Effingham, Church. S. S. Muscotah. 1899. Second visit back
to old Indiana. The Captain. Return to Kansas. St. Louis.
Return. Clara. Home. Waiting.
Our reasons for locating at Effingham were, the civility of the town,
the beauty of the country, and the advantage of the High School.
True, there was no congregation of Christians, nor ever had been
except those with human named added, but my life up to this time, for
thirty-five years had been spent in trying to persuade Christians to
be one, and organize simply as Christians. So I concluded I would
continue to do the same thing in Effingham. Please note that I never
use the name disciple or Christian in any sectarian sense. Well, I
had not been here long until I found Christians who invited me to
preach in their meeting houses when not occupied by themselves.
Notably among them were Uncle Ben Wallack, of the Lutheran church,
and William Reece of the South M. E. Church.
Few, if any disciples in the movement for unity, had ever preached in
Effingham. I had been called several times to the town to preach
funerals, but that was all. So I commenced preaching in the Mr. E.
Church South on Sundays and having preached a few times, I requested
that at our next meeting all disciples or Christians, (I use these
names as synonyms) who were not members of any congregation, to
remain after the sermon. This they did, and I addressed them in the
substance as follows: "Beloved disciples of Christ, for such your
action proves you to be, my purpose in requesting you to remain today
is to get better acquainted with you, and possibly organize ourselves
into a church of Christ. In order to further carry out these
purposes, I will, by you permission ask each a direct question and
take your names, thus enrolling you as members of a church of Christ
in Effingham. So I took paper and pencil in hand and asked each one
the same question, viz: "Are you a Christian?" and took the name of
each. The answer of each one to the question was simply "yes."
except one lady who said, "Yes, in the Baptist church." I said, "All
right, let me take your name and since there is no Baptist Church in
Effingham, you go along with us, without the Baptist name." She
consented, and she is to this day a member in good standing and full
fellowship and nearly all her children have become Christians too.
There was enrolled 32 names that day, and this was the beginning of
the Christian church in Effingham.
From this number myself, Henry Shell, Sr., and J. W. Jones were
elected Elders and brethren J. W. Wilson, J. M. Shell and C. M.
Gregory were elected Deacons. This was in the month of May, 1895. I
preached on for sometime, but the infirmities of the flesh and old
age creeping upon me I had to give up preaching. So for about 12 or
15 years I have preached but little. Indeed for many years before I
quit preaching I preached under a great weakness of the flesh.
In the meantime the observance of the Lord's Supper was kept up each
Lord's Day, and a Sunday School had been organized with the M. E.
South Christians and ourselves working together, by electing Prof. J.
W. Wilson as Superintendent.
In the summer of 1895 Evangelist O. L. Cook held a meeting of fifteen
or twenty days under an arbor on Main Street. At that meeting the
number of members was increased to seventy, and the church and Sunday
School were more fully organized, and have been meeting regularly on
the Lord's Day, and are at this time meeting in their own brick
veneered building, on Elizabeth Street. All these years I have had
the honor and responsibility of being the Senior Elder.
From the beginning to the present, 1911, there have been 448 added to
the church roll. At present the church owes nothing and is having
preaching all the time by Frank Richard, an able and conscientious
minister of the Gospel. The church, by removals, decrease almost as
fast as it increases. The membership at this writing is about 150.
Muscotah is a thriving little city just west of Effingham. There are
but few disciples there except those in the churches of the town. I
have preached there a few times. Once the funeral of a little girl,
name Clara Hastings, but she was no kin to us. At other times the
funerals of a very aged man and wife named Mooney. The wife was an
own niece of Alexander Campbell. She was a very good and learned
woman.
In 1899 with Clara who was in her 22nd year, I made a second trip
back to old Indiana. It had been eighteen years since the other
trip. The eighteen years had made many wonderful changes. So much
so that I felt almost like a stranger in a strange land. Had it not
been for the sweet, bright, joyful, spirit of the dear daughter that
accompanied me, the trip would have hardly been tolerable. O, the
joy of the father whose sons and daughters rise up in his old age and
bless and honor him! It was on this very visit when Captain
Hastings, hearing me talk of my boys and girls, said to me, "Cousin
Simpson, I see that you, like your dear old mother, love your
children. I never knew a mother that loved her children more than
she did." "True, Captain", I said, "I have always like the extremes
of age, the young and the old, and of course I like my own children.
I think when they were little about my knees was the happiest period
of my life."
We returned home to dear old Kansas--to our home near Effingham, but
it was not like it was at the first return eighteen years before when
the buildings were in their home nest, and great blue eyes were
looking out for me. But now some had already flown and others were
about ready. True, your dear old mother was there, and Edith too,
and Milo were there but in three short years Edith took her flight in
company with the angels to the skies to return no more.
In 1904 your mother and I went to St. Louis to see the World's Fair,
and to attend the National Convention of the disciples of Christ. We
made our home at Harry's and so enjoyed the wonderful sights at the
Fair, and feasted upon the rich spiritual things of the Convention.
Once again we, (your mother and I this time) returned to our humble
home. Do you know, boys, that there is no place like home? Well,
this is true, if home is home. But I declare to you when it comes to
taking your place at the old dining table and all the places on each
side of its full length are empty and only the two end places are
occupied, it is lonesome. Only one more leaving and this was true of
your father and mother's table. For when Clara on the 28th day of
June, 1905 the thirty-fifth anniversary of her father and mother's
marriage and the twenty first anniversary of her brother Milo's
birth, was married to Mr. Charles G. Sprong, the last place of the
children was vacated, and we were left alone.
But the heavier weight of sadness and sorrow did not come until,
within less than a year from Clara's happy marriage, death came for
her. And she was accompanied by the angels into the unseen world of
Glory.
In our lonesomeness we exchanged our farm home for a home in
Effingham, and moved to it September 19th, 1907. And here I rest,
trusting and hoping in God.
Some day when I cannot, will you please fill out the blanks below and
that will be the beginning of the end.