History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions, Part 20

Author: Harding, Lewis Albert, 1880- [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1378

USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 20

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Rev. J. B. Lathrop, of Greensburg, then presiding elder. presided over the meeting on March 1, 1866, when one hundred members withdrew from the First Methodist church (which before the schism had two Imindred and seventy-eight members) for reasons above stated. Services were held in the high school building until the church was ready for occupancy. On March 18 they bought a lot for a new building; ten days later they formally organ- ized a church; on April I they began work on their new building, although the cornerstone was not laid until August 25, 1866. By the last day of the year the lower story was ready for the first service, the sermon on that occa- sion being preached by Rev. F. C. Holliday. The building remained unfin- ished during 1867. and in January of the following year work was resumed and the auditorium completed. The dedicatory services were held on July 12, 1868. The building cost nineteen thousand dollars, of which amount the late Gabriel Woodfill contributed fifteen hundred dollars. This building is still in use, although extensive improvements were made on it in 1912. A new furnace, choir loft, inside stairway, opera chairs, hardwood floor, new roof and a refrescoed auditorium were the main improvements. Six months were consumed in making the repairs, which cost a little over five thousand dollars, three thousand of which had been raised before the church was reded- icated on Sunday, April 6, 1912. Bishop D. H. Moore, of Cincinnati, preached the sermon, and at the end of his discourse appealed for help to cancel the debt. The sum of $1,009.80 was raised at the morning service, and the amount was increased to $1,288.55 at the evening service, leaving a debt of only $836.45. A parsonage, adjoining the rear of the church, had been constructed in 1904. under the ministry of Rev. J. E. Fisher. During the present pastorate of Rev. J. E. Murr the church has been cleared of debt.

The Centenary church, born under the influence of those opposed to the use of the organ in the church, waxed and grew strong. A revival under Rev. G. L. Curtis in 1867 resulted in the addition of sixty new members. and another revival during the winter of 1869-70, under the same pastor. added eighty-two more to the membership. The present membership is three hundred and fifty. About twelve of the charter members are still liv- ing. In June, 1867, a Sunday school was organized, which has continued to hold regular services from that date. Wesley Chapter, Epworth League. was organized February 23, 1893, and it has been a potent force in the life

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of the church during its whole existence. The league now has a member- ship of forty-seven.

It has been said that the church grew in strength from year to year, but history must record a lamentabe division which took place in the church in 1877. Starting out with the avowed determination of never allowing an organ in the church, the passing of years brought about a change of senti- ment in some of the members. Before a decade had passed away it was discovered that some of the children were drifting to the Sunday school of the First Methodist church, and inquiry revealed the fact that the hated organ was the cause of the deflection. The death of some of the more radi- cal anti-organists, the wise foresight of some of the leaders, and the wish to keep the congregation together, finally was the cause of an organ being installed, for Sunday school purposes only. Evidently the once despised instrument had won some friends in the church, and it was not long before the organ was being carried upstairs for church services. This was more than some of the members could stand. Just as they had split off from the mother church in 1866, so did they decide to do the same thing from the Centenary congregation-and thus we come to the third and last division in Methodism in Greensburg.

METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH.

In July, 1877, fifty-two members of the Centenary church withdrew their membership and at once proceeded to build a church on Broadway across the railroad. It was a frame building, thirty by forty-five feet, and cost thirteen hundred dollars. They were not put to an expense for musi- cal instruments, their outlay in the musical line being confined to a nominal sum for hymn books. But there was one fact which they had evidently not considered. They were, in a sense, outside the pale of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and were not recognized by the conference. They dropped the suffix Episcopal and denominated themselves the Methodist Protestant church. They added some members to their original roll, and at one time had a membership of something more than a hundred. The main families to throw their support to this third branch of Methodism in Greensburg were those of Gideon Drake, John Robbins, J. E. Roszell, James L. Fugit, Calvin H. Paramore, D. Patton, J. B. Roszell, John A. Turner and C. Boring. They continued to hold together as a separate congregation until the early eighties, when the organization was disbanded. Some of the members returned to one or the other of the two Methodist Episcopal churches, some joined other

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churches, but most of them, being well along in years at the time of the division in 1877, have long since gone to the King of that kingdom where church schisms are unknown.

EFFORTS TO UNITE FIRST AND CENTENARY CHURCHES.

The discussion of Methodism in Greensburg cannot be dismissed with- out reference to an effort made in 1909-10 to unite the First and Centenary churches. At that time Rev. T. K. Willis was pastor of the Centenary church and William G. Clinton was presiding elder. At that time the Cen- tenary church was not in a very flourishing condition, and Rev. Willis became convinced in his own mind that the best interests of Methodisin would be served by a union of the two churches. He talked over the matter with some of his parishioners and advised them to take out their letters from the Centenary church and place them in the First church. Quite a number fol- lowed. his suggestion, although their action was deplored by a large portion of the Centenary congregation. Rev. Willis communicated with the presiding elder, Rev. W. G. Clinton, in regard to the union of the two churches and the latter came to Greensburg, called a meeting of the official board of the Centenary church and ordered them to disband and unite with the First church. Evidently the presiding elder had been misinformed in regard to the feelings of the congregation, for he found that most of them were very much opposed to the union. The church absolutely refused to follow his order, and consequently nothing was done by the church as a congregation. However, some individual members withdrew and affiliated with the First church, while others withdrew their membership and still have the letters, having never placed them with any church. At the time the papers of Greensburg took up the agitation, and it seemed to be the opinion of those whose articles appear in the papers that the union of the two churches was a very desirable thing. This movement toward union, which came to a cli- max in 1910, has been the last concerted effort looking toward a consolida- tion of the churches. Shortly after this both began to make plans for the complete overhauling of their buildings, and since then have spent more than twelve thousand dollars in improvements. At the present time there does not appear to be any hope of a union for many years yet to come.

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PASTORS OF THE METIIODIST CHURCH, 1822-1866.

The following ministers have served the Greensburg First Methodist Episcopal church: James Murray and I. Taylor, 1822; Aaron Wood, Jesse Hale and George Horn, 1823: John Havens, 1824: Stephen Beggs and John Strange, 1825; N. B. Griffith, r826; James Havens and John Kerns, 1827-28; Joseph Tarkington and William Evans, 1829: J. B. Sparks and J. C. Smith, 1830; S. W. Hunter and J. Kimble, 1831; C. Bonner and C. Swank, 1832; Joseph Tarkington, 1833; W. M. Dailey, 1834; C. Bonner, 1835; J. Scott and L. M. Reeves, 1836; C. Bonner and A. Bussey, 1837; A. Bussey, Mel- ville Wiley and E. G. Wood. 1838: W. B. Ross, 1839: G. C. Beeks, 1840; J. W. Sullivan, 1841; F. C. Holliday, 1842; J. S. Barwick, 1843; J. A. Brouse, 1844: James Havens, 1845; C. B. Davidson, 1846; J. W. Sullivan, 1847; E. H. Sabin, 1848; J. B. R. Miller, 1849: James Crawford, 1850-51 ; S. P. Crawford, 1852: A. Wilkinson, 1853; A. Nesbit, 1854; W. W. Hib- ben, 1855-56; Joseph Cotton, 1857-58; W. W. Snyder. 1859: J. W. Mellen- der, 1860-61; E. D. Long, 1862: S. Tincher, 1862; Charles Tinsley, 1863- 64: W. Terrill, 1865-66.

With the schism of 1866 begins two separate Methodist churches in Greensburg and both have been independent charges from that date down to the present time. The following ministers have served the First church : R. M. Barnes, 1866-69; S. T. Gillette, 1870-72; M. L. Wells, 1873-74; L. G. Adkinson, 1875-76; Sampson Tincher, 1877-79; Charles Tinsley, 1880- 81: John G. Chafee, 1881-84; E. L. Dolph, 1884-88; E. B. Rawls, 1888-92; J. W. Dashiell, 1896-97; F. S. Tincher, 1897-1900; John Poucher, 1900-01 ; George H. Murphy, 1901-05; A. R. Beach, 1905-08; S. S. Penrod, 1908-10; M. B. Hyde, 1910-13: J. H. Doddridge, 1913 to the present time.

PASTORS OF THE CENTENARY METHODIST CHURCH.

The following ministers have had charge of the Centenary church : J. S. Winchester, 1866-67: G. I. Curtis, 1867-71; R. R. Roberts, 1871-73: Har- vey Harris, 1873-75: G. P. Jenkins, 1875-76; J. W. Mellender, 1876-78; W. S. Falkenburg, 1878-80: J. H. Doddridge, 1880-82: C. C. Edwards, 1882- 85: R. D. Black, 1885-88; W. W. Reynolds, 1888-92: L. D. Moore, 1892- 95: W. P. Barnhill, 1895-96; J. Wesley Maxwell, 1898-1901 : John Mach- lin, 1901-03: J. E. Fisher, 1903-06: A. L. Bennett, 1906-08; J. U. Brown,

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1908-09; T. K. Willis, 1909-10; H. H. Sheldon, 1910-13: J. W. Wasburn, 1913-14, and J. Ed. Murr, the present pastor.

AN UNIQUE COURTSHIP.

Mrs. J. H. Alexander, wife of the oldest physician in Greensburg. is the daughter of Joseph Tarkington. She has preserved her mother's account of her father's very ministerial courtship. It runs as follows:

"One Sunday in the spring of 1831. as I was on horseback riding home from John Cottom and AAmanda Clark's wedding, he rode up by my side and asked me if I had any objections to his company, and I said I did not know as I had. He had been stopping at father's on his rounds of the cir- cuit. It was one of his homes. Mr. Tarkington, some time after this, about a month before we were married, as he was starting away on his circuit, handed a letter to my father, which is as follows:

"'August 30, 1831.

"'Dear Brother and Sister .- You, by this time expect me to say some- thing to you concerning what is going on between your daughter and myself. You will, I hope, pardon me for not saying something to you before I ever named anything to her. though she is of age. Notwithstanding all this, I never intended to have any girl whose parents are opposed. Therefore, if you have any objections, I wish you to enter them shortly. I know that it will be hard for you to give up your daughter to go with me; for I am bound to travel as long as I can, and of course, any person going with me must not think to stay with mother and father.

" 'Yours very respectfully,

"'J. TARKINGTON.'

· "Father thought that there would be so many dangers, with suffering and poverty, in being a minister's wife, that it was a very serious matter, and though he was a man of very few words, he told me as much, while he appeared to be very gravely affected. But he wrote a note and gave it to him when he came around next time, which is as follows :

" 'September 4, 1831.

" 'Reverend Sir :- You express a wish to know if I have any objections to you forming an affinity with my daughter Maria, to which I would reply : If you and my daughter are fully reconciled to the above proposition, which

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I have no reason to doubt, I do hereby assent to the same: nevertheless, if such a union should take place, it would be very desirable, if you should settle down here, that you would not be too remote from us.

"'Yours most respectfully, "'S. AND M. SLAUSON. " 'Pleasant township, "'Switzerland county, Indiana.' "

But before the Reverend Joseph rode home with the fair Maria from the wedding, he had a disagreeable duty to perform. In accordance with Methodist discipline, he could not speak of love or matrimony until he had "consulted his brethren." He hastened to see his presiding elder and, with- out disclosing his secret, said: "I am thinking of getting married before next conference." The elder replied, coldly, "I reckon you are old enough, if you ever intend to," and the interview ended. Shortly after he had "con- sulted" the presiding elder, the ride referred to occurred.

For many years the Reverend Tarkington rode circuits all over Indiana. When superannuated he came to Greensburg to spend the remainder of his life. He died in 1891, two years after the death of his wife. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1800, and gave practically his entire life to the service of the church.

EARLY MINISTERIAL EXPERIENCES.

Rev. Joseph Tarkington, in his autobiography, writes of his early expe- riences in Greensburg as follows :

"The fall of 1833 conference was held at Madison, and I was sent to the Greensburg circuit. When we came to Greensburg things appeared dis- couraging. The town had been visited by typhoid fever and many had died -Doctor Teal, George Robinson, Mrs. Silas Stewart and others. There had been no religious services for some time. There was no Methodist church. I preached in private houses, and in David Gageby's cabinet shop. where the Rogers house now is, on the northwest corner of the public square. I went to work visiting the sick and praying for them. It was a long time before Silas Stewart got restored from his sickness to health of body and mind. Until he got to walking about he thought he owned the town.

"The church members were collected together and had prayer meet- ings in private houses, such as Freeman's, Rozell's, Stewart's, and sometimes in the old court house. Preaching was had in the old court house, but it was

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a hard house to preach in. In the spring I got fifteen dollars from Silas Stewart, five dollars from Jacob Stewart and five dollars from James Rob- inson and bought the lot that Mr. F. Dowden owned on Franklin street, and built the house that is now on the lot.

"The Greensburg circuit was cut out of the Rushville circuit in 1828. In 1833 it had appointments at Greensburg, Robbins', Burke's, W. Braden's, Cox's, George Miller's, Biggott's, Gray's, Sharpe's, T. Perry's and also at Burney's, south of where Milford now is.

"We lived in a little frame house which stood where S. Bryant built on Franklin street. There the Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists had one place of worship. David Gageby was chorister for all alike. The Presby- terian preacher was Rev. Lowrey, the Baptist was Rev. Daniel Stogsdell. and we would all meet together. One would preach, another exhort and the third pray. There was no complaint of large meetings, although some per- sons would come from eight to ten miles to attend."

AFRICAN METHODIST CHURCH.

There have never been many colored people in Greensburg, and at the present time (1915) there are only ten families. In the latter part of the seventies the colored people established a Methodist class and held meetings at private homes and in rented rooms. At one time they held services in a room at the southwest corner of the public square. About 1880 they built a frame house of worship at the corner of Lincoln and North streets, and this has remained their church home since that time. The church records are not available, but it is known that the following ministers have served the church: Jasper Siler, 1906-08; C. P. Smith, 1908-10: Clayton A. D. Evans, 1910-11 (died before the end of his first year and his wife filled out his year) ; Mrs. Clayton A. D. Evans, 1911-12; W. T. Anderson, 1912-13: William Kelly, 1913-14; T. W. Daniels, 1914 to the present time. The trus- tees of the church are Samuel T. Evans, Adolphus Frazier and W. S. Meadows. The stewards are Mrs. Irene Hood, W. S. Meadows and Adol- phus Frazier. The president of the Mite Missionary Society is Mrs. W. S. Meadows. The Sunday school of fourteen pupils is under the superintend- ency of W. S. Meadows. The church now has about twenty active members.

WESLEY CHAPEL.

Wesley Chapel, located one and one-half miles north of Sardinia, in Jackson township, was organized in 1830. For the first five years services

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were held in the homes of the members and the preaching was very irregu- lar. Regular class meetings were held, however, and the infant church grew in strength from year to year. By 1835 there were sufficient members to warrant the erection of a house of worship, and a hewed-log church was raised on an acre of ground donated by Daniel Shafer, one of the leaders in the society. Here the little band worshipped for nearly twenty years be- fore they felt strong enough to build a more pretentious structure. In 1854 the old log house was torn down and replaced by the frame building which is still in use. The records of the church are not available and consequently it is not possible to give a list of the charter members or the faithful pas- tors who have served the church during the eighty-five years of its exist- ence. Several years ago Wesley Chapel was considered the strongest rural church in the Southeastern Indiana conference. It was often remarked that a minister, after a two- or three-year pastorate at Wesley Chapel, was eligi- ble to the office of presiding elder. There is scarcely a notable minister of the conference who has not at one time or another served as pastor of this church. Of recent years the church has lost many of its strongest members by death or removal and it is now but a shadow of its former self. The church is now on the Elizabethtown circuit and is served by William De Hart. The present membership is thirty-six.

SANDUSKY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The Methodist Episcopal church at Sandusky was organized in 1887 by Rev. F. S. Potts and S. W. Troyer, with the following charter members : Mr. and Mrs. John Harrell, Albert and Kate Higgins, Mrs. Phillip Harrell. WV. O. Rozell and others whose names have not been preserved. Until 1892 services were held in private homes and school buildings, but in that year a substantial frame building was erected, which is still used by the congrega- tion. The church has maintained a steady growth from the beginning and now numbers one hundred and thirty members. A Sunday school and an Epworth League are important auxiliaries of the church and exert a whole- some influence on the church and the community in general. The following pastors have served this church : F. S. Potts and S. W. Troyer, S. W. Troyer and James Gillespie, J. W. Allen and H. O. Frazier and J. T. Jones ; D. Ryan and D. C. Benjamin, C. E. Hester, J. L. Brown and W. G. Proctor, A. N. Marlatt and C. C. Bonnell and E. I. Larue, E. P. Jewett. L. M. Edwards and A. L. Bear, F. A. Guthrie and P. W. Coryea, F. M. Westhafer and J. L. Brown, T. J. Anthony, J. W. Dashiel, W. M. Creath, J. E. Side- bottom and C. E. Hester.

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The Sandusky church was first attached to the Milroy circuit, a large circuit in charge of two ministers, until Rev. F. M. Westhafer took charge in 1905. At that time Sandusky and Shiloh churches were made a separate circuit and placed in charge of Rev. T. J. Anthony, through whose efforts a parsonage was built at Sandusky. It was called the Shiloh circuit until the Shiloh church was discontinued, and then the Sandusky circuit was organized, with Sandusky, Clarksburg and Mt. Carmel churches, in charge of one minister. At the present time it is listed in the conference minutes as the Clarksburg circuit, although it is still composed of the same three churches.

CLARKSBURG METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The early history of the Clarksburg Methodist church dates back to the beginning of the settlements in the county. Concerning its first mem- bers and ministers very little is known, but the same men who preached in the other Methodist churches of the county from the beginning also filled the pulpit at Clarksburg. The location of the church has been changed at least once. For many years it was at the head of a circuit including Mt. Carmel, Wesley Chapel and Stips Hill ( Franklin county ). The present building in Clarksburg was erected about 1856 and the church property is valued at fifteen hundred dollars. The congregation numbers one hundred and twenty and maintains an active Sunday school and Epworth League. It has always been a strong congregation.

MT. CARMEL METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHI.

The Mt. Carmel Methodist church had its inception in 1823, when a few members met at the home of John Miller, which stood just north of the present residence of Maggie Thorp. The first members were the families of Linville, Hobbs, Jarrard, Griffiths and Hobbsin. The first pastors were probably Aaron Wood and John Havens. Shortly after the organization of the class, Daniel and Nancy Bell joined the society. During 1824-25 Rev. James Hanes was the pastor. This church was one of the leaders in the temperance movement in the county and early organized a Washington- ian Society, every member of the congregation signing the total abstinence pledge. Their first house of worship was a rude log structure, and this has been succeeded by three successive buildings, each being demanded because of the ever-growing congregation. For many years the church took an active part in the life of the community which it seeks to serve, but within the past

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few years deaths and removals have decreased the membership until now there are only about thirty members. At the present time the church main- tains neither a Sunday school nor an Epworth League. However, this church had the honor of establishing one of the first Sunday schools in the county, and for a long time kept it in operation. It is impossible to give a complete list of all the pastors, with their dates of service, but practically every pastor of the Clarksburg church also preached at the Mt. Carmel church. Among the pastors who have had charge of this congregation may be mentioned the following, arranged chronologically as nearly as possible: Nehemiah B. Griffiths (1826), Robert Burns and Isaac Elsburg (1828), Amos Sparks (1829), Isaac Kimball, Elijah Burriss, William Evans, E. Whitten, Amos Bussey, Charles Bonner. O. H. P. Ash, M. Wiley, Joseph and William Car- ter, Hayden Hayes, James Conwell, John Winchester, Williamson Gerril, John H. Bruce, Lewis Hurlburt, Jacob Whitman, Samuel P. Crawford, John Wallace, Leniuel Reeves, Wesley Wood, Benjamin F. Gatch, Joseph Mc- Crea. The dates of the remainder of the pastors have been found: J. V. R. Miller, 1851 ; Landy Havens, 1852; G. P. Jenkins, 1853; John I. Tevis, 1854; Robert S. Beswick, 1856: Benjamin F. Gatch, 1858; Landy Havens, 1859, J. C. Crawford, 1860; Jacob Whitten, 1861: Jacob Whitman, 1862; W. A. Thompson, 1863; J. S. Winchester, 1864-67; R. A. Lameter, 1868; J. S. Alley, 1868-73: J. D. Pierce, 1874; G. E. Neville, 1877; Isaac Turner, 1879; James McCaw, 1880-82; G. W. Winchester, 1882-85; J. H. Norton, 1885 ; J. D. Current, 1886: D. C. Benjamin, 1887; G. C. Clouds, 1888; Andrew Ayer, 1890; James P. Maupin, 1891-93; Charles Ward, 1895-96; George Reibold, 1896-98; D. A. Wynegar, 1898-00: William Telfer, 1900-02; M. S. Taylor, 1902-06; H. D. Sterrett, 1906-08; T. J. Anthony, 1908-10; E. L. Wimmer, 1910-11; U. M. Creath, 1911-12; J. E. Sidebottom, 1912-14; C. E. Hester, since 1914.

MT. PLEASANT CHURCH.

The first Methodist sermon preached in the county was delivered by James Murray, in September, 1822, in the home of Thomas Hendricks, then the only house in Greensburg. The first class to be organized in the county was at Mt. Pleasant, about four miles south of Greensburg. The story is told that John Robbins, one of the early settlers, was at work near his cabin, when two men approached on horseback and bid him the time of day. They talked for a while and then Robbins said: "You men look like Methodist ministers." The strangers admitted that they were and said that

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they were on their way to attend conference. Robbins wanted them to stop a while and organize a class, but they stated that they had no time to spare then, but that they would gladly do so on their return. One of these horse- men was John Strange, an early minister.

When conference was over the men returned and organized a class in Robbins' cabin. Another story is to the effect that Robbins himself organ- ized the first class at the direction of James Murray. At any rate. the mem- bers of this first class were John and Ruth Robbins, B. Courtney. Elizabeth Garrison, J. H. Kirkpatrick and his wife Mary and Nat Robbins-seven persons. Later additions were James and Polly Armstrong, Jacob Stewart. A. L. Anderson, Nancy Anderson, Mary Garrison, Tamzen Connor, Wesley and Elizabeth White and Lydia Groenendyke.

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History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions, Part 20

Author: Harding, Lewis Albert, 1880- [from old catalog] ed Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, B. F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1378

Author: Harding, Lewis Albert, 1880- [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, B. F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1378