Churches in Elsie, Clinton County, Michigan

The next few photos show the Methodist Episcopal Church and Free Will Baptist Church in Elsie. These churches played an important part in the lives of my ancestors who lived in Elsie. The parishioners had such a strong attachment to the old Methodist Church building that they voted to keep it rather than build a new one.

Charles Sexton and his wife Nancy Lewis were among the earliest members of the Elsie Free Will Baptist Church. The name of this church came from their belief that "God was not willing that any should perish, that a full atonement had been made for the sins of all and that every man might, if he would, on his own free will, come to Christ." Other early members of this Baptist community included my great-great-grandfather Franklin James Tillotson and his wife Jane Ann Sexton, the sister of Charles. Prior to 1864 the Baptists and the Methodists shared use of the Methodist church which had been built in 1860. In 1864 a committee composed of the Reverend Ira Allen, Charles Sexton, Franklin Tillotson, Aaron Sickels, and B. Kelley was appointed to study the feasibility of constructing a separate Baptist church building. Aaron Sickels donated the land for the church, Chauncey Searles drew the blueprints, and Charles Sexton supervised contruction.

You may click on the thumbnail images of each photo to see a larger version.

Methodist Episcopal Church in Elsie, Michigan around 1908.

Methodist Episcopal Church in Elsie, Michigan around 1910. Perhaps a Fourth of July celebration?

Methodist Episcopal Church in Elsie, Michigan around 1910.

Methodist Episcopal Church in Elsie, Michigan in September, 2002.

Free Will Baptist Church in Elsie, Michigan around 1908.

Baptist Church in Elsie, Michigan. 1940s?

Baptist Church in Elsie, Michigan in September, 2002. Note that the steeple has been removed.

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Last modified by pib on July 6, 2003.