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 6
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me just as many as I need." At another time his horse strayed away from him at Cincinnati; but he· seemed perfectly unconcerned, and borrowed another to go to his appointments. Some one said to him, "Brother Strange, are you going without your horse?" He re- plied, "There are hundreds of persons here who can hunt a horse as well as I can, who can not preach one word, and I shall go to my work.", But the toil and exposure necessarily connected with traveling a district extending from the Ohio River to Logansport, told rapidly on his constitution. Allen Wiley was presiding elder on Madison District, and George Locke on Wabash District.
In September, 1830, Illinois-Conference met in Vin- cennes. Bishop Roberts was to have presided; but he was detained at St. Louis by sickness, and Samuel H. Thompson was chosen to preside. Bishop Roberts did not reach the seat of the Conference until after its adjournment. Members reported at this Conference, 15,205. At this Conference, Indianapolis District was organized, with James Armstrong presiding elder. The district embraced Indianapolis, Franklin, Fall-creek, White-lick, Greencastle, Rockville, Crawfordsville, and Logansport. Seventeen young men were admitted on trial; one of whom was E. R. Ames, now one of the honored bishops of the Church. This year Fort Wayne Mission was organized, and N. B. Griffith was the mis- sionary. Fort Wayne Mission was in Madison District, of which A. Wiley was presiding elder.
The next session of the Conference was held in Indianapolis, October 4, 1831. At this Conference, Crawfordsville District was organized, and James Arm- strong was the presiding elder. The work in Indiana was included in the Madison, Charlestown, Indianapolis,
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Crawfordsville, and Wabash Districts. The Church had extended northward as far as St. Joseph County. In 1830, Erastus Felton, who had been sent by the Ohio Conference to St. Joseph Mission, had formed some societies in the north part of Indiana. In 1831, N. B. Griffith was sent to South Bend Mission. He organized a society in South Bend, of which Samuel Martin was the leader. But the only charges lying in the north part of the state were Greencastle, Crawfordsville, La- fayette, Pine-creek, Rockville, Logansport, South Bend, and Fort Wayne.
In 1832, Illinois Conference was divided, and In- diana constituted. Indiana Conference embraced the whole of the state of Indiana, except a small strip in- cluded in Illinois Conference ; the Wabash River being its western boundary, from its mouth as far up as Pine Creek, in Warren County.
The first session of the Indiana Conference was held in New Albany. There were reported at this Confer- ence 19,853 white members, and 182 colored. At this Conference sixty preachers were appointed to charges, and four charges were left to be supplied. There were five presiding elders' districts, as follows : Madison, James Havens, Presiding Elder; Charlestown, William Shanks, Presiding Elder; Indianapolis, Allen Wiley, Pre- siding Elder; Vincennes, James L. Thompson, Presiding Elder. Missionary District, James Armstrong, Super- intendent. The Mission District included the following charges and ministers :
MISSIONARY DISTRICT-JAMES ARMSTRONG, PRESIDING ELDER.
Upper Wabash Mission-Samuel C. Cooper. St. Joseph and South Bend Mission-R. S. Robinson and G. M. Beswick. Kalamazoo Mission-James T. Robe.
Fort Wayne Mission-Boyd Phelps.
Laporte Mission-James Armstrong.
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In 1831, Fort Wayne was included in Madison Dis- trict. There was a large wilderness, uninhabited save by savage Indians and wild beasts, lying between the settlements on the Upper Whitewater and Fort Wayne, requiring the presiding elder each round to lie out one night in the woods. Wiley would take off his saddle, and construct a bed out of his saddle and saddle-blanket, tie his horse's bridle around his waist, and get what rest he could with the wolves howling around him. During one of his visits to Fort Wayne, this year, he was accompanied by R. S. Robinson, and during their stay they held a series of meetings in Masonic Hall, which exerted a salutary and powerful influence on the minds of the people. Wiley preached in the morning and Robinson at night, for several days in succession ; and it was Wiley's opinion, if the meetings had continued a few days longer, that nearly the whole community would have professed religion ; but the preachers had to leave to attend a camp-meeting in Wayne County. Wiley often remarked that he never thought of their leaving Fort Wayne when they did without feelings of regret.
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CHAPTER V.
Retrospective View-First Settlers-First Preachers-Settlement of Clarke County-Quaker Settlements-Vincennes District in 1811-/ Rangers of 1812-New Harmony Colony-First Methodist Preach- ing in Vigo County-Incident-Introduction of Methodism in Harri- son County-Early Men of Note-Dennis Pennington-" Uncle Walter Pennington "-" Uncle Billy Saffer"-Edward Pennington- Early Methodists in New Albany-Peter Stoy, Aaron Daniels, and Others-First Society in Jeffersonville-Societies in Charlestown and Madison-Methodist Preaching in Rising Sun-First Class formed-Lawrenceburg Circuit organized-Mr. Bartholomew-Isaac Dunn -- Rev. Elijah Sparks-Mrs. Amos Lane-Isaac Mills-Jacob Blasdell-Rev. Daniel Plummer-Rev. A. J. Cotton-Samuel Good- win-Rev. Augustus Jocelyn-Hugh Cull-Whitewater Circuit formed-Israel Abrams-Camp-meeting near Saulsbury-Method- ism established at Moore's Hill-Adam Moore and Others-John C. Moore-Moore's Hill-Influence of Local Preachers-Names of Noted Local Preachers-" Sketch of Early Society in Indiana," by Rev. A. Wood-The Missionary District in 1832-First Camp- meeting in Laporte County-Introduction of Methodism in Elk- hart County-Local Preachers in Connersville and Whitewater Cir- cuits-James Conwell and Others-An old-fashioned Quarterly- meeting-Dr. Benjamin Adams-John Strange-Account of his Labors-Letter of John Schrader-Facts in the Early History of the Church in Indiana-Preaching in Bar-rooms-Incident-" Charac- teristics of the Early Indiana Settlers," by Rev. A. Wood.
H AVING traced the expansion of the Church from the first introduction of Methodism into the state until the organization of the Indiana Conference, it is proper to take a retrospective survey of the field, the condition of society, and notice some of the local agencies and less prominent instrumentalities by which the Church had achieved success hitherto. The seat of the Territorial Government, first at Vincennes, and then at Corydon, at- tracted settlers, at an early day, to the south-western
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part of the state. Knox County was organized in 1802. Vincennes was the seat of the Territorial Government, as well as for the county. The original settlers were French; but, in addition to these, at a very early day there were a number of families from Maryland, Virginia, and Penn- sylvania. The French society ranged all the way from the half-savage up to the polished deist and the learned priest. The Virginia element ranged from the fugitive cut-throat up to the chivalrous governor, always including a large adventurous element, composed of young men who, as yet, were sowing their wild oats. Religious serv- ices were conducted, from the beginning of the settle- ment, by the Romish priests. Joseph Oglesby and Jesse Walker, as missionaries from the Illinois Conference, preached the Gospel in the settled portions of Knox County, in an early day. A Presbyterian preacher from Kentucky, by the name of James M'Cready, settled in the county, and preached with efficiency. Clarke County was organized in 1801, and its first settlers were families from Virginia, who were of Scotch or German origin. The spirit of independence was carried into their relig- ious views, and whether they were Baptists, Presbyteri- ans, or Methodists, they were very nearly congregational or independent in their notions of Church government. Prelacy and apostolic succession had no place among them. That portion known as Clarke's Grant was settled by soldiers, irrespective of religious profession. The first Methodist preachers came over from Kentucky ; oc- casional preaching was had, as early as 1802, in what was known as the Robertson and Prather Settlements, and in 1807, Silver-creek Circuit was organized. The Virgin- ians who settled in Clarke County were not as well edu- cated as some from the same state who settled in Knox, but they were more homogeneous, and more opposed to
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slavery. There were a few Quaker settlements in the south-west part of the state, at an early day, and they disseminated a strong anti-slavery sentiment; and where there were isolated Quaker families, they welcomed Methodist preachers and Methodist preaching. There were no settlements formed by Methodists, as a body of emigrants, but occasionally a few Methodist families would be found contiguous to each other. Emigrants from England settled in a body in the counties of Dear- born and Franklin. Scotch Covenanters settled in a body in Gibson County. The Friend Quakers settled in a body in Wayne, Washington, and Orange Counties. In 1811, Vincennes Circuit embraced the country from the Ohio River on the south, to the farthest point of white population on the east side of the Wabash, north. There were settlements in the forks of White River, now Da- vies's County; at Patoka, now Gibson County; and on Honey Creek, in what is now Sullivan and Vigo Counties. The settlements were visited by Methodist preachers, at that early day, and there were, in all these early settle- ments, persons who had been converted in the great revi- vals in Kentucky and Tennessee, and who hailed with pleasure the appearance of evangelical ministers among them. At the commencement of the War of 1812, the moral and religious condition of the settlers on the Wa- bash was, perhaps, as good as that of any other new country; but there was sent into those frontier settle- ments a class of soldiers called "Rangers," who were sup- ported by Government, and lived in idleness and dissipa- tion. And while they afforded protection to the settlers from the Indians, they exposed them to many tempta- tions, and not unfrequently corrupted their morals. The leisure and the opportunities afforded by the officers of the army, and of the new Territorial Government, for
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dissipation, exerted a pernicious influence upon the gen- eral population.
From 1814 to 1820, the south-western part of the state settled rapidly. Frederick Rappe settled his col- ony at New Harmony. The emigration was chiefly from the Southern States-South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and a few from Southern Ohio. Among these emigrants were some Methodists. These, of course, formed the nucleus of societies when the itinerants came among them, and they were never far behind the front wave of emigration. The first Methodist preacher that visited the county of Vigo, was Jacob Turman, who preached at the cabin of John Dickson, near Rogers's Spring, and organized a class, consisting of Dickson and wife, J. Lambert and wife, and William Winters; the last- named being the class-leader. At one time a company of hostile Indians came near the house, with the inten- tion of murdering the congregation; but as they drew near the house, the congregation was engaged in singing, and such was the influence of the music on them that they quietly retired. They reported to the interpreter, at the treaty, not long afterward, that they retired out of veneration for the Great Spirit.
Methodism was early introduced into Harrison County. Silver-creek Circuit, which was the first regu- lar charge in Indiana, included the settlements in Clark, Floyd, Harrison, and Washington Counties. Harrison County was subsequently in Indian-creek, and, at a later period, in Corydon Circuit. Methodism, in Harrison County, had some noted representatives in early times. Among these was Dennis Pennington, who was a mem- ber of the first Convention that formed the Constitution for the State,-he was several times elected a member of the State Legislature, and exerted a good influence,
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both in public and private life,-Uncle Walter Penning- ton, a famous, though illiterate local preacher, who was extensively known, and "Uncle Billy Saffer," a local preacher of remarkable eccentricity, and without doubt the greatest wag in all the land. A number of his speeches found their way into the newspapers of the day on such themes as, "How I got my Education ;" " My Second Courtship," etc. Edward Pennington was also a prominent and active steward in the Church in that county in an early day. Among the early Meth- odists in New Albany, Floyd County, are the names of Peter Stoy, a ship-joiner, whose influence was good, and who is worthily represented by a pious posterity; Aaron Daniels, father of Rev. Wm. Daniels, now an old and highly respected minister in Indiana Conference, and Rey. John Daniels, of California Conference ; Matthew Robinson, John Evans, and Daniel Seybrook; Thomas Sinex, father of Rev. Thomas H. Sinex, an educated and able minister of the Gospel; Edward Brown, Isaac Brooks, Benjamin Blackstone, and Obadiah Childs. The first organized society in Jeffersonville was in 1810, under the ministry of Rev. Selah Payne, who traveled Silver-creek Circuit that year. The first society was composed of: Mr. Beman and wife, Stephen Beman, Lyman Beman, and Amanda Beman, and children; Mary Toville, afterward Mary Taylor; Davis Floyd, Mary Floyd, Richard Mosley, Samuel Lampton, Charlotte Lampton, and Mrs. Leatherman. Societies had been previously formed in the neighborhood of Charlestown, in the Robinson and Prather Settlements. Madison had preaching at an early day, and was included in the old Whitewater Circuit.
Methodist preaching was introduced into Rising Sun by John Strange, in 1814 or 1815. The services of Mr.
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Strange were procured in the following manner : Mrs. Elizabeth De Coursey, learning that he had an appoint- ment two miles below the town, at the house of Mr. Goodin, in company with another lady, walked to the place of preaching, heard the sermon, and solicited an appointment for Rising Sun. The preacher consented, and left an appointment, to be filled on his next round. At the appointed time a small congregation assembled in the woods, where the foot of Main Street now is, seating themselves on logs and the limbs of trees that had been felled by the new settlers. The preacher was on time. He stood on the trunk of a fallen tree, and sounded the Gospel trumpet into the listening ears of his attentive and delighted hearers, and left another appointment. Mr. Strange preached three or four times. A Mr. Craft, who had opened a house of public enter- tainment, offered his bar-room for preaching, which was accepted. Rev. Joseph Oglesby succeeded John Strange, and, during a brief stay, gathered up some six names, preparatory to the organization of a class. Rev. Daniel Sharp succeeded Oglesby. Sharp organized the first class in the town, and put it on the plan of the circuit. The class consisted of nine persons, namely : Elizabeth Craft, John Gordon, Nancy Gordon, Henry Hayman, Elizabeth Howlit, Jane Fulton, Azariah Oldham, Rachel Oldham, and Elizabeth De Coursey. The class was formed, and the meetings held in a school-house on the north-east corner of Main and High Streets.
Lawrenceburg Circuit was organized as early as 1813. It included the present territory of Dearborn and Ohio Counties, and portions of Ripley and Franklin Counties, and several appointments in the state of Ohio. Law- renceburg, Aurora, Elizabethtown, Hardentown, Man- chester, the Smith Settlement, where Mount Tabor
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Church now stands, Moore's Hill, Eubank's, and Judge Louden's, were prominent appointments on the circuit. A Mr. Batholomew, in Aurora, was one of the early Methodists in that town, and his house was a home for the preachers for many years. Among the early Meth- odists in Lawrenceburg were Hon. Isaac Dunn, who was an associate judge for a number of years. He was among the first settlers at the mouth of the Great Miami, was early converted, opened his house for public worship and for the entertainment of the itinerant preachers. He remained a citizen of Lawrenceburg until the day of his death, which occurred in 1870, when, at the ripe age of eighty-two, he exchanged a home in the Church militant for one in the Church triumphant. Rev. Elijah Sparks was a talented and educated local
preacher, who early settled in Lawrenceburg. He was a practicing attorney, and yet maintained a true Chris- tian and ministerial character. Mrs. Lane, the wife of Hon. Amos Lane, a prominent lawyer, and for some time a member of Congress from that district, deserves men- tion among the early Methodists of Lawrenceburg. She was a lady of fine personal presence, of cultivated man- ners, of superior intellectual endowments, and remark- able force of character. Her influence was valuable in the Church and in the general community. Isaac Mills was one of the early Methodists at Elizabethtown, and his house was a home for the preachers, whose society he and his family greatly prized. On the occasion of a quarterly-meeting, his house was thronged with com- pany; for the early quarterly-meetings were signals for the gathering of Methodists throughout a distance of forty or fifty miles. It was customary on these occa- sions for persons who would entertain company to an- nounce, at the close of eleven o'clock preaching on
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Saturday, how many persons and horses they could entertain ; for nearly every body came on horseback. On one of these occasions, when the presiding elder was done preaching, and had dismissed the congregation, the preacher-in-charge requested those who could entertain company to announce how many they would take. Father Mills cried out, "I will take all of the preachers and their families," when Major M'Henry, who was a worthy Methodist pioneer in that locality, thinking that Father Mills's invitation was rather exclusive, got on a bench and called out, "I will take Lazarus and all his family." As might be expected, the Major had the larger crowd. Jacob Blasdell, who resided on Tanner's Creek, a few miles above Lawrenceburg, was an early Methodist, and a staunch advocate of temperance. His son, Hon. Henry G. Blasdell, for some years the popular and worthy Governor of Nevada, has been a worthy pioneer of Methodism in that new mountain territory. Rev. Daniel Plummer, an able local preacher from the state of Maine, early settled at Manchester; and "Plum- mer's Chapel" was one of the earliest and best brick churches built within the bounds of the old Lawrence- burg Circuit. Mr. Plummer was an able preacher and an enterprising citizen. He represented his county several years in the State Legislature. Rev. A. J. Cot- ton was also a prominent local preacher in the old Law- renceburg Circuit. He taught school in the county for many years, was also a probate judge, and married more persons and preached more funeral sermons than any other man in his day. He wrote a good deal of poetry, chiefly of a local and ephemeral character, and was author of a volume entitled " Cotton's Keepsake."
The house of Samuel Goodwin was one of the ear- liest houses for Methodist preachers at Brookville, and
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continued to be such until the day of his death. He has given two sons to the ministry: Rev. T. A. Good- win, for some time a member of the Indiana Conference, and subsequently President of Brookville College, and editor of the Indiana American, which he first pub- lished at Brookville, and then at Indianapolis; in the relation of local preacher he has always been indus- trious, and his ministrations have been acceptable in any pulpit,-Rev. W. R. Goodwin, for some years a mem- ber of the South-eastern Indiana Conference, and then of the Illinois Conference. Mr. Goodwin gave his sons a collegiate education, and was one of the founders and early patrons of Indiana Asbury University. Rev. Au- gustus Jocelyn was an able local preacher at Brook- ville, in an early day.
Rev. Hugh Cull, a local preacher, and one of the members of the Convention that framed the first Con- stitution for the State, settled in the Whitewater country, a few miles south of Richmond, in 1805, and was, doubt- less, the first Methodist preacher that settled in the state. He resided on the farm where he first settled for a period of fifty-seven years. He died on the 1st of August, 1862, in the one hundred and fifth year of his age. He retained both his mental and physical vigor, in a remarkable degree, until near the close of life. A few months before his death his physical strength gave way, and he gradually descended to the tomb. His death was triumphant. His last whispers were, " Glory, glory, glory!" Father Cull was a man of me- dium size, black hair, remarkably heavy eyebrows; he had a pleasant voice and a very sympathetic nature. His preaching was very acceptable. His house was a home for the traveling preachers for many years, and few men relished preaching more than he. His interest
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in the sermon often proved a help to a young or timid preacher. He had no children. For many years his family consisted of himself and wife, and a niece of his wife's, whom they had adopted as a daughter. Father Cull served for a few months in the War of the Revo- lution, just at its close, and also in the War of 1812. He was a man of simple tastes and temperate habits. There was no acidity in his nature. He used no stimu- lants; he drank but little tea or coffee; sweet milk, from the spring-house, and honey from his own hives, usually adorned his table in the Summer-time. He made a profession of religion in early life, and preached it for many years, and, although subject to occasional spells of melancholy in his later years, was, for the most of his life, a happy Christian. He lived to see "the wilderness blossom as the rose."
Whitewater Circuit was formed in 1807, and lay partly in Ohio and partly in Indiana. In 1808, a meet- ing-house was built about a mile and a half south-east of the old town of Salisbury, the first seat of justice for Wayne County, and was situated about half-way between Centerville and the city of Richmond. It was called "Meek's Meeting-house." Of course it was built of logs, but God honored it with His presence, and the humble worshipers often felt, "Master, it is good to be here." Not long after this, a second meeting-house was built in Wayne County, on the farm of John Cain, about three miles north-west of the city of Richmond. It was built of logs, eighteen by twenty-two, with a chimney in one end. The third meeting-house in the county was called "Salem," and was built where the town of Boston now stands. It was larger than either of the others, and it, too, was built of logs. The first frame meeting-house built by the Methodists, in Wayne County, was erected
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under the administrations of Rev. James Havens, in the town of Centerville. The largest subscription was by Israel Abrams, a converted Israelite, who gave fifty dol- lars, which was then really a large donation. Abrams loved God and the Church, and through a long life he showed his faith by his works, always setting an exam- ple of liberality. In 1810, there was a camp-meeting held just south of the old town of Salisbury, in Wayne County. John Sale was the presiding elder; Thomas Nelson and Samuel H. Thompson were the circuit preach- ers. It was a profitable meeting, and its fruit is all gar- nered above.
Methodism was early planted at Moore's Hill, in Dear- born County. The early settlers in that neighborhood included a number of excellent Methodist families from the state of Delaware and the eastern shore of Mary- land, among whom was Adam Moore, a local preacher, after whom the village was named; John Dashill, who was also for many years a local preacher; Charles Da- shill, and Ranna Stevens. These men and their families gave a moral impress to society, in that part of the coun- try, that is permanent and valuable. No part of our state maintains a higher standard of morals, and no community has been less cursed with intemperance and its kindred vices. John Strange once held a glorious camp-meeting on the ground now occupied by the flour- ishing town of Moore's Hill. The blessing of a cove- nant-keeping God has rested upon the descendants of these early Christian families. Their sons and daughters have come to honor. Moore's Hill college is a monu- ment to the intelligence and Christian liberality of John C. Moore, one of the sons of Rev. Adam Moore, the orig- inal proprietor of the town. And although he has been gathered with his father to his heavenly home, his works
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