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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01066 7290
T. M. SHANAFELT, D. D.
THE
BAPTIST HISTORY
OF
SOUTH DAKOTA.
BY T. M. SHANAFELT, D. D., State Superintendent of Missions.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY O. A. WILLIAMS, D. D.
Published by the SOUTH DAKOTA BAPTIST CONVENTION. BROWN & SAENGER, PTRS., SIOUX FALLS.
Copyrighted, 1899, by T. M. SHANAFELT.
Copyright Transferred to the South Dakota Baptist Convention.
1195074
CONTENTS.
PAGES.
INTRODUCTION
11-14
CHAPTER I.
15-25
Dakota Territory
CHAPTER II.
26 32
South Dakota
CHAPTER III.
33-47
Early Beginnings
CHAPTER IV.
48 59
Progress of the Work
CHAPTER V.
60-73
The Last Decade --
CHAPTER VI.
74-85
The First Baptist Missionaries'
CHAPTER VIL.
86 -95
Rev. J. E. Rockwood
CHAPTER VIII.
96-101
Chaplain G. D. Crocker
CHAPTER IX.
102 109
Rev. George W. Freeman
CHAPTER X.
110-112
Rev. E. H. Hurlbutt
CHAPTER XI.
113-121
Rev. J. J. McIntire
CHAPTER XII.
Rev. William T. Hill 122-126
5 10
PREFACE
4
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII. PAGES
Rev. V. B. Conklin 127-130
CHAPTER XIV.
Rev. J. P. Coffman 131-139
CHAPTER XV.
Rev. G. S. Clevenger
140 145
CHAPTER XVI.
The Black Hills 146-161
CHAPTER
XVII.
Scandinavian Baptists
162-185
CHAPTER XVIII.
186-198
German and Russian Baptists
CHAPTER XIX.
Associations 199-209
CHAPTER XX.
The State Convention
210-216
CHAPTER XXI.
Relation to Missionary Societies -. 217-227
CHAPTER XXII.
Sioux Falls College 228-237
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Dakota or Sioux Indians 238-244
CHAPTER
XXIV.
Statistical Review
245-267
APPENDIX.
INTRODUCTION.
This generation is living in a epoch of history mak- ing. The United States census of 1890 revealed facts respecting the material growth and development of this country to which there has been no parallel in the his- tory of the world. Invention has multiplied many fold man's capacity and power for work. By the applica- tion of these inventions to the farm and to the factory, to commerce and to transportation, this growth has been made possible. When the second half of the century now drawing to a close began, the vast region known as the Mississippi valley was for the most part the hunting ground of the red man, and the home of the buffalo and the antelope. Under the industrious hand of the pioneer settler, the desert has been made to blossom as the rose.
In 1850 the population of the twelve prairie states, including Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Mis- souri, was 5,400,000; in 1890 it was 22,362,000. During this period of forty years, the virgin soil in these twelve states was changed into productive farms, at the rate of 13,000 acres per day. Two-thirds of the grain produced, and of the live stock raised, are found in these twelve states. Their development in manufac- turing interests has not been less marvellous. In 1850 they reported 111,000 operatives earning $20,000,000 in wages. In 1890 there were 1,407,000 operatives earn-
INTRODUCTION.
ing $672,000,000 in wages, and turning out manufac- tured products to the amount of $3,000,000,000. The railroads of these twelve states exceed, in the number of miles, the aggregate railroads of France, Germany, Russia and Austria. The increase of wealth in this period has been at the rate of $190,000,000 per annum. The wealth of these states multiplied six fold in thirty vears, while it only doubles in fifty years in Great Britain.
In 1860 the first wheat was shipped from the north- west. There were between six hundred and seven hundred bags, not enough to make a barge load. In 1895 the Great Northern Railway alone carried 65,000,000 bushels.
Between the years 1870 and 1892 there were ex- pended in the construction of railroads between Lake Superior and Puget Sound, as far south as the south- ern line of Minnesota, including South Dakota, $400,- 000,000. The children of this world showed much wisdom in their generation. Can we say as much re- specting the children of light? Has the Kingdom of Christ in this region made corresponding progress? Has the moral and religious sentiment of the nation kept pace with its industrial and commercial enter- prise?
At the present time expansion is the inevitable des- tiny of the nation. As the result of the war with Spain, she is called upon to solve new problems and to meet new responsibilities. What shall be the watch- word of the church in this crisis? Shall it not be, "The Islands of the Sea for Christ?" God has opened the door of opportunity to christianize the dwellers of these islands. Dare we refuse to go up and possess them?
7
INTRODUCTION.
Our fathers, endowed with almost a seer's vision, foresaw the coming millions who were to occupy the fertile prairies of the west. They recognized it as the duty of the hour to carry the gospel to the regions be- yond, and to organize and plant churches in the new settlements. The growth of the Baptist denomination and the dissemination of Baptist principles show how wisely and faithfully they did their work. Shall their children be less faithful to their inherited trust?
In 1870 South and North Dakota, then a territory, had two Baptist churches. Today the state of South Dakota has 106 churches, and 5,835 members. In 1870 the Baptists of the United States numbered 409,958; today they number over 4,000,000. In 1790 the Bap- tists constituted one in sixty of the population. In 1840 it was one in twenty-nine of the population; in 1870, one in twenty-seven; in 1898, approximately one in every seventeen. Figures like these reveal to us the fact that America has been a fruitful soil for the propagation of Baptist principles, and that the work of our denomination has been more productive of results here than in any part of the world. Students of American history have recognized the influence of. these principles in the establishment of our govern- ment, and in the formation of our institutions. Re- ligious liberty, and the separation of church and state, principles advocated and defended at one time exclusively by Baptists, have been the corner-stone of the republic.
Baptists, therefore, should be pre-eminently enthusi- astic and aggressive in the work of evangelizing our composite population. While no part of the world should be neglected, the conditions which exist in the new world should prove an encouragement and an in-
8
INTRODUCTION.
spiration to the greatest sacrifice and the most heroic effort in seeking the evangelization of our own country. Home missions should be prosecuted with earnestness, as a matter of self-protection and self-preservation. Christianity is the chief bulwark of the nation. Our government and our institutions will be safe in the hands of Christian people. Let men in authority be governed by the spirit of Christ and the principles of the gospel, and corruption in high places, or at the ballot box, will no longer threaten to subvert the in- tegrity of the nation. Rulers and the ruled will seek the greatest good of the greatest number. In no other way than by the application of these principles can the social questions that confront us be rightly solved.
America should be saved not alone for its own sake, but for the sake of the world. Matthew Arnold says. "America holds the future." Prof. Hopkins says, " America Christianized means the world Christian- ized." Alexander Hamilton says, "It is ours to be either the grave in which the hopes of the world shall be entombed, or the pillar of cloud that shall pilot the race onward to immortal glory." In the planting of .this Protestant Christian nation on this continent, we can trace the divine hand as truly as in the call of Abraham and the settlement of the Hebrews in Canaan. As it was the purpose of God that the Hebrews should become the channel through which blessings should flow to all the families of the earth, is it not as truly His purpose that America should be the channel through which the blessings of the gospel should flow to other nations? Can we not see His purpose in its preservation to Protestant Christianity?
When the pilgrim fathers reached the shores of New England, Spain was mistress of the seas. Her citizens
9
INTRODUCTION.
were the pioneer explorers in all lands. Her sovereignty extended over all of South America except Brazil, over all Central America, over all the land bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, over all the land west of the Mississippi now included within the United States, and over the Florida peninsula. Had anyone in the early history of this country attempted to forecast the nature and character of the civilization that should control it, he would have said that Latin Catholicism rather than Anglo-Saxon Protestantism would have been the domi-
nant element. But what are the facts today? The
sovereignty of Spain has been driven out of the new world. Here, without the support of the state, has been built the most distinctively Protestant nation on the face of the earth. " On what other principle can we explain this marvelous reversal of that which seemed inevitable, except that God purposed it, and that He purposed it for the sake of the world.
One of the chief factors in producing the civilization which we now enjoy has been the work of the mission- ary in preaching the gospel, and planting the church in the new settlements. To no class of men does the: country owe a greater debt of gratitude than to the pioneer preachers. The historian of today, who will with care, and without bias, record the story of these religious beginnings, of the hardships, sacrifices and heroism of Christian workers, will render to coming generations a noble service. This work can be done at no other time so well as while the actors who played so prominent a part in the laying of these foundations are still with us. With them will pass away a knowledge of facts and incidents, of suffering and devotion, that ought to be preserved as a priceless heritage.
"Tell it to the generation following." The task is
10
INTRODUCTION.
not an easy one. There are many difficulties. In these newer states the population is unsettled; it is con- stantly changing and shifting. Many churches which, at the time of their organization, gave promise of growth and usefulness, in the course of a few years became ex- tinct, and their records are lost. Even where the records have been preserved (often without much care, and with little regard to their importance) it is no small task to examine and sift them, and out of the mass to gather and preserve that which is to be of value to those coming after us.
I congratulate the Baptists of South Dakota that in this state the work has fallen into the hands of one so emi- nently fitted for the task. Rev. T. M. Shanafelt, D. D., is not only intimately acquainted with the work and the workers, but has been for years their leader in it. He not only knows what has been done, but he has also had a prominent part in the doing. This volume is a valu- able contribution to the history of Baptists in America. Similar work should be done at once in other states. "Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God hath led thee."
O. A. WILLIAMS.
Minneapolis, Jan. 10, 1899.
.
PREFACE.
The object of this volume is to give a record of the planting and training of Baptist churches on what was not long ago the frontier, and to tell the story of the trials and experiences of some of the pioneers who have been helping to mould the character and destiny of a new state. It has been deemed advisable to do this while early recordsare still preserved, and beforeall of the early actors in the events recorded have passed away.
Too little attention is given to collecting and preserv- ing the records of past events, before they become scattered and lost, and securing oral or written state- ments of the experiences of those who have shared in making the beginnings of history. Our work is too intimately connected with the foundational work that preceded it, to justify us in ignoring the past. "Other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors." We labor more intelligently, and accomplish more, when we know how our predecessors wrought, and what they achieved. "Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee." We are to know how he led the fathers in their day, and in the light of that knowledge we can have a clearer understanding of the way of duty in our own times, and see how his Provi- dential leading through the trying scenes of the past, has been preparing the way for our labors and achieve- ments in the present.
The age in which we live is made richer by the expe- riences and triumphs of other days. They come to us as a sacred legacy, which should be treasured and
12
PREFACE.
utilized by us, while we are endeavoring to accomplish our mission. Ere long we must pass them on to others, enriched by the results of what we have done. No age can live for itself alone. It is indissolubly connected with those which precede and follow. We need the records of failures and achievements in the past, since it serves us the double purpose of a caution and a stimulus, while we are on the stage of action, perform- ing our part in the drama of life. And this record of what our fathers did or failed to do, we must transmit to those who come after us. It is a history of how God has been pleased to operate, through his people, from age to age, in the seemingly slow but effective and sure plan to benefit mankind and evangelize the world. Each generation is to be a revealer to its successor, of the things that have gone before. "One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts."
The author realizes that he is practically a pioneer in the important work of collecting, and preparing for pub- lication, the materials available for a state denomina- tional history. It has rarely been attempted in any of the older eastern states. There the abundant wealth of material, once available, if it had been utilized, would now be of incalculable value, to the denomina- tion and to the world. With the single exception of the Baptist history of Iowa, no state in the west has vet issued a historical volume, giving the record of the trials and triumphs of Baptists in the development of the great northwest. The new state of South Dakota thus stands comparatively alone in the performance of a duty which it owes to its pioneer missionaries, to its present workers, and to the Baptist denomination at large. With the timidity and modesty becoming to
13
PREFACE.
youth, it takes its place as a leader in a movement where it ought to have had many examples.
At the annual meeting of the South Dakota Baptist Convention, in 1889, the writer of this history was ap- pointed Baptist historian, and custodian of historical papers and documents. It was necessary, first, to se- cure the preparation of such sketches as were desired. Realizing that one of the greatest difficulties of the his- torian is securing the needed materials, an effort was made to obtain complete files of the proceedings of the associations and of the state convention, and per- suade the surviving pioneers to prepare historical pa- pers, giving their knowledge of events as they wrought them, with interesting reminiscences of the experi- ences in which they shared in the early days. Several papers of this kind have been secured. Since the story of past events is always most interesting when told by those who had a part in creating them, they are published in this volume as valuable and helpful contri- butions to the Baptist history of South Dakota.
While the work of collecting materials has been in progress for several years, the preparation of the vol- ume for the press was delayed until its publication seemed to be necessary. This has now been done at the earnest request of the South Dakota Baptist Convention. It is published by the Convention. The manuscript and copyright have been transferred to it as an expres- sion of the author's appreciation of the unbroken har- mony that has prevailed during the nearly eleven years of his official relation to the Convention, as state su- perintendent of missions, and the uniform kindness and co-operation of pastors and churches throughout the state.
In the closing statistical chapter, and elsewhere, are
14
PREFACE.
given a number of important statistical tables. With a view to assisting South Dakota Baptist readers of this book in the coming years, to make convenient compari- sons in the growth of our denomination, between their standpoint and that of the present, some summary sta- tistical tables are published in the appendix, and also tables of anniversaries of the associations, now and hitherto existing, and of the state convention.
The field of operations of which this history aims to be a correct record is the state of South Dakota. But since the beginning of Baptist missionary work upon it in 1864, it continued for twenty-five years, or until 1889, to be the southern half of Dakota Territory. It has enjoyed the rights and privileges of statehood for a period of only ten years. We have been looking back- ward over a past record. Its history is here recorded. From this dividing ridge between the past and the fu- ture, we strain our eyes to see if we can catch a vision of what is beyond us. We can only obey the command of Him who said: "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they GO FORWARD." For what has been accom- plished we thank God. As citizens we rejoice in the peace, and plenty, and prosperity of our state. As Baptists we rejoice in the progress we have made as a denomination, and that we have a record of success and growth of which we need not be ashamed. Treasuring these records of what God has done for us and through us hitherto, we now hand them down to posterity. Thus we endeavor to obey the Divine injunction: " Walk about Zion, and go round about her; tell the towers thereof. Mark ve well her bulwarks; consider her palaces; THAT YE MAY TELL IT TO THE GENERA- TION FOLLOWING."
T. M. SHANAFELT.
Huron, S. D., January 12, 1899.
CHAPTER I.
DAKOTA TERRITORY.
The Baptist history of South Dakota dates from the earliest known record of missionary work, beginning in 1864. Religious and secular history, having a nearly common starting point, are to be traced along parallel lines. To follow the progress and growth of Baptist churches, beginning with the preliminary work of L. P. Judson, and the pioneer labors of J. E. Rock- wood, G. W. Freeman and others, will require a sketch of most of the period of the history of Dakota Territory. A correct understanding of the work that has been accomplished, renders necessary a description of the field of operations. This was originally Dakota Terri- tory, but it is now the state of South Dakota.
In 1803, President Jefferson purchased from France an immense region of country along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, extending from the Gulf of Mexico northward to the British Possessions, and westward to the Rocky Mountains. From this vast territory, which in the early part of the century was thought to be of little value, have been formed several of the most pro- ductive and promising states in the west and north- west. It was at first called the Louisiana Territory. It soon after formed a part of the Missouri Territory, and was later annexed to Indiana Territory. As new states were formed it underwent several changes of
16
THE BAPTIST HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
name. After Indiana and Illinois were admitted to the Union, it formed a part of Michigan Territory, which then included Wisconsin, Minnesota, and all the country east of the Missouri river. When Michigan became a state in 1837, it was included in Wisconsin Territory, and after Wisconsin reached the dignity of statehood in 1848, it was attached to Minnesota Terri- torv. After Minnesota became one of the states of the Union, May 11, 1858, the country afterwards known as Dakota was outside of any territory, and had no recog- nized existence until Dakota Territory was established, March 2, 1861. It was occupied only by Indians. The country over which they roamed came to be known as Dakota from the great confederation of Indian tribes called the Dakotas.
Dakota Territory came into existence by act of con- gress, approved by President Buchanan March 2, 1861. It then extended as far west as the Rocky Mountains. Its southern boundary was what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming, on the north line were the British Possessions, and on the east the states of Min- nesota and Iowa. A few years later there were formed from it Wyoming, Montana and a portion of Idaho Ter- ritories. The present western boundary of what was Dakota Territory are the states of Montana and Wy- oming.
It is interesting to notice how a dozen states, some of them larger in area than most of the empires and kingdoms of Europe, were carved out of the original "Louisiana Purchase" of 1803. The so-called states- men who, at the beginning of the century, opposed the purchase of so vast a territory, on the ground that it was a desert country, and useless, did not have the ability to foresee that before its close, a population of
. ....
--
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, VERMILLION.
CHURCH ORGANIZED IN LOG SCHOOL HOUSE FEBRUARY 16, 1868. FIRST HOUSE OF WORSHIP DEDICATED JUNE 4, IS72.
18891
Be
-dict. Co
Chicago ..
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, VERMILLION, PRESENT HOUSE OF WORSHIP DEDICATED MAY IS, IS90.
17
THE BAPTIST HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
thirteen millions of people would be occupying the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Indian Territory and Okla- homa. What were supposed, in an early day to be barren wastes, fit only for wild beasts and Indians, have proved to be fertile plains and valleys, and the "Great American Desert" of the early histories and geogra- phies has become a source of incalculable wealth in the products of the field and of the mine.
Dakota Territory was larger in size than any state or territory in the United States, except Texas and Cali- fornia. Its area was 150,932 square miles. Its great- est length, from north to south, was four hundred and fifty miles, and its breadth, from east to west, was three hundred and eighty-five miles. With the excep- tion of the Black Hills on the west, and Turtle Moun- tain on the north, the land is mainly rolling prairie and plain, with a rich and productive soil. The Indians, who were its first inhabitants, for more than two hun- dred years occupied the Black Hills, and roved over the prairies of Dakota comparatively undisturbed by white men until within the last generation. When Da- kota Territory was organized in 1861, it included about thirty-two thousand Indians, and a white population of about two thousand five hundred.
The first known white settler was a French-Canadian trader, who established a trading post at Pembina, in 1780. He was still living there at the time of the visit of Major Long's exploring expedition in 1823. In 1784, David Thompson, the astronomer and scientific repre- sentative of the Hudson Bay Company, visited the valley of the Red River of the North, and other rivers, and ascertained the latitude and longitude of Pembina.
2
18
THE BAPTIST HISTORY OF SOUTH DAKOTA.
That locality and the country further north and east, early in the century, was so little known to the world that it was referred to in the early editions of Morse's geography as "an unknown country." In 1805, when Lieutenant Zebulon Pike was on his way up the head- waters of the Mississippi river, to explore its source, on arriving at Red Lake he found a trading post, established in 1788, from whose flagstaff was still floating the British flag. The first building of a permanent char- acter was erected in 1797, by a Frenchman, Charles Chabollier, on the south side of the Pembina river, near its junction with the Red River of the North. These were the fore-runners of representatives of the Hudson Bay Company, and several British and American Fur companies which were established near the close of the eighteenth and during the early years of the nineteenth century. Lord Selkirk built a fort at Pembina during the war of 1812. Several years later on finding that it was on the American side of the international bound- ary it was torn down and rebuilt on British territory.
After the "Louisiana Purchase" in 1803, it was deemed necessary for the government to know some- thing of the character and value of its possessions in the northwest. The Lewis and Clark expedition across the continent, which was sent out by President Jeffer- son, on their way up the Missouri river, held numerous conferences with the various Dakota Indian tribes, and thus obtained the first general information concerning their number and condition. This was in 1804-5-6. In 1832 the American Fur Company, founded by John Jacob Astor, for the protection of their trading posts along the Missouri river and elsewhere, caused several forts to be erected. Fort Pierre was built by Pierre Choteau in. 1829; about the same time Fort Lookout
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