Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/419

 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 351 eago. As the times, however, were too unpropitious, my agency was dropped, and 1 was instead elected editor of 'Hemlandet' and another religious monthly. After one year I relinquished the edi- torship and served a Swedish congregation at Attica, Ind., one year. J was then appointed traveling missionary for the state of .Minnesota, and removed to St. Paul. In that capacity J continued up to September, 1861. 'When I left in November. 1858. the congregations at Red Wing and Vasa called the Rev. J. P. C. Boreen, who had recently come from Sweden, to supply my place for one year. At the end of that time he was elected, in 1859. permanent pastor at Red Wing, but at Vasa he was called only a vice-pastor, or supply, because the congregation had hopes I would return. During this time some few families separated from the church at'Vasa and organized the Methodist Episcopa] and Baptist congregations. Considerable trouble and some bad feeling also arose in the congregation with reference to the question of a new location for a church, which was in contemplation. Many meetings for this purpose were held, and the question was earnestly dis- cussed, but resulted in no definite termination. The old log house continued to be used for the meetings, but was, of course, altogether insufficient to hold so large a congregation. In June, 1861. the number of communicants was 143. The inconveniences were, therefore, very great, and the necessity for a church was very pressing. Mr. Boreen was no doubt a good, earnest and well-meaning man. He afterwards removed to Stockholm, Pepin county. Minnesota, where he served a congregation, and died there March 22, 1865. He was buried at Vasa. In September, 1861, I was recalled to the pastorate at Red W T ing and Vasa. I immediately removed to Red Wing, where I resided up to Jan- uary, 1870, and entered upon the discharge of my duties. In order to bring the question of a location of the church to a close, a meeting was called September 7, 1861, at Vasa, when a committee of eleven w r as appointed, consisting of such persons as lived round the whole settlement and furthest away from its center, and this committee was authorized to decide upon a place for the church, and by its decision the congregation was to abide. The committee soon after met and decided upon the location where the present brick church now stands, viz., the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 15, town- ship 112. In order to secure the location, the committee had first to buy eighty acres of Dr. Whitmore, of AVabasha, for the sum of $320. The congregation bought forty acres and the other forty was sold to a private person. Now the place was decided upon, at a meeting called October 12 it was resolved to go to work and build a church. Tt was to be built of frame. 60x38 feet.