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You raised these hallowed walls; the desert smiled.
And paradise was opened in these wilds.—Pope.

         In the latter part of June, 1837, Rev. Daniel Cartwright, a nephew of the late well-known and highly esteemed Peter Cartwright, preached the first Methodist sermon delivered in the county. The cabin of Col. Henry Hardman, on the same spot where the Colonel now lives, in Rochester Township, was improvised as a meeting house. There were not more than twenty persons present, and they were there without regard to fashion or display. The preacher occupied a place behind a common candle stand, in one corner of the room. There was neither organ nor organized choir to add vocal melody to the occasion. The preacher gave out the hymn, two lines at a time, something after the following manner:

Before Jehovah’s awful throne
Ye nations bow with sacred joy;--

then, raising his voice, the preacher led in singing. When these two lines were rendered, he lined the next two:

Know that the Lord is God alone,
He can create, and He destroy;--

and resuming the last measure of the tune, complete the stanza, and so on, to the end of the hymn.

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         At this meeting, the seeds of Methodism were planted in Cedar County; the planting, carefully and industriously cultivated, ripened into the fullness of a plentiful harvest.

         A month later, a class was formed at the cabin of Col. Henry Hardman, under the direction of Rev. Chauncey Hobart, who, after Cartright’s first sermon, was sent by the Rock River (Illinois) M. E. Conference to preach regularly in the neighborhood.

         The following named persons made up the first Methodist class as organized at Col. Hardman’s: Henry Hardman and wife, Mary, and Cynthia, their daughter; Daniel Hare and wife, and their daughter, Phoebe, and H. D. Brown—seven persons in all. Washington A. Rigby, _______Forte and William Wilkinson united with the class soon after its organization, increasing the number to ten persons. H. D. Brown was the first class leader. This class was the organized beginning of Methodism in Cedar County, the influence of which grew and spread with the growth of the settlements.

         The first Quarterly Meeting was held at Col. Hardman’s residence, about the 1st of September, 1837—Elder Henry Summers, of Knoxville, Knox Co., Ill., officiating.

         The Methodists of the county now maintain eight regular Pastors, and probably number as many thousands as they did individuals when the first class was organized, in 1837.

         Of the pioneer representatives of Methodism named above, Rev. Chauncey Hobart subsequently removed to Minnesota, where he was still living at the last authentic report. Mary Hardman died September 15, 1852, universally lamented by all who enjoyed her acquaintance. Cyntha Hardman died April 12, 1867. Daniel Hare died in 1852; his wife, Sarah, died a few years later; their daughter, Phoebe, still survives, and remains a resident of the vicinity. H. D. Brown resides in Tipton. Washington A. Rigby resides at Stanwood. _______Forte and William Wilkinson are both dead.

         Six of that little class of ten members, organized at the cabin of Col. Hardman, in the Summer of 1837 have gone

Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet
Their Savior and brethren transported to greet;
While the anthems of rapture unceasingly roll,
And the smile of the Lord is the life of the soul.

         The remaining members of that first class—Col. Henry Hardman, H. D. Brown, Washington A. Rigby and Phoebe Hare Edwards—have all passed the meridian of life, and, in the very nature of things, are nearing that bourne from which there is no turning back. Their lives have been full of usefulness and “their works will live after them.”