Fayette County, Indiana - Chapter 4: ^ Early Eeligious and Educational Movements, 1885

Chapter 4: ^ Early Eeligious and Educational Movements

IT is the purpose of this chapter to present briefly and in a general way some little knowledge of the introduction of religious societies into the county, and give an idea of the early educational system of the State, leaving a more detailed sketch of the various churches and schools to the chapters on the city and townships in which they are located.

Old School Baptists

In a previous chapter it has been shown that the tide of early immigration to the Whitewater Valley generally proceeded from the South and East. The larger portion of the people settling early in Ohio west of the Great Miami River, and in the southern Whitewater country hailed from the South, and among them were many Kentuckians, among whom prevailed the Baptist denomination; and from the State of Kentucky were sent to the region of country in question many popular ministers. Much of the pioneer preaching was by these Kentucky ministers. Says Rev. Allen Wiley, "It is presumed that the first meeting house ever built in Whitewater Valley was on Lee's Creek, a small branch of the Dry Fork of Whitewater, a log-house located about three miles east of Harrison."

Another of the early places for holding meetings was at the house of Joseph Hackleman, above Johnson's Fork. A church society was constituted here in the spring or summer of 1805, and William Tyner, who resided south of Brookville, became the pastor. Probably within a year a log meeting-house with gallery was erected on Mr. Hackleman's land, "the first meeting-house ever built in the Whitewater Valley on the Indiana side of the line."

The next place of worship was a small log-house situated some three miles below Brookville, a little below Little Cedar Grove Creek. This building in a few years was destroyed by tire, and in 1812 was replaced by a medium sized brick which still stands.

Among the early Baptist preachers of the southern Whitewater country were Ezra Ferris at Lawrencebiirg, Jeremiah Johnson at Hackleman's, James Remy at Johnson's Fork, Moses Hornady at Indian Creek, Lewis Deweese, William Tyner and John Blades at Little Cedar Grove, and William Wilson on West Fork. Between 1806 and 1810 several arms grew out of this church and became separate organizations. These were located principally in what is now Franklin County, with perhaps one or two in Union County. As the territory became more thickly populated other arms and new societies grew with the march of settlement uutil the country was pretty well dotted over with the cabin meeting houses of the Old School Baptist denomination.

The first churches of this denomination constituted in Fayette County were in ISl-l, Franklin below Nulltown, New Bethel in northern Jennings Township and the Lick Creek Church south of Harrisburg.

Methodism

Says Rev. Allen Wiley, "When I came to the Whitewater in the fall of 1804, there were only two men oh it so far as I know, who had ever been Meth - odists. These were James Cole and Benjamin Mc- Carty. The latter had been an exhorter or local preacher in Tennessee. He settled on Whitewater in the summer of 1803, at which time he had rather fallen from his religious engagements. He afterward became a local preacher of medium talents. Subsequently he connected himself with the United Brethren.

"Enoch Smith came in the fall of 1805 or winter of 1806 and lived on my father's farm. His wife was a most devoted and pious woman, who was one of the main pillars in the church after its formation. These persons, with a few others, sent a petition to John Sale, who was their Presiding Elder in the Ohio district. In their petition they asked that a regular traveling preacher be sent to them to preach and form societies. After the petition had been sent in, McCarty began preaching in the neighborhood, and the people were taught something of Methodist doctrines."

In the spring of 1806 Rev. Joseph Oglesby was sent by the Conference to form a new circuit west of the Great Miami River, to be known as the Whitewater Circuit. On the east side of East Fork some four miles south of Richmond, in what is now Wayne County, had settled in 1805 a man by the name of Hugh Cull, who built a shanty of logs with bark covering. His wife bad been a Methodist in Kentucky. Soon after this his dwelling was visited by a preacher from Hamilton, Ohio, the neighbors called in and services were held, which resulted in the formation of a class, of which Mr. Cull became leader. He subsequently became a local preacher and that locality became a regular preaching place.

Mr. Oglesby preached in several places in Ohio and in the Kentucky settlement in Wayne County, and from thence he went down Whitewater to Mc- Carty's, more than forty miles distant. At this place Mr. Oglesby formed a flourishing society, which remained many years. In 1807 Revs. Thomas Helium and Sela Payne were appointed to the circuit- In the spring of 1807 Charles Waddle and two or three other families settled in what is now the eastern part of Uuion County, and formed themselves into a class. In the autumn of 1809 Revs. Thomas Nelson and Samuel H. Thc)mpson were appointed to the Whitewater Circuit, John Sale being Presiding Elder.

At the Conference of 1812 the Whitewater Circuit was divided, and that part of it east of Brookville was called Oxford Circuit. John Strange was sent this year to the Brookville Circuit, which then embraced much of the present Franklin County, the settled pait of Wayne and, perhaps, a part of Fayette County. The preacher then traveled from block-house to block-house, with his gun on his shoulder for protection against the Indians. The first Methodist meeting-house built in the Whitewater country is said to have been a small log-hause that stood on Clear Creek east of Salisbury, in Wayne County. This was erected in 1811.

The earliest evidence we have of Methodist preaching within the present limits of Fayette County, is contained in the following scrap of history related many years ago, in the village of Lebanon, Ohio, by Rev. David Sharpe, who traveled the Whitewater Circuit in 1813 (it was a six weeks' circuit):

" Mr. Sharpe began his work at Brookville, and preached there his tirst Sunday; from there on Monday to Williams' on Deer Creek; Tuesday, to Bryson's Block-house, about four miles below Laurel; Wednesday, to Roberts' Blockhouse; Thursday, to Montgomery's, in Wayne County; Friday, atMoffitt's, on the East Fork of Whitewater; Saturday, in Hugh Cull's neighborhood; Sunday, at John ISIeek's, on the east side of the East Fork of Whitewater; Monday, in the court house in New Salisbury; Tuesday, at Hardy Cain's; Wednesday, at Abijah Cain's; Thursday, name of the place forgotten; Friday, at Eaton, Preble Co., Ohio; Saturday, six miles north of Eaton; Sunday, at Widow Sharpe's, on Twin Creek; Monday, at Stephens', four miles south of Eaton; Tuesday, at Hanna's, on Hanna's Creek, Indiana; Wednesday, at Nott's, west of the East Fork of Whitewater; Thursday, at Jones' Schoolhouse; Friday, at Bright's, eight miles above Brookville; Saturday, at Johnson's, on the West Fork, four miles above Brookville; Sunday, in the schoolhouse in Brookville.

" There was no preaching at that time at ' Conner's Station,' but he preached occasionally at Mr. Tharpe's, near the river, about one and one-half miles above Connersville."

The progress of Methodism in the country prior to 1823 was not raj)id. There were two societies only east of the West Fork that were in progress at that time.

In 1821 a circuit was formed by Rev. John Havens, a local preacher, which included the village of Connersville and was styled Connersville Circuit, and came into the Conference the following year. This was under the Presiding Eldership of Rev. Alexander Cummins. Rev. James Murray was appointed to the circuit in 1822, and in 1823 Rev. Aaron Wood. The following is a copy of the plan of the circuit in 1823:

One of the early ministers in a communication to the writer remarked that "the proprietors and first settlers of Connersville were skeptics on religion, and it was a hard place for any Evangelical religious influence. The towns of Centerville and Brookville were much in advance of Connersville in Methodist societies."

Without undertaking to give the various changes of the circuits, districts and conferences, which have since comprised the numerous churches of the county, we will state that in general the churches east of the West Fork of Whitewater River have been connected with circuits to the east, while those west of that stream have been attached to the Connersville Circuit, and circuits growing out of it.

The following list contains the names of the preachers who traveled the circuits of which the churches of the county formed a part, for a quarter of a century, beginning with 1823, both east and west of West Fork:

Connersville and Whitewater Circuits were favored with the labors of a large number of talented and industrious local preachers, prominent among whom was James Conwell, the proprietor of Laurel. He conducted a dry goods store, and annually di-ove a great many hogs to Cincinnati, and is said to have been the first man ever known to keep the Sabbath while driving hogs to market. He was one of the early and zealous advocates of a system of internal improvements in Indiana. The Whitewater Canal owed its construction and was in a measure due to his influence. He served as a member of the State Legislature. Says Rev. Aaron Wood of him, "He was a very sympathetic man, cried a great deal while he was preaching, and usually made his hearers cry before he was done." From 1824 to several years afterward, James Conwell, John Havens, Joel Havens, Thomas Silvey, John Morrow, James Gregg, John Linville, James Linville, Robert Groves and Thomas Leonard were all within the bounds of Connersville Circuit.

Dr. Wood remarks, "Every variety of gifts were exemplified in these men. They were strong in doctrine, wise in discipline, critical in letters, bold in reproof, and pathetic in exhortation; and at a campmeeting their labors were very efficient for lasting good on the entire community. John Morrow was a scholarly man, and spent most of his life as a school teacher. Joel Havens was chiefly noted for his wonderful gift of exhortation. Few men knew how to play on the emotions and passions of an audience as did ho. Charles Hardy, William Patterson and William Hunt were also talented local preachers within the bounds of Connersville Circuit."

' 'The first Presbyterian minister of whose labors in this region we have any record was Rev. Samuel Baldridge, who organized a society of seventeen members at the house of John Allen, near Harrison, where he preached steadily until 1814. From 1810 to 1814 he worked as an itinerant missionary in the Whitewater Valley, having various preaching places from Lawrenceburg to Dunlapsville. He preached at Brookville and at Robert Templeton's, and at Mr. Hanna's, near Banna's Creek. At that time there were several families here who were adherents to the Presbyterian faith. Among these were Mr. and Mrs. Barbour from Ireland, Judge Arthur Dixon and wife and brother from Harper's Church in Washington County, Va., Mr. Young (who kept what has since been called the "Yellow Tavern" and who was from Pennsylvania), John Vincent and wife, Robert Templeton and wife, the Knights, and Mr. and Mrs. William McCleary, who were from Frederick County, Md. All of these resided in town except Mr. Templeton, the parents of Mrs. Ryburn and one of the Dixons; the latter lived on the Rushville road at the foot of Boundary Hill. He afterwards moved to a farm near Connersville and a few years afterward united with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Arthur Dixon was a blacksmith. He removed to Connersville in 1823 and his wife was one of the early members of the church organized there. After the removal of Mr. Baldridge from Harrison, there was occasional preaching in HarrisoD, Brookville, Somerset and adjacent

Rev. James Dickey, of Ohio, and others, for four or live years, during which period other families had settled in various parts of the country. From 1816 to 1825 efforts were made to gather these people in churches. This resulted ia the organization of churches at Brookville in 1818, Mount Carmel in 18 - Somerset about 1823, and Bath in 1825."

During this period, besides occasional supplies from Presbytery and various itinerant clergymen, the friends of Presbyterianism were much encouraged by the faithful and zealous labors of two young ministers, who were fi'om the East as domestic missionaries. These wece A. W. Piatt, of New York, and' W. W. Barton, of New Jersey. After spending three or four years traversing the country from Lawrenceburg to Richmond, these brethren, to the great grief of the people, saw fit to return to their native States.

In 1824 the Cincinnati Presbytery (Old School) sent Rev. Daniel Hayden to Connersville to preach and if practicable to organize a church. Mr. Hayden arrived in the village October 2d, preached in the Court House on the 3rd and on the 4th an organization was effected.

The Christian Church

About the year 1828 the teachings of the Church of the Reformation, commonly known as Campbellism, were being preached in Kentucky with almost unbounded success by the Rev. John Smith, whose eloquence was making converts by the hundreds, if not by thousands. We refer particularly to Bracken County, which had been the former home of an able and eloquent young Baptist preacher, by the name of John P. Thompson, who had settled in Rush County in the spring of 1822. Mr. Thompson immediately became the pastor of the Baptist Church at Little Flat Rock. It was not long until his reputation as a speaker had spread over the country, and through his influence Baptist Churches were organized in different parts of the surrounding country.

The excitement in Kentucky over the doctrines of the Reformation disturbed the young Baptist preacher of the Little Flat Rock Church, and he concluded to visit his old home and investigate things for himself, so he went, carrying with him the full confidence of his own church in his power and ability to meet and annihilate the new doctrine. Suffice it to say, that Mr. Thompson returned a convert to the doctrines of the Church of the Reformation, and it was not long until notice was given that there would be a meeting at the house of Elias Stone, near Danville (now Fayetteville) Fayette County, on Sunday, October 5, 1828, and at that meeting it is said the first sermon of the Reformation was preached in eastern Indiana by John P. Thompson, who immediately began a protracted meeting at Little Flat Rock Church. In a few weeks he had baptized upward of 100 persons. For a time all of the Baptist Churches acquiesced in the new order of things; but finally a reaction came, and throughout eastern Indiana, and, in fact, the whole country, religious controversies were the order of the day, which resulted in a division of the churches.

For a number of years Mr. Thompson devoted all of his time and talents for the cause of the Reformation, and organized a number of chiu'ches, the first being the Christian Church at Fayetteville, which dates from July 4, 1829; another at the house of Judge Webb, in the vicinity of Nulltown. An effort was made iu the spring of 1830 by the Little Flat Rock Church to expel Elder Thompson, but lacking a majority it failed, and a division of the church was the result, and from May 23, 1830, dates the organization of the Little Flat Rock Christian Church.

In 1832 Elder John O'Kane settled in Milton, coming from the village of Lebanon, Ohio, though by birth a Virginian. He engaged in school teaching, and on Sundays preached the doctrines of the Reformation. He was a co-laborer with Elder Thompson, and one of the most eloquent preachers of the Reformation. These two gentlemen traveled through eastern Indiana, and made many converts everywhere, forming the nucleus around which have gathered the flourishing churches of to-day.

Benjamin F. Reeve, R. T. Brown, George Campbell, Elias Stone and John Langly were among the early preachers of the Reformation in this section of the country.

Subscription schools were the only schools known to the pioneers of Fayette. The schoolhouses were not unlike the cabins of that day; first was the roundlog-house with its puncheon floor, door and seats, the latter backless; its heating apparatus, a huge tii-eplace in one end of the room, or, perhaps, a contrived receptacle for tire in the center of the room with no exit for the smoke other than an opening in the roof, and the only means of light through greased paper. Next came the hewed-log-house, and finally the neat frame and the substantial brick. Says a pioneer:

"The price of achooling was 75 cents to $1 per (juurter, and the schools generulJy lasted throe months [)er annum, and the masters w(>re paid in wheat at 37 J cents per bushel, or corn at 8 or 10 cents and delivered - which was done on a sled, very few having wagons. In fact, they had no use for any, as everybody made his own sled, and that was sufficient."

In order to be a teacher then, the person mast be able to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to the single rule of throe. This was the standard of loam, ing that the teacher had to attain in order to be classed as an educator. It was plainly to be understood that the people of those times wanted nothing better.

Under provision of Congress, one square mile in each Congressional township was reserved for educational purposes. The Territorial Legislature on October 26, 1808, invested the Courts of Common Pleas with powers to lease such lands, the proceeds resulting to go to the benefit of educational enterprises. By further enactments, Trustees were appointed to take charge of those school lands. In 1816 the General Assembly passed an act providing for the appointment of Superintendents. Numerous subsequent acts from time to time for the advancement of education in the State have been passed, and the result is the present high degree of excellency. By the law of 1824, for building schoolhouses, each voter was made a builder. When a schoolhouse was to be built, the people would meet and each was assigned to some particular class of work - there were choppers, masons (daubers), hewers, etc. A fine of 37^ cents per day was required of those who did not work or pay an equivalent. One section of the law provided that each schoolhouse should be eight feet between the floors, and at least one foot from the surface of the ground to the first floor, and finished in a manner calculated to render comfortable the teacher and pupils, with a suitable number of seats, tables, lights, and everything necessary for the convenience of such schools.

The law creating the office of County Superintendent was enacted in 1872-73, prior to which time the duties of that officer devolved upon the School Examiners, excepting school visiting.

In the pioneer day, the Trustee of the school district, by virtue of his office, was the examiner and sole judge of the qualifications of the teacher, and in all probability a majority of the Trustees wore wholly incapable of deciding the merits of such qualifications; in fact, little attention was paid to this branch of the subject. Some years later, a little subsequent to 1833, says Uncle Sammy Little ' ' when I taught I was examined verbally by Dr. R. T. Brown, while he strapped his razor in his own parlor."

The following resolutions were adopted at a meeting held at a schoolhouse near Col. Crisler's, in Columbia Township, December 31, 1829, for the purpose of taking into consideration the practice of barring out school teachers on Christmas and New Years. Col. Crisler presided; Benjamin Smith acted as Sec retary, and Dr. Philip Mason delivered a lecture on the subject.

Resolved, That in our opinion it is botli immoral and impolitic to celebrate tlie 2.itli day of December, and the 1st day of January, as is the practice of some persons, and particularly in stopping the neighborhood schools on those days.

Resoloeil, Also, that it is the I)ounden duty of parents, who are subscribers to schools, to pre.sent, as far as is in their power, their cliildren from the various injurious practice of barring out school teachers.