Nancee, Thanks for the excerpt on Decatur County churches from History of Decatur County Iowa. My g-g-grandfather, John B. Sanders, was pastor of the Palestine Church; his son-in-law, William Albert Coddington, was a deacon. For those who may not know, there's a great web page devoted to the history of the Primitive Baptist churches at http://www.carthage.lib.il.us/community/churches/primbap/Index.html. The site's maintained by a church elder, Robert Webb, who is very accessible and heplful with research questions. John R. Sanders California IADECATU-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: IADECATU-D Digest Volume 05 : Issue 68 Today's Topics: #1 BILLY SUNDAY's METHODS. ["Thelma Dorsey" #2 'BILLY SUNDAY' -- Check this artic ["Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert" Administrivia: To unsubscribe from IADECATU-D, send a message to IADECATU-D-request@rootsweb.com that contains in the body of the message the command unsubscribe and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. ______________________________Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 06:47:49 -0500 From: "Thelma Dorsey" <Theldors@mchsi.com> To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com Subject: BILLY SUNDAY's METHODS. Nancee, A lot of "list" readers may be asking "BillyWho?" I can remember my parents talking about the famed evangelist Billy Sunday. I found it amusing to learn from this that he had clay feet much like evangelists of today. Thank you. I will share this. Jane Dorsey ______________________________Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:24:23 -0500 From: "Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert" <iggy29@rnetinc.net> To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com Subject: 'BILLY SUNDAY' -- Check this article. From the Decatur County, Iowa website: (2nd to last paragraph mentions Billy Sunday) Copied from: History of Decatur County Iowa 1839-1970 by Himena V. Hoffman p 109 - 112 Just to mention a few of the rural churches, there was Palestine, in whose churchyard the Akes and Jacob Warner family are buried. There is no longer a building there. The Shy church near the cemetery where the graves of the Rumleys, the Jonathan Hamiltons, and the Slys may be found. Fairview, where once a Methodist congregation worshipped, Elk Chapel named for an animal that perhaps was never in the county or at least seldom seen even by the pioneers, now Salem and Bethel in 1970, two of the countie oldest churches, the church at Woodland and many more. Of these churches it would seem that more were Baptist than any other denomination, and some were used sometimes for one group and then for another. Among these in Presbyterian Church in Leon were first of all Calvin Johnson, who had so much for the church in the days before the War, Francis Varga, George T. Young. A. J. Allen, and George Woodbury. Dr. William Todd and his wife also joined the church, V. R. McGinnis and Sam Darrah were members of importance at the end of the period. In the Christian Church John Gardner gave the land on which their first church was built and where the present building is located. Dr. McClelland, J. B. Lunbeck, L. W. Hebener as well as John W. Gardner, William A. Gardner, S. E. Gardner were among the elders and deacons. frank Garber's lines on the Gardners could apply well to their connection with the Christian Church, Gardners almost a full score, Mighty men and lovely women." In the Methodist Church, William and Elizabeth Loving, retired from their farm near Pleasanton, gave $5000 to the building fund of the Methodist Church in Leon, over half of its cost. L. P. Sigler and W. W. Wood gave the first organ in 1877. W. W. Craig, always called in the church Brother Craig, saw to it that the ministers salary was paid, going to J. W. Rowell, C. W. Hoffman, L. P. Sigler, and others who would always donate more than their share to add to what came from his own pocket. At Garden Grove Lucretia Arnold, widow of Sylvanus Arnold, gave the ground on which the church was built and donated a bell for the belfry. Nathaniel Shaw and his daughter, Charlotte, were devout members. The Presbyterians at Garden Grove, like those a Leon were indebted to the Calvin Johnsons, but after the Civil War leading members included the J. O. Parrish and the Professor Harkness family. The arrival of the Bryson Bruce family also add to that church. No family did more for the church than the Northups. In the Episcopal Church could be found, the Manneys, the Mallettes, the Howes, and the Judds. Allan Judd, whose mother, Mrs. Hawkins Judd, was one of the first, if not the first, Episcopalian in the county, became an Episcopalian rector. In Van Wert, the O. E. Stearns family were leading members of the Methodist Church. J. R. Smith was a leading lay member of a rural Methodist Church in Fayette township which moved to Lamoni after that town was established. Among the Brethren, the Garbers, the Sears, and the Kobs continued to keep the affairs of the church prospering. As to the Catholics, it was Patrick and William Grogan, Patrick and Dennis Mullen, and Maurice Daughton who with their wives gave the land on which the church was built in Woodland, and it was on these families and on them and the Griffins, the Barretts, and Conwells, as well as on a few other devout members that the priests depended when they came from some mission or church to the two small churches in Woodland and at Grand River. An examination of the church records show that though the churches depended so much on their members, many prominent business and professional people did not belong to any church. In Leon, John W. Harvey, Aaron Long, and S. W. Hurst did not belong to any church. Joseph Warner, one-time Cumberland minister, did not join the Presbyterian Church organized in 1886 nor did J. R. Bashaw, his brother-in-law. In garden Grove neither A. B. or Dan Stearns were church members, and though John Clark built the church in Davis City, he did not belong to a church. However, Mrs Harvey, Mrs. Hurst, Mrs Warner,, and Mrs Bashaw were active church members. The period between the Civil War and the Spanish American War was a time of revival meetings, sometimes called protracted meetings. Particularly after 1880 these took the place of the camp those already in church. Even the smallest rural churches held revival services and in the towns union services were sometimes held. These services were sometimes held by a local minister, but often a revivalist came, held the meetings, took up a collection, and then went elsewhere. Sometimes these meetings meant quite an increase in church membership. The Reverend A. Hull reported he added seventy-five converts to the church in 1876, but his successor noted, "the record shows only fifty" The union revival meetings held in 1886 by Reverend Dean added forty-five members to the Presbyterian church and at least that many to the Methodist and Christian churches. Just at the close of the century, Billy Sunday, not yet a widely known revivalist held union revival services in the newly built Biggs building. The meetings were organized in the way that would later attract large crowds in the big cities. The choir, the soloist, "the personal workers", and most of all the dramatic preaching of Billy Sunday attracted large attendance and resulted in many converts, including leaders in the community. In the Presbyterian Church in Leon the ministers also served other churches. A. A. Mather in 1869 held services at Grand River and Decatur. The scholarly Mr. Gurley seems to have severed his connections with the Leon church because it included services at Crown. The Reverend Gurley was in Leon five years and Silas Johnson four years. copied by Carm --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!

Hi John: Thanks for the website of the Primitive Baptist Church. I had forgotten about it but they are adding new information as they find it. Everybody should check it out because they have a lot of "membership" lists in certain areas. I was in touch with Robert Webb and he sent me an obituary. I made a donation to his church as a "Thank You" not to mention the postage and copying costs he had. He is very helpful and I found some of my McMURTRYs in Knox County, Illinois attended the church as well as some BRUNERs. Appreciate your reminder. Good luck in your research! Jan Lund genhelp@worldnet.att.net ----- Original Message ----- From: "J. R. Sanders" <jrsanders56@yahoo.com> To: <IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 7:58 AM Subject: [IADECATU] Re: IADECATU-D Digest V05 #68 > Nancee, > > Thanks for the excerpt on Decatur County churches from History of Decatur > County Iowa. My g-g-grandfather, John B. Sanders, was pastor of the > Palestine Church; his son-in-law, William Albert Coddington, was a deacon. > > For those who may not know, there's a great web page devoted to the > history of the Primitive Baptist churches at > http://www.carthage.lib.il.us/community/churches/primbap/Index.html. The > site's maintained by a church elder, Robert Webb, who is very accessible > and heplful with research questions. > > John R. Sanders > California > > IADECATU-D-request@rootsweb.com wrote: > > IADECATU-D Digest Volume 05 : Issue 68 > > Today's Topics: > #1 BILLY SUNDAY's METHODS. ["Thelma Dorsey" #2 'BILLY SUNDAY' -- Check > this artic ["Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert" > Administrivia: > To unsubscribe from IADECATU-D, send a message to > > IADECATU-D-request@rootsweb.com > > that contains in the body of the message the command > > unsubscribe > > and no other text. No subject line is necessary, but if your software > requires one, just use unsubscribe in the subject, too. > > ______________________________Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 06:47:49 -0500 > From: "Thelma Dorsey" <Theldors@mchsi.com> > To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: BILLY SUNDAY's METHODS. > > Nancee, > > A lot of "list" readers may be asking "BillyWho?" > I can remember my parents talking about the famed evangelist Billy Sunday. > I > found it amusing to learn from this that he had clay feet much like > evangelists of today. > Thank you. I will share this. > > Jane Dorsey > > ______________________________Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:24:23 -0500 > From: "Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert" <iggy29@rnetinc.net> > To: IADECATU-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: 'BILLY SUNDAY' -- Check this article. > >>From the Decatur County, Iowa website: > (2nd to last paragraph mentions Billy Sunday) > > Copied from: History of Decatur County Iowa 1839-1970 by Himena V. Hoffman > p > 109 - 112 > Just to mention a few of the rural churches, there was Palestine, in whose > churchyard the Akes and Jacob Warner family are buried. There is no longer > a > building there. The Shy church near the cemetery where the graves of the > Rumleys, the Jonathan Hamiltons, and the Slys may be found. Fairview, > where > once a Methodist congregation worshipped, Elk Chapel named for an animal > that perhaps was never in the county or at least seldom seen even by the > pioneers, now Salem and Bethel in 1970, two of the countie oldest > churches, > the church at Woodland and many more. > Of these churches it would seem that more were Baptist than any other > denomination, and some were used sometimes for one group and then for > another. > Among these in Presbyterian Church in Leon were first of all Calvin > Johnson, > who had so much for the church in the days before the War, Francis Varga, > George T. Young. A. J. Allen, and George Woodbury. Dr. William Todd and > his > wife also joined the church, V. R. McGinnis and Sam Darrah were members of > importance at the end of the period. > In the Christian Church John Gardner gave the land on which their first > church was built and where the present building is located. Dr. > McClelland, > J. B. Lunbeck, L. W. Hebener as well as John W. Gardner, William A. > Gardner, > S. E. Gardner were among the elders and deacons. frank Garber's lines on > the > Gardners could apply well to their connection with the Christian Church, > Gardners almost a full score, Mighty men and lovely women." > In the Methodist Church, William and Elizabeth Loving, retired from their > farm near Pleasanton, gave $5000 to the building fund of the Methodist > Church in Leon, over half of its cost. L. P. Sigler and W. W. Wood gave > the > first organ in 1877. W. W. Craig, always called in the church Brother > Craig, > saw to it that the ministers salary was paid, going to J. W. Rowell, C. W. > Hoffman, L. P. Sigler, and others who would always donate more than their > share to add to what came from his own pocket. > At Garden Grove Lucretia Arnold, widow of Sylvanus Arnold, gave the ground > on which the church was built and donated a bell for the belfry. Nathaniel > Shaw and his daughter, Charlotte, were devout members. > The Presbyterians at Garden Grove, like those a Leon were indebted to the > Calvin Johnsons, but after the Civil War leading members included the J. > O. > Parrish and the Professor Harkness family. The arrival of the Bryson Bruce > family also add to that church. No family did more for the church than the > Northups. > In the Episcopal Church could be found, the Manneys, the Mallettes, the > Howes, and the Judds. Allan Judd, whose mother, Mrs. Hawkins Judd, was one > of the first, if not the first, Episcopalian in the county, became an > Episcopalian rector. > In Van Wert, the O. E. Stearns family were leading members of the > Methodist > Church. > J. R. Smith was a leading lay member of a rural Methodist Church in > Fayette > township which moved to Lamoni after that town was established. > Among the Brethren, the Garbers, the Sears, and the Kobs continued to keep > the affairs of the church prospering. > As to the Catholics, it was Patrick and William Grogan, Patrick and Dennis > Mullen, and Maurice Daughton who with their wives gave the land on which > the > church was built in Woodland, and it was on these families and on them and > the Griffins, the Barretts, and Conwells, as well as on a few other devout > members that the priests depended when they came from some mission or > church > to the two small churches in Woodland and at Grand River. > An examination of the church records show that though the churches > depended > so much on their members, many prominent business and professional people > did not belong to any church. In Leon, John W. Harvey, Aaron Long, and S. > W. > Hurst did not belong to any church. Joseph Warner, one-time Cumberland > minister, did not join the Presbyterian Church organized in 1886 nor did > J. > R. Bashaw, his brother-in-law. In garden Grove neither A. B. or Dan > Stearns > were church members, and though John Clark built the church in Davis City, > he did not belong to a church. However, Mrs Harvey, Mrs. Hurst, Mrs > Warner,, > and Mrs Bashaw were active church members. > The period between the Civil War and the Spanish American War was a time > of > revival meetings, sometimes called protracted meetings. Particularly after > 1880 these took the place of the camp those already in church. Even the > smallest rural churches held revival services and in the towns union > services were sometimes held. These services were sometimes held by a > local > minister, but often a revivalist came, held the meetings, took up a > collection, and then went elsewhere. > Sometimes these meetings meant quite an increase in church membership. The > Reverend A. Hull reported he added seventy-five converts to the church in > 1876, but his successor noted, "the record shows only fifty" > The union revival meetings held in 1886 by Reverend Dean added forty-five > members to the Presbyterian church and at least that many to the Methodist > and Christian churches. > Just at the close of the century, Billy Sunday, not yet a widely known > revivalist held union revival services in the newly built Biggs building. > The meetings were organized in the way that would later attract large > crowds > in the big cities. The choir, the soloist, "the personal workers", and > most > of all the dramatic preaching of Billy Sunday attracted large attendance > and > resulted in many converts, including leaders in the community. > In the Presbyterian Church in Leon the ministers also served other > churches. > A. A. Mather in 1869 held services at Grand River and Decatur. The > scholarly > Mr. Gurley seems to have severed his connections with the Leon church > because it included services at Crown. The Reverend Gurley was in Leon > five > years and Silas Johnson four years. > copied by Carm > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! > > > ==== IADECATU Mailing List ==== > Stacey Dietiker, Momdit@aol.com: Decatur County List Administrator, > Website Coordinator, Decatur County IA Genweb - > http://www.rootsweb.com/~iadecatu > > ============================== > Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the > areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. > Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx >

Hi, can anyone tell me how to contact the Episcopal Methodist Church in Afton, Iowa. I've been told it's still there. Also, a Methodist Church in Decatur that would have been around in the late 1800's???? Looking for more info on The James & Sarah (Sallie) Ownby family in Decatur. They are buried in the Decatur Cemetery, I have the plot info etc.... James & Sallie are my Great Grandparents. Thanks, Barbara Texas