of Jerseyville, who died in five years, leaving a son, Henry, who lives with his father and grand- mother. His own son, George Gridley Wood, was born January 14, 1842, graduated at Illinois College in 1862, entered the Union army the same year, and died at Memphis, Tenn., aged twenty-one, wanting one month. He was a noble, patriotic, Christian young man. Rosa Frances, Mr. Wood's only daughter, was born October 6, 1848, and married William H. Covert, Esq., State's Attor- ney, of Quincy, 111. They have one son and one daughter. Mrs. George C. Wood was born July 31, 1810, and united with the Congregational church at Williamstown, Mass., under the pastoral care of Rev. Ralph W. Gridley, in 1825. Her Bible verse is Prov. 31:31 : " Give her of the fruit of her hands ; and let her own works praise her in the gates." Kaskaskia Ppesbytery, o. s., met at Vandalia April 12, 1839. B. F. Spilman, minister, and James A. Ramsey, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assem- bly. The report to the Assembly showed six ministers, one licentiate and fourteen churches. An adjourned meeting was held at Greenville commencing June 13, 1839. The church of West Liberty was received. Cyrus C. Riggs, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Alle- gheny. Wm. J. Fraser was put upon trial for slandering some of his ministerial brethren and for certain questiona- ble pecuniary transactions. On the last of these he was convicted and deposed from the ministry. Mr. Fraser appealed to the Synod from this sentence. The fall meeting of this Presbytery was held at Hillsboro, com- mencing Oct. 12, 1839, Mud Creek church, in St. Clair county, was received. John Mathews was dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Louis. 17 274 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Mud Creek Church was organized by Rev. Cyrus Riggs, Sept. 28, 1839, with seven members. There were two Bid- ders. One of these was Ephraim Hill. This church was afterwards merged in that of Sparta, and Sparta became Jordan's Grove, and is now Baldwin. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Palestine, April 11, 1839. Walnut Grove church was received. The •division of this Presbytery into n. s. and o. s. was accom- plished at this meeting. The minority — consisting of Enoch Kingsbury, John-C Campbell and Joseph Butler, with the •churches of Danville, new Providence and Shiloh — adhered to the n. s. The majority consisting of Robert Rutherford, John McDonald, Isaac Bennet, Stephen Bliss, Isaac Reed and Samuel Baldridge, M. D., with the other churches of the Presbytery, adhered to the o. s. Walnut Grove Church, in Shelby county, was organized in 1839, by Rev. John McDonald, with Amos P. Balch and Tobias Rainer, elders. The name was changed to Mc- Cliiskey by Presbytery Sept. 28, 1843. It was in T. ii, R. 5 E. Robert Rutherford ministered to this church for a time. It has long been extinct. Palestine Presbytry, n. s., met with New Providence church, Aug. 29, 1839. Ministers present: Joseph Butler, Enoch Kingsbury, John C. Campbell. Eldkrs: John Mc- CuUoch, New Providence; Truman Gould, Shiloh. Nathan- iel Kingsbury, of Union Association, N. H., was received. Enoch Kingsbury was made Stated Clerk. Nathaniel Kingsbury was dismissed from Palestine Pres- bytery, June 3, 1842, to the Presbyterian and Congrega- tional Union of Wisconsin. He was a brother of Enoch Kingsbury, and about four years older. He was settled at Mt. Vernon, N. H., before he came West. He was twice married. He died in 1843. He had several children all of whom are dead. OKAW CHURCH. 2/5 Palestine Presbytery, o. s., met at Paris, Oct. lo, 1839. Present, Ministers: Isaac Reed, Isaac Bennet, Robert Ruth- erford, John McDonald. Elders : John Bovell, Paris ; Find- ley PauU, Palestine; James Walker, Okaw; Tobias Rainer, Walnut Grove ; James Black, Bethel, or Oakland ; Thomas Buchanan, Pisgah. The churches of Okaw, Newton, and Mt. Carmel were received. Okaw, in Coles county, was organized first in 1839 by a Committee of Palestine Presbytery, with eleven members, and one elder, James Walker. This organization was in ex- istence until 1846, when it was dissolved by Presbytery. Another, by the same name, was made at Fillmore, June 17, 1854 — Fillmore was half way between Hermitage and Bour- bon Point — by Revs. H. I. Venable and R. A. Mitchell and Elder Israel J. Monfort, with these members, viz. : Richard W. Hawkins, Jane Hawkins, Mary Logan, Amanda Moore, William H. Randolph, Dorcas Rice, Mary Kingry, Robert McCaig, Noble J. Braun and Elizabeth Welch. Elders : William H. Randolph and Richard W. Hawkins. Elders since appointed : James Walker, John A. Magner, David H. Campbell, William M. Richey, B. H. Burton, John T. Reed, R. P. Burlingame, Ripley A. Clisby, Thomas Rankin. Ministers : Henry I. Venable ; J. W. Allison, who was in- stalled; R. M. Roberts, 1 869-1 873; W. H. Jeffries; John Locke Martin, student; J. W. Cecil. This church has held its meetings at different places, as Flat Branch — a stream -west of Humboldt, which runs west into the Kaskaskia — Bourbon Point. Fillmore and Areola. At the last place they met, June 18, 1858, received eleven members and held com- munion. Rev. John A. Steele was present with Mr. Vena- ble. This church was first called Arcola in the records, January 9, 1859. Under Mr. Roberts' ministry, in the win- ter of 1 87 1-2, there was an interesting revival — more than forty persons being added. The church never had but one house of worship, the present building, erected in 1862, cost- ing about twelve hundred dollars. Elder David H. Camp- bell donated the site. Previously the congregation had wor- shipped in school houses in different neighborhoods — as Fillmore, Bourbon, Flat Branch (in the Methodist house there), and at Arcola in vacant warehouses after the con- struction of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1855. 276 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Newton Church, Jasper county, was organized in 1839 by a Committee of Palestine Presbytery, with six members, Benjamin Harris, elder. This organization went down. An- other was made, by the same name, September 18, 1852, with these members: Mrs. Elizabeth P. Harris, Mrs. H. V. Harris, A. S. Harris, Joseph Wilson, Mrs. Ann Wilson,, Robert Delzell, Mrs. Dorcas Delzell, Mrs. Martha Max- well, Mrs. Elizabeth Maxwell This organization was made by Revs. Robert Simpson and W. P. Thompson. It had no elder until June 5, 1853, when A. S. Harris was chosen. Other ELDERS : Hiram Wade, Adrian F. Aten, James R, Jackson, Calvin "G. Chariot, Samuel Cowman, Henry Van- derhoof, Francis M. Ross. Ministers : Robert Simpson. H. I. Venable, Thomas M. Chesnut, Ogden Hen- derson, James Brownlee, George W. NicoUs, the present sup- ply pastor. This church has never had an installed pastor. There have been several considerable periods in which they were vacant. Before the erection of the church edifice meetings were held at the court-house, or at the Methodist church. The dedication of their house took place July 19,^ 1868. Its cost was about three thousand dollars. It is a plain frame building, with cupola and bell. There is an in- teresting Sabbath school under the management of D. E, Robuck. The Church of Mt. Carmel, Wabash county, was or- ganized. May 5, 1839, by Revs. Stephen Bliss and Isaac Bennet, Committee of Palestine Presbytery, with these mem- bers, viz. : William Eldridge, Paulina Eldridge, Anna E. Page, Elizabeth Bell, Elizabeth P. McDowell, Rachel R. Cook, Elijah Harris, Elizabeth Harris, William H. Miller, James D. Knapp, Sarah Knapp, Martha Harris, William Mudge, Mary R. Mudge, Alvin S. Sturgis, Anganet Sturgis,. Margaret Mahon, William H. Swain, Abigail Swain, Rebecca Galloway. Robert H. Lilly was installed pastor, June 1 3, 1 840, A church building of brick was erected in 1838-9, the finest church in town, and at that time in the Presbytery. This house was totally destroyed by a tornado, June 4, 1877, by which much other injury was done to property in the place, and seventeen lives lost. Ministers: Blackburn Leffler in 1847, and P. W. Thomson from 1848 to 1852; John L. Hawkins, 1852-56; next and until 1859, Charles PRESBYTERY OF SANGAMON. 2/7 Spinning; J. C. Thompson, 1860-63; William S. Heindel, 1875 ; Thomas C. Winn, now a missionary in Japan, while a student of Union Theological Seminary spent vacation here in 1876. Elders: William Eldridge, Elijah Harris, James TMcDowell, Isaac Ogden and Charles Roedel — all dead ex- cept the last. This congregation will build a new church ed- ifice soon. The Presbytery of Sangamon, o. s., met at Springfield, April 5, 1839. William G. Gallaher, a member of " the late" Presbytery of Illinois was received without a letter. Four churches, to-wit: Union, Jacksonville, Providence and Pis- gah, attached by Synod of Illinois, o. s., to this Presbytery, were represented by elders. Andrew Todd was received from the Presbytery of Ebenezer. J. G. Bergen, minister, and I. R. Kincaid, elder, were appointed to the next Assem- bly. The report to the Assembly showed seven ministers and eight churches. The fall meeting was held at Jacksonville, commencing Sept. 13, 1S39, and an adjourn- ed meeting at the same place, Oct. 5, 1839. The Pisgah Session, church and minister, Rev. Wm. G. Gallaher, announced that they had reversed their former action seeking connection with Sangamon Presbytery and should remain with that of Illinois. Mr. Todd reported that he had formed a church at Winchester consisting of about ten members. The Presbytery of Illinois had received the church of Win- chester under their care the preceding April. Here is an illustration of the ecclesiastical partisanship of the time. Andrew Todd was born Jan. 13, 1800, at Paris, Bourbon county, Ky. He was a son of Andrew Todd, an eminent physican, whose death occurred in May, 18 16. This Dr. Todd was a surgeon in our revolutionary war, a gentleman of high attainments in hi§ profession, of ardent patriotism and deep piety. Rev. Andrew Todd's grandfather was Rev. John Todd, of Louisa county, Va., a Presbyterian minister of high character and attainments. His mother was a woman of uncommon piety and excellence. Mr. Todd's collegiate education was at Washington and Jefferson Colleges, Wash- ington county. Pa. He graduated in 18 17. He united with the Presbyterian Church at the age of eighteen. After 2/8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. graduating, he spent one year in the study of medicine. He entered Princeton Seminary in i8i8, and passed through tlie entire course. He was hcensed by the New Brunswick Pres- bytery, April 26, 1 82 1. Dismissed to the Presbytery of Ebenezer, Jan. 30, 1822. Ordained by that Presbytery, July 25, 1823, sine titido. He married Miss Catharine Wil- son, Aug. 26, 1826, at Washington, Pa. He was installed ( I ) pastor of Cherry Spring and Hopewell churches, Ky., first Wednesday in Feb. 1824. Dismissed April 8, 1826. (2) Flemingsburg, first Friday of May, 1826. Released Oct. 4, 1838. (3 ) Jacksonville, 111., in the autumn of 1838 — released by death; Sept. 2, 1850. His decease took place at Casa Bianca, Florida, of bronchial consumption. His ministry was marked by revivals — his manner very tender and earnest — his preaching remarkably adapted to convince the judgment and enlist the affections of his hearers. About five hours before his death he wrote on a slate, " Most done mourning." In reply to the question, " Are you at peace ?" he replied, "As much so as is possible." The Prcsbytci'ian Herald ?,2\^ of him, Oct. 1850. " We have known him from our earliest recollection, and can truly say that we have never known a more unblemished character than his. His distinguishing characteristics were strong common sense, ardent and devoted piety, and universal good-will to all his fellow men." He left two children, one of whom is Mrs. Belle T. Waugh, wife of Rev. Joseph Waugh, Ph. D., of Washington, Pa. His active ministry at Jacksonville, 111., continued eleven years, during which one hundred and eighty-two were added to his church. Central Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, 111. The history of this church is identical with that of the First Presbyterian church, Jacksonville, down to September 28, 1838, which has already been given. From that time for- ward its history will be told mostly in the words of its pres- ent pastor, Rev. W. W. Harsha, D. D., taken from his sermon preached at the dedication of their present church edifice. The Jacksonville Presbyterian church was rent in twain by this division — that of 1837-8. There were three elders in the church at the time — William C. Posey, David B. Ayres and Daniel C. Pierson. Mr. Posey and a minority of the church, sympathizing with the Old School Assembly, ad- CENTRAL CHURCH. 2/9 hered to that body and carried their cause before the Synod of Illinois, which met in Peoria in September, 1838. The Synod, Old School, took this action : " Peoria, September 28, 1838. On motion resolved (in accordance with the act No. I and its sections, of the late Assembly), that the mi- nority of the session and church of Jacksonville be, and they are hereby declared to be the session and church of Jacksonville. A true copy of the record of the Synod of Illinois. J. G. Bergen, Stated Clerk." The majority of the church, with its elders, was of course recognized by the courts adhering to the New School As- sembly, and thus there were here in existence two churches, each tracing its origin to the original act of organization, and having a common history from 1827 to 1838. The records and property were surrendered without litigation to the party which adhered to the New School Assem.bly. This church retained the old name — " The Presbyterian church of Jacksonville," until the j^ear 1870, when upon the re-union of the two Assemblies, it took the name of " The Central Presbyterian church " — the other church hav- ing adopted some years ago the name of "The First Pres- byterian." This church was found, after the di- vision, to embrace forty-two members. It secured the servi- ces of Rev. Andrew Todd, of Flemingsburg, Ky., who en- tered upon his labors with them in the autumn of 1838. They worshiped first for a few months in a frame building which stood on the north end of the lot on which the Park House now stands, the use of which was given by Governor Duncan without charge. Afterward the Congregational church edifice was secured at a nominal rent. This building now forms the rear portion of the edifice on the east side of the city square, used by Messrs. Johnson & Son as a furni- ture store. In the mean time preparations were made for the erection of a sanctuary for themselves, and in the year 1840, about two years after the division of the church, the frame building on West State street was comple- ted— the lot having been donated by Col. John J. Hardin. In this sanctuary the congregation worshiped for nearly thirty years, leaving it only a few months before entering the lecture room of the present building, in 1871. Since the division, in 1838, this church has had four settled pastors. Andrew Todd labored with great zeal, earnestness 280 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. and self-denial from November, 1838, until failing health compelled him, in the autumn of 1849, to seek a warmer cli- mate. But he continued to fail, until on the 2d day of Sep- tember, 1850, in the fifty-first year of his age, he fell asleep in Jesus, at Casa Bianca, near Monticello, Fla. Mrs. Todd, his widow, yet lives, spending her last days with her daughter, the wife of Rev. Joseph Waugh, at Wash- ington, Pa. After the death of this gifted man, J. V. Dodge was called to the pastorate. Mr. Dodge continued his labors four years and a half, from the autumn of 1850 until the spring of 1855, when the pastoral relation was dissolved. After the resignation of Mr. Dodge, John H. Brown, D. D., acted as stated supply for one year. From Sept., 1856, until the following spring, the pulpit was supplied chiefly b}' Dr. Bergen of Springfield. In 1857, R. W. Allen, took charge of the church as supply pastor. Having received a call to the pastorate, Mr. Allen was installed Dec. 5th, 1858, and continued until May, 1867. Mr. Allen's pastorate embraced the period covered by the late civil war — a period most distracting, and highly unfavorable to church growth. After Mr. Allen's resignation the church was without a pas- tor for two years, with the exception of six months, when they enjoyed the labors of R. J. L. Matthews, formerly of Vandalia, 111. In 1869, W. W. Harsha was called from the South Presbyterian church, Chicago. His labors among you are still continued — 1879 — There were received during Mr. Todd's active ministry of eleven years, one hun- dred and eighty-two members. During Mr. Dodge's labors, extending through four and one-half years, ninety-two were received. In the one year, in which Dr. Brown acted as sup- ply pastor, forty-two were received. During Mr. Allen's pastorate of ten years, including the unpropitious era of the war, one hundred and twenty-three were admitted. During the ministry of Mr. Matthews, eleven were added. During the last five years, two hundred and thirty-eight have been received — one hundred and fifty-two of these upon profession their of faith. To sum up these results : In the thirty-eight years that this church has maintained its separ- ate existence, six hundred and eighty-eight persons have connected themselves with it. Of these three hundred and forty-two have been brought to Christ through its instru- mentality. ALTON PRESBYTERY. 28 1 Since the division, the following elders have been chosen : John M. Hill, Nov. 17th, 1838; Robert Brown and James M. Duncan, Feb. 12th, 1842; Stephen M. McClain, March nth, 1843 ; Thomas White, April 26th, 1846, died July 6th, i860; Dr. O. M. Long, Aug. 27th, 1847. Dr. Long still lives and represents our government abroad, though now a member of another communion. Robert Officer acted with the session for a few months in 1853, ^^^ then removed from. the city. Thomas Officer, Dr. N. English, Stephen Sutton, Wm. Stover, J. V. D. Stout, Nov. 8th, 1854. Dr. Gad- ■dis, Valentine S. McCormack and John A. Russell, May nth, 1862. Dr. Gaddis went to his reward Dec. 1st, 1863. Mr. McCormack was dismissed to the Westminster church of this city, and last year was called from earth by a sud- den and terrible accident upon the railroad in the vicinity, and Mr. Russell has been laid aside by sickness. Elliott Stevenson, Thomas G. Taylor and Joseph N. Taylor, Aug. 8th, 1869. The present acting eldership consists of Messrs. Sutton, Stout, Stevenson, Thomas G. and Joseph N. Taylor. A successful Sabbath school has been maintained in con- nection with this church from the first. The present beauti- ful church edifice was dedicated April 19, 1874. It cost with the lot, ^33,000. Alton Presbytery met with Bethel church, Bond county, April 3, 1839. Greenville church was received. F. W. Graves was dismissed from his pastoral relation to the Alton church, and from this Presbytery to the Third Presbytery of New York. Joshua T. Tucker, minister, and Owen Love- joy, licentiate, were dismissed with general letters. The name of South Green church was changed to Jerseyville. F. W. Graves, minister, and John Coggswell, elder, were ap- pointed Commissioners to the Assembly. Joseph Fowler was ordained April 4, 1839. An adjourned meet- ing was held at Alton, May 9, 1839, at which A. T. Norton was received from the Presbytery of St. Louis and installed pastor of the Alton church. Theron Baldwin preached the sermon The fall meeting was held at Jerseyville September 12. Greenville Church, Bond county, n. s., was organized by Revs. Thomas Lippincott and T. C. Lansing, D. D., Novem- 252 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS; ber 24 and 25, 1838, with these members, viz.: John Green- wood, John Coggswell, John G. Lovett, WiUiam Nelson^ Chauncy L. Eldridge, Henry Briggs, Warren Chapman, Elizabeth Briggs, Lucy Wait, Roxaland Lovett, Lusalla Chapman, Clarissa Eldridge, Elizabeth Wait, Ruth Ann Berry, Polly A. White, Elizabeth Blanchard. Elders : Wil- liam Nelson, Warren Chapman. Afterwards — A. L. Saund- ers and Seth Fuller. The reasons for establishing this church are these: March 10, 1819, as related elsewhere in this vol- ume, a church was formed in Bond county called "Shoal Creek church," embracing all the Presbyterians in the county. The center of this^congregation was in what was called the " Ohio Settlement," about six miles north of Greenville. In 1825 Shoal Creek was divided into three. Bethel, Shoal Creek and Greenville churches. In 1832 Shoal Creek and Green- ville were united under the name of Greenville. Up to this time Greenville was without a house of worship. Now they built about two miles north of Greenville village, on the left- hand side of the Hillsboro road. This church enjoyed the labors of Messrs. Hardy, Ewing, W. K. Stewart and James Stafford up to April, 1838, when Mr. Stafford removed to McDonough county. This left that church without a minis- ter from 1838 to 1840. Their house was two miles away, with no prospect of building in the village. At this time, 1838, Dr. T. C. Lansing removed to Greenville, expecting to make the place his home. Dr. Lansing was strongly New School. Others in Greenville and the neighborhood sym- pathized with him. By organizing a n. s. church it was thought Dr. Lansing's services could be secured as minister, and the spiritual necessities of the rising county seat be much better cared for than by the then vacant church whose house was two miles away. Hence the new organization was made. They commenced a house of worship in 1839 and dedicated it January i, 1843. ^^ 1846 this church be- came Congregational in its internal government, though still retaining its exterior Presbyterian connections. In 1870 those of the members who preferred the complete Presbyte- rian polity united with the Old School, which had many years before erected a house of worship in Greenville. The remainder took the entire Congregational order, and have still a bare existence. JOSEPH FOWLER. 283 Joseph Fowler was born in Blanford, Mass., August 9, 1809. He removed with his parents when he was eight years old to Central Ohio, where he remained until he was nine- teen. He then returned to Massachusetts and prepared for college at the Academy in Westfield. He graduated at Yale College in 1834, and at Lane in 1837. He then spent one year traveling and preaching in Missouri. He then went to Jerseyville, 111. He was ordained by Alton Presbytery, April 4, 1839, sine titnlo. He left Jerseyville in the summer of 1840, and spent a year in teaching — preaching also most of the time. He then removed to Northern Ohio, where he took charge of the church in York, Medina county, about May I, 1842. At that time " Oberlinism " was running wild through the churches in that region, causing distractions and divisions. He could not bear to labor amidst dissen- tions, and felt confident he could do more good in another field. He returned to Illinois, taking charge of the church in Lacon, in October, 1845. Here he remained eight years. In August, 1853, he removed to Astoria, Fulton county, tak- ing charge of the small church there, but giving part of his labors to destitute places in the vicinity. This was within the bounds of Schuyler Presbytery. After leaving Astoria he spent a year with the church in Rushville, commencing there about September, 1855. He removed to Magnolia, Putnam county, November 15, 1856. This was his last charge, for before one year was ended he received his release from earthly labor. He died, September 6, 1857. His was a life of earnest, efficient, self-denying labor. He married Eliza Ann Brown, daughter of Rev. Amos P. Brown, at Jer- seyville, 111., March 23, 1841. Their children were Ellen Phi- lena, born July 17, 1842; Calvin Amos, born December 2, 1844, died aged one year; Frances Josepha, born September 22, 1846; Theodore William, born November 14, 1848, and Cornelia Leonard, born September 29, 185 1. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Jacksonville, Sept. 19, 1839. Members were present from six Presbyteries. Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher was a corresponding member and preached the opening sermon. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Springfield Oct. 17, 1839. Members were present from five Presbyteries. In 284 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the case of the appeal of Wm. J. Fraser from the action of Kaskaskia Presbytery, in suspending him from the ministry, the decision of the Presbytery was affirmed by a vote of six- teen to five. Mr. Fraser gave notice of an appeal to the Assembly. Three ministers belonging to the Presbyterian Church, n. s., were present. In the record of their invitation to sit as corresponding members they are called " ministers of the Church of Jesus Christ." To this language the Assem- bly took this exception : " The bodies to which these minis- ters respectively belong, not being mentioned." A resolu- tion on the subject of slavery having been indefinitely post- poned, seven members protested against the decision, to-wit : John McDonald, Thomas Gait, Robert Rutherford, Robert B. Dobbins, James L. Lamb, Adriel Stout and John W. Little. YEAR 1840. The Presbytery of Illinois, n. s., met at Winchester, Scott county, April 10, 1840. Robert Kirkwood, from the Classis of Cayuga, and Luke Lyons, from the Presbytery of Kalamazoo, were received. Andrew L. Pennoyer, minister, and Wm. A. Robertson, elder, were appointed Com- missioners to the Assembly. The name of Apple Creek church was changed to Whitehall. The fall meeting was held at Whitehall, Green county, Oct. 2, 1840. Charles E. Blood, licentiate, was dismissed from this to Al- ton Presbytery. Charles B. Barton and Joseph H. Buffington were licensed to preach, Oct. 5. Robert Kirkwood was born in Paisley, Scotland, May 25, 1793. He was converted in his twenty-fifth year. Shortly after he entered college. In 1824 he commenced the study of theology under Dr. Dick, in the University of Glasgow. He was licensed in 1828. Came to the United States the same year. Supplied the pulpit of an absent minister in the city of New York the first winter. He united with the classis of the Reformed Dutch Church. His first settlement was at Cortland, N. Y., where his labors were blessed to the ingathering of an hundred souls. His next settlement was at Auburn, N. Y., in 1836. In 1839 he removed West, as a Home Missionary, and united with the Presbytery of Illinois, LUKE LYONS. 285 April 10, 1840. Having relatives in Plum Creek neighbor- hood, Randolph county, Mr. Kirkwood commenced preach- ing there in December, 1843. O" the 26th of Feb., 1844, he and Rev. Wm. Chamberlain organized the Plum Creek church, of which he was installed pastor by a committee of Alton Presbytery, June 9, 1844. This relation was dissolved April 3, 1846. He was dismissed from the Alton Presbytery to the Fourth Presbytery of New York, Oct. 19, 1847. After his return East he engaged in Bible and Tract agencies until 185 I, when he removed to Yonkers, Westchester county, N. Y., and engaged in writing for the press. This he continued until stricken down by paralysis, one year before his death. He died Aug. 26, 1866, aged seventy-three years and three months. His widow and son, Alexander, reside in Yonk- ers, N. Y. Luke Lyons was born in Coleraine, Franklin county, Mass., Oct. 2, 1 79 1. He went from there to Albany, N. Y., where he engaged in teaching and in preparing for the minis- try. He received the degree of A. M. from Williams Col- lege ; completed his course at Princeton, N. J., in 182 1, and was licensed by Albany Presbytery, Sept. 20, 1821. Was ordained, sine titulo, by Albany Presbytery, Oct. 8, 1822. Supplied Esperance, N. Y., and was installed pastor in Aug., 1824. Left there Oct. i, 1827, was installed in Cortland-' ville, N. Y., July 30, 1828, remained there about four years. Installed in Rochester, N. Y., March 12, 1833: remained there about six years. Was then a pastor in Michigan two years. Joined Alton Presbytery, Oct. 12, 1843. Installed pastor in Jerseyville, 111., Dec. 18, 1843. ^^e died January II, 1845. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. A. T. Norton. He was a faithful, devoted, interesting and suc- cessful minister. The young were his peculiar care. He was singularly successful in discovering and developing tal- ent, in finding hands for all work and work for all hands. Mr. Lyons married Miss Aurelia Fobes, at Albany, N. Y., in 18^24. They had ten children, seven sons and three daugh- ters. Of these three only are living — the eldest son, Henry M., at Chicago, and Mrs. Rev. Geo. R. Moore and Mrs. John N. Crawford. Mrs. Lyons died in the summer of 1875, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Moore, in Philadelphia. 286 PXESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Whitehall Church, the first, is Apple Creek continued. Elders: Henry Tunison, John Morrow, in 1842. Richard Fulkerson in 1844. In 1849 it withdrew from IHinois Pres- bytery and united with that of Sangamon. It was foolish enough to become a partner in an Union church edifice ; but the other partner or partners managed to get and keed the control pretty much, and our interests did not flourish under the arrangement. A Dutch Reformed minister com- ing to the place, our people fell in with him and tried that isjn a while. This likewise came to naught. The Presby- terians finally determined to organize afresh, and build a house to live in, the title deeds to which should be in their own pockets. The organization was made Sept. ii, 1870, by Revs. S. H. Hyde and A. T. Norton, D. D. Twenty- four persons became members. James Cochran, Dr. J. B. Steere and J. C. Tunison, elders. An excellent brick church was erected, at a cost of about ^8,000 in 1871. The church has since moved forward with good courage, efficiency and success. Kaskaskia Presbytery met with Elkhorn church, April 10, 1840. The name of West-Liberty church was changed to Brooklyn. Cyrus C. Riggs was ordained, sine titiilo, April, 13. Benj. F. Spilman, minister, and W. A. G. Posey, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The church of Pisgah was received. The Presbytery reported to the Assembly seven ministers, sixteen churches and one licenti- ate. This Presbytery held z. pro re nata meeting at Carmi, Aug. 28, 1840. Benj. B. Brown was received from the Pres- bytery of Troy. The sentence of deposition, passed by this Presbytery and confirmed by the Synod, upon Wm. J. Eraser, having been reversed by the last Assembly, a general letter of dis- mission was granted him. Andrew M. Hershey, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Washington and ordained. The fall meeting was held at Hills- boro, Oct. 9. James Stafford was received from the Pres- bytery of Schuyler. The Carlinville church, o. s., was received. The name of the "Kaskaskia" church was changed to that of the " First Presbyterian Church of Ches- ter." Cyrus C. Riggs, D. D., third son of the Rev. Cyrus Riggs, CYRUS C. RIGGS. 28/ sketched on a preceding page, was born April 13, 18 10, in Mercer county, Pa. He removed with his father to Scrub- grass, Venango county. Pa., in 181 3, and spent his early youth laboring upon a farm. In his seventeenth year he was visited with a violent sickness which brought him near the grave, and left him with a constitution perma- nenly impaired. On recovering sufficiently he entered upon preparatory studies with his father. He graduated at Jeffer- erson. College in 1836. He took his theological course in Allegheny Seminary, Pa., and was licensed April 4, 1839, by the Presbytery of Allegheny. Receiving a commission from the Board of Home Missions, he came immediately to his father's house in Elkhorn, 111. Making that his headquarters, he spent the summer itinerating among the vacant churches in that region. The next winter he spent with the old Kaskaskia church in the village of Chester. At that time — winter of 1839-40 — Chester had no church of any denomination. The magistrate of the village, a liberal- minded, public-spirited citizen, in belief, a Universalist, opened his office, furnished it with seats and acted as sexton the whole winter, all without charge. April 13, 1840, Mr. Riggs was ordained, sine titulo, by the Presbytery of Kaskas- kia. He soon gathered thirteen members of the Kaskaskia church, then called the First Church of Chester, and held with them regular services in that village one-half the time. The other half he preached in Liberty and at Shiloh school- house. May 13, 1840, he married Mary C. Todd, only daughter of Rev. Nathaniel and Elizabeth Todd, of Alle- gheny City, Pa. She was in every way a help- meet for him. In 1841 an interesting revival was experi- enced which added numbers, life and vigor to the Chester church. Soon after he organized the church at Liberty, now Rockwood, and in 1843 that of Sparta. In 1845 he led the Chester people in the work of building a sanctuary. Need- ing change of climate, he visited Western Pennsylvania, and was soon called to the pastorate of the churches of Annapo- lis and Richmond, Stubenville Presbytery, Ohio, and installed over them in the spring of 1846. He continued there to the fall of 1849, when having organized a church in East Spring- field, he gave up Annapolis and devoted himself to the two others. He was appointed also President of Richmond College. But finding the charge of the churches and the Col- lege duties too much for his strength, he gave up the field in 288 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the fall of 1 85 1, and became pastor of the church of Sewick- ly, Redstone Presbytery, Pa. He occupied this field for nine years. His next charge was Sharon and Clarksville, Mercer county, Pa. Severe labor in a great revival brought on great prostration, leaving him unequal to a pastoral charge. In 1868 he removed to Beaver, Pa., and took charge of a Female Seminary. Dr. Riggs had four children, one son and three daughters. The eldest,, Elizabeth B., is married to Dr. L. R. Webster, and resides in Grass Valley, Nevada county, Cal. The second, Elliott Swift, is unmarried and a physican in Allegheny City, Pa. The third, Mary -Content, is married to Thomas P. Dickson,, and resides near Clarksville, Mercer county, Pa. The young- est, Achsah Jane, is unmarried and resides with her parents at Beaver Falls, Pa. PisGAH Church, Gallatin county, was organized by B. F. Spilman, March 17, 1840, with nine members and two elders, one of whom was John Douglas. It has long been extinct. Andrew M. Hershey came from the Presbytery of Wash- ington, Ky., to that of Kaskaskia, as a licentiate, July 29, 1840, and was ordained the same day, sme titulo. He was supply pastor of Carmi church in 1840, and so continued for about two years. He was a man of polished manners, a good preacher, and sustained a good character for scholar- ship and ministerial deportment. He wrote and read his- sermons. While in Carmi he spent a portion of his time in teaching. In 1862 he was supply pastor of Greenwood church, a member of Potomac Presbytery, and his postoffice address Brentsville, Va. Subsequently his name stands as a member of the same Presbytery, but W. C, until 1866,. when it appears for the last time. Whether he went with the Southern church, or went up higher, I know not. Carlinville Church, o. s., was organized, December 8,. 1839, by Rev. T. A. Spilman, with these members, viz. : George Harlan, Margaret Harlan, David Nevius, Jane Nev- ius, Rainey L. Berry, Mary Jane Berry, Sarah S. Barrick,. Mary M. Fishback, Mary P. Parks, Elizabeth Brown, Julia Winchester, Lucy Stevenson. George Harlan, elder. CARLINVILLE CHURCH, O. S. 289 Ministers : Thomas A. Spilman, A. C. Allen, P. D, Young, Peter Hassinger, and several others who give the church oc- casional supply. August 10, 1844, twelve members of this Carlinville church were organized by Rev. A. C. Allen into a distinct body, called the Presbyterian church of Dry Point, and the Carlinville church, o. s., ceased to exist under that name. The elders of this new organization were George Harlan, Elijah Harlan and Henry Fishback. Elders subse- quently appointed were William Robinson, W. H. Edwards, George W. Quigley and Dr. James F. Spilman. The latter was appointed February i6, 1868. This church was subse- quently called Bayless, and is still known by that name, but is nearly extinct. The last elder, Elijah Harlan, Esq., died at Bunker Hill, January 6, 1879. It has still a small frame house of worship at Baylesstown, on the railroad near Dor- chester, Macoupin county. Several of its families have united with the Plainview church. Two or three members reside in Bunker Hill. The Presbytery of Palestine, n. s., met at Danville, April 3, 1840. Ministers present: Nathaniel Kingsbury, Enoch Kingsbury, John C. Campbell. Elders : Dr. A. R. Palmer, Danville; John McCullock, New Providence; Joseph Allison, Pleasant Prairie. N. Kingsbury, minister, and A. R. Palmer, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assem- bly. The fall meeting was appointed with the Pleasant Prai- rie church, September 4, 1840, but failed from waV* of a quorum. Palestine Presbytery, o. s., met at Palestine, May 8, 1840. Henry I. Venable, from the Presbytery of Transylvania ; R. H. Lilly, from the Presbytery of Muhlenberg, and Erastus W. Thayer, licentiate, from the Presbytery of Sangamon, were received. Mr. Thayer was ordained, May 9, 1840, sine titido. A called meeting, held at Paris, July i, 1840, dismissed Samuel Baldridge, M. D., to the Presbytery of Sidney. The fall meeting was held at Dar- win, commencing September 17. The new church of York was received. Isaac Bennet resigned as Stated Clerk, and R. H. Lilly was appointed to take his place. 18 290 PRESBYTERI'ANISM IN ILLINOIS. Henry Isaac Venable was born in Shelby county, Ky., June 28, 1811, and died in Paris, 111., May 22, 1878. He united with the Presbyterian church in Danville, Ky., at the age of seventeen, while pursuing his studies in Center College, where he graduated July 2, 1830. He pursued the first part of his theological studies in Princeton Seminary, N. J., but com- pleted his course in the Union Theological Seminary of Vir- ginia. He received his Master's degree from Hampden Sid- ney College, September, 1833, was licensed by the Presby- tery of West Hanover, April 19, 1834. After several months Mr. V. was commissioned as a missionary to South Africa by the AmericanHBoard of Missions. October 10, 1834, he was ordained to the ministry by the Presbytery of Transylva- nia in session at Danville, Ky. October 21, 1834, he was joined in marriage with Miss Martha A. Martin. Mrs. V. and four of her sisters became the wives of Presbyterian min- isters, and her only three brothers are now active and most useful ministers— Rev. W. A. P. Martin, D. D., LL.D., of the Imperial University of Pekin, China; Rev. C. B. H. Martin, D. D., of Evansville, Ind., and Rev. S. N. D. Martin, Kan- sas. In November, 1834, Mr. V. and wife, with ten other missionaries sent out by the same Board, sailed for Africa. Of these twelve, three only survive — Rev. Alden Grant, Rev, Daniel Lindley, and Mrs. M. A. Venable. For more than four years Mr. and Mrs. V. labored among the heathen tribes of Africa. But the work was twice arrested by the native wars, and with impaired health they were oblig-^j^^ to suspend their labors and return to America, cherishing a fond hope that they might be permitted to to resume their chosen work. A hope, in their case, never to be realized. Soon after his return to the United States, Mr. V. became minister of the Presbyterian church of Paris, 111. This charge he served until 1841, when he resigned it, and soon after laid the foundation of Edgar Academy, which he conducted with great energy and success for about nine years. During this period about eight hundred pupils of both sexes received their education, in whole or in part, under his training. About 1850, with a view to a wider range of usefulness, Mr. V. made a tender of his school to the Presbytery of Palestine, retaining the position of Princi- pal. While engaged in energetic efforts to carry out these enlarged plans, he was thrown from his buggy and received an injury which arrested his labors in this sphere and well- HENRY I. VENABLE. 29 1 nigh ended his hfe. Those who knew him in his prime freely assert that he did more than any ten men of his day to give a generous impulse to the cause of education in Eastern Illinois. And it may safely be said that but for this distressing casualty, Mr. V. would have occupied a rank among the foremost educators in the West. His recovery was slow. But as soon as able he was again in the harness, as an untiring worker for the Master. He supplied the fee- ble «,nd destitute churches, and performed missionary labor, for which he possessed rare talent ; hunting up scattered members of the flock, and gathering them into the fold. During this period of twenty-five years the churches of New- port, Eugene and Carpenterville, Ind., enjoyed his labors. He supplied the church of Charleston, Coles county, three years ; was pastor of the church of Oakland, 111., nine years ; and the churches of Newton, York, Pleasant Prairie and Wakefield enjoyed his ministrations for shorter periods of time. His last labors were in a mission Sabbath school and preaching station, in a destitute ward of Paris, 111., and occasional supplies of the pulpits of his brethren. For about a month before his death he had suffered greatly from an attack of acute rheumatism, but was better. On the 2ist, he was up most of the day, conversed with his friends, and wrote letters. About 8 p. m. the messenger came. He was stricken with paralysis, and suddenly was oblivious to all around, and before the dawn on the 22d his soul had entered into the everlasting rest. Rev. R. D. Van Deursen, the pas- tor, assisted by Rev. Messrs. R. A. Mitchell, of Kansas, 111., S. J. Bovell, of Ashmore, and J. Crozier, of Athens, the last two former pupils of Mr. V., conducted the funeral services ; while six of his old students bore the remains of their revered preceptor and friend to their final resting place. Robert Hervey Lilly was born in Kentucky, studied theology at Princeton, was stated supply at Franklin, Tenn., was pastor of the churches of Bethany and Livingston, and supply pastor of Princeton, Ky., pastor at Mt. Carmel, 111., in 1840, supply pastor of Palestine, Crawford county, 1845, and missionary in different places in the state 1849-64. He died at Champaign, III., Jan. 14, 1874, aged sixty-nine, be- ing a member of Bloomington Presbytery. 292 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Erastus W. Thayer was born in Massachusetts, gradua- ted at Amherst College ; studied two years at Andover ; was ordained by Palestine Presbytery May 9, 1840; stated sup- ply and supply pastor at Palestine, Crawford county, eight years; W. C. at Paris 1851-53, Springfield, 111., 1853-55, and Decatur, 111., 1857-60; supply pastor Chatham, 111., 1862; W. C. Springfield, III, 1879. The Church of York was organized June 27 and 28, 1840,. by Rev. E. W. Tli^yer and Elder Willis Fellows, at the school house in ^own, with these members, viz. : Martin Sparks, Mrs- Ann Sparks, Misses Harriet Ann and Mary Jane Sparks, Matthew Hughes, Mrs. Elizabeth Hughes, Miss Julia Rich- ardson, Mrs. Harriet Ketchum, Miss Mana Ketchum, Wm. H. Nelson, Mrs. Lydia Nelson, Mrs. Elizabeth Fitch, Miss. Hannah M. Fitch, Mrs. Sophia M. Graves, Mrs. Esther P. Williamson, Lucy Ann Wood and Miss Nancy Richardson. Of these, one member — Mrs. Harriet Ketchum — continues to-day on the ground. Rev. Erastus W. Thayer says: "I commenced labor in York in 1837, and preached two years without being invited to any house, paying a bill at the tavern every appointment. This I did on account of one old man, Willis Fellows — he was an elder in Darwin church — who desired it with many tears. No other minister of any denomination ever officiated in the town until the interest began to appear, when a proselyting and ignorant Baptist preacher came and drew away seventeen of the con- verts. Mr. Fellows presided at the organization and re- ceived the first company of converts, being able to hear their examination perfectly. He had been stone deaf for many years, but at the last his ears were opened. In a day or two after the organization he fell dead. But he left suc- cessors." Rev. John Crozier, of Palestine, supplied the church in 1854 one Sabbath in the month. Rev. John A. Steele preached here in 1855; Rev. E. Howell every other Sabbath from 1857 to 1865 or 1866; Rev. R. C. McKinney, 1867-8; Rev. Thomas Spencer, 1870-73: Rev. Geo. F. Davis, 1876-78. Elders: Martin Sparks, 1840; D. O. McCord, M. D., Robert Nichol, William Kelley. A house of worship was erected in 1858, at a cost of ^1,300, besides bell and furni- ture. Previously services were held in the school-house, the the town hall, or in the Methodist church. BELLEVILLE CHURCH. 293 The Presbytery of Sangamon met April 3, 1840, with Sugar Creek church. Thomas Gait, minister, and James L. Lamb, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held with North Sangamon church, commenc- ing September 25, 1840. They reported to the Synod five ministers and nine churches. Alton Presbytery met at Upper Alton, April 11, 1840. Albert Hale was dismissed to the Presbytery of Sangamon. The church of Belleville was received. A. T. Norton, min- ister, and W. S. Oilman, elder, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. A. T. Norton and Theron Baldwin were appointed a Committee to procure an Evangelist to labor in the Presbytery. The Belleville Church was organized, December 14, l^39> by Revs, Thomas Lippincott and A. T. Norton, with these nine members : William E. Chittenden, Thomas H. Kimber, Alonzo Dewey, Mrs. Sarah Dewey, Miss Sarepta Elder, Miss Esther C. Dewey, David Miley, Mrs. Phoebe Mi- ley and Charles T. EUes, Elders : William E. Chittenden, Thomas H. Kimber. The ministers who have served the church are these: Thomas Lippincott for about one year after the organization ; William Chamberlain preached here for awhile, every alternate Sabbath, then every fourth Sab- bath. When he was not present the meetings were conducted by Elder Chittenden. Henry B. Whittaker labored from August I, 1842, to April, 1843; Wilham E. Chittenden was ordained as pastor April 21, 1844, and remained until Sep- tember 13, 1846. His services were of great value. It was mainly through his efforts that the second house of worship was built. James R. Dunn for six months in 1845 ; B. Y. Messenger for six months in 1846-7; Joseph A. Ranney com- menced as supply pastor November, 1847, was installed May 19, 1848, and dismissed September 3, 1854. During his min- istry the church had a steady growth. John Gibson was with this church from April to November, 1855 ; W. W. War- ner about a year in 1855-6; B. F. Cole, E. Barber and W. F. P. Noble were here for very short periods ; Andrew Luce commenced November, 1857, '^^^^ installed October 2, 1859, and dismissed by Presbytery October 11, 1865. The latter 294 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. part of this period he was absent as Chaplain in the Uniorr. army; Ovid Miner during 1864, in Mr. Luce's absence. John H. DilHngham commenced here May 15, 1866, and contin- ued three years; James Brownlee one year; Gerret Huyser one year; Henry W. Woods labored here one year and three months. Elders : Besides the first two — W. E. Chittenden and T. H. Kimber — Thomas Osborn was- elected in 1842 ; Henry Batz and David Swyer in 1843.; Wil- liam Underwood in 1848; Charles T. Elles and Russell Hinckley, April 7, 1850; Edward W. West, January 2, 1876; Joseph Small an(^James McQuilkin, April 30, 1879. The places of worship have been these : (i) The build- ing erected and owned by Thomas H, Kimber, on the cor- ner of Jackson and Second North streets, of brick, plain and small. It is still standing, with alterations and additions, and is owned by John Hamner. (2) Miss Esther C. Dew- ey's school-room. (3) The court-house, and not unfrequently a grove. (4.) A rented room in High street, opposite Mr. Brooks' school-house. (5) The brick church, dedicated No- vember 9, 1844, It cost twenty-five hundred and thirtj^-two' dollars. Large repairs were made upon it at different times,, amounting in all to five thousand three hundred and forty- eight dollars. This building was sold to the City Council for forty-five hundred dollars. The present beautiful brick edifice was dedicated July 9, 1876. It cost, including lot, $21, 4.^2. The organ cost in addition eighteen hundred dol- lars. O. S. Thompson began his labors here as supply pas- tor, May 2, 1875, and was installed pastor October 21, 1877.. The church has received altogether three hundred and fifty- nine members — over one hundred of these have been re- ceived under Mr. Thompson's ministration. Since 1852 this congregation has been self-supporting. It has ever maintained a large and remarkable well-conducted' Sabbath school. In the midst of a population, two-thirds or more of whom are Germans, and of these a great part Romanists ; the Sabbath school has been perhaps the most efficient means of usefulness. It has taken forty years to get this church fairly on its feet. But now it is a power for good m Belleville, St. Clair county, and in the whole of South Illinois, The Presbytery of Alton met at Alton, Oct. 8, 1840. MEETINGS OF SYNODS. 295 The Committee, Revs. Norton and Baldwin, reported that they had employed Rev. William Chamberlin to labor in this Presbytery as an Evangelist, on a salary of four hun- dred dollars per annum, for which the Presbytery is respon- sible, either by collections or by the aid of the A. H. M. S., who had commissioned Mr. Chamberlin, guaranteeing his salary, but with the expectation the amount would, if pos- sible, be raised in the bounds of the Presbytery. They also reported that they had raised and paid Mr. C. ninety-six dollars. The Missionary submitted a report of his labors up to this time. Charles E. Blood was received as a licentiate from the Presbytery of Illinois, examined, and a committee appointed to ordain him. Charles Emerson Blood was born in Mason, N. H., March i, 1810. Graduated at lUinois College 1837, and at Lane Seminary 1840. Ordained pastor of Collinsville church Nov. 4, 1840, by Presbytery of Alton, through its committee. Dismissed from that pastoral charge April 24, 1847. He was in Collinsville twelve years, the five last engaged in teaching. Dismissed from Alton to Illinois Presbytery, April 23, 1853. Preached to Farmington church, eight miles west of Spring- field, one year. In 1854 he removed to Manhattan, Kas. He remained there seven years. Returned to Illinois in 1861, and was stationed at Wataga, near Galesburg, having charge of a Congregational church there and of another small one in Ontario. He died march 25, 1866, at Wataga, III, of typhoid pneumonia. His last words were, " Home, home with Jesus in heaven " ! ! His widow, Mrs. Mary E. Blood, resides at Galesburg. They had no children. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Canton, commenc- ing Oct. 15, 1840. Members were present from eight Pres- byteries. Nothing was done save the usual routine duties. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Rushville, Oct. 15, 1840. Members were present from four Presby- teries. Rev. W. J. Eraser, after having been deposed by two Presbyteries, whose decisions had been confirmed by two Synods, had been restored by the Assembly, o. s., and appeared in this meeting of Synod as a member of Peoria Presbytery in good standing. Most of the busi- 296 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ness of this meeting of Synod related to those portions of IlUnois outside the limits which this volume is designed to cover and is therefore not here noticed. This resolution is general and worth recording, viz : "Whereas the Synod of Illinois some years since considered it best to dispense with agents for the benevolent institutions of the church, the same was reconsidered, and it was resolved, as the result of our experience that it is not expedient to deprive our churches of their services, but to invite tJieir aid and co-operationr ■^ YEAR 1 841. The Presbytery of Illinois was to have held its spring meetino- this year at Carlinville, but failed to do so for want of a quorum. A meeting was therefore called at Whitehall, July 23, 1 84 1. On account of this mid-summer meeting the usual fall meeting was omitted. Kaskaskia Presbytery met, April 9, 1841, with the Gilead church. Alex. Ewing was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler. Andrew M. Hershey, minister, and W. A. G. Posey, elder, were chosen Commissioners to the Assembly. Benj. B. Brown was granted a general letter of dismission. The report to the Assembly showed eight ministers and eighteen churches. This Presbytery held its fall session with Greenville church, commencing Oct. 16, 1841. The churches of Carlyle, Mt. Vernon and Crab Orchard were received. James Stafford was installed pastor of Green- ville church, April 24, 1841. The Church of Carlyle, Clinton county, was organized Tune 19, 1 841, by Rev. James Stafford, with these nine mem- bers : James Rankin, Nicholas Laughrey, Emma Webster, Thomas McNeal, O. B. Nichols, George Ravens, Elizabeth J. Rankin, Sarah Mitchell and Jane Affick. Elders : Nicho- las Laughrey, the first ; since appointed, O. B. Nichols, Adam Yingst, John Ross, E. B. Lockwood, John O. Yingst, Jacob Youno", C. F. Putney. Ministers : James Stafford, William Gardner, J. S. Howell, Francis H. L. Laird, pastor; Ovid Miner, a Congregationalist, Peter Hassinger, S. D. Loug- PALESTINE PRESBYTERY. 29/ head, W. W. Williams, F. G. Strange, J. Rogers Armstrong. The present house of worship is old and small, and is doubt- less the only one they ever possessed. This church has no great hold of the community which is largely German and Romanist. The Church of Mt. Vernon, o. s., Jefferson county, was or- ganized by B. F. Spilman, with ten members and two elders, in 1 84 1. It was dissolved at its own request by the Presby- tery of Kaskaskia, April lO, 1852, and its members attached to Gilead. Crab Orchard Church, so called from the stream of that name in Williamson and Jackson counties, was organ- ized, June 19, 1841, by Rev. B. F. Spiiman, with these mem- bers, viz. : William Richart, James Richart, Joseph Magin- nis, Jane Richart, Rebecca Maginnis, Elizabeth Ann Rich- art, Oliver M. Dickinson, Maria Dickinson, William S. Rich- art, Margaret B. White. Elders : William Richart and Joseph Maginnis. This church, known at first as " Crab Orchard " church, was taken under the care of Alton Pres- bytery in the fall of 1845, ^^^ was thereafter known as "Eight-Mile Prairie" church. Through deaths and remov- .als it Ions: since became extinct. Palestine Presbytery, n. s., held no meeting in 1841. The Presbytery of Palestine, o. s., met at Charleston, April 15, 1841. Erastus W. Thayer, minister, and Findley Paull, elder, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. John S. Reasoner was received from the Presbytery of Kas- kaskia. An adjourned meeting was held at the meeting house near Herekiah Ashmore's, June 17, 1841. Shiloh church, Lawrence county, was received. Arrange- ments were made to organize Hebron church, on June 19, inst. The fall meeting was held with Pleasant Prairie church, October 14, 1841. Shiloh Church, Lawrence county, was organized in 1841, hy Isaac Bennet, with thirteen members, John Wright and 2gS PRESBYTERIAN ISM IN ILLINOIS. James Wright, elders. The school-house which this church- occupied for religious services was one mile south of an old village site called Charlottesville, which was ten miles north- west of Lawrenceville, and near Crawford county line. The membership at the highest was only about fifteen. After the Lawrenceville church was opened the Shiloh or- ganization was abandoned and dissolved by Presbytery, May 2, 185 1, Its members were attached to Lawrenceville. Hebron Church, Ashmore post office, Coles county, 111.,, was organized June' 19, 1841, at an union meetinghouse near Herekiah J. Ashmore's, one and an half miles west of the pres- ent village of Ashmore, with these members, viz. : Robert Brooks, Mary Boooks, James H. Bovell, Jane M. Bovell, Al- fred J. L. Brooks, Mary Brooks, Robert A. Brooks, Samuel Hoge, Letitia Hoge, Sarah Moffitt, Thomas C. Mitchell, Isa- bella A. Mitchell, Margaret J. Mitchell, Cynthia Moffitt, James Moffitt, Martin Zimmerman, Sarah Zimmerman and Mary Brooks. Elders : Thomas C. Mitchell and Robert Brooks. The organisers were Revs. Isaac Bennet and John S. Reasoner, and Elders James Balch and William Collum. Ministers : John McDonald; John A. Steele, from 1844 to 1848; Joseph Adams: James Cameron; R. A. Mitchell, 1854 to 1859; James W. Allison ; Stephen J. Bovell commenced December, 1865, and is still supply pastor. Elders since the first two — William W. S. Brooks, 1844; Alfred J. L. Brooks and Allen Brooks, 1852 ; S. J. Wright and J. M. Moffitt, 1866; Thomas J. Bull, 1873. The members of Hebron church built a house of worship in 1844, two miles west of the pres- ent village of Ashmore It was twenty-two by thirty, and a very rude affair — frame, never painted, and never received but one coat of plaster. The pulpit was a curiosity. It con- sisted of a chamber, four by six, enclosed by substantial plank. To enter it the minister must ascend a flight of stairs which landed him on a platform four feet above the floor of the church. When he sat down, and closed the door through which he entered, he was eflectually hidden from the congre- gation. When he stood up his head was in close proximity to the ceiling. This house was used until 1867. The pres- ent house of worship, in the village of Ashmore, was dedi- cated October 20, 1867. It is thirty-six by fifty, and cost three thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. Of this three DAVID D. M KEE. 299- hundred dollars was received from the Board of Church Erec- tion ; fifteen hundred dollars were paid by persons not mem- bers of the church. This church has never had an installed pastor. The present minister. Rev. S. J. Bovell, resides in the village of Ashmore in a home of his own. The Presbytery of Sangamon, o. s., met at Springfield, April 2, 1 841. David D. McKee was received from the Presbytery of Philadelphia. The Presbytery reported to the Assembly six ministers and nine churches. John G. Ber- gen, minister, and James M. Duncan, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Jacksonville, September 24. David Davies McKee gives the following sketch of him- self: "I was born in Harrison county, Ky., August 14, 1805. My ancestors on both sides were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, and emigrated to this country in the beginning of the 1 8th century. My parents were among the earlier settlers in Kentucky. In my twentieth year I united with the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian church. In my twenty-second year I entered upon studies preparatory to the ministry. I fitted for college in a classical school, taught by Rev. Robert Stuart, in Fayette county, Ky. ; entered the freshman class in Center College in 1828, and graduated in 1832. After spend- ing a year at home on the farm, I returned to Danville in 1833 and spent a year in the study of theology with Drs. J, C, Young and S. W. Green. In the fall of 1834 I entered the second class at Princeton Seminary, and remained there until May, 1836, I was licensed by the Presbytery of Phila- delphia at Salem, N. J., in October, 1835, and was ordained by the same Presbytery, in August, 1836, as co-pastor with Rev. Ethan Osborn over the church of Fairfield, N. J. That church has since been divided, forming the three churches of Fairton and first and second churches of Cedarville, In the fall -of 1838 I went to Kentucky and supplied the church of Russellville until the spring of 1840, when I accepted an in- vitation to supply the churches of Winchester and Union, the former in Scott and the latter in Morgan county. III. In 1841 I gave up the church in Winchester and took charge of the Providence church, in the north part of Morgan county. 300 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. This church then embraced the field now occupied by the two churches of Providence and Virginia. In the fall of 1844 I accepted an invitation to Vandalia, 111. The summer of 1845 is memorable in that region for the prevalence of mal- arial disease. Scarcely a family escaped, and often entire families were prostrated. This was the case with my own. In the spring of 1846 I left that region, went to Western Pennsylvania and took charge of the churches of Freeport and Buffalo. In the spring of 1848 I found it necessary to bring my motherless children to Greensburg, Ind,, to find a home with a widowed sister. After spending a year as a mis- sionary in the netvly formed Presbytery of Whitewater, I took charge of the churches of Bath and Billingsville in Franklin county. In 1858 I removed to Hanover for the pur- pose of educating my children, and at dift'erent times sup- plied the churches of Hanover, Graham, New Philadelphia and Walnut Ridge. In 1864 I accepted a chaplaincy in the U. S. army, and continued in the service until June, 1865. For the last few years I have been in feeble health and have had no charge. I was married to my first wife, Miss Lucy Ann Kerr, Oct. 20, 1836, in Bowling Green, Ky., and to my second wife, Mrs. Jane Butler Patterson, in Han- over, Ind, April 2, 1849. I have had seven children. Mary, born October 16, 1837; Sarah C., born June 23, 1842; Har- riet J., born November 30, 1844; Mary E., born Feb. 2, 1850 ; Noble B., born September 23, 1852; Rachel Anna, born May I, 1854; Sophia P., born May i, 1857." The Presbytery of Alton held its spring meeting with Bethel church, Bond county, commencing April 8, i84i,and its fall meeting at Jersey ville, beginning October 13, 1841. Joseph Fowler was dismissed to the Presbytery of Marion, Ohio. Lemuel Foster was received, October 13, from the Presbytery of Sangamon. William Chamberlain was re- ceived from the Presbytery of North Alabama Charles G. Selleck was dismissed from the pastoral care of Upper Alton church. William Chamberlin. The following biographical sketch of this brother is extracted from his funeral ■sermon, preached at Monticello, April i, 1849, by Rev. A. T. Norton. He was born at Newbury, Orange county, Vermont, Feb. WILLIAM CHAMBERLIN. 3OI 29, 1 79 1. The next year his parents removed to Bradford, in the same county, where they resided until Mr. C. was twelve years of age. The family then removed to Greensboro, in Orleans county, where they continued three years. Their next place of residence was Hardwick, in Caledonia county. At this place, when at the age of nineteen, Mr. C. ex- perienced that great change, without which no one can " enter into the Kingdom of God." He has left in his own hand- writing a very full account of his conversion, and subsequent exercises. He says — ' 'I was from a child very light, and much inclined to put serious thoughts from my mind ; but God by his Spirit used frequently to warn me, and some- times my fears were almost unbearable." In Hardwick, he formed acquaintance with a company of young people, whom he speaks of as very agreeable ; and as desiring to appear respectable in the world, while greatly attached to vain amusements. They were all alike thoughtless and secure in sin, until God in mercy interposed. As the cir- cumstance which awakened him was not a little remarkable, I give it pretty much in his own language. He says — " In the spring of 18 10, I was tending a saw-mill on River-la-Moille. The banks were more than full, and the stream rushed down the craggy rocks with the greatest impetuosity. When the saw had gone through the log, and I was prepared to cut another board, I hoisted the gate in vain. The mill would not start. I knew not the cause then, nor do I know now, unless God designed it to bring me to a sense of my danger. When I found the mill would not start, I engaged a man to to assist me in searching for the cause. We stopped the water from the floom, and I went down to see if anv thing- had gotten between the wheel and the apron. I found noth- ing. I then went down upon the wheel and began my search there. While l>'ing upon the wheel, I heard suddenly a roaring of water, which sounded differently from the ele- ment about me, and felt it dash in my face. I was not alaxmed, but perfectly self-possessed. I am con- scious of no agency of my own in removing from that wheel. The first I can remember of my own exertions in the matter, I was standing clear of the wheel, from which I had but that instant escaped, holding on to some timbers, while the wheel itself was revolving with the greatest velocity. My neighbor was over my head wit- nessing the scene. He heard the noise, and looking down^ 302 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. saw the floom full of water ; then looking at me saw my last foot leave the wheel the moment it started. The upper gates had given way ; the floom was filled at a dash ; and the gate over the wheel being open, a full head of water was instantly precipitated upon it, causing' it to fly round with frightful speed." In this case we see that -our brother was just as near death as he could be and escape. I was once conversing with him on the agency of angels. The passage, Heb. I, 14: — "Are they not all ministering spirits," etc., was repeated. He expressed his full conviction that they were not only ministering spirits to achial saints, but to those destined to become such — "to them who shall be," ■etc. He said he fully believed they ministered to those who had been given to Christ in the covenant of redemption, not only after, but before their conversion. He then related the circumstance I have just repeated. He said he kiiezv he had himself no voluntary agency in escaping from that wheel — that he had no intention of escaping, and that he knew not his danger until he was safe from it. He believed, he said, that God's angels rescued him To go oh with his narrative — " While looking at that wheel I felt that I was a miserable sinner, and that there was a God in heaven whom I determined to seek, I thought on the privileges I enjoyed, and resolved within myself to have religion." He thought that by making one prayer he could become a Christian. That prayer he determined to offer . that night, and accordingly retired for that purpose. But to his amaze- ment, he found he had no lieart to pray. He felt ashamed and confounded ; and after much difficulty and many struggles, got upon his knees ; but even then was ashamed ' to pray, and finally retired, having offered no prayer. Then, from having felt that it was an easy thing to get religion, and that he could have it when he chose, he was tempted to to think it was impossible for him to be a Christian, and that he had better go on in his former sinful course. His serious- ness, however, continued. But soon he began to entertain .a good opinion of himself — to think he was not so wicked as many others; and found it impossible to realize he was .a sinner. A singular delusion seized him. He fancied he must commit some atrocious crime in order to feel that he was a sinner. While thinking one day what act of sin to commit in order to bring upon himself a sense of guilt, "All at once," 2ie says, " my sins stared me in my face. I saw I was fight- WILLIAM CHAJIBERLIN. 3O3 ing against God and all holy beings; and that I had already committed sins enough to sink me to everlasting ruin. From this time my convictions became more pungent." He saw that he " must be born again ; " and that he had no inclination to seek Christ in the way the gospel required. Up to this time he had confined his feelings to his own breast. He now, however, unbosomed himself to a pious friend and received his counsel, from which he derived great benefit. After great struggles with himself, and feeling at times the burden of his sins almost too great to be borne, he at length entertained hope that he was indeed born of God. Still he says distinctly that he knew not the precise period in which the change took place. Soon alter this, he worked with a Quaker, who sought to teach him that the Old Testament was of little or no binding authority. He also frequented the religious meetings of various denomina- tions. The effect was, that he became much confused and perplexed in regard to doctrinal points. He then came to a somewhat singular determination. It was to give up all his preconceived notions, and as he expressed it, " look to Christ for doctrine, as well as right feelings." He compared hi3 state of mind to a full cup, which was emptied, and then refilled with something different. While in this state of mind, he at- tended his own church — the Congregational. When a person was received as a member, as the articles of faith were read over, he found to his surprise and joy that they exactly coincided with his own views. From that hour he never seems to have wav^ered at all in regard to his religious belief. During the nine years that I have know^n him, I have been struck with the clearness of his doctrinal views. Most em- phatically was he established in the faith. Soon after his conversion he united with the Congregational church, and appears from the first to have been an active Christian. In the spring of 1811, when he was twenty years of age, he went with his father and brother to the northern part of the State of New York. During the former part of that summer he worked at the business of carpenter, and in the latter part was engaged in rafting on the Salmon and St. Lawrence rivers. When near Quebec their raft was wrecked, one man drowned, and the rest saved with great difficulty. After this disaster he returned to his friends in Hardwick, Vt. No man, after passing through the burning sands of Zahara, ever rejoiced more to reach a cultivated and watered spot 304 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. and human habitations, than he did to enjoy once more the means of grace. In February, 1812, he lost a beloved sister, aged eighteen. When told by her physician that she must die, his distress was almost overwhelming. He retired for prayer, and found relief in pouring out his heart before God. He was then able to converse with her calmly. But he had hope in her death. In March, 18 13,. when twenty-two years of age, he went to Silver creek, Pa. He there purchased a lot of land, and spent the summer in manual labor. On the Sabbath he was engaged in Sunday school, and, with others, in conducting religious meetings. During the two foilowing winters he was employed in teach- ing school in Bridgewater. In the intervening summer he was employed in some business connected with the sale of lands. While employed as a teacher, he abounded in labors for the spiritual good of those about him. He followed the good old practice of catechizing his pupils every week. For this work he seems to have prepared himself by meditation and prayer. Another means of doing good was by holding a weekly meeting for young people. The conduct of this meeting seems to have devolved almost solely upon himself. The desire of becoming a minister, which he had indulged at different times since his conversion, took, while he was at Bridgewater, a definite shape. After much reflection and many struggles with himself, he there resolved to enter upon a course of study for the ministry. In forming this resolu- tion he was aided by the advice of two or three judicious ministers of his acquaintance. Accordingly, at the close of his second wmter in teaching, in April, 18 15, when he was twenty-four years of age, he set off with his pack on his back for Wilksbarre, to enter the academy there. His means were exceedingly limited. On this point he says — " I have but nineteen dollars in money and a note against a man for twenty more. I can expect no help from my parents. I therefore have only to look to God ; and I think I am better off than though I had property; for then I might run in my own strength ; but now I can go but just as far and as fast as God will have me ; so that if he has any work for me to do he will provide the means for my education. If otherwise, I shall be obliged to stop. I think, therefore, I have the great- est reason to bless God that I am in just such a situation as I am." WILLIAM CHAMBERLIN. 3O5 Plis confidence in God for support was not disappointed. He received some assistance from the Susquehanna Benevo- lent Association. But aid from this source was very precari- ous, and was withdrawn just at the time of his greatest need. At one time he tells us he had but four and a half cents in his purse, and knew not from whence it was to be replen- ished. At Wilksbarre, he boarded in the family of Rev. A. Hoyt, his future father-in-law. He continued in the Academy till Sept. 1816. He then engaged again in teaching. I find no record of his movemets, or of his feelings, from Sept. 10, 18 16, when he left the Acade- my and engaged in teaching, until he was on his way to the Cherokee nation in Dec. 1817, I conclude he was licensed in the spring or summer of that year, and very soon com- missioned by the American Board as missionary to the Cherokees. He was then twenty-six years of age. On his way to mission ground, he acted as agent for the Board, preaching and taking up collections. In this way he trav- eled slowly, and did not reach his field of labor till March 10, 1818, He was most cordially received by the mission- aries, Kingsbury and Hall. Rev. A. Hoyt and family, from Wilksbarre, Pa., had preceeded him a short time. On the 22d of the same month, he was married in the public assem- bly, to Miss Flora Hoyt. The ceremony was performed by his father-in-law. I have not time to follow him during his arduous labors of nearly twenty-one years among the Cherokees. Suffice it to say, he was ever the pioneer missionary . He, of all the others, was the man to break ground. He secured, in an eminent degree, the confidence and affection of the Red-men. He had also the full confidence of his missionary brethren, and of the Board at home. Possessing a vigorous constitution, much of the hardest service devolved upon him. When the missionaries, Butler and Worcester, were put in the Georgia Penitentiary, he escaped the same fate only because his station was a few miles over the line in Alabama. He lived to see the wilderness become a fruitful field. The savage became civilized. Many of the Cherokees took their places around the Sacramental Board, as the humble follow- ers of Christ. In June, 1838, his family returned to Pennsylvania. Mr. C. remained behind to assist the Cherokees in preparing for their removal West of the Mis- sissippi. He then visited Pennsylvania and New England. 19 306 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. In May, 1839, he and his wife started in a one-horse wagon to seek out the Cherokees in their new home. They trav- eled through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and fifty miles west of the Mississippi. Here they were stopped by news of the civil war among the Cherokees. Having friends in Carlin- ville, in this State, they proceeded there, with the purpose of remaining till the affairs of the Cherokees should be so far settled as to give encouragement to further labor in their behalf. Meantime, Mr. C. acted as agent for the Board in the northern part of this State. This he continued till June 1840. At that tipie he came to Godfrey, 111., obtained an honorable and hfghly complimentary discharge from the A. B. C. F. M., and immediately entered the service of the Alton Presbytery. On this branch of his history, I feel qualified to speak, having from the first been chairman of the committee to direct his labors. Look at our twenty-six cJmrchcs. In founding at least fourteen of them he has been directly and largely instrumental. In a very large part of the revivals with which we have been favored for the past nine years, he was present as an active, and conspicuous instru- ment. In his last tour South, in the heart of a severe winter, and when suffering greatly from ill health, he was permitted to share in the labors and triumphs of a revival. How glori- ous was his exit ! From the midst of the most blessed revi- val which Alton has ever seen, he went up in a chariot of fire ! In that revival he labored and prayed, and felt as men are wont to do when they stand just on the verge of heaven. Look at the extent of his labors. Through all the counties bordering on the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Wabash, as far up as the northern line of Jersey county, extended across the State, and many times through nearly all the interior counties, has he gone, preaching, dis- tributing tracts, conversing, praying, and striving in every way to save souls. Other denominations than his own have felt the influence of his labors, and been greatly quickened thereby. Look at the privations he has endured. To be absent so constantly from home is no small trial. To travel in all weathers and to be subjected to all kinds of fare; to be sick without suitable nursing or medicine ; to ford swollen streams, and swim them when past fording — these are but a part of the trials to which he has been subjected. He died at the house of the writer of this volume in Alton, 111., Wed- nesday, March 14, 1849, in the midst of a glorious revival. SYNOD OF ILLINOIS. . 3O7 He was providentially brought to the place at the commence- ment of the work. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Union Grove, Putnam county, Oct. 21, 1841. Members were present from six Presbyteries. Thomas Lippincott resigned as Stated Clerk and Lucien Farnam was appointed in his place. The meet- ings of this Synod in these years were largely occupied with sermons and discussions on slavery and Christian Union. At this meeting, Rev. Owen Lovejoy, who was present as corresponding member from the Rock River Association, preached by invitation a sermon on slavery. Provision was made for four sermons at the next meeting — one on each subject of Missions, Slavery, Education and Christian Union. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Springfield, Oct. 21, 1 841. Five Presbyteries were represented. The Synod's business mostly concerned matters and persons outside the scope of this volume. CHAPTER VIII. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 842 TO 1 846, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND OF MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS HERE WITHIN THE- PERIOD. Authorities: Origijwil Records; Presbytery Reporter; various writers of sketches. YEAR 1842. The Presbytery of Illinois met with Pisgah church, March 4, 1842, and adjourned to meet at Jacksonville the next day. Thomas Laurie, a licentiate of the Andover Asso- ciation, was received, and on March 6 ordained as a mis- sionary to the Nestorians of Persia. WiUiam H. Williams was received from the Presbytery of Tuscaloosa, and was installed pastor of the First Presbyterian church in Jack- sonviUe, March 8. J. H. Buffington, licentiate, was dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler. The fall meeting was held at Whitehall, September 30. Salem church was received. Thomas Laurie, D. D., was born in Scotland. Graduated at Illinois College, 1838; ordained as above; was missionary to the Nestorians from 1842 to 1846; preached to the First church. South Hadley, Mass., 1848-51 ; to the South church. West Roxbury, Mass., 1851-67; without charge at West Roxbury, also in Europe, 1867-69; supply pastor Pilgrim church, Providence, R. I., and in Chelsea, Mass., 1869. William Henry Williams was born in New York ; grad- uated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., 1823; studied the- ology at Princeton, N. J.; was a missionary in Georgia while a hcentiate ; ordained over the Third church in Albany, N. Y., Dec. 9, 1828 ; supply pastor and pastor in Tuscaloosa, Ala., 1831-36; teacher 1833-41 ; pastor First Presbyterian church. PRESBYTERY OF KASKASKIA. 3O9 Jacksonville, 1842 ; teacher, 1843 ! principal of Keokuk Sem- inary, Iowa, 1849-56; Home Missionary, Iowa, 1863; sup- ply pastor, Perry, 111., 1866-69. Died at Hendersonville, N. C, December 21, 1876, aged seventy-three. He was a mem- ber at the time of his death of Schuyler Presbytery, 111. Salem Church was formed by Rev. L. S. Williams, in Macoupin county, sometime in 1842. Alfred Blair was elder. It was about ten miles east of Carlinville, near the county line. The meetings were held in private houses, or in a country school-house. This church never had more than a dozen members, with the one elder, named above. Its name was erased from the roll of Presbytery, April 4, 1862. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Chester, April 15, 1842. Archibald C. Allen, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Louisville, ordained on the i6th inst, and on the second Saturday in June, 1842, installed pastor of Hills- boro church by a Committee of Presbytery. Cyrus C. Riggs, minister, and John Mann, elder, were appointed Com- missioners to the Assembly. The Presbytery reported to the Assembly eight ministers and twenty churches. The fall meeting was held at Hillsboro, commencing October 15, 1842. Archibald Cameron Allen was born in Kentucky ; grad- uated at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind., 1838; studied theology at Princeton ; ordained and installed as above ; la- bored at Terre Haute and Hopewell, Ind. ; chaplain U. S. army 1862-65; supply pastor Indianapolis, Ind.; is now sup- ply pastor at Hamburg, Iowa. The Presbytery of Palestine, n. s., met with the New Providence church, June 3, 1842. Nathaniel Kingsbury was dismissed to the Presbyterian and Congregational Union of Wisconsin. The fall meeting was held with Pleas- ant Prairie church, commencing September 30, 1842. Enoch Kingsbury was appointed Commissioner to the next Assem- bly. 310 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Palestine Presbytery, o. s., met at Mt. Carmel, April 21,. 1842. The fall meeting was held at Palestine, commencing October 6, 1842, John A. Steele was received from Presby- tery of Lexington. Sangamon Presbytery, o. s., met with Union church, Morgan county, April 4, 1842. Andrew Todd, minister, and James L. Lamb, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Jacksonville, October 19. West Union church was received. West Union, afterwards Murrayville Church, was organ- ized in the fall of 1843, t>y a Committee of Sangamon Pres- bytery in the grove west of Mrs. Helen McDonald's. The house of Mrs. McD. was in what is now Murrayville. The fol- lowing were the original members : Edward Ray, Nancy Ray, Helen McDonald, John Murray, sr., Hannah Murray, Samuel Murray, Elizabeth Murray, Jean Wilson, William Mc- Donald, Mary McDonald. Elders : Edward Ray, the first ; Wm. McDonald, Alexander Cunningham, Oliver P. Reaugh, Samuel McKean, Willis McClung. Ministers : Thomas A. Spilraan, Charles G. Selleck, Thomas M. Newell,, John D. Shane, Noah Bishop, Thomas D. Davis, Robert W. Allen. In April, 1871, the name of the church was changed from West Union to IMurrayville. The present house of worship was sufficiently advanced to be used for re- ligious services in i860. Previous to that time the congre- gation held their meetings in a school-house about a mile north of Murrayville, or in a grove not far from widow Mc- Donald's. The Presbytery of Alton met at Collinsville, May 3, 1842. At the session of this Presbytery held at Alton, Oct. 8, 1840, the following terms of correspondence were adopted ; "(i) That we adopt the practice of receiving delegates, as corresponding members, from such Congregational and other churches, within our bounds, as harmonize with us in belief of the essential doctrines of Christianity; provided that they are willing regularly to report to this body. (2) That such delegates have the right not only to speak, but HUBBEL LOOMIS. 3II also to vote on all matters which come before this body, except such as are strictly Presbyterial. (3) That we will consent to act as an advisory council in all cases of reference which these associated churches may bring before us." At the meeting of the same Presbytery at Tower-Hill, Sept. 26, 1867, these resolutions were repealed. But from Oct. 8, 1840, to Sept. 26, 1867, these resolutions were in force. On the basis of this plan at their own application, through their Elder, A. W. Corey, Monticello church was received under the care of this Presbytery, r\Iay 3, 1842. C. G. Selleck resigned as Stated Clerk, and. A. T. Norton was appointed in his place. This resolution was adopted : " Whereas, Rev. Hubbell Loomis, of Upper Alton, would feel it a privilege to become connected with this Presbytery, provided he can do so without yielding his views of immersion ; and whereas, we have full confidence in his Christian and ministerial character, and he pledges himself while in connection with us to leave all others in the unin- terrupted posession of their own opinions on the subject of baptism ; Resolved, That he be now received as a mem- ber of this Presbytery." HuBBEL Loomis was born May 31, 1775, in the south part "of Colchester, New London county. Conn. His spiritual birth he dates in April, 1791. This birth awakened an earn- est desire, which continued through life, to know what are the teachings of the Bible. He preached his first sermon May 31, 1801, under license from the Association of New London county. Conn., and was ordained pastor of the church in Wellington, Tolland county. Conn., in the early part of August same year. In 1828 he resigned his charge, and — on account of change of views on the subject of baptism — united with the Baptists. June 8, 1830, he arrived in Illinois Vv'ith his family, and in 1S32, settled in Upper Alton, and with others commenced labor to found a Baptist College in that town. ]\Iay 18, 1838, the Baptist church of Upper Alton, with which he had united, withdrew from him their fellowship on the charge that he had violated covenant obligations by withdrawing irom their meetings and commun- ion with the avowed intention of uniting with another church. Soon after this he connected with the Presbyterian church of Upper Alton. May 3, 1842, he was received as a mem- 312 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ber of Alton Presbytery. The condition of that reception becoming burdensome, he was dismissed from Presbytery, at his own request, April i8, 1 85 1, and again united with the Baptists, in whose communion he remained until his death, which took place Dec. 15, 1872, in his ninety-eighth year. In 1805, he married Jerusha, daughter of Deacon David Burt, of Long Meadow, Mass., by whom he had six chil- dren. Five of them still survive. This wife died in 1829. The same year he married Mrs. Hannah Pratt, of Charles- town, Mass. She died in 1864, at the age of seventy years. His children were Jerusha, Sophia, Elias, Caroline, David Burt and John Gailvin. Elias is Professor of Natural Phi- losophy in Yale College. Sophia was married to Hon. Cyrus Edwards, and has for forty years resided in Upper Alton. The fall session of Alton Presbytery was held at Green- ville, Bond county, commencing Oct. 13, 1842. Robert Stewart was received from the Presbytery of Knox. C. G. Selleck was dismissed to the Presbytery .of Illinois. The church of Troy was received. Troy Church, Madison county, was organized Oct. 2, 1842, by Revs. Wm. Chamberlin, T. Lippincott and C. E. Blood, with these members : J. K. Reiner, E. C. Reiner, James Perigo, H. Perigo, Cyrus Scott, jr., P. Scott, E. Scott, L. A. Scott, B. Posey, G. W. Scott, E. Goodwin, E. Davis and Cynthia Scott. This was the first church organization of any denomination in the village of Troy. Up to Dec. 22, 1867, the church had received eighty-five members, only sixteen of whom were then remaining. At that time Rev. Robert Stewart commenced his permanent labors. Since then and up to Jan. I, 1878, one hundred and twelve have been added. Before Mr. Stewart, the church was served by the following ministers : Wm. Chamberlin, Thomas Lippincott, J. R. Dunn, Calvin Butler, L. A. Parks, licentiate, John Gibson, Socrates Smith, James A. Darrah, Caleb J. Pitkin, William Ellers and A. D. Jack. Most of these labored here only half the time. The following are the elders : Dr. J. K. Reiner and James Perigo, the first two. Thomas Smith, Westley Jarvis, Oliver Beard, John R. Swain, Dr. F. W. MEETINGS. 313 Lytle, L. R. Cornman, John McKee, Dr. F. A. Sabin, Andrew Kimberlin, James A. Henderson, Samuel Yandell, James W. Barlow, Edward Bigelow, Thomas H. Bell, R. C. Morris, Henry A. Risser, James Lang, Thomas J. Purviance and John Bosomworth. In 1845 the church adopted the limited period of Eldership. The first house of worship was a neat frame, twenty-four by thirty feet. When the new house was erected the old one was sold and is now private property. This new house is of brick, sixty by thirty-six feet, with basement story and audience room above, and cost $10,000. Eleven hundred of this were donated by the Board of Church Erection. The corner-stone of this house was laid on Mr. Stewart's birth-day, May, 3, 1871. It was dedi- cated May 3, 1872, the day the pastor was seventy-four years of age. This church has ever had a Sabbath school vigorously maintained. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Bloomington, Octo- ber 20, 1842. Members were present from nine Presbyteries. Lucien Farnam resigned as Stated Clerk, and Lycurgus P. Kimball was appointed in his place. A petition to the As- sembly was adopted for a new Synod in this State, to be called The Synod of Peoria, and to include the Presbyteries of Ottawa, Peoria, Knox and Galena. The Presbytery of Sanga- mon (n. s.) was attached to that of Illinois. Five Presbyte- rial missionaries have been employed by five different Pres- byteries, and their labors attended with such success as to strongly commend the plan to all. A petition was sent to the Governor of the State asking him to appoint the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving. Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Jacksonville, October 20, 1842. Members were present from five Presbyteries. They reported to the Assembly forty-eight ministers and ninety churches. YEAR 1843. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Carrollton, March 31, 1843. Edward Beecher, minister, and John Adams, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. Luke Lyons was dismissed to the Presbytery of Alton. The 314 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. fall meeting of this Presbytery was held with Pisgah church, commencing September 7. The ministers and churches of the Sangamon Presbytery, n. s., were according to directions of Synod, attached to this Presbytery. This is the list. Min- isters : Albert Hale, Bilious Pond, John F. Brooks, Josiah Porter, Elisha Jenney and Dewey Whitney. Churches : Sec- ond church Springfield, Farmington, Chatham, Spring Creek, Waynesville and Mechanicsburg. Charles G. Selleck was received from the Presbytery of Alton. The pastoral rela- tion between the First church, Jacksonville, and Rev. W. H. Williams was dissolved. Josiah Porter. This brother shall himself give his own history. I was born in the genial climate of South Carolina, April 10, 1802. My ancestry on both sides were Presbyterians. My father, Josiah Porter, was born in Londonderry, Decem- ber 25, 1750. He was well instructed in the principles of plane and spherical trigonometry, and of these he was a very capable teacher. He was one of the elders in the Fishing Creek Presbyterian church and a devout Christian. He died near Nashville, Tenn., December 19, 18 14. Mother's name was Rachel Gill, Scotch parents, Presbyte- rian, and all were zealous friends and decided defenders of the Independence of the Colonies, for which cause they suf- fered many hardships. I commenced my stud- ies for the ministry, May i, 1825, in Boubon Academy under Professor Sharpe, and after three sessions attended a paro- chial school one year. I spent a few months studying He- brew in a class taught by Rev. John McFarland. At the opening of the fall session, 1828, I entered Center College as a manual-labor student. Two years I pursued my studies there. I then went to Indiana University, on account of the resignation of Dr. Blackburn as President, in consequence of the O. S. and N. S. controversy. Two years I spent in Bloomington, Ind., and graduated September i, 1832. Thence I went to Lane Theological Seminary and studied until the spring of 1 834. Under the private instruction of J. W. Hall, D. D., I closed my preparatory studies. I thought myself called to preach the Gospel from sev- eral considerations : ist. Because of my great change of JOSIAH PORTER. 315 views as to the paramount importance of the Gospel and a predominating desire to teach this way of Hfe to others. Besides, I felt a great deadness to the world, and was willing to give up the pursuit of a lucrative trade. Again, my pious mother said she had lent me to the Lord, as Hannah did Samuel. I moreover subjected my views and feelings to ministers and experienced Christians, to theological profess- ors and Presbyteries, and with the cordial approval of all, I went forward. AH along my preparatory course I saw encouraging fruits of my labor. And now at the age of seventy-six I am happy that I obeyed the heavenly call, and only regret that my labors have been so fruitless. Shi- loh Presbytery, Oct. 3, 1835, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., gave me license. Crawfordsville Presbytery, on April 3, 1838, ordained me, sine titiilo, at Waveland, Ind. Immediately after licen- sure I labored in Smith county, Tenn., in Carthage and Pay- ton's Creek congregations six months. Next I preached one year to the Chatham and Sugar Creek congregations, 111., on a salary of three hundred dollars. At the close of the year we had a most precious revival — thirty-five hopeful conver- sions. But a change of views on the subject of immediate emancipation ruled me out. I sought a new home and re- moved to Eugene, Ind., where I taught school and preached to a small church almost without compensation. My removal was in the winter and I can truly say the journey was awful and expensive. While at Eugene I was ordained. That fall I was greatly and dangerously afflicted. In December, 1838, 1 was invited to supply Waynesville, Illinois, Presbyterian church. Here I preached seven and a half years as supply pastor. Whilst laboring here the church and temperance cause prospered, Sunday schools flourished; and I supplied the coun- ty of DeWitt with bibles and organized an o. s. church in Ran- dolph Grove, which was received by Sangamon Presbytery. In 1845 I became bible colporteur and preached often. In 1846 Illinois Presbytery commissioned me to ride as mission- ary in their bounds. I aided in organizing a Presbyterian church in Rochester, eight miles east of Springfield. In 1847 I was invited to take charge of Winchester, Scott county, Presbyterian church and vicinity. My congregations were large and interesting. Besides I preached at Exeter, Manchester and two or three school houses. It was a very promising field; but a little root of bitterness worked me out. In 1849 I removed to Chatham and began the mixed labor 3l6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. of farming and preaching. I continued for two years with- out profit either to myself or the people. Next I preached at Spring Creek with but little encouragement. In 1855 I was invited by one of my Scott county (a Mr Loud) school house converts to supply Virden church, which I had assisted to organize the year before. There I preached one half of the time for one year. Since that time I have preached only occasionally. I have superintended Sunday school some, but for a year or two have retired. July' 18, 1837, I was married at Chatham, 111., to Martha Winnyfred Thornton, daughter of William Thornton, formerly of Kentucky, where my wife was bornj-iVIay 20, 181 5. We had born five children, all daughters. Three died in infancy. Two survive. Mary Louisa, was born Nov. 17, 1842; Agnes, Sept. 24, 1850. In 1815 my mother removed to Indiana. Very little preaching was to be had, and that of poor quality. Until 1823 I had but little religious interest. I then attended church and was really anxious, but I had no one to teach me. In 1824 I had access to a fragment of a Bible. I read the five books of Moses and became a prisoner at the bar. My hope from previous education, or pious, praying ancestry left me. My convictions deepened. I refused to open my heart, and the conflict was desperate. On the fifth and sixth of Sept., 1824, at a Cumberland camp-meeting I avowed my anxiety. I asked what should I do to be saved. I prayed in deep agony, almost despaired of ever finding mercy. In my deep despair a kind brother said softly, 'The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.' Light, peace, joy and love filled my soul. I shouted for joy. At the same time a brother in Tennessee, two hundred miles distant, professed his faith in Christ ; and his first letter after was to exhort me to seek the Savior. In the sequel we both toiled through many difficulties, studied together, graduated together, were licens- ed together, and married within a year of each other. But on the 25th of August, 1 840, he passed from time, and I am still spared, the youngest of a family of fourteen children. Mechanicsburg church was organized about 1843. The place is twelve miles east of Springfield and three miles south of Buffalo, on the Wabash R. R. It had as elders, John Thompson, G. P. Bruce, and probably others. Its name last appears on the minutes of 1867, when it was reported to contain six members. VVAVELAXD CHURCH. 3^7 The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Shawneetown, 111., April 21, 1843. James Stafford, minister, and W. A. G, Posey, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly, B. F. Spilman was installed pastor of the Shawneetown church, April 22d. The church of Belleville, o. s., was re- ceived. The fall meeting was held at Greenville. Wave- land, Liberty and Sparta churches were received. Belleville Church, o. s. April 5, 1843, James Stafford organized a church at Belleville with eighteen members. Of these, ten were from the already existing church, n. s. Two elders were elected, of whom Thomas Osbcrn was one. By this division the church of 1839 was much weakened and a deal of ill-feeling engendered. But the wise counsels of that godly man, Rev. William Chamberlin, were oil on the troubled waters. The aggrieved members nearly all returned to the church they had left, and the o. s. organization was aban- doned. Waveland Church. The location of its present building is in Montgomery county, T. 7 N., R. 4 W., Sec. 2, S. W. quarter of N. W. quarter. It was organized by Rev. A. C. Allen at the house of William P. Brown, July 28, 1843, with these twenty-five members : John Brown, Sarah Brown, Leeve Brown, William P. Brown, Newton G. Brown, Eliza- beth Brown (widow), Nancy Brown, Eliza Brown, Rufus P. Brown, William Brown, jr., Margaret Craig, Jesse D. Wood, Minerva J. Wood, Sarah D. Blackwood, Emeline Black- wood, Levi H. Thom, Margaret A. Thom, George Nichol- son, George L. Clotfelter, Jemima Clotfelter, Elizabeth Barry, Joseph McLean, Abigail McLean, Enos Clotfelter, Elizabeth Brown. Elders: John Brown, Levi H. Thom, Dr. Jesse D. Wood. It is an outpost of the Hillsboro church, and was supplied by its ministers — A. C. Allen, T. W. Hynes and R. M. Roberts — up to 1859. Since then its ministers have been William Hamilton, John S. Howell and James Henry Spil- man up to 1875. For several years the congregation wor- shiped, in pleasant weather, in a grove, at other times in private houses. In October, 1847, ^^^ church received a gift of six acres of land, on which, in 1847-8, they erected a plain house of worship. This was used for twenty-four years. In 3l8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. 1872 they erected the present building — a neat, convenient frame — at a cost of sixteen hundred dollars. The number received to membership from the beginning is one hundred and fifty-three. Present number forty-nine. The elders, besides the first three, are Joseph McLean, Rufus P. Brown, John McLean, Alvin A. McLean and David H. Clotfelter. Since the administration of James H. Spilman, several ministers have supplied for brief periods. At the present time — 1879 — Rev. N. S. Dickey, of Hillsboro, preaches every Sabbath P. M. Sparta, Jordan's Grove, or Baldwin Church. It was organized at Sparta, Randolph county, July 29, 1843, by Rev. Cyrus Riggs, with these members, viz. : Ridley Bannister, Martha A. Bannister, Martha M. Pelton, John C. Hanna, Lucy G. Hanna, H. M. Livingston, Jane M. Livingston and Temperance McCormick. Eldkrs : H. M. Livingston and John C. Hanna, the first. Afterwards — Samuel J. B. Meek, February 26, 1846; Ephraim Hill, August 8, 1846; Samuel Ewing, 1850; William Lively, Angus McAllister and George W. Lash, 1854; Alexander R. Lessley, Jared Rule, January, 1858; Arthur T. Tovrea, May 30, 1872; George Wilson, June 8, 1870; William Cox, Thomas J. McBride, William W. Prine, June 6, 1874. Ministers: Cyrus Riggs, from beginning to April, 1845 ; B. F. Spilman, from Febru- ary, 1846, to September, 1851; B. Leffler one year; C. D. Martin, W. R. Sinn, 1858-60; Martin B. Gregg, August 25, 1872, till his death, August 31, 1873; James Scott Davis, January, 1874, to June, 1875; M. M. Cooper, September, 1876, to August, 1877. The name of the church was changed from Sparta to Jordan's Grove, April 12, 185 1. It was changed again to Baldwin, after the church building was re- moved to that village. While worshiping in Sparta this church had no edifice of its own. Its meetings were not long held in that village, but in the country some six miles northwest. Here, i. e., on the N. E. quarter of N. W. quarter of sec. 8, T. 4 S., R. 6 W., they erected in 185 1 a house of worship, which cost about one thousand dollars. At this site is a cemetery. This house was removed to Bald- win, on the narrow gauge railroad, in the fall of 1872, re- paired and furnished anew, all at a cost of twelve hundred dallars. It was dedicated June i, 1873. This congregation ROCKWOOD CHURCH. 319 Tias been vacant mostly since Mr. Cooper left, and is now in a languishing state. Liberty, now Rockwood Church, is on the Mississippi river, in the southeast corner of Randolph county. It was organized at the house of Dr. James C. Junk, by Rev. Cyrus C. Riggs, March 9, 1843, with twenty-nine members. Eld- ers ; James Clendenin, James McLaughlin, John Hender- son and Wm. Henderson, the first ; afterwards, Paul Hol- worth, Wm. Hamilton, William Herdman, John H. Clende- nin, Hazlett H. McLaughlin, Wm. H. Bilderback, J. L. Mann, S. P. Tuthill, Wm. B. Gray, John P. Mann. Minis- ters: Cyrus C. Riggs, B. F. Spilman. Alex. Brown, A. A. Morrison. B. H. Charles, A. R. Naylor, John C. Wagaman, Alfred Wright, James Scott Davis. In a revival in 1862, twenty-nine persons were received ; in another, in the winter of 1876, twenty-eight were added. The name of the church was changed from Liberty to Rock- wood, Feb. 16, 1865, to correspond with the name of the village as changed by the Legislature. This congregation met in private houses, or in the school-house until the dedi- cation of the present house of worship, which took place late in the fall of 1864. This house is of brick, and cost ^1,950, of which from Church Erection Board three hundred dollars. The site is two lots, bought for thirty dollars. The original families of this church were from Virginia, the Carolinas and Kentucky. The meeting of Palestine Presbytery, n. s., appointed at Danville, for April 5, 1843, failed from lack of a quorum. No meeting was attempted in the fall. Palestine Presbytery, o. s., met with Darwin church, April 6, 1843. Isaac Bennet, minister, and Findley Paull, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The Presbytery reported to the Assembly ten ministers, fif- teen churcKes and one hundred and twenty-five additions in the year ending with this meeting. The Fall rneeting was held at Charleston, commencing Sept. 27, 1843. Tii.e name of Wahiut Grove church was changed to McClus- ■key, Isaac Reed was dismissed to Richland Presbytery, Ohio. 320 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Irish Grove, April 7, 1S43. John G. Bergen, minister, and James L. Lamb, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. They reported five ministers, ten churches and an aggregate mem- bership of four hundred and seven. The fall meeting was held with Providence church, commencing October, 2. The Presbytery of Alton met at Belleville, March 30, 1843. The " First Presbyterian church of Nine Mile Prai- rie," afterwards QM Ducoigii, was received under their care. Henry Whittaker, a licentiate, was received from the Lex- ington Presbytery, Mo. A report was received from the Greenville church, of the successful efforts of Elder Asa L. Saunders, in the churches at the East, to raise funds to pay the debt on their house of worship. Presbytery reported to the Assembly, ten ministers, one licentiate, thirteen churches and nine hundred and thirty-seven com- municants. Lemuel Foster, minister, and Asa L. Saunders, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. The Presbyterian church of Nine Mile Prairie, after- wards Old Ducoign, was organized at the house of Mrs. Sarah Root, Nov. 15, 1840, by Rev. Benj. B. Brown, at that time a member of Kaskaskia Presbytery. No elders were at that time appointed ; but a resolution was adopted, that, for the present, the male members be regarded as the ses- sion. Rev. Wm. Chamberlin completed the organization, Dec. 16, 1842, when Johnston Burbank and Wm. Chandler, were made elders. The other members were these, viz.: Elmar W. Adams, Henry W. Smith, Miss Mary Hinckley, George Burbank, Hiram and Miss Laura Burbank, Mrs. Mary Burbank, Wm. P. Burbank, Hiram Hinckley, Mrs. Sarah Hinokley, John Chandler, Mrs. Mary Chandler, Miss Ellen Tuthill, Miss Elizabeth Tuthill, Mrs. Maria Wall, Oliver K. Clouch. Ministers : Josiah Wood, from July 9, 1843, to Sept. 22, 185 1. He was installed. Wm. H. Bird, from Nov. 25, 185 i, to Sept. 10, 1854. Albert Smith, from March 21, 1855, one year. Josiah Wood, second time, as sup- ply pastt)r, April, 1856 to Jan., 1857. Joseph A. Bent, one year. Thomas Lippincott, March, 1858, to May, 1863. Josiah JOSEPH A. RANNEY. 32 I Wood, third time, June, 1863, to Nov., 1865. Thomas Lip- pincott, second time, March, 1865, April, 1867. C, F. Hal- sey, Oct., 1867, one year. J. M. Stone, D. D., Sept., 1871, to his death, Oct., ii, 1876. Elders: Besides the first two, Thomas L. Ross, Russel Tuthill, Benj. Sprague, Hiram Hinckley, Geo. W. Burbank, Geo. M. Hinckley, Miles Peck. Miss Eliza Paine, daughter of Dan- iel Paine, South Amherst, Mass., and Miss Elizabeth Rey- nols were received Dec. il, 1852. The last returned to the church as widow of Asa L. Saunders, April 19, 1856. The places of worship were, (i) The building erected for church and school-house in 1844, cost about four hun- dred dollars, and was owned by the community. (2) The school-house east of the Seminary. (3) The Seminary itself. (4) The school-house again, and still used. The name of this church was changed to Old Ducoign, March 17, 1865. Alton Presbytery met at Upper Alton, October, 1843. Francis Barnham, Bunker Hill; E. B. Goddard, Woodburn, and Timothy Turner, Monticello (corresponding churches), were in attendance. Luke Lyons, from the Presbytery of Illinois ; Josiah Wood, from the Presbytery of Madison, and Joseph A. Ranney, from the Presbytery of Clinton, Miss., were received. Henry B. Whittaker was ordained, Sabbath evening, October 15. Joseph Addison Ranney was born in Westminster West, Vt., February 15, 1 817. He was the son of Joseph Ranney, who was a pillar in the Congregational church of what is called the West Parish of Westminster. His mother, Tri- phena Hitchcock, was a woman of eminent piety. His brother, Timothy Emerson, was many years a missionary among the Cherokee Indians. Their grandfather, Elijah Ranney, was made deacon of the church at the time of its organization, and their great-grandfather was deacon of the church in the East Parish at its organization before the revo- lutionary war. He was a descendant of Thomas Ranney who emigrated from Scotland in the 17th century and settled in Cromwell, Ct. The two brothers, Timothy and Addison, were received into the church in the days of their 20 322 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. youth. They felt the same call to leave the farm and pre- pare for the ministry. They fitted for college at Phillips' Academy, Andover, Mass., and graduated at Middlebury College, Vt., in 1839. Timothy pursued his theological course at Andover and gave his life to the missionary work under the care of the A. B. C. F. M. Joseph Addison, fear- ing that insidious enemy, consumption, fled from the cold climate of Vermont and took refuge in the State of Missis- sippi. For a short season he taught a small school in a log school-house in the little village of Preston, consisting of a few cotton planters from Georgia and South Carolina. His health improved and he was restored to his former vigorous constitution. In the summer of 1840 he attended the meeting of Clinton Presbytery, and was received under their care as a candidate for the ministry. In May, 1S41, he was licensed, and in May, 1842, ordained by the same Pres- bytery. For one year he preached, as a licentiate, in a log school-house in Yalabusha county, and in a log church in Tal- lahatchie county. This church was of the most primitive style, being built of logs without any chinking. The seats were puncheons without backs and strangers to edge tools of any kind. In the summer of 1841, Mr. Ranney, seeing his way into the ministry fairly opening before him, returned to Vermont on a visit and a little matrimonial business. Going North, he had as a traveling companion Mr. C. C. Campbell, a former school mate in the academy and college. On their way they took in Washington City and made it a business to attend Congress for a season. It was during an extra session, soon after the death of President Harrison, and in the palmy days of such statesmen as Webster and Clay, Benton and Calhoun. In the autumn, in company with his young bride and three young ladies going to Mississippi as teachers, and a young man going as a shoe maker, he took ship at Boston for New Orleans, and thence a steamer to Memphis. Here he procured a horse, and putting to him the harness and buggy brought, with many other Yankee notions, from Vermont and Boston, he and bride finished the journey by a buggy ride. The rest of the colony went on to their places of destination by stage. For more than one hundred miles they traveled in this way till they found a hearty welcome at Preston. Before one year was com- pleted at that place, Mr. Ranney was invited to Grenada. His second year in preaching, and the first after ordination. JOSEPH A. RANNEY. 323 lie had the two important fields, Grenada and Middleton, twenty-five miles apart. Sometimes his wife accompanied him to the appointments at Middleton. On one occasion as they were returning, they found a stream too high to ford in safety. They waited over night at a cabin. In the morning the stream was yet swimming. A saddle was borrowed, and man and wife crossed the stream on a fallen tree, and the horse swam across. Both then mounted the horse and went home riding double. In an old cemetery on a pleasant hill- side in Grenada, they buried their first-born child, named Timo- thy Addison. In June, 1843, they removed to Illinois, not content to make a permanent home in a slave State. Their first Sabbath in Illinois was spent at Alton, in the home of Rev. A. T. Norton, pastor of the Presbyterian church there. On the following Tuesday, Mr. Ranney rode fifty miles on horse-back, from Jerseyville to Jacksonville, to attend commencement in Illinois College. After that ride, he heard Henry Ward Beecher's address before the Literary Society of the College. At that time the man, now so famous, was known only as the son of Dr. Lyman Beecher. Many thought that sparks of the Beecher fire came out occasionally. For two years, from 1843 ^o 1S45. ^^i"- Ranney preached at Carlinville one-half the Sabbaths, giving the other half to Spring Cove and Chesterfield. Dr. Gideon Blackburn, had just passed away, and his widow and sons and daughters were members of his congregation. A orphan grand-daughter of Dr. Black- burn, Jane M. Blackburn, was received as a member of his family, and remained such for a number of years and until her marriage. In Feb., 1846, at the death of Rev. George Pyle, Mr. Ranney was invited to take his place as Chaplain in Monticello Seminary and pastor of the church worshiping in the chapel. In the autumn of 1847, he accepted a call to become the pastor of the church in Belleville. Here for the first time he was regularly in- stalled, and for the first three or four years acted under commission of the A. H. Missionary Society, receiving from the people and the Society a salary of four hundred dol- lars. When the church became able to pay the whole sal- ary and raise it to five hundred dollars, it was thought to be very cheering progress. In the summer of 1854, after laboring in Belleville nearly seven years, Mr. Ranney having had several severe attacks of 324 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. sickness, and having lost his wife and one child in the place^ yielded to the advice of some of his friends, resigned his pastorate, and removed to Allegan, Mich. He there had a pastorate of about five years. From thence he was called to the pastorate of the church in Three Rivers, Mich., which continued thirteen years. At the close of his labors there, he accepted an invitation from the Trustees of the Michigan Female Seminary, located at Kalamazoo, to labor one year or more to raise funds to relieve that institution from debt. It is a Seminary on the Mt. Hoiyoke plan, and under the care of the Synod of Michigan. This work having been accomplished, Mr. Ranney accepted a call to become pastor of the church in Delphi, Ind. This was his fourth pastorate and lasted five years. He then resigned and removed to Kalamazoo, Mich. In an ordinary minister's life a vast number of minds in a great number of places are- reached by the gospel message. The audiences addressed are not usually large, and there is no special attention called to such a humble ministry. Buf when the results are brought together, they give us much surprise. We are reminded of the prophet's beatitude, " Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters." As we have a complete record of this ministry, it may interest some persons to review the facts. In Mississippi the gospel was preached ninety-eight times ; Illinois eight hundred and ninety-eight times; in Michigan 1,756 times; in Indiana four hundred and ninety-seven times ; in Massachusetts sixteen times ; in Ohio ten times ; in. New York eleven times ; in New Hampshire thre'e times ; in Missouri same ; in Iowa and Wisconsin each twice ; in Pennsylvania, Georgia, West Virginia, Maine, District of Columbia, Atlantic? Ocean, in ship Palmyra, on steamer Lake Erie and Mississippi River, each once. Total, three thousand three hundred and four. In a ministry continued through many years the gospel is not only offered to a vast number of minds of all varieties, but some valuable fruits are sure to be gathered up. Our most convenient estimate of some of these fruits is based on the number of members received into the communion of the church. In the minis- try under review four hundred and sixty-nine were received on profession and three hundred and nine by letter, total seven hundred and seventy-eight — one hundred and fifty- four adults and one hundred and twenty-seven infants were JOSEPH A. RANNEY. 325 ibaptized. Mr. Ranney's family. In the Autumn of 1 841 he was united in marriage to Phoebe A. Hitchcock at Westminster West, Vt. The ceremony was performed in the same church where both had attended Sabbath-school and professed religion. They had born to them four sons, two of them dying in infancy. Albert Barnes was born in Car- linville, Oct. 31, 1844. He was in the army, under Sherman in the famous march to the sea. After the war he went into the mercantile business at Three Rivers and continued there thirteen years, acting as an elder in the church and superin- tendent of the Sabbath-school some part of the time. He has lately removed with his wife and three children to Welling- ton, Kansas. Joseph Addison, jr., was born in Monticello Seminary, Oct. 12, 1847. He is a merchant in Three Rivers, and a member of the Presbyterian church in that place. He has a wife and two children. Mary E. Ran- ney was adopted and baptized in the spring of 1859. She graduated at the Michigan Female Seminary at Kalamazoo in the class of 73, and has been teaching in the public schools of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Delphi, Ind., for some time. Mr. Ranney's second marriage took place at Alton, 111., Oct. I, 1853, being united to Miss Wealthy A. Hitchcock. The ceremony was performed by Rev. A. T. Norton at the residence of Mr. W. F. Guernsey. During the Avar, Mrs. Ranney took a commission from the U. S. Chris- tian Commission, and went to Nashville with her husband. She rendered great service in one of the hospitals while Mr. Ranney went to Chattanooga and Kingston, Ga. On the 1st of Feb., 1875, Mrs. Ranney met with a fatal accident, hav- ing fallen from a train of cars near Fort Wayne, Ind., while trying to save her insane sister. Mr. Ranney married again on the 17th day of May, 1876, being united to Mrs. S. Matthews at Passaic, N. J., by Rev. R. G. Wilder, of the Kalapoor JNIission. At the present time, December, 1878, the home of Mr. Ranney and wife is in Kalamazoo, Mich. It is his purpose to make that place his headquar- ters so long as life's warfare shall continue. JosiAH Wood was born April 7, 18 14, at Cobbleskill, N. Y. He united with the Presbyterian church when eighteen years old ; studied two or three years at Rochester, N. Y. ; he entered Hanover College, Ind., and remained there until 2,26 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. his senior year. He then resorted to teaching for a time He read theology one year under the direction of Rev. John McE. Dickey, pastor of Pisgah church, in Clark county, Ind. He afterwards spent two years in Lane Seminary. Licensed. by the Presbytery of Madison, Ind., April 4, 1842, and or- dained by same Presbytery, October 12, 1843. Installed pastor of Nine-Mile Prairie church, November 13, 1843, and dismissed September 22, 185 1. He afterwards served that church for two considerable periods. But the establishment and general management of Ducoign Female Seminary was. his great life-work. For several years that institution was- flourishing and accomplished great good. He was supply pastor of Tamaroa church in Perry county, 111., when he died near New Washington, Ind., June 5, at four o'clock p. m.,. 1870. The date of his marriage I cannot give. His wife's maiden, name was Mary A. Giltner. She died at Old Ducoign, Perry county. 111., September 7, 1877, and is buried there. She was at her death sixty-nine years and seven months of age. Henry B. Whittaker was born at Charleston, Kenawha county, Va., November 15, 1814. His parents were pious, and formerly from Massachusetts. He was brought up to re- spect religion and attend church. From twelve to eighteen his time was chiefly spent in a store with his father, and in going up and down the Ohio and Kenawha rivers in a store boat selling goods. Ardent in his temperament, he entered warmly into the pursuit of pleasure, and tried every scene of amuse- ment. When eighteen years of age he was hopefully con- verted. By the advice of Dr. David Nelson, who happened to be in Charleston, he went in January, 1836, to Marion Col- lege to study for the ministry. In the latter part of that year he left for Marietta College, Ohio, where he remained until August I, 1840, when he went to Lane Seminary, hav- ing, however, first spent five or six months in Oberlin. In- April, 1842, he left the seminary and went into Missouri,, and was licensed, June 25, by the Presbytery of Lexington. He labored a short period in the Platte country and in Belleville, 111., and then went to Ohio, was married August 31, 1842, and returned immediately to Belleville. After la- boring there several months he came to Upper Alton, April 23, 1843. In October next ensuing he was called to become MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES. 32/ their pastor. That call he declined, but was ordained by- Alton Presbytery, sine titido. He continued, however, to labor in Upper Alton, and with great acceptance, until seized with his last illness. He died at sunrise, Sabbath morning, Sep- tember 15, 1844. -^t five o'clock p. M of the same day his remains were consigned to the tomb. On the next Sabbath morning his funeral sermon was preached by Rev. A. T. Norton at the church in Upper Alton. Thus passed away, when only twenty-nine years and ten months of age, this min- ister of ardent piety, flaming zeal and high promise. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Quincy, being their first meeting since the establishment of the Synod of Peoria. Members were present from the Presbyteries of Alton, 111., and Schuyler. The attention of Synod was called to the for- mation of the Western College Association, and to their ap- pointment of Rev. Theron Baldwin as their Corresponding Secretary. Both the Association, its objects and their ap- pointment of Mr. Baldwin were highly commended. Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Macomb, October 5, 1843, Members were present from four Presbyteries ; none from Kaskaskia or Palestine. New Albany Theological Seminary was approved, and four directors from this Synod appointed. YEAR 1844. Illinois Presbytery met at Jacksonville, April 11, 1844. Joseph A. Ranney was received from the Presbytery of Alton. Robert Kirkwood was dismissed to the Presbytery of Alton. J. H. Buffington, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler. The Exeter church was received. At a called meeting, June 27, 1844, Chauncy Eddy was re- ceived and arrangements made for his installation, June 30. A meeting was held with Spring Creek church, August 22. Exeter Church was organized in 1844 with fifteen mem- bers, Samuel Crawford, elder. It had but a very brief ex- istence. Its name appears for the last time in the minutes of 1851. 328 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Chauncy Eddy was born in Connecticut in 1796; educated at Williams College, Mass., and at Andover Seminary, where he graduated in 1 82 1. Home missionary in South Carolina, 1821-22. Agent A. B. C. F. M. in Vermont and New York, 1822, Ordained May i, 1824, in North Carolina. Home missionary there 1824-26. Supply pastor Presbyterian church, Penn Yan, N. Y., 1827-30; pastor there 1830-31. Agent Western Education Society, 1831-32. Agent A. B. C. F. M. for Central New York, 1832-42. Agent N Y. Col- onization Society, 1843. Pastor First Presbyterian church, Jacksonville, 111., 1844. Pastor at Lanesboro, Mass., 1853-56. Died at Beloit, Wts., Dec. 30, i860, aged sixty-four. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Gilead church, Jefferson county, May 10, 1844. A. C. Allen, minister, and John Siddall, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. Hope- well and Bethany churches were received. Thomas A. Spil- man was dismissed to Sangamon Presbytery. The Presby- tery reported to the Assembly eight ministers, one licentiate and twenty-six churches. The fall meeting was held at Hillsboro, Oct. 4. Hopewell Church was organized in 1844 by James Staf- ford with ten members. John Denny and one other, elders. Its post-office was Greenville, Bond county. It was dissolved by Presbytery, Oct. 8, 1847, and its members attached to Greenville. Bethany, afterwards and now Staunton church, is within one mile of the south line of Macoupin county, T. 7, R. 6, Sec. 32. It was organized under the name of BetJiany, Nov. 18, 1843, with eight members, viz: James F. Spilman, sr., James F. Spilman, jr., Sarah V. Spilman, Mary Agnes Spil- man, Wm. B. Higgins, Elizabeth R. Higgins, Charles Fish- back and Mary M. Fishback. Elders : James F. Spilman, sr., and Charles Fishback. It has never had a pastor, and in no instance has its minister given his entire time to this one church. The ministers, in their order, have been these: E. F. Chester, licentiate, B. F. Spilman, James Stafford, John S. Howell, P. D. Young. From 1850 to 1866, a period of STAUNTON CHURCH. 329 sixteen years, tlie church had only occasional preaching. There were internal difficulties and no growth. March 31, 1866, Rev. R. M. Roberts and Elder S. A. Paden visited the •church and succeeded in so adjusting matters that regular services were revived and an era of encouraging progress commenced. The next minister v/as Wm. P. Teitsworth. John S. Howell, J. Scott Davis and John Huston succeeded. C. G. Keown, a Cumberland minister, was the next and last. The church is now — 1879 — vacant. The first house of worship was dedicated Dec. 31, 1848. The second and present house was dedicated May 25, 1872. The lot was donated by Wm. D. Shirley, This edifice — a neat frame — cost ;^2,500. Aid in building was received from the Board of Church Erection. The elders, be- sides the first two, are these : Hugh Caldwell, Henry G. Caldwell, David Ferguson, Wm. McKitrick and John Liv- ingston. The rotary eldership system was adopted April 22, 1876. The records do not show when the name was changed from Bethany to Staunton. But it was done, either by .authority or custom. Palestine Presbytery, n. s., held no spring meeting in 1844. Its fall session was held with New Providence church, commencing Sept. 6. The Shiloh church, having changed to "The Trinity Congregational church" requested to be received on the plan of Union. Their request was granted. The Presbytery of Palestine, o. s., met at Palestine, April 25, 1844. Joseph Piatt was received from the Pres- bytery of Transylvania. J. S. Reasoner was dismissed to the Presbytery of Crawfordsville, and Isaac Reed to that of Madison. The church of Shelbyville was received. Isaac Bennet, minister, and Thomas Buchanan, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. Presbytery expressed the opinion that it was the right and privilege of Ruling Eld- ers to lay on their hands in the ordination of ministers. R. H. Lilly was dismissed from the pastoral care of Mt. Carmel church. The Fall meeting was held at Paris, commencing October 4. Joseph Platt was born in Ireland; graduated at Center PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. College, Ky., 1834, and at Princeton Seminary in 1837;. ordained, sinetitulo, Dec. 8, 1840; pastor of Indiana churchy near Vincennes, 1855; pastor at Farmington, III, in 1858; supply pastor in Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, North Caro- lina, Sugar Creek, Ind. Pastor at Bardolph, Illinois in 1875-8. Shelbyville Church, o. s., organized in the court house,, July 31, 1843, by Revs. Joseph Piatt and J. S. Reasoner, with twelve members. David Ewing and James Elder, eld- ers. It was dissolved April 2, 1852, by Presbytery at their session in Charlesten. It was not represented in Presbytery more than once or twice. Rev. Joseph Piatt was the only supply. He came once in six weeks and staid for four or five days at each visit. He supplied one year. The records- are lost. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Jacksonville, April 5, 1844. David D. McKee, minister, and S. Q. Reaugh,. elder, were appointed to the Assembly The Presbytery reported to the Assembly five ministers and ten churches. The fall meeting was held at Springfield, commencing Octo- ber 9. Thomas A. Spilman was received from the Presby- tery of Kaskaskia, and D. D. McKee dismissed to the same.. The Presbytery of Alton met at Marine, April 4, 1844.. The installation of Luke Lyons, as pastor of Jerseyville church took place Dec. 26, 1843. Wm. E. Chittenden was- licensed April 5, 1844, and at an adjourned meeting at Belle- ville, April 21, 1844, ordained pastor of that church. Plum^ Creek church was received. Joseph A. Ranney was dis- missed to the Presbytery of Illinois. Robert Kirkwood was received from the same Presbytery. The report to Synod showed fifteen ministers, sixteen churches and 1,152 mem- bers. Missionary funds raised for the year, eight hundred and twenty-four dollars. The fall meeting was held at Jer- seyville, October 15. George Pyle was received from the Presbytery of Cincinnati, and ordained Oct. 16. William Fithian was received from Presbytery of Schuyler. PLUM CREEK CHURCH. 33 I Plum Creek Church was organized Feb. 24, 1844, by Revs. Wm. Chamberlin and Robert Kirkwood, with twenty- one members. Robert Kirkwood was installed its pastor^ June 9, 1844. He remained about two years. John Gibson was installed Nov. 22, 1847. ^^ remained until 1853. Then for five years there were no regular services. Josiah Wood preached one-half the time from 1859 to 1863. John Gib- son was their minister again from 1864 to 1868. Between 1868, and 1872, there were several different ministers for short periods. Martin B. Gregg began labor here June 5^ 1872, and died Aug. i, 1873. James Scott Davis was here from 1873, to June 6, 1875. Alfred W. Wright, from Jan. 1876 to April, 1879 — three-fourths of his time. The congregation worshiped for some time in a small log school-house, belonging to the School District. The church then united with the District in building a larger house, and held it in common for church and school purposes till June, 1866. Then the congregation took possession of the brick building they now occupy, which cost from ;^i,6oo to ^$1,800. It stands on the S. W. quarter of the S. W. quarter of Sec. 7, T. 4, R. 6, W. Elders: John Bicket, Robert Crawford, John Kirkwood, Robert Kirkwood, John Smith, Wm. B. Crawford, Matthew Kirkwood, Alex. Dunlap, James Allen, Thomas Gordon, Wm. H. Ross, Joseph Smith. In 1876, the rotary system was introduced. The P. O. address of most of the members of this church is Sparta, Randolph county. William E. Chittenden was born in Guilford, Ct., July 6, 1808. He was educated in an academy in Litchfield county, Ct. He was for several years clerk in a store in Goshen, Ct. In about 1827 he, with the writer and a few other youths in that place, formed a praying circle which met ne evening each week. He was in Alton, 111., in 1838.0 In 1839 he was in Belleville, and was one of the first members and elders of that church. He conducted their meetings whenever they were without a minister, and with so much acceptance that, though without a classical ed- ucation, that church sought his licensure and ordaination over them. Presbytery also advised this course, and licensed and ordained him as above. He was dismissed from that pastoral charge, October 18, 184S. He then labored for a 332 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. time in Cohocton valley, N. Y., to gather a scattered church. He soon, however, engaged in his old business, and became cashier of a bank in Ohio. While thus employed in the week, he preached for the most part upon the Sabbath to a pastorless church. He next went to Holly Springs and took charge of the northern bank of Mississippi. There, too, he found and occupied a vacant pulpit, and received a call to become pastor, which he did not accept. He next resided for several years in Canada, and ceased entirely from pulpit labor. On account of his long absence from them, the Pres- bytery of Chickasaw, to which he was attached, dropped his name from their list, though without any charge of wrong. For nine years next previous to 1870, he resided in Buffalo, N. Y., and acted as elder in the North Presbyterian church, the pastor having full knowledge that he was an ordained minister. While measures were being taken for his re-con- necting with Presbytery he removed to Knoxville, Tenn., and was there in 1870, constantly acting as lay preacher, though engaged in secular pursuits. Mr. C. has been three times married. Mr. C. D. Afflick, of St. Louis, is his son-in-law. George W. Pyle was born August 12, 18 13, at a place called the Seven Stars, seven miles from Philadelphia. His father was a Quaker. His mother was in the habit of taking her son away alone and praying with him. She died when George was about twelve years of age. He had no oppor- tunities of early education at all. Some time after his moth- er's death, he was sent from home to learn the trade of car- riage making. During his apprenticeship he was vain and wild. When about twenty years of age, he left Philadelphia with four other young men for North Carolina, intending there to work at his trade. While passing through Virginia, the stage in which they where traveling broke down. The landlord, with whom they staid while waiting to have it repaired, informed them there was a camp-meeting in the neighborhood, and advised them to attend, saying to Mr. Pyle in particular, that he hoped he would become a Chris- tian. This was on Monday. The young men went to the meeting. Mr. Pyle was awakened by the first sermon he heard. He and his companions continued in the meeting all the week. All of them became deeply interested. Mr. GEORGE W. PYLE. 333, Pyle's convictions amounted to agony. Still there was one thing he was determined not to do — he would not go forward to be prayed for. On this point his opposition centered for some time. At length he yielded it. On starting to go forward he lost his hat in the crowd, but so fearful was he that his present resolution would fail, if he turned back for a. single moment, that he let it go and pressed to the anxious seat. He there prostrated himself before God, yielded up his heart and was filled with joy unspeakable. His first thought after this change was, what shall I do for Christ? The answer to the question was instantly given. I ivill be a minister. At this time he could barely read, and that was all. He here bought the first book he ever owned, "Janeway's Token." His four companions were also con- verted, and all went on their way rejoicing. In North Carolina he made a public profession of religion, by joining a Presbyterian church. He labored at his trade, and spent his Sabbaths in teaching the blacks and in holding meetings. While there he heard of Jacksonville College, probably through Rev. Edward HoUister, who was then in North Carolina, and was about emigrating to this State. Mr. Pyle came on with him, and drove one of his teams. When he arrived at Jacksonville, he found himself among strangers and pennyless. He entered the preparatory de- partment, and, then a young man about-twenty-one years of age, commenced with the studies of a little boy, and as he said himself, with a dull, heavy mind. His food was coarse, his bed a blanket. His expenses were defrayed principally by working at his trade. After spend- ing two years in the preparatory department, he entered col- lege, where after four years of successful study he graduated witli honor. His room in college was over the study of Pres- ident Beecher. He has stated, that when his heart was almost ready to fail, he has felt his courage revive by hearing the prayers of that godly man. From Jackson- ville he went, immediately after graduating, to Lane Semin- ary to prosecute his theological studies. At the close of two years he was licensed to preach the gospel by the Cincinnati Presbytery. For eight months subsequently to this he con- tinued in Lane Seminary, supplying, during three months of that period, the church in Reading, eight miles distant. That church were anxious to retain him, but he had consecrated himself to Illinois. In the spring and summer of 1843 ^^ 334 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. preached four months in Springfield, 111., supplying Mr. Hale's pulpit during his absence. Subsequently he traveled through some portion of Southern Illinois and visited Alton. From thence he went, in September, to Peoria, where he con- •cluded to remain. On the first of November following, he jnarried Miss Mary G. Wilson, of Reading, Ohio. He re- mained in Peoria one year, preaching the gospel faithfully amidst many discouragements. He came to Mon- ticello, Madison county. 111., in September, 1844, ^^^ for ^'^^ year and four months ministered to that church, and acted as ■chaplain to the sern.inary. He died at his room in the sem- inary building, January 22, 1846, after a sickness of only ■seven days. He left one little son, Theodore. Soon after his death ten or twelve young ladies, members of the semin- ary, publicly confessed Christ, most of whom referred their first impressions to Mr. Pyle's last sermon and his death-bed .exhortations. William Fithian was born December 11, 18 14, at Bridge- water, N. Y. He was educated at Delaware College and Princeton Seminary. He was ordained April 16, 1842, by the Presbytery of Schuyler. He joined Alton Presby- tery April 17, 1844, and was dismissed from it April 5, 1845. He labored during that year with Bunker Hill church, 111. He was at Pembroke, N. Y., in 1855-57. His address in 1870 was St. Louis, Mo. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Jerseyville, October 17, 1844. Members were present from the Presbyteries of Illinois, Schuyler and Alton. None from Palestine. In view of the great importance of Sabbath-schools, and Bi- ble classes, Synod earnestly recommended that they take the place of one of the ordinary exercises of the Sabbath where they cannot otherwise be held. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Springfield, October 10. Members -were present from five Presbyteries. Nothing was done aside from the usual routine business. YEAR 1845. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Springfield, April 10, CHARLES B. BARTON. 335 t845. William Fithian was received from the Presbytery of -Alton, and L. S. Williams dismissed to the same. J. H. Buffington proffered the surrender of his license. The prof- fer was accepted. Bilious Pond was continued as Presbyte- rial missionary. This Presbytery also recommended that Sabbath-schools and Bible classes take the place of one of the ordinary Sabbath services when their object cannot be •otherwise attained. The fall meeting was held at Winchester, Sept. ii. Also an adjourned meeting at Spring- field, October i6. Charles B. Barton was received from the Presbytery of Knox. Charles Backus Barton was born at Fitchburg, Mass., 'Sept. I, 1810. I give the following interesting sketch of .him and his father in his own words. " In connection with the biographical sketch solicited for 'this volume, it is fitting to furnish some account of my fath- er's life and work. Though he did not labor in this field as •a Christian minister, yet he entered it for that purpose, but was immediately called to the higher service of the Master; and was probably the first Presbyterian minister who died in 111. Rev. Titus Theodore Barton, was the son of David Barton, of Granby, Mass., and was born Feb. 17, 1766. He became a soldier in the revolutionary war at the age of four- teen, serving until the close of the war; was in several important battles, and came near losing his life at one time by starvation ; at another, while on guard, a spy attacked him with bayonet in hand. The boy felled him at his feet ; the weapon in the hand of the falling victim pierced through the thick flesh of his leg, and he drew it forth, bound up the wound with his handkerchief, and remained at his post until morning, rather than report himself wounded and obtain relief His stories of hairbreadth escapes, hard- ships and heroism, in these three years of soldier life, while himself but a boy, left a deep impression on my early mem- ory. He graduated at Dartmouth, in 1790. .Studied divinity with Dr. Charles Backus; also studied medicine and obtained the degree of M. D., but his life was chiefly devoted to the ministry. He was settled over the " Church of Christ in Tewksbury," in 1792. In 1794, was tnarricd to Mrs. Ruth Wood, widow of Rev. Jacob VVood, of Newbury, Vermont, and the daughter of Stephen Huse, 330 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. of Methuen, Mass. A curious document is in my possession of her first husband's — his call to the pastoral care of the town and church of Cambridge, bearing date Sept. i8, 1786. After mentioning the call of the church, the notice thereof to the town, and its concurrence therein, the town clerk fills out the call thus. " And by way of encouragement to his taking the pastoral charge over them, ( the church and town) have voted him the following settlement and salary, viz.: For his settlement he shall have tw j hundred acres of land, one hundred acres lying in first division, lot number twenty-seven ; the other anywhere in town, provided it be a good settleable-dot. Also to give one hundred pounds toward building him a house, to be paid in labor and mater- ials by the tenth of Nov., 1787. For hissak.ry he shall have forty pounds the first year, to rise five pounds a year until it amounts to eighty. The salary is to be estimated on silver at six and eight pence per ounce. Also fifty cords of wood annually to be drawn to his door and cut suitable for his fire-places. John Fapot, Town Clerk." This is a rather more liberal outfit than the early minis- ters of Illinois received. My father was dis- missed from his first charge in 1 803, and in 1804, was installed over the church of Christ, in Fitchburg. In the fall of 18 17, he removed to West Tennessee, with a family of nine children, of whom I was the youngest, being seven years old the first day of September, of that year. After spending ten years there, he decided to remove to Jackson- ville, III., with most of his children. But he died suddenly with disease of the heart two days after entering the State. Rev. Richard Tolman, one of his successors at Tewksbury, in an historical address of 1858, says of him:. " His stalwart frame fitly symbolized his energetic mind, a mind that could seize a subject with a firm grasp, and handle it like a master. He was strong, too, emotionally.. A powerful heart throbbed within that massive frame, prompting him to do that which he undertook with all his. might, whoever or whatever might oppose. Hence, he could not bear the former half-way covenant, by which confessedly unconverted persons were admitted to the church, and thus the grand distinction between the church and the world in a great measure destroyed. There was no half-way with him about anything, especially in matters of such transcendent importance as those pertaining to the church. Accordingly,. CHARLES B. BARTON. 33/ in his endeavors to bring up the church here, from the laxity of the half-way covenant to what he supposed was the true scriptural platform ; he did not mince matters at all, but threw his whole soul into the work, notwithstanding the warmth with which he was opposed, and all the trials which it cost him. So, too, while pastor of the church in Fitchburg, dur- ing the war of 1812, when there was a division between Federalists and Republicans, he felt it his duty to urge his people to sustain the government in their resistance to the usurpations of the British crown, and he therefore determined, as he tells us, whether his people would hear him or not, he must declare the truth, and trust the event. And he did declare it, without anything like a craven heart, or mealy mouth ; though it kindled up against him an enmity of the fiercest character." A few quotations from his " Fast ser- mon" preached at Fitchburg, July 23, 18 12, lifts the curtain from the past, and brings before us the throbbing hearts, and kindling eyes, and fiery words of rebellion and loyalty in that historic crisis. In that sermon he says, "Our government it is believed has made every possi- ble experiment at negotiation. There was no alterna- tive. War with England, or servile submission to her, were the only objects before it. Of these two objects the government chose war, and have declared it against England and her dependencies. No sooner was the declaration heard, than the enemies of the government through the nation rally in their strength, and set themselves in the most violent opposition. Were what is now talked against the government and its supporters carried into ac- tion, the land must be stained with the blood of its inhabi- tants. Brother with brother, father with son, and son with father, would join in the horrid battle. It was thought some months ago that if government should declare war, the di- vision would be apparently healed, and there have been some noble examples of this nature. Would all do likewise, the war would be short, little blood would be shed, and we might shortly have peace on just and equitable terms. But if the nation must be divided against itself, it needs no uncommon sagacity to see that ruin is not far distant. The administra- tion after weighing the consequences have taken their stand. Their supporters are numerous, and will not in the hour of danger abandon the government." In his "apol- ogy" for publishing this sermon, he regrets exceedingly the 21 338 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS, necessity which compels him to differ from "so large a pro- portion of his ministerial brethren — men of great talents, and eminent for their piety," with whom he " has had the most cordial, brotherly fellowship." He suggests that some of his excited hearers, by taking the subject to their closets, might abate their opposition, and closes by saying — " Many sermons in the past ten years have been printed apparently to stir up opposition to the government, and few or none to excite the people to confide in and support their rulers." Though it was said of him at the time that " his gun did more execution a^the breach than at the muzzle" (unsettling him in both instances), yet he lived to see the success of his own opinions both in the Church and in State ; and he must have been happy in the consciousness of having fought and suffered heroically for them. Mr. Tolman in 1S5S says: " Of the four hundred and eighty Congregational churches in Massachusetts, I do not know of one but has abolished the half-way covenant, and stands upon the very platform to which he tried to bring the church of Tewksbury sixty years ago." The journey from Massachusetts to Ten- nessee occupied seventy-three days, full of hardships and peril, exhausting all of my father's means. His anticipa- tions regarding the new home were bitterly disappointed. But he was compelled to remain with all his family. The ten years there were full of care, toil and privation. He labored on the farm, felled the forest, split rails (two hun- dred the day he was sixty years old), planted orchards and vineyards, worked in the shop at coopering and cabinet-mak- ing, preached almost every Sabbath with little remuneiation, often riding forty miles a day on horseback to reach appoint- ments; practiced medicine quite extensively among the poor, and wrought with his pen, during what leisure he could command, against the errors in belief and practice with which he came in contact. He was a member of Shiloh Presbytery at the same time with Dr. Blackburn and a part of the time served as its missionary. But his ex- hausting labors were fast consuming his energies ; and with the determination to remove as many of his children as pos- sible from the influence of slavery, and with a hope to devote himself exclusivey to the work of the ministry; he decided to remove to Jacksonville, 111. The journey was half accom- plished when we reached the Ohio river. While we were ferrying over, a sound which had been ringing in his ear CHARLES B. BARTON. 339 wherever he had traveled for ten years past, pierced his sen- sitive heart for the last time. The poor slave's fruitless cry for mercy under the driver's lash, was borne over the waves from the Kentucky shore. The note of anguish died on the air and we trod the soil of freedom once more. Two of his married daughters were left behind, caught in the meshes of slavery. How would that dear father have felt, could he have foreseen that, from that hour a widening gulf •would open between his children, through which, eventually the crimson tide of civil war would flow ! But his release from the burdens and sorrows of earth was now very near. We rested two days on this side of the river, and on the third morning, he rose at daybreak, apparently in usual health, and spoke cheerfully of starting again on the journey ; but in an instant fell speechless, and in a few moments life was extmct. In that sparsely set- tled region we were obliged to send eighteen miles to pro- cure the services of a minister of another denomination for the funeral. We buried him on the bank of the beautiful Ohio, two miles below Ford's Ferry. (This ferry is on the Ohio twenty-five miles South of Equality, on the great road from the south part of Kentucky and Tennessee, to Illinois and Missouri.) The widow and her children resumed their mournful jour- ney, passing over sea-like prairies which stretch onward from ten to twenty miles without human habitation. We found Jacksonville a collection of twenty-five or thirty dwellings, chiefly log cabins, two or three stores, and a whiskey tavern. A rude log school-house served as a sanctuary for all denominations ; where three and a half years after, April, 1830, Rev. John M. Ellis, was installed pastor of the Presby- terian church. A strong prejudice was excited against this noble man, to whose indefatigable labors, Jack- sonville is much indebted for its wealth and culture, by reports he gave at the East of the want of an educated min- istry at the West. That his statements were well founded, let a few facts testify. On one occasion I heard a traveling preacher in a log house, standing on the identical spot of ground where Illinois College is built, and which was soon after purchased by Mr. E. as a location for this institution, who informed his hearers that the Bible \YdiS so named because it was a guide to heaven. " By," he said, " means a way or path ; as we say a by-path. Bill means a writing of instruc- 340 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. tion to guide men. So you see, my brethren, these two words have been put together and we have this By-bill, our guide to heaven." At another time I heard a Fourth-of- July sermon in the Jacksonville court house. The speaker labored hard to impress his hearers with the great obliga- tions of free citizenship. Like other would-be orators he felt the need of some high-sounding sentence on which to ring the changes and round out his periods, so he adopted this significant one : " Consider, then, your great privileges and responsibilities O ye Libertines of America ! " A young minister told me of his various calls to preach. Among these he-'felated that one night a ball of fire rolled along the floor through his room, which he regarded as God's voice or vision calling him to the work of the ministry. I was frequently asked what call I had received directly from God, implying that I ought to have heard a voice, seen a vision, or dreamed a dream, or had some other strange manifestation. The young minister who saw the ball of fire said in a sermon, that the enjoyments of heaven would be like what he experienced when a boy in his " father's peach orchard," where he to used to eat his Jill of peaches and then " roll down the grapy hilly Another time he said (to show the insignificance of the greatest of men) : " Take the greatest potentate on earth, and the wildest back- wood's angel who ranges the outskirts of heaven, and they coiddnt hitch horses together." Ministers frequently boasted that they " never rubbed their backs against a college wall." And I aver that such men stood well in the denomination to which they belonged. But to-day some of their descendents are among our cul- tured citizens, and owe their distinction in a great measure to the institutions their fathers opposed. For our first house ( as there were none to rent), I went to the forest, cut logs, split and hewed puncheons for the floor, rived boards for the roof, built mud jams for fire-places, with mud and stick chimney, not spending five dollars for doors, windows, nails, hinges, etc. It was a happy home wanting only the lost one. My new responsibilites and relations, my great loss united with the interest shown in my behalf by Christian friends, were calculated to lead me to adopt higher aims in life than ever before. Ten of the most important and impressible years of life had been spent under the dark shadow of slavery; and I have since contemplated the situa- CHARLES B. BARTON. 34I tion With amazement and gratitude that I did not goto utter ruin. In these years I had only six months' schoohng out- side our family. I am especially indebted to Revs. J. M. Ellis and J. M. Sturtevant, for their interest in my behalf. They had much to do with my coming into the church ; deciding to obtain an. education, and devoting my life to the ministry. Of my religious experience I can only say that by the bad teaching of good men, I went through the then usual ordeal of a long painful seeking, resuking in a night of agony, when I concluded religion was not in findmg something but doing something. The requirements of the Bible commended themselves to my understanding and con- science. I resolved to obey and trust God. On the first Monday in January, 1830, the preparatory de- partment of Illinois College opened under the instruction of Rev. J. M. Sturtevant. This was an eventful period in the history of Illinois. It was the consummation of the heroic, self-sacrificing, far-seeing labors of J. M. Ellis and his noble coadjutors east and west, and the birth of collegiate educa- tion here, in connection with its twin brother, Rock Spring Seminary, now developed into Shurtleff College in Alton. I was one of the seven students in whose pres- ence our instructor solemnly consecrated to God the institu- tion whose walls have echoed his voice from that day to the present hour. Six pleasant years, which memory often reproduces both in waking and sleeping hours, passed in preparatory and collegiate studies. Several religious awakenings occurred during the course in which nearly every student was hopefully converted ; among them some highly gifted men who have since filled important positions in the Church, in educational institutions, and civil and political life. Our class, four in number, graduated in 1836. The early students of this college may have suffered some- what for want of the facilities furnished by older institutions. But we cannot believe it possible to have manned this infant college with a better corps of instructors than its president and faculty. Soon after graduating I entered into a co-partnership with an esteemed friend with whom I had long been acquainted. This relation has continued forty-two years and bids fair to continue to the end. Our first united labors were in teach- ing, in which my companion in this tribulation was far more successful than myself. Our school system was tken very 342 ■ PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS, imperfect, and often in the hands of men who needed greatl7 to be taught. In one place I procured from the proper offi- cer a certificate setting forth the holder's capability of teach- ing the English branches of a common school, the higher mathematics and the Greek and Latin languages, who. could not write his own name! In the fall of 1840 I was licensed by the Illinois Presbytery, N. S. This event fulfilled a long cherished desire of my mother, which had been disappointed by the chosen life-work of two other sons. For twelve years she was spared to afford me her hints, coun- sels and prayers. She knew well what the work of the min- istry included, since two of her brothers, as well as both her husbands, had filled that office. At the advanced age of eighty-four, after twenty-five years' of widowhood, she went to rest honored and beloved by all who knew her, leaving de- scendants as numerous as her years. I went to my first charge in the western part of Peoria county in rail cars drawn by mules from Jacksonville to Meredosia, and thence up the river to Peoria. From thence to Newburgh — my new home — in a buggy furnished by Moses Pettengill, Esq., whose friendship and aid, with those of his first wife, were highly valued in after years. Our housekeeping com- menced there in a small unplastered tenement, having a loose-floored loft entered by a ladder. Here we fared sump- tuously, entertained distinguished guests and many friends. Wife did the cooking by an open fire, and when the hearth was all occupied by gentlemen's legs, their owners gallantly aided by placing the skillet and coffee-pot on the coals, and returning them when ready for the table, around which we merrily gathered, some on boxes and kegs — chairs being a scarce commodity. A neighboring minister on one of these occasions proposed to send us some of his chairs, as he owned six, and was obliged to stow three of them in the loft for want of room in his cabin. A Congregational church of some thirty members was organized soon after my arrival, and in June, 1841, 1 was ordained as its pastor by Knox Presbytery, with which I had united. I preached occasion- ally at Brimfield, where a flourishing church afterward grew up. My labors here continued four years, during which the church doubled in numbers, and many of the friends among them will ever be cherished in our memory. Newburg with its church was afterwards absorbed in the rising town of Elm- wood, near by. In the fall of 1 845 I was requested to CHARLES B. BARTON. 343 visit the Congregational churches of Bunker Hill and Wood- burn, but through the mismanagement of committees on sup- ply, I met a rival candidate there. He thought it wise to draw denominational lines sharply. I thought otherwise, and left the field to him, and at once proceeded to Bethel, Bond county. This mother church, whose children have migrated in many directions and become the elders and ministers of many others churches, will, doubtless, be described in another place. I labored there nearly two years. At the solicitation of Rev. Wm. Kirby, then agent of the Home ]\Iissionary Society, I took charge of the Presbyterian church of Farmington, Sangamon county, in the summer of 1847. This church contained men and women of decided intelligence and independent character; but some serious dis- agreements had hindered its progress in preceding years. It is written, " One sinner destroyeth much good." How true is this if the sinner be a saint of the first water ! By the bless- ings of the Lord their divisions were so far healed as to bring them into harmony, and the church grew and pros- pered during the four years of my labors there. At the end of this period it became evident that if I remained longer, I must do it in opposition to the will of the strongest man in the church. He was greatly given to change, and unreason- ably exacting, yet possessing qualities and qualifications that rendered him deservedly esteemed, so that the general feeling was, that it was " best to let Uncle John have his way." Believing, as I then did, that entire harmony between so prominent a member and the minister was indispensable to the prosperity of the church, I decided to leave. But this step I, with most of the church, had reason to regret, for the result was the opening afresh the wounds that had been closed, and the formation of another church. I spent one year in Jacksonville, in labors of which I am now enjoying the fruit; and the next in unavailing efforts to resuscitate the Presbyterian church in INIanchester. The town then afforded only a miserable school-house for the use of all denominations. It was built on wooden pillars, high enough to accommodate all the swine of the village under the floor, if they arranged themselves judiciously. The ser- vice and song were assisted by the shrill alto and the deep bass of the occupants beneath, and fleas and ill-behaved youngsters added to the interesting variety. Determined not to continue the partnership with the pigs, I took the 344 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. liberty to stop them out, and was reproved for depriving their owners of a convenience to which the public were en- titled ! I was not much aided by the ministers who shared these accomodations with me, one of whom held forth from a text which he said could be found in one of the epistles of *' General Peters This church contained some very estimable families, and there was a time when they might have erected such a house of worship as would allow to their children a thorough religious training, but neglect- ing their opportunity, they prepared the way for the weak- ness and decay which followed. In the fall of 1853, 1 went to set^O-'e the Congregational churches of Bunker Hill and Woodburn. The former village was in many respects the most desirable for a residence, but from events which had previovsly occured, I felt under obligation to make my home in Woodburn. In Bunker Hill, serious difficulties were healed, and mem- bers which had been too hastily thrust out were penitently invited to return, and resume their places in the church. Hopeful conversions also swelled their numbers, and at the end of two and a half years, it seemed best that each of these churches should have the exclusive service of a minis- ter. I remained in Woodburn which had also been blest and strengthened, and bonds of strong affection formed ; and no lapse of time or change of relation can release me from obligations which the sympathy and loving aid of friends there had then imposed on me. The Woodburn church knew me to be decidedly opposed to slavery, and I knew that two influential families in it were from the South, and had a pecuniary interest in the institution. But having great confidence in these brethren, I trusted that the advancing spirit of the age and increasing personal devotion to Christ would carry us peacefully through the crisis. But the event shewed that preaching against sin is no smoother work now, than in the days of our fathers. Contending against sin in the abstract, or sin that has been conquered, is very safe and reputable ; but grappling with a living sin, with its teeth in it, is quite another thing. After some five years of peaceful work, circumstances brought the question of the right of property in human beings into a shape in which a decided stand must be taken. The result was, that the brethren from the South turned against me and desired my removal. I did not, however, feel obliged CHARLES B. BARTON. 345 to uproot all the fibres of influence which had been years in growing, because a few friends had become alienated from me, painful as that fact was. I remembered Farmington. These brethren submitted to the will of the majority, and confined their opposition to an annual attempt to dissolve my connection with the church. After this state of things had continued five years longer, I resigned my charge. The church had now grown from the weakest to the largest and most influential in the village, and I hoped that, uniting upon a new minister, they might go on prosperously. At the request of the church, I recommended my successor, a fine scholar, a good preacher, and I then supposed a man of kind and Christian spirit. My home and means of support were in Woodburn, and I needed rest after twenty years of labor. I hoped that my resignation had satisfied my opponents, and I exerted my- self to make my successor's sphere of usefulness wide and unobstructed. But it soon appeared that peace was not to be permitted me there. Under some influence the new min- ister's heart was turned against me, and he resisted all efforts at reconciliation, even refusing to meet brethren from abroad who offered themselves as mediators. I have never heard of any Christian minister who endorsed or sustained him in the attitude which he then chose to take. He suf- fered himself to become the exponent of the enmity of my former opposers, and led the church through a course of action in regard to me, so unreasonable, so precipitate, and so disorderly in every step as to bring severe censure upon it from a council of their own choosing, and for a time almost to destroy its influence for good in the surrounding commu- nity. The remarkable accusation which furnished the basis ■of this action was presented in the following words: " You are hereby charged in general terms with walking contrary to the peace of the church and the interests of religion." This anomaly of putting a man on trial for his general con- duct, excited the amazement and mirth of a council called to review the proceedings. When I invited the church to unite with me in calling a mutual council, I received an in- sulting refusal ; and, when after waiting several weeks at the request of ministerial brethren, hoping for a better state of feeling, I called an ex parte council, representing the promi- nent Congregational churches in Southern Illinois, with those of St. Louis ; the church, in the person of its leader, met the 346 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. invitation of these brethern to make this a mutual council^ in the same spirit, refusing even to answer questions which: the council desired to ask them. Tlie brethren, seeing the church thus misled and endangered, thought it right to- depart from their established rules, and give to them the exclusive hearing which they demanded, but which they had forfeited by refusing a mutual council. In doing this, they arrested and mutilated the legitimate council organized the day preceding. I was obliged to protest against this irregu- larity— it being utterly unknown to Congregational usage — and against any decision of theirs regarding me, as the law- lessness of the organization was equalled by the looseness of its proceedings. They listened for ten hours to all that my accusers chose to say, without pretending to confine them to testimony formerly given, required no solemnity of form, gave them the benefit of each other's presence, and placed no restraint or limitation upon their irrelevant and desultory talk ; and of course, in this case, there could be nO' reply to what was said. After all was sifted and weighed,, they concluded by advising the church to rescind its action. The legitimate council advised me to make such conces- sions to the church as I "candidly believed were due to them." The ministers and delegates who composed this council were excellent men, and strove to do the best in their power. They certainly designed no injustice; but from my experience in this, and my observation of other church trials, I am convinced that three rules ought never to be violated in such cases. 1st. No complaint should be entertained at all without a definite charge, and false accusation should be treated as a. great crime. 2d. That witnesses should be brought under the restraints and solemn forms of a civil court, and be examined apart from each other. 3d. That men appointed to investigate and decide cases,, should be governed strictly by the established rules which the wisdom of ages has provided, and long experience tested. Extemporized machinery for peculiar circumstances, will not prove as reliable as the old, well tried guides. ( Bro Barton's experience has taught him genuine Pres- byterianism.) In the spring of 1867 I went to Richview to care for a newly organized Congregational church. It was com- CHARLES B. BARTON. 34/ posed of good materials and its outlook was full of promise. Immediately a comfortable house of worship was prepared, the minister installed with ample salary provided. The unbounded expectation of pecuniary profits from fruit growing had drawn this people together ; but the bubble soon burst, and the same spirit of adventure and enterprise which had brought them here quickly scattered them every whither. The church in less than four years was reduced to a mere handful, and is practically extinct; and in March, 1872, I am again at Bethel. It is and is not the Bethel I left twenty-five years ago. The hoary living then, are now the holy dead ; the middle-aged are now bending under the weight of years, and the children and youth of that time are the fathers and mothers of this, filling the places of trust va- cated by death or decaying faculties. But spite of these great changes. Bethel is essentially the same it always has been. They most truly can say — "We are the same things that our fathers have been, We see the same sights tliat our fathers have seen, We drink the same stream and we feel the same sun, And we run the same race which our fathers have run." In the spring of 1874 I removed to Jacksonville, and have since then preached most of the time to the Second Portu- guese Presbyterian church through an interpreter. The aged among this people, who were driven from Madeira by Popish persecution, are simple-hearted lovers of Christ, delighting to be fed on the sincere milk of the word, and they grow thereby. Many of their descendants are intelligent, progressive men, whose lives may hereafter shed light on the mystery of God's providences in bringing this people here to add their nation- ality to the many strands entwined in our American civiliza- tion. The labor of this sketch has been to crowd out of it, and not into it, the experience of sixty-eight years. Hence were all written that could be said of any man's life — how far short would it fall of the reality ! Life seems to me a solid sphere on whose surface narrative is but a single line. It can tell us that a man lived thus and so ; that he was fawned or frowned upon for this or that ; that he played an important or unimportant part here or there; and in the end of his diversified appearances on the stage, affording at intervals remote a momentary spectacle for lookers-on, he disappeared and is seen no more. But Avhat all this and all else wrought on his own being, what he was to himself, to his kind, and to his God ; what were his 348 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. communings, and the conflicts of his soul with unseen forces, his victories and defeats, he cannot reveal if he would, for there is no language to utter these mighty mysteries. Yet these " abysmal deeps of personality " are a man's life. Charles Backus Barton. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Sugar Creek church, April 14, 1845. D. D. McKee was received from the Presbytery of Sangamon. Elisha F. Chester, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Salem, examined and or- dained sine titulo. A. Ewing, minister, and James A. Ram- sey, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assem- bly. The churches of Carlinville, Belleville, Brooklyn and Mud Creek, having ceased to exist, their names were stricken from the roll. Galum church was received. Galum Church — so named from a creek near by — was organized by Rev. Cyrus Riggs, June 29, 1844, on Four-Mile Prairie, at the house of James C. Kimzey, with these mem- bers, viz: William Hamilton, Nancy Hamilton, Mary Kim- zey, Jane Brown, Ann Hamilton, Julina Ann Woodside, John Hamilton, Polly M. Foster, Jane Kimzey, Nancy Jane Hamil- ton, James C. Kimzey and Woods M. Hamilton. Elders : John Hamilton and William Hamilton. Elders since elected : John Steel, Woods L. Hamilton, Ephraim R. Kimzey, James Taylor, A. A. Kimzey, John M. Craig, Moses French John V. Tyler, A. T. Hughey, J. P. Rial, William B. Kimzey, Sam- uel D. Rule. Ministers : Cyrus Riggs ; B. F. Spilman supplied from two to three years, preached here fifty-six sermons, received twenty-one members and baptized twelve persons ; C. D. Martin ; John Mathews ; Daniel Steele was ordained over the church ; William H, Templeton, from the Creek Nation ; George K. Perkins, George B. McComb; M. M. Cooper; Jared Stone, D. D. ; George B. McComb, sec- ond time. The first place of worship was a log building, near the site of the present house, erected about the time the church was organized. To aid in building the present house the Church Extension Board donated one liundred dollars, with which the congregation bought eighty acres. Seventy acres of that land were sold. With the proceeds the present house of worship was erected on the ELISHA F, CHESTER. 349 remaining ten acres. That eighty was the east half of the N. W. quarter of Sec. 4, T. 6 S., R. 3 W. The ten acres on which the house stands is the northeast corner of the N. W. quarter. The building was finished in 1854. It is thirty- four by forty-four, ceiled throughout, and cost six hundred dollars. It is in the timber — no other building of any kind being in sight. The whole number of members down to 1874 was one hundred and ninety-five. The county is Perry. The posto fifice Pinckneyville. Elisha Freeman Chester was born August 20, 1806, in Otsego county, N. Y. His grandfather's grandfather, Sam- uel Chester, came from Chester, Eng., near 1660. He be- came a citizen of New London county, Ct., in 1663. The record of his children, their baptisms and his will is there. He was one of the persecuted Non-conformists of England. I now use Mr. Chester's own language : " I carry my maternal grandfather's name, Elisha Freeman. He was also from England, and in his earlier Christian life a Presby- terian. But he became a Baptist, and a preacher in that Church. My mother was also a Baptist. My father was first a Congregationalist, then a Presbyterian. From nine years of age I was brought up near Columbus, Ohio. My college course was taken in the Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. I graduated in 1 839. After teaching two years in Kentucky I took the three years' theological course at the New Al- bany, now the Chicago, Seminary, I was licensed in the spring of 1844. Under a commission from our Board of Home Missions I took charge of Dry Point and Staunton churches, Macoupin county. 111., in the spring of 1845. I was ordained by the Presbytery of Kaskaskia at Sugar Creek, April, 1845. In 1846 I took charge of Providence church, Cass county, 111., and remained there two years. My next charge was a little church in Ogle county. 111., now called White Rock. There I labored two years. Then I was ap- pointed missionary colporteur, with a monthly preaching ap- pointment. After two years of successful labor in that branch of our work, I took charge of two churches I had gathered in the time in Stephenson county. I was then a member of Chicago Presbytery. About that time I married Miss Eliza A. Brown, only daughter of Rev. Sidney Smith Brown, at Concord, Mich. Then, on solicitation, I under- 350 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. took to resuscitate the Michigan Central College, which had been abandoned by all its professors to establish the Hills- boro College. The effort failed. I then returned to my land near Rochelle, in Ogle county, and improved it, preach- ing once in two weeks in a grove where sixty saddles had been found in a hollow log. Those who had emptied the saddles had all disappeared. A pleasant, well-dressed con- gregation, which received the word with gladness, had taken their place. Ten years I have labored as colpor- teur Missionary for the Board of Publication in Northern Il- linois and, to some extent, in Wisconsin. Since coming to this nevv State of Nebraska, I have labored as I could. I know my work has not been in vain. Of the four children born to me, two are living and with me — Charles Monod, born October 20, 1857, and Hattie Isabel, born October i, i860. Elisha Freeman Chester, Geneva, Neb." The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Greenville, Bond county, October 3, 1845. B. F. Spilman was appointed Stated Clerk in place of C. C. Riggs resigned. C. C. Riggs was dismissed to the Presbytery of Steubenville. Andrew M. Hershey was dismissed to the Presbytery of Carlyle. The pastoral relation between A. C, Allen and the church of Hiilsboro was dissolved, and Mr. Allen dismissed to the Presbytery of North Alabama. Mr. Blackburn Leffler, li- centiate, was received from the Presbytery of Salem, and, on the fifth inst, ordained 52>^^ tihdo. The o. s. church, of Edwardsville, organized April 19, 1845, was received. B. F. Spilman was dismissed from the pastoral care of Shaw- jieetown church, and appointed Presbyterial Missionary. Blackburn Leffler joined Kaskaskia Presbytery as a licentiate of Salem Presbytery; was ordained at Greenville, 111., as an Evangelist; married Miss A. A. M. Silliman, daughter of Rev. John Silliman; lost his hearing, and is now at Westminster, California. The Presbytery of Palestine, n. s., did not hold a meet- ing in the spring of this year, but convened Sept. 19, 1845, with the Pleasant Prairie church, n. s. MEETING OF PRESBYTERIES. 351 The Presbytery of Palestine, o. s., met with Pleasant Trairie church, o. s., April 25, 1845. Stephen Bliss, minister, and Adriel Stout, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. A pro re nata meeting was held August 2.6, 1845. The regular fall session was held with Pisgah •church, Lawrence county, commencing Sept. ii, 1845. Sangamon Presbytery met with the Sugar Creek church April 4, 1845. Thomas A. Spilman, minister, and James L. Lamb, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. Five ministers and eleven churches reported. The fall meeting was held with Union and Jacksonville churches, commencing Oct. 7, 1845. Alton Presbytery met at Troy, April 4, 1845. Hurri- cane church, Fayette county, was received. William Fith- ian was dismissed to the Presbytery of Illinois. Provision was made at this meeting for the publication of the " Alton Presbytery Reporter " under the direction of the Missionary Committee, A. T. Norton, chairman. This was the origin of the paper, in pamphlet form, and under the names first of Alton Presbytery Reporter, and, when it was adopted or recommended by other Presbyteries, of Pres- bytery Reporter, published the first year semi-yearly, then quarterly, bi-monthly and finally monthly, continued until the beginning of 1868. At the last date its subscription list was sold to the Herald and Presbytery, Cincinnati. Several important numbers have been published since. This publi- cation, continued about twenty-five years, consists of eight volumes of about six hundred pages each. During the -whole period, A T. Norton, was its responsible Editor and Publisher. It was, beyond doubt, an important factor in the rapid and extensive growth of the first Alton Presbytery. Indeed its influence was largely felt in the New School ^denomination through the entire State. It was disposed of, perhaps, unwisely, simply through the weariness of its Edi- tor and Publisher, in carrying any longer so heavy a burden in addition to his other duties. It was always made to pay its way. In the end its subscription list brought four hun- >dred dollars. 352 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Hurricane Church was organized Feb. 23, 1845, by Wm, Chamberlin with five members, Mr. Beach, elder. It was in the western part of Fayette county; named from Hurricane creek, and was merged in the church of Mulberry Grove. The Presbytery of Alton met at Ducoign, in Nine-Mile Prairie, Sept. 11, 1845. Gov. John Reynolds in his Pioneer History of Illinois, p. lo, says : "At this time — 1800 — the Kaskaskia tribe of Indians had for their chief, Ducoign, who was a cunning man and had considerable talents. He boasted that neither he nor his nation had ever shed'white man's blood. This was no doubt true. He had vis- ited President Washington at Philadelphia, and wore a medal from his great father, as he called the President." There has been a great variety of practice about the spelling of the name of the places called from this Indian chief — Duquoine, Duquoin and Du Quoin. I think the extract above should settle the matter. At any rate in this work the name is Ducoign. Mulberry Grove and Marion churches were received. L- S. Williams was received from the Illinois Presbytery. Wil- ilston Jones, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Cincinnati, examined and ordained Sept. 13. John Gibson was licensed for one year. The church of " Eight-Mile Prairie," formerly called " Crab Orchard," in Williamson county, was received. WiLLiSTON Jones was born in Holland, Erie county, N, Y., February 7, 18 14. He was an only son, but has two sis- ters living. His parents removed when he was only five years of age to St. Clair county. 111. He was converted when about seventeen, at Lewiston, 111., under the preach- ing of Rev. Aratus Kent. He graduated at Illinois College in 1840, and at Lane Seminary in 1844. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Cincinnati, May 30, 1843. Ordained by the Presbytery of Alton, September 13, 1845, at Ducoign, on Nine-Mile Prairie, Perry county. After leaving the sem- inary, Mr. Jones labored for a season in Upper Alton. He was then employed by Alton Presbytery as an itinerant to labor with Rev. William Chamberlin. In April, 1846, he was dismissed to the Presbytery of Knox. He went to Canton, 111., in the latter part of 1845, and remained there three years. He was married, September 16, 1846, in St. Louis, to Miss Elizabeth H. Shearer, of Aurora, Erie county, N. Y. WILLISTON JONES. 353 This excellent lady is Still living. Her residence is at 52 How- ard street, Albany, N. Y., where she is engaged in benevolent ■ work. They have had no children of their own, but have acted the part of faithful parents to two adopted daughters. I\Iuch the largest part of Mr. Jones' ministerial life has been spent in Iowa. He went to Cedar Rapids in the fall of 1848, labored there eight years and seven at Iowa Falls. While in the former place he performed missionary labor at Solon, Mt. Vernon, Pleasant Prairie, Center Point, Shellsburg, Vinton and Brooklyn. At five of these places he organized churches. During his residence at Iowa Falls he organized the church at that place, also at Maysville, Otisville, Oakland and Point Pleasant. He preached a year or two regularly at Steam- boat Rock, Berlin and Eldora — traveling with a pair of mules that whole seven years through summer's heat and winter's cold, through sloughs and snowdrifts. A bitter sectarian persecution followed him all the time. Says a friend, speaking of these incessant labors, " No wonder the mules died of the blind staggers." In March, 1865, he left Iowa Falls, and was for a time in the service of the Christian Commission. He was with the army of the Potomac when Richmond was captured. At the request of the writer he went in May of the same year to labor with our young and feeble church in Rolla, Mo. Here he performed the last work of his life. The Presbytery of St. Louis met in Rolla, October 30, and special meetings were held during the session, and for sev- eral days after. i^Iuch religious interest was felt in the com- munity. !Mr. Jones was surpassingly earnest in the cause, laboring incessantly. In the midst of these labors he was stricken down by sickness. He had just purchased a resi- dence in Rolla, and, after he was prostrated by disease, was carried on a bed to his new earthly home, from which he was so soon t") ascend to his heavenly. He died November 20, 1865. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Henry A. Nelson, D. D., from the words, " He being dead yet speak- eth." In the year 1853 Mr. Jones and the writer stood on the brink of the Niagara river, on the British side, about a mile below the Falls. Looking out upon the seeth- ing, whirling, tumultuous waters he said, " Let us sing the Doxology." Accordingly, in that wonderful temple, we lifted up our voices, scarcely audible to ourselves amidst that majestic, mighty sound of many waters. Mr. and j\Irs. Jones' daughter, Jennie H., married Rev. H. T. Perry. 354 PRESBYTER! ANISM IN ILLINOIS. They are missionaries of the A. B. C. F. M., at Sivas, in Western Turkey. Their other daughter, Emehe, studied medicine, and is now resident physician of Wellesley Female College in Massachusetts. Mulberry Grove Church was organized in the summer of 1845 by Rev. Robert Stewart v/ith ten members, James A. Hubbard, elder. It was dissolved, September 30, 1861, and its members connected with Greenville. It never had a house of worship.r^was not planted and could not grow. Marion Church, Williamson county, was organized Aug. 31, 1845, by Revs. W. Chamberlin and Williston Jones, with these members : Samuel Aikman, Henrietta Aikman, William Aikman, Maria E. Aikman, Eliab Aikman, Lewis Calvert, Mary Cox, Louisa Cox and Margaret McMurray. Elders : Samuel Aikman, the first one ; Napolean B. Cal- vert ; Joseph Maginnis ; St. Clair McMurray ; James Aik- man. Ministers : Nehemiah A. Hunt took charge of the church in 1848; John W. McCord ; John IngersoU ; Hillery Patrick ; Charles G. Selleck, after the war and when he was residing near Carbondale. The last sessional record was made July 25, 1858. A church building was erected while Mr. Hunt was here at a money cost of about four hundred dollars. Mr. Hunt himself did much of the work. The members also turned in labor. That building was taken down in 1870. Part of the materials were sold to the Cum- berlands who put them into a house of their own about three miles east of town. The lot which had been donated by Mr. Hunt was sold for two hundred and five dollars and the money returned to him at his residence in Sterling Center, Minn, The members have all died, removed or joined other churches except Mrs. Elizabeth Owen and her sister, Rebecca Harrison, now Mrs. Hugh Richart, at Carter- ville, Williamson county. Forty-one persons were connected with this church from its organization down to 1858. It has never been formally dissolved, and might be resuscitated with suitable effort. N. B. Calvert has the record book and has become a thorough Methodist. SYNOD OF ILLINOIS. 355 The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Springfield, Oct. i6, 1845. Members were present from five Presbyteries, includ- ing that of Des Moines, Iowa. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Jacksonville, Oct. 9, 1845. Members were present from five Presbyteries. Both Synods adopted ■resolutions asking the Governor to appoint this year also the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving. CHAPTER IX. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 846 TO 1 849, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND OF THE MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS HERE WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities: Records'of churches, Presbyteries and Synods; authors of the vari- ous sketches. YEAR 1846. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Farmington, April 2, 1846. Socrates Smith, who had been ordained by a Com- mittee of Presbytery, at Beardstown, Nov. 23, 1845, was present as a member. Albert Hale, minister, and David B. Ayres, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. J. A. Ranney, G. C. Wood and C. B. Barton, were granted let- ers of dismission. Hugh Barr resigned the office of Stated Clerk, and Albert Hale was appointed in his place. The fall meeting was held at Mechanicsburg, Sept. 10. The church of Rochester was received. Harvey Blodgett was received from the Presbytery of Cleveland. Socrates Smith was born at Henniker, N. H,, June 16 1814. Graduated at Dartmouth College 1842, and at Union Seminary, New York, 1845. Ordained Nov. 23, 1845 ; sup- ply pastor at Beardstown, III, 1845-46; Panther creek. 111., 1846-50; joined Alton Presbytery, April 16, 1852; teacher at Greenville, 111., 1850-53 ; Home Missionary in Jersey county, 1853-55; supply pastor, Troy, III, 1855-59; farmer near Greenville, 111., 1859-68. Died Feb. i, 1868, on his farm. His widow is still livins". Harvey Blodgett was born in Brimfield, Mass.. in Aug., 1801. He was converted in 1825. He graduated at Am- herst College in 1829, After leaving college he spent some time in teaching, and at intervals afterwards. As a min- KASKASKIA PRESBYTERY. 35/ ister he labored principally in the northern part of Ohio. For six years he was pastor of the Presbyterian church of Euclid, a few miles east of Cleveland. For five years he was Agent of the A. B. Society mostly in central Illinois with his residence at Jacksonville, where he died in June, 1850. His funeral was from the First Presbyterian church in that place. Sabbath, June 23. Mr. B. possessed a mind vigorous, strong, comprehensive. He thought deeply, reasoned justly, and expressed himself lucidly. He had strong common sense. His religion was that of action rather than feeling — principled, steady, laborious. Rochester Church, Sangamon county, 111., was organized on the first Sabbath in August, 1846, with eight members. Gardner T. Bruce and Moses Fairchild, elders. Its name was erased from the roll of Presbytery, April 4, 1862. Kaskaskia Presbytery met at Mt. Vernon, March 20, 1846. William A. Smith was received from the Presbytery of Muhlenburg. B. F. Spilman, minister, and Alex. Kirk- patrick, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assem- bly. The collections for Domestic Missions made in their ■ churches were directed to be appropriated to the support of the itinerating Missionary, B. F. Spilman, except of the churches whose ministers were local Missionaries. Elisha F. Chester was dismissed to the Presbytery of Sangamon. William Gardner was licensed. The fall meet- ing was held with Sugar Creek church, Oct. 2. David D. McKee was dismissed to the Presbytery of Allegheny. John S. Howell was ordained, sine titulo, October, 3. Thomas W. Hynes, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Madi- son, and ordained Oct. 4. Hopewell Church was reported to the Assembly this year, P. O., Benton, Franklin county, with eight members. In 1848 it reported thirteen members. In 1850, twelve mem- bers. In 1859 its name does not appear. Oct. 8, i860, its name was changed by Presbytery to Knob Prairie. That prairie is fifteen miles north-east of Frankfort, Franklin ■county. Nothing more is known of the church from any records. 358 presbyterianism in illinois. John Smith Howell. The following sketch is furnished by his widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Howell-- She resides on her own farai, Bond county, near Elm Point church and post, office. John Smith Howell was born January 13, 18 13, on Long Island, N. Y He was of Welsh descent. His parents were Congregationalists. His mother died on Long Island. His father moved to this state in 1822, and united with the Pres- byterian church in Greenville. He had a family of nine children. All of them became Christians in early life. They were two sons and-"seven daughters. John Smith, the sec- ond son, experienced religion when thirteen years of age, at a camp-meeting in Bethel, under the preaching of B. F. Spil- man. He united with Greenville church. His brother was- thrown from a horse and killed when eighteen years old. His father was anxious to give John an education, but could not spare him from the farm. That father, Joseph Howell, for several years an elder in the Greenville church, died in 1832. When he came to this state he was living with his second wife, by whom he had one son, Silas. When, there- fore, his father died, John S. had the care of the family, con- sisting of his step-mother, his half-brother, Silas, and two sisters. The step-mother died in 1835. Feb. ii, of the same year, John S. married Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of George Johnson. She was of Irish descent. She became a Christian in her nineteenth year, and united with the Presby- terian Church. In the fall of 1837, John S. made up his mind to study for the ministry; and, if needful, devote ten years to the work of preparation. He first studied at the Academy in Bethel, then at Illinois College, where he graduated in 1844. He studied theology with Rev. James Stafford at Greenville. He was licensed in the fall of 1845, and took charge of Sugar Creek and Staunton churches. Ordained as above stated. He spent four years in the vicinity of Sugar Creek, laboring with that and other churches. In the spring of 1850, he took an agency for books. In 1854 he commenced labor in White and Gallatin counties — preaching at Equality, Sharon and Carmi. In the spring of 1862 he returned to Bond county, and took charge of Elm Point and Wavelandi churches. In the fall of 1869 he substituted Staunton for Waveland. In the spring of 1872, when making arrange- ments to remove his family to Staunton,, his health failed. THOMAS W. HYXES. 359 July 29th, he preached his last sermon, and died Sept. 23, 1872. Three children died in infancy. A son was killed at Fort Donelson, Tenn., Feb. 15, 1862. A daughter, Lizzie, only survives. She is married and resides with her mother at Elm Point. Mr. Howell was a truly Godly man. He made his way to the ministry by dint of indomitable courage and perseverance, and proved useful in his chosen work. Thomas Woodruff Hynes. Auto-biographical. I was born at Bardstown, Nelson county, Kentucky, October 5, 18 15. My father, William R. Hynes, was a native of Washington county, Alaryland. !My grandfather, Thomas Hynes, came to Kentucky about 1780. The Hynes family came from Coleraine, Ireland, and were of Scotch-Irish stock. ]\Iy paternal grandmother, Abigail Rose, was of Welch descent. My mother, Barbara Chen- ault, was a native of Essex county, Va. Her family were Huguenot French, and all of the name in this country are descendants of three brothers who fled from France at the time of the terrible slaughter of the Protestants, commonly known as the massacre of St. Bartholomew. My father was an elder of the Presbyterian church of Bardstown, and died there in 1837. -Sly first school was taught by my uncle, Stephen Chenault. After attending the common schools at Bardstown, I was for two or three years in the Roman Catholic college of that place, called "St. Joseph's College." In October, 1833, I went to Hanover College, In- diana, where I graduated in 1836. I entered immediately the Indiana Theological Seminary at Hanover, then taught by Dr. John Matthews and Professors Bishop and Cunning- ham. At the end of one year in the seminary, my old pre- ceptor in mathematics. Prof. John H. Harney, left the college, and recommended me to take temporary charge of his classes until a professor could be elected. This I attempted, in con- nection with my theological course, but soon found both more than I could carry along profitably. After one or two terms, I was appointed to the chair of mathematics, and was thus diverted from my theological course for several years. In the mean time I was ordained a Ruling Elder in the Han- 360 PRESBYTERIAMSM IN ILLINOIS. over church. Providence opened the way for my leaving the college in 1844. I again entered the seminary, which by that time had been removed to New Albany, Ind. I finished the seminary course there in June, 1S45. I was li- censed by the Presbytery of Madison, soon after leaving the seminary, at a meeting held at Carrollton, Ky. I preached about one year in Jennings county, Ind. In March, 1846, I settled at Hillsboro, 111. Receiving a call to the pastoral charge of that church, I was ordained by the Presbytery of Kaskaskia, at Sugar Creek church, on the 4th October, 1846. I removed to Bond county in 185 I, and after abOut one year's preaching in various places, began to preach in Greenville in May, 1852 — first for one- half the time. I removed to Greenville in 1854, and was soon installed as pastor there. I resigned that charge in 1867. I have since that supplied, for portions of my time, the churches of Waveland, Elm Point and some other vacancies. I have preached for ten years at a mission station at Old Ripley, Bond county, being near my farm. My oldest son is William Dunn Hynes, who lives at Indianapolis, Ind., and is a route agent on the Vandalia railroad. My second son, Samuel Burke H}-nes, is Gen'i Ag't A. T. & S. F. R. R. at St. Louis, Mo. Their mother was a daughter of the Hon. Williamson Dunn, of Hanover, Ind. Besides the above, I have one daughter and two sons at home. Thomas W. Hynes. The Presbytery of Palestine, n. s., held no meeting in 1846. The Presbytery of Palestine, o. s., met at Paris, April 3, 1846. R. H. Lilly, minister, and James W'elsh, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. The same Presbytery held its fall meeting at Charles- ton, 111., commencing October 2, 1846. The churches of Marshall and Grandview were received under care of Pres- bytery. The church of Okav/ was dissolved and its mem- bers transferred to Charleston. Marshall Church, Clark county, was organized, April 25, 1846, by Revs. H. I. Venable, R. H. Lilly and Elder James Welsh, with these members: Alexander Matthews, GRAND VIEW CHURCH. 3^1 Prudence Matthews, Rachel Matthews, Amy Matthews, John R. Matthews, M. J. Matthews, James Gibson, Rachel A. Babcock, Prudence Cochran. Elder : Alexander Matthews. Ministers: Ellis Howell, 1855 to 1865; R. C. McKinney, 1868-69; Thomas Spencer, 1871-72, irregular appointments; George F. Davis, 1876, and is still in the field. Elders: Al- exander Matthews, the first; Elza Neal ; Jacob C. Smith; John Morton. Mr. Matthews is dead. The others are liv- ing. During its frequent vacancies this church had occa- sional supplies from the Presbytery. A house of w^orship was commenced in 1858 and finished the next year, after a severe struggle. In 1877 this house was remodled and put in complete repair. Its site is beautiful. The growth of the church has been slow from the beginning. For years it had no regular ministry. The entire mem- bership is one hundred and thirty-two. It should be said that this ground had been pre-empted, and by rather sharp practice. Rev. Isaac Reed, for several years a mem- ber of Palestine Presbytery, had made an appointment for organizing a Presbyterian church. Congregationalists in the vicinity and from Terre Haute so maneuvered the meeting that the vote did not express the preference of the majority. Since Mr. Davis entered the field the Sabbath- school has been greatly enlarged, and the general condition of the church and congregation much improved. Grandview Church, Edgar county, was organized by Rev. John A. Steele, July 27, 1838, with these members: James Hite, Ann W. Hite, John Tate, Nancy Tate, Robert M. Tate, Susan Tate, Margaret I. Tate, Jacob S. Brown, Ellen B. Brown, Joseph Brown, Wm. A. Cale, Mary Cale. John Shultz, Susan Shultz, Catharine Steele, Rachel Frame, M. Snapp. Elders: James Hite, Wm. A. Cale, John Tate, Joseph Brown, the first. Elders since: S. Houston, William Blackburn, Dr. D. W. Stormant, Isaac Hewitt, R. T. Alex- ander, Robert M. Tate, Jacob Braden, and probably others. The two last named are the present elders. The church was organized in a frame store-room, used now as a lumber house in the central part of the village. There the church held their meetings until about 1841. The church edifice was first erected in the south part of the town. Afterwards the same building was removed to its present 0 62 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. location and enlarged. The house on the first site was dedi- eated by Rev. John A. Steele, about 1841, On its second and present site it was dedicated by Rev. Samuel Newell,, and cost, as it now stands, $2,100. The parsonage was built about 1856 or 1857. It cost six hundred dollars. The site is a quarter-acre lot. Ministers : John A. Steele was the first, and continued until 1854; James Huston, 1855 ; N. S. Palmer, 1856-59; Charles P. Spinning, licentiate, i860, afterwards pastor and remained until April, 1867, a revival under his pastorate; S. Martin, 1867-69; J. W. Allison, 1869-71 ; Joseph Lowry, 1871-72 ; Lewis E. Jones, 1873-77 ;. Simeon C. Head, Jan. 1878 and still continues. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at North Sangam-on, April 3, 1846, Elisha F. Chester was received from the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. Andrew Todd, minister, and Jacob F. Bergen, elder, were appointed to the next Assem- bly. The Presbytery reported six ministers and eleven churches. A memorial had been presented by Dr. Andrew Russel, of Union church, against the action of the Assembly of 1845 upon slavery. This had been laid over to the pres- ent meeting, when the following action was taken. "Resolved, (i) That we approve the course taken by the memorialist, to exculpate himself from any participation in the guilt, real or supposed, contracted by the Assembly of 1845, in their action on the subject of slavery. (2) That Dr. Russel's paper be returned to him with a copy of the action of Pres- bytery thereon." So fine a specimen of non-committalism ought to go down to after ages ! The fall meet- ing was held at Springfield, Oct. 7. George McKinney,, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Salem. The Presbytery of Alton met at Collinsville, April 2, 1846. Geo. C. Wood and C. B. Barton, from the Presbytery of Illinois, and James R. Dunn, from the Congregational Association were received. Robert Kirkwood was dis- missed from the pastoral care of Plum Creek church and from the Presbytery, with a general letter. Robert Stewart, minister, and Russell Scarritt, elder, were appointed Com- missioners to the Assembly. Williston Jones was dismissed to the Presbytery of Knox. JAMES R. DUNN. 365 James R. Dunn was born at Wilmington, Delaware, Dec, 18, 1 8 16. He was educated at the Classical Institute in that place. Ordained by the Illinois Congregational Association at Griggsville, Pike county. 111., in April, 1842. Was sup- ply pastor of Congregational church in Ottawa, 111., in 1842- 43. Spent one year in Collinsville, 111., teaching part of the time, and supplying the churches of Collinsville, Marine and Belleville. Spent two years in the counties of Jackson and Union as Missionary. His residence was at Western Saratoga, some eight miles northeast of Jonesboro. Then two years at CarroUton. The next four years, from 184910 1853,. with the Congregational church of Chesterfield, Macoupin county. Settled at Wenona, Marshall county, 111., in 1853, where he spent ten years. Left Wenona in 1865, and dwelt at Normal four years. His next residence was Jacksonville. He is now in St. Louis, supply pastor of the South church, and a member of St. Louis Presbytery. He has one son,, Edward, who is a lawyer. An adjourned meeting of Alton Presbytery, was held at Marion, Williamson county, commencing July 31, 1846, The churches of Western Saratoga and Murphysboro, were received. N. A. Hunt, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler, examined, and on Sabbath, July 2, 1846, ordained, sine titulo. The fall meeting was held at Upper Alton, Oct. 12. J. A. Ranney was received from the Presbytery of Illinois. Nehemiah a. Hunt was born in Mason, N. H., Sept. 27, 1 8.1 1. He was educated at Oberlin, Ohio, IMission Institute, Quincy, 111., and at Lane Seminary. Ordained as above. He labored at JNIarion, Williamson county, many years, and accomplished great good. He was a prodigious worker, labored with his own hands as much as Paul ever did or could. After leaving IMarion, he labored several years with Bethel church. Bond county, Illinois. He was dismissed from Alton Presbytery to the Central Association of Minn., April 15, 1844, His present residence is Sterling Center, Minn. His wife's maiden name was Clarina A. Conrad, born in N. C, in 18 18. They were married Nov. 4, 1844. 364 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Western Saratoga Church, Union county, in the north- eastern corner of T. 12 S., R. i W., was organized by Wil- liam ChamberHn, with eight members, in the spring of 1846, Noah Harlow, elder. James R. Dunn resided there in the summer of 1846 and ministered to that and several churches in that general region. But the members soon removed, and the church became extinct. The Church of Murphysboro, the county seat of Jack- son county, was organized July 19, 1846, by WiUiam Cham- berlin with seven^'members, William McClure, elder. This church had considerable success for several years. It was served by William H. Bird, Josiah Wood and others. In April, of 1850, the Presbytery of Alton held its session with them. It had then a membership of twenty-six. Dr. A. S. Latta was an elder. At one time, under the lead of Josiah Wood, they had a house of worship enclosed, though it was never finished. Through the removal of important members and poor management this church went down. Its house was lost to it. The church records are also lost. Two or three members may be left. But nearly all have removed, died or united with the Lutheran church in the same place. Rev. James G. Butler, of Grand Tower, is at this time — 1879 — renewing the effort, and with good promise, at the depot and mines on the opposite side of the Big Muddy. Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Alton, October 15, 1846. Members were present from five Presbyteries. George C. Wood was appointed Stated Clerk in place of L. P. Kimball, resigned. Routine business — petition to the Governor to appoint the last Thursday of November for general thanks- giving— approval of the Assembly's action on slavery, and an appeal case from Presbytery of Des Moines were the principal items of business. The Synod of Il- linois, o. s., met at Springfield, October 3. Members were present from five Presbyteries. YEAR 1847. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Jacksonville, April 8, 1847. Andrew L. Pennoyer, who had been absent from MEETING OF PRESBYTERIES. 365 several meetings of Presbytery on account of ill health, was present. The overture duly sent down — " Shall the General Assembly hold its sessions annually instead of triennially ? " was answered in the affirmative.* A paper was adopted setting forth the present state of Il- linois College, and recommending to the churches of the Pres- bytery to make an annual collection in its behalf The fall meeting was held at Concord, commencing Octo- ber 7, 1847. William Fithian was dismissed to Ontario Pres- bytery. String Prairie church was attached to the Presby- tery of Alton ; Alanson Alvord from the Brookfield Associ- ation, and C. B. Barton, from the Alton Presbytery, were re- ceived. Kaskaskia Presbytery met with the Gilead church, Jef- ferson county, April 9, 1847. John L. Hawkins from the Presbytery of Redstone, and Philander D. Young from the Presbytery of Ogdensburg were received. A committee re- ported the installation of T. W. Hynes pastor of Hillsboro church on October 20, 1846. William A. Smith, minister, and Amzi Andrews, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. Blackburn Leffler was dismissed to the Presby- tery of Palestine. William B. Gardner was ordained, sine tit- nlo, April 12. The fall meeting was held at Hills- boro, October 8. William A. Smith was dismissed to the Presbytery of Mississippi. The church of Hopewell, Bond county, was dissolved and its members directed to apply to to the church of Greenville. John L. Hawkins was born at Chambersburg, Franklin county, Pa., August 8, 1800. His ancestors were Scotch Covenanters. His parents moved to Washington county, Pa., in 1807. He graduated at Washington College, 18 18. His theological training was directed by Drs. John Anderson, Andrew Wylie and Thomas Hoge. His class of nine was the gem of the Western Theological Seminary. He was li- censed by Washington Presbytery, April 21, 1825, and or- dained by the same, October, 1827. He spent a pastorate of *The triennial plan had been found wholly unsatisfactory and lasted only from 1S40 to 1846, when the Assembly was restored to the same status it occupied when the division took place. ^66 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. fifteen years at Connersville, Fayette county, Pa. He came to Illinois December, 1844. He labored with Carmi church, White county, as supply pastor from 1845 to 1849. ^^ ^'^'^s married to a daughter of the Rev. John Silliman, who died at Sharon, White county, November, 1838. He commenced labor with Carbondale church, Jackson county. 111., January 10, 1872, and still continues in that field. That church had then forty-four members. It has now one hundred and two. Seventy-five have been received under Mr. Hawkins' minis- try and sixty-six persons baptized. Philander Dickinson Young was born in the state of New York. Graduated at Union College in 1842 and at "Princeton Seminary. He was ordained, sine titulo, by the Presbytery of Ogdensburg, June 18, 1846. Labored awhile in Edwardsville, 111.; supply pastor at Chester, 1852. A mis- .sionary in Wisconsin. Supply pastor at Oilman, 111. Is now at Orange, Cal. William Berley Gardner was born in Newburyport, Mass., and received his early education at one of the colleges ■in Maine. He was forty-five years of age when he died with pneumonia in the winter of 185 1. He was ordained by Kas- kaskia Presbytery, April 12, 1847, at Gilead, Jefferson county. After this he labored in various churches in Southern Illinois ; .among which were Equality, Mt. Vernon, Gilead and Elk- horn. This latter was, by his advice, moved to Nashville. That congregation still worship in the house planned by him. It was the second church edifice in the place. Mrs. J. H. .Sawyer, of Nashville, is a daughter of Mr. Gardner. The Presbytery of Palestine, n. s., having failed to hold .any meeting in 1846, was directed by Synod to convene with Pleasant Prairie church, April 29, 1847. The direction was .complied with. Charles H. Palmer, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Cincinnati, examined and ordained May I, 1847. A plan of correspondence and co-operation tin the Home Missionary work between this and the Alton Presbytery was adopted. The fall meeting was held with JSTew Providence church, Oct. 7. CHARLES H. PALMER. 367 Charles H. Palmer was born in Moscow, Livingston •county, N. Y., Jan. i, 1818. His ancestors were English in nation and Calvinistic in religious sentiments. His father, Asa R. Palmer, was an elder in Danville Presbyterian church from its origin until his death. Charles came with his father to Vermillion county, Ind., in 1826, and from thence to Dan- ville, 111., in 1828. He graduated at Wabash College in 1843, and at Lane Seminary in 1846. He was licensed by •Cincinnati Presbytery, and ordained by that of Palestine, May I, 1847. He had charge of the Pleasant Prairie church, n. s., Coles county. 111., for two years. He removed to Dan- ville in 185 1. He took charge of Middleport church, Iro- quois county, 111., in 1856 and remained until 1870. In 1872 the went to Tazewell county. 111., and took charge of a church there for two years. He then returned to his home in Wat- ■seka, Iroquois county, and labored as an evangelist in vari- ous directions until his death, which took place instantly in his own house, Feb. 13, 1877. In the fall of 1852 he married Mrs. Sophronia M, Carnahan, at Chalmers, White county, Ind. He had four children, all of whom are living — Cornelia, born Sept. 10, 1853; Asa Gardiner, born Aug. 29, 1856 ; Charles White, born Oct. 22, 1858, and Wm. Henry, born Jan. 25, 1S67. The widow remains with her children at their home in Watseka, 111. Palestine Presbytery, o. s., met March 26, 1847, ^-t Pal- estine church, Crawford county. For their fall meeting they met at Grandview, Edgar county, Oct. 7. Blackburn Lef- fler from Kaskaskia Presbytery, and Joseph Adams from 'Crawfordsville Presbytery were received. Joseph Adams died, without charge, at Frankville, Iowa, March 6, i87i,aged sixty-two, a member of Dubuque Pres- bytery. He was dismissed from Palestine to Wisconsin Presbytery, Sept. 13, 1850. The Presbytery of Sangamon met with Sugar Creek <;hurch, April 2, 1847. J- Cr. Bergen, minister, and Asahel Stone, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Petersburg, commencing Sept. 17. 368 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. The Presbytery of Alton met at Greenville, April 22, 1847. Brighton church was received. The overture from the Assembly, about restoring the annual meetings of the body, was affirmed. Charles E. Blood was dismissed from the pastoral care of Collinsville church. George Spaulding was licensed, April 24. Joseph Gordon, from the Vandalia Presbytery of the Cumberland Church, and William H. Bird, from the Schuyler Presbytery of the same Church, were received. Joseph Gordo!*: I give the sketch of this brother partly in his own words and partly in the language of another. " I was born February 14, 1802, in the county of Monaghan^ Ireland. My parents were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. All the school education I ever received was in Ireland. I was induced to seek the ministry because I felt that * Woe is me if I preach not the gospel.' I was licensed in Upper Alton at the spring meeting of the Vandalia Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Ordained by the same Presbytery October 5, 1844. I preached in Ma- con and Bond counties while in connection with that Church. In the spring of 1847 I united with the Alton Presbytery, and immediately entered the Home Missionary field in South- ern Illinois, under the direction of the Missionary Committee of that Presbytery. I was married to Letitia W. Robinson, daughter of David and Elizabeth Robinson, ( both members of the Presbyterian Church,) at or near Edwardsville, Madison county, Sept. 13th, 1827. My wife has borne me eleven children, four of whom only survive, viz.: Mrs. Sarah J. Sea- man, born Dec. 26th, 1829. Mrs. Elizabeth A. Abernathy, born Sept. 7th, 1841. Jos. A. Gordon, born Feb. i8th, 1847, and Mrs. Julia G. Remann, born March ist. 1849. The most pleasing incident of my childhood was the intense earnestness manifested by my parents to give me an education out of their limited means, and especially the great care they took in having me study the Bible and West- minster catechism. From these two sources I have derived more theology than from all other helps I have been able to reach. As I write this sketch, retrospectingthe past as I do, my soul is filled with joy which nothing but God's word can inspire, when I call up the time where, away in Old Ireland^ WILLIAM H. BIRD. 369 under my Uncle Carson's white-thorn hedge, at the age of six years I committed to memory the twenty-third psalm." What follows is from the pen of another, Mr. Gordon did good service while in the Cumberland Church, as many can testify who were acquainted with him at that time. In the spring of 1847, having united with the Alton Presbytery, he entered on the work of Home Missions, under the direc- tion of the Missionary Committee of the Presbytery, and has labored in Southern Illinois to the present time. During this period he has organized eight Presbyterian churches and ten Sabbath-schools. Four of the churches are now self- sustaining. He taught the first Sabbath-school in Liberty Prairie, Madison county, and the third one in that county. He was engaged for months in lecturing on temperance dur- ing the Washingtonian movement, traveling over the North- ern part of Iowa, and a large portion of the state of Illinois. In this work he was called the " Irish Poney," and whilst thus engaged, part of the time in connection with one or two others, about seven thousand persons signed the pledge. The writer has known him forty-five years and can add his testimony to his uprightness, purity of character and success- ful labors. William Harrison Bird, Was born in Fayette county, near Lexington, Ky., May 31, 1814. His father's name was Abram. His mother's maiden name, Catharine Fry. They were born and raised in Shen- andoah county, Va., and married there, the bride being but fifteen years of age. They removed immediately to Ken- tucky, arriving there probably about 1802. They removed to Missouri in 1825 and settled on a farm near Hannibal, which at that time had but one house. They were thrifty farmers, owning a few slaves, but working with their own hands, industrious and abounding in hospitality. In the lat- ter part of his life, Mr. Abram Bird, through his too great confidence in others, lost his property. In hopes of recover- ing himself he went to California. He did not succeed ; and on his return died at sea, five days out from San Fran- cisco, Oct. II, 1850. He was then seventy years of age. Abram Bird and his wife did not become pious until 1832. In that year they and several of their children 23 370 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. were converted at a camp-meeting held by Dr. David Nel- son, and united with the Presbyterian Church, in Marion county. Mo. They had twelve children, eleven of whom reached maturity, and five are still living. Mrs. Catharine Fry Bird died in Missouri about 1857. At the death of her husband, her own home was broken up, and from that time forward she resided with her children. Wm. H. Bird's early advantages for an education were very limi- ted. His only religious instruction was from a pious grand- mother, who used to converse and pray with him. Dr. Nel- son was the first preacher he ever heard who really preached the Gospel. He -was accustomed in his youth to spend the Sabbath in hunting and fishing. His connection with the church occurred in 1833. His first marriage was to Miss Eliza Eveline Gash, a native of North Carolina. It took place in Marion county, Mo., Jan. i, 1834, when he was less than twenty years of age. The children of that marriage were six : Mary Jane, now Mrs. Wm. B. White, born Sept. 14, 1835 ; Martha Ann, now Mrs. T, W. Lippincott, born May 17, 1838; Samuel Wylie, born Oct. 2, 1S40; Abraham Calvin, born March 4, 1843; Martin Luther, born Jan. 15, 1847, and Eliza Eveline, now Mrs. Nelson Lance, born April II, 1849. All these are living, Mary Jane at Spearville, Kan- sas, Martha Ann at Pana, 111., Samuel W. at Spearville, Ford county, Kansas, Abram C. at St. Louis, Mo., 2312 Chestnut street. Martin L. is an engineer on the St. Jo branch of the North Missouri R. R. Eliza E. is in Bourneville, Ohio. All are members of the of the Presbyterian Church — active, use- ful, consistent Christians. The first Mrs, Bird died in Mt. Vernon, III, Aug. 18, 1855. April 16, 1856, Mr. Bird mar- ried INIiss Susan Bowen, She was born at Felchville, Wind- sor county, Vt. She was educated at the academies of Per- kinsville, Springfield and Ludlowville, Vt., and Yates, New York. She came west with Gov. Slade in 1855, and taught near Mt. Vernon, 111. The children of this sec- ond marriage were also six — four sons and two daughters. Of these, two died in infancy, and two others after reaching the ages of three and four. Of the two survivors, Ossian Fremont, born July 22, 1862, resides with his half-brother, Abraham C, in St. Louis. The remaining one, Susan Row- ena, born July 31, 1865, is with her mother at Woodburn, 111. So far as Mr. Bird had a religious trainuig, it was in the Presbyterian Church. With that Church he uni- WILLIAM H. BIRD. 37 1 led. Feeling a desire to preach the Gospel, he removed with his family to Mission Institute, near Quincy, March 15, 1840, and prosecuted his studies at that institution. Fearing that his educational qualifications were too limited to admit licensure in the Presbyterian Church, he applied to the Salt River Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and was by them licensed to preach, April 6, 1844, after having studied about four years. He was ordained by the Rushville Presbytery, C. P., Sept. 30, 1845. He labored in the Cumberland Church from the time of his licensure till Oct. 2, 1846 — one year and seven months. In the first part of this time at Bernadotte, on Spoon river, and at Table-Grove, in S. VV. corner of Fulton county, teaching school as well as preaching. His support was very small. April 10, 1845, he says : *' We have been wonderfully exercised in view ot our temporal wants. In an unusual degree of faith and reliance on God we have been supplied with one hundred pounds of flour, three and one-half yards of jeans, three dollars, sixty- two and one-half cents in money and one piece of bacon." He oiganized a church at Table-Grove, Oct. 18, 1845. Later he had a circuit including Rushville, Schuyler county. But he was not satisfied with his connection with the C. P. Church. Hence he took his dismission from them, attended a meeting of the Schuyler Presbytery, n. s., at Quincy, and was received into that body, Oct. 2, 1846, after an examina- tion in theology only. The same fall he removed with his family to x\lton Presbytery with which he united April 23, 1847, ai^d was installed pastor of Vergennes church, July 18, 1847. A. T. Norton preached the sermon, Josiah Wood gave the charge to the pastor, and J, R. Dunn to the people. His field of labor included Murphysboro, Jackson county, and Liberty, now Rockwood, Randolph county. In April, 1843, his pastoral relation with the Vergennes church was was dissolved. He was installed pastor of the Old Ducoign church Sabbath, Sept. 18, 1853. His subsequent fields of labor were Mt. Vernon, Vandalia, Bethel, Sandoval and Bethel the second time. In all these latter places he was supply pastor. The only churches he served as pastor were Vergennes and Old Ducoign. His longest stay in any one field was at Bethel, where he remained, including both peri- ods of service, for ten years. In April, 1868, while he was residing at Bethel, his health gave way. It had been grad- ually failing for some years. In April, 1865, he had apo- 372 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. plexy, and lay for several days at the point of death. But he recovered so as to resume his labors. But the sickness which laid him wholly aside from the ministry was a nervous fever, in April, 1868. At two different times he was a pa- tient for several months at the Water-Cure, Elmira, N. Y. He was benefited but not restored. The summer of 1870 he spent with his wife's relations in Vermont. In the spring of 1869, he fixed his residence at Pana, Illinois, where — with the exception of the visit to Vermont and an- other to Elmira — he remained until the spring of 1874, when he removed to Wpodburn, where he died April 15, 1S77. Though a constant invalid and a portion of the time a great sufferer for more than ten years, his immediate death was produced by a fall. Attempting to visit a sick neighbor, he stumbled and struck his head against a post. Five days after this he breathed his last. He was buried at Woodburn. At the time of his death he was a member of Alton Presbytery. He was mild in temper, modest and retiring in manner, but keenly observant. He reached the ministry through many obstacles and persevered in the work amidst great discourage- ments. His preaching was uniformly profitable and often with great unction and power. Some of Dr. Nelson's pupils have said that in the pulpit he closely resembled that great ]\Iasterin Israel. Few men have been more blessed in their children. Of the eight who survive, the seven elder are pious, and connected with the Presbyterian Church. Tlie youngest is at this time a girl of thirteen, and resides with her mother at Woodburn. 111. Brighton Church was organized the first Sabbath in^ January, 1847, by Revs. W. Chamberlin and J. A. Ranney m the Baptist church with these twelve members, viz. : Nathan Johnson and wife, John Jay Green and wife, Henry Boulter and wife, L. P. Stratton and wife, James W. Gilson and wife, Mrs. Cunningham and Mrs. David. Elders : Nathan John- son, John Jay Green and Henry Boulter, the first. Since then, L. P. Stratton, James W. Gilson, T. A. Brown, Edwin Amass, Hezekiah C. Clark and William Boulter. Ministers : Wm. Chamberlin; George Spaulding, ordained pastor in 1848 — the relation lasted only one year; — Thomas Lippin- cott;T. B. Hurlbut; Henry D. Piatt in 185 1; Samuel K. Sneed; Joseph S. Edwards; David Dimond, 1860-65 ; Geo, BRIGHTON CHURCH. 373 L. Tucker; Wm. R. Adams, 1867 till about 1870; May 21, 1871, David Dimond, D. D., was installed pastor and still continues. The first house of worship was a small brick building, dedicated June I, 185 1, The present house was dedicated Aug. 22, 1869. It is a frame building thirty-six by fifty-six with a spire ninety feet high. It cost $6,400, and is the finest edifice in the town. The whole number of members has been one hundred and seventy-nine, of whom seventy- six were received by letter and one hundred and three by profession. Among this church's many loved and honored ones, living and dead, James W. Gilson and Dr. T. A. Brown, are pre-eminent. The former was born in Salem Parish, Westmoreland county. Pa., in 1810. He was in early life in business in Jeffersonville, Ind., where he became rul- ing elder. He was active and prosperous in affairs, an ex- emplary Christian, devoted to his church, a man of sagacity and of great influence in the community. He died Aug. 30, 1864. Thomas A. Brown, M. D., a native of South Carolina — an associate in early life of Dr. F. A. Ross, .a graduate in medicine under Dr. R. D. IMassey — was a co- worker with this church from ,the beginning till his death in April, 1864. He was a superior singer, devoted to all good things, and in every way reliable. In 1867, cer- tain members — under the leadership of L. P. Strd,tton — with- drew and formed a Congregational church. This movement was not only utterly uncalled for, but has been, and is, the great hindrance in this field. For seventeeen years previous to that, the church had supported its minister and had sometimes _given three hundred dollars a year for Christian work abroad. Now both churches are feeble, having half their pastor's time and giving very little to Missionary purposes. The spectacle is sad and admonitory, and is regarded by Chris- tian people of other places and other denominations as a reproach and a warning. In May, 1 861, burglars entered the house of one of the elders, and carried oft'' the communion service, a box containing Sabbath school money and a pair of boots. Two nights after a man was shot dead when attempting to enter a house at Miles. On his feet were the missing boots. The next March the sacred uten- sils were found in a hazel thicket about two miles distant, scarcely at all injured. They had been given to the church by Deacon J. W. Archer, and after the schism were handed over by Rev. Mr. Tucker, to the Congregational party. 374 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLIMOIS. Alton Presbytery met with the Monticello church, Oct. l6, 1847. There were present ten ministers and fifteen eld- ers. Elder B. I. Oilman, represented Monticello church. Two missionary delegates, viz.: Revs. Joseph Butler and C. H. Palmer, were present from the Presbytery of Palestine, n. s. The churches of Vergennes and Liberty Prairie were received. Wm. H. Bird was installed pastor of Vergennes church, by a committe of Presbytery, July 18, 1847. -^ committee was appointed to ordain John Gibson, pastor of Plum Creek church. Wm. E. Chittenden was dismissed from the pastorat§rof Belleville church. Robert Kirkwood was dismissed to the Fourth Presbytery of New York, and Charles B. Barton to that of Illinois. The thanks of the Presbytery were presented to the Principal, Miss Philena Fobes, teachers and pupils of Monticello Female Seminary, for the interesting performances in Calisthenics and Music, with which they had favored the body. And they were assured the Presbytery both individually and collectively feel the warmest interest in the continued prosperity of the insti- tution. E. B. Olmsted was received from the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Vergennes Church is in the north part of Jackson county, in T. 7, S. R., 2 W. It was organized by Revs. W. H. Bird and Josiah Wood, July 17, 1847, with twenty-four members. Thomas L. Ross, Russell Tuthill and S. C. Porter, elders. W. H. Bird labored here for several years. But most of the leading members have removed or died. The church still exists and has occasional services. But it never had any other house of worship than an inconvenient school-house. Elder R. B. Blacklock, M. D., is still .on the ground. Liberty Prairie Church was in Madison county, T. 5 N. R. 8 W. It was organized by Revs. Lemuel Foster and Joseph Gordon, July ii, 1S47, with ten members. Wm. S. B. Robinson, Thomas Waples and Franklin Sleight, elders. It had but a brief organic existence, though its principal members still remain, and are connected with Moro or Edwardsville churches. edward b. olmsted. 375 Edward Bigelow Olmstkd, Auto-biographical. "I was born on the 29th day of Nov. 181 3, in Philadel- phia." So says the family record. My father, Edward Olmsted, was a printer and publisher in Philadelphia, and relinquished his business to accept a commission as 3rd Lieut., in the i6th Infantry Reg., U. S. A., which was soon ordered to join the expedition under General Wilkinson, destined to invade Canada. But that Province was not fated to become a star on the broad shield of the great Republic. The battle of Williamsburg, sometimes called Chrystler's field, fought Nov. nth, 1813, does not figure much in history, but was as decisive, so far as the conquest of Canada was concerned, as Waterloo or Pharsalia. Lieut. Olmsted fell at the head of his company, and was buried on the field of battle, after the manner of Sir John Moore. . In his last letter, to his father, dated Sackets Harbor, Oct. 2nd, 1813, he writes: "By vacancies that have occurred, I am now a ist Lieut., in command of sixty men. The conflict will be a bloody one, and if I survive it I will write the particulars, ( I hope from Montreal ), if not, remember me as I deserve. I hope to sustain the honor of our family and name." The family is English and very ancient. The founder in America was James Olmsted, who came over with other Pur- itans in the ship Lion in 1632, braving the danger of winter winds and inhospitable shores, that they might found "a Church without a bishop, and a State without a king." Among the names of the_^ founders of the Hartford colony on the monument in Hartford City are three Olmsteds. from whom, it is thought, all of the name have descended. They have, so far as I have been able to learn, been a God-fearing people, and have inscribed the name high on the roll of fame in civil and military life. Notably, Capt. Gideon Olmsted, of the Colonial Navy ; Prof. Dennison Olmsted ; Prof. L. G. Olmsted, LL.D., and Fred. Law Olmsted, the planner of New York City Central and other parks. I know that no one is entitled to any credit for what his ancestors did or said ; at the same time it is pleasant to know that those who have gone before have maintained the name and honor of 3/6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the family. My mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Webster, was a native of New Jersey. Her parents were Quakers. She. was a decided Presbyterian. Her sec- ond marriage, to John Stevenson, of Chambersburg, Pa., caused our removal thither. I had the usual experience of boys. With morning shining face, crept unwillingly to school. There was no attrac )a there. The small boys were called by our teacher " trash." When it was time for recess he would say the "trash" may go out. His attention was given to the more advanced scholars, because, I sup- pose, it was more agreeable to his taste. On Sabbath days I \fent with the family to the Presbyterian church, then, and during my entire boyhood, in charge of David Denny, a very dignified and learned pastor, who never uttered a sentiment that I can remember. But singularly enough, two words are indelibly engraved on my mind, which may serve as a key to his discourses — condign piinish- ment. There was no food for babes, and not much proven- der for the half grown lambs of the fold. About 1830 or 1832, there was a great revival in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, then in charge of Dr. Kurtz, afterwards editor of the Lutheran Observer oi Baltimore. A conflict was going on in that Church at that time between old measure men and new measure men. Dr. Kurtz headed the latter party, and of course was a revivalist. Some of the fathers were scandal- ised when the pastor invited the anxious to remain and be conversed with and prayed for. One of my visions of the time was the sturdy old German deacons rising up as the announcement was made, at the close of services, for an in- quiry meeting, reaching up deliberately for their broad- brimmed hats, and marching out in single file. In a short time, however, there v/ere very few to say " the old is better." New measures carried the day; and the Lutheran Church entered an era of life and prosperity. About the same time was brewing in the Presbyterian Church the trouble that ended in the organization of the New School or Constitutional Gen- eral Assembly. The former was a matter of " measures," the latter of doctrine, with perhaps a right smart sprinkle of measures too. Although not considered a bad boy, in fact having the approbation of the good, I found out at these meetings, that I was a guilty sinner. I never had, and never have had a single doubt in regard to the doctrine of the atonement. I reached out like one sinking into un- EDWARD B. OLMSTED. 3/7 known depths, and Christ took me by the hand, I was as well assured of forgiveness as though the words were audibly spoken, and though I have read and studied the Vestiges of Creation, Renan's Life of Christ, Huxley and Robert In- gersol, and other doubters, the equanimity of my faith has never for a moment been disturbed to the extent of an atom. What right has the effeminate inhabitant of an equatorial re- gion to say to the sturdy and hardy Laplander there is neither snow nor ice. " Why did I enter the ministry? " Somehow it seemed, after I united wath the Church, a general sentiment that I should study for that purpose. I was very much impressed with the importance of religion and was anxious to induce others to enjoy its blessings. A way opened itself so clearly to the ministry that I dared not refuse to enter. I had no debatings nor discussions in my mind about it, and I never asked any one's opinion as to its propriety. At about the age of nineteen, I enter- ed Pennsylvania College, at Gettysburg. While there was rewarded for early rising by a glorious view of the meteoric shower of Nov. 13, 1833 — the most brilliant heavenly pyro- technic display of which history makes mention. My step- father carried on an extensive tailoring establishment, in which many of my youthful days were spent. To complete my studies at Gettysburg, seemed impracti- cable, and although Horace Greely had not yet said, " Young man, go out West and grow up with the country," neverthe- less I went ; by stage to Pittsburg, by boat to Cincinnati, and by stage to Indianapolis, where I met the Reverend and beloved Abraham Reck, who had left a flourishing and wealthy church in Maryland to found an English Lutheran •church in Indianapolis. His first salutation was, the Lord has sent you to me to prepare for the ministry. This was in 1836, and in October, 1838, he and I rode to Corydon, Ind., to a meeting of the Synod of the West, at which I was duly licensed. There was a call for a minister from churches in Union county. 111. The Synod directed me to visit them, which I did on horseback and alone, through a sparsely settled country, to me an unknown world. The people of the two churches (near Jonesboro), agreed to give me one hundred dollars per annum and my boarding. After a stay of two weeks, the same faithful horse carried me back to Indianapolis. Packing up my few effects — mostly books, a saddle and inevitable saddle-bags, then new, but now laid 3/8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. up in ordinary, after a close companionship of many thous- and miles, through forests, across rivers, over prairies, in sun- shine and in storm. And they would be good for ten }^ears travel yet, but how would they look on a railroad car? N. B. They shall not be laughed at, but some day will find a place among the venerated relics of our pioneer history. By stage to Madison, Ind., and by boat to Cale- donia, where I landed in Nov., 1838, and proceeded to Jones- boro on foot, A horse had been sent to Caledonia for me, but delays on the river, caused by low water, resulted in the return of the horse^without the expected rider. On July 10, 1839, I was united in marriage to Mary, daugh- ter of Capt. James Riddle, in the room in which 1 write these notes. Unwilling to be married by a magistrate, T rode to Union county and procured the services of Rev. James Alexander, of' the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. My faithful and devoted wife is yet spared to me. Time has dealt gently with us. There is some abatement of the " nat- ural force," manifest mainly in the inability to prolong effort. But we enjoy serene and green old age, she being my junior by seven years. Our children are these : George Edward, born June 4, 1840, at Jonesboro ; James Henry, born May 5, 1842, at Caledonia; Sarah Elizabeth, born February i, 1844, at Jonesboro; Andrew Deardorff, born April 10, 1846, at Jonesboro; Charles Marcus, born Decem- ber 27, 1848, at Bethel, Bond county ; Elizabeth Ellen, born February 16, 1852, at Caledonia; William Webster, born March 14, 1854. Sarah Elizabeth died at Bethel, February 2, 1849. Upon the marble of her headstone are these words : " Her sun has gone down while it is yet day." Henry died at Caledonia, November 6, 1856, by the accidental discharge of a gun in his own hands. On his tombstone are these words : " I was dumb ; I opened not my mouth because thou didst it." The four sons and daughter are honorably settled in life, and we have cause for gratitude to God for our ex- emption from trouble on their account. Incapable of false- hood, fraud or deceitfulness, or of uttering a profane or vul- gar word or sentiment, they have won the confidence and es- teem of their associates. Two of them are members of the Presbyterian Church. The others might be, and ought to be. I was ordained in the Lutheran church, at Hills- boro, October 4, 1839. I served the two churches near Jonesboro, and organized two others — one in Pulaski county,. EDWARD B. 0L>5STED. 379 the other in Jackson county, and divided my time among them, and added largely to the membership. The latter two churches are now large and flourishing and have erected good buildings. The formation of the Jackson county church was the immediate cause of my connection with the Presbyterian Church. A small Presbyterian church had been organized in the same neighborhood, and Bro. Bird, the stated supply, and the brethren Wood and Dunn, thought the American Home Mission Society would commission me to serve both churches. To this end I attended the meeting of Presbytery at Monticello, where the scheme was declared im- practicable. For some time I had felt discouraged on ac- count of my inability to preach in the German language, and still more from the fact that my nearest ministerial neighbor, Rev. Scherer, of Hillsboro, was one hundred and forty miles away from me. Rev. A. T. Norton especially represented to me that I could accomplish more by the change, and I did not doubt it. So I obtained a dismission from the President of the Synod, and united with the Presbyterian church and the Presbytery of Alton, at an adjourned session at Jacksonville, on October 22, 1847. ^'ly suc- cessor at Jonesboro was a German and English preacher, Rev. John Krack and I was elected stated supply of the Bethel church in Bond county, to which place I removed my family. The four years I remained there were the happiest and probably the most useful of my life. There were many additions to the church and one or two precious and extensive revivals of religion. I shall never forget the godly men and women, old and young, of that excel- lent church and neighborhood. From Bethel I removed to Caledonia, leaving the former place November 5, 185 1. On the 6th of June, 1852, I organized the Presby- terian church of Caledonia, of five members. During a large part of the intervening time I have been stated supply — it seems to me to little purpose. I do not propose to excul- pate myself nor to blame others, because it is written, " One man soweth and another reapeth." From a report of Rev. Robert Stewart, dated January, 1 85 1, I extract the following: "On Thursday I went to Cal- edonia. There are Quakers, Methodists, Baptists, Luther- ans, German Reformed, Presbyterians, Cumberland Presby- terians, Campbellites, Universalists, and what else I know not; and in building up Christ's kingdom these discordant 380 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. materials must be taken and made to harmonize. In this work we must have much patience, perseverance, self-denial, wisdom and faith." This is the enterprise I afterwards en- gaged in. In patience I rivaled the Man of Uz ; in per- severance and self-denial it seems to me I have not been wanting; and I have come to doubt the wisdom of trying to harmonize such discordant elements; and even faith ought to have the element of plausibility. The great trouble with the image of Daniel's dream was, that the legs, which ought and do represent two sturdy pillars, were part iron and part clay. They did not harmonize and could not be made to do so. This is one of many causes standing in the way of success here and in many other places in Southern Illinois. I do not propose to discuss the others. In 1853, ^^^ perhaps in 1852, I preached half my time in Cairo, and aided in the founding of that church. I have also supplied the Vienna and Villa Ridge churches at times, and now supply the church of America, a promising but small church. Now in conclusion, let me say I rejoice in the providence of God, which lead me into the Presbyterian ministry. My brethren have honored me as much as I deserved. Once I represented the Synod of the West in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the United States, which met in Philadelphia, and once the Presbytery of Alton sent me to the General Assembly at Dayton. For a time I was Stated Clerk of our Synod, and to Bro. Norton and others I am in part indebted for the appointment of Hospital Chaplain, U. S. A., during the war of the Rebellion. My relations with all the brethren have been cordial and pleasant, and one of my greatest trials is that I cannot see them often and know them better. And no small part of my enjoyment consists in recalling, in silence and in solitude, the kindly utterances of those who are gone and of those who remain. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Jacksonville, Octo- ber 21, 1847. Members were present from four Presbyteries. The church of String Prairie, Green county, was transferred to the Presbytery of Alton. The usual business was rapidly and pleasantly transacted. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Peoria, October 24, 1847. Members were pres- ent from six Presbyteries. ALVIN M. DIXON. 381* YEAR 1848. The Presbytery of Illinois met with Pisgah church, Morgan county. A. M. Dixon was received from the Pres- bytery of Hamilton, Ohio. Chauncey Eddy was released from the pastorate of the First church of Jacksonville, and granted a letter of dismission and general recommendation. The fall meeting was held at Farmington, Sep- tember 20; also a pro re iiata meeting at Jacksonville, No- vember 17, at which L. M. Glover was received from the Presbytery of Washtenaw and installed pastor of First Pres- byterian church, Jacksonville. William H. Williams was dis- missed to Presbytery of Des Moines. Alvin M. Dixon was born September 24, 1809, in Maury county, Tenn. His paternal grandfather was Irish, his ma- ternal grandfather, Scotch — both Presbyterians back to John Knox. He graduated at Illinois College in 1836; studied theology at Lane Seminary. He always intended to be a minister — never but once swerving from that purpose, and that for only a short period. He was licensed and ordained by the Presbyterian and Congregational Convention of Wis- consin in 1842. Subsequently labored at Waverly and Car- linville, 111. At both places were extensive revivals. He preached at Tafton — now Blooming'..on — Wis., ten years. He supplied for a short time Shullsburg, Wis., and Hebron, 111. He never preached in more than one place without witnessing one or more revivals. He is now supply pastor in Edgar, Neb. He has been twice mar- ried. His first wife was Miss Sarah Howell, of Greenville, 111. His second, Mrs. E. J. Holmes, widow of Rev. Thomas Holmes, Vandalia, 111. His first marriage was in March, 1837, the second, October 25, 1876. He had four children, all by his first wife. Alletta H., Julia H., Laura A., now Mrs. Reynard, and Mary A. When he went to Jacksonville to fit for college he had only seventy-five cents, and no friend to afford the least help. He fitted for college, and paid his way through by his own industry and frugality. He has educated his four children, giving them college and seminary advantages, and has enough to save him from the Presbyterian Hospital. 382 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Livingston M. Glover was born February 21, 18 19, in Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y. He is descended from an English ancestry. Families bearing the name are com- mon in all parts of Britain, among them persons of considera- ble distinction in their time. Two brothers, John and Henry Glover, emigrated to America, the first about 1630, settling at Dorchester; the second, about 1640, setthng at Dedham, Mass. From the last the subject of this sketch was de- scended. His father, Philander Glover, and his mother, Ru- hamah Hall, were natives of Conway, Mass. About the be- ginning of the present century the family settled in the " Gen- esee countr}^," N. -Y., then a wilderness, now a garden. In 1833 they removed to the territory of Michigan, settling at Lodi Plains, Washtenaw county. There he was initiated into the mysteries of farming. His preparatory studies were pursued at Ann Arbor. He graduated at Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio, in 1840, and pursued his theological studies at Lane Seminary. He was licensed and began his ministry in Lodi, Mich., where several years of his boyhood were spent, and where his religious life began. Thfs pastor- ate lasted from 1842 to 1848, when he accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, 111. This pastor- ate he has retained with great credit to himself and great ad- vantage to the cause to the present time, 1879, a period of thirty-one years, with the prospect that he will close his life in the same relation. His work has not only been uninter- rupted, but arduous. While a close and thorough student, he has taken an active part in the educational and benevo- lent enterprises of the place and region. For eighteen years he was a Trustee of Illinois College and Secretary of the Board. He is President of the Board of Trustees of Jack- sonville Female Academy, and has raised large sums of money in aid of its objects. He is also President of the Board of Managers of the Oak Lawn Retreat, a private institution for the treatment of the insane. His preaching is thoroughly orthodox, logical, simple and clear. A large number of his discourses has been published in pamphlet form. He is sel- dom out of his pulpit on Sabbaths, or out of town either for business or pleasure. He has twice traveled abroad. In 1858 he went as far as Syria and Egypt, touching at many places of interest in Europe. In 1873 he went as delegate from the Presbyterian General Assembly of this country to that of the Free Church of Scotland. He is honorary mem- MEETING OF PRESBYTERIES. 383 ber of several scientific associations, and in 1864 received the degree of D. D. from Center College, Kentucky. In 1843 he married Miss Marcia A. Nutting, daughter of Prof. Rufus Nutting, formerly of Western Reserve College. They have five children — three sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Lyman Beecher, is a graduate of Wabash College. This son for several years edited the Daily Jo2(j'na/ of Jacksonville, and is now agent of the American Press Association of Chicago. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Shawneetown, April 14, 1848. Thomas W. Hynes, minister, and James A. Ramsey, elder, were appointed to the next Assembly. The church of New Haven was dissolved, and its members at- tached to those Presbyterian churches most convenient to them. The same Presbytery met at Edwardsville, October 2d. The church of Pocahontas was received. Valentine Pentzer was engaged for six months as Presbyterial Mission- The Presbytery of Palestine, n. s., met at Marshall, Clark county, April 27, 1 848. IMessrs. Chamberlin aud Norton, Missionary delegates from Alton Presbytery, were present ; also Rev. Samuel Kaldridge, M. D. The same Presbytery met with Trinity church, Edwards county, Sep- tember II. Joseph Wilson, licentiate, was received from Cincinnati Presbytery, examined and ordained, sine titulo, Tuesday, September 12. Joseph Wilson. Auto-biographical. I was born in Stamfordham, England, July 31, 18 14. My ancestors were of the same nationality and belonged to the Presbyterian church of the place where I was born. I was graduated from Wabash College at Crawfordsville, Ind., and also from Lane Theological Seminary, at Cincin- nati. I was licensed by the Presbytery of Cin- cinnati and ordained by that of Wabash, formerly the old 384 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Palestine Presbytery. Have labored as stated supply for the churches of New Providence in this State, and of Day- ton and Rossville, Ind. Then at Pleasant Prairie and Neoga; then at Shelbyville, and then again at Pleasant Prairie and Neoga. I was married in Neoga to Miss Mildred R. Johnson of the same place. We have now living two children — Nellie C, born December 18, 1872, and Inolie P., born July 20, 1874. At New Providence, during my stay, there was a large addition to the church, traceable, no doubt, to the long and faithful labors of Rev. J. C. Campbell. There was also a fair degree of prosperity in the churches of Prairie-^'Bird and Shelbyville whilst I was with them. The churches also at Pleasant Hill and Neoga en- joyed special seasons of revival. I have labored at other points, but those mentioned have been the principal scenes of my ministry. At present I have no ministerial charge, and am engaged in mercantile business. Joseph Wilson. The Prfsbytery of Palestine, o. s., met with Pisgah church, Lawrence county, April 13, 1848. Resolutions were passed expressive of the sorrow of Presbytery in view of the death of their highly esteemed brother. Rev. Stephen Bliss, and of condolence with his bereaved family. Isaac Bennet, minister, and R. H. Allison, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. An adjourned meeting was held with Mc- Clusky church, June i, 1848. Robert Rutherford was put on trial for various common fame charges. The evidence was heard, and another adjourned meeting held at Paris, August I, 1848, when he was "suspended from the functions of the ministry and the ordinances of the Church until he give evidence of repentance." Mr. Rutherford appealed to Synod. The same Presbytery met at Palestine, September 21, 1848. Lawrenceville church was received. Preston W. Thomson, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Salem, examined and ordained, sine titiilo, September 23, 1848. Presbytery directed the Clerk to no- tify the Synod of Illinois that this Presbytery will apply ta the next Assembly to be attached to the Synod of Indiana. At a called meeting held at Paris, November 25, 1848, Joseph Piatt was dismissed to the Presbytery of Western District, preston w. thomson. 385 Preston Wallace Thomson. Auto-biographical. I was born January 17, 18 16, in Nicholas county, Ky. My grandfather, James Thomson, emigrated from county Don- egal, Ireland, in 1769, to America. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church in Ireland and in this country. My father settled in Indiana in 1828. He became an elder in the Sand Creek church, Decatur county, Ind., where he died August 7, 1840. Three of my father's sons became ministers. His two daughters married ministers — one. Rev. S. H. Thom- son, Ph. D., LL.D., was for thirty years professor of mathe- matics and natural science in Hanover College, Ind. He has a son who is a foreign missionary in Monterey, Mex. Five of my father's grandsons became ministers. My father's brother. Rev. John Thomson, had four sons minis- ters— one of them. Rev. William M. Thomson, D. D., author of " The Land and the Book " — and one grandson a minister. Thus, thirteen of my grandfather's descendants were and are ministers — all Presbyterian. My mother's father, William Henry, was for many years an elder of the Cane Ridge Presbyterian church, Bourbon county, Ky. His father was a Presbyterian from the North of Ireland. So I am of pretty fair Presbyterian stock. As Rev. James Gallaher said of himself, " I was born on a Presbyterian last." My literary education was somewhat irregular. I read law and was admitted to the bar, but did not practice much. I soon gave up that business and turned my atten- tion to the ministry. I took a full course in the New Al- bany Theological Seminary, and graduated in 1847. I was licensed by the New Albany Presbytery, in the fall of 1846, at Bedford, Ind. I was ordained by the Pres- bytery of Palestine in 1848. I spent some nine months under the American Tract Society as colporteur. I com- menced my ministerial labors in the churches of Mt. Carmel and Wabash, 111., in the summer of 1848. Preached to the Mt. Carmel church about two years ; when in lieu of that I took Richland church, and continued to preach to that and the Wabash until the fall of 1852, when I removed to the west side of the Illinois river. In the spring of 185 i we had the most thorough revival of religion, in the Wabash church, in its permanent effects that I have ever witnessed. 24 386 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Another took place there the next winter, though not so marked. Having removed to the west side of the lUinois river, I took charge of the churches of Vermont and Ben- nington, now Ipava. To the former I preached about six- teen months ; when in heu of it I took charge of the Pleasant Prairie church, now Prairie City, in the spring of 1854. I was installed pastor over the churches of Ipava and Prairie City in the fall of 1854. In the spring of 1857 ^^^ removed our residence to Prairie City. In the spring of 1858 I re- signed the charge of the Ipava church. In lieu of it, after attending the meeting of the General Assembly in New Or- leans in 1858, I to6k charge of the church of Shiloh one half the time till the spring of 1865. Then, on my return from the Assembly at Pittsburgh, I gave my whole time to the Prairie City church. In the fall of 1867 I resigned my charge of the Prairie city church, having preached to it thirteen years and a half. Then for a time I supplied the churches of Lenox and Biggsville, Next the church of John Knox for two years, and then in 1870 the church of Camp Creek and was installed pastor. In connection with, and following the week of prayer, January, 1872, we had a gracious revi- val of religion in which twenty-five persons made public profession of their faith in Christ at one time. In the spring of 1875 I resigned the charge of the Camp Creek church. Since then I have not been engaged in regular ministerial work. I married Miss Mary Ann Ashmore, in Clark county, 111., on the 14th of December, 1848, with whom I still live. We have a daughter, Emma Clarinda, our only child, born the lOth of January, 185 1. She married Theophilus G. Walker in connection with the 25th anniversary of ow' marriage. They have a son, born December 8, 1876. He is called Wallace Allen, named for his two grandfathers. We now live with our son-in-law, on Camp Creek. Preston W. Thomson. Lawrenceville is the civil capital of Lawrence county. It has a pleasant site on the south bluff of Embarrass river, ten miles west of Vincennes, and at the intersection of the Paris and Danville with the O. and M. R. R. The Pres- byterian church of Lawrenceville, was organized Aug. 12, 1848, with twenty members. John B. Ma.xwell was the first MEETIXG OF PRESBYTERIES. 387 elder. The records of the church were burned in the office of Dr. Wm. N. Thompson. A. M. Martin was elder in 1850; Dr. James Wright in 1859; Dr. Wm. N. Thompson in 1871, but soon died ; Thomas Kirkwood is an elder at this time and has been for a number of years. There is a good brick .house of worship which was erected not long after the organ- ization. Mrs. Mary M., wife of John B. Maxwell, was the first mover towards its erection, and her husband bore a large part of the expense. Mrs. M. is still living, and was eighty-five years of age July 26, 1879. Through misman- agement and no management our progress in this place has been in the wrong direction. The church has steadily de- creased for a number of years, and now counts only seven members. It is entirely vacant. The Preseytery of Sangamon met with Irish Grove church, April 7, 1848. Andrew Todd, minister, and John Allen, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The same Presbytery met at Jacksonville Sept. i, and by adjourn- ment, at Springfield Sept. 26. Difficulties in the First church at Springfield were the principal subject of consideration at these September meetings. They ultimated in the resigna- tion of Mr. Bergen, as pastor of that church; but with the highest estimate and expression on all sides, of his character, standing and ability. At another adjourned meeting, Oct. 14, at Rpck Island, it was announced that Synod had so changed the bounds of the Presbytery as to include Revs. James Stafford, T. W. Hynes and P. D. Young. Elisha F. Chester was dismissed to the Presbytery of Rock River. Alton Presbytery met with the Bethel church. Bond county, April 20, 1848. Joseph S. Graves of the Congrega- tional Association of Illinois, and Lemuel Grosvener of the Presbytery of Northern Missouri were received. Hickory Creek church, Fayette county, was received. Arrangements were made for the installation of J. A. Ranney at Belleville, on May 19, and of Lemuel Grosvenor at Collinsville May 18. John Gibson was ordained over the church of Plum Creek, Nov. 22, 1847, by Committee of Presbytery. W. E. Chitten- den was dismissed. At an adjourned meeting at Woodburn, May 10, Macoupin county, George Spaulding was ordained PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLIXOIS, over the churches of Woodburn and Brighton. The fall meeting was held at Alton Oct. 12. Van Burensburg church was received. L. S. Williams was dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Louis. Joseph S. Graves was born July 22, 18 14, at Hartford^ Conn. Educated at Illinois College and Lane Seminary. Ordained, April, 1843, by Illinois Congregational Associa- tion. Dismissed from Alton Presbytery, April 13, 1849, ^^ Hamilton Presbytery-. Labored at Woodburn and Bunker Hill, 111., Cheviot and Aurora, Ohio, and Roscoe, 111. Lemuel Grosvenor, son of Deacon Lemuel Putnam Gros- venor, was born April 27, 1 8 14, in Boston, Mass. He studied at the Latin school in his native city, and graduated at Mid- dlebury College in 1835, and at Andover in 1843. Ordained by St. Louis Presbytery, April 21, 1846. Supply pastor of Rock Hill church. Mo., 1845-46. Joined Alton Presbytery as above. Was installed pastor of Collinsville church, May 18, 1848. Dismissed from that charge Sept. 21, 1850. Supply pastor subsequently of Jerseyville church. On leav- ing the West he was settled at Woodstock, Ct., until about i860, when he gave up preaching except on rare occasions. He was married to his first wife, Hannah J. Pearce, daughter of Hon. Dutee Pearce, of Newport, R. I., Oct., 1845. She died March 9, 1865. He married Miss Grace Daganne, of Boston, in April, 1866, and went abroad soon after. He resided one year in Paris, and afterwards in London, where he died Aug. 8, 1870. Before he went abroad he entered the Episcopal Church, and dropped the Rev. from his name, and requested his friends to do the same. He had no children. Immediately after his graduation at college he entered upon the study of the law and was admitted to the bar in Boston. He soon emi- grated to Galveston, Texas, where he united school teaching with his legal profession. During the time he was brought very low by fever, and it pleased God to bless the efforts of an Episcopal clergyman to his conversion. He then conse- crated himself to the ministry, studied at Andover and la- bored at the West as stated above. He was a great grand- son of Gen. Israel Putnam, and wrote many valuable articles JOHN GIBSON. 389 defending his ancestor from libels of modern historians. He was a scholarly man, and contributed many original thoughts to the literature of his day. John Gibson. This gifted man, and beloved brother and father in the ministry, died at Duncansville, Blair county, Pa., June 2, 1869, at the house of his brother. Rev. William J. Gibson. I append an interesting letter from this brother, re- specting Mr. Gibson's history before he became connected with the Alton Presbytery : Duncansville, Blair Co., Pa., June 29, 1869. John was the eldest of nine children, and I the youngest. My brother was born at Kellswater, near Monnerea, County Derry, Ireland, November 6, 1790. In 1797 our father came to this country. He was a minister in the Reformed Presbyterian Church; and after preach- ing some time in New York and in Philadelphia, he finally settled in Ryegate, Caledonia county, Vt. There my two older brothers, John and Robert (who died in 1837, pas- tor of the Sixth Street Reformed Presbyterian church), re- ceived their academical education, principally under the direction of our father. In 1811 John left home for the city of New York. He studied theology under Rev. Dr. S. B. Wylie, of Philadelphia, then the only theological professor in the Reformed Presbyterian church. In what year he was licensed I cannot tell He was ordained pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, in Baltimore city, De- cember 31, 1819. Some few years after his settlement, he married Miss Elizabeth Jameson, daughter of Dr. Horatio G. Jameson, of Baltimore. By her he had six children, four of whom are still living — a daughter and three sons. His oldest son is a Lieutenant-Commander in the Navy, and his second son a brevet-Brigadier General in the regular army, being a graduate of West Point Mihtary Academy ; and his third son is a lawyer by profession ; his fourth son studied law, but died soon after being admitted to the bar. At the time of the division of the Covenanter Church, afterwards denominated Old School and New School, my father and brother Robert went with the Old .School party and John with the New School ; but in a short 390 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. time he left them and connected himself with the Presbytery of Baltimore, of the General Assembly. In the closing part of the year 1834, he went to the southwest; first, I believe, to St. Louis, then to New Orleans, and in 1835 took charge of Brandon Academy, Mississippi, where he con- tinued for three years, till 1838. After that time you proba- bly know more of his history than I do, as he went with the New School in the division of our Church, and I have always been a member of the Old School division, and was a mem- ber of the General Assembly for the first time in 1838, the year that division took place. In June of last year, at my earnest- 'solicitation, he came to spend his last days with us. He was then in feeble health, but was able to preach occasionally for me till about the middle of last win- ter, when manifest symptoms of dropsy began to appear. The disease was the result of other diseases with which he had been afflicted for years before. He died in peace, though in much physical suffering, on the second day of this month. Had he lived till the sixth day of November, he would have been seventy-nine years of age. My dear sir, I am obliged to you for your favor and the kind things you are pleased to say about my brother ; and if we live, I hope to know you better after the re-union of the Old and New Schools. W. J. Gibson. When I first made the acquaintance of John Gibson, he was teaching in Alton. This was probably in 1840 or 1841. He became a member of Alton Presbytery, October 18,. 1847, and was made pastor of Plum Creek church on the 22d of November following. That pastorate was not of long continuance, though the last years of his ministerial life were spent with that people. Meantime he labored at Belleville, Vandalia, and with several other of the churches in Alton Presbytery, for limited periods. His sermons were exceedingly rich in matter, and were uniformly deliv- ered without manuscript. He was a highly instructive preacher, though cool and unimpassioned. He was exceedingly social in his disposition, and affable and pleasant in his manners. He was ever prompt in his attendance upon ecclesiastical meetings, and was looked up to as an authority on doctrinal and constitutional ques- tions. His brethren in the Presbytery miss his genial, sunny smile, and his sparkling wit, tempered, as it ever was, with a SYNOD OF ILLINOIS. * 39I humble devotional spirit. There were faults and sad falls in one period of his history ; but those of us who knew him the most intimately, during the last twenty-five years of his life, have not the slightest doubt of his sincere repentance and thorough reform. George Spaulding was ordained by Alton Presbytery, May 10, 1848, Dismissed by them to Piscatiqua Associa- tion, April 23, 1853. When last heard from, in 1869, he was in West Eau Claire, Wis. Hickory Creek Church, in Fayette county, about four- teen miles southeast of Vandalia, was organized, March 24, 1848, with twelve members, by Rev. William Chamberlin. Alfred Ervin and Leonard Washburn, elders. It existed a few years, and exerted a good influence ; but deaths, re- movals and the lack of ministerial supply led to its discon- tinuance as an organization. The members remaining united with the Cumberland Precinct, now Brownstown church. Van Burensburg Church, eight miles north of Mulberry Grove and in the southeast corner of Montgomery county, was organized. May 28, 1848, by Rev. William Chamberlin, with six members, James H. Abell and Thomas Harris, eld- ers. This church was connected with that of Mulberry Grove, September 11, 1843. Since which time the two have been merged with that of Greenville — Mulberry Grove being now an out station of the Greenville church. Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Quincy, October 19, 1848. Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, Moderator. The Synod OF Illinois, o. s., met at Rock Island, October 12. The ap- peal of Robert Rutherford against the sentence of Palestine Presbytery, suspending him from the ministry, was referred to an adjourned meeting of Synod, to be held at Jackson- ville, January 4, 1849. [The meeting failed from want of a quorum.] Kaskaskia Presbytery was made to embrace all that part of the State lying south of the north line of town- ship three north on the 3d principal meridian. Sangamon 392 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Presbytery was bounded thus : Beginning with the northeast corner of T. 3 N., R. i W. ; thence north with the 3d princi- pal meridian to its intersection with Salt Creek; thence down that creek and Sangamon river to the Illinois ; thence down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to the northwest corner of Kaskaskia Presbytery; thence east with the north line of that Pesbytery to the place of beginning. Palestine Presby- tery was defined thus : Beginning on the third principal mer- idian, at its intersection with the north line of Kaskaskia Presbytery, north to the northern line of T. 21 N. ; thence east to the east line of the State ; thence with the State line to the northeast corner of Kaskaskia Presbytery. CHAPTER X. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 849 TO 1853, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND OF THE MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS HERE WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities : As in the previous chapter. YEAR 1849. ILLINOIS Presbytery met with Spring Creek church, April 13, 1849. J- ^^- Grout was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler. Messrs. Grout and Pond were continued as Pres- byterial Missionaries. Whitehall church gave notice of withdrawal from this Presbytery to attach themselves to Sangamon Presbytery, o. s. The name of the church was stricken from the roll. Albert Hale resigned his office as Stated Clerk, and L. M. Glover was appointed in his place. H. Blodgett, minister, and D. A. Smith, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was at Jacksonville, September 4, 1849. Joseph Merriam Grout was born in Westboro, Mass., September 1 1, 1814. His ancestors were English. He grad- uated at Yale College in 1840, and at Yale Divinity School in 1843. He labored in the West, first in Schuyler Presby- tery; then in that of Illinois as Presbyterial Missionary. He took charge of Shelby ville church, June 30, 185 1, and con- tinued to act as supply pastor until his death by cholera, August I, 1855. He was buried at Shelbyville. He married Mrs. Priscilla Groves, of Mechanicsville, 111. They had two children — William T., born ]\Iarch 12, 1853, and now living in Sangamon county ; and Joseph M., born after his father's death. Mrs. Grout died within ten weeks after the birth of Joseph M. This young man is a lawyer in Springfield, a member of the Second Presbyterian church. The following circumstance was related to me 394 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. by Rev. Dr. David Dimond : On the death of his father, Mr, Grout became heir to three thousand dollars. He went East ; received his money ; placed it in his valise ; went witk the valise in his hand to the railroad depot, and put it down for a moment to purchase his ticket. On turning to take it up, the valise could not be found. Neither it or its contents were ever more heard of by their owner. Mr. Grout seems to have kept this misfortune a secret from all, save a few trusted friends. Several circumstances corroborate the ac- count. One is, that on his return to Shelbyville he was ob- liged to give up property for which he had bargained. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Chester, April 13, 1849. Isaac Bennet, who became connected with this Presbytery by the action of the Synod at its last meeting, was present. B. F. Spilman, minister, and Dr. William Sim, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. This Presbytery reported to the Assembly that they consist of five ministers and nineteen churches. The fall meeting was held at Carlyle, Clinton county, commencing October 2, 1849. Presbytery, dissatisfied with their northern boundary, as fixed by the last Synod, sent a memorial praying that it might be extended as far north as the southern boundary of Montgom- ery county — to run due east from the Illinois river to the Lit- tle Wabash ; thence down that river to its mouth. Palestine Presbytery, n. s., met at Pleasant Prairie, April 28, 1849. Charles H. Palmer, minister, and Asa R. Palmer, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Danville, September 25. It was re- solved to ask the Synod to change the name of this Presby- tery to that of Wabash. Also to request Illinois Synod to unite with that of Indiana in petitioning the Assembly to at- tach this Presbytery to the Synod of Indiana ; and also to add to this Presbytery all that portion of the Synod of Indi- ana which lies south of Warren county, and west of the Wabash river in Indiana. The Presbytery of Palestine, o, s., met with the Pleasant Prairie church, April 5, 1849. John A. Steele, minister, and ROBINSON CHURCH. 395. John Y. Allison, elder, were chosen Commissioners to the next Assembly. The church of Robinson was received. The Presbytery made petition to the Assembly to be at- tached to the Synod of Indiana with such boundaries as were theirs when notice of the petition was given to Synod. The fall meeting was held with Bethel or Oak- land church, commencing October 4. It was stated that the petition of the Presbytery to be attached to the Synod of Indiana had been granted by the Assembly. H. I. Venable was dismissed to the Presbytery of New Albany. Robert A. Mitchell, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of New Albany. The church of Richland was received. The church at Robinson, Crawford county, was organized, October 28, 1848, with sixteen members, James Eagleton, elder. The members were from Palestine church. This or- ganization had but a brief existence. It seems to have been premature ; and the members, convinced of this, dissolved the organization and returned to the parent church. But on November 8, 1872, Rev. Thomas Spencer and Elder Findley Paull renewed the organization with forty- eight members, under the name of "The First Presbyterian Church" of Robinson. The first elders, appointed for three years, were William C. Wilson, John H. Wilkin and Rufus R. Lull. November 28, 1875, F. Robb was appointed for three years, William Austin for two years, and Joseph Al- exander for one year. Ministers : Aaron Thompson, from the beginning to the end of 1873; Thomas Spencer, from beginning of 1874 until his death, August 15, 1876; John E. Carson commenced July 7, 1877, and remained one year. This church has no house of worship in their own name ; but have the right to use the house of the Methodists, whenever the latter do not wish it. At present the Presbyterians oc- cupy the house one half the time. The Sabbath schools of the two churches are together. This congregation in 1878 erected a parsonage at a cost of one thousand dollars. The lot on which it stands was donated, and its value is not reck- oned in the thousand dollars cost. All the ministers thus far have been supply pastors. Richland Church, Richland county, six miles south of 39^ PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Olney, was organized at Fairview, Aug. 26, 1848, by a Com- mittee of Palestine Presbytery, with these eighteen members : Miles Yocum, Maria Yocum, Jefferson Matthews, Jphn Hil- lis, Malissa Hillis, Wm. Hillis, Ann Hillis, John Reasoner, Jacob Lutzin, Henry Roush, Catharine Roush, Elizabeth Roush, Mary Knight, John T. Madden, Mary Mad- den, John Walker, Julia Walker, Emily Reasoner. Elders : William Hillis and Miles Yocum. Other elders : Miles R. Yocum, William Bell, Harley Kings- bury, James E. Bell, Milton Eckley, W. M. Robinson, L. W. Miller, W. M. Severance, Thomas Eagleson, M. D. Ministers : Isaac Bennet organized the church. John Crozier with S. C. Baldridge held a meeting here in Feb., 1855. R. H. Lilly in 1856; John Crozier, 1857. Thomas Smith was supply pastor from Aug., 1868 to March, 1871 ; W. M. Reed, 1873; C. C. Bomberger, 1875; Joseph Butler preached here occasionally ; J. Scott Davis commenced here in June, 1878, preaching once in two weeks. He still con- tinues. The church building is situated on S. E. quarter of N. W. quarter of Sec. 35, T. 3 N., R. 10 E. The site is one-quarter of an acre. The cemetery, of one acre, adjoins the church site on the west. The building was com- menced May 14, 1863, and finished June, 1865. It cost in all about one thousand dollars. The Board of Church Ex- tension donated two hundred dollars. Before the erection of the church, the congregation had met in school houses and in the Methodist church in Fairview — a little village about one mile east. Up to 1878, the members of this church, all told, numbered one hundred and fifty-eight. This congrega- tion is much scattered. The Presbytery of Sangamon held a called meeting, Feb. 6, 1849, and organized the "Third Presbytertan church of Springfield," with forty-four members. The Presbytery met at the same place, April 6, 1849, for their regular spring meeting. The church of Rattan's Prairie was received. The church of Whitehall was received on their own request. It had been until this time connected with the Illinois Presby- tery. James Stafford, minister, and E. R. Wiley, elder, were appointed commissioners to the next Assembly. James Smith, D. D., was received from the Presbytery of Louisville, and installed pastor of the First Presbyterian church, Spring- THIRD SPRINGFIELD CHURCH. 397 field, April 12, 1849. An adjourned meeting was held at Greenville, May i, to settle difficulties between the pastor of that church, James Stafford, and Geo. Donnell. The object was happily accomplished. The Presbytery held a called meeting at Springfield, and installed Richard V. Dodge pas- tor of the "Third church of Springfield " Aug. 2, Their regular fall meeting was held at Petersburg, Oct. 8. Valentine Pentzer was received from the Presbytery of Upper Missouri. The Third Presbyterian Church was organized in Springfield, 111., the 7th of February, 1849, by the following named persons, leaving the First Presbyterian church, viz.: Asahel Stone, Emelia Grimsley, Eliza Lowry, James L.. Lamb, Susan C. Lamb, Rebecca Bradstreet, Edmund R. Wiley, Catharine Wiley, H. G. Henry, Mrs. A. G. Henry,. Augusta Ulrich, E. B. Pease, Mary A. Pease, Harriet Ulrich, C. W. Pelton, Martha A. Pelton, Mary L. Brigham, A. Crosby, Mrs. A. Crosby, Sarah A. Richard, H. D. Brigham, Abigal S. Tously, Catharine Latham, John E. Roll, Susan L. Cook, Mary Johnson, Jacob Ruckle, Laura A. Ruckle, C. H. Van Bergan, Daniel Ruckle, Catharine H. Ruckle, E. H. Beach, Andrew Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Eliza H. Beach, Wm. Lowry, Philip Stone, Abigal C. Stone, R. Beach, James Hap- per, Jane Happer, G. L. Cranmer. Sarah Crosby, Nancy Hargrave, Maria W. D. Ruth. Names of Elders : Asahel Stone, James L. Lamb, E. R. Wiley, Richard H. Beach, Harvey D. Brigham, Charles B. Pelton, John S. Vreden- burgh, Edmund G. Johns, Lucian C. Boynton, E. R. Ulrich, R. W. Dillen, Pharis C. Dorwin, Adam Johnson, Alexander Pringle, John S. Vredenburgh, jr., Edwin A. Wilson. Names of ministers : first, Richard V. Dodge ; sec- ond, C. P. Jennings; third, G. W. F. Burch ; fourth, H. M. Paynter ; fifth, J. L Gulick ; sixth, A. K. Bates; seventh, F. M. Baldwin, supply pastor. They first worshiped in the court-house. The first build- mg cost over $10,000; second, over $65,000, which swamped it and they had to sell to First church ; quite a number of the members staying in said First church organization, while three elders and twenty-five members kept up the Third church organization and built a small church for $2,500, and now have a membership of over seventy in the norths 398 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. end of the city, well attended and new members admitted every communion. Are in a healthy condition and out of debt. The church of Rattan's Prairie, now called Moro, was organized by Revs. Valentine Pentzer and P. D, Young, De- cember 9, 1848, in a school house where the village of Beth- alto now is, with these members, viz. : Samuel Smith, Ruth Smith, Hugh Smith, Letitia Dorsey, James Purdy Smith, Elizabeth Smith, D. Duncan Smith, Ann M. Pentzer, Mrs. Ann Smith. Samii6l Smith was made elder. He died in June, 1856. Since appointed, Hugh Smith, Nov. 20, 1854; Wm. A. Lanterman and Geo. F. Stahl, same date ; Samuel L. Dorsey, James Harvey Smith, Hiram E. Stahl, elected in first part of 1870; W. S. B. Robinson about 1876. Ministers: Valentine Pentzer; P. D. Young, 1850 ; Peter Hassinger, 1853-56; S. B. Smith, 1857-58; R. M. Roberts, 1S60; F. H. L. Laird, 1862 ; A. N. Denny, 1864, till his death, Sept. 29, 1868; R. G. Ross, 1869; M. B. Gregg, 1871 ; Geo. B. McComb, 1872; John Huston, 1874: Wm. L. Johnson, 1876 ; Samuel B. Taggart, 1879. The name of the church was changed from " Rattan's Prairie " to " Moro " by Presbytery April 6, 1865, There has been but one house of worship. It was erected in the summer and fall of 1853. It is near the Moro depot. A cemetry is in the same enclosure with the church. The cemetery adjoins the church site. Before the church was erected, the common place of meeting was Bethalto school house. James Smith, D. D., was born in Glasgow, Scotland, of Christian parents. On his mother's side he was descended from the celebrated Bruce family. His mother was renown- ed for her beauty, he has said, and he for the wildness of his youth. He was known in his native place as " the wild rover." When on the street with his mother he has heard the suppressed whisper, " There goes the beautiful mother and the wild rover." He had a good education, and was ex- tremely fond of reading. He tells that in early life he was himself a deist, led astray by the writings of Volney and Tom Paine. This was the state of his mind when he came to this country and settled in Tennessee, where he edited a paper JAMES SMITH, D. D. 399 in Nashville. Soon, however, he was converted. His deism and infidelity were renounced, and he turned to preaching the faith which once he had despised. His familiarity -with infidel and deistical writings peculiarly quali- fied him for the defense of the faith. During the winter of 1839 while upon a visit to Columbus, Miss., the home of that artful and noted enemy of Christian- ity— Olmsted — the author of the work, " The Bible its own refutation," he was challenged to a public debate on the Evidences of Christianity. Olmsted was an artful and eloquent man, the leader of the deistical party in Mississippi. He was popular with the irreligious masses, and exercised a most pernicious influence, especially with the young men. From a sense of duty Dr. Smith accepted the challenge. At the appointed time, in the presence of a vast assembly from all parts of the State, Dr. Smith met his antagonist in open debate. He was fully prepared, had his arguments system- atically arranged and was ready to meet his opponent at every point. The discussion lasted three weeks, and resulted in the utter defeat of the infidel, who was no longer able to keep his temper. On closing his argument on the last night, Dr. Smith so carried the audience with him that when Olm- sted rose to reply the congregation in a mass left the spot. The infidel raved awhile to a few that lingered, and then closed in disgust. When the debate was closed, Dr. Smith received a written testimonial, signed by a number of the best citizens of the place, thanking him for his able defense of the truth. One of the papers, summing up the general sentiment in regard to the debate, says : " The conclusion of of every enquirer after truth must have been that the champ- ion of deism was signally defeated, and his cause left bleed- ing on the field." Dr. Smith afterward com- piled his argument, and published it in the form of a book entitled, " Christian Evidences." This book was read by Abraham Lincoln, who pronounced its arguments unanswer- able, and said, in the presence of most respectable and truth- ful people, I have no more doubts as to the truth of the Christian religion. Dr. Smith was connected with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky, but was thoroughly Calvinistic in his theology. The Springfield church. 111., of which he became pastor, April 11, 1849, prospered under his ministry. He was dismissed from that charge, December 17, 1856. He acted for two or 400 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. three years as agent for Peoria University. On Mr. Lincoln's- accession to the Presidency, he appointed Dr. Smith consul to Glasgow, Scotland. There he spent the closing years of his life. He died in Dundee in the seventieth year of his age. Richard Varick Dodge was born in Illinois; graduated at Yale College in 1840, and at Princeton Seminary in 1842; ordained, sine titulo, June, 1846; supply pastor at Princeton, Ind., 1844; Terre Haute, 1846; pastor Third Presbyterian church, Springfield, 1849; Second church. Wheeling, Va., 1857; Third, Wheeling, 1862 ; Second church, Washington, Pa., 1864; supply pastor Fourth church. Wheeling, Va., 1868; pastor Madison, Wis., 1869. Is now without charge in Chicago, 111. Valentine Pentzer was born in Franklin county, Pa., May 13, 1 8 II. He was educated at Jefferson College, Pa. Removed to Marion College, Mo., in 1837, and, while engaged in teaching in that institution, was married to Miss Ann M. Owen. Went to Southwest Missouri in 1838, and was en- gaged in preaching and teaching in various places until 1847, when he came to Madison county. III, and supplied Rattan's Prairie church. In 1849 he removed to Macoupin county and labored with Dry-Point church. He died there, Novem- ber 9, 1849, leaving his wife and six children in straitened circumstances. He was a man of untiring energy and devot- edly attached to the cause in which he labored. Alton Presbytery m.et at Belleville, April 12, 1849. George Spaulding was dismissed from the Brighton church, and installed, by a Committee of Presbytery, pastor of Bun- ker Hill church. May 24, 1849, retaining also his pastoral charge of Woodburn. Joseph S. Graves was dismissed to the Hamilton Presbytery, Ohio. Calvin Butler was received from Evansville Presbytery. Vandalia church was taken under the care of this Presbytery. A. T. Norton, minister, and Asa L. Saunders, elder, were appointed to the Assem- bly. The tone of the narrative was very encouraging. The Missionary spirit was steadily increasing. Extensive revi- vals had been experienced — one of great power in the Alton church. CALVIN BUTLER. 4OI Calvin Butler was born in Jericho, Vt., May 23, 1797. His ancestors, on the Butler side, were Scotch-Irish. He was educated at Middlebury College, Vt., and at Andover Seminary. Ordained by Londonderry Presbytery in 1827. Labored first at Princeton, Ind. ; then at Evansville. Went next to Washington, Daviess county, Ind., where he preached till the fall of 1838, he then removed to Warrick county, Ind., and preached to two churches until 1849, when he came to Marine, Madison county, 111. Joined Alton Presbytery as above. Died suddenly of heart disease at Marine, 111., Nov. 2, 1854. The house of the family was burned, Nov. 10, 1855. No insurance. The loss was partly made up by friends. He married Malvina French in Vermont. His sec- ond marriage was to Catharine Smith, in 1839. There are seven of his children living — two sons of Malvina's, and one son and four daughters of Catharine's. The last wife is still living and resides with her children. Alton Presbytery met at Vandalia, September 20, 1849. N. A. Hunt was installed by Committee, June 10, 1849, over the church of Marion. In the summer of this year the country was visited by cholera. Several of the churches of this Presbytery suffered severely from this scourge. A day of fasting and prayer, appointed by the President of the United States, was observed in August with great unanimity and earnestness. Almost instantly the plague abated. Presbytery reported to Synod twenty-one ministers, twenty- six churches, one thousand, three hundred and eighteen com- municants, ;$i,450.20 Missionary money raised, and ^3,316.25 paid for support of gospel in their own churches. A called meeting was held at Greenville, October 18, and on the 21st, Robert Stewart was installed pastor of that church. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Danville, Septem- ber 27, 1849. The name of "Pa,lestine" Presbytery, n. s., was changed to that of " Wabash." " The Alton Presbytery Reporter" was made the vehicle for publishing the minutes of the Synod. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Canton, October 11. The sentence of the Presbytery of Palestine, suspending Robert Rutherford from the minis- try, was removed. P. D. Young, James Stafford and the 25 402 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. churches of Edwardsville, Greenville and Bethany were at- tached, for the present, to the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. YEAR 1850. The Presbytery of Illinois met at CarroUton, Febru- ary 21, 1850. "Alton Presbytery Reporter" was adopted as the medium of the churches of this Presbytery. The Car- roUton church, which had become greatly disorganized, was righted up by the interposition of Presbytery. A new board 'of elders was appointed, consisting of A. W. Lynn, Robert F. Clark, Chester Armstrong and J. H. Wilson, and a new roll of members made out. The same Presbytery held its fall meeting with Pisgah church, commencing Sep- tember 12. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Elkhorn church, April 12, 1850. James Stafford was dismissed from the pastoral care of the Greenville church. P. D. Young, ■rakxister, and Elder Amzi Andrews, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. The Presbytery reported six ministers, one licentiate, seventeen churches, five hundred and thirty- four members, and seventy dollars for Foreign and Domestic Missions. The fall meeting was held at Green- ville, Bond county, commencing October 5. Blackburn Lef- fler, from the Presbytery of Palestine, and John Kennedy, from the Presbytery of Louisville, were received. John Kennedy was a native of Belfast, Ireland. He was in the work of the ministry more than forty-three years. About twenty-five years of his. life were spent in the United States. He united with the Kaskaskia Presby- tery as above. He died in Chester, July 21, 1851, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. He was a pre-eminently good man. The Presbytery of Wabash, formerly Palestine, n. s., met with New Providence church, April 26, 1850. Rev. Samuel Baldridge, M. D., of the Free Presbytery of Ripley, Ohio, was present as a corresponding member. Joseph Wilson, minis- ALTON' AXD SANGAMON PRESBYTERIES. 4O3 ter, was appointed Commissioner to. the Assembly. The fall meeting was held with Trinity church, Edwards county, •commencing September 19. This Presbytery approved the attitude of standing in prayer as being the most convenient, the most common, the most becoming and the most scrip- tural. The Presbytery of Palestine, o. s., met at Palestine, April II, 1850. John A. Steele, minister, and John Y, Allison, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. Edgar Academy, at Paris, was taken under the care of Presbytery. Joseph Piatt returned his dismission, dated December 9, 1848. Re- fering to the act of Synod in changing their bounds. Presby- tery resolved to use all proper efforts to retain their integrity and identity. The same Presbytery held their fall meeting at Grandview, commencing Sept. 12, 1850. B. Leffler was dismissed to the Presbytery of Kaskaskia, Joseph Adams to that of Wisconsin and Joseph Piatt to that of Logansport. The Presbytery of Sangamon*, o. s., met at Jacksonville, April 5, 1850. Andrew Todd was dismissed on account of failing health from the pastoral care of Jacksonville church, and also from this to the Presbytery of Florida. J. G. Ber- gen, minister, and John Todd, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The fall meeting of the Presbytery was held at Springfield, commencing Oct. 8. The death of Andrew Todd was announced as having taken place near JVIonticello, Florida, Sept. 2, 1850, and before he had used liis letter from this Presbytery, Wm. Perkins was received from the Presbytery of Rock River. John V. Dodge was received from the Presbytery of Vincennes. John Varick Dodge was born in New York. Graduated at Yale College 1836 and at Princeton Seminary. Ordained at Evansville, Ind., June 6, 1S40. Pastor at Jacksonville, 111., 185 1. Supply pastor at Canton, 111., 1856, and at Third church. Wheeling, Va., 1859-60. Chaplain U. S. army, 1862-65. Resides at Evansville, Ind. The Presbytery of Alton met at Murphysboro, Jack- son county, April 18, 1850. Joseph E. McMurray was 404 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. licensed April 20, 1850. Amos P. Brown was dismissed to> the Presbytery of Peoria. John Gibson, minister, and Sam- uel Wade, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. John K. Deering was ordained, sme titido, April 23, 1850. The Pres- bytery reported to the Assembly twenty-one ministers, twenty-six churches, 1,428 communicants, ^1,384 for Mis- sions, for support of gospel in the churches, ^3,550- John K. Deering was born May i, 1823, at Paris, Maine. Educated at Bangor Seminary. Ordained as above. Labored in Jonesboro, Unions-County. Dismissed from Alton Presby- tery, April 19, 185 1. Has labored since in Assahet, Sterling and Franklin, Mass. Also at Farmington Falls, Holden, Solon, Minot, Maine. Was three years in mercantile busi- ness with his brother in Portland Maine, being unable to preach. Three winters, 1858, 1859 and i860 he spent travel- ing in the Southern States. In Nov. 1852, he married Miss Lydia P. Prescott, of Farmington Falls, Maine^ They have five children. The Presbytery of Alton met at Greenville, Bond county, Sept. 20, 1850. John H. Russ was received from the Presbytery of Fort Wayne, Ind. Ewington and Metropo- lis churches were received. Also the Congregational church of Chesterfield on the plan of correspondence. It was decided that the records of Congregational churches in cor- respondence with Presbytery were not subject to review- George. C. Wood was dismissed to the Presbytery of Mar- shall, Mich. Lemuel Grosvenor was dismissed from the pas- toral charge of Collinsville church. The entire support of the Missionary, Joseph Gordon, has since April last been borne by the Presbytery. John Hovey Russ, was born in Hinsdale, Mass, May 10, 1797. Educated at Williams College, Mass. Ordained by the Mountain Association in Piainfield, Mass, June 2, 1829. Soon after his ordination he removed to Ohio, and preached in Sandusky City, Greenfield, New Haven and Plymouth. Was pastor of York church, Medina county, Ohio, where he remained five years. He afterwards preached in Burling- METROPOLIS CITY AND CHURCH, 4O5 ton, Marion county, and in New Carlisle, Clark county, Ohio, one year at each place. For nine years he preached in Bluff- ton, Wells county, Ind. His next field was Ewington, Effingham county, where he died May 4, 1857. He married Miss Harriet Edwards, sister of Rev. Joseph S. Edwards, Nov. 5, 1830, in Harrisville, Medina county, Ohio. He labored three years in Ewington, 111., in the ministry, and then devoted himself to teaching. While in Ewington he buried two sons, sixteen and eighteen years of age. Two sons remain — Henry, at Bethany, Harrison county, Mo., and Lyman B., at Mason, Effingham county 111. The widow — if still living — is with the latter. Ewington Church, Effingham county, was organized by John H. Russ with eight members, in 1850, Jesse Parkurst, elder. The Central R. R. was constructed passing through Effingham. The county seat was removed from Ewington to Effingham. The former place went down utterly and the church with it. Metropolis City and Church. The town of Massac lies between Metropolis City and the site of old Fort Massac — oc- cupying the entire space between the two. Going up the river, Metropolis City is first, next Massac town and then the site of the Fort. All three lie along the river bank and occupy a space of about two miles. Just above the site of the Fort, Massac Creek empties into the Ohio. In 171 1 a missionary station was established by the French Jesuits at Massac. In Nov., 1758, as Washington was drawing near Fort Duquesne, the frightened garrison, about five hundred in number, set fire to the fort and retreated down the river. They landed at the French missionary station of 171 1 on the lower Ohio and built a fort called Massac, one authority says from M. Massac who superintended its construction. Gov. Joliu Reynolds, in his " Pioneer History of Illinois," and John M. Peck in his Gazetteer give a different account of the origin of its name. They say, " The Indians on the side of the river opposite the Fort covered themselves with bear skins, and imitated that animal in their movements on the sandy beach of the river. A party of the French soldiers, supposing them true and genuine bears, crossed the river to have a bear 406 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. hunt. The remainder of the troops left their quarters to see the sport. In the meantime a large body of warriors, who were concealed in the woods near by, came silently behind the fort, entered it without opposition, and very few of the French escaped the massacre. They afterwards built another fort on the same ground and called it Massac in memory of this massacred They subsequently aban- doned the position. Gen. Geo. Rogers Clark, in his move- ment on Kaskaskia in June, 1778, landed at this fort and marched his troops across one hundred and twenty miles. Subsequently to this a military road was opened from Fort Massac to Kaskaslda, and the miles marked on trees and painted red. Gov. Reynolds saw these marks in 1800, when a boy of twelve, he passed over the route. In 1800, two com- panies of United States troops were, stationed at this fort. The site of the fort is still clearly traceable. The- Presbyterian church of Metropohs City was organized June 8, 1850, by Revs. Robert Stewart and John K. Deering with these members : Mrs. Catharine McBean, George Hawpe, Mrs. Rebecca Hawpe, Dorcas Gregg, Nancy Carmichael, Joseph E. Smith, Mrs. Jane E. Smith and Mrs. Harriet House, in the school-room of Mrs. House. Joseph E. Smith (died June 13, 185 1) and George Hawpe, elders. The elders since appointed are Aaron Huffman, in 185 1; Reuben Laughlin, in 1868 ; Joseph P. Bowker and David H. Freeman, March 25, 1868. Until 1866 this church had but little minis- terial care. Revs. R. Stewart, W. H. Bird, N. A. Hunt and E. B. Olmsted paid it occasional visits. Rev. Geo. W. Elliott was here awhile in 185 1 and Rev. G. W. McCord in 1855. Rev. A. S. Avery began here in Aug. i, 1855, and continued three years. March, 1866, the writer visited the place and labored several days. He found but three members left. During the visit he received eight more. July 5, next ensu- ing, Rev. J. H. Scott took charge of the church and remained until Sept. 6, 1871. Rev. Edward Scofield was here from Aug. 13, 1872, to April, 1873. His daughter, Mrs. Julia. McCartney, wife of Juuge McCartney, is still there. Rev. J. H. Scott returned there after Mr. Scofield's departure and remained in charge of the church until Oct., 1878, when fail- ing health compelled his resignation. He continued there,, however, in his own pleasant home until his death, Feb. 25, 1879. The house of worship was erected in 1866, 1867 and 1868, and dedicated Sept. 6, 1868. It cost ^2,000, of whiclr PRESBYTERY OF ILLINOIS, 40/ five hundred dollars were donated by the Board of Church Erection. The site — a very beautiful one — was donated by Mrs. Catharine McBean, to whom, under God, the existence of this church is owing. Its whole number of members from the beginning has been ninety-nine. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at CoUinsville, Sep- tember 26, 1850. Members were present from five Presby- teries, including that of Des Moines, Iowa. Henry C. Abernethy was chosen Stated Clerk in place of George C. Wood, removed from the bounds of this Synod, The Synod of Illinois, o. s,, met at Springfield, October 10, 1850. Members were present from five Presbyteries. The conflict of opinion between the Synod and the Presby- tery of Palestine, as to the proper boundaries of the latter, seems to have been settled by the action of the Assembly. By that action the bounds of the Presbytery were declared to be as they were before the Synod's attempt to change them in 1848. YEAR 185 1. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Carlinville, April 24, 185 1. Alanson Alvord was dismissed to the Fox River Congregational Union. Hugh Barr, minister, and Charles R.. Wells, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. Socrates Smith was dismissed to Alton Presbytery. The Presbytery reported fifteen ministers and fourteen churches. The fall meeting was held with the Spring Creek church, commencing September 20. John G. Rankin was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler, and Gideon C. Clark from the Ilhnois Central Association. Shelby church was received, A called meeting was held at Jack- sonville, November 12, at which George Pierson, licentiate, was received from the Andover Association, examined and ordained, sine titido, November 13. He was immediately dismissed to the Presbytery having the Choctaw churches in charge. John Gault Rankin was born March 31, 1821, in Jeffer- son county, East Tenn. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish 408 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Presbyterians. His father and three uncles were Presbyte- rian ministers. Graduated at Mission Institute, near Quincy, 111., in 1845, and at Lane Seminary in 1848. Was licensed by Cincinnati Presbytery, May 5, 1847, near the close of his middle year in the seminary. He was examined in theology by the late Thornton A. Mills, D. D. Mr. Mills, not having a very high idea of Dr. Beecher's theology, took all " the boys " through a fiery ordeal. But as Dr. Beecher was always on hand ready to defend his " boys " — as he used to call them — the greater part of their examination consisted, after all, in sitting quietly and listening to the theological hair-splitting of Drs. Beecher and Mills. Mr. Rankin was ordained by Schuyler Presbytery, September 13, 1849. He commenced laboring with the First Presbyterian church, Warsaw, 111., September 10, 1848. Resigned, March, 1850. In March, 1851, hetook charge of Carrollton church, Green county, 111., and remained ten years. In March, 1861, he returned to Warsaw, and continued till December, 1868. He then took charge of Monticello church, Madison county, and was chap- lain of the Monticello Seminary. In 1872 he was with Fer- guson church, St. Louis county, Mo. His next field was Centralia, 111., from whence he returned to his old field, War- saw, III, where he still remains. He was married in Quincy, 111., to Miss Philomela Prentiss, April 3, 185 1. Her native place was Prattsburg, Steuben county, N. Y. Her father, Harvey P. Prentiss, still lives in Quincy. Her mother was Livonia Loomis, daughter of Deacon Gamaliel Loomis, of Prattsburg, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Rankin have no children. Gideon C. Clark was born in Somers, Tolland county, Ct., February 21, 1821. His ancestors came from England in the Mayflower in 1620. He was educated at Yale College and the "Theological Institute" at East Windsor, Ct. He was converted at the age of twelve, and soon had his atten- tion directed towards the ministry by his mother. He was licensed at Northampton, Mass., by a Congregational Association in 1846. Ordained, September 29, 1847, -^^^^^ titiilo, at Somers, Ct., his native place, by a council called for the purpose, and came immediately West. His labors have been almost exclusively in Illinois. (i) Rockport, Pike county, a very hard field. (2) Winchester, Scott county. Here he found a Presbyterian church, and here he remained GEORGE PIERSON. 4O9 five and an half years. Here his labors were pleasant and successful. At this time he changed his ecclesiastical rela- tions from the Congregational to the Presbyterian Church. While here, March 17, 1852, he married Miss Jane A. Smith, of Jacksonville, 111. (3) Collinsville. Here he remained eight years. (4) Woodburn, Macoupin county. The church was Congregational, but much nearer the New England model in doctrine and discipline than any other he had found in the West. He was here five and an half years, la- boring with acceptance and success. He was a member of the Assembly at New York in 1869, and witnessed the re- union of the two branches of the Church. (5) Nokomis, Montgomery county, one year. (6) Mt. Vernon, Jefferson county, where he labored three years. (7) Fowler, Benton county, Ind. He went here to build on his own foundation, and succeeded — organizing a church at Fowler and another at Sheldon, eighteen miles distant. He remained in this field eighteen months. (8) Shipman, Macoupin county, 111. This was a scene of former revival labors. He had been with them at the organization of the church, and at the ded- ication of their house, and was bound to them by many ties of affectionate remembrance. He remained two years. (9) Greenfield, Green county, was his next field. He occupied it with acceptance until April, 1879. Mrs. Clark is still liv- ing. They have three daughters. Olive, born February 22, 1853 — married, December 25, 1872, to Mr. C. M. Noble, of Mt. Vernon, 111. Clara, born July 20, 1855 — married, Sep- tember 19, 1875, to Henry Templeton, of Fowler, Ind. Katie, born December 12, 1862. Mr. Clark has labored much and successfully in revival meetings. George Pierson, M. D., was born in Illinois. Graduated at Illinois College, 1848, and at Andover Seminary, 185 1. Ordained Nov. 13, 185 1, as above. Missionary among the Choctaws 1852-55 ; at Strong's Island, Micronesia, 1855-57; Ebon, Covell's Island, 1857-60; supply pastor Brooklyn Presbyterian church, Cal., 1862-66; pastor of same 1866-70; supply pastor Adel, Iowa, 1871-75 ; supply pastor Solomon, Kansas, 1876-79. The present Shelbyville Church was organized at Prairie Bird, June 30, 1851, by Revs. Bilious Pond and Elisha Jen- 4IO PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ney, with these members, viz.: Robert Burke and Esther Burke, his wife ; David Ewing and Evelyn Evvdng, his wife ;. Adam Fulton and Elizabeth Fulton, his wife; George Hill and Elizabeth Hill, his wife; Mrs. Martha Weakly, Mrs. Sarah Campbell, Mrs. Jane Fickner, Mrs. Nancy Ogden, Mrs. M. H. Moulton, Miss Mary H. Mclver, Miss Sarah Hill, Mrs. Sarah Breckenridge, Miss Mary Ann Burke and Miss Mary Ann Eversol. David* Ewing was made elder. The elders subsequently elected are these : George Hill, Feb. 7, 1852; John D.Amlin, Feb. 23, 1857, died Aug. 1858; John Hunter, Nov. 21, 1858, died April 2, 1865; George Griggs, Nov. 21, 18-58; Geo, Hannaman, April 7, 1S60; Robert Carnes, April 7, i860; Ebenezer Cheney, April 10,, 1864; Lindsay McMorris, March ii, 1866; Thomas H. West, March 11, 1866; James D. Hunter, Jan.. 4, 1872; David Ewing, re-elected after being connected with Prairie Bird church. Ministers : J. M. Grout took charge of the church at its organization and continued as supply pastor until his death, by cholera, Aug. i, 1855, Joseph Wilson in 1856, and continued till 1859. H. K. Baines, of the German Reformed Church officiated for a time, after Mr. Wilson. M. P. Ormsby, in i860, and continued until Jan. 1861. James B, Sheldon, early in 1861 and continued one year. Timothy Hill, 1862, and removed in August, 1865. R, D. Van Deursen, pastor elect, March 17, 1867, installed May 5, 1867, and resigned Sept. 29, 1871. L. I. Root, from Nov., 1871, till Feb. 2, 1874. A. W. Williams, from Feb. 2, 1874, till first Sabbath in May same year. B. Mills, May 18, 1874, to Sept. 23, 1877. W. C. West, commenced April 3, 1878, and is still there. Houses of worship : The first house, a frame building, erected in 1856 or 1857, cost six hundred dollars. It is now used as a private residence. The present house is a substantial brick building. It was erected in 1864, and cost ^5,500, It has a fine audience room. Sab- bath school and lecture rooms, and pastor's study, David Ewing has been a prominent and leading man in all Presbyterian movements at Shelbyville and Prairie Bird. He came to this county in the fall of 1842, He was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, near Lancaster, May 21, 1816. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish. He has six children, three sons and three daughters. PLEASANT RIDGE. 4II The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Sparta, April ii, 185 1. John Mathews was received from the Presbytery of St. Louis. The church of Redbud was received. James Stafford was received from the Presbytery of Palestine. John Mathews, minister, and L. D. Skilling, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The name of Elkhorn church was changed to that of the First Presbyterian CJmrck of Xasliville. Presbytery reported to the Assembly nine ministers, twenty one churches, six hundred and sixty-five communicants, for Domestic Missions forty-three dollars, Foreign, sixteen dollars, for support of gospel in the congrega- tions, eight hundred and fifty-five dollars. The name of Sparta church was changed to Jordan's Grove. The fall meeting was held atEdwardsville, Sept. ly. The church of Pleasant Ridge was received. Redbud Church was organized Nov. 24, 1850, by B. F. Spilman with fourteen members. Two elders were appointed. Mr. Spilman gave them monthly preaching for nearly one year — in all, twenty-one sermons. This church was dissolv- ed by Kaskaskia Presbytery, April 16, 1855, and its members attached to Jordan's Grove. Pleasant Ridge was organized by Rev. Wm. Gardner,. May 17, 1851, with these fourteen members : James H. Han- na, Elizabeth A. Hanna, Eliza Bean, Elizabeth Pettit, James H. C. Hanna, James Bilderback, Maria Bilderback, John C. Hanna, Mary A. Hanna, Elizabeth Conant, Mary Van Zandt, Jane Pettit. Henry N. Pettit, Louisa Pettit. Elders : James H. Hanna. He continued a member of the Session until his death in i860. Elders since: Henry N. Pettit, 1855-65; Wm. H. Mann, 1858, still acts; Harvey Bilderback, Sept. 30, 1865- 66\ Alfred H. Mann, Sept. 30, 1865, to Sept. 19, 1875, James J. Bean, March 17, 1867, still acts ; John W. Burke, March 17, 1867 to Nov. 15,1875. Ministers: The first, Alex. Brown, who died in Chester, April 10, 1853. He occupied the pul- pit in 1852 and until his death ; P. D. Young, 1855 and part of 1856; A. A. Morrison, fall of 1857 till spring of 1S60; B. H. Charles, 1862. Mr. C. Monfort, licentiate, for three months in 1853 ; A. R. Naylor, fall of 1863 to spring of 1866 ; A. J. Clarke, as supply pastor, from July, 1867, until April,, 412 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. 1868, when he became pastor of this and Chester church un- til April, 1876. At that time the pastoral relation was dis- solved. He continued, however, to supply both churches until Sept., 1876. J. W. Cecil, for thirty Sabbaths, beginning with Jan., 1877. The church was organized in an old log school house that stood about half a mile nearly due west of the present church. In 1855 and 1856, th& con- gregation built a neat frame house twenty by thirty feet. This was sufficient to accommodate the congregation for twelve or fourteen years. It cost about six hundred and fifty dollars; Church Extension donated fifty dollars. In 1873 the house was'-so enlarged as to double its capacity, at a cost of twelve hundred dollars. Church erection donated three hundred dollars. Its site is T. 6 S,. R. 7 W., Sec. 36, S. W. quarter, or near the center of the south half of the sec- tion. The dwelling house owned and occupied by Rev. John Mathews, when he was preaching in this neighborhood, is about three-quarters of a mile northwest of this church. The Presbytery of Wabash met with Pleasant Prairie church, April 17, 1851. Long Point church was received. Enoch Kingsbury, minister, and A. R. Palmer, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly^ Charles H. Palmer was dismissed to the Presbytery of Logansport. The fall meeting was held at Danville, Sept. 8. Hillery Patrick from the Presbytery of Kingston, was received. The church of Liberty Prairie was enrolled. Long Point Church was organized by Rev. John H. Russ, April 5, 185 1, at the dwelling-house of John G. Morrison. This was a log house about fifteen by twenty feet, consisting of one room and a loft over head, and situated about four miles southeast of the town plat of Neoga, in the edge of ^ a narrow strip of timber running from northwest to southeast across the prairie, and hence called " Long Point." Hence the first name of the church. The spot was central to the population and had begun to be a center of business. The church was organized with these ten members : John G. Morrison and Eliza N. Morrison, James H. Morrison and Sarah C. Morrison, Nathan Gould and Martha Gould, Sarah Morrison, Margaret Morrison, Tirzah Morrison and Mary HILLERY PATRICK. 415: Ann Parkerson. John G. Morrison and Nathan Gould eld- ers. Ministers : John H. Russ, supplied the church for two years one-fourth the time. Joseph Wilson began in the spring of 1854 and continued one-half the time until Oct. 1 866, with the exception of six or seven months in 1857-58, during which Samuel Ward was supply. October i, 1865, John B. Brandt, became supply pastor. Elders: John G. Morrison and Nathan Gould the first. November, 1852, Wm. M. Allison; July 10, 1858, James Ewing; May 9, 1866, Alex. B. Ewing and Wm. Clark. April 29, i860, the present house of worship erected at Neoga, was dedicated during a session of the Wabash Presbytery at the place. Great change3 had transpired on account of the construction of the Illinois Central R. R., and the fixing of a depot there, making that the proper church center. Up to June, 1866, this church had received one hundred and ten members. HiLLERY Patrick was born in Charlotte county, Virginia, Sept. I, 1802. His classical education he received at the colleges of Greenville and Washington, East Tenn. He graduated at the latter, but studied mostly at the former. For one year after graduation he studied with reference to the legal profession. But becoming a converted man he changed his plan of life, and took a regular theological course at Maryville, under Dr. Isaac Anderson. He was ordained at New Philadelphia, East Tenn., July 28, 1826, by the Union Presbytery, and the same day was married to Miss Mary Houston, with whom he lived happily thirty-eight and an half years. In 1850, he came with his family to Southern Illinois, for he did not find the South an agi'eeable home for a man of anti-slavery views. He joined Wabash Pres- bytery as above. From that time to his death he labored in Southern Illinois, at Carmi, Sharon, Equality, Albion and McLeansboro. He united with Alton Presbytery, Sept. 27, 1S56, and after that labored at Mt. Vernon, Marion, Old Ducoign, Vergennes and Little Muddy, six miles east of Tamaroa. For all these years of labor he did not receive from all Missionary sources and from the churches more than seven hundred dollars. In 1864, when residing near Tamaroa he buried his faithful wife. After that he resided in Tamaroa. His children are six — one son and five daueh- 414 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ters — all living, and able to say, " Our Father which art in Heaven." He died at Tamaroa, III, Oct. 27, 1872, at the residence of Mrs. Spiller, a widowed daughter with whom he resided. Liberty Prairie Church, Piatt county, was organized Aug. 4, 185 1, at the house of John McKinney, on the north side of Sangamon river, in Macon county, near its east line, by Rev. Enoch Kingsbury with these six members, viz.: John McKinney, Mrs. EHza McKinney, Andrew M. Mc- Kinney, Mrs. Mary A. McKinney, James S. McKinney Isaac R. McKinney, all from the Presbyterian church in Livonia, Ind. Elders : John McKinney and Andrew McKin- ney, the first ; since appointed, Alex. McKinney, Z. P. Can- trell, W. B. Taylor, A. L. Rogers, David Moyer, 1873 ; Abraham Funk. Ministers : Enoch Kingsbury, occasional for the four first years; Charles H. Palmer, June, 1855 ; John C. Campbell, Aug. 8, 1857, till his death, Dec. 31, 1862; Joseph E. McMurray, March 8, 1863, one year. Two or three for brief periods since. Is now — 1879 — vacant. The name was changed from " Liberty Prairie " to " Cerro Gordo " in i860. Likewise the location of the church to the village of Cerro Gordo, on the Wabash R. R., in Piatt county. The church edifice was dedicated Nov., 1861. It is a plain frame building with a spire. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Lawrenceville, May I, 185 1. Robert Simpson was received from the Presbytery of Vincennes. The church of Shiloh, Lawrence county, was, at their own request, dissolved and the members attached to the Lawrenceville church. Erastus W. Thayer, minister, and J. M. Miller, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Palestine, Sept., 18. James Cameron was received from the Presbytery of Sidney. Robert Simpson, in 1851-53, was in Robinson, Crawford county. 111. From 1854 to 1867, he was at Newton, Jasper county. Then his name disappears from the minutes. GEORGE M. TUTrilLL. 4I5 James Cameron, in 1852, was with Hebron church, Charles- ton, 111., postoffice; in 1853, teacher at Charleston, 111.; in 1854-5, pastor at Monmouth, 111. ; from 1856 to i860, at Brunswick, 111., supply pastor two years; without charge two years; 1861, at Brunswick, Mo., Wyaconda Presbytery; 1862-65, back again to Brunswick, 111, but in same Presby- tery; in 1866, at Peoria, 111; 1867-74, not reported; in 1875- 76, he, or some one of same name, again appears as at San Bernardino, Cal., supply pastor in Los Angeles Presbytery ; in 1877-78, supply pastor at Colton, Cal., same Presbytery. The Presbytery of Sangamon met with Sugar Creek church, April 4, 185 1. William Bishop, licentiate, was re- ceived from the Second Presb}'tery of New York. J. V. Dodge was installed pastor of the Jacksonville church on the fourth Sabbath of April, 185 i, by a Committee of Pres- bytery. Thomas W. Hynes, minister, and J. F. Bergen, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Hillsboro, commencing September 9, 185 1. T. W. Hynes was released from the pastoral care of the church of Hillsboro. The Presbytery of Alton met at Bunker Hill, April 17, 185 1. The church of Pickneyville was receivd; George M. Tuthill was received from the Presbytery of St. Louis. Hub- bel Loomis, having joined the Baptist Church, was dis- missed. Joseph E. McMurray was ordained, sine tihdo, April 19, 185 1. Lemuel Grosvenor, minister, and P. B. Whipple, €lder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. J. K. Deer- ing was dismissed to the Association of Penobscot, Maine. Robert Stewart was dismissed from the pastorate of Green- ville church, that he might act as Missionary of this Pres- bytery. George Miller Tuthill was born at Wading River, Long Island, N. Y., October 31, 1818. Graduated at Am- herst College, 1839, and at Union Theological Seminary, 1846. Ordained by St. Louis Presbytery, April 22, 1847; supply pastor, St. Louis, Mo., 1847-49; Monticello, 111. (God- frey postoffice), 1849-51; supply pastor, Kalamazoo, Mich., 4l6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. 185 1 ; pastor (Cong.) St. Clair, Mich., 1851-58; supply pas- tor, Pontiac, Mich., 1858-65; pastor, Ashtabula, Ohio, 1865- 6"] \ District Superintendent American Bible Society, Kala- mazoo, March, 1871. Joseph E. McMurray was born in Tennessee, September 23, 1818; educated at Lane Seminary; ordained April 19, 185 1 ; dismissed from Alton to Schuyler Presbytery, Octo- ber 21, 1853. Labored several years at Hardin, 111. Re- signed at Hardin, October 14, 1855. After leaving Hardin he labored awhile. --at Brighton, Iowa. Was railroad agent and postmaster at Cerro Gordo, 111., several years and at the time of his death. For two years, while in that position, he supplied the Cerro Gordo church. He came to the Presby- terian from the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was a preacher. He came under the care of Alton Presbytery and was by them sent to Lane Seminary. He died at Cerro Gordo, III, January 27, 1868. He married Miss Nancy C. Parks, of Sringfield, 111., January 28, 1852. The widow, Mrs. Nancy C. McMurray, resides now at Auburn, 111. There are three children living. PiNCKNEYViLE Church, n. s., was organized April, 185 1, by Rev. Josiah Wood, with eight members, Nathan Weeks, elder. It accomplished little and was short-lived. The Presbytery of Alton met with Chesterfield church, Macoupin county, Sept. 19, 185 1. The Union church, Ma- coupin county, and the Mt. Vernon church. Bond county, were received. The Missionary report commenced thus : " The plan of Missionary operations entered upon by this Presbytery in the spring of 1840 has been signally owned of God. Mainly through its workings our churches have in- creased from ten to thirty-two, and our ministers from seven to twenty-three." Josiah Wood was released from the pas- toral care of Old Ducoign church. Lemuel Foster was dis- missed to the Presbytery of Illinois. John IngersoU was re- ceived from the Ashtabula Association, Ohio, and recom- mended to labor, as an Evangelist, with the brethren and churches who may wish his services. UNION CHURCH. 41/ John Ingersoll. I have not been able to learn anything about him. He came to Alton Presbytery as above, and was dismissed from them and given a general letter, Oct. 6, 1855. I don't knov/ where or when he was born, or educated, or or- dained. It is not to his credit that he is the father of the loud-mouthed, blatant infidel, Bob Ingersoll, who strives to quiet a biting conscience by reviling God's word. He resid- ed a short time in Alton, and his wife died there. He has been dead for several years. It was a smart but queer fam- ily, and all their peculiar characteristics have culminated in the infidel, Bob. Union Presbyterian Church, Macoupin county, 111., was organized July 12, 185 1, at the house of Peter Brown, by Rev. George Spaulding, with these eighteen members : Peter Brown, Catharine Brown, John H. Brown, Newell H. Brown, Elizabeth C. Brown, Ephraim M. Gilmore, Mary M. Gilmore, Lucinda I. Gilmore, Mrs. Mary M. Welch, Halybur- ton Parks, Jane Parks, WiHiam S. Parks, Julius E. Parks, Mrs. Barbara Dixon, Mrs. Amanda Quick, Mrs. Mildred Tunstall, Henry W. Meriwether and Dorotha Meriwether. September 26, 1856, the name of Union church was changed by Presbytery to that of " The First Presbyterian of Plainview." Elders : H. Parks, Peter Brown, Ephraim Gilmore and Henry W. Meriwether, elected when the church was organized. July 22, 1855, Martin N. Gulick. October 27, 1861, Samuel Brown. In December, 1867, Samuel Welch and Samuel L. Wilson. The first sacramental meet- ing was held in the school house in Old Brooklyn, July 13, 1 85 1. For several years the church worshiped in neigh- boring school-houses and in private dwellings. January 17, 1858, the present house was dedicated by Rev. Edward Mc- Millan. Ministers: H. D. Piatt, 1855; L. P. Lindley, 1857; T. B. Hurlbut, 1858; W. C. Rankin, 1860-61; R. Smith, 1860-61. He was an impostor. He joined Alton Presbytery on a forged certificate. Thomas Reynolds, 1861- 64; E. W. Taylor, i866-yo; W. R. Adams, 1870; E. W. Taylor, 1872-73; W. R. Adams, pastor, 1874, until this time. This church has enjoyed several interest- ing revivals. From 1874 to 1876, eighty-five were added by examination and sixteen by letter. The Presbyterian is the only church edifice in the place. The greater part of the 26 4l8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. members of the Dry-Point, or Bayless church, have con- nected here. The congregation has a nice parsonage conve- nient to the house of worship. Mt. Vernon Church, Bond county, about eight miles di- rectly west of Greenville, was organized, August 25, 185 1, by Revs. E. B. Olmsted and R. Stewart, with nine mem- bers. Elders : Patterson F. Luark and Jonathan D. Floyd. Name changed to " Shoal Creek ;" finally transferred to Bethel church. Rey, T. W. Hynes preaches now in the same neighborhood. Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Sringfield, September 24, 185 1. Members were present from five Presbyteries. The Synod consisted at the time of sixty-six ministers and eighty- seven churches in five Presbyteries. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met in Chicago, October 9, 185 1. YEAR 1852. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Jacksonville, April 16, 1852. William G. Gallaher, minister, and Samuel Ran- nells, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. The Presby- tery convened for its fall meeting at Farmington, August 27. There were collected for the Presbytery's Missionary opera- tions this year four hundred and thirty dollars and ninety cents, Kaskaskia Presbytery met at Chester, April 9, 1S52. William Hamilton was received from the Presbytery of Muh- lenburg. The church of Mt. Vernon was, at its own request, dissolved and its members attached to Gilead church. James Stafford, minister, and James A. Ramsey, elder, were ap- pointed to attend the Assembly. The fall meeting was held with the Sugar Creek church, commencing October 7. Wabash Presbytery met with the New Providence church, Aprill 22, 1852. The church of McLeansboro was received. The fall meeting was held with the Pleasant Prairie church, commencing September 9. JOHN CROZIER. 4I9 IMcLeansboro Church, n. s., was organized probably in the early part of 1852 by Rev. Hillery Patrick. It was re- ported to the Assembly as one of the churches of Wabash Presbytery down to 1855, and as having ten members. Then its name disappeared. Palestine Presbytery met at Charleston, April i, 1852. R. H. Lilly, minister, and John S. Hite, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. John Crozier, licentiate, was received from the New Albany Presbytery, examined and ordained on Sabbath, April 4. The church of Shelbyville was dis- solved. Isaac Bennet was dismissed from the pastorate of Pisgah church. Also from this to Peoria Presbytery. John Crozier was born in Manchester, Adams county, Ohio, Aug. 27, 1822. His father was David Crozier, third son of John and Jane Crozier, Scotch-Irish Covenanters, who emigrated from the city of Armagh, in Ireland, and settled in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, soon after the close of the war of the Revolution. His mother was Margaret Means, eldest daughter of William and Nancy McElroy Means, also of Scotch-Irish descent, and staunch Presbyterians. William Means was an elder in the Fair Forest congregation, Spartan- burgh district, in South Carolina, under the pastoral care of Rev. Wm. Williamson, father of the now veteran missionary, Dr. Thomas Williamson, for more than forty years a laborious and successful missionary among the Dacota Indians. Wm. Williamson was a minister and a slavc-Jiolderby inheritance. His conscience was disturbed at the thought of holding his fellow- men in bondage, some of whom were members of his church, and brethren in the Lord. So, as early as 1804, he came to Adams county, Ohio, as Dr. Howe in his history of the Presbyterian church in South Carolina says, " From a desire to manumit his servants, and for other reasons, he removed with a portion of his congregation to the state of Ohio." A few years afterwards his elder, William Means, who had been a Whig soldier in the war of Independence and never oivned a slave, followed his pastor to Ohio, and remained an honored and useful Ruling Elder in the church of Manches- ter until the fall of 1822, when he removed to Edgar coun'.y, III., near the site of the present city of Paris, which was loca- 420 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ted in the spring of 1823, and when the Presbyterian church of Paris was organized in Nov., 1824, by Rev. Isaac Reed,, Mr, Means, in connection with Samuel Vance, and John Bovell was chosen a Ruhng Eelder, and lield that office until his death in 1847. He is still represented in that church by two sons, John C. and Thomas N. Means, the former of whom is an elder in his father's stead. The family of Mr. Crozier also came to Illinois in the fall of 1822, and located at Paris. David Crozier laid the foundation of the first house in Paris. The subject of this sketcl;;.was baptized in 1825, by Rev. Samuel T. Scott, of Vincennes, the first settled minister in Indiana.. He was the subject of early religious training and experi- enced deep and pungent convictions of sin before he was eleven years old. In 1835, the family removed from Paris,. and settled in Joliet, where they sojourned five years, and in 1840, they removed to the vicinity of Iowa City, Iowa. Here in May, 1842, he united with the First Presbyterian- church of Iowa City, then under the pastoral care of the Rev. Michael Hummer. Soon after he became deeply anx- ious as to his future calling, and was impressed with a great desire to spend his life in the proclamation of the glorious- gospel, if God in his providence would open the way. After consulting his pastor he entered upon his preparatory stud- ies under the tuition of Dr. Wm, Reynolds, who kept a pri- vate school in the winter of 1842-43, in the basement of the Protestant Methodist church in Iowa City. Five months were spent here in reviewing English studies. In April, 1843, he set out on foot for Hanover College, Ind., a distance of five hundred miles. He took Paris the place of his early boyhood in his way. Rev. H. I. Venable had been for a year or two teaching an academy at Paris, and proposed to young Crozier to spend a year or two there, and prepare for college. It was replied, " I have special arrangements made at Hanover for boarding, tuition," etc. " Well," said Mr. Venable, " We will make special arrangements kere." Said the young man, " Your session is nearly out and it is scarcely zvorth while to begin for this piece of a term." " Never,. mind," said Mr. V. "You've seen your kin, and now begin at once, and you will be through the Latin grammar by the time the session closes " [three zvecks). " But I've no books,, and no money to pay tuition." "Never mind that" rejoined Mr. v., " We will borrow books until you can get books of JOHN CROZIER. 421 your own ; and as for tuition, I'll get that out of you ! Begin at once." He started for his school-room, and said to his pupil, " Come along with me." A Latin grammar was borrowed, and the young man was assigned the first declension of Latin nouns and recited three lessons that afternoon! Here he remained until Sept., 1845, when he entered the sophomore class in Miami Universit}-, Ohio, then under the Presidency of Dr. E. D. MacMaster, where, in company with Dr. S. S. Laws, now President of the Uni- versity of Missouri, Rev. John W. Drake, Ely Booth, Esq., and the lamented Isaiah Little and others, he graduated Aug. 10, 1848. In October following, he entered what is now the Theological Seminary of the Northwest, then located at New Albany, Ind., under Dr. James Wood and Daniel Stewart. The next year the Faculty was in- creased by the addition of Dr. E. D. MacMaster, as Pro- fessor of didactic, polemic and exegetic theology. Also Dr. Philip Lindsley, so long the popular and accom- plished President of the University of Nashville, became a member of the faculty. Here Mr. C. remained three full years, and graduated in 1851 with Drs. R. C. Mat- thews, Thomas R, Welch, John M. Worrell, James W. Hoyte and Rev. J. B. Drake and others. In company with his class-mate, R. C. Matthews, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Albany, at Jeffersonville, Ind., on the 3d of April, 1850, and during the following seminary vacation he supplied the churches of Paoli and Utica, Ind. Immedi- ately on his graduation he accepted an invitation to supply the church of Palestine, 111., and soon after was joined in mar- riage with Miss Harriet N. Williamson, the eldest daughter of the late Rev. Alexander Williamson. In April, 1852, he was ordained as an evangelist by the Presbytery of Palestine, in session at Charleston, 111. Rev. John A. Steele preached the sermon, presided and proposed the constitutional ques- tions ; Rev. John McDonald offered the ordaining prayer, and Rev. E. W. Thayer gave the charge to the evangelist. Rev. Isaac Bennett, Rev. R. H. Lilly and Rev. James Came- ron took part in the ordination. Mr. C. supplied the church of Palestine, also engaged in missionary labors in the sur- rounding country until the fall of 1852, when he accepted an invitation to supply the church of Charlestown, Ind, A de- sire to be near enough the seminary to pursue a resident graduate course led him to accept this invitation. But his 422 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. heart was with the destitutions of the Home Missionary- work, and in April, 1853, he yielded to the earnest solicita- tions of the church in Iowa City to undertake the pastoral office over them, and removed thither and entered on his work. The church was weak in membership and resources, and embarrassed with a heavy debt. This was the church where, as a timid youth, he had ten years before first professed his faith in Christ. Though signally successful in his work for a period of six months, yet he was unable to divest him- self of a sense of unfitness to have the pastoral charge over those whom a few years before he had been accustomed to look up to as his su-periors. His first charge at Palestine had remained vacant and he gladly gave up his work in Iowa City and returned to Palestine. Here he remained until the fall of 1855, when the Western Executive Committee of the Board of Domestic Missions, at Louisville, Ky., appointed him general financial agent for the Synods north of the Ohio river. This appointment, unsought and undesired, he ac- cepted as a call of Providence, and during the next eighteen months traveled constantly in the States of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, presenting the claims of the great Home Mis- sionary work to the churches, raising funds for missions and urging upon churches and pastors plans of systematic giving to the Boards of the Church, and thus to dispense with sal- . aried agents to carry on the various benevolent schemes. At the close of his agency he declined overtures to settle in a well established and wealthy church in Ohio, and came to Olney, III, there to build up a church not on another man's foundation. On his arrival at Olney, in February, 1857, he found four feeble women and one man, members of the Pres- byterian church, as a nucleus with which to make a begin- ning. Here he settled, preaching one-third of his time at Olney, and one-third at Richland church, five miles south of Olney, and one-third at Union church, in Lawrence county, a church which, in company with Rev. Robert Simpson and Elder Findley Paull, of Palestine, he had organized in June, 1854. In October, 1858, the Synod of Illinois erected a new Presbytery, embracing eighteen counties in the south- eastern angle of the State, called the Presbytery of Saline. Five ministers were included in this organization, viz. : B. F. Spilman, John S. Howell, John B. Saye, Samuel C. Bald- ridge and John Crozier, with the following churches under their care : Olney, Richland, Union, Lawrenceville, Pisgah, JOHN CROZIER. 423 Wabash, Friendsville, Mount Carmel, Carmi, Sharon, Equal- ity, Shawneetown, Golconda and Knob Prairie. The first meeting of the new Presbytery was held at Friendsville in May, 1859. Two days before the meeting, Rev. B. F. Spil- man, the senior minister and veteran missionary of Southern Illinois, was called to his rest. Three of the remaining min- isters had been members of the Presbytery of Palestine and knew little of the great field committed to their care. It was important that the territory be at once explored, the vacant churches visited, and laborers introduced into the fields "white to the harvest." Mr. C's. experience as a missionary agent at once led the brethren to fix upon him as the man for this work, if his own field could be temporarily supplied. Providence opened the way. David McKnight Williamson, a theological student of Princeton, who had completed his second year in the seminary, and knew something of the des- tutions in this part of Illinois, wrote to one of the brethren a few days before the meeting of Presbytery, proposing to place himself under the care of Presbytery and be licensed, and spend the summer in such labors as might be assigned him. He met with the Presbytery of Saline at its organiza- tion, and was licensed, and Presbytery appointed Mr. C. to evangelistic services within the bounds of Presbytery for the next three or four months, and Mr. Williamson to supply the churches of Mr. C's. charge. During the summer of 1859 Mr. C. traversed the whole field, preaching in all the vacant churches, and encouraging the people and doing what could be done to have the destitutions supplied and obtaining much valuable information, which was a great use in subsequent furtherance of the work. Mr. C. then resumed his pastor- ate work at Olney. The present house of worship there was completed and occupied in i860. When the great rebellion broke out, in 1861, Mr. C. was heart and sotd with the Govern- ment, and on Sabbath eve, April 21, i86i,he preached the first patriotic sermon in Olney to the volunteers of Capt. Lynch's company. He was among the first in Olney to observe the week of prayer and took an active part in a series of Union services in January, 1863, when the churches of Olney were blessed with the first general revival of religion. All the churches were strengthened by this work of grace, and about fifty members were added to the- Presbyterian church. So during the remaining years of his pastorate in Olney, 1864, 1865 and 1866, there was a delightful religious interest in con- 424 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. nection with Union services during the week of prayer, the services being often protracted for several weeks. At the meeting of Presbytery, in April, 1866, he resigned his pas- toral charge, leaving as a result of nine years' labors, a church of one hundred and twenty communicants, a good house of worship finished and paid for, with a good Sabbath school and established habits of systematic benevolence. Presby- tery immediately appointed him Presbyterial Missionary for one year at a salary of one thousand dollars, five hundred of which was appropriated by the Board of Missions, and five hundred by ]Messrs. Peeples & Ridgway, of Shawnee- town. Mr. C. prosecuted this work with untiring zeal dur- ing the year, traveling and preaching incessantly, strengthen- ing the weak churches, seeking to have them supplied, and preparing the way for the organization of churches. With April, 1867, closed Mr. C.'s labors in Southern Illinois. From his first coming to Palestine in 1851, to April, 1867, he had assisted at the organization of the following churches : Union, Friendsville, Olney, Wakefield, Hermon, Odin, Flora, Hopewell, Bridgeport. Grayville and Larkinsburgh, and was more or less influential in preparing the way for other organizations which have been effected by those who have entered into his labors. In July, 1867, he received a call to the pastorate of First Presbyterian church of Oxford, Ohio, which he accepted, and in August he began his labors there. The re-union tide by this time had begun to rise in the Presbyterian Church, and made itself felt in every commu- nity where there were two Presbyterian churches, and but one was needed. The two churches at Oxford had been asunder for thirty years, and although each was doing a good work in its own sphere, yet the burden of support of two churches was felt to be heavy, and the question of union began to be spoken of. Mr. C. promptly told the session of the First church, that though it would be a great per- sonal sacrifice to leave Oxford, with its high educational and social advantages ; yet when the time for re-union came, he would open the way so that the two churches could come together with vacant pulpits, and the united charge thus be left free to call the pastor of their choice. In anticipation of the re-union of the Assemblies, in Nov., 1869, Mr. C. ten- dered his resignation as pastor of the First church of Ox- ford, in September previous, having been called to the pastorate of the North Sangamon church, Presb}'tery of San- DAVID A. WALLACE. 1.25 gamon. He removed at once to his new field where he has continued active in the duties of his office in his own pas- toral charge, often assisting his brethren and doing much missionary service in destitute places as opportunity offers. Elder Findley PauU, furnishes this anecdote. During his pastorate of Palestine church, there was one season a large crop of corn raised. Many corn buyers were in the countr}^, and they got up what was called a Corn Ball, and invitations were scattered far and near. Mr. C. heard of it, and told me he would blow it up and he would not wait until it was over. He would do it the next Sabbath. I remarked, " Give them rope and they will hang themselves." " No," he said, " I will doit if I have to leave the next week." He preached what was called his Corn Ball Setmon, from Galations iii : i. It was a powerful ser- mon and cut close. One of the managers called one of the elders into his store and asked if he had Mr. Crozier's subscription. ** Yes," he replied. " I will pay twenty-five dollars per year while he remains here. A man that will rebuke what "he believes to be wrong as fearlessly as he did, I will support." The proprietor of the hotel, where the ball was held, sent him a fine cake. He sent it back, saying, he " would not eat anything oft'ered in sacrifice to idols," and wrote a kind letter with it. The hotel keeper afterwards united with the church. Palestine Presbytery met at Lawrenceville, Oct. 5, 1852. D. A. Wallace was received from the Presbytery of Whitewa- ter. " North Arm Presbyterian church " was received. Also the church of Decatur. David A. Wallace. Auto-biographical. I was born April 18, 1818, in Butler county, Ohio. IMy ancestors on both sides were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. I pursued my classical studies partly under the tuition of my pastor. Rev. David Monfort, of Franklin, Indiana, and at Hanover College. I studied theology at New Albany Sem- inar}' under the instruction of Dr. John INIatthews. I was long and often impressed with the idea that I must 426 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. preach the gospel. But from a sense of unfitness, a lack of qualifications and the want of means to secure an education this idea was dismissed and I had about concluded to follow some othe.r calling. But just at that time my pastor, not knowing the struggle that had been going on in my own mind, called me into his study and gave me such counsel and en- couragement as forever settled the question. I at once set about making preparation for the work. I was licensed April 6, 1844, in Indianapolis, Indiana, by the Pres- bytery of Indianapolis, and ordained by the same Presbytery pastor of the Presbyterian church of Georgetown, Brown county, Ind., June a'S, 1847. After my licensure, I served for a time the churches of New Burlington, Windsor and Bloutsville, Delaware county, Ind. My next charge was Georgetown, in connection with Harmony, a church which I had organized in Bartholomew county, Ind. I next took charge of Union, a small church in the south part of Decatur county, Indiana, in connection with Napoleon, (afterwards changed to Ripley), and all of Ripley county in which I organized the churches of Versailles and Mt. Hope. In the spring of 1852, I went to Lawrenceville, III, and supplied that and Pisgah churches one year. I then went to the church of Nashville, 111., and was installed pastor, June 18, 1854. The pastoral relation was dissolved Oct. i, 1862. I returned to Lawrence county, and labored in a destitute missionary field one year. I then took charge of Crow Meadow church, in Marshall county. 111., which I served till October, 1868, at which time I was compelled to give up, in consequence of a severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism. For some time I was unable to preach much, but engaged in colporteur work and preached occasionally. In the spring of 1 87 1, 1 went to Iowa, to try to recuperate, and found work there for a while in the church of Frankville, Winnesheik county, and then at Mt. Hope, Allamakee county. At the end of the year I returned to Illinois, and served the churches of Salem (at Mahomet), and Springvale in Cham- paign county, 111. I now have no regular pastoral charge. I have settled on a small farm in Livingston county, 111. I was married Nov. 18, 1846, in Decatur county, Ind., to Miss Margaret Jane Thomson. We have two children, Henry Melancthon, born Aug. 23, 1847, and Sarah Ernestine, born Oct. 5, 1850. D. A. Wallace. Sannemin, Livingston County, IlL FIRST CHURCH OF DECATUR. 42/ North Arm Presbyterian Church was organized in the summer of 1852 by the Committee of Presbytery, with ten members, Samuel Mann, elder. It was in Edgar county, not far from Paris, and was dissolved by Presbytery of Pales- tine, April 24, 1854, and its members attached to Paris church. The First Presbyterian Church of Decatur was organiz- ed in the house of Mr. Samuel Powers on the first day of May, 1852, by the Rev, Robert H. Lilly, who was appointed a committee for that purpose by the Presbytery of Palestine. The members at the organization were David Hopkins, Catharine, his wife and Lydia, their daughter, Nancy Eagar, Mrs. Mary Lilly, Miss Agnes McCormick, John Nicholson and his wife Julia, Robert Moffit and his wife Elizabeth. David Hopkins was elected first Ruling Elder. Rev. Augus- tus F. Pratt gathered up this little church and preached to them one year. After him the Rev. David Monfort, D. D., then quite an old and feeble man, served the church until Oct., 1854. About the middle of the next month, the church secured the services of the Rev. Erastus W. Thayer, who served them until the spring of 1857. The con- gregation up to about this time worshiped in the old court- house, then in the old Academy, and in a new building which was erected on East Main street, on a lot belonging to Dr. Roberts, and designed ultimately for a store-house. The next minister was the Rev. P. D. Young, who preached one year. Rev. T. M. Oviatt was invited to the charge of the church in July, 1858, and was, in the following spring, in- stalled as the first regular pastor. He continued in the pas- toral relation till Jan., 1863, and was succeeded in the follow- ing spring by Rev. D. C. Marquis, who was called from this church to the North Presbyterian church in Chicago, in Jan., 1866. The church, during the pastorate of these last two men, had a steady and much more rapid growth. Mr. Mar- quis, though a young man, had preaching powers of no ordi- nary character. His sermons were evangelical, clear and profound, and were delivered with great force and animation. If he has had any equal as a sermonizer among the young men in Central Illinois, it was his immediate successor, the Rev. Samuel Conn. Both these gentlemen were early hon- ored with the degree of Doctor Divinitatis,hQCdi\ysQ by native 428 PRESBYTERIAXIS5I IN ILLINOIS. power and hard study, they earned the distinction. Mr. Conn's health, which was never firm, suffered under the labor and care of the church, and in September, 1868, he closed his labors here. During the last year of Mr. Conn's pastorate a second church was organized in connection with the New School General Assembly, with forty-two members from the first church and seven from other quarters. This branch of the church enjoyed the very acceptable services of the Rev. A. L. Brooks till after the union of the two General Assemblies, when he accepted a call to Danville, 111., and the two churches united. The elders of both cliurches were elected to consti- tute the session of'the re-united church. After Mr. Conn left, the Rev. John Brown, D. D., supplied this church during the greater part of the next winter. In the spring of 1869, Rev. James E. Moffatt, a young man from the Chi- cago Theological Seminary, was settled as pastor and re- mained four years. After him came the Rev. Robert Mac- kenzie and preached a few months over two years. In Sep- tember, 1876, Rev. W, H. Prestley accepted a call to this church, and is now preaching most acceptably to full houses. The church which began with ten members and one RuHng elder, now has about three hundred members, a full bench of Ruling Elders and full boards of deacons and trustees. A large and successful Sunday-school is maintain- ed under the auspices of this church. Elders of First church: David Hopkins, Dr. James E. Roberts, Samuel Frederick, Thomas Lewis, S. C. Roberts, Orlando Powers, S. G. Malone, J. E. Roberts, D. C. Brown, Geo. E. Morehouse, T. H. Allen, R. P. Lytle. The Second church was organized Jan. 18, 1868, by Drs. D. H. Hamilton and W. D. Sanders in Powers' Hall, where their meetings were subsequently held. Elders : Hazen Pressey, J. H. Lewis, G. E. Morehouse. The First and Second churches were united Dec. 28, 1870. Elders elected ■since the union : Reuben Nims, R. C. Crocker, W. R, Scroggs. In 1855, the brick church on Prairie street was begun. It progressed but slowly, and was dedicated March 6,1859. It cost ^9,000. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Springfield, April 2, 1852. James Smith, D. D., minister, and J. T. Eccles, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. An adjourned HARDIN CPIURCPI. 42g> meeting was held with Sugar Creek church, April 20. The fall meeting was held with Union church, commencing Sept. 14. Alton Presbytery met at Troy, Madison county, April 15, 1852. Hardin church, Calhoun county, was received- George Spaulding was released, on account of ill health,, from the pastorate of Woodburn and Bunker Hill churches, and also dismissed from the Presbytery, and given a general letter of recommendation. Socrates Smith was received from the Presbytery of Illinois. Lawson A. Parks and Wm. T. Bartle were granted license, George M. Tuthill was dis- missed to the Eastern Association of Michigan. N. A. Hunt was released from the pastoral charge of Marioa church. Joseph A. Ranney. minister, and L. A. Parks, elder,, were appointed to attend the Assembly. David Dimond. was received from the Presbytery of St. Louis. The narra- tive showed that the past year had been one of great pro- gress through almost the entire field. Hardin Church Is located in the town of Hardin, the county seat of Calhoun county, a beautiful and picturesque little village nestling at the foot of a grand bluff on the Illi- nois river. The church is quite as old as the village. It was organized first, on Oct. 17, 185 1, under the direction of Alton Presbytery, by Revs. E. B. Olmsted and Robert Stewart, in the parlor of Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Child, with four- teen members. Mrs. Child was one of the fourteen, herself a thorough Scotchwoman and Presbyterian, born in Edin- burg, and brought up on oatmeal and the Shorter Catechism,, which she can repeat verbatim, at past sixty years of age. .Her house has ever been a preacher's home, and her daugh- ter Sarah, as well as herself, a great help to the church. At this first organization, Steele Cunningham and John Mort- land, sr., were chosen elders. The former, after a few years, died. " Father " Mortland, as he is now familiarly called, still lives and continues, as he has done, to serve the church, though past eighty 3-ears of age. For many years the church had no other elder; and always he and his sons have been a large part of the financial strength of the church. The Hardin church is another plant from Scotch- Irish seed. From the spring of 1852, on for 430 PRE3BYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. three years, the chUrch had the services of Rev. Joseph E. McMurray as stated supply. Later they had the services of Rev. Loring S. WiUiams for a short time, and during the year 1865, Rev. Horatio N. Wilbur. Then they were without any minister, and had only very occasional preaching until March 26, 1871, when H. P. Carson, a licentiate of Alton Presbytery, sent by the Home Missionary Committee, began laboring among them and extended his efforts to six other points in the county. In the meantime the church records had been wholly lost, and deaths and removals had reduced the membership to four souls, including the only elder remain- ing. They had hitherto no exclusive house of worship, but had helped to build a house for both school and church pur- poses, which they shared with the public school. After Mr. Carson had gathered a congregation and preached a few months, it was found nine persons wished to unite with the church. Accordingly, Rev. A. T. Norton, D. D., came and spent a few days preaching and administering the ordin- ances, and with the consent and advice of the elder, recon- stituted the church, receiving into fellowship those who wished, and restoring the membership to the original num- ber, lacking one. This was on August 12, 1871. October 29, of the same year, three more members were received, when Rev. C. S. Armstrong, of Alton, was present with the church and administered the ordinances, Mr. Carson assist- ing. On the same day the church chose Robert Sibley for an additional Ruling Elder. Dr. Armstrong often afterwards came to aid the preacher in charge, and it was chiefly through God's blessing on his labors in a revival that the church ex- perienced an awakening which permanently and greatly effected the whole village and vicinity during the first months in 1875. The church, on March 31, 1872, called H. P. Carson to become their pastor. The call was accepted and he duly ordained at an adjourned meeting of the Presbytery with congregation, July 21, 1872. In the meantime Mr. B. F. Child, on his dying bed, had given the church a lot on which to build a house of worship ; so that through the persevering efforts of the pastor-elect, and the earnest and generous contributions and prayers of the mem- bers, the congregation and their friends generally, irrespective of creed or denomination, the church was able to present for dedication on the same day a beautiful, modern and tasteful house to the Lord, all furnished, even to a large fine bell. (The HARDIN CHURCH. 43 I last was secured through the voluntary and generous efforts of the late Captain Stephen Child, son of Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Child, who secured in addition to his own the more than sufficient contributions.) The 2ist day of July, 1872, was a memoriable day to the Presbyterian church of Hardin, and to the village and vicinity generally. Every body was pres- ent, even Roman Catholics and infidels, and some from twenty miles in the country. The dedicatory services occurred at 1 1 a. m., just after the Sabbath school session. Dr. Norton preached the dedicatory sermon. After very generous contributions from the congregation, including every member of Presbytery present, if not every body else, which cleared all financial obligation. Rev. C. S. Arm- strong led in the dedicatory prayer. The ordi- nation services occurred in the afternoon. Rev. W. L. Tar- bet preached the sermon. Rev. S. H. Hyde gave the charge to the pastor after the laying on of the hands of Presbytery. Rev. W. R. Adams gave the charge to the people. The day closed leaving the church, for the first time in its over twenty years' history, in the possession of a home duly dedi- cated to the worship of the Triune God, and a pastor duly set apart for His and their service. Rev. H. P. Carson remained their pastor until April 20, 1879, on which da}' he preached his farewell sermon. The pastoral relation by con- current request having been dissolved by Presbytery. He went to take charge at once of the Presbyterian church ofTaylor- ville, 111. During his pastorate of eight years, the Sabbath school grew in membership from forty to one hundred and fifty; in average attendance from over twenty to eighty; a Sunday school teachers' meeting was steadily and regularly maintained after the first year. There were added to the mem- bership of the church, sixty-three; forty-nine on profession and fourteen by letter. Only two died, but nineteen moved away. The ordinance of baptism was administered to fifty- one persons including infants. The second additional elder, Morris Fisher, was chosen Sept. 27, 1874. For years he has been superintendent of the Sabbath school, a great help to the church financially and spiritually, and growing in efificienc}'. The fifth and last ruling elder, up to this date, is L. M. Brady, who was elected Sept. 9, 1877. One having died, the church is now left with four living, active elders. H. P. Carson. 432 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. David Dimond was born at Groton, N. H,, April 26, 1S19. He was an only child. His father died when he was but four years old. He was brought up on a farm until he was. fifteen years of age. He united with the Congregational Church in Brighton, Mass., Feb. 8, 1835. Fitted for college at Andover, Mass. Graduated at Dartmouth College, 1842, and at Andover Seminary, April 8, 1845. Licensed by Andover Association April 8, 1845. Ordained by St. Louis Presbytery in St. Louis, April 21, 1846. Supply pastor at Troy, Mo., until Nov. i, 1850, when he went to Collinsville, 111., where he labored four years. United with Alton Presby- tery first, April 17,-1852. Professor of Latin and Greek in Webster College, Mo., ten miles west of St. Louis, and sup- ply pastor of Rock Hill church 1855-59. His next field was Brighton, 111., where he remained untill 1865. Then to Shelbyville and next to Anna, Union county. 111. From thence he returned to Brighton and was installed pas- tor there. This position he still retains. He re- ceived the degree of D. D. from his Alma Mater, Dartmouth College, July 21, 1870. Seldom has this honor been better deserved. I have occasion to know its bestowal was not only unsought, but took him entirely by surprise. He pos- sesses that virtue so rare in these latter times — modesty. In one of his letters to the writer he caps the climax of his low estimation of himself by signing his name " david dimond" ! A {&\v of his intimate associates and friends understood and appreciated his scholarly attainments, his great ability and rare worth. Among these were Drs. Artemas Bullard and Henry A. Nelson. With talents and acquirements sufficient for the highest stations, he has occupied, for the most part, only the humblest. His life has been full of deep affliction. He has buried one wife and all his children. For several years past he has been nearly blind. But he still pursues his ministerial labors, drawing upon the resources of a thor- oughly disciplined and well-stored mind. His first wife was Miss Augusta Coffin, born at Hanover, N. H., Oct. 25,1822. She was united to Mr. Dimond, August 8, 1848. Her death occurred at Brighton, Sabbath July 30, 1871. She was an intelligent, accomplished, lovely Christian lady, and amidst much ill health acted well her part. She was the mother of five children, none of whom remain. Oct. 8, 1872,. Dr. Dimond married his second wife, Mrs. Mary W. Waldron,. daughter of Stephen Wingate, M. D., formerly of Great MEETING OF PRESBYTERIES. 433 Falls, N. H. She still lives and is an exemplification of Mary and Martha combined. Alton Presbytery met at Alton, Sept. i6, 1852. Henry D. Piatt was received from the Illinois Association. T. B. Hurlbut was installed pastor of Upper Alton church, Sept. 19, 1852, by a committee of Presbytery. An adjourned meeting was held with Spring Cove church, October 17, at which Wm. T. Bartle was ordained, sine titnlo. Henry Button Platt was born at Plymouth, Conn., July 13, 1823. He- was educated at the Mission Institute, near Quincy, 111., and at New Haven Divinity school. He was ordained by the Illinois Association at Griggsville, 111., April 13, 1851 ; supply pastor Brighton Presbyterian church, 1851-57; united with Alton Presbytery, Oct. 17, 1852; sup- ply pastor Chesterfield, Macoupin county, 1858-68; Home Missionary Superintendent ( Cong'l ) for Southern Illinois, 1868-71 ; supply pastor Congregational church, Lincoln, 111., 1871. Is now residing at Brighton, and supply pastor of the Congregational church in that and one other place. He married Miss Sarah E. Stratton, of Brighton, 111., Feb. 5, 1852. They have two danghters and a son. William T. Bartle was born at Mullica Hill, Gloucester county, N. J., Feb. 17, 1822. Educated at Knox College, 111.; licensed by Alton Presbytery, at Troy, 111., April 16, 1852. Dismissed from that Presbytery April 22, 1854. Has labored since at Knoxville, Wethersfield, Chicopee, Congregational churches. 111., and at Camp Point, 111., Lapeer and Decatur, Presbyterian churches, Michigan, His first wife died in her twenty-first year. He married the second time, and has eight children. He has been blessed with sound health and been a very laborious, earn- est, successful minister. He is now, 1879, in Cromwell, Iowa. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Keokuk, Iowa, Sept. 22, 1852. The Presbytery of Des Moines was divided into three, and the Assembly requested to organize a Synod of Iowa, n. s. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Peoria, Oct. 14, 1852. Members were present from six Pres- byteries. Much time was occupied in discussing the sub- jects of theological education and of religious papers. 27 CHAPTER XI. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 85 3 TO 1857, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND THE MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS HERE WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities : As in pfevious chapter. YEAR 1853, Illinois Presbytery met at CarroUton, April 14, 1853, John G. Rankin, minister, and C. R. Wells, elder, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meet- ing was held at Winchester, Scott county, commencing Sep- tember 8. C. E. Blood and Thomas Lippincott were re- ceived from Alton Presbytery, and Rufus Nutting, jr., on evidence of his ordaination by an Ecclesiastical Council. Rufus Nutting was born in Randolph, Vt, September 28, 1823. His father was of English descent and his mother Scotch-English, both Calvinistic and orthodox, after the New England style. He graduated at the Western Reserve College in Northern Ohio, and took a full divinity course in the Theological Seminary at that time connected with the same college. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Por- tage in 1847. From 1849 to 1852 was pastor of the Congre- gational church at Ravenna, Portage county, Ohio, under the then existing plan of Union. In 1853 he was called to the professorship of Latin and Greek languages in Illinois Col- lege, at Jacksonville. After thirteen years' service in that ca- pacity he resigned on account of impaired health, and removed to Indianapolis, Ind., and was engaged there in business, preaching occasionally, till 1876, when he was elected to the chair of Latin and Greek languages in Blackburn University at Carlinville, 111. That post he still occupies. He was married in 1849 to Margaretta L. Hurd, of Detroit, Mich. He has six children, all living — Millicent M., born KASKASKIA AND WABASH PRESBYTERIES. 435 1850; Margaretta Caroline, born 1852; William Hurd, born 1854; Charles Cleveland, born 1858; Helen Louise, born 1864, and Annie Scudder, born 1867. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Nashville, April ■8, 1853. A Committee was appointed to install B. F. Spil- man pastor of Shawneetown church on the second Friday •of June next. William Hamilton, minister, and Amzi An- drews, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. 'C. D. Martin was received from the Presbytery of Palmyra. The fall meeting was held at Hillsboro, Octo- ber 7, D. A. Wallace, from the Presbytery of Palestine, and Peter Hassinger, from that of Red Stone, were received. Arrangements were made for the installation of James Staf- ford over Sugar Creek church, October 23. Peter Hassinger was born in Delaware ; studied theolo- gy at Princeton in 1823-24; ordained in Gravel Run church, Pa., October, 1828; supply pastor in Evansburg, Hammonds- burg and Northbank, 1832; pastor, Clayville, Pa., 1837; pas- tor, Unity, Pa., 1839; Waynesburg and Newton, 1845-49; Somerset, Jenner and Petersburg, Pa., 1851-52; Edwardsville, Staunton, Rattan Prairie, 111., 1853-57; Sugar Creek, 1857- 60. Postoffice address, Aviston, 111. Wabash Presbytery met with New Providence church, April 21, 1853. Bethel church, in Crawford county, and Eb- enezer, in Richland, were received. Hiram Franklin Tay- lor was received from the Presbytery of Kingston. C. H. Palmer was elected Commissioner to the next Assembly. The fall meeting was held with Trinity church, Edwards county, commencing October 13. Bethel Church, Crawford county, was organized by Joseph Butler in 1853. John Duncan and William Delzell, elders. It was near where Duncanville now stands. Mr. Butler visited them a few times, and they were then left to starve. Their names were — A. D. Delzell, Mrs. M. E. Del- zell, William Delzell, Mrs. M. I. Delzell, L. B. Delzell, John 43^ PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Duncan and Mrs. S. M, Duncan. There were three others,, making ten in all. Most of them connected with Palestine church, August 27, 1857, and were afterwards setoff to Beck- with Prairie church. Ebenezer Church was organized by Joseph Butler early in 1853, probably in Richland county. Robert Delzell an elder; ten members. It was reported in 1854-55 with ten members; in 1856 with eight; in 1857 with ten. After that was not reported. It was one of those bantlings, born and left to perish. I have found no one who knows with cer- tainty where its location was. Hiram Franklin Taylor preached awhile to New Prov- idence church, Edgar county, 111. Died in 1855, being at the time a member of Des Moines Presbytery. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Paris, April 7, 1853. John A. Steele, minister, and John Y. Allison, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. D. A. Wallace was dismissed to the Presbytery of Kaskaskia ; John Crozier to Presbytery of Cedar, and P. W. Thomson and James Cameron to that of Schuyler. The fall meeting was held at Grand- view, commencing October 15. H. I. Venable was received from the Presbytery of Crawfordsville. The Presbytery of Sangamon met in Jacksonville, April I, 1853. G. McKinley, minister, and E. R. Wiley, elder, were elected to the Assembly. The fall session was held with North Sangamon church, commencing Sep- tember 8. The Presbytery of Alton met at Brighton, April 21, 1853. George C. Wood was received from the Presbytery of Marshall, Mich. Samuel R. H. Wylie, licentiate, was re- ceived from the Sangamon Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. John Gibson was released from the pastoral care of the Plum Creek church. A. T. Norton and PRESBYTERY OF ILLINOIS. 437 William H. Bird, ministers, and A. L. Saunders and William P. Pitman, elders, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The Missionary Committee made a report cov- ering one year and seven months. In that time they had re- ceived one thousand and twenty-three dollars and expended •one thousand and twenty-nine dollars. Two missionaries had been sustained all the time on the field, and one other for a short period. The church of Caledonia was received. The fall session was held at (Old) Ducoign, commencing .September 15. The church of Van Burensburg was united with that of Mulberry Grove. William H. Bird, having been previously dismissed from the pastorate of Vergennes church, was installed over the church of Old Ducoign. J. E. Mc- Murray was dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler. Caledonia Church, Pulaski county, was organized by E. B. Olmsted, July 6, 185 1, with five members, George Havvpe, •elder. It has had but a sickly existence. Louis Jaccard was an elder in 1876. He is now dead. The church has a frame house of worship, though much out of repair. It last re- ported twelve members. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., held its annual meeting at Belleville, commencing September 20, 1853. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Macomb, October 13, 1853. This Synod, as now constituted, embraces all the State of Illinois, except the Presbytery of Palestine, which is attached to the Synod of Indiana. year 1854. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Chatham, April 13, 1854. A. M. Dixon, minister, and John Kirkpatrick, elder, were appointed to the next Assembly. The fall session was held at Mechanicsburg, commencing September 8. George Pierson was received from Choctaw Presbytery. Mr. Pierson, being about to depart on a mission to Microne- sia, desired to form this ecclesiastical connection. The .church of Virden was received. 438 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. The Church of Virden was organized in the spring of 1 854 by a Commission of Illinois Presbytery, consisting of Revs. John G. Rankin, Josiah Porter and A. M. Dixon. Certificates were received from Mr. John I. Beattie, his wife, Lucy, and his daughter, Letitia, from the Presbyterian church of Carlinville ; from Mr. Rufus W. Loud, his wife, Jane, and his daughter, Elizabeth Jane, from the Presbyterian church of Winchester; from Mrs. Lucy D. Hardin and her daughter, Emily, from the Second Presbyterian church of Springfield, 111. These eight persons were organized into a church, to be known under the name of the " First Presby- terian church of Virden." John I. Beattie and Rufus W. Loud were chosen elders. The church was sup- plied with the ministry of the Word from the summer of 1854 until May, 1859, by ministers from Jacksonville, Spring- field, Chatham, Carlinville and Waverly. In May, 1 859, the Rev. William L. Tarbet, from Giles county, Tenn., began his ministy to this church. In the spring of i860 Mr. Tar- bet was installed pastor and continues such until this present. The church had about forty members at the time of Mr. Tarbet's becoming their pastor. Since that time there have been received to the communion one hundred and fifty members. At this date, April, 1879, we report only one hundred and twelve members. During the past twenty years, eleven members have died, and twenty-nine have been dismissed. Within this pastorate I have baptized eighty-one infants and forty adults. A movement was made towards erecting a house of worship in the autumn of 1856. Messrs. R. W. Loud, John I. Beattie and O. Cnaffee were appointed a building Committee. A loan of five hundred dollars was obtained from the Church Erection Fund. The house was completed in the winter of 1857, ^^^ dedicated March 24, 1858. Rev. W. D. Sanders, D. D., preached the sermon, and the Rev. W. G, Gallaher offered the dedicatory prayer. The total cost of the building was four thousand dollars. When I became the pastor of this church it had rest- ing upon it a debt of twelve hundred dollars, which was daily increasing by accumulating interest. The pastor and one of his elders, R. W. Loud, resolved to remove this bur- den ; to do which they assessed each member a certain amount, to be paid in three annual installments. Having made the assessment and ascertained it would just re- move the debt, they called the members together and told ROBERT M. ROBERTS. 439 them what they had done, and asked them to ratify it, which the\' most generously did. Since then we have owed no man anything but to love. The present elders are John I. Beattie, Nathan Johnson, G. W. Simons, W. Wilder and R. Ball. Ours is the rotary eldership. William L. Tarbet. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Hillsboro, Feb. i6, 1854, received R. M. Roberts from the Presbytery of New Albany, and installed him pastor of the Hillsboro church. Robert M. Roberts was born in Jonesboro, Washington county, Tenn., May 22, 1823. His father's name was Thomas O. Roberts and the maiden name of his mother Jane Mitchell. His father was of Welsh descent and his mother Scotch- Irish — both Presbyterians. He received his collegiate edu- cation at Washington College, East Tennessee, under the presidency of Rev. A. A. Doak ; his theological education at Northwest Theological Seminary, when located at New Albany. He was licensed Oct., 1848, at Paris, 111., by the Presbytery of Palestine, and commenced his min- istry at Bedford, Ind., where he labored four years. He was married Aug. 28, 1850. to Mary R. Monfort, daughter of Rev. David Monfort, D. D., then pastor of the church at Franklin, Ind. In the fall of 1849, he was ordained to the ministry by the Presbytery of New Alba- ny. In the fall of 1852, he accepted a call from the church of Hillsboro, where he was pastor seven years. Whilst there he organized the churches of Butler and Litch- field and supplied them as he could. He at the same time supplied the church of Waveland occasionally. Oct.. 1859, he accepted a call to become the pastor of the church at Litchfield, and preached there nine years. In the fall of 1868, he removed to Areola, and supplied the church there five years. Then he accepted a call to the church of Pana, 111., and is now in his sixth year there. He has three children' buried at Hillsboro, Ills., all of them hav- ing died in infancy. He has a son and daughter still living, T. M., in the hardware business at Nokomis, 111., and Alma P., at home with her parents. 440 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Shawneetown, April 14, 1854. The licentiate, James A. Ramsey, surrender- ed his license, from want of health, to labor as a preacher. The surrender was accepted. The church of Pocahontas was received.* Elm Point church was received. A committee was appointed to look after the history of the churches in this Presbytery. James Stafford, minister, and J, F, Spilman, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. Cave Spring church was received. Arrange- ments were made for installing D. A. Wallace over Nashville church on the i6th of next June. The fall meet- incf was held at Cack'le, Oct. 6. Daniel Steele, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Marion. T. W. Hynes was appointed Stated Clerk in place of B. F. Spilman. Pocahontas Church was organized March 19, 1854, by T. W. Hynes with eleven members, W. K. Mount, elder. It was dissolved by Presbytery Sept. 18, 1866. It accomplished nothing. Elm Point Church was organized Nov. 5, 1853, by Wm. Hamilton and Elder John Denny, with these members : George Denny, Mary McCaslin, Margaret Black, Jane Black, Anthony Hill, Josiah T. McLain, Robert Armstrong, Wm. McCaslin, Eliza Hill, James Wafer, Violet E. Alexander, Wm. N. Donnell. Elders : George Denny, Anthony Hill and William N. Donnell. Ministers : Wm. Hamilton, John 5. Howell, T. W. Hynes ; James H. Spilman, commenced August, 1S75 and still continues. Elders besides the first three: John A. A. McNeely and Thomas Wafer, Jan. 12, i860. Claudius L. Herndon and Joel S. Preddy, April 29, 1877. The house of worship was erected in 1856, and cost about ;^i,500. It was built by themselves. There is a cemetery in the same lot. The location is near the south line of S. W. quarter, of S. E. quarter of Sec. 6, T. 6, R. 3. Rev. T. W. Hynes, married Elizabeth Wheeler, a member of Elm Point church, Dec. 8, i860. *A church of "Pocahontas" was received by this Presbytery at its session in Shawneetown, April, 1848. But it muse have died, and been forgotten; for now a new cliurch of the same place and name is received. CAVE SPRING CHURCH. 44 1 Cave Spring Church, in southwest part of Randolph "County, was organized Nov. 25, 1853 v/ith these fifteen mem- bers: H. H. McLaughHn, J. H. McLaughhn, Thomas Kelley, Ehzabeth Kelley, James Clelland, Isabella Clelland, Permelia McLaughlin, David Carson, Susanna Carson, Adam Parkhill, Jane Parkhill, James McLaughlin, Elizabeth McLanghlin, John McLaughlin, John Parkhill and N. E. McLaughlin. Elders: H. H. McLaughlin, at the time of organization. Since, Thomas Kelley, W. H. Brenneman, Robert Brown, W. H. Bilderback, James F, Bilderback, E. P. Bilderback. The last three are the present elders. Ministers : A. A. Morrison, W. H. Templeton, nine years; J. C. Wagaman, ■one year ; W. H. Templeton, again for three years ; A. W. Wright, one year; Samuel Pettigrew, one year; J. S. Davis, two years; W. H. Templeton, the third time, is still the supply. Neither of these ministers have spent with this church more than about one-fourth of the time. It is entirely a country church, and has had several different places of worship. The second was in Sec. 28, T. 7, R. 5 W. In 1872 it was Mt. Summit school house. In 1877, it was fixed at Spring Vale school house and there continues. This church has now sixty members. Its post office is Rockwood, Randolph county, III. The Presbytery of Wabash met with the church of Long Point, April 7, 1854. E. Kingsbury, minister, and Wm. M. Allison, elder, were elected to attend the Assembly, The fall session was held with the Liberty Prairie church in Piatt county, Oct. 4, 1854. H. F. Taylor •was dismissed to the Presbytery of Des Moines. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Charleston, Coles county, April 20, 1854. John Crozier was received from the Presbytery of Cedar. The Presbytery determined to apply to the Assembly to be restored to the Synod of Illi- nois. R. H. Lilly, minister, and J. Y. Allison were ap- pointed to the Assembly.' The church at Martinsville was received. Arrangements were made for the installation of Samuel Newell, pastor of Paris church on Sabbath, May 28, prox. R. A. Mitchell was ordained, sine titulo, Sabbath, April 23, 1854. The North Arm church, was dissolved and 442 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the members remaining attached to Paris church. The records of the Presbytery were examined by the Synod of Indiana, at New Albany, Oct. 2i, 1854. Samuel Newell, D. D. — By Mrs. Martha A. Venable — He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 23, 1811. His parents were American and true Presbyterians. His father was for many years an elder in the First church, Cincinnati. His mother was a woman of no ordinary piety. His primary edu- cation was obtained at the schools in Cincinnati. His col- legiate education af ' South Hanover, Ind., where he gradu- ated in 1835. He studied theology at the same place under Drs. Matthews and McMaster. He was licensed by Salem Presbytery in April, 1837. He labored first as a Presbyte- rial missionary in the bounds of Salem Presbytery. In 1841, he removed to Cincinnati where he had been called as co-pas- tor with Joshua L. Wilson. He had not occupied that posi- tion long before he was called to Lebanon, Ohio, where he was pastor for nearly twelve years. In the spring of 1853 he took charge of the Paris church, 111., which position he occu- pied for eighteen years. April 6, 1 837, at Livonia, Ind., he married Miss C. D. D. Martin, daughter of Rev. VV. W. Martin, one of Indiana's early ministers, having removed to that state from Kentucky in 18 18. The ceremony was performed by Rev. W. A. Holiday, of Indianapolis. They were blessed with nine children, six sons and three daughters. Henry A., born July, 1838, is a Presbyterian minister, and has charge of Rochester church, Minn. ; William M., born Aug., 1841, is an M. D. ; Samuel R., born 1843, died in 185 1.; John Morrison, born 1845, also an M. D.; Susan M., born Feb. 4, 1847; Louisa C, born Feb. 16, 1849, died 1858; Rob- ert M., born 1851, also an M. D. ; Emma B., born Jan. 16, 1853; Samuel, born Aug. 19, 1858. Of this large family all that are living, excepting one, have assumed for themselves the vows taken by their parents. Samuel R. died of that dread disease, cholera, only a few hours from his infantile play to the embrace of death. Little Louie was sick eight weeks. At first she was afraid of death, but having given herself to Jesus, she looked calmly into the opening tomb. Mrs. Newell went to her heavenly home April i, 1870. She was everything included in the names wife and mother. She was an helpmeet for her husband. His heart ROBERT A. MITCHELL. • 44J safely trusted in her. My first acquaintance with Bro. Newell was in the summer of 1834 at South Hanover, where he was a student. He was always a ready speaker, often making addresses on temperance in neighborhoods around South Hanover. The Sabbath-school cause shared largely in his efforts. But Bro. Newell's peculiar fort was in the pulpit. I never knew any one who, in times of adversity and bereavement, could so enter the feelings of the afflicted. He fell asleep Sabbath morning, June 22, at about eight o'clock, 1879, at his home in Paris, 111. He was- buried the next Tuesday from the church. The sermon was preached by his successor, Rev. R. D. Van Deursen, to an immense congregation. Robert A. Mitchell was born near Jonesboro, Wash- ington county, E. Tenn, April 6, 1829. His father, James A. Mitchell, was elder in the church of Jonesboro ; and both parents were of strong Calvinistic predilections. They came to what is now the city of Charleston, Coles county, 111., in the fall of 1833. It was the memorable fall of what was called the star-falling. He was the eldest of a family of ten, and was the first to discover, from the door of the tent, that strange and exciting phenomenon. The inhabitants of the neighborhood all came to the encampment, some of them frantic with alarm, declaring that the judgment day had come. After remaining some years in Coles county, and giving as- sistance in opening a farm on the prairie, he was sent back to attend college in his native State, at Washington College, Washington county, then, and for fifty years previous, under the control of the Doaks. During his college course, and while at home on a visit, he was received under the care of the Presbytery of Palestine, in session at Paris, 111. The first question asked him on his examination was, whether he could count a hundred backwards! He had from yo.-.th a desire to preach; and this abiding desire, together with the hope of conversion, is all the account he gives of a call to the ministry. It has up to this date been his chief joy to preach. He formed, while at college, and even before, a strong aversion to the Calvinistic faith. His grandfather, who lived near the college, discovering this, took great care to satisfy his mind on these disputed points. He placed in his hands Dickinson on the "Five Points." This was read 444 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. -again and again with great care. The doctrine of human depravity, as discussed in that book, gave him the first in- sight into these doctrines of grace. Even after this he was regarded as radical, and often called the Presbyterian Meth- odist— Presbyterian, from his Calvinistic views, and Metho- dist for his loud preaching. He took a regular course at the Theological Seminary, New Albany, Ind. (now the Northwest Theological Seminary of Chicago,) He was licensed by the Presbytery of New Albany, November, 1848. Ordained by Presbytery of Palestine, April 23, 1854. He was called to supply the church of Charleston, the home of his parents and man^p- kindred. This was November, 1848. He supplied this church and the church of Pleasant Prairie for about five years. He then took charge of the churches of Oakland and Hebron (Ashmore postoffice) for three years. He then was recalled in 1856, and regularly installed over the church of Charleston, where he continued pastor until near 1870. At the close of this pastorate, by far the happi- est of his life, he accepted a call to supply the church of Kansas, 111. He served this church eight years, and then, and up to this date, November, 1878, supplied the churches of Chrisman and Redmon, both of Edgar county, 111. He has since included Casey, Clark county, in his field. He was married to Miss Ann E. Roberts, a native of East Tennessee, in March, 1849. Their living children are the following: Allison McDonald, aged twenty-six ; Eliza Jane, aged twenty-four ; James Thomas, aged twenty-two ; Henry Steel, aged nineteen; Robert Allen, aged thirteen; David Nelson, aged ten. Martinsville Church, Clark county, was organized Nov. .26, 1853, with nineteen members. Elders: Milton Eckley, T. B. McClure and E. F. McClure. This church has gone down, the last remaining member having united with the Casey church. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Paris, October 14, 1854. Samuel C. Baldridge, licentiate, was received from Madison Presbytery, examined and ordained on Sabbath, ■October 15, 1854. Union church on String Prairie, Okaw •church at Fillmore and Sullivan church were received. John SAMUEL C. BALDRIDGE. 445', A. Steele, minister, and David McCord, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. Samuel Coulter Baldridge was born at Eugene, Ver- milion county, Ind., August 6, 1829. His father, Rev. Sam- uel Baldridge, M. D., was of Scotch-Irish origin. His mother, Mary Coulter, was daughter of Jonathan Coulter, of Perryville, Ashland county, Ohio, a Western Pennsylvania elder. S. C. Baldridge graduated at Hanover College, 1849, and studied divinity at New Albany Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1853. He was led to the ministry from home influences and the spirit and example of a noble band of young men — his associates in college. He was li- censed by the Presbytery of Madison in the spring of 1853,. and ordained at Paris, 111., October 15, 1854. He has labored in Wabash and Friendsville churches, Wabash county, since 1853. Since i860 he has been also the responsible head of Friendsville Academy, an important and useful institution still in successful operation. He married Miss Jane Corrie, December 17, 1855. His children are Herbert Coulter Baldridge, born December 4, 1856, and Mary Bald- ridge, born November 9, 1865. Mr. Baldridge's residence- and address are Friendsville, Wabash county, 111. Union Church, Lawrence county, was organized June 17,. 1854, by John Crozier, with these members: William B. Leech, Mrs. Mary Leech, Miss Martha Ann Leech, Joseph M. Grimes, Mrs. Ruth Grimes, William T. Grimes, Lavina Grimes, Thomas Grimes, Winna Ann Grimes, William Good- man, Mrs. Susanna Goodman and Wickb Devonshire. Eld- ers : Joseph M. Grimes and William B. Leech. Other eld- ers: William Goodman, December 13, 1863; H.Kingsbury;. John N. B. Hardy and Henry Goodman, November 29, 1868; H. M. Wagner; J. B. McCord; J. C. Wagy. Ministers: W. H. Lilly; John Crozier; J. B. Saye; John Mack; Robert G. Ross, from 1870 to 1876; Thomas Smith took charge in 1876, and still continues. The church was organized at the house of William B. Leech, T. 4 N., R. 13 W., Sec. 17, N. W. quarter of the section. The meetings were held at first in pri- vate houses, and then in school houses until the present house of worship was built. It is in T. N. 4, R. 13 W., Sec. 44^ PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. 8, S. W. corner of N. W. quarter. It was dedicated October 2S, 1 868, and cost fifteen hundred and fifty dollars. Of this sum three hundred dollars was from Church Erection. Before the erection of the church, meetings were some times held at Prairieton, about one and an half mile north of Cler- mont. This church has received in all one hundred and seven members. Its present number is forty-four. Sullivan Church, Moultrie county was organized by H. I. Venable, July i, 1854, with eight members. William Martin, elder. This.^church went down entirely. Another, by the same name, was organized by Clarke Lou- don and Elder G. M. Thompson, April 23, 1870, with nine members. Elders : Andrew Martin and Alex. Walker. Another elder since appointed is Dr. J. C. Brooks. Clarke Loudon supplied this church a while. John Payson Mills fol- lowed in 1874. Since then it has had no regular supply. It has never had a house of worship of its own. Sangamon Presbytery met at Center church, near Farm- ington, April 7, 1854. N. S. Conkling, from the Presbytery of Newton, and T. M. Newell, from the Presbytery of Wash- ington, were recieved. R. V. Dodge, minister, and John Todd, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. Decatur church requested this Presbytery to unite with them in ask- ing the Assembly to transfer them from the Presbytery of Palestine, Synod of Indiana, to the Presbytery of Sangamon, Synod of Illinois, This request was granted by the As- sembly. The fall meeting was with Providence church, commencing Sept. 12. At a called meeting in Jack- sonville, Oct. 13, H. R. Lewis was received from the Rush- ville Cumberland Presbytery. Henry R. Lewis. Of his early life I can learn nothing. He united with Sangamon Presbytery from the Cumberland Church. He was with Taylorville church from June, 1858, till early in 1861. He organized the church of Assumption, May 7, 1859, and the Old School church of Pana, Feb. 25, i860, with twelve members. H. D. Brigham and Joseph Poor, were elders. In Pana he resided for over a year, and SAMUEL R. H. WYLIE. 447 preached in Short's old frame town hall, now Lawrence's. He also preached for the Prairie Home church. In 1862 he entered the army. In 1870-73 he was in Bonaparte, Iowa, as pastor elect. In 1874 he was in Grasshopper, Kan- sas. After that }'ear his name does not appear on the min- utes of the Assembly. Alton Presbytery met at Marine, April 20, 1854. Thomas H. Holmes, licentiate, was received. Wm. T. Bartle was dismissed to the Central Congregational Association. I\It. Vernon and Carbondale churches were received. The Mis- sionary Committee reported $658.27 raised, $702.83 disbursed, and the two Missionaries, Joseph Gordon and Robert Stew- art, employed. At an adjourned meeting held at Ducoign (old), Samuel R. H. Wylie was ordained. Samuel R. H. Wylie was born in Logan county, Ky., Nov. 28, 181 1. He was self-educated, having attended school but nine months. He was licensed in the Cumber- land Church, and labored in that connection two years in Virginia, Cass county. He was ordained by the Alton Presbytery as above. His first field under their care, was Pinckneyville, from which point he also supplied. Plum •Creek and Vergennes. He removed to Mt. Vernon, to take the charge of that church, in July, 1854. He was taken sick immediately after his arrival, and died Aug. ii, 1854. He was the father of six children, four daughters and two sons. The two eldest daughters, died in the faith. The sons are Christian men, and members of the Presbyterian •church, as are also their surviving sisters. Mrs. Wylie — Emily A. — IS a sister of Rev. W. H. Bird. She is now Mrs. Michael Tromly, resides in Mt. Vernon, 111., and is for the second time a widow. Mt. Verxon Church, Jefferson county, was organized Feb. 21, 1854, by Robert Stewart with these members: War- ner White, Eliza White, Juliana Gray, Louisa M. Bogan, George Mills, Hannah Mills, John C. Gray, Sarah A. Tanner, William D.Johnston, John S. Bogan. Elders : George Mills, Warner White, John S. Bogan. Other elders : Samuel Gib- 448 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. son, Jan. 2, 1870; William B. White, Jan. 2, 1870; Timothy Condit, April 29, 1 85 5, died April, 1S61 ; James F. Fitch j, Stephen B. Kelso, Dec. 1874; James M. Pollock, July 25, 1876. Ministers: Samuel R. H. Wylie, July 13, 1854, died Aug. II, 1854; Wm. H. Bird, 1855; Hillery Patrick, 1856,' Charles Kenmore, 1858; John Gibson, 1858; R. G. Williams, 1869-70; Gideon C. Clark, 1870-73; Solomon Cook, 1873-74; A. C. Johnson, 1874-76; M. M. Cooper, three months in 1876; Geo. B. McComb, 1876-78; J. J. Graham, June, 1878, who was installed Aug. 16, 1878, and still remains. In the interval between 1858 and 1869, the Presbytery's missionary, Joseph (jordon, paid them several visits. The organization took place in the house of Dr. John C. Gray. Their first place of meeting was Odd Fellows Hall,, the use of which was furnished them gratis. The present brick house of worship was erected in 1854-55, ^t a cost of about $4,000. The church is at this time in good condition.. Congregations increasing. It has had in all, eighty-seven members. C.-^RBONDALE Church, Jackson county, was organized Feb, 12, 1854, by Josiah Wood and Robert Stewart with five members; R. R. Brush, elder. Other elders: D. H. Brush, E. P. Purdy, D. N. Hamilton. Ministers : Josiah Wood, Wil- liam S. Post, Edward F, Fish, J. L. Hawkins. This congre- gation possess a good house of worship. The Presbytery of Alton met with Bethel church, Sept. 29, 1854. J. A. Ranney was released from the pastoral care of Belleville church, and John Gibson from that of Troy. John W. McCord was received from the White River Pres- bytery of the Cumberland Church. David Dimond was dis- missed to the Presbytery of St. Louis, and J. A. Ranney to that of ^Marshall, Mich. The church of Jonesboro was re- ceived. John W. McCord was born in La Fayette county, Ky., Nov. 25, 1800. He was self-educated. He was ordained in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, IMarch 8, 1828, and continued laboring in connection with that church in Mis- WILLIAM D. SANDERS. 449 souri and Arkansas until he united with Alton Presb}-tery. He remained in the bounds of that Presbytery, laboring at Richview and other places, until April, 1859, when he went into Southwest Missouri, and united with Osage Presbytery, n. s. That Presbytery was dissolved by the war. He then became connected with the Southern Presbyterian Church, and has continued to labor until this time in Central and Western Arkansas as an itinerant. His post office address in 1870 was Elgin, Jackson county, Ark., where he had his home with his youngest son, C. P. McCord. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Jacksonville, Oct. 5, 1854. That of Illinois, o. s., met at the same place Oct. il, 1854. The Presbyteries of Sangamon and Kas- kaskia both appointed committees this year to visit Alton, and see whether the way was open to establish there an Old School church. Both committees fulfilled their commission, but did not find the way open for the enterprise they contem- plated. YEAR 1855. Illinois Presbytery, met at Naples, April 13, 1855. Wm. D. Sanders was received from the Presbytery of Portage, Ohio. E. Jenny was employed as Presbyterial missionary for another year at a salary of five hundred dollars. Jo- seph M. Grout, minister, and Samuel Crawford, elder, were appointed commissioners to the next Assembly. The fall meet- ing was held at Carlinville, commencing Sept. 20, 1855. J* M. Sturtevant and Charles B. Barton were dismissed to the Morgan Association. Cyrus L. Watson was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler. " The Presbytery Reporter" was commended to the patronage of the churches. Presby- tery recorded its gratification at the recovery of the Black- burn fund, and the now promising prospect of building up a theological school at Carlinville in accordance with the orig- inal plan of Dr. Blackburn. William D. Sanders was born in Huron county, Ohio, October 2, 1821. After receiving his primary education he studied at Huron Institute at Milan, Ohio, and in 1845 grad- 28 450 PRESBYTERIANISxM IN ILLINOIS. uated at Western Reserve College. The next three years he was principal of Richfield Academy in Summit county. In 1848 he entered Hudson Theological Seminary. During his connection with the seminary he spent over a year in raising money to rescue the institution from financial difficulties. In this he was eminently successful. In 185 1 he married Miss Cornelia R. Smith, of Cleveland. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Portage, and took charge of the church of Ravenna, Ohio. Three years later he accepted the chair of rhetoric, elocution and English literature in Illinois College at Jacksonville, and performed its duties for fifteen years. In i864lie established the Young Ladies Athe- naeum, a school which has acquired considerable celebrity and received liberal patronage. He also organized and put into successful operation the Illinois Conservatory of Music. Besides these educational labors, he has often supplied the pulpits of Jacksonville, and was the regular supply of Pisgah church, Morgan county, for eight years. He has declined repeated calls to the pastorate of churches in Chicago and Cincinnati. He has been honored with the degree of D. D. He has five children, two of whom are college graduates. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Galum church. Perry county, April 13, 1855. J. L. Hawkins was dismissed to the Presbytery of Palestine. The church of Lively's Prairie was received. Robert M. Roberts, minister, and Joseph T. Eccles, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. Daniel Steele was ordained pastor of the Galum church, April 16, 1855. He now resides in Ran- toul, III. The fall meeting was held at Green- ville, Bond county, October 8. Samuel Pettigrevv was re- ceived from the Presbytery of St. Louis. Thomas W. Hynes was installed pastor of Greenville church, October 10. Lively's Prairie Church was organized December 16, 1854, with fifteen members. Elders : William Lively, the first; John Hood, in 1858; Robert Cunningham. The post- office was Sparta. It was dissolved by Presbytery, October II, 1864, and its members attached to Jordan's Grove. Samuel Pettigrew was born in Pennsylvania ; studied at Princeton and Allegheny Seminaries; labored at Red Mills, JOHN B. SAVE. 451 1^. Y., Carmel and Maline Creek, Mo. ; at Carlyle and San- doval, 111.; practiced medicine at Whitehall, 111. ; supply pas- tor at Cave Spring, Shiloh and Rockwood, 111. His home is in St. Louis, Mo. The Presbytery of Wabash met with Pleasant Prairie church, April 27, 1855. John C. Campbell, minister, and Andrew McKinney, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held with the Long Point church, commencing October i. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Palestine, April 5, 1855. John A. Steele, minister, and David McCord, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Friendsville, October 4, 1855. John B, Saye was received from the Presbytery of Indianapolis ; also John L. Hawkins from the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. John B. Saye. Of this man I have learned nothing, ex- cept through Rev. John Crozier. Saye located at Law- renceville and Pisgah in 1855. He had charge of these churches in May, 1858, when he and Mr. Crozier organized Hopewell church, about three and one-half miles north- west of Bridgeport. Having come nearly to the close of his usefulness in Lawrenceville and Pisgah churches, he seems to have favored this organization as a field for himself He gradually became entangled in a series of acts which led to a judicial process, and to his deposition from the ministry. He then took refuge in the Episcopal Church, and was or- dained a deacon by Bishop Whitehouse. He finally left them and died a few years ago in Springfield, in communion with the Methodists. In war times he was a pronounced " copperhead." The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Springfield, April 6, 1855. J. V. Dodge was dismissed from the church of Jacksonville. James Smith, D. D., minister, and J. F. Ber- :gen, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Springfield, com- 452 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. mencing Sept. 14. The Free Portuguese church of Spring- field was taken under the care of the Presbytery. Alton Presbytery held an adjourned meeting with the Monticello church, Jan. 18, 1855. "The church of Christ in Monticello " presented a request to come fully into connec- tion with the Presbytery, as a regular Presbyterian church. Their request was granted. Wellington W. Wells, licentiate^, was examined and ordained as pastor of Monticello church.. Wellington W. Wells was born at Hanover, Ohio, July 14, 1829. Parents moved from Connecticut to Ohio, in 18 10. Presbyterians. Educated at Marietta College, and at An^o- ver and Lane Seminaries. Licensed by Cincinnati Presby- tery in 1852. Ordained as above, Jan. 18, 1855, over the Monticello Presbyterian church. At a previous hour of the same day that church had come into full connection with Alton Presbytery. Mr. Wells was released from that charge, Sept. 29, 1855. After leaving Alton Presbytery, in 1858, he labored a large part of the time for several years with Wal- tham Presbyterian church. La Salle county, residing on his- farm which was in the parish. He was, however, at We- nona, 111., in 1866-67, and at Vandalia, 1867-68. He has been since at Buchanan, Mich. His labors with the Waltham congregation were very successful. He mar- ried Julia W. Skinner, 1854, at Marietta, Ohio. They have two children, Wellington S., born March 30, 1854, and David C, born July 29, 1857. Monticello Church, Godfrey post office, Madison^ county. 111, For several reasons peculiar importance at- taches to the history of this church. Hence I propose to give it fully enough for complete comprehension. In doing this I shall derive my materials from the " church manual compiled and published by an order of Session in i860," from the church records, from the records of the Presbytery of Alton, and, in relation to the church edifice, from the- records of Monticello Seminary. It was organized in the chapel of Monticello Female Seminary, Nov. 2, 1839, Rev. Theron Baldwin, who was then a member of Alton Presby- MONTICELLO CHURCH. 453 1:ery, presiding. I undoubtedly state the exact truth, when I say the pecuHar shaping of the church's constitution was ■due alone to Mr. Baldwin. The original members were these : Jabez Turner, from the Reformed Dutch Church, Kinderhook, N. Y.; Timothy Turner, Jairus Burt Turner, Ann W. Turner, Elizabeth Turner, from the Valatiaa, Kind- erhook, Presbyterian church, N. Y.; James Howell, Ann D'Hart Howell, Sarah Howell, from Reformed Dutch church, Beawenburg, N. Y.; Rufus G. Turner, Mary Ann Turner, from the First Presbyterian church, Matteawan, N. Y., Edwin B. Turner, Congregational church, Jacksonville, 111.; Catharine Ingham, Rebecca Ingham, Elizabeth Wil- kins, Mary E. Oilman, Calvin Godfrey, from the Presbyterian ■church, Alton ; John Mason, sr., from Congregational church, ■Castleton, Vt.; Elizabeth Howell, from Presbyterian church, j^ew Brunswick, N. J. Eighteen persons, twelve of whom were from Presbyterian churches, four from the Reformed Dutch, which is Presbyterian under a different name, and two ConCTresfationalists. With a Presbyterian organizer, .sixteen out of eighteen Presbyterian members, one would have expected a Presbyterian church. Martin Ash, Maria Ash, Susan W. Miles, Caroline W. Baldwin, Benj. Ives Gil- man, Philena Fobes, Huldah M. Sturtevant and Mary Marr, were received on examination. This constitution was adopted: "Art. (i) This church shall be called TJic •Church of Christ in Monticello. (2) The business of the church shall be transacted by a Session, consisting of the pastor (who shall be ex-officio, Moderator) and a certain num- ber of elders chosen by nomination. The elders shall hold their office no more than one year, at any one time, without .a re-election. Art. (3) The nomination of elders shall be made by the pastor, with the consent of the Session, not less than two weeks previous to the time for entering upon the duties of this office, and unless objections are publically made by at least two members of the church in regular standing, they are to be considered as elected. (4) In the reception of members, and all cases of discipline, a vote of the church shall be nec- essary to ratify the decision of the Session. Art. (5.) No .alteration shall be made in this Constitution or in the Con- fession of Faith, except by a vote of two-thirds of the mem- bers present at a regularly notified meeting for this purpose." Ecclesiastical history can scarcely furnish a match to this ! 454 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. According to Art. i, there was and could be in the village,, or precinct called Monticello, no church but this one. Ac- cording to Art. 2, when the church had no pastor, there could be no Session, for he was an essential part of it. The elders were not to be chosen by vote of members, but by nomination of pastor — Art. 3. Hence, necessarily, the elders were the creatures of the pastor. And when the church had no pastor, no elders could be appointed. By Art. 4,. the Session was deprived of all real authority. The Confession of Faith adopted consisted of nine Arti- cles, and was thoroughly orthodox and Calvinistic. The first elders put in office under this unique constitution were Timothy Turner and Benjamin L Gilman. Others, down to 1854. are as follows: Abijah W. Corey, 1841; Benjamin Godfrey, 1842; Nathan Johnson, 1845; John Mason, sr., 1846; George Smith, 1847. The ministers have been these : (i) Theron Baldwin, supply pastor from November 2, 1838, till November 22, 1840. October 4, 1840, the church invited. Mr. Baldwin to become their pastor, and instructed B. I. Gil- man and Timothy Turner to apply to Presbytery to have him installed. This was done, November 22, 1840. A. T. Norton, of Alton Presbyterian church, preachd the sermon, T. B. Hurlbijt, of Upper Alton, gave the charge to the pastor, and T. Lippincott to the people. It was a 56v;^/-installation — Presbyterial, inasmuch as Presbytery was consulted about it, and agreed to Mr. Baldwin's wishes as to the individuals to officiate, all of whom were co-Presbyters with himself — non- Presbyterial in that the constitutional questions were omit- ted. Nothing can be more farcical than Mr. B's. attempts to wear, and not to wear, the Presbyterian harness. The records of the Session during the whole of Mr. B.'s administration are very neatly kept in due Presbyte- rian form. From only a single entry would one suspect the church to be anything else than Presbyterian. "July 31, 1 841, Timothy Turner was appointed (by the Session) a del- egate to the Alton Presbytery on the ground that such dele- gates were received on certain conditions, by said Presbytery as corresponding members." The " conditions " referred to are contained in a plan of correspondence drawn up by Mr. Baldwin and foolishly adopted by the Presbytery of Alton at its fall session in Upper Alton, 1840. That "plan" is as follows: (i) "That we adopt the practice of receiving dele- gates, as corresponding members, from such Congregational MONTICELLO CHURCH. 455 and other churches within our bounds as harmonize with us in belief of the essential doctrines of Christianity, provided they are wiUing regularly to report to this body. (2) That such delegates have the right not only to speak, but also to vote on all matters which come before this body, except such as are strictly Presbyterial. (3) That we consent to act as an advisory council in all cases of reference which those asso- ciated churches may bring before us." At the fall meeting in 1867, these resolutions were repealed. But from the fall of 1840 to the fall of 1867, they were theoretically in force, though practically disregarded. The fact is, the Presbyterian system is complete in itself. All foreign elements engrafted upon it are so many excresences which have in the end to be cut off or out. Mr. Baldwin left in April, 1844. He was succeeded by Elisha Jenney until September, of the same year. George Pyk- followed and remained to his death, Jan. 22, 1846; Joseph A. Ranney from March, 1846, to Nov., 1847; William Homes frgm June, 1848, to June, 1850; Geo. M. Tuthill from Oct., 1850, till May, 1852; Charles Temple from June, 1852, till June, 1854. All the above ministers were connected with the Presbyterian Church save Charles Temple, and all with Alton Presbytery save Messrs. Temple and Homes. Monticello church was received by Presbytery, according to the terms of correspondence, May 3, 1842, and thereafter represented in Presbytery and Synod with as much regularity as any other church down to 1854. January 18, 1855, the Presbytery of Alton met with the ]\Ionticello church, 'fhat church presented a request to come fully into connection with Presbytery. The request was granted. Subsequently, but on the same day, Welling- ton W. Wells was by the Presbytery ordained pastor of that church according to Presbyterian usage. The church remained in this connection until Oct. 2, i860, when the following minute appears upon the Records of Presby- tery : " The Alton Presbytery have received certain pa- pers from the congregation at Monticello, in which they express their opinion that the relation subsisting between said Presbytery and the congregation ought to be dis- solved. The Presbytery express their regret that such a feeling should exist among those brethren with whom we have lived for years on terms of the greatest friend- ship. But as the papers inform the Presbytery, the church /las withdrawn from our body, we erase the name of 456 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS, the Monticello church from our roll." The manual of the Monticello church refers to this matter thus : "In 1855, the church united with the Presbytery of Alton, and remained in that connection till June, i860, when the Presbytery having ceased t€) co-operate with the A. H. M. Society, (with which this church had co-operated since its first organization and still preferred to co-operate ) it withdrew from Presbytery, and resumed its original independent condition." While under the care of Presbytery, the church was prosperous and united. For the first year W. W. Wells was their pastor. He was duly released frpm that charge by Presbytery, Sept. 29, 1855. In October, Rev. Albert Smith became supply pastor. He was called to the pastorate and installed by the Presby- tery of Alton, Nov. 22, 1856, and remained in that relation until his death, April 24, 1863. Mr. Smith did not withdraw from the Presbytery with his church. Very singularly the rec- ords of the church during the period of its connection with Presbytery cannot be foiuui. That they were duly kept there is no doubt. Such pastors as Messrs. Wells and Smith would not have neglected so vital a matter. Besides, they were before Presbytery, in the spring of 1856, duly examined and approved. In 1855, the church reported eighty members. In 1856, ninety-one; 1857, ninety-five; 1858, ninety-three; 1859, ninety-eight; i860, one hundred and eight. In 1857, Benj. Webster was added to the Session. Those six years nearly, of connection with the Presbytery, were years of union, peace and unmixed prosperity. In those years the church edifice was erected by the trustees of the seminary, " for the joint use of the Monticello Presbyterian congrega- tion " and the seminary, according to a plan, dated August 10, 1857, and signed by B. Godfrey and P. Fobes, on the part of the seminary, and B. I. Gilman and A. W. Corey, on the part of the congregation. The title to this property is with the trustees of the seminary. To trace the history of this church since its witlidrawal from Presbytery does not comport with the design of this book. While Mr. Smith lived it prospered. His wise and steady course kept the elements in repose. December 16, 1867, the first constitution of the church was essentially changed. Since that time, or rather since its withdrawal from the Presbytery, it has not been Presbyterian, whatever else it may have been or is. Upon the whole, the history of this church, since the death of Dr. Smith, has demonstrated the utter absurdity of attempting SAMUEL WARD. 45/ to build up an orthodox church which shall be z^;^-denomi- national. Drs. Baldwin and Smith were able men. Tlicy could hold a church to orthodox moorings by their indi- vidual power and Presbyterian connections. Lesser men, with no such connections, will surely fail. No church can live and grow and be useful without some distinctive and acknowledged system of doctrine and polity. Alton Presbytery met at Greenville, April 19, 1855. Sigmund Uhlfelder was received from the Presbytery of Franklin, Mo. James R. Dunn was dismissed to the Presby- tery of Peoria and Knox. A. T. Norton, minister, and Geo. T. Allen, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assem- bly. The fall meeting was held at Bunker Hill, •commencing Sept. 28. Samuel Ward, licentiate, was received from the Pataskala Presbytery, examined and ordained on Sabbath, September 30. W. W. Wells was released from the charge of Monticello church and W. H. Bird from that of the church of Ducoign. John Ingersoll was dismissed with a general letter. Sigmund Uhlfelder was born in Markt Lenkersheim, 'Bavaria, Sept. 28, 181 8. He was educated at Oakland Col- lege, Miss., and at Union Seminary. Ordained about 1853, by Third Presbytery of New York. Joined Alton Presby- tery as above, and served Marine church, Madison county. Was dismissed from Alton Presbytery, April 4, 1857. Then labored in Loganville, Sauk county. Wis., two years, and at Sherrill's Mount, near Dubuque, Iowa, three years. Since then he has resided in New York City, and been engaged in the book business. He is now, 1879, in Germany. About 1855 he married Elizabeth Winter. His ecclesiastical con- nection is still with the Fourth Presbytery of New York. Samuel Ward was born in Reading, Berkshire county, England, May 3, 1825. He was educated at Marietta Col- lege and Lane Seminary. Ordained by Alton Presbytery, -September 30, 1855. Was laboring at that time with the Pinckneyville and Vergennes churches. Dismissed to Wabash Presbytery, September 26, 1857, and supplied their churches 458 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. of Neoga, Pleasant Prairie and Unity. In 1866 he went to Vandalia, Owen county, Ind., and labored there about two years. September 26, 1868, he began with Claiborn church, Vincennes Presbytery, Sullivan county, Ind., and was in- stalled pastor within a year. Here, in sixteen months, he re- ceived fifty-six members, two-thirds of them by examination. By order of Vincennes Presbytery, a new church was formed from the members of Claiborn church in Clay county, called Howesville. With this new church Mr. Ward is still laboring. His wife is a daughter of Isham Purdy, formerly of Vergennes, Jacks9n county, 111., now of Ducoign. Mr. W. has said to me — " My wife was partly induced to accept my offer of marriage by the interesting account of my ordin- ation in the Presbytery Reporter. Thank you for that !" Rev. Josiah Wood officiated at his wedding, April 10, 1856. He has four children in this, and one in the other world. His postoffice address is Coffee, Clay county, Ind. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Vandalia, October 4, 1855. The principal measures of the meeting related to the completion of the effort to raise the Church Erection Fund, and the amount necessary to purchase the Presbyte- rian House in Philadelphia. Assessments for both those ob- jects were laid upon the several Presbyteries. The Church Extension enterprise, designed as supplemental to the oper- ations of the American Home Missionary Society, was heartily endorsed, and a Synodical Committee appointed to promote its interests. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Bloomington, October ii, 1855. Dr. Bergen reported that he had prepared a history of the Synod down to 1838. The Assembly was requested to erect a new Synod in this State, to consist of the Presbyteries of Chicago, Rock River and Schuyler, under the name of The Synod of Chi- cago. A charter for a Synodical College, to be located at Peoria, was presented to Synod, accepted and measures, taken to forward the enterprise. year 1856. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Manchester, April 17, 1856. The Presbyterial ^lissionary. Rev. Elisha Jenney, resigned on account of difficulties with the A. H. M. Society.. LITCHFIELD CHURCH. 459 In view of this resignation and its cause, the Presbytery put on record : " We cannot but be alarmed that the imme- diate occasion of his withdrawal is the unwillingness of the A. H. M. Society still to co-operate with ecciesiastical bod- ies in the missionary work as it has done for many years past. It now conies to this, that we must discontinue our itinerant missionary work or carry it forward in entire inde- pendence of that Society.'' The Missionary Committee were instructed to correspond with the Society, and in case they continued to refuse co-operation, to secure as soon as possi- ble the services of an able and efficient man to enter on this work, to be supported by this Presbytery, and to be entirely tinder its control. Thomas Lippincott, minister, and Samuel M. Rannels, elder, were appointed to attend the meeting of the Assembly. The fall meeting was held with Pisgah church, commencing September 19. Alvin M. Dixon was dismissed to the Presbyterian and Congregational Con- vention of Wisconsin. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Nashville, Wash- ington county, April ii, 1856. C. D. Martin was dismissed to the Presbytery of Upper Missouri. A. D. Wallace, min- ister, and Joseph T. Eccles, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. Litchfield church was received. The Stated Clerk, T. W. Hynes, was requested to write a history of the churches in the Presbytery. The Presbyterial Academy at Nashville was reported to be in a flourishing condition, under the charge of Alfred N. Denny, though in debt to the amount of fourteen hundred dollars. Litchfield Church, Montgomery county, was organized in the Methodist house, February 9, 1856, by Rev. R. M. Roberts and Elders Robert Paisley and J. T. Eccles, with these members : John M. Paden, Samuel A. Paden, James M. McElvain, Angelina A. INIcElvain, R. N. Paden, Illinois E. Paden, Polly M. Paden, Daniel P. Brokaw, Caroline Bro- kaw, Lydia Jane Crawford, Martha B. Crawford, Mrs. Isaac Skillman and Mrs. E. M. Bryan. * Elders : James ]\I. McElvain, Samuel A. Paden. Elders since appointed: E. R. WiUard, A. E. Scott, Edward Skelton, Dr. J. D. Smith, William Grubbs, G. M. Loughmiller, William M. Skel- 400 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ton, Daniel W. Taylor, C. M. Gilfillen. Minis- ters in the order of their service: P. S. Hassinger; B. H. Charles; S. B. Smith; D. R. Todd; R. M. Roberts, 1860- 68; A. S. Foster, pastor, 1869-71; S. Irvin McKee ; A. J. Clark; D. W. Evans, commenced April 7, installed May 12, 1878, and still remains. Before the erection of the present house, services were held in what was then known as " Cumming's Hall." The present house was erected about 1858, and cost about four thousand dollars. There have been received to the church about two hundred and forty members. ^. When the Session appointed a chorister, on a certain occasion, they expressed the hope that he " would sing a reasonable number of old tunes ! '' A member, who was neglecting public worship, gave as the reason for so doing, that the present supply voted for Abe Lmcoln for President. For other misconduct that member was afterwards excommunicated. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Hillsboro, Octo- bery 4, 1856. Blackburn Leffler was dismissed to the Pres- bytery of Indianapolis. A. A. Morrison was received from the Presbytery of Hocking. James Stafford was dismissed from the pastorate of the Sugar Creek church. The TJis- sionary Committee were directed to continue efforts to se- cure the services of a Presbyterial Missionary. Samuel Pet- tigrew was dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Louis. Wabash Presbytery met with New Providence church, Edgar county, April 25, 1856. Hillery Patrick was dismissed to the Presbytery of Alton. J. C. Campbell was elected Commissioner to the next Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Danville, commencing September 26. The Presbytery of Palestine met at York, 111., April 3, 1856. John Crozier, minister, and A. M. Vance, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The fall ses- sion was held at West Urbana, commencing October 9. N. S. Palmer was received from the Presbytery of Madison. Diffi- culti^es in the church at West Urbana led to an adjourned meeting at Paris during the Session of Indiana Synod at NATHAN S. PALMER. 46 1 that place, and also to another adjourned meeting at West Urbana, November 1 1. At this meeting the difficulties were finally adjusted. Nathan S. Palmer. By his daughter, jNliss Alice R. Pahner. My father began his life, ?^Iay 15, 1 821, in Highland county^ Ohio. He was the son of Thomas and Ruth Palmer, both- eminent for their Christian characters, and one of a large household of brothers and sisters. His mother died in 1844 ; his father in 1 861, aged eighty-two. He made the Christian profession at the age of twenty-one, in the Indian Creek church, near Logansport — the church of which his father, and for many years after his brother, Jonathan, were elders. The moral influences of his Christian home gradually turned his thoughts to the work of the ministry. Accustomed to meet difficulties, innured to toil, the embarrassments in the way of his education did not deter him from the purpose formed. At the age of twenty-three my father entered Han- over College and completed the usual course of study in 1848. His theological studies were pursued for a time at the New Albany Seminary, and completed under Dr. N. L. Rice in Cincinnati. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Madison, 185 1. He was ordained at New Albany, 1852. His first field of labor was at North Salem, in the Crawfordsville Presbytery. He then removed to Carpentersville and la- bored for a year. From Carpentersville he was called to New Washington, Clark county, where he spent three years,, until invited to take charge of the church of Grandview, 111., near Paris. Says a brother minister : " Here for two years he did the work of a pastor with great acceptance to the peo- ple and with successful results in the church. The enlargement of the congregation, the membership and all the moral forces of the church witnessed the approval of the Master. Forty mem- bers were received into this church at one time." More than one hundred additions to the church were made during his- pastorate here. In 1858, he was invited to take charge of the church at Brazil, Ind. He accepted the invi- tation and with his accustomed faithfulness and love for his work toiled on as long as health permitted. During his pas- torate here he labored almost incessantly for the building of a church edifice. Besides subscribing- all that he was able 462 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. to this house, on more than one occasion, when hands could not be obtained, he hauled brick, and assisted the carpen- ters in their work. It became apparent that this double labor and anxiety were more than he could long carry. Hence with a. view to resting and restoring his health, if possible, he removed to Franklin in 1863. For about seven years he engaged in the service of the American Tract Society. During the first five years of his labor for this cause, he preached as supply for several neighboring con- gregations, and by his labors aided to his fullest ability vari- ous young and struggling churches. He was married in 185 1, to-'Miss S. C. Young, daughter of Thomas D. Young, of Hanover, Ind. This lady is a niece of Rev. W. W. Martin, himself one of Indiania's pioneer ministers, and the father of seven sons and sons-in-law, who were preachers and missionaries in the Presbyterian Church, The children of N. S. and Susan C. Palmer, are William Martin, born Aug. 8, 1853; Alice Ruthela, born April 4, 1856; Charles Newell, born Oct. i, 1857; Kittie Emma, born Feb. 9, i860; Martha Margaret, born Oct. 29, 1 86 1, and Kattie Clare, born Aug. 10, 1866. Both of the sons died in infancy, but the daughters are all spared, we trust to become a comfort and support to their mother in her declining years. My father gently departed from his earthly home in Franklin, Ind., Tuesday morning, Nov. 25, 1873. From his funeral sermon preached by the Rev. S. E. Wishard, I make the following quotation : " His work of preaching was about done before I came to this church, hence I have known him more as a hearer. He' was one of those brethren to whom it is a privilege to bring the message of the gospel. He came to this house of wor- ship to feed on the word of God, not as a critic, but as one hungry and thirsty. His prayers, his words, his life, were helpful to this church and pastor. These he gave us as long as life remaimed. Knowing how he lived, you would scarcely ask how he died. Every one who has seen his life could anticipate the manner of his departure. A few hours before his death he said to me while at his bedside: * It is only to trust all, to resig)i all, nothing more is needed.' His de- parture was almost like a translation, so painless, apparently, and so instantly accomplished. He has gone a little before us. A faithful minister, a loving brother has ' fought the good fight ; kept the faith ' — has entered into rest to go no more NATHAN S. PALMER. 4G3 out forever." Says Rev. S. E. Barr, who was in- timately associated with my father in college and often in their ministerial works : " As a preacher of the Gospel, Brother Palmer was earnest, faithful and instructive. Lov- ing Christ, he loved to preach Christ, and many who heard the truth from his lips will bear testimony to his edifying and comforting expositions of the word of God." Every one who has ever spoken to me of my father, has noted several characteristics, which were so prominent as to have been remarked by his children, though they were all very young at the time of his death. His mildness and gentleness of disposition were noticeable. My mother says that upon only two occasions, during her twenty-three years of married life, did she see her husband "out of temper." His white heat of anger lost its ■earthly dross at the throne of grace, and became only a righteous hatred of wrong and a stronger determination to uphold and protect the right. From the time of liis conversion my father always laid aside as God had pros- pered him, a certain per cent, of his income for charitable purpose. He remembered every one of the Presbyterian Boards as they seemed to him of relative importance. Though he never omitted an opportunity to give religious instruction to the poor and needy, he deemed it his first duty to, as far as possible, relieve their physical wants. A third trait I would mention, namely, his effort and success in obeying Christ's command to keep " unspotted from the world." From every place or act of doubtful amusement, from every word of ridicule that might hurt the feelings, or injure in the slightest degree his neighbor's repu- tation, from every word or jest written or spoken, that tended €ven faintly to lower the tone of his own mind or that of another, from every transaction that was not perfectly hon- est and liberal toward others he carefully refrained. His whole life as witnessed day by day in my childhood has led me to believe that such a plane of beauty and purity of character as was reached by my father, can only be attained by those who are in constant communion with the Creator of all beauty and purity. At a called meeting of Sangamon Presbytery, held at Springfield, February 19, 1856, Antonio De Mattos was re- 464 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ceived from the Free Presbytery of Glasgow, Scotland. The regular spring meeting was held at Springfield, commencing May 4. J. V. Dodge, minister, and J. L. Lamb, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The Portuguese churches of Jacksonville and Springfield, under the care of the Free Church Presbytery of Glasgow Scotland, were, on applica- tion, received. The latter is to be known as the " Second Portuguese church of Springfield." The fall meeting was held with Irish Grove church, September 9. John H. Brown, D. D., was received from the Presbytery of West Lexington. Also Noah Bishop, from the Presbytery of Miami. James -Smith, D. D., was released from the pas- toral charge of the First church of Springfield, December 17, 1856, at a meeting of the Presbytery called for the pur- pose. John H. Brown, D. D., was born at Greensburg, Ky., March 26, 1806. He was religiously trained and educated. He studied theology under Rev. Dr. Clelland, and entered the ministry when about twenty-one years of age. He first served the church of Richmond, Ky., where he was minister for twelve years. He was then called to the McCord church of Lexington, where he also remained twelve years. He afterward supplied the Central church of Jacksonville, 111., for a year and an half. While there he received calls at the same time from Memphis, Tenn., and from the First church of Springfield. He accepted the latter, and remained in that field until June, 1864. He afterward supplied the FuUerton Avenue church of St. Louis. He was then called to the Thirty-first street church of Chicago, where he labored with great usefulness till his death, which took place February 23, 1872, in the sixty -sixth year of his age. He was a man of great pulpit-power. He had a clear, logical mind, and in deliberative assemblies few equals. He sus- tained himself in a discussion before Presbytery with that celebrated controversialist. Dr. Robert J. Breckenridge, and carried the decision of the question in his favor. He con- ducted the correspondence in the celebrated debate between Dr. Rice and Alexander Campbell with acknowledged abil- ity. Dr. Rice pronounced him one of the finest sermon- izers of his time. MISSIONARY REPORT. 465 Noah Bishop Avas born in Litchfield, Milton parish, in about 1809. He fitted for college at Goshen Academy, Ct., and graduated at Yale College in 1833. He preached sev- eral years for Union and West Union churches in Morgan county, 111. Went to Missouri in 1868 or 1869, and settled in Ironton, but had no ministerial charge. He died there, Sep- tember 22, 1869. He left one son — J. N, Bishop — who re- sides in Ironton, Mo., and two daughters. The name and address of the eldest daughter I cannot give. The youngest is Mrs. Belle Moser, of Ironton, Mo. The Presbytery of Alton met at Mt. Vernon, April 3, 1856. A. S. Avery was received from the Presbytery of Indianapohs, and Albert Smith from Tolland Association, Connecticut. The Missionary report was presented and adopted, and from it I here present the following extract : " Up to this time, or until Mr. Stewart's labors closed, the middle of January last, the Missionaries of this Presbytery- have acted under a commission from the A. H. M. S. Until two years past, their commissions have been co-extensive with our bounds. That Society has not only permitted them to labor under the direction of this body, but has repeatedly expressed their approbation of the arrangement, their full conviction of its utility, and their high satisfaction with its results. Now, however, for reasons best known to them- selves, they refuse to do this, and insist that every mission- ary should have certain specified places in his commission, where he is expected to confine his labors. At one of these he must reside — i. e., the Society has virtually aimed a death- bloiv at our Presbyterial Missions, At the same they are un- derstood to be extremely anxious to put into our field an agent of their own, to do lord, salary the work which your com- mittee have been doing for sixteen years gratuitously ; and to supersede, or transfer to their own hands, that pioneer work of exploration, of supplying destitutions, of organizing new churches and of nursing feeble ones, which has hitherto been the business of our missionaries. If we submit to this we come under the complete control of a Society out- side of our Church — we deprive ourselves entirely of the power of extension as a denomination — we may not even nurse our feeble churches without that Society's permission ; and we must be content to let the duty and the privilege of 29 466 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. extending Jesus Christ's kingdom over our wide borders, pass into the hands of a body over which we not only have no con- trol, but in the management of which we have no voice. Shall we submit to this ? Your committee say — No ! most emphatically. Our duty to our God — our own ministerial vows — our duty to the perishing around us, and our regard for our own beloved Zion, forbid it. Your committee therefore pro- pose to employ two missionaries under tJic sole and only direc- ttion of his Presbytery, with no commission from any other source save the Lord Jesus Christ, i. The Rev. E. Jenney, for one year from the first of January last, for five hundred dollars, and his necessary traveling expenses, to labor espe- cially as an evangelist, in strengthening our feeble churches. 2. Rev. J. Gordon, from the 24th of this month, on the same terms, to labor as a pioneer, and more especially on our lines of railroad. It is expected that, as opportunity serves, these two missionaries will co-operate, and render to each other mutual assistance. They will also furnish a full report of their labors, at least once a quarter, to be spread out before our churches in the columns of the Reporter. Presbytery will perceive that this involves an expenditure of from eleven to twelve hundred dollars. Of this amount two individuals now stand pledged for five hundred dollars. Mr. Jenney is employed on that foundation. The remainder must come from our own congregations. We have seven churches which are self-sustaining. The principal burden — if burden it can be called — will come on these seven churches. The Mis- sionary churches are bound by the commissions which their ministers hold, to take up a collection, annually, for the So- ciety which aids them. This we should expect them to do, and not to pay the collections, as heretofore, into the treas- ury of the Presbytery. We hope, however, and expect, that divers of their members will take such an interest in this Presbyterial Home Mission operation as to afford it a liberal support, and that without prejudice to the A. H. M. S. The plan now proposed by your committee involves no departure from our policy for sixteen years. But this re-affirmation of that policy is rendered necessary, by the altered course of the Society Our Presbyterial Missionaries will, as before, be under our sole and exclusive direction. Our operations will be twice as extensive as previously — two men being em- ployed instead of 07ie — and our collections and expenditures will be increased in a still larger ratio. We hesitate not to ALBERT SMITH, D. D. 467 rsay that the adoption of this scheme will secure for Home Missions from our field fully three times as much as has been raised in any previous year. To the two individuals — A. M. Blackburn and S. L. McGill — who have promised the five hundred dollars, our special thanks are due. It is their be- nevolence which makes the enlargement proposed practica- ble. At the same time not only is no harm done to the Home M: S., but a positive benefit. For if something be subtracted from what has hitherto been counted to their treasury, we virtually more than replace it by relieving them of the support of two missionaries ; and at the same time throw directly into their treasury the collections from all our Mission- ary churches." A called meeting was held at Car- bondale, June 17, 1856, and measures taken to establish Car- bondale College. Abraham S. Avery was born in East Lyme, Ct., 1792. He was not a graduate. Studied theology with a private minister. He joined Alton Presbytery, April 4, 1856. He la- bored some months with Metropolis church in Massac county, 111. He was dismissed from Alton Presbytery to that of Pataskala, Ohio, April 7, 1859. He died, very poor, at Law- renceburg, Ind., September 3, 1868, aged seventy-six. In 1870 the widow and two daughters were residing at the place of his death. He was thoroughly consecrated to the work of the ministry. Albert Smith, D. D., son of Henry and Phoebe (Hender- son) Smith, was born in Milton, Vt, February 17, 1804. After leaving school, till he was twenty-one, he wa§ engaged in a store in Vergennes. He then went to New York, with a view of engaging in the mercantile business as a pursuit for life. But finding no satisfactory opening, he went to Hart- ford, Ct., where he commenced a course of study prepara- tory to entering upon the profession of the law. During that winter — 1826-27 — ^^ experienced a change of heart, which also brought a change in his views of life, and led him to turn his attention to the ministry. From that time, with a view of qualifying himself for college, he spent sev- eral years in teaching, till he entered Middlebury College, Vt., in 1829, at which institution he graduated in 183 1. In 1835 468 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. he graduated also at Andover Theological Seminary, and in 1836, having been licensed by Andover Congregational As- sociation, he was ordained by a Congregational council, and settled as pastor over the Congregational church at Williamstown, i\Iass. Here he remained some three years, when, in 1839, he was called to the professorship of lan- guages in Marshall College at Mercersburg, Pa. Thence, in 1841, he was called to the chair of rhetoric and oratory in his Alma Mater at Middlebury, Vt. In 1845 he re- turned to the work of the ministry, and was settled as pas- tor of the church in-Vernon, Ct., where he remained, till com- pelled by his declining health, to remove to the West in 1854. He spent the winter of 1854-5 ^^ Peru, Ind., in sup- plying the church there. The ensuing summer he spent in Ducoign, in the southern part of the State of Illinois, In the fall of that year he was settled at Monticello, 111., where he died, April 24, 1863, of ossification of the heart. Dr. Smith was married to Miss Sarah Stoddard, of North- ampton, Mass., a sister of the well-known missionary. Rev. D. T. Stoddard. She, with two sons, survive. ]Mr, Smith was brother to Henry Smith, D. D., and step-son to Joel H. Lins- ley, D. D., each of whom had been a President of Marietta College. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by the Baptist College of Upper Alton, while he was residing at ]\Ionticello. His son, Arthur, graduated at Union College and is a minister. His other son, C. Stoddard Smith, in 1870 was residing in Springfield, 111. The Presbytery of Alton met with Spring Cove church, at the village of Summerville, INIacoupin county, Sept. 25, 1856. Joseph S. Edwards was received from the Presbytery of Hamilton. The churches of Shipman, Centralia. Pana and New Ducoign were received. The name of "Union" church was changed . to that of the " First Presbyterian church of Plainview." Hillery Patrick was received from the Presbytery of Wabash. N. A. Hunt was dismissed to Morcran Conference. Joseph S. Edwards was born at Manlius, Onondaga county, N. Y., Nov. 6, 18 18. He was the only son of Rev. Joseph Edwards, who was pastor of the Presbyterian church JOSEPH S. EDWARDS. 469 in Manlius, Onondaga county, N. Y., and who could trace back his ancestry to a brother of President Jonathan Ed- wards. He was educated at Oberhn College and Lane Seminary. He was licensed Oct. 5, 1842, and ordained May 19, 1845, by the Presbytery of Athens, Ohio. He joined Alton Presbytery as above. He was dismissed to Cleveland Presbytery, April 19, 1867. While in Alton Presbytery he labored at Jerseyville, as supply pastor, but was absent several years before taking his letter. He has labored in quite a number of places in the last fifteen years and largely as an evangelist. Among these places are Plymouth, Wakeman, East Cleveland, Elyria, Norwalk and Milan. He was a very able preacher, and very successful in winning souls. Though mild in temper, and pleasant in man- ner, he was a most uncompromising opponent of slavery, and sometimes stirred up fierce opposition among those who had a warm side toward that institution. But the Lord greatly owned his labors. He was a very large man. In a letter dated August 16, 1870, he says: " I have been constantly increasing in weight since I was twenty-eight- years of age, and now weigh three hundred and eighty eight pounds, and yet I labor almost constantly in the pul- pit." His height was fully six feet. He died in Cleveland, Ohio, Oct. 17, 1876, aged fifty-eight years, eleven months and eleven days. He has left a widow and several daughters. Shipman Church, Macoupin county, was organized Sab- bath, August 3, 1856, by A. T. Norton, one of the Commit- tee of Presbytery, with these ten members : John Jay Green, Mrs. Virginia T. Green, Joseph S. Rogers, Dorothea Meri- wether, Mrs. Jenny Law, Miss Elizabeth Law, Mrs. Mildred Floyd, Miss Frances Pollard, A, F. Pope, Mrs. Margaret Jane Pope. Elders : John Jay Green and A. F. Pope, the first. Since appointed : Haliburton Parks, L. A. Williams, Martin Olmsted, C. B. Preston, Morris H. Lee, Aaron Mey- ers, 1874. Ministers: In the first four years several differ- ent ones served for very brief periods. About 1861, Thomas Reynolds began his labors and continued till 1865 ; Eli W. Taylor, 1866; Wm. R. Adams, 1870-74, was pastor; Gideon C. Clark, 1875 ; Eli W. Taylor supplied at intervals after his /first coming to Shipman, in 1866, and died at his residence 4/0 PRESBYTERIAXISM IN ILLINOIS, in that village Feb. 13, 1S79. W. R. Adams is now, 1879^ supplying this church so far as one sermon in two weeks can do it. The church was organized in the upper story of a ware-house. The present edifice was built in 1862, and cost $2,000. Of this amount three hundred dollars was a dona- tion from the Board of Church Erection. The First Presbyterian church, Pana, 111., was organized under authority of Alton Presbytery, n. s., by Rev. Joseph Gordon, Sept. 21,^-1856, with these eight members, viz.: Franklin L. Saunders, Mrs. Mary J. Saunders, Mrs. Caroline Tunison, Robert Alexander, Mrs. Martha J. Patton, Miss Martha Patton and ]\Irs. Mary J. Price. At the time of the dedication, Sept. 3, 1876, all these eight still survived. Five of them remained as members of the church, and were pres- ent at the dedication ; one had taken a letter to Iowa, one to Missouri, and one had united with a Baptist church near her home in the southwestern part of Shelby county. The labors and struggles of the few in the day of small things were many and severe. In 1855, Rev. Joseph Gordon, a Missionary, in the employ of the Alton Presbytery, was called by his duties through the laid out, but as yet unbuilt, town of Pana. There being no pub- lic house he found entertainment at the residence of Mrs. Martha J. Patton. The supposition of the family that they were entertaining a minister proved true, and Mrs. Patton was rejoiced to find in him a minister of her own beloved Presbyterian -church. Soon after, it was found that Mr. F. L. Saunders, another of the few citizens of Pana, was a Presbyterian. A few others were discovered. Mr. Gordon was invited to come and preach. This he did, deliv- ering his first discourse April 23, 1856. The preaching place was in a little house about sixteen by sixteen, owned by M. S. Beckwith, and used as a ware-room. It stood on the alley west of the first church house. Arrangements were made for Mr. Gordon to preach occasionally, and then steadily. At his first visit the project of building was mooted and a subscription started. As there was then no church organization, a religious society Avas organized and trustees appointed to serve until a church could be form- ed and reported to Presbytery. They were John M. Patton, Franklin L. Saunders, I\I. B. V. Stryker, C. H. Tunison and PAX A CHURCH. 47 I Mason French. A building committee was also elected, con- sisting of John M. Patton, Milan S. Beckwith and F. L. Saunders. Mr. Saunders was the only one of the trustees and building committee who was then or ever became a church communicant. This made Mr. Saunders' duties par- ticularly onerous and difficult; for while with him church in- terests were paramount, with his associates they were sub- sidiary. David A, Neal, of Boston, Mass., one of the proprietors of the town, donated the lot on which the church was built. It is eighty by one hundred and sixty feet on Locust between north Second and north Third streets. The church erection committee loaned five hundred dollars. The subscription amounted to about $l,200. With this pro- vision the building committee undertook to erect a house thirty-four by fifty feet, sixteen foot story with bell tower. They made a contract with Thomas B. Hickman for $2,IOO to erect and complete the structure by Jan. i, 1857. The building, however, was not completed until the fall of 1857. Meantime, on June 13 of that year, a terrible tornado swept over Pana, destroying many buildings and partly unroofing and otherwise greatly damaging the yet unfinished church. The contractor contended he was not in fault, and could not be held responsible. The majority of the trustees sided with him; so that repairing the damages caused by the storm was a new tax upon the congregation. At length, however, the structure, though never strong and substantial, was so far completed as to be used. It was dedicated by Rev. Joseph Gordon, Sept. 19, 1857. In all the long and severe struggle to secure this first house of worship, F; L. Saunders was the only active male member. The drafts it made upon his time and purse were constant and great. On the Sabbath next succeeding the dedication, Alton Presbytery met in it. The first recorded meeting of Session was held Oct. 16, 1857, when two members were received by letter and three by examination. The storm of the 17th of June, 1857, checked the hitherto rapid growth of the town, and the financial crisis of the fall of the same year, brought it to a complete stand-still. In 1858 another storm so racked the house that the entire plastering had to be re- newed. This w^as done mainly at the expense of F. L. Saun- ders. In March, 1868, a third tornado passed over Pana, damaging many buildings. The cupola of the church was blown off and the side stove in by the blow- 4/2 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ing against it of another house roof. Up to September, 1861, the total membership had been forty-four. Of these nineteen had died, or removed, and those re- maining were mostly females. The elders left were C, W. Sibley and F. L. Saunders. The former had volunteered in the army, and the latter was much of his time absent. The little flock seemed weaker than ever. The prayer-meeting had been removed to a private house, and the sexton's duties were performed for a time by Mrs. C. W. Sibley. She actually kindling the fires and ringing the bell. From Sept., 1861, tg^ Jan., 1864, there were but seven addi- tions, most of whom remained but a very brief period, and one only, Mrs. H, B. Bach, until this time. In 1864 there were ten additions, five of whom still remain. In 1865 there were nine additions, of whom seven remain. In 1865 the house was again repaired, painted within and without, and the church acquired new vigor and hopefulness. July i, 1866, Wil- lard P. Gibson began his labors here, and was ordained pas- tor of the church on the third of October following. Up to the coming of Mr. Gibson, the church had never been favored with regular preaching oftener than on each alternate Sabbath. For a considerable period the Bap- tists had occupied the house. With Mr. Gibson a new era commenced. Preaching was had every Sabbath by a pastor residing among his people, and the church began to develop in usefulness, intelligence and independence. Though still receiving aid from Home Miss'ons, their con- tributions to that cause amounted to more than one-half their receipts therefrom. Mr. Gibson remained until the fall of 1870. Since Jan. i, 1870, the church has been self- sustaining. January i, 1870, Rev. John Kidd, commenced preaching to the church as supply pastor, and soon after removed to Pana with his family. He continued in the same relation until January i, 1874, when he was suc- ceeded by Rev. R. M. Roberts. In February, 1875, Mr. Roberts called the officers of the church together and urged upon them the absolute necessity of erecting a new house of worship. After a long and anxious consulta- tion, a resolution was passed that if the church would clothe the Session and Trustees with power to sell the present site and buy another, leaving them unhampered as to location, or cost of building or plan, they would undertake the enter- PANA CHURCH. 473 prise. At a meeting of the church held Feb. 17, 1875, the authority was given, the site to be approved of by the church. The committee at once went to work. After much negotia- tion a site was selected, seventy by one hundred feet, cor- ner of North Third and Maple streets. The church con- firmed the selection by a vote of thirty-five to four. As a compromise between the one-story and the two- story church, the committee decided on a plan submitted by Elder T. W. Lippincott, for a building forty by eighty feet, with side entrances and a sliding partition cutting off thirty- two feet for Sabbath school room, with sociable room above. A sub-committee on finance, consisting of R. C. Coyner, J. S. Veeder and S. W. Bird, were appointed, and a con- struction committee composed of T. W. Lippincott, S. P. Johns and D. C. McLeod. The financial labor was divided, giving the ladies the responsibility of raising money for the interior and through the Sabbath school for a bell of five hundred pounds. All engaged with a will, and notwithstanding stress of times, poor crops and bad weather, the new church was dedicated, practically free from debt, September 3, 1876, The cost was for lot fifteen hun- dred dollars, for the structure ^10,500. The bell, which hung in the first church edifice, is now doing duty for the Lutheran church in Pana. The succession of ministers is as follows; Joseph Gordon, who was supply pas- tor from its foundation till June, 1858 ; then James S. Wal- ton till June, 1859; J. Gordon served again until May, 1863 ; he was followed by E. W. Taylor to September, 1864, when J. Gordon returned for the third time and served until March, 1866. As mentioned already, W. P. Gibson was installed, October 14, 1866, and continued until December, 4, 1870. John Kidd followed as supply from January, 1871, till Octo- ber, 1873. January i, 1874, R. M. Roberts was called as pas- tor, and is still acceptably occupying that post. The succession of elders is as follows : F. A. Saunders, S. A. Call, E. B. Hartshorn, Eh F. Chittenden, Charles W. Sib- ley (rotary plan adopted April 24, 1867), Alfred McCline, Andrew W. Grailey, Thomas W. Lippincott, Samuel P. Johns, Robert C. Coyner, Douglas A. Gilbert, J. S. Veeder, Samuel W. Bird. The First Presbyterian Church of Centralia was or- ganized by Josiah Wood, September 21, 1856, with these 474 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. members : Thomas S. Allen, Mrs. IMargaret Allen, Phineas Pease, Mrs. E. M. Pease, Dr. D. W. McCord, Mrs. J. E. Mc- Cord, J. G. Buggraf, Mrs. Eliza Buggraf, H. C. Pease, John Templeton, Mrs. Margaret Benson, Mrs. Susan B. Storer, Mrs. Harriet Bailey. Elder: Phineas Pease. Elders since elected: A, P. Merriman, September i6, i860; W. S. Rob- ertson, October, 18, 1863; Anthony Styles, 1864; S. N. Blythe, August 6, 1866; R. R. Woodward, January 26,, 1868; Alonzo Tufts, January 26, 1868; Seth S. Andrews, November 17, 1872; David Van Benthuysen, November 17,^ 1872; Edwin S. Cpndit, January 4, 1874; William Bailey, January 4, 1874; Charles P. Tyson, January 4, 1874; Sam- uel M. Walker, March 7, 1875 ; James K. Bahm, June 25, 1876; C, H, Tatman, January 29, 1877; James Y. Toppings January 29, 1877; John A. Malone, January 29, 1877. Ministers : Josiah Wood held the first religious services at the Centralia House, December 24, 1854. He held the second service at the same place, March i, 1855, and from that time preached every alternate Sabbath at the Centralia House until the spring of 1856, when the meetings were held in a school house on Locust street. Joseph Gordon, 1856;. Rufus Patch, licentiate, 1858; J. S. Edwards, 1859; Thomas Sherrard, i860; Charles F. Beech, 1864, pastor; J. W. Stark, 1866; Edward Scofield, 1870; J. G. Rankin, 1872; P. S. Van Nest, 1873, W. L. Boyd, 1876; J. M. Green, April,. 1878, pastor, and still continues. The church edifice was erected on corner of Hickory and First North street, and dedicated April ii, 1858. Rev. A. T, Norton, D. D., preached the sermon. The house cost ^2,228, of which five hundred was from Church Erection. The parsonage was erected about 1865, and cost thirty-five hundred dollars. The church became self- supporting about 1864. The First Presbyterian Church of New Ducoign was organized by Joseph Gordon, September 14, 1856, with these members: Alvah I. Sprague, Mary Sprague, Harriet E. Keyes, Edwin N. Smith, Sarah Smith, Lucius B. Skinner, George S. Smith, Juliana Smith, Jane Smith, Jane Hunt. Elder first Geo. S. Smith. Elders since: Lewis Dyer, M. D.,Aug. 14, 1858; Moses H. Ross, August 14, 1858; Russell Tuthill, George M. Hinckley, Reuben Berry, January 6, 1867; William H. NEW DUCOIGX CHURCH 475 Holmes, October i, 1876. Present session — 1879 — Holmes, Hinckley, Smith. Ministers: W. S. Post, November i, 1856, to November i, 1861 ; Thomas Lippincott, November I, 1S61, to May I, 1862; Yates Hickey, June i, 1862, to- August I, 1862; James Stafford, August i, 1862. to April i, 1864; J, Jerome Ward, April, 1864, to April, 1S66; Joseph D. Barstow, November 26, 1865, to November 26, 1867; Josiah Wood, November, 1867, to May i, 1868; Peter S. Van Nest, May i, 1868, to July 23, 1871 ; Edward F. Fish, No- vember 30, 1 87 1, to March i, 1878, pastor; Charles T. Phil- lips, November 20, 1878, and still continues. The parsonage was a legacy to the church from Mrs. Sarah Root, who died June 29, 1867. Its value then was about fif- teen hundred dollars. With the recent improvements, it is about the same now. There is a comfortable house of wor- ship, built in 1858 at a cost of twenty-five hundred dollars. Before its erection meetings were held in a school house. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Quincy, October 2, 1856. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., consisting, since the last Assembly, of only the three Presbyteries of Kaskaskia, Sangamon and Peoria, met at Springfield, Octo- ber 9, 1856. Dr. J. G. Bergen resigned his post as Stated Clerk, and Rev. Robert Johnston was appointed his succes- sor. This Synod concurred with the other Northwestern Synods in establishing the Northwestern Theological Sem- inary. CHAPTER XII. -MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 85/ TO 1859, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND THE MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS HERE WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities : Original Records ; Auto-biographies ; Presbytery Reporter. YEAR 1857. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Shelby ville, May i, 1857. Joseph E. McMurray, of the Presbytery of Alton, Edward McMillan, of the Presbytery of Shiloh, Tenn., and John C. Downer, of the Presbytery of Belvidere, were received. W. D. Sanders, minister, and Joseph Thayer, «lder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Springfield, Sept. 29. Caleb J. Pitkin was received from the Presbytery of Hudson, Ohio. Thomas Lippincott was dismissed to the Presbytery of Alton. Edward McMillan was born Sept. 2, 1804, in Cumber- land county. North Carolina, about seven miles from the town of Fayetteville. His father's name was Malcolm Mc- Millan ; his mother Joanna Jacobs, the daughter of an Eng lish gentleman. His paternal grand parents were zealous Covenanters and were more or less persecuted for their devotion to civil and religious liberty. They came from Scotland just before the commencement of the Revolutionary war, and ardently espoused the cause of the colonies against the oppression of the British crown. His father was a poor, plain, judicious, pious and liberal man, an elder in the church, and much respected for his practical religious character. His mother was a gay, light- hearted woman; and, possessing a superior voice, she would, in the absence of her husband, sing frivolous songs for the .amusement of her children, and occasionally dance to add EDWARD M MILLAN. 477 to their delight. When Edward was four years of age, his mother was made a new creature in Christ, and laid aside her frivolty ; so that when he would ask her to sing a song such as she once did, she would burst into tears and tell him those were wicked songs and then she would sing to him one of the songs of Zion. His father was a staunch friend of civil and religious liberty. In i8i2 he shouldered his rifle, served during the war under General Jackson, was with him at New Orleans and saw the British thoroughly defeated. Before Edward was a year old his parents left N. C, moved to Smith county, Tenn., and settled on a farm. He worked on the farm with his father in sum- mer and in winter attended to the distillery, which in those days was the farmer's market for their corn. During the leisure moments he had while minding the still he engaged in studying arithmetic, in which his father aided him. Con- vinced of its wrongfulness his father soon abandoned the business of distilling. When Edward had entered his seventeenth year, the few families of "like precious faith," built a house of worship, organized a church, and engaged the labors of Rev. Hugh Shaw. With this church the young man united. In his eighteenth year he commenced studying for the ministry. He first attended a school in Wilson county, taught by Rev. Samuel DonnelL Then another in Sumner county, taught by Rev. J. R. Bain. He was taken under care of Shiloh Presbytery about 1825 studied theology with Rev. Geo. Newton and was licensed Sept., 1827. He began his ministerial labors with the churches of McMinnville and Pond Spring, in Warren county. In 1828, he married Miss Eliza C. Donnell, a daughter of his old preceptor. From 1829 to 1835, he labored in Alabama, where he succeeded in building up two large churches. About that time his wife and an infant son were taken from him by death, leaving him with three daughters. That they might be placed under their grand- mother's care, he returned to Tennessee, and accepted a call to Bethany church, in Giles county. Here he spent three years. In 1837-38, the majority of the Session of his church determined to go with the O. S., and required their minister to do the same. This he refused, and demanded to have the question submitted to a vote of the church. This was done, and the majority agreed with their pastor, and re- quested him to remain. This he did for another year, so far 4/8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. as to give them one-fourth of his time. About this time he married Miss Mary Ann Brown, who still survives. He soon removed about twelve miles north of Bethany, into a neighborhood where there was no church organization, and but two persons who had been members of the Presbyterian Church. He soon gathered a congregation, which embraced the majorty of the citi- zens in that section. He was agent for sev- eral years of Jackson College, located in Columbia, Tenn. In July, 1850, he .was installed pastor of the N. S. church, Gallatin, Sumner county. In connection with this pastorate lie had charge of the Female Academy of the place. In 1855 the political horizon began to grow murky, and Mr. McM. concluded it was his duty to leave a country cursed with slavery. In 1856 he came to Illinois, and took charge of the church in Carlinville. Here he labored until July, 1862, when he accepted of the chap- laincy of the 32d Regiment Illinois Infantry. In this new field of labor he exhibited the true elements of a minister of Christ, and of a Christian patriot. He was with his regiment in its marches through Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia. He acted as a father to many a sick and wounded soldier. While his regiment was at Marietta, Ga., he was attacked with bilious fever, and died on the 27th of August, 1864, in the sixtieth year of his age. Mr. McMillan was the father of fourteen children, seven of whom survive him, two daughters and five sons. He was devotedly attached to his family ; when on a furlough from his regiment, he would often express his gratitude to God for permitting him to be at home once more. But dearly as he loved his family, he loved his Master's work more. He was a doc- trinal preacher. His habit was, during the first twenty years of his ministry, to clearly and fearlessly discuss the funda- mental doctrines of Christianity. He was a decided Calvin- ist in doctrine, a Presbyterian in polity, yet large-hearted and catholic, ready at all times to give the right hand of fellow- ship to all followers of Christ. When the Exscinding Acts of 1837 and 1838 were passed, his soul rose up against their tyranny, and he unhesitatingly threw himself on the side of the Constitution and of right. He never saw the day in which he repented of the bold stand he then took. CALEB J. PITKIN. 479 John Camden Downer was born at Bozrah, Ct., April 2, 1811. Graduated at Yale College in 1841. Ordained, si?ie tit- zilo, by the New London Consociation, March 26, 1845. Home Missionary at Elizabeth, 111., 1845-47. Supply pastor First Presbyterian church, Freeport, 111., 1847-49. Pastor of the same from July 10, 1849, to April 10, 1853. Missionary agent of Peoria Synod, 1853-54. Preached in Connecticut in 1854-55. Principal of the Literary Department of Blackburn University at Carlinville, 111., at the outset of that institution in 1855. Secretary and agent of same from 1856 to 1866. Supply pastor of De Soto Presbyterian church, Mo., 1867-70. Home Missionary in Jefferson county. Mo., with residence at De Soto, 1 87 1, and still continues. Mr. D. has one daughter, Lucy, who is married, and three sons. Caleb J. Pitkin — Auto-biographical — was born In Milford, Conn,, December 4, 1812. His ancestors were of the Puritan stock, their settlement in this country being at Amherst, in Mass., previous to the year 1666. The religi- ious character and principles of the fathers have come down in unbroken succession from generation to generation. His education was obtained at Western Reserve College, where he graduated in 1836, and from the theologi- cal department of the same institution in 1839. His call to the ministry was that, in that department of labor he could most successfully meet the convictions of duty. He was educated for and set apart by the prayers of his father to that work. He was licensed in Sept., 1839, t>y the Presbytery of Portage, and ordained over the church in N. Bloomfield, Ohio, in Feb., 1843, by the Presby- tery of Trumbull. He had charge of that church in all about fourteen years. In the meantime he had charge of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches of Sandusky City, during the years of 1850 to 1S53. In Sept., 1856, he removed with his family to Winchester, Scott county, Illinois, where he had charge of the Presbyterian church for two years. In Feb., 1859, he took charge of the churches of Troy and Marine, in Madison county, and con- tinued with them three years. In 1863 he took charge of the church in Vandalia, where he continued as supply pastor for two years. In July, 1866, he took charge of the church in Cerro Gordo, Piatt county, and 480 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS, for two years spent one-half of the time with the churches of Bement and Tolono. Continued supply pastor of the church in Cerro Gordo seven years. In 1874 was elected Superintendent of Schools for Piatt county, and served in that office for the term of four years. In 1878 removed to Akron, Ohio, where he is now residing, having no ministerial charge. While in Illinois, was a mem- ber of the Presbyteries of Illinois, Alton, Wabash and Bloomington. From the latter he received a letter of dis- mission to the Presbytery of Cleveland, of which he is now a member. His second and present wife is sister of Rev. Gideon C.Clark, lately of Greenfield, Green county, Illinois. Kaskaskia Presbytery met at Carmi, White county, April 10, 1857. William R, Sim was licensed. John S Howell, minister, and J. A. Ramsey, elder, were ap- pointed to attend the Assembly. A called meeting was held with Sugar Creek church, June 18. P. D. Young was dismissed to the Presbytery of Sangamon. Salem church was received. The fall meeting was held at Salem, Marion county, Oct. 2. John Mack, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler. Salem Church, Marion county, was organized on the i6th and 17th of May, 1857, by Rev. T. W. Hynes and Eld- ers Arba Andrews, with these members: John Gibbons, Mrs. Sarah Gibbons, R. W. Pratt, M. D., Mrs. Hannah M. Pratt, John Mack, Mrs. Mary Ann Mack, Leonard D. Skilling, Thomas Hughes, Mrs. Jane A. Hughes, Miss Deborah A. Sweney, Jacob W. Mack, Mrs. Mary L. Mack, Dr. Isaac N. Sweney. Elders : Leonard D. Skilling and Dr. Isaac N. Sweney. Elders since elected : Arba Andrews, R. W. Pratt, ]\I. D., S. S. Andrews, B. F. Bumgardner, John Gibbon, Wil- liam McKibbon. Ministers : John Mack, L. B. W. Shryock, Wm. G. Thomas, Solomon Cook, Joseph War- ren, D. D., was pastor from May 9, 1867, for three and a half years ; R. C. Galbraith, Adam Johnston, J. E. Spilman, D. D., supply pastor, Nov. 10, 1876. The church was organized in the old Cumberland house. Meetings were held there, in the new Cumberland house, and in the JAMES M. ALEXANDER. 48I court-house until the erection of the present brick church, in 1869, at a cost of $3,500. Of this five hundred dollars was from the Board of Church Erection. The Presbytery of Wabash met with Long Point church, April 24, 1857. Joseph Wilson, minister, and Patrick Nich- olson, elder, were appointed to the Assembly. Trinity- church asked and received a dismission from the Presbytery. It became Congregational. The fall meeting was held at Cerro Gordo, Piatt county. Samuel Ward was re- ceived from the Presbytery of Alton. The name of " Lib- erty Prairie " church was changred to " Cerro Gordo." The Presbytery of Palestine met at Lawrenceville, Law- rence county, April 9, 1857. E. R. Lynn was dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler. Henry L Venable, minister, and Findley Paull, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. James W. Allison was licensed. The fall meeting was held at Newton, Jasper county, com- mencing September 24. James M. Alexander was received from the Presbytery of Chickasaw. The church of Friends- ville was received. Robinson church was dissolved, and its members attached to Palestine church. The installation of James M. Alexander over the church of Palestine was ap- pointed for the second Sabbath in November, but did not take place. James M. Alexander. Of his early history I can learn, nothing. He commenced labor in Palestine in April, 1857. He was with that church till May 22, 1858. Elder Findley Paull, of Palestine, says : " Mr. Alexander opened an acad- emy here in 1858, and was the means of bringing Stephen J. Bovell to us as a teacher — the only good he evjr did here, that I am aware of. When the war broke out he volunteered as a soldier, but was afterwards appointed a chaplain and went South. He became Colonel of a colored regiment, and was dismissed in disgrace. He deserted his most excel- lent Christian wife and five children, became a spiritualist, licentious, and everything that was bad. The last I heard of him he was living in New Orleans. His name was stricken 30 482 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. from the roll of Palestine Presbytery ; Jiow, I can't say. They made quick work of it. Bro. Roberts, of Pana, could perhaps, explain. Alexander's eldest son is dead. His second is married, and engaged in farming. Two other sons have places in Paris, Edgar county, where Mrs. Alexander resides. Her daughter, of about sixteen, lives with her." Friendsville Church, Wabash county, was organized by. Revs. S. C. Baldridge and John Crozier, August 29, 1857, in the Presbyteriari" Church at Friendsville, with these mem- bers : J. P. McNair, M. A. McNair, Susan McNair, J. F. Younken, Mary A. Barney, Harriet C. Younken, J. C. K. Younken, Mary C. Younken, Augustus A. Gould, Eliza Gould, C. B. Gould, Geo. Danforth, Emily Danforth, Mary Danforth, Emma A, Danforth, A. M. Maxwell, Barton P. Baker, Lu- cretia Baker, James Williams, Lucinda Williams, Ellen Andrus, Sarah E. Williams, Elijah Harris, James McDowell, E. P. McDowell, Sarah Wilkinson, Alice Ann Wilkinson and Mrs. Margaret McLain. Elders : James P. McNair and Dr. A. M. Maxwell. Elders since appointed : J. F. Youn- ken, William McLain, Franklin Danforth, J. C. K. Younken. Rotary eldership adopted March i, 1873, when J. C. K. Younken, J. P, McNair and Augustus A. Gould were elected for three years. A brick house of worship was erected about 1848 by the families in and near Friendsville, who were then a part of the Wabash congregation. This house was renovated in 1875, and is still in use, Friendsville Seminary was established under the auspi- ces of Friendsville church and its efficient pastor. Rev. C. S. Baldridge, the only regular minister this church has had since its organization. This institution was opened in Sep- tember, i860. In 1 867 the present building was finished and occupied. In 1870 a partial endowment was secured, which has since been increased by gifts and legacies. This school is still in successful operation, under the wise manage- ment of Rev. C. S. Baldridee. Sangamon Presbytery met at Decatur, April 3, 1857. Dawson church was received. James Smith, D. D., was dis- missed to the Presbytery of Chicago. Dr. John H. Brown, minister, and John Todd, elder, were appointed to attend DAWSON AND TAYLORVILLE CHURCHES. 483 the Assembly. Arrangements were made for the installa- tion of Antonio De Mattos, pastor of the Portuguese church of Springfield on the third Sabbath of April inst. The fall meeting was held at Virginia, commencing Sep- tember 10. Taylorville and Jerseyville churches were re- cieved. Robert W. Allen was received from the Presbytery ■of West Lexington. Dawson Church was organized, January 23, 1857, with these members : James Wilson, Jane Wilson, Thomas Wil- son, John Wilson, Mary Wilson, Ann Wright, Lillias Con- stant, Jane Constant, Mary Johnston, William Kirkpatrick and Elizabeth Wr^ht. Elders : James Wilson, Archibald Maxwell, John B. Wright and John Wilson. Ministers : John G. Bergen, D. D., D. R. Todd, E. W. Thayer, A. Bar- tholomew, W. G. Keady, B. E. Mayo. A church edifice was erected in 1857 ^^^ cost fourteen hundred dollars. The church has had in all eighty-three members. Dawson is about twelve miles northeast of Springfield, on the Toledo railroad. Taylorville Church was organized by Rev. J. G. Bergen, D.D., July 26, 1857, with these nineteen members: Natha- niel Harris, Mrs. Sophronia Harris, Calvin Goudy, Mrs. Mar- tha A. Goudy, H. D. Brigham, Mrs. Mary L. Brigham, A. B. Harris, Mrs. Sarah Harris, Noyes Ladd, Mrs. Phcebe Ladd, Jacob Overholt, Mrs. Abigail Torrey, Geo. W. Lash, Mrs. Susan C. Sattley, Mrs. J. E. Chapman, Mrs. Mary Ryan, Mrs. Harriet Ladd, Mrs. Jane Miller, Miss Sophronia Harris. Elders: Calvin Goudy, H. D. Brigham, and Nathaniel Har- ris. Elders since appointed : Joseph C. Smith, Samuel W. Morrison, J. E. Montgomery, E. H. Johns, Alfred B. Harris, Wm. W. Hall. Ministers : H. R. Lewis, John H. Harris, Robert Rudd, L. F. Walker, Harlan P. Carson. Mr. Walker was pastor. The church was organized in the old Cumber- land building, where it continued to worship for several years, and then in the Northwest school house until the erection of the present edifice, east of the square. It was dedicated Feb. 6, 1870, and cost, with the lots, ^6,000. 484 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. The Second Presbyterian Church, Jersey ville, was organ- ized Aug. 16, 1857, at the residence of William J. Herd- man, by Rev. J. G. Bergen, D. D., with these members : Wil- Ham J. Herdman, John L. Terrill, Mrs. Jane Terrill, Mrs, EHzabeth Jane Clendenning, Mrs. Jane J. Dunn, David R. Herdman, Thomas M. Herdman, Adam Haynes, Mary J. Haynes, Mrs. Ann Colean, Mrs. Sarah E. Powel, Joseph McReynolds, Mrs. Margaret McReynolds, Thomas J. Mc- Reynolds, Mrs. Rose Ann McReynolds, Alex. A. McRey- nolds, Mrs. Helen M. McReynolds, William Hackney, Mrs. Margaret Hackney, ..Miss Amanda E. Lanier, Mrs. Margaret Potts, Miss Elizabeth Potts. The first Elders elected were William J. Herdman, William Hackney, Joseph McReynolds. Jan. 4, 1858, Geo, W. Potts; April 3, 1859, David E. Beaty; March 2, 1861, A. A. McReynolds and Jeremiah Beaty; June 3, 1876, R. A. King; April 5, 1879, Thomas J. McRey- nolds. Ministers : Samuel Lynn, pastor ; John F. Baker, W. H. Jeffries, J. M. Scott, pastor. The house of worship was erected in the summer of 1858, and dedicated in the same year. It cost between ^4,000 and $5,000 dollars. The whole number of members that have been in connection is one hundred and ninety-five. This church, orig- inally Old School, has for some years been connected with the Southern Assembly — the only one in this State having such a connection. Robert Welch -^llen — Auto-biographical. He was born of pious parents, in Shelby Co., Ky., march 25th, 1817. His parents, James and Elizabeth Logan Allen, were origi- nally from Augusta and Rockbridge county, Va., of Scotch- Irish descent. Robert was the youngest of eleven children, there being six sons and five daughters. He had three brothers who were ministers in the Presbyterian Church, viz.: John Newton, William Graham and Archibald Cameron. Robert, when thirteen years of age, removed with his parents to Montgomery county, Indiana, to a farm, now a part of the town of Waveland. He joined the Presbyte- rian church of Waveland, Sept. 2, 183 1. He entered Wa- bash College the day it first opened, in Dec, 1833. Gradu- ated July, 1839. In July, 1842, received the degree of A. ^I. He was matriculated in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, N. J., Nov., 1839. Failing in health, he left the ROBERT W. ALLEN. 485 seminary at the close of his second year. He was Hcensed to preach by the Presbytery of Crawfordsville, Aug. 15th, 1 841, at Thorntown, Ind. Ordained at Frankfort, Ind., by the same Presbytery, Sept. 30, 1843. After hcensure he spent about a month as agent for Home Missions. By invi- tation he suppHed the churches of New Castle and Pleasure- ville, Ky., from the ist of Nov^ember, 1841, to the ist of April, 1842, when he returned to Indiana, and supplied the churches of Waveland and Bethany. These churches de- sired to make out a call for a pastoral relation ; but he thought it not advisable to settle where so many of his kin- dred lived, and accepted a call to the churches of Jefferson and Frankfort, Ind., in the spring of 1844, and was installed in June of the same year. His pastoral relation to these •churches was dissolved Sept. 28, 1853, with the expressed regret of all the members. But preaching steadily three times on Sabbath and twice in the week, was too great a labor for his health. Receiving an invitation from the Pisgah church, Ky., in the Presbytery of Lexington, he entered this field, Oct., 1853. This pastorate continued until April, 1857, when he accepted a call to the church of Jackson- ville, 111., April 24, 1857. This charge he resigned in the summer of 1867. Late in the fall he removed to Decatur, and missionated in the vicinity of Harristown, until in Sept., 1868, he undertook to supply the church of •St. Charles, Mo. He continued there until Dec, 1869. In Jan., 1870, he returned to his residence in Jacksonville, and supplied the churches of Union and Murrayville. In this work he continued until the 30th of Dec, 1871, \yhen the Union church and a part of the Pisgah church were re- organized and called Unity. This church desiring all his time, he gave up that of Murrayville. The pastoral relation was formed by Presbytery on Sabbath, Nov. 2, 1873. This relation abides up to the present time, May, 1879. Mr. Allen was united in marriage by his brother-in-law, Rev. Samuel Taylor, to Miss Margaret A. Maxwell, daugh- ter of Col. Samuel D. Maxwell, of Frankfort, Ind. They have been blessed with six children, four daughters and two sons. The eldest, a daughter, died in Frankfort, Ind., in her seventh year. A son died in early infancy. The Lord has enabled him to preach almost every Sabbath for nearly thirty-eight years, has permitted him to witness sev- ■eral precious revivals, and to rejoice in the salvation of xnany souls. 486 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Alton Presbytery met at Cairo, April 2, 1S57. Charles Kenmore was received from the Presbytery of Geneva, New York. William S. Post, licentiate, was received from the Third Presbytery of New York, examined and ordained, sine titnlo, on the evening of April 3. Sigmund Uhlfelder was dismissed to the Presbytery of Columbus, Wis. Joseph Gordon, minister, and J. N. Adams, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The church of Gillespie was received. George C. Wood was appointed on the Missionary Committee in place of H. D. Piatt, resigned. Charles Kenmore was born Oct. 9, 18 14, at Newton Ards, Ireland. His father was Scotch-Irish, his mother Scotch. Graduated at Oneida Institute, 1837, and at Union Seminary in 1839. His first field of labor was Sodus, Wayne county, N. Y. While there was ordained by the Genesee Consociation. Labored at several places in Western N, Y., until 1856; at Dyersville, Iowa, in 1857; at Mt. Vernon and Cairo, 111, 1857-58. On account of bronchial troubles he went South and taught in Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida, 1858-71. Died at Hornellsville, N. Y., June 15, 1 87 1, where his widow, Mrs. S. E. C. Kenmore, still resides. William S. Post was born at Madison, Conn., Nov. 17,, 1823. Educated, in his own v/ords, "All along shore." Ordained by Alton Presbytery, April 3, 1857. While a member of that Presbytery he labored at Jonesboro, and Carbondale, and was dismissed from it April 13, 1856. He was two years chaplain in the army. Then he labored at various places on the Iron Mountain Railroad, until Aug. 6,. 1869, when he renounced his baptism and ordination and submitted to be re-baptized and re-ordained by the Baptist Church. He has since labored mostly with a congregation of that order in Belleville, 111. He has been twice married. His first wife was Catharine Elizabeth Howd, born at Durham, Conn,, in 1827. She was married to Mr. Post July 26, 1848, and died at Carbondale, March 12, i860. His second wife was Miss H. A. Ross, a daughter of Elder Moses Ross, late of Ducoign, 111. She retains her connec- tion with the Presbyterian Church, and has her childrea dedicated to God in baptism. GILLESPIE CHURCH. 487 The First Presbyterian Church in Gillespie, Macou- pin county, was organized in 1856, by Joseph Gordon with eight members. For about one year it enjoyed something hke the stated ministrations of the word. Then it remained almost wholly destitute until the summer of 1865. During those years of destitution the church fell away by deaths and removals until only three resident members were left. July II, 1865, Rev. Wm. P. Teitsworth commenced laboring there each alternate Sabbath. On Oct. 14, 1865, he fixed his residence at that place, and divided his Sabbaths between Gillespie and Staunton. As the old church was so nearly gone, it was thought best to re-organize. This was done on Saturday and Sabbath, Jan. 20 and 21, 1866, by Revs. W. P. Teitsworth and A. T. Norton. The re-organized church retained the old name, and started with thirteen members and three elders, viz.: John D. Martin, Robert E. McNeeley and David O. Settlemire. For a time the enterprise was successful. But difficulties arose. Mr. Teitsworth left, and his place was not supplied. The church had no house of worship. The upshot thus far is that the name has been dropped from our roll, although two or three members are still left. Alton Presbytery met at Pana, Sept. 25, 1857. Samuel Ward was dismissed to the Presbytery of Wabash, and Lemuel Grosvenor to the Windham County Association, Conn. George C. Wood was released from the care of the Greenville church. The church of Shoal Creek was dis- solved, and its members attached to Bethel. A Form of Admission to the Church was adopted. The churches of Richview, Cumberland Precinct and Tamaroa were received. An adjourned meeting was held at Alton, Oct. 2, at which Edward Hollister was received from the Presby- tery of Schuyler. Richview Church, n. s., was organized by J. W. McCord, August 23, 1857, with sixteen members. Dr. H. B. Lucas and James L Logan, elders. This church had a brief season of prosperity. It undertook the erection of a house of wor- ship, but the enterprise dragged heavily. The walls were partly put up — it was brick — and then stood unfinished so long 488 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. that the winds and weather threw them down. IMr. McCord left, and the enterprise failed. Dr. Lucas, one of the elders, is still in the place, but in another church connection. The Old School organized here — per Rev. James Stafford — February 10, 1865, with these members: William Cunningham, Margaret E. Cunningham, Rebecca Fesler. Lizzie LefEler, Anna F. Williams. C. J. Bethel, Jennie K. Bethel, Matilda Willis. Elders: William Cunningham and C. J. Bethel. Elders since elected : Joseph Houston, Geogre L. Lyon, Henry Newton Pettit, J. F. Walker, E. B. Wright, George W. Cone. Ministers: R. G. Williams, licentiate,"£ommenced with the beginning and sup- plied the church some months. He was called to the pas- toral charge in 1866, but was not installed. William Bridg- man supplied from the spring of 1867, but was notified by the Session to leave before his year expired. Elijah Buck sup- plied in 1868. Isaac N. Candee, D. D., began here in the spring of 1869, was installed and labored until his death, June 19, 1874. Wilham H. Rogers supplied in 1876, E. W. Clark now serves the church a portion of his time. A good brick edifice was erected in 1865. The same year six persons were received from a little Congregational church which had been established in the place, and which is now in articido mortis. This church was in its most flourishing condition under Dr. Candee. In 1871 its membership was eighty-five. All the benevolent Boards were aided, Dr. C, himself, contributing more than all the congregation. Fruit- growing, from which much was expected in this region, has proved a failure as a source of profit. People have moved away and property depreciated very greatly. The church has partaken of the general depression, and has now little more than a name. A private school was estab- lished here by R. G. Williams, who put up a large building, and became greatly involved. This property was sold to S. J. P. Anderson, D. D., who succeeded but poorly. The building and grounds have passed into the hands of Rev, E. W. Clark, who still continues the school. The Presbyterian Church of Cumberland Pre- cinct was organized by William H. Bird, February 8, 1857, with these members: Samuel Van Horn, Maria Van Horn, Joseph Stevenson, Henry Gruver, Ann Eliza Gruver, WilUam TAMAROA CHURCH. 4^9 Stanford, Martha E. Stanford, Mrs. Abigail Griffith and Mrs. Emily Stanford. Elders: Samuel Van Horn, Joseph Ste- venson. Elders since chosen : James Gates, John G. IN'Ic- Cormick, R. J. Pilcher, Abner Griffith, James E. Foster, Al- fred Erving, Samuel L. Ketchum. Ministers : William H. Bird; J. L. Riggs ; Joseph Gordon; Charles F. Halsey ; Joseph Gordon, second time, from 1872 for about two years; William EUers, a short time ; A. H. Parks, still in charge. The name was changed from "Cumberland Precinct" to " Brownstown " in 1871. The church building, erected at Brownstown, was dedicated January 21, 1872, by Joseph Gordon, and cost two thousand dollars. The church was organized in the small building close by widow Abigail Grif- fith's. This building belongs to the Griffith property, and was used as a store when the National Road was building, z. e., from about 1834 to 1837. It was afterwards used as a school house, but was always private property. Meetings were held there for ten years, or until the school house on S. E. quarter of S. E. quarter of Sec. 4, T. 6, R. 2 E. was built in 1856. Then that school house was used until the church ed- ifice in Brownstown was finished. Tamaroa Church was organized by EHsha Jenney, May 24, 1857, with these members: Wm. Yates, Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Yates, Miss Lydia Hudson, J. M. Simpson, i\Irs. Ann E. Simp- son, Mrs. Rosemond O. Blanchard, Miss Mary Aim Yates, Miss Adelaide Simpson. Elders : Wm. Yates, J. W. Simpson. Elders since chosen : Oliver Alden Holt, Jedediah Lathrop, Dr. C. M. Hughey, Townsend Blanchard, Hillery S. Patrick, Joseph W. Haines, Providence White. Ministers: Thomas Lippincott, 1858-62; Josiah Wood, October, 1863, to May, 1S67; Charles F. Halsey, October, 1867, one year; M. V. B. Van Arsdale, December, 1870, to July, 1871 ; John Hus- ton, 1872, one year ; Robert Rudd, September 6, 1874, to thi-? time. Places of meeting: (i) Under Masonic Hail. (2) School house. (3) Methodist church. (4) Present edifice which was built in 1868. and cost twenty-six hundred dol- lars. Present number of members forty-nine. Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Alton, October i, 1857. The Stated Clerk, Henry C. Abernethy, resigned and Edward 490 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. B. Olmsted was appointed in his place. A Synodical Church Extension Committee was appointed, consisting of Georq'e I. Kinsr, William G. Gallaher, A. T. Norton and Joseph Wilson, ministers, and Frederick Collins, David A. Smith and J. G. Lamb, elders. This Committee was author- ized to appoint a Secretary to take charge of the Church Extension operations of this Synod and to direct his labors. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Hillsboro, October 8, 1857. The appeal of James Stafford from the action of Kasksakia Presbytery, in refusing to place Trenton church on its roll, was sustained, and the Presbytery was ordered to en- roll that church. From this decision an appeal was taken to the Assembly by R. M. Roberts and others. YEAR 1858. Illinois Presbytery met at Virden, April 8, 1858. G. C. Clark was dismissed to the Presbytery of Alton. W. G. Gallaher, minister, and Thomas Moffett, elder, were chosen Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meet- ing was held at Jacksonville, September 9. C. G. Selleck was dismissed to the Presbytery of Louisiana. George C. Wood was received from the Presbytery of Alton, and ap- pointed Presbyterial Missionary. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Jordan's Grove church, April 9, 1858. Zion church was received. Rev. P. R. Vanatta was employed to labor as an itinerant in the bounds of the Presbytery. Presbytery earnestly advised their churches to make liberal collections for Domestic Mis- sions, and " instead of remitting the funds to the Board, de- vote them to this home work." P. R. Vanatta was received from the Presbytery of Rock River. An adjourned meeting was held v/ith Galum church, August 5, at which Daniel Steele was dismissed from the pastoral care of that church. Peter Rulison Vanatta was born in New Jersey. Edu- cated at Princeton College and Seminary. From 1859 ^^ 1862 he was W. C. at Indianapolis, Ind. At^Lafayette in 1866, agent of Bib!e Society, in which service he seems to have remained until this time, and with his residence at Lafay- ette. I get no response from him. ZION CHURCH. 491 ZiON (German) Presbyterian Church was organized at Fosterburg, Madison county, October 12, 1857, by Revs. J. G. Schaible and H. Blanke, with twenty members. Up to the fall of 1877 the church was served by three ministers — H. Blanke, J. H. Reints and August Busch, who entered upon their work in 1857, 1869 and 1873, respectively. The first Elders were Fred Wortman and C. Breuken, Afterwards P. A. Scheldt, Earnest Wortman and C. F Lob- big. In August, 1878, the church adopted the time service method, at the same time reducing the Board to two, C, Breuken and P. H. Scheldt. This church has had a membership of one hundred and thirty-nine in all from the beginning. Its present membership is eighty-nine. A house of worship was built soon after the organi- zation, which cost about five hundred dollars. A parsonage was erected at the same time at a cost of about four hun- dred dollars. Additions have been made to the parsonage since, so that the present value of the church property, in- cluding house of worship, parsonage and grounds, is about ;gi,500. Since the fall of 1877, this church was without a pastor. During the spring and summer of 1878 it was served by a licentiate, Albert F. Beyer, then a student of Danville Seminary, whom the church elected their pastor, and who was ordained over them May 14, 1879, by a committee of Alton Presbytery. The church building is situated in T. 6 N., R. 9 W., Sec. 14, N. E. quarter of S. W. quarter of the section. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Litchfield, Oct. 8, 1858. The church of Trenton was enrolled according to the decision of Synod, the Assembly having failed to take up the appeal from the Synod's decision. Samuel B. Smith was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler. Thomas W. Hynes declining to serve longer as Stated Clerk, R. M. Rob- erts was appointed to that post. The churches of Xenia and Mason were received. The name of Bethany church was changed to Staunton. An adjourned meeting was held with Jordan's Grove church, Nov. 19, at which, on the 20th, Wm. R. Sim was ordained over the churches of Jordan's Grove and Lively's Prairie. B. H. Charles was received from the Presbytery af Transylvania. 492 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Samuel B. Smith was born in Gettysburg, Pa., in March, 1806. Educated at Dickinson College, Pa. Spent two years in Princeton Seminary, 1824-25. Was a Home Missionary in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois. Resided several years in Alton, 111., preaching so far as infirm health would permit. He re- turned to his native place in 1865, where he continued to re- side until his death, May 23, 1879 His remains were buried in the family burying lot in Evergreen Cemetery. In May, 1868, the writer dined with him at his home in Get- tysburg, that place now so famous for the great battles of July 1, 2 and 3, 186^. B. H. Charles' name first appears in the minutes of the Assembly in 1856. The next year he was pastor of the church at Springfield, Ky. From thence he came to Illinois and ministered for several years to the church of Chester. His name appears for the last time in the minutes in 1868, when he was at Boonville, Mo. He is still living in Missouri, and probably connected with the Southern Presbyterian Church, William R. Sim was born in Golconda, Pope count}^ III., Nov. 25, I S3 1. He was the third son of Wm. Sim, M. D., who was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, and a graduate of the Royal College of Surgeons, in London ; a man of great mental culture, warm heart and generous nature, zealous in the discharge of duty, and. characterized by that determina- tion of purpose, indomitable will and energy, so peculiarly Scotch, He, Wm. Sim, settled in this country, January, 1818, just before Illinois was admitted to the sisterhood of States, was for a period of nearly forty-six years a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and during a long, labor- ious and eminently useful professional career, never failed to recognize the hand of God in all his undertakings. His life was one of piety, and his house the home of ministers of the Gospel of all denominations. Frances E. Jack, mother of Wm, R. Sim, was born in Philadelphia, Pa., April 4, 1803; was united to Wm. Sim, M. D., in the holy bonds of matrimony, March 2, 1822. She, how- •ever, died March 29, 1836, leaving five children; Chris- tiana, John A,, James J., F. L,, and the Wm. R. Sim, WILLIAM K. SIM. 493' to whom this memorial is dedicated, who was then only- five years old, thus being deprived of the tender care of a Christian mother early in life. In the fall of 1847 he entered Hanover College, at South Hanover, Indiana, The following year he was accompanied by his younger brother, F. L. Sim, now, and for the last eighteen years a practicing physician of j\Iemphis, Tenn. The latter was inclined to be frolicsome and mischievous, which contrast soon created the impression that William was the best young man in the school, and Frank the wildest. Aug. 9, 1854, Wm. R. graduated at Hanover, and the following fall entered the Theological Seminary at Danville, Ky., from which he graduated May, 7, 1857. He pro- fessed religion and connected himself with the Presbyterian Church during the early part of February, 1849; he had, however, previous to this time, lived the life of a Christian. During childhood, and as he grew up, he was always consid- ered by his parents, playmates, and the citizens generally, as scrupulously truthful and exemplary in conduct. After completing his seminary course, he was licensed by the Kaskaskia Presbytery, and in the fall of 1858 was installed pastor of the churches of Jordan's Grove and Lively's. Prairie, Randolph County, 111. He continued to serve as pastor of these churches with great satisfaction to the mem- bers, from the fall of 1858, until October, i860, when he took charge of the church at his native place, Golconda, where he remained until his death. September 20, 1861, he was married to the accomplished Miss Maria Pinney, of Princeton, Ind. Edgar Allen was the name of their only offspring, born July 14, 1862, who,, however, did not long survive the father, as he died Nov. 2, 1868. In the fall of 1862 Mr, Sim's health began to be undermined by consumption, and from this time until his death, his labor was very much interrupted. He died July 7, 1864, in his native town, surrounded by his immediate family, and all of his relatives, he died as he had lived, faithful to his God. He was characterized by a very remarkable de- gree of refinement in thought, expression and deportment, and an amiability which won for him the admiration and love of all who were intimate with him. He was a pure minded man and a cheerful Christian ; and yet, his earnest love for souls often seemed to fill him with the most agonizing dis- tress. In a letter written by deceased to his father 494 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. from Hanover, Feb. lo, 1849, we find the following, " I have good news to tell you ; I joined the church last Sabbath. My prayer to God is to keep me from temptation, and enable me to follow him in all things. I hope you will remember me in your prayers, that I may not turn to the world again, but may be zealous in the cause which I have espoused." Rev. B. C. Swan of Shawneetown, 111., says, " I have no recollection of any manifestations of sinfulness, in word, or act, during my whole acquaintance with him. One of his youthful associates said to me, ' he was the best boy that ever lived in Golconda,' all of the people of his native place loved him, and he loved them with an ardor altogether inex- pressible." B. H. Charles, of Chester, 111., writes, " He was a very earnest man of God. His whole heart seemed to be taken up with his work. He seemed to be ambitious of but one thing, and that was to please his Mas- ter. He seemed remarkable for his humility, and his man- ner was always very quiet and unassuming." Thos. F. Cortelyou, says, "From the students' prayer-meet- ing, and the Sabbath morning prayers, Sim was seldom ab- sent. At times but few came together in the social prayer- meetings, but among those few I well remember his face. He was a diligent student, and punctual in attendance upon the instructions of the different professors, whose full confi- dence he possessed." Mr. Sim's widow has mar- ried Dr. J. A. Koch, a practising physician in Golconda, and an active member of the Golconda Presbyterian church. Butler Church, Montgomery county, was organized, August 29, 1858, at the school house, by Rev. R. M. Roberts and Elders T. W. Washburn and J. T, Eccles, with these members : Mrs. H. K. Harper, Catharine Cowdy, Israel Sew- ard, Martha M. Burnap, Mrs. Sarah Ware, William Seward, Mrs. Mary Cunningham, Robert Bryce, S. M. Hedges, Mar- garet Seward, Lawrence Hugg, Susanna Cunningham, Mrs. Mary McReynolds, Mrs. Minerva Steere. Elders : S. M. Hedges and Robert Bryce. Elders since these two first : Matthew McMurtry, Thomas Colvin, Joseph Burnap, A. J. Diddle, J. T. Ross, Samuel Berrie, William Seward. Minis- ters : R. M. Roberts : W. L. Mitchel ; R. M. Roberts, the second time ; Cornelius V. Monfort, licentiate ; S. D. Lough- head ; T. E. Spilman began in April, 1868, as licentiate, was FLORA CHURCH. 495 ordained the next November, and has continued, with some interruptions on account of ill health, until this time. The church building was dedicated July 3, 1864, and cost twenty- two hundred dollars. This is a working, united church, with a leader whose physical strength is far overmatched by his ■energetic, devoted spirit. The Church of Xenia III., was organized by the Pres- bytery of Kaskaskia, April 21, 1858, per Revs. R. M. Roberts and P. R. Vanatta and Elder T. W. Sweeny. It commenced with eleven members and William Townsley, elder. Names : William Townsley, J. M. Haines, Eliza Talifer o, Nancy J. Henderson, Margaret Walker, Amelia Townsley, Henry S. Watson, E. Jane Mannagh, Jane Bilding, S. J. Holman and Belinda Haines. The church was ministered to occasionally by Revs. P. R. Vanatta, F. H. L. Laird and D. R. Todd. The majority of the members and the only elder having re- moved to the neighborhood of Flora, a town on the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad in the same county, on the 28th May, 1864, Rev. John Crozier and Elder Thomas Buchanan, Committee of Presbytery of Saline met at Flora for the pur- pose of re-organizing the church. And on April 15, 1867, ten persons having in the mean time been received, the Pres- bytery of Saline, then in session in Flora, changed the name of the church of Xenia to that of Flora and received it under their care by that name. The church was ministered unto by Rev. John Crozier and others for a season ; then regularly by Rev. R. C. Galbraith, pastor of Odin church, in Marion county. It had received thirty-six members, elected A. K. Tate, George W. Norris and H. M. Todd, elders, when on the October 10, 1870, it called Rev. R. C. Galbraith, pastor for half the time. He was installed December 4, 1870. Two lots, on one of which was a building suitable for a manse, and the other for the erection of a church building, were pur- chased. The house was erected, and on the third Sabbath of May, 1 87 1, dedicated. Sermon by the pastor from Gen. 28:17. Ten persons were received on examination, seven- teen on certificate, fifteen dismissed to other churches and two persons suspended between the dedication and the 17th August, 1873. The term service of the eldership had been adopted, and William Townsley, H. M. Todd, William W. Stewart and Dr. E. C. Park were elected to serve for a term 496 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. of three years. August 17, Mr. Galbraith requested the church to unite with him in requesting the Presbytery to dissolve the pastoral relation, on the ground that the experience of last winter in mission work in the country forbade him to undertake the work which the pastor of this charge ought to perform. The church assented and appointed Elder H. M. Todd to attend the approaching meeting of the Presby- tery at Cairo and present the action of the church. Presby- tery granted the request. Rev. William M. Reed acted as supply pastor from January, 1S74, to October, 1875. Afterwards Rev. M. V. B. Van Arsdale from April, 1867, to February, 1876. Flora church has received, on certificate sixty-three, on examination sixteen, dismissed forty-one, sus- pended two, died four, now on roll thirty-seven. Has given to Domestic Missions, one hundred and thirty-nine dollars ; for Foreign ninety-four dollars ; Church Erection, one hun- dred and fifty-four dollars ; Ministerial Relief, forty-four dol- lars ; Freedmen, twenty-nme dollars; Education, twenty- three dollars ; Publication, eleven dollars; Sunday schools, fifty-four dollars; total, four hundred and fifty-nine dollars. Subsequent to the week of prayer, in 1877, Rev. H. B. Thayer held a series of gospel meetings wHich resulted in an addi- tion of thirty-four on examination. Rev, A. McFarland is now pastor, with good prospect of growth and usefulness. Trenton Church, Clinton county, was organized, May 26, 1857, with fourteen members, by the Presb3-^tery of Kas- kaskia through its Committee, Rev. D. A. Wallace and Eld- ers John Denny and Hugh Adams. Eleven of the fourteen were from Sugar Creek church. John Douglas, Charles Teibout and Robert Douglas were made elders. Of the original members three, Charles Teibout and wife and Thomas McGlaughlin, are in California. Two, Robert Douglas and wife, are in Colorado. Mrs. M. E. Staf- ford is in Portland, Me. John Douglas, Mrs. Anne Douglas and Mrs. Alia Gelly have deceased. Elisha Bedell and wife, Thomas Craig and wife and George Craig are still in Tren- ton. Ministers: James Stafford served the church from its beginning until the fall of i860. He was succeeded by H. M. Corbett, who continued until October, 1865. William Bridgman came next after Mr. Corbett, but remained only until April, 1866. For eighteen months, end- TRENTON CHURCH. 497 ing October, 1S67, James Brownlee divided his time equally between this church and that at Lebanon. He was suc- ceeded by Henry Mattice, who came to Trenton in the fall of 1867, and remained until October, 1868. George W. Fisher came in June, 1869, was installed pastor of the church March, 1872, and still remains. His ministery has been one of great success both in Trenton and at Sugar Creek. The two churches constitute his par- ish, giving him a comfortable support, sharing equally his labors and defraying each one half his salary. Elders : John Douglas, elected 1857, died July, 1858; Charles Tiebout, elected in 1857, removed to California in 1873; Robert Douglas, elected in 1857, removed to Colorado in 1868. These were the original elders. Augustus Alvord, elected Sept., 1859, died Sept., 1872; Anderson T. Ely, elected April, 1867, died Sept., 1871 ; George T. Baldwin, elected March, 1863, still in office; Wm. D. Lewis, elected April, 1867; Joseph Garrigus, elected August, 1871, resigned May, 1874. In Dec, 1875, the church adopted the " Rotary Sys- tem," and now elect their elders and deacons for three years. The present elders are George T. Baldwin, S. B. Wyle and Linn Bedell. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with this church in 1859, ^^^4 ^^^ 1868. The Presbytery of Alton, after the re-union in Nov., 1869, held its second stated meeting with this church, and in March, 1872, an adjourned meeting to install Rev. G. W. Fisher. The pres- ent and only church edifice was erected in 1859, and dedi- cated in December of the same year. Its cost was about ;^i,500. The church owns a parsonage which cost seven, hundred and fifty dollars, a memorial of the re-union. In the history of this church there have been four seasons of special religious revivals, viz.: in 1865, 1868, 1872 and 1875. This church received aid from the Board of Home Missions until 1872. For one year there- after it was aided by the Board of Sustentation. In 1873 it became self-sustaining, with the aid of Sugar Creek. The two churches together constitute one very interesting and important parish. The growth of the church has been pretty steady. Fifty-three were added under Mr. Cor- bett, eight under Mr, Brownlee, thirty-one under Mr. Mat- tice, and ninety-six, counting to April, 1877, under Mr. Fisher. About two hundred and two have been received to the church in all. Of these not far from one hundred re- 31 49^ PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. main. A Sabbath school is sustained by the church with commendable vigor, and the cause of benevolence is not neglected. Mason Church, o. s,, Effingham county, was organized April 22, 1858, with nineteen members and three elders. One of them was J. S. Covert. This organization did not long exist. The Presbytery of Wabash met at Danville, April 27, 1858. The reception of Tolono church, n. s., should be here recorded. William R. Palmer was received from the Presbytery of Crawfordsville. Charles H. Palmer, minister, and W. M. Allison, elder were appointed to attend the As- sembly, The fall meeting was held with Pleas- ant Prairie church, commencing Oct. 4. F, A. Deming was received from the Presbytery of Huron. Mattoon church was received. ToLONO Church, n. s., was organized Feb. 16, 1858. It was organized and supplied for some months by Rev. Isaac P. Stryker, of Urbana. Through his efforts a house of wor- ship was erected. The first records are lost, but some of the original members were these : R. A. Bower, Mr. Ennis and wife, Mrs. Penington, Mrs. Archer, Mr. Stephenson and wife, Mrs. White, Mrs. Louisa Pierce. The first elder was probably R. A. Bower. Then William Keeble, and then S. S. Salisbury. The Old School organized here Sept. i, i860, per Rev. R. H. Lilly. Their first members were these : Mrs. Jane C. Barker, Miss Malvina A. Barker, Miss Eliza J. Barker, Mrs. Theda W. Tewksbury, Mrs. Mary C. Ferris, Wm. Culbert- son, Mary Culbertson, Miss Hester Ann Culbertson, Miss Mary Ann Culbertson, Miss Margaret Culbertson, Mrs. Agnes Smith, Mrs. Louisa Pierce, Wm. Keeble, Elizabeth Keeble. Wm. Keeble appears to have been the only elder. The Ministers who supplied the n. s. church, were Isaac P. Stryker, George D. Miller, of Tuscola, C. J. Pitkin. O. S. Ministers : Thomas J. Taylor, who died here June, 1865, and D. F. McFarland, who resided at Mattoon. WILLIAM R. pal:mer. 499 Since the re- union, the elders have been Stephen Norton, 1871 ; James C. Evans and John Bond, 1872; Alex. Taylor, John Cromie, Henry C. Barnet and David Maxwell, 1875 ; R. C. McMurdy, 1878. The Ministers since the re-union have been, J. L. IN'IcNair, the first resident minister; D. R. JLove, D. S. White and J. P. Mills. The last is still in charge. Whole number of members, two hundred and twelve. Pres- -ent membership about one hundred. There is a parsonage. William Randall Palmer was born at Griswold, Ct., January 15, 1822. His parents were both of English nation- ality, -and members 'of the Congregational Church. His father was born on the beautiful farm in Preston, Ct., still in the possession of a relative, which their Puritan ancestry bought from the Indians in the early days of the New Eng- land Colonies, and where seven generations of the family are buried. From his father he inherited a fine physical de- velopment, habits of industry, love of order, and entire thoroughness and integrity in everything ; from his mother, a remarkable love of beauty, an exquisite taste, and a heroic faith m the providence and the promises of God. Those Avho have known him, will remember how lovingly he used to .speak of her, as " That mother of a mighty faith." He was the first born, and even before his birth was consecrated by his parents to the ministry. While he was quite young his father removed to the city of Norwich, where his boyhood was spent. Here he became personally interested in religion when about ten years old, during a very precious and gener- al revival which reached all the churches in the city, and brought many into Christ's fold. He attended the best schools in the city, and commenced a classical course with a view to entering college. The financial reverses of 1837 seriously affecting his father's circumstances, he left the city and removed to a farm in Lisbon, and the plan of an education was given up. With this change in his circum- stances, came loss of interest in religious things and a neglect of Christian duty. It was not the custom in New England, forty years ago, to encourage children to make confession of their faith in Christ, and he always felt that he suffered great loss in his own experience on account of this neglect. In after years, when he became a pastor, it was always a joy to iiim to welcome the little ones to the church. 500 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Soon after his twenty-first birth-day, his mother entered the heavenly home, with these last words as a legacy to her children: "Ready — all ready." The following winter, while teaching in a neighboring town, he was thrown mto the midst of a precious work of grace, which led to the renewal of his Christian life, and his re-consecration to the Saviour. With this came a longing for useful- ness and an earnest desire to save souls. He commenced at once personal work for the Master, doing readily and cheer- fully everything which offered as Christian duty. Friends who saw his earn^estness and consecration, urged him to study for the ministry. He longed to enter upon the work, but a hesitation in his speech, which -he feared would pre- vent him from becoming an acceptable public speaker, kept him from a prompt decision. But when assured by his pas- tor. Rev. Levi Nelson, in whose kindness and wisdom he placed implicit confidence, that practice would improve his utterance, he decided at once to commence his studies. It is proper to say in passing, that this stammering never affected him in prayer, never interfered with his usefulness as a preacher, and after a few years was entirely overcome. He fitted for college at Leicester Academy, Mass., and entered Amherst College in 1845, graduated in 1849. Among his classmates were Rev. Charles Hartwell, now veteran missionary in China, Rev. Dr. Henry Lobdell, who sleeps near the banks of the Tigris, and the present Presi- dent of Amherst College, Rev. Dr. Julius H. Seelye. The same year, 1849, he entered the East Windsor Theological Seminary, now located at Hartford, Conn., and graduated in 1852. His seminary vacations were spent so successfully in colporteur work, among the " hill-country " of his native State, that the American Tract Society gave him at once an appointment as General Agent of the State of Indiana. He had been licensed by the Hartford Association of Congregational ministers in the spring of 185 1, and he was ordained by a council of Congregational ministers in Chicopee, Mass., Sept. 16, 1852. Rev. Dr. Nahum Gale, preaching the sermon. He accepted the appointment of the Am. Tr, Society, and spent the next year in Indiana, with headquarters at Indian- apolis. In the summer of 1853 he accepted a call to the Centre church, Crawfordsville, Ind., and was installed their pastor. Here he remained four years, and then accepted a FRIEND A. DEMING. 5^^ call to the Presbyterian church in Danville, 111., where he also remained four years. From thence he removed to the Second Presbyterian church of Fort Wayne, Ind., which he supplied two years, and then came to the Presbyterian church in Attica, Ind, At the close of the second year in Attica, he was takenalarmingly ill of jaundice, followed by malarial fever. As he partially recovered, change of climate was recommended by his physician, and in 1866 he returned to New England. For a few months he supplied different churches, but he was prostrated again in the autumn of the same year by a violent attack of congestion of the brain. Repeated attacks have followed and he has been ever since a confined invalid, unable to preach or to perform any con- tinuous mental labor. This prostration of body and mind was probably occasioned by over work in the malarial climate of the Wabash Valley. Since that time he has resided in Chicopee, Miss. In addition to his regular pas- toral labors, he performed a great deal of missionary work, preaching to destitute churches in the country and assisting other pastors in times of revival. His ministry has been fruitful and happy. " Permitted to preach the gospel fourteen years." is his own record of his life. He was married at the time of his ordination, Sep. 16, 1852, to Clara E, Skeele, of Chicopee, Mass., a descendant of Gov, John Carver and John Hovvland, two of the heroes " Who in the INIayflower's cabin signed the first New England charter." Their children are four; William Kimberly, born in Craw- fordsville, Ind., March 19, 1856; Charles Skeele, born in Dan- ville, 111., Aug. 4, 1858; Clara Francis, born in Danville, 111., Feb. 24, 1861; Francis Leseure, born in Fort Wayne, Ind,, Aug. 28, 1863. Friend Absalom Deming. — Auto-biographical. — I was born in Washington, Berkshire county, Mass., on the 4th of May, 1813. I am a Puritan of the Puritans. On my father's side I can trace my ancestry back to the traditional "three brothers," who came, not exactly in the "May- flower," but at a very early day, to the colony of Massachu- setts. But, liistorically, I can go no further back than a Mr. Jonathan, or John Deming, who seems to have been a right- hand man of Dr. Hooker in the settlement of Hartford and Wethersfield, Ct, about the year 1635. On the 502 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. female side of the Deming line, I can trace my lineage tO' George William Bradford, who came in the " Mayflower." On the maternal side I can trace my ancestry back, in a direct line, to one Anthony Eames, of whom his- tory speaks as engaged in a fierce contest, at Hingham, Mass., about 1640, in regard to some disputed military title. It will thus be seen that the "religious belief" of my ancestry must have been of the Puritan type, as no other was tolerated in Massachusetts at that early day. I think I may fairly claim to be of pure English extraction, both on my father's and mother's side. But from the statement made in Savage's Biographical Dictionary, that "Eames" (my moth- er's paternal name), was originally from Exmes, in Orme, Normandy, France, and was pronounced "Ames," it is sup- posed that, on my mother's side, I am of French extraction, and that the family name was deriv^ed from the place from which they emigrated, first to England, and then to Neiv England. To resume my personal history, I graduated at Union College in 1837, at New Haven Theolog- ical Seminary in 1840. In the spring of 1840 I spent a few months with a little church in Atkinson, N. H. But after graduating in August, 1840, I came directly to Ohio, and commenced laboring, as opportunity presented, among the missionary churches on the " Western Reserve." In June, 185 1, I was ordained by the Grand River Presby- tery over a little church in Rome, Ashtabula county, Ohio. With this church I labored till August, 1844, when I com- menced labor with the Congregational-Presbyterian church in Freedom, Portage county, Ohio. Here I remained till 1852, when I removed to Berlin Heights, Erie county, Ohio, and spent several years in connection with the church at that place. In 1858 I removed to Edgar county. Ills.; and here first came on to the field of your historical enquiry, in con- nection with the church at New Providence. In 1862 I re- moved to Mattoon, Coles county, and commenced laboring with a recently formed church in that, then, new railroad town. This formed my last pastoral charge. Since my la- bors closed there, they have not been confined to any one church, but I have endeavored to embrace opportunities as they have presented themselves in laboring for the Master. As to my notions in entering the ministry, I may say that I truly hoped to be able to accomplish more for God: and humanity than I could in any other sphere of labor. J.IATTOON CHURCHES. 5O3 Whether such has been the result is known only to Him who seeth the end from the beginning. And though, in answer to your last question, I cannot say that anything start- ling, or of very special interest, has broken in upon the even tenor of my day, I may, yet, say that my labors have not been wholly barren of good results. In every field I have occu- pied, I have been able to gather some sheaves into the garner of the Lord. My labors have all been bestowed on mission- ary fields. In two of them I have aided in building pleasant and comfortable parsonages ; and in two others, in replacing old and dilapidated houses with new, beautiful and commo- dious places of worship. February, 1843, ^ was married to Mary I., the youngest daughter of Deacon E. Chester, of Rome, Ohio. We have had four children, all of whom are still living, members of the church, and, in some good degree, acting well their part in their several stations and relations in life. The eldest, Sarah E., was born June, 1844; married to D. T. Mclntyre, an attorney at law in Mat- toon, 111., where she is still living. Halbert H., born in August, 1845, is a practising physician in Pana, 111. Cor- delia P., born in March, 1847; married a D. D., and is hap- pily settled in Northfield, Minn. Mary M., born December, 1848; married an M. D., and is settled in Shelby ville, 111. The above comprises, I think a brief answer to the queries propounded in your circular. To this, I don't know that I could add anything that would be of any particular interest to the public, or worthy of a place in your book, and will therefore not trespass upon your space. The First Presbyterian Church of Mattoon, Coles county, was organized by Revs. A. T. Norton and Enoch Kingsbury, in the Baptist church edifice, June 27, 1858, with the following ten members : Matthew Wilson, Mrs. Alargaret Wilson, James Bickley, Mrs. Maria Bickley, Mrs. Mary Wil- liams, Wm. C. Cunningham, Mrs. Fanny Cunningham, Park P. Francis, Mrs. Jennie Moore, Francis and Mrs. Cordelia E. Gill. Mrs. Cunningham, who had been a Catholic, united by profession and was baptized. Elders : William C. Cun- ningham. Elders since appointed: G. W. Horn, J. Sawyer, Ichabod Jennings, A. C. Ewing, H. I. Treat, John O. Mc- Clelland. Ministers: Enoch Kingsbury, J. P. Stryker, J. S. Edwards, 1860-62; Friend A. Deming, 1862, the first resi- 504 PRESBYTERIAXISM IN ILLINOIS. dent minister; J. Lewis Jones, 1867, one year; John Kidd, 1868-70, X. S. Dickey, Jan. i, 1871. The church edifice was dedicated Aug. 7, 1864. Previous to this, they had no settled place of worship, to the great detriment of the congregation. The whole number ever in connection with this First church of INIattoon was one hun- dred and twenty-nine, at the time of the union of the churches, Dec. 26, 1871, 'Sir. Dickey would not allow his name to be used as a candidate for the pulpit. The Second, or-G. S. Church of Mattoon, was organ- ized by a committee of Palestine Presbytery, I\Iay 27, i860, with these members : Mrs. Mary E. Bridges, Mrs. Martha M. Bishop, Mrs. Betty Johnson, W. E. Smith, John A. For- line, David Forline, Mrs. Betty Dora, Roe M. Bridges, Mrs. Rebecca Boyd, Miss Frances A. Boyd, Miss Orpha E. Boyd, James Boyd, D. T. Mclntyre, Miss Cynthia Van Zandt, Rob- ert Campbell, Mrs. Robert Campbell, IMrs. Margaret Keely, ^Irs. :\Iartha A. Smith, :Mrs. :\Iartha J. Van Zandt and Mrs. Mary E. Boyd. Elder : W. E. Smith. Elders since : Edie Stewart, Wm. Millar, Alpheus Hasbrouck, Edwin W. Vause, Sanford Williams. Ministers : J. W. Allison, Alfred Hamil- tton, D. D., 1863-66; J. E. Lapsley, Oct. 6, 1866, April 3, 1870; W. B. Noble, June, 1871. The house of worship was erected about 1864, and cost $3,000. The whole number of members connected with this church, previous to the union, was two hundred and eighty-nine. At the time of the union there were one hundred and thirty-eight resident and thirty- five non-resident members. The union of the two churches was effected by the Mattoon Presbytery, Dec. 25, 1871. Theirfirst Sabbath service was on Dec. 31, 1871. Ses- sion at that time, Rev. W. B. Noble, and Elders Wm. Millar, W. C. Cunningham, Alex. E. Ewing, Edwin W. Vause and Daniel C. Wykoff. During January, 1S72, services were held alternately in the two houses, the one east, and the other west of the Illinois Central Railroad. The parsonage was erected in 1872, and cost $,2500. Ministers of the united church : W. B. Noble, till April, 1872; D. W. Moore, Oct., to Nov., 1872; H. W. W^oods, supply pastor, Dec, 1872, May, 1873, instahed May 6, 1873; dismissed in April of 1875. J. L. McNair commenced June 13, 1875, was installed pastor and still remains. The church JOHN HUSTON. 505 " I was not present, I think, when Bro. Olmsted's case was before us. I knew nothing of the difficulty until advised of the similar case in Wisconsin." This sentence is significant. It lets out the very important fact that this policy of refusing commissions to the missionaries in Presbyteries which performed some portion of their missionary work inde- pendently, was initiated by the Executive Committee wJien Dr Hatfield zvas absent. Who else was absent from that im- portant meeting? Was Dr. Asa D. Smith one of them? This is the letter : Alton, III., January 25, 1859. Dear Bro. Coe : Yours of the 19th is before me ; also the letter you wrote to Rev. E. B. Olm- sted on the nth inst. In these letters you distinctly say that the A. H. M. S. declines longer to aid the feeble churches in the Presbyteries of Alton and Wa- bash, because they have assumed a position independent of that Society, by ap- pointing missionaries of their own, and making collections for their support. It is true that these Presbyteries, and the Illinois Synod, and the Peoria Synod, and the Albany Synod, and I know not how many more, have appointed missiona- ries of their own, and pay them from their own contributions. But why have they done it ? Because the A. H. M. S. — a voluntary society, with- out the slightest ecclesiastical authority, have exceeded their true function — which is singly and solely to be agents of the churches, so far and so long as the churches are pleased to employ them — and have intruded into the work of ec- clesiastical control ■iXiA direction, e. g. Until about two years ago Alton Pres- bytery appointed an itinerant missionary or missionaries, had them commis- sioned by your Society, and reported their collections. But mark ! The Pres- bytcry directed the labors of those missionaries. In order, as I now firmly believe, and then did, to prevent this Preshytcrial direction, you made the rule that your missionaries could labor only at points designated in their commissions. That rule, made for the nonce, virtually took from our hands what we believed we had no right to yield up, XSxo. business of planting our own churches in our own terri- tory- We threw ourselver upon our inherent aad inalienable right and sacred ALTON PRESBYTERY AND A. H. M. S. 53 1 ^dtity to do this work in our own way, independent of any and of all foreign dic- tation. And since your Society would not sufter us to do it through them, we -determined to do it widiout them. But we liave gone no farther than this. We have simply vindicated our rights ; not to have done this would have been unfaithfulness to our Master and our Church. We have commissioned none but ?V?«^ra«/ missionaries. We have no purpose to commission any others, unless you compel us to do it — and your present action looks very like it. We have taken no collections except such as were necessary to meet the expenses of this pioneer missionary work. Most of our churclies contribute to your Society. I many mention Monticello, CoUinsville, Bunker Hill. Brighton, and I believe Belleville. These are more than half of our self-sustaining churches. Besides these, a// our missionary churches contribute to your treasury. I repeat, then : We have not assumed an independent position, except with reference to the pio- neer branch of the general missionary work — and to this your Society has forced us. If, besides contributing to your Society, we sustain pioneer mis- sionaries of our own, I know not on what principle that can be a ground of com- plaint, or how that can constitute the shadow of a reason for withholding aid 'from our feeble churches. Have we ever agreed that we will do nothing for the Home Missionary cause, except through one particular channel ? Do I under- stand that unless we do all that we do, for Home Missions, through your Society, you will do nothing for us ? You assure Mr. Palmer the Society will aid these feeble churches if the Presbytery co-operate with them to the " extent of its ability.^' i.e. It must do all it can do through you, or have no help. This is drawing the lines pretty close. It may be possible that your Society can in this way control our Presbyteries and Synods. There is no telling what men will do when they are threatened with starvation. But if they do your bidding under such a pressure, you will lose both their confidence and respect. The allegiance of our Presbyteries and Synods is to our General Assembly, not to -.the A. H. M. S. Our Assembly declared in 1855 (See minutes for that year, p. 21), " That the functions now assigned them — the Ch. Ex. Com. — are those of etnploying Prcsbytcrial, Synodical and other Presbyterian itinerant or exploring ■agents, and also the receiving and disbursing of funds for these objects.''^ This is jprecisely what Alton and Wabash Presbyteries have done — nothing more. We may well ask by what ri^ht the A. H. M. S. are punishing us for follow- ling the recommendations, or obeying the behest of our own Assembly ? The rule you have adopted places you in conflict with our whole Church. Your interpretation of co-operation is clearly this : You say to us, you must do ■ all your home missionary 7vork through our Society ; then we will help your fee- ble churches. Such an interpretation of co-operation we never have admitted and mever shall. It is seldom I write so long a letter, but in advocating the rights of the weak against the strong, and of the oppressed against the op- ipressor, "my heart becomes hot within me." If your Society insist on their present course, I see no alternative but an appeal to the public. Our feeble •churches and indigent ministers shall not suffer without at least one strenuous •effort in their behaif. To this letter Dr. Coe sent a reply, dated February i8, 1859. It is too long to quote in full. He states that the subject to which this correspondence refers had been fully discussed by the Executive Committee at their meeting, Mon- day, February 14, but that no further action was taken, add- ing : "The principles involved in my letter of January 19, will doubtless be applied, as they have been heretofore, in all :similar cases." The Secretary goes on to request that the .action of the Executive Committee be communicated to the .Presb>-tery, and in the very ivords in zvhich it had been made 532 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. knozvn to me. He meets no one of my positions. He is pre-^ eminently evasive and unfair. He quotes, e, g., with great gusto, from the Assembly's Minutes of 1854 — "that the diffi- culties apprehended, being all happily adjusted, they see no occasion to create any other instrumentality" — than that of the A. H. M. S. — but utterly ignores the action at St. Louis in 1855, when our Church Extension Committee was established. He does not know such a Committee exists ; and that our Church is looking upon it every year with increasing favor and hope, and becoming more and more convinced of its in- dispensable necess-ity. The Societ)^ calls in question my assertion that " the Society has no right to or- ganize churches." It lias no such right, and can put forth no such claim, unless its conductors are believers in the doc- trines of radical Independency. If they hold that laymen- may organize churches, then they may say that the Society can do it as such. But if they admit none can do that act save regularly ordained ministers, their claim falls. Presby- terians certainly will not admit that the A. H. M. S. is an ecclesiastical body. Dr. Coe's letters to Rev. W. S. Post, dated February 15, 1859, rejecting the applications of the churches of New Du- coign and Carbondale ; to Mr. Pitkin, dated March 15, 1859, rejecting the application of the church in Troy; to Mr. Bird,, dated March 29, 1859, commiserating with him in his embar- rassments at being connected with such a rebellious Presby- tery; to Mr. Gibson, dated March 4, 1S59, rejecting the ap- plications of the church in Mt. Vernon, were all read in full. Their contents were entirely similar to those in the letter to Mr. Olmsted. They were all electioneering documents, cal- culated and, no doubt designed, to influence votes in the Presbytery. The agent of the Society was also present, having in his pocket copies of my letters to Dr. Coe, which had been forwarded to him from New York. He was armed cap-a-pie for advocating the claims of the Society. Previously to the meeting of Presbytery, he had been to the Session of Alton church, to draw them into the Society V measures. How many other Sessions, and how many of our ministers he approached for a similar purpose I know not. But, beyond any question, there was a concerted and desper- ate attempt made to dragoon the Presbytery into submission. How well it succeeded the action of the Presbytery will show. After the presentation of the subject and ALTON PRESBYTERY AND A. H M. S. 533 the reading of the correspondence by the Stated Clerk, the ■whole matter was referred to a special committee, consisting of Messrs. Norton, Taylor, Edwards, Parks and Porter. The committee unanimously agreed upon the following re- port : Whereas, Difficulties have arisen between the Executive Committee of the A. H. M. S. and this Presbytery, concerning the terms of co-operation between us and them, this committee recommend : 1. That we appoint now, as we have done ever since 1840, a Missionary Com- mittee, to consist of seven members — three ministers and four elders — one of whom shall be chairman, and another secretary and treasurer — four of the com- mittee to constitute a quorum, and the committee to meet monthly in the city of Alton. They also recommend that Rev. C. H. Taylor be the chairman, and El- der Isaac Scarritt secretary and treasurer of the committee, and that the other members be Rev. Messrs. J. S. Edwards and A. T. Norton, and Elders A. M. Blackburn, L. A. Parks and J. W. Gilson. 2. That this Committee on Home Missions be instructed to advise the Execu- tive Committee of the A. H. M. S. as follows : 1. We must insist upon Its being our duty, our right, and an imperative neces- sity, to employ an exploring missionary witliin our bounds, as hitherto. 2. We are willing, nevertheless, to co-operate with the A. PI. M. Society ; and in case their aid is continued to our missionaries, we do hereby request that all our churches contribute yearly to its treasury, according to the full measure of •their ability. 3. If the Executive Committee of the A. H. M. S will not pledge continued aid to our needy churches on these terms, we recommend that Presbytery adopt the following plan : (i.) They urge that as many of the missionary churches as possible assume at -once the position of self-support — and that, in other cases, two, three, or even four churches be united, if necessary, in the support of one man. (2.) That Presbytery also urge upon all our churches to take up the largest col- lections possible for the general work of home missions in our bounds— and that in order to meet the present home missionary exigency, collections to all volun- tary societies, save the A. B. C. F. M., be either suspended for a year or two entirely, or be greatly reduced ; and that all the monies so collected be paid to the Treasurer above named. (3.) That Presbytery direct their Home Missionary Committee to prepare a a memorial for the next General Assembly, giving a succinct but comprehensive history of the present difficulty, and requesting them to so enlarge the functions of •the Assembly's Permanent Church Extension Committee, that they can aftbrd aid to all the missionaries of this body from whom the A. H. M. Society is now with- holding commissions, and to all others in our bounds whom this Presbytery or their Missionary Committee recommend. (4.) Should the needed aid not be gained in the way last named, that Presby- tery empower their Missionary Committee to employ an agent to raise the funds wherever they may direct. (5.) That our commissioners to the next General Assembly be specially charged to urge the memorial above named upon the attention of the Assembly, and to gain from the Church Extension Committee the aid needed. (6 ) That our churches, whose applications have been rejected, be directed, -after doing their utmost'for themselves, to make application to this Presbyterial Home Missionary Committee. (7.) That our present Presbyterial Missionary, Rev. J. Gordon, be continued ■to labor as heretofore, under the direction ef the Presbyterial Missionary Com- imittee. The report was thoroughly discussed, nearly every mem- 534 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ber of Presbytery and the agent of the H. M. Society,. Rev. E, Jenney, participating in the debate. It was finally adopted with an unanimity most surprising, consider- ing the powerful extraneous influences which had been brought to bear upon the body. Only two or three voted- against it. It was a noble triumph of principle over domi- neering injustice, the power of the purse and the prestige of the third of a century. May 5, 1859. — ^^ have just received from Isaac Scarritt, Esq., a note saying " that he transmitted to the A. H. M. S.. the action of Presb.ytery of Alton so far as it related to them," and also a letter from New York. This letter, which we think all will regard as virtually the closing act in this long drama, is as follows : New York, April 26, 1859. Isaac Scarritt, Esq., — Dear Sir : Your communication of April iSth, enclosing a minute of the doings of the Presbytery of Alton, was duly received, and was laid before the Executive Com- mittee at their meeting yesterday. They reciprocate most cordially the desire of the Presbytery to resume the co-operaLon which has so long subsisted between- this Society and that body, in the work of home missions ; and the only ques- tion that arose in considering the minute forwarded by you, respected its import as to a single point. They were uncertain whether it is the design of the Presby- tery that the missionary sustained by its funds shall be commissioned by this Society, as was always done from 1840 to 1856, or should act independently, as has been the case since the latter date. In order to settle this question, so as to- prevent future misunderstanding, the committee adopted tiiianimozisly [who yier&: present? Ed.) the following minute, viz. : "A communication having been received from the Presbytery of Alton, enclos- ing a minute adopted by that l.ody at its late meeting, in reference to the 'terms, of co-operation ; ' " Resolved, I. That the Presbytery be informed that the following principles, govern the Society in co-operating with auxiliaries and ecclesiastical bodies, and this committee will be happy to co-operate with the Presbytery on the same- terms, viz.: " 1st. That the missionaries laboring within the bounds of an auxiliary or ec- clesiastical body be commissioned by this Society, and be governed in their labors by its principles. "2d. That the funds raised on the field be applied to cancel the pledges con- tained in the commissions, and be acknowledged by the Society as contributed to its treasury. " 3d. That the churches on the field co-operate cordially with the Society in. the raising of funds, and contribute yearly to its treasury, according to the full measure of their abihty. '^Resolved, 2, That this committee continue to regard the work of exploring and occupying new fields of labor as one of great importance, and by sustaining general exploring agents, and other itinerant laborers, having missionary circuits, more or less extensive, as circumstances may require, they are enabled to reach> every portion of the field, and carry forward, with harmony and efficiency every department of the missionary work. As soon as we are informed that the missionary work of the Presbytery has been brought into harmony with these- principles, the way will be open to render aid to the churches within its bounds."" Very respectfully yours, etc., D. B. COE, Secretary, etc. ALTON PRESBYTERY AND A. H. M. S. 535 This is unmistakable. For once we will give the A. H. M. S. the credit of plainly showing its hand. There is abund- ance of fair and smooth speech, and about the usual amount of verbosity; but there is point, unmistakable point. We think the office, Bible House, Astor Place, can no longer be termed as we once heard it, "Circumlocution Office," " point no point!' After digging underground for months and years, and finding themselves unearthed, they suddenly spring to their feet exclaiming, "we stand here in the open sunlight, zvhere we always have stood!' The co-operation! here set forth is this: 1st. The society propose to direct and control every missionary laboring in the bounds of the Presbytery, (2) They propose that the churches cordially contribute all their missionary funds to its treasury. (3) They propose to take entire charge of the pioneer, or church extension work, and, finally, (4) They propose, in a word, to " carry forward every de- partment of the Home Missionary Work." They do not intend our General Assembly's Church Ex- tension Committee shall have a dollar to expend, or a place on earth to set their foot. Now " know all men by these presents," that this is co-operation as understood at the Bible House, Astor Place, New York ! But amidst all this outspokenness there is a touch of the old diplomacy. They don't understand what the Presbytery mean when they say, ' ' We must insist upon its being our duty, our jight, and an imperative Jiecessity to employ an exploring missionary zvithin our bouiids as hitherto!' What language cozdd be plainer? Why do the Executive Committee stum- ble here ? Is this a ruse ? And did the Secretaries imagine that by its use they might prevent the publication of the ac- tion of Presbytery this month, prevent its being brought up at the next meeting of the Assembly, and thus, by gaining time, have the game in their own hands by giving the starva- tion argument longer time to develop its irresistable logic ? We are sorry to suppose it possible good men could re- sort to such subterfuges, but experience is a stern teacher. It is painfully apparent that the Home Missionary Society is not what it was when Dr. Absalom Peters and Dr. Charles Hall were its Secretaries. It is currently believed now to be essentially a one man pozuei ; and that the Senior Secretary is the talented, if not disinterested and impartial 536 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. pilot, who stands at its helm, and is guiding it with ail sails set into the harbor of radical independency ! 1879. Was not this true prophecy? The above action of Alton Presbytery was indorsed and sanctioned by that of Chicago the same month, and the whole was sent to the Assembly as a memorial in May, 1859. The action of the Assembly accorded substantially with the plea of the memorial. The way being thus prepared, the Assembly of 1861 took into its own hand its entire Home Missionary work. This done, the greatest barrier to the re- union of the two Assemblies was removed. All this is but another illustration of the maxim, that great events often pro- ceed from little causes. James S. Walton was born January 13, 1817, In Chester county, Pa. Graduated at Marietta College in 1843, and at Lane Seminary 1846. Ordained by the Presbytery of Ath- ens, Ohio, April 15, 1847. Joined Alton Presbytery, April 8, 1859, ^"*^ took charge of Pana church. He, or rather his wife, taught school in the same place. He was an able ser- monizer, but became so deaf as to be unable to hear his own voice, and was obliged on that account to give up preaching. He then worked at the trade of a carpenter, which he had learned in his boyhood, and subsequently on his farm near Pana until his death, which took place October i, 1874. Almond G. Martin was born in Maumee, Ohio, January 21, 1821. Educated at Western Reserve College and Seminary. Ordained by Elyria Presbytery in 1849. Joined Alton Presbytery, April, 1859. Labored at Cairo, 111. Was dismissed, April 4, 1862, to the Presbytery of St. Joseph. In 1870 he was laboring in a missionary field in Fort Wayne Presbytery. He is now — 1879 — at Thorp's Spring, Texas, and is still a member of Fort Wayne Presbytery, but with- out ministerial charge. Mound City Church was organized, February 6, 1859, by Revs. A. T. Norton and E. B. Olmsted, with ten members. Adam Mason, Jacob Skeen and Edward H. White, elders. This church lived but a short time. The members removed. MEETING OF PRESBYTERIES. $37 Another church of the same name was organized by Revs. A. T. Norton and H. B. Thayer, September 14, 1873, with seven members. The hcentiate, William B. Minton, was lo- cated there. His success for a time was very encouraging. A hall for religious services had been rented and a cabinet organ procured. An excellent, public-spirited gentleman, Mr. Edwin S. Chester, had located in Mound City as Super- intendent of the " Handle Works." He encouraged this •church movement in every way. But before many months he removed and took the business with him. Mr. Minton, too, left for Anna, and this second Mound City church has followed the first. Possibly one or two members may yet re- main. But Mound City itself is well nigh extinct. The business and the people are gone. The buildings are mostly a ruin. Alton Presbytery met at Belleville, September 29, 1859. 'C. J. Pitkin was received from the Presbytery of Illinois. A. T. Norton resigned as Stated Clerk, and C. H. Taylor was appointed in his place. The report of the Missionary Com- mittee was encouraging. The contributions for Home Mis- sions had increased one hundred per cent. Andrew Luce was installed pastor of Belleville church, Sabbath evening, Octo- ber 2. The Presbytery of Hillsboro held its first session at Hillsboro, commencing November 27, 1858. This Presbytery was constituted by the Synod of Illinois, o. s., in October, 1858, and comprised the counties of Bond, Fayette, Marion, Clay, Effingham, Montgomery, Jersey and the south part of Macoupin. It consisted of seven ministers and seventeen churches. The same Presbytery met at Jerseyville, April 8, 1859. Peter Hassinger, minister, and William Lanterman, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. Sando- val church was received. John Mack, licentiate, was dis- missed to the Presbytery of Kansas. Henry Blanke was -received from the Presbytery of St. Louis. Samuel Lynn was installed pastor of the Second Presbyterian church of Jerseyville, April 10. A called meeting was held at Hills- boro, commencing July 19. David R. Todd, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Miami, examined and or- dained, sine titulo, July 22. The same day Alfred N. X)enney was received. The fall meeting was held 538 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS, at Moro, Rattan's Prairie church, commencing October 7. L. B. W. Shryock was received from the Presbytery of Ebenezer. R. M. Roberts was released from the pastoral care of the Hillsboro church. He also resigned his position as Stated Clerk, and T. W. Hynes was appointed in his place. Henry Blanke, a German preacher, died at Bay, Mo., February 25, 1873, aged fifty-three. At the time of his death, and for several years before, he was a member of St. Louis Presbytery. ,. David R. Todd was born January 31, 1829, in Hanover township, Dauphin county, Penn. His ancestors were from Ireland, Presbyterian in belief. He fitted for college at Leb- anon Academy, Warren county, Ohio, and graduated at Washington College, Washington county, Penn., in 1852. He studied theology at Danville, Ky. He was licensed by Miami Presbytery September 12, 1855; ordained 1859; be- gan preaching in Putnam county, Ind., to the churches of Putnamville and Walnut Hill. Was with them one year and a half. In 1857, was settled over the churches of Jefferson and Sugar Creek, Clinton county, Ind. He next labored at Flora and Xenia, 111. Then, in succession, at Litchfield, Dawson and Williamsville, same State. His next field was Bethlehem and Union churches, Cass county, Ind. In Sept., 1870, he removed to Jackson county, Kansas, his present field of labor. His father, James Todd, a tanner, born Feb- ruary 15, 1804, near Harrisburg, Penn., was drowned in the Susquehanna river when the son was only two years of age. He was taken to reside with his grand-parents, who re- moved to Warren county, Ohio, in 1831. He married, March 23, 1858, Miss Carrie N. Baker, of Jefferson, Clinton county,. Ind., daughter of A. Baker, one of the pioneers of the State of Indiana. Mr. Todd has a family of five children : Irene E., born March 8, 1861 ; Kate Lizzie, November 2, 1863; David Abner and Carrie Baker, twins, May 8, 1856; Jennie Joy, May 6, 1877. T — Lazarus B. W. Shryock — was born near the village of New Salem (now Delmont), Westmoreland county, Penn., L. B. W. SHRYOCH. 539 July, 1826, within the bounds of the Presbyterian congrega- tion of Congruity, Presbytery of Blairsville. Under the min- istry of Rev. Samuel McFarran, D, D., I was baptized, and made a profession of religion in my twentieth year. My ancestors, on my father's side, came from the Rhine (Palatinate), 1733. They were Lutherans. On my mother's — whose name was Wilson — they came over about the time of the founding of Penn's colony, and were " Friends." My ac- ademic education was obtained mainly at Richmond Classi- cal Institute (afterwards college), Jefferson county, Ohio. My college course was taken at Jefferson College, Cannons- burg, Penn., from which I was graduated August 3, 185 1. My theological education was pursued at Harrodsburg, Ky., under the direction of the Rev. John Montgomery, D. D., my pastor at that time. I was licensed by the Presbytery of Transylvania at their sitting in Danville, Ky., April 22, 1853. I was ordained, si)ie titnlo, by the Presbytery of Ebenezer at Covington, Ky., Nov. 15, 1855. I removed to Marion county, 111., Sept., 1859, to take charge of the churches of Salem and Sandoval, and occupy Kinmundy, where I organized a church in the winter following. After the war came on and since, I have labored in Indiana and Iowa, and am now un- der call to the churches of Hamilton and Wythe, Presbytery of Schuyler, and also the churches of Leon and Garden Grove, Presbytery Des Moines. One of these calls I shall accept. I was married August 5, 1852, to Miss Elizabeth Abraham, at Steubenville, Ohio, who still sur- vives. We have had three children, all now living : William T., born May 28, 1853; Everett H., born October 21, 1857, and Anna VVilson, born November 26, 1865. Every man's life is an interesting book to himself, and it ought to be to him an instructive one, as evincing the out- working of the purposes of a superintending Providence. Mine has proved to me the great value of faithful, early parent- al and pastoral training — the importance of good and industri- ous habits, and the inestimable power over a human life of the word of God well imbedded in the warp and woof of the early life. Sandoval Church was organized this year, with four members — A. Anderson, elder. This church never had much efficiency or success. The New School bouy, supposing it to be extinct, or at least in avticulo mortis, organized here 540 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. March 4 and 5, 1865. Frederick E. Robinson, elder, and William H. Bird, minister. For a time this church grew and gave good promise of an useful career. But these promises all failed. The members nearly all removed, and the church was dissolved by Presbytery, October 10, 1868. The o. s. church continued awhile longer in name, but for the most part without the ordinances, until all that was left of it — in- cluding the elder — joined a Congregational church which had been established in the place. The Presbytery of Saline was organized by the Synod of Illinois, o. s., at' their session in Peoria, October 8, 1S58, and made to include, in general terms, the southeastern part of the State. Its first session was to have been with the Wabash church, on the fourth Saturday of November, 1858. But that meeting failed, and the moderator, S. C. Baldrige, called the Presbytery together at Friendsville, Wabash county. May 5, 1859. John Crozier, minister, and John F. Younken, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. David McKnight was licensed. The fall meet- ing was held at Olney, commencing October 8. This Pres- bytery had a territory of sixteen counties, but at first only four ministers and nine churches. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Danville, October 7, 1859. Resolutions of co-operation with the trustees of Blackburn Theological Seminary in the objects of that insti- tution were adopted, and a Committee of Visitation ap- pointed. The cause of Church Extension received much at- tention, and the forward movements of the several Presby- teries of the Synod and of the Assembly in that cause, re- ceived unanimous and enthusiastic approval. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Paris, Edgar county, October 12, 1859. Seven Presbyteries were represented, in- cluding the two new ones of Hillsboro and Saline. The bounds of Saline Presbytery were extended in its northwest part so as to include Marion county, and Rev. L. B. W. Shryock located at Sandoval. YEAR i860. Illinois Presbytery met at Carlinville, March 12, i860. William L. Tarbet was received from the Presbyiery of WILLIAM L. TARBET, 54I North Alabama, Arrangements were made for his installa- tion over the church of Virden on the second Sabbath of May, i860. A petition signed b}' thirty-three members of the First Presbyterian church of Jacksonville was presented, asking to be organized into a new church, to be called " The Westminster Presbyterian church of Jacksonville." A com- mittee was appointed to organize the church. J. C, Dow- ner, minister, and H. Ellis, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. William L. Tarbet. I give the sketch in his own lan- guage, but adding these facts. He is a Trustee of Black- burn University and Secretary of the Board. His whole pas- toral work is perfectly systematized. In particular is his plan for raising funds for benevolent causes the most com- plete and successful in the Synod, or the State, He was- born to demonstrate that order, system, promptness and reg- ularity are as important and valuable in religious as in secular affairs, " I was born in Blount county, East Tenn., August 8, 1825. My ancestors on both sides were Scotch, My maternal grandfather, David Eagleton, was brought up in Edinburgh. They were of the Calvinistic belief I was instructed by my parents until my sixteenth year, when I became a pupil of the Rev, Hugh King Shields, who had charge of the acad- emy in Savannah, Hardin county, Middle Tenn,, a village to which my parents removed in the winter of 1833, I re- mained in the academy about three years, when I entered Jackson College in Maury county, Middle Tenn, I was graduated in the summer of 1847. I taught in the academy in Savannah the following year, and in the autumn of 1848 I entered Lane Seminary, and studied under Drs, Beecher^ Stowe and Allen. I left the seminary in the summer of 1850, returned to Tennessee and taught two years in the academy at Lawrenceburg. I was licensed by the Presbytery of Richland, April, 185 1, in what was called "The Brick Church," Giles county. I was ordained by the same body, October, 185 1, during its meeting in the Elk Ridge church, in Giles county. I was consecrated to the work of serving God in the ministry of his Son by a godly mother, whose prayers are among the first things in my recollection. My first field of labor was composed of the churches of Cor- 542 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. nersville and Brick Church in Giles county, Tenn. My next field was in Nashville, Tenn. I remained there about eight months, when I returned to Giles county and became stated supply to Bethany church. I continued with that church about three years, when I received a call to the Presbyterian church in Virden, Macoupin county. 111. I entered this field, May, 1859, and here the great head of the Church has continued me until this present. I was installed pastor of this church, May 13, i860. I was united in marriage to Miss Emma Hall Calvert, June 13, 1854, at Bowling Green, Ky., by the Rev. Edward McMillan. There have been born unto us three daughtersand two sons. Two daughters have been removed to the heavenly kingdom. Mary Lyon, born Jan- uary 22, 1855, died April 6, 1874; and Ellen G., born August 12, 1857, died August 13, 1857. Our surviving children are William L., born January 21, 1859; Henry B., born November 18, 1861, and Emma H., born December 5, 1864. William L. Tarbet." Virden, Decembr 3, 1878. The Presbytery of Illinois held their fall meeting with Pisgah church, commencing September 6, i860. Martin P, Ormsby, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Ca- yuga. He and Norman A. Prentiss were examined, and on Sabbath, September 9, i860, ordained. Prairie Bird church was enrolled this year by this Presbytery, Prairie Bird Church, Shelby county. Prarie Bird is a would-be village (no plat recorded), with a population of about fifty. The village and Presbyterian church building are in T. 12 N., R. 3 E., S. 19, S. E. quarter. The church site is two acres. Cemetery on it. The church was organized by Geo. C. Wood, missionary of the Presbytery of Illinois, April 8, i860, with these members: Robert Burke, Esther Burke David Ewing, Evelyn Ewing, Elizabeth Fulton, Geo. B. Hill, Elizabeth Hill, Jane Feckner, Mrs. Sarah Armstrong, Mrs. Mary Ann Jackson, Sarah Hill, Robert Harper, Margaret Harper, Zadock Lanham, Jane Gardner, Jacob Lair, Lois B. Lair, Emily Piatt, Geo. Griggs, Christiana Griggs, Eleanor Griggs, Aaron Griggs, Mrs. Sarah Hunter, Mrs. Sarah Am- lin, James Hutchinson, Dr. John H. Quown. Elders : Da- WESTMINSTER CHURCH. 543 vid Evving, Geo. B. Hill, George Griggs, the first. After- wards appointed: James Moore, M. D. Lane, John B. Smith, Anderson Hunter. Ministers: J. S. Walton, 1862; Eli W. Taylor, two years, from June, 1863 ; G. A. Pollock, ordained over the church June 2, 1866 — continued until 1869; J. D. Jenkins, November, 1874, or sooner, till end of 1875 ; Adam Johnston, January, 1877, and still continues. The house of worship — frame — was erected in 1857, and cost eight hundred dollars. Shelbyville church was organized in a barn, at the place now called Prairie Bird. Westminster Church, Jacksonville, was organized by a committee of Illinois Presbytery May 13, i860, in the Con- gregational church, with forty-five members — thirty-five of these were from the First church. Elders : David A. Smith and Henry Jones, M. D. Elders since appointed : Augus- tus R. Barber, Wm. Russell, Wm. C. Stevenson, Joshua Moore, John M. Brown, William E. Capps. Of these eight, David A. Smith and Joshua Moore have died. Ministers: David A. Hamilton, D. D., pastor, began October i, i860, .and remained till December 31, 1871. This pastorate was pleasant both to pastor and people, and fruitful in good re- .sults. The additions were two hundred — fifty-nine by let- ter, and one hundred and forty-one by examination, H. V. D. Nevius was installed November 17, 1872. He remained but eighteen months. Samuel M. Morton began his labors here on the last Sabbath of October, 1874, and was installed October 27, 1875. He still remains. The church edifice is on the corner of College avenue and Westminster street. It was erected in the summer of i860, and dedicated in the fall of that year. In 1866 great improvements were made. Among them was the erection of a tower, in which is a bell weighing 3,500 pounds. These improvements cost ^8,000. In 1875 ;^2,500 more were expended upon the building, making the whole cost of the property, as it now stands, $ij,^oo. The annual expenses have averaged ^2,700. The benevolent contributions have aggregated, up to July, 1876, $14,818 — an average of nine hundred and twenty-six dollars annually. There have been connected with this church, down to July, 1876, three hundred and twenty-one persons. 544 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Martin P. Ormsby — In his own words. I was born June I, 1830, in Underbill, Vt., of American parents, belonging to the Baptist church. However, two uncles, on my mother's side, Rev. Calvin Butler and Rev. Joseph Butler, were Pres- byterian ministers. Was educated in a law office and in Auburn Theological Seminary. Was licensed by Cayuga Presbytery in the spring of 1859, and ordained by the Pres- bytery of Illinois in the fall of i860. Labored about a year at Shelbyville, two years each at Wilmington and Mt. Car- roll, five and a half years at Minonk, a year at Winchester,, and seven years at Eureka, 111., where I now am. Was mar- ried to Miss M. Ca'tharine Huffman December 25, i860, at Shelbyville, but the Lord has given us no children. Norman A. Prentiss was born at Prattsburg, Steuben- county, N. Y., January 12, 1829. Graduated at Amherst College, Mass., in 1854. Became principal of a seminary in Danville, 111., in the same year. In 1857 he took charge of the Presbyterian academy of Carrollton, 111. From thence to Warsaw, 111., as superintendent of the public schools in that city. Ordained September 9, i860, by Illinois Presby- tery. In 1867 he went to Philadelphia, Penn. He was sup- ply, pastor of Mantua Second Presbyterian church, West Philadelphia, for about two years. He then was pastor of a Congregational church, La Salle, III, for about four years. He is now pastor of the First Congregational church, Aurora,^ 111. He married Miss Caroline Hovey, of Cov- entry, Ct. He would prefer to be in the Presbyterian Church, but of late years his lot has been cast with another denomi- nation. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Pleasant Ridge church, Randolph county, April 13, i860, W. R. Sim, min- ister, and Hugh Adams, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Nashville, Washington county, commencing Oct. 5. Mas- coutah church was received. A. A. Morrison was dismissed to the Presbytery of Highland. Arrangements were made for the installation of F. H. L. Laird, pastor of Carlyle church, on the 28th inst. D. A. Wallace was elected Stated Clerk. BEMEXT CHURCH. 545 jMascoutah Cpiurch was organized i\Iay 12, i860, with nine members, Jacob Sullivan, elder. It was dissolved by- Presbytery April II, 1868, and its members directed to at- tach themselves to the church of Trenton. The Presbytery of Wabash met at Neoga, April 27, i860. Joseph Wilson, minister, and Wm. M. Allison, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The name of Long Point church was changed to that of Neoga. Bement church was received. Tuscola church — old school — was, at their own request, received under the care of this Presbytery. The fall meeting was held at Cerro Gordo, September 29, i860. The Presbytery took occasion to express their confi- dence in the general good management of the Home Mis- sionary Society, and their dissent from the course of the " Presbytery Reporter," in calling in question that manage- ment. They do not make it matter of record that the price of this sycophancy was the lifting from them of the Society's ban. However, when they found the Assembly was sustain- ing the positions of the Alton and Chicago Presbyteries, and of the " Presbytery Reporter," they wheeled into line. Bement Church was organized August 29, 1869, by Rev. T. P. Emerson, in the Methodist church building, with these members : Mr. E. C. Camp, Mrs. E. J. Camp, Mrs. Mary Ellen Camp, William Newton, Mrs. Margaret Newton, Mrs. Sarah E. Bryant, Mrs. E. P. Swanny. Elders : E. C. Camp, William Newton, Geo. Sanford, William M. Camp, John H. Murphy, L. W. Brodman. The rotary system was adopted in 1872. Ministers: T. P.Emerson, S. A. Hammer, B. F. Sharp, A. W. Ringland, who is still in charge. Present membership, one hundred and eight. The church building was begun 1870. The basement was completed the same year. The audience room in February, 1876. Whole cost, ^11,240. This church is in a healthy, growing condition. There was an earlier organization, n. s., about i860. The Presbytery of Palestine met at York, April 12, i860. Ellis Howell, minister, and J. P. Mitchell, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The name of Bethel 35 546 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. church was changed to Oakland. The fall meet- ing was held at Grandview, commencing September 4. E. W. Thayer was dismissed to the Presbytery of Sangamon. H. I. Venable was installed pastor of Oakland church, May 19, i860. Charles P. Spining was ordained pastor of the Grandview church, September 5, i860. At a called meeting, November 26, Henry T. Morton was dismissed to the Presby- tery of Louisville. Charles P. Seining. — Auto-biographical. — 1 was born at Oxford, Ohio, September 12, 1830. My ancestors on my father's side came from England and Holland On my moth- er's side, from Holland and France. Both branches of the family when they came to this country settled near Elizabeth- town, N. J. In 1797 my grandfather, on my father's side, re- moved from New Jersey and settled for a short time near Cincinnati, and then located permanently near Dayton, Mont- gomery county, Ohio. About the same time my grandfather, on my mother's side, Peter Perlee, located at Lebanon, War- ren county, Ohio. My ancestors were of the Presbyterian faith. My father, C. H. Spining (who at this date is still living at Dayton, Ohio, at the advanced age of eighty-six), has been for more than fifty years a ruling elder. The greater part of this period he has been connected with the First Presbyterian church of Dayton. At the age of eighteen I was sent to Dayton to enter a high school, where I remained three years. I then attended the university at Charlottesville, Va., for two years. Having spent a short time in teaching school in Indiana, I removed with my brother George to Illinois, where we together bought a farm near Paris, Edgar county. In the autumn of 1855 I entered the Theological Seminary at New Albany. This was the last session of the seminary at that place. I was licensed April i, 1858. On the 4th of May, 1858. I was married to Miss Mary E. Brooks, daughter of Mr. Thomas M. Brooks, of Edgar county, 111. A few weeks after my marriage I took charge of Mt. Carmel church for one year. August 21, 1859, I took charge of the Grandview church, and was ordained its pastor. The whole of my ministerial labors with this church, as supply and pastor, covered a pe- riod of eight years. The membership in actual attendance when I took charge was about eighty-five. The acces- MEETING OF PRESBYTERIES. 54/ -•sions to the church, by examiaatioa and certificate, were about fifty. The first Sabbath in July, 1867, I ■commenced preaching to the church of Warsaw, Ind., but in August, 1868, removed to the vicinity of Iowa City, Iowa, taking charge of the Fairview and Solon churches. I re- mained with Fairview church three years and a half — with Solon only two years. In the spring of 1873 I removed to Poweshiek county, Iowa, taking charge of the Deep River and Montezuma churches. I have had eight children. Two have died. Lillie, my oldest child, a daughter of three years, was taken away from us with the disease of small-pox while at Grandview, 111. Our fourth daughter, Mary, died at Warsaw, Ind., in infancy. My living children are as follows: Jennie Perlee, in her eighteenth year ; Essie Brown, in her sixteenth year; Charles Martyn, in his fourteenth year ; Flora Amanda, in her ninth year; William Brooks, in his sixth year, and Grace Gertrude, in her fourth year. I shall ever have cause -of gratitude to God for the religious instruction, the godly •example and constant prayers of my faithful cojv'ANIox. C. P. S PINING. Davenport, Iowa, 1S79. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Decatur, April 10, i860. C. P. Jennings, minister, and Jacob F. Bergen, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. A. C. Gish, elder in Auburn church, having avowed himself a Universalist, was deposed from the eldership and suspended from the commu- nion of the church. August 30, i860, the Presbytery met at Petersburg. P. D. Young was dismissed to the Presbytery ■of Bloomington. October 13 the fall meeting commenced at Decatur. E. W. Thayer was received from the Presbytery of Palestine. This year the Pana, o. s., church was enrolled. It had but a brief existence. The Presbytery of Alton met at Jersey ville, April 12, i860, George W. G3odale, of the Presbytery of Blooming- tou, David Dimond, of the Presbytery of St. Louis, and C. H. Foote, of the Presbytery of New Brunswick were re- ceived. C. H. Taylor, minister, and J. G. Lamb, elder, were ■elected Commissioners to the Assembly. C. H. Foote was installed pastor of the Jerseyville church. 548 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Charles Henry Foote was born at Lenox, Mass., June 17, 1825, same day the corner-stone of Bunker Hill monu- ment was laid. His ancestry were Scotch-Irish. His pre- paratory education was at Rochester, N. Y. His collegiate at Williams College, where he graduated in 1849. Studied law two years with Judge Humphreys, Rochester, N. Y. His theological course was taken at Princeton. Licensed by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, February 8, 1854. Ordained by the same body pastor of the Second Presbyterian church, New Brunswick, N. J., July 20, 1854. Installed pastor of the Presbyterian church, Jerseyville, 111., April 15, i860; of the Presbyterian church, Cairo, April 20, 1867 ; the North churcli,, St. Louis, 1871 ; of the Walnut Street Presbyterian church, Evansville, Ind., 1875. Called to the Presbyterian church," Ionia, Mich., 1878. In these several fields there were added under his ministry, at New Branswick, sixty-five ; Jersey- ville, one hundred and twenty-one ; Cairo, one hundred an d nine ; St. Louis, two hundred and ninety-six ; Evansville, one hundred and thirty-eight; in first five months at Ionia — - where he still is — fifteen. Total, seven hundred and forty- four. Married June 13, 1854. His children — Bessie Green^ born August 10, 1855, died January 17, 1856. Carrie Palmer, born June 11, 1857, died October 16, 1859. Mary Scott, born August 19, 1861. He says: "The anxiety, conversa- tion and prayers of my mother, under the Spirit, influenced me to enter the ministry. The advice of Judge Humphrey,, with whom I studied law, who said, ' You had better go to the seminary, for when you come to die you will die a hap- pier man as a minister than as a lawyer,' settled the matter. My lot and life as a minister have been better than I hoped.. God has been good to me. The churches I have ministered to have taken me at my best. My brethren in the ministry have honored me with their confidence. The degree of D. D. was conferred by Blackburn University in 1871.'' George W. Goodale. — From his own pen. — I was born in the town of West Boylston, Worcester county, Mass., May I, 1 82 1. My ancestors were of the Puritan stock. I was of the sixth generation from Robert Goodale, who, with his wife, embarked at Ipswich, England, in 1634, and landed at Salem, Mass. The numerous descendants of that family are now scattered through nearly all the Northern and Western GEORGE W. GOODALE. 549 "States, a large portion engaged in agriculture, few in the learned professions, and still fewer in politics. But one of the name has been known to live by the sale of intoxicating liq- uors, and the history of the family tells of no drunkards. But few families represent Puritan faith and Puritan habits better than the Goodales. Deacons were abundant among them ; patriots not a few, and many champions in the cause of anti-slavery. The good old writings of Calvin, Baxter, Doddridge, Edwards and Payson were their meat and drink. This son of such sires early developed the hereditary taste for such reading, and almost from my earliest recollection de- termined to be a Christian. Misconceived ideas as to what ►conversion was prevented me from making a public profes- sion of faith in Christ until eighteen years of age. My early life was not without good Sabbath school instruction and pul- pit teaching. Public schools had laid a good foundation in letters. At the age of twenty-one I commenced a prepara- tory collegiate course at Groton, Mass., and graduated at Amherst in the class of 1848. About the time I imade a public profession of religion, Dr. Bullard, formerly of .St. Louis, presented the need of men and means for the West. The purpose was then formed to qualify, as well as rmeans would admit, and respond to the Doctor's Macedo- nian call. I was then an apprentice ; but as soon as my time was out, and I could choose my way, I laid dov^n my tools, settled with my late employer, received his note for twenty- five dollars, the balance due me, and started for school. Here I met other young men with quite limited means, who were looking forward to a course of study that should qualify them for the gospel ministry. What others could do I was sure I could, and relying upon my twenty-five dollar note, and my own efforts, I commenced the study of the Latin grammar and Greek lessons. Soon after I visited my father and told him my purpose and that I needed classical books. His faith and funds were not equal to the occasion. He, how- ever, gave me a wood-pile and use of team to haul it to mar- ket. I very soon converted it into about fourteen dollars' worth of books and took them home with much satisfaction. After examing for a while the contents of my bundle of books, he carefully laid them down and, with a serious tone, said : " George, it is a pity to waste so much money." Those lexi- cons are still by me as I write this reminiscence. My natural ^diffidence led me to think that perhaps public speaking was 550 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. not my calling. I loved teaching, and was not without tes- timony of success in that department of labor, It seemed to me not much below the ministry as a field for usefulness. I had reason to think that I had already led several of my pu- pils to Christ. I believed I could reach a class that a preacher could not. At this time I had an unexpected call to take the charge of an important school in Sag Harbor, N. Y. It seemed to be the Lord's ordering and I accepted. With this situation and a pretty good salary, I married, September 15, 1849, Miss Mary Hope, of Clinton, Hunterdon county, N. J.,, and elected her first assistant in my school. At the end of three years, failing health induced me to give up teaching for a time, try the climate of the West and a more active life. We settled in Wenona, Marshall county, 111, While in the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad Com- pany, I gathered a Presbyterian church at that new railroad station and acepted the office of ruling elder. The Presbytery of Peoria and Knox wanted me to enter the ministry. I gave reasons substantially as above. Presby- tery thought they should not be sustained. T then proposed to be loyal to their government, and submitted to an examination. I was licensed September 6, 1856. In the redi- vision of the Synod into Presbyteries, Wenona fell to Bloom- ington Presbytery, and I was by them ordained at Washing- ton, Tazewell county, soon after. My first charge was the church at Kappa, 111., with El Paso as a preaching station. Soon after entering that field, the Lord gave His approval to my ministry by converting a goodly number of my hearers. Had ft not been for this, I should have doubted the wisdr n of Presbytery in setting me to the work. During my ministry at El Paso, 111., a church was organ- ized there, composed of New School Presbyterians and Con- gregationalists. Through the persistent efforts of " one wo- man," a majority of Presbyterians gave way and the church adopted the Congregational order. This church was marked " vacant " in the next published minutes of the Association, and a man was sent to candidate for the pastorate which I was still holding. At this time the friction was considerable be- tween the two bodies. In Dec, 1859, I accepted a more ho- mogeneous field at Vandalia, III. After nearly three years' la- bor here, I resigned to take the charge of the incipient college at Carbondale, having been elected to that trust by the joint action of Alton Presbytery and the trustees of that inst'tu- GEORGE W. GOODALE. 55 1 tion. The war and its influences paralyzed our efforts there, and eventually caused the loss of that valuable property to the object originally designed. Finding my efforts hindered at Carbondale, I accepted the invitation of Col. Pease to as- sist in collecting his regiment of volunteers, and serve as chaplain. In this work I continued until his regiment was consolidated with Col. Morrison's, which together constituted the Forty-Ninth Illinois. Col. Morrison's chaplain went on with the army, while I accepted the charge of the church of Greenville, under the care of the Alton Presbytery. At the close of the war I was again persuaded by Dr. Nor- ton to embark in a Synodical college, or training school for young men, at Weston, Platte county, Mo., where a valuable property could be obtained at small cost, and at the same time revive our denominational work in that part of the State. Three years' labor here teaching and preaching so thoroughly undermined my health that protracted illness was the result. Complete release from sedentary life and from mental labor, was my only hope. I then, in Sep- tember, 1868, removed to Kansas City, and engaged in bus- iness for five years, during the former portion of the time assisting in the building of the Third Presbyterian church of that place, and effecting its organization, which followed the erection of their house of worship. The latter two years I preached in vacant pulpits. Finding my health again fully restored, I accepted an invitation to supply the First Presbyterian church of Knob Noster, Mo., for one year. Before that year closed, I was called to this field, in the new State of Nebraska. In September, 1874, I removed here, and at present writing am supplying the First Presby- terian church of Pawnee City, Neb. As the fruit of our college enterprise at Weston, Mo., four or five young men were started in a course of preparation for the ministry. One has gone to his reward, having but just entered upon his work. The others are now laboring in important churches east of the Mississippi, No small work was done in opening the way for the education of the colored people of that town and vicinity. We have now living two children. Our eldest is Mrs. J. T. Maitland. Her husband is elder of the church at Weston, Mo. She was born at Sag Harbor, Suffolk county, N. Y., April 30, 185 1. The youngest, a son, Geo. W., Jr., was born December 28, 1857, at Wenona, Marshall county. 111. He is now assistant cash- ier of the Exchange Bank of Hastings, Neb. 552 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Alon Presbytery held its fall meeting at Pana, commenc- ing September 29, i860. Monticello church gave notice of its withdrawal from the care of Presbytery. Presbytery bear testimony that in the present crisis of our home missionary affairs, their churches have done nobly in the work of self- support. HiLLSBORO Presbytery met at Sandoval, April 6, i860. At a called meeting of this Presbytery, held at Hillsboro December 20, 1859, W. L. Mitchell, licentiate, had been re- ceived from the Presbytery of Iowa, examined, and ordained pastor of Hillsboro church. Samuel Lynn, minister, and John F. Templeton, elder, were appointed to attend the meeting of the Assembly. The " First German Presbyterian church of Jerseyville," was received. Henry Martyn Cor- bett was licensed April 9. The fall meeting was held at Greenville, Bond county, commencing September 14. D. R. Todd was dismissed to the Presbytery of Saline, and P. R. Vanatta to that of Indianapolis. Alfred N. Denny was ordained, sitte titulo, Sept. 17. " The First German Presbyterian Church of Jersey- ville," was organized January 15, i860, with thirty-four members and two elders, by Revs, Henry Blanke and Sam- uel Lynn. It was dropped from the roll in 1868. William Luther Mitchell, son of William and Eleanor Mitchell, was born in Maury county, Tenn, July ii, 1828. He was converted at the age of twelve years, under the preaching of Rev. Daniel Baker, D. D.; graduated at Jeffer- son College, Pa., 1854, and at Princeton Seminary, N. J., 1857; was licensed by the Presbytery of Lafayette, Mo., Sept., 1857; supplied the First Presbyterian church, Burling- ton, Iowa, a year and a half; was ordained and installed pastor of the Presbyterian church, Hillsboro, 111., by the Presbytery of Hillsboro, December, 1859. After a short but successful ministry, he finished his labors and entered into rest February 23, 1864. He married Miss Mary B. Mutchmore, May 4, 1858, who, with two children, sur- vives him. The widow resides with her father at Moro, Mad- ison county, 111. ALFRED N. DENNY. 553 Alfred Nelson Denny was born in Bond county, 111., on December 7, 1830. He was the son of John and Sarah Denny, and was a child of the covenant. He made a pub- lic profession of religion at the age of twelve years. His father came to this State in the year 181 8, and was a citizen of Illinois under its territorial government. His early life was spent amid the sparse population, the broad and open prairies, the pioneer schools, and the scattered and feeble churches of early times. He graduated at " Illinois College " in the year 1854, and after completing the regular course of collegiate studies, was employed for about a year in teaching in that institution. Leaving Jacksonville, he was engaged in teaching elsewhere for two years. He entered the Union Theological Seminary, at New York City, in Sept., 1857, and was for about two years a student in that institution. At the end of his second year his health seemed so precarious as to raise the question in his own mind, and also among his friends, as to the propriety of continuing his studies, and even the prospect of his ever entering the ministry. Several severe attacks of hemorrhage greatly enfeebled him and caused anxious solicitude on the part of his friends. His own mind was perplexed as to the path of duty, and his way seemed hedged up. In these perplexities he sought coun- sel and advice from his pastor and other pious friends. After several prayerful interviews, it was decided to seek licensure at once, and to enter upon the duties of a missionary. The parts of trial were privately arranged. He was licensed in the fall of 1859, and was ordained September 17, i860. He immediately began his labors as a preacher in the destitute region around his home. He preached several months at Mason, also at Nashville, and finally at Moro, where he had charge of the united field of Moro and Dry Point. He was married, September i, 1863, to Miss Martha J. Y. Mutch- more, who survives him. He died at his own house in Mo- ro, Madison county. 111., Sept. 29, i! The Presbytery of Saline met at Shawneetown, April 5, 1S60. The name of John Mack was enrolled as licentiate. He was examined and ordained, sine titulo, Sabbath even- ing, April 8. L. B. W. Shryock, minister, and J. P. McNair, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. • An ad- journed meeting was held at Carmi, May 24, i860, at which 554 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. N. F. Tuck was received as licentiate from the Presbytery of Ebenezer, examined and ordained, sine titido. The fall meeting was held at Xenia, commencing Octo- ber 5. D. R. Todd was received from the Presbytery of Hillsboro. The name of Hopewell church, Franklin county, was chanced to Knob Prairie. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Carlinville, October 4, i860. The Synod Illinois, o. s. met at De- catur, October 10, i860. Members were present from the seven Presbyteries <:omprising the Synod. CHAPTER XIV. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 86 1 TO 1863, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND THE MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities : Original Records ; Auto-biographies ; Presbytery Reporter. YEAR 1 86 1. Illinois Presbytery met at Jacksonville, April 5, 1861. The church of Murrajrville was received. J. G. Rankin was dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler, and M. P. Ormsby to that of Chicago. D. H. Hamilton was received from the New Haven Congregational Association, and was installed, April y, pastor of the Westminster church. At a called meeting held at Virden, May 3, W. R. Adams was licensed. The fall meeting was held at Carrollton, commencing Sep- tember 5. E. Jenney was dismissed to the Congregational Central Association of Illinois. Measures were taken to continue the employment of the Presbyterial Missionary ,_ and to obtain, if possible, aid towards his support from the Church Extension Committee. Waitstill B. Orvis was re- ceived. N. A. Prentiss was dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler. David H. Hamilton, D. D., was born at Canajoharrie^ N. Y., October 29, 18 13. His twin-brother says that before he was six years of age he could repeat from memory the entire gospel of John. He was in the habit at that early age of declaiming from the writings of Milton, Young, Addison, Pope, Cowper, etc., while his only teachers were an older brother and sister. At the age of thirteen he entered the academy at Canajoharrie and remained there two years. Then followed two or three years of poor health, during which time he taught school and studied as he was able. At about the eighteenth year of his age he entered the 556 PRESBYTERIAXISxM IN ILLINOIS. Academy of Amsterdam and was there fitted for college. He went next to Union College and graduated with honor. After studying law he was admitted to the bar, and after one year's practice, having a bright future before him in his pro- fession and every prospect of success, not feeling satisfied that it was the work to which the Master had called him. he abandoned it and entered the Theological Seminary at Au- burn, N. Y, There he took the full course, and on the day he was licensed a committee from the church of Trumans- burg, N. Y., invited him to become their pastor. He ac- cepted the call and-labored there most successfully for ten years. Receiving a call to a church in New Haven, Ct., he removed to that city and there labored for about six years, and from New Haven he went to Berlin to attend the university there. He remained in Europe a little over two years, studying at Berlin in term time and traveling during his vacations. Upon his return from Europe he received a call from the Westminster church of Jacksonville, 111. There he labored for twelve years most successfully, and during the time wrote that wonderful book, "Autology," which will be read, studied and admired, when the feeble and flippant productions of some authors, now so popular, are forgotten. After spending about fourteen months in Boston, superintending the publication of this work, he ac- cepted a call to the church of Ripley, and here for six years performed more labor than any two men I ever knew. I have known him to preach one hundred sermons in ninety consecutive days. Dr. Hamilton came to Ripley in April, 1873, and made my house his home for some days, and from that time until he left us, in May, 1879, I was on the most intimate terms with him, and while he soon won my love and respect, I can truly say that a thorough acquaint- ance of six years only served to increase my esteem and ad- miration for the man. Endowed by his Creator with superior talents, cultivated by long years of study and research, with a constant flow of humor and innocent mirth, he was a most delightful companion. In the pulpit he was a giant — the grand themes of the gospel filling his whole soul, and realiz- ing that he was a messenger from the Infinite One, on a mis- sion involving the interests of eternity, he would preach with an earnestness and emotion which arrested the attention of the most thoughtless and stupid. He shrunk from no labor •or privation, and was, I think, the most unselfish man I ever DAVID H. HAMILTON, D. D. 557- knew. The poorest and humblest outcast enHsted his 53^111- pathy and were the objects of his benefaction. I cannot forego mentioning one incident, amongst many, to illustrate what I mean. He came to my house one dark, cold night, some two years ago, and urged me to go with him to visit a poor old colored woman who lived in the outskirts of Rip- ley. I tried to beg off, as the night was dark and disagreea- ble, but no, go I must. We groped our way along until we reached the little rough board shanty, where old Aunt Sallie lived. The Doctor knocked at the door, and some one called out, "Who dar?" I answered, "Dr. Hamilton." "God bless you," was the reply. We were admitted and the Doc- tor talked to the poor old African with as much earnestness and feeling as if he had been addressing a great congregation of the rich and the learned. We then knelt down on the rough floor and he uttered such a prayer as I am sure I never heard, and I doubt if such an one was ever heard in heaven before. Then giving the old black woman some money we left. I have traveled with him a great deal, and often in the rail car or omnibus, with closed eyes, his lips would move,, and getting my ear close to him I would find he was com- muning with his Father in heaven. This great and noble man, overworked, both mentally and physically,, left his people in Ripley, May 10, 1879, to go to Boston, in part on business and in part to recuperate his health. His wife accompanied him, and when they reached Kingsboro,. N. Y., he was unable to proceed on his journey. There, at the house of a near relative, he received every care and at- tention. He lingered and suffered with most wonderful pa- tience, until July 4, at two o'clock, p. m., when his spirit was set free. His funeral took place on the following Monday,. and at the same hour a memorial service was held at Ripley, Ohio, where a large and deeply solemn audience showed the love and respect in which he was held. A good man's life, next to the religion of Jesus Christ, is the most sacred and valuable thing in the universe of God. W. W. GlLLILAND. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Liberty, Randolph- county, April 12, 1861. W. R. Sim was dismissed to the Presbytery of Saline. F. H. L. Laird, minister, and W. N.. Bilderback, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly 558 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. F. H. L. Laird was installed pastor of Carlyle church, Octo- ber 28. The fall meeting was held at Carlyle, October ii, 1861. James Stafford was dismissed to the Presbytery of Rock River. The Presbytery of Wabash met at Farmington, Coles county, April 19, 1861. George D. Miller was received from the Presbytery of Logansport. William R. Palmer, minister, and D. D. Cadwell, elder, were appointed to attend the As- sembly. The Presbytery receded entirely from the position they assumed last year, on the subject of Home Missions, by withdrawing their countenance and support from the A. H. M. Society, and declaring their adherence to the Assembly's Church Extension plan. The fall meeting was held at Tuscola, September 6. George D. Miller was born June 15, 1811, near Day- ton, Ohio, and was dedicated to God by his pious parents in baptism. He graduated at Wabash College in 1840. Stud- ied theology at Lane Seminary. Was licensed by the Pres- bytery of Crawfordsville in July, 1843. His first field of labor was Romney, Tippecanoe county, Ind., and its neigh- borhood. In November, 1847, he took charge of the church of Monticello, White county, Ind. Preached there three- fourths of his time — the other fourth twelve miles north. In May, 1848, he organized Bedford church with eight members. After a few years he was installed pastor of that church, and remained until the spring of 1857, when his health gave way and he resigned. The next winter he spent at the South to recruit. In April, 1858, he returned to Indiana and labored as a missionary at several places on the New Albany, Salem & Michigan City Railroad for four years. His regular route was from St. Pierre to Harrisonville, or Tippecanoe Battle Ground. On the second Sabbath in August, i860, he began his labors at Tuscola, 111., and remained as supply pastor until November, 1865. In 1871 his health obliged him to give up preaching entirely. His disease was consumption, and he lingered, calm and patient, until January 25, 1876. His widow still — 1879 — resides in Tuscola. The Presbytery of Palestine met with Pleasant Prairie church, April ii, 1861. J. H. Steele was dismissed to the NEW HOPE CHURCH. 559 Presbytery of Highland, and John ElHott to that of Bloom- ington. The churches of New Hope and Milton were re- ceived. Samuel Newell, minister, and A. B. Austin, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Oakland, September I2. The church of Beckwith Prairie was received. New Hope Church, Jasper county. The church building is situated on S. E. quarter of N. E. quarter of S. 6, T. 8 N., R. lo E. This church was organized by Revs. A. McFarland, H. T. Morton and Elder A. S. Harris, June 2i, i86q, with the following members, viz. : Adrian F. Aten and Catharine Aten, James R. Jackson and Margaret Jackson, Martin N. Henderson and Delilah E. Henderson, Geo. W. Jenkins and Elizabeth Jenkins, Aaron M. Aten and Martha Aten, Elisha McLain and EHza McLain, Mrs. Nancy R. McKinley, John H. Aten, Henry H. McKinley, Susan M. Black, Hannah C. Black, Harriet A. Banta, Eliza I. McLain. Elders : J. R. Jackson, A. F. Aten and M. N. Henderson. No records of ses- sions from June 15, 1861, toMay 28, 1865. J. P. Fox was min- ister most of that time. There have been connected with the ■church sixty-five members in all. The organization took place in A. F. Aten's barn. The church house was built in 1869-70, Whole cost about ;^ 1,200 — Church Erection con- tributing three hundred dollars. The site of the church is one acre, the gift of A. F. Aten. Ministers : H. T. Morton, three months in i860 ; H. I. Venable, eleven months in i§66 ; J. P. Fox, in 1863-65, a young man from near Vincennes ; John Miller, four years, 1867 to 1871 ; S. R. Bissell, one year, 1872 ; Geo. F. Davis, three years, from 1873 to 1876; Geo. W. Nicolls began June, 1877 — ^^^^^ remains, preaching one Sabbath in the month, resides at Newton. Preaches one-half his time at Newton, one-fourth at Mt. Olivet. Milton Church, Coles county, was organized at Flat Branch, by Rev, H. I. Venable, May 18, 1861, with these members, viz. : John W, Payne, Richard W. Hawkins, Jane Hawkins, Mary E. Hawkins, Rebecca Boyd, Francis A. Boyd, Thomas Danner, Matilda Danner, Noble Danner, James W. Junkin, Catherine Junkin, David S. Junkin, Samuel VV. Jun- kin, Martha E. Junkin, Geo. W. Woods, Sallie M. Woods, Ar- 560 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. thur J. Boyd, M.E. Boyd, O. E. Boyd, Rebecca Walker, Re- becca A. Walker, Ellen Junkin, Catharine J. Crevistan, Miss Mary E. Hutchinson. Elders : Rich'd W. Hawkins, Jas. W. Junkin and Arthur J. Boyd. Elders since these three first: Jesse B. Gray, Smith Nichols, H. L. Stewart, Wm. P. West- bay, Geo. W. Gray, Geo. W. Woods, W. J. Nicholson, W. H. Wallace. The rotary plan was adopted August 20, 1876. Ministers : H. I. Venable, J. W. Allison, Ellis Howell. This congregation has a large frame house of worship. The post office is now, 1879, Humboldt. The name of the church is still Milton. Beckwith Prairie Church, Crawford county, was organ- ized August 31, 1 861, by Revs. E. Howell, A. McFarland and Elder Findley Paull, with these members : James H, Richey, Matilda Richey, Wm. Delzell, Mary Jane Delzell,. Robert M. Delzell, Wm. M. Richey, Minerva Richey, Nancy Richey, Susan Duncan, Wm. Thomson, Margaret Thomson, Madison Cawood, Catharine Cawood, R. A. Delzell, Emeline D. Delzell, W. B. Cawood, S. M.. Cawood, Wm. Stuart, A. C. Gould, Elizabeth Gould, Samuel J. Gould, Achsah Gould, Margaret Sherrell, Wm. C. Dickson, Caroline V. Dickson,. Mary C. Stuart, Samuel E. Sherrell, Mrs. Eliza Sherrell. Elders : James H. Richey, Samuel J. Gould, Wm. Delzell, the first. Since appointed : David Meskimen, W. B. Ca- wood and Archibald C. Gould, April 23, 1870; Morgan M. Dick, 1873; William A. Hope and Andrew Duncan, Nov. 15, 1877. Ministers: Allen McFarland ; J. C. Thornton^ August 13, 1869 ; Aaron Thompson, June 16, 1872 ; Thomas Spencer, November 13, 1874, till his death, August 13, 1876 ; John E. Carson, April 28, 1877, till sometime in 1879. The house of worship — a neat frame building, painted white, sit- uated in the timber — was erected in 1859, at a cost of ;^i,300. It is located in S. E. quarter of S. 23, T. 6, R. 12, one" mile from Duncanville, a village on the Paris & Danville railroad. Whole number of members connected with the church froni. its beginning, one hundred and eight. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Sprinfield, April 3,. 1861. J. G. Bergen, D. D., minister, and Josiah Waddell, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. C. P. Jen- nings was released from the pastoral care of the Thrid church. WEST OKAW CHURCH. 56I Springfield. West Okaw church was received. At a pro re nata meeting at Springfield, May 2, Willis G. Craig received license. The fall meeting was held at Spring- field, October 8. D. R. Todd was received from the Pres- bytery of Saline. West Okaw Church was organized October 20, i860, by Revs. H. R. Lewis and T. M. Oviatt, in Friendship school- house, Shelby county, with these members : G. M. Thomp- son, Eliza Thompson, Margaret Thompson, Harriet N. Thompson, Samuel G. Travis, Anna B. Travis, Catherine E. Travis, Mary Foster, Harris B. Thompson, Elizabeth Thomp- son, Robert Lay, Alice Lay, J. J. Freeland, Mary B. Free- land, Mary A. Freeland, Catharine Freeland, Sarah G. Free- land. (These Freelands are from Hillsboro, N. C.) Mary Wingett, Ann Berg, Henry Berg, F. M. Chamberlain, Ann E. Chamberlain, Eleanor Gray, Mercy H. Bacon, Emily J. Richardson, James S. Travis. Elders : Gardner M. Thomp- son, John J. Freeland, Samuel G.Travis, Henry Berg and F, M. Chamberlain. Elders since appointed : William Bard, James G. Marshall, James L. Neil, Nelson V. Stine, Wm. Mc- Burney, Frederick Orris. Ministers: H. R. Lewis, from the first until September 14, 1862; Clark Loudon, 1863-69, pastor; J. D. Jenkins, December 23, 1873, till March 28, 1875 ; Julius Spencer, March 28, 1875, till beginning of 1878 ; William E. Lincoln, 1878, and still continues. The church edifice was dedicated April 24, 1869. It is situated in the S. E. corner of the N. E. quarter of S. 34, T. 14 N., R. 3, E. of 3 P.M. The cemetery connected with it contains two acres. The church building is forty by fifty feet. It cost about ^3,500. The parsonage is half a mile south of the church ; is thirty by forty feet, two stories, and cost ;^ 1,050. It was built in 1875. The Presbytery of Alton met at New Ducoign, April 11, 1861, A. T. Norton and T. Lippincott, ministers, and D. H. Brush and G. S. Smith, elders, were appointed to attend the Assembly. W. R. Smith presented a letter purporting 'to be from the Presbytery of Edinburg, Scotland, and on the ground of its was received. Conclusive evidence was after- wards found showing the letter to have been a forgery, and the man was expelled. Thomas Sherrard, licentiate, was re- 35 562 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ceived from the Presbytery of Cayuga, examined and or- dained Sabbath, April 14, sine titido. The fall •meeting was held at Vandalia, commencing September 28, Mulberry Grove church was dissolved and its members at- tached to Greenville church. Thomas Reynolds, Ezekiel Folsom and Edwin G. Bryant were ordained, sine tihdo. Thomas Sherrard was born November 25, 1829, in county Antrim, North of Ireland, and was Scotch-Irish. He gradu- ated at the University of Michigan in 1857. Studied theol- ogy at Princetonand Auburn. He was ordained as above. Supply pastor at Centralia, 111., 1861-64, and at Brooklyn, Mich., 1865, till his death, August 10, 1874. He was mar- ried to Valeria D. Gray, a daughter of Dr. Gray, of Mil- waukee, Wis., June 21, i860. Edwin G. Bryant was born at South Bend, Ind., June 15, 1836. He graduated at Wabash College, Ind., 1857. Stud- ied theology at Princeton, N. J. Ordained by Presbytery of Alton October, i, 1861. Labored at Vandalia and Durand, 111., Hastings, Mich., Atkinson and Garden Prairie, 111. In 1878 he was supply pastor Plymouth Second church, Ply- mouth, Mich. He was married in 1864, to Miss E. J. Ca- pron, of Durand, 111., and has two children, Charles H. and Arthur E., aged at present twelve and eight years respect- ively. It will be proper to add that Mr. E. Che- ney, who was ordained an elder in the church of Vandalia, while Mr. Bryant had charge of it, is now acting in the same capacity in Calvary Presbyterian church in Detroit, Mich. Ezekiel Folsom, was born at Hebron, N. H.. December 22, 1798. He had only an ordinary English education, but much experience as a Christian worker, when at sixty-three years of age, he was ordained. It was, however, with special re- ference to a chaplaincy in the army hospital at Cairo, 111., a situation for which he was eminently fitted. He died at Lake Forest, 111., March 27, 1871, a member of Chicago" Presbytery. Thomas Reynold's was born in England. Ordained Oc- JOSEPH J. GRAY. 563 tober I, 1861, by Presbytery of Alton. He labored awhile at Shipmaa, 111. He was suspended by Presbytery, April 16, 1870. He was a conceited, coarse, boorish man, upon whom the Presbytery most unwisely laid their hands. The Presbytery of Hillsboro met with Sugar Creek church, April 12, 1861. Joseph J. Gray was received from, the Presbytery of Schuyler. R. M. Roberts, minister, and .S. A. Paden, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Jerseyville October 4, 1861. St. John's German Pre.sb_\'terian church was received. Hen- ;ry M. Corbett was ordained April 15, si/ie titulo. Augustus JCiess was licensed Oct. 7. Joseph J. Gray — Auto-biographical — was born August 5, 1804, in Halifax county, N. C., of American ancestry. While yet quite young, his parents died, leaving him in care of a guardian, Col. John Lockhart by name. He was converted while in college, at the age of nineteen. His preparatory ■education was received at Raleigh, N. C; his collegiate at Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., and his theological at Hanover, Ind. He was licensed and ordained in 1832, by the Presbytery of Orange at its spring session in Raleigh. He began his labors in North Carolina. Came to Illinois •in 1837, and preached at Union church, Morgan county, dur- ing 1838. In 1839 his health and voice failed. Since that time he has not been able to engage in regular ministerial work. His home for the last thirty years has been on a farm near Greenfield, 111. He was married in 1826 to Elizabeth G. Hubbard, niece of Dr. Eliphalet Nott, at Schenectady, N. Y. Dr. Nott performing the ceremony at his own house. She died in 1845. In 1847 he was married to Salhe S. Capps, daughter of J. T. Gilman, M. D., of Quincy, 111. From these two marriages there were sixteen children, ten of whom arrived at years of matu- rity, the others dying in infancy. One of the ten — Frederick R. Gray — died of pulmonary consumption, October 11. 1878, after a year's illness. The other nine are still living. One of them — Charles G. Gray — is an elder in the Greenfield church. 564 PRE3BYTEKIANJSM IX ILLINOIS. Henry Martyn Corbett was born at Bristol, R. I., Dec, 14, 1832; of English descent. His parents were Congrega- tionalists at the East, Presbyterians at the West. His pa- rents settled at Jerseyville, 111., in the spring of 1838. Re- sided there until he was grown. From his early boyhood he had a strong desire to be a minister. Commenced his pre- paratory studies at twenty years of age, at Fulton, Mo. Graduated at the college there June, 1858. Studied theol- ogy at Princeton. Licensed by Hillsboro Presbytery April 7. i860. His first charge was the Sugar Creek and Trenton churches, Clinton county, 111. Was with them two years from September i, i860. Ordained by Hillsboro Presbytery April 15, 1861. Married Miss Melinda E. Richmond, March 7, 1861, at Rochester, Vt. At the end of two years he gave up the charge of Sugar Creek church, and devoted his whole time for three years more to Trenton church. In the fall of 1865 he took charge of the mission field of East St. Louis. Preached the first sermon by a Protestant minister on " Bloody Island." Remained in charge of this field for nine months. Organized, July, 1866, a Presbyterian church of fourteen members in connection with the Presbytery of Kas- kaskia. In the fall of 1866 took charge of the church of Winfield, Iowa, and continued three and one-half years. In this time its numbers increased from sixty-five to one hun- dred and fourteen. In the fall of 1870 removed to Illinois,, and took charge of a mission field in Osco and Munson township, and organized the Presbyterian church of Munson^. July, 1871. Remained here five years. In 1875 took charge of Sharon church, Whiteside county. 111., and continued for over two years. In 1876, from excessive use of his voice in a protracted meeting, contracted a throat disease, which has ever since disabled him from ministerial labor. In the spring of 1878 he removed with his family to Nelson, Nuckolls county. Neb., and engaged in mercantile business. He has had six children — Arthur Chestnut, born at Trenton, 111., Jan. 12, 1863 ; Henry Richmond, born at the same place, Oct. 3, 1864; Virginia Harbert, born at Winfield, Iowa, Feb. 13, 1867; Mary Ann, born at same place, Jan. 30, 1869; Ellen Alberta, born at Osco, Henry county. III, May 24, 1871 ; Melinda Rachel, born at Munson, Henry county, 111., Aug. 26, 1873. St. John's German Presbyterian Church was organizec? BEXJAMIN C. SWAN. 565 at Ridgeley, Madison county, III, with thirty-two members and two elders. The exact date of the organization is not given. But it was between April and October, i86l. This -church has gone into another connection. The Presbytery of Saline met at Mt. Carmel, Wabash county, April 4, 1861. Nathan F. Tuck was dismissed to the Presbytery of Paducah, and John Mack to that of St. Paul, Minn. J. C. Thornton, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Upper Missouri, examined and ordained, April 7, 1 86 1, sine titido. S. C. Baldridge, minister, and James P. McNair, elder, were appointed to attend the Assem- bly. A pro re nata meetmg was held at Friends- ville, Aug. 6, when L. B. W. Shryock was dismissed to the Presbytery of Zanesville ; D. R. Todd to that of Sangamon, and D. M. Williamson, licentiate, to the Presbytery of Lo- gansport. The fall meeting was held at Gol- .conda, September 12. Benjamin Chestnut Swan, son of Benjamin Chestnut and Hannah (Cowgill) Swan, was born, November 27, 1823, near Camden, Preble county, Ohio. The mother of Hannah Cowgill was a member of the Presbyterian ■church and a very devoted and exemplary Christian. Joseph Swan, grandfather of B. C. Swan, sr., and brother of Rev. William Swan (noticed in Elliott's life of McCurdy), came from Ireland about the middle of the last century, and was an elder in the Rocky Spring Presbyterian church, near Chambersburg, Pa. The various branches of this family, however scattered and varied in their surroundings, are kin- dred in their devotion to Presbyterianism. Benjamin C. Swan, sr., was a man worthy of his godly an- cestry and for many years a ruling elder. As such he was faithful in his office-work and in his attendance upon the church courts, and such was his known attachment to the standards of the Presbyterian Church, and such the confi- dence his Presbytery reposed in him, that they sent him to the General Assembly in the tr3'ing times of 1835 and 1837. He faithfully endeavored to train his children to a practical -sense of their individual responsibility to God, and carefully instructed them in the ti^iths of the Bible, in all which he was 566 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. most fitly aided by his pious wife ; and their affectionate teach- ings combined with their consistent examples made theirs a truly Christian home. In due time each of their children- professed the faith of their parents. In 1831 he removed to- the vicinity of Oxford, Ohio, that the family might be nearer the educational and religious privileges of that place. In i(S4i the subject of this sketch united with the Presby- terian church at Oxford. From this time his fixed purpose was to try to serve the cause of Christ in whatever way His providence might indicate. The great wants of the Church seemed to call for .ministers. But the office seemed so holy and exalted that he hesitated to enter upon a calling for which he felt so unworthy. Yet encouraged by the plainly expressed opinions of others, in whose wisdom and piety he had confidence, he was led at length to go forward with a view of qualifying himself for this work, which, if ac- ceptable to the Master, he felt would be his highest privil- ege. He graduated at Miami University, Ox- ford, Ohio, in 1845 ; attended the Associate Reformed The- ological Seminary at at that place during the session 1846-7 and the Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny, during the sessions of 1847-8 and 1848-9. As the Rev. E. D. Mac- Master, D. D., who had been his teacher in college, and for whom he cherished an affectionate veneration, was entering his theological professorship in the New Albany Seminary >. he concluded to finish his theological course in that institu- tion. He was licensed by the Oxford Presbytery, June, 1 850, and ordained by the same, April, 185 1. From the time of his licensure to August, 1852, he supplied the churches of Salem, New Lexington and Winchester, Oxford Presbytery. Some of the few families of the Winchester church becoming discouraged in regard to building up a church there, concluded to remove West together, provided Mr. Swan would go with them. In September he, with the two elders of the church, visited together several places in. Illinois, among which was Carthage, county seat of Hancock (the Mormon) county. Having decided to remove to that place and unite in the organization of a church, they returned to Ohio to make ready. In November, Mr. Swan removed to Carthage and entered upon his work, preaching in an " upper room," kindly lent by Mr. Artois Hamilton, where the First Presbyterian church of Carthage was organized, January I, 1853, ^"^'^^^ eleven memb'ers, having Mr. Swan as. BENJAMIN C. SWAN. 5^7 their minister, and as their only elder for some time Dr. John Mack, who afterward entered the ministry and labored suc- cessfully for some years in Southern Illinois. The various providences leading to the field, together with the numerous influences favoring the work were very encouraging, and yet great sacrifices and patience as to difficulties were required from both minister and people. But a willingness on the part of both to work and sacrifice together with an affec- tionate union in the blessed tie that binds, and the divine favor secured success in the object of their common interest. The church secured aid from the Board of Home Missions to the amount of one hundred dollars a year for three years when it became self-sustaining, having meantime built a house of worship at an expense of over four thousand dol- lars, of which three hundred dollars were received from the Committee of Church Erection, and received no other aid outside the community. While residing in Carthage he per- formed much missionary work in a large territory around, having^, beside an actuating desire to save souls, a sense that the Home Mission work is the hope of our Church and land, and he reahzed in his relation to these Boards that the assistance they render to individual churches, although small in the grand scale, may be, and often is, vital to their estab- lishment. Mr. Swan was installed pastor in 1855 and con- tinued as such until the fall of i860. In October, i860, he removed to Shawneetown and began his work as supply pastor of the Presbyterian church there. In Sep- tember, 1862, he was appointed Chaplain of the 131st Reg- iment Illinois Infantry Volunteers, and served for thirteen months, until that regiment was consolidated with another. After his return he resumed his work in Shawneetown and was installed pastor in 1864. During his stay there a very desirable parsonage was purchased, and much of kindness beside was done for him and his family. While in charge there he performed much labor outside of his own congrega- tion, especially at Saline mines, and in the churches of Equal- ity and Golconda. Within this time the community was much disturbed by border troubles on account of the civil war and the embarrassments arising therefrom. In July, 1 868. the pastoral relation was dissolved, and in August he entered a neighboring field, combining the churches of Carmi, Sharon and Enfield. He had aided in organizing the latter church, and having frequently preached for each of 568 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. them during his residence in Shawneetown, felt an interest in them and hoped that his labors there would be useful. This work was somewhat like that of the earlier ministers — churches small, railroads not yet built, and travel from one appointment to another generally done on horseback and at great expense of time and strength. While dividing his time among them, when the roads and weather admitted, he fre- quently preached in all three places on the same day. After two and a half years of this work, he spent all his time at Carmi, where he had been installed pastor in August, 1870, and where he and his family enjoyed a pleasant residence while he labored in this field. The pastoral relation was dis- solved in October, 1877, when he began supplying the churches of Enfield, Sharon and McLeansboro, in which work he has continued to the time of this narrative. Con- sidering his varied experiences, he still rejoices that the Lord has permitted him to enter and continue in the ministry, and has given him reason to hope that He has in some measure carried on His work in the Church through so humble an in- strumentality. Growth in grace and in divine knowledge on the part of some of the Lord's people, and the increase of their numbers, together with their sympathy and co-opera- tion, are among the considerations that have sustained him, looking humbly forward meanwhile to the day when every man's work shall be tried. He was married, No- vember 19, 1850, to Miss Mary Cassandra, daughter of John and Eliza (Young) Woolf, then residing in Camden, but shortly before of Newark, Ohio, where Mr. Woolf, who was a man of deeply reflective and mature Christian character, had long been an elder under the ministry of the Rev. Wil- liam Wylie, D. D. His wife, whose ancestors were among the first Presbyterian settlers of Newark, N. J., and after- ward of Newark, Ohio, and who fully shared the faith of her husband, was a lovely character, and well qualified for her duties in training their covenanted family. The daughter brought up under such parental and ministerial influences was qualified in every way to be a helpmate for her hus- band, wisely sustaining him in his trials and discouragements, and strengthening him in his ministerial duties and work. Their living children are Mary Chestnut (Mrs. Willis), born September 29, 1851 ; Walter Sidney, M. D., born April 15, 1854; Augusta Davidson, born February 21, 1865. ECCLESIASTICAL MEETINGS. • 569 Jefferson Clay Thornton was supply pastor at Mt. 'Carmel, 111., 1861-63; at Lawrenceville, 111., 1864-68; in transitu, 1869-70; supply pastor, ^Palestine, 111., 1871 ; at Knob Noster, I\Io., 1872-73 ; W. C, 1874-77 at Knob Noster; same in 1878 at Warrensburg, Mo. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Jacksonville, Octo- ber 3, 1861. George C. Wood was appointed Stated Clerk. Resolutions were passed strongly approving the action of the last General Assembly in establishing their Home Mis- sionary Committee. Also of earnest sympathy with the Government and its armies in their efforts to put down con- spiracy and rebellion in our land; and recommending fer- vent prayer to God for his blessing upon the President and his advisers, and for the officers and soldiers of our armies. To these patriotic resolutions the Synod unanimously re- sponded. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Springfield, Octo- •ber 9, 1861, and was largely attended. Much time was spent in several judicial cases. The action of the Assembl}^ upon the state of the country, as expressed in the " Spring Reso- lutions," was approved by a very decided vote, though not without protest from a minority consisting of nine persons. YEAR 1862. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Virden, April 3, 1862. The names of the two churches of Salem and Roches- ter were erased from the roll, as they had become extinct. The Second Portuguese church of Springfield was received, and its elder, Jose Rodrigues, took his seat as a mem- ber. W. G. Gallaher, minister, and David A. Smith, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Farmington, commencing Sep- tember 12. The name of String Prairie church was changed to that of Walnut Grove. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Galum church. Perry county, April 10, 1862. The Presbyterian church of Union county, at Jonesboro, was received. D. A. Wallace, aninister, and W. H. Mann, elder, were appointed to attend 57© PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the Assembly. The Presbytery this spring reported to the Assembly four ministers, thirteen churches and three hun- dred and seventy-seven members. The fall meet- ing was held at Chester, commencing September 26, 1862. W. H. Templeton was elected Stated Clerk. James Staf- ford was received from the Presbytery of Rock River. F. H. L. Laird was released from the pastoral care of Carlyle church, and D. A. Wallace from that of Nashville. The Presbytef;.ian Church of Union County was or- ganized at Jonesboro, Union county, in March, 1861, by Rev. James Stafford, with thirteen members. Never accomplished anything and was dissolved by Presbytery, April 6, 1866. Wabash Presbytery met with New Providence church, April II, 1862. James W. Stark, licentiate, was received from the Fourth Presbytery of New York, examined and arrangements made for his ordination at Danville, 111., on the first Sabbath of June next. William R. Palmer was dis- missed to the Presbytery of Fort Wayne. J. C. Campbell, minister, and J. M. Culbertson, elder, were appointed to at- tend the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Mattoon, September 12. James Worthington Stark was born in Colchester, Conn., March 4, 1873. His mother and her family — the Worthing- tons — were Episcopalians. His father was brought up a Baptist, but never could persuade himself to unite with that church, and remained a non-professor, with great respect for religion — heart and mouth full of its melodies, and life gov- erned by its principles. They early emigrated to Michigan, settling at Jonesvilie, where, upon a farm, the boyhood of the subject of this sketch was passed. Baptized in the Epis- copal Church, he probably would have remained there, had it not been for the arrogance of the minister at the time of the revival in which he was converted, claiming that going to the Presbyterian church through the week was disloyalty to the true Church. He united with the Presbyterian Church when he was eighteen, the year after liis conversion, at Ypsilanti, Mich., where he attended the State Normal School, gradu- JAMES W. STARK. 57* ating at that institution. For a year he taught in Pontiac, Mich,, agreeably to his purpose of making teaching a Hfe- work. He then concluded to more fully fit himself, and en- tered the sophomore year in Michigan University, Ann Ar- bor. Had the way opened at his graduating in 1858 for teaching, he probably would have considered that his call- ing. As it did not, he traveled through the summer, viewing the West with his father, and at the opening of the term in Union Theological Seminary, New York city, saw his way clear to enter that institution, ^r^m which he graduated ia 1 86 1. Before leaving New York he was invited to the church of Danville, 111., the pulpit of which would be vacant in September. He was licensed by the Fourth Presbytery of New York, and spent the summer preaching to the Congregational church in East Mathias, Maine. In September he entered upon his labors in Danville, calling at Jonesville, ]\Iich., by the way, and taking with him from there as a life-companion Miss Cynthia M. Buck, daughter of Rev. E. Buck, who himself performed the marriage cere- mony. As a graduate of the then flourishing female college, at College Hill, Ohio, and preceptress in the high schools at Litchfield, Coldwater and Tecumseh, Mich.,. — the latter place for four years before her marriage — she was well fitted for the positions she has since occupied with her husband. These have been : Danville, 111., two years, 1861-63, ^^ which place he was ordained by Wa- bash Presbytery, June i, 1862 ; Jefferson, Wis., one year,. 1863-64; Berlin, Wis., two years, 1864-66; Centralia, 111., four years, 1866-70; Bloomfield, Iowa, two years, 1871-73;. Jersey ville, 111., six years, 1873, to present date — the field he still occupies. One year after leaving his work at Centralia, was spent on a farm in Iowa, recruiting his en- feebled health, yet not to the entire giving-up of ministerial work for that period. Once in three weeks he supplied Bethel church, near Washington City, Iowa, and occasionally other points in spiritually destitute places. But the year was one of rest, and he always counted it as adding ten years at least to his years of gospel labor. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Paris, Edgar county,. April 10, 1862. A. S. Kemper, licentiate, was received from Cincinnati Presbytery, e.camined and ordained,. ;S72 PRESBYTERIAXISM IN ILLINOIS. sine titulo, April ii. A. McFarland, minister, and Thomas M. Brooks, elder, were appointed to attend the Assembly. S. E. Vance was licensed. The fall meeting was held at Newton, Jasper county. D. F. McFarland was received from the Presbytery of Peoria. Union church, Clark county, was received. John Fox, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Vincennes. Augustus S. Kemper — Auto-biographical. — I was born in Cincinnati, O., February 21, 1836. My parents also were both natives of 0hio, and of Presbyterian ancestry. My grandfather was frequently a commissioner to the Assembly in the early part of this century, when he had to make the trip from Cincinnati to Philadelphia on horseback. I was educated at Woodward High School, Cincinnati, and spent two years at Danville, Ky., Theological Seminary, leaving there at the outbreak of the civil war. I was licensed by the Presbytery of Cincinnati, September 5, i860, and ordained in Paris, 111., by the Presbytery of Palestine, April ii, 1862. I ministered to the Old School church in Mattoon, 111., for .a time, then went to Chicago, spent a session, and graduated .at the theological seminary there in 1863. I was always del- icate in health, from an injury to my spine, and other causes, and came to Minnesota, to see whether it could be recruited. It has been in a measure. I was married May 31, 1855, in Springfield, Ohio, to Miss Mary Bradbury, a member of the Presbyterian church of that place. She died .at our present residence, Lanesboro, Minn., June 16, 1877, leaving me one son, Charles W., now aged twenty-one, and one daughter, Agnes Grant, now aged sixteen. I only add, that with unabated ardor, I love the Church of my fathers — the Church of my infant years, and the Church of my choice. In her bosom I have lived — in her bosom I hope to die. Union Church, Clark county, was organized at a school house called Union school house, about four miles south of the present railroad village of Casey, by Rev. H. I. Venable, -on the second Sabbath in June, 1862, with nine members. John Scott was chosen elder. This church disbanded, and the members united with Casey church, February 11, 1872. Among those who thus united at Casey were John Scott, the -elder of Union church, and his wife. PRESBYTERY OF SANGAMON. 573, David F. IMcFarland joined Palestine Presbytery from that of Peoria. In 1871 he was supply pastor at Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1875 he was agent at San Diego, Colo- rado. He died at Lapwai, Idaho territory, May 13, 1876, a member, at the time of his death, of Los Angelos Presbytery. The Presbytery of Sangamon held ^l pro re nata meeting at Springfield, Jan. 16, 1862, at which Geo. W. F. Birch was ordained pastor of the Third Presbyterian church, Spring- field, on the 17th. The spring meeting was held at Jackson- ville, commencing April i, 1862. John Dale, minister, and John S. Vredenberg, elder, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. An adjourned meeting was held July 15, at Springfield, at which Robert Lemington was received from the Presbytery of Logansport, examined, and ordained pas- tor of the First Portuguese church at Springfield. In con- nection with this charge, he was also, on the first Sabbath in August, 1862, installed over the Portuguese church at Jack- sonville. The fall meeting was held at Jackson- ville, commencing October 6. J. V. Dodge was dismissed^ to the Presbytery of Vincennes. Geo. W. F. Birch was pastor of Third church, Springfield,. 1862-69 5 i'^ 1870. W. C. ; pastor in Lexington, Ky., 1871-73;. pastor Indianapolis Third church 1874-76 ; in transitu, 1877-78. The Presbytery of Alton met at Collinsville, April 3, 1862. Edward Hollister was dismissed to the Presbytery of Schuyler, and A, G. Martin to that of St. Joseph. C. H. Foote and Andrew Luce, ministers, and Samuel Wade and L. A. Parks, elders, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The Presbytery memorialized the Assembly on the subject of establishing an Itinerating ]\Iissionary System. The fall meeting was held at Shipman, Macoupin county, commencing September 26. Pinckneyville church was dis- solved. Theron Baldwin was dismissed to the Congrega- tional Association of Southern Illinois. The church of No- komis was received. NoKOMis Church was organized, June 21, 1862, by Rev, Joseph Gordon, with these members; Thomas Derr, David 574 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Nickey, Wilson Silsbee, Jane Nickey, Rebecca Matkin, Eg- lantine Strider, Rebecca Jane Silsbee, Phcebe D. Derr, Irene B. Derr, Nelly A. Derr, Amanda E. Matkin, Nancy Yarnell. Ministers: Joseph Gordon, till April, 1869; G. C. Clark, August 20, 1869, to January 20, 1870 ; C. K. Smoyer, licen- iate, January 28, 1871, to June 7, 1873 ; Joseph Gordon, sec- ond time, June, 1874, to June, 1875 ; John Payson Mills, No- vember, 1875, to April, 1878; James Lafferty, August, 1878, still continues. Elders : David Nickey, at the organiza- tion; Thomas Derr, March 25, 1865; Benajah Mundy, March 21, 1868; Martin Harkey and John Johns, January 22, 1870; H. S. S'train, M. D., August 8, 1874; James Bryce, November 3, 1878. The church edifice was dedicated No- vember 3, 1867, and cost about four thousand dollars. From Church Erection five hundred dollars were received. About one hundred persons in all have been connected with this ■church. The Presbytery of Hillsboro met at Litchfield, April II, 1862. Alfred N. Denny, minister, and George Donnell, -elder, were appoinred to attend the next meeting of the As- sembly. The patriotic spirit of this Presbytery was man- ifested by the adoption of this resolution : " That we ap- prove the preamble and resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of 186 1 on the state of the country, and rejoice that the Assembly took ground so timely and so nobly in these resolutions — breathing, as we believe they do, a Christ- ian and loyal spirit becoming the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America." The ayes and nays on this resolution were these : Ayes — Thomas W. Hynes, P. Has- singer, R. M. Roberts, Henry Blanke, Alfred N. Denny, Henry M. Corbett, W. L. Mitchell, George Donnell, J. A. A. McNeeley, Samuel A. Paden, S. M. Hedges, Joseph T. Eccles, W. H. Edwards, Ludwig Pape, Hugh Smith. Nays — W. Hamilton, S. Lynn, A. A. McReynolds. The fall meeting was held at Hillsboro, commencing Oc- tober 3. Henry M. Corbett was dismissed to the Presby- tery of Kaskaskia. This was the last meeting of Hillsboro Presbytery as such. It had an existence of four years. The Presbytery of Saline met at Grayville, April 3, 1862. J. C. Thornton, minister, and James E. Bell, eider, ROBERT L. m'cUNE. 575 were appointed to attend the naxt meeting of the Assembh'. At an adjourned meeting held at Lawrenceville, June 5, John Mack was received from the Presbytery of St, Paul. The fall meeting was held at Salem, Marion county, com- mencing October 2. R. Lewis McCune was received on tes- timony as a member from the Presbytery of Winchester, now dispersed by the war. J. S. Howell was dismissed to the Presbytery of Hillsboro. The patriotic spirit of the Presby- tery was manifested by their hearty approval of the resolu- tions of the Assembly on the state of the country. John B. Saye was, after trial, deposed from the ministry for falsehood, double-dealing and other unministerial conduct. He appealed to Synod. Robert Lewis McCune was born in Mercersburg, Frank- lin county, Pa. His father was of Scotch-Irish, his mother of English and Dutch descent. He graduated from Mar- shall College, Mercersburg, Pa., in 1848, and at Allegheny Seminary in 1855. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Carlisle in June, 1855. In the spring of 1862 he came to Illinois and took charge of the churches of Carmi, Gray- ville and Sharon, White county. His labors in Southeast- ern Illinois were abundant and successful. Since then he has labored in Pennsylvania, Northeastern New York and Iowa. He is now — 1879 — residing in Mercersburg, Pa., in the old homestead where he and his father were born. He married Miss Lizzie H. Wallace, daughter of Dr. Wallace, of Philadelphia, April 4, 1877. The Church at Grayville, where the Presbytery held its session, noticed above, was never fully organized. June 4, 1859, Revs, John Crozier and J. S, Howell visited the place by direction of the Presbytery, and enrolled the following names: Mrs, Frances A. Spring, Mrs, Eliza Sinvell, Mrs, Margaret Spring, Mrs, S. E. St. Albans, Mrs. E. M, Webb, George Gilbert, Mrs, Harriet Gilbert and Mrs. Mary B. Ri- gall. No elder was appointed then or ever. It seems to have been received by Presbytery, but had so little care that it never came to anything. It is another example of the folly of bringing into life without furnishing any adequate means for sustenance and growth. 5/6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS, The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Quincy, October 2, 1862. Rev. Henry Kendall, D. D., was present, and made deeply interesting statements on the subject of home mis- sions. Strong patriotic resolutions were adopted, in which it was said that, in order to bring the pending conflict to a righteous issue, they would, were it needful, speitd the last ounce of gold and pour out the last drop of blood ! This was the spirit of 1776 ! The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Jacksonville October 8, i852. The Presbyteries of Hillsboro and Kaskaskia, were united under the name of Kas- KASKIA. CHAPTER XV. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 863 TO 1865, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND THE MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities: Original Records; Auto-biograpliies ; General Catalogues; Presbytery Reporter. YEAR 1863. Illinois Pbesbytery met with Pisgah church, April lo, 1863. Antonio De Mattos was received. J. E. McMurray was dismissed to the Presbytery of Wabash. Rufus Nutt- ing, minister, and D. A. Smith, elder, were appointed Com- missioners to the Assemby. Morgan L. Wood was received from the Presbytery of Peoria. The fall meeting was held at Shelbyville, commencing September 10. Cyrus L. Watson was dismissed to the East Central Association of Illinois. Geo. C, Wood was appointed Stated Clerk, and also re-appointed Presbyterial Missionary. Morgan L. Wood, was born at Amsterdam, N. Y., May 8, 1820. His ancestors were English and Presbyterian. He was educated at Union College and Auburn Seminary. Li- censed by Presbytery of Tioga, October, 1848, at Bingham- ton, N. Y., and ordained by the same at Conklin, N. Y., April 24, 1850. He has labored at Conklin, Ludlowville and Tri- bus Hill, N. Y., at Carrollton and Greenfield, 111., and is now at Marion Centre, Kan. He has suffered greatly from ill health, twelve years of constant neuralgia and ten of aphonia. He has been twice married, and had ten children — eight daughters and two sons. His eldest daughter, x\lice M., died at Oxford, Ohio, while a member of the Western Female Seminary. Kaskaskia Presbytery met at Greenville, Bond county, April 10, 1863. By act of the Synod of Illinois, o. s., the 36 5/8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Presbyteries of Kaskaskia and Hillsboro were thrown to- gether, under the name of Kaskaskia. This was the first meeting of the united body. John Howell was received from the Presbytery of Saline. William Barnes was received from the Mendon Congregational Association. W. H. Templeton resigned the office of Stated Clerk, and Alfred N. Denny was appointed in his place. D. A. Wallace was dismissed to the Presbytery of Saline. Henry M. Corbett, minister, and Joseph T. Eccles, elder were appointed to attend the meeting of the Assembly. Arrangements were made for the installation of R. M. Roberts pastor of Litchfield church on May ly. The fall meeting was held with the Waveland church, Montgomery county, Oct. 9. William Barnes — Auto-biographical. — I was born at Portsmouth, Ohio, February 8, 18 14. My parents were of Scotch blood and Methodists. When nine years of age, I removed with my family to Marion county, Ohio. Professed religion in Milan, Ohio, in 1833. Graduated at Yale in 1839, and at the East Windsor Theological Seminary in 1842. Had been licensed to preach by the New London (Conn.) Association September i, 1841. Was married at Manches- ter, Conn., August 18, 1842, to Eunice A. Hubbard. Was ordained and installed at Hampton, Conn., September 21, 1842. Was installed at Foxboro, Mass., December 15, 1847. I came West in 1852. In Illinois I have had charge of churches in Upper Alton, Chandlerville and Sugar Creek, though not installed in either. I was with the latter church thirteen years, and with the others, both East and West, about five years each. The mother of my children died at Jacksonville, 111., on May 18, 1874, and I was married again at Chandlerville, to Mrs. S. E. Sewall Fry, August i, 1878. I have had four children, William Henry, born at Hampton, Conn., May 14, 1843; Nathan Hale, born at the same place, July 12, 1845 ; Mary Elizabeth, also born at Hampton, June 30, 1846, and Charles Albert, born at Upper Alton, III, July 4, 1855. Jacksonville has been my family residence for eighteen years, on account of its educational advantages, and I con- sider myself as now, for the most part, eineriUis. William Barnes. NATHANIEL WILLIAMS. 579 The Presbytery of Wabash met at Tuscola, April 24, 1S63. Enoch Kingsbury, minister, and Eben H. Palmer, •elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. Pliny S. Smith was licensed. The fall meeting was held at Cerro Gordo, Piatt county, September 28. Rob- •ert Rutherford was received from the Presbytery of Ripley, and William M. Taylor from the Cumberland Presbytery of Decatur. Against this last act William M. Allison entered his protest, on the ground that Presbytery did not receive •evidence of the proper literary qualifications. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Marshall, Clark -county, April 9, 1863. Nathaniel Williams was received from the Presbytery of Chillicothe. J. M. Alexander, min- ister, and William Redick, elder, were appointed Commis- sioners to the Assembly, and distinctly instructed to take ground there on the question of loyalty to the Government, which shall accord with the " Spring Resolutions." They also strongly indorsed the President's Proclamation of a fast on the 30th of April, inst. John Fox was ordained, sine titulo, on the nth. Henry F. Nelson was licensed the same day. The fall meeting was held at Kansas, Edgar county, com- mencing October 9. A. S. Kemper was dismissed to the Presbytery of Chippewa. A. Hamilton, D. D., was received from the Presbytery of Chicago. Samuel E. Vance was or- dained, sine titulo, October 11, and dismissed to the Pres- bytery of Schuyler. Nathaniel Williams was born, November 16, 18 16, in Adams county, Ohio, in a log house surrounded by Indian trails. Col. John Morrison, his maternal grandfather, re- moved from New York to Kentucky and settled at Bryant's Station, 1789, and with his wife helped to form the Presby- terian church of Paris, Ky. His father, William Williams, was one of three brothers who came from Wales and settled one in Massachusetts, one in New Jersey, and one in Vir- ginia. His father was the brother who went to Virginia, but married in Kentucky. Both his parents hated slavery and pitied the slaves. There were slaves in the family, but none were bought or sold and all were freed as soon as pos- ble. His father was of the Methodist Church bv birth, but 580 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Calvinistic in faith. When in a backshden state he would read the Bible and say, " If this be true I shall be restored." He was restored and died in the Lord. Mr. Wil- liams obtained an education by dint of perseverance through great difficulties. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Chillicothe at Greenfield, April 7, 1853. For nine years he labored at New Market. In 1862 he removed to Illinois and took charge of Kansas church, Coles county. He labored in the bounds of Mattoon Presbytery until 1874, when he went to Iowa and was installed pastor of Hermon church at Melpine, where he^ still remains. In June, 1848, he married Ann Baskin, of Hillsboro, Ohio. They have had five daughters, only three of whom are living. Samuel E. Vance was born in Paris, Edgar county, 111.,.. July 29, 1835, His grandfather and father were natives of Virsfinia, and removed to Paris from East Tennessee in 1822. The family were originally Scotch-Irish and Presbyterian.. His preparatory education was received at Edgar Academy of Paris, 111. His college course was taken at Jefferson Col- lege, Cannonsburg, Pa., where he graduated in i860. His three years' theological course was taken at the Seminary of the Northwest, graduating in 1863. The Presbytery of Pal- estine licensed him, April lO, 1 862. In the summer of 1862- he supplied the church of Pleasant Prairie. Within a few weeks after graduation he was invited to supply the churches of Altona and John Knox in Knox county. 111. Before the year closed he received a call to become pastor of John Knox and Oneida churches and and was installed by the Presbytery of Schuyler. On this field he labored for six years. In the spring of 1869 he accepted a call from the church of Farm Ridge, La Salle county, 111., where he labored for two years. After which he became pastor of the Presbyterian church of Granville, Putnam county. 111. In October, 1872, he accepted a call from the church of Lexington, McLean county. 111., and was pastor of that church for more than five years. In January, 1878, he received a call from the Presbyterian church of Stevens' Point, Wis. To this field he removed February i, 1878, and was installed pastor May 7. In this field he is still laboring. On Decem- ber 23, 1863, he was married to Kate Frame, daughter of Rev. Reuben Frame, at Morris, 111. They have four children. ELI \V. TAYLOR. 5^1 Selby F., was born Nov. 17, 1864; Hattie Shelledy, born March 18, 1S67; Edward Elbridge, July 23, 1872; James Milton, May 21, 1875. Alfred Hamilton, D. D., was installed over Mattoon •church April 13, 1864. He remained there that year and the next. In 1866-67 he was in Chicago in infirm health. In 1 868 his name disappeared from the minutes of the As- sembly. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Decatur, April i, 1863. C. P. Jennings resigned his office as Stated Clerk, -and G. W. F. Birch was elected in his place. T. M. Oviatt, minister, and S. G. Malone, elder, were elected Commission- ers to the Assembly. T. M. Oviatt was released from the pastoral care of the Decatur church. C. P. Jennings was dismissed to the Presbytery of Logansport. The fall meeting was held with Centre church, commencing Sep- tember 29. David C. Marquis, hcentiate, was received from ithe Presbytery of Beaver. Geo. K. Scott was received from the Presbytery of Wooster, Ohio. An adjourned meeting was held at Decatur, commencing November 7, and on Sab- bath, the 9th. D, C. Marquis was ordained paster of the Decatur church. The Presbytery of Alton met at Cairo, April 2, 1863. Eli W. Taylor, from Lake Presbytery, and Elijah Buck, from Coldwater Presbytery, were received. W. R. Smith, who united with the Presbytery on a forged certificate, was de- posed. J. R. Johnson was licensed. A. T. Norton and Jo- seph Gordon, ministers, and M. Fehren and Samuel Wade, elders, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Alton, Sept. 28. Eli W. Taylor — Auto-biographical. — I was born in Chit- tenden county, Vt., December ii, 1806. My ancestors were .among the early emigrants to this country from England. On my father's side they were of the Church of England. In Cromwell's time, some of them affiliated with the Puritans, and coming to this country, settled at New Haven, Ct. My smother belonged to the Lawrence family in Massachusetts. 582 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Her grandfather was one of the colony from Massachusetts which settled in and around Hartford, Ct., making his home finally in Canaan. The house he built still stands, with the names of himself, Isaac Lawrence, and all his family cut in the stone step of the front door. My parents emigrated to Vermont soon after the revolution. They had six children, who lived to profess their faith in Christ. Two sons and a grandson entered the ministry. The eldest son was an eminently useful physician in Morgan county. 111. At the age of thirteen I made a profession of religion, x^lmost from the first, my thoughts were turned towards the ministry. "' I entered the University of Vermont at Burlington and continued for three years, when my course- was interrupted by protracted illness and the death of my father. The university subsequently conferred on me the degree of A. M. My theological studies were pursued with private instructors. In the spring of 1830 I was licensed, and in December following ordained by Rutland Asso- ciation, Vt. After spending about three years as a Home Missionary in Western Vermont, I accepted a call from the Congregational church in Croydon, Sullivan county, N. H. Here I was permitted to witness a striking display of the power of Divine grace. The church had become re- duced to a small number, and the whole region was overrun with Universalism and kindred systems. Their most bold and blatant advocates were men who had once professed to- be Christians. Within a year, however, the Spirit of God was evidently at work among us, and this influence increased and extended gradually till it seemed to pervade the great mass of the people. The work thus begun continued about two years. Nearly one hundred were added to the church. Opposition, for the time, was silenced and the moral aspect of .the whole community changed. While for a short time in charge of another church, about thirty were received as the fruits of a revival, I was frequently called ten, and sometimes twenty, miles to attend funerals and perform other services in mid-winter, the cold intense and the snow very deep. The work was beyond my strength, and I was forced to resign my charge and seek relief in a southern latitude. On my return I accepted a call from the Congregational church in Williamstown, Orange county, Vt. With that peo- ple I spent about ten pleasant years. Again prostrated, I accepted an agency for the American Tract So- ELIJAH BUCK. 5^3 ciety, and spent most of two years in Mississippi and Ala- bama. Instead of returning to New England, I accepted a pastoral charge in Cass county, Mich., where I remained seven years. I had previously connected with Presby- tery. In i86i I came to Illinois, and for three years minis- tered to the church in Pana. In 1865 I took charge of the churches of Shipman and Plainview, Both churches were small and their houses of worship in an unfinished state. At the end of four years both houses were finished and neatly furnished. The accessions to the membership amounted to sixty-one. Subsequently I labored for a time with the church at Walnut Grove, in Greene county. In August, 1830, I was married to Laura, daughter of Deacon Lyman King, of Burlington, Vt. Our children all died in infancy. My wife still survives. For forty-eight years we have walked and labored together in this blessed work. A considerable portion of our time has been spent in Home Mission fields, where a full share of the toil and privation falls upon the minister's wife. This she has cheerfully borne — a faithful and efficient helper. Together we have labored — together we wait the call of the blessed Master to enter into rest. E. W. Taylor. Shipman, III., October, 1878. This beloved brother died at his residence in Shipman, III., February 13, 1879. His widow survives. Elijah Buck was born at Great Bend, Susquehanna county, Pa., March i, 1799. He was educated at Hamilton College, N. Y., and at Auburn Seminary. Licensed in 1826. Ordained April 28, 1830, by the Presbytery of Susquehanna. United, first time, with Alton Presbytery April 3, 1863. Dis- missed to Kaskaskia Presbytery, April 17, 1868. United second time with Alton Presbytery October 8, 1869, from Kaskaskia Presbytery. By the reunion and re-construction, he was throw into Cairo Presbytery, with which he is still — 1879 — connected, with his residence near Centralia. Mrs. J. W. Stark, of Jerseyville, 111., is his daughter. He labored for years in Michigan. In Illinois he has preached at Kinmundy, Odin, Centralia and Richview. The Presbytery of Saline met at Olney, April 2, 1863. Arrangements were made for the installation of S. C. Bald- 584 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ridge, pastor of Wabash and Friendsville churches on the last Sabbath of April, inst. John Mack, minister, and Harley Kingsbury, elder, were chosen to attend the Assembly. William G. Thomas, licentiate, was received from the Pres- bytery of Logansport. A pro re nata meeting was held June 30, with the Wabash church, and adjourned to Pisgah church August 4. Their object was principally to consider the case of John B. Saye. He had been deposed by the Presbytery, and had appealed to the Synod. The Synod had sustained the appeal so far as to pronounce the sentence of deposition as too severe, and that it should have been " sol- emn admonition."-- The Presbytery had appealed the case to the Assembly, where the appeal was lost by one vote. This restored Mr. Saye to the ministry, but obliged the Presbytery to inflict the sentence which the Synod had declared proper, viz.: "solemn admonition." The Presbytery summoned Mr. Saye to receive this admonition. He refused, with ex- pressions of contempt for the Presbytery and its proceed- ings; whereupon Presbytery deposed him for contumacy. Saye appealed to the Synod of 1863, and his appeal was not sustained. In all this tedious process the temper of Presby- tery was most admirable, and their adherence to rules exact. At last justice ivas secured. Such is ever the operation of the Presbyterian system, when its rules are rigidly adhered to. The case was so protracted simply because the Assembly, in a fit of impatience, rushed to a conclusion without proper consideration. The fall session was held with Sharon church September 24. On Sabbath, the 24th, Wil- liam G. Thomas was ordained, sine titulo. A. R. Naylor was received from the Presbytery of Chillicothe. Arthur Ralph Naylor was born at Cynthiana, Harrison county, Ky., December 20, 18 12. His parents were of Scotch-Irish descent, and belonged to the Associate Re- formed Presbyterian Church. He was early left an orphan. He was converted in early youth. He graduated at Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, August, 1841. He waslicensed by the Presbytery of Oxford, at Brookville, Ind., in the spring of 1842. Pie was ordained by the Presbytery of Cincinnati pastor of Treesburg and Ebenezer churches June 12, 1844. He was married at Oxford, Ohio, December i, 1841, to Miss Elizabeth Montgomery, daughter of Major James Mont- SYNOD OF ILLINOIS. 585 ■gomery. They have had three sons, who have reached ma- turity : Francis M., a professional teacher and an elder in the First Presbyterian church, Terre Haute, Ind.; Thomas E., a business man and an elder in Providence church, Solomon Presbytery, Kan., and Arthur W., who is a member of one of the churches in Pittsburg, Pa. His sons are all business men, but exemplary Christians, with God-fearing wives. He has been laboring as a minister about thirty-eight years, ■divided as to time and place thus : eighteen years in pastoral labor in Ohio ; twelve years in Indiana ; four years in Illinois, and now about four years of pioneer labor on the frontier of Northwestern Kansas. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Jerseyville, October I, 1863. That portion of Illinois Presbytery lying east of the Illinois Central Railroad, and including the churches of Shelbyville and Prairie Bird, was set off to the Presbytery of Wabash. The former declarations of this Synod, with regard to the rebellion raging against the Government, were .repeated and emphasized in the strongest manner. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Bloomington, Octo- ■ber 14, 1863. Their declarations in regard to the wickedness •of the existing rebellion against the Government were equally as decided as those of the New School Synod. Their in- dorsement also of the efforts of the Christian Commission, and their urging of its claims upon the churches, were all the most earnest Christian patriot could desire. It is interesting to note, as the years of the rebellion rolled on, the rising tone of patriotism and the utter disappearance of disloyal manifestations in all our Ecclesiastical bodies, except on the part of a very few individuals in the Presbytery of Sangamon. YEAR 1864. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Springfield, April 7, 1864. Morgan L. Wood, minister, and R. E. Wilder, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. T. H. New- ton was received from the Presbytery of Missouri. Wm. R. Adams was ordained, April 9, sine titulo. The fall meeting was held at Carrollton, commencing August 30. 5^6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Thomas Henry Newton, D. D. This article is made up of extracts from a letter of his to me, written in 1879: " Your conception of the history of Presbyterianism in middle and south Illinois is entirely just. I have often won- dered why such a history was not undertaken by all localities in the United States, so that material might be furnished for a correct general history of the whole Church. * * * I was born in Philadelphia, Pa., June 25, 1821. * * * It is with no small degree of interest that I look back to my residence in Illinois, whose growth has been so marvel- ous and whose political position is so commanding. * * As my name indicates, I am of English stock. The Newtons are- an old family in England, and with very similar charac- teristics. Newtons are not politicians. I never knew one of the name a rebel, a regicide or a seditionist. They keep quiet and mind their own business. If political affairs don't suit them they simply withdraw, as did Sir Isaac Newton when he shut himself up in his observatory rather than become member of a cabal. My parents were staunch Protestants from the Church of England. My father affiliated with the Methodists ; my mother with Presbyterians. They trained me with great care. My general education was obtained in ordinary schools. I graduated at La Fayette College in 1846. My theological course was taken at Prince- ton, N. J. I was licensed by the Presbytery of Philadel- phia in April, 1848, The same Presbytery ordained me to labor as a chaplain in St. Thomas, W. I., in November, 1850. Besides labonng in the West Indies, I was supply pastor at Berwick, Pa., in St. Louis, Mo., in Southwest Missouri and in Carlinville, 111., from 1862 to 1864. Since my labors in Car- linville I have had no regular field. I have preached a good deal, but been in too feeble health to do much. I now re- side in Virginia and have preached for four months for two small churches. That is the most continuous labor I have done for years. While I write this I am visiting in Camden, N. J. I was once married and have one child — George Junkin Newton — born in St. Louis, July 15, 1858. I wish thus to go on record : / never ivroiiged any one, Jior preached for filthy lucre. My address is Richmond, Va, "Thomas H. Newton." William R. Adams was born of pious parents, August i, 1830, at New Boston, N. H. United with the Presbyterian- WILLIAM R. ADAMS. 587 church of that place October, 1848. Completed his prepar- atory course in New Ipswich and Francestown academies. Entered Dartmouth College in August, 1855, and graduated from that institution July 28, 1859. In the autumn of the same year he came to Illinois, and located at Carlinville, be- ing engaged as an instructor in the public school. During his stay there he studied theology with Rev. John C. Downer,, then at the head of Blackburn Seminary. In May, 1861,. was licensed by Illinois Presbytery. In September of that year was called to take charge of the high school at Alton, as its principal. At the same date began to supply the pul- pit of the Presbyterian church of Upper Alton. September 9, 1861, he was united in marriage with Miss Ellen D. Rich- mond, formerly of Rochester, Vt.; subsequently a teacher in the Alton schools, but more recently principal of a young ladies seminary at Carlinville. He continued in School at Alton till 1865, but remained as supply pastor at Upper Al- ton till September i, 1867, a period of six years. He was ordained April, 1864, by Illinois Presbytery. Served as chaplain of the 133d regiment Illinois volunteers during its term of enlistment. United with Alton Presbytery in the autumn of 1865. In September, 1867, he removed to Brigh- ton, and took charge of Brighton and Spring Cove churches. At these points he labored until September 1870, Thence he removed to Shipman, and became supply pastor of the churches of Shipman and Spring Cove, preaching more or less for the church at Plainview. During his stay at Ship- man, he acted as pastor of that church for three years, being installed by a committee of Presbytery in the fall of 1871. In September, 1874, he removed to Plainview, and undertook the supply of that and Spring Cove church. At this time — 1879 — he ministers to Plainview, Spring Cove and Shipman churches. To the first, one-half the time, to each of the oth- ers, one-fourth. In June, 1875, he was honored with the degree of A. M., by Blackburn University. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Adams are Anna Trible, born August 31, 1864; James Henry, born April 3, 1868;. Fannie P., born October 13, 1872. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met with Pleasant Ridge church, Randolph county, April 7, 1864. T. W. Hynes, minister, and Augustus Alvord, elder, were chosen to attend ^88 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Trenton, commencing October 8. A. R. Naylor was received from the Presbytery of Saline, and S. D. Loughead from that of St. Louis. Lively's Prairie church was dissolved. R. G. Williams, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of ■Ohio. Samuel D. Loughead. His name first appears in the minutes in 1858, when his address was Jefferson City, Mo. In 1862-73 he was pastor elect at Montgomery City, Mo. In 1866 he was supply pastor at Carlyle, 111. In 1871 he was at Thayer, Kansas. His name then disappears. His name is spelled hougkead and houg/ieed. The Presbytery of Wabash met with New Providence church in Edgar county, April 15, 1S64. Timothy Hill was received from the Presbytery of St. Louis. James W. Stark was dismissed to the Presbytery of Milwaukee. R. Ruther- ford, minister, and Alex. McKinney, elder, were chosen to -attend the Assembly, Pliny S. Smith was ordained, sine titido. With 1865 his name disappears from the minutes. The fall meeting was held with Prairie Bird church, Shelby county, September 2. J. B, Sheldon was received from Hu- ron Presbytery. Timothy Hill, D. D., was born in Mason, N. H., June 30, 1 8 19. His father was Rev. Ebenezer Hill, who was ordained pastor of the Congregational church in Mason, N. H., in No- vember, 1790. He remained pastor of that church until his death in 1 854. His ancestors were English Puritans, and emigrated to this country about 1630. Mr. Hill graduated at Dartmouth College 1842, and at Union Seminary, N. Y,, 1845. He was licensed by the Third Presbytery of New York, April 18, 1845, and ordained at St. Louis by the Pres- bytery of St. Louis, October 22, 1846. He came to Missouri under the direction of the A. H. M. Society in October, 1845. Labored in Monroe county until July, 1846. Was supply pastor of St. Charles church. Mo., 1846-59; at St. Louis, North church, 1859-60; at Rosemond, 111., 1861-63 ; at Shel- byville. 111., 1863-65; at Kansas City, Mo., 1865-68. He was appointed District Secretary of the Board of Home Missions in 1868, and is still acting in that capacity. For the last ten PALESTINE AND SANGAMON PRESBYTERIES. 589- years he has traveled in that work about one thousand miles per month. In 1873, he received from Highland University the degree of D. D. He married, at St. Louis, Miss Frances A. Hall, November 2, 1854. They have two living children : John Boynton, born November 3, i860, and Henry Edward, born February 9, 1863. Dr. Hill's residence is in Kansas City, Mo. James B. Sheldon resided in Lawrence and then in Troy, Kansas, and died at the latter place, October 7, 1872, aged fifty-one years, being at his death a member of Highland Presbytery. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Mattoon April 12, 1864. Alfred Hamilton, D. D., was installed pastor of Mat- toon church, o. s. The fall meeting was held at Charleston, September 13, 1864. Samuel B. Taggart was re- ceived at an adjourned meeting held at Kansas, October 29,. and installed pastor of that church on the 30th. H. L Ven- able was appointed Stated Clerk. Samuel B. Taggart was born atCannonsburg, Pa., March 31, 1833. Graduated at Jefferson College, August i, 1856. Had united with the Covenanter Church at an early age. Began the study of theology at Reformed Presbyterian Sem- inary, Allegheny, Pa., and finished at Princeton, N. J., in 1861. Licensed by Presbyteiy of New Brunswick, and ordained in 1862 by Presbytery ofVincennes. Has labored at Sullivan, Ind., at Kansas, 111., and is now — 1879 — at Upper Alton and Moro, with residence at former place. Sagamon Presbytery met at Springfield, April 8, 1864, Clark Loudon was received from the Presbytery of Phila- delphia. J. A. Pinkerton, minister, and Stephen Sutton, elder, were appointed to attend the assembly. At a pro re nata meeting held at Springfild, June 29, J. H. Brown, D. D., was released from the pastoral care of the First Pres- byterian church of Springfield. The fall meeting; was held with North Sagamon church Sept. 13, 1864. 590 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Clark Loudon was born in County Armagh, Ireland, October 19, 1823, and educated at Belfast. Came to this country in 185 1 ; was licensed in Ireland. The first ten years of his ministry in this country were spent in Philadelphia, in charge of the Fifteenth Presbyterian church in that city, over which he was ordained early in 1853. He came to Illi- nois about 1862, and labored until 1S75 in Marrowbone township, in Moultrie county, and in the Prairie Home parish in Shelby county. He organized, in that general field, two churches — Sullivan and Dalton — and assisted in erecting two gooci church buildings. He married December 15, 1864, Miss Mary A. Freeland. In 1875 their children were three little girls. In 1876 he removed with his family to Minnesota, and has labored since at Shetek and Tracy. The Presbytery of Alton met at Carbondale, April 14, 1864. J. J. Ward, of Dayton, William Ellers, of Coldwater, and M. B. Ormsby, of Galena Presbyteries, were received. C. H. Foote and E. B. Olmsted, ministers, and F. A. Sabin, M. D., and David Beatty, elders, were appointed Commis- sioners to the Assembly. The license of J. Russell John- son was recalled. N. A. Hunt was dismissed to the Minne- sota Congregational Association. The fall ses- sion was held at Old Ducoign, October 3 and 4. Charles F. Beach was received from the Presbytery of Chicago. C. H. Taylor resigned as Stated Clerk, and A. T. Norton was ap- pointed in his place. At an adjourned meeting, held at Cen- tralia, Charles F. Beach was installed pastor of Centralia church, and S. R. Bissell was received from the Presbytery of Washtenaw. J. Jerome Ward was born at Bloomfield, N. J., March 9, 1813. Educated at Lane Seminary from 1830 to 1834. Or- dained, February 10, i84i,by Presbytery of Onondaga, over the church of Camillus. Spent ten years in Onondaga Presbytery, ten in that of Niagara and three years in that of Dayton. United with Alton Presbytery as above. Labored one year in New Ducoign. Dismissed in the spring of 1865. Labored then two years in Decatur, Mich., and three and one-half years in Michigan City. He is now — 1879 — at Kasson, Minn. WILLIAM ELLERS. 59 1 Charles F. Beach was born at Jewett, Greene county, N. Y., Sept. 5, 1827. Educated at Auburn Seminary. Received the degree of A. M. from Knox College, June 23, 1859. Or- dained by Chicago Presbytery, Jan. 10, 1856. United with Alton Presbytery and was installed as above. Was dis- missed from that charge July 19, 1866, Dismissed from Alton to St. Lous Presbytery same date. Has since la- bored at Portage City, Wis., at Warsaw, Ind., and has been for several years in Louisville, Ky., acting as editor and evan- gelist. He is the author of several small works of much merit. He is a member at this J;ime — 1879 — o^ the Louis- ville Presbytery, connected with the Northern Assembly. William Ellers was born March 5, 18 11, in Rendsburg, Dutchy of Schleswig, then in Denmark, now Prussia. Edu- cated in Rendsburg, and in the University of Keil in Hol- stein, where he spent several years, and then came to this Western world. He landed at New York in September, 1836, with the intention of traveling through the country, rgaining all possible information, and then of returning to Hamburg and establishing a bureau of information fur Ger- man emigrants to America. He became, however, so much interested in the country that he abandoned his first de- sign and determined to remain. October i, 1856, he was ordained in Fort Wayne, Ind., by the classis of St. Joseph of the German Reformed church, and ministered to a charge in the town and vicinity of Goshen, Elkhart county, Lid. This charge he resigned in the spring of 1858 to minister to two German congregations in ]\nchigan. While thus em- ployed he became acquainted with the Burr Oak Presbyte- rian church and became their pastor, through the Presbytery of Coldwater, in November, 1858. After a ministry of five years this pastorate was dissolved and he came to Illinois. From 1863 to 1865 he served the churches of Troy and Marine in Madison county. For one year from January, 1865, he was Bible agent in Michigan. He then became city Missionary in New Albany, Ind. There he labored for one and a half years, being connected with Salem Presby- tery. His next field was as missionary among the Germans in ]\Iilwaukee, Wis. There he remained till January i, 1870. His next field was Mine La Motte, Mo. He has labored since in Watson and Edgewood, 111., and is now — 1879 — in Olney with a German congregation. 592 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Sandford R. Bissell was born May ii, 1818, at East Windsor, Ct. He was educated at Western Reserve College and Lane Seminary. He was ordained June 30, 1847, by the Genesee Association. He united with Alton Presbytery as above and was dismissed to the Presbytery of Wabash, April 13, 1866. He has labored since as minister at Effing- ham, Greenup, New Hope and with other churches in that section of the State. He has been principally occupied, however, as teacher of a private school in Effingham. His- wife is a lady of superior education, much firmness of Christ- ian principle and perfect consistency of conduct — a good- wife, mother and i^liable m'ember of the church. Saline Presbytery met with Richland church, April 8, 1864. D. A. Wallace was dismissed to the Presbytery of Bloomington. S. C. Baldridge, minister, and R. W. Pratt, M. D., elder, were elected Commissioners to the next Assem- bly. The church of Odin was received. The fall session was held at Equality, commencing September 15. William C. Thomas was dismissed to the Presbytery of Logansport. Bridgeport church was received. Odin Church, Marion county, was organized by Revs. John Crozier and Wm. G. Thomas, March 26, 1864, with thirteen members. Elder Joseph M. Wilson. Revs. Wm. E. Thomas and Elijah Buck ministered to the church until 1865. Nine persons were received, and A. C. Davis was elected elder. R. C. Galbraith was installed on the first Sabbath in October, 1865. A church edifice of brick, erected at a cost of $3,000, was dedicated June 3, 1866. The church grew with the growth of the town in the rush of travel during the war, and for a year or two subsequent. But the close of the war and the opening of a direct route from St. Louis to^ Cairo, acted adversely both upon town and church. Mr. Galbraith resigned and left. The church became reduced almost to extinction. But a few praying ones were left and. better prospects have begun to open. Bridgeport Church, Lawrence county, was organized by Revs. John Crozier and John Mack and Elder Thos. Buchanan, May 7 and 8, 1864, in the Methodist house, with these mem- BRIDGEPORT CHURCH. 593 bers: Diana Douglas, James Crooks, Alvira Crooks, Alex. Bell, Margaret Bell, Hiram W. Cooper, Mahulda A. New- ell, James H, Martin, Mary R. Martin, Louisa Martin, Mary- Martin, Salina Douglas, Charles Douglas, Eusebia Martin, Martha Martin, Alney L. Martin, John A. Newell, Margaret A. Newell, Cyrus Culbertson, Susan Culbertson, Alfred Har- ris, Mary Harris, James Johnson, Martha Johnson. Elders : Alex. Bell and John A. Newell. Alex. Bell was an elder of the Hopewell church, which was gradually merged in this at Bridgeport. Rev. John Mack was the first minister of the church. He was supply pastor, and continued until 1868 or perhaps longer. Cyrus Culbertson and Hiram Cooper were chosen elders, August 19, 1865. Other Ministers: R. G. Ross, September i, 1870, and continued till spring of 1876. Thomas Smith commenced May i, 1876, and is supply pastor of this church and Union, and pastor of Pis- gah. Good church building, cost $2,700. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Centralia, October 6, 1864. The Synod of Illinois, .0. s., met at Olney, October 12, 1864. Dr. Alfred Hamilton was made Stated Clerk. Both Synods began to agitate the subject of re-union. 37 CHAPTER XVI. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 865 TO 1868, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND THE MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities: Origfnal Records; Auto-biographies; General Catalogues; Presbytery Reporter. YEAR 1865. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Chatham, April 6, 1865. David H. Hamilton, D. D., minister, and A. C. Hin- ton, elder, were appointed to attend the meeting of the Assembly. William R. Adams was dismissed to the Presby- tery of Alton. The fall meeting was held with the Westminster church, Jacksonville, commencing Septem- ber 5. William A. Hendrickson was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler ; Geo. C. Wood was reappointed Presbyterial Missionary. The Presbytery of Kaskasi/.ia met at Moro, Madison county, April 6, 1865. The church of Richview was re- ceived. The name of August Ki(|:ss, a licentiate, was dropped from the roll of Presbytery. The name of Rattan's Prairie church was changed to Moro. S. D. Longhead, minister, and Hugh Smith, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Carlyle, Clinton county, commencing October 2. The name of the Liberty church was changed to Rockwood. The Presbytery of Wabash held a called meeting at Mattoon, January 7, 1865, received John L. Jones from the Presbytery of Schuyler and installed him pastor of the Mat- toon church. The spring meeting was held at Neoga, April 14, and the fall meeting at Shelbyville, Octo- ber 4. David R. Love, from the Presbytery of Logansport, DAVIU R. LOVE. 595 and Thomas H. Spencer, from Salem Presbytery, were re- <:eived. Timothy Hill was dismissed to the Presbytery of Lexington. Watson and Effingham churches belong to this year, but through some error their names were not entered •on the roll of Presbytery. John L. Jones was preaching to the New Providence •church, Emerson, Mo., postofifice, in 1 860-61 — a member of the Presbytery of Northern Missouri, N. S. The war drove him out of Missouri. In 1864 he was Presbyterial Mission- ary of Schuyler Presbytery, and resided at Brooklyn, Schuy- ler county. 111. Installed at Mattoon as above. He remained about two years and went to Kansas. He organized a Pres- byterian church at Salina, Kan., in November, 1867, and preached there and at Solomon City until his death, which took place May 3, 1871. He was forty-five years of age, and at the time of his death a member of the Presbytery of To- peka. David R. Love was born in Tollcross, a suburb of Glas- gow, Scotland, May, 183 1. His parents, x'llexander and Jean Rankin Love, were members of the Presbyterian church. In 1842 he migrated with them to Nova Scotia, sojourned there four years, and on June 27, 1846, was shipwrecked near the coast of Massachusetts ; twenty-nine persons were drowned, and among whom were his mother, brother and sister. His father, sister and himself made their home in Pennsylvania. In his twentieth year, when teaching school, he was converted and the following summer united with the O. S. Presbyterian church. He prepared for college at Lu- zerne Presbyterial Institute, Wyoming valley, Pa. ; entered the freshman class in the College of New Jersey, and was graduated in 1S58; entered Princeton Theological Seminary in September following, and was graduated April, 1861. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Luzerne, O. S., at King- ston, Wyoming valley. Pa., April 17, i860. His first field of labor was Rossville, Ind. He began to supply that church June 7, 1861 ; was ordained over it, October 3, 1861 ; labored there three years; ministered to the N. S. Presbyterian church, Danville, 111., fifteen months ; was pastor of the church .at Lexington seven years, Tolono two years, Farmer City iiiearly two years, and has labored in Fowler, Ind., since July 596 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. I, 1877. During these eighteen years he has preached' two thousand, six hundred and seventy-four sermons, re- ceived three hundred and ninety-six persons to church mem- bership and in his own charges has enjoyed nine precious revivals. Mr. Love has been married twice. First, on June 23, i(S64, to Lida, daughter of Rev. James A. Car- nahan, of Dayton, Ind. They had tv/o children — Flora, born August, 1865, and Nillie, born May, 1867. In March,. 1874, his first wife died, and in June, 1876, at Aurora, III, he married Henrietta, daughter of Dr. R. B. Landon, of Fre- donia, N. Y. They have one child — Lida Landon — born May 5, 1877. Thomas Spencer was born in Wilmington, Vt., April 25, 181 2. He was one of a family of eight children. His grand- father removed from East Haddam, Ct., when Abner, father of Thomas, was about eighteen years of age. Thomas la- bored upon the farm with his father until his sixteenth year. His early education was at the common school and the acad- emy of Barre, Mass. While in the academy he was con- verted to Christ. He graduated at Union College, N. Y., in 1837. Having to depend largely upon his own resources in procuring an education, his energies were taxed to the utmost. While in college he fell a victim to the small-pox,, in its most malignant form. For many weeks his life trembled in the balance. He bore the traces of this fell disease to his grave. After leaving college, a great part of his life was spent in teaching. In 1840 he was appointed professor of languages in the Western University, of Pittsburg, Pa., at the same time he edited a literary paper. This year, 1840, he married Miss Eliza Kelly of Pittsburg. Soon after he- studied theology, in part at Allegheny City, Pa. His first field of labor in the ministry was at Marlboro, Vt., where he was pastor from 1844 to 1846. He then took charge, for a time, of a church in West Brattleboro, Vt, About 1852 he went to Indiana under the auspices of the A. H. M. Society, and labored in Blackford and Franklin counties. He was principal of the Female College of New Albany from 1857 to 1859. From thence he removed to Glendale, Ohio, near Cincinnati, and was engaged in the Female College there for four or five years. He next came to Terre Haute, Ind., and became Professor of Natural Sciences, Moral Philosophy and Logic in the Terre Haute Female College. It was while THOMAS SPExN'CER 59/ thus engaged that he united with Wabash Presbytery, and in addition to his teaching, took charge of the New Providence church, eight miles west of Terre Haute. In 1869 he re- moved his relation to Green Castle Presbytery, but con- tinued to teach in Terre Haute. In that city he buried his first wife, October 6, 1870. In 1871 he united with the Pres- bytery of Mattoon and. took charge of the churches of York, Walnut Prairie, and Marshall, in Clark county. In that field he remained four years. November 2, 1872, he married Mrs. Mary E. Besser, widow of Nathan Besser, and daughter of Robert Williamson, an elder in Walnut Prairie church. She had two sons, aged twelve and fourteen years. ]\Ir. Spencer's last field of labor was Palestine, Robinson and Beckwith Prairie churches, with his residence at Palestine. For the greater part of the time he preached one sermon to each of these places on each Sabbath. Only once did he fail of meeting an appointment, and then on account of a terrible storm. The churches were all enlarged and strength- ened under his care. He secured their entire confidence and warmest attachment. He was removed in the midst, not only of his ministerial usefulness, but while maturing plans for establishing an academy among his people. On Sabbath, August 5, 1876, he preached his last sermon to his church in Palestine from the words : " Come unto me all ye that labor," etc., and with great power. At 3 o'clock, p. m., he heard his Sabbath-school class. At 9 o'clock the same even- ing he died. His funeral was attended at the parsonage in Palestine, and his remains conveyed for interment to the cemetery of the Walnut Prairie church. His education was a very finished one. He ranked high as an instructor of youth, and was enthusiastic in that calling. But his chosen work was that of the ministry. As a preacher he was evangelical, earnest and instructive. In his family he was an affectionate husband, courteous and kind to domes- tics— a priest in his own house. His wife's sons he regarded and treated as his own. He was very industrious — through life an early riser and regarding the morning hours as the best for study. In New England he was a Congregationalist ; .at the West a New School Presb3''terian — always and every- where non-partisan and catholic. All who new him loved him. The widow resides with her sons and sister in Terre Haute, Indiana. 598 PRESBYIERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Watson Church, Effingham county, was organized by Rev, S. R. Bissell, April 15, 1865, with these members: Jacob Covert, Martha Covert, WilHam Wilson, Mrs. Elizabeth Wil- son, P. H. Humes, Mrs. Mary Humes, Mrs. Maria Humes, I\Irs. Bridget Larew and Mrs. Anna Bail. Elders : P. H. Humes, Jacob Covert, appointed July i, 1865 ; James Rus- sell, September 7, 1873; Francis Cooper, sr., August i, 1874;. Charles M. Service, July 18, 1875. Ministers: S. R. Bissell, the first, Joseph Wilson preached and adminis- tered the supper, December 13, 1865. Adam Johnson, G. A. Pollock, Enoch Kingsbury and A. T. Norton preached here on a few irregular occasions. From 1867 to 1873 this church had no preaching. Wm. EUers was employed May 4, 1873, and remained until 1877. This church has no property. Effingham Church was organized by Revs. A. T. Norton and S. R. Bissell, in the court-nouse at Effingham, Novem- ber 13, 1864, with these members: Solomon Swingle, Mrs. M. E. Swingle, Mrs. S. P. Bissell, Isaac Bates, Mrs. Jane Bates. Elders: Isaac Austin, Henry Thompson, February 2, 1868; Samuel F. Gilmore, Virgil Wood, November, 1870; limited eldership adopted August, 1877, when A. Stewart was chosen for five years, G. Ogden for four years and Vir- gil Wood for three ye:irs. IMixisters: S. R. Bissell, G. A. Pollock began here December, 1869, and resigned in Decem- ber, 1877. He was pastor. William C. Cort, 1878. The house of worship — a substantial brick building — was dedi- cated October 23, 1870, free of debt. It cost ^4,300. Before its erection the places of meeting were, (i) the court-house, about one year; (2) Mr. Bissell's school house; (3) the Bap- tist church for one-half the time. Mr. Pollock's pastorate continued eight years. When he commenced, the church had fifteen members. He left it with one hundred and seventy. The whole number received in those eight years was two hundred and twenty-seven. Of these by letter, fifty, by examination, one hundred seventy-seven. Baptisms in the period, seventy-seven adults and forty-four children. Marriages, fifty-one. Deaths of members, four, and one baptized child. The amount of money raised and expended in those eight years was $14,800, being an average of $1,850' per year. STEPHEN J. BOVELL. 599 Palestine Presbytery met at Grandview, April ii, 1865. Stephen J. Bovell was ordained on the I2th. C. P. Spining, minister, and Findley Paull, elder, were appointed to the As- sembly. H. A. Newell was licensed, and at the fall meeting dismissed to ]\Iiami Presbytery. H. I. Venable was dis- missed from the pastoral care of Oakland church. The fall meeting was held at Areola, October 2. Stephen J.\y Bovell was born May 27, 1827, near the old Salem church, Washington county, Tenn. He is the third son and fourth child of Rev. John V. Bovell, who was president of Washington College, East Tenn., during the years 1827 and 1828, and who died in Paris, Edgar county, 111., in November, 1829. His grandfather was the Rev. Ste- phen Bovell, D. D., who preached for nearly forty years to the Presbyterian church in Abingdon, Va., and who died in the beginning of the year 1840 in Coles county. 111., having lived the three previous years in Hannibal and Palmyra, Mo. The grandfather traced his ancestry back to the old Hugue- not stock of France. The maiden name of the mother of the subject of this sketch was Christiana Gray, whose father was an old Scotch Presbyterian of the blue-stocking type. After the death of the father in Paris, 1829, the mother re- mained there till the year 1835, when she, with her four children, removed to the southern part of Coles county. 111., near the Pleasant Prairie church, and where the subject of this sketch worked on a farm until he was twenty years of age. In the month of April, 1847, he became a student in Edgar Academy, then under the control of Rev. H. I. Ven- able, where he remained until October, 1849. Leaving the academy he went to Hanover College, Indiana, and entered the sophomore class of that institution and remained there three years, graduating with the class of 1852. After spend- ing two years in teaching he entered the Theological Sem- inary at New Albany, Ind., October, 1854, where he spent one year, at the end of which his health failing from the en- tire paralysis of both lower and upper extremities, he was compelled to abandon his preparation for the ministry for the time and engage in other pursuits. In March, 1856, he was united in marriage with ]\Iiss IMartha J. Howe, to whom he had been engaged for four years, in the vicinit}' of Flemings- burg, Ky., and for two seasons thereafter engaged in farming 600 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. in Edgar county, 111. In the autumn of 1857 he removed to Palestine, 111., and in conjunction with another gentleman took charge of a literary institution known as Palestine Academy, where he continued to teach during the following eight years. Pursuing as best he could in the meantime his theological studies, he was licensed by the Presbytery of Pal- estine, in the town of Palestine, 111., April 16, 1859. The same Presbytery ordained him April 16, 1865, at Graadview, 111. The six years intervening between the time of his licen- sure and ordination were spent in teaching through the week and preaching on Sabbath tc vacant churches in the surrounding towns, among which were Carlisle, Ind., and Palestine, Hutsonville, Robinson and Beckwith Prairie, 111. In October, 1865, he removed to Ashmore, Coles county, 111., and took charge of the Hebron and Oakland churches as supply pastor, which relation he sustained to both churches until the close of the year 1878, at which time he severed his connection with the Oakland church. He still resides in Ashmore and continues his relation as supply pastor with the Hebron church. He was elected County Superintend- ent of Schools of Coles county md held the office for a term of four years, beginning December i, 1869. Three children have been given to him and his devoted wife — John Howe, born April 10, 1859; Henry Paull, born November 20, i860, and Louella, born Decembe. 7, 1863. The first of these gladdened the hearts and home of his parents for two and one-half short years, and then was not, for God took him. The other two still live, and together with the parents and the aged mother of Mr. Bovell, now in her eightieth year, and an orphan niece of Mrs. B.'s, in her twenty-third year, constitute the present household. Sangamon Presbytery met at Williamsville, April 21, 1865. W. B. Spence was received from the Presbytery of Sidney. Noah Bishop, minister, and S. H. Jamison, elder, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Decatur, October 2. F. H. Wines, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of New Brunswick, examined and arrangements made for his ordi- nation over the First church of Springfield, October 28. F. N. Ewing was received from the Presbytery of Chicago. Macon church was received. FKEDEKICK h'. WINES. 60I Frederick H. Wines. I was born in Philadelphia, April 9, 1838. My father'.^ family are of Welsh origin, and we -suppose our name to have been formerly spelled Wynnes. On my mother's side I am of English descent, with some mixture of Huguenot blood. I was prepared for coUeg eby my father^ Rev. Dr. E. C. Wines, who was a teacher, and graduated in 1857 at Washington College, Pa., of which he was at that time a professor. I was educated for the minis- try at Princeton, N. J., and graduated at the seminary in the class of 1865. I had been a member of three classes, my studies having been interrupted the first time by an affec- tion of the eyes, and the second timeby my enlistm.ent in the regular army of the United States as a hospital chaplain. I served in the army in the war for between two and three years, and was stationed at Springfield, Mo. I was licensed, before the war, by the Presbytery of St. Louis, in the fall of i860, and had acted as stated supply of the Presbyterian church at Springfield, Mo., where I was when the war broke out. After graduating at the seminary I accepted a call from the First Presbyterian church of Springfield, 111., and entered this field in June, 1865, and was ordained and installed October 29 of the same year. In June, 1869, I commenced my labors as Secretary of the State Board of Public Charities, and resigned my pastoral office, June 14, 1869. I was married, in 1865, to Miss Mary Frances Hackney, daughter of Wilson Hackney, of Springfield, Mo., and have four children living, whose names are Emma Stansbury, Ar- thur St. John, William Frederick and Charles Alfred. The •oldest is now ten years of age. Fred. H. Wines. William B. Spence. — Auto-biographical. — I was born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1806. My ancestors on both sides were of the Scotch-Irish, who, in the eighteenth century, settled the Cumberland valley, Pa. I graduated at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. I was licensed in 1838 by the Presbytery of Salem. In 1841 I was ordained by the Pres- bytery of Sidney pastor of th^ church of Troy, Ohio. In 1842 I became pastor of the church of Sidney, Ohio, and continued in that pastorate twenty-three years. In the spring of 1865 I removed with my family to Chatham, Sangamon county, 111., and became supply pastor for the church of that place for three years. I am now in the eleventh year of my 602 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. pastorate in the church of Pleasant Run, Hamilton county,. Ohio. I have been fifty-four years in full membership in the Presbyterian church, am in the forty-second year of my min- istry and in the seventy-fourth year of my age. Fielding Nathaniel Ewing was born in North Carolina. Graduated at the University of Nashville, Nashville, Tenn., in 1838 and at Princeton Seminary. Ordained, sine titulo, in Kentucky, April, 1846. Supply pastor at Morganfield and Caseyville, Ky., 1.844. Supply pastor at Bloomington, 111., 1850 — pastor 1857 to 1859.' Agent of Chicago Seminary 1863. Resides at Decatur, 111. Macon Church was organized in 1865 by Rev. D. C. Mar- quis, with twenty-seven members and two elders — Dr. W. W. Johnston and William Gibson. Their first minister was Sam- uel W. Mitchell, their present one Samuel J. Bogle. They have a house of worship and a membership of about one hundred and fifty. The Presbytery of Alton met at Alton April 13, 1865. W. R. Adams, from the Presbytery of Illinois, George L. Little, from the Presbytery of Chicago, and C. F. Halsey, from the Presbytery of Fox River, were received. Sandoval church was received. Charles F. Beach and C. J. Pitkin, ministers, and Isaac Scarrit and D. W. Munn, elders, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. Andrew Luce was released from the pastoral care of the Belleville church. The fall meeting was held at Pana, commencing October 2. J, J. Ward was dismissed to the Presbytery of Kalama- zoo, Mich., and George W. Goodale to that of Lexington, Mo. Hiram P. Roberts was received as an ordained minis- ter. Ezekiel Folsom was dismissed to the Presbytery of Chicago. Kinmundy church was received. David Dimond was dismissed to the Presbytery of Wabash. Charles F. Halsey was born in Plattsburg, Clinton coun- ty, N. Y., November 16, 1803. His father. Rev, Frederick Halsey, was born on Long Island, graduated at Columbia. GEORGE L. LITTLE. 603. College, settled at Plattsburg, gathered a church and was its pastor until 181 3, and taught many years. Charles F. pur- sued his literary course at Plattsburg Academy, and gradu- ated at Auburn Seminary, 1835. He was head clerk and book-keeper in an importing hardware store at Troy, N. Y., but resigned that place in 1831 and prepared for the minis- try. He was licensed by Champlain Presbytery in 1835, and ordained by the same body in February, 1836. His first field of labor was Russelltown, district of Montreal, Canada. Was there two years. His next field was Stockholm, Law- rence county, N. Y. His labors in both these fields were successful. He was then laid aside one year with bronchitis and general prostration. He occupied several other fields in Northeastern New York, Canada and Vermont. He removed West in May, 1858, and labored at Wausau, Wis., until the close of 1 863. j anuary 3, 1 864, he removed his family to Col- linsville, Madison county. 111., and served that church be- tween three and four years. Since that time he has labored at Tamaroa, Old Ducoign, Dongola, Dubois, Brownstown and Marine. He is still residing at the latter place. He was married January 4, 1837, to Miss Sylvic Ann Morse, daughter of Dr. Stephen F. Morse, Chateaugay,. Franklin county, N. Y., a descendant of the Morses who came over in the Mayflower. They have seven children : Sarah Letitia, born February 25, 1838 ; Caroline Piatt, borni May 18, 1840; Catharine Maria, born February 6, 1842; Ann Eliza, born October il, 1844; Gertrude Amelia, born July 17, 1849; Frederick Stephen, born November 12, 1S53 5 Mary Isabella, born October i, 1857. Geo. L. Little — Auto-biographical — was born in Somer- set county, Pa., March 25, 1828. Ancestors were of Ger- manic stock, and of the Lutheran faith. After preparatory studies under the direction of a Lutheran minister, entered Allegheny College in the Sophomore class, 1846, and gradu- ated as Valedictorian in 1849. During a pun- gent revival of religion in the Methodist church, in my senior year, I consecrated myself to Christ and felt impelled to the work of the gospel ministry. After gradu- ation and some study of theology, was licensed and received into the Erie Conference of the M. E. Church. After filling several responsible appointments, and at the close of my 604 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. second year as pastor of the First M. E. church, Cleveland, Ohio, beheving that my views of Christian doctrine were more in harmony with the Calvinistic standards of the Presbyterian Church, and having a decided preference for the government and disciphne of that Church, 1 appHed for admission and was received into the Presbytery of Cleveland, n. s. After a year spent in city mission work in Cleveland, I received a call to the First Presbyterian church, Waukegan, 111., which call I accepted and was duly installed, 1857, ^Y the Presby- tery of Chicago. After six years of labor with this church, I transferred my ecclesiastical relations to the Presbytery of Alton, and took charge of the Monticello church, Godfrey, 111. I remained here four years, and then removed to Coun- cil Bluffs, Iowa, and projected a seminary for young ladies, which I conducted until failing health compelled me to give up the enterprise. Removing to Omaha in 1872, and re- maining " out of the harness " for a time, to recruit my health, I was appointed by the Board of Home Missions Synodical Missionary for the State of Nebraska, and entered upon that work July i, 1878. In 1850 I was married to Miss Felicia H. Wick, of Greenville, Pa. Four children, two daughters and two sons, all of whom are living, are the fruit of this auspicious marriage. Coming into the Presbyterian Church " on conviction," my attach- ment to the Church of my adoption has grown stronger and more tender with the lapse of years, as has also my faith in •'ts distinctive doctrines. Hiram P. Roberts. — Auto-biographical. — I was born at Plymouth Hollow, Ct., September 22, 1831. Was educated at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Ct. Am not a graduate of a theological seminary. Was ordained as chaplain of the .84th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, April 19, 1S63, which regiment I entered as First Lieutenant, and was wounded at Murfreesboro, December 31, 1862. Being disabled for fur- ther service in the line, and having some practice in the way of lay preaching, the regiment elected me chaplain, and I served as such until March, 1864. My wound reopening I was obliged to resign. After resting awhile I re-entered the army as chaplain of 137th Illinois — Col. John Wood's one hundred days men — in June, 1864, and served till mustered out in September of same year. I commenced preaching in ROBERT C. GALBRAITH. 605. Cairo, January I, 1865, and left May, 1867. July 14, 1867, I commenced in Peru, 111., Congregational ciiurch, and re- mained until November i, 1868. From November i, 1868, until the present, have been pastor of Congregational church Council Bluff, Iowa, connected with Council Bluff's Associa- tion. Sandoval Church was organized by Revs. A. T. Norton and W. H. Bird on the 4th and 5th of March, 1865, with eight members, Frederick E. Robinson, elder. It had some success and fair prospects for a time, and was ministered to for one year by Rev. W. H. Bird ; but the members nearly all moved away, and the church was dissolved by Presbytery October 10, 1868. KiNMUNDY Church, n. s., was organized by Revs. Elijah Buck, A. T. Norton and C. F. Beach on the 19th and 20th of Aug., 1865, with ten members. The term tenure of eldership was adopted. Adna Colburn was elected for two years and Elias Neil for one year. Other elders are Dr. L. D. Skilling and John King. Ministers : Adam Johnston preached here for several years ; M. M. Cooper, one year. The church owns a commodious house of worship. An Old School church had been established here several years before, but had gone en- tirely down. The Presbytery of Saline met with Pisgah church, Lawrence county, March 30, 1865. B. C. Swan, minister,, and Thomas S. Ridgway, elder, were chosen to attend the Assembly. John Mack was installed pastor of Pisgah church April 2. The fall meeting was held at Odin, commencing September 29. R. C. Galbraith was re- ceived from the Presbytery of Baltimore and installed pastor of Odin church, Sabbath, October i. Robert Craig Galbraith was born in Indiana county,. Pa., February 26, 1811. He was son of Rev. James Gal- braith, of the Presbyterian church, and grandson of Rev. Joseph Henderson of the Seceder Church — all of Scotch- Irish descent. He learned to "read, write and cypher" in an old log school house on the banks of the Juniata, at. 6o6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Hollidaysburg, Pa., and was taught Ross' Latin grammar so thoroughly by his father that when he went to the prepara- tory school, at Jefferson College in 1828, he soon overtook the class that was six months in advance. Though he had never seen a geography till he went to college, yet his father's library, and the books of the neighborhood and the conver- sation of the ministers who stopped at the " Minister's Hotel" in those days, had supplied the want of what we now call academic education. At that time Dr. McMillan was still living, and Dr. Matthew Brown was principal of Jefferson College, and Rev. William Smith was Professor of Languages. Under their instruction he graduated in 1834, and went to Princeton Theological Seminary, where he re- mained till 1837. His call to the ministry was "the love of God constraining us, the desire to win souls to that Saviour who had done so much for him." Mr. G. was licensed by the Presbytery of Huntington in the fall of 1836, and was ordained by the Presbytery of East Hanover, at Jerusalem, Va., in the spring of 1844. Chronic bronchitis caused his removal south to engage in teaching in the fall of 1837. But his health improving he took charge of the Presbyterian church in Brunswick county, Va., in the fall of 1844, Being prevented by ill health from fulfilling the long cherished de- sign of going to India, he turned his attention to Africa as it was found at home, and devoted much attention both to preaching to the negroes and to their instruction in Sabbath school. In 1849 he was invited by the Presbytery of Balti- more to take charge of the Madison street (colored) church, Baltimore. To that people he ministered till 1857, when it was deemed best that Rev. Mr. Revels (since Senator Rev- els) should take his place. Pastor of Govane chapel till 1865, he preached on Saturday nights to the colored people on the Hampton estate and on Sabbath afternoons at the factories and other destitute places around. At the close of the war the illness of a son, who had been in the army, caused him to " Go West;" and the fact that Odin, Marion county. 111., had six or eight saloons and gambling houses and neither church building or minister caused him to settle there. But the cessation of business and travel after the war closed, and the consequent decline of the town and removal of the church members, resulted first, in adding the church of Flora to that of Odin, and second, in substituting Fairfield, Wayne county, for Odin, leading, finally, to a removal to Fair- SMITH H. HYDE. 607 field in 1873, where he still — 1879 — remains. Mr. G. was married in September, 1837, to Miss May Cade, of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, by whom he had five children, ■only one of whom — Mr. J. C. Galbraith, of Chicago, 111. — survives. Mrs. G. died in 1854, and 1856 Mr. G. was mar- ried to Miss Olivia Gill, of Baltimore, who deceased in 1859. After his removal West, Mr. G. was married at Vincennes, Ind., to Miss Ellen B. Love, who, with two children, R. C. Galbraith, jr., and Joseph H. Galbraith, still survives. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., met at Shelbyville, October 5, 1865. Rev. Henry Kendall, D. D., Secretary of Home Missions, was present. Also Rev. T. W. Hynes, of the Old School Synod of Illinois, to present their fraternal greetings. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., met at Champaign, Oct., 4. YEAR 1866. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Winchester, April 6, 1866. Smith H. Hyde and J. Rogers Armstrong, were re- ceived from the Presbytery of St. Louis. Wm. L. Tarbet, minister, and Joshua Moore, elder, were elected Commis- sioners to the Assembly. The church of Buffalo was re- ceived. The fall meeting was held with Walnut Grove church, commencing September 21. At an adjourned meeting at Jacksonville, October 5, Rev. Albert Hale was released from the pastoral charge of the Second Presbyte- rian church of Springfield. Smith Harris Hyde was born in Youngstown, Niagara county, N. Y., September 28, 1834. His parents had emi- grated from Vermont in the year 18 19, and settled in this place. His father, John A. Hyde, was a physician and an elder in the Presbyterian church. His mother, Sarah Hyde, was a woman of sterling character and devoted piety. It was the desire and prayer of his parents that he should be a minister of the gospel, while yet he was left to his own un- trammeled choice. At the age of fourteen he entered into full communion with the church, having been baptized in infancy. His pastor was Rev. R. L. Hurlburt, to whom he was greatly indebted for wise and affectionate coun- sels. His mind then received a strong bent toward the 608 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ministry, which during his college course, became a fixed de- termination under the conviction that this was the Lord's will concerning him. After leaving the public school, in his native place, his literary education was pursued in the Col- legiate Institute at Wilson, N. Y., in the Courtland Acad- emy at Homer, N. Y., and in Yale College, New Haven,. Ct., where he was graduated in 1857. In professional studies he was graduated at Auburn Theological Seminary, May, i860. During the vacation of 1859, he preached for the- church in Somerset, N. Y., and for the church at Owasco Lake during his senior year. Near the close of this year he was licensed by the Presbytery of Niagara at Albion, New York. Immediately upon graduation, having ac- cepted a call to the Rock Hill church, St. Louis county. Mo., he made a brief visit to his native place, and set out for his- distant field of labor, where he arrived June 2, and entered at once upon his work. April 24, 1861, he was ordained pastor of the church by the Presbytery of St. Louis. In September, 1862, he was happily married to Miss Lu- cinda T. Davis of Youngstown, N. Y., and a graduate of Ohio Female College. In the autumn of 1864, he re- signed the charge of the Rock Hill church, and accepted a call to the church at Carrollton, 111., entering upon his labors there in November, and continuing them to the present time, 1879. His installment as pastor of this church took place the last Sabbath in April, 1866. He has served the cause of the Master also as President of Green county Bible Society, for a number of years, as Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Alton, and the Synod of Illinois South, and as member of the General Assembly, on three different occasions. J. Rogers Armstrong. — Auto-biographical. — I was born April 9, 1827, in Rogersville, East Tenn. I am of Scotch- Irish Presbyterian and French Huguenot descent. Was ed- ucated at Marietta College, Ohio, Lane and Union Theolog- ical Seminaries. Was licensed, September, 1855, by St. Louis Presbytery, at the last meeting which Dr. Artemas Bullard attended. Was ordained by North Missouri Presby- tery October, 1857. My first charge was at West Ely, Mo. (the seat of the theological department of Marion College, where David Nelson taught, preached and was mobbed. Dr. Ezra Styles Ely had also been their minister). Health failed,. KASKASKIA PRESBYTERY. 609 and for two years taught and preached most of the time in in Kirkwood, Mo., and CarroUton, 111. My next field was De Soto, Mo. At present — 1879 — it is Walnut Grove and Rockbridge churches. 111. I was married, Janu- ary I, 1856, to Anna Eliza Whipple in Lacon, 111. Again in Springfield, 111., to Mary Annie Yates, September 30, 1875. Children — Augusta Jesse, born October i, 1856; Frederick Stockley, January 20, 1863 ; Anna Whipple, August 6, 1865 — two children of my first wife have gone before — John Hin- ton, born September i, 1876. After I became a Christian it was my earnest desire to go as a foreign missionary to Tur- key ; but having been born at the South my friends all urged me to give this up. I yielded to them, and then made my greatest mistake. My next mistake has been in striving to teach school in connection with preaching. I never had brains enough for both. (In this he is not singular. — N.) Buffalo Church was organized, December 20, 1865, by a Committee of Presbytery, with nine members, Samuel Pleas- ant and Jacob Lewis elders. From December to April the church had increased to twenty members. It is still reported on the minutes, but has diminished to ten members, or less. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Chester, April 3, 1866. S. P. Smith was dismissed to the Presbytery of Car- lisle, Pa. The First church of Union county was dissolved. William Bridgman was received from Fox River Presbytery. T. W, Hynes, minister, and Hugh Adams, elder, were ap- pointed to attend the next meeting of the Assembly. Cor- nelius V. H. Monfort was ordained April 8. A church was partially organized at East St. Louis, April i, 1866. The names of eleven persons were taken, and the church was en- rolled by Presbytery, but no officers were appointed and the enterprise was abandoned. James R. Brown was received from Presbytery of Schuyler. The fall meeting was held at Nashville, commencing September 13. The First German church of Jerseyville was dissolved. Mul- berry Grove church was received. The name of Rev. Wil- liam Hamilton was stricken from the roll. An adjourned meeting was held at Richview, September 17, at which R. G. Williams was ordained, sine titiilo. The church of Poca- hontas was dissolved. 38 6lO PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. William Bridgman was at Trenton, 111., in 1866, and at Richview, 111., in 1867, a member of Kaskaskia Presbytery at Streator, 111., from 1873 to 1875, a member of Ottowa Presby- tery and H. R. He died at Streator, III, May, 1875. His widow is said to be in Oberlin, Ohio. His daughter — Mrs. Plumb — at Streator, 111. Cornelius Van Houtten MoNFORXwas ordained at Ches- ter, 111., by Presbytery of Kaskaskia, April 8, 1866. The same year he was. laboring at Butler, 111. In 1868 he was at Otterville, Mo. In 1867, 1870 and 1871 he was at Oswego, Kan., in 1872 he was at Labette, Kan., and died there, August 10, 1872, aged thirty-seven. He was a member at the time of his death of the Presbytery of Neosho. He was the son of Rev. David Monfort, D. D., and was born at Frank- lin, Ind., in 1835. Mulberry Grove Church, o. s., was organized by T. W. Hynes, August 12, 1866, with twenty-one members and two elders It took the place of the n. s. church formed in 1845, and dissolved September 30, 1861. It has become merged in the Greenville church. Thus, in the case of Mulberry Grove, twenty-five years have demonstrated the futility of attempting to establish and permanently maintain a church organization without a house of worship. A church is not a tramp or a gypsy. It can't live without a home. Wabash Presbytery met at Tuscola, April 29, 1866. Da- vid R. Love was dismissed to the Presbytery of Blooming- ton, and Pliny S. Smith to the Congregational Conference of Missouri. Samuel Ward, minister, and David Ewing, elder, were appointed to attend the next meeting of the Assembly. John B. Brandt was ordained April 3, sine titulo. S. R. Bis- sell was received from the Presbytery of Alton. Arrange- ments were made for the ordination of G. A. Pollock over the Prairie Bird church on the third of June, 1866. The fall meeting was held at Cerro-Gordo, commencing October i. David Dimond was received from the Presbytery of Alton. Samuel Ward was dismissed to the Presbytery of Greencastle. C. P. Felch was installed pastor of Danville church by a GARNETT A, POLLOCK. 6ll committee of Presbytery, June 6, 1866. The church of "Noble Township" was received. C. J. Pitkin was received from the Paesbytery of Alton. John B. Brandt was born August 29, 1838, near Lancas- ter, Ohio. He is Dutch on his father's side and German on his mother's. His literary education was obtained at Whit- tenberg College, Springfield, Ohio. His theological mostly with private instructors. Was licensed by the Miami Synod of Ohio, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Ordained by Presbytery of Wabash, April 3, 1866. His early church re- lati©n and licensure were in the Lutheran Church, for conve- nience sake. The Presbyterian was always the Church of his preference. He labored at Neoga, 111., for two years, from Sept., 1865. Commenced at Indianapolis in 1867, and has re- mained there ever since. He married Miss Emily A. Green at Neoga, 111., September 28, 1868. He has four children, Sadie J., Lillian E., Geneveve G., and Henry J, He went to ■college at eighteen. His father gave him sixty dollars, of which fifty dollars were stolen before he reached the Insti- tution. Was two hundred dollars in debt when he graduated, which he paid in eighteen months. He served three years in the army in our civil war, first as private, then as captain. His experience in the army has been of great benefit to him in all his labors since. These have been abundant, varied .and successful. Garnett Adrl\n Pollock was born the 8th of June, 1834, in Harrison county, Ohio. When about a 3^ear and a half old, his parents emigrated to Logan county, Ohio. His boyhood was spent on a farm with his father, until his fifteenth year," when he entered a graded school, where he remained one year. His parents then sent him to Geneva Hall, where he studied until his junior year. This college was founded by the Reformed Presbyterian (or Covenanter) Church, and had also a theological department. To this church young Pollock's parents, who were of Scotch-Irish descent, belonged, and they sent their son to this school of the prophets. The association at this school with theologi- cal students, had much to do with the formation of char- •acter that took shape in after life, but it was not until .after September, 1857, when he consecrated himself to the Lord, that he felt called to the ministry. At this time he 6l2 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. was pursuing his studies at Miami University, where he united with the O. S. Presbyterian church. After graduating he pursued his theological course at the Western Theological Seminary, and was licensed in June, 1861, at Fletcher, Ohio, by the Presbytery of Sidney. When licensed he held a pro- fessorship in Augusta College, Ky., preaching only occasion- ally. In 1865 he removed to Illinois, and became stated supply of the church at Prairie Bird in connection with the principalship of a male and female seminary at Shelbyville. In June, 1866, he was ordained by the Wabash Presbytery pastor of that churph. He ministered unto this church and a new organization at Tower Hill until December, 1869 — seeing them both strengthened spiritually and financially — when he was called to Effingham, a mission church of fifteen members. Here the Lord blessed his labors with several precious revivals — the ingathering being at one time sixty- six souls. This pastorate continued for eight years — the last four the church was entirely self-sustaining, ranking fourth in the Presbytery in membership and amount of money contributed. This pastorate he resigned to accept a call from the church at Mendota, which is his present field of labor. On the 25th of December, i860, he was united in marriage with Gertrude M. De Courcy, of Newport, Ky. There have been born to them seven child- ren, two of whom were " caught away " in their infancy. James Earl, the eldest and only son, with four girls living, viz.: Minnie B., Gertrude G., Mary and Ella Lou. The two- eldest are members of the church. Charles Patterson Felch was born in Michigan. Grad- uated at Michigan University 1849, ^^^ 3-t Andover 1852. Stated supply at Houlton, Maine, 1853-4. Ordained April, 1857. Was at Amboy, III, 1857-59; at Naperville, 111., 1860- 64. Supply pastor Presbyterian church, Lacon, 111., 1864-65. Pastor at Danville, III., 1866-68. Was without charge at Au- rora, III., 1868-69. H^is name disappears from the minutes- in 1870. Noble Township Church, Richland county. III., was or- ganized by Rev. A. T. Norton, July 8, 1866, with twelve members. Col. Andrew Flesher, elder. The organization took place at Col. Flesher's house, about six miles north of MEETING OF PRESBYTERIES. 613 •the village of Noble. Its center was afterwards made at Noble. It has had but very little ministerial care, and is now — 1879 — virtually extinct. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Paris, April lo, 1866. R. A. Mitchell, minister, and R. M. Tate, elder, 'were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. Prairie City church was received. A. Carroll, Wm. C. Magner and W. M. Crozier were licensed. Alfred Hamilton, D. D., was dismissed from the pastoral care of Mattoon church. The fall meeting was held at Palestine, Crawford county, -commencing September 13. J. P. Fox was dismissed to the Presbytery of Upper Missouri. Prairie City Church, Cumberland county, was organized -October 22, 1865, by D. F. McFarland and N. Williams, ■ministers, and J. Gibson, elder, with ten members. Elders : N. C. Green and Mark Sperry, The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Jacksonville, May 2, 1866. S. W. Mitchell was received from the Presbytery •of LaFayette. R. W. Allen, minister, and D. C. Brown, elder, were chosen to attend the next Assembly. G. S. Mc- Clung, T. E. Spilman, and Emanuel N. Pirez were licensed, and the latter ordained to the foreign missionary work. The church at Pana was dissolved and its members granted letters to the New School church of that place. At a called meeting held at Virginia, June 19, D. C. Marquis was re- leased from the pastoral care of Decatur church, and dis- missed to the Presbytery of Chicago. Harristown church was received. The fall meeting was held at Vir- ginia, October 15. Samuel W. Mitchell was born in Memphis, Tenn., Feb- ruary 2, 1833. He was educated at Centre College and Seminary at Danville, Ky. He was licensed by La Fayette Presbytery at Kansas City, Mo., in April, 1859, and ordained hy same Presbytery at Dover, Mo., September, i860. From that time to this, his life has been spent almost wholly in the 'home missionary work in Missouri, although he labored 6l4 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. awhile in Macon, Sangamon county, 111. He was. for a time, chaplain in the rebel army. He has been twice mar- ried, and is now at Leesville, Henry county, Mo. Harristown Church was organized on the first Monday in May, 1866, by Revs. D. C. Marquis and F. N. Ewing,. with twenty-two members and three elders. It has gone out of existence, or been merged into something else. The Presbytery of Alton met at Jersey ville, April 12, 1866. James Brownlee and H. N, Wilbur were received. W. S. Post was dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Louis, and S. R. Bissell to that of Wabash. C. H. Taylor and Josiah Wood, ministers, and William Storer and Samuel Wade, elders, were chosen Commissioners to the Assembly. K pro re nata meeting was held at Centralia, July 17. C. F. Beach was released from the pastoral care of the church of Centralia, and dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Louis. The fall meeting was held with the Bethel church, Bond county, commencing September 13. John H. Dillingham, was received from the Presbytery of Bloomington. Edward Hollister from that of Schuyler, Joseph D. Barstow from that of Erie. Willard P. Gibson, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Cayuga, examined and ordained October 3, pastor of Pana church. Wm. M. Stewart, licen- tiate, was received from the United Brethren Conference of Iowa. The churches of Anna and Mason were received. C. J. Pitkin was dismissed to the Presbytery of Wabash. The church of Lebanon was received. John Henry Dillingham was born in the town of One- onta, Otsego county, N. Y., October 26, 1830. His parents were of English extraction. From New England they came to New York, then to Illinois in 1856. He graduated'' at Hamilton College in 1857, and at Auburn Seminary in i860. He was licensed by Cayuga Presbytery May 4, i860, and ordained the 20th of June following, by the Pres- bytery of Milwaukee. He was supply pastor of the church of Manitowoc, Wis., for three years. He then came to Illinois and supplied Wenona church till May, 1866, when. MASON CHURCH. 615 he removed to Belleville, St. Clair county, where he re- mained three years. He then went to St. Louis and labored in connection with Fairmount mission and church until 1873. Then he spent a year in Kansas with the Presbyterian church of Paoli. In 1874 he came to his present field, Rossville, 111. He was married March 10, 1861, to Miss M. L, White, of Chautauoua county, N.Y. He has three child- ren— daughters. Mason Church. April 25, 1858, Rev. P. R. Vanatta, of Kaskaskia Presbytery, organized a church at Mason, Effing- ham county, consisting of these members, from the church of Ewington, N. S. — Jacob Covert, Martha Covert, Susannah Covert, Hosea Barron, Sarah H. Barron, John Trapp, Mary Ann Trapp, Jesse Parkhurst, Mary Parkhurst, William Wilson and Elizabeth Wilson. Other members : William F. White, Agnes White, Thomas Winteringer, Catharine Winteringer, Abraham Covert, Anna Wilkinson. This church was re- ceived by Kaskaskia Presbytery. It had some preaching, but never flourished at all. Part of its members are now in Watson church, part dead. March 22, 1866, Rev. Josiah Wood, of Alton Presbytery, organized a n. s. church here with thirteen members. Elders : T. L. Sexton and P. B, Odear. This church connected temporarily with Alton Presbytery ; but being in the bounds of Wabash it was finally and properly enrolled there. April 15, 1869, it was repre- sented in that Presbytery by J. S. Covert. This part of Ef- fingham county in which Ewington church, n. s., was formed in 1850, and to which John H. Russ and Joseph Butler preached, and in which Mason church, o. s., and Mason church, n. s., Watson, n. s., and Edgewood, n. s., were planted, has had very little suitable labor and been most atrociously mismanaged. Of all these churches the only or- ganization now left is that at Watson. Horatio N. Wilbur was born July 10, 1804, at Fairfield, N. Y. He was educated at Rome, N. Y., in the common school. Ordained by Methodist Episcopal church October 10, 1840. Joined Alton Presbytery from that of Keokuk, April 13, 1866. He labored awhile with Hardin church, Calhoun county, but with little success. He went back to the Methodists in 1868. 6l6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. James Brownlee was born in County Down, Ireland, March, i8i2. His ancestors were Scotch. He came to this country in 183 1, landing at Philadelphia July 5th. He united with the First Presbyterian church of the Northern Liberties of that city in 1832. His classical education was obtained at La Fayette College, Pa., and South Hanover Col- lege, Ind. He studied theology with John McE. Dickey. He was licensed by Madison Presbytery at Jacksonville. Switzerland county, Ind., October, 1841, and ordained by the same, October, 1842, six miles back of Madison on Indian Creek. His time since has been spent in Rising-Sun, Co- lumbus, Connersvllle and Southport, Ind., at Auburn and Baldwin City, Kan., and at Lebanon, Belleville, Villa-Ridge, Newton and Walnut Grove, 111. He has been three times married, (i) To a daughter of James McClung, of Livonia, Ind., April 28, 1839. She was the mother of five children, and died near Auburn, Kan. Four of her children survive — Mary Jane, Anna Maria, Addison McClung and James Henry. (2) To the widow of Dr. T. B. McCewen, of West Pennsylvania. He married her at Bainbridge, Ind., 1866. She died July, 1868, at Lebanon, St. Clair county, 111. (3) To the daughter of Leonard Cutler, now living in Fulton county. 111, July 6, 1870. By her he has one child — Vilona Cora, born near Caledonia, Pulaski county. 111. Joseph D. Barstow was born January i, 1834, at Ches- ter, Meigs county, Ohio. His parents were from the State of Massachusetts and were staunch Presbyterians. He was ■educated at Marietta and Wabash Colleges and Lane and Allegheny Seminaries. He was licensed by the Presbyter}' of Pittsburg, April 17, 1861, and ordained the following year by the Presbytery of Erie. His first field of labor after li- censure was at Quincy, Adams county. 111., with the Second Presbyterian church ; then at Birmingham, Pa., and next at East Springfield, Pa. He then took charge for two years of Ducoign church, Perry county. 111. He also assisted in or- ganizing the church at Grand Tower, 111., and preached to them for several months. August 24, 1864, he married Miss Emma C. Barr, oi^ Quincy, III. He has two children living — Adelaide Louisa and Le Roy Plumer. WILLIAM P. TEITSWORTH. 617 WiLLARD P. Gibson was born at Charleston, Orleans icounty, Vt., June 24, 1829. His father was the son of a Scotch-Irishman from Cork. In 1838 the family removed to Tioga county, Pa. Very early in life the young man en- gaged in teaching and followed that calling mostly for sev- enteen years. He studied theology at Auburn, and was licensed by Cayuga Presbytery in May, 1865. One year later he took charge of Pana church. 111., and was ordained its .pastor September 25, 1866. He here expended four years of successful labor. In May, 1871, he became pastor of the church of Kingston, Pa. (Wyoming valley). Here he re- mained until May, 1875. He then for a year supplied the church of New Milford, Pa. In the fall of 1876 he took -charge of the church of Greenville, Greene county, N. Y., where he still remains. He married, March, 1854, Miss Mary M. Root, of Susquehanna county. Pa. They have had seven children, five of whom died in infancy. The surviving two are Grace, born January 25, 1863, and William E. Dodge, born May 23, 1867. William P. Teitsworth was born near the village of Elysburg, Northumberland county. Pa., July ii, 1829, the third of a family of thirteen children. At an early age his father's ancestors fled from Holland. They found a home in what is now New Jersey. His mother's ancestors came from Germany, fleeing likewise from persecution. Mr. Teitsworth graduated at Jefferson College, Pa., and studied theology at Princeton. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Northumberland in the fall of 1858. His first charge was in Columbia county. Pa. His next at Stroudsburg, Monroe ■county. He then was colporteur for six months in Eastern Wisconsin, with Milwaukee as his center. He next took •charge of the church in Allegheny, Catteraugus county, N. Y., and united with the N. S. Assembly. He afterwards la- bored with great success in Gillespie, Staunton and Leb- .anon. 111., in Northeast Missouri and for several years last past in Colorado. His present field is Rosita, Custar ■county. Col. September 12, 1865, he married Miss Isabella S. Farr at Arkport, Steuben county, N. Y. The First Presbyterian Church of Anna was orean- 6l8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ized by A. T. Norton, D, D., April 29, 1866, with these members : Mrs. Ellen D. Willard, Mrs. Mary Dodds, Mrs. Jennie S. Slick, Mrs. Rachel J. Phillis, Samuel B. Marks,. Mrs. Elizabeth Marks, Mrs. Mary V. Readen, Virgil Beale, Mrs. Kate Beale, Mrs. L. Foster, Mrs. Mary Slater, Dr. J. G. Underwood, Mrs. Sarah A, Underwood, Mrs. Sarah Ann Finch, Mrs. Mary Jane Short, Dr. Ford S. Dodds, and Mrs. Almira Davidson. The organization took place in the Methodist church at Anna. Elders : Virgil Beale, Claudius- W, Collins, John D. Newbegin, James I. Hale, Harlan Page Tuthill, E. L. Stocking, Jonathan H. Ryder, E. R. Jin- nette. Ministers: David Dimond, 1867-70; E. L. Davies, January, 1872, to June 26, 1874; Wilham B. Minton, licentiate, January, 1875, to October, 1877, ordained pastor April, 1874; E. L. Davies, second time, December 9, 1877, and is still there. Places of meeting have been, (i) Method- ist church, (2) store room fitted up for a chapel, (3) the pres- ent church edifice, which was dedicated June 28, 1868, and cost ;^3,56o. From church erection seven hundred dollars- were received. It is a substantial, convenient house, and occupies a most eligible site. Lebanon Church was organized by Rev. A. T. Norton,. April 8, 1866, with nine members, viz.: Dr. F. W. Lytle, Mrs. F, M. Lytle, Miss Amanda M. Johnson, Mrs. Margaret H. Woodworth, Mrs. Sarah J. Seaman, Mrs. Ruth Danforth, Mrs. Helen M. Atwood, Mrs. Elizabeth Wheeler, Mrs. Hel- en M. Horner. Elders: Dr. F. W. Lytle, Charles Sager, James H. Patterson, Robert Mills, Elmore W. Elethorpe. Ministers : James Brownlee, William P. Teitsworth, Ly- man Marshall, who still continues and is pastor. The house of worship was dedicated November 10, 1867, and cost 14,500. Received from church erection two hundred and fifty. The Presbytery of Saline rtiet with Wabash church, in Wabash county, March 29, 1866. R. Lewis McCune was dismissed to the Presbytery of Huntingdon, Pa. John Crozier, minister, and Thomas Buchanan, elder, were appointed to attend the meeting of the next Assembly. John Crozier v/as released from the pastoral care of the 01- ney church, and appointed Presbyterial Missionary. S. C^ JOHN B. L. SOULE. 6l^ Baldridge was released from the pastoral care of the Wa- bash church. The fall meeting was held at Shawneetown, commencing September 20. Blackburn Leffler was dismissed to the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. Solo- mon Cook was received from the Presbytery of Western Reserve, and John Huston from the Presbytery of Bloom- ington. The Two Synods of Illinois met — the n. s. at Jackson- ville, October 4, 1866 — the o. s. at Henry, Marshall county, October 17, 1866. YEAR 1867. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Springfield, April 19, 1867. J. B. L. Soule was received from the Beloit District Convention. John C. Downer was dismissed to the Presby- tery of St. Louis. G. H. Robertson was installed pastor of the Second Presbyterian church, Springfield, April 20. The fall meeting was held at IManchester, September 20. Rufus Nutting was dismissed to the Presbytery of Indian- apolis. L. C. Boynton was licensed on the twenty-first. John B. L. Soule was born in Freeport, Me., April 4,. 181 5. He is the son of Moses, who was the son of Moses, the son of Barnabas, the son of Closes, the son of John, the son of George, who sailed in the Mayflower in 1620. His father was a native of Maine and his mother of Massachusetts. His father was for more than half a century a deacon in the Congregational church at Freeport. Mr. Soule was fitted for college at Phillips Exeter Academy, and gradu- ated at Bowdoin College in 1840. On leaving college he was appointed preceptor of the old " Hampton Academy," in Hampton, N. H., a town settled in 1638. He came to- the West in 1845, and taught a private classical school for several years in Terre Haute, Ind., till elected professor of Greek and Belles Lettres by the trustees of the Collegiate Institute, in that city, which afterwards grew into the State Normal School. In September, 1849, he was licensed by the Crawfordsville Presbytery, but did not at once enter on an active ministry. From the school-room he went to the tripod, and was the first editor of the first sue- ■620 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. cessful daily paper in Terre Haute, the " Terre Haute Ex- press." In 1855, engaging temporarily to supply a church in Belvidere, 111., he contained through a year, and then accepted a call to the Presbyterian church of Plymouth, Ind. In 1859 he was called to the Congregational church in Elkhorn, Wis., having been ordained in June, 1858, by the Milwaukee Convention of Presbyterian and Congregational churches, in session at Waterford, Wis. He was pastor of the church in Elkhorn five years, and in the winter of 1 865 was invited to the charge of the Presbyterian church of Car- linville, 111., whiph, after four years of labor, he resigned, and was engaged as professor in Blackburn University till 1876, when he again had charge of the Carlinviile church for two years. Resigning in 1878, he removed to Highland Park, 111, Mr. Soule was married in 1840 to Miss Mary L. Stevens, daughter of Rev. Ethan Stevens, of Hal- lowell, Maine, who died in Terre Haute, June 19, 1848. Two children of this marriage died in early childhood. He was married again, August i, 1849, to Miss Caroline E. Gook- ins, daughter of Seymour Gookins, Esq., of Terre Haute. Of this marriage there are five children : William L., born May 18, 1853 ; Charles B., born June 21, 1856; Frank, born March 17, 1858 ; May, born April 7, i860; and Helen, born June 27, 1866. The three sons are all graduates of Black- burn University. Gilbert H. Robertson. I have not investigated his early history. From the Second church, Springfield, he was called to Louisville, Ky., and was soon after expelled from the min- istry and from the communion of the church for grossly im- moral conduct. He has, however, succeeded in obtaining some sort of license in the Methodist church, under cover of which he was, in 1879, seeking access to some of our pulpits in Northern Illinois. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Hillsboro, April 1 1, 1867. B. LefiEIer was received from the Presbytery of Sa- line. R. M. Roberts was elected Stated Clerk. H. M. Cor- bett was dismissed to the Presb\'tery of Iowa. R. M. Rob- erts, minister, and George Donnell, elder, were chosen to at- tend the next meeting of the Assembly. The fall meeting was held with Dry Point church, commencing THOMAS D. DAVIS. 621 October 5. B. H. Charles was released from the pastorate of Chester church. The church of Edwardsville, being re- duced to four members, was dissolved. T. D. Davis was re- ceived from the U. P. Presbytery of St. Louis. A. J. Clark was doubtless received at this meeting from the Presbytery of Bloomington, though the records fail to show it. Thomas D. Davis. — Auto-biographical. — I was born in Chester District, S. C, December 26, 1832. My ancestry on my father's side is Welch and English. Thomas Davis came from Wales and married a Connecticut girl whose an- cestors came from England. On my mother's side I am Scotch and Scotch-Irish. My ancestors have been Presby- terians as far back as I know — four generations. I received my academical education in Tipton county, Tenn., my colle- giate at Erskine College, Abbyville District, S. C, and my theological at Oxford, Ohio. I was licensed by the Presby- tery of Memphis — Associate Reformed Church — April, 1858, and ordained by the Presbytery of Kansas i860. My fields of labor have been Kansas, Pinckneyville, Perry county, 111., Nashville, 111., Union church, Morgan county, 111., Ironton,. Mo., Providence church, Cass county, III, and Camp-Point 111., where I am now located. I was married to Miss Ella W. Harrington, March 21, 1876. We have two children — Alfred C, born January 13, 1877, and Edith A., born Febru- ary 5, 1879. My wife is a daughter of Rev. A. L. Harring- ton, and granddaughter of Frederick Collins, late of Quincy,. Illinois. A. J. Clark was born September 22, 1834, in Champaign county, Ohio. Of Scotch and Welsh descent. Religiously trained. Graduated in 1859 at Delaware, Ohio. Subse- quently received the degree of A. M. from the same institu- tion. Married Miss A. E. Williams, of Mechan- icsburgh. Champaign county, Ohio, December 28, 1859. Believing that he could best promote the cause of Christ in the ministry he studied theology. Having studied He- brew in college he made his further preparation for this sa- cred calling privately. September 22, 1863, the Presbytery of New Albany gave him license. He at once began to sup- ply the church of New Philadelphia. In March following he was invited to preach to the congregation at Clinton, 111... •622 PRE5BYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. This he accepted and began his work among them. In the fall of the same year, 1864, he accepted their call and was ordained by the Presbytery of Bloomington. In 1867 he re- signed this charge. During this pastorate a church debt was paid and about one hundred communicants added to the church. Having a call from Chester, 111, he began his labors there in July, 1867, supplying also Pleasant Ridge church. In the following spring was installed by the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. Owing to the large number of Germans there the field was limited; but the Lord favored him with several revivals. The congregation in the country built a new frame house of worship. ■ In town they repaired and remodeled the stone church at considerable expense. He labored not only in his own churches, but in the regions beyond. At Pinckneyville he organized a church in May or June of 1868. In June, 1869, one in Sparta. July 7, 1870, his only children. Homer Clifton, aged five years, and Winfred Williams, aged twenty months, died of dysentery following the measles, leaving a desolate home and sad hearts. But these stricken parents found true Deut., 32:25, and 2 Cor., 12:9, "As thy days so shall thy strength be," "My grace is sufficient for thee " December, 1871, he was so afflicted with rheumatism that he was able to do but little until the followmg summer. During the remainder of his stay in Chester, his labors were greatly hindred by this afflic- tion. But in February, 1875, he bore a part in a series of meetings at Steeleville, resulting in the reorganization of the scattered and discouraged fragments of the little band, and in increasing the number of communicants to nearly eighty. During the following summer he preached for them, and assisted in building their church house. In Octo- ber of the same year, he removed to Litchfield and began work as supply pastor. On account of Mrs. Clark's failing health, he resigned in July, 1877, and removed his family to Mechanicsburgh, Ohio, that she might be with her people. She died November 24, of the same year, after protracted and great suffering. She was of a quiet, gentle, and sweet disposition, resigned, cheerful and hopeful. She lived in daily communion with her Savior, died in faith, loved and lamented by all who knew her. Two little girls still remain, Wilmett and Bessie, who find a home at Mechanicsburg with their uncle, Dr. J. H. Clark. Unwilling to be idle, Mr. C. took charge of the churches of Belle Centre RUSSELL D. VAN DEURSEN. 023 and Huntsville, the ist of August, 1877, and was soon in- stalled by the Presbytery of Bellefountaine. Here he still remains, laboring as best he can. But to him there is no place but heaven so dear as the Presbytery of Alton and the Synod of Illinois South. The Presbytery of Wabash met at Shelby villa, April 11, 1867. Joseph Butler was dismissed to the Presbytery of Winona, and David Dmiond to that of Alton. R. D. Van Deursen was received from Athens Presbytery, Ohio. J. L. Jones, minister, and Samuel Daggy, elder, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Danville, September 10. E. Kingsbury resigned his office of Stated Clerk, after having served for thirty years, and Edwin Black was appointed in his place. Russell D. Van Deursen. — Auto-biographical. — I was born in Richmond, Va., March 5, 1832. Baptized by Rev. William J. Armstrong, D. D., June, 1832. Father a descend- ant of Dutch settlers of Manhattan Island; born in Albany, N. Y. Mother born in Connecticut, descended from Baldwin family. Father for many years an elder in the Presbyterian church, and both parents devotedly prayerful children of God. Father died 1872. Mother living, aged eighty-one — blind. Lives here. I attended school in Rich- mond, Va., and entered sophomore class in Hampden Sid- ney College in 1850. In the middle of the junior year health failed, and I was compelled to quit study spring of 1852. Took certificate of scholarship from professors of college. Entered junior class in Union Theological Seminary, N. Y., and remained the year 1852-3. Health failed again, and re- turned to Richmond, Va., and entered the profession of civil engineering in surveys for Richmond and Danville, North Carolina, Central and other railways. Went to Cincinnati in 1857 ^^ service of Ohio & Mississippi Railway. Resumed theological study at Lane Seminary and was licensed by the Presbytery of Cincinnati, April 3, 1861. Sup- plied church in Gallipolis, Ohio, from May to September, 1861. Ordained by Presbytery of Cincinnati, August 29, 1861, and left Gallipolis to enter the army as chaplain of 12th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In service in West Virginia. In the battle of Carnifex Ferry — our Col. Lowe 624 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. was killed. I took his remains to his family at Xenia, Ohio^ and preached funeral sermon. Was with regiment till September, 1862, when I resigned and returned to former charge — Gallipolis, Ohio — remaining there till April, 1867, when I accepted a call to Shelbyville, 111., where I was in- stalled May 5, 1867. Remained there till September i, 1871, when, having accepted call to church in Paris, 111., I removed and was installed pastor of this church April 21, 1872, and I remain. I united with the Presbyterian Church first in 1847, i^ Richmond, Va. — Rev. Joseph C. Stiles, D, D., pastor. My mother informs me that at my birth she " lent me to the L'ord " and prayed that I might be a minis- ter of "the glorious gospel of the blessed God," and trained me to think of it from earliest childhood. I have been twice married and have had four children — all of them living — three daughters and one son. Homer Church, Champaign county, was organized by Revs. Enoch Kingsbury and C. P. Felch, March 7, 1857, with these members : Phoebe King, Carrie Linkham, Mary A. Conkey, Julia A. Smith, Ellen H. Oilman, Nancy Gibson^ Mary Sullivant, Harriet Long, Miss Lois Ann Smith, Alice Howe, Matilda Riley, Livia Riley, James H. Rayhill, William H. H. Smith, John Summers, E. W. Taylor and Mrs. E. W. Taylor. Elders : William H. H. Smith, E. C. Taylor, James H. Rayhill, S. W. Thompson. Ministers: Enoch Kingsbury, J. L. McNair, A. L. Knox, J. D. Jenkins. Fine frame house of worship erected in 1873 at a cost of four thousand dollars. Palestine Presbytery met at Charleston, April 11, 1867. James E. Lapsley was received from the Presbytery of West- ern Reserve, and Henry A. Newell, licentiate, from the Pres- bytery of Miami. N. Williams was dismissed to the Presby- tery of Crawfordsville. S. B. Taggart, minister, and Richard Roberts, elder, were appointed to attend the next meeting of the Assembly. C. P. Spining was relieved of the pastoral care of the Grandview church. W. C. Magner, A. C. Car- roll and H. A. Newell were ordained, sine titido, April 13th.. H. A. Newell was dismissed to the Presbytery of Miami and W. C. Magner to that of Bureau. The fall meet- ing was held with Pleasant Prairie church, Coles county,. PRESBYTERY OF SANGAMON. 62$ commencing October 7. H. I. Venable resigned as Stated Clerk, and S. B. Taggart was elected in his place. A, C. Carroll was dismissed to the Presbytery of La Fayette, H. I. Venable to thatof Vincennes, and C. P. Spining to that of Fort Wayne. Arrangements were made for the ordina- tion of John Miller, on the 22d of October inst. The com- mittee to install J. VV. Allison pastor of Areola church, re- ported that duty performed on the I2th of May. James Erasmus Lapsley was born in Pennsylvania, grad- uated at Ohio University, 1861 ; studied theology at Alle- gheny Seminary; ordained sine titido, June 28, 1864; was missionary in Cleveland, O., and supply pastor at Tiffin, O., 1865; at Mattoon, 111., iS66; Pastor of First Presbyterian church, Terre Haute, Ind., 1870; pastor elect in Baltimore, Md., 1872; died in that city, July, 5, 1872, aged thirty-three years. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Assumption, April 9, 1867. B. E. Mayo, from the Presbytery of Whitewater, and E. D. Barrett from the Presbytery of Saltsburg, were received. Samuel Conn, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of New Brunswick, examined and ordained over the church at Decatur, July 21, 1867. G. W. F. Birch, min- ister, and J. S. Moore, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. T. E. Spilman, licentiate, was dis- missed to the Presbytery of Rock River. H. R. Lewis was dismissed to the Presbytery of Fairfield. The name of "Tacusa" church was changed to that of "Assumption." Arrangements were made for the installation of B. E. IMayo over Assumption church on the third Sabbath of June. A pro re nata meeting was held in Decatur, July 19. R. W. Allen was released from the care of the Second church, Jacksonville. The fall meeting was held with Irish Grove church, Sep- tember 10. J. S. McClung was dismissed to the Presbytery of Bureau. D. R. Todd was dismissed to the Presbytery of Logansport, S. W. Miller to that of Vincennes, and R. A. Criswell to that of Bloomington. The church of Moawequa was received. An adjourned meeting was held at Charles- ton, October 10, at which R. J. L. Matthews was received. 39 626 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Elisha D. Barrett was born in Montgomery, Hampshire county, Mass., January 19, 1790. His grand-father was from London, Eng. He was a gospel minister and settled in Connecticut. After his death his widow, Mary Dow Barrett, removed with her four children to Montgomery, Mass., where her son Daniel married and became the father of seven sons and six daughters. Of these children, Elisha D. was the fifth. He graduated at Williams College, Massa- chusetts, in 1813. He first studied medicine and became an M. D. He then took a theological course under the direc- tion of Rev. A. G. Fairchild, and was licensed by the Pres- bytery of Redstone, April 10, 1827. He labored for a short time in Monongahela county, West Virginia, then as a mis- sionary in Ohio. In the ^utumn of 1829 he was ordained pastor of Plum Creek and Glade Run churches by the Pres- bytery of Blairsville. He remained in this charge about fifteen years. He then organized a church in an adjoining county, became its pastor, and left it with more than one hundred members and a good house of worship. Hav- ing contracted a bronchial affection, which unfitted him for pulpit labor, he removed to Granville, Ohio, and practiced medicine there for four years. He then took charge of an academy in Kittanning, Armstrong county, Pa. After continu- ing there for some years he accepted an appointment as ph3'sician to the Yankton Sioux Indians, Dakota territory. With them he remained two years. Then came to Assump- tion, 111., and settled down to the practice of medicine till the infirmities of age compelled him to retire. He has been three times married, and three times the marriage tie has been broken by death. By the first marriage he had three children, by the second four, and by the third nine. Of these fifteen children six have deceased. He now re- sides at Sedalia, Mo., with one of his children, having reached the age of nearly ninety years. Samuel Conn was born in Steubenville, O., March 4, 1838. He graduated at Washington College, Pennsylvania, 1857. Studied theology at Princeton, New Jersey. Chaplain in U. S. army in 1862. Ordained at Decatur, 111., July 21, 1867. Supply pastor at CarroUton, O., 1868; pastor First church, New Albany, 1870. He has received the degree of D. D., and is now — 1879 — pastor of First church, St. Paul, Minn. He is Scotch-Irish. JOSEPH H. SCOTT, 62/ MoAWEQUA Church was organized May i8 and 19, 1867, by Revs. S. W. Mitchell, Clark Loudon, and Elder S. H. Wil- son, with thirteen members. Elders : Lewis Long and F. M. Chamberlain, the first. Elders since appointed : Samuel G. Travis, Geo. M. Stine, Thomas Hudson, R. B. Wilson. Ministers: Charles K. Smoyer, J. D. Jenkins, J. Payson Mills. There have been eighty persons connected with this church. Their church building was erected in 1872 at a cost of $3,500. From Church Erection they received four hundred dollars aid. The Presbytery of Alton met at Upper Alton, April 18, 1867. David Dimond was received from the Presbytery of Wabash, Joseph H. Scott from that of Trumbull, Adam Johnston from the Presbytery of Bloomington, and James W. Stark from the Presbytery of Fox River. The churches of America and Tower Hill were received. Joseph S. Ed- wards was dismissed to the Presbytery of Cleveland. E. W. Taylor and Thomas Lippincott, ministers, and Russell Hinckley and Geo. E. Warren, elders, were appointed Com- missioners to the Assembly. C. H. Foote was released from the pastoral care of Jerseyville church. The fall meeting was held with Tower Hill church, commencing September 26. The Presbyterian church of Edwardsville, and the German Presbyterian church of Trenton were re- ceived. Geo. L. Little was dismissed to a new Presbytery to be formed in Nebraska. Joseph H. Scott was born March 22, 1825, in Becket, Berkshire county, Mass. He was educated at Western Reserve College and Seminary. He was ordained by Port- age Presbytery, November, 1852. United with Alton Pres- bytery, April 18, 1867. He labored for about ten years as supply pastor ot Metropolis church ; succeeded in securing a very neat house of worship in that place, in building up a large Sabbath-school, and a small but compact and influen- tial church. He had been for many years in feeble health, and died at Metropolis, 111., February 25, 1879. He was brother-in-law of the late Rev. Dr. C. H. Taylor, and died •on the fourth anniversary of Dr. Taylor's death. His family remain at Metropolis where they have a pleasant ho;ne. 62 8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLI^'OIS. Andrew DonnellJacke — Auto-biographical — I was bora July 19, 1829, near Kingston, Decatur county, Ind. My father, James Jacke, is a native of Greensburg, Pa., but his ancestors came from the North of Ireland. My mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Donalson. Her ancestors were from the North of Ireland and Wales, They were both trained in the Presbyterian Church and became communicants soon after their marriage. My father has been an elder in that Church for many years. Both parents are living at this date. I graduated at Wabash College in 1854, and at Lane Sem- inary in 1857. I was licensed by the Presbytery of Fort Wayne, July 2, 1856, and ordained by the Presbytery of Crawfordsville, July, 1857, as a missionary to Africa. My first field of labor was in connection with the Gaboon mis- sion in Western Africa. This mission work I was compelled to leave at an early day on account of the failure of my wife's health. We returned to this country in the fall of 1859. I labored with several churches in Indiana until the spring of 1867, when we settled in Edwardsville, 111., and took charge of that, Troy and Marine churche,-,. I remained with Ed- wardsville church nearly six years. My next fields of labor were in Kansas, where I still reside. I was married August 20, 1857, to Mercy E. Tidball, in the Shiloh Presbyterian church, Wabash county, Ind. We have two children living — Justin Perkins, born April 25, 1861, and Rebecca Eliza, born December 27, 1865. Adam Johnston was born at Glasgow, Scotland, April 22, 1 8 14. He graduated at Middlebury College, Vt,, 1840. Studied theology at Lane Seminary, taking the full course. Licensed by Presbytery of Cincinnati, 1844. Ordained by Presbytery of Peoria in Bloomington, 111., September 1846; united with Alton Presbytery April 18, 1867. His fields of la- bor have been these : Waynesville, 111., four years, commenc- ing Nov. 1845; traveled one year as missionary in the bounds of Chicago Presbytery ; Washington, 111., four years ; Sandwich, 111,, four years ; Eastmaville, Mich., two and a half years ; Chil- licothe, 111., one and a half years ; Pontiac, 111., six years ; Kin- mudy, ten years; Tower Hill and Prairie Bird churches, Shelby county. 111 , where he now is. He was married in Chicago, July I, 1847, to Miss Mary Ann Kent, a native of Rupert, Vt. They have had eight children, six of whom are dead ; AMERICA CHURCH. 629 two remain — Emily K., born in Chicago, March 6, 1850, mar- ried to Rev. Duncan J. McMillan in June, 1879, and George M., born in Pontiac, 111., May 6, 1864. America Church, Pulaski county, about five miles up the Ohio river from Mound City, was organized by Revs. E. B. Olmsted and Andrew Luce, January 24, 1866, with these nine members : Adam Mason, Mrs. Marth Mason, Jacob Skeen, Mrs. Ellen Skeen, Dr. J. H. Brown, Mrs. E. A. Sanders, Jacob Deihl, Mrs. Sarah J. Delhi and Mrs. Jane Cook. El- der: Adam Mason. This organization absorbed all that remained of the Mound City church. Rev. E. B. Olmsted has been their minister from the beginning, giving them all the supply they have received. This church has had some growth and vitality, though its progress has been slow and small. Its services are held in the school-house. America is the site of an ancient town, twelve miles from Cairo, and was laid out on a very extensive plan about 1816. Its name indicates the expansive and ambitious views of its founders. And for these views there was some justification. The site is the first ground above Cairo on the Ohio river entirely above overflow. And had not the channel of the river re- ceded to the Kentucky side of the stream, America might now have been what Cairo is. But nobody now expects that Cairo, America, Thebes, Metropolis, or any of the many other ambitiously named places of South Illinois will ever rival St. Louis, Evansville or Cincinnati. The "First Presbyterian Church of Tower Hill," Shelby county, was organized by Revs. A. T. Norton and William P. Teitsworth, February 17, 1867, with these mem- bers: Sylvester L. Van Dyke, Mrs. Lucy A. Van Dyke, Thomas B. Johnson, William McKitterick, Mrs. Margaret McKitterick, Mrs. Susannah E. Baines, Dr. George W. Fringer, Mrs. Martha B. Fringer, Mrs. Caroline Everitt, Perry McDowell, Miss Celestia A. Van D3-ke, Francis Mc- Kitterick, Samuel McKitterick, Miss Mary A. Baines, Miss Frances J. Baines and James M. Cook. The church came under the care of Wabash Presbytery, though temporarily ■received by that of Alton. Elders : Sylvester L. Van Dyke ; Thomas B. Johnson, and Dr. George W. Fringer, the first. 630 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Since elected: James J. Wiley, INIarch 9, 1872; Frederick Stumpf, March 9, 1872; H. H. R. Baines, March 9, 1872;. S. P. Powers, February 23, 1875; Dr. John Morgan, October 8, 1876, and H. F. Faught. Ministers: G. A. Pollock, stated supply one year from November i, 1867; Nathaniel Williams, one year from January, 1871 ; J. D. Jenkins, one year; Adam Johnston commenced January, 1877 ^.nd still continues. The ministers here supply also Prairie Bird church, spending alternate Sabbaths at each place. The whole number of members from the beginning up to May, 1878, is ninety. The house of worship is a frame building and cost eighteen hundred dollars. It was dedicated Sab- bath, September 29, 1867. Edwardsville Church, in order the Fourth. The first was organized March 17, 1819; the second, n. s., in the win- ter of 1837-38; the third, o. s., April 19, 1845; the fourth, being the one now in existence, Sabbath, August ii, 1867, by Rev. A. T. Norton and Andrew D. Jacke. The original members were these : Mrs. Charles Dimmock, Mrs. Lizzie H. Pogue, Bezaliel Day, Mrs. Huldah Ann Day, Miss Nancy N. Day, Miss Amelia C. Day, Mrs. Nancy E. T. Jacke, Mrs. Anna Glass, Mrs. Rebecca Snyder, Mrs. Susan Karr and Samuel W. Temple, Elder: Samuel W. Temple, the first; since appointed : Charles W. Fangenwroth and John G. Irwin. Ministers : A. D. Jacke, A. H. Parks, John Leigh- ton, Lucius I. Root and James S. Berry. The present house of worship, and the only one a Presbyterian church in Edwardsville has ever owned, is a frame building on a brick foundation and cost four thousand dollars. It was dedicated on Sabbath, October 16, 1870. The First Presbyterian Church of East St. Louis was organized by Revs. A. T, Norton and M. B, Gregg, July 14, 1867, in the upper room of the two-story school house on the island, with these members : Edwin E. Bassett, Mrs. Mercy B. Gregg, Mrs. Ellen V. Barrowman, Mrs. Ellen M. Hill, Mrs. Martha Ann Lowry, Mrs. Ann Brewer, Mrs. Lydia Chamberlin, Miss Emma Mockbee, Mrs. Frances Todebush, Mrs. Mary Ellen Maheng, James H. Brooks, David Shield, Mrs, Euphemia Shield, Samuel McCullough, Mrs. Sophia PRESBYTERY OF SALINE. 631 IMcCulIough, William Morrison, ]\Irs. Sophia Morrison and Mrs. Virginia Raithel. Elders: Edwin E, Bassett and David Shield, the first. Since appointed: William Craig and Samuel McCullough, April 21, 1869; William G. Mahany, February 20, 1870; Charles Bennett, George A. Galloway, February 25, 1872; James A. Reynolds in the spring of 1877. Ministers: Martin B. Gregg; John D. Jones, April, 1869-71; Samuel Sawyer, January, 1872-73; William L. Johnston, licentiate, commenced April, 1873, ordained pas- tor October 26, 1873, dismissed May 3, 1879, after a six years' pastorate of remarkable efficiency. Mr. Gregg, the first minister here, commenced his labors in January, 1867, under the care of the Presbyterian Home Missionary Com- mittee of the New School Church. Services were held in the upper room of the two-story school house on the island. That building has since been burned. A church edifice was built on the island in 1868 and cost six thousand, seven hundred dollars. When in 1877-78 the new house was erected on Collinsville avenue this one on the island was taken down and the material used in the new, This new house was dedicated Sabbath, September 8, 1878. It cost upwards of five thousand dollars, The Presbytery of Saline met at Flora, April 11, 1867. Henry E. Thomas was received from the Presbytery of New Albany and was installed pastor of Olney church on the first Wednesday in May prox. by a Committee of Presby- tery. W. H. Smith, licentiate, was received from the Pres- bytery of Allegheny, examined and ordained, sine titulo, April 14 inst. The name of Xenia church was changed to Flora. John Crozier, minister, and Thomas Buchanan, elder, were appointed to represent this Presbytery in the next As- sembly. The churches of Hermon and Larkinsburg were received. Joseph M. Wilson was licensed. An adjourned meeting was held at Salem, Marion county. May 9, at which Joseph Warren, D. D., was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler and installed pastor of Salem church. The fall meeting was held with Carmi church, commencing September 12. The churches of Timberville and Elizabeth- town were received. John Crozier was dismissed to the Presbytery of Oxford. S. C. Baldridge was appointed Stated Clerk and Treasurer in his place. 632 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. William H, Smith was born in Knox county, Ind., Sep- tember 10, 1840. His ancestors, on the mother's side, are Scotch-Irish, on his father.'s, German and Hollanders. He was educated at La Fayette College, Pennsylvania, Hanover College, Indiana, and at Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny City, Pa. He was licensed April, 1866, by Presb)'- tery of Allegheny City, and ordained by that of Saline, April, 1867. He preached at Wabash and Timberville — now Allen- dale— churches, Wabash county, and taught at Friendsville and Mt. Carmel, Wabash county, " North Sangamon Acad- emy," Menard county. III, and is now engaged as principal of the public school at Bath, Mason county. 111. He married Margaret E. Colvin at Harelton, Ind., October, 1864. They have four children — Minard S., Eva D., Jessie May and Paul McCorkle. A church called Hermon, in Decker township, Richland county, four miles south of Noble Station, was organized by Rev. John Crozier with twenty members, about the last of 1 866 or early in 1867. Ministers: John Crozier, Wm. Crozier, Thomas Smith, John M. Robinson, licentiate, Solomon Cook, Wm. M. Reed. Elders: Stafford Junkins, Joshua N. Al- vord, Joshua D. Nichols. A church building was erected in 1869, on S. E. quarter Sec. 33, T. 3 N., R 9 E. of third principal meridian. H: cost ^1,000. Larkinsburg Church, Clay county. The Presbyterlal missionary, Rev. John Crozier, visited this place on the last Sabbath of March, 1867, held a meeting and administered the supper to a band of some fifteen Christians, gathered by Rev. Joel S. Graves, of the Presbytery of Florida. The or- ganization was completed by the election of Edward Pat- ton, elder. Among the original members were these : Mrs. Eunice Graves, Cyrus Graves, Mrs. Hattie Graves, Charles Graves, David Byers, Mrs. Francis P. Byers, Mrs. Julia Ann Wood. Rev. R. C. Galbraith visited this band in August, 1868, when David Byers was made elder. Rev. Dr. Joseph Warren received the Thompson family, April 13, 1872, consisting of eight persons. They were from the Mt. Vernon church, Tennessee. Two other Thompsons joined July 6, 1873. Eli M. Thompson, the patriarch of the family, was installed elder at the time of his reception. Henry JOSEPH WARREN, D. D. 633 S. Watson was made elder July i6, 1873. He now resides in Louisville, same county. Their only ministers have been occasional supphes. This church is now — 1879 — nearly extinct. TiMBERViLLE, afterwards Allendale, church was organized July 26, 1867, by Revs. S. C. Balbridge, W. H. Smith and John Mack, and elders Thomas Buchanan and Henry Thomp- son, v/ith these members : William McClain, Mrs. Margaret McClain, Peter Kendal, Rebecca Kendal, Rosanna Green, Sarah J. Price, Emma McClain, Mary Couch, Margaret Gould. Elder: William McClain, who died April 20, 1877. Thomas Gould came to a spot about one mile from what is now Allendale, May 11, 18 16, from Ohio, down the river "from Cincinnati to Evansville, then across the country to the place his widow and son — Jacob S. Gould — now occupy. Evansville had not at that time a shingled roof. Princeton, Ind., was not in existence. The family Bible has this : " This Bible is the property of Joseph Gould, bought the 7th of April, 1802. Price six dollars." It was printed in Philadel- phia, i8qi. Thomas Gould came originally from New Jersey. His ancestors from England. Joseph Warren, D. D. He was born at Brunswick, Maine, August 30, 1809. After a short course of study at the academy in Plymouth, N. H., he learned the art of printing in the Statesman office at Concord, and afterward resumed study at Phillips Academy, Exeter, where he experienced a change of heart, and decided on devoting himself to the work of the gospel ministry. At the age of twenty-five he entered Lane Theological Seminary, and was one of the large body of students who left on account of a difference of opinion in regard to the discussion of the question of slavery. He completed his studies at Allegheny Seminary, where he first connected himself with the Presbyterian Church. In October, 1838, in company with Messrs. Freeman and Scott, he left for India, where his knowledge of printing contributed to his great usefulness in superintending the press. He took with him and set up at Allahabad the first mission press ever .established in India north of Serampore. He was much en- 634 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. gaged in promoting the cause of education in India, and. aided in establishing the High School at Agra for European and Eurasean children. In 1853 ^^ returned to this country to make provision for the education of his children, entered for a time upon pastoral work in Indiana, and served also as a chaplain during the war. He was pastor of Salem church Marion county, III, from 1866 to 1869. He also taught and preached in Flora, Clay county, III, from about 1869 to 1872. In that year he returned to India and completed a Hebrew grammar in the Urdu tongue, which is now in press, and had partially completed a translation of Gesenius' Hebrew Lexi- con. • He died of dropsy of the heart, at Morar, Gualior, India, on the 7th of March, 1879. Rev. John S. Woodside, of Dehra, Northern India, writes : " Throughout his illness his constant prayer was for patience, that he might have grace to endure all that he should be called to suffer. He said he did not desire that life should be unduly pro-' longed, but rather, ' Lord Jesus, come quickly.' He was driven out almost daily, morning and evening, up to the last, though he had to be supported — almost carried — to the con- veyance. His last drive was on the evening before his death, after sunset. At three o'clock in the morning a marked change took place, and at four, while we knelt by his bedside commending him to the care of a merciful Saviour, his spirit took its flight. The funeral was at five o'clock p. M., of the same day. It was very largely attended by all classes in the community. Military officers, and men of all ranks and arms, formed the majority of the procession. The deceased had been acting as chaplain to the Presbyterian soldiers in the Cantonment. The remains were therefore conveyed on a gun carriage belonging to the Royal Horse Artillery, drawn by six black horses — in the first place to ' the old Cantonment church,' where he usually officiated, and afterwards to the cemetery. At the close of the funeral ser- vices in the church, the whole audience walked around the bier and took a last look at the features of their venerated, pastor and friend." A daughter of his, by a former wife, is Mrs. M?irgaret Warren Brmkerhoff, now of Washington City, 1208 N street. Dr. Warren's last wife, whom he mar- ried at Mt. Carmel, 111., and who is now his widow, remains in India. ELIZAEETHTOWN CHURCH. 635. The Church of Elizabethtown, Hardin county, was or- ganized by Rev. S. Cook and Elder J. E. Y. Hanna, May 18, 1867, with five members. January 19, 1868, Miller McClel- lan was elected elder, and two additional members were re- ceived. This church has not flourished, though it is in a con- siderable village — the county seat of Hardin county. It has had no ministerial care. The SyxNod of Illinois met, the n. s. at Augusta, Schuy- ler county; the o. s. at Charleston, Coles county; the first,, October 3, the second, October 9, 1867. F CHAPTER XVII. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FROM 1 868 TO 1869, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF CHURCHES ORGANIZED AND MINISTERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS WITHIN THE YEAR. Authorities: Original Records; Auto-biographies; Presbytery Reporter; General Catalogue^, YEAR 1868. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Carrollton, April 15, 1868. A. L. Brooks was received from the Presbytery of Peoria, and James R. Dunn from the Presbytery of Blooming- ton. The Second Presbyterian church of Decatur was re- ceived. J. R. Armstrong, minister, and George E. Moore- house, elder, were elected Commissioners to the Assembly. At an adjourned meeting held in-Decatur, May 5, Asahel L. Brooks was installed pastor of the " Second Presbyterian church " of that city. The fall meeting was held at Maroa, commencing September 15. William A. Hen- drickson was dismissed to the Presbytery of Columbus, Wis. Asahel L. Brooks was born at Madison, N. Y., June 19, 18 18. His parents were New Englanders — the father a Bap- tist, the mother Presbyterian. He was educated at Hamil- ton College and Auburn Seminary. Licensed by Genesee Presbytery September, 1845; ordained by Troy Presbytery in May, 1847, at Troy, N. Y. His fields of labor have been Hamilton, Troy, Corning, Albion, N. Y., Bridgport, Ct., In- dianapolis, Ind., Chicago, Peoria, Decatur, Danville, 111. He is married, and his children are Olivia A., born at Hamilton, N. Y., October 7, 1846; Walter A., born at Le Roy, N. Y., August 2, 1849; Frank Le Roy, at Albion, June 27, 1852; Lillian M., at Albion, N. Y., November 21, 1853 ; Edward A., at Chicago, May il, 1857. He is now at Danville, 111., where he has been pastor for nearly ten years. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Carlyle, April 9, 1868. Arrangements were made for the installation of James GEORGE STEBBINS. 637 R. Brown over the church of Hillsboro, on May i6 prox.. and for that of A. J. Clark over the churches of Chester and Pleasant Ridge on the 24th of same month. James R. Brown, minister, and Hugh Smith, elder, were appointed to attend the meeting of Assembly. The names of Rev. Samuel Lynn and the Second church of Jerseyville were stricken from the roll on account of their having joined another body. (That body is the Presbyterian Church, South.) The church of Mascoutah was dissolved. Henry Mattice, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Kansas, examined and ordained, sine titulo, April 17. R. M, Roberts was released from the pastoral care of the church of Litchfield. He re- signed his office of Stated Clerk, and J. S. Howell was ap- pointed in his place. B. H. Charles was dismissed to the Presbytery of Missouri, and S. D. Lougheed to the Presby- tery of Potosi. A. J. Clark was installed pastor of Chester and Pleasant Ridge, May 24. The fall meeting was held at Richview, September 25. The churches of New Amity, Denmark and Pinckneyville were received. John C. Wagaman was received from the Presbytery of Warren. T. E. Spilman, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Rock River, examined and ordained, sine titiilo, at an adjourned meeting held at Elm Point, November 5. Henry Blanke was received. George Stebbins was received some time this year from the Presbytery of Bureau. George Stebbins was born in Norwich, Mass., July 15, 1796. His parents were English Protestants. His father was a graduate of Harvard College — a physician and manu- facturer of gun-powder for the Continental army. His mother was an only child, daughter of Brig. Gen. Buckmin- ster, of the British army. He was a graduate of Union Col- lege, N. Y. Licensed, November, 1823, at Blooming Grove, Orange county, N. Y. Ordained over the church in Mid- dletown, same county, June, 1824. After laboring in several places in Massachusetts he removed to Iowa, and then to Illi- nois, and was installed at Sterling, Whiteside county. Re- signed after a pastorate of twelve years. Labored in several other places in Illinois. He next removed to Tennessee, where he met with pecuniary losses. He then located in Richview, Washington county. 111., and taught in the seminary at that place. There he still resides. He has been twice 638 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. married. First in 1830, in the city of New York, to Esther W. Wickham ; second, to Mrs. Jane Buttrick, of Peoria. His eldest child, and only son, expired in Las Vegas, N. M., from the effects of an accidental pistol-shot, when in the ser- vice of Government as Collector of Internal Revenue. He has five daughters, four of whom are married. Thomas E. Spilman, son of Rev. Thomas A, Spilman, was born in Hillsboro, 111., October 21, 1836. He spent most of his minority in Morgan county. He early determined to fit himself for the ministry. His studies were prosecuted for several years at North Sangamon Academy, near Spring- field, in private, while engaged in teaching for a short time at Illinois College, Jacksonville, and in the Northwestern Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in the spring of 1867. He was licensed by Sangamon Presbytery and la- bored for a time in Shannon, Carroll county. In the spring of 1868 he commenced labor with the Butler church, where he has ever since remained. He was ordained by Kaskaskia Presbytery, November 5, 186S. The Butler church has pros- pered greatly under his labors. Mr. Spilman's health is feeble, though his labors are abundant. He main- tains a constant hand-to-hand fight with incipient consump- tion. Besides his preaching and pastoral work he edits and publishes a sprightly monthly paper called The Messenger. This is proving a publication of great value in the Presbytery and Synod. Mr. S. is unmarried. Henry Mattice had but a very limited education. He was supply at Trenton about one year. October 9, 1869, he was dismissed to the classis of Paramus. New Amity Church, at what is called Irishtown, about five miles north of Carlyle, Clinton county, was organized September 13, 1868, with sixteen members. There were two elders, one of whom was John O. Yingst. It has been •dissolved and its members connected with the church in Carlyle. The Church of Denmark, Perry county, about nine miles southwest of Pinckneyville, was organized, August 30, 1868, with nine members, J. L. Cottom, elder. THORNTON K. HEDGES. 639 The Church of Pinckneyville, Perry county, was or- ganized on the last Sabbath of May, 1868, with fourteen members. This church died. Another was organized, August 25, 1873, by Revs. J. M. Stone, D. D., and John Hus- ton, with these members: Mrs. C. Baldridge, Miss Frances Baldridge, Alexander A. Kimzey, Mrs. Jane Kimzey, Mrs. M. J. Kelso, Mr. H. M. Brown, Mrs. Nancy Brown, Mrs. E. E. Brown, Mrs. Louisa Opp, INIrs. Sarah Durringer, Samuel J. Henderson, Mrs. Pelina Buchanan, Mr. J. Rusk and Mrs. M. Harbison. Elders : Hugh M. Brown ; Alexander A. Kimzey, the first; Ephraim Hill, September 5, 1874. Min- isters: George K.Perkins; George B. McComb, August 31, 1873; M. M. Cooper, 1876; George B. McComb, second time, who left in 1879. A house of worship was built in Mr. Perkins' time, which has been forfeited to the creditors. The Presbytery of Wabash met at Shelbyville, April 14, 1868. Thomas Spencer was dismissed to the Presbytery of Greencastle. G. A. Pollock, minister, aad D H. West, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. An ad- journed meeting was held at Shelbyville, June 9. James L. McNair was licensed. John L. Jones was released from the pastoral care of the IVIattoon church, and C. P. Felch from that of Danville. T. K. Hedges was received from the Foster Presbytery of the Cumberland Church. Thornton K. Hedges was born, May 10, 18 19, in Spen- cer county, Ky. His ancestors were English, among the early settlers of Virginia, and strongly attached to the mother country. In religious belief they were of the Church of England, but as their families increased, numbers of their members joined other communions, especially the Baptist and Presbyterian. George Hedges, the father of Thornton K., removed from Kentucky to Illinois in 1824, and settled on Ridge Prairie, in Madison county. Being the eldest son, Thornton was obliged to give his assistance upon the farm. When twenty-one years of age he was converted and united with the C. P. Church. Having determined to seek the ministry he attended McKendree College at Leb- anon, 111., and Lebanon College, Tenn. He was licensed in April, 1846, by the Presbytery of Lebanon of the C. P. 640 PRESBYTERIAKISM IN ILLINOIS. Church. In the summer of 1846 he returned to Illinois, and was ordained by the Presbytery of Vandalia in September,. 1847. After much and very successful labor in varions places he became, in 1861, chaplain of the io6th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, in which he served until the close of the war. In 1868 he connected with the Wabash Presbytery of the Pres- byterian Church, n. s., and took charge of the Pleasant Prai- rie and then of the New Providence church under a commis- sion from the Board of Home Missions. In 1869 he was permitted to witness a precious revival under his labors. The year 1870 he spent at several places on the Iron Moun- tain Railroad in Missouri. His next fields were in Western Iowa, and one year in Nebraska, his family residence being in Logan, Iowa, where they still remain. Mr. Hedges married Miss Mary J. Barber, daughter of Rev. John Barber, October 16, 185 1. They have four daughters living and four sons deceased. There names in the order of their birth are these : Charles E., Clara E., John B., Addie M., Georgiana, Edwin T. and Rebecca M. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Kansas, April 28, 1868. A. McFarland resigned as Stated Clerk and S. J. Bovell was appointed in his place. S. J. Bovell, minister, and G. B. Balch, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. At a called meeting, June 10, A. McFar- land was released from the care of the Palestine church, and dismissed to Vinton, Iowa. The fall meeting was held at Milton, commencing September 28. H. I. Ven- able was received from the Presb}'tery of Vincennes ; John Miller was ordained, sine titiilo. Another called meeting was held at Areola, December 15, at which J. W. Allison was released from the pastoral care of Areola church with the highest testimony to his integrity, faithfulness and usefulness. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Springfield, April' 14, 1868. The church of lUiopolis was received, F. H. Wines and J. D. Kerr, ministers, and J. F. Bergen and E. R. Ulrich, elders, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. A pro re nata meeting was held at Decatur,, June 18, at which B. E. Mayo was released from the pastoral care of Assumption church, and dismissed to the Presbyterjr WASHINGTON MAYNARD. 64I of Vincennes. The fall meeting was held at Jacksonville, commencing September 15. Washington May- nard was received from the Presbytery of Fairfield. Samuel Conn was released from the pastoral care of Decatur church. Illiopolis Church was organized 1868 by Dr. J. G. Ber- gen with sixteen members. Its name has disappeared from the records of the Assembly. Washington Maynard was born in Athens county, Ohio, March 23, 18 18, at which place his parents had recently set- tled from Worcester, Mass. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; for several years their farm house affording a preaching place, and a home for the circuit rider. Under these influences his early life was impressed with gospel truth. When sixteen he united with the Method- ist Protestant Church, At the age of twenty he felt pre- pared by the help of the comm.on school and the academy, to enter college, and was making arrangements to do so at Athens, Ohio. But he had been licensed, and by the un- wise advice of others, he entered the itinerancy instead of college. He was ordained at Steubenville, Ohio, October 9, 1840, and stationed successively at Lancaster, Wellsville, Mt. Vernon, Coshochton, Newark and Cambridge. But a few years of study, work and experience convinced him that he had made a mistake, both in regard to education and church connection. He did not find himself to be a Method- ist, either in modes of thinking or in methods of move- ment. He felt the Presbyterian Church to be more congenial to him. But the Calvinistic system of doctrine had to be studied, and when it became clear to his mind as the true .system of interpretation belonging to the Holy Scriptures, it looked to him as though a fog had risen from the sacred word. Passages before dark and inexplicable became clear, and he felt, and does to this day, that the Arminian system of interpretation fails to receive all of the word — that the Calvin- istic system has all the positive truth contained in the Armin- ian system, and that it steps forward to the fullness of the divine truth, affording the key by which even Paul's " things hard to be understood," are opened and made plain. With a letter of dismissal from his old Church, after careful ex- 40 642 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. amination by Presbytery as to his qualifications for the ministry, he was received into the Presbytery of Zanesville, October 15, 1856. In the following January he received a call to the pastorate of Truro church, in the Presbytery of Columbus, where he continued until April, 1865. In this month he removed to Fairfield, Iowa, and was installed pas- tor of the Presbyterian church of that place, where he con- tinued for three years. September i, 1868, he became stated supply of the Presbyterian church of Assumption, 111., his present field, which he has occupied during this period, with the exception of one year. He has been twice married, January 3, 1843, to Miss C. E., eldest daughter of Benjamin Connell, of Lancaster, Ohio. His wife lived but two and a half years after her marriage, and was soon fol- lowed by a child of a year old, to the heavenly world. Octo- ber 12, 1850, he was married to Miss Julia A. Carson, at Cambridge, Ohio. Four children were born, Clara Eliza- beth, Sept. 22, 185 1, married to Mr. D. De Lashmutt and living at Assumption, 111., Mary Ellen, July 3, 1853, Martha Irene, February 14, 1856, and William Horus, August 23, 1863. The last three still with their parents. The Presbytery of Alton met at Lebanon, April 16, 1868. Lucius I. Root was received from the Presbytery of Niagara, Charles W. Seaman and Martin B. Gregg, from the Presbytery of St. Louis. Elijah Buck was dismissed to the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. The Home Missionary collections of this Presbytery this year, including a legacy of four hun- dred and seventy dollars from Mrs. Sally Root, were $2,195.80. The German Presbyterian church of Lebanon was received. C. H. Taylor, D. D., was released from the care of Alton church and dismissed to the Presbytery of Cincinnati. A. T. Norton and Willard P. Gibson, ministers, and Dr. F. M. Lytle and George S. Smith, elders, were appointed Commis- sioners to the Assembly. The fall meeting was held at Centralia, commencing October 8. George I. King, D. D., was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler, and Peter S. Van Nest from that of INIilwaukee. H. P. Roberts and H. N. Wilbur were dismissed. W. D. F. Lummis was received from the Methodist Church, and on examination, as an ordained minister. Carl Linn was licensed to preach for one year to the German-speaking population any where in LUCIUS I. ROOT. 643 the bounds of the Presbytery. The name of Sandoval church was stricken from the roll of Presbytery. At an adjourned meeting, October 24 and 25, Dr. George I. King was installed pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Jerseyville. Lucius I. Root. — Auto-biographical. — " I was born, Aug. 16, 1820, at Brutus, Cayuga county, N. Y. I am English by my father, Scotch by my mother. I was educated at Union College and Princeton Seminary. I was licensed, April 18, 1849, t>y the Presbytery of Elizabeth at Rah way, N. J. Or- •dained at Cambridge, Wis., by the Presbytery of Wisconsin, June, 1850. My fields of labor have been Carroll College, Wis., prof.; Saline, Mich., P. E. ; Bay City, Mich., pastor — this church I organized — Ionia, Mich., pastor; Medina. N. Y., pastor ; East Saginaw, a short time — organized the church — •did not remove to the field; Upper Alton, 111,, H. M.; Shel- .byville. 111., pastor; Greencastle, Ind., pastor; Edwardsville, 111., pastor, I married, September 19, 1849, at Lyons, N. Y., Miss Frances R. Toft, daughter of Deacon Toft of Williamstown, Mass. Our children are Herbert Toft, born at Saline, Mich., November 9, 1853; Frances E., .born March 2, 1856, at Saline, Mich.; Jennie M., June 2, 1859, died July, 1859, ^^7 City, Mich, ; Lucius Reed, at Me- dina, N, Y., May 15, 1864. My education was pursued under difficulties for lack of means. Left college to teach for two terms, one in Baltimore, one in Frederick City, Md. I also taught a time in Philadelphia during my seminary course. The most important or immediately suc- cessful labor of my life I consider the founding of Carroll •College at Waukesha, Wis. It existed only in the charter. I started a preparatory department, finished off the basement of the Presbyterian church, had a large, flourishing school, fitted a class for college and took them through the first term of the freshman year. Much against the wishes of many friends I resigned and left in the autumn of 1852. Teaching was, or seemed to be, my forte. I have been doubtful ever since whether I did right in resigning." This sketch was written January 20, 1879. A few weeks after he re- ceived and accepted a call to be professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy in Park College, Parkville, Mo. He en- tered upon his duties with great enthusiasm and with high promise of a successful career. But in one month he was 644 PRE3BYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. stricken down with paralysis while sitting at his table and died instantly. This was on May i, 1879. The German Presbyterian Church of Lebanon was or- ganized, February 16, 1868, by Revs. James Brownlee and Charles W. Seaman, with eighty members. A church build- ing was secured which is, however, heavily involved. Most of the eighty members proved to be unconverted persons. A very few remain, who conduct a Sabbath school and secure preaching in the p. m. of Sabbaths by an Evangelical Ger- man minister from Summerfield. George Ives King was born in Adams, N. Y., June i, 18 1 5, of New England parentage. His father was not a pro- fessor of religion. His mother was a member of the Meth- odist Church. From his grandmother, King, who was a re- markable Bible student and a Presbyterian, he received the greater part of his religious training. At a very early age he became familiar with the Bible, repeating whole chapters ver- batim. He prepared for college at Lowville, N. Y., and graduated from Union College in 1838. He studied theology at Auburn Seminary. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Columbia at Hudson, N. Y., April, 1840. To re- lieve himself of debts incurred by his education he accepted the position of Principal of Union Academy at Belleville, N. Y., preaching in the time to two feeble churches on alternate Sabbaths. After relieving himself of his pecuniary obliga- tions he was ordained by the Presbytery of Utica pastor of the church of Westernville in the fall of 1843. Hav- ing overworked during a revival in the congregation, in 1846, he contracted a throat disease which troubled him the re- ■_;. mainder of his life. He spent the two following years in trav- V|.; eling through the Southern States in hope of restoration 'K;; to health. Finding himself only partially restored, and wi deeming it imprudent to resume his labors in the severe cli- mate of Northern New York, he resigned the Westernville charge and accepted a call from the church at Hanover, N. J., and was installed in 1848. In 1855 he was in- vited to supply the First church in Quincy, 111., and was installed its pastor May i, 1856. In 1868 he was installed pastor of the First church in Jerseyville, 111. This was his A w,^ /^^ .^JL -/^/i^/ GEORGE I. KING. 645 last charge. His health had been gradually failnig for many- months. Early in 1873 he went down the Mississippi to try the effect of a southern climate. Becoming worse, he sent for ]\Irs. King, who immediately joined him in New Orleans, where he died March 12, 1873. His remains were taken first to Jerseyville and then to Quincy. In each of these churches, where he had been pastor in the aggregate for seven- teen years, appropriate funeral services were held. The body was then deposited in the beautiful Woodlawn ceme- tery of Quincy. Dr. King was held in high esteem by all who knew him, and acted well his part in all the relations of life. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by his Alma Mater, July, 1864. He was one of the trustees of Blackburn University, looked jealously after its interests and was divising for it liberal things. He was sent several times to the Assenably, where he discharged his trusts well and faithfully. In the great home missionary discussion of 1859, in the Assembly at Wilmington, his fearless, outspoken ■course aided not a little in securing the auspicious result. As a preacher he was logical, clear, convincing. What he was as a pastor is shown by the fact that under his ministry about three hundred joined his several charges on profession of their faith. He loved his own church, was watchful of her inter- ests and jealous for her honor. Dr. King married Miss Emily B. Sprague, October 12, 1840. She was born in Hancock, N. H. Their children are these : Emeline, born July 5, 1843, died February ii, 1845; George Sprague, February I, 1 846, died September 3, 1847; Eha, February 27, 1849; Clara, January 15, 1851; twins born October 20, 1853, a son and a daughter, the son died on the day of his .birth, the daughter, Cora, August 9, 1856; William Walter, September 15, 1858, died July 29, 1862. Of these seven children only two remain on earth — Ella and Clara — both of whom are happily married, and reside one in Jerseyville, the other in Jacksonville. Mrs. King's home is with her daughter in Jerseyville. For a minister Dr. King was wealthy. He purchased land at an early day near Peoria which became •valuable. But his wealth was well bestowed. While he lived and since his death — in the hands of his widow and ■daughters — it is a fountain sending forth streams to make ^lad the city of God. Peter Stryker Van Nest — Auto-biographical — I was 646 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. born in Amsterdam, N. Y., August 21, 1813. My ancestors- were from Holland, and of the Dutch Reformed faith. I fitted for college at Kingsboro, graduated at Union, and at Auburn Seminary. I was licensed in 1840 by the Presbytery of Ontario, and ordained in 1842 by the Presbytery of De- troit. My fields of labor have been Fentonville and Flint, Mich., until 1844; Mt. Morris, N. Y., until 1852; Romulus, N. Y., until 1855 ; Iowa City, Iowa, until 1861 ; Geneva, Wis., until 1867; Ducoign, 111., until 1871 ; Elkhorn, Wis., until 1873 ; Centralia, 111., until 1875 ; Burlington, Wis., until 1877 ;, Whitehall, 111., until 1879. In my ministry I have witnessed many precious re'vivals. I married Miss Caroline Barker at South Wales, N. Y,, in 1842, We have trained and educated several adopted children. I united with the church at seventeen years of age, entered at once upon studies for the ministry, prosecuted them without inter- ruption, have engaged in nothing save appropriate minis- terial work, and never been without a field. In June, 1876, Centre College, Ky., conferred upon me the degree of D. D. In all my work I have been ably sustained by my de\ oted Christian wife. William De Fletcher Lummis was born in Deerfield, N. J., July 4, 1827. Educated at Marietta College, Ohio. Ordained by Central Illinois Conference, (Meth. Epis.) Sep- tember 16, i860. United with Alton Presbytery on ex- amination, October 10, 1868. Was at the time, and for several years later, residing on a fruit farm at Makanda, 111. He married Miss Mary Harris, August 18, 1858. In 1878 he was W. C. at Paton, Iowa. Charles W. Seajian. — Auto-biographical. — I was born in' the city of Berlin, Prussia, March 31, 1815. My parents and grandparents adhered to the Lutheran faith, in which belief I was brought up. At the age of fourteen I was confirmed by Prof. Dr. Marks, university pastor, at that time in Berlin. I was educated at the Universities of Berlin, Halle and Leip- zig and prepared for the law, which I practiced several years at the Berlin Chamber Court. Political difficulties caused me to leave my home and emigrate to the United States. I arrived in New York, November, 1849. From that time to 1859 I procured a living by writing letters, advising my countrymen in legal matters. Converted I was in a Metho- MARTIN B. GREGG. 647 dist meeting. Joined a Presbyterian church at Detroit, Mich. I studied for two years under the care of the Presby- tery of Detroit. Was ordained by the same Presbytery in 1859. Labored at Cedarville, 1861 ; Forreston, 1862; Free- port, 111., 1865-66; was pastor of the Broadway church at Patterson, N. J., 1867-68; labored at Trenton and Lebanon, 111., 1869-71. At each place a church was organized. The church at Trenton has been disbanded. From 1872 to 1875 I labored with Jefferson Center church, Pa. Since that time I have been at Cheviot, Ohio. I have been married twice. My first wife was Mary Nisbeth, born May 22, 1824. I mar- ried her in the State of New York. She died at Lebanon, 111,, July 19, 1870. By her I had one child — a daughter. By my second wife I have no children. Martin B. Gregg was born at Waterbury, Vt., July 8, 1822. He came to the Presbyterian church from the English Wesleyan Church of Canada. He studied with Dr. S. H. Cox and Rev. Elisha Whittlesey. He was ordained by the Genesee Presbytery, October 8, 1861. He united with Alton Presbytery, April 17, 1868. His first field in this region was East St. Louis, He assisted in the organization of that church, July 14, 1867, His next field was Fairbury in Bloomington Presbytery, He then labored one year with the church of Moro. His last field was with the Plum Creek and Jordon's Grove — now Baldwin — churches. He died at Baldwin Sta- tion, Randolph county, Sabbath morning, August 31, 1873. The Presbytery of Saline met at Friendsville, April 2, 1868. The church of McLeansboro was received. George B, McComb, last from the Presbytery of East Alabama, was received. B. C, Swan, minister, and John F. Younken, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly, Thomas Smith was received from the Cumberland Presbytery of Mc- Linn. A pro re nata meeting was held at Friendsville, April 5, at which Joseph M. Wilson was ordained to labor as a mis- sionary among the Indians under the Assembly's Board of Foreign Missions. At another pro re naUi meeting held at Olney, August 4, B. C. Swan was released from the pastoral care of Shawneetown church. The fall meeting Vv^as held at Odin, commencing October 9. Harrisburg 648 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. church was received. Joseph M. Wilson was dismissed to the Presbytery of Missouri River. An adjourned meeting was held at Shawneetown, November 11, at which Enfield church was received. Charles C. Hart was received from the Presbytery of Athens and installed pastor of Shawnee- town church. George K. Perkins was received from the Presbytery of Paducah. McLeansboro Church, in Hamilton county. In the sum- mer of 1866 Milton Eckley, an elder in the Richland church, and father of Thomas M. Eckley, a lawyer in McLeansboro, spent several weeks in the latter place. He found several Presbyterians there and secured a visit from Rev. John Cro- zier, who preached several times in the court house. This prepared the way for Rev, John Huston, who organized a church, December 16, 1867, with these members : Henry W, White, Joseph R. Siddall, John Parkhill, Martha Parkhill, Elizabeth Parkhill, Julia White, Sarah Parkhill, Rebecca H. Siddall. Elders : John Parkhill, the first. Since appointed: John J. Powell, March 26, 1870, and Thomas M. Eckley, May, 1872. Ministers: John Huston, from the organiza- tion till about January i, 1873; John Branch supplied a few times. At this time — 1879 — B. C. Swan has regular appoint- ments. Up to November, 1877, fifty-six persons had been connected with the church. A house of worship was ded- icated in April of 1869 at the time of the meeting of Presby- tery in the place. The house cost thirty-five hundred dol- lars. Since the dedication four hundred dollars more have been expended upon the building. Harrisburg Church, Saline county, was organized by John Huston and G. B. McComb, September 5, 1868, with these persons : Israel D. Towle, Eliza Towle, William M. Christy, Catharine Christy, Dr. J. F. Burks and Sarah Burks, Elders : Israel D. Towle, Dr. J. F. Burks, the first. Since appointed: John H. Wilson, September 4, 1870; William Penn Hallock and Robert J, Ilrath, June, 1876. There have been connected with this church in all thirty persons. Ministers: George B. McComb, from the organization to October, 1870; John Huston, six months; John Branch, during 1873; George B. McComb, second time, during 1876. ENFIELD CHURCH. 6_i9 P.evs. McComb and Branch divaded their Sabbaths equally between this church and Equality. Occasional labor has been bestowed here by. Revs. S. C. Baldridge, B. C. Swan, Dr. A. T. Norton and others. This church has no property. Enfield Church, White county, was organized by Rev. B. C. Swan and Elder C. S. Conger, in the Cumberland house of worship, ^vlay 2, 1868, with these members: Felix H. Willis, Mary J. Willis, Gustavus A. Willis, Eliza J. Willis, James E. Willis, Jennet Willis, Robert C. Willis, Benj. L, Willis, Rufus A. Willis, John Campbell, sr., Clara •Campbell, Angus Campbell, Andrew King, Clara King, Franklin Miller, Almon Miller, R. W. Storey, Mrs. R. W. Storey, Anna Wasson, Mary Miller, J. R. Dales, Susan Dales, Margerie Connery. Elders ; Felix H. Willis, James R. Dales, Andrew King, the first. Since appointed : James Edward Willis, August 14, 1870; S. B. F. Miller, same date; A. R. Tate, May 14, 1871. Whole number of members one hundred and forty. Ministers : George K. Perkins, March 14, 1869, to fall of same year; B. C. Swan, from October, 1869, to March, 1871 ; Thomas Smith, March 15, 1871, to March, ■ 1876, pastor; Mr. Swan again since March, 1876. Mr. Swan now resides in Enfield and gives that church one half his Sabbaths. The other half he divides equally with Sharon and McLeansboro churches. A good house of worship, dedicated February 13, 1871 — cost 32,000. Repairs in 1873 costing about one hundred dollars. The records of this church are correctly and beautifully Icept. It is one of the model churches. Its members be- lieve God is a God of order and not of confusion, and that good taste, neatness, common-sense, and perfect correctness should be conspicuous in everything pertaining to God's house and God's worship, George B. IMcComb was born September 6, 18 14, on Cross Creek, Washington county, Pa., about tweve miles north of the town of Washington. His parents moved to Franklin, Ohio, in 18 19, and settled in the woods in Truro township. His mother's maiden name was Butler. She was born near Winchester, Va. In his youth he was rigidly drilled in the Shorter Catechism, and committed to memory man\' chapters of the Bible. He graduated at Washington Col- 650 PRESBYi'ERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. lege, Pa., in 1842. After his graduation he taught school for several years. In 1845 he was a colporteur in Tennessee, with Nashville as his headquarters. April 7, 1846, he married Miss Mary Malissa Jones, daughter of David L. Jones, an elder in the Hopewell church. She bore him one son, David Jonathan, born July 21, 1847. That son still resides with his grandmother and manages her farm affairs. That wife died May 4, 185 1. In the fall of 1849' he was licensed by the Presbytery of Maury at Cathies Creek church, Tenn. In the fall of 185 i he was ordained by the same Presbytery. December 20, 1855, he mar- ried Mrs. Amanda' F. Davis. By her he had five children. He was in Tennessee teaching and farming all through the war and down to the close of 1867 when he came to Illinois, and in January, 1868, took charge of the churches of Equality and ilarrisburg. He remained here four years. In the spring of 1872 he took charge of Moro church for one year. His next field was Pinckneyville, Galum, Prairie Grove and Denmark churches. With the exception of an absence of about eighteen months, he occupied this field until 1S79, when he removed to Indiana church near Vincennes, Ind. Thomas Smith was born August 24, 1823, in Kendal — Westmoreland — England, His paternal ancestors were Scotch. His grandfather, James Smith, by occupation a tailor, when a young man came from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Kendal, England. He there married, settled and reared a family of six children, four sons and two daughters. They were all Presbyterians — members of the Scottish Secession Church, to which they were v/armly attached. His maternal ancestors were English, by the name of Greenipp. They were residents of Keswick — Cumberland — England. His grandfather, Greenipp, was by occupation a stone-mason. The family were Episcopalians, members of the established Church of England. William, the fourth son of James Smith, having come to man's estate, was united in marriage with Miss Ann Greenipp, of Keswick. They settled in Kendal for a while. Thomas was the second son of William and Ann Smith, who, in 1824, with their two sons left Kendall and went to Edinburgh ; where, after a residence of seven years, the wife and mother died. The father, after some months, returned with his two THOMAS SMITH. 65! little boys, James and Thomas, to their native town, and having placed them in charge of an uncle, one of his brothers, he returned to Scotland and has never since been seen or heard from directly by any member of the family. From that time onward life's pathway has been steep and rugged. But that ever present though invisible guide who " brings his people by a way that they know not," has thus far made His power and His mercy known in His gracious deal- ings with the subject of this narrative. In 1844, after having worked eight years (seven of which were served as an apprentice) at a trade which he preferred not to follow, he left his native place and went, an entire stranger, to the city of Manchester, to endeavor to obtain a situation in some one of the many wholesale warehouses of that great city. He made his first application on the evening of his arrival in the city, but without success. He continued his search throughout the day, from day to day, until the afternoon of the fifth day, when it so happened that he made application at a firm, one of whose proprietors as he afterwards learned, was a native of Keswick, and who, in his boyhood, had attended school kept by Mr. John Greenipp, an uncle of the applicant. His ap- plication was successful; he obtained employment and soon was quite happy in his new position. On the second Sab- bath of his residence in the city of Manchester, he began to- attend the Sabbath-school and church, of which Rev. J. W. Massie, D. D., L.L. D., was pastor. Here his religious privi- leges were exceedingly great, far beyond those of former years, although they were always good. In 1845 he united with Dr. Massie's church on profession of his faith. O.i the 2d of January, 1847, he was united in marriage, by his pas- tor, to Miss Jane Brown, a native of Kendal and a member of the Congregational Church. In the fall of 1849 they came to Albion, Edwards county, 111., from which time to the present, their home has continued to be in Southern Illinois. Their marriage has been blessed with a family of six sons and one daughter, all of whom are now living, exception their first born, a son, who died in England at the age of nine months. The names and dates of birth of the children are as follows, viz.: James W., born in England, October 22, 1847, died 1848. The remaining six were born in Albion, Edwards county. 111.: Herbert B., January 25, 185 1, James W., December 22, 1852, Thomas G., July 3, 1856, Mary J., September 27, 1858,. .652 PRESBYTERIAN ISM IN ILLINOIS. George H., March 29, i860, Otis A., April 20, 1862. In the .spring of 185 1 he began to teach school and continued to ■do so summer and winter for more than two years. He then accepted a situation as clerk and book-keeper in the store of Mr. Alexander Stewart in Albion, 111. He con- .tinued in that position until the latter part of 1856, at which time he became a candidate for the ministry in the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church. This last step was taken with great diffidence, after much serious reflection, prayer and counsel of pious friends and ministers. The step was urged by some in view, as they thought, of promise of useful- ness, and in view at that time of the great want of devoted ministers in all that region of country. In April, 1857, he was licensed by the McLinn Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Mt. Erie, Wayne ■county. 111. He then took charge of the Cumberland Pres- byterian church in Albion, 111., where his home had been since 1849. Ordained in fall of 1858 he continued in charge until 1863, when he volunteered and became a soldier in the ranks in the eighty-seventh Illinois infantry. After a service of nine months in that regiment, he was trans- ferred for promotion, and became the chaplain of the third Mississippi colored, afterwards known as the fifty-third United States colored infantry. He was mustered out with the regiment in March, and reached home on the 6th of April, 1866. He again became the stated sup- ply of the Cumberland Presbyterian church in Albion, and so continued until the fall of 1867. In April, 1868, he be- came a member of the Presbytery of Saline — o. s., — by let- ter from the McLinn Presbytery of the Cumberland Presby- terian Church. Since that time he has supplied the churches of " Richland " and " Hermon," for three years. Afterward the churches of Enfield and Sharon for five years, and since then Pisgah, Bridgeport and Union churches from the spring of 1876 until the present time. As to that which, in his opinion, constitutes his call to the ministry. This he regards as threefold. ist. Internal — wherein God by his Spirit drew and inclined him to the work — filling the soul with love to Jesus and ardent longing for the salvation of souls. Flooding the soul with sweet peace and with a delightful sense of comfort in any and every pubhc ■effort to serve him in the gospel, and causing a sense of shame, of condemnation and unhappiness when opportunities of pub- lic efforts were given and were not improved. GEORGE K. PERKINS. 655, 2d. Providential — whereby God seemed so to overrule cir- cumstances and events in a way so remarkable and unlooked- for, that he came to be almost pressed into the work. 3d. Official — by the Church — inviting, accepting and sus- taining in a very cordial manner. And now, in concluding this notice, he desires to "Thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who, as he humbly trusts, has put him into the ministry." His prayer is that he may " Obtain mercy of the Lord, to be faithful." His wonder is that God, in his providence and in his grace, should give him a place among his people and ap- point him a place among his ministers, and thus permit him to proclaim the gospel to his fellow-men. He desires no higher honor among men than to be permitted to fill an hum- ble place in the ministerial ranks of the great Presbyterian Church — the Church of his fathers and the Church of his choice. George Kames Perkins was born in Wells, Maine, May 19, 181 1. His parents were earnest Christians. At the age of nine years he was afflicted with necrosis in his right arm, which caused him great suffering until he was about fifteen years of age, when he was taken to Boston, where his arm was opened and the decayed bone extracted by the celebra- the Dr. Warren. He was educated at Amherst College, where he graduated in 1835. After his graduation he went to Kentucky, where he studied and for a time prac- ticed law. In the fall of 1839 ^^ married Miss Elizabeth O. Gray, daughter of Dr. William Gray, of Greens- burg. Just before his marriage he united with the Presbyte- rian Church. He soon removed to Huntsvile, Ala,, where he and his wife taught a female academy. Having deter- mined to seek the ministry he placed himself in the spring of 1840 under the care of the Presbytery of West Tennessee and proceded to Andover, Mass., and there prosecuted theo- logical studies for about one year. He was licensed in the spring of 1841, and ordained in 1844 by the Presbytery of West Tennessee. He preached at Decatur, Cortland, Beth- esda and Piedmont in Tennessee. Of the last named church he was pastor. He labored for a time in Alabama and in Kentucky. At the close of the war he came to Illinois and labored at Enfield, White county, at INIt. Vernon, Jefferson county, and at Pinckneyville and Galum, Perry county. He ,654 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. died at Pinckaeyville, May 26, 1862. He has left a wido\ and eirfit children, four of whom are married. Joseph M. Wilson was in Columbus, Neb., in 1871 and up to 1873. In 1874 he was supply pastor of Mars' Hill church, Athens, Tenn. In 1875 he was at Madison, Neb., and is still — 1878 — at the same place. The Synods of Illinois held their meetings in 1868 — the New School at Springfield, commencing October 7, 1868 — the Old School at CHnton, beginning September 30. CHAPTER XVIII. MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERIES AND SYNODS FOR 1 869 AND 187O, INCLUDING SKETCHES OF CHURCHES RECEIVED AND MINIS- TERS COMMENCING THEIR LABORS HERE WITHIN THE PERIOD. Authorities : Original Records ; Auto-biographies ; General Catalogues. YEAR 1869. Illinois Presebytery met at Virden, April 9, 1869. Smith H. Hyde, minister, and John Crocker, elder, were chosen to attend the Assembly. The fall meet- ing was held at Carlinville, commencing September 14. George C. Wood resigned the place which he had occupied for eleven years as Presbyterial Missionary. The Presbytery bore the most emphatic testimony to his faithfulness, zeal and usefulness. The Persbytery of Kaskaskia met at Greenville, April 8, 1869. R. M. Roberts was dismissed to the Presbytery of Palestine. J, A. Williams and James H. Spilman were li- censed. J. A. Howell, minister, and W. N. Donnell, elder, were appointed to attend the next meeting of the Assemby. George Fraser was received from the Presbytery of La Fay- ette, and on the iith installed pastor of Greenville church. At a pro re nata meeting in Richview, May 14, I. N. Candee, D. D., was received from the Presbytery of Warren, and arrange- ments made for his installation over the church of Richview on the 4th Sabbath in June prox. Another pro re nata meet- ing was held at Hillsboro, June 21. A. S. Foster was re- ceived from the Presbytery, Saltsburg, Pa., and arrangements made for his installation over Litchfield church, July 23d prox. A third pro re nata meeting was held at Richview, September 9. J. A. Williams was ordained, sine titulo, and dismissed to Presbytery of Austin, Texas. The fall meeting was held at Butler, commencing October 8. Eli- jah Buck was dismissed to the Presbytery of Alton. George K. Perkins was received from the Presbytery of Saline, Rob- ert G. Ross from that of Bloomington, and John H. Reints 656 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. from the Presbytery of Dubuque. Henry Mattice was dis- missed to the classis of Paramus. Sparta church was re- ceived. T. D. Davis was dismissed to the Presbytery of Sangamon. Isaac N. Candee, D. D., was born in Galway, Saratoga county, N. Y., October 30, 1801. He studied at Balston Academy in the winter and worked on a farm in the summer until 1 8 16, when he entered a printing office. On the 20th of September, 1822, he left the printing office and entered Union College, wlrere he graduated in 1825. The same year he entered Princeton Theological Seminary, where he grad- uated and was licensed June 4, 1828. His first charge was in Belvedere, New Jersey, where he was ordained pastor May 12, 1829. After spending fourteen years in New Jersey he accepted the agency of the Board of Foreign Missions in, the West. After spending nine years in the mission cause he took charge of the church at La Fayette, Ind., December 23, 1849. His thifd charge was in Galesburg, in this State, where he went in January, 1856. After preach- ing eleven years with great success he took the financial agency of the Northwestern Theological Seminary at Chi- cago. In April, 1869, he came to Richview, 111. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of Knox College. While on his way to attend the annual meeting of that Board he was taken ill in Peoria at the house of his daughter — Mrs. N. B. Love. He died, June 19, 1874, after a sickness of only twenty-three hours. He was well-known in the Presbyterian Church, especially at the West. He was twice married. The first wife was Elizabeth Schaffer, whom he married in 1832. She bore him two children — Sarah S,, and one who died in infancy. His second marriage was, in 1837, ^o Eliz- abeth Green. She bore her husband ten children — George W., Marshal G,, Alice C, Louis, Anna M., Jennie, Charles W., Henry A., Fannie and Robert M. Charles W. died in the United States army in June, 1865. George W., Louis and Jennie now live in Sioux City, Iowa. Marshal G, and Alice C. Collom are now in Camden, Ala. Henry A. is in Mobile, Ala., Sarah S. Love, in Peoria, 111. Fanny Gale, in Galesburg, 111., and Anna C. Tindale in Nashville, 111. His widow died, December 19, 1876, in Sioux City. Both are buried in Galesburg. His degree of D. D. was conferred by ROBERT G. ROSS. 657 Princeton College. The ten living children are all pious and members of the Presbyterian Church. Robert Gaius Ross was born near the Twenty-Mile stand, Warren county, Ohio, January 13, 1832. His paternal ancestry were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians; his maternal, Pennsylvania, or Holland Dutch. His parents were mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church — his father an elder. He was taught in his childhood the Westminster Catechism. At sixteen he united with the Church ; at twenty began his academic course and graduated at Hanover College in 1858. He studied three years at Princeton, grad- uating in 1861. The summer vacation of 1859 he labored for the Sabbath-school Union in the State of Dela- ware. Was licensed in i860. Came to Illinois in Novem- ber, 1 86 1, and supplied Union Grove Presbyterian church during the winter. In May, 1862, he took charge of Salem church at Mahomet, Champaign county. The next fall he added the Jersey church to his field, and supplied the two until the close of 1865. Then for three years longer he confined himself to the Jersey church. He was ordained October 18, 1863, by the Presbytery of Bloomington. He was married November 20, 1862, to Miss Nannie A. East- man, daughter of the late Rev. J. C. Eastman. She was a lady of much excellence, and patiently shared the toils of her husband till her death, January 18, 1873. Two sons blessed their union, Charles Wilbert, born October 24, 1863, and Joseph Marion, born November 4, 1865. In April, 1S69, Mr. Ross removed to Madison County and supplied Moro and Bayless churches for one year. Then Moro alone for a few months. He next took charge of Bridgeport, Pis- gah and Union churches in Lawrence county. He remained with these churches about five and a half years, being pastor of Pisgah and the supply pastor of the other two. During this time eighty-five persons were added — to Pisgah, thirty- seven ; to Bridgeport, twenty-four ; to Union, twenty- four. He baptized in the same years sixteen adults and eighty children ; solemnized forty-one mar- riages and officiated at fifty funerals. In the same years these churches contributed nine hundred and seventy- two dollars to the Church Boards, and nine hundred and eighty-seven dollars to miscellaneous objects — a parsonage 41 658 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. was bought, a debt lifted from Union church and the building- repainted, a new church erected at Bridgeport at a cost of ^2,700 and paid for. The pastoral relation in this field ceased in April, 1876. During that summer Mr. R. visited the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia and friends in Ohio. In November he removed to Campbell, Coles county, and took charge of Pleasant Prairie church, with two build- ings five miles apart, at each of which one service is held every Sabbath. Here he married Miss Mary E. McDonald, daughter of Rev. John McDonald, September 12, 1878. In this field he still — 1879 — remains. Jerome Augustine Williams was in Austin, Texas, in 1871, in New Castle, Ky., in 1872, in Edinburg. Ind., in 1S73-74, in Brookville, Ind., 1875-78. John H. Reints was in Fosterburg, 111., 1870-73, in Emdeil, 111., 1874, in Hartsburg, III., in 1875, at Great Bend, Kan., in 1876-77. In 1878 his name disappears from the Assembly's ministers. He was a German. Salem Church, Madison county, Godfrey post-office, was organized August 19, 1869, by Revs. John H. Reints, Mr. Tchudy, and Elder Frederick Wortman with these members : Henry Bausch, Anton Telgmann, Henry Koch, Frederick Schallenberg, Nicolaus Ysch, Carl Wenzel, Hermann Bock- strock, August Seller, John Hauser, Christ Schlenker, Ernst Schallenberg, Henry Banker, Henry Landwehr, Henry Schallenberg, Y. E. Schallenberg, Mathilde Koch, Teadore Telgmann, Susanne Bausch, Charlotte Schallenberg, Mrs. Ysch, Charlain Wenzel, Charlain Bockstrock, Hanne Hauser, Anna Schlenker, Dina Schallenberg, Rosiene Seller. Elders : Henry Bausch, Anton Telgmann. Ministers : John H. Reints from the organization until August, 1877; August Busch, 1878 ; Albert E. Bayer, present minister, was ordained over them May 5, 1879. The church house was erected within two months, September and October, 1869, and cost about ^1,000. It is in T. 6, R. 9, S. E. quarter Sec. 18. This church together with Zion church at Fosterberg, Madi- son county, constitute a very interesting parish. All the PRliSBVTERY OF WABASH. 659 tmembers of both are native Germans. Their religious ser- vices are in that language. The Church of Sparta, Randolph county, was organized June 5, 1869, with sixty-three members. The elders ap- pointed from that time to this are these : James Crawford, James Craig, Samuel B. Hood, William Addison, Robert T. Beaty, John Stevenson, James Hood, James Gardner, Samuel L. Boyd, John A. Marlone, John H. Bratton, James Sproul, Benj. Crawford, Hugh Bricket. Ministers: Rev. John Hood began labor as pastor June 26, 1870. He was dismissed June 30, 1878. Rev. Dr. John W. Bailey was installed pas- tor October 25, 1878. The church edifice is a handsome brick building, erected in 1870 at a cost of ^9,000. This congregation is one of the very (ew in the State which has never received any outside pecuniary aid. The church .reported in 1878 a membership of two hundred and sixty- four. Next to Paris, Edgar county, it is the largest in the Synod, though Alton and Jerseyville report about the same mumber of members. The Presbytery of Wabash met at Effingham, April 15, 1869. John Kidd was received from the Presbytery of Ot- rtawa. W. K. Powers was received. R. D. Van Deursen, minister, and E. H. Palmer, elder, were appointed to attend ithe Assembly. At an adjourned meeting in Tolono, June 15, James L. McNair was ordained. The fall imeeting was held with Prairie Bird church, October 4. C. P. Felch was dismissed to the Presbytery of Chicago. The 'Church of Edgewood was received. John Kidd was born in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, on the banks of the Forth, in Scotland, about forty miles from Edinburgh, May 31, 18 16. His father was Thomas Kidd, a devoted Christian who died uttering the words of Stephen, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit." The son, John, was re- markable even in childhood for his fondness for books and study. He received a finished classical and theological edu- cation at the University of Edinburgh. He was ordained pastor of St. Andrews church, Fife county, in 1846. He 660 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. labored there eight years. In 1841 he married Miss Isabel' Paton, daughter of Robert Paton, of Glasgow. This family was connected with the Relief church. Mr. Kidd and his family emigrated to this country in 1855, landing at New York in March of that year. They left behind them three infant children in the cemetery of St. Andrews. His first ministerial charge in this country was the South Presbyterian church of Milwaukee. Here he remained two and one half years. His next charge was in Joliet, 111., where he remained eight years. He next labored with Waltham church, La Salle county, for one year and ten months. Mattoon, Coles county, was his next field, in which he remained three years. His last charge was in Pana, 111. In that city he died March 22, 1876. His widow and six children, one son and five daughters remain. The widow and daughters reside in Pana. The son, who is a lawyer, in Indiana. James Lister McNair v/as born in Philadelphia, Pa., February 27, 1834. His ancestry on his father's side were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians ; on his mother's side they were sturdy Hollanders of the Protestant faith. His parents gave all their children good educations. Nearly all of them be- came Church members when young, and all who are living fill respectable stations in society. He was mostly educated at Central College, Fayette, Mo., where his parents had re- moved when he was four years old. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Wabash and ordained by the same at Tolono, 111., in 1868. His fields of labor have been first, Tolono, 111. While there he gave part of his time to Philo,. also to Homer. Through his instrumentality Philo built a neat church. Since he left. Homer also has erected a good building, which they called upon him to dedicate. He was next called to Paxton, 111. While at this place he ministered also to the Buckley church, ten miles north, giving them three sermons a month. While in this field the people of each charge erected a house of worship. He next accepted a call to Mattoon, his present field of labor, where he has- been nearly four years. When he came the old church build- ing was very dilapidated and entirely too small for the con- gregation. This building they enlarged and remodeled, and now, for over two years, have been worshiping in a com- modious, convenient and very beautiful church. In every WILLIAM W. WILLIAMS. 66 1 field he has occupied God has made him the instrument of winning many souls to Christ. He was married, January lo, i860, to Miss Dillie P. Johnson, of Polk county, Mo., who is a faithful and loving wife. They have had eight children. Edgewood Church, Effingham county, was organized by A. T. Norton, D. D., Sabbath, June 19, 1869, with these six members : Richard H Saunders, James Craik, Mrs. Barbara •Craik, Mrs. Mary A. Johnson, Mrs. Margaretta A. Balcom and Mrs. Jane C. Dye. Elders: Richard H. Saunders, James Craik and Thompson. Ministers: Dr. Joseph Warren, William B. Minton, H. G. Pollock, William Ellers. None of these resided here saveW. B. Minton. The people were greatly attached to him, and could he have staid the church would undoubtedly have flourished. It has been ^dissolved by act of Presbytery. The Presbytery of Palestine met at Mattoon, April 20, :4 869. ^- ^^- Roberts, from the Presbytery of Kaskaskia, W. W. Williams, from Bureau Presbytery, and R. C. McKinney, from Lake Presbytery, were received. J. E. Lapsley, minis- ter, and William Millar, elder, were chosen to attend the .next Assembly. The name of J. M. Alexander was stricken from the roll. The fall meeting was held at Dudley, September 17, 1869. At a pro re tiata meeting in Kansas, Coles county, S. B. Taggart was dismissed from the pastoral care of that church. William W. Williams was born in Highland county, Ohio, April 17, 1828. His literary education was obtained principally at South Salem, Ohio. He studied theology -with Rev. Samuel Steele, D. D., of Hillsboro, Ohio. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Chillicothe in 1857, and ■ordained by the same at West Union. He labored three years at West Union and Manchester as pastor, residing in the former place. From thence he went to Aledo, 111., where he both preached and taught — his wife assisting him in the school. This was followed by fifteen months' labor in Tus- cola. He next went to Carlyle, Clinton county, where he served as supply pastor for about four years. He removed 662 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. to Hillsboro in June, 1873. Before a year had passed he was called to his last home. He died, January 21, 1874, after an illness of ten weeks. His last audible words were : "I will be so happy." He was married in September, 1856, to Miss Sarah E. Lane, of Hillsboro, Ohio, the place where she was born and where as a widow she now resides. He had four children, all of whom are with their mother. The Presbytery of Sangamon met at Petersburg, April 13, 1869. J, W. Scott was received from the Presbytery of Madison. Noah Bishop was dismissed to the Presbytery of Potosi ; T. M. Oviatt to that of Chicago; W. B. Spence to that of Cincinnati, and John Thomas to that of Blooming- ton. Arrangements were made to install Clark Loudon pas- tor of West Okaw church, April 25 inst. D. J. Strain, min- ister, and T. S. Henning, elder, were chosen to attend the next Assembly. A. B. Frazier, formerly of the Free Synod, was received. J. E. MofTatt, licentiate, was received from the Presbytery of Chicago, examined at an adjourned meet- ing and ordained pastor of the First church of Decatur, June 13. F. H. Wines was released from the pastoral care of the First church of Springfield. The fall meeting was held with Farmington church September 17. G. W. F. Birch was released from the pastoral care of the Third church of Springfield. John H. Harris was received from the Pres- bytery of Chicago. G. W. F. Birch resigned as Stated Clerk of the Presbytery, and J. D, Kerr was appointed in his place. W. W. Harsha was received from the Presbytery of Chicago, and installed on the first Sabbath in November pastor of the Second church of Jacksonville. W. W. Harsha, D. D., was born in West Hebron, Wash-^ ington county, N. Y. He received his academical education in Salem, Washington county, N. Y., and his collegiate at Union College. He studied law, but shortly after entering upon its practice changed his profession and entered the min- istry in connection with the Associate Presbyterian Church. In 1 854 he joined the o. s. branch of the Presbyterian Church, He commenced his ministry in Galena in 1846. His pastoral charges have been Galena and Hanover, Savannah, Dixon,. Chicago and Central church, Jacksonville. He received the EDWARD F. FISH. 663 degree of D. D. from Westminster College, Fulton, Mo. On going to Dixon in 1855 he found a Presbyterial school, known as the "Dixon Collegiate Institute," and acted for some years as^its president. The Presbytery of Alton met at Brighton, April 22, 1869. Edward F. Fish was received from the Presbytery of Columbus, John M. Johnson from the Presbytery of Rock- away, John D. Jones from the St. Louis Association of Con- gregational Ministers. The churches of DuBois, Vera, Sho- bonier and Villa Ridge were received. Geo. I. King, D. D., and James W. Stark, ministers, and David Beatty and Lewis Potter, elders, were appointed Commissioners to the Assem- bly. Wm. M. Stewart, licentiate, was dismissed to the Pres- bytery of Arkansas. The fall session was held at Alton, commencing October 5, 1869. James Scott Davis was received from the Illinois Congregational Association, and Hugh Aiken McKelvey from the Chicago Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church. The license of Carl Linn, originally given for one year only, was not renewed. Andrew Luce was dismissed to the Presbytery of Missouri. Elijah Buck was received from the Kaskaskia Presbytery. An adjourned meeting was held at Alton, December 16, at which Chester S. Armstrong was received from the Presby- tery of Lansing, and installed pastor of the Alton Church. Edward Fowler Fish, born at Monticello, Sullivan county. New York, September 23, 1828. Son of Rev. John B. Fish who was the son of Rev. Peter Fish. Entered the Sophomore class of Hamilton College in 1845. Was con- verted in November, 1846, graduated in 1848, Spent four years in teaching and traveling. Entered Lane Theological Seminary in 1852. Was licensed by the Presbytery of Scioto at Chillicothe, Ohio, April S, 1854. After graduating in 1855, was accepted as a missionary of the A. B. C. F. M. — the field not designated — but returned to Cincinnati and spent another year at the Seminary as Hebrew tutor. A severe sickness in the summer of 1856 rendered it necessary to abandon the intention of going to China. Took charge of a small Home Mission church at Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Was married September, 1856, to Mi3s Anna J. Hinsdale, of 664 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Leroy, N. Y. Ordained by the Presbytery of Iowa City, February 7, 1857. Was taken sick immediately after, and for two months was unable to preach. In consequence of con- tinued ill health left Mt. Vernon in October, and for a year was laid aside from the work of the ministry. In November, 1858, though still feeble in health, took charge of the church of Panama, N. Y. At the end of two years was again com- pelled to relinquish pastoral labor. Went to Ohio and spent the most of the next four years in teaching, part of the time as superintendent of public schools in Lancaster, and part as principal of the preparatory department of Marrietta College. In September, i'S64, went to Wisconsin and preached two years to the New School church of Stevens Point, and the Old School church of Plover. Labored two years at Colum- bus in the same State. In 1868 moved to Carbondale, 111., and took charge of the church there. Became at this time a member of the old Alton Presbytery. At the end of three years became stated supply of the church of Ducoign, and in December, 1872, was installed pastor of the same. This relation continued until April, 1878, when it was terminated in consequence of failing health. He is still an invalid. John Mills Johnson was born at Morristown, N. J., July 27, 1815 Graduated at Princeton College in 1835, and at Union Theological Seminary in 1841. Licensed and or- dained by the Second Presbytery of New York in the Mur- ray street church, October 20, 1841. Supply pastor and pastor at Hanover, N. J., 1841-49. At Morristown, N. J., 1849-55. Pastor at Hanover, N. J., 1855-68. Supply pas- tor Vandalia, III, 1868-72. Pastor at Neoga, 111., 1873, where he still remains. He is now a widower with only himself and daughter in the family. Hugh Aiken McKelvey was born in Chesterville, South Carolina, March 23, 18 18. Graduated at Indiana State University, Bloomington, Ind., 1843. Ordained by Western Presbytery of Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, April 16, 1849. His ancestors were slave-holders up to 1800, when the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States was reorganized upon strictly anti-slavery prin- ciples, and immediately emancipated their slaves. The re- JOHN D. JONES. 665 ■suit was that when the former masters removed — in 1830— to Randolph county, 111., the descendants with three of those •who were freed (one godly old woman brought from Africa, at least one hundred and nine years old when she died) fol- lowed, settled in the same neighborhood and belonged to the same church. He made his profession of religion in Dr. VVylie's church at about the age of eighteen. He settled in the Walnut Hill congregation and remained six and a half years. After giving up his charge from disease, he edited a county paper for one year. He then went to Minnesota, where he resided five years, laboring as a missionary at large for three years of the five. He then, with his wife, received an ap- pointment as teacher among the Freedmen. Early in 1864 he went to Vicksburg and Natchez with eight or nine others, under the superintendency of Joel Burlingame, father of Hon. Anson Burlingame, and, as his assistant, distributed $4,000 worth of clothing to the countrabands. After four months service at the South, he returned on account of the failing health of his wife, who died one year from that time. At the time of his union with Alton Presbytery — October 9, 1869 — he was residing with his second wife in Centralia, III. He is now — 1879 — in Bridgeport, Ct., a member of West- chester Presbytery, John Davies Jones was born at Bala, North Wales, April 27, 1834. His parents were of the Congregational faith, in which he also was brought up. He came to the United -States in boyhood, and soon after his arrival began to pre- pare for college with a view of entering the ministry, to which he had been consecrated by his mother. He received his classical training at Hamilton College, N. Y., and his theological and philosophical at Yale College, New Haven, Ct. He commenced to preach in 1856, and continued to exercise his gifts as an evangelist during all the years of his training. It was his intention originally to go as a mission- ary to China, but the war of the rebellion disarranged his plans, by calling for his services, which he felt bound to loyally render his adopted country in her hour of trial. While serving as a private soldier in the army, he was or- dained June, 1864, by a mixed council at the Chnton Avenue Congregational church, Brooklyn, N. Y., the Rev. Wm. Ives Budington, D. D., the pastor of the church presiding, and the Rev. Joseph P. Thompson, D. D., delivering the sermon 666 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. on the occasion. He was married at Marcy, New York^ April 8, 1859, to Miss Margaret Frances Griffiths, of Utica,. N. Y. He has now Hving four children, viz.: Hamilton Y., born December 19, 1861 ; Adelma F., born November 12, 1864; Sumner Kase, born August 20, 1870, and Laura B., born August 3, 1876. He came to Illinois January 1867, and took charge of the church at Collinsville, which he served over two years, having his labors blessed with one of the most powerful revivals in the history of that community. Afterwards he took charge of the church at East St. Louis, serving it for about three years, completing in the interval and paying for tlie church building commenced by his pre- decessor. On resigning his charge here, he served the church at Winchester, in the Presbytery of Springfield, for a year, and then, after spending a winter South in the service of the Home Mission Board, he accepted a call to the church at Chatham, which he served for upwards of four years, suc- ceeding during his stay there to erect a commodious parson- age as well as to rebuild the church. Since September, 1877, he has been in charge of the church at Brazil, Indiana. James Scott Davis, Born at Winchester, Va., July 2, 1828. Ancestry, on father's side, Welsh and Presbyterian ; on mother's, Scotch-English and Episcopalian. Cavalier and Roundhead. Graduated from Knox College, Illinois, 185 1. From Oberlin Theological Seminary 1854. Li- censed by faculty of Oberlin Theological Seminary in 1854. Ordained 1856 by Church of Christ, worshiping at Glenville, Ky. Field of labor for first five years : North- ern Kentucky, supplying two independent churches. During i860, lectured in Northwest on religious anti-slavery work in Kentucky. From 1861 to 1868 labored with Congrega- tional churches in Southern Illinois. From 1869 to present, with the Presbyterian churches in same portion of the State. Married June 16, 1856, at residence of Mr. John C. Rogers, father of bride, in Pittsfield, Ohio,, to Miss Elizabeth Amelia Rogers, of royal descent. Children — Elizabeth Amelia Rogers, born April 19, 1857; Samuel Hopkins, born October 16, 1859; John Rogers, born May 29, 1862; Almanza Scott, born August 17, 1864; Mary Hamlin, born August 29, 1867 ; Henry Hamlin, born Sept. 12, 1869; George Thompson Brown, born July 4, 1873. Mary C. SOLON' ARMSTRONG. 66/ Hamlin died September 9, 1868. Every Sabbath afternoon- father went over the Westminster Catechism with the family. He could answer any question and ask the next without a book. One result of this is, that I am to-day a Presbyterian. I have three volumes of the " Religious Magazine," ed- ited by my grandfather — Cornelius Davis — in 1796, 1797 and 1799, at New York city. It must be strongly Calvinistic, for the very paper is blue. I am, yearly, stronger in the conviction that our children should be led to Christ at the earliest possible time. C. Solon Armstrong was born in Parishville, N. Y., Sep- tember 4, 1826. His parents were Chester and Eunice Arm- strong, of Addison county, Vt. Their parents were, on the maternal side of each. Baptists; on the paternal side of each Universalists. Chester and Eunice Armstrong became Christ- ians and Congregationalistsin 1826 in Western N. Y. C. A. was a Presbyterian elder the last thirty years of his life in Michigan. C. S. A. became a Christian in very early child- hood, at Ausable Forks, Essex county, N, Y., and was jre- ceived to Congregational Church in Cornwall, Vt., Rev. Dr. Burchard pastor, in 1836. Emigrated with his father's fam- ily to Jackson county, Mich., in 1839. Remained on the farm with his father till 1848 — teaching the last four winters pre- vious to that date. In 1846 entered preparatory department of "Michigan Central College" (now Hillsdale, and which,, in 1876, conferred on him the honorary degree of D. D.) In 1848 entered Freshman in Michigan University. Was gradu- ated in 1852, teaching all the way betimes. Was superin- tendent of public schools in Jackson, Mich., one year fol- lowing. In 1853 entered Union Theological Seminary, under a strong conviction which had come from childhood, but only now consciously accepted, that God was calling him into the ministry. He went against earnest solicitations of friends to remain in the profession of teacher, in which he had achieved a rather flattering success. Revival influences and hopeful conversions had occurred from the first under his teaching. Was graduated at Union Theological Seminary in 1856.. Licensed by Third Presbytery of New York, April of same year. Was superintendent of seamen's missions during the three years for the Brooklyn City Bible and Tract Society. Married, June 4, 1856, Miss Elizabeth D. Camp, of Pal- 668 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. myra, N. Y. Called June 15 to First church of Lansing, Mich. Ordained pastor of the same November 6 of same year, of which Presbytery he was subsequently for six years Stated Clerk. Wife died, February, 1857, leaving an infant daughter, still living. Married Emily Seymour, of Flushing, Mich., October, 1859, by whom he has four daughters and a son — all living. In September, 1864, was called to the chap- laincy of 4th Regiment of Michigan Cavalry United States army. Left the First church, having received to the commun- ion two hundred and thirty-two members. Organized Second church, also the " Cedar Branch chapel," and assisted in or- ganizing four other churches at outlying preaching points. He served one year in the army active campaigning to the end of the war of the rebellion. Returned to Lansing, Mich., and took charge of the Second church till April, 1 869. Church, finished and dedicated, cost ^10,000 — paid for — and has one hundred sixty-five members ; three and a half years pastoral care. Called to the present charge, Presbyterian church of Alton, April, 1869. Has received since three hundred and ten members. Meantime the church has bought parsonage, four thousand dollars ; Mission property, fifteen hundred dollars; expended at home on an average of three thousand dollars, and given to outside benevolences (Boards of churches chiefly) an average of eight hundred dollars. From a very early time he has had an earnest sympathy with evangelistic labor and organizing pioneer enterprises. In view of this tendency he was once commissioned (in 1868), by the Home Board, Secretary of Home Missions for the Synod of Michigan, and has been more recently nominated by his own Synod (Illinois South) to the like position. His efforts, aid- ing brethren and at pioneer points, are believed to have re- sulted in conversions scarcely less in number than those that have occurred under his pastoral efforts. Du Bois Church. This place is on the Illinois Central Railroad, twenty-one miles south of Centralia. Our church here was organized by Revs. A. T. Norton and C. F. Halsey, Sabbath, January 24, 1869, with nine members — Louis Bunce, Mrs. Susan W. Bunce, Mrs. Susan B, Williams, Thomas W. Studderd, Mrs. Hannah A. Lounsbury, Horace Collins, Mrs. Marcella Hale. Elders: Louis Bunce and Thomas W. .Studderd, the first. James C. Lounsbury and Henry Hoi- PRESBYTERY OF SALINE. 669^ brook appointed in 1875. Ministers: C. F. Halsey, John Huston, George W. Ash, J. N. B. Smith, student, from Chi- cago in summer of 1868, A. C Zenos, student from Prince- ton summer of 1869. The church building was erected and dedicated in 1874. It cost two thousand dollars. There have been connected with the church forty-two members. Vera Church was organized by Rev. Joseph Gordon, January 17. 1869, with eleven members. Elders: John M. Russell, Andrew Ray, the first. Since chosen : Jacob C. Luken, William H. Hedges. The church has been reduced hy deaths and removals to eight members. The church num- bered at one time forty-four reliable members. Joseph Gor- don has been their only minister. The places of meeting have been a school house, and in a building erected by the community, but claimed by the Protestant Methodists. Vera is in the N. E. quarter of the S. W. quarter of Sec. 20, T. 7" N., R. I E. Shobonier Church was organized by Rev. Joseph Gor- don, April 14, 1869, with these members: Edwin A. Frye, Mrs. Amanda E. Frye, Samuel Spencer, Mrs. Jane Spencer, John Muir, Mrs. Christiana Muir. Mrs. Catharine Moran, Miss Sarah A. Moran, Alonzo Perry, Mrs. Frances Perry. Elders : John Muir, Edwin A. Frye, the first. Since appointed: Samuel Spencer, July 12, 1874. Ministers: Joseph Gordon, from beginning to spring of 1873; William Ellers, about one year; Joseph Gordon, again in spring of 1874, and still continues — 1879. This church was organized in Mr. Frye's parlor. Shobonier is T. 5, R. I E., Sec. 24, on main line of Illinois Central Railroad. This congregation own no house separately, but have an in- terest of two thousand dollars in the Baptist house and use it freely. Villa Ridge was organized April 4, 1869, by Revs. C. H. Foote and E. B. Olmsted, with six members, Daniel H. Phil- lips, elder. The Presbytery of Saline met at McLeansboro, April 22, 1869. The church of Rome having but one member left was dissolved. S. Cook, minister, and C. S. Conger, elder,, were appointed to attend the next Assembly. •6/0 PRESBYTERIAN ISM IN ILLINOIS. The tall meeting was held with Pisgah church, Lawrence •county, September i6. George K. Perkins was dismissed to the Presbytery of Kaskaskia. Gilgal church was received. GiLGAL Church was organized by Revs. John Huston, G. B. McComb, and Elder John Parkhill, June, 1869, with six- teen members and two elders. One of the two was John McAfoos. His address, Macedonia, 111. Rev. A. C. John- ston has labored here more or less for years. They have a small but neat and convenient church house. The Synod of Illinois, n. s., held their annual meeting at Alton, commencing October 6, 1869. The appeal of James B. Sheldon from the decision of Wabash Presbytery suspend- ing him from the ministry, v.'as sustained. Much time was ■occupied with arrangements in view of the reunion of the New and Old School bodies. The Synod of Illinois, o. s., imet at Springfield, October 14. YEAR 1870. The Presbytery of Illinois met at Jacksonville, April 5, 1870. J. R. Armstrong was dismissed to the Presbytery of 3t. Louis. Geo. C. Wood, minister, and Joel Catlin, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the Assembly. The Presbytery of Kaskaskia met at Pinckneyville, April 7, 1870. Geo. W. Fisher was received from the Presbyter}^ of Steubenville. A. J. Clark, minister, and S. B. Hood, ■elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. An adjourned meeting was held with Waveland church May 12, at which James H. Spilman was ordained pastor of Wave- land church. A second adjourned meeting was held at Sparta, June 15, at which John Hood, licentiate, was received, examined and ordained pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Sparta. The last meeting of Kaskaskia Presby- tery as such was held at Vandalia, July 13, 1870. Geo. W. Fisher was born near Hanover, Harrison county, JAMES H. SPILMAN. 6/1 Ohio, December I2, 1834. His ancestors on the paternal :side were German, on the maternal, Irish. His parents were Armerican born and Presbyterians. He graduated at Frankhn College, Ohio, September, 1858, and at the West- ern Theological Seminary, Allegheny City, April, 1861. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Steubenville, October, i860, in the Presbyterian church of Island Creek, Ohio, and ordained by the same Presbytery at Annapolis, Jefferson county, Ohio, October, 1862. He was married to Miss Mary Jane Gaskill, daughter of Rev. Allen Gaskill, in Port Washington, Ohio, November 13, 1862. Their child- ren are Allen Gaskill, born September i6, 1863; William Har\'ey, September 7, 1866; George Wiley, June 12, 1872, .and James Melville, July 27, 1877. He has had two fields of labor, (i) Evans Creek and Linton in Presby- tery of Steubenville from April, 1861, to December, 1868, (2) Trenton and Sugar Creek, 111., in Alton Presbytery. This field he still occupies, and with great success. James H. Spilman was born January 21, 1840, in Hills- boro, Montgomery county, 111. His father was Rev. Thomas A. Spilman, who as well as his elder brother, Thomas E., has been previously noticed in this volume. He never could give the date of his conversion; but at the age of si.xteen, he united with Union church in Morgan county. In 1864 the family removed to Menard county, where he studied under Prof. D. J. Strain and others. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Kaskaskia at Green- ville, Bond county, April 8, 1869. He immediately took <:harge of Waveland church, Montgomery county, begining there May i, 1869. He was ordained at the spring meeting of the Presbytery, 1870, at Pinckneyville. He ministered to Waveland church for six years, for the last two years divid- ing his time M-ith Elm Point church. May i, 1875, he re- moved ten miles south to Bond county, and took charge of Bethel in connection with Elm Point church. With these two churches his labors are still continued. April 17, 1871, he was united in marriage by his brother, Rev. T. E. Spilman, to Miss Mary R. Hutchinson, a native of Cape •Girardeau county, Mo. Their children are Charles Henry, born June 8,1874, and Lizzie Althine, born October 9, J 877. 6/2 PRESBYTERIANiSM IN ILLINOIS. John Hood was born ia Washington county, 111., November 17, 1S38. His father was Archibald Hood, a native of South Carolina, of Scotch-Irish extraction. He removed to Illi- nois when about the age of thirty, and settled in Washing- ton county. From his boyhood he was set apart by his father for the Christian ministry. He was educated at the State University of Indiana, graduating in 1862. Immediately after leaving college he entered the Union army as first lieutenant of company F., eightieth Illinois in- fantry— Colonel Thomas G. Allen. On the death of Capt. Jones he was promoted to the command of the company.. He participated in the sanguinary battle of Perryville, Ky,, in which both the division and brigade commanders were killed, together with a large number of line officers. He commanded his company in this as in all other engagements until the organization of the celebrated Streight raid in which he participated. The raiders fell into the hands of the notorious Joe. Forrest and his command, who out num- bered them three to one, and on the 3d of May, 1863, made prisoners of the entire band. The privates and non-com- missioned officers were parolled soon after, but the officers, one hundred and three in number, were taken to Rome, At- lanta and Richmond, and kept in close confinement for twenty-two months. Capt. Hood was sent to Libby prison and endured the rigors of that horrible bastile for many^ months. He was afterward sent to Charleston, and was one of the six hundred Union officers who were placed in the line of the fire of the Union batterries on Morris Island, and kept in that perilous condition for twelve hours. During his confinement at Charleston the yellow-fever broke out, and it was resolved to remove the prisoners to Columbia,. South Carolina. While enroute Capt. Hood and Lieut. Goode, of Indiana, resolved to escape from the train while in motion. They made a desperate jump in the dark, and escaped with life though badly hurt. They were able to exchange their blue uniforms for gray by the aid of a. friendly negro. They traveled through South Carolina and Georgia with a view of reaching the Union lines in East Tennessee. When within twenty miles of Atlanta and Chattanooga railroad, they were overhauled by a band of bush-whackers, and again plunged into captivity. He was finally exchanged in March, 1865, after having been for twenty-two months a prisoner. It was while lying in Libby PRESBYTERY OF SANGAMON. 6/3 prison that he experienced the first inward call to the min- istry. In October, 1865, he commenced the study of the- ology in the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary at Allegheny City. He was licensed by the Presbytery of St. Louis in 1869. Having connected with the Presbyterian Church he was ordained over the Sparta church, June 15, 1870. He remained in that charge until 1878 — an eight years pas- torate, marked with very great success. April 25, 1 87 1, he married Miss Mary, daughter of P. B. Gault, Esq., of Randolph county, 111. They have one child, a daughter. Mr. Hood is now laboring successfully in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Wabash Presbytery met at Tolono, April 14, 1870, Wm. B. Paris was received from the Presbytery of Peoria. The church in Unity, Shelby county, was dissolved. T. K. Hedges was dismissed to the Presbytery of St. Louis. G. A. Pollock was released from the care of Prairie Bird church. C. J. Pitkin, minister, and P. Nicholson, elder, were ap- pointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. William B. Paris was born in Ohio county, West Vir- ginia, July II, 1834. Graduated at Washington College and Allegheny Seminary, Pa. After licensure he served the church at Mt. Gilead four years, and then removed to Mar- shall county, in this State, where he labored for two years. Thence he came to Neoga, Cumberland county, 111., and there died, November 5, 1871, being the fourth year of his service in that place. The Presbytery of Palestine met with Hebron church, Ashmore postoffice, April 14, 1870. S. J. Bovell was chosen Stated Clerk. Ellis Howell, minister, and I. J. Monfort, elder, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assembly. W. W. Williams was dismissed to the Presby- tery of Kaskaskia ; J. L. Hawkins to that of Oswego, and J. E. Lapsley to that of Crawfordsville. The Presbytery of Sangamon held a pro re nata meet- ing at Springfield, January ii, 1870, at which James A. Reed was received from the Presbytery of Dubuque. Ar- 42 6/4 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. rangements were made for his installation over the First church in Springfield, on the first Sabbath of February, 1870. The spring meeting was held at Springfield, com- mencing April 19. John Crozier was received from the Presbytery of Oxford, and R. J. L. Matthews dismissed to the Presbytery of New Albany. W. W. Harsha and C. Loudon, ministers, and J. W. Frackelton and H. P. Lyman, elders, were appointed Commissioners to the next Assem- bly. At 2l pro re nata meeting in Bloomington, July 13, the name of the Second church, Jacksonville, was changed to Central. The Presbytery of Alton met at Nokomis, April 14, 1870. David Dimond, D. D., and L. L Root, ministers, and Isaac Scarritt and George E. Warren, elders, were elected Commissioners to the next Assembly. The churches of Dongola and Grand Tower were received — the latter in anticipation of its organization. Provisions were made for an address by Dr. Norton, giving the history of this Pres- bytery at Alton, in October, 1870. At a called meeting in Vandalia, at an interval of the meeting of the re-union Synod of Illinois South, John G. Rankin was received from the Presbytery of Schuyler. Dongola Church, Union county, was organized by A. T. Norton, D. D., and C. F. Halsey, February 23, 1869, with these members : Mrs. Sophronia Jane Leavenworth, Mrs. Susan F. Tew, Mrs. Mary Lombard, and Mrs. Angeline Cal- vin. Elders : Richard A. Bristol, March 10, 1870, Wm. D. Stark, February 2, 1874. Ministers: A. T.Norton and C. F. Halsey, occasionally. Wm. B. Minton, 1873-76; E. L, Davies, 1878. Mrs. S. J. Leavenworth has been from the beginning and still is the leading spirit in this church, though all the little band work nobly. They have an inter- est in one of the two church buildings in the village. The Church of Grand Tower was organized by Revs. A. T. Norton and J. D. Barstow, May i, 1870, with twenty- two members. Elders : Massadore T. Bennett, jr., John Stevens, jr., Abner B. Parmelee, Richard O. Parmelee, Dan Thomas. Ministers : J. B. Barstow, about one year from the CHURCH OF SALINE MINES. 6/5 •organization, and James G. Butler since. Mr. Butler is pas- tor. The present church edifice was built in the fall and win- ter of 1871-72. It cost about four thousand, five hundred dollars. It was dedicated January 28, 1872. James G. Butler pursued part of a collegiate course at Wilhams College, and left in 1862 for the U. S. service. He entered the Theological Seminary at Auburn in 1867, and graduated May 5, 1870. He came immediately to Grand Tower, Jackson county. 111., was ordained October 29, 1870, and the next d^y. Sabbath, installed pastor of that church, where he has remained ever since. He preaches also every Thursday night to a Presbyterian congregation at Mt. Carbon, which he has recently gathered. The people there are ripe for a church organization. There is a fine Sabbath school of over eighty members. The Presbytery of Saline met at Golconda, April 7, 1870. The churches of Saline Mines and Gilead were re- ceived. John Mack was released from the pastoral care of Pisgah church, and Joseph Warren, D. D., from that of Salem. Henry E. Thomas, jr., minister, and J. F. Birks, elder, were chosen Commissioners to the Assembly. Pro- vision was made for the installation of B. C. Swan over Carmi church on Sabbath, June 12, 1870. The Church of Saline Mines, Gallatin county. Novem- ber 12, 1869, the pastor of Shawneetown church, C. C. Hart, and three of the elders, viz., J. M. Peeples, Matthew Hunter and Robert Reid met at Saline Mines fourteen professing Christians. They expressed a desire to be organized into a branch of Shawneetown church. This was done, and the Lord's Supper administered. Meetings were continued daily for two weeks. Afterwards, in January, 1870, for three weeks. God's Spirit was present and additions were made to this branch church until it numbered eighty-three persons. April 2d the pastor was here again and the branch church expressed a desire to become a complete organization, wi'h officers and a name of their own. This was done. Robert Heed and Robert Wright were made elders, and the church 6y6 PRE3BYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. chose the name of Saline Mines. The elders of that church, especially Robert Reid, have, under the sanction of Presby- tery, since that time held regular religious services. GiLEAD Church, in the western part of Lawrence county,, was organized by Rev. S. C. Baldridge, February 13 and 14, 1870, with these eighteen members, viz. : Wm. D. Craig, Mrs. Margaret Craig, Mrs. Naomi Finley, Mrs. Louisa Provines,. Samuel Craig, Loren A. Finley, Mrs. Jane Webber, Thomas A. Humbert, Mrs. Julia Humbert, these from the church of Laurel Hill, Redstone Presbytery, Pa.; Wilhatn E. Doolittle,. Mrs. M. J. Doolitte, William Provines, Mrs, C. Provines, Miss Margaret O. McCormick from the church of Friendsville ;, Mrs. Mary E. Craig, Mrs. Melissa Hillis, Mrs. Jane M. Smalley and Mrs. Elizabeth J. Provines. Elders: William D. Craig and T. M. Humbert. Ministers: S. C. Baldridge,. C. C. Bomberger, and now James Scott Davis. The site of the church building consists of one acre, and was bought for fifteen dollars. It is the S. W. corner of S. W. quarter of Sec. 31, T. 3, R. 13. The building is of wood, twenty-six by forty, a perfect gem of good taste, embosomed in its grove of native trees. It cost fifteen hundred dollars, and was dedicated December 4, 1870; sermon by S. C. Baldridge. Church Erection furnished four hundred dollars. The church includes eleven families, mostly Scotch-Irish. The Church of Auburn, in the south part of Sangamon county, has not been named thus far in this history. I can find in the Presbyterial records no account of its organiza- tion. It was first reported to the Assembly in 1858. It then had twelve members. In 1878 it reported thirty-five mem- bers and H. S. Magill was an elder. Carbondale Church,* Perry county. In November, 1852, the town of Carbondale was laid out upon the line of the Illinois Central Railroad, then first located through said *This church is mentioned briefly on a preceding page. A very complete ac- count, from the pen of Col. D. H. Brush, has been sent me, but at too late a period to find admission in its proper place. I insert here, however, its salient points. CARBONDALE CHURCH. ^JJ county, and in course of construction. The writer of this sketch, with Asgiil Conner and Dr. William Richart, had se- lected the site of the town, of which the original plat was made and acknowledged November 23 in said year. Upon suggestion of the writer — not then a member of any church — four lots were set apart for the use of that number of Christian denominations (one to each), that might first select for a place to build a house of worship, and were designated upon the plat, as "Reserved for Churches" — such lots being, one in each quarter of the town, equi-distant from its center — the public square. The condition annexed to the donation of the lots was entered upon the plat, in the following words : "The lots donated to churches, as marked on this plat, are not to vest in said churches until a house of worship shall be erected thereon, of stone, brick, or frame, worth at least five hundred dollars, and then to vest in fee simple in such church." The first sermon in the place was preached by Rev. Jo- siah Wood, a Presbyterian minister, in December, 1852. He held services in a log cabin erected by Asgiil Conner for a dwelling, but unfinished, having only the logs in place, the roof on and floor laid. Mr. Wood at the same time, acting for and on behalf of the Presbyterian Church, made choice of lot No. 59, being the one in the southwestern quarter of the town, reserved for church purposes. A sub- scription paper was drawn up and circulated, and some money secured for the erection of a " Presbyterian " church building upon said lot. It may here be stated that at the time of laying out the town it was proposed by the writer that the sale of spirituous and intoxicating liquors as a beverage should be forever prohibited upon any and all the lots. The proposition was acceded to by all the others in- terested, and a condition was adopted and entered upon the plat and inserted in the deeds made to parties to whom lots were conveyed, providing that " All the right, title and in- terest of any person whatsoever to any lot in this town on which he, she, or they, shall hereafter sell spirituous liquors, to be used as a beverage, shall then and thereafter be for- feited to and become the property of the inhabitants of the said town for the support of public schools, and to that ex- tent and for that purpose are hereby appropriated." The first sale of the lots in the town was held January 4, 1853. Persons who desired to establish liquor-selling shops were in attendance to purchase, but the announcement that 6/8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. such traffic would not be permitted, and that the provision in- dorsed upon the plat would be rigidly enforced, sufficed to deter tippling-shop keepers from bidding, and relieved the embryo city of their baleful presence then and since, except in a clandestine way. On the 13th of February, 1854, Rev. Josiah Wood, assisted by Rev. Robert Stewart, organized the " First Presbyterian church of Carbondale." The members being Roland R. Brush, Frances E., his wife, Dr. William Richart and Elizabeth, his wife, and Almira Dougherty. Roland R. Brush was elected elder. From this time on, for several years, the infant church had- the varied experiences incident to new churches in the wil- derness, having no regular preaching or place of worship. Occasionally a minister would come and dispense the Word of truth — perchance under a green tree of the forest or in some friendly carpenter's shop, or private room of small dimensions. A house of worship was commenced in 1856 and completed July 12, 1859, after many delays and much struggling to ob- tain needed means to carry on the work. The total amount expended in building and furnishing the church was three thousand, six hundred and forty-two dollars and fifty-two cents, of which sum five hundred dollars had been borrowed from the Church Erection fund, and over two thousand dol- lars were owing to four persons, for money advanced by them to complete the building. At this time the membership of the church was sixteen, of whom ten were females. September 24, 1859, the house of worship was dedicated. December 18, 1859, Daniel H. Brush and Samuel I. Bartlett, were made elders. In 1856 Rev. W. S. Post came and supplied the congre- gation until August, 1862 when he entered the army as chap- lain. He was succeeded for a time by J. Russell Johnson, licentiate. In the spring of 1865, Rev. Andrew Luce took charge and remained for three years. Under the ministry of Mr. Luce the indebtedness of the church — amounting to ^2,643 — was entirely removed. In October, 1868, Rev. E. F. Fish took charge of the church and remained three years. Dr. William Richart and Elder Wm. Storer were removed by death in the fall of 1868, to the great loss of the church. In January, 1872, Rev. John L. Hawkins was employed as supply pastor and still continues. In June, 1870, Col. D. H. Brush resigned the office of ruling elder, which he had held since 1859, and the plan of limited eldership was adopted. Edwin P. Purdy and GREENUP CHURCH. 679 Davis N. Hamilton were elected on that plan, and have been continued by successive re-elections until this present. A Sabbath-school has from the beginning been vigorously maintained. Greenup Church, and Cumberlcounty, was org anized in April, 1867, with emb these mers : Robert Boals, Mrs. Sarah Jane Boals, William Stump, Mrs. Lucy Niswanger, Nehemiah Francher, Mrs. Ella Francher. Robert Boals was made elder. He died October i, 1868. Another elder was Geo. Lewis. Largely through the persevering efforts of Mrs. Boals — now Mrs. ShuU — and Mrs. Niswanger, a good house of worship was erected and dedicated July 23, 1876. The ser- mon on the occasion was preached by the writer. Rev. Geo. F. Davis had labored there to some extent the year before, and largely aided the church enterprise. Philo F. Phelps, a student in theology, was with this people a portion of the time in the summer of 1876, was highly esteemed and very useful. Of the following ministers who have labored in the bounds marked out for this volume and previous to 1870, I have gained no information other than that found in the minutes of the Assemblies and the records of the Pres- byteries and Synods, viz.: John G. Simrall, John S. Reas- oner, Robert Rutherford, Andrew L. Pennoyer, Benj. B. Brown, John A. Steele, Bilious Pond, William A. Smith, Alanson Alvord, C. D. Martin, Thomas M. Newell, Andrew A. Morrison, C. P. Jennings, Tracy M. Oviatt, John Elliott, John Mack, Nathan F. Tuck, William M. Taylor, John Fox, David C. Marquis, William G. Thomas, R. G. Williams, James R. Brown, Solomon Cook, B. E. Mayo, Henry E. Thomas, John C. Wagaman, John Miller, Charles Coffin Hart, Geo. Eraser, William K. Powers, Robert C. McKinney, Abram B. Eraser, James A. Reed, William A. Hendrickson, A. S. Foster. Most of these are living and some near at hand. To all these letters have been addressed, once, twice and sometimes oftener, In case of the deceased, friends have been addressed In vain. CHAPTER XIX. BRIEF SKETCHES. OF THE MINISTERS WHO HAVE COMMENCED THEIR LABORS WITHIN THE LIMITS THIS BOOK EMBRACES SINCE 1870, AND WHO ARE SUBSCRIBERS THEREFOR. Note. — It was my original intention to have brought forward this history to 1876. Space forbids. Since the happy re-union of 1870, I shall say nothing of meetings of Synods, or Presbyteries, or of individual churches. Still something is due to those ministerial friends of this re-union period who are helping the un- dertaking "with the sinews of war." But I have cat down terribly NiNiAN Steele Dickey was born at Lexington, Scott county, Ind., November 24, 1822. His father. Rev. John McElroy Dickey, was the son of David Dickey and Marga- ret Stephenson, his second wife. He was born December 16, 1789, and was of Scotch-Irish descent. His ancestors emigrated to South Carolina from Ireland some time pre- vious to the war of the Revolution, and many of them were soldiers in that war — all of them on the side of Independ- ence and liberty. Ninian Steele was the second son of Rev. John McElroy Dickey by his second wife, Mar- garet Osburn Steele. He became a communicant in the church before he was twelve years of age. At the age of nineteen he entered upon a course of preparation for the ministry. He graduated at Wabash College in 1848, having worked his way through by the most untiring industry. His theological course was taken at Lane Seminary. He was licensed by Cincinnati Presbytery in the spring of 1850, and spent the summer ensuing in laboring with his father's old charge — Pisgah church — New Washington, Ind. He re- ceived a unanimous call to become their pastor, which he ac- cepted and was ordained as such in the winter of 1 85 1. This pastoral relation continued for three years. June 8, 1852, he married Mary Jane Davis, daughter of Solomon Davis, M. D,, of Columbus, Ind. Five sons and two daughters are the fruit of this union. Two sons died in early life. The rest survive. The eldest has for some years been cashier of Cumberland county bank at Neoga, 111. The second son is a student in Wabash College. The three sons JOHN W. BAILEY. 68 I are professors of religion. The youngest and the two daugh- ters are at home with their parents. Mrs. Dickey is a woman of culture, piety and unusual social qualities. Mr. Dickey labored at Columbus, Ind., from June, 1853, to December, 1870. January i, 1871, he took charge of the First Presbyterian church, Mattoon, 111., and continued until the First and Second churches were united. He then went to Neoga, 111., where he remained four years. His next field was Greenville, Bond county. November, 1876, he ac- ■cepted a call to the church of Mendota, La Salle county, III., where he remained fourteen months. January i, 1878, he commenced at Hillsboro, 111., and there he still remains. In each of these Illinois fields his labors have been largely blessed. John William Bailey was born, March 26, 1822, in Marl- boro county, N. Y. On the paternal side he is descended from the Huguenots — on the maternal, from Rev. Thomas Hooker, D. D., formerly of Hartford, Ct. He received a careful religious training and dates his religious life from his earliest years. He studied law for two years in New York city, but preferring the work of the ministry he entered upon a course of thorough preparation. He graduated at Wil- liams College in 1849, and at Union Seminary in 1852. The same year he was licensed and received a call to the Second Presbyterian church in Galesburg, 111. He remained in that city nearly twelve years, being most of the time professor in Knox College. In the spring of 1864 he accepted a call from the First Presbyterian church in Bloomington, where he remained nearly three years. In 1867 he was appointed Pro- fessor of Theology in Blackburn Seminary, and soon after President of the University. He remained in connection with that institution about ten years. October 25, 1878, he was installed pastor of the Sparta Presbyterian church, where he still remains. March 10, 185 1, he married ]\Iiss Calfernia S., daughter of Harvey White, Esq., of Ver- mont. They have had five children, three sons and two daughters, viz.: John W., Frank, Christopher Rober, Grace and Minnie. The third son was instantly killed by being thrown from a railroad car. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him in 1869 by his Alma Mater. Dr. Bailey is a perfect gentleman, a finished scholar and one •of the ablest preachers in the land. His present congrega- 682 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. tion is the largest, save one in the Synod, and is composed in great part of Scotchmen who appreciate sound evangehcal truth, are nauseated with trash and despise cant. Alfred W. Wright was born at Shepherdstown, Va., December i8, 1841. His ancestors on the father's side were EngHsh and connected with the Friends, or Quakers — on his mother's side they were Dutch and identified with the German Reformed Church. His parents settled in Illinois in 1844, where they both united with the Presbyterian Church, o. s. His father has for many years been a ruling elder. Mr. Wright served in the army during the entire war of the rebellion. He was licensed by the Metho- dist Conference, June, 1864, and ordained in S-ptember, 1867. He united with Alton Presbytery in April, 1872. He has labored since, and with good acceptance and success, principally in Randolph county, at Rockvvood, Cave Spring, Shiloh Hill, Blair, Plum Creek and Coulterville churches. Also with Yankeetown church in Monroe county. He was married, April 10, 1866, at Pleasant Ridge, Randolph county, to Miss Mary Jane Mann, daughter of Judge John Mann. They have four living children with them and two in heaven. The living on earth are Albina May, Hattie Ann, Charles Luther and Alfred Clinton. The two departed ones were boys and died in infancy. Mr. Wright is now — 1879 — serving ''Mine La Motte church," in Mo. William H. Ilsley was born in Montgomery county, 111., April 25, 1844. On his father's side he is descended from William Ilsley, who was born in Newbury, England, in 1608, and came to this country in 1634. He is English also on his mother's side. He graduated at Blackburn University in 1873. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Alton, April 12, 1873. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Platte in St. Joseph, Mo., October 8, 1873. His fields of labor have been North church, St. Joseph, Mo., and at Hopkins, Nodo- way county, where he still remains. He married Miss Sarah E. Robb, in Montgomery county, March 12, 1865. Their children are these: Addie C, Carrie L. and Frederick S. Mrs. Ilsley died of consumption, September 29, 1870. His second marriage was with Helen GEORGE F. DAVIS. 683 H. Smith in St. Louis, October 21, 1873. From this mar- riage there have been two children, Mary L. and Harry E. Mary L. died February 19, 1877. William Hazlett Prestley was born in Pittsburg, Pa, He is of Scotch-Irish descent. He was educated at Western Pennsylvania University, Pittsburg, Pa., at Woodward Col- lege, Cincinnati, and at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he graduated in 1852. Studied theology under Rev» Joseph Claybaugh, D. D. Was licensed by the First Pres bytery of Ohio, in connection with the Associate Reformed Church in April, 1854, Ordained by the Ass. Ref. Presb., of Big Spring, 1855, while supplying the church at Potts- ville, Pa. Installed pastor of the Ass. Ref. Presb. church at Chillicothe, November, 1856. In 1869 with this church he united with the Presbytery of Chillicothe, o. s. In Febru- ary, 1876, he demitted this charge to accept a call to the First church, Tuscola, 111. In September, 1876, he accepted a call to the First church, Decatur, 111., where he still re- mains. In 1857 he married Miss A. J. Burgoyne, eldest daughter of Judge John Burgoyne, of Cincinnati, They have four children, one daughter and three sons. George F. Davis was born in Philadelphia, March ii,. 1823. His ancestors on his father's side were Welch, and Protestant, on his mother's Irish and Catholic. They were both natives of this country and neither of them religious. He was educated at the Mission Institute, Quincy, 111, — having studied there from 1841 to 1847. His theological course was taken at Lane Seminary, 1847-50. He was licensed by Cincinnati Presbytery in 1849, at the close of his second year in the Seminary. Was ordained by Schuyler Presbytery, n. s., April, 185 1. His first regular service was as an itinerating missionary in the bounds of Schuyler Pres- bytery. Next at Mt. Pleasant, Brown county. He was in- stalled pastor of Newtown church in 1853, but returned to Mt. Pleasant in 1855, and remained there until the close of 1867. January i, 186S, he took charge of LaGrange and New Providence churches, Missouri, and remained until 1872,. His labors in Missouri were by no means confined to these two churches, but were various and effective in several other '684 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. places. In the beginning of 1872 Mr. Davis procured the organization of a church at Casey, Clark county, 111., re- moved there in March, 1872, and remained until 1876, labor- ing also more or less with Pleasant Prairie, Greenup, and New Hope churches. In 1876 he removed to Marshall, county seat of Clark county, and took charge of that. Wal- nut Prairie and York churches. He still remains at Mar- shall. June 12, 1853, he married Miss Sarah Elizabeth Moore — near Rushville, 111., — daughter of John and Elizabeth Moore. She has proved herself a true help- mate, though suffering greatly from ill health. They have had two children — sons — both of whom died in infancy, and are buried at Mt. Pleasant. All through his ministry Mr. Davis' salary, raised by the feeble churches he served, has 'been supplemented by the Fourth church of Washington, District of Columbia. Ferdinand G. Strange was born near Summerville. Chat- tooga county, Ga., September 28, 1848. His great great grandfather came from England and settled near Columbia, S. C. His childhood and early youth were spent in East Tennessee, but he removed to Bond county, 111., in 1866. His ancestors came from England about 1740, and settled in South Carolina where his father was reared. His parents early united with the Presbyterian church, and are now mem- bers of Wilbur Presbyterian Church, Douglas county, Oregon, whither they emigrated in 1871. He was educated at Black- burn University, Illinois, and at Lane Seminary. He was licensed April ii, 1874, by Alton Presbytery. In August. 1874, he took charge of Carlyle and New Amity churches, and was installed their pastor November 15, 1874. The New Amity church was dissolved April, 1875, and its members •transferred to Carlyle. His pastoral relation continued until April, 1877. October 16, 1877, he was installed pastor of Union and King City churches, Missouri, by a commission •of Platte Presbytery, and is still in the same field. He was married June 15, 1871, at Cottonwood Grove, Bond county, 111., to Miss Sarah A. Robinson, third daughter of J. W. Robinson, one of the first members and still a rul- ing elder of the Bethel church. Sarah joined this church at the age of fourteen, lived a beautiful Christian life, was a most respectful and affectionate child and devoted wife, pos- sessing an amiable, lovely character. She helped her hus- ADAM C. JOHNSON. 685-, band strugprle through the greater part of his education and into the ministry, enduring feeble health all the while. She died February 14, 1876, exchanging the cross which she had faithfully borne through the bloom of youth into the prime of womanhood for the crown given by that Jesus to whom, during her last hours she commended her spirit. She left two little boys, Pliny Robinson, born February 24, 1873, and Henry Anderson, born February 2, 1876. Mr. Strange was married the second time, November 7, 1877, in the Presbyterian church at King City, Mo., to Miss Sarah Naomi Van Derveer, a descendent of a New Jersey Dutch Reformed family — a young lady of culture, talent and piety,. a successful teacher for several years, and the third daughter of Capt. J. S. Van Deveer, an alumnus of West Point. As a fruit of this marriage a third son, Ferdinand Alexander, was born September 24, 1878. Adam C. Johnson was born near Princeton, Ky., June 28^ 1832. His father John Johnson, was a Methodist minister of some note, and died in 1858, at Mt. Vernon, 111., where he settled in 1834. His mother was a native of South Caro- lina, of Quaker family, and is still living, aged 84. A. C. was educated first at Mt. Vernon, but finished his studies for the medical profession in Kentucky. Was licensed to preach in Methodist Episcopal church at Mt. Vernon in 1858, Re- moved to Kentucky in 1859. Was ordained at Russellville, Ky., in 1865. Returned to Mt. Vernon, 111,, in 1871, still practising medicine though preaching occasionally. Was admitted a member of Cairo Presbytery at their fall session in 1874. Supplied Mt. Vernon church from October, 1874, to April, 1876. Since then has been engaged in missionary work in Jefferson county. He was married Jan- uary I, 1862, to Miss M. A. Sweeny, of Irish Catholic parent- age, at Dycasburg, Ky. They have four children, Susan, John, Annie and Edwin. He accumulated much property in Kentucky. Had a stock farm of eight hundred acres. Lost it all by speculation. Returned to Illinois with fifty-three dollars. The Lord has blessed him and he again owns a comfortable home. Alvan R. Mathes — Auto-biographical — I am the son of the Rev. A. A. Mathes. I was born in Washington county,. 686 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. East Tennessee, on the 4th of July, 1839. I am of Scotch- Irish extraction. Following the movements of Providence, they came to this Western land while its govern- ment was yet in its cradle. Landing in the Carolinas they began life anew, lending their aid to the rearing of the young child among the nations. The progeny succeed- ing, spread Northward and Westward. As the ancestry has been in the direct line of the Scot, giving what- ever peculiarity belonged thereto, so the religious belief of the Scottish Presbyterian has descended as our inheri- tance. It has ever been that beautiful, consistent, God hon- oring, man saving, Pauline system, commonly known as *' Calvinistic." My course of college training was begun at "Westminster College," Fulton, Mo. The civil war of 1 861, coming on as I was completing my Fresh- man year, caused a suspension of that institution. In the fall of 186 1, I was admitted to the Sophomore class in " Hanover College," Indiana, where I graduated in the spring of 1864. In the following October I entered " The Theological Seminary of the Northwest " at Chicago. Com- pleting the three years course, I graduated, April, 1867. The reason I must give for my entering the ministry ought to be called an ordinary one, but perhaps is not. I was brought up by my parents for it, and God honored the training. My father was a hard-working, self-sacrificing missionary, much of his time absent from his family, but he did not forget his duty to his family and his God. His work was grandly supplemented by my godly mother, who entered into it as a Hannah. The recitation of the Shorter Catechism was our Sabbath even- ing's employment, which in my recollection never failed. I was licensed at the end of my second year in the semin- ary by the Old " Fairfield Presbytery," Iowa, at the Salina church, April, 1866. Under the direction of Presbytery I spent the following summer as supply for the Batavia and Salina churches, returning in the fall to the seminary to com- plete my course. In the spring of 1867 the Pres- bytery of Cedar, Iowa, put into my hands a call from the Milton Junction Presbyterian church to become their pastor, which I accepted. I was duly ordained pastor July, 1867. In 1872 I received a call from the Presbyterian church at Shawneetown, 111., Cairo Presbytery, where I was installed in the month of December. I continued here until Jul}--, JOHN E. CARSON. 68/ 1875, when I removed to Farmington, 111., Peoria Presbytery. I hold a call from this church, but have not been installed. I was married to Miss Alice M. Dinwiddle, of Hanover, Ind., at Evansville. Ind., April 10, 1867. She was born at Hanover, Ind., March 14, 1843, daughter of Alexander Din- widdle and Nancy, his wife. " The Lord setteth the solitary in families." To us he has given as ** olive plants " about our table three children — Adah Myra, Archie Dinwiddle and Lilly. John Elder Carson was born in Beaver (now Lawrence •county). Pa., September 21, 18 19. His parents were of Scotch-Irish descent ; his father a Presbyterian and his mother a Seceder, His earl}^ life was spent on a farm until his twentieth year, at which time he entered Darlington Academy, where, with intervals of teaching, he spent three years. March 21, 1844, he was married to Miss Mary FuUerton, of Columbiana county, Ohio. In the spring of 1845 he entered Washington College, Pa., and graduated in September, 1846. He immediately took charge of Poland Academy and continued two years. During this time he .also studied theology and church history privately with the pastor of the church of Poland. In September, 1849, he entered the Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny, where he remained two sessions, completing the course. He was licensed in February, 1850, by the Presbytery of New Lisbon. He was ordained pastor of Apple Creek church, Wayne county, Ohio, November 12, 1850, by the Presbytery of Coshocton. His subsequent fields have all been in Ohio •until 1877, when he took charge of Palestine, Robinson and Beckwith Prairie churches in Crawford county, 111. Here he remained until sometime in 1879. He has five children — four sons and one daughter. John McCurdy Robinson, son of James P. and Lucinda McCurdy Robinson, was born in Center Township, Guern- sey county, Ohio, March 20, 1844. His ancestors were Penn- sylvania Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. He emigrated with his father's family to Richland county, III., in the autumn of 1858. He prepared for college under the tuition of David Smith, and entered the Freshman class in Western Reserve College, September, 1S66, completing his course at Miami 6S8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. University, 1870. His theological training was chiefly had at Danville, Ky., but the senior year was spent at the West- ern Theological Seminary. His first thought of studying for the ministry was awakened by his mother's conversations with him when a child. He cannot recollect a time when it was not before his mind as the work to which God was call- ing him. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Cairo at Shawneetown, 111., April, 1871, and during that and the suc- ceeding summer vacation labored with the churches of Rich- land and Hermon, Richland county, 111. Receiving a call from the churches .of Georgetown and Fairfield, in Mercer county, Presbytery of Erie, Pa., he settled there in April, 1873, and was ordained May 28. This relation continued five years, and was dissolved by the Presbytery in April, 1878, when he accepted an invitation to settle at Shawnee- town, 111., where he took charge of the work the first of June and was installed pastor Thursday, November 14, 1878. He was married to Miss Lizzie Tweed, of Georgetown,. Ohio, October i, 1873. Two children were born to them in the Pennsylvania parsonage — Mary Evangeline, July 11,. 1874; Lucy Rebecca, July 17, 1877. The Presbyterian church at Shawneetown, over which Mr. Robinson is now pas- tor, is where he was first taken under the care of Presbytery, and where he was afterward licensed. Samuel Mills Morton. I was born, April 20, 1840, in Perry, Lawrence county, Pa. My father, William Morton,. was born near Inniskillen, in the County Fermanagh, Ire- land, of English ancestry, August i, 1784. His father's family emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1789. He was a man. of sound judgment and deep convictions; was a farmer, a justice of the peace, a member of the State Legislature for three terms, and for many years an elder in the O. S. Presby- terian church of Slippery Rock, He died July 3, 185 1. My mother, Hannah Slemmons Morton, was born in West- moreland county, Pa., March 10, 1796. She was a devoted Christian, and consecrated me, the child of her old age, to- the service of God from the womb. The answer to her prayers constituted my call to the ministry, I think. She died December 25, 1865. My education was ob- tained (l) in the district school of my native place; (2) one year in the public high school, St. Louis, Mo. ; (3) the Frcsl - ROBERT RUDD. 689 man and Sophomore years in the Washington University, St. Louis; (4) the junior and senior years in Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pa., where I graduated with the first honor of my class in 1864. I studied theology in«the Western Theo- logical Seminary at Alleghany, Pa., graduating in 1867. I was licensed to preach by the O. S. Presbytery of Beaver, Pa., in May, 1866, and was ordained by the N. S. Presbytery of St. Louis, INIarch 22, 1868. My first charge was the North Presbyterian church of St. Louis, where I labored from No- vember I, 1867, until April 15, 1871. My second charge was the Presbyterian church of Urbana, 111., where I labored three years, from November i, 1871, until October, 1874. I took charge of the Westminster Presbyterian church of Jacksonville, 111., at the time I left Urbana, October i, 1874, and have since remained in this field, with every prospect of continued usefulness and happiness in my work. In all these fields I have been regularly installed as pastor; have had uniformly pleasant relations with my people, with almost constant accessions to the church. During my labors in St. Louis the membership of the church increased from one hun- dred and forty to two hundred and eighteen ; in Urbana, from seventy to one hundred and forty-five, and here in Jackson- ville, from one hundred and forty to two hundred, I was married, October 2, 1857, to Miss Julia A. Allen, daughter of Nathan D. and Caroline Adams Allen, of Web- ster Groves, St. Louis county, Mo. We have three sons — Edward Payson, born September 25, 1869; Charles Web- ster, born April 5, 1875, and Dwight Frame, born December 13, 1876. I had to depend almost entirely upon my own exertions in obtaining my education, working my way by teaching. I hold the orthodox New School type of theology, holding and preaching the truth in love. I have always been an earnest advocate of total abstinence and prohibition of the liquor traffic. I speak partly from notes and partly extempore. Samuel Mills Morton. Robert Rudd. I am a native of Appleby, Westmoreland, England. Born June 10, 1812. Parents Episco- palian. Educated partly in connection with the Episcopal- ians and partly with the Congregationalists. In 1830 I be- came a member of a Congregationalist family and com- 43 690 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. menced attending the Congregational Cliurch, Bradford, Yorkshire, forming a new class of associates, becoming in- terested in Sabbath school work and attending the private classes of Rev. T. R. Taylor for Scripture study and general instruction. Being led to see it to be my duty to consecrate myself to Christ's service and to unite myself with His peo- ple, I became a member of the Congregational Church, Brad- ford, Yorkshire, on the 1st of August, 1834. In the course of my early religious career I was greatly encouraged by my pastor and friends to turn my attention to the ministry. -After pursuing a course of preparatory study and attending the theological lectures of Rev. Wal- ter Scott, I became a co-pastor of the Congregational Church Wibsey, near Bradford, where I labored from 1845 to 1855, when I left England for America. On arriv- in America in September, 1855, I preached the first time in the Congregational church, Kankakee, Kankakee county, 111. I was then directed to Elmwood, Peoria county, 111., where the Congregationalists were building a new church and wished for a supply for the winter months. I was there from December, 1855, to April, 1856. I then accepted an invita- tion to Knoxville, Knox county, was there three years. Next at Wethersfield, Henry county, 111., one year. Thence to Oswego, Kendall county, 111., three years. Then at New- ark, Kendall county. 111., three years. On leaving Newark I was called to the Presbyterian church, Oswego, and labored in that field two years. Removed in 1868 to the Presbyte- rian church, Wiiliamsville, Sangamon county, three years. Thence to Taylorville, Christian county, eighteen months. Thence to Upper Alton, two years, and now nearly five years at Tamaroa. Married twice, first, October 25, 1842, to Miss Ann Ackroyd, Bradford, Yorkshire, England, died at Newark, January 10, 1865; second, to Mrs. Sophia C. Holmes, St. Louis, Mo., my present companion, January 16, 1 87 1. No children. I was very early in life deprived of my parents, and as early experienced the provi- dential care of that good Being, who is and ever has been the father of the fatherless. " Ebenezer, hitherto hath the Lord helped me." Robert Rudd. Simon C. Head was born in Rob Roy, Fountain county, lad., November 2, 1S45, and was next to the y jungest child SIMON C. HEAD. 69I and the only one now living of a family of ten children. Truxton Head and Mary Head, his parents, were of Ameri- can birth and of English Puritan extraction, and were from early life members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. S. C. Head was received into the Methodist Episcopal Church when in his eighteenth year. He received a liberal educa- tion, graduating at the Battle Ground Collegiate Institute, with class of 1869. After serving a short term in the Union army of the war of 1861-65, he attended and graduated at the Purdy Commercial College, of LaFayette, Ind. In 1870, went to Nebraska. He there received a local preacher's li- cense, September 23, 1871. He then took charge of the South Bend mission on the Platte river. Here he labored for some months and then returned to Indiana. At a quarterly Con- ference, August 27, 1872, his license was renewed, and after some weeks he was admitted on probation into the " travel- ing connection " in the Northwest Indiana Conference, His first appointment was Aydelotte circuit. At the conference the following year he was appointed to Brazil Mission in the coal fields of Clay county, Ind. The year following he was ordained deacon by Bishop Wiley, and appointed preacher on Sanford circuit, Vigo county. This year he was married to Miss Belle Spears of Terre Haute, Ind., and in the succeed- ing year was appointed preacher for Harveysburg. January ,17, 1-876, Charles Ernest was born. A second son, Frank, was born at Grandview, Illinois, January 16, 1878. At the Conference of 1877, ^^- Head was removed to Rochester •circuit, on which — as also in all the preceding fields of his labor — his work was graciously owned of the Lord, and this too in despite of many hinderances both to pastor and peo- ple that necessarily attend Christian work under the Metho- dist itinerant plan. Being dissatisfied with the form of gov- ernment of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mr. Head took from his conference a certificate of location, and in October, 1877, was admitted to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church by Logansport Presbytery. January i, 1878, he ac- cepted a call as supply pastor of the Grandview and Dudley churches, in Edgar county, Illinois. Adam W, Ringland was born October 8. 1849, at Amity, Washington county. Pa. His ancestors were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. His collegiate education was at Danville, 692 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Ky., his theological at Chicago. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Iowa in 1874, and ordained by that of Dubu- que, 1876. His fields of labor have been First church in Du- buque, Tuscola, and Bemeiat, 111. He is still at the last place. He was married April 29, 1875, to Miss Elena H. Potter at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. They have one child — a daughter — Mamie Gary, born March 9, 1876. He experi- enced great financial embarrassment during his entire course. His entire outfit was one hundred and eighty-five dollars at the beginning. His outfit at the close eight hundred dollars. on the other side of the equation. William E. Lincoln was born September 8, 1831, at Lon- don, England. He says: " We reckon a translator of King James' Bible, a leech at the field of Naseby, a farrier in Cromwell's Ironsides, and Gen. Lincoln of the American Revolution as of the family. They were mostly Episcopa- lian in belief." He was educated at University College, London, Oberlin, Ohio, and Hartford Seminary, Gt. He was licensed at Hartford, Gt., and ordained at Hope, O.,, in 1866. He has labored in Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois.. He is laboring at present with West Okaw church, Prairie Home, postoffice. 111. He married Louise Marshall, niece of H. Cowles, D. D., the commentator, at Painesville, O., in 1865. They have five children, two sons and three daugh- ters. He says : "The slaves condition moved my heart. Before the war I preached for some years as an abolitionist. Was at times in danger. Have been shot at. Have been imprisoned for rescuing a slave from U. S. Marshall Four armed U. S. officers with two aids held the slave in an upper room. J. G. W. Gowles, after a parley with them, came to me and said, ' If anything is done to save the slave you must do it.' A call for volunteers was made. E. G. Sackett, afterwards killed at Winchester, Va., and Lyman, one of John Brown's men, and two colored men, who afterwards fell at Harper's Ferry, volunteed. On order the five made a rush through the guarded door, then up-stairs. A door was-, opened by force — the slave rushed through and was free. Arms were plentiful, but not a shot was fired. Imprisonment of those directly and indirectly engaged followed. Being law abiding we patiently suffered the penalties, yet our con- sciences compelled us to deliver our brother from the blood hounds." HARLAN P. CARSON. 693 David Williams Evans was born at Caermarnthe Castle, in the city of Caermarthen, South Wales, September 21, 1838. He comes of an ancient liberty-loving race, a people, in their principles, eminently Puritan, in their habits of •thought, purely Calvinistic. His parents, accompanied by their children, emigrated to this State during his early child- hood and settled at Rock Island, where all united, by letter, with the Presbyterian Church. After a short attendance upon the schools of the city, his purpose of studying for the ministry, a purpose cherished in his heart from the earliest years, took shape under the direction of the Rev. Aratus Kent, of Galena, whose praise was in all the churches as the efficient agent of Home Missions. Then followed those years of study at the Galena Classical Institute and at Beloit •College, culminating in his graduation with the class of 1862. Four years later the course of theological studies was completed at Union Theological Seminary. About the same time his Alma Mater bestowed on him the degree of Master of Arts. Upon the completion of his stud- ies, Mr. Evans was licensed by the Third Presbytery of New York, and soon afterwards, in the Spring Street Presbyte- rian church of the city, was ordained as an evangelist. Com- ing West, he was invited to supply the First church of Ga- lena for a season Here he began his studies for the minis- try, and here, after the lapse of ten years, he began his labor in that ministry into which he had toiled through that de- cade. He was married at Galena in April of 1868 by the Revs. Kent and McLean to Miss Eliza Titcombe Spare, then the principal of a young ladies seminary at War- ren, 111. The}^ have four noble children, the joy and comfort of their parents. Harlan Page Carson was born, January 3, 1845, o^ ^ farm in Macoupin county. 111., of Scotch-Irish ancestr\' on his father's side, and Dutch descent on his mother's. His father, James M. Carson, was a ruling elder in the Spring Cove church years before his birth, and has continued active in the office ever since. He is also nephew of Gideon Black- burn, D. D., founder of Blackburn University. His rsother, Eliza J. Gulick, previous to marriage, was identified with the Dutch Reform Church. It was /ler spiritual mindedness and consecration impressed upon him in early childhood and fol- 694 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. lowed up by the prayerful and faithful training of his father after she had gone to glory, that led his mind in the direc- tion of the gospel ministry. The expressed wish of a sainted mother, and a grandmother who named him, intensified and wrought out by the Holy Ghost, constituted, as he believes,, his call to the gospel ministry. His education was obtained at Blackburn University, where he helped to form the first graduating class, and graduated in the classical and theological course June, 1870. The following Septem- ber he was licensed by the Presbytery of Alton, in session in Alton, and on July' 21, 1872, he was ordained pastor of the Hardin church. He remained pastor of that church until April, 1879, when, the pastoral relation having been dissolved at his own request, he went to take charge of the Taylor- ville church, Mattoon Presbytery. He was mar- ried to Elizabeth Holliday, October 8, 1873, daughter of A. D. Holliday, near Virden, and has two children — Rollin Gul- ick, born September 15, 1874, and Elizabeth, born January 3, 1877- Lyman Marshall, A. M., was born in Weare, N. H., June 20, 1823. Is one of the eldest — a twin^ — of a family of eight sons and one daughter. His father, Moody Marshall, is of Scotch and English, and his mother, Sarah Beard, of Scotch and Irish extraction; the latter of the Londonderry (Presby- terian) colony. His earliest recollections of home are of reading and committing to memory the Word of God, and of the family altar. The eight brothers all served on their father's farm till they were about twenty years of age, at- tending school and teaching in the winters. Four of them, including the twins, (of the class of 1850,) graduated from Dartmouth College with honor, earning the means by their own labor. Seven are now living. Three are ministers of the gospel, one a respectable lawyer in New York City, the rest are farmers well to do. All have been married, and all with their wives and elder children are active members of Evan- gelical churches. This is not strange. Their father's lioiise- hold kept Holyday at the house of God, three miles away. Their "training up the aisle " to their pew, following one or both parents, usually in the order of their ages, is proverbial in their native town to this day. After graduating, Lyman taught school three years, in the meantime pursuing the study of the law, for which he had the most ardent love,. LYMAN MARSHALL. 695 with the strongest desire and incHnation to make its practice his life vocation. After much effort to banish convictions of duty, he at length yielded to the persistent admonition of the last words of his paternal grandfather, Jonathan Marshall, who, on his death bed, with his hands on the heads of his two little grandsons, then not six years old, said, " I hope my little grandsons will be like David and Jonathan as brothers attached to each other, and both be good ministers.'' The desire was granted; and here the subject of this sketch would have it recorded of his own experience, to the glory of God, that the compensations of the Divine Being are wonderful. It was a " happy day " that he yielded to the voice of his God. " From that hour he would rather be the humblest of His ministers to preach the glorious gospel of Christ, then to be the tallest lawyer on the earth." He studied theology at Andover, Mass., completing two full years in the class of 1856. He was licensed in October, 1855, by the Derry Association of Congregational and Presbyterian Ministers. Was elected city mission- ary of Manchester, N. H., in March, 1856, and or- dained as an evangelist and stated pastor of the Christian Mission (Third Congregational) church in October of same year. His four years pastorate here won him the friendship and esteem of all classes, as was touchingly testified by one of the largest surprise parties — 4,000 people — ever visiting a minister in New England at one time. Resigning this charge he was immediately called to Greenfield, one of the most pleasant villages and rural parishes in New Hampshire. After a successful pastorate of four years, he accepted an in- vitation to the church in Harrisville, twelve miles distant. He served this church two years, when in the summer of 1866, he was called to the New School Presbyterian church of Traverse de Sioux, (Saint Peter) Minnesota. Nearly four busy, pleasant years were spent here. In May, 1870, he received a call to the Presbyterian church of Lebanon, 111. Commenced labors there the 19th of June, and in December 21, 1871, was installed pastor, which relation still continues. November 25, 185 1, he married Eliza Wingate, daughter of Dr. Stephen Wingate, M. D., of Great Falls, N. H. They have two sons, Frank Lyman, born March 3, 1853, and Ira Waldron, born May 3, 1857, Both sons are members of the Presbyterian Church. The elder is married, and has a little daughter 696 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. which, at her birth, had ten (10) Hving grand parents, 1. e., all the four grand and six of the great grand parents. (Ex. 20: 12; and Psalm 103:17 and 128:6, and then the whole of it.) His entire r_anistry has been pleasant, always with the confi- dence and love of his people, with several seasons of religi- ous awakening, and a few special ingatherings. He has en- joyed the esteem of his brethren in the ministry, and a fair share of the appointments and honors. It is justly due Mr. M. to say, that his beloved wife has been a faithful helper in all his labors. R. J. L. Matthews was born in Floyd county, Ind., April 21,1832. Ancestry Scotch-Irish. He was mainly brought up at New Albany, Ind. Attended the collegiate institute at that place, and graduated at Hanover College in 1855. He was licensed by the Presbytery of New Albany, Ind., hav- ing studied theology at the seminary at New Albany. In the fall of i860 he was ordained pastor of the church at Charles- town, Ind., where he labored two years. In 1863 he ac- cepted a chaplaincy at Jeffersonville, Ind., which he held^ two years. In the summer of 1865 he removed to Illinois, where he supplied the church at Vandalia for two years, la- boring with success, indicated by a large ingathering to the church, and the erection of the building now occupied by the Presbyterian church there. In the fall of 1867 he was invited to the Central church at Jacksonville, 111. His health becoming impaired, a trip to Europe was taken, and he re- mained about two years, principally in Naples, Italy, where he held the appointment of United States Consul. Return- ing to this country in the fall of 1869, he engaged in literary pursuits, but continued the work of the ministry as the way opened near his old home at New Albany and Indianapolis, supplying mission churches, preaching somewhere nearly every Sabbath. In 1873 he was again called to labor in Illi- nois and became pastor of the church at Olney. He left that field in 1875. Mr. Matthews has since continued in the ministerial work, pursuing also literary labors. For a year he was chief editor of the Indianapolis Sentinel and corre- spondent of several Eastern periodicals, supplying at the same time a mission church at that point. For the past two years, and at the present writing, he is pastor of the church at Newport, Ky., opposite Cincinnati. Mr. Matthews' first wife, whom he married in 1857, died ALBERT B. BYRAM. 69/ in 1868, leaving a son, born November 28, 1862. To his pres- ent wife, to whom he was married in 1876, also a son has been born — Robert J. L. — December 7, 1877. ALFRED M. Mann was born at Pleasant Ridge near Ches- "ter, Randolph county, 111. He was married to Miss Sarah S. Hood, March 20, 1861. Spent several months that year in the service of the Board of Publication. Studied with Rev. A. J. Clark for several years. Was licensed by Alton Presbytery, April, 1875. Removed to Southern Kansas in ■October of that year and took charge of Wellington, and Clear Water churches. Was ordained by the Presbytery of Emporia, in December, 1875. December 22, 1876, was in- stalled pastor of Belle Plaine church, which he had organ- ized the previous summer. That is his present home and ad- dress— Belle Plaine, Kansas. Albert B. Byram was born in Dark county, Ohio, near the western borders of the State, October 31, 1843. Piis parents — Ebenezer and Sarah R. Byram — were natives of New Jersey, from which State they emigrated to West- ern Ohio, in the year 1834 or 1835. They were of English and Holland descent, of a morally and physically vigorous stock. In 1837 Ebenezer Bj^am was made an elder in the New School Presbyterian church, in which he lived and la- bored till the union in 1S70. He is still living, and at Janes- ville, in Northwestern Iowa, whither he emigrated in 1853. Albert B. was educated at the University of Iowa City, and at the Northwestern Theological Seminary, Chicago. He was licensed by Chicago Presbytery in the spring of 1876. In April, 1877, he took charge of the church at Greenville, 111., and was ordained their pastor November 7, 1877, and here he still remains, He was married in July, 1873, to I^.Iiss Mary E. Dawson at West "Liberty, Iowa. They have one child — a son — Elbert Winfred, born June 29, 1878. Charles Turner Phillips was born in Orange township, Delaware county, O., July 13, 1847. ^^is father, Jeremiah Phillips, is a Methodist minister, and still resides in Olney, 111. The family are of Scotch descent. Charles Turner, 698 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. then a boy of fourteen, entered the army at the commence- ment of the war and served till its close. He then went West to Salt Lake, and had stirring adventures in the moun- tains. After many tribulations he found his way into the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. He was licensed in the spring of 1875, and ordained in the spring of 1876. Meanwhile he preached and taught in Tennessee. In Octo- ber of that year he was installed pastor of two churches in Reno county, Kan. His next field was the Presbyterian church at Ducoign, 111., where he still remains. He married Mfss Nellie E. Eckley, daughter of Milton Eckley, in Obion county, Tenn., in October, 1870. Mr. Eckley was formerly an elder in Richland church, Richland county, 111. The fruit of this marriage is four children,. Thomas M., Nellie E., Philip L., dead, and Charles H. William L. Johnston was born, October 15, 1848, near Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The space to follow his early and stirring career is wanting. His education was ob- tained largely by studying men and things, by traveling and the constant exercise of his remarkable faculty of close obser- vation. His academic and theological course was taken mostly at Blackburn University, Carlinville, 111. He was licensed hy Alton Presbytery in April, 1873, and immediately took charge of the church at East St. Louis. He was soon in- stalled its pastor, and remained in that charge until August 3, 1879. The same month he left for the Foreign Missionary service at Sidon, Syria, under a Commission from the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. John- ston's labors at East St. Louis were remarkable for their adaptation to circumstances, their persistence under difficul- ties and discouragements and for their success. He was married, September 14, 1875, to Miss Ida Flor- ence Davis. Their first born child, Lilly Belle, born July 6, 1879, was baptized, August 3, 1879, the day Mr. Johnston preached his farewell sermon at East St. Louis. The writer had the pleasure of officiating both at the marriage and at the baptism, Oliver Silas Thompson was born, August 6, 1841, at Camden, Carroll county, Ind. On his father's side he is English ; on his mother's, Scotch-Irish. His education,. EDWIN L. KURD, D. D. 699 both literary and professional, was obtained at several insti- tutions and is both liberal and thorough. He was licensed by the Presbytery of St. Louis in the spring of 1870. In 1871 he was ordained. He first preached at Chouteau Ave. Presbyterian church, St. Louis ; then at Troy, Mo. For sev- eral years past he has been pastor of the Presbyterian church, Belleville, 111., and there he still remains. July 14, 1875, he married Miss Kate Henry, only daughter of Dr. Henry, of Nashville, 111., a descendant of Patrick Henry. She is a graduate of Monticello Seminary. They have one child. Edwin L. Hurd, D. D., is a native of Wyoming county. Western New York, where he became a member of the church of his parents — the Presbyterian Church — at the age of fourteen. At the age of seventeen, when nearly prepared for college, he was estopped from all study by ill health, and induced to travel in a sparsely settled and morally destitute region of Southern New York and Northern Pennsylvania in the work of one of the benevolent societies. " The young- est and one of the most successful in the United States," the secretary of that society said of him. Having regained health, and his parents having removed to Galesburg, 111., the seat of Knox College, he determined to pursue his studies in that institution and entered the Freshman class in 1849, grad- uating in 1853. The same autumn he'entered Union Theolog- ical Seminary and graduated in 1856. January, 1857, he took the pastoral charge of the Presbyterian church of Augusta, 111., where he remained for more than twelve years. At the close of that period there was but one adult member of the congregation who was not a communicant. For about four years he was pastor of the Presbyterian church of Sandwich, 111., when he was called to the charge of Highland Park Presbyterian church. In 1877 he was appointed Professor of Theology and Mental and Moral Science in Blackburn University. This post he still occupies with credit to himself and advantage to the institution. Mrs. Hurd is a daughter of the late George W. Gale, D. D., of Galesburg, 111. Edward Scofield, Sr., was born in Norwalk, Conn., Sep- tember 22, 1810. In May, 1829, he united with the Congre- gational Church in his native place. He entered the prepa- 700 PRESBYTEKIANISM IN ILLINOIS. ratory department of Illinois College in 1831, graduating in 1837. ^^ ths ^^11 of the same year he entered Lane Theo- logical Seminary — completing its three years course. He was licensed by Cincinnati Presbytery in 1839, ^^^ ^^ 1840 was ordained over the Presbyterian church at Cleves, Ohio. June i6th of that year he was married to Elizabeth Williams, in Cincinnati, Ohio, by whom he had ten children. Three children died in infancy, the remaining seven in early life made profession of their faith in Christ, and united with the Presbyterian Church. Although driven from one field -to another in the endeavor to preserve health, it was his privilege of the thirty-nine years of his ministry, to spend twenty-one with three churches, namely: seven each, at Batavia, Ohio; Anderson, and Alishawaka, Ind. During his early ministry, he often assumed the care of two, sometimes three churches at the same time. In addition to these named above, he served the Presbyterian churches at Monroe, New Richmond, Mt. Pleasant and Lack- land in Ohio, Franklin, Ind., and Lena, Centralia, Metropo- lis, Waterman and Somonauk, 111., at which latter place his labors closed on earth, October 12, 1878. He labored much with his pen. In 1849 there was pub- lished a second edition of his work on " Family Government," which was also translated into the Arabic, by American mis- sionaries, for use in Syria. In 1 864 he prepared and pub- lished a small book on " Civil Government and Rebellion," which was distributed by the Christian Commission among the Indiana soldiers, during the late war. In 1867 was com- pleted and issued his work, entitled " A Solar Heaven — A New Theory." Other works have followed or preceded these — much of his literary labor, both poetry and prose, being for the secular or religious press. 'ff^aet.,i /,, j.:,„ Siv'^'" ■' ' CHAPTER XX. CAPT. BENJAMIN GODFREY, MONTICELLO, JACKSONVILLE AND DU- COIGN FEMALE INSTITUTIONS AND BLACKBURN UNIVERSITY. Of Capt. Benjamin Godfrey, the founder of Monticello Female Seminary, the trustees of that institution present to the readers of this volume a fine steel engraving, and a few particulars of his eventful hfe, regretting their inability to give no more. He was born at Chatham, jMass., December 4, 1794. He was the fourth and youngest son of Knowles Godfrey, a na- tive of the same State. He had but little opportunity for early culture, as at the early age of nine years he ran away from home to go to sea. His first voyage was to Ireland^ where he made his home for nine years. He was probably occupied in these years in short coasting voyages. The war of 1812-15 brought him home. He then spent some time with his uncle Benjamin, with whom he studied and acquired a fair practical education, to which he added the knowledge of the science of navigation. He was con- nected with the naval service during some part of the war.. He afterwards made several voyages as commander of a. merchant ship to various parts of the world, including Italy and Spain. He also, in command of his own ship, made many voyages from Baltimore to New Orleans and the West Indies. On the last voyage he was ship-wrecked near Bra- zos, Santiago, and lost nearly all he had, and came near los- ing his life. In 1826 he located at IMatamoras, Mexico^ where he opened up a very successful mercantile business. Before he came out of Mexico he had accumulated a very handsome fortune, and was transporting the silver across the country on the backs of mules, when he was robbed of the whole — some $200,000 — by guerrillas. Of that misfortune he has been heard to say that it was the only time in his life when he became entirely discouraged. He gave up, sat down by the road-side and cried. But the next we hear of him he was in successful business in New Or- leans, where he remained until 1832, when he came North 702 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. and settled in Alton, and with W. S. Gilman. established thf- well-known firm of Godfrey and Gilman. He united with the Alton Presbyterian church on profession, November 3, 1833. The same year he erected with his own means a commodious stone church, with a basement and spire, on the northeast corner of Third and Market streets, where the Episcopal church now stands. He retained the title to the property in his own hands, and gave the use of it to the Presbyterian and Baptist churches, who occupied it jointly until 1834, when the Baptists removed elsewhere, and the Presbyterians occupied it solely until April 27, 1845. Sometime subsequently to 1838, Capt. Godfrey had given that property to Monticello Seminary. In April, 1845, the trustees of that institution sold it to the Episcopalians. July 5, 1840, Capt. Godfrey was elected an elder in the Alton Presbyterian church, and remained such until Septem- ber 18, 1844, when his church relation was transferred to Monticello church, in which he acted as elder until his death. Large-hearted by nature, made increasingly so by years of life upon the ocean, his consecration to Christ expanded his benevolent spirit to noble proportions. He began to devise liberal things. Extensive travel and observation had re- vealed to him the power of female influence over society at large, and created in his mind a horror of the Romish sys- tem as it stood related to this influence. The idea of the ISIonticello Female Seminary as first conceived in his own mind he thus describes: One morning, while Ijang in my bed somewhat indisposed, my wife came into the room, and as she went out made some remark. One of our little children, that had just begun to lisp a few words, caught the remark, and while playing by itself on the floor, repeated it over and over for some time. This led me to re- flect on the powerful effect of a mother's example on the minds, manners, and habits of their offspring, and the no less powerful influence that females have over society at large. The mind is formed to a great extent in childhood, and while under the direct care of the mother. From the time it can lisp, and even betore, it goes to her with all its little troubles and difficulties, its pleasures and pains, and her kind participation in all its concerns endears it so closely, and gives it such implicit confidence in her, that it takes for granted any thing she does or says is right, and is actuated accordingly. With these reflections, the idea came into my mind to erect a Seminary, in which females could, with the blessing of God, be prepared to discharge their numerous, arduous and responsible duties. After consulting my wife as to the propriety of such a step, to which she acceded unhesitatingly, and being desir- ous to act the part of a faithful steward of what God had placed in my posses- sion, I resolved to devote so much of it as would erect a building, to be devoted to the moral, intellectual, and domestic improvement of females. CAPT. BENJ. GODFREY. 7O3 This was the germ of Monticello Female Seminary. Upon the building Capt. Godfrey expended ;^5 3,000. After it be- came a chartered institution, he acted, until his death, as one of its five trustees, and his ideas as to its management usually prevailed. It opened April ii, 1.838, and has been from that time till this, a great and most complete success. It has been most fortunate in its principals, particularly Rev. The- ron Baldwin, Miss Philena Fobes and Miss Harriet N. Has- kell, who have occupied that position for nearly the whole period of its existence, now more than forty-one years. Capt. Godfrey purchased large tracts of land in Illinois, and at the time of his death, in 1862, had unsold in his own name 4,000 acres in Madison county alone. After closing his business in Alton, he devoted himself to farming, with his residence at Godfrey. But his active nature could not long rest content with this quiet life. He became a large railroad contractor, and constructed the road between Alton and Springfield. This was perhaps the most perplexing and harassing business of his life. His private property became deeply involved, and much of it was entirely lost ; but not- withstanding these losses and his large benefactions, he died a wealthy man. Says inspiration : " They who honor me I will honor." He was twice married. First to Miss Harriet Cooper of Baltimore, Md., Nov. 27, 18 17, with whom he lived twenty- one years, and by whom he had twelve children. He was again married, August 15, 1839, to Miss R. E. Petit of Hempstead, Long Island, with whom he lived twenty-three years, and by whom he had three children. Of his child- ren five died in infancy. The rest lived to adult years. But four, however, are now living, viz.: James Ryder, born Aug. 29, 181 8, at Baltimore, Md. He has been disabled by paral- ysis for two or three years past, and is at this writing, entirely helpless. Emily, born January 19, 1830. She married Joseph R. Palmer at Brownsville, Texas, and now resides at Bruns- wick, N. J. Catharine, born at Monticello, Jan. 20, 1835, mar- ried to Hon. John M. Pearson. Benjamin, born at Alton, June 28, 1S40. All excepting Emily reside at Godfrey, Madison county. 111. Capt. Godfrey died at his residence, Godfrey, III., August 13, 1862. Jacksonville Female Academy. This institution grew out of a private school for girls, established by Mrs. Ellis, 704 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. wife of Rev. John M. Ellis, first pastor of the First Presbyte- rian church of Jacksonville. Its organization occurred in. December, 1830. Its first building was opened for pupils in 1833. It was chartered by the Legislature in 183$, being the first educational institution chartered in the State of Illinois.. A little later during the same session of the Legislature, Illi- nois, McKendree and Shurtleff colleges were chartered. The beautiful grounds of the academy were donated by Dr. Ero Chandler, an early and enterprising citizen of Jackson- ville. The original building was thirty by forty feet on the ground, having two stories and a basement. Several large additions have since been made, and the structure at pres- ent is conspicuous and imposing. Principals of the academy and terms of service : Miss- Sarah C. Crocker, 1833 to 1835; Miss Emilv Price, 1835 to 1837; John Adams, LL.D., 1837 to 1843; Rev. W. H. Wil- liams, A. M., 1843 to 1848; Miss Lucretia Kimball, 1848 to 1850; Miss Elizabeth Mead, 1850 to 1851; Rev. Charles G. Selleck, A. M., 185 1 to 1857; Mrs. Phoebe Thompson, 1857 to 1858; Newton Bateman, LL.D., and Miss Harriet P. Mur- dock, 1858 to 1859; Benjamin F. Mitchell, A. M., 1859 to 1865: Gilbert Thayer, A. M., 1865 to 1874; E. F. Bullard, A. M., 1874. The institution began to graduate classes regularly in 1845, and the alumnae now (1879) number more than three hundred. As the institution is first in the order of time, its aim is not to be second to any as regards excellence. It is a thoroughly Christian school of the highest grade, having a course of study as extensive as any in the land. Though under Presbyterian control, it is conducted on lib- eral principles and enjoys a large patronage from all Christ- ian denominations. The Institution has no endowment, but is out of debt and comfortably self-sustaining. The Board is self-perpetuating. L. M. Glover, D, D., Pres- ident. Hon. Edward Scott, Secretary. DucoiGN Female Seminary, Chartered February 13, 1855 — Became Private Property 1872. This institution de- serves a permanent record in the history of Education and Religion in Southern Illinois, which is especially appropriate- here, as all the ministers in sympathy with the Presbyterian. DUCOIGN FEMALE SEMINARY. 705 Church, operating in this section of country during the years embraced in its history, are closely identified with it — the most of them having been on its Board of Trustees, and at least four having acted as agents to collect funds. It is not the purpose of this sketch to give a full history of its progress, step by step, but to show the spirit with which the work was begun, and to some extent bring out results. As it is impossible to speak of all the persons that became interested, or of the individual teachers that labored, and gave of their means to carry forward this work, only those that contributed to bring it into existence, will be mentioned by name. The idea of the enterprise originated with Miss Eliza Paine, of South Hadley, Mass., she having cherished and talked over the plans that led to it long before an opportunity offered for beginning the work. Miss Paine offered her services to the " Boston Ladies' So- ciety for the promotion of Christian education," and was sent by them to Ducoign, Perry county. 111., June, 1852. Finding a large school on her hands, and believing this to be the spot for her long cherished enterprise, she at once took the first step towards its accomplishment by sending for her first helper, Miss E. Reynolds, who arrived three months later — September, 1852. This it must be remembered, was before the day of rail- roads in Southern Illinois. These teachers reached Ducoign via. St. Louis, going from St. Louis down the Mississippi to Chester, thence forty miles over-land by private conveyance. Our State Normal Schools had not then come into existence. There were but few good schools, and not enough of any kind to meet the wants of the people. There had been a school of the higher order at Salem, Marion county. B. G. Roots, the pioneer teacher of " Egypt " had kept a family boarding school in Perry county, and afterwards taught the "Sparta Seminary" for some years ; and two young ladies from the East, Miss Gannett and Miss Chamberlain, had pre- ceded Miss Paine by a year or two, and been doing good work in the schools of Vergennesand Jonesboro. At the close of a year in the district school, the two ladies first named, met at the house of Rev. Josiah Wood — he hav- ing become deeply interested in the Seminar>' enterprise — and after much consultation and prayer, articles were drawn up setting forth principles determining the character of the 44 y06 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. school, to present as a basis for home subscriptions. One of these articles, giving tone to the whole, was, " It shall be a Christia?i school. The teachers shall be members of some Evangelical church, and the Bible the corner stone of all its moral instructions." From this time on, Mr. Wood became thoroughly identified with this enterprise, giving thought, time, and money. A preparatory school went into operation in the fall of 1853, in Rev. Mr. Wood's house, and afterwards was continued in the dwelling house purchased of Dr. Wall on the present Seminary lot. The corner stone of the Sem- inary building was laid June 13, 1855, and as apropos of the principles embodied in the articles of compact, a Bible (do- nated by Rev. A. T. Norton) was among the things deposited in this corner stone. The paper for subscriptions was circu- lated at Ducoign and vicinity, and the people subscribed liberally ; but the main reliance for money to carry forward this work, was from the first, churches, missionary associations, ladies' societies, and be- nevolent individuals at the East. And this was brought about very largely by and through personal friends and ac- quaintances of Miss Paine and her co-workers. We do not forget that many Christian helpers were found at the west. One lady of CoUinsville, III. — Mrs. P. Morrison — gave large- ly of her means to relieve the institution from embarrass- ment, after the practical working of the school had demon- strated the desirability of its continuance. The mission- aries gave their influence to the work. The objects of the school, as set forth in the first circular issued by the princi- pal (Miss Paine) in the fall of 1854, were : 1st. "To train teachers on the field. 2d. To provide for the education of our home missionaries' daughters at the West. 3d. To as- sist the deserving needy. 4th. To prepare our pupils for the greatest possible usefulness in every sphere of duty." In looking over a catalogue of pupils, I find the names of ten young ladies, daughters of home missionaries, who were in the school from one to four years each, during its early his- tory. One donation of a thousand dollars was the result of interest excited through one of these missionary families. Cpuld the history of the pupils connected with this institu- tion be fully written, we should see that streams of influence have gone forth from it to bless all the region round about. A very large proportion of the additions to the Ducoign church during the first ten years that this school had an ex- BLACKBURN UNIVERSITY. /O/ istence, were from its pupils. Others who became interested in religion while there, united with churches in other places after returning to their homes. When these left the school, they went imbued with the spirit to work for the Master. They had not only received good themselves, but were made blessings to the families and neighborhoods from which they came. Some are known to have established and main- tained with little or no assistance Sunday-schools in places were there had been none before ; others have been success- ful in elevating the standard of common school instruction; and of those that were called to give up their labors on earth soon after leaving the Seminary, we have pleasing evidence that their faith and trust held out to the end. The founders and patrons of this school have been disappointed as to its permanency as a chartered Seminary, built and sustained by Christian benevolence. But it has not been a failure. The influence of teachers and pupils connected with it, is felt for good through all Southern Illinois. Since it became private property, a school for ;both sexes has been sustained with creditable success. The writer of the above graceful article is Mrs. E. R. Roots, wife of B. G. Roots, Esq.. last President of the Board of Trustees of Ducoign Female Semi- nary, the early and distinguished educator of Southern Illinois. Most of our read- ers will understand that she is the same as Mrs. A. L. Saunders and MiSS E. Reynolds. Blackburn University. I shall not give a history of this Institution, but barely name some of the most sali- ent facts concerning it. The means for its establishment were procured by Rev. Dr. Gideon Blackburn about 1835 on a plan of his own. This plan secured some 16,000 acres of Illi- nois lands which, being entered in his own name, he deeded in trust to seven Trustees to carry out his plan. But as for nearly twenty years the lands had little more than a nominal value, the Trustees made no effort to establish the Institution, and conveyed the lands to Illinois College to endow a Theolog- ical Professorship in connection with that Institution. This conveyance, however, did not stand, and the courts instructed the Trustees to go forward and carry out Dr. Blackburn's deed of trust by establishing the Institution at Carlinville. A charter was procured which embodied the provisions of the deed of trust, and the Institution was opened in a small way, September 20, 1858, under the charge of Rev. John C. Downer. A building was erected on the site designated by 708 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Dr. Blackburn. Robert B. Minton, A. M., and Rev. John L, B. Soule were appointed professors. They entered upon their work and prosecuted it successfully. In 1865 Rev. John W. Bailey — soon made a D. D. — was appointed Professor of Theology. The building was enlarged to the proportions of the present structure and courses of classical, scientific and theological training marked out. These have been steadily prosecuted until this present, with some changes in the instructors and some variations in the number of the stu- dents. But upon the whole, the progress of the Institution has been pretty steadily onward, and its promise of future usefulness is highly encouraging. Since the failure of Jacksonville College to furnish Presby- terians of Southern and Central Illinois with such an institu- tion as they needed, Blackburn University has arisen, a star of much present effulgence and of large future promise. Its endowment, together with the revenue derived from the stu- dents, meet all expenses, and the Institution is free of debt. Its property is probably worth to-day at least ^125,000. Its present Trustees are Ex-Gov. John M. Palmer, Presi- dent, Springfield; Rev. A. T. Norton, D. D., Alton; Phi- lander Braley, Esq., Carlinville ; Rev. G. W. Gallaher,. Jacksonville ; Rev. Wm. L. Tarbet, Virden ; Samuel Brown, Esq., Plainview ; Hon. George E, Warren, Jerseyville ;. Rev. Thomas W. Hynes, Pocahontas ; J. N. McCord, M. D., Vandalia ; Russell Hinckley, Esq., Belleville ; E. L. Hurd, D. D., CarHnville ; Hon. J. C. Irwin, Edwardsville ; Rev. O. S. Thompson, Belleville. Its Faculty: Rev. E. L. Hurd, D. D., Professor of Theol- ogy and Mental and Moral Science. Robert B. Minton, A. M., Professor of Mathematics, Rev. Rufus Nutting, A. M., Professor of Latin and Greek Languages. John D. Conley, A. M., Professor of Chemistry and Natural History. Mrs. Kate Hopkins, Principal of Ladies' Department. Henry Merz, Instructor in German and French Languages. Thomas E. Moore, Principal of the Preparatory Department. CHAPTER XXL The Rev. Aratus Kent, of Galena. Contributed by Rev. D. W. Evans, of Litchfield, Illinois. Mr. Kent's many friends, scattered through the Northwest, will wish for nothing more and will accept nothing less than an outline of the man as he was — a man of unbending integ- rity, of stainless purity, of zealous devotion to piety, and to crown all, of a self-sacrificing spirit and an inflexible will, which enabled him to bend all his powers to whatever work he undertook. I shall attempt, therefore, simply to chrystal- ize in words the daily life of this good man, and that with the faithfulness which Cromwell once demanded of the young artist, Lely, to whom the commission of painting the great Protector had been entrusted : " Paint me as I am," said he, "if you leave out the scars and wrinkles I will not pay you a single shilling." It is to be regretted that Mr. Kent did not leave a record of his work in some tangible shape. But few of the incidents of his life have been preserved. A full memorial of one of the most successful of the men who have stood in the pulpits of this section, could not be but a rich treasure in the Church at large, a lamp to guide our young ministers especially to sure success in the holy vocation of ministerial service. Our subject was of Puritan ancestry, born at Suffield, Connecticut, January 17, 1794. Though none had less reason than he for borrowing honors from his ancestry or his relatives, yet it is a matter of interest to note that he and Chancellor Kent, of N. Y., trace their lineage back to the one family, which at an early day settled in the valley of the Connecticut river. His father, a thrifty merchant and farmer, early instilled into the mind of his child those habits of industry, of study, of devotion, which made Puri- tan New England so prominent a factor in the evangelization and education of the Western States. Having completed his preparatory studies at Westfield, Mass., he entered the Sophomore year at Yale College and graduated at the age of twenty-two, with the last class taught by the eminent President 7IO PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Dwight, of whom it was said, " That no man except the 'father of his country' had conferred greater benefits on our nation." To perfect so far as possible these preparations for his great work in the West, he spent the subsequent four years in theological studies under the emi- nent pastors, Romeyn and Mason, of New York city, and soon afterwards devoted another year to select studies at Princeton Seminary, N. J. Such were the men and such the influences which moulded the early life of Aratus Kent, who at Galena, 111., developed into an indefatigable self-sacri- ficing pioneer missioaary, successful evangelist, faithful pas- tor and zealous promoter of the higher schools of learning. He was licensed by the Presbytery of New York, April 20, 1820. After a year of missionary work in the then wilds of Ohio, and another in Blanford, Mass.. where a powerful revival attended his preaching, he perfected his preparation for the gospel ministry by devoting another whole year to study at Princeton Seminary, N. J. The Pres- byterian church at Lockport, N. Y., called him from Prince- ton to the pastorate of their church ; there he was ordained and there he spent three years in faithful service. This was followed by a year devoted, in his native town, to study and the care of his aged father, then eighty years old. Death, which soon came to the relief of the aged sufferer, released the son also from filial duties and sent him forth in quest of his life's great work. Of this period he writes under date June 4, 1828: "Having closed up my accounts, and seen some suitable monuments erected over the graves of my de- ceased parents, I bade adieu to the place of my father's sep- ulchres, and immediately after dinner mounted my horse and turned my face toward the north. But my heart was heavy, for I was like unto Abraham who went forth, not knowing whither he went." We may well add that like that ancient patriarch he went forth girt with the single purpose of enquiring into and following the leadings of the divine will. After some months of uncongenial labors under the direction of a New Hamp- shire missionary society, he took temporary charge of the church at Bradford, where he preached in an almost continu- ous revival. The pulpit of the Allen street Presbyterian church of New York City being at this time vacant, an effort was made to secure him, for what was then a most important field. The few months which he spent with that devoted and wealthy people, were to him full of rich and enriching ex- ARATUS KENT. /I I perience. Each of these varied fields became to him a means of discipline. Each in turn helped in the unfolding of that unerring judgment and accurate estimate of men and things for which he was afterwards so noted. He was be- ing led by a way that he knew not, " to the great and wide field at the world's end " awaiting him. He entered each field of work in turn, with the spirit of a soldier who coveted only the opportunity to do self-denying work; who sought for superiority only in hard labor and a holy life. The world lies before such men, and avenues of labor open on either hand, making the question of future settlement exceedingly perplexing. It was so with Mr. Kent. These few months spent in the pulpit of the Allen street church. New York, brought him into contact with the Secretary of the A. H. M. Society, and kindled anew his sympathy with the great work of that society in the West. Bradford sought to re- tain him ; Lockport urged her claims that he would resume among them that work which he had begun three years be- fore. The Allen street church of New York enticed him with the advantages of a city pastorate. But his heart re- sponded to neither. It was not until Dr. Peters, the Secre- tary of Missions came to him with the call that was backed by the wants of thousands of miners and merchants, who were living in the Mississippi Valley without church or school, that his heart was touched. He responded promptly, " I go, sir," and rejoiced to find at last that Providence was opening the way for him to labor where his heart and mind had gone before — at the frontier of the then far West. We find him, at this time, a tall, well proportioned man, in vigor- ous health, with a mind well stored with thought, with men- tal faculties well disciplined by study, and a heart already enriched with tokens of the divine favor. He was then in possession of those noble purposes and strong forces of character which won for him his triumphs in Northern Illinois. Indeed, a man more like the Master in integrity of heart, in self-sacrificing spirit, and unswerving fealty to duty, it were hard to find. We are not surprised then to learn that those who sent him out on his mission to the miners and merchants of the lead regions of Fevere river, entertained for him the most flattering hopes of success, and we are pre- pared for the statement, that he did not disappoint those hopes. The blessing of God upon his labors made the wilderness of reckless living on the banks of that stream to ^12 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. blossom with principles and virtues. It might well be said of him as of the Master, that graces sprung up in his path and truth took root wherever he wrought ; and it gives me great pleasure to find that having placed this estimate upon the character of the first pioneer missionary of Northern Illi- nois, it is fully sustained by one who knew him perhaps more intimately than the writer. Before the friends of Rockford Seminary, of which Mr. Kent was one of the founders and President of the Board of Trustees, Prof Emerson of Beloit College, in a tribute to his memory said, " Roses mark his steps where he trod the wilderness." Let us now resume the thread of our narrative. Mr. Kent has heard in his heart the cry of thousands of souls gathered without the gospel in the lead mines, in and around what is now the rugged city of Galena. Prompt then as ever in the performance of a known duty, he immediately sets out by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, to the theatre of his future actions. Benevolent then as in after life, he leaves the chief of his earthly treasures, a valuable horse, as a parting gift to the American Tract Society. On April 3, 1829, just after leav- ing St. Louis, going north on the Mississippi, he writes, " I am as one that dreams, with my paper on a trunk and my pen trembling with the jarring of a steamboat contending with the strong current of the Mississippi, I am urging my way up the great valley to the lead mines, not knowing the things that shall befall me there." He landed in Galena, April 18, twenty-seven days after leaving New York. Here and then the great work of his life was begun. He imme- diately made himself known as a missionary, and the very next day, being the Sabbath, he secured the largest dining hall for services. The villagers and many others who came on the Sabbath to do business in the village, crowded the room and heard the message of the gospel that day for the first time in many years. There we meet the man, there the place and the occasion of the first preaching of Christ in Northern Illinois. We may well pause a moment to take in the surroundings, that we may better understand the man. Galena was settled by a mixed people gathered from Eu- rope and the Eastern States — among these were a few en- terprising young people from New England and New York, who remembered with something of affection the Church of their fathers. A. few may have professed religion in their more Eastern home, but were now "blighted and famished ARATUS KENT. /I 3 Christians,' " Sabbath-breaking, profanity and gambling had obtained an alarming and sickening prevalence." On the river there was not another minister above St. Louis, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota were oc- cupied by Indians. The settlement at Chicago had not yet begun. And the Rev. Jeremiah Porter had not yet come with the garrison to Fort Dearbon. Mr, Kent thus records his hopes and discouragements : " Here is opened a great and effectual door to preach the gospel. I have long desired to know what was the will of God, and if I have never found my place, I hope that amid all discouragements I may remember that I said I was willing to go to the world's end if I could but be in the place God designed I should occupy." It was indeed a " great and wide" field at the world's end — discouragements there were in abundance. But his courage grew with the difficulties. His faith gathered strength with opposition. Confiding in the power of Him on whom he leaned he was equal to every trying emergency. Standing alone for years, the only champion of a pure Christianity, he became to the wide range of country over which he traveled the bulwark of its intelligence and piety. An incident in one of his early tours of exploration exhibits the spirit of the man. Coming to a bluff, that commanded an extensive view of the valley of the Mississippi and of the prairies on either side, he alighted from his horse and uncov- ering his head he proclaimed aloud, " I take possession' of this land for Christ." Such grave trusts have been assumed by several of the wisest and most prudent missionaries of the Cross. However, subsequent events have shown but few to be less an empty boast than that trust assumed by Aratus Kent, with uncovered brow and uplifted hand on the over- hanging bluffs of the Northern Mississippi, before yet the trails of the Black Hawk had been erased from the prairies. That he exhibited a no less wonderful patience than faith in working out the trusts so reverently assumed is seen in the fact that it took nearly three years of toil before he was ena- bled to organize with six members the first Presbyterian church at Galena, and then amidst a population of several thousand souls. Only two of the original six were from Galena; the other four lived out from five to forty miles ; two were resi- dents of a town soon afterwards known as Mineral Point, Wis. That scattered membership gives us a hint at least of the spirit of the man. In that early period he 714 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. went everywhere preaching the Word. Every settlement^ hamlet, village and town within a radius of a hundred miles of Galena was wrought upon by his preaching. He never took distances into account in the matter of reaching souls with the gospel, which he himself so loved. Neither cold or heat — neither dust, mud or snow ever weighed with him in the fulfilment of his many engagements over that large dis- trict and country. When once a friend remonstrated with him, pleading "that he must save himself," his reply was, " I do it not to please myself, but the Saviour." In that reply he struck the key-note of the anthem of his life, whose rich ca- dences continued to grow sweeter and clearer to the very end. This continued until April, 1841, when we was installed pas- tor of the church which he had gathered. Dr. Horatio- Newhall, a life long friend and an elder of the church, writes of him at this period, that his labors as a pastor were con- stant; all knew him to be a man of God. In zeal and self- sacrifice he was rarely if ever surpassed. The poor, the ig- norant, the obscure, where objects to him of as much interest as the wealthy and the accomplished, dealing out to each as his case required, instruction, counsel, reproof or consola- tion. He had no desire for popular applause. The only superiority he sought was in labor, the only ascendency he coveted was in self-denial and holiness. In these respects he had few competitors for pre-eminence. The fruits of all this labor and self-denial were shown in the revivals of 1837, 1840, 1841, 1842, and 1844. In these revivals alone two hun- dred and sixty-six were added to the church. The history of "those years is a record of abounding labors, patient en- durance, of fealty to duty in the midst of unrequited toils. He had a record of travel covering twenty thousand miles, and four hundred and seventy-nine different places of preaching, with three thousand sermons. I have sat in pro- found admiration of the work of this devoted man of God. I have been made glad in discovering that the spring of that marvelous constancy that rose above every obstacle and found a way through defeat to victory, lay in his deep seated love for the Saviour. There was also, I may add, a clear con- ception of this fact, that great events come in the track of small causes. He did not therefore despise the day of small things, but felt honored in being permitted to meet in town and hamlet the growing emigration of the Northwest, to stamp upon it the impress of Christian civilization. Sus- ARATUS KENT. 715 tained in the day of small things by visions of a great and prosperous future for the country, he went forth and sowed the seeds of truth in the hearts of the dwellers by the rivers,. on the prairies, and in the forests, and in hamlets, villages and towns. Knowing that with the growth of the North- west, these seeds of truth would blossom to cheer the toilers, fill cabins with happiness, and the whole land with the frag- rance of truth and virtue. Another trait that secured suc- cess for him in his early struggles with the obstacles that environed frontier work was his faithfulness to his own con- victions— what his principles required he performed with rigid punctiliousness. What a most sensitive conscience commanded he did with all the force of a stroncr will. To a genial, social nature was added a puritanic goodness almost stern in its integrity, His nature had an admixture of traits that won for him the respect of all classes alike. The rough miner who had spent a quarter of a century among savages^ the trim and cultivated merchant from a New England home, all alike respected the man who could bend the re- sources of a strong mind and vigorous body, to lay those humble foundations of churches, schools, collegfes, institu- tions, whose living influences are felt to-day throughout Northern Illinois, Southern Wisconsin and Iowa. In re- viewing these years, Mr. Kent writes under date of Novem- ber, 1843 : "As Paul did, so may I after foiirteen years, re- count the events that have transpired since I came first to the lead mines of the Mississippi. My parish from the- Rock river to the Wisconsin has been surveyed, I have preached at Prairie du Chien, Fort Winnebago, (Portage) Madison, Potosi, Lancaster, Carrville, Mineral Point, Bel- mont, Platteville, Pecatonica, Rockford, Grand Detour, Lyn- don, Rock Island, Albany and Savannah. I have been in perils of waters six times, perils in the wilderness three nights, several times lost, but out of them all the Lord has delivered me. " When I came to Galena there was no church of any de- nomination, either Protestant or Catholic, within two hundred miles, no Sabbath, no minister, no God recognized, and there was no communication with the rest of the world while the Mississippi was frozen. Now we have churches, Presbyte- ries, Conventions and Synods. My district has been sup- plied with Bibles, and also with the bound volumes of the Tract Society. Our village has become a city of three or yi6 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. f four thousand. Our church has grown to one hundred and seventy-five, besides those gone to four new churches. Monthly tract distribution scatters two hundred and fifty a month. We have thirteen Sabbath-schools in the county, and have raised for Foreign Missions, $1,530. God has done great things for us." Mr. Kent was one of those men who had broad though conservative views. To him the school was an ally of the church. Education was an handmaid of religion. We would expect then to find in him an ardent friend of learning. Indeed no sooner had he gained a foot- hold for a church at Galena than he opened a school by its side. Here he planted the germ of an institution which, at that early period, did a good work, and which for twenty- five years flourished under the name of the Galena Classical Institute. At Presbytery and Convention he was the same ardent friend of learning. When the Convention of Repre- sentatives from the churches of Northern Illinois and Wis- consin met at Beloit in 1844, to deliberate over the enterprise of establishing a college and female seminary within their bounds, Mr. Kent became an enthusiastic supporter of the measure. He was chairman of the committee of ten whose report led to the selection of Beloit, Wis., for the location of the college, and Rockford, 111., for the female seminary. In the labors of the committee he displayed such prudence with zeal, such judgment with enthusiasm, that he won for himself the unqualified admiration of his co-laborers in the great work that lay before them. They selected him President of the Board of Trustees of both institutions, and rewarded his over mastering zeal by imposing upon him the honor of laying the corner-stones of the buildings of both institu- tions— of the college, June 24, 1845, of the seminary, July .15, 1852. And is very gratifying to be able to trace the history of these institutions, which have already poured hundreds of graduates into the lap of this Northwest, to help mould its Christian civilization, back to their sources in the purposes and prayers of brave, cultivated and godly men. But to none are they more indebted than to this heroic though humble pastor of the First Pres- byterian church of Galena. An incident which transpired at the first meeting of the Board of Trustees of the College is worthy of mention here, as showing the prevailing habit of Mr. Kent's mind — that of prayer. Already had the Con- ARATUS KENT. ^l/" vention of Presbyterian and Congregational Ministers — one in spirit and one in the faith of the Pilgrim Fathers — deter- mined to estabhsh a college which would "provide able and learned men to be leaders and guides in the advancing civili- zation." It was a great thought. To execute that purpose was for that early day a great work, and one Vv'hich must bi^ wrought out in the face of overwhelming obstacles. The first meeting of the Board was therefore one fraught with grave responsibilities. Such men as Peet, Clary, Hickox and Chapiri, names revered throughout the churches of Wisconsm, were there. Mr. Kent was in the chair, hopeful and confident. They sat pondering in silence the magnitude of the trusts imposed upon them. At length there steals into their hearts a sense of responsibility that staggers their faith, and one breaks the painful silence by giving voice to the question which lay heavily on all their hearts. " Well, brethren, what are we to do? " With ready answer Mr. Kent replied,. ^' Let us pray," "The prayer," says President Chapin, "that then went up to heaven, warm and fervent from his lips, car- rying the hearts of all, was the first gasp of the new born college for life. The breath of a divine inspiration, we be- lieve, came upon it then, and its history since has been a con- tinued answer to that prayer." It was the habit of his mind to walk in the light of God and work in His strength. Hence that prayer going forth in faith came again laden with new^ hope and fresh courage for each heart in that band of Christ- ian philanthropists. All felt as if an alabaster box of pre- cious ointment had been broken, for the fragrance of that prayer, like the ancient perfume, filled the house. And to this day, in the memory of all who participated in that simple but powerful pleading at the Throne of Grace, that hour remains sacred. Nor is the force of that prayer yet spent. It broods like a benediction over the labors of its scholarly faculty, and lingers like the echo of a far off song in the acquirements of every alumnus who leaves its halls. Both the Faculty and Trustees feel that a college which has re- ceived such signal tokens of favor in answer to prayer is des- tined to perform no meagre part in the great work of educa- ting and evangelizing our whole land. Similar testimony as to his power in prayer comes to us from the sem- inary at Rockford. At the laying of the corner-stone in 185 i, after other appropriate remarks, he said, " Here let it rest until 195 1," and then led the company in fervent prayer.. 71 8 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. " Who knows," writes the revered Principal, "how much the permanency of the Institution is owing to that prayer." Among the traits which gave him power with God and man, his habit of commimion with God zcas the most prominent and effective. His labors to promote the educational interests of the newly settled country were chiefly, though not altogether, 3pent in building up these two colleges. He has put labor, thought and his ov^n means, saved by a stringent economy in all family and personal expenses, into two or three other of the higher schools of learning in this State and Iowa, But of these two, the college at Beioit and the sister institution at Rockford, the latter was the object of his special care. In- deed, very appropriately has he been called the father of Rockford Seminary. He remained its President from its or- ganization until his death in 1869. For nineteen years he presided at its anniversaries and presented their diplomas to each successive class. He was an efficient administrator of its affairs, even to the last, as is evident from the fact that no one from the many friends of the seminary would entertain the idea of relieving him from the responsibilities of his office, though he often urgently expressed the desire that a younger man should take his place. I can in no better way express the high esteem in which his judgment was held, than by recalling the reply which his life-long friends at Galena made to the urgent request of the Trustees of the seminary at Rockford, that he should move to that city. So valuable were his services at the seminary, that the Principal was commissioned by the Board of Trustees to go to Galena to induce him to remove his residence to Rockford. When the subject was laid before him, he said he would not act unadvisedly in such a matter, and would take counsel. Having invited in a {^^ of the citizens, the claims of the seminary and the proposition of its friends and Trustees were presented to them in its strongest light, and these men, who had lived by his side knew his strong faith and heroic spirit, replied, " Mr. Kent has been here so many years that he is like a great oak whose roots extend under the entire city, and to take him away would be like tearing up the en- tire city." "And so he staid, died there and was buried there." But to the last the seminary at Rockford was the child of his affections. He cherished it and wrought unceas- ingly to promote its interests. Under his fostering care it had a vigorous and healthy growth, and stands to-day no ARATUS KENT. 7I9 less a monument of the sagacity, the untiring zeal and ripe judgment of Aratus Kent than of the devotion and rare accom- phshments of its honored principal — Miss Anna P. Sill. During these later years he was the indefatigable Superin- tendent of Missions. In January, 1849, after nearly twenty years of pastoral work at Galena, at the urgent solicitation of the friends of Home Missions, he accepted the appoint- ment of Superintendent for Northern Illinois. His duties were exceedingly arduous ; but as everywhere he proved equal to the demand. Dr. Horatio Newhall wrote of him, " That his labors as agent were herculean. In storms and sunshine, in heat and cold, in dust and mud, his self-de- nying labors were prodigious. Again and again the execu- tive committee of the society urged him to be more careful of himself. His friends often reminded him of his age and besought him to have some regard for his health. His only answer was, I do it not to please myself, but to please my Saviour." And they who knew him best believe his statement far short of the truth when he wrote to a friend, some three years before his death, that "during his ministry he had a record of four hundred and seventy-seven different places of preaching, two thousand, one hundred and sixty-nine sermons — in all many more. Had traveled in private conveyances probably 20,000 miles, and that now, by special arrangement, he rode free over the Illinois Central Railroad, which afforded him peculiar facilities for doing good." He had found a secret, which but few have, that of turning into use while on his journeys, or amid strangers, every hour of the day. His hours at home and abroad alike were filled with useful labor. Wherever he tar- ried, the early morning found him astir, and occupied in seeking the divine blessing. From early communion with the Master, this servant went forth to crowd a full day into the work of his Lord. Every hour was utilized. It was his habit while in motion on the cars, or waiting at depots, or tar- rying in the homes of his friends, to perfect his plans for the extension of the Church and to write words of encourage- ment and counsel to thoSe who wrought with him in the many churches which he had already planted. To not a few did those letters bring the impulse needed to carry them safely through some trying ordeal, or over some towering obstacle. Those letters had in them a touch of that wisdom 720 PRE3BYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. which in the early morn he had sought from the mind of God, and they deemed themselves fortunate who in their work shared his prayers, sympathy and counsel. In the ex- tension of the Redeemer's kingdom he coupled great pru- duce to an aggressive spirit. To self-reliance he added a habit of gleaning wisdom from many counselors. As in his pastoral work at Galena, the Session of the church shared fully in all his plans. It was his " cabinet " which he fully con- sulted on all measures. So afterwards, when his relations to that church were severed* and the burden of the many Home Mission churches rested on his heart, they still remained his trusted friends. He made but few moves, introduced but few measures in his work in which he did not first fully coun- sel with his God and his beloved brethren at Galena. No one more than he realized how great a truth lies in Solomon's- words, that " In the multitude of counselors there is safety." This trait made him a man who moved slowly, but never back- ward. Mr. Kent appeared to those who knew not of the secret springs of his benevolence, and saw not the workings of his self-sacrificing spirit, an austere man, stern if not severe, both in character and in theology. But all who knew him con- fessed that the goodness of his heart redeemed the man. As a preacher, a rigid theology found no place in his pul- pit. He wrought there that his hearers might execute in life the principles which fell from his lips. His concern was more to build them up as lively stones in the temple of our God, than to present an exact statement of any one system o( truth. It was more to him that his hearers practised the truth they knew, than that they should acquire truth which they could not convert into living principles. But he ex- celled more as a pastor than a preacher. He abounded in pastoral labors. With a mind capable of great things in the study, he deliberately sacrificed the advantages which a greater knowledge of books would have given him, and went forth seeking for the straying sheep ot the fold. His sym- pathy, wise counsels and prayers in the privacy of the home circle, have been the means of cheering many a despondent soul, lifting the fallen to their feet, literally saving the lost. His severe aspect of countenance melted away in the sunny solicitude which he felt for their welfare, and which beamed forth from his eyes in his social intercourse with his people. He was specially fitted for that kind of work. Never seek- ing place or position for himself, he gave himself with a ARATUS KENT. 721 noble and entire consecration to seek much for others. Ever forgetful of self, he ministered in holiest and in hum- blest forms to others. Of him as of the Master it might be said in truth, "He saved others, himself he cannot save." The spirit within him that was ever reaching out a helping hand to a less fortunate fellow man, at times deepened into the very self-abnegation of the Apostle Paul, who " could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for my breth- ren, my kinsman, according to the flesh." His prayerful life made him watch for the opportunities to be useful. At home and abroad, on the street, on the steamboat, in rail- road cars, and in private carriage, he was ever on the alert to seize the flying chance to speak the helping word. Let me set forth this trait by a single illustration : A short time be- fore his death, being entertained one evening with a circle of friends in one of his home mission fields, a stranger accosted him, saying, "I presume you do not know me." "No," said Mr. Kent. "I do not at present recall you," " Several years ago," continued the gentleman, we were "ascending the Mississippi river together on the steamer War Eagle of the Northern Line. In the cabin there was a group of young men playing cards, gambling for the stakes. Being somewhat of an ex- pert at the game I watched it with a lively interest, and stood behind the players waiting my chances to take a hand. You were sitting at a distance absorbed in your own thoughts — I did not know you nor you me, but the twice that I lifted my eyes from the players they caught your eyes, and the consciousness that your were looking at me disconcerted me — and it did not help the matter that I went around the table so that my back was in your direction. Your eyes seemed to follow me. There was in them a kindness and re- proof that penetrated my very soul and held me in check. Yet I argued with myself that I was my own master, and would play at all hazzards. In my heart I was recklessly resisting the influences pleading with me, and in another moment would have signified my wish to stake something on the game, when you stepped up behind me, and as gently as possible laid your hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear, ' I guess I wonldn't,' and without attracting any atten- tion, passed on to the other end of the cabin — but your words did not pass on. They remained to guide my life in- to new channels. I am pastor now at H , and am trying to imitate you as you for long years have followed Christ." 45 722 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. Surely a " word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." But there was another influence operating on Mr. Kent's life that secured for him a great measure of his success, to which I have not yet alluded. It was the constant companion- ship of his heart — the loving, graceful, beautiful wife and mother of the household. With what tact, what infinite skill would she round-out whatever her quick sensibilities discovered lacking in her husband's word, tone, act or work. How unobtrusively she would charm us all into our best behavior and smile away the lingering clouds from every brow. We feared the dominie, but we worshiped the loving, gentle mother as the queen of all our hearts. Among the many noble and beautiful Christian women for which the city of Galena has been noted, Mrs. Caroline Corning Kent stood foremost. She was known only to be loved and wrought in womanly ways for the Master's cause with a devotion not second to her husband's." He loved her with all the devotion of which his somewhat rough nature was capable, and she in turn with the rich graces of her own heart beautified and softened his ruggedness. To our boyish eyes, Mr. Kent stood as an oak, strong, unwedg- able and gnarled, but in some way, we knew not how, she threw the mantle of her graces around those knots and hid from all eyes what may have been deemed unsightly. And we saw his rugged strength heightened and ennobled by the charm which her finer grace lent to his every virtue. Their rich contrast of character formed for those who knew them at home a very striking picture — a combination of virtue and of grace that was exceedingly lovely. And it would be a pleasant task to delineate more in detail the beautiful por- trait of their family life with its charming and strong con- trasts, but my time has been so broken, and my space so limited, that I have to pass it over as a beautiful landscape of which the artist catches a glimpse without time to repro- duce its tints or outline on canvas. Mr. and Mrs. Kent had three children, all of whom died in infancy. Yet their home was always full of children. In their broad, practical charity they made their house the orphans' home. They reared and educated twelve orphan children, all of whom, with perhaps a single exception, still live. Some of them fill places of trust and honor — all are useful members ARATUS KENT. 723 of society. How they accomplished so much with the small means at their command, we learn from a memoran- dum penned by Mr. Kent a short time before his last illness. Referring to his early married life he says : " It has been a striking providence that we set about housekeeping with a purpose to practice rigid economy (in defiance of surround- ing habits) and to dispense with hired help, indoors and out, that we might, by these retrenchments; lay by more to give to those benevolent objects which are so constantly claiming our charities. We have, therefore, for thirty-six years of our wedded life, employed on ordinary occasions no such help, but by the assistance of children, educated and trained to industrious habits, we have lived quite as comfortably as other families with whom we associate, and thus we have re- duced our expenses in wages, wood and food, and prevented much waste and vexation incident to employing irresponsible persons. And it affords us pleasure to reckon up some seven thousand dollars given away, while we have still enough laid by for a decent support in our old age." The magnitude of the sum saved and given away appears in its proper light only when we remember that it was accom- plished on a salary of six hundred dollars a year. This prac- tice of economy on their part lifted itself into the sphere of the positive virtue of self-denial, and together with the be- neficient spirit which prompted every act, is worthy of our profoundest admiration. Indeed it was ever the one con- troling desire of their hearts, their one holiest ambition, to execute in their lives the oft-enjoined maxim that the child- ren of God are but the almoners of God, stewards of the bounties which the most High has entrusted to their care. While penning these lines in my study, a noted missionary sits below in the quiet of the parlor talking with her hostess of the wants of the great missionary field. She is weary with her journeyings in behalf of the Woman's Board of Missions, indeed is worked down to the verge of exhaustion. While expressing her gratitude for the solicitude which had prompted the preparation of some delicacies for her use, she said : " I seldom purchase such things for myself, but keep all for Persia." And when that evening she stood in my pulpit I knew whence the spring of that mysterious influence which she wielded. It was the sublime spirit of self-sacrifice. Noth- ing for self— all for the Master "and for Persia." It winged her words with power, it mantled her cheek and kindled her 724 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. eye with such a glow as beamed from the countenance of the Divine Jesus who, as a missionary, walked in Oriental lands eighteen centuries before her. This devotion to the land, Avhere, as a missionary, she had spent the best years of her life, forcibly recalled to my mind the constant self-denial practiced by Mr. and Mrs. Kent and instilled into the minds of all who became inmates of their home. They saved, not to hoard, but to spend. They gathered, not to accu- mulate, but to distribute. But nothing for self, "All for Persia." To them Persia was the world. Their gifts, large and small, have entered almost every avenue which the be- neficence of the Presbyterian Church has opened, at home and abroad. The " causes " of our Church were each in turn remembered. Himself an agent of Home Missions, he generously aided the Foreign Board. Thought- ful for the comfort and education of those whom he had adopted into his family, he aided nine other young men ta qualify themselves for efficient ministerial work, and he has induced many others to enter the ministry, whom he aided by funds furnished at his solicitation by his relatives in New York, by Augustus Estey, Esq., and others of Galena. While bestowing his charities with a discriminating judgment at home, he gave freely of his services and his means to the establishment of three colleges and two young ladies* seminaries, all of. which are now in a prosperous condition- In October of 1868, in the seventy-fourth year of his age,, he was in his usual good health and actively engaged in his Mission work. The opening of the railroad to the Missouri river, and his life-long interest in the Missionaries to the Dacotahs, led him to vi3it them at the Santee Agency. Shut out as these families were from Christian sympathy, they an- ticipated great pleasure from his visit, and they were not disappointed. To the missionaries those weeks remain memorable for their sweet communion in reference to the Master's work. To Mr. Kent they were at once the crown- ing joy of his earthly life and the avenue by which his spirit entered "the joy of his Lord." Having unwittingly drank of the alkaline waters of that region he returned nome, after four weeks' absence, suffering severely from gastritis, which was soon followed by a low type of fever and symptoms u softening of the brain. For months he was confined to tli house, but with the early spring of iS69he rallied sufficient / to visit the East. His mmd became clear and his ..^aim. ARATUS KENT. 725 ■greatly improved. But he lived no longer for the earth and its labors. The forces of the world invisible had taken so strong a hold of his affections that he continually longed for the "rest that remaineth." During this brief season of un- clouded intellect, it was to him a source of great disappoint- ment that he had not already been called to deliver an ac- count of his stewardship. As the young anticipate the pleas- ures of a delightful journey, as the college lad the freedom of the long vacation and the pleasant reunions of summer months at home, so this servant of God yearned with restless longing for the hour when the silver cord should be broken and his freed spirit would mount to dwell forever with the Lord. After four months' absence, visiting friends in Cape May and a beloved sister in Philadelphia, he returned to the scene of his labors, and soon after, on the 8th of No- vember, breathed his last and entered into life. And three days later devout men carried to the grave the remains of one who feared nothing in the universe so much as that he might not know all his duty, or knowing would not do it. His physician and life-long friend, Horatio Newhall, of Ga- lena, wrote of him : " The country owes him a debt of grat- itude. He has performed labors, endured hardships and en- countered exposures in the prosecution of his work which he never would have attempted to gain wealth or fame. No man has lived in the Northwest who has so left behind him the impress of his life and influenced so many minds. May not the humble minister who has spent his energies gather- ing disciples on the frontier, and training them and their children for usefulness on earth and glory in heaven, be re- garded as having accomplished as much for his country's weal as the Senator whose thrilling speeches have electrified the nation?" An unpretentious marble marks his grave in the old cem- -etery at Galena. He wished for nothing more. He who had lived to impress his life upon his age had reared a mon- ument for himself in the hearts of men, more beautiful, more enduring than marble. Beloit College pouring streams of ripe scholarship into every profession ; Rockford Seminary, with her Christian culture, sweetening and exalting the daily life of hundreds of our homes ; churches in villages, towns and cities throughout this Northwest, which, from seedlings planted by his hand, have grown to spread their benedictions over tens of thousands — these are his monuments, a mag- 726 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLINOIS. nificent mausoleum, which shall keep fresh the memory of Aratus Kent. It is true Mr. Kent's labors were expended principally in the Northwest portion, of Illinois and in the adjacent parts of Wisconsin and Iowa. It is also true that he was one of the first members of Sangamon Presbytery and of Illinois Synod, and was present at its first meeting held at Hillsboro, in September, 1831. Moreover, in the latter years of his life he made several tours for ministerial labor through nearly the whole extent of what is now the Synod of Illinois South. Hence the introduction of^ the preceding graceful and interesting article cannot be regarded as militating with the general plan of the volume, though its most ap- propriate place would have been among the doings and sketches of 1831. INDEX TO CONTENTS. PAGE. PAGE. Abbey, Ed. W. 143 Bamett, John andWm. 19 433 335 335 219 Adams, Joseph, 367 Bartle, W, T. Adams, Wm. R. 586 Barton, C. B. Alexander, James M. 481 Titus T. - AUen, A. C. 309 Barr, Hugh, Allendale, ch. 633 Barrett, E. D. 626 Allen, Robert W. - 169, 484 Barstow, Joseph D. - 616 Allison, James W. - 521 Blackburn, Gideon, - - 12, 199 Alton, ch. the first, - 73 " Samuel, - 205 Alton, ch. the second, 172 Blanke, Henry, 538 Alton Presbytery, 246, 268, 281, 293 Brandt, J, B. 611 300, 310, 312, 320, 321, 330, 351 " Col. J. B, - 514 352, 362, 363, 368, 374, 387, 400 Brard, Miss Frances C. - 56, 87 401, 403, 404, 415, 416, 429, 433 Beach, Charles F. - 591 436, 447, 448, 452, 457, 465, 468 Beckwith Prairie ch. 560 486, 487, 509, 524, 537, 547, 552 Beecher, Edward, - 168 561, 573> 581, 590, 602, 614, 627 Bethel ch.. Bond Co., 99 642, 663, 674 " Coles Co. 176 Alvord, Alanson, - 679 " Crawford Co. 435 A. H. M. Society, 459 465 525-536 " Wayne Co. - 137, 140 Anderson, A. - 58 Bell, first Protestant in 111 145 Andrews, Amzi, - 59 Belleville ch. 188, 293, 317 Anna ch. - 617 Bennet, Isaac, 19, 75, 187 Apple Creek ch., 111. - 85, 168 Bement ch. 545 Apple Creek ch., Mo. - 61, 72 Bergen, John G. - 120, 141 Areola ch. - 275 Bethany ch. 328 Armstrong, C. Solon, - 667 Bird, W. H. 369 Armstrong, J. R. - - 608 Birch, Geo. W. F. - 573 Ashmore ch. - 298 Bishop, Noah, 465 Assembly, the first, - 8 Bissell, Sandford R. 592 Associate Reformed, - 15 Bliss, Stephen. - 75- 77 Assumption ch. - 523 " Samuel W. 82 Auburn ch. - - 676 Brich, John, 114 Avery, Abraham S. - 467 Bridgeport ch. 592 Baldridge, Samuel, M. D. - 225 Bridgman, Wm. 610 S. C. - 76, 445 Brighton ch. 372 Baldwin ch. - 318 Blodgett, Harvey, - 356 Baldwin, Mrs. C. W. - 26 Blood, C. E. 295 Theron, - - 64, 156 Brooks, A. L. 636 Barnes, Mrs. Lydia, - 151 " John F. iSi '* William, - 578 " Roswell, 1S9 728 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLLINOIS. Brown, Amos P. - - 235 Cerro-Gordo ch. 414 " Benj. B. - - 679 Chester 58 *' James R. - - 679 Chester, E, F. 349 " John H. - - 464 Chittenden, Wm. E. - 331 " Preston, - - 73 Coe,D. B. 525 Brownlee, James, - - 616 College, Jacksonville, - 141, 150 Brownstown ch. - - 488 Collins, Miss Almira, - 36 Bovell, Stephen J. - - 599 " William 62 Buck, Elijah, - - 583 CoUinsville ch. 83 Buffalo ch. - '■' - 609 Conn, Mrs. Eliza, 54 Bullard, Artemas, - - 161 " Samuel, 626 Burr, Mrs. P. - - 53. 54 Cook, Solomon, 679 Butler Calvin, - - 401 Corbett, H. M. 564 " James G. - - 67s Cottage-of-Peace 95 " Joseph, - 190, 192, 267 Crocker, Dea.Josiah, - - 49- 148 " ch. - - 494 Crozier, John, 419 BruUItt's Creek ch. - - 214 Cumberland Presbyterian 9 Bryant, E. G. - - 562 " Precinct ch. 489 Cairo ch. - - - 513 Danforth, Cyrus, 75 " first Sabbath in - 514 Danville ch. - 212, 213 " its church building, - 514 Darrah, Martin B. 19 Caledonia ch. - - 437 Darwin ch. 213 Campbell, John C. - - 211 Dashiell, Alfred H. - 217 Cambridge Platform, - 2 Davies, Samuel, 6 Cameron, James, - - 415 Davis, James Scott, - 666 Candee, I. N. - - 488, 656 " Geo. F. 683 Cannon, Ann B. - - 25 " Thomas D. 621 Carbondale ch. - - 448, 676 Dawson ch 483 Carlinville ch. - - 207, 288 Decatur ch. first & Second, 427 Carlyle ch. - - 296 Deering, John K. 404 Carmi ch. - - "5 Deming, F. A. SOI CarroUton ch. - - 86, 169 Denmark ch. 638 Catlin, Oren, - - 34, 38, 85 Denny, A. N. 553 Cave-in Rock, - - 45 Deirow, Nathan B. - - 41,46 Cave-Spring ch. - - •441 Dickey, Ninian S. 680 Chamberlin, Wm. - - 300 DiUingham, Henry D. 614 Chatham ch. - - 222 Dimond, David, 432 Charles, B. H. - - 492 Dixon, A. M. 381 Charleston ch. - - 240 Dwight, President, - 3 Clark, A. J. - - 621 Dook, Miss Lucinda, 226 " Gen. Geo. R. - - 406 Dodge, John V. 403 " Gideon C. - - 408 " Richard V. - 400 Crab- Orchard ch. - - 297 Dongola ch. 674 Crawford, John, - . 44 Donnell, Thomas, 71 Central ch. Jacksonvile, - 278 Downer, J. C. 479 Central Presbytery 140, 142 161, 166 Du Bois ch. 668 Centralia ch. - - 473 Ducoign, the Name, - 352 INDEX TO CONTENTS. 729 Ducoign, New, the ch. - 474 Fulton ch. - 139 " Female Seminary, - 704 Gallaher, Thomas, - 117 Dunn, James R. - 363 Wm. G. - 116 Ebenezer ch. - 436 Galum ch. - 348 Eddy, Chauncy, - 328 Gardner, William. - 29 Edgewood ch. - 661 Wilham B 330 Edwards, Jonithan, - - 3 Gear, D. L. - - 58 " Joseph S. - - 468 Georgetown ch. - 518 Edwardsville ch. the first - 39 Gerry, Reuben, - 257 " ch. the second - 268. Gibson, John, - 389 Efiingham ch. - 598 W. J. - - 389- 390 Ehzabethtown ch. - - 635! W. P. - 617 Ellis, John M. 55. 56, 59 Giddings, Salmon, 21, 33- 34, 37. 52 " Mrs. F. C. B. - - 66 Gilead ch., Jeflferson Co. 170 Elkhom ch. - 187 " ♦' Lawrence Co. 676 Filers, William, - 591 Gilgal ch. - 670 Elliott, John, - 679 Gillispie ch. - - 487 Elm-Point ch. - 440 Glover, L. M. - 382 Enfield ch. - 649 Godfrey, Capt. Benj - 701 Episcopacy in Virginia, - 5. 7 Golconda ch. - 41 Equality ch. - 182 Goodale, Geo. W. - 548 Evans, David W. - 693 Gordon, Joseph, - 368 Ewlng, Alex, - 186 Gould, Daniel, - - 41, 73 " David, - 410 " Thomas, - - 75. 78 " F. N. - 260 " - 633 Ewington ch. - 405 Grand Tower ch. - 674 Exeter ch. - 327 Grandview ch. - 361 Farris, \Vm. B. - 673 Grass Lake, - 64 Felch, C. P. - 612 Graves, F. W. - 219 Finley, John E. - II " Joseph S. - 388 First churches in IIU. - 139 Gray, Joseph J, - 563 Eish, Edward F. - 663 Grayville ch. - 575 Fisher, Geo. W. - 670 Greenville ch. - - 103, 281 Fithian, William, - 334 Gregg, Martin B. - 647 Elint, Timothy, - 52,71 Greenfield ch. - 517 Flora ch. - 495 Greenhef, Wm C. - 267 Folsom, Ezekiel, - 562 Greenup ch. - 679 Foote, Chas. H. - 548 Gridley, R. W. - 264 Foster, A. S. - - 679 Grosvenor, Lemuel, - 3S8 " Lemuel - 193 Grout, Joseph M. - 393 Fowler, Joseph, - 283 Grove ch. - 43 Fox, John, - 679 Hale, Albert, - - lSl,222 Eraser, Abram B. - 679 Halsey, Chas F. - 6C2 " George - 679 Hamilton, Alfred, D . D. 5S1 " William J. 168, 184, 194, 215 D. H. - - 555- 574 Friendsville ch. - 482 William - 20, 1 86 " Seminary - - 482 Hanna, Mrs. Agnes, - 43 730 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLLINOIS. Hardin ch. 429 Illinois State, - _ 55 Hardy, Solomon, 104 " Territory, - 51 Harrisburg ch. 648 " Presbytery 162 167, 168, 178 Harsha, W, W. 662 184, 194, 232, 242, 263, 327, 334 Harrison, Wm. H. 51 364, 393, 407, 418, 434, 437, 449 Harristown ch 614 458, 490, 5 16,' 540, 542, 555, 569^ Hart, Chas. C. 679 577, 585, 594, 607, 619, 636, 655 Hassinger, Peter 435 670. Hawkins, John L. - 20, 365 Illiopohs ch. - - 641 Hawley, Stiles -■'■''■ 160 Ilsley, Wm. H. - 143, 682 Head, Simon C. 690 Indiana Territory, . 51 Heard, Joseph 50 Ingersoll, John, - 417- Hebron ch. 298 Jacks6n, Andrew, - 12 Hedges, Thornton K. 639 Jacksonville, First ch. - no Hempstead, Stephen. 17 " Female Acadei ny- 70J Hendrickson, Wm A. 679 Jenney, Elisha, 179,534 Herman ch. 632 Jennings, C. P. - 679 Herrick, Henry 163 Jerseyville, First ch, - - 195 Hershey, Andrew M. 20 " Second ch.- - 484 " a it _ 285 *' German, - 552 Hickory Creek ch. 391 Johnson, Adam C. - 685 Hill, Timothy, 588 " John M. - . 664 Hillsboro, III. 12S Johnston, Wm. L. - 698 Hillsboro Presbytery, - 537,552 Jones, John D. . 665 Hitchcock, Miss P. A. 325 " L. - 595 Hogan, John, 251 Wilhston, - - 352 Holhster, Edward, - 40, 73 Jordon's Grove ch. - - 318 Homer ch. 624 Kansas ch. - 523 Homes, Henry 61 Kaskaskia, 14, 15,49,50 Hood, John 672 church. - 54 Hopewell ch., Bond Co. 328 " Library Association, 56,57 " Franklin Co. 357 " Presbytery, 72, 162, 170, 1 8a '* Lawrence Co. 508 185, 208, 221, 243, 264, 273, 286 " or New Hope 46 296, 309, 317, 328, 348, 350, 357 Howe, Elbridge G. - - 89, 96, 98 365. 383, 394,402, 411, 418, 435 Howell, Ellis D. 505 440, 450, 459, 460, 480, 491, 51S " John S. 20 577, 587, 594, 620, 636, 670. " John Smith, - 358 Keating, Edward, - - 256 Hunt, N. A. 363 Kemper, Aug. S. - 572 Huntington, Enoch - 260 Kennedy, John, - 58, 402 Hurlbut, T. B. 232 Kenmore, Charles, - - 486 Hurricane ch. 352 Kent, Aratus, - 709 Hurd, Edwin L. 696 Kidd, John, - 659 Huston, John, 50s Kimball, Milton, - 218 Hyde, Smith H. 607 King, Geo. Ives, - 644 Hynes, Thomas W. - 359 Kingsbury, Enoch, - - 210,211 Ignorant preachers, - 340 " Nathaniel, - 274 INDEX TO CONTENTS. 73^ Kirby, William, Kirkwood, Robert, Knob-Prairie ch. Krum, John M. Laird, F. H. L. Lapsley, J. E. " Robert, Laurie, Thomas, Larkinsburg ch. Lawrenceville ch. Leavenworth, Mrs. Lebanon ch. " German ch Leffler, Benj. Leggett, Miss C. Lewis, Henry R. Liberty ch. *' Prairie ch S.J. w. Madison Piatt Co. Co Lick Creek ch. Lilly, R. H. - - 20 Lincoln, W. E. Lippincott, Thomas, - 141 Litchfield ch. Little, John W. " Geo. L. Lively's Prairie ch - Long, Enoch, Loomis, Hubbel, Loudon, Clark Loughead, S. D. - Longpoint ch. Love, David R. - Lovejoy, E. P. " his last speech " his death Low, Benj. - - 52, Luce, Andrew, Lummis, W. D.- Lyons, Luke, McCluskey ch. McComb, Geo. B. - McCord, John W. - McCune, R. Lewis - - 20 McDonald, John McFarland, Allan D. F. 179 I 284 I 357 I 250 I 519 625 46 308 632 386 j 52 618 ! 644 ! 350 j 149 I 446 I 319 I 374 i 414 I 209 291 692 147 459 266 603 450 256 311 590 588 412 595 247 251 259 107 646 285 274 649 448 .575 158 521 573 McGready, James, - Mcintosh, McKee, D. D. McKelvey, H. A. - McKinney, Robert C. McLeanesboro ch. - McMillan, Edward, - McMurray, J. E. McNair, J. L. Mack, John, Macon ch. Makemie, Francis, - Mann, Alfred M. " John Manton, D. E. Manchester ch. Marine ch. Marion ch. Marshall ch. " Lyman, Marquis, David C. - Martin, Almond G. - " C. D. Martinsville ch. Mason ch. Mascoutah ch. Massac, Ft. Mathes, Alvin R. Mattice, Henry Mathews, John Matthews, Mrs. S. - R. J. L. - Mattoon ch., the first, " " " second, Maynard, Washington, May, Geo. Mayo, B. E. Mechanicsburg ch. - Messenger, B. Y. Metropolis City ch. - Miller, Geo. D. Miller, John Mills, Samuel J. Mitchell, R. A. " Samuel W. - " W. L. Milton ch. - 18, 19, 22 249 299 664 579 - 419,648 476 416 660 679 602 I 697 55 269 - 220,343 208 354 360 694 679 536 679 444 - 498,615 545 405 685 638 57: 70, 141 325 696 503 504 641 75.77 679 316 163 405 558 679 12, 13, 17, 52 443 613 552 559 732 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLLINOIS. Moawequa cli. 627 Ottawa Presbytery, - - 215 Monfort, C. Van H. 610 Oviatt, T. M. - 679 Monticello ch. 452 Palestine ch. - 170 " Seminar}', 702 Palestine Presbytery, 210, 223, 240 245 Montgomery, John, - 180 267, 274, 275, 289, 297, 309 310 Moore, Miss Josephine, 65 319, 329. 350. 351, 360, 366 367 Moro ch. 398 383, 3S4, 394, 403, 414. 419 425 Morrison, A. P. - 679 436, 441, 444. 451. 460, 481 505 " James L. D*-' 35 507, 521, 545, 558, 571, 579 589 " Mrs P. - 702 613, 624, 640, 661, 673 " Robert, - 53 Palmer, Charles H. - - 367 Morton, Henry T. - 522 " Nathan S. - - 461 " Samuel M. 688 WiUiam R. - - 499 Mound City ch. 536 Palmyra, - 77 Mt. Carmel ch. 276 Pana ch. - 470 Mt. Olivet ch. 522 Panther Creek ch. - - 264 Mt. Vernon ch., Bond Co. - 418 Paris ch. - 87 " " " Jefferson Co. - 447 Patrick, Hillery, - 413 Mt. Vernon ch. 297 Patterson, Andrew 0. - 19 23 Mud Creek ch. 274 Paull, Findley, - 172 Mulberry Grove ch. - 354. 610 Peccan Bottom ch. - - 264 Murphysboro ch. 364 Pennoyer, Andrew L. - 679 Murrayville ch. 310 Pentzer, Valentine, - - 400 Naples ch. - 180 Perkins, Geo. K. - 653 Nashville ch. 187 Perrin, Truman, - 80 JVaylor, A. R. 584 Pettigrew, Samuel, - - 450 Neoga ch. 506 Phillips, Chas. T. - - 697 New Amity ch. 638 Pierson, George, - 409 Newell, Samuel, 442 Pinckneyville ch, - 416 639 " Thomas M. 679 Pisgah ch., Gallatin Co. - 28S New Haven ch. 146 " " Morgan Co. - 184, 224 New Hope, Jasper Co. 559 Pitkin, Caleb J. - 479 New Providence ch. 142 Piatt, Henry D. - 433 Newton ch. 276 " Joseph, - 329 Newton, T. H. 586 Pleasant Prairie ch, - - 163 Nine-Mile Prairie ch. 320 Pleasant Ridge ch, - - 411 Noble Township ch. 612 Plum Creek ch. - 331 Nokomis ch. 573 Pocahontas ch. - 440 North Arm ch. 427 Pollock, G. A. - 611 Norton, Aug. T. - 233 Pond, BiUous, - 679 Nutting, Rufus, 434 Post, W. S. - 486 Odin ch. - 292 Porter, Josiah, - 314 Okaw ch. - 275 Potter, Mary P. - 28 Old Ducoign, 320 Powers, W. K. - 679 Ormsby, Martin B.- 544 Prairie Bird ch. - 542 Olmsted, E. B. 375 " City ch. - 613 Olney ch. - - - 507 Prentiss, Norman A. - 544 INDEX TO CONTENTS. ??>}; Presbytery, first, - - 2 583, 592. 618, 63 I, 647, 669.675. " Center, - - 39 Sanders, W. D. 449. Prestley, Wm. H. - - 683 Sandoval ch. 539 Princeton College, - - 6 Sangamon ch. lie Procter, David C. - - 83 " Presbytery, 162, 176, 183, Prospect ch. - - 43 192, 209, 221, 240, 245, 266, 277, Pyle, Geo. W. - - 332 293. 299, 310, 320, 330, 35 1' 362, Quincy ch. - - 167 3(^7' 387, 396. 403. 415, 427, 436, Ranney, J. A. - - 331 446, 451, 463, 482, 508, 523, 547, Rankin, John G. - - 407 560, 573, 581, 589- 600, 613, 625, Rattan's Prairie, - - 398 640, 662, 673 Reasoner, John S. - - 679 Saye, John B. 451 Redbud ch. - - 411 Scarritt, Isaac, 534 Reed, Isaac, - - 79. 92 Schermerhorn, John F. 12. 13 " James A. - - 679 Schofield, Edward, - 699 Reints, John H. - - 658 Scott, Joseph H. 627 Reporter, Presbytery, - 235 " Samuel T. 35 Reynolds, Miss E. - - 707 Seaman, Charles, 646 " Robert, - - 50 Selleck, Charles G. - 261 " Thomas, - - 562 Sharon ch. - 18 Richland ch. - - 395- 396 Shawneetown, 14, f5, 25. 106 Richview ch. - - 487 Shelby ville ch. 0. s. - ?>3(> ^iggSj Cyrus, - - 265 " 409. " C. - - 286 Sheldon, James B. - 589 " Illinois, - - 136 Shepard, Adam, 8t Ringland, Adam W - 691 Sherrard, Thomas, - 562 Robertson, S. H. - - 620 Shiloh ch. - 189, 191 Robinson ch. - - 395 " Lawrence Co. 297 W. McC. - - 687 Shipman ch. 469 Rochester ch. - - 357 Shoal Creek ch. - 33, 418 Rockwood ch. - - 319 Shobonier ch. 669 Root, Lucius I. - - 644 Side, New and Old, 4 Roots, B. G. - - 707 Silliman, John, 20. 21. 243 Ross, Robert G. - - 657 Sim, Wm. R. 492 Routes. Water, Westward, - 8 Simpson, Robert, 414 Rudd, Robert, - - 6S9 Simrall, John G. 679 Russ, John H. - - 404 Smith, Albert, - 456. 467 Rutherford, Robert, - - 796 " Daniel, 13. 17. 18, 51 St. Charies, Mo. - - 71 " Horace, - 163. 176 St. Johns' (German )ch. - 564 «' James, D. D. 39S St. Louis in 1814, - - 16 " Mrs. John Blair,. - 39- «i8 Salem ch. - - 480, 658 •' Joseph, 22 " Macoupir 1 Co. - 309 " Samuel B. 492 " Presbytery, - 79 " Socrates, 2,S'> Saline Mines, ch. of - - 675 " Thomas, - 20, 650 " Works, - - 15 " Wm. A. 679. " Presbytery, 540, 55 565. 574, " W\ H. 63a 734 PRESBYTERIANISM IN ILLLINOIS. Sneed, S. K. - - 509 Tacusa ch. - . 523 Snow Hill ch. - - I Taggart, Samuel B. - 589 Society, A. H. M. - - 459 46s Tamaroa ch. - 589 Soule, John B. L. - - 619 Taper ch. - 151 South, Green, - - 195 Tarbet, Wm. L. - 438. 541 Sparta ch. - - 318 ,695 Taylor, C. H. - 512 Spaulding, Geo. - - 391 '« Eli W. - 581 Spence, Wm. B. - - 601 " Hiram F. - - 436 Spencer, Thomas, . ■■■' - 596 " Wm. M. - 679 Spilman, Benj. 23. 24, 2 5. 27 131 Taylorville ch. - 483 " B. F. - 19. 20, 2 3, 80 Teitsworth, W, P. - - 617 " James H. - - 671 Templeton, Wm. H. - 519 " Thomas A - lOI Tenney, David, - 38,52 " Thomas E . - 638 Thayer, Erastus W. - 292 Spining, C. P. - - 546 Third ch. Springfield, - 397 Sprague, Daniel Green, 34, 38, 85 Thomas, Col. John, - 54 Spring Cove ch. - - 206 Henry E. - - 679 Springfield, First ch. - 116 Wm. G. - - 679 " Second ch. -' 222 Thompson, Oliver S. - 698 " Third ch. - 597 Thomson, P. W. - 3S5 Stafford, James, - 20 145 237 Thornton, J. C. - 599 Star-faUing, - - 443 Tillson, John, - 131, 133 Stark, J. W. - - 570 " Mrs. John, - 107, 134 Staunton ch. - - 328 Timberville ch. - 633 Stebbins, Geo. - - 637 Todd, Andrew, - 277 Steele, John A. - - 679 " David R. - - 538 Steeles' Mills ch. - - 519 Tolono ch. - - 498 Stewart, Robert, - - 197 Townsend, Jesse, - 105 " W. K. - - 172 Trenton ch. - 496 Stout, Adriel, - - 88 Trinity ch. - - 191 Strange, F. G. - - 684 Troy ch. - 312 String Prairie ch. - - 195 Tuck, Nathan F. - 679 Sugar Creek ch. - - 144 Tucker, Joshua T. - - 261 " '• Sangamon P •esb. 209 Turkey-Hill ch. - 49 Sullivan ch. - - ++6 Tuscola ch. - - 507 Sturtevant, J. M. - - 157 Tuthill, Geo. M. - 415 Swan, B.C. - 20 loS 565 Uhlfelder, Sigmund - 457 Swift, Miss Patty, - - 147 Unity ch. - 521 Synod, the first, - - 2 Union ch. - 169 " Division of, - - 4 " county ch. - 570 " New-York, - - 4 " ch. Clark Co. - 572 Synod of Illinois, 162, 183, 194, 214, " ch. Lawrence Co. - 445 231, 241, 262, 283, 295, •• ch. Macoupin Co. - 417 307, 355. 389, 391, 458, Upper Alton ch. - 247 475. 4S9, 515. 540, 554, University, Blackburn, - 707 ■569, 576, 585. 593, 607, Vanatta, P. R. - 490 619 635, 654 670 Van Burensburg ch. - 391 INDEX TO CONTENTS. 735 Vance, Samuel E. - - 580 Vandalia ch. - - - 135 Van Deursen, R. E . - 623 Van Nest, P. S. - - 646 Venable, H. I. - - 290 Vera ch. - - 669 Vergennes ch. - - 374 Villa Ridge ch. - - 669 Virden ch. - - 438 Wabash ch. - - - 74 " College, - - 63 " Piesbyter>', 402, 412, 418, 435. 441, 451 460, 481, 498, 520, 545. 558 570, 579, 588, 594, 610 , 623, 639, 659, 673 Wagaman, John C. - 679 Wallace, David A. - - 425 Walnut Grove ch. - - 274 " Prairie ch. - - 214 Wakefield ch. - - 522 Walton, James S. - - 536 Ward, J. Jerome, - - 590 " Samuel, - - 457 Warren, Joseph, - - (>33 AVatson ch. - - 598 " Cyrus L. - - 152 Waveland ch. - - 317 W^ells, W. W. - - 452 West Liberty ch. - - 244 Western Saratoga ch. - 364 Westminster ch. - - 543 West Okaw ch. - - 561 " Union ch. - - 310 Whittaker, H. B. - 326 White, Reuben, - 224 Whitehall ch. - 86, 2S6 Whitney, Dewey, - 209, 210 Wilbur, Backus, - 19,23 " H. N. - 615 Williams, J. A. - 658 Williams, L. S. - 271 " Nathaniel, - 579 R. G. - 679 W. H. - - 308 W. W. - - 661 Williamson, Abraham, - 41 Wilson, Joseph, - 383 " Joseph M. - - 654 Winchester ch. - 270 Wines, Fred. H. - - 6oi Wood, Geo. C. - 271 " Josiah, - 325 •' Morgan L. - - 577 Woodside, John S. - - 634 Worcester, Miss E. - - 78 " Noah, D. D. - 78 Wright, A. W. - 682 Wylie, Samuel, - 52 " S. R-'H. - 447 Xenia ch. - 495 Year: 1816, 18 — '31, 167- -'32, 178- '33, 184—34, 194- - 35, 216— '36, 232— '37, 242- -'38, 263- '39, 270 — '40, 284- -'31 296— '42, 308—43, 3^3- -'44, 327- '45, 334— '46, 356- -'47, 364- '48, 381—49, 393- -'50, 402— '51, 407—52, 418- -'53, 434— '54, 437—55, 449- -'56. 45S- '57- 476—58, 490- -'59. 5i<>- '60, 540—61, 555- -'62, 5"9— '63, 577— '64, 585- -'65, 594— '66, 607— '67, 619- -'68, 636- '69. 655—' 70, 670 York ch. - 292 Young. Clayton, - 143 " John, - 95 '« P. D. - 366 Zion ch. 491 Princeton Theoloqical ,.f ,f,"[!i'ia['L,ii'|^:^[f 11012 01250 9644