USA > Indiana > A history of the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, from its organization in 1844 to the present > Part 8
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Another conspicuous name in Indiana Methodism in relation to the war was that of Thomas Bowman. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and graduated from Dickinson College, in 1837. In 1859 he became Presi- dent of Indiana Asbury University, and at that time transferred his membership to the North Indiana Con-
38 Holliday-Indiana Methodism, 334-337.
39 Sweet : "Methodist Episcopal Church and the Civil War," 151-155.
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ference. He was thus President of Indiana Asbury University during the war, and in 1864, without his knowledge, he was elected chaplain of the United States Senate, and served in that office for one term of Congress, in the last year of the war.40
40 Holliday, 354-360.
CHAPTER V.
THE YEARS OF RECONSTRUCTION, 1866-1869.
At the close of the war the church, as well as the nation, faced the problem of reconstruction. The war was over, but the two sections were far from recon- ciled, and toward the reuniting of the North and the South the church was to play a large and influential part. When the war closed there was also the problem of the freedmen, which the Northern churches and church leaders considered as not only a national prob- lem, but one peculiarly for the churches and church people to solve. Even before the war closed practically all the Northern denominations had entered the South with a determination to solve that knotty question in their own way, most of them thinking that there was but one way to solve it, and that was through the church's efforts. The Southern Methodist church was naturally in a greatly disorganized condition. In many instances their ministers had entered the Confederate army, leaving their churches without ministers, and very often their churches were closed, and numerous communities throughout the South were without the ministration of pastors. After the capture of New Orleans, in 1862, at least two score churches in that city, of various denominations, were left unoccupied, and in the five Methodist churches there, not a single minister was habitually officiating. Like conditions prevailed all over the South, and the church papers in the North were filled with accounts of these abandoned fields, and it was not long before there was consider-
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able agitation to send missionaries into the South to look after these neglected places.1
In 1864 the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church appropriated $35,000 for work in the Confederate States,2 and by 1869 ten new Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church were organized south of Mason and Dixon's line.3 Among the early missionaries sent into the South, both during and after the war, were several ministers from Indi- ana, among them Rev. H. G. Jackson, a graduate of the class of 1862 of Indiana Asbury University, and N. L. Brakeman, who had been a chaplain in the Union army, and stationed in New Orleans. Neither of these men, however, were members of the North Indiana Conference.
During the progress of the war many organiza- tions sprang up in the North, among church people generally, for the purpose of rendering aid to the freedmen. In Indiana and Ohio the Western Freed- men's Relief Association received a large share of Methodist co-operation, as did also the Northwestern Freedmen's Aid Commission. Churches were thrown open and collections taken for this work, and many of the Conferences appointed special committees on the freedmen's work. In 1866 the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Cincinnati, by a convention of ministers and laymen especially interested in that work, and in the General Conference of 1868 the society was recognized as one of the societies of the church.4 The first report on the
1 McPherson : "Political History of the United States During the Great Rebellion," 545. Also Christian Advocate and Jour- nal. Oct. 9, 1862, and Feb. 4, 1864.
2 Annual Cyclopedia, 1864, 629, 630.
3 Methodist Quarterly Review, January, 1872, 103-126.
4 Sweet : "Methodist Episcopal Church and the Civil War." 168-176.
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freedmen in the North Indiana Conference appeared in the minutes for 1867, and was presented in three resolutions. The first noted "with pleasure" the or- ganization of the Freedmen's Aid Society; the second congratulated the society in sending and sustaining already nearly fifty workers at the South; and the third pledged the Conference to a loyal support of this new cause. At the conference of 1869 a detailed finan- cial report on the Freedmen's Aid Society was given, showing that during the conference year the North Indiana Conference had contributed $1,087 in cash, $602 worth of clothing and $12 worth of books to the cause. The church making the largest cash contribu- tion was Fortville Circuit, which gave $138, while Union City gave $127 in cash and $55 worth of cloth- ing; Fort Wayne contributed $122 cash and $120 in clothing; Marion's contribution was $109 cash, $125 in clothing ; Pendleton gave $107 cash and $78 in cloth- ing ; Middletown, $99; Newcastle, $85; Peru, $86, and twenty-seven other churches and circuits smaller amounts.5
Another of the general church societies which came into existence during the years of the war was the Church Extension Society. This society had been ap- proved and recognized by the General Conference of 1864,6 and the North Indiana Conference from the first gave this new organization its most hearty co- operation. At the conference of 1866 a committee on church extension made its first report, and recom- mended the forming of a Conference Church Exten- sion Society to work with the General Society, and they nominated the following officers: President, R. Toby ; vice-president, J. Hill ; corresponding secretary, J. Col- clazer; recording secretary, T. Comstock; treasurer,
5 Minutes, 1867, 34.
6 Porter, "Compendium of Methodism," 178-179.
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N. H. Phillips, and a board of managers consisting of twelve ministers and twelve laymen.7 The first col- lection taken for the church extension cause, in the North Indiana Conference, was reported in the minutes of 1868, and amounted to $223.12. In 1869 there was a slight increase, the amount collected being $260.8
Perhaps the most important issue before the church at large in the years following the war was the ques- tion of lay representation in the General Conference. Agitation looking to this end had been carried on for several years past, but it was not until the General Conference of 1868 that it became a matter for legis- lation. Previous to the convening of the General Con- ference, a meeting was held in Indiana, to which repre- sentatives from all the Indiana Conferences came, for the sole purpose of discussing lay representation. Peti- tion blanks were distributed to the representatives of the four Indiana Conferences present, which were to be circulated among the laymen of the various Con- ferences, and, when signed, were to be returned to a central committee.9 Dr. Bowman, the President of Indiana Asbury University, addressed the assembly, and expressed his firm belief in the movement as a means of increasing the efficiency of the church. It was a matter, he said, with which the laymen were primarily concerned, but that the ministers were look- ing on with a deep interest.
At the session of the North Indiana Conference in 1868 a committee on lay representation was appointed, which presented majority and minority reports. The
7 In 1866 the conference adopted a resolution, that all funds raised within the bounds of the conference during the year for the Church Extension Society be appropriated to the cause of church extension within the bounds of the Kentucky Confer- ence. (Minutes, 1866, 12.)
8 Minutes, 1869, 22.
9 Western Christian Advocate, 1868, 108.
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majority report advised deliberate action, and sug- gested that the issue be presented to a vote of the church membership, and that the General Conference of 1872 was the proper time to take final action on the matter. The minority presented a brief report, simply stating that as soon as the General Conference is sat- isfied that the church desires lay representation, they are willing to welcome laymen into the legislative councils of the church.10 During the months just pre- ceding the meeting of the General Conference, the church papers were filled with articles and editorials on the all-absorbing question. The sentiment of the majority seemed to be in favor of the change, for a great many people thought that the admission of lay- men into the councils of the church would greatly strengthen the business management of the church, though there were some who expressed the opinion that to admit laymen into the Conference would secu- larize something which was meant to be strictly re- ligious.
When the General Conference of 1868 convened in Chicago, it was evident that the entire Conference was ready to grant lay representation, provided the people desired it. A very able committee was appoint- ed on lay representation, which made majority and minority reports. The majority report advocated the immediate passage of a provision admitting laymen, while the minority held that the second restrictive rule must first be changed before such a statute could be constitutionally passed. Neither of these reports were adopted, but it was found necessary to appoint another committee, and their amended report was finally adopted. It stated that the General Conference were willing to admit laymen whenever the people desired it: they recommended that the discipline be changed,
10 Minutes, 1868, 35, 36.
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so that laymen, as well as ministers, might legally sit in the General Conference; it provided that the Bishops should submit the matter of lay representation to the several annual conferences, and "should a majority of the votes cast by the people be in favor of lay delega- tion, and should three-quarters of the annual confer- ences vote in favor of the proposed change in the con- stitution of the church, then the General Conference of 1872 can complete the change, and lay delegates previously elected may then be admitted."11 The final result of this agitation was that lay representation was adopted, and the General Conference of 1872 be- came the first to admit laymen.12
12 The vote of the laity in the North Indiana Conference on the question of lay delegation, In 1872. was as follows. (Minutes, 1872, 14.)
Anderson district, total vote. 500; for. 298; against, 202; ma- jority, 96 for.
Richmond district, total vote, 1000; for. 733; against, 267: majority, 466 for.
Muncie district, total vote. 645; for, 288; against, 357; ma- jority, 69 against.
Logansport district, total vote, 917; for, 432: against, 485; majority, 53 against.
Ft. Wayne district, total vote. 553: for. 271; against, 282; majority, 11 against.
Warsaw district, total vote. 875; for, 423; against, 452; ma- jority, 29 against.
Goshen district, total vote, 599: for. 367; against, 233; ma- jority, 135 for.
Total majority for lay delegation, 535.
The church in the North Indiana Conference kept pace with the progress throughout Methodism.13 The years 1865 and 1866 witnessed an increase in church attendance and in the amount of money raised and good accomplished. It was estimated that from Janu-
11 Buckley : "Methodists," American Church History Series Vol. V, 522-525; 531.
13 Conference Minutes, 1865, 1866.
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ary 1st to February 15th, 1865, the list of accessions numbered 636 in the Conference, which is doubtless too low.14 In the Warsaw district alone the number of accessions was 600, and five churches were erected during the year. The one at Warsaw, a magnificent church, 85x50, cost $18,000. At Muncie a new church was erected, costing $2,600.15 At Knightstown the interest had so increased that the churches were not large enough to accommodate those who wished to attend the services. Peru district reported six churches erected during the year.
An earnest effort was being made about this time to enlarge the number of parsonages owned by the churches. In 1866 there were 81 parsonages owned by the various congregations, with an estimated value of $96,800.00. A minister relating his experience in various parsonages and places of abode describes one hovel where he went as a "dirty old wooden building, flat in the mud. Worst of all, when the walls were warmed, the original inhabitants-ten thousand strong-sallied forth from behind beds and chairs and through crack and crevice to possess the land."16 This was too much. The pastor pulled stakes and moved out, leaving the bugs unmolested. The pastor's pluck in so doing won for him a neat, cozy home. Sen- timent was just beginning to be aroused in favor of improving the pastor's living quarters, and it took ยท many such incidents as the above before the people awoke to the needs of their pastors. During the con- ference of 1866 there were resolutions adopted request- ing the District Stewards to provide the district with parsonages and furnish them with heavy furniture. We have no direct record that the resolutions were
14 Western Christian Advoate, 1845-51.
15 Ibid., 1866.
16 Ibid., 1866, 251. In 1869 there were in Methodism 7,000 effective preachers and 3,000 parsonages. W. C. A., 1864-5.
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carried out, but we know that improvement was noted from this time on. In Salem, Greenfield, Lima, Carmel and Ligonier, church property was sold to improve the parsonages.
The session of the Conference in 1866 was held at the Main Street Church, Peru, and convened April 5th, with Bishop Clark presiding. Milton Mahin was again elected Secretary, which office he continued to hold until 1870, when M. H. Mendenhall was elected.17 At this time there were two Methodist churches in Peru- Main Street and Third Street-the churches having been divided in 1854, when they were known as the First Charge and the Second Charge.18 In 1866 both churches had less than three hundred members. The Main Street Church was valued at $8,000, and was a plain two-story building, with a high cupola. There are still seven districts in the Conference ; one hundred and one charges; 318 churches, valued at $493,125; and 81 parsonages, valued at $96,800. The member- ship in the Conference now numbered 20,849, which represented an increase of 580 over the previous year.19 There were over 2,000 probationers reported, indicat- ing the fact that there had been a number of successful revivals conducted during the year. Knightstown re- ported a successful revival, with forty additional mem- bers added.20 Muncie, Huntington and Bluffton21 also reported great revivals, and the complaint that the church buildings were too small for the increasing crowds, is common.22
The General Conference of 1864 had made provi-
17 Minutes, 1866.
18 Giles W. Smith, "History of Methodism in Peru." Also, "Historical Sketch of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Miami County," by William E. Mowbray. (Mss.)
19 Minutes, 1866. Statistical Tables.
20 Western Christian Advocate, 1866, 85.
21 Ibid., 1866, 21, 45. 22 Ibid., 93.
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sion for the celebration, in 1866, of the centennial of American Methodism, and all branches of Methodism in this and other lands were urged to unite in this observance. The central committee had planned the collection of funds, as centennial contributions, both for connectional and local interests, and the North Indiana Conference at its session in 1866 appointed a committee to make proper arrangements for such an observance within the bounds of the Conference. The committee recommended the collection of $160,000, $20,000 to be given to connectional interests, and $140,- 000 was to be divided among Indiana Asbury Univer- sity, Fort Wayne College and the Preachers' Aid So- ciety, 60 per cent. to Indiana Asbury, 40 per cent. to Fort Wayne College, and 10 per cent. to the Preachers' Aid Society. The first Sunday in October was set aside as the day upon which collections were to be taken. William H. Goode and R. D. Robinson were recommend- ed by the committee to act as agents for the fund, and they were to travel through the Conference to promote its interest.23 The report of the committee at the Con- ference of 1867 shows that only $54,140 was collected as a centenary fund, though it seems from the report that church improvements were counted as a part of the centenary contributions. This fund amounted to $133,465, making a total for both funds of $187,605. The funds collected were distributed as follows: In- diana Asbury University, $14,195; Fort Wayne Col- lege, $20,185; Preachers' Aid Society, $5,098; Indiana Female College, $3,426; Centenary Educational Fund, $98; Garrett Biblical Institute, $184; German Biblical Institute, $9; Mission House, New York, $457; Irish Connectional Fund, $17; Chartered Fund, $28; German Wallace College, $20; Church Extension (abroad), $170; unspecified fund, $208; Northern Indiana Col-
23 Minutes, 1866, 34, 35.
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lege, $87; Missionary Society (real estate), $10,000.24 The twenty-fourth session of the North Indiana Conference met in Union Hall, in the city of Anderson, in April, 1867. The church in Anderson was valued at but $3,500, and was a small building, entirely inade- quate for the comfortable sitting of the Conference, now numbering some one hundred members. Bishop Ames was the presiding Bishop. The conference was without incident, though the year had been one of con- siderable prosperity. A glance at the probationer's list will indicate the widespread spirit of revival which had swept over the Conference. Roberts Chapel reports 124 probationers; Carmel, 130; Noblesville, 160; An- derson, 185; Pendleton, 215; Fortville, 150; Eden, 266, and a total of 1,572 for the Indianapolis district alone. Richmond district reported 1,242 probationers, with Williamsburg, 120; Blountsville, 175; Farmland, 295; Hagerstown, 140; Whitewater, 100, and Spartanburg, 134. Muncie district reported 904 probationers, with only one charge of over a hundred, and that was Jones- boro, with 159. Peru district had 1,401 probationers, and the outstanding revivals on that district had been held in Third Street, Peru; Miami, Alto, which re- ported 260 probationers; Boxley, Normandy and Je- rome. Fort Wayne district reported but 818 proba- tioners, while the Goshen district was at the bottom of the list, with but 577. The Indianapolis district stood at the top of the list, with the Warsaw district second, with 1,566. In the Warsaw district successful revivals were held at Warsaw, Bourbon, North Manchester, Wabash, Lagro, Wooster, Summit, Pawpaw and Anti- och, all of which reported over a hundred probationers on the roll.
It will be interesting to pause here and notice the salaries of the preachers. There had been a steady
24 Ibid., 1867, 29.
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increase in salaries since the last years of the war, and by 1868 there were twenty-three members of the Conference receiving over $1,000, the highest salary in the Conference being paid the pastor of Roberts Chapel, who received $3,000. Anderson and the two churches at Fort Wayne paid $1,350; Pearl Street, Richmond, paid $1,400; Trinity, Indianapolis, $1,500; Greenfield, $1,120; Union Chapel, Richmond, $1,200; Knightstown, $1,150; Muncie, $1,000; Logansport, $1,250 ; Kendallville, $1,000; Warsaw, $1,050; Wabash, $1,125, while all the Presiding Elders received $1,000 or over, the Indianapolis district paying the highest salary, $1,450. The poorest district was the Goshen, which did not have a single charge paying a thousand dollars. The church at Goshen paid $900, as did Elk- hart, while Mishawaka, Ligonier and Angola paid $800 each.
The conference of 1868 elected delegates to the General Conference. On the first ballot those receiving fifteen votes or more were Thomas Bowman, 99; M. Mahin, 69; W. H. Goode, 52; J. C. Medsker, 43; L. W. Monson, 35; O. V. Lemon, 25; A. Eddy, 21; J. V. R. Miller, 15. On this ballot the two first were elected, Dr. Bowman and Milton Mahin, while on a second ballot W. H. Goode was elected, and on the third J. C. Med- sker received 63 votes, and was elected.25 At this con- ference, which met in Warsaw, Bishop Thomson pre- sided. The year had evidently been one of re- vivals also, for the charges reported great lists of pro- bationers, considerably exceeding the number reported the year previous. Peru district reported 1,889, while Cicero charge alone had 495, and Xenia 596. Indian- apolis district again reported large accessions, as did also the Richmond district and the Muncie district.
Among the committees giving reports at this ses-
25 Minutes, 1868, 7, 8.
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sion of the Conference was one on itineracy, and among the things noted in their report is the fact that the number of charges in the Presiding Elder's district is too large, which they say "is prejudicial to the effi- ciency of the Presiding Eldership." They therefore request the Bishop to limit the number of charges in the districts to twelve. The committee also complains of the "unsatisfactory and mischievous" methods of communication which prevail between the appointing power and the people, and they request that the Gen- eral Conference enact a rule and insert it in the Disci- pline, prohibiting any negotiations between pastors and charges prior to the assembling of the Council of Pre- siding Elders. They further resolve that it is the sense of the Conference that the economy of the church be so changed as to make the Presiding Eldership elec- tive.26
Other special committees reporting at this session of the Conference were those on temperance and the Sabbath. The committee on temperance took the usual Methodist attitude toward this evil, approving the "State Temperance Alliance," and urging the organi- zation of a North Indiana Conference Temperance So- ciety, which would hold annual meetings during the session of the Conference. In the fifth resolve the report brands tobacco using as a species of intemper- ance and as "a great evil," and states that its use by ministers is incompatible with the purity, self-denial and propriety which should ever characterize minis- ters of the Gospel.27 This report would indicate that there were still some ministers addicted to the use of the weed, though its use was not nearly so common as it had been a generation previous. The committee on the Sabbath, in their report, lay especial emphasis upon the influence of foreigners upon Sabbath observance.
26 Minutes, 1868, 36, 37.
27 Ibid., 1868, 34.
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They complain that the large foreign population, espe- cially in the cities, has led to the ignoring of laws pro- hibiting the opening of beer gardens and saloons on Sunday, and they state that while welcoming foreign- ers to "our shores," "we will use all lawful means" of preventing such desecrations of the Lord's day. The report also condemns social visiting, pleasure riding, reading of secular and political news, and attention to secular business.28
The spirit of revival which was so manifest during 1866 and 1867 continued during the year 1868. The total number of probationers reported for the year was 8,860, an increase of 780 over the year previous. Twenty-nine charges and circuits reported over 100 probationers each, and nine charges reported over two hundred each. Xenia, in the Peru district, had had a sweeping revival, and on this charge 596 had joined the church on probation, while Cicero, in the same dis- trict, reported 495 accessions on probation.29
It was still the custom on most of the charges to give the preacher and his family a donation party some time during the winter, and these occasions were welcomed by the minister's family, especially by the preacher's wife, for it was her lot, in most cases, to conduct the parsonage affairs in such a way as to come out at the end of the year with all bills paid, and the family well clothed, so that if they should move at the next conference they all might present a good appearance at their new charge. Often, these donation parties were given just after the revival campaign. At Knightstown, on Christmas day, 1867, such a party was given the pastor and his family, Rev. and Mrs. J. H. Meeks. The pastor received a new suit of clothes, including hat and boots, for in those days all the
28 Ibid., 35.
29 Ibid., 25.
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preachers wore boots, especially in the winter. Mrs. Meeks was presented with a Singer sewing machine, and, besides, a large list of miscellaneous articles, in- cluding dry goods, muslins, shoes and provisions, were left at the parsonage, which gladdened the hearts of all the little Meeks. And then, to cap the climax, a purse of $300 in greenbacks was left with the preacher, and before the party broke up a fine sofa was pre- sented for the pulpit.30 In the same winter fifteen people from Galveston, on the Miami circuit, came to visit at the parsonage, and before they left they pre- sented their pastor and family with $80.25 in money and enough provisions to make the total gift amount to $100.31
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