USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Rockford > Golden anniversary exercises, historical record and manual of the Second Congregational church, Rockford, Illinois. November 7, 1849. November 7, 1899 > Part 14
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N E have, on this Semi-Centennial occasion, been reviewing the past, recalling the clouds and sunshine by day and the pillars of fire by night, whereby this church has been led steadily forward from its first beginnings to the Mt. Pisgah upon which it stands to- day, and from which height can be seen the past, with its record of conse- crated effort and struggling perseverance, and its future, stretching far on into the eternities of Christian nurture and culture, out of which is to come greater results than have ever yet been attained.
I say it earnestly and with intense belief in its future, that what this Second Congregational Church will accomplish in the next fifty years ; what it will stand for in this community ; what it will stand for before the world ; what it will stand for before God, is no longer in the keeping of the few who remain, of those who have brought it to this fiftieth birthday of its existence, but will depend upon the great body of young men and maidens, young married men and women, standing where we, senior members, stood fifty years ago, on the threshold of life ready for its responsibilities, its work. its sacrifices and its successes. It will be your perseverance, your energy, your enthusiasm, your sacrifices, your keen insight into the necessities of the hour, into the things that make for righteousness, and right develop- ment and growth and progress, that shall conserve to this church and to this community, the traditions of the past, and build still greater results into the characters of its peoples and into the world's progress.
Larger and more perplexing are the problems to be solved by the young people of this generation, just entering upon this magnificent twentieth century of the world's progress, than ever assailed their fathers ; problems that menace the welfare, the well being of humanity, as never before in the .
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world's history. Conditions that are, in a way, the outgrowth of the world's prosperity, and it is for the church to plant itself more strongly than ever, and inculcate with greater force than ever, the principles for which Christ lived and died, and which have proved the source of the world's redemption for these 1900 years, for wherever they have been inculcated there has been made the greatest progress.
From this vantage ground looking back over its glorious past, we can also behold a more glorious and a more successful future for this church. It is for you who are now in the vigor of life, worthily to go forward, and like Joshua's hosts occupy the promised land, making the future of this church more assured, more efficient, stronger than it has ever yet been ; a leader, a beacon light, shedding its influence all through Northern Illinois, diffusing its radiance further than ever before.
CONTEMPORANEOUS CHURCHES.
WRITTEN FOR THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION BY MRS. SEELY PERRY, OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
T was that Titan among thinkers, Carlyle, who said, " The beginning holds in it the end and all that leads thereto ; as the acorn does the oak and its fortunes," and one cannot trace the history of our city back to its inception sixty-five years ago without a firm conviction of the truth of this statement.
When pioneer life was making its slow way through the wilderness in the early '30's, the moral greatness of one man stood like a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, and wherever it led, or stayed, there was the spirit of God.
Aratus Kent, who may properly be called the discoverer of Rockford, was a Christian hero, and his name should be inscribed first upon our roll of honor, although he was never identified as our townsman.
When asked by the Home Missionary Secretary where he wished to be sent, his characteristic answer was -" Where no one else is willing to go."
" That place must be Galena," said the Secretary. Accordingly the steps of the young enthusiast were turned toward the far away lead mines of the Mississippi, and while enroute to the scene of his labors he reached the Sinnissippi, our own beautiful Rock river. Following the Indian trail he forded the stream, entering it at the foot of our present Walnut street, just back of the High School, and passing easily across its rocky bed emerged on the other side, about 200 feet below the present site of the dam.
High hills, green to the water's edge and fringed with grand old cedars stood guard along the eastern bank, a forest of white oak spread across to what we know as Kishwaukee street, and a dense partridge thicket on the north gave no hint of jig saw factories, coal yards, or the steel ribs of the Kenosha tracks, and no glucose monster or waterworks chimney with reek- ing breath polluted the clear, sweet air laden with the fragrance of innumer- able flowers.
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As in Dante's terrestrial paradise-green enameled meadows stretched away toward the luminous sky, and river, hill and vale, with the soft sun- shine brooding over them seemed heavens " hansel of eternal peace."
The vision sank deep into the heart of the young man, and later on, in response to his entreaties, his brother, Germanicus, and Thatcher Blake, came across the country in a wagon from Galena to Hamilton's diggings, purchased a canoe, and in August, 1834, paddled up the stream and founded " Midway," which afterwards was changed into Rock-ford in mem- ory of the Indian trail and nature's stone trussed bridge, whose spans were laid when the world was young.
One Sunday morning in June, 1835, the wild creatures of the forest paused to listen to a new sound. The entire white population of Winne- bago county (with the exception of Stephen Mack), seventeen in all, sang the soul stirring hymns of the church in Germanicus Kent's cabin, and the beloved missionary, on a visit to his brother, consecrated the beautiful soli- tude to God -- " The Great Quiet," who held it in his hand.
Surely Carlyle again was right when he declared that, " The chief fact about a man is his religion," for it was this which exalted Aratus Kent into a benefactor of his race.
He was one of those " Great Hearts " who yearn over humanity, and as he gazed upon the unbroken wilderness all nature seemed praying for the coming people.
The green hills kneeling along the shore, the primeval forests with out- stretched arms, the river chanting soft responses and the sky leaning in benedicite over all, moved him profoundly for the future of those who should make it their home. The possibility of prosperous communities, strong churches, and a college of high grade, lay in the thoughts of the mis- sionary that day, and with the idea came the resolve to make them a reality.
The log cabin of Daniel S. Haight was the first house on the east side, and stood in the grove northeast of State and Madison streets. Mr. John Thurston says in his history, that a description of this will give an idea of all the dwellings of that period. " It was built of logs with the bark on, carried up by notch and saddle; the roof was of shakes rived from oak timber. The logs of the gable ends were fastened together with wooden pins. It had a puncheon floor, two windows, one door of puncheon stuff with wooden hinges and latch," and the latch-string of this hospitable mansion was always
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on the outside, and the weary traveler found a warm welcome and good cheer within.
The Haight barn was an important factor in public affairs. It was so large that three horses could thresh abreast, and it made a capital town. hall. With an improvised pulpit near the hay loft, slab seats on the great threshing floor and the sunshine streaming in at the wide doors opening out on the white oak grove, it furnished a pleasant Sabbath sanctuary.
In September, 1836, the picturesque figure of the circuit rider dashed along the trail, and gathering together five loyal Methodists. he formed a " class " in the cabin of Samuel Gregory, which stood in what we now call Woodruff's Addition. The church organization followed the next year.
A few months after the forming of this " class " eight devout souls met at the house of Isaac Morrill, and May 5th, 1837, entered into cove- nant as the First Congregational Church of Rockford.
December 22, 1838, the First Baptist Society was formed with six- teen members at the house of Dr. Haskell, now the residence of Mr. George Forbes.
March 9, 1843, the First Unitarian Church entered on its brief career. and May 1, 1849, Emmanuel Episcopal Church was organized.
These early churches, standing for all that uplifts and exalts, not only had to struggle for existence, hampered by poverty and limited numbers, but they must needs contest every step of their spiritual way with the forces of evil besetting a new country.
Tales of the marvelous beauty and fertility of this region had spread abroad, and the tide of emigration turned to Northern Illinois. A wild rush of speculation threatened to overwhelm it utterly. Claim-holders and con- fidence men infested the place ready to entrap the unwary, and privation and actual want were too often the inseparable companions of the brave pioneers.
Prairie fires by night and day menaced life and property ; trackless wastes of snow cut them off from the outer world in winter, and an organ- ized gang of banditti sweeping down upon the helpless in unsuspected places, filled them with constant terror.
After a few years of this experience in the wild " forties," outraged justice sought redress. The people rose in their might and summary pun- ishment, swift and terrible, was visited upon the outlaws. They were exter- minated root and branch, and when peace and safety were once more re-
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stored, honest settlers filled the billowy sweeps with homes and cultivated farms.
The little village gradually took on fair proportions, and as she had much to offer, colonies of the educated and ambitious, the cream of east- ern and New England youth came to dwell within her borders. How they identified themselves with her best interests and labored for her prosperity · the Rockford of to-day bears faithful witness.
The benign mother church, dwelling serenely on her chosen hill, sends greeting to her child to-day and rejoices in her prosperity. She entreats her also, to remember her goodly heritage, and to that end a few words of family genealogy will not be out of place. To be well descended is always just cause for honest pride, and this church, whose golden jubilee we are celebrating, is to be congratulated upon her ancestry.
There were giants in those early days, and they stand out with clear cut distinctness in the history of Rockford. To the daring bravery and fearlessness of the pioneer was added culture and largeness of soul ; they had come up to possess the land, and had they carried banners like the knights of old they would have been inscribed " For God and humanity."
Turning to First Church records, written by the Rev. H. M. Goodwin after a long pastorate, some of you will recognize your own well beloved.
Of the first deacon, Mr. Hubbell Potter, we read that " He was a pil- lar, both of the church and community, a granite column, whose firmness and solidity of character, no force of circumstances nor opinions of others could shake. His convictions upon any subject once formed were immov- able. Like Fitz James in Scott's Lady of the Lake, standing with his back against a rock and his feet firmly planted, he could hold at bay a host of opposing foes and exclaim -
"Come one, come all, this rock shall fly From its firm base as soon as I."
Joel Potter, of gentle and flexible mould, delicate in feeling and sensi- bility, yet strong in conviction and character, led in the spiritual as his brother Hubbell did in the material affairs of the church.
Deacon Stephen Skinner is compared to a rough, unpolished mineral, disclosing deeply imbedded veins of gold.
Deacon Crosby is described as a silent, thoughtful, steadfast soul, whose power lay in his character. He was an unconscious influence, whose benignity and purity were felt by all who knew him. " Like a candle set upon a stand he made no effort to shine, but shone all the more clearly and serenely and gave light to all within the house."
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Of Deacon Ira Baker it is said-" Whoever could doubt either his goodness or his piety might well doubt if the sun is bright, and memory of him is like that of a long, mellow, sunshiny afternoon in autumn, when the sun seems to smile lovingly and lingeringly on all things, and to impart a golden lustre to every thing on which it shines."
Judge Bela Shaw is remembered as a representative of the courtly " old school," answering Sir Philip Sidney's definition of a gentleman. " A man of high erected thoughts, seated within the heart of courtesy." The words of Job are applicable to him: " I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not I searched out. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy."
The soul of honor and integrity dwelt in Wm. H. Townsend. He was the faithful friend, the munificent helper, and the active supporter, not only of the church but of every good work, the generous benefactor of the poor and those who needed help. Quick, sagacious, practical in all his ways, he proved his "faith by his works."
And there was the beloved physician, Dr. Lucius Clark, whose name was a household word in many homes. From despondent hearts he lifted the cloud and gloom by the sunshine of his own radiant spirit, or softened it by his tender and soothing sympathy. Like the " Great Physician " he lived, not to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give his life a sacri- fice for the saving of others.
There were the genial twin brothers James and Peter B. Johnson. They were lovely in their lives, and in their deaths, not long divided.
Chas. Works, Deacon E. S. Rose, Dr. Alden Thomas, Jason and Volney Marsh, John Hall, Lewis Sweezy, and many others of whom it might be written, " These all lived and died in the faith."
Turning to the roll of the congregation we meet the names of many of nature's noblemen who were loyal to the best interests of the society and generous contributors to its activities and its support.
Among these we find Judge Seldon M. Church, Samuel I. Church, David Penfield, Charles, John and Catlin Spafford and a long list of others.
The wives, sisters and fiancees of these broad minded men were wor- thy of them, but should you ask for a mention of the devoted and faithful among them, it would necessitate reading the name of every woman on the roll. They toiled incessantly for home, church, school and · missions, and their encouragement and heroic self denial saved many a failing cause.
Hist. Rec. 19.
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The faith that put a song in their hearts in a strange land made them tenderly thoughtful of others, and although, owing to the wild state of the country, their faces often blanched by reason of terror by night and the des- truction that wasteth at noonday, in the midst of privations and hardships more than sixty years ago they organized a missionary society which is in existence to this day.
A few years later they plead for the establishment of Rockford Sem- inary. Their toil and sacrifice for this institution was like that for their church. They gave the very best of themselves to both, and through all the difficulties of that period of beginnings they walked shoulder to shoulder with the men. They did not flinch when the hour of trial came, but cheer- fully gave the labor of their hands and their prayers, while counselling the mortgage of their homes to pull the incipient college through a hard place.
The work done for coming generations in those early formative years can never be too highly estimated by those of us who reap its innumerable benefits.
A change of attitude or indifference toward one single line of action would have robbed Rockford of that which differentiates her from all other western cities of her size.
Suppose for a moment that when the two historic pencil dots marking the approximate locations of Beloit College and Rockford Seminary were placed upon the map by Aratus Kent and his earnest co-workers, that these fathers had regarded it as the wild dream of visionary enthusiasts and had put forth no effort to secure the reality?
Eliminate, if possible. the exalting and refining influence of this po- tential factor (Rockford College) from our city's history, and think of the appalling hiatus in things which distinguish us today.
Its education has entered our homes and created an intellectual at- mosphere which is everywhere acknowledged. Its conservatory of music for over forty years has tuned the public ear to harmony, leading on to classic taste and making possible the city's pride, our far famed Mendels- sohn Club.
Its trained women have gone out as daughters, wives, teachers and missionaries to the uttermost parts of the earth, and wherever you find them they are working for all that is highest and best.
We have wandered far away from the primitive village of fifty years ago, which welcomed the infant Second Congregational Church, but per-
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haps a glance at it as it then was will help us realize the important part it has borne in the conduct of affairs since that time.
There were about five hundred inhabitants then, and where now well paved streets are lined with elegant homes, partially cleared forests dis -. closed in their openings houses of primitive design and rude log cabins.
State Street, with a crooked line of low wooden shops and stores, ram- bled across the river on a narrow unsightly bridge. The limits of the little city were reached at Kent's Creek on the west and Kishwaukee Street on the east. South Rockford was a pathless forest and a magnificent growth of oaks waved over and beyond the present college campus, and all around on every side the unbroken and unfenced prairies stretched away to the horizon.
A state highway ran its slow length from Chicago to the lead mines, and the old stage coach, with its four horses and winding horn, not only startled the echoes but was the principal means of communication with the outer world.
The four churches welcoming the young organization are still in ex- istence, though the old membership has for the most part passed away. Like rivers whose currents steadfastly set toward the sea, though the sep- arate drops continually change, they go on through the years, and fed by the inexhaustible springs of God's love-" men may come and men may go," but these life giving streams shall flow on to gladden the land.
The First Baptist Church through storm and stress has come into peace and security and rejoices in her vigorous State Street daughter.
The Methodists have gone on from strength to strength and six large congregations carry on their denominational work.
The pulpit of Centennial, or the old First Church, has an unique his- tory. Long years ago Samuel Gregory, (in whose log cabin the first class was formed) taking careful forethought for his burial, cut down a grand old walnut tree, sawed it into boards and solemnly stored them away for his coffin.
Nature seemed to resent the insinuation and the country became so healthy as to render his efforts useless. Before he had an opportunity to die, Wm. Logue came in with abundant undertaking supplies, and the well seasoned boards were relegated to the loft of his barn.
Years after this when the old church stood greatly in need of a pulpit, Samuel brought forth his treasure of walnut and literally laid it on the altar.
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When the new Centennial was built the historic desk of the first class leader was carefully taken apart and fashioned into the beautiful piece of furniture upon which the bible now rests. The ways of inanimate objects are not always totally depraved, for in this instance that which was intended to encase a dead body now holds the living word.
The Episcopal Church has calmly pursued the even tenor of her way and prosperity sits within her gates. She has perhaps changed less than her sister organizations, though even she feels the mellowing influence of ripening Christianity and leans more kindly toward all who make common cause for the Master.
We on our part acknowledge our debt to her. Centuries ago our fore- · fathers in iconoclastic zeal tore us away from the sublime beauty of her ritual. With a sort of reversion to type instinct, our hearts reach out after it more and more, and so firm is its hold on them that little by little we have incorporated portions of it into our service. Like sunshine and air it belongs to the great universal, and satisfies the yearning of a common humanity.
Though there were only four organizations in existence November 7, 1849, there had been one other previous to that date.
On a fly leaf, yellow with age, pasted in the record book of the Rock- ford Unitarian Church we read the covenant of the Church of Christ, gath- ered in Rockford March 9, 1843, by the Rev. Joseph Harrington, and con- nected with the first Unitarian Society in that town.
"We, whose names are subscribed, do unite ourselves together in Christian fellowship to partake of the Lord's supper, and to receive the spiritual benefit that may be derived from membership of Christ's visible church on earth, and may God grant His Spirit to help our manifold in- firmities, and lead us in heart and in practice unto Him who is the way the truth and the life."
Sixteen names follow this brief statement, and this is all we can find · until after a lapse of years many of them reappear on the roll of the Rock- ford Unitarian Church, formed December 26, 1855.
Among those on this later roll are the Wights, Starrs, Conants, Browns, Burpees, Blinns, Churchills and Hollands, names familiar to this church and community. The record ceases in March, 1865, marking a brief ex- istence of ten years.
We have turned the leaves of this old book reverently as in the pre- sence of the dead; there is something pathetic in its silent appeal for justice
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and remembrance among the living, and to this end we give its covenant, upon whose simple declaration the straightest sect among us might hang its hope of eternal salvation.
" MY FRIEND AND BROTHER :- You present yourself here wishing to . profess your faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and to unite with his Christian church. I ask therefore-Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ? And is it your heart's desire and fervent wish to become a faithful disciple of our Lord and Saviour ? We then receive you gladly into our number ; we welcome you to the communion of Christian hearts ; we earnestly desire to sympathize with you, and will endeavor to watch over you and support you in the trials of life and the work of duty. We engage to unite with you in the diligent use of Christian ordinances, and to yield obedience to all truth which shall be made known to us as our duty, the Lord assisting us by his Spirit and grace. And may God our Father grant that this union formed on earth may be continued in heaven, and fit us for the fellowship of the Saints in light. AMEN."
The contemporaneous churches of Rockford to-day number twenty- eight, and each one has its Sunday School, and with scarce an exception its Missionary Society. As far as is known, the utmost harmony prevails among them all.
Ideas of Christian fellowship have broadened during the last two or three decades, and the hard denominational lines of demarcation are fading and softening every day. The occupation of that trying thorn to the spirit, the bigoted liberal, has fallen into innocuous desuetude, and he has outlived his usefulness, but let us frankly acknowledge that his drastic criticism and ceaseless proddings in season and out of season, together with the awakened thought of the age, have gradually changed the point of view until the large- ness of God's purpose and His unutterable love for the entire world have made theological quibbles and narrow distinctions shrink away to nothing- ness.
Accident of birth and early influences, in most cases, determine relig- ious choice, and going down to the very core of Christianity, preference and education, rather than conscience, have set most of us in our places, for, reduced to its last analysis, the universal creed, alike of Protestant and Catholic is this-" The Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ-our means of grace and hope of glory."
But so long as families exist and hearts are bound together by natural ties, so long will there be different denominations, yet realizing that we are
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children of one Father, working for one great cause, the redemption of the world, there should be, neither rivalry nor jealousy, but an earnest seeking of the common good, and victory of the powers of light over darkness should cause general joy and rejoicing, no matter on what part of the line it occurs.
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