Our Pioneer Spirit
Most of the original members of the Albion Seventh Day Baptist Church, which was first called the Seventh Day Baptist Church of Dane County, came from western New York State.
When the Blackhawk Wars ended in 1835, soldiers returned to the east with reports of Wisconsin’s crystal clear rivers, lush prairies, and endless timber.
In September of 1842, Jesse Saunders and Duty J. Green arrived from Allegany County, New York. Recognizing that there was a need for a church, they called upon the three-year-old Milton SDB church for assistance.
The record book of the Milton SDB church states:
January 18, 1843 . . . A request was received from the brethren on the west-side of the Rock River for counsel in regard to forming a Seventh Day Baptist Church in Dane County . . . (It was) voted that the church appoint a counsel of seven . . . . The committee met in Dane County on the 22nd of January 1843 and organized a church of 30 members of the Seventh Day Baptist Denomination.
The Seventh Day Baptist Church of Dane County was welcomed into the General Conference on August 6, 1843. . . . When the village of Albion opened a post office, the name was changed to the Albion Seventh Day Baptist Church.
By 1861, the Albion congregation had completely outgrown the chapel at the academy and had begun work on a church building. By the time this building was dedicated in 1863, 278 souls were worshiping there. At the same time, the Civil War was calling young men away. Some from Albion never returned.
Southern Wisconsin was becoming very settled by 1867 when the Albion SDB Church reached its peak of 383 members.
The peace following the Civil War brought a new westward expansion. . . . Even some of Albion’s founders chose to press toward the frontier. . . . Why did they leave Albion? We cannot be entirely sure. But it is likely that the same reasons that pushed them from New York prodded them onward.
Where is our frontier today? There is no mission field to the west, yet we can continue to be pioneers. Albion’s founders set a fine example for us. Reaching out to new places is a high calling. But today, reaching out to a neighbor may be our frontier.
— D. Scott Smith
Excerpt from The Sabbath Recorder, March 1983
When the Blackhawk Wars ended in 1835, soldiers returned to the east with reports of Wisconsin’s crystal clear rivers, lush prairies, and endless timber.
In September of 1842, Jesse Saunders and Duty J. Green arrived from Allegany County, New York. Recognizing that there was a need for a church, they called upon the three-year-old Milton SDB church for assistance.
The record book of the Milton SDB church states:
January 18, 1843 . . . A request was received from the brethren on the west-side of the Rock River for counsel in regard to forming a Seventh Day Baptist Church in Dane County . . . (It was) voted that the church appoint a counsel of seven . . . . The committee met in Dane County on the 22nd of January 1843 and organized a church of 30 members of the Seventh Day Baptist Denomination.
The Seventh Day Baptist Church of Dane County was welcomed into the General Conference on August 6, 1843. . . . When the village of Albion opened a post office, the name was changed to the Albion Seventh Day Baptist Church.
By 1861, the Albion congregation had completely outgrown the chapel at the academy and had begun work on a church building. By the time this building was dedicated in 1863, 278 souls were worshiping there. At the same time, the Civil War was calling young men away. Some from Albion never returned.
Southern Wisconsin was becoming very settled by 1867 when the Albion SDB Church reached its peak of 383 members.
The peace following the Civil War brought a new westward expansion. . . . Even some of Albion’s founders chose to press toward the frontier. . . . Why did they leave Albion? We cannot be entirely sure. But it is likely that the same reasons that pushed them from New York prodded them onward.
Where is our frontier today? There is no mission field to the west, yet we can continue to be pioneers. Albion’s founders set a fine example for us. Reaching out to new places is a high calling. But today, reaching out to a neighbor may be our frontier.
— D. Scott Smith
Excerpt from The Sabbath Recorder, March 1983