The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-27
AN INTERESTING BIT
OF CHURCH HISTORY
The Forty.fourth Anniversary Of the
Wyoming Methodist Confereace.
YEARS OF TRULY NOTABLE GROWTH
Forty flour ears Ago the First Con.
ference Was Held in Car5Ondale
With Bishop Scott Presiding..SOme
fthe Changes That Have Occurred
in Local Methodism Since.

the Changes That Have Occurred
in Local Methodism Since.
On July the Wyoming conference
of the Methodist Episcopal church will
be forty-fo years of age, says the
Wilkes Barre Leader. for on July I,
1852. at Carbondale. Pa. its first con
ference was held with Bishop Scott
presiding aSd n. Rounds secretary.
At its opening session sixty-two mem
bers responded to the roll call OF
these there are yet living Revs q. NJ.
Peck, H. r. Clark, Z. V. Arnold. Asa
Brooks and G. W. Leach.
At that conference Y. e. Smith was
received ON trial. while c. L. Rice and
Jasper w. Hewitt were admitted into
full connection. Three districts con-
stituted the conference-Newark, Sus-
quehanna and Wyoming. Wyoming
district consisted Of twenty-four
charges and embraced territory ex-
tending from Newport on the south to
Beech Pond and Pleasant Mount on the
north, and from LackawaXen on the
east to SINNERS Eddy on the west.
being territory now belonging to the
Wyoming, Honesdale and Owego dis
tricts. The presiding elder of this.
tICu SAcdl, uiStliSt was
Rev ID. 4. Shepard, and his salary was
s5s3. OF this amount Wilkes Barre
(whose preacher was N. Rounds) paid
siS, and Honesdale (W. Wyatt, pastor)
$SS. No other charges In the confer
ence equalled these amounts. There
was no Scranton fortyfour years ago
that Is, as Scranton. Providence, now
| a part of Scranton. had an existence
in Methodism. Henry Brownscombe
was the pastor of its church. His SAL
ary was 1857 and parsonage and the
| amount paid by this church to the pre-
siding elders salary was S24, while its
missionary collection amounted to
$46S2. Wilkes Barre paid its one pas
tor salary Of $3.50, that being the
largest salary paid any pastor In the
| whole conference. the next highest be-
ing $500 paid by the First church of
Binghamton, N. Y. For necessitous
cases and superannuates, Wilkes
Barre again leads, paying for all $27.oS.
| Carbondale being next with $2415.
The amount paid by the entire confer
ence for these stated causes was only
s3SS.S7. Wilkes-Barre's missionary
collection was $14322. The entire
membership of the conference, includ-
ing members. probationers and local
preachers was 1890. OF these Wilkes
Barre was reported as having $40
members. prObationers and local
preachers; Providence 1926 members, 15
probationers and local preachers.
| OLD-TIME SALARIES.
AS no statistics Of the value of church
property were, for some years, record.
ed. we can give no statement concern.
ing church edifices at that time Par
sonages are given In total as 32 and
/ hoi Na11 sha
re-districted at this time and four dis
tricts were made. THE Honesdale"
being cut out of Wyoming, and the fol.
lowing were now the districts and their
presiding elders, with the amount Of
salary paid each:
District. Presiding Elder. Salary.
Wyoming......D a. Shepard. $500
| Oswego. Fl. Pearne. ......... 537
Binghamton....Z. Paddock ........... $50
Honesdale. Nelson Rounds .......... GOO
At the second session Of the confer.
ence held at Brooklyn, Pa, Bishop
Waugh presiding, on July q, 1853. Prov
idence had two pastors appointed to
service-Charles Perkins and s. 8.
Kennedy (now the Bible society agent).
I The combined salary was to be $5s2-to
Perkins $407 and to Kennedy $129. 80,
while Wilkes Barre, whose pastor was
\ III. ScOISc GCN, TcHOTIcu u sdlary Oh
$3.50, and all paid.
At the third session Of the confer
ence. held June q, 1854. at Waverly, N
Y. Bishop James presiding. Scranton
appears In the list Of appointments,
headed as Scranton and Hyde Park
Mission" A. H. SchOonmaker, pastor.
At the close Of the year he reports, SAL
ary, $500; parsonage, $500; presiding
elder, $50; missions, $3.50, and super
anuates $3.50. It's membership was:
Full membership. SO; probationers, 25;
local preachers, 3. In this report
Providence shows the dismissal of
Scranton from her parish in that her
membership has declined to &C full
members. Wi!kes-B Barre this year has
William Wyatt for pastor: his salary
5000, Calbondale, Canaan and Bingham
ton being the only other charges pay
ing from $500 to $3.50. Until 1858 the
salary of Wil|.cs-Barre continued the
same. That year another charge is re-
corded in the minutes as belonging to
| Wilkes Barre. namely Woodville, Asa
Brooks. pastor The following year the
salary is recorded as Wilkes Barre,
$3.50, Woodyil ille s4tO making $3.50 for the
city. Wilkes Barre was the first charge
to pay salary of $1,000 to a minister,
which occurred in 1865, tie pastor being
| IF. !. y. S.nltn. lne foilONlnS year
the salary was raised To 81 200 Wilkes
Barre we.s the tirst pay q salary of
$1,000 In the minutes Of 1870 confer
ence at Wilkes Bare, presided over by
Bishop James. April 1918, this city re-
ports: Pastor. II. NJ. Reese: salary.
$1,000. Woodv,lle is now called Ross
street pastor. l. e.. Floyd. salary 81, ,0C0,
members 275 and 40 respectively In
1873 Wilkes Barre had three churches
named Franklin street Ross street and
:. Mission, which Is now North Wilkes
Barre. In 1874 Parrish street is added
with Henry Brownscomhe as pastor In
4 1887 Franklin street church commenced
: paying q salary Of S3,000 A. H. Tutt'e
:! being the pastor Ross street paid
$1,000, q. w. Miller, pastor. Parrish
street 500, j. Underwood pastor. The
membership was respectively A9l. 4Sj
and 100. combined with 1SS probat'oner
with church property valued at sl23,-
GOO. The Welsh mission was added in
1889 with Sc members and property
valued at $4,000 the Derr Memorial in
1892. which in 1895 had a property val
ued at $4,000. with a membership OF
100. In the fortyfour years of the PAST
Methodism has increased from one
small church to five strong ones. from
375 members and probat!oners to 2,O3j
members and robationers. from church
property valued at $1,000 to property
valued at $751;. 1000. These things are
certainly indicative Of Wilkes Barre's
| prosperity in temporal lines for they