The Call of the Hanover Church to
John Finley Crowe
Transcribed by Michael J. Poor
Edited with Introduction by Michael J. Poor
Introduction
Thomas C. Searle, the founder and first pastor of the Hanover Presbyterian
Church, only enjoyed his post there for a year and a half before he died
in October of 1821. The new church took nearly two years to find an able
successor to assume pastoral responsibilities at Hanover. Early in 1823,
the church's session agreed to issue a call to a thirty-five year old minister
from Kentucky named John Finley Crowe.
Crowe was born June 16, 1787 in Green County, Tennessee. He spent his teen
years with his parents in Missouri, where he realized his call to the ministry
under the guidance of a Methodist minister. He moved to Kentucky in 1809
and studied privately for two years before matriculating at Transylvania
University in Lexington. His popularity in Kentucky declined when he published
an abolitionist essay during his undergraduate years. Crowe became a member
of a Presbyterian church in Lexington and, in 1814, was sent to the Church's
General Assembly in Philadelphia.
Feeling drawn to the Presbyterian Church, Crowe studied at Princeton Theological
Seminary beginning in 1814 and was ordained to the Church's ministry the
following year. He removed to Shelbyville, Kentucky, where he took charge
of an Academy and became pastor of two local churches. Again publicly expressing
his anti-slavery views, Crowe developed a contentious reputation in Shelbyville.
When Crowe received the call from John M. Dickey, moderator of the Hanover
Church's session, he happily accepted it to avoid further conflicts in
Kentucky.
The following documents are the votes of the members of Hanover's session
regarding the choice of John Finley Crowe as their next minister, the official
call to him from the church, and the letter written by Dickey informing
the Synod of their choice. The latter two documents were written in April
of 1823; by May, Crowe had moved with his family to Indiana and settled
into his new position at the Hanover Church.(1)
| Williamson Dunn .............................................................1
Thomas Galaher ..............................................................2 Samuel Smock .................................................................3 Jesse Dickenson .............................................................4 Basallel Maxwell ............................................................5 William Ried ...................................................................6 George Logan .................................................................7 Adam Maxwell ................................................................8 Benjamin Smith ...............................................................9 Samuel Hanna ................................................................10 Hugh Linn ......................................................................11 Samuel J. Ryker ............................................................12 Alexander Dinwiddie .....................................................13 Thomas Marshal ...........................................................14 Robert Simington ..........................................................15 James Park ....................................................................16 Wm. McBane ................................................................17 Wm. Officer ...................................................................18 John Sebern ...................................................................19 James Covi ....................................................................20 Alexander Park .............................................................21 Andrew Spear ................................................................22 |
Nancy Houston ............................................................23
Susan Logan ................................................................24 Margaret Maxwell ......................................................25 Eleanor Dunbar ...........................................................26 Frances Loving ............................................................27 Elisabeth Smith ............................................................28 Miriam Dunn ................................................................29 Catharine Sebern .........................................................30 Mary Linn ....................................................................31 Elisabeth Hanna ...........................................................32 Nancy Simington ..........................................................33 Elisabeth Dinwiddie .....................................................34 |
The Call To John Finley Crowe
The Congregation of Hanover being on sufficient grounds well satisfied
of the ministerial qualifications of you, the Rev'd. John F. Crow, and
having good hopes from our past experience of your labors, that your ministrations
in the gospel will be profitable to our spiritual interests, do earnestly
call and do give you, to undertake the pastoral office in said congregation
promising you, in the discharge of your duty, all proper support, encouragement,
and obedience in the Lord. And that you may be free from worldly cares
and avocations, we hereby promise and oblige ourselves to pay to you annually
the sum of three hundred & twenty five dollars in regular semiannual
payments for three fourths of your ministerial labors, during the time
of your being, & continuing the regular pastor of this church. In testimony
whereof, we have respectfully subscribed our names, this 2d
day of April 1823.
| Attest John M. Dickey, Mod. |
George Logan} Williamson Dunn} Elders Robert Simington} William Ried} Benjamin Smith Deacon |
The Letter to Synod
I hereby certify that on this day at the house of Mr. George Logan being
previously invited by the Congregation of Hanover to moderate in their
election of a pastor, after sermon upon taking the vote the Rev'd John
F. Crow was elected pastor & that the elders & deacons were appointed
by a publick vote of the congregation to subscribe the within call for
& in behalf of the s[ai]d Congregation. Witness my hand this 2d
day of April 1823.
J. M. Dickey
1. a Two secondary sources were used for the introduction and the annotations for these documents. They are: William Alfred Millis, The History of Hanover College from 1827 to 1927 (Greenfield, Ind.: W.M. Mitchell Printing, 1927); and A.Y. Moore, History of Hanover College (Indianapolis: Hollenbeck Press, 1900).
2. The titles of each of these documents were added by the editor.
3. When Searle died in 1821, he had been pastor of both the Hanover and Madison Churches.