Title: Mayfield Congregational Church Records, 1849+
ID: RHC/RC/185
Extent: 10.75 Linear Feet
Arrangement: The collection is divided into eight series: Historical and Administrative Records, Membership, Committees, Financial Records, Building Fund/Construction, Church Organiza-tions, Audio-visual, and United Church of Christ. The third series, Committees, is arranged alphabetically.
Date Acquired: 10/00/1987. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: Congregationalists, LGBT - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Mayfield (Ill.), Mayfield Congregational Church, Methodists, United Church of Christ, Wesleyan Methodist Church, Mayfield
Languages: English
The citizens of Mayfield participated in the Methodist Rock River Conference as a stop on the circuit starting in 1845. Conference meetings were held at Mayfield, then know as Brush Point, in 1848 and 1851. At first services were held in the home of Mr. Ira Douglas and then at the Brush Point school house. In 1860 a group of citizens met at the school house to organize the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Mayfield. At that first meeting they elected a board of trustees, adopted a constitution and began plans for construction of a building to be located near the cemetery in Mayfield. The first board of trustees included Rev. William A. Nickerson, Stephen Townsend, and Reuben and Ira Nichols, all known for their involvement with the underground railroad.
In 1906 the church lost its ability to get pulpit supply through the Wesleyan Methodist organization. At that time the church changed its affiliation to the Congregational churches and began receiving pulpit supply through Wheaton College. It became a member of the Congregational and Christian Conference of Illinois during this period. In the early and mid-1960's, the Mayfield church joined the Northern Association of Congregational Christian churches which, eventually, became part of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ. The latter group consolidated the Congregational and Christian Conference of Illinois with the North Illinois Synod of the Evangelical and Reformed Churches.
Congregationalists
LGBT - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
Mayfield (Ill.)
Mayfield Congregational Church
Methodists
United Church of Christ
Wesleyan Methodist Church, Mayfield
Repository: Northern Illinois University
Accruals: Addenda to the collection were added at a later date.
Access Restrictions: There are no restrictions on access to this collection, except Box 11, Folder 1-3, Pledges.
Use Restrictions: Property rights in the collection belong to the Regional History Center; literary rights are dedicated to the public.
Acquisition Source: Mr. Charles H. Payne
Acquisition Method: Mr. Charles H. Payne, Chair of the Board of Trustees, donated the Mayfield Congregational Church Records to the Northern Illinois Regional History Center in October 1987.
Related Materials: For additional information on Congregational and Methodist Churches, researchers should consult the Regional History Center's guide and reference shelflist.