Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-05-31

extended to him and accepted. A SINH
lar call from the older and larger church
at Potosi being at the same time de-
clined. | entered upon my work Jan.
LIST, 1877 Wisconsin was then under
territorial government; there was in this
county no Bloomington and no Bos-
cobel
The Mexican war, so unjust as to its
grounds, but destined to be so far-reach-
ing in its results, by opening to us a
new world for colonization and enter
prise on the Pacific, was then in pro-
gress. Gen. Taylor won the field of
Buena Vista in the second month of my
ministry. Slavery was dominant and
aggressive in the national government
while its encroachments were strenu-
ously resisted by a determined minority
in congress and among the people.
Europe was at that time restless and
disturbed by the spirit of revolution.
but communism and nihllism were not
then known as terms of terror.
l received ordination at the hands of
the Mineral Point Convention on the
2Sth day of January, 1913. The SER
mon on the occasion was preached by
the Rev. Geo. L. Magoun, the hand of
fellowship was given by the Rev. Zach
airy Eddy, the charge by the Rev.
John Lewis, the late beloved and la
mented pastor at Platteville.
l have continued to discharge the du-
ties of pastor of the church until the
present time, with the exception of two
intervals of three years each. In
paired health necessitated my absence
from 1856 to 1859; Mr.. Hector Maiben,
an unordained, but somewhat gifted
man occupying tho pulpit portion of
the time. | served as Chaplain of the
9TH Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer In
fantry, from 1862 to 1865, the Rev.
Miles Doolittle and the Rev. VIM. II.
Palmer, of the Methodist denomina-
ton, being employed in my place at
different periods. The church eyinced
its patriotism by relinquishing its pastor
for this service, from which he was not
recalled until the conflict was finished
at Appomatox The church also gave
a precious life to the great and sacred
cause of freedom and nationality in the
person of Joseph Brown, who fell fight
ing at Gainesville, Va, on the 2Sth of
August, 1862.
There is evidence of the fact that our
first prayer meeting was held in log
school house, situated in Bushnell Hol-
low, in the year 1913. At the time of
my coming to Lancaster, the old Court
House, which afterwards gave place to
the present structure, and the school
house. which was subsequently convert
ed into dwelling and is now the resi-
dence OF Judge VIM. McGonigal,
were used as places of worship, and
Baptists, Methodists, and Congregation
alists generally united in their services.
At the commencement of my ministry
the CongTegationalists established a
separate service in the school house. |
also supplied the Big Platte church,
which afterwards became extinct on ac-
count of the emigration of its members
to other places.
From the first | could not fail to see
that if the church was to become
permanent institution and a power in
the place it must have a home, instead of
occupying by favor school-house,
which was but i'll adapted to the uses of
asanctuary; and the urgency of the case
led me, in the spring of 1850, to devote
much valuable time to the securing of
funds for the purpose. The largest SUBJ
scription did not exceed fifty dollars,
while the sum of five dollars and even
smaller gifts were welcomed. No So
ciety having then been organized for
aiding in the erection of churches, pro-
badly we could not have comprised
success had not my friend James E.
Freeman, now of San Francisco, before
leaving for our newly acquired posses
sions on the Pacific, made donation of
one hundred dollars for the purpose.
The progress of the enterprise was de-
layed in consequence of my absence at
the East during the summer. The
church was enclosed and plastered in
1851, and was at once occupied for wor-
ship by using some temporary seats
purchased of the church at Potosi, where
they had been replaced by stationary
pews, and pulpit that had already
served its term in the old Platteville
academy building which had been used
for church purposes in former years.
Our Joy at the accomplishment of this
difficult, though humble, achievement,
was perhaps as great as we have felt at
any subsequent stage of our progress.
The interior of the house was SUISSE
quently finished with aid from the Amer
lean Congregational Union, to the
amount of one hundred and twenty-five
dollars. That building was enlarged in
the year 1860, by the addition of twenty
one feet to its length.
In the year 1870 il again became evil
dent that if the church was to have a
future worthy of the place it occupied,
and of its divine head, it must provide for
itself a better house. | consulted in per-
son G. w. Shinn, an architect of Spring
field, H., who furnished the plans for
the present structure. The soliciting of
subscriptions required q large expend-
iture of time, but the urgency of the
case appeared to justify the outlay on
my part. The board of trustees de-
voted much time and thought to the en-
terprise. The corner stone of the edifice
was LAID August 10, 1871, and it was
dedicated the 18th of July, 1873, with a
gladness which was marred only by the
fact of some remaining Indebtedness
The payment of this debt was DELAYED
several years in consequence of contin-
ued financial depression. When the
whole was provided for and paid
our happiness in the possession and oc-
was rendered complete. The style
of architecture is historical and churchly.
; it being the pointed Gothic of the eleventh
} century, and the building has since held
its foremost position among the goodly
structures of the town. If it exhibits
the outlines of beauty, and possesses
rich associations drawn from the past.
, may it, as the years go by. become fairer
to the sight, and gather to itself still more
hallowed memories through the divine
/ presence and working. Let it become
, more and more the birthplace of souls.
nursery for young disciples, Christ 5
training school for young and old pre-
paratory to their being advanced
/ to their heavenly seats. In such
; results we shall indeed have an
ample return for the efforts, the
; anxieties, and the outlay of money
involved in the enterprise from its in
ception until it was crowned with the
, final success.
At the time of my coming to this
place, in consequence of a lack of uni
! formlty in the hymn books which the
people possessed, it was necessary to
: repeat the stanzas one bv one before
they were sung. The first HYMN book
introduced was the Church Psalmist.
] The Songs for the Sanctuary took the
place of that book in the year 1870.
, Before the advent of pianos, organs or
: other musical instruments of the kind.