USA > Wisconsin > Rock County > Beloit > Past made present : the first fifty years of the First Presbyterian Church and congregation of Beloit, Wisconsin together with a history of Presbyterianism in our state up to the year 1900 > Part 11
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In the autumn of the same year (1851) the Presbyterian churches of Columbus and Berlin, and three ministers, C. E Rosenkrans, J. B. Preston, and Cutting Marsh, were formed into another Presbytery, called Fox River. These two Presbyteries were officially connected with the Synod of Peoria, Illinois. Within five years the number of ministers and churches in the latter Presbytery had so increased that its widely extended bounds were divided, and the Synod of Peoria, meeting in Chicago, Oct. 9, 1856, consti- tuted therefrom the new Presbytery of Columbus. This was composed of Rev, Sidney H. Barteau, from Milwaukee Presbytery and from the Presby- tery of Fox River, the First and Second Presbyterian churches of Columbus, the Presbyterian churches of Cottage Grove and Lowville, and Revs. John G. Kanouse and C. E. Rosenkrans, the latter being Stated Clerk.
Such was the limited material out of which, in the following year, the New School Synod of Wisconsin was formed, as follows:
At a meeting of our General Assembly, held in Cleveland, Ohio, during the spring of 1857 (see Assembly Minutes for 1857, p. 383), on the request of Peoria Synod, it was voted that the Presbyteries of Milwaukee, Fox River and Columbus, then attached to the Synod of Peoria, should be formed into a new Synod, to be called the Synod of Wisconsin; that they hold their first meeting in Columbus, Wis., on the third Thursday of October, 1857, the oldest minister present to preside until a Moderator should be chosen. In that same year (August, 1857) the New School Presbytery of Superior was formed by Revs. L. H.Wheeler of Odanah, C. B. Stevens of Mar- quette, and William A. McCorkle, now living in Michigan, but this Presby- tery did not become a part of our Synod until the year 1866.
(N. B .- Rev. J. Irwin Smith, of Galesville, Wis., who was present at that organization, is my authority for saying that the name of the New School Presbytery was Superior, while the Old School Presbytery, formed at the same time, was called Lake Superior. )
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It is of interest to notice that the Rev. L. H. Wheeler above mentioned came to Wisconsin in 1842, and labored at LaPointe. This town, situated on Madeline (or Magdalene) Island, Lake Superior, near Bayfield, Wis., was founded in the same year with Philadelphia. Thence, in 1845, Father Wheeler canie to the Odanah Indian mission on Bad river, north Wisconsin. While living there, in order to relieve his family from the labor of bringing water up out of the deep ravine where it flowed, he invented and made a rude pumping windmill, which did the work desired. And that windmill was the origin of this great mindmill industry of the Northwest, which his sons and others have developed at Beloit, Wis., until now its manufactures are being sent out over almost all the civilized world .*
In accordance with the direction of General Assembly, before stated, Rev. C. E. Rosenkrans and Rev. Robert Osswald, of the Presbytery of Co- lumbus, and Rev. Petel Zonne (Holland), of the Presbytery of Millwaukee inet in the village of Columbus, Thursday evening, Oct. 15, 1857, for the pur- pose of constituting the Synod of Wisconsin. There not being a quorum present, they adjourned, to meet the next day at 11 A. M.
Friday morning, Oct. 16, a quorum having assembled, the oldest minis- ter present, Rev. G. W. Elliott, called them to order and constituted the Synod with prayer. The following persons were then enrolled as members :
Presbytery of Milwaukee-Present : Revs. G. W. Elliott, S. G. Spees, John Kidd, W. A. Niles, Peter Zonne, Mead Holmes, Elder J. A. Hall Absent : Revs. Charles Wiley, D. D., +Silas Hawley, H. T. Lathrop, I. C. Holmes.
Presbytery of Fox River-Present : Rev. J. B. Preston, Elder Nathaniel Baker. Absent: Revs. Cutting Marsh, James Conley, Lorrain Rood, Geo. Turner, T. B. Reid.
Presbytery of Columbus-Present : Revs. William Lusk, C. E. Rosen- krans, Sidney H. Barteau, Robert Osswald, John D. Strong, B. G. Riley,} Hiram Gregg, Elders D. J Evans, B. L. Brier, Milton Jennings. Absent : Revs. John G. Kanouse, Alvah G. Dunning.
The Moderator chosen was Rev. G. W. Elliott ; their Temporary Clerk, who was also made Stated Clerk, was W. A. Niles.
The Synod voted to ordinarily continue its sessions over the Sabbath, and fixed upon the second Thursday of October as the time and Baraboo as the place of next meeting. In the evening they listened to a sermon by Rev. John Kidd, from Titus I.1, last clause : " The truth which is after god- liness."
During the next day they promptly placed themselves on record in re- gard to Christian Education, Home and Foreign Missions, Publication, Tem- perance, and otlier sorms of practical benevolence; e. g., they took under their care Baraboo Female Seminary. A special committee on the relations of the American Home Missionary Society to our branch of the church, re-
*NOTE .- The Wheelers, with Charles B. Salmon, Secretary, and S. T. Merrill, Presi- dent, formed the Eclipse Windmill Co., Beloit, Wis. This was succeeded by the Williams Engine Co., which became the Williams Engine and Clutch Works ; and all is now merged in the great establishment of Fairbanks, Morse & Co., Beloit, Wis., G. W. Sparks, Agent, which employs about nine hundred men.
+Died at Beaver Dam, Wis., Nov. 2, 1888.
ĮNOTE 2 .- Brother Riley, then a member of the Synod of Genesee, was received that morning by Columbus Presbytery, and so enrolled here.
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ported that of the A. H. M. general agents employed in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota Territory, only one, according to the re- cord, was connected with our church. Our General Assembly was asked to "inquire whether the A. H. M. executive committee is so comprised as to secure a just and equal administration of the affairs of the Society, and whether it may not be time to adopt a more truly representative principle in the appointment of A. H. M. general agents and home and missionary sec- retaries." This was one of the steps toward our own great Board of Home Missions. During the evening session Rev. S. H. Barteau, exploring mis- sionary, gave an account of his work.
In voting that it should be continued, Synod emphasized the value of all true missionary labor.
Sunday afternoon, Oct. 18, they celebrated together the Lord's Supper. On Monday the Committee on Minutes of General Assembly report the fol- lowing, which is adopted : "Resolved that this Synod express its satisfac- tion with the action of the last General Assembly upon the subject of sla- very, and its gratitude to God therefor."
The Committee on Narrative (Rev. S. H. Barteau, Rev. John Kidd and Elder M. Jennings) also report : "With fervent gratitude to God we take our place as a Synod of the church of Jesus Christ, and enter upon the ac- complishment of the great work devolved upon us. In the name of the Lord do we set up our banner. The grain of mustard seed planted in our soil has sprung up and begins to shoot forth its branches. The foundations of a glorious spiritual edifice have been laid, and our hope is that in due time the building in all its sublime proportions will be completed and filled with the presence and power of God."
Revivals are reported at Milwaukee and Cottage Grove. Yet as a con- trast the Narrative mentions the "prevalence in our territory of intemper- ance, profaneness, Sabbath desecration, and violence sometimes resulting in muider," and concludes : "Many entire counties within our limits are without either a minister or a church of a Calvinistic faith. God grant that in all our bounds there may speedily be a revival of a pure missionary spirit: then how soon will the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose !"
The Committee on Home Missions also report : "We regret that the American Home Missionary Society apparently ignores the existence of the Presbyterian church in this State by appointing both its agents from the Convention. Nevertheless, we recommend that Synod urge our ministers and churches not to let this error of the Society hinder their hearty and ear- nest co-operation with it, hoping, as we do, that the executive committee, upon being reminded of our existence, will suitably modify their policy with regard to us."
At a session of Synod, held in Cottage Grove church, September, 1861, the standing rule was adopted that Synod meet annually on the third Thursday of September, at 10 o'clock A. M. There was also adopted a re- commendation to "encourage pious and promising young men to prepare for the Gospel ministry, and so far as possible, to pledge pecuniary aid." They requested our Home Mission Committee to appoint Daniel Clark, of Lyons, Iowa, our Synodical missionary, and defined that office as follows : " He is to labor under the direction of Synod and make a full report to them annually. He is expected to look after our vacant, feeble or endangered
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churches, and to labor as opportunity may serve to extend the interests of our Zion."
At Pardeeville, September 16, 1864, the Synod's Home Mission Commit- tee reported that Rev. B. G. Riley had been appointed Synodical missiona- ry, and that his labors began Sept. 1st inst. How faithfully for many years that man of God went back and forth across our State and magnified that office by his fidelity, is known to you all.
At the same meeting Rev. B. G. Riley was chosen Stated Clerk and Treasurer of Synod.
The roll of Stated Clerks from the begin- ning was: Wm. A. Niles, 1857to 1860 ; Sid- ney H. Barteau, 1860 to 1864; B. G. Riley, 1864 to Reunion, and then Stated Clerk in the new Synod.
At the session of Synod which was held in the New School Presbyterian Church of Neenah, Sept. 21, 1865, the Committee on Narrative reported : " The Synod of Wisocn- sin comprises thirty-two ministers and twen- ty-nine churches. Of these twenty-one have pastors, or stated supplies, and eight are va- cant. Received during the year : on exam- REV. BENJAMIN GILBERT RILEY. 1810-1884. ination, 115 ; by letter, 75 ; whole number of members, 1,509 ; total contribution to Home Missions, $385.00 ; to foreign missions, $548.00 ; to publication, $52.00."
At the close of the great civil war they also record this honorable testi- mony : " Our returned soldiers, instead of being a blight and a curse on ac- count of the corruptions of the camp, generally welcome the quiet routine of private life, and show themselves improved by the discipline of the army. Many of them we find in our churchies and our Sabbath-Schools."
By action of the General Assembly of 1866, there was added to this Synod the Presbytery of Lake Superior (or "Superior"), consisting of six ministers and five churches, with 117 members.
In the meantime, some four years earlier, steps had been taken towards a union of the Old and the New School churches in this region, as follows : *At a meeting of Chippewa Presbytery (Old School), held in Rochester, Minn., July, 1862, a paper was received by them from the New School Pres- bytery of Winona, Minn., proposing reunion. (Chippewa Presbytery was at that time, 1860 to 1870, in official connection with the Synod of St Paul. ) Rev. David C. Lyon and Rev. Sheldon Jackson, of Chippewa, were made a Committee of Conference on this matter, and as a result the two Presbyte- ries, Chippewa (Old School) and Winona (New School) convened during April, 1863, in the same place, Winona. The outcome was a joint memo- rial, sent to both the Old School and the New School Assembly, to this de- sired end.
At a meeting of the New School Synod in Milwaukee, Sept. 21, 1867, a
*This account of the beginnings of Reunion in Chippewa, etc., is from a record by J. Irwin Smith, Galesville, 1887.
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Committee on Reunion reported, earnestly recommending approval of our General Assembly action, favoring union. Then during the session held in the Second Presbyterian Church of Neenah, Oct. 12, 1869, Revs. H. Eddy and B. G. Riley, with Elder S. C. West (who is still living in Milwaukee), were appointed a standing committee to confer with a similar committee from the Old School Synod, to arrange for a series of ratification meetings after the Reunion. So, when that union of the Old and the New School Presbyterian churches had been duly established by our General Assembly, the first union Synod of Wisconsin met in the North Presbyterian Church of Milwaukee, July 12, 1870, with the venerable Dr. Buchanan for Modera- tor. The honorable record of this Synod shows that here we have indeed found room and have, in some worthy measure, filled it.
Names of New School Presbyterian ministers who came to Wisconsin on or before 1862, and their fields of labor, specifying those that left before that date, from a history by Rev. Dexter Clary, Beloit, 1861, and corrected from other sources : Cutting Marsh, 1830. Moses Ordway, 1836. * C. E. Rosenkrans, 1842-1861, Columbus. Wm. Drummond, 1846, Portland and Waterloo. J. G. Kanouse, 1646, Cottage Grove and Sun Prairie. * Alfred Eddy, 1849-1856, Beloit. W. A. Niles, 1850-1859, Beaver Dam and Water- town. John B. Preston, 1850, Omro. * W. H. Spencer, 1850-1856, Milwau- kee. H. T. Lathrop, 1850, Palmyra. M. Steele, 1851-1852, Walker's Point, Milwaukee. * S. H. Ashmun, 1851, Rural. * J. N. Lewis, 1851, Caledonia. Sidney H. Barteau, 1852, Pardeeville and Wyocena. J. C. Holmes, 1852, Maple Grove. C. R. French, 1852-1857, Barton and vicinity. * G. W. Elli- ott, 1853, Milwaukee city missionary. Mead Holmes, 1854, S. S. missiona- ry. P. Kanouse, 1854 1856, Cottage Grove. J. Conly, 1855, Ashippun and Stone Bank. Alvah G. Dunning, 1855, Arlington. John Kidd, 1855-1857, Walker's Point, Milwaukee. Lorrain Rood, 1856-1859 Omro. S. G. Spees, 1856-1859, Milwaukee. Charles Wiley, D. D., 1856-1857, Milwaukee. Rob- ert Oswald, 1856-1857, Columbus (German). * John D. Strong, 1856-1859, Lowville. * B. G. Riley, 1857, Lodi and vicinity. S. Uhlfelder, 1857-1859, Logansville. C Hall, 1857, Colporteur. * W. Lusk, 1857-1859, Reedsburg. Hiram Gregg. 1857-1859, Baraboo. J. S. Lord, 1857, Barton and Scott. E. F. Waldo, 1857, Jefferson. T. Williston, 1858, Reedsburg and Logansville. W. Bridgeman, 1859-1860, Waupaca and Plover. J. H. Dillingham, 1860, Manitowoc. C. F. Halsey, 1858, Wausau and vicinity. Silas Hawley, 1857, Fond du Lac. George Turner, 1854-1859, Stevens Point. P. S. Van Nest, 1861. W. M. Adams, 1861-1864, Beloit. C. Ven de Ven, Milwaukee (Hol- land). P. Zonne, Holland church, Sheboygan county.
Of these 44 New School ministers, 24 were remaining in the State in 1862. As far as known the source of supply was : Connecticut, 1; Massa- chusetts, 3; New Jersey, 3; New York 9; Scotland 1; Ireland, 1; Hol- land, 2.
Of Old School Presbyterian ministers there were then in the State 39, representing 49 churches and about two thousand members.
NOTE .- Rev. Stephen Peet and the First Presbyterian church of Green Bay were received into Milwaukee Presbytery July 5th, 1839. Another Con- gregational minister, Rev. Jeremiah Porter, his successor at Green Bay, also joined that Presbytery, Oct. 6th, 1840.
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II .- OLD SCHOOL.
Presented to the Synod of Wisconsin by Rev. T. S. Johnson, at Neenah, Wis., Oct. 13, 1887.
The history of the Presbyterian Church in Wisconsin is brief but full of interest to those who now enjoy the comfortable pos- session of the means of grace in this large commonwealth.
When the new garden-land of Wisconsin was opened up to the enterprise and industry of the resolute men and brave women who left their eastern homes and emigrated to the new territory, the Presbyterian Church fol- lowed with ministers and missionaries wher- ever a settlement was made. Churches were REV. THOMAS S. JOHNSON. organized wherever it was practicable, and stated services were appointed, and mission stations were established as centers of christian effort. The first Presbyte- rian church was formed by Rev. Moses Ordway and Cutting Marsh, 1836, at Green Bay. These places were very widely separated and were so distant from the neighboring Synods and Presbyteries that it was considered expe- dient to form a new Presbytery, and in the rising city of Milwaukee on Jan. 17, 1839, the first organization called "The Presbytery of Wisconsin" was effected. At this meeting there were four ministers present and one elder, viz : Revs. Moses Ordway, Gilbert Crawford, Lemuel Hall, Cyrus Nichols and Elder Samuel Hinman. Deacon Asa Clark of the Congregational Church, Prairieville, was also present at this meeting. As there were seve- sal Congregatianal churches and mission stations in the territory, arrange- ments were made whereby Congregational churches might become connect- ed with the Presbytery, and at the meeting at Troy, in Walworth county, Oct. 9, 1840, a plan of union was adopted whereby the two denominations could work in the missionary service of the territory, and the name was changed from the Presbytery of Wisconsin to the Presbyterian and Congre- gational Convention of Wisconsin. For various reasons the union was not satisfactory to the majority of the Presbyterian churches, and it seemed best to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, then in session at Phil- adelphia, May, 1846, to erect a regular Presbytery, called the Presbytery of Wisconsin. The first meeting was appointed to be held at Prairieville (now Waukesha), July 18th, 1846. This Presbytery consisted of the following ministers and churches, viz : Revs. Silas Pratt, M. A. Fox, Thamas Frazer, Aaron A. Lindsey, and the churches of Prairieville, Lynn and Hebron and Neepersink. The Rev. J. B. Plumsted was received from the Presbytery of Lake,, and the Rev. Daniel Smith from the Beloit convention of the Con- gregational Church. The whole Presbytery was organized into a committee for missionary work. They were to seek out fields of labor, and preach and organize churches, and to use their best efforts to advance the cause of reli- gion in the territory. The succeeding ineetings of the Presbytery at Lynn,
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Woodstock, Waukesha and Clawson Prairie, were marked with the earnest zeal of faithful men of God, who were eager to supply the pioneers of Wis- consin with the Word of Life, and to lay the foundation of sound doctrines and godliness for the generations to come.
The rapid increase of the State in population and the encouraging pros- pects of the church, gave the Presbytery of Wisconsin, then attached to the Synod of Illinois, the courage to apply for the organization of the Synod of Wisconsin. The application was granted and the first meeting of the Synod was held at Fort Winnebago, Oct. 1, 185I. The Rev. Dr. J. A. Savage was Moderator, and Rev. A. L. Lindsley, Clerk. The Synod was divided into the Presbytery of Dane, the Presbytery of Milwaukee and the Presbytery of Winnebago. The Presbytery of Dane consisted of the following ministers : Revs. Joseph Adams, Eben Blachley, William Cargen, M. D., Matthew Fox, Thomas Frazer, H. B. Gardiner, D. C. Lyon, F. A. Pratt, John W. Stirling, James M. Smith, and the churches of Dane, Richland City, Cambridge, Verona, Decatur, Madison, Fulton, Mineral Point, Greenfield, Grand Spring. The Presbytery of Milwaukee consisted of the following ministers : Revs. John A. Savage, D.D., Aaron L. Lindsley, Daniel Smith, Cyrus Nichols, John M. Buchanan, Noah Cressey, Richard K. Todd, Harvey Chapin, J. B. Pluinstead, Lucius J. Root, George F. Goodhue, William Brobston, and the churches of Port Washington, Richmond, Mount Pleasant, North Church, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Salem, Lynn and Hebron Neepersink, Marengo, Wilmington, Grafton. The Presbytery of Winnebago consisted of the fol- lowing ministers : Samuel Robertson, Elias S. Peck, T. A. Ammerman, Henry M. Robertson, who was its first Stated Clerk, Bradley Phillips, Wil- liam W. McNair, John Brittain, and the churches of Winneconne, Bloom- field, Waukon, Neenah, Burnett and Horicon, Dodge Center, Fort Winne- bago, Depere and Wyocena.
The entire force of the Old School Presbyterian Synod of Wisconsin at the time of its organization was 29 ministers, 30 churches, 807 members, 958 families in congregation. Efforts were begun for christian education, and 'Carroll College, chartered in 1846, and carried on till September, 1850, as a preparatory school, was strengthened and a large stone building erect- ed. Dr. J. A. Savage was elected President and college classes were formed. Soon after the Presbyterian Academy at Portage was started with Rev. John Brittain and afterwards the Rev. Baker Johnson as principals. The build- ing of railroads and the internal improvements of the State made it neces- sary to employ Synodical missionaries to visit new towns and settlements and procure ministers. The Rev. D. C. Lyon and Stuart Mitchell were so employed and great good accomplished by their labors.
In 1857 the New School Synod of Wisconsin was fornied, which in 1859 had 29 ministers, 34 churches, and 1,384 communicants. In this Synod there were the Presbyteries of Milwaukee, Fox River, and Columbus, with the Rev. B. G. Riley, William Niles, Cutting Marsh, S. G. Spees, John B. Preston, Hiram Gregg, Jacob Patch, T. Ashmun, all earnest men of God and faithful in every good work. At the time of the reunion of the New and Old School Presbyterian churches, in November, 1869, and exactly thirty years after the organization of the first Presbytery of Wisconsin, in 1839, the Synod of Wisconsin consisted of the Presbyteries of Milwaukee. Wisconsin River, Winnebago, Lake Superior and Chippewa, with a total of
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59 ministers, 100 churches, 6,300 communicants, and 7,000 in the Sunday- schools.
During these thirty years the population of Wisconsin had increased from 30,000 to 1,054,670. The country was fertile, easily tilled and well wa- tered, and the lines of steamboats from Buffalo and other lake ports were crowded with emigrants from the eastern states and foreign countries. Few sections or the West were peopled with the rapidity of southern and eastern Wisconsin, or were settled with a better class of industrious and thrifty people. Wagon roads, rivers and canals were too slow means of transporta- tion, and gradually the railroad systems extended over the State. Villages and cities were built, and the work of the Presbyterian church was to gather the people of God in these centers of influence and organize them into churches for effective work, so that the whole community might enjoy the light of the Gospel of the Son of God. It was a great work which devolved upon the Presbyterian church of Wisconsin, and with the small force of ministers, and with the intense excitement of worldly interests, and the diversions of the civil war, the poverty of the members, and the prevalence of strong feeling in politics, it is wonderful that they succeeded as well as they did in laying a good foundation for the Church of God in almost every city and village in the State. Of the early missionaries who toiled and struggled amid the perils and the discomforts of pioneer times, we speak with reverence of the faithful Elias S. Peck, Moses Ordway, and W. W. Mc- Nair, Robertson, father and son, Dr. John M. Buchanan, John Brittain and William Reed, who early fell at their posts of duty, Bros. Gardner and Ba- ker Johnson, Jesse Edwards and Stuart Mitchell, D. C. Lyon, R. Frame, G. T. Todd and Jacob Patch, Father Kanouse and B. G. Riley-heroes-men of God-all of them self-sacrificing, earnest and true. Some of them have been permitted to remain and witness the result of their labor, but most of them have been called in from their work and are now the honored residents of a better world.
Their lives and their work for the Lord has made this holy ground. We cannot speak all their names or recount their valiant service ; but no more earnest, loving labor for the church of our God was ever rendered than that which was so cheerfully and gladly given by these heroes of the early days of the Presbyterian Church in Wisconsin.
NOTE BY W. F. B .- In May 1851, our General Assembly constituted the Presbytery of Dane, embracing the western portion of Wisconsin. This Presbytery was duly organized at Fulton, Wis., June 24th, 1851. Oct. 9th, 1856, the Synod of Peoria formed a portion of this field into the Presbytery of Columbus, which held its first meeting at Columbus, Oct. 28th, 1856. By the Synod of Wisconsin and by another division of this territory the Presby- tery of Wisconsin River was constituted and first met at Madison, Aug. 30th, 1870. Then in Oct., 1884, our Synod made still another change in the names and boundaries of Presbyteries. Wisconsin River was called Madison Pres- bytery, and the churches of Beloit First and Janesville First were taken from Milwaukee Presbytery and added to Madison. This Presbytery, to which Beloit First now belongs, includes all the Presbyterian churches in the ten counties, Columbus, Dane, Rock, Green, LaFayette, Iowa, Sauk, Richland, Crawford and Grant.)
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NOTE 1 .- The writer of this sketch, Rev. T. S. Johnson, is a worthy son of the Rev. Baker Johnson, mentioned above, who was principal of Portage Academy, and a most useful pioneer preacher.
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