When the Association divided at its meeting in the Garretson school-house, in October, 1809, the Richland Creek delegates were reproached by some of their conservative brethren for excluding James Lemen on account of his antislavery principles, charging that it would create sympathy for him. This so troubled the church that at their meeting on Saturday, October 14, they temporarily removed the exclusion thus:

"We have been accused of excommunicating brother Lemen for the principles of emancipation, and in order to show the world and to convince him and the rest of the members that went off with him that we did not, we lay the excommunication of brother Lemen down and set him on the same footing that he was before. That is, we hold him under censure for some distress which is not occasioned by the aforesaid principles which have not been removed.

Signed by order of the church,

William Kinney, clerk."

Yet there appears to have been no other charge against him, not even the grievance concerning his sermon, than that "occasioned by the aforesaid principles." No notice was taken of this church action. It was of course useless to appear for trial before a tribunal which had already tried him.

December 1, 1809, what was left of the Association met with the Wood River church to consider the situation. Four churches reported. A visiting comn1ittee was appointed, as follows:

"Association appoints D. Badgley, D. Waddle, Moses Short, Wm. Brazil, Rob. Brazil, Thos. Musick, John Finley, Wm. Jones, to meet with the different churches, to help them in their present distresses, to establish those that want to live with the United Baptists, and if need be to constitute churches."

The itinerary of this committee was made out as follows:

"Bottom church, Feb. 12, 1810; New Design, Feb. 13, Silver Creek, 15 (a day allowed betWeen here because the committee had some 30 miles to travel from the lower end of the Association to the middle); Richland Creek, 16; Richland, 17; Looking Glass Prairie, 18; Wood River, 19."

This committee of eight must have made an imposing appearance, as with horses and saddle bags they rode up to the door of the humble

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[p. 52]
dwelling where the meeting was appointed. It involved more than a week's time and considerably more than a hundred miles travel for each of them, but it accomplished in some measure their purpose. They did not succeed in bringing all the churches into line with the United Baptists of Kentucky, but they so strengthened the conservatives that the growth of the Friends to Humanity was slow for several years.

The authority given the committee to constitute churches must be understood absolutely, but only that they were requested to sit as a council on the call of any group of brethren and sisters who wished to be recognized as a church. No such call however was made on them. In only one case, Silver Creek, was the antislavery element strong enough to divide the body, and there they withdrew and organized themselves.

The Association took the name of the Illinois Union Baptist Association, and for several years met alternately in Illinois and Missouri. In 1811 three new churches appeared: Ogle's Creek; Shoal Creek and Turkey Hill. There was considerable sympathy with the antislavery party, even where there was not the courage to stand with them openly. At Ogle's Creek church this took the form of a request to "soften the matter concerning the emancipation preachers;" probably meaning to "lay down" their excommunication, and allow church fellowship with them. This was not done, but it was explained that,

"To relieve the minds of any who may not understand us, we did not nor do not mean the rule concerning the emancipating to extend to any that have not departed from the General Union or given hurts by disorderly conduct."

In 1813 the attendance at the Association was very small; only three delegates were present from the Illinois churches, outside of the church with which the body met. In 1814 William Jones was absent for the first time. Two months before the meeting his settlement was visited by roving Indians, and a mother and six children were killed in their own house; six miles east of Alton. It was seen to be not prudent to leave families unprotected. Skulking Indians were suspected in every thicket. They were simply taking occasion of the war between the United States and Great Britain to collect scalps and plunder. In stealing the Indian was instigated by traders and renegade whites. In 1812 the government agent at Peoria instigated bands of Indians to steal the cattle of settlers from as far south as Madison county and he charged them to the government as Indian supplies.

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[p. 53]
Some of the thieves attended Gov. Edwards' Indian Council at,Cahokia, in April, and promised better behavior, but were able to be at the Fort Dearborn massacre at Chicago in August. The most cruel of all savages were the renegade whites and dishonest officials. It was these that r:nade the Indian a prowling thief and assassin, and made deliverance from the fear of him tpe hoped-for industrial millennium before the settlers.

"Happy the country where the sheep,
Cattle and corn have large increase;
Where men securely work or sleep,
Nor sons of plunder break their peace."

New settlers continued to come in, notwithstanding the war. Jonathan Boone, brother of Daniel Boone, settled in 1814 at the month of Little Wabash river and built a blockhouse and mill, calling the place New Haven. Two townships in Gallatin county contend for the honor of identifying the locality and preserving the name. In 1812 Illinois was raised to a territory of the second grade, and three new counties -- Gallatin, Johnson and Madison -- were formed. An election was held for delegates to the territorial legislature. Two of the seven elected were Baptists, viz, William Jones and Capt. Jacob Short, son of Moses Short.
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[Edward P. Brand, Illinois Baptists -- A History, 1930, pp. 54-57. -- jrd]

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