Union Church Proposal, 1903-1907
Two letters proposing that the Granville churches form a "Union Church." The 1903 letter is from David Lyman Kibbe, pastor or the Congregational Church on the hill. The 1906 letter is from Edgar Alonzo Brownell of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which at the time was meeting in the old Universalist Church building.
The 1903 Kibbe letter refers to the Baptist, Methodist and Congregational churches, while the 1906 Brownell letter refers only to the Congregational and Baptist churches.
The third letter is dated 1907 and comments that "the outlook for consolidating of the two churches is rather remote."
There is no evidence that a Union Church was ever formed and there is no reference to this proposal in Wilson's "History of Granville."
The basic issue raised by the pastors in 1903 seems to have continued, with the Methodist church ceasing activity in 1922. In 1937 the need to have a few strong churches rather than more weak churches resulted in the formation of the Federated Church, when the First Church of Christ Congregational (the church on the hill) pooled resources with the Granville Baptist Church.
Neither Edgar Brownell (1875 - 1908) nor David Kebbe (1863 - 1933) lived to see the day when their proposal, made over 30 years earlier, would come to fruition.
1903
1906
The Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
Digital images copyright 2019, the Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
Edgar Alonzo Brownell (16 May 1875 - 28 Nov 1908)
Edgar Alonzo Brownell was pastor of the Granville Methodist Church, 1906 - 1908. <br /><br />The 17 Jan 1909 letter is from Walter H. Upham, offering condolences to Miles Rose who was prominent in the local church and had arranged the service for Edgar Brownell. The letter also mentions purchasing "Nancy" (presumably a horse) from Mrs. Brownell. <br /><br />Walter Upham served as the Granville Methodist Church pastor during 1909-1910.<br /><br /><strong><a href="https://granvillehistory.omeka.net/items/show/1139">CLICK HERE</a></strong> to see other correspondence relating to his time at the church.