Record of the Rock River Circuit North Illinois Annual Conference Methodist Protestant Church [and] Register of Rock River Circuit Methodist Protestant Church [manuscript caption titles, 1841–1889].

With related photographs

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Two Manuscripts, A Religious Network
How did a loosely-affiliated network of churches in nineteenth century Illinois build out, to grow a strong network of faith? With handwritten records spanning almost 50 years, these two manuscript notebooks tell the story of the growth of the Rock River Circuit Methodist Church in Northern Illinois.

Both manuscripts reveal how the appointments of church pastors were made, the licenses to preach were granted, honorary members added, and sacramental records preserved. Both manuscripts – Record of the Rock River Circuit North Illinois Annual Conference Methodist Protestant Church (1841–1889) and Register of Rock River Circuit Methodist Protestant Church (1853–1888) – provide an extensive record of this cluster or circuit of churches in northern Illinois near the Iowa border.

Rev. Isaac Wood
Who kept these manuscripts? Handwritten annotations within the notebooks, laid in ephemera, and original photographs, link these manuscripts to Rev. Isaac Wood (1816–1893). As recorded in the Register, Rev. Wood was appointed to minister to the Methodist congregation at Morrison, Whiteside County, Illinois in 1882. Wood served there through the period covered by these manuscripts; he was as the final custodian of these manuscripts kept as working church records and registers.

The Record manuscript contains minutes and other notes of the quarterly meetings held by the Rock River Circuit. Also included with that manuscript are a marriage register (1843–1852), a baptism register (1842–1851), and lists of church members (1848–1850). Many of the membership lists only record male members.

The Register lists of church members (1853–1888), a register of marriages (1869–1879), and records of a few deaths and a baptism. Also found here is a “list of ministers on Rock River and Morrison circuits from organization to the present time,” from Daniel Young in 1840 to Isaac Wood in 1887. The Morrison Circuit was established in 1858.

Nineteenth Century Photographs
There are three photographs present. A carte de visite photograph laid into the Register is captioned “Rev. Isaac Wood, Morrison, Whiteside Co., Ill.” Another photograph, a ferrotype (“tintype”) portrait likely depicts Rev. Wood as a younger man. One unidentified carte de visite portrait of a woman may depict Wood’s wife. This woman’s photograph has an identical photographer’s mount and backmark. An 1884 post office receipt for “Mrs. I Wood” is also included with this historical archive.

An informative collection augmented by ephemera three related photographs, both manuscripts offer primary material to complete the story of the 19th-century activities of The Rock River Circuit Methodist Protestant Church in Illinois; identifying superintendents, preachers, committee members of its quarterly conferences, as well as recording its sacramental records.

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