USA > Indiana > Our church, a history of the synod of Northern Indiana of the Evangelical Lutheran Church > Part 18
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In the fall of 1868, his wife took sick, and on the 20th of October she died. It was a dark and trying experience. Five children, one daughter and four sons had been born to them. The third son, William L, is now a minister of the gospel, having charge of several Lutheran churches in Shelby county, Indiana, but at the time of Mrs. Guard's death they were small and needed a mother's care. God, however, ordered other- wise, and the responsibility was thrown upon the father. Ile determined with God's help that he would keep his children together. The people were kind and in many things he could sce very clearly the hand of God helping him. His salary was then $300, but by farming a little and by the strictest econ- omy he managed to get along and keep out of debt. Decem- ber 16, 1868, he was united in holy bonds of matrimony to Miss Mary Jane Grant, whose parents lived near Brimfield, l'eoria county, Illinois. She was a most excellent Christian woman, an affectionate companion and always ready to assist in church work. During his ministry in the Trivoli pastorate he preached over 900 sermons, baptized 43 infants and 11
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adults. Received into the church 84 new members, married 26 couple and attended 23 funerals. He resigned the last Sunday in May, 1870. A call was extended him from the Camden pastorate in Carroll county, Indiana, which he ac- cepted and preached his first sermon the second Sunday in June, 1870. The reception which the people extended the new pastor was very cordial and inspiring. He at once felt greatly encourage and entered upon his work with high hopes of success in doing the Master's bidding. The charge was composed of three organizations, and each congregation had a plain but comfortable house of worship. St. Peter's, located in Camden, St. Luke's seven miles southeast of Camden in Monroe township, and Mt. Pisgah in Washington township, all in Carroll county, Indiana. The salary was seven hundred and fifty dollars and parsonage free. He had been settled in his new home, but a few weeks when his entire family were seized with fever and ague and for more than two years suf- fored from the terrible disease. There were seven in the fam. ily and some days not one able to wait on the others. But they were surrounded by kind people and help was never wanted when needed.
The territory occupied by the Camden pastorate was full of Intheran material. Many points could be taken up and made of great advantage to the Lutheran church. It was not long until instead of three regular churches he had five other preaching places. This necessitated much preaching, much travel and much hard work. Every other week he would leave home on Saturday morning, ride twenty miles, preach the same evening and three times the following Sunday. This he did for nearly eight years, on this territory he organized
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four new congregations and built four new churches and a new parsonage. Two of the congregations were located in Cass County, Ind.
During this time Rev. Guard was called upon to endure for the second time a great affliction in his family. In the summer of 1872 his wife was stricken down with spotted fever from which she died July 30, 1872. The family of children were yet a great care and he was suffering from rheumatic difficulties which made his lot all the harder, but God did not forsake him. He was his refuge and strength a very present help in time of trouble.
April 23, 1873, he laid the corner-stone of a new church in Camden. The work of securing subscriptions devolved largely upon him, but he had the hearty co-operation of a liberal people, which greatly lessened the burden. In the fall of the same year the new church was solemnly dedicated to the service of the Triune God free from all indebtedness. It was a day of great rejoicing. The supreme head of the church continued to bless his efforts to build up Zion and to save souls. June 24, 1876, he organized st. Paul's Lutheran church in the village of Flora, with 18 charter members. It was the first Christian church in that town. A school building was purchased and converted into a very comfortable house of worship. The congregation grew in numbers, interest and influence. January 1, 1876, he organized Ebenezer church in Cass Co., with 29 members. During the following summer a very beautiful brick church was erected at a cost of $2,000. The building was dedicated in the fall of the same year, Rev. Joshua Crouse preaching the sermon. During Rev. Guard's ministry here the membership increased to more than one hundred.
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St. John's church was built during the fall of 1877. Rev. Guard preached the first sermon in it February 23, 1878, but the building was not dedicated until March 24, 1878, Rev. S. P. Snyder preaching the sermon from the text, Psa. 84:1-2. The congregation was organized March 22nd with 22 charter members. During the revival then in progress nine more were added.
The Camden pastorate was divided March 16, 1878, at a joint council meeting, and Synod subsequently ratified the action. St. Peter's of Camden and St. Paul's of Flora, con- stituted the Camden pastorate, and Mt. Pisgah, St. John's and Ebenezer, the Rock Creek charge. Rev. Guard resigned the Camden pastorate the last Sunday in May, 1878, and imme- diately accepted a call from the new charge formed by the division. During the spring of this year he built a parsonage in the Rock Creek charge at a cost of about $600, and on June 4th the pastor with his family moved into it. With the three organized churches there were added two regular preaching places. At Deer Creek-one of those points an organization was soon effected with 42 charter members. The organization was formed March 26, 1880. In January, 1881, a very suc- cessful protracted meeting was held and 62 added to the mem- bership. In the fall of 1880 a new church was built and was dedicated January 2, 1881, Rev. J. N. Barnett preaching the sermon. This new church was greatly favored of God and continued to grow in numbers and in influence for Christ's kingdom. At this time the Rock Creek pastorate had four organizations each with its own house of worship. Rev. Guard spent nearly twenty years of labor as pastor of the Lutheran churches in Carrol Co., Ind., during which time he preached
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2,020 sermons, besides freqnent lectures and addresses, re- ceived into the church nearly 600 new members, organized four congregations, built five new churches and one parsonage, mar- ried 175 couple, baptized 122 children, and preached 251 funerals. He was married three times. His present wife was Miss Anna F. Edschker, of Camden, to whom he was umted in holy wedlock July 3, 1873. He resigned the Rock Creek pastorate October 27, 1889, having received and accepted a call from the Connersville pastorate, Fayette Co., Indiana, preaching his first sermon there November 24, 1889. The charge was composed of three churches, St. Matthew's located in Darrtown, O., St. Paul's at Lyon's Station, Ind., and union church in the country. This charge is composed of an excel- lent class of people and gave the pastor their heartiest support. St. Paul's congregation had a very plain house of worship that had stood since 1853. They decided to build a larger and more convenient structure-and on the 29th day of April, 1891, the corner-stone was laid. The work was carried to completion and on Sunday, October 4, 1891, the new St. Paul's of Lyon's Station, Indiana, was solemnly dedicated to the ser- vice and worship of Almighty God. Rev. S. A. Ort, D. D., preached the sermon from I. Cor. 2:2, and raised $1,000 on that day. December 13, 1892, a bell weighing 511 pounds was placed in the tower. The church is heated with a furnace and the entire cost of the building including furniture was about $3,000. On account of failing health he resigned Feb- ruary 13, 1894, and on the 15th of the same month removed to Camden, Ind., where he now resides, bearing great bodily afffictions, but happy in the consciousness of having fought a good fight and kept the faith. He has always been greatly
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loved and esteemed by his brethren in the ministry, and they are daily remembering him in his afflictions before the throne of grace. Six different times they honored him in eleeting him as a delegate to the General Synod, and he also served with credit several terms as Director to Wittenberg College, and was twice chosen as President of the Synod of Northern Indiana. With his best thought and energy he has served the church and has made for himself a splendid record. Like another he has said by his life, " For to me to live is Christ," and when the "silver cord is loosed" and the " golden bowl is broken" he will know the fullness of the truth, "and to die is gain."
REV. ABRAHAM LEATHERS.
Entwined in the history of the Synod of Northern Indi- ana is the larger part of the ministerial life and labors of the subject of this sketch. He was born of Lutheran parentage in Fairfield county, Ohio, April 19, 1841. His parents were earnest and devoted members of the church, and threw around their children the hallowed influences of their pious and con- seerated lives. In the midst of the arduous toils of pioneer life, they did not forget their own nor their children's spiritual needs. Religion lightened the burdens and increased the joys of their lives. In 1852, they removed with their family to Northern Ohio, which was then a great forest land. The sac- rifices, incident to the settlement of a new country were theirs to endure, but with them came many gleams of happiness and much true joy. Their children all united with them in the church of their choice, and the family tie was strengthened by the bonds of gospel love. The youngest son, Abraham, qual-
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REV. ABRAHAM LEATHERS.
ified himself and began teaching in the public schools of Van Wert county, Ohio, when only seventeen years of age. He was very successful in this pursuit and his services were largely sought. Two years later, at the age of nineteen, he was con- verted and received into full membership of the church by Rev. Frederick Biddle. His pastor, upon whose heart rested the needs of the church, saw in him the elements of a success- ful preacher of the word, and he urged upon him the necessity of giving himself to this holy calling. This influence, together with a natural inclination and a thorough consecration to Jesus, caused the conviction that he ought to preach to deepen in his heart, but the means of educating himself were not at hand. His case was presented to the Synod at its annual meeting in 1863, and after careful examination by a committee appointed by the Synod the following report was presented and adopted:
" Your committee, having examined the young brother, Abra- ham Leathers, in reference to his conversion, his motives for seeking the ministry, and his standing and intentions to be a faithful student, report that the examination has been very sat- isfactory, and he is therefore, recommended to be taken upon the beneficiary fund of our Synod."
It was voted that the central committee of Wittenberg College be requested to grant him the funds belonging to the Synod from the Parent Education society for his support dur- ing the current year. This was done and he entered the col- lege in the fall of 1863. The next year Synod voted him an appropriation of one hundred dollars, which he gratefully ac- cepted and continuing his studies and graduating in the year 1868. On the 22d of September, of the same year, he was
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married to Miss S. A. Johnson who has been a faithful help- mate in the work for which he was preparing himself, and who has risen to prominence and great usefulness in the Woman's Missionary work of the Synod. He returned and studied theology at Wittenberg during the years 1868-69. He was licensed to preach the gospel at the annual meeting of the Synod of Northern Indiana, at Monroeville, in the year 1869, and by the instruction of the ministerium was ordained one year later by the North District Conference at its regular meet- ing held in LaGrange, Indiana. He has served the following pastorates during his ministry : Spencerville, Indiana; Fair- field Center, Indiana; Salem, Indiana; Claremont, Illinois; Salem, Ohio; Broad Ripple, Indiana; and on the first of Octo- ber, 1880, he became pastor of the Ebenezer church, which he has served ever since, with the exception of a period of two and one-half years. His labors have been blessed of God and the material and spiritual interests of the charges which he served have been advanced. A number of new church build- ings stand as monuments of his patient and persistent toil, and many souls have through his preaching been lead to the source of all light and life. He is a plain and practical and earnest preacher of the word, and in all his ministrations does not for- get the divine injunction " preach the preaching that I bid thee." Loved by his people, esteemed by his brethren in the ministry, and blessed by the Saviour to whom he consecrated his life so fully years ago, he is accomplishing a work, the ful- ness and glory of which will only be revealed in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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REV. A. J. DOUGLAS.
REV. A. J. DOUGLAS.
Ministers of the gospel have been called from every pur- suit and vocation in life. Men have formed their plans for the achievements of certain ends, but God has sometimes laid his hand upon them and directed them to different spheres of activity and toil. He has turned them from secular pursuits when they enjoyed the highest distinction and shared with their fellowmen the greatest honors, and directed them to the more sacred calling of ministers of the word. In the midst of their successful career he has often stopped them and directed them like Saul of Tarsus into the multiplied activities of his church. It is interesting to note the different pursuits from which the apostles and the early disciples came, and it is inter- esting still to see how he calls his servants from the various duties of their chosen professions. Human nature is varied. Its wants are diversified. It needs men who understand its different phases to touch and call forth all that the heart con- tains. The ministry has in its ranks those who know the dif- ferent sides of life and who are familiar with the different pursuits that they may call forth and develop the possibilities of men's natures into the highest and most symmetical char- acter.
A. J. Douglas was a brilliant and promising young man in the legal profession when God spoke to him and turned bim into the sacred calling of the ministry. He had already gained a prominence and attained a distinction which many much older in his profession might well have envied. Before him were the brightest prospects for wealth and honor from his fellowmen, but these were cast aside as naught when God
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made clear to him the pathway of duty in a very different line of activity and toil. He, " became obedient unto the heavenly vision " and gave himself unreservedly to the labors and saeri- fices of an humble minister of righteousness and peace.
He was born in Richland County, Ohio, March 22, 1827. His early life was spent upon the farm, the place of his birth, in the performance of such duties as a life of that kind inevitably brings. He attained a fair common school educa- tion and at the age of 19 he left home to attend Vermillion Institute, located at Hayesville, Ashland County, Ohio. Here he continued for one year when his limited means were ex- hansted and he was forced to turn away and replenish his treasury. He engaged in the work of teaching and subse- quently attended the long term of the Ashland Academy, in Ashland, Ohio. Then he found it necessary to again turn aside and continne his labors in the school room. All the while he was storing his mind with useful knowledge and in the hard school of self-culture be was gaining that discipline which was destined to lift him to a worthy eminence in the profession upon which his heart was already set. During the collegiate year of 1849-50 he attended Wittenberg College, at
ngfield, Ohio. In the fall of 1850 he took charge of the schools in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, which position he filled for two consecutive years and in which he gained for himself a reputation as an instructor that made his services eagerly sought. But he had already determined to make the legal profession his life work, and at the close of these two years he entered the office of Kirkwood & Burns, in Mansfield, Ohio. to begin the study of law. Here he remained for three years, diligently applying himself to his work and gaining a profic-
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ieney that was regarded as prophetie of a brilliant career. In 1855 he was admitted to the practice of law in the city of Mansfield, but only a few months later his uncle, Jacob Wolff, urgently insisted that he take charge of the Wartburg Sem- inary, which he had just established near Coesse, in Whitley County, Indiana. It was a hard struggle to bring himself to believe that he should turn away from the profession for which he had fitted himself and to which he had just been admitted, but he finally yielded, and in October of the same year he entered upon the duties of this new position. His personal popularity drew many young men to the institution, and his proficiency as a teacher gave the institution from its very be- ginning a desirable reputation. The very brightest prospects were before it and large things were predicted of it as a seat of learning. Unfortunately Mr. Douglas, after 18 months labor in that capacity, withdrew and turned his attention to the work upon which his heart had been set for years.
Immediately he began the practice of law in Columbia City, Indiana, in which he continued until the year 1870. In his work he rose rapidly and soon enjoyed a very large and lucrative business. He was popular with all classes of people and had many ardent admirers. He was elected and served one term in the House of Representatives and one term in the state senate. In both these positions his legal abilities and his ready repartee soon brought him into prominence. He was a clear and forcible speaker and was regarded as a rising man in the political world. But in the very midst of this the voice of God came to him as it once came to Moses from out the burn- ing bush and called him into a new sphere in life. On the first of June, 1870, he began preaching for the Lutheran
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church in Columbia City, where he had resided ever since he left the Wartburg Seminary, and on the 13th of July follow- ing he informed the president of the Synod that he intended to enter the Lutheran ministry. On the 21st of the same month Rev. John Miller sent to the president the request of Mr. Douglas and of the congregation which he served asking for Ad Interim license which was immediately granted. This license was renewed by the Synod until its annual meeting in Columbia City, 1872, when he was ordained to the sacred office according to the impressive rites of the Lutheran church, be- fore the congregation to whom he had preached. During these years his services were also sought for teaching and he was elected superintendent of the public schools in Columbia City, which position he filled with great acceptance for a period of ten years. During six years of this time and for two years afterward he filled the position of county superintendent of the public schools. In this capacity he served eight years and five months, resigning after his fifth appointment that he might give himself wholly to the work of the ministry again. He had served the congregation in Columbia City in connec- tion with his school work for a period of two years. The lab- ors of both positions were too burdensome and he was com- pelled to relinquish the one that the other might have his undi- vided time. In 1881 he accepted a call to a pastorate in Ken- tucky, where he did good service for the church. He remained there for several years and then returned to Indiana where he has been faithfully serving the church ever since, with the exception of two years, when he labored in the Carey, Ohio, pastorate. His work for the church has been greatly blessed and he has been instrumental in leading many souls to Christ.
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HOREB CHURCH. ST. MARK'S, UNIONDALE.
ST. PAUL'S, UNIONDALE. WELL'S MEMORIAL, GOSHEN.
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REV. J. N. BARNETT.
His work has usually been in our largest pastorates. but he has performed it nobly and well. Always did he have the fullest confidence of the people whom he served, and was pop- ular alike with young and old. His genial sociable nature brought him close to the people and they in turn have given response to the enjoyable companionship of their pastor and friend. He has been a " brother beloved " to all his brethren in the ministry. They have frequently called upon him to serve the Synod in its highest places of honor and trust. Twice was he elected to the presidency and has several times been delegate to the General Synod, and also director to the Wittenberg College. In all these places he has discharged his duties with satisfaction to his Synod, and has given eause for the complete confidence that his brethren have reposed in hin. During the past year or more he has been suffering great bodily afllietions, but it is sincerely hoped that he may be fully restored to health and be permitted to enjoy some years more of pleasant and profitable labor in the kingdom of God on earth.
REV. J. N. BARNETT.
Rev. J. N. Barnett was born near Greencastle, Franklin County, Penn., October 5, 1835. He entered Wittenberg Col- lege in 1851; read Theology with his brothor, Rev. W. C. Barnett; was licensed to preach at the fifth meeting of the Synod at Cicero, Ind., in 1859. During the fall and winter of that year and the spring of 1860 he served a small congre- gation near Liberty Mills. In JJune he received and accepted a call to the Walton pastorate, which then consisted of a small organization at Miller's school-house and David's church in
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Clinton county, about twenty-seven miles distant, with a station at Galveston. While in charge there he organized at Walton with eleven members and at Anoka with about the same number. A neat brick church was built at Walton. Three of the five male members were brick-layers. The other two, with the pastor "tended mason," all laying aside every- thing else to build the church. In October, 1862, he took charge of the Albion pastorate, of which he remained pastor till November, 1867. While here a new house of worship was built at Bethlehem, the Albion and Mt. Pleasant churches were rebuilt (except the frames), and the Rehoboth church repaired. Removing to White Pigeon, Mich., in November, 1867, the Baptist church was purchased by the Lutherans and German Reformeds jointly and ocenpied that winter. In 1869 a new church was built at Mottville, at a cost of $4,000. In 1872-3 the church in Constantine was built at a cost of about $11,000. When completed the pastor resigned the White Pigeon and Mottville congregations, retaining the church in Constantine, which, from a membership of thirteen in 1867, worshipping in a rented church every second Sunday, in the afternoon, had grown to be strong enough to build a fine church and support a pastor. In March, 1876, he removed to New York, taking charge of Gilead Lutheran church, near Troy; in the Hartwick Synod. While there he wrote a history of that old church, which was organized in 1746, which was published by the church. Returning to Indiana, he preached his introductory sermon at Columbia City, October 5, 1879. This church was burdened with a debt that was accumulating at the rate of about two and a half dollars a day. Within the five years and two months he was pastor there, about $11,500
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were raised, the entire debt cleared off, the vestibule finished, the stairway built, the basement repaired, and a new church built at Coesse. Removing then to Goshen, he took charge of the English Lutheran church. There he built a fine new church at a cost of over $10,000, for which he drew the plans and superintended the building, as usual. Having contracted a severe cold, which brought on chronic sore throat, he was compelled to resign, which terminated his long service in the bounds of this Synod (twenty-seven years). He is now a member of Wittenberg Synod, having charge of two churches within its bounds. He served this Synod both as president and secretary. He has built or re-built sixteen churches, and dedicated twenty-three. He never missed an appointment unless by accident or through sickness, and less than thirty from any cause. He has been an able and eloquent preacher of the word and has lost none of his remarkable pulpit power. Clear in thought and apt in illustration, he combined elements that made him popular wherever he preached. He has won many souls for Christ and the churches which he served were always built up spiritually as well as materially. Systematic in all his work he was successful in carrying his methods into the congregation that he served and in this particular alone the fruit of his labors may yet be found in every congregation that he ever served. His life has been characterized by an intense love for his church and he is devoting his maturer years faithfully to her interests. In the highest sense he is a successful pestor and preacher.
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