USA > Indiana > A history of the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, from its organization in 1844 to the present > Part 4
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meeting.13 This, however, proved very unsatisfac- tory to the Methodists, who continued to demand the Maine law. Temperance committees were appointed in the North Indiana Conferences of 1852 and 1853. These committees passed resolutions demanding re- form legislation. Drinking seems to have been the besetting sin of this period. H. A. Badley, a Meth-
11 Western Christian Advocate, August 17, 1853.
12 Ibid., January 28, 1852.
13 Ibid., March 16, 1853.
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odist minister in Miami county, complains of the amount of drinking in that county, part of which is due, he thinks, to the proximity of a distillery located at Peru. He says "Our drunkards will compare fav- orably with other counties in numbers and in pure de- votion to the cause which they have espoused." He estimates that there are fifteen habitual drunkards in every township in Miami county, or about one for every sixty inhabitants.14
The first session of the new North Indiana Confer- ence began September 22, 1852, in the Berry Street Church, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The Conference now included the following districts: Indianapolis, with a membership of 3,516; Ft. Wayne, 2,100; Marion, 2,971; Centerville, 3,462; LaGrange, 2,444; Peru, 1,807, and Logansport, 1,190, making a total of 17,490, of which 2,697 were probationers and 25 colored.15 Very little other than routine business was transacted by the conference.
The winter of 1852-53 in the North Indiana Con- ference was, as was usually the case in the West, sim- ply a long series of revivals, and naturally enough we find the people while under the influence of revival fervor and enthusiasm building a great many new churches. The need for these was general all over the Conference, and indeed the state of Indiana. B. F. Crary, a prominent minister in the Indiana Confer- ence, has the following to say on the subject of "Build- ing Churches":16
"It is sad to witness the moral destitution of some portions of our country on account of a lack of good churches. We fre
14 Ibid., July 27, 1853.
15 North Indiana Conference Minutes, 1852.
16 Western Christian Advocate, March 30, 1853. Crary was a frequent contributor to the Advocate and his articles have proven a valuable source of interesting information about Indiana Meth- odism of this period.
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quently find societies organized by one of the pioneer Methodist itinerants, worshipping in the little uncomfortable log cabins erected in the wilderness. Some of these societies were formed twenty or thirty years ago. * * * The log cabins of the pious members have been displaced by better dwellings and improve- ments have been made in everything except the old log church. There it stands, a monument of gone-by days, with a leaky roof, backless benches, untempered mortar falling out of the cracks; a huge fireplace, or an old dingy, cracked stove the heating apparatus; a few greasy, filthy pieces of timber driven in the walls, or nailed together and dangling from the rafters, consti- tute the chandeliers. The youth in such neighborhoods are gen- erally ill-behaved, and have a most sovereign contempt for the ridiculous old shelter called the church and hence pay no atten- tion to the Gospel preached there."
The preachers over the North Indiana Conference were everywhere pushing the construction of suitable churches and parsonages. W. S. Birch, the pastor of the Ossian circuit, in a letter to the Western Chris- tian Advocate at this time, stated that two meeting houses and a parsonage were being put up on his cir- cuit.17 At Goshen a large, new brick church was being built, giving Goshen one of the finest meeting houses in the state at that time.18 At Williamsburg19 a new parsonage was in process of building. A new church was also completed at Noblesville in the spring of 1853. The pastor states that the young ladies of the congregation contributed to the value of $65.00 in fur- nishing lamps, carpets, window blinds, etc. The young men painted the church and got the yard in good shape. At the dedication service $577.00 was collected, free- ing the house from debt.2º N. Gillam, preacher on the Westfield circuit, writing to the Western Christian Advocate in the fall of 1852, states that two very good churches, 30x40, have just been finished, and that two
17 Ibid., March 16, 1853. 18 Ibid., August 31, 1853. 19 Ibid., July 27, 1853. 20 Ibid., July 27, 1853.
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more, one log and one frame, will be completed by spring. At Dublin, on the Knightstown circuit, a new church, 40x50, and two stories high, was being built. This congregation was rather better off financially than the average. At the end of the first quarter of the conference year, the preacher in charge reported that after all demands were paid the steward had $31.00 in the treasury. This he characterized as "an anom- aly."21
The spiritual interests of the church were never lost sight of, however. For the conference year 1852-53 Knightstown circuit reported 230 additions. Revivals in which 50 to 100 were converted were not unusual. One of the very noticeable differences be- tween the church of 1852 and the church of the present was the great activity of the young people in church work. B. Webster, preacher at Newcastle, in report- ing a protracted meeting to the Western Christian Advocate, states that in a population of 1,000 there were only seven men and seven young women not connected in some way with church work.22
The meeting of the North Indiana Conference for 1853 was held in the Pearl Street M. E. Church, in Richmond, Indiana. The session of the Conference meant an exodus of Methodist preachers from all over northeastern Indiana to Richmond. H. H. Badley, preacher on the Santa Fe circuit before the Confer- ence met, urged the brethren to make arrangements for keeping up the meetings while the preachers were away at Conference.
He estimated the average time spent by a preacher at Conference as three weeks, and deplored the loss of time and the break in the work that his absence neces- sarily made. He argued that these evils could mostly
21 Ibid., September 21, 1853.
22 Ibid., March 31, 1852.
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be avoided if provision were made for the carrying on of the meetings under local leadership.23
The Conference of 1852 had sent a request to the Preachers' Aid Society to restore its constitution to its original form. This constitution had been changed so as to make only those nominally superannuated claimants on the funds. The Conference of 1853 again petitioned for a change in the constitution, as they felt that there were many worthy preachers who should receive aid from this fund who were not super- annuated. The provision for superannuates was very meager at best. Collections for worn-out preachers were never very large. In the issue of the Western Christian Advocate for August 3, 1853, William H. Goode, then presiding elder of the Indianapolis dis- trict, made an appeal to the preachers of the North Indiana Conference to push collections for the super- annuated.24 He said that too often this fund was looked upon as charity rather than as a claim which the superannuates had a right to make.
One of the interesting occurrences at the confer- ence was an address by George W. Clark, a colored local preacher of Louisville, Kentucky. Clark was a slave, traveling to solicit funds to purchase his free- dom. A collection was taken up on the floor of the conference and $56.70 was raised to aid him.25
Several educational institutions which were par- ticularly under the patronage of the North Indiana Conference figure quite prominently in the minutes of this and the preceding year. The Ft. Wayne Fe- male College had been founded in 1848, and in 1852 S. T. Gillet was elected its first president.26 White- water Female College, located at Centerville, in the
23 Ibid., August 31, 1853.
24 Ibid., August 3, 1853.
25 North Indiana Conference Minutes, 1853.
26 Western Christian Advocate, May 5, 1852.
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fall of 1852 opened its doors to males as well as fe- males, and was one of the very first co-educational in- stitutions in the Middle West.27
The conference of 1853 went on record as highly approving this step. At the same conference an at- tempt on the part of the Ft. Wayne Female College to establish a collegiate institute for males in connec- tion with that institution was reported and commend- ed. The Indiana Female College, located at Indian- apolis, was also under the patronage of the confer- ence.28
As has been stated before in this chapter, the tem- perance legislation of 1852 had proved very unsatis- factory to the people of Indiana, and to the Method- ists in particular. Consequently, the committee on temperance of the conference of 1853 reports the fol- lowing :
"Resolved, That we regard with deep interest and great de- light the political aspect which the temperance question is now assuming and hail with joy the approach of the time when our country shall be redemmed from the thralldom of intemperance.
"Resolved, That as ministers of Christ we will give special attention to this subject and take a bold and decided stand against the unholy traffic in intoxicating liquors.
"Resolved, That we will vote for no man for political office unless he stand pledged in favor of temperance reformation and to be its advocate.
"Resolved, That we persevere in endeavoring to secure, at as early a day as possible, the passage by the legislature of our state of a strong, prohibitory law equivalent to the law of Maine."29
As can be readily seen from these resolutions, the temperance question was becoming a political one, and the church was urged to support it as such. The sen-
27 Ibid., November 24, 1852.
28 North Indiana Conference Minutes, 1853; Report of Com- mittee on Education.
29 Ibid .; Report of Committee on Slavery.
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timents of the above resolutions were reached in the resolutions of quarterly conferences all over the North Indiana Conference. Anderson, Huntington and America circuits passed particularly strong resolu- tions condemning the liquor traffic and urging politi- cal support of candidates known to be in favor of temperance legislation.30 In addition a good many communities were quietly solving the temperance ques- tion for themselves. In the town of Fairfield, near Kokomo, the citizens raised enough money by indi- vidual subscription to buy up all the liquor in the town. After it had been purchased they emptied it into the streets, and the dealers promised to keep no more.31 The annual meeting of the Indiana State Temperance Convention was held at Indianapolis, January 11, 1854. Twelve hundred delegates were elected all over the state. It is an interesting fact that the railroads of the state arranged to transport the delegates for one-half fare. The delegate paid full fare to Indian- apolis, but on presentation of a proper certificate from the secretary of the convention, could return free of charge. Bishop Ames was the presiding officer. The sum of $11,490 was pledged to assist in fighting the liquor traffic, and one delegate describes the conven- tion as "the greatest temperance demonstration ever held in the west."32
However, intemperance was not the only evil against which the conference took occasion to inveigh. Congress had by the Compromise of 1850 temporarily settled the slavery controversy, and among the con- cessions to the South in that compromise was a strong
30 These resolutions appear in the issues of the Western Christian Advocate for August 30, August 16, and June 21, 1854, respectively.
31 Western Christian Advocate, April 5, 1854.
32 Ibid., January 25, 1854.
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Fugitive Slave Law. This law was very unpopular all over the North, and was not very rigidly enforced.
A clipping from the Detroit Christian Herald found in the Western Christian Advocate for November 29, 1854, reports the arrival of 28 "chattels" in the previ- ous ten days by way of the underground railroad. An important fugitive slave case in Indiana itself aroused bitter opposition on the part of the Methodist minis- ters all over the state. A negro by the name of Free- man came to Indianapolis in the forties and settled there. He became a respectable citizen and acquired a small property. In 1853 a man named Ellington from Georgia came to Indianapolis, claiming Freeman as his slave. Freeman was imprisoned by the United States marshal for 68 days and charged $3.00 a day for protection and lodging while a prisoner. Investi- gation was finally made, and it was found that Free- man had never been a slave. But the costs in his case, amounting to $1,238.00, were held against his prop- erty in Indianapolis.33 Appeal was made to the Meth- odist ministers of Indiana to help him pay these costs, and contributions came from all over the state. It was just such instances as this that caused the North In- diana Conference of 1853 to pass, among other reso- lutions against slavery, the following :
"Resolved, That the fugitive slave law meets our hearty disapprobation."
Such a sentiment as this was general in all the Northern Conferences. The Western Christian Advo- cate in the issue for February 8, 1854, printed a sam- ple form of petition to Congress against the law, and urged that all Methodists send such petitions to Con- gress.
The year 1854, like 1850, was also a landmark in slavery legislation, for in this year Douglas, the Little Giant of the West, embodied his idea of squatter sov-
33 Ibid., January 25, 1854.
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eignty in the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. This bill aroused bitter opposition in the Methodist press. The West- ern Christian Advocate is full of protests against it, both before and after it was passed.
One group of women in Alliance, Stark County, Ohio, sewed thirty three-cent pieces between two sheets of gauze and sent them to Douglas, together with a letter, in which they inveighed bitterly against his bill. This letter closed as follows: "May you re- ceive the thirty pieces of silver sent herewith as an evidence of the consideration in which we hold you, and ere you follow the last act of Judas, may you re- pent, in deepest sackcloth, this most nefarious be- trayal of liberty."34
On July 13th, a state anti-Nebraska convention was heldin Indianapolis and resolutions were adopted condemning this violation of the Missouri Compro- mise. 35
In view of these facts it is not at all surprising that the North Indiana Conference of 1854, after re- asserting their opposition to slavery in general and the Fugitive Slave Law in particular, added this reso- lution :
"Resolved, That we deplore the impolitic course of the late Congress of the United States in the repeal of that part of the Missouri Compromise restricting slavery north of 36° 30'; thereby permitting slavery to go into a vast territory from which it had been forever excluded."
B. F. Crary, Presiding Elder of the Indianapolis district of the Indiana Conference, was a visitor at this session of the North Indiana Conference, and was present at the discussion which the report of the com- mittee on slavery aroused. We will allow him to de- scribe the scene in his own words:
34 Ibid., March 22, 1854.
35 Ibid., July 19, 1854.
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"The preachers are about as spirited and fearless as any body of men that can be found-just such a body of men as Napoleon would have chosen for special service at Austerlitz or Waterloo. They are young, hearty, warm-hearted and bold. They had a committee on slavery, which very coolly brought in a report that in other places would have produced spasms in the body ecclesiastic. Here they did not excite the preachers. They seemed as clever and temperate and cool about it as they would if discussing the subject of education, or any other common theme. They did not talk much but voted unanimously."
And here follows a list of the resolutions against slavery that were passed by the Conference. In con- trasting the conduct of the preachers here with those of his own-the Indiana Conference-Crary goes on to say :
"Now. down our way the bare mention of slavery, in the mildest possible terms, produces a frenzy and a hubbub; but our phlegmatic northern brethren did not seem to care a whit whether anybody objected or not."36.
The year 1854 was a very prosperous one for the North Indiana Conference. Revival reports to the Western Christian Advocate show that the good "old- fashioned" revival camp-meetings were adding to the membership of the church and also keeping up Meth- odist enthusiasm. The preacher at Bluffton reports a revival in the middle of August, and states that, al- though it was the hottest part of summer and the farmers were busy getting in their wheat and hay, the attendance was good and 27 were converted and joined the church.37 At Cicero a great revival was followed by the erection of a church, to cost between $1,000.00 and $1,400.00. The pastor on this circuit attributed a great deal of his success to the fact that he was assisted by seven exhorters, of whom he wrote: "They are none of your lazy, lounging exhorters that stay at
36 Ibid., October 4, 1854.
37 Ibid., September 6, 1854.
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home nine-tenths of the year, but are laboring in the vineyard of the Lord every Sabbath."38
At Middletown a revival was held in conjunction with the United Brethren Church. Fifty-eight persons applied for church membership, each church getting about one-half of them. Eli Rammel, in speaking of this meeting, concludes: "There is enough work on this circuit for two preachers."39
Methodism in Indiana and the North Indiana Con- ference was not only growing in numbers, but it was also adopting new and progressive ideas. B. F. Crary writes: "Our wealth is now rapidly increasing and our railroads are waking up every poor old Rip Van Winkle in the land. The Methodists are rich people in Indiana, and their whole country is growing so rapidly that they will become immensely wealthy in a few short years more. The whole system of things is passing away, and, for one, I say, let it go; give us the new life of the new age; let us feel the impulses of a new power, the forerunners of the millennium. Away with the old fogies."40 About this time at Peru the church adopted the plan of promiscuous seating and put in an organ, two decided innovations.41 On the other hand, ideas of church deportment were very strict, if compared with ours today. The Western Christian Advocate prints the following rules for church deportment, under the caption of "Things Not in Order":42
"1. To stand before the church door before service.
"2. To engage in any kind of conversation, even religious between the time of your going in and the commencement of
38 Ibid., August 16, 1854.
39 Ibid., February 22, 1854.
40 Ibid., January 4, 1854 ..
41 Giles W. Smith, "History of Methodism in Peru, Indiana," 33.
42 Western Christian Advocate, May 26, 1854.
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service. That interval should be spent in composing the thoughts for the solemnities of the approaching service.
"3. To salute persons coming in, by bowing, smiling, etc. It is profanation.
"4. To look around to catch the eye of a friend, and smiling at any remark from the pulpit.
"5. To allow your children to be stuffing themselves all the time with apples, sweet cakes, candy or anything else.
"6. Sleeping in church.
"7. To be reaching for garments, or adjusting the dress, while the blessing is prounonced.
"8. To commence laughing, talking and saluting one another as soon as the people are dismissed.
"9. To stand at the door, gazing at the ladies as they leave the church to see who conducts them, and many other things as little concerns others."
The North Indiana Conference met at Peru, Sep- tember 20, 1854. Bishop Simpson was the presiding officer. Peru at that time was much afflicted with an epidemic of fever and ague, and this gave an air of "solemnity and stilliness" to the occasion. The impor- tant events of this session have already been related in other connections.
When we come to the year 1855 in the annals of the North Indiana Conference it is worth our while to pause and note for a moment the growth of the Con- ference, as that growth is measured by church mem- bership. From 1852 to 1855 there was a steady in- crease. After 1855 the line ceases to rise so rapidly, and for the years 1856 and 1857 there was a decrease from the 1855 figures. The figures for these years are: 1853, 15,915 members; 1854, 17,415, an increase of 1,500; 1855, 17,455 (only an increase of 40) ; 1856, 17,128; 1857, 17,247; 1858, 17,907.43
While there is, no doubt, a variety of causes for this temporary slump in the growth of the Methodist Church in this section, the main reason for it is the
43 These figures are taken from the report of the Committee of Statistics of the North Indiana Conference.
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great attraction of the opening of the new lands in Kansas and Nebraska. This drew away from Indiana those people who were essentially of the frontier type, and it was to this type of people that the Methodists as well as the other evangelical churches made its appeal. One writer, in speaking of the conditions in Centerville, Indiana, says: "Although the social body in this place was never very remarkable for its plethora, it has, like most other towns of Indiana, suf- fered considerable depletion by the farther west. And while this depletion has been general, our church has suffered the loss of many of her members by it. I am not aware that she has suffered much loss in her vital piety, but it has certainly reduced her financial force very materially."44
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 had organized these two territories and opened up these new lands to settlement. Every student of American history knows the contest which followed over the settlement of Kansas. Appeals were made all over the old North- west for settlers who would save Kansas from becom- ing a slave state. The Western Christian Advocate, in 1855, advertises that a Kansas Company has been formed at Cincinnati. This advertisement, after men- tioning that the membership fee was $5.00, and that the fare to Kansas would be $20.00 to $25.00 per pas- senger, has this to say as to the company's attitude toward the slavery controversy :
"Members of this company have different views on slavery, but all are agreed that Kansas shall be a free state if it can be legally made such."
Just such appeals as this were largely instrumental in inducing the Methodist of the North Indiana Con- ference to become a crusader against slavery in Kan- sas, and, incidentally, to secure 640 acres of good land at $1.25 per acre.
44 Western Christian Advocate, January 14, 1857.
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In the meantime the Methodists of Northern Indi- ana who remained at home during these years did not hesitate to show where they stood on the question of slavery. In the conference of 1855 resolutions were passed asking the General Conference to prohibit any more slaveholders from joining the church, and that a reasonable time be set, after which all slave-owners were to be expelled. That the North Indiana Confer- ence was more united and determined in its opposi- tion to this institution than most of the Conferences can be seen from some statistics given in the Western Christian Advocate for December 30, 1857, in an arti- cle which was intended to show that such a change as proposed above, which had to be ratified by a three- fourths vote of the General Conference, was impos- sible. These statistics give the number of preachers in every Methodist Conference in the United States in favor of and opposed to such change in the disci- pline. The total figures were-favoring, 4,046; op- posed, 2,057. The figures for the four Indiana Con- ferences are interesting for the purpose of compari- son :
North Indiana Conference For, 100; opposed. 14
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