Rev. Ballenger was the first Methodist circuit rider int he Winslow IL area. He came from Portsmouth OH in 1837 and took up government land. He would preach in cabins and groves. At thiem she held bush meetings which were two or three day gatherings. The folks would come from miles,c amping out on the spot with eh women and children sleeping in the wagons and the men bedding down on the ground under them. It was from these early meetings that the camp meetins of the later date evolved.

In 1850 a one-room school house was built on Hubbard Street in Winslow IL (present location of Chris Campbell's house in 1987). Rev. Gallenger held Sunday services here for a number of years though not on a regular schedule. He was ordained a deacon in 1820. He preached the first Methodist sermon in Winslow.

Contributed by Al Morgan / Transcribed by Christine Walters
From the Winslow-McConnell United Methodist Parish Sesquicentennial Booklet
Also mentioned in the Biography of his son-in-law Milton S. Gore