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Shelby County |
CHAPTER XVI. - PROTESTANT CHURCHES IN SHELBY COUNTY.
The pioneers of Shelby county were essentially religious men and women. They brought with them their religious institutions. The revival or protracted meeting was a typical institution. So early as 1868 the Methodists were holding a revival at Bowman's Grove, conducted by Rev. W. T. Smith. In February, 1874, Rev. Peerman, of Atlantic, was holding revival meetings at Howlett's Grove, in Fairview township. In October, 1870, Rev. Gilman Parker, of the Harlan Baptist church, was holding revival meetings in Douglas township. In October, 1876, Elder Berry, of the Harlan Christian church, was holding a series of meetings at the court house in Harlan. In March, 1877, Rev. Gilman Parker was holding a revival meeting at Shelby. A Methodist camp meeting was held at Cuppy's Grove in August, 1878. In January, 1876, protracted meetings were being held at the French school house in Douglas township, and at Harlan. In January, 1877, Rev. Charles Ashton, of the Harlan Methodist Episcopal church, was holding revival meetings at Bowman's Grove. Among the very earliest religious workers in Shelby county were Elder Thomas Dobson and Elder John A. McIntosh, of the Latter-Day Saints church, Rev. Kirtland Card, Rev. W. T. Smith, T. McK. Stuart and William McGinniss for the Methodists, and Judge H. A. Tarkington, who, it is said preached the first sermon at Harlan in 1859; Rev. A. Johnson, a Methodist, who worked at intervals in Harlan, in Fairview township, where he resided, and at Shelby; Rev. John M. Cox, a Baptist, who came in the sixties, and many others. One of the hard workers in the seventies was Rev. Gilman Parker, above mentioned. A Harlan paper of April 24, 1879, mentions his work thus: "Last Sunday was a lively day for Rev. Gilman Parker, of the Baptist church. He preached in his church in the morning, taught a class in Sunday school, preached a sermon in the afternoon, performed a marriage ceremony, drove eighteen miles and organized a new Sabbath school, and preached in the evening. Bible class, new Sunday school, three sermons, eighteen miles and a wedding. Next." These pioneer preachers were worthy of the times in which they lived, and were alert and active in every good work, sharing the hardships of their parishioners. A letter written by Rev. W. T. Smith, of Los Angeles, California, December 29, 1909, throws much light upon the conditions surrounding religious work in Shelby county in 1867, which will soon be fifty years ago. At that time the Methodist Episcopal church had societies at Harlan, Bowman's Grove and Howlett's Grove, together with a number in Pottawattamie county, the Harlan circuit at that time including a strip of territory forty miles long and but a few miles wide, lying, generally speaking, within the valleys of the 'Botna river. In 1868 the Harlan Methodist Episcopal class was composed of the following members: R. M. Smith, leader; William McGinniss, Mary McGinniss, Amelia Lemoreaux, Travis Dennis, Margaret Dennis, John Burroughs, Mr. Bergstresser, Elizabeth Woodruff, Lucy Adams, Mrs. Brazee, Hattie Long, Mrs. Lemoreaux, D. D. Downs, Mrs. Kinsey, Isaac Wilcox. On May 31, 1868, Rev. Smith baptised a number of persons, including the following: Hattie Long, John McConnell, Cassie McConnell, Elizabeth McConnell, Julia McConnell, Scott McConnell, Josephine Poling, Effie Swinehart, Emma Swinehart. Nearly all of these persons were residents of Bowman's Grove and came into the church as a result of a revival held there in January, 1868, at which time eighteen persons joined the Methodist Episcopal church. The early preachers were practical men, able and willing to lend a hand to help in the work necessary to be done. For instance, Rev. Smith hauled from Bowman's Grove sills hewn from logs cut in the timber there. These sills he brought to Harlan by means of his ponies, which were at that time hitched to a wagon with a coupling pole suitably lengthened. The salary of Rev. Smith from the whole charge which he served was: First quarter, $97.78; second quarter, $115.15; third quarter, $120.91; fourth quarter, $112.37. Among the numerous items which he received in salary were flour, corn, chickens, meat, wood, sugar, tea, molasses, butter, pork, meal, yarn, lard, fish, oats, a halter, a carpet-sack, with a little cash here and there. In spite of these early days of hardshp and of sacrifice, the thought of them appears pleasant to Mr. Smith, for he says: "The memory of those days is blessed. There was an absolute abandon to the work of the church. In the winter revivals were held, and many were brought into the kingdom. In the summer a number of grove meetings were held, of two or three days' duration. "The town of Avoca was not on the map. The Rock Island road was built through that region in the fall of 1867, and Avoca was started. Our parsonage, where he lived when at home, was at Newtown, about two miles south of Avoca. The house was perfectly innocent of paint or plaster. It was ceiled on the inside with native lumber, manufactured at Crew's saw mill, just north of Newtown. "Those were pioneer days. The people were hospitable and kind. We found a cordial welcome in nearly every home. In after years I visited all of that region as presiding elder, and found great growth in population, and the church increased in equal proportions." The early preachers were plain and outspoken. A correspondent writing to a newspaper, speaking of Harlan and of a series of religious meetings then in progress, said that the appeals of the clergyman, at time because "more forcible than elegant," and that he declared there was "not enough religion in the place to scare the devil," and waxing wroth at the obduracy of his bearers, he said "It would be a benefit to the country if the present crop of inhabitants could be harvested and new seed put in." The denominational spirit at this time was rampant, and the preachers were fond of theological controversy. A Harlan newspaper of 1877 contained this announcement: "A Religious Discussion in Harlan.----To commence at 10 o'clock A. M., March 7, 1877. Two sessions will be held each day and each session will be two hours in length. "The propositions to be discussed are as follows: First, that the Holy Scriptures teach that infants are proper subjects for Christian baptism. Affirmed by Rev. Charles Ashton. Denied by Elder C. W. Sherwood. Second, that the Holy Scriptures teach that the effusion of the element, the sprinkling or pouring of the water upon the subject is valid Baptism. Affirmed by Rev. Charles Ashton. Denied by Elder C. W. Sherwood. Third, the Holy Scriptures teach that water baptism, to a penitent believer, is a necessary condition to the remission of past sins. Affirmed by Elder C. W. Sherwood. Denied by Rev. Charles Ashton. "Not less than one and a half days are to [be] occupied in the discussion of the first proposition, not less than two and a half days in the discussion of the second and not less than one and a half days in the discussion of the third proposition and before the discussion of the third proposition is commenced Elder Sherwood is to give notice of the amount of time he expects to occupy. The rules for the government of the discussion are found in Hedge's Logic on page 48 of the Campbell & Rice Debate." The people of the time were very loyal to the Sunday school, deeming the religious education of the youth of primary importance. During the seventies Sunday school conventions were held in nearly all of the townships of the county. Men went from Harlan to assist in these conventions and to add inspiration. Among the persons who took an active part in these were Martin Poling, C. M. Robins, P. C. Truman, M. K. Campbell, Mrs. F. M. Nance, W. C. Moffatt, A. N. Buckman, attorney J. E. Weaver, attorney Platt Wicks, V. Plumb, and others. As indicative of the general interest taken in the development of these schools, it is worthy of note that almost one hundred Harlan people attended the Sunday school convention held at Bowman's Grove in August, 1877. In August, 1877, a Sunday school convention of Grove and Washington townships was held. Officers were elected as follows: President, William Wheelan; secretary, F. J. McNaughton; executive committee, William Colburn, G. W. Tingle and Mrs. F. J. McNaughton. The Council Bluffs Nonpareil in one of its issues of 1877 gave Shelby county credit for being the banner religious county of Iowa in that the county had a Sunday school in practically every school district. In 1880 and before that date there was a Shelby County Bible Society, which distributed Bibles in the homes. Among those active in this organization were H. Harrod, of Shelby, and C. Will Fisher, of Harlan. There are a good many churches in the county in which no religious services are held, and Sundays schools in the country are comparatively rare, except where regular preaching services are held. The automobile, however, is bringing a good many people to the towns to worship. The most notable instance of this in the county is the Danish Baptist church of Harlan. It is no uncommon thing for fifteen or twenty automobiles to be seen there on Sunday, all of them bringing families from the country.
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