The History of Pettis County, Missouri, History of Sedalia, Part 33

Author: Demuth, I. MacDonald
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: [n.p.]
Number of Pages: 1148

USA > Missouri > Pettis County > Sedalia > The History of Pettis County, Missouri, History of Sedalia > Part 33

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The pioneer preachers of the county were, generally, men of sterling worth, and untiring energy. Some of them were men of considerable culture, and "mighty in the scriptures." As a class they seem to have been eminently adapted to the then existing conditions of society. Among the early settlers were men of strong common sense, and the very condi- tion of things made them intensely practical in thought and in action.

To influence such minds, and to mold character under such circum- stances, men were needed, who from the pulpit, and in their associations with the people, would preach a practical gospel. A people having to do with the stern realities of frontier life had little time or disposition to in- terest themselves in the metaphysical speculations of the schools; but in- stinctively yearned for a religion that impressed them with a sense of its reality, and that would with its well defined doctrines, and infallible prom- ises, guide and comfort them in the actualities of this life, while assuring them of a more perfect life in the world to come.

Among those prominent in pioneer work, may be mentioned, Jesse G. Berkley, Thornton Rucker, George W. Sands, Elias George, and W. P. C. Caldwell. Later, came Isaiah Spurgin, Wm. Ferguson, Jonathan Gott, E. H. Burchfield, and B. T. Thomas. Of the former, all have passed away, except Elias George. He was a native of Wales, and came to Mis- souri from Ohio, where he had long been engaged in successful labor, as an earnest preacher of the gospel. Coming to Missouri he settled in Mor-

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gan county, was pastor of several churches in that county, and labored extensively and with success in Cooper and Pettis.

He was a man of good native talent, and a very vigorous speaker-of a very sanguine temperament, he was very enthusiastic in his devotion to what he believed to be the right, and as impatient in disappointment. In the agitation that preceded and led to the civil war, his decided convic- tions on the questions at issue caused him to encounter such opposition as led him to feel that he could be more useful where the people were more generally in sympathy with his views, and he returned to Ohio. After the war he came again to this state, settling in north Missouri, and is still, at a very advanced age, preaching the gospel he has loved so long ..

J. G. Berkley and Thornton Rucker, neither of them residents of the county, were missionaries of the Blue River Association, and did effective service in gathering together the scattering Baptists of the several com- munities, and sowing the seeds of future harvests.

W. P. C. Caldwell lived in Johnson county, but labored extensively in Pettis. He was, perhaps, the ablest of the contemporary preachers. A man of fine personal presence, of liberal culture for the times, with a strong voice, and great force of character, while perhaps unduly disposed to be dogmatic, his influence was potent, not only in the conversion of men to a practical belief in the gospel, but in building up and indoctrinating the churches. As fellow-laborers, he and Elder George were for several years intimately associated; and in their personal peculiarities there ap- peared to be that happy conjunction of characteristics which made them, as "fellow helpers to the truth," very effective workers in their joint ser- vices. Both were men of strong convictions, and while happily they had come to occupy separate fields of labor before the crisis came in our civil strife that rent and distracted communities and even churches, these two yoke-fellows were very far removed from each other in sentiment. While Elder George espoused the cause of the Union with all the ardor of his impulsive Welsh nature, Elder Caldwell gave himself, soul and body, to the Confederacy.

It can but be a matter of profound satisfaction to the personal friends of both parties, and to all lovers of the cause they both had served so faith- fully, that the intimate association of these two stalwarts had been inter- rupted by circumstances before the unhappy point of difference was reached, and that, having lived and labored together in the strongest bonds of personal and christian fellowship, they were not fated to meet, when, under the intense excitement of the times, the political sentiments so tenaciously grasped by their strong natures could but have interposed a fatal barrier to their former cordial relations.

It may be as well to state here, that in relation to the causes and conduct

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of the war, the Baptists of the county, and of the state, in common with other denominations, were radically divided; and while, in the state, the preponderance of sentiment was in sympathy with the south, in the county the Union feeling was very strong, if not in the ascendency. And not only was there this opposition in feeling, but members of the same denom- ination, and sometimes of the same church, as soldiers in the opposing armies, were arrayed in deadly conflict; but with the close of the war came a disposition to reassert the principles of the "gospel of peace," and to restore previously existing fraternal relations.

It is, perhaps, true, that in no denomination was the division more clearly marked, or the advocacy of the cause more determined, than in the ranks of the Baptists; and certainly in no other has the return to peaceable relations been more rapid, or more complete. In the solution of the vexed problem of "reconstruction," as it met the statesmen and philan- thropists of our own country, at the close of the war, with its multitudi- nous applications, and environed with its complicated difficulties, the Bap- tists of Missouri may be said to have taken the initiative.

While our legislators were wrestling with the problem, and before they had even succeeded in determining the status of the states once in rebel- lion,-while other bodies, civil and religious, were in the confusion of dis- turbed relations, and vainly seeking a readjustment of rights and privi- leges, the Baptists of Missouri quietly reconstructed themselves by ignor- ing all distinctions created by the war, and coming together upon a basis of a common brotherhood-a consummation made comparatively easy by their simple form of church policy-which left no vexed questions of official status, or rights in church property, to be settled; but which, while guaranteeing equal rights to all, recognizes the independence of the churches in the administration of their own affairs; and, calling no man master, relies, at last, upon what is found to be the stronghold of union: The love of Christ constraining to a willing devotion to His cause those who recognize in Him their Only Head and Law Giver.

In the general associations and the district associations of the state, the missionary and educational work of the Baptists is unified; and in nearly, if not quite, every church of the state, are to be found representatives of the opposing sides in the late conflict; but while extremists on both sides may have sought to hinder the reconciliation, and perpetuate the acri- mony of the past, with the great body of the Baptists of Missouri there is a very evident desire to " follow after the things that make for peace," and while deploring the fact that political disturbances, leading to aliena- tion and bitterness of feeling, should have furnished the occasion, they, nevertheless, point with commendable pride to that part of their history which gives them position, in the far front, of all reconstructionary organ- izations, whether civil or religious; and exhibits the power of the religion

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of Christ to overcome, in the heart of a truly converted church member, the lower passions of our humanity, that may have gained, for a time, the ascendency.

Of the preachers before named, as second in the succession of pioneers, Isaiah Spurgin and Jonathan Gott, after many years of arduous service, have gone to their reward.

Elder Spurgin was a native of North Carolina; came to Missouri in 1843, and uniting with the Virginia Grove Church in Lafayette county served it as pastor for several years. This church was of the "Anti- mission," or " Hardshell," but while Elder Spurgin had been, and still was, connected with that denomination he does not seem to have been in full accord with them in all of their doctrines and practices, and about the year 1853 he withdrew from them and united with the Missionary Baptist Church of South Fork. Here he retained his membership until his death in 1877, and most of the time was their recognized pastor.

Father Spurgin had not enjoyed the advantages of a liberal educa- tion, but was noted for his knowledge of the Scriptures. While his read- ing was by no means confined to the Bible, he for many years had made it a rule to read it through consecutively once a year. Whether or not it was a remaining vestige of his Hardshell training, he never required a compensation for his own services, but did not hesitate to teach the duty of pastoral support, and was especially importune in urging his people to the support of missionary work, and was himself a liberal contributor.

Jonathan Gott was born in Kentucky, but began and ended his ministry in Missouri. During most of his ministerial life he lived on a farm near Hazel Hill, in Lafayette county, and labored in that and adjoining coun- ties; a large part of his work being done in Pettis. He was a " self-made man," but so assiduously had he improved his opportunities, that no one listening to him preach would have thought that his speech, so fluent, sometimes really elegant, and almost always correct, was governed by no theoretical knowledge of the laws of language. His views of Scripture teaching were quite comprehensive, and his own well-defined ideas were always so clearly expressed that no one experienced any difficulty in understanding him, and while sometimes quite earnest and demonstrative in manner, his preaching was never a simple succession of sounds with- out sense or meaning. To a well-balanced, if not peculiarly strong mind, were added those qualities of heart that won the confidence and affection of all who knew him well, and whatever might be their estimate of him in other respects, all would unite in pronouncing him "a good man." As missionary and pastor, as a friend and brother, he will long be kindly remembered in the Baptist churches and households of Pettis county.

Wm. Ferguson and B. T. Thomas are still residents of the county. The former, a native of North Carolina, came to this county in 1843.

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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY.

Being now in advanced age and delicate health he has retired from pastoral work, but still loves to preach when duty demands and health permits.

B. T. Thomas, by birth a Virginian, has for many years lived on a farm in the south part of the county, and has served as pastor many of the churches of this and adjoining counties. In some respects his advantages have been superior to those of most of his fellow workers, he being a graduate of Georgetown College, Kentucky.

E. H. Burchfield was born in Tennessee, but first joined the church and began to preach in this State. He has never been a resident of this county, but living near Brownsville, just outside the county limits, a large part of his labor has been performed within the county. As missionary and pastor he has probably traversed it more extensively than any other one preacher, living or dead. As principal, or assistant, he has been instrumental in organizing many of the churches, and has probably baptised more members into their fellowship than any other one man.

. The early preachers were ably assisted in their labors by prominent laymen, some of whom still live, and attest their continued devotion to their cherished principles by word and deed. Among these may be named, J. E. Crawford, of Bethlehem; M. W. Barnard, of Olive Branch; brethren Lorelace, and Bohannon, of Providence; Graham and Calvert, of Hickory-Point, and McCardy and Whitworth, of County Line. .

Among the departed, "who, being dead yet speak," were: Agee, of Dresden; Thomas, of Lamine, and Williams and Petts, of Wake Forest.

While the gospel of Christ is the same in all ages, and its cordial recep- tion is attended with. like results among all people, the manner of its proc- lamation, and methods made use of to insure its success, are often quite varied. The worship of our predecessors, as they were gathered in the country school house, a private residence, or under a brush arbor, may have been no more or less spiritual than is the worship of a more fash- ionably dressed congregation, assembled in a costly edifice, but, at least in externals, a change is quite apparent, and, it is to be feared, not in all respects for the better. The primitive simplicity, the unaffected cordiality, and unstinted hospitality, which, as social elements, were such prominent features of their religious assemblies, are scarcely compensated for in the refinements and elegancies of modern custom. If, in the absence of the " culture " of the present, there was sometimes manifest a " zeal that was not according to knowledge," the exuberance of spirits, even the noisy demonstrations sometimes attendant, may have been no less fruitful of good than is superior knowledge with no zeal. Some of the earlier preachers may have been " rude of speech," but there was at least a rugged simplicity, a transparent candor, that impressed their hearers with the true selfhood of the men; and while their acquaintance with books

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may have been limited, their deficiency in the learning of the schools was often more than compensated for by their profound knowledge of human nature. One thing at least may be said to have been characteristic of these early workers. They knew their hearers and adapted themselves to their surroundings. They preached the gospel to those who needed it, and as they needed it.

There was so much of the positive in the every day experiences of those early settlers that nothing but a positive gospel, proclaimed in posi- tive manner, would avail to reach and influence them.

The introduction of the logic of scepticism into the pulpit, the substitu- tion of the gilded negations of infidelity for the incisive doctrines, and authoritative declarations of revelation, belonging to a more cultivated (?) age.

In associational work, the Baptist churches of Pettis county have never been in organic unity. The first churches formed united with the Saline association, a few later ones joined the Blue-river and Tebo associations. After the civil war the Sedalia association was organized, and a majority of the churches of the county became members of it. Recently an effort has been made to unite all the churches of the county in one body, to be called the Pettis County Association, but, from various causes the move- ment has not proved a success.

As, however, those district associations are purely voluntary organiza- tions, with which the individual churches may or may not identify them- selves, this lack of organic unity among the churches does not effect the unity of their faith and practice; but in all essential features, the Baptists of this county are in accord with each other, in harmony with the great body of the denomination in the state, and in the nation, having " one Lord, one faith, and one baptism;" and while sometimes, oppressed by opposition from without, and sometimes annoyed by erratic brethren within, the denomination, now possessed of a world-wide extension, seeks, as ever, to maintain "the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace."

. It is with feelings of many obligations due the author of the foregoing history of "Baptists in Pettis county," that the publishers hereof insert the following facts relative to his own connection with the blessed cause of Christ here:

Rev. John Letts was born in Knox county, Ohio, June 11, 1833. He united with the church when about twenty-two years of age, and a few years later was ordained to the ministry as pastor of the same church; and continued to serve it in that capacity until the spring of 1868, when, having accepted a call to the pastorate of the 1st Baptist Church of Sedalia, he removed to this city, where he has since resided. After the close of his pastorate in Sedalia, he spent several years in laboring as an evangel- ist, and while he has since that time had the pastoral care of several dif-

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ferent churches, he has continued to devote a portion of his time to inde- pendent missionary work, a species of labor in which he especially delights, and in which he has enjoyed his largest measure of success. Being pos- sessed of considerable property he has never been wholly dependent upon the churches for a support, but has ever been accustomed to bestowing labor where it has seemed to be most needed, without being governed by the consideration of pecuniary reward; and in many places of destitution, and with feeble churches, many of his most earnest and successful efforts have been put forth. The position of Sedalia as a railroad center gives him ready access to almost every part of the state, and most of his work has been in the towns along the lines of the several railroads, and in some country churches adjacent thereto. The rapid growth of Sedalia and advance in the value of property has been greatly to his profit, as he owns a considerable body of land within the city limits, some of which has already been brought into market for building purposes, and he anticipates the time in the near future when he shall be still more favorably situated for the prosecution of his chosen work. He has written a pamphlet of acknowledged merit, entitled “ Universal Redemption," which was issued in 1881. His residence is in the southeast portion of the city, where his intelligent and refined family live in the beauty of love and peace.

HISTORIC SKETCH OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

From some cause or other Presbyterianism seems not as well adapted for pioneer work as some other forms of christian organization. Perhaps this results, among other causes, from the fact that Presbyterians insist on a thoroughly educated and well furnished clergy, and therefore cannot command a plentiful supply of preachers as occasion requires from the work-bench, the farm and the counter. Hence we usually find in most new countries the field preoccupied by other denominations when Pres- byterians enter on the work. So far as I have been enabled to discover the first effective work done to build up Presbyterianism in Pettis county was by Rev. James Gallaher, who visited the county and held a series of meetings in Georgetown, the then county seat. These meetings were attended with good results, and a church, consisting of twelve members, and connected with the New School General Assembly, was organized in 1843. Quite a number were deeply interested and were expected at no distant day to unite with and strengthen the little church, but soon after the meeting closed, the other denominations entered in and appropriated the fruits of Mr. Gallaher's labors. It seems that this minister lived in the northeastern portion of the state, and at such a distance that he was able to pay only one monthly visit to Georgetown, and then was so hurried that he could hold only a single service. I can find no records of this church, and have been able to learn the names of only ten of the mem-

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bers, viz: John Brown, Joseph Brown, Martha Brown, Mary Brown, (these were from Kentucky); Mrs. Hoss, Samuel Hoss, her son and her daughter, afterwards Mrs. Parks, (these were from Tennessee); William Raney, Margret Raney, his wife, and Sarah M. Raney, daughter, afterwards Mrs. Rector, (these were from North Carolina).

These efforts of Mr. Gallaher seem to have been followed up with no systematic work, for I can hear of no preaching after this except an occa- sional sermon by Rev. David Wear, and Rev. Christopher Bradshaw, the one a resident of Cooper county, and the other of Henry county, and these services were held for the most part in private houses, and gener- ally at Mrs. Hoss's, the church having no house of worship. This little church was enabled to accomplish little permanent good, and four of its members having afterwards joined in an organization in the northern part of the county, the church gradually became extinct. The only members now living are: Mr. Samuel Hoss, now of California; Mrs. Parks, of Jackson county, Mo .; Mrs. Martha Brown, of Saline county, Mo .; Miss Mary Brown, now Mrs. Rufus Finley, and Mrs. Sarah Rector, the three latter being now members of the First Church of Pettis.

The first minister of our church who settled in Pettis county, was Rev. John Howe, one of Kentucky's pioneer preachers, who removed from Greenburg, Green county, Ky., and located in the northeastern part of Pettis county, in 1850. Father Howe seems to have removed to Missouri, not with any expectation of doing much effective work as a gospel min- ister, for he was, at the time of. his settlement here, more than threescore and ten years of age, but he desired to spend the remnant of his days with a dearly cherished daughter, whose husband had, with his family removed to this state. Mr. Howe was a good deal beyond and above ordinary preachers, and although aged and recorded on the assembly's® minutes of 1852 as "infirmed," he did much efficient labor for his Master's cause in this county, as many who were privileged to hear him preach testified in after years. Father Howe died in 1857, and the first sermon I preached on my arrival here was the funeral of that eminent servant of God, whom I had known well, and had greatly admired and reverenced before his removal from Kentucky. The mortal remains of that precious old servant of God lie buried in a small and obscure cemetery on the north side of, and quite near the old Boonville and Indiana trail, and about two miles west from Lamine river. He sleeps just as quietly, and his redeemed spirit reigns and rejoices just as blissfully in the presence of his adored Lord, as though earth's best marble marked the place of his interment, and men's loftiest pens chanted his praise.

About the year 1855 a movement began to be made to locate a number of families from Kentucky, the larger portion of them in the north part of Pettis connty. They began arriving here, some of them in that year,

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and continued coming for about three years, or until 1858. These fami- lies will be at once recognized as among the best in the country. The names of those only containing some Presbyterian members are given, though quite a number of other families having in them no Presbyterians, constituted a part of these new settlers. From Louisville, Jefferson county, came William Field, Esq., John Moore, M. D., his son-in-law, Mr. Rochester, and Mr. George Lower. From Danville, Boyle county, came Col. James S. Hopkins, Mr. John R. Ford, Mr. Benjamin Bridges, Capt. John Sneeds, Hon. John F. Phillips, and Hon. George Vest. From Gar- rard county, came Mr. Lucretius Baker, and Mr. Quinsey Yantis. From Springfield, Washington county, came James S. Hughes, M. D., and Thomas Q. Montgomery, M. D., and from Harrodsburg came N. D. Woods, Esq. On the third Sabbath in June, 1856, and by order of the Presbytery of Missouri, Rev. H. M. Painter, then supplying the church in Boonville, organized "The First Church of Pettis." The church con -. sisted of sixteen members; four of these came from the organization at Georgetown, the twelve others were Mr. John Motz and wife and ten from the families above named. This organization took place at Priest's Chapel, a Methodist Church on Heath's creek in Pettis county. The . church obtained permission to hold service in this chapel for two Sundays in the month till they could have time to build a house of worship for themselves. On the first and second pages of the records of "The First Church of Pettis," I find this minute: "In October, 1856, the session opened a correspondence with Rev. John Montgomery, then pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Harrodsburg, Mercer county, Ky., which event- uated in his becoming stated supply "to this church," and "he entered on his labors the fourth Sabbath in October, 1857." As all my time was engaged for this church, and as yet they had no house of their own, "it was arranged that Bro. Montgomery preach for the present in the Metho- dist Church on the first and fourth Sabbaths in each month, and that he spend the remainder of his time as he can best arrange for the good of the cause of religion till we can get a house of worship erected." This arrangement enabled me to do a good deal of evangelistic work through- out the county. Meantime the work of building a house was vigorously prosecuted. In eighteen months the house was so far finished as to be occupied with comfort. Henceforth the congregation held services in their own house. Thus, in less than two years, they had erected and paid for a substantial brick church some 60x40 feet and costing from $4,000 to $5,000. One Sunday in the month was set apart for preaching to those members living in Georgetown and vicinity, though for the most part all the people with great regularity attended services at both points; although they were some ten miles apart and the congregations were uniformly large. From this period till the civil war the growth of this

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The History of Pettis County, Missouri, History of Sedalia, Part 33

Author: Demuth, I. MacDonald Publication date: 1882 Publisher: [n.p.] Number of Pages: 1148

Author: Demuth, I. MacDonald
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: [n.p.]
Number of Pages: 1148