History of Madison County, Illinois - presented by Illinois Genealogy Trails History Group

ILLINOIS GENEALOGY TRAILS

CHURCHES OF MADISON COUNTY, IL.

THE PRESBYTERIANS: In 1819 two ministers came into Illinois as Presbyterian Missionaries. Their names were Lowe and Graham. As their field included Illinois and Missouri and their time a year or less they were of course but little in Madison County. Edward Hollister and Daniel Gould were in the County in 1820 as Missionaries of this denomination. Subsequently Mr. Gould taught School in Edwardsville six months, while Mr. Hollister itinerated mostly in Missouri, occasionally visiting Edwardsville.
In 1822, two other Missionaries came from New England, Rev. Orin Catlin and Rev. I. N. Sprague. Before all these the Rev. Salmon Giddings, who arrived in St. Louis in 1816 or 1817 came over occasionly and preached and it was he who formed the Churches of Edwardsville and Collinsville, the first of the denomination in Madison County. The Presbyerian Church of Collinsville was organized May 3, 1823 by Rev. Salmon Giddings. Its original number of members was eleven, most of whom belonged to one family, formerly connected with the church in Litchfield, Conn. William Collins and Oriel Wilcox were its first elders.Tthe church, from its formation until the fall of 1843, worshipped in a house erected in 1818,. the first frame meeting-house known to have been built in the state.Some of the ministers were:
1830-1840 Rev. Messrs, T. Lippincott, J.F. Brooks, Roswell Brooks, Robert Blake
1840 Rev. C.E. Blood

1847 Rev. Lemuel Grosvener

1852 David Dimond

1855 Gideon C. Clark

1863 Frederick C. Halsey

THE METHODIST AND BAPTIST CHURCHES: They were early planted in Illinois and there were many preachers of these denominations who labored more or less in Madison County. the Baptist were mostly of the old-or as they are sometimes known the hyper-calvanistic school. They were then popularly called Ironsides, but have been since more widely known and famed as Hardshells. About 1818 or 1819 the Rev. John M. Peck came to itinerate among them. The Methodist Church furnished many specimens of able ministry and devotion to the work. The principal resort or place of meeting in Madison County was about two miles west of Edwardsville where they had a meeting house and camping ground call "Ebenezer." Among the most conspicuous of their ministers were John Dew and Samuel H. Thompson.