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HISTORY ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY of the Church of Christ
Newspaper clipping of march 1942.

Sunday, March 8, 1942

Interesting history sent in by INJACK1@aol.com (Jack Childers)
On the second Lord's Day of March, 1842, a group of seven persons met at the home of, WM. WELLS three miles south of Lowell, to take the Bible and that alone as their guide and the rule of faith and practice, in all matters of religious belief. These were J.L. WORLEY, SIMON BEADLE, SARAH BEADLE, THOMAS CHILDRESS, SARAH CHILDRESS, JANE (Childers) HOLMES, ELIZABETH WELLS,. After a discourse by NATHAN COFFENBURY, pastor of the Sherburnville, Ill. church, the above seven persons became the first members of the new congregation.
They continued to meet in the homes of the members for several years with increasing membership.
The following acted as overseers--SIMON BEADLE, 1848; J. L. WORLEY, 1849; HENRY DICKERSON,1853; G. F. SUTTON,1860; WM. WILLIAMS, 1866.The early Deacons were--J. L. WORLEY,1842; STANLEY CASTLE, 1849; DAVIS TABER,1849; JOHN NORTHRUP,1853. There were about 25 members in 1849.The lots for the church were purchased before the Civil War . A brick building was begun in 1869. CRYUS DICKERSON, then 19 years old, hauled the first load of stone on a stone boat drawn by one horse. The cost of the building was $4,000. Of this amount $1,200 was given by HENRY DICKERSON, J. L. WORLEY, IRA BABCOCK*, and ORRIN BECKWITH contributed liberally and the community in general assisted. Later J.L. WORLEY MORTGAGED 40 acres of land to finish paying for the church building.
In February,1870, the first meeting was held in the new building, dedicated by Bro. L. SHORTRIDGE and the membership grew to about 55.This Church was known as the Lone Star Church for many years, being the only church in the county.
*IRA BACOCK was the husband of PHEBE JANE CHILDERS sister
of THOMAS CHILDERS and daughter of JANE CHILDERS HOLMES