The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1857-03-14

Tor the supply Of our whole country with
the Scriptures. and the great heart which
was beating in the Bible House Id New
iork, ior this purpose, showed its pulsa-
tlons even IN this distant State. 11,72l b.
BILE and Testaments were sent to the State
during the year-S,s55 Of which were en-.
tire Bibles.
From an interesting communication datsd
Rock Spring, IlinoiS Feb. 18th, 1881. !"
and signed "John NJ Peck We ieErn that
vigorous efforts were being made to have H.
lnois included in the number Of States re-
ported as supplied. He says: .
and the jealous efforts Of Mr.. Hardy and
Mr.. Stacy, the counties south and east Of
the Illinois River will be supplied. Those
north and west will be in part but the re-
yer River corntry, and rranj thinly populs-
ted and scattering settlements in the north!
! ern parts cannot be reached"
The number Of counties in the State at
this time was sc, and the entire t.ptlation,
lG1;055. In 1925, it was but 1900, less
than half the number that were here fiyc
years afterwards
During the year ending April, 1882, but
one new auxiliary was organized-that of
Sugar Creek, in Sangamon County. Lhct
| the general supply in 1890, 81, there seems
! to have been revulsion in Illinois, as we'll
as in other States, and for time, but little
+. WAS accomplished. In their 10th Annua,
! Report, the Managers Of the A. B. s.; !fter
amcnting the want Of activity in! esd infor
nation from this State, say
From the Society at Galcna, an interest
ing report has been received. BY the aid Of
that auxiliary, two counties in Illinois, and
, two in Michigan Territory have been sup
piled with the exception Of twenty families,
for which there were not books on hand.
There is great want Of an active permanent
agent in this State, and measures are in
I train Of procuring one."
/ The two counties in Michigan referred to,
must have been Grant and Iowa counties,
/ Wisconsin, which WAS then part Of Mich.
igan.
During part of the next year; Col. James
McClung acted as an agent. But two new
societies were formed, those Of McDonough
and Macoupin counties. Col. McClung con-
tinued his agency during the, succeeding
year also, and the Societies OF "a salle Co.
and Washington Co. were organized.
In 1884, Rev. Geo. NJ Davis, formerly o
successful agent in New York, was appoint
Cd to an agency in the States Of Illinois, and
Missouri. He, however, spent much Of his
time in the latter State, and the material for
history Of the Bible Cause in Ilino-s, for
several years about this time is very scanty.
In the year ending April, 1886, the Lew
istoa and Springfield Female Bible Societies
were organized, and during the next year
those of Clark county, Pleasant Grove and
Wayne Co. The following extract Is taken
from the report Of the Suericsu B. ). for
this year:
"In Illinois, Rev. Roswell Kimball has
continued his services through the year, and
his labors has been highly acceptable to the
conductors OF the Illinois Bible Society.
Measures are in train for the establishment
Of local depository at Alt-n; at the e.
pcnse Of the State Society. Mr.. kimbal is
to aid in executing the plans which have
been formed, and is also TO form Auxiliaries
in different parts Of the State, which cannot
well be supplied from the depository at
Alton"
In 1887 there begap.lo be material for the
organization OF BfoIeD6eseties In the nj -.
crn part Of the State, and tn. Chicago and
Rock River Societies were formed. The re-
mittances to the A. b. S Of former society,
since its organization, have been over $20,.
600. Last year they were more than those
Of any other city or county society at ths
west-not excepting those Of Cincinnati; 81.
Louis or New Orleans. The Rock River
by several county societies, and since the
crgan anization Of the latter has been suffered,
ike the old State society, TO become extinct.
Mr. kimball continued his valuable servi-
ces during this year, and at the close; The
Managers Of the American b. S. reported
that
"In Illinois the cause is on the advance
The State Bible Society. whose centre Of op-
c,ations is Alton has become a systematic
and highly useful auxiliary. Many Of the
County Societies, in the central and western
part of the State are connected with the
above; and receive books from it: st Mount
Carmel, Chicago, Rock River and Gaiena,
repositories are already or are about to be
established for tho contiguous counties ard
villages. In Alexander county, at the juno.
ton Of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, a
society has been revived. A fourishing
Female Bible Society was formed two years
since at Springfield, and has contributed the
past year, $l32,6 in aid Of contributions in
for ign countries. .
Mr.. Kimball was also the Agent in 1898:
when the societies Of Kane and Randolph
chased TO the number Of s, ,451 and funds
RENTED to the amount Of $3.50 II Of
which $500 81 was donated to the A. h: S.;
to aid in supplying other places. This wa5
probably more than had been RENTED as
donations before, since the settlement Of the
State $500 IA Of this WIS from the Spring.
Id Female B. s The Kane Co. B. s..
though formed so long after many others,
now stands only the second or third in he
State, in point Of past results, having remit
ted about $4,000 and circulated large nnm-
Der of books. The Randolph Co. Is. s.,
which is Of the same age, has also done well,
and always will while it is managed by those
efficient, Bible-oving Scotchmen.
Mr. Kimball continued his agency until
Dec. 1889, when he was succeeded by Rev.
ii. Spahing, in the central and southern
parts of the State, and by Mr.. A. B. Lewis
in the northern. During the year lS40,
the Societies Of Du Page county, MclIenry
county and Lockport were organized. The.
remittanccs were S2,541 and the number OF
books procured for circulation, 1896. Du-
ring this year also the first Bible Societies
were organized in Wisconsin. which, until
1854. were connected with Illinois, for Bible
society purposes-the same agent Iaboring
in both States.
In 1901 there seems to have Goen a
falling off both in the number Of books sent
TO Illinois, and tho amount Of money receiv.
cd therccrom, the former amounting to only
,6S2 copies, and the latter to O., l24. The
Societies organized this year were those for
Boone, Lake, Cass, Monard, Jefferson and
WIZ counties.
During the next year, still less WAS asi.
complished-the remittances amounting 10
only 81 1876 46 and the books received to
but 997. Compared with the present THE,
when a single county society does almost a.
much annually, these were indeed, the days
of small things. Societies were, however
oro.n;zed in the counties of DeKalb, Perry
FnI,on Mclean and woodford. Perhaps,
the d,fiibulty was that societies were merely
organized. and then left to move automati.
cafly. Experience has proved that in most
ea''y' "I -. ..f.,a rnusf he confinirxfiA