USA > Illinois > Edwards County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 44
USA > Illinois > Wabash County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 44
USA > Illinois > Lawrence County > Combined history of Edwards, Lawrence and Wabash counties, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of their prominent men and pioneers > Part 44
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In the year 1829 some of these seekers of new homes found their way to Edwards county, Illinois, and by 1840 they numbered some twenty families. They were not all Moravians, nor were they all conversant with German; but the Moravian ritual had become dear above any other to them, and the German language pre- vailed. The leading spirit among them was Joel Roth- rock, a thorough Moravian, who presided over their re- ligious assemblies. But this was not sufficient ; their desire was to have a pastor. Through correspondence between them and the authorities of the church, it was arranged, in the year 1843, that Rev. Martin Hauser, a North Carolinian, and well acquainted with many of the Edwards county Brethren, should make them a visit. Physically, Brother Hauser was a strong man, who had been reared amidst the hardships of frontier life; spirit- ually, he even surpassed his strength of frame, for he was filled with divine life, and with an invincible zeal for the spread of the Redeemer's kingdom.
On the 20th of March, of the year 1843, in company with Mr. Francis Eberman, he left his home in Hope, Bartholomew county, Indiana, 185 miles from West Sa- lem. They came by water as far as Evansville, and thence made the journey on foot, being compelled to traverse part of the distance through snow. In the evening of the 25th, they arrived at Joel Rothrock's, and the next day, at 11 A. M., Rev. Mr. Hauser
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
preached, in a little school-house, on the text, " I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ." The same evening he preached at Adam Hedrick's. In the four days' stay which he made, he preached four times, discussed church matters, formed fifteen church members into a society, and examined the surrounding country. This done, he started on his return home by way of Mt Carmel, Princeton, etc. The good work had now been com- menced, and the brethren continued to meet regularly for divine service.
On the 8th of May, 1844, Brother Hauser started on his second visit to Edwards county. This time Brother Daniel Brunner accompanied him. The journey, made overland, consumed nine days; some of the nights were spent in the woods, camping out. A busy visit of eight days followed ; during that time Bro. Hauser preached eight times, baptized nineteen children, confirmed twelve adults, held various church meetings, wrote out the discipline for a congregation, and then organized a congregation of thirty-five members. The ceremonies of organization took place in Peter Hinkle's barn, on the 25th of May; here fifteen members subscribed to the church rules, and thirty-five souls partook of the Lord's Supper. On the same occasion, . a Board of Trustees was elected, consisting of Joel Rothrock, Adam Hedrick, Charles Wolk, Peter Hinkle and Solo- mon Reich.
The next important step was the building of a house for worship. The site for it was not fixed upon without considerable anxiety; an offer on the part of Joel Roth- rock, at last, however, settled the point ; this was an offer of forty acres of land at $2.00 an acre, the price he had paid for it. The purchase money was furnished by the Provincial Elders' Conference, at Bethlehem, Pa., who took, in return for the same, a deed in trust for the West Salem congregation. Aided, to the extent of several hundred dollars by other Moravian congrega- tions, a frame building 30 x 40 feet was commenced. By the 14th of March, 1845, the frame-work was com- pleted. In the following May Brother Hauser again ap- peared on the scene ; on this occasion, the first anniver- sary of the organization of the congregation was celebra- ted, and all the former Trustees were re-elected.
On his return home, Brother Hauser entered eighty acres of land for Brother Charles Kluge, in behalf of the Executive Board of the Moravian church at Salem, North Carolina, of which Board the latter gentleman was president. This purchase, together with others made by the same Board, and by the Board that resided at Bethlehem, Pa., made a sum total of 200 acres owned by the authorities of the church. The Kluge purchase of 80 acres is the land on which West Salem was after- ward commenced.
No ministerial visits were made for a year, but divine services were, nevertheless, regularly held. When, how- ever, early in 1846, the church building had been nearly completed, the two reverend gentlemen, Herman I. Titze and M. Hauser, were invited to be present and dedicate
it. As Brother H. I. Titze has served in these congre- gations longer than any other minister, it is but proper to say that he is not only a German, but a thoroughly educated Moravian, who had been a theological pro- fessor, but with a kindness and modesty of heart that could not be fully appreciated in what were then the wilds of America
By these two heralds of the Cross was the little frame structure dedicated to the worship of the Triune God, on the 31st of May, 1846; the services were held in both the German and English languages.
Previous to this holy act a town was surveyed on the land belonging to the Salem Board, and lying west of the church edifice ; the town received the name of New Salem. In after years, when a post-office was established in the place, it was discovered that there already existed a post-office by that name, in the State; hence this was changed to West Salem, and has since been so known.
In the autumn of this year logs were made ready to build a parsonage, as the desire for a resident pastor now became very strong. The following year their desire was gratified by Bro. Martin Hauser's being appointed by the proper authorities to serve this little flock On the 15th of August, 1847, he was introduced to his new charge, and preached his first sermon from the text found recorded in Matthew vi. 33.
Not long after his arrival Bro. Hauser began to look up places where the Gospel was not being made known, and many such were found on every side. At a number of these, both within and outside the boundaries of Edwards county, he visited at regular intervals, and preached the good news. As other denominations came in, however, one after another of these outposts was relin- quished, until only one remained, namely, that at Olney, Richland county, Ill. The summer of 1849 gave a great impetus and new life to the congregation. Some fifty persons arrived direct from Germany, many of whom had received their religious training and educa- tion in the Moravian congregations of Germany. The new arrivals were poor but robust young people, who at once united with the congregation. This addition was highly beneficial to Bro. Hauser's charge, in many ways ; the Moravian usages and ritual were more strictly ob- served, and while the retired, quiet, easy going North Carolinians were roused and quickened, the strict ritual- istic Germans in turn grew more modified in their views. Up to this time there had been few Germans in the con- gregation, and the German language had been made use of on only comparatively rare occasions; but now it became very necessary to conduct a large proportion of the services in this language. Since 1849 Germans have continued to arrive direct from Europe, until, at the present time, more than a hundred families have settled in and around West Salem, giving the settlement a decidedly German character.
In the autumn of 1851, at his own desire, Bro. Hauser was relieved of his charge, Bro. Edwin T. Senseman receiving the appointment as pastor, on December 1st
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
of the same year. The congregation, having a church building, a parsonage and a town with an increasing number of inhabitants, found it necessary to take another step forward. On May 13th, 1854, an educational so- ciety was formed, the aim of which was to erect a church school building, in which the children of citi- zens as well as those of Moravians could be educated. To assist them in this laudable enterprise, the executive board at Salem, N. C., made the following offer : If the congregation would refund the cost and expenses in- curred by it for the 160 acres of land which had been laid out in town and other lots, and which had by this time grown very much in value, a deed for the 160 acres of land should be made over to the congregation. This offer was of course gladly accepted, and it was at once resolved upou to build a suitable school-house. But the carrying out of the project was interfered with for the time being, partly by the failure of the crops in the year 1854, and partly by the unusual amount of sick- ness and great number of deaths of this same year. The pastor's wife was among the latter number. A visiting bishop was also taken with the disease that had carried off so many others, and died on the way to another station The pastor himself was brought low with the prevalent sickness. Of the 84 inhabitants of the town 42 were sick and 12 died.
At a provincial synod, held at Bethlehem, Pa., in the beginning of September, 1855, it was decided, with the consent of the Salem provincial synod, that the West Salem congregation should henceforth be under the control of the executive board, residing at Bethlehem, Pa. At about the same time Bro. Senseman received an appointment to fill the pulpit of the New York city congregation, while the place left vacant by his removal was occupied by the Rev. John Henry Eberman, who, as well as Bro. Senseman, was a master of both the English and the German languages.
November 14th, of the year 1856, saw the two story brick school-house building, measuring 21x40 fcet, and which had been begun two years previous, so nearly completed that school was commenced in it. The plan of making it a boarding-school, which had been enter- tained, was dropped. As a day school, in charge of the two efficient teachers, Rev. John Eberman and Rev. Herman I. Titze, the project prospered. The admission fee for non-Moravian children was per quarter, for boys, each five dollars ; for girls, each four dollars ; Moravian children at half these rates.
This praiseworthy work was scarcely under way when breakers appeared in the congregation. The flock con- sisted of members of two nationalities, who, though belonging to the same church, had received somewhat different religious educations. Of these, the Germans adhered more strictly to the ritual, while the Ameri- cans, per force of circumstances, were rather lax. The former, who were now in the majority, insisted on hold- ing all the services, which had become so hallowed to them in their Fatherland, and demanded that the
German language should be more frequently used at the services. On the other hand, the ministers, being Ameri- cans by education, naturally preferred the Engli h lan- guage, and threw their weight in with the minority. Under these circumstances, it was plain to all that the wisest course for the congregation to adopt was to sepa- rate into an English and a German organization. This was done by mutual agreement, and the German division began its separate church life on the 1st of January, 1857, with Rev. H. I. Titze as pastor. The division was not strictly defined, nationally, since some of the Ger- man-born remained in the English congregation, and vice versa.
This separation rendered necessary a partition of the church property. This consisted of forty acres of land and many town lots, the gifts of the two provincial boards. On the forty acres of land was the church, the parsonage and the grave-yard, while on one of the town lots, facing the public square, stood the school-house. It was agreed that the German party should divide this property into two equitable parts, and that then the English would make their choice of one of these. The ... latter chose the southern half of the forty acres, and with it the school house and lot on which it stood, which formed one of the portions as made out by the German element. The remaining lots, quite a large number, had been divided equally previous to this.
By synodical enactment, however, this property would not revert to the church in the event of either congre- gation's ceasing to exist or leaving the Moravian church. At the time of separation the numerical strength of the two congregations was about 165 communicant mem- bers; by the end of theyear the English congregation numbered seventy-four, while the German amounted to something near a hundred. The English body used the school-house for divine service, temporarily, with the ultimate object in view of converting it into a par- sonage. For this and other reasons the Moravian high school ceased to exist. The arrangement of the school- rooms was, however, so inconvenient for the holding of divine worship that the project of building a church received new impetus week by week. On the adjoining lot presently a foundation was laid, upon which in due time was reared a neat brick structure, measuring 36x- 57 feet, and on the 13th of August, 1859, it was dedi- cated as God's house. The cost of the building was beyond the means of the little flock, but the Moravian congregations at other points came generously to her assistance. In the meantime other denominations of marked proselyting proclivities appeared on the ground. Of these, the Evangelical Association, commonly called Albright's, worked so energetically that many members of the German congregation were won over to their church; the shock to the church they left was very great ; but in spite of it she survived and eventually prospered. A little later a shock of a different nature convulsed the entire nation and thrilled this little com- munity. The firing on Fort Sumter, on the 12th of
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
April, 1861, aroused the inhabitants of this little village, and called forth sentiments of strongest loyalty. Nor was the loyalty shown by sentiments alone; for very many of the able-bodied promptly responded to the call for defenders, not a few of whom sacrificed their lives for the Union of the States. In course of time the con- gregation became self-sustaining, that is, they paid their ministers' salaries; for up to this time they had been assisted in this by the church authorities. This entitled them to lay representation in the Moravian synods, which convene every three years.
Another step forward was the formation of missionary societies for both native and foreign lands, which an- nually contribute about $125. But this is only a small proportion of what is given by the two congregations ; for in addition to the many calls for help, to which there is always a liberal response,-help for raising church buildings in other congregations, for distress among sister churches,-there are five stated collections for benevolent objects, which amount annually to hun- dreds of dollars.
The Sunday-school work was commenced as soon as suitable accommodations could be provided, and has since been energetically carried on, until at the present time the scholars of the two schools combined number 280 or more. There now remains little more to be said on the subject in hand. Both congregations are well organized, having resident pastors. Their numerical strength has been slow, yet steady, since each has almost doubled the membership with which it began its existence, the English numbering 128 communicants, and the German 190. Their character and their influ- ence on the community is such as to warrant the predic- tion, that having done well in the pa-t, they will do better in the future; that good work for Christ's king- dom will be done, and their number will be increased.
The names of the resident pastors are : of the English congregation, Rev. Robert W. Herbst, and of the Ger- man, Rev. G. F. Oehler.
EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION.
BY REV. M SPECK.
This church, the Evangelical Association of North America, was founded by Jacob Albright in the year 1800 Through ignorance, it is by some called Albright church ; perhaps hy reason of J Albright being the founder of it. Doctrine and church government are principally after the method of the Methodist Episcopal church. Ahout thirty years ago, several families, by the name of Nichel, Bernhart and Guyot, members of the Evangelical Association, emigrated from Wabash into Edwards county, and located in Shelby precinct, near the Little Wabash. Shortly after the arrival of these families, they were visited by the itinerant, Rev. P. Burgener, who was at that time traveling on Olney mission. Here- after this place was taken up as a regular appointment for preaching, a class organized, and Mr. M. Bernhart
elected leader, at whose house, for a number of years, religious meetings were held. Whereas, the services were conducted exclusively in the German language, and the German population there but small in number, and besides that, widely scattered (consequently) the little flock increased hut slowly. This is the foundation or the beginning of the work of the Evangelical Association in Edwards county. In the year 1854, Rev. P. Burgener received an invitation to come to West Salem and preach the Gospel, to which hegladly responded. This invitation was given by Mr. Joseph Barth, of West Salem, formerly a member of the German Methodist church, at St. Louis, Mo . he having a special attachment for a like church at West Salem. In the month of August, 1854, Rev. P. Burgener delivered his first sermon in Mr. J. Barth's cooper-shop, to a large and attentive assembly. A few weeks after, when he preached the second time, an organization took place, and the follow- ing persons were received as members of the church : Joseph Barth and wife, George and Michael Koehler. Henceforth West Salem was taken up as a regular ap- pointment. In the month of September, the Indiana Conference held its annual session, at which a change of ministers took place. Rev. B. Ruh was appointed as successor of Rev. P. Burgener. The first protracted meeting was held in West Salem, in the month of May, 1856, in the private dwelling of Mr. John E. Altner. Ministers officiating at this meeting were as follows: S. Dickower, presiding Elder of Wabash district, W. Bockman, of Mt. Carmel Circuit, and B. Ruh, of Olney Mission. The meeting resulted in the conversion of a number of souls; five persons united with the church ; a class was formed, and Mr. John E. Altner elected to serve as their first class-leader. This being the first re- vival meeting here caused a great deal of sensation among the German population. In the fall, at the annual conference session, West Salem was attached to Mt. Carmel Circuit, Indiana Conference. This field of labor was supplied by the ministers Joseph Fisher and Christ. Wessling. The work still continued to prosper, but under existing disadvantages of not having a suit- able place of worship, the little church did not succeed so well, and the increase was not as large as it would have been otherwise. A special remarkable year, in the history of the Evangelical Association at West Salem, was that of 1858, when the Rev. John Fuchs, N. Batholomews and C. Kohlmeier were traveling this circuit. These brethren conducted a protracted meeting in the month of July, which lasted ten days. As the attendance of this meeting was great, the old cooper-shops and private dwellings, the usual places of worship, were too small to accommodate the people, therefore a vacant store was rented, then the property of Mr. David Hedrick, in which the services were held. During this meeting, a great revival took place; many souls were converted to God, and united with the church. Eye- witnesses declare that they never saw the power of the Holy Spirit so visibly demonstrated as during this meet-
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HISTORY OF EDWARDS, LAWRENCE AND WABASH COUNTIES, ILLINOIS.
ing. It proved to be a blessing to the church, and its exerting moral influence a great benefit to the surround- ing community. In the fall of the year, another pro- tracted effort was made, resulting in much good ; quite a number of souls were saved and added to the church. The meeting was held in Mr. H. Busefink's furniture shop Shortly after this meeting, the brethren received an invitation to hold a series of meetings, four miles northeast of West Salem, at the house of Mr. Christ. Witte. Here too, the power from on high manifested itself to the salvation of many souls, who were received into the church; after the organization of a class, a regular appointment for preaching was established. When the work continued to prosper, the necessity of a proper place of worship was deeply felt. The country then new, and money scarce, the question arose with the members how will we proceed in the erection of the edifice. In the spring of 1859, steps were taken and arrangements made towards building a church, for which purpose a lot was donated by Jacob Mark. At a council meeting, a proposition was made by Rev. J. Fuchs, that each male member should subscribe five dollars, in cash, and twelve days' work to this enterprise, which was carried by a unanimous vote. With great cheerfulness the brethren set to work, and with their united effort completed the building by the next fall.
In October the church was dedicated by Rev. M. W. Steffy, then presiding elder of Wabash district, assisted by Rev. J. M. Kronmiller, of Mt. Carmel Circuit, and C. Wessling, from Olney. The church is a frame building, 26x40 feet, costing about $700. Having thus succeeded, it gave the work a new impulse, and caused the hearts of God's people to rejoice. The moral and spiritual culture of the youth were now especially con- sidered and attended to. A Sunday-school was brought into existence, which was well attended, and proved a blessing to all connected with it. This school has largely added to the upbuilding of the church.
A good many of its first scholars are now the leading members of the church, and the Sunday-school is still in a prosperous condition, and promises well for the future. Rev. John Hoffmann, was appointed preacher in charge, G. G. Platz, presiding elder of Olney district. The circuit not having a parsonage, a house was rented in Lancaster for temporary use. In December, 1849, at a quarterly conference, the necessity of building a parson- age was discussed ; a committee of three was appointed to project a plan and select a site for the same. The committee reported as follows: The building shall be erected at West Salem ; size of the building, 32x18 feet, 13 feet high, 1} story, with necessary outbuildings.
At the next quarterly conference, the plan of the building was reconsidered, and it was resolved that it should be 27x28, 1} story high. The house built of brick and completed in 1870 ; the entire expense amount- ing to $800. In the year 1861, a revival took place among the young people, Rev. Wm. Wessler having then charge of the circuit. After the outbreak of the
great rebellion, many of our young men, prompted by their patriotism, responded to the call of taking up arms in defense of their country, to help to crush the rebellion. As they enjoyed the privilege of a number of them being together, they kept up their religious services in the army and retained their religion, returning as Christians. From 1863 to 1865, Revs. H. L. Fisher and Parker traveled on the circuit. From 1865 to 1875, the follow- ing brethren have traveled on this work : Rev. C. Glaus, J. Miller, J. Berger, J. Hoffman, C. Wessling, C. Heim, and B. Uphaus. There is no great success to report, under the administration of these brethren ; nevertheless, the work continued to prosper. A great aid in the Sunday-school is the good, sound and extensive litera- ture of the Evangelical Association, comprising the following in music, " Jubeltoene," " Hosanna," " Ever- green," "Happy Songs," and "Sunday-school Songs." .The " International Lesson," the " Sunday-school Tea- cher," the " Blackboard," with its illustrated lesson ; " Der Klien Kinder Lehrer," "Christlicher Kinder- freund," " Laemmerweide," "Sunday-school Messenger," and " My Lesson." Besides the above Sunday-school literature, the church publishes a good variety of other religious periodicala, such as : " Der Christlicher Botsch- after," " Living Epistle," " Das Evangelische Maga- zin," and "The Evangelical Messenger." All the periodicals mentioned, excepting two, are published weekly. All the Sunday-schools of our church in Ed- wards county, have, from the beginning to the present time, been well supplied with the needed Sunday-school material. " Botschafter and Messenger," the main organs of the church, are especially adapted for the family circle. These are first-class papers, and have a large circulation, not only among the members of our church, but also in other denominations. Soon after the establishment of the church in the county, different auxiliary mission societies were founded, who nobly con- tributed to the missionary cause, both for the foreign and home mission. In 1868, West Salem, and the other appointments of the county, were taken from Mt. Carmel Circuit, and the West Salem Circuit was formed, in- cluding the following appointments : West Salem, Wittis, Little Wabash, Lancaster, and Timber Settle- ment.
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