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 - Shelby County, Illinois - This is the Shelby County, Illinois, section of the Genealogy Trails Project. |
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| Shelbyville’s Churches and Pastors
Our beautiful city’s religious welfare, so far as number of
societies and church buildings can make it, is better provided for
than any other city that we know of. There are ten church
buildings — all free of debt, and preaching
services and Sunday schools are held regularly. The following are the
names of these churches — cuts and sketches of most of which are given
on these pages, and also cuts and sketches of several of the present
pastors: The First
Methodist Episcopal, Second Methodist Episcopal, Free Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian,
Baptist,
Christian or Disciples, Catholic, Lutheran and
Unitarian
Congregationalist.
The
second M. E. Church of (West) Shelbyville (locally known as Moulton)
was organized in 1878 and for awhile services were held in empty stores
and halls. In 1879 the present brick structure with a seating
capacity
of about 300 was built, largely through the work and influence of Moses
Flanders. The society under the pastorate of Rev. T. L. Hancock
(see
biography and portrait) and is now in good working condition with a
membership of 180. A good Sunday school of 175, with John Morehead as
superintendent and a large and prosperous Epworth League,
which holds
interesting meetings each Thursday evening. The church also owns a neat
two story frame parsonage. See picture.
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Shelbyville
Church Directory
FIRST
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. -- Sunday services 10:45
a.m. and 7 pm.
Sunday school at 9:15 a.m. Young People’s meeting at 6 p.m.
A. T. Orr, Pastor
SECOND (MOULTON)
METHODIST EPIS- COPAL CHURCH. -- Preaching Sundays at 10:45
a.m. and 7p.m. Sunday school at 9:15 a.m. Class meeting at 7:30 p.m.
Prayer meeting Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. Epworth League
meeting on Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. T. L. Hancock, Pastor
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
- Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. Preaching at 10:45
a.m. and 7 p.m. Prayer meeting Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. Teachers’
meeting Thursday evening at 8:15 p.m. Young folks meeting Sunday
evening at 6:00 p.m. W. L. Lloyd, Pastor.
EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ST.
PAUL'S CHURCH (Moulton) - Sunday school at
9 a.m. Regular services, alternately between the German and English
languages at 10 a.m. Evening services (English) at 7 p.m. Teacher’s and
Young People’s meeting Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. L. H.
Burry, Pastor
CHRISTIAN CHURCH -
Sunday schoolat 9:30 a.m. Preaching at 10:45 a.m.
and 7 p.m. Prayer meeting on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. A.M.
Collins, Pastor
AFRICAN M. E. Church
- Services every other Sunday at 10:45 a.m. and 7
p.m. Sunday school at 2:30 p.m. J. Stephenson, Pastor.
CONGREGATIONAL
(UNITARIAN) CHURCH Sunday
School at 2 p.m.
Preaching Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. Social and religious meeting on
Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. J. L. Douthit, Pastor.
FREE METHODIST CHURCH.
Preaching Second and Fourth Sunday morning
and evening in each month. Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. Class
meeting at 2:30 p.m. Prayer meeting on Wednesday evening. L. C.
Cochran, Pastor
CATHOLIC CHURCH. High
mass every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Sunday school at
2:30 p.m. followed by Vesper services and benediction. Mass every
morning at 7:30 a.m.
Father H. J. Hoyes, Pastor BAPTIST CHURCH - Sunday
school at 9:30 a.m. Preaching at 10:45
a.m. and 7 p.m. Prayer meeting on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m.
J. P. Styles, Pastor
The Free Methodist Church
The
Free
Methodist congregation was organized
in July 10, 1885, by Rev. J. T. Noland. in 1888 the present church
edifice in the Western part of the city was built. On account of an
indebted- ness it was not dedicated until Sunday, Sept. 6, 1891, when Rev.
B. R. Jones (Burton Rensselaer Jones) editor of the Free Methodist, Chicago,
preached the
dedication sermon. Rev. Levi C. Cochran is the pastor. About forty
persons worship at this church while there is a Sunday School of about
forty members with John W. Johnson as superintendent. These Free
Methodists are an earnest and peculiar people. They dress plainly,
neither use tobacco nor intoxicants of any kind; are opposed to secret
societies, jewelry and all display. As to the doctrine and experiences
of Perfect Love they claim to follow the teachings of Wesley, Fletcher
and Adam
Clarke. This perfection is a moral and not a mental or
physical attainment. It is a work wrought in the heart of a justified
believer by the Holy Spirit. Holding these views and enjoying this
experience induced these people to associate themselves together that
they might have great liberty. Hence they are called Free Methodists. |
The
present church was organized in a barn near Prairie Bird, in 1851, as “The
Shelbyville Presbyterian church.” The
present two story brick church building which has cost near $8000, was
erected in 1856. It contains an audience room, Sunday school and
lecture room and a pastor’s study. A pipe organ, at present played by
Mrs. Etta Downs, has helped in the worship for many years. A choir of
ten or twelve, under direction of E. M. Hopkins, Shelbyville’s finest
basso, leads the singing. The church membership at present is about 125
with a Sun- day school of 125, and a Christian Endeavor. The
congregation
as a whole is one of the most cultured in the city and requires a high
grade of preaching. Rev. B. Mills, D.D., Rev. Timothy Hill, Dr.
Diamond, Dr. Root, Rev. R. D. Vanderson have served as pastors, and
later Revs. W. C. West, H. L. Jordan and W. J. Frazer. The
present
pastor, Rev. W. H. Lloyd (whose portrait and sketch find elsewhere) was
called in 1890.
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 Unitarian
Church
The "First
Congregational
Church of Shelbyville"
was organized in 1875 and
for a while meetings were held
in the old court house. In the same year
as laid the cornerstone of the present brick church on North
Washington
Street, a block from the court house.
In the year following, the
building was dedicated and the present pastor ordained, Rev.
James Freeman Clark, D. D., of Boston taking the principle part,
assisted by Dr.
William Greenleaf Eliot chancellor
of Washington
University, St. Louis, and Rabbi
S. H. Sonnenschein of St. Louis, Rev. John Healy Heywood
of Louisville, and Rev.
Frederick Lucian Hosmer of Cleveland. The
church membership at present is
about 75, with an active Sunday school of 100 members. Rev. Jasper L.
Douthit was organized the society is still its pastor and
superintendent of the Sunday school. A flourishing Lend a Hand Club of
50 holds meetings weekly. The following is an extract from the Articles
of Agreement: We, who have here subscribed our amens, do unite
ourselves together as body of communicants, in the First Congregational
(Unitarian) church, of Shelbyville, Illinois. By so doing we profess
our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of Good, and the Savior of men,
and acknowledge our faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the
Savior of men, and acknowledge the Bible as the Divinely authorized
Rule of faith and practice to which it is our duty, as christians, to
submit. By thus uniting ourselves together, we claim no right to
exclude any one from this communion on account of difference of
doctrinal opinions, nor for any reasons except undoubted immorality of
conduct. * *
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"Uncle Mike"
Freybarger
Michael Freybarger was born near Heidelburg, Germany,
Feb. 23, 1820. Came with parents to this country in 1831 being sixty-
seven days on the
ocean, and set- tled in New York. Then for sev- eral years they lived
in
Ohio, where the father died. In 1836, the family came overland
and
settled in Shelby county. In ‘49 Michael went to Colorado and worked in
the mines, but returned to this county two years after and has since
made his home here. He went through the war in Captain
Webster’s
company serving in the campaigns west of Nashville. He was supervisor
from his township two times and held the office of Justice of the
Peace. Mr. Frey- barger was married in 1843 to Sa- rah Ann Johnston,
stepdaughter of Elder Bushrod
W. Henry, and they have four children on
earth —four have passed on before. Mr. Freybarger has been for a
year
a resident of the city of Shelbyville. He has been an elder in the
Christian church for nearly fifty years. He is a man of sterling
integrity and universally respected by this neighbors and fellow
citizens. |
The
present Baptist church in Shelbyville was
organized in 1868 and the pres- ent church edifice (see cut) was built
in
1870. The house is of brick, located in the northwest part of the city,
and cost nearly $9000. The present parsonage — a large two story brick
building next to the church — was the gift of Thomas
M. Thornton
in
honor of his noble mother Mrs. Wm. F.
Thornton.
For many years Rev. J.
H. Phillips, an educated clergyman and teacher, as pastor. Rev. Wm. M.
Barker and Rev. B. F. Patt were later pastors. For the last two years,
Rev. J. P. Styles, a promising young divine, has been minister. He is
by twenty-five years old, a graduate of Shurtleff
College and
Theological Seminary, a student and scholarly gentleman. The degrees of
Ph. D. and D. D. have recently been conferred upon him. The
congregation and Sunday school has been having a steady and healthy
growth under his pastorate and the membership of the church now is
about one hundred and thirty. Visitors are always welcomed and cannot
fail to be benefited by Dr. Styles’s clear and scholarly preaching. The
Sunday school numbers about one hundred with J. W. Powers, supt., and
there is also a young people’s society which meets weekly. A sweet
toned pipe organ played by Geo. Kurtz adds to the
impressiveness of the
services and a choir of young people lead in the singing.
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