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Philip Bliss (1838-1876) is reported to be the second most famous hymnwriter in American history after Fanny Crosby, and if he would have lived as long as her, he may be even more famous. In Chautauqua, New York, he and his wife visited the Palestine Park. In 1863-64 he built his home in Rome, Pennsylvania. In 1965, it became the Read more...
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In 1857, the California gold rush was in decline. The railroad bubble peaked in July. Business failures began in August. The fashionable churches were moving north, but Jeremiah Lanphier lived in the nonreligious lower part of the city. Lanphier never married, and had no formal schooling to prepare him for ministry, but he was commissioned as a lay missionary of Read more...
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Her funeral was held at her church, now Golden Hill Methodist, close to downtown Bridgeport. She is buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, built by her friend P.T. Barnum. Just down from Fanny’s grave you’ll see the statue of General Tom Thumb, and Barnum’s own grave. Fanny requested a simple grave, but forty years after her death, the townsfolk built a Read more...
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From Wholesome Words: Her funeral filled the church with friends. The choir sang her favorite song …”Faith of Our Fathers”…then, her own…”Safe in the Arms of Jesus”…and, “Saved By Grace.” Her minister, George M. Brown, of the Methodist church said it well: There must have been a royal welcome when this queen of sacred song burst the bonds of death Read more...
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Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was the son and grandson of colonial ministers. He started at Yale when he was 12, and at 19 was an interim pastor in New York. At 23 he joined his grandfather Solomon Stoddard at the Northampton church and married Sarah Pierpont. At 25 his grandfather died, leaving him as senior pastor. At age 30 a revival Read more...
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Watch our interview on George Whitefield Sept 30th, 10:30 AM – Historic Reenactment Service The congregation began meeting in the 1750s, following the ministry of the Methodist evangelist and preacher George Whitefield in the region. He died in Newburyport in 1770 and his remains were buried under the pulpit of the meeting house at his request. The bell in the Read more...
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This hymn is a uniquely Wisconsin hymn. The words were written by a pastor buried in Wisconsin, and set to music by a pastor born in Wisconsin. Rev. Warren D. Cornell was born in Michigan but left at 19 to teach and preach in Texas. At 23 he came to Wisconsin, where he’d spend the next 40 years of his Read more...
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Site of one of the most famous trials in the 20th Century, featuring Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. My first visit to the Scopes Trial Museum proved unsuccessful. It was the Christmas season and the County Executive ordered the building closed early for the day. So I took some pictures outside – the statues of William Jennings Bryan and Read more...
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Learn from Tim Schmig about the multiple references to God in the Jefferson Memorial: The Jefferson Memorial We’re at the Jefferson Memorial, a monument to Thomas Jefferson, a man who in his lifetime was full of personal contradictions, and he was also conflicted about those contradictions. And yet, the life of Thomas Jefferson, the writings of Thomas Jefferson, give us Read more...
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Blaine Myron Cedarholm (1911–1999) was a devoted pastor, teacher, and writer whose life’s work left a steady mark on mid-20th-century Baptist life, particularly among churches committed to historic doctrine and local church ministry. Though not a household name, his influence was widely felt through his preaching, pastoral leadership, and printed works that encouraged clarity in belief and consistency in practice. Read more...
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Hymn History: In the Sweet By and By Authors: Sanford Fillmore Bennett and Joseph Philbrick Webster “His (Bennett’s) poetry began appearing in [Illinois] newspapers and hymn collections; later he studied medicine while owning a drugstore in Wisconsin.” (Hymntime.com) The Origin of the Hymn “In the Sweet By and By” Among the most enduring and beloved hymns of the Read more...
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One night in September 1898 two salesmen, John H. Nicholson and Samuel E. Hill, shared room 19 in the Central Hotel, Boscobel. They wondered if some organization could not be started for the mutual help and recognition of Christian travelers. A chance meeting of the two on May 31, 1899 in Beaver Dam led to plans for an organizational meeting Read more...
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On September 14, 1898, John Nicholson, a travelling salesman (think of the Music Man era) from Janesville, checked into the Boscobel Central House Hotel. Back in the day, not all hotel rooms were private – in fact often you may not have a bed to yourself. In 1776, John Adams wrote of having to share a bed with Benjamin Franklin, Read more...
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The life of John Lathrop (also spelled Lothrop) stands as a meaningful example of conviction, sacrifice, and pastoral leadership in the early 17th century. His journey from England to New England reflects the broader struggle for religious liberty that helped shape both Congregational and Baptist traditions in the English-speaking world. John Lathrop was born around 1584 in Etton Yorkshire and Read more...
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The West Parish of Barnstable—often called the West Barnstable Parish Church—stands as one of the enduring witnesses to early New England faith and community life. Although sometimes mistakenly associated with England, it is in fact rooted in Barnstable Massachusetts, where it has served generations since the early 18th century. The church was formally organized in 1717, during a period when Read more...
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On the back campus of Phillips Academy, one can walk down “Judson Road” and visit the secluded area by the “Rabbit Pond,” where Adoniram Judson, Luther Rice, and other believers kneeled each morning by a huge boulder, prayer for missions, and dedicated their lives to God. On that boulder (affectionately called “Missionary Rock“), citizens of Andover, in 1910, affixed a memorial Read more...
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The grave of Henry Dunster, first president of Harvard College, is in the Old Burying Ground (adjacent to First Church, Unitarian) on Church Street. Harvard forced Dunster out of the presidency for his defense of believer’s baptism by immersion. Harvard never had a greater president. (See Chapter 13.). Copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Read more...
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The First Baptist Church of Boston stands as one of the oldest Baptist congregations in the United States, with a history that reaches back to 1665. Its story reflects both the struggle for religious liberty in colonial New England and the enduring influence of Baptist convictions on American life. The church was founded during a time when the Massachusetts Bay Read more...
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The First Baptist Church of Swansea holds an important place in the early history of Baptist life in New England. Founded in the seventeenth century, it reflects the spread of Baptist principles from Rhode Island into neighboring Massachusetts and stands as a testament to the struggle for religious liberty in colonial America. The church traces its origins to 1663, making Read more...
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Lloyd and Doris Anderson started the museum that is now known as the Mount St. Helens Creation Center to share the impact of the volcano that transformed Washington state. On March 15th, 1980, a series of earthquakes began, followed by avalanches, fractures, and ash clouds. Then, it appeared to stop on May 16th, and the area residents started demanding to Read more...