Douglas County Churches
The First Baptist Church, Lawrence
What came to be known as the first Baptist Church of Lawrence had its
beginnings on June 25, 1855, when a group gathered to organize a Baptist
church and met at the home of Rev. William Hall. Rev. Hall had been sent by
the Baptist Home Mission Society to establish a church in Lawrence. There
were seven charter members of the church--James S. Emery, Marshall M. Hammond,
Samuel Jones, Rebecca Jones, Nathan Herrick, Lydia Ann Herrick and Elizabeth
Parks. Rev. Williams left soon after organization, and the congregation
was with a pastor until the spring of 1857 when the Baptist Home Mission Society
sent Rev. R. C. Brant to serve the congregation. For the first few years
the church met in rented buildings, but in January, 1870, a new edifice was
dedicated at the corner of 8th and Kentucky streets.
Pastors of the church through the first hundred years:
R. C. Brant, 1857-1859
W. O. Thompson, 1859-1860
A. Perkins, 1861
W. P. Upham, 1862-1864
John Sawyer, 1865-1866
E. D. Bently, 1865-1868
Frank M. Ellis 1869-1872
Daniel Read, 1872-1873
J. W. Wardner 1874-1875
A. C. Peck, 1875-1882
W. C. McEwan, 1882-1885
A. H. Stole, 1885-1891
George D. Rogers, 1892-1900
L. P. Russell, 1900-1904
W. B. Hutchinson, 1904-1907
O. C. Brown, 1907-1917
Frank Jennings, 1917-1924
John F. Watts, 1924-1931
C. C. Cunningham, 1932-1935
Howard E. Koelb, 1935-1943
Ernest Snodgrass, 1844-1946
George C. Fetter, 1946-1952
Harold B. Lundgren, 1953-1955
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Douglas Co. KHHP
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This website created Feb. 24, 2012 by Sheryl McClure.
� 2011-2012 Kansas History and Heritage Project
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