History of Porter County, 1912County history published by The Lewis Publishing Company . . . .
Source Citation:
The Lewis Publishing Company. 1912.
History of Porter County, Indiana: A
Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal
Interests.
Volume I. Chicago, Illinois: The Lewis Publishing Company. 357 p.
HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
292
CHAPTER XIII
RELIGIOUS HISTORY
FIRST MISSIONARIES - AN
INTERESTING RELIC - CATHOLIC MISSIONS - INDIANA A MISSIONARY FIELD - FIRST
MINISTERS IN PORTER COUNTY - THE BAPTISTS - THE METHODIST - THE PRESBYTERIAN -
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH - VARIOUS CHURCH SOCIETIES - ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - FATHER
O'REILLY - THE LUTHERANS - THE UNITARIANS - UNION MISSION CHURCH -
CONGREGATIONALISTS - PLYMOUTH BRETHREN - PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH - COUNTRY
CHURCHES - YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION - YOUNG WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN
ASSOCIATION - INFLUENCE OF THE CHURCH.
In the early part of the Seventeenth century Jesuit priests crossed the Atlantic
and began the work of establishing missions among the North American Indians.
The Jesuit fathers may have been somewhat fanatical in their religious zeal, but
they were generally sincere in their devotion to their calling, loyal to their
king, and men of unquestioned courage. No wilderness was too dark and uninviting
for them to plunge into its depths in their efforts to carry the story of the
Cross to the benighted inhabitants. Quite a number of these early missionaries
played important parts in the exploration of the vast, unknown interior of North
America, and the names of Marquette, Joliet, Hennepin, De la Croix and others
are indelibly written in the pages of American History. Long before the first
permanent white settlers came to northern Indiana, some of these Catholic
missionaries visited the Indian tribes in the Great Lakes
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region. As early as 1672 Fathers Allouez and Dablon landed on the south shore of
Lake Michigan and passed through what is now Porter county on their way to the
Kankakee river, but there is no evidence to show that they endeavored to found a
permanent mission in any of the territory they visited.
Daniel E. Kelly, the well known Valparaiso lawyer, has in his possession a
relic, supposed to have been lost by some of the early Catholic priests who
visited the country about the head of Lake Michigan. It is the lid of a lavorium,
or holy water fount, semicircular in form, the straight side, or diameter, being
about two inches in length, with traces of the hinged joint plainly visible. On
the top is engraved a lamb lying down; above the lamb is a cross surrounded by a
halo, and around the design is a sort of saw tooth border. These teeth, which
point toward the center are not uniform in size. This relic is of silver, which
is completely oxidized from long exposure to the elements. It was found by
Frederick Cam on Sunday, May 19, 1912, in the old bed of the Grand Calumet river
where it empties into Lake Michigan near Granger Springs, Lake county. The early
United States surveys show a trail leading from that point eastward into Porter
county. Young Carr gave the relic to Mr. Kelly, who showed it to Rev. Thomas
Jensen, of Gary, and from him learned that what is presumably the other part of
the lavorium was picked up on the beach some fifty years ago and is in the
possession of Father Blackman.
The first Catholic missions in Indiana were established in the southern part of
the state, where they developed into churches and educational institutions. The
denomination is still much stronger in that part of the state than in the
central and nothern portions, the monastery at St. Meinrad, Spencer county, and
the convent at Oldenburg, Franklin county, being among the best known Catholic
schools in the Middle West.
Closely following the Catholics were the Baptists. A Baptist church was
established on Owen's creek, Clark county, as early as 1798. From that time
until 1860 Indiana was a missionary field for the Baptists,
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Methodists, Presbyterian and Christians, or Campbellites. Methodist circuit
riders were at work in the southern part of the state in the early part of the
Nineteenth century. Thomas Cleland, a Presbyterian missionary, organized the
first church of that faith in the state at Vincennes about 1800, and the second
was organized at Charleston, Clark county, in 1807. About three years later the
Friends, or Quakers, founded settlements in eastern Indiana, near the present
city of Richmond. As the tide of emigration flowed north and west the church
followed. Joseph Bailly, the first white settler in Porter county, was a devout
Catholic, and soon after he built his cabin and established his trading post on
the banks of the Calumet river his place became a rendezvous for "all sorts and
conditions of men." Missionaries frequently stopped with him, and the masses
said by them were doubtless the first religious services ever held in the
county. Many of the early settlers had been identified with some church
organization in their old homes. As soon as their cabins were built and their
families sheltered, their thoughts turned toward the building up of the church
in the wilderness where they had cast their lot.
Missionaries of the Baptist and Methodist churches came into Porter county about
the time it was organized, or perhaps a little before, the records in the county
clerk's office showing that during the year 1836 marriages were solemnized by at
least four ministers. These four were Alpheus French and Asahel Neal, Baptists,
and Cyrus Spurlock and Stephen Jones, Methodists. It is said that Rev. Asahel
Neal organized a congregation in Morgan township in the latter part of 1835 or
early in 1836. If so, that was the first church organization in the county, but
the report is not well authenticated. Rev. Alpheus French preached at Blachly's
Corners, in Union township, in the spring of 1836. The meeting was held in a
grove, about twenty-five persons being present. This is generally credited with
being the first meeting held by a Baptist minister within the confines of the
county. On June 10, 1837, Mr. French organized the First Baptist Church, with
twelve members, among whom were John and Drusilla Bartholomew, Edmond and
Charity Bil-
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lings, James and Rebecca Witham, John Robinson, Warner and Adelia Pierce. John
Robinson and John Bartholomew were the first deacons, and Jacob C. White, the
first clerk. On February 8, 1840, the name was changed to the "First Baptist
Church of Valparaiso."
For some time the congregation was without a permanent house of worship, the
meetings during this period being held in various places. Elder French served as
pastor until 1842. He was succeeded by Harlowe S. Orton, who served for about
two years. Rev. W. T. Bly was then pastor until 1847, when he was succeeded by
Rev. Alexander Nickerson. Under his ministry a church building was erected at a
cost of $2,200. It was dedicated on March 13, 1853, and since that time the
congregation has had a permanent home, though the old church edifice has been
supplanted by a new one which was dedicated on November 13, 1881. It is located
at the northwest corner of Lafayette and Chicago streets and was erected at a
cost of $6,100. It is a brick building, in the form of a Greek cross, with two
entrances and has a seating capacity of about 600. In June, 1912, the
seventy-fifth anniversary of the church was celebrated with appropriate
services, meetings being held daily from the 9th to the 16th of the month.
During the seventy-five years of its history the church has had twenty-two
pastors, the present pastor being Rev. J. A. Knowlton, who assumed charge in
1910. The pastors, from 1854, when Mr. Nickerson left, to the coming of Mr.
Knowlton, with the year in which each began his service, were: Henry Smith,
1854; G. T. Brayton, 1860; J. D. Cole, D. D., 1861; J. M. Maxwell, 1862; M. T.
Lamb, 1864; Otis Saxton, 1867; W. W. Caplinger, 1870; W. A. Clark, D. D., 1873;
E. S. Riley, 1875; C. J. Pope, 1886; J. B. Banker, 1889; D. Heagle, D. D., 1892;
W. E. Randall, 1896; W. E. Storey, 1897; John L. Beyl, 1899; H. B. Benninghoff,
1905; S. I. Long, 1907.
In 1835, acting under authority of the Indiana conference of the Methodist
Episcopal church, Rev. Stephen Jones organized the Deep River mission, which
embraced the counties of Lake and Porter. Subsequently the field of labor became
known as the Kankakee mission, and
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still later as the Valparaiso circuit. Rev. Richard Hargrave was presiding elder
at the time the mission was first organized, and among the early pastors were
Stephen Jones, Jacob Colclasier, Hawley B. Beers, Samuel K. Young, William J.
Forbes, Isaac M. Stagg, William F. Wheeler, Wade Posey, Warren Griffith, J.
Cozad, Thomas C. Hackney, S. T. Cooper, William Palmer, W. G. Stonix, J. G. D.
Pettijohn, L. B. Kent, Franklin Taylor, David Dunham, Abram Carey and Samuel
Godfrey. This brings the list down to 1852, when Valparaiso was set off as a
separate charge and organized into a station. Prior to that time, however, Lake
county had been cut off and formed into a new charge in the fall of 1844, the
Valparaiso circuit from that date including only Porter county. When the mission
was first organized the places of holding meetings were fixed at Valparaiso,
Gosset's Chapel, Twenty-mile Grove, Indian Town (afterward known as Hebron),
Melvin's, Lee's, White's and Louis Pennock's. As the population increased new
places of worship were added, and at the time Valparaiso was made a separate
pastoral charge in 1852, the appointments in the district were fourteen in
number, to wit: Valparaiso, Morgan Prairie, Kankakee, Ohio, Hanna's Mill,
Jackson Center, City West, Horse Prairie, Hebron, Griffith's Chapel, Union
Chapel, Salt Creek, Twenty-mile Grove and Pennock's.
Rev. W. J. Forbes organized the first class in Valparaiso in 1840. The first
Methodist church in the city was organized in 1847 in a small frame building,
and the following year work was commenced on the first house of worship, under
the pastorate of Rev. W.G. Stonix, who left before the building was completed.
It was finished in 1849 under Rev. J. G. D. Pettijohn. That same year a
parsonage was purchased at the corner of Monroe and Franklin streets, but in
1853 it was sold and a new parsonage erected in the rear of the church, at a
cost of $900. The congregation grew rapidly, and after some $5,000 had been
expended in enlarging and improving both church and parsonage, the quarters
became too small and it was decided to build a new church. The pastors during
this period - from 1852 to 1881 - were: David
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Crawford, Albion Fellows, W. Hamilton, G. W. Stafford, S. T. Cooper, Aaron
Gurney, C. N. Sims, B. W. Smith, C. A. Brooke, T. S. Webb, Nelson Green, G. M.
Boyd, L. C. Buckles, Thomas Meredith, W. Graham, N. L. Brakeman, W. B. Stutz, G.
M. Boyd and C. A. Brooke. It was under the second pastorate of Mr. Brooke that
the present church edifice was erected. It is located at the northwest corner of
Jefferson and Franklin streets, is in the form of a cross, 65 by 105 feet, with
basement, etc. The main auditorium is 58 by 63 feet; the Sunday school room is
45 by 57 feet; the infant class room is 22 by 24 feet, and there are two class
rooms each 15 by 16 feet. Art glass windows give a pleasing and soothing effect
and the church is equipped with a fine pipe organ. The total cost of the
building was about $23,500. The present pastor is Rev. Thomas J. Bassett, who
was formerly at the head of the preparatory department of De Pauw University at
Greencastle, Indiana.
For a while after the Deep River mission was organized, the few Methodist in the
vicinity of the present town of Hebron met at the homes of Simeon Bryant and
Absalom Morris. After the school house was built meetings were held there. A
regular society was organized in 1837 by Rev. Jacob Colclasier, who was the
first minister to extend his labors into that part of the missionary field.
Hawley B. Beers, Wade Pay, L. B. Kent, William F. Wheeler, William J. Forbes and
Warren Griffith also preached there during the early days of the congregation In
1840 a protracted meeting lasting nearly two months was held and a large number
of members were added to the church. Several of the meetings were held at a
school house about four miles east of Hebron. In 1844 a log church was built and
Rev. Warren Griffith regularly engaged as pastor. Fifteen years later the log
building was replaced by a neat frame structure, at a cost of about $1,000.
Since that time the Methodist church of Hebron has prospered. A parsonage was
bought in 1877 and has since been enlarged and improved. The pastor in 1912 was
Rev. O. P. Paxton.
Among the early settlers of Morgan township were four men by the name of White,
who located in the northwestern part. These four men
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and a Mr. Cornish, with their wives, organized themselves into a Methodist
society and erected a small church on section 12, township 34, range 6, where it
is still maintained, though for some years services were not held there
regularly.
Two Methodist societies were organized in Portage township about 1837 - one at
the Robbins school house and the other on the west side. No church was erected
until about 1855, when a small house was built near the present village of
Crisman, Mr. McCool being the prime mover in securing its construction. After a
time the Methodist organization died out and the house was used for awhile by
the German Lutherans.
A few years before the beginning of the Civil war, a Methodist congregation was
formed at Jackson Center. The old school house was purchased, an addition built
to it, and for many years it was used for church purposes. The church at the
present time is located on section 21, township 36, range 5. About the time the
Jackson Center church was established a Methodist society was formed at Flint
lake and a small church was built at "Kinney's Corners," near the junction of
Center, Liberty, Jackson and Washington townships. The writer has been unable to
learn the fate of this congregation or its house of worship.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Chesterton was formed about 1860 or 1861. Work
was commenced on a church building, but the war broke out and it was allowed to
stand in an unfinished condition for two or three years, when it was finished at
a cost of about $2,000. Among those who were active on the organization of this
congregation and the erection of its spiritual home may be mentioned John
Whitman, Gilbert Morgan, D. N. Hopkins, Albert E. Letts, William Barney, Henry
Hageman and J. W. Stewart, all of whom gave liberally toward the establishment
of the church. The pastor of this church in 1912 was the Rev. C. A. Brown. There
is also a Methodist church at Wheeler, Rev. J. P. Cox, pastor, and Methodist
meetings have been held in various portions of the county in the school houses,
private residences or halls, but the above include all the representative
Methodist Episcopal congregations and houses of worship in the county. On
January 26, a Swedish
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Methodist church was organized at Chesterton, and the next year a church was
erected at a cost of some $600. The first pastor was Rev. C. J. Hisson and the
number of members at the time of the organization was only twelve. Within three
years after the church was built the membership had reached forty-five. The
first trustees of the church were John B. Lundberg, August Melin and August
Peterson, who continued to serve in that capacity for several years and were
active in building up the congregation. From the beginning the church has
prospered and it is today one of the substantial religious organizations of
Porter county. The present pastor is Rev. A. Reese.
The fundamental idea of Presbyterianism is a church government administered by
presbyters or a body of elders. Probably the first church government of this
character was that instituted by the Waldenses in the early part of the
Sixteenth century, though John Calvin, the organizer of the Reformed church, has
been generally credited with being also the founder of the Presbyterian church.
The first effort toward the establishment of a separate denomination, by those
holding the views advocated by the Waldenses and Calvin, was on December 3,
1557, when a number of the Scottish noblemen met at Edinburgh and signed "The
First Covenant." In a few years the Presbyterian church became the established
church of Scotland. The doctrines of the church were introduced into America by
refugees from European countries in the first half of the Seventeenth century,
and as the march of civilization moved slowly but steadily westward,
Presbyterianism was extended until today churches of that faith are to be found
in almost every hamlet of the Union. About the time that Porter county was
organized, the church became divided into the Old and New School Presbyterians,
and there have been some subdivisions, such as the Cumberland, the Associate
Reformed and the United Presbyterians, but the principal tenets of the parent
organization have remained unchanged.
Presbyterian missionaries were early in the field in Indiana. One of the first
to visit Porter county was a man named Hannan, who represented that branch known
as the Associate Reform Presbyterians. On
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July 28, 1838, he organized Bethlehem Church of that faith where the town of
.Hebron now stands. The first members of this congregation were Thomas
Dinwiddie, Berkley Oliver and Samuel Turner, and their wives, John W. and David
T. Dinwiddie, Susanna Dinwiddie, Sr., Susanna Dinwiddie, Jr., Mary McCarnehan,
Margaret A. and Margaret J. Dinwiddie, and Susan P. West. Shortly after the
church was organized, Mr. Hannan left and Rev. Wilson Blain became pastor. He
remained until about 1847, and for the next three years the congregation was
without a pastor. In 1851 Rev. J. N. Buchanan became pastor and remained with
the church for over thirty years. As the members were not in affluent
circumstances, no attempt was made for some time to erect a church. Meetings
were held at the residences during the winter seasons, and in warm weather the
groves, "God's first temples," were utilized as places of worship. Mr. Blain
urged the members to build a church, even though it should be a humble one, and
a log house was erected, in which the seats were small logs split in halves with
pins for legs to raise the seats to the proper height. In 1852 a frame house was
built three-fourths of a mile south of Hebron, at a cost of $1,200, all of which
was paid up before the house was occupied. This house was removed to Hebron in
1864 and there used as a church until 1879, when a larger building was erected,
costing $2,500. This congregation is now known as the United Presbyterian
church, with Rev. C. M. Filer as pastor. On Sunday, April 10, 1902, the United
Presbyterians of northern Indiana met at Hebron, every church in the district
being represented. G. I. Gordon was at that time installed as pastor of the
Hebron church. Reports from the various congregations showed that during the
preceding year more money had been raised by the church for foreign missions and
benevolent year than ever before. Communion was celebrated at Hebron in the
morning and at Leroy, Lake county, in the afternoon.
It is quite probable that some meetings were held by Presbyterians in or about
Valparaiso during the first three years after settlements were made there, and
that sermons were preached by some of the early Presbyterian ministers who came
to the county. No attempt was made
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to organize a church, however, until December 4, 1839, when Rev. James C. Brown,
a young licentiate, preached a sermon in the old court-house. He remained in the
county, was soon after ordained to the ministry, and on July 3, 1840, assisted
by Rev. W. K. Marshall, of Laporte, organized the Valparaiso Presbyterian
church. The original members of this congregation were James and Isabel Blair,
Elizabeth Martin, M. B. Crosby, Henry Battan, Mary E. Brown, Nancy Buel, Abby
Salisbury, Bathsheba E. Hamell and Elizabeth Marshall. James Blair and M. B.
Crosby were elected elders. Later in the year a Sunday school was organized by
Mrs. Brown and Hugh A. Brown, the latter a brother of the pastor. The school was
a union school and started off with eighteen pupils, including practically all
the children of the neighborhood. Meetings were held in the court-house until
the spring of 1841, when a house was rented on the south side of Jefferson
street just east of Franklin, where services were held regularly for the next
two years. In 1842 the congregation began preparations for the erection of a
church. The lot immediately west of the present Methodist church was bought, but
when it was learned that the Methodist congregation had purchased the lot on the
corner, it was deemed inadvisable to build so close to another church and a
house of worship was erected on the lot afterward occupied by Professor
Boucher's residence. Here a building 35 by 45 feet in size was put up, at a cost
of $750, exclusive of the labor furnished by members of the congregation. It was
occupied by the church in 1844, though the pews were not put in until five years
later. Two noted revivals were held in this old building - in 1847 and 1854 -
and a number of new members thereby added to the church. In 1857 the church
building was removed to the lot on the south side of Jefferson street and just
west of the alley between Franklin and Washington streets. At the same time an
addition of twenty-five feet was added to it, making its length seventy-feet.
Other additions in the way of a lecture room and an infant class room were
subsequently added.
Mr. Brown continued as pastor of the church until the breaking out of the Civil
war, when he entered the army as chaplain of the Forty-
302
eighth Indiana infantry and died at Paducah, Kentucky, in July, 1862. During his
ministry of twenty years he saw the church grow to be one of the most important
and influential Presbyterian congregations in northern Indiana. He was succeeded
as pastor by Rev. S. C. Logan, who remained during the war, resigning in July,
1865. Robert Beer was then called to the pulpit and remained as pastor until
1884, when he accepted a call to the church at Cedar Grove, Iowa, and Rev. N. S.
Willson became pastor at Valparaiso. Toward the close of Mr. Beer's ministry a
movement was started to build a new church. The lot on the southwest corner of
Franklin and Jefferson streets was purchased and an active canvass for
subscriptions to the building fund was inaugurated. Work was commenced on the
new building in 1883, and on Sunday, March 1, 1885, it was dedicated. The work
of construction was carefully watched by Artillus V. Bartholomew, a member of
the church, who devoted his time to that purpose without money and without
charge. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. Willis G. Craig, D. D., of
the Northwestern Theological Seminary, of Chicago. John D. Wilson, the
contractor who built the Porter county court-house, also erected the
Presbyterian church, the two buildings going up simultaneously. It is also
worthy of note that while the new court-house and church were in process of
construction the sessions of the court were held in the old Presbyterian church.
The cost of the building was $24,368, all of which was fully provided for at the
time the church was dedicated. The present pastor is Rev. J. M. Gelston, and the
number of communicants is in the neighborhood of 400. The seating capacity of
the house is about 1,000. There is a fine memorial window to commemorate the
services of Dr. Brown, the first pastor, and another to Robert Beer, who served
the church for nearly twenty years.
In connection with this congregation, it is deemed appropriate to add a few
words concerning the character of Rev. James C. Brown, the first pastor, to
whose work much of the present prosperity of the church is due. Energy and
activity were his distinguishing characteristics, and the church was the object
of his constant care and solicitation. When
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work was commenced upon the first church building, he shouldered his ax and went
with the others out to Bartholomew's woods to assist in felling and hewing the
timbers. It is said that he "made a hand" at this work, as in everything else he
undertook. He frequently visited the settlements where there were a few
Presbyterians and held meetings for their benefit. He organized the Salem church
in the western part of Porter township and preached there several times. This
congregation at first held meetings in private residences, but after a time a
house of worship was erected near the center of section 22, township 34, range
7. Some years later the Presbyterian organization was discontinued and the
Methodists have since held meetings in the house.
A Presbyterian church was organized in Portage township early in the '50s, and a
house was erected by S. P. Robbins in 1852, at a cost of $800, more than
three-fourths of which was the gift of Mr. Robbins himself. Some of the early
members of this church were S. P. Robbins, Benjamin Stoddard, Russell Dorr and
their wives, Daniel Richardson, Francis James, Emily James, a man named Leters
and his sister. Rev. James C. Brown was the first preacher. He was followed by a
Mr. Humphrey and later a minister named Ogden served as pastor. Services were
then held at irregular intervals for awhile by ministers from various churches,
after which the congregation was disbanded, the members joining other churches,
and the Methodists acquired possession of the house, which was located on the
northwest quarter of section 17, township 36, range 6, about a half mile south
of the present village of McCool.
In 1885 a Presbyterian church was organized at Tassinong, near the southern
border of Morgan township, and a house of worship costing some $800 was erected
the same year. Joseph Bartholomew and George Biggert each gave $150 toward the
building of the church, and the citizens assisted in its construction with the
understanding that other denominations should have the free use of the house at
times when the Presbyterians were not occupying it. Rev. James C. Brown was a
liberal contributor to the cause, and for some time acted as pastor, holding
services
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in the morning at Valparaiso and in the afternoon at Tassinong. Other ministers
who preached in this church were S. C. Logan, Robert Williams, S. R. Baker,
Henry Cullom and Frank Ferguson, and two men named Kinney and Moore. Death and
removals decimated the congregation until the old church at Tassinong was
finally abandoned.
On October 29, 1860, an Old School Presbyterian church was organized at Hebron,
with the following members: William Mackey, E. Mackey, Gideon and Jane Brecount,
A. A. Burwell, Rebecca Burwell, Mary E. Hill, Mary Hill, Clark L. and Nancy
Tannehill, Margaret M. Gill, Carrie M. Wilson, Stella McCollom, Jane Aylesworth
and T. C. Sweeney. Rev. J. L. Lower was the first pastor, and Amos A. Burwell
and William Mackey the first elders. Clark L. Tannehill, T. C. Sweeney and
Gideon Brecount were elected the first board of trustees. In June, 1873, the
congregation bought the old school-house and fitted it up for church purposes.
For a time the congregation was connected with the one at Crown Point and later
with the one ,at Tassinong. About 1876 the membership was somewhere near forty,
but five years later it had dwindled to twenty-five. The only Presbyterian
church in Hebron in 1912 was the United Presbyterian organization, already
mentioned.
In June, 1840, a few persons belonging to the Christian church, who had settled
in Morgan township, got together and formed a society, the first of that
denomination in Porter county. Among the early members were Henry S. Adams,
Lewis Comer, George W. Turner and Joseph McConnell, and their wives, Thomas
Adams, Elias Cain, Mrs. Baum and Mrs. Elizabeth Stoner. Lewis Comer was the
first elder, and H. S. Adams the first deacon. After the congregation was firmly
established, a brick church, costing about $2,000, was erected on the southeast
quarter of section 18, township 34, range 6, about a mile and a half north of
the present village of Malden. Rev. Lemuel Shortridge preached for this church,
off and on, for about thirty years. Other ministers who filled the pulpit at
times were Rev. Robert Johnson, Rev. M. Goodykoontz, and Rev. W. Lowe. Like most
country churches, this one has never made much noise or shown a large membership
roll, but the few
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who have belonged to it at different times have generally been faithful in the
discharge of their Christian duties.
A Christian church was organized at Boone Grove at an early date, where it is
still maintained, though it has never boasted a large membership, and several
times in its history it has been without a regular pastor for months at a time.
The Christian church in Valparaiso had its beginning in 1847, when a small
society was organized by Rev. Peter T. Russell. Some of the charter members
were: Mrs. P. T. Russell, Elias Axe, Agnes Axe, James Purely and wife, William
W. and Belinda Jones, Caroline Russell and Mary A. Baum. Peter T. Russell was
the first pastor. For a time the meetings were held in private residences,
rented hall, and on special occasions in the court-house. In 1852 Elias Axe
purchased from Mrs. Hamell the old brick school-house on Jefferson street
between Washington and Franklin, and it was used as a church until 1869. Then
for a period of about five years meetings were held in private houses, the
court-house, and the old German Lutheran church on the corner of Washington and
Institute streets. In 1874 work was commenced on a brick church on the north
side of Chicago street near Franklin. This building, which cost $3,200, was
occupied by the congregation until the spring of 1888, when it was torn down and
the present building erected upon the site. Some of the pastors during this
period were P. T. Russell, Lewis Comer, Charles Blackman, W. W. Jones, Lemuel
Shortridge, R. C. Johnston, W. R. Lowe, I H. Edwards and H. B. Davis. William
Thomas, an architect of Chicago, drew the plans for the present church edifice,
and the building committee was composed of H. B. Brown, D. F. Jones, E. D.
Crumpacker, B. F. Perrine, L. M. Pierce and T. M. Shreve.
No delay was encountered in the erection of the building, which was formally
dedicated on Sunday, December 16, 1888, the sermon on that occasion being
preached by Rev. J. H. O. Smith, the pastor of the church. The building cost
about $20,000, and has a seating capacity of 1,000. The pastors who served the
church since the present house of worship was erected have been J. H. O. Smith,
J. C. Updike, John L. Brant,
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Bruce Brown and Claude E. Hill. The last named is the pastor in 1912, having
been called to the pulpit in 1910. A new parsonage is now (July, 1912,) under
construction, which, when completed will have cost about $3,600. The number of
members in 1912 was about 1,450.
About the time this church removed into its new house of worship in 1888 a
Christian church was organized at Kouts. Some of the trappings and furniture of
the old Christian church at Valparaiso were given to the Kouts church to help
the new congregation in equipping its home. On July 20, 1912, the will of Rose
Yoder, of Kouts, was filed in the probate court of Porter county. Among other
bequests was one of $500, which the will stipulated should be safely deposited
in some bank and the interest used to aid in paying the salary of the Christian
minister at Kouts. A like sum was to be deposited in bank and the interest
allowed to accumulate for fifty years, when the entire sum should be given to
the church, to be used as the congregation might elect.
A Christian church was organized at Hebron in January, 1870, with twenty-six
members, among whom were Joseph Dye and wife, Sarah Essex, Ellis Ruff and wife,
Viola Robinson, Sarah A. Johnson, Isaac Margison, Mrs. Blood, and Mr. and Mrs.
Montgomery. Joseph Dye was the first deacon, and Mrs. Mary E. White was the
first person to be baptized after the church was organized. Lemuel Shortridge
was the ht pastor, serving the congregation for about three years, when he was
succeeded by William Wheeler. Other ministers who served as pastor of this
church were William R. Lowe, William L. Streeter, I. H. Edwards, John Ellis, H.
B. Davis and A. C. Carter. A house of worship was erected in 1878, at a cost of
$1,100. This house was practically rebuilt in the spring of 1910, when some
$7,000 were expended in enlarging and improving it, the first services in the
new building being held on Sunday, May 22, 1910. The pastor in 1912 was Rev. S.
W. Brown.
In 1850 a Reformed Mennonite church was organized in Valparaiso. After holding
meetings in private residences for about twenty years, they purchased the old
brick school-house on Willow street, where the church still has its home.
Although the membership is small, and the
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congregation is frequently without a regular pastor, meetings are held
regularly, all the forms and ceremonies of their peculiar faith being faithfully
observed.
A correct and authentic account of the Catholic church in Porter county is
somewhat difficult to obtain. There were a few Catholics living in the vicinity
of Valparaiso in the decade from 1840 to 1850, and there is a story to the
effect that the first mass ever said in that portion of the county was on the
northwest quarter of section 15, township 35, range 6, about two miles northwest
of the court-house, but the time and name of the priest seem to have been
forgotten. Priests from Notre Dame and other places sometimes visited the few
Catholics residing about Valparaiso. Among these early missionaries may be
mentioned Father Kilroy, Father Curley, Father Cointet and Father Paul Gillen,
familiarly known as Father Paul. It was through his efforts that St. Paul's
Church was commenced, though he left before it was completed, and for a time no
efforts were made to finish the building or to hold regular services. When the
state of Indiana was divided and Rt. Rev. J. H. Luers was made bishop of the
northern diocese, one of the first official acts was to endeavor to establish a
resident priest in Valparaiso. First came Father Clarke, but for some reason he
did not remain long. He was succeeded by Rev. George Hamilton, an able man, but
he, too, left in a short time. About that time the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne &
Chicago railroad was under construction, and many of the Catholics about
Valparaiso belonged to that class that follows work of such character, roving
from place to place as public works or railroads were to be built. Such persons,
while true to their religious belief in a way, are not deeply interested in the
establishment of churches.
A small number of Catholics, however, settled down in the county and purchased
lands. In time they became able to support a resident pastor and Rev. John Force
came to establish a parish. He was a man of fine ability, possessed good social
qualities, and would have succeeded in his mission, but his death occurred soon
after coming to Valparaiso. Next came Father Botti, a splendid scholar, but
lacking in all those
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traits that made his predecessor popular. In a short time he became involved in
controversies and law-suits, until he was finally recalled by the bishop.
After Father Botti came Rev. Michael O'Reilly, who succeeded where others had
failed, and for nearly twenty-five years remained as the popular and efficient
of St. Paul's. Father O'Reilly was born in County Westmeath, Ireland, January
29, 1834, a son of John and Ann (Bennett) O'Reilly. His father died in 1841 and
his mother married again. In 1846, although a mere boy, Michael became a member
of one of the clubs whose members were denounced as rebels by the British
government, and in 1848 he fled to America. He had an uncle living at Utica, New
York, and there he found a home. At the age of seventeen he began teaching.
Later he attended Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, until his junior year, when he
entered the Catholic college of Notre Dame, at South Bend, Indiana. After
preparing himself in this institution he attended St. Mary's Seminary,
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he finished his course and was ordained to the
priesthood. Being assigned to the northern Indiana diocese, he was sent by the
bishop to Valparaiso, where he served until his death on August 4, 1887, due to
a stroke of paralysis.
When Father O'Reilly arrived at Valparaiso, about the beginning of the year
1863, he found the parish some $4,000 in debt, the church closed by an
injunction of the court, and sentiment divided among the members of the parish.
Notwithstanding all these difficulties, he went to work, and by his energy and
personality soon won the confidence of the people. Unable to secure possession
of the church building, he rented a hall, improvised an altar, and there held
services every Sunday until in April, 1863, when he was permitted to take
possession of the church, his first mass there being said on Easter Sunday. His
next step was to repair the building, which had been allowed to run to partial
decay under Father Botti's pastorate, and when it was in condition opened a
small school. Father O'Reilly's greatest concern was for the education of the
children of his parish. He therefore erected a school-house before mak-
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ing any effort to provide a better house of worship. The school building cost
about $8,000. Not until 1880 did he start the movement for a new church
building. The corner-stone of the present St. Paul's Church was laid on Sunday,
October 7, 1883, by Bishop Dwenger, of Fort Wayne, assisted by priests from Fort
Wayne, Notre Dame, Warsaw, Plymouth and other places, some 8,000 or 10,000
people witnessing the ceremonies. On October 17, 1886, the church was dedicated
by Bishop Dwenger. The building is 153 feet long, with a transept of 95 feet, a
65 feet nave and a spire nearly 200 feet in height. It is one of the largest
Catholic churches in Northern Indiana and cost $40,000. Father O'Reilly lived
less than a year after the church was finished, but the building stands as a
monument to his labors and he executive ability. The present priest is Rev. W.
S. Hogan.
When the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railway was being built through Porter
county, a large number of Catholics were employed upon the construction work.
Some of them settled in the neighborhood of Chesterton, and a Catholic church
was organized there in 1857 by Father Kilroy. For several years the parish was
without a church building or a resident priest. Father Kilroy was succeeded by
Father Flynn, and the latter by Rev. Paul Gillen. Next Father Lawler, the
resident Catholic priest at Laporte, came once a month to the Chesterton parish.
Thus matters went on until in 1867, when the people asked Bishop Luers to send
them a resident priest. The request was granted and the congregation purchased a
house and lot, where the church was afterward erected, and Rev. John Flynn was
duly installed as pastor. Two years later his death occurred and Father O'Rourke
took charge of the parish. The value of the church property at that time was
about $500. A new church was built in 1876, at a cost of about $13,000, and in
1882 a residence was built for the priest at a cost of $3,000. The church was
named in honor of Ireland's patron saint, and the parish of St. Patrick, at
Chesterton, is one of the prosperous Catholic communities of northern Indiana.
Rev. Lawrence Eberle is the present pastor.
In 1857 the Swedish Lutherans living about Bailly Town, in West-
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chester township, organized a church under the ministry of Rev. A. Audrain, with
about thirty members. Following Mr. Audrain came Revs. Sjoblom, Nyquist and
Sodergrim, who served until 1880, when Rev. Andrew Challman became pastor. A
church building was erected in 1863, at a cost of $2,000, aid not long afterward
a parsonage and schoolhouse were built. Some of the members who had attended at
Bailly Town organized the Swedish Lutheran church at Chesterton in 1879, and
immediately built a nice brick church, at a cost of $5,000. For some time one
pastor served both congregations, but in recent years the two congregations are
entirely independent of each other. Fraternal feeling exists, however; and both
churches are in a prosperous condition. Rev. J. B. Bennett is pastor of one and
Rev. J. E. Nystrom of the other.
Several German families settled at Valparaiso about 1850. Most of them were
Lutherans, though no effort was made to organize a church of that denomination
until 1862. By that time there were probably forty or fifty German families in
the immediate vicinity of the town, and when a Lutheran minister named Jahn came
from Holstein in that year they asked him to organize a church and become its
pastor, which was done. Not long afterward a division occurred, some of the
members going to the Reformed church, but the Lutheran congregation went on, and
Rev. J. P. Beyer was engaged as pastor. Under his ministry the church was fully
organized, and services were held in rented quarters until 1865. A frame
building to be used as both church and school-house, was erected in that year on
the corner of Pink and Academy streets, and Rev. C. Meyer was engaged to succeed
Mr. Beyer. Under his ministrations the church increased in membership, and the
congregation began to look about for more commodious accommodations. At this
juncture it was learned that the property belonging to the Unitarian church was
to be sold by the sheriff, and in 1880 the Lutherans made an offer for it, which
was accepted, and the church passed into their hands. Here their meetings were
held until the present building of the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran church was
erected on the corner of Washington and Institute streets in 1891. The present
pastor is Rev. C. W. Baer.
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Some years ago St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized and a small
church erected at the corner of Lincoln avenue and Franklin street. For some
reason the congregation did not prosper. In 1912 the church was without a
resident pastor, and it was rumored that the property was to be sold.
In 1880 the German Lutherans of Kouts built a small frame church, at a cost of
$600, with Rev. Philip Smith as pastor. He was succeeded by Rev. Julius Dunsing.
At the time this church was erected it was the only church building in Pleasant
township. The congregation had been holding meetings in the school house since
about 1873. The pastor of the church in 1912 was Rev. Hicks Hicken.
About the time that the Lutheran church of Kouts had its inception, a German
Lutheran congregation, known as St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, was
organized at Chesterton. A church building was commenced in the fall of 1880,
under the ministry of a preacher named Hammon, who was the first pastor, and it
was finished in April, 1881. The church numbered but twelve members when it was
organized, but by 1880 the membership had reached forty-five. Among the active
members were Fred Lindermann, Charles Warnhoff, Henry Dorman, William Slout,
Charles Bancke, Fred Lawrentz and a Miss Albright. It was due to the efforts of
these members that the little band raised $2,000 to pay for the church. The
pastor in 1912 was Rev. George Schoettle.
The Unitarian society of Valparaiso was organized in 1872, and purchased the
building of the Reformed church. Revs. Powell, Carson and Parker served as
ministers for a few years, but the congregation got into financial difficulties
and was forced to sell the church property to the Lutherans as already stated.
After a few years the society gave up the ghost.
"Union Mission Church," an organization of a somewhat peculiar character, was
formed at Hebron in 1877. A church costing about $2,000 was erected the next
year, with Hiram Marsh, William Netherby and B. Blanchard as trustees, and
William Fry, James King and L. Temple as
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deacons. Dissensions arose and in April, 1882, some forty members of the old
congregation took possession of the property and organized a Congregational
church. W. M. Watt and William Fry were elected deacons; James King, J. O.
Gibson, James Alyea, A. Blanchard and B. F. Gossett, trustees, and Rev. L. A.
Smith was called to the pulpit. The records do not show what became of this
organization, but it is no longer in existence.
Early in the Nineteenth century the close connection between church and state in
Great Britain brought about a spirit of discontent in both England and Ireland.
Meetings to give expression to this discontent were held in Dublin, Plymouth and
Bristol, at which ministers urged "a spiritual communion based on the teaching
of the New Testament." The meeting at Plymouth was the most important, and a new
sect was formed, the members of which took the name of Believers, Christians or
Brethren, but the fact that the denomination originated at Plymouth led to their
generally being called Plymouth Brethren. In 1878 a few of these people
organized a community in Valparaiso, and for some time held meetings on the
third floor of S. S. Skinner's block on Main street. Conditions here were
different from those in England and Ireland, where the sect was first
established, and after a short and uncertain career the Valparaiso community was
disbanded.
The Episcopal church in America is a direct descendant of the Church of England.
In the establishment of English colonies in America it was usually stipulated
that the laws passed by such colonies should conform to the "true Christian
faith and religion as now professed in the Established Church." In 1784 a number
of clergymen assembled at Brunswick, New Jersey, and adopted a resolution to the
effect "that the American church should be independent of all foreign authority,
ecclesiastical as well as civil." The adoption of this resolution marked the
beginning of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States. In form of
government, the Episcopal church is modeled after that of the Roman Catholic.
Indiana was made a diocese at a comparatively early date, and was for years
under the episcopate of Bishop John J. Knickerbacker, of
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Indianapolis. In his travels over the state he visited Valparaiso, where he
found a few members of the faith and urged the organization of a permanent
church. They were few in numbers and not financially strong, and consequently
hesitated to take the step advised by the bishop. However, services were held
occasionally in halls and private residences, Rev. George Moore, of Momence,
Illinois, and other priests visiting the city for that purpose. Upon the death
of Bishop Knickerbacker, the state was divided and Rt. Rev. John H. White was
made bishop of the northern diocese. He established his see city at Michigan
City and began an active campaign in the interests of the church. Upon the
occasion of a visit to Valparaiso he enlisted the cooperation of Charles H.
Parker, J. S. Wilcox, A. W. Barnhart, M. A. Snider, J. C. Rock and a few others
for the establishment of a church. St. Andrew's mission was organized, a hall
hired, and Rev. L. W. Applegate was assigned to the parish as resident priest.
In the spring of 1902 the lot at the southeast corner of Franklin and Erie
streets was purchased and work was commenced upon a frame building 32 by 64
feet, with a tower twelve feet square. The building was completed in due time,
and was formally dedicated on July 6, 1902. The present pastor is Rev. Walter B.
Williamson.
In addition to the church organizations above mentioned, an atlas of Porter
county published in 1906 shows several country churches in different parts of
the county. On section 15, township 36, range 7, in Portage township, near the
Lake county line, is a small Swedish church. Near Clear Lake, in Jackson
township, on section 24, township 36, range 5, is marked a church. There are two
churches shown in Union township - one on the northwest quarter of section 24,
township 35, range 7, and the other on the southwest quarter of section 29,
township 35, range 6. In Washington township there is a church marked on the
northwest quarter of section 15, township 35, range 5, about two miles northwest
of the old village of Prattville on the Laporte road. This is known as the
Pleasant View Church. The records of these churches have not been carefully
kept, and to obtain a history of them would be practically impossible. While
most of them nominally belong to some particular
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denomination, ministers of all faiths and beliefs are usually welcome to occupy
their pulpits, as there has never been any serious strife among the several
denominations represented in the county. In Valparaiso there is a society of
Christian Scientists, numbering about twenty or twenty-five members, which meets
every Sunday on the corner of Washington and Monroe streets.
A Young Men's Christian Association and a Young Women's Christian Association
have been established in the city or Valparaiso. The former is located at 603
College Place, and the latter at 554 College avenue The organization of these
two associations is due in a great measure to the management of the Valparaiso
University, in order that the students may have some place to assemble where
they will be brought under Christian influences. Taken altogether, there are few
counties in the state in which the spirit of true religion prevails to a greater
degree than in the county of Porter. Although many of the citizens do not hold
membership in any church, the influence of the law-abiding, God-fearing people
who compose the church membership is felt by all. As a result of this influence
the moral status of the community has been kept upon a high plane, and the court
records show very few arrests for serious violations of law or disrespect for
the individual rights of the citizen.
NAVIGATION OF
1912 HISTORY OF PORTER COUNTY
PREFACE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I - General Features
CHAPTER II - Aboriginal Inhabitants
CHAPTER III - Settlement and Organization
CHAPTER IV - Internal Improvements
CHAPTER V - Educational Developments
CHAPTER VI - Military History
CHAPTER VII - Township History
CHAPTER VIII - Township History (continued)
CHAPTER IX - The City of Valparaiso
CHAPTER X - Financial and Industrial
CHAPTER XI - The Professions
CHAPTER XII - Societies and Fraternities
CHAPTER XIII - Religious History
CHAPTER XIV - Miscellaneous History
CHAPTER XV - Statistical Review
Transcribed by Steven R. Shook, November 2011