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.
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.