Granville MOODY of Butler County, OH Butler County OH

Granville MOODY
early Ohio curcuit Methodist preacher
(photo provided thanks to Daniel A. Masters)
EARLY LIFE:
Granville MOODY, 1812 - 1887, was born to New Englanders, but by 1830 or 1831, had joined his brother in Norwick, Ohio. John Moody in Norwick shipped goods to Granville who, around 1830, build the first store in Adamsville, Ohio on Lot #4. "Granville Moody would go on to be a well known curcuit preacher and the store would afterwards be managed by William Wisecarver and Henry Timms before it was closed in 1836." Read more about Early Business Establishments in Salem township of Muskingum County, Ohio.

"Dakender" added the following information at Ancestry.com:
Name: Granville Peaslee Moody
Birth Date: 2 Jan 1812
Birth Place: Portland, Cumberland, ME, USA
Wife: Lucretia Elizabeth Harris Moody
    Birth Date: 26 Feb 1818 in White Sulfur Springs, (Co?), VA, USA
    Birth Date: 5 Feb 1886 in Mount Vernon, Linn, IA, USA
Death Date: 4 Jun 1887
Death Place: Mount Vernon, Linn, IA, USA
Children: several are listed, but at least one was born when Granville would have been 2 years old, and Granville Peaslee Moody, born 2 July 1854 in Dayton OH, is credited to a second wife, Elizabeth, but 32 years before Lucretia Elizabeth Moody is thought to have died.

PASTOR:
Pastor Moody traveled to churches throughout Ohio.
Between 1840-1842, he was pastor of the Oxford circuit (History and Biographical Cyclopedia of Butler County, Ohio). The Butler County Historical Society offers more information on Methodist churches in Oxford, where Pastor Moody served, and other Butler Co OH churches.
In 1845-6, Granville Moody was pastor of Town Street church in Columbus, Ohio. (biography of Francis Miner)
In 1879, he was a pastor of the M.E. Church near Hamilton, per the History and Biographical Cyclopedia of Butler County, Ohio.

CIVIL WAR YEARS:
Granville MOODY was the Colonel under whom the 74th Regiment Infantry was formed for the Civil War.

"The 74th Ohio was the newest and smallest of Miller�s regiments, being raised in Greene County and assigned to garrison duties in Nashville during its entire term of service thus far. Long exposure to the monotonous routine of camp duty had sapped some of the vitality and spark from the men, but had given the unit a far more �spit and polish� demeanor than its brigade mates.

Colonel Granville Moody set the tone for his regiment. A Methodist preacher before the war, Moody had made a name for himself within clerical circles for his outspoken opposition to �Calvinism, Universalism, Socinianism, Radicalism, intemperance, and disloyalty.� High-browed with deep set, fiery eyes, a scraggly, silver beard and wiry, unkempt hair to match, Moody lacked any military qualifications whatsoever when he took command in late 1861.

But he had learned his craft well over the next year, and his commanding appearance, pious manner and deep concern for the spiritual needs of his soldiers won him a high regard within Negley�s division, and especially among �the boys.� He viewed himself as an instrument of God in putting down �this wicked rebellion.�
(from A Storm in the Cedars, by Daniel A. Masters)

"While Methodist ministers were buckling on the armor in the East the mighty West was stirred, and ministers and people flocked to the standard of the Union army. Among the heroic spirits who drew the blade was the Rev. Granville Moody, of the Cincinnati Conference, and at the time pastor of Morris Chapel, Cincinnati." (continue reading this at Wesley Center Online, which includes a letter to him from Ohio Governor Tod.)

"Remembered Phases of the Civil War", by Galvin, states: "When the 74th had its full complement of companies, Granville Moody was commissioned Colonel and Alexander Von Schrader, Lieutenant Colonel. Col. Moody had been a prominent Methodist preacher for thirty years. He had fought Sin under all its guises." (continue reading... paragraph 14), with more about the 74th regiment.

Elsewhere, local pastors were often brought into the prisons to "improve" souls. Confederate prisoners at Camp Chase resented patriotic sermons delivered over the prison wall by Col. Granville Moody, "The Antislavery Republican." (CJ's Civil War Home Page)

One of President Lincoln's favorite stories involved Granville Moody: Nashville Was Not Surrendered. Pastor Moody was on President Lincoln's agenda for March 20, 1865

CENSUS REPORTS:
1860: Minister of the M.E. Church, Granville Moody, aged 48, was living in Urbana, Ohio in Champaign County. He was born in Maine about 1812. His wife, Lucinda E. Moody, was 42 and born in Virginia. Their children are listed as:
* Clifford N., aged 20, a music teacher, born in Ohio
* William H., aged 17, music, born in Ohio, in school during the year
* Hariet E., aged 12, born in Ohio, in school during the year
* Mary E., aged 8, born in Ohio, in school during the year
* Granville, aged 5, born in Ohio, in school during the year
* Charles P., aged 3, born in Ohio
Margaret Gigander, aged 18, was living with the Moody family as domestic help.

NOTE: "Dakender" added the following information at Ancestry.com:
Clifford Neff Moody was born 26 April 1840, in Ohio
Granville Peaslee Moody was born 2 July 1854 in Dayton (Montgomery Co), Ohio

1880: A clergyman, Granville Moody, aged 68, was living in Hamilton, Ohio in Butler County. He was born in Maine about 1812. Both of his parents, unnamed, were born in Massachusetts. His wife was L.E. Moody, aged 62, whose parents were both born in Virginia.

NAME SAKES?
There was a Granville MOODY who married Mary Booker, October 1793, Amelia County, Virginia
Perhaps Granville Moody Whiteman, son of Mary J. (McFarland) and William Rapier Whiteman, was named for this pastor. Mr. Whiteman lived in Crowley County, Kansas.

Granville Moody Flenner, born 1843 in Liberty Township of Butler County OH, may also have been named for the preacher.

FURTHER READING:
Daniel Masters suggests this book about Granville Moody:
Blackburn, Theodore W. Letters from the Front: A Union �Preacher� Regiment (74th Ohio) in the Civil War. Dayton: Morningside Bookshop, 1981
It may be available through inter-library loan, or from AbeBooks.com