I've been researching my mother's Slawson ancestry, a side of the family which could, I guess, have a Brethren connection I don't know about. Still I was surprised to receive a copy of an article from the LeMars (IA) Sentinel dated January 9, 1914, entitled "Pioneer Days in Plymouth. C M Hilliker of Akron Gives Some Interesting Early Day History." I didn't find Ira Chase in the ministerial lists of Brethren Encyclopedia, so I'm slightly skeptical that the newspaper article got the right denomination. (On the other hand, this would have been the half-uncle of my grandma, Eleanor Slawson, who had some kind of Brethren connection, because she got her teacher training at McPherson College when there were many closer schools she could have attended.) Here's what the paper says: "The winter of 1873 and 1874 was not severely cold, with very little snow. IRA CHASE, a Brethren minister from South Dakota, came to our neighborhood and opened a revival meeting in the school house. The elder was one of the 'hollering' kind. No person could go from the meeting and say that they did not hear what the preacher said, for he usually could be heard for one-half mile. Elder Chase was a good man as well as a good speaker. His sermons began to take effect. People came for miles from every direction. The school house could not hold one-half of the crowd. A collection was taken up, teams were dispatched for lumber, one end of the school house was moved out and the sides were built in to double its former size. All of this was done and not a meeting missed. Something over 80 people were converted or went to the mourner's bench. During one of the elder's sermons he designated the locality as Pleasant Valley, which name it carries to the present time. "It was at one of these meetings that Frank Moore, who was pastor of the Akron ME church a few years ago, was converted. At that time Frank lived with his parents, eight or nine miles down the Perry Creek. "Elder Chase was one of the early settlers in Dakota, having homesteaded about eight miles west and one mile north of Akron, and like the Plymouth county folks, was in very poor circumstances. These meetings made him many friends and were the means of bringing him and his family many of the necessaries of this life. These meetings also brought the people together. Donation parties were held, where all came with their offering, be it great or small, and somewhat different from the custom of today, inasmuch as they did not wait until bedtime but all went early and did not go home until morning. Another thing at these gatherings, all were on the level. There were no select parties, but one was as good as another and all shared alike. Everybody was everybody's friend and all enjoyed themselves." The lady who sent the clipping says LaMars is in Plymouth County, IA, in the northwest part of the state, and somewhat close to Dakota Territory. In the 1870 census, Ira and his wife are found in Floyd County, IA, and he is identified as a clergyman, but it doesn't say what brand. Ira's mother was my ggg grandmother, Rachel Fuller Chase Slawson. What are the odds this guy was actually Brethren? Jan T **************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)