USA > Ohio > Logan County > Bellefontaine > History of the First Presbyterian Church of Bellefontaine, Ohio, and addresses delivered at the celebration of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the pastorate of the Reverend George L. Kalb, D.D > Part 2
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HOGE, REV. JOSEPH, preached here about 1820, later was cal- led by Mt. Tabor church, which was a few miles south-east of West Liberty.
HUGHES, REV. JAMES, born in York county, Pennsylvania, 1765, educated under Joseph Smith, licensed 1788, made several tours through the Miami Valley before 1814. Was pastor of three churches in Champaign county from 1814 to 1818, during which time he is remembered to have visited this county and probably preached often at Mack-a-Cheek. He was chosen the first presi- dent of the Miami University, in 1818. He died in 1821, aged 56.
HUGHES, JOSEPH S., born 1789, son of Joseph H., graduated at Jefferson College 1808, licensed 1809 by the Presbytery of Ohio, pastor of Delaware and Berkshire, Ohio, continued to act as mission- ary, supply and pastor in this section until his death in 1823.
HUGHES, REV. THOMAS E., accompanied Rev. Thomas Badg- er on some of his early missionary tours.
JENKS, REV. AHAB, preached in this section prior to 1822.
MARQUIS, REV. THOS., see sketch.
MERRIL, REV. DAVID, was pastor at Urbana and neighboring churches from 1827 to 1841. He made trips to Bellefontaine and assisted materially in encouraging the growth of Christianity in this community.
MCCURDY, REV. ELISHA, licensed 1799, was one of the most noted of the early Presbyterian ministers and missionaries who helped the destitute churches of western Ohio. He accompanied
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HISTORY.
the Rev. Joseph Stevenson on one of his first missionary trips from Pennsylvania through this section.
PATTERSON, REV JOSEPH, son of Robert and Jane P., born 1752, licensed 1788, started the Sabbath School Society in November, 1817, which was afterwards called the Sabbath School Union. He made missionary trips among the Indians and the white settlements of Ohio, and was, perhaps, the principal distributor of Bibles among the early Ohio settlers of his time. He died in 1832, aged 80.
POGUE, REV. ANDREW W., licensed by Washington Presby- tery, supply at Yellow Springs, 1819, preached at Muddy Run (Mack-a-Cheek) near West Liberty, more or less for several years. He supplied the settlement congregations in Springfield and neighborhood quite regularly from June, 1823, to 1825.
ROBINSON, REV. JAMES, son of Robert and Rebecca (Wallace) Robinson, born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1769, graduated at Canonsburg, now Jefferson College, 1802, licensed and appoint- ed missionary by Presbytery of Ohio in 1805, ordained in 1807 and installed by Presbytery of Ohio pastor of Crooked Creek, Pennsyl- vania, same year. Later, pastor at Pickway Plains and removed to "The Darby," the Liberties, in 1820. He devoted many years to preaching in this section. Besides his other work here he made special missionary trips through Logan county every six months from 1820 until the Rev. Joseph Stevenson moved here, preaching to such Presbyterians and others as would gather at the school houses. Among others he established the "Church of Logan" at Chero- kee Run, in 1824, the meetings of which church were frequently held in Bellefontaine, and many of the original members of the First Presbyterian church, of Bellefontaine, were members of that church. See chapter "Presbyterian Church of Cherokee Run." He served the church at Marysville, Ohio, from 1821 to 1828; afterwards he was at Tiffin from 1828 to 1834. Was at Ashland and Lewisburg until 1845. He filled many clerical posi- tions in this section, doing much to foster the growth of religion in this community. He died April 22, 1847, aged 77, at Mil- ford Center, Ohio. Children :- Elizabeth, wife of Jesse Mitchell, of Lower Liberty, Ohio; John W .; Rebecca, who married Robert Houston, of Ashland; James, of Logan county, and Maria, wife of Dr. j. R. Snodgrass.
ROBINSON, REV. WILLIAM, served vacant churches in the Miami Presbytery in 1814 and later including the Mack-a-Cheek, the first Presbyterian church in this county.
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THE EARLY MISSIONARIES.
STEEL, REV. ARCHIBALD, visited this section as early as 1799, preaching and doing missionary work at Buck Creek, Darby, North Liberty and all of the new settlements under commission from the Presbytery. He made lists of all members of the church wherever they wanted an organization and reported same to the Presbytery. He served the settlements south of here once in four weeks at the school houses, including Springfield, from 1815 to 1823.
WELSH, REV. JAMES, pastor of the Dayton church, 1804 to 1817, is supposed to have helped the cause some here.
WOODS, REV. SAMUEL, was the first resident pastor to those Logan county Presbyterians who went to "The Darby" to church. Some traveled as far as twenty miles to attend services there. He was settled there in 1806. He continued his active religious work there until he died, April 27, 1815, aged 35.
WOODS, REV. JOHN, located at Buck Creek, now Champaign county, in 1807, services being held at private houses at the set- tlements.
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HISTORY.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, OF BELLEFONTAINE.
BY ELIZABETH C. ARMER.
The banners they upbore Our hands still lift on high; The Lord they followed evermore To us is also nigh.
S we take a backward look for the beginning of this church, it is like searching for the source of a river, from so many places and people have come the material for this fountain of God's opening. The finger cannot be put on any day or place and have it said here was the beginning of the church.
Martin Luther gave the split from the Catholic church its de- cisive blow, when he nailed his views to the door of the castle church of Wittenberg. The Protestant spirit grew rapidly among the northern nations of Europe. The southern races remained loyal to the Pope. The Lutherans took Northern Germany and Scandinavia. England under Henry VIII established the Epis- copal church, and the Presbyterian spread in Southern Germany, Switzerland and Eastern France. Calvin's great ideas shaped largely the latter. The Scotch adopted his views with such modi- fications as seemed to them best,
They evolved our ancestral Presbyterian church and maintained it against the hostile English monarchs. Many, driven by perse- cution, removed to Northern Ireland and there developed still more their independent views. Huguenots from France also sought a refuge in Ireland. But the persecutions, because of their not sub- mitting to the established church of England, became in time un- endurable and in two years thirty thousand Presbyterians left Northern Ireland for America. Both the Scotch-Irish and the Protestants from England and Germany settled largely in Penn- sylvania and Virginia but some in Maryland and the Carolinas; and from there they spread over Kentucky and Ohio. The first
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THE EARLY MISSIONARIES.
Presbyterian church in Philadelphia was established in 1698, the first in Kentucky nearly a hundred years later. Washing- ton county, Pennsylvania, was the half way station between the east and Ohio. Pittsburg and Wheeling were gateways to the far west, of which Ohio was a part. Wherever Presbyterians went, religion was zealously upheld. Personal responsibility always brings conservatism and these Presby- terians were strong factors for stable government, for churches and schools. Under the name of Congregationalists a similar element came from the English settlements of New England. Another supply was the Scotch-Irish woodsmen from Kentucky. All of these streams of hardy, brave, ambitious men and women met in Ohio, making a race of people that has made its mark in our national life and furnished leaders in every decade of this century.
It has been impossible to procure the reports of the early mis- sionaries who visited this section prior to 1829. Such reports, as were in possession of the stated clerk of the General Assembly, were destroyed by a fire in Philadelphia many years ago .* The early missionaries came with the first settlers, in fact they visited and labored among the Indians before the white men dared to bring their families. They were a race of heroes peculiar to the time. Traveling horse back, with pants faced with buck skin (for they must ford swollen streams and force their way through woods thick with underbrush); with saddle bags, blanket and rifle fastened to their saddles, and perhaps with the addition of an umbrella and a silk hat, they were immediately recognized if their coming had not been heralded. The frontier hospitality, usually great, was unlimited to the welcome preacher, whether the host's views were in accord with his or not. Everybody went to the services. There were missionary tours through this section very early in the present century, perhaps a few years before the close of the last.
Among the earliest families in Logan county and probably the first to settle in the vicinity of Bellefontaine, that was inclined to the Presbyterian church, was that of John Gunn, who established a tavern about one mile south of the present fair grounds, in 1805. Mr. Gunn was from Canada and the agent for a large amount of real estate in this section.
His tavern was for years a gathering place for both religious
*W. H. Roberts, Stated Clerk General Assembly.
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HISTORY.
and political meetings. It was the best place for the itinerant preachers to gather the settlers together until Bellefontaine be- came a business center. Mr. Gunn does not appear to have been a member of the church until he joined here in 1831.
What was known as the Church of Logan was established at Cherokee in 1824 by Rev. James Robinson. The meetings of this church were frequently held in Bellefontaine. In 1825 this church, through Mr. Robinson, requested permission to present a call to the Presbytery of Washington, Pennsylvania, for a portion of the ministerial labors of Rev. Joseph Stevenson, which was granted. Mr. Stevenson accepted this call and was installed pastor of the Church of Logan, at Bellefontaine, April 25, 1826.
There were present Reverends James Robinson, James Hoge, Ebenezer Washburn, Henry Vandeman, Joseph Stevenson and several elders from other settlements. The sermon was delivered by Rev. James Hoge, of Columbus, from the text, "My Grace is Sufficient for Thee," 2nd Corinthians, 12:9. The people known as the Church of Logan and Cherokee now presented a paper, with regard to Mr, Stevenson, their pastor elect, requesting three fourths of his time to be equally divided between four places of preaching, one at Cherokee Run, one at Bellefontaine, one at Newell's Mills, where a church was organized to be known by the name of Stoney Creek, and one near West Liberty. Rev. Joseph Stevenson had removed in the Spring of 1825 with his family to a tract of 1300 acres of land, given him by his father-in-law, the Rev. Thomas Marquis, two miles north of Bellefontaine.
Mr. Stevenson had previously been through this region in the employ of the Bible Society. Logan county was then the center of four or five counties in Ohio, without a settled Presbyterian preacher. When Father Stevenson came to make it his home he organized a circuit of thirteen preaching places which he supplied once in five weeks for the space of two years.
In 1828 the church of Bellefontaine was organized with thirty members. The first meeting to consider the question of a separate organization for Bellefontaine was held in the court house on Christmas Day, 1827. The organization was effected the following March, by the setting apart of three elders, Joshua Robb, John W. Marquis and Robert Patterson.
For some time the church of Cherokee Run (Huntsville,) Bellefontaine and Stony Creek seem to have been divisions of the same church although known by their separate names, since
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SKETCH OF THE CHURCH.
their sessions sat together and members were received at one place to be regular attendants at one of the others. The Bellefontaine congregation worshiped in the court house, a frame building which stood on Main street a few rods south of Court street, south of where the present court house stands. The first church build- ing erected by this congregation was a square brick which stood about two squares south of the court house on Main street, and upon the hill back of the creek, on the lot now occupied by the A. M. E. church. It was perhaps forty feet square with two doors in the front. The pulpit was on the east side facing the doors. The aisles were paved with large square brick and the pews were high and closed with doors. There were four square pews, one on each side of the pulpit, and one on either side in front. These were occupied by the elders and leading members In January, 1829, the session met in the meeting house but no record of its dedication has been found. In 1831 Rev. Mr. Stevenson records a work of grace in which fourteen were added to the church on examination. There was a gradual increase in members by examination and per- haps as many by letter, for the country was filling up by emi- gration from the East, and in 1833 the membership numbered ninety-nine and employed Rev. Mr. Stevenson half of his time, the other half being divided between Cherokee and Stony Creek.
Alienations were early in the history of this church. Many of the members had been leaders in other churches before they came here and each had his own methods, and they did not always harmonize. We will reach a clearer atinosphere before we all see alike. It was finally resolved to separate, and in 1836 the Presby- tery of Miami, at its Spring meeting, set apart certain disaffected members, into a Second Presbyterian church, which was in exist- ence some fourteen years. It had for pastors, successively, Rev. J. A. Meeks, Rev. J. L. Bellville, Rev. J. L. Polk and perhaps oth- ers whose records have not been found. The Second church laid claim to their share of the church building and the First church, after some deliberation, withdrew, giving up all interest in the house, and for a while worshiped again in the court house, after- wards in what was known as the Mclaughlin school house, a square brick building still standing on the corner of Sandusky and Elm. In the Autumn of 1840 Rev. R. H. Hollyday, now of Findlay, came to assist Rev. Mr. Stevenson in his work, preaching at West Liberty and Stony Creek one Sabbath, and at Bellefontaine the next. Mr. Stevenson had met Mr. Hollyday while he was yet
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HISTORY.
attending school, at a meeting of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society at Massilon, and the following Autumn they again met in Dayton at a meeting of the Synod of Cincinnati. He was invited to come to Bellefontaine and assist Mr. Stevenson, which he did and continu- ed in that relationship six months. In the spring of 1844 Rev. Stevenson, desiring to discontinue his services, it was voted to ask Presbytery to place Bellefontaine on a missionary route if they should form one.
These were dark days for the little flock. To use the words of Rev. J. H. Stevenson in his sermon delivered on the fiftieth an-
THE CHURCH OF 1845.
niversary of this church, "They were homeless, shepherdless and discouraged, till the necessity of disbanding was seriously discuss- ed by their warmest friends." Their extremity was reached when the disheartened handful, having long been without the privilege, applied unsuccessfully to different members of the Presbytery to hold a sacramental meeting for them. A grey haired elder* resolv- ed to make one more effort. He wrote again to one of the breth- ren, making his appeal as strong as he could, and then decided to deliver the letter in person, riding twenty-five miles through a
*J. W. Marquis.
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SKETCH OF THE CHURCH.
soaking rain to do it. Like Jacob, at Peniel, he would take no de- nial. He plead for the life of the church, and, like Jacob, he pre- vailed. It was a thrilling scene when the old man rose in society next day, where it had met for so many years, in the big room built for it in the home of the first pastor, and announced his suc- cess, and the conditions upon which the minister had consented to come, namely that the people would pray earnestly for the "Bap- tism of the Holy Ghost." The condition was accepted. The meetings were announced. The people prayed, God heard, Mr. Spence came. the spirit of God accompanied the Word with power, and members were added unto the church. It was the turning point in the life of the church. Soon a pastor was secured in the person of Rev. George T. Gregg, and some time in 1845 the second house of worship was occupied; the oblong brick on North Main street, now belonging to the Reformed Presbyterian church. Mr. Gregg continued as pastor of the church until his death of small- pox in January, 1854. Of these years we have the session records telling who were received and from where, and the dealings of the church with wayward members. When there were no railroads or telegraph wires and people could not read today what was done in China or Europe yesterday, being more shut in to themselves, they, perhaps, scrutinized each others work more closely. Offend- ers were dealt with strictly and yet there was much christian chari- ty shown. In August of 1844 missionary subscriptions and collec- tions are recorded, although money was doubtless raised for this purpose long before. At a meeting of the session December 16, 1848, it was resolved to take collections and subscriptions for do- mestic missions the first Sabbath in December, for foreign missions the first Sabbath in May, and for education the first Sabbath in August. Notice is also found on the books of the congregation of assistance received in congregational expense, from the Ladies' Aid Society, early in the life of this church, but no record has been found of the organization of this society. They doubtless kept their own records, but they have been lost.
January 18, 1854, Rev. Gregg was called from his labors here. This was his only pastorate and he served for nearly ten years, but God had other work for him, and although the record of his work is short only God can tell how far reaching it was or how seed of his planting may have spread. Rev. E. B. Raffensperger took charge of the church October 1, 1854. Of the supplies in the interim Rev. W. H. Babbit occupied the pulpit six weeks. Under Mr. Raffens-
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HISTORY.
perger the church took the whole time of the minister, dissolving its connections with Cherokee as it had before with Stony Creek. He was a good preacher and the church grew rapidly under him. During the Winter of '56-7 a series of meetings was held by which the church was much revived and many members added. Mr. Raffensperger records that in preparing his annual serinon at the close of 1856 he had been much distressed at the small number who had been received into the church that year, but it seemed the dark hour before the dawn. On communion Sabbath, at the suggestion of Judge Bennett, meet- ing was announced for the follow- ing evening, then followed preach- ing on Tuesday evening and day after day for several weeks, no ap- pointments being made beyond the following evening. The pastor did all the preaching at first; when it became necessary to have help Rev. William T. Findley, D. D., then of Springfield, and Rev. James H. Brooks, D. D., of Dayton, came to his assistance. The revival was followed by the agitation of the REV. E. B. RAFFENSPERGER. college question and Mr. Raffens- perger thought that the first idea of a Presbyterian college in Ohio, originated in Bellefontaine. He says he found it in the minds and hearts of Judge Bennett, W. G. Kennedy, William H. West, Benjamin Stanton, C. W. B. Allison and many others. But all their labors, speeches, trips to Synod, Presbyteries and conven- tions and handsome subscriptions were in vain. The college eluded their grasp, as to location. Rev. Raffensperger gave up the charge of the church June 1, 1859. Mr. Raffensberger was the first minis- ter who gave his whole time to this church. The practical healing of the division in the church occurred under him, many of the members of the recently dissolved Second church coming back to the First church under his ministry.
With no long interval Rev. George P. Bergen was called to the pulpit in August, 1859. No extended account is left of his work on the church books. His first Thanksgiving sermon delivered here in the M. E. church November 29, 1860, was on the dangers of war on account of slavery. His pastorate was during years of
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SKETCH OF THE CHURCH.
great political excitement, when what was deemed exclusively church work seemed less important than the duty of preserving our union of states. The call for help by the Government was an- swered by many of the young men of this church, some of whom came back when the war was over, and some lay down on southern battlefields, there to await the final roll call. Nothing of especial interest is recorded of Rev. Mr. Bergen's ministry other than is the common lot of preachers. He doubtless had his glad days and his sad ones, yet the church had a steady growth, although, as has been said, it was in trying times. He gave up the charge in June of 1863.
On the last Sabbath of July, 1863, Rev. George L. Kalb preach- ed his first sermon here, on the invitation of the session, and after preaching for five Sabbath days he was invited to supply the pul- pit for six months. On the first Monday in March, 1864, a call was made out for his services as pastor, acting on which, the Pres- bytery of Sidney installed him in the following April. In Sep- tember, of 1868, the system of pew renting was abolished and seats have ever since been free.
In May, 1870, the church property was sold to the First Chris- tian church of Bellefontaine, the erection of a new church building having been previously resolved upon. The congregation for a while afterwards worshiped in a hall and later in the basement of their church, before the completion of the building.
January, 1874, the third house of worship was dedicated. In October, 1878, the semi-century of this church organization was celebrated seven months too late. September. 1884, a pipe organ was dedicated.
Dr. Kalb resigned the pastorate September, 1898, after a min- istry, to this people, of thirty-five years, in which the church has had a constant growth. The Winter of 1876-7 was marked by a season of especial awakening, in which many of the young people of the church were gathered in and the older ones seemed to take on a new lease of life. Again in the early Winter of 1889, under the leadership of Rev. H H. Wells, there was an especial work of grace. In February of 1898, with the assistance of Rev. W. A. Bodel1, a harvest of Dr. Kalb's planting and tending was gathered. Under Dr. Kalb the inembership of this church has grown from 220, April 1, 1864, to 510, when he gave up the charge. Many have died and perhaps as many have been dismissed to unite else-
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH HISTORY.
where. Dr. Kalb has been pastor of this church half the years of its life.
A Woman's Missionary Society was organized in 1871; it is both home and foreign, and since its organization the society has been among the largest givers in the Presbyterial organizations, for which thanks are due Dr. Kalb for his instruction and leader- ship. Not since the time of Paul has there been such a wide spread interest in missions as there is today and this congregation has been blessed with a pastor who did not feel that eighteen cen- turies made less urgent the Macedonian cry.
Few churches are so rich in the memory of their founder as the First Presbyterian church, of Bellefontaine. Rev. Joseph Stevenson lived and labored in the church many years after he ceased to be its pastor, dying in February, 1865.
This congregation has been served by twenty-nine elders, of whom eleven are now in the service. The seventy years of its life cover a marvelous period. The greatest strides have been made in exploration, in science, in civilization of any time in the world's history. By far the largest part of our own country was an unknown land seventy years ago. Daniel Webster opposed the annexation of western territory, including California, calling it "A region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts, of shifting sands and whirlwinds, of cactus and prairie dogs. To what use could we ever hope to put these great deserts or endless mountain chains, impenetrable and covered to their bases with eternal snows? What can we ever hope to do with this western coast, 3000 miles rock bound, cheer- less and uninviting, with not a harbor on it? What use have we for such a country?"
It has been a period of wonderful discoveries and inventions. The opening of China, for long ages a sealed book. The explora- tion of Africa. More fields opening and more workers desiring to go than there is means to send, And this people have had their part in it all. The great slavery agitation of 1818 (the leaven of which kept working until the national sin was wiped out) was started in the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church by the effort and petition of the ministers of the Miami Presbytery, of which this section was then a part. This church has belonged to four Presbyteries :- Columbus, Miami, to which it was transfer- red in April, 1829; Sidney, from the organization of the same in 1836; and Bellefontaine, by act of the Synod of Toledo, reconstruct- ing the Presbyteries. I should fall short of my task if I did not
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