USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > History of Stephenson County, Illinois : a record of its settlement, organization, and three-quarters of a century of progress > Part 53
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With 1850 begins the history proper of the First M. E. church of Freeport. In that year Freeport was organized into a separate charge under the pastorate of the Rev. J. F. Devore. No church building was at first obtainable, but ser- vices were held about in the homes of the members and later in the little red
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schoolhouse, a structure which has today become famous. Occasionally it is said meetings were held in the old courthouse building. Mr. Devore's labors were unceasing and very effective. He conducted a spirited series of revival meetings and so increased the membership of his charge that a permanent house of worship became an imperative necessity. The lot, which is still owned by the church, was bought for the purpose, and preparations for the building be- gan. The details of the early history of the church are lost in tradition. Cer- tain it is that they would be very interesting today could they be ascertained. The limited means of the congregation made it impossible for them to con- tribute a great deal in money, and in lieu of this they gave their services in the actual work of building. Only about $500 in money was obtainable, some of it being given by the Methodists of Freeport and the rest by the farmers throughout the county irrespective of denomination. From first to last, Rev. Devore was the leader and his own personal enthusiasm inspired and encour- aged his followers. Not only should the credit of obtaining the subscription be given to him, but much of the manual labor as well. He succeeded in borrow- ing an ox team from a farmer who had shown himself willing to help and hauled much of the material to the place of building. The work could not help but progress rapidly. By the next summer (1851) the basement had been com- pleted and the frame of the church itself constructed. In the same year the church was completed and dedicated. The reports concerning this portion of the church's history are confused and far from authentic. Some of them as- sert that the dedicatory sermon was preached by Presiding Elder Haney, while others credit the Rev. D. W. Pinckney with having officiated.
The church was "finished" that year-and when we say finished, we mean the mere shell of the church, for the interior decorations and adornments could not be obtained. The cost of building was about $2,000, most of which was supplied by donations of labor and materials, and nothing was left to complete the interior. There were no pews, among other things, and the records state that this lack was supplied by "the contributions of individuals." We may interpret this vague phrase in several ways. Certainly no money was given, and for the time being rough benches were used and services were conducted in the basement of the church, the upper auditorium being still incomplete.
Rev. Devore left in 1852 and his place was filled by the Rev. C. C. Best- later by the Rev. H. Whipple, under whose ministry the church was finished. In 1855 the completed edifice was dedicated by the Rev. Silas Boales, who preached the dedicatory sermon. The Rev. Dr. Henman had accepted an in- vitation to preach the sermon, but his death occurred before the appointed day of dedication.
The next decade was a period of the most remarkable growth and increase, under the pastorates of the Rev. C. M. Woodruff (1855-1856), Rev. Miles L. Reed (1856-1857), Rev. Thomas North (1857), and following him the Revs. J. C. Stoughton, David Teed, W. F. Stewart, and J. L. Olmsted, the dates of whose occupancy are lost. In 1863 occurred the withdrawal of the congrega- tion which founded the Embury church. This took away about sixty of the members of the First church, but the gap was quickly filled by new converts who were won in the stirring revivals held.
GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BURNED, 1909.
FIRST METHODIST CHURCH
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In 1864 the Rev. W. C. Willing became pastor of the First M. E. church, and during his pastorate the church was enlarged at a cost of something like $13,000. During the repairing the services of the congregation were held in the old Plymouth Hall. In 1867 the Rev. F. P. Cleveland came to take the charge and under his ministry a parsonage was built at a cost of $3,500. The war does not seem to have affected seriously the growth of the First M. E. church as it did so many of the other religious organizations of the city. In fact, it was during the heat of the struggle that the Embury church was founded un- der most flourishing circumstances. In 1870, $800 was expended in repairing and refrescoing the church, and the Rev. W. A. Smith occupied the pulpit, remaining until 1873 when Rev. Cleveland returned. He continued his labors for three more years being followed in turn by the Revs. S. A. W. Jewett and C. E. Mandeville. The pastors who followed the Rev. Mandeville were Lewis Meredith, Deloss M. Tompkins, O. F. Matteson, D. M. Tompkins (who re- turned for a second pastorate of two years), C. A. Bunker and N. O. Freeman. During all this period the church remained in a healthy and prosperous condi- tion. The Rev. J. W. Richards, who came to Freeport in 1896, was at one time conference secretary, and a distinguished man in church affairs. He remained until 1899 and was followed by N. H. Axtell (1900-1903), James K. Shields (1903-1906), C. W. McCaskill (1906-1909), and E. C. Lumsden (1909-) the present occupant of the pulpit.
The beautiful new temple of worship was erected in 1904 under the ministry of the Rev. James K. Shields. In 1904 plans for a church building were dis- cussed and a building committee was appointed to look into the matter. This committee was composed of the Rev. James K. Shields, A. K. Stibgen (chair- man), C. E. Brubaker (secretary), H. H. Antrim, A. M. Hoover, George L. Parks, George W. Frey, W. A. Hart, Frank L. Furry, D. Y. McMullen, Gustav Hornberg, William Smallwood, and Paul Bickenbach. The building committee went to work immediately and secured plans for a $35,000 edifice, the building of which was immediately commenced. The cornerstone was laid with appro- priate ceremonies on the 7th of August in the same year. An address was de- livered by the Rev. J. K. Shields, introducing the Rev. Willis Hoover, formerly of Freeport, now of Valparaiso, Chile, who gave the principal address of the day. Rev. Shields was assisted by the Revs. J. M. Phelps, pastor of the Em- bury church, and Orlo J. Price, pastor of the First Baptist church. In Febru- ary, 1905, the church was finished and dedicated, Bishop MacDowell officiat- ing. It was occupied the first time for services on the first Sunday of March of that year. The new church is a beautiful building of colonial brick sur- mounted by two square towers, built in the modern style of church architecture. The auditorium is on the second floor, the first floor being given over to Sunday school, lecture, and league rooms. Among the other possessions of the church is a sweet-toned organ which was bought at the time of the building of the new church. The organ is surpassed by none in the city at the present time.
The parsonage, located in the rear of the church on the corner of Cherry and Exchange streets, was built during the ministry of the Rev. N. H. Axtell. It is a comfortable building modern in every respect and was built at a cost of $5,000. The value of the church property has risen somewhat of late years
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and the whole is now appraised at $50,000, of which the church is worth $45,000 and the parsonage $5,000. The present pastor, Rev. E. C. Lumsden, reports a present membership of five hundred and twenty-nine with a Sunday school enrollment of nearly five hundred.
FIRST ENGLISH LUTHERAN CHURCH.
The First English Lutheran is one of the younger churches of Freeport, and has only been in active existence for about thirty years. Previous to the time of its founding many attempts had been made to establish an Evan- gelical Lutheran mission in Freeport, but for one reason or another all of them were failures. It was not, however, that the founders failed to begin their work soon enough, for as early as 1852 the first attempt was made. Rev. Ephraim Miller, in his report as president of the Northern Illinois Synod at Chicago, spoke of the project of sending a missionary to establish a church in Freeport in November of that year, but for some unknown reason the plan was never carried into execution.
In 1860 the matter was again brought to light but no very great enthusiasm was manifested and again Freeport was without its mission. It was not strange that no developments took place. The Civil War was occupying the minds and attention of everybody, and, aside from that, there were only a few Lutherans in the city at the time. Rev. Solomon Ritz, who visited Freeport in 1862 in his capacity of superintendent of missions of the synod, does not seem to have had much patience with the Lutherans of this city and their incessant cry "about war and the hard times." He stated in his report that it was his intention to "leave that place alone till after the war," but as a matter of fact he never re- turned. The following year, 1864, Rev. T. F. Easterday, who later became con- nected with the Lake Superior Presbytery, was sent to explore the field at Freeport, and reported that he "saw nothing sufficiently promising to warrant the putting forth of further efforts in that direction." In 1865 an apparently definite step was taken. Freeport was designated as a field for missionary en- deavors, and the sum of $200 was voted for the cause. Rev. Lingle was placed in charge of the mission and after a single unsatisfactory year he resigned in discouragement. Subsequently Rev. Weiser visited Freeport to inspect the field but met with no inducements.
Rev. S. W. Harkey, who had once before tried to develop the Freeport field by sending the Rev. T. F. Easterday, again put forth his efforts, and through his advice the synod pledged $600 to support a missionary at Freeport. The synodical superintendent being unable to secure the services of a suitable mis- sionary for Freeport, nothing was done that year.
This investigation of 1868 resulted in the sending of a report to the synod signed by the Revs. G. J. Donmeyer and John Stoll, two clergymen residing in Freeport. However, no definite action was taken at that time. In 1869 the synod sent to Freeport Rev. S. N. St. John, who had had little experience, and was quickly discouraged by the conditions which faced him in Freeport. After a year he departed, and not until 1879 was the name of Freeport again mentioned in the synod. At that time a congregation of twenty members elected
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the Rev. J. W. Goodlin pastor. Rev. Goodlin promptly declined as did the second pastor called, and in the face of such persistent discouragement interest waned and for two years nothing was done.
In 1881 the Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Society settled upon Freeport as a place for a mission, and Rev. Thomas F. Reeser, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, came to Freeport June I of that year. On the last Sabbath in August the first services were held, and a formal organization effected September 19, 1881. From this time actually dates the real beginnings of the First English Lutheran church of Freeport.
The organization was effected with but fourteen bona fide members, and the congregation worshiped in Temperance Hall, corner of Chicago and Exchange streets from the time it was organized until the new church was completed. In this hall a Sunday school was held which at times had a very encouraging attendance.
In the year 1882 steps were taken to secure a suitable building lot. After considering various locations, the lot on the corner of South Galena avenue and Jackson street, where the church now stands, was purchased. Plans were soon formulated for building a church which was finally completed and dedicated De- cember 21, 1884. The cornerstone had been laid October 16, of the year previ- ous. Rev. Reeser proved an enrgetic and able pastor and under his direction the church thrived.
However, on the Ist of September, 1885, he resigned, accepting a call to the Lutheran church at Polo, Illinois. The first day of January of the fol- lowing year, Rev. A. M. Barrett took charge of the struggling little mission. These were dark and discouraging times, the financial troubles being among the most critical of the church's history. The congregation was, however, held together by Rev. Barrett, and on his resignation on October 1, 1888, there was harmony among the people.
On November 1, 1888, Rev. H. A. Ott, of Brookville, Ohio, assumed the duties of pastor of the mission. He entered into his work with untiring zeal, and soon had the sympathy, confidence, and help of every member.
The Sunday school began to grow, and in a few months had doubled its attendance, then trebled, and even quadrupled that of former years. He re- mained for seven years, and eight months, during which time the church flour- ished under his leadership.
The crowning event of this period was, no doubt, Easter Sunday, April 2, 1893, when the congregation declared itself no longed a mission from hence- forth, but a self sustaining church.
There now followed several short pastorates, as follows: Rev. W. S. Dysinger, November, 1896 to April, 1898; Rev. H. W. Tope, June, 1898 to October, 1899; Rev. G. C. Cromer, December, 1899 to October, 1902.
During the pastorate of Rev. G. C. Cromer the interior of the church was redecorated and other minor improvements were made.
Then followed the second longest pastorate in the history of the church, that of Rev. W. Gardner Thrall, from June, 1903 to August, 1907. During that period the church was steadily moving forward, and it is today thriving under the guidance of the Rev. Philip H. R. Mullen, who has done a great deal to
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advance the cause in Freeport. The church edifice on South Galena avenue together with the lot upon which it stands is valued at about $20,000. The present membership of the church is about two hundred and twenty-five, with a Sunday school of about two hundred.
EMBURY M. E. CHURCH.
The Embury M. E. church was the result of a growth beginning with the founding of a Sunday school in the year 1863. This Sunday school held meet- ings in a hall on Stephenson street and the result was that Rev. Joseph Wardle was sent as missionary to Freeport later in the year. About two years later, the following people who had previously belonged to the First Methodist church, met and permanently organized the new church: Rev. F. C. Winslow, Rev. Mr. Mccutcheon and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Hollis Jewell, Mr. and Mrs. John Barnes, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Carey, the Rev. Joseph Best and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Abraham German, Mrs.' Sechrist, William Sells, Mrs. J. H. Staver, Mrs. Naylor, Cornelius Furst, and George Swentzell.
It was decided to build a church edifice as soon as possible. To this end ten of the congregation subscribed $1,000 a piece. A lot was bought on South Galena avenue, then known as Exchange street, and on Thursday, June 30, in the following year, 1866, the cornerstone of the present building was laid. A large audience witnessed the ceremony and the records have a great deal to say about the manner in which the stone was put in place. To quote: "An ap- propriate hymn was sung by the congregation, after which prayer was offered by the Rev. R. A. Blanchard, who also read the ritual; the scripture lesson was read by the Rev. W. C. Willing; followed by the Rev. J. F. Yates, of Galena, in an address, when the usual mementoes were placed, including a copy of the Bible, Methodist Hymn book, Discipline of the M. E. church, Minutes of the Rock River conference, statement of the organization and history of the church, list of builders of the edifice, Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and several states, copies of the local and state newspapers, specimens of national coin, etc., after which the stone was placed in position, and the audience dismissed with the benediction." The building was pushed rapidly and soon finished. The cost was $23,000 and the funds were practically all provided for before the dedication day which was in the fall of 1867.
At the formation of the church, the members decided to call it the "Embury Methodist Episcopal church" in honor of Philip Embury, the first Methodist preacher in America. Rev. Joseph Wardle became the first pastor, and was in a few years succeeded by the Rev. John H. Reaves, who early resigned on account of failing health. The Rev. R. McCutcheon, a resident minister, and one of the founders of the church, filled out his unexpired term assisted by F. C. Winslow and Joseph Best, who were local elders. In 1866, F. A. Read be- came pastor and filled his term of three years, a period marked by steady pros- perity. Rev. F. A. Read was followed by the Rev. F. A. Hardin, a man of great energy and personal enthusiasm, Rev. Hooper Crews, Rev. S. G. Lathrop, Rev. I. E. Springer, and then again by the Rev. F. A. Hardin, who returned to take charge of his former pastorate again. Rev. G. S. Young, Rev. Sanford
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Washburn, and Rev. H. L. Martin occupied the pulpit in turn, and then the Rev. Joseph Wardle, the first minister, returned to the church he had helped to found after an absence of twenty years. The pastors who have filled the charge since the second occupation of the Rev. Joseph Wardle, have been: Rev. J. A. Matlack, 1886-1889; Rev. N. J. Harkness, 1889-1893; Rev. T. V. E. Sweet, 1893-1895; Rev. W. H. Haight, 1895-1897; Rev. A. R. Cronce, 1897-1898; Rev. L. C. Burling, 1898-1902; Rev. J. M. Phelps, 1902-1905; Rev. E. E. Mckay, 1905-1908.
Rev. Mckay was succeeded in 1908 by the Rev. Ray C. Harker, the present incumbent. Rev. Harker is a man of highly intellectual accomplishments. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, and is especially effective as a pulpit orator, having taught for two years in the Cumnock School of Oratory at North- western. Under his guidance the church has grown and prospered steadily. The congregation numbers about six hundred and fifty. The Sunday school, of which O. T. Smith is superintendent, numbers about five hundred. The church property is valued at $28,000 of which the parsonage, valued at $7,000 forms a part. Paul Haight is president of the brotherhood and George Green is presi- dent of the Epworth league.
A new church building is at present contemplated to take the place of the old one, which the congregation has outgrown. The building will be commenced next spring, and a costly and beautiful structure, surpassed by none in the city will be erected on the site of the present church.
GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
In 1848 or 1849 the movement was started which culminated in the estab- lishment of Grace Parish. A little band of believers in the Protestant Episcopal faith had been for some time holding meetings in a little room on Galena street under the leadership of Rev. James Bentley, who afterward became the first pastor of the church. The meetings were not regularly held, but the interest in them was maintained, and the following year, the association determined to formally organize a church. On June 17, 1850, the men who had met for for the purpose of organizing drew up the following resolution which is pre- served on the church records :
"We, whose names are hereunto affixed, deeply sensible of the Christian religion and earnestly desiring to promote its holy influence in our own hearts, and in those of our families and neighbors, do hereby associate ourselves under the liame of Zion Parish, Freeport, in communion with the Protestant Episcopal church of the United States of America, and diocese of Illinois, the authority of whose constitution and canons we do hereby recognize, and to whose liturgy and mode of worship we promise to conformed. Witness our hands (signed), James Bentley, Charles Powell, Andrew F. Hollenbach, George F. Johnson, William Bacon (clerk).
On July 12, 1850 the first vestry of the church was elected, consisting of Andrew F. Hollenbach, senior warden; Daniel Brewster, junior warden; G. F. Johnson, treasurer; Charles Powell, George Puriton; William Bacon (clerk).
One of the first steps taken was the plan for erection of a church. While the process of building was in progress the church continued to hold its services in the Galena street room rented for its uses. A portion of land (the same
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which is at present owned by the church) was secured at the corner of Stephen- son and Cherry streets and the building was begun in 1851.
In 1853 it was finished and Bishop Whitehouse consecrated the edifice, being assisted by the Revs. Mckeown, of Elgin, Benedict, of Galena, and James Bentley, the Freeport rector. The frame building, thus consecrated on the 16th of February, 1853, remained in use for only nine years, when it was liter- ally brown to pieces in a violent windstorm which occurred in that year. Owing to the war times and afflicted condition of the congregation, the loss seemed a very serious one, and nothing was done at once to replace the structure. Meet- ings were again held in a rented hall, and for a time no effort was made to re- build. In a short time, however, it became necessary again to have a church building, and the fragments of the old one were rebuilt with an added central section, thus increasing the size of the building. A period of great prosperity ensued and the treasury of the church was enhanced to such a degree that a new church building was deemed advisable. In 1887 it was finished and dedi- cated by Dean John Wilkinson, of Dixon, assisted by clergymen from Chicago, Galena, Sycamore, and Amboy. The church is one of the handsomest in the city, being built of native white limestone, left with bold rock face. The rectory is connected with the church at the rear, and the architect, Henry E. Starbuck, of Chicago, accomplished the somewhat remarkable feat of placing both church and rectory on a lot 60x120 feet. The building is modern and up-to-date in every respect. The latest acquisition is a new church organ, unquestionably one of the finest, as well as the newest, in Freeport. Recently, the rectory was closed temporarily for various reasons and a new rectory was purchased until the old one could be improved and modernized.
The church has at present a congregation of between two and three hun- dred, with a Sunday school somewhat smaller. The present rector is the Rev. Frederick J. Bate, who has been in charge since February, 1905. The rectors who have officiated since the foundation of the parish by the Rev. James . Bentley, have been : Rev. James Bentley, 1849-1853 ; Rev. A. J. Warner, 1853-1855; Rev. Adams, 1856-1857; Rev. I. L. Grover, 1857-1858; Rev. R. L. Crittenden, 1858- 1859; Rev. S. R. Weldon, 1860-1866; Rev. J. N. Clark, 1866-1868; Rev. W. I. Johnson, 1868-1871 ; Rev. G. W. Dean, 1872-1875; Rev. R. F. Sweet, 1876-1884; Rev. J. B. Draper, 1884-1886; Rev. W. C. De Witt, 1886-1889; Rev. Marcus Lane, 1889-1895; Rev. Frederick W. Keator, 1896-1900; Rev. William White, 1900-1904; Rev. Frederick J. Bate, 1905 ----.
TRINITY CHURCH.
The early history of Trinity church is the same as that of the Salem Evan- gelical church, which only recently disbanded. In April, 1867, the movement was started which resulted in the establishment of Salem Mission at Freeport. At the annual session of the Illinois Conference, held in Naperville, Rev. Henry Rohland offered a motion which was seconded by the Rev. S. Dickover that the Salem Mission of Freeport be established. The motion was carried but not acted upon and for a whole year nothing was done. Two years later the spring conference appointed a pastor and the Rev. Henry Messner was delegated to be-
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCHI
TRINITY CHURCH AND PARSONAGE
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come the first guide of Salem Mission. The Rev. D. B. Byers was elected presiding elder of the district. Fifty-four members made up the first congrega- tion, most of them coming by letter from the Oak street Emanuel Evangelical church, which held services only in German. A petition had been presented to the conference to permit preaching in English on alternate Sundays, but this was refused. As a result, many of the congregation withdrew, most of them going over to the Salem church. The records of the church state that the first quarterly conference leaders were as follows: Class leaders, Paul W. Rockey, Rev. D. W. Crissinger; exhorters, H. W. Pease, John Miller; trustees, John Barshinger, Paul W. Rockey, D. W. Grissinger, John Woodside, Simon Anstine ; stewards, T. Y. Fiss, John Wolfinger, Elias Bamberger.
For six months after its founding, Salem Mission worshiped in "Commercial Hall" on Stephenson street, but negotiations for the erection of a suitable church edifice were immediately started. In the meantime a Sunday school was organized and the various departments of church work were begun. A house and lot on Pleasant street was secured and a building, which still stands, was immediately constructed, the total cost of lot and building being nearly $8,000. In 1888 an eleven hundred dollar parsonage was built next to the church.
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