Cedar Creek Friends and Its People

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Update: July 21, 2009

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I worked for over six years gathering material for this book and compiling this book. Cedar Creek Friends was the meeting of my childhood and young adulthood. Many of my ancestors were founding fathers. Below is the introduction and the table of contents for the book showing what I have included.

 For a description of what is on the CD go to end of this web page.

Index to Cedar Creek Friends And Its People

 [Compiled by Sabron (Reynolds) Newton 9/2007]

You may download a copy but give her credit

INTRODUCTION

"I make no claim as to literary ability, but if some of ... ," wrote Anna Frazer Winslow in 1910. This is how I feel, I am no literary scholar but if I can leave something behind that will benefit others, I will do my best Lord willing.

Cedar Creek Monthly Meetings story is very interesting and important to me.  First, it was the church of my childhood and early adult years.  Second, several of my ancestors were important in the development of Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting.  They had to work many years trying to get Salem to set them free but finally they became a monthly meeting in the fall of 1855, even thought they first began holding documented meeting in their homes in January 1841. I am sure they were already meeting in their homes long before Salem gave them preparative meeting status and it was recorded.

 I began collecting and typing information on Cedar Creek in the spring of 2000.  I have a large database of the early families and trace most of them back to the 1680s or early 1700s.  I have included family stories of the families, plus pictures.   I also made a CD with more data on some of the ancestors and/or descendants with the book. When I was typing the second membership list I found that I had all but two or three of the families in my database.  Oh how they intertwine together.

You will find included the story of the church and the beginning of the pastoral system as well as information and pictures pertaining to the ministers who served.  Included are complete membership listings and some deaths. Also, all available cemetery burials information collected, from a variety of primary sources, up to date through Feb 2007.  Many original documents are included or portions thereof. 

The names of my pioneer Cedar Creek ancestors are: William, Matthew and William D. Trueblood, Enos Mendenhall and Charles Maxwell. Zachariah and Elizabeth Hodson were living in the area but died soon after their arrival.

In researching I discovered that Quaker families were a lot the same as families are today. There were adults and children who did things that their parents or elders would not have liked like drinking or swearing and there were the parents and children that took their faith very seriously. There were even some families where it seemed that they did not care if they broke the rules established by the Society of Friends. Some would leave, some would be disowned and others would say they were sorry (present an offering - letter of apology) and stay in the meeting. Were the Quaker's too strict? Some thought so, but I am not sure that they were.  Some families got in the habit of marrying when they pleased and then the family member told the meeting they were sorry. I think not being willing to wait the time period it took for the meeting to check to see if you were cleared to marry and marrying someone not a member and who did not choose to join were probably the most commonly broken rules. In the beginning the Society of Friends were responsible for the marriages of the people in their meeting. Here in Iowa, Quaker marriages were not recorded in the courthouse until about fifteen years after the Quakers came to Iowa, thus the need to check and see if the person could be married. I believe their method of checking to see if nothing stood in the way of marrying, which often took three months or so, was based on the reading and posting of Banns for three successive Sundays, in England telling that the couple planned to marry and if anyone knew of a reason they should not marry to let the parish know.

Out of respect for their deceased spouses, Quaker men or women were not allowed to marry within one year of the death of the spouse. Also, would the meeting want to marry someone who was already married, thus the need to check to see if they could marry.  Letters might need to be written to the meeting they had moved from to check into their past, thus the time factor.

I am glad I grew up in a family where a deep faith in God, being honest and following the rules was demonstrated and taught. My mother's family took their faith and church attendance very seriously and we were a teetotaler family.

Enjoy your time reading and researching your families with this book.

                       Jean (Hallowell) Leeper

Table of Contents

Chapter One    Introduction To Cedar Creek Meeting and Its People           

Chapter Two   Move From Open Worship to the Pastoral System                 

Chapter Three  More on Each of Our Pastors (Short biography on each pastor most with picture.)

Chapter Four   Move to Adult and Children Sunday School

Chapter Five   Cedar Creek Membership 1855 page 1 to 42

Chapter Six    Cedar Creek Membership Rewrite Page 43 to 86

Chapter Seven  Cedar Creek Membership 1985 to 1904

Chapter Eight  Cedar Creek Membership 1904 to 1921 

Chapter Nine  Cedar Creek Membership 1922 to 1949

Chapter Ten   Cedar Creek Membership 1950 to 1969          

Chapter Eleven Cedar Creek From 1970 to The Present

Chapter Twelve Cedar Creek Friends Cemetery History  

Chapter Thirteen Cedar Creek Friends Cemetery Burials

 (From church records and burial records.)                                            

Chapter Thirteen Early Families - biographies/family stories - Those that are included.

• Jacob Beals                                               

• Jacob and Benjamin Brown and their families

• Abigail Brown Hallowell

• Rachel Brown Mendenhall

• John M. Corsbie/Crosbie                                         

• Francis Henry Frazier

• Alson G. Frazer 

• Rebecca Hockett Gregory, wife of Omar Gregory             

• Stephen Hockett Family Arrives In Henry County                                 

• William Hockett and sons Nathan, Thomas and Amos

• Alvin, son of Jehu Hockett and wagon train to Kansas

• John A. Hinshaw and daughter Sarah Hinshaw Lupton

• Descendants of William Jay      

• Rueben Joy and daughter Rachel Joy Fisher Mills               

• Rueben Lamm 

• Jesse Stubbs Lamm

• Enos Mendenhall and his daughter Pamela                                   

• Jacob Maxwell and his son Charles Maxwell,

• Charles Maxwell's sons Enos and Josiah, daughters Lydia and Hannah

• John Mills

• William Osborn                                                    

• Thomas Saint and son William

• William, Matthew and William D. Trueblood

• Dorson Trueblood and his son Henry

• Phineas Trueblood

• Matthew Winslow 

• Anna Frazier Winslow                                      

Appendix  (Misc. documents and stories) Listing of some of those included below.   

• Oakridge Story by Nellie Trueblood  

• William Draper Trueblood and Lydia Maxwell marriage document

• Biographical Data of William D Trueblood                      

• Marriage of Hannah Maxwell to Ira Hunt                 

• Marriage of Charles Maxwell to Pamela Mendenhall                           

• 1965 summary of members                                     

• Sunday School 1911  

• Sunday School 1924

• Sunday School 1925

• Sunday School 1937

• Sunday School 1939

• Sunday School 1949

• Sunday School 1956  

• Oregon Wagon Train of 1847 (Nathan and Thomas Hockett families from Cedar Creek)                               

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