USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Rockford > History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois, from the first settlement in 1834 to the civil war > Part 14
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In the spring and summer of 1838 Harvey H. Silsby, Mowry Brown, William Hull and William Harvey built the house now standing north of Mrs. W. A. Dickerman's residence, for Dr. Haskell, who afterward sold itto John Edwards. In the autumn was erected by Dr. Haskell the brick building which was known later as the Winnebago House, on Andrew Ashton's corner. When laying out the ground for the cellar Mr. Silsby persuaded Dr. Haskell to set his building six feet from the line of the street. The Winnebago House was the first brick store built above Rock Island on Rock river. Into this store Dr. Haskell moved the stock of goods from the building on the river bank which had been occupied by Platt & Sanford ; and he and Isaiah Lyon continued the business. In 1843 Mr. Lyon closed out the stock, and converted the building into a hotel, under the name of the Winnebago House. Mr. Lyon's successors as pro- prietor were N. Crawford, C. C. Cobern, P. C. Watson, James B. Pierce, Isaac N. Cunningham, and D. Sholts. The building passed into Mr. Seaton's hands in 1854, and was afterward rearraged into stores.
After finishing Dr. Haskell's brick block, Mr. Silsby and Mowry Brown built a house for G. A. Sanford near the center of the block, south of Porter's drug store, on Main street. This house is now standing near the Chestnut street bridge. Ben- jamin Kilburn built his house near the Trask bridge road that season. The rear of the Beattie house was built the same sum- mer.
In September, 1839, Mr. Silsby and Phineas Howes entered into a contract to build a trestle bridge over the Kishwaukee
137
DEATH OF MR. SILSBY.
river at Newburg, once called Sayresville, after its founder, Colonel Sayres. Newburg was then in Winnebago county, on the mile-strip. The bridge was built of heavy timbers framed together, and floor timbers laid from one bent to another to support the floor. This bridge extended several hundred feet south of the river across a marsh to solid ground. Thirty-two years later Mr. Silsby crossed this bridge with a loaded wagon.
Mr. Silsby rendered great service to the writer in locating these buildings of the early days. His trade, that of contractor and builder, doubtless fixed the dates of their erection in his mind. No other individual furnished a more valuable fund of information in the preparation of this work. He knew the village from the beginning, and he retained his excellent mem- ory unimpaired to the last. Mr. Silsby died suddenly April 7, 1899, in Kansas, after having spent the winter with his daughter in Rockford. He was eighty-one years of age. Mr. Silsby was born in Acworth, Sullivan county, New Hampshire, November 1, 1817. He went in 1837 to Upper Alton, where he remained until he cameto Rockford thefollowing year. After working at his trade for some years, he embarked in mercantile business. Mr. Silsby was survived by three daughters, two of whom reside in Rockford. They are Mrs. Harriet Griswold and Mrs. Levi Sanders. George A. Silsby, of Mitchell, South Dakota, formerly in the shoe business in Rockford, is a son.
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CHAPTER XXVII.
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH .- JACOB KNAPP .- DR. THOMAS KERR.
T HE oldest Baptist organization west of Chicago is the First Baptist church of Belvidere. On a Sunday in March, 1836, Rev. John S. King preached the first sermon in the Kishwaukee country, at the primitive home of Timothy Caswell. The First Baptist church was founded in July, 1836, and was the first religious organization in Belvidere. Its first pastor was Prof. Seth S. Whitman, who served ten years. Prof. Whitman was a native of Shaftsbury, Vermont. He was graduated from Mad- ison university ; and later, in 1827, he was one of the three who formed the first graduating class from Newton Theological insti- tution. Immediately after his graduation, he was called to the chair of Biblical interpretation at Hamilton Theological insti- tution. This chair he occupied seven years, until his health failed, when he came to Belvidere. Prof. Whitman also per- formed duty as a civil officer in that early day. In 1841 he was clerk of the circuit court under the appointment of Judge Dan. Stone, and postmaster of the village. Belvidere, in 1836, was included in this county ; hence a reference to the church in that village has a place in this chapter.
The First Baptist church of Rockford was organized Decem- ber 22, 1838, at the home of Dr. Haskell. It is thus the second Baptist church planted in northern Illinois, and the third relig. ious organization in Rockford. Prof. Whitman and Deacon Nathaniel Crosby from Belvidere were present. Prof. Whitman was chosen moderator, and Dr. Haskell, clerk. A declaration of twelve articles of faith and a church covenant were adopted. Sixteen residents of Rockford presented church letters, as fol- lows: James and Martha Jackson, from Indianoplis, Indiana; Abiram Morgan, from the First Baptist church, Springfield, Massachusetts; Pierce and Evelina Wood, from Conneaut, Ohio; John and Susan Emerson, Machias Point, Maine; Wil- liam B. Brainard, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Ransom and Lucy Knapp, George and Eunice P. Haskell, Mowry and Lucy Brown, Isaiah Lyon, and Caleb Blood, from Upper Alton.
139
CONSTITUENT MEMBERS.
In June, 1888, the church celebrated its semi-centennial. The Rock River Association had been invited to hold its regu- lar session in Rockford. It was proposed to celebrate this anniversary at the time the Association should meet, although the exact date of organization was later in the year. The Association accepted the invitation. At that time the pastor, Rev. W. A. Stanton, Ph. D., prepared an excellent historical address, to which the writer is indebted for many of the facts given in this chapter.
Just one-half of the constituent membership of the church came from Upper Alton. This enrollment included several meu of sturdy character and progressive ideas. Dr. Haskell has already been introduced to the reader. Isaiah Lyon honored every position to which he was called. Mr. Lyon was born in Woodstock, Connecticut, in February, 1804. He was a cousin of General Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed at the battle near Wil- son's creek, in 1861. About 1825 Mr. Lyon went to St. Louis, thence to Upper Alton, and from there he came to Rockford. He was in mercantile business, proprietor of the Winnebago House, and for thirty-one consecutive years a justice of the peace. He resigned on account of declining health, after he was seventy years of age. Mr. Lyon's sterling qualities inspired confidence, and the poor always found in him an adviser and helper. He was prosperous in business, and acquired a consid- able estate. Mr. Lyon died January 22, 1883. His only child is Mrs. S. F. Weyburn, who is now residing in Scranton, Penn- sylvania. Abiram Morgan was one of the most prominent citizens of early Rockford, and maintained his membership with the church until his death, January 6, 1855. Ransom Knapp was a brother of Rev. Jacob Knapp, therevivalist. Caleb Blood had been a student at Shurtleff college, and became a Baptist clergyman. He was a grandson of Rev. Caleb Blood, whose ministry in New England from 1777 to 1814 was well known.
January 12, 1839, three weeks after its organization, the church extended a call to Rev. A. Chapin, of Shurtleff college, at a salary of three hundred dollars a year. He declined the call, and until May, 1841, the church depended upon occasional supplies. Among these were Prof. Whitman, of Belvidere, and Rev. John Sears. Dr. Haskell was deacon and clerk, and withal a pillar of strength. He had built a brick block on the site of Hon. Andrew Ashton's store, with a hall on the second floor for public meetings; and here the church held its services until
140
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
May, 1841. The missionary spirit was fostered. There is a record of a vote, March 9, 1839, to give twenty-five dollars to the Illinois Baptist convention.
In December, 1839, the church was legally incorporated, and plans for a house of worship were considered. In the fol- lowing spring, lot six in block eleven was purchased. This is the northwest corner of Main and Peach streets, and is now owned by the W. A. Knowlton estate. The church had enjoyed no preaching for three months, and in April, 1840, it was decided to have regular services, with or without preaching. A system of benevolence, to begin June 1, was adopted. In July follow- ing a call was extended to S. C. Jameson, a student at Brown university ; but it was declined.
September 23, 1840, the Rock River Baptist Association was organized at Belvidere. During 1839-40 churches had been organized at Round Prairie, Roscoe, Pecatonica, and Sugar River. The Rockford church appointed six delegates to attend the Association. Dr. Haskell was chosen moderator, and Prof. Whitman, clerk. The total membership of the six churches of the Association was two hundred and nineteen. The minutes of this first Association were published in full in eight small pages. A copy is preserved in the Rockford public library, and is probably the only one in existence. A complete file of the minutes of the Rock River Baptist Association for fifty-nine years has been preserved in this library. The early numbers were collected by Rev. E. C. Mitchell, D. D., while he was pastor of the State Street Baptist church.
The erection of the new house of worship proceeded as rap- idly as possible. This sanctuary stood close to Main street, and faced the east. It was a balloon frame, about thirty by forty feet, clapboarded, with no cupola. There were three win- dows on either side, but none in front or rear. Three or four steps at the front led to a porch, the covering of which was an extension of the gable end of the roof. This projecting roof was supported by four square columns. The interior consisted of a single room. From the door there was one center aisle, and on either side a row of pews which extended to the side walls. At the right and left were seats, slightly raised, for the singers. At the west end was the pulpit, upon a platform securely boxed.
The first sermon preached in this church was on May 9, 1841. It was not then completed, and temporary seats were
141
EARLY PASTORS.
used. Prof. Whitman was the preacher, and from that time until November 12th of the same year, he regularly supplied the pulpit, at five dollars a Sunday. As a stated supply, Prof. Whitman may be considered in a restricted sense as the first pastor.
The Rock River Baptist Association held its second annual session with the Rockford church September 18 and 19, 1841. The delegates at Belvidere the preceding year had been instructed to invite the Association to meet in Rockford at this time, and the invitation had been accepted. The introductory sermon was preached by Rev. Luther W. Lawrence, of Bonus. Thetotal membership of the churches in the Association had increased since the first session from two hundred and nineteen to two hundred and sixty.
The first resident pastor was the Rev. Solomon Knapp. He came from Des Plaines, Illinois, November 12, 1841, served less than a year, and resigned September 19, 1842. His salary was at therate of three hundred dollars a year. During his pastorate there were nine additions by baptism and eight by letter. From his departure until the autumn of 1843 the church was without a pastor.
A call was then extended to Rev. Warren F. Parrish, of Massilon, Ohio. He was a convert from Mormonism to the Baptist faith; and it is said the threats made by the Mormons greatly annoyed him and his wife. The church paid him a sal- ary of three hundred dollars and house-rent the first year ; the second year he received four hundred dollars. Of this amount, the Home Missionary Society paid one hundred dollars. This is the only year, in the entire history of the church, when it received any assistance from this source. The First Baptist society of Rockford was organized January 6, 1845. During the summer of that year there was a lack of harmony between the pastor and people, and September 1st Rev. Parrish tendered his resignation. He continued his residence in Rockford, and his membership with the church until June 15, 1860, when he was excluded. He had preferred charges against Dr. Clark, who was then pastor, for preaching heresy as to the Biblical teaching about usury. The church exonerated Dr. Clark, and rebuked Rev. Parrish. He continued to agitate the matter, however, until he was excluded. Upon his confession of error, he was restored January 4, 1862. In 1866 he removed to Kansas, where he became insane, and died.
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
About a month after the resignation of Rev. Parrish, the church invited Rev. O. H. Read, of Portageville, New York, to supply six months, from October 13, 1845. The terms were : "one hundred dollars in money, a cook stove, delf, and furniture with which to keep house; but he was to pay his own house rent." Rev. Read was unwilling to remain longer than the six months.
Rev. Luther Stone came from Rock Island and served as pastor from June, 1846, to June, 1847, with a salary of four hundred dollars. In October, 1846, the church granted letters to eight members, to form a church at Harlem. Deacon R. T. Mabie was one of the number. After a struggle of two years the Harlem church disbanded, and Deacon Mabie reunited with the church November 18, 1848.
From July 18, 1847, to October, 1848, the church was again favored with Prof. Whitman as a stated supply. His health failed, and he retired for three years from pastoral duties. He then took charge of a Baptist church at Madison, Wisconsin, where he died after eight months of service, January 2, 1852. The Baptists of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin owe a great debt to this cultured Christian gentleman. Dr. Frank S. Whitman, a prominent physician and politician of Belvidere, is a nephew.
In the autumn of 1848, Elder Jacob Knapp removed from the east, and November 18th he united with the First church by letter. The church was then withouta pastor, and arrange- ments were soon made with Elder Knapp for holding revival meetings. The little frame building was too small, and the church secured the use of the court house, where it continued to hold services until the new stone structure was completed. Elder Knapp continued his labors until June, 1849. At the annual session of the Rock River Association, held that month, the church reported sixty-two additions by baptism and seventeen by letter. These accessions increased the membership to one hundred and sixty.
Elder Knapp was one of the most remarkable men of his time. He was born in Otsego county, New York, December 7, 1799. He was graduated at Hamilton Theological seminary in June, 1825, and ordained in the following August at Spring- field, New York. After serving the church at Springfield for five years, and the church at Watertown for three years, he began . his career as an evangelist. For fifteen years his home was at Hamilton, New York, and for twenty-five years at Rockford.
143
ELDER JACOB KNAPP.
Elder Knapp claimed to have preached about sixteen thou- sand sermons, baptized four thousand candidates, and was the means of making one hundred thousand converts by his revival ministry, of whom two hundred became ministers of the gospel. Elder Knapp's mind was characterized by strong logical tend- encies, and his sermons abounded in homely illustrations, apt quotations from the Bible, and a good knowledge of human nature. The sight of a Unitarian or Universalist had much the same influence upon him that red flannel has upon a certain domestic animal. In commenting upon the cold intellectuality which was supposed to distinguish the Unitarians, Elder Knapp said that when they went to hell, they would so change the atmosphere of the place that all the little devils could skate on the ice. In stature, Elder Knapp was short, squarely and stoutly built, his voice was deeply sepulchral, and his manner self-possessed. He was fertile in expedients and possessed an indomitable will. He was quick at repartee, in which he was a consummate master. An instance is recalled when he was inter- rupted in a sermon by a smart young man in the gallery who inquired as to who was the father of the devil. Quick as a flash came the retort from the evangelist: "Young man, keep your own family record." On one occasion Elder Knapp met two clergymen on the street, when one said to the other, so that the Elder could hear: "Have you heard the news-they say the devil is dead." Elder Knapp reached out both arms, placed one hand upon each minister in fatherly compassion, and exclaimed : "Poor, fatherless children !" He sometimes drew comparisons which were not complimentary to his own denom- ination. He charged certain members with inconsistency in their doctrine of never falling from grace and their practice of continually so doing; whereas the Methodists believed infalling from grace, and lived up to it.
To this day the widest differences of opinion prevail as to the sincerity and true Christian character of Elder Knapp. Many of his fellow citizens believed his daily life was quiteinconsistent with the higher ideals which he taught from the pulpit ; while others considered him the very incarnation of godly zeal; as a veritable John the Baptist, warning the people in terms of awful grandeur to flee from the wrath to come. President Knott, of Union college, testified : "Elder Knapp is unequaled among uninspired men." Dr. Thomas Armitage, in his History of the Baptists, says: "The writer heard him preach many
144
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
times, and judged him, as he is apt to judge men, more by his prayers than his sermons, for he was a man of much prayer. His appearance in the pulpit was very striking, his face pale, his skin dark, his mouth wide, with a singular cast in one eye bordering on a squint; he was full of native wit, almost gest- ureless, and vehement in denunciation, yet so cool in his deliberation that with the greatest ease he gave every trying circumstance its appropriate but unexpected turn." Elder Knapp died March 3, 1874, on his farm north of Rockford, and was buried in the West side cemetery, with his feet toward the west, in accordance with his strange request. Miss Kittie Sher- wood, his granddaughter, has been laboring for many years as a home missionary among the colored people in the south. Elder Knapp's Autobiography was published in 1868.
The immediate successor of Elder Knapp was Rev. Ichabod Clark, D. D. He came from Galena, Illinois, in July, 1849, and labored continuously for five years. Mrs. Clark died September 16, 1854. Dr. Clark desired a change of scene and labor, and November 5th of that year he left Rockford to engage for a time as superintendent of missions for the Illinois Baptist Gen- eral Association. During his absence the pulpit was regularly supplied by Rev. Justin A. Smith, D. D., the veteran editor of the Standard, the Baptist publication in Chicago. In August, 1855, Dr. Clark resumed the active pastorate, which he retained until July, 1860. This was the longest pastorate in the history of the church. Four hundred and fifty-two members were added to the enrollment, of whom two hundred and eleven were by baptism.
The stone edifice now occupied by the church was completed in 1850, and was then the finest church building in the village. The dedicatory sermon was preached June 20th, by Rev. Jirah D. Cole, before the Rock River Baptist Association, which was then in session with the church. The building cost six thousand dol- lars ; the total cost of the lots, building and furniture was seven thousand five hundred and eleven dollars and seventeen cents. Among the prominent pew-holders were William Hulin, Charles I. Horsman, J. B. Howell, H. W. Loomis, Daniel Dow, Isaac Andrus and John Beattie. Not all the pew-holders were mem- bers of the church, and a few were not even included in the congregation. This church is the oldest house of worship in the city. Its solid walls have resisted the tooth of time and the fury of the elements for a full half century. When the old frame
145
LICENTIATES AND CLERKS.
church was vacated, it entered upon a career of itineracy. It was sold to the Unitarians, who removed it to their lot. Still later it was used by another church, and for secular business before it was torn down.
Revival services were frequently held from 1850 until Rev. Clark's resignation. In 1858 there were one hundred and two baptisms. June 6th of that year fifty-eight received the right hand of fellowship. This year the church reached its high-water mark. After fifteen years of long and faithful service, Dr. and Mrs. Haskell adopted Spiritualism, and severed their connec- tion with the church in 1853 and '54, respectively.
July 31, 1858, letters were granted to thirty-four members who wished to organize another church in East Rockford. The New Hampshire confession of faith was adopted by the First church January 2, 1859. When Dr. Clark closed his pastorate in 1860, the church had a membership of two hundred and seventy-seven. When he came to Rockford there were one hundred and sixty Baptists in the town ; when he went away there were three hundred and fifty-seven. Dr. Clark died at Lockport, Illinois, in 1869, and was buried in the West side cemetery.
Several members of the church were licensed to preach. Among these was Rev. Samuel Haskell, a nephew of Dr. Haskell, to whom reference was made in Chapter XXIII. Mr. Haskell went from Rockford to Suffield, Connecticut, where he prepared for college. In 1845 he was graduated from Brown university, and in 1847, from Hamilton Theological institution. From 1847 to 1852 he was pastor of the First church in Detroit, Michigan; from 1852 to 1871 in Kalamazoo, and from 1871 to 1888 in Ann Arbor. In 1866 he was president of the Michi- gan State Convention. He is now retired from the pastorate, and lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Other licentiates were T. Adna Orcott, J. P. Curry, T. L. Breckenridge, J. A. Dobson, Volney Powell, and George Bornschlegel.
Early clerks of the church were: George Haskell, M. D., December 2, 1838, to November, 1844; Duncan Ferguson, November 2, 1844, to June, 1846; Volney Powell, June, 1846, to June. 1847; Duncan Ferguson, June, 1847, to March, 1848; Volney Powell, March, 1848, to October, 1853; Giles Mabie, December, 1853, to April, 1855; Henry Sears, October, 1855, to July, 1857 ; O. A. Goodhue, July, 1857, to September, 1858 ; S. P. Crawford, September, 1858, to October, 1862; W. G.
146
HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
Ferguson, October, 1862, to July, 1865; Ahaz Paxson, July, 1865, to November, 1866.
Dr. Clark was succeeded by Dr. Thomas Kerr, who received a call immediately after the resignation of his predecessor. Dr. Kerr was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, May 24, 1824. Hereceived a liberal education at Gordon's college and the University of Aberdeen. The latter is one of the oldest of two or three universi- ties in Scotland. Dr. Kerr has a brother who for forty years was professor of architecture at King's collegein London, and is now professor emeritus. Dr. Kerr came to America in 1844. He arrived in New York September 1st. While in that city he attended a winter's course of scientific lectures in Columbia col- lege. In 1850 Dr. Kerr received his degree in medicine at the Iowa state university, then located at Davenport, but now at Des Moines. The same year the Doctor began the practice of medicine at Elgin, Illinois, where he remained seven years. Dur- ing the latter part of this period Dr. Kerr felt constrained to enter the ministry ; and in June, 1857, he was ordained as a Baptist clergyman at Elgin, by the Fox River Association. Among those who officiated at his ordination was Rev. Charles Hill Roe, of Belvidere, an honored name in local Baptist history. Dr. Kerr became pastor of the Baptist church at Dundee, in Kane county, in thelatter part of 1857. During this pastorate he continued to practice medicine at Elgin, as he found he could not absolutely retire at once from his former profession. In the autumn of 1859 Dr. Kerr was called to Waukegan; and June 1, 1860, he began his pastorate in Rockford.
To Dr. Kerr belongs the honor of preaching the first war sermon in Rockford after the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Sunday morning the news came that President Lincoln had issued a call for seventy-five thousand men. It was one of those critical moments in the nation's life. Under its solemn inspi- ration, Dr. Kerr preached an impressive patriotic discourse in the afternoon in the First church, and for the first time in local history the American flag was displayed from the pulpit. Dr. Kerr preached the first funeral discourse over a dead soldier, a brother of Lucius Day, whose remains had been returned to Rockford for burial. These memorial services were held in the street in front of the old court house.
After one year's service, Dr. Kerr was given a vacation of three months, during which time he visited Palestine. In 1864 Dr. Kerr was a member of the Christian Commission for three
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