USA > Indiana > Indiana Methodism : being an account of the introduction, progress, and present position of Methodism in the State; and also a history of the literary institutions under the care of the church, with sketches of the principle Methodist educators in the state . . > Part 11
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uncommon thing for him, at camp-meetings, to hold an audience of thousands in rapt attention for two hours or more, while he discussed some grand theme of theology. Mr. Wiley planned wisely for the Church. He aided in founding schools ; he organized Bible Societies, and la- bored to promote total abstinence from all intoxicating drinks; he assisted in securing eligible sites for churches, and was one of the founders of Indiana Asbury Univer- sity. Mr. Wiley owed his great success to his singleness of purpose, his energy, and untiring industry. He evinced, perhaps, more statesmanship in his plans than any of our early preachers. He continued his habits of study to the close of life. Of him, Hon. R. W. Thomp- son says : " He was unmatched in all those excellences of character which fit a man for the society of the angels. His clear head, sound judgment, great discretion, and ac- knowledged wisdom, made him like one of the fathers in Israel. And these characteristics were exhibited in all his sermons, which were entirely faultless in style, and distinguished by commanding ability." Mr. Wiley ended his earthly career at Vevay, Indiana, on Sabbath, July 23, 1848, in the fifty-ninth year of his age.
As we have noted elsewhere, Indiana Conference was organized in 1832, being set off from the Illinois Confer- ence by the General Conference of that year. Its ses- sions, down to 1850, were held at the following times and places :
New Albany, October 17, 1832. Madison, October 16, 1833. Centerville, October 22, 1834. Lafayette, October 14, 1835. Indianapolis, October 26, 1836. New Albany, October 25, 1837. Rockville, October 17, 1838. Lawrenceburg, October 23, 1839. Indianapolis, October 21, 1840. Terre Haute, October 6, 1841.
Centerville, October 19, 1842. Crawfordsville, October 18, 1843. Bloomington, October 25, 1844. Madison, October 8, 1845. Connersville, October 7, 1846. Evansville, October 6, 1847. New Albany, October 4, 1848. Rising Sun, October 10, 1849. Jeffersonville, October 9, 1850. Indianapolis, October 8, 1851.
10
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INDIANA METHODISM.
The following table shows the annual increase in the ministry and the membership, from the organization of the Conference, down to the session of 1851, or to the close of the first half of the present century :
Year.
Members.
Traveling Pr'chers.
Local Pr'chers.
Year.
Members.
Traveling Local Pr'chers. Pr'ch'rs
1832
20,035
65
.....
1842
62,942
192
473
1833
23,617
71
.....
1843
67,219
216
488
1834
25,213
73
.....
1844
35,686
110
285
1835
25,476
92
.....
1845
33,673
112
305
1836
28,000
99
333
1846
32,530
119
309
1837
31,058
120
351
1847
30,745
122
309
1838
35,258
139
366
1848
33,262
121
290
1839
43,953
161
412
1849
35,481
137
290
1840
53,033
167
418
1850
37,798
148
290
1841
53,381
177
459
1851
39,271
159
302
In 1844, the Conference was divided into Indiana and North Indiana Conferences, by the National Road, which runs through the center of the state, from east to west. The following table shows the growth of North Indiana Conference, from the time of its organization, down to the session of 1851, that being the last session before the division of the state into four Conferences :
Year.
Members.
Traveling Pr'chers.
Local Pr'chers.
Year.
Members.
Local Pr'chers. (Pr'ch'rs Traveling
1844
27,343
105
220
1848
27,337
120
282
1845
27,383
110
222
1849
28,083
134
269
1846
27,336
11
267
1850
30,397
149
279
1847
26,302
120
258
1851
32,234
170
288
From these figures, it appears that the growth of the Church was constant from 1832 to 1843; and that from 1838 to 1848, its increase was truly remarkable. From 1843 to 1847, there was a decrease in both of the Confer- ences, amounting, in the aggregate, to nearly ten thou- sand. This was doubtless owing in part to the wonderful ingatherings of the few preceding years, and the result- ing diminution of effort on the part of the Church.
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INDIANA METHODISM.
The aggregate membership in the state, according to these figures, including the preachers, was, in 1850, 72,404. In 1860, the membership was 96,965, being an increase, during the decade, of 24,561
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INDIANA METHODISM.
CHAPTER IX.
Prosperity of the Church during the Civil War-Increase in Church Prop- erty-Loyalty of Indiana Methodists-Remarks on the Origin of the War-Election of Mr. Lincoln-Peace Convention-Significance of Mr. Lincoln's Election-Bombardment of Fort Sumter-Call for Volunteers-Indiana's Response-The Political Value of Methodism to the Preservation of the National Life-Remark of Chief Justice Chase-Estimate of Methodist Voters in Indiana-Number of Methodist Voters in the Loyal States-Moral Compensation of the War-Retrospective View of the Church-Early Circuits -- Location of the Places of Worship-Church Architecture-The Vested Funds for Church Purposes in Indiana-Preachers' Aid Societies-Amount paid for Ministerial Support-Benevolent Contributions-Methodism and Population-Statistics of African Methodist Episcopal Church- Methodism among the Germans.
NOTWITHSTANDING the heavy draft made upon the Church, as well as upon the loyal men of the country at large, by the terrible rebellion and secession of the Slave States, and the consequent civil war that ravaged our country from 1861 until the surrender of the Confederate armies in 1865, the Church in Indiana con- tinued to prosper, and the membership arose from 96,- 965 in 1860, to .113,800 in 1870. And the increase in Church improvements, such as churches, parsonages, and school-houses, was even greater than the numerical in- crease in the membership. Indiana Methodism contrib- uted largely to the suppression of the rebellion. The antislavery doctrines of Methodism, that had been re- ceived without dilution or adulteration by the most of our people, would naturally array them on the side of the Government, when the slave power was putting forth all
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INDIANA METHODISM.
of its efforts for the overthrow of the Government. Loy- alty to the civil power, when that power answers the ends for which government is instituted, is a religious duty; and there were but few Methodist pulpits in Indi- ana but what enforced that duty. Methodist ministers entered the army as chaplains, and some of them as offi- cers and soldiers. The remark of President Lincoln, that " the Methodist Church sent more soldiers into the field, more nurses to the hospitals, and more prayers to Heaven for the preservation of the Union, than any other," was as true of Indiana Methodism as of that of any portion of the loyal states. The resort to arms on the part of the South for the maintenance of slavery, was both un- wise and uncalled for. True, the growing opposition of public sentiment in the North to the extension of slavery, taken in connection with the division of the Democratic party, which division was brought about by those who soon became leaders in efforts to divide the Union, in- sured the election of Mr. Lincoln as a Republican Presi- dent in 1860, by a plurality 30,000 larger than elected his predecessor. And in the conservative state of Indi- ana the vote had changed, from a Republican minority of 46,681 to a majority of 5,923. But, although a Repub- lican President was constitutionally elected, the judicial and legislative branches of the Government were in the opposition, and would have continued so throughout his term of office, so that no offensive measures could have passed, and no objectionable Cabinet Ministers be ap- pointed. Even Congress, declared its willingness to incor- porate into the Constitution a clause utterly prohibiting interference with slavery in the states. The loyal States, and several of the Slave States, that were as yet hesi- tating to assume open rebellion, and were trembling in the balance, sent delegates to a Peace Convention, which was
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presided over by ex-President Tyler, who had betrayed the party that elected him, and afterward obscured his old disgrace by the added crime of treason to his country.
But their efforts were ineffectual. No honorable concessions could satisfy those who had predetermined the destruction of the Government. The South under- stood better than the North-because it had studied the question more thoroughly-the deep significance of Mr. Lincoln's election. It was an assurance to them that a vitalizing and unifying spirit had moved upon the face of the chaos into which the political parties in the North had crumbled, and that the power of slavery must break, or be broken upon, this new creation. It was an assur- ance to them that the power, which had not only filled the Presidential chair and courts of law, term after term, but had underreached and overreached, misconstrued and misapplied the Constitution, must go no further. It was an assurance that the proud waves of the bar- barism of slavery should roll no further; and here their fury should be stayed. All this was better understood at the South than in the North. For nearly half a cent- ury their public men had used every art known to poli- ticians to bring the public into subjection to an oligarchy. Society, through the entire social scale, was prepared for the rebellion, whenever their leaders should say the word. And immediately on the election of Mr. Lincoln that word was said. South Carolina, with assumed dramatic dignity, announced her determination to secede. On the 12th of April, 1861, the telegraph flashed the intelligence through the Union of the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Through the long Saturday that followed, business was at a stand. With bated breath and anxious look all waited for additional news. Telegraph-offices and newspaper bulletin-boards were watched by anxious
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INDIANA METHODISM.
crowds. Greater events than the bombarding of a single fort, and the capturing of a small but brave garrison, have occurred in the history of our country ; but no tidings ever thrilled the heart of the nation like the dispatch that passed along our telegraphic lines at ten o'clock, announcing that "Sumter has fallen." The issue could no longer be evaded-treason or loyalty must triumph. Treason had appealed to the arbitrament of the sword, and from that tribunal loyalty would not shrink ; and, though men's faces were pale, and their eyes moist, yet were their hearts brave; and wherever our national banner was unfurled to the sight of our people on that day, it awakened a deeper love for that emblem of liberty and national unity than they had ever felt before. A new meaning seemed to stream from its folds. And when another dispatch came, saying, "Mr. Lincoln will issue a proclamation to-morrow, calling for seventy-five thousand volunteers," wherever the intel- ligence was received, men cheered and shouted until they were hoarse. Sunday morning dawned; but what a Sabbath! From four hundred Methodist pulpits in Indiana, on that day, prayers went up for the pres- ervation of the Union, the maintenance of the national life, and the suppression of rebellion, at whatever of cost in blood and treasure it might require. And in not a few instances, congregations, pastor and choir, united in singing national songs, which on that day had a sanctity and a significance that they had never possessed before. Indiana's quota of the seventy-five thousand men was six thousand.
Governor Morton's proclamation was the blast of a war-trumpet indeed; and before its echoes had died away along the borders of our state, fifteen thousand men stood ready for the war. They were not soldiers, but
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INDIANA METHODISM.
they were the materials out of which the best class of soldiers were made. Most of them made pecuniary sacrifices, and many of them large ones, to respond to their country's call. They did not stop to count the cost; they stood ready to give all for their country. Among these raw recruits, Methodism was in every regiment, and perhaps every company. But as the war grew in its proportions, and as the draft upon the men and means of the country for the prosecution of the war became greater, religious men in larger proportions gave themselves to the support of the national cause. In many cases, whole Bible-classes from the Sabbath- schools enlisted together. Professors and students left college halls and literary pursuits for the privations of the camp and the perils of the battle-field. While the Churches were generally truly loyal, Methodism was intensely so, and being numerically the largest de- nomination in the state, contributed more than any other to the strength of the Union cause. The political value of Methodism to the preservation of our national life has not been fully estimated. The Methodist Episcopal Church is in no sense a political Church, and interferes with politics, in any justly objectionable sense, perhaps as little as any of the Churches in the land ; and while her members are as free as those of any Church, or of no Church, to declare and advocate their sentiments, yet the Methodist Church has never ignored moral ques- tions because politicians had embodied them in political platforms; and because of her numbers, her antislavery doctrines, and her unswerving loyalty, she has been an important auxiliary in saving the national life; and even her friends have generally underestimated her po- litical value in this respect. Chief Justice Chase re- marked, in an address delivered in New York, shortly
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INDIANA METHODISM.
after the close of the war, that " whatever was valuable or praiseworthy in our institutions, or in our form of gov- ernment, that survived the Rebellion, was indebted to the Methodist Church." This was uttered in no spirit of disrespect to other Churches, but in view of the facts in the case. Look how this matter stands in our state. There are over 100,000 Methodist communicants in Indiana, including the German Methodists. It is usual, in estimating the whole population, to add three non- communicants for every communicant, as adherents of the Church, and a moment's reflection will convince any one that the estimate is not too high. We then have a Methodist population of 400,000. The proportion of voters to the entire population is as one to six. Accord- ing to the calculations in the "United States Census for 1860," in the new states and territories, one-fifth of the population were voters. One of the orators of the Rev- olution said, "We are so many millions-one-fifth of whom are fighting men." The voting population in any community is greater than its fighting population. But that no one may question the basis of our calculation in this estimate, we place the proportion of voters at one in eight of the population, and that gives Methodist voters in Indiana, 50,000. Deduct, for Democrats and possible overestimate, 10,000, and that leaves an unmistakable Union Methodist vote of 40,000. That is to say, take Methodism out of the state, and the election in 1860, when Mr. Lincoln was elected, would have gone against the Union party about 25,000 votes.
On the basis of this same calculation, look at the value of the Methodist Church to the nation. We had in the loyal states, in 1864, one million communicants. Count- ing non-communicants, we had four millions. This gives five hundred thousand Methodist votes. Mr. Lincoln's
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INDIANA METHODISM.
popular majority in 1864 was four hundred and six thousand eight hundred and twelve, or less than the Methodist vote by ninety-three thousand one hundred and eighty-eight. Of the more than four hundred pas- tors in Indiana, there was not one that was not true to the Government during the war. The antagonism of Methodism to slavery, her outspoken testimony on all moral questions, and her numerical strength, constitute her a mighty force in the interests of humanity and of good government. And the loyal men of the nation cheerfully concede the valuable service which Meth- odism has rendered in saving the life of the nation.
That the Church should have held her own during the terrible years of the Rebellion would have been matter of thankfulness; but her actual progress in all the elements of true prosperity, is an occasion of re- joicing. The drafts made upon the country during the war developed an unprecedented spirit of liberality, which not only carried hospital supplies, sanitary stores, and the ministrations of religion, to the soldiers in the army, but it increased the Churches' contributions in every department of Christian enterprise. The people formed the habit of giving, and of giving with a fre- quency and a generosity hitherto unknown. And a spirit of Christian activity and zeal was developed by the necessities of the war, as well as a spirit of increased liberality. Christian commissions and Christian associ- ations have been brought into being, or developed into new vigor. Christians of different denominations have been brought into closer union with each other, and de- nominational jealousies have greatly abated. These are some of the moral compensations of the war.
Methodism has passed through several distinct phases in its progress of development in our state; not in its
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INDIANA METHODISM.
essential characteristics, but in its modes of operation and its social characteristics, as these have been modified by the improvements of the country and the progress of society. The early circuits were necessarily large, the settlements sparse and often remote from each other, and it was the habit to preach every day in the week. The preacher's duty consisted chiefly in preaching and in meeting the class, which latter duty almost invariably followed that of the sermon. The cabin homes of the early settlers were the only churches, split-bottomed chairs the pulpits, and the mode of worship of the most free and unrestrained character. Our itinerancy brought our preachers in contact with the whole people, and by organizing societies in every neighborhood, as they were enabled to do by the system of week-day preaching, our societies rapidly increased ; and while some others were directing their efforts to the towns, and the chief centers of influence, Methodism was spreading over the whole land; and while others were looking after educational trust funds, and the patronage of those in power, Meth- odism was seeking to get sinners converted, with a single- ness of purpose and a zeal that was truly apostolic. But few of the early founders of Methodism in Indiana took statesmanlike views of the future. They took little thought as to the accumulation of property for the Church. Eligible sites for the erection of churches could have been secured for the asking, or for a nominal consid- eration, from the original proprietors of nearly every town in the state; and yet little thought was bestowed on this subject. The first meeting-houses were built for the accommodation of those who were then members of the societies, with little or no reference to the permanent centers of population ; and it so happened that in a few years many of the churches were found to be wrongly
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INDIANA METHODISM.
located; and as the country became older, and the de- mand for Sabbath preaching compelled the discontinuance of week-day appointments, many of the churches ceased to be occupied. They were built too close together for Sabbath appointments ; and as roads became improved, and farmers found themselves possessed of horses and carriages, as means of conveyance to church, it made but little difference whether the place of worship was one mile or three miles distant from their residence. And yet it was difficult, and in many places impossible, to unite these small country societies and week-day appointments in some common center, for the erection of a larger church, and the permanent establishment of Sabbath preaching. There were sacred associations around nearly every log meeting-house in the land, that made it a sac- rifice of feeling to abandon any of them. In them many of the members had been converted; by them were the humble grave-yards, in which their cherished dead slum- . bered; and there were precious memories that made these rude temples dear to the hearts of the worship- ers; and it is not strange that, in the discontinuance of week-day preaching, and the consequent abandonment of some of the country meeting-houses, the Church lost a good many members. But the change was inevitable. Sound judgment is as much needed in the suitable loca- tion of churches as in the location of business-houses. As a general rule, it is unwise for any denomination to build its houses of worship in the country, nearer than five miles of each other. If built much nearer, they can not be self-sustaining, and give their pastors a reasonable support, without making the contributions for Church purposes burdensome. In many instances, week-day preaching was doubtless discontinued sooner than it needs to have been, and pastoral visiting did not take the place
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of week-day preaching as effectively as it should have done, and as was the intention of the Church in making the change; and yet the transition has been made from large pastoral charges to small ones, and from week-day preaching to nearly exclusively Sabbath services, with as little friction as could have been anticipated.
In church architecture, Methodism has undergone a great change. Our first churches, like the homes of the early settlers, were made of logs. The second editions of our houses of worship were usually plain frame or brick buildings, without steeples or bells. Now the finest and most costly Protestant churches in our chief towns are those owned and occupied by the Methodists ; their steeples are as high, and their bells as numerous and as rich toned as any; and it is evident that Meth- odists are investing more money in church-building than the members of any Church among us. And while the Methodist Church has required no high standard of liter- ary qualification as a condition of admittance into the ministry, it has come to pass that in our principal Churches the highest ministerial qualifications are de- manded, and that demand is as fully met as in any of our sister Churches. We have also changed our cus- toms in regard to sittings in congregational worship. Formerly the sexes were separated, even of those be- longing to the same household, while now not only family, but promiscuous sittings, are allowed, and in many of the churches the seats are pewed. There is a gradual and commendable improvement in the support of the ministry, and in the contributions to the various enterprises of the Church. The vested funds for Church purposes in Indiana amount to $3,650,969.
Each of the conferences has societies for the relief
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of superannuated preachers and the widows and or- phans of deceased preachers. These societies are in their infancy, and their funds are being rapidly increased. They stand as follows :
Indiana Conference. $15,814
North Indiana Conference .... 16,000
North-western Indiana Conference. 10,000
South-eastern Indiana Conference. 12,000
Total
$53,814
PAID FOR MINISTERIAL SUPPORT.
Indiana Conference. $76,203 71
North Indiana Conference. 88,542 00
South-eastern Indiana Conference. 66,307 04
North-western Indiana Conference .. 75,798 00
That part of the Central German Conference included in Indiana 12,003 00
Total for ministerial support in 1869 $318,253 75
BENEVOLENT CONTRIBUTIONS.
Indiana Conference. $11,769 61
North Indiana Conference. 11,885 48
South-eastern Indiana Conference ... 11,080 63
North-western Indiana Conference. 9,701 46
German work in Indiana. 3,547 20
Total ..
$47,984 38
Ministerial support 318,253 75
Total for ministerial support and benevolence. $366,838 13
METHODISM AND POPULATION.
Population. 1,668,000
Methodists 113,800
To these are to be added the members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Their statistics stand as follows :
Ministers.
42
Members 2,418
Sabbath-schools
31
Officers and teachers. 204
Scholars
1,417
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INDIANA METHODISM.
The growth of Methodism among the German pop- ulation in Indiana has been remarkable. The record of German Methodism in the state is as follows :
Ministers
23
Members
3,214
Churches
47
Value of churches.
.$83,000
Parsonages
19
Value of parsonages.
$22,900
Sunday-schools ...
42
Officers and teachers ..
487
Scholars
2,440
The responsibilities of Indiana Methodism, in view of her numbers and resources, are enormous. May she prove equal to her position in the future as in the past !
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INDIANA METHODISM.
CHAPTER X.
Retrospect of the Conferences - Indiana Conference - Number of Preachers-Presiding Elders-Members-Value of Church Prop- erty-Numbers of Sunday-schools, Officers, and Teachers-Super- annuated Members of the Conference-Sessions of the Conference from 1832 to 1851-Time, Place, Presiding Bishop-Principal Secre- tary-North Indiana Conference-Number of Preachers-Presiding Elders-Church Members-Sunday-schools, Officers, and Teach- ers-Value of Church Property-Superannuated Preachers-Ses- sions of the Conference from 1844 to 1871-South-eastern Indiana Conference-Preachers-Church Members-Value of Church Prop. erty-Sunday-schools, Officers, and Teachers-Benevolent Contri- butions-Presiding Elders-Superannuated Members-Sessions of the Conference from 1852 to 1871-North-west Indiana Conference- First Session-Number of Preachers-Superannuates-Presiding Elders-Statistics of the Conference-Institutions of Learning un -. der the care of the Conference-Missionaries connected with the Conference-Sessions of the Conference from 1852 to 1871.
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