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Archiver > ILMADISO > 2005-09 > 1126384691
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Subject: Re: [ILMADISO-L] Churches in Alton 1830-1850
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 20:38:11 GMT
I don't recall the precise date, but long before the Civil War, the Methodist Episcopal Church split in two over the issue of slavery. (There were also other splits over other issues.) The pro-slavery church called itself Methodist Episcopal Church South. In the border states, which included Illinois, there was a mix of churches of both denominations along the Mason-Dixon line. This may be the reference to the division in the Methodist church in the newspaper article you found.
There was a Presbyterian church in Alton in 1845, come to think of it. Remember Owen Lovejoy, who believed in freedom of speech and ran a newspaper there. He was anti-slavery, and ended up dead at the hands of a mob for his pains.
Doris Waggoner
Seattle
-- wrote:
Alton Telegraph and Democratic Review May 17 1845
Speaks of the division of the Methodist Church in regards to slavery. Sites
comments that were made by a Mr. Basom in his small booklet. Said the free
states should clear their skirts of the slavery issue and have no part in it. I
think from the article he means not to ignore but not all any softening of
their stand.
I will look somemore for other churches in the Alton area.
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