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Historical Sketches of Iowa Baptists, 1886
S. H. Mitchell
Published
by Burdette Co., Burlington, Iowa
CHAPTER XXI
EARLY MISSIONARY WORK IN
CENTRAL IOWA
REV. J. A. NASH, D.D.
PLENTY OF ROOM
FROM IOWA
CITY TO SAN FRANCISO
On November, 1850, the American Baptist Home Missionary
Society appointed a missionary to Central Iowa, with special
reference to Des Moines, then Fort Des Moines. He left the State of
New York, November 19, 1850 and reached Davenport on the 30th of the
same month. Here he was directed to stop for more specific
instructions. He was detained at Davenport for nearly three weeks by
the illness of his companion. Thence he came to Des Moines where he
arrived January 3, 1851. The agent of the home Mission Society, then
residing at Davenport, told the missionary that in settling at Des
Moines, there would be no danger of being crowded. That he would
have for the nearest Baptist pastor and church on the east, Iowa
City, 120 miles distant, and on the west San Francisco, 2,500, so he
would find ample room. This, however, was not the exact fact. There
were probably more to be found scattered over the country. There was
then, or soon after, a feeble interest in or near Knoxville, under
the care of Rev. G. W. Bond and his father, (there was as early as
1848 a small organization near Oskaloosa, reporting 31 members, Rev.
J. Bond, pastor; Ed.), but in the main the statement was correct.
The town of Fort Des Moines, at that time, contained about
500 inhabitants. On the 18th day of January, 1851, a Baptist Church
was organized consisting of 14 members. This body at once proceeded
to secure a lot and inaugurate plans for building a house of
worship, occupying in the meantime, the court house, dividing the
time with several other denominations; sometimes permitted to have
it one-half of the time, sometimes one-fourth and one-fifth of the
time, according as the other denominations had or had not preachers.
Most commonly the time was divided with the New School
Presbyterians, Rev. Thompson Bird, pastor, with whom the missionary
labored side by side until the death of Mr. Bird, some 15 years in
all. He was a friend and brother and counselor, and the highest type
of a Christian minister and gentleman.
It was the intention
of the Home Mission Society to have the missionary to preach in Des
Moines every Lord's Day, but for reasons above mentioned this was
impossible. Hence he established appointments in the surrounding
regions, not only on Lord's Days but on week day evenings. The
Church next organized after Des Moines (first called Fort Des
Moines, but now taking the simpler name), was Corey Grove, some 15
miles to the northeast of the city. There were several families of
Baptists and the Church prospered for several years, and a few were
baptized, but by removals the Church became essentially merged in
the Church which was subsequently formed at Iowa Center, where a
town was laid out, and a house of worship was erected. It may be
remarked here once for all, that the missionary many times organized
churches where he had no strong expectation or prospect of the
organization becoming permanent or perpetual. For instance, there
were found in a neighborhood several Baptist families and
individuals, or, a revival breaks out and the converts too far away
to be identified with an existing Church. There is no town near, nor
can it be foretold where a town will be located. The obvious duty is
to gather them together, organize a Church, start a Sunday School
and get the members actively at work, and then look after them,
preach to them or provide them with preaching until they are strong
enough to care for themselves. In this way families and members are
kept under Baptist influence, and in active sympathy with Baptist
work. Thus they are ready when they remove to other homes, or the
center of population changes, to identify themselves with, perhaps
to lead out in establishing Churches which become permanent
organizations. From long experience and observation he became more
and more convinced of the wisdom and necessity of such procedure,
and that the opposite course would be often to throw away the fruits
of much of the severest missionary toil, to be harvested by other
denominations. This is too obvious to need argument.
In the
following summer and autumn preaching was commenced in Hartford, 15
miles south and east from Des Moines, where there was a hopeful
outlook for a revival and for a Church. In the mean time, learning
that there were some Baptists about six miles south in a
neighborhood called Keokuk Prairie, near the site of one of Keokuk's
villages, and where there then existed an Indian burying ground ;
the missionary sought them out, but found that they were
anti-mission Baptists and opposed to Sunday Schools. He obtained an
invitation to preach there, which he accepted, or left an
appointment, and in due time put in an appearance. It was at once
very obvious that he was not very welcome to the leaders, for they
seemed to be suspicious whereupon this might grow. Without
attempting to antagonize their views directly, the gospel was
preached, and the people flocked together from all the region round
to hear. A glorious work of revival broke out, and spread, like a
prairie fire, extending to nearly all the families for an area of
miles around. About 30 were hopefully converted, most of whom were
subsequently baptized. Rather an unusual course was taken by the
missionary. In the progress of the meetings the work of salvation
entered powerfully into the families of the old members and their
children were converted, and the hearts of the parents were melted
and drawn with wondrous earnestness into the work of the revival.
Ere long they began to say: "well if this is the way of the
Missionary Baptists, we are of their belief and practice, but we did
not know it." The ultimate result seemed so certain that the
preacher, without any question, baptized the converts into the
organization then and there existing, a large and flourishing Sunday
School was organized, and thus things went on for a time, when, with
but few exceptions, the membership went into a regular Missionary
Baptist organization, and the other became virtually extinct. The
Missionary was anxious to avoid the perpetuity of anti-mission and
anti-Sunday School Churches in Central Iowa, and the conciliatory
measures and attitude adopted worked admirably to this end, and that
people have ceased to be a noticeable factor in the religious life
in Central Iowa. The Church thus organized was known as the Keokuk
Prairie Church, but a new town was laid out on the south side of
North River called Carlisle, and a Church formed. Bordering
immediately on the south of the territory of this Prairie Church, it
absorbed most of its strength and is now known as the Baptist Church
of Carlisle. They now have a good meeting house and parsonage free
of debt, and a stated pastor. At Hartford, a station already
mentioned, a Church was formed and a good house of worship erected.
At another neighborhood some eight miles south of Hartford and south
of South River, the pastor at Des Moines, hearing that there were
some Baptists, went down, got them together, preached and visited
among them and made arrangements for the formation of a Church. In
process of time a council was called and a church organized, which
since has been known as the Baptist Church of Sandyville.
In
the latter part of the year 1853, Rev. Wm. J. Sparks, living in
Boone county, near the present town of Moingona, had gathered
together some Baptists into a Church and preached to them. He had
extended his labors some thirty miles further up the Des Moines
River, where his preaching had been blessed in extended revivals. He
called upon the Des Moines pastor and urged him to come to his
assistance. A series of meetings was arranged, beginning with his
home Church, and proceeding northward to the other points. During
that trip two Churches were organized; one near Carson's Point, and
the other fifteen miles north, at a point west of Homer, called then
Boone Forks. There the ordinance was administered to a former member
of the Baptist congregation in Des Moines. A Church was formed about
the same time in Vandalia, Jasper county, where since has been
erected a commodious house of worship. A preaching station was
established near Monroe, in Jasper county. There was at that point a
body of Baptists made up of divergent views on some points. There
were a few Old School, or Hard Shell Baptists; nor especially
opposed; and other regular Missionary Baptists. These, all being
Baptists, were content to sink their differences in order to
maintain the particular views of the Baptists, and were worshiping
happily together. The pastor from Des Moines visited them, preached
to them, and ultimately secured for them a pastor of Missionary
Baptist views. In process of time, and with advance sentiments, a
Church of our order was duly organized at Monroe, a house of worship
built, and the visibility of the old organization disappeared.
Preaching was commenced at Newton, the county seat of Jasper county.
Here, too, a Church was formed, a house of worship and a parsonage
erected, and a pastor settled.
Calls for aid came from
Panora, county seat of Guthrie county. The Des Moines pastor visited
them and a Church was finally organized; and another at Adel, county
seat of Dallas county. An urgent call came from Winterset, the
county seat of Madison county, to the Baptist pastor at Des Moines.
He visited them, hunted up the Baptist members, and some months
later a Council met and recognized them as a Church. The}^ settled a
pastor and built a commodious house of worship In the winter of
1863-4 he visited them again, and a series of meetings continued
nearly a month, and near thirty were baptized into the fellowship of
the Church. The Church was greatly strengthened, and under
successive pastors, and in general revivals so increased in numbers
that at one time it was one of the strongest Churches in Iowa.
In Grinnell were some Baptists from northern and western New
York, some of whom had known the missionary in years gone by, at the
former home in the older state. They suggested and procured from the
others an invitation for him to visit them and assist in gathering
together and organize them into a Church. He went and preached, and
baptized several converts from a revival previously enjoyed in the
town, and aided them in organizing the Church; and although their
number was small, and financially tli(^y were weak, they resolutely,
and as rhe heart of one man, set to work to erect a house of
worship; some going to the woods, cutting logs, hauling them to the
mill and getting them converted into lumber, some doing the
carpenter work, others the mason work, and some contributing money.
The people had a mind to work, "and so the walls were built" and the
finishing was completed, and "there were shoutings of grace, grace
unto it.'' It should be added that the railroad company gave them
the lot, and thus the first house of worship raised in Grinnell was
built by the Baptists. The founder of Grinnell, and after whom the
town was named, met the aforesaid Des Moines pastor away from their
respective homes, during the work of the Church building, and
remarked, "I do not see how those Baptists can build a house of
worship, I do not know that any of them have much means, and I am
sure the Congregationalists would not dare to attempt building."
Grinnell was settled by a colony of Congregationalists, and it was
their aim and boast that the platform of their Church was so broad
and liberal and their creed so elastic and accommodating as to
embrace all religious creeds and views, and so have but one
denomination of Christians in the town, namely, Congregationalists.
But the "iron bed-stead" of the Baptists could neither be
"stretched" nor "cut off" with facile adjustments, and hence they
went on and formed a distinctive Church, and history shows that many
have found their home and the inspiration of their religious life
and work therein.
But time and space forbid to speak in
detail of the Churches gathered at Indianola, Summerset, Adel,
Peoria City, Norwalk, Reeve's Settlement, Montpelier, Stuart,
Prairie City, Polk City, East Des Moines, etc., etc., some 30 in
all, which are now or have been connected with the Central
Association.
Among the earlier ministers associated in this
field we name in this reminiscence, Russell, Evans, Guild, Currier,
Bond, the Arnolds, Townsend, Sparks and others who hare wrought well
in their various spheres. The Central Association was organized at
Vandalia and held its first regular meeting in the autumn of 1852
with the Church near Monroe, then called Harmony Church.
Besides the houses of worship now owned by Baptists in Des Moines,
there are houses on the field covered by this sketch in Winterset,
Boone, Perry, Peoples' Neighborhood, Newton, Killduff, Hartford,
Carlisle, Indianola, Vandalia, Sandyville, Stuart, Monroe, Norwalk,
Summerset, Kinsey Settlement, Grinnell, and perhaps other points.
Some anecdotes connected with the subject of this chapter will
appear in another place.
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