Part 3 Near the middle of August, 1839, the presiding elder, Rev. B. Weed, thought there was sufficient encouragement and members enough to form a church organization in this place.  Accordingly he authorized William L. Cook to sever his connection with the church in Rockingham, and if he could succeed in finding enough members, to form a class in Davenport.  His search among the Protestant settlers resulted in finding five persons beside himself and wife who had been members of the Methodist Episcopal church.  A meeting was called at the home of Timothy Dillon, grandfather of Hon. John F. Dillon, situated on what is now Third street near Washington square.  There were present at this meeting William L. Cook and wife, Timothy Dillon and wife, Israel Hall and W. J. Ruby and wife.  All of these brought their church letters and responded with glad service to the call to unite in the wilderness and build for themselves and their children a new church home.  William L. Cook was chosen leader of this class and for more than forty years thereafter filled the office of class leader and steward of the Methodist church.  From time to time others added their names to the class roll until in 1840, when Rev, Chester Campbell was preacher, there were about twenty members.  Among the first of these was Rachel Hall, who did not reach here until some days after her husband; William Moran, Susan Morgan, Margaret A. Bowling, now Mrs. Paden, and David Miller and wife.  A little later came Father Woodward and family.  Sister Woodward was spoken of as a mother in Israel.  Two families by the name of Morgan, descendants of Quakers, were prompt and faithful in attending church.  The society met regularly each Sabbath, generally at the house of Timothy Dillon, until the number had grown too large for private houses, when other rooms as they could be procured were rented for service.  Having only occasional preaching in 1840, they sent a request to conference for a stationary preacher.  Francis H. Chenowith was sent and Davenport became a regular station.  In the year of 1841 it was determined to build a church.  The society was small in number and not rich save in faith.  Nevertheless they purchased a lot on the west side of Perry street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, which was then considered out of town, and prepared to build a brick chapel thirty by forty feet.  That may seem today a small undertaking, but relatively it was a great one.  It is said that at that time all of the members were poor.  The most of them could put all their worldly goods in a wagon and move out west.  The Rev. Chenowith was granted a vacation and commissioned to go to Ohio where many of the members had formerly lived, and solicit aid for the enterprise.  Money, or what was convertible into money, was gratefully received and about two hundred dollars was realized by this effort.  This was the last year of Rev. Chenowith's stay in Davenport.  While here he married the daughter of Andrew Logan, editor and proprietor of the Iowa Sun, the first paper published in Davenport.  The preacher sent by the Illinois conference, which met in Rock Island, August 24, 1842, was David Worthington who was a man greatly beloved by all.  This minister, being a carpenter by trade, like Paul, labored, working with his own hands.  The church walls were up and the preacher with a few others went to work and succeeded in putting the roof on, the floor laid and the windows in in time for the first quarterly meeting, which was held December 24, 1842, Rev. B. Weed, presiding elder.  This quarterly meeting was protracted five or six weeks and about fifty members were added to the church.  At the conference of 1844 Joseph S. Lewis, of Cincinnati, was sent here.  Unlike his predecessors, while through no fault of his own, he could not adapt himself to pioneer life.  Well educated, a good preacher he was, but one not fitted to bring himself into sympathy with the community in which he labored.  At this time the only church property which the Methodist Episcopal church had in Davenport was this small brick building on Perry street, below Fifth, about opposite where the Kimball House stands - a church with no parsonage, no fence, no carpet, no pulpit except a sort of big pine box used for that purpose, and with seats made of slabs, flat side up, supported by legs inserted into two-inch auger holes.  There was a mortgage of $150 on the lot - a bigger load then than $15,000 would be today.  In 1845 Rev. Harrison was sent.  He did not finish the conference year, his place being filled by Joseph Brook, an able and popular man. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Debbie Clough G-erischer G-erischer Family Web Site http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/ Assistant CC, Iowa Gen Web, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ List Manager for: IASCOTT-L * G-erischer-L * D-encker-L Fitzpatirck-L * V-lerebome-L * Huntington-L * Otis-L * Algar-L EIGS-L * Pickens-L * McNab-L * Patris-L - Rankin-L