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.
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.
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.