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Centennial History Book
Religion was important to the people, there were CHURCHES
Religion was important to the early pioneers of Farnam. Those who settled here were determined to have religion a part of the lives of their families. The following two articles as told by early pioneer mothers in the 1936 Farnam Echo of their families. The following two articles that were written for the 1936 "Farnam Echo" gives us an idea why they believed as they did and just how determined they were to have religion a part of the community in which they lived.
MRS. MAY MOORE ADAMS TELLS ABOUT AN EARLY DAY SUNDAY SCHOOL
For your fifitieth anniversary edition, I would like to tell about the first Sunday School organized at Farnam. I think only a few people will be able to recall that first meeting at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Elliot, four and a half miles west of Farnam. The Elliot place later became the home of William Wallingford and family.
One day the doctor was visiting at our house and the conversation naturally turned to the disadvantages and deprivations of pioneer life. My mother, the later Mrs. N. L. Moore, expressed her regret that there was no Sunday School for the children and young people to attend. The Doctor, too, felt that something should be done in the way of religious education and proposed that a meeting be called at his home to organize a Sunday School. Word was passed around somehow and those interested met with Dr. and Mrs. Elliot and their son, Russell, on a bright warm Sunday. I was only six years old but I remember it all quite well. The Doctor acted as superintendent and led the singing with the aid of a tuning fork. I still have a card which was given to me that day which indicates that I considered the event of great importance. I think this must have been in the late spring or early summer of 1887.
Soon the place of meeting was changed to Garven's hall in Farnam and continued there until the completion of the Congregational Church.
Here I wish to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to my splendid teachers, Mrs. DeClow, Mrs. Voodry, Mrs. Doolittle, and Mrs. Sprague and to those who assembled the library. It was our chief source of entertainment and inspiration. When the move was made to the hall, the girls invited the boys to Sunday school and they agreed to come if they might be in the same class with the girls. But when they arrived with their hair slicked down, whoever was running things put them in a corner by themselves and organized a young men's class on the spot. Were they indignant! Next Sunday there was no young men's class, nor thereafter, I recall that later there was a mixed class of young people.
HISTORY OF EARLY CHURCH SERVICES
In 1886 this country was new. When viewing the landscape you could see as far as you could look across the plains. Perhaps you could see a distance of twelve or fifteen miles. There were very few frame houses. The sod houses were dark in color and very hard to see. The country was thinly settled at this time.
As people began to settle in and around what is now Farnam, Nebraska, a great need for spiritual food was felt. The older people in coming here were dissatisfied because there were no schools or religious services or no place to hold them. Some of the mothers said they wished they could have at least a Sunday School in this part of the country. Mrs. Elliot, wife of Dr. Elliot, suggested they gather the people from all over the country and organize a Sunday School. Six persons attended the meeting. They decided to organize and chose a teacher. The teacher was Russell Elliot, son of Dr. and Mrs. Elliot, who was spending his summer vacation with his parents. He had been attending college. Laura Moore (later Stebbins) was to be the secretary and the organist.
This Sunday School was organized in the fall of 1886. In the spring of 1887 they moved into town where it was held in the Garven Hall, which at that time stood just south of the little bank building where Jerry Lindvall now has an office. Sunday School was held here until the Congregational Church was built.
On one Sunday, March 20, 1887, Sunday School was opened by singing Hymn No. 22, followed by prayer by Mrs. Elliot. A certain subject was discussed about the Bible. Sunday School closed by singing Hymn No. 92. The collection that was taken up amounted to 87 cents. There were fourteen persons present. Three of those were teachers. Five of them were officers.
After the Sunday School moved into town, people from all over the country began to gather for the services. The people from the Ohio Divide decided to join. The Ohio Divide was divided by a large canyon. The George Dryden family, the Ed Hayden family and the Fitch family lived on the Ohio side. The Perkins family and Frank Aldin lived on the other side of the canyon. Raymond Smith’s farm was in this locality.
All of these people came in and joined the Sunday School. This made it larger in number and also gave them more of a desire for a church.
There was no denomination in this Sunday School. While they were deciding what they were going to do, Mr. Dunton wrote to Chicago for a student to come and preach. Mr. Snyder came and started services on September 15th. The people were not able to pay him a salary. Each family boarded him for a week. Perhaps, that was one minister that had plenty of fried chicken. There was no fresh meat in the country. It was salt side meat or chicken. Most of them treated the minister to fried chicken.
On June 4th a motion was made, "Resolved that the Sunday School have a picnic on the Fourth of July." A committee of six was appointed to take charge. They were John Dawson, J. W. Voodry, Elmer Buss, Mrs. Dunton, Mrs. DeClow and Mrs. Rolfe. This picnic was held in the Circle-Bar Ranch west of Ingham. Mrs. Alton Schultz of Cambridge owns this ranch now. That was the only place where they could find enough shade trees to hold the picnic. We had no trees around here.
The Lincoln Land Co. gave the people here the lot for the new church. Through donations and help from everybody the church was built. It was to have been a Union Church. Dissatisfaction arose among the members and groups withdrew. These groups formed other churches.
The student that came by the name of Mr. Snyder, belonged to the Congregational Church and helped to organize the church as a Congregational Church. In October they were getting ready for a minister.
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