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Name and location of repository
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Title
Date(s)
- 1887 (Creation)
Extent
1-10000
Name of creator
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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Scope and content
This series comprises records from the South Kansas 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
South Kansas first appears in the Discipline in 1887, “shall be bounded as follow: Commencing at the north-west corner of Wyandotte County, running south across the Kansas River; thence west to the line between Johnson and Douglas Counties thence south to the center of Douglas County; thence west to the line of the A. T. S. F. Railroad; thence following said line to the north-east corner of Harvey County ; thence west to the line of Stafford County; thence north to the north-east corner of the last-named County ; thence due west to the State line. The South Kansas Conference shall also include all that part of the State of Missouri south of the Missouri River.” It then appears in the 1891 General Conference journal. There were 5 appointments, 2 churches, 0 meeting houses, and 150 members. South Kansas was consolidated with Kansas at the 1895 General Conference.