History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 37

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123

USA > Indiana > Dearborn County > History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 37

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In 1818 Benjamin Lawrence was appointed to the circuit, with Henry F. Fernandez, junior preacher, John Sale continuing as presiding elder. All these years there were no church buildings. The preaching was done at some private house in the inclement weather, and in the open during the summer months and good weather. Sometimes a log school house would be found available and would be used, as was the case in Lawrenceburg. The house of Capt. Joseph Hayes, in the Big Bottoms, was said to be a regular preaching

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place. His house was always open for the circuit rider or his assistant, and when the quarterly meeting was held his latch-string was out to all the neigh- borhood for entertainment and sleeping quarters.

In Lawrenceburg the organization grew so strong by 1820 that the ad- vantage of having a house built for the sole purpose of worship began to he agitated, and in 1821 a brick house was erected, sufficiently large, it was then thought, to accommodate the congregations for several generations. It was built on Walnut street, where the Liedertafel Hall now stands, and served as a house of worship for the congregation until 1847, when the present com- modious Hamline chapel was erected. In 1812 John P. Durbin was the pastor in charge, with James Collard as assistant. Walter Griffith was presiding elder. In 1822 Henry Baker was pastor and in 1823, William H. Raper, after- wards a noted pulpit orator in the Ohio conference, was pastor. He was re- appointed in 1824 and John Jayne was the junior preacher, Alexander Cum- mins being presiding elder.

GROWTH OF METHODISM.

Methodism, however, was growing. Its membership was continuously in- creasing and circuits were divided. It was found impossible to care for the congregations where the membership had increased so rapidly. The district was changed and made much smaller. The days of the old circuit-rider, with his convenient saddle bags, were passing. The hardships incident to the first traveling preacher were gradually decreasing until the pastor who had only eight or ten appointments to look after was thought to be in charge of a "brush" circuit, indeed. Yet it was really only the dawn of the present-day cir- cumstances, and the "best was yet to be." The circuits along the river, iu the older settled part of the state, began to grow desirable and those who re- ceived such appointments counted themselves fortunate. The interior part of the state was as yet very new, and the preacher receiving an up-state appoint- ment knew some of the same difficulties of the man in charge in Dearborn county when the century commenced.

The name of the district was changed, in 1824, to the Madison district and it was made much smaller. John Strange was appointed presiding elder and James Jones and Thomas S. Hitt, preachers in charge of the circuit. A church had been erected at Manchester about the same time that the church was built in Lawrenceburg, and when the regular pastor could not be present local preachers would fill the appointment.

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About the same time, churches were built in other parts of the county and the growth in members, wealth and influence became astonishingly great. From about 1825 on, the Lawrenceburg circuit was divided and in a few years several separate charges were created, until the status became what it now is, with a station where a pastor is maintained at Lawrenceburg, Aurora and Moores Hill. The circuits are Wilmington, Manchester, Homestead and Dills- boro, with pastors in charge at each place.

The church membership has increased from the scattered few that assem- bled to hear Elisha W. Bowman, the first circuit rider on the old Miami cir- cuit, and William Burk, the presiding elder of the charge, to a host of members. How many there would be over the territory covered by these two faithful followers of the Cross, cannot be told, but within the confines of the county of Dearborn there are now seven strong, separate organized circuits and stations, with membership as follows: Aurora station, 535; Dillsboro circuit, 500; Homestead circuit, 371 ; Lawrenceburg station, 340; Manchester circuit, 233; Moores Hill station, 225; Wilmington circuit, 301 ; total, 2,505. These organ- izations have, besides, fine church property representing many thousands of dollars in value.

The church at Lawrenceburg was made a station in 1838, and on Decem- ber 29, 1838, was held the first meeting of the official board, when the follow- ing were recorded as present: E. G. Wood, presiding elder; Joseph Tarking- ton, station preacher; Benjamin Fuller, Isaac Dunn, W. S. Durbin, L. B. Lewis, Ellis G. Brown, George Tousey, deacons. At the second meeting of the quarterly conference, on March 23, 1839, there were present, E. G. Wood, pre- siding elder ; Joseph Tarkington, station preacher ; George Tousey, John Calla- han, Jacob P. Dunn, W. S. Durbin, James Jones, Enoch D. Johns, William Brown, as members of the official board,

On Sunday, October 20, 1839, it is recorded that the ordinance of bap- tism by sprinkling was administered by Rev. Aaron Wood to W. F. More, Rebecca Griffith, James Seeds, Elizabeth Flower, Thomas Lucas, Harriet McLeaster, Isaiah McLeaster, Margaret McComas, William Tate and David Carrington. In 1847, when the present church building was erected, the offi- cial board was represented at a meeting held the 8th day of May, 1847, by E. G. Wood, presiding elder; Augustus Eddy, station preacher; Benjamin Fuller, David Moore, George Tousey, W. S. Durbin, Robert Patton, Isaac Kaufman, David Macy and W. B. Mccullough, stewards; E. Tate, Hamlet, Sparks, David Springer, James Jones, William Brown, W. H. Crist, George B. Sheldon and Henry K. Hobbs, class leaders. There is no record of the cost

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of the present building, but the original subscription list shows a total of six thousand six hundred and seventy-three dollars collected. From the time the Lawrenceburg church was made a station it has flourished and grown and its influence has been for good all the years since. At present its membership, as stated, is three hundred and forty. The official board at the last official meeting were: Robert H. Blackmore, William A. Creath, Harry E. Fisher, Henry Hodell, Arthur E. Jackson, Omer T. Ludlow, William H. O'Brien, Omer A. Stockman, George H. Wood, Frank A. Ludlow, Martin J. Givan, S. S. McWethy, Cornelius O'Brien, Archibald Shaw. The station preacher is Lawrence T. Jeffrey.

FIRST SERMON IN AURORA.

The first sermon preached by a Methodist minister on the site of Aurora of which there is any record was by William Lambden, in the year 1816. The services were held at the home of Daniel Bartholomew. Following the services a church organization was perfected, with a class, consisting of Martin Cozine and wife, Elizabeth, Richard Norris, Joseph Norris and wife, Ira Wright and his wife, Elizabeth, and Daniel and Olivia Bartholomew, nine per- sons in all. In 1823 William H. Raper, pastor of the Lawrenceburg circuit, had this as one of his preaching places.

A little later, Daniel Plummer and Alfred J. Cotton held a protracted meeting in a log school house, which stood near the present site of the Cath- olic school house. The first church was built in . 1830. and stood near where the Stedman foundry later was built. It was a brick building, plain in struc- ture, about thirty by forty feet in dimensions, with a small cupola. This church was completed in 1838. during the pastorate of James Jones.

In 1839. under the pastoral labors of S. T. Gillett and Charles Bonner, the church received a large number of members, throughout the Lawrenceburg circuit, and of the number, Aurora had one hundred and forty. This gave new impetus to the stuggling congregation, but the church was burdened with debt and was finally sold. in 1842. In 1845 another one was erected, which on account of the fast-growing congregation, soon became too small. and in 1849 it was made a station. Soon afterward steps were taken to build a larger and more commodious church, which was completed and dedicated in 1862. b; Bishop E. R. Ames. From that time to the present, the congregation has flourished and grown strong. With the church is a flourishing Sunday school. which is at present the largest of any church of the denomination in the county.

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The Guilford circuit, or Homestead circuit, as it has been called of recent years, was originally, like all the other parts of the county, a part of the Law- renceburg circuit. When the Methodist Episcopal church commenced to grow in wealth and numbers, it was formed into a separate circuit. Methodist cir- cuits pay little attention to state lines and the Homestead circuit has one charge at Elizabethtown, Ohio. At one time it also had a preaching place in the school house at Mt. Nebo, but, owing to the death of members and changes in the neighborhood, it has been done away with. The charges on the Home- stead circuit in Dearborn county are Homestead, Guilford, Bright and, some- times, at Logan. It was on this circuit that Edward Eggleston served as a junior preacher in the latter part of the fifties. He was then only nineteen year of age. He says of his experience as a circuit rider, in a letter to his brother, George Cary Eggleston, which the latter published in part in his "First of the Hoosiers": "I have bought a good, strong and very lazy horse, with- out enough spirit in him to think of going at any gait faster than a walk, un- less whipped or spurred into involuntary exertion of a strictly temporary char- acter. The distance between appointments is considerable, and with such a horse I have abundant excuse for starting early and arriving late. By taking all day to make journeys that might easily be accomplished in a few hours, 1 get all day instead of a few hours for my study. I throw the reins on my horse's neck and let him jog along at his favorite speed of two or three miles an hour. Then I get out my book and devote my time to profitable reading or study." Eggleston was a voluminous reader and in one of his letters he said he sometimes, in his sermons, used poetry he had read. "The practice is dan- gerous, however," he writes, "in this hill country. Not long ago I quoted a part of the twenty-third Psalm, not thinking it necessary to mention its source. A few days later a good brother said to me, 'That was a mighty pretty part of your sermon about green pastures and still waters and all that. But why don't you preach that way all the time?' " The good brother had thought it was original with Eggleston. He only served on the circuit six months, having to quit on account of ill health.

MANCHESTER CIRCUIT.

The Manchester circuit was set off from the Lawrenceburg circuit just as soon as it showed sufficient strength to support a preacher. The first Meth- odist organization held its meetings in a frame barn built by Rev. Daniel Plummer. It is thought, however, that as early as 1822 the congregation built

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a frame church at Manchester. This building was rather poorly built and was not sufficiently large for the congregation. It was replaced by a larger one and in 1876 the present substantial frame building was erected. At Wright's Corner is located another church of the Methodists that was built about 1855, and has been kept in good condition.

The houses of Benjamin Powell and William Bainum were the early preaching places on the Wilmington circuit, long before it was made a cir- cuit and in the days of John Strange and Allen Wiley. Mr. Bainum was a zealous Methodist and was a class leader in the young society. It is said the first quarterly meeting in the neighborhood was held at his house. Among the leading members of the society at this place in those pioneer days were William Glenn, afterwards a prominent citizen of Cincinnati, and Ranna Stephens. The Methodists erected a brick house of worship about the year 1838, which was used for a number of years and then gave place to the present structure, which was built in 1865.

Mount Sinai is another of the preaching places on the Wilmington circuit. A society was organized about 1835 and Peter Hannegan, a Revolutionary soldier, was one of its first members. The present church was erected about 1865.

The Dillsboro circuit was formed like the others in Dearborn county when the growing needs of the church called for it, and the three appoint- ments are all thrifty. The pastor of the Lawrenceburg circuit had a preach- ing place among the members of this church prior to 1826, but it was not until 1838 that the congregation erected a place of worship. It has always been a strong organization and today has two hundred and eighteen members en- rolled. The present church was erected about 1875. The church at Mt. Tabor, in Washington township, is a part of the Dillsboro circuit and has at present two hundred and twelve members. This organization was one of the first in the county. Meetings were first held at the home of Daniel Crume, who was a local preacher himself. This was probably as early as 1816, for it is claimed that a hewed-log meetinghouse was erected as early as 1818, standing on the same site as the present church. In 1850 the log church was replaced by a brick building, which was blown down by a storm in 1873, and in 1874 the present structure was erected.

The Methodist church at Moores Hill was organized in 1818 at the log cabin of Moses Musgrove. Mr. Musgrove was the class leader and the members of the class were, Terrence Curry and wife, Peter Hannegan and wife, Simon Peters and wife, Moses Musgrove and wife, Hiram Knapp and

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wife and Eliza Triddle. In 1820 a public service was held at the house of John Dashiell, which was said to be near the present town site of Moores Hill. Meetings were held also, about that time, at the home of Adam Moore. The first church erected by the Methodists was about 1829. The second church was erected on the site of the present school building and was built in 1839. The present commodious place of worship was erected in 1871. Moores Hill Methodist church became a station in 1851-52 and has flourished ever since, being one of the most powerful influences for good the county has within its borders.

THE BAPTIST CHURCH.

The Baptist church of Dearborn county was born at about the same time as was the Methodist church. It was a pioneer and came with the pioneers. Henry Hardin, of Hardinsburg, was a zealous member of that denomination, and it might almost be said that the roof had hardly been laid on his log cabin until services were held in it. He entered the land where Hardinsburg now is, on April 27, 1801, only eighteen days after Joseph Hayes had entered the first piece of ground in the state for an actual settler. The Baptists of the Hardin neighborhood were Jacob Froman, the Fowlers, Bullocks and Bonhams. A frame house for worship was erected at an early date in Hardinsburg and was used jointly by several denominations. Later on, at a date that is uncertain, the frame gave place to a brick church, built by the Baptists. The congrega- tion, for various reasons, dwindled until it finally had no members and the brick church was converted into a school house, which is still standing in good condition and is used for a school house to this day.

In 1804 Ezra Ferris came to Lawrenceburg. He was a man of much ability, and a zealous Baptist minister. He might be called the father of the Baptist church in the county of Dearborn. His greatest care seemed to be to build up the church wherever it could be done, and he preached wherever called by any struggling band of faithful members. Through storm and flood, he would go to fill an appointment to preach to these scattered members. He was known far and wide as a broad-minded. public-spirited man, who had the welfare of his fellow man at heart. He had been identified with the old Duck Creek Baptist church of Hamilton county. Ohio, before coming to Dearborn county. He had emigrated from Conneticut, possessed a good edu- cation for those times, and was a strong speaker. He no sooner had become acquainted with his new surroundings than he went to work organizing the Baptist church, collecting the widely-scattered membership into organizations and preaching the Gospel to them.

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In these pioneer days, no attempts were made to erect a public place of worship, but services were held in private houses or at school houses. Mrs. Ella Bond Miller, in a sketch of the early history of the church, read at the rededication of the Baptist church in Lawrenceburg, said of those early days: "In the early days the services were held at the homes of the members and at school houses, and occasionally at the Presbyterian church, on and after March 28, 1835. In December, 1837, the church met in the new meeting house, which was the court house. On February 7, 1838, the trustees, Ezra Ferris and E. P. Bond, leased for ten years the upper room of the building occupied as a court house; the trustees to repair and fix the room for the purpose of hold- ing church services; the committee for the corporation of the town of Law- renceburg, reserving the right to use the room as a school house; the teacher of the school to sweep the room at the close of every week. In August, 1839, the church authorized the trustees to secure and rent a room for the exclusive use of the church; also to procure glass lamps to light the house. In Decem- ber, 1843, a committee was appointed to see what could be done in regard to building a house of worship. In 1845 a lot was bought for the sum of two hundred and forty dollars, and the house which has just been remodeled was erected. The first service in the new building was held in October, 1845. On the day of dedication the seats had not been completed and the need was met by a supply of planks. The dedication sermon was delivered by Elder Sage, of Cincinnati, from the text, 'Ye must be born again.' In 1903, under the pastorate of Rev. C. F. Dame the church was renewed and reinvigorated. He was pastor for over seven years and during that period he increased the mem- bership, remodeled the church and put the congregation once more on its feet. Since that time it has remained an active and strong congregation.

BAPTIST CHURCH AT AURORA.

"The Baptist church at Aurora has, owing to the labors of Judge Jesse L. Holman, been one of the strongest congregations in the county. Judge Hol- man came to the county from Carrollton, Kentucky, in 1811 and it was not long afterwards until he began organizing a congregation of the Baptist faith. He was a public-spirited citizen of great ability, prominent in both church and state. He combined with his political life and his services as a public officer, the duties of a Baptist minister and served the congregation at Aurora as its preacher for many years. On Saturday, February 20, 1820, a council of the church was organized at Aurora, with Elder A. Graves as moderator and

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Jesse L. Holman as clerk." The following brethren and sisters were constituted a church of Jesus Christ. by the name of the church of Aurora, to wit: Timothy Brown, William Hancock, Jesse L. Holman, Sophia Brown, Lydia St. Johns and Sallie Brown. A former Dearborn county history says of the early history of the Baptist church in Aurora: "The first services were held in a log house located on a lot where William Brewington now resides, on Fifth street. It was built originally for a private residence by Mrs. Joanna : Fox. but was afterwards used as a school house, and by all denominations of Christians for church purposes, as occasion might require. Somewhere be- tween the year 1825 and 1828, the Baptists built a meeting house on their lot, one lot east of the present site of the old house, and this was the first meeting house built in the town. It was a brick structure, the bricks of which were made on the lot where now stands Hurlbert's machine shop. It was surmounted by a small belfry and for a time the people were summoned to church by a triangle. Afterward this was supplanted by a bell, which is the present ferry bell on this side of the river. Some of the seats which were in the old meeting house are now in use in council hall. This old building has some special remi- niscences connected with it, one of which is that the world-renowned Lorenzo Dow once preached in it, and, second, that the first session of the United States bankrupt court was held within its walls, presided over by Judge Jesse L. Holman. The reason for this court being held here was owing to the fact that Judge Holman was sick, and unable to go to the capital of the state to transact the business absolutely necessary to be done. The church worshipped in the house until 1848. Elder James Dickens, of the Bulletsburg. Kentucky, church, became the first pastor and under his ministry, the church entered upon its career of usefulness and prosperity. Frequent accessions were had by letter up to October, when the first convert was baptized. At the close of the year the church numbered seventeen members. Elder Dickens served the church until 1824 when, he having declined further services, Elder Samuel Harris was called to this pastorate and served until 1832. He died of cholera while on a visit to Cincinnati, in 1832. Elder Curtis succeeded Harris, but he relinquished the charge in 1834, when the church voted unanimously to invite a council to consider the propriety of setting apart to the ministry Jesse L. Holman. The council met on July 12, 1834, the following being the officiating ministers : Elders William Morgan. William Bruce, Thomas Curtis, Robert Kirtley, Ezra Ferris and Daniel Palmer. Brother Holman was, according to the desires of the church, solemnly set apart to the work of a minister of Jesus Christ. As pastor of the church Brother Holman more than

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met the expectations of his brethren, and received large accessions to the church. The church building in which the congregation now worships was completed in 1875, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars.

One of the oldest Baptist congregations is that of the Ebenezer church, on the Manchester pike leading out from Aurora. It was constituted on February 7, 1822, with a membership of six. Their names were Elder William Morgan, James Morgan, Thomas Bevan, Samuel Bevan, Elizabeth Morgan and Sarah Morgan. The first pastor was William Morgan. The present brick house was erected about 1845 and remodeled in 1870. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Elder James Stephenson. In the farthermost part of Manchester township, on the state road leading to Napoleon, at Hogan Hill, was at one time a Baptist congregation. In 1825 they used the school house for a place of worship. About 1851 a frame church building was erected, and stood until 1877, when it was torn down. By removals and deaths, the congregation dwindled until none were left to keep up the organization. Among the members of this congregation are given Andrew, Edward and James Babcock, Enoch Conger, Amos Morris, Joshua Givan, Cyrus Mills, James Stephenson, the Ferris family, the Day family and a Mrs. Hathaway.

The Baptist church at Sparta was organized on May 21, 1822, at the house of Eli Spencer, with Daniel Palmer, pastor, and Samuel Marsh, Gilbert S. Givan, and wife, Sallie Johnson, C. Falkner, Isaac Offut, Matthew Spencer, Rachel Fox, Nathaniel Richmond and wife, members. The present neat brick place of worship was erected in 1853, a smaller building, built in 1840, having preceded it.

The Baptist church at Moores Hill was erected in 1866. The congregation was first organized on November 29, 1851, but later, in 1852, they built a frame church on the lands of Mr. Justis, where it continued until the present substantial structure was erected in 1866.

At Lawrenceville, prior to 1856, a Baptist society built a small frame church. Jonathan Lawrence, with the aid of others, was instrumental in or- ganizing the society. It was short lived and the building was purchased by the German Methodists.

Among the early settlers of Logan township were a number holding the faith of the Baptist denomination, and a church was organized early. Bayless Cloud was one of the leading spirits. Before coming to Indiana, he had been a member of the Bulletsburg, Kentucky, church. The first church, which was built of logs, stood about a half mile west of Logan, and was probably built as early as 1825. Elder Palmer was one of the regular ministers and. later, Dr. Ezra Ferris preached for them.

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OPEN-AIR BAPTISM.

In what is now Harrison township, the Baptists, in pioneer times, were perhaps stronger than any other denomination. The old Dearborn county his- tory, quoting William McClure, Sr., of Brookville, says: "Among the first set- tlers in the Whitewater, of the religious denominations, the Regular Baptists had a large majority. There were churches on Hackelman's farm, above Harrison ; on Johnson's fork, Little and Big Cedar, near Fairfield and one or two on West fork. The preachers in early times were Ezra Ferris, of Law- renceburg : Jeremiah Johnson, at Hackelman's; James Remy, at Johnson's fork; Moses Hornaday, at Indian creek ; Lewis Deweese, William Tyner and John Blades, at Little Cedar, and William Wilson, on West fork. Lewis De- weese was an eloquent preacher, delivered short discourses and quit when he was done. He united in marriage nearly every one in his vicinity, and was noted for his brevity, generally. Some others were good preachers, but none of them so popular as Deweese. At one time Mr. Deweese was baptizing in the Whitewater. A large crowd gathered on the bank. Among these was a fun-loving girl, who was amusing herself and those around her by kicking off large lumps of the bluff bank on which she stood, just above the baptizing spot, which fell into the water and both made a noise and muddied the water. The old preacher turned around, standing still in the water, and said, 'You Sally-, if you don't quit, kicking that dirt into the river, I will expose you before this whole congregation.' She quit."

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History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 37

Author: Archibald Shaw Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1123

Author: Archibald Shaw
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1123