MOUNT VERNON — I recently had the opportunity to cross paths with Rev. Scott Elliott of the Mount Vernon First Congregational Church (MVFCCC).
In no time at all, we were chatting like old friends with a shared interest in history. He regaled with me some of the very interesting background of his church, which came about because of the anti-slavery movement. This column is based on Rev. Elliott’s research for sermons, which he generously shared with me.
As I’ve written before, Knox County has really functioned as a cultural border between the U.S. north and south, even though the political border is well south of here. In the mid-1800s, it was a hotbed of contention between pro and anti-slavery forces, both because of the various origins of settlers and because of the intellectual movements that swept through certain groups living here.
In the 1830s, many people who found the idea of slavery immoral were unhappy with the fact that some churches were slow to respond to their growing convictions.
The protesters began breaking away, citing the Biblical verse of 2 Corinthians 6:17 where the prophet Paul calls Jesus’ followers away from false religious paths that are not holy.
On July 26, 1834, Mount Vernon saw one of these schisms. Thirty members of the local Presbyterian Church left to form their own anti-slavery church, initially known as “The Free Presbyterian Church.”
By 1849, the mainstream Presbyterian Church was still moving too slowly away from the South’s “peculiar institution,” leading to the further split that saw the Free Presbyterian Church become the First Congregational Church.
The church supported the anti-slavery movement strongly, sending delegates to abolition meetings and hosting speakers who denounced slavery.
But the pro-slavery contingent in Mount Vernon was vigorous, and they took to disrupting MVFCC services by throwing rocks and eggs at their original church building, on the property where the library today stands.
The pro-slavery people would heckle and mock, raising a racket that could be heard for miles around, according to contemporary accounts.
And the pro-slavery faction didn’t stop with just hateful words. They attempted to lynch Rev. W. T. Allen, a prominent abolitionist. The church members took to escorting their speakers as bodyguards.
One of them was Charlie Cooper, the founder of Cooper Industries, a centrally important industry in Knox County history. According to legend, the current MVFCC building was constructed with the sanctuary on the second floor to protect the congregation from threats and attacks.
Although the pro-slavery faction in Knox County was dangerous, that was a common and necessary hazard to be overcome by escaping slaves. Members of the MVFCC played active roles in the Underground Railroad, helping fugitives pass through Knox County and escape safely north.
Though records are understandably few, one telling entry comes from 1842, when the church scheduled an anti-slavery meeting, which predictably drew the local racists, who had taken to threateningly calling themselves “The Meat Axe Club.”
But the meatheads little realized that the meeting was a diversionary tactic.
According to a surviving account by MVFCC pastor Rev. Elwell Mead, “On that same night a load of 19 fugitives which had been brought from Appleton the night before in a double wagon by 12-year-old John Scribner, were taken on toward the North Star by Mr. Travis, under the cover of storm and darkness.”
The church’s role in fighting slavery and helping escaping slaves was saluted in 1895 with one of the current church’s most remarkable features: the beautiful stained glass windows at the front of the sanctuary which portray King David and the prophet Elijah as black men.
For a town that still has elements opposed to racial equality, this is a remarkable and early challenge to racist attitudes.
Three freedom trails are known to have converged in Mount Vernon, coming from Sunbury, Granville, and Utica. From Mount Vernon, fugitives headed north to the Quaker settlement north of Fredericktown, or at least that was their destination before that Friends Church themselves split and dissolved due to in-fighting, as we reported in an earlier column.
From there, the path to freedom headed north toward Lexington in Richland County.
Earlier this year the MVFCC decided to erect a public marker, a granite bench, outside the church to honor and remember the church and area’s involvement in opposing slavery. The words on the bench start with words from the Old Testament book of Micah: “Seek justice, love kindness.” Following that quote are these words:
In 1834 we began as an anti-slavery church working with others to oppose slavery and help courageous Black Americans escape slavery on the Underground Railroad as it ran through Mount Vernon. We continue to seek justice and love kindness; we pray others will too.
On Oct. 3, 2021, the commemorative bench will be formally dedicated in a public gathering outside the front steps at 10:30 a.m. Prior to that dedication some of the early anti-slavery and justice work of church will be discussed in the 9:30 a.m. service. The public is invited to both the service and the dedication.
