BUCHANAN
Letter of Rev. A. P. Davis
Buchanan, July 23, 1858
Dear Brother Taylor:
I last wrote you by the “President Benson.” I also wrote
you by the M. C. Stevens, but she arrived and brought no
intelligence from you. Since I last wrote I have been principally
engaged in efforts to build a house of worship in the first ward of
the city of Buchanan. Our meeting-house has, for some time, been
in such a dilapidated condition as to prevent night worship in it,
but of late it is unfit for service night or day. The membership
being mostly poor, with a few exceptions, I recommend that each,
to the utmost of his ability, apply himself literally to the work of
building a house of worship. My advice was duly taken; and
although the tedious and slow way we have to get timber together
in this country, is by hand to shoulder, without the assistance of
team, we have gotten our timbers together, and will raise our
house, with God's assistance, in a few days. We have been put to
much inconvenience by being deprived of a suitable place of
worship. The needful meetings of the church, conferences for
business, evening lectures, prayer- meetings, &c., all have been to
some extent unavoidably neglected.
My preaching to my stations has been as regular as possible
under the circumstances - sometimes after walking three miles to
preach to my brethren in Fish Town, I am obliged to return without
preaching. In that case I take up the time in visiting from house to
house. We have no regular house for public worship at Fish Town.
But sometimes worship is conducted in a vacant house, and at
other times in part of a brother’s private dwelling. The people at
this place, this year, have been entirely deprived of a school; and it
is to be lamented that the children of this place are left without any
teacher from any source whatever. Sister Savage, a very wealthy
woman, teaches a number of children, mostly for pity sake, as their
parents are not able to pay.
The school in this ward is doing as well I think as it could
under the circumstances. No fault in the teacher as to his
qualification and attention to his school faithfully. But the course
of instruction is often interrupted by the children being called off