Booklet, Church, Sesquicentennial, Lake Emily Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church

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Waupun Historical Society

Lake Emily Welsh Church, Sesquicentennial

Lake Emily Welsh Church, Sesquicentennial

Name/Title

Booklet, Church, Sesquicentennial, Lake Emily Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church

Scope and Content

Booklet, Church, Sesquicentennial, Lake Emily Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church. Sesquicentennial booklet prepared for the Lake Emily Welch Church and Engdi Welch Church. The booklet contains brief histories of the church, the people and the four lakes that make up the area. The booklet has a yellow paper top cover with a light plastic sheet to protect the document. The cover has the words FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY intertwined with the word SESQUICENNIAL. It is designed with a picture of musical notes, a daffodil , Lake Emily Welsh Church 1889 -1918 and Engedi Welsh Church 1854 - 1920s and 1 Corinthains 13:13. There are six pages of print, one page of photos of the Lake Emily Church at it's dedication in 1890 and what it had become 100 years later; Ken's T-V Shop in 1998. SESQUICENTENNIAL FAITH HOPE CHARITY Lake Emily Welsh Church 1889-1918 Engedi Welsh Church 1854-1920s I Corinthians 13:13 SESQUICENTENNIAL Lake Emily Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church A picture taken in 1890 at the Dedication Service of the Church is shown on the back cover page, also a picture of the Church as it appears today as Ken's T-V Shop. Welsh immigrants arrived in the vicinity of Lake Emily in 1843. Religious services were immediately held in log homes. The first Lake Emily Church was built one mile south of the lake. A cemetery was soon cited on the church property. The cemetery also served the second church, which was built in 1889 on the intersection of Hwy A and Hwy F, on the corner of the Thomas Jones, Pen-y-Rhyl farm, which was later owned by Gust Lehman. A Dedication Service was held the following year. On the picture you can faintly see an American Flag afloat on a corner of the Church. There was no separation of Church and State. Wisconsin was the 30th State to join the Union in 1848; the 37th State joined in 1889 (hense there should be 37 stars on that flag). The church property included horse and carriage sheds, a woodshed, and two Ty Bachs. A wood-burning stove heated the building and kerosene lamps provided the lighting. The Church closed in 1918 when horse-and-buggy days came to a close, enabling members to drive to nearby Fox Lake and Randolph. The old Church soon became a one-room school. Selecting a name for the school presented a problem. The Welsh wished to honor Thomas Jones who furnished the land for the Church. Jones lived at the top of a hill, which means Pen-Y-Rhyl. The name was extremely difficult for the German and Holland tongues. The best they could do was to call it the "Pin Hill School". Before 1918 the children had attended a school at the bottom of the hill. Letitia Jones was the last teacher. Nellie McCarthy was the first teacher of the Pin Hill School; Beulah Moldenhauer was the last teacher. When the school closed in 1962, the children were bussed to a Consolidated School. For seven years the Pin Hill Pushers 4-H Club met in the building, and for eleven years it became the Fox Lake Town Hall. Today it is Ken's TV Sales and Repair Shop. The high ceiling has been lowered and the upper story is used for storage. Small windows have replaced the long Church windows. A portion of the floor is the fine hardwood floor of the Church. The TV Shop proudly resembles a Church, reminding us that God was present in 1848 and is with us in 1998 and FOREVER. ___________________________________ Engedi Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church The Engedi Welsh Church was located on the Blaen -Y- Cae Road. BlaenY- Cae means "edge of field". Engedi is a Hebrew name signifying a fertile spot in a desert (an oasis). It is mentioned a few times in the Old Testament. The Cemetery was named Maephelah, named for the cave, which Father Abraham purchased for Sarah's burial. Sunday services, also Sunday School and midweek services, were held in a log home with the Rev. Thomas H. Roberts as Pastor. He arrived in 1643 and wrote to friends in Wales, encouraging them to come to the land of milk and honey. Many came. The Engedi Church was built on land donated by F. H. Roberts. The Dedication Service was held in December 1854, The Rev. Thomas A. Roberts, Proscairon, and the Rev. John J. Roberts, Columbus, officiating. The Trustees were J. W. Hughes, J. W. Jones, and O. J. Jones. The Rev. John J. Daniels was the Pastor. In 1870 the Church was enlarged. The Church closed its doors in the mid 1920s. The parsonage was moved to East Friesland. A house was built nearby with the lumber of the church. The horse and carriage sheds were moved to the David G. Thomas farm and used for machinery storage. A tall old pine tree stands as a sentinel silhouetted against the sky. It bears its heritage of the past with grace. This is especially significant in this the 150th Year of Progress in the Lake Emily area. _________________ Fourth of July, 1848 Five weeks after Wisconsin became a State the Welsh community near Lake Emily observed the Fourth of July. The Pioneers had been here only four years. A religious service was held on a farmer's lawn. People drove short distances with horse and wagon (no buggies yet). Dirt roads followed Indian trails. Ladies removed their shoes to cross a puddle. There was great singing (unaccompanied). There were short lectures on Temperance. No Fireworks! The Welsh were especially thankful that they now lived in a country that was independent of English rule. Wales had sought independence for centuries and is still under English rule. _________________ REVIVAL OF 1905 The great Revival by Moody and Sankey was held in North Wales in 1905. Many coal miners from South Wales attended. Coal was carried from the mines in carts drawn by mules. When the miners returned to work after the Revival, the mules refused to obey them. THE MINERS NO LONGER SWORE! The mules were not accustomed to quietly- spoken commands. Four Lakes MARIA--Green Lake County SARAH--Columbia County TERESA--Dodge County & Columbia County EMILY--Dodge County Indians lived in the area of the four lakes when Hamilton Stevens arrived in 1842. Stevens was a Speculator sent from the East to arrange for the sale of land. Job W. Perry arrived the next year as a Land Agent. Stevens named the lakes to honor his four daughters. They never did see the lakes. Both Stevens and Perry finished their work when Wisconsin became a State. LAKE MARIA: This lake is much larger than Lake Emily, but very shallow. Yankees from the East who were of English and Scottish descent lived in the area. They built a church, which has been torn down. The lumber was used to build a house in Markesan and to build a Replica of the Church. The Replica stands in a beautiful setting in the Markesan Museum. LAKE SARAH: The lake is hard to find, as it is located on the properties of two farmers. It is near the intersection of Hwy AW and Hwy M. Many Welsh pioneers settled here. Services were held in homes and later they attended church in Cambria and Engedi. Road builders often followed Indian trails. Before Wisconsin became a State, they wished to continue AW to Hwy 33. This would have divided a farmer's property. This displeased the farmer. The argument was settled when the farmer buried his wife at the intersection. No road built! There have been 17 burials in the Lake Sarah Cemetery (1850 - 1905). LAKE TERESA: This was the smallest of the four lakes. In about 1915 a dam was built and the lake was drained into Lake Emily, providing Emily with an inlet. The drained area is very fertile and is now Jack's Pride Farms, Inc. LAKE EMILY: Emily is a deep lake. Fishing is very good the year round. Both the Engedi Church and the Lake Emily Church are in the Lake Emily area, about four miles apart. Ode to Lake Emily By Dewey Westra Lake Emily, since what time hast thou been living here so sweetly? And pray how often did by now the God of Morning greet thee? Dodge County, true, both rolling hills and fertile valleys bless it,To me though, only EMILY fills the fairest scenes that dress it. Early Welsh Pioneers Mrs. MARGARET JONES: The first building erected especially for a school was a log building built with volunteer help. Mrs. Jones taught the school in the summer of 1846. A dispute arose over the ownership of the land. The school was secretly torn down and carried away. JOHN ROBERTS, PONTNEWYDD: A friend of Roberts had procured two chickens and they looked forward to e-g-g-s, but they found that they had two roosters. What to do? They went to Columbus and bought two hens. Now they were in business! EBENEZER JONES was the grandfather of the Rev. E. Edwin Jones, Columbus, who was born near Lake Emily. DAVID GRIFFITH THOMAS came to America in 1845. In the early 1850s he bought a farm on the Lake Emily Road. The farm has been recognized as a Century Farm. Russell Thomas, 4th generation, and Richard Thomas, 5th generation, presently live on the farm. WILLIAM and MARTHA OWEN purchased land bordering on the Fox Lake inlet. The land was almost surrounded by water. The "island" was named Patmos in honor of the Beloved Disciple John. Friendly Indians lived on the island. A squaw helped Martha make bread as Martha had only one hand. Mr. and Mrs. DAVID ROBERTS: Indians came to their home begging for food. The Indians spoke a few Welsh words. Where did they learn to say horse and house and water in Welsh? Were they descendants of the Indians whom Prince Madog of Wales encountered centuries ago in the eastern part of the country? Did Prince Madog discover America? Or did Columbus? Or did Leif Erickson? .Or maybe an Irishman? An EVANS family owned a farm adjacent to Schaumburg, the rich and the poor living side-by-side. John Schaumburg had a large inheritance from his parents in ,Germany. John patterned his home after the castle, built in 1230, which he had lived in. Descendants of Evans lived on the Evans farm for several decades. They built a large barn and house. _________ Cambria Two Welshmen came to America in the early 1900s and traveled ]Dy train, hoping to reach the large settlement of Cambria. When they entered Chicago they asked, "Is this CAMBRIA?" "No," answered the Conductor, "This is Chicago." "My goodness," exclaimed the men, "If this is Chicago, what must CAMBRIA be like?" __________________________ Hardships of the Early Pioneers The early Pioneers had survived the arduous trip across the Atlantic. They arrived in the Lake Emily area as worn and weary travelers. Each family came with a sea chest, which contained clothes, blankets, kitchen supplies, precious mementos, etc. They came to wide-open prairie land, which fortunately contained both trees and water. No friends greeted them. Their first abode was a cave or a hole in the ground, covered with branches and prairie grass. Beds were hard. With no lamps, it meant "early to bed". They soon built log houses, which seemed like palaces compared with a hole in the ground. Later houses were built with lumber hauled from Appleton. Log wagons were quickly and crudely built, with wheels made of slices of logs; the creaking could be heard a mile away. At first crops of wheat and corn were ground with large coffee grinders. Later they could buy wagons built in Milwaukee. They hauled wheat and corn to Milwaukee, returning with ground feed several days later. Some had very little cash when they returned as they had made many stops for food and shelter for both driver and beast. Saw mills and gristmills were soon built in nearby villages. Sometimes yeast was unavailable--that bread was real hardtack. The kids didn't say YUK. They asked God's blessing. There were rail fences to build and wells to dig. No one left home to find work. Schools were taught in the Welsh language in homes where someone could teach. After Wisconsin became a State, rural schools were built four miles apart. Midwifery was a thriving business. Doctors and hospitals came later. Broken bones were endured. TLC was the best medicine. Were they the GOOD OLD DAYS? Picture inserted with caption: The two Westra girls are sitting on a split-rail fence on a Jones farm near Lake Sarah. _________________ Land Agent Job Perry The old pioneers called him "Uncle Job", as he was good-hearted and kind, willing to help anyone in distress, although he was sharp at a bargain. His ancestors from Wales first settled in New York State. He was happy to help his Welsh kinfolk buy land, which sold for $1.25 per acre. Land Agents carried the payments to Green Bay afoot or by horseback and returned with deeds to the property. Some men from the East disapproved of Perry's selling land to the Welsh immigrants. They reasoned that Perry himself was an Easterner, so he should have favored Welsh settlers from the East. They threatened to throw Perry into Lake Emily. This hateful group was known as "The Know Nothings". The group soon ceased to exist. After Wisconsin became a State, Perry was active in Randolph. He was buried in Randolph Center, known as Friesland since 1911. ____________ Our Neighbors Other ethnic groups came to the area in about 1860. The Germans organized the County Line Lutheran Church, the Hollanders built churches in Randolph Center. The Irish and the Polish attended the Catholic Church in Fox Lake. Children learned the English language in school and taught their parents to speak English. Wisconsin is truly a melting pot of Nations. Each ethnic group can be proud of its heritage, each trying to keep its language and traditions alive. No other State in the Union can point to a broader ethnic background. We have learned much from each other. BY: Elizabeth Hughes Lemmenes, Waupun Marilyn Schrader, Milwaukee Ann E. Lemmenes, Waupun Roy and Lori Lemmenes, Waupun Dr. James and Ruth Metz, Beaver Dam Grandkids and Friends THANKS TO: William T. Whirry who wrote a book in 1875 Jack Westra who gave us the book, plus much information Margaret Thomas--Engedi Church info, plus Thomas Farm info Beulah Moldenhauer--Evans Farm info Leona Weber--Lake Maria info John Lehman--for the 1890 photo of the Lake Emily Church Owen Metz--for designing the front cover ________________ I Corinthiaid 13:13 Yr awrhon y mae yn aros FFYDD, GOBAITH, CARIAD, y tri hyn; a'r mwyaf o'r rhai hyn yw CARIAD. CYMRU AM BYTH Sticker applied to back page: SESQUICENTENNIAL Booklet of LAKE EMILY & ENGEDI Welsh Churches Available for $2.00 from: Elizabeth Lemmenes 526 W. Lincoln Waupun, WI 53963 Phone 324-2428 The back page shows a photo of the Lake Emily Church at its dedication in 1890 and a picture of what it had become in 1998, Ken's T-V Shop.

Acquisition

Accession

2016.0103

Source or Donor

Waupun Historical Society

Acquisition Method

Found in Collection