1838-1938
| West Liberty History 1838-1938 | |
Source: One Hundred Years of History
* Commemorating a Century of Progress in the West Liberty Community * WEST LIBERTY, IOWA
LOG CABIN HISTORY Chapter XXIV
THE LOCAL PREACHER As has been mentioned, our pioneers while sometimes rough in manner and speech, were religiously inclined, and welcomed the itenerant preacher who came among them at irregular intervals, and welcomed no less another class that followed close after the first settlers of every region. These were men who in many instances carried no certificates of ordination from any ecclesiastical body, but yet felt that they had a " call " to preach, and were known in local parlance as " local preachers" and " exhorters." These men came here to make homes for their families, as well as to " preach the Gospel " to their fellow men and to look after the scattered sheep in the wilderness till a regular shepherd should appear to take charge of the flock. Denominational lines were very dimly drawn, if drawn at all, and differences of practice were kept in the background. These local preachers did not always carry a high order of intellectual training, or of ecclesiastical knowledge, and were content to present the plain truths of the Bible story in metaphors and similies from their surroundings. While sometimes their courses were rambling and lacking in rhetorical polish and force, yet they were full of the meat of the word, and no one questioned the earnestness or purity of purpose of the speaker. These men were of a class always found on the crest of the first wave of civilization that rolled from the east over the hills and valleys of New England, the dense forests of the middle valley and the prairies and plains of the farther west, and never stop as long as there is a new settlement or miner's camp in which the Gospel is not preached. Ever earnest and active, no conditions are so trying or danger so great but that for love of the Master they dare and endure to plant the seeds of spiritual truths and cultivate the virtues of a godly life.
Some of these men were characters in their way, and are yet remembered by many, not only for the purity of their purposes, but also for peculiarities of their manners. One I will remember. I will not tell what denomination he professed to represent. A cabinet-maker by trade, he worked at that occupation during the week and on the Sabbath would conduct religious services in some of the surrounding school houses. I cannot truthfully say his discourses were great flights of eloquence, but they were memorable for their manner of delivery, if not for the thoughts delivered. His prayers and invocations were of the stereotyped order, and by frequent repetitions soon became the common property of his hearers. One young lady who used to sit on the seat just in front of the writer somewhat detracted from the proper solemnity of the occasion by repeating in an audible whisper the matter of his petition, keeping about three wordsin advance of him. He would deliver his discourse in a sing-song tone, ending his pauses with an exclamatory " ah ! " and when he became most fervid and his climaxes were approaching, his exclamations became more frequent and forceful, reminding one of Bro. Bosan in " The Hoosier Schoolmaster." But for all of his peculiarities, he was a man doing his duty to the best of his ability as he saw it. In strong contrast to this good brother in many ways was another preacher of the Bible Christian persuasion, who came to this region in an early day. For some years he worked on a farm to gain a living for his numerous family. He was an industrious, energetic man, of rather a fiery temperament. Living and working among the people he knew their peculiar conditions, their cares and trials, their privations and temptations, and could minister to their spiritual wants better than could a more cultured man who lived aloof from people, more in the companionship of books. His great heart was filled with love to his fellow man, and his belief in the Gospel and a personal God were beyond doubt.
It is needless to say that with such a faith and with such a temperament he wielded the "sword of Gideon" with a mighty arm. He wasted no time in writing and polishing his messages to his people. The words flowed from his lips like torrents, and his denunciation of sin in high or low places was scathing in its virility, but his plea for a sinner was like a mother pleading for an erring child. I scarcely think, however, that his manners and personal habits would altogether please a modern fashionable congregation; for while he was a firm believer in the spirit of the Gospel he sometimes lapsed in keeping the letter of the law as interpreted by many. One instance; where he was farming one summer in full view of the home of a good Quaker. That season the chinch bugs had attacked the wheat, and if the crop was saved at all, it must be secured at once, and the loss of a crop was a sad disaster and meant pinching times and often real want. The Sabbath came and this preacher had an afternoon appointment in a neighboring settlement. This Quaker of whom I speak was busy in his harvest field that day, and from there had seen this reverend brother also at work in his own. But in the afternoon he came riding along dressed in his clerical robes, on his way to his appointment. On seeing the Quaker at work he rode up to the fence and waited till he came up and proceeded to take him to task for working on that holy day. The Quaker answered by asking," What was it I saw thee doing up there in thy wheat field this morning?" The reverend brother had no reply ready, but rode on to his appointment. Probably his text was not " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."
I remember attending service one winter day, conducted by this minister in a school house. The day was bitter cold, and when the congrefation gathered no fire had been started, and hence the room was very uncomfortable. Many were inclined to forego the service for that day, but the preacher had come there to preach the Gospel to them, and they had come to hear it, so he began the service. The desk he used as a pulpit was near the back end of the room, and the stove near the front, He did not remove his overcoat or his cap because of the cold. After the preliminaries of the service were ended, he arose to address the congregation. One of his first acts was to reach in his pocket and take out a plug of tobacco, from which he took a liberal chew. As he warmed up with his subject, his jaws worked faster and the saliva accumulated, till it threatened to interfere with his articulation, when he would start for the stove, talking as he went, open the door and unload his burdened mouth therein then back to the pulpit and never miss a word in his discourse. I do not remember the text or the thread of the discourse that day, but do vividly remember the man and the earnestness of his faith. Many are they who "hark back" to his ministry as the beginning of a better life, and it is more easy to forget his uncouthness than his love for his fellow men.
When Markley took the gold fever in 1852 he transferred all claims he held in the improvements he had made in Elm Grove to William Wright. These improvements were not of any great extent or value and consisted more of great expectations than anything of financial value. Later on Wright was taken with the same disorder that had carried off his predecessor and took his way to the gold regions of the west, where he made himself a name and fortune as a humorous writer under the non-de-plume of Dan DeQuill.
Joseph M. Gibson appeared in the Wapsie valley in 1853, seeking for cheap land from which to make a home. He persuaded John Whistler to sell his little farm to him, and that autumn the family took possession. The house on this farm was quite a commodious one, having two rooms on the first floor and a nice big room above, reached by a ladder. This house had some historic interest, as John Brown, of Osawatomie, once stopped there for a visit with the inmates, on one of his journeys between Kansas and Canada where he was planning his fatal campaign against Harper's Ferry, where he and so many of his followers met their death.