Caldwell County MO Archives History .....EARLY CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH  
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Karen Walker khw4@yahoo.com September 8, 2008, 4:26 pm

NOTES ON EARLY CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH (HAMILTON) HISTORY
	Narrators:  Mrs. Gid Prentice, Irvin Harper, and Mrs. Mary Kautz

     These facts concerning the early history of the Congregational church in 
Hamilton (now merged in the Federated Church) have come from many sources, 
even more than the above named.
     It was in the fall of 1867 that the first services of this church were 
held in Hamilton in the old school house which stood on the site of the M.E. 
parsonage.  Rev. William Wilmot was sent here as a missionary by the American 
Board of Home Missions to help the organization.  Then they met in the room of 
Rev. Wm. Wilmot's home south of the city park; in fact, many old folks say 
that the Wilmot home was built with the missionary money sent to him for 
building a chapel.  Mrs. Wilmot played the little Wilmot organ.  The so called 
Congregational chapel was the south room of the Wilmot house, and Mr. Harper 
solemnly declares that it was their kitchen in the weekdays, so they went to 
Sunday school in the Wilmot kitchen.  Mr. Wilmot and the church soon broke 
apart, and he and Mrs. Wilmot never went to their services.  He had been a 
Methodist preacher before becoming a Congregational preacher.
     By Sept 1868, the congregation voted to call a council of neighboring 
churches to organize a church here.  At that time, Congregational churches 
existed at Cameron, Kidder, Breckenridge, Utica, Chillicothe, Kingston and 
Gallatin.  The charter members here were largely Eastern people who had 
recently come to town in the boom.  The list of charter members were 12 in 
all, including Rev. Wilmot and wife and her mother Mrs. Perkins.  They may be 
found in any county history of Caldwell county.
     They then began meetings in Low's Hall, second story of a frame building 
where the Low printing office stood on south Main (site of present Will 
Bennett grocery).  Meanwhile, they were erecting the little brown church 
building on School street at the west end of the present Federated church 
property.  Miss Lou Clark (remembered well by old people as a milliner) and 
Miss Curtis solicited funds.  At first, they dreamed of a stone church, but 
gave that up.  The little frame was dedicated 1870.  Within 14 years, the 
congregation outgrew the size, but the congregation was too weak financially 
to enlarge.  In 1895 while W.W. Fellows was pastor, the foundation for a new 
church building was made and even the pile of sand for laying brick.  The 
funds ran out.  For five years, the sand pile drifted down Main street, and 
the foundation served as a play house for the neighborhood children.  Finally 
under Rev. Edgar Price, the plans of the foundation were changed for a smaller 
house, and the church was built, being dedicated 1901.
     The following pastors have served up to its second building:  William 
Wilmot, G.G. Perkins (see his separate write up) A.J. Yates, C.E. Moon, I.T. 
Hull, Thos. O. Wicks, L.E. Danks (married daughter of Hiram Markham), R.J. 
Mathews a Welshman, E.E. Preston, W.W. Fellows and Edgar H. Price who died 
recently in Cal.


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