USA > Indiana > A history of the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, from its organization in 1844 to the present > Part 13
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50 F. A. Gould, Western Christian Advocate, April 4, 1888. 51 Robert Allyn. Western Christian Advocate, April 4, 1888. 52 Arthur Edwards, Ibid., May 16, 1888. 53 Minutes, 1891.
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gates-Mrs. J. F. Bailey, Mrs. C. W. Wilcox, Mrs. Clariza Buckman, Mrs. Alcester Carey and Mrs. L. A. Retts. It was not until 1908 that a woman was elected to the General Conference. In that year Mrs. Waugh, of Marion, completed the delegation.
In the fall of 1891 the Northwest Indiana Confer- ence passed a resolution asking the forty-ninth session of the North Indiana Conference, which Bishop Fitz- gerald would open at Anderson the following March 30, 1892, to join with them in a petition to the General Conference to change the boundary line so that Logans- port would be in the Northwest Conference. There was again all the resentment and intensity of feeling that was expressed in 1888. The lay conference that met at the same time eagerly joined with the minis- ters to instruct both delegations to oppose the change in every possible way.54
There had always been a demand for educated men, even though Bishop Asbury had opposed college train- ing. In the early nineties, however, this demand in- tensified, especially in the North Indiana Conference. A special committee had been appointed in 1889 to "confer with the trustees of DePauw University and Fort Wayne College with a view to unify and consoli- date the interests and work of the university and col- lege, and ultimately to relieve our colleges and semi- naries in reaching young people."55 Although this committee was not reported as accomplishing any- thing, yet it serves to illustrate a sudden emphasis in favor of education. For instance, the year before a very energetic effort had been inaugurated to raise the passing grade for preacher's license.56 This general agitation for better educated men resulted with more pastors left without appointment to attend school. In
54 Minutes, 1892. 55 Minutes, 1892. 56 Minutes, 1891.
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1891 only three members of the Conference were in school; in 1892 there were nine; and when the fiftieth session of the Conference was opened by Bishop Isaac W. Joyce in Mishawaka on March 29, 1893, eleven men requested to be left without appointment to attend school.57 For the first time Taylor University received recognition as a school worthy of attendance at this session. There had been a custom of having a chil- dren's day progra meach year, the collections from which were given to the Board of Education, which an- sisted needy students to higher training. Since 1887 the Conference had particularly urged this claim, and in 1896 the board reported that eighteen students had been assisted from the North Indiana Conference at a cost of $1,008.58
In the five years previous to the conference at Mishawaka, in 1893, the church had experienced a tre- mendous growth, at least materially. Twenty new churches had been constructed, a feat never since equaled in the same length of time. Financial budgets had increased in most gratifying proportions. Church membership had not grown in proportion to the popu- lation, but the prospects were most assuring. Yet within one month after the conference of 1893 a calam- ity so sudden that few dreamed of its coming was destined to sweep over the entire nation, leaving in its wake suffering and misery that almost drained the life blood of the very churches that had grown so rapidly the five years before.
The causes of the panic of 1893 belong to political history. It came without warning to the mass of the people-especially the laboring class. The first days of May had promised a prosperous year. Wages had been good and work was plentiful. But by the end of the month there was no pay,, for the factories were
57 Statistics in Minutes.
58 Ibid., 1896.
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closed, and there was no work. The majority of the people had no savings, for never had a spirit of specu- lation dominated people more thoroughly than before business tightened. And now, a month after prospects had been the most brilliant, suffering was beginning to be felt. Had the crisis come in the winter, instead of the summer, there is no reckoning of the possible misery. In no place was the calamity more severely felt than in the gas belt. Its sudden growth-the re- sult of extensive speculation-made the disaster all the more miserable. Almost the entire laboring class de- pended upon manufacturing interests for work, and without a single exception every factory within the belt was shut down within a month.
The suburban churches were the sufferers. They it had been who had built so extensively to accommo- date the increased population. In almost every in- stance they were indebted. And now, with no work, and no pay, they could neither support pastors, pay off debts, nor feed themselves. It is said that many fami- lies depended almost wholly upon what they could raise in a small garden for sustenance during the summer months.
The panic scarcely affected the wealthier and older churches. Their memberships had few laboring peo- ple. Yet they were conservative in letting go of money when it was so scarce. No doubt, however, many of the smaller churches would have suffered more than they did had not these wealthier congregations assist- ed with the sustenation fund. In 1888, when the es- tablishment of a sustenation fund was suggested, the committee had killed the motion, saying that such a connectional interest was unnecessary.59 But now, in 1893, the policy was practiced without the formal sanction of Conference action, and has been continued ever since.
59 Minutes, 1888.
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When conference met at Bluffton, April 4, 1894, for its fifty-first session, Bishop Daniel A. Goodsell did not have an encouraged body of men over which to preside. Every financial department had fallen off discourag- ingly. Fewer ministers were left without appointment to attend school; fifty-six charges failed to pay the full amount of their apportionment to missions; the pastors' salaries were short of their claims by $4,177.60 One pastor has said: "The churches sup- ported by the laboring people were in desperate straits. The people paid all they could, and we did without the rest." When salaries were like the Dublin charge, which paid but $230, including house rent, we fail to imagine how "the rest" could amount to much and a man live. The Conference passed a resolution it had never done before, permitting "the brethren so desir- ing to withdraw their contributions to the Conference claimants' fund,"61 hoping that this might aid the low- salaried men.
The winter was one of great economic hardship, but one of great spiritual gain. With "hard times" staring them in the face, the people had time to think of their spiritual condition. A minister who entered the Conference in 1888 said once: "The year of the panic was one of great revivals. People are like some other things. Take a dog and feed him well, and he is sure to go off behind the stove and go to sleep. But catch him hungry, and he is certain to listen to you. It is the same way with people. When they are hun- gry and needy, they have time to think of their God, but when well fed they want to sleep." Over 4,997 members came into the church in the one year (1893). Compare this number with 767 in 1892 and 2,021 in 1895. This gain is said to be less than the actual
60 Minutes, 1894.
61 Ibid.
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count, for since the financial assessments were based upon membership the records were "shaved" as much as possible because of the money stringency. These revivals were held almost entirely by the pastors them- selves. Shouting and "sanctification" were common.
Effects of the panic lasted two and in some places four years. One of the most important topics dis- cussed at the fifty-second session of the Conference, at Logansport, which was opened March 27, 1895, by Bishop Henry W. Warren, was the matter of sustenta- tions. With the loosening of money stringencies and the starting up of the factories, work became more plentiful and the situation of the suburban churches less desperate. However, they had received a setback difficult to overcome. Some places never did regain their former prestige. Gas City, for instance, has been "dead" ever since, never recuperating from the panic. No institution suffered more than the Method- ist Church of that city.
There began a movement in the interest of missions during the nineties, which finally took a form that has ever since made the North Indiana Conference charac- tertistic. The rapid growth of the Woman's Home and teristic. The rapid growth of teh Woman's Home and Foreign Missionary Societies have already been dis- cussed. Various plans and methods had been suggest- ed to boost missions. The use of literature was advo- cated to interest church members to give more liber- ally.62 A call for missionaries was urged. The Con- ference of 1892 approved a plan to place missionaries on all incoming steamers to work with the immigrants. Te Deaconess Order was founded in this period, and provision for consecration in the foreign field effected. Yet the problem most appreciated by the Conference was the interesting of the people. This problem was
62 Minutes, 1893.
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solved to the satisfaction of the ministers by H. N. Herrick.
Herrick was the Presiding Elder of the Muncie district when he inaugurated his itinerant campaign. His predecessor, B. A. Kemp, had pushed the cause of missions by urging public collection and personal can- vass. Muncie district, he said, should pay $1,200,000 annually to benevolences.63 Herrick's plan was to school the people, inform them upon conditions in the foreign field, and give them a chance to know where their money was used. He divided the district into four units, and assigned each pastor in each unit a topic, which he would be expected to discuss in a com- ing series of addresses. In the month of October, 1895, he began, with the first unit squad, to hold one-day services in each church in that division. He then went to the next section, and so on, attending each meeting personally, usually giving the evening address. This work was too severe upon his health, as is illustrated by an incident at Eaton, where, says James A. Ruley, he seemed lost while making his address, finally stop- ping and inquiring where he was.
The DeSoto charge was tpyical of these meetings, besides being the church where a basket dinner in con- junction with the missionary meetings was first prac- ticed. This latter plan has since been urged ener- getically. About forty persons came to the forenoon service, bringing dinner. The weather being cold, planks had been provided, which were laid across the backs of the benches next to the outside aisles, thereby making a table, with room for people to stand on either side, which ran around the side walls of the church. Supper was served in like manner after the afternoon service, and in the evening the church was packed to its utmost capacity to hear Herrick.
63 Western Christian Advocate, February 13, 1889.
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But this itinerancy had only been an experiment, and was not tried again the next year-in fact, it had not been successful, as far as economic gain was con- cerned. The effects of the panic were still felt, and when conference convened at Richmond, March 25, 1896, with Bishop Thomas Bowman presiding, the col- lections from Muncie district were still decreasing. In 1895 the collections had been $4,147; in 1896, $3,885, and in 1897 but $3,681.64 The next year Herrick again inaugurated his missionary itinerancy, but under a lit- tle different plan. The district was again divided into four units, but this time each had a separate chairman, and the four held their meetings simultaneously. The result was gratifying when conference met, March 23, 1898, at Hartford City, with Bishop Charles H. Fow- ler presiding, Muncie district was able to boast of $4,153 for missions, a sum larger than had ever been given before.
This conference closes an epoch in the history of the North Indiana Conference. In 1888 a spirit of speculation invaded the economic world, which disas- trously terminated in the panic of 1893. The process of recuperation was not complete until the spring of 1898. From then on the Conference entered upon a new period-one not yet completed.
64 Treasurer's report in Minutes.
CHAPTER IX.
THE EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS OF THE NORTH INDIANA CONFERENCE.
The North Indiana Conference, like all other pro- gressive Conferences in Methodism, has from its or- ganization been vitally interested in the cause of edu- cation. The Indiana Asbury University had been founded at Greencastle by the old Indiana Conference in 1837, and when that Conference was divided, in 1844, provision was made for a joint control of the new uni- versity by the two Indiana Conferences, each Confer- ence electing an equal number of trustees. At the time of the organization of the North Indiana Conference Asbury University was in a precarious financial condi- tion.1 A committee of the trustees reported in 1844, "Properly speaking, there are no funds on hand except the Wabash and Erie Canal scrip or Blue Dog, which is unsalable and at this time greatly depreciated."2 The nominal assets of the institution were but $12,000, "but of this sum little can be relied on as immediately available, the canal scrip can not certainly for years." To meet this crisis the trustees proposed that each friend of the university give one dollar a year for ten years, and the same amount for each member of his
1 Irving Frederick Brown, "History of Indiana Asbury Uni- versity" (Bulletin of DePauw University Historical Number), November, 1913. Pp. 21, 22, 23.
2 Esarey, Internal Improvements in Early Indiana, 143. (In- diana Historical Society Publications, Vol. V., Number 2.) In 1842 canal scrip was issued to expedite the finishing of the Wabash and Erie Canal to Terre Haute. This scrip was made receivabie for all tolls, water rents and other dues on the canal. and was also receivable at the canal land office in payment for lands donated for the building of the canal.
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family, and in addition each of the Conferences were asked for $2,000 each. The Conferences loyally raised the amount requested of them, but the success of the dollar fund is doubtful. By 1848, however, this crisis had been successfully passed, and the University had weathered its first critical storm.
Perhaps the chief agency in successfully meeting this financial stress were the Conference agents, ap- pointed by both sustaining Conferences, for the pur- pose of raising funds. The first agents appointed by the North Indiana Conference were Aaron Wood and John C. Smith, who were appointed at the Conference session of 1844, and continued in the office until the Conference of 1847.3 The work of these agents con- sisted largely in selling scholarships, and in a couple of years about $84,000 worth had been sold, and other subscriptions to the amount of $23,000 were raised.4
From the beginning a number of the members of the faculty of Indiana Asbury University were identi- fied with the North Indiana Conference as members. W. C. Larrabee and B. F. Tefft were the first to be so identified, though President Simpson had been a mem- ber of the North Indiana Conference for a few months after its organization, but was transferred to the Indi- ana Conference in the fall of 1844. Later (1846) Cyrus Nutt, the first instructor in Indiana Asbury, was transferred to the North Indiana Conference. In 1845 the faculty at Indiana Asbury consisted of Mat- thew Simpson, president and professor of mental and moral science; John Wheeler, professor of Latin lan- guage and literature; C. G. Downey ; professor of nat- ural science; B. F. Tefft, professor of Greek. The
3 General Minutes, Vol. III, 536, 657; Vol. IV, 83, 174.
4 Minutes of Board of Trustees, Vol. I, October 27, 1847, quoted in Brown History of DePauw University, 23; also Finan- cial History of Indiana Asbury University, Western Christian Advocate, March 10, 1858.
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student body numbered 161, divided as follows: 11 seniors, 7 juniors, 16 sophomores, 26 freshmen and 45 irregular, with 56 in the preparatory department.5
FORT WAYNE FEMALE COLLEGE.
At the session of the Conference which met at Laporte in 1846 steps were taken to organize what was to be called the Fort Wayne Female College.6 A committee of five on education was appointed, consist- ing of John S. Bayless, W. C. Larrabee, Richard Har- grave, Ancil Beach and John S. Smith, which later reported a series of resolutions favorable to the estab- lishment of such an institution. At this time Asbury University only admitted men, so that there was no Methodist college in the State where women might receive the same educational advantages as the young men. The resolutions reported to the Conference by their educational committee were as follows:
First-Resolved, That it is expedient to establish in the city of Fort Wayne a Female Seminary, under a charter similar to that of Indiana Asbury University, to be under the patronage of this conference.
Second-Resolved, That the trustees elected, when duly quali- fied to discharge the duties of their office, be instructed to re- ceive the subscriptions which may be obtained for the erection of a suitable building for the accommodation of the Seminary contemplated to be established, and that they be advised not to contract a debt for the building.
Third-Resolved, That the bishop appoint J. S. Bayless agent for the Seminary, to commence his labors as soon as the charter and that the site to be left to said trustees. .
be obtained, and that the trustees be organized according to law,
Fourth-Resolved, That the funds collected by said agent be appropriated as the trustees think proper for the interest of the institution.
Fifth-Resolved, That the seat of the trustees become vacant annually in Fort Wayne.7
5 Western Christian Advocate, 1848.
6 J. I. Smith, "Indiana Methodism," 146, 147.
7 Minutes North Indiana Conference (Mss.), 1846.
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The Conference then appointed a temporary board of trustees, consisting of William G. Ewing, Samuel G. Jones, W. Park, Thomas W. Sale and Samuel Brenton. On January 18, 1874, the General Assembly of Indiana passed an act incorporating the board of trustees thus appointed by the Conference and gave to Fort Wayne College all the rights and privileges usually belonging to such institutions. This act of legal incorporation took effect June 19, 1847, at which time the board met and organized by appointing the proper officers.8
To John S. Bayless, assisted by Ancil Beach and S. C. Cooper, fell the stupendous task of raising sub- scriptions for the institution. A canvass of each cir- cuit was made and the following statistics will show the average amount contributed by each circuit. In cash there was received from Rochville Station and Circuit, $222.00; from Russellville Circuit there was received in money pledges, $100.50; from Newport Circuit, $127.00; from Bluffton Mission, $411.50; and Winchester, $161.85. The trustees also devised a plan of granting scholarships for one year to anyone who would raise the sum of $25.00. Besides this, much land and building material was donated, so that the erection of the first building was begun early in 1847.
The campus consisted of three acres situated in the east part of the city. The building was four stories high, built of brick and stone trimmings, having a frontage of 175 feet. Though plain, it was at the same time substantial, solid, and well arranged. The lecture halls and recitation rooms were sufficient to accommodate 500 students and 100 boarders could be
8 Western Christian Advocate. 1846, 194. Among the trustees was Governor James Whitcomb. One of the most valuable con tributions ever made to the library of Indiana Asbury University. was made by Governor Whitcomb in 1852, when he presented 3,500 volumes to the University. This collection is particularly rich in bound periodicals, such as "Miles Register," the "Annual Register," etc. (Western Christian Advocate, 1852.)
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comfortably provided for. The chapel was very spa- cious and would seat about 1,000 persons. The prop- erty was valued at $60,000.
Under the presidency of A. C. Heustis, the first year proved a very successful one. There were 100 students enrolled in the primary, academic and col- legiate departments. Instruction was offered in the branches of moral science, language, mathematics, and natural science. Tuition was very low. For the col- legiate department for freshmen, $5.20; for juniors, $6.75; for preparatory department, $4.50; and music, $10.00, with extra charge for the use of the pianos.
In 1848 G. M. Round became president. This year saw an increase in the number of students. Forty- four were enrolled in the primary department, forty- two in the academic and thirty-one in the collegiate department. The board of instruction consisted of George M. Round, A. C. Heustis, Mrs. Mary Fowler, and Mrs. Maria Hubbell. The trustees at the last Conference decided to have but one permanent teacher, Rev. G. H. Round, and to provide for the others ac- cording to need. This year saw also an increase in the funds. From subscriptions and donations and tui- tion fees there was a sum of $22,272 and warrants for $8,859, making a total of $31,151. The college build- ing was completed in the fall of 1848 and an effort was directed toward beautifying the campus.
Rev. Cyrus Nutt, who formerly had charge of the preparatory department at Indiana Asbury Univer- sity, was elected president in 1849, which position he held for only one year, resigning to accept a similar position at Whitewater College. The committee ap- pointed to attend to the annual examination reported that the questions asked in geography, grammar, arith- metic, algebra, geometry, Latin, natural philosophy, chemistry, psychology, astronomy and logic to have been most successfully answered and the students
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showed a thorough knowledge of their work, which brought credit to both the students and the instructors.
In 1850 A. C. Heustis was again made president. The attendance for the year 1850-1851 was 187, and the income of the tuition exceeded the salary of the instructors. During commencement of 1851 subscrip- tions to the amount of $600 were raised to complete the furnishings of the chapel.
In 1851 the North Indiana Conference, which met at South Bend, passed the following resolution :
Resolved-That the next general conference be requested to divide the North Indiana Conference by a line along the Michi- gan Road to South Bend, and thence down the St. Joseph River to the state line-the eastern conference to be called the Fort Wayne Conference, to include all the territory east of said road, including the Roberts Chapel and the Depot charges at In- dianapolis and Logansport stations; the western to be called the Lafayette conference, including all the territory west of the Michigan Road, including all towns on said road not included in the Fort Wayne Conference.
The Fort Wayne Female College then would come under the patronage of the Fort Wayne Conference. However, visitors to the college recommended a union of the two conferences, Fort Wayne and Lafayette, and referred the matter to the trustees of the institu- tion. It was then decided that the number of trustees should be equally divided between the two conferences. At the same conference the trustees of the Fort Wayne Female College resolved that in their opinion it was expedient to establish a college for males, to sustain the same relation to the conference as that of the female college, and elected R. D. Robinson professor of mathematics, L. W. Munson general agent, and O. V. Lemon agent to collect funds for the college building.9 ingly, within the next few years the college was re- lieved of its indebtedness. Of the $10,000, $2,000 was paid by the resident trustees of Fort Wayne, and the
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Northwest Indiana Conference pledged $3,155. The North Indiana Conference then proposed to raise $2,100, leaving the remainder to be raised by R. D. Robinson, the financial agent. The trustees recom- mended that this amount be equally divided between the districts. By the conference year of 1858 the debt was reduced to $2,000, and with the reduction of the debt much work was done toward improving the build- ings.
Much was being done at this time for the cause of education, there being a general feeling that the edu- cational institutions were not what they should be and that colleges and seminaries ought to be far in advance of what they were at this time. Especially was this true in regard to Fort Wayne. On account of finan- cial conditions many students left this institution to receive their training at better equipped colleges and at others than that of their own denomination.
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