In addition to the history of the
Prairie Church (now the Roanoke
Church), we have some history
earlier than this, concerning the
assemblies at Partridge Prairie
(pronounced as Pad-rij Prairie
years ago), where the first assemblies of our denomination in Woodford County were held.
Many families located in the
area of Metamora, which was first
named Partridge Point in honor of
an Indian Chief named Black Partridge, who was friendly with the
white man. The name of the town
was later changed to Hanover, and
then to Metamora. Wooded areas attracted early
settlers, because of the timbers
providing lumber for their homes.
There was no particular building
provided for worship, so the people
assembled in homes. On occasions
when there were visitors from a
distance, or visiting ministers, they
would assemble in barns in order to
provide seating capacity for all
who assembled. An excerpt from
the diary of Bro. Henry Geistlich
states, "Sunday, July 1, 1866: At
Metamora . . . Today there was
church here by Bro. Peter Engel. A
large barn was our place for assembling, there being a large number
of people assembled. In the forenoon there were 53 rigs in the yard
and in the afternoon still more ..."
The barns were thoroughly
swept, including the walls and
rafters, and pieces of logs were
carried into the barn. Planks were
laid across the logs to serve as
benches. Chickens would wander
in, but if they became noisy, someone would quietly shoo them out.
Sisters and friends who were
working in Peoria crossed the river
on a ferry, and then walked ten
miles to church, held either in
homes or in a barn at Partridge.
One family living at Crow Creek,
not too far from Lacon, drove to
Partridge early Sunday mornings
with their log wagon. Others from
Morton and Dillon walked a distance of twenty-five miles to Partridge, leaving home at 2 :00 a.m.
on Sunday in order to arrive at
Partridge in time for services.
Baptisms were in the creeks.
Sometimes the water was low, and
those who were baptized would
emerge from baptism with their
clothes soiled with mud. Other
times the ice had to be broken before the baptism could be performed.
,· :-·],
."A 9,
So0es
A print of an original painting of the Engel barn in which church
services were held. The painting was done by a son-in-law of Bro.
Peter Engel, referred to in the diary.
The diary of Bro. Geistlich also
mentions of staying at the Krahenbuhl (also spelled Kreinbiel and
Grabill) home at Metamora. Bro.
Kreinbiel came to America from
Strassburg, Alsace, around 1836.
He was living near Titusville,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio with a
colony of people who shared all
things in common. However, this
did not prove to be very satisfactory, and he left the colony. How he
came in contact with our faith we
do not know. He moved to Peoria
and built a log cabin at the foot of
Monson and Saratoga Streets,
among other log cabins. They often
went to the east coast to meet
those of like faith who were immigrating to America, taking them
into their home until they found
an occupation and established their
own homes. While in Peoria, he
was ministering in the church, as
he also did in Ohio. From Peoria,
they moved to a small acreage at
Partridge Prairie. He was referred
to as the travelling minister, an
humble brother, and a loveable
brother. He spent much of his time
travelling great distances over the
United States and into Canada,
preaching the faith and organizing
churches.
Other brothers serving in the
ministry at Partridge were Weyeneth, Schurter, Zimmerman, Hohulin, Wenger, Reuter, Herbold, Herman, Leuthold, Walter, Welk, Virkler, Dotterer, Bella, Martin, Wanner and Herbst. Visiting ministers
most of them from out of state,
were Wagler, Strahm, Schupbach,
Brown, Lauchs, Steiglitz, Virkler,
Bohi and Imthurn; and from Europe were Geistlich and a Russian
minister whose name was not listed.
The people who moved to the
Prairie attended church at Partridge for some time, before they
began having services on the
Prairie. Services were continued at
Partridge for some years after the
church on the Prairie was built.
Another listing of ministers of
earlier years at Roanoke names
four brothers who were not included in the history of Roanoke. They
are brothers Claudin, Aeschleman,
Hartman and Blunier.
In closing, we would add another instance (this took place in
later years on the Roanoke Prairie)
before the days of the automobile,
when the roads were not passable
sisters would walk to evening mid-week services on the Prairie from
the east edge of Eureka, and then
walk home again when services
were ended.
