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Centennial History of the 
 
 Baptist Conference of Illinois 
 
 1856-1956 
 
 HARVEST ON THE 
 PRAIRIES 
 
 By C. GEORGE ERICSON 
 
 Published by 
 
 BAPTIST CONFERENCE PRESS 
 
 for 
 
 BAPTIST CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS 
 
 5750 North Ashland Avenue, Chicago 26, Illinois 
 
Copyright 1956 by 
 
 Baptist Conference Press 
 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 
 Library of Congress catalog card number 
 56-11837 
 
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 That both he that soweth 
 and he that reapeth 
 may rejoice together 
 
 John 4:36 
 
 » 
 
 10M6S 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/harvestonprairieOOeric 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 The Pioneers — Poem 7 
 
 Foreword 9 
 
 Introduction 1 1 
 
 PART ONE — THE CONFERENCE 
 
 One — Preceding Events 15 
 
 Two — The First Conference 21 
 
 Three — Early Conferences 29 
 
 Four — Slow Progress 35 
 
 Five — Decades of Advance 43 
 
 Six — Transitional Period 49 
 
 Seven — Missionary Expansion 54 
 
 Eight — A Look to the Future 59 
 
 PART TWO — THE CHURCHES 
 
 Nine — Present Conference Churches 65 
 
 Ten — Former Conference Churches 92 
 
 PART THREE — ORGANIZATIONS 
 
 Eleven — Sunday School Organizations 107 
 
 Twelve — Youth Activities Ill 
 
 Thirteen — Ministerial Organizations 115 
 
 Fourteen — Women's Union 117 
 
 Fifteen — Affiliated Bible Classes 120 
 
 Sixteen — The Bible Wagon Mission 121 
 
Chapter Page 
 
 Seventeen — Conference Brotherhood 122 
 
 Eighteen — Bethany Beach 123 
 
 Nineteen — Conference Grounds 124 
 
 Twenty — Fridhem 125 
 
 Twenty-one — Sunny Ridge Home for Children 126 
 
 Twenty-two — Other Organizations 128 
 
 PART FO UR — PERSONALITIES 
 
 Twenty-three — Conference Missionaries 133 
 
 Twenty-four — Some of the Leaders 137 
 
 PART FIVE — APPENDICES 
 
 Twenty-five — The Conference Churches at a Glance 151 
 
 Twenty-six — Where the Annual Conferences 
 
 Have Been Held 156 
 
 Statistics 158 
 
 Map 160 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Between Pages 
 
 First Baptism, Conference Leaders and 
 
 Missionaries 32- 33 
 
 Our Churches 64- 65 
 
 Our Churches 96- 97 
 
 Our Churches and Institutions, Executive 
 
 Board, Ministers, Memorial Plaque 128-129 
 
THE PIONEERS 
 
 The valiant few who met to pray, 
 To plan, to work, to pray again, 
 Saw visions of a church of God, 
 Their sabbath home. 
 
 They in the small beginning 
 Walked the way of faith with God: 
 Blazed trails by toil and tears, 
 By loving sacrifice. 
 
 Their number grew each year, 
 They saw their cherished hopes fulfilled. 
 Some labored long: some quickly went 
 To their reward. 
 
 God bless their hallowed memories, 
 Which speak to us in whispers sweet, 
 Then like a clarion's wakening cry 
 Call us to service. 
 
 Ours the unfinished task, 
 The choice, the privilege 
 To do His will and walk His way 
 As they have done. 
 
 Give us the courage, Lord, and faith 
 That we like them, may dream of victory, 
 Then strive to make our dreams come true 
 Till Jesus comes. 
 
Oh, wondrous day of joy and glory 
 When Thy "well done" shall be our recompence. 
 Then shall we praise Thee, yea adore Thee, 
 In our eternal home. 
 
 Mary Ostling 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 One hundred years ago a sower went out to sow. In the 
 hearts of men and women, early settlers in the small towns 
 of Rock Island and Moline on the Illinois prairie, he 
 scattered the precious seed of God's Word. Heroically, 
 sacrificially, expectantly he toiled, not without encouraging 
 results. 
 
 But if Gustaf Palmquist, the stalwart pioneering sower, 
 could return for the Illinois Conference Centennial cele- 
 bration in Moline, what he would see, hear and read of 
 spiritual progress would certainly make him feel on earth 
 a joy akin to that in heaven. The seed sown on the prairies 
 during the past decades has yielded a hundredfold. Especially 
 rich has been the harvest in recent years. Instead of the two 
 churches with 62 members in what could be termed the 
 Illinois Conference of one hundred years ago, that same 
 Conference today comprises a membership of 7,200 in 40 
 churches permeated with a desire to stake further claims 
 for the Lord, who has given the increase. 
 
 The story of years of faithful sowing, of loving sacrifice, 
 of heartbreaking failures, of thrilling successes, and of 
 inspiring hope is vividly told in this attractive jubilee book. 
 Connected with the Baptist Conference Headquarters for 
 more than a third of the century involved, C. Geo. Ericson, 
 the author, has also during that time been enthusiastically 
 active in various phases of the Illinois Conference work. 
 Personal observation, therefore, as well as diligent research 
 and a very readable style of writing are combined in the 
 making of this thorough and inspiring account of seedtime 
 and harvest on the prairies. 
 
Readers will thank God for His blessing and wish for 
 the Illinois Conference even greater accomplishments in days 
 ahead — to His glory. 
 
 Martin Erikson 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Sixty years ago a committee of three was appointed by 
 the Illinois Conference to prepare a history of the Confer- 
 ence. This committee, of which Dr. C. G. Lagergren was the 
 chairman, was commissioned to publish such a history for 
 the fiftieth anniversary of the General Conference in 1902, 
 which was also an anniversary year for Illinois, since the 
 first church was founded in our state. When for some reason 
 no history was published that year, the historical committee 
 proposed that it be prepared for the fiftieth anniversary of 
 the Illinois Conference as such in 1906. Although a great 
 deal of material was gathered for that purpose, the history 
 was never published. This is therefore the first history of the 
 Baptist Conference of Illinois. 
 
 The historical committee for the centennial consists of 
 C. Geo. Ericson, chairman ; Editor Martin Erikson ; Dr. 
 Martin Johnson, and Mrs. Oscar E. Ostling. It was evident 
 to the committee that if we were to have a history at the 
 time of the centennial, the work would have to be started 
 as soon as possible and by somebody interested in history. 
 Dr. J. O. Backlund was engaged to write it and had made a 
 good start when illness prevented him from continuing his 
 research and writing. After Dr. Backlund's homegoing, the 
 committee asked me to complete the task. 
 
 The opportunity of recording the sowing and harvesting 
 on God's great prairies has been a most pleasant labor of 
 love. I am grateful to Dr. Backlund for the material he 
 gathered and his notes of reference. Without this pre- 
 liminary work I would not have been able to accomplish as 
 much as has been done amidst otherwise crowded days of 
 
duties. Then, too, there is very little preserved in writing or 
 print from the first three decades of our Conference history. 
 We have in our possession all the Conference minutes from 
 1885 to the present time. That material has been invaluable. 
 Dr. Lagergren reported in 1901 to the Conference that the 
 minutes for the years 1861, 1870, 1871, 1873-1877, 
 1879-1884, were lost. The minutes for the intervening years 
 were known to him in 1901 and presumably placed in the 
 Seminary archives. To my regret I have not been able to 
 locate them. In 1898 Dr. Lagergren reported that A. P. 
 Hanson had written a manuscript on the history of the 
 Illinois Conference for the years 1856-1863, and that Lars 
 Peterson had prepared a history covering the years 1864- 
 1865. It is possible that these valuable documents are some- 
 where in the Seminary archives. 
 
 To the young generation and especially to those who are 
 not of Swedish descent, the content of this history may seem 
 too factual and too "Swedish" to be interesting reading. 
 But we cannot alter history. Our Conference work was be- 
 gun by Americans from Sweden and continued along national 
 lines for three- fourths of the century. Today our churches are 
 altogether American and our God-given mission knows no 
 national boundaries. For those who wish to read about our 
 early history in the form of a story, we would like to call 
 attention to Rachael Borne's prize novel, "Greater Than All." 
 Harvest on the Prairies is written with a view of praising 
 and glorifying God for what He has done through His 
 laborers on the field. Some have planted, others have watered, 
 but God has given the increase. The full measure of the 
 harvest will be revealed to us on the day of the great 
 ingathering. 
 
 "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." 
 
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PART ONE 
 
 THE CONFERENCE 
 
CHAPTER ONE 
 
 PRECEDING EVENTS 
 
 In August, 1851, Gustaf Palmquist arrived in America. 
 Trained as an educator, he had served in that capacity 
 in Stockholm, Sweden. There he came under the influ- 
 ence of the evangelical movement which was stirring within 
 the state church. Leaving his homeland in June, 1851, his 
 purpose was to render spiritual service to a group of like- 
 minded people from the province of Helsingland. Coming 
 to Galesburg, Illinois, two months later, he found his con- 
 gregation dispersed into several states, and his plans had to 
 be changed accordingly. For a time he lived the life of an 
 itinerant Lutheran preacher. 
 
 From the minutes of the First Baptist Church of Gales- 
 burg we glean some interesting facts regarding the Swedish 
 Baptists in that city at the time Gustaf Palmquist resided 
 there. The First church had been organized in 1847. In the 
 early part of 1852 the church experienced a heaven-sent 
 revival which also stirred the baptismal waters on many 
 occasions. In June twenty-nine were baptized, among them 
 four Swedes. The following week seventeen took a similar 
 step and among them were six Swedes. On June 27 twenty- 
 three followed Christ in baptism and among them were 
 Gustaf Palmquist and five other Swedes. 
 
 The officiating pastor was A. Gross of the First Baptist 
 Church and the baptistry Cedar Fork Creek, a small wood- 
 lands stream just outside the city, where the Santa Fe rail' 
 way station now is located. The minutes state further that 
 
 15 
 
16 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 in 1857 forty-two Swedes asked for their letters to organize 
 a Swedish Baptist church. L. L. Frisk, pastor in Rock 
 Island, was chairman of the organization meeting. 
 
 Previously, however, Palmquist had given much thought 
 and earnest study to the entire subject of baptism and the 
 life and structure of the Christian church. More study of 
 the fundamentals of faith followed his baptism. Exactly a 
 month later he was ordained to the Gospel ministry by the 
 church, which for the time being had become his spiritual 
 home. The special charge given him at his ordination was 
 "to preach the Gospel to the Swedes in North America," 
 in all reason a comprehensive enough charge for any man, 
 and a wide enough field for a man even of Palmquist's ca- 
 pacity and spiritual stature. 
 
 The choice of field had to be determined by the newly 
 ordained minister. From previous visits he learned that in 
 Rock Island were many of his countrymen and many who 
 needed the Gospel he had been commissioned to preach. Ac- 
 cordingly, to Rock Island he went. There the beginnings 
 of Swedish Baptist work was made by this pioneer, a man 
 who had no backing of any church or denominational body, 
 who was entirely on his own resources, who had received no 
 promise of financial support — and for quite some time re- 
 ceived none. 
 
 PALMQUIST IN ROCK ISLAND 
 
 Beginning his work in Rock Island two days after his 
 ordination, he entered on his mission with a holy zeal. We 
 read in a statement found on the first page on the Rock 
 Island church record: 
 
 "The Lord accompanied His word with his blessings and 
 power, so that Brother Palmquist on August 8, 1852, had 
 
PRECEDING EVENTS 17 
 
 the privilege of baptizing three willing followers of Christ- 
 August Theodore Mankee, Peter Soderstrom and Fredrika 
 Boberg. On August 13 these three persons formed them- 
 selves into a church, which became known as the Swedish 
 Baptist Church of Rock Island." 
 
 If Palmquist's charge had been impressively comprehen- 
 sive, the baptistry in which the first fruits of the Swedish 
 Baptist work of America were buried with Christ was also 
 wide and impressive. For it was the "Father of Waters," 
 the vast Mississippi River, that was made to serve the pur- 
 pose of these early followers of Christ. 
 
 Impressive as an indication of faith was also the fact 
 that the two men and one woman, who had thus received 
 Christian baptism, were prepared to undertake the responsi- 
 bilities of a church organization. 
 
 Many a church of our own generation might well envy 
 the parent church in Rock Island its growth in membership, 
 for on September 26 of the same year three more members 
 were added by baptism: Anders Boberg of Rock Island, 
 Carl Johanson and Anders Norelius of Moline, thus dou- 
 bling the membership. Again, on April 17, 1853, the church 
 was more than doubled through the accession by baptism of 
 Hans Smith, Hans Mattson (Colonel Mattson of Civil War 
 fame), Johan Henry Asp, John Wilhelm Peterson, Carl 
 Hakanson, Margareta Peterson and Maria Christina Jo- 
 hanson. 
 
 The church, now consisting of thirteen members, sought 
 recognition by other Baptist bodies, and on Thursday morn- 
 ing, May 5, 1853, a council representing five American Bap- 
 tist churches "convened in the meeting house of the First 
 Baptist Church of Rock Island to consider the propriety 
 of recognizing the Swedish Baptist Church." The names of 
 the thirteen members were read, the history of their organ- 
 
18 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 ization into a church was presented and inquiry was made 
 into the articles of faith and covenant of the congregation. 
 When the examination had been carefully made and prayer- 
 fully concluded, it was voted to recognize the church in the 
 words of Elder E. M. Miles, clerk, "as an independent 
 Baptist church under the name of the Swede Baptist Church 
 of Rock Island." Anders Wiberg, at that time on a pro- 
 tracted visit in America, was present and preached the 
 recognition sermon on Acts 9:11 — "Behold he prayeth." 
 
 Palmquist, the pastor of this new Baptist work, had 
 received his appointment as missionary pastor by the 
 American Baptist Home Mission Society in February, 1853, 
 with a stipend of $200 a year. In a letter to a friend in 
 Stockholm two years later he stated that until that time he 
 had received no financial support whatsoever. Urged by 
 Wiberg to suggest to the members of his church that they 
 make some effort to support their pastor, he declined to do 
 so, due to the fact that they were all poor and many of them 
 had suffered from illness which made it difficult for them to 
 sustain themselves in those early years. It was not until 
 some years later that Dr. Frank Peterson's father on behalf 
 of the church presented the pastor with a Christmas gift of 
 two twenty-dollar gold pieces — apparently the first effort 
 by the church members to help the pastor bear his financial 
 burdens. 
 
 Shortly after the recognition meeting a fourth baptismal 
 service was held, when once again seven candidates were 
 buried with Christ in the waters of the Mississippi, bringing 
 the membership to twenty. 
 
 On July 4, 1853, the church completed its organization 
 by electing two deacons, Peter Soderstrom and Anders 
 Norelius, and two deaconesses, Mrs. Fredrika Boberg and 
 Carolina Asp. At the same time a committee of five was 
 
PRECEDING EVENTS 19 
 
 elected for the purpose of "conversing with candidates 
 before they were brought into the church." This indicates 
 that they believed in proper order within the church and 
 scrupulous care in watching against unworthy men and 
 women obtaining membership in the church. 
 
 In April, 1854, the church appointed a building com- 
 mittee to take steps necessary for erecting a meeting house. 
 In the fall of the following year a lot was purchased and a 
 small brick building with an auditorium seating seventy-five 
 people was erected at a total expense of $1,500. That fact 
 may explain why the church found it possible to assume 
 the responsibility of serving as host of the Conference which 
 convened the following June. 
 
 THE BEGINNING IN CHICAGO 
 
 The second church to be organized in Illinois was located 
 in Chicago. L. L. Frisk, the son of a Lutheran clergyman 
 in Sweden, had arrived in November, 1853, after having 
 been baptized on the profession of faith in the Strong Place 
 Baptist Church, Brooklyn. Working in cooperation with the 
 First American Baptist Church in Chicago and its pastor, 
 Dr. J. C. Burroughs, he won some of his countrymen for 
 the Lord and led them into the membership of the church. 
 These converts were organized into a Swedish Baptist church 
 on November 13, 1854. Previous to the organization, 
 Chicago had been visited also by Gustaf Palmquist and 
 F. O. Nilsson, both of whom realized the strategic im- 
 portance of the young city, which at that time was still 
 struggling to gain its stature and realize its possibilities. 
 
 For a time before the organization the Swedish Baptists 
 met in the homes of members. Following the organization 
 the First church at a communion service collected $900 for 
 
20 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 which an old German Lutheran church, located on Erie and 
 LaSalle Streets, was purchased and placed at the disposal 
 of the Swedish church. 
 
 Mr. Frisk did not remain very long with the newly 
 organized church, but Gustaf Palmquist, who had spent a 
 year as city missionary in New York and had returned to 
 Rock Island in the autumn of 1855, took the young church 
 in Chicago under his wing and divided his time between 
 Rock Island, Moline (a mission of Rock Island), and 
 Chicago. The church — which by the way is not the same 
 as the former First Swedish Baptist Church of Chicago, 
 now known as the Addison Street Baptist Church — had a 
 membership of twenty-one at the time of the Rock Island 
 Conference in 1856. 
 
 Thus, one hundred years ago, the number of churches 
 in Illinois was two, and their combined membership sixty- 
 two. However, the influence of these pioneers was greater 
 than their comparatively small number would indicate. From 
 influences which emanated from these embryonic groups 
 the Gospel had gone forth into other regions as well. On the 
 Iowa side of the Mississippi three churches, Burlington, 
 Village Creek and New Sweden, had come into being 
 through the efforts which had proceeded from Rock Island. 
 For then, as ever, the Gospel could not be hemmed in locally. 
 It had to spread if it were to retain its divine spark. 
 
 The church in Chicago, which began its history under 
 quite favorable auspices, was disbanded in 1864 after ten 
 years of troubled existence. The general disruption of the 
 orderly life of the nation during the Civil War seems to 
 have had its effect on the church. 
 
CHAPTER TWO 
 
 THE FIRST CONFERENCE— 1856 
 
 In the summer of 1856 the Swedish Baptist Church of 
 Rock Island was almost four years old and had grown 
 from its original three members to forty-one. Other 
 churches had been organized, in the meantime, at Village 
 Creek, Iowa; Root River Valley (Houston), Minnesota; 
 Clear Water Lake (Scandia), Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois, 
 and New Sweden, Iowa. In Burlington, Iowa, a number of 
 believers had been organized into a church in the early days 
 of 1854, but their pastor and leader, F. O. Nilsson, had 
 had his eyes on Minnesota, and before the church was many 
 months old its members had made common cause with their 
 spiritual leader and had decamped for Clear Water Lake, 
 Minnesota. There they organized a new church, which later 
 became known as the Scandia Baptist Church. 
 
 In addition there were unorganized groups in Chisago 
 Lake and St. Paul, Minnesota, and in New York City. In 
 both of the latter cities no organized churches were to be 
 formed for another decade or more. Altogether the combined 
 number of members in these various churches and unor- 
 ganized groups amounted to 179. 
 
 The widening boundaries of the Swedish Baptist people 
 posed certain serious problems. They were isolated from 
 each other, because of distance, and were cut off from 
 association with their English speaking brethren because of 
 language barriers. That situation made their leaders fear for 
 
 21 
 
22 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 their spiritual welfare and for their unity in faith, and they 
 began to cast about for ways and means to unite them into 
 a closer fellowship. The answer was given in the conventions 
 and associational meetings of the American Baptists. A 
 conference of the Swedish-American Baptists would bring 
 them together, would aid them in solving their spiritual and 
 organizational problems. 
 
 While our records do not specifically say so, we may be 
 fairly certain that Gustaf Palmquist was the leading spirit in 
 promoting the conference idea. Being the only educated man 
 among them, after Anders Wiberg had returned to Sweden 
 in 1855, he was the one who would be likely to see the need 
 for closer fellowship and to profit by the example of his 
 Anglo-American brethren. Further, the hand of the school- 
 master is clearly detected in the scope and plan of the 
 conference program. 
 
 In the early summer of 1856 the call went out to the 
 groups of fellow-believers, wherever they were found, to 
 unite in cooperative fellowship. The response came from 
 those who could avail themselves of the opportunity for 
 conference and fellowship thus offered. To those living 
 along the great waterway of the central West, the Mississippi 
 river steamers offered a means of travel. That this means 
 was not very comfortable is indicated by the following de- 
 scription, given by Dr. Frank Peterson at the Diamond 
 Jubilee in Chicago, 1927. Dr. Peterson had had occasion 
 to come in contact with the pilgrims from Iowa and Minne- 
 sota. He pictured the journey by the river steamer thus : 
 
 TRAVELING TO THE CONFERENCE 
 
 "The Mississippi river was then the only artery of travel 
 in the Central West. The cabins of the steamboats were 
 
THE FIRST CONFERENCE 1856 23 
 
 fairly good, but no delegate to our conference ever thought 
 of such luxury as a cabin passage. He was content with the 
 crude accommodations of the lower deck. On this deck there 
 was not even a stool to sit on, much less a place to sleep. 
 Such comfort had to be snatched wherever a place could be 
 found on the cinder-covered floor, or perchance, on top of 
 the piles of freight. In that case, one was likely to be 
 disturbed by the deck-hands at every landing. The delegate 
 furnished his own lunch as the only food furnished the deck 
 passengers were the odors from the kitchen. 
 
 "The delegates arrived at their destination a sorry looking 
 lot. Not even as much as a wash basin, or soap, was fur- 
 nished the deck passenger to aid in making his toilet. The 
 journey overland was usually made by foot, or oxcart. The 
 luxury of horses was not known until some years later. 
 
 "It would be interesting to note the changes that have 
 taken place in the different decades. If a pageant of the 
 delegates of the different decades were to pass the door 
 just now, I would lose my audience, for you would rush out 
 to see the procession. 
 
 "At the head of the line come the delegates of the first 
 decade. They come afoot with bundles over their shoulders. 
 They are dressed in homespun and home-made clothes. A 
 Chicago tailor would not know how to make such suits today. 
 
 "Here are the delegates of the second decade. They ride 
 in lumber wagons drawn by oxen. Boards are laid across the 
 wagon box for seats. At a sudden jolt the boards are liable 
 to slip, causing the occupants to drop in a heap at the 
 bottom of the box. Then there is heard a commingling of 
 screams and laughter. However, it all helps to enliven the 
 journey. 
 
 "The delegates of the third decade also ride in lumber 
 wagons, but they are drawn by horses and the travelers sit 
 
24 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 in spring seats — quite aristocratic they are and they give 
 expression to their happiness in singing Christian songs 
 along the way. 
 
 "In the fourth decade there is quite a change. The dele- 
 gates come by trains, usually the second class, as this class 
 was used in those days. 
 
 "Here come the Jubilee delegates. What a company they 
 are ! They come in two divisions. Hundreds have come in 
 Pullmans from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts, and from 
 many intermediate points. How spick and span they look! 
 They have all been brushed and groomed by the porter. 
 They look well contented, too. They have had their breakfast 
 in the Pullman diner and they come from the station to the 
 church in taxis. 
 
 "Delegates of the second division have come in their 
 own comfortable autos. There must be a thousand of them 
 for the procession seems to be a mile long. They are a little 
 worried about where in this big city they are going to park 
 their cars. However, others have had their worries as well 
 as they. 
 
 " 'When Noah sailed the ocean blue 
 He had his worries same as you; 
 For days and days he drove the ark 
 Before he found a place to park.' " 
 
 There were, however, those who were not under the 
 necessity of traveling by the Mississippi wood burner. In 
 1854 a railroad had been opened from Chicago to Rock 
 Island. While the railroad cars of the fifties could not be 
 compared with the comfortable conveyances of our own 
 day, the idea of completing the trip between Chicago and 
 the Mississippi terminal in one day seemed a boon indeed 
 to those who half a dozen years earlier had been compelled 
 to spend a week traveling that distance of 180 miles. 
 
THE FIRST CONFERENCE 1856 25 
 
 THE FIRST SWEDISH BAPTIST 
 CONFERENCE ANYWHERE 
 
 The dates of the Conference, June 20-25, 1856, are 
 important, for these days mark the very first conference 
 of Swedish Baptists anywhere. Not till a year later did 
 their fellow-believers in Sweden meet for their first national 
 gathering. 
 
 When the conference convened, Gustaf Palmquist was 
 made moderator and Andrew Norelius recording secretary. 
 Palmquist opened the first session of this historic meeting 
 by reading Psalm 18 and offering prayer. The representa- 
 tives of the churches were seven : F. O. Nilsson, then resid- 
 ing at Clear Water Lake (Scandia), had an inspiring story 
 to tell of the budding work in Minnesota, of which he was 
 the sole representative present ; Carl Hokanson and P. Nor- 
 dell were delegates of the local church; A. G. Swedberg 
 had come from Village Creek, Iowa; C. Carlson and A. 
 Norelius were representatives from New Sweden, Iowa; 
 Palmquist represented the church in Chicago to which he 
 was then giving part of his time. Others attending the vari- 
 ous sessions of the conference were members of the local 
 church residing in Rock Island and Moline, to whom the 
 conference offered an unsought and welcome opportunity 
 to feast on the good things offered. 
 
 The conference program was not unduly burdened with 
 reports or plans for future activities. In fact, the routine 
 business was at a minimum. It was really an occasion for 
 instruction and edification. The program reveals the genius 
 of Palmquist with its numerous subjects dealing with theo- 
 logical and practical matters that laymen and lay preachers 
 might puzzle over and find hard to resolve. Here are 
 
26 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 samples of the thirty-two questions discussed from Friday 
 to Wednesday: 
 
 What is the real ground for salvation? 
 
 Is salvation completed or is it to be completed in the 
 future ? 
 
 What is meant by a carnal nature and what is the end 
 of the carnally minded? 
 
 Who is a right church member and what are his duties 
 to God, his fellow-members and himself? 
 
 Should a member be allowed to remain in the church 
 when it is evident that he is no longer a believer, even 
 though he is causing no trouble? 
 
 What is the obligation of the church toward Christian 
 missions ? 
 
 What should be the fundamental object of a minister's 
 work? 
 
 What are a minister's greatest temptations? 
 
 What attitude should a minister take in matters of con- 
 troversy between believers and unbelievers? 
 
 Should we preach all the truth even though believers 
 may become antagonized? 
 
 Should the preacher make house to house visitations ? 
 
 What should be his attitude toward other denominations ? 
 
 The discussions of these questions became brisk and were 
 followed with deep interest by non-participants. The ques- 
 tions were answered in the light of the Word, and it is safe 
 to say that those attending returned enriched in spirit as a 
 result of the free exchange of opinion that prevailed and 
 the exposition of the Scriptures which threw light on the 
 questions that may have puzzled the men who had been 
 called from their lay duties to serve as leaders of the 
 churches. It is reported that the discussions became par- 
 ticularly brisk after the intrepid F. O. Nilsson had arrived 
 
THE FIRST CONFERENCE 1856 27 
 
 from Minnesota on the fourth day of the conference; for 
 Nilsson was always ready to enter into arguments on mat- 
 ters relating to the church or the Word of God. 
 
 The conference, however, did not confine itself to ques- 
 tions of an abstruse nature. Reports from the various 
 churches and groups of unorganized believers constituted 
 an important element of the meetings. Further, a decision 
 was made to organize a conference of Swedish Baptists 
 with annual meetings to be held at such times and places as 
 might be determined from time to time. The seven churches 
 constituting the first conference, had a total membership of 
 161. Rock Island had 41 members, Chicago 21, Village 
 Creek 41, New Sweden 15, Houston 11, Scandia 25 and 
 Chisago Lake 7. 
 
 Another matter that might shock some modern Baptists, 
 who are inclined to shy away from having their beliefs 
 recorded, was the adoption of a confession of faith, trans- 
 lated from the English by Anders Wiberg. The Conference 
 of 1856 went on record as believing in the fundamentals of 
 faith recorded in that confession, which, though not binding 
 on either individuals or churches, still tended to make clear 
 where our fathers stood on doctrinal matters. 
 
 The conference also took the initiative in the ordination 
 of two brethren who at that time were engaged in the 
 Gospel ministry. The candidates were A. G. Swedberg of 
 Village Creek and N. J. Rundquist of Rock Island. A com- 
 mittee was appointed, consisting of Palmquist, F. O. Nilsson, 
 P. Nordell and Carl Hokanson from Rock Island and C. 
 Carlson and A. Norelius from New Sweden, Iowa. After 
 a careful examination of the candidates the committee rec- 
 ommended to the church to ordain the two brethren. The 
 sacred act took place the following day. 
 
 The conference was marked by an orderly spirit and an 
 
28 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 earnest desire to make use of all means for promoting the 
 growth and quality of the churches. The delegates were 
 determined to know the will of God and to act on their 
 knowledge. 
 
 The conference was known during the following years 
 as simply the Swedish Baptist Conference or, popularly, as 
 "The Conference." 
 
 It is from this conference that the Baptist Conference 
 of Illinois counts its origin. The question has been raised 
 whether that claim is justified. We think it is. True, for 
 a number of years the Conference was general in nature 
 and churches in other states, notably Minnesota and Iowa, 
 participated in it. In the course of time changes took place, 
 as will be noted hereafter, and the Conference became known 
 under different names. Nevertheless, we should bear in 
 mind that the first conference meeting as well as several 
 subsequent gatherings were held in the state of Illinois and 
 that, as other state groups were organized, Illinois was 
 finally left to carry on the traditions and labors of the origi- 
 nal conference. Thus the churches of Illinois have had an 
 unbroken conference record. Started in 1856, the Baptist 
 Conference of Illinois still carries on in the spirit of the 
 fathers of a hundred years ago. 
 
CHAPTER THREE 
 
 EARLY CONFERENCES 
 
 ^ a^v ^ knv — The second conference, that of 1857, 
 
 W ^ / was held in Village Creek, Iowa, June 
 JL kJ ^J / 18-20. The officers were the same as 
 in 1856. The number of churches represented was eight 
 with a combined membership of 232. Of these, two were 
 Illinois churches, Rock Island with 44 and Chicago with 
 24 members. 
 
 The thing that marks this conference is Gustaf Palm- 
 quist's resignation as moderator. He was about to leave for 
 Sweden whither he had been urged to come and for which 
 he was all the more inclined since his health was poor. A 
 heavy cold, contracted during a snowstorm when he was 
 walking from Moline to Rock Island, had impaired his physi- 
 cal condition. F. O. Nilsson made a farewell address to 
 Palmquist. In retrospect we can say that nothing that had 
 happened or was about to happen during the first decade 
 of the Swedish Baptist work in America affected this work 
 as much as Palmquist's departure, for he was the peerless 
 leader and there was no Elisha standing ready to take up 
 Elijah's fallen mantle. 
 
 1858 — The conference of 1858 was held in New Sweden, 
 Iowa. The attendance was small. No delegate represented 
 Chicago, and Minnesota had withdrawn to form a confer- 
 ence of its own. The lack of strong leadership made itself 
 felt at that time. 
 
 29 
 
30 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 1859 — The fourth conference was back in Rock Island, 
 with N. J. Rundquist as its moderator and P. Nordell as 
 secretary. A new church of 26 members had been formed 
 in Galesburg and most of the churches reported increase in 
 membership. 
 
 1860 — This conference, too, seems to have been held 
 in Rock Island, but the minutes are missing and nothing is 
 known of what transpired there. 
 
 1861 — For this year there is no indication of any con- 
 ference, no doubt because of unsettled conditions incident 
 to the Civil War. 
 
 1862 — In 1862, however, the conference idea was re- 
 vived and the meeting place was again Rock Island. For 
 the first time the minutes connote the limitation of the con- 
 ference area. Formerly it had consistently been named 
 "The Swedish Baptist Conference." Now it is named "The 
 Conference of the Swedish Baptist Churches of Illinois and 
 Iowa." Thus the fact that the Minnesota churches had 
 dropped out of the Conference and organized a fellowship 
 of their own was tacitly admitted. 
 
 1863 — This conference was held in Village Creek. N. J. 
 Rundquist was the moderator and Nils Olson the secretary. 
 A motion was passed at that time urging the Minnesota 
 churches to return in order that a more aggressive work 
 might be carried on by the Conference. 
 
 1864 — The conference of 1864, also held in Village 
 Creek, was notable for several reasons. In the first place, 
 it marked the end of a decided slump which had followed 
 the return to Sweden of the early leaders, F. O. Nilsson 
 and Gustaf Palmquist. The early church in Chicago had 
 been disbanded. 
 
 In the moderator's chair that year was a man, who more 
 than any others had taken a leading part in the development 
 
EARLY CONFERENCES 31 
 
 of the Baptist work both in America and Sweden. This 
 man was Anders Wiberg who had returned to America for 
 his second visit and had arranged to be present at the Illi- 
 nois-Iowa conference, where he was promptly made the 
 moderator and where his leadership made itself felt. From 
 his hand the Conference received a draft of a constitution 
 which was adopted. The proceedings were edited in a mas- 
 terly way and caused to be printed. These published records 
 constitute, in reality, the first annual, or year book, of the 
 Swedish Baptists of America. 
 
 It seems that the conferences preceding the 1864 gather- 
 ing in Village Creek had been held chiefly for the purpose 
 of edification and Bible study. On this occasion, however, 
 the delegates organized themselves formally into a confer- 
 ence for Illinois and Iowa and adopted a constitution. Para- 
 graph eight of the minutes reads as follows: 
 
 "A motion was passed to organize a general conference 
 of all the Swedish Baptists in the northwestern part of 
 America. However, as local difficulties made this impracti- 
 cal, it was decided to organize a conference for Illinois 
 and Iowa." 
 
 1868 — The first conference which resulted in a direct 
 forward movement was that of 1868. It was held in Altona, 
 and the highest point in its activities was the election of 
 Olof Lindh, recently arrived from Sweden, to become the 
 Conference missionary at a salary of $600 a year. The story 
 of his experiences is told in his autobiography Minnen 
 (Memoirs), where he relates the difficult conditions under 
 which the missionary's work was carried on in the pioneer 
 days. 
 
 1869 — This year the conference was held for the first 
 time in Chicago. The missionary asked for a raise in his 
 salary to offset in some degree the costly traveling expenses, 
 
 
32 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 which were borne by himself, but the conference could not 
 Tee its way to grant his request and Lindh's resign 
 followed N. E. Axling, who had come to America m 1866, 
 wasllected as his successor. At that time there were seven 
 churches in Illinois and Iowa with a combined members^ 
 of some 500, but new settlements were springing up here 
 and there offering unlimited opportunities for pioneer work 
 to induce the new missionary to do his best. 
 
 im -The conference of 1871, which was held in Rock 
 Island-Moline, was notable in that Captain John Alexis 
 Edgren, pioneer educator and writer, was present He was 
 The new pastor of the First Swedish Baptist Church of 
 Chicago and was to remain within the Conference for many 
 years'serving as an inspiring leader of the growing work. 
 Edgren was elected moderator of the conference. The re 
 porter for the conference gave the following glowing account 
 of the generous hospitality of the entertaining church: 
 
 "In vain do we try to tell of the sacrificial love and 
 pleasant reception the kind church of Rock Island-Mohne 
 eave us- for it was far above our highest expectations. 
 Only one thing seemed to worry these friends, namely how 
 they might sefure an adequate number of home guests and 
 how they would find opportunity to entertain us in the most 
 
 "iThTfan'of this year John Alexis Edgren founded the 
 
 Seminary in Chicago. 
 
 1872 — When the delegates met in Village Creek a fur- 
 ther sloughing off took place in the conference. The churches 
 of western Iowa and Nebraska at that time announced 
 their desire to organize a conference of their own. Thi 
 was done with the blessing of the mother conference. Thus 
 the original Conference had been partitioned into three dis- 
 trict bodies, leaving the churches in Illinois and eastern Iowa 
 

 3-° 
 
 "o.SS 
 
 c 
 
 fa 
 
 H «« 
 
 
 
 i 
 
FOUNDERS 
 
 Gustaf Palmquist 
 
 Anders Wiberg 
 
 
 I f 
 
 F. O. Nilsson 
 
 f jm H - 
 
 N. J. Rundquist 
 
BUILDERS 
 
 J. A. Edgren Eric Wingren Frank Peterson 
 
 Olof Lindh 
 
 John Ongman G. A. Hagstrom 
 
 C. G. Lagergren Eric Sandell 
 
 Olof Hedeen 
 
MISSIONARIES 
 
 N. E. Axling N. E. Nelson A. W. Backlund 
 
 P. G. Holmberg A. P. Hanson E. J. Nordlander 
 
 R. A. Arlander John A. Westin Charles Pali 
 
AND COLPORTEURS 
 
 A. J. Freeman and daughter Esther 
 
 The Palmquist Memorial Bible Wagon 
 
 Left to right: Charles Palm, Esther Freeman, A. J. Freeman and 
 
 Fred Wahlberg 
 
MISSIONARIES 
 
 C. O. Dahlen John Hedeen C. E. Wedholm 
 
 Reynold Lund A. Liliemark John Ward 
 
 .,'.,:,::::~:: ; 8:|| 
 
 r 
 
 «j 
 
 Axel Rendahl G. E. Wallendorf Victor Sherling 
 
Missionaries Emily and Oscar Swanson, Assam, Indis 
 
 INFLUENTIAL LAYMEN 
 
 John Swanson 
 
 M. A. Rosenlund 
 
 Carl Mehlin 
 Oscar E. Ostling 
 
EARLY CONFERENCES 33 
 
 to carry on by themselves. An interesting news item regard- 
 ing these three conferences occurs in Evangelist en in the 
 late summer of 1874: 
 
 "The Swedish Baptists of America have during the past 
 summer held three conferences, where momentous questions 
 have been discussed, such as the fanatical teachings of Sev- 
 enth Day Adventism relative to a return to the Jewish 
 Sabbath, concerning eternal punishment and annihilation of 
 the wicked, etc." 
 
 1883 — In June of this year there was a further re-or- 
 ganization. The Iowa churches decided to separate them- 
 selves from the Illinois-Eastern Iowa Conference and 
 organize their own conference. The organizational meeting 
 was held in Des Moines. The Nebraska Conference was 
 also organized about the same time at a meeting in Oakland. 
 The Illinois Conference, meeting in Village Creek, revised 
 its constitution and began to function as a separate state 
 conference. 
 
 When Was the Illinois Conference Organized? Professor 
 Adolf Olson, in his "A Centenary History," recalls that 
 this question gave rise to an animated debate in the denomi- 
 national press during the summer of 1898. Professor C. G. 
 Lagergren claimed: "The conference organized in 1856 is 
 the oldest one in America, and is today the Illinois Con- 
 ference. Furthermore, since the Illinois Conference is a 
 state conference, it is thus our oldest state conference." To 
 prove that proposition he pointed out that the original organ- 
 ization of 1856 persisted throughout the years, so that when 
 the Minnesota churches separated themselves and likewise 
 later the Iowa churches, only the Illinois churches remained 
 in the original conference. 
 
 On the other side of the question Eric Wingren, editor 
 of Nya Vecko-Posten, Olof Lindh and others argued to 
 
34 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 the effect that "if the Illinois Conference is forty-two years 
 old (1898), then also the Minnesota and the Iowa confer- 
 ences are just as old, for all three have grown out of the 
 conference of 1856." Professor Olson takes the view that 
 "the origin of an independent Illinois state conference cannot 
 be traced farther back than 1883." Howbeit, the Illinois 
 Conference has retained June, 1856, the original date as 
 its founding. 
 
CHAPTER FOUR 
 
 SLOW PROGRESS 
 
 The First Quarter-Century 1856-1881 
 
 The growth during the first decades was comparatively 
 small. Only three churches were organized in the 
 seventies. The big immigration from Sweden had not 
 yet begun, and the few Swedes, who had come, were poor 
 and strangers in this great land. They were strangers to all 
 and to everything they met in this new world. The language 
 was in no small degree baffling to the newcomers. They 
 found it even difficult at times to understand their own 
 countrymen, who had preceded them to America by a few 
 months. In their eagerness to learn the new language they 
 used English words with Swedish endings to the puzzlement 
 of both yankees and "greenhorns." The expression, "Putta 
 kaffepannan pa stoven" (Put the coffee pot on the stove) is 
 an illustration of this lingo. 
 
 When the writer of this book was a newcomer, he at- 
 tended one evening a party of Swedes who had been in 
 America long enough to mix the languages. On the way 
 home he confided to a friend: "I don't believe it will take 
 me long to learn English. I understood most of the conver- 
 sation this evening." The friend replied: "You certainly 
 should understand, for everybody was speaking Swedish." 
 
 Usually the Swedish immigrant acquired a working 
 knowledge of the English language quite rapidly, even if he 
 found it difficult to twist his tongue to such new sounds as 
 
 35 
 
36 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 "j," "w," and "th." The process of Americanization, both 
 as to language and citizenship, was speedy and thorough. 
 
 To many of the succeeding generations the Swedish lan- 
 guage became a problem in reverse. One of our former 
 Illinois pastors used to tell about his little boy, who woke 
 up one night crying as if he had been terribly frightened. 
 His mother hurried to his side to inquire about the reason 
 for this sudden outburst. To her question the boy replied: 
 "I had a dream." "What did you dream?" was the mother's 
 next query. "I don't know," came the startling reply, "it 
 was in Swedish." 
 
 One of the reasons why the immigrants came to our 
 shores was that of improving their economic conditions. 
 But it took time to become established and in the meantime 
 they were compelled to eke out their existence as frugally 
 as possible. The wages were only fifty to seventy-five cents 
 a day and the man who could earn one dollar a day was an 
 outstanding individual. 
 
 The immigrants from Sweden were Lutheran by virtue 
 of the fact that the Lutheran church was a part of the state. 
 Every person born in Sweden was automatically a member 
 of the state church. The Baptist movement was compara- 
 tively new in Sweden, counting its beginning from 1848, 
 and the Baptist group was looked upon as a divisive sect 
 that was foreign to Swedish church life and ought to be 
 extirpated. It took time before the new settlers could over- 
 come their prejudices and accept the American way of life 
 which grants freedom and equality to all peoples and beliefs. 
 
 EARLY CHURCH DISCIPLINE 
 
 At the time of the twenty-fifth anniversary, in 1881, 
 there were eleven churches in the Conference, which in- 
 
SLOW PROGRESS 37 
 
 eluded churches in eastern Iowa and also the church in Sister 
 Bay, Wisconsin. Judging from the minutes of the business 
 meetings of the churches one can but wonder to what extent 
 the severe discipline retarded the growth in the membership. 
 It was regarded as a sign of earnest zeal for the truth to 
 speak right out in the business meeting and to strike straight 
 from the shoulder when it concerned cases of discipline. 
 Whereas in our days discipline is something almost unheard 
 of in churches, exclusions in the pioneer days were nearly 
 as common an item on the agenda as the reception of mem- 
 bers. Even the pastors were not immune to discipline, 
 which the following cases indicate. 
 
 When a pastor in the Rock Island church resigned and 
 his resignation was accepted, he requested his letter to an 
 American Baptist church. His request was denied until he 
 had paid up his debts in the city. At a later meeting he 
 was excluded from the church. 
 
 Accusations had been made against another pastor that 
 his preaching was not to the edification of the saints. After 
 the church had inquired into the matter and had found the 
 accusations groundless, it was voted to exclude the two men 
 who had circulated the reports. The following year a coun- 
 cil was called to settle some differences between certain 
 members. By recommendation of the council the church 
 voted to exclude the pastor from the church. 
 
 Back in 1872 two of the members of the Rock Island 
 church were excluded because they had joined the Free- 
 masons. 
 
 While on the subject of church business meetings it 
 may be of interest to know how a pastor was called, when 
 the choice was between two candidates. Following the prac- 
 tice in the early apostolic days, the church prayed and cast 
 lots, accepting as God's choice the man who was thus chosen. 
 
38 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 A chapter could be written on the meeting places in 
 those early days, but suffice it to say that the first gatherings 
 were held in some member's home until the church was able 
 to venture a building program. The church edifice in Rock 
 Island was built in 1855. According to a statement in His- 
 tory of Rock Island County, 1878, the church was built in 
 September, 1855, at a price of $1,500. A brick building 
 with a seating capacity of seventy-five, it was ready for use 
 the third Sunday of December. 
 
 HOW EARLY SERVICES WERE CONDUCTED 
 
 Dr. Frank Peterson, who at the age of four came with 
 his parents from Sweden to Rock Island the same year as 
 the First Swedish church was organized (1852), had a vivid 
 memory of what took place in the new church. He writes : 
 
 "There need be no great stretch of imagination to under- 
 stand the keen interest that centered upon that Sunday morn- 
 ing in 1855, when their first house of prayer was dedicated 
 to God. All had some part in the preparation for this 
 notable event. . . . All must attend, dressed in their very 
 best, for was not this their first church edifice and was not 
 this the dedication by the Swedish Baptists in America? 
 It was truly an historic event. Many a costly edifice and 
 pretentious cathedral has been dedicated with greater pomp 
 and pageantry, both before and after, but I doubt if any 
 have given the worshipers more real happiness and genuine 
 joy than did this little Sabbath home to the members of 
 this pioneer church. The entering within the gates of this 
 temple gave the members a home-like feeling. It was their 
 very own. Their blood and bone and muscle had become 
 a part of every board and rafter and shingle. Possession 
 gave it sanctity and charm. 
 
SLOW PROGRESS 39 
 
 "Christmas came along and dear memories of the father- 
 land must be recalled. To this end old customs must be 
 followed. For the julotta the church must be suitably deco- 
 rated. The decoration consisted chiefly of extra candles 
 placed on the pulpit and in the windows, which when lit, 
 cast their flickering light within the room as the people 
 assembled. At five o'clock in the morning they roused the 
 roosters and awakened the neighbors by singing Var halsad, 
 skona morgonstund (All hail to thee, o blessed morn). They 
 had no organ to lead, but what difference did it make if 
 they did not or whether they kept in tune, just so they all 
 could join in making a joyful noise unto the Lord? Truly 
 such revival of sacred home memories made life in the new 
 world worth living, even though separated by thousands of 
 miles from dear relatives and friends in the fatherland." 
 
 This heart-stirring experience was typical of every com- 
 munity where the pioneers organized churches and erected 
 meetinghouses for worship and spiritual nurture. 
 
 In later years Dr. J. E. Klingberg gave a touching 
 description of what the churches were like some fifty years 
 ago: 
 
 "Though our churches were not known for their archi- 
 tectural beauty, they were nevertheless quite inviting. Some 
 of them were even grand. I remember yet to my great 
 surprise when I as a youth for the first time saw the First 
 Church on Elm street, Chicago. What a remarkable church 
 edifice, I thought. But no wonder. I was a member of 
 Salem, whose church resembled the catacombs of Rome, 
 some kind of a cave or underground passage way. But just 
 as the Christians were happy in the catacombs, so we re- 
 joiced below the sidewalk of the South Lincoln Street. Our 
 spiritual happiness did not depend on a beautiful building. 
 Pipe organs were almost unknown in our churches in those 
 
40 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 days. But we had a parlor organ, and, fortunately, the 
 guitar, that innocent stringed instrument, had not lost its 
 popularity. Pianos were considered articles of luxury and 
 in some quarters were looked upon as ungodly inventions. 
 We had no automobiles, but we had good horses and strong 
 legs and therefore no lack of means of transportation." 
 
 What were the services like in the pioneer churches? 
 To answer this question we will have to call again an eye- 
 witness in the person of Dr. Frank Peterson, who has left 
 us the following vivid account of pioneer services : 
 
 "In the first twenty years the churches had increased to 
 thirty-five (throughout the middle west), but there were only 
 eight pastors to care for these. It is clear, therefore, that 
 in many churches the meetings had to be conducted by lay- 
 men. Their qualifications for this important task were, of 
 course, very meager. Hard working men as they were, they 
 had neither the time nor the ability to prepare any logically 
 arranged discourses. They would give a rather disconnected 
 talk or exhortation or, instead of that, read one of Spur- 
 geon's sermons. 
 
 "The latter could be best, of course, and that for two 
 reasons. First, there would be something worth hearing; 
 and second, there would be an end to the meeting. Usually, 
 however, there was a serious drawback to this. The reader, 
 not well up in this art, would go on in a sing-song tone, 
 recklessly disregardful of pauses or proper emphasis. The 
 monotonous grind was very apt to put the hearers to sleep. 
 
 "At prayer meetings it was sometimes customary to re- 
 main kneeling while one after another, as the spirit moved 
 them, led in prayer. This would be kept up so long that the 
 knees would ache, and the worshiper would change from 
 one position to another, until at last he could think of noth- 
 
SLOW PROGRESS 41 
 
 ing else but his aching knees and feel unpleasantly impatient 
 of the long-winded petitioners. 
 
 "I recall that upon one occasion, when F. O. Nilsson 
 came to Village Creek, he had walked ten miles from town 
 to where the meeting was held and was very tired. At the 
 meeting one of those long seasons of prayer was begun. 
 Nilsson lay until his knees ached so that he could stand it 
 no longer. He arose and said: 'Brethren, let us intersperse 
 our prayers with song and testimony. This long posture 
 on aching knees takes the spirit of worship out of us. It 
 reminds me of the torture that those doing penance impose 
 upon themselves.' A restless youngster that I was, I thought 
 that rebuke, administered by Mr. Nilsson, was the most 
 sensible thing of the meeting. 
 
 "At revivals things were different. No flippancy was 
 allowed there to cheapen the character of the meeting. The 
 preacher made us feel that the most important and serious 
 question of our lives was up for consideration." 
 
 OPPOSITIONS 
 
 Let no one think that the pioneer Baptists were unham- 
 pered in their propagation of their beliefs. On the contrary, 
 they were strongly opposed by other denominational groups. 
 That the Swedish Lutherans should work against them is 
 understandable. The mass of Swedish immigrants were 
 practically all nominal Lutherans, having been members of 
 the Lutheran state church of Sweden. It was natural, there- 
 fore, when Swedish Lutherans began to organize churches 
 in America that they should consider all Swedes their parish 
 and their own church the authorized Swedish church of 
 America. Other denominations were only "sects." 
 
 The controversies with the Lutherans and also the Meth- 
 
42 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 odists centered around the mode and meaning of baptism, 
 which caused much bitter feelings and even public debates. 
 The most dangerous threat, however, to Baptist unity did 
 not come from the Lutherans but from the Seventh Day 
 Adventists. Because the Adventists adhere to baptism by 
 immersion, the Baptists seemed to be a fruitful field for 
 their proselytizing. That the Baptist people were intimately 
 affected appears by numerous references in denominational 
 periodicals and conference annuals. The keeping of the 
 seventh day as Sabbath was, according to the Adventists, 
 the only assurance of obtaining eternal life, but other funda- 
 mental teachings of the Bible were also at stake. 
 
 The pioneers, however, were men and women of strong 
 faith in the Word of God. The all-important question was, 
 "What does the Bible say about it?" The average church 
 member had a good knowledge of the Bible. It was practi- 
 cally the only book he read and much of its content he 
 could repeat from memory. Our fathers believed in the 
 new birth. "Are you born again?" "Are you a child of 
 God?" These were questions that must be answered in 
 seeking church membership. As to the Christian way of 
 life, the grace of God had taught them to forsake ungodli- 
 ness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and 
 godly in the present world. Little wonder that revival fires 
 were burning in the churches and that the Baptists became 
 known as a God-fearing and missionary people. 
 
CHAPTER FIVE 
 
 DECADES OF ADVANCE 
 
 Second Quarter-Century 1881-1906 
 
 WITH the beginning of 1880 a new day dawned 
 for the struggling small churches in the Illinois 
 Conference. Only seven churches had been 
 organized in the state during the first quarter-century, and 
 one of them, the first church in Chicago, had disbanded. 
 But during the decade of the eighties no less than seventeen 
 churches came into being and ten in the nineties. The good 
 work continued during another decade, when seven new 
 churches sprung up and several institutions were formed. 
 After 1910 followed a long period, of which it could be 
 said that the Conference was "barely holding its own." 
 
 One of the main factors in the unusual growth over a 
 period of thirty years was the tremendous wave of immi- 
 gration that swept over the country from 1880 until the 
 first world war. The primary cause was, without question, 
 a gracious visitation of God upon the praying churches, 
 resulting in revivals and in sacrificial efforts to see God's 
 work prosper. Since the work was carried on in the Swedish 
 language, the progress was much dependent on the number 
 of people who could be reached by that means. 
 
 IMMIGRATION 
 
 The stream of Swedish immigration to America began 
 in the early forties and reached its flood-tide in the early 
 
 43 
 
44 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 eighties. In the census of the year 1850 there were in Illinois 
 1,123 Swedish-born, in 1860 6,470, in 1870 29,979, in 1880 
 42,415, in 1890 86,514, in 1900 109,147, and in 1910 
 115,424. By that time the Swedish-born and the second 
 generation numbered altogether about 235,000 within the 
 borders of Illinois. The corresponding figure for the entire 
 nation was approximately 605,000. 
 
 The Swedish immigrants seldom came singly but rather 
 in parties of from twenty to fifty or more. They came, 
 perhaps, from the same small village or county in Sweden 
 and as a rule settled in one place in this country. It is quite 
 interesting to note that the first Swedish preachers coming 
 to America, came as members or leaders of big parties. One 
 such famous venture was the Bishop Hill colony in Illinois, 
 which was established in 1846. The same year the Swedish 
 Methodists organized their first church at Victoria, Illinois. 
 The Lutherans started at Andover, Illinois, in 1850, and the 
 Baptists laid the foundation for their work at Rock Island, 
 Illinois, in 1852. Whatever else inspired the Swedes to leave 
 their homeland for these shores, the "American letters" had 
 perhaps the greatest influence. Sweden was poor and the 
 opportunities were limited. The wealth and the best part of 
 the land were concentrated in the hands of the privileged 
 few. A large portion of the population was compelled to 
 live a life of poverty. 
 
 "We can't be worse off than we are here," was the 
 refrain from many parties. "Herring, potatoes, and small 
 beer are our daily ration. Meat and milk are rare luxuries. 
 Despite extreme economy, we grow poorer every day. The 
 almshouse will be our last resort if we stay here, but our 
 relatives in America, who once were as poor as we, are well 
 to do. They are honest and we have confidence in what 
 they tell us." 
 
DECADES OF ADVANCE 
 
 45 
 
 "The emigrant visualized America as a land where the 
 dignity of the human soul was recognized, where work was 
 honorable, where class distinctions were leveled, and where 
 the future beckoned to a status of economic independence." 
 
 One of the churches that experienced a rapid growth 
 during this immigration period was the Salem Baptist 
 Church, then located in Englewood and known by that name. 
 It is interesting to note that this church, which was or- 
 ganized in 1885 by eighteen members, twenty-five years later 
 had a membership of 535 souls. By far the greater number 
 of additions came by letter rather than by baptism. In the 
 twenty-five year period the church received 382 by baptism 
 and 652 by letter. Not all those who were received by letters 
 came from Sweden, but it is safe to say that a large portion 
 of them were immigrants. The attraction to a large city 
 and the shifting population within Chicago account for 
 some of the additions to the Salem church. 
 
 Another creative factor in the growth of the Illinois 
 churches was the theological seminary located in Chicago 
 and later in Morgan Park, on Chicago's south-west side. 
 From the beginning in 1871, when John Alexis Edgren 
 founded his seminary, the students were actively engaged in 
 the preaching of the Gospel in new fields and had a vital 
 share, for some forty years, in the formation of practically 
 every church in Illinois, and more particularly in the metro- 
 politan areas of Chicago. 
 
 INSPIRING FACTORS 
 
 The churches also received a great boost when the 
 Illinois Sunday School Union was organized October 21, 
 1892. G. Arvid Hagstrom, at that time only twenty-five 
 years of age, became the Union's first missionary. We take 
 
46 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 the liberty of quoting from Adolf Olson's A Centenary 
 History concerning this particular work and its influence on 
 the churches: 
 
 "With a native talent for creative leadership and or- 
 ganization, a great capacity for productive work, and with 
 a contagious interest in children, G. Arvid Hagstrom suc- 
 ceeded in stimulating churches and Sunday schools to launch 
 out into the deep in their work for children. Child evangelism, 
 which sixty years ago was not much encouraged in the 
 churches, received special attention, and the missionary re- 
 joiced in seeing many boys and girls turn to Christ as their 
 personal Savior. 
 
 "Training institutes for Sunday school teachers, at that 
 time practically a new thing, too, were held, eight of them 
 during the first year of Hagstrom's service. Moreover, as a 
 result of his influence and that of others in the Illinois 
 Sunday School Union, the American Baptist Publication 
 Society was induced to start publishing a Sunday school 
 paper in Swedish, Barnens Tidning (Children's News), as 
 well as hymnals and other literature specifically for Swedisli 
 Baptist Sunday schools." 
 
 Following Hagstrom's resignation as Sunday school 
 missionary after three years of effective service, others con- 
 tinued to build upon the good foundation, but more about 
 that in another chapter. 
 
 Included in Hagstrom's work during those rich years 
 was his leading participation in the forming of an Illinois 
 Baptist Young People's Union October 2, 1893, which 
 became the parent organization of all united Conference 
 youth work. Before relinquishing his position as Sunday 
 school missionary he also served for some time as co-editor 
 of a young people's publication, The Sunday School and 
 Home. 
 
 
DECADES OF ADVANCE 47 
 
 Another active organization was a state-wide ministers' 
 union, which came into existence June 4, 1889. This union 
 afforded the ministers many opportunities of fellowship and 
 Bible conferences when vital subjects, relating to doctrine, 
 church polity and methods of work, were discussed. 
 
 A tremendous impetus to the churches was the foreign 
 missionary work as represented by Mr. and Mrs. O. L. 
 Swanson, who went from Illinois in 1893 to their mission 
 field in Assam, India, under the appointment of the Ameri- 
 can Baptist Foreign Mission Society. The Illinois churches 
 considered them in a special sense their very own mis- 
 sionaries. Of special interest at the annual meeting was the 
 reading of a letter from the Swansons. Their message was 
 always printed in toto in the Annual as a part of the 
 reports. Theirs was an unusually rich and blessed ministry, 
 and its blessings flowed over into the churches everywhere. 
 
 THE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 
 
 The fiftieth anniversary of the Conference was observed 
 in Moline May 24-27, 1906. The host pastor was D. Lof- 
 strom. This conference had been looked forward to with 
 much anticipation. A historical committee had been appointed 
 several years prior to the jubilee to gather material for a 
 history. In 1902 Dr. Lagergren, who was the chairman of 
 the committee, reported that he was writing the history and 
 that it was to be published either separately or in connection 
 with the Conference Annual. Due to lack of interest on the 
 part of the churches to support this enterprise financially, 
 the history was never published. In 1909 the Conference 
 urged the committee to complete the history, and in 1914 
 Dr. Lagergren again reported that he had the manuscript 
 
48 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 ready and offered it to the Conference for publication. 
 Apparently no action was taken by the Conference. 
 
 Twenty- four of the thirty- two churches, comprising a 
 membership of 4,215, were represented at the golden anni- 
 versary. J. A. Carlson was elected moderator and John A. 
 Swanson recording secretary. Two new missionaries were 
 appointed, C. O. Dahlen and John Hedeen. The latter's 
 service was destined to extend over a period of thirty-six 
 years, the longest of any missionary in our denomination. 
 Dr. Eric Wingren, editor and publisher of Nya Vecko- 
 Posten (New Weekly Mail), preached the jubilee sermon. 
 The historical address was delivered by C. G. Lagergren. 
 The platform was adorned with giant portraits of the 
 pioneer ministers F. O. Nilsson, Gustaf Palmquist and 
 Anders Wiberg. All those who had been members thirty 
 years or more were especially recognized. Thirty responded 
 to the roll call, among them Dr. Frank Peterson. The 
 half-century jubilee closed Sunday evening with the observ- 
 ance of the Lord's Supper. 
 
CHAPTER SIX 
 
 TRANSITIONAL PERIOD 
 
 Third Quarter- Century 1906 - 1931 
 
 Fifty years ago the Illinois Conference launched out 
 on somewhat troubled waters. In those years the 
 modern Pentecostal movement had started in Los 
 Angeles and was spreading with extraordinary rapidity 
 throughout the whole country. Having close affinity in 
 doctrine to the Baptist faith, it was only natural that this 
 "new movement," as it was called among our people, would 
 seriously affect many of the churches. 
 
 At least three of the Chicago churches were rocked by 
 this movement. Pastor J. W. Hjertstrom of the Grace 
 church had had an experience of the so called "baptism in 
 the Holy Spirit" and threw himself with all the force of a 
 strong personality into this movement. In the Lake View 
 church pastor P. Swartz became involved in this type of 
 Pentecostalism, and in the Fairfield Avenue church pastor 
 Martin Carlson and some of his successors fell in line with 
 it and went to such excesses, typical of the movement, that 
 it became exceedingly difficult for the church to weather 
 the storm. 
 
 For about five years, 1905-1910, much was written in 
 our denominational press to clarify the important teachings 
 concerning the Spirit-filled life. "Admitting the fact of a 
 'second blessing,' 'baptism in the Spirit/ or whatever other 
 name it was given, as a glorious experience in the life of a 
 Christian, the more sane Bible students pointed out that no 
 
 49 
 
50 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 experience, of whatever kind, must be allowed to obscure 
 the great event of the new birth, the very starting point of 
 the Christian life, when the triune God, Father, Son, and 
 Holy Spirit, moved in and took possession of the believer's 
 heart. Nor must the clear New Testament teachings con- 
 cerning repeated fillings of the Holy Spirit and sanctification 
 as a growth and life-long process be minimized." (Quota- 
 tion from A Centenary History. ) 
 
 NEW ACTIVITIES 
 
 The Golden Jubilee of the General Conference, which 
 was observed in Chicago 1902, set in motion ideas for 
 numerous new enterprises. Within ten years the following 
 institutions were founded: The Children's Home, New 
 Britain, Connecticut (1903) ; the Home of Rest, Fridhem, 
 Chicago (1905) ; Bethel Academy, St. Paul, Minnesota 
 (1905); Adelphia College, Seattle, Washington (1905); 
 Bethany Beach, Sawyer, Michigan (1905); Mounds Park 
 Sanitarium, St. Paul, Minnesota (1906) ; Elim Park Home 
 of Rest, Shelton, Connecticut (1907) ; Sunset Home, Con- 
 cordia, Kansas (1907) ; Baptist Conference Press, Chicago 
 (1909) ; first issue of The Standard (1911) ; the theological 
 seminary, which had been affiliated with the Divinity School 
 of the University of Chicago, became independent in 1912. 
 
 That somebody should think of suggesting to the Illinois 
 Conference the establishing of a hospital seems altogether 
 logical. Such a proposal was presented to the conference of 
 1909 by Dr. Axel Werelius, but after one year's deliberation 
 it was voted down for financial reasons. 
 
 The conference of 1910 was greatly disturbed when it 
 learned that its trusted treasurer had embezzled $1,352.12, 
 which amount was never recovered. 
 
TRANSITIONAL PERIOD 51 
 
 At the conference 1913 it was decided to merge the 
 Young People's Union and the Sunday School Union with 
 the Conference. The constitution was changed accordingly. 
 
 In 1916 the first suggestion of an independent foreign 
 mission was made. The proposal came to the Conference 
 from the ministers, following an address by Prof. Olof 
 Hedeen on the subject, " Should we as Swedish Baptists in 
 America consider a separate foreign mission?" Up to this 
 time and until 1944 foreign mission contributions were 
 channeled through the American Baptist Foreign Mission 
 Society. 
 
 NEW ADJUSTMENTS 
 
 The language question was discussed for the first time 
 on the conference floor in 1917. That was during the first 
 world war, when the sentiment in the nation was strong 
 against foreign languages and anything not purely American. 
 Several pastors claimed that they had tried to conduct 
 English services but had found very little interest for them, 
 even when American preachers had been engaged. The war, 
 however, gave the Swedish language the death blow, although 
 it took nearly a quarter-century before it expired as a 
 preaching medium. 
 
 It was reported to the conference 1918 that the church 
 in Rock Island had voted to merge with the Moline church 
 and to turn all the valuable documents over to that church. 
 In return the Moline church had promised to support a 
 mission in Rock Island. Later reports, however, indicate 
 that the actual disbanding of the Rock Island church did 
 not take place until 1930, when the small remaining group 
 decided to unite with the local American Baptist church. 
 The property also fell into the hands of this same corpora- 
 tion, much to the regret of the Conference. 
 
52 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 From the very beginning, the Conference received 
 financial aid for its missionary work from the American 
 Baptist Home Mission Society and the American Baptist 
 Publication Society. The former contributed annually sev- 
 eral hundred dollars to needy churches, and the ABPS gave 
 half of the salary to the colporter John Hedeen and $900 
 to missionary John Ward. This interest on the part of the 
 American societies was greatly appreciated. 
 
 In 1921 the Conference received notice from the Ameri- 
 can Baptist Home Mission Society that the contributions, 
 which during the years had dwindled to $380, would be 
 discontinued. The reason given was that some of our Con- 
 ference churches had failed to cooperate with the American 
 Baptist Convention in the New World Movement. This 
 movement was a part of the Interchurch World Movement 
 and had the enthusiastic backing of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 
 The following year the American Baptist Publication 
 Society discontinued its support of John Ward but carried 
 John Hedeen on the payroll as long as he lived. It is difficult 
 to see how the work could have been carried on during the 
 formative years of the Conference, if the American societies 
 had not given a helping hand. 
 
 In 1923 the Conference voted to purchase automobiles 
 for the two Johns — John Hedeen and John Ward. A sub- 
 stantial sum of money was subscribed by the delegates. One 
 may say that the ''horse and buggy age" had come to an end 
 by this action. 
 
 In many ways this transitional period had been a time 
 of discouragement as well as of adjustment. But it had to 
 come, and some churches came through easier than others. 
 It was not only the language that constituted a problem, 
 difficult as that was. The churches were facing a new concept 
 regarding their mission and policy. That they could no 
 
TRANSITIONAL PERIOD 53 
 
 longer remain Swedish was apparent, but what would happen 
 if they became altogether American? Should they continue 
 as a distinct group, or should they make overtures to the 
 American Baptist Convention? Very few churches chose 
 the latter. The long transitional period from one language 
 to another had retarded the progress. But, unknowingly to 
 the seers and the prophets, the Illinois Conference was at 
 this stage only a short distance from a new and most 
 encouraging era. 
 
CHAPTER SEVEN 
 
 MISSIONARY EXPANSION 
 
 Fourth Quarter-Century 1931 - 1956 
 
 The seventy-fifth anniversary of the Conference was 
 observed in the midst of one of the worst economic 
 depressions in the history of this country. In the 
 Chicago area alone approximately 200 banks closed, which 
 in many cases meant total loss to the depositors. People of 
 wealth suddenly became poor, and countless numbers of the 
 employed lost their jobs or were compelled to accept lower 
 wages. 
 
 While the nation was trying to regain its economic 
 equilibrium, the churches were heroically holding their own 
 at the price of real sacrifice on the part of the members. 
 Expansion of the work, whether local or Conference-wide, 
 was at a standstill. No new churches were organized until 
 at the very end of the thirties. 
 
 The diamond jubilee was held in the Addison Street 
 church, Chicago, May 21-24, 1931. The Conference num- 
 bered twenty-nine churches with 5,267 members. Axel A. 
 Anderson presided as moderator. The conference sermon 
 was preached by Ellis E. Eklof, Sr. V. E. Hedberg was the 
 host pastor. The reports were largely about the relief work 
 that had been carried on by the churches for the needy and 
 unemployed. The previous few years had been dark and the 
 future did not look very bright. 
 
 The outbreak of the second world war in the fall of 1939 
 accelerated the economic recovery, as the war industry got 
 
 54 
 
MISSIONARY EXPANSION 55 
 
 into gear. Prosperity, even if it was blood bought, was in 
 the offing. Losses were being regained and money began to 
 flow more freely. It took, however, nearly a decade before 
 the churches received the full benefit of the financial up- 
 surge, but it was on the way. 
 
 A NEW ERA 
 
 With prosperity came a tremendous building boom all 
 over the nation. And the churches were not overlooked. 
 Within the last ten years several new and costly churches 
 have been erected, and almost every congregation has added 
 a new parsonage to its property. According to the latest 
 available figures, the total value of church buildings and 
 parsonages in the Illinois Conference amount to more than 
 three and one-third million dollars ! This is more than the 
 reported value of all the church buildings and parsonages in 
 our entire denomination thirty-five years ago. 
 
 This prosperous era engendered new life in our churches. 
 The transition from Swedish to English had been completed 
 in all the churches. Even the Conference minutes changed 
 language in 1932. The field, which up to this time had been 
 much limited to the Swedish people, expanded to take in the 
 whole state and its inhabitants. A new day had dawned. 
 The churches Americanized their names, and in 1945 the 
 Conference itself followed the trend and took on the desig- 
 nation Baptist Conference of Illinois. 
 
 The past twenty-five years have also witnessed a sub- 
 stantial growth in the number of churches and in member- 
 ship. Until 1955, the Illinois Conference was second only 
 to Minnesota in membership. God has richly blessed and is 
 blessing our Conference with new churches and members. 
 The population trend is away from the large city to the 
 
56 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 suburbs or to areas where new communities are being built 
 with incredible speed. The opportunities for new missionary 
 activities and eventually new churches are greater than the 
 size of our Conference budget. But even some of our small 
 churches have caught the pioneer spirit and ventured out in 
 faith to start new work, and the results have been most 
 rewarding. 
 
 As frequently is the case, a new work may have an 
 altogether unscheduled beginning. The history of the Edge- 
 wood church is a glorious example of the truth that "God 
 moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform." Two 
 little boys in the country school, both being in the first 
 grade, became friends. They visited each other's home, and 
 it was found that both boys had Christian parents. Before 
 long the parents became acquainted, which resulted in much 
 good Christian fellowship. One family had four and the 
 other three children. They loved to sing together, and how 
 they could sing ! Soon a Bible Club was started in one of the 
 homes, then prayer meetings, and before long a Sunday 
 school was going strong. To crown the good work, a church 
 was organized in the community. 
 
 Much of the progress during the last ten or twelve years 
 can be credited to the diligence of our missionary Victor 
 Sherling. He is well acquainted with the field and recog- 
 nizes the opportunities when they knock at the door. It is 
 disheartening both to him and the board members when 
 opportunities must be passed up for lack of funds or when 
 small struggling churches must be denied financial help for 
 the same reason. 
 
 The camp work at Round Lake has become the high 
 spot of Conference activities. The camps — and there are 
 several of them each summer — are gaining in popularity 
 with the boys and girls. During the summer of 1955 more 
 
MISSIONARY EXPANSION 57 
 
 than 800 campers availed themselves of the camp facilities. 
 In addition, almost every weekend during the spring and 
 fall groups from churches made use of the grounds. 
 
 Camp Youngquist at Cameron, Illinois, has become an 
 equally popular gathering place for the young people and 
 children in the western part of the state. 
 
 Many of the youngsters attending these camps will become 
 tomorrow's leaders of our churches and of the Conference. 
 It is therefore important that they be given the best possible 
 teaching and guidance. 
 
 RELATION TO AMERICAN BAPTISTS 
 
 In reading through the old records of the Conference 
 one is impressed with the cordial attitude shown our Con- 
 ference and churches by the American Baptist Home Mis- 
 sion Society and the American Baptist Publication Society. 
 A most friendly spirit of cooperation existed, and the Con- 
 ference, which was on the receiving end, was always ready 
 to acknowledge with gratitude the generous support that 
 the ABHMS gave the small churches and the ABPS ex- 
 tended to the colporteurs and missionaries. Without this 
 financial assistance the work would have suffered greatly. 
 At each annual conference, until about 1920, representatives 
 of the American Baptist societies were on the program for 
 missionary addresses. This representation also included the 
 American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, through which 
 the contributions for foreign missions were channeled. 
 
 Unlike some of the other state conferences, the Illinois 
 Conference never had any official affiliation with the State 
 Convention. In 1918 our Conference received an invitation 
 from the Illinois State Convention proposing a closer co- 
 operation, but this invitation was declined. Our Conference 
 
58 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 replied that it was satisfied to continue to deal directly with 
 the American Baptist Home Mission Society. But, as re- 
 ferred to earlier, the friendly cooperation with the ABHMS 
 came to an abrupt end in 1921. Later on the cooperation 
 ceased also with the ABPS. The Conference was forced to 
 shoulder the financial responsibilities for both the mission- 
 ary's support and the needy churches. This trial became a 
 blessing in disguise, creating as it did a greater solidarity 
 and interest in the work. The Conference had reached 
 maturity ! 
 
 We must not neglect to acknowledge that for many years 
 the churches have received much financial help from the 
 Board of Home Missions of the General Conference. Aside 
 from monetary contributions, the very presence of the 
 General Conference headquarters within the borders of the 
 Illinois Conference has greatly benefitted the state work and 
 the churches. When the new headquarters building in 
 Chicago was erected in 1951, provision was made for office 
 space for the Illinois Conference. 
 
CHAPTER EIGHT 
 
 A LOOK TO THE FUTURE 
 
 The future is just as much unknown to us as it was 
 to the pioneers a century ago. It was not possible 
 for Palmquist, Wiberg and Nilsson to foresee the 
 growth and development of the work which they began 
 without the slightest pretense as to bigness and importance. 
 Sometimes the future can be predicted by the trends in an 
 organization, but our fathers in the faith could not discern 
 any trends in those early days. Their chief concern was to 
 be a blessing to their countrymen ; they did "not ask to see 
 the distant scene" — one step was enough for them. We 
 can well imagine how happy and grateful they would be, if 
 they could see now the accomplishments of the past one 
 hundred years. 
 
 Our vista of the future is not much clearer, although we 
 have the knowledge of a remarkable history as our guide 
 and almost unlimited resources at our disposal. The future 
 is still enigmatic to us, for we are the people of the present, 
 of today. Even if we think we know present trends, we are 
 poor prognosticators, because we do not know what direction 
 the winds may take a decade or a generation hence. Less 
 than fifty years ago some of our leaders predicted the end 
 of our denomination as an independent organization. We 
 were to pass out with the Swedish language and become a 
 part of the larger Baptist body. This did not happen. 
 
 Nationalism and the language were, nevertheless, the 
 
 59 
 
60 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 cords that held our work together in those early years. If 
 the language of our spiritual forebears had been English, 
 we would not have been observing a centennial as a con- 
 ference. The language and the homogeneity of the members 
 were elements that cemented the churches together in one 
 purpose and one fellowship. 
 
 We have every reason to believe, however, that our 
 Conference will continue to work and grow along the same 
 pattern as it does today. Much depends, of course, on the 
 future leadership and whether our churches will maintain 
 the distinctive Baptist principles they are now embracing 
 and proclaiming. In this our centennial year, the Baptists 
 of America are much divided doctrinally and otherwise into 
 more than a score of denominations, and some of the groups 
 are by nature combative and competitive. Notwithstanding 
 this regrettable situation, the Baptists have had a phe- 
 nomenal growth in this country and number now more than 
 18,000,000 members, as many as several of the other large 
 Protestant denominations put together. 
 
 The future of any organization depends upon whether it 
 meets a real need within the scope of its activities and 
 upon the unity of purpose within the group. God has been 
 pleased to bless our efforts, because we have earnestly 
 sought to do a task that nobody else has been assigned to do. 
 During the major part of our history this particular job 
 concerned the salvation of Americans of a certain nationality. 
 Our field now is unlimited, and our responsibility is com- 
 mensurably greater. How well we meet this challenge de- 
 pends on our faithfulness to God's Word doctrinally, to 
 the Holy Spirit experimentally, to Christ's command evan- 
 gelistically, and on our willingness to work together in 
 harmony and loyalty. 
 
 By faith, hope and love — the three great Christian in- 
 
A LOOK TO THE FUTURE 61 
 
 centives that will never lose their power — we will move 
 on into another century, "confident of this very thing that 
 he who began a good work in you will perfect it until 
 the day of Jesus Christ." 
 
PART TWO 
 
 THE CHURCHES 
 
OUR CHURCHES 
 
 First Swedish Baptist church edifice in America. Built in 1855 at 
 Rock Island, Illinois. 
 
 Addison Street Church, Chicago 
 
Grace Church, Chicago 
 
 Elim Church, Chicago 
 
Salem Church, Chicago 
 
 
 !!■■ 
 
 Central Avenue Church, Chicago 
 
Temple Church, Chicago 
 
 mm. wmm.:mMmwmwm§. 
 
 . miimmMMm. 
 
 Fairfield Avenue Church, Chicago 
 
Wf* 
 
 Edgewater Church, Chicago 
 
 Northwest Church, Chicag< 
 
South Shore Church, Chicago 
 
 Jeffery Manor Church, Chicago 
 
Edgewood Church, Naperville 
 
 Bethel Church, Chicago 
 
First Church, Markham 
 
 Calvary Church, Evanston 
 
CHAPTER NINE 
 
 PRESENT 
 
 CONFERENCE CHURCHES 
 
 Kildare Avenue, Chicago — 1864 
 
 This church, organized February 21, 1864, is affiliating 
 with our Conference this centennial year. Its origin 
 was Danish, but several of the early members were 
 Swedes, having come from the Swedish Baptist church which 
 was disbanded in 1864. Two years later the Swedes with- 
 drew to organize what is now the Addison Street Baptist 
 Church. During the years the Danish church has experienced 
 divisions, mergers and changes but always retained its testi- 
 mony for God. The present edifice was erected at Kildare 
 and Belden Avenues in 1918. The following year the name 
 was changed from First Danish Baptist Church to Kildare 
 Avenue Baptist Church. The pastor's name is Oliver J. 
 Parish. 
 
 Addison Street, Chicago — 1866 
 
 The Addison Street Baptist Church was organized 
 August 19, 1866, as the First Swedish Baptist Church with 
 thirty-eight charter members. The Civil War, which had 
 deprived the earlier church of its manpower, was now over 
 and some of the soldiers had returned. The Swedish colony 
 on the near north side Chicago had grown by several thou- 
 sand immigrants, and although a number of the members 
 of the defunct Swedish church had united with the Danish 
 
 65 
 
66 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Baptist church, there was nevertheless an upsurge of long- 
 ing for the reestablishment of a Swedish church. 
 
 In the summer of 1866 three ministers came to Chicago, 
 namely Olof Lindh, N. E. Axling and John Ring, who with 
 their wives became charter members of the church. John 
 Ring was elected pastor with the princely salary of $150.00 
 a year. In the spring of 1868 the new congregation built 
 a house of worship on what is now Cleveland Avenue and 
 Oak Street. In October, 1871, during the pastorate of John 
 Alexis Edgren, the church building was reduced to ashes 
 in the Chicago fire. A new building was erected at the same 
 location and in 1912 the present building at Addison Street 
 and Magnolia Avenue was dedicated. 
 
 Addison has had a galaxy of well known pastors, such 
 as J. A. Edgren, John Ongman, Eric Wingren, P. A. Hjelm, 
 G. Arvid Hagstrom, Thorsten Clafford, Eric Carlson, V. E. 
 Hedberg, Eric N. Lindholm, Henry Wingblade, Walter O. 
 Olson, John A. Wilcox and since 1955, Aymond Anderson. 
 
 Grace, Chicago — 1874 
 
 This church was organized March 11, 1874, by twelve 
 members under the name Second Swedish Baptist Church. 
 In the beginning the church was successfully served by 
 seminary students. The regular pastorates began with Edi- 
 tor Eric Wingren, when he came from Sweden in 1880. 
 Other well known pastors have been Eric Sandell, W. A. 
 Backlund, G. Holmberg, O. J. Engstrand, P. A. Hjelm, 
 J. W. Hjertstrom, Eric Scherstrom, F. C. Hamlin, Herman 
 Litorin, E. E. Eklof, John A. Swanson, Donald Peterson, 
 Robert I. Wells and, since 1953, James E. Fryar. 
 
 Grace church has had several locations during its history. 
 The first services were held at 25th Street near Wentworth 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 67 
 
 Avenue. Other places of worship have been located at 
 Armour Avenue near 31st Street, Wells and 31st Streets, 
 67th and May Streets, and since 1917 at 7848 South Normal 
 Avenue. The Grace church is in a real sense the mother 
 church of all the Chicago south side churches and several 
 suburban churches. 
 
 Bethany, Moline — 1 876 
 
 The Moline church occupies a unique place in the cen- 
 tenary history of the Conference. From the beginning it 
 was closely linked together with Rock Island. Two of the 
 three members who constituted the Rock Island church at 
 its inception lived in Moline. Regular services were held 
 alternately in the two cities. The meetings in Moline were 
 held in the homes of the members. In 1866 a meeting house 
 was erected at 6th Avenue and 13th Street, but it was not 
 until May 7, 1876, that seventy- four members of the Rock 
 Island church decided to organize themselves into a church. 
 The name given it was the Swedish Baptist Church of 
 Moline. In 1916 it was popularly called the Swedish Temple, 
 and in 1936 the name was changed to the Bethany Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 All the pastors have made a name for themselves in 
 the annals of our denomination. They are Olof Okerson, 
 L. L. Frisk, Olof Lindh, Jonas Stadling, P. A. Hjelm, P. P. 
 Peterson, O. A. Enblom, Theodore Grandin, Axel Wester, 
 Bennet Erickson, J. A. Jader, Detlof Lofstrom, Carl Vin- 
 gren, E. A. Lagerstrom, J. Alfred Lindberg, B. L. Carlton, 
 Martin Erikson, Magnus Berglund, E. E. Eklof and Don 
 P. Shogren. Richard Turnwall became its pastor in 1956. 
 
 While the new sanctuary was under construction, 1954- 
 1956, the services were held at the Thomas Jefferson school. 
 
68 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 It seems altogether fitting that the Behany church should 
 be the host to the Centennial Conference. It was in this 
 vicinity (Rock Island) that the Conference was organized 
 one hundred years ago and it was in the Moline church the 
 golden jubilee was observed in 1906. This year the Bethany 
 church is celebrating its 80th anniversary. 
 
 Temple, Rockford — 1880 
 
 Olof Lindh writes in his Minnen that he visited Rock- 
 ford as early as 1868 and found one Swedish Baptist there. 
 At that time the Swedish population of Rockford was esti- 
 mated at 2,000. In the late seventies several students from 
 Edgren's seminary made preaching tours to Rockford. In 
 1880 some Baptists from Sweden and also a family from 
 Chicago came to Rockford and with this reenforcement the 
 courageous group, numbering twelve, met in the State Street 
 Baptist Church on September 11, 1880, to organize the 
 Scandinavian Baptist Church of Rockford. In 1894 the 
 name was changed to the First Swedish Baptist Church and 
 in 1939 to the Temple Baptist Church. 
 
 The first meetingplace was a hayloft on 10th Avenue, 
 between 8th and 9th Streets. Later, meetings were held in 
 the State Street church and in Union Hall. In 1883 the 
 church moved into its first building at 213 South 5th Street. 
 The second church edifice was built in 1887 at 4th Avenue 
 and 7th Street, and in 1908 the present beautiful sanctuary 
 at 5th Avenue and 8th Street was erected. L. J. Ahlstrom, 
 one of the charter members, became the first pastor. He 
 was succeeded by Christopher Silene. Other well known 
 pastors were J. P. Forsell, U. N. Brauer, P. Swartz, Mag- 
 nus Larson, C. W. Sundmark, J. Alfred Erikson, Eric 
 Carlson, P. Alfred Peterson, E. J. Nordlander, Jacob Peter- 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 69 
 
 son, G. A. Gustavson and J. Leonard Carroll. The present 
 pastor, Harold Christenson, assumed the work in 1956. 
 
 Bethel, Joliet — 1881 
 
 The First Swedish Baptist Church of Joliet was organ- 
 ized in the American Baptist church, October 9, 1881, by 
 nine members, who came by letter from the American 
 church. This church also opened its building to the new 
 church for services, which usually were conducted by stu- 
 dents from the seminary in Morgan Park. C. M. Nelson 
 became the first pastor in 1884. During his brief pastorate 
 of only a few months the small group built its first house 
 of worship. 
 
 A. P. Hanson was the next pastor. He served until 
 1891. Then followed the long pastorate of P. G. Holmberg, 
 who continued for thirty-five years, or until 1926. In 1891 
 a chapel was built at Richards Street and Colburn Avenue, 
 and in 1893 the present church building at Jackson and 
 Herkimer Streets was begun and completed in 1897. The 
 name of the church was changed to Bethel Baptist Church 
 in 1936. Among the pastors, who followed P. G. Holmberg, 
 are Carl A. Olsson, Martin Hamlin, C. B. Sanders, Maurice 
 Lawson, A. R. Appelquist, Rueben L. Dahl and, since 1956, 
 Charles W. Ferguson. 
 
 Temple, Chicago — 1882 
 
 A young man, C. E. Gordh, member of the Second 
 (Grace) church, gathered some Swedish newcomers in Pull- 
 man for spiritual edification. As a result of this effort 
 the First Swedish Baptist Church of Pullman was organized 
 October 8, 1882. The following day Gordh died of typhoid 
 fever. Meetings were held at the Rock Island depot, 111th 
 
70 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Street and Langley Avenue, until 1887, when the Church 
 rented a hall in the Arcade at 111th Place and Cottage 
 Grove Avenue. In 1889 a new building at 111th Street and 
 Edbrooke Avenue was erected, and sixty-six years later, in 
 June, 1955, the present attractive edifice at 107th Street 
 and Emerald Avenue was dedicated. 
 
 In 1893 the name of the church was changed to the 
 Fourth Swedish Baptist Church of Chicago, in 1930 to 
 Roseland Swedish Baptist Church, and in 1943 to Roseland 
 Temple Baptist Church. The ministry of the church has 
 throughout the years been entrusted to good pastors: G. 
 Lundquist, P. Swartz, G. Liljeroth, E. J. Nordlander, J. W. 
 Hjertstrom, Eric Sandell, John A. Swanson, Amandus Carl- 
 son, J. S. Lundgren, E. Hamlin, E. Carneh, A. B. Nelson, 
 Carl A. Levin, F. Elmgren, Rodger W. Goodman, Wilbur 
 S. Sorley, Arden W. Finke, and Wm. Gustafson since 1949. 
 
 Tabernacle, La Porte, Indiana — 1884 
 
 Seven members constituted the First Swedish Baptist 
 Church of La Porte, when it was organized January 5, 1884. 
 Many discouragements, both regarding location of the church 
 and the small membership, made the work difficult. While 
 the seminary was still in Chicago the church was served 
 by students. The state missionaries have also kept La Porte 
 under their watchful care, and for many years La Porte was 
 the central point for missionaries who labored in neighbor- 
 ing communities. Among the regular pastors may be men- 
 tioned Henry Nelson, Olaf Taflin, E. W. Olson, Arthur 
 Erickson, Gordon Johnson and Wm. Gustafson. The pres- 
 ent pastor, Laurence Nydegger, came to the field in 1948. 
 Some years ago the name of the church was changed to 
 the Baptist Tabernacle. 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 71 
 
 Salem, Chicago — 1885 
 
 From a comparatively humble origin the Salem Baptist 
 Church has grown both in membership and missionary in- 
 fluence to become one of the leading churches in the General 
 Conference. The work began with a few families meeting 
 in the homes for prayer. Then a Sunday school was organ- 
 ized in 1883, and on October 10, 1885, the church was 
 formed with eighteen charter members under the name of 
 the Swedish Baptist Church of Englewood. When the 
 Swedish language ceased to be used in public services the 
 name was changed to the Emerald Avenue Baptist Church 
 and in 1954 to the Salem Baptist Church. The following 
 year the church moved from its location at 59th Street and 
 Emerald Avenue into its new and beautiful edifice at 99th 
 Street and Claremont Avenue. 
 
 Mighty men of God have occupied the pulpit in the 
 Salem church: P. Swartz, A. W. Backlund, J. P. Forsell, 
 C. G. Lagergren, Eric Rosen, Eric Carlson, Olof Hedeen, 
 Fredrik Linden, F. C. Hamlin, Carl A. Olsson, G. Arvid 
 Hagstrom, Virgil A. Olson, and S. Bruce Fleming, who 
 became the pastor in 1952. In 1928 a group of forty-nine 
 members left the church to organize the Foster Park Bap- 
 tist Church. 
 
 Calvary, Evanston — 1886 
 
 The origin of the Evanston church dates back to May, 
 1882, when some members of the First (Addison) church, 
 Chicago, met to discuss the possibility of starting a mission. 
 It was decided to commence holding Gospel services in 
 homes and in the North Evanston school building. Evanston 
 at that time, with its Northwestern University and aristoc- 
 racy, was not the easiest field for a Swedish Baptist church, 
 
72 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 but on June 9, 1886, thirty-two members, who had received 
 letters of transfer from the Addison Street church, organ- 
 ized themselves into the Swedish Baptist Church of Evans- 
 ton, now Calvary Baptist Church. 
 
 The first house of worship was erected in 1892. The 
 present sanctuary at Elmwood Avenue and Lake Street was 
 dedicated in July, 1895. The church has been served by the 
 following pastors : N. E. Nelson, John Olander, Carl A. 
 Johnson, Chas. Palm, A. G. Hall, F. V. Hedeen, R. A. 
 Arlander, John A. Swanson, J. Alfred Erikson, G. E. 
 Wallendorf, Eric Scherstrom, Emil T. Carlson, Wm. Turn- 
 wall, Lester E. Thompson, C. B. Sanders, Cecil Wagstaff, 
 Walter E. Julien and, since 1955, James Schubring. 
 
 Immanuel, Monmouth — 1888 
 
 Sixteen charter members constituted the Swedish Bap- 
 tist Church of Monmouth, when it was organized September 
 13, 1888. C. A. Holmgren, the first pastor, was excluded 
 from the church at his own request after having served only 
 a few months. This sad experience put a damper on the 
 faith and courage of the little flock of believers. The church, 
 however, progressed slowly under trying circumstances. The 
 pastorates were brief. During the first eleven years the 
 church had no less than seven pastors. At one time (1899) 
 the meetinghouse was mortgaged to pay the pastor's salary. 
 
 In 1924 the church decided to change its name to the 
 Immanuel Baptist Church and thus make it easier to appeal 
 to the non- Swedish population of the city. That move was 
 a decided advantage to the work. In 1931 the church experi- 
 enced a revival that resulted in a large increase in member- 
 ship. The first meetinghouse was located at West Archer 
 Avenue and North E Street. In 1912 the present building 
 at 409 South First Street was erected. 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 73 
 
 The following list of pastors, who have served during 
 the years, is partial: J. A. Huggerth, Uno Brauer, A. Jacob- 
 son, A. O. Laurence, L. E. Peterson, R. J. Peterson, E. H. 
 Olson, Martin A. Larson, E. Hamlin, G. L. Lindstedt, Her- 
 bert R. Cederberg, Clarence E. Wallin, J. C. Brumfield, 
 Wendell M. Johnson, A. E. Belstrom, Wm. Gustafson, and 
 since 1949, Victor O. Erickson. 
 
 Calvary, Sycamore — 1888 
 
 While W. A. Backlund was state missionary in Illinois 
 he visited Sycamore in April, 1888, and held meetings in 
 a home. Only a few attended, but two souls were saved in 
 the first service. On July 16 of the same year seven were 
 baptized in the American Baptist church. In the evening 
 of the same day ten persons, united in the faith, formed the 
 Swedish Baptist Church of Sycamore, now known as Cal- 
 vary Baptist Church. The first pastor was O. L. Swanson, 
 who began his work there in the spring of 1890 and con- 
 tinued until January 1, 1893, when he went to Assam as a 
 missionary. During his ministry the church built its house 
 of worship. 
 
 Because of a lack of financial resources the church has 
 not always had a regular pastor and at times it has shared 
 the minister with the De Kalb church. Some of the pastors 
 have been H. E. Johnson, Roy L. Ferris, Paul Tatman and, 
 since 1951, Walton H. Veurink. The ministerial brothers, 
 Ray, Lawrence, Everett and Robert Swanson, grew up in 
 the atmosphere of the Sycamore church. 
 
 Bethel, Galesburg — 1888 
 
 The present church in Galesburg — Bethel Baptist Church 
 — was organized November 22, 1888, with eight charter 
 
74 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 members. O. F. Carlson, a student at Knox College and a 
 member of the First Baptist Church, became the first pastor 
 and served until 1894. The services were held for a time in 
 the First church and later in a rented hall. A church build- 
 ing was erected in 1898 on North Chambers Street. In 
 1937 the name of the church, which until this time had been 
 the First Swedish Baptist Church, was changed to North 
 Chambers Street Baptist Church, and in 1949 it was changed 
 again, this time to the Bethel Baptist Church. In May, 1956, 
 the church had the joy of moving into its new building at 
 North Academy Street and Fremont Avenue. 
 
 The history of Bethel recognizes especially the services 
 of Eric Cederoth, who was the beloved superintendent of 
 the Sunday school for twenty-seven years, or until he moved 
 to Chicago in 1923. Pastors : O. F. Carlson, Magnus Berg- 
 lund, Carl Nyquist, G. Newquist, Axel Wester, P. E. Sor- 
 bom, J. S. Lundgren (two periods), N. Werner Nelson, A. 
 Liliemark, P. Engelbrekth, John Ward, J. J. Oberg, Robert 
 Klingberg, and, since 1941, Roland Holmberg. 
 
 Central Avenue, Chicago — 1891 
 
 From an apparently insignificant incident the Baptist 
 work in Austin, on Chicago's west side, had its start. A 
 student from the seminary in Morgan Park, F. O. Carlson, 
 made a visit to Oak Park and found friends there from 
 Sweden, whom he encouraged to begin Baptist work in Aus- 
 tin together with two families living in Austin. In the early 
 nineties Austin was a new community, into which Swedes 
 and others moved to build homes. Following Carlson's sug- 
 gestion a sewing circle and a Sunday school were started 
 and students from the seminary began to hold regular serv- 
 ices in a vacant store at the corner of Chicago and Mayfield 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 75 
 
 Avenues. On August 18, 1891, the Austin Swedish Baptist 
 Church was organized with fifteen charter members. 
 
 The great influx of families into Austin from Chicago 
 contributed much to the rapid growth of the church. Soon 
 the store became inadequate, and the church found it neces- 
 sary to find a new meetingplace. This started an interesting 
 program of building and rebuilding until, in 1913, the pres- 
 ent church edifice was completed. In 1955 an educational 
 building was added to the church. The name Central Avenue 
 Baptist Church was adopted in 1936. 
 
 The church has been served by C. A. Sahlquist, John 
 Samuelson, J. A. Carlson, C. W. Sundmark, Swaney Nelson, 
 Swan A. Engwall, Everett Swanson and Gordon G. John- 
 son, who came to the church in 1951. 
 
 Fairfield Avenue, Chicago — 1891 
 
 The Fairfield Avenue Baptist Church was organized 
 December 16, 1891, as the Humboldt Park Swedish Baptist 
 Church. Sixteen members, all from the First (Addison) 
 church, constituted the new organization. Previous to the 
 forming of the church three families from the First church 
 had moved to Humboldt Park and met in the homes for 
 spiritual edification. On occasions they were ministered to 
 by John Ongman and later by P. A. Hjelm, pastors of the 
 First church. The first organized form of work was a 
 ladies' sewing circle. Then a Sunday school was begun in 
 the summer of 1891 in a rented hall. The present church 
 building at Fairfield Avenue and Cortland Street was dedi- 
 cated in 1902. The name Fairfield Avenue Baptist Church 
 was adopted in 1936. 
 
 The following pastors have ministered to the church: 
 Gustaf Carlson, Martin Carlson (two periods), Bennet 
 
76 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Erickson (three periods), L. J. Olson, P. A. Hjelm, M. 
 Hydehn, E. W. Olson, Axel Wall, Victor Norlin, A. E. 
 Lysell, Wm. Gustafson, Lawrence Swanson, Milo Nixon, 
 Donald Forbes, and Wm. L. Fisk. 
 
 First, Geneva — 1894 
 
 The First Baptist Church of Geneva was organized 
 October 24, 1894, by seven members from the church in 
 Batavia. J. A. Nystrom carried on preaching services for 
 the first three years. P. Ockerstrom served as pastor in 
 1903 and during his ministry the congregation started to 
 build a house of worship, which was completed in June, 
 1904. When the church in Batavia disbanded about 1903, 
 the remaining members transferred their membership to the 
 Geneva church. 
 
 The church has not grown large in membership, but it 
 has all through the years carried on a faithful ministry in 
 the community. Some of the regular pastors have been: 
 Gunnar Jansen, C. A. Wicklund, A. J. Hulbert, Russell 
 Haggard, Edward Henry, Lloyd D. Tebo, Elwood Kem- 
 merer, Palmer Peterson, Wm. Cameron and, since 1954, 
 Robert D. Culver, professor at Wheaton College. 
 
 Immanuel, Wankegan — 1895 
 
 The history of Waukegan church dates back to Novem- 
 ber 10, 1895, when a few immersed believers of Swedish 
 descent, members of the local American Baptist church, 
 banded themselves together into a congregation to be known 
 as the Swedish Baptist Church. The following spring C. L. 
 Wallman became the first pastor. The first meetings were 
 held in a Mission Hall, Browning Avenue and South Sheri- 
 dan Road. In the fall of 1898 the church building at Gene- 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 77 
 
 see and May Streets was completed, and on April 2, 1950, 
 the first service was held in the new edifice at 1016 Grand 
 Avenue. 
 
 The work during the first twenty years seems to have 
 been quite difficult. A turn for the better came in the middle 
 twenties, when under the ministry of A. J. Hulbert, the 
 membership nearly doubled in four years. A similar expe- 
 rience came again to the church ten years later, during 
 Lester Thompson's pastorate. Since then the membership 
 has steadily and rapidly increased. The name of the church 
 was changed to Immanuel Baptist Church in 1926. In addi- 
 tion to the pastors mentioned, the following have served 
 the church: John Vidberg, Nels Lidney, G. E. Wallendorf, 
 Vincent Bennett, Lloyd Dahlquist, Vernon Pearson, J. Gor- 
 don Peterson, and, since 1951, Walter O. Olson. 
 
 Elim, Chicago — 1899 
 
 A group of immersed believers, most of them members 
 of the Second (Grace) Baptist Church, met February 5, 
 1897, to discuss the advisability of organizing a church in 
 Grand Crossing. It was decided to proceed and to begin 
 with prayer meetings in the homes. As in many similar 
 instances in Chicago the students from the seminary in 
 Morgan Park took an active interest in the work. Two 
 years later, January 14, 1899, the Elim church was organ- 
 ized with thirty-three charter members. Emil Friborg, a 
 student in the seminary, had been preaching in the mission 
 and continued his ministry for another year. 
 
 In 1900 G. E. Wallendorf became the pastor and con- 
 tinued for sixteen fruitful years. The first church home, 
 erected in 1902, was located at 75th Street and Kimbark 
 Avenue. In 1910 the present edifice at 73rd Street and 
 
78 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Greenwood Avenue was built and dedicated. Vitally inter- 
 ested in bringing the children and the young people in closer 
 touch with the church, Wallendorf inaugurated in 1911 the 
 plan of a combined or unified Sunday school and morning 
 service which plan became the pattern for several other 
 churches a generation ago. 
 
 Wallendorf was succeeded by C. A. Aldeen. Other pas- 
 tors followed: Ephraim Hamlin, Eric Carlson, Sidney Nel- 
 son, Edwin Bonander, Carl H. Lundquist. Howard Carlson 
 has been the pastor since 1955. 
 
 Calvary, Kewanee — 1901 
 
 The Swedish Baptist Church of Kewanee — since 1931 
 the Calvary Baptist Church — was organized September 28, 
 1901, with twelve charter members. A trying period for 
 the church was the severe depression in 1907, when many 
 members left Kewanee to seek employment elsewhere. The 
 church has had both discouraging and encouraging experi- 
 ences but has always maintained her testimony. Two of 
 the professors at Bethel Seminary, Edwin and Reuben 
 Omark, came from the Calvary church. The present house 
 of worship, at First and Walnut Streets, was built in 1903. 
 
 The following pastors have served the church : E. A. Lag- 
 erstrom, Fred Wahlberg, Gust. Engstrom, John Ward, Nels 
 Lidney, Hjalmar Carlson, Gustave Edwin Anderson, Albin 
 Appelquist, F. A. Johnson, John Logan, A. J. Hulbert, 
 Herbert Gotaas, E. G. Nelson, George Sprague, and John 
 Cromwell, since 1954. 
 
 Immanuel, Chicago Heights — 1902 
 
 Conference missionary R. A. Arlander reported to the 
 Conference in 1902 that he had made several visits to Chi- 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 79 
 
 cago Heights and found a number of Baptists there who 
 were interested in organizing a church. On July 11, 1902, 
 the Swedish Baptist Church of Chicago Heights was formed 
 with ten charter members. Axel Grahn, a student at the 
 Morgan Park seminary, became its first pastor. 
 
 The work had its ups and downs during the succeeding 
 years or until some twenty years ago when S. E. Waldemer 
 became the pastor. He led the church in efforts to reach the 
 community regardless of nationality. The name of the 
 church was changed in 1935 to Immanuel Baptist Church. 
 Having some members living at Frankfort, the Immanuel 
 church started a mission there, which in 1939 resulted in 
 a church. Among the nearly twenty pastors who have served 
 this church are the following: Reynold Lund, Oscar W. 
 Johnson, David Holmberg, Carl Johnson, Hjalmar Carlson, 
 S. E. Waldemer, Arden Finke, Lester Rasmussen, James 
 Riley. The present pastor is Henry Nelson. 
 
 Bethel, Chicago — 1904 
 
 From a mission society, organized in 1901, of Swedish 
 and Finnish speaking Baptists, the First Finnish Baptist 
 Church came into existence March 19, 1904. The charter 
 members numbered fourteen. The leaders were Edward 
 Fleming, a student at the seminary in Morgan Park, and 
 A. M. Wickstrom, M.D. Meetings were held at 135 Sedg- 
 wick Street and later in the La Salle Street Baptist Church. 
 In 1919 the church purchased the Norwegian Free Church 
 building at 5000 West Ohio Street and used it until the 
 present building at Walton and Lavergne Streets was erected 
 in 1929. 
 
 Until 1908 the work was carried on in both Swedish and 
 
80 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Finnish, but by that time the Finns had left to organize 
 their own work. The name of the church was then changed 
 to the Swedish-Finnish Baptist Church, and in 1933 to the 
 Bethel Baptist Church. The following pastors have minis- 
 tered to the church during the years: A. J. Stormans (two 
 periods), Matts Esselstrom, Herman Mattson, Isak Berg, 
 Floyd Ankerberg, James E. Selander, and, since 1955, James 
 E. Rentz. The church became affiliated with our Conference 
 in 1947. 
 
 Tabernacle, Kenosha, Wisconsin — 1904 
 
 Swedish Baptists came to Kenosha as early as 1893. They 
 united with the First Baptist Church. As their number in- 
 creased, they began to hold meetings in the homes and 
 occasionally in the First church. In 1896 they organized a 
 mission and the following year a Sunday school. In this 
 work they were assisted by students from the seminary in 
 Morgan Park. 
 
 On May 29, 1904, the First Swedish Baptist Church was 
 organized with twenty-one charter members, M. Mattson and 
 Charles Ostlund being the leaders. C. Adolph Anderson 
 became the first pastor. In 1928 the name of the church 
 was changed to the Baptist Tabernacle. The present house 
 of worship, at 24th Avenue and 63rd Street, was built in 
 1910. Formerly affiliated with the Wisconsin Conference, 
 the Tabernacle church came into the Illinois Conference in 
 1931. Pastors: C. Adolph Anderson, Axel Wall, C. Alfred 
 Carlson, Karl M. Lundh, F. Elmgren, G. E. Wallendorf, 
 J. O. Cederberg, George A. E. Salstrand, Stanley Rendahl, 
 Herbert Freeman, Kenneth Kolmodin, and, since 1953, J. 
 Gordon Piatt. The church carries on a radio program known 
 as "Words of Life on Wings of Song." 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 81 
 
 Hinsdale — 1905 
 
 A mission was started in Hinsdale by two laymen on 
 Thanksgiving Day, 1902. Meetings were held in a rented 
 hall in Hinsdale and also in the Western Springs Baptist 
 Church. The mission was organized into the Swedish Bap- 
 tist Church May 13, 1905, with twenty-six charter members. 
 In 1906 Gardner Hall, located on Lincoln Street, was pur- 
 chased and became the church home until May 23, 1954, 
 when the new building at Oak Street and Fuller Road was 
 dedicated. In 1934 the name of the church was changed to 
 the Hinsdale Baptist Church. 
 
 For several years the church was served mostly by semi- 
 nary students and other ministers on a part time basis. 
 Among those were E. Kardell, Hjalmar Ostrom, Jonas 
 Gronlund, David F. Nygren, Isak Berg, Alex Olson, Adolf 
 Nordell, Instanes Osborne and A. J. Cederfeldt. The first 
 regular pastor was C. Ivar Johnson, who was followed by 
 Herman Cederblad, Henry Berglind, A. J. Hulbert, Clifford 
 Sandin, Drury Miller, Raymond Johnson, and Henry Lord, 
 who came to Hinsdale in 1950. 
 
 Edgewater, Chicago — 1909 
 
 Baptist work in the Edgewater district began by mem- 
 bers of the Lake View church in the summer of 1906, when 
 a Sunday school was started in a rented hall at 5455 North 
 Clark Street. Soon preaching services also were held, the 
 preacher being a student from the seminary in Morgan 
 Park. On March 21, 1909, the Edgewater Swedish Baptist 
 Church was organized. All of the thirty-four charter mem- 
 bers came from the Lake View church. A Congregational 
 church on Rosehill Drive was rented, but already in Decern- 
 
82 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 ber, 1910, the present building at Hollywood and Glenwood 
 Avenues was ready for dedication. In 1954 an educational 
 building was erected adjacent to the church. In 1956 the 
 main auditorium was enlarged. 
 
 Pethrus Swartz, the first pastor, served for eight years. 
 Other pastors followed: C. Th. Brodin, A. E. Belstrom, 
 Axel A. Anderson, Jacob Peterson, H. A. Hermansen, Oriel 
 Hansen and Paul Obinger. 
 
 Elim, Rockford — 1917 
 
 The pioneer preacher Eric Rosen was the prime mover 
 in starting a new work in the South Park area of Rockford. 
 The Second Swedish Baptist Church — in 1929 changed to 
 Elim Baptist Church — was organized August 12, 1917, by 
 eighteen members from the Temple Baptist Church, Rock- 
 ford, and six others who united on confession of faith at 
 the organizational meeting. 
 
 Eric Rosen supplied the pulpit for several months. In 
 1922 Eric Hallden became the pastor. He was followed by 
 C. Axel Johnson, M. F. Johnson, A. E. Appelquist, Lloyd 
 Tebo, and Dean Nemecek who began his ministry in 1951. 
 The first meetingplace was located at 8th Street and 14th 
 Avenue. The present church building at 16th Avenue and 
 10th Street was completed in 1923. 
 
 Westmont — 1923 
 
 The Westmont Baptist Church was organized February 
 11, 1923 with twelve charter members. It was affiliated with 
 the Chicago Baptist Association until 1953, when it was re- 
 ceived into our fellowship. The growth has been steady, 
 and many improvements have been made. Two years ago 
 the American Legion Building was rented to help accom- 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 83 
 
 modate the increased attendance. The present pastor, David 
 S. Kimball, began his ministry with the church in January, 
 1952. 
 
 South Shore, Chicago — 1926 
 
 The South Shore Baptist Church is a merger of the 
 Third and Tabernacle Baptist churches. The two were mother 
 and daughter churches. Whereas the parting of the ways in 
 1893 was caused by misunderstanding, the merger on August 
 3, 1926, proved to be a harmonious union. The Third church 
 property was sold to an Italian congregation and the Taber- 
 nacle church building became the location for the united 
 work. The leader of the merger was C. Geo. Ericson, who 
 at that time served as temporary pastor of the Third church 
 in addition to his regular duties as associate editor of The 
 Standard. The total membership at the time of the merger 
 was 177, 84 from the Third church and 93 from the 
 Tabernacle. 
 
 Gustaf A. Sword, who was back from Burma on an 
 extended furlough as missionary, became the first pastor of 
 the South Shore church. Other pastors have been : Alfred 
 E. Lindberg, Clarence E. Wallin, Kenneth Piercey, S. Bruce 
 Fleming and C. E. Granholm. 
 
 Calvary, Frankfort — 1939 
 
 In a real pioneer spirit nine Baptists, of which seven 
 were members of the Immanuel Baptist Church in Chicago 
 Heights, organized themselves, on December 10, 1939, into 
 the Calvary Baptist Church of Lincoln Estates. Some years 
 previous to this action the Immanuel church had sponsored 
 a Sunday school in that community. When the church was 
 organized, somebody presented it with a lot for a church 
 
84 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 building at 79th Avenue. A building fund had also been 
 started. Within a year the basement was built and used as 
 a meetinghouse. The building was completed in 1944. About 
 two years ago the name Frankfort replaced the name Lin- 
 coln Estates. Pastors: Philip LaBue, Olaf J. Nelson, Wm. 
 N. Kerr, Arthur Contois and, since 1954, S. E. Waldemer. 
 
 Northwest, Chicago — 1945 
 
 The Northwest Baptist Church is the result of a merger 
 of Lake View and Immanuel Baptist churches, the date of 
 the merger being April 27, 1945. The ceaseless northwest 
 trend of the population had affected the membership of both 
 churches. Both began to look northwest for possible new 
 locations. More or less as an experiment the Lake View 
 church started a Sunday school at Devon and Western Ave- 
 nues January 13, 1929. Since the Immanuel church showed 
 an interest in cooperating with the Lake View church in 
 this mission, the question of merger came up for consider- 
 ation. It was voted down by the Lake View church and the 
 mission was discontinued in June, the same year. The fol- 
 lowing January the Immanuel church opened a Sunday 
 school at 6433 North California Avenue. In November, 
 1933, this "North Town Baptist Chapel" was taken over by 
 the Illinois Conference but shortly thereafter it was dis- 
 banded because of lack of interest and financial support. 
 
 Early in 1945 the merger question was revived, and in 
 three months the union was effected. The properties of the 
 two churches were sold. Meetings were held for a few 
 months in the Ravenswood Masonic Temple and from Sep- 
 tember 2, 1945, until January 8, 1950, in the Budlong School 
 building, Foster and Washtenaw Avenues. The property at 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 85 
 
 Peterson and Francisco Avenues was acquired in the mean- 
 time. The new church was dedicated April 30, 1950. At 
 the time of the merger the total membership was 476 — 310 
 from Lake View and 166 from Immanuel. Lloyd W. Dahl- 
 quist has been pastor of Northwest since 1946. 
 
 Grove Street, De Kalb — 1947 
 
 After nearly sixty years of Baptist witness in De Kalb, 
 the pastor of the original church and the majority of the 
 members gradually led the work away from the Conference, 
 which caused dissension in the church. The final outcome 
 was that a group of seventeen members, who desired to 
 cooperate with the Conference, organized themselves into a 
 new church, called the Grove Street Baptist Church. The 
 date of organization is April 28, 1947. The church building 
 became the property of the new church. The first pastor of 
 the reorganized church was Harold Jensen. Paul Tatman 
 has been the pastor since 1951. 
 
 First, Markham — 1948 
 
 Approximately eight years before the church was organ- 
 ized, small groups of Christians were praying for the estab- 
 lishment of an evangelical witness in the village of Mark- 
 ham. In 1948 Arden W. Finke, pastor of the Roseland 
 Temple, supervised a canvass of the field. On June 17, 1948, 
 the First Baptist Church was organized with seventeen char- 
 ter members. The first meetingplace was the home of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Gilbert Dunsworth. Finke became the first pastor 
 and served about one year. He was followed by Paul Lar- 
 son, A. C. Habegger, and Ralph B. Gale, the present pastor. 
 
 The church building at 158th Street and Central Park 
 
86 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Avenue was first occupied for services on Easter Sun- 
 day, 1953. 
 
 West Allis, Wisconsin — 1949 
 
 The Beloit Road Baptist Church is located at 8339 West 
 Beloit Road, West Allis, near Milwaukee. The work began 
 in December, 1940, when Mr. H. D. Woodward invited 
 neighborhood children to his home in Bronson Manor on 
 Sunday mornings for a Bible story hour. This humble be- 
 ginning led to the organization of the Fellowship Gospel 
 Mission in the spring of 1942. The same year the present 
 meetinghouse was built. On November 15, 1943, the name 
 of the mission was changed to the Fellowship Gospel Church. 
 
 During Charles Pausley's pastorate the church voted to 
 become a Baptist church and to affiliate with our Conference. 
 At the same meeting, November 11, 1949, the name Beloit 
 Road Baptist Church was adopted. The membership num- 
 bered twenty-eight. The pastors who have served the church 
 since Mr. Pausley are Alaister Walker and, since 1951, 
 Vernie E. Stoneberg. 
 
 Jeffery Manor, Chicago — 1949 
 
 The Jeffery Manor Baptist Church came into being be- 
 cause the Elim Baptist Church, Chicago, saw the need of 
 a Baptist witness in this community. Meetings were held 
 in the homes of interested people. In 1945 the work was 
 taken over by the Illinois Conference and a part-time worker 
 was engaged to survey the field and conduct services. In 
 April, 1948, Stanley Olson began his ministry there, the 
 services being held in the Luella Public school. There the 
 church was organized January 23, 1949, with thirty-six 
 charter members. Property was purchased at 99th Street 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 
 
 87 
 
 and Crandon Avenue and a church building was erected in 
 1951 and dedicated in January, 1952. Three ministers have 
 served the church: Stanley Olson, Scott Kerr and Arthur 
 H. Freeburg, the present pastor. 
 
 Grace, Crown Point, Indiana — 1950 
 
 The Gospel work at Crown Point, served by Arvian 
 Habegger, voted in December, 1950, to become an independ- 
 ent Baptist church. In January, 1952, the church was in- 
 corporated as Grace Baptist Church. In 1952 it became 
 affiliated with our Conference. Services were first held in 
 the parsonage, but in May, 1953, the present church building 
 was occupied and dedicated. Following Habeggar's minis- 
 try Mervin Tarvin became interim pastor. James Carney 
 came to the field in August, 1952, and was succeeded by 
 Wm. Van Der Veen in 1953. 
 
 Edgewood, Naperville — 1950 
 
 This church traces its origin to a Bible club, prayer meet- 
 ings and a Sunday school, first meeting in a home, then in 
 a garage and finally in a chapel. The beginning dates back 
 to 1943. The Edgewood Baptist Church was organized 
 November 26, 1950, with twenty-six charter members. The 
 chapel, which was occupied for the first time in October, 
 1946, is located at Tuthill and Plank Roads. 
 
 During the formative years the work was carried on with 
 the help of students from Wheaton College and the Northern 
 Baptist Theological Seminary. David Olson, now editor at 
 Baptist Conference Press, was the first pastor to serve this 
 group. The organization was effected during the ministry 
 of F. William Elkin. Other pastors have been Theodore 
 Stanley, Allen Marshall, and, since 1954, Wilbur Madsen. 
 
88 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Skokie Valley, Skokie — 1952 
 
 This rapidly growing work had its nucleus in the Skokie 
 Bible Church. When several members of the Chicago north- 
 side churches took up residence in the north suburban area 
 and began to fellowship with the members of the Bible 
 church, the question of establishing a Conference church 
 somewhere in Glenview, Morton Grove or Skokie became 
 vital and was shared by the Bible church. Consequently, the 
 Bible church dissolved and the Skokie Valley Baptist Church 
 was organized October 17, 1952, with eighty- five charter 
 members. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Schultz of Wheaton College served as tempo- 
 rary pastor for more than a year and was succeeded by 
 Arthur E. H. Barber in February, 1954. While making 
 preparations for the erection of a church building on its 
 property at Skokie Highway and Gross Point Road, the 
 Sunday services are being held in the Sharp Corner school. 
 
 Homewood — 1952 
 
 The work at Homewood, south of Chicago, began when 
 several Christian families in the community desired a Gospel 
 ministry and engaged Robert Oman, a student at Northern 
 Baptist Theological Seminary, to survey the field. On July 
 15, 1951, a small group met in the Council Room of the 
 Village Hall, under the leadership of Robert Oman, for 
 Sunday school and worship services. On March 26, 1952, 
 they voted to seek affiliation with the General Conference 
 and on May 15, the same year, eighteen charter members 
 organized the Homewood Baptist Church. 
 
 James M. Smith became the first regular pastor of the 
 church. A new church building, located at 183rd Street and 
 Governor's Highway, was dedicated in September, 1956. 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 
 
 Park View, Mokena — 1954 
 
 89 
 
 The Baptist work at Mokena began, when the pastor of 
 the Frankfort church, Arthur Contois, started to explore 
 the possibilities of establishing a Baptist witness in some 
 neighboring town. He met some Baptists at Mokena, who 
 expressed an interest in a Baptist work there. On August 
 3, 1954, eleven persons met in the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Theodore Rydell to ascertain what could be done in Mokena, 
 and before the meeting was over a decision had been made 
 to organize a church. The name adopted was Park View 
 Baptist Church. Arthur Contois became its pastor. 
 
 In October, 1954, the church secured the Veterans of 
 Foreign Wars Hall, rent free, for services, while plans were 
 being formulated for a church building. In the summer, 
 1956, the congregation moved into its own building. 
 
 Valley View, Elgin — 1954 
 
 The initiative of a Baptist work in the Valley View area, 
 near Elgin, was taken in the summer of 1950 by interested 
 members of the First Baptist Church of Geneva. Nevin S. 
 Beehler was called to be missionary pastor for this field, and 
 in 1953 an attractive church building was erected on a spa- 
 cious plot of ground on the Beloit Road. On January 31, 
 1954, the mission organized itself into a Baptist church, and 
 at the evening service the same day the pastor had the joy 
 of baptizing seventeen, the first baptismal service in the 
 new church. 
 
 Hillside — 1955 
 
 The Baptist work at Hillside was first sponsored by the 
 Bethel Baptist Church, Chicago. The first meeting was held 
 
90 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 on September 13, 1953, in the American Legion Hall under 
 the leadership of our state missionary Victor Sherling. Reg- 
 ular preaching services were conducted by Ivar Anderson 
 of the Baptist headquarters staff until June, 1954, when 
 Herbert H. Skoglund became the full time pastor. The 
 meetingplace is the auditorium of the public school of Hill- 
 side. The mission was formally organized into the Hillside 
 Baptist Church on March 13, 1955. 
 
 River dale — 1956 
 
 The Riverdale Baptist Church had its beginning in cot- 
 tage prayer meetings first being held in September, 1954. 
 As the prayer meetings continued under the supervision of 
 our State Missionary, the group decided to rent the building 
 at 13 West 144th Street and conduct Sunday services. On 
 January 4, 1956, Donald Coddington from the Skokie Valley 
 church was called to minister at Riverdale, and on May 11, 
 1956, the church was organized with twenty-five charter 
 members. This church will be affiliating with the Illinois 
 conference in 1956. 
 
 MISSIONS 
 
 A considerable number of missions have been started 
 during the past century — too numerous to mention. Many 
 of them developed into churches, while others served their 
 day and disbanded. At present there are two hopeful mis- 
 sions being maintained largely by the Conference. They are: 
 
 Lake Zurich 
 
 This work, known as the Lake Zurich Baptist Fellowship, 
 was begun in December, 1953, by a student at Northern 
 
 
CONFERENCE CHURCHES 91 
 
 Baptist Theological Seminary. The meetings are held in the 
 basement of the Masonic Temple. 
 
 Fox Lake 
 
 The Fox Lake Baptist Chapel is located near Round 
 Lake. The mission began in the spring of 1955. In order 
 to strengthen the work, the Sunday school, which had been 
 meeting regularly at the Round Lake camp, was transferred 
 to the Fox Lake mission. 
 
CHAPTER TEN 
 
 FORMER CONFERENCE 
 CHURCHES 
 
 CHURCHES THAT HAVE CEASED TO EXIST, MERGED OR LEFT 
 THE ILLINOIS CONFERENCE 
 
 Rock Island — 1852 
 
 The first Swedish Baptist church on the American 
 continent was organized at Rock Island, Illinois, on 
 August 13, 1852, by three members who had been 
 baptized by Gustaf Palmquist in the Mississippi river August 
 8. The charter members were Theodore Mankee, Peter So- 
 derstrom and Mrs. Fredrika Boberg. The name of the 
 new church was the Swedish Baptist Church of Rock Island. 
 The first church building, located at Fifth Avenue, between 
 20th and 21st Streets, was erected in 1855. 
 
 Following the turn of the century the church became 
 quite inactive. Several meetings were held to discuss the 
 disposition of the property and the future of the church. 
 Since the American Baptist Home Mission Society had a 
 first mortgage of $500 on the property, it demanded that 
 the property be turned over to the Society. Finally, on March 
 20, 1930, the remaining few members of the church voted 
 to convey by quit claim deed the church property to the First 
 Baptist Church of Rock Island for the nominal sum of one 
 dollar. The surviving members joined the First Church, 
 and thus ended the history of the earliest church in our 
 
 92 
 
FORMER CONFERENCE CHURCHES 93 
 
 Conference. On the wall inside the First church is a bronze 
 tablet commemorating the event of the Swedes disbanding 
 and joining this church. 
 
 Among the many pastors who served the Rock Island 
 church, we may mention the following: Gustaf Palmquist, 
 L. L. Frisk, N. E. Axling, Olof Lindh, A. B. Orgren, N. E. 
 Nelson, P. Rosenholm, A. G. Lagerquist, David Holmberg 
 and E. A. Carlson. 
 
 Chicago — 1854 
 
 The first Swedish Baptist to preach the Gospel in Chicago 
 was L. L. Frisk. Gustaf Palmquist and F. O. Nilsson also 
 visited Chicago with the result that on November 13, 1854, 
 a Swedish Baptist church was organized. In 1857 it reported 
 twenty- four members to the Conference. Due to unwise 
 leadership and also because of the Civil War, which took 
 many men away from their homes, the church disbanded 
 in 1864. 
 
 Galesburg — 1857 
 
 One of the places closely associated with the early history 
 of the Illinois Conference is Galesburg. Here Gustaf Palm- 
 quist took the stand which made him a pioneer among the 
 people with whom he was henceforth to spend his life. On 
 June 27, 1852, he was immersed and united with the First 
 Baptist Church of Galesburg, and a month later he was 
 ordained to the Gospel ministry by the same church. From 
 Galesburg he went out to begin his labor as a Baptist 
 minister. 
 
 To the fourth annual meeting of the Conference, held 
 at Rock Island in June, 1859, L. L. Frisk reported that 
 during the year a church of 26 members had been organized 
 
94 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 at Galesburg. There are records that seem to indicate that 
 a Swedish Baptist church existed in Galesburg as early as 
 1857 . This seems to have been an active group, for in addi- 
 tion to maintaining the spoken Gospel ministry some men 
 within the church started a periodical in 1859, known as 
 Frihetsvdnnen (Friend of Freedom). A year later the 
 paper changed its name to Evangelisten. The combined life 
 span of the two papers was only two years. 
 
 For some reason or other the church did not thrive, partly 
 no doubt due to the removal of most of its members to 
 Altona and other places. The church went out of existence 
 in the early sixties. Another church was organized in 1878. 
 The present church in Galesburg dates back to 1888. 
 
 Altona — 1867 
 
 Altona presents a somewhat puzzling history. The biog- 
 raphy of Gustaf Palmquist states that in addition to his 
 labors in Rock Island-Moline and in Chicago he also visited 
 several small churches, of which Altona is one. It seems 
 that as early as 1857 there were a few converts there and 
 that some of them were baptized. All but one of the mem- 
 bers who had constituted the first church in Galesburg had 
 moved to Altona and become the nucleus of the church in 
 that village. The date of organization is February 21, 1867. 
 
 That year Olof Lindh became its pastor. He was suc- 
 ceeded by N. J. Rundquist the following year. A meeting- 
 house was built in 1870. The church never grew strong but 
 continued its existence until about the end of the first decade 
 of this century. At the Conference in 1920 it was reported 
 that the church property had been sold. One reason for the 
 failure of the Altona church to prosper was that many of 
 its members left the community and went west, particularly 
 
 
FORMER CONFERENCE CHURCHES 95 
 
 to Stromsburg, Nebraska. The Annual of 1908 reports only 
 thirteen members. The church was served by O. Bergstrom, 
 L. Johanson, Carl Hasselblad and students. 
 
 Princeton — 1877 
 
 Princeton was settled by Swedes as early as 1850. Some 
 time before 1877 a few immersed believers from Sweden had 
 come to Princeton. These invited John Ongman, then pastor 
 in Chicago, to hold a series of Gospel services, with the 
 result that several of their countrymen believed and were 
 baptized. On February 4, 1877, ten were immersed and a 
 week later eight more followed the Lord in baptism. A 
 Swedish Baptist church with twenty-one charter members 
 was organized February 15, 1877. 
 
 Christopher Silene served as pastor during the first three 
 years. He was followed by A. B. Orgren, J. M. Floden, 
 A. P. Hanson, J. M. Schulene, Chas. Asplund, L. E. Peter- 
 son, W. A. Peterson, Aug. Westerberg, John Ward, Nels 
 Lidney, Albin Appelquist. The last time the name Princeton 
 appears in the Illinois Conference Annual is in the year 
 book 1942. 
 
 New Bedford — 1881 
 
 In February, 1881, fourteen members received letters 
 from the church in Princeton to organize a church in New 
 Bedford. Little is known about this work, but it seems that 
 the pastors at Princeton visited this small group occasionally. 
 In 1892 the church reported to the Illinois Conference that 
 the church building had not been in use for several years. 
 In 1897 the report was more encouraging. At that time the 
 membership was fifteen. For several years there was no 
 report from the New Bedford church. At the Conference in 
 
96 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 1915 the church reported that it had reorganized, taken the 
 name the Thomas Baptist Church and become affiliated with 
 the Ottawa Baptist Association. 
 
 Third, Chicago — 1 882 
 
 On August 20, 1882, eleven immersed believers formed 
 a Swedish Baptist church in South Chicago. Later this 
 church became known as the Third Swedish Baptist Church. 
 The church building was located at 9748 Avenue L. The 
 congregation encountered some difficult years during its 
 early history with the result that it became divided into two 
 groups, one of which seceded and started the Tabernacle 
 church in 1893. Most of the pastors were seminary students 
 and stayed comparatively brief periods — eleven pastors in 
 twelve years ! A brighter day finally dawned for the Third 
 church, but it never grew large. In 1926 it merged with the 
 Tabernacle church to form the South Shore Baptist Church. 
 Among the pastors serving the Third church were: G. Lund- 
 quist, George Lindhagen, O. C. Wieden, R. A. Arlander, 
 J. A. H. Rosendahl, Axel F. Grahn, E. G. Okerlind, F. C. 
 Hamlin, David Gustafson, C. V. Anderson and Albert Rose. 
 
 Batavia — 1883 
 
 The Batavia church was organized June 24, 1883, by 
 nine members. From a sketch, written by the secretary, 
 Chas. Spar re, in June, 1889, we learn that the church had 
 previously had 37 members but that the membership at that 
 time was only fifteen. By April, 1901, it had been reduced 
 to eleven. In 1892 two members of the church purchased a 
 lot and built a house, the top floor of which was made into 
 a meetingplace seating 150 persons. At the Conference 1903 
 
OUR CHURCHES 
 
 Kildare Avenue Church, Chicago 
 
 Immanuel Church, Chicago Heights 
 
Calvary Church. Frankfort 
 
 Bethel Church, Joliet 
 
Westmont Church 
 
 Park View Church, Mokena 
 
Hinsdale Church 
 
 Homewood Church 
 
Bethel Church, Galesburg 
 
 W, 
 
 111 
 
 m 
 
 on 
 
 
 SUNDAY SERVICES BEING CONDUCTED 
 AT SHARP CORNER SCHOOL 
 
 Bible School 945 A H 
 
 WEEKDAY ACTIVITIES AT OUR CHAPEL 8600 MILES CENTER RD. 
 A WELCOME AWAITS YOU/ 
 
 Site of Future Skokie Valley Church 
 
Beloit Road Church, West Allis, Wis. 
 
 PI in 
 
 Tabernacle Church, Kenosha, Wis. 
 
Valley View Church, Elgin 
 
 Immanuel Church, Monmouth 
 
Calvarv Church, Svcamore 
 
 First Church. Geneva 
 
FORMER CONFERENCE CHURCHES 97 
 
 it was reported that the Batavia church was about to disband 
 and that the members would unite with the church in Geneva. 
 
 South Bend, Indiana — 1885 
 
 In the early eighties the attenion of Swedish immigrants 
 was directed to the growing industrial city of South Bend. 
 Among the newcomers were a few Baptists, who under the 
 leadership of Henry Nelson organized themselves into a 
 church December 31, 1885. The number of charter members 
 was nine. Henry Nelson became the first pastor. In twelve 
 years the membership grew to about 100. During O. Ellison's 
 ministry in the early nineties the first church building was 
 made over into a parsonage and a new church was erected. 
 For several years E. G. Okerlind served the church as its 
 spiritual leader. Due to adverse circumstances the church 
 gradually disintegrated, and at the Conference 1921 it was 
 reported that the church property had been sold. Several 
 attempts to revive the work in South Bend met little 
 encouragement. 
 
 De Kalb — 1888 
 
 The First Swedish Baptist Church of De Kalb was or- 
 ganized with eight charter members October 24, 1888. Of 
 these five had been converted and baptized in Sweden 
 through the missionary labors of A. W. Backlund. The 
 church in its early years was frequently visited by the state 
 missionary, A. W. Backlund, and by the pastors at Syca- 
 more. In 1891 Magnus Berglund became the pastor and 
 during his time the church built a meetinghouse. Among the 
 pastors that followed were John Samuelson, P. G. Nelson, 
 A. E. Carlson, O. S. Jacobson, Hjalmar Mossberg, David 
 Gustafson, C. E. Wedholm, C. Ivar Johnson, Reynold Lund, 
 
98 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Hjalmar Johnson, C. A. Wicklund and T. A. Lanes. Due to 
 unfortunate experiences in the early forties the church 
 ceased to exist as a Conference church, and a new work 
 was begun in 1947. 
 
 Lake View, Chicago — 1889 
 
 As early as 1886 the First Swedish (Addison) Baptist 
 Church, then located on the near north-side, began a mission 
 in the Lake View district, led by Editor Eric Wingren. On 
 November 6, 1889, the Lake View Swedish Baptist Church 
 was organized with thirty charter members from the First 
 church. A chapel had been built at Clifton and Barry Ave- 
 nues in 1887; this was replaced by a larger edifice in 1894. 
 The church reached its largest membership in 1905, when 
 the roll registered 340. The ceaseless northwest trend of the 
 members led to the merger of Lake View with the Immanuel 
 Baptist Church on April 27, 1945, forming the Northwest 
 Baptist Church. The following pastors served Lake View: 
 Theodore Grandin, Nels Ek, C. W. Anderson, P. Swartz, 
 C. O. Dahlen, Olof Hedeen, Eric Hallden, Fredrik Linden, 
 K. E. Byleen, Victor Larson, J. G. Johnson, O. B. Anderson, 
 and E. E. Hall. 
 
 Morris — 1889 
 
 In the fall of 1883 the missionary Anna B. Nilsson began 
 to visit Morris and through a house to house visitation tried 
 to reach the Swedes with the Gospel. About the same time 
 students from Edgren's seminary began holding preaching 
 services in Morris with the result that several turned to the 
 Lord and believed. Twelve of the converts were immersed 
 in the fall of 1883 and thirteen more the following year. 
 
 
FORMER CONFERENCE CHURCHES 99 
 
 As members of the local American Baptist church they 
 carried on missionary work among their countrymen for a 
 number of years until August 17, 1889, when thirty-seven 
 of them organized the Swedish Baptist Church. Being close 
 to Chicago, the church was served through the years mostly 
 by students from the seminary, including such a well known 
 person as J. O. Backlund. In 1919 the Swedish church 
 merged with the local American Baptist church. 
 
 Chesterton, Indiana — 1889 
 
 It seems that Indiana has never been a promising field for 
 our Conference work. Chesterton is no exception. A church 
 was organized there in 1889, but from the very beginning 
 it encountered difficulties. Together with its application for 
 membership in our Conference the statement was made that 
 several members had left the community for lack of work 
 and that the Sunday school had been discontinued. The 
 pastor at La Porte divided his time between the two churches. 
 In 1893 the number of members was only four. The church 
 automatically disbanded. 
 
 Salem, Chicago — 1890 
 
 The Salem Swedish Baptist Church, on Chicago's south- 
 west side, was organized October 12, 1890. For more than 
 a quarter-century it carried on a noble work for the Lord. 
 Removal of members to other parts of the city and elsewhere 
 decimated the group and made termination of the work un- 
 avoidable. The church building at Oakley Avenue and 22nd 
 Place was sold in 1910. A hall was rented at Millard Avenue 
 and 22nd Street, but in 1917 all public services were dis- 
 continued. Finally the church decided to disband. On October 
 11, 1922, eleven members united with the Central Avenue 
 
100 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Baptist Church and others transferred their membership to 
 other churches. The following pastors ministered to the 
 Salem church: Ernest Hallgren, B. M. Johnson, J. S. Lund- 
 gren, Eric Anderson and Eric Rosen. 
 
 Tabernacle, Chicago — 1893 
 
 The Tabernacle Swedish Baptist Church was organized 
 January 3, 1893, by sixteen members from the Third church. 
 Among them were the Rev. and Mrs. A. P. Sword. The 
 organization meeting took place in the Methodist church, 
 South Chicago, where services were held until April of that 
 year. The next meetingplace was the Morning Star Hall, 
 but in 1899 the church purchased the German Baptist church 
 building at 9131 Burley Avenue. The present location at 
 Coles Avenue and Cheltenham Place was acquired in 1910. 
 A. P. Sword served as pastor the first year. Others were: 
 G. W. Lindstrom, J. E. Klingberg, Eric Scherstrom, C. A. 
 Segerstrom, Carl Westerdahl, Victor Dahlin, Eric Anderson, 
 F. V. Hedeen, Eric Hallden, Martin Larson and C. A. 
 Aldeen. On September 27, 1926, the Tabernacle and the 
 Third churches merged into the South Shore Baptist Church. 
 
 Cable — 1894 
 
 The first Baptist in this community was Oscar Hagman, 
 who arrived there from Sweden in 1889. Through his in- 
 fluence some of his countrymen, who had been converted 
 under the ministry of Swedish Methodists, were brought to 
 the Baptist position. In May, 1890, L. L. Frisk from Rock 
 Island came to Cable and conducted a baptismal service. 
 Mr. Hagman and Alfred Lillieman were in charge of the 
 work and continued after the church was organized June 9, 
 1894. The charter membership was seven. A church building 
 
FORMER CONFERENCE CHURCHES 101 
 
 was purchased in September, the same year, for $550.00. 
 The church membership was always small and in 1912 it 
 had dwindled to four. In 1920 the property was reported sold. 
 
 Peoria — 1894 
 
 At the Conference in 1893 a delegate from Peoria pre- 
 sented a request on behalf of a Swedish group, belonging to 
 the American Baptist church, to be recognized as a church. 
 Their request was tabled on the grounds that these members 
 did not constitute a Swedish Baptist church. The following 
 year a church was organized. A. P. Sword, its pastor, re- 
 ported a membership of twenty-three. The next year nine 
 were received by letter and baptism, but the total membership 
 had been reduced to nine on account of removals, deaths 
 and exclusions — mostly exclusions. The name of the church 
 appears in the Conference records only once more, then 
 reporting seven members, four of whom were nonresident. 
 
 Berwyn — 1895 
 
 Among the early settlers in Berwyn were a number of 
 Swedish families of the Baptist faith who felt strongly led 
 by the Spirit of God to unite in one body as a church. On 
 March 2, 1895, the Swedish Baptist Church of Berwyn was 
 organized by twenty-four members. E. H. East, then a 
 student at the Morgan Park seminary, became its pastor. 
 The first church building was a small wooden structure at 
 31st Street and Euclid Avenue. The present location is at 
 Oak Park Avenue and 31st Street. The name of the church 
 was changed in 1930 to Oak Park Avenue Baptist Church. 
 It is now affiliated with the American Baptist Convention. 
 Its name appeared the last time in the Conference Annual 
 in 1953. 
 
102 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Immanuel, Chicago — 1907 
 
 About the turn of the century the north-side population 
 in Chicago began to move toward the Ravenswood district. 
 In order to meet a spiritual need, members of the First 
 (Addison) church in 1903 started a mission and Sunday 
 school in a rented store first on Lincoln Avenue, later on 
 Seeley Avenue. In the fall of 1906, J. E. Tanquist, a sem- 
 inary student, was in charge of the services. About a year 
 later, or on September 29, 1907, an organizational meeting 
 was held in the Ravenswood Baptist Church, when the 
 Immanuel Swedish Baptist Church was formed. The charter 
 members consisted of twenty-five from the First church, 
 ten from Lake View, seven from other churches, one who 
 was received on confession and five who were baptized the 
 same day, or forty-eight in all. J. E. Tanquist became the 
 first pastor. He was followed by Reynold Lund, Swan A. 
 Engwall, P. Engelbrekth, John Ward and J. A. Carlson. 
 
 The church property at Wilson and Hamilton Avenues 
 was acquired in 1908. On April 27, 1945, the Immanuel 
 church merged with the Lake View church to become the 
 Northwest Baptist Church. One of the leading members in 
 the Immanuel church was Aaron Sandin, who faithfully 
 performed many duties in the church including that of 
 preaching whenever it became necessary to fill the pulpit. 
 
 Indiana Harbor, Indiana — 1907 
 
 Missionary Carl O. Dahlen reported to the Conference 
 in 1907 that he had visited Indiana Harbor, but that in his 
 opinion the opportunities for Swedish Baptist work there 
 had passed. However, on October 20, 1907, the First 
 Swedish Baptist Church of Indiana Harbor was organized. 
 Its life span was brief, for on January 26, 1909, the seven 
 
FORMER CONFERENCE CHURCHES 103 
 
 members that constituted the church, moved their member- 
 ship to the Third church, Chicago. 
 
 Bethel, Chicago — 1910 
 
 The work that was begun in 1907 as a mission and 
 Sunday school, known as Englewood on the Hill, developed 
 in three years into a congregation known as the Bethel 
 Swedish Baptist Church. The date of organization was 
 October 23, 1910. Most of the thirty charter members came 
 from the Salem (Englewood) church. The church was 
 located at 65th and Paulina Streets. A blessed work was 
 carried on for twenty years under the ministry of Eric 
 Rosen, F. V. Hedeen, Eric Sjostrand and others. In 1930 
 the Bethel church was united with the Salem church; the 
 membership at the time numbered seventy. 
 
 West Auburn Park, Chicago — 1910 
 
 This church was organized December 31, 1910 by four- 
 teen members. David Holmberg served as its first pastor 
 and after two years was succeeded by J. W. Hjertstrom. 
 The church building was located at 70th and Elizabeth 
 Streets. The work seemed to prosper, but soon the Pente- 
 costal element gained control, and in 1916 it was reported 
 to the Conference that the West Auburn Park Baptist Church 
 had ceased to be a Baptist church. Members who were still of 
 the Baptist persuasion sought membership in other Baptist 
 churches. Most of them united with the Grace church. 
 
PART THREE 
 
 ORGANIZATIONS 
 
CHAPTER ELEVEN 
 
 SUNDAY SCHOOL 
 ORGANIZATIONS 
 
 One of the most active organizations within the Con- 
 ference over a period of two decades was the 
 Sunday School Union. It was organized October 
 21, 1892, in the Lake View church, Chicago, under the 
 leadership of Eric Sandell, who had been appointed by the 
 Illinois Conference to head up a committee to explore the 
 feasibility of a Sunday school organization. After some 
 discussion it was decided to organize. A three-fold purpose 
 was outlined as follows : 
 
 1) To develop new work. 
 
 2) To help pastors and churches in evangelistic work. 
 
 3) To set up institutes for teachers' training. 
 
 A constitution was adopted and a call was extended to 
 G. Arvid Hagstrom, then pastor of an American Baptist 
 church at Newark, Illinois, to become Sunday school mis- 
 sionary, or director. It was decided to raise money by a 
 membership fee of fifty cents a year, by taking special offer- 
 ings on Children's Day and to ask the American Baptist 
 Publication Society for financial aid. The relationship be- 
 tween the Union and the Conference came up for a lively 
 discussion. It was decided that the Union become an inde- 
 pendent body but that its annual meetings be held in con- 
 nection with the annual meetings of the Conference. 
 
 107 
 
108 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Hagstrom began his work February 1, 1893, and con- 
 tinued until November 1, 1896, when he became pastor of 
 the First Swedish (Addison Street) Baptist Church, Chi- 
 cago. Through his leadership a deep interest in the Sunday 
 school work was engendered. He held children's meetings, 
 resulting in many conversions, conducted institutes for 
 teachers and wrote numerous articles in the papers about 
 Sunday school matters. 
 
 On January 1, 1897, E. J. Nordlander succeeded Hag- 
 strom and was followed on June 1, 1901, by Charles Palm, 
 who spent nearly sixteen fruitful years in that service. The 
 American Baptist Publication Society paid half of the salary 
 and also half of the operating cost of a Bible wagon called 
 the "Palmquist Memorial Wagon." 
 
 With the dawn of the twentieth century a new interest 
 in Sunday school work was manifested over the whole 
 country. New methods were introduced, such as classes for 
 different age-groups, institutes, rallies and conventions on a 
 national scale. Palm caught the new spirit and enthusiasti- 
 cally promoted every phase of Sunday school work that to 
 him seemed practical. Many today remember Charles Palm, 
 his inimitable way with children and inexhaustible en- 
 thusiasm in things pertaining to Sunday school. During his 
 time as missionary Bethany Beach at Sawyer, Michigan, 
 was procured for the primary purpose of promoting the 
 Sunday school work. Teachers' training classes were held 
 there in the summer months, combining vacation with study. 
 
 At the twentieth anniversary of the Union, in 1912, there 
 were in the Conference twenty Sunday schools with 493 
 teachers and 5,321 pupils. Ten men's classes had an enrol- 
 ment of 292 members and five women's classes 162 members, 
 nineteen combined classes numbered 413 members. By way 
 of comparison, in 1954 there were listed in the General Con- 
 
SUNDAY SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS 109 
 
 ference Annual 39 Sunday schools with an enrolment of 
 9,622 pupils. The proportion of Sunday school pupils to the 
 number of Sunday schools was slightly higher in 1912. 
 
 ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES 
 
 The Sunday School Union became quite a powerful 
 factor within the Conference, if one can judge correctly by 
 the programs and reports printed in the Conference annuals. 
 Rivalry seemed to exist between the Conference and the 
 Union. The same could also be said about the relationship 
 between the Young People's Union and the Conference. 
 Previous to the Conference of 1913 there had been serious 
 discussions regarding these unions, and at this Conference 
 it was voted to merge them with the Conference proper and 
 to revise the constitution accordingly. 
 
 At the conference in 1917 Charles Palm submitted his 
 final report as Sunday school missionary. In it he reviewed 
 the accomplishments of the past fifteen years, and they were 
 many and important. Reynold Lund, his successor, served 
 faithfully and efficiently until April 1, 1920, when he became 
 pastor in Waukegan. John Ward was called from his 
 pastorate in Princeton-Kewanee to become Sunday school 
 missionary and began his new work January 1, 1921. His 
 duties embraced also young people's activities and missionary 
 work in general. April 1, 1924, he became pastor in Gales- 
 burg. No one was called to succeed him as Sunday school 
 missionary. 
 
 For a number of succeeding years the state-wide Sunday 
 school activities seemed to be confined to a Sunday school 
 session, usually on Saturday afternoon, at the annual con- 
 ference. At the conference in 1953 an amendment to the 
 constitution was adopted regarding the number of members 
 
110 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 on the executive board. In part it reads: "In addition to the 
 other nine members, one shall be an active Sunday school 
 worker and one an active Young People's worker; these 
 two may be either men or women." The following year 
 Arthur Hedberg gave a report of the work done by an 
 organization known as the Sunday School Superintendents' 
 Council in Chicago. 
 
 Organizationally, the Sunday school activities have under- 
 gone numerous changes and have been known by different 
 names. In the early forties the Sunday School Workers' and 
 Superintendents' Council focused its attention on boys' and 
 girls' camps. About 1944 the organization changed its name 
 to the Sunday School Association of the Illinois Swedish 
 Baptist Conference. The same year the Baptist Conference 
 Press published A Sunday School Manual, which had been 
 prepared by the Association. On March 12, 1953, the 
 Association reorganized and changed its name to the Bible 
 School Fellowship of the Baptist Conference of Illinois. 
 Meetings are scheduled five times a year for the purpose of 
 developing fellowship in the work and formulating plans for 
 cooperative efforts. The president is the Rev. Arthur 
 Freeburg. 
 
CHAPTER TWELVE 
 
 YOUTH ACTIVITIES 
 
 The modern young people's movement had its be- 
 ginning among the Baptists in July, 1891, when the 
 Baptist Young People's Union of America was or- 
 ganized in Chicago. A similar union for Swedish Baptist 
 young people was envisioned by O. L. Swanson, and he was 
 ably supported by Carl E. Oberg, Charles Palm and G. 
 Arvid Hagstrom. The result of this combined enthusiasm 
 was an organizational meeting of the Illinois Young People's 
 Union in Rockford, June 24, 1893, with Hagstrom as chair- 
 man. A constitution was adopted at a later meeting, October 
 2, 1893. The officers of this parent organization of all the 
 Swedish Baptist young people's unions in America were 
 C. E. Oberg, president ; Charles Palm, vice president ; C. O. 
 Dahlen, secretary; Frank Johnson, treasurer. 
 
 The purpose of this first union, as expressed in its 
 constitution, is typical of the ideals moving the young 
 people everywhere in forming their unions. It reads : 
 
 "The purpose of this organization shall be to bring about 
 a closer cooperation between the Swedish young people's 
 societies in Illinois, to foster spiritual fervor and power, to 
 awaken more zeal for Christian service, to awaken interest 
 in Bible study, Baptist beliefs and history, and to encourage 
 a more active participation in the missionary labors of the 
 denomination." 
 
 The annual meetings were held in conjunction with the 
 
 111 
 
112 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Illinois Conference, and extensive reports of the sessions 
 were given in the printed annuals. To read these reports is a 
 most interesting pastime. The young people fifty years ago 
 were both educationally and spiritually minded. The leaders 
 of the Union would arrange a series of lectures by the pro- 
 fessors of the seminary and other qualified speakers, the 
 subjects discussed usually being of the theological kind. 
 The societies in Chicago would invite the seminary graduates 
 to their services to read their graduation theses. For their 
 more direct spiritual edification the youth of that day dis- 
 cussed biblical themes, testified and prayed without program 
 help from outside sources. Their chief interest was to win 
 other young people for Christ. 
 
 For several years after the turn of the century the 
 Swedish language was used at most of the young people's 
 meetings, since the majority of the members had come from 
 Sweden. In order to win other newcomers the Young 
 People's Union helped to support a missionary to the 
 immigrants. For some time Miss Carrie Rosenquist and 
 Miss Nellie Nelson devoted their time and service to the 
 immigrant mission. At the conference 1913 the Young 
 People's Union and also the Sunday School Union merged 
 with the Illinois Conference; thus the youth work became 
 a more integral part of the Conference but also less 
 effective. 
 
 The Chicago Union 
 
 A new union came into existence four years later, when 
 the Chicago Ungdomsforbund (Chicago Young People's 
 Union) was formed, April 21, 1917. A few years later the 
 name was changed to the Swedish Baptist Young People's 
 Union of Chicago and Vicinity. It has been particularly 
 active in its annual summer assemblies, the first of which 
 
YOUTH ACTIVITIES 
 
 113 
 
 was held at Bethany Beach, Sawyer, Michigan, in 1924. 
 Another outstanding activity in the twenties was crystalized 
 in its great quarterly rallies which were characterized by 
 much spiritual fervor and which never failed to attract full 
 houses. The Union was also interested in foreign missions 
 and raised money toward the support of Miss Victoria 
 Christenson and the Rev. and Mrs. Reuben Holm of Assam, 
 India. During the years 1926-1931 the Union published 
 Baptist Life, edited by C. Geo. Ericson and others. In the 
 summer of 1928, Reuben Omark served as Sunday school 
 and youth director. The Union's first summer assembly at 
 Round Lake was held in 1946. 
 
 Among the youth leaders of the past were Walter Carl- 
 son, William Holmquist, Clifford Sandin, Harry Widegren, 
 Emil T. Wadling, Lottie Rylander, Ebba Brundin (Hag- 
 strom), Alma Anderson (Johnson), Tekla Johnson and 
 Edna Nelson. 
 
 The Western Union 
 
 The Union of Western Illinois may also be regarded as a 
 direct descendant of the old Illinois Union. It was organized 
 in Kewanee in 1919, comprising Galesburg, Princeton, Mon- 
 mouth and Kewanee. The following year the societies of 
 Moline, Davenport and Burlington joined the Union, and 
 the name was changed to the Baptist Young People's Union 
 of Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa. At the reorganization 
 of the Iowa Baptist Young People's Union in April, 1932, 
 the Davenport and Burlington societies withdrew and the 
 last three words of the name were dropped. The Union is 
 now the Western Illinois and South Eastern Iowa Confer- 
 erence Youth Fellowship. 
 
 The Union's first summer assembly was held at Camp 
 Hauberg, Byron, Illinois, in 1936. Four years later junior 
 
114 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 camps were added to the summer activities. In 1951 the 
 camp site was changed from Hauberg to Camp Youngquist, 
 Cameron, Illinois. Because of the great interest in the young 
 children, the responsibility for the camps has been trans- 
 ferred from the Union to a board consisting of three 
 members elected by the churches. 
 
 A Youth-Intermediate Council was formed in Chicago 
 in 1939. The council was composed of adult advisers and 
 the president of each junior-intermediate group. The new 
 organization showed much promising vitality, held concerts 
 and rallies and was hailed with great enthusiasm, but it 
 failed to sustain interest. At the conference in 1947 William 
 Bergstrom made a strong plea for renewed activities in this 
 age group. In later years the junior-intermediate work has 
 been assumed by the Chicagoland Youth Fellowship, which 
 is now the name of the old Chicago Union. 
 
CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
 
 MINISTERIAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
 / | \he Ministers' Association, which is state-wide, dates 
 back to a meeting in Joliet, June 24, 1889, when 
 
 1 
 
 fifteen pastors and professors organized into a fel- 
 lowship which in one form or another has remained until 
 this day. The constituent members were the following: Eric 
 Sandell, P. A. Hjelm, O. J. Engstrand, S. J. Peterson, N. N. 
 Morten, A. W. Backlund, O. P. Peterson, G. Liljeroth, 
 Emil Lindstrom, O. F. Carlson, J. A. Asplund, J. A. Hug- 
 gerth, J. P. Forsell, A. P. Hanson and C. G. Lagergren. 
 
 From a historical sketch, covering the years 1889-1912, 
 we gather that the ministers met in quarterly conferences in 
 the different churches. The evening meetings were usually 
 open to the public and conducted as revival services. The 
 subjects discussed at the day sessions related to theology 
 and church polity. Special problems confronting the pastors 
 were aired sympathetically among the brethren and fre- 
 quently solved. The conferences afforded the pastors cher- 
 ished opportunities to fellowship with one another and to 
 give the local churches a lift spiritually. The Association 
 had adopted as its motto Psalm 133:1 — "Behold, how good 
 and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in 
 unity | M 
 
 In later years the meetings were held semi-annually, one 
 being the annual meeting which was held in connection with 
 the Illinois conference. The ministers' sessions preceded the 
 
 US 
 
116 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 conference proper. The last of such sessions were held in 
 1946. At subsequent conferences the ministers have gathered 
 for a dinner meeting to conduct necessary business. For 
 several years the ministers have met once a year for a so 
 called retreat — a time of fellowship, prayer and conference. 
 The two day sessions have been held in one of the churches. 
 The Chicago ministers have had their own organization 
 for many years. The time of meeting used to be the first 
 and the third Monday of the month, but lately a luncheon 
 meeting has been held once a month. 
 
CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
 WOMEN'S UNION 
 
 / ■ ^here is no record available to us, writes J. O. Back- 
 hand in Swedish Baptists in America, as to when 
 
 1 
 
 and how the women's work as such began in our 
 churches. But no doubt it was very early in our history. 
 As the work progressed we learn from field after field how 
 women banded themselves together to sew and sacrifice in 
 order to make possible the support of a missionary or the 
 building of a church or chapel, or to send something for 
 the work among the heathen. 
 
 To the Women's Missionary Society in Moline goes the 
 honor of being the oldest organization of women in the 
 Conference. The exact year of organization is lost in the dim 
 past, but records reveal that this group was active in the 
 early fifties as a sewing society. It is therefore more than 
 one hundred years old. One of the charter members was 
 Miss Inga Anderson, who remained an active member until 
 her death in 1908. 
 
 The Chicago Union of Swedish Baptist Women, as it 
 was named at its inception, is of late date. It was organized 
 March 29, 1932. Its aim and purpose is stated in the con- 
 stitution as follows: 'To further spiritual and social fellow- 
 ship ; to provide ways and means for united benevolent and 
 missionary denominational work as may be decided upon 
 from time to time." The Union was, for several years, 
 
 117 
 
118 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 composed of individual membership, each member paying a 
 nominal fee. 
 
 One of the first objectives was the support of a nurse 
 at Fridhem. A woman's chorus was organized with Mrs. 
 Eric Scherstrom as conductor, and annual concerts were 
 given for the benefit of the Fridhem project. From year to 
 year the Union has added new projects to its list, such as a 
 hospital unit at Fridhem, the Sunny Ridge Home for 
 Children, denominational institutions and enterprises. As 
 the activities of the Union have multiplied, the scope of the 
 organization has also enlarged. In 1943 it voted to include 
 all the Conference women in its membership and change the 
 name to the Baptist Women's Union of the Illinois Con- 
 ference. 
 
 A delightful time of fellowship for the women is the 
 annual banquet in connection with the Illinois Conference. 
 The first such banquet was held in the Emerald Avenue 
 (Salem) Church 1950. The same year the membership in 
 the Union exceeded the 1,000 mark. The annual receipts and 
 disbursements have during the years mounted to considerable 
 sums, some years close to $10,000. 
 
 At the annual meeting in Kenosha, 1954, a plan of re- 
 organization was adopted, by which the Conference is 
 divided into four districts, Northern, Southern, Midwest, 
 and Western, each having its own officers. The individual 
 membership dues were eliminated and all the women, who 
 belong to Conference churches, are now automatically 
 members of the Women's Union. 
 
 A listing of all the projects of the Union makes quite an 
 impressive array of activities. It includes the Conference 
 Grounds, Sunny Ridge Home for Children, Fridhem, home 
 missions, foreign missions, White Cross, Girls' Missionary 
 Guild, Bethel College and Seminary, Canadian work, tern- 
 
women's union 119 
 
 perance, literary and missionary education, development of 
 the spiritual life. We cannot mention all the women who 
 have been in the leadership, but the names of Mrs. Oscar E. 
 Ostling, Mrs. J. Varner Carlson, Mrs. Wm. Turnwall and 
 Mrs. Victor E. Ytterberg are undisputedly outstanding. 
 Their ability as leaders and their untiring efforts have borne 
 rich fruitage in the organizational life of our women's work 
 throughout the Conference. 
 
CHAPTER FIFTEEN 
 
 AFFILIATED BIBLE CLASSES 
 
 The Affiliated Bible Classes comprised the Baraca 
 and Philathea classes which a generation ago were so 
 popular in Sunday schools all over the nation. The 
 Chicago organization came into existence about 1915 and 
 disbanded about 1927. The Baraca classes were for men 
 and the Philathea classes for women. The purpose of the 
 organization was to stimulate interest in Bible study and to 
 win for Christ the young people who attended the classes 
 and the social functions but had not experienced salvation. 
 
 In 1926 the Chicago group conceived the idea of raising 
 money for an elevator in Fridhem, a project which required 
 about $7,500 but which was, nevertheless, accomplished with 
 the help of the Young People's Union and other groups. 
 Arthur E. Hedberg was the moving spirit in this under- 
 taking. 
 
 120 
 
CHAPTER SIXTEEN 
 
 THE BIBLE WAGON MISSION 
 
 Charles Palm took the initiative in organizing the 
 Bible Wagon Mission about 1903. In a compara- 
 tively short time "Uncle Palm" had raised money 
 for the purchasing of horses, harnesses and wagon, and in 
 order to commemorate the name of the founder of the first 
 Swedish Baptist church in Illinois, the outfit was named the 
 "Palmquist Memorial Wagon." The blind evangelist, A. J. 
 Freeman, and his daughter Esther were among the earliest 
 to use the Memorial Wagon. 
 
 The wagon was quite a novelty and created a sensation 
 wherever it went. People came to see and hear. Some came 
 intent on buying fish, for the colportage wagon looked like 
 a fish wagon. Others wanted medicine. Freeman told them 
 he was a fisher of men and that the only medicine he had 
 was the balm of Gilead. The school children in the country 
 districts crowded around and enjoyed the gospel of song 
 and salvation. 
 
 Later, when John Hedeen became missionary-colporteur 
 he used the wagon for several years and with much blessing. 
 The maintenance of this ministry was generously shared by 
 the American Baptist Publication Society, which also gave 
 liberal donations of Bibles, periodicals, tracts and other good 
 literature. 
 
 121 
 
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
 
 CONFERENCE BROTHERHOOD 
 
 A lthough brotherhoods have existed in the local 
 >"X churches for many years, the Conference-wide 
 JL JL organization is of recent date. At the conference in 
 Edgewater, Chicago, 1948, the beginning was made and a 
 committee elected to get an organization under way. The 
 committee arranged for a banquet at the Addison Street 
 church March 12, 1949, attended by some 260 men. At this 
 occasion the brotherhood was launched. 
 
 This organization, which was named the Illinois Baptist 
 Conference Brotherhood, is working in cooperation with 
 the Board of Men's Work of the General Conference and 
 its specific objectives are the Alaska mission, boys' activities 
 and the Round Lake camps. Milton Bloom, Bertel Chelin 
 and J. Varner Carlson have devoted much time and talent 
 to this work. The present chairman is Walter Johnson, 
 Joliet. 
 
 122 
 
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
 
 BETHANY BEACH 
 
 IN 1905 a forty-four acre shoreland property was pur- 
 chased near Sawyer, Michigan. Three men, G. Arvid 
 Hagstrom, Charles Palm and James Magnuson, headed 
 this project, which became known as Bethany Beach. It was 
 originally intended to be a place of rest and recreation, 
 where Sunday school teachers could gather for study courses 
 in the summer. For several years Charles Palm carried on 
 such training courses, which were well attended and greatly 
 profitable. 
 
 The Chicago Young People's Union held its first summer 
 assembly at Bethany Beach in 1924. All through the years 
 it has been a popular Christian summer resort. The control 
 is in the hands of an association composed of the property 
 owners. The leaders, who procured Bethany Beach some 
 fifty years ago, envisioned a kind of Baptist Chautauqua, 
 but due to a change of ownership and leadership this plan 
 never materialized. The last young people's assembly was 
 held there in 1945. 
 
 123 
 
CHAPTER NINETEEN 
 
 CONFERENCE GROUNDS 
 
 The question of procuring Conference-owned prop- 
 erty for summer assemblies and children's camps 
 came to a head at a special meeting of about fifty 
 ministers and laymen in Chicago April 28, 1945. Following 
 considerable discussion it was voted unanimously to recom- 
 mend to the Illinois Conference the purchase of the Cadet 
 Camp, near Round Lake, Illinois, for a price of $15,000. 
 It was also voted that in order to finance this purchase and 
 the improvements needed, efforts be made to raise a total 
 of $30,000. The conference of 1945 approved the recom- 
 mendation and appointed a camp grounds committee. 
 
 Much credit is due Roy Hedman and others working 
 with him for spearheading this project. From the be- 
 ginning the summer camps have proved a great blessing to 
 our churches. Hundreds of boys and girls have been brought 
 into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and scores of young 
 Christians have dedicated their lives to His service. 
 
 Several new cabins have been erected by the churches, 
 and many other improvements have made the camp an 
 attractive assembly place for both young and old. During 
 the summer of 1955 more than 800 campers availed them- 
 selves of the facilities of the camp grounds. A Sunday 
 school has also been held at the camp under the supervision 
 of the camp manager, Glen Forsman. 
 
 124 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY 
 
 FRIDHEM 
 
 Nobody seems to know just when Eric Rosen began 
 to talk of an old people's home, but there was 
 never a meeting of the General Conference when 
 he did not plead for the project so near to his heart. Then 
 things began to happen. First a small donation, then, in 
 1902, a $1,000 donation, and already in November, the 
 same year, the Fridhem Society was organized. On January 
 14, 1903, another meeting was called, when it was decided 
 to incorporate. It was agreed that the corporate name should 
 be Home of Rest, Swedish Baptist Home for the Aged, 
 Fridhem. The object of the association was thus stated: 
 
 "To provide a home and place of rest for aged and 
 destitute Swedish Baptists and other worthy persons in need 
 of a temporary or permanent home. ,, 
 
 In February, 1905, the home was opened in a rented 
 house at Seeley and Sunnyside Avenues, Chicago, with 
 Mrs. Charles Palm as matron. A more permanent location 
 was acquired in Morgan Park the same year and in 1906 
 the first unit of the present building was erected. The fol- 
 lowing have served as superintendents : Mrs. Charles Palm, 
 Miss Carrie Rosenquist, O. Ellison, Charles Palm, Albert 
 Rose, Mrs. Carrie Rosenquist Brosell, and John Ward since 
 1935. Although the Fridhem Society is an independent 
 corporation, it is operating within the framework of the 
 Conference. All the members of the Board of Trustees are 
 Baptists. 
 
 125 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 
 
 SUNNY RIDGE HOME FOR 
 CHILDREN 
 
 IN 1926, the Baptist General Conference was meeting in 
 Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. J. E. Klingberg and his 
 friend, the Rev. Swaney Nelson, Chicago, took a stroll 
 between sessions. The conversation centered about God's 
 goodness and care for the Children's Home in New Britain, 
 Connecticut — founded twenty-three years earlier by Dr. 
 Klingberg. Suddenly Dr. Klingberg turned to his com- 
 panion and spoke of a hope that had been in his heart for 
 some time: "Why not a children's home in Chicago?" 
 
 The two men prayed about it. Prayer brought assurance, 
 and assurance led to action. On October 17, the same year, 
 a two-story frame building at 627 West 63rd Place, Chicago, 
 was dedicated as the Klingberg Children's Home of Chicago, 
 Miss Mabel Klingberg became its matron. In 1928 the home 
 moved to 6522 South Harvard Avenue, and in 1953 the 
 present beautiful site at Sunny Ridge Farm, a 38-acre estate 
 near Wheaton, Illinois, was purchased for $133,000. It was 
 first occupied by the Home December 28, 1953. The name 
 was changed May 25, 1954, to Sunny Ridge Home for 
 Children. 
 
 The following persons have served as matron or superin- 
 tendent: Miss Mabel Klingberg, Miss Anna Gothberg, the 
 Rev. Swaney Nelson, the Rev. Carl A. Olsson, Roy E. 
 
 126 
 
SUNNY RIDGE HOME FOR CHILDREN 127 
 
 Anderson, the Rev. Robert Klingberg, the Rev. Virgil A. 
 Olson, and, since 1949, Wayne Swenson. In 1955 the 
 Children's Home became affiliated with the Illinois Con- 
 ference through representation on the Board of Directors. 
 Three members of the Board are appointed by the Executive 
 Board of the Conference. 
 
c 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 
 
 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 
 
 hicago has long been the center of denominational 
 organizations and enterprises. We can mention only 
 a few of the more important ones in this history. 
 
 The Seminary 
 
 The Swedish Baptist Theological Seminary was founded 
 by Dr. John Alexis Edgren in 1871. Except for the years 
 1884-1888, when the seminary was located temporarily in 
 Stromsburg, Nebraska, and St. Paul, Minnesota, it remained 
 in Chicago until 1914, when it moved to St. Paul to be 
 identified with Bethel Academy. The combined institution is 
 now known as Bethel College and Seminary. The seminary 
 wielded a powerful influence on Baptist work in Illinois. 
 Practically every church organized between 1871 and 1914 
 had been started or helped by the members of the faculty 
 and the students. The Illinois Conference is therefore 
 greatly indebted to the seminary for this valuable service. 
 
 Baptist Mission Union 
 
 The Baptist Mission Union of America was organized in 
 Chicago March 31, 1901, with eleven persons as charter 
 members. The object of the Union was the sending out of 
 evangelists and missionaries to preach the Gospel to the 
 Finnish people, using both the Finnish and the Swedish 
 
 128 
 
OUR CHURCHES AND INSTITUTIONS 
 
 Bethany Church, Moline 
 
 fmmanuel Church, Waukegan 
 
Elim Church. Rockford 
 
 Temple Church, Rockford 
 
Calvary Church, Kewanee 
 
 Grove Street Church, De Kalb 
 
Tabernacle Church, La Porte, Ind. 
 
 Grace Church, Crown Point, Ind. 
 
Conference Grounds, Round Lake — New Dining Hall 
 
 Home for the Aged, Fridhem, Chicago 
 
 Aerial View of Sunny Ridge Home for Children, Whea 
 
Executive Board of the Illinois Conference 
 
 Standing: Harold Selin, S. W. Hansen, Ed. Beatty, Harold Carlson 
 (Treasurer), James Rentz (Financial Secretary). 
 
 Seated: Victor Sherling (Conference Missionary), Milton Bloom 
 (Chairman), Gordon Piatt (Vice Chairman), Roland H. Holmberg 
 (Secretary). 
 
 Headquarters Building, Chicago, of Baptist General Conference of 
 America and Baptist Conference of Illinois 
 
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 Memorial Plaque in Bethany Church, Moline 
 
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 129 
 
 languages. Since 1948 the Union, as well as most of the 
 churches in the Union, have been affiliated with the Baptist 
 General Conference. 
 
 Foreign Mission Society 
 
 The Swedish Baptist Foreign Mission Society was 
 formed in Chicago in 1917. The organization was in reality 
 a committee, consisting of Baptist leaders in Chicago, the 
 foremost among them being Eric Wingren, editor of Nya 
 W ecko-P osten. The Society was primarily concerned with 
 missionary work in Spain and Siberia. In 1923 the work of 
 this independent organization was transferred to the General 
 Conference. 
 
 Baptist Headquarters 
 
 The headquarters of the Baptist General Conference of 
 America, of which the Illinois Conference is a part, has for 
 more than three-quarters of a century been located in Chi- 
 cago. The fact that the seminary had its beginning in this 
 metropolis may largely account for it. Then, too, the de- 
 nominational papers have been published in Chicago since 
 1871. When the General Conference was formed in 1879, it 
 seemed logical that the missionary and publication work 
 should be carried on from Chicago. Obviously, the Illinois 
 Conference has benefited by having the denominational 
 headquarters within its borders. At the headquarters build- 
 ing, 5750 North Ashland Avenue, is an office for the Mis- 
 sionary of the Illinois Conference, and there the executive 
 board and various committees usually hold their meetings. 
 
PART FOUR 
 
 PERSONALITIES 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 
 
 CONFERENCE MISSIONARIES 
 
 A t least twenty-six missionaries and colporteurs 
 ytA have served the Illinois Conference during the past 
 JL JLcentury. There may have been more, but we have 
 not been able to find all the records from the early years 
 of the Conference. Doubtless many of the pastors of the 
 new churches gave much of their time to itinerant work. 
 From the beginning and until John Hedeen finished his life 
 work the American Baptist Publication Society assisted in 
 the support of the missionaries. The colporteurs, such as 
 Rundquist, Palm, Wilson, Freeman and Hedeen carried 
 with them a supply of Bibles, devotional books, tracts and 
 other Christian literature, which they sold or distributed 
 free in behalf of ABPS. Briefly we are mentioning the 
 following missionaries and the years they served: 
 
 N. J. Rundquist, 1854-1861, was the first colporteur and 
 missionary in our Conference. He was also the first servant 
 of God to be ordained to the Gospel ministry within our 
 fellowship. 
 
 A. Levin, 1864, served only six months. 
 
 P. U. Wallberg, 1866-1867. The conference of 1867 voted 
 to pay him $90.00 for one year's work as missionary. 
 
 Olof Lindh, 1868-1869, had the true spirit of a pioneer. 
 His most outstanding ministry was in the New England 
 states, but as missionary and pastor he also made a lasting 
 impact upon the Baptist work in our state. 
 
 133 
 
134 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 N. E. Axling, 1869, served only one year as missionary. 
 He assisted in organizing several churches in Illinois and 
 other mid-western states. 
 
 C. G. Johanson, 1869, was appointed by the Conference 
 at the same time as Axling. The new settlements on the west- 
 ern frontier constituted the special field of the missionaries. 
 
 N. E. Nelson, 1885, served one year. He was then called 
 by the newly organized church in Evanston to become its 
 first pastor. 
 
 A. W. Backlund, 1887-1889, came from the pastorate of 
 the Salem (Englewood) church to be missionary in Illinois. 
 Later he spent a long and fruitful ministry on the west coast. 
 
 P. G. Holmberg, 1889-1890, was pastor of Grace (Sec- 
 ond) church, Chicago, when he was called to minister to the 
 entire Conference. He served only about one year in that 
 capacity. Following a year as pastor of the old Salem 
 church, he entered upon his real life work, which was that 
 of pastor of the Bethel church, Joliet, from 1891 to 1926, a 
 period of thirty-five years. It is worthy of note that three 
 generations of the Holmbergs have been pastors in Illinois : 
 Per Gustav, his son David, and grandson Roland, who since 
 1941 has served the Bethel church, Galesburg. 
 
 A. P. Hanson, 1892-1897, was missionary in the mid- 
 western states, including Illinois. He was appointed by the 
 American Baptist Home Mission Society to work among all 
 nationalities, but he never neglected an opportunity to min- 
 ister in a special way to his countrymen. Prior to his work 
 as missionary he had been pastor in Chicago, Princeton, 
 Morris, and Joliet. 
 
 G. Arvid Hagstrom, 1893-1896, was the first Sunday 
 school missionary in Illinois, having been engaged by the 
 newly organized Sunday School Union. Hagstrom introduced 
 new methods and plans for effective Sunday school work 
 
CONFERENCE MISSIONARIES 135 
 
 and made the churches conscious of its great importance. 
 
 E. J. Nordlander, 1896-1901, succeeded Hagstrom as 
 Sunday school missionary. He also served as pastor of 
 churches in Chicago and Rockford. 
 
 Charles Palm, 1901-1916, who spent sixteen fruitful 
 years as Sunday school missionary, was loved by young 
 and old. 
 
 Ragnar A. Arlander, 1901-1903, began his long and 
 effective ministry in Illinois, first as pastor of the Third 
 church, then as Conference missionary and two years later 
 as pastor in Evanston. During the last ten years of his active 
 life he was secretary of missions for the General Conference. 
 
 John A. Westin, 1903-1905, was gifted as singer and 
 guitar player as well as preacher and soul-winner. 
 
 A. W. Wilson, 1904, a layman from Moline who served 
 three months as the first colporteur and missionary in charge 
 of the "Palmquist Memorial Wagon." 
 
 A. J . Freeman, 1904-1905, succeeded Wilson. This blind 
 evangelist and his daughter Esther won many souls for 
 Jesus Christ. When calls from other parts of the country 
 began coming to Freeman for evangelistic meetings, he 
 resigned as colporteur. 
 
 C. O. Dahlen, 1906-1907, poet, composer and preacher, 
 served a brief period as missionary, or until he accepted 
 a call to the Lake View church, Chicago. 
 
 John Hedeen, 1906-1942, served thirty-six years, longer 
 than any other state missionary in the denomination. 
 
 C. E. Wedholm, 1907-1913, succeeded Dahlen. This 
 energetic and devoted missionary was a great blessing to 
 small and struggling churches throughout the Conference. 
 
 Reynold Lund, 1917-1920, became Palm's successor as 
 Sunday school missionary. He served diligently and was 
 well liked by everybody. Lund was also known as an artist. 
 
136 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 A. Liliemark, 1919-1921, served as missionary in south- 
 ern Michigan and northern Indiana. The Illinois Confer- 
 ence and the Lower Michigan Conference shared in his 
 support. 
 
 John Ward, 1921-1924, had as his particular responsi- 
 bility the Sunday school and youth work in the Conference. 
 He has spent his entire ministerial life in Illinois, the last 
 twenty years as superintendent of Fridhem. 
 
 Axel Rendahl, 1930-1933, was called to minister espe- 
 cially in the area comprising eastern Illinois, northern Indi- 
 ana and southern Michigan. He did a good work in a diffi- 
 cult field. 
 
 G. E. Wallendorf, 1935-1936, succeeded Rendahl and 
 worked in cooperation with the Chicago Young People's 
 Union. Having been pastor in Illinois altogether twenty-five 
 years, he knew the field and gave all his strength and devo- 
 tion to his task. 
 
 Victor Sherling, general missionary since 1944, hails 
 from Napoleon, North Dakota, where he was born Septem- 
 ber 23, 1911. He graduated from Bethel Seminary in 1935 
 and from Northwestern Evangelical Seminary in 1936; he 
 also studied at University of Minnesota. Following pasto- 
 rates in Jamestown, North Dakota; Poison, Montana; and 
 Pearson, Washington, he served as missionary in Spokane 
 and vicinity under the American Sunday School Union 
 1942-1944. Our missionary has had the joy of seeing his 
 work prosper and develop more than during any other 
 decade in the history of the Conference. 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 
 
 SOME OF THE LEADERS 
 
 It is not possible, within the scope of this history, to 
 give due tribute to all the good ministers and laymen, 
 who in a special way have contributed to the progress 
 of our Conference. We can mention but a few of those who 
 have gone to their reward, and we do it with apology to 
 those others who perhaps should have been included. 
 
 Gustaf Palmquist 
 
 First on the list is Gustaf Palmquist, who is rightly 
 called the founder of Swedish Baptist work in America. 
 He was born in the province of Smaland, Sweden, May 
 26, 1812. He became a well known teacher and singer and 
 somewhat of a leader among the pietists, who were adher- 
 ents of a spiritual movement in the state church. 
 
 Palmquist left Sweden for America in 1851 and came to 
 Galesburg, where he was placed in charge of a Lutheran 
 church. Coming in contact with the American Baptist church 
 there he was led to examine the basic principles of the 
 Baptist faith, and on June 27, 1852, was baptized on con- 
 fession of his faith. About a month later he was ordained 
 to the Gospel ministry. 
 
 Shortly after his ordination Palmquist proceeded to 
 Rock Island and there began his ministry among his coun- 
 trymen. In August, 1852, three of his converts were bap- 
 
 137 
 
138 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 tized and organized into a church. The years that followed 
 were filled with sacrificial missionary labor. Broken in 
 health he returned to Sweden in 1857. He died in Stockholm 
 ten years later, September 18, 1867, at the age of fifty-five. 
 His real monument is the Baptist General Conference of 
 America. Palmquist never married. 
 
 Anders Wiberg 
 
 Anders Wiberg, born in the province of Halsingland, 
 Sweden, July 17, 1816, was a Lutheran minister before he 
 was baptized on July 23, 1852, by F. O. Nilsson, then pastor 
 of the Baptist church in Copenhagen, Denmark. Wiberg 
 was at that time on his way to America to restore his failing 
 health. Here he was engaged by the Baptist Mariners' 
 Church in New York as colporteur and missionary among 
 the Scandinavians. 
 
 Following his ordination by the Mariners' church, Wi- 
 berg made a missionary tour through the middle west, 
 preaching, teaching and aiding in the organization of 
 churches. In 1855 he returned to Sweden with his Ameri- 
 can bride but made a second visit in America eight years 
 later, resuming his labors for another period of three years. 
 In June, 1864, he served as moderator at the meeting when 
 the Illinois-Iowa Conference adopted its constitution, which 
 had been written by him. 
 
 Wiberg returned to Sweden 1866, where he spent the 
 rest of his life as the recognized leader of his fellow-Baptists 
 for the best part of a generation. He died November 5, 
 1887. A great and good man had departed from the land 
 of the living. 
 
 Fredrik Olaus Nilsson 
 
 Back of the small beginning of Baptist work in Sweden 
 is F. O. Nilsson, a sailor. He was born July 28, 1809, on 
 
SOME OF THE LEADERS 139 
 
 Vendelso, an island in the Cattegat. In 1834 he was con- 
 verted in New York, returned to Sweden in 1839 to engage 
 in colportage work among his friends, the sailors. In 1842 
 he was called by the Seamen's Friend Society in New York 
 to serve as its missionary in Gothenburg. 
 
 On August 1, 1847, Nilsson went to Hamburg to be 
 baptized by J. G. Oncken in the river Elbe. After this 
 experience he returned to his home again, where among 
 others he won two of his own brothers for Christ and his 
 new faith. The first baptismal service in Sweden took place 
 September 21, 1848, at Vallersvik, in the province of Hal- 
 land, and the same day the first Baptist church in Sweden 
 was organized. The Baptists were presecuted, some, includ- 
 ing Nilsson, were imprisoned, and in 1851 he was banished 
 from his country. 
 
 Nilsson was a pioneer in a very real sense both in- 
 Sweden and America. Here he spent his later years at his 
 home in Houston, Minnesota, where he went to his reward 
 October 21, 1881. Nilsson was one of the leaders at the 
 organizational meeting of our Conference one hundred years 
 ago. 
 
 Nils Johan Rundquist 
 
 Among the quietly constructive men, who labored con- 
 scientiously and with little fanfare in the early pioneer days, 
 was N. J. Rundquist, the fourth in point of time of a long 
 line of Swedish-American Baptist preachers. He was born 
 in the province of Vastergotland, Sweden, September 6, 
 1811, sailed for America in 1851 and came to Andover, 
 Illinois. Later he made his home in Moline, went to hear 
 Gustaf Palmquist preach, was converted and, on October 
 2, 1853, baptized into the membership of the Rock Island 
 church. 
 
140 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 A few months later Rundquist was licensed to preach. 
 In the early winter of 1854 he was commissioned by the 
 American Baptist Publication Society as colporteur, a posi- 
 tion he held for seven years. He was ordained at the first 
 conference, 1856. In the early seventies he served as pastor 
 of the Swedish Baptist Church at Altona. When the Moline 
 church was organized in 1876, Rundquist became a charter 
 member. Having served his Lord and Savior faithfully 
 and successfully as missionary, pastor or deacon he went to 
 his eternal rest on August 5, 1892. 
 
 Olof Lindh 
 
 Much of the pioneer work in Illinois was done by Olof 
 Lindh, who came to Chicago from Sweden in 1866 and 
 delivered his first sermon in America in the Danish Baptist 
 church, Chicago, July 22, the same year. He was born in 
 the province of Halsingland, Sweden, September 24, 1835, 
 was converted at the age of twenty- four and baptized in 
 1860. 
 
 Together with others, Lindh became instrumental in 
 organizing the Addison Street Baptist Church, Chicago, in 
 1866. After a year as pastor in Altona and another year 
 as missionary in Illinois-Iowa, he became pastor in Moline, 
 where he remained for six years. Then followed three years 
 in Sweden as evangelist and several years in the New Eng- 
 land states as pastor and missionary. 
 
 As a soul-winner he experienced much success and as 
 an organizer of churches he has no equal. He went to his 
 reward at Sioux City, Iowa, October 5, 1912, while on a 
 preaching tour. 
 
 John Alexis Edgren 
 
 As pastor, editor, seminary dean and scholar, Dr. J. A. 
 Edgren wielded a wholesome and deeply spiritual influence 
 
SOME OF THE LEADERS 141 
 
 upon the Conference for fifteen years. The records show 
 that the Conference often sought his counsel when facing 
 problems related to doctrine and policy. Dr. Edgren served 
 the Addison Street church as pastor one year (1870-1871) 
 and resigned when he founded the school that is now Bethel 
 Theological Seminary. The same year (1871) Dr. Edgren 
 launched the first denominational paper Zions Wdktare 
 (Watchman of Zion). He is one of the tall figures in the 
 history of our denomination. He was born in the province 
 of Varmland, Sweden, February 20, 1839, and died in Oak- 
 land, California, January 26, 1908. 
 
 Eric Wingren 
 
 Wingren came to America from Sweden in 1880 for a 
 threefold purpose: To become pastor of the Grace church, 
 Chicago; to assist Dr. Edgren as teacher in the seminary, 
 and to aid in the publishing of Evangelisk Tidskrift (Evan- 
 gelical Journal). After some time he turned his entire atten- 
 tion to journalism and for more than forty years published 
 and edited Nya Vecko-Posten (New Weekly Mail), which 
 became the successor to Edgren's paper. It can truthfully 
 be said that Wingren and his paper gave direction and a 
 balanced faith and message to all Conference Baptists and 
 not the least to the Illinois constituency. Dr. Wingren was 
 born in the province of Jamtland, Sweden, December 17, 
 1843, and died in Chicago, September 19, 1922. His paper 
 was merged with The Standard in 1918. 
 
 Frank Peterson 
 
 As a small boy in 1854 Frank Peterson stood on the 
 banks of the Mississippi at Rock Island and watched Gustaf 
 Palmquist immerse his father in the river. Tears came to 
 
142 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 his eyes, for he thought that his dad was put under for 
 good. Frank Peterson was born in the province of Oster- 
 gotland, Sweden, November 19, 1847. He came with his 
 parents to America in 1852, and Rock Island became their 
 first dwelling place in the new world. Two years later the 
 family moved to Village Creek, Iowa, where Frank was 
 converted and baptized in 1861. 
 
 At the age of sixteen he enlisted in the Ninth Iowa Cav- 
 alry and served in the ranks to the end of the Civil War. 
 Then followed years of study and preparation for the Gospel 
 ministry. He held successful pastorates until 1890 when 
 he was appointed district secretary of the American Baptist 
 Foreign Mission Society and served in various capacities 
 until his death July 30, 1929. He was an attractive and 
 popular speaker, a talented organizer and a missionary 
 statesman. 
 
 Oscar and Emily Swanson 
 
 When the young pastor and his wife, who were serving 
 the Sycamore church, announced to their members that 
 they were going to the mission field in far away Assam, 
 India, a current of new spiritual life was felt all through 
 the Conference churches. It was in 1893 that Mr. and Mrs. 
 O. L. Swanson began their lifelong service under the ap- 
 pointment of the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. 
 Theirs was an unusually rich and blessed ministry, which 
 lasted forty-three years, or until 1936 when they retired. 
 
 A highlight at each conference was the reading of a 
 letter from the Swansons, or their appearance in person 
 when they were home on furlough, for the Illinois Con- 
 ference considered them in a very real sense its own mission- 
 aries. Swanson was born in the province of Vastergotland, 
 Sweden, February 11, 1867. He came to Moline as a young 
 
SOME OF THE LEADERS 143 
 
 boy. Mrs. Swanson was born in Moline, August 13, 1867. 
 They were united in marriage May 26, 1892. Mrs. Swanson 
 died in Chicago December 30, 1945, Dr. Swanson returned 
 to Assam and died there July 17, 1949. 
 
 Carl Gustaf Lager gr en 
 
 During a quarter of a century Dr. C. G. Lagergren was 
 actively interested in the Illinois Conference. He was a 
 leader without peer. As dean of the seminary in Morgan 
 Park, Chicago, from 1889 to 1914, and continuing in the 
 same capacity in St. Paul, Minnesota, until 1922, Dr. Lager- 
 gren was looked upon as educator, molder of preachers and 
 authority on matters spiritual. He was born in the province 
 of Jamtland, Sweden, June 21, 1846. In his ninety-sixth 
 year he quietly fell asleep in Jesus, October 27, 1941, in 
 St. Paul, Minnesota. 
 
 Eric Sandell 
 
 Dr. Sandell was a rare individual. His formal education 
 was limited, he was practically a self-made man. Yet, by 
 reason of an extraordinary brilliant mind and amazing ca- 
 pacity for hard work, he became one of the best informed 
 persons in many different branches of knowledge in his day 
 and generation. He was pastor of two churches in Chicago, 
 Grace and Temple, and from 1887 to 1895 and from 1907 
 to 1918 seminary professor. For more than twenty years 
 he served the Illinois Conference in many ways of leader- 
 ship. Born in the province of Halsingland, Sweden, January 
 26, 1856, he came to America in 1880, and died in Tampa, 
 Florida, February 12, 1918. 
 
 Olof Hedeen 
 
 Dr. Hedeen was the third member of the notable Morgan 
 Park seminary trio. University educated in Sweden, he 
 
144 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 arrived in America in 1883 and came to Chicago in 1896 
 in response to a call to become a professor in the seminary. 
 When the school moved to St. Paul in 1914, Dr. Hedeen 
 remained in Chicago. For seven years he was pastor of the 
 Salem (Englewood) church and during the years 1921-30 
 secretary of missions of the General Conference. He was 
 born in the province of Jamtland, Sweden, June 19, 1860, 
 and died in Chicago June 15, 1936. 
 
 Charles Palm 
 
 Charles Palm, lovingly known by many as "Uncle Palm," 
 was Sunday school and young people's missionary in the 
 Illinois Conference from 1901 to 1916. It was a period 
 when the Sunday school and youth movements were going 
 strong in American churches, and Charles Palm was wide 
 awake to all new ideas that to him seemed feasible. He had 
 a great capacity for friendship, and all ages, including little 
 children, were attracted to him. 
 
 Palm was born in the province of Vastmanland, Sweden, 
 June 28, 1859. He came to America in 1880, arriving in 
 Chicago in June. As pastor he served several churches, and 
 following his long ministry as missionary in Illinois he was 
 for eight years superintendent of Fridhem. After a long 
 illness he quietly answered the summons February 18, 1946, 
 at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 
 
 A. /. Freeman 
 
 Blind A. J. Freeman was for a generation the most 
 effective evangelist in our denomination. It was here in 
 Illinois he began his marvelous career. Born in the province 
 of Vastergotland, Sweden, December 8, 1866, he came to 
 
SOME OF THE LEADERS 145 
 
 the United States in 1887 and made his home in Moline, 
 Illinois. Accidentally he lost his physical sight in June, 
 1895, but in the providence of God he received his spiritual 
 sight a few months later. He was baptized by Eric Sandell 
 in the Roseland (Temple) church, Chicago, in 1904 and 
 almost immediately started his evangelistic ministry. With 
 his daughter Esther as guide and assistant — she was then 
 but a young girl — he came as a flaming evangel to our 
 churches, telling in testimony and song with unusual effect 
 the old story of salvation. When Esther no longer could 
 follow him, Mrs. Freeman accompanied him on his journeys, 
 and the last years he traveled alone. Thousands of people 
 were led to spiritual light through the song and testimony 
 of blind Freeman. He passed away in Moline November 
 25, 1933. 
 
 John Hedeen 
 
 John Hedeen had the distinction of being a state mission- 
 ary over a longer period than any other missionary in the 
 General Conference. Faithfully and unselfishly he served 
 the Illinois Conference as missionary-colporteur thirty-six 
 years, or from 1906 to 1942, when he had reached the ripe 
 old age of eighty-two. Suffering a stroke he retired from 
 active service and entered Fridhem. He devoted a certain 
 portion of each day to correspondence and to writing articles 
 for The Standard. 
 
 Born in the province of Dalarne, Sweden, February 27, 
 1860, Hedeen was converted in 1878 and baptized four years 
 later. He came to the United States in 1890, graduated 
 from the Morgan Park seminary, 1893, and served as pastor 
 at Daggett, Michigan, until 1895. After having served two 
 years at Grove City, Minnesota, and another year at Daggett, 
 he was engaged as missionary in Finland for two years. 
 
146 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Then followed five years as pastor in San Jose, California. 
 From there he entered upon his main life work, that of 
 Conference missionary in Illinois. 
 
 On the Lord's Day of August 7, 1949, the sun of his 
 earthly life set, but the memory of a good and useful life 
 spent for God will remain as an afterglow for a long time. 
 Mrs. Hedeen preceded him in death in 1929. 
 John Swanson 
 
 John Swanson held the record as Sunday school super- 
 intendent in the Moline church and also in the Conference. 
 Selected to that office in 1877, he served for thirty-six years, 
 or until his death in 1913. He was also a charter member 
 of the Moline church. His influence as a Sunday school 
 man and as a Christian lay worker extended far beyond the 
 local field. As a member of the board of the Illinois Sunday 
 School Association as well as of the Illinois Conference 
 Executive Board, he made permanent and constructive con- 
 tributions to the Kingdom of God. Swanson was president 
 of the Moline Board of Education and a member of that 
 board for twenty-two years. 
 
 Carl Mehlin 
 
 About two weeks before the Conference convened for 
 its annual meeting 1936, its faithful and efficient treasurer 
 Carl Mehlin passed away suddenly on May 4. For almost 
 twenty-six years he served as treasurer. He was also treas- 
 urer of the mission committee of the General Conference 
 and a trusted holder of important offices in the Addison 
 Street church. He was born in Sweden, January 5, 1872, 
 and came to this country at the age of nineteen. 
 Martin A. Rosenlund 
 
 This servant of God merits a special mention in the 
 history of the Illinois Conference. Being a printer, author 
 
SOME OF THE LEADERS 147 
 
 and editor, he supplied our missionaries, free of charge, with 
 many thousands of tracts and booklets over a long period of 
 years. Acknowledging the great value of this ministry, the 
 Conference at its annual meetings repeatedly adopted reso- 
 lutions of appreciation to Mr. Rosenlund. A member of the 
 Salem (Englewood) church, he was born in Sweden Decem- 
 ber 4, 1886, and passed away in Chicago May 14, 1947. 
 
 Oscar E. Ostling 
 
 This scholarly and devoted layman distinguished himself 
 especially in the field of Sunday school work. For twenty- 
 five years (1910-1935) he served as superintendent of the 
 Salem (Englewood) Sunday school and for more than thirty 
 years as deacon of the same church. He was an active mem- 
 ber of the Illinois Conference board and in 1944 he served 
 as moderator of the Baptist General Conference of America. 
 Born in Sweden, July 23, 1879, he came at the age of nine 
 to Chicago, where he after more than half a century of 
 Christian service went to his reward April 5, 1951. 
 
PART FIVE 
 
 APPENDICES 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 
 
 THE CONFERENCE CHURCHES 
 AT A GLANCE 
 
 IN our brief historical sketches of the churches, we made 
 mention of only the churches within the framework of 
 the Illinois Conference. During the first two years, 1856- 
 1858, the Conference was composed of churches in three 
 states, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. During the following 
 twenty-five years, 1858-1883, the Conference comprised two 
 states, Illinois and Iowa. But before other state conferences 
 were formed, several churches in distant states affiliated 
 themselves with our Conference. 
 
 The Conference minutes of 1869 record that the newly 
 organized Baptist church at Swede Center, Neosho county, 
 Kansas, applied for membership. The Baptist church (now 
 Broadway) in Kansas City, Missouri, became affiliated with 
 our Conference in the middle seventies. It was organized 
 in 1872. The fellowship of these two churches — and there 
 may have been others in Kansas and Missouri — continued 
 until the Kansas Conference was formed in 1881. 
 
 For a few years the First Baptist Church of Sister Bay, 
 Wisconsin, was a part of our Conference. This church, 
 organized in 1877, affiliated with the Wisconsin Conference 
 shortly after the Conference organized in 1884. 
 
 The Bethel Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio, became a 
 member of the Illinois Conference in 1891. It was organ- 
 
 151 
 
152 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 ized in 1889. In 1900 it united with one of the eastern 
 conferences. 
 
 Though the following list of churches may not be com- 
 plete, it will show, nevertheless, what an important place 
 the Baptist Conference of Illinois has filled during the past 
 century. The three periods are indicated together with the 
 churches that belonged to the Conference in each period. 
 
 The first figure is the year of organization. The asterisk 
 (*) and the year in parenthesis mark the churches that 
 have disbanded, or been merged with some other church, 
 or affiliated with some other conference. 
 
 THE ILLINOIS-IOWA-MINNESOTA 
 CONFERENCE 1856-1858 
 
 1852 — Rock Island, 111. 
 
 1853 — Village Creek, Iowa 
 1853 — Houston, Minn. 
 
 1853 — Chisago Lake, Minn. 
 
 1854 — Chicago, 111. 
 1854 — Burlington, Iowa 
 
 1854 — New Sweden, Iowa 
 
 1855 — Scandia, Minn. 
 
 1856 — Swede Bend, Iowa 
 
 1857 — Galesburg, 111. 
 
 1857 — Wastedo, Minn. 
 
 1858 — Carver, Minn. 
 
 THE ILLINOIS-IOWA CONFERENCE 1858-1883 
 
 1852 — Rock Island, 111. 
 
 1853 — Village Creek, Iowa 
 *1854 — Chicago, 111. (1864) 
 
 1854 — New Sweden, Iowa 
 
THE CONFERENCE CHURCHES AT A GLANCE 153 
 
 1856 — Swede Bend, Iowa 
 *1857 — Galesburg, 111. (Early Ws) 
 
 1866 — Addison Street, Chicago 
 
 1867 — Altona, 111. 
 
 1868 — Kiron, Iowa 
 
 1869 — Swede Center, Kansas 
 1869 — Forest City, Iowa 
 1872 — Kansas City, Mo. 
 1874 — Grace, Chicago 
 
 1874 — Sioux City, Iowa 
 
 1876 — Moline, 111. 
 
 1877 — Princeton, 111. 
 1877 — Sister Bay, Wis. 
 
 1880 — Temple, Rockford, 111. 
 1881— Joliet, 111. 
 
 1881 — New Bedford, 111. 
 1881 — Burlington, Iowa 
 
 1881 — Des Moines, Iowa 
 
 1882 — Third, Chicago 
 
 1882 — Temple, Chicago 
 
 1883 — Batavia, 111. 
 
 THE ILLINOIS CONFERENCE 1883-1956 
 
 *1852 — First, Rock Island (1930) 
 
 1866 — Addison Street, Chicago 
 *1867 — Altona (About 1915) 
 
 1874 — Grace, Chicago 
 
 1876 — Bethany, Moline 
 * 1877 — Princeton (1942) 
 
 1880 — Temple, Rockford 
 
 1881 — Bethel, Joliet 
 
 *1881 — New Bedford (1915) 
 
154 HARVEST ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 *1882 — Third, Chicago (1926) 
 
 1882 — Temple, Chicago 
 *1883 — Batavia (1903) 
 
 1884 — Tabernacle, La Porte, Ind. 
 
 1885 — Salem, Chicago 
 
 *1885 — South Bend, Ind. (1921) 
 
 1886 — Calvary, Evanston 
 1888 — Bethel, Galesburg 
 1888 — Immanuel, Monmouth 
 1888 — Calvary, Sycamore 
 
 *1888 — DeKalb (1947) 
 
 * 1889 — Cleveland, Ohio (1900) 
 
 * 1889 — Lake View, Chicago (1945) 
 *1889 — Morris (1919) 
 
 * 1889 — Chesterton, Ind. (1893) 
 *1890 — Salem, Chicago (1922) 
 
 1891 — Central Avenue, Chicago 
 1891 — Fairfield Avenue, Chicago 
 
 * 1893 — Tabernacle, Chicago (1926) 
 *1894 — Cable (About 1913) 
 *1894 — Peoria (About 1897) 
 
 1894 — First, Geneva 
 
 *1895 — Oak Park Avenue, Berwyn (1953) 
 
 1895 — Immanuel, Waukegan 
 1899 — Elim, Chicago 
 
 1901 — Calvary, Kewanee 
 
 1902 — Immanuel, Chicago Heights 
 1904 — Bethel, Chicago 
 
 1904 — Tabernacle, Kenosha, Wis. 
 
 1905 — Hinsdale 
 
 *1907 — Indiana Harbor, Ind. (1909) 
 *1907 — Immanuel, Chicago (1945) 
 1909 — Edgewater, Chicago 
 
THE CONFERENCE CHURCHES AT A GLANCE 155 
 
 *1910 — Bethel, Chicago (1930) 
 
 *1910 — West Auburn Park, Chicago (1916) 
 
 1917 — Elim, Rockford 
 
 1923 — Westmont 
 
 1926 — South Shore, Chicago 
 
 1939 — Calvary, Frankfort 
 
 1945 — Northwest, Chicago 
 
 1947 — Grove Street, De Kalb 
 
 1948 — First, Markham 
 
 1949 — West Allis, Wis. 
 
 1949 — Jeffery Manor, Chicago 
 
 1950 — Grace, Crown Point, Ind. 
 1950 — Edgewood, Naperville 
 1952 — Skokie Valley, Skokie 
 1952 — Home wood 
 
 1954 — Park View, Mokena 
 
 1954 — Valley View, Elgin 
 
 1955 — Hillside 
 
 Additions 
 
 The following churches are being received into the fel- 
 lowship of the Illinois Conference this year: 
 1864 — Kildare Avenue, Chicago 
 
 1956 — Riverdale 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 
 
 WHERE THE ANNUAL CONFER 
 ENCES HAVE BEEN HELD 
 
 1856 — Rock Island, Illinois 1879 • 
 
 1857 — Village Creek, Iowa 1880- 
 
 1858 — New Sweden, Iowa 1881 
 
 1859 — Rock Island 1882 ■ 
 
 1860 — Rock Island 1883- 
 
 1861 — No Conference 1884 
 
 1862 — Rock Island 1885 
 
 1863 — Village Creek 1886 
 
 1864 — Village Creek 1887 
 
 1865 — Moline, Illinois 1888 
 
 1866 — Village Creek 1889 
 
 1867 — New Sweden 1890 
 
 1868 — Altona, Illinois 
 
 1869 — Rock Island 1891 
 
 1870 — Swede Bend, Iowa 1892 
 
 1871 — Rock Island-Moline 1893 ■ 
 
 1872 — Village Creek 1894 
 
 1873 — Village Creek 1895 
 
 1874 — Rock Island 1896 
 
 1875 — Moline 1897 
 
 1876 — Village Creek 1898 
 
 1877 — Addison, Chicago 1899 
 
 1878 — Rock Island 1900 
 
 Village Creek 
 
 Addison, Chicago 
 
 Princeton, Illinois 
 
 Temple, Rockford 
 
 Village Creek 
 
 Moline 
 
 Rock Island 
 
 Temple, Rockford 
 
 Third, Chicago 
 
 Grace, Chicago 
 
 Joliet 
 
 Salem (Englewood) 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Moline 
 
 Third, Chicago 
 
 Temple, Chicago 
 
 South Bend, Indiana 
 
 Salem, Chicago 
 
 Moline 
 
 Temple, Rockford 
 
 Temple, Chicago 
 
 Central, Chicago 
 
 Lake View, Chicago 
 
 156 
 
WHERE ANNUAL CONFERENCES WERE HELD 
 
 157 
 
 1901 — Salem, Chicago 1929 - 
 
 1902 — Moline 1930 
 
 1903 — Fairfield, Chicago 193 1 - 
 
 1904 — Joliet 1932 
 
 1905 — Temple, Rockf ord 1933 - 
 
 1906 — Moline 1934 
 
 1907 — Central, Chicago 1935 • 
 
 1908 — Evanston 1936- 
 
 1909 — Temple, Chicago 1937 • 
 
 1910 — Berwyn, Illinois 1938 
 
 1911 — Lake View, Chicago 1939 ■ 
 
 1912 — Galesburg, Illinois 1940 
 
 1913 — Elim, Chicago 1941 
 
 1914 __ Temple, Rockf ord 1942 
 
 1915 — Edgewater, Chicago 1943 
 
 1916 — Central, Chicago 1944 
 
 1917 — Moline 1945 
 
 1918 — Joliet 1946 
 
 1919 — Lake View, Chicago 1947 
 
 1920 — Grace, Chicago 1948 
 
 1921 — Evanston 1949 
 
 1922 — Temple, Rockford 1950 
 
 1923 — Edgewater, Chicago 1951 
 
 1924 — Moline 1952 
 
 1925 — Central, Chicago 1953 
 
 1926 — Salem, Chicago 1954 
 
 1927 — Lake View, Chicago 1955 
 
 1928 — Galesburg 1956 
 
 Temple, Chicago 
 
 Immanuel, Chicago 
 
 Addison, Chicago 
 
 Moline 
 
 Joliet 
 
 Elim, Chicago 
 
 Temple, Rockford 
 
 Kenosha, Wisconsin 
 
 Evanston 
 
 Lake View, Chicago 
 
 Fairfield, Chicago 
 
 Joliet 
 
 Grace, Chicago 
 
 Moline 
 
 Central, Chicago 
 
 Kenosha 
 
 Lake View, Chicago 
 
 Temple, Chicago 
 
 Monmouth, Illinois 
 
 Edgewater, Chicago 
 
 • Galesburg 
 Salem, Chicago 
 Northwest, Chicago 
 Temple, Rockford 
 Elim, Chicago 
 
 • Kenosha 
 Sycamore, Illinois 
 Moline 
 
STATISTICS AT THE CENTENNIAL 
 
 Name of Member- Sunday For All 
 
 Church ship School Purposes 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Addison 478 459 S 77,257.10 
 
 Bethel 252 255 33,404.94 
 
 Central Ave 487 480 103,195.48 
 
 Edgewater 298 308 43,085.43 
 
 Elim 282 383 38,168.32 
 
 Fairfield 125 250 11,292.06 
 
 Grace* 241 251 20,675.66 
 
 Jeffery Manor 56 107 5,566.43 
 
 Northwest 572 570 77,935.20 
 
 Temple 202 328 149,654.70 
 
 Salem 570 567 123,367.40 
 
 South Shore 192 163 18,491.62 
 
 Chicago Heights 177 207 7,846.47 
 
 Crown Point, Ind 77 115 7,271.40 
 
 De Kalb 65 221 10,244.54 
 
 Elgin- Valley View 40 119 7,847.27 
 
 Evanston 213 200 16,866.26 
 
 Frankfort* 52 136 4,684.17 
 
 Galesburg 273 281 19,587.18 
 
 Geneva 78 104 8,083.86 
 
 Hillside 29 132 7,622.77 
 
 Hinsdale 68 132 21,512.79 
 
 Homewood 62 187 116,642.37 
 
 Joliet 248 226 19,886.50 
 
Name of Member- Sunday For All 
 
 Church ship School Purposes 
 
 Kenosha, Wis 201 306 28,201.80 
 
 Kewanee 79 119 5,382.40 
 
 La Porte, Ind 73 107 5,724.30 
 
 Markham* 36 127 10,083.84 
 
 Mokena 24 108 13,116.00 
 
 Moline 303 350 162,288.33 
 
 Monmouth 174 226 9,599.28 
 
 Naperville 22 67 4,702.45 
 
 Rockford 
 
 Elim 126 230 15,518.28 
 
 Temple 484 610 40,165.00 
 
 Skokie 179 318 34,093.47 
 
 Sycamore* 110 140 16,686.00 
 
 Waukegan 474 843 78,119.46 
 
 West Allis, Wis 34 157 10,239.18 
 
 Westmont 135 127 10,980.69 
 
 39 Churches 7,591 10,016 $395,090.40 
 
 *Report for 1954