USA > Indiana > Vigo County > Terre Haute > Historic discourse delivered at the quarter century anniversary, of the second Presbyterian Church, Terre Haute, Indiana, December 27, 1873 > Part 1
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HISTORIC DISCOURSE DELIVERED AT THE QUARTER CENTURY ANNIVERSARY, OF THE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA DECEMBER 27, 1873
CONDIT
Gc 977.202 T27con
M. L.
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02521 1738
Gc 977.202 T27con Condit, Blackford. Historic discourse ... Terre Haute, Indiana, December 27, 1873
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Historie Discourse.
M. L
INDIANA COLLECTION
HISTORIC DISCOURSE
..
DELIVERED AT THE
Quarter Century Anniversary,
OF THE
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,
TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA.
December 27, 1873.
BY REV. BLACKFORD CONDIT, Present Pastor of the Church.
Ic 977. 245 CE 7 5 l
CINCINNATI : Elm Street Printing Company, Nos. 176 and 178 Elm Street. 1874.
TERRE HAUTE, IND .. January 20, 1874.
REV. B. CONDIT :
Dear Sir-Having heard your sermon on the history of the Presbyterian Church in this place, we request a copy for publication, as it contains facts of great interest pertaining to the first religious work in this locality.
Very respectfully,
C. C. KNAPP,
C. I. RIPLEY,
Allen County Public Library 900 V. . . Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
F. McBRIDE,
ZENAS SMITH, S. H. POTTER.
TERRE HAUTE, February 12, 1874.
MESSRS. C. C. KNAPP, C. I. RIPLEY, F. MCBRIDE, ZENAS SMITH, AND S. H. POTTER :
Gentlemen -- According to your request, I herewith submit a copy of the historic discourse delivered at our recent anni- versary.
Yours very truly,
BLACKFORD CONDIT.
HISTORIC DISCOURSE.
Text-BUT PAUL SAID, I AM A MAN WHICH AM A JEW OF TARSUS, A CITY IN CILICIA, A CITIZEN OF NO MEAN CITY .- Acts xxi. 39.
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How different our circumstances to-night from those of the Apostle Paul, when he uttered the words of the text. All Jerusalem was in an uproar. So enraged were the people that some cried one thing and some another. And they went about to kill him. But when tidings came to the chief cap- tain, with his soldiers, he ran down and rescued Paul. And when in the castle, the chief captain examined him and said : " Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers ?" But Paul said : "I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city."
This answer simply sets forth the nativity of the apostle, and not as many suppose a claim of freedom from scourging or other violence. Such a claim he afterward set up on the ground of Roman citizenship, but here his answer may be regarded as simply declaring whom he was, and, incidentally, the honest pride he entertained for the city of Tarsus, the home of his childhood.
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And, as a matter of fact, Tarsus was no mean city. It was a celebrated seat of learning, taking rank with Athens and Alexandria, and even above them according to Strabo. Again, it was a free city. True, it had been conquered by Rome and consequently was in subjection to the Roman yoke, yet for years it had been free ; free to. elect its own magis- tracy, and in every way govern itself. And then add to these another fact, that it was a city of much commercial import- ance, connected with the East and the West by Roman roads, and we shall see that there was good reason for the apostle to hold up Tarsus as no mean city.
· Now, if Paul could indulge an honest pride in speaking of Tarsus, his old home, at such a time as that, shall I not be pardoned if, in a season like this, gathered as we are, on the eve of the celebration of the quarter century anniversary of a Christian church in a Christian city, shall I not be par- doned I say, if I should seem somewhat enthusiastic in speaking of this, our city, as no mean city, but beautiful for situation-the pride not only of her old, but also of her new citizens ?
For Terre Haute is renowned, not only for beauty of situ- ation, but, like Tarsus, is a celebrated seat of learning. Her public schools are her public pride. And her State Normal School, though founded but a few years ago, has not its superior in all the West. And then if Tarsus was a free city, what is Terre Haute? I answer : a free city, of a free state, of a free nation. And, therefore, we enjoy a rich inher- itance, a glorious citizenship of which we ought justly to be proud, not only for its freedom at home, but for its protec- tion abroad. Again, if Tarsus was a commercial city, what are we with our grand iron ways running to the north, the south, the east and the west, connecting us with the utter-
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most parts of the earth ? At our depot to-day you may pur- chase your through ticket to the extreme eastern or western coast, or through the agent you may secure a ticket for a passage around the world.
But it is not my purpose to speak so much of what Terre Haute is to-day, as to trace her early history, or rather to speak of the early history of Presbyterianism, in connection with the early history of the town.
And if we go back to the extreme limit to which the pen of history points, we shall find that as early as 1673-just now two hundred years ago -- the Jesuit missionary explored this whole region of country, west from the Ohio River, and south to the Gulf of Mexico, and claimed it for France and the Catholic Church. And for an hundred years it was so subject. All this region was French territory, and as just intimated was gained for France for the sake of the Roman Church, by the zeal and hardihood of the far seeing Jesuit. And close upon the heels of the Jesuit missionary flowed a tide of immigration of traders.
And so it was that the first foundings of our chief cities were for French trading posts; e. g., St. Louis, Vincennes, and to some extent our own city, as the name indicates. For it was in 1702 that a party of French Canadians descended the Wabash River, and established several posts on its banks for trading with the Indians. Among these were Vincennes, and doubtless " Old Terre Haute" on the west bank of the river, three miles below our present location.
But the organized and real life of the country commenced with this century. For it was in the year 1802 that Indiana territory was organized, and in 1803 the first territorial legisla- ture convened at Vincennes. And it was in 1816 that Indiana became a State, the sixth admitted into the Union under the
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federal constitution. So also it was in 1816 that Terre Haute was laid out, and when two years old was chosen the county seat of Vigo County, which settled the question of rivalry existing between it and other locations above and be- low the present site.
Not only did the organized civil life of this region begin with the present century, but also the organized Protestant religious life of the people. As already noted, for a hundred years before this the zeal of the Jesuit had been untiring, and to-day his labors, then put forth, are not without their visible fruits. Like the Indian with whom he mingled, he has left behind him enduring monuments, noticeable not only in deep laid church foundations, his peculiar work, but in the names of lakes, rivers and cities. So that the adherents of the Roman Church to-day feel at home as they recognize in these monuments the footprints and self-denying labors of their brethren who as early pioneers preceded them. But this Roman religion, though it had the energy and hardihood to explore these western wilds and plant trading posts, yet it could not possess and hold the land, excepting it was in the far south, where the climate was more congenial and the port of entry more convenient to France and Spain. And so it came to pass that it was the Protestant pioneer, with ax, plow, spelling book, and the civilizing element of a virtu- ous family came, conquered and held the land. It was the hardy pioneer from Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, also from the Middle and New England States that together took possession of this goodly land in which we dwell, in the name of Protestantism and civil liberty. And as a matter of history it was so, that, while the population was yet sparse, and the new settler was building his first log cabin, while, as yet, this region was a western wild, full of savage men and
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savage beasts, the Protestant Presbyterian missionary was among them.
From a little pamphlet entitled : "A Brief History of Presbyterianism in Indiana," prepared originally by a com- mittee of Salem Presbytery, in 1825, and published by the Synod of Indiana, I learn that in the very beginning of this century, missionary excursions were made in the vicinity of Vincennes, and up the valley of the Wabash, by such veter- ans in the service as Rev. Samuel Rannels, Rev. Samuel B. Robinson, Rev. James McGready, and Rev. Thomas Clel- land. All of whom were members of the Transylvania Presbytery of Kentucky.
Among the immediate fruits of these missionary labors, we have the gathering and organization of a Presbyterian Church, at Vincennes, in 1806, by Rev. Samuel B. Robinson. This church was called : "The Church of Indiana," after the name of the territory, a name that it still bears. And to-day it stands not among the least flourishing of the churches of this (our Vincennes) Presbytery. And it is worthy of being regarded not only as the mother of numerous churches in that immediate region, but of Presbyterianism in the south- ern part of the State. The Palmyra Church was organized in 1807, by Rev. James Vance, which was afterward re- embodied, in 1812, in the Presbyterian Church of Charles- town, of that same county. In the town of Washington, Daviess County (in this Presbytery), the church was organ- ized as early as 1814, by Rev. Samuel T. Scott, with about seventeen members. And this church is self-supporting to- day, and is among the most promising fields of the Presby- tery. And as a matter of interest in passing, I would state that the Presbytery of Vincennes holds its spring meeting with this church, at which time arrangements are being made
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to celebrate its sixtieth anniversary. In 1815, in what is now the city of Madison, a Presbyterian Church was organized with fifteen or twenty members, by Rev. William Robinson. In its early history this church enjoyed the labors of such fathers in the church as Robinson, Searle, Trimble and John- ston. The Salem Church was organized in 1816, by Rev. Samuel Shannon. In this same year the Blue River Church, in the county of Washington, was organized by Rev. James McGready. And, as yet, we were but a territory, which, at its organization, had a population of only 5,000. In 1810 the population had increased to 25,000. But the increase from 1810 to 1820 was most unexampled ; there being an in- crease of over 500 per cent., the population of the State in 1820 having reached 147,178. An increase in a single de- cade unsurpassed, excepting by the State of Michigan from 1830 to 1840.
And it was in this prosperity of the State that Presbyteri- anism was prospered, as the further enumeration of the early planting of churches would show. And such enumeration would show also that the strongholds of Presbyterianism to- day are the fields early occupied by the missionary pioneer. It is so at Vincennes, and all that region round about. It is so in the counties of Parke and Montgomery, where the pioneer missionary pushed his way as early as 1822 and 1824. * A missionary, in giving an account of his "first tour among the churches and settlements near the Wabash River, above Terre Haute," says : " I passed the night in the woods without human company, and with no other light than that made by the lightning." Another missionary, giving an account of a tour through the same region, in recounting
*Reed's Christian Traveler.
+Life and Times of Stephen Bliss.
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his perils by water, says : " I spent the day in seeking a ford by which to cross Big Raccoon Creek." But I must not stop to recount the hardships of the early missionaries, my object being rather to show forth the fruits of their labors. For, as just remarked, the fields that were then occupied are the fields that now are the strongholds of our church in the State, of which Indianapolis is another example, where a Presbyterian Church was planted in 1823. A city which to-day has ten Presbyterian churches, and each supplied by a pastor. Hence it well deserves the name of "The banner city of Presbyterianism in the West." A city from whose churches have gone forth some of the strong men of the nation. First among these I mention Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, of whom, on account of his world-wide reputation, I need not speak, excepting to say that seven years of his early ministry were spent in Indian- apolis. He was first settled, in 1837, at Lawrenceburg. After a residence of two years, he removed to Indianapolis ; he remained there till 1847, when he accepted an invitation to become pastor of the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, New York. As another remarkable example, I would mention Rev. George Bush, the author of " Critical Notes on several books of the Old Testament," and for many years professor of oriental languages in the University of New York City. Mr. Bush was ordained and installed pastor of the Presby- terian Church at Indianapolis. *" And this was the first or- dination of a Presbyterian minister in the State. It was the act of the Presbytery of Salem, and the exercises took place in the State House, at Indianapolis, March 5, 1825."
But while it is profitable to recapitulate the history of the
#Brief History of Presbyterianism in Indiana.
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planting of churches in the State, my immediate purpose is to confine your attention to our own section. The town of Terre Haute was organized in 1816, the same year the State was received into the Federal union. The life of the town, therefore, began with the life of the State. Situated a thou- sand miles from the sea-coast, with no highway of inter- course, and no approach even, excepting by the back door of Vincennes by way of Cincinnati, in a region of interminable forests, in a region subject to the incursion of the Indians, little could have been expected by those who located the town. Yet from the very beginning there was much that was encouraging. In 1815, the year previous to the laying out of the town, a settled peace had been concluded with the Indians. At this time; permanent settlers, attracted by the richness of the soil, were pouring into the State with unex- ampled rapidity. And then the town, on account of the beauty of its location, had its attractions. Situated on the east side of the Wabash, sixty feet from the level of the river, on a rolling prairie of some nine miles in length and three miles in breadth, the river furnishing an outlet for trade; and then the location was geographically on the direct line of travel from the East to the far unexplored West, which very soon appeared when the great National Road was projected. So that from the beginning our town had its geographical advantages and local attractions. And not the least among the latter was the character of the first inhab- itants of the place, for while the early settlements on the frontier at that time were characterized by ignorance and rowdyism, comparatively the early settlement of Terre Haute was characterized by its intelligence, good order, and by a certain gentility that has always marked the place. And then for years afterward the internal improvements, such as
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the National Road, of which mention has been made, and the Wabash and Erie Canal made Terre Haute a center of at- traction for enterprising men.
But for a period of thirty-five years our city was only a village; since in 1851 our population amounted to only 4,000. And up to this date we had no particular ambition to become anything more than a village. But it was about this time that new aspirations took possession of the citizens. Several years previous to this date (1851), joint stock com- panies for building railroads in other parts of the State had been incorporated by the legislature. And now it became possible and probable that a railroad could be built connect- ing Terre Haute with the eastern cities. And from the hour of the projection of this road, and from the hour also that Block coal was discovered in our immediate vicinity, which is more valuable than the Mariposian gold fields of Califor- nia, in that it attracts to us both capital and labor, and plants them to be permanently productive, I say since the projec- tion of the T. H. & R. R. R., and the discovery of our coal fields, the future of Terre Haute has been decided, that sooner or latter she must become a great city.
But I would trace the early history of the church in con- nection with that of the town. As already remarked, Pres- byterian missionaries made tours up and down the valley of the Wabash, in the first years of this century, the first- fruit of whose labors, as already stated, was the organization of a church near Vincennes, in 1806. I have before me a short account of a missionary tour made by Rev. Nathan B. Derrow, in the year 1816, the same year our town was laid out. Mr. Derrow was sent out by the Connecticut Mission- ary Society. He came into Indiana at Jeffersonville, and proceeded north to Fort Harrison which is three miles
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north of us. He found the field at once destitute and in- viting." I have also before me a *letter written by another honored missionary of those early days, Rev. Orin Fowler. The letter is dated Carlisle, 1819, where he had that same year organized a Presbyterian Church. In his letter he says : " I have just returned from a tour up the Wabash, as far as Fort Harrison, and have preached in nearly every neighbor- hood." Terre Haute then was a town of three years old, and consequently was one of the probable neighborhoods in which this good brother preached.
Rev. Charles C. Beatty, D. D., of Steubenville, Ohio, one of the oldest living pioneers of Presbyterianism in Indiana, tmade a missionary tour under the auspices of the General Assembly, through this region of country, in the year 1822. He organized Presbyterian Churches in Parke County north of us, also one or two churches south of us. In conversa- tion with Dr. Beatty, some two years ago, he gave a very in- teresting account of his missionary tour through this coun- try, and of his visit to Terre Haute. His preaching services were held in the ball room of the tavern, which stood on the southeast corner of Main and First streets, kept for many years" by Captain Wasson. His audiences were discourag- ingly small ; he, with the help of an old colored woman, did all the singing. During his stay in the village, he was hos- pitably entertained by the late Major Whitlock, of Craw- fordsville. At that time Mr. W. was a resident of Terre Haute, and was the Receiver at the United States Land Office. Dr. Beatty enjoyed the social intercourse of such gentlemen as Doctor Modesitt, of whom he spoke in the
*Reed's Christian Traveler.
+Private Letter.
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highest terms, who, though not a member of the church, had once been in connection with the Methodist Church.
* Another missionary, writing under the date of 1824, speaks of making a short tour across the Wabash River, some miles north of Terre Haute, and returning by way of " Hopewell Church," which he describes as a relic of a church on the State line west and south of Terre Haute. At the time of this visit the church had but ten members, but from about this time it enjoyed a blessed season of revival, and was increased to some seventy members. He says : " That with the members of this church he held a sacrament- al meeting on the east side of the Wabash, in the village of Terre Haute."
tFrom one of our old citizens I learn that it was quite a common thing for these. Hopewell Church people to come into town and hold what were then called "big meetings " in the Court House, commencing on Friday or Saturday even- ing, and holding over the Sabbath. And that on these occa- sions the people from the town and country turned out and filled the house. That it was customary at their night meetings for each one of the villagers to carry a candle, his contribution toward lighting the room.
But to return to the missionary's account. He says : " That at this time the minds of several of the leading men of the town were stirred up with the desire of settling a minis- ter among them." In this same letter (date 1824), which is a report to one of the missionary societies east, he recom- mends that a man be sent to occupy this field, and states that " the villages of Terre Haute and Roseville would unite in his support, and that two hundred and fifty dollars could
*Rev. Isaac Reed.
+Harry Ross, Esq.
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be raised on the field." In 1825 this same missionary again visited this region, and held a sacramental meeting at Terre Haute. In describing the country, he says : " That the whole tract of country, extending from Vincennes as high up as Vermillion, is immensely in need of the preached gospel, and begs the Society to send a missionary to occupy the field." Of his labors in the town, he says : "The last night I preached in Terre Haute, but few of the villagers attended, but two professors of religion who lived eight miles distant from the town attended the meeting, and returned that same night."
In another tour made this same year (1825), he speaks of riding eleven miles to the village of Terre Haute. He de- scribes the town as " A. very singular place ; that it had a population of two hundred, and much mercantile business ; that it had no religious society of any order, but there was at this time a great disposition to hear preaching; that sev- eral gentlemen had formed a Sunday reading meeting, at the Court House. At these meetings they took turns in read- ing printed sermons. There was also a newly formed Bible Society in the town, and a small Sabbath-school." So again, in 1826, we find our missionary in Terre Haute, preaching in the Court House to a large and attentive congregation. He expresses his pleasure in finding the town so quiet and or- derly on the Sabbath, but adds "That it is still ( 1826) without any religious society."
I remember when in college of finding in the library a small volume containing the diary of a pioneer missionary in Indiana. His description of Terre Haute made quite an im - pression upon my mind, and was this, almost word for word : " The town of Terre Haute is a beautiful village, composed of white houses, situated on the left bank of the Wabash River, but no place for the gospel."
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*In the life of another Presbyterian pioneer, I find an ac- count of his preaching, in 1826, at two points, viz : Carlisle and Terre Haute. He journeyed on horseback in filling these appointments, for as yet, he says, "The roads are but bridle paths through the woods and prairies." Again, in 1827, I find an entry in his diary of " His riding to Terre Haute and preaching in the evening. The next day he rode to Big Raccoon. The next day, on account of very heavy rain, he spent the whole day in searching for a ford across the creek, and in vain." In those days missionaries con- tended with perils by the way ; some of whom lost their lives in attempting to cross the streams in times of high water.
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I have thus quoted largely from the reports of mission- aries who have visited our place previous to 1827. While, as yet, there was no organized church of any name in the town, according to the testimony above quoted, doubtless every denomination had been represented by transient mis- sionaries, of whom there was no lack in the country. And if time permitted, I might give some droll examples of the character of the preachers who passed up and down the State in those early days.
So far then as any record shows, there was no organized church in Terre Haute till the spring of 1828, when a Pres- byterian Church was organized by Rev. David Monfort. He came from the State of Ohio, and was a member of the Presbytery of Cincinnati. +Mr. Monfort came here in the fall of 1827, but the church was not organized till May 17, 1828, and was composed of ten members, viz: Samuel Young and Margaret Young (his wife), from Union Church,
#Life and Times of Stephen Bliss.
+Private letter from his son.
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on Honey Creek ; Samuel Ewing and Mary Ewing (his wife) ; James Beard and Jane Beard (his wife) ; John McCul- loch and Margaret McCulloch (his wife), from New Hope Church ; Mrs. Phobe Monfort, from Bethel Church, Ohio ; and Mr. O. Dibble. * The meeting for the organization took place on Saturday, May 17, 1828, when Mr. Samuel Young and Mr. James Beard were duly chosen elders of the church. And Messrs. Willianı C. Linton, John Britton and Captain James Wasson were elected trustees of this the First Pres- byterian Church of Terre Haute. On the next day, which was Sabbath, May 18, Mr. Samuel Young and Mr. James Beard, elders elect, were by ordination solemnly set apart to this office by Rev. David Monfort.
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