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diff --git a/old/12376.txt b/old/12376.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a54cf09 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12376.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9468 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Thirty Years in the Itinerancy, by Wesson Gage Miller + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Thirty Years in the Itinerancy + +Author: Wesson Gage Miller + +Release Date: May 18, 2004 [EBook #12376] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THIRTY YEARS IN THE ITINERANCY *** + + + + +Produced by Charlie Kirschner and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team. + + + + + +THIRTY YEARS + +IN THE + +ITINERANCY, + +BY + +REV. W.G. MILLER, D.D. + +1875 + + + + +DEDICATION. + + * * * * * + +TO THE +MINISTERS AND LAYMEN +OF THE +WISCONSIN CONFERENCE, +WITH WHOM +THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED +IN CHRISTIAN LABOR +DURING THE PAST +THIRTY YEARS +ARE THESE PAGES +RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. + + + + +PREFACE. + + * * * * * + +The following pages were prepared in the midst of the taxing labors of +the Ministerial calling. The materials have been drawn from a multitude +of sources, and, though the recollections of individuals have not been +entirely harmonious in all cases, the facts and dates are believed to be +mainly reliable. The general plan, it will be observed, contemplates a +brief record of the Charges and Ministers of the Wisconsin Conference, +rather than furnish a sketch of my own services. To place the data, +however, in suitable relations, and render it acceptable to the general +reader, it has been deemed advisable to let the record follow the line +of my labors during the thirty years of my Itinerant life. The +publication of the book at the present time, is the result of my severe +illness during the past year, and the generous, appreciative action +taken by the District Conferences. A record of many other Charges and +Ministers had been prepared, but, to my regret, the limits of the volume +would not permit its insertion. Hoping that these pages may revive many +pleasant recollections, furnish interesting and profitable reading for +the fireside, and preserve material for the future historian, they are +committed to the generous consideration of the public. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER I. + +Providential Intervention.--Nature and Providence alike Mysterious.--An +Unseen Hand shaping Human Events.--The Author urged to enter the +Ministry.--Shrinks from the Responsibility.--Flies to Modern +Tarshish.--Heads for Iowa.--Gets Stuck in the Mud.--Smitten by a +Northern Gale.--Turns Aside to see the Eldorado.--Finds Himself Face to +Face with the Itinerancy. + +CHAPTER II. + +The Young Itinerant.--In a Lumber Mill at Waupun.--The Surprise.--An +Interval of Reflection.--A Graceful Surrender.--The Outfit minus the +Horse and Saddlebags.--.Receives Instruction.--The Final +Struggle.--Arrives at Brothertown.--Reminiscences of the Red Man.--The +Searching Scrutiny.--The Brothertown People.--The Mission.--Rev. Jesse +Halstead--Rev. H.W. Frink. + +CHAPTER III. + +Exhorter in Charge.--The First Sabbath.--The Superb Singing.--Class and +Prayer Meetings.--A Revival.--Stockbridge Counted In.--A +Remonstrance.--Another Exhorter Found.--Decide to Hold a Great +Meeting.--The Loaves and Fishes in the Lad's Basket too Few.--Chief +Chicks.--Conversion of a Noted Character.--Quarterly Meeting at Fond du +Lac.--Licensed to Preach.--Camp Meeting at Clason's Prairie.--Camp +Meeting at Brothertown.--Church Enterprise.--Missionary +Merchant.--Logging Bee.--Successive Labors. + +CHAPTER IV. + +Fond du Lac.--First Sermon.--Early Presiding Elders.--Rev. H.W. +Reed.--Rev. James R. Goodrich.--Rev. Jesse Halstead the First +Pastor.--Rev. Harvey S. Bronson.--First Class.--Quarterly +Meeting.--Delegation from Waupun.--Rev. Wm. H. Sampson.--Extended +District.--A Disastrous Fire.--Outside Appointments.--Stowe's +Chapel.--Preacher's Home.--Ethiel Humiston.--Byron.--Rev. Joseph T. +Lewis.--Rev. M.L. Noble--Rev. H. B. Colman. + +CHAPTER V. + +Green Lake Mission.--Waupun.--First Class.--Meetings held at Dr. +Bowman's.--Revival.--Two Local Preachers.--Short Cut to Ceresco.--Boxing +the Compass.--Wisconsin Phalanx.--First Society.--Dining Hall +Chapel.--Discussions.--Antiquated Views.--Green Lake.--Shadrach +Burdick.--Visit to Dartford.--Little Green Lake.--The New +Chorister.--Markesan.--Lake Maria.--Revival. + +CHAPTER VI. + +Green Lake Mission Continued.--Quarterly Meeting at Oshkosh.--Rev. G.N. +Hanson.--Lake Apuckaway.--Lost and Found.--Salt and Potatoes.--Mill +Creek.--Rock River.--Rev. J.M.S. Maxson.--Oakfield.--Cold Bath.--Fox +Lake.--Gospel vs. Whiskey.--On Time.--Badger Hill.--S.A.L. +Davis.--Miller's Mill.--G.W. Sexmith.--Burnett.--William Willard.--Grand +River.--David Wood. + +CHAPTER VII. + +Green Lake Mission Continued.--An Assistant Employed.--Quarterly Meeting +at Waupun.--Love Feast.--Forty Miles Ride, and Four Sermons.--A Sermon +and its Fruit.--Portage Prairie.--Randolph.--Randolph Centre.--Rolling +Prairie,--Cheney's Class.--Brandon.--Rosendale.--Reed's +Corners.--Strong's Landing,--A Night in the Openings.--Rev. Uriel +Farmin.--Going to Conference.--Madison.--Visit at Platteville.--Bishop +Hamline.--Humorous to Grave.--Galena Conference. + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Appointed to Watertown.--Aztalan the Mother of Circuits.--Divisions +and Subdivisions.--Rev. S.H. Stocking.--Watertown.--Church +Enterprise.--Sickly Season.--Quarterly Meeting at Burnett.--Rev. A.P. +Allen.--Elder Sampson Ties a Knot.--Conference of 1847.--Returned to +Watertown.--Financial Pressure.--Opens a School.--The Coat Sermon. + +CHAPTER IX. + +Waukesha--Old Prairieville Circuit--Changes--Rev. L.F. Moultrie--Rev. +Hooper Crews--Rev. J.M. Walker--Rev. Washington Wilcox--Upper and Nether +Millstones--Our New Field--Revival--Four Sermons--Platform Missionary +Meetings--The Orator--Donning the Eldership--The Collection. + +CHAPTER X. + +Milwaukee--Early History--First Sermon--Rev. Mark Robinson--First +Class--Rev. John Clark--Trustees--Rev. James Ash--Rev. David +Worthington--Rev. Julius Field--Rev. John Crummer--First Church--Rev. +John T. Mitchell--Rev. Sias Bolles--Lantern Convert--Second +Church--Rev. A. Hanson--Rev. Dr. Ryan--John H. Van Dyke--Rev. F.M. +Mills--Rev. James E. Wilson--Walker's Point--First Class--Rev. +Wm. Willard. + +CHAPTER XI. + +Spring Street, Milwaukee--First Sabbath--Promising Outlook--The Deep +Shadow--Rev. Elihu Springer--Rev. I.M. Leihy--Revival--Missionary +Meetings--Dedication at Sheboygan--Ravages of the Cholera--Death-bed +Scenes--The Riot--Bishop Waugh--Camp Meeting--Scandinavian Work--Rev. +C. Willerup. + +CHAPTER XII. + +Conference of 1851.--Presiding Elder.--Presentation.--Give and +Take.--Fond du Lac District--Quarterly Meeting--Rev. J.S. +Prescott.--Footman vs. Buggies--Fond du Lac.--Two Churches.--Greenbush +Quarterly Meeting.--Rev. David Lewis--Pioneer Self-Sacrifice.--Finds a +Help-Meet.--Sheboygan Falls.--Rev. Matthias Himebaugh.--Oshkosh--First +Class.--Church Enterprises. + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Fond du Lac District Continued.--Green Bay.--First Settlement.--Rev. +John Clark.--First Sermon.--First Class.--Col. Ryan.--First +Methodist.--First Church Enterprise.--Good Society.--Heretical +Bonnet.--Various Changes.--Rev. R.P. Lawton--Church +Disaster--Purifying the Temple--Rev. S. W. Ford.--Oneida Indian +Mission.--Oneidas.--Missionaries.--Quarterly Meeting.--Council.--"Chief +Jake."--Interpreter.--Rev. Henry Requa.--His Dying Message. + +CHAPTER XIV. + +Fond du Lac District Continued.--Appleton.--Early History.--Rev. C.G. +Lathrop--Lawrence University.--Incipient Stages.--Charter.--Trustees. +Agent.--First Board of Instruction.--Buildings.--Faculty.--Rev. Dr. +Cooke.--Rev. Dr. Cobleigh.--Rev. Dr. Mason.--Rev. Dr. Knox.--Rev. +Dr. Steele. + +CHAPTER XV. + +Fond du Lac District Continued.--Baraboo Conference.--Lodi Camp +Meeting.--Fall River.--Revival at Appleton.--Rev. Elmore Yocum.--Revival +at Sheboygan Falls.--Revival at Fond du Lac.--Rev. E.S. +Grumley.--Revival at Sheboygan.--Rev. N.J. Aplin.--Camp-Meeting at +Greenbush.--Rev. A.M. Hulce.--Results of the Year.--Janesville +Conference.--Omro. Rev. Dr. Golden.--The Cowhams.--Quarterly +Meeting.--My Father's Death.--Close of the Term. + +CHAPTER XVI. + +Conference of 1855.--The New Departure.--Mission Committee.--The Slavery +Controversy.--Triumph of Freedom.--Wisconsin Conference Rule. Conference +Report.--Election of Delegates.--Appointed to Racine.--Detention.--The +Removal to the New Charge.--Stage, Dray, and Steamboat.--New Bus Line. + +CHAPTER XVII. + +Racine.--Its Early History.--Subsequent Growth.--Racine District.--Rev. +Dr. Hobart.--Kenosha.--Rev. Salmon Stebbins.--Sylvania.--The +Kelloggs.--Walworth Circuit--Burlington and Rochester.--Lyons. Troy +Circuit.--First Class at Troy.--Eagle.--Round Prairie.--Hart +Prairie.--Delavan.--Elkhorn.--Pastorate at Racine.--Revival.--Church +Enlargement.--Second Year.--Precious Memories. + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +Conference of 1859.--Janesville.--Early History.--First Sermon.--The +Collection.--First Class.--First Church.--First Donation.--Rev. C.C. +Mason.--Missionary Anniversary.--Rev. A. Hamilton.--Rev. D. O. Jones. +The Writer's Pastorate.--The Great Revival.--The Recipe.--Old Union +Circuit.--First Class.--Evansville.--Rev. Henry Summers.--New Church. +Conference of 1858.--Beloit.--Early Pastorates.--Church +Enterprise.--Second Year at Janesville. + +CHAPTER XIX. + +Conference of 1859.--Presiding Elder.--Milwaukee +District.--Residence.--District Parsonage.--Visits to Charges.--Spring +Street.--Asbury.--Rev. A.C. Manwell.--Brookfield.--West +Granville.--Wauwatosa.--Rev. J.P. Roe.--Waukesha.--Rev. Wesley +Lattin.--Oconomowoc.--Rev. A.C. Pennock.--Rev. Job B. Mills.--Hart +Prairie.--Rev. Delos Hale.--Watertown. Rev. David Brooks.--Rev. A.C. +Huntley.--Brookfield Camp-Meeting. + +CHAPTER XX. + +Whitewater Conference.--Report on Slavery.--Election of Delegates.-- +Whitewater.--Early History.--Rev. Dr. Bannister.--General +Conference.--Member of Mission Committee.--Conference 1860.--Rev. I.L. +Hauser.--Mrs. I.L. Hauser.--Rev. J.C. Robbins.--The Rebellion.--Its +Causes.--Fall of Sumter.--Extract of Sermon.--Conference 1861.--Rev. +J.H. Jenne.--Rev. S.C. Thomas.--Rev. G.C. Haddock.--Colonelcy.--Close +of Term. + +CHAPTER XXI. + +Conference of 1862.--The War.--Position of the Conference.--Rev. J.M. +Snow.--Appointed again to Spring Street.--Dr. Bowman.--Changes.--Rev. +P.S. Bennett.--Rev. C.S. Macreading.--Official Board.-The New Church +Enterprise.--Juvenile Missionary Society.--Conference of 1863.--Rev. +P.B. Pease.--Rev. George Fellows.--Rev. Samuel Fallows.--Rev. R.B. +Curtis.--Rev. D.H. Muller.--Third Year.--Pastoral Work.--Revival. Visit +to the Army.--Illness.--Close of Term. + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Conference of 1865.--The War Closed.--Lay Delegation the Next Question. +Rev. George Chester.--Rev. Romulus O. Kellogg.--Missionary to +China.--Rev. L.N. Wheeler.--Appointed to Fond du Lac District.--Marriage +of our Eldest Daughter.--Removal to Fond du Lac.--Rev. T.O. +Hollister.--State of the District.--Rev. J.T. Woodhead.--Waupun.--Rev. +D.W. Couch.--Lamartine.--Rev. I.S. Eldridge.--Horicon.--Rev. Walter +McFarlane. + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +Conference of 1866.--Centenary Year.--Lay +Delegation.--Reconstruction.--Returned to Fond du Lac District.--Seven +Sermons a Week--Rev. O.J. Cowles.--Beaver Dam.--A Good Record.--Fall +River.--Early History.--Columbus.--Rev. Henry Sewell.--Conference of +1867.--Election of Delegates.--Cotton Street.--Rev. R.S. Hayward.--Rev. +A.A. Reed.--General Conference.--Conference of 1868.--Rev. T.C. +Wilson.--Rev. H.C. Tilton. Rev. John Hill.--Rev. Isaac Searles--Rev. +J.B. Cooper.--An Incident--Close of the Term.--Progress Made. + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +Conference of 1869.--Stationed at Ripon.--First Visit--Rev. E.J. +Smith.--Rev. Byron Kingsbury.--Sabbath School.--Early Record of the +Station.--Church Enterprises.--Rev. William Morse.--Rev. Joseph +Anderson.--Revival.--Church Enlargement.--Berlin.--Early History.--Rev. +Isaac Wiltse.--Conference of 1870.--Returned to Ripon.--Marriage of our +Second Daughter.--A Happy Year.--Close of our Labors. + +CHAPTER XXV. + +Conference of 1871.--Election of Delegates.--Laymen's Electoral +Convention.--Temperance.--The Sabbath.--Rev. Thomas Hughes.--Appointed +to Spring Street.--Third Term.--Wide Field.--Rev. C.D. Pillsbury.--Rev. +W.W. Case.--The Norwegian Work.--Rev. A. Haagenson.--The Silver +Wedding.--Results of the Year. + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +Conference of 1872.--Rev. A.J. Mead.--Rev. A. Callender.--Rev. Wm. P. +Stowe.--Rev. O.B. Thayer.--Rev. S. Reynolds.--Revival under Mrs. Van +Cott--Conference of 1873.--Rev. Henry Colman.--Rev. A.A. Hoskin.--Rev. +Stephen Smith.--Illness.--Conference of 1874.--Rev. Dr. Carhart.--Rev. +Geo. A. Smith.--Rev. C.N. Stowers.--In the Shade. + + + +Thirty Years in the Itinerancy. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER I. + +Providential Intervention.--Nature and Providence alike Mysterious.--An +Unseen Hand shaping Human Events.--The Author urged to enter the +Ministry.--Shrinks from the Responsibility.--Flies to Modern +Tarshish.--Heads for Iowa.--Gets Stuck in the Mud.--Smitten by a +Northern Gale.--Turns Aside to see the Eldorado.--Finds Himself Face to +Face with the Itinerancy. + +The ways of Providence are mysterious. And how, to men, could they be +otherwise? With their limited faculties it could not be expected that +they would be able to obtain more than partial glimpses of the "goings +forth of the Almighty." The Astronomer can determine the orbit of the +planets that belong to our system, since they lie within the range of +his vision; but not so the comets. These strange visitors locate their +habitations mainly in regions so remote from the plane of human +existence that his eye cannot reach them. And when they do condescend to +pay us a visit, they traverse so wide a circuit that the curve they +describe is too slight to furnish a basis for reliable mathematical +calculations. Hence the orbit of a comet is a mystery, and the return +not unfrequently a surprise. If this be true of what seem to be the +unfinished or exploded worlds, that swing like airy nothings in the +heavens and fringe the imperial realm of physical being, then what may +not be predicated of the profounder mysteries that lie bosomed in those +unexplored depths of the Universe, where the fixed stars hold high +court? When our feet trip at every step of our advance to know the +mysteries of nature, why need we affect surprise when the profounder +domain of providence refuses to yield up its secrets? That the ways of +God are mysterious is a logical necessity. The Infinite disparity +between the human and the Divine intelligence involves it. Insignificant +as a lady's finger ring may seem when compared to one of the mighty +rings of Saturn, the human mind, in the presence of the Divine, is +infinitely more so. Well hath the Scriptures said, "Far as the heavens +are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my +thoughts than your thoughts." + +The mysterious ways of Providence are, however, not unfrequently so +interwoven with human events as that average intelligence may be able to +understand portions of them, though much of mystery must always remain. +And in no one particular do these understandable portions find a clearer +illustration than in those interventions which assign individual men to +given pursuits and responsibilities in life. Truly, "There is a +Providence that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we will." + +Nor may these special interventions be wholly appropriated by the great +men of the world. On the contrary, they not unfrequently condescend to +bless the very humblest. The same great thought, the same skilled hand +and the same infinite power that were necessary to pile up the grandest +mountain ranges and hollow the ocean's bed, were also required to create +a single grain of sand and assign it its place as a part of the grand +whole. So, while great and honorable men pass into the world's history +as the proteges of a special providence, let it also be remembered that +the humbler ones, though their names may never be chronicled, are not +forgotten by the All Father. If willing to be led, they shall not want +a kind hand to lead them. And even though rebellious at times, and at +others shrinking from the proffered responsibilities, yet a loving +Father cares for the trembling and feeble ones, as well as the brave and +the strong, and kindly leads them into the paths of peace. + +I have not written thus, good reader, in these opening pages, to find a +starting place for the record that is to follow. On the contrary, these +utterances hold a special relation to the writer and the labors of the +last thirty years. + +Soon after my conversion, and before I was eighteen years of age, I +received an Exhorter's license. I was then engaged in teaching and found +my time largely occupied by my profession. Yet, I occasionally held +services on the Sabbath. During the ensuing four years I retained the +same relation. I was often urged to accept a Local Preacher's license, +but declined, thinking I was too much occupied in the other field to +make the necessary preparation for this. And, besides, I had now reached +a point of great perplexity and trial with reference to the ministerial +calling as a profession. Not that I entertained a serious thought of +accepting it, but, on the contrary, was wholly averse to it. But, +strangely enough, while I was thus, both in feeling and convictions, +opposed to the measure, every one else seemed to accept it as a matter +already settled that I would enter the Itinerant field. From the good +Rev. John B. Stratton, the Presiding Elder of the Prattsville District, +New York Conference, within the bounds of which I then resided, and his +immediate successor, Rev. Samuel D. Ferguson, down through all the +ministry and laiety of my acquaintance, I was made the special subject +of attack. But from what all others thought to be my duty, I shrank +with a persistence that admitted of no compromise. The plan I had marked +out for myself contemplated, ultimately, the position of a Local +Preacher, and a life devoted largely to literature and business. On this +plan I fully relied, and thought myself settled in my convictions and +fixed in my purpose. Yet I am not able to say, that at times it did not +require some effort of the will to keep my conscience quiet and my +thought steady. A young man, from eighteen to twenty-two years of age, +who was subject to so many attacks, especially in high places, and who +constantly felt himself preached to and prayed at in almost every +religious assembly, must be more than human, not to say less than a +Christian, to bear up under such a pressure. I clearly saw that one of +two things must be done, and that speedily. Either I must yield to the +manifest demand of the church or "go west." I chose the latter. Nor was +this decision mere obstinacy. There were several things to be considered +and carefully weighed and determined before entering upon a work of such +grave responsibilities as the Itinerant ministry. First of all, the +question must be settled in a man's conviction of duty; then the +question of one's fitness for the work; and, finally, the financial +question could not be ignored. To enter the Itinerancy involved +responsibilities that could only be sustained under the deepest +convictions that can possibly penetrate a human soul. The minister is +God's ambassador to lost men. He can only enter upon this work under the +sanction of Divine authority. Having entered he is charged with the care +of souls, and if these shall suffer harm, through his inefficiency or +want of fidelity, he must answer in the Divine assizes for the breach of +trust. Well may the best of men say, "who is sufficient for these +things?" Then add to this grave responsibility, the certain and +manifold trials which must come to every man who enters the Itinerancy. +His very calling makes him a spectacle to men, and necessarily the +subject of adverse criticism. He is the messenger of God and yet the +servant of man. On the one hand, clothed with the authority of heaven, +and on the other reduced to the condition of a servant. Expected to +deliver the high message of the King of Kings, and yet receives his +pulpit under the suffrages of man. Before he receives his appointment, +he is not unfrequently the subject of a sharp canvass from one end of +the Conference to the other, and after he receives it he is liable to +find himself among a people, who had rejected him in the canvass, and +now only acquiesce in the decision from sheer necessity. But if he +escape Scylla in this particular, he is certain to drive upon Charybdis +in another. Granting that his relations and labors may be acceptable, he +falls upon the inevitable necessity of devoting his time and labor, +during the vigor and strength of his days, for a meager compensation, +and then pass into old age, and its attendant infirmities, as a +dependancy, if not a pauper. And now let me submit; with such a picture +hung upon the canopy of the future, and who shall say it is overdrawn? +is it a matter of surprise that a young man should hesitate before +accepting the position of an Itinerant? + +But it will be said: "There is another side to the picture." True, and +thanks to the Great Head of the church that there is. But the other side +can only be seen when the beholder occupies the proper stand-point, and +this position I certainly had not attained at the time of which I write. +In this matter, as in most others, our mistakes arise from partial views +and limited observation. + +A few years since I visited Niagara Falls. Before leaving Buffalo a +friend admonished me to avoid looking upon the descending floods until I +should reach Table Rock, as this precaution would give me a more +satisfactory impression. These instructions were more easily given than +observed. I found it required no small share of nerve to pass down the +near bank of the river with the eternal roar of its waters pouring into +my ears, cross over Suspension Bridge, spanning the rushing tides below +still tossing and foaming as though an ocean had broken from its prison, +and then pass up the other bank, in full view of the cataract, and not +look upon it until my feet were planted on Table Rock. But from that +hour to the present, I have never regretted the effort, for therein I +learned the importance of position, when face to face with any great +question. The position gained, I raised my eyes upon Niagara Falls. I +need not say my whole being was thrilled. There lay the great "horse +shoe" full before me, and I seemed to stand upon its outer crest and +look down into its deep chasm, where the angry waters wrestled with each +other in their wildest frenzy. Then the floods from either side, that +had seemed to sweep around the chasm and hug the shore, as if in mortal +terror, despairing of escape, rushed upon each other like two storm +fiends. The war of waters was most terrific. The very earth shook. +Locked in deadly embrace, and writhing as if in direst agony, the mighty +floods plunged the abyss, while far above floated the white plume of the +presiding genius of old Niagara. The impression upon me was +overwhelming. I saw Niagara Falls from the right stand-point. Whether I +was equally fortunate in my early views of the Itinerancy is a question +that will find solution in the following pages. + +I decided, however, to go West. My father and the balance of his family +had been looking enquiringly in that direction for several months, and I +now agreed to accompany them. + +It was our purpose to make Dubuque, Iowa, the point of destination, as +the founders of that city, who were relatives, had visited us in the +East and had given us glowing accounts of the city and the adjacent +portions of the State. With this purpose in view we landed at Racine. +The Madison, a crazy old steamer that could lay on more sides during a +storm than any water craft that I had ever seen, landed us on a pier in +the night, and from the pier we were taken ashore in a scow. We reached +Racine in June, 1844. Racine at that time was a very small village, but, +like all western towns, it was in the daily belief that, at some time in +the near future, it would be a very large city. We spent the Sabbath and +enjoyed the pleasure of attending religious services in a school house. +The pastor of our church at the time was Rev. Milton Bourne, of the Rock +River Conference. We were favorably impressed with Racine, and +especially with the evidences of civilization it afforded, in the fact +of a school house and the establishment of religious services. + +At Racine we engaged a man to take us, six in all, with our trunks to +Delavan. The roads were almost impassable. The rains had fallen so +copiously that the streams overflowed their banks, the marshes were full +and the prairies inundated. With a good team, however, we made an +average of about fifteen miles a day. Our conveyance stuck fast in the +mud eighteen times between Racine and Delavan. Sometimes we found these +interesting events would occur just in the middle of a broad marsh. In +such case the gentlemen would take to the water, not unfrequently up to +the loins, build a chair by the crossing of hands, as they had learned +to do in their school days, and give the ladies a safe passage to the +prairie beyond. But woe worth the day if the wheels refused to turn, as +they sometimes did, in the middle of some deep, broad mud-hole. The +light prairie soil, when thoroughly saturated, is capable of very great +volatility and yet of stick-to-it-iveness. While the team and wagon, +buried deeply in the mud, found the soil as yielding as quicksand, the +passengers, on alighting, were no more fortunate. To make the chair and +wade ashore with its precious burden, at such a time, involved a very +nice adjustment of balances. If the three went headlong before they +reached the shore, each received a generous "coat of mail" of the most +modern style. + +We reached Delavan in due course of travel, where we remained several +days. The Sabbath intervened. My father preached in the morning, and I +held service in the afternoon. On Monday a council was held. Since our +feet touched the soil of Wisconsin, our ears had been filled with the +praises of the country, and especially the counties of Dodge and Fond du +Lac. By the time we had spent several days at Delavan, and were ready to +move on toward Iowa, this clamor had become so decided in its tone, +that, as a result of the consultation, it was decided that two or three +of us should go up through Dodge and Fond du Lac counties. Not with the +expectation that our destination would lie in that direction, but it was +thought advisable to know what had been left behind, in case we should +not be pleased with Dubuque. + +Leaving the balance of our company at Delavan, we started on foot on our +tour of exploration. Keeping our eyes and ears open, we were ready to +go in any direction in quest of the promised "Eldorado." Like all "land +seekers" of those early times, a few things were deemed essential to +make a location desirable. These were prairie, timber and water. But +with us one additional requisite must not be ignored. We must also find +a "water power." With all these objects in view, the line of travel +became perplexing and described a good many angles, but the main +direction lay through East Troy, Summit, Watertown, Oak Grove and +Waupun. At the last named place we found a few scattered log houses, +and, within a radius of five miles, perhaps a dozen families. The +location was beautiful. With its prairie of from one to two miles in +width, skirted on the north by groves of timber, through which ran the +west branch of Rock River, and fringed on the south by extended +openings, it took us captive at once. Passing up the stream two or three +miles we found the looked for water-power, and abundance of +unappropriated lands. By setting our stakes on the crown of the prairie, +and making the lines pass down to the river and through the belt of +timber, sufficient land of the right quality could be secured for the +whole family, including, also, the desired water-power. To decide upon +this spot as our future home, was the result of a brief consultation. +All thought of going to Iowa was now abandoned. Obtaining a load of +lumber, which was all that could be secured for either love or money, a +shanty was immediately erected for the accommodation of the family. Was +it a providential intervention that assigned us our home and field of +labor in this new and rapidly populating portion of Wisconsin, rather +than the city of Dubuque? + +Society in its formative state needs, above all other agencies, the +salutary influences of religion. To provide these and give them +efficiency among the people, the presence and labors of the Gospel +ministry, and the establishment of churches, are a necessity. To secure +these at the outset requires the emigration of ministers from the older +States as well as people. Perhaps the motives of neither class in coming +will always bear a thorough scrutiny; yet who shall say that their +coming is not under the general direction of Providence? Nor is it +improbable that the hasty steps that seem to bear the unwilling servant +from the presence of the Master are the very ones that most speedily +bring him face to face with his duty. + + + +CHAPTER II. + +The Young Itinerant.--In a Lumber Mill at Waupun.--The Surprise.--An +Interval of Reflection.--A Graceful Surrender.--The Outfit minus the +Horse and Saddlebags.--Receives Instruction.--The Final +Struggle.--Arrives at Brothertown.--Reminiscences of the Red Man.--The +Searching Scrutiny.--The Brothertown People.--The Mission.--Rev. Jesse +Halstead.--Rev. H.W. Frink. + +In March, A.D. 1845, a letter from Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, then Presiding +Elder of Green Bay District, Rock River Conference, found me at Waupun. +The intervening nine months, since our arrival in the preceding July, +had been spent in making improvements upon the land I had selected, and +in the erection of a lumber mill, of which I was in part proprietor. + +The bearer of the letter found me in the mill, engaged in rolling logs +to the saw and in carrying away the lumber. I opened the letter and +glanced at its contents. To my surprise and utter consternation it +contained a pressing request that I would take charge of the Brothertown +Indian Mission until the next session of the Conference, as the +Missionary, Rev. H.W. Frink, had been called away by family afflictions. +I instinctively folded the letter and then crumpled it in the palm of my +hand, inwardly saying, "Hast thou found me, oh! mine enemy?" No rash +answer, however, was given. This question of duty was certainly assuming +grave aspects. For four years it had haunted me at every turn. And even +in the wilds of Wisconsin it was still my tormenter. Like Banquo's +ghost, it would not down at my bidding. I now tried to look the +question fairly in the face, and make the decision a final one, but +found it exceedingly difficult to do so. To yield after so long a +struggle, and especially to surrender all my fondly cherished plans for +the future, appealed at first to my pride, and then to what I conceived +to be my temporal interests, and the appeal for a moment seemed to gain +the ascendency. But how then could I answer to God? was the startling +question that burned into my soul at every turn of the argument. In the +midst of my embarrassment the thought was suggested, "It is only until +Conference, and then you can return and resume your business." + +Catching at this straw, thus floating to me, and half believing and half +hoping that three months of my incompetency would satisfy the church and +send me back to my business again, I consented to go. Leaving my +temporal interests in the hands of my father, I hastened to make the +necessary preparations for my new responsibilities. The outfit was +provokingly limited. The horse and saddlebags, the inevitable Alpha, if +not the Omega, of an Itinerant's outfit, were wanting, as such +conveniences had hardly, as yet, found their way to the northern +portions of the Territory. But in their place were put good walking +ability and a small satchel. A few pieces of linen, a few books, but no +sermons, were put into the satchel, and I was immediately stepping to +the measure of the Itinerancy. + +My first point of destination was Fond du Lac, the residence of the +Presiding Elder, where I must necessarily report for instructions. The +walk of twenty-two miles, with no other companion than a plethoric +satchel, passing from hand to hand as the weary miles, one after +another, were dismissed, was not the most favorable introduction to my +"new departure," but, bad as it was, I found relief in the thought that +my Eastern friends, who had so kindly and repeatedly proposed to give me +a comfortable seat somewhere in the New York Conference, were in +blissful ignorance of the sorry figure I was making. Whether Jonah found +his last conveyance more agreeable than the first, I cannot say, but +certain it is, I found my first entrance upon the Itinerancy a +tugging business. + +I reached Fond du Lac before nightfall, and was hospitably entertained. +Notwithstanding the cordial reception I received, however, from both the +elder and his good wife, I felt embarrassed by the searching look they +occasionally gave me. Whether it was occasioned by my youthful, green or +delicate appearance, or my light, feminine voice, I could not divine. + +The conversation soon turned upon the state of affairs at Brothertown, +and I speedily forgot my embarrassment. In the course of the +conversation I inquired whether the proceeding would not be considered +irregular, to place an exhorter in charge of the Mission. The elder +replied, "Necessity knows no law, and, besides, our Quarterly Meeting at +this place will soon be held, when we will relieve that embarrassment." +I was doubtless indebted to this law of necessity for the privilege of +holding one office in the church not provided for in the Discipline, and +one that has seldom if ever been accorded to others. Carefully +instructed in the best method to manage certain difficulties pending in +the Mission, I took early leave for a further walk of sixteen miles. + +Across the prairie at the head of Lake Winnebago, I found the walk very +agreeable. Passing Taycheedah, I then struck out into the deep woods +that skirt the eastern shore of the lake. I was now between my guide and +instructor, and the difficult work committed to my charge. Thought was +busy. An oppressive sense of my own insufficiency for so momentous a +work, came over me, as it had done before, but never in such +overwhelming power. I was now face to face with the great work from +which I had shrank for several years, and there was no retreat. +Imagination lifted the little hills of difficulty before me into +mountains that seemed impassable. In the deep shade of the wood I found +a moss-covered rock for a seat, and gave myself up to reflection. The +troubled currents of the stream ran on this wise. To go forward in my +present undertaking may involve a committal to a work that a few short +months shall not terminate. In such case, there will follow a life of +toil and sacrifice, on stinted allowance, beset with trials and +perplexities, and clouded by cold unfeeling criticisms, censures and +misjudgings, of both motive and labor, of which I can now entertain no +adequate conception. But if this work be not the dictate of duty, then +why this unrest of soul which has so long disturbed the even flow of my +religious life, or why the uniform urgency of the authorities of the +church both east and west in this direction? On the contrary, if my feet +are now in the path of duty then why hesitate? A brave soul never +falters in the presence of difficulty or peril, but always deals the +strongest blows where the conflict rages the sharpest. The struggle was +brief and the result satisfactory. Kneeling by the side of the rock, +prayer was offered for Divine guidance and help, and there fell on the +soul a baptism of serene peace and holy joy, which hallowed each +remaining step of the journey. + +Arriving at Brothertown the letter of introduction from the Elder was +presented to A.D. Dick, Esq., one of the Stewards. The residence of +this brother was located in the central portion of the town, and gave +evidence of good taste and comfort. Both himself and wife were members +of the church, and their house the home of Itinerants. It was now nearly +twelve o'clock. I was invited to the parlor where I awaited dinner. +These few moments afforded an opportunity to survey my surroundings and +master the situation. My early reading had introduced me to the Indian, +both in his native wilds and as seen on the borders of civilization, the +former as the noblest specimen of the natural man on the planet, and the +latter as the most degraded of mortals. But now I was in the very +presence of the red man and even a guest in his dwelling. Nor is it too +much to say that my curiosity was not a little excited. My reception, +however, had been so cordial that I soon found myself at ease in my new +associations. + +The letter was opened and read. During its reading I noticed that the +eye of mine host often wandered from the page to the newly arrived +guest. By an occasional glance I tried to read the thoughts of the +reader, but found that the dark face was not disposed to be +communicative. This much, however, I think I read pretty clearly: "Well, +the Elder has sent us a pretty slender specimen as a minister, but we +will try him and see what he can do." + +The dinner was announced, conversation became lively, and before we were +aware of it the distinctions of race and color had faded out of sight, +and a life-long friendship was founded. It was now arranged that, during +my stay on the Mission, I should make my home under this +hospitable roof. + +The Brothertown people came from the State of New York, and had now been +settled in their western home several years. A log chapel had been +erected and school houses provided. The location along the eastern shore +of Lake Winnebago was excellent, affording a good soil and water and +timber in abundance. Along the principal highways the farms had been +cleared of timber and brought under a fair state of cultivation. The +buildings were mainly constructed of logs, though in later years, there +had been erected a goodly number of frame residences. + +Brothertown Mission first appears on the General Minutes in 1839, under +the name of Deansburg, as will appear hereafter. In 1840 it was called +Fond du Lac, as that point had now been added as a regular appointment. +The following year, 1841, the charge remained the same, but the name was +changed to Brothertown, this name having taken the place of Deansburg, +in honor of the Brothertown Nation. But as this charge will further +appear in connection with the labors of its pastors I will defer the +balance of the record for the present. + +Rev. Jesse Halstead entered the traveling connection in the Troy +Conference, was ordained Deacon in September, 1837, and transferred to +the Illinois Conference. At the session of the Conference, held the same +month, he was appointed second preacher to Aztalan Mission. Here he took +his first lessons in pioneer work. He traveled over a tract of country +reaching from the line of the Territory on the south to Menomonee on the +north, and from the Lake Shore Missions on the east to Madison on the +west. In these extended journeys he enjoyed the privilege of preaching +the first sermon and forming the first societies in many localities. + +In 1838 he was sent to Crete Mission on the Kankakee, in the State of +Illinois. The following year, 1839, he was sent to Brothertown, as +before stated, the name on the Minutes being Deansburg. While on this +Mission, he visited Fond du Lac, and preached the first sermon, as will +appear in another chapter. He remained on this charge only three months, +and was then sent by his Presiding Elder, Rev. Julius Field, to supply +Oneida Indian Mission for the balance of the year, that charge having +been left to be supplied. In January he was visited at Oneida by the +Presiding Elder. While here the Elder fell sick, and desired Brother +Halstead to accompany him on his round of appointments. In the line of +travel they visited Madison and intervening charges, and then went to +Racine, the home of the Elder. + +Brother Halstead now started for his field at Oneida. It was in the +depth of winter, and the line of travel was through the dense forests +along the Lake Shore to Green Bay. But, nothing daunted, our Itinerant +packed his books, which had been left with Brother Stebbins at this +place on his first trip to the north, and other baggage, and started on +his journey. The first day he reached Milwaukee, and here he laid in +provisions and other necessary outfit, such as axe, auger, &c. Striking +out into the forest he made twenty miles the first day, but during the +afternoon found himself in a severe snow storm. The first night he +stopped at a house located at the site of the present village of +Grafton. On rising the next morning he found the snow three feet deep. +He laid over one day, and on the following morning resumed his journey. +He only made nine miles, as he was compelled to beat the track in +advance of his horse; and at night he found quarters at Port Washington. +The next day he pursued his journey, but at nightfall found himself +without shelter in the woods. He built a fire, cooked a piece of salt +pork to eat with his bread, and made a supper. But now for the night! +He emptied his jumper, and in it he made a bed, and, as nearly as +possible, a coil of humanity. The next morning he found his boots +frozen. But, with a generous amount of tugging, they yielded to the +pressure of his feet, and he was again on his way, breaking the roads +himself, thereby aiding his horse in carrying his burden. + +On the fifth day he found a house in the woods and remained in it for +the night. The sixth day he reached Sheboygan Falls, and the seventh day +Manitowoc. The eighth day he tried to reach Green Bay, a distance of +forty miles, but was compelled to camp out for another night, and take +the ninth day to complete his journey. + +In 1840, Brother Halstead was sent to Fond du Lac, his charge including, +also, Brothertown, of which a record will be made in a subsequent +chapter. During this year he made a visit to Oshkosh. He took an Indian +trail on the west side of Lake Winnebago, and after traveling +twenty-five miles found himself on the bank of Fox River. He found no +way to cross the stream, and, it being now dark, he was compelled to +spend the night without shelter. A friendly Indian came along and joined +him in his preparations for the night. The weather was quite cold and +they were obliged to maintain a brisk fire to keep from freezing. In +this duty they served by turns, but neither of them had any provisions. +On the following day Brother, Halstead returned to Fond du Lac. + +During the year Brother Halstead was abundant in labor, and at +Brothertown there was an extensive revival, giving large accessions to +the charge. The following year, he was returned to the work, but the +name was changed to Brothertown. This year was also fragrant with +blessing, and many souls were converted. After leaving Brothertown +Brother Halstead was stationed at Monroe, and next at Hazel Green, where +he had Rev. I.M. Leihy as a junior preacher. His subsequent charges were +Prairie du Chien, Patch Grove, Mequon, Oak Creek, and Brothertown, when +he took, in 1852, a superannuated relation. + +Brother Halstead was always at his post of duty. In some of his +appointments he had long moves, hard work, and very small compensation, +but he and his good wife were always equal to the situation. It has been +a pleasure to the writer to make this record, as also that of other +veterans of the Itinerancy. But of the labors, the sacrifices and trials +of such men, but little can be known here. It is a satisfaction, +however, to be assured that their record is on high. It is also a +pleasure to know with what views they look back upon the past. A line in +hand from Brother Halstead only expresses the common sentiment of all. I +will give it to the reader. "Among the most pleasant memories of my +life, I reckon the hardships endured as an Itinerant minister of the +Gospel of Christ. If I had another life to give I should not hesitate to +throw myself into the work again with all the strength and purpose the +Master has given me." + +Rev. Hiram W. Frink was sent to Brothertown in 1842, and had nearly +completed his third year when called away. Brother Frink is also a +veteran, having entered the Conference in 1837, the year of Brother +Halstead's transfer. + +His first appointment was Sheboygan, including the territory between +Milwaukee and Green Bay, and extending west as far as Lake Winnebago. +Its principal appointments were Sheboygan, Port Washington, Brothertown, +Two Rivers and Manitowoc. + +Having shipped his trunk to Manitowoc, his future home, Brother Frink +left Chicago on horseback, Oct. 28th, 1837, for his field of labor. At +Milwaukee, the necessary outfit was procured to penetrate the deep +forests which lay beyond, including an axe, steele and punk, a tin cup, +blankets and provisions. The only road was an Indian trail, which pushed +its devious way through the forest, around the swamps, and across +bridgeless streams, without regard to the comfort of the traveler or the +speed of his locomotion. As there were no houses along the line of +travel, Brother Frink was compelled to spend the first night in the +woods. Fortunately, however, he found a small, tenantless cabin by the +wayside, in which he was safe from the wild, noisy beasts, that prowled +without. The following day he reached Sheboygan. + +And this journey was but a sample of the travel and exposures of the +year of labor, on which Brother Frink had entered. Amid the drifting +snows of winter, and the copious rains of summer, he was compelled to +traverse the dreary, and almost unbroken forests of his field, and on +more than one occasion he found the night around his camp-fire made +hideous by the howling of wolves and the screaming of panthers. But in +him the cause found a sturdy pioneer who was equal to the demands of +the work. + +In 1838, his appointment was Elgin, Ill., and, the following year, +Watertown, Wis. In connection with the last named, we shall have +occasion to refer to his labors in a subsequent chapter. At the close of +his year at Watertown the charge was divided, and in 1840, he was +appointed to Summit, the eastern division. + +In 1841, he was returned to Illinois and stationed at Sycamore, and the +following year was brought back to Wisconsin, and, as before stated, +appointed to Brothertown. At the Conference of 1845, he took a location +on account of family afflictions, but returned again to the work as soon +as relieved of his embarrassments. + +His subsequent appointments have been Grafton, Agent for Tracts and +Sunday Schools, Palmyra, Rock Prairie, Albion, Dunkirk, Fort Atkinson, +Footville, Burnett and Markesan. In 1865, he took a supernumerary +relation, but the following year, being made effective, he was appointed +to the Bible Agency, which position he has continued to hold up to the +present writing. Brother Frink is still vigorous, and is doing effective +service. He has kept a cheerful spirit up to the present hour, and is +highly esteemed by his brethren. + + + +CHAPTER III. + +Exhorter in Charge.--The First Sabbath.--The Superb Singing.--Class and +Prayer Meetings.--A Revival.--Stockbridge Counted In.--A Remonstrance.-- +Another Exhorter Found.--Decide to Hold a Great Meeting.--The Loaves +and Fishes in the Lad's Basket too Few.--Chief Chicks.--Conversion of a +Noted Character.--Quarterly Meeting at Fond du Lac.--Licensed to +Preach.--Camp Meeting at Clason's Prairie.--Camp Meeting at +Brothertown.--Church Enterprise.--Missionary Merchant.--Logging +Bee.--Successive Labors. + +My first Sabbath, April 4, 1845, as "Exhorter in Charge," gave me an +opportunity to take the measure of my new field of labor. The chapel, as +before stated, was constructed of logs. These were hewn on both sides, +thus giving a smooth appearance both within and without. The logs were +halved together at the ends, and filled between with small pieces of +wood laid in morter, and, on the whole, the chapel made a very +respectable appearance. It contained rude seats that would accommodate +about one hundred and fifty persons, and furnished standing room in +addition for one hundred more. + +On the advent of the young "Elder," for it was their custom to call all +ministers by that name, the chapel was packed to its utmost capacity. +Opening the services with great perturbation of spirit in the presence +of so vast a crowd, I proceeded with difficulty until the people arose +to sing. Instantly I was at ease. I was not a stranger to good singing, +for my surroundings had always been fortunate in this particular, but, I +am free to say, that, up to that hour, my ears had never been so +thrilled by Christian melody. The tones were not as mellow as those of +the African, but they were more deep and thrilling. Inclined rather to a +high key, and disposed to be sharp and piercing, yet the voices of the +vast congregation swept through every note of the gamut with equal +freedom. I was thoroughly entranced. And, on coming to myself, I found +my perturbation had left me and my soul was on a plane with the +responsibilities of the hour. + +At the close of the public services, a class meeting was held under the +charge of Father Abner, the leader. This brother was a man of age and +experience, well adapted to his position, and universally beloved. The +meeting was conducted in the usual manner, and was an occasion of +spiritual refreshing. The testimonies were direct and touchingly simple, +usually accompanied with weeping, and sometimes with the shout of +triumph. The singing, however, was the principal feature, both in +quantity and quality, for this highly susceptible people had given this +part of the services, in all their meetings, a leading place. Among the +most noted leading voices were those of mine host, Alonzo D. Dick, +Jeremiah Johnson, Orrin Johnson, and Thomas Cummock. My labors were now +fairly opened, and I soon found abundant opportunities for usefulness. +The regular meetings at the chapel were supplimented by others, +principally prayer meetings, in the more remote parts of the town. These +meetings were held on the week-day evenings, and in a short time became +occasions of great interest. I attended them usually, and found every +evening thus employed when not engaged at the chapel. In these +excursions through the settlement, I was almost always accompanied by +one, or all of the above named brethren, to lead the singing, as I found +myself, though belonging to a singing family for three generations, +unable to lead in this branch of the service. And in addition to these, +I was also favored with the company of a young man of great worth and +precious memory. I refer to Lewis Fowler, an Exhorter of great promise, +but who soon after fell under the withering touch of consumption, and +passed on to the better land. + +As these side meetings, as I chose to call them, were multiplied, and +awakened general interest in their several localities, we found the +meetings at the chapel also gained in numbers and spiritual power. Soon +the people began to talk of a revival, and pray for its speedy coming. +Nor was it long delayed. The work began at one of the side meetings, +where an old backslider was led back to the cross. The next evening, in +another part of the settlement, there were three seekers at the altar. +The Sabbath now intervened, and it was deemed advisable to open meetings +in the chapel during the ensuing week. Here the meetings were held +nightly for four weeks. As a result, seventy-five persons professed +conversion. + +The working force of the Mission was now put into a more thorough +organization. Several new classes were formed and the old ones carefully +organized, making six in all. A Sunday School was established, bringing +into its promising field the latent talent of the church. + +But we had hardly got our home work fully in hand, when there came an +invitation from Stockbridge, several miles below, to extend our labors +into that settlement. There had been a Congregational Mission among the +Stockbridge nation for many years, but its condition was not very +promising. + +The chapel was located in the central portion of the reservation, and +the Mission was now in charge of Dr. Marsh, a gentleman of education +and ability. He divided his time, however, between the ministerial and +medical professions, and, as a result, the spiritual interests +necessarily languished. + +During the progress of our revival in Brothertown, Brother David +Wiggins, who had recently removed to Stockbridge, had been accompanied +to the meeting by several of his neighbors, and they had been converted. +This fact will explain the invitation now given. We accepted, and a +meeting was opened, using the residence of Brother Wiggins as a +temporary chapel. The meetings, however, had hardly been commenced, when +there came a remonstrance from Dr. Marsh. The remonstrance, which was +expressed in very emphatic terms, assumed that I had no right to embrace +any portion of the Stockbridge reservation in my field of labor. But +what was I to do? Some of our own sheep had gone down into Goshen to +find pasturage, and now a few of the lambs of a strange flock had come +to us seeking care and sustenance. Must these be left to the bleak winds +that were evidently sweeping around them, to chill their warm blood in +their veins and cause them to perish in the wilderness? My answer was +respectful but decided. Having been placed, by what seemed to be a +providential intervention, in charge of these souls, I could not +withdraw my oversight. The Doctor laid the matter before the Presiding +Elder, but he refused to interfere, and thus the matter ended. In due +time a class was formed, Brother Wiggins was appointed its leader, and +several souls was brought to Christ. + +At this place I found Brother R.S. Hayward. Before my arrival at +Brothertown, this noble man of God, and his most estimable and talented +wife, had purchased a farm on the Stockbridge reservation. They had +already erected a log house, cleared a few acres of land, and founded a +home both for themselves and passing Itinerants. Such a surprise, and +such a cordial welcome as I experienced, fall but seldom to the lot of +a stranger. + +Brother Hayward was also an Exhorter. Two Exhorters together, what a +ministerial force! Why, we began to feel that, by the help of the +Master, we could take the whole land for Christ! Plans were immediately +formed to extend our field of operations. + +Among these, we decided to hold a series of two days' meetings, and, +that they might prove a grand success, we selected as the localities the +grand centres of population. We appointed the first to be held in Father +Chick's barn, a mile west of the Mission Chapel in Stockbridge. The day +came, and so did the two Exhorters. The people from the two nations came +in throngs. The barn was filled, and the groves around it, until my head +grew dizzy in looking at the multitudes and thinking of what was to +follow. There was a congregation that might awaken the eloquence of a +Bishop, and nobody to conduct the services but two young, inexperienced +Exhorters. The reader may well imagine that there was genuine repentance +on the part of the striplings, and, may be, hastily made vows never +again to challenge a multitude, but these did not solve the problem of +the hour. Of course, as I was "Exhorter in Charge," though the youngest +man, I had to take the morning service. I was so thoroughly frightened +that I have forgotten the text, if I took any; but this point I do +remember most distinctly. It was my first thought, on seeing the crowd, +that I would take for a text, "There is a Lad here with five barley +loaves and two small fishes, but what are they among so many?" But the +more I thought of it, the more frightened I became. Fortunately, I +dismissed it before the hour of service arrived, for I seriously +questioned whether I could furnish the people so generous a feast. How I +got through the service I am unable to say, for I never dared to ask any +one, and my friends, doubtless out of regard to my youth, forbore to +tell me. As to the afternoon service, I need say nothing, for, though +respectable, I have no doubt Brother Hayward has preached many better +sermons since. + +But whatever was wanting in the public services, the social meetings of +the day were a great success. Here the brethren came in with their +singing and earnest prayers, and the sisters with their Christian +testimonies, until every heart was moved. In this part of the service +Sister Hayward led off with her accustomed ability and spirit, making a +marked feature of the exercises. + +The part borne by Father Chicks, as he was called, the head chief of the +Stockbridge nation, also added not a little to the interest of the +occasion. He had been but recently converted, and his heart was +overflowing. To see such a religious demonstration on his own premises +filled him with joy, and awoke within him the fiery ardor of those other +days when his burning words had swayed his people to the good or evil, +as the tempest bends the forest at its will. Tall and erect in form, +with a brow to rule an empire, he rose in the midst of the great +assembly and came forward to the stand. Every eye was fixed upon him. +Turning to the writer, that he might have assistance, if necessary, in +the use of the English, by the timely suggestion of the right word, he +proceeded to say: "Me been a great sinner, as all my people know." For +the moment he could go no farther. His noble form shook with emotion, +and his manly face was flooded with tears. The whole audience wept with +him, for his tears were sublimely eloquent. Recovering himself, he +simply added, "All me want now is to love him, Christ." Then turning to +his people, with a face as radient as the sunlight, he began to address +them in his own language. I could not understand the import of his +words, but the tones of his voice to our ears were entrancingly +eloquent. As he advanced in his address, his frame, now bearing the +weight of four score years, grew lithe and animated. Soon the whole man +was in a storm of utterance. Had there been no living voice, the +attitudes and swayings of the body, the carriage and transitions of the +head, and the faultless, yet energetic gestures of the hand, were enough +to move the human soul to the depths of its being. But to these were +added the human voice divine with its matchless cadences, now kindling +into a storm of invective, before which the audience shrank, like +shriveled leaves in autumn, then sinking to sepulchral tones that seemed +to challenge a communion with the dead; now wailing an anguish of sorrow +utterly insupportable, and then rising in holy exultation, as one +redeemed from sin and inspired with the triumphant shout of victory. + +The address occupied only twenty minutes. But for effectiveness I never +saw its equal. Bending forms and tears, groans and shouts, strangely +commingled in the scene. Eternity alone can reveal the results of +the day. + +Among the converts at Brothertown were several interesting cases. I will +only refer to one. It is that of a very noted character, who "feared not +God, nor regarded man." This man, whom I shall not name, was specially +bitter against all ministers, and lost no opportunity to treat them +rudely. His family had taken the precaution to notify me of his +bearing, assuring me that my visits to the house would be agreeable to +them, yet they might subject me to abuse on his part, if not expulsion. +I at once resolved to make an effort to reach him, and in due time found +an opportunity. I discovered that he kept a large number of bee hives in +his yard, and I concluded that he was fond of bees. Having had some +experience in that line, I resolved to make my assault from that +stand-point. The favorable opportunity came sooner than I expected. +Early one morning, as I was passing the apiary, I found him in trouble. +A young colony had left the parent hive and alighted on one of the +topmost branches of a tall tree, and the owner was sending curses after +them in a most profane manner. Approaching him with the compliments of +the morning, I remarked, "These young people are starting out in life +with pretty lofty notions." The reply was a volley of oaths that showed +him to be no novice in profanity. To relieve his embarrassment, and +tranquilize his temper, I suggested that they were not beyond reach. +With a new outbreak of oaths, he replied, "The ladder that old Jacob +dreamed of would not be half tall enough." I told him if he would bring +me a strong cord and a saw I would bring them down for him. He, half +doubtingly, glanced at my slight form, then into my face, as if to +assure himself of my sincerity, and hastened to bring the desired +articles. I fastened one end of the cord to my arm, and the other to the +saw. The ascent was then made, the saw drawn up by the cord, and the +severed limb with its burden let gently down until it dropped in front +of the prepared hive. By the time I reached the ground the bees had +entered the hive, and the raging spirit of their owner had +became tranquil. + +Conversation now turned upon the culture of the bee and its habits, +until the way opened to rise from the temporal to the spiritual. The +provident wisdom of the little busy worker, in laying up the needed +store for future use, was especially commended, "But more especially," +it was added, "is this course the dictate of wisdom in such beings as +have an eternity before them." I saw that a small act of kindness had +won his ear and touched his heart. On leaving, I was cordially invited +to call and see the family. The advantage thus gained was prudently +improved until, in process of time, both himself and family were +garnered for the Master. + +But the time had now come to lay aside the anomalous position of +"Exhorter in Charge," and take to myself the appellation of "Preacher in +Charge." Under the advice of the Presiding Elder I still retained my +membership on the Fond du Lac circuit, of which Waupun was a part. The +last Quarterly Meeting of the year was held in Fond du Lac May 31st, +1845, Rev. Wm. H. Sampson presiding. The meeting was well attended. I +was granted a Local Preacher's license and recommended to the Rock River +Conference for admission on trial. + +At the close of the quarterly meeting I returned to Brothertown and made +up a company of the good people, to attend a camp-meeting to be held at +Clason's Prairie. + +It was the pioneer camp-meeting in the region, and, though the +attendance was not large, it included nearly all the population of the +vicinity. There were ten tents, and as many preachers, with the +Presiding Elder in charge. The spirit of the meeting was excellent, and +a goodly number of souls were gathered for the Master. The services were +greatly enlivened, and clothed with additional interest by the presence +of the several brethren whom I had brought from Brothertown. Their +ready, incomparable spiritual songs, earnest prayers and touching +narratives of Christian experience, awakened intense feeling among all +classes, and gave abundant evidence of the power of the Gospel to save, +even the red man, as well as his brother of lighter complexion and more +favorable surroundings. + +Another feature of the meeting fastened itself upon my memory. It was +the persistence with which the good Elder pressed me into service on the +Sabbath before the great congregation, and such a formidable array of +ministers. It was indeed a great trial, but, as on other occasions where +there is a "boy preacher" around, there was no escape. And besides, the +effort took on the nature of a trial sermon, as it was my first effort +after I had been duly licensed to preach. Whether I succeeded fairly or +not in the estimation of my critics, I am not able to say, for I kept my +ear during the balance of the meeting turned the other way, lest I might +"have my feelings hurt." + +Returning to Brothertown, I now determined to hold a camp-meeting, under +"our own vine and fig tree," in July. The arrangements were accordingly +made, and at the appointed time, the Presiding Elder and several other +ministers came to our assistance. They were Rev. Messrs. H.R. Colman, +Stephen Jones, Joseph T. Lewis, G.N. Hanson, S.B. Whipple and my dear +father. The attendance was large, the order perfect, and the results of +the meeting specially satisfactory. + +Among the converts were several persons from Calumet, a small village of +white people adjoining Brothertown on the south. We now established an +appointment in the village, formed a class and opened a Sunday School. + +But the time had come in the history of the Mission when a new and +larger chapel must be erected. To further this object, several boxes of +goods had been forwarded to the Mission by Ladies Benevolent Societies +in the east. They were accordingly opened out in the rooms of the vacant +Parsonage, and, when not otherwise employed, I installed myself as a +salesman of merchandise. It was not a little amusing to begin the +erection of a church after this fashion, but this was not the only queer +thing about the building of the Brothertown Church. + +In addition, the Missionary put his own hands to the actual labor of +preparing the materials. It was done in this wise. It was ascertained +that a man in Stockbridge, who owned a fine grove of timber, proposed to +give a certain amount of it for the church, provided the church people +would cut it. And it was further found that the owner of a mill in the +vicinity would give the sawing. We decided at once to accept both +propositions. Word was passed among the people, and on a given day a +score or more of men and teams, with the Missionary among them, made an +onslaught upon the timber. In a few days the task was accomplished, and +the success of the enterprise guaranteed. + +The conference year, however, expired at this time, Aug. 20th, and +terminated my labors among this people. + +Well did the Apostle say, "I have laid the foundation and another +buildeth thereon." Nor was this experience new to the world in the time +of Paul. It was the work of David to prepare the materials, but it +remained to Solomon to build the Temple. Thus it is in every calling of +life. But it is more manifestly so, perhaps, in the Itinerancy, than in +any other. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Fond du Lac.--First Sermon.--Early Presiding Elders.--Rev. H.W. +Reed.--Rev. James R. Goodrich.--Rev. Jesse Halstead the first +Pastor.--Rev. Harvy S. Bronson.--First Class.--Quarterly +Meeting.--Delegation from Waupun.--Rev. Wm. H. Sampson.--Extended +District.--A Disastrous Fire.--Outside Appointments.--Stowe's +Chapel.--Preacher's Home--Ethiel Humiston.--Byron.--Rev. Joseph T. +Lewis.--Rev. M.L. Noble.--Rev. H.R. Colman. + +The first sermon preached in Fond du Lac was delivered at the residence +of Hon. Mason C. Darling, by Rev. Jesse Halstead, Missionary to the +Brothertown people, on the 17th day of November, A.D. 1839. The meeting, +the first of a religious character, was convened at the request of a few +families residing in Fond du Lac and its neighborhood, only seven in +number, they having learned that the ubiquitious Itinerant had struck +their trail, and was making a visit to their settlement. Having been +accustomed to religious services in their eastern homes, these few +scattered families had felt deeply their privations in these western +wilds. The advent of a minister, therefore, opened an era of no common +importance. Few and scattered as were the families, some of them living +several miles away, the small log house was filled. + +From this lowly, rude dwelling the songs of Zion ascended in grateful +praise, floating out over the prairie and lingering in the branches of +the old forest trees along the river until they fell upon the ear of the +roaming savage, and arrested his careless footsteps. The voice of prayer +was heard, breathing to heaven in fervid accents a recognition of the +Divine goodness, and an humble consecration of devout worshippers, and +the fair land they had adopted as their home, to God. The Gospel Message +heralded the dispensation of grace, mercy and peace alike to all, +bearing in its wings the gift of healing, and a glorious prophecy of the +coming reign of the Messiah over "the wilderness and solitary place." +Under the word, the pentacostal blessing came down on the people and +filled the humble sanctuary. To many, the memories of other days, and +their dear old homes in the east, were overpowering. The fountains of +feeling were opened and tears came welling up from their depths, until +they brimmed the eyelids of all, and fell in showers, as when the cloud +angel shakes his wings. Those only who have mingled in the first +religious meetings of the new settlement, can rightly appreciate the +intense interest or gauge the overwhelming emotions of such an occasion. + +Fond du Lac appears on the General Minutes at the session of the Rock +River Conference, held Aug. 26th, 1840. At that time the entire +Territory was included in two districts. The first swept across from the +southwest to the northeast, making Platteville and Green Bay its extreme +points. And the other embraced the southeastern portion, and extended as +far west and north as Watertown and Summit. The Presiding Elder on the +latter, the Milwaukee, was Rev. Julius Field, and on the former, the +Platteville, Rev. H.W. Reed. The year following the northeastern portion +was erected into a separate district, called Green Bay, and Rev. James +R. Goodrich was made the Presiding Elder. Brother Reed remained another +year on the Platteville District, but during that year it retained only +two charges that are at the present writing included within the bounds +of the Wisconsin Conference. After this date, the labors of Brother Reed +fell within other Conferences, where doubtless a record will be made of +them. His visits, however, have not been forgotten. He was a man of +kindly spirit and great practical wisdom. Wherever he laid the +foundations, they showed the labors of a skillful hand. He still remains +in the Itinerancy, and is the Patriarch of Iowa Methodism. + +Brother Goodrich, who succeeded him on the Green Bay portion of the +district, is also remembered with great pleasure by the people. He +remained three years on the district, and during the first two, served +the Green Bay station also. He was transferred to the Chicago District +in 1844, and was succeeded on the Green Bay District by Rev. Wm. H. +Sampson. At the close of the year, Brother Goodrich took a +superannuated relation. + +Rev. Jesse Halstead was appointed to the Fond du Lac charge, as before +stated, and the Mission was made to include both Fond du Lac and +Brothertown. He was also continued on the same charge the following +year, the circuit now being changed from the Platteville to the Green +Bay District. + +We have spoken at length of the Brothertown portion of the charge in +previous chapters, and may now confine the record to that of Fond du +Lac. During this year a class was formed at Taycheedah with Francis M. +McCarty as leader. + +At the session of the Conference, held Aug. 24, 1842, the name of Fond +du Lac again fails to appear on the minutes, showing, doubtless, that, +up to this date, it had not assumed sufficient importance as a religious +centre to retain the name of a circuit. But at this session a charge +appears under the name of Lake Winnebago, with Rev. John P. Gallup as +Pastor. This new charge contained so much of the old Fond du Lac Mission +as had been separated from Brothertown, and, in addition, it swept down +along the west side of the Lake as far as Oshkosh. + +At the Conference of 1843, the charge was continued, and Rev. Harvey S. +Bronson was appointed the Pastor. The meetings during the year were +still held in log houses, Dr. Mason C. Darling, Hon. Edward Pier and Mr. +Norman Pier furnishing the accommodations. It was in the residence of +the second named that the first class was formed during this year by +Brother Bronson. The class was composed of Mr. and Mrs. Charles +Olmstead, Mrs. Edward Pier, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel C. Brooks, Mr. and Mrs. +Norman Pier and Mrs. Parsons. Brother Charles Olmstead was the +first leader. + +During his pastorate, Brother Bronson also formed a class at Wilkinson's +Settlement, of which a record will be made elsewhere. + +In 1844, Fond du Lac again appears on the Minutes as a charge, and +Taycheedah is joined with it. Rev. Joseph T. Lewis was appointed the +Pastor, and Rev. Wm. H. Sampson the Presiding Elder. At the beginning of +this year the meetings were transferred to a frame school house that had +been erected in the village. The tide of emigration was now setting +strongly in the direction of Fond du Lac and vicinity, and new +settlements were being rapidly formed. The charge, following the general +drift of things, extended its boundaries, adding several appointments, +and among them Waupun. + +Soon after our settlement at this place, as detailed in a former +chapter, we were informed that a Quarterly Meeting would be held in Fond +du Lac, at a given date, in the near future. We decided to attend. The +day came, and my father and I started on foot for the Quarterly +Meeting. On reaching Fond du Lac we enquired for the Presiding Elder, in +order to ascertain the time and place of meeting, and found that he had +already gone over to the school house where the meeting was to be held. +Being directed, we soon found the place and entered. The Elder sat +behind the desk, ready to begin the services. The Preacher in charge sat +at his right hand, wearing a thoughtful mood. As we took our seats, both +glanced at us, as did several of the congregation, doubtless thinking, +"Well there are two more pioneers, and they must be Methodists to come +thus to church on Saturday." + +As soon as I felt assured that the eyes of the congregation were +withdrawn from me, I ventured to look up and take the measure, in turn, +of those present. There were, perhaps, twenty-five in attendance. They +were so like, in their general appearance, congregations usually seen on +such occasions in the east that it was difficult to realize we were in +the far west. + +The service proceeded, and at its close the Quarterly Conference was +held. We tarried, and after the opening services, my father arose and +addressed the Elder, stating that we had recently settled at Waupun, and +supposed we were outside of the boundaries of any charge. Yet such was +the flexibility of Methodist institutions, he had no doubt the +boundaries of Fond du Lac Circuit could easily be thrown around Waupun. +If so, we would like to be recognized as members of the church. We were +received on our credentials, my father as an ordained Local Preacher and +I as an Exhorter. Before we left the Quarterly Meeting, it was decided +that Brother Lewis should establish an appointment and form a class at +Waupun. But of this further mention will be made in a subsequent +chapter. + +Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, the Presiding Elder of the District, had been a +member of the Michigan Conference. On invitation, he was transferred to +the Rock River in August, 1842. His first appointment was Milwaukee, of +which mention will be made in another place. The next year he was sent +to Kenosha, then called Southport, to save the church property which had +fallen under financial embarrassment. Having accomplished this task, he +was, in July, 1844, appointed to the charge of Green Bay District. + +A better selection for the position could not well have been made. He +was just in the strength of his early manhood, an able preacher, a sound +theologian, a wise administrator, and a man of agreeable presence. The +country was new, society in a formative state, and the material limited. +Under these embarrassments, it required no little skill to lay the +foundations wisely and successfully rear the superstructure. + +The District extended from Green Bay on the north to Whitewater on the +south, and from Sheboygan on the east to Portage City on the west, and +included eight charges. To encompass the labor of a single year required +the travel of four thousand miles. The roads were almost impassable, +especially in the northern and eastern portions of the District. During +certain seasons of the year, the buggy and sleigh could be used, but, in +the main, these extended journeys were performed on horseback. A wagon +road had been cut through the timber from Fond du Lac to Lake Michigan, +but only one family, as yet, had found a home between the former place +and Sheboygan Falls. + +Between Sheboygan and Manitowoc, a distance of twenty-five miles, there +was no house. The road, if such it might be called, was an unbroken line +of mud of uncertain depth, and any amount of logs, stumps, roots and +stones, to give it variety. The northern portion of the district was a +wilderness, and the few points that had been invaded by settlements, +were almost wholly inaccessable. In the southern portion the roads were +better, but even here, and especially through the Rock River woods, they +were not inviting. + +The position of Presiding Elder on the Green Bay District at this time +was no sinecure. The long journeys, the great exposure and the meager +accommodations among the people, were trying in the extreme. But it was +found that Brother Sampson was equal to every emergency. + +At this time there were only three churches on the District, and these +were located at Green Bay, Oneida and Brothertown. Brother Sampson +remained a full term on the District, and at its close became connected +with the Lawrence University, in connection with which a record of his +labors will appear. In this work he was engaged until 1851, when his +health failed, and he was stationed at Kenosha. He was recalled the year +following, and until the year 1856 performed such services as his broken +health would permit. He was now made effective and appointed Professor, +but in 1861 he again entered the regular work, being stationed at +Whitewater. His subsequent appointments have been, Presiding Elder of +Milwaukee District, Pastor of Racine, Janesville, Evansville, Sharon, +Milton and Waukau, where he is, at the present writing, doing efficient +work. Brother Sampson has given to the cause long service, a noble life; +and is an honor to the Conference. + +The Fourth Quarterly Conference of the year was held at Fond du Lac. It +was at this meeting that I was granted license to preach and recommended +to the Conference, as before stated. The meeting was held in the school +house and convened on the 31st day of May, 1845. The members of the +Quarterly Conference were Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, Presiding Elder, Rev. +Joseph T. Lewis, Preacher, Rev. Silas Miller, Local Preacher, Francis M. +McCarty, Isaac Crofoot, Joseph Stowe, Charles Olmstead, D.C. Brooks, +Cornelius Davis, and myself. + +The population of Fond du Lac proper, at the time of our first visit, +was very small. It contained seven buildings and numbered only five +families, including the family of the Presiding Elder. The school house +was the only public building, and for years was used for all public +meetings known to civilization. Subsequently this public convenience +fell a prey to the devouring element. The papers, in announcing the +fire, gravely enumerated the losses incurred by the disastrous +conflagration in this wise: "The Court House has been burned, every +church in the town has been consumed, and even the school house and all +the other public buildings have shared the same fate. There is no +insurance, and the loss cannot be less than two hundred dollars." + +During the year an appointment was established at the residence of +Joseph Stowe, Esq., on the old military road, four miles west of Fond +du Lac. + +To accommodate the settlement, now rapidly increasing in population, +Brother Stowe built a hall for public worship. Two square buildings were +erected at a suitable distance from each other, with an open court +between. Over this court, and extending from one building to the other, +and including the upper part of one of them, the hall was built, thus +furnishing an upper chamber. The hall was fitted up with seats and +formed a Chapel of no mean pretensions for that early period. + +Brother Stowe's Chapel, as the place was sometimes called, soon became a +great institution in that region. A class was formed, and, under the +leadership of Isaac Crofoot, greatly flourished. A few years after, the +leadership passed to the hand of Ethiel Humiston. The members of this +class were Joseph Stowe, Priscilla Stowe, Isaac Crofoot, Ethiel +Humiston, Almira Humiston, Amos Lewis and Susan Lewis. + +The class meetings, as well as the public services at this Chapel, now +became objects of general interest. Brother Humiston had been raised +under calvinistic teaching, and, until recently, had utterly failed to +discover "the way of Faith." But, coming to the light under the special +teaching of the Spirit, he had become a most remarkable illustration of +this great arm of strength. In short, nothing could stand before his +victorious Faith. In this Chapel there were most extraordinary displays +of divine power. Nor, under such leadership, need it be deemed strange +that revivals sometimes swept the entire circuit of the year. Nor were +Brother Humiston's labors confined to his own neighborhood exclusively. +He was often invited to other appointments on the charge, and even to +other charges, to aid the preachers in their revival meetings, and his +labors were always greatly blessed. I have known whole congregations +melted to tears under the recitals of his Christian experience. And +could a record be made of the wonderful displays of divine grace in the +experience and labors of this dear brother, it would be a priceless +legacy to the church. + +But Brother Stowe was amply compensated for the erection of this temple +for the Lord. In one of the remarkable revivals enjoyed in it, and that, +too, in the midst of harvest, his son, William Page, now the Presiding +Elder of Milwaukee District, was converted. The home of Brother Stowe +was always a stopping place for the preachers. The writer, in going up +and down the land in his early Itinerant labors, has been often +entertained by this dear brother, and his excellent wife and family. +Repeatedly, when weary, I have gone to this home of the pilgrims as I +would have gone to my own father's house, and in doing so, always found +a generous welcome. William, then a lad, was always ready at the gate to +take my horse, and the mother, a motherly, godly woman, as ready to +spread the table. + +Another appointment established this year was that of Byron, where a +class was formed by Rev. Joseph T. Lewis on the 18th of July, 1845 The +class was at first formed as a branch from Fond du Lac, but has since +became the head of an independent charge. The first members were Orrin +Morris, Leader, Olive Morris, Abraham Shepherd, Eliza A. Shepherd, Mary +C. Shepherd, and Maria Shepherd. The first sermon preached in Byron +proper was delivered by Rev. Morgan L. Noble, Pastor of Fond du Lac, +January 25th, 1846, and thereafter this place became a regular +appointment. + +A very comfortable church was built at Byron in 1855, under the labors +of Rev. S.V.R. Shepherd, Pastor of the charge. In later years Byron has +become distinguished as the place where the Fond du Lac District Camp +Meetings are held. + +Rev. Joseph T. Lewis was received on trial at the Conference held in +Chicago, August 24th, 1842. His first appointment was Elgin, Ill., and +his second, Mutchakinoc. He was born in Wales, and, at the time of his +appointment to Fond du Lac, had been in America only five years. Such +had been his success, however, in acquiring the English language, that +he was now able to speak it with remarkable fluency and correctness. + +Brother Lewis was a man of robust constitution, above medium height, had +a strong face, adorned with a Roman nose, and a piercing eye. He had a +vigorous mind, was a thorough student and was already taking rank as a +preacher. During his brief year on the charge, he found time not only to +master the Conference studies, but, by the aid of the writer, to make +considerable progress in the study of Greek. At the end of the year he +reported ninety members. His subsequent appointments were: 1845, +Sheboygan; 1846 and 1847, Beloit. During his last year at Beloit, he was +called from labor to reward. His illness was brief, eight days duration, +but he was ready for the Messenger. Just before his departure, he said +to his most estimable companion: "Tell my brethren of the Rock River +Conference that I die <i>shouting happy</i>." Thus fell, on the 22d day of +May, 1848, one of the most promising young men of the Conference. Truly +it is said: "God buries his workmen, yet carries on his work." The +Conference extended to the accomplished and devoted widow their profound +sympathy. Nor will it be amiss to say in this connection, that the widow +several years after became the wife of Rev. Stephen Adams, of Beloit, +and up to this hour is most highly esteemed by all who have the pleasure +of an acquaintance. + +In 1845, Rev. Morgan L. Noble was appointed to the Fond du Lac charge +and remained two years. He was received by the Rock River Conference in +1843, and was appointed to Du Page Circuit with Rev. Elihu Springer as +Preacher in Charge. Brother Noble was a man of superior talent, but his +health was not equal to the Itinerancy. At the close of his term at Fond +du Lac, he took a location and entered secular pursuits. + +In 1847 Rev. Henry R. Colman was sent to Fond du Lac, and also remained +two years. + +Brother Colman entered the New York Conference in May, 1831, and his +first appointment was Warren Circuit, with Rev. Joseph McCreery as his +colleague. This charge was located forty miles from his residence and +included twenty-four hundred square miles. His visits to his family were +few, and the year was one of most severe labor. His receipts were only +one hundred and forty dollars, showing that pioneer work had not at that +period wholly ceased in the older States. Luzerne, his next field, gave +him one hundred and twenty dollars. The next year he traveled +Bridgeport, a large, four weeks circuit, and had for colleague Rev. J.G. +Whitford. On this charge the receipts for the first two quarters were +not equal to his moving expenses. He was next stationed at Ticonderoga, +Westport and Essex, and Berne, successively, when he was invited by Rev. +John Clark, who was east attending the General Conference of 1840, to +come west and take charge of the Oneida Indian Mission. He consented, +and at the following session of the Troy Conference he was transferred +to the Rock River and assigned to that field, where he arrived September +19th, 1840. + +He remained on this Mission five years and was then appointed to +Brothertown as my successor. At the expiration of two years he was +appointed to Fond du Lac, as above stated, where he contracted a severe +cold, but thinking to remove it without difficulty, continued his +labors. It was a fatal step. Bronchitis set in and he lost his voice. +He was granted a superannuated relation at the session of the Wisconsin +Conference, held at Beloit, July 27, 1849. From this attack he has never +sufficiently recovered to resume his labors. + +The loss of Brother Colman from the work in the Conference was severely +felt. Of solid endowments, respectable attainments, large practicable +knowledge and excellent administrative abilities, his services seemed +almost necessary to the success of the work. We can only refer such +difficult problems to the Great Head of the church for solution. + +During the nine years of Brother Colman's service in Wisconsin, he was +abundant in labor. He was emphatically a man of one work. His salary, +like that of his co-laborers, was small, making an average of only two +hundred and fifty dollars a year. Certainly this was a small provision +for himself, wife and five children. By a judicious investment at an +early day, however, he is placed beyond the reach of want. He still +lives in the affections of his brethren, and, after a superannuation of +twenty-five years, his visits to the sessions of the Conference always +assure him a hearty greeting from his old friends. + + + +CHAPTER V. + +Green Lake Mission.--Waupun.--First Class.--Meetings held at Dr. +Bowmans.--Revival.--Two Local Preachers.--Short Cut to Cereseo.--Boxing +the Compass.--Wisconsin Phalanx.--First Society.--Dining Hall Chapel. +Discussions.--Antiquated Views.--Green Lake.--Shadrach Burdicks.--Visit +to Dartford.--Little Green Lake.--The New Chorister.--Markasan. Lake +Maria.--Revival. + +The Rock River Conference, for the year 1845, held its session at Peoria +on the 20th day of August. At this Conference I was received on trial +and appointed to Green Lake Mission. The class admitted this year +numbered twenty-three, and among them were Wesley Lattin, Seth W. Ford +and Joseph M. Walker. + +Green Lake Mission, somewhat undefined in its geographical boundaries, +was intended to include the large tract of beautiful prairie and opening +country lying west and southwest of Fond du Lac. It took its name from a +lake on what was believed to be its northern boundary, five miles west +of Ripon. As I did not attend the Conference, I awaited the return of +the Presiding Elder at Waupun. Being informed of my appointment, I +enquired after its boundaries. The Elder facetiously replied, "Fix a +point in the centre of Winnebago Marsh," since called Lake Horicon, "and +draw a line to the north pole, and another due west to the Rocky +Mountains, and you will have your eastern and southern boundaries. As to +the other lines you need not be particular, as you will find no Dr. +Marsh in your way to circumscribe your ambition." At the date of which +we write, a few small settlements only had been formed within the +limits of the Mission, but emigration was moving rapidly in that +direction, and it was believed that an ample field would soon be found. + +At Waupun a class had been formed during the preceding year, as above +stated, consisting of my father's family, six persons in all, as +follows: Rev. Silas Miller, Eunice Miller, Henry L. Hilyar, Malvina F. +Hilyar, Ezekiel T. Miller and myself. This band consisted of three +officers and three privates. My father was the Local Preacher, my +brother the Class Leader, and I the Exhorter. My mother, sister and +sister's husband were the members. + +Rev. Samuel Smith, an aged Local Preacher, and father of Rev. Charles +Smith, a worthy member of the Wisconsin Conference, had settled, with +his family, in Waupun during the preceding year, and had held religious +services in private dwellings, whenever convenient. + +Soon after the class was formed, Father Smith, as he was called, and his +family identified themselves with the infant society and became +efficient laborers in the Lord's vinyard. At the same time the class was +strengthened by the addition of Dr. Brooks Bowman and his good lady. +Others were added during the year, including S.J. Mattoon, Mr. and Mrs. +S.A.L. Davis, Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Sexmith and Mrs. F.F. Davis. The class +now numbered twenty-two members. + +A building had been erected by the contributions of the people in the +village and country adjacent, for the purpose of a chapel and a school +house. Regular services had been held in the new edifice for several +months, both morning and evening. But during the absence of the Pastor +at Conference, two ministers of sister denominations came to the village +and established appointments, occupying the house on alternate +Sabbaths, thereby displacing the former occupants altogether. + +On taking charge of the work, I called on the new comers and expressed a +desire to occupy the house for the regular appointment once in two +weeks, but found they were not disposed to meet my wishes. I suggested +that such had been the previous custom and that our appointments were so +arranged, we could not work to any other than a two weeks' plan. But +finding them still indisposed to accommodate me, I merely stated to them +that the house, having been built mostly by my people, and in part by +myself, I could claim as a right what I had begged as a favor, but, +since I saw they were indisposed to give me the only hour that would +accommodate the balance of my work, I should seek a place elsewhere. At +this juncture Dr. Brooks Bowman, the physician of the village, +generously offered his residence as a temporary chapel, and it was +gratefully accepted. The wisdom of the movement was soon shown by the +result. The people came to the private house, and, when they could find +no room within, they uncomplainingly stood without. The Lord poured out +his spirit upon the people abundantly. + +The eldest daughter of our generous host, as the first trophy of grace, +was converted. Other conversions followed, and in a short time the +number increased to twenty. Among them were William McElroy and wife and +several others, who became leading and influential members of the church +in Waupun. + +The opposition soon came to naught, and the house was left to our +peaceable occupancy. The Local Preachers rendered valuable services in +the protracted meeting, and also alternated in filling the appointment +during my absence in caring for other portions of the charge. Father +Smith was not able to visit other neighborhoods, but my father was +abundant in labors, extending his visits to every part of the charge and +preaching usually twice, and sometimes three times on the Sabbath. + +Having spent my first Sabbath at Waupun I next visited Ceresco, where a +settlement had been made by the Wisconsin Phalanx, a Fourierite +Association. There was no direct route, as all previous travel had taken +a circuit to the west, thereby striking the trail from Watertown. But I +deemed it best to open a track at the outset across the country to the +point of destination. Obtaining a horse and saddle, and substituting a +pocket compass for the saddlebags, as that evidence of civilization had +not yet reached the village, I started out on my trip. Unfortunately the +day was cloudy, and in the absence of the sun recourse at an early stage +of the journey was had to the faithful compass, but unhappily not soon +enough to avoid perplexity. After having traveled some distance, as I +believed in the right direction, I fell into a questioning, whether I +should go to the right or left of a marsh lying directly before me. The +compass was brought to aid in deciding the question. It was poised on +the knob of the saddle, when, to my surprise, it seemed to point several +degrees too far to the left. I boxed the truant thing again and again, +but could not bring the needle to point in any other direction. So I +concluded, if the mountain would not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to +the mountain. Out upon the trackless wilds, absolutely without any other +guide, it would not do to ignore the compass. But now a new question +arose. If the needle tells the truth, I must have been going in the +wrong direction for, perhaps, some considerable distance. In such case, +it is impossible to conjecture how far I may be out of the direct line +of travel or how far I may be astray. The needle may point to the north +pole, but I cannot be sure that, if I follow its guidance now, I will +find Ceresco in the line of travel. But there was no time to be lost. +So, deciding that I must follow the compass, I reined my horse into line +and started on, I had not gone far, however, before I found myself +confronted by another large marsh. This must be avoided, and hence I +made a circuit to the west and passed it, but in doing so, much precious +time was lost, and speedily the night drew on. I was now without sun, +stars or even compass. The stillness of the prairie was painful. And the +scattered trees of the openings in the deepening shades of the evening +looked more like muffled ghosts with huge umbrellas, than the beautiful +groves they had appeared when seen by the light of day. Pushing on +through the darkness, I soon found I was nearer my destination than I +supposed. Leaving the groves on the right and passing over the prairie +to the left, I had not gone far when a light was visible in the +distance. On approaching, I found that I had reached Ceresco, where I +was most hospitably entertained by Rev. Uriel Farmin, a Local Preacher +and a member of the Association. + +The Wisconsin Phalanx came from the southeastern portion of the +Territory and settled at this point in May, 1844. + +Soon after their settlement, Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, Presiding Elder of +Green Bay District, visited the place and held the first religious +service of which I can obtain information. Not long after the minister +in charge of the Winnebago Lake Mission at Oshkosh visited Ceresco, and +formed a class of seven members. The names, as far as ascertained, were +Rev. Uriel Farmin and wife, Mrs. Morris Farmin, Mrs. Beckwith and +George Limbert. The first named was appointed Leader. + +The Association had erected two long buildings, one for a tenement house +and the other for a dining hall. The first was built with a wide hall +running from one end to the other. On either side of this hall suits of +rooms had been provided for the accommodation of the several families, +giving to each family at least a parlor and one or more sleeping +apartments, according to its needs. Here families were as exclusive in +their relations as good neighborhood could well require. The dining hall +was a long, narrow building, giving in its width, barely room enough for +the table, a row of persons on each side, and the free movement of the +waiters behind them. The tables would accommodate one hundred and fifty +at a fitting. In the rear of the dining hall, there was a large kitchen +in which the cooking was done for the entire Association. The service of +the kitchen, as well as every other department, was performed by persons +who either volunteered or were assigned to their positions by lot, and +were paid by the hour from the common fund. Divided into squads, each +section had a foreman or directress, elected at reasonable intervals. It +was expected that all the members would take their meals at the common +table, yet exceptions were allowed in certain cases. It was affirmed +that with this division of labor and a common table, the cost of board +for a single individual per week did not exceed fifty cents. + +The Association had under cultivation several hundred acres of land and +were now putting flour mills in operation. Goods were purchased at +wholesale by the Association and re-sold to individuals at the same +rate. A school had been established and was under the care of a very +competent teacher. Thus, externally, everything appeared to promise well +and the people seemed orderly and happy. But, like all other enterprises +of the same character, selfishness and corruption finally crept in, and +the institution fell into decay, and ultimately disappeared. + +The people of Ceresco were always gratified to receive the attention of +the outside world, and their hospitalities were proverbial. And, though +not a few of the leading men were professed Infidels, they always +received ministers gladly and treated them with consideration. They were +specially gratified to have religious services held among them, and the +ringing of the bell would generally insure a good audience. The dining +hall was used as a Chapel until a more convenient place was provided in +the erection of a large school house. + +Here in the low, long hall I held forth on the following Sabbath. The +position was an awkward one. The table stood in the middle of the hall, +reaching from one end to the other. The congregation was seated on each +side in long rows. The preacher stood at the head of the table and threw +his message along the narrow defile, greatly to his own annoyance, if +not the discomfort of the people. To me the task was exceedingly +disagreeable. My thin, feminine voice seemed to spend its volume before +it had reached the middle of the line. Then, my rapid manner of speaking +seemed to send the words in wild confusion into the distant part of the +hall. But I soon learned to gauge my voice to the place, and, +thereafter, I enjoyed unusual freedom of speech. + +At the close of the services, the table was spread for dinner. I was +assigned the head of the table, with the President of the Association at +my right, and the Vice President at my left. Both of these gentlemen +were decidedly Infidel in their views, and have since become somewhat +distinguished as champions of Unbelief. They always treated me with +courtesy, however, and sought to make my visits agreeable. + +It was their custom to bring up some item in the sermon as the subject +of discussion at the table. These discussions often became animated. +But, having been somewhat schooled in that line of things, I always +required a definite statement of position on both sides before any +discussion could be had on the point assailed. This precaution kept the +coast clear, and made these table conversations profitable. The +President repeatedly expressed his gratification with the conversations, +and also with the religious services of the day. And on one occasion he +took the freedom to say, "Though I am not a believer in Christianity, +yet I think there is nothing in the world that can so effectually +harmonize the views and blend the sympathies of the community as these +religious services." I took the occasion to suggest to him that his +admission carried with it a complete vindication of the claims of +religion and a proof of its Divine origin. + +On another occasion, as I was mounting my horse to leave, the President +expressed a wish that I would visit Fox Lake and establish an +appointment in that village, assuring me that he had friends there, very +intelligent people, who would receive me cordially and appreciate my +labors. I enquired whether there were not religious services established +already in Fox Lake. "Oh! yes," he replied, "but they are not up to the +times. They are conducted by a Local Preacher from Waupun, a gentleman +whom I greatly respect, but he is quite antiquated in some of his +views." I enquired if he was free to state what these views were. He +replied: "Why, sir, he retains the old notion that the world was made +in six days." "Well, was it not, Judge?" "Why, certainly not," he +answered, "any man at all abreast with the times knows better than +that." Willing to put the Judge on the defensive whenever I could, I +said; "Well, Judge, if it required more than six days, will you have the +goodness to tell me just how long it did take to make it?" The Judge +felt the awkward position he was in, and before he could recover I had +bidden him good bye and was on my way. Nor was he less embarrassed when +he came to learn that the old gentleman to whom he referred was +my father. + +Having spent the Sabbath at Ceresco, I now started in a southwesterly +direction to explore the country along the south side of Green Lake, +with the purpose to establish an appointment should a suitable location +be found. After traveling about three miles, I came to a large log +house, which with its surroundings seemed to say, "We have come to +stay." Hitching my horse to the limb of a tree near the gate, I +approached the house. I was met at the door by a lady of fine presence +and intelligent bearing, who invited me to enter and be seated. + +I began the conversation with the usual compliments to the weather and +the beautiful country about Green Lake. Receiving frank responses to +these common places, I next enquired if there were still good locations +untaken in the neighborhood. Her intelligent face radiated a smile as +her sharp eyes gave me a searching glance, which seemed to say, "You +can't come any land-seeking dodge on me, you are a Minister." Changing +the conversation, I soon found that the proprietor of the house was a +Mr. Dakin, she, his sister, Mrs. White, and that she was a Methodist. At +a subsequent visit to Ceresco I had the pleasure to enter her name upon +the list of members. + +Passing on I came to the residence of Mr. Satterlee Clark, since widely +known in the State, but he being absent I stopped only a few moments and +continued my exploration. The next house I visited was located near a +beautiful spring in a grove of timber. The building was small, but the +surroundings indicated thrift. I rode up to the door and saw a lady at +her wash-tub. She threw the suds from her hands and came to the door. In +a moment I recognized her as a lady whom I had known in the State of New +York. She did not recognize me, however, as I had doubtless changed very +much since she had seen me. But she was not mistaken in thinking I was a +Minister. She invited me to tarry for dinner, saying her husband would +soon be in. + +When Shadrach Burdick, for that was the name of the husband, came to +dinner he found his house invaded by the irrepressible Itinerancy. He +gave me a cordial welcome, expressed his satisfaction that his new +location did not lie beyond the limits of Gospel agencies, and urged me +to make his house my home whenever I might come that way. I saw that he +did not recognize me, and concluded not to make myself known until the +surprise could be made more complete. Conversation turned on the +character of the settlement, the number of families and the prospect of +opening an appointment. It was known that a few families had settled in +the vicinity, but mine host was not informed as to their religious +proclivities. I decided at once to visit every family in the +neighborhood. + +Passing down along the shore of Green Lake and thence up through the +openings to the margin of the prairie, I found a half dozen families. I +found also that, without exception, they were desirous to have religious +meetings established in the neighborhood. Receiving unexpected +encouragement, I decided to hold a meeting before I left. Fixing on the +most central residence as our first chapel, we held service on Wednesday +evening. After preaching, I proceeded to form a class, and received +eleven names. Brother Burdick was appointed the Leader. He demurred, but +I was not disposed to excuse him. I then quietly stated to the class +that I had known their Leader on the Crumhorn, in the State of New York, +where he held the same position, and I was fully persuaded there had +been no mistake in the selection. The Leader was not a little surprised +at this turn of things, and concluded that he had nothing further to +say, yet doubtless thought, "How strange it is that lads in so short a +time will grow to be men?" + +At a subsequent visit I crossed the Lake in a small boat to explore the +neighborhood where Dartford is now located, but found no settlement. An +appointment, however, was opened at this point the following year with +Wm. C. Sherwood as the leading spirit. At the present writing, Dartford +has become a fine village, has a good Church, an energetic society, and +has enjoyed the services of several of the strong men of the Conference. + +At Green Lake the congregations and class grew rapidly, and before the +expiration of the year the appointment had gained considerable +prominence. As soon as a school house was built, the meetings were +removed to it and continued there until 1870, when a fine Church +was erected. + +Leaving Green Lake and resuming my journey of exploration, I came to +Little Green Lake. Here I found a four corners with a store on one side +and a residence on the other. The residence was occupied by a Mr. +Jewell, whose wife was a relative of Rev. D. P. Kidder, then in charge +of our Sunday School literature. My acquaintance with him soon made me +acquainted with this most excellent family. On their kind invitation I +established an appointment in their house, which was continued until +their removal from the place. It was then removed to the residence of +Mr. Roby, who, with his wife, was a member of the church. A small class +was now formed. Before the expiration of the year the appointment was +moved a mile south to the school house in Mackford. And after a time it +was taken down to Markesan, a mile west of Mackford. + +If was at this place that I assumed the role of Chorister, the +occurrence transpiring in this wise. I announced my opening hymn, +supposing that some one present would be able to lead the singing, but +to my surprise not one was disposed to serve us. I had never attempted +such a thing in my life as to "raise a tune" in public, and the only +claim I had ever set up as a qualification was that I could put more +tunes to each line of a hymn than any one that I had ever known. But +something must be done, so I concluded to lead off. Hunting through the +garret of my memory, I brought out old Balerma for the occasion. To my +surprise, I went through the performance very much to my own +satisfaction and comfort. And more, when I got along to the third verse, +several persons in the congregation began to follow, with a manifest +purpose to learn my tune. I dispensed with further singing, and at the +close of the service a good brother came forward and remarked: "There +were several ladies in the congregation who are excellent singers, and +if you had sung a tune with which they were acquainted, they could have +helped you very much." Whereupon I concluded that if I were unable to +sing the most familiar tune in the book, so that a bevy of good singers +could discern what I was trying to render, I certainly could never +succeed as a chorister. I never became the owner of a tuning fork. + +In the changes which followed in the boundaries of the charges, Markesan +was assigned first to one and then to another, but several years ago it +came to the surface as the head of a circuit. And it now has a +respectable standing as a charge with a good Church and Parsonage. + +Resuming my search for new settlement, I next visited Lake Maria. Here I +first called at the house of Mr. Langdon. I was kindly received, and +when my errand was made known I was pressingly invited to remain for the +night, and hold a meeting before leaving the neighborhood. I consented, +and on the following evening we held service in Mr. Langdon's house. +Lake Maria was now taken into the list of appointments and was visited +regularly during the year. At my third visit, which occurred on the 30th +day of November, 1845, I formed a class, consisting of Lyman L. Austin, +Amanda M. Austin, Mrs. L. Martin, Mrs. Maria Langdon, David C. Jones and +Maryette Jones. A protracted meeting was held soon after and thirty +persons were converted. The fruit of this meeting carried the membership +during the year up to twenty-five. Among the additions were Lansing +Martin, Wm. Hare, Mrs. Susan Woodworth, and others, who have been +pillars in the church. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +Green Lake Mission Continued.--Quarterly Meeting at Oshkosh.--Rev. G. N. +Hanson.--Lake Apuckaway.--Lost and Found.--Salt and Potatoes.--Mill +Creek.--Rock River.--Rev. J.M.S. Maxson.--Oakfield.--Cold Bath.--Fox +Lake.--Gospel vs. Whiskey.--On Time.--Badger Hill.--S.A.L. +Davis.--Miller's Mill.--G. W. Sexmith.--Burnett.--William +Willard.--Grand River.--David Wood. + +It had been arranged at the Conference that Green Lake and Winnebago +Lake Missions should hold their Quarterly Meetings together. The first +was now to be held at Oshkosh. In going, I took the trail leading from +Ceresco to Oshkosh, and traveled the whole distance without finding a +house. But at the intersection of the Fond du Lac and Ceresco trails I +met Brother Sampson, the Presiding Elder. + +On our arrival at Oshkosh we found it had been arranged to hold the +services on Saturday in a private house on the south side of the river. +The Elder preached, and at the close of the service, the Quarterly +Conference was convened under a tree, thereby giving the house to the +needed preparations for dinner. + +Rev. G.N. Hanson was the Pastor at Oshkosh. He was a single man, several +years my senior, of a kind and gentle spirit, given to books and a fair +Preacher. I had known him in the State of New York, where we were both +Exhorters, and, also, both engaged in teaching. Brother Hanson entered +the Rock River Conference in 1844, and his first charge was Manitowoc. +He had been stationed on the Winnebago Lake Mission at the recent +Conference and was doing a good work. After leaving this charge he +rendered effective service in other fields until 1852, when, having +almost lost the use of his voice, he took a superannuated relation. But +as soon thereafter as his health would permit, he entered the service of +the Bible Cause and for three years proved an efficient Agent. In this +work his field of labor lay mostly in the new and sparsely settled +regions of the Chippewa Valley, and along the frontiers of Minnesota. +But here he evinced the same perseverance and self-denial which had +characterized his whole life. Leaving his most estimable companion, he +took the Word of God, and though he could no longer give it a living +voice, he bore it joyfully to the families of the land, through the +forest and marshes of those new counties, often throwing his shadow upon +the coming footsteps of the Itinerant himself. But at last he was +compelled to yield to the hand of disease which had long rested upon +him. He passed over the river in holy triumph in 1857. + +On Sabbath the meeting was held in a frame building, the first in the +place, that had been erected for a store. It had been roofed and +enclosed, but there were no doors or windows. Rude seats had been +arranged and the accommodations were ample. The Elder preached in the +morning and the writer, as the visiting Pastor, in the afternoon. The +meeting was well attended and greatly enjoyed by all. The people, of +course, were mostly strangers to each other, and, coming from different +parts of the world, were accustomed to various modes of worship. But +they seemed to forget their differences, and recognize Christ only as +their common Savior. + +At this time Oshkosh was but little more than a mere trading post. The +few families there were mostly on farms or claims in the vicinity of the +river or lake. During my stay I was entertained by Brother William W. +Wright, whose house, for many years thereafter, was a home for the +Itinerant ministers. + +The Quarterly Meeting passed off very pleasantly, and at its close I +returned to my work of exploration on the Green Lake Mission. + +Flushed with the achievements of the previous few weeks, and still +sighing for conquests, I now resolved to make a sally in the direction +of Lake Apuckaway, lying to the northwest of Lake Maria. I found, on the +southern shore, a few families, and made arrangements for an appointment +in connection with my next round. I then started to return, but had not +gone far, when I found I had lost my reckoning. I looked for my compass +as eagerly as Christian for his roll, but I could not find it. This was +a double misfortune, to lose both the way and the guide at the same +time. I resorted to the device of the backwoodsman, and tried to +determine my course by the moss on the trees, but I found this to be a +great perplexity and abandoned it. I traveled in divers directions and +devious ways until nearly overcome with fatigue and hunger, when I +suddenly came upon a newly erected log cabin. The logs had been rolled +up to form the body, a roof of "shakes" had been hastily put on, there +was no chinking between the logs, there were no windows, and the only +door was a blanket. The floor was made of earth, and the fireplace was +merely a pile of stones in one corner, from which the smoke ascended +through an opening in the roof, at one corner of the building. + +I knocked for admittance, and was kindly received. The good man and his +wife had but recently come into the country. He had succeeded in +erecting his cabin and putting it in its present condition, but had been +taken ill with the ague and compelled to suspend operations. He had now +been so long confined at home that provisions had become scarce. It was +meal time. A few potatoes were taken from the embers and placed on a +chest, as a substitute for a table. I was invited to join them in their +repast, using a trunk as a seat. Grace was said, under a special sense +of the Divine favor. A little salt was added, and the meal was one of +the most relishable I had ever eaten. Several years after, I heard the +good brother relate the circumstance in a Love Feast, when he took +occasion to say the visit was the most refreshing he had ever +experienced. It was certainly such to me. The village of Kingston has +since sprang up in the vicinity, and has become the head of a circuit. + +Returning again to Waupun, I now decided to look over the territory in +the more immediate vicinity. Going to the south of the village five +miles, I found Mill Creek, where a small settlement had been made. The +most central house of the neighborhood was the residence of Brother +David Moul, who kindly offered it for a temporary chapel. An appointment +was established, and on the 16th day of November a class was formed. +Brother Moul was appointed Leader. The class at the first, consisted of +the Leader and wife, David Boynton and wife, and two others, but in the +revival that soon followed, the number was increased to twenty-two. + +Brother Moul was an earnest worker in the Master's vineyard, generous in +his contributions to support the Gospel, and eminently faithful to every +trust committed to his keeping. At the end of twenty years, I made a +visit to Mill Creek. I found Brother Moul had erected a fine house and +was living in manifest comfort; but he retained a vivid recollection of +the early days and their sacrifices. Two relics remained, both in a fair +state of preservation, which he took great pleasure in showing to me. +The first was the old class book that I had given him at the time of the +organization of the class. It was a single sheet of foolscap paper, +folded together in book form, and stitched. The names upon it were +mostly in my own handwriting, and the Leader had carefully made his +weekly entries of present and absent, until the pages were filled. The +other object of interest was the old house, in which the first meetings +were held. Here we had seen remarkable displays of Divine power. And as +I now looked upon the old structure, the early scenes seemed to return. +I could again see the wide room, filled with rude seats, Brother Moul at +the door as usher, the crowds of people that thronged the place, the +groups of seekers at the mourners' bench, and the lines of happy faces +that were aglow with hallowed expressions of delight. I could again hear +the songs of praise as they rang out in the olden time, full and sweet, +filling the place with rarest melody. Nay, as I held communion with the +past, I seemed to feel the hallowed influences, that pervaded the early +worshippers, breathing through all my being, as of old, and even fancy +myself young again, and standing before the multitude as an ambassador +of the Master. + +But the scene, like the visions of the night, soon disappeared, and I +turned sadly away, half regretting that I was no longer a pioneer, and +permitted to feed the hungry sheep in the wilderness. + +Brother David Boynton, at this writing, remains on the old farm, which +has been growing with the passing decades, until the paternal acres +have become a large estate. Situated on a prominent highway, his house, +until the days of railroads, was the stopping place of all the preachers +who needed entertainment at either noon or night. Brother Boynton, in +the person of his son, Rev. J.T. Boynton, of the Wisconsin Conference, +has given to the Itinerant work, an efficient laborer. + +Leaving Mill Creek, I next visited Rock River, a settlement on the Fond +du Lac road, six miles east of Waupun. My father had visited this place +during the preceding year, and had already established an appointment. +Brother W.J.C. Robertson, a gentleman whom we had known in the East, had +tendered the use of his house, and here the meetings were now being +held. My first visit occurred on the 18th day of November, 1845, In the +evening, I held a service and formed a class. The members were W.J.C. +Robertson, Martha Robertson, Mary Maxson, Mary Keyes, James Patterson, +Charles Drake, Abigail Drake, and Elizabeth Winslow. The last named +subsequently became the wife of Rev. J.M.S. Maxson. The first Leader was +Brother Robertson. Both the congregation and class grew rapidly in this +neighborhood, and the appointment soon took a leading position on the +charge. During the ensuing winter a revival occurred, and gave an +accession of twenty-five. From the first, this Society has been blessed +with a devoted and spiritual membership, and its prayer meetings have +been a living power in the land. As a result, revivals have been +frequent, and the number saved a host. Passing from private houses, the +meetings were held in a school house, but in course of time the school +house became too small, and a larger one was built, with a special view +to a provision for religious meetings. + +In later years I have held Quarterly meetings in this building, when it +was thronged with people. On such occasions, after filling the building +to its utmost capacity, the good brethren would fill the court around it +with wagons, carriages and buggies, loaded with people. It was at one of +these gatherings that the little girl said, "Why, Ma, only see how full +the school house is on the outside." During the past year a fine Church +has been erected. + +Rock River was the home of the lamented Rev. James M.S. Maxson, before +he entered the Itinerant work. It was here that he was led to Christ, +licensed to preach, and sent out into the vineyard, and certainly the +church has had no occasion to deplore her share of the responsibility. +Brother Maxson entered the Conference in 1850, and filled with great +credit, Omro, Fall River, Grove street Milwaukee, Oconomowoc, Rosendale +and Ripon charges. At the last named place, he closed his labors June +19, 1858. He was a man of great force of character, a good preacher, and +was thoroughly devoted to his work. He was greatly beloved in his fields +of labor, and his death was deeply regretted. + +Having organized the class at Rock River, and arranged the plan of +appointments to take it into the circuit, I passed on to visit an +appointment at the Wilkinson Settlement, which had recently been +attached to my charge from the Fond du Lac Circuit. It was situated on +the south side of the marsh, nine miles from Fond du Lac and twelve from +Waupun. The school house, in which the meetings were held, was located +within the limits of the present village of Oakfield. + +The class at this place had been formed during the early part of 1844, +by Rev H.S. Bronson, when he was pastor of Lake Winnebago Mission, and +consisted of Russell Wilkinson, Leader, and Alma, his wife, Robert +Wilkinson, and Almira, his wife, Eliza Botsford and Sarah Bull. + +To reach the settlement, it was necessary to follow the military road +towards Fond du Lac for some distance, and then cross the marsh. At +times, the stream in the middle was swollen, and the traveler was +compelled to leave his horse and cross on foot. This was especially true +when the ice was not sufficiently strong to bear up the horse, and such +was the condition in which I found it on this occasion. So, leaving my +horse, I hastened to cross the marsh, but when I had reached the middle +of the stream, the treacherous ice gave way, and I plunged into the +water up to my armpits. I clambered out, but as the day was intensely +cold, I was soon a walking pillar of ice. I was now on the school house +side of the stream, and there seemed to be no alternative but to go on. +I would gladly have found a shelter and a fire elsewhere, but it was out +of the question. So, putting on a bold face, I hastened forward, and +found the people in waiting for the minister. As I entered the school +house, with the ice rattling at every movement, my appearance was +ridiculous in the extreme. But not more so than that of the audience. +The faces of that crowd would certainly have been the delight of a +painter. Some of them were agape with surprise and amazement; others +were agonized with sympathy for the poor minister; and others still were +full of mirth, and would have laughed outright if they had not been in a +religious meeting. As to myself, the whole matter took a mirthful turn. +I had been in church before, when by some queer or grotesque conjunction +of affairs, the whole audience lost self control. I had witnessed +mistakes, blunders and accidents that would make even solemnity herself +laugh, and remained serenely grave. But to see myself in the presence +of that polite audience, standing at that stove, and turning from side +to side, to thaw the icicles from the skirts of my coat, was too much +for me. I confess it was utterly impossible to keep my face in harmony +with the character of the pending services. + +At Fox Lake, the next point visited, an appointment had been established +by my father during the previous year. The services were now held on +Sabbath afternoon in the tavern. The log house, thus used for the double +purpose of a chapel and a tavern, was built with two parts, and might +have been called a double house. The one end was occupied as a +sitting-room and the other as a bar-room. The meetings were held, of +course, in the former. But it was bringing the two kingdoms into close +proximity to dispense the Gospel in one end of the house and whisky in +the other. In a short time, a better place was provided, and the +meetings were removed to it. + +With the better provision for religious services, came also the +ministers of other denominations. We all labored together in harmony, +except in one instance, where a conflict of appointments caused a +momentary ripple. My appointment had long been established, and, to the +surprise of the people, another appointment was announced by a young +store-keeper of the village for the same hour. The word reached me of +this attempt to displace the Methodists, when ten miles distant from +the place. + +I took my dinner and rode forward, without "wrath" or "gainsaying." I +reached the place at the hour, went in and began the services. While the +congregation were singing, the young man and his minister came in. +Finding me in the desk, the minister quietly took a seat and listened +very attentively to the sermon. But not so the discomfited young man. +Being placed under the eye of the congregation, his condition was +pitiable in the extreme. But finding after awhile that I was master of +the ceremonies, and that no one in the congregation seemed vexed enough +to fight for him, he subsided into a deferential attitude. And, +thereafter, there were no further attempts to override my appointments. +The minister, or perhaps I should say clergyman, took no offense, but +became in after years a highly valued friend and companion. + +At this time Mrs. Green was the only member of the Methodist church in +the village. In process of time, however, a strong society was +established. Then came the erection of a commodious Church and a very +pleasant Parsonage. Fox Lake has been furnished with a line of able +ministers, and has at the present writing a large and cultivated +congregation. + +Passing down the stream the following week, I found several families in +the vicinity of Badger Hill. I immediately arranged an appointment for a +week-day evening at the residence of a brother by the name of Morgan. At +the first service held December 7, 1845, I formed a class of six. +Brother Morgan was appointed Leader, and at the Quarterly Meeting +following Brother Drinkwater was made steward. Some time after, the +class was removed to Fox Lake, it being only three miles distant. + +I now returned again to Waupun to spend the Sabbath. The Class Leader at +this time was S.A.L. Davis, who came to the place during the preceding +year. Brother Davis was an old neighbor from the East, a noble and true +man, and, withal, had been my first Leader. He was specially adapted to +the position; a man of great faith and ardent impulses. Under his +Leadership, the class was in a most flourishing condition. The late +revival had, however, so swelled the numbers that a division became +necessary. An appointment had already been established at Miller's Mill, +and it was now deemed best to so divide the class as to establish the +meetings of one of them at this point. The change was accordingly made. +The class was formed December 12th, 1845, and George W. Sexmith was +appointed Leader. + +Brother Sexmith was also an old neighbor, who had come West and taken a +farm in the vicinity of Miller's Mill. Under his care, the class grew +rapidly, and became an efficient company of laborers. Several years +after he removed to Fond du Lac, and greatly prospered in business. In +1852 I had the pleasure to present him with a Local Preacher's license. +He was employed one year as Pastor of Liberty Prairie circuit, but his +health proved unequal to the Itinerancy, and he was compelled to resume +his relation as a Local Preacher, in which position he still holds an +honored place among his brethren. + +The next place visited was Burnett. The services were held in the +residence of Mr. McDonald, and a class was formed December 14th, 1845. +The members of the first organization were William Willard, Leader, +Huldah Ann Willard, Samuel C. Grant, Ruth M. Grant, and Elizabeth +Benedict. The class grew rapidly, and the appointment took a leading +rank on the charge. Burnett has since become a charge, has a good Church +edifice and a strong congregation. Brother Willard became a member of +the Conference, of whom mention will be made in another chapter. + +Having organized the work at Burnett, I next visited Grand River. I had +passed through this place in the early part of Autumn. At that time I +found Brother David Wood and his son engaged in making preparations for +a home. Finding they intended to have their cabin completed and the +family in it before winter, I engaged to visit them and establish an +appointment. On reaching the place to fulfil this agreement, I found +that besides this family several others had also settled in the +vicinity. At the first meeting, appointed before there was a family in +the neighborhood, we had a congregation of fifteen persons. The class +was formed December 19th, 1845, with David Wood as Leader. The Alto +Church, which gives the name to a charge, has been erected in the +vicinity, and there is at the present writing a strong society. Father +Wood, as he is now called, still survives, and takes special delight in +referring to this visit of the 'boy preacher.' + +The watch-night meeting was held at Waupun, and was an occasion of great +interest, several persons being converted. + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +Green Lake Mission Continued.--An Assistant Employed.--Quarterly Meeting +at Waupun.--Love Feast.--Forty Miles Ride, and Four Sermons.--A Sermon +and its Fruit.--Portage Prairie.--Randolph.--Randolph Centre.--Rolling +Prairie.--Cheney's Class.--Brandon.--Rosendale.--Reed's +Corners.--Strong's Landing.--A Night in the Openings.--Rev. Uriel +Farmin.--Going to Conference.--Madison.--Visit at Platteville.--Bishop +Hamline.--Humorous to Grave.--Galena Conference. + +The work of the Mission was now well in hand. But already the field was +becoming extended and the labor onerous. Thirteen regular preaching +places had been established, and invitations were being received weekly +to increase the number. To meet this demand, it was now determined to +employ an assistant. + +The Quarterly Meeting was held soon after at Waupun, and Rev. Uriel +Farmin was employed by the Presiding Elder to assist in filling the +appointments. The meeting, the first of the kind ever held in Waupun, +was one of rare interest. The revival had just added a goodly number to +the membership, besides greatly quickening others. There were present a +number of visitors from the newly formed classes in other parts of the +Mission, and as a spirit of revival seemed to pervade their respective +localties also, they struck the same plane as those at Waupun. The Elder +preached the Word, "in the demonstration of the Spirit, and with power." +But the meeting reached its climax in the Sabbath morning Love Feast. +The house was filled, and many were compelled to sit on the writing +desks at the side of the room. The meeting was opened in the usual +order, by passing to each a crumb of bread and a sip of water, in token +of Christian regard. Christian testimonies followed each other in rapid +succession, interspersed by singing spiritual songs, for a full hour. At +times the tide of feeling rose, like swelling billows, to a great +height, threatening to carry the meeting into disorder, but by giving it +a happy change at the right moment, the Elder was able to maintain a +complete mastery. There were two periods specially critical. One, when a +young lady, one of the converts at Waupun, gave her testimony. Standing +on a seat, as there was no other place to stand, she first related her +own experience, and then, turning to the young people, she delivered an +exhortation that thrilled the audience with overwhelming emotions. The +other was when a Brother Mosher, somewhat eccentric in his exercises, +gave his experience. As he advanced in its recital, he grew excited and +eloquent, and the "Amens" and "Hallelujahs" came from every part of the +audience. Now, leaping upon the tide of feeling he had raised, he passed +from one to another, shaking hands and congratulating them, until he +came in front of the desk where sat my father and Father Smith, the two +Patriarchs of the occasion. Throwing his arms around their necks, he +fairly lifted them from their seats, but in a moment, he discovered his +awkward position and resumed his seat. Instantly the clear voice of my +father was heard in one of those outbursts of song, which so effectually +kindle the fervors of devotion, or if needed, stay the flow of feeling. +In a moment more, the meeting had passed the crisis. + +The Mission was now put under a new plan, providing for alternate +appointments, each preacher making the round in four weeks. But while +this arrangement was the general order, the numerous calls received from +various localities required frequent changes. In most cases, however, +the new appointments were crowded between the others. To meet them, it +required three sermons on the Sabbath, besides many others during the +week. As to myself, I sometimes rode forty miles on the Sabbath and +preached four sermons. + +On one of these excursions, I became very much exercised on the subject +of Christian holiness. I had before given the subject special thought, +but now it seemed to assume unusual importance. Not only did the +teachings of our standards bear an unwonted clearness to my perception, +but my heart began to realize its essential value. + +At my morning service, I preached on the subject, and as I swept over +the prairie ten miles, in the face of a driving storm, I resolved to +preach on the same subject again at my noon-day appointment. I did so, +and with much better satisfaction than in the morning. Twelve miles more +of storm, and I was again before a congregation to preach the +unsearchable riches of Christ. I had now become so full of my theme that +I concluded to make it the subject of my next discourse. So, changing my +text, I preached on Gospel purity, showing that experimental religion +presents itself to the conception of the mind under three clearly +defined ideas. These are Justification, Regeneration, and +Sanctification. The drift of thought ran in this wise: By Justification +we mean the pardon of sin. The man, who finds this grace through Christ, +stands as fully accepted before the Law, as though he had never sinned. +By Regeneration, we mean that radical change of man's moral and +spiritual condition which subjects all the faculties and powers of the +soul to the control of the Divine Spirit. This work of grace, wrought in +the heart by the Spirit, includes not only the entire subjugation of the +"Man of Sin," but the introduction of the reign of Christ. These two +achievements of grace, wrought in the subject at the same moment, we +ordinarily call Conversion. By Sanctification, we mean that higher state +of grace which contemplates the removal of all sin from the heart of the +believer, and the experience of "Perfect Love." + +This last attainment comes to the believer through earnest seeking, and +personal consecration to God. In thus "going on to perfection," the +believer passes through several phases of experience. He finds that if +he shall retain his justified state, it is necessary to seek advanced +attainments. And if he shall be faithful in the use of grace already +received, he will find the Spirit ever leading him to new fields of +experience. As the Astronomer rests his calculations on worlds already +discovered when he looks into the regions beyond, so the Christian must +maintain his present experience, if he will know the further revelations +of the Spirit. + +But the moral perceptions, quickened by the Spirit, will furnish painful +revelations to the justified soul. He will discover that there linger +still within him remains of the carnal mind. Pride, the love of the +world, selfishness, self-will, and sometimes even anger or other evil +passion, will begin to stir in the heart. Such revelations will awaken a +profound spiritual concern, and perhaps, become the subject of +temptation. But there need be no alarm. It is but an evidence that the +good work, began in Regeneration, has not been fully completed by entire +Sanctification. The tree has been cut down, but the shoots around the +old stump show that there is vitality still in the roots. The "Mightier" +than the "strong man" must now come and pluck up the roots. The work of +eradication thus accomplished, the absolute reign of Christ will be +established. The heart will now become the Garden of the Lord, without +briar, thorn, or thistle. Relieved of these hindrances, the graces will +speedily acquire maturity. + +At the close of the sermon, a good sister referred in very earnest terms +to the discourse, and was grateful for the ministry of a man who so well +understood the deep things of God. Instantly the thought came, "Ah, yes! +but there must be a great difference between merely understanding the +theory, and realizing a happy experience of the power." A hasty supper +was eaten, and I was away for another ten miles to my evening +appointment. The snow was still falling, and the winds were driving it +fiercely across the prairie, rendering the track invisible. Out on the +prairie, my noble horse dashed forward with great speed, but I scarcely +noted the distance, as my thought was busy. The question that was +ringing through my heart was this: "How can you preach to others what +you do not know yourself?" At length I resolved; and scarcely stopping +to measure the movement, or estimate the consequences, I was on my +knees, engaged in prayer. My first conscious thought of my surroundings +was awakened by the wrestling of my horse, as my right hand held him +firmly by the lines. Then came the suggestion, "This is a very +unpropitious time to settle a matter of this importance. With a +fractious horse by the rein, a terrible storm sweeping over the prairie, +and an already blind snow-path, you had better defer the matter for the +present." My reply was, "It is time these questions were settled, and I +propose to settle them now" "But the snow-path is nearly filled; you +will lose your way and perish." I still replied, "It is time these +questions were settled, and I propose to settle them now." "But it is +getting dark, and your congregation will be waiting for you. You had +better go forward, fill your appointment, and then attend to this +matter." The Lord helped me to reply once more, "It is time these +questions were settled, and, God helping me, they shall be settled now." +Instantly the light broke upon me, and I was able "to reckon myself dead +unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ my Lord." I was found +in due time at my appointment, preaching from the text, "He is able to +save unto the uttermost all who come unto God by him." + +Learning that a settlement had been made on Portage Prairie, at a point +where Mr. Langdon, of Lake Maria, had erected a lumber mill, I resolved +to visit the locality. I found Mr. Langdon had erected a small house, +and had already moved his family. I was welcomed to his new home and +again invited to make his house a chapel until better accommodations +could be secured. I accepted the kind offer, and thus Cambria was made a +regular appointment. I visited the few scattered families in the +vicinity, and found sufficient material to organize a small class. The +class was formed on the 10th day of January, 1846, and at the beginning +included Mr. and Mrs. Irwin McCall, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Wilson, Mrs. Maria +Langdon, and Mrs. H. W. Patton. Cambria has since been largely settled +by emigrants from Wales. + +In March, I visited Randolph and opened an appointment at the residence +of Father Griffin. At the present writing, the village has become a +respectable station, with a good Church and Parsonage. + +I also opened an appointment at the residence of Mr. Torbit, at Randolph +Centre, which place has since become the head of a circuit. + +In May following, I formed a class on the north end of Rolling Prairie, +with Bro. Greenleaf, a Local Preacher, as Leader. + +Wm. A. Cheney and family settled on Wedge's Prairie in the early part +of this year. His house was immediately opened for religious meetings. +But before I could arrange my plans to visit the neighborhood, my +father, who was always on the alert to carry the Gospel Message to the +destitute, established an appointment. On his invitation I held a +meeting there, on the third day of June, 1846, and organized a class. +The following were the first members: Wm. A. Cheney, Leader, Sophronia +Cheney, Abigail Cheney, D.S. Cowles, Ann Cowles, Henry Moore, and wife. + +At this time Brandon had not taken form or name, but, on its appearance, +the honors and emoluments of this society passed over to its keeping. + +Rosendale and Reed's Corners were next visited. At the first I held +services in the house of Mr. Sanborn, after whom the prairie at that +time was called, and at the latter, the meeting was held in the +residence of a Brother Lee, a brother of the celebrated Dr. Luther Lee. + +Rosendale has since become a very pleasant station, with its convenient +Church and Parsonage, and Reed's Corners is a prominent appointment in +the Brandon charge, and has also a fine Church. + +Having heard frequent reference made to Strong's Landing, on the Fox +River, I resolved to visit the place. On approaching the bank of the +stream, I looked sharply in all directions to discover the town, but +there were no evidences of human skill within the range of my vision. +Concluding that I had struck the river at the wrong place, I first +passed down the stream for a mile, but failing to find any settlement I +turned back. I now went up the stream for a considerable distance, and +found a trail that seemed to lead down to the margin of the river. +Following it to the water, I found a small canoe tied to a tree. The +light now dawned upon my understanding. This was Strong's Landing. Not +having prophetic vision, I was unable to see the city of the future, +sitting so gracefully on the banks of the Fox. Again the Itinerancy was +ahead of the pioneer. Leaving the site of the future city of Berlin, I +hastened to return to Waupun, but a starless night overtaking me on the +way, I spent its weary hours where the village of Brandon now stands, +under the branches of a friendly tree. + +The labors of the year were now drawing to a close. The regular +appointments had multiplied until they numbered twenty-four. The +membership had gone up from a small figure to two hundred, and the +spiritual interests were in a highly satisfactory condition. + +My labors had been very arduous during the entire year, but had been +well sustained until the latter part of the winter, when my health +failed, resulting doubtless rather from exposure than labor. I was now +laid aside for several weeks, but through the blessing of God and the +skill of Dr. Bowman, my physician at Waupun, my health so far rallied +that it was believed to be safe to proceed with my work. + +My colleague had rendered effective service, proving to be a true +yoke-fellow in every particular. Besides taking his full share of the +regular appointments, he also gave a large portion of his time to the +special labors of the charge. He was not expected, at the outset, to +give his whole time, but he soon became so fully identified with the +work that he was almost constantly employed. In the severe labors of +protracted meetings, and in the wide travel of the circuit of +appointments, he was equally self-forgetting and faithful. He was a man +of good attainments, kind spirit, studious habits, and an +acceptable preacher. + +The charge being in a formative state, and the necessities of the +preachers small, the financial receipts from the people were very +limited. My own were only thirty-six dollars, and those of my colleague +could not have been greater. + +In tracing the work on Green Lake Mission, I have been thus specific for +two reasons. I desired, in the first place, to give the reader an inside +view of the relations of the Itinerancy to frontier life, and in the +second, note the beginnings of a list of charges that have since +constituted a Presiding Elder's District. + +The Rock River Conference met this year in Galena, Ill. And as it was +necessary for my father to attend the Conference to receive Elder's +orders, we decided to make the journey in a buggy. The first day, +passing through Beaver Dam, we reached Fountain Prairie, where we were +entertained by Rev. E.J. Smith, of whom further mention will be made +hereafter. + +At noon on the following day we reached Madison, and were entertained by +Rev. R.J. Harvey, the Pastor of the charge. Madison at this time was a +small village, but, besides the Capitol, contained several buildings of +respectable size and appearance. + +The first Methodist sermon preached in Madison was delivered by Rev. +Salmon Stebbins on the 28th day of November, 1837. Brother Stebbins was +then the Presiding Elder of of the District, which extended along the +western shore of Lake Michigan, from the State line to Green Bay. On +visiting Madison, he was entertained by the contractor, who was erecting +the State House, and who also kept a hotel. On learning that Brother +Stebbins was a minister, this gentleman invited the entire population +to a meeting in his bar-room, and here the first sermon was preached. +And I am informed that the people were so pleased with the services that +on the following morning Brother Stebbins was presented with a +collection of fourteen dollars. + +Brother Stebbins again visited the capital July 15th, 1838, and spent +the Sabbath, preaching twice to respectable congregations. But as +Madison, now in the West Wisconsin Conference, has fallen more directly +under the eye of Rev. Dr. Bronson, and will doubtless appear in the +Western Pioneer. I need not anticipate its historical incidents. + +Passing on our way we were entertained the following night by a +gentleman residing on the line of travel, some twenty miles beyond the +Capital, by the name of Skinner. The following day we reached +Platteville, where we were to spend the Sabbath. + +It was now Friday night. Early the next morning, we received an +invitation to spend the afternoon, in company with others, at Major +Roundtree's, with Bishop Hamline. We went. The company was composed +mostly of preachers, on their way to Conference. Among them were the +Mitchells and Haneys. Of the first, there were Father Mitchell, a grand +old Patriarch, John T. James, and Frank. Of the latter, there were the +Father, Richard, William, Freeborn, and M.L. + +But the central figure among them all was the good Bishop. Of full form, +compact frame, broad forehead, and strong features, he would be selected +in any group as a princely man. And yet, withal, his spirit was as +gentle as that of a child. Though one of the intellectual giants of the +country, and one of her greatest orators, he still seemed so humble in +spirit that I felt myself drawn towards him at once. In such a presence +the conversation was necessarily restrained. Dismissing, for the time, +the freedom of debate, anecdote and repartee, that so often characterize +ministerial gatherings, the interchange of thought took on a more +serious tone. Only once was there an exception. Referring to the labors +of some distinguished man of his acquaintance, one of the leading +brethren and prince of story tellers, whose name I need not mention, +proceeded to relate an anecdote. Immediately the tides of feeling began +to rise, and, as the story advanced to its climax, they broke over all +restraint. An immoderate laughter followed, in which no one joined more +heartily than the brother himself. The storm of merriment, however, had +hardly passed, when the Bishop, in one of those indescribably solemn +tones for which he was distinguished, said, "Brethren, I always find it +difficult to maintain the proper spiritual equilibrium without a good +deal of prayer." Then, turning to the offending brother, he added, +"Brother, will you lead us in prayer?" The entire company instantly fell +upon their knees. But the poor brother! What could he do? Pray he must, +for the entire company were on their knees, waiting for him to begin. +So, making a virtue of necessity, he made the venture. But, I am free to +say, it took a good deal of coasting before the good brother could get +his craft well out to sea, and headed towards the desired haven. During +the balance of the visit anecdotes were at a discount. + +On Monday we went forward to the Conference, that I might appear before +the Committee of Examination. The Committee were Revs. Salmon Stebbins, +N.P. Heath, and S. Stover. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Appointed to Watertown.--Aztalan the Mother of Circuits.--Divisions +and Subdivisions.--Rev. S.H. Stocking.--Watertown.--Church +Enterprise.--Sickly Season.--Quarterly Meeting at Burnett--Rev. A.P. +Allen.--Elder Sampson Ties a Knot.--Conference of 1847.--Returned to +Watertown.--Financial Pressure.--Opens a School.--The Coat Sermon. + +At the Galena Conference, Green Lake Mission was divided into two four +weeks' circuits, requiring the labor of four men. In view of my impaired +health, I was sent to Watertown, the Cabinet believing that I would here +find less labor and exposure. + +Watertown, up to the preceding year, had been a part of the old Aztalan +circuit, and as this circuit was the mother of charges in this part of +the Territory, it is proper that our respects should first be paid +to her. + +The old Aztalan circuit was organized at the session of the Illinois +Conference of 1837, and embraced all the settled portion of the +Territory east of Madison and west of the Lake Shore Missions. The first +preachers were Rev. Samuel Pillsbury and Rev. Jesse Halstead, and the +year was one of extended travels and great exposure. During the year +appointments were established at Aztalan, Whitewater, Meacham's Prairie, +East Troy, Spring Prairie, Elkhorn, Burlington, Round Prairie, +Menomonee, Prairieville, Oconomowoc, and Watertown, and at several of +them classes were formed. Brother Halstead's horse became disabled, and +during a portion of the year this indomitable pioneer, with saddle-bags +on his arm, made on foot, the entire round of appointments. Brother +Pillsbury was also a man of sterling qualities, and rendered +effective service. + +The Quarterly Meetings of this year were held by Rev. Salmon Stebbins, +the Presiding Elder, at Aztalan, Meacham's Prairie, Troy, and +Burlington. + +At the Conference of 1839, Aztalan circuit was divided. The eastern part +was called Walworth, and Rev. James McKean was appointed its Pastor. The +western part, retaining the Rock River Valley, was now called Watertown, +and Rev. H.W. Frink was appointed the Pastor. Both charges were now put +in the Milwaukee District, with Rev. Julius Field as Presiding Elder. + +Brother Frink was now a young man, and this was his third charge. +Leaving the seat of the Conference, he returned to Elgin, his last field +of labor, filled his saddle bags with clothes and books, mounted his +horse as a true knight of the Itinerancy, and was away for new perils +and new conquests. In his journey to what was then deemed the wilds of +Wisconsin, he passed through Elk Grove, Wheeling, Indian Creek, Crystal +Lake, Pleasant Prairie, East Troy, Whitewater, Fort Atkinson and +Aztalan. The last named was the head of the Mission, as a class, the +only one on the charge, had been formed at this place. + +Without much regard to boundaries, it was the work of the Pioneer to +find the scattered sheep in the Wilderness. To do this, he was obliged +to undertake long and wearisome journeys, through exposed and almost +trackless regions. Without roads, without bridges, and without shelter, +our young Itinerant pushed his way through the forests, swimming the +streams, when fords could not be found, and seeking shelter under the +overhanging branches of the trees, in the absence of the friendly +cabin. As the result of these extended journeys and herculean labors, +Brother Frink, during the year, formed classes at Fort Atkinson, +Jefferson, Piperville, Oconomowoc, Summit, Baxter's Prairie, Waukesha, +Poplar Creek, Brookfield, Wauwatosa, Granville, Menomonee, Lisbon and +North Prairie, but was unable to gather sufficient materials to form one +at Watertown. + +Brother Frink, however, enjoyed the honor of preaching the first sermon +in this locality. As there was no school house or other public building +that could be had, a small log house, twelve feet square, on the west +side of the river, was secured. Here the services were held during the +balance of the year. The Missionary was kindly received by all classes +of people, and when in the place was usually entertained by Hon. Wm. M. +Dennis, since Bank Comptroller of the State, and Patrick Rogan, a +gentleman whose religious affiliations were with the Catholic Church. + +At Fort Atkinson, Brother Frink preached and formed the class, in the +residence of Jesse Roberts, during the winter of 1839 and 1840. The +members of the first class were Jesse Roberts, Betsey Roberts, Franklin +Roberts, Sarah Roberts, Martha Fellows, Anson Stone, and Mr. and Mrs. +Harrison. The first Church was built in 1850, and Fort Atkinson became a +separate charge in 1854. It now ranks among the first charges in the +Janesville District. + +The class at Jefferson was formed in the summer of 1840, and the members +were Jacob Fellows, Martha Fellows, Mary Fellows, and John Masters. + +The name of the circuit was again changed in 1841, Watertown being +dropped and Aztalan restored. A change was also made in the name of the +Summit charge, which was now called Prairieville. + +Another dismemberment again befel the old Aztalan circuit this year. The +southern portion, lying down the Rock River, was cut off and joined to +territory that had been developed in Rock County, from the east and +south, and out of the united parts Janesville charge was constructed. On +the old Aztalan charge Rev. John Hodges became the Preacher, and on the +Janesville Rev. Alpha Warren. By these changes Aztalan was again reduced +to the condition of a Mission. + +In 1842, Rev. C.G. Lathrop was appointed to Aztalan, of whom a further +record will be made in a subsequent chapter. Both Aztalan and Janesville +were now transferred from the Platteville District to the Rock River, a +new District that had just been formed, with Rev. S.H. Stocking as +Presiding Elder. + +Brother Stocking entered the traveling connection in Oneida Conference, +and after filling a respectable class of appointments for a term of +years, came to Illinois at an early day. He was stationed at Chicago in +1839, at Rockford in 1840, and was Presiding Elder of Mt. Morris +District in 1841, Rock River 1842, Ottawa 1843 and 1844, and Milwaukee +in 1845. Brother Stocking was highly esteemed by his brethren, and was +an excellent laborer, but, his health failing, he was compelled to take +a superannuated relation soon after the writer entered the work. He is +spending the evening of life at Beloit. + +In 1843 Rev. Stephen Jones was sent to Aztalan. In 1844 the charge was +again divided and Watertown charge was formed, Brother Jones being +transferred to the new charge. Rev. Asa Wood was now sent to Aztalan, +and remained one year, when he was succeeded by Revs. C.N. Wager and S. +B. Whipple. At the Conference of 1854 the honors and emoluments of +Aztalan circuit passed over to the keeping of Lake Mills, which charge +at this writing holds a respectable rank in the Conference. + +Watertown, at the time of my appointment, had been a separate charge one +year. A Church edifice had been commenced, and a class formed. The +members were Mr. and Mrs. Walter Andrews, Mr., and Mrs. Heber Smith, Mr. +and Mrs. Calvin Bunton, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. A. Dutcher, Mr. and Mrs. Elihu +Higgins, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Cook, Mrs. Simeon Ford, Mr. and Mrs. Cheney +Adams, Mr. Sands Cook, and others. + +The financial ability of the charge was moderate, and hence the erection +of the Church required a great effort. Our meetings were held in the +school house until the Church edifice was enclosed, plastered, and +furnished with temporary seats. + +The fall of 1846 was a season of unusual sickness, fevers in various +forms being the principal ailment. Along the valley of the Rock River, +the affliction became so flagrant that scarcely a family escaped. And in +some families, so universal were its ravages, that not one member was +left in condition to care for the balance. In this state of things +hundreds suffered, and not a few even died for want of kindly attention. + +Repeatedly, when riding through the country to visit the sick and bury +the dead, I found flags of distress hung out over the dwellings of sick +families, where not one was able to bring a pail of water, or provide a +morsel of food. In such cases I installed myself master of ceremonies, +kindled fires, brought water, administered medicines, and then went +forward to render the same class of services to others. + +In attending funerals in the surrounding neighborhoods, I sometimes +found there were not well people enough to bury their dead. After +performing the sacred functions of my office as a minister, I was +obliged to aid, with my own hands, to let the coffin down to its final +resting place. + +Though still frail from my illness during the previous year, I stood +this strain for two months, when I was prostrated by an attack of +bilious fever. During the first week of my illness a physician made two +visits to my boarding place, and this was more than he could give to the +greater portion of his patients. The family with whom I boarded were all +sick, and I was dependent for care mostly upon such snatches of service +as others could spare from pressing demands at home. At the end of a +week, believing my chances of recovery, under such circumstances, +precarious, I ordered my horse and buggy, and started for Waupun, thirty +miles distant. My friends remonstrated, and thought me insane; but, +fortunately, they were too ill to prevent the movement. The attempt was +perilous, indeed, but by the aid of stimulants, which I had provided +with special care, and a will-power that nerved itself for the occasion, +I made the passage safely. At the end of four hours I was comfortably +housed at the residence of Dr. Bowman, who bestowed upon me skillful +medical treatment, while his family gave me careful and +faithful nursing. + +At the end of four weeks I was able to return to my post of duty. The +sickness had now mostly passed, and I was able to enter more fully upon +the regular labors of the charge. I now adopted a plan of systematic +labor, giving the forenoons to my study and the afternoons to pastoral +visiting. And I soon found that earnest and devoted labor brought its +reward. A revival speedily followed, which added a goodly number of +probationers. + +But the holidays were approaching, and it was expected that I would +spend a portion of them at Waupun, where, it was hinted, an event would +transpire in which I might have a personal interest. Anticipating the +time several days, I went as far as Clason's Prairie, and turned aside +to assist Brother Holmes, the Pastor of the charge, for a few evenings +in a protracted meeting. Returning, I proceeded on my way to Burnett. By +arrangement, I met Brother Sampson here, and spent the Sabbath with him, +it being his Quarterly Meeting on the Waupun charge. + +The preachers on the circuit were Revs. A.P. Allen and Henry Requa, the +latter being employed by the Elder as an assistant. Brother Allen was a +man of mature years, though he had been in the work only a short time. +He was a man of decided talent, but so full of queer ways and witty +sayings that these seemed to give him his status in the general +estimation of the people. He filled several leading charges in the +Conference, and served a full term as Presiding Elder on the Racine +District. But wherever he might be, the same tendency to create laughter +was ever present. If an exception ever came to my knowledge, it must +have been the one that is said to have occurred on a former charge at +one of his outlying appointments. It is related that at this point the +people had not shown much regard for the visits of the preacher or the +sanctity of the Sabbath, spending the day either in rioting or in the +pursuit of their secular business. Becoming disgusted with this state of +things, Brother Allen announced at the close of his services, that on +the occasion of his next visit, he would preach his farewell sermon. The +day came, and the people, shocked at the idea of being left without +meetings, came out in large numbers, leaving for once their business and +sports. The services were opened in due form. On arising to announce +the text, the Preacher told the people that he had come prepared to +preach his farewell sermon, and he was glad that so many had come out to +hear it. He presumed they knew the reason of his purpose to leave them, +and hence he need not consume time over that matter, but would proceed +at once to announce as his text, the following passage of Holy Writ: +'Oh, full of all subtlety and mischief, thou child of the devil, how +long wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord.' Having +repeated the text with emphasis, he looked over the congregation very +gravely, and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, you will perceive that I have +chosen a pretty hard text. Now it is not polite for people to go out of +meeting during the preaching, and if any of you think that this text is +too severe for you, you had better go out before we begin the sermon." +As might have been expected, none were disposed to go. "Well, then," +said the Preacher, "if you are not disposed to go, I will begin. I +intend to show, in the first place, that you are all full of subtlety +and mischief. In the second place, I intend to show that you are all the +children of the devil, and in the third place, I intend to put to you +the straight question, whether you intend to cease from thus perverting +the right ways of the Lord." The preacher, at this point, again, paused +and looked over the congregation. "Now you will say," he added, "this is +going to be a hard sermon." "So it is, but if any of you think you can't +sit to hear the truth told you, or in other words, to have your +portraits taken, you had better leave now, for it is not polite to go +out during the sermon." It was now too late to go, if any one felt +inclined. So the sermon proceeded, and commanded respectful attention to +its close. Before leaving, the Preacher was invited to continue the +appointment, and consented to do so. + +But to return to the Quarterly Meeting. The people came in great +numbers, and the services throughout were deeply impressive. On Saturday +evening, several souls were converted, and on the Sabbath others were +added to the number. But the crowning meeting was held on Sabbath +evening. Before the hour of service had arrived, the school house was +full, the seats even having been removed to furnish standing room. And +yet crowds of people were coming from all directions. I finally proposed +to the Elder, that if he would put a man in my place in the school +house, I would go over to the nearest neighbor's house and hold another +service. The private house was soon filled, and in each congregation +there were several conversions. + +On Monday, January 4th, 1847, Brother Sampson accompanied me to Dr. +Bowman's at Waupun, where he officiated in introducing the Doctor's +eldest daughter to the Itinerancy. + +Returning to Watertown, I held protracted meetings at all the outlying +appointments, and had the happiness to witness many conversions. But the +year was one of hard labor and small financial receipts. At its close I +found my receipts from the charge were forty-four dollars and my board. +The forty-four dollars were put into the Church enterprise, and I drew +on my private funds for my incidental expenses. + +The Conference met in Clark Street Church, Chicago, Aug. 11th, 1847. I +passed my Conference Examination, was ordained Deacon by Bishop Waugh, +and reappointed to Watertown. + +Watertown was now placed in Milwaukee District, with Rev. Elihu +Springer, as Presiding Elder. At the beginning of the new year we +opened house-keeping in the upper rooms of a house on the corner of +Fourth and Main Streets. The first floor was occupied as a residence by +Judge Enos. + +The year opened encouragingly. The Church in the village required two +sermons on the Sabbath, and I had established other appointments in the +country which required three a week, besides funeral sermons. The +appointments were Higgins and Bennetts on the south of the village, and +Piperville, Concord and Newhouse on the east. At several of them, during +the winter, protracted meetings were held, in addition to the one held +in the village. At each several conversions occurred, making a fair +aggregate in all. These extensive labors taxed me severely, and finally +brought on an attack of fever. I was taken during Sunday night, after +preaching in Watertown both morning and evening. The attack was so +violent that before morning I had become deranged, and my life was +despaired of. But through my wife's faithful watching and the good +Providence of God, I was able to resume my labors in three weeks. + +It now became apparent that a severe financial pressure was upon us. I +had spent what I could immediately command of my own funds, and the good +brethren had contributed so generously out of their scanty means, to +place the Church in condition for use, that they could not meet the +Pastor's salary. I saw clearly that some other provision must be made. + +While casting about to find my direction, a Providential opening +occurred. Rev. Mr. Hoyt, the Episcopal clergyman, who had been keeping a +Latin school for some time in the village, was compelled through illness +to desist from teaching. Fortunately, I had gone down several times at +his request, and relieved him in hearing his classes in Greek and +Latin. This little kindness, added to the fact I was one of the School +Commissioners of the county, naturally directed attention to me, as the +person to open a select school in the village. I embraced the +opportunity. The Trustees kindly consented to the use of the Church for +the purpose. As the seats were only temporary, they were easily adjusted +to the new order of things, and a school of sixty students was soon +organized. This new demand upon me greatly abridged the pastoral work, +but there seemed to be no other way to live. Before I could realize +anything, however, from the school, we found ourselves in very +considerable embarrassment. In this emergency, my wife opened her doors +for a few boarders, which met the immediate demands of the table. + +But at this juncture of our affairs, an incident occurred that afforded +relief in another direction. My coat had become, through long wear and +exposure, not a little seedy. On entering the pulpit one Sabbath morning +I found a note lying on the Bible. I opened it and read as follows: +"Will Mr. Miller have the goodness to preach this morning from the Text, +'I have put off my coat, and how shall I put it on?'" The note was +written in a delicate hand and gave evidence of no ordinary cultivation. +At the conclusion of the reading, I gave a searching glance over the +congregation, but could make no face present plead guilty to the +accusation of impertinence. + +The opening exercises of the service were not concluded before my course +of action was decided upon. I read the note to the congregation, and +stated that I had just found it on the desk. I further stated that I was +at a loss to determine whether it was intended as a sneer at my old +coat, or whether the writer really desired an exposition of the text +named. But, believing that no one could so far forget a due sense of +propriety as to deride honest poverty, or scoff at so faithful a servant +as my old coat had been, even though it now began to show signs of age, +I chose to take the latter view of the case. With this conviction, I +should proceed to make the text the subject of the discourse. After +giving the connection and context, I proceeded to define the subject of +coats, arrange them into classes and set forth their uses. The spiritual +application was not difficult, but it needed a little skill to cut the +several styles so that each one could recognize his own pattern and +appropriate the right garment. "Of course," I remarked, "every one has +heard of the garment of self-righteousness, though it may be that none +in this congregation are aware of ever having seen it. Yet, should you +chance to look upon it, with its straight seams and buckram collar, I am +quite sure you would not prefer it to my old coat, unseemly as it may +appear." Thus the sermon went on, to "cut to order" and "fit to +measure," until all the most flagrant styles of coats had been disposed +of, being careful, meantime, to institute the comparison in each case +with the old coat before the audience. The discourse was perfectly +ludicrous, but, like all of its kind, it took amazingly. Its financial +success was, doubtless, all that the writer of the note had intended. On +the next Sabbath morning the minister walked into church with a new +outfit of wearing apparel, from the crown of the hat to the soles of +the boots. + +Watertown, from the first, was an unpromising field for ministerial +labor. The leading influences at the beginning, if not directly opposed, +were almost wholly indifferent to the claims of religion. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Waukesha--Old Prairieville Circuit--Changes--Rev. L.F. Moulthrop--Rev. +Hooper Crews--Rev. J.M. Walker--Rev. Washington Wilcox--Upper and Nether +Millstones--Our New Field--Revival--Four Sermons--Platform Missionary +Meetings--The Orator--Donning the Eldership--The Collection. + +The General Conference of 1848 divided the Rock River Conference and +formed the Wisconsin. The first session of the new Conference was held +at Kenosha July 12th, and I was stationed at Waukesha. + +It will be remembered that Prairieville was included in the Watertown +charge in 1839, and formed one of the appointments established at that +early day by Brother Frink. In the following year, when the Summit +charge was formed, Prairieville fell into the new circuit. In 1841 +Prairieville took the name of the charge, and henceforth became the +mother of circuits in this portion of the Territory. Rev. John G. +Whitcomb was appointed to the charge in 1842, and Rev. L.F. Moulthrop +in 1843. + +Brother Moulthrop entered the Conference in 1840, and was first +appointed to the Racine Mission. In 1841 he was stationed at Troy, where +he performed a vast amount of labor and gathered many souls for the +Master. He remained a second year and had for a colleague Rev. Henry +Whitehead, so well known in connection with the Chicago Depository. On +coming to Waukesha he had Rev. S. Stover as a colleague. + +At the close of his term Brother Moulthrop retired from the work, but +was re-admitted to the Conference in 1859, it being conceded that so +valiant a veteran should be permitted to spend the balance of his life +in connection with the Conference. + +Prairieville Circuit at this time extended from the lake towns to +Watertown, and into Washington county as far as settlements had +penetrated. As stated in a former chapter, Brother Frink had passed over +this region in 1839, and had formed classes during the Conference year +at several places, but it now remained for his successors to extend the +field. In doing this Brother Moulthrop opened an appointment at +Wauwatosa and in several other neighborhoods. + +At Prairieville, the class formed by Brother Frink consisted of Mr. +Owen, Leader, Mrs. Owen, Richard Smart, Truman Wheeler, Mrs. Truman +Wheeler, Hiram Wheeler, Mrs. Hiram Wheeler, Theophilus Haylett and +Horace Edsell, and to these were soon after added, Mr. and Mrs. Winters, +Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hadfield, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Henry, Mr. and Mrs. +Daniel Clark, Sarah Packham, Mr. Blodgett, Mr. and Mrs. John Bromell, +John White, and Rev. Jonas Clark. Brother Henry was soon after made +the Leader. + +The members of the class at Summit were John Merical, Leader, Levi +Merical, John Merical, Jr., Philip Scheuler, Mary Scheuler, Maria L. +Frink, Sarah Taft, and Sarah Hardell. + +Prairieville charge was now in the Chicago District, and Rev. Hooper +Crews was the Presiding Elder. During this year he assisted Brother +Moulthrop in holding a protracted meeting at Prairieville, and large +numbers were converted. + +Brother Crews was one of the choicest men in the Conference. He began +his ministerial work when what is now the great Northwest was yet in its +infancy, and has mingled in the discussion and settlement of all the +great questions which have arisen. His appointments have placed him in +the front rank of his compeers, and among them all, none have made a +better record, or will go from labor to reward leaving a profounder +regret among the people. + +At the Milwaukee Conference in 1844, Prairieville charge was divided. +The northern portion was set off and erected into the Washington +Mission, with Rev. J.M. Snow as Pastor, of whom a record will be made in +another chapter. Brother Moulthrop remained on the old charge, and was +able to take care of what remained without an assistant. + +The following year, 1845, the charge again required two men, and Revs. +G.W. Cotrell and Miles L. Reed were appointed, and had a year of great +prosperity. This year Pewaukee was detached from the Prairieville charge +and added to Washington Mission, and as this change drew the latter to +the southward, the name of Washington was dropped, and that of Menomonee +substituted. Brother Snow remained on the charge. + +Brother Reed was a young man of great promise, but his career was of +short duration. At the close of his year at Prairieville, his failing +health compelled him to leave the work. Remaining, however, in the +village, he was greatly useful and highly esteemed as a Local Preacher. + +In 1846, the Pastors of Prairieville circuit were Rev. Washington Wilcox +and Rev. J.M. Walker. Both of these devoted and earnest men were +abundant in labor. Protracted meetings were held at nearly all of the +principal appointments, and large numbers were converted. It is affirmed +that the junior preacher was engaged seventy five successive days in +these meetings. It is not a matter of surprise that a severe +illness followed. + +Brother Walker entered the Conference, as before stated, in the class or +1845, with the writer. His first circuit was Elkhorn. During the year he +had extensive revivals at both Delavan and North Geneva. After leaving +Prairieville he was sent to Geneva, where he again had a prosperous +year, and also found an excellent wife. His next field was Rock Prairie, +to which he was sent in 1848. Here he had over two hundred conversions. +The following year he was sent to Union Circuit, with Rev. James Lawson +as colleague, and was returned to the same the next year. But in the +early part of the year he was removed to Beloit, to supply a vacancy. +His next appointment was Whitewater, where he succeeded in completing a +Church, and his next field was Beaver Dam. In 1855 he was appointed +Presiding Elder of Beaver Dam District, which post he filled with great +acceptability. His subsequent appointments have been Spring Street +Station, Milwaukee, Chaplain of the Thirty-Eighth Regiment, Beaver Dam, +Oshkosh and Green Bay. At the last named, he is at the present writing +doing effective service. + +In 1847 Prairieville Circuit was changed to a station, under the name of +Waukesha. Brother Wilcox was returned, and during the year built up a +strong congregation, giving the station a front rank among the first +charges of the Conference. + +Brother Wilcox entered the traveling connection in the East and came to +the Illinois Conference at an early day. He was stationed in Galena in +1839, and before coming to Waukesha he had served Dubuque, Mineral +Point, Dixon, Elgin and Sylvania. At the close of his term at Waukesha +he was appointed Presiding Elder of Fond du Lac District At the end of +three years he was sent to the Madison District, where he remained a +full term. His subsequent appointments fell within the bounds of the +West Wisconsin Conference, in all of which he acquitted himself +creditably. His last field was Baraboo Station, where he passed from +labor to reward, leaving to his brethren the record of a spotless life +and unswerving devotion to the Master's work. + +Brother Wilcox was an able minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was a +man of large intellect and strong convictions. His sermons embodied +cardinal truth, and with him mere word painting was a sham. Sometimes he +was thought to be severe, but it was the severity of what he conceived +to be truth. In debate, on the Conference floor, or in discussion before +an audience, he was a giant. At times he would seem to push his +antagonist relentlessly, but it was only following his inexorable logic +to its findings. The same thoroughness entered into all he did. On a +committee it was his habit to go to the bottom of things. Especially was +this true in the Conference examinations. + +I remember distinctly the examination that was had the year I graduated +to Elder's orders. With him as chairman, and another strong man, whom I +need not name, as second, we were under the fiery ordeal seven sessions. +I have never ceased to wonder that anything was left of us, after having +been thus ground between the upper and nether millstones. And yet there +was no unkindness, for in his feelings he was as tender as a child. The +fact is, this noble man could never do anything by halves. If the +faithful discharge of duty, the persistent adherence to the right, and +unsparing self-denial, constitute the standard of nobility, then +Washington Wilcox. had a right to claim his patent. + +At Waukesha, a respectable Church edifice had been erected in 1841 and +1842. At a later period a small Parsonage had been built, and on our +arrival it was in readiness to receive us. The public services of the +Sabbath were held at half-past ten in the morning and at one in the +afternoon. The latter had been so arranged to accommodate families in +the country, who desired a second service before returning home. The +plan, however, did not fully satisfy the people in the village, as it +failed to provide for an evening service. It was suggested that in a +village, a certain class of people could be induced to attend an evening +service that would not go to any other. To test the matter, I opened an +evening service. The arrangement proved satisfactory, and was continued, +though it involved the necessity of having three services a day. + +The good seed of the kingdom, scattered among the crowds who gathered at +the evening service, in due time began to bear fruit, and an extensive +revival followed. As the good work in the village increased, and the +number of converts was multiplied, the people of the surrounding +neighborhoods became also interested, and attended the meeting. Many of +these were induced to accept the obligations of a holy life, and as a +result, invitations began to multiply, requesting me to open +appointments in their respective localities. I now selected five of the +most central neighborhoods and established in them week-day evening +services. But as the summer drew on, they were discontinued except two, +and these, as the most promising, were assigned to the Sabbath, and were +filled on alternate days at four o'clock in the afternoon. To meet these +appointments, in addition to the regular services in the village, +required four sermons each Sabbath. As to the propriety of undertaking +this amount of labor, I need say nothing. Some may deem it an evidence +of zeal, but others that of folly. + +During this year the Milwaukee District established a system of platform +missionary meetings on the several charges. To further the object, it +was decided to appoint two or three ministers to attend each meeting, +and by dividing the labor throughout the district, bring thereby all the +preachers upon the platform. On several of these occasions, I found +myself associated with a brother who was beginning to attract +considerable attention as a speaker. We usually put him on the programme +for the closing speech, that he might furnish the "rousements," as +Bishop Morris would say, for the collection. And in this particular we +were seldom disappointed. The good brother was always ready for what +might be called a flaming speech. And though he always ran in much the +same channel, his craft, to use a figure, was always full-rigged and +under full sail. But, to change the figure, and bring it more fully into +harmony with the department of nature, from which the brother had +evidently derived his name, I might say his pinions were always full +fledged and in full tension for a lofty flight. Unfortunately, however, +he could never fold his wings in time to make a graceful descent when he +desired to come down to the plane of ordinary mortals. In the descent he +would sometimes "swap ends" so many times, that it was a marvel that a +broken neck was not the result. But to his own mind these airy flights +were always sublime, and especially so when he struck the quotation, +which usually closed each missionary speech, that placed the herald of +the Gospel on the highest pinnacle of time, and made him "look back over +the vista of receding ages" and "forward over the hill-tops of coming +time," and "lift up his voice until it should echo from mountain top to +mountain top, from valley to valley, from river to river, from ocean to +ocean, from isle to isle, and from continent to continent, the whole +earth around." Of course the collection always followed this speech, and +if it proved to be pretty good, a few additional feathers went into the +pinions for the next flight. + +On one of these occasions our orator became greatly elated with his +success, and rallied me upon the difference between the broad, velvety +wing of the miller and the long, sharp pointed wing of his species. The +opportunity was too good to be lost. I replied, "Well, my brother, I had +a thought last night, when I saw you towering to such dizzy heights in +your speech." "What was it?" he enquired, eagerly. "Oh!" I replied, "I +would hardly dare to tell you." "Yes, yes," said he, "let us have it." I +still hesitated, until the several brethren present joined him in his +persistent request. "Well," I answered, "if you insist upon it I will +state it. When I saw you making your lofty flights, I thought if you +could only have a few feathers plucked from the wings of your +imagination and placed in the tail of your judgment, you would make a +grand flyer." The next flight was made with greater caution. + +The balance of the year at Waukesha was given to the ordinary demands of +the work. To the Church there had been large accessions and to the +Parsonage a welcome guest, in the person of our eldest daughter. + +The Wisconsin Conference for 1849 was held at Platteville. I crossed the +State in a buggy and was assigned to Father Mitchell's for +entertainment. To enjoy the hospitality of this truly Christian +gentleman and veteran patriarch for a week was a privilege that would +mark an era at any time in a man's life. At this Conference I was +ordained an Elder by Bishop Janes, and received my appointment for a +second year at Waukesha. Rev. Elihu Springer was returned to Milwaukee +District for the third year. + +At my first Quarterly Meeting the Elder insisted on a reconstruction of +my work, in which he was joined by the Local Preachers and several other +brethren of the charge. The noon-day sermon was dispensed with and the +Sabbath afternoon appointments were given mainly to the care of the +Local Preachers. These were William Carpenter, Hiram Crane, and Miles L. +Reed, a trio of noble and devoted men. + +Assisted by these faithful men and a united and earnest church, the work +grew upon our hands, and this second year was also blessed with a +precious revival. It was in connection with this revival and the +garnering of the converts that the controversy arose between us and the +Baptist friends on the subject of baptism. As many of our converts had +not enjoyed favorable opportunities to become informed on this subject, +the Pastor was desired by formal request to preach a sermon on the mode +of baptism. This was done, and soon after the official board requested a +copy for publication. The writer, supposing it was merely intended to +secure a few copies through the columns of the village newspaper for +convenient reference, hastily furnished the discourse. Instead, however, +of procuring a few slips only, it was published in pamphlet and given a +more extensive circulation. In due time it was taken up by the Pastor of +the Baptist Church and reviewed at length in his pulpit. On the +following Sabbath the reviewer was himself reviewed, and here ended the +controversy. It is a question whether such controversies are really +beneficial. They usually engender strife and party feeling, and not +unfrequently alienate the servants of our common Master. But that such +was not the case in this instance is pretty evident from the fact that +at the session of our Conference in Waukesha the following year, the +writer was requested to fill on the Sabbath the pulpit of his former +antagonist. + +On this charge also the writer took his first serious lesson in Church +trials. The matter in question arose out of a misunderstanding between a +man and his wife, growing out of a want of interest, perhaps, on the +part of the one, and jealousy on the part of the other. Like other +inexperienced administrators whom I have known, in trying to make +crooked things straight, I invoked an agency that became a fire and a +sword in my hand. Neither the Church nor the individuals concerned +derived any advantage in the result, and though the wisdom of the +administration was never called in question as far as I knew, yet I +could not suppress the conviction that Church trials can only be +commended as a last resort. It is much easier to awaken than allay the +spirit of strife. Abating this discordant note, which did not long +disturb the harmony of the Church, the two years we spent on this charge +are freighted with most precious memories. Full of incident, and +fragrant with blessing, they form a bright link in the chain of our +itinerant life. Happy in our work, with only occasional calls for +special services abroad, the years passed swiftly and joyously. + +Referring to services abroad reminds me of the Quarterly Meeting I held +for the Presiding Elder, on what was then called Howard's Prairie, some +twenty miles distant. Seated in my buggy with my wife and child, I +started on Friday afternoon for the place. We reached the neighborhood +at nightfall. We were directed by the Elder to call on a given family +for entertainment, the gentleman being the most wealthy Methodist in +the settlement. We halted the buggy at his gate, and I went in to crave +his hospitality. As I approached the door and addressed myself to the +master of the premises, he put on a frigid expression of countenance, +and answered me coldly. I decided at once that I would not make myself +known, but try the spirit of the man. I inquired whether there was to be +a Quarterly Meeting in his neighborhood. He replied in the affirmative. +I then inquired where the Methodist preachers put up when they came into +the settlement. + +He said, "They usually put up at the second house further on." I +concluded the old gentleman was not expecting company until the +Presiding Elder should come, and so concluded we had better go on. As I +retired the old gentleman looked sharply after me, but doubtless +thinking so small and young a man as I then was could not be the Elder, +he permitted me to go on my way. We went on to the house indicated, and +inquired of the gentleman at the gate whether the Methodist preachers +who visited the settlement usually found entertainment with him. He +replied, "I am not a Methodist myself, but my old woman is one, I +believe, and she sometimes takes in the preachers on her own hook, but +she is not at home to-night. Why didn't you stop up at the white house +on the hill? He is the loudest Methodist in this neighborhood." I +inquired, "Who lives up here in this small house that we have +just passed?" + +"Oh," said he, "that is my son, the Class-Leader." It was now quite +dark. I returned to the buggy and asked my wife how she liked the +Presiding Eldership. She laughed heartily, and said, "The fact is, they +are all waiting for the Presiding Elder, for no one would ever take +you for one." + +I concluded she was right, and on returning to the Class-Leader's house +I made bold to announce myself in due form. We were most hospitably +entertained, and were so pleased with our kind host and hostess that we +felt constrained to decline, the next day, urgent invitations from both +of the large houses. My wife has often queried since as to what became +of the pies and cakes that were intended for the Presiding Elder on +that occasion. + +The services of the Sabbath were held in a school house. At the close of +the morning sermon the Pastor, Rev. Jesse Halstead, volunteered to carry +the hat through the congregation, to receive the collection for the +Presiding Elder. After performing this service, he requested the good +people to sing while he should count the funds. On completing the count, +he found a deficiency, and concluded to carry the hat again. He started +and moved leisurely along, taking special pains to afford all an +opportunity to contribute, until he came to the dear man, whose +acquaintance I had made the night before. He now paused, placed the hat +on the desk, under the face of the reputed miser, put his hands in his +pockets, and looked unconcernedly over the congregation, remarking, +"Well, brethren, there is no great hurry about this matter. If you have +not got the money with you, we will give you plenty of time to borrow it +from your neighbor." This new feature in the programme directed all eyes +to the brother in whose custody the hat had been placed. For a moment he +was frigid, but under such a concentration of piercing rays as were now +turned upon him, he soon began to melt. Turning to his neighbor, he +borrowed a contribution, whereupon the hat moved on. + + + +CHAPTER X. + +Milwaukee--Early History--First Sermon--Rev. Mark Robinson--First +Class--Rev. John Clark--Trustees--Rev. James Ash--Rev. David +Worthington--Rev. Julius Field--Rev. John Crummer--First Church--Rev. +John T. Mitchell--Rev. Sias Bolles--Lantern Convert--Second Church--Rev. +A. Hanson--Rev. Dr. Ryan--John H. Van Dyke--Rev. F.M. Mills--Rev. James +E. Wilson--Walker's Point--First Class--Rev. Wm. Willard. + +The Conference of 1850 was held June 26th at Beloit, Bishop Hamline +presiding. Brother Springer was returned to the Milwaukee District, and +I was appointed to Spring Street Station, Milwaukee. The charge included +the entire city except Walker's Point, where a Mission had been +established, but before speaking of the Station in connection with my +labors, I should, in harmony with my general plan, first refer to its +earlier history. In doing this, I can only give in these pages the +briefest outline, and refer the reader, who may desire further +information, to a pamphlet entitled "Milwaukee Methodism," published by +the writer in 1873. + +The name of Milwaukee has, doubtless, come down to us from some extinct +tribe of the aboriginal inhabitants of the country, as there seems to be +nothing that will fully answer to it in any of the tongues now in use. +In 1680 Zenobius Membre mentions the river of Melleoke, flowing into +Lake Dauphan, in latitude forty, with an Indian village at its mouth. +Three generations later Lieut. Gorrell visited Milwacky River, and found +a village on its bank, with an Indian trader. + +Another interval of a generation occurred, and Solomon Juneau appeared +and took up his residence in Milwaukee in 1818. Other fur traders came +soon after, but the real settlement of the country did not begin until +1835, when nine families came, forming the nucleus of the future city. + +The first Protestant sermon preached in Milwaukee was delivered by a +Methodist clergyman in June, 1835. The meeting was held in a log house, +erected by Dr. Enoch Chase for a residence, near the mouth of the river. + +Milwaukee Mission was organized by the Illinois Conference in the summer +of 1835, and Rev. Mark Robinson, who had been admitted that year, was +appointed to the charge. The Presiding Elder of the District, which +extended from Chicago to Green Bay, was the veteran pioneer, Rev. John +Clark. The Presiding Elder visited Milwaukee during this year and +preached a sermon in the residence of Dr. Chase, this being at that time +the principal place in which meetings were held. Both the Pastor and +Presiding Elder were entertained by the Doctor. + +The population of the village was very small, but before the expiration +of the Conference year Brother Robinson was able to form a class of four +members. These first members were David Worthington, Mrs. Samuel Brown, +Mrs. J.K. Lowry, and Mrs. Farmin. + +In the autumn of 1836 Rev. William S. Crissey was sent to Milwaukee. The +congregations were now growing, and it was found expedient to provide +some place, other than a private residence, for the meetings. The +Society was not able to build, and to rent a suitable place seemed +impossible. In this embarrassment a carpenter's shop belonging to two +members of the church, W.A. and L.S. Kellogg, was deemed the most +feasible arrangement. This building, located on the corner of East Water +and Huron Streets, was a frame structure, and stood on posts. Beneath +and all around it was a pond of water, and to gain an entrance a narrow +bridge was constructed from the street to the door. The first Quarterly +Meeting was held in this place by Rev. John Clark, on the 8th and 9th of +January, 1837. At this meeting the Pastor reported the conversion of Mr. +J.K. Lowry, doubtless the first in the village. + +The legal organization of the Church, according to the laws of the +Territory, was effected July 22d, 1837, with Elah Dibble as Chairman and +W.A. Kellogg as Secretary. The first Trustees were Elah Dibble, David +Worthington, W.A. Kellogg, L.S. Kellogg, J.K. Lowry, Jared Thompson and +Joseph E. Howe. The fourth Quarterly Meeting was held July 29th, and the +Pastor reported a membership of forty-five. + +In September, 1837, Rev. James R. Goodrich was appointed to the Station +and Rev. Salmon Stebbins to the District. Among the members enrolled at +this time I find the names of Thomas McElhenny, Jared Thompson, Local +Preacher, Mr. and Mrs. L.S. Kellogg, Wm. A. Kellogg, Theresa Kellogg, +Ophelia Kellogg, Amelia Kellogg, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, David +Worthington, A.T. Wilson, Mrs. Samuel Brown, Mrs. Henry Miller, Mrs. +J.K. Lowry, James Ash, Mr. and Mrs. Elah Dibble, and Sisters Adams, +Church, James and Vail. + +During this year Leader's Meetings were established, and at the one held +March 12th, 1838, James Ash, David Worthington, Francis Metcalf and +Hiram Johnson received Exhorter's license. The first named became +subsequently a member of the Conference, traveled several years +acceptably, was greatly beloved by all his brethren, and finally died +within the bounds of New Berlin Circuit. Brother Worthington was a clerk +in Solomon Juneau's store. In 1840 he entered the Conference, was +stationed at Burlington and was returned the following year. In 1842 he +was stationed at Davenport, Iowa, and thereafter his fields of labor +fell within that State. He held an honored place among his brethren, +represented them in the General Conference, and a few years since closed +a useful life and passed to his home on high. + +The other brethren became Local Preachers, and the former departed this +life in Christian triumph at Appleton, Nov. 3, 1863, while the latter +has become a successful business man, and is awaiting his summons. Thus +the infant society of Milwaukee need not blush for her first +contribution to the Ministerial staff of the church. + +In 1838 Rev. Wellington Weigly was appointed, but as the great financial +disaster had prostrated the business of the country, leaving the people +in poverty, he only remained a short time, and the pulpit was largely +left to the care of Brother Thompson, the Local Preacher. In 1839 Rev. +Julius Field was appointed to the District, and the charge was left to +be supplied. + +Brother Field entered the New York Conference in 1821, and before coming +west had filled leading appointments, including New York city. He was +transferred this year to the Illinois Conference, and assigned to the +District. He remained two years, and was then appointed General Agent of +the Bible Society for Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. He served +in this field four years, was then stationed, in 1845, at Racine, but at +the close of the year was re-transferred to his old Conference, where he +continued to render effective service, with but brief intervals, up to +1871. Having now completed a half century of labor, he was invited by +his Conference to deliver a semi-centennial sermon. Having taken a +superannuated relation, Brother Field, happy in spirit, is spending the +evening of life among his friends, and awaiting the call of the Master. + +The pastorate of Milwaukee was soon filled by Rev. Daniel Brayton, a +superannuated member of the Troy Conference. It was now determined to +build a Church. Hon. Morgan L. Martin came forward and generously +donated a lot, situated on the east side of Broadway, and between Biddle +and Oneida Streets, but the financial derangement still continuing, it +was not deemed advisable to undertake the erection of the building. + +At the General Conference of 1840, the Illinois Conference was divided +and the Rock River took its northern territory. Rev. John Crummer was +this year appointed to Milwaukee. As the carpenter's shop could no +longer be had as a chapel, the meetings passed from one private house to +another for a time. But this state of things could not long continue. +The erection of a Church was decided upon, and before the close of the +year the edifice was completed. It was dedicated by Rev. Julius Field in +May, 1841. The building remains at this writing, on the same lot, but +placed with the side to the street, it has been fitted up for +residences. + +At the session of the Rock River Conference in 1841, the Milwaukee +District was discontinued, and the city was placed on the Chicago +District. Rev. John T. Mitchell was appointed to the District, and Rev. +Sias Bolles to the station. + +Brother Mitchell was one of Nature's noblemen. Tall and erect in form, +high and broad forehead, symmetrical and shapely cut features, dark and +lustrous eyes, his bearing was princely. Such was Brother Mitchell in +the years of his strength. He was second to no man in his Conference or +State as a pulpit orator. In 1844 he was elected Assistant Book Agent, +Cincinnati, where he served the church with distinguished ability. After +leaving this position he re-entered the regular work in the Cincinnati +Conference, from the ranks of which he passed on, several years ago, to +the companionship of the white-robed in Heaven. + +Brother Bolles, on coming to the city, first proceeded to liquidate the +indebtedness of two hundred dollars on the Church, and then entered upon +a protracted meeting, which resulted in an extensive revival. Among +those converted was a German Catholic boy, of whom the following +incident is related: The first night he attended the meeting, Brother +Bolles preached on the duty of Christians to let their light shine. +Taking the instruction of the Preacher in its most literal sense, the +young man greatly surprised the good people on the following evening by +stalking into church bearing a well-lighted lantern. On enquiring of the +young man the reason for so strange a procedure, he answered: "Why, the +Priest said I must let my light shine, and so I have brought it with +me." The Preacher carefully explained his sermon, bringing it down to +the capacity of his auditor, and had the pleasure to see him thoroughly +converted. Many years after, Brother Bolles was happily surprised to +meet his convert, who had grown into a Christian gentleman of exalted +position in society. + +In 1842, Rev. Wm. H. Sampson was sent to Milwaukee, of whom a record is +made elsewhere. The following year Rev. James Mitchell was appointed, +and it was decided to enter upon a new Church enterprise. A lot was +purchased July 3d, 1844, of John Clifford, on the northwest corner of +West Water and Spring Streets. + +At the time of the purchase the location was considered by not a few to +be unfortunate, as the population at that period on the west side was +quite limited, and it was even hinted that a leading member of the Board +of Trustees had unduly influenced the selection in order to enhance the +value of certain property in the vicinity. But whatever may have been +the complications of the case at the beginning, certain it is that it +was found in due time to be a very excellent location. The building, +forty-five by ninety feet in size, was commenced soon after, and carried +forward as rapidly as possible to completion. + +It was a brick structure, trimmed with stone. Standing with its front to +West Water, the side was turned to Spring Street. On the first floor +there were four stores fronting Spring Street, and having cellars in the +basement beneath them. The auditorium was on the second floor above the +pavement and was reached by a broad flight of steps in the front of the +edifice. Between the outside entrance and the auditorium there was a +vestibule with a class room on either side, and above it a commodious +gallery. The auditorium was finished in a neat yet plain manner, and +furnished sittings for about six hundred people. The whole structure +cost upwards of ten thousand dollars. To defray the current expenses and +erect such an edifice taxed the good people to the utmost limit of their +resources, besides imposing on them a heavy indebtedness. But there was +no lack of courage, and the good work went forward. + +In 1844 the Milwaukee District was again revived and Rev. James Mitchell +was assigned to it, and Rev. F.A. Savage was sent to the station. In +1845 the station was left to be supplied, and Rev. Abram Hanson was +called to fill the pastorate. Finding it difficult to rent a house, +Brother Hanson procured a boarding place for himself and good lady with +Mr. Lindsay Ward, where he spent the year and founded an abiding +friendship. He was a man of superior pulpit ability and engaging +manners. The congregation filled the new Church edifice, and many +valuable accessions were made to the membership. + +Brother Hanson after leaving Milwaukee filled several important charges, +and then retired from the work. For several years he served as the +representative of our national government at Liberia, where he fell +under the fatal malaria of the African coast, and passed on to the +better country. + +The next session of the Conference was held Aug. 12, 1846. At this +Conference Rev. S.H. Stocking was continued on the District, and Rev. +W.M.D. Ryan was appointed to the station. Mr. Ryan entered the Ohio +Conference in 1839, and came by transfer to the Rock River Conference in +1844. After spending two years in Chicago, where he had wrought a good +work for the Master, he was sent to this charge. + +The fame of the Preacher had preceded him, and he was greeted by immense +congregations. His ministry formed an epoch in the history of the +church. He brought the same earnest manner, the same fiery eloquence, +and the same shrewd business tact that had characterized his labors in +Chicago and elsewhere, and which have since placed him in the front rank +of successful laborers in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the Metropolis of +the nation. The stores in the Church edifice were rented or sold for a +term of years to liquidate the indebtedness of the society, and the +church was placed on a substantial financial basis. But Mr. Ryan could +hardly feel at home among his new associates, and in this new field of +labor. His earlier associations were formed in a more southern latitude. +The Puritan type of society that, traveling westward on a line from New +England, had struck Milwaukee, was not congenial to his tastes and not +wholly in harmony with his methods of ministerial labor. At the end of +nine months he was invited to a pastorate in the city of Baltimore, and +he deemed it advisable to accept the invitation. His place in Milwaukee +was filled by Rev. Francis M. Mills, who came, by exchange with Mr. +Ryan, from the charge in Baltimore to which the latter had been invited. +Mr. Mills filled out the balance of the year. + +Among the accessions to the charge this year was Hon. John H. Van Dyke. +Soon after his arrival, though a young man, he became an official +member, and has continued to hold positions of trust to the present +writing. A man of thorough mental training, sound judgment, and +unswerving integrity, he cannot fail to command the respect and esteem +of all. His legal abilities have specially fitted him for the Presidency +of the Board of Trustees, the position he has long held, while his +superior business sagacity has been of great service to the church in +guiding her through the extraordinary trials she has been called to +endure. Nor has he proved less valuable financially. Being possessed of +large means, he is generous towards the Church and the benevolent +enterprises of the city. + +In 1847 Rev. Elihu Springer was appointed to the District, and Rev. +Francis M. Mills was returned to the station. Brother Mills was an able +preacher, but in his style of delivery was almost the reverse of his +predecessor. He was a noble representative of Baltimore Methodism, but +his health suffered from the bleak winds of the Lake, and at the close +of his term he was compelled to seek a milder atmosphere. + +The following two years Rev. James E. Wilson was stationed at Milwaukee. + +Brother Wilson came to the Conference from the Protestant Methodist +Church, in which he had held a prominent position both as a Preacher and +Secretary of the Conference. He was a man of genial spirit, affable +manners, and commanding eloquence. His sermons were well prepared, and +especially in given passages, were delivered with an unction and pathos +that could not fail to produce an abiding impression. The great +concourse of people who waited upon his ministry attested how highly he +was appreciated by those who were permitted to listen to his weekly +ministrations. A revival occurred during the winter, and at the close of +the year he was able to report one hundred and sixty-four members and +thirty-nine probationers. + +During the pastorate of Brother Wilson an unhappy controversy arose +between the managers of the Sunday School and the leaders of the social +means of grace with reference to the hours of meeting. The Official +Board decided in favor of the School, and an alienation of feeling was +the result. A few of the disaffected withdrew, organized a Wesleyan +Church, and called Rev. Mr. McKee as their Pastor. Though an unpleasant +affair, the old church moved on as usual. + +But as another charge was now growing up in the southern part of the +city, it is proper that I should refer to it before closing +this chapter. + +In the fall of 1847 Osmond Bailey and a few others became specially +interested in establishing regular religious services at Walker's +Point. Soon after a class was formed consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Osmond +Bailey, Mrs. Capt. Stewart, Mrs. Warren. Mrs. Almena Waite, Mrs. Worden, +Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Waite and M.S. Velie. + +At the Conference of 1848, the small society was erected into a Mission +with Rev. Warner Oliver as Pastor. The Meetings were held in a school +house, located on lots eleven and twelve, in block one hundred and one. + +Brother Oliver was a man of fine talent, but was compelled to give a +portion of his time to business, through the financial feebleness of +the charge. + +In 1849 Rev. William Willard was appointed to the charge. It will be +remembered that this good brother was a member of the class formed at +Burnett in 1845. He entered the Conference in 1847, and had been +stationed two years at Aztalan. He was an earnest laborer, and under his +administration the work was encouragingly prosperous. The congregations +were growing and the people were beginning to agitate the measure of +building a Church. + +After leaving Walker's Point, Brother Willard remained in the regular +work, with a few brief intervals, for many years, doing efficient +service for the Master. At this writing he is in Nebraska, using such +openings as may offer to help forward the good work. + +Hiving thus briefly sketched the beginnings and progress of the good +work in the city up to the time of my appointment, I will defer the +balance of the record for the next chapter. + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +Spring Street, Milwaukee--First Sabbath--Promising Outlook--The Deep +Shadow--Rev. Elihu Springer--Rev. I.M. Leihy--Revival--Missionary +Meetings--Dedication at Sheboygan--Ravages of the Cholera--Death-bed +Scenes--The Riot--Bishop Waugh--Camp Meeting--Scandinavian Work--Rev. +C. Willerup. + +The Spring Street Station had now attained the reputation of being the +first charge in the Conference. The Church edifice, as we have seen, was +decidedly respectable, both in size and character. The membership was +enterprising, and full of the spirit of labor. In its official Board +were found L.S. Kellogg, G.F. Austin, John H. Van Dyke, Geo. E.H. Day, +James Seville, J.C. Henderson, W.W. Lake, Wm. Rowbotham, George +Southwell, Wm. R. Jones, Wm. L. Boughton, John Kneene, Wm. Cossentine, +C.F. Larigo and Charles Randall. And during the year John Kemp, +Cornelius Morse, Mitchell Steever, C.C. Chamberlin and Henry Seiler +were added. + +My salary was fixed on the basis of the old Disciplinary allowance: +Quarterage, $216; Table Expenses, $200; House Rent, $125; Traveling +Expenses, $5; making a total of $546. This amount would be considered a +small allowance at the present time, but at that early day it was +believed to be a generous provision for a family of three persons. + +My first Sabbath, always a trial day to the Preachers as well as the +people, passed without any special disaster. Perhaps it was owing in +part to the presence of the Presiding Elder, who sat at my back. +Whatever he or the people may have thought, I certainly felt that I was +a mere stripling going out with nothing in my hand but a sling and a +pebble. Nor did it relieve my embarrassment when I saw the great +congregation, and remembered that they had enjoyed for two years the +ministry of the most eloquent man in the Conference. + +It is said that a minister ought always to be ready to preach or to die. +I think, on that occasion, if I had been permitted to choose between +them, I would have accepted the latter. As it was, I very nearly did +both. And that I really did neither, I have always considered a special +intervention of Providence. On the part of the people there was +evidently a suspension of judgment. They were doubtless puzzled by my +contradictory appearances. In form I was slight and fragile, not +weighing more than one hundred and thirty pounds, but in my face, though +only twenty-eight years of age, I bore the appearance of being ten +years older. + +At the close of the service a large number of people remained and gave +the new Minister a hearty greeting. It was timely, giving me to realize +I was not quite gone to the land of shadows. + +I was informed afterwards that one good brother went home from the +service and told his wife, who had not been present, that he had shaken +hands with the new Minister and his daughter. "No, father," said the +daughter, "that lady was not the Minister's daughter, but his wife." +"Well," replied the father, "she must be his second wife, for she looks +young enough to be his daughter." Whether this opinion should be +interpreted as complimentary to the Minister or his wife, I was never +fully able to decide. + +Having passed the crisis, the first Sabbath, and survived the following +week, I now began to adjust myself to my work. I was happy to find that +the good people were strongly attached to Prayer and Class-Meetings. +This gave an assurance that there were at least some efficient laborers +in the Church, who could be relied on if we should find ourselves in a +revival. I also found that the people could endure a large amount of +pastoral visiting. These discoveries were enough for a start, and I +entered upon the work without delay. + +About this time I was called to attend a funeral in one of the families +that had gone out from the church the previous year, and were now +members of the Wesleyan organization. The next Sabbath morning this +family and several others were in my congregation. In the opening prayer +I made the poor slave a special subject, as I often did. At the close of +the service, the head of one of the families came forward and stated +that Mr. McKee, the Pastor of the Wesleyan Church, had gone to the +Conference, and hence they were without services for a few Sabbaths. But +as for his part, he did not care if he never came back, for I was +abolitionist enough for him. + +In a few weeks Rev. T. Orbison was sent to the city, in the place of Mr. +McKee. After the first Sabbath, he called on me and said that he found +his people quite disposed to return to the old Church, and that in +consequence, he had dispensed with his services the previous evening, +and attended our Church with them. He was now inclined to advise them to +return, as he saw no occasion for two organizations. The leading members +having previously decided to return, the balance now joined them in the +movement, while those who had been gathered from other organizations, +returned to their respective homes. + +Brother Orbison, in coming to this country from Ireland, fell among the +Wesleyans on his arrival, and became identified with them, supposing +they were the same body he had left at home. On learning his mistake, he +now came over to us, and for many years was a worthy member of the +Wisconsin Conference. After doing faithful service for many years, and +winning the esteem of all, he laid aside the armor and took up the +everlasting crown of rejoicing. + +The work of the year was now well begun. The house was filled with +people, the finances were in excellent condition, and everything +indicated a year of special success, But how strangely light and shadow, +hopes and fears, rejoicing and mourning commingle in this life! While we +were thus full of hope, and even exultant over the indications of a +prosperous year, little did we imagine that we were then on the +threshold of a deep affliction, arising from the sudden death of our +Presiding Elder. + +Brother Springer left the city to hold his Quarterly Meetings at +Watertown and Oconomowoc, the writer accompanying him to the city +limits. On the 21st of August he closed his Quarterly Meeting services +at Watertown, took dinner at the Parsonage with the Pastor, Rev. David +Brooks, and then rode on to Oconomowoc. He stopped for the night with +Brother Worthington, ate sparingly, and retired at the usual time. At +three o'clock in the morning he was seized by the cholera. The attack, +severe at first, soon became alarming. Medical aid was called, but +without avail. He lingered until six o'clock P.M., and passed away in +great peace. His family were sent for, but failed to reach him before +his departure. The Funeral Sermon was preached in the Spring Street +Church by the writer, from Second Timothy, 4. 6-8. + +Brother Springer was received on trial by the Illinois Annual Conference +in September, 1833. His appointments before coming to Milwaukee +District had been, Carlinville, Iroquois, Oplaine, Saminoc, Bristol, +Lockport, Joliet, St. Charles, Mineral Point and Hazel Green. + +Brother Springer was a man of commanding presence. In form erect, full +and athletic, with a broad, high forehead, and an intellectual face. The +whole cast of the man indicated strength. He was a sound theologian, an +able Preacher and a wise and vigilant administrator. He was emphatically +a true man, and, as a Presiding Elder, very popular. The loss of such a +man, at forty years of age, was a great disaster to the Conference. + +Soon after the death of Brother Springer, Rev. I.M. Leihy was appointed +as his successor on the District. Brother Leihy entered the Conference +in 1843, and before coming to the District, had been stationed at Hazel +Green, Elizabeth, Mineral Point, Platteville, Southport, and Beloit He +was a man of marked ability both as a Preacher and administrator. His +leading endowment was strength, and on some chosen subject, a subject to +which he had given special attention, his preaching was overwhelming. He +was a man of immense will force, and not a whit behind the chief of his +brethren in his devotion to the Master's cause. Neither storms nor other +impediments deterred him from his work. With a face set as a flint +against every obstacle in his path of duty, he drove straight on to +fulfil the convictions of his dauntless spirit. By some he was thought +to be severe, and not a little exacting, but those who knew him best +were tolerant of his idiosyncrasies, and were prepared to assign him a +chief place among his brethren. After completing his term on the +District, he filled several important appointments, but finally located +and removed to California, where at the present writing, as for several +years past, he is again engaged in the regular work. + +During the fall and early winter there was manifest a growing spiritual +interest among the people, which culminated ultimately in an extensive +revival of religion. The protracted meeting continued five weeks, and +resulted in the conversion of seventy-five souls. + +The plan of holding Platform Missionary Meetings was continued during +this year, and largely increased the contributions of the people. While +on my way in company with Brother Leihy, to attend such a meeting at +Port Washington, I formed the acquaintance of Brother Jesse Hubbard and +his good lady at Mequon, where we halted for dinner. For many years this +residence was the home of Itinerant Preachers and the nucleus of +Christian society in that region. + +The dedication of the German Methodist Church at Sheboygan occurred in +April of this year. I went down to perform the service in a steamer, but +when ready to return, the waves were running too high for the boat to +make the pier. The mishap left my Pulpit without a supply for the +Sabbath, an event which seldom transpired, but gave me an opportunity to +make the acquaintance of our people in that part of the Conference, and +the pleasure of preaching twice at Sheboygan and once at +Sheboygan Falls. + +During the summer of 1851 the cholera raged in Milwaukee in a most +appalling manner. The whole city was a hospital. For several days +together it was claimed there were fifty deaths per day. Though +earnestly entreated to leave the city, as many others had done, I +declined, feeling that my life was no more precious than the lives of +others. Besides, it seemed to me, if there is ever a time when a people +need the aid of their Pastor, it is when they are in peril and +affliction. When at the height of its ravages, I repeatedly attended +six funerals a day, and visited a dozen sick persons. The very men whom +I met at a funeral one day, I would bury the next. Mingling thus daily +with the sick and dying, I could not well escape myself. I suffered two +attacks during the season, but through great mercy, the lives both of +myself and family were spared. + +During this terrible visitation I had frequent opportunities to test the +value of the Christian religion. So marked was the difference between +the death-bed scenes of Christians and the unconverted that even +Infidels themselves could not refrain from referring to it. As if to +teach the people this great lesson, there were a few instances of +triumphant deaths, and a few of the opposite class. One good sister, as +she was gliding across the stream, enquired, "Is this Jordan?" She was +told it was. "How calm and placid are its waters," she added. "I +expected to find the billows running high, but, glory to Jesus! there is +not a ripple upon all the stream." + +Unlike this scene was the death of a young man who had sent for me in +great haste. On entering the room, I recognized him as a young man whom +I had repeatedly urged, during our meeting of the previous winter, to +give himself to the Saviour. He was now in the throes of dissolution and +I could hardly hope to reach him. Wild with frenzy, he seemed to pray +and curse with the same breath. As a momentary interval occurred between +the paroxysms, I sought to arrest his attention and divert his thought +to Christ. He turned his piercing eyes on me and said, "Oh! it is too +late. Last winter, if I had yielded to your kind admonitions, all would +now be well, but it is too late, too late." Another paroxysm seized him, +and he was lost to all consciousness, and soon ceased to breathe. + +Another event occurred this year of which mention should be made in +this connection. It is the notorious riot. I quote from "Milwaukee +Methodism." "Rev. Mr. Leahy, a minister in the Protestant Methodist +Church, after visiting several of the principal cities of the Union, +came to Milwaukee. Having spent many years in a monastery, and having +become convinced of his error, he now sought to enlighten the people on +the subject of the confessional. He proposed, in coming to the city, to +give a course of lectures in a public hall during the ensuing week. On +the intervening Sabbath he was invited to occupy several of the Pulpits +of the city. He had already filled one in the morning, another in the +afternoon, and then came to the Spring Street Church in the evening. The +house was filled as usual. He opened the services in the regular order, +took his text and began the delivery of his sermon. Immediately a crowd +of strange men began to press in at the door and push along up the +center aisle. At a given signal, a rush was made towards the Pulpit. +Comprehending the situation in an instant, the Pastor, from his position +in the Pulpit, ordered them back, and at the same time directed the men +nearest the aisle and altar to intercept their advance. A stone was +hurled at the Pastor's head, but it missed its mark and crashed against +the wall in the rear of the Pulpit. But L.S. Kellogg, L.L. Lee and +others stood firmly in the aisle and dealt some vigorous blows in +response to the clubs and other missiles with which they were being +severely bruised. At this moment Dr. Waldo W. Lake, who was sitting in +the altar, drew a revolver which he on leaving home had put in his +pocket, expecting after service to visit a patient in an exposed part of +the city, and instantly the rioters fell back and retreated through the +entrance to the street. During the conflict the audience room was a +wild scene of confusion. The ladies became greatly alarmed, and required +the attention of a large number of gentlemen in making their escape from +the building. The door being thronged with the rioters, the principal +egress was found to be the windows next to the street, and these were +elevated a full story above the pavement. Ladders, wagons, and other +impromptu scaffolding were provided, and large numbers of ladies were +rescued in this way, while others were crowded against the sides of the +room until the rioters had withdrawn. After quiet had been restored +measures were taken to convey the speaker safely to his lodgings at the +hotel. But a good number of revolvers, carried by a posse of earnest +men, were a sufficient protection against all evil-minded persons that +thronged the streets on the way." + +The city was rocked with excitement. Early next morning a meeting was +held in the Church edifice that had thus been made the scene of a +riotous assault. The populace interpreted the affair rightly. It was not +so much an attack upon a Protestant Church as an assault against the +freedom of speech, one of the most sacred rights of the people. After +expressing suitable indignation against the actors and abettors of the +riot, and resolving to protect the freedom of speech so long as it +should not offend against public morals, the meeting appointed a +committee to wait on Mr. Leahy, and, on behalf of the community, +guarantee him protection in his rights. Under this protection a lecture +was given in the Free Congregational Church, and another on the public +square, when, all danger of assault having disappeared, he was permitted +to go on his way. + +The only persons seriously hurt were L.L. Lee and L.S. Kellogg. The +first was compelled to carry a hand in a sling for a long time, and the +latter was considerably injured by a blow from a club on the head. The +blood ran freely, but he was able to attend the Law and Order Meeting +the following morning. His speech on the occasion became a watchword +among the people. He said in a very resolute manner, "Our Fathers fought +for freedom, both civil and religious, and if we have got to fight the +battle over again I am ready, and I am willing that my blood should be +the first to flow." The city appropriated one hundred and fifty dollars +to repair the damages done to the Church edifice. + +Bishop Waugh made us a visit near the close of the year. He was on his +way to the Conference to be held at Waukesha, and went with us to the +Camp-Meeting at Brookfield. Spring Street Station made no inconsiderable +part of the Meeting. She pitched a tent that would accommodate one +hundred and fifty persons, and it was well filled from the beginning to +the end of the Meeting. It was a Meeting of great power. None who heard +the exhortations of the good Bishop at the close of his Sunday morning +sermon can ever forget it. After holding the vast congregation +spell-bound for more than an hour in the delivery of the sermon, the old +man, with locks as white as the driven snow, came down from the stand, +and, standing on a seat in the Altar, began to invite mourners. The +motives of the Gospel were presented one after another, the tide of +feeling rising, until the Bishop was master of the occasion, and seemed +to sway the people at his pleasure. The Bishop's voice grew grandly +eloquent as his great soul rose to the level of the effort, and before +it and its burden of truth, the people began to bend, then brake, and +finally flew to the Altar. Nor did the exhortation cease until the Altar +was literally crowded with seeking penitents. + +The Scandinavian work was this year opened in Wisconsin. To further +this object the Missionary Management at New York sent forward Rev. C. +Willerup, placing him at the beginning under my care. On reaching the +city he found the population using the Scandinavian language too small +to organize the work, and we deemed it advisable to explore the +interior. To do this he must have an Itinerant's outfit, consisting at +least of horse and saddle-bags. While he was employed in settling his +family in a rented house, I visited the market and purchased a horse for +him and the other necessary articles, using my own funds until drafts +should be received from the Missionary Treasury. The desired location +for the first Mission was found at Cambridge, where Brother Willerup +organized a Society and subsequently erected a Church edifice. From this +small beginning has since grown a family of charges and a line of able +Ministers, constituting a Presiding Elder's District. + +The Conference year had now come to a close. Many changes had occurred +in Spring Street Station. In consequence of the cholera, and the +consequent stagnation of business, large numbers of the people went into +the country. But notwithstanding this depletion, such had been the +number of accessions, one hundred and seven in all, that I was able to +report one hundred and fifty-seven members and sixty-three probationers, +making a total of two hundred and twenty. + +The financial plan, adopted at the beginning of the year, that of +collecting the funds in the classes, had proved a success. At the close +of the year, the Pastor was fully paid, and the Society was out of debt. + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Conference of 1851.--Presiding Elder.--Presentation.--Give and +Take.--Fond du Lac District--Quarterly Meeting--Rev. J.S. +Prescott.--Footman vs. Buggies--Fond du Lac.--Two Churches.--Greenbush +Quarterly Meeting--Rev. David Lewis--Pioneer Self-Sacrifice.--Finds a +Help-Meet.--Sheboygan Falls.--Rev. Matthias Himebaugh.--Oshkosh--First +Class.--Church Enterprises. + +The Conference for 1851 was held June 25th, at Waukesha. The Sessions +were deeply spiritual, and were characterized by general harmony among +the preachers. At this Conference the Committee on Periodicals, of which +I was a member, reported in favor of the establishment of a North +Western Christian Advocate, and the report was unanimously adopted. + +In the arrangement of appointments I was assigned to the Fond du Lac +District. The appointment was a great surprise to myself, and doubtless +to others. Besides, it was not in harmony with my judgment or wishes. It +seemed to me to be an unwise measure to take so young a man, only +twenty-nine, from the companionship of books and the details of the +Pastoral office, and place him on a District where both of the +Departments of labor, so essential to success in the Ministry, must +necessarily be abridged. And in the next place, it appeared to me that, +since there were so many other men in the Conference, who were better +qualified than I for the position, my appointment was but doing violence +to the work. But I soon came to the conclusion that when an appointment +has been made there is no further need to debate the question. In such a +case, the sooner both the Ministers and people adjust their views to +the new order of things, the better for all concerned. Accepting this +view, I hastened to conform to the situation with as good grace as +possible. And to aid me perhaps a little, several of the preachers +surprised me by the presentation of a cane. + +I had heard it remarked that when a man used a cane, it was an evidence +that he had a weak place somewhere between the crown of the head and the +sole of the foot. I was now puzzled to know what the cane meant. There +was doubtless a weak spot somewhere, in the opinion of the brethren. It +must of course be either in the District or the incumbent. But my query +as to which was soon answered. Dr. Bowman, my father-in-law, was +traveling soon after in company with a good brother, when the +conversation turned upon the appointments of the recent Conference. It +had not proceeded far when the brother remarked, in referring to my +appointment, "The Conference must have been hard up for material when it +appointed that young stripling Presiding Elder." The mystery of the cane +was now explained. The good brethren of the Conference doubtless thought +the matter could be helped out by the use of a cane. + +But a sharper joke than that was passed upon the people of Fond du Lac. +Only six years before they had given me license to preach, and sent me +to the Conference, and now, in sending me back so soon, the Conference +seemed to say, "Brethren, we return you as good as you gave." I have +heard it said that sometimes Quarterly Conferences grant licenses with +the implied understanding that the recipients are not expected to serve +the home Church, but are good enough to preach to less highly favored +people abroad. If this course had been adopted by these Fond du Lac +brethren as their policy, certainly it was a cruel joke to return the +labor of their hands on such short notice. + +But fortunately I was not supposed to know anything about this matter, +and hence, on the principle that "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly +to be wise," I had nothing to do but to gather up my family and hasten +to my new field of labor. + +Fond du Lac District at this time embraced that portion of the State +lying North and East of the city of Fond du Lac, and included thirteen +charges. A few of the charges could be reached by steamers on the Fox +and Wolf Rivers and Lake Winnebago, but the balance could only be +visited by the stage or private conveyance. I chose to adopt the latter. +Having provided board for my wife and child with Rev. M.L. Noble, and +secured a horse and buggy, I was ready to enter upon my work. + +The First Quarterly Meeting was held at Fond du Lac. The Church edifice +was unfinished, and the celebrated school house having been burned, as +stated in a former chapter, the Meeting was held in the Court House. At +that time the building, though now so dingy, was new, and aspired to be +the most respectable edifice in the village. To prepare the Court House +especially for the Quarterly Meeting, the floors were newly carpeted +with sawdust, even then a famous product of the village, and the seats +well broomed. The place was crowded with people, and the occasion one of +rare interest. The Gospel was dispensed from the "Seat of Justice," the +Sacrament was administered within the "Bar," now vacated by the lawyers, +and the people knelt outside to receive the sacred emblems. Several of +the Members present had attended the Quarterly Meeting in the school +house six years before, and among them were a few who had known me from +my boyhood. It afforded me great pleasure to meet them and receive +their friendly greetings. + +Rev. J.S. Prescott, the Pastor at Fond du Lac, had been bred to the +legal profession in the State of Ohio. He came to Wisconsin as a Local +Preacher, and joined the Conference in 1846. He had been stationed at +Sheboygan, Waupun, and Green Bay. He was a man of sharp, decisive +movements, sometimes angular in his opinions and measures, but full of +energy and not afraid of hard work. He kept no horse, even when on the +largest circuits, as he could not afford to wait for so laggard a +conveyance. In this particular he became notorious, and marvelous +stories are related of his pedestrian abilities. It is affirmed that, on +one occasion, in going to the Conference, he walked from Waupun to +Platteville, and reached his destination in advance of the long line of +ministerial buggies that were headed in that direction. Carrying the +same energy into every Department of his work, he always left his +"footprint" behind him. But his most devoted friends would sometimes +question the wisdom of his measures. Even in the small village of Fond +du Lac, he had now two churches in process of erection. But such was his +skill in raising funds at home and abroad that one of them was dedicated +by Bishop Ames at the close of the year and the other by the writer in +the year following. + +Subsequently he served for several years as Agent of Lawrence +University, and then entered upon the project of founding an Institution +of learning at Point Bluff. The selection of a location, however, was +unfortunate, and his expectations were only partially realized. After +this disaster he addressed himself to business pursuits. + +The Fond du Lac charge had now gained an influential position in the +Conference. Among her membership she had several leading business men. +And in addition, this place had now become the home of Rev. H.R. Colman +and Rev. M.L. Noble, the last two Pastors of the charge. + +My next Meeting was held on Greenbush Circuit. This charge was midway +between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, and had been established only two +years. Its Eastern portion had been opened from Sheboygan, and its +Western from Fond du Lac. It had neither Church nor Parsonage, and the +Minister lived in a shanty. + +The Quarterly Meeting was held in Mr. Tunis Burhite's barn, about nine +miles east of Fond du Lac. I found the Pastor, Rev. David Lewis, at his +post. As was his wont, he had made every needed preparation, and had +brought out nearly the entire strength of his charge. The barn was +filled with people, and the neighborhood taxed to its utmost to +entertain the visitors. Nor was it surprising that, with such a +preparation, the Meeting was an occasion of rare interest. For months +and even years after, it was referred to with great satisfaction. At the +time the opinions of people were found to differ. One good sister said +in my hearing, "I think it is better to have old men like Elder Wilcox +for Presiding Elders, rather than such young men, because they can keep +a meeting steady and not let the people get so excited." But at the +close of the services a veteran Local Preacher said, "The old Elder gave +us a straight talk this morning." Both remarks were suggestive, and I +resolved to bear myself with becoming dignity. + +Brother Lewis entered the Rock River Conference August 24th, 1842, and +was sent as Junior Preacher to Indian Creek, Ill., a four weeks' +circuit, the labor of which greatly taxed his strength. His next +appointment was Manitowoc, the charge extending from Port Washington to +Two Rivers, and requiring one hundred and fifty miles of travel to each +round of appointments. Through these dense forests, as I have had +occasion to remark in a former chapter, the roads were almost +impassable, with long distances intervening between residences, and +involving great fatigue and exposure. Like the good Brother Frink, who +preceded him in this field, he was compelled to swim rivers, suffer +hunger and endure fatigue, that would appall a man of less nerve. During +the winter his horse became disabled and he made the entire round on +foot, carrying his provisions in a knapsack. Such were the trials and +exposures of the pioneers who planted the standard of the Cross in the +"Sheboygan Woods," as this region was called. They were indeed +heroic men. + +There were a few scattered sheep in the wilderness, and these were +gathered into the fold. At Manitowoc, Brother Lewis formed a class. + +In 1844 Brother Lewis was sent to Pewaukee, where he had eleven +appointments. Though at the beginning of the year there was no class on +the charge, at its close Brother Lewis, was able to report sixty-five +members. It was during this year that our sturdy pioneer took to himself +a worthy helpmeet, in the person of Miss Adelia Morley, who, as an +inmate of the Presiding Elder's family, spread the table for the +writer's first meal as an Itinerant. Brother Lewis was next appointed +successively to Root River, Kankakee, and Brothertown, in which charges +he enjoyed his usual share of hard work and spiritual prosperity. + +In 1849 he was appointed to Sheboygan Falls. The circuit was very large, +taking the entire tract of country between the Lake and Fond du Lac, +but the year was one of marked success. Finding the Parsonage under a +mortgage that imperiled the safety of the property, Brother Lewis +stepped forward and offered his horse, saddle, and a dollar and a half, +all the money he had, in liquidation of the indebtedness. They were +accepted, and as a result, the dear brother traveled his circuits on +foot for two years before he was able to procure another horse. Such is +the sterling material out of which the early Itinerants were made. With +such men in the field, it is not a matter of surprise that, under the +Divine blessing, the "Wilderness and solitary place" were made +to rejoice. + +At the close of his labors on this circuit, Brother Lewis was again sent +to Manitowoc for one year, when, the Greenbush charge having been +created, principally out of the west part of his former work, he was +appointed to it, as before stated. After leaving Greenbush he was +stationed at West Bend, Columbus and Fall River, Oneida Indian Mission, +New London, Markesan, Caldwell's Prairie, and New Berlin. At the +Janesville Conference in 1870, Brother Lewis, having served the church +nearly thirty years with great devotion, took a superannuated relation. +At this writing he is residing in Fond du Lac, maintains a happy frame +of mind, and is still doing what he can for the cause. He certainly +deserves well of his Conference. + +Sheboygan Mission, the next point visited, appears on the Minutes, as +stated in a former chapter, in 1837, with Rev. H.W. Frink as Pastor. +During this year Brother Frink formed a class at Sheboygan, consisting +of the following members: Mr. and Mrs. Morris Farmin, Uriel Farmin, +Benjamin Farmin, Mr. and Mrs. Elder Farmin, and Mr. and Mrs. McCreedy. + +At the close of this year Sheboygan disappears from the list of +appointments, but in 1843 the Manitowoc mission appears with Rev. D. +Lewis as Pastor, and Sheboygan, it will be recollected, is named as one +of the appointments. In 1845, however, the name re-appears, and Rev. +Joseph T. Lewis was sent to the charge. From this time until 1849 the +strength of the circuit consisted largely in the outlying appointments. +But at this date Sheboygan Falls was erected into a separate charge, +taking from Sheboygan its several interior appointments. + +Rev. Daniel Stansbury, the Pastor, had commenced his labors in 1849, and +was now on his second year. The Membership numbered only thirty-three, +but Brother Stansbury had achieved a great work in the erection of a +large and convenient Church edifice. I had visited the village the +preceding year, as before stated, to dedicate the German Church, and had +formed a very agreeable acquaintance with this truly noble man and his +most estimable family. + +Brother Stansbury was from Baltimore, and brought with him to Wisconsin +a goodly portion of the warm and cheerful type of Baltimore Methodism. +He was received on trial by the Wisconsin Conference in 1849, and hence +Sheboygan was his first appointment. His subsequent appointments were +Janesville, Union, Portage City, Beaver Dam, Berlin and Janesville +District. In July of his second year on the District, and while +preaching at his Quarterly Meeting on Cambridge circuit, he was stricken +down by paralysis. He was taken to his home in Janesville, where he +lingered in extreme feebleness until Oct. 28, when he died in +great peace. + +Brother Stansbury was a man of warm impulses, practical mind, and +abundant labors. In the protracted meeting, his rare gifts of prayer +and exhortation, made his labors a grand success, and, in the bright +world beyond, it will be found that his comparatively short ministry +gathered a large harvest of souls. + +I next visited Sheboygan Falls. The charge first appears on the Minutes +in 1849, it having been created out of the interior portions of the +Sheboygan circuit. Its first Pastor, as we have seen, was Rev. David +Lewis. In 1850, the following year, Rev. Matthias Himebaugh was +appointed to the work. At this time the field embraced fifteen +appointments, and required the travel of two hundred miles each month. +Like his predecessors, Revs. J.S. Prescott and D. Lewis, Brother +Himebaugh traveled this circuit on foot. The Society in the village +consisted of thirteen members, and included the names of Mr. and Mrs. L. +Cheeseman, Mr. and Mrs. Parrish, Mr. and Mrs. Goodell, Mr. and Mrs. +Sully, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, Mr. and Mrs. Waite, and others. + +The public meetings were held in a school house outside of the village, +and the prayer meetings in private houses. A lot had been purchased for +a Church and Parsonage, and the latter had been partly built. On the +arrival of Brother Himebaugh a hall was obtained in the village for the +meetings, and soon after he commenced a subscription for a Church. + +A revival occurred during the winter, and there were a goodly number of +accessions, but they did not bring very much financial strength. The +Society, though small and in moderate circumstances, were very +enterprising and generous in their effort to erect a Church, subscribing +towards the building one-fifth of their entire property. Having secured +pledges, amounting to twelve hundred dollars, the Pastor now led a +strong force of volunteer laborers in the manual labor of the +undertaking. Felling the first tree for the timber in the woods with his +own hands, Brother Himebaugh gave the keynote to the movement. Nor did +he stay his hand until he had expended sixty days of labor. + +After accomplishing what he could at home, he visited Milwaukee, +Chicago, and several towns and cities in the Erie, Pittsburgh and +Genesee Conferences, to obtain aid to complete the enterprise. The +edifice, forty by sixty, with a basement, was so far completed that the +lecture-room was ready for dedication in December, 1851. With this good +work accomplished, our Quarterly Meeting at Sheboygan Falls was an +occasion of great rejoicing. + +Brother Himebaugh entered the Erie Conference in 1839, then twenty years +of age. His first circuit was Red Bank, on the Alleghany Mountains. At +the end of eleven years he was transferred to the Wisconsin Conference, +and Sheboygan Falls was his first charge. After leaving this work, he +was stationed in the North Ward charge in Fond du Lac. Here he also did +a good work towards completing the Church edifice, which had been begun +by Brother Prescott. He also had a good revival during the year. + +In 1853, Brother Himebaugh was stationed at Oshkosh, where he performed +prodigies of labor, preaching during a portion of the first year, on +every other Sabbath, four sermons, and walking fourteen miles. He also +gathered large accessions, which rendered the charge self-sustaining +thereafter. + +His subsequent appointments have been: Madison, Madison District, +Appleton, Appleton District, Agent of Lawrence University, and Assistant +Superintendent of the Western Seaman's Friend Society. At the present +writing, he still holds the last named position, and represents the +Bethel interests in this city. He is yet strong physically and +intellectually, and bids fair to give to the good cause many +additional years. + +Oshkosh was the next place visited. Instead of finding, as in 1845, a +few small cabins, I now found a respectable village and a +flourishing Church. + +The first Methodist sermon delivered in Oshkosh was preached by the +veteran pioneer, Rev. Jesse Halstead, at the residence of Mr. Webster +Stanley, in 1841. The place was now taken into the list of his +appointments, and was supplied by Brother Halstead with considerable +regularity. + +At a subsequent visit he was accompanied by his Presiding Elder, Rev. +James R. Goodrich. The services were again held in the residence of Mr. +Stanley, and at this meeting, which was held in the fall of 1841, the +first class was formed. The members were: Ira Aikin, Mrs. Aikin, his +mother, Rachel Aikin, his sister, Mrs. Chester Ford, Miss Ann Brooks, +and Mrs. Electa Wright. Brother Aikin was the first Leader, but soon +after Brother William W. Wright and his wife becoming members, the +Leadership passed over to Brother Wright. Before other provision was +made, the meetings were held at the residences of Mr. Stanley, Mrs. +Electa Wright and William W. Wright, but subsequently they passed to the +school house and ultimately to the Court House. + +In 1842, Rev. John P. Gallup was appointed to the Winnebago Lake +Mission. His plan of labor gave to Oshkosh every fourth Sabbath, and the +intervening time was filled by Rev. Clark Dickinson, a highly esteemed +Local Preacher, and others. A revival occurred this year that brought +into the Church the larger portion of the people living in Oshkosh +and vicinity. + +Rev. Harvey S. Bronson was the Pastor in 1843, and was succeeded the +following year by Rev. Joseph H. Hurlbut. The first Church edifice was +erected under the Pastorate of Rev. Robert Everdell in 1851. Being the +Presiding Elder of the District at that time, the writer performed the +dedicatory service. The building was enlarged in 1856 and again in 1861. +Under the Pastorate of Rev. Wm. P. Stowe there were large accessions, +and he found it necessary to enlarge again, when in 1870 the writer was +called to preach the re-opening sermon. + +The mother charge at this writing ranks among the leading stations of +the Conference, and rejoices in the companionship of two promising +daughters. The first is located on the South Side, where a lot was +purchased and the contract for a building let, under the Pastorate of +Rev. J.M. Walker, in 1868. The charge was organized the following year, +and under the successive Pastorates of Revs. C.W. Brewer and Joseph +Anderson, the Church was completed and the station assigned an honorable +place in the Conference. The other, located in the Western part of the +city, was erected into a separate charge at the last Conference session, +a Chapel having been previously built. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +Fond du Lac District Continued.--Green Bay.--First Settlement.--Rev. +John Clark.--First Sermon.--First Class.--Col. Ryan.--First +Methodist.--First Church Enterprise.--Good Society.--Heretical +Bonnet.--Various Changes.--Rev. R.P. Lawton--Church +Disaster--Purifying the Temple--Rev. S.W. Ford.--Oneida Indian +Mission.--Oneidas.--Missionaries.--Quarterly Meeting.--Council.--"Chief +Jake."--Interpreter.--Rev. Henry Requa.--His Dying Message. + +Green Bay, the next point visited, is the oldest town within the bounds +of the Wisconsin Conference. Its site was explored by Jean Nicollet in +1639, but its settlement did not begin for more than a century +thereafter. In 1785 it contained seven families, and in 1816 there were +one hundred and fifty inhabitants located in the village and its +vicinity. The population now began to increase more rapidly, and in 1819 +there were sixty dwellings and five hundred inhabitants. + +Green Bay was made a United States trading port in 1815, with Col. John +Bowyer as Indian Agent. And on the 16th of July of the following year, +Col. John Miller commenced the erection of Fort Howard. The first frame +house built, and perhaps the first in the State, was erected in 1825, by +Col. E. Childs. + +Col. Samuel Ryan came to Green Bay in 1826 and was the first Methodist, +as far as I have been able to ascertain, who settled within the bounds +of the Wisconsin Conference, and was probably the first in the State. +From the time of his arrival until 1833, the religious Meetings were +held in the Garrison school house and in an old Commissary store. +Thereafter, and until a Church was erected, the services were held in a +new yellow school house, or in the Garrison building at Fort Howard. + +At the General Conference, which was held in Philadelphia in 1832, +action was taken looking to the extension of the Missionary work of the +Church in the Northwest. In furtherance of this object, Rev. John Clark, +then of the New York Conference, was sent out as Superintendent of the +work. This eminent Minister and able administrator, whose special record +I need not enter in these pages, as his Life has been published, arrived +at Green Bay July 21st, 1832. Immediately after his arrival he began his +labors, preaching the first Methodist sermon within the limits of the +present boundaries of the Wisconsin Conference. The sermon was delivered +in the Fort, to both soldiers and citizens. + +The first class was formed by Brother Clark immediately after, the +services being held also in the Fort. This class consisted of four +members, as follows: Col. Samuel Ryan, Sen., Mrs. Sherman, Mrs. Gen. +Brooke, and a young man whose name cannot be given. Mrs. Brooke was the +wife of the Commandant of the Fort, and Col. Ryan was the Leader. + +Col. Ryan was born in Ireland, May 22d, 1789, and in early youth entered +upon the military profession. He was in the engagement between the +Shannon and Chesapeake off Boston Harbor, fought June 1st, 1813, and +during the conflict was severely wounded. He was converted at Sackett's +Harbor, N.Y., under the ministry of Rev. Mr. Irwin, in 1821. In 1822 and +'23, he resided at Sault St. Marie, and while there was Leader of a +class. During the year there was no Minister at the Sault, but Brother +Ryan held religious services regularly among the soldiers, and as the +fruit of his labors, seventy souls were converted. On coming to Green +Bay, as above stated, in 1826, he resumed his labors, and continued to +devote himself to the good work in that locality for twenty-six years. +The Land Office, in which he held the first place, being now, 1852, +removed to Menasha, he also took up his residence in that village. + +Brother Ryan was a man of ardent temperament, full of vivacity, and not +a little eccentric, but a true soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. As in +his youth his dauntless spirit never cowered in the presence of an +earthly foe, so, in maturer years, he was a fearless champion for the +spiritual reign of the Master. Honored by all, the Patriarch is now, +"leaning upon the top of his staff," with his dimned eye looking across +the river, ready to move on at any moment. + +One of the early laborers at Green Bay was Rev. George White, who came +from Oneida Conference, N.Y. He was stationed at Green Bay in 1835, +Brother Clark having been assigned to the Presiding Eldership. Under the +labors of the new Pastor, the work continued to prosper. On the 2d day +of February, 1835, Brother Clark reported to the Christian Advocate and +Journal as follows: "Brother White is in the spirit of his work, and the +Lord is blessing his labors in the conversion of souls, both in the Fort +and among the citizens." + +The first Church enterprise was entered upon in 1836, when a lot was +donated to the Society for the purpose of erecting a Church edifice. The +Deed was given on the 6th day of September, 1836, by John Jacob Astor, +Ramsey Crooks, Emily Crooks, Robert Stewart and Eliza Stewart, and was +executed by James Duane Doty, their attorney. The Trustees of the +Society, to whom the Deed was made, were Philip W. Nicholas, Francis +McCarty, George White, Thomas P. Green, William White, Edwin Hart, and +John P. Gallup. The edifice was completed during the year, but in the +effort the Society became seriously involved, and were compelled to +mortgage the property. The indebtedness hung as an incubus on the +Society for ten years, and finally, through some strange mismanagement, +the property was sold at a great sacrifice to the Roman Catholics. + +At the session of the Illinois Conference, held Sept. 27, 1837, Rev. +Philip W. Nicholas was sent to Green Bay, and Rev. Salmon Stebbins was +assigned to the District. The congregations had now become highly +respectable both in numbers and position. Hon. M.L. Martin had settled +at Green Bay, and his good lady, who was a Methodist, had become a +member of the Society. Sister Martin had been raised in affluent +circumstances, and was a lady of fine culture and rare judgment. Her +husband, a member of the legal profession, and subsequently a Delegate +to Congress and Member of the Constitutional Convention of the State, +was a man of good attainments and superior abilities. His family not +only formed the nucleus of cultivated society, but also furnished a +pleasant home for the Itinerant. + +Besides this excellent and cultured family, the congregation embraced +Col. Ryan and family, as before stated, Mrs. Gen. Brooke, and Mrs. Capt. +Kirby Smith, whose husband was killed in the Mexican War, she being now +the wife of Gen. Eaton, Quartermaster General of the U.S.A. In addition, +Gov. and Mrs. Doty were constant attendants upon the Chapel, as were +also Gen. and Mrs. Marcy, whose daughter, Mrs. George B. McClellan, was +born here, and the most excellent of all the officers, Capt. Merrill and +his young wife. + +Referring to the class of society that constituted at first the class +and congregation at Green Bay, reminds me of a case of Church discipline +which occurred there about the days of which I am now writing. It +happened on this wise: + +One of the young members of the class, and perhaps the youngest, for she +had but recently come West as the bride of a distinguished citizen whose +name has already been mentioned, had become the owner of a new bonnet. +The lady herself had never, though fashionably raised, shown a fondness +for gaudy apparel, but, being obliged to send to Detroit for all +millinery accommodations, she sometimes felt constrained to wear +articles that were not selected in harmony with her tastes. The new +bonnet fell somewhat into this category. If I were gifted in that line, +I would attempt a description of the new comer, but, as I am not, I will +simply say it was made in the height of the then fashion, with a small +crown and a very high, flaring front, with ornaments atop. On the +Sabbath following its arrival, the good sister put on her bonnet as +innocently as in childhood she had ever said "Our Father" at her +mother's knee, and went to Church. She walked modestly to her seat, +bowed her head as usual, and the services proceeded. She certainly felt +devout, and she had not the remotest idea that there was anything in the +Church that could disturb the devotion of others. But alas! for poor +human nature. A horrible nightmare was that moment lurking under the +wings of the beautiful dream of our innocent sister. In that highly +respectable congregation, there were evil eyes that could not look at +the Minister or close in prayer. They were fixed upon the gaudy bonnet. + +At the close of the services comment was rife. Some of the good plain +people christened the newly arrived, "The Methodist Flower-Pot," while +others looked exceedingly unhappy. But there was one resolute brother +who could not permit matters to go on in this way, and hence the case +was brought before the Church. The zealous brother stated the case and +declared that if Mr. Wesley's rule in regard to "high heads and enormous +bonnets" meant anything, this was "the time to put it to the test and +prove its efficacy." He further stated that it was "better to begin at +the top round of the ladder and work down, rather than take up some +offending sister from a lower round as an example." Of course all things +were now ready for a decapitation, but judge of the surprise of the +brother, when the good sister showed herself not to be very +"high-headed," though big-bonneted, by offering the offensive article to +her accuser, to manipulate into orthodox form, if he were pleased to do +so, otherwise it would have to remain, like Mordecai at the King's gate, +steadfast and immovable. + +The bonnet was not manipulated, and the good sister continued to wear +what neither her accuser nor any other person in Green Bay could put +into another form. + +Before the expiration of his second year, Brother Nicholas gave up the +Pastorate of the charge, and his place was supplied by Rev. Stephen P. +Keyes. In 1839, Rev. F.A. Chenoweth was appointed to the charge, and +Rev. Julius Field was assigned to the District. In 1840 Green Bay was +left to be supplied, and Rev. Boyd Phelps was employed as the supply, +and the charge was assigned to Platteville District, with Rev. H.W. Reed +as Presiding Elder. The following year, 1841, the Green Bay District was +formed, with Rev. James R. Goodrich as the Presiding Elder, and his name +appears also as Pastor of the charge, but it is probable that Brother +Phelps also assisted him in the Pastorate as a supply. In 1842 the +appointments remained the same, but in 1843 Rev. G.L.S. Stuff was +appointed to the station. Brother Stuff and Brother Keyes are remembered +with great pleasure at Green Bay, as men of sterling qualities and +marked ability, but as their labors have mostly fallen within the Rock +River Conference, their record will doubtless be made in connection with +that field. In 1844, Rev. Wm. H. Sampson was appointed to the District, +as stated elsewhere, and Rev. C.N. Wager to the station. He was followed +in 1845 by Rev. T.P. Bingham, and the year following by Rev. +R.P. Lawton. + +Brother Lawton entered the Rock River Conference this year, and in this, +his first appointment, acquitted himself creditably. As this good +brother, who may be set down as one of the pioneers of the Conference, +began his labors, so he has continued to the present hour. His +appointments after leaving Green Bay, have been Dixon, Ill., Delavan, +Mineral Point, Waukesha, Reed Street, Milwaukee, Palmyra, Grafton, Root +River, Elkhorn, Delavan, East Troy, Evansville, Rosendale, Wautoma, +Plover, New London, Hart Prairie, Utter's Corners, Footville, and +Jefferson, where he is located at this writing. Brother Lawton is a good +preacher, has a genial spirit, and is devoted to his work. He has passed +over the greater portion of the Conference, and has a host of friends +wherever he has been stationed. + +Rev. A.B. Randall was sent to Green Bay in 1847, and it was during this +year that the Church edifice was sold. This Church was dedicated, +doubtless, by Rev. John Clark, and had been used for ten years for +religious purposes, yet it is surprising to find how much of time and +labor it required to purify it after it fell into the hands of the +Catholics. I am told that they spent days of labor and nights of vigil, +exhausted miniature rivulets of holy water, and pounds of precious +"gems, frankincense, and myrrh," exorcising the devils and scattering +the Methodist imps of darkness from the holy place. + +The balance of the money, after paying the indebtedness, was applied to +the purchase of the Second Church, which was still in use at the time +of my visit. + +On coming to Green Bay I found Rev. Seth W. Ford as Pastor, who was +commencing his second year on the charge. He was in the midst of a +revival, and the charge appeared to be in a prosperous condition. The +Quarterly Meeting passed off very pleasantly, and gave me the +opportunity to share the hospitality of Hon. M.L. Martin and his +excellent family. I also visited the Fort, and had the pleasure to enjoy +the companionship of Col. Ryan and his family. + +Brother Ford entered the Conference in 1845, as a classmate of the +writer, and passed with him through the course of graduation. I have +referred in a former chapter to the seven sessions through which we +passed between the upper and nether millstones. Whether the result was +flour or bran in the estimation of the Committee would have been forever +hidden from us, doubtless, had not the good brethren, after our election +to Elder's orders, moved that Brother Ford and myself be a Committee to +examine those of the class who had not been before the Committee. With +our own experience fresh in our minds, I have no doubt the balance of +the class had an easy passage. + +Brother Ford's fields of labor had been Hamilton Grove, Macomb, and +Oneida Indian Mission. In each he had made a good record, and was now +rapidly rising in his Conference. Since he left Green Bay he has +continued to hold good appointments, and has served his Conference six +times as its Secretary. Though slender in form, and apparently not +vigorous in health, he has nevertheless taken his full share of work +and is highly respected by his brethren. + +The Oneida Indian Mission, lying twelve miles to the northwest of Green +Bay, next claimed my attention. Seated in my buggy, I was soon at the +Parsonage, where I found Rev. Henry Requa, the Missionary, and his +kind family. + +The Oneidas came from the State of New York. A few of them came as early +as 1821, but through some hitch in the negotiations with the Menomonees +for the lands constituting the Reservation, the removal did not become +general until 1832. Meantime, a Mission had sprung up among the western +branch of the nation. In 1829 a young Mohawk, who had been converted in +Canada, began the good work and established meetings. Among the early +Missionaries the names of Rev. Mr. Poe and Rev. John Clark are +especially fragrant, but I have been unable to find satisfactory data +until 1840, when Rev. Henry R. Colman was appointed to the Mission. + +Brother Colman remained until 1845, when he was succeeded by Rev. C.G. +Lathrop. Brother Ford followed next, and remained until 1850, when he +was succeeded by Brother Requa. Meantime, the old log church had given +place to a respectable frame edifice. There was also a good frame +Parsonage, occupied by the Missionary, and a school house, in which a +school was kept either by the Missionary or some one employed by him. +The membership at this time numbered one hundred and twenty-five. + +The Quarterly Meeting was held on Saturday and Sabbath, as on the other +charges. On Saturday the Quarterly Conference was held, composed of the +official members, but it was somewhat unique in its method of +transacting its business. The Conference was opened with singing and +prayer. The next thing in order was an address from the Elder, or "Big +Missionary," as he is called. The address simply expressed the +gratification of the Elder with his visit, and the encouraging things he +has heard of the good work of God among them, and then suggested such +items of business as would require their attention. This done, I took my +seat, for what more could I do. The business must now be done in a +strange language, and in the method of the red man. After sitting in +absolute silence for some minutes, the head Chief of the Nation, "Big +Jake," as he is called, being one of the Stewards, turned to a brother +on his right and spoke a few words, and received a reply. Then turning +to another, he did the same, and thus continued to address each +personally, until all had been consulted. At intervals there were long +pauses, indicative, as I judged, of the gravity of the matter to be +considered. At the end of an hour the Council had completed its work. +The Chief then arose in a very dignified manner, but without +ostentation, and, calling to his aid an interpreter, proceeded to reply +to the opening address. He began his speech by expressing thanks, on +behalf of himself and people, that the "Big Missionary" had come once +more to see them. He next referred to the good work that had been +performed by the Missionary, and the special blessing of God upon his +people. And in conclusion, he reported the items of business they had +considered, and the action taken in each case. If anything further was +desired at any time, it was always presented in a most respectful +manner. In this case it was represented that they needed some repairs on +the Church, and a bell, and they desired that the Missionary might be +permitted to go abroad and raise the necessary funds. Permission was +granted, and the Missionary, taking several fine singers of the Nation +with him, went to New York, Boston, and other places, and secured the +needed help. + +At the close of the public services came the hand shaking. The +Missionary understood the matter and detained me in the Altar for a +moment, Commencing with the ladies and ending with the children, every +person in the Church came forward and shook hands with the Elder. + +I was greatly pleased with "Chief Jake." He was a man of stalwart frame, +standing with head and shoulders above the people around him. That giant +frame supported a large head, adorned by an expressive face. His +movement was dignified simply because he was a born nobleman, and did +not know how to appear other than like a prince. He was benevolent and +tender to all who were trying to do right, but he was a terror to +evil-doers. Standing for his people or the rights of the oppressed, he +was absolutely invincible. + +Brother Requa entered the Conference in 1847, after having been employed +one year as second preacher at Waupun. He was appointed to Brothertown +in 1847, to Lowell in 1848, and Fond du Lac in 1849, Here his health +partially failed, and, in consequence, he was sent to Oneida. From the +first, Brother Requa attracted attention as a Preacher. The first time I +heard him was at the Camp-Meeting at Sun Prairie, in the summer of 1846. +He had only recently been converted, and was now called out to exhort at +the close of a sermon. He had been known in the community as an Infidel, +which greatly increased the interest felt by all when he arose to speak. +But the first utterance of his eloquent tongue, so full of feeling and +so decided in its tone, disarmed all criticism. As he advanced, he threw +off restraint, until he was master of himself and the congregation. +Once free, he seemed to lose sight of all but the condition of a +perishing world. With lost men he reasoned, expostulated, entreated, +until it seemed that the whole audience was moving towards the Altar. + +While at Oneida, as before stated, he went East to raise funds for the +Mission. Wherever he went, he was recognized as a man of rare eloquence. +Throngs followed him from Church to Church, and, as might be expected, +his mission was a great success. On his return with the bell, the people +were overjoyed. For the first week after it was hung in the steeple, it +was kept going, almost night and day. The friends came from every part +of the reservation, and no one was satisfied until his own hand pulled +the rope. And so high did the enthusiasm run that one man said, "As soon +as we get able, we will put one on every house in Oneida." After Brother +Requa left Oneida, he served one year as Agent of Lawrence University, +and was specially engaged in raising an Indian Scholarship Fund. His +appointments subsequently were: Janesville, Fond du Lac District, +Oshkosh, Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan, Brandon and Ripon. In March, 1865, +his second year at Ripon, he went as a Delegate of the Christian +Commission to the army. His field of labor was Little Rock, Ark. While +here he was taken ill with the chronic diarrhoea, and on the 19th of May +departed to his home above. During his illness, he was attended by his +old friend, Brother A. B. Randall. Just before he died, he requested his +attendant to bear this message to his brethren of the Wisconsin +Conference: "Tell them that Henry Requa died at his post." He then +added, "Take my ashes back to be interred among my brethren. I have +labored with them for twenty years past, trying to preach Jesus. My +present acceptance with God is a great comfort to me now. I am very +unworthy, but I believe there are some in glory who call me father. In +looking over my whole life I cannot see an act upon which I would risk +the salvation of my soul; the best of them need washing in the blood of +Jesus. I know I have a home in glory. How precious Jesus is. Jesus, I +love thee for what thou hast done for me. I will praise thee forever." + +Brother Requa was a man of ardent temperament, and at times impulsive, +but he was a true man and a faithful minister. His attachments were +strong and abiding. He loved the work in which he was engaged, and was +very generally popular among the people. A born Radical, he was liable +to push matters beyond what more conservative minds deemed wise, and it +is possible that in some instances his extreme methods defeated his +purpose, but even then, no one questioned the rectitude of his heart. In +the death of Brother Requa the Conference sustained a severe loss. His +remains were interred in College Hill Cemetery, at Ripon. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +Fond du Lac District Continued.--Appleton.--Early History.--Rev. C.G. +Lathrop--Lawrence University.--Incipient Stages.--Charter.--Trustees. +Agent.--First Board of Instruction.--Buildings.--Faculty.--Rev. Dr. +Cooke.--Rev. Dr. Cobleigh.--Rev. Dr. Mason.--Rev. Dr. Knox.--Rev. +Dr. Steele. + +Leaving Oneida, I next visited Appleton, where I was kindly received by +Rev. C.G. Lathrop, the Pastor, and his good wife. Though three years had +scarcely passed since the echoes of the woodman's axe first rang through +the forests of this locality, yet I found Appleton to be a village of +considerable pretensions. The location of Lawrence University at this +point, and the great promise of business, given by its almost +unparalleled water-power, had already drawn together an enterprising +community. Good buildings had been erected, and the village was putting +on an air of thrift. + +The first sermon preached in Appleton, and probably in Outagamie County, +was delivered by Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, Oct. 8, 1848, in a shanty occupied +by Brother John F. Johnson and family. The first class was formed by +Rev. A. B. Randall, the Pastor of Oshkosh circuit, whose charge included +Appleton, in February, 1849. The first members were Robert R. Bateman, +Leader, Robert S. Bateman, Mary Bateman, Amelia Bateman, Electa Norton, +Theresa Randall, L. L. Randall, J.F. Johnson and D.W. Briggs. Brother +Randall organized the first Sunday School in March, 1849, with Robert R. +Bateman as Superintendent. + +The meetings were held in private houses until the Chapel of the +Institute was ready for use. They were held in the Chapel thereafter +until the first Church was erected. In June, 1854, the corner-stone of +the Church was laid by Edwin Atkinson, Dr. Edward Cooke officiating. The +lecture-room was occupied during the following winter, and the Church +was dedicated by Dr. N.E. Cobleigh in June, 1855. + +The Quarterly Meeting, the first held in Appleton, was convened in the +Institute Chapel, Sept 27, 1851. The members of the Quarterly Conference +present were C.G. Lathrop, R.O. Kellogg, Jabez Brooks, D.L. Atwell, +George E. Havens, Charles Levings, John Day, H.L. Blood, A.C. Darling, +L.L. Randall, D.C. Weston, William Rork, and J.F. Johnson. The meeting +was well attended, and the services indicated a healthy spiritual +condition. + +Rev. Curtis G. Lathrop entered the Rock River Conference in 1842, and +his first appointment was Aztalan. Before coming to Appleton he had been +stationed at Lancaster, Oneida Indian Mission, Green Lake and Fall +River. After leaving Appleton his fields of labor have been Green Bay, +Oneida, Indian Mission, Presiding Elder of Watertown District, Menasha, +Neenah, Waupaca, Dartford, Fox Lake, Vinland and Randolph. He took a +superannuated relation in 1868, but during 1870 and 1871 he was able to +serve as Chaplain of the Western Seaman's Friend Society, at Washington +Island. Having removed to Nebraska, he was made effective in 1874 and +transferred to the Nebraska Conference. + +Brother Lathrop is a man of vigorous mental endowments. He is an able +Preacher, has a reliable judgment, and possesses a kind spirit. He hates +shams and thoroughly detests the superficial. He never hangs out a flag +to catch the popular breeze, and does not turn the prow of his craft +down the stream. His convictions are strong, but Curtis G. Lathrop is +the soul of integrity, and is most highly appreciated where best known. + +The Lawrence University, located at Appleton, deserves special notice, +it being the first, and, at the present writing, the only school of the +Church within the bounds of the Conference. + +In the Spring of 1846, Rev. Wm. H. Sampson received a letter from H. +Eugene Eastman, Esq., of Green Bay, informing him that a gentleman in +Boston, Mass., proposed to donate ten thousand dollars to found a school +in the West. And as the gentleman entertained an exalted opinion of the +adaptations of the Methodist Church to the work contemplated, he was +authorized to give the proposition that direction. The conditions on +which the trust must be accepted were, that the School should be located +on the Fox River between Neenah and Green Bay, and that an additional +ten thousand dollars should be contributed by other parties. + +Brother Sampson submitted the proposition to the Conference, which met +in August, and was instructed by that body to continue the +correspondence, and, if possible, reduce the negotiations to a +definite form. + +In December following, Rev. Reeder Smith, who had been employed as Agent +of the School at Albion, Mich., came to Fond du Lac, bearing the +proposition directly from Hon. Amos A. Lawrence, the gentleman referred +to. Not finding Brother Sampson at home, he went down to Brothertown and +secured the co-operation of Rev. H.R. Colman in making an exploration of +the Fox River. They went to Green Bay, thence to Kaukauna, and, +accompanied by George W. Law, Esq., thence to Grand Chute, the present +site of Appleton. After looking over the grounds now constituting the +campus of the University, they passed on to Oshkosh, and thence to +Fond du Lac. + +Brother Sampson had now returned, and it was decided to hold a meeting +in Milwaukee for consultation. The meeting was convened December 2 8th, +1846, and was composed of the following members of the Conference: Wm. +H. Sampson, Henry R. Colman, Washington Wilcox, and Wm. M.D. Ryan. To +these were added Reeder Smith, Geo. E.H. Day, and doubtless several +others whose names I have not been able to learn. At this meeting a +Charter was drafted for the Lawrence Institute, and Rev. Reeder Smith +was sent to Madison to lay it before the Legislature. The Charter +received the signature of Gov. Dodge, Jan. 17, 1847, and the following +gentlemen were constituted the first Board of Trustees: Henry Dodge, +Loyal H. Jones, Jacob L. Bean, Wm. H. Sampson, N.P. Talmadge, Henry R. +Colman, H.S. Baird, Wm. Dutcher, M. C. Darling, M.L. Martin, Geo. E.H. +Day, D.C. Vosburg, and Reeder Smith. + +The first meeting of the Board was to have been held in Fond du Lac, +June 30, 1847, but as there was not a quorum present, the meeting was +adjourned to Sept. 3d. At this meeting the Board was duly organized by +the election of the following officers: Hon. M.C. Darling, President; +Hon. N.P. Talmadge, First Vice President; H.S. Baird, Esq., Second Vice +President; Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, Secretary, and Hon. Morgan L. Martin, +Treasurer. Rev. Reeder Smith was appointed Agent. + +Geo. W. Law, Esq., and Hon. John F. Mead now offered a donation of +thirty-one acres of land each, on condition that the Institute should be +located at Grand Chute. The offer was accepted, and the location was +made, the name of the place being soon after changed to Appleton. In due +time the Law Tract was conveyed to the Trustees, but, by some strange +mismanagement, to say the least, on the part of the Agent, the Mead land +was conveyed to another party, and it was lost to the Institute. + +At the Conference of 1848, Brother Sampson was appointed Principal, and +was expected to serve as Agent until the building to be erected was +ready for occupancy. In pursuance of this arrangement he left Fond du +Lac, Sept. 7th, to enter upon his new field of operations. He took the +steamer to Neenah, and then obtained an Indian "Dug-out" for the balance +of the journey. As the craft carried no sail, he was compelled to put +her before the "white ash breeze" across Lake Butte des Morts, and down +the river to the point of destination, his craft being nearly swamped by +a gale on the Lake. + +On the 8th of September he began to cut a road to the grounds and clear +the brush from the campus, thereby making the beginning of both the +Institute and the city of Appleton. The lumber for the building of the +Preparatory Department was purchased of Hon. M.L. Martin, and was +delivered at Duck Creek. The timber was furnished by Col. H.L. Blood. +Through the indomitable energy of Col. Blood and the co-operation of the +agents, the building, seventy by thirty feet in size, and three stories +high, was ready to receive students on the 12th day of November, 1849. + +The Faculty with which the school opened were Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, +Principal, Rev. R.O. Kellogg, Professor of Ancient Languages, Mr. James +M. Phinney, Professor of Mathematics, and Miss Emeline M. Crooker, +Preceptress. The first catalogue, published in the fall of 1850, showed +a list of one hundred and five students, which was certainly a very +creditable beginning. The name of the Institute was now changed to +Lawrence University. + +A record of the early years of struggle and sacrifice necessary to found +the University would fill a volume, and cannot be given at length in +these pages. Having been a member of the Board for nearly a quarter of a +century, I could say much of the noble men who performed double service +on half pay, but such a recital cannot here be given. + +Rev. Dr. Edward Cooke was installed President of the University June 29, +1853. At the same time the corner stone of the College building was laid +by Hon. M.C. Darling, Rev. Alfred Bronson, D.D., delivering the address. +The edifice, a substantial stone structure, one hundred and twenty by +sixty feet, and five stories high, was pushed forward to an early +completion by the untiring energy of the agents, Rev. J.S. Prescott and +Col. H.L. Blood. For college purposes the building ranked among the +first in the West. + +In both Students and Faculty Lawrence University has been fortunate from +the beginning. As to the former, she has sent out not a few +representative men to the several occupations of life, several of whom +will find mention in these pages. As to the latter, she has enjoyed the +labors of a class of instructors whose names have found an honorable +place in both the clerical and literary circles of the Commonwealth. + +Of Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, the first head of the Faculty, a record has been +made in a former chapter, and it would afford me pleasure to refer at +length to the several members of the first Faculty, as also to all the +Professors who have followed, but I find it will be impossible to do so +in these brief pages. + +Rev. Edward Cooke, D.D., the first President, entered the New Jersey +Conference in 1843. He was a graduate of the Wesleyan University, +Middletown, Conn. His first appointment was Principal of the Pennington +Male Seminary, N.J. In 1847 he was transferred to the New England +Conference, and stationed at Saugus. His subsequent appointments were +Union Church Charlestown, D. Street, Centenary, and Hanover, of Boston, +Mass. He was transferred to the Wisconsin Conference in 1853, having +been elected President of the University. As a President he was very +popular, and during his administration of six years had the satisfaction +to see the Institution rise from a feeble preparatory school to a +full-fledged University. In addition to the ordinary duties of his +position, he was largely concerned with the financial matters of the +enterprise, but in every portion of the work Dr. Cooke showed great +wisdom, tact and devotion. And during his term he laid the friends of +education in the State under lasting obligations. + +After leaving the University, he was stationed at Summerfield Church, +Milwaukee, but, returning to Boston at the close of his term, he was +elected Principal of the Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., where he +has enjoyed great success in his administration. Dr. Cooke is a man of +fine presence, and a good Preacher. Genial in spirit, full of anecdote +and well read, he is very companionable. He has a multitude of friends +in Wisconsin. + +Rev. Nelson E. Cobleigh, D.D., was elected Professor in 1854. He was +also a graduate of the Wesleyan University. On coming West, he was first +elected Professor in the McKendree College, Ill., from which position he +came to Appleton. His first visit to these "northern wilds," as +Appleton was then called, was a memorable one. It was a Commencement +occasion, and in connection with the other exercises, the annual +Missionary Meeting was held. Under the leadership of Dr. Cooke, Brother +Cobleigh was appointed to deliver one of the addresses. There were three +speakers appointed as usual, and the second place was assigned to Dr. +Cobleigh and the last to Dr. Cooke. The first speech, brief and to the +point, was made, and as Chairman I introduced Dr. Cobleigh. The speech +opened in a quiet, clear, and common-sense way, none expecting more than +a good, average effort. But before the speaker had proceeded far, his +sentences began to grow intense, and the blood began to shoot upward in +deep, livid lines along the neck and face, and wreathe his forehead. All +eyes were turned upon him, and each hearer began to feel the kindlings +of a strange inspiration. But the speaker was lost to everything except +his theme. He dashed on from one burning thought to another, carrying +his audience with him, in such storms of eloquence as had never before +enchanted the walls of the University Chapel. + +At the expiration of a full hour, the great orator came to himself and +resumed his seat, amid the shouts of the people. As soon as quiet +intervened, I introduced Dr. Cooke. The Doctor came forward and stated +that as the speakers had been limited to thirty minutes each, and as his +good friend, Dr. Cobleigh, had used an hour, without any fault of his +own, however, as he could not help it, he would not attempt to make a +speech himself, but would adopt the last half of the last speech, which +was infinitely better than he could do if he were to speak. The fine +turn of the Doctor was taken with a good zest. + +After serving the University several years, Dr. Cobleigh went back to +McKendree College as President. He next served as Editor of Zion's +Herald, in Boston, then was President of our College in Tennessee, and +at the last General Conference he was elected editor of the Advocate at +Atlanta, Ga. But his work was soon finished, and he passed on to join +the great and good who have entered the Heavenly gates. + +Dr. R.Z. Mason came to the University as a Professor in 1855, and +continued to hold this position until the resignation of Dr. Cooke, when +he succeeded to the Presidency. He remained at this post until the +election of Dr. Steele, when he entered upon business pursuits in +Appleton. The Presidency of Dr. Mason was distinguished by great anxiety +and severe labor. Like the Presidents who went before, and those who +have followed, he was greatly burdened with the financial management. +The several schemes which had been adopted to secure an Endowment Fund +for the University, had not fully met expectations, and in consequence, +an indebtedness had been incurred. To lift this incumbrance became the +special concern of President Mason. He traveled over the State, visiting +the charges in person, and taking subscriptions wherever they could be +obtained. And I am happy to say that through his great ability in this +direction, and his unbounded persistence, the work was carried forward +to a grand success. + +Rev. Loren L. Knox, D.D., was another member of the Faculty. Brother +Knox had also given the greater portion of his life to educational work. +His successful administration of the interests of leading institutions +of learning in the East had fully prepared the Board to expect in him a +valuable accession to the Faculty, and they were not disappointed. He +was found to be a thorough scholar, a wise and careful instructor, and +a Christian gentleman of the highest and purest style. After leaving the +University, Dr. Knox did good service in the pulpit for several years, +but, finally, his health so far failed that he was compelled to take a +superannuated relation. At the present writing he is residing at +Evanston, where he is giving such attention to literary work as he finds +himself able to perform. + +Rev. Geo. M. Steele, D.D., the President of the University at this +present time, is a man of fine literary attainments, an able +administrator, a superior preacher, and a writer of pronounced +reputation. He is also a graduate of Middletown, and has had +considerable experience as an instructor. He was elected President of +the University in 1865, and has more than met the highest expectations +of the Board. In addition to his duties at the head of the Faculty, he +has given his personal attention largely to the financial interests of +the Institution. In this particular he has achieved a grand work, both +in managing the current expenditures, and in increasing the Endowment +Fund. The Doctor is a great acquisition to the University, and is highly +esteemed by his brethren. The Conference have delighted to honor him in +all appropriate ways, and especially in sending him to both General +Conferences which have occurred since he became a member of the body. + +Having thus paid our respects to Appleton and the University, we are +prepared to pass on to other fields. To complete the round there were +two charges yet to visit, but as these will claim our attention +hereafter I need not refer to them now, except to give an incident that +transpired at the Quarterly Meeting held on one of them. + +The meeting was held in a school house. The new schoolteacher, a nice +youngster, concluded to lead the singing. Gathering a few young people +around him, and displaying a tuning-fork, he was ready for the services +to begin. I gave the hymn commencing, + + "Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove." + +When I had finished the reading, the chorister arose with superlative +dignity, and gave the key. Unfortunately, the choir dropped a tone or +two too low, and the first verse was sung at that disadvantage. +Discovering the blunder, the key was again given, but the singers were +now getting nervous, and instead of rising, they went still lower, as +they sang, + + "Look how we grovel here below." + +Certainly the chariot wheels of Pharaoh did not roll more heavily than +the numbers from that orchestra. I remembered old Balerma, and felt +deeply for them. But our young knight of the tuning-fork was not to be +vanquished. With a dash he brought the fork down upon the desk, and gave +the key again. But alas! for all human expectations! The choir dropped +down to a dead monotone, as they went on with the next verse: + + "In vain we tune our formal songs, + In vain we strive to rise; + Hosannas languish on our tongues, + And our devotion dies." + +Both the choir and congregation felt a relief when the Minister said, +"Let us pray." + +Having completed the first round of the District, I returned to Fond du +Lac to begin the second. But it is not my purpose to give the details of +each round or year, as the labors of a Presiding Elder are too +monotonous to furnish a record that would be entertaining to the +general reader. + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +Fond du Lac District Continued.--Baraboo Conference.--Lodi Camp +Meeting.--Fall River.--Revival at Appleton.--Rev. Elmore Yocum.--Revival +at Sheboygan Falls.--Revival at Fond du Lac.--Rev. E.S. +Grumley.--Revival at Sheboygan.--Rev. N.J. Aplin.--Camp-Meeting at +Greenbush.--Rev. A.M. Hulce.--Results of the Year.--Janesville +Conference.--Omro. Rev. Dr. Golden.--The Cowhams.--Quarterly +Meeting.--My Father's Death.--Close of the Term. + +The Conference of 1852 was held at Fond du Lac, Sept. 1st, and was +presided over by Bishop Ames. This was the first Conference held by the +good Bishop after his election to his high office. The visit was also +the first the good people of Northern Wisconsin had enjoyed from a +Bishop of the Church. Both parties appeared delighted with the +acquaintance. + +On the Sabbath preceding the session of the Conference, the new Church +in the upper town was dedicated by the Bishop, the preachers of the +Conference generally being in attendance. + +At this Conference I performed my first labor in the Cabinet. I felt the +responsibility to be one of great gravity, but sought to bear it in the +fear of God. In fact, the adjustment of the appointments had been the +subject of careful thought and earnest prayer during the last three +months of the year. From the first I felt that the adjustment of the +Ministers and their work required the nicest discrimination and the most +absolute self-abnegation. Resolving to discharge my duty fearlessly, and +yet fully in the spirit of the Golden Rule, I entered upon the +responsibility. Whether I succeeded or not, is a matter I have referred +to the day when "The Books" shall be opened. + +There were but few changes made in the appointments in the District, as +I then cherished, as I have since, the conviction that changes, other +than by limitation, should only be made for grave reasons. + +Fond du Lac was divided into two charges, Rev. M. Himebaugh, of whom a +record has been made, being sent to the North Ward, and Rev. Ezra Tucker +to the South Ward. The year in both charges was generally prosperous. + +Brother Tucker was a new man in the work, and entered upon his labors +with great zeal. Having the new Church, and the inspiration usually +experienced in such cases, he was encouraged with an extraordinary +promise of success, but before the expiration of the year he fell sick, +and was compelled to suspend his labors. After resting two years he was +again able to resume work. He filled several appointments thereafter in +the Wisconsin Conference, and then removed to Minnesota, where, on both +stations and Districts, he has rendered effective service. + +Rev. Jabez Brooks was appointed to Oshkosh, but as he was still needed +in the Professorship he had formerly held in the Lawrence University, I +changed his appointment. Brother Brooks subsequently filled out the +balance of Brother Tucker's year at Fond du Lac, and was then stationed +at Jackson Street, Milwaukee. He was subsequently made President of the +Hamline University, and at the present writing is Professor in the State +University of Minnesota. Dr. Brooks, for such is his present title, is a +prime man in every respect. Scholarly, logical, clear-headed, +kind-hearted and diligent, he is a general favorite, wherever known. + +During this year a Camp-Meeting was held on the District. The ground +selected was Father Bower's Grove, on the east shore of Lake Butte des +Morts, six miles above Oshkosh. The meeting was held June 8th, 1853. The +attendance was good, there being ten tents on the ground, and there were +fifty conversions. + +The year closed pleasantly, and on my way to the Conference, to be held +at Baraboo, Aug. 31st, I attended a Camp-Meeting at Lodi. The meeting +had been appointed with a view to intercept the Bishop and the Preachers +on their way to the Conference. The attendance was large and the meeting +spirited. Bishop Scott came early in the week, and before Friday night +there were not less than sixty-five Preachers in attendance. After +preaching twice, the Bishop left on Saturday, as he was to dedicate the +new Church in Baraboo on the Sabbath. As it was desirable also for the +Presiding Elder to go forward with the Bishop, I was requested to remain +and take charge of the Camp-Meeting until Monday. I consented on +condition that the Bishop would take the clergy with him to the +dedication. I selected a few men from the Fond du Lac District, and a +few others from the vicinity of the meeting to remain with me, and the +balance mostly went with the Bishop. + +The change in the state of affairs, as I anticipated, was felt +immediately. The Laity, who must always form the basis of a successful +meeting, now came forward and took hold of the work. On Saturday night +the Spirit fell on the people in great power. Before the conclusion of +the sermon it was manifest that there would be, to change the reference, +an abundance of rain. In the Prayer Meeting which followed, not less +than thirty souls were converted. On Sabbath the meeting went forward +with great spirit. But the climax was not reached until Sabbath evening, +when, at the close of a sermon by Brother Himebaugh, the whole audience +seemed to respond to the invitations of the Gospel. The Altar was +thronged and the adjacent seats were filled far back into the +congregation. It was impossible to tell how many were forward as +seekers, or how many were converted, but those immediately engaged in +the work, expressed the belief that not less than one hundred persons +passed into the Kingdom of Grace. + +The meeting had now received such momentum that it was impossible to +close it on Monday. It was put in charge of brethren who were not +immediately needed at the Conference, and was continued nearly the +entire week. + +On this trip to the Conference, I was permitted to enjoy the +companionship of Rev. N.J. Aplin, who rendered signal service in the +meeting on the Sabbath. + +The Conference at Baraboo was one of unusual interest. The greetings of +the Preachers were cordial, as they always are where persons make +sacrifices and put forth labor in a common cause. It was the first visit +of Bishop Scott to the Conference, and his urbanity and self-sacrificing +labors endeared him to all. The business of the Conference was done in +the spirit of the Master, but an unhappy trial made the session a very +protracted one. This being the second year of my Presiding Eldership, +the Disciplinary limit required several removals, but I need not give +them in detail, as they can be ascertained, if desirable, by consulting +the Minutes. + +On our return from the Conference we reached Fall River on Saturday +evening, and remained there over the Sabbath. On arriving at the forks +of the roads on the crown of the prairie, the several Preachers who were +in company halted for a proper distribution among the good people. Rev. +A.P. Allen, the inimitable joker, who had served as Pastor on the +charge, installed himself master of ceremonies, and proceeded to divide +up the company. After assigning the balance to their respective +quarters, he said, "Now, I guess the young Presiding Elder and the old +Pastor had better go to Aunt Martha's, as that is the place where they +do up the chicken-fixings scientifically." We were delightfully +entertained by Rev. E.J. Smith and family, with whom, it will be +remembered, I became acquainted in 1845. On Sabbath morning, accompanied +by Brother and Sister Smith and their daughters, now Mrs. Pedrick and +Mrs. Coe, of Ripon, we attended religious services at the school house +in Fall River, where the serving fell to the lot of the writer. + +At the beginning of the new year, special attention was given to the +finances in the several charges. And during the first round the work was +planned for the winter campaign. Fixing on the localities where I could +render special assistance to the Pastors, it was arranged to commence +the services with the Quarterly Meetings, and if the work should require +more than the following week, I could return after the succeeding +Quarterly Meeting had been held. + +The first meeting was held at Appleton, Rev. Elmore Yocum being the +Pastor. This noble man, one of the excellent of the earth, came to the +Conference in 1849 by transfer from the North Ohio Conference, and was +appointed Presiding Elder of the Platteville District. At the close of +his term, he was stationed at Appleton, where his family could enjoy +special educational advantages. At the end of two years he was made +Presiding Elder of the Appleton District, and at the close of his term +went to the West Wisconsin Conference, as he had become identified with +the Educational Institution at Point Bluff. Both as Pastor and Presiding +Elder Brother Yocum was deservedly popular. + +The meeting at Appleton awakened intense interest. The good work grew +upon our hands from day to day, until the business of the village was +largely suspended during the hours of religious service. All classes +fell under the good influence, and both students and citizens shared in +the result. One hundred and thirty souls were converted. + +The next meeting was held at Sheboygan Falls. As I drove into the +village, the severest storm of the winter was raging, and by Sabbath +morning the snow was two feet in depth. During the following night the +winds piled it into drifts that made the roads nearly impassable. What +was to be done? The prospect certainly looked dubious. But it occurred +to me that a little preparation for the meeting would be of service, and +this could now be done before the crowd should rush in upon us. We +decided to go on. Illustrating the saying, "Where there's a will there's +a way," the good people opened the streets in the village, and a small +congregation was brought together. The Spirit of God came down in sweet, +melting influences, and, under the Divine inspiration, the faith of the +Church grew strong. Before the end of the week the place was filled, and +souls were being converted. + +The Pastor was Rev. R.W. Barnes. And as soon as the meeting was well +established, the Pastors of the other Churches, Rev. Mr. Marsh, of the +Congregational, and Rev. Mr. Lull, of the Baptist, came in with their +people. They were received cordially, and set at work as opportunity +offered. Besides these, several of our own Laymen gave themselves almost +wholly to the work. Among these, Rev. L. Cheeseman, a Local Preacher, +and E.T. Bond, Esq., a merchant, deserve special mention. Too much +cannot be said in praise of these lay workers and the Church generally. +With their Pastor, they were instant in season and out of season. After +the regular labor of the evening was concluded, it was no uncommon thing +for them to organize a second meeting for such of the seekers as had not +obtained a satisfactory evidence of conversion. Here, in prayer and +Christian Conference, they would labor until midnight, and in some +instances until the dawn of day. The shout of victory usually signalled +the close of the meeting. A more thorough work than this I never +witnessed. I left the meeting twice before its close to attend to my +work elsewhere, and was brought back by a messenger. During the meeting +one hundred and fifty souls professed conversion, and among them were +both men and women, who have since shown themselves to be valiant +soldiers for Prince Immanuel. + +The next meeting was held in the South Ward charge, Fond du Lac. The +Pastor, Rev. E.S. Grumley, who had been appointed to the charge at the +recent Conference, entered the North Ohio Conference in 1842. He had +been stationed at Lower Sandusky, Bucyrus, Ashland, Shanesville, Ohio +City, Tiffin, Sandusky City and Norwalk. Since his transfer to the +Conference in 1851, he had been two years at Council Hill. After filling +his term in Fond du Lac he was, for a full term, Presiding Elder on +Racine District. After leaving the District he continued to hold +respectable appointments until 1871, when his health failed and he was +compelled to take a superannuated relation. + +Brother Grumley was a man of small frame and apparently of feeble +health, yet he was able to do effective work to the last. He had a +sound head, and a heart equally sound. He was a good Preacher, and a +superior Pastor. Revivals usually attended his labors, and he was always +highly esteemed by the people. + +The meeting at Fond du Lac immediately followed the one at Sheboygan +Falls. With my family I left the latter place in time to reach Fond du +Lac at noon on Saturday. But through detention I was just driving into +the city as the bell was ringing for the service. Hastily caring for my +horse, I went immediately to the Church. Before the services were +concluded, I saw evident assurances that the Pastor had been making +careful preparation for the work before us. The opening sermon was +addressed to the Church, and found a ready and hearty response. Before +the Quarterly Meeting had passed, it was manifest that a glorious +revival was impending. Seekers of religion came to the Altar and found a +prepared Church to lead them to Christ. The meeting went on from night +to night, and before the end of the week, each night brought scores of +seekers. The good Pastor was now at home. In prayer, in exhortation, and +in labor at the side of the seeker, he was a tower of strength. Among +the laity there were also several excellent laborers, who rendered +valuable services in the meeting. The revival reached all classes, from +youth to old age, and gave to the Church many reliable accessions. + +At the beginning, sister Churches joined largely in the meeting, but as +the work extended among their people, they opened meetings at their own +places of worship. The change, however, did not check the revival. It +swept on through the community, and all the Churches shared in the +harvest of souls. + +During this year Sheboygan was also favored with a revival. Rev. N.J. +Aplin, the Pastor, came to Wisconsin during the previous year. He came +from Western New York, where he had been engaged in business, bringing a +note of introduction from Rev. Moses Miller, my uncle, who had been for +several years his neighbor. I employed him at once, for the balance of +the year, at Charlestown, a new charge that I had just formed. He was +admitted on trial at the ensuing Conference, and appointed to Sheboygan. + +After leaving Sheboygan, Brother Aplin's appointments have been: +Manitowoc, Waukesha, Brookfield, Watertown, Beaver Dam, Oconomowoc, +Berlin, Geneva, Sun Prairie, Sharon, and Clemensville. At the last named +place, he is still rendering the cause effective service. Brother Aplin +has been a successful man, and has seen, at various times, extensive +revivals under his labors. He is a man who "seeks not his own but the +things of Christ." + +At Sheboygan he was assisted in his meeting by Fay H. Purdy, Esq., of +Palmyra, N.Y., with whom he had enjoyed an acquaintance in the East. +Brother Purdy had already become distinguished as the "Lawyer +Evangelist." Under the united labors of these devoted and earnest men, +there was a great quickening in the Church, and though the population of +the town was largely German, there was an accession to the Church of +forty members. + +It was during this Conference year the celebrated Greenbush Camp Meeting +was held. The meeting was held in June, 1854. The people came in great +numbers, and many of them were fresh from their revivals at home. On +invitation, Brother Purdy came to the meeting and brought with him, from +Western New York, Rev. Amos Hard, Seth H. Woodruff, Esq., and several +others. The meeting was one of great power. Large numbers of professing +Christians entered into a new consecration to God, and many souls +professed conversion. Throughout the week, the meetings continued to +increase in spiritual interest, but culminated in the services of Sunday +night. After the close of the sermon, seekers were invited to the Altar. +Then followed prayers, singing, and Christian testimony without +intermission, until the morning light broke upon the encampment. The +prayers of the penitent and the shouts of the saved greeted every hour +of the night. The voices of prayer and song did not cease until the +meeting was closed on Monday. + +Nor did the formal closing of the services in the grove close the +meeting. It was now adjourned to the school house in the village, where +the services were continued with unflagging interest. But there now came +an interchange of labor. Whenever it was necessary to look after +domestic affairs, the meeting was left in the hands of others, and on +returning its duties were again resumed. Thus by these changes there was +no cessation of the meeting throughout Monday, Monday night, and a +portion of the following day. This meeting is still referred to with +great interest by those who were permitted to participate in its +thrilling exercises. + +The Pastor of Greenbush at this time was Rev. A.M. Hulce. He was a young +man in the work, having been received into the Conference at its last +session. Both himself and good lady were fully engaged in the work, and +greatly assisted in perfecting the arrangements for the meeting. Brother +Hulce was a well-read man, a good thinker, and earnestly devoted to his +work, but his health was not equal to the toil and exposures of the +Itinerancy. After laboring a few years he was compelled to retire to the +local ranks, in which position he still holds an honorable place. + +Other charges than those mentioned also shared in the revivals of the +year, giving a net result for the District of nearly one thousand +conversions. My labors throughout the year were severe, making an +average of nearly seven sermons per week. + +The Conference for 1854 was held at Janesville, and I was returned to +the District for a fourth year. Several changes of Ministers were made, +several new fields were opened, and six new men were brought into +the District. + +Omro was one of the charges to claim my attention at the beginning of +this year. It had now assumed considerable importance, it being the home +of the Brother Cowhams. James M., the elder, was the Recording Steward, +ranking among the most efficient I have ever known, and John M., the +younger, was a leading spirit in all Church work, becoming subsequently +a Local Preacher of most excellent standing. + +The Pastor of the charge was Rev. T.C. Golden, who entered the +Conference in 1850, and had been stationed at Cascade and Sheboygan +Falls. He was a man of mark. Of a vigorous mental development and +logical cast, he early became an able Preacher and commanded a leading +place in the Conference. After leaving Omro, he was stationed in Fond du +Lac. He was then transferred to the West Wisconsin Conference, and +stationed at La Crosse, after which he served several years as Presiding +Elder with great acceptability. At the present writing he is a Presiding +Elder in the Upper Iowa Conference. Dr. Golden, for such is his present +title, has made a most gratifying record. + +A Quarterly Meeting held at Brother John M. Cowham's during this year, +is remembered with great pleasure. This dear Brother had built both a +house and a barn of large dimensions, and the meeting, to be held in +the latter, awakened general interest throughout the circuit, bringing +together a multitude of people. Every house in the neighborhood was +filled with guests, and the balance, not less than fifty in number, were +entertained at what was called the Cowham Mansion. But great as was the +outpouring of the people, the manifestations of the Spirit were still +more extraordinary. Under the preaching of the Word, the Holy Ghost fell +on the people. The shout of redeemed souls and the cry of penitents, +"What shall I do to be saved?" commingled strangely together. And yet, +out of the apparent discord, there came the sweetest harmony. The minor +strains were lost in the rapturous paeans of the major movement, as each +seeking soul received "the new song." The days of the Fathers seemed to +have returned to the Church, when, under the Pentecostal baptism, +believers fell to the floor, and multitudes were saved in a day. + +It was during this year that I was called to experience a severe trial +in the death of my dear father, which occurred on the 30th day of May, +1855. After remaining at Waupun six years, he removed, in 1850, to +Waupaca, where he purchased the lands comprising the site of the present +village, laid out the town and erected a lumber mill. Soon after his +arrival he opened religious services, preaching the first sermon and +organizing the first class. In due time, others came to his assistance, +and a small Church was built. Waupaca having been taken into the regular +work, my father now visited the adjacent neighborhoods and established +religious meetings, preaching usually two or three times on the Sabbath. +Not a few of these early appointments ultimately became the nucleus of +independent charges. + +My father's illness was brief. In the latter part of the winter he met +me at my Quarterly Meeting at Oshkosh, but, to the regret of the people, +he was unable to preach. He felt that his work was nearly done, and in +referring to the matter, said: "I have no occasion to feel anxious about +it, since, through Divine help, I have been permitted to preach, on an +average, about two sermons a week for thirty years." I visited him two +weeks before his death, and found his mind tranquil and his Faith +unwavering. When I enquired as to his state of mind, he said, "It is +like a sunbeam of glory." He continued in the same satisfactory frame, +until he passed over the river to join the white-robed throng in the +Heavenly realm. The multitudes who gathered with tearful eyes around his +grave, gave but a fitting expression of their high appreciation of a +noble life. + +The labors of my first term as Presiding Elder were now drawing to a +close. Though my labors had been arduous, yet such had been the kindness +and co-operation of both Preachers and people, I felt an interest in +them. During the four years the District had nearly doubled its +strength, and was now ready for a division. + +Feeling that it was due to myself, being so young a man, and due to the +Church also, that I should now go back to station work, I favored at the +Conference a resolution asking the Bishop to appoint no man to a +District for a second term until there had been an intervening service +of two years on circuits or stations. The action of the Conference +doubtless, sent me to a station instead of a District. + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +Conference of 1855.--The New Departure.--Mission Committee.--The Slavery +Controversy.--Triumph of Freedom.--Wisconsin Conference Rule. Conference +Report.--Election of Delegates.--Appointed to Racine.--Detention.--The +Removal to the New Charge.--Stage, Dray, and Steamboat.--New Bus Line. + +The Conference for 1855 was held at Racine on the 29th day of August, +and was presided over by Bishop Janes. During the session I was +quartered with Rev. Moses Adams, a superannuated member of the Black +River Conference. + +The business of the Conference was transacted with the usual dispatch, +and there were only two items which engrossed unusual attention. These +were the distribution of the missionary appropriations and the election +of delegates to the General Conference. + +As to the first, a new departure was made in the organization of the +Committee on Missions. The Presiding Elders of the Conference had been +hitherto appointed on this Committee. But now a few restless spirits, +who fancied that, as seen from their limited opportunities to judge +correctly, the appropriations had not been judiciously made during the +past few years, determined to appoint this Committee from among the +Pastors. The Elders, well knowing that the farcical proceeding would in +time come to naught, concluded to offer no opposition to the movement. +The Committee was accordingly appointed and proceeded to the discharge +of its duties. At the first meeting, however, it was found that the +Committee was unable to proceed for want of information. At the next +meeting, to remedy this difficulty, the brethren who had occupied +Mission fields the previous year were invited to be present. This +measure was found to afford only a partial relief, as these brethren +knew nothing of the border territory that ought now to be organized into +new fields. The next move was to ask all the Pastors to meet the +Committee at the next session. To afford room to accommodate the +Committee and its invited guests, the audience room of the Church was +appropriated for an entire afternoon. Here the great work of the +Committee was entered upon in right good earnest, with the special +champions of the movement as managers of the exhibition. + +But now, alas! for the success of the meeting, there was too much light. +At once a large number of fields that had been supposed to be +self-supporting was brought forward, and their respective +representatives were so successful in setting forth their feeble and +helpless condition, that many of them were entered upon the list by the +Committee as Missions. The question as to the number of Missions having +been settled, the next thing in order was the amount of money that +should be given to each. + +From the information already received, the amounts were jotted down +briskly until the entire list had been gone over. The footings were now +made, and to the Committee the result was appalling. They had +appropriated three times the amount of money at their disposal. Then +came the rub, which had been so often experienced by the Presiding +Elders. The Missions must be cut down in two ways. First, all that could +possibly manage to get through the year without aid must be struck off +the list, and then such as remain will need to be cut down to the +lowest possible figure. But still brave, our Committee would not see +their impending defeat, and proceeded at once to the labor of +cutting down. + +One of the champions had been a surgeon in his time, and had cut human +flesh with becoming recklessness, but now he, as well as the entire +Committee, struck a new experience. To strike Missions off the list, and +cut down the appropriations to others, is comparatively an easy task in +the quiet and secluded confines of a committee room, but to do either in +the presence of the very men who expected to occupy those fields the +coming year, and who knew the poverty of the people, was quite another +thing. The flood-gates of speech-making had been opened by the +Committee, and it was now impossible to close them. The balance of the +afternoon was given to stormy debate, and into what disorder the meeting +might have drifted, if the coming evening had not made its appearance, +it is impossible to conjecture. + +The next day the Committee took another new departure, and invited the +Presiding Elders, who had studied these matters and looked the ground +carefully over for a whole year, before them. The Committee were now +able to complete their labors and make such a report as had usually been +presented to the Conference. But the Conference became fully satisfied +that this experiment needed no duplicate, and, for years after, the +mention of the "Committee of the Whole on Missions," did not fail to +excite mirth. + +Early in the session, the election of delegates to the General +Conference occurred. As I was too young to be thought of in that +connection, I was permitted to sit quietly and take notes. The only +issue of any great importance in the election was the slavery question. +And as this institution had already been put in issue in the general +elections of the country, it could not well be left out on this +occasion. So it was made the chief subject of discussion. To be a +thorough-going anti-slavery man was the stubborn test of qualifications +for a delegate. And that there might be no mistake on this point, it was +deemed advisable to have an able committee present to the body as a +platform a report that should make the absolute prohibition of slavery +its chief plank. But before I make further reference to the report it +will not be amiss to refer briefly to the subject of slavery in its +relations to the Church. + +At the organization of the Church in this country, and for years +thereafter, the testimony she gave against American Slavery was distinct +and unequivocal. Both the Ministers and people were agreed that the +Institution was, as Mr. Wesley was pleased to call it, "The sum of all +villanies." Agreeing in this, they further believed that, as a relic of +barbarism, it would soon pass away. Under this conviction they hardly +deemed it necessary to enter up any very stringent enactments against +it, save that it might be well as a temporary arrangement to provide +that there should be no traffic in slaves. Under such a regulation +matters passed on for a term of years. But in due time it was found that +the tendency of events was not altogether satisfactory. + +At the outset, the Church had been planted in the central portion of the +Atlantic States, and had then grown rapidly southward, giving the +balance of power to the Conferences where slavery existed. At this +juncture, also, by a remarkable change in the commercial affairs of the +country, the cotton crop of the South began to find an increasing demand +and appreciate in value, thereby giving an increased value to slave +labor. With this change came at once the multiplication of slaves and +large returns. To own slaves and cultivate cotton now became the ruling +inspiration of the people. + +At the first the Church stoutly opposed the insetting tide, but as the +waves of commercial life grew strong and swept around her, the power of +resistance grew more feeble from year to year, until finally some of her +own people began to plead extenuation and even tolerance. The conflict +was now open, and the result seemed questionable. With the conscience of +the Southern portion of the Church asleep or dormant, the anti-slavery +side of the issue came finally to depend upon the Church in the North +for statement and defence. + +At this stage of the conflict the controversy became sectional, the +South upholding and the North seeking to remove the evil. Thus the +contest raged for years, until the South, growing strong on her +ill-gotten gains, and arrogant from her success with the supple-kneed +politicians of the North, put the Church in the North upon the defensive +by demanding toleration, if not actual adoption. The issue was made in +trying to foist upon the whole Church a slave holding Episcopacy. This +last act was the feather, if such it might be called, that broke the +camel's back. + +The effort was thwarted by the North only through the timely aid of a +few of the Central Conferences. At this the South took offence, as is +well known, and seceded, carrying with them more than half a million of +members and a portion of the Church property. To secure the latter, it +is true, long and bitter litigations followed the separation. And it is +generally accepted in the North that the decision which gave it to the +South took its shape from the political complexion at the time of the +Supreme Court of the United States. + +It was now thought that the question of slavery was put to rest. But +alas! for human foresight. It still remained that the General Rules, +which permitted members to hold slaves, provided they did not "buy or +sell," had not been changed. And it was soon found that the awakened +conscience of the North could not rest until the last vestige of the +nefarious institution was swept from the Church. Agitations, therefore, +followed, and each succeeding General Conference found this question to +be still the troubler of Israel. Nor was the question left alone to the +care of the General Conference. Each annual Conference was also +agitated by it. + +But it was evident to all that a serious embarrassment must be overcome +to secure a change of the General Rules. The Constitution of the Church +has a provision which, to effect a change, requires a two-thirds vote in +the General Conference, and a three-fourths vote in all the Annual +Conferences. To obtain the requisite vote with these provisions, it will +be seen, can only be realized on such questions as can command great +unanimity of sentiment. If the entire South had gone off in the +separation, the trouble would have been at an end, but, as we have seen, +the border Conferences remained with their brethren of the North, and +aided them in fighting the first battle with the slave power. + +But now, when the question of a change of rule was brought forward, they +took the other side, and in doing so were able to furnish enough votes +to defeat the proposed measure. And the question, which was now +agitating the Annual Conference, was the framing of such a rule as would +meet the approval of the great body of the Church, and pass it along the +line of the Conferences to secure their favorable consideration before +taking it to the General Conference. + +At the preceding session of the Wisconsin Conference such a rule had +been framed and sent on its way to the several Conferences to obtain +their approval. This was called the "Wisconsin Conference Rule," and +read as follows: "The buying, selling, or holding of a human being as a +slave." This rule received very general favor among the Northern +Conferences, but was rejected of course by those lying along the border. + +At the Conference now in session in Racine, as before stated, a report +was submitted touching this matter. And it was intended to so set forth +the sentiment of the Conference as to make it a test of eligibility in +the election. I subjoin an extract from the resolutions adopted: + +"<i>Resolved,</i> That we contemplate with feelings of deep humility and +sorrow before God, that the M. E. Church has any connection with the +system of American Slavery, and that we will not cease our efforts for +extirpation until the last ligament is severed." + +"<i>Resolved,</i> That we record with gratitude, the favor with which the +'New Rule,' proposed by our Conference at its last session, has met in +so many of the Conferences in which it has been acted upon, and we +believe that the principle involved in it is the standard at which the +Church should and will soon arrive." + +"<i>Resolved,</i> That whether or not the next General Conference adopt it as +a substitute for our present General Rule on Slavery, we earnestly +request that body to so modify the Chapter on Slavery as to prevent the +admission of any slaveholder into the M. E. Church, and secure the +exclusion of all who are now members, if they will not, after due labor, +emancipate their slaves." + +This report was adopted with remarkable unanimity, but when the vote was +taken for delegates, it so happened that at least two of the men who had +been most clamorous in its support, failed to secure an election. This +result, however, did not come from a real difference in sentiment on +the main question, but from a desire to send to the General Conference a +delegation that would not defeat the desired end by a manifestation of +zeal without prudence. The Chairman of the Committee, however, was +elected to lead the delegation. The Delegates were P. S. Bennett, I. M. +Leihy, Edward Cooke, Elmore Yocum and Chauncey Hobart. + +During the session of the Conference, a meeting of the principal members +of the Church and congregation at Racine was held, to take into +consideration the condition and wants of the charge. The deliberation +had resulted in laying before the Presiding Bishop a request for the +appointment of the writer. The appointment was accordingly made. But a +removal to the charge was attended with no little difficulty. + +During the latter part of the spring term of the Lawrence University, +the typhoid fever appeared among the students, and in several instances +proved fatal. To prevent the like result in other cases, the inhabitants +opened their doors to receive sick students who could not be suitably +cared for in the dormitories of the College. Four of these were taken by +Mrs. Miller, and, in every case, it was believed that their lives were +only saved through her kind intervention and care. This kindness to +others, however, proved disastrous to her and the family. Before her +charge was well off her hands, she was herself attacked by the same +malignant disease. Then followed weeks of suffering on her part, and not +a little interruption of my work as Presiding Elder, especially +unfortunate in the closing part of the year. She passed down to the +borders of the grave, and on two occasions the beating of the pulse +seemed to cease, but in the good providence of God she was spared. Her +return to health, however, was slow, and meantime her sister, now Mrs. +Gov. C. K. Davis, of Minnesota, who resided with us at the time, was +taken with the same disease. This latter case was also a severe one, and +for several weeks delayed our removal to the new charge. But as soon as +it would do to attempt the journey, we were on our way. Unable to walk, +I was obliged to carry the invalid from the house to the carriage, and +from the carriage at Menasha to the steamboat. We reached Fond du Lac in +the evening and tarried for the night. The following morning we took the +stage for Sheboygan. The roads were excellent and the coach comfortable, +but it was necessary to carry the invalid literally in my arms the +entire distance. On arriving at the shore end of the pier at Sheboygan, +the steamboat, at the other end, gave a signal for her departure. +Hastily leaving the coach and sending the family forward with all +possible dispatch, I chartered a common dray, the only conveyance at +hand, placed a trunk upon it, took the invalid in my arms, seated myself +on the trunk, and bade the driver to put his horse on his best speed. +The race was a most creditable one, and before the boat had time to get +under way, we were nicely on board, to the great merriment of all +concerned. + +But out of one trouble, we were soon into another. We had hardly reached +the open lake before the boat encountered a heavy sea, which brought +sea-sickness to all of the company for the balance of the journey. But +in this misfortune we were not alone. Rev. E. S. Grumley, the newly +appointed Presiding Elder of the Racine District, and his family, had +also come on board at Sheboygan, and were now our companions in travel, +as also in misery. Tossing amid the waves, the progress of the steamboat +was slow, and we did not reach Racine until after midnight. We were +happy to gain a landing, but we found ourselves without a conveyance to +the hotel. Not even the common dray was at hand. But, nothing daunted, +we groped amid the darkness until we came upon the buggy of the +Presiding Elder, which fortunately had been landed from the same boat. +The invalid was soon placed in it, and, adopting a style of travel that +might have seemed unusual by daylight, in due time we were at the hotel. + +The following morning we were sought out by the good people and kindly +cared for, being assigned to quarters with my late host and his +obliging family. + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +Racine.--Its Early History.--Subsequent Growth.--Racine District.--Rev. +Dr. Hobart.--Kenosha.--Rev. Salmon Stebbins.--Sylvania.--The +Kelloggs.--Walworth Circuit.--Burlington and Rochester.--Lyons. Troy +Circuit.--First Class at Troy.--Eagle.--Round Prairie.--Hart +Prairie.--Delavan.--Elkhorn.--Pastorate at Racine.--Revival.--Church +Enlargement.--Second Year.--Precious Memories. + +The great centers from which the Church in Wisconsin has radiated were +few in number and were fixed upon at an early period in the development +of the work. These centers were Green Bay, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, +Aztalan, Racine, and Janesville. Of the first five a record has been +made, and, following the line of my labors, Racine should next engage my +attention. + +At this place the first settlement was made in November, 1834, by +Captain Gilbert Knapp, who came on horseback from Chicago. On the second +day of January following, Stephen Campbell, Paul Kingston, and Messrs. +Newton and Fay arrived, and, as far as I am able to ascertain, were the +first Methodists who settled at Racine. At the same time William See and +Edmund Weed came to the vicinity, the former settling at the Rapids, +where he built a mill, and the latter making a claim on the lands which +have since become the homestead of Senator Fratt. Alanson Filer came in +November, 1835, and A.G. Knight in April, 1836. In his journey to +Wisconsin, Brother Knight traveled on horseback from Wayne County, N.Y., +to Chicago, and on foot the balance of the way. Jonathan M. Snow and +Nathan Joy came soon after, the latter coming around the lakes in the +first three-master that visited Lake Michigan. Rev. Daniel Slauson and +William Bull came in September, 1837, traveling in their own conveyance +from Detroit. The list of names thus given does not make a full record +of the early arrivals, but furnishes, as far as I am informed, such as +constituted, with the exception of the first named, the first Methodist +Community. + +The writer has been unable to ascertain where and by whom the first +class was formed, or who constituted the first members. But it is +probable that the place was included in Milwaukee Mission as early as +1835, and that the class was formed by Rev. Mark Robinson during that +year, or by his successor, Rev. Wm. S. Crissey, the year following. And +it is also probable that the gentlemen above named, who were there at +the time, and their families, constituted the first members, with +Brother Paul Kingston as Leader. The meetings were held in the log +residence of the last named, located near the lake, at the foot of +Seventh street. + +Racine Mission was formed in 1837 and Rev. Otis F. Curtis was the first +Pastor. The Mission, reaching from the Illinois State Line to Milwaukee, +included appointments at Racine, Southport, Pleasant Prairie, Kellogg's +Corners, Ives Grove, Caledonia and Root River. + +In 1839 the charge took the name of Racine and Southport Mission, the +Pastor being Rev. Salmon Stebbins. In 1840 Southport was made a separate +charge, and the Pastor at Racine was Rev. L.F. Moulthrop. In 1841 the +Root River portion was set off and made a separate charge, and Racine +was left to be supplied. The following year the Sylvania circuit was +formed, and Southport and Racine were again put together, with Rev. +James Mitchell as Pastor. In 1843 they were again separated, and the +Pastor at Racine was Rev. Milton Bourne. In 1844 the Pastor was Rev. G. +L. S. Stuff, and in 1845, Rev. Julius Field. + +As before stated, the meetings were at first held in a private house, +but as the congregations increased, a public building was rented near +the foot of Main Street. After the school house was built, the meetings +were removed to it, and it was at this latter place the writer attended +a service during his first Sabbath in the State. Soon after the first +Church was built, to which we shall have occasion to refer hereafter. + +Racine District was created in 1847, and Rev. Chauncey Hobart was +appointed the first Presiding Elder. Dr. Hobart entered the Illinois +Conference in 1836, the Conference then including Illinois, Wisconsin, +Iowa and Minnesota. His appointments before coming to the District had +been: Rockingham, Iowa, Monmouth, Macomb, Quincy, Rushville, Peoria, +Jacksonville, Springfield, and Clark Street, Chicago. After leaving the +District, in 1849, he was appointed Presiding Elder of Minnesota +District. At the end of his term he was stationed at Spring Street, +Milwaukee, and next served one year as Presiding Elder on the Milwaukee +District, when, on account of the infirm health of his wife, he returned +to Minnesota. Since his return, he has continued to labor on both +stations and districts with great acceptability up to the present time. + +Dr. Hobart is a man of superior abilities, and his labors have been in +special demand. He has been elected five times to the General +Conference, and has been seven times appointed to Districts. As a +Preacher he is always acceptable, but at times he delivers extraordinary +sermons. It requires a great occasion to take the full measure of the +man. At such times he has been known to move audiences with overwhelming +power. Especially was this the case under the sermon he delivered at a +Camp-Meeting held two miles west of Big Foot Prairie, in 1849. On this +occasion the tide of feeling rose to such a height that great numbers of +the congregation unconsciously left their seats and stood entranced, +while the saints shouted for joy, and sinners cried out in the anguish +of their souls for mercy. + +Having thus spoken of the Presiding Elder of the Racine District, it is +fitting that we should now glance briefly at a few of the early charges. + +Kenosha, as we have seen, was included in the Racine Mission in 1837, +and shared the labors of Brother Curtis. The first class was formed +during this term probably by either the Pastor or Rev. John Clark, the +Presiding Elder, and consisted of Rev. Reuben H. Deming, Austin Kellogg, +Hon. and Mrs. Charles Durkee, Mrs. Harvey Durkee, John W. Dana Martha E. +Dana, and Susan Dana. The Presiding Elder, Rev. Salmon Stebbins, held a +Quarterly Meeting in Kenosha, then called Southport, November 24th, +1837. The meeting was held in a small log school house standing near the +present site of the Simmons Block. + +During the following year a revival occurred, which resulted in the +conversion of nearly the entire community. The meetings were held in a +public building on the North Side, but the erection of a Church +immediately followed. As before stated, Brother Stebbins became the +Pastor in 1839, and remained also the following year. The succeeding +Pastors up to 1845 were Rev. F.T. Mitchell, Rev. James Mitchell, Rev. +Wm. H. Sampson, Rev. C.D. Cahoon and Rev. Warner Oliver. At this +writing, Kenosha ranks among the leading stations of the Conference. + +Brother Stebbins entered the New York Conference in 1822. When the +Conference was divided he fell into the northern portion, which took the +name of Troy. In this field he labored fourteen years, his charges +covering the territory from Albany to the Canada line. At the +solicitation of Rev. John Clark, he was transferred to the Illinois +Conference in 1837, and appointed Presiding Elder, the District +extending from the Illinois State Line to Green Bay. In 1839 he was +appointed to the Racine and Southport Mission, as before stated, and +remained on the Southport part the following year. After leaving +Southport charge he was stationed at Platteville, Lake, Madison and St. +Charles. Subsequently taking a location, he became a resident of +Kenosha, in the vicinity of which place he still resides. + +Brother Stebbins is a man of superior ability, and in his prime enjoyed +considerable reputation as a Preacher. He is spending the evening of his +life in quiet, trustingly awaiting the change that now cannot be +long delayed. + +Sylvania was settled by three Kellogg brothers and their families in the +spring of 1837, the place being first known as Kellogg's Corners. Soon +after their arrival the ladies, one of whom, Mrs. Seth H. Kellogg, was +the daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Washburn, of New York Conference, +organized a Sunday School. The neighborhood was connected with the +Racine Mission, and a class was formed at an early period, with Seth H. +Kellogg as Leader, but I cannot fix the exact date. Nor am I able to +state at what time the first Church was completed. It was claimed, +however, to have taken precedence in the State. + +In the erection of the Church, which was built by Chauncey Kellogg, the +young society was assisted by a donation of two hundred dollars from +Sunday Schools in New York City. Rev. Julius Field, whose wife was a +sister of the Kelloggs, secured the aid, he having been stationed in +that city. The Church edifice cost six hundred dollars, and was the +building in which I preached the funeral sermon of Mother Washburn some +sixteen years later. The veteran, Father Washburn, was also buried at +this place. Sylvania was made a separate charge in 1842, with Rev. +Milton Bourne as Pastor. + +Passing westward, the old Walworth circuit should next claim our +attention. It will be remembered that this charge was formed in 1839, +taking the south half of the old Aztalan circuit. The first Pastor was +Rev. James McKean, who was an earnest and devoted laborer in the +vineyard. But as his fields fell on the south side of the State Line at +the end of his term, a record will doubtless be made of him elsewhere. + +In 1840 the circuit was divided. The southeastern portion was called +Burlington and Rochester, with Rev. David Worthington as Pastor, of whom +a record has been made in a former chapter, and the name of the old +charge was changed to Troy, on which Brother McKean remained as Pastor. + +On the new charge there were two classes formed by Brother Worthington +during this year. The first was formed in Puffer's school house on +Spring Prairie in the summer of 1840, and included in its membership, +Mr. and Mrs. John M. Cowham, Lansing Lewis, and Mrs. Lewis, his mother. +Brother Cowham was the Leader. + +The other class was organized in Lyonsdale, with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas +Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher Lyon, Mr. and Mrs. Ansel Waite, Mr. and Mrs. +Marshall, and Mrs. Jones. Hon. Wm. P. Lyon, of the Supreme Court, +subsequently became identified with the Society. Lyons, as the village +is called, is at the present writing a charge of respectable standing, +having a good Church and Parsonage. The writer had the pleasure to +dedicate the Church during his Pastorate in Racine. + +At Troy, a class had been organized by Brother McKean during the latter +part of the former year. At this time the members were Daniel Griffin, +Sen., Daniel Griffin, Jr., Dr. and Mrs. Brooks Bowman, Mrs. McCracken, +Mr. and Mrs. John Spoor, and a Brother Jennings. Brother Spoor was a +Local Preacher, the Leader and the S.S. Superintendent. + +In 1841, Rev. L.F. Moulthrop was appointed to Troy circuit. He remained +the second year and had as a colleague the excellent Rev. Henry +Whitehead, so long and well known by the Preachers of the Northwest in +connection with the Chicago Book Depository. The circuit at this time +included Troy, Eagle, Hart Prairie, Round Prairie, Turtle Prairie, +Delavan and Elkhorn. + +At Eagle a class was formed consisting of Rev. William Cross, Local +Preacher, Mrs. William Cross, and her sister, now Mrs. James Parsons, +Mr. and Mrs. A. Hinkley, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, Mr. and Mrs. Atwater, Mr. +and Mrs. Long. + +At Round Prairie a class was also formed. The members as far as +ascertained were Rev. James Flanders, Local Preacher, Mr. and Mrs. +Houghton, Mrs. Norcross, Father Cornice, and Mr. and Mrs. +Nelson Cornice. + +At Hart Prairie, the services were held in Father Worthington's log +house, where a class was also organized. Father Worthington, his wife, +and two sons, Elijah and Theodore, and Mrs. Lewis, were the +first members. + +At Delavan the meetings were held alternately in Mr. Bradway's log +house in the village, and at the residence of Mr. Phoenix, on the +prairie. The class at this place was small, and I am unable to insert in +the record more than the names of Mr. and Mrs. Bradway. Delavan has +since grown to the position of an influential charge, with an attractive +Church and enterprising membership. + +Elkhorn at this early day had no class, but, as the County Seat, the +village commanded an appointment. For several years the cause moved +slowly, but finally won its way to a position. At the present writing, +the charge holds a respectable rank in the Conference. + +Having thus briefly examined the early history of Racine and the other +charges that constituted her immediate surroundings, it is now proper +that we should return to the record of the writer's Pastorate. + +Finding that there was no Parsonage, I proceeded to rent a respectable +house in a pleasant part of the city, paying for the same an additional +one hundred dollars out of my salary. Having settled my family, I +adopted my usual method of devoting my mornings to my study, and +afternoons to pastoral visiting. I soon passed over the entire +membership of the station, making it a special point to secure, as far +as possible, a faithful attendance upon the means of grace. The effort +was successful beyond my expectations. + +The congregation soon filled the Church. And as the interest continued +to increase, the aisles and doors were thronged, while large numbers +were utterly unable to obtain admission. With this manifestation of +interest, it was deemed advisable to enter upon a protracted meeting +without delay. We did so, and I preached every night for two weeks. But +the result was not satisfactory. We found the spiritual condition was +not on a plane with the demands of the work. The vast throng of people +had brought upon us a tide of worldly influence that we were unable to +withstand. Additional moral force was necessary, and, to secure it, we +deemed it better to go into the lecture-room and rely upon the social +meetings to develop the requisite spiritual power. With this change +there came to the membership the spirit of consecration and a remarkable +baptism of the Holy Ghost. Before the end of two weeks we were compelled +to return to the audience room. The place was again thronged with +people, but the good work went forward. I continued to preach nightly +for four weeks. One hundred persons were converted and added to +the Church. + +With this large increase of members and a corresponding increase of +attendants, it was necessary to enlarge the Church edifice for their +accommodation. Accordingly the work was undertaken. The rear end of the +building was opened, and the edifice was lengthened so as to accommodate +nearly one-third more people. In doing this, it was thought advisable to +still increase the length by adding twelve feet more for an orchestra, +thereby providing for the removal of the organ from the gallery to the +rear of the pulpit. + +The enlargement, besides furnishing the necessary accommodations for the +people, laid a broader financial basis to the charge, by bringing into +the congregation a number of families who were able to take the new +seats at a good rental. The year passed very satisfactorily. + +The Conference of 1856 was held September 17th, at Appleton, Bishop +Simpson presiding. As expected, we were returned to Racine. We retained +the same house, and found our social relations with the people of +Racine exceedingly pleasant. With not a few families a life-long +friendship was established, and to the present hour the mention of +Racine revives many pleasant recollections. Judge Lyon, who came into +the Church this year, and his good lady, and Messrs. Knight, Yout, +Adams, Langlois, Jones, Lunn, Slauson, Bull, Lees, Conroe, Kidder, Orr, +Jillson, Brewer, Lawrence, with their families, and many others, will +never be forgotten. + +The labors of the year would afford many pleasing incidents were they +permitted to appear in these pages, but their recital would unreasonably +swell the volume. + +The usual protracted meeting was held, continuing five weeks. The work +was very satisfactory, strengthening the converts of the previous year, +and swelling the list of accessions. The revival was especially fruitful +in the Sunday School, leading many of the young people to Christ. But +the labors of the year, as usual, came to a close when we were in the +midst of our work, and we were compelled to sunder old associations and +form new ones in other fields. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +Conference of 1857.--Janesville.--Early History.--First Sermon.--The +Collection.--First Class.--First Church.--First Donation.--Rev. C.C. +Mason.--Missionary Anniversary.--Rev. A. Hamilton.--Rev. D.O. +Jones.--The Writer's Pastorate.--The Great Revival.--The Recipe.--Old +Union Circuit.--First Class.--Evansville.--Rev. Henry Summers.--New +Church. Conference of 1858.--Beloit.--Early Pastorates.--Church +Enterprise.--Second Year at Janesville. + +The Conference for 1857 was held June 26th, at Spring Street, Milwaukee, +Bishop Ames presiding. At this Conference I was stationed at Janesville. + +Janesville, holding a central position in the southern portion of the +State, was the initial point of settlement at an early period, and in +after years, became the focal as well as the radiation center of Church +operations. + +On the 15th day of November, 1835, a company consisting of six men +started from Milwaukee with an ox-team and wagon, the latter containing +provisions, tools, etc., for the Rock River Valley. On the 18th they +arrived where Janesville now stands, and immediately proceeded to build +a log cabin opposite of what is called the "Big Rock." This was the +first settlement in Rock River Valley. Two of their number, however, had +explored the southern portion of the Territory in the preceding July. At +that time there were but two white families in Milwaukee, and only one +between that place and Janesville, that of Mr. McMillen, who lived at +what is now called Waukesha. + +On the 23d of April, 1837, the first United States Mail entered +Janesville. It contained one letter, and this was for the Postmaster, +Henry F. Janes. The mail was brought by a man on horseback, whose mail +route extended from Mineral Point to Racine. The post-office at +Janesville for several months consisted of a cigar box, which was +fastened to a log in the bar-room. Small as it was, it was found to be +amply sufficient to contain all the letters then received by the +citizens of Rock County. + +The first sermon preached in Janesville was delivered by Rev. Jesse +Halstead in September, 1837. Brother Halstead, then on Aztalan circuit, +on coming to this place found a small log house, which enjoyed the +appellation of a tavern. He accepted entertainment in common with other +travelers, but, it being soon known that he was a Minister, he was +invited to preach. He consented, and the services were held in the +bar-room. The liquors were put out of sight, and the Minister made the +bar his pulpit. The audience consisted of a dozen persons. + +The next religious services of which I can obtain information, were held +in the summer of 1838. They were held in an oak grove on one of the +bluffs east of the village. I am not able to find any one who can +furnish me the name of the Preacher, but am assured that he was a +Methodist, and that he did not neglect that special feature of a +Methodist service, the collection. This last part of the exercises, I am +assured, made a vivid impression on the mind of the party to whom I am +indebted for this item of history. And it came in this wise: When the +hat was passed he threw in a bill, an act so generous that it could not +fail to call attention to the contributor. The next day he received a +call from the Minister, who desired him to replace the "wild-cat" bill +by one of more respectable currency, as those kind of bills were +beginning to be refused throughout the Territory. + +In 1839 Rev. James F. Flanders made an occasional visit to Janesville +and preached to the people. His first sermon was delivered in the +bar-room of the public house, which stood on the present site of the +Myers House. Subsequently he preached in an unoccupied log house +opposite where Lappin's Block now stands. The services were next held in +school houses, some log and others frame, until the erection of the +Court House in 1842. Thereafter the court room was occupied and used +alternately by the different religious denominations. + +The Rev. James McKean was the first Minister who preached regularly in +Janesville. The place was taken into the Troy circuit in 1840, and +Brother McKean visited it once in four weeks. This year Rev. Julius +Field held the first Quarterly Meeting in Janesville. + +In the spring of 1841, Brother McKean formed a class and appointed J.P. +Wheeler Leader, but during the following winter the members all left +the place. + +Janesville appears first in the Minutes as the head of a charge in 1841, +with Rev. Alpha Warren as Pastor. At this time it was connected with +Platteville District, and the Presiding Elder was Rev. H.W. Reed. +Brother Warren was succeeded by Rev. Boyd Phelps, who organized a class +in the spring of 1843, consisting of nine or ten members, with John Wynn +as Leader. + +Rev. Lyman Catlin, who came in 1844, was the first resident Pastor. He +was formerly a Professor in Mt. Morris Seminary. During the winter his +wife, who was a lady of fine culture, taught a select school in the +village. Brother Catlin preached in Janesville on the morning of each +Sabbath, and in the afternoon alternated between Union and Johnstown. + +The following year, Rev. T.W. Perkins was appointed to the charge, but +in consequence of ill health, he was soon obliged to resign. His place +was supplied by Rev. Stephen Adams, of Beloit. In 1846 Rev. John Luccock +was the Pastor, and was followed the next year by Rev. Wesley Lattin, +who remained two years. Brother Lattin was very popular with all +classes, and his labors were blessed with an extensive revival. During +his Pastorate the Society erected a small frame church, 35 by 25 feet in +size. It was opened for worship in the fall of 1848. The location was on +the opposite side of Centre Street, and a little west of the present +edifice. A Parsonage was also erected the same year. Both of them, +however, were sold when the grounds were purchased for the new Church. +It was during the Pastorate of Brother Lattin that the first donation +party ever held in Janesville, was given. The company assembled at the +residence of Mr. and Mrs. John Wynn, where Brother Lattin boarded. The +ladies furnished the table with all the luxuries the village afforded, +and the affair was considered a grand success. + +Brother Lattin was followed successively by Revs. J.M. Snow, O.F. +Comfort, and Daniel Stansbury. During the winter of 1852 Brother +Stansbury held a series of meetings, assisted by Rev. C.C. Mason, which +resulted in a considerable addition to the membership of the Church. + +Finding that the little Church was now becoming too small to accommodate +them, the Society decided to build a more commodious house of worship. +It was commenced in the spring following, and was located on the corner +of Jackson and Centre Streets. This is the edifice now occupied by the +first charge, is built of brick, and is 75 by 45 feet in size. The +building was not fully completed until during the Pastorate of Rev. +Henry Requa, in 1855, but it was so far advanced that it was dedicated +in July, 1853, by the pioneer veteran, Rev. John Clark, of the Rock +River Conference. + +The severe labors of Brother Stansbury overtaxed his strength, and he +was compelled to seek rest. Brother Mason was employed to fill out the +balance of the year. Brother Mason was a Local Preacher from England, +had lost one limb, and though somewhat eccentric, he held a high rank as +a pulpit orator. He was often not a little surprised with the queer ways +of this country. I remember to have met him at the Janesville Conference +several years later. He was put up to preach, as usual on all great +occasions, and delivered a grand sermon. The following evening the +Missionary Anniversary came, and at the close of the speeches, the +meeting proceeded to constitute Life Memberships. This was a new role to +the old gentleman, but, soon comprehending the movement, he launched +into it with all his soul. The good Bishop was made a Life Member, then +his wife, then the Missionary Secretary, and so on in a spirited manner. +As each proposition was made, the good brother planked his dollar, +little dreaming of the length of the road upon which he had entered. But +as the memberships were multiplied, his purse fell under the law of +subtraction, until it contained but one dollar more. Just at this moment +some zealous brother proposed to be one of ten to make the Presiding +Elder of the Janesville District a Life Member of the Conference +Missionary Society. It was no time for parley about that remaining +dollar, for the Janesville District must not be outdone by the other +Districts in gallantry, so down went the last dollar. But it had hardly +reached the table before the giver was hunting for his crutches. Such +was the generous nature of the man, however, that he would have stood +his ground to the coming of the morning if he had been advised in +advance of the character of the Anniversary exercises. + +In 1853 Rev. J.W. Wood was stationed at Janesville, and Rev. Henry Requa +in 1854 and 1855. Brother Requa was very popular, drew large audiences, +and realized an accession of fifty members. At the Conference of 1855 a +new charge was formed on the east side of the river, and Rev. C.C. +Mason, who had been received on trial, was appointed as its +first Pastor. + +In 1856, Rev. A. Hamilton was appointed to Janesville, and Rev. D.O. +Jones to East Janesville. Brother Hamilton came to the Conference this +year by transfer from the Oneida Conference, where he had done effective +work for several years. At the close of the year in Janesville he was +made Presiding Elder of Watertown District, where he remained two years. +In 1859, by a reconstruction of the Districts, he was assigned to Beaver +Dam District, where he remained the other two years of his term. For a +number of years thereafter he served on circuits and stations. His +health now failed and he took a superannuated relation. Brother Hamilton +was a good and true man, of a metaphysical turn of thought, well versed +in theology, and an instructive Preacher. + +Brother Jones entered the Conference in 1851, and had been stationed at +Elk Grove, Richland City, Muscoday, and Green Bay. Since he left +Janesville, he has taken a respectable class of appointments, filling +them creditably to himself and acceptably to the people. He is genial in +spirit and warm in his attachments. He is still in the enjoyment of +good health, and promises years of efficient service. + +This brief record brings us to the date of my appointment. At the recent +session of the Conference, the charge on the east side of the river was +left to be supplied, and as it had, up to this time, developed but +little strength, twenty-six members only, it was deemed best to let it +go back to the old charge. + +I found the Church edifice in good condition, but without class or +prayer-rooms. The external appearance was decidedly respectable, and the +accommodations within, both in respect to size and furnishing, equal or +superior to any other Church in the village. + +The Parsonage, a small and inferior building, had been recently sold to +liquidate in part the indebtedness remaining on the Church, and this +involved the necessity of renting a house for my family. + +After becoming settled in our new home, the first special work was to +complete the payment of the Church debt. This was soon arranged, and I +was at liberty to direct my attention more particularly to the spiritual +interests of the charge. My first labor in this direction, as in all my +former charges, was to look well after the people at their homes, and +the second, to see that the social means of grace were well arranged and +properly sustained. And I soon found in Janesville, as I have always +found, that they are the key to successful labor. It is possible by +corresponding adjustment of pulpit labor to excite the attention of the +community, and thereby secure large congregations, but such a result is +not a certain index of true success. In the forum, as on the platform, +it may be otherwise, but in the building up of Christ's kingdom, there +must be a spiritual basis; for his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. In +these days of special clamor for superior pulpit attractions to draw +the crowd, there is a strong temptation to court popular favor by +adjusting both the themes and style of address to the pulpit in such a +way as to withold from the people the only spiritual food that can give +life to a dead soul. Such a Ministry in the eyes of the world may be +deemed a great success, but to such as judge not after the outward +appearance, it is known to be a dead failure. While it utterly fails to +bring souls to Christ, it is also disastrous to the Church itself. The +mighty adhesive forces, which bind the hearts of Christians to each +other, can only subsist on the marrow of Gospel truth, and if this is +wanting, dissension will soon appear, and the Church suffer +disintegration. Holding these views, strengthened as they had been by my +former experience and observation, I resolved, at whatever cost of +reputation, to adhere to them in Janesville. + +The result proved their wisdom. With the revival of the prayer and class +meetings, and the utterance of plain Evangelical truth from the pulpit, +came a speedy manifestation of spiritual interest and growth. And so +marked had this indication of the presence of the Spirit become, that I +felt justified in opening a protracted meeting with the watch-night +services. The meeting grew in interest from night to night, and in a +short time the Altar was filled with penitents. Thus opened a meeting +that continued four months, resulting gloriously to the charge. Nearly +three hundred persons professed to be converted, and near two hundred of +them were received on probation. + +During the meeting I preached nearly every night, and sometimes in the +afternoons. But I was greatly assisted in the meeting by Revs. J.B. +Cooper and I.S. Eldridge, of whom mention will be made in another +chapter. Rev. A.B. Bishop, now a valuable member of Minnesota +Conference, was also, though young, a good laborer in the meeting. Among +the laymen who rendered special service was Brother J.L. Kimball, who, +with his daughter Emily, had been for years the principal reliance in +the singing, both in the choir and social meetings. Referring to this +good brother brings up an incident of the meeting. Brother K. had long +been recognized as the financial man and the singer of the Church, but +could never take a part in the social services with any comfort to +himself. In one of the meetings I suggested that in these matters as in +others, practice would relieve the case. He concluded to try it, and for +two weeks spoke a few words as opportunity offered. But he finally told +the congregation that my recipe would not work. Others might be able to +talk their way to Heaven, but he was satisfied that, as for himself, he +would have to pay his way, if he ever got there. The pleasant remark +seemed more in keeping, when it was remembered that he was always a +generous contributor to every good cause. + +While many of the converts were from among the young people, not a few +were persons of mature years, and some of them in affluent +circumstances. The large increase of members rendered it necessary to +reconstruct the classes, but the want of class rooms retarded this +branch of our work. Several of the classes were assigned to meet during +the week at private houses, and four of them met in the audience room at +the close of the morning service. By placing a class in each corner, +with the understanding that when one of them commenced to sing, all the +others should join, the plan worked very well. After the singing each +class took up the thread where it had been dropped, and proceeded with +the service. Usually the Pastor sat in the Altar to give the responses +to the exercises of each as they seemed to require them. Sometimes not a +little confusion occurred, but it was taken in good feeling by all, and +the meetings were profitable. + +We also organized meetings outside of the village. School houses and +private dwellings were used for this purpose, and these meetings not +only accommodated the people of the several neighborhoods adjacent to +the village, but gave the needed religious employment to the Local +Preachers and other members of the Church. The meetings were held in the +afternoons of the Sabbath, and sometimes, to hold the plan in +countenance, the Pastor himself would go out and deliver a sermon. At +first it was feared by some of the good brethren that these side +meetings would detract from the regular services of the Church, but the +result proved that, on the contrary, they gave an increase of both +interest and attendance. For the people, thus edified and interested, +came into the village and thronged the Church. + +But the year was now drawing to a close. By request of the preceding +Conference, the Conference session had been changed to spring. The year +had been one of severe labor, but its compensations were abundant. I was +able to report a membership, including probationers, of three hundred +and six. Two events in my own family clothed the year with special +interest. The one, the conversion of our eldest daughter, then nine +years old, and her reception into the church, the other, the birth of +our son. They were both occasions of devout thanksgiving to God. + +During this year I made a visit to Evansville, a charge that seems to +hold a central position in the Conference west of Janesville. The first +settlement was made in this vicinity in the fall of 1839, when six +families came into what was then called the town of Union. These early +settlers were Rev. Boyd Phelps, Rev. Stephen Jones, Erastus Quivey, +Samuel Lewis, Charles McMillin, and John Rhineheart. During the winter +and spring religious meetings were established in private houses, Rev. +Boyd Phelps preaching the first sermon. In the following spring and +summer, the settlement was enlarged by the arrival of Ira Jones, Jacob +West, John T. Baker, Rev. John Griffith, Hiram Griffith, David Johnson, +John Sale and their families. The heads of all these families being +members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, they applied to Rev. Samuel +Pillsbury, in charge of the Monroe circuit, for recognition. He visited +them, established an appointment and formed them into a class in August, +1840. The class was organized at the residence of Hiram Griffith, +located about one mile northwest of the present site of Evansville. At +the first organization the members were: Jacob West, Leader, Margaret +West, Boyd Phelps, Local Preacher, Clarissa Phelps, Stephen Jones, Local +Preacher, Isabel Jones, John Griffith, Local Preacher, Belinda Griffith, +John T. Baker, Jemima Baker, Ira Jones, Sarah J. Jones, John Rhineheart, +Deborah Rhineheart, Alma Jones, Samuel Lewis, Sarah Lewis, Charles +McMillan, Miriam McMillan, Jane Brown, Erastus Quivey, Sally Quivey, +Hiram Griffith, Sally Griffith, David Johnson and Kizziah Johnson. Soon +after John Sale and Jane Sale also became members. + +Of this number, at least two became Itinerant Preachers. The first, Rev. +Boyd Phelps, filled several appointments in the Conference, and was +Presiding Elder of Beaver Dam District. He then removed to Minnesota, +where he has also rendered effective service. The second, Rev. Stephen +Jones, was my predecessor at Watertown, but only continued a few years, +when he entered secular pursuits. At one time he was a member of the +State Legislature. + +Rev. James Ash was sent to the Monroe Circuit in 1840, and his work +embraced Union. He remained two years, and was very successful in his +work. The first Quarterly Meeting was held in the house of Brother Jacob +West, by Rev. H.W. Reed, in the fall of 1840. In 1842 Union was attached +to the Madison circuit, and the Pastor was Rev. S.P. Keyes. During this +year a log school house was erected on the present site of Evansville, +for the double purpose of school and religious meetings. This building +was used for public worship until the summer of 1847. From 1843 to 1845 +Union was connected with the Janesville circuit. In 1845 the Union +circuit was formed, with Rev. Asa Wood as Pastor. It was assigned to the +Platteville District, with Rev. Henry Summers as Presiding Elder. + +Brother Summers was a veteran representative of the Methodist Preacher +of the olden time. He entered the work when Illinois was yet in her +maidenhood, and from the first was a recognized power in the land. +Genial in spirit, full of anecdote, abundant in labors, an able +Preacher, a faithful administrator, and a devoted servant of the Master, +he enjoyed the esteem of all. But I need not enlarge, as doubtless a +record will be made of his labors in Illinois, where his fields of labor +were principally located. + +Under the labors of Brother Wood, a frame church, 45 by 30 feet in size, +was erected, the location being in the block now occupied by J. R. Finch +as a store in the village of Evansville. The building was dedicated by +Brother Summers in June, 1847. But it will be necessary to omit further +details of these early years. + +Old Union, the mother of charges west of Janesville, has been well +represented in the Itinerant ranks. In addition to Brothers Phelps and +Jones, to whom reference has been made, she has sent into the field +Revs. James Lawson, J.H. Hazeltine, George Fellows, and A.A. Hoskins. + +In 1855, Evansville Station was created, with Rev. E.P. Beecher as +Pastor. The Janesville District was also established this year, with +Rev. J.W. Wood as Presiding Elder. + +Under the Pastorate of Rev. George W. De Lamatyr, which begin in 1864, +the new Church was erected, costing some six thousand dollars. It was +dedicated by Rev. Dr. Fallows in the fall of 1867. At the present +writing Evansville is recognized as a charge of excellent standing. + +The Conference of 1858 was held May 12th at Beloit, Bishop Morris +presiding. At this Conference the writer was elected Secretary, and +Revs. S. W. Ford and George Fellows Assistants. The session was brief +and harmonious. + +Beloit is located on the line between the States of Illinois and +Wisconsin, and was at first connected with Roscoe Circuit, a charge +lying on the Illinois side. The class was probably informally organized +by Brother Thomas McElhenny, the first Leader, in 1839. The following +year Rev. Milton Bourne, Pastor of Roscoe Circuit, established an +appointment and recognized the infant Society. The members, besides +Brother McElhenny, were Tyler Blodgett, Mrs. M.M. Moore and Sister +Lusena Cheney. The Pastors of Roscoe Circuit, during its supervision of +Beloit, in addition to Brother Bourne, were Revs. James McKean, O.W. +Munger, John Hodges, Alpha Warren, and Zadoc Hall. + +Beloit was made a separate charge in 1846, with Rev. Joseph T. Lewis as +Pastor, to whom reference has been made in a former chapter. During this +year the Society entered upon a Church enterprise. The lot was purchased +by Rev. Stephen Adams and Brother Thomas McElhenny. The Society was +feeble, and the erection of the building, a substantial stone structure, +required a great effort and many sacrifices. To purchase the lime, three +hundred and fifty bushels, Brother Adams sold his only cow. Little can +those who come after realize the sacrifices the early pioneers were +called to make to render the later years happy and prosperous. + +The Church thus begun under the Pastorate of Brother Lewis was not fully +completed until 1849, when it was dedicated by Bishop Janes. The death +of Brother Lewis in the midst of his second year, was a severe loss to +the charge. But the good brethren were not discouraged, and pushed +forward the work. + +Beloit has been highly favored in her Pastors, among whom may be found +such men as A.P. Allen, I.M. Leihy, J.M. Walker, P.S. Bennett, S.W. +Ford, J.W. Wood, John Nolan, R.M. Beach, C. Scammon, W. Lattin, P.B. +Pease, C.D. Pillsbury, W.P. Stowe, L.L. Knox, W.W. Case, C.R. Pattee, +A.C. Higgins, and G.S. Hubbs. + +At the close of the Conference we returned to Janesville for a second +year. There still being no Parsonage I purchased a residence, thereby +securing a pleasant home. The plan of supplying outside appointments was +continued during the summer, and in some instances Sunday Schools were +also opened. The religious interest continued, and the Church was filled +with people. At the expiration of their probation one hundred of the +converts were received into full membership, and, in the following fall +and winter, many others. During the winter a revival again visited the +charge, which greatly strengthened the converts of the previous year, +and added to their number. The two years spent in Janesville to us were +exceedingly pleasant, and gave us a goodly number of life-long friends. +The Sunday School had become very prosperous, the charge was now out of +debt, and the finances self-supporting. And more than all, we left a +united and happy people. + +Janesville has since enjoyed her full share of able and successful +Pastors. Several years ago, she divided into two bands, and has now two +good Churches, two good congregations, and two able Ministers. + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +Conference of 1859.--Presiding Elder.--Milwaukee +District.--Residence.--District Parsonage.-Visits to Charges.--Spring +Street.--Asbury.--Rev. A.C. Manwell.--Brookfield.--West +Granville.--Wauwatosa.--Rev. J.P. Roe.--Waukesha.--Rev. Wesley +Lattin,--Oconomowoc.--Rev. A.C. Pennock.--Rev. Job B. Mills.--Hart +Prairie.--Rev. Delos Hale.--Watertown. Rev. David Brooks.--Rev. A.C. +Huntley.--Brookfield Camp-Meeting. + +The next Conference session was held April 20th, 1859, at Sheboygan +Falls. The excellent Bishop Baker presided, and I was again elected +Secretary. It was at this Conference the trial of Rev. J. W. Wood was +had. He had been the Presiding Elder of the Janesville District, but, +having obtained a divorce from his wife on the ground of desertion, +instead of the one cause named in the New Testament, and married +another, he had been suspended during the year. The trial resulted in +his expulsion. The case was carried to the next General Conference on +Appeal, and that body sustained the action taken by the Conference. + +The disability thus hanging over the Presiding Elder of the Janesville +District, rendered it necessary that some one should be appointed to +represent the District in the Cabinet. The Bishop appointed me to this +duty, thus imposing severe labor for the session. Since I was appointed +to represent the District at the Conference, it was generally supposed +that I would be continued the following year, my term having expired at +Janesville. But on the contrary, I was assigned to the Milwaukee +District. + +This arrangement made Waukesha my place of residence, as the Milwaukee +District had erected at this village a District Parsonage. The +inevitable concomitant of the Itinerancy, the moving season, passed in +the ordinary course of events, and left us comfortably located in +our new home. + +The District at this time included nineteen charges. The larger portion +of them could be reached by railroad, but a sufficient number lay off +the line of public conveyance to render it advisable to keep a horse and +buggy, and hence they were obtained. + +Soon after reaching my new field of labor, my attention was called to +the financial condition of the District Parsonage. I found that a small +debt had come down from the erection of the building, which had been +increased from year to year by accruing interest and repairs, until at +this time the entire indebtedness amounted to nine hundred and +thirty-one dollars. Meantime there had been, during the preceding year +of financial pressure, such a depreciation of property in the village, +that the building was now worth but little more, if any, than the amount +of indebtedness. + +In looking the matter over, I saw at a glance that it would be much +easier to build a new house in a desirable location than to pay an old +debt of this magnitude. But there were other interests to be considered. +The money for the erection of this Parsonage had been given in good +faith by the people, and if it were now permitted to pass out of the +hands of the Trustees, there would be a shock to the confidence they had +reposed in the administration of the Church. And in the next place, this +money had been borrowed of innocent parties, and it was but right that +it should be returned. + +With these views, I undertook to save the property, but I am free to +say it was the most thankless financial task I had ever undertaken. I +gave the first one hundred and fifty dollars, and then divided the +balance among the charges of the District. In passing around to my +Quarterly Meetings, the amounts in most cases were pledged, and the +larger portion finally paid. Yet the collections were not fully +completed before the end of my term. + +Milwaukee at this time still retained its three charges, and they were +now in charge respectively of Rev. J. M. Walker, Rev. E. Cooke, D.D., +and Rev. A.C. Manwell. As stated in a former chapter, Brother Walker had +served his full term on the Beaver Dam District, where he had been very +popular. He entered upon his field with great spirit, but found himself +greatly embarrassed by the unhappy financial condition of the charge. +Besides the indebtedness remaining on the Church, there remained +considerable arrears on the salaries of preceding Pastorates. + +This paying a Pastor at the end of his term in notes, that shall come +back to haunt his successor, is not in keeping with the financial genius +of the Church. I once had some sad experience in that line, and since it +was not in Milwaukee, I will take occasion to refer to it in this +connection. It was at a time when the slip rents were not large, +averaging only about two hundred dollars a quarter. In the case referred +to, the two hundred dollars of the first quarter of my year, had been +absorbed to meet the claims of the outgoing Pastor. And then, as he was +still behind two hundred dollars, a note was given him for the balance. +By this arrangement, the first half year of my term had been +anticipated, and had not the people, finding out the state of the case, +come to my aid with a good donation, I must have been greatly +embarrassed. + +Nor does such mismanagement affect the one man alone. The system +entails disaster upon the successive Pastors of the charge. Each man +feels that his predecessor has done him a great wrong, when the case may +be, the wrong was done by one man several years before, and afterwards +his successors have only been carrying it over from year to year. But, +however long it may be carried, it still remains as the plague of both +the Pastors and the Church. + +But in the person of Brother Walker, the system was squelched. Though at +the end of his term, owing largely to this irregularity, he was largely +deficient in his claim, he balanced the year. + +Brother Manwell, the Pastor of Asbury, entered the North Indiana +Conference in 1853, was transferred to the Wisconsin Conference in 1857, +and had served Green Bay two years, before coming to this charge. The +Church accommodations were limited, but he made two good years at +Asbury, and was able at their close to report considerable progress. +After leaving the city, Brother Manwell served a good class of +appointments, and among them Racine, Janesville, Whitewater and Ripon, +until 1873, when he was transferred to Upper Iowa Conference. He was a +man of kind spirit, pleasant address, and specially successful in +leading the social meetings in his charges. + +Reference is made to Dr. Cooke in a former chapter, and I need only say +in this connection that under his Pastorate Summerfield had a +prosperous year. + +At Wauwatosa, I found Rev. N.J. Aplin, of whom mention is made in a +former chapter. His assistant was Rev. Edward Bassett, a promising young +man, who had been converted in the revival at Janesville. The two men +worked admirably together, and the year was one of great prosperity to +the Circuit. The Circuit was in a flame of revival. And during the year, +the beautiful brick Church at West Granville was erected. + +The Brookfield class, it will be remembered, was formed by Brother Frink +in 1840. The members were: Robert Curren, Leader, Sarah Curren, T.M. +Riddle, Adeline Riddle, Gideon Wales, Polly Wales, Mark Johnson, Ann +Butterfield, Margaret Underwood, Charles Curran, Frank Morgan, Mrs. +Frank Morgan, and Mrs. Fellows. To these were soon added, Mr. and Mrs. +Carlton, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond. This Society had already erected a +comfortable frame Church, and the neighborhood had become famous as the +locality in which the Milwaukee District Camp-Meetings were held. + +West Granville Church was located in the neighborhood that was known in +the early times by the name of Menomonee. And it will be recollected +that Brother Frink organized a class at this point also in 1840. The +members of the class were: William Coates, Leader, Sarah Coates, T.J. +Rice, Cynthia Rice, Edward Earl, Hannah Earl, Lyman Wheeler, Bigelow +Case, Alvira Case, Mrs. Martin M. Curtis, Nathan Wheeler, Jr., William +Hudson, Susan Hudson. At the first the class at Menomonee included all +the members in that region, but as the country became settled other +classes were organized, and among them those at the Haylett, Nelson and +Coates neighborhoods. Subsequently these classes concentrated at +Menomonee Falls and erected a Church. A new Church has since been built, +and at this writing the village constitutes a respectable charge. + +At Wauwatosa there was no Church, and Brother Aplin held his meetings in +a school house. But in 1869 a fine brick edifice was erected under the +Pastorate of Rev. John P. Roe. + +Brother Roe resided, at the time of my appointment to the Milwaukee +District, on the New Berlin Circuit. During the war he went to the army +and served as Chaplain with great acceptability. On his return he +rendered effective service as a Local Preacher until 1869, when he +entered the Conference and was appointed to Wauwatosa. At the end of two +years he was elected Agent of the Lawrence University, and continued two +years, performing prodigies of labor, and achieving a grand success in +raising an Endowment Fund. But his health finally failed, and he was +compelled to retire from the work. At this writing, he is traveling +in Europe. + +At Waukesha, the Pastor was Rev, Wesley Lattin, who had been returned +for a second year. This noble and true man was received into the +Conference, as before stated, in the same class with the writer. His +first appointment was Sycamore, Ill., with Rev. Stephen R. Beggs as +Preacher in charge. + +Brother Lattin had been stationed in Waukesha in 1852, and had now +returned in 1858 and 1859. The year was a prosperous one. A good revival +crowned his labors, and all the interests of the Church were kept in a +healthy condition. In the department of Pastoral labor Brother Lattin +was not inferior to any man in the Conference. Filled with the spirit of +charity himself, he was always able to diffuse the same kindly feeling +among the people. Nor is it too much to say, he was universally beloved. +Of an easy and graceful delivery, and plain, practical thought, his +Ministry was always agreeable and useful. + +After leaving Waukesha, he was stationed successively at Beloit, Fond du +Lac, Waupun, Ripon, Appleton, and then returned again to Waukesha. But +here his health failed and he retired from the work for two years, but +having removed to Kansas where his health rallied again, he was +transferred to the Kansas Conference in 1872. Since going to Kansas, our +dear brother has had the misfortune to lose his wife and son. They were +traveling to a neighboring town with a horse and buggy. In trying to +ford a river the waters proved too strong for the faithful horse, and +they were all swept down the stream together, and were drowned. In this +great sorrow Brother Lattin has the sympathies of all his brethren of +the Conference. + +Oconomowoc was at this time under the Pastoral charge of Rev. Thomas +Wilcox. It will be remembered that a class was formed at this place by +Brother Frink, in connection with his labors on the Watertown Circuit. +The members were: George W. Williams, Leader; Mrs. George W. Williams, +Jonathan Dorrity, Mr. and Mrs. Day Dewey. In 1840 it was connected with +Summit, and retained Brother Frink as Pastor. In 1843 it was connected +with Prairieville Circuit, and shared the services of Revs. L.F. +Moulthrop and S. Stover. Before the erection of the Church, the meetings +were held in a hall over a cooper shop. The Church enterprise was +commended under the Pastorate of Rev. S.W. Martin, a lot being donated +for the purpose by John S. Rockwell, Esq. Under the Pastorate of Rev. +A.C. Pennock, the Church was put in condition for use, and on the 3d of +February, 1850, the writer was called to dedicate the basement. + +The second Church enterprise was commenced in 1867, tinder the labors of +Rev. George Fellows, and was completed during the Pastorate of Rev. Wm. +R. Jones in 1868. It was dedicated by Bishop Thomson. Oconomowoc has +grown to be one of the strongest and most desirable appointments in the +Conference. + +At the time of my visit in 1850 the charge had been divided, giving to +Rev. A. C. Pennock the Oconomowoc portion, and Rev. Job B. Mills the +northern appointments. + +Brother Pennock entered the Conference in 1848, and was appointed to +West Bend. The following year, as above stated, he was sent to +Oconomowoc, but here his health failed, and he was compelled to rest a +year. In 1852 he was re-admitted and again appointed to Oconomowoc, with +Rev. T.O. Hollister as Assistant. During this year he was greatly +afflicted in the loss of his wife, and before the expiration of the year +he was sent to Waukesha to supply the place of Brother Lattin, whose +health had failed. In 1853 Brother Pennock was stationed at Asbury, +Milwaukee, but, his health again failing, he decided to go to Minnesota +at the end of the year. He remained in Minnesota, doing effective work +until 1864, when, becoming satisfied his health was unequal to the +Itinerancy, he located. At the present writing he is residing in +Madison. He has a clear head and a warm heart. + +Brother Mills came to Wisconsin from Washington, D.C., in the Spring of +1848. After stopping in Milwaukee a few months, and receiving license to +exhort from Spring Street Station, he removed to Oconomowoc, where he +was granted a Local Preacher's license. Being employed, as before +stated, on the north part of Oconomowoc charge, he found ten +appointments and seven classes committed to his care, which gave him +abundance of labor. He was admitted into the Conference at its next +session, and returned to his former field. His subsequent appointments +in Wisconsin were Bark River, Palmyra, and Root River. In 1854 he was +sent to Minneapolis Mission in Minnesota, having Rev. David Brooks as +his Presiding Elder. + +In this place, now so flourishing a city, he was compelled to hold his +meetings in a loft over the Post Office. But, notwithstanding these +disadvantages, he formed a class, and his good wife organized a Sabbath +School. In 1856 Brother Mills took a transfer to the Peoria Conference, +now Central Illinois, and in 1864, on account of blindness, was +compelled to take a superannuation. At this writing he is residing at +Oconomowoc, but, on invitation, often goes abroad to assist the brethren +in their work. He is a grand, good man, and his labors are always +appreciated. + +The next charge visited was Hart Prairie. This Circuit had once formed a +part of the old Troy charge of the early times, but, after undergoing +various changes, it was now a charge by itself. It had a small Church +and a most interesting congregation. Here I was the guest of Rev. +Richard Fairchilds, a Local Preacher of large intelligence and extensive +influence. + +The Pastor was Rev. Delos Hale, who entered the Conference in 1854. He +had shirked duty for several years, and had been known as a reliable +business man at Summit. But finally, accepting his responsibilities, he +was appointed first to Oak Creek, and then West Bend. He was now on his +second year, and was in the midst of a revival. + +At my visit in the following summer, I attended a Camp-Meeting on +grounds a short distance east of the Church. The meeting was largely +attended, and many souls were brought into the Kingdom. + +I was greatly pleased with my visit to Watertown. The Church I had left +in an unfinished condition in 1848, was completed by Rev. David Brooks +two years later, when I returned and performed the dedicatory service. + +Brother Brooks entered the Rock River Conference in 1844, and was +stationed at Dixon, Illinois. On coming to Watertown, he entered upon +his work with spirit, and success crowned his efforts. After leaving +Watertown, he rendered effective service in the regular work until 1852, +when he was elected Agent of the Lawrence University. In 1853 he was +appointed Presiding Elder of the Minnesota District, since which time he +has continued to labor on both stations and Districts in that field with +great acceptability. + +Brother Brooks is a man of sterling qualities. Sound in the Faith, +circumspect in demeanor, faithful in his work, and true to every +interest of the Church, he could not fail to make a good record. + +I found Rev. A.C. Huntley the Pastor at Watertown. Brother Huntley +entered the traveling connection in Western New York, and came to the +Wisconsin Conference by transfer in 1858. He had already held a +protracted meeting, and a large number had professed conversion, giving +considerable additional strength to the charge. The Church edifice had +now become too small to meet the demands of the charge, and Brother +Huntley had entered upon the labor of enlargement. In this good work he +had not only planned and superintended, but had also put his own hands +to the actual labor. He succeeded so well in the enterprise, that he +finally decided to make the extension large enough to furnish also a +good Parsonage in the rear of the Church edifice. The dedicatory +services were conducted by the writer on Saturday, July 16th. + +The Brookfield Camp-Meeting was held in the latter part of June. The +grove on the farm of Robert Curren, Esq., was secured for a term of +years, and through the assistance of Brothers Aplin and Bassett, and +the brethren on adjacent charges, it was well fitted up for the purposes +of a Camp-Meeting. At this meeting we adopted the plan of making our +Camp-Meetings self supporting. Instead of relying upon the brethren in +the neighborhood to do all the work and keep open doors for the week, we +determined to pay our own bills, and thus permit the good people in the +vicinity to enjoy the meeting, as well as those who came from abroad. +The change was deemed a great improvement. There was a good show of +tents, and the attendance was large. The preaching was excellent, as the +good brethren were more intent upon saving souls than ventilating their +great sermons. The meeting resulted in the conversion of many souls, +while the membership was greatly quickened. + +In these latter days the question is sometimes raised, "Of what +advantage are these Camp-Meetings, now that we have good Churches in +which to worship God?" The question might be answered by another, "Of +what advantage is it to have picnics and other excursions in the open +air, and pleasant groves, since we have houses to dwell in and +restaurants to supply the cravings of the appetite?" The fact is, +Camp-Meetings are as thoroughly in harmony with the laws of Philosophy +as they are in keeping with the principles of Religion. + +To intensify either the mental or spiritual forces, it is necessary to +break up, at times, their monotonous habits, and send them off into new +channels of thought and feeling. A lesson may be learned in this +direction from the picnic excursion. It is not the little ones alone +who, relieved of the confinement of the parlor, gambol in half frantic +ecstasy, but the sedate matron and the grave sire renew their youth, and +in their exhuberance of spirit, join in the recreations with the zest +of childhood. The same law obtains in Camp-Meetings. Why not go out into +the woods, beneath the spreading branches of the trees, or even under +the uncurtained canopy of Heaven, and enjoy a grand unbending of the +spirit? With the shackles thrown off that have so long fettered the +soul, what a Heaven of felicity there is in its conscious freedom. The +eagle, long confined in a cage, after stretching his wings to satisfy +himself that he is really free, gambols in the air with an indescribable +ecstasy. So there are thousands of Christians shut up in the Churches +who are dying for a little spiritual freedom. Their poor souls need a +holiday. Let them go out to a good thorough-going Camp-Meeting, and +obtain a new lease of life. And in saying this, I am not advocating +undue license. I am only pleading for the inalienable rights of a human +soul. Such freedom of spirit is entirely consonant with the highest +culture and absolute decorum. Communing thus with nature in her purest +and most lovely moods, the soul is dwelling in the vestibule of God's +own sanctuary. No wonder that prayer and song find such grand perfection +in the Camp-Meeting. It is there they find their highest inspiration. + +But another advantage of the Camp-Meeting lies in the unbroken chain of +religious thought and feeling which it affords. In the ordinary +experiences of life, the secular and the religious strongly mingle and +intercept each other. But in the tented grove the secular is shut away +from the mind, and the religious holds complete mastery. One service +follows another, and one religious impulse succeeds another so rapidly +that the soul finds no interval for communion with the world. And as the +ore, by long tarrying in the furnace, where no breath of cooling +currents can reach it, flows as a liquid and is ready to take any form, +so the soul, held in hallowed communion with the Divine spirit, is +prepared to receive the perfect image of God. + +To the soul who has no knowledge of these delightful experiences, there +hangs a mystery around the Camp-Meeting, but to Christians the whole +subject is as clear as the noon-day. Like the disciples on the mount of +transfiguration, they are prepared to say, "Master, it is good for us to +be here." With them Christ is the central figure, and it is his presence +that hallows the temple in the wilderness. + +It is sometimes objected that the exercises at Camp-Meetings are too +boisterous, and lead to extravagances. To this objection there are two +replies. First, it must be conceded that Camp-Meetings are not the only +meetings that may be denominated boisterous. At political meetings, and +on other occasions, I have witnessed the equal, at least, of anything I +have seen at Camp Meetings. + +But the other reply is more to the point. No one can well deprecate the +boisterous and extravagant in religion more than I do, and yet I accept +both as a necessity. To move men to right action, they must be swayed by +right influences. If men were susceptible to the good, then gentle +influences might sway them, but as they are steeped in evil, and largely +lost to the better influences, the sterner only can reach them. If this +shall be found to be true in the individual, then certainly it is more +emphatically true of men in the aggregate. To move a multitude, then, to +the acceptance of Christ, the congregation must be put under an intense +moral pressure. And it will be found that the measure of pressure that +will move the great mass, will sometimes move individuals of peculiarly +sensitive temperament over into the extravagant. Now in such cases, one +of two things must be accepted. We must be content to leave the great +aggregate unmoved, or we must endure the irregularities that are +sometimes seen, not only at Camp-Meetings, but in all revivals of +religion. We cannot accept the former, for it involves the ruin of +perishing souls. Then, accepting the latter, we may not condemn what +cannot be avoided, if the great end of Christian effort shall be +realized. Human nature is a very strange combination, and it must be +taken as it is. The religion of Christ proposes to save men, and to do +so it must take us as we are. The wonder is not that it can make so +little out of us, but rather, that it is able to make even a few fair +specimens, while the balance of us are only indifferent ones. Yet I +rejoice to know that even the poorest of us are vastly better than we +would have been had it not been for the revelation of Christ in us. + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +Whitewater Conference.--Report on Slavery.--Election of +Delegates.--Whitewater.--Early History.--Rev. Dr. Bannister.--General +Conference.--Member of Mission Committee.--Conference 1860.--Rev. I.L. +Hauser.--Mrs. I.L. Hauser.--Rev. J.C. Robbins.--The Rebellion.--Its +Causes.--Fall of Sumter.--Extract of Sermon.--Conference 1861.--Rev. +J.H. Jenne.--Rev. S.C. Thomas.--Rev. G.C. Haddock.--Colonelcy.--Close +of Term. + +The thirteenth session of the Wisconsin Conference was held Oct. 13, +1859, in the village of Whitewater, and was presided over by Bishop +Ames. The year had been of less than seven months duration, as by +request of the Conference, the time of holding the sessions had been +changed back to the Fall. When the change was made in the first place, +from Fall to Spring, it was believed by many that such an arrangement +would be a benefit to the Preachers, by giving them, for the winter, the +products of their gardens. But, after a trial, it was found that the +roads were generally much worse in the Spring than in the fall, and if +the Conferences were delayed so as to find good roads for moving, the +Preachers would reach their new fields too late to plant their gardens. +Hence, after trying the experiment, it was thought best to return to +the Fall. + +At this Conference the election of delegates to the General Conference +again occurred. The slavery question was now rife, and of course this +election could not be held without making it an issue. During the early +part of the Conference this subject became the general theme of +conversation, and, I might add, the discussions and the prayers. In +short, every man who was in danger of being struck with a vote must +certainly show his colors on the slavery issue. An able Committee was +formed, and a careful report rendered. And when the vote was taken on +the report, all eyes were on the alert to see how each candidate voted. + +As the Report on Slavery is not lengthy, I will insert it as taken from +the Conference Minutes: + + 1. That the assertion that the M.E. Church is constitutionally + pro-slavery, whether that assertion be made by our professed + friends or by our enemies, is a base slander. + + 2. That we recommend to the next General Conference so + to change the General Rule on Slavery as to prohibit the buying + selling or holding a human being as a slave. + + 3. That we concur with the Providence Conference in recommending + to the next General Conference so to change the General Rule + on Slavery as to read: 'Slavery, the buying or selling of men, + women or children, with an intention to enslave them.' + + 4. That we concur with the Erie Conference in recommending + to the next General Conference so to change the General Rule on + Slavery as to read: 'The buying, selling, holding or transferring + of a human being, to be used in slavery.' + +It will be observed that the Wisconsin Conference preferred the wording +of her own proposed Rule, yet such was her anxiety to secure action by +the General Conference, that she was willing to adopt any other form of +words, if the same sentiment should be explicitly incorporated. And by +concurring in those sent from the Providence and Erie Conferences, and +at the same time re-affirming her own, which was going the circuit of +the other Conferences, she hoped to see some one of them reach the +approaching General Conference, with the recommendation of a sufficient +number of the Annual Conferences, to make it a law at once on the +action of that body. With this intense interest thrown around the +subject, it is not a matter of surprise that the votes of the +candidates, on the adoption of the report, were carefully watched. + +But in some cases even a fair and unequivocal vote was not enough. +Committees were self-constituted, or perhaps caucus-constituted to +interview candidates, much after the modern style, to see whether they +were sound on the main question. And as I had now become sufficiently +advanced in years to be considered a candidate, I was waited on by such +an inquisitorial body. I told the good brethren that I was not a little +surprised to find any one in doubt as to my position. "Oh," said they, +"we are not really in doubt as to your position, but we would like to +understand how strong your convictions are, as you have not attended our +meetings." "Yes," said I, "and perhaps you will say that by neglecting +your meetings, I have shown a want of zeal for the cause. If so, I wish +to state my position. In the first place, I have never felt it to be my +duty to make a great show of valor, as long as the enemy is out of +reach. And in the second place, I am in a different position from many +of our present abolitionists, and should bear myself accordingly. They +are young converts, and having just come into the kingdom, they must get +up a tremendous shout, so as to satisfy their new associates that their +conversion is genuine. But as to myself, I was always an abolitionist. I +have never uttered a word, written a sentence, or cast a vote that did +not look in that direction. Why, then, should I go into a spasm on the +eve of an election?" Whether my little speech had anything to do with +the result of the ballot which placed me at the head of the delegation +or not, it is impossible to divine. But of one thing I felt assured. I +had "freed my mind," as the old lady said, and felt better. The balance +of the delegation were I.M. Leihy, S. C. Thomas, E. Cooke, and P. S. +Bennett. At this Conference, I was also appointed the Chairman of a +Committee "To Collect Historical Facts." Thus early did the Conference +indicate a desire that the record of her devoted and pioneer men should +not be lost. + +Whitewater, the seat of the Conference, was a thriving village of two or +three thousand inhabitants, and gave the Conference a most hospitable +entertainment. This place was settled April 1st, 1837, by Mr. William +Barren, who was joined by Mr. Calvin Prince in the middle of the +same month. + +The first sermon was preached in the fall of the same year by Rev. Jesse +Halstead. Whitewater became a separate charge in 1843, with Rev. Alpha +Warren as Pastor. During this year a class was formed. The members were: +J.K. Wood, Leader; Mrs. J.K. Wood, Henry Johnson, A.R. Eaton, Mrs. A.R. +Eaton, Mrs. Dr. Clark, Mrs. J.J. Stearin, Roxana Hamilton, and Miss +Whitcomb. The meetings were held in private houses until the new brick +school house was built. They were then held in the school house until +the Church was erected. The first Church was commenced under the +Pastorate of Rev. J. Harrington in 1849, and was completed under that of +Rev. J.M. Walker in 1852. It was dedicated by the last named, Feb. 5th, +1852. The Church was enlarged under the Pastorate of Rev. A.C. Huntley. + +Whitewater Station erected a new brick Church, one of the finest in the +interior, under the Pastorate of Rev. C.N. Stowers, which was dedicated +by Bishop Merrill Oct. 19th, 1873. At this writing, Whitewater ranks +among the leading stations of the Conference, having a good +congregation and a most enterprising Society. + +At the close of this Conference I was returned to the Milwaukee +District. There were only a few changes made in the appointments of the +Preachers. At this Conference the name of Rev. Henry Bannister, D.D., +Professor in Garrett Biblical Institute, was transferred from the Racine +to the Milwaukee District, and he was made a member of the Summerfield +Quarterly Conference. + +Dr. Bannister entered the Oneida Conference in 1842, and for two years +served as Professor of Languages in the Oneida Conference Seminary. At +the Conference of 1844, he was appointed Principal, and held that +position with distinguished honor until he was elected to a +Professorship in the Garrett Biblical Institute. At the present writing +he is still at the Institute, doing efficient work. Nearly a third of a +century he has devoted to teaching, dividing his time almost equally +between the Seminary and the Institute. + +Dr. Bannister is one of Nature's noblemen, and his membership in any +Conference is an honor to the body. The Wisconsin Conference has +recognized his worth, and has sent him three times as one of her +delegates to the General Conference, and on one occasion was pleased to +put him at the head of the list. But he is not the property of a +Conference; he belongs to the whole Church, and is the peer of his +brethren in any convocation she may assemble. + +The General Conference met in Buffalo, N.Y., in May, 1860. The agitation +known as the Nazarite movement was then raging through Western New York, +and it was understood that several cases would come before the General +Conference on appeal from the expelled members of the Genesee +Conference. I was requested to go down to the troubled District and look +the ground over before the opening of the Conference. I did so, but +found the movement too far advanced to avoid a rupture of the Societies +in many of the charges. Several of the men who had taken an appeal had +stultified themselves and vitiated their appeals, by forming Societies +on the basis of the new movement; and though they disclaimed all +intention to establish another Church, the formation of these Societies, +it was held, could be interpreted in no other way. Having thus become +members of another Church their appeals, which contemplated their +restoration to the former Church, could not be entertained. + +But the great question before the body was the new Rule on Slavery. At +the beginning, the subject was given to one of the large Committees, of +which the writer was a member. The late Bishop Kingsley was the +Chairman, and the Committee met almost daily for three weeks. The report +to the General Conference was made to cover the whole ground, and +accepted the basis which had been advocated so long by the Wisconsin +Conference. On its presentation a long discussion followed, and it was +believed that the requisite two-thirds vote would be obtained. But judge +of our surprise when, on taking the vote, we found the measure had been +lost by a few votes, and these had been mostly given by the delegation +of the troubled District in Western New York. + +But though the majority were thus defeated in their effort to change the +General Rule, they passed a chapter that declared it to be unchristian +to hold slaves, as well as to traffic in them. The war, however, soon +followed, and the "logic of events," disposed of the Slavery question. +At this Conference I was elected a member of the General Mission +Committee at New York, which rendered it necessary for me to visit the +city annually for four years. + +The Conference of 1860 was held Sept. 26th, at Janesville, Bishop Scott +presiding. At this session the Conference received Rev. I.L. Hauser, and +he was sent as a Missionary to India. + +Brother Hauser is of Austrian, German and French descent. His mother's +family were German, and the Hauser name is over six hundred years old in +Vienna, Austria. His grandmother on his father's side was directly +descended from one of the Huguenot families driven out of France by the +revocation of the edict of Nantes. Coming to America, the family settled +in Pennsylvania, where Brother Hauser was born, in 1834. His family came +to Wisconsin and settled at Delavan in 1850. He graduated from Lawrence +University in 1860. During his senior year he was President of the +College Missionary Society, and when writing to Rev. Dr. Durbin, +requesting him to preach the annual sermon at Commencement, he stated +that he would soon be through College and be ready for duty, but he did +not know just what it was, and wished advice. The reply came for him to +send the name of the Pastor of the Church. The names of Rev. M. +Himebaugh, Pastor, and Rev. Dr. Knox, one of the Professors, were sent. +Three days after his graduation, having reached his home, he received a +letter from Bishop Simpson, asking him to come at once to Evanston. From +there the Bishop sent him to the Erie Conference, then in session at +Erie, Penn., where he was ordained and appointed to the Mission +in India. + +Returning to Wisconsin, he was united in marriage with Miss Jeannette +Shepherd, of Kenosha, Sept. 13th. Starting for their field of labor, +they sailed from Boston on the vessel Sea King, and after a tedious and +stormy voyage of one hundred and thirty-eight days, they reached +Calcutta. From there, after an eleven days' journey of one thousand and +three miles up the valley of the Ganges, they arrived at Bijnour, +forty-five miles from where the river Ganges flows out of the mountains +into the plains of India. Here they labored six years, their field +comprising a District of nineteen hundred square miles, with a +population of nearly one million, being fifty-four miles from the +nearest Mission Station. + +Four schools were organized, in which twenty teachers were employed, and +six languages were used in the various studies. When the schools were +first started not two natives in the District could speak English, but +after six years nearly six hundred had been taught in the schools to +both read and speak it. Regular services in the Chapel, such as +preaching, Sunday School, class and prayer meetings, were held in the +Urdu language for the native Christian Church. Brother Hauser also +conducted the Church of England service each Sabbath morning for five +years, for the few English residents stationed there, as they had +no Chaplain. + +Besides studying the several languages of the country, preaching in the +bazaars and other public places to tens of thousands of people, +instructing the native preachers and teachers, looking after and giving +employment to the native Christians, he was appointed by the Publishing +Committee of the Mission to translate the Discipline into the Urdu +language, having the honor of making the first translation of that book +into any Eastern tongue. But in the midst of his labors, sickness fell +upon himself and family. Diptheria attacked himself, his wife, and two +of his children. One little girl died of that disease, and shortly +after another from fever. Brother Hauser's throat became seriously +affected, and he was compelled to retire from the work. With his family, +he made a tour of several months through the Himalaya Mountains, to +within eight miles of the borders of Thibet. In this tour he was not +unfrequently twenty thousand feet above the sea, but failing to recover +his health, he, in 1868, returned to the United States, after an absence +of eight years. + +Since his return, he has devoted his labor to the publication of the +Christian Statesman, the only Protestant religious paper published in +Wisconsin. Being undenominational, the paper, patronized by all the +Protestant Churches, has attained a wide circulation. Brother Hauser is +a man of great energy, and is doing a grand work for the Churches of +Wisconsin. + +Mrs. Hauser is a lady of very superior talent. In their Mission field +she took her full share of the work, and since her return, she has not +only been one of the best contributors to the Statesman, but has largely +identified herself with the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society work in +the State. Both on the platform, and in the general work of the Society, +she holds a high rank. And in addition to this work, she is now +preparing a volume of sketches of Women in Heathen Lands. + +At the close of the preceding year, the Summerfield Quarterly Conference +requested my appointment to the Pastorate of that station. The Bishop at +first was inclined to grant the request, but finally came to the +conclusion that I ought to remain on the District. This left the charge +to be supplied, and I secured the services of Rev. J.E. Wilson, then of +Ohio, but who had formerly served Milwaukee, as stated in a +preceding chapter. + +Summerfield was just in the midst of her financial embarrassment. The +indebtedness was about fifteen thousand dollars, and threatened to +overwhelm the charge. But the good brethren were steadfast, and through +great labor and sacrifice, aided by Rev. S.C. Thomas, succeeded in +meeting their obligations. Brother Wilson rendered effective service, +but at the close of the year returned to his home in Ohio. + +Rev. J.C. Robbins was appointed this year to the Spring Street Station. +Brother Robbins entered the North Indiana Conference in 1844. His +appointments were Winchester, Plymouth, Clinton, Hagerstown, +Williamsburg, Knightstown, Doublin and Lewisville. He was transferred to +the Wisconsin Conference in 1855, and stationed at North Ward, Fond du +Lac. His subsequent appointments were Waupun, Berlin and Empire. The +year opened finely, and during the winter Brother Robbins held a +protracted meeting, which resulted in the conversion of many souls. But +the Society met with a severe loss this year, in the destruction of +their Church by fire. + +Brother Robbins remained a second year at Spring Street, and again +enjoyed a good revival. After leaving the city, he has been stationed at +Racine, Waukesha, Sheboygan Falls, Waupun, Berlin, Green Bay, Hart +Prairie, Sharon and Footville. At the present writing, he is at the last +named place, seeking to gather sheaves for the Master. + +This year intense excitement prevailed throughout the country. The +Presidential election, which placed Abraham Lincoln at the head of our +national affairs, occurred in November. And during the following months, +the rebellion was taking form in the Southern States, but did not +culminate in open rupture until the middle of April. But before stating +the position of the Conference and Church in the pending struggle, it +will be proper to refer to the causes which produced the conflict. + +In the settlement of the United States, two distinct types of society +planted themselves in the two great centres of the Atlantic Coast. The +one made New England the theater of development, and the other the +Eastern cordon of the Southern States. From the first center, the +population moved westward through New York, Pennsylvania, and the +Prairie States, to the Mississippi. From the other, the settlements +extended through the savannahs of the South to the Gulf. + +The emigrants in the North were mainly those who came to the Western +world to find an asylum from the religious persecutions to which they +had been subjected at home. In the South, society was largely +established under the sanctions of royalty. These two facts will account +for the radical differences existing between the people of the two +sections. In the North, society very naturally accepted the political +doctrines of personal equality and universal freedom. In the South, the +people as naturally adhered to their aristocratic ideas, and held to the +doctrine of privileged classes. + +The two types of society, thus placed side by side, were now given an +open field, in which the contest for supremacy could not long be +delayed. In geographical position, it would seem that the advantage was +decidedly with the South. And the same may be said of the patronage +bestowed by the home governments. But notwithstanding the high mountain +ranges, the deep forests, and the sterile coasts of New England, her +people cut their way through every obstacle, and soon stood face to face +with their aristocratic neighbors. A collision of ideas was now +inevitable. The South, quick to discover the unheralded force of Yankee +character, took the alarm and declared that "Mason and Dixon's line" +should divide between her and her neighbor. Here was deposited the first +egg in the nest, from which has been hatched the terrible brood of +vipers which, under the name of "State Rights," has involved the country +in a most desolating war. It was on this line that Calhoun planted his +standard when he sought to inflame the South against the North. And it +was on this fatal line that his followers, thirty years after, sought to +overturn the decisions of the ballot-box, and establish a Southern +Confederacy. With what result, the record of the conflict affords +an answer. + +On the 13th of April, 1861, the rebels opened fire on Fort Sumter, and +on the 14th Major Anderson and his brave men were compelled to surrender +their stronghold. As the news of this attack and surrender swept along +the telegraphic wires throughout the North, a most intense patriotism +awoke in the heart of every loyal citizen. The people assembled on the +corners of the streets, in halls, in places of business, and in short, +at every convenient place of resort, to discuss the situation, and feed +the flames of patriotism. Everywhere men and money were offered to +support the government, without stint. The press teemed with burning +words, and the pulpit was outspoken in characterizing the rebellion and +vindicating the government. + +The writer was in Milwaukee when the news of the surrender of Fort +Sumter reached the city. On Sabbath, April 21st, I preached a sermon, +from which the following extract is taken. I quote from Rev. Mr. Love's +"History of Wisconsin in the War." + + "But, Ladies and Gentlemen, the war is inevitable. Its coming + may be hastened or retarded by the shaping of events during + the next thirty days, but that war is upon us, and a civil + war, of a most frightful character and most alarming + proportions, is to my mind no longer a question. You can no + more prevent it than you can stay the leaping floods of + Niagara, or ¸quench the king of day in the palm of your hand. + It is the legitimate offspring of an 'irrepressible conflict' + of ideas as antagonistic as light and darkness, as + diametrically opposed to each other as right and wrong, truth + and error. The Bible declaration, that God hath made of one + blood all the nations of men to dwell on all the face of the + earth, so beautifully set forth in our Declaration of + Independence, and teaching the great lesson of universal + equality and universal freedom, forms the corner-stone of our + institutions. But a plague spot is found in the opposing + doctrine of caste and privileged classes, which finds + illustration in American slavery. This war of principles has + already culminated in a collision at Fort Sumter, and it + would be contrary to all history to arrest the tide of war at + this stage. The antagonism is too direct, and the conflict + too heated to quench the flame till rivers of blood shall + pass over it. The act of the South in firing on Sumter is + none other than a rebellion, and that of the most inexcusable + and wicked character, against the best government on earth; + and I am free to confess that I am filled with horror when I + contemplate the result of this suicidal act on their part, an + act that must lead to years of war, as far as human ken can + see, and the most fearful desolations in its train. But, + gentlemen, there is no alternative. The glove is thrown to + us, and we must accept it. If our principles are right, and + we believe they are, we would be unworthy of our noble + paternity if we were to shrink from the issue. Let there, + then, be no shrinking from the contest. The battle is for + human liberty, and it were better that every man should go + down, and every dollar be sacrificed, than that we should + transmit to the coming millions of this land other than a + legacy of freedom. Were it not that good men have gone down + into the dust and smoke of the battle, there would not be + to-day a government on the face of the globe under which a + good man could well live. And since God in his Providence has + brought us to this hour, I trust that by his help we shall + not prove unworthy of the trust--the noblest ever given to + man--committed to our keeping. There can be no question as to + the result. We shall triumph, and with the triumph we shall + win a glorious national destiny." + +The next Conference session was held in Fond du Lac Sept. 18, 1861, +Bishop Baker presiding. The session was one of unusual excitement. The +war had been begun, the terrible Bull Run defeat had occurred, and +already seven regiments of our brave boys had gone to the front. And +with the seventh, one of our own members, Rev. S.L. Brown, had gone as +Chaplain, while several others were either in the ranks or looking in +the same direction. In the matter of furnishing men, Wisconsin was +already ahead of the call made upon her, but such was the devotion of +her people to the Old Flag, that ten other regiments could have been +sent during the year. + +At this session, the Conference adopted a very able Report, written by +Rev. J.H. Jenne, on the state of the country, showing a deep interest in +the issue before the Nation, and pledging her unwavering support to the +Government. + +Brother Jenne entered the traveling connection in Maine, and came to the +Wisconsin Conference by transfer in 1856. His first appointment was +Agent of the Lawrence University. His next appointment was Presiding +Elder of Appleton District, where he remained four years. His subsequent +appointments have been Janesville, Janesville District, Lake Mills, Hart +Prairie, Allen's Grove, Union Grove, Lyons, and Waupun. At the present +writing he is on his second year at the last named place. + +Brother Jenne is an able Minister of the New Testament. He is a man of +large brain and profound research. Well versed in all the questions of +the day, as well as in the writings of the Fathers, he is able to +furnish a high standard of pulpit labor. He is a, true man, has a genial +spirit, and to persons who can strike his plane of thought he is +companionable. + +At this Conference I was returned to the District for a fourth year, +and Rev. S.C. Thomas was appointed to the Summerfield Church. + +Brother Thomas entered the Erie Conference in 1842, and, before coming +to Wisconsin by transfer in 1851, had been stationed at Conneautville, +Geneva, Ravenna, Willoughby, and Fredonia, besides serving two years as +Agent of the Alleghany College. After coming to Wisconsin, he had served +Spring Street, Platteville, Jackson Street, and had been Agent of the +Lawrence University for five years. He now remained two years at +Summerfield, when he returned again to the Agency of the University. In +1864 he was made Presiding Elder of the Milwaukee District, where he +remained four years. He next served four years as Presiding Elder of the +Janesville District, when he was appointed to Fort Atkinson. At the +present writing he is at Lyons. This outline completes a record of +nearly a quarter of a century of labor in Wisconsin. + +Brother Thomas is a man of good business habits, a careful +administrator, and a good Preacher. He loves the theology and economy of +the Church for which he has so long expended his energies. He is wise in +counsel, closely attentive to all the trusts committed to his keeping, +and has a host of friends. + +Rev. George C. Haddock, Pastor at Waukesha, was received into the +Conference the previous year, had been at Port Washington one year, +where he had been a supply a part of the previous year, and was now +appointed to Waukesha. He remained two years, and did a good work. +During the first year, the new stone Church was built in the place of +the old frame building that had been burned during the former year. And +during the winter following, the charge was blessed with a good revival, +and among the fruits gathered into the Church, was our second daughter, +then ten years of age. + +After leaving Waukesha, Brother Haddock's appointments have been +Clinton, Oshkosh, Ripon, Appleton, Division Street, Fond du Lac; Fond du +Lac District, and Racine, where he is laboring at this writing. + +Brother Haddock is a man of mark. Early in life he acquired the +printer's trade, and subsequently devoted several years to the business +of editing and publishing secular papers. Soon after his conversion he +entered the Ministry, and in less than two years he was received into +the Conference. During the fifteen years of his connection with the +Conference, he has been an earnest and successful laborer, making full +proof of his Ministry. Brother Haddock has a large intellectual +development, a warm heart, an eloquent tongue, and an intense spiritual +activity. What he does must be done at once, and done thoroughly. He has +an ardent hatred of shams, and despises all clap-trap. Both in sermons +and debate, he strikes home, and woe be to the luckless pate that has +the temerity to dash under his well-aimed strokes. And yet under all +this seeming severity, there dwells a spirit as kind and manly as ever +throbbed in a human bosom. + +During this, the closing year of my term on the District, my labors were +very extended. Besides the regular duties of a large District, I added +that of aiding in raising regiments for the war. At all suitable times +and places, I held war meetings, as they were called, and addressed the +people, often finding immense crowds congregated in groves and other +convenient localities. + +It was in connection with these services that I was nominated for the +Colonelcy of a religious regiment, to be raised out of the Churches of +the city. But such were my responsibilities at home, where the +Government needed all the support it could obtain, it was deemed +inadvisable for me to accept. And on further thought it was considered +better for the service to avoid such distinctive organizations. + +During my term on the District, the annual Camp Meeting at Brookfield +greatly prospered. Permanent tents were erected, and the Meeting gave +considerable promise of stability. And on these grounds from year to +year many persons, were brought into the liberty of the Gospel. + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +Conference of 1862.--The War.--Position of the Conference.--Rev. J.M. +Snow.--Appointed again to Spring Street.--Dr. Bowman.--Changes.--Rev. +P.S. Bennett.--Rev. C.S. Macreading.--Official Board.-The New Church +Enterprise.--Juvenile Missionary Society.--Conference of 1863.--Rev. +P.B. Pease.--Rev. George Fellows.--Rev. Samuel Fallows.--Rev. R.B. +Curtis.--Rev. D.H. Muller.--Third Year.--Pastoral Work.--Revival. Visit +to the Army.--Illness.--Close of Term. + +The Conference of 1862 was held Oct. 1st at Kenosha, Bishop Janes +presiding. The country was now in the full tide of war. During the year +several members of the Conference had gone out as Chaplains, Rev. H.C. +Tilton with the Thirteenth Regiment, Rev. C.D. Pillsbury with the +Twenty-Second, and Rev. Samuel Fallows with the Thirty-Second. + +This was the hour for brave words, and the Wisconsin Conference had them +to give. Nor was it in words alone that she was prepared to sustain the +Government. Such was the patriotism of the body that her ranks might +have been seriously depleted at any time, if it could have been done +with safety to the interests of the country. But it was conceded that +the Government must now have a vigorous support at home. Partisan +feeling in the late canvass had greatly demoralized the people, and a +strong moral influence was needed to rightly shape the tone of public +sentiment. In fact, it was necessary throughout the struggle that the +Churches, under the lead of the clergy, should act the part of Aaron and +Hur, in sustaining the Government. + +The Report adopted by the Conference on the state of the country gave +no uncertain expression of sentiment. Assuming the position dictated by +the most lofty patriotism, she pledged the country an unwavering support +until the flag of the Commonwealth should again wave in peaceful triumph +over the entire land. Recognizing human freedom as the issue in the +conflict, she deemed it alike the duty of the citizen and the Christian +to prosecute the war. + +At this Conference the death of Rev. Jonathan M. Snow was announced, and +his obituary placed upon the Minutes. Brother Snow, after spending a +short time in Racine, entered the Illinois Conference in 1838. His +appointments were Elgin, Princeton, Mount Morris, Geneva, Washington, +Sylvania, Troy, Janesville, Mineral Point and Madison. At the close of +his labors at Madison, in 1852, he retired from the active work, but in +1859, he was re-admitted and granted a superannuated relation. Brother +Snow was a decisive man, earnest, energetic and persevering. He +performed his full share of pioneer work, and deserves an honorable +mention among the Fathers of the Conference, + +In compliance with the request of the Spring Street Station, Milwaukee, +I was this year appointed to its Pastorate, my term on the District +having expired. At the earliest possible moment, I entered upon the work +of my new field. But at the opening of the year we were called to pass +under a cloud. I refer to the death of Dr. Bowman, the father of Mrs. +Miller. The Doctor had been compelled, through illness, to surrender his +practice in Iowa, and had now been with us three years. His death was +peaceful, and his assurance triumphant. + +Dr. Bowman came to Wisconsin in 1840, residing, as we have seen, first +at Troy, and subsequently at Waupun. In early life he was a skeptic, and +continued in unbelief, until after his elevation to a Judgeship in +Michigan. He was converted through the influence of his wife, and united +with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Distinguished in his profession, +reliable in his religious convictions, and devoted to the Church, he was +an arm of strength to the cause in its early struggles in the West. + +During the interval since my former Pastorate in 1851 and the present, +various changes had occurred at Spring Street. The Society had lost two +Churches by fire, and Summerfield charge had been formed. The successive +Pastors had been Revs. S.C. Thomas, Chauncey Hobart, P.S. Bennett, +Milton Rowley, C.S. Macreading, E. Robinson, J.M. Walker, and J.C. +Robbins. To several of them reference has been made in former chapters. +We will now refer to others. + +Rev. P.S. Bennett entered the Black River Conference in 1838, and +remained a member of that body until 1849, when he was transferred to +the Wisconsin Conference. Among the several charges he filled in his old +Conference, were Norfolk, Bangor, Brownville, Salina, Cleveland, Van +Buren and Red Creek. In Wisconsin he had been stationed at Platteville, +Beloit, and Waukesha. + +After leaving Spring Street, he was made Presiding Elder of the +Milwaukee District, where he remained four years. His subsequent +appointments were Racine, Appleton, Agent of Lawrence University, Green +Bay, and Appleton District. At the close of his term on this District, +he retired from active labor, having given to the Church a long, +devoted, and efficient service. + +Brother Bennett is well read in the literature of the Church, and loves +her doctrines with a "true heart, fervently." During his active labor he +was faithful to every trust confided to his keeping, was a good Pastor +and a successful Presiding Elder. And at the present time, it needs only +an attack upon the doctrines or usages of the Church to bring him to the +front in their defence. He is emphatically a true man. + +Rev. C.S. Macreading came from New England, where he had held leading +appointments in the Providence and New England Conferences for many +years. He had located, and had come West, seeking a field of labor. +Coming to Milwaukee, he found the charge vacant, by the removal of the +former Pastor on account of affliction in his family, and was employed +by the Elder. He served his full term, and at its close the people were +reluctant to part with him. + +Brother Macreading was a man of superior preaching talent; had an +earnest spirit, and a warm heart. At Spring Street, the Lord greatly +blessed his labors in the conversion of souls, several of whom remain to +this day to bless the Church with their wise counsel and +devoted services. + +In entering upon the labor of the year, it was my first concern to +retrieve, if possible, the disaster which had befallen the Society in +the loss of the Church. But to do this, it was deemed important to put +every branch of the work in the best possible condition. In this +endeavor I had the earnest co-operation of the Official Board, composed +at this time of Rev. T.T. Greenwood, Rev. Edwin Hyde, and Messrs. John +H. Van Dyke, J.B. Judson, A.J.W. Pierce, Walter Lacy, Cornelius Morse, +Daniel Petrie, Jonathan Crouch, James Seville, H.W. Goodall, Thomas +Greenwood, O.H. Earl, J.R. Cocup, James Cherry, and Lawrence Harrison. + +The spiritual condition of the Society was excellent, and the class and +prayer meetings were in a flourishing condition. The next thing to be +done was to organize the financial department. In doing this I submitted +a new plan, called the "Card System," for raising the current expenses. +The plan provided for monthly payments, and was operated through the use +of cards. These were so prepared as to contain a subscription on one +side, and rulings for entering the payments monthly on the other. The +subscriptions were to be made at the beginning of the year, and each +subscriber was expected to hand to the collector the several amounts +promptly. The plan worked admirably, and placed the finances in a +healthy condition. + +During the winter we held a series of meetings, which resulted in a +considerable accession to the membership. But this success was only +preparatory to the Church enterprise before us. The hall that had been +used as a chapel was small and inconveniently located. Better +accommodations must be had. By the middle of the year the necessity +became so urgent that the Pastor could hardly preach, pray or visit +without making this subject his principal theme. Finding that the +financial basis was quite limited, it was decided to erect a business +block, thereby providing for a subsequent income, should the enterprise +entail an indebtedness upon the Society. The precaution, however, was +unnecessary, as the unparalleled liberality of the people not only met +the demands of the enterprise, but provided for a former indebtedness. +Ground was broken for the new edifice on the fifteenth day of July, and +the Church was dedicated by Rev. Dr. Eddy on the twenty-third of January +following. + +The Juvenile Missionary Society was formed this year, and thereby the +Sunday School became an efficient agency in raising Missionary money. +In our plan, each class in the School constituted a Missionary Society, +taking a distinctive name. The gatherings of the class for a month went +into a common fund, and was reported at the monthly meeting. This +meeting was held on the last Sabbath of each month, and was usually made +an occasion of special interest. + +The year now closing had been full of work. Besides my regular labor, +and the responsibilities of the Church enterprise, I had rendered +considerable service in raising regiments for the war, by delivering +addresses in various portions of the State. + +From the beginning of the conflict, I greatly desired to go forward with +the brave boys and share with them the burdens and perils of the camp +and field. But it was the view of many of my friends, and especially of +the Central War Committee of the State, that I was doing a better +service for my country at home, in seeking to shape public sentiment, +than I could render by leading a regiment in the field. Accepting their +judgment, I endeavored to fulfil my mission to the best of my ability in +the field to which I seemed to be specially called. + +The Conference of 1863 was held Oct. 1st, at Waukesha, and was presided +over by Bishop Scott. The body again adopted a strong report in support +of the Government. At this Conference Delegates to the General +Conference were again elected. They were H. Bannister, S.C. Thomas, C.D. +Pillsbury and M. Himebaugh. At the close of the session I was returned +to Spring Street. My fellow Pastors in the city were Revs. P.B. Pease +and George Fellows. + +Brother Pease entered the Wisconsin Conference at its session in Fond du +Lac, Sept. 1st, 1852. His appointments had been Aztalan, Wauwatosa, +Palmyra, Appleton, Kenosha, and Beloit. He remained two years at +Summerfield. His subsequent appointments have been Spring Street, +Appleton District, and Janesville District, where at the present writing +he is doing a good-work. + +Brother Pease has a clear head, a sound understanding, and positive +convictions. His pulpit ministrations are impressive and practical, his +administration wise and reliable, and his intercourse with the people +agreeable and spiritual. Wherever he has labored he has left a record of +ability and fidelity. + +Brother Fellows entered the Wisconsin Conference in 1852, in the same +class with Brother Pease. He was stationed at Wauwatosa, Grafton, +Hartford, Oconomowoc, Beaver Dam, and Kenosha. He located in 1859, was +re-admitted in 1862, and appointed to Asbury the same year. Here he had +been engaged in the erection of a new Church. During this year the +building was completed, and the old Church changed into a Parsonage. The +Church was dedicated by Rev. Dr. Eddy, assisted by Rev. Dr. Tiffany. + +In 1864 Brother Fellows located, and for two years served Madison +Station. He returned to the Conference in 1866, and was appointed to +Oconomowoc. His subsequent fields of labor were Waukesha, Neenah, +Menasha, and Cotton Street, Fond du Lac. In 1872 he accepted a Bible +Agency, and in 1874 was appointed Presiding Elder of Waupaca District. +Brother Fellows is a man of energy, and will doubtless make an efficient +Presiding Elder. + +On the Spring Street charge the new year opened auspiciously. The +accessions of the former year, in connection, with the better Church +accommodations, had given to the work a broader basis, and afforded the +promise of wider usefulness. From month to month throughout the year, +the stakes were strengthened and the cords lengthened. And at its close +there was a general feeling of grateful satisfaction. + +In 1864 the Conference was held Oct. 5th at Oshkosh, Bishop Scott +presiding. At this session Rev. Samuel Fallows was elected Secretary. +Brother Fallows, after his graduation from the State University, devoted +several years to the profession of teaching, in connection with the +Galesville University, in the Northwestern part of the State. He came to +the Wisconsin Conference in 1861, and was stationed at Oshkosh. Before +the expiration of the year, however, he went out as a Chaplain in the +army, in the service of the Thirty-Second Regiment, and at the +Conference of 1862, he received his appointment to that post. Having +returned from the army his next appointment, in 1863, was Appleton +Station. He was reappointed to the same charge in 1864, but before the +expiration of the year he became interested in raising a regiment of one +hundred days' men, and went out as Lieutenant Colonel. He graduated to +the Colonelcy while in the service, and was brevetted as Brigadier +General on his return home. The war having closed before the expiration +of the Conference year, he returned to the regular work, and received +his appointment in 1865 to the Summerfield Station. After serving three +years at Summerfield, he was appointed in 1868 to Spring Street. Here he +drew to his ministry a large congregation, and had an extensive revival, +thereby hastening the erection of a new Church. The building during the +second year was enclosed, but was not completed until the close of the +following year. + +Brother Fallows enjoyed a successful Pastorate at Spring Street, but +before the expiration of his second year, he was appointed by the +Executive of the State to the position of Superintendent of Public +Instruction. He remained in this position until his second term expired, +Jan. 1, 1874, when having been elected President of the Illinois +Wesleyan University, he was transferred to the Illinois Conference. + +Brother Fallows was a man whom his brethren delighted to honor. Though +still a young man comparatively, he had served his Conference as +Secretary nine years, and had been sent once as a Delegate to the +General Conference. He is a man of superior culture, pleasant voice, and +entertaining address. His genial spirit is a perpetual sunshine, and his +conversational interviews, the fragrance of summer. In his addresses and +sermons, the beautiful predominates. He was born an orator, and he has +never been able to shake off the enchantment. It is not his fault that +he is generally popular. + +At this session the Conference adopted another report of the state of +the country. It was full of patriotism, pledging an unwavering support +to the Government. The chairman of the committee was Rev. R.B. Curtis. + +Brother Curtis entered the Maine Conference in 1845, and in that +Conference and the East Maine he filled the following appointments: +Bingham, Corinth, Onoro, Frankfort, Searsport, Brick Chapel, Bangor, +Bangor District, and again Brick Chapel. He was transferred to the +Wisconsin Conference in 1862, and was appointed to Janesville. His next +appointment was Delavan, where he remained three years. While here his +health failed, and at the ensuing Conference he was compelled to take a +superannuated relation. He passed from the earthly to the heavenly home, +in Appleton, May 21st, 1872. + +Brother Curtis was a man of rare endowments and sublime piety. In his +mental development, there was an almost absolute equipoise between the +imagination and the logical powers. In his logical dissections of error +and defence of truth, a keener blade has seldom, if ever, leaped from +its scabbard. Under his masterly imagery his audiences were sometimes +chained to their seats, as if held by the toils of an enchantment. With +such extraordinary elements of popular address, it is not surprising +that he held a high rank in the pulpit. Nor was he deficient in his +other qualifications as a Minister of Christ. When Brother Curtis fell +from the walls of Zion, it might have been truly said, "A Prince in +Israel has this day exchanged the earthly for the Heavenly Crown." + +During this year Rev. D.H. Muller was Pastor of Asbury Church. Brother +Muller entered the Conference in 1861, coming from the Biblical School +at Evanston. His first appointment was Menasha, and his second Oshkosh. +And from the last named he came to Asbury. He remained two years, was +successful and highly esteemed; but at the close of his term he took a +transfer to the Genesee Conference. He has held leading appointments in +that Conference up to the present, and has also graduated to the dignity +of a Presiding Elder. + +Brother Muller is a man of superior talent, genial spirit and fine +conversational powers. His name is fragrant in all the charges he served +in Wisconsin and the Conference regretted his transfer from the State. + +I was again returned to Spring Street, and the salary was now placed at +thirteen hundred dollars. With the new Church full of people, with every +department of Church work thoroughly organized and in successful +operation, I was now permitted to devote my labor to the regular +pastoral work. As far as possible, the forenoons were given to my study +and the afternoons to pastoral visiting. + +In a city like Milwaukee, this last department of labor is absolutely +indispensable. It is not intended in this form of expression to intimate +that it can be dispensed with in any other field, for it cannot, but +simply to indicate the impossibility of caring rightly for the souls of +men in a great city, if this form of labor shall be neglected. + +In a large city, the population is constantly changing, and unless the +Pastor shall be on the alert in looking up the people, members of his +own flock, to say nothing of others, will drop out of sight. Soon they +will feel that the band of union between them and the Church has been +severed, and they have become outcasts. The result of such a state of +things, will be either recklessness of life, or a seeking of other +Church alliances. In either case, the charge itself suffers loss. In +addition to this class of cases that need the eagle eye of the Pastor, +there is a constant influx of population. These coming people, in large +numbers, will fail to find churchly affiliations unless there is some +one who shall seek them out at their new homes, and invite them to +attend the means of grace. + +I know it will be said, "Let the members of the Churches do this." I +grant that the open field for this kind of labor is inviting to the +Church members, but suppose they do not enter it, what then? Shall the +work be left undone? Besides, the work can be done effectively only, +through systematic arrangement, and this feature can only be given to it +through the supervision of the Pastor. He only can know the entire +ground, and become the nucleus around which the membership will be +able to rally. + +It would greatly aid the Pastor in his work, if all new-comers would +immediately report themselves at the Parsonage or the Church. But as all +such are usually burdened with many cares and perplexities during the +first weeks or months in making a new home, the only way to reach the +desired result seems to be through the vigilant maintenance of +pastoral visiting. + +During the winter I held a protracted meeting, which gave an addition of +forty-seven probationers. I felt the fatigue very much, and at the close +of the meeting found it necessary for a time to abridge my labors. + +In March following, the Official Board granted me leave of absence to +engage for six weeks in the service of the Christian Commission. I was +assigned to service at City Point, and along the lines of Gen. Grant's +army, before Richmond and Petersburgh. Leaving Milwaukee March 14th, and +passing through Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, I entered the +James River at Fortress Monroe, and reached City Point on the 21st. +After calling at the headquarters of Gen. Grant, and preaching once in +the Chapel at the headquarters of the Christian Commission, I went along +the line of the army, first to the north of Point of Rocks, twenty +miles, and then to the south, twenty miles, as far as Hatch's Run, +making forty miles in all. In these excursions I preached in the several +Chapels as opportunity offered, and rendered such assistance as I was +able, in making the necessary preparations for the forward movement of +the army, which was expected to occur in a few days. But I soon found +that the exposures along the front were too great for my system, in its +enfeebled condition. I contracted a severe cold, which rendered it +necessary to leave the lines. I returned to City Point, and was advised +to leave at once for Washington, where I could obtain the desired +medical treatment. I took the steamboat the very afternoon the army was +put in motion. By the time Gen. Grant had taken Gen. Lee, I had taken +Washington. + +The physicians here believed that my lungs were seriously compromised, +and advised me to go to the seashore. I went immediately down to +Brooklyn, and became the guest of my cousin, Col. J.T. Hildreth. My +family and friends at Milwaukee at once became alarmed, and Mrs. Miller +came down. But through skillful treatment, good nursing, and a kind +Providence, the indications soon changed for the better, and at the end +of two months I was able to return to my people. On reaching the city +the friends gave us a reception, and left us over two hundred dollars. I +was able to resume my labors soon after, and the balance of the year +passed pleasantly. I had now completed my full term of three years. +During this time I had received into the Church about two hundred +members, and after allowing for removals and other changes, the net +increase had been about half that number. + +Though the people had been greatly taxed in building their new Church, +it was found that the benevolent collections had considerably increased. +The Missionary, collection advanced during the first year from +seventy-five dollars to two hundred and twenty. The second year it was +two hundred and sixty-two, and the third, three hundred and forty. + +The Sunday School had now reached an aggregate of four hundred scholars, +and the Library six hundred volumes. Among the accessions of the term, +there were several who gave considerable financial strength to +the charge. + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +Conference of 1805.--The War Closed.--Lay Delegation the Next Question. +Rev. George Chester.--Rev. Romulus O. Kellogg.--Missionary to +China.--Rev. L.N. Wheeler.--Appointed to Fond du Lac District.--Marriage +of our Eldest Daughter.--Removal to Fond du Lac.--Rev. T.O. +Hollister.--State of the District.--Rev. J.T. Woodhead.--Waupun.--Rev. +D.W. Couch.--Lamartine.--Rev. I.S. Eldridge.--Horicon.--Rev. Walter +McFarlane. + +The Conference of 1865 was held Oct. 4th in Summerfield Church, +Milwaukee, Bishop Baker presiding, and assisted by Bishop Ames. Rev. +Samuel Fallows was elected Secretary, and Revs. Wm. P. Stowe, E.D. +Farnham and R.W. Bosworth Assistants. + +The relentless war that had raged for four years had now closed. The +clouds had lifted from the fields of conflict, and the Conference was +now able to take note of the past and anticipate the future of the +country. The report adopted at this session, presented by the Committee +on the state of the country, was a masterly document. It recognized the +fact that the Wisconsin Conference, since its organization, had +exhibited a bold and manly opposition to American Slavery. That the +recent rebellion, aiming its blows at the Government, bought by the +blood of Revolutionary patriots, was the outgrowth of the institution of +Slavery. And that the Conference, in common with the Laity, and loyal +citizens of the North generally, had acquitted herself nobly, in +standing by the Government in its hour of trial, and, having rendered +this service as a Christian duty, she had nothing to take back. Looking +out upon the future, she also anticipated the coming day when equal +rights should be accorded to all, irrespective of color or nationality. + +The question of Slavery and the frightful war it had entailed upon the +country having passed away, the Conference now took up the subject of +Lay Delegation. And since the subject is new to many, it may not be +improper to devote to it a brief examination. + +The question has been raised, "How came it to pass that in the +organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Laity were not +associated with the Ministry in the Conferences?" The question is a +legitimate one, and deserves a considerate answer. + +It should be remembered that the establishment of the Church was rather +a growth than an organization. This one fact accounts, doubtless, for +the peculiar feature referred to. Had there existed at the outset a +large body of Christians, including Ministers and Laymen, awaiting an +organization, at the time Mr. Wesley began his labors, it is possible +that he might have so combined them in appropriate relations as to +secure a united responsibility. But such was not the state of the case. +In the strict sense of the word, Mr. Wesley had no Church, and no people +out of which to organize one. And it is possible that he began his +labors without an expectation of organizing a Church. His great concern, +overleaping every other consideration, was to save souls. In this work +he was ready to call to his aid such instrumentalities as gave the best +promise of the desired result. It was but natural that, whenever he met +a congenial spirit, there should be an affiliation. In such case a unity +of effort would necessarily follow. + +In this manner there grew up around Mr. Wesley a company of men, who +were recognized as his helpers. With the multiplication of these +assistant laborers, it became advisable to reduce the co-operative +effort to a systematic plan. To adopt a plan of labor and give it +efficiency, the organization of Conferences became a necessity. The +first Conferences were composed of Mr. Wesley and his helpers, and could +not embody Laymen, as no Church had been organized. This state of things +continued during the life time of Mr. Wesley in England, and as he gave +the Church in the United States its first organization, the same system +was introduced here. + +Subsequently, as the work extended and the Conferences multiplied, it +was but natural that they should all take the same character. Nor would +there have been any special need for a change, perhaps, if there had +been no changes in the character of the work to be done. But with the +erection of Churches, the founding of schools, and the creation of the +Book Concern and Church literature, the Conferences, having these +interests in charge, need the presence and aid of Laymen. + +At the General Conference of 1864, action had been taken inviting the +membership to vote on the subject, and also to elect provisional +Delegates to the General Conference of 1868. The action of the Wisconsin +Conference fully endorsed the movement and the body faithfully complied +with its provisions. + +At this session the Conference made a record of the death, of three of +its members, Revs. Henry Requa, George Chester and Romulus O. Kellogg. +To the first named, reference has been made in former chapters. + +Brother Chester came to this country in 1849, from England, where he had +been converted under the labors of Rev. James Caughey. He was received +into the Wisconsin Conference in 1851, and was appointed to Prairie La +Crosse. His subsequent appointments were Willow River, Madison Circuit, +Waterloo, Columbus, Burnett, Fox Lake, Footville, Evansville, and +Shopiere. At the last named place he was attacked with typhoid fever, +and, after an illness of three weeks, passed away in holy triumph, with +the words, "Glory! Glory! Glory!" upon his lips. Brother Chester was a +true man, and a successful Minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. + +Brother Kellogg came with his parents to Milwaukee in 1836. He prepared +for College at Rock River Seminary, Mount Morris, graduated at the +Wesleyan University, Conn., in 1849, and served as Professor of +Languages in the Lawrence University for five years thereafter. He was +received into the Wisconsin Conference in 1862, and was appointed to +Fort Atkinson. He was reappointed the second and third years, but, +during the latter, his nervous system gave way under his devoted and +trying labors, and he passed to the bright beyond. Brother Kellogg was a +man of fine culture, genial spirit, faithful to every trust, and +universally beloved by all who knew him. + +The Conference at this session was again called upon to send one of its +members abroad as a Missionary. Rev. L.N. Wheeler was sent to China. He +was presented at the Conference with an album containing the photographs +of the donors as a token of remembrance. The writer was selected to make +the presentation speech, as he had known him from his childhood. + +Brother Wheeler, before he engaged in the Ministerial work, devoted +several years to editing and publishing secular papers. He entered the +Conference in 1858, and had been stationed at Two Rivers, Byron, Empire, +Manitowoc, and Sheboygan. + +Having been advised with by the Mission Board at New York during the +year, as to his qualifications, I was prepared to expect the +appointment, fully persuaded that it would prove both creditable to the +Conference and profitable to the Mission field. While abroad Brother +Wheeler had charge for some time of the Mission press. He rendered +efficient service in the China Mission during the seven years of his +absence. But, on account of failing health, he was compelled to return +in 1872. He is now stationed again at Manitowoc. He is a man of superior +talent, and is greatly esteemed. + +I had now completed my term of three years on the Spring Street Station, +and my next appointment was very much in doubt. I had been solicited to +accept invitations to several stations, and also the Fond du Lac +District, but in each case I assured the good brethren that I deemed it +best to let the Bishop and his Cabinet decide without prejudice, and +assign me work where they believed I could serve the general cause to +the best advantage. Had I allowed myself a preference, it would have +been some quiet station of moderate responsibility, where I could have +rallied my enfeebled health. Besides, I had a doubt whether I ought to +be put on a District so soon again, after having completed two full +terms before I reached my fortieth year. But it is vain to speculate in +advance. At the close of the Conference, I found myself appointed +Presiding Elder of Fond du Lac District. + +The appointment was a surprise to both myself and family. But accepting +the situation as a legitimate feature of the Itinerancy, we entered at +once upon the needed preparations for a removal to Fond du Lac. The +removal, however, was to be preceded by an event that, by separating the +family, would render the change exceedingly trying. I refer to the +marriage of our eldest daughter to Capt. Frank P. Lawrence, of Racine, +thereby breaking a link out of the chain that had so long and pleasantly +bound us together in the family circle. But, having previously learned +that life's difficulties are best overcome by turning towards them a +brave bearing, we prepared for the nuptials. + +On the morning of the 17th of October a few friends came in at the +breakfast hour, and our daughter passed into the keeping of another. +Though fully satisfied with the arrangement, the occasion imposed upon +me the most difficult duty of my life. The ceremony was performed in +connection with the family devotions, and quite unmanned me. Assembled +in the parlor, I took my usual place to lead the devotions. The +Scriptures were read, and my daughter presided as usual at the piano. +Thus far everything maintained its accustomed order. But when we knelt +in prayer, and I closed my eyes to all visible things, the invisible +came trooping in throngs to my already burdened thought. Then came the +vivid recollection of the many happy years we had spent together as a +family, the many sweet hours we had spent together in that parlor, with +music and song, in which our dear daughter had ever been the central +figure, and the now sad fact of an immediate separation. The chain must +now be broken, and its then brightest link snatched away to gladden +another home, while our own circle must be broken forever. + +With these thoughts rushing upon me, it is not a matter of surprise that +I was quite overwhelmed with feeling, and found utterance almost +impossible. How I passed through the prayer and the ceremony that +followed, has never been quite clear to me, but I was told that nothing +was omitted that could be deemed essential to the occasion. The wedding +party was soon after dismissed with our blessing, and we at once began +the preparations for our own trip to the cars, to occur in the afternoon +of the same day. + +We reached Fond du Lac at nightfall, and were kindly entertained by Rev. +J.T. Woodhead and his family. The following day we were invited to the +pleasant home of our old friend, C.O. Hurd, who, with his most excellent +family, gave us a kindly greeting and cared for us until the arrival of +our goods. + +My predecessor on the District was Rev. Theron O. Hollister, a man "full +of faith and the Holy Ghost." Brother Hollister was received into the +Conference at its session in Baraboo in 1853, and his first charge was +Summit. His subsequent fields of labor were Fort Atkinson, Lake Mills, +Greenbush, Sheboygan Falls, and Fond du Lac, where he succeeded to the +District. At the close of his term on the District he was appointed to +Oconomowoc, next to Waukesha, and the year following to Hart Prairie. +Here his health utterly broke down, and at the following session of the +Conference in 1868, he was compelled to take a superannuated relation. +He now removed to Salem, in Kenosha County, where he died March 13, +1869, aged forty-seven. + +Brother Hollister was a man of robust frame, and, generally, good +health. He was an earnest man, and whatever he did was done with all his +strength, of both mind and body. With limited early opportunities, and +too intensely occupied in after years with the practical labor of the +Ministry, to retrieve the loss he had sustained, he did not aspire to a +knowledge of books. But in all the active labor of leading souls to +Christ, he was a workman who needed not to be ashamed. + +He swept over the District like a storm, "instant in season and out of +season," laying his strong hand on every part of the work, and pushing +it forward. And no doubt it was the work that he did on the District +that laid the foundation of the disease which terminated his useful +life. An overtaxed brain fell a prey to mental disability, and our good +brother went to his reward. + +Fond du Lac was under the pastoral care of Rev. J.T. Woodhead. This +excellent brother entered the Conference in 1858, and before coming to +Fond du Lac, had been stationed at Greenbush, Berlin and Ripon. He was +now on his third year in his present field. + +Brother Woodhead's early opportunities were limited, but with great +devotion to his calling, he had carefully improved his time after +entering the Ministry. He was accepted by his people as a man of rare +excellences, happily blending in beautiful harmony both Faith and Works. +In the pulpit, his manner is not always graceful, but it is never +disagreeable. His discourses abound with Evangelical truth, set off +usually in fine delineations of Scriptural scenes and characters. He has +extraordinary dramatic talent, and only needs the culture of the +schools, in addition to his present gifts and graces, to place him in +the front rank as a speaker. Brother Woodhead is one of the best Pastors +I have ever known. + +The Fond du Lac District at this time numbered twenty charges. To visit +each quarterly on the Sabbath was impossible, unless I chose to hold two +on adjacent charges, the same day. And this plan I did not deem +advisable, believing that it tends to break down Quarterly Meetings +altogether, by dividing the interest. I chose rather to visit each +charge regularly semi-annually, and the feebler ones more frequently, if +possible. The intervening Quarterly Meetings were held by the Pastors, +except they chose to procure supplies. + +My first Quarterly Meeting, held at Fond du Lac, was an occasion of rare +interest. Having been granted license to preach, and sent into the +Itinerancy by these brethren, they were disposed to assert a special +interest in the Presiding Elder. Besides, the Society, under the +ministrations of Brother Woodhead, was in a happy spiritual condition, a +satisfactory pledge of a good meeting. + +As it is my purpose to write up more particularly, as far as space will +permit, the charges and Ministers of the Conference, than my own labors, +I shall not undertake to follow in order my visits to the several +charges. During the present year, as well as the three following, I +shall simply refer to such items as will further this object, well +knowing that the adoption of any other plan would involve the issue of +several volumes instead of one. + +Waupun came early on the list. Many changes had occurred at Waupun +during the twenty years which had intervened since my Pastorate in 1845. +I found a small frame Church and one of the best Parsonages in the +Conference. The Society had become strong both financially and in +numbers. I was happy indeed to meet old friends with whom I had labored +in other years, and especially the converts of the early times, now +grown to be pillars in the Church. But with our rejoicing there also +came the shadows of sadness. Many had gone over the river. And since my +visit, others still have gone, and among them, Brother and Sister +William McElroy. But they were ready. + +Rev. D.W. Couch was the Pastor at Waupun. He entered the Conference in +1857, and before coming to Waupun had been stationed at Bristol, +Pleasant Prairie, Geneva, and had also served as Agent of the +Northwestern Seaman's Friend Society. After leaving Waupun his +appointments have been Janesville in the Wisconsin Conference, and +Mineral Point in the West Wisconsin. At the last Conference he was +appointed Presiding Elder of the Madison District, where he is rendering +effective service. + +Brother Couch is a very useful man, having unusual ability to adjust +himself to such work as requires special adaptations. He has a great +fund of anecdote, and is able to make a draft on this reserve whenever +needed. He has special control of the purses of the people, and hence is +in great requisition wherever there is a call for funds, and especially +at Church dedications. He is a pronounced success. + +At Lamartine my Quarterly Meeting also revived old recollections. The +charge now embraced Rock River, where I formed a class in 1845, and also +the Society that held their services, at an early day, in Brother +Stowe's Chapel. A Church had now been built at Lamartine, the centre of +the charge, and also a Parsonage. The charge was now in a flame of +revival. With the praying band at Rock River at one end of the Circuit, +and Brother Humiston and his devoted laborers at the other, an almost +continuous revival was but the normal condition. But in addition, I now +found the circuit under the charge of Rev. I.S. Eldridge, one of my old +co-laborers at Janesville. + +Brother Eldridge entered the Conference in April, 1859, and before +coming to Lamartine had been stationed at Utter's Corners, Palmyra, +Wauwatosa, and Byron. He was now on his second year, the charge having +enjoyed during the former one great prosperity. After leaving Lamartine, +Brother Eldridge's appointments have been Horicon and Juneau, Fox Lake, +Brandon, Sheboygan Falls, Burnett, and Eagle. + +Brother Eldridge is yet in the vigor of his strength, and gives promise +of many years of usefulness. While his great forte is revival work, he +has mental and spiritual force enough to amply sustain every other +department of a Minister's obligation. During the earlier portion of his +work, his incessant labor in protracted meetings greatly abridged his +opportunities for study, but I presume in later years he has endeavored +to retrieve the loss sustained. At this writing he is again at Eagle, +where his accessions are already climbing the second hundred. + +At Horicon I found Rev. Walter McFarlane, Pastor of the Horicon and +Juneau charge. This dear brother and his most estimable lady gave me a +hearty welcome, and made me feel at home in a few moments. I found the +charge in a prosperous condition, and the Pastor in high esteem among +the people. + +Brother McFarlane is a Scotchman by birth. He entered the Conference in +1856, and was stationed at Cascade. His following appointments were +Oconto, Vinland, Two Rivers, and Empire. He was now on his second year +in his present charge. After leaving Horicon, he was stationed at Byron. +While on this charge he and his good lady took great interest in fitting +up the Camp-Meeting grounds of the Fond du Lac District. A fine +Preacher's stand was erected, comfortable seats were provided, and many +permanent tents were built. The meetings during this period became +far-famed and highly profitable. The great burden of looking after all +local matters was sustained by this good Brother, as the Pastor of the +charge, and the administration was always highly acceptable. After +leaving Byron, his appointments were Winneconne, Bristol, Sylvania, and +Granville. In this last named charge, he is at this writing doing +effective work. + +Brother McFarlane is well versed in Theology and Biblical criticism. He +has a large fund of information on all subjects of general interest, and +is able to make himself an interesting companion among the people. He +has an intense dislike to the superficial, and is never satisfied with +the examination of any subject until he can feel the firm foundation +beneath him. In his sermons he seeks to give reliable information on +specific subjects rather than spin glittering generalities. Firm as the +Highlands of his native home, and balmy as her valleys, he is none other +than a highly esteemed brother. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +Conference of 1866.--Centenary Year.--Lay +Delegation.--Reconstruction.--Returned to Fond du Lac District.--Seven +Sermons a Week--Rev. O.J. Cowles.--Beaver Dam.--A Good Record.--Fall +River.--Early History.--Columbus.--Rev. Henry Sewell.--Conference of +1867.--Election of Delegates.--Cotton Street.--Rev. R.S. Hayward.--Rev. +A.A. Reed.--General Conference.--Conference of 1868.--Rev. T.C. +Wilson.--Rev. H.C. Tilton. Rev. John Hill.--Rev. Isaac Searles.--Rev. +J.B. Cooper.--An Incident.--Close of the Term.--Progress Made. + +The Conference of 1866 was held at Ripon, Bishop Clark presiding. The +Secretaries were the same as the preceding year. + +The Centenary of American Methodism occurred this year, and the month of +October had been set apart for the purposes of a celebration. The writer +had been designated to preach a Centenary sermon during the session of +the Conference, but as I was called to Waupun to attend the funeral of +my brothers's wife, on the day the services were to have been held, the +good Bishop kindly consented to occupy the pulpit for me. + +The collections during the Centenary year were mostly given to +Educational purposes, the Lawrence University, the Garrett Biblical +Institute, and the Evansville Seminary being the beneficiaries. The +first named received perhaps fifteen thousand dollars. + +The subject of Lay Delegation again engaged the attention of the body. +While fully sympathizing with the general movement, the Conference +anticipated the contemplated change by inviting the several District +Steward's meetings to elect three Delegates from each District to visit +the ensuing session of the Annual Conference, and co-operate with that +body in its deliberations, as far as the polity of the Church would +permit. The invitation was accepted, and at the next session the +Delegates were cordially received. + +At this time the question of the Ecclesiastical Reconstruction of the +South was beginning to agitate the Church. The Conference, always +radical on all the great questions of the day, took advanced ground, and +consistently adhered to its positions throughout the discussion. The +subsequent history of the Southern work has fully justified the +action taken. + +With this session of the Conference began the Cabinet work of my third +term as Presiding Elder. Adhering to my former convictions, I favored +only such changes in the appointments as were dictated by the law of the +Church and stern necessity. In connection with the appointments, an +effort was made to secure my assignment to the station in Fond du Lac, +but when it was known that a Committee from the Official Board was in +attendance upon the Conference, the Ministers and Laymen of the District +entered a vigorous remonstrance. + +The Bishop kindly enquired whether I had any suggestions to make. I +answered, "I have never interfered in making my own appointments; and it +is too late to begin now. As you and the Cabinet understand the case, +having had a full representation from both sides, I will step aside and +let you decide the matter." After an absence of an hour, I returned, and +found my name still at the head of the District. + +At the close of the session I returned to Fond du Lac and entered upon +another year of taxing labor. The work was growing rapidly, and it was +necessary to reconstruct and enlarge several of the Churches, and build +others. In several localities we succeeded in a consolidation of the +work, thereby making it possible to erect several Churches. Instead of +maintaining feeble appointments at contiguous school houses, we found it +better to combine two or more of them, and build a Church in a central +locality. In this way the Mulleton, Hingham, Leroy, Markesan, Lake +Maria, and several other Churches found an existence. + +During the winter season of this year, I was largely engaged with the +several Pastors in protracted meetings. And during the first half of the +year, I preached on an average seven sermons a week. The Pastors were a +band of devoted and earnest workers, and the year was one of +remarkable success. + +At Fond du Lac a charge of Pastors occurred, as the term of the former +Pastor had expired. His successor was Rev. O.J. Cowles. a young man of +excellent promise. He was a graduate of Cornell College in 1860, and of +the Garrett Biblical Institute in 1863. He entered the Conference the +same year, and had been stationed at Kenosha, Berlin, and Appleton. +After his two years of service in Fond du Lac, he was stationed three +years each at Racine and Oshkosh. + +Brother Cowles is a man of superior talent and excellent spirit. He is +one of the rising men of the Conference, and bids fair to take a front +rank. At this writing he is stationed at Whitewater, where he is in the +midst of a gracious revival. + +Beaver Dam Station was added this year to the District. Beaver Dam was +settled by members of the Presbyterian Church, and hence its earliest +religious services were held by the Ministers of that denomination. The +first Methodist appointment was established by Rev. A.P. Allen in 1846, +being then Pastor of Waupun Circuit as my successor. Rev. Henry Requa, +as before stated, was employed by the Elder as his assistant. During the +year these earnest laborers held a protracted meeting, which resulted in +several conversions. The first class was formed by Brother Allen, and +consisted of L.H. Marvin, Leader, Mr. and Mrs. Peters, Bennett Gordon, +and Mrs. Reuben Dexter. Brother Marvin still resides at Beaver Dam. + +The meetings were held in L.H. Marvin's cabinet shop, until other +provision could be made. The first Church, a frame building twenty-six +by forty feet in size, was commenced by Brother Allen in the winter of +1846 and '47, and completed the following year by Brother Requa. The +building was enlarged under the Pastorate of Rev. I.M. Leihy in 1859. +Under the Pastorate of Rev. A.A. Reed in 1870 and 1871, a large brick +Church was erected, the writer being invited to lay the corner-stone the +first year, and preach the dedicatory sermon the second. During Brother +Reed's Pastorate a great revival also occurred, under the labors of Mrs. +Maggie N. Van Cott, which added greatly to the strength of the Church. +At the present writing, the Pastor is Rev. Isaac Wiltse, of whom mention +will be made in a subsequent chapter. + +Fall River and Columbus were assigned to the District this year from the +Janesville District. At the organization of the work they constituted +one Circuit, but had now grown to be independent charges. + +Fall River Society was organized in the log house of Clark Smith, on +Fountain Prairie, by Rev. Stephen Jones in 1844, the locality being at +the time connected with the old Aztalan Circuit. The members were Rev. +E.J. Smith, of whom mention is made elsewhere, his wife, Martha Smith, +Clark Smith, Sarah Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Aaron E. Houghton. Brother E.J. +Smith was appointed Leader. + +A log school house, the first built in the county, was erected soon +after, and the meetings were transferred to it. The population grew +rapidly, being attracted by the beautiful location, and in due time +there was a strong society. Under the energetic and effective labors of +the Leader and his talented lady, this society was instrumental in the +conversion of many souls. + +In process of time a mill was built on the stream at Fall River. A fine +school house was soon after erected, and the meetings removed to it, as +the locality had become more central than the one on the Prairie. At the +present writing, Fall River holds a most respectable rank as a charge, +has a good Church, and a convenient Parsonage. + +Columbus was visited by Rev. Stephen Jones in 1844, he having been +appointed to Aztalan Circuit the preceding autumn. He preached the first +sermon in the log dwelling house of Brigham Campbell, but I am unable to +fix the date. Nor am I able to give the organization of the first class, +but it is probable that during the early years the members in this +locality were connected with the Society on Fountain Prairie. + +In 1859 Columbus was made a station, and Rev. Henry Colman was appointed +Pastor. The Society built their first Church, a frame structure, in an +unfortunate location, but have now displaced it by a fine brick edifice, +which they have placed in the central portion of the village. It is one +of the best Churches in the interior of the State. + +The present Pastor is Rev. Henry Sewell, who entered the Conference in +1858. His appointments have been Porter, Edgerton and Stoughton, +Orfordville, Utter's Corners, Emerald Grove and Maxonville, Sun Prairie, +Lake Mills, Oconomowoc, and Columbus. Brother Sewell is one of the most +efficient men of the Conference. At Sun Prairie, he built a ten thousand +dollar Church, and has succeeded in completing the enterprise at +Columbus. In revival work Brother Sewell has met with rare success, +usually increasing the membership of his charges at least one +hundred per cent. + +The Conference of 1867 was held Oct. 2d at Beaver Dam, Bishop Simpson +presiding, and the same Secretaries were re-elected. + +The action of the Conference on the subject of Lay Delegation will +appear in the following resolutions: + +"<i>Resolved,</i> That we are in favor of the representation of the Laity in +Annual and General Conference." + +"<i>Resolved</i>, That our Delegates to the next General Conference be +instructed to use their influence in favor of such representation." + +Having thus laid down the platform, the Conference next proceeded to +elect the Delegates to the General Conference, resulting in the choice +of G.M. Steele, W.G. Miller, Samuel Fallows, Henry Bannister, and C.D. +Pillsbury. + +Two other subjects specially engaged the attention of the Conference at +this session. I refer to the "Sabbath Question," and "Ministerial +Education." Appropriate resolutions were adopted, and measures taken to +give efficiency to the timely expression of sentiment. + +My work on the District opened at Cotton Street, Fond du Lac. This +charge, under the name of Arndt Street, or North Fond du Lac, had been +merged in the Division Street Station, and was now re-organized with +Rev. M.D. Warner as Pastor. A new Church had been commenced during the +preceding year, and it was now completed. The dedicatory services were +conducted by the lamented Dr. T.M. Eddy. + +Brandon was the next charge visited, the Pastor being my old friend Rev. +R.S. Hayward, whose acquaintance, it will be remembered, I made as an +Exhorter at Brothertown. + +Brother Hayward entered the Conference in 1850, and had been stationed +at Waupaca, Dartford, Metomon, Berlin, Wausau, and Sheboygan. He then +served as Presiding Elder on the Waupaca District a full term, and was +subsequently stationed at Vinland and Omro. In all these fields he had +acquitted himself creditably, and was now doing a good work at Brandon. +After leaving Brandon, he has served North Oshkosh, Clemensville, +Menasha, Utica and Zion. At the last named he is now hard at work for +the Master. + +Rev. A.A. Reed, who had just completed a three years' term at Brandon, +was now at Sheboygan Falls. This charge was continuing to hold a fair +rank in the Conference, and during Brother Reed's Pastorate received +many accessions, and also improved the Church property. + +Brother Reed entered the Conference in 1859. His appointments had been +Empire, Lamartine, Byron, Greenbush, and Brandon. At the close of a +three years' term at Sheboygan Falls, he was sent to Beaver Dam, where +he succeeded, as before stated, in erecting a fine Church, and greatly +multiplying the membership. His present field, the Agency of the +Lawrence University, is one of great labor. But in this work, as well as +in whatever may be assigned him, Brother Reed is a grand success, and +will accomplish his task. + +The General Conference met in the month of May of this year in Chicago. +During the session I was entertained by an old Milwaukee friend, Capt. +J.C. Henderson, long known on the Lakes as the Sabbath keeping Captain. +The two great questions that came before the body were Lay Delegation, +and the admission of the Delegates from the newly formed Conferences in +the South. Both measures received the approval of the General +Conference, but as they were brought to the attention of the reader +through the periodicals of the Church, I need not burden these pages +with a further reference to them. + +The Conference of 1868 was held Oct. 1st at Racine, Bishop Ames +presiding. The term of Rev. Joseph Anderson on the Waupaca District +having expired, one of the young, men of the Conference was appointed as +his successor. I refer to Rev. T.C. Wilson. + +This promising brother graduated from the Lawrence University in 1859, +and was admitted to the Conference in 1862. Before being appointed to +the District he had been stationed at East Troy, Clinton, and Neenah. +His labors on the District were highly appreciated, and, at the close of +his term in 1872, he was appointed Presiding Elder of the Appleton +District, where he is, at this writing, still employed in the good work. +He is recognized as a man of thorough scholarship, a good Preacher, and +a successful laborer in the vineyard. + +At the close of the Conference, the writer was returned to the Fond du +Lac District for a fourth year. On the District there were but few +changes, but among them was the bringing of two new men to Fond du Lac. + +Rev. H.C. Tilton, appointed to Division Street, entered the Maine +Conference July 21st, 1841. His appointments in that Conference were +Mount Desert, Deer Island, Steuben, North Penobscot and North +Bucksport. At the division of the Conference he fell into East Maine, +and, before coming West, was stationed at Frankfort, Hampden, Bangor, +Rockland and Damariscotta. + +Brother Tilton came to the Wisconsin Conference by transfer in 1857. His +appointments have been Summerfield, Janesville, Janesville District, +Racine District, Asbury, Division Street. Court Street, Janesville, +and Appleton. + +Brother Tilton is a veteran in the work, having been in the Itinerancy +nearly thirty-four years. Having possessed a vigorous constitution and +firm health, he has taken his full share of privation and hard work. His +services have always been in special demand, and he has not spared +himself. He is a man of vigorous intellect and a ready delivery, his +pulpit efforts always commanding the attention of the people. At this +writing he is building in Appleton one of the best Churches in the +Conference. + +Rev. John Hill entered the North Indiana Conference in 1855. His +appointments were Elkhart, La Grange, La Grove, Indianapolis, Anderson, +Greenfield and Fort Wayne. He came to the Wisconsin Conference by +transfer this year, and Cotton Street was his first charge. His next +appointment was Summerfield, Milwaukee, and the last was Bay View. Here +he was thrown from a wagon by the sudden starting of the horse, and, +falling upon his head, received a severe injury, from which he died in +twenty-four hours. + +Brother Hill was a man of small frame, but a large brain and a generous +heart. His style of speech was clear, distinct and rapid. He could +reason a question with great force, and could fringe the most +commonplace subjects with wit and humor. He was a true man, a good +Preacher, and a faithful Pastor. + +Rev. Isaac Searles was this year stationed at Brandon. He entered the +Rock River Conference in 1841, and was appointed to Indian Creek +Circuit. His subsequent appointments in that Conference were Sycamore, +Cedar Rapids, Rock Island, Union Grove, and Hazel Green. In 1848, at the +division, he fell into the Wisconsin Conference. In Wisconsin his +appointments were Dodgeville, Lindon, Platteville, Madison District, Fox +Lake, Fall River, Dartford, Beaver Dam District, Watertown, Waukesha, +East Troy, and now Brandon. At this place his health failed, and, after +lingering; until December 8th, 1870, he was called to the Father's +house: above. His death was triumphant. His last words were, "Jesus is +mine, Jesus is mine." "He saves me to the uttermost." "I am standing on +the Rock." Thus passed away a. noble man, a true friend, and a +veteran Minister. + +Rev. J.B. Cooper was this year employed to supply Byron charge. This +excellent brother entered the traveling connection in the State of New +York, where he filled several appointments, but, his health failing, he +took a superannuated relation in 1854, and came to Janesville. In 1857 +he rendered special service, as before stated, in the great revival of +that year, and in 1860 re-entered the regular work in the Wisconsin +Conference. His charges have been Evansville, Delavan, Hart Prairie, +Byron, Randolph and Rosendale, where he is stationed at the +present writing. + +Brother Cooper is a good specimen of the Itinerant Preacher. His manner +is affable, his spirit genial, and his hand diligent. In all his charges +he is deservedly popular. + +At one of the Quarterly Meetings of this charge, I was approached, at +the close of the morning services, by a gentleman who enquired whether I +came from the State of New York. On learning that I did, he further +enquired whether I attended, when a boy, Prof. McLaren's Academy at +Gallupville. I informed him that I was there several years. "Well," said +he, "are you the one who measured the shote?" I replied, "Tell me about +it, and we will see." He then related the following incident: "At the +time to which I refer there was a boy about thirteen years old who was +very proficient in figures, and the Professor took great pleasure in +giving him difficult problems to solve during the dinner hour. On one of +these occasions, as the Professor was going across the green for his +dinner, the boy met him and asked for a problem. Looking up, he saw a +half grown hog near by, and quickly replied, 'Give me the cubic inches +of that shote.' And, supposing he had got a good joke on the boy, he +passed on. But as soon as he was fairly out of sight, the boy called +together several other boys, and stated the case to them, adding, 'Now, +boys, if you will help me to catch that shote, we will show the +Professor a thing that they have never done in Edinburgh.' The boys +consented, and his hogship was soon made a prisoner. Under a vigorous +vocal protest, he was then dragged to the back end of the Academy +building, and plunged into a half hogshead of water. After his release, +of course, the vacant space in the hogshead, caused by the displacing of +the water, represented the actual size of the shote. In five minutes +more, the cubic inches were obtained, and on the return of the Professor +the answer was ready for him." The story was well told, and I was +obliged to confess to the impeachment. + +During this, the last year of my second term on the Fond du Lac +District, my strength was taxed to its utmost. Besides the regular +Quarterly Meetings, I had made it my earnest concern to aid all the +Preachers on the District in their work as far as possible. During the +winter this service was largely rendered in protracted meetings, and +during the summer in Church enterprises. In fact, the latter branch of +labor had been made a specialty during the entire term. And as a result, +two Churches had been dedicated in Fond du Lac, three on the Chilton +charge, three on the Hingham work, one on the Byron, two on the +Markesan, one on the Brandon, one on the Rosendale, one on the Fox Lake, +one on the Empire, and one on the Horicon and Juneau, besides quite a +number that were remodeled and largely improved. Including both classes, +we had had on the District during the term twenty-two Church +enterprises. Extensive revivals had occurred, and we were now able to +report an increase of eight hundred and seventy-seven members. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +Conference of 1869.--Stationed at Ripon.--First Visit.--Rev. E.J. +Smith.--Rev. Byron Kingsbury.--Sabbath School.--Early Record of the +Station.--Church Enterprises.--Rev. William Morse.--Rev. Joseph +Anderson.--Revival.--Church Enlargement.--Berlin.--Early History.--Rev. +Isaac Wiltse.--Conference of 1870.--Returned to Ripon.--Marriage of our +Second Daughter.--A Happy Year.--Close of our Labors. + +The Conference of 1869 was held September 23d at Appleton, Bishop Scott +presiding. My term on the District had now expired, and a new +appointment must follow. Several of the strongest charges opened their +doors, but for reasons that were quite satisfactory both to myself and +the good people, I was stationed at Ripon. + +The following week I started for my new field of labor. As before +stated, I had visited this locality in 1845, it then being known as +Ceresco. But, besides a casual visit and a week's stay during the +session of the Conference, I had enjoyed limited opportunities to +maintain an acquaintance with the people or the charge. I reached the +city Saturday afternoon, and immediately, satchel in hand, started down +Main Street to find some one who might invite me to lodgings. I had not +gone far when I saw a gentleman hastily crossing the street to intercept +me. On approaching I found it to be Rev. E.J. Smith, a Local Preacher, +to whom reference has been made in former chapters in connection with +Fall River. I had learned of his removal to Ripon, but was hardly +prepared to meet my old friend so suddenly, and receive such a hearty +greeting. An invitation to lodgings immediately followed, and I joyfully +accepted, remembering the kind hospitality this noble family had given +me in other days. + +After chatting over the past, and taking some refreshments, my old +friend took me out to a multitude of introductions among the brethren. I +found them all cordial, and began to feel quite at home among them. +Passing down Main Street, we visited the Church, a building of +respectable size and comparatively new, and passing down still further +into the borders of what was formerly known as Ceresco proper, we found +the Parsonage. This little walk of Saturday gave me an outline of the +lay of things, and helped me to poise my head and arrange my thoughts +for the Sabbath. + +The Sabbath gave me a fair congregation, and at the close of the service +we enjoyed a good Class Meeting, Led by my old friend, E.J. Smith. And +as one of the living members of the class, I found also an old +acquaintance of my boyhood and later years, Albert Cook. There were also +a few friends of other days still residing in Ripon, and several who had +come from other places to reside in the city, to join in the cordial +greeting that was given me. The Sunday School, under the charge of Rev. +Byron Kingsbury, so well known throughout the State in the Sunday School +work, met also at the close of the morning service. It was in a +flourishing condition, as it could not well be otherwise with such a +Superintendent. The Superintendent introduced the new Pastor to the +school, and playfully asked them if they thought the new Pastor was as +good-looking as the old. Quite to my surprise, they answered in the +affirmative. In the few remarks that followed I accounted for the good +looks of both the former Pastor and the present on the score that I was +the Father and the former Pastor was one of my boys, as I had +introduced him to the Conference some years before. This little sally +reconciled the children to the new state of things, and secured me a +kindly greeting from all of them. + +Since my Pastorate in 1845, a variety of changes had passed over the +place and the Church. I found Ripon no longer a small settlement, +nestled in the little valley between the bluffs, but a veritable city, +now largely perched on the brow of the prairie, with its numerous +business houses, its Churches, and its College. The Church, instead of +being a small class with its meetings first in the dining hall and +afterwards in the small school house, was now a large Society, and +comfortably quartered in a respectable Church edifice. + +But all these changes had not come in a day. The Circuit of twenty-four +appointments, of which Ripon was only one, had been divided and +subdivided until they had become nearly a score of charges. To trace +these changes in detail would weary the reader, and hence I have only +referred to them incidentally, as they have fallen into the line of my +subsequent labors. In this connection, I must confine myself to Ripon +and its immediate vicinity. + +The first Quarterly Meeting of which I can find a record was held in +Ceresco by Rev. J.M. Walker, Oct. 15th, 1855, Rev. William Stevens was +then the Preacher in charge. The official members were: George Limbert, +Local Preacher, Z. Pedrick, Recording Steward, Thos. P. Smith, Steward, +and David S. Shepherd, Class Leader. There were at this time four +classes connected with the charge, and these were located at Ripon, +Ceresco. Rush Lake, and Utica. At the fourth Quarterly Meeting of this +year there were two Sunday Schools reported. One at Ceresco, with +thirty-three scholars, and one at Ripon, with twenty-one. + +The following year, 1856, Rev. R. Moffat was sent to the charge. Utica +was now put into another charge, and Democrat Prairie attached to +Ceresco. During this year, a small frame Church was built in Ceresco, on +the east side of the street, and about forty rods south of the Ceresco +mill. The pioneer Church was used until 1860, when it was sold to Mr. +W.H. Demming, who removed it to its present location for a cooper-shop. +From 1856 to 1860, while the services in Ceresco were thus held in the +small Church, the meetings in Ripon were held in the City Hall, which +was rented for the purpose. When the new Church was built, the +congregations were united. + +The new Church, under the Pastorate of Rev. William Morse, was commenced +in May, 1860, and the lecture-room was ready for use in March, 1861. The +audience room was not completed until the Pastorate of Rev. J.T. +Woodhead in 1862. Brother Woodhead was succeeded by Rev. +Joseph Anderson. + +Brother Morse had entered the traveling connection in the State of New +York, had located, and had come West, seeking health for his wife. The +death of Brother Maxson, of which mention is made in a former chapter, +had left Ripon without a Pastor, and Brother Morse was employed to fill +the vacancy. + +Besides filling out the unexpired year, he remained two years on the +charge, and during his Pastorate there were many accessions. He filled +several other appointments subsequently in the Conference with great +acceptability, but on account of family affliction, he was finally +compelled to retire from active labor. At this writing he is in Western +Iowa, where he does what he can to help on the good cause. He is a man +of sweet spirit, and is highly esteemed by all his brethren. + +Brother Anderson entered the Wisconsin Conference in 1852, and was +stationed at South Grove, in Racine District. His subsequent +appointments had been Milton, Geneva, Sheboygan Falls, Fond du Lac +District, and Appleton. On the stations, and during his four years on +the District, he had done efficient work, and was now brought to Ripon +as the successor of Brother Woodhead, where he was well received. After +leaving Ripon, his appointments have been, Presiding Elder on the +Waupaca District four years, Waupaca Station, Second Church, Oshkosh, +and Omro, his present field. + +Brother Anderson is a man of large frame, and gives evidence of unusual +physical strength. He has a strong head, a kind heart, and is inclined +to the humorous. He can tell a good story in a social circle, and can +relate a good anecdote in the pulpit. In the latter he is gifted in the +line of similes, which often in his hands make the sermon interesting +and profitable. He gives promise of many more years of usefulness. + +At Ripon, the Sabbath having passed, steps were taken to place the +Parsonage in readiness to receive the Pastor's family. Those noble +women, Mrs. Kingsbury, Mrs. Smith, and others, not only aided in the +necessary provision, but actually gave their personal superintendence to +the arrangement of the furniture. A new carpet was put down in the +parlor; a new stove in the sitting room, and such other measures taken +as were deemed necessary to render the coming and stay of the Pastor's +family agreeable to them. And when the family came on Thursday, they +found the rooms warm, the table spread, and the house filled with happy +faces, warm hearts and ready hands, to give them a cordial greeting. +Such a reception, given by such a people, robs the Itinerancy of half +its burdens, and gives to the relations of Pastor and people an +exquisite setting. + +The preliminaries settled, I took up my work in the order I had been +accustomed to follow whenever assigned to station work. Knowing the +importance of the pastoral as well as the pulpit labor, I had always +been accustomed to adhere strictly to a division of labor, giving the +forenoons to my study, and the afternoons to pastoral visits. By this +arrangement I found I could give to the study all the time necessary to +fully employ a healthy brain, and yet find time to pass over in +consecutive order the entire list of families in regular attendance upon +the Church, three or four times a year. The prosecution of this plan in +Ripon soon filled the house with people, and also added greatly to the +spiritual prosperity of the membership. + +During the winter considerable revival interest pervaded the +congregation, which had now come to fill the Church to suffocation, and +not less than seventy-five persons professed conversion. The students +from the College came to the Church in great numbers, and several of +them were found among the converts. + +During the winter, a lecture course was instituted, under the auspices +of the Literary Society connected with the College, and I was requested +to give the first lecture. The flattering manner in which the effort was +spoken of by the press brought other invitations, and I yielded to +several of them, though my time was too much occupied with my regular +work to indulge myself far in this direction. At this time I was also +employed to do considerable work in connection with the press. Besides +becoming one of the corresponding editors of the Index and the N.W. +Advance, two papers published in Milwaukee, I accepted the position of a +Local Editor on the Fond du Lac Commonwealth, and in this capacity +represented Ripon and its vicinity in its columns. + +During the winter, I was called to Onion River to dedicate the new +brick Church that had been built on the Hingham charge, and in the +following summer I was called to Oshkosh to re-open the First Church, +which had been enlarged and greatly improved by the Rev. Wm. P. Stowe. +Frequent calls were also made upon me for addresses on Temperance and +other subjects. I yielded as far as consistent with my other +obligations, but made in these cases, as ever in the course of my +labors, all such calls yield to the pressing demands of my regular +Ministerial work. + +But at this stage of our work, another enterprise lay immediately before +the good people of Ripon. The Church could no longer accommodate the +crowds of people that thronged it, and an extension became necessary. A +united and generous effort, however, soon rendered this necessary +improvement a fixed fact. By an extension of the length and +reconstruction of the basement, and suitable refitting, the Ripon Church +became not only commodious, but, in size, the second Church in the +northern portion of the Conference. + +On one of the beautiful days of June, I concluded to make a visit to +Berlin. Taking my family in a carriage, we passed over a delightful +country and along pleasant roads, wondering at the change that had come +over that region since I made my wild excursion in this direction in +1845, to find Strong's Landing. I now found Berlin a pleasant city and +the home of many valued friends, whom I had known elsewhere. + +Berlin, though now aspiring to be a charge of respectable standing, had +its beginning, like all others, in "the day of small things." The first +Methodist sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Bassinger in September, 1850. +The services were held in the office of a warehouse. Berlin was now +connected with Dartford, and became a regular appointment. Brother +Bassinger formed a class in connection with the first service in the +warehouse. The members were Reuben Tompkins, his wife, and two +daughters, Mrs. Kellogg and Mrs. McElroy. + +Until a Church was built the meetings were held, after leaving the +warehouse, first over Mr. Bartlett's store, and afterwards over Mr. +Alexander's clothing store. The first Church was built under the +Pastorate of Rev. J. Pearsall in 1851. It did good service for several +years, and was then sold. It is now used as a blacksmith shop. The +second church, the present respectable edifice, was built in 1858 by +Rev. D. Stansbury, and was dedicated by the late Dr. T.M. Eddy. The +Parsonage was built by Rev. D.O. Jones in 1862. + +Rev. Isaac Wiltse, the Pastor at Berlin at this time entered the +Wisconsin Conference at its April session in 1859. His charges before +coming to Berlin were Wautoma, Kingston, Door Creek, Lowell, Liberty +Prairie, and Dartford. Since leaving Berlin, his appointment has been +Beaver Dam, where he is now doing a good work for the Master. + +Brother Wiltse is one of those men who usually remain on a charge as +long as the law of the Church will permit. He is a young man of a clear +understanding and genuine piety. As a Preacher he holds an excellent +position in the Conference, and he is not less esteemed as a Pastor. +Avoiding all effort to make a show in the world, he furnishes a large +stock of Gospel truth in his sermons, and puts into his administration +an equal share of common sense. + +The next session of the Conference was held Oct. 12, in Janesville. We +were returned to Ripon, as expected by all. But the year opened with +another of those occasions which strangely unite both joy and sorrow. On +the third day of November, a happy group were met at the Parsonage, to +celebrate the marriage of our second daughter, Laura Eunice, and Mr. +Jesse Smith, of Fond du Lac. This event took to Fond du Lac our second +and only remaining daughter, leaving us alone with our son, now twelve +years of age, as the only representative of young life in the household. +Those only who have thus felt the shadows one after another creeping +around the home hearth, can realize the desolation of feeling that +broods over the parental heart on such occasions. But there is no time +in this life to estimate its losses. The duties of the day are ever upon +us, and we must away at their call. + +The Church enlargement had been completed, and every indication gave +promise of a successful year. Our associations were exceedingly +pleasant, and the Church, at peace in all her borders, was in a healthy +spiritual condition. During the winter a revival again blessed the +labors of Pastor and people. The following summer was one of great +comfort. The two years spent at Ripon were among the most happy of all +our Itinerant life. Not a jar had disturbed the fair fabric of our +dreams, not a ripple had disturbed the happy flow of feeling. And, +strongly entrenched in the confidence and good feeling of all the +people, we closed the year in full expectation of a return and another +successful term. + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +Conference of 1871.--Election of Delegates.--Laymen's Electoral +Convention.--Temperance.--The Sabbath.--Rev. Thomas Hughes.--Appointed +to Spring Street.--Third Term.--Wide Field.--Rev. C.D. Pillsbury.--Rev. +W.W. Case.--The Norwegian Work.--Rev. A. Haagenson.--The Silver +Wedding.--Results of the Year. + +The Conference of 1871 was held in the Summerfield Church, Milwaukee, +Oct. 11, and was presided over by Bishop Simpson. At this session the +election of Delegates to the General Conference again occurred. The +Conference was entitled to five clerical Delegates, and the Laymen to +two. The Conference elected G.M. Steele, C.D. Pillsbury, Henry +Bannister, P.R. Pease, and W.G. Miller. The Laymen's Convention elected +Hon. Wm. P. Lyon, of the Supreme Court of the State, and R.P. Elmore, +Esq., of Milwaukee. Judge Lyon being unable to attend, his place was +filled by Prof. H.A. Jones, of Lawrence University. + +At this session provision was made to hold a Methodist State Convention +at Madison during the following summer. Able reports were also adopted +on the subject of Temperance and the observance of the Christian +Sabbath, showing that the members of the body kept abreast with the +demands of the times. + +This year the Conference was called to make a record of the death of two +of its members, Rev. Isaac Searles, and Rev. Thomas Hughes. As reference +has been made to the first named in a former chapter, it need not be +repeated in this connection. + +Brother Hughes was a native of Wales, and had been connected with our +Welsh work. Alter serving two years in the Welsh Mission in Oneida +Conference he came to Wisconsin in 1857. He settled in Fond du Lac +county, and for several years supplied the Welsh Mission in Nekimi, +preaching also at times to the English population in that neighborhood. +His death occurred in Utica, N.Y. He was a man of strong mind, amiable +spirit, and thoroughly versed in the doctrines of the Bible and the +standards of the Church. + +Besides this depletion of the Itinerant ranks, three of our brethren had +been called during the year to go down into the deep shadows of domestic +affliction, in the loss of their companions, Revs. William Teal, Warren +Woodruff and H.H. Jones. The obituaries of these devoted co-laborers +were inserted in the Conference Minutes. + +During the session of the Conference, Mrs. Miller and myself were +entertained by the Misses Curry, whose generous hospitality made our +stay with them exceedingly pleasant. We also visited many of our old +friends in the city as opportunity permitted, little dreaming of the +surprise that was awaiting us. + +The Conference closed in the usual manner by the reading of the +appointments. But judge of our surprise to find ourselves assigned for a +third time to the Pastorate of Spring Street Station, Milwaukee. To say +we were surprised indeed would be but to state the truth, and yet to say +we were pained we could not, for who that has ever known the good people +of Old Spring Street, could ever deem it an affliction to be stationed +among them. However, when we looked upon the weeping eyes of several of +our dear Ripon friends in the congregation, and thought of the many +others at home, we would have been other than human if our eyes had not +also filled with tears. Nor is it too much to say, that we did not know +how much we were attached to the good people of Ripon and our work +there, until we found ourselves so suddenly separated from them. But on +the other hand, what could we say? We came first to Milwaukee when in +our youth. We came again to the Milwaukee District in 1859, and to the +station in 1862, giving to the first four years of severe labor, and to +the last three of the most successful years of our Itinerant life. We +had known this people as it seldom falls to the lot of Itinerants to +know a people. With not a few we had knelt at the Altar of God, when +they passed into the spiritual kingdom. The names of very many of them +had been entered by the writer's hand on the records of the Church. With +many we had bowed our heads in recognition of their deep sorrow, and +with many had clasped hands in the day of their rejoicing. And now, to +be sent back to a third Pastorate within a period of twenty years, could +not be deemed less than a great privilege. + +But to our work. Following my life-long custom, the first Sabbath of the +new Conference year found me at my post of labor. I was happy to find +the charge in a good spiritual condition, and hence I was able to take +up the work in its ordinary line of service. My first care was to +arrange a complete system of pastoral labor, still entertaining the +conviction that upon the faithful prosecution of this branch of the +Ministerial work depended, in a good degree, the success of the pastoral +function. And in this branch of service Spring Street Station imposes a +vast amount of labor. As the mother Church of the city, her membership +is widely scattered, and her congregations large. Yet the Pastor, with a +careful husbanding of time, and an earnest effort, can pass over the +field as often as the exigencies of the work require. He may not always +visit each family as often as they desire, for there are many in every +Church who have a very limited idea of the amount of labor, care and +thought the pastoral office imposes, but he will be able to meet all +reasonable demands. + +The new Church had been completed during the preceding year, and had +been dedicated by Rev. Drs. Eddy and Ives on the Sabbath before +Conference, Oct. 8th, 1871. The building is a fine brick structure, one +hundred feet in length by eighty in width at the transepts. Besides the +auditorium, it has a large lecture-room, three parlors, a Pastor's +study, a library room, and a convenient kitchen. The entire cost of +buildings and grounds, including the Parsonage, was sixty thousand +dollars. At the dedication subscriptions were obtained to meet the +indebtedness of twenty thousand dollars with a satisfactory margin. + +The new year opened with all the Church appliances in vigorous +operation. The class and prayer meetings were well attended, and the +intervening evenings were occupied by the meetings of the Ladies' Aid, +the Literary and other Church societies. The Sunday School, under the +superintendence of Rev. Edwin Hyde, was in a flourishing condition, +ranking, doubtless, as one of the most numerous and successful schools +of the city. + +The Milwaukee District was now in charge of Rev. C.D. Pillsbury, who +entered the Maine Conference in 1843. He filled the following +appointments in that Conference: Dover, Atkinson, Sagerville, and +Exeter. At the division in 1848, he fell into the East Maine Conference, +where his appointments were Machias, Summer Street, Bangor, Agent of +East Maine Seminary, and Presiding Elder of Bangor District. He was +transferred to the Wisconsin Conference in 1857, and stationed at Racine +as the writer's successor. His subsequent appointments have been Racine +District, Chaplain of the Twenty-Second Regiment, Beloit, Agent of the +Freedmen's Aid Commission, Janesville District, and Milwaukee District. + +After leaving the District Brother Pillsbury has been stationed at Bay +View and Menasha, but, his health failing, he took a supernumerary +relation at the last Conference, and at this writing is residing at +Minneapolis. He has done considerable literary work, in connection with +his Ministerial labors. Brother Pillsbury has a well balanced mind, and +is thoroughly versed in the great questions of the day. He is sound in +theology and faithful in administration; a good, strong Preacher, and is +universally respected, both as a man and a Minister. + +Asbury Church was greatly delighted with the return of Rev. W.W. Case to +its pastorate. He entered the Erie Conference in 1859, and in that +Conference he had been stationed at Ellington, Cattaraugus, and Little +Valley. He was transferred to the Wisconsin Conference in 1864, and had +now been stationed three years each at Edgerton and Beloit. During his +year at Asbury, he had gathered a fine congregation, and was now in +great esteem among the people. He remained three years at Asbury, and +was then stationed at Division Street, Fond du Lac, where he is at the +present writing, serving the second year. + +Brother Case is still a young man, and is blessed with a pleasant +countenance, agreeable manners, and an affable spirit. In social life he +is a great favorite. He is well read, and has an entertaining delivery. +In the selection of his pulpit topics, and in the manner of their +treatment, he dwells more in the sunshine than in the storm. He has +already reached a position among his brethren that gives promise of +great usefulness in the Master's work. + +It has not been my purpose to embody in these pages a record of the +exceedingly interesting and prosperous work among our German brethren, +as their branch of Methodistic labor in the State has developed an +Annual Conference of its own, and richly deserves a volume for its +proper presentation. But as our Norwegian brethren are connected with +our own Conference, a brief reference to their work will not be out +of place. + +It will be recollected that in a former chapter reference was made to +the beginning of the work in our State. We will now refer to the opening +of the good work in Milwaukee. + +In the spring of 1864, the writer was holding a protracted meeting in +the Spring Street Methodist Episcopal Church. At one of the meetings +there came to the Altar as seekers, two Norwegians. As the meetings +progressed, others came with them, until there were some twelve persons +on probation and in full membership, who used the Scandinavian language. +During the following summer, it was deemed advisable to form them into a +class by themselves, and as they resided in the vicinity of the Asbury +Church, put them in connection with that charge. Rev. P.K. Rye, then +stationed at Racine, came down a few times and furnished them services +in their own language. + +At the ensuing session of the West Wisconsin Conference, in which the +Scandinavian work was then placed, Milwaukee was connected with Racine +charge, and placed under the care of Rev. A. Haagenson. The society was +duly organized by the new Pastor on the 25th day of March, 1865. Brother +Haagenson was greatly blessed in his labors, and before the end of the +year purchased the German Baptist Church, located on Walker Street, +between Hanover and Greenbush. The cost of the building and lots was +eight hundred dollars. Brother Haagenson remained until 1868, when he +was succeeded on the Milwaukee and Racine Mission by Rev. N. +Christopherson, who remained until the close of 1870. + +In 1871, Milwaukee and Ashipun were put together, with Rev. C.O. Trider +as Pastor. The erection of a new Church, twenty-eight by forty-five feet +in size, was commenced in December, and in May, 1872, the lecture-room +was dedicated by Rev. A. Haagenson. At the present writing, Brother +Haagenson is the Presiding Elder of the Norwegian District, and has also +charge of the Station, having in the latter portion of his work Rev. O. +Hanson as an Assistant. + +Brother Haagenson is a man of deep piety and earnest purpose. Studious +and laborious, he furnishes an excellent type of a Methodist Preacher. +His labors are onerous, but his work is in a highly prosperous state, +and is making a record of many conversions. + +On the fourth of January, 1872, we celebrated our silver wedding. We had +made a note of our wedding anniversary with considerable regularity from +year to year, but had never until now celebrated any of the epochs which +are so often made to divide the years of married life. In this instance +we deemed it advisable to depart from our usual custom, since +twenty-five years seems to be a point from which both the past and +future may be seen ordinarily with considerable distinctness of outline. +And further, it was now probable that the whole family could be brought +together, an event which could not be looked upon with any great degree +of assurance as probable at any future time. + +The entertainment was given in the evening in the Parsonage, and was +attended by about one hundred persons. Spring Street and the other +Churches of the city were well represented. But in addition to these, +there were delegations present from all the charges we had served in the +Conference, each bringing the hand of greeting from our old friends to +cheer us. A record of the occasion, however, would be incomplete if I +were not to state that the silver ware of the house was increased by an +addition valued at nearly five hundred dollars. But every rose has its +thorn. Never before were we obliged to sleep with one eye open to guard +our treasures. + +The year now drew to a close, and, counting up the results, we found +that fifty-one members had been received, the Pastor's salary, amounting +to twenty-three hundred dollars, had been paid, the Church debt had been +reduced to ten thousand dollars, and that to meet the balance there were +subscriptions, including organ fund, of fifteen thousand dollars. + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +Conference of 1872.--Rev. A.P. Mead.--Rev. A. Callender.--Rev. Win. P. +Stowe.--Rev. O.B. Thayer.--Rev. S. Reynolds,--Revival under Mrs. Van +Cott.--Conference of 1873.--Rev. Henry Colman.--Rev. A.A. Hoskin.--Rev. +Stephen Smith.--Illness.--Conference of 1874.--Rev. Dr. Carhart.--Rev. +Geo. A. Smith.--Rev. C.N. Stowers. + +The Conference of 1872 was held Oct. 9th, at Division Street Church, +Fond du Lac, Bishop Haven presiding. The Woman's Foreign Missionary +Society, having been fully recognized by the General Conference, was +made the subject of a highly appreciative report, in which the +Conference extended to the ladies of the Church a cordial welcome to +this new field of effort, and pledged them a helping hand in the +good work. + +At this session Rev. A.P. Mead was appointed Presiding Elder of Waupaca +District. Brother Mead graduated from the Garrett Biblical Institute in +1861, and was the same year admitted into the Conference. His +appointments had been Sharon, Elkhorn, Kenosha, Bay View, and Lyons, +when he was sent to the District. He remained only two years on the +Waupaca District, and was then appointed to the Fond du Lac District. +Brother Mead is a man of genial spirit and large practical sense. His +sermons are replete with Evangelical truth, and produce an abiding +impression. His intercourse with the people and Preachers is +instructive, and his administration cannot fail to prove a blessing to +the District. + +At this session of the Conference, the decease of Rev. Aurora +Callender, among others, was announced. Brother Callender entered the +Pittsburg Conference in 1828, and was first stationed at Franklin, a +circuit located on the slope of the Alleghany Mountains, and in the +neighborhood of the Oil Regions. Before coming to Wisconsin, his +appointments were Meadville Circuit, Meadville, Springfield, Cuyahoga +Falls, Chardon and Middleburgh. Coming to Wisconsin, he was stationed, +in 1850, at Sylvania. His subsequent appointments were Geneva and +Elkhorn, Union, Hazel Green, Dodgeville, Mineral Point District, +Norwegian Mission District, Clinton, and Agent of American Colonization +Society, Subsequently he filled several charges as a supply, and +departed this life in the midst of his work at Pickneyville, Ill., Oct. +23d, 1871. + +Brother Callender was a veteran pioneer. Capable of great physical +endurance, possessing a vigorous intellect, well skilled in theology and +Methodist law, his labors were abundant and of a substantial character. +In his earlier years, especially, his Ministry led many souls to +the Cross. + +At this Conference I was returned to Spring Street Station, and, Brother +Pillsbury's term on the District having expired, Rev. Wm. P. Stowe was +appointed Presiding Elder. + +Brother Stowe, it will be remembered, was converted in his boyhood in +his father's chapel. When grown to man's estate, he took up the trowel +and thereby procured funds to secure his education. He graduated from +the Lawrence University as a member of the Second Class, in 1858. He +entered the Conference the same year, and was stationed at Sheboygan. +The following two years he was stationed at Port Washington, but before +the close of the second year his health failed, and he retired from the +work. In 1862 he accepted the Chaplaincy of the Twenty-Seventh Regiment, +but the year following he was re-admitted and stationed at Sharon. His +subsequent appointments were Beloit, Racine, Oshkosh, and Summerfield, +Milwaukee, in all of which charges he has left the fragrance of a good +name and the legacy of substantial fruit. As a Presiding Elder, he is +deservedly popular. + +Brother Stowe has a large frame, tends to corpulency, and shows great +physical vigor. With large perception, he reads men and surroundings +aptly. In the pulpit, he puts ideas in logical relations, and aims at an +object. His sermons abound in illustrations, strung on a strong cord of +Evangelical truth. + +Rev. O.B. Thayer was stationed at Summerfield Church, having become a +member of the Conference in 1870. He had been stationed at Court Street +Church, Janesville, and at Appleton. In both these charges he had +developed a high standard of pulpit talent. He remained at Summerfield +two years, and was then appointed to Kenosha, where, at the present +writing, he is preaching to fine congregations. + +Rev. S. Reynolds, State Agent of the American Bible Society, was also a +member of the Ministerial fraternity of Milwaukee. This good brother +came to the Conference by transfer from Iowa. He has been engaged for +many years in his present work, and has gained a reputation, second to +none, in the management of the laborious and manifold responsibilities +of his position. In his addresses he deals in stubborn facts, and never +fails to interest the audience. He is vigilant in looking after the +details of his trust, but he needs a word of caution as to his health. +His great labor is evidently overtaxing his strength. + +My salary was again fixed at two thousand three hundred dollars. A new +system of finance was now adopted, called the "Envelope System." In its +principal features, it was similar to the "Card System," introduced +during my former term, but contained several additional provisions to +render it more effective. The new plan succeeded admirably, giving to +the station, at the end of the first quarter of the year, the +extraordinary record of having fully paid the Pastor's salary, and every +other claim for current expenses, besides liquidating several bills for +improvements on the Church and Parsonage. And it is proper to add that +the current year closed with several hundred dollars in the Treasury. + +The regular work of the station opened this year encouragingly. A +general quickening followed, and by mid-winter there had been half a +score of conversions. Mrs. Maggie N. Van Cott, who had been engaged for +a year to assist us, now came to our help. The meeting continued five +weeks, under this most extraordinary laborer, and resulted in the +conversion of near four hundred souls, about two hundred of whom united +with the Spring Street Church. + +The Conference of 1873 was held Oct. 15, at Whitewater, Bishop Merrill +presiding. At this session Rev. Henry Colman, who had repeatedly served +as Assistant, was elected Secretary of the Conference. + +Brother Colman graduated from the Lawrence University as a member of the +First Class in 1856. He entered the West Wisconsin Conference in 1858, +and filled one appointment in that Conference, when, in 1859, he was +transferred to the Wisconsin Conference and stationed at Columbus. In +1860 he was stationed at Green Bay, and the following year at Asbury, +Milwaukee. In 1863 he was appointed Principal of the Evansville +Seminary, where he remained four years. After leaving the Seminary, he +has held a respectable class of appointments, and is now doing effective +work at Fort Atkinson. He is a man of clear head and honorable, +Christian impulses. Having a thorough knowledge of Biblical criticism, +he has for several years rendered the Sunday Schools of the State a good +service by furnishing in the Christian Statesman a weekly exposition of +the Lesson. + +In keeping with the provision of the Discipline, adopted at the recent +session of the General Conference, for the Trial of Appeals, the +Conference elected her quota as follows: W.G. Miller, O.J. Cowles, +Joseph Anderson, J.W. Carhart, P.B. Pease, P.S. Bennett, and W.P. Stowe. +But as there were no cases to be tried, the brethren elected were +compelled to wear empty honors. + +At this Conference, the writer again returned to Spring Street, it being +the third year of the third term of my Pastorate among this people, and +the thirtieth Conference year of my itinerent labors. Brother Stowe was +also returned to the District, and Rev. A.A. Hoskin was appointed to +Asbury, and Rev. Stephen Smith to Bay View. + +Brother Hoskin entered the Conference in 1867, and before coming to the +city had been stationed at Milton, Shopiere, and Menomonee Falls. He is +a young man of fine culture, genial spirit, and great industry. His +sermons embody the fundamental truths of the Gospel, and their manifold +relations to practical life, and are highly appreciated by the people. + +Besides being a good Preacher, he is also a poet of considerable +reputation. + +Brother Smith entered the Conference in 1856, and his first appointment +was Sylvania. His subsequent appointments have been Elkhorn, Sharon, +Geneva, Manitowoc, Fort Atkinson, Delavan, First Church, Janesville, and +Bay View. On all these charges he has left the evidences of earnest and +devoted work for the Master. At Bay View, the present year has been one +of extraordinary success. The revival that transpired under his labors +swept through the entire community, and gave an accession of more than +one hundred members, a majority of whom were heads of families. + +Brother Smith is a good Preacher, filling his sermons with a clear +exposition of Evangelical truth. And his Ministry has ever been a +benediction to the people of his respective charges. + +The year opened in Spring Street Station with unusual promise. The +social meetings were well attended, the congregations were large and +attentive, the Sunday School, the largest in the city, prosperous, the +several societies were doing effective work, and the finances were in an +excellent condition. With this outlook, we were anticipating a glorious +year, but how uncertain are all human expectations! + +During the delivery of the morning sermon on Sabbath, April 26th, 1874, +the writer was taken violently ill. The attack proved to be the +prostration of the nervous system, resulting from overworking the brain, +a difficulty that had been foreshadowed by several premonitions during +the preceding year. My condition at the first was perilous, but after +four hours of skillful medical treatment and careful nursing, the crisis +passed. Then followed weary weeks of watching and waiting. Meantime, I +received the earnest sympathy of my people, and the kind assistance of +my brethren in the Ministry, who generously proposed to supply +my pulpit. + +The Conference of 1874 was held at Oshkosh, Bishop Foster presiding. I +was able to attend and answer to my name, but could spend but little +time in the Conference room. Whenever present I seemed to myself, as I +must have seemed to others, like a dismantled ship, stranded on the +beach. I was most kindly treated by all the brethren, being relieved of +every burden, and assured of abiding sympathy. + +At this Conference Rev. J.W. Carhart, D.D., was stationed, by request of +the people, at Oshkosh. Brother Carhart entered the traveling connection +in the Troy Conference, and came to the Wisconsin Conference by transfer +in 1871, being stationed at Racine. He had just completed a full term, +and hence Oshkosh is his second appointment in the Conference. He is a +man of superior culture, fine preaching ability, and cannot fail to give +character to the pulpit, wherever he may be stationed. + +Rev. George A. Smith was stationed at Spring Street as my successor. +Brother Smith entered the Conference in April 1859, his first +appointment being Principal of the Evansville Seminary. His subsequent +appointments were Milton, Emerald Grove, Lyons and Spring Prairie. In +his last field his health failed through intense mental application, and +he was compelled to retire from the work. After five years of rest he +was again able to resume his labors, being stationed first at Pleasant +Prairie, and next at Kenosha. + +Brother Smith is in the strength of his manhood, has a vigorous mind, is +a fine thinker, uses clear-cut and well selected language, has a most +amiable spirit, and his Ministry cannot fail to be a grand +success anywhere. + +Brother Stowers came to the Conference by transfer in 1867, and first +served as Professor in the Lawrence University. In 1869, having been +elected President of the Upper Iowa University, he was transferred to +the Upper Iowa Conference. He returned, however, to the Wisconsin +Conference the following year, and was stationed at Janesville. His next +charge was Whitewater, where, during his three years' Pastorate, he +achieved great success in the erection of a fine brick Church, and in +securing large accessions to the membership. + +Brother Stowers is a man of great energy and decided talent. He has an +excellent voice, a ready utterance, and abundant illustrations, which +render his pulpit labors attractive. He is an able and successful +Minister. + +At the adjournment of the Conference, the Preachers hastened to their +new fields of labor, perhaps hardly thinking, in their eagerness to be +at their work, of the tearful eyes that were looking after them, and the +aching hearts of those brethren who, no longer able to go out with them +to the battle, were compelled to languish in hospitals, or linger by +the wayside. + +As for myself, I returned to Milwaukee, and retired to the quiet home a +few personal friends in the city and elsewhere had assisted me to build, +and where I now write this, the last line of + +THIRTY YEARS IN THE ITINERANCY. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Thirty Years in the Itinerancy +by Wesson Gage Miller + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THIRTY YEARS IN THE ITINERANCY *** + +***** This file should be named 12376.txt or 12376.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/3/7/12376/ + +Produced by Charlie Kirschner and the Online Distributed Proofreading +Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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