From The Macoupin County Enquirer, Carlinville, Illinois, 21 Feb 1923, page 9
The following history of the church was read at the V-75th anniversary of its organization, Feb. 6th, 1923.
The Chesterfield Congregational church was organized Feb. 6, 1848 by
members of the Spring Cove Presbyian church. The Spring Cove church at first stood on the south side of
Macoupin creek, but was moved to the north side of the creek southwest of
Albert Dowland's in 1844 to try and hold the Chesterfield members. When the
Congregational church was organized in 1848, the building was taken to
pieces and moved to Summerville, where it now stands.
There were
sixteen charter members of this church, namely: Orin Cooley, Clarissa P.
Cooley, John Viall, Josiah Whipple, Almira Whipple, Ebeneezer Upham, Susan
D. Upham, Matilda M. Williams, Joseph P. Grout, Joshua Goodell, H. J.
Hitchcock, Laurinda Goodell, Susan E. Goodell, Joseph Goodell, Jas. Williams
and Matilda Williams.
Rev. T. B. Hurlbut had been preaching for these
people sometime previous to their organization. The spirit of
Congregationalism was born in England during the memorable struggle for free
thought and speech, which resulted in the Puritan movement and was brought
to this country in the Mayflower and a portion of it permeates all church
constitutions of our denomination. Our constitution says, "The government of
this church is vested in the body of believers who compose it." It
acknowledges the Divine Redeemer as its head and the Scriptures as its only
infallible guide.
At least twelve of the first sixteen members were
eastern people and all were intelligent, educated and of a literary turn of
mind. During the time preceding the Civil War this church was sometimes
called the Abolition church, because its ministers sometimes prayed that
slavery might be done away with and one of its deacons was strongly
suspected of keeping a station on the underground railway. The church was
very particular to get the views of its candidating ministers on the slavery
question, and passed resolutions in regard to the same question in 1855.
Long before the church was organized, a Union Sunday School was started
by Mr. Z. B. Lawson and others in a log schoolhouse somewhere west or
northwest of where the M. E. church now stands. Mr. Lawson was of Baptist
faith and never united with the Congregational church, but for over 20 years
was the faithful superintendent of its Sunday school, which in those times
was noted for its large and well used library.
This church was
connected with the Alton Presbytery from 1850 to 1856. It then withdrew and
joined the Morgan Conference, later belonged to the Southern Congregational
Association, and now belongs to the Springfield Association. In the year
1850 it was voted to hold communion service every three months and in the
records of May 4, 1872 we read, "Resolved, That this church use unfermented
wine in celebrating the Lord's Supper".
During the 75 years of the
church's organization it has employed the following pastors. Some of them
dividing their time with the following churches: Walnut Grove, Greene
county; Kemper, Mellville, Plainview and Summerville:
| Rev. T. B. Hurlbut - 2 years | Rev. Elihu Loomis - 8 months |
| Rev. James R. Dunn - 4 years | Rev. Calvin Selden - 1 month |
| Rev. S. P. Lindley - 6 months | Rev. A. A. Mruch (?Murch?) - 1 month |
| Rev. G. W. Stinson - 1 year | Rev. W. I. Baker - 3 months |
| Rev. J. C. Downer - 6 months | Rev. Willis Patchen - 2 years |
| Rev. H. D. Platt - 10 years, 1 month | Revs. Hurd and Nutting - 2 years |
| Rev. H. N. Baldwin - 2 months | Rev. L. G. Kent - 2 years, 6 months |
| Rev. W. B. Harris - 2 years, 6 mos. | Rev. Chas E. C. Trueblood - 2 years |
| Rev. W. D. Clark - 2 years | Rev. H. A. Cotton - 1 year, 6 mos. |
| Rev. Milo J. P. Thing - 3 years | Rev. J. G. Jeffers - 1 years, 6 months |
| Rev. Z. T. Walker - 2 years, 2 mos. | Dr. Y. Minavkuchi - 5 months |
| Rev. S. S. Hebbard - 3 years | Rev. F. H. Brown - 2 years, 9 mos. |
| Rev. W. T. Campbell - 3 years | Horace Hastings is on the second year of his pastorate |
| Rev. Henry McEwan - 1 year pastorate |
During this time we have had 28 regular pastors and as near as can be
told their aggregate terms of service has been almost 62 years.
Three
of these ministers, Rev. Stinson, McEwan and Trueblood were ordained during
their pastorates here.
Rev. H. D. Platt had been requested to accept
the pastorate here almost a year before he accepted. His genial ways won for
him warm friends, even among those who did not agree with his anti-slavery
views. One year during his pastorate the church membership numbered 45 and
the average attendance at morning service was 74. During the year 1867, Rev.
Platt was paid a salary of $400 and the church and Sunday school gave to
benevolences $487.35. At earlier times it had been necessary to secure home
missionary aid.
During the pastorate of Rev. Loomis, Rev. Robert
West, then of Alton but later editor of the Advance, conducted a series of
meetings in Chesterfield which resulted in great good to the church. It was
during these years that preaching services at the Hazelwood and Albany
schoolhouses were begun, also the monthly business meetings.
Rev.
Selden was very energetic and though over 60 years of age thought nothing of
a 12 or 15 mile walk to visit someone in the parish.
The loss of the
records of the church for the second 25 years of its history make it
necessary to depend on the memory of older members and such information as
can be secured from other sources in regard to the history of that period.
Revs. Hurd and Nutting were professors of Blackburn College.
Rev.
L. G. Kent was the evangelist of our list.
Rev. Trueblood was
instrumental in the organization of the Daphne Club. This club has at
different times added to the social life of some fifty of the young people
of the church.
Dr. Y. Minavkuchi was a Japanese who had been in this
country 17 years. He served 2 months as community pastor; preaching in the
Congregational church in the morning and in the M. E. church in the evening.
Chesterfield achieved some notoriety at this time; first for having all
three churches without pastors and then all uniting on a Japanese for a
community pastor.
The officers of the church are deacons, trustees,
treasurer and clerk. As near a complete list of officers as the writer has
been able to secure is as follows: Deacons: Orin Cooley, John Viall, Morris
Lee, Jas. H. Wilson, Josiah Whipple, B. F. Silsby, S. J. Lee, L. B. Corbin,
Dr. L. F. Corgan, William Cook, James Dowland, Chas. Sawtell. Trustees: Orin
Cooley, I. S. Sturgies, Morris Lee, Josiah Whipple, Ebeneezer Upham, Amos
Goodsell, Eli A. Cooley, E. G. Duckles, L. B. Corbin, Jas. Dowland, William
Cook, Robert Carter, Walter Barnstable, William Shires, W. L. Duckles, J. E.
Phelps, Charles Jones, Charles Sawtell, Geo. Pursey, Jr., Everett Perring,
E. J. Dowland. Treasurer: Morris Lee, S. J. Lee, Dr. L. F. Corgan, S. J. Lee
(second term), W. L. Duckles, Mrs. Frank Leach, Chester Towse, Cecil Murphy,
Ruth Sawtell, Chas. Barnstable, Charles Jones. Clerk: Ebeneezer Upham, Rev.
H. D. Platt, Miss M. M. Williams, Rev. H. N. Baldwin, Rev. E. Loomis. S. J.
Lee, Dr. L. F. Corgan, A. T. Sawtell.
The church building was
completed and dedicated in the spring of 1855. The building cost some $2000,
$250 being obtained from the Church Building Society and the balance was
paid by the few members and friends of the church.
The ladies of the
church purchased the first communion set, a lady of St. Louis, formerly a
member of the church, gave the first pulpit Bible. Miss Arsenoe Loomis gave
the first carpet for the pulpit and the sofa and organ were purchased by
subscription. The organ was bought through the efforts of Mr. Edwin C.
Lawson in 1866. The cost of the organ and freight from Boston, Mass.,
amounted to $154. In April, 1895 this organ was replaced by a new one of the
same make at a cost of $72.50.
The site of the first parsonage is now
owned by Charles Wade. This was sold and some years later the house now
owned by W. H. Wolfe was purchased. This was later sold and the present
parsonage was built in the summer of 1898 at a cost of $600 on ground given
to the church for parsonage purposes by Josiah Whipple.
At the
opening of the morning service, August 13, 1899, Miss Phoebe Armstrong in
behalf of the Mission Band presented the church with a beautiful pulpit
Bible, which was accepted in behalf of the church by the pastor, Rev. Z. T.
Walker. Following this, Miss Lucetta Lawson surprised the congregation by
presenting the church with a beautiful silver communion service, stating
that she purchased the gift with $25 left her by Mrs. Clara Whipple Row
(?Rew?) of Grinnell, Ia., whose early life had been spent here.
On
September 19-20, 1899, at the suggestion of Miss Lucetta Lawson, the church
celebrated its fifieth anniversary. The exercises began by a sermon by Paul
L. Corbin, the first son of this church to enter the ministry, on the
evening of Sept. 19, and the day following an address of welcome by Rev. Z.
T. Walker was responded to by Rev. Willis Patchen, the only former pastor
present. An impressive communion service was conducted by Rev. J. B.
Fairbank of Godfrey. Dinner was served at noon to 150 persons. At the
afternoon session a brief history of the church was read by L. B. Corbin.
Roll call was responded to by many present and letters were read from former
pastors and others. The exercises concluded with a sermon in the evening by
Rev. Fairbank.
Paul L. Corbin was ordained at Kemper, Oct. 12th of
the same year.
In the autumn of 1900 (?) the seats now in use were
purchased at a cost of $150 to $170. There had been one row of long seats in
the center with a row of short ones each side and formerly there was a
raised platform at the back of the church for the choir and organ. After
considerable discussion, a doorway was cut and double doors hung in the
vestibule instead of building a vestibule on the outside of the church.
In September, 1903, Miss Lucetta Lawson and Mrs. Edwin Towse presented
the church with the table now in use and the pulpit chairs were given by
Mrs. E. G. Duckles in February, 1907.
In the autumn of 1904, Rev.
Paul L. Corbin left to enter missionary work in China.
In 1907, the
will of E. G. Duckles gave $100 to the church for church and parsonage
repairs, provided the church raise an equal amount. This was done. In the
autumn of 1908 the cement steps and wide walk were made, the bequest of Mr.
Duckles being used to pay for the same.
During the summer of 1910 a
second-hand square piano was purchased, also the hymnals now in use. In
September of 1911 the Daphne Club presented the church with trays and
glasses of an individual communion set.
In 1912 a new kitchen was
built on the parsonage and the entire interior of the house was re-finished.
The present heating system was installed in October, 1913. The church was
formerly heated by two stoves in the rear of the church with stove pipes
extending the full length of the building.
August 27, 1918 the Daphne
Club presented the church with a service flag bearing nine stars, one for
each of the eight young men serving in the American army in the World War
and one for our Red Cross nurse, each being a member of this church. By
request the flag was presented to the church by Rev. Ellis, pastor of the M.
E. church.
In April, 1919 the church received by bequest of Mrs.
Annie Snell, $25. In November of the same year, payment was made on the
piano in August, 1920, the church paying the $125 given by Mrs. Snell to the
piano fund, the remainder being raised by subscription. Several absent
members contributed.
In August, 1921 the church received word of the
death of Mrs. Susan E. Goodell Lee, the last surviving charter member of
this church.
Just before her death in November, 1910, Mrs. Hannah
Sawtell gave the Aid Society $50. In December, 1922, the society presented
the church with a pulpit desk in memory of Mrs. Sawtell.
For so small
a membership this church has reason to be proud of those of its members who
have taken a great interest in religious work. Miss Lucetta Lawson was sent
as a missionary to Utah where she taught for several years. Later she
financed an Orphan's Home in Atlanta, Ga., and carried on a successful work
until obliged to give up on account of failing health. Rev. and Mrs. Paul L.
Corbin are actively engaged in missionary work in Taiku, Ehansi, China,
while their two daughters Misses Annie and Clara Corbin are in this country
receiving their education with the present intention of returning to China
to assist their parents in their work.
Miss Laura Collins has just
returned to her work in Africa. Rev. R. L. L. Barnstable, at one time a
member of this church, is now a Presbyterian minister and Fred Duckles, also
a former member has been engaged in Y. M. C. A. work for a number of years.
The present membership of the church is 198, 75 of these being now
resident.
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