The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1915-10-06
Hartford Center Of Methodist In
fuence.
huence.

per read by Rev. ID. s. Campbell o
Sacramento. Ky, on the beginning
Of Nethodism in America and Hart
I ford as a center Of influence for mile
around:
At a conference at Leeds in Eng
land in 1772. at the suggestion o.
Wesley. Thos Rankin was chosen t.
superintend the church work in tn,
I promising field of America. Georg'
1 Shadford accompanied him and il
1873 they landed in Philadelphia
They soon visited the principle seat.
Of Methodism and found that there
had been a lack of discipline They
found seven preachers and count Of
1850 members. Soon Rankin re
turned to England but not before h'
had found in Francis Asbury tbs
right man to superintend Nethodisn
in America. Soon a conference wa:
held and one Of the pulling ques-
tions was. What shall we do with
our preachers who do not free their
slaves?" This was answered by As
bury who said, Let US try those in
Virginia another year and suspend
all those in Maryland Delaware
Pennsylvania and New Jersey"
Benjamin ogden was sent to Ken
lucky in 1856 10 introduce Method
ism here. have his autograph and
il is written in capitals. BEN OGDEN
There was a great religious revival
in the southern part of the State in
the latter part of the eighteenth cen
ury and it swept northward to the
Ohio river very quickly. ogden left
behind many relatives and descend
ants and some of them are residents
Of Greensboro now.
Districts began to be established
and in 1904 the Cumberland district
was established and it extended north
from Natchez. Miss, and included
Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. or
the territory that now compose those
states.
On August II and is, 1904, a
quarterly meeting was held at Cham
providers near Pond river on the
road from Greenville to jacksonville
The presiding elder was Lewis Gar
rett and there were twelve other
ministers present: Jesse Walker,
Miles Harper, Joshua Barnes. Thos.
Taylor, James Exley, Moses Phelps,
Wiley Ledbetter. JOSHUA Moore. John
Travis, Benz. Parker, Taylor White.
Cham Browder. Pleasant Exley. This
conference made the appointment of
Jesse Walker for the Hartford cir
cult. He had this charge however,
jointly with the Livingston one.
Through the influence of the Rev.
Thos. Taylor and others successful
reviyals had been held and many had
Joined the church. This resulted in
the organization of Goshen church,
two miles of Hartford This is said
to have been the first church organic
ed in the County of Ohio. Soon aft
er Bethel and Nocreek churches
were organized. The organizations
of these churches followed a great re-
vival held by the Presbyterians and
the Methodists. These churches be-
came the nucleus of fine religious
influence that has spread all over
this county and even farther.
At the session of the Western con-
ference held in 1904 when the Hart
ford district first appears on the list
there was no bishop present and VIM.
Kendrie presided. The Hartford
district then numbered 3O5 whites
and Is blacks.
Rev. Thos. Taylor, to whom the
church here owes so much, was the
father of the late II. j. Taylor of
the Hartford bar and he was the
of Mrs. Thompson Nit
chell, of greensboro. and Mrs. Girls
som of Grissoms landing. both of
whom were members of my first
charge in 1868.
In 1906 there had been such
changes in the districts that Hart
ford circuit then reported only 800
members. In 1907 VIM. McKendrie
was presiding elder and Benjamin
Edge and Samuel Sellers were Hart
ford preachers. and Jesse Walker
had been sent as a missionary to the /
whole OF Illinois. At the first gener-
al conference held in 1903 McKen-
1rie was made a bishop. Al a CON
ference held soon after he asked, "Is
here anything against Brother
Edgel" Axley answered. There is
md then related the following anus
ng story: When Brother Edge first
,ame TO this circuit he all at once
that he must have a gig.
lie was too poor to buy one and no
,ody would give him one. SO he con-
'luded that he would make one OF
lis own. Brother Winton gave him
pair OF hubs. I never could find
ut where he got the tires. Brother