Early Wayne County Churches
Early Wayne County Church - [excerpt from booklet], 10 p.
What is a Church? the dictionary gives nine definitions for the word church.
- A building dedicated to Christian worship
- A body of Christians with a distinct history, creed, ecclesiastical government and forms of worship, a denomination.
- A number of Christians organized for united worship, a congregation.
- The Christians of a certain city or Country
- The whole body of Christian believers.
- Any religious society or body
- Regular religious services or public worship
- The clerical order or profession
- Ecclesiastical authority or influence; distinguished from state power.
When the first settlers came to Wayne County it was a wilderness with no neighbors closer than Lake Erie on the North; For Wayne the closest settlement on the West; Coshocton on the South, and a settlement on the Tuscarawas on the East. These men were of a hardy stock coming to carve out the wilderness homes for themselves and their families. They were used to rough adventure, loved amusement, but there was also in them, a true respect for all sacred things, and not a few were devout Christians. Soon congregations, consisting of a few neighbors were organized by ministers who visited the various settlements, riding a circuit on horseback. They were also instrumental in founding new churches in the wilderness. The history of the circuit riders is a fascinating one.
In a story written by the former Dr. Ann Yoder of Smithville, she telled of the good old days in which ministerial support was to be $500 and reported pain $300. In a quote she says "This must have been the time, my grandfather told about, when two sisters of the church, got one of the brothers to give enough money to buys material for two shirts for the preacher, which the sisters made and with $200 short on salary, a great