| Warren County
Local History by Dallas Bogan |
| Contributor: |
Dallas Bogan on 10 August 2004 |
Source: |
original article by Dallas Bogan |
| Return to Index to see a list of other articles by Dallas Bogan |
The one-hundredth anniversary of the Miami Monthly
Meeting at Waynesville was celebrated on the 17th and 18th (Friday and Saturday)
of October, 1903. Waynesville was highlighted with guests from Warren, Clinton
and Greene counties. Also included were visitors from Pennsylvania, Indiana,
Illinois and Kansas. North Dakota sent the wife of Gov. White
as representative of that state.
The first worship services of the Friends in Waynesville were held in 1803 in
the homes of various residents, two years previous to the building of their
log structure.
Growth and prosperity of the congregation grew to great bounds, which called
for a new brick-meeting house to be built in 1811.
The dimensions were 40x60 feet and two stories high. Two years later, at a cost
of $1500, the new meetinghouse was finished.
In 1828, a split in the Quakers lead to the minority group, called the Orthodox,
leaving and later erecting a substantial red brick meeting house on the corner
opposite the original structure.
The commemoration of the centennial eased all strain between the two factions.
Orthodox and Hicksites both put their differences aside and joined for the memorable
occasion. Both meetinghouses were used and each was represented on the program
equally.
On Friday morning, at 9:30, S.H. Ellis and Charles
A. Brown called the meeting to order. Addresses of welcome were made
to the large audience who had assembled in the white brick-meeting house of
the Hicksites. The services progressed and the history of a church unfolded
by the addresses and papers introduced. All who had a part in the program proclaimed
a sense of accomplishment.
An early veteran of the Society, Clarkson Butterworth, gave
the history of the Miami Monthly Meeting from
1803 to 1828.
From that date Eli Jay, of Richmond, Indiana, gave the history
of the Orthodox to 1903, while Davis Furnas gave the history
of the Hicksites for the same period.
Some of the guest speakers on Friday afternoon were: Mary Batton Boone
of Richmond, Indiana; May Pemberton of West Milton; and Dr.
Robert E. Pretlow, of Wilmington.
On Friday evening, Jesse Wright, of Springboro, gave a biographical
sketch of his grandfather, Joel Wright. Mary Frame
of Waynesville gave an outline on Robert Furnas. Prof.
Jonathan Wright, of Harveysburg,
spoke on the "Trend of Modern Religious Thought Toward Quakerism."
Saturday morning biographical profiles were presented on Samuel Linton,
Abijah O'Neall and Samuel
Kelly.
Saturday afternoon was highlighted by a speech given by President Walton,
of the George School in Pennsylvania, on the In-dwelling and In-speaking of
God, as the fundamental doctrine of Quakerism.
In closing, an address was given by President Albert J. Brown,
of Wilmington College, on The Message of Quakerism to the World, entitled, "God
is Love and he that Dwelleth in God and God in Him."
The entertainment committee had scheduled the Sunday school room of the Orthodox
Meeting House for serving meals.
The young people of both societies supported serving.
Over four hundred were served dinner on Friday and over five hundred served
on Saturday, not counting the evenings.
Cost of the meals was twenty cents each. This arrangement was accredited to
the committee so as to give more time to the speakers.
The Centennial given by the Friends was well represented by a broad historical
view of the church and a strong showing of attendance. An estimate was given
that probably eight hundred people heard the addresses Saturday afternoon.
The broad-rimmed hats, the plain Quaker bonnets, and the plain dresses were
not represented in the Centennial; the dress code of the previous one hundred
years seemed to have disappeared.
The two meetinghouses were now fitted with electricity, modern furniture, and
one of the houses even sported an organ.
An indication of changing times in the Quakers detected modernization, but they
still have a message for the people that have been handed down by their fathers
and forefathers that are no less important now as then.
This page created 10 August 2004 and last updated
25 December, 2010
© 2004-2006 Arne H Trelvik
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