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)



The Vote of the Session(2)
Williamson Dunn's January 16th 1823

The Congregation of Hanover met agreeable to notice given on last Sabbath & gave the following votes for John F. Crow for Pastor of this church & Madison.(3)

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.


End Notes

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.

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