History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 76

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Ohio > Sandusky County > History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers > Part 76

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by a hail storm, the windows are now all protected by wire netting. These improve- ments occupied about one year, during which time the court-room was used for our services and Sunday-school.

I have said little of the part taken by the lady members in the work of the church. Their efforts have been constant and very helpful. I recall the names of four who were valued helpers and have been removed by death, viz : Mrs. D. E. Capper, Mrs. Susan A. Everett, Mrs. Pris- cilla Brown, and Mrs. Josephine A. Dougherty.

LUTHERAN ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.

In the third and fourth decades of the present century (1820-1830), Lutherans from Pennsylvania and Germany began to emigrate to Sandusky county, and to the town of Lower Sandusky. They were vis- ited at very long intervals by the mission- aries Stauch, from Western Pennsylvania, J. Krauss and Rev. Charles Henkel, from Somerset, Ohio.

In 1836 a highly esteemed and pious pastor by the name of Adolph A. Konrad, located at Tiffin, Ohio. The Lutherans of this vicinity, hearing of his settlement there, applied to him for his services as pastor among them. Although he had charge of nine preaching places, in Seneca and Wyandot counties, he saw the need of the Lutherans here, and so consented to visit them once every four weeks. But the labors and exposures of such a field proved to be too much for the good man, and being of a frail constitution, he died at Tiffin, March 23, 1841. After his death, Rev. J. J. Beilharz, from Seneca coun- ty, New York, was called to the pastorate, and in the autumn of 1841, moved with his family to Tiffin, Ohio, from which place he served this congregation and also that four miles west of this city. The sainted Konrad having promised the little flocks in this vicinity to send them

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Henry Lang as their future pastor, as soon as he should leave the theolog- ical seminary at Columbus, Ohio, his promise was complied with by the proper authorities of the synod, and in July, 1843, he was installed as their future pastor. The congregation being very small and poor, was glad to obtain permission to 'worship in the school-houses of the town. For nearly two years the congregation wor- shiped in the Howland street school-house.

In 1843 the congregation purchased of the county commissioners, the old court- house and the two lots on which it and the old jail stood, for the sum of eight hun- dred and ten dollars. Eleven years elapsed before this property was paid for, None but God knows the anx- iety experienced while this debt was hanging over the congregation. But then, what joy when the last installment was paid off ! The membership was small, and, as already stated, poor; money was scarce, farmers receiving store-pay for their produce instead of money. The struggle to pay off this debt, small as the sum may at present seem to have been, was greater than the burden of the erection of the new church edifice, that being by no means insignificant.

In 1842 the congregation was incorpo- rated by an act of the Legislature, under the name of the Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed St. John's Con- gregation. By a unanimous vote of the congregation this name was changed, January 1, 1853, to the name Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Congregation, only two active members being German Re- formed, and their families being Lutheran. Judge Otis, of the court of common pleas, granted this petition for change of name in 1856.

For fifteen years the congregation wor- shipped in the old court-house, which had become quite a respectable place of wor-

ship after the necessary changes and re- pairs were completed. Here gradually the flock grew larger, and it needed a larger fold.

At a meeting of the congregation held October 31, 1857 (anniversary of the Reformation,) it was resolved "to erect a new and more suitable church building." A lot was purchased of Miss Jennie Grant, corner Court and Clover streets, for the sum of four hundred dollars, November Io, 1857 (Luther's birthday); the plan for the church was adopted (seventy-six by forty-six). June 1, 1858, work was begun; June 25 (anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession), the corner- stone was laid; and October 31, 1861, the church was dedicated as a house of divine worship. April 11, 1870, a bell weighing two thousand five hundred pounds was hung in the tower. The tower having as yet no spire, Mr. A. Foster was employed to erect one, after a plan drawn by Mr. J. C. Johnson. This spire was dedicated on the pastor's fifty-fifth birth- day, November 28, 1873, being Thanks- giving Day, and also the pastor's thirtieth jubilee as pastor of this congregation. On that occasion, among other statements the following was made: Baptisms, 2,300; confirmed, 1,005; communicants, 15,000; marriages, 680; burials, 810; sermons preached, about 5,000. These figures include all his congregations, how- ever.

As stated above, the congregation consisted, in 1843, of forty communi- cants. It now numbers about six hun- dred. The congregation, though numer- ous, is not wealthy, as the impression seems to be in the community. It pos- sesses a number of well-to-do citizens and farmers, but the greater number are yet struggling for an existence. The growth of the congregation has been gradual, but healthy. The labors be-

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stowed upon it have been blessed, and not been in vain. But the changes since 1843 have been great indeed. The pio- neers have nearly all passed away.

But to return. In 1865 the old court- house, having become greatly dilapidated, the congregation determined to renovate the same thoroughly. At an expense of one thousand six hundred dollars it was changed into a comfortable parsonage. Since 1845 the pastor occupied the three lower rooms, which were formerly occu- pied by the county auditor, clerk of the court, and county treasurer, as offices. The frame of this building is an immense one, some of the timbers in it measuring fourteen inches square. In 1822 it was erected, in the vicinity of the Pease prop- erty, when the commissioners determined to remove it to the present spot. Judge Knapp told the writer of this repeatedly, that in the removal of this frame twenty- five yoke of oxen were used, all pulling at the same time. And this seems likely, judging from the ponderous structure, and the want of convenient implements, such as are now used for the removal of build- ings. Since 1845 the pastor of the Luth- eran congregation occupied this house as a parsonage. Here all his children were born, save one. From this house were conveyed the remains of his wife, three children, a son-in-law, and a little grand- daughter, to their resting-place in Oak- wood cemetery. Joys and sorrows ex- changed places repeatedly within its walls.

The old county jail stood a few feet south of the old court-house, and it was used as a stable. It was here where Sperry, of Green Spring, who had killed his wife, and who had been sentenced to be hanged, committed suicide in 1842. Our lamented friend Birchard once asked the pastor if he was not afraid of spooks, coming home late and putting away his horse in the old jail. The reply was that

he did not suffer himself to be scared by evil spirits, when Mr. Birchard said : "What! not afraid of spooks in the old jail, where Sperry killed himself? It is a capital place for spooks, sir, a capital place." This old jail, used as such until the prison under the present court-house was prepared to receive evil-doers, was taken down in 1865, when eight men worked industriously for three days to level it with the ground, the logs of which it was built being two feet square. The foundation still remains, but the spot where it stood has become an inviting one, forming part of the pastor's flower garden. It is no longer a "capital place for spooks." But if that spot could speak, what a sad history it would relate of the persons im- prisoned above it. But the flowers that grow there annually seem to say: "Cast the mantle of charity upon all their sins."

On festival occasions our church proves to be too- small for us, and the church officers have been seriously talking of an enlargement.

The church council consists of the pas- tor (being chairman by virtue of his office), three trustees, two deacons, and a treas- urer.

Since 1845 a Sunday-school has been sustained by the congregation, At first it numbered twenty-thirty children, now upward of two hundred. For a number of years Mr. Jacob Tschumy has acted as superintendent with efficiency. He is assisted by twenty-five teachers, all of whom were former scholars of the Sun- day-school, and are confirmed members of the church. Catechetical instruction is given by the pastor each Sunday before the close of the Sunday-school, in which the children and teachers participate.

Our history may seem monotonous, but to the congregation and the pastor it seems varied enough. Every year brought forth new labors, trials, and conflicts ; every year

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brought with it new mercies, rewards and victories.

Both the German and English lan- guages are used in conducting the ser- vices of the church. This makes the labors of the pastor greater than they would be if only one language could be made to answer the purpose. But the · greater part of the congregation being European Germans, the German lauguage is indispensible. The younger members, speaking the English better than the Ger- man, would prefer to have the English language used exclusively.

May God safely conduct us to that land, where but one language is spoken -- the language of Zion.

We conclude this sketch with a brief mention of the faithful pastor of the church. He has all this time been emphatically a worker. He came to Fremont young and poor in this world's goods, and took charge of a congregation as young and poor as himself. Thirty-eight years spent in in- cessant application to self-improvement and in discharge of his pastoral duties, have at last borne abundant fruit. Often laboring against adverse circumstances, which would have discouraged other men, he was always at his post. In addition to his pastoral duties, he has exercised a . large and beneficial influence in the pub- lic schools by the faithful discharge of his duty as a member of the city board of ed- ucation. He has preached and taught his congregation weekly in two languages, and his incessant work has evoked, from al- most nothing, a large congregation, a com- fortable parsonage, and a church edifice worth about twenty-five thousand dollars, which is an honor and an ornament to the city. His influence now, through his con- gregation, is wide-spread and efficient for good. Without detracting from the mer- its of any man, it may be pertinently asked, of all citizens, who has labored so

many years and so faithfully, to uphold and extend morality and religion, as the subject of this notice ?

*THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

In 1819, Rev. J. Montgomery, Indian agent at Fort Seneca, and a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church, came to Lower Sandusky and preached the first Methodist sermon ever preached in this place. He continued to preach here at stated intervals until 1820, when, so far as he had authority, he organized himself, wife, and daughter into a class. This organization, though well intended by him, was evidently more in assumption than in reality. It was, however, the nucleus of a church. A letter from Montgomery's daughter, Mrs. Sallie Tryham, now living in Tiffin, Ohio, to the writer; says: "At the first communion service the commu- nicants were the above mentioned three persons with the addition of a local preacher from Springfield, Ohio, named Moses Hinkle."

In March, 1822, the Bowlus family em- igrated from Maryland and settled in Lower Sandusky. Of this family Jacob Bowlus, wife and four sisters, and brother- in-law, Thomas White, were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. These were the first members so far as can be ascertained, of the Methodist Episcopal church, that settled either in Lower San- dusky, or what is now included in the territory of Sandusky county.

In the fall of the same year Joel Strahn with his family, emigrated from Perry county, Ohio, and settled on what is now known as the Hafford farm, three miles up the river from Fremont. Mr. Strahn and his wife were members of the church before they emigrated to this place.

Very soon after Mr. Strahn's arrival Rev. James Montgomery proceeded regularly to

*Rev. A. Skinner and H. R. Adams,

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organize the first class of the Methodist Episcopal church ever formed in Lower Sandusky, with eleven members, namely : Jacob Bowlus, Sarah Bowlus, Margaret Bowlus, Susan Bowlus, Elizabeth Bowlus, Sophia Bowlus, Thomas L. Hawkins, Thomas White, Joel Strahn, Sarah Strahn, and Nancy Halloway. Joel Strahn was appointed leader. Shortly after the organ- ization their number was increased by the addition of Rebecca Pryor, Mrs. Wilson, and Mrs. Tyler. Of these fourteen none are now living but Jacob Bowlus, who still lingers among the men of another genera- ion, the honored patriarch of the Meth- odist Episcopal church in Sandusky coun- ty. His connection with the church has never been broken for a day, and he has always enjoyed not only the respect but the confidence and love of his brethren and the community. Joel Strahn moved to Illinois after he had been here some ten years, and died in 1864.

Rev. James McIntyre, a local preacher living in Huron county, visited Lower Sandusky occasionally and preached in 1822. He subsequently joined the Ohio conference; travelled a few years and re- tired. The date of his death is not known to the writer.

Rev. James Montgomery was ordained by Bishop Asbury, at Lebanon, Ohio. He was a local preacher thirty years, and died at Fort Seneca in 1830. His funeral was preached by Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, at that time travelling the Lower Sandusky circuit. Methodism and religion, not only in Fremont but in the surrounding coun- try, owes him a debt of lasting gratitude. He preached the gospel to the scattered communities in the country where no church in its regular organized capacity had found its way among the people. By him and his early associates in this irregu- lar work the word of life was carried to the sparsely settled communities, and the way

for a more regularly organized ministry prepared.

From the best evidence at my disposal, it appears that John and Nathan Walker, two men of the same name, were ap- pointed to the Huron circuit in the fall of 1822, and that Lower Sandusky was sup- plied by them. In the fall of 1823, Wil- liam Swazy, presiding elder on Lancaster district, employed Benija Boardman, a local preacher living in Huron county, as a missionary to organize a circuit up and down the Sandusky River, and from the adjacent settlements, with Lower San- dusky for headquarters. Mr. Boardman seems to have been a man of fair talents, and blessed with a good degree of energy and fidelity to his work. The enterprise was a success, and the close of that con- ference year the Lower Sandusky circuit was organized by the Ohio- conference, " placed upon the ministers, and the Rev. E. H. Fields, a young man who had re- cently been received into the conference, appointed, with Rev. James McMahon as presiding elder. This is the first recogni- tion of Lover Sandusky circuit we have. What the extent of the territory or number of appointments it embraced I do not know. There were ninety-seven members in all the circuit. Mr. Fields remained on the circuit but one year, it then being the practice of the church not to return young men the second year unless there was something in the circumstances to re- quire it. Rev. J. W. Clarke was appointed to succeed Mr. Field in the fall of 1825. Mr. Clarke remained but one year. What his future history was is not known.

In the fall of 1826 Rev. Arza Brown was appointed to the circuit. He re- mained two years. The members of the church and those that were interestedly associated with it who are still living have a distinct recollection of Mr. Brown. During his pastorate Lower Sandusky was

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blessed with a powerful and extensive re- vival, perhaps, considering the number of population, the most remarkable relig- ious awakening the place was ever favored with. This revival and ingathering into the church was a matter of great encour- agement to the little struggling society, that had become well nigh discouraged in . consequence of the hardships and priva- tions of a new country. I am informed - by Mrs. Sallie Ingham, a daughter of Rev. James Montgomery, that Mr. Brown died in Chicago in 1870. How long he con- tinued in the ministry, or what his occu- pation was after he left it, is not known.

The revival gave great strength to the circuit, and at the conference held in 1828, J. Hill and A. Billings were ap- pointed. They remained on the work but one year, and B. Cooper and William Sprague were appointed to succeed them at the conference of 1829. Rev. Russell Bigelow was presiding elder. Nothing special occurred during the year, and in 1830 they were succeeded by Rev. Eline Day and Rev. E. C. Gavitt. At the end of the first year Mr. Gavitt was removed, he being a young man. He is still living, a member of the Central Ohio conference, and doing effective work.

In 1831 Mr. Day was returned with the Rev. E. B. Chase for his colleague. Mr. Day remained in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church for a few years, became disaffected and joined the United Brethren, remained with them a while, and in his old age asked the privi- lege of returning to the church of his youth. He was received back and recog- nized as a local elder.

In 1832, Mr. Day and Mr. Chase hav- ing closed their pastorate, Rev. Elmore Yocum and Rev. J. Martin were appoint- ed to the circuit. Mr. Yocum continued to travel several years in Ohio, and was transferred to Wisconsin, where he has

continued to labor on districts and in the best appointments of his conference. He has been more than once, I think, hon- ored by his brethren with a seat in the general conference. No man has a warmer heart, or has been more beloved by the people with whom he has labored than Elmore Yocum. In the year 1833 Rev. C. Goddard, with the Rev. J. B. Austin as assistant, were appointed. They were both removed at the end of the first year, and in the fall of 1834 Rev. William Sullivan and Rev. John T. Kellom were appointed. The community this fall was greatly afflicted with cholera. Mr. Kellom says in a letter to the writer:

On my way to Lower Sandusky I was stopped by a kind friend, some three miles above the town, and informed that there were but three living persons in the place. I staid with him over night, and the next morning rode to town and found Mr. Birchard, Judge Hulburd, and Dr. Rawson. All the others had fled from the cholera. Some were tenting on a camp- ground on Father Bowlus' farm, and some had fled to other places. After stopping a while, I went over to what is now Clyde, and then returned and assisted in burying some of the dead.

In consequence of the prevalence of cholera, Mr. Kellom received but fifty six dollars for his year's service.

Rev. J. Kinnear and Rev. J. H. Pitzel were appointed to the circuit in 1835, They remained one year, and were fol- lowed, in 1836, by Rev. Leonard Hill and Rev. Wesley J. Wells. Mr. Hill re- mained two years and had for his col- league the second year Rev. Osborn Men- nett. Father Hill continued to travel as an itinerant preacher for several years, took a superannuated relation to the con- ference, returned to Fremont, where he spent the evening of his life, and died in great peace, April 13, 1869, in the eigh- tieth year of his age, honored and beloved by all who knew him. Mr. Wells con- tinued to travel till 1868. He now holds a superannuated relation to the Central Ohio conference, and is engaged in busi-

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ness in Toledo, Ohio. In 1838 Rev. Peter Sharp was appointed to the circuit, with Rev. B. Blanchard as assistant. Mr. Sharp's health was poor, and he insisted on the work being divided and he allowed to remain all the time in town that he could attend to the work. The presiding elder accordingly consented to the arrange- ment, and Lower Sandusky was organized into a station. Peter Sharp was eccentric, and there are many amusing anecdotes told about him, one of which is here re- lated :

At one of the conferences a good brother was arraigned for heresy. The conference heard the case and pronounced him guilty. The bishop said: "Breth- ren, you have convicted this brother of heresy; what do you propose to do with him?" This was a stunner, for the church has no law to punish heretics. In the midst of embarrassment, Peter gravely arose in his place on the conference floor and said: "Mr. President, I move we proceed at once to burn him."

Mr. Sharp was succeeded, in 1839, by Rev. Wesley Brock. Mr. Brock was the homeliest man I ever saw. He remained here but one year-continued to hold im- portant positions in his conference for a number of years. Finally took a super- anuated relation and moved on his farm in Mercer county, Ohio, where he became guilty of a shameful crime, for which he was expelled from his conference in 1859. He died a few years afterward, dishonored and forsaken. I never knew a man for whom I felt so deeply as I did for Wesley Brock.

In 1840 Rev. A. Campbell was ap- pointed to the station. This was unfortu- nate for the charge. Mr. Campbell was of a despondent turn of mind, which grew upon him, and before the close of the year the poor man lost the balance of his mind and went crazy. What became

of him I do not know. With the misfor- tune of Mr. Campbell the station became discouraged, and failed to sustain itselt. It was accordingly again united with the outlying appointments, and in 1841 Thomas Thompson and Rev. Darius Dodge were appointed. Father Thomp- son is still living, a member of the North Ohio conference, and, I believe, in the religious world, no man has sustained a better character through a long and use- ful ministry than he. Darius Dodge be- came ambitious to be rich, took a super- numerary relation to the conference, went to Illinois, and commenced the practice of medicine, became guilty of an offence that disgraced himself and the church. He is no longer a member of the confer- ence, and so far as I know is out of the church. Thompson and Dodge remained on the circuit but one year, and in 1842 the Rev. Samuel P. Shaw was appointed to circuit, with Rev. Mr. Grumley as junior preacher. Mr. Shaw remained on the cir- cuit for one year Ind the Rev. Hibbard P. Ward was his colleague the second year. Mr. 'haw afterwards held a super- annuated relation to the North Ohio con- ference, and lived alone on his farm in Crawford county, Ohio. He became wealthy, and endoved a university in the South named after himself.

Hibbard P. Ward died of cholera while stationed at Sandusky City. He led his prayer meeting in the evening, and before morning he was dead. His last words were, "Gliding sweetly." He was a young man of fine talent, of great goodness of heart, and of much promise to the church. He and William Cooper, and a young Presbyterian minister, all died in Sandusky City of cholera, and are buried side by side in the cemetery at that place.

Messrs. Shaw and Ward were succeeded, in 1844, by Rev. W. C. Huestis and Rev. Joseph F. Kenedy. Mr. Huestis remained

HISTORY OF SANDUSKY COUNTY.

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two years, and Rev. S. Fairchilds was his assistant the second year. Mr. Kenedy continued in the work of the ministry until 1872, when he took a nominal ap- pointment, fell into a state of despond- ency, and put an end to his existence by a pistol shot. He was a sad illustration of the use of opium, and of disappointed ambition.

In 1846 Rev. Joseph Jones and the Rev. Jacob T. Caples were appointed to the circuit. In 1847 Mr. Caples was re- moved and Mr. Jones was returned, and a young man by the name of Wait assisted him. At the close of Mr. Jones' legal term in 1848, Rev. J. Reese and Rev. J. Elliott were the preachers. Mr. Reese died on the 4th of the following February, and Elliott was entrusted with the charge of the circuit. He was followed in 1849 by Rev. S. M. Beatty, with Stillman George for a supply. During Mr. Beatty's first year on the work Lower Sandusky was favored with an extensive revival which greatly strengthened the charge, and at the close of his first year the circuit was again divided, and Fremont was organ- ized into a charge by itself, to which Mr. Beatty returned in 1850.

He was followed in 1851 by Rev. Dor- cas Dodge, and in 1852-53 Rev. W. J. Wells was again appointed to the charge, and at the close of his pastorate in 1854, Rev. W. H. Seeler succeeded him. He remained but one year, and was fol- lowed in 1855 by Rev. L. A. Pounds, and he in 1856-57 by Rev. Jacob T. Caples. One year after, Mr. Caples left Fremont. In 1869, at the conference held in Fre- mont, he was appointed by Bishop Morris presiding elder on the Findlay district. He served the district with great accepta- bility and usefulness until near the close of the first year, when he was suddenly stricken down by acute brain trouble, and died in Findlay, Ohio. Brother

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History of Sandusky County, Ohio : with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens and pioneers, Part 76

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams Number of Pages: 1040

Author: Everett, Homer, 1813-1887
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Ohio : H.Z. Williams
Number of Pages: 1040