The Association was constituted in 1818. It was composed of six small churches having an aggregate of 124 members. The minutes of 1819 give ten churches with a total membership of 203, and the following ordained ministers -- George Hume, John Watts, William Thompson and David Penwell. Elder Ezra Ferris, afterwards a prominent member of the Association, appears as a delegate from White Water Association. At the tenth session, 1828, there were twenty churches, and a total membership of 584. The ordained ministers at this date were: John Watts, William Morgan, Thomas Curtis, Nathaniel Richmond, Daniel Palmer and H. D. Banta. The largest church was Middle Fork, with sixty members; at this time Aurora had but twenty-one members. The Circular Letter by Elder Jesse L. Holman was a review of the history of the past ten years; it contains many statements worthy of attention; 385 members have been added to the churches by experience and baptism; since the organization of the Association thirteen ministers have been ordained; the first minister in the Association -- Elder George Hume -- had fallen asleep; at first the correspondence was gladly entered into with several Associations in Kentucky, but gradually several members, and at least one church, declined to hold fellowship with churches that tolerate slavery. In 1826 three churches expressed the desire that we no longer correspond with Associations that countenance slavery. As a measure of mitigation it was recalled that most of our churches on the Indiana side were constituted by ministers from Kentucky who came at their own charges. It was further said:"In the state of the ministry among us the evil is seen at once. Our ministers receive little or no support -- many of our churches are but partially supplied, and some of them are ready to die. We would urge it upon those churches that are already supplied, to enable their ministers to make full proof of their ministry; and to afford them such a support that their temporal necessities may not compel them to seek support elsewhere."The minutes of the twenty-first session mention the fact of twenty-four churches, and a total membership of 1,037. Jesse L. Holman was now an ordained minister, and had been for five years; Elder Ezra Ferris was a member of the Association, belonging to the Lawrenceburg church; Sparta church reported 117 members and Aurora seventy-six. The usual business was transacted at each session -- the statistics from the churches gathered and tabulated, correspondence with other Associations provided, a Circular letter, discussing some phase of doctrine presented, accepted and printed, and religious meetings in destitute parts of the Association arranged for -- the different ministers volunteering to spend a certain number of days in such service. In the minutes of the session of 1864 E. H. Davis, a member of the Aurora church, and one of the best clerks the Association ever had, in the Circular letter recites some of the causes that have made the Association what it is:"In briefly reviewing the history of Laughery Baptist Association we may be profited by discovering the sources from which our fathers derived the power to achieve such signal success in building up the cause of Christ; and in discovering this we may ascertain the causes of our failures, not only to maintain the degree of prosperity which they left us, but in not pressing forward to the achievement of new and greater conquests over the opposing forces of satan and the world. It is true that they were men of sound judgment, strong common sense and some of them were possessed of more than ordinary attainments as ministers of Jesus Christ. These requisites of themselves, combined with an unusual degree of industry and perseverance, would have made them an almost invincible power for the accomplishment of good. But these qualities, however important a part they may have borne, were not the elements of success which enabled them to bring the power of the gospel within the knowledge of so many. They were men of God; and to the influence which they exerted by their godly lives and holy walk, was added an inflexible and uncompromising fidelity to the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which they pressed home upon the consciences of men -- not merely for their intellectual assent, but as the only means through which they could be cleansed from the power of sin and enjoy the favor of God."At the session in 1825 the Indian Creek church asked: "Should a church grant a letter to a member to unite with a church of another denomination?" The answer was, "No." In 1842 three of the most active and influential ministers in the Association were called from their earthly labors to their eternal rest -- Elders Jesse L. Holman, Thomas Curtis and John W. Givan. Elder Ezra Ferris was asked to preach a discourse commemorative of their many good and great qualities.Somewhat out of line with our present church polity the Association at the close of the session of 1823 celebrated the Lord's supper. At the session in 1876 the minds of all being naturally turned to the history of our country as well as to denominational progress, Judge William S. Holman, in the Circular letter, reviewed the distinctive principles of Baptists, and emphasized the fact that we were the first advocates of freedom of conscience, as is acknowledged by such men as Judge Story and John Locke.
In 1899 there were thirteen churches in the Association and the total membership was 1,438. At the present time (1907) there are fifteen churches and 1,791 members; Aurora is the largest church -- membership 503.
Foremost among the ministers of the Association, by odds, was Reverend and Honorable Jesse L. Holman. He was born near Danville, Kentucky, October 22d, 1783. His father moved from Virginia to Kentucky while the latter State was mainly a wilderness, and was killed in a skirmish with the Indians. In very early life young Holman was subject to deep religious impressions; he was in the habit of reading the Bible daily. In his seventeenth year he united with the Clear Creek Baptist church, in Woodford county. Early in his religious life he had the conviction that he should give himself to the Christian ministry, but he met no encouragement, and so did not begin to preach to any considerable extent till later in life. Having completed the general course of study that he had undertaken, he entered the law office of Henry Clay, at Lexington. Of course his advantages were remarkable; to have known and been under the guidance of such a man was a liberal education in itself. At the age of twenty-two he was admitted to the bar at Port William, and began practice there. He moved to Indiana in 1810, and the next year General Harrison, governor of the territory, appointed him prosecuting attorney for Dearborn (and Jefferson?) county. In 1814 he was elected to the Territorial legislature at Corydon, and was made speaker of that body. In 1816 Governor Jennings appointed him one of the judges of the supreme court, in which capacity he served for fourteen years. In 1834 President Jackson appointed him judge of the United States district court in Indiana, and in this office he served till his death in 184&. But his service to the State was not more earnest and successful than that which he gave to the Baptist denomination. In 1834 he submitted to ordination to the ministry; he became a leader in his Association, in southeastern Indiana, and in the whole State; and was chosen a member of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions. He was a member of the Indiana Baptist Convention at its first session and was made Secretary. He was several times elected Moderator of the Convention, and was often placed on important committees; and no reports were made to the Convention that commanded more attention than those submitted by him.
Here follow some extracts from a Circular letter submitted at the session in 1839 in Delphi:
"Dear Brethren: As the chief design of our Association is to promote the spread of the gospel in our own State, we again invite your attention to this important subject. A great number of our churches are destitute of regular preaching, and there are extensive sections of the country, and not a few of them in popular parts of the State where we have neither churches nor ministers. Our object will not be fully accomplished until all these destitute regions are filled with churches, and all our churches supplied with ministers. How is this to be done, is an important inquiry. Under the blessing of heaven means of obtaining an increase of ministerial labor present themselves. The first is to liberate the ministers we now have from all secular employments, so that they may devote their whole time to the work of the Lord; the second is to adopt measures for obtaining more ministers. By supporting our ministers we shall enable them not only to preach more frequently but also to preach more effectively. And to preach effectively requires a higher degree of spirituality, an intimate acquaintance with the word of truth, and a fervent desire for the prosperity of Zion. It requires sermons in which the minister feels, and the congregation too, that he, at least for the time being, has gives himself wholly to the work. This at times is the case with those who labor through the week in support of their families, but it is much more frequently the case with those whose whole business it is to labor in the Lord's vineyard. Were all our ministers supported by the churches, so that they could give all their time and energies to the gospel, there would be a vast increase in the number of sermons they would preach, and no doubt a much greater increase in the life, the intelligence, and the spirituality of those sermons. Might not this be done? . . . Genuine piety is indispensable to the gospel minister, and no learning or talents will supply its place. But piety alone does not give all those qualifications which the scriptures require. A minister must possess knowledge and aptness to teach. Much of the knowledge which is all important to the minister may be acquired by intercourse with society, by observation, by reading and study without any special aid from teaching; and some extraordinary minds by these aids alone have become very useful. But in ordinary cases this form of acquiring knowledge is slow and uncertain, and a life may be spent in obtaining what a few years of regular instruction would impart. These considerations loudly call upon the churches to promote the education of pious young men as a principal means of supplying our State with the gospel. Education is becoming generally diffused through the community. The state of society requires a higher degree of mental cultivation than formerly in all who engage in any public business; and unless there is corresponding increase of intelligence in our ministry we shall fall still farther below the state of general society, and our gospel operations will be more and more confined to the less informed part of the community.... And unless we use the means which God has placed within our reach to procure a well informed as well as a spiritual minister, may we not expect to see many of our lonely churches and scattered members, as sheep without a shepherd, exposed to any artful leader that may be disposed to lead them? And may we not fear that the curse of God will rest upon us for not discerning the signs of the times, and using our efforts to procure such a ministry as the state of our churches and the condition of the world require?"Then in a few words he urged his brethren to see to it that provision is made for the liberal education of the young men offering themselves for the ministry.It is not difficult to forecast what Judge Holman's attitude was towards Baptist institutions of learning in general, and Franklin College in particular. And it is of interest to note that his son, grandson and great-grandson were all students at Franklin.
The following brief extract from his report to the Convention in 1840 on Bible distribution, will indicate his clearness of view and earnestness of conviction as to the value of the universal distribution and study of God's word:
"The same holy feeling which prompts the disciples of the Lord Jesus to preach the gospel to the destitute and perishing will surely lead them to accompany the spoken with the written word. Now as in preaching we are to go to those who need instruction, so if we would have the world made better by the Bible, we may freely circulate it through all lands and in all languages."The result of the report was that the Indian Bible society was formed, auxiliary to the American Foreign Bible society. Quoting from the obituary notice in the Missionary Magazine for November, 1842:
"The crowning and ennobling principle of his character, and that which shone brilliant and steady in all circles, on the bench of justice, the political forum, and the walks of private life, was the influence of christianity. Its truth, spirit, devotion and practice were prominent in his whole character."He died March 23d, 1842, knowing that he must go, and expressing full confidence in the presence, power, love and saving grace of his Lord.Another of the leading men in the Laughery Association was William S. Holman, son of Jesse L. Holman. He was born in Indiana in 1822; he had the educational advantages of the public schools, and a course, though not complete, in Franklin College. He engaged in the study and practice of law, and in 1843 was elected probate judge for his county. He was chosen prosecuting attorney of his county from 1847 to 1869; and in 1851 was elected a member of the Indiana legislature. In 1858 he was elected to the United States Congress, and was elected fifteen terms in succession -- an honor that has not fallen to any other congressman in the history of the country. He was a member of the Aurora Baptist church at the time of his death, and had been for many years. And while he gave a great deal of time to civil matters he was also actively connected with his denominational work in Indiana. He was a member of the board of trustees of Franklin College from 1851 to 1857, and was chairman of some of the most important committees of the Indiana Baptist Convention. He was an active and earnest supporter of the government through the trying times of the civil war; and more than one Indiana soldier found him ready to sympathize with him and help him, as they met in Washington.
Judge Turpie, his colleague and lifelong friend, had this to say of him in an address during the Obituary exercises in the House of Congress in 1897:
"He was for the Union at all risk, and at every cost. He supported the prosecution of the war for the Union with fervent zeal and unflagging constancy. He had, all his life, resided on the very border between the free and the slave States. He represented the people of a border district. His constituents had with their neighbors of Kentucky, and indeed with the people of the entire south, through the great commerce of the Ohio river, the most intimate and congenial relations; but these cost him not a moment's hesitation.. . . Although Judge Holman was a man of affairs, in close contact with the varied political activities of this world, yet he had not forgotten--had always borne in present remembrance -- the concerns of the world to come, the distant scene beyond. He had been from early manhood, and continued to the close of his career, a steadfast believer in the Christian faith. He became and remained a member of the Baptist church, and always took an active interest in the progress and growth of that influential body. . . . It must have been certainly an interesting and edifying spectacle to have seen and heard the distinguished statesman, whom time had clothed with so many years and honors, discoursing upon some subject of discipline or doctrine among his brethren, as one who, in deliberations upon the great secular questions of his age, had yet kept and preserved his interest in the affairs of that grander and more glorious commonwealth -- the church."
Another of the leaders in the Laughery Association was the Rev. and Hon. John Watts. He was a member of Bear Creek church and was its pastor for fifteen years. He was moderator of the Association for many years. He was honored by Kentucky while a resident there, by being chosen Judge of the circuit court of Boone county. He was also circuit judge in Indiana for several terms; was a representative from Dearborn county in the State legislature, and was for six years a member of the United States Senate. But with all his duties as a civil officer he did not cease preaching, as opportunity offered itself.
Still another leader in the Laughery Association of whom special mention should be made was the Rev. Ezra Ferris, M. D. He was born in Connecticut in 1783, and came with his father to Ohio in 1789, and found a home in Columbia, the first town to be founded in the Miami Valley. He joined the Baptist church there in 1801. In 1807 he came to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and was one of the first Baptist ministers to preach in that part of the State. He was a leader in the organization of the Lawrenceburg church, and was its pastor for more than thirty years.
He was also a practicing physician, having gone back to the east, in his early manhood, to complete a course in medicine. He was selected as a member of the Constitutional Convention of Indiana held at Corydon in 1816; and was several times sent to the state legislature. He was once nominated for congress but failed by five votes, of being elected. It is said that on one occasion when the followers of Alexander Campbell were arranging for a meeting in Lawrenceburg, with the purpose of proselyting as many members of other churches as possible, Elder Ferris fore-stalled the movement somewhat, by being on hand early, opening the meeting, and in the opening using the hymn, the first stanza of which is:
Jesus, great Shepherd of the sheep To thee for help we fly, The little flock in safety keep, For oh, the wolf is nigh.One of the most satisfactory accounts of the Indian campaigns of Generals Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne, 1791-94, was written by Elder Ferris for a Lawrenceburg paper. He died at his home in Lawrenceburg April 19th, 1857. There were other men prominent in the Association, such as Elder George Hume, Elder Thomas Curtis, related to the large family of Curtises who did so much to make Ebenezer church what it was and is; Elder John Givan, who gave so much of promise as a preacher, and who gave to Dr. L. Moss, the prince of pulpit orators, the first impulse to become somebody and do something worthy; Elder A. R. Hinkley, who was not only a preacher but also editor, and who was Pastor of the Franklin church as well as professor in Franklin College.
============ [From William Taylor Stott, Indiana Baptist History, 1908, pp. 92-104. Document from Google Books. Scanned andf formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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