Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/256

 CHAPTEK XIII PROTESTANT IMMIGRATION Visits op Protestant Ministers — John Clark — Josiah Dodge — Thomas Johnson — An- drew Wilson — Religious Condition of the Settlers — Motives Which Brought Them to Louisiana — The Work op the Baptists — David Greene — Bethel Church Near Jackson — Its Early Members — The First Meeting House — Relics op old Bethel Church — Memorial Services in 1906 — Growth op the Church — Other Churches Or- ganized BY Members op Bethel — Early Ministers op the Church — Wilson Thompson — Thomas Stephens — Thomas P. Greene — -The First Missionary Collection — The For- mation OP AN Association op Churches in Missouri — John M. Peck — The Work op the Methodist Church — First Preachers — John Travis — Organization op ]McKendree — Early Members — First ]Ieeting House — Jesse Walker — The First Circuits — First Sermon in Cape Girardeau — Campmeeting at McKendree in 1810 — Harbison — New Circuits Formed — Organization op the Missouri Conperence — Rucker Tanner — The First Conperence Held in Missouri— The Work op the Presbyterians — Hempstead's Letter — A Church Organized in Washington County, 1816 — Organization op the Presbytery op Missouri — Early Ministers — Timothy Flint — The Columbian Bible Society — Flint's Writings — Disciples op Christ — William McMurtry — First Organ- ization IN Missouri, 1822 • — Dippiculties Under Which Early Ministers Labored — Progress JIade — Peck's Description — Debt Owed to Pioneer Ministers. We have seen something of the work of the eases of families moving to Upper Louisiana missionaries who came to the state in the early then, on finding what they were required to years, and have traced and outlined the subscribe to, declining to stay and returning growth of the Catholic church up to the time to the east side of the river. Of course, these of the transfer in 1804. Of course, unto this restrictions were swept away with the trans- time there was no religions history of the fer to the United States. The principle rec- state, except of the activity of the Catholic oguized by the American people of absolute church. While, as we have seen, there were toleration in religious matters was extended other persons living in the state, they were to Louisiana. It was not long before the required to conform to the Catholic religion, activity of the Protestant ministers brought to rear their children in the Catholic faith, them to the new territory, and they were forbidden to hold public serv- ices of any kind. These restrictions, while We have seen, in fact, that even before the they did not prevent Protestant immigration, transfer some ministers had, in violation of hindered it greatly. There are a number of the j^rovisions of the Spanish law, come to 196