Charles Johnson and the Presbyterian Church

September 03, 2008 02:02 am

— First I wish to remind you to be sure to put Sept. 8 on your calendar. That's when Decatur County's Greg Shine will be seen on the History Detectives program on PBS.
A year or so ago I wrote about the historic Union Presbyterian Church on the corner of 700 W and 800 S in Jackson Township. At that time the church was split nearly into. No, I don't mean the kind of split that churches sometimes go through when one faction disagrees with another faction. This wonderful old church was literally nearly split down the middle and had a gap of several inches. It was a sad site to see. Well, now the church is in perfect shape and once again an example of the kind of churches the pioneers built. Jim Johnson and John Milton Evans, showed me around the cemetery when I wrote about it. Jim is R. Wayne Johnson's cousin.
Wayne Greensburg, shared some items with a Jackson Township background. Included was a letter, two books of daily jottings for his job and other items from the township that have kept me fascinated for some time. There are a lot of Johnson descendants still living in Decatur County and a lot are now resting in the the Union Presbyterian Cemetery (sometimes called Lower Union). And no wonder, Wayne's Great Grandfather Hiram H. Johnson had 16 children. He and his wife Lyda, whom he had married in Ohio, had eight children when she died. Hiram later moved to Decatur County and married again to Mary Jane Owen. They also had eight children.
One of Hiram and Mary Jane's sons was Charles P. Johnson who was Wayne's grandfather. The obituary dated March 29, 1933 states that the funeral would be held in the Union Presbyterian Church, two miles south of Forest Hill and burial would be in the cemetery “which was a part of his father’s farm.” When I looked at the map of Jackson Township in the 1882 Atlas of Decatur County there it was as plain as day. On the map on page 62, the Union Presbyterian Church and cemetery is shown on H. H. Johnson’s property.
I think that residents in that area were no doubt members of the Greensburg Presbyterian Church but during much of the year it would have been difficult to get from a farm in Sandcreek, Jackson and Clay townships to Greensburg for church services. No doubt they had been meeting in homes when the weather was bad until 166 years ago this month when a group from the Greensburg Presbyterian Church met on Sept. 26, 1842 and adopted the following resolution: “Resolved, That the Presbytery of Indianapolis be requested to divide this church that the members residing in Jackson, Clay and Sandcreek townships shall constitute the church of Union.” The request was granted and the church was organized January 8, 1843 by The Rev. Joseph Montfort with 51 members. This church has often been confused with the Forest Hill Church but that church is about three miles north on the same road.
The congregation built the first church, a log cabin, in 1842, probably in the fall after the Presbytery accepted their resolution. The earliest grave I found was 1841 but I think there are earlier graves. Some graves aren't marked or marked with only a rock. Many families in those days didn't have the resources for gravestones. The church there now was built in 1853 and completed in 1854. It's a lovely country church and the cemetery is on the grounds. The cemetery and church aren't affiliated any more but the cemetery trustees have kept the cemetery in perfect condition while also doing their best to look after the church building.
The material Wayne shared with me had belonged to Charles P. who had served as Jackson Township Trustee and two terms as county commissioner from 1918 to 1924. He was a Republican. He and his wife Ida Moore had two sons Wallace and Russell. Wayne, son of Russell and Velma Johnson, showed me a letter from the county auditor (Frank E. Ryan) certifying that Charles P. had been elected Trustee. It was dated Nov. 16, 1904 and the postage was two cents!
Wayne told me that his grandfather Charles P. helped build the concrete road to Clarksburg. That was the first of it's kind in the county and I believe there are 12 miles of it. Wallace L. Johnson, Jim Johnson's father, helped build the road 1100 S going west out of Westport. Jim still has the slip scoop on wheels that his father used to help build that road.
Next week, how about a building on the square and the road tax.

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