The Conference for 1857 was held June 26th, at Spring Street, Milwaukee, Bishop Ames presiding. At this Conference I was stationed at Janesville.

Janesville, holding a central position in the southern portion of the State, was the initial point of settlement at an early period, and in after years, became the focal as well as the radiation center of Church operations.

On the 15th day of November, 1835, a company consisting of six men started from Milwaukee with an ox-team and wagon, the latter containing provisions, tools, etc., for the Rock River Valley. On the 18th they arrived where Janesville now stands, and immediately proceeded to build a log cabin opposite of what is called the “Big Rock.” This was the first settlement in Rock River Valley. Two of their number, however, had explored the southern portion of the Territory in the preceding July. At that time there were but two white families in Milwaukee, and only one between that place and Janesville, that of Mr. McMillen, who lived at what is now called Waukesha.

On the 23d of April, 1837, the first United States Mail entered Janesville. It contained one letter, and this was for the Postmaster, Henry F. Janes. The mail was brought by a man on horseback, whose mail route extended from Mineral Point to Racine. The post-office at Janesville for several months consisted of a cigar box, which was fastened to a log in the bar-room. Small as it was, it was found to be amply sufficient to contain all the letters then received by the citizens of Rock County.

The first sermon preached in Janesville was delivered by Rev. Jesse Halstead in September, 1837. Brother Halstead, then on Aztalan circuit, on coming to this place found a small log house, which enjoyed the appellation of a tavern. He accepted entertainment in common with other travelers, but, it being soon known that he was a Minister, he was invited to preach. He consented, and the services were held in the bar-room. The liquors were put out of sight, and the Minister made the bar his pulpit. The audience consisted of a dozen persons.

The next religious services of which I can obtain information, were held in the summer of 1838. They were held in an oak grove on one of the bluffs east of the village. I am not able to find any one who can furnish me the name of the Preacher, but am assured that he was a Methodist, and that he did not neglect that special feature of a Methodist service, the collection. This last part of the exercises, I am assured, made a vivid impression on the mind of the party to whom I am indebted for this item of history. And it came in this wise: When the hat was passed he threw in a bill, an act so generous that it could not fail to call attention to the contributor. The next day he received a call from the Minister, who desired him to replace the “wild-cat” bill by one of more respectable currency, as those kind of bills were beginning to be refused throughout the Territory.

In 1839 Rev. James F. Flanders made an occasional visit to Janesville and preached to the people. His first sermon was delivered in the bar-room of the public house, which stood on the present site of the Myers House. Subsequently he preached in an unoccupied log house opposite where Lappin’s Block now stands. The services were next held in school houses, some log and others frame, until the erection of the Court House in 1842. Thereafter the court room was occupied and used alternately by the different religious denominations.

The Rev. James McKean was the first Minister who preached regularly in Janesville. The place was taken into the Troy circuit in 1840, and Brother McKean visited it once in four weeks. This year Rev. Julius Field held the first Quarterly Meeting in Janesville.

In the spring of 1841, Brother McKean formed a class and appointed J.P. Wheeler Leader, but during the following winter the members all left the place.

Janesville appears first in the Minutes as the head of a charge in 1841, with Rev. Alpha Warren as Pastor. At this time it was connected with Platteville District, and the Presiding Elder was Rev. H.W. Reed. Brother Warren was succeeded by Rev. Boyd Phelps, who organized a class in the spring of 1843, consisting of nine or ten members, with John Wynn as Leader.

Rev. Lyman Catlin, who came in 1844, was the first resident Pastor. He was formerly a Professor in Mt. Morris Seminary. During the winter his wife, who was a lady of fine culture, taught a select school in the village. Brother Catlin preached in Janesville on the morning of each Sabbath, and in the afternoon alternated between Union and Johnstown.

The following year, Rev. T.W. Perkins was appointed to the charge, but in consequence of ill health, he was soon obliged to resign. His place was supplied by Rev. Stephen Adams, of Beloit. In 1846 Rev. John Luccock was the Pastor, and was followed the next year by Rev. Wesley Lattin, who remained two years. Brother Lattin was very popular with all classes, and his labors were blessed with an extensive revival. During his Pastorate the Society erected a small frame church, 35 by 25 feet in size. It was opened for worship in the fall of 1848. The location was on the opposite side of Centre Street, and a little west of the present edifice. A Parsonage was also erected the same year. Both of them, however, were sold when the grounds were purchased for the new Church. It was during the Pastorate of Brother Lattin that the first donation party ever held in Janesville, was given. The company assembled at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. John Wynn, where Brother Lattin boarded. The ladies furnished the table with all the luxuries the village afforded, and the affair was considered a grand success.

Brother Lattin was followed successively by Revs. J.M. Snow, O.F. Comfort, and Daniel Stansbury. During the winter of 1852 Brother Stansbury held a series of meetings, assisted by Rev. C.C. Mason, which resulted in a considerable addition to the membership of the Church.

Finding that the little Church was now becoming too small to accommodate them, the Society decided to build a more commodious house of worship. It was commenced in the spring following, and was located on the corner of Jackson and Centre Streets. This is the edifice now occupied by the first charge, is built of brick, and is 75 by 45 feet in size. The building was not fully completed until during the Pastorate of Rev. Henry Requa, in 1855, but it was so far advanced that it was dedicated in July, 1853, by the pioneer veteran, Rev. John Clark, of the Rock River Conference.

The severe labors of Brother Stansbury overtaxed his strength, and he was compelled to seek rest. Brother Mason was employed to fill out the balance of the year. Brother Mason was a Local Preacher from England, had lost one limb, and though somewhat eccentric, he held a high rank as a pulpit orator. He was often not a little surprised with the queer ways of this country. I remember to have met him at the Janesville Conference several years later. He was put up to preach, as usual on all great occasions, and delivered a grand sermon. The following evening the Missionary Anniversary came, and at the close of the speeches, the meeting proceeded to constitute Life Memberships. This was a new rôle to the old gentleman, but, soon comprehending the movement, he launched into it with all his soul. The good Bishop was made a Life Member, then his wife, then the Missionary Secretary, and so on in a spirited manner. As each proposition was made, the good brother planked his dollar, little dreaming of the length of the road upon which he had entered. But as the memberships were multiplied, his purse fell under the law of subtraction, until it contained but one dollar more. Just at this moment some zealous brother proposed to be one of ten to make the Presiding Elder of the Janesville District a Life Member of the Conference Missionary Society. It was no time for parley about that remaining dollar, for the Janesville District must not be outdone by the other Districts in gallantry, so down went the last dollar. But it had hardly reached the table before the giver was hunting for his crutches. Such was the generous nature of the man, however, that he would have stood his ground to the coming of the morning if he had been advised in advance of the character of the Anniversary exercises.

In 1853 Rev. J.W. Wood was stationed at Janesville, and Rev. Henry Requa in 1854 and 1855. Brother Requa was very popular, drew large audiences, and realized an accession of fifty members. At the Conference of 1855 a new charge was formed on the east side of the river, and Rev. C.C. Mason, who had been received on trial, was appointed as its first Pastor.

In 1856, Rev. A. Hamilton was appointed to Janesville, and Rev. D.O. Jones to East Janesville. Brother Hamilton came to the Conference this year by transfer from the Oneida Conference, where he had done effective work for several years. At the close of the year in Janesville he was made Presiding Elder of Watertown District, where he remained two years. In 1859, by a reconstruction of the Districts, he was assigned to Beaver Dam District, where he remained the other two years of his term. For a number of years thereafter he served on circuits and stations. His health now failed and he took a superannuated relation. Brother Hamilton was a good and true man, of a metaphysical turn of thought, well versed in theology, and an instructive Preacher.

Brother Jones entered the Conference in 1851, and had been stationed at Elk Grove, Richland City, Muscoday, and Green Bay. Since he left Janesville, he has taken a respectable class of appointments, filling them creditably to himself and acceptably to the people. He is genial in spirit and warm in his attachments. He is still in the enjoyment of good health, and promises years of efficient service.

This brief record brings us to the date of my appointment. At the recent session of the Conference, the charge on the east side of the river was left to be supplied, and as it had, up to this time, developed but little strength, twenty-six members only, it was deemed best to let it go back to the old charge.

I found the Church edifice in good condition, but without class or prayer-rooms. The external appearance was decidedly respectable, and the accommodations within, both in respect to size and furnishing, equal or superior to any other Church in the village.

The Parsonage, a small and inferior building, had been recently sold to liquidate in part the indebtedness remaining on the Church, and this involved the necessity of renting a house for my family.

After becoming settled in our new home, the first special work was to complete the payment of the Church debt. This was soon arranged, and I was at liberty to direct my attention more particularly to the spiritual interests of the charge. My first labor in this direction, as in all my former charges, was to look well after the people at their homes, and the second, to see that the social means of grace were well arranged and properly sustained. And I soon found in Janesville, as I have always found, that they are the key to successful labor. It is possible by corresponding adjustment of pulpit labor to excite the attention of the community, and thereby secure large congregations, but such a result is not a certain index of true success. In the forum, as on the platform, it may be otherwise, but in the building up of Christ’s kingdom, there must be a spiritual basis; for his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. In these days of special clamor for superior pulpit attractions to draw the crowd, there is a strong temptation to court popular favor by adjusting both the themes and style of address to the pulpit in such a way as to withold from the people the only spiritual food that can give life to a dead soul. Such a Ministry in the eyes of the world may be deemed a great success, but to such as judge not after the outward appearance, it is known to be a dead failure. While it utterly fails to bring souls to Christ, it is also disastrous to the Church itself. The mighty adhesive forces, which bind the hearts of Christians to each other, can only subsist on the marrow of Gospel truth, and if this is wanting, dissension will soon appear, and the Church suffer disintegration. Holding these views, strengthened as they had been by my former experience and observation, I resolved, at whatever cost of reputation, to adhere to them in Janesville.

The result proved their wisdom. With the revival of the prayer and class meetings, and the utterance of plain Evangelical truth from the pulpit, came a speedy manifestation of spiritual interest and growth. And so marked had this indication of the presence of the Spirit become, that I felt justified in opening a protracted meeting with the watch-night services. The meeting grew in interest from night to night, and in a short time the Altar was filled with penitents. Thus opened a meeting that continued four months, resulting gloriously to the charge. Nearly three hundred persons professed to be converted, and near two hundred of them were received on probation.

During the meeting I preached nearly every night, and sometimes in the afternoons. But I was greatly assisted in the meeting by Revs. J.B. Cooper and I.S. Eldridge, of whom mention will be made in another chapter. Rev. A.B. Bishop, now a valuable member of Minnesota Conference, was also, though young, a good laborer in the meeting. Among the laymen who rendered special service was Brother J.L. Kimball, who, with his daughter Emily, had been for years the principal reliance in the singing, both in the choir and social meetings. Referring to this good brother brings up an incident of the meeting. Brother K. had long been recognized as the financial man and the singer of the Church, but could never take a part in the social services with any comfort to himself. In one of the meetings I suggested that in these matters as in others, practice would relieve the case. He concluded to try it, and for two weeks spoke a few words as opportunity offered. But he finally told the congregation that my recipe would not work. Others might be able to talk their way to Heaven, but he was satisfied that, as for himself, he would have to pay his way, if he ever got there. The pleasant remark seemed more in keeping, when it was remembered that he was always a generous contributor to every good cause.

While many of the converts were from among the young people, not a few were persons of mature years, and some of them in affluent circumstances. The large increase of members rendered it necessary to reconstruct the classes, but the want of class rooms retarded this branch of our work. Several of the classes were assigned to meet during the week at private houses, and four of them met in the audience room at the close of the morning service. By placing a class in each corner, with the understanding that when one of them commenced to sing, all the others should join, the plan worked very well. After the singing each class took up the thread where it had been dropped, and proceeded with the service. Usually the Pastor sat in the Altar to give the responses to the exercises of each as they seemed to require them. Sometimes not a little confusion occurred, but it was taken in good feeling by all, and the meetings were profitable.

We also organized meetings outside of the village. School houses and private dwellings were used for this purpose, and these meetings not only accommodated the people of the several neighborhoods adjacent to the village, but gave the needed religious employment to the Local Preachers and other members of the Church. The meetings were held in the afternoons of the Sabbath, and sometimes, to hold the plan in countenance, the Pastor himself would go out and deliver a sermon. At first it was feared by some of the good brethren that these side meetings would detract from the regular services of the Church, but the result proved that, on the contrary, they gave an increase of both interest and attendance. For the people, thus edified and interested, came into the village and thronged the Church.

But the year was now drawing to a close. By request of the preceding Conference, the Conference session had been changed to spring. The year had been one of severe labor, but its compensations were abundant. I was able to report a membership, including probationers, of three hundred and six. Two events in my own family clothed the year with special interest. The one, the conversion of our eldest daughter, then nine years old, and her reception into the church, the other, the birth of our son. They were both occasions of devout thanksgiving to God.

During this year I made a visit to Evansville, a charge that seems to hold a central position in the Conference west of Janesville. The first settlement was made in this vicinity in the fall of 1839, when six families came into what was then called the town of Union. These early settlers were Rev. Boyd Phelps, Rev. Stephen Jones, Erastus Quivey, Samuel Lewis, Charles McMillin, and John Rhineheart. During the winter and spring religious meetings were established in private houses, Rev. Boyd Phelps preaching the first sermon. In the following spring and summer, the settlement was enlarged by the arrival of Ira Jones, Jacob West, John T. Baker, Rev. John Griffith, Hiram Griffith, David Johnson, John Sale and their families. The heads of all these families being members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, they applied to Rev. Samuel Pillsbury, in charge of the Monroe circuit, for recognition. He visited them, established an appointment and formed them into a class in August, 1840. The class was organized at the residence of Hiram Griffith, located about one mile northwest of the present site of Evansville. At the first organization the members were: Jacob West, Leader, Margaret West, Boyd Phelps, Local Preacher, Clarissa Phelps, Stephen Jones, Local Preacher, Isabel Jones, John Griffith, Local Preacher, Belinda Griffith, John T. Baker, Jemima Baker, Ira Jones, Sarah J. Jones, John Rhineheart, Deborah Rhineheart, Alma Jones, Samuel Lewis, Sarah Lewis, Charles McMillan, Miriam McMillan, Jane Brown, Erastus Quivey, Sally Quivey, Hiram Griffith, Sally Griffith, David Johnson and Kizziah Johnson. Soon after John Sale and Jane Sale also became members.

Of this number, at least two became Itinerant Preachers. The first, Rev. Boyd Phelps, filled several appointments in the Conference, and was Presiding Elder of Beaver Dam District. He then removed to Minnesota, where he has also rendered effective service. The second, Rev. Stephen Jones, was my predecessor at Watertown, but only continued a few years, when he entered secular pursuits. At one time he was a member of the State Legislature.

Rev. James Ash was sent to the Monroe Circuit in 1840, and his work embraced Union. He remained two years, and was very successful in his work. The first Quarterly Meeting was held in the house of Brother Jacob West, by Rev. H.W. Reed, in the fall of 1840. In 1842 Union was attached to the Madison circuit, and the Pastor was Rev. S.P. Keyes. During this year a log school house was erected on the present site of Evansville, for the double purpose of school and religious meetings. This building was used for public worship until the summer of 1847. From 1843 to 1845 Union was connected with the Janesville circuit. In 1845 the Union circuit was formed, with Rev. Asa Wood as Pastor. It was assigned to the Platteville District, with Rev. Henry Summers as Presiding Elder.

Brother Summers was a veteran representative of the Methodist Preacher of the olden time. He entered the work when Illinois was yet in her maidenhood, and from the first was a recognized power in the land. Genial in spirit, full of anecdote, abundant in labors, an able Preacher, a faithful administrator, and a devoted servant of the Master, he enjoyed the esteem of all. But I need not enlarge, as doubtless a record will be made of his labors in Illinois, where his fields of labor were principally located.

Under the labors of Brother Wood, a frame church, 45 by 30 feet in size, was erected, the location being in the block now occupied by J. R. Finch as a store in the village of Evansville. The building was dedicated by Brother Summers in June, 1847. But it will be necessary to omit further details of these early years.

Old Union, the mother of charges west of Janesville, has been well represented in the Itinerant ranks. In addition to Brothers Phelps and Jones, to whom reference has been made, she has sent into the field Revs. James Lawson, J.H. Hazeltine, George Fellows, and A.A. Hoskins.

In 1855, Evansville Station was created, with Rev. E.P. Beecher as Pastor. The Janesville District was also established this year, with Rev. J.W. Wood as Presiding Elder.

Under the Pastorate of Rev. George W. De Lamatyr, which begin in 1864, the new Church was erected, costing some six thousand dollars. It was dedicated by Rev. Dr. Fallows in the fall of 1867. At the present writing Evansville is recognized as a charge of excellent standing.

The Conference of 1858 was held May 12th at Beloit, Bishop Morris presiding. At this Conference the writer was elected Secretary, and Revs. S. W. Ford and George Fellows Assistants. The session was brief and harmonious.

Beloit is located on the line between the States of Illinois and Wisconsin, and was at first connected with Roscoe Circuit, a charge lying on the Illinois side. The class was probably informally organized by Brother Thomas McElhenny, the first Leader, in 1839. The following year Rev. Milton Bourne, Pastor of Roscoe Circuit, established an appointment and recognized the infant Society. The members, besides Brother McElhenny, were Tyler Blodgett, Mrs. M.M. Moore and Sister Lusena Cheney. The Pastors of Roscoe Circuit, during its supervision of Beloit, in addition to Brother Bourne, were Revs. James McKean, O.W. Munger, John Hodges, Alpha Warren, and Zadoc Hall.

Beloit was made a separate charge in 1846, with Rev. Joseph T. Lewis as Pastor, to whom reference has been made in a former chapter. During this year the Society entered upon a Church enterprise. The lot was purchased by Rev. Stephen Adams and Brother Thomas McElhenny. The Society was feeble, and the erection of the building, a substantial stone structure, required a great effort and many sacrifices. To purchase the lime, three hundred and fifty bushels, Brother Adams sold his only cow. Little can those who come after realize the sacrifices the early pioneers were called to make to render the later years happy and prosperous.

The Church thus begun under the Pastorate of Brother Lewis was not fully completed until 1849, when it was dedicated by Bishop Janes. The death of Brother Lewis in the midst of his second year, was a severe loss to the charge. But the good brethren were not discouraged, and pushed forward the work.

Beloit has been highly favored in her Pastors, among whom may be found such men as A.P. Allen, I.M. Leihy, J.M. Walker, P.S. Bennett, S.W. Ford, J.W. Wood, John Nolan, R.M. Beach, C. Scammon, W. Lattin, P.B. Pease, C.D. Pillsbury, W.P. Stowe, L.L. Knox, W.W. Case, C.R. Pattee, A.C. Higgins, and G.S. Hubbs.

At the close of the Conference we returned to Janesville for a second year. There still being no Parsonage I purchased a residence, thereby securing a pleasant home. The plan of supplying outside appointments was continued during the summer, and in some instances Sunday Schools were also opened. The religious interest continued, and the Church was filled with people. At the expiration of their probation one hundred of the converts were received into full membership, and, in the following fall and winter, many others. During the winter a revival again visited the charge, which greatly strengthened the converts of the previous year, and added to their number. The two years spent in Janesville to us were exceedingly pleasant, and gave us a goodly number of life-long friends. The Sunday School had become very prosperous, the charge was now out of debt, and the finances self-supporting. And more than all, we left a united and happy people.

Janesville has since enjoyed her full share of able and successful Pastors. Several years ago, she divided into two bands, and has now two good Churches, two good congregations, and two able Ministers.