USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 38
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Among the early ministers connected with the church were the Reverend Stone, Rev. John Winchester, Rev. Williamson Terrell, Rev. John Locke, Rev. George Smith, Rev. G. P. Jenkins, Rev. Samuel T. Gillett, Rev. Isaac N. Tomlinson, Rev. B. F. Gatch, Rev. S. S. McMahan and Rev. J. R. Soured. For many years the congregation was a charge on the Falmouth circuit but at a recent conference it was placed in the care of the Main Street (Connersville) circuit. The present membership of the congregation is twenty-three. Although Rev. F. M. Westhafer is the pastor in charge, he is assisted in his work by Rev. Phares Di Ball.
METHODISTS AT EVERTON.
In the early fifties a Methodist society at Everton erected a small frame edifice, which was used until both congregation and building became so weakened as to be abandoned. Prior to this meetings were held in the village without respect to denomination, but finally resulted in the organization of a regular church society which in the course of time became a Methodist congregation.
In 1889 Mrs. Rebecca Lake donated two acres for church and cemetery purposes and in the same year the present building was erected. E. R. Lake donated an additional acre for cemetery purposes a short time after- ward. The last report of the church shows a membership of one hundred and thirteen. The present pastor is Rev. E. A. Hartsaw.
ABANDONED METHODIST CHURCHES.
A Methodist class was formed three miles southwest of Alquina prior to 1820, but no organization was formed until about 1825. For many years services were conducted at the homes of the members and very often at the home of James Worster, whose father was the first Methodist minister west of the Allegheny mountains.
The first church building was the usual log structure and was rather small, being about twenty by twenty-seven feet. The lot for the building
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was given by John and Samuel Huff. This building satisfied the needs of the congregation for many years, but in the course of time a frame addition was made to the log structure, making the building thirty-six by forty-five feet in size. The families who were instrumental in the organization and main- tenance of the church were the Veatches, the Worsters, Eyestones and Millners.
TULI.IS CHAPEL METHODIST CHURCH.
The Tullis Chapel Methodist church was another one of the Methodist churches organized at the time of the institution of the Connersville circuit in 1822. At that time a class was meeting at the home of a man by the name of Hinkson, located in the southern part of Connersville township. Among the early members were John Hinkson and wife, Susan Hinkson, Anna Reagan, William Harrall, Mrs. Roberts, George Hinkson and wife, and John Grace, the latter of whom was leader of the class. About 1836 the society erected their first church building, which was constructed of brick and was used until about 1861 or 1862.
The site of the old church and graveyard was donated by Henry Tullis. The site of the later church was deeded to the congregation by John Messer- smith. The congregation ceased to exist many years ago.
One of the early religious societies in Orange township was that of the Methodists. Services were held in school houses and in the homes of the members until about 1837, when a small building was erected in the southern part of the township. The society existed until about 1875, when, on account of natural and usual circumstances, the organization was abandoned and the building was sold to Alexander Matney.
EARLY METHODISTS IN POSEY TOWNSHIP.
Quite a large number of the early settlers in Posey township were Meth- odists and it was they who formed the first religious body within the township. Meetings were conducted in the homes of the members, who, in the begin- ning, included Dower, Hardin, Miller, Wilson and a few other families. Among the later members were Thomas Stiles and wife, George Patterson and wife and John Eyestone and wife. The society was included in the Con- nersville circuit, which only recently had been formed, and was a very large one. The appointment remained on the Connersville circuit for many years but later became a part of the charges along the western part of the county.
The first house of worship was a log structure which stood about a mile
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and a half southwest of Bentonville. Later the congregation built a frame house at Bentonville, but this was finally disposed of to the township and was converted into a public hall. The society is no longer in existence.
For twenty-five years or more prior to the Civil War, there existed a Methodist congregation which worshipped at a log church that stood on the ground later occupied by the English Lutheran denomination in the northern part of Jackson township. The society exerted a great deal of influence during the early period, but gradually passed out of existence because of deaths and removals. The ground upon which the old log house stood was donated by the few remaining Methodists, about 1863, to the English Lutheran denomination, which completed a frame church there in 1865. The first congregation was styled the Union Methodist Episcopal church and among those identified within early organization were Basil Roberts and wife, Isaac Updyke and wife, P. Silvey and wife, George Talbot and wife, Nathan Aldridge and wife, and Amos Noah and Nicholas Pum- phrey and their wives.
During the early forties the Methodists built a small meeting-house on the land of James Mount in the northwest quarter of section 33, Connersville township. Services were held there for many years by the Methodists, and later by other denominations, but all traces of the building have long been erased.
The first Methodist congregation in the township that was included in the Connersville circuit was at the home of the grandfather of Thomas Hinkson. The size of the society was very small, in 1823 consisting of Grandfather Hinkson and wife, Thomas Hinkson and wife, Mrs. Basil Roberts and daughter and Merrill Williams.
BAPTIST CHURCHES.
The Baptists were the first to establish churches in Fayette county and as early as 1814 there were three definite congregations in existence in the county: Franklin church, located just below Nulltown; New Bethel, which now stands at the edge of the village of Lyonsville in the northern part of Jennings township, and Lick Creek, the first branch of which was established a short distance south of the village of Harrisburg. Of these three churches the one located at Lyonsville is still in existence, and has had an unbroken history of nearly one hundred and three years, the oldest church organization in the county, and one of the oldest in the state.
During the century which has elapsed since the first church was organ-
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ized there have been eleven different Baptist churches organized in the county, and of these seven are still in existence. In the forties there was a schism in the Baptist communion, a schism which extended to nearly all the Baptist churches of the United States, and this resulted in the forma- tion of new churches by those who seceded from the parent church. So many years have passed since those troublesome times of the forties that the causes of the dissension which disrupted so many of the churches have been nearly forgotten. The main facts in the matter seem to be substantially as follows :
In the confusion arising from the use of a multiplicity of local names it is extremely difficult to define the distinction between the several branches of the church. There were Softshells and Hardshells, Means and Anti- Means, Primitive and Missionary (Free-Will), Close Communion and Open Communion, New School and Old School, and other names, some of them applied in derision-all of which were in current use in the forties and many years later.
These different names were often applied indiscriminately, but in reality there were but two marked divisions of the church-the Primitive, or Anti- Means, and the Missionary, or Means. Questions of church discipline and management, of music in the church, of Sabbath schools, of the character of ministerial call, were responsible for the dissension. 'Those who believed in a divinely called ministry for the edification of the saved, were denom- inated Hardshells, or Anti-Means, while those who softened the predestina- tion dogma considerably were the Missionary Baptists. The question of secret societies was also a frequent cause of trouble.
Both branches are still represented in Fayette county in 1917. As far as is now known there have been only two branches which have called them- selves Missionary Baptists. One was located about a mile west of Benton- ville, but disappeared before the Civil War; the other is still in existence. It is the Twelfth Street church at Connersville, locally known as the First Bap- tist church. There are still three branches of the Primitive Baptists in exis- tence, the Village Creek church, located about a mile and a half southeast of Connersville; the second, known as the Williams Creek church, is in the northwestern corner of Harrison township, and the Lyonsville church. The Regular Baptists are represented by two congregations, the North Lick Creek and East Connersville churches. Another branch of the Baptist church, the German Baptists, usually called Dunkards, or Dunkers, is represented by a church in Waterloo township.
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FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH AT CONNERSVILLE.
The First Baptist church at Connersville was formally organized on March 12, 1899, with the following charter members: H. T. Thomas and wife, Cora Thomas, S. D. Lynch and wife, L. D. Worden and wife, L. J. Stiff and wife, Claire Stiff, Buelah Stiff, Mrs. Minnie Watson, G. L. Huxtable and wife, W. C. Seward and wife, Mrs. Alice Jordan, Ola Jordan, Mrs. Lida Swain and R. B. Fowler and wife. Most of these charter mem- bers were former members of the North Lick Creek church. Rev. O. J. . Redmon was the first regular pastor and he was succeeded by the following : Rev. C. L. Berry, Rev. H. E. Wilson, Rev. William Spencer, Rev. L. C. Bauer, Rev. S. A. Sherman, Rev. C. F. Dame and Rev. J. Leo Noland, the present pastor.
The congregation owns a frame building at the corner of Twelfth street and Grand avenue that was dedicated in March, 1900, at a cost of five thousand dollars; also a neat parsonage built in 1906 at a cost of two thousand five hundred dollars. The congregation has grown steadily since its inception and now has a membership of ninety.
FRANKLIN BAPTIST CHURCH.
The original records of the Franklin Baptist church at Alpine show that it was formally organized on March 17, 1814, and thus it was one of the first churches to be organized within the limits of the county, if not, indeed, the first church. The church started out with twenty-three charter members, namely: Charles Scott, Archibald Guthrie, Rachel Guthrie, Wil- liam Helm, Elizabeth Helm, Allen Cresler, Frances Cresler, John Conner, Polly Conner, Joshua Cregler, Sarah Cregler, David Gillam, Elizabeth Gil- lam, Polly Gillam, William Morgan, Sarah Morgan, Edward Webb, Polly Webb, John Webb, James Newhouse, Eliza Newhouse and Hugh Brownlee. James Newhouse and David Conner were among the first ministers. The church was organized by Elders Lewis Deweese and William Tyner, of Cedar Grove, in Franklin county : Elder James Smith, of West Fork church, and Elder John Blades .. As first constituted it was what was then known as an "Old School" Baptist church.
Meetings were held at the homes of the members until a building was provided. The first building was erected of hewed logs, and was a one-story structure with a gallery. Although it appears from the records that it was
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not completed until 1817, yet it is known that services were held in the house a year or more before it was finished. For many years the pulpit was filled by ministers from neighboring churches, the congregation not being able to employ a regular minister. John Conner was made an elder in 1817 and, with James Newhouse, served the church until his death. Among the other early elders were David Commer, Madison Conner and William Sparks. Madison Conner was a regularly licensed minister, while William Sparks, although only an elder, preached regularly for the congregation for several years. The log church was abandoned in 1850 and a frame struc- ture was erected within the village of Alpine. This remained the property of the congregation until November 29, 1898, when the only remaining trustees, B. F. Conner and George M. Newhouse, deeded it to John H. Gray, William Seal and Euphrates I. Chance, trustees of the Christian church of Alpine, which was organized in that year.
The history of the Franklin Baptist church at Alpine is the history of practically all the Baptist churches of southern Indiana in one respect. In 1845 the Baptists of the state became divided as the result of differences in regard to church polity-and there arose the "Old School" and "New School" Baptists. The definite schism in the Franklin congregation may be set down as occurring on June 30, 1849, although the separation had been pending for four or five years previously.
It was evidently the seceders who erected the new building in Alpine, the new congregation being known as the Fayette Baptist church. This sec- ond congregation was organized on the above stated date with the following charter members: Elder Daniel Conner, H. D. Conner and wife, Mary Conner, Nancy Reed, Henry Morris, Corwin Millspaugh and wife, and Benjamin F. Carter. Daniel Conner was the regular minister of the church until his death. Other leaders were Elders Harvey Wright, Corwin Mills- paugh, H. W. Conner and Benjamin F. Carter. Elder D. H. Conner is recorded as still preaching in 1885.
The history of the Baptists at Alpine from the time of the schism in 1849 on down to 1898 seems to be largely the history of the Fayette church. Year by year the congregation grew smaller and it became increasingly difficult to have regular services. The membership had practically dis- appeared by the nineties and with the purchase of the old frame building by the Christian church in 1898. the Baptist church of Alpine concluded its history.
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REGULAR BAPTIST CHURCH AT LICK CREEK ( 1814-1846).
In the years 1813 and 1814 a number of the members of the Baptist church removed from the lower part of the White Water valley, chiefly from the bounds of Little Cedar Grove church in Franklin county, and located on the west fork of White Water river. They carried with them letters of dismissal, and on May 14, 1814, the following named persons met at the home of James Tyner and there formed an organization known as the Baptist Church of Jesus Christ: John Tyner, Forest Webb, James Tyner, Thomas Carter, Richard Kolb, William Webb, John Gilliam, Jehu Perkins, William Henderson, Jesse Webb, Robert Atkinson, Fannie Tyner, Katie Webb, Nancy Carter, Nancy Webb, Elizabeth Perkins, Lear Webb, Martha Henderson and Rebecca Anderson.
In the following June a committee was appointed to secure a site for a church building, and subsequently a tract of land belonging to Forest Webb was chosen. It was decided by the congregation to construct a meeting house on the purchase in the spring of 1816. This edifice was constructed of logs and was about thirty feet square and contained a small gallery. This building served as a place of worship until 1833, when a brick structure thirty-five by fifty-five feet was erected. This building stood until 1882, when it was replaced by a neat and commodious frame structure.
Forest Webb and John Tyner were chosen deacons of the church early in 1814. For a time in the beginning the congregation was served by visit- ing elders, among these being James Smith and Stephen Oldham, as moder- ators. Later moderators of the early period were Forest Webb, John Tyner, John Caldwell, Isaac Martin, Lewis Johnson, William Miller and Elder Thomas.
Elder William Miller seems to have been ordained on June 3, 1820, as one of the first ministers. Later, along in the early part of the thirties, were John Sparks, Joseph Martin and Wilson Thompson, all of whom served as pastors, the latter serving the congregation for a number of years, begin- ning early in 1835.
CONTROVERSIES ON DOCTRINAL POINTS.
The church on Lick Creek flourished and became one of the strong churches of the White Water Association, but dissensions and controversies
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on points of doctrine finally arose, which terminated in a division of the church, occurring on April 1I, 1846, at which time the membership was one hundred and twenty.
Out of this division grew two churches, which have been numbered among the strong religious societies of the county. The division was not merely local, but extended beyond county and even association limits, and affected many of the "Old School" Baptist churches of this entire region of the country. Both branches of the Lick Creek church retained the name of the original church and each claims to be the old organization. The same can be said of the associations to which each belongs. For a time the two churches were styled the "Means" and the "Anti-Means," although these names were not countenanced by the congregations. For convenience one is herein termed the "South" church and the other the "North" church.
REGULAR BAPTIST CHURCH OF LICK CREEK SOUTH (1846-1917).
This branch, after the division, retained the church property and con- tinued to worship in the old building until 1882, when a new edifice was erected. The regular minister of the old church at the time of the division was Elder Wilson Thompson ( 1846-63), who remained with those continuing worship in the same church. The membership of the old church, herein spoken of as the South church, after the division was about eighty-seven. Elder Thompson's successor was Elder George Harlan, who served the con- gregation three years. Harvey Wright followed in 1866, for a period of thirty-three years, or up to 1899. There was no regular pastor between 1899 and 1903. In the latter year M. L. Ford became pastor and served until 1910. During Ford's pastorate many of the meetings were held in the homes of the few members. There has been no pastor since 1910, the mem- bership having fallen away until it is not possible to employ a regular pastor.
REGULAR BAPTIST CHURCH OF LICK CREEK NORTH, (1846-1917).
About forty of the old Lick Creek membership, prominent among whom were James Tyner, William Webb, Alexander Dale, William Thomas and Enoch Applegate, withdrew from the old church and declared themselves the Regular Baptist church of Lick Creek. Elder John Sparks was chosen their pastor. In 1847, one and one-half acres of land, located one-half mile north of Harrisburg, was secured from John Caldwell and B. S. Trowbridge,
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upon which was erected a church edifice. Alexander Dale, William W. Thomas and James Tyner were chosen the first trustees. In March, 1848, Elder D. H. Drummond began giving the church a portion of his time, and in 1854 Elder George Harlan was employed, followed by E. D. Thomas. Elder W. T. Pence began to serve about 1865. Following Pence came in succession the following : E. D. Thomas, William Sparks, Samuel Williams, Thomas Lines, and William Rupert, of Kentucky. Elder Rupert preached for the congregation for about twenty years, being followed in the nineties by Elder Shirley. Rufus Reed followed Elder Shirley in 1902, for a two- year period. Elder Gregg, of Boone county, Indiana, came in 1904 and served until 1906, followed by Preston Smith, a minister-banker, of Whites- town, Indiana. R. A. Fuson, the present pastor, also of Boone county, has had charge of the church since 1908. Regular services are held on the fourth Sunday of each month. There are about thirty regular members.
About 1892 a few members, about twenty-five or thirty, of the North Lick Creek church, seceded from the old society and established themselves at the old brick school house, a half mile west of Harrisburg. William Rupert was the pastor of the seceders until his death, about ten years later ; although during the latter part of his life, Rev. Edward W. Harlan was the regular pastor. The congregation styled itself the Lick Creek Baptist church, while those not belonging to this group called them "Murphyites," because of John Murphy, one of their leaders.
The most important event in the history of the Lick Creek church occurred in 1892. In this year, November 22-24, the general meeting of the Regular Baptists of America was held in the little church in Fayette county. Delegates were present from Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, and Canada.
MISSIONARY BAPTISTS.
There have been two congregations of Missionary Baptists in Fayette county, but one of them disappeared more than thirty years ago and its his- tory has been difficult to trace. The date of its organization evidently was shortly after the Civil War, although it may have been even before the war. It was composed of a number of families living in Posey township, about a mile west of Bentonville, among the members being the Longwells, Carvers, Thomases and Knapps. They first held their meetings in a neighboring (27)
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school house, and after the school house was abandoned for school purposes the congregation bought it, built an addition to it and used it for a church purposes until the society was disbanded. The church as a definite organi- zation disappeared about 1880.
GERMAN BAPTISTS.
From 1804 to 1808, something like fourteen families, most of whom were from Pennsylvania and Virginia, formed a settlement along what is known as Four Mile creek in eastern Indiana and western Ohio. These pioneers were all adherents of the German Baptist church and upon effecting a permanent settlement began to look forward to the organization of a church of their denomination. Elder Jacob Miller is thought to have been the first German Baptist minister who preached west of the Great Miami river and it was he who first preached to this little group. He with the assistance of John Hart and a man by the name of Bolton effected the first organization. In later years the congregation grew rapidly, two districts were formed and a second church house was erected in the southern part of Union county, Indiana. Subsequently an organization was formed in Waterloo township, among whom were John Moyer, Samuel and Elizabeth McLinster, Salome Fiant, Sarah Moyer, Mrs. Daniel Fiant (the first member of this denomi- nation in the community), Daniel Jamsey, Susannah Strong, Catherine Priser, Martin Fiant, Mrs. Fiant, John Moss, Elizabeth Dise, Jonas and Mary Fiant, Samuel and Catherine Crick, Ada Simpson, John Fiant and wife, Polly McPherin, Lewis Paten and wife and Elizabeth and Susannah Ward.
Prior to the erection of a church edifice services were held in the homes of the members and also in a barn. Finally the need of a building became urgent and a building committee composed of John Fiant and Isaac Pritch- ard was appointed for the purpose of securing a church site and securing funds for the erection of a building. The edifice was completed in 1868. Among the ministers who have served the congregation have been Rev. John .Moyer, Rev. William Moss, Rev. Abraham Moss, Rev. Daniel Miller, Rev. Daniel Brown and Rev. Jacob Rife.
NEW BETHEL REGULAR BAPTIST CHURCH, LYONSVILLE.
The New Bethel Regular Baptist church, long since discontinued, had its inception on the fourth Saturday in February, 1814, and is probably the
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first church to attempt an organization within the present limits of the county. Meetings were held at the homes of the members at first, but in July, of the same year, Charles Mclaughlin and one Litteral, a committee selected by the congregation, made preparations to build a house of worship. They bought one acre of ground from Thomas Simpson, Sr., for two dollars, and on this lot erected a log structure, twenty-six by twenty feet. This stood about half a mile east of their second church.
The petition for the establishment of the church was drawn up on Janu- ary 15, 1814, and was signed by the following prospective members of the proposed congregation : Elder Stephen Oldliam, Rebecca Oldham, John Keny, Polly Keny, Thomas Simpson (deacon), Sarah Simpson, Rebecca Conner, Katherine Williams, Charles and Jane Mclaughlin, James and Sarah Conway, John Keny, Sr., Jonathan Keny, William and Ann Oldham and Susan White. This petition was sent to one of the established churches, undoubtedly in Franklin county, was favorably acted upon, and on the Sunday following the fourth Saturday in February, 1814, the new congregation was constituted as the "New Bethel Regular Baptist Church" by Lazarus White- head and James Smith.
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