Thirty Years in the Itinerancy

by W. G. Miller

On the 23d of April, 1837, the first United States Mail entered Janesville. It contained one letter, and this was for the Postmaster, Henry F. Janes. The mail was brought by a man on horseback, whose mail route extended from Mineral Point to Racine. The post-office at Janesville for several months consisted of a cigar box, which was fastened to a log in the bar-room. Small as it was, it was found to be amply sufficient to contain all the letters then received by the citizens of Rock County.

The first sermon preached in Janesville was delivered by Rev. Jesse Halstead in September, 1837. Brother Halstead, then on Aztalan circuit, on coming to this place found a small log house, which enjoyed the appellation of a tavern. He accepted entertainment in common with other travelers, but, it being soon known that he was a Minister, he was invited to preach. He consented, and the services were held in the bar-room. The liquors were put out of sight, and the Minister made the bar his pulpit. The audience consisted of a dozen persons.

The next religious services of which I can obtain information, were held in the summer of 1838. They were held in an oak grove on one of the bluffs east of the village. I am not able to find any one who can furnish me the name of the Preacher, but am assured that he was a Methodist, and that he did not neglect that special feature of a Methodist service, the collection. This last part of the exercises, I am assured, made a vivid impression on the mind of the party to whom I am indebted for this item of history. And it came in this wise: When the hat was passed he threw in a bill, an act so generous that it could not fail to call attention to the contributor. The next day he received a call from the Minister, who desired him to replace the "wild-cat" bill by one of more respectable currency, as those kind of bills were beginning to be refused throughout the Territory.

In 1839 Rev. James F. Flanders made an occasional visit to Janesville and preached to the people. His first sermon was delivered in the bar-room of the public house, which stood on the present site of the Myers House. Subsequently he preached in an unoccupied log house opposite where Lappin's Block now stands. The services were next held in school houses, some log and others frame, until the erection of the Court House in 1842. Thereafter the court room was occupied and used alternately by the different religious denominations.

The Rev. James McKean was the first Minister who preached regularly in Janesville. The place was taken into the Troy circuit in 1840, and Brother McKean visited it once in four weeks. This year Rev. Julius Field held the first Quarterly Meeting in Janesville.

In the spring of 1841, Brother McKean formed a class and appointed J.P. Wheeler Leader, but during the following winter the members all left the place.

Janesville appears first in the Minutes as the head of a charge in 1841, with Rev. Alpha Warren as Pastor. At this time it was connected with Platteville District, and the Presiding Elder was Rev. H.W. Reed. Brother Warren was succeeded by Rev. Boyd Phelps, who organized a class in the spring of 1843, consisting of nine or ten members, with John Wynn as Leader.

Rev. Lyman Catlin, who came in 1844, was the first resident Pastor. He was formerly a Professor in Mt. Morris Seminary. During the winter his wife, who was a lady of fine culture, taught a select school in the village. Brother Catlin preached in Janesville on the morning of each Sabbath, and in the afternoon alternated between Union and Johnstown.

The following year, Rev. T.W. Perkins was appointed to the charge, but in consequence of ill health, he was soon obliged to resign. His place was supplied by Rev. Stephen Adams, of Beloit. In 1846 Rev. John Luccock was the Pastor, and was followed the next year by Rev. Wesley Lattin, who remained two years. Brother Lattin was very popular with all classes, and his labors were blessed with an extensive revival. During his Pastorate the Society erected a small frame church, 35 by 25 feet in size. It was opened for worship in the fall of 1848. The location was on the opposite side of Centre Street, and a little west of the present edifice. A Parsonage was also erected the same year. Both of them, however, were sold when the grounds were purchased for the new Church. It was during the Pastorate of Brother Lattin that the first donation party ever held in Janesville, was given. The company assembled at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. John Wynn, where Brother Lattin boarded. The ladies furnished the table with all the luxuries the village afforded, and the affair was considered a grand success.

Brother Lattin was followed successively by Revs. J.M. Snow, O.F. Comfort, and Daniel Stansbury. During the winter of 1852 Brother Stansbury held a series of meetings, assisted by Rev. C.C. Mason, which resulted in a considerable addition to the membership of the Church.