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HOME MISSIONS. 
years wore away, until at the time of the organi- 
zation of the missionary society, in 1853, the 
classes and circuits in the State of Michigan were 
set apart as a mission-conference, having eleven 
preachers and several hundred members. 
The German ministers were also actively en- 
gaged. They had commenced preaching in a 
goodly number of towns and cities indifferent 
j)ortions of the country, and had organized a great 
many churches. In the prosecution of their work 
they received some support from individuals and 
from conferences, though most of them labored 
at a heavy personal sacrifice. When the General 
Conference of 1853 assembled, these churches 
were in a healthy, growing condition, and were 
consequently set apart as a separate annual con- 
ference 
After the division of the territory originally 
known as Miami Conference, in 1825, in giv- 
ing the south-eastern portion of the State of Ohio 
to Scioto Conference, there had been several 
conferences organized in territory that had been 
known under the general name of Miami. The 
Indiana and the Auglaize may be mentioned, the 
last named being disconnected from the old con- 
ference by the General Conference which assem- 
bled in 1853. 
Sandusky Conference, which was begun by 
