364 



HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



None of these, distinguished as many of them have be- 

 come, have done such a work as Rev. Henry Spalding, a 

 more than orphan boy, whose self-denial in obtaining an 

 education at the academy was very great. He and Dr. 

 Marcus Whitman, with their wives, went out as mission- 

 aries to the Indians in 1836, and were the first white set- 

 tlers in Oregon. Mrs. Whitman (Miss Narcissa Prentiss) 

 was a member of this church, and with her husband was 

 massacred by the Indians. This heroic band, by their 

 courage and devotion, saved Oregon, and all our present 

 possessions beyond the Rocky Mountains, to the United 

 States. Mr. Spalding received during his ministry over 

 1000 Indians into the church, converted through his labors. 



Not far from a score of ministers' wives have gone out 

 from this church. The women of the church have sus- 

 tained a Home Missionary Society vigorously for forty 

 years. 



SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 



The first Sunday-school in the town was probably organ- 

 ized by Judge Porter in 1816. He was its superintendent, 

 for the most if not all of the time, until the organization 

 of the Pratt sburgh Sunday-School Association, May 5, 

 1826, of which Rev. J. H. Hotchkin was President; Wil- 

 liam Beardsley, Secretary ; Elam Bridges, Treasurer ; with 

 a superintending committee of 14. Ten Sunday-schools 

 were then organized in diiferent parts of the town, reaching 

 in 1828 a membership of 408. The church school in 1829 

 numbered 163. The exercises then consisted in repeating 

 texts from the Scriptures, the catechism, and verses of 

 hymns. The association had a vigorous life till 1844, 

 when it was dissolved. Space will not allow us to give 

 the list of superintendents of the church Sunday-school ; but 

 they have been throughout among the leading men of the 

 village. 



TEMPERANCE. 



In the early days of Prattsburgh the drinking of whisky 

 was a common thing, and members of the church carried 

 on distilleries ; but drunkenness was a subject of discipline. 

 Ten gallons of whisky were once given to Rev. Mr. Hotch- 

 kin at a donation. The reading publicly on successive 

 Sunday evenings, by Principal Beardsley, about 1825, of 

 the celebrated temperance sermons of Dr. Lyman Beecher, 

 produced a temperance reform, into which Mr. Hotchkin 

 entered with all his might. This gained for him the 

 enmity of the distillers, whose craft was in danger, and 

 thus began a division whose fruits have troubled the church 

 ever since. The descendants of the distillers of those days 

 are now among the strongest friends of temperance. 



METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



The first Methodist Society in Prattsburgh was organized 

 as early as 1829. At that time a chapel was built, which 

 is still standing on Chapel Street, and is owned by John 

 Ardell, and used as a tenant-house. The society was or- 

 ganized chiefly through the instrumentality of Dr. Noah 

 Niles, Aaron Bull, and Bishop Tuttle, who were formerly 

 connected with the Congregational or Religious Society of 

 Prattsburgh. Dr. Niles was a man of talents and influ- 



ence, and sometimes occupied the pulpit in the absence of 

 the circuit or visiting preachers. 



Among the clergymen who officiated during this period 

 were Rev. Chandler Wheeler, Rev. George Wilkinson, Rev. 

 Joseph Pearsoll, and Rev. Curtis Gould. 



The society continued a regular charge till about 1840, 

 when their house of worship was sold for debt, and the or- 

 ganization disbanded. A class, however, remained here all 

 the time, and circuit preachers held service in such places 

 as they could get to preach in, prayer- and class-meetings 

 being held in private houses and in the school-house. These 

 were discouraging days to the band, but they struggled on 

 hopefully and prayerfully. In 1847, Rev. James Hall was 

 sent here by the Conference, at the solicitation of the few 

 brethren. He came and settled in the place and remained 

 here about three years. Through his earnest work and 

 excellent Christian example, the cause was somewhat re- 

 vived and strengthened. A new organization was formed 

 under the name of the " First Methodist Episcopal Society 

 of the town of Prattsburgh." Elder Knapp, Wm. W. Fos- 

 ter, Charles J. Higby, Charles L. Cole, A. C. Montgomery, 

 Stephen A. Jackson, Noble Sweet, and others, were among 

 the members. They held their meetings for nearly a year 

 in the district school-house. Duri-ng the year 1847-48 the 

 society erected a neat church edifice on the south side of 

 the Park, at a cost of about $1500. This building was 

 burned in the year 1853, and the society again went down, 

 so that there was no regular charge from this time on till a 

 new organization was effected in 1869, although preaching 

 was had here more or less during all these years by minis- 

 ters who traveled upon the circuit. The ministers who offi- 

 ciated during this period were Rev. Martin Wheeler, 1851 ; 

 Rev. J. Brown, 1852-54; Rev. A. G. Layman, 1856-57 ; 

 Rev. H. Wisner, 1858; Rev. U. S. Hall, 1862-64; Rev. 

 T. Jolly, 1864-65; Rev. Ezra Tinker, 1865-66; Rev. J. 

 W. Putnam, 1866-67 ; Rev. A. G. Layman, 1868. 



The present church edifice was erected in 1869, at a cost 

 of about $3500. The society was reorganized and the 

 church built under the ministry of Rev. N. N. Beers, who 

 remained in charge during the years 1869 and 1870. His 

 successors have been the following: Rev. C. Dillenbeck, 

 1870-72; Rev. William Wordell, 1872-74; Rev. F. M. 

 Smith, 1874-76 ; Rev. J. B. Peck, 1876-78 ; Rev. N. B. 

 Randall, 1878, present pastor. 



The present Trustees are Spencer Francis, R. W. Hop- 

 kins, John Coward, P. F. Paris, John Frost, Lewis Haight. 

 Stewards : P. F. Paris, Recording Steward; John Babcock, 

 Charles Graves, Joseph Seeley, George Shults. Class- 

 Leaders : Joseph Seeley, A. L. Parker, John Coward, 

 W^illiam Merrit, Charles D. Graves, George Shults. 



The present church membership is 175 ; Sunday-school 

 (teachers and pupils), 140; Mrs. N.B. Randall, Superin- 

 tendent. 



BAPTIST CHURCH OF PRATTSBURGH. 



This church, at its formation, was composed of several 

 families mostly residing at West Hill, and who had been 

 members of a Baptist Church in Wheeler. The church in 

 Prattsburgh was probably organized in 1821. Elder Nehe- 

 miah Lamb was its first pastor, — a man of humble preten- 

 sions, but of most unsullied goodness. Among the earliest 



