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 12
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INDIANA CONFERENCE.
MTHIS is the Mother Conference in Indiana. It should, in justice, have antedated the organization of the Illinois Conference ; but, as we have seen, although the larger share of the membership was in Indiana, the soci- eties in Indiana, Missouri, and Illinois were included in the Illinois Conference, down to 1832. Indiana Confer- ence comprises the south-western part of the state. It numbers 121, of whom fourteen are superannuated. There are seven Presiding Districts, supplied as follows : Indianapolis District-B. F. Rawlins, Presiding Elder ; Bloomington District-J. H. Ketcham, Presiding Elder ; Vincennes District-John Kiger, Presiding Elder; Ev- ansville District-W. F. Harned, Presiding Elder ; Rock- port District-W. M. Zaring, Presiding Elder; New
161
INDIANA METHODISM.
Albany District-John J. Hight, Presiding Elder ; Mitch- ell District-John Walls, Presiding Elder. Members, 25- 062 ; probationers, 3,363 ; local preachers, 224 ; churches, 303-value, $614,590; parsonages, 66-value, $117,450; Sunday-schools, 314 ; officers and teachers, 3,049 ; schol- ars, 20,006 ; volumes in library, 31,730. The superan- nuated members of the Conference entered the traveling connection at the following dates : John Schrader, 1814 ; Asa Beck, 1828; W. V. Daniels, 1833; W. C. Smith, 1840; S. Ravenscroft, 1839; C. Cross, 1854; J. C. Smith, 1830; H. S. Dane, 1832; J. Talbott, 1838; E. W. Cadwell, 1842; Silas Rawson, 1837; W. F. Mason, 1850; R. B. Spencer, 1853; M. M. C. Hobbs, 1856.
INDIANA CONFERENCE RETROSPECT.
No.
Date of Session.
Place.
Bishops.
Secretary.
1
October 17, 1832 ...
New Albany.
J. Soule
C. W. Ruter.
2
October 16, 1833.
Madison.
J. Soule
C. W. Ruter.
3
October 22, 1834 ...
Centerville
R. R. Roberts ..
C. W. Ruter.
4
October 14, 1835 ...
Lafayette
R. R. Roberts ...
C. W. Ruter.
5
October 26, 1836 ...
Indianapolis.
R. R. Roberts ...
C. W. Ruter.
6
October 25, 1837 ...
New Albany.
J. Soule
C. W. Ruter.
7
October 17, 1838 ...
Rockville.
J. Soule.
J. C. Smith.
8
October 23, 1839 ...
Lawrenceburg ..
J. Soule.
E. R. Ames.
9
October 21, 1840 ...
Indianapolis ...
J. Soule.
E. R. Ames.
10
October 6, 1841 ...
Terre Haute ..
R. R. Roberts.
M. Simpson.
11
October 19, 1842 ...
Centerville.
T. A. Morris.
M. Simpson.
12
October 18, 1843 ..
Crawfordsville ..
J. O. Andrew.
M. Simpson.
13
September 25, 1844 Bloomington
B. Waugh
L. W. Berry.
14
October 8, 1845 ...
Madison
T. A. Morris ..
M. Simpson.
15
October 7, 1846.
Connersville.
L. L. Hamline.
M. Simpson.
16
October 6, 1847 ...
Evansville
B. Waugh
M. Simpson.
17
October 4, 1848 ...
New Albany.
T. A. Morris.
F. C. Holliday.
18
October 10, 1849.
Rising Sun.
E. S. Janes
M. Simpson.
19
October 9, 1850 ...
Jeffersonville ...
T. A. Morris.
M. Simpson.
20
October 8, 1851
Indianapolis.
B. Waugh
M. Simpson.
21
October, 1852.
Bedford
O. C. Baker
L. W. Berry.
22
October 29, 1853 ..
Evansville
E. R. Ames
L. W. Berry.
23
September 13, 1854 |New Albany.
E. R. Ames.
L. W. Berry.
24
September 12, 1855 Vincennes
M. Simpson
T. H. Sinex.
25
September 3, 1856 Greencastle
B. Waugh
Daniel Curry.
26
October 1, 1857 ...
New Albany ..
T. A. Morris
W. M. Hester.
27
September 30, 1858 Mount Vernon ..
E. S. Janes.
W. M. Hester.
28
October 5, 1859.
Bloomington
L. Scott.
W. M. Hester.
29
September 26, 1860 Sullivan
O. C. Baker.
W. M. Hester.
11
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INDIANA METHODISM.
INDIANA CONFERENCE RETROSPECT-CONTINUED.
No.
Date of Session.
Place.
Bishops.
Secretary.
30
September 25, 1861 Rockport
M. Simpson
W. M. Hester.
31
September 24, 1862 Greencastle
E. R. Ames.
John Laverty.
32
September 16, 1863|
Washington
T. A. Morris
John Laverty.
33
September 26, 1864 Princeton
M. Simpson.
B. F. Rawlins.
34
September 14, 1865 New Albany
L. Scott.
J. J. Hight.
35
September 12, 1866
Vincennes
E. Thomson
S. Bowers.
36
September 11, 1867 Indianapolis.
T. A. Morris. C. Kingsley
S. Bowers.
37
September 16, 1868 Bedford.
S. Bowers.
38
September 8, 1869 Evansville.
E. R. Ames.
S. Bowers.
39
August 31, 1870 ..
Bloomington
M. Simpson
S. Bowers.
40
September 13, 1871|New Albany.
L. Scott.
S. L. Binkley.
NORTH INDIANA CONFERENCE.
THIS Conference, embracing the north-east quarter of the state, is composed of 153 members, including four- teen superannuates, and eleven probationers. The work is divided into eight presiding elders' districts, with the following elders in charge of them : Anderson District- W. H. Goode, Presiding Elder; Richmond District-M. Mahin, Presiding Elder; Muncie District-N. H. Phil- lips, Presiding Elder; Logansport District-V. M. Beamer, Presiding Elder ; Fort Wayne District-W. S. Birch, Presiding Elder ; West Fort Wayne District-H. N. Barnes, Presiding Elder; Warsaw District-L. W. Monson, Presiding Elder ; Goshen District-H. J. Meck, Presiding Elder. Besides the ministers appointed to pas- toral charges, Rev. Thomas Bowman, D. D., is President of Indiana Asbury University ; Rev. J. B. Robinson, President of Fort Wayne College; Rev. R. Toby, Agent for Fort Wayne College ; and Rev. C. Martindale, Agent for the State Temperance Alliance. Church members, 24,718 ; probationers, 6,231; local preachers, 273; Sab- bath-schools, 366 ; officers and teachers, 4,119 ; scholars, 27,340; churches, 345-value, $762,375; parsonages, 87-value, $122,930. Of the fourteen superannuated
- FJones 5.
Afection ately Vm Hb. Goode
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INDIANA METHODISM.
preachers on their list, they entered the ministry as fol- lows : Robert Burns, in 1826; G. C. Beeks, Jacob Col- clazer, and H. B. Beers, in 1836; G. W. Bowers, in 1837; Jacob Whiteman, in 1841; E. Maynard, in 1845; B. Smith and J. W. Welch, in 1851; J. Maffit, in 1853; and L. J. Templin, in 1858.
NORTH INDIANA CONFERENCE RETROSPECT.
No.
Date of Session.
Place.
Bishops.
Principal Secretary.
1
Oct. 16-21, 1844
Fort Wayne.
Waugh ..
M. Simpson.
2
Sept. 24-29, 1845
Lafayette
Hamline
S. T. Gillett.
3
Sept. 16-22, 1846.
Laporte.
Morris ..
S. T. Gillett.
4
Sept. 15-22, 1847.
Indianapolis.
Janes .....
S. T. Gillett.
5
Sept. 6-11, 1848.
Greencastle
Hamline
S. T. Gillett.
6
Aug. 29-Sept. 4, 1849
Logansport
Waugh ...
John C. Smith.
7
Aug. 21-26, 1850
Cambridge City
Janes.
J. C. Smith.
8
Aug. 20-27, 1851
South Bend.
Morris
S. T. Gillett.
9
Sept. 20-28, 1852
Fort Wayne.
Baker
S. T. Gillett.
10
Sept. 21-24, 1853.
Richmond
Ames.
C. Nutt.
11
Sept. 20-23, 1854.
Peru
Simpson.
C. Nutt.
12
Sept. 14-19, 1855.
Goshen
Scott.
...
C. Nutt.
13
Sept. 24-29, 1856.
Muncie
Baker ....
H. N. Barnes.
14
April 8-11, 1857
Marion
Simpson.
H. N. Barnes.
15
April 7-14, 1858
Winchester
Ames. ...
J. C. Medsker.
16
April 7-11, 1859
Logansport
Morris
H. N. Barnes.
17
April 5-9, 1860.
Mishawaka ..
Ames ..
A. Greenman.
18
April 3-8, 1861.
Newcastle
Janes. ...
H. N. Barnes.
19
April 10-15, 1862
Fort Wayne.
Simpson.
M. Mahin.
20
April 9-13, 1863
Wabash
Morris ...
M. Mahin.
21
April 6-11, 1864
Knightstown
Morris ...
M. Mahin.
22
April 12-17, 1865
Kendallville
Scott.
M. Malıın.
23
April 5-9, 1866.
Peru
Clark.
M. Mahin.
24
April 10-15, 1867
Andersor
Ames.
M. Mahin.
25
April 15-20, 1868.
Warsaw
Thomson
M. Mahin.
26
April 15-19, 1869.
Richmond
Simpson.
M. Mahin.
27
April 13-18, 1870.
Kokomo
Clark.
M. H. Mendenhall
28
April 12-17, 1871
Huntington.
Ames ...
M.H. Mendenhall
SOUTH-EASTERN INDIANA CONFERENCE.
THIS Conference, as its name imports, includes the south-eastern portion of the state. The statistics are as follows : members, 21,118; probationers, 2,235; local preachers, 151; churches, 283-value, $701,938; parson- ages, 48-value, $47,900; Sabbath-schools, 293; officers and teachers, 3,285; scholars, 20,105 ; volumes in Sun-
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INDIANA METHODISM.
day-school libraries, 31,039; aggregate of benevolent contributions for the year, $11,080.63 ; traveling preach- ers, 115, including 17 superannuates. The charges are embraced in five presiding elders' districts, which are in charge of the following elders : Indianapolis District- R. D. Robinson, Presiding Elder; Connersville Dis- trict-F. A. Hester, Presiding Elder; Lawrenceburg Dis- trict-J. B. Lathrop, Presiding Elder; Madison Dis- trict-W. Terrell, Presiding Elder; Jeffersonville Dis- trict-E. G. Wood, Presiding Elder. Of the seventeen superannuated whose names are on the roll of the Con- ference, they entered the ministry as follows : John Mil- ler, in 1823; Joseph Marsee, in 1826; Joseph Tarking- ton, in 1825; John A. Brouse, in 1833; Thomas Ray, in 1833; Lewis Hurlbut, in 1834; Asbury Wilkinson, in 1840; Elijah Whitten, in 1832; Isaac H. Tomlinson, in 1861; N. F. Tower, in 1846; M. A. Ruter, in 1841; H. Richardson, in 1850; D. Stiver, in 1832; Samuel Weeks, in 1838; A. Kennedy, in 1859; W. Long, in 1849; John W. Dole, in 1835. But few of these en- tered the ministry in Indiana, but by the working of our · itinerant system they became members of the South- eastern Indiana Conference, and they are beloved for their work's sake.
SOUTH-EASTERN INDIANA CONFERENCE RETROSPECT.
No.
Date of Session.
Place.
Bishops.
Principal Secretary.
1
October 6, 1852 ..
Rushville
O. C. Baker ...
F. C. Holliday.
2
October 5, 1853.
Brookville
E. R. Ames ...
S. P. Crawford.
3
September 28, 1854 Greensburg
..
M. Simpson ... J. W. Locke.
4
September 27, 1855|Shelbyville.
L. Scott ..
T. H. Lynch.
5
September 17, 1856| Madison
B. Waugh. ...
J. W. Locke.
6
September 23, 1857
Aurora
T. A. Morris ..
W. W. Hibben.
7
September 22, 1858 Columbus
E. S. Janes.
W. W. Snyder.
8
September 28, 1859|Indianapolis.
...
L. Scott ..
W. W. Snyder.
9
September 20, 1860 Lawrenceburg ..
O. C. Baker ...
T. G. Beharrell.
10
September 18, 1861 Jeffersonville
T. A. Morris ..
T. G. Beharrell.
11
September 17, 1862|Greensburg ...
E. R. Ames.
J. W. Locke.
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INDIANA METHODISM.
SOUTH-EASTERN INDIANA CONFERENCE RETROSPECT-CONTINUED.
No.
Date of Session.
Place.
Bishops.
Principal Secretary.
12
September 16, 1863 Columbus
O. C. Baker ...
J. B. Lathrop.
13
September 21, 1864 Shelbyville
M. Simpson ...
J. B. Lathrop.
14
September 20, 1865|Madison
T. A. Morris ..
J. B. Lathrop.
15
September 19, 1866
Aurora.
E. S. Janes ...
Geo. L. Curtis.
16
September 11, 1867
Connersville.
L. Scott ....
Geo. L. Curtis.
17
September 10, 1868 Franklin.
D. W. Clark ..
Geo. L. Curtis.
18
September 15, 1869 Indianapolis.
M. Simpson ...
Geo. L. Curtis.
19
September 7, 1870 Brookville
L. Scott.
Geo. L. Curtis.
20
September 6, 1871 Jeffersonville .
IL. Scott.
Geo. L. Curtis.
NORTH-WEST INDIANA CONFERENCE.
THE North-west Indiana Conference comprises, as its name imports, the north-west portion of the state. The Conference was organized in 1852, when the state was divided into four conferences, and held its first session in Terre Haute, in September, 1852, at which Bishop Baker presided. The Conference numbers 133, includ- ing those on trial, and those on the superannuated list. The superannuates are : Jacob M. Stallard, George Guild, Moses Blackstock, G. W. Hamilton, H. S. Shaw, W. J. Forbes, J. White, H. Smith, J. Ricketts, J. Edwards, W. Copp, P. I. Beswick, D. Shankwiler, John Leach, Miles H. Wood, W. H. Smith, J. B. Gray, David Crawford, John S. Donaldson, Michael Johnson, B. W. Smith. For 1871, the work was comprised in the following districts, which were under the care of the following elders : La- · fayette District-J. H. Hull, Presiding Elder; Terre Haute District-William Graham, Presiding Elder; Greencastle District-S. Godfrey, Presiding Elder ; Crawfordsville District-John L. Smith, Presiding Elder; East Lafayette District-I. W. Joyce, Presiding Elder ; Battleground District-J. W. T. M'Mullen, Presiding El- der ; Valparaiso District-W. R. Mikels, Presiding El -. der; Laporte District-L. Nebeker, Presiding Elder ; communicants, 19,531; local preachers, 198; Sunday-
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INDIANA METHODISM.
schools, 285 ; officers and teachers, 2,916; scholars, 19,- 835. Besides the interest the Conference has in Asbury University, it has under its care, Stockwell Collegiate In- stitute, and Battleground Institute, besides a good school at Valparaiso, more or less under the care of the Confer- ence. Two members of the Conference, to wit, H. B. Jackson and Thomas B. Wood, are missionaries to South America.
NORTH-WEST INDIANA CONFERENCE RETROSPECT.
No.
Date of Session.
Place.
Bishops.
Secretary.
1
September 8, 1852 Terre Haute.
Baker
Luther Taylor.
2
September 7, 1853|
Attica
Ames.
Wm. Graham.
3
September 6, 1854
Laporte.
Simpson
Wm. Graham.
4
August 28, 1855 ..
Delphi.
Ames
B. H. Nadal.
5
October 8, 1856 ...
Crawfordsville ..
Janes
B. H. Nadal.
6
October 1, 1857.
Lafayette
Waugh
Joseph C. Reed.
7
September 29, 1858 Valparaiso
Ames
J. C. Reed.
8
September 29, 1859 Greencastle
Morris
J. C. Reed.
.
9
October 11, 1860 ..
Terre Haute.
Simpson
J. C. Reed.
10
October 10, 1861 ...
South Bend.
Simpson
Clark Skinner.
11
October 9, 1862 ..
Lafayette
Scott
J. C. Reed.
12
September 30, 1863
Michigan City ..
Morris
J. C. Reed.
13
September 7, 1864 Delphi
Baker
Wm. Graham.
14
September 6, 1865
Attica.
Scott
Wm. Graham.
15
August 29, 1866 ..
Laporte.
Ames
Wm. Graham.
16
September 11, 1867 Danville
Janes
Wm. Graham.
17
September 30, 1868
Valparaiso
Thomson
Clark Skinner.
18
September 8, 1869 Lafayette
Clark
C. Skinner.
19
September 7, 1870 Terre Haute ..
Simpson
J. C. Reed.
20
|September 6, 1871/Crawfordsville ..
Ames
J. C. Reed.
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INDIANA METHODISM.
CHAPTER XI.
Sabbath-school Cause-Sabbath-school organized by Bishop Asbury in 1786-Resolutions passed by the General Conference of 1824-Or- ganization of the "Sunday-school Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church"-" Sunday-School Advocate" established-Sunday-school Convention in 1844-Superintendents admitted into the Quarterly Conference-Rules of the Discipline on Sunday-schools in 1861- Sunday-schools in Indiana-Statistics.
SABBATH-SCHOOL CAUSE.
M ETHODISM early fostered the work of Sabbath- school instruction, both in England and in America. It is interesting to note the growth of the Sunday-school idea in the Church, and to mark the different stages of its development. The Methodist Episcopal Church was the first to give the Sabbath-school cause a distinct and direct ecclesiastical recognition in this country. This she did only six years after her organization. In 1790, we find this question asked in the Minutes of the Conference : " What can be done in order to instruct poor children, white and black, to read?" The answer was, "Let us labor, as the heart and soul of one man, to establish Sun- day-schools in or near the place of public worship; let persons be appointed by the bishops, elders, deacons, or preachers, to teach gratis all that will attend, and have a capacity to learn, from six in the morning till ten, and from two o'clock in the afternoon till six, where it does not interfere with public worship." Previous to this date, children's classes for religious instruction were au- thorized. In 1784, in the first Discipline in our Church, the question is asked, " What shall we do for the rising
168
INDIANA METHODISM.
generation ?" and one of the answers given was, "Where there are ten children, whose parents are in the Society, meet them at least one hour each week." In 1786, Bishop Asbury organized a Sabbath-school in the house of Thomas Crenshaw, in Hanover County, Virginia. This was, perhaps, the first regularly organized Sabbath-school in America.
To what extent the official exhortation of 1790 was heeded, we can not say ; but for teachers to volunteer to teach on the Sabbath, from six until ten in the forenoon, and from two until six in the afternoon, would be more than could be reasonably expected ; and the confinement was such that but few children would submit to it, who were allowed any discretion in the matter at all. The schools were intended, chiefly, for the benefit of the poor, and for their instruction in the rudiments of secular learning. The Sunday-school idea was being gradually developed in the mind of the Church, and accordingly we find that the General Conference of 1824 passed three resolutions on the subject of Sunday-schools. It was made the duty of each preacher to encourage the estab- lishment and progress of Sunday-schools. Arrangements were made for the compilation of a catechism for the use of Sunday-schools, and of children in general. The Book Agents were instructed "to provide and keep on hand a good assortment of books suitable for the use of Sunday- schools." By this time the Church had outgrown the idea that Sunday-schools were intended for the instruc- tion of the children of the poor. The schools had lost much of their secular character, and were gradually as- suming that religious cast by which they are now chiefly distinguished. All limitations were taken off, and it was made a part of every traveling preacher's official duty to encourage the organization of Sunday-schools.
169
INDIANA METHODISM.
In 1827, the Sunday-school Union of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the city of New York; and henceforth the Sabbath-school institution with us assumes more of a Churchly character. The preach- ers are charged "to aid in the instruction of the rising generation, particularly in the knowledge of the Scrip- tures, and in the service and worship of God." These schools are no longer devoted, chiefly, to imparting secular instruction, nor for the exclusive benefit of the children of the poor; but they are still schools for children. In 1828, the Discipline made it the duty of every preacher to form Sunday-schools. In 1832, it was made the duty of presiding elders to "promote Sunday-schools, and of the preacher in charge to report the statistics of his Sun- day-schools to the last quarterly conference of the con- ference year, and also to the annual conference." In 1840, the rules relating to Sunday-schools were entirely remodeled. It was made the duty of the presiding elder carefully to inquire, at each quarterly conference, if the rules for the instruction of children have been faithfully observed. The preachers are charged to visit the Sab- bath-schools as often as practicable; to preach on the subject of Sunday-schools and of religious instruction in each congregation, at least once in six months, and to form Bible classes " for the instruction of larger children and youth." Sunday-school teaching was no longer con- fined to little children. "Larger children and youth" are now included, and Bible-classes are organized for their instruction. In 1840, the Sunday-school Union was re- organized, and brought more directly under the con- trol of the Church. In 1841, the child's paper, now so widely known as the Sunday-School Advocate, was estab- lished. During the session of the General Conference, in 1844, a Sunday-school convention met in the city of
170
INDIANA METHODISM.
New York, "for the purpose of adopting measures more efficiently to advance the cause of Sabbath-school instruc- tion throughout the Methodist Episcopal Church." This convention recommended to the General Conference the organizing of " a distinct and separate department for the editing and publishing of Sunday-school books." It rec- ommended a competent editor for the Sunday-school department, and requested that the Discipline be so amended as to make Sunday-school superintendents mem- bers of the quarterly conference. All of the recommen- dations but the last one were adopted. In 1856, Sunday school superintendents were, by the Discipline, recog- nized as members of the quarterly conference. In 1852, male superintendents, being members of our Church, were admitted to the quarterly conferences, " with the right to speak and vote on questions relating to Sunday-schools, and on such questions only." It was not until 1856 that these restrictions were taken off, and the Sunday-school became fully incorporated into the working forces of the Church. In 1860, the addition of a single word in the Discipline shows the further progress of the Sunday- school idea in the mind of the Church. The word " adults" was now added, so that the rule should read, " to form Bible classes for the larger children, youth, and adults." This marks an advance worthy of special no- tice. At first, Sunday-schools were intended for the children of the poor; next, they were to include all of the children, whether rich or poor; after the lapse of a few years, " larger children and youth" are considered worthy of special mention; and at last the Sunday- school idea becomes so expanded as to embrace adults as well as children and youth ; and now the recognized idea of the Sunday-school is, the Bible school for the whole congregation, parents as well as children.
171
INDIANA METHODISM.
The Sunday-school movement has not only created a juvenile literature of the most instructive and attractive kind, but it has modified the general literature of our times, and is training 1,220,000 scholars, in connection with our own Church, in the lessons prepared by our Sunday-school Union for the training of our Sunday- schools. And the prevalence of Sunday-school institutes, and the extent to which maps and the blackboard are used in our schools, shows the substantial progress that is being made in this department of religious culture.
From this brief survey of the history of the Sunday- school cause among us as a denomination, it is seen that the institution was in vigorous growth at the time when Methodism was being introduced into Indiana. But where the societies where small, the population sparse and poor (as was the case with most of the early settlements in Indiana), Sabbath-schools could not be readily kept up. But as soon as towns sprung up, and permanent societies were formed, Sabbath-schools were organized, and Sab- bath-school instruction became a legitimate part of Church work. In the country, the organization of Sunday- schools dates with the discontinuance of week-day preaching, as a general rule. As the large circuits were divided, pastoral charges made less, and preaching con- fined to the Sabbath-day, the preachers had more leisure for pastoral duties ; and in obedience to the instructions of the Church, they bestowed increased attention upon the religious instruction of the children, and upon estab- lishing and building up the Sabbath-schools. At an early day in the history of Sunday-schools, the needed requi- sites, such as class-books, question-books, books of instruc- tion, maps, and suitable library-books, could not be ob- tained; but now they are abundant and cheap, and the Methodist Churches in Indiana pay annually, for the
172
INDIANA METHODISM.
maintenance of their Sabbath-schools, more than $20,000; and few investments pay so well. The Sunday-school statistics for the year 1870 were as follows : Schools, 1,312 ; officers and teachers, 13,996; scholars, 92,223.
173
INDIANA METHODISM.
CHAPTER XII.
Methodism in some of the Principal Towns-JEFFERSONVILLE ; by Rev. R. Curran, M. D .- First Society formed-First Quarterly Meeting held-First Church built-Celebration of the Centenary of Method- ism-Present Statistics-NEW ALBANY-First Church built-Num- ber of Churches at present-De Pauw College-RICHMOND; by Rev. Thomas Comstock-Settlement of Wayne County-Whitewa- ter Circuit formed-First Church built-First Camp-meeting-In- troduction of Methodism into Richmond-Present State of the Churches-INDIANAPOLIS-First Place of Worship in Indianapo- lis-Mention of Prominent Methodists-Relative Strength of the' Churches in the City-List of Appointments from 1821 to 1842- WASHINGTON, Daviess County-First Church built-LAFAYETTE ; by Rev. N. L. Brakeman-First Methodist Sermon-Church organ- ized in Lafayette-Present Strength of Methodism-SOUTH BEND- Account of John Brownfield, Esq .- First Prayer-meeting-First Sunday-school-Church built-Enterprise of "Ladies' Mite Soci- ety"-Value of Church Property-ANDERSON; by Rev. W. H. Goode, D. D .- First House of Worship-Present Church Build- ings-PERU-First Class formed-First Church built-TERRE HAUTE-First Mention in the Minutes-Anecdote of Mrs. Locke- METHODISM IN TERRE HAUTE; by Col. Thomas Dowling-First Church Organization-Present Church erected-Early State of So- ciety-Present Statistics-MADISON-Early Methodists-Church Statistics-VINCENNES-Value of Property-Number of Mem- bers-FORT WAYNE-First Class formed-First Sunday-school- Fort Wayne College-Names of Presidents-EVANSVILLE-Circuit Preaching established-Present Charges-Statistics.
HISTORY OF METHODISM IN SOME OF THE TOWNS AND CITIES OF THE STATE.
JEFFERSONVILLE.
BY REV. R. CURRAN, M. D.
ITHE first society seems to have been organized about A. D. 1807, by some minister, or perhaps a local preacher, from Kentucky. The first official recognition
174
INDIANA METHODISM.
of this society seems to have occurred about A. D. 1810, under the ministry of the Rev. Sely Payne, who traveled Silver-creek Circuit that year, which embraced Jefferson- ville. The first society in Jeffersonville was composed of the following persons, to wit: Mr. Beman, L. P., class-leader; Mrs. Beman, Stephen Beman, Lyman Be- man, Mary Toville, afterward Mary Taylor, Davis Floyd, Mary Floyd, Richard Mosely, Samuel Lampton, Charlotte Lampton, Mrs. Leatherman. There may have been other names on the old class-paper at that time, but that important document having long since disappeared, with other records, the above are all the names which can be identified at this late day. Father Beman seems to have been an earnest, humble Christian; a good represent- ative of the Methodists of his time. The old members, two or three of whom lingered among us to a late period, spoke with enthusiasm of the happy times their little band enjoyed under his faithful leadership. Thus the good seed was sown which has since sprung up, resulting in a glorious harvest.
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