USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 28
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103
As early as 1828 a Dr. Henry located at Chesterfield and not long after a Dr. Kynett also settled there. Drs. Balingall and Preston, of Middletown, also made visits to the settlers about Chesterfield, though neither of them were ever located in Madison county. Early in the '30s Dr. George W. Godwin began practice at Chesterfield, but a little later removed to Yorktown, Delaware county. Dr. David Dunham settled on a farm a short distance northwest of Chesterfield in 1834 and in 1847
223
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
a Dr. Davis located there. These were the pioneer physicians of Union township.
One of the first physicians in the county was Dr. William Goodell, who located in Jackson township, on the site of the present village of Halford, in 1825. He did not remain long and little is known of his career as a physician. Absalom Paris also practiced in that neighbor- hood at an early date. He died in 1870.
In the old village of Prosperity was Dr. William Paris, who came to Madison county in 1825. He was both physician and preacher. He was succeeded at Prosperity by Dr. Joseph Saunders, who practiced in the county for twenty-five years, and who was the first president of the Madison County Farmers' Insurance Company.
At Huntsville the first physician was a Dr. McCain, who was also a merchant. Following him came Dr. John Hunt, previously mentioned, and Dr. Joseph Weeks, who began his professional career there but later removed to Mechanicsburg, Henry county.
In 1840 a number of physicians came to the county. Dr. John Horn located at New Columbus (Ovid) and was the first physician in that village; two brothers, Drs. James and John Barrett, settled at Fishers- burg; later in the year Dr. William Kynett also located there; Dr. Thomas Douglass located at Perkinsville, and Dr. Robert Douglass where the city of Elwood now stands. About this time a Dr. McNear located .at the old village of Moonville, in Richland township. Doctor Horn remained at Ovid but a short time, going to Middletown and later to Yorktown. He was succeeded by Dr. Hildreth in 1842, Dr. W. B. Bair in 1844, and during the next few years Drs. Clark, Smiley and Barry all located there.
Dr. W. F. Spence established himself in practice at Alexandria in 1839-the first physician in that town. In 1842 Dr. John W. Perry came and for a time was in partnership with Dr. Spence. Dr. Spence later removed to Jonesboro, Grant county, where he died. Another early physician in Alexandria was Dr. Cyrus Westerfield and not long after- ward came Dr. David Perry. A few years later Drs. S. B. and Leonard Harriman located in Alexandria. The former afterward removed to Richmond, Indiana, and the later to Sterling, Kansas. Both are now deceased.
Dr. Robert Douglass was the first man to practice medicine in what is now the city of Elwood, having located there twelve years before the town was laid out. Sometime in the '40s Dr. J. M. Dehority located in that vicinity and engaged in the general practice of medicine. He accumulated a fortune and during the last fifteen years of his life was engaged in the banking business. Dr. John Beck and his son Thomas were also practicing physicians of Elwood. Dr. Beniah T. Callaway first began practice in Alexandria in 1849, but a year later removed to Elwood, where he practiced for thirty-nine years. He was also inter- ested in banking operations.
The first physician at Frankton was Dr. John M. Laughlin, who located there in 1854. He died not long afterward and his widow mar- ried Dr. Philip Patterson. Other early physicians here were Dr. Reuben Harvey, Dr. W. M. Sharp and a Dr. Young. Since their day a number of physicians have practiced in Frankton.
224
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Dr. Thomas Benton Forkner, son of Micajah and Elizabeth Allen Forkner, was born in Liberty township, Henry county, Indiana, in 1840. He studied medicine with the late Dr. Magann, of Hagerstown, who served as surgeon of an Indiana regiment in the Civil war, and in 1862 graduated at the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati. The following spring he began practice at Clark's Station (now Florida), in Madison county, where he continued until 1865, when he removed to Anderson and practiced there until his death, which occurred in October, 1869.
Dr. Cyrus Graul located at Summitville in 1867, about the time the town was laid out, and three years later Dr. C. V. Garrell located there. Other physicians who practiced at Summitville during the latter part of the last century were Samuel Brunt, John Wright, W. V. McMahan, M. L. Cranfill and T. J. Clark. Dr. William J. Morgan practiced at Gilman from 1870 to 1880. He was a charter member of the present Madison County Medical Society. He died on October 13, 1896.
Dr. Stanley W. Edwins, who has practiced his profession at various places in the county, is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was born in 1836, of Huguenot ancestry. After graduating in medicine he practiced in the South until the breaking ont of the Civil war, when he came to Indiana and located first in Randolph county. In 1865 he came to Madison county. He was one of the first trustees of Frankton when that town was incorporated, but later removed to Elwood, where he has built up a large and lucrative practice. He is a member of the board of United State pension examiners and is one of the best known physicians in the county. In 1878 he was elected to represent Madison county in the legislature.
MEDICAL SOCIETIES
The first medical society in the county had its beginning in a meeting held on November 1, 1862, in Anderson. Physicians present were Town- send Ryan, William A. Hunt, N. L. Wickersham, Henry Wyman, B. F. Spann, William Suman, J. F. Brandon, E. H. Menefee, Philip Patter- son, D. M. Carter and W. B. Bair. Dr. Wyman was elected to preside and Dr. Menefee was chosen secretary. A constitution and by-laws were adopted and the name of Madison County Medical Association was given the new organization. At one time this association numbered twenty- eight members. The last meeting of which there is any record, was held on April 29, 1867. Dr. William A. Hunt served as president and Dr. E. H. Menefee as secretary during the entire history of the association. Dr. W. B. Bair was elected treasurer at the organization meeting, but died six months later and Dr. D. M. Carter was elected to the vacancy.
Harden's History of Madison County mentions a medical society, which was organized at Pendleton in October, 1873. At the first meet- ing Drs. Ward Cook, O. W. Brownback, T. G. Mitchell, J. H. Harter and W. H. Lewis were present. Dr. Cook was chosen temporary president and Dr. Lewis temporary secretary. Invitations were sent to all regular physicians in the county to meet at Pendleton on Thursday, November 13, 1873. At that meeting the society completed its organization with thirteen members, viz .: Drs. Ward Cook, O. W. Brownback, T. G.
225
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Mitchell and J. H. Harter, Pendleton ; B. L. Fussell and W. P. Harter, Markleville; Hiram Duncan, Simeon Yancey, S. A. Troy, J. M. Jones and T. K. Saunders, Fortville; J. M. Fisher, II. G. Fisher and Daniel Cook, Fishersburg; W. H. Lewis, Huntsville; and D. H. Myers, New Columbus. Dr. Iliram Duncan was elected president; W. H. Lewis, secretary ; J. II. Harter, treasurer; Ward Cook, O. W. Brownback and Simeon Yancey, censors. The constitution provided for semi-annual meetings-on the Tuesday after the second Monday in May and Novem- ber. A few members were added at subsequent meetings, but in time the interest waned and the society died of inanition.
On the last day of August, 1875, the following physicians met at the office of Dr. Chauncey S. Burr, in Anderson, and organized the present county medical society : John W. Perry, B. F. Spann, Jonas Stewart, V. V. Adamson, Walter H. Lewis, Oliver Broadhurst, George F. Chit- tenden, N. L. Wickersham, W. V. McMahan, Joseph Saunders, William J. Morgan, James E. Inlow, Daniel W. Cottrell, Cyrenius Free, Chauncey S. Burr, J. T. Sullivan, Jeptha Dillon, William Suman, William A. Hunt, J. M. Littler and H. E. Jones.
These twenty-one doctors constituted the charter membership of the society. A constitution and code of by-laws were adopted and the fol- lowing officers were elected: John W. Perry, president; W. A. Hunt, vice-president ; Jonas Stewart, secretary ; C. S. Burr, treasurer; W. H. Lewis, B. F. Spann and John T. Sullivan, censors. Since the organ- ization of the society the membership has been increased until it includes practically all of the physicians of the county who take a proper interest in the uplifting of their profession. Following is a list of the presidents of the society, with the year in which each was elected : Jolin W. Perry, 1875; Ward Cook, 1877; George F. Chittenden, 1878; William A. Hunt, 1879; N. L. Wickersham, 1880; Jonas Stewart, 1881; Samuel F. Brunt, 1882 ; Ilorace E. Jones, 1883; B. F. Spann, 1884; William Suman, 1885; John W. Hunt, 1886 ; I. N. Van Matre, 1887; John W. Cook, 1888; N. L. Wickersham, 1890; W. J. Fairfield, 1891; John B. Fattic, 1892; Benja- min H. Perce, 1893; F. P. Nourse, 1895; John W. Cook, 1896; A. W. Tobias, 1897; W. W. Kneale, 1898; O. W. Brownback, 1899; G. A. Whitledge, 1900; J. W. Covertson, 1901; A. E. Otto, 1902; J. M. Littler, 1903; William M. Garretson, 1904; Etta Charles, 1905; T. O. Armfield, 1906; F. G. Keller, 1907; L. E. Alexander, 1908; L. O. Williams, 1909; W. A. Boyden, 1910; J. E. Hall, 1911; F. F. Mendenhall, 1912; M. A. Austin, 1913.
In many respects the secretary is a more important officer than the president, as upon him devolves the duty of keeping the records and notifying the members of any important measure to come before the society. It is therefore deemed appropriate to include a list of the secre- taries. In this list the names occur in the order in which the secretaries served: E. H. Menefee (secretary of the old society), Jonas Stewart, Horace E. Jones, Charles E. Diven, William M. Garretson, W. N. Horn, William Suman, Fred J. Hodges, John B. Fattic, E. W. Chittenden, W. W. Kneale, G. A. Whitledge, A. W. Collins, O. E. McWilliams, Lee Hunt, M. A. Austin, Thomas M. Jones, B. H. Cook, S. C. Newlin, Etta Charles.
Vol. 1-15
226
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
The officers of the society for the year 1913 were: M. A. Austin, president; S. C. Newlin, vice-president; Etta Charles, secretary and treasurer; O. W. Brownback, L. F. Schmaus, F. F. Mendenhall, censors. The following named physicians of Madison county served in the Civil war, 1861-65, though at the time of their service some of them were not residents of the county : George F. Chittenden, surgeon Six- teenth Indiana Infantry and afterward inspector and director of the Thirteenth Army Corps; John C. Cullen, assistant surgeon, Sixteenth Indiana Infantry, promoted to surgeon; Thomas N. Jones, assistant surgeon Second Indiana Cavalry and surgeon One Hundred and Thir- tieth Indiana Infantry; Townsend Ryan, surgeon Fifty-fourth Indiana infantry and colonel of the Thirty-fourth; C. S. Burr, surgeon of a regiment of colored troops; Simeon B. Harriman, assistant surgeon Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry; Tecumseh Kilgore, assistant surgeon Eighty-fourth Indiana Infantry and surgeon Thirteenth Cavalry; Stan- ley W. Edwins, assistant surgeon One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Indiana Infantry ; Benjamin H. Perce, in the ranks and as hospital steward; Horace E. Jones, in the ranks and later a lieutenant in the United States navy ; Jacob H. Harter, in the ranks; Jonas Stewart, in the ranks and as corporal in the Eighth Ohio Cavalry.
At different times the following physicians of the county have been called to serve upon the board of United States examining surgeons for pensions : George F. Chittenden, John C. Cullen, Jonas Stewart, Charles N. Branch, John B. Fattic and Benjamin H. Perce, of Anderson; Stan- ley W. Edwins, of Elwood; and F. G. Keller, of Alexandria. The pro- fession has also been well represented in the matter of holding county offices or serving as members of the state legislature.
REGISTERED PHYSICIANS, 1912
The subjoined list of Madison county physicians is taken from the last report of the Indiana State Board of Medical Registration, for the year ending on September 30, 1912:
Anderson-Charles L. Armington, John C. Armington, Maynard A. Austin, Wilber A. Boyden, E. E. Brock, George F. Chittenden, Edgar W. Chittenden, Albert W. Collins, Ernest M. Conrad, David M. Comer, Benjamin H. Cook, James L. Cummins, Charles E. Diven, John B. Fattic, Henry W. Gante, J. J. Graham, John H. Hammond, George H. Hoekett, William N. Horn, Lee F. Hunt, M. V. Hunt, Horace E. Jones, Thomas M. Jones, W. W. Kneale. John II. Lail, James A. Long, Oscar E. Mc- Williams, Doris Meister, Uberto H. Merson, Isaiah Miley, Weir M. Miley, Albert W. Miller, Elizabeth Miller, J. O. Morrison, Stanley C. Newlin, Samuel C. Norris, Thomas J. O'Neill, Benjamin H. Perce, Moses A. Rush, Albert H. Sears, Glen V. Sigler, Nancy E. Snodgrass. Jonas Stewart, James McC. Stoddard, Silas J. Stottlemyer, Julius R. Tracy, Harley E. Ward, G. A. Whitledge, Lucian O. Williams, Samuel C. Wilson, Noah S. Wood.
Elwood-John D. Armfield, Tilman O. Armfield, Julius C. Blume, Carol C. Cotton, Charles G. Dick, George W. Eddingfield, S. W. Edwins, Ester M. Griffin, W. II. Hoppenrath, Nathaniel H. Manring, Franklin
227
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
W. Mendenhall, II. L. Miller, Luther A. Mott, G. V. Newcomer, M. L. Ploughe, Chandler P. Runyan, Daniel Sigler, A. W. Tobias, E. L. Wiggins.
Alexandria-Edmund J. Beardsley, Oliver S. Coffin, John J. Gib- son, Joseph E. Hall, Frank G. Keller, A. B. Mercer, A. E. Otto, Augustus R. Schaefer, Leonard F. Schmauss, C. D. Schurtz.
Pendleton-L. E. Alexander, Orlando W. Brownback, John W. Cook, ITorace C. Martindale, William R. Sparks, Frank L. Stone.
Summitville-Winser Austin, Etta Charles, J. D. Garr, Seth H. Irwin, Lewis F. Mobley, F. W. White, John W. White.
Miscellaneous-Paul Armstrong and Amos B. Ballard, Gilman ; Eilan V. Boram, Benjamin L. Petro and Charles M. Smethers, Markleville; Charles E. Conway, William M. Garretson and Virgil G. McDonald, Per- kinsville; Joel Cook, Orestes; John W. Covertson, W. J. French and J. L. W. Peck, Frankton; John T. Newhouse, Chesterfield; John I. Rinne and Thomas J. Stephenson, Lapel; William F. Scott, Linwood.
CHAPTER XIV
CHURCH HISTORY
MORAVIAN MISSIONS-MONUMENT-THE METHODISTS-THE BAPTISTS- FRIENDS OR QUAKERS-UNITED BRETHREN-ROMAN CATHOLICS- CHRISTIANS OR DISCIPLES-NEW LIGHT CHRISTIANS-THE LUTHERANS -THE UNIVERSALISTS-PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH-CHURCH OF GOD-CONGREGATIONALISTS-SPIRITUALISTS-THEIR CAMP GROUNDS AT CHESTERFIELD-LIST OF CHURCHES IN THE CITIES.
No doubt the first religions establishment in what is now Madison county was the old Moravian mission on the White river, a short dis- tance above the city of Anderson. About the close of May, 1801, John P. Kluge and his wife, accompanied by Abraham Luckenbach, a young man of twenty-four years, came from Goshen, Pennsylvania, where they had passed the winter with the missionary Zeisberger, learning the Delaware language, with a view to establishing a mission somewhere in Indiana. With them came two Delaware Indians-Thomas and Joshua-who had been converted to the Christian religion. This little party first stopped at the Indian village on the White river, opposite the present city of Muncie, where it was proposed to establish the mission, but the Indians, although they received the missionaries in a friendly manner, pointed out a place for them to settle, some distance down the river, near the village of Kikthawenund, or Chief Anderson.
The place where this mission was located was called by the Indians Wah-pi-mins-kink, or place of the Chestnut Tree, a large tree of that variety standing near the center of section 17, about two miles east of Anderson. Here the missionaries were welcomed by the Delaware chiefs and, after living in bark huts during the summer, erected a substan- tial log cabin for a permanent residence, into which they moved in November, 1801. They made slow progress in their work of converting the Indians, owing to a general distrust of and opposition to the whites. In March, 1806, Lukenbach and Joshua went to the Indian villages on the Mississinewa in search of a new location and soon after their return to Anderson Joshua was charged with being a witch and was killed by an Indian with a tomahawk.
Joshua was killed on St. Patrick's day-March 17, 1806-and soon after that the missionaries decided to ask the Moravian authorities at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for permission to abandon the mission. A messenger was accordingly sent to Bethlehem and Kluge and his com- panions waited through the summer, annoyed at times by .runken and
228
1
229
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
meddlesome Indians. Early in September the messenger returned bear- ing the permission for the missionaries to return to Pennsylvania and on September 16, 1806, they left the mission on the White river never to return. The cabin erected by them remained standing for several years and when the first settlers came to Madison county, about 1820 or 1821, they assumed that this cabin had been erected for a fort, be- cause it was so much more substantial than the Indian structures that had been erected in the vicinity by the Little Munsees after the de- parture of the missionaries. Traces of this settlement could be seen for many years, but the plow of civilization has at last destroyed them, and the old Moravian mission is little more than a tradition.
In the fall of 1912 the chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution at Anderson decided to mark the site of the mission with an appropriate monument, and began a canvass for funds. The monu- ment was unveiled on Sunday, June 1, 1913, Jacob P. Dunn, of Indian- apolis, delivering the dedicatory address. Arthur W. Brady made a short address, Mrs. Arthur W. Brady spoke on behalf of the Daughters of the Revolution, and the presentation speech was made by Mrs. Henry Durbin. A special guest on this occasion was Miss Alice Kluge, of Hope, Indiana, whose father was the first white child born in Madison county, having been born at the old misson, and whose grandfather was killed by the Indians in 1806, not far from where the monument stands. The inscription on the monument is as follows:
In Commemoration of The Moravian Missions To the Indians Maintained on White River South of This Spot, 1801-1806, Erected by Kikthawenund Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, 1913
THE METHODISTS
To this denomination belongs the honor of being the first to estab- lish a regular religious organization in the county of Madison. Serv- ices were held by itinerant Methodist ministers at the house of Elias Hollingsworth, at Pendleton, as early as 1821, but no attempt was made to found a church until in 1823, when Thomas M. Pendleton, his wife and daughter, Mrs. Thomas McCartney, Mrs. Samuel Holliday, Elias Hollingsworth and his wife, Samuel Hundley and wife, James Scott and wife, and perhaps a few others, residing near the falls of Fall creek, met and organized what was afterward known as the Pen- dleton Methodist Episcopal church. For about nine years meetings were held at the houses of the members. On April 28, 1832, Thomas M. Pendleton and wife deeded to the trustees of the church the north half of lot No. 32, upon which a log house of worship was erected. In 1839
230
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
this house was torn down and a frame structure with a seating capacity of about six hundred was erected at a cost of $1,800. At the time it was dedicated it was the finest church edifice in the county. In 1877 it was enlarged and remodeled and was used by the congregation until the erection of the present handsome brick and stone house in 1905, at a cost of about $15,000. Among the carly pastors of this congregation were James Havens, Edwin Ray, J. H. Hull and W. H. Goode, all of whom afterward became prominent in the annals of Methodism.
As early as 1824 the few Methodists living in the vicinity of Per- kinsville organized a class, with Benoni Freel as leader. The first sermon preached here was by Rev. James Reeder. For some time the little congregation held services in a log school house about half way between Halford and Perkinsville, but with the coming of more set- tlers the church grew in membership and about 1848 a brick house of worship was erected in Perkinsville. It continued to be the home of the congregation until 1888, when it was replaced by a larger and more pretentious edifice. This was the first church organization in Jackson township.
A few Methodists living in Green township, among whom were Samuel Gibson and wife, John Marsh and wife, James D. Hardy and William McCarty, organized a class in the fall of 1825 that afterward became the Mount Carmel church. Meetings were held in residences, school houses, etc., until 1848, when a house of worship was erected on the farm of Henry Manifold, a short distance northeast of the present town of Ingalls, where James Jones donated a small tract of ground for the Mount Carmel cemetery in 1862.
The next Methodist church to be organized in the county was in the town of Anderson in 1827. Prior to that time meetings had been held in private residences, particularly the homes of Collins Tharp and William Curtis. Among the first members were Collins Tharp and wife, William Curtis and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Enoch Donahue, Mr. and Mrs. Merrill, Henry Russell, Mrs. Harpold and Matilda Shannon. In 1839 Collins Tharp donated the congregation a piece of ground imme- diately west of Delaware street, between what are now Eleventh and Twelfth streets, for a church site and cemetery. Soon after that work was commenced upon a house of worship there, but it was never fully completed. Meetings were held there, however, for several years, when the property was sold to J. E. D, Smith, who used the unfinished struc- ture as a carpenter shop until it was destroyed by fire.
After the sale of this place to Mr. Smith, the congregation met in the school house and other places until 1849, when two lots were pur- chased of Robert N. Williams on the northeast corner of Eleventh and Meridian streets, where a frame house was erected, at a cost of $1,200. About 1869 the Methodist congregation purchased a lot at the southeast corner of Eleventh and Meridian, opposite the old frame church and where the Union Building now stands, where they commenced the erection of a large and commodious brick edifice. This church was completed in 1871, when the old frame house was sold to David W. Swank, who removed it to the corner of Ninth and Meridian streets, where it was used as a business honse until destroyed by fire in the sum-
!
1
231
HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
mer of 1886. In time Meridian street became a business street and the Methodist congregation sold the property and purchased a new location at the southwest corner of Jackson and Twelfth streets, where the pres- ent commodious and imposing house of worship was erected in 1900, at a cost of some $50,000. This church is known as the First Metho- dist Episcopal church of Anderson. Since it was organized in 1827 three other congregations of this denomination have been established in the city-one on Noble street, Grace church, on Fourteenth street near Cedar, and one in North Anderson-and missions are maintained in the additions of Shadeland and Hazelwood.
According to Harden's History of Madison County, a Methodist, society was formed at Fishersburg in 1827 and for a time met in pri -. vate houses. Then a small log church was erected and used until 1834, when it was replaced by a larger one, also a log house, and this was sup- planted by a frame building in 1853, at a cost of $1,600. Among the early ministers at this church were a Rev. Mr. Miller, W. C. Smith, Lucien Berry and James Scott.
About the year 1831 Manly Richards, Joseph Carter, Andrew Bragg, Jacob and John Lambord, John Russell, James W. Manifold and a few other members of the Methodist faith organized a society at the old village of Menden, in Fall Creek township, known as the Antioch Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. J. N. Elsbury and Asa Beck were the first ministers. In 1842 a small frame house of worship was built, and it was used until 1868, when it became unsafe and a new one was erected about a quarter of a mile northeast, at a cost of $3,000. After the decline of Menden the church remained and meetings are still held here, though the congregation has lost many of its members by death and removals.
What is known as the Busby Meeting House was located on the south bank of Lick creek, on the Warrington pike. A Methodist society was organized in this neighborhood in 1835 and the house was erected soon afterward. In 1865 the church was abandoned, the members uniting with other congregations.
In the fall of 1836 James Hollingsworth and wife, Mrs. George Mustard, and William Lower and wife met at the house of the last named and organized themselves into a Methodist society, or class, the first religious organization of any kind in Lafayette township. The class grew in numbers, but no effort was made to erect a house of wor- ship until 1855, when a frame structure was built where the village of Florida now stands, at a cost of $1,700. Among the early ministers were Revs. D. F. Strite, John Leach, J. W. Bradbury and John R. Tansey. The trustees of this church have always been liberal and have allowed other denominations to use the house, when such occupation did not interfere with the regular services of the congregation.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.