History of Boone County Quakers - Boone County Community Network

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The desire carried by Quakers from the log-cabin school to the frame building to the brick structure was to be far head of state offered schooling. The major difference between the desire of Quakers and the present day desire can be summed by Rufus Jones when he said, "Early Quaker teachers were not preparing their pupils for college; they were preparing them for life, and they were resolved to have the work honestly done... It was an education, which tended to produce not, indeed, geniuses and leaders, but modest, trustworthy, dependable men and women who would endeavor to preserve and transmit the heritage of the Society. This standard gave Friends a higher educational level than that of the communities around them. Just as the base of Quaker education lies deep in our history so does the influence. Truly, the contribution to education in the Thorntown area is something Sugar Plain Friends Meeting can hold dear as a heritage to spiritual and moral instruction. Spiritual Leadership From 1827 to 1880 Sugar Plain was without pastoral leadership. The normal service for worship was conducted by the “meeting of ministers and elders.” On occasion a visiting minister would speak to the meeting. “Our beloved friend David J. McMullen a minister of the Gospel, attended the meeting presenting satisfactory credentials from Bridgeport Meeting of Friends. His company and gospel labors were satisfactory.” Our beloved friend John Newlin a minister of the Gospel attended this meeting presenting satisfactory credentials from Bridgeport Meeting of Friends. His company and gospel labors were satisfactory.” (Taken from the Minutes of Sugar Plain Monthly Meeting) After the Civil War there was a religious awakening among young Quakers. Neighborhood meetings began to be held in private homes for Bible and tract reading and then for prayer and testimonies. These meetings were transferred to the meetinghouses. By 1860 “series of meetings” were held after the fashion of the youth home meetings. The preaching was extempore without prearrangement and great care was taken that the meeting should be orderly. 12
A Short History of Boone County Quakers The young and eager leaders of the revival movement were vigorously opposed to the older quietist methods, which they regarded as the cause of static and unspiritual condition of the Society. Many of the older customs, such as plain speech and dress, the emphasis on silence in worship, the habit of rising during prayer, the wearing of men’s hats in the meetings, the “plain” names of the days of the week and the month and marriages after the older Friends were generally discontinued within this period. Singing was introduced because many of the leaders coming from other denominations felt that there could be no revival without singing. It was only a few years later that musical instruments were brought into the meetinghouse. Other practices, which became general in revival meetings, were the “mourners benches.” They became the place of public confession and public testimonies to a definite religious experience. By the late 1870’s Sugar Plain came under the influence of the revival movement. Some of the characteristics of the movement that changed Sugar Plain were it was no longer a mere inheritance nor Quakerism simply by tradition for most members. Younger Friends who had been born in Boone County were replacing Quakers who had migrated from North Carolina. Old ways were being discarded. The need for pastoral leadership was discussed and referred to the Monthly Meeting for action. In the February Monthly Meeting of 1880 a committee was appointed to seek for pastoral leadership. Those appointed to serve on the committee for pastoral labor were: Mahlon Kendall William Elwood Mills Sarah Jane Hadley Elvin Rees Julietta Moore Mary Kendall Oliver Rees Albert Townsend Martha Moffitt Lucinda Moffitt During 1880 Sugar Plain became a pastoral meeting. Franklin Meredith became the first pastor to serve Sugar Plain. 13
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History of Boone County Quakers - Boone County Community Network

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