Diamond
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| Branches: | Evangelical Baptist |
| Date Founded: | 1874 |
| Date Closed: | 1892 |
| Website: | N/A |
History
[edit]A church of the Apostolic Christian faith formerly existed in the area of Diamond, Missouri. Formerly known as Diamond Grove, this little village is located on Route 71 approximately thirty miles south of Lamar and ten miles south of Carthage, Missouri.
Several families who were associated with the Evangelical Baptist Church (the church name used in Europe and formerly in the New York church) in the Lewis County and Watertown, New York, area later migrated to Missouri. The first families came here in 187 4. Most of them settled on farms in a triangular area formed by the small communities of Diamond, Park, and Ritchey.
One of the families was that of Martin Beyer and bis wife, Elizabeth Schiffer Beyer. This couple arrived in 1874 with their children, one of which was a son, Martin N. Beyer, 23. His marriage to Virginia Slane bore nine children. The youngest, Leamon Rex Beyer-known locally as "Rex" Beyer-was born in 1899 at Diamond where he was still residing in 1981. 10 Although not a member of the Apostolic Christian Church, he attended services as a young boy at Lamar.
When interviewed, he bad a good knowledge concerning the early activities of the Apostolic Christian Church in the area. His credibility as a source of information was strengthened by the esteem in which he was held locally, with respect to both his business skills and understanding of local history. In September, 1979, he was the subject of an articJe in The Water Well Journal, a trade publication. And on June 23, 1979, The Carthage Press, Carthage, Missouri, featured an article on Rex Beyer. Thus, his reputation in the area is without reproach, and be was considered somewhat of an authority on the area's early days.
According to Rex Beyer, the dozen or so families who came to the area initially held services in a two-story home located six miles east of what is now Diamond on the east edge of a now-defunct settlement called Park, Missouri.
In 1880, these families built a small church on the east bank of Jones Creek in Park. It was built with pine lumber hauled up from Eureka Springs, Arkansas. At that time, it was the only church in the area.
Several years after the church was dissolved, the old building was moved to a farm, formerly owned by Joe Morgan, located midway between Diamond and Wentworth. A "lean-to" was added, and it was used as a granary. In 2006, the old structure was still standing-weather-beaten, full of junk, and forgotten. It faintly resembled a church; three windows (complete with shutters) on each side of the building gave evidence it was once a house of worship. The church was headed by "Old" Pete Farney. He is not to be confused with another Pete Farney who moved back to New York. Old Pete Farney was very likely the church's minister, or if not, was considered the leader of the congregation. He was one of the best and most progressive farmers in the area, according to Rex Beyer.
As the church became established, it soon met with difficulty. Old Pete Farney lost his membership in the church for indiscretions unbecoming a member. This was a severe blow to the congregation. Also, late in the decade of 1880, several heads of families were excommunicated from the church for disorderly behavior.11 This resulted in the gradual demise of the congregation. With the exception of a couple of sisters who remained faithful until their deaths in the 1950s, the flame of faith here was virtually extinguished by 1892. These sisters were visited occasionally by ministers from other Apostolic Christian Churches.
Rex Beyer's parents, following the closing of the Diamond church, began attending services at the Lamar church in Barton County. They were members of the church (having been baptized in 1879) who apparently escaped the discipline imposed on the Diamond church. Rex Beyer remembers the Lamar church (during 1910-1920) quite well-women dressed in black, men and women seated separately during worship, a big noon lunch, and both morning and afternoon services with the latter often lasting until mid-afternoon. He remembered hearing preaching in the German language, but this stopped when World War I broke out. In 1921, his father, Martin Beyer, passed away, and the family no longer traveled to Barton County to attend services.
The old church cemetery, ramshackle and weedy, still exists three and one-half miles east and one mile north of Diamond .. Sixty-five persons were buried in the cemetery; the most recent being Joseph Oyer in 1910. Legible family names on the tombstones in 1980 were Beyer, Farney, Oyer, Boehning, and Clapper. The tombstone of Peter Farney was very clear (born April 28, 1822, died October 10. 1889). The small church in this area lasted a little more than a decade. Some of the families later moved to Kansas, while others quit going to church altogether.
Diamond, Missouri, is only a few miles from the birthplace and early home of George Washington Carver, noted agronomist and agricultural chemist This historic site annually draws many tourists and sightseers.
In 2006, Martin Hohulin, a history correspondent from the Lamar, Missouri, area, obtained some information from a descendant of the early church pioneers at Diamond. A write-up of that information included the following: "Landing at Grandby City, about the middle of October, 1874, an immigrant train of families from Lewis County, New York, near New Bremen arrived in the Diamond area. This included the families of John Boehning, John Gaber, Martin Beyer, Peter Farney, John Hershey, Andrew Martin, Jacob Steiner, and Joseph Zehr. Joseph Zehr acted as minister of a church they established known as the Dutch Church locally and listed as the Apostolic Christian Church of America. Peter S. Farney arrived two years later. Many of these people are buried in the Farney Cemetery in Newton County, Missouri."
The above information came from two ladies who are great granddaughters of John Boehning and is thought to be factual.
The church, originally on the west side of Jones Creek, was later moved to the east side, which is its present location.
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Attendance
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