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members. One of these was from Tennessee, two
from- Kentucky; one from South Carolina; and one
from New Jersey. They adopted the Articles of
Faith of the Silver Creek Association and belonged
to that body till the Flat Rock Association was
formed.
Of course it will be impossible to give even a brief
sketch of each of the churches; but mention must
be made of Blue River from the fact that it was the
mother of both Franklin and Second Mount Pleasant,
An "arm" was organized at Franklin in January,
1829. Elder Chauncey Butler, father of Ovid Butler,
founder of Butler College, was moderator, and Elder
Samuel Harding, clerk. From this "arm" Franklin
church grew, being publicly recognized in August,
1832. As to Second Mount Pleasant no date is given
for the organizing of the "arm" but the church was
formed in July, 1835. Sharon church was consti-
tuted in 1823, had a division in 1838 and one half of
its members became followers of Alexander Camp-
bell; but the historian states that the church was
stronger without them, for 'tis written--"they were
not of us or they would have remained with us." The
Greensburg church has been blessed with some of the
strongest ministers of the Association, as pastors;
and it has had some pastors of whom it is not proud,
especially that one who was invited to Jeffersonville
prison, not as chaplain.
The casual reader of the minutes of the Associa-
tion will doubtless wonder at the lack of wisdom of
trying to keep up two Baptist churches in Shelbyville
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in that early time. The brief explanation is that after
the first organization had struggled for a while to
support worship in the town Deacon Robertson offered
land for a meeting-house and cemetery about four
miles east of Shelbyville; and the offer was accepted.
Gut as time went on and the town increased in popu-
lation it was seen to be a mistake not to have a church
there. Accordingly in March, 1849, the Shelbyville
Baptist church was constituted. In the absence of any
records, the supposition is that the church east of town
at length dissolved, the members joining at Shelby-
ville and at other points. As was already said this
Association was blessed with strong men both in the
ministry and out; many of these deserve special men-
tion for the sake of the work they did and the char-
acter they bore--but limited space will necessitate
brief mention.
Elder Daniel Stogsdill was present at the first meet-
ing of the Association as a delegate from Mount
Moriah, and was elected moderator; that was in 1823.
He was a faithful minister in the Association for
thirty-nine years, his death occurring in 1862. He
was a native of North Carolina. His biographer says
of him that--"By his pious walk and godly conversa-
tion, together with his zealous and successful work
in the ministry, he secured the confidence and strong
attachment of his brethren and the churches."
Elder Samuel Harding was born in Kentucky in
1787 and came to Indiana in 1825. He was an active
helper in the organization of churches, he was an
earnest patron of education, and one of the founders
