USA > Illinois > Church of the Brethren in southern Illinois > Part 2
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N. H. Heck. Earthquake History of the United States. United States De- partment of Commerce, Coast and Geodetic Survey Special Publication No. 149 (1928). Pages 37-41
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religious awakening throughout that entire region. In the Wolfe community a Methodist minister held revival meet- ings and fourteen, mostly of Brethren parentage, applied for membership. They were accepted as inquirers and se- lected George Wolfe as their leader. Remembering the doctrines preached by his father, he was not satisfied with the Methodist teaching and suggested to the group that they send for a Brethren minister to baptize them. Hun- saker was sent to Kentucky on this mission. The second day on the trip he met Elder John Hendricks on his way to Union County. The settlers were surprised at his re- turn after an absence of only a few days, as the trip or- dinarily would have taken more than a week.
In Clear Water Creek, Elder Hendricks baptized George Wolfe and his entire group. These were the first to be baptized by the Brethren in Illinois. After holding several meetings, Elder Hendricks returned to Kentucky, but in a few months came back and organized the first Brethren church in Illinois, in 1812. John Hendricks was chosen elder- in-charge. He had intended to ordain George Wolfe soon, but died in the spring of 1813; so the ordination was in charge of Elder Adam Hostettler of Shelby County, Ken- tucky.1
They soon had a well-organized church and built a meetinghouse; it was probably a large log building and was located on the road between Anna and Saratoga.2 The first Brethren meetinghouse erected in the state, it was known as the old Dunkard church.
George Wolfe showed unusual ability in church leader- ship and was given charge of the church. He was self-edu- cated through careful study, was forceful in the pulpit, and became the strongest preacher in all that region. For nine- teen years he labored most earnestly in Union County.
1 J. H. Moore. Some Brethren Pathfinders. Pages 70-71
2 Ibid. Page 84
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On one occasion he held a debate with a Catholic priest. The interest was so great that the governor of the state attended . . . . So complete was truth magnified on this occasion that the governor thought it well to send a detachment of soldiers to escort Brother Wolfe from the place, lest the opposition would harm him.1
George Wolfe was interested and active in public affairs and "by taking the field against slavery helped to make the territory a free State. It is said that he did more than any other man in the State to keep slavery out of Illinois."2
In the year 1827 a number of Brethren moved from Union County to Adams County, Illinois. Among them were the Hunsakers and William Lierly. In 1831 George Wolfe with thirty others also moved near the site of the present town of Liberty, and in a few years half of the members of the Union County church had moved to Adams County. Of the next fifty years in the Union County church we know very little.
Adam Hock, in the Brethren at Work, March 13, 1879, wrote:
I have read of some in the Brethren at Work who were destitute of the bread of life but not so long as we were, for we did not get to hear the pure word preached for twelve years, till last summer, when a brother came down from the north and preached for us, and baptized three. Now there are nine of us, and no shepherd . . . .
In 1880 Elder John Metzger and John Wise made a visit to Union County and reported in the Brethren at Work of October 5: "In Union County we found twelve members; one added while we were there. Held a number of meet- ings."
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John Wise from Mulberry Grove visited the church again in 1882. His account in the Brethren at Work, Sep- tember 26, was:
I left home August 23rd for Union County, Illinois. Arrived at Makanda the 24th; commenced meeting the same evening. Had good congregations. On the 27th held a love feast with the few members. Thirteen members communed . . . . Brother D. Frantz of
1 Miller and Royer. Some Who Led. Pages 32-33
2 J. H. Moore. The Boy and the Man. Page 68
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Cerro Gordo arrived just in time to enjoy the feast. Left Brother Frantz to continue meetings . ... The little band of believers in Union County are alive and active.
The Union County church is last listed in the district meeting minutes of 1884.
Union County is said to have received its name from an incident in which George Wolfe, Jr., figured. When a seal was designed for Union County, in which Wolfe first settled when he came to Illinois in 1808, his figure and that of a Baptist minister were made a part of it. The two men had held a union meeting and the design on the seal shows them shaking hands. "The seal illustrating this historic incident was designed and adopted in 1850, at the sugges- tion of Gov. Dougherty. The union meeting of these pioneer preachers was held about 1816 or 1817."1
SUGAR CREEK (1830-1919)
Sugar Creek was the second church organized by the Brethren in the state of Illinois. The first services held by the Brethren in Sangamon County were conducted in 1828 by Elder George Wolfe of Union County. Before this time, a number of Brethren families had settled in Morgan and Sangamon counties. Among these were James Gibson and his wife, Rebecca Robinson Gibson, who had come from Wilson County, Tennessee; they were the parents of Isham Gibson. In 1828 Elders John Dick and Joseph Roland of Kentucky had settled in Sangamon County.
When Elder Roland was preaching in Kentucky, a young schoolteacher, Isham Gibson, rode forty miles to be bap- tized by him. Gibson was elected to the ministry when he was twenty, and at twenty-three was ordained an elder
1 William H. Perrin, Editor. History of Alexandria, Union and Pulaski Coun- ties, Illinois. Chicago: O. L. Baskin and Co. (1883). Page 286
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----
OLD SUGAR CREEK CHURCH
by Joseph Roland. Soon afterwards, in about 1830, Elder Isham Gibson moved to Morgan County, Illinois, where the Sugar Creek church was organized on June 20, 1830, by Elders Isham Gibson, Joseph Roland and John Dick. Among the charter members of this congregation were the Gibsons, Vancils, Shutts, Gateses, Harmons, Searses, Thompsons and others.
Elder Roland died soon after the church was organ- ized and Isham Gibson took most of the responsibility for the work, which was growing with increasing numbers of members moving there, mainly from Tennessee and Ken- tucky. Gibson also opened up work in Macoupin County and in 1846 he moved to Stirrup Grove on Otter Creek. Other members settled in that locality and the church name was changed from Sugar Creek to Otter Creek.
In this congregation several men were called to the min- istry: D. B. Sturgis in 1833; C. C. Gibson in 1862; A. P. Gib- son in 1859; Carroll Buch in 1860; D. R. C. Nead in 1862; and Daniel Vaniman in 1865.
In the year 1864, a meetinghouse was built south of
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Stirrup Grove; but within a few years this house of wor- ship became inadequate to accommodate the increasing membership, and in 1867 another church house was built three miles southwest of Virden and named Pleasant Hill.
Since the country was new, with the population widely scattered, Isham Gibson opened up work in Sangamon Coun- ty. By 1870, the Otter Creek congregation had become so large that a division of territory was decided upon: the east part was called Bear Creek and the north part was called Sugar Creek, thus reviving the original name. The name, Otter Creek, was dropped.
This reorganization of the Sugar Creek church in 1870 took place on the grounds of the original Sugar Creek church, which had been organized in 1830. Just before 1870 a num- ber of members had moved there from Pennsylvania and Virginia, which warranted the reorganization with seven- teen members. Isaac Neff was the elder and David Kimmel the minister. On March 16, 1875, Javan Gibson and Daniel Vaniman were elected to the ministry.
F. H. Dove in the Pilgrim of June 28, 1874, gave a report of his visit to the West at the time when the Annual Meeting was held in this church.1
For two weeks F. H. Dove held meetings in Macoupin and Montgomery counties. He preached at the Studebaker schoolhouse and in three churches in Girard: the Baptist, the Methodist and the Universalist. He also had meetings with the Brethren at West Otter Creek and at other places in that neighborhood and preached twice at the Cherry Grove schoolhouse. At that time, the ministers of the con- gregation were C. C. Gibson, D. R. C. Nead, J. W. Harsh- barger and Jonathan Brubaker. By the year 1880 the mem- bership numbered one hundred. A Sunday school was organized in 1888.
1 For an account of the Annual Meeting of 1874 see page 147.
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In the Primitive Christian and Pilgrim, June 26, 1877, Rachael Combs wrote that there were about twenty mem- bers in Cass County, mostly sisters living in three different neighborhoods, which were about nine or ten miles apart. They had no minister among them; occasionally they were visited by ministers who lived some fifty miles away, but all the meetings on one trip were held in one neighborhood and it was a long time before the entire circuit was com- pleted and services were held in each of the three localities. T. A. Robinson was elected to the ministry at Ashland, Cass County, in 1880, but in 1887 he moved farther west into Kansas.
No records have been found of the organization of a church at Ashland, or of disorganization. Judging from an account in the Gospel Messenger of July 8, 1890, it was considered a part of the Sugar Creek church, which then numbered about sixty members, living scattered. Eight of the members lived somewhat isolated in Cass County, where meetings were held in a schoolhouse once a month. In September 1890 a series of meetings was held in the Circleville schoolhouse, seven miles north of Ashland, Cass County, by B. F. Masterson, who wrote of the meetings in the Messenger of October 15, 1890: ". . . sister Rachel Combs, of four score, walked several times to the place of meeting, a distance of one mile .... There is no organized church within forty miles of these members." Two were added to the church as a result of this meeting, making a total of five members then in Cass County.
Other preaching points of the Sugar Creek church were schoolhouses where meetings were held every two weeks. Social meetings were held in the homes on Sunday evenings, with a good interest.
In this congregation Isaac Gibble, B. F. Masterson and Frank Gibson were elected to the ministry. Elders of this
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church were Isaac Neff, Jacob Waggoner, Isaac Gibble, M. J. McClure, Conrad Fitz, J. H. Brubaker, B. F. Filbrun, and Charles C. Gibson.
The members of the Sugar Creek church asked for dis- organization, which was effected on October 29, 1919. The territory, church property and letters of membership were transferred to the Virden church.
MILL CREEK, now LIBERTY (1831-)
The Mill Creek church was a child of the Union County church, as from that place a number of members moved to Adams County, Illinois, as early as 1827. A few years later they were joined by Elder George Wolfe, Jr., and his family, with about thirty relatives and friends. These Brethren set- tled in the country, not far from Liberty, in 1831. One of the first things that they did was to organize a church. In September of that year the deacons visited all the mem- bers and a church council was held. Finding all the mem- bers in love and union, they held a love feast on the fourth Saturday of September 1831 in the house of Brother John Weigle; Elder Wolfe was the only minister present. From that date to at least 1881, not a single year passed without one or more love feasts being held in the Mill Creek church.
At first they had no church building, but they met in homes, first in one and then in another. Sometime during the year 1831 a church building was erected in the timber near the present site of the Seigle schoolhouse, two miles west of Liberty. This was one of the first meetinghouses built by the Brethren in the state of Illinois.
The Mill Creek church grew and prospered and with- in a very few years had a membership of over two hundred. Two ministers were elected: William R. Lierly and John
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McClintock. In 1850 they were both advanced to the second degree of the ministry. David Wolfe was elected as a min- ister in 1861 and three years later was ordained to the elder- ship by Elders Isham Gibson and John Fitz.
In the early 1870's the members of the Mill Creek con- gregation realized that they had outgrown the old meeting- house and they began planning for a new church home. As Liberty was a growing town and was centrally situated, it was considered a good place for a church. On June 14, 1874, the deed to an acre of land at the northeast corner of Liberty was given by Philip G. Corkins and his wife to the trustees of the German Baptist Brethren church at Lib- erty; on this land they built their new church house.
After the death of Elder George Wolfe, the church came under the care of his son, Elder David Wolfe, who served as elder until his death in 1879; then the church was placed under the supervision of Daniel Vaniman until 1881, when Elder H. W. Strickler was chosen elder-in-charge.
In 1875 the district meeting of Southern Illinois (then called "the annual council") was held in the Mill Creek church. A love feast was held immediately preceding the conference.
During the next few years the Mill Creek church grew until there were preaching appointments at six different places. Elder H. W. Strickler wrote in the Brethren at Work of September 28, 1880:
We are scattered over a large part of four counties: Pike, Brown, Hancock, and Adams; the last named is the central point. This arm of the church is known as the Mill Creek church and numbers about one hundred fifty members, and is sub-divided into four parts: Bar- ry, Liberty, Concord, and Loraine . ... Owing to many places of meeting there were four councils appointed, making travel of at least sixty miles the shortest possible route to reach all of them.
In February of the year previous (1879) Brother Dan- iel Vaniman, one of the evangelists of the Southern District of Illinois, had visited all of these places and also another
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preaching appointment at Camp Point, which was about eighteen miles from the home of Elder H. W. Strickler. In 1882 Jacob Coppock wrote in the November 7 issue of the Brethren at Work that Brother J. Ebersole was through the valley, attending a number of love feasts and preaching "with great power and ability for a brother of his age." Of the service on Thanksgiving Day, he said:
Brother Wm. L. Lierly, home minister, delivered a very appro- priate sermon on the occasion. Bro. Lierly is a strong and energetic speaker. Few persons in or out of the church can quote Scriptures as readily as he can, being frequently called the "Walking Bible." It appears that he has almost all the Bible at his command and is consequently a very able defender of the practices of the church . ...
As a rule, the Mill Creek church contributed quarterly for the church and mission purposes. Elder Vaniman sent the following report to the Brethren at Work of March 21, 1882:
On the morning of the 4th at 10 A.M. met the brethren and sisters in council. Attended to such matters as came before us. While the church was attending to some minor matters, a venerable sister . .. came to the desk and asked if she could do something for the St. Louis Brethren meeting-house. We said yes and we would open the way. After the business of the church was all arranged, we gave all the members present the privilege to contribute their mite for the St. Louis meeting-house, when this old sister stepped to the table and laid five dollars on the table . .. after which many fol- lowed, casting in their mites. The zeal became so great that they turned their purses over and shook all the contents out on the table . . . .
A comment made by S. S. Hummer about their next church council was:
I am glad to say that the Old Mill Creek church stands with the churches of Southern Illinois in the missionary cause; and it is our aim to do still more for the cause in the future. I believe that the missionary and Sunday School cause go hand in hand with the church in the promotion of the cause of the religion of Jesus .
It was at this council meeting that Brother B. F. Britt was called to the ministry and installed into office. Those were the days when members from adjoining congregations vis- ited churches at the times of council meetings and enjoyed
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social interchange of members from different places. After preaching in the evening of this same day, an invitation was extended and "a man of more than ordinary zeal (of the Baptist church) and able to speak five different languages who came sixty miles from Missouri, stood up for Christ. After preaching on Sunday morning, we went where there was much water and he was baptized." The above was re- ported by Elder H. W. Strickler in the Brethren at Work of December 12, 1882.
Interest in the work of the Sunday school was evident by the church arranging for a series of lectures on the importance of maintaining and conducting Sunday schools, given by K. J. Taylor, lecturer for the Sunday School As- sociation of the Christian Church-not lectures of a sec- tarian nature, but in the best interests of increased study of the Bible.
LIBERTY CHURCH AND PARSONAGE
At the quarterly council held on December 1, 1894, it was unanimously decided to change the name of the church from Mill Creek to Liberty, and thereafter it was officially known as the Liberty church.
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These elders have had charge of the Mill Creek (Liber- ty) church: David Wolfe to 1879; Daniel Vaniman, 1879- 1881; H. W. Strickler, 1881-1891; T. B. Digman, 1891-1893; George W. Cripe, 1893-1900; D. M. Brubaker, 1900-1907; J. W. Harshbarger, 1907-1913; M. Flory, 1913-1914; G. O. Stutsman, 1915-1917; I. D. Heckman, 1918-1936; Dewey B. Cave, 1937-1947; Wilbur Bantz, 1948 -.
D. M. Brubaker was resident pastor during the time of his eldership, 1900-1907. Then T. A. Robinson moved to Coatsburg and took over the pastoral work at Liberty. Since then, other pastors serving have been: J. W. Harsh- barger, 1909-1913; G. O. Stutsman, 1913-1918; I. J. Gibson, 1918-1919; H. G. Shank, summer 1919; R. L. Stinnett, 1920- 1921; O. W. Eiler, 1922; Perry Hoover, 1925-1927; I. D. Heck- man as elder-in-charge, supplying ministers until 1934; Dewey B. Cave, 1934-1945; S. E. Caster, 1945 -.
During the pastorate of Dewey Cave the work was much revived. The women's work has been of great help in the support of the church; the men's work includes a God's Acre project. The young people too are active, sup- porting local and district work. The present membership is ninety-three.
HURRICANE CREEK (1843-)
In the early 1840's a number of Brethren families moved from Indiana and settled about five miles south of Mul- berry Grove, near the Hurricane Creek. In 1843, a group of fourteen members, under the leadership of Elders D. B. Sturgis and Jacob Moomaw, met at the home of Joseph Rench and organized the Hurricane Creek church. At the time of organization, George Beanblossom was elected to the ministry. Elder Sturgis retained oversight of the church
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until he moved to Indiana in 1863; then William Elam was chosen as their elder.
Services were held in homes, schoolhouses, and groves and in the open. Communion services were held in well- built barns. A notice of one of those early communion meet- ings appeared in the Gospel Visitor of September 1859 in correspondence from D. B. Sturgis:
Our love feast will be held at Mulberry Grove second Sat- urday in October next. We invite all the brethren, especially min- istering brethren to come on that occasion. Vandalia on the Central Railroad, is our nearest station. Arrangements will be made to con- vey all from the railroad to the Grove which is eleven miles west of Vandalia in the edge of Bond County. Those wishing to attend the meeting should notify us a week or two before, so that the Brethren may know how many teams to send to the stations; also what train they will be on. Our meeting will commence on Friday and con- tinue until Monday evening .- D. B. Sturgis.
Urging other settlers to come to Bond County, Jonathan Kessler wrote in the Christian Family Companion of Janu- ary 9, 1866:
I would like to speak a few words through the medium of your paper, to the brethren and others wishing to select a home in the West. I think that Bond Co., and vicinity is worthy of your atten- tion, as farms may be purchased cheap compared with the price in the East, and portions north of us . .
The church community grew and in 1874 a church house was built about a mile south of Pleasant Mound, the lumber being hauled from Vandalia, a distance of about seventeen or eighteen miles. To accommodate the members living in the vicinity of Mulberry Grove a second church house was built that same year. J. H. Goodman wrote in the Pilgrim of December 8, 1874: "We are building meeting house no. 2 in this church district, which is approaching completion." The two meetinghouses were about nine miles apart; the second was located about four and one-half miles northwest of Mulberry Grove.
The congregation became sufficiently large to divide the territory, and the division was made in 1875; the northern
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part was named Mulberry Grove and the southern part retained the name, Hurricane Creek.
In 1881 the membership of the Hurricane Creek church numbered about one hundred. In 1882 a number of mem- bers, including three ministers, went with the Old Order Brethren.
In 1883 D. B. Gibson reported in the Brethren at Work of June 19 that the Hurricane Creek church was prospering and that ten had been baptized. In 1886 the membership numbered seventy; they were holding regular services in their church house and for several years before that time they had a Sunday school through the summer season with an attendance that reached one hundred thirty. For a num-
HURRICANE CREEK CHURCH
ber of years, with its members living near by, the church prospered and grew rapidly; but after a time many of the older members passed away and a number of the younger
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people moved to different localities, leaving the church with but few members.
In 1908 the church house was moved to Pleasant Mound, commonly called Fairview. The sides and ends of the build- ing were moved one at a time on a wagon, taken to the place of erection and propped into position until the founda- tion material was hauled and the new foundation ready for use. At times the roads were so muddy that a hundred bricks made a four-horse load. In spite of the bad roads and cold weather, the building was ready for use by the first of April, at which time Sunday school was started again. In May 1908 the building was rededicated with Elder J. W. Lear preaching the dedicatory sermon. For some time the work prospered until the membership reached almost one hundred. Then came a period when a number moved away and others died; the membership dwindled until there were around twenty active members and the attendance at Sun- day school was only six or eight. Through the faithful ef- forts of Brethren William Ketring, David Rench, Alfred Redenbo and Charles Caylor, the church and Sunday school were kept going. In 1924 Nobel Bollinger came; he worked for two years, during which time the attendance at Sunday school greatly increased. Again there was a period of de- cline. Brethren David Rench, Alfred Redenbo and William Ketring passed away and the load rested heavily upon Charles Caylor. At that time the district board of admin- istration began helping in the work by arranging for Brother W. A. Deardorff, who was superintendent of the Home at Girard, to preach there once or twice each month. This help was much appreciated.
In 1940 Brother Ausby Swinger and family moved there to take charge of the church. Through the combined efforts of many, the attendance at church and Sunday school in- creased and new members were added through revival ef-
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forts and through some of the members from Mulberry Grove bringing letters of membership.
The activities of a newly organized B.Y.P.D. included: meetings each Sunday evening preceding the preaching service; a social meeting once each month; project work for C.P.S .; complete charge of Sunday evening services once every two months. A ladies' aid was also organized and has done good work. Prayer meetings were held each Tues- day evening.
In 1942 new sills were put under the church building and a new basement was completed just before the district meeting convened there in 1943, that year being the one-hun- dredth anniversary of the organization of the church.
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