Circuit Rider from the 1800s visits Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society

[October 07, 2021]    Portraying a circuit rider, Pastor John Johnson of Lincoln took members and guests of the Logan County Genealogical & Historical Society back to the days of Abraham Lincoln during a recent meeting.

Garbed in period attire complete with black hat and preaching tabs, the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Mason City, began his journey in Germany, where he was told he would be a missionary being sent to the United States to aid the Indians.

This never happened. Instead he wound up in New Sweden in Delaware teaching the Lutheran Catechism. He then traveled to Ft. Wayne, IN where he went to Seminary. The next stop was Northern Michigan followed by a horseback ride south where he stopped by a cabin to speak to a young lad whose father was named Lincoln.

The Circuit Rider then proceeded to Illinois and a camp meeting.

Pastor Johnson said churches of the day were established about seven miles apart—about the distance a horse could travel in a day. Weddings were held one right after the other, sometimes followed by their children’s weddings. He noted people of the time aged quickly and had a, “Great deal of faith.”

He said the state paid the preachers by how many baptisms and funerals they officiated. The church was the center of the community. They had potlucks for fellowship and, “Pinochle was a sacrament.”

Concerning Abraham Lincoln, Pastor Johnson commented that although Lincoln met privately with a Presbyterian minister and rented a pew at a Presbyterian Church in Springfield, he was not a member. He said Lincoln was, “Quiet about his faith, but did make a Confession of Faith 20 minutes before his assassination.

[Diane Osborn]