| ChurchFire Razes Building 45Years Old |
The Rushville Times,March 13, 1952
The Rushville Timesused by permissionFire,believed to have started in the flue, completely destroyed the Methodistchurch bilding at Pleasant View Friday afternoon, altho the Rushville firemenwere able to prevent any further spread of the blaze. The alarm was soundedabout 2 o’clock and within the hour, the blaze had spread thru the entirebuilding.
Ladiesof the church were working in the basement in preparation for this Wednesday’schicken supper when the fire was noticed. Altho it spread rapidly, carpetingand furniture were saved, while the kitchen equipment in the basement,including all the dishes was destroyed.
The presentbuilding, which was constructed in 1907, was insured for $4,000 altho itis estimated that it would take at least $15,000 to replace the structuretoday. History of the Pleasant View church, however, dates back to 1832.The chicken supper plans were carried out in the Community building, andSunday worship services were held in the Christian church building.
Thruinformation obtained for The Times by Mrs. Harold Haynes from the scrapbooksof Mrs. Roscoe Smedley and Mrs. Hugh Strong, a complete history of thechurch has been obtained, tracing its many activities from 1832 to 1930when the history was read at the quarterly conference meeting of the churchheld in Pleasant View. Records of the late George M. Greer show that thefirst church meetings were held in log cabins in the year 1832. The completehistory as read in 1930 follows.
On Tuesdayat the M. E. church in Pleasant View was held an all day meeting of theQuarterly Conference of the M. E. Circuit churches, and at this time membersof the Pleasant View congregation took advantage of the opportunity toobserve the 99th anniversary of the founding of the church.
Representativesof the Moore Chapel, Houston, Ebenezer, Sugar Grove, Browning, and PleasantView churches were present, and the meeting was presided over by Rev. Bucher,district superintendent, of Jacksonville. These churches are all servedby Rev. T. W. Rippy.
Businesssessions were held in the morning and afternoon, and a basket dinner wasserved in the church at the noon hour. A history of the Pleasant View church,from the day of its founding to the present time was prepared by JamesMalcomson and read at this meeting. As the story of the growth of thisis likewise a chapter in the history of Schuyler county, we are herewithpublishing the history word for word as it was read Tuesday.
A researchof events leading up to the present time from the organization of the Methodistchurchin Pleasant View, was made possible thru letters, records, excerptsand written matter that has been carefully preserved in the family of thelate George M. Greer and his descendents.
Datawas not available for the purpose of reviewing the early history of thechurch but reference to the year 1832 indicates that meetings were heldpresumably in the log cabins of early settlers. Later, when the villagewas founded in 1843 by Ebenezer Dimmick, meetings were held in the log”Synagogue” which stood on an outlot where now are the homes of WilliamJ. Dodds and J. M. Gragg.
A worddetail kept by Mr. Greer, secretary of the board of trustees, gives thefirst entry as follows: This is to certify that on the above date on Dec.,1862, of the following members were elected trustees of the Methodist Espiscopalchurch of Pleasant View for the term of five years from the above dateof Dec. 15, 1862: George M. Greer, Abraham Hamilton, John H. Loring, JohnUtter, Thomas Herron. And a certificate of the above election is duly recordedin the County Clerk’s office in Rushville on the 9th day of January, 1863,in Book 31, on page 293.”
The nextentry was of the deed recorded in Book 31, P. 363, giving the descriptionof the building lot which also, includes lots 3 and 4, block 4, in Dimmick’sthird addition to the town of Pleasant View.
Followingthe above mentioned entries is the report of the building committee, andhere we find that Rev. S. M. Huckstep, George W. Frisby, George W. Strong,and George Lewis performed much of the work at construction. The buildingcost $870.50, $624.50 of which was raised by public subscription and $246thru timber and labor donations. Rev. S. M. Huckstep dedicated the church.
In 1884the building was remodeled and repaired under the supervision of John H.Loring, chairman, and George M. Greer, secretary of the board of trustees,and was rededicated May 18, 1884, by Rev. J. B. Ward of Rushville.
The ceaselesschanges of time brought before the board of trustees in the year 1906,the matter of building a new house of worship to replace the old one, andthe official board was composed of the following named members: Dr. WilliamT. Bellomy, William D. Clemons, John A. Ballou, John Malcomson, and CorneliusStevens. Raising sufficient funds seemed for a time, to be an almost hopelesstask until John Malcomson devised a plan of soliciting from those who heldin memory, fond recollections of former church association. One, who hadaccumulated great wealth, indicated in reply that he was deeply interestedin the future welfare of his former home community, and the old buildingwas wrecked and the corner-stone for a new building was laid May 23, 1907,and the new church was dedicated in February 1908. Rev. J. H. Wohlfarth,district superintendent, of Quincy district, officiating. A letter wasreceived by the secretary of the board, dated June 5, 1908, as follows:Twin City Rapid TransitCo.
Thomas Lowry, Pres.
Minneapolis, Minn.
John Malcomson,Esq.
Pleasant View, IllinoisMy Dear Mr. Malcomson:
Thanksfor your letter of the third instant. I wrote the cashier of the bank ofRushville, asking him if all the bills had been paid, but did not receivea reply from him. Are you entirely out of debt now after using the moneyI sent you? Please write and tell me the exact condition of your church.With best regards to old friends, I am,
Very Truly yours,
Thomas Lowry.On beinginformed in reply to the above letter that the building had been paid forbut that funds were not available for new seats and the heating plant,Mr. Lowry immediately forwarded to the local bank sufficient funds to coverthe cost. In an old Sunday school book of attendance the name of ThomasLowry appears as a regular attendent.
Incompleteas this record of events may seem, it brings up the history of the churchfrom year 1832 to the present date. We have knowledge of the existenceof the church from the year 1832, when Rev. H. Summers was the first pioneerCircuit rider, and it is known that in the year 1843, Mr. and Mrs. GeorgeM. Greer transfered their membership from the church in Rushville to thischurch. This period of time from 1832 to 1930 covers nearly a century ofprogress and if we pause, and reflect on the name of these Christian workers,we find those of the third and fourth generations, decendants of sturdypioneer stock, zealously upholding the banner of Christianity before achangeful world, but the visualized inscription on that banner is changelessand reads “the same yesterday, today and forever.”
The auxiliariesof the church are the Sunday school of which no date is on record for itsbeginning; the Epworth League, organized in the fall of 1893; the MissionarySociety, 1918, and the Ladies Aid Society, organized in October 1908, theyear the present bilding was completed. All have served a useful purposein promoting religious thought and action. From the days of John H. Loringas superintendent, to the present superintendent’s term (that of LawrenceDodds, who has served many terms faithfully), there have been many ablemen whose names we recall but of whose service we have no record. Leadershipto be effective must have support, and memory recalls the names of menand women who were faithful in attendance and efficient as teachers duringthis period of time. The wife of Rev. William Tipton, Mary Barnes-Milby,Lavina Benton, Lucy Bellomy, Carrie Rotes, Electa Clemons-Baxter amongthe women, and D. M. Bellomy, James Allen, John Clemons, among the men,are names of persons whose good works are manifest in a flourishing Sundayschool today.
In conclusionwe wish to review the work of the Ladies’ Aid, organized in October 1907,at the home of Julia Malcomson, with Elsie Parks as first president. Therewere twelve members present, four of whom have passed to their reward,namely, Mrs. D. M. Bellomy, Mrs. Thomas Parks, Mrs. J. A. Ballow and Mrs.George Rebman. This society has been to the church what the mainspringis to the watch and its motto seems to be, “Do all the good you can toall the people you can, in all ways you can,” and are now doing the workthat was once shared more equally by the men. In many instances the needyhave been taken care of, and financially they have not only given generouslyto the benevolence of the church, but have built and furnished their basementalmost unaided. Undaunted when funds were not available, they built andborrowed and today the society is free from all indebtedness. A few yearsago an old lady told us that she saw George M. Greer, John H. Loring, JamesDunlap and others, whose names she had forgotten, planting the trees younow see around the border of the grounds, some time late in the sixties.As these trees assist in beautifying the environment of the little chapel,so will the work of the Ladies Aid Society environ beautiful Christiancharacter building by faithful service for the Master.Copyright 1999, 2000 RobinL. W. Petersen; all rights reserved. For personal use only. Commercialuse of the information contained in these pages is strictly prohibitedwithout prior permission. If copied, this copyright must appear with theinformation.