Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 16.djvu/409



CORRESPONDENCE 381

3120 souls. Br. Elliott some time ago visited this county and baptized a few. A church, in a somewhat flourishing" condi- tion at the county seat, needs a pastor immediately. Muscatine County, 2882 souls, with a church at Bloomington, is about to settle a pastor. In this county are several interesting open- ings for Baptist preaching. In the above named churches are two licensed preachers who might be rendered quite useful as preachers, but are obliged to pursue their ordinary occupa- tions. Scott County has 2750 souls, two churches and one minister. Davenport, without Baptist preaching, has a popu- lation of 1000. Johnson and Cedar Counties, with a popula- tion of 5166, and Linn, with a population 2643, have four churches and a number of important settlements with but one ordained minister. Clinton and Jackson Cos., with a population of about 3000 souls and two organized churches and probably another soon to be constituted at De Witt, have no ordained minister and only the occasional labors of Elder Brown. DuBuque has 4052 souls, one church at the seat of Justice and an ordained minister. The remaining counties, together with the new purchase 50 miles in width extending the entire length of the Ter. from north to south, the southern portion of which is becoming thickly settled, for a new country, with farms from 10 to 100 acres already under cultivation, contain a population of at least 22,000 souls with but one Baptist minister and two small churches, although there are a very considerable number of brethren and sisters scattered through this region, like sheep without a shepherd, anxiously desiring and praying that God send them the faithful missionary who will collect them into churches and administer to them the ordinances of the gospel. Now, dear brother, what does this territory need? Do we not need one man in each of these counties, at least? Do we not need one minister in each of the important towns. . . who can devote himself entirely to the work. . . assigned him ? Then, if we could have a few of our ministering brethren who would like to settle their rising families on farms, so that they could devote a portion of their time to preaching the Word