Page 130
tinued for a time with apparent harmony, but owing
to missionary proclivities of the Union Association
correspondence was dropped by Salem Association at
her meeting in 1827, she having embraced the 'two-
seed' doctrine of Daniel Parker."
Wabash District Association was organized in 1809
and opened correspondence with the Baptist Board
of Foreign Missions, and continued correspondence
till 1819. In 1820 the name of Daniel Parker ap-
pears on her minutes; he circulated in her midst, his
pamphlets on Anti-ism, and the two-seed doctrine
which she embraced, and thus dissatisfaction arose,
and hence the necessity of the formation of Union
Association in 1824.
"The doctrines of Parker spread to some extent
over Blue River, Lost River, White River and Salem
Associations, hence they all dropped correspondence
with Union as she would have nothing to do with
Parkerism and its blighting influence; but the Lord
has blessed Union Association notwithstanding the
many trials she had been called to pass through . .
. . Blue River Association was organized in 1816;
she opened correspondence with the Baptist Board of
Foreign Missions and continued till 1824 when she
dropped the correspondence without assigning any
reason. Lost River was formed in 1825 with a mem-
bership of 548, and she also opened correspondence
with Union and Flat Rock Associations, both mission-
ary bodies; but in 1833 Lost River declared non-feI-
lowship with all benevolent institutions, as Bible So-
cieties, publication societies, Sunday schools, etc.,
Page 131
. . . so we see that the very first Baptists in In-
diana were missionary. Other Associations in south-
ern Indiana spoke against missions--little Pigeon,
Salem, Danville, and Eel River, all small bodies and
some of them extinct."
The oldest church in Union Association was Wa-
bash Baptist church, organized some time prior to 1809.
Maria Creek was the next, formed in 1809. A con-
siderable notice of Maria Creek was given in the be-
ginning of this work. Veals Creek was organized in
1823, Mount Olive in 1825, Indian Prairie in 1832
and Washington in 1840; others still later.
Among those whose names would most readily oc-
cur as leaders in building up Union Association would
certainly be Elder William Stansil; In the Associa-
tion minutes of 1855 is to be found an obituary notice
from which the following full extracts are taken:
"He was born in North Carolina in 1800, came to
Indiana in 1808, was married to Celia Barber in 1818,
became a member of the Shiloh Baptist church, Ferry
county, in 1821, was licensed to preach in 1823 and
was ordained in 1821. He was truly a pioneer
preacher, laboring under many difficulties and disad-
vantages, traveling through cold and heat, mud and
snow; crossing swollen streams and facing fierce
winds that he might preach the word of life to the lost
and perishing. Three score years he zealously labored
for the Master, and as a tangible result of his labors
two thousand persons found peace in believing in
Christ . . . . He was buried in Sullivan
cemetery, having died in his 85th year."
