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- 1849 (Creation)
Extent
1-10000
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Administrative history
The Wesleyan Methodist Church of America emerged in response to the Methodist Episcopal Church's support of slavery and its centralized, authoritarian governance. In November 1842, leaders O. Scott, J. Horton, and L. R. Sunderland withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church and launched The True Wesleyan, a weekly publication explaining their reasons for separation. In December, Luther Lee and L. C. Matlack also withdrew, marking the formal beginning of the Wesleyan movement. Although earlier separations had occurred—particularly in Michigan, where a conference was established—these events laid the foundation for the official organization. The first church of the new denomination was founded in Providence, Rhode Island. In February 1843, a preliminary convention was held in Andover, Massachusetts, which led to a General Convention in Utica, New York, on May 31, 1843. There, the Wesleyan Methodist Church was officially organized and adopted a governing Discipline. The first General Conference convened in October 1844 to revise this Discipline, followed by a second in October 1848, which produced a more comprehensive and clearly organized version.
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This series comprises records from the Indiana conference. They capture the district’s role as a vital regional hub within the wider church. The materials include minutes from district conferences, correspondence between local pastors and district leaders, reports from area churches, pastoral appointments, membership and financial statistics, and policy documents specific to the region.
These records reveal how the district guided and supported local congregations and clergy, implemented denominational policies on a regional level, and fostered church growth and ministry within the community.
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General note
The formation of Wesleyan Methodist churches began in Indiana prior to the convening of the Utica Convention. At that convention, Indiana was made a part of the Miami Conference. By 1844, the Miami Conference listed two districts in Indiana, the Newport (Fountain City) District and the Westfield District. In 1848, Indiana was prepared to organize as its own body and, with permission from the General Conference, was officially authorized to separate from the Miami Conference. The first session was called to order by Rev . Daniel Worth in Westfield, October 3, 1849. There were eighteen ordained ministers and 1,167 members. Following the Civil War, Indiana
helped to carry on Wesleyan Methodist mission work in Tennessee and North Carolina, for some time carrying all of the pastoral appointments in those areas as part of its own .
At the time of the 1968 merger, the Indiana Conference ranked first in the denomination in the number of churches, and second in membership. It had 111 organized churches and 5,879 total membership.
General note
The presidents who served the Indiana Conference prior to 1887, primarily as moderators of the annual sessions, included:
Daniel Worth, 1848-49, 1856-57, 1862
Alexander Haywood, 1849-52, 1855-56
James Paxton, 1852-55
A. H. Hiatt, 1856
J. L. Pfaff, 1857-59
Emsley Brookshire, 1859
C. F. Wiggins, 1859-60
George Richey, 1860-62, 1863-65
John Harrison, 1865-66
Elijah Coate, 1866-68, 1870-71
J. W. Johnson, 1868-69, 1878-79
J. L. Fall, 1869-70
H. C. West, 1871-74
Aaron Worth, 1874-76
William Lacy, 1876-78, 1879-87
The full-time presidents who served beginning in 1887 included:
Eber Teter, 1887-1901
William J. Seekins, 1901-08
Thomas P. Bake r , 1908-19
Walter L. Thompson, 1919-35
Emory J. Pitts, 1935-43
Amos M . Jackson, 1943-49
Eugene Kierstead, 1949-59
John Kenneth Dunn, 1959-68