USA > Missouri > Presbyterianism in the Ozarks : a history of the work of the various branches of the Presbyterian Church in Southwest Missouri, 1834-1907 > Part 11
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PUBLICATION AND S. S. WORK.
March 31, 1870
Rev. J. A. Paige
October 6, 1871
Rev. L. J. Matthews Rev. E. M. Halbert
September 13, 1872
September 9, 1875
Rev. W. L. Miller
March 30, 1870. Pub., Rev. T. H. Allin; S. S. Work, Rev. E. M. Halbert
September 7, 1878 .Pub. Rev. W. L. Miller., S. S., Rev. E. M. Halbert Rev. T. H. Allin
April 3, 1879 (Pub.)
October 6, 1880 (Pub. S. S.)
Rev. G. F. Davis, Rev. Clark Salmon
September 27, 1882 United again-Rev. G. F. Davis April 14, 1891 Rev. J. R. Gass
September 21, 1899 Rev. E. J. Nugent
April 16, 1903. Rev. A. T. Aller
September 15, 1904.
Rev. E. E. Mathes
September 13, 1905
Rev. J. F. Shepherd, Ph. D.
EDUCATION
October 1, 1870
October 6, 1871
Rev. J. A. Paige Rev. J. M. Brown Rev. C. H. Dunlap
September 13, 1872
Rev. J. J. Marks, D. D.
April 14, 1880
April 12, 1882 Rev. D. P. Putnam, D. D. September 20, 1883 Rev. J. J. Marks, D. D. September 17, 1885. Rev. E. A. Hamilton Rev. J. A. Gerhard April 14, 1891 September 16, 1896 Rev. J. B. Welty September 22, 1897. Rev. C. Memmott September 22, 1898. Rev W. C. Templeton Rev. C. B. Boving September 19, 1900 May 17, 1905.
Rev. B. M. Shive, D. D.
September 22, 1897
January 16, 1902
Rev. Henry Little
October 1, 1870.
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PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE OZARKS
CHURCH ERECTION
October 1, 1870.
Rev. John MeFarland
April 12, 1872.
Rev. W. L. Miller
September 7, 1878
Rev. D. L. Lander
October 8, 1879
Rev. B. F. Powelson
September 27, 1882.
Rev. D. P. Putnam, D. D.
September 20, 1883
Rev. A. L. Miller
September 17, 1885
Rev. T. R. Easterday Rev. R. W. Ely
April 14, 1891.
Rev. J. G. Reaser
September 19, 1894
Rev. D. N. Allen
September 22, 1897
Rev. J. B. Welty
September 22, 1898
Rev. W. R. McElroy
April 10, 1901
Rev. Henry Little
September 15, 1904
Rev. E. L. Renick
MINISTERIAL RELIEF
April 1, 1871
Rev. J. H. Nixon, D. D.
October 6, 1871
Rev. J. W. Pinkerton
September 14, 1872
Rev. W. R. Fulton
March 12, 1881
Rev. Geo. Newell
September 27, 1882.
Rev. W. S. Knight, D. D.
September 20, 1883
Rev. W. L. Miller
September 17, 1885
Rev. W. S. Knight, D. D. Rev. H. B. Fry, D. D. Rev. J. E. Leyda
September 19, 1894
Rev. J. N. MeClung
September 17, 1896
Rev. C. Memmott
September 22, 1897
Elder J. W. Silsby
September 12, 1906
Elder W. B. Skinner
FOREIGN MISSIONS
September 9, 1875
Rev. W. S. Knight, D. D.
October 8, 1879
Rev. B. F. Powelson
September 28, 1881
Rev. F. M. Baldwin
April 12, 1883.
Rev. G. H. Williamson
September 17, 1885
Rev. E. P. Keach
September 6, 1886
April 7, 1887.
Rev. John Foy Rev. James Lafferty Rev. W. G. Banker
September 26, 1888
April 14, 1891. Rev. W. S. Knight, D. D.
September 13, 1893
Rev. D. C. Hanna Rev. J. E. Sentz
September 22, 1897
Rev. H. O. Scott, D. D.
September 13, 1905.
Rev. D. B. Whimster Rev. Huston Taylor
FREEDMEN
September 9, 1875
Rev. S. Glascock
September 27, 1882
Rev. W. B. McElwee
September 26, 1888
Rev. W. S. Lowry
April 14, 1891
Rev. R. S. Stevenson
April 13, 1893
Rev. E. E. Stringfield Rev. Henry Hepburn
June 5, 1902
May 17, 1905 Rev. B. F. Logan Rev. G. H. Williamson
April 18, 1907
September 16, 1896
September 12, 1906.
September 14, 1887
September 26, 1889
September 26, 1889
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PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE OZARKS
COLLEGE AID
September 17, 1885.
Rev. G. T. Thompson
September 15, 1887
Rev. G. H. Williamson
September 26, 1888
Rev. J. G. Reaser, D. D.
April 14, 1891 ..
Rev. D. C. Hanna
September 13, 1893
Rev. O. E. Hart
September 19, 1894
Rev. G. H. Hemingway
September 17, 1896
Rev. F. G. Knauer
September 22, 1897
Rev. J. G. Reaser, D. D. Rev. A. M. Mann
September 22, 1898
April 11, 1901.
Rev. J. H. Bright
April 16, 1903
Rev. L. H. Shane Rev. C. Olandt
May 17, 1905
September 12, 1906
Rev. W. L. Hackett Rev. J. F. Shepherd, Ph. D.
COMMISSIONERS TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY
PRESBYTERY OF SOUTHWEST MISSOURI.
Date Elected.
Apr. 19, 1867-Rev. John McFarland, Elder .W. L. Scroggs, Ebenezer church. Alternates-Rev. J. A. Paige, Elder Charles Sheppard, Calvary church. Apr. 3, 1869-Rev. J. W. Pinkerton, Elder George C. See, Calvary church. Alternates-Rev. J. A. Paige, Elder Charles Shephard, Calvary church. March 26, 1869-Rev. J. A. Paige. Elder J. L. Carson, Calvary church. Alternates-Rev. W. R. Fulton, Elder J. H. Miller, Neosho. April 16, 1870-Rev. W. R. Fulton, Elder W. R. Gorton, Calvary.
Alternates-Rev. B. F. Powelson, Elder J. O. Boggs.
PRESBYTERY OF OZARK
March 31, 1871-Rev. J. M. Brown, Elder A. C. Schell, Neosho. Alternates-Rev. J. H. Nixon, Geo. C. See, Calvary.
April 12, 1872-Rev. J. W. Pinkerton, Charles Sheppard, Calvary. Alternates-Rev. W. R. Fulton, Perry Stringfield, Newtonia and Ritchey April 10, 1873-Rev. W. L. Miller, Henry M. Hennor, Salem. Alternates-Rev. C. H. Dunlap, Paul Orr, Ozark Prairie. April 25, 1874-Rev. L. J. Matthews, A. D. Matthews, Buffalo. Alternates-Rev. C. H. Dunlap, D. L. Lander, Neosho. April 9, 1875-Rev. L. J. Matthews.
Alternates-E. M. Halbert.
April 29, 1875- Alternates-
W. R. Gorton, Calvary. T. H. Allin.
March 10, 1876-Rev. W. L. Miller, J. W. Gordon, Jasper Ch. Alternates-Rev. E. M. Halbert, A. Kennedy, Ebenezer.
March 30, 1877-Rev. . W. L. Miller, J. W. Coultraine, Mt. Zion. Alternates-D. L. Lander, C. Rivers, Carthage.
March 16, 1878-Rev. D. L. Lander, J. S. MeNeece, Carthage. Alternates-Rev. D. K. Campbell, S. Cadwallader. April 2, 1879-T. H. Allin, J. G. Irwin. Alternates-D. K. Campbell, S. Cadwallader.
April 14, 1880-Rev. W. S. Knight, Elder Wm. Cochrane, Ozark Prairie. Alternates-Rev. J. P. Solomon, Howard Pierce.
March 11, 1881-Rev. J. J. Marks, D. D., Elder S. Cadwallader. Alternates-Rev. B. F. Powelson, W. A. Milner.
September 15, 1904
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PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE OZARKS
April 12, 1882-Rev. W. A. Cravens, Elder S. G. Appleby, Mt. Zion. Alternates-Rev. B. F. Powelson, W. A. Milner.
April 11, 1883-Rev. D. P. Putnam, D. D., Elder Wm,, Milner. Alternates-Rev. G. H. Williamson, W. H. Delzell.
April 3, 1884-Rev. G. H. Williamson, Elder W. H. Delzell, Ash Grove. Alternates-Rev. J. P. Solomon, Wm. Cochrane, Ozark Prairie.
April 29, 1885-Rev. G. F. Davis, J. N. Sears, White Oak. Alternates-W. B. McElwee, J. Strain, Irwin.
April 17, 1886-Rev. W. S. Knight, Chas. Sheppard, Calvary. Alternates-W. B. McElwee, Oscar Farmer, Grand Prairie.
April 7, 1887-Rev. W. B. McElwee, Robert Hall, Springfield Second. Alternates-Rev. T. R. Easterday, C. W. Likens, Ash Grove. April 12, 1888-Rev. E. A. Hamilton, Elder A. Kennedy, Ebenezer. Alternates-T. R. Easterday, C. W. Likens, Ash Grove.
April 10, 1889-Rev. G. H. Williamson, C. W. Likens, Ash Grove. Alternates-T. H. Cleland, D. D., R. L. Galbreath.
April 16, 1890-Rev. W. G. Banker, Elder J. D| Peers, Springfield Second. Alternates-R. W. Ely, W. R. Gorton, Calvary.
April 16, 1891-Rev. J. G. Reaser, D. D., C. F. MeElroy, Carthage. Alternates-Rev. R. W. Ely, Henry Merrill, Ebenezer.
April 13, 1892-Rev. R. W. Ely, Elder W. W. Johnston, Eureka Springs. Alternates-Rev. J. R. Gass, W. R. Gorton, Calvary.
April 13, 1893-Rev. J. E. Leyda, Elder J. D. Abbe, Bolivar. Alternates-J. R. Gass, David Mayes, Ash Grove.
April 10, 1894-Rev. J. R. Gass, Elder David Mayes, Ash Grove. Alternates-E. E. Stringfield, John Orr, Mt. Vernon.
April 18, 1895-Rev. J. A. Gerhard, Elder R. N. Galbraith, Westminster, Carthage.
Alternates-J. N. Dinsmore, R. H. James, Eureka Springs.
April 22, 1896-Rev. E. E. Stringfield, Elder R. H. James, Eureka Sp'gs. Alternates-J. E. Sentz, F. A. Hall, Calvary.
April 21, 1897-Rev. G. H. Williamson, Elder J. W. Silsby, Calvary. Alternates-D. N. Allen, Prof. Young, Webb City.
April 6, 1898-Rev. J. G. Reaser, D. D., Elder J. A. Ready, Ebenezer. Alternates-C. Memmott, J. D. Abbe, Bolivar.
April 6, 1899-Rev. E. L. Renick, Elder J. D. Abbe, Bolivar. Alternates-J. C. Sefton, S. A. Chappell, Monett.
April 5, 1900-Rev. H. O. Scott, D. D., Elder T. R. Stockton, Monett. Alternates-W. C. Templeton, .W. H. Schmalhorst, Conway. April 9, 1901- Rev. W. C. Templeton, Elder F. A. Hall, Calvary. Alternates-W. G. Moore, W. B. Skinner, Mt. Vernon. April 7, 1902-Rev. W. G'. Moore, Elder W. A. Wheatley, Joplin. Alternates-R. W. Ely, W. J. MeLain, Carthage.
April 16, 1903-Rev. R. W. Ely, Elder .W. B. Skinner, Mt. Vernon. Alternates-Rev. C. B. Boving, T. J. Whitmire, West Plains. April 19, 1904-Rev. C. B. Boving, Elder W. G. Drake, Bolivar. Alternates-W. F. Grundy, G. H. Lee, West Plains. April 20, 1905-Rev. W. F. Grundy, Elder S. D. Strain, Fair Play. Alternates-C. Olandt, C. B. Sperry, Springfield Second. April 19, 1906-Rev. Henry Little, Elder W. Kilpatric, .West Plains. Alternates-D. B. Whimster, C. M. Manker, Webb City.
April 17, 1907-Rev. E. E. Stringfield, Ph. D., Curtis Wright, Carthage. Alternates-B. M. Shive. D. D., A. C. Schell, Neosho.
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PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE OZARKS
CHAPTER VII.
CHRONOLOGICAL REGISTER AND SKETCHES OF THE CHURCHES.
A NEW SCHOOL.
CHURCHES ORGANIZED BEFORE THE REUNION OF 1869-70.
(N. B .- Extinet churches are placed in brackets.)
(LITTLE OSAGE) (VERNON COUNTY.)
The record of the original organization of the church of Little Osage, Vernon County, reads: "June 27th, 1835. Agree- able to previous notice, the people in this place assembled at the school house at 12 o'clock noon to take into consideration the subject of organizing a church on Presbyterian or Congrega- tional principles. Present : Rev. Nathaniel B. Dodge, from Bou- dinot Missionary Station ; Rev. Amasa Jones, from Harmony Missionary Station, and Brethren Daniel H. Austin and Richard Colby, from Harmony Church. In troduced services by a sermon delivered by Rev. A. Jones from Chron. 29:5. Articles of faith and covenant read. Candidates for admission to church called for. The following presented themselves: By letter, William Modrell, Nathaniel B. Dodge, Jr., George Douglass, Elizabeth Douglass, Mary B. Dodge, Elvina G. Dodge. By examination, Elizabeth Summers, first and second. The above members were accordingly organized into a church by their publicly assenting to following Articles of Faith and Covenant. (Here follow twelve articles.) William Modrell was chosen Deacon and Nathaniel B. Dodge, Jr., Clerk." From this record it appears that the church was organized after the Congregational form. But the record of March 25, 1842, reads: "Met acording to notice to consider expediency of adopting Presbytery form of government.
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PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE OZARKS
Members called upon to express their views. Presby- tery form of government adopted and church placed under care of Harmony Presbytery. William Modrell and Josiah M. Austin chosen elders." The church continued under the Harmony and First Osage Presbyteries until August 19, 1859, when it voted to join the O. S. Presbytery of Lafayette. It had a moribund exist- ence nineteen years longer, when it became extinct by reason of removals. When the Presbytery of Southwest Missouri was or- ganized in June, 1865, it appointed a search committee to dis- cover any churches that might be in existence which did not report at the organization. On the 30th of September this com- mittee reported the following additional churches: Osceola, Lit- tle Osage, Marmiton, Breckenridge, Granby, North Spring River." This church is of interest because it illustrates the affinity of Congregationalism and Presbyterianism at that time. The mis- sionaries of the two bodies ewre supported by the same Board and they organized churches after the Congregational or Pres- byterian form of government, according to the wishes of the peo- ple. The transition from the one to the other was easily made by minister or church.
(MARMITON) (VERNON COUNTY.)
In the minutes of the new New School Assembly the name of this church is given in 1846 as Marmetean, and in 1859 it is spelled Marimetean. It was the outgrowth of the work among the Osages, though it was composed of white people and was organized in Vernon County, supposedly before 1837. It was under the jurisdiction of the First Presbytery of Osage until that Presbytery was disbanded, and, as seen in the sketch above, it was enrolled in the Presbytery of Southwest Missouri. No far- ther trace of the church is found in the records of the Presby- tery.
(HERMAN OR HERMON) (POLK COUNTY.)
As Vernon County has belonged to Kansas City Presbytery for some years, the earliest work in the confines of Ozark Presby- tery, as given on page 13, seems to have been done in Polk County, near Bolivar. The Hermon Church is said to have been organized prior to October, 1839. At that time it was supplied by Rev. E. P. Noel. Its Assembly record indicates that it was supplied by the following ministers: 1843, Rev. B. Ryland : 1849, Rev. William H. Smith ; 1850-54, Rev. A. G. Taylor. It continued on the roll marked vacant, and with a very small membership, until the First Presbytery of Osage ceased to make a report.
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PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE OZARKS
MOUNT ZION (GREENE COUNTY).
The Mount Zion Church of Cave Springs, Mo., is the first church in Southwest Missouri organized by either the New School or the Old School Church that has persisted in the belief and practice of "the final perseverance of the saints."
To my knowledge no other church illustrates as well the many vicissitudes of Presbyterian Church life in this region as this one. The planting of the church in the home of the godly, the gracious seasons of refreshing at camp meetings, the enroll- ment of members many miles distant, the sending out of colonies to form other churches, the palmy days of the country church, the depletion by removals, the devastations of war, the gathering of the scattered remnant, the building of a new house of worship to take the place of the antiquated one of logs, the attempts at religious education, the reaching of self-support, and then by reason of trends westward and cityward, the settling down to a country home mission church, these are some of the experiences of this historic mother of churches.
Near the close of the third decade of the nineteenth century a few families from East Tennessee "pitched their tents" in the timber two or three miles north of Cave Springs. There seems to have been some affinity between this colony and a similar colony that composed the Hermon Church, in Polk County, though whether this affinity was one of blood or of native State, or of religion, or of all three, I cannot say. Be that as it may, on the 19th day of October, 1839, Rev. Ephraim P. Noel and the session of the Hermon Church met the people of the vicinity in Mrs. Jane Renshaw's house and organized the Mount Zion Church. The names of those entering into the organization were Elizabeth Stowell, Stephen Dillard, Julia Ann Dillard, Jane Renshaw, Mar- garet A. Appleby, Joseph A. Renshaw, Robert S. Reid. Amanda F. Reid, David Appleby and Catherine Appleby. David Appleby, Robert S. Reid and Stephen Dillarad were elected ruling elders. Organized in the home of "a mother in Israel," this was truly a household church ..
Six of the ten members were related to Mrs. Jane Renshaw, as follows: Elizabeth Stowell, a sister ; Joseph Addison Renshaw, a son ; Julia Ann Dillard and Amanda F. Reid, daughters ; Stephen Dillard and Robert S. Reid, sons-in-law. Mrs. Renshaw's son. Rev. G. A. M. Renshaw, became the second minister in charge of the church, a position that he held longer than any other min- ister. Some twelve or fourteen of her descendants are still mem- bers of the church. Two or three belong to the Willard Church and four to the Second Presbyterian Church of Springfield. Catherine Appleby was the wife of David Appleby, one of the
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PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE OZARKS
.
first elders in the church, and who was elected to a similar posi- tion in the organization of the church of Springfield. His de- scendants are leading members in various churches of this sec- tion, but an attempt to trace them would involve us in an inter- minable tangle. Rev. E. P. Noel supplied the church with monthly services until November, 1841, when on account of failing health he was compelled to relinquish the work. For a time the services were held in private houses, but in the spring a brush arbor was constructed, and in the summer of 1841 this gave place to a shed erected near the Cave Spring and used by different denomina- tions for camp meetings.
The gathering of the people on foot. on horseback, in wagons and ox carts has not inaptly been likened to the gathering of the tribes of Israel at their annual feasts.
Rev. E. P. Noel, who conducted the first camp meeting on these grounds, left the church with a membership of fifty -one, largely the fruit of additions of immigrants from East Tennessee.
In 1842 Rev. G. A. Renshaw took up the work and carried it forward until the day of his death, in April, 1857. Under his ministries the first church building was erected in 1845. It was a commodious structure, built of hewed logs, and had a fireplace. One of the children of this church describes the pulpit and pews from memory as follows: They were very nice, built of light wood-probably syeamore. The minister was enelosed in the pulpit high above the people. The pews were provided with doors and when an entire family entered a pew the pew door was closed." (The church may yet have to reort to some such a device to "hold" the children.) "During the Civil War this building was used as a dwelling and by the soldiers as a com- missary and for quarters. Here the first meeting of the reor- ganized Presbytery of Osage was held in 1867. And in 1969 it gave place to the present house of worship. A minister who knew Mr. Renshaw well says that he took charge of this church with the feeling that to do so would probably cost him his life. > These feelings were evidently prescient. Hill's History of :he Presby- tery of Kansas City gives this brief note in the chronological register : "Sup. Mt. Zion, Weaubleau, Bolivar, and Georgetown ; d. Apr. 25, '57." A glance at the map will reveal the fact that one might easily burn his ministerial life out in sixteen years of "living, lodging, preaching in cabins, now assisting his feeble, uncomplaining wife on washing day, now taking her place when sickness prostrates her, now cutting and sledding wood till drenched with perspiration, and forthwith across the chilly prai- ie on an errand or appointment." And a son of G. A. M. Ren- shaw is in the ministry today. Take note ve who say that young men are deterred from entering the ministry today by reason
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of the meager support offered! Probably these items belong in another place. They are incorporated here in order that this and other churches may count the cost in toil and sacrifice at which they were planted. And while I am digressing let us note: In 1881 a history of this church was written in which the historian, speaking of this house of worship, said: "It was noted by being the first church house built by the Presbyterians west of St. Louis, Mo.' At the semi-centennial of the Ebenezer Church, held at Greenfield in 1892, Rev. Nelson A. Rankin said: "Rev. John McFarland came as the supply of this church. lIe labored here faithfully during his ministry and by his self-sacri- fice and untiring efforts the first Presbyterian Church ever erected south of the Osage River was built. . This was also the first church built exclusively for worship and dedicated to God in Dade County. It was built in '56." As this was an Old School Church, manifestly Mr. Rankin took no note of the New School work .* And it is very evident that the historian of Cave Springs Church was either mistaken or else referred to churches in this latitude. To search no farther, the Boonville Church was completed in 1841. The writer of the history of Greene County has similarly ignored the northern and southeastern part of the State in the statement: "Mount Zion is one of the very oldest Presbyterian churches in Missouri, and lays claim to being the first regularly organized west of St. Louis. It is the parent of three other churches-Springfield, Mount Bethel and Grand Prairie."
In 1849 the church dismissed eight members to help consti- tute the new church of Springfield. Twenty-six went out in April, 1852, to seek homes in California and Oregon, and, al- though the majority of these returned in a few months, in April, 1856, another exodus of twenty-six members to California is recorded. Meanwhile, in 1853, nineteen members had gone out to form the Liberty Hill or Walnut Grove Church. This organ- ization was premature and was soon disbanded by Osage Pres- bytery and its members returned to the mother church.
The hegira of '56 called for the election of four additional elders. One of the men elected to this position was William E. Thompson, who still serves the church in that capacity. Over half a century in the eldership of one church in Southwest Mis- souri is a distinction that doubtless belongs to no other man. Though Mr. Renshaw dismissed 103 members to other churches and saw eight transferred to the church trinnphant, at his death
*If some critic should discover Cumberland Presbyterian Churches ante- dating these I have denominated firsts, let him remember the work of that branch is reserved for separate treatment. This part has to do only with the churches that united to form the Presbyterian, U. S. A., at the time of the reunion of 1896.
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PRESBYTERIANISM IN THE OZARKS
in March, 1857, he left a strong country church of 76 members .* The largest number reported by the church to the General As- sembly was 100 in 1851.
Shortly after the death of Mr. Renshaw, Rev. A. G. Taylor was employed by the church and served it for nearly three years. He was followed by Rev. L. R. Morrison, who tuinistered to the people from February, 1860, to April, 1861 Mr. Morrison seems to have been intimately associated with the church before this, for he appears as Moderator on divers prior occasions.
It is needless to tread the wastes of the Civil War. In the winter of 1865-6 Rev. J. M. Brown was employed by the Board of Home Missions to "gather up the fragments" in Southwest Missouri. Of the eighty-nine members of the Mount Zion Church at the beginning of the war he found twenty-five. Mr. Brown was a virile, vigorous field worker, a cultured Christian gentle- man and a man of strong convictions. At least a portion of his parish was the scene of "lively days," for a card addressed to the citizens of Southwest Missouri was headed HEADQUAR- TERS REGULATORS, Walnut Grove, June 16, 1866. ihe His- tory of Greene County, p. 500: "About the first of June 280 of them rode into Springfield, formed a hollow square in front of the court house, on the public square, and organized a meeting. Speeches were made by Rev. Mr. Brown a Presbyterian ninis- ter; Major Downing, Col. James H. Baker and Senator J. A. Mack, sympathizing with the purposes and justifying the action of the 'Honest Mens League,' or 'Regulators,' although deplor- ing the necessity of such an organization." It is needless to add that Mr. Brown was not universally popular. It is said that while we are in the impulsive years of youth we think of a man as wholly good or wholly bad. As we reach the meridian of life we find that the worst of us have some good and the best of us some bad. Leaving each one to condemn the above action or to extennate it by the exigencies of the troublous times, according to the bent of his mind, it is worthy of note that Mr. Brown did a great work for Presbyterianism in this section. From January, '68, to the autumn of '69 he remained in charge of the church. The old log building gave place to the present two-story frame church, which was erected at a cost of about $3,500, and dedi- cated with a sermon by Dr. Timothy Hill August 22, 1869. Dur- ing Mr. Brown's incumbency the Presbytery of Osage was reor- ganized in the Mount Zion Church the 26th of April, 1866. The ministers of the Presbytery were Revs. J. M. Brown, A. G. Tay- lor and William S. Messmer. The following day Enos M. Hal- bert was licensed. Presbytery convened in the church again in
*The Assembly minutes give 79. But the church is starred for that year.
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October, 1867. Ministers present: A. G. Taylor, J. M. Brown and A. T. Norton. This Presbytery ordained E. M. Ilalbert and licensed L. J. Matthews.
For several years a Christian school of high grade was con- ducted in the church building, which, by the way, was erected with this end in view. Some of the leading Christians in various churches in Southwest Missouri were educated in this school. Mr. Brown was succeeded by Rev. Enos M. Halbert, to whom we are indebted for much of the information in this sketch. Under Mr. Halbert the church assumed self-support in 1875, but soon lapsed into dependence upon the board for aid. In his historical sketch, prepared in 1881, Mr. Halbert says: "Since the war (civil) not less than $5,000 has been given to the support of this church from the Home Mission Board alone."
Other ministers who have served this church from time to time are Rev. George F. Davis, 1881; Rev. C. C. Hembree, '82; Rev. J. J. Marks, D. D., as Synodical Missionary, '83; Rev. G. F. Davis, '86; Rev. J. C. Shephard, '87; Rev. J. F. Martin, 88; Rev. J. C. Hanna, '91; Rev. C. E. Fowler, '93; Rev. Jay B. Fisher, '94 (not ordained until '95) ; Charles Memmott, W. G. Moore, J. C. Sefton, J. G. Hewitt, W. L. Hackett.
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