History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 92

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761

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From that time forward he lived a consistent, temperate life. Several other intemperate men were reclaimed at the same time, and lived honored, useful citizens. A temper- ance society was organized during the revival, which was probably the first of the kind in town.

Right away after the revival two churches were organ- ized, almost simultaneously,-a Baptist and a Presbyterian.

The First Presbyterian Church of Climax was organ- ized, the 14th day of March, 1837, at a meeting held at the house of Isaac Davis. Seventeen persons presented letters, which were read and received. The confession of faith and covenant of the Monroe Presbytery were adopted. Heman Baker and Jonathan Sprague were chosen deacons, and William E. Sawyer and Silas Kelsey were chosen elders. Rev. Silas Woodbury made the consecrating prayer, and delivered the charge to the officers elect and to the members. Deacon Baker assisted him in the laying on of hands. The ministers who preached to this church while it remained in Climax were the Rev. Mr. Marsh, of Battle Creek, and Elder Knappen, of Gull Prairie. A lady who had listened to Elder Knappen relates the following anecdote of him : He was an eccentric man, strongly op- posed to Universalism, seldom failing to make a savage on- slaught on that doctrine whenever he could find or make an opportunity. He came to Michigan across the lake from Buffalo, and suffered much from the hardships of the journey. Soon after his arrival the lady heard him preach a sermon, in which, contrary to his usual custom, there was no allusion to Universalism. Just before closing the services, however, he looked around the audience a moment and then said, "I think there are no Universalists in this congregation. I think any such would have gone to Heaven direct from Buffalo, rather than to endure what I have had to pass through in coming to Michigan."

The meetings of this church were usually held at the

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house of Isaac Davis. A large proportion of its members lived in the adjoining township of Leroy, in Calhoun County, and in January, 1840, the name of the church was changed to the First Presbyterian Church of Leroy, and it severed its connection with the Kalamazoo Presbytery and became a member of the Marshall Presbytery. It thus passed out of the history of Climax, although it still exists in the neighboring town,-a powerful, flourishing society.

The First Methodist Church of Climax was organized, as before stated, in July, 1835, by Rev. J. T. Robe, and was made a part of the Kalamazoo charge. Rev. S. S. Williams was the first minister in the circuit after the class was organized. He preached one year, and was followed by Erastus Kellogg and Halley Beers, who rode the circuit alternately, and carried on the great revival of the winter of 1836-37 before mentioned. Kellogg remained in the circuit two years, while Beers was succeeded by H. Colcla- sier. In 1838 a man named Byron was placed on the cir- cuit, and he was followed, in 1839, by Todd and H. Worth- ington.

Worthington was a mere stripling, not yet of age, but gifted with unusual ability. He married Deacon Ammon Mills' daughter, and gave up preaching after a time. These men preached in the school-house for some time, but after a while a dissatisfaction arose between the Methodists and Baptists in regard to the use of the house, when the Meth- odists withdrew, and thenceforward held their meetings in Charleston, where they built a church in 1840. They thus passed out of the history of Climax till 1870. Sev- eral characteristic anecdotes are told of Elder Byron. When the several candidates who had been converted during a revival had passed their probation, it became the duty of Elder Byron to baptize them, which he did by sprinkling. One of them, Socrates Griswold, chose to be poured, and insisted on it, whereupon, at his turn, Byron dashed the whole contents of the vessel over him, which ran down his clothes in streams upon the floor. At another time Byron was staying at Deacon Mills'. The deacon recently had a lot of pork stolen, and very nat- urally chafed over the loss. When the time came for fam- ily prayers, Byron prayed for each member of the family, and finished by saying, " O, Lord, we pray thee detect the man who stole Brother Mills' pork."

A few years later Byron turned Millerite, and came back to the prairie, preaching the speedy end of the world. A man by the name of Moses Clark had recently held a series of meetings at the Methodist meeting-house, in which he preached the Millerite doctrines with great effect, creating a tremendous excitement among those who believed in him. People came from far and near to hear him, and guards were stationed at the doors to announce the names of the people as they came or departed. Prominent among the converts was Daniel B. Eldred, who, in a business point of view, was literally ruined by the delusion. It is related of him that a short time before the time set for the final dis- solution of all things earthly, he had occasion to go to Kalamazoo, and on the way lost a linch-pin from his wagon. He stopped at a blacksmith's in Galesburg to have a new one fitted. The blacksmith made the pin and tried it;

finding it a little too large to go into its place readily, he was about to take it out and file it down a little, when Eldred stopped him. " Drive it in," said he ; " it will answer for three days. I shan't want it after that, as the world is coming to an end." The pin was driven in, accordingly, so tight that an ox-team could not have drawn it out, and Eldred went on his way proclaiming that the end of the world was at hand. In the year 1870 the Methodist church was moved back to Climax. The completion of the Peninsular Railroad had started up a little village at Climax, and a large number of its members lived near there, and as, with the growth and prosperity of the society, it had become necessary to erect a new church edifice, it was determined to build it at the corners. The necessary funds were raised, and a handsome brick church erected in the east part of the village. It became immediately the leading religious society in town, and in 1878 added a handsome parsonage to the church property. The present membership is 154. Value of church (estimated), $5250; of parsonage, $1400.

In 1876 the Climax Church was detached from the circuit and made a separate pastoral charge, and its pastors have held services at Scott's Station and the Martin school-house in Battle Creek.

The following is a list of the pastors in charge of the church since its first organization :

Kalamazoo Charge .- 1835, S. S. Williams; 1836, Erastus Kellogg and Halley Beers ; 1837, E. Kellogg and H. Colclasier; 1838, - Byron and H. Colclasier ; 1839, - Todd and H. Worth- ington ; 1840, - Ackley and - Brier; 1841-42, Jona- than Hudson ; 1843, R. R. Richards and - Parker; 1844, Daniel Bush and A. J. Eldred ; 1845, Daniel Bush and S. R. Cook.

Climax Charge .- 1846, --- Young ; 1847, V. G. Boynton ; 1848, R. L. Farnsworth; 1849-50, Curtis Mosher; 1851, A. Wakefield ; 1876-78, E. S. McChesney ; 1879, L. M. Edmonds.

Galesburg Charge .- 1852-53, A. A. Dunton; 1854, Isaac Abbott; 1855, F. Gage; 1856, R. Sapp; 1857-58, S. Steele; 1859, I. Ab- bott ; 1860, V. G. Boynton ; 1861, A. Billings ; 1862-63, H. M. Joy ; 1864, W. W. Johnson ; 1865, A. J. Van Wyck ; 1866, S. C. Woodard; 1867-69, G. W. Sherman; 1870, J. W. Miller; 1871 -72, D. Engle ; 1873-74, C. L. Barnhart; 1875-76, L. W. Earle; 1877-78, H. P. Henderson ; 1879-80, J. A. Sprague.

The membership of the Galesburg Church, including the Comstock charge (taken in 1879), is 190; Sabbath- school scholars, 250 ; superintendent of the latter, W. W. Olin

West Climax Methodist Church .- A class was formed at West Climax, at the Wilson school-house, by a local preacher named Orlando Keyes some time about 1858. Keyes was a cooper by trade, and lived on the northeast corner of section 17. Having the talent and the inclina- tion, he spent his spare time in preparation for the ministry, and preached at various places in the vicinity of his home as occasion and opportunity offered. He entered the army as chaplain of the 12th Regiment of Michigan Infantry in 1863, with which regiment he served through the war. He died January 13, 1866, from disease contracted in the army.

At the Conference held in Ionia, in September, 1860, a circuit was organized, called the " West Climax Circuit," and probably included McKain's Corners, Brady, and Wakeshma. Its headquarters were at the Wilson school-

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

house in Climax, and R. D. McCarthy was appointed pastor. At the next Conference he reported 45 members. In 1866 the name of the circuit was changed to Wakeshma, but preaching was continued at the Wilson school-house till 1872, when the appointment was removed to McKain's Corners, by Rev. J. W. Hallowell, and preaching at Wilson's suspended. In 1876 the Climax appointment was detached from the Galesburg charge, and a new circuit formed, con- sisting of Climax, Scotts (preaching at the Wilson school- house), and Martin's school-house, in Battle Creek town- ship. Services were held in Goldsmith's Hall, in Scotts, from the winter of 1876 until November, 1879, when it was removed to the Wilson school-house. The society now numbers 23 members, and has preaching every alternate Sunday afternoon. They expect to be able to build a church and have regular Sabbath services at no very dis- tant date. The following is a list of the pastors who have been appointed to this work :

West Climax Charge .- 1860, Rev. R. D. McCarthy ; 1861, Almond Gore; 1862-63, supplied by O. Keyes; 1864-65, A. W. Torrey. Wakeshma Charge .- 1866, A. W. Torrey ; 1867-68, William M. Pad-

dock ; 1869, C. T. Van Antwerp; 1870-72, J. W. Hallowell. Climax Charge .- 1876-78, E. S. McChesney ; 1879, L. M. Edmonds.

First Baptist Church, Climax .- The annals of the early history of the various churches in Climax is involved in no little obscurity, owing to the imperfect condition and loss of early records. For the history of these churches pre- vious to 1851 we have to depend mainly on the memory of the early settlers. Judge Eldred was a rigid Baptist, strong in the faith. His religion and his politics were all in all to him, and he worked zealously for both. So long as there were no church organizations in town he worked ardently for the spread of the gospel without asking the denomination of the man who preached it. As soon, how- ever, as the different churches were organized, the lines were drawn close, and he was square on the Baptist side of them. The story of the early preaching has been already told.

A Baptist conference was organized by Elder John Harris in 1836. Immediately after the revival in the winter of 1836-37 the Baptist Church was organized, under the ministration of Elder Harris. Among its first members were Caleb Eldred and wife, Larned Gore and wife, Isaiah Gore and wife, Eliza Bonney, Amy Law- rence, Stephen Eldred and wife, N. Elwell and wife, Mrs. Simeon Freer, Mrs. Willard Lovell, Joseph E. Riddle, and N. Jaquish. Elder Harris had taken an active part in the great revival, and, like Judge Eldred, was anxious for the upbuilding and prosperity of the church, and whatever of strength and influence it ever possessed was largely due to their efforts. Elder Harris lived in South Battle Creek, about eight miles distant, and used to walk to the prairie Sabbath mornings to preach the gospel to his hearers. A large swamp had to be crossed on the way, and he fre- quently came into Judge Eldred's with his feet wet, when he would remove his stockings, wring the water from them, and dry them at the fire. No persuasions of his hostess would induce him to take the loan of a dry pair ..

He ministered to the church for many years without other pay than the people saw fit to freely give him, which

in those times was not a large sum. The meetings were held in the school-house, in District No. 1, till 1847, with the exception of one or two years, when the society hired the use of the Methodist church in Charleston. In 1847 the society built a brick church, the first one of any kind in town. Elder Harris continued to preach until 1850, with occasional help from other ministers. Some time in 1850 a young graduate of Michigan University supplied the pulpit, with great acceptance to the people, and it is set down in the first page of the church record that on the third day of January, 1851, it was

" Resolved, That we deem it expedient for the advancement of the Master's kingdom that Brother T. R. B. Palmer be more fully set apart to the work of the gospel ministry by ordination, and that we request the churches of Athens, S. Battle Creek, Yorkville, Gales- burg, Kalamazoo, and Schoolcraft to send discreet brethren to sit with us in council on Friday, the 17th Inst., at 10 o'clock A.M., for the purpose of examining Br. Palmer, and, if thought expedient, ordain him to the work of the Gospel Ministry."

He was ordained, accordingly, on the appointed day, the following clergymen sitting in the council and assisting in the ordination : Dr. Belcher, E. S. Dunham, P. F. Jones, John Harris, E. H. Hamlin, W. G. Johnson, J. Gould, C. Mosher, and R. L. Farnsworth. The young minister thus ordained preached for the society with great success until the following November, when he was called to another sphere of action. He was followed by J. L. McCloud, who served as pastor until June, 1854, when Elder Harris was again brought into service. In 1855 a little breeze arose in the church on the slavery question, and we find it recorded that on " Feb. 23, 1856, it was resolved to give a letter of dismission to Brother Stephen Eldred, by his request, be- cause he could not fellowship the church or churches gene- erally on account of their anti-slavery principles." About this time Judge Eldred built a parsonage on a lot adjoin- ing the church, and presented the lot and house to the society.

In April, 1858, the church extended a call to Rev. D. Osborn, and gave Elder Harris letters of dismission, at his request. Elder Osborn acted as pastor until July, 1860. During his pastorate the society was agitated by the ques- tion as to whether they should hold fellowship with mem- bers of secret societies, the Freemasons in particular ; but nothing resulted from the agitation. Elder Harris followed Osborn for a year, and was in turn succeeded by Rev. T. L. R. Jones.

The great civil war was now raging, and several mem- bers of the church were out fighting for their country, and the church, in common with all the true-hearted people of the country, did all it could for the aid and comfort of the Union soldiers. Contributions were taken up for the Relief Society, and letters of sympathy and cheer sent to their ab- sent Boys in Blue. The history of the church from that time down to the present has been one of alternate revival and depression. At times it has seemed in the full tide of prosperity, and again has been unable to sustain preach- ing.

In October, 1864, an arrangement was entered into with the Baptist Church at Galesburg, by which Rev. H. C. Beals was employed to serve both churches. He was fol- lowed by Revs. John Dunham, C. Wolf, Compton A. Gore,

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- Gage, - Shear. At present the church is in a languishing condition.

Other Churches .- No other regularly-organized churches than those mentioned have existed in town, although min- isters of other denominations have preached at times with more or less regularity. Some time about 1850 or 1851, Rev. R. L. Farnsworth, who had previously preached as a Methodist minister on the Galesburg circuit, changed his views and came out as a Congregationalist. He settled on the prairie, and preached regularly in the Baptist church for a year or two. If there was any regularly-organized church, the records are in the hands of some of its mem- bers or are entirely lost. A parsonage was built by a stock company, and occupied by Farnsworth in 1850. Farnsworth preached to the Congregationalists one or two years, when he turned Swedenborgian and went away. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. E. Andrus, who preached for a year or more .*

After his departure there was no more regular Congre- gational preaching, and the society, if there was any, gave up the ghost. From that time until the present there have been no regular services in town by any denomination other than those mentioned, excepting that the Rev. C. G. How- land, of Kalamazoo, preached for a short time in 1878 to the Unitarians, and traveling ministers have occasionally preached in the various school-houses.

SOCIETIES.

Climax Lodge, No. 59, F. and A. M., was organized at the residence of Thomas B. Eldred, under dispensation, Oct. 11, 1852. Its charter members were Thomas B. El- dred, W. M .; Sanford Smith, S. W .; Lansing Capron, J. W .; Samuel C. Hodgman, Sec. ; Lafayette W. Lovell, Treas .; Lovell Moore, Jr., S. D .; Benjamin Todd, J. D. They received their charter in 1853. The lodge held its meetings at the residence of T. B. Eldred for several years. After a time the place of meeting was changed to Lansing Capron's, in Charleston. About 1856, T. B. Eldred and Harvey Lent put up a building near the corners, the upper story of which was finished off for and used as a Masonic hall for several years. The room is now owned and used by Dr. O. F. Seeley for an office. Some time about 1860 the building was sold, and the lodge went to Horace Ar- nold's, in Charleston, to hold their meetings. In 1862 they purchased a corner-lot in Climax village, and built a Ma- sonic hall, the upper story of which was handsomely fitted up and furnished for their use. In 1864 they sold the property to M. Hodgman, reserving the upper story, which they continued to occupy until Jan. 13, 1878, when the building was burned to the ground, and they lost everything they had in it. The lodge had their property insured for $800, which they received after some little delay. Since then the lodge has met in the Odd-Fellows' Hall.

Their present membership is about 70. Their principal officers are Newell J. Kelsey, W. M. ; John W. Howard,

S. W .; Isaac Elwell, J. W .; L. S. Eldred, Sec .; L. W. Lovell, Treas.

Galesburg Lodge, organized in 1855, and Athens Lodge, organized in 1869, were offshoots from the Climax Lodge.

The following is a list of Masters of the lodge from its organization to 1879, in the order of their service : T. B. Eldred, C. Arnold, N. Eldred, L. W. Lovell, M. Hodgman, L. W. Lovell, O. F. Seeley, N. J. Kelsey.

Montour Grange, No. 49, P. of H., was organized at Scotts, Aug. 15, 1873, with the following charter members : Gutelius Snyder, A. J. Osburn, Samuel S. Skinner, George T. Young, Alexander Sweet, Charles Moore, John Richard- son, H. D. Osburn, Matthias Haas, Elijah Grover, Charles P. Cook, Daniel O. Cheney, B. P. Burpee, Lorenzo Calkins, Edward Pursel, Adelbert Forbush, Rollin Grover, Charles Eberstein, Thomas Haas, George Eberstein, Henry Adams, Thomas E. Husted, Mrs. Abaline Snyder, Mrs. Frances Young, Mrs. Emily Sweet, Mrs. Catharine Haas, Mrs. Diana Pursel, Mrs. Abigail Adams, Mrs. Miranda Grover, Miss Ida Sweet, Minnie French, Hattie L. Sandal, Helen Johnson, and Louisa Forbush. Its first officers were : Master, Gutelius Snyder; Overseer, A. J. Osburn ; Secre- tary, Daniel O. Cheney. Its meetings are held in Gold- smith's Hall, and the grange has been remarkably prosperous from the beginning. Its different Masters have been Gute- lius Snyder, George Eberstein, Adam Haas, and John Schramlin. The Master in 1879 was Adam Haas ; Secre- tary, Aldelbert Forbush.

Climax Grange, No. 72, P. of H., was organized at the village of Climax, under a dispensation from the National Grange, f dated Sept. 18, 1873. On the 10th day of No- vember, 1873, the grange was chartered. The following are the names of the charter members : L. W. Lovell, Enos T. Lovell, Jervis D. Adams, Caleb V. Lawrence, Robert Roof, Henry Day. O. W. Eldred, L. S. Eldred, Wm. Tobey, J. T. Retalick, Mrs. Eliza Lovell, Mrs. Martha Myers, Mrs. Millie Eldred, and Mrs. Olcha Lawrence. Nothing was done by the grange until the following spring. The first officers of the grange were J. D. Adams, Master; C. V. Lawrence, Overseer ; E. T. Lovell, Lecturer ; J. Q. Adams, Steward ; H. H. Pierce, Assistant Steward ; J. R. Milli- man, Treas. ; L. S. Eldred, Sec. ; J. McAlister, Gate- Keeper; Nellie Lefever, Ceres ; Olcha Lawrence, Pomona ; Nancy McAlister, Flora ; Mrs. Mattie Myers, Lady Assist- ant Steward.

The grange held its meetings in Ide's Hall until March, 1877, when the upper story of A. B. Eldred's building was hired and fitted up for a grange hall. The Odd-Fellows were admitted to the hall and assisted in furnishing it. In 1878 the Odd-Fellows rented the hall of Mr. Eldred, and admitted the grange in turn. In May, 1879, the grange disposed of their share of the hall furniture to the Odd- Fellows, and since that time have held their meetings at the houses of the members. The society has never been as strong as might have been expected from its location and the character of the farming community it represents. The principal work in which the public was interested, was accomplished by a series of Farmers' Institutes organ- ized and carried on in 1878 and 1879. In this work the

# Andrus was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Wolcott, who preached for some time with great success, but an anti-Maine law sermon preached by him during the exciting times caused by the enforcement of the liquor law (spoken of in Judge Eldred's biographical sketch) made him so unpopular that he gave up the field. He was followed by Rev. John Scotford, who preached a year or more.

+ State Grange(?).

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HISTORY OF KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

grange was cheerfully and well assisted by the people of the vicinity, and the result was gratifying to all concerned. The Masters of the grange have been, in 1874, J. D. Adams ; 1875-76, Enos T. Lovell ; 1877-79, Francis Hodgman.

Climax Prairie Lodge, No. 70, I. O. of G. T., was or- ganized March 25, 1859, with the following charter mem- bers : Potter Eldred, Park Heath, C. B. Guchess, Jane S. Powell, Lydia B. Cole, C. E. Peters, E. A. Arnold, K. E. Peters, John Davison, O. Keyes, L. E. Cole, D. C. Reed, H. Arnold, E. A. Reed, I. Peters, R. Randall, L. Capron, E. A. Peters. The following officers were elected at the first meeting : I. Peters, W. C. T .; E. A. Reed, W. V. T .; D. C. Reed, W. S .; Potter Eldred, W. T .; E. A. Peters, W. I. G .; Park Heath, W. O. G. Meetings were held in Sawyer's Hall, in what is now Ides' building. The lodge continued in operation at this time about two years, as near as we can learn. The following were its presiding officers : 1859, W. C. T., I. Peters, O. Keyes ; 1860, W. E. Sawyer, Isaac Arnold, Henry Dickie; 1861, Isaac Arnold, C. B. Guchess.

Two efforts have since been made to resuscitate the lodge. In the winter of 1865-66 it was started anew, and contin- ued about a year. The Chiefs during the time were O. F. Seeley and Eugene M. Eldred. In 1876 it was again revived, with Frank McNutt as Chief, but did not survive the first term of his office.

Climax Prairie Lodge, No. 288, I. O. O. F., was char- tered Jan. 9, 1877. Its charter members were John Bonner, Charles W. Brainard, Amiel Robins, James H. Leonard, Charles Brown, Wm. Jackson, and John M. Wardell. It met for a short time in Ide's Hall, but very soon after an arrangement was entered into with the Climax Grange by which the latter society leased the upper story of A. B. El- dred's store for one year, and permitted the Odd-Fellows to use it a portion of the time. The two societies fitted it up and furnished their rooms in handsome style at their joint expense. In 1878 the Odd-Fellows leased the hall for five years, and admitted the Freemasons to its use. In 1879 the grange sold their share of the furniture to the Odd-Fellows and withdrew from the hall. The lodge has been prospered, and now numbers between 60 and 70 members. The presiding officers have been John Bonner, Wm. Jackson, J. McAlister, E. D. Bushnell, and F. McNary. Its elective officers at present are F. McNary, N. G .; Charles Gould, V. G .; S. B. Sanders, R. S .; G. W. Hawver, P. S .; H. Bishop, Treas. The Scott Lodge is an offshoot from this society.

The Climax Reform Club was organized at the Methodist church, March 16, 1877, and the following officers elected : President, Linneus Brown ; First Vice-President, William Tobey ; Second Vice-President, Johannes Lefever; Secre- tary, J. R. Monroe ; Financial Secretary, William Sheldon ; Treasurer, John M. Wardell ; First Marshal, Frank McNutt; Second Marshal, George Reasoner ; Sergeant-at- Arms, D. Van de Bogart. The club fitted up the hall in Ides' building, and held regular meetings in it until July, 1878, when they left it. In December the club reorganized and held meetings in Hodgman's Hall till the next July, since which time there have been no meetings of the club

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History of Kalamazoo county, Michigan, Part 92

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott Number of Pages: 761

Author: Durant, Samuel W. comp
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia. Everts & Abbott
Number of Pages: 761