History of Lenawee County, Michigan

CHAPTER XXXII. CHURCH HISTORY. GENERAL REMARKS-METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHCAMP-MEET-INGS-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH--BAPTIST CHURCH-FIRST BAPTISM BY IMMERSION-EPISCOPAL CHURCH-WILLIAM NARCISSUS LYSTER -FRIENDS (QUAKER) CHURCH-CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH---CATHOLIC CHURCH - LUTHERAN CHURCH - GERMAN EVANGELICAL CHURCH-METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH-FREE METHODIST CHURCH-UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH--DISCIPLES OF CHRIST CHURCH-CHURCH OP CHRIST (SCIENTIST)-WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. Lenawee county, and more particularly the city of Adrian, has for years been noted for its beautiful church edifices. Not only are the structures far superior to those found in the average county, but the good feeling which prevails between members of the various congregations, the perfect harmony which exists between pastors and congregations, and the many evidences of the kindly feeling prevalent between the different organizations of the various denominations, are much more manifest in Lenawee than in many other counties. Here, as in various other sections of the country, the church as an institution has been compelled to pass through the various changes of prosperity and adversity-seasons of great soul-winning revivals and those of diminution. The work of planting the Gospel in a new country is almost universally attended with great sacrifice of ease and comfort, and much severe and trying hardship on the part of those faithful disciples who have consented to be its messengers; and the pioneer religious beginnings in this county proved no exception to this general rule. The ministers of those days were almost constantly in the saddle, searching out new settlers, and called them together in their humble log shanties as soon as half a dozen or more of them could be mustered together; for they did not tarry in a community until school houses or churches were erected and then issue a summons for the pioneers to occupy them, but they sought out these hardy "sons of toil" in the forest or in the field, and called to them to become reconciled to God. The general growth of religious sentiment may be truthfully said to have kept pace with the development of the county along commercial, industrial, educational, and other lines. The past two decades have been years of great activity in the erection of churches, not only in the construction of,buildings for newly organized congregations, but also in the erection of edifices for the older societies which have become too extensive for the buildings which they occupied. There are today in this county approximately one hundred churches, and the greatest number of these are in a prosperous and thriving condition. Though the first sermon in the county was delivered by a minister of the Presbyterian denomination-Noah Wells, of the First Presbyterian church of Detroit-the Methodist Episcopal organization enjoys the distinction of having placed the first organized church society in the field. This was accomplished in the village of Tecumseh, in January, 1828, largely through the instrumentality of the Rev. George W. Walker, who drifted into the village in September of the preceding year. Prior to his coming, the Rev. John A. Baughman, of the Monroe circuit of the "M. E. church," had for a year or more been regularly expounding the message of the Gospel in this little hamlet, though there was no organization effected until January, 1828. The membership of this first church society was composed of the following: Josiah Wheeler and wife, Isaac Bangs and wife, Margaret Cross, Betsy Stillman, Mary Woodard, Mary Bang--, together with three other persons whose names have been lost to posterity. Josiah Wheeler, an earnest and devout Christian gentleman, was made the first leader of the Bible class, and George, W. Walker continued in the pastorate until the month of September, 1829, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Jacob Hill, who remained only one year, being followed by James W. Finley in September, 1830. At the close of the latter's pastorate, in September, 1831, the Tecumseh circuit was organized, including a part of the old Monroe circuit and a portion of the newer Ann Arbor circuit, and extending over a large expanse of territory to the north and west of Tecumseh. Elijah H. Pilcher, one of the pioneer pillars of Methodism in Southern Michigan, together with Ezekiel S. Gavit, was the first messenger of the "Word" to be assigned to this new wilderness circuit. The church at Tecumseh has been constantly growing in membership and influence, and today, under the able pastorate of the Rev. W. M. Ward, it is one of the largest organizations of its denomination in the county. The second Methodist Episcopal organization in the county was effected at Adrian (then Logan). While the founder of Adrian. Addison J. Comstock, and his associates, were still residing in their rude log huts, the Rev. John Janes, a Methodist Episcopal clergyman, drifted into the settlement, during the autumn of 1827, and delivered the first sermon ever preached therein at the dwelling place of Noah Norton. In fact, he was the first clergyman of any denomination who visited this settlement. The village was at that time so small and so remote from other hamlets that it could not well have been included in any circuit. But, nevertheless, the Rev. Janes was succeeded at irregular intervals by others until the spring of 1830, when the Rev. Jacob Hill, of the Ohio Conference, then a resident of Tecumseh, was appointed to preach once a month at Adrian, and on a week night. These services were conducted in the homes of the settlers of Methodist proclivities, and they were, as a rule, attended by most of the village's inhabitants. To Reverend Hill belongs the credit of having founded the first organized religious society. in Adrian, which organization was completed in June, 1830, eighteen months in advance of any other church in the settlement. The following were the charter members thereof: William k3arrus and wife, Americus Smith, and John Walworth and wife; only five and all of whom have since passed to the church triumphant. William Barrus and Americus Smith were both licensed clergymen of considerable talent and eloquence, and occasionally delivered sermons to the other members of the society in the absence of the regular itinerant pastor. The membership was re-inforced, in September, 1830, by the coming of Lois Foot, Phares Sutton, Hannah Sutton, Samuel Gregory, Ada Gregory, and Altha Spink, all of whom were active and enthusiastic followers of the Cross. The Rev. James W. Finley, also a "circuit rider" of the Monroe circuit, was the second Methodist clergyman who was assigned to the Adrian charge, he also coming but once -a month, and like his predecessor, delivering his message at the dwelling places of the members of the society. In September, 1831, when the above mentioned newly formed Tecumseh circuit was organized, Adrian was made an appointment thereon, but as Adrian was at that time much inferior to Tecumseh in point of population, the former had still to be content with week-night appointments. As noted above, Elijah H. Pilcher and Ezekiel Gavit, the two ministers whom the conference had selected to administer to the spiritual welfare of the Methodists on this circuit, each preached to, the Adrian flock once per month, which furnished a sermon regularly every fortnight, though still only on week-day evenings. These services continued to be conducted in private dwellings until the winter of 1831-2, when, upon the completion of the settlement's first frame school house, at the corner of South Main and South Winter streets, the services were held therein. This continued to serve as the place of worship for some years thereafter. In the fall of 1832, the Tecumseh circuit was so altered as to supply Sunday services in the Adrian church, and though these were held but once in every two weeks, this change from week-night services to those conducted on the Sabbath was generally considered a long step forward. The Rev. James F. Davidson was the first "circuit rider" to have charge of the altered circuit, and with Thomas Wiley, his colleague, he conducted a very gracious and beneficial revival during the ensuing spring, which revival was instrumental in increasing the membership of the society. Adrian remained in the Tecumseh circuit until September, 1837, when it was made a so-called charge, or station, entirely separate and distinct from the "circuit," and the Rev. John H. Pitezel was at the same time made the first resident pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church of the "Maple City". The project of erecting a church, a thing which had come to be a dire necessity, was inaugurated in the year 1838, but the edifice was not ready for occupancy until 1840. Today this structure houses the church organization of the "Disciples of Christ," being located on the north side of Toledo street, about half-way between Broad and North Main streets. In those days this edifice was generally looked upon as a large and commodious place of worship, but the Methodist society has long since outgrown it, and today the latter organization is housed in the beautifully and tastefully finished structure on the northeast corner of East Maumee and Broad streets, which was erected in the year 1863, under the able supervision of the Rev. F. A. Blades, who began his pastorate in the Adrian church in September, 1862, continuing here until the fall of 1864.. Early in the career of this institution, a Sunday school was organized, as was also the young peoples society-the Epworth League-and these two branches of the service have been the source of much good in the community. According to the annual report submitted by this church to the Detroit Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the last annual session, held at Calumet, Mich., in September. 1938, of which conference the Methodist churches of this county form a part, the active membership of this church was 570, and there were 76o persons enrolled in the Sunday school. Up to the year 1836, the Methodist churches in this section of the state belonged to the Ohio conference of that denomination, but upon the establishment of the Michigan conference, in that year, the Methodist Episcopal churches of this commonwealth became component parts of this new conference. In 1856, the Detroit conference was set apart from the Michigan conference, and since then the Lenawee county Methodist Episcopal churches, and those of a similar denomination in the state, have been under the jurisdiction of this body. The first annual session of this newly formed organization convened in the old Methodist church on Toledo street, in Adrian, in September, 1856, the proceedings of the session being -conducted under the able direction of the late Bishop Morris. Four annual sessions have been conducted in the present church building-those of 1864, 187i, 1886, and 1904. The popular Rev. D. II. Ramsdell is the present incumbent of the pastorate of the Adrian .church, having received his appointment in September, 1907. The following clergymen have been pastors of this organization since it became a separate charge in the year 1837: John H. Pitezel, Eleazer Thomas, James H. Kellam, Andrew M. Fitch, George Smith, T. C. Gardner, J. F. Davidson, E. H. Pilcher, A. J. Eldred, W. II. Perrine, Benjamin Cocker, George I. Betts, J. A. Baughman, F. A. Blades, J. S. Smart, J. II. McCarty, A. F. Bourns, W. II. Shier, R. Hudson, Air. II. Pearce,-John Atkinson, J. Wilson, W. W. Case, C. H. Morgan, J. M. Kerridge, E. B. Brancroft, C. L. Adams, W. H. W. Rees, G. E. Ackerman, J. I. Nickerson, Eugene M. Moore and D. H. Ramsdell. The first camp-meeting held in the county was conducted tinder the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal church. in a grove near the present village of Clinton, in the summer of 1832, and it was a time of much religious interest. Camp-meetings have been held since then at various places, and with varying success, but as a rule these gatherings of the people to worship in the groves have been of great benefit to the church. Though they have not been signalized so much by the number of conversions brought about at the time of the meetings, they have usually imbued both the ministers and the attendants with the spirit of holiness, which has brought forth abundant fruit during the revivals of the ensuing winters. There is one locality-and an ideal place for outdoor religious work it is-where camp-meetings were held for several summers in succession, and in spite of the singular conjunction of names-"Devil's Lake" (the place of holding these meetings), and a "Methodist camp-meeting," these assemblages of Christians at this 'beautiful spot have always been of great spiritual profit to the church. The-third Methodist Episcopal church to be established in Lenawee county was organized by the Rev. James Gahagan in the log house of Noah Cressey, located in the present city of Hudson, in the year 1835, sixteen persons composing the membership of this, the first organized religious institution of the settlement. The Rev. Gahagan, who had come to Hudson-then called Lanesville-on Nov. 8, 1835, continued to preach at irregular intervals to this little band of worshippers, and though the organization was not then under the jurisdiction of the regular Methodist Episcopal conference, because of the unbroken wilderness which separated the hamlet from adjoining Methodist circuits, it was nevertheless composed of as faithful and devout a group of Methodists as ever assembled in a house of worship. But in the year 1841, after trails had been blazed through the forests and communication had been established with various settlements in Hillsdale county, the Michigan conference of that year made the Hudson church a place of worship on the newly created Hillsdale circuit, to which the Revs. Charles Babcock and Gideon J. Shurtleff were assigned as pastors, and the church was now a component part of the Michigan conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They inaugurated their career in the conference by worshiping in the small school-house on the west side of the village, which was occupied as a place of worship by the Methodists and Congregationalists on alternate Sundays for several years. Hudson remained on the Hillsdale circuit until September, 1846, when it was made a part of a new circuit composed of Methodist organizations in the townships of Adams, Wheatland, and. Pittsford,.in the county of Hillsdale, and the townships of Hudson and Rollin, in the. county of Lenawee, and which was termed the Hudson circuit. The Revs. Henry Worthington and Robert Bird were the first pastors placed in charge of this new circuit, which remained intact until along in the early 5o's, when the Hudson church was made a separate charge. On a Sunday morning, in January, 1857, while the Methodist Sunday school was in session, a fire broke out in the house of worship, and though no one was injured, the structure was completely destroyed. Later, a new edifice was erected, though it was not dedicated until well along in the year of 1859, and this continued to be the Methodists' place of worship until the erection of the present handsome edifice at the corner of Main and North streets, in 19oo, during the pastorate of the Rev. D. H. Ramsdell, now the pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church of Adrian. The Hudson church is now the third largest Methodist Episcopal organization in Lenawee County, the membership enrollment being in the neighborhood of three hundred, and all the departments of service are in a growing and thriving condition. The Rev. George N. Kennedy is the present incumbent of the pastorate, which position has also been occupied by the following clergymen: Ebenezer Steele, Isaac Taylor, William Mothersill, Henry Penfield, Harrison Morgan, Frederick W. Warren, C. M. Anderson, John A. Baughman, John H. Burnham, William G. Stonex, E. R. Haskell, Thomas Stalker, William E. Bigelow, Richard R. Richards, Daniel C.,Jacokes, Joseph Fraser and D. II. Ramsdell. The Eleventh annual session of the Detroit conference convened in the old Methodist church at Hudson, Sept. 5, 1866, the late Bishop Ames acting as the presiding official thereof, and for one whole week the beautiful little city was fairly "over-run" with Methodist clergymen and delegates. The fourth regular appointment of the Methodist Episcopal church to be established in the county was the one at Palmyra, established by the Michigan conference in the fall of 1838, the Rev. John Scotford being the first pastor assigned to the newly created charge. This was on the antiquated Maumee circuit of the Michigan conference, but the charge, district, and circuit, have long since passed from existence. The next regular appointment to be created in the county was the, one at Ridgeway. It was established at the home of Joseph Edmundson, Jan. 25, 184o, when the Rev. A. Billings was presiding elder of this district, and Elder W. Sprague and U. Hoyt, of the Tecumseh circuit, were the first clergymen who regularly conducted the services of this organization. There was preaching but twice per month, the sermons being delivered in private residences and in a log school-house. In 1845, the first Methodist edifice was erected in the settlement, and it continued to serve as the place of worship until 1866, when the commodious structure now occupied by the congregation was erected. According to the report rendered at the last session of the Detroit conference this church had a total of 127 active members, its Sunday school was enjoying an enrollment of 175, while the young people's society -the Epworth League-was composed of forty active members. The Rev. A. T. Camburn is the pastor at the present time and the church is doing a good work in the community. Though the Methodist Episcopal Church at Medina was not formally established until along in the early 40's, the Rev. Lorenzo Davis, of the old Bean Creek mission, delivered sermons regularly once per month during the conference year of 1836-37, in the old log house of John R. Foster. The Rev. Horace Palmer is the present incumbent of the pastorate there, and though this is the second smallest Methodist Episcopal organization in the county in point of membership, it is doing a beneficial work for the Christian cause in that vicinity. As early as July 25, 1836, the Rev. Washington Jackson, accompanied by his brother Allen, both Methodist clergymen of the Tecumseh circuit, came to Rollin, where the former delivered the first regular sermon ever preached in the township at the home of Daniel Rhoades. Thev came at the solicitation of William Rhoades, who, during the fore part of the same month, had journeyed to Tecumseh to request the presiding elder of the district to supply the Methodists of that township with a minister. The next day the two clergymen traveled on down through the Bean Creek valley, laying as they went the foundations of the Bean Creek mission, a Methodist movement looking to the evangelization of the settlers along Bean creek, which movement, several years later, attained much prominence in that section of the country. The church of this denomination at Rollin today is a thriving one. It has an active membership of approximately 225, and the large and well-attended Sunday school is enacting a prominent role in the biblical training of the younger generation in the neighborhood. The Rev. F. 0. Jones is the present pastor of this flourishing congregation. In the year 1850, the Methodist church of Franklin was formerly organized, and at the annual session of the conference, in September of that year it was made a regular appointment of the Tecumseh circuit; but this organization has long since been dissolved. In 1851, the Methodist Episcopal church at Clinton was established, being at first on the old Tecumseh circuit, but later becoming a separate charge. The Rev. J. D. Halliday is the present incumbent of the pastorate, and according to the report submitted by the officials to the last annual session of the conference, the Clinton church is the second largest Methodist organization in the county, in point of active membership, it having at that time 330 members. The Sunday school is also in a thriving and prosperous condition, and the Epworth League is constantly growing. The Methodist Episcopal church of Morenci was established in the year 1836, with only seven members, the Rev. Staples being the first clergyman who occupied the pulpit regularly. Though the organization was launched in the 30's, it did not have a conference assigned pastor until 1852. The first house of worship was constructed in 1852, being dedicated in May of that year, and the board of trustees at that time was constituted as follows: Hiram Walcefield, Josiah Osgood, Daniel Reed, S. D. Wilson, and Samuel Wilson. The late R. R. Richards was then the presiding elder of the district. According to the last annual report the active membership totalled 183, the Sunday school enrollment was 260, and the Epworth League was composed of thirty members. The Rev. J. IV. Campbell is the pastor at the present time. In 1855, the Methodist Episcopal congregation at Addison was formally established, and though it is one of the smallest churches of its sect-in point of membership-in the county, it is doing a beneficial service for the cause of Christianity in Addison. The Rev. W. L. B. Collins is the present pastor. The last annual report of this institution indicates that there are seventy-six persons enrolled as active members of the church proper, and that there are 10o children enrolled in the Sunday school. Though the Methodist church at Blissfield was not assigned a conference pastor until 1857, Methodist services had been held in that village as early as 1827, the Rev. John A. Baughman, of Tecumseh, having in that year delivered the first sermon that was preached in either the village or township of Blissfield. The Rev. Edwin H. Brockway was the first clergyman who regularly occupied the pulpit, and the Rev. A. B. Sutcliffe is the present incumbent of the pastorate. The church proper has an enrollment of 204 members, the Sunday school has one of 230, the Epworth League has thirty-eight members, and the institution is one of the{ strongest forces for the higher things in life that there is in Blissfield. The Methodist Episcopal organization at Fairfield was first assigned a conference pastor in 186o, in the person of the Rev. O. J. Perrin, and the organization is, in point of active membership, the smallest of its sect in the county. The church has no regularly assigned pastor at this time, but the organization is still intact and the regular services are conducted every Sunday. Six years after the church at F airfield was organized the one at Clayton sprang into existence, though there was no pastor assigned this new charge until the- annual session of the Detroit conference, which convened at Hudson in September of that year. The Rev. John A. Rowe administers to the spiritual wants and needs of the congregation at the present time, and in point of membership this organization is the largest in the village. The Methodist Episcopal church of Deerfield is the fourth largest organization of that denomination in the county. At the time of the convening of the last annual session of the Detroit conference, in September, 19o8, there were 25o active members enrolled in the church proper, and 400 scholars in the Sunday school. which figures indicate that this is the second largest Methodist Sabbath school in the county of Lenawee. In point of membership, this church is the largest protestant organization in the village of Deerfield, and it is a strong moral and spiritual force in the community. The Rev. E. R. Rice is the present incumbent of the pastorate, and there is not a more devout and enthusiastic Christian worker to be found in the county. There is also an active Methodist Episcopal organization in the little village of Tipton, of which the Rev. G. W. Hoffman is the pastor. To Presbyterianism belongs the credit of organizing the second church in the county, and it also enjoys the distinction of having furnished the clergyman-the Rev. Noah M. Wells, of Detroit-who delivered the first sermon in the county. The Rev. Alanson Darwin was the second minister of this sect to visit the county, he having preached in Tecumseh in the fall of 1826, although he did not settle there until September of the ensuing year. Under his ministry a Presbyterian society, i. e., legal corporation, was formed in October, 1827, though the formal organization was not completed until April 6, 1828. The church at that time consisted of ten members: John Huyck and. wife, William F. Finch and wife, Milla Ketchum, Euphemia Hillock, Emelia Holbrook, Maria Hixon, Mary Darwin and Mary Metcalf. Alanson Darwin continued to officiate as the pastor of the church up to the time of his untimely taking away, Dec. 15, 1831, when only forty-eight years of age. A revival which he ably conducted in the church in the winter of 1830-31, with the assistance of the Rev. Joseph Bangs of the Methodist church of the village, brought about many conversions, and over thirty persons united with the Presbyterian, church on one Sunday. It not only strengthened the latter organization, but it was also the cause of increasing the membership of the Methodist church.. The Presbyterian church of Tecumseh has passed through the various periods of adversity and prosperity which have been attendant upon the career of other religious institutions of the county, and today it is one of the strongest organizations of the sect in this section of the commonwealth. The Rev. John W. Dunning is the present occupant of the pulpit. The Presbyterian church of Blissfield, the second of that denomination established in Lenawee county, and the first religious organization of any sect to be placed in the field in Blissfield, was formally organized on Feb. 22, 1829, in the log house of Harvey Bliss-the founder of the village-the Rev. Alanson Darwin, of Tecumseh; presiding over the meeting. There were nine original members, and they have all passed to, the church triumphant. Harvey Bliss, Timothy Goff, and Nathan Gibbs constituted the first board of elders. The congregation at first worshipped in the dwellings of the members and in the old log school-house, which had been constructed in the summer of 1827. The first edifice was erected in the summer of 1849, and this composes the main body of the structure which serves as the place of -worship today, though extensive alterations in the original structure were made in 1884 and 1904. The following is an incomplete list of the clergymen who have occupied the pastorate of this church : Reuben Armstrong, J. J. Dana, John Monteith, E. R. Bissell, D. H. Evans, Joseph Swindt, James Quick, W. J. Amey, Hugh Lamont, George Humphrey, William Saugree., W. L. Baker, Edward H. Vail, and Abiather Beamer. The Rev. W. M. Pocock is the pastor at the present time. In the eighty years' career of this organization, 445 persons have been members thereof, and the present membership totals over one hundred. The following members now constitute the board of elders: George Palmer, A. D. Ellis, Leroy H. Young, F. W. Josenhan, James L. Carpenter, and Oliver D. Porter. The Presbyterian church of Adrian, the third of that sect to be established in the county of Lenawee, and also the third of any of the denominations to be launched in the Maple City, was organized at the home of N. D. Skeels, Sept. 15, 1832, pursuant to a public call. The Rev. I. M. Wead, of Ypsilanti, was present and was chosen moderator, with N. D. Skeels, clerk. The moderator presented the articles of faith and covenant, as set forth by the Detroit Presbytery, which was then the governing body of Presbyterianism in this section of the, state, and these were unanimously adopted by acclamation. The clerk was then ordered to enroll the following names on the church register: Josiah Sabin, Patrick Hamilton, Isaac Ormsby, Mrs. Isaac Ormsby, Amelia Ormsby, Elijah Johnson, Elihu Frary, Asahel Finch, Jr., Mary D. Finch, N. D. Skeels, Clarissa Fessenden, Mary A. Chapin, Elizabeth Beals, Hulda Brown, and Elizabeth Skeel. There seems to have been a strong temperance sentiment among these original members, for we find the following resolution recorded in the minutes of that first meeting: "Resolved, That no persons shall be admitted to this church unless they can conscientiously abstain from the use or vending of ardent or distilled spirits, except for medical purposes." The meeting, after having thus recorded its sentiment in regard to the liquor traffic, proceeded to select Elijah Johnson, Asahel Finch, Jr., and Josiah Sabin, to act as the first board of elders. The first church edifice was erected on the south side of Church street, between South Main and State streets, just west of the present "fire-station," in November, 1832, it being the first house of worship erected in the city of Adrian. In 1842, just ten years after the dedication of the first structure on Church street, a new edifice was erected on the site of the present church, on the south side of East Maumee street, between Broad and South Main streets, at an expense of $12,000. This was enlarged, in 1854, at a cost of $5,000, and again, in 1869-70, it was largely rebuilt and beautified, at an expense of $25,000. The gigantic church bell, weighing 1,601 pounds and costing the sum of $478, was hung, Dec. 31, 1846, and the chapel was erected in 1884, at a cost of approximately $5,000. During the pioneer days of this organization the services were generally conducted by transient supphes furnished by the Presbytery, first of Detroit, and later of Monroe. In November, 1832, the Rev. George Howell came to the church; and though he was never installed as the regular ordained pastor of the society, he preached there for a year or more. The minutes show that the next Presbyterian clergyman to visit the village was the Rev. A. S. Wells, in 1834. He was followed by the Rev. E. Gregory who, filled the pulpit during the winter of 1834-35, and he in turn was succeeded by William Wolcott, who came during the late fall of 1835 and remained through the ensuing winter. The Rev. J. L. Tomlinson was the first regularly installed incumbent of the pastorate, coming to Adrian in the fall of 1837 and remaining until the fall of 1842, the new edifice on Maumee street being erected during the concluding weeks of his ministry. The following clergymen have been his successors: George C. Cttrtis, 1844-61;George Duffield, Jr., 1861-65; William H. Webb, 1865-74; John E. C. Hill, 1876-80; Joseph B. Little, 1881-85; Willard K. Spencer, 1886-98; Edward M. McMillan, 1898-19o4; and Edward A. Krapp, the present popular and affable pastor, who began his pastorate in the fall of 1904. The following persons have served the church as stated supphes for periods of six months or more: L. S. Beebe, 1843;-F. F. Ford, February-October, 1875, and H. T. Ford, October, 1875, to June, 1876. The following are now serving as members of the session: E. A. Krapp, moderator; Parker H. Burnham, clerk; Henry M. Judge, Ambrose 13. Park, Abijah M. Allen, James C. Linnell, Sherman S. Withington, William E. Chamberlain, Henry H. Meyer, and George H. Lewis. The board of trustees includes the following: John Kirby, president; B. L. Shaw, treasurer; Charles G. Hart, W. F. King (has charge of pews), and A. B. Park. H. M. Judge is superintendent of the Sabbath school, and M. IV. Redfield is the official collector. The Presbyterian manse, at No. 35 Dennis street, which was erected by the Samuel Hart estate in 1895, and first occupied- by the Rev. IVW. K. Spencer, is one of the most handsome and costly parsonages in the state. At the present time there are approximately 50o communicants in this church, and in point of membership it ranks as the third largest protestant organization in the city of Adrian, the First Baptist church being the largest, with the First Methodist Episcopal ranking next. In the year 1836, the fourth Presbyterian church society to be established in the county was formally organized at Palmyra, under the supervision of the Rev. Joel Walker,' who became the first regularly installed pastor thereof. This organization, like most of the other religious societies of the county, has been compelled to pass through the various evolutions of adversity and prosperity-seasons of diminution and of gradual growth-and it is now housed in a commodious and tastefully finished place of worship. There is no regularly installed pastor in charge at the-present time. A Presbyterian organization was founded at Clinton in the early 40's of the last century by the Rev. Noah Wells, of Detroit,. but this was dissolved many years ago. The Cadmus Presbyterian church society was established in 1843, by the Rev. Henry Root, who was the first occupant of the pulpit, fie being succeeded by the Rev. Paul Shepherd, a few years later. In the year 1850, an edifice was erected about three fourths of a mile west of the village, which continued to be the home of the organization until 19o2, when the present house of worship was built in the village of Cadmus. The board of elders at the time of the establishment of this society consisted of .Fleming McMath, Asher Hathaway, and Eli Benham, and the present elders are Jacob Hering and Charles Schafer. The success of the institution is largely due to the assiduous enterprise of Fleming McMath, who cheerfully and willingly gave of his time and worldly goods that the society might be maintained upon a sound and prosperous basis. With the exception of the two above mentioned pastors, and the Rev. Daniel Jones, -who occupied the pulpit during the latter part of the 50's the pulpit was filled by stated supphes, many of them theological students, up to 1860, when the Clayton church of this sect was founded, and since then the incumbent of the pastorate of the latter organization has also filled the Cadmus pulpit. The Clayton Presbyterian church society was formally established, Feb. 28, 186o, by the Rev. George W. Nichols and Paul Shepherd, both members of the Monroe Presbytery, as a result of a series of union revival meetings which had been conducted in the Clayton Baptist church that winter by the Rev. Nichols. The original membership totaled twenty-one, and Reuben E. Bird, R. Smart, and C. I. Shaw were the first members to officiate as elders. The Rev. Paul Shepherd was the first clergyman to be installed as pastor, and the following have succeeded him: G. AV. Nichols, Horatio W. Shaw, D. B. Campbell, E. M. Foot, Robert Edgar, S. E. Hamme, G. Abbott, E. T. Branch, R. F. Smith, Robert Brunfit, David M. Alleder, George C. Gerlick, D. O. McKay, George M. Layman, and Frederick A. Dean, the present occupant of the pulpit, who commenced his pastorate, Nov. 15, 1907. The First Presbyterian church of Deerfield was established, Oct. 19. 1853, under the appellation of the Second Presbyterian Church of Blissfield, with twenty-four charter members. On Aug. 29, 1858, the narne of the society was altered to its present form. Tile site on which the present edifice stands was purchased, Sept. 18, 1858, and the building was erected in 1865. The following have officiated as pastors of this charge: John Monteith, J. W. Baynes, W. S. Taylor, Robert Edgar, George P. Blanchard, W. J. Gerlach, David Howell, Frederick Caldwell, T. B. Leith, Charles Carrick, E. H. Bradfield, E. H. Vail, A. M. Stirton, David McAllister, and Cecil M. Bear, the present minister. The church society enjoys a membership of sixty-two, and it has a flourishing Sabbath school and a wide-awake Christian Endeavor society. There is also a Presbyterian Church society in the township of Raisin, of which Homer B. Dunning is the present pastor. Baptistism in Lenawee county can trace its origin to Nov. 5, 1831, when a number of the friends of the faith met at the schoolhouse in the village of Adrian, for the purpose of conferring on the subject of covenant union. The. gathering was composed of eleven men and thirteen women, as follows: Joseph Rickey, Reuben Tooker, Benjamin F. Gouldsbury, John H. Carpenter, John lWrhitney, John S. Older, John W. Meyers, Allen S. Hutchens, John T. Carpenter, Gersham Noyes, David Wiley, Maria Hutchens, Lydia Whitney, Delia Older, Eliza Gouldsbury, Lydia Thursting, Eunice Rickey, Nancy Rickey, Lucy French, Elizabeth Parker, Cynthia Upton, Elizabeth Carpenter, Amy Fitch, and Lois Stone. As soon as the meeting had convened John Whitney was selected to act as moderator, and William Foster as clerk, after which the advisability of establishing a Baptist church in the village of Logan (now the city of Adrian) was discussed, and it was finally "resolved to meet again in this place on the 19th inst." At the meeting on the 19th a committee to prepare Articles of Faith and Covenant eras selected, composed of John Whitney, Reuben Tooker, Joseph Rickey, John H. Carpenter, Daniel Treat, and William Foster, and at a subsequent meeting, held on the 23d of the same month, the articles as drawn up by this committee were presented, approved, and adopted. It was then "resolved to call on the following churches for a council to witness our union and to constitute us into a church state, if such council should think it expedient, viz.: Church in Dexter, church in Ypsilanti, church in Saline, and also to give Elder Tripp, of Sand Lake, an invitation; council to meet in the village of Adrian on the last Saturday of December, 1831." The council convened at the appointed time, and after Elder T. Bodley had delivered a sermon, the first rendered under the auspices of this newly launched society, he extended the right hand of fellowship to the members of the congregation. On the following day, Sunday, Jan. I, 1832, Eider Bodley delivered another sermon at the home of Isaac Dean, from these words: "Who it is that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?" Regular services were conducted at the homes of the various members during the ensuing winter months, and Elder Bodley was installed as pastor in the following February, being the first regularly installed Baptist clergyman in the county, and continuing to occupy the pulpit during the ensuing church year at a salary of $150. On Sunday, Jan. 29, 1832, just after the conclusion of the morning worship, the entire congregation repaired to the banks of the Raisin, where the first rite of baptism was administered to eight candidates for church membership, this undoubtedly being the first time that baptism had been administered by the immersion process in the county. John H. Carpenter and John Whitney officiated as the first deacons of the church, the latter also acting as the treasurer of the society. The second regularly installed pastor was the Rev. Bradbury Clay (father of Frank W. Clay, the Adrian banker), who, though he commenced his pastorate on May 3, 1833, was not formally installed until the following June. His salary was stipulated as $200 per annum, and though the society, toward the close of his first year's work, decided to increase his income, he declined to engage his services for another year, and his request for a letter of dismissal was reluctantly granted. From the early part of 1832 to the latter portion of the ensuing year, the services had been conducted in the building occupied at the present time by the family of the late Dr. Williams, but on Dec. 5, 1833, the society authorized the trustees to sell this first house of worship. In 1837, a brick church was erected and dedicated on the site of the present Baptist edifice on Broad street, the services up to the time of the completion of this structure being held around at the dwellings of the various members. Soon after the dedication of the new edifice, a large and fine-toned bell was purchased by the trustees and was suspended between two stumps in the church yard, but as the small boys of the village continuously insisted on trying its tones it was soon afterward hung in the church tower. About the year 1855, the first chapel was erected; the annex and audience room in its present form was constructed in 1884-85, during the pastorate of Rev. J. S. Holmes, at a cost of about $12,000; and the present chapel-Dorcas Chapel-was dedicated, Jan. 1, 1900, costing $7372.28, the last mentioned addition standing as a fitting and appropriate memorial to the memory of Dorcas Fiske Whitney, who was for fifty-five years a devout and faithful member of the society, and who generously donated the land upon which the chapel stands. It has been estimated by one who has for years been affiliated with the affairs of this institution that the edifice, all additions, alterations and repairs included, from its inception to the present time, has cost the society approximately, $6o,ooo, this reckoning of course being merely from a monetary view-point, consequently telling nothing of the time, prayer, and loving service so generously rendered, that this structure might stand as a monument, fitting and appropriate, to the role which Baptistism has enacted in the intellectual, moral, and spiritual development of the city and county. From an original membership of but twenty-four, in the year 1831, to an enrollment of approximately 700, in 1gog, seems a far cry, but such has been the growth of the congregation, and today the First Baptist church society of Adrian is the largest protestant institution in the county of Lenawee. The first Sunday school was organized as a union school by Maria Hutchens, assisted by others, in 1832, with Amos Knapp as the superintendent, and, upon the completion of the first Baptist edifice, in 1837, it was continued as a Baptist Sabbath school. This early organization has ever been maintained with an increasing zeal and interest to the present day, now being recognized as the largest Baptist Sunday school in Southern Michigan, and the beneficial work which it has accomplished among the younger generations of the Maple City can never be fully realized. A unique feature of this branch of the service, though it is in no way connected with the Sunday school proper, is the "men's discussion class," conducted by the present incumbent of the pastorate, the Rev. Franklin W. Sweet, which convenes in the chapel on Sundays, directly after the regular morning worship, for a general discussion of economical, sociological, biblical, and spirtual matters. It is particularly unique in that the membership thereof is composed of some of the prominent business men of Adrian, who are in no way affiliated with church organizations, every one present being entitled to set forth his own thoughts and views, whether or not they be strictly orthodox, and the matters under discussion are taken up and handled entirely "without gloves." The following have been incumbents of the pastorate of the Baptist church; Thomas Bodley, Bradbury Clay, Gideon D. Simmons, Marvin Allen, James Pyper, James Inglis, Anson Tucker, Samuel Cornelius, J. K. Stimpson, W. J. Crane, R. Kingbury, James A. Clark, Isaac Butterfield, E. J. Fish, A. Dunsford, J. H. Cole, J. S. Holmes, Frederick Clatworthy, Wilson Whitney, Joseph B. Banker, and the Rev. Franklin Sweet, the popular pastor of the present day. The following are now serving as deacons: Gilbert Clark, Homer II. Palmer, H. F. Smith, F. W. Cantrick, W. J. Brown, J. J. Morse, Anson Hibbard, George L. Bennett, J. C. Morse, and Charles H. Willbee; and the board of trustees is comprised of Tom. B. Morgan, John E. Carr, E. L. Baker, George L. Bennett, C. C. Fisher, George W. Ayers, 13. P. Hathaway,, Frank E. Willbee, and J. C. Van Doren. The second church society of the Baptist faith to be established in the county was founded at Clinton, in 11832, and though it has never enjoyed a very extensive membership it has always performed a good service for the Christian cause in that community. The present membership of the church proper is approximately ninety, and the Rev. T. H. Carey is the present pastor, having entered upon the charge in 1907. The First Baptist church of Medina, the third of the denomination in the county, was organized in the hamlet of Canandaigua, in January, 1836, though the first pastor, Rev. Edward Hodge, did not enter upon his duties until the ensuing June, and received only $200 per annum. The meetings continued to be conducted regularly at the dwellings of the various members about Canandaigua until December,of the same year, when it was unanimously voted that the organization be transferred to the village of Medina, and accordingly the meetings were held at the home of Deacon Cook Hotchkiss, in the latter village, during the following winter, Mr. Hotchkiss acting as the first superintendent of the Sunday school. A few years later the first house of worship was erected, it being a small frame building. The congregation is one of the smallest of its faith in the county, the active membership having averaged only about forty. The present incumbent of the pastorate is the Rev. A. H. Fraser, who was assigned to this church in the summer of 19o5. The fourth society of this denomination to spring into existence in this county was the First Baptist church of Weston, which was launched in the year of 1838. The progress of the society has been gradual, the foundations having been laid upon a durable and substantial basis, and in point of active membership it is the third largest Baptist church in the county today. The present house of worship, the erection and finishing of which cost in the neighborhood of $3,500, is one of the most adequate and commodious church buildings in the vicinity of Weston. The Rev. Frank Barnett is the present pastor, having been installed in the summer of 1908. The First Baptist church society of Tecumseh, the fifth of that denomination to be founded in the county, and today the second largest in point of active membership, was formally established at a council held by the friends of the Baptist faith, April 10, 1839, at which seven Baptist church societies were represented, either by their pastor or a layman. The organization of the council was effected by the selection of Elder Allen as chairman and Elder Hamlin as clerk, and after having examined and adopted the covenant and articles of faith, as' drawn up by Isaac Adams and Felix Holdridge, the council proceeded to organize the church society. The Rev. J. I. Fulton then delivered the dedicatory sermon, Elder Allen extended the hand of fellowship, Elder Hamlin delivered a short address in behalf of the members of the congregation, and this society, numbering twenty-eight charter members, was fully established. Though it had neither a place of worship, nor a pastor, the covenant meetings were continued in private dwellings and school-rooms; and occasionally some ministering brother would preach on the Sabbath, J. T. Fulton expounding the word of God more frequently than any other of the laymen. On Dec. 4, of the same year, A. N. Prentiss, a licentiate, was engaged to preach for six months, but because of the general dissatisfaction, which was later aroused among the congregation concerning his preaching and his conduct, his resignation was demanded and received before he had occupied the pulpit three months, and for several years thereafter there was no pastor, no regular preaching, and no house of worship. Yet, in spite of this, seven members were taken into church membership through baptism, and many more by letter. In the latter part of 1841, a call to the pastor was extended to the Rev. L. H. Moore, who entered upon his duties in January, 1842, at a salary of $300 per annum, $100 of which was furnished by the Baptist missionary convention of the state of New York, and soon after his installation a series of revival meetings was conducted tinder the auspices of this organization, which resulted in a large ingathering of souls, twenty-two of the converts uniting with the church. But the Reverend Moore resigned after he had capably filled the pastorate for one year and four months, because of the inability of the congregation to negotiate his meager salary. He was succeeded by the Rev. J. I. Fulton, who took tip the duties of his charge at a salary of $400 and a donation, and during his pastorate of three, years and four months, forty-one members were admitted to the church by baptism. As early as March, 1839, before the organization of the society had been completed, a site for the church edifice was purchased, at the corner of Logan and Pearl streets, and later in the year the trustees were authorized to erect a building of the following dimensions: "Length, 28 feet; breadth 24 feet; ten feet between joists; with six windows of, twenty-four panes each," but at the next meeting it was decided to enlarge upon the above dimensions, as follows: "Length 36 feet; breadth 26 feet." Though there is no record of the precise time as to when the house of worship was commenced or completed, or as to the cost thereof, it is recorded that a covenant meeting was held in the new edifice in the latter part of 1841, and we also read that the good sisters of the society did not attend because there was then no stove therein. The seats were made of planks and slabs and in this rude condition the edifice was occupied by the congregation during the ensuing winter, that of 1841-42. In 1843, this meeting house was transferred from its original site, at the corner of Pearl and Logan streets, to the west side of Ottawa, between Logan and Chicago streets; the interior was finished and 'an addition was built on one extremity thereof, and this structure continued to be the home of the organization for more than twenty years. In the early part of 1863, Dr. I. S. Hamilton, at a meeting of the society, presented the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted: "Resolved, That the time has arrived, and that it is the duty of the church to take measures to at once erect and complete a new house of worship," and "That a subscription for this purpose be circulated immediately." On May 3, 1863, it was reported that $2,700, the amount required to make the subscriptions binding, had been raised. A committee, consisting of Dr. William C. Fisher and Elder McCloud, proceeded to purchase a site, and at the next meeting a building committee, composed of Elder McCloud, William C. Fisher, John Benedict, and Adrian Yativger, was selected. The brick was purchased in the following February, and though the work of construction was commenced in the ensuing spring, the edifice was not completed and dedicated until Nov. 30, 1865. The cost of the site and the structure up to that time had been $8,500, of which amount $1,000 was raised on the day of dedication. Since then, the building has been altered and enlarged upon, and today it is valued at about $io,ooo, ranking second in point of valuation among the Baptist church edifices of the county. The present membership of the society is approximately 250, being one of the largest protestant organizations in Tecumseh. The following have been regularly installed pastors of the Church: L. H. Moore, J. I. Fulton, Samuel Cornelius, P. B. Ilaughout, E. Royce, James McLeod, B. M. McLouth, J. FleLcher. J. L. IIIcCloud, T. S. Hill, J. Moxsom, P. Olney, M. E. Hayne, C. E. Conly, F. A. Adkins, F. E. Arnold, H. A. Smith, and the present pastor, the Rev. F. W. Kamm, who was installed in 1906. The Baptist church of Rome was founded in the fall of 1839, being the sixth organization of that denomination to be established in Lenawee county. The Rev. H. Churchill is the present incumbent of the pastorate, having been installed therein in the summer of 1905. In point of membership this church is one of the smallest in the county. The next church society of this faith to be founded in the county was established at Hudson, July 8, 1843, under the title of "The First Baptist Church of Hudson," with the following charter members: Samuel R. Close, Charles Coats, Ansel Coats, M. S. Lathrop, Daniel Sankbury, John C. Lewis, Emily Lathrop, Melinda Close, Abiathar Powers, Harriet Lewis. The first clergyman to be called to the pastorate was the Rev. Jacob Ambler, who' occupied the pulpit for the first time on Feb. 14, 1844, remaining with the church until May, 1845, when he resigned. He was succeeded by the Rev. Lauren Hotchkiss, who began his ministry, June 1o, 1845, and in the fall of 1847, during his pastorate, the first house of worship was erected, though it was not completed and dedicated until Feb. 23, 1848, the dedicatory sermon being delivered by Elder Tucker, of Adrian. Among the early' pastors were the Revs. P. B. Houghnout, Samuel Jones, A. P. Howell, Volney Church, William Pack, James G. Portman, C. T. Chaffee, Cressey, Osborn, and Shanabelt. The present occupant of the pulpit is the Rev. T. D. Denman, who began his ministerial duties in the summer of 1908, and B. F. Palmer is superintendent of the Sabbath school, which department of service enjoys a membership of about 200. There are approximately 175 members enrolled in the church proper. The First Baptist church society of Morenci was organized in 1853, with but fifteen members. The congregation, which today numbers 125 members, and the Sunday school, which is composed of nearly 200 pupils, occupy a house of worship which is generally valued at $2,500. The Rev. A. B. Whitney is the present incumbent of the pastorate, having been installed therein in 1905, and E. J. Wells is superintendent of the Sabbath school. There is also a Baptist Sunday school at North Morenci, of which Mrs. A. J. Sutton is superintendent. The Baptist church society of Rollin is the youngest of that denomination in Lenawee county, having been established in 1866. The house of worship, though not an imposing one, is entirely adequate for the holding of all the branches of service, costing in the neighborhood of $1,500. The present membership of the society numbers a few more than zoo, and there are approximately fifty children enrolled in the Sunday school, of which O. E. Clark is superintendent. The Rev. E. D. Way is the present pastor, having been installed in the summer of 1906. There is also a colored Baptist church in Adrian, "Second," on Broad street, between Hunt and Chestnut streets. Episcopalianism in Lenawee county dates back to May, 1933, when the Rev. William Narcissus Lyster, an Episcopalian missionary_ from Ireland, at the instigation of three pioneer settlers of Tecumseh - Musgrove Evans, George Spofford, and Gen.. J. W. Brown-delivered a sermon in the new court house in the village. A few days later Lyster organized the first church of that faith to be established in the county-St. Peter's Episcopal of Tecumseh -and on Oct. Io, of the same year he laid the corner stone of the house of worship. This building, which was erected during the ensuing winter, is still occupied by this church society, it being the oldest Episcopal Church edifice west of Detroit, and it has been utilized for church services for a longer period than any other edifice in the county. No history of Episcopalianism in Lenawee county would be complete that did not contain a brief review of the career of William Narcissus Lyster. He was given birth at Sion, County Wexford, Ireland, March 5, 1805, and was a descendant of ancestors of fervent piety and superior intellectual powers. He matriculated at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1822, and there he graduated in 1826, after which he pursued a course of theological studies at the University of Edinburgh. In 1829, he made his first journey to Michigan,, passing several weeks in Detroit, and returning to his native land in the fall of that year. In 183o, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Saurin, of Dromore ; in March, 1832, he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Cooper, of County Wexford, Ireland, and later in the same year he again came to the United States to devote himself to missionary work, first settling in Cleveland, Ohio, where he passed the winter of 1832-33. In May of the following spring, he journeyed to Tecumseh, where he delivered the first Episcopalian sermon and founded the first church organization of that faith in the county of Lenawee, as is recorded in the preceding paragraph. In June following, he removed his wife and household effects from Cleveland and took active charge of the parish of Tecumseh. He acquired the title to a considerable land in the county, and in 1837, he built a log cabin on his landed possessions on the shores of Sand lake. Here, in his romantic and secluded forest home, he reveled in the manifold beauties of nature, delved into the works of literary men and theologians, and enjoyed delightful boating and fishing; and as a pioneer minister of the Gospel in Michigan his name will live when many who now stand higher on man's roll of fame shall be forgotten. He died at Mapleton, Van Buren County, Michigan, Sept. 9, 1877, and his body now reposes in the beautiful Elmwood cemetery at Detroit. His later labors in the interests of Episcopalianism in this county will be taken up in connection with the churches with which he was associated. Christ Episcopal church of Adrian was organized in 1838, by the Rev. David J. Burger, who remained in charge of the- newly organized parish for one year. He was succeeded by William 1. Lyster, who took temporary charge until 1840, and he in turn was succeeded by the Revs. Sabine Hough, Donald Fraser, Charles V. Kelley, and Richard S. Adams, who, at different times, for the following twelve years were the temporary incumbents of the rectory. The services of these early days were conducted at the homes of the various members, and, in 1841, Bishop McCoskry administered the apostolic rite of confirmation -in the old Methodist church on Toledo Street, now the Church of Christ, the congregation kindly tendering its house of worship for that purpose. About this time, the old Presbyterian structure on Church street was secured, the Presbyterian society having moved into their new edifice on Maumee street, and this continued to serve as the Episcopalian house of worship until well along in 1851. In the spring of 1851, through the untiring and zealous endeavors of the Rev. Rufus Murray, who had been: installed as rector of the parish in 1850, an edifice was erected on the site of the present beautiful structure at the corner of East Maumee and Broad streets, at a cost of $4,432, being consecrated by Bishop Samuel Allen McCoskry, Oct. 31, 1852. For forty-six years thereafter this building continued to serve as the house of worship, during which period it was at various times enlarged and improved. But in the meantime it was decided to construct a new edifice, and on Sunday, Aug. 8, 1897, a special service was conducted by the rector, Rev. C. H. I. Channer, whose sermon, which was the last ever delivered in the old church, contained many highly interesting historical references.. During the following month the old building was removed, and on Sept. 28, 1897, the corner stone of the present handsome sanctuary was laid. and the first service therein was held on Easter Sunday, 1898.. The building committee was composed. of R. A. Bury, H. V. C. Hart, A. W. Carey, H. L. Larwill, and E. E. Marble. The architects were Spier & Rohn, of Detroit, the contractor was Samuel Pickles, of Jackson, Mich., the edifice, with all of its furnishings cost approximately $25,ooo, and it is today generally recognized as one of Adrian's most handsome sanctuaries. The year following the completion of this structure, the handsome rectory, on the corner of Locust and Church streets, was erected with funds donated by Mrs. Mary L. Drew, in memoriam of her husband, Delos Drew, and son. The following have been rectors of the parish since the year 185o: Rufus Murray, Edward McClure, Thomas Smith, Henry N. Strong, John Staunton, Benjamin F. Fleetwood, M. R. Dillonlee, Alexander Capron, William H. Gallagher, Edwin G. Knock, R. O. Cooper, and C. H.. L Channer, the present able and popular incumbent, who entered upon his duties in 1888. He is also'Dean of Consecration in southern Michigan, and has undoubtedly been in his present pastorate for a longer period of time than any other Protestant clergyman in the county. In 1840 William N. Lyster was requested by Isaac Smith, Dr. A. N. Moulton and A. P. Cook to deliver a sermon at the home of Dr. Moulton, which was the first of the Episcopal order to be preached in the township of Cambridge. For several months these services were conducted, and later a church society was organized, Sylvester Walker, M. W. Southworth, Henry Bronson, Day Jones and Alonzo L. Smith being the first vestrymen. On Sunday, May 21, 1843, they met for the first time as an organized body at the home of Norman Smith, and christened the society, "St. Michael's and All Angels Church," and A. P. Cook was selected to act as secretary, and S. Walker as treasurer. Isaac Smith, A. P. Cook, and M. W. Southworth were delegated to represent this newly formed church society at the annual convention of the Diocese of Michigan, held at Ann Arbor, May 25, 1843. In the latter part of the year, however, Reverend Lyster was called back to the parish of Tecumseh, and shortly thereafter the first enthusiasm seems to have subsided, for the records indicate that there was very little church activity in this parish until March 27, 1854, when the society was reorganized and incorporated under the newly enacted law relating to the organization of religious societies, Isaac Smith, 1". Dewey, Sylvester Walker, A. P. Cook and A. D. Smith being selected to comprise the new vestry. In the same year William S. Blackmar donated a site for a house of ,worship, the plans for the latter were drawn up, and during the fall and winter of 1855-56 the edifice was erected under the supervision of a building committee composed of Sylvester Walker, Francis A. Dewey and Alonzo L. Smith; Bishop Samuel Allen McCoskry having laid the corner stone June 22, 1855. But the building was not regularly utilized for worship until Oct. 3T, 1858, when William N. Lyster was installed as rector, delivering his first sermon in the new sanctuary on the same day. This gentleman continued in charge of the parish until May, 1870, when he delivered his last sermon in the church, at the close of which he said: "I will say unto you what never was said in heaven, farewell." Being unable, from delicate health and declining years, to publicly officiate, he left the parish to enjoy the comforts of a retired home with his brother, at Breedsville, Van Buren county, Michigan, where he expired Sept. 9, 1877. The to]lowing have since been incumbents of the Cambridge rectorship Stephen W. Frisbie, J. J. Morton, J. H_ Eichbaum, Henry Hughes, R. Flowers, J. H. Blatchford and the Rev. A. Kinney Hall, the present rector, who assumed charge of the parish July 21, 1907. St. John's Episcopal Church of Clinton was formally organized in 1856, and the corner stone of the house of worship was laid that fall by Bishop McCoslry, though the building was not completed until the following summer, when William N. Lyster conducted the first services therein. As the Clinton and Cambridge parishes were then under the same rectorship, William N. Lyster was the first rector in Clinton parish, continuing as such for several years. Today the Clinton and Tecumseh parishes are in charge of the same rectorship of which the Rev. Chester C. Kemr, of Clinton, is the present incumbent. St. John's Church of Clinton has ever been a flourishing one, counting in its congregation some of the most prominent and influential citizens of the village. In 186o there was organized in Hudson, this county, a Protestant Episcopal parish under the name of Trinity. Services were occasionally held in various places in the then village of Hudson, at the homes of various members and in school rooms, until the present house of worship, on Main street, was completed several years later. The Revs. Corson, of Jonesville, and Henderson Judd, now of Los Angeles, Cal., temporarily acted as rector at different times in the early days, but the first regularly installed incumbent of the pastorate was the Rev. George M. Stonex, who remained only a short time, being succeeded in 1869, by the Rev. W. H. Smythe, who successfully officiated over the parish for some time. The Rev. J. T. Webster became rector in 1873, and late in the second year of his ministry the present commodious and adequate brick edifice was erected, at a cost of $7,000. The following have since been incumbents of the rectorship : S. W. Frisbie, W. S. Spiers, W. J. Roberts, Robert Lynn, Joseph St. John, W. R. Blatchford, Artemus WWretherbee, Arthur H. Locke, and W. F. Jerome, the last named of whom was in charge of Trinity parish up to February, 1909, when he resigned to assume the rectorship of Hillsdale parish. Since then the Hudson parish has been without the services of a rector. There are five church societies of the Friends (Quaker) denomination in the county: Raisin Valley, Raisin Center, Tecumseh, Rollin and Adrian. The first one was established at Raisin Valley by a colony of Quakers, including Darius Comstock (father of Addison J., founder of Adrian), Jared Comstock, Abram West, Elijah Brownell and Daniel Smith (father of "Aunt" Laura Haviland), who had migrated west from the Empire State in 1829, locating on government land in the township of Raisin. There is no record of their having held meetings until June 20, 1831, when, under the supervision of a committee from the Farmington Quarterly Meeting of New York, the organization of the society was effected, though the first meeting house was not completed until 1835. Daniel Smith was the first pastor, continuing to act as such until 1841, when he was succeeded by David Harknep, who occupied the pulpit for the following six years. Elijah Brownell assumed charge of the pastorate in 1847, continuing therein until his death, Feb. 1, 1853. For the ensuing nine years, the society was without the services of a resident pastor, until i86o, when Richard Harknep (son of David Harknep, and now residing at Tecumseh) was called to the pulpit, continuing as the regular occupant thereof until September, 1887. Since then Seth Rees, Huldah Rees, David Lewis, Edward Mott and Adelbert Wood have been resident pastors, and at various intervals the pulpit has been ably supphed by professors from Adrian College. The 'origin of the Friends church at Raisin Center is unique in that it was founded by a band of the followers of the Quaker faith who had emigrated in a body from Niagara county, New York, to the banks of Raisin river, in the township of Raisin, about the year 1831. Though the record of their early activities is incomplete, .it is beheved that their first meetings were held in the winter of 1831-32, in a log shanty situated about one mile west of the present edifice in the village. The membership of the society in those pioneer days was almost entirely composed of the members of three famihes-the Havilands, Westgates and Bowermans. Charles Haviland (husband of Laura Haviland), who came to Michigan in 1832, and took up the west half of section 34, in Raisin township, was the first regular pastor, being succeeded by John White a few years later. The organization continued to utilize the above mentioned log shanty as a house of worship until well along in the 3o's, when a frame church building was erected on a site donated to the society by Charles Haviland, and upon which the present edifice now stands. The last named structure was erected in 1882, being 'dedicated in October of that year, more than fifty years after the dedication of the first edifice---the old log shanty. The following have been resident pastors of the society: Charles Haviland, John White, A. Rogers, Thomas Smith, Lydia B. Wilson, Mary P. Jones, Sylvia Bowerman, Sylvanus Westgate, Esther Westgate, Jacob Baker, Alfred Bartlett, Delia Reed, Walter Brown, and the present incumbent, Rev. P. B. Lindley who first occupied the pulpit Oct. 1, 1908. The first meeting of the Friends in Rollin was held in the winter. of 1836-37, the society being organized in the following spring. The first edifice was erected in the summer of r837, on the farm of Thomas Brownell, about one mile east of the present village of Addison, a Friends' cemetery having also been established there at a very early day. The Friends of Tecumseh, the fourth society of the Quaker denomination to be founded in the county, commenced to hold their meetings at the homes of Aaron Comfort and Samuel Satterthwaite, in the village, in 1842. Those two settlers were the founders of the society, and with their famihes, between which had occurred three intermarriages, constituted the entire membership of the original society. Later, they purchased the old Presbyterian Church building and moved it into the southwest portion of the village, this serving as the house of worship for nearly fifty years. In 1891, the present edifice, at the corner of Pottawatamie and Van Buren streets, was erected being dedicated in November, 1891, during the pastorate of David J. Lewis. Formerly, it was the custom of the Tecumseh Friends not to employ a regular pastor, but to permit any of the members of the meeting, be they laymen or clergymen, to occupy the pulpit. Among those who frequently occupied the pulpit in the early days were: Tristram Allen, William Charles, Sarah Jane Strong, and Mary C. Wood. Since the completion of the present edifice, the following have been regular incumbents of the pastorate: David J. Lewis, Frank Fistler, James Hageman, Edgar Williams, Lida G. Romick, Martha E. Barber, Edgar A. Wollam, and J. William Chaney, the present pastor. The Friends Society of Adrian, last of this faith to be established in this county, was not formally organized until March, 1904, though meetings had been held at frequent intervals for nearly two years prior thereto, under the auspices of the Friends Society of Raisin Center. These early meetings were conducted in tents during the summer months, in various halls about the city of Adrian during the winters, and they were at various times addressed by the Revs. Jacob Baker, Alfred 13artlett, Walter Brown, and Lulu Graves. Jacob Baker became the first regularly installed pastor of the society upon its organization, in March, 1904, being succeeded by the Rev. Frank Rhoades, in the summer of 19o6, and the latter in turn was followed by the present incumbent of the pastorate, the Rev. F. J. Cope, who assumed charge of the meeting in October, 1907. For the past four years the regular church services have been conducted in the commodious 'and entirely adequate Everiss Hall, at the corner of West Church and South Winter streets, and during the five years of its existence the society has carried on a religious, charitable, and benevolent work, which is entirely commendable, in the city. In the spring of 1905, a mission, which for some time was in charge of the pastor, was founded, but it is now under the control of a city missionary, Theresa Stevens, and is housed in Mission Chapel, in the southern section of the city, on South street. Both the church society and the mission maintain large and thriving Sabbath schools, Miss Eugenia Hotives being superintendent of the former, and L. G. Wright of the latter. Congregationalism in this county is today represented by six church societies, there being one each at Hudson, Tipton, Clinton, Morenci, West Adrian, and Addison. The Congregational church of Hudson is the oldest society of this denomination, having been formally organized, Feb. 24, 1836, with the title of "The Presbyterian Church of Bean Creek," having the Presbyterian form of government, and being affiliated with the Monroe Presbytery, the governing body for churches of that denomination in this community. The constituent members, twentynine in all, presented letters from other churches, and one person joined by profession of faith later in the same year. The first meeting for public worship was held in August, 1835, at the home of Beriah H. Lane (the founder of Hudson, then Lanesville), on the east side of Market street, a few rods north of Main street, and here the first sermon delivered in the town was preached on December r1, of that year, by the Rev. William Wolcott. Here, too, the first Sabbath school of the town was formed, June 7, 1835. On May i, 1841, the name of the church society was changed to its present form, though it continued its connection with the Monroe Presbytery-until 1853, when it withdrew-from that governing body, and, on April 18 of the following year, it united with the southern Michigan (Congregational) association which all churches of that denomination in this section of the commonwealth are now affiliated. But this alteration in the form of government was not accomplished peacefully, for from the very first there was a great deal of wrangling between those members of the society who desired a Presbyterian model of government and those who wanted the Congregational, and in the 40's a few disgruntled brethren with Presbyterian leanings had withdrawn their membership and formed a Presbyterian church society, which, However, was but a short-lived affair, and a few years more found most of them back in the fold. The first house of worship was erected in 1848, on Lane street, being dedicated on June 3 of that year. But the congregation soon outgrew this edifice, and the present -one was built in 1871, at a cost of about $18,000, being one of the most commodious and tastefully finished edifices in the city of Hudson. Its location is a very happy one, near the center of the city, yet in a quiet neighborhood, at the head of Howard street, on a lot which admitted of the admirable basement, which is utilized for the holding of many social gatherings and the regular weekly prayer-meetings. The following have served as pastors David Pratt, David R. Dixon, J. AV. Pierce, Isaac Crabbe, Robert Laird, John IV. Baynes. W. W. Atwater, L. Smith Hobart, H. Judd, M. W. Reed, William Messmer, Olney Place, B. D. Conkling, T. G. Colton, and the. present incumbent, the Rev. M. J. Sweet. The Tipton Congregational church society was the second of that denomination to be established in the county, having been organized in 1837. The Rev. W. F. Grove is the present pastor, receiving his call to the pastorate in 1907. The third church society of this order was organized at Clinton, in 1844, under the title of the First Congregational church of Clinton. Today it is one of the largest Congregational societies in the county, and the Rev. John H. Ashby is the present pastor, having been installed in 1898. Plymouth Congregational church of Adrian was organized, May 23, 1854, by a large. group of brethren from the Presbyterian church of Adrian, who had withdrawn from the last named society because of their dissatisfaction with the Presbyterian form of government. The first meetings of worship of the newly established society were conducted at the homes of various members until the completion of the church chapel on Church street, in November, 1854. During the summer and fall of 1856 and the spring of the following year, the regular church edifice (now known as the Methodist Protestant Church) was erected, at the corner of East Church and State streets, under the able supervision of the late Dr: Daniel Kingsley Underwood, of Adrian, who also contributed one-fourth of the cost thereof, though it was not dedicated until June 20, 1857. Among those who acted as deacons of this organization: during the early days of its existence were Charles Philbrook, Edward F. Townsend, Moses L. Pruden, H. 'S. Watts, Bronson Hopkins, William L. Quaife, F. H. Conant, J. M. Cornelius, James Albright, and James A. Mansfield. The Rev. L. Hobart Smith, subsequently pastor of the Congregational church of Hudson, was the first installed incumbent of the pastorate of Plymouth church, commencing his service therein, Nov. 12, 185:x, and continuing until November of the following year. His successors were: Richard G. Green, Asa Mahan, Edwin P. Powell, Alfred McSween, George R. Merrill, and R. Billman The first seven years of the society's existence were thriving ones but with the advent of the ministry of Edwin P. Powell, in 1861, a great many of the congregation became dissatisfied with his orthodoxy, and during the succeeding ten years of his pastorage, between twenty and thirty famihes withdrew their membership from the church and united with various congregations of the city. About 1878, during the pastorate of the Reverend Billman, the church organization was dissolved, some members uniting with the church of the same faith at West Adrian, others with the Congregational society at Raisin, and some returned to the Presbyterian Church of Adrian. In August, 1879, the Plymouth Church edifice was leased to the Methodist Protestant Church Society, and in May of the ensuing year it was sold to that organization. The First Congregational church of Raisin, the next of the order to be founded in the county, was organized in March, 1855, in the log cabin of Deacon Rogers, with seventeen members-ten women and seven men. The first pastor of the society was the Rev. William Wolcott, formerly of Hudson. The services were conducted at the homes of the various members and in a schoolroom during the first ten years of the society's existence, until the completion of a brick edifice in 1865. The next church society of the Congregational denomination to be established in the county was founded at Morenci, in 1858, being christened the Congregational Church of Morenci. The Rev. George Barnum was the first incumbent of the pastorate, and the Rev. W. H. Shannon is the present minister, having been installed in 1905. The West Adrian Congregational church, situated in the township of Adrian, about three miles northwest of the city, was organized in 1867. A large brick edifice was erected during the following year, and it is still employed as the house of worship. The Rev. John Gray, a resident of the city of Adrian, is the present pastor, and William H. Knight, proprietor of the Mapleside Fruit, Grain and Stock farm, of the township of Adrian, has been the superintendent of the large and thriving Sabbath school of this church for more than twenty-five years., The Congregational church of Addison, the last of that faith to be founded in the county, was established in 1884, and the Rev. C. C. Omans is the present pastor. At the present time there are six churches of the Roman faith in Lenawee county: St. Mary's, of Adrian; St. Joseph's, of the same place; Sacred Heart, of Hudson; St. Alphonsus, of Deerfield; St. Domminic's, of Clinton, and St. Joseph's, of Cambridge. About 1840, a Catholic mission was opened in the village of Adrian by Father Smoulder, of Monroe, and though no regular church organization was effected at that time, he continued to return to Adrian once every month to read mass to the settlers of that faith-the services being held at the homes of Patrick Kelley, Charles Conlisk, and Patrick Stanton, until 1845, when Father Kindekens was placed in charge of the mission. In the first year of his incumbency, the first church society of the Catholic faith to be established in the county was organized, and it came to be known as St. Mary's Catholic church of Adrian, being one of the oldest churches of that denomination in this section of the state. The first edifice was erected at the corner of Erie and Center streets, soon after the launching of this society. The Reverend Ehrenstrasser succeeded Father Kindekens, in July, 1865, and remained until September, 1867, being succeeded by the Reverend Van Dyke. Under Reverend Van Dyke's regime the present edifice was erected, in 1869, at the corner of Erie and Division streets. Father Van Dyke was succeeded by the Rev. Duhig, in December, 1871, the latter remaining until September, 1873, and the following have been his successors: The Revs. Wallace (October, 1873-January, 1894), Dr. Charles O'Reilly, D. D. (January, 2894-March, 1901), and the present incumbent-the Rev. Henry D. Sullivan-who came in March, 1901. St. Mary's has a membership of more than 1,000, and a Sabbath school of nearly 200 scholars being one of the largest Catholic church societies in this section of the country. St. Mary's congregation became divided, in 1862, when the German members thereof, desiring that mass and other of the rites of the Roman faith be administered in their own language, withdrew, organized a church society, and later erected a house of worship. The newly formed society became known as St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and during the first three years of its existence, from 1862 to 1865, the spiritual welfare of the congregation was administered to by the Redemptorists of Detroit. But as the membership was rapidly increasing, it soon became necessary that a resident priest be engaged, and accordingly, in 1865, Rev. Father Ehrenstrasser was assigned to St. Joseph's parish, remaining until 1870, when he was assigned to another field of labor. The Rev. Father Tewis assumed charge of the parish in 1870, but remained but two years, being succeeded, in 1872, by Father Kullmann, who performed a great work in behalf of the congregation. Under his pastorate the first Catholic cemetery was platted and improvements were made on the church property, and as it was rapidly becoming evident that the edifice would soon be outgrown by the rapidly increasing congregation, an agitation for a more adequate and commodious house of worship was commenced, though nothing definite was accomplished until the ensuing year, when the Rev. Casimir Rohwoski assumed charge of the parish. To the latter is largely due the credit of bringing about the erection of the present handsome edifice, the parochial school (which is treated at length in the chapter on education), and the parish manse, though the last named building was not completed until after the installation of his successor, the Reverend Theisen. Though the latter was in charge of the parish for only two years, he rendered a great service in the way of liquidating the debts which the congregation had incurred through the erection of the new structures. The Rev. A. P. Ternes was the next incumbent of the pastorate, remaining in charge of the parish until 1896, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Henry C. Koenig. The present incumbent, the Rev. F. IN. Schaeper, took charge in -larch, 1903, and now administers to the spiritual needs of a large and thriving congregation Along in the latter part of the d0's a Catholic church was organized and an edifice erected on the township line between Hudson and Medina, a few miles from the village of Hudson, and though the congregation was administered to by no regularly installed priest, mass was read by stated supphes from the Catholic church of Monroe and St. Mary's of Adrian, until 1858, when Rev. Father Van Erp was assigned to this rural parish. He at once determined to make the village of Hudson the parish headquarters, and accordingly leased a building which was fitted up for church purposes in the last named place. Services of the Roman faith were then conducted at Hudson on the first three Sundays of the month and at the old Medina church on the fourth. The Hudson church was christened "Sacred Heart," and during the ministry of Father Van Erp a parish manse was built and an edifice so far completed as to be utilized for worship before his departure, about 1865. The present beautiful and commodious edifice and the elegant rectory, on Market street, were dedicated on June II, 1905, and are two of the most handsome church buildings in the county. The congregation has gradually increased until today it is the largest religious body in the city of Hudson. The Rev. Joseph F. Hallissey is now in charge of the parish. The Rev. AV. J. Heyden now administers to the spiritual welfare of the congregation of St. Alphonsus, of Deerfield, and Rev. Edward Fisher is in charge of the parishes of St. Dominic's, of Clinton, and St. Joseph's, of Cambridge. All of these congregations are the largest in their community, and they occupy large and imposing houses of worship. St. John's Lutheran church of Adrian is the mother church of the Lutheran faith in Lenawee county. During the early 40's of the last century, a group of German Lutherans settled in Adrian, and from time to time the Rev. William Hattstaedt, of, Monroe, Mich, journeyed to Adrian to expound the Gospel to them. On Oct. 10, 1847, the congregation, consisting of six famihes and twenty young unmarried persons, was formally organized, and on April 3, 1850, Rev. J. J. Trautmann, of Liverpool, Ohio, was called to the pastorate, being the first resident pastor, and he continued to officiate over the congregation until in 1882, when, after thirtytwo years of faithful service, he resigned. He was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. John Fackler, who was called to the pulpit from Lyons, Iowa. The first house of worship, a frame building. of small dimensions-thirty-two feet in length, and twenty-four feet in breadth-was dedicated on July 29, 1849, and the present stately edifice at the corner of East Church and Locust streets, was dedicated to public worship, June 29, 1861, being remodeled and enlarged in 1899. The congregation also maintains a finely equipped and commodious parochial school on East Church Street directly opposite Monument Park, and a parsonage at No. 39 Frank street. The church is affiliated with the Missouri-Ohio synod. St. Stephen's Evangelical Lutheran church of Adrian, the second oldest Lutheran church in the county, was organized Oct. 15, i86o, with eleven constituent members, most of whom were formerly affiliated with St. John's congregation. The Rev. S. Clingman became the first resident pastor in the early 6o's, and during his pastorate the present house of worship, at. the corner of Toledo and Center streets, was erected, being remodeled in 1874, under the pastorate of J. Wuerthner. In 1883, the congregation purchased a lot, upon which the modernly equipped and commodious parsonage was constructed, in 1899, at the corner of Front and Finch streets; the congregation's parochial school, adjoining the parsonage on Finch street, being built during the same year. The Rev. Herman Heyn is the present pastor„ and during his incumbency of twelve years, the congregation has been more than doubled, having increased from sixty-five famihes in the fall of 1896 to 150 famihes in the fall of 1908. This church is under the jurisdiction of the Michigan (Lutheran) synod, St. Stephen's and St. John's being under the authority of governing bodies which are entirely separate and distinct from each other. There are two German Lutheran churches in the township of Riga, of which the Revs. F. Krauss and Nest are the respective pastors. There is also one at Lake Ridge, of which Rev. F. Schwede is now pastor, and there is one known as "Zion's," of which Rev. Theodore Schoech is the present incumbent of the pastorate, about two and one-half miles northwest of Deerfield village, while there is also one at Blissfield, and there are two at North Blissfield. The Immanuel (German) Evangelical Church Society of Adrian was formed in August, 1892, tinder the leadership of Rev. J. B. Meister, formerly an instructor in St. Stephen's school of Adrian. The majority of the constituent members had also previously been affiliated with St. Stephen's congregation. J. B. Meister became the first resident pastor, officiating from August, 1892, to November, 1894, and the house of worship, at the corner of Mc\Ticker and East Church streets, still occupied by the congregation, was erected during the first year of his ministry. The parsonage, adjoining the church on East Church street, was erected in 1896, during the ministry of Rev. Edward Meinhold. Though the membership is largely composed of persons who were formerly affiliated with the Lutheran church, the organization is in no way connected with Lutheranism, being under the jurisdiction of the German Evangelical synod of North America. The following have been, incumbents of the ministry: J. B. Meister, F. IV. Buehler, Julius Reichert, William Hausmann, W. G. Rath, and Rev. Frederick Boehm, the present incumbent, who was called to the pastorate in July, 19o8. There is also an Evangelical church located southeast of Ogden Center. The Methodist Protestant Church Society of Adrian, generally known as the College Church, because of the fact that Adrian College has for years been under the jurisdiction of the General Conference of that denomination, was organized, April 14, 1867. There were forty-six constituent members, many of whom had previously been affiliated with the old Plymouth Congregational church of Adrian, but had withdrawn their membership therein because they had come to question the orthodoxy of Rev. Edwin P. Powell, who had occupied the pulpit of Plymouth church for ten years from 1861 to 1871. The first trustees of the newly established church were: Dr. John Kost, J. H. Bailey, and D. G. Edmiston, and the first board of stewards was composed of the following J. S. Wilcox, J: H. Davis, and J. R. Gilkey. In August, 1879, the society leased the edifice at the corner of East Church and State streets, owned and formerly occupied by Plymouth congregation, and in May of the subsequent year this house of worship was purchased by the Methodist Protestant congregation, which still utilizes it for church services. Extensive alterations and improvements were made in the building, in 19o8, and early in the spring of Igog, and today it is one of the most adequate and commodious of sanctuaries in Adrian. The present membership of the congregation is about 275, having been almost doubled during the ministry of the present pastor, Rev. Lee Anna Starr, a member of the North Illinois conference of this denomination, who was called to Adrian in October, 1907. The board of trustees is constituted as follows: Dr. B. W. Anthony, D. D., president; I. WV. Swift, Charles Clark, C. M. Walker, L. D. Swisher; and V. A. Michener. W. N. Swift is treasurer of the society and superintendent of the rapidly growing Sabbath school, and Prof. II. L. Feeman is president of the board of stewards. The following ordained clergymen have been incumbents of the pastorate: J. M. Mayall, Asa Mahan, G. B. McElroy, John Kost, J. S. Thrapp, W. M. Goodner, C. W. Stephenson, Ernest Evans, and Lee Anna Starr, the present pastor; and in addition, at various intervals, the pulpit has been supphed by the following licentiates: C. B. Goodrich, A. R. Seamon, A. II. Marsh, John Ellis, and D. G. Edmiston. There are but three other churches of the Methodist Protestant faith in the county,, viz.: Adrian mission, at North Adrian, of which Rev. E. L. Steffey is pastor; one at Britton, of which Rev. II. B. Hayes is the present minister, and one at Wellsville. Free Methodism is represented by three church societies in Lenawee County: one at Ridgeway, which is the oldest of the denominations in the county; another at Jasper and the third at Adrian, the last mentioned having been established abouty twenty-five years ago. It occupies a house of worship, which was erected in 1895, at the corner of McVicker and Frank streets, and the present pastor is the Rev. C. WV. Miller. The oldest United Brethren congregation in the county was organized in the village of Blissfield, in 1886, by Rev. B. Baldwin and wife, and among the charter members who are still affiliated with the church are William Rothfuss and wife, Samuel Hass and wife, Simon Young and wife, and Moses Palmer and wife. Rev. L. Wade was the first resident pastor, remaining but one year, when he was succeeded by Rev. S. Yeager. The first services were conducted in various halls about the village, then they were held in a house of worship leased from another church society, and later a small frame meeting-house, known as the Tabernacle, was erected. The present structure was built in the summer and fall of 1888, during the pastorate of S. H. Yeager, and it was dedicated in December of that year, Bishop Milton Wright officiating. Today there are io8 members of the congregation, the Sunday school enrolls 1Go pupils, and the young people's societythe Christian Endeavor-is composed of some forty-five members. The following is a complete list of the pastors: L. Wade, S. H. Yeager, J. E. Bodine,. A. R. Landy, G. S. Seiple, 0. G. Alwood, E. C. Mason, C. L. Snyder, and the present incumbent, Rev. N. E. Dennis, who commenced his present pastorate in 1907, having previously officiated as pastor from 1898 to 1801. The establishment of the United Brethren Society of Adrian is due to the work of a conference evangelist, Rev. A. H. Tussing, who conducted tent meetings in the "Maple City" during the summer of 1903, resulting in the formation of the society, July 22, 1903. Rev. R. V. Gilbert was appointed pastor, in the fall of that year, and during his ministry of three years the house of worship and parsonage, on the north side of French street, between Treat and East Beecher streets, were erected, the edifice being dedicated in August, 1904, Bishop Halleck Floyd, D. D., officiating. Reverend Gilbert was succeeded by the Rev. L. S. Wilmoth, in the fall of 19o6, the latter officiating until the fall of 1907, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, the Rev. M. A. Mason. Today the society has a membership of approximately seventy and the Sabbath school enrolls about 125 children. There is also a United Brethren society at Morenci, of which the Rev. Edward Shadd is now pastor. The township of Riga contains a society of this denomination,known as the Bethel United Brethren, which has a membership of seventy-five, and a Sunday school enrollment of eigthy-four. This organization has no resident pastor, being conducted under the authority of the pastorate of the United Brethren Society of Blissfield. In Ogden township there are six churches of this denomination, the Radical branch being represented at Victorsville, Mulberry, and Bethel; and the Liberal branch has organizations with buildings at Ogden station, Ogden Center, and Pleasant chapel, north of Mulberry. The Church of the Disciples of Christ, of Adrian, was incorporated in 1go1, with but thirteen members, under the leadership of Rev. G. J. Massey, who became the first pastor. During the first two years of the society's career, the meetings of worship were held in Everiss hall, at the corner of West Church and South Winter streets. In 1902, the present incumbent of the pastorate, Benjamin W. Huntsman, was first called to the pulpit, and during the second year of his ministry the present-house of worship (the original Methodist Episcopal church edifice of Adrian), on Toledo street, between Broad and North Main streets, was purchased from Mrs. Channing Whitney, and remodeled during the ensuing fall. In the summer of 1904, Reverend Huntsman went to Melbourne, Australia, where for nearly two years he was engaged in church activities, and during his absence the pulpit was occupied by the Rev. IV. H. Kindred. Reverend Huntsman returned to Adrian and resumed charge of the ministry, in the fall of Igo6. Since he first commenced to serve as pastor, in the fall of 1902, 186 members have united with the congregation, there being but thirty-five members when he took up his duties. AV. L. Brisbin is superintendent of the large and prosperous Sabbath school, Ernest Russell is clerk of the church society, and A. J. Davis is treasurer. The board of trustees is comprised of the following: W. L. Brisbin, A. J. Davis, and J. W. Snedeker. The only other church society of this denomination in the county today is the Church of Christ, of Jasper. At the present time there is no pastor, and the membership of the society is very small. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST (SCIENTIST). The first Christian Science service in Adrian was held Sunday, Sept. 30, r90o, in the rooms used by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, these having been secured for that purpose. There was an attendance of - twenty-five. The First Reader was Mrs. Eliza Howell, the pioneer of Christian Science in Adrian, and a student of Miss Sarah J. Clark, of Toledo. Louis C. Jennings, of Toledo, acted temporarily as Second Reader. A Sunday school was organized on the same date and it consisted of three pupils-Harriet Taylor, Howell Taylor, and Floyd Nichols-Mrs. Maude H. Taylor acting as teacher. On Sunday, Nov. II, of the same year, Mrs. Maude H. Taylor was made Second Reader in the place of Louis Jennings. Services were continued in these rooms until the first Sunday in January, 1901, when Everiss Hall was secured, and services were continued there for a little more than a year. In September, I9o1, Mrs. Eliza Howell being called to go out of the city for an unlimited time, Miss E. R. Adams, of Toledo, was called to, fill the vacancy and take up the work of organization. In January, Igo2, the place for services was again changed to 59 South Main street, the object being to obtain rooms which could be controlled wholly for Christian Science work. On Oct. 30, 1901, the First Christian Science Society of Adrian was formed with nine members, a$ follows: Mrs. Eliza Howell, Mrs. Maude H. Taylor, Peter Miller, Mrs. Frances L. Miller, Ogden Cole, Mrs. Hannah Cole, Archer Crandall, Mrs. Mamie Crandall and Mrs. Maria Welch. In April, 1902, services were again held at IG East Maumee street. In January, 1903, Mrs. Maude II. Taylor was elected to the place of First Reader, Miss Adams having returned to Toledo, and Mr. Crandall became Second Reader. Mr. Crandall later leaving the city, Mrs. Hannah Cole was elected to the office of Second Reader. At an annual meeting of the First Christian Science Society, held Jan. 23, I9o5, and after some discussion, it was moved and carried that this society be dissolved and disbanded and that the work of organizing a church under the laws of the State of Michigan be commenced. In March of the same year the articles of incorporation were signed before Harry L. Larwill, notary public, by Mrs. Eliza Howell, Mrs. Maude H. Taylor, and Mrs. Frances L. Miller. With these three, the following constituted the charter members of the organized church: Miss Ethel Love, Mrs. Jennie Love, Mrs. Margaret Bonner, Richard Bonner, John S. Bonner, Charles E. King, and Mrs. Mary Adelle Wade. Thus the First Church of Christ, Scientist, of Adrian was established, with Mrs. Matide Taylor as First Reader and Mrs. Rosella Wilson, of Toledo, as Second Reader, both being students of Sarah J. Clark of Toledo. In August, 1907, the location of the church rooms was changed to West Maumee, the present location. Mrs. Hannah Cole succeeded Mrs. Wilson as Second Reader, the First Reader remaining the same until January, 19o8, when Mrs. Charlotte Clute was elected First Reader, and Mrs. Mina Cummings Second Reader. The present Readers are Mrs. Charlotte Clute and Mrs. Jennie Cleveland, First and Second, respectively. The number of members has now reached twenty-five and the congregations average over forty. Wednesday evening services are held in accordance with the Manual of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, of Boston. Mass., and a public reading room is maintained, opened every afternoon from, two until four during the week, and there the authorized literature of Christian Science may be read and purchased, if desired. Under the auspices of this church four lectures have been given by the following members of the Board of Lectureship of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston: Edward A. Kimball, C. S. D.; Clarence A. Buskirk, Bicknell Young, and Dr. J. Fluno. There has been a building fund established for the erection of a church edifice in the near future. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, of Adrian, the pioneer union of the State, was organized on Tuesday, March lo, 1874, as the result of a temperance crusade which had been inau orated in the city some time previous, and more particularly as the result of a gigantic temperance mass meeting held at the Croswell opera house on the evening of Monday, March 9, at which "Aunt" Laura Haviland was one of the most effective speakers. The following were selected as the first officials of the union: Mrs. A. F. Bourns, president; Mrs. Andrew Howell, secretary, and Mrs. Judge) Norman Geddes, treasurer, an executive committee of eight members being appointed at the same time. In November, . 1874, delegates were sent to the National convention of all women's temperance societies, held at Cleveland, Ohio, at which the National Womans' Christian Temperance Union was permanently organized and Mrs. Norman Geddes represented the Adrian union at the National convention held at Newark, N. J., in the following year. The first State convention of the unions of Michigan was held in Adrian in 1875, the late Francis Willard being in attendance during the last few days. The first district convention also convened at Adrian May 4, 1876, being held in the old Plymouth Congregational church (now the Methodist Protestant church), at which thirtydelegates were in attendance. The convention adopted a constitution and elected officers for the ensuing year, and that same evening (May,4, 1876) the Adrian Union opened a reading room and coffee house in the store room on Maumee street now occupied by the Donnelly millinery firm. Mrs. R. B. LeFever first took charge of this room until the following June, when Miss Lewis became matron, continuing to serve as such until February, of the subsequent year, when Mrs. M. W. Redfield assumed charge, and of her long and faithful service the public can furnish ample testimony. Today a cafe and lunch room is operated at the headquarters of the union, on the south side of East Maumee street, between Broad and South Main streets, which is extensively patronized by the public in general. Mrs. Ada Mumford is now president of Adrian union, having been elected to that position at the last annual meeting, succeeding Mrs. Elizabeth Ferguson, who had served for eight consecutive years-from 1go1 to 1gog, and Mrs. E. B. Steele is the present secretary. There are nQw eleven unions in the county, which are banded into a county association, of which Mrs. E. S. Ferguson, of Adrian, is president, and Mrs. Myrta Palmer, of Onsted, is secretary. The following is a list of the unions of the county, with their presidents: Adrian, Mrs. Ada Mumford; Addison, Mrs. Grace Crowfoot; Hudson, Mrs. Anthony Treat; Morenci, Mrs. F. A. Rowley; Rollin, Mrs. Ethel Will; Jasper, Mrs. T. G. Mann; Raisin Valley, Mrs. Henry; Weston, Mrs. Louise Southworth; Onsted, Mrs. Julia Reed; Tecumseh, Mrs. Sylvia Davidson, and Blissfield, which has no president at the present time.