Pleasant  Grove  Separate  Baptist  Church


The  Shelbyville  Republican
Saturday, April 4, 1942
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C H U R C H    O F    T H E    W E E K
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SEVEN ORGANIZE
                      CHURCH IN 1833
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Congregation Is Now Affiliated 
With Central Indiana
Association.
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     Through bitter and good times of almost 109 years the Pleasant Grove Separate Baptist church stands in Noble township today as a moument to seven people under whose direction it was organized on July 12, 1833, under a tree on the farm of  Wiley Hatton, some three miles southwest of Geneva.
     These seven persons whose creed was abiding by laws of the Old and New Testaments for rules of faith and practice were  John Moore,  Aaron Hendrickson,  Cassander Moore,  Polly Hendrickson,  Wiley Hatton,  Dudley Mitchell  and  Jeptha Mitchell.  They were assisted in the organization movement by the Rev. Matthew Elder  and  Samuel J. Randolph.
     Services of the new organization were first held in a log building south of Geneva on the farm of  Thomas Fleetwood.  The Rev. Samuel P. Randolph  was the first regular pastor and was selected in August of 1835.  Wiley Hatton, grandfather of  Jeff Hatton, of Shelbyville, and  Stroder Hatton, of Noble township, served as the first deacon of the church.
Pleasant Grove Separate Baptist Church

     The early church history reveals that its members were exceedingly firm in dealing with "disorderly" members.  An excerpt from the document reads:  "The Pleasant Grove church met on Saturday before the thrid Sunday in August, 1841.  After calling for the peace of the church they proceeded with a business session during which time Sister ------- was excluded from membership for the crime of talking too freely and Brother ------- was excluded for living out of his duty.  Done by order of the church."  However, minutes of other meetings show that excluded members were again received into the fellowship after making satisfactory acknowledgements.
     Notes, written on the history by  Mrs. Samuel Stoughton, daughter of the  Rev. Joseph McQueen, second pastor, speak of a six-week revival service held in 1839.  It was during this meeting that  John Keeling, grandfather of  Dr. J. E. Keeling, of Waldron and Martin S. Douglas, grandfather of  Maurice  and  Bernard Douglas, were welcomed into the church and later served as ministers.
     On August of 1841, one acre of ground was purchased from  Harden  and  Cassander Shirley  for the sum of $10.00 and it is upon this spot that the present church stands.  The ground was purchased by  Hiram Adams,  John Keeling  and  John Moore, who served as the first trustees.
     The church affiliaed[sic] with the Sandcreek Association in 1834 and remained a member of the organization until its disbandment in 1892.  Following this the church united with the Central Indiana Association of Separate Baptist churches and remains a member of that group today.
     Walter Goodwin, of 30 Gordon street, Shelbyville, is a present deacon in the church, and the  Rev. Frank Sumner  is pastor.  Although services are held only once each month and the present enrollment is something like 48 persons the ideals of those seven people whose inward cries for the need of religious services were headed 109 years ago are still being carried on.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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