Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/565

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��HISTOKY OF RICHLAND COUXTY.

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��man, Superintendent. The school has been kept up through the summer seasons ever since it was organized. It numbers sixt^' pupils.

The Clear Fork Church — United Brethren — is located on the northwest corner of the south- west quarter of Section 2. The church was commenced in 1852 or 1853, and the meeting- house built about the same time. The leading members were George Hiskey, Jacob Thuma, Peter Thuma, Jacob George, Daniel Cover and Jehu Fr}'. There are between thirty and fort}' members ; and Rev. Orr was Pastor in 1879. The Sabbath school was organized soon after the church. It has not been largely attended the past few summers. Mrs. Sarah Thuma was Superintendent in 1879.

In the winter of 1871-72, Rev. C. C. Ball held a protracted meeting at the Center Church, about forty accessions resulting therefrom. A Methodist Episcopal society was formed. The Trustees of Center Church refused them the use of the house longer, and, April 20, 1872, a meeting was held and preparations made for the erection of a church. Darlington was se- lected as a location, and the house — 34x46 — was built at a cash outlay of $1,600. Count- ing the lumber and timber donated, it would swell the cost to over .$2,000. C. C. Ball was the first minister. Rev. E. Buxton filled the charge in 1879 and 1880. The membership is nine- teen. The Sabbath school was commenced in 1873, and A. C. Huntsman was Superintendent.

The Lutheran Church is located at the cross- roads, half a mile north of the village of Wood- bury. The commencement of the two societies which built the first church dates back to 1838, and, in 1841, the Lutherans and German Re- formed jointly completed a Inulding. George Leiter, a Lutheran minister, and his brother, Samuel Leiter. a Reformed, supplied the preach- ing for the two societies. The first protracted effort by the Lutherans was conducted by Barne}' Huffman, a missionary sent from Penn- sylvania. The leading original members were

��Henry Sowers, George Ruhl, George Hosier, Peter Baker, Martin Buckner, John Broad- beck, John Snyder, Adam Bechtel and their wives. The Reformed Society is extinct. The number of members in 1879 was 145. The house now occupied is brick, and was erected in 1861, at a cost of $4,000. Rev. G. M. Heindel is now Pastor. The Sabbath school was commenced about 1850, with George Ruhl acting as Superintendent. William Huntsman filled the position in 1879. The average attend- ance was about fift3'-five.

A short time before the first protracted meet- ing bj' the Lutherans in the new church, a num- ber of the people of the locality attended an Evangelical meeting. Among the number who embraced religion was Adam Bechtel. He was not. however, fully persuaded, and, after the meeting was ended, he prayed for a sign to con- firm him. One night while in bed, soon after, he heard a noise, and, arising to ascertain the cause, he discovered his family Bible was moved from its accustomed place on the shelf by an unseen power, and fallen to the floor. He picked it up, and, on opening it, the first pas- sage of Scripture on Avhich his eyes rested, read like this : " He brought me up also out of a horrible pit." He was convinced. The revela- tion was noised abroad, and, in a shoi't time a meeting was commenced which continued till the following noon. In the afternoon, an effort was made to secure a place to hold a meeting, but without success. The next morning, sub- scription papers were started to get funds to build two new churches. They were completed in 1842. One is the property of the Evangel- ical Association, and the other of the United Brethren. The latter society continued to exist till 1862, when sectional strife regarding the reljelliou became so strong as to disband it. and, in 1866, their house of worship was sold to the Evangelical Church.

The LTnited Brethren of Johusville was or- ganized in 1850. The leading members were

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