The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-10-05

6tructlvo out uestEuouVo' oixteou person
were received to membership by letter dur
,ng his near three years ministry, none OIL
profession. ami nearly ous.half Of the sixtee
we're par'isans Of his and brought in TO sus
tain him, and In few months left with him
He left the church with no new life impart
ed, no impulses heavenward, but rattle
filed with rancour, with vital seeds Of pre-
JUDGE and enmities in . community whicl
he had in no small degree alienated from il
The bllgh, of his baleful influence long sur
vived his departure.
Almost at the commencement Of his min
istry, on Dec. 81, 1916, this church, havini
erected house Of worship, publicly dedioat-
cd il to God. The entire cost of the structur,
up to the time of the last payment was prob
ably 1850; this included the bell. At the
expiration of one year there was still debt
Of 81, 400. This in that day Of scanty poPu.
lation, Of comparative poverty and scarcity
Of money, imposed heavy burden.
After the close Of Mr.. Bsssetts labors,
Rev. Justus NJ. Clark supplied for few Sun.
days, as he had done before at an early Pc
Rod. June 26, lS4S, while visiting in the
vicinity, NJ. X. Whittlesey was invited to
preach few Sundays. This invitation WAS
followed by another to remain till Septem-
Der, and at that time by another to remain q
year. The invitation was yielded to reluc-
family and only on the assurance that the
best interests of the church and even its very
existence, seemed now to depend on the pres
ervation Of unity and on calm and settled
state Of affairs. The church comprised nom
inally 70 members, scattered over an area
Of ten miles from east to west and of seven
from north to south. Ninteen of these mem
bers lived on the prairies south Of the Illinois
river, away in the country. Internally the
church was distracted. 1t was not certain
who would remain in it or stand by it. A
plan for new organization was forming and
some were not decided which way to 20.
On August 9th, l84S, seventeen asked for
eiters Of dismission to form new church
% be called Presbyterian. These letters
we're granted but under protest. The new
organization was effected by Presbytery but
against the solemn and vehement protest Of
Is moderator. These II persons seceeded
ha oh In 40 faahIapaoo 10
pendent on missionary aid and encountered
With debt. The church, three years after,
coming under the pastoral care of Rev.
ieorge Schlosser, was undoubtedly means
If good to many.
In the autumn Of 1S49 this church was
till further weakened by the withdrawal of
EN- more members residing on the south side
If the river for an organization there. Thus
If the 70 members named in the records at
ny coming, some of these non-residents, 81
and instead of one church there
we're now three covering the same territory.
From this time began the steady and toiltul
work Of this church of Christ. It had nov
,een organized ten years. Its first necessity
vas that its members be unified; that they
hould be made spiritual; that they should
earn to love prayer and praise; to work for
heir own spiritual growth and for the
Aviation of others; should come into sy mps-
by with the work which Christ would have
lone in this great valley and with that he
vas carrying forward in all the world.
1t should be remembered that the settle
nent of Iowa and religious work there had
ust begun. There was no Kansas, Nebras.
%, Minnesota or Oregon. California was
ust becoming known, merely as a mining
amp In these states, west and south, there
re now mere than 900 Congregati onal
hurches and 10000 church members. This
hurch was then the frontier; except the
eeble and expiring church organizations at
'ermillionville and Lowell, there was no
church south of us within |
undreds Of miles, or east nearer than Terre |
1uuto, Ouo 1t IluCctuu ~ Lllleb WeSL, Ou6 |
Newark, soon to die, 10 miles to the
ortheast. There was no ministerial brother
n whom could lean for sympathy within
,rty miles.
How the church entered upon its work, |
annot now take time for definite detail. II
ad no place for prayer meeting or special
unday school effort. In its small member
hip we're many spiritual souls. They were
resent at prayer meetings in the basement
I the Mechanics Hall or in school room.
hey were at the Sabbath school. And some
onstant at Sabbath service, aided and sus-
sinsd the minister by most dilligent and
rsyerful hearing of the word of God. In
artioular, among the firm friends of the
hurch at this period, were the ladies, both
the church and congregation. They
ided alike in the material and spiritual
To them, success involved their
rowth in faith and love and in usefulness
,volved the realization Of their dearest
opes in the conversion of husbands, of
hildren and of friends; q sustained family
liar, spiritual home on earth, preparatory
, home with the glorifed above. Some
IN ooa rayn nv;p1 tba ;r ras;daroas ..so.->d