Historic Places: First Friends Church in Noblesville Indiana

“Historic places help people connect with the experiences of people in the past” (Heady, 19)

(Note: This post has been modified from a genealogy and local history library science course assignment.)

Tracing family history is often a journey of self-discovery. Unfortunately, data comprised of trees and lists of names, dates and places without the benefit of context does not create meaning. Generating a narrative that resonates and offers insights into family history requires access to artifacts and relics, photographs, or letters to “put flesh on the bones” (Carmack, n.d.). Another avenue to create meaning is via historic places that facilitate connections with the “experiences of people in the past (Heady, 19).”

History

First Friends Church in Noblesville Indiana (located at 1055 Division Street) was the first church of the Quaker denomination built in the town, which is the county seat of Hamilton county (Centennial History of First Friends Church (1993, p.3). Erected in 1892, the church was intended to provide a space for worship for Quakers who had begun to increasingly work and live in town. New industries powered by the discovery natural gas in the area emerged, drawing in new residents. Travel to other meeting houses had also become increasingly burdensome. The First Friends Church history notes, “The nearest church was six miles in the country”, no doubt referring to Westfield and Carmel (p.3). Westfield, six miles from Noblesville, “was settled largely by members of the Friends Church; in fact, for many years the place was known as a Quaker town” (Finch Shirts, 1901, p. 207).

Massey & Schweikert in Images of America: Noblesville write, “churches were the heartbeat of the community from the early days of the settlement. Services were often held in homes or businesses until a dedicated structure could be erected to meet the needs of growing congregations” (p.8). The shift from a rural, agricultural economic culture in Noblesville can be explained by the “discovery of natural gas in 1887” which provided, according to Massey & Schweikert, “a significant boost to Noblesville’s economy and population (p.8).” Until the early 1900’s, the abundant energy source powered factories, new industries and generated an influx of merchants who served the growing population of the county seat. Massey & Schweikert assert, “…the gas boom exploded, changing the face of the community from farming to business and industry” (p.8). FFCH also notes that as Noblesville grew, many Friends increasingly found employment in town due to the increased activity at the county seat (p.3).

The formation of First Friends Church was due largely to the efforts of two Noblesville citizens, James S. Hollowell and prominent attorney Joseph A. Roberts, who worked together to organize Friends Meeting in Quaker homes. Roberts later became the church’s first clerk. According to Hamm, “the clerk’s responsibilities in a Quaker meeting for business are heavy. He or she has the duty of judging the ‘sense of the meeting,’ (p.11). Quaker ministers from nearby Westfield and Carmel often attended and led such early in home meetings (FFCH, p.3). Also instrumental in the creation of the church were Amos Sanders and his wife Anna, Quaker ministers. Amos Sanders was also faculty member at Union High School in Westfield (now Union Bible College). During the late summer of 1890, local Quaker subscribers raised money to rent space and furnish a room for services at the Fishers Building in Noblesville. Members met here until 1892, when they moved services to a room in the Noblesville Court House.

Sanders, the Friend Church’s first pastor, and his wife Anna, also a pastor, were leading forces in the Noblesville Quaker community. Haines, in his History of Hamilton County Indiana- Her People, Industries and Institutions, writing in 1915 states, “Rev. Amos Sanders and his wife were very earnest workers in the new church. To them is largely due the early growth and prosperity of the church, both in spiritual and temporal things” (p. 328). In Autumn of 1892, the Sanders family hosted famous evangelists Nathan and Esther Frame, who recorded their impressions in a memoir of their evangelical activity. They noted that support for the new church was not entirely widespread in the town, and that some citizens viewed Quakers with suspicion, and as, “old-fashioned” outsiders, who spoke and dressed strangely (FFCH, p.5). According to the Frames, the base of the congregation was drawn from the long established early settlers, those descendants of the “Quaker Migration”, “trained in “old Quaker homes” (p.5). The Frames asserted that a revival led by them during their visit converted “more than one hundred and thirty” and electrified the town on the subject of religion (p.6).

Whatever the actual opposition it may have faced, when the new brick church was dedicated in 1892, “other churches in the area cancelled Sunday services so all could attend” (Massey & Schweikert, p. 32.) Constructed by Noah Earl and built on land on Division Street purchased by Hollowell and the church’s future first clerk Roberts, the church was “42 feet square…with the ceiling reaching to the roof (FFCH, p.10).” At the dedication, Amos Sanders informed the congregation that building cost $3,500 and the “oak pews with light antique finish” were purchased for the sum of $373.00. Sanders also, “donated his parlor furniture of walnut and horsehair to furnish the pulpit. (Note: this furniture is still in the church in what we now call the ‘parlor”.) (FFCH, p.6).” Esther Frame, the famed evangelist, gave the first sermon (p.6). Today, with the exception of the removal of the tower which took place between 1911 and 1914, and the addition of a basement, the church seems much the same as it did in 1900.

Rev. Amos Sanders (1845 – 1907) served as the Pastor from the church’s inception until 1899. His salary in 1894 is recorded in the meeting minutes as $600. He and his wife (and fellow pastor) Ruth Anna are buried in Brooklyn New York. Like the other Friends discussed, their families were Quakers, so he belonged by “birthright”.  Amos parents were both born in Ohio. His wife Anna, also was born in Ohio, but her mother and father were from Pennsylvania and Delaware. Amos’ grandparents were born in Georgia in the late 18^th century, but soon migrated to Ohio. His father Daniel and mother Rachel were living in Decatur, Marion County Indiana by 1850. This pattern of migration is commonly associated with Quakers who sought states free of slavery and opportunities to create new and separate communities.

James S. Hollowell (1850 -1937)

James S. Hollowell (1850 -1937), along with Joseph A. Roberts purchased the land on Division street, where the church was eventually constructed. In the census his profession is listed as “ground” and “fire clay”, then later as “news agent”. It appears he and his wife Sarah encountered some legal trouble in 1900-1901. After residing many years in Noblesville, he returned to his birthplace in Paoli Indiana. His brother Amos’ obituary details the family’s Quaker origins. Like Sanders, he was a Quaker by birthright.

Joseph A. Roberts (1853 – 1935), was a prominent Noblesville attorney. Robert’s boasted an impressive array of achievements in his obituary, but it does not mention the many years he served as the clerk for First Friends Church. As the clerk, Roberts recorded the minutes of the meeting. Hamm writes that clerks were required to have skills of “discernment” and judgment. As an attorney, Roberts no doubt developed these skills. His brother Thomas’ obituary describes their Quaker heritage. According to his brother Thomas’ obituary, Joseph’s grandparents were Quaker pioneers. His grandfather Walter was born in South Carolina, a common point of origin for early Quaker Hoosiers to emigrate from.

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Research Process

The research process for this assignment began with a simple Google search, then an exploration of the church website. There I learned more about Friends’ beliefs and practices, as well as the church’s personality. Per their website, “We are a welcoming, peaceful Quaker church in Noblesville, Indiana, open to all who seek to live in accord with Christ’s example of love, forgiveness, mercy, and care.” I observed that all of the staff and the pastor are women! In keeping with Quaker traditions, men and women are equally expected to contribute to the community and women take leadership positions as pastor, clerks, office manager and trustee, and office manager. Their mission statement is:

“We seek a world free of war and the threat of war.
We seek a society with equality and justice for all
We seek a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled.
We seek an earth restored….”

Next, I located a commemorative history of the church produced on the centennial of its founding, in 1992-1993. Other resources on local history in the region, such as Images of America: Noblesville and A History of Westfield Indiana: The Promise of the Land, both written very recently, were extremely helpful. To understand more about Quakerism, Thomas D. Hamm’s The Quakers in America was very useful. Online, I looked at the Hathi Trust and the Internet Archive sites searching for earlier written histories that might mention the church or associated individuals. At Google books, I unearthed J.F. Haines’ 1915 History of Hamilton County Indiana: With representative Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Old Families. Haines offered a distinct point of view from his time and place writing that First Friends was the “youngest” church in town. (Later, on Newspapers.com, I found a clipping of a ceremony to honor founding members and discovered that Haines was pictured!)

Finally, I searched for information about individuals associated with the church on Ancestry.com and on the internet. The Centennial History of First Friends Church Noblesville, Indiana provided four local people to research: Amos Sanders and R. Anna Sanders (pastors), James Hollowell and Joseph A. Roberts (the two men who conceived of the church) and also visiting pastors Nathan and Esther Frame. The Frames were popular Quaker evangelists who were also associated with the church and had written about it in their memoires, as well as participated in the ceremony of dedication in 1892.

Ancestry.com was extremely useful in tracking the movements of the Quaker families. By comparing their migration patterns to the trends of Quaker migration described by Hamm, the local history and genealogy elements of this assignment dovetailed neatly. The meticulous hand written Quaker church meeting minutes were invaluable in understanding how the group practiced and illuminated the activities of individual members. For instance, I learned that Rev. Amos Sanders wished to attend a large meeting in Kansas City. If the scope of the assignment allowed, I could have cross checked the meeting with other attendees to understand where church members stood on the issue of schisms that had splintered Quakers in the nineteenth century.  In any case, the most useful resource was the history produced by the church.

Using Newspapers.com, I focused on the individuals and their families to locate obituaries, news clippings mentioning the church and also strangely enough, court proceedings for one individual (Hollowell). The rich history of this place was very enjoyable to research.

Finally, I contacted a library and the Hamilton East Public Library, a week after I’d made a quick in person visit to pick up a few books and check out the Indiana room there.

Discussion

I contacted the Hamilton East Public Library, specifically the Indiana Room. I spoke with a librarian who identified herself as “Nancy”. Later when I asked for her full name and title, she turned out to be one of the author of Images of America: Noblesville. (I was delighted!) So, she is clearly an expert on the subject. After describing the assignment, and listing the sources already identified, I asked if she had any recommendations for sources not mentioned. She began by suggesting looking at the older county histories, and notified me that the website has links to the public domain open source copies. (I had already accessed several of these, but not through the library website links.) She also alerted me to the existence of a vertical file on First Friends and that it is full of newspaper clippings and stories! I should have realized this, and explored the possibility on the first visit to the library, but it was either forgotten or overlooked. (Now I see that the library website lists these as genealogical resource on the Indiana Room page.) In particular, upon further inquiry, she told me about an article on the 1892 church dedication on file. We discussed identifying other newspaper articles. She informed me that the local Noblesville papers are not digitized, they are on microfilm and no index exists. Specific dates will be needed for searching when looking for stories about the church and associated individuals. Finally, I asked about resources related to Quaker individuals. I had observed Quaker genealogy books in the reference section of the Indiana room, but was unable to look at them due to time constraints. She was unsure if those would be helpful, but did point out the vertical family history files might be of use. She knew of a Roberts’ file and suggested a Sanders’ file might exist, as to Hollowell, she was unsure. When asked if the resources gathered up to this point were sufficient, she said I had it, “pretty well all covered.”

Conclusion: Final Thoughts

The Noblesville First Friends Church is a place that matters to the people of Noblesville. (If it doesn’t it should!) Simply by exploring the history of this building, the history of the town of Noblesville, particularly Quaker history, can be uncovered. The individuals associated with the building also tell Hoosier and Quaker stories on many different levels; stories of beliefs and practices, a commitment to equality and tolerance, and to American migration patterns, and finally of the evolving fabric of the community.

This conclusion is evidenced in the lives of the women discussed, Ruth Anna Sanders, and Esther Frame, who illustrate Quakers’ commitment to equality and the belief that all church members, regardless of sex, should contribute to Quaker religious life. A belief and practice that is still evident today in the church staff.

The family migration patterns of the individuals associated with the church illustrate that Quakers emigrated from England to Pennsylvania for freedom of religion, and that once there, they in some cases lived up to their reputations as fair dealers and free thinkers, as when they insisted on compensating Native Americans or refused to participate in slave based economies. Migration from Southern colonies and states, such as Georgia, North and South Carolina, illustrate a desire for separatism on the part of Quakers and their refusal to participate in slavery, and advocacy of non-violence. (Though some Quakers did in fact own slaves, or eschew pacifism.) The life stories of the men and women discussed also demonstrate how Quakerism was a “birth right” and that Quaker families adhered to traditions and values over generations.

The ways in which economic factors impact migration and family movement are demonstrated in the natural gas boom in Noblesville that increased the city population and shifted the economy in that area from rural to urban and that this led directly to greater concentrations of Quakers in the town in need of a place to worship. Ultimately, resulting in the creation of the church building on Division street.

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References

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The Fairmount News. (1920, March 29). Town board members were pallbearers: Many friends

and neighbors attend the funeral of Joseph A. Roberts held Thursday morning. The

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Frame, N. & E.G. Frame. (1907). Reminisces of Nathan and Esther G. Frame. Cleveland: The

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