Thirty Years in the Itinerancy by Wesson Gage Miller

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Having spent the Sabbath at Ceresco, I now started in a southwesterly
direction to explore the country along the south side of Green Lake,
with the purpose to establish an appointment should a suitable location
be found. After traveling about three miles, I came to a large log
house, which with its surroundings seemed to say, "We have come to
stay." Hitching my horse to the limb of a tree near the gate, I
approached the house. I was met at the door by a lady of fine presence
and intelligent bearing, who invited me to enter and be seated.

I began the conversation with the usual compliments to the weather and
the beautiful country about Green Lake. Receiving frank responses to
these common places, I next enquired if there were still good locations
untaken in the neighborhood. Her intelligent face radiated a smile as
her sharp eyes gave me a searching glance, which seemed to say, "You
can't come any land-seeking dodge on me, you are a Minister." Changing
the conversation, I soon found that the proprietor of the house was a
Mr. Dakin, she, his sister, Mrs. White, and that she was a Methodist. At
a subsequent visit to Ceresco I had the pleasure to enter her name upon
the list of members.

Passing on I came to the residence of Mr. Satterlee Clark, since widely
known in the State, but he being absent I stopped only a few moments and
continued my exploration. The next house I visited was located near a
beautiful spring in a grove of timber. The building was small, but the
surroundings indicated thrift. I rode up to the door and saw a lady at
her wash-tub. She threw the suds from her hands and came to the door. In
a moment I recognized her as a lady whom I had known in the State of New
York. She did not recognize me, however, as I had doubtless changed very
much since she had seen me. But she was not mistaken in thinking I was a
Minister. She invited me to tarry for dinner, saying her husband would
soon be in.

When Shadrach Burdick, for that was the name of the husband, came to
dinner he found his house invaded by the irrepressible Itinerancy. He
gave me a cordial welcome, expressed his satisfaction that his new
location did not lie beyond the limits of Gospel agencies, and urged me
to make his house my home whenever I might come that way. I saw that he
did not recognize me, and concluded not to make myself known until the
surprise could be made more complete. Conversation turned on the
character of the settlement, the number of families and the prospect of
opening an appointment. It was known that a few families had settled in
the vicinity, but mine host was not informed as to their religious
proclivities. I decided at once to visit every family in the
neighborhood.

Passing down along the shore of Green Lake and thence up through the
openings to the margin of the prairie, I found a half dozen families. I
found also that, without exception, they were desirous to have religious
meetings established in the neighborhood. Receiving unexpected
encouragement, I decided to hold a meeting before I left. Fixing on the
most central residence as our first chapel, we held service on Wednesday
evening. After preaching, I proceeded to form a class, and received
eleven names. Brother Burdick was appointed the Leader. He demurred, but
I was not disposed to excuse him. I then quietly stated to the class
that I had known their Leader on the Crumhorn, in the State of New York,
where he held the same position, and I was fully persuaded there had
been no mistake in the selection. The Leader was not a little surprised
at this turn of things, and concluded that he had nothing further to
say, yet doubtless thought, "How strange it is that lads in so short a
time will grow to be men?"

At a subsequent visit I crossed the Lake in a small boat to explore the
neighborhood where Dartford is now located, but found no settlement. An
appointment, however, was opened at this point the following year with
Wm. C. Sherwood as the leading spirit. At the present writing, Dartford
has become a fine village, has a good Church, an energetic society, and
has enjoyed the services of several of the strong men of the Conference.

At Green Lake the congregations and class grew rapidly, and before the
expiration of the year the appointment had gained considerable
prominence. As soon as a school house was built, the meetings were
removed to it and continued there until 1870, when a fine Church
was erected.

Leaving Green Lake and resuming my journey of exploration, I came to
Little Green Lake. Here I found a four corners with a store on one side
and a residence on the other. The residence was occupied by a Mr.
Jewell, whose wife was a relative of Rev. D. P. Kidder, then in charge
of our Sunday School literature. My acquaintance with him soon made me
acquainted with this most excellent family. On their kind invitation I
established an appointment in their house, which was continued until
their removal from the place. It was then removed to the residence of
Mr. Roby, who, with his wife, was a member of the church. A small class
was now formed. Before the expiration of the year the appointment was
moved a mile south to the school house in Mackford. And after a time it
was taken down to Markesan, a mile west of Mackford.

If was at this place that I assumed the role of Chorister, the
occurrence transpiring in this wise. I announced my opening hymn,
supposing that some one present would be able to lead the singing, but
to my surprise not one was disposed to serve us. I had never attempted
such a thing in my life as to "raise a tune" in public, and the only
claim I had ever set up as a qualification was that I could put more
tunes to each line of a hymn than any one that I had ever known. But
something must be done, so I concluded to lead off. Hunting through the
garret of my memory, I brought out old Balerma for the occasion. To my
surprise, I went through the performance very much to my own
satisfaction and comfort. And more, when I got along to the third verse,
several persons in the congregation began to follow, with a manifest
purpose to learn my tune. I dispensed with further singing, and at the
close of the service a good brother came forward and remarked: "There
were several ladies in the congregation who are excellent singers, and
if you had sung a tune with which they were acquainted, they could have
helped you very much." Whereupon I concluded that if I were unable to
sing the most familiar tune in the book, so that a bevy of good singers
could discern what I was trying to render, I certainly could never
succeed as a chorister. I never became the owner of a tuning fork.

In the changes which followed in the boundaries of the charges, Markesan
was assigned first to one and then to another, but several years ago it
came to the surface as the head of a circuit. And it now has a
respectable standing as a charge with a good Church and Parsonage.

Resuming my search for new settlement, I next visited Lake Maria. Here I
first called at the house of Mr. Langdon. I was kindly received, and
when my errand was made known I was pressingly invited to remain for the
night, and hold a meeting before leaving the neighborhood. I consented,
and on the following evening we held service in Mr. Langdon's house.
Lake Maria was now taken into the list of appointments and was visited
regularly during the year. At my third visit, which occurred on the 30th
day of November, 1845, I formed a class, consisting of Lyman L. Austin,
Amanda M. Austin, Mrs. L. Martin, Mrs. Maria Langdon, David C. Jones and
Maryette Jones. A protracted meeting was held soon after and thirty
persons were converted. The fruit of this meeting carried the membership
during the year up to twenty-five. Among the additions were Lansing
Martin, Wm. Hare, Mrs. Susan Woodworth, and others, who have been
pillars in the church.

CHAPTER VI.

Green Lake Mission Continued.--Quarterly Meeting at Oshkosh.--Rev. G. N.
Hanson.--Lake Apuckaway.--Lost and Found.--Salt and Potatoes.--Mill
Creek.--Rock River.--Rev. J.M.S. Maxson.--Oakfield.--Cold Bath.--Fox
Lake.--Gospel vs. Whiskey.--On Time.--Badger Hill.--S.A.L.
Davis.--Miller's Mill.--G. W. Sexmith.--Burnett.--William
Willard.--Grand River.--David Wood.

It had been arranged at the Conference that Green Lake and Winnebago
Lake Missions should hold their Quarterly Meetings together. The first
was now to be held at Oshkosh. In going, I took the trail leading from
Ceresco to Oshkosh, and traveled the whole distance without finding a
house. But at the intersection of the Fond du Lac and Ceresco trails I
met Brother Sampson, the Presiding Elder.

On our arrival at Oshkosh we found it had been arranged to hold the
services on Saturday in a private house on the south side of the river.
The Elder preached, and at the close of the service, the Quarterly
Conference was convened under a tree, thereby giving the house to the
needed preparations for dinner.

Rev. G.N. Hanson was the Pastor at Oshkosh. He was a single man, several
years my senior, of a kind and gentle spirit, given to books and a fair
Preacher. I had known him in the State of New York, where we were both
Exhorters, and, also, both engaged in teaching. Brother Hanson entered
the Rock River Conference in 1844, and his first charge was Manitowoc.
He had been stationed on the Winnebago Lake Mission at the recent
Conference and was doing a good work. After leaving this charge he
rendered effective service in other fields until 1852, when, having
almost lost the use of his voice, he took a superannuated relation. But
as soon thereafter as his health would permit, he entered the service of
the Bible Cause and for three years proved an efficient Agent. In this
work his field of labor lay mostly in the new and sparsely settled
regions of the Chippewa Valley, and along the frontiers of Minnesota.
But here he evinced the same perseverance and self-denial which had
characterized his whole life. Leaving his most estimable companion, he
took the Word of God, and though he could no longer give it a living
voice, he bore it joyfully to the families of the land, through the
forest and marshes of those new counties, often throwing his shadow upon
the coming footsteps of the Itinerant himself. But at last he was
compelled to yield to the hand of disease which had long rested upon
him. He passed over the river in holy triumph in 1857.

On Sabbath the meeting was held in a frame building, the first in the
place, that had been erected for a store. It had been roofed and
enclosed, but there were no doors or windows. Rude seats had been
arranged and the accommodations were ample. The Elder preached in the
morning and the writer, as the visiting Pastor, in the afternoon. The
meeting was well attended and greatly enjoyed by all. The people, of
course, were mostly strangers to each other, and, coming from different
parts of the world, were accustomed to various modes of worship. But
they seemed to forget their differences, and recognize Christ only as
their common Savior.

At this time Oshkosh was but little more than a mere trading post. The
few families there were mostly on farms or claims in the vicinity of the
river or lake. During my stay I was entertained by Brother William W.
Wright, whose house, for many years thereafter, was a home for the
Itinerant ministers.

The Quarterly Meeting passed off very pleasantly, and at its close I
returned to my work of exploration on the Green Lake Mission.

Flushed with the achievements of the previous few weeks, and still
sighing for conquests, I now resolved to make a sally in the direction
of Lake Apuckaway, lying to the northwest of Lake Maria. I found, on the
southern shore, a few families, and made arrangements for an appointment
in connection with my next round. I then started to return, but had not
gone far, when I found I had lost my reckoning. I looked for my compass
as eagerly as Christian for his roll, but I could not find it. This was
a double misfortune, to lose both the way and the guide at the same
time. I resorted to the device of the backwoodsman, and tried to
determine my course by the moss on the trees, but I found this to be a
great perplexity and abandoned it. I traveled in divers directions and
devious ways until nearly overcome with fatigue and hunger, when I
suddenly came upon a newly erected log cabin. The logs had been rolled
up to form the body, a roof of "shakes" had been hastily put on, there
was no chinking between the logs, there were no windows, and the only
door was a blanket. The floor was made of earth, and the fireplace was
merely a pile of stones in one corner, from which the smoke ascended
through an opening in the roof, at one corner of the building.

I knocked for admittance, and was kindly received. The good man and his
wife had but recently come into the country. He had succeeded in
erecting his cabin and putting it in its present condition, but had been
taken ill with the ague and compelled to suspend operations. He had now
been so long confined at home that provisions had become scarce. It was
meal time. A few potatoes were taken from the embers and placed on a
chest, as a substitute for a table. I was invited to join them in their
repast, using a trunk as a seat. Grace was said, under a special sense
of the Divine favor. A little salt was added, and the meal was one of
the most relishable I had ever eaten. Several years after, I heard the
good brother relate the circumstance in a Love Feast, when he took
occasion to say the visit was the most refreshing he had ever
experienced. It was certainly such to me. The village of Kingston has
since sprang up in the vicinity, and has become the head of a circuit.

Returning again to Waupun, I now decided to look over the territory in
the more immediate vicinity. Going to the south of the village five
miles, I found Mill Creek, where a small settlement had been made. The
most central house of the neighborhood was the residence of Brother
David Moul, who kindly offered it for a temporary chapel. An appointment
was established, and on the 16th day of November a class was formed.
Brother Moul was appointed Leader. The class at the first, consisted of
the Leader and wife, David Boynton and wife, and two others, but in the
revival that soon followed, the number was increased to twenty-two.

Brother Moul was an earnest worker in the Master's vineyard, generous in
his contributions to support the Gospel, and eminently faithful to every
trust committed to his keeping. At the end of twenty years, I made a
visit to Mill Creek. I found Brother Moul had erected a fine house and
was living in manifest comfort; but he retained a vivid recollection of
the early days and their sacrifices. Two relics remained, both in a fair
state of preservation, which he took great pleasure in showing to me.
The first was the old class book that I had given him at the time of the
organization of the class. It was a single sheet of foolscap paper,
folded together in book form, and stitched. The names upon it were
mostly in my own handwriting, and the Leader had carefully made his
weekly entries of present and absent, until the pages were filled. The
other object of interest was the old house, in which the first meetings
were held. Here we had seen remarkable displays of Divine power. And as
I now looked upon the old structure, the early scenes seemed to return.
I could again see the wide room, filled with rude seats, Brother Moul at
the door as usher, the crowds of people that thronged the place, the
groups of seekers at the mourners' bench, and the lines of happy faces
that were aglow with hallowed expressions of delight. I could again hear
the songs of praise as they rang out in the olden time, full and sweet,
filling the place with rarest melody. Nay, as I held communion with the
past, I seemed to feel the hallowed influences, that pervaded the early
worshippers, breathing through all my being, as of old, and even fancy
myself young again, and standing before the multitude as an ambassador
of the Master.

But the scene, like the visions of the night, soon disappeared, and I
turned sadly away, half regretting that I was no longer a pioneer, and
permitted to feed the hungry sheep in the wilderness.

Brother David Boynton, at this writing, remains on the old farm, which
has been growing with the passing decades, until the paternal acres
have become a large estate. Situated on a prominent highway, his house,
until the days of railroads, was the stopping place of all the preachers
who needed entertainment at either noon or night. Brother Boynton, in
the person of his son, Rev. J.T. Boynton, of the Wisconsin Conference,
has given to the Itinerant work, an efficient laborer.

Leaving Mill Creek, I next visited Rock River, a settlement on the Fond
du Lac road, six miles east of Waupun. My father had visited this place
during the preceding year, and had already established an appointment.
Brother W.J.C. Robertson, a gentleman whom we had known in the East, had
tendered the use of his house, and here the meetings were now being
held. My first visit occurred on the 18th day of November, 1845, In the
evening, I held a service and formed a class. The members were W.J.C.
Robertson, Martha Robertson, Mary Maxson, Mary Keyes, James Patterson,
Charles Drake, Abigail Drake, and Elizabeth Winslow. The last named
subsequently became the wife of Rev. J.M.S. Maxson. The first Leader was
Brother Robertson. Both the congregation and class grew rapidly in this
neighborhood, and the appointment soon took a leading position on the
charge. During the ensuing winter a revival occurred, and gave an
accession of twenty-five. From the first, this Society has been blessed
with a devoted and spiritual membership, and its prayer meetings have
been a living power in the land. As a result, revivals have been
frequent, and the number saved a host. Passing from private houses, the
meetings were held in a school house, but in course of time the school
house became too small, and a larger one was built, with a special view
to a provision for religious meetings.

In later years I have held Quarterly meetings in this building, when it
was thronged with people. On such occasions, after filling the building
to its utmost capacity, the good brethren would fill the court around it
with wagons, carriages and buggies, loaded with people. It was at one of
these gatherings that the little girl said, "Why, Ma, only see how full
the school house is on the outside." During the past year a fine Church
has been erected.

Rock River was the home of the lamented Rev. James M.S. Maxson, before
he entered the Itinerant work. It was here that he was led to Christ,
licensed to preach, and sent out into the vineyard, and certainly the
church has had no occasion to deplore her share of the responsibility.
Brother Maxson entered the Conference in 1850, and filled with great
credit, Omro, Fall River, Grove street Milwaukee, Oconomowoc, Rosendale
and Ripon charges. At the last named place, he closed his labors June
19, 1858. He was a man of great force of character, a good preacher, and
was thoroughly devoted to his work. He was greatly beloved in his fields
of labor, and his death was deeply regretted.

Having organized the class at Rock River, and arranged the plan of
appointments to take it into the circuit, I passed on to visit an
appointment at the Wilkinson Settlement, which had recently been
attached to my charge from the Fond du Lac Circuit. It was situated on
the south side of the marsh, nine miles from Fond du Lac and twelve from
Waupun. The school house, in which the meetings were held, was located
within the limits of the present village of Oakfield.

The class at this place had been formed during the early part of 1844,
by Rev H.S. Bronson, when he was pastor of Lake Winnebago Mission, and
consisted of Russell Wilkinson, Leader, and Alma, his wife, Robert
Wilkinson, and Almira, his wife, Eliza Botsford and Sarah Bull.

To reach the settlement, it was necessary to follow the military road
towards Fond du Lac for some distance, and then cross the marsh. At
times, the stream in the middle was swollen, and the traveler was
compelled to leave his horse and cross on foot. This was especially true
when the ice was not sufficiently strong to bear up the horse, and such
was the condition in which I found it on this occasion. So, leaving my
horse, I hastened to cross the marsh, but when I had reached the middle
of the stream, the treacherous ice gave way, and I plunged into the
water up to my armpits. I clambered out, but as the day was intensely
cold, I was soon a walking pillar of ice. I was now on the school house
side of the stream, and there seemed to be no alternative but to go on.
I would gladly have found a shelter and a fire elsewhere, but it was out
of the question. So, putting on a bold face, I hastened forward, and
found the people in waiting for the minister. As I entered the school
house, with the ice rattling at every movement, my appearance was
ridiculous in the extreme. But not more so than that of the audience.
The faces of that crowd would certainly have been the delight of a
painter. Some of them were agape with surprise and amazement; others
were agonized with sympathy for the poor minister; and others still were
full of mirth, and would have laughed outright if they had not been in a
religious meeting. As to myself, the whole matter took a mirthful turn.
I had been in church before, when by some queer or grotesque conjunction
of affairs, the whole audience lost self control. I had witnessed
mistakes, blunders and accidents that would make even solemnity herself
laugh, and remained serenely grave. But to see myself in the presence
of that polite audience, standing at that stove, and turning from side
to side, to thaw the icicles from the skirts of my coat, was too much
for me. I confess it was utterly impossible to keep my face in harmony
with the character of the pending services.

At Fox Lake, the next point visited, an appointment had been established
by my father during the previous year. The services were now held on
Sabbath afternoon in the tavern. The log house, thus used for the double
purpose of a chapel and a tavern, was built with two parts, and might
have been called a double house. The one end was occupied as a
sitting-room and the other as a bar-room. The meetings were held, of
course, in the former. But it was bringing the two kingdoms into close
proximity to dispense the Gospel in one end of the house and whisky in
the other. In a short time, a better place was provided, and the
meetings were removed to it.

With the better provision for religious services, came also the
ministers of other denominations. We all labored together in harmony,
except in one instance, where a conflict of appointments caused a
momentary ripple. My appointment had long been established, and, to the
surprise of the people, another appointment was announced by a young
store-keeper of the village for the same hour. The word reached me of
this attempt to displace the Methodists, when ten miles distant from
the place.

I took my dinner and rode forward, without "wrath" or "gainsaying." I
reached the place at the hour, went in and began the services. While the
congregation were singing, the young man and his minister came in.
Finding me in the desk, the minister quietly took a seat and listened
very attentively to the sermon. But not so the discomfited young man.
Being placed under the eye of the congregation, his condition was
pitiable in the extreme. But finding after awhile that I was master of
the ceremonies, and that no one in the congregation seemed vexed enough
to fight for him, he subsided into a deferential attitude. And,
thereafter, there were no further attempts to override my appointments.
The minister, or perhaps I should say clergyman, took no offense, but
became in after years a highly valued friend and companion.

At this time Mrs. Green was the only member of the Methodist church in
the village. In process of time, however, a strong society was
established. Then came the erection of a commodious Church and a very
pleasant Parsonage. Fox Lake has been furnished with a line of able
ministers, and has at the present writing a large and cultivated
congregation.

Passing down the stream the following week, I found several families in
the vicinity of Badger Hill. I immediately arranged an appointment for a
week-day evening at the residence of a brother by the name of Morgan. At
the first service held December 7, 1845, I formed a class of six.
Brother Morgan was appointed Leader, and at the Quarterly Meeting
following Brother Drinkwater was made steward. Some time after, the
class was removed to Fox Lake, it being only three miles distant.

I now returned again to Waupun to spend the Sabbath. The Class Leader at
this time was S.A.L. Davis, who came to the place during the preceding
year. Brother Davis was an old neighbor from the East, a noble and true
man, and, withal, had been my first Leader. He was specially adapted to
the position; a man of great faith and ardent impulses. Under his
Leadership, the class was in a most flourishing condition. The late
revival had, however, so swelled the numbers that a division became
necessary. An appointment had already been established at Miller's Mill,
and it was now deemed best to so divide the class as to establish the
meetings of one of them at this point. The change was accordingly made.
The class was formed December 12th, 1845, and George W. Sexmith was
appointed Leader.

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