USA > Missouri > History of Platte Presbytery; or, Presbyterianism in northwest Missouri > Part 2
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to win them over to the service of Jesus Christ. Do you thus covenant and promise ?
"Having given their solemn assent, the members were then informed that they were authorized to elect their church officers, and after an address to the throne of grace imploring Divine direction, the following per- sons were declared duly elected : Robert Elliott, James Mc Williams and William Modrel. Notice was given that the elders-elect would be ordained on the morrow, and services were closed by singing and prayer. The church met on August 30th, and after sermon the elders-elect were set apart and ordained according to the form of government of the Presby- terian Church.
"Attest :
H. CHAMBERLAIN, "Moderator."
Mr. Chamberlain was the first pastor, and the church has since been served by the following minis- ters: John L. Yantis, Wm. Dickson, J. M. Inskeep, R. H. Allen, J. C. Thornton, John G. Fackler, John Hancock, Robert Scott, David Coulter, John P. Fore- man, J. L. Caldwell, E. McNair, John N. McFarlane, Wm. Frost Bishop and J. J. Hill.
The full roll of elders, in addition to the three named above, is as follows: Allen Denny, Joseph Clark, William T. Wood, William Inskeep, Thomas Sublette, Edward M. Samuel, Greenup Bird, C. C. Trabue, James T. Marsh, M. D., William Webb, John A. Denny, A. M. Chase, Lewis B. Dougherty, James Love, James Robb, Ambrose M. Griffith, John J. Gaw, A. C. Courtney, W. L. Trimble, Morton Marsh, Prof. John Staley, Prof. E. J. Scott, George W. Herbold, Irving Gilmer and John Laipple.
It is a cause of regret that we are able to give even a brief sketch of only one of the "pillars" of this early "evergreen" and influential church.
Dr. James T. Marsh was born February 18, 1833, at the old family homestead in the Gilead neighborhood, his father having come from Kentucky in 1827. He
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graduated from Westminster College in 1857, and a St. Louis medical college in 1860. He began practice in Liberty and remained there till his death, February 16, 1907. He was ordained as elder October 7, 1866, in the Liberty church, and retired from active service in 1901. He was active both as a Christian and a citi- zen, and could always be depended on as elder as well as physician. Faithfulness was a very marked trait of his character.
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1841.
The first Presbyterian church in the Platte Pur- chase of which we have any definite record was called West Union and was organized June 11, 1841, by Rev. E. A. Carson. The only other fact about it on record is that it was disbanded April 6, 1850, by the Presby- tery of Lexington, and its records ordered transferred to the Weston church. This last fact may give us a hint of its location, of which nothing definite is known, unless it should possibly be the church spoken of by Dr. E. B. Sherwood in his Autobiography (page 103) as being "about ten miles northwest of Savannah and about three miles this side of Fillmore."
The earliest permanent organization was near Sa- vannah. We are able to give an unusually full ac- count of this church, thanks to the painstaking and unwearied co-operation of the pastor and the long-time Clerk of Session, Elder H. B. McDonald. The early history here given consists mainly of extracts from a History of Andrew County published a few years ago, and a memorial sermon preached by the pastor, Rev. A. W. McGlothlan, on Christmas day, 1904, the last Sabbath in which services were held in the old build- ing.
"A number of families, most of them from the State of Kentucky, had settled in the western part of the county where, with heroic spirit and surrounded with conditions peculiar to a new country, they were striving to support themselves and their families. This was not a difficult task so far as food and clothing were concerned; but they were not satisfied with these alone. The greater portion of them were interested in the intellectual and moral development of their children. A log school house had been erected on what is now known as the Andrew Barr farm, then owned by Robert Elliott. It was in this school house on a hot Sabbath afternoon, August 7, 1841, that a number of the people living in the settlement came together for a religious service. The Rev. Elijah A. Carson preached to them and at the close of the service pro- posed the organization of a Presbyterian church."
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The following paper was then adopted and signed by twenty-four persons :
"We, the subscribers and citizens of Andrew and adjoining counties, who have emigrated from other portions of the country and were members of the Pres- byterian and other churches in Christ, since there are no churches in this newly settled country with which we feel disposed to unite, having credentials from churches to which we belonged, believing that we are the children of God and having a good hope of life through faith in Christ, and in all humility de- siring to avail ourselves of the privileges of Christ's visible church, of which we are now deprived, by serving Him according to the doctrines of God's Word and ordinances of His house and governed by the discipline of the Presbyterian Church, do, by subscrib- ing our names, evince that it is our earnest solicitude to be organized into a Presbyterian church, which shall be called by whatever name a majority of us shall wish and vote for at the time of organization."
A number of regulations were also adopted, one of which gave any one the privilege of withdrawing at any future time in order to unite with a church of their preference.
The twenty-four who signed the above paper were Aury Ballard, Sarah Ballard, Keziah Beattie, Abraham Brubaker, Elizabeth Brubaker, George Brubaker, Julia A. Brubaker, Elijah A. Carson, Mary J. Carson, Harriet Castle, James' Davis, Harriet Davis, John E. Davis, Sarah A. Davis, Jane E. Hardy, David C. Montgomery, Jane Montgomery, Gilbert Ray, Elizabeth Ray, Mary A. Rodgers, Thomas Rodgers and W. H. Rodgers.
Of these Aury Ballard, George Brubaker, James Davis and W. H. Rodgers were elected Ruling Elders.
Rev. E. A. Carson became and continued pastor till the union of the two Savannah churches.
For a time the church was called Pisgah, which was soon changed to Savannah, it being from the first the purpose of the founders to remove to the county seat when that should be located. "Meetings were held regularly on 'Hackberry Ridge' until in December, 1842," when the church began holding services in
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Savannah "in the old courthouse which stood on the corner of Sixth and Market streets, diagonally across from where the new church now stands." Here the church continued to worship and grow in strength. "In the mean time a Sabbath School, the first in Savan- nah, was organized, which became a valuable auxiliary to the church under the efficient management of Mr. Carson and his wife."
Feeling the need of more room, the congregation purchased a lot on Third street, "and a neat brick structure was erected in 1848, which cost over $3,100, nearly all of which sum was generously donated by Mr. Carson, who contributed besides a great deal of time and labor to the building."
It has seemed best to the compiler that when a church is first mentioned, its whole history should be given then and there, including that of other churches which may have united with it. Hence, anticipating the future, we will here speak of the Old School Church. which was organized here eight years later. Its records having disappeared, we are unable to give definite and full particulars. ,
There were two Old School churches in the county, the exact date of whose organizations is unknown, the one, Round Prairie, about thirteen miles northwest of Savannah, at or near the present town of Fillmore ; the other, Flag Springs, about the same distance in a northeast direction.
"In 1849 an Old School Presbyterian Church was formed in Savannah by the consolidation of what were known as the Round Prairie and Flag Springs congre- gations, after a series of meetings conducted by Revs. R. H. Allen and R. S. Symington. The number of members was about forty-five including those who identified themselves with the society during these meetings. Robert Elliot, Wm. Nichols, Dr. H. Smith and Martin Bayles were chosen elders. They selected as their pastor Rev. Charles Stewart from Kentucky, who died in 1852, and was succeeded by Rev. W. D. Syming- ton, who served the church nine years. Rev. W. H. Stryker came next, and he was followed by Rev. J.
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Emory Fisher, during whose pastorate the Old and New School churches united."
In this year (or more probably in the summer of 1840) there came into this territory a pioneer, Rev. Elijah A. Carson, who did much to mold society and to build up the cause of Christ. Having received a full classical and theological training (the latter a practi- cal one under a pastor) he was ordained by the Pres- bytery of French Broad, and labored in Tennessee and Virginia as a home missionary, under the direction of Presbytery until he came to Missouri, teaching also much of the time. He was a far-seeing and broad- minded man, throwing his whole soul into the work of benefiting in any and every way the country to which he had come. He taught the first school in Savannah and was recognized and honored equally as citizen and minister, being elected Circuit Clerk of Andrew county for several successive terms. The following sketch is furnished by a neighbor and co-presbyter :
"Rev. Elijah A. Carson was among the first, if not the very first minister to settle in the new territory obtained from the Indians by the Platte Purchase. As soon as the town of Savannah was organized he moved within its bounds and resided there until he died. The condition and manner of life-the character of the scattered people also-were scarcely different from what he had been accustomed to in Tennessee. Eggleston's Circuit Rider would give a fairly correct idea of Western Missouri in the early '40s. Mr. Carson belonged to that period, was made by it, suited it.
"As an educated man he devoted himself to teach- ing and preaching while largely supporting himself on the land he had entered. The work he did was missionary, heroic, unselfish. He was a man of posi- tive convictions, strict integrity, and a high sense of honor.
"For his church no sacrifice was too great. He gave more than did all the members together toward the erection of the Brick Church in Savannah, selling a large part of his land to raise the money.
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"The war which broke up nearly every New School Presbyterian Church in the state, brought divisions among the brethren in Savannah. Finally the perver- sion of the Brick Church and the refusal of the new Presbytery of Platte to right the wrong, so deeply hurt him that he withdrew and joined the Southern Presbytery of Upper Missouri."
In 1905 when Platte Presbytery met in the beauti .. ful new church in Savannah, it was thought that the time had come for some public recognition of the services of the first Presbyterian pastor of Savannah, and a marble tablet has been placed in the church with the following inscription :
In memory of REV. ELIJAH A. CARSON. Born in Tenn. June 30, 1810. Ordained, 1835. Came to Mo. 1841. The same year he taught the first school and organized the first church IN ANDREW CO. Pastor of that church 1841-1853. Stated Clerk of Lexington Presbytery. Died in Savannah, Mo. Oct. 16, 1891. A TRIBUTE BY THE PRESBYTERY. "In labors more abundant, In journeyings often."
The following sketches have been furnished by residents of Savannah :
"It may truly be said that no more earnest, devoted, consecrated servants of God have had membership in His church here upon earth than David Landers and Deborah his wife. Faithful in all their duties towards God and man, they were blessed with a long life of over three score and ten years, and left the impress of their character upon a number of noble Christian sons and daughters."
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"Of Mrs. Margaret Smith it may be said that God's true work in the conversion of the soul was fully shown in her life. Although · called upon to endure severe trials and great bodily afflictions, especially in the latter part of her life, she was ever faithful to the vows made in earlier years. Her greatest joy seemed to be in reading God's Word and talking of His great love to her."
Mr. Andrew Barr was for many years an elder in this church. He was a pioneer farmer whose manifold duties never interfered with the occupancy of à certain front pew in the church by him and his large family on the Sabbath day. His five sons and two daughters, still living in Andrew county, all Chris- tians and, with one exception, Presbyterians, testify by their lives to his faithfulness as a godly father.
Mr. Colin C. Somerville was for many years a uni- que and influential figure in the Savannah Church. Born in Scotland, of a long line of Presbyterian ancestry, he could scarce be other than what he was, a staunch and loyal Presbyterian. Among the inti- mate friends of his school days, he numbered Horatius Bonar, the great hymn writer, and Robert Murray McCheyne, "the sainted McCheyne." His brother, Dr. Somerville, of Edinburgh, was one of the greatest preachers of his day. Mr. Somerville had an exception- ally fine bass voice and was a member of the church choir for many years.
He was a poet of no mean ability and left a publish- ed volume of poems which have been a source of pleasure and comfort to his many friends here and in the old country.
Mrs. Hallie J. Stuart was one of those "Mothers in Israel" whose helpful influence will long be felt in this community. No task was too hard for her undertak- ing if done for the church, and she possessed to a remarkable degree, the power of enlisting others in the work. This gave her for years, an acknowledged lead- ership among the women of the church, a position which she held to the day of her death, in 1901. For a long time she was teacher of the Primary Department in
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the Sabbath School, and a very beautiful window in the new church stands as a memorial to her faithful service in the church she loved.
Mrs. Mary Stuart Russell, daughter of the above, is one whose name should be mentioned in this con- nection. From a child she was the organist of the Sabbath School and after her marriage, her beautiful home on Christian Ridge was a recognized stopping place for the transient minister and was always open to any kind of gathering in the interest of the church. By her splendid liberality, she was enabled to rescue the church from many a financial difficulty. She is now a resident of Spokane, Washington, but continues her liberal subscription to the expenses of the Savan- nah Church.
Other women whose names are deserving of mention because of their great service to the Master's cause in this church are, Mrs. James Reed, who literally gave her life for the work here, Mrs. Mary Carson, Mrs. T. D. Roberts, and Mrs. J. R. Caldwell.
Since the reunion in 1870, the Savannah Church has been served by Revs. Robert Cruikshank, G. A. Pollock, W. G. Keady, T. D. Roberts, W. T. Voss, James Reed, W. A. Cravens and A. W. McGlothlan ; and Elders W. S. Earls, H. T. Walker, Andrew Barr, Upton Rohrer, H. H. Dobbins, W. E. Smith, John H. Tyner, John R Caldwell, R. H. Stuart, J. F. Waters, Jacob Schell, H. B. McDonald, J. W. Grant, Rudolph Born, J. P. Burns, J. H. Graff and William M. Kerr.
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HISTORY OF PLATTE PRESBYTERY.
1842-3.
The first church whose beginning is recorded in this period is Plum Grove, organized by Rev. George M. Crawford, July 17, 1842. In 1846 it reported thirty members. Ils last appearance in the Minutes of Lex- ington Presbytery was in 1859, and it had then been vacant for some years. Nothing is known of its loca- tion, and it may have been south of the Missouri River.
Mt. Zion Church was organized August 20, 1842, by Rev. E. A. Carson, "in a frame building, thirty by forty feet, erected expressly for the worship of God, on the Grand River about ten miles south of Albany. Mr. James C. Patton had given four acres for the location of the church and cemetery, and ten acres adjoining this for use as a camp ground, which remained so set apart until a recent date."
The original members were Mary Missimer, Philip Missimer, Belinda J. Patton, Hugh L. W. Patton, James C. Patton and Isabella, his wife, James H. Patton, Sarah A. M. Patton, William A. Patton, Margaret J. Whitton, Jeremiah S. Young and Ruth Young. "Al' but the last two produced certificates from the Mt. Zion Church in Tennessee, signed by Rev. T. Brown, pastor. J. C. Patton and J. S. Young were elected elders, and Caleb Simpson, Booker Smith and H. L. W. Patton, trustees."
In those early years Mt. Zion Church was the "Mecca of Presbyterianism" for a very large section. It never became very large, many of its members going from time to time to form new churches in the vicinity, and at times it has been greatly reduced, but since the recent reunion it has taken on new life and is nobly doing a much needed work. Soon after a camp meet- ing held at Mt Zion by Rev. A. B. Hobbs, in August, 1907, the Mt. Zion Church was reorganized, with George MeConkey, Isaac G. Patton and William Whit- ton as elders. William A. Patton, who had been an
.
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HISTORY OF PLATTE PRESBYTERY.
elder for forty years, and the only one for several years, had died April 28, 1900. For the first fifty-eight years of its existence the church had but six elders, J. C. Patton, J. S. Young, Martin Low, David F. Jameson, James W. Owen and W. A. Patton. D. F. Jameson, who died December 25, 1889, served as elder for over thirty-five years, and as clerk of session for over twenty-six. Rev. Timothy Morgan was the first per- manent supply, and Rev. John Dykes came later. The original frame church was replaced by a brick build- ing, the bricks for which were made under the super- vision of Mr. Patton, on his farm. This building hav- ing become unfit for worship, his son, Isaac A. Patton, donated in his will one thousand dollars for a new building. With this the present neat little church was built in 1892, on the same site.
James C. Patton was born in Augusta county, Vir- ginia, July 24, 1787. In 1809 he emigrated to Tennessee, where he continued to reside till he came to Missouri in the spring of 1841. September 15, 1841, he settled in Miller township, Gentry county, near Gentryville. He found a sparsely settled country, with its society unorganized. Neither a school house or church had been built in the county. Being a very devout and en- ergetic man, his next act, after providing shelter for his family, was to donate a suitable location for a church and cemetery, and almost unaided, except by his own family, he built a frame house of worship, and called it Mt. Zion. He was, in truth, a patriarch. It is sad that such a life had a tragic end. He espoused the cause of the South in the civil war, but remained at home, as he was old and feeble. Being an influen- tial citizen, soldiers were sent, in May, 1862, to arrest him. They took him to Albany and placed him under guard in the Court House. Being a Southern gentle- man, his indignation at such harsh treatment is sup- posed to have been the cause of his death, a few hours later, when he fell from his chair, surrounded by none but rude soldiers. His body was interred at Mt. Zion, where sleep all his ten children, except one who is still living.
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William A. Patton, son of J. C. Patton, was born in Monroe county, Tennessee, December 1, 1819, and was reared on a farm, receiving his education in the com- mon schools of his native county. He came to Mis- souri with his father in 1841. "He was of like char- acter with his father, whose mantle fell on his shoul- ders. With the aid of a few others he held a Sabbath School during the war in a school house'near Gentry- ville. During the whole of his long life he was not only an active and ardent church and Sunday school worker, but he was also by precept and example a zealous advocate of the cause of temperance." He was prominent as a citizen and a business man. He erected in Albany the first steam saw and grist mill in the county, and built the old Court House.
Eliza C. Owen was born in Monroe county, Ten- nessee, August 5, 1827. She was married to W. A. Patton, February 27, 1845, and came with him to the neighborhood of Mt Zion. She was converted and united with the Mt. Zion Church in 1848. "Being a woman of remarkable strength of character, clearness of religious experience and gentleness of disposition, with firmness of conscience, her religion showed bright- ly to family and friends." She died January 31, 1907.
For the material for the above history and sketches, we are indebted to Miss Flora L. McCammon, a great- grand-daughter of James C. Patton.
As we learn from Paxton's Annals of Platte County, the Weston Church was organized August 28, 1842, by Rev. E. A. Carson, with the following mem- bers: Mary Cowles, Robert A. Cummins, America P. Hudson, Anna Nash, Elizabeth Neville, Elizabeth Nor- ton, Samuel Norton, Roderick G. Stevens and P. M. Underhill. Another authority gives also Caroline R. Case.
As all the records prior to 1871 are lost, but little of the early history can be given. A brick church, forty by sixty feet and costing four or five thousand dollars, was erected in 1844. Rev. Edmund Wright,
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HISTORY OF PLATTE PRESBYTERY.
who was received by the Presbytery of Lexington, Oc- tober 28, 1842, was pastor for seven years. Rev. Fred- cric Starr, sent out by the American Home Missionary Society, was ordained and installed November 16, 1850. He was a very talented, tactful and peculiarly genial man, and secured the building of a manse costing twelve hundred dollars. Tradition says that by his tact and geniality he turned from their purpose a mob who had come to hang him because he had praved with a negro previous to his execution. In after years when he was financial agent for Auburn Theological Semi- nary, he was one of the only two of the many official "beggars" who were universally welcomed among the churches of Western New York. His being an anti- slavery man shortened his stay in Weston. Much of the time since the church has not had a regular supply, but the following have served it for a definite period : William M. Kain, E. B. Sherwood, W. L. S. Clark, James M. Crawford, W. H. Penhallegon, Edmund M. Palmer and John H. Aughey.
A lady, whose name we do not feel free to mention. writes of the early officers and members: "Mr. Rod- ney Stephens was a very zealous and successful worker in Sunday school, and was loved by all the children as well as grown folks. In 1854 Joseph V. Parrot was added to the list of elders. We remember Mr. and Mrs. George T. Hulse, Mr. Wentworth, Mrs. Sarah Parrot and Miss Jane McCurdy as earnest, faithful members of the early church."
Among the early elders were R. G. Stevens, J. R. Tyler, Rodney Stephens, John H. Carson, J. V. Parrot, G T. Hulse, John S. Maitland, Andrew Mitchell and E. G. Heriot. The last named was especially active in Sunday school work. Messrs. Carson and Mitchell were both born in Ireland. The former was an elder in Tyrone county before he came over in 1846. He was elected an elder of the Weston Church about 1850 and served till his death. "For years he was a col- porteur of the Tract Society, and he fell dead Novem- ber 14, 1878, while delivering a Bible to a purchaser, with the half uttered sentence, 'I must do all the good
1
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HISTORY OF PLATTE PRESBYTERY.
I can while -. ' " Mr. Mitchell, "a faithful worker and a pillar in the church," became an elder in the church in 1865, and died in Colorado, aged ninety-eight. The more recent elders are : A. C. Bell, William Ohlhausen, Thomas C. Magers, George Brill, Selmon Wallace and F. H. Coughlan.
Rev. J. E. Flow, recently Stated Clerk and Treas- urer of the Upper Missouri Presbytery and pastor of the Bethel Church, has kindly furnished the following data:
"On record in the Session Book I find, viz .: 'At. a meeting of the Missouri Presbytery, held in the New Providence Church, Lafayette county, September 24, 1842, it appearing from the representation of the rep- resentative from the Liberty Church, that it was in- convenient for the whole body to worship at the same place; whereupon it was resolved: That part of the church north and east of Fishing river is hereby or- ganized into a church, the name of which shall be desig- nated by themselves; and the elders elect, living within the bounds of the congregation, be the acting elders of the church; and that elders be elected and ordained in the Church of Liberty.'
"The following names were then transferred from the Liberty Church to the Bethel Church: Elders Portius Clark, John Crossett, William Crossett, Allen Denny and Riland Shackelford. Members-Charity Bane, Nancy Clark, Artelia Crossett, Margaret Cros- sett, Mary Crossett, Ann Cummins, Mary Cummins, Ruth Cummins, Samuel Cummins, William Cummins, Margaret Davis, Walter Davis, Emily Denny, George Denny, Hannah Denny, Jane Denny, Matilda Denny, Nancy E. Finley, Rufus W. Finley, John M. Gray, Robert Henderson, Isabella Lynn, Benjamin McClain, Hannah McIlvain, Isabella McLane, Jane McNeeley, John McTaggart, William Murray, Mary Riley, Sarah Schoolfield, Hannah Scudder, Joseph Scudder, Allen Shackelford, Martha Stockton, William . Stockton and Jane Welton.
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