OCHEYEDAN CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.



The Ocheyedan Congregational church was organized in 1888 and the present church building erected in 1893. Thomas Pell, L. R. Fitch, D. Donaldson, W. A. Brintnall, J. L. Brown, J. B. Chase, W. B. Jackson, E. T. Briggs, R. W. Coats, J. F. Glover, F. R. Rawlins and George E. Brown have been the pastors, serving in the order named. The pastorates have averaged about two years in length. Mrs. A. V. Randall, Mrs. E. O. Manville, Mr. and Mrs. John Armstrong, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. VanCleve and Mr. C. L. Buchman have been leading members for years. Mrs. Belle Randall is the church clerk, and Mrs. Sarah Putney is the church treasurer. The church reports fifty-three members. Of these fourteen are males and thirty-nine females. Of the members, six are reported absent. The present Sunday school superintendent is Mrs. Ida Allard. The members of the Sunday school number seventy. The church property is worth about two thousand dollars.

The church at present receives assistance from the Iowa Home Missionary Society. It is also assisted by a highly efficient Ladies' Aid Society called the Busy Bees. Bernice and Beatrice Manville, the twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. E. O. Manville, are fine musicians and are of much help in the choir.

The church has had regular, services, with little interruption, since the date of organization. On several occasions Rev. W. A. Schwimley, while pastor in Sibley, preached revival sermons in the Ocheyedan church. Of the newer members of the church who were good helpers, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bremmer, both of whom are now dead, deserve special mention. Of the older members the late Mrs. C. L. Buchman was the church treasurer for many years. The church is without a parsonage and it is hard to rent a suitable dwelling for one, but the church is not at all discouraged. Having survived about a quarter of a century, it has learned to be patient and overcome obstacles. It feels it has a mission in Ocheyedan and that it is a help to the community. With the further development of the fine country round about and the growth of the town the church will undoubtedly share in the general prosperity.

From the 1914 Past and Present of O'Brien and Osceola Counties



Osceola County Iowa Genealogy - The IAGenWeb Project