Oregon Circuit, I had to cross Squaw Creek, which was swollen,
the water having been out of its banks the day before. I was
directed to this crossing, but did not know that there was a low
bridge across the channel, and even this washed out and tangled
timber washed in where the bridge had been. I drove into the
water when the ponies suddenly went under and could not rise
because of the timber in which they became entangled. I still
held the lines, hoping the ponies would get free and rise, but
instead of that I was drawn into the wheels of the buggy by the
current. I tried to loose myself, but the current was too swift
and strong for me. I felt that my end was at hand, my work
finished, and my last sermon preached, when suddenly the buggy
turned over and I was released. I struggled to the shore almost
exhausted, hardly realizing what had happened to me. I saw my
satchel, Bible, and hat, floating down stream, but felt grateful to
my heavenly Father that he spared my life for my family, and that
I might preach the Gospel a while longer. After recovering suffi-
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1884
EXTENDING THE BORDERS
cient strength I walked one and a half miles to Brother Smith's
home where I found sympathy and aid. I was drenched and cov-
ered with mud, with nothing saved but my life and the clothing
I wore. The kind people replaced my team in a short time, and
I was again fitted out to continue my labors among them, never
to forget God's mercy and the kindness of the dear friends."
Brother Tobias describes a revival meeting which he held at
the Benton appointment on Oregon Circuit while serving that
work, in the following words:
"In February, 1884, I held a revival meeting in the Benton
Church, which was accompanied with unusual conviction and
power, the altar being filled with seekers every night. One night,
after the services were closed, a large, portly woman shook her fist
before my face, exclaiming: 'You have preached my funeral ser-
mon for three nights, and I will not stand it any longer.' I saw
that she was angry and said nothing. I expected her to strike
me, however, she refrained. I saw the hand of God in it all. This
poor woman belonged to a church which did not believe in conver-
sion. Some of the leading members of her church were at the
altar, while others had been converted.
"Arrangements had been made before the meeting began for
a dance in the neighborhood, the wife of a brother-in-law of the
family where the dance was to be held came five miles to attend
the same, and when she drove into the yard the family were just
starting to the meeting. The visitor remarked : 'Is there not a
dance on the program at this place tonight?' 'Yes,' his friend
remarked, 'but no one will come. Everybody is going to the Evan-
gelical church to attend the meeting. We are going there our-
selves.' 'Well,' the visitor remarked, 'I came five miles through
the mud to attend the dance, and we expected to remain all night.'
'Very well,' his friend remarked, 'you can put your team into the
barn, and you can stay in the house, or you can get into the wagon
and go with us to church just as you like.' The visitors decided to
go along to church. That night both parties came to the altar for
prayer, the one having started for a dance and ending at the
mourners' bench, praying themselves into the Kingdom of God.
"Twenty-eight souls were converted during this meeting, after
which I preached three sermons on baptism, when all the converts
but one were baptized by sprinkling in a neighborhood where most
all had been believers in immersion. When the people asked me at
the beginning of the meeting to preach on the subject of water
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1884
FIFTY YEARS IN THE KANSAS CONFERENCE
baptism I told them when they were once converted then I would,
but prior to that would be too soon. I held four revival meetings
this year on my field of labor and nearly one hundred souls were
converted."
C. F. ERFFMEYER
Rev. C. F. Erffmeyer gives the following account of his early
ministry in the Kansas Conference :
"The first session of the Kansas Conference I attended was
held in our church at Willow Springs (now Worden), Douglas
County, Kansas, in the spring of 1878, with Bishop T. Bowman
as chairman. At that session I was licensed to preach, received
into the itinerancy and given my first charge. At that session
thirty-two ministers received appointments. According to the
statistics the membership of the Conference numbered less than
three thousand. My first appointment was Junction City Mission,
with L. Wenger for my senior colleague.
"This mission had eight preaching places, equally divided
as to English and German, two of them were in Riley County,
three in Dickinson, and three in Marion County. At first I trav-
eled the 'circuit' on horseback and later in the year in an open
buggy. To procure this outfit I was obliged to go considerably into
debt. My salary the first year was $125.00. In addition to this
I received cash presents from friends to the amount of $25.00.
I made my home with Brother Wenger at Junction City, but was
out among the people on the work more than two-thirds of the
time. The people always gave me a hearty welcome to their homes
and would never accept any pay. So with a small salary I fared
reasonably well.
"Sometimes, however, during my early ministry, I found my-
self without money. On a certain Saturday I wanted to cross
the Republican River at Wakefield by ferry to reach my Sunday
appointment in Riley County. The round trip fare over the river
was 35 cents. I had no money with which to pay the fare, so I
told the ferryman I had no money, but would pay on my return
trip if he would carry me across. He agreed to this and took both
me and my pony across the river. The next morning we had a
gracious service in the little school house, after which a stranger
from 'the East,' who was present, and took an active part in the
service, pressed a silver dollar into my hand, saying, 'God bless
you, my brother.' The next day, on my return trip, I paid the
ferryman.
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1884
EXTENDING THE BORDERS
''While serving the first year in the ministry, with Brother
Wenger, I was sent to Canada, in Marion County, to hold a
watchnight service, and with this service begin a protracted meet-
ing. The watchnight service began at eight o'clock, with the old
school house filled to its utmost capacity. I preached from the
text Ps. 90 : 10. After the sermon the ten converted people pre-
sent all took part in prayer and testimony, and still it was two
hours until midnight. I soon saw that in order to hold the people
until the New Year was ushered in I must preach again. I took
for my second text Gen. 3: 9, 'Where art thou?' and had unusual
liberty in preaching. Several brethren then spoke on the subject
of salvation, and all joined heartily in the singing. The Holy
Spirit was present, and wrought deep conviction upon the uncon-
verted, and this watchnight service was the beginning of a gra-
cious revival.
"On Friday of the following week Brother Wenger arrived
with H. Mattill, the presiding elder, to hold the quarterly meeting.
During his stay over Sunday Brother Mattill preached the Word
with great power. After Brother Mattill left, Brother Wenger
remained for the most of the week and preached the Word with
telling effect. The meeting continued until Jan. 28, and resulted
in seventeen conversions. Eighteen persons united with the church
at the closing service. The Christians rejoiced, the church was
strengthened, and the community blessed.
"At the Conference session in 1879, the appointments in Mar-
ion County were taken from Junction Mission and formed into
Marion Mission. I was assigned to this new mission, and in April
of this year, with Brother Wenger, the presiding elder, I visited
Newton in the interests of our church. We found five families
who were members of the Evangelical Association, for whom we
preached regularly and organized a class in the month of June.
Soon thereafter we decided to build a church. A trustee board
was chosen, and a building committee appointed. A subscription
was started, and in a few days about $1,000.00 was raised for the
project. The building was finished in five months, so that on
September 21, Bishop J. J. Esher dedicated the new edifice. The
following spring Newton Mission was founded and I was assigned
to the same as pastor. At the beginning of the year we had ten
members, and at the end of a two years' pastorate we had 41 mem-
bers, and a Sunday-school numbering more than a hundred.
"Early in the fall of 1882 there was a ministerial and Sun-
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1885
FIFTY YEARS IN THE KANSAS CONFERENCE
day-school convention held at Newton. Many were gathered there
from various points on the district, who, with the people of New-
ton, were assembled for the opening services on the evening of
Sept. 27, on which occasion Rev. E. J. Troyer was to preach. In
the midst of the sermon a tornado struck the building, demolishing
it, but fortunately killing no one, though several were slightly in-
jured, and many severely frightened. The preservation of the
lives of all present in the midst of such destruction seemed noth-
ing less than a miracle. An Episcopal church, a stone building,
standing about half a block from our church, was so badly injured
that it had to be torn down. The next morning a citizen of New-
ton, viewing the ruins, remarked : 'They were God's churches, now,
if God is almighty, why did he not protect his property?' An-
other bystander answered : 'God showed his power and love in pro-
tecting the people within the building, so that no one was seriously
hurt. This is indeed a mircale.' The first speaker made no fur-
ther reply.
"When I went to the ministerial and Sunday-school convention
at Newton I was just recovering from an attack of typhoid-
malaria. The drenching I received in connection with the storm
brought on a severe attack of lung fever. The fever brought me
so low that my good wife and friends despaired of my recovery. A
good brother minister, visiting me just at the time of the crisis,
of my sickness, felt so certain that I could not recover, that he
called on the undertaker in Emporia on his way home and made
arrangements for my burial, requesting him to keep himself in
readiness for a telegraphic summons from Americus, where I
lived. A little after midnight that date the fever passed the crisis
and the doctor declared the danger over. Shortly after this time
this physician was happily converted. At this writing God has
added thirty-two years to my life, for which I am moved to pro-
found gratitude to him for his mercy."
1885
TWENTY-FIRST SESSION
The twenty-first session of Conference was held at the Camp
Creek Church, on Atchison Circuit, Atchison County, Kansas, be-
ginning March 19, 1885, with Bishop Thomas Bowman as chair-
man, and C. Berner secretary.
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1885
EXTENDING THE BORDERS
Wm. Heiser died during the year, and L. C. Schnacke was
reported as having withdrawn from the church, however, later, at
his request, credentials were voted him with the understanding
that the same shall remain in the hands of the secretary until it is
ascertained whether his accounts with the Publishing House and
Missionary Society had been satisfactorily settled.
The following brethren received license to preach: Edwin
Brown, George Wilson, M. C. Platz, C. W. Stauffer and J. K.
Young.
T. R. Nanninga, L. E. Becher, and J. W. Reiser received dea-
cons' orders, and A. Brunner and W. Elmer elders' orders.
W. F. Wolthausen and H. Rosenberger, local preachers, moved
within the bounds of Conference and were properly enrolled.
The brethren P. Fricker, C. Emmel, J. Kurtz and C. Linge
were retained in the itinerancy without appointment.
DISTRICT CHANGES
The Conference was changed from four to three districts as
follows :
a. Jewell, Downs, Osborne and Stockton shall be added to
Holton District.
b. Eudora, Deer Creek and Osage shall be added to Kansas
City District.
c. The remaining appointments on Newton and Emporia
Districts shall be called Newton District.
H. Mattill was elected presiding elder. The districts were
supplied as follows:
Holton District, H. Mattill; Kansas City District, J. Wuerth;
Newton District, J. H. Tobias.
H. Mattill was elected trustee of Northwestern College as suc-
cessor of L. C. Schnacke.
J. G. Pfeifer was elected Conference trustee for five years, and
C. Berner Conference treasurer.
The Conference trustees were requested to devise a plan by
which a fire insurance company might be organized in the Confer-
ence for insuring church property, and to submit the same to the
next session.
The Conference Secretary was instructed to procure a Con-
ference seal for future use.
The resolution of a year ago, pertaining to the payment of
one-half of the preacher's traveling expenses to and from Confer-
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1885
FIFTY YEARS IN THE KANSAS CONFERENCE
ence was complied with, but the plan changed for the future so
that only the expenses of a brother exceeding the amount of $5.00
should be paid out of the conference treasury.
D. R. Zellner reported that a new church had been built, and
a parsonage purchased, in Atchison during the past year in ac-
cordance with the resolution of a year ago, at a cost of $5,737.40.
The amount of $2,851.00 having been secured, left an indebtedness
of $2,886.63. It was ordered that the entire Conference district
should be open to a collector for the church and parsonage at
Atchison.
Numerous appeals for help were considered and disposed of
according to the best judgment and ability of Conference.
BOUNDARIES
Holton District
a. Deer Creek shall be taken from Lawrence Circuit and
formed into Deer Creek Mission, and the rest of Lawrence Circuit
shall be called Eudora Circuit.
b. Coal Creek appointment shall be taken from Wolf River
Circuit and added to Holton Circuit.
c. Leonardville shall be taken from Big Blue Circuit and
formed into Leonardville Mission.
d. The appointments Swede Creek and Fancy Creek shall be
called Big Blue Station.
Kansas City District
a. Brooklyn Ave. Mission in Kansas City shall be called
Highland Ave. Mission.
Newton District.
a. The appointments east of Osborne shall be taken from Os-
borne Circuit and formed into Downs Mission.
b. Stockton Mission shall be served with Osborne Circuit.
c. Peabody shall be served with Newton.
d. The country appointments shall be taken from Newton
and constitute Halstead Mission.
e. Earlton shall be taken from Parsons and added to Hum-
boldt Circuit.
f. Gross Creek shall be added to Red Vermillion Mission.
g. The English appointments shall be taken from Downs
Mission and added to Osborne Circuit.
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1885
EXTENDING THE BORDERS
MISSIONS
The amount of missionary money raised for the Kansas Con-
ference this year was $4,378.84, and the amount appropriated for
the ensuing year was $6,600.00. In addition to this $950.00 was
appropriated out of the Conference treasury for the support of
circuits and districts.
H. Mattill was elected delegate to the Board of Missions, and
the old board of officers was elected for the Missionary Society.
STATISTICS
Conversions, 593; accessions, 730; membership, 3,822; itine-
rant preachers, 46; local preachers, 26; churches, 46; parsonages,
25 ; Sunday-schools, 72 ; officers and teachers, 730 ; scholars, 3,453 ;
Botschafters, 836; Messengers, 434; Magazins, 443; Epistles, 65;
total for missions, $5,908.77.
APPOINTMENTS
Holton District— H. Mattill, P. E.
Holton Circuit, G. Sorg.
Wolf River, F. Harder.
Hiawatha, C. F. Erffmeyer.
Spring Creek, Wm. Daeschner.
Big Blue, E. Evans.
Osborne and Stockton, J. H. Kiplinger.
Preston, A. Yockel.
Jewell, G. E. Dienst.
Leavenworth, C. Berner.
Atchison, D. R. Zellner.
Red Vermillion, F. J. Shafer.
Leonardville, T. R. Nanninga under
presiding elder.
Washington, H. Toedman and supply.
Downs, J. Neuffer under presiding el-
der.
Kansas City District — J. Wuerth,
P. E.
Kansas City, Oak St., Samuel Miller.
Kansas City, Highland Ave., A. J.
Voegelein.
Kansas City, Forest Ave., C. W.
Stauffer under presiding elder.
St. Joseph, L. Wenger.
Deer Creek, W. F. Schuerman under
J. Schmidli.
Eudora, J. Schmidli.
Osage, M. Walter under presiding el-
der.
Warrensburg, C. Brandt.
Clinton, to be supplied.
Glasgow, W. Elmer under presiding
elder.
Winston, Edw. Brown.
Sheridan, to be supplied.
Platte River and Denver, J. G. Pfei-
fer.
Oregon, C. W. Snyder.
Bloomington, W. F. Wolthausen under
presiding elder.
Newton District — J. H. Tobias, P. E*
Canada Station, J. Kramer under pre-
siding elder.
Yates Center, P. Schumann.
Humboldt, C. Lindner.
Alida, J. F. Schreiber.
Carthage and Virgil, S. H. Dunkel-
berger.
Newton, H. Koepsel.
Halstead, M. C. Platz under presiding
elder.
Rice, A. W. Piatt and G. W. Beltz un-
der presiding elder.
Offerle, A. Ernst.
Wilson, H. S. Bower.
Salina, C. Geiser.
Emporia, E. J. Troyer.
Americus, L. E. Becher.
Burlington, .
Parsons, J. W. Keiser under presid-
ing elder.
Derby, A. Brunner.
Eldorado, J. K. Young under presid-
ing elder.
Marion, D. F. Honstedt.
Pueblo, A. E. Litz under presiding el-
der.
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1885
FIFTY YEARS IN THE KANSAS CONFERENCE
MEMORIAL
The Conference was plunged into deep sorrow during the past
year by the apparently untimely death of Brother William Heiser,
which was brought about by his team running away, inflicting
fatal injury. Brother Heiser was licensed by the Kansas Confer-
ence in 1872, but, according to the records, did not accept an
appointment till the following year, when he entered the active
work and continued therein till the time of his death. He served
a number of works very acceptably. Although not endowed with
unusual talent, or having special educational equipment, he was
successful in winning souls for the Master, for which he had a
passion. He was one of the early path-finders in the Conference
and shunned no distance or hardship in order to advance the cause
of his Redeemer. His sudden death was a severe shock and a great
loss to both his family and the Conference, which so much stood
in need of his aid and counsel. A touching memorial service was
held on which occasion Bishop Bowman presided and the breth-
ren J. Wuerth and C. Berner made fitting remarks concerning
the life, work, and influence of the departed brother.
OREGON, MO.
The society in Oregon, Mo., was organized in 1884 with nine
members, as follows: Daniel Kunkle, Sr., and wife, Daniel Zach-
man and wife, Daniel Kunkle, Jr., Anna Rostock, Mollie Kunkle,
Elizabeth Schlotzerhauser, and Mary Vogan.
In 1895 a church was built in town, dedicated in January of
the following year. The membership of the congregation at the
time consisted of only seventeen persons.
CAMP-MEETINGS
Brother J. H. Tobias, who at this time was serving on New-
ton District as presiding elder, relates the following camp-meet-
ing experiences:
'The camp-meeting, held at Canada, Marion County, the past
year, was accompanied with great power and demonstration of the
Spirit.
"One man was so powerfully convicted of sin while at work in
the field that he went and told his wife to get ready to go with
him to the camp-meeting. When they reached the camp-ground the
husband left his wife in the wagon, and the team steanding in
172
1885
EXTENDING THE BORDERS
the road, while he, unconscious of his surroundings, ran to the
altar, calling out as he ran : 'Help me ! Help me ! I am lost !' His
old mother was one of the first to meet him as she threw her arms
around him, crying: 'My August! My August!' He fell down
at the altar where we all joined in prayer and soon he was glo-
riously saved.
"People coming on the camp-ground would frequently rush
to the altar for prayer without an invitation, and were happily con-
verted. One afternoon the request was made for the people to
spend a short time in secret prayer in the tents, or out in the grove,
as they might prefer, before the preaching service. When the
hour for preaching arrived there was no occasion or opportunity
for preaching, as the altar was filled with seekers. The altar
services sometimes continued from one service hour to another
without intermission, often continuing till late in the night, and
sometimes all night long."
"The first camp-meeting at Jewell City was held in the grove
of Thomas Berry, Sr., near town. On Saturday afternoon the en-
tire congregation went down before God in consecration when
wonderful power came upon the people and many were converted.
A heavy rain set in which continued over Sunday, but the work
continued in the tents and the homes."
An exceedingly interesting and blessed camp-meeting was
held at the Twelve Mile appointment on the Osborne work in the
summer of 1884, of which Brother Tobias writes : "On Sunday
night many fell to the ground under the power of God. One
woman was carried to a tent in a state of unconsciousness after
falling under the power of the Holy Spirit near the midnight hour.
After remaining in this condition for quite a while her friends be-
came concerned about her and resorted to remedies to resuscitate
her. I advised them to leave her undisturbed, since she was in
God's hands, and he would take care of her. She lay helpless and
speechless until four o'clock in the morning when she came from
under the spell with a shout that aroused the whole camp. We
did not need to call the people from their beds that morning. The
fire continued to burn all day long and the people continued to
praise God and shout till midnight. The notes of victory were
heard for miles.
"At nine o'clock in the morning when the services opened the
altar was again filled with seekers, and through the entire day
173
1885
FIFTY YEARS IN THE KANSAS CONFERENCE
until midnight the altar services never stopped. There was no
dinner prepared in any of the tents, and only a lunch was served
for supper. The day was spent in prayer. Such victory! It was
a veritable Pentecost. Some of the preachers present declared
they had never witnessed anything like it in the past. For 15 hours
without intermission the services continued. Eternity alone will
reveal the results of that day and that camp-meeting."
Brother Tobias also reports a ten days' meeting which he con-
ducted six miles southwest of Pueblo, Colo., on St. Charles River,
where A. E. Litz was preaching under direction of the Kansas
Conference. Brother Tobias writes:
"The third night of the meeting the Spirit' of God was mani-
fested and before I closed the service I remarked that I would
like to shake hands with all who wished to go to heaven. Among
those who came forward to give me the hand was an Indian cow-
boy. The next night when I gave an invitation for seekers to come
to the altar this same Indian came forward. Tears were rolling
down his cheeks as he remarked : 'Mister, I want to go to heaven.'
I asked him to kneel down at the altar while I kneeled at his side
and said: Tray to Jesus, and ask him to forgive your sins.' He
replied : 'I cannot pray. I never heard a prayer until I heard
you pray.' I now taught him how to pray when suddenly the
Holy Spirit came upon him, teaching him how to agonize in
prayer. I think I never saw any one wrestle in prayer more ear-
nestly than did this Indian penitent. Finally he became calm and
pleaded : 'Please, Father, oh, please, forgive Indian Charlie's sins.
Won't you please forgive my sins?' His pleading affected every one
in the house, and many were moved to tears. Gradually the trans-
forming change came over him, and his face shone with rapture.
He sprang to his feet and shouted : 'Hallelujah ! I am saved !' The
next evening when I came to the school house I met Indian Char-
lie with a smile on his face. I asked him how he felt, and he
answered : 'I never swore all day. This is the first time I did
not swear for a whole day. I got off my pony eighteen times today
and prayed that God would keep me from swearing. O glory, I
never said a cuss-word all day.' Charlie was baptized, united with
the church, lived a consistent life and died a very happy death
several years later."
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1886
EXTENDING THE BORDERS
1886
TWENTY-SECOND SESSION
Conference met this year March 18, 1886, at Willow Springs,
Eudora Circuit, Douglas County, Kansas, to hold her twenty-second
session, with Bishop J. J. Esher as chairman and C. Berner secre-
tary.
Brother C. Ehrhardt died during the year, C. Geiser with-
drew from the church under charges, and J. G. Pfeifer was neces-