McDonough ILGenWeb

This little church was organized in Middletown in February, 1841, at which time the Union church held its meetings a few miles southeast of there. Elders T. H. Owens and Moses Frazee officiated in the constitution of this church. But four persons were ready to go into the organization at the time as a nucleus around which others were expected soon to gather. The constituents were John McCormick, Parthena McCormick, William D. Stevens and Holly Edmonston. Immediately after they were organized six others were added to their number, and they afterward made a reasonable growth. In April of the same year Elder Owen became pastor of the church, and the same year she connected herself with the Salem association of churches, which included parts of Hancock, Adams and Brown counties. In 1843 she built a house of worship in Middletown, where she held her regular meetings, attended by Elder Owen and occasionally by Elder Frazee. Finally, however, they found themselves deprived of a pastor, and becoming satisfied that the labors of one could not be secured, they consulted together and mutually agreed to dissolve the organization by giving each other letters of dismission to join other churches. This was done in October, 1849, since which the members have united elsewhere, the most of them joing the Union church, now meeting in Middletown.

Besides these two organizations, there have been one or more churches constituted, which had similar articles of faith to those of the present regular, or Old School Baptists, but have since gone with the New School party.

The regular Baptists have now but one church, which meets regularly within the county.

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Source: The History of McDonough County, together with sketches of the towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent individuals, and biographies of the representative citizens, 1885, page 473. Transcribed by Karl A. Petersen