Transcription contributed by Arne H Trelvik 10 Aug 2003

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The pioneer preachers on the Miamis were mounted rangers. The Methodist preachers were circuit-riders, and their circuits extended a hundred miles. The Presbyterian and Baptist ministers had several congregations or preaching stations under their charge, which were often at a great distance apart. All were expected to seek out and preach to the scattered members of their fold over a large territory. They traveled on horseback, with their capacious saddle-bags under them; but these seldom contained manuscript sermons; a sermon written out and read to a congregation would have been received with little favor.

The first preaching in a community was almost always at a private house. The first churches in Warren County were made of logs, hewed inside and outside. They were larger and built with more care than the schoolhouses, and when the spaces between the logs were properly filled in with mortar, they proved to be comfortable rooms, cool in summer and warm in winter.

The itinerant clergy were important teachers among the early settlers. They lodged in their cabins and conversed with their families. Newspapers and periodicals of every kind were rare. Religious newspapers were then unknown. The preacher was usually a welcome guest.