Monday, November 30, 2015

Amanuensis Monday - Worship in the Community - Baptist Church - Part One

Mayfield: Then & Now – Worship in the Community Chapter - Copyright 2003; compiled and written by Elaine Clark and Sherry Kline

Baptist Church – p. 91

Although we didn’t locate any records, this note was in the January 10, 188, “Mayfield Musings” column of the Sumner County Press.

A Baptist church of twenty odd members was organized at Mayfield recently.

I truly debated whether to add anything to that comment and decided I didn’t want to touch it “with a 10-foot pole,” as folks used to say. However, for the sake of younger readers who might not know, perhaps I should add than an older definition of “odd” is “with some extra.” So, it means there were more than twenty people involved in organizing the Baptist church, not twenty strange people. Okay, now I can move on.

In an interview with Lizzie Miller, we learned that the original church burned, and that church was located where the tennis courts and east parking lot are now.  The second church was built on the same location.

On January 1, 1972, Dorene Applegate interviewed Isham Williams, age 101, when she wrote a college paper entitled “The History of Mayfield, Kansas.” Dorene learned that Isham had helped dig the basement and build the second Baptist church to replace the one that had burned; Isham remembered that the congregation met in the Presbyterian building until it was completed.

The Baptist congregation did not have a parsonage in Mayfield because most pastors lived in Wellington. Lizzie Miller remembered that families in the congregation had a schedule and took turns feeding the pastor and his family at Sunday noon and Sunday evening.

Lizzie recalled that there was a sewing circle at the church when her mother, Lucy Stayton Clark, was a young lady and that her mother “did beautiful hand work.”

Differences among the congregation caused a split, and the small congregation was forced to close its doors. Mrs. Miller recalled that her father’s funeral was the last funeral to be held in the church on December 5, 1932.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Amanuensis Monday - History of Church at Mayfield - Part Three - Worship in the Community Chapter

Part Two, P. 99 - Mayfield: Then & Now, compiled and written by Elaine Clark & Sherry Kline,  Copyright 2003

Chapter: Worship in the Community, Compiled & written by Elaine Clark

The following was compiled from a newspaper article.


In the winter of 1923 a fine union revival was held under the Presbyterian Church under the leadership of H. G. Butler of Cleveland, Kansas, with N. J. Croft, pastor of Presbyterian Church and Reverend G. A. Parkhurst, pastor of the Methodist Church.

This was repeated the next year with fine success, with Reverend Charles S. Ealy of Des Moines, Iowa, Evangelist and Reverend D. S. Alexander, pastor of Presbyterian Church and Reverend H. C. Johnson, pastor of the Methodist Church.

From the Methodist Church have gone out seven preachers, Lincoln Snyder of Oklahoma Conference, Augustus Gardner, later a Presbyterian preacher, H. G. Porter, pastor at Atlanta, Kansas, Clare McNeil, pastor at South Haven, Wendell Williams, pastor at Corbin, Carl Stocking, pastor at Danville, and Raymond Knowles, pastor at Raymond, Kansas.

Mrs. Fred Rose has the honor of having been a member of the Methodist Church the greatest number of years, she having joined in 1887.  She is also a granddaughter of Rev. O. G. Wilbur, founder of the Mayfield class.

R. R. Stocking, who has been a member for over 40 years, is present today with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The charter members with many others have passed to their reward, but we are thankful as the ranks grow thin a new recruit steps in to fill the gap, and to “carry on” in the King’s Army.

In the words of the hymn writer, our prayer would be:

Dear Lord,   take up the tangled strands,
Where we have wrought in vain,
That by the skill of Thy dear hands,
Some beauty may remain,
Take all the failures, each mistake,
Of our poor human ways,
Then, Savior,,, for thine own dear   sake,
Make them show forth Thy praise.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Amanuensis Monday - History of Church at Mayfield - Part Two - Worship in the Community Chapter

Part Two, P. 99 - Mayfield: Then & Now, compiled and written by Elaine Clark & Sherry Kline,  Copyright 2003

Chapter: Worship in the Community, Compiled & written by Elaine Clark

The following was compiled from a newspaper article

It is interesting to know that in 1918 Mayfield Church was asked to raise $107 for Conference Claimants Endowment. The pastor, O. R. Henderson, assisted by five other pastors put on a drive and secured subscriptions to the amount of $1225, one third of which was paid that year.  The chare also paid $160 to American Relief, met all its claims in full, bought 125 song books, and had $200 left in the treasury.

In 1920 the Methodist church bought a dwelling house to be used as a parsonage for $2,000.  The same year a garage was built at a cost of $200.

In 1921, a small addition was added to the parsonage and the Sunday School room was added to the north end of the church building.

There have been many seasons of refreshing during the years, but we will only mention two that are outstanding.  The first began in 1892 with Reverend I. F. Hodge as pastor and continued during the pastorates of A. A. Parker and R. L. George.  The second came in 1915 with S. J. Manning as pastor, which is still in evidence thru the years.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Amanuensis Monday - History of Church at Mayfield - Part One - Worship in the Community Chapter

Part One, P. 99 - Mayfield: Then & Now, compiled and written by Elaine Clark & Sherry Kline,  Copyright 2003

Chapter: Worship in the Community, Compiled & written by Elaine Clark

The following was compiled from a newspaper article

Methodist ChurchHistory of Church at Mayfield was Read on SundayWellington Daily NewsOctober 11, 1934


The history of the Methodist Church at Mayfield, followed by the history of the Federated Church, which is the one now used, was read at the Homecoming service last Sunday.

The Mayfield Methodist church was organized in 1879 by O. G. Wilbur, a local preacher living in the community, with the following as charter members: Mr. and Mrs. O. G. Wilbur, Mr. and Mrs. E. M. Brass, Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Updegraff, Mr. and Mrs. Amos Robinson, Mr. and Mrs. S V. Walton, Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Parker, Mrs. G. L. Hutchinson, Emma Wilbur and Frank Knowles.

The Society met in S. V. Walton’s store, which was located about one mile southeast of the present site of Mayfield.

At that time there was a little town at that place called Belleview, from which the society took its name, and remained so officially until the charter was renewed in 1916, when it was changed to Mayfield.  In the early 1880’s, the town was moved to the present town site, and the name changed to Meringo and later to Mayfield.

The Methodist class then began their worship in the old school house, which is now used for a dwelling. Later they worshiped in the Presbyterian Church, but in a few years they again resumed worship in the school house. On Dec. 29, 1897, the trustees of the Presbyterian Church at Mayfield sold their church building with furniture and fixtures to the Methodists for the sum of $550.  The same building is still being used for the Junior Sunday School.

When the class was first organized it was placed on the Wellington Circuit with Reverend Walker as pastor. A few years later Mayfield was made the head of a charge, but in 1885 it was again paced on the Wellington Circuit and remained so until 1887, when it was placed with Milan.  

This relationship held until 1892, with the exception of 1890, when Mayfield and Silver Creek were placed together to form a charge.  In 1892, Mayfield was made the head of a charge, being served mostly by student pastors from Southwestern College, Winfield, who gave full time service for a while later sharing time with Anson and other points.


In 1908, Mayfield, Milan and Beaver Creek were placed together to form the Milan charge.  This union remained until 1919 when Mayfield was made a resident charge, remaining so until 1922 when it again became a student charge and remained so until the Federation in 1925.  During the years from 1879 until 1925 we were served by 32 different men as pastors many of whom have gone to their reward. 


Monday, November 2, 2015

Amanuensis Monday - Worship in the Community - Mayfield: Then & Now

Mayfield: Then & NowCopyright 2003; Compiled and Written by Elaine Clark and Sherry Kline

Chapter: Worship in the Community, Compiled & written by Elaine Clark, p. 91

In 1879, two years after the formation of Osborn Township, and one year before Mayfield was officially declared a town, two churches were organized. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the town of Belleview, one mile east of the current site of Mayfield.  On Sept 6 of that same year, folks met in the sod house of Nicholas Burnside for the purpose of taking the beginning steps to organize a United Presbyterian Church southwest of Mayfield.

Because records were either lost or not kept, we only know that A. D. Moore organized The First Presbyterian U. S. A. Church in the town of Mayfield – probably in the early 18880’s, and we know some of the charter members.

In 1882 the Union Christian Church was organized southwest of Mayfield, and in late 1883, a Baptist Church was organized in the town of Mayfield.

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in 1887, and those records are quite complete.  A 1902 church newsletter and a 1934 newspaper article give details about the beginnings of a strong Presbyterian congregation in Mayfield.


At the present time, the only church still active in the community is the Mayfield Federated Church formed by merging the Cumberland Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in 1925.