southwestern Nebraska. All of the churches along the Holdrege and Holyoke division of the Burlington were organized under his leadership, houses of worship built, and parsonages provided.
   During the last decade the churches have had a steady and healthy growth. A work of peculiar promise has been undertaken in the sand-hills of northwestern Nebraska where a group of churches, led by faithful pastors, has become responsible for the religious work among the cattlemen of that region. At Hyannis, a central point, a large and convenient building has been erected adapted for institutional work, including an audience room for public worship, a parsonage, reading room, and library.
   The number of churches has now reached 210, with a membership of about 16,000, and church and parsonage property to the value of $800,000. The history of three or four of the more prominent of these churches is given below. The educational work inaugurated and carried forward by the denomination has been an important part of its history. The story of Doane College and of Santee Normal is given by Rev. M. A. Bullock, and the history of the academies by their various principals.
   The Nebraska Congregational News, edited and published by Rev. H. A. French, has also been an important factor in the development of the work. The Chautauqua Sunday School Assembly at Crete, conducted for several years under the auspices of the Congregational church, rendered a distinct service to the Sunday school and religious interests of the state.
   The offerings of the churches for home expenses have reached a total of $150,000 annually, and for various benovolences (sic) about $20,000. The amounts raised for their home work since the beginning have aggregated $3,000,000 and for benevolent work $400,000. They have contributed largely to the evangelization of the world by sending a number of successful workers into the foreign field. They have been active in temperance efforts and in all moral reforms. In addition to the two above named Rev. H. N. Gates was superintendent 1874 to 1881; Rev. C. W. Merrill 1881 to 1884; Rev. J. L. Maile 1884 to 1889; Rev. Harmon Bross '1889 to 1906; Rev. S. I. Hanford 1906-.

   The history of the First Congregational Church of Omaha runs back almost to the beginning of the city's life. In 1855 the Rev. Reuben Gaylord, who had been for seventeen years a missionary in Iowa, was sent by the American Home, Mission Society to Omaha. He preached through the winter of 1855-1856 in the assembly room of the territorial legislature. Here, on May 4, 1856, a church was organized with the following charter members: Governor and Mrs. O. D. Richardson, Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Chapman, James W. Seymour, Mrs. Allen, Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Gaylord, and Miss Sarah A. Gaylord.
   Under Mr. Gaylord's faithful leadership the church grew rapidly, and before many years assumed self-support. During the fifty years of. its existence about 1,000 persons have been enrolled in its membership.
   From 1883 onward, various colonies were sent out to form the St. Mary's Avenue, Plymouth, Hillside, and Park Place (afterwards Pilgrim) churches. Other organizations have sprung up from time to time until there are nine of the Congregational order in the city.
   The First Church has had eight pastors. The Rev. Reuben Gaylord continued in its service until 1865, when he became the superintendent of missions in the territory. He died in 1880 and was buried from the church which he had founded twenty-four years before. Mrs. Gaylord, who had shared to the full his devoted labors and whose generous and lofty Christian spirit was an inspiration to all who knew her, continued among us till January, 1899, when she, too, fell asleep. The influence of these two lives will never cease to be felt in the First Church of Omaha nor in the work of the denomination throughout the state.
   Following Mr. Gaylord's resignation in 1865, the Rev. A, D. Stowell preached for a

few months, after which the Rev. W. W. Rose was pastor for two years, being succeeded after an interval by Rev. E. S. Palmer, who continued with the church for two years. In 1870 the Rev. A. F. Sherrill, D.D., was ordained and installed as pastor and so continued for eighteen years. Under his unselfish and energetic ministry the church made steady progress, both in numbers and in spiritual power, at the same time sending out colonies of its people to found new churches as has been mentioned. At the close of his pastorate the Rev. Joseph T. Duryea, D.D., brought to the service of the church his stores of ripe scholarship and magnetic eloquence, speedily gathering about him a congregation which overflowed the house of worship. In 1894 his failing health compelled him to resign. For nearly two years the church was without a pastor, being supplied a part of the time by the Rev. A. Holden Byles, D.D., of Manchester, England.
   In 1896 the Rev. Franke A. Warfield, D.D., was called from Brockton, Massachusetts, and was able during his pastorate of two years by his words of encouragement and his practical sagacity to guide the church through a time of commercial depression from which it, in common with the other churches of the city, has suffered severely.
   Rev. Hubert C. Herring began work with the church September 1898 and continued until elected secretary of the National Home Missionary Society in 1907. Following Dr. Herring, Rev. F. T. Rouse was called to the pastorate and served for seven years, closing his work in 1914. The last pastor was Rev. F. J. Clark, who served the church two years. A few months after Mr. Clark's pastorate closed, the church, in July, 1918, merged with the Central Church (formerly known as the St. Mary's Avenue), the two uniting under the name of the First Central Church of Omaha.
   There have been three houses of worship erected by this church. The first was a brick building 27 x 36 feet, with basement lecture room. It was built in 1856 at a cost of $4,500, part of which was furnished by the Congregational Union. It stood on the west side of Sixteenth street about ninety-five feet north of Farnam. In 1871 the congregation removed from this church to their new house of worship, a frame structure on the northeast corner of Nineteenth and Chicago streets, erected at a cost of $20,000, and seating on floor and gallery about 600 people. This was sold and torn down in 1888, and the present church was built, at a cost of $75,000, having an

REV. LEWIS GREGORY, D.D.

audience room seating 650 people, a lecture room seating 300, besides parlor, class rooms, kitchen, dining room, and pastor's study.

   The following account of this church is in the main condensed from a historical discourse preached at the fortieth anniversary by its pastor, Rev. Lewis Gregory:

   The early days of this church have a special interest because its organization antedates both the city and the state. Its history carries us back to pioneer times. The first white resident of the county is said to have settled on the banks of Salt Creek on what is now Centerville, in June, 1856. At this time the country had not been surveyed. During the next five years a few families moved in here and there on inviting spots near Waverly and

Yankee Hill. They led a precarious existence, disputing with the Indians the right of possession.
   In 1862 the homestead law was passed. Among the first settlers under it was John S. Gregory, Sr., the first deacon of this church. His first stop was at a roofless and floorless log cabin on the margin of the salt basin. The cabin had been erected by J. Sterling Morton as a preëmption claim, but was desolate and deserted. Mr. Gregory built a dugout in which he lived. He furnished salt to the Rocky mountain freighters at two or three cents a pound. The next year Lancaster county was organized. Mr. Gregory was made chairman of the board of county commissioners. He also succeeded in having a post-office established named Gregory Basin, of which he was appointed postmaster at a yearly salary of $3, with an extra $12 for bringing the mail from Saltillo, then in Clay county.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, LINCOLN, 1868

   In 1864 J. M. Young, with ten or a dozen others, staked out a town of eighty acres where Lincoln now stands. They called it Lancaster. The settlement was planned as a church colony of the Protestant Methodist church. From the proceeds of a sale of lots a building was erected, known as Lancaster seminary, used also as a place for Sunday meetings, until a stone church was afterwards erected on the corner of K and 12th streets. To this building Mr. Gregory personally contributed $8,000. In spite of the heroism and sacrifice of the members, this church did not flourish, and it passed away with its first families twenty years ago.
   From the beginning Mr. Gregory and a few neighbors who were Congregationally inclined held services among themselves, ministered to occasionally by the pastor at Greenwood. Finally, on August 19, 1866, a little church of six members was organized, when, as the first page of the church record states, there were but seven buildings in the town, viz., the seminary, the store, the blacksmith shop, and four dwellings. The church agreed to raise $100 a year for its minister, a pledge which the record at the close of the year proudly states was more than fulfilled. During this year, in March, 1867, Nebraska was proclaimed a state. In July the capital was located on paper and the bare prairie. In November of this same year Rev. Charles Little, having been chosen pastor of the Congregational church, set about securing for it a building. There were then, he says, not over 300 people in the city.
   The first church building was erected in 1868 and finished and furnished in 1869 -- simple but substantial and capable of seating 125 people. It cost $2,778.86., This was the first permanent building dedicated to the worship of God in our city. Following the completion of the building in 1869 the church was able to pledge only $201 for the pastor's salary, of which only $132 had been raised at the close of the year. The remaining meager support was contributed by the Congregational Home Missionary society. Such a condition of things makes short pastorates. The minister, having exhausted his own resources and those of his friends, must leave. Mr. Little resigned in 1870, the church then having thirty-four members.
   Rev. L. B. Fifield, a man of scholarly tastes and well eduacted (sic), took up the work and helped to bear its burdens for two years more, adding twenty-three to its membership, but owing to deaths and removals he left it in numbers the same as he found it.
   His successor, Rev. S. R. Dimmock, was a man of unusual oratorical gifts. The church building was enlarged, and fifty were added to the membership during Mr. Dimmock's pastorate. Yet there was the constant going and coming characteristic of a western town; so when, after two years and a half of service, the minister was compelled to resign on account of ill-health, there were but fifty-four names on the roll, of whom only forty were resident, while on the other side was a debt of $2,000.
   The Rev. Lewis Gregory took charge of the church in October, 1875, and during his ministry the church debt was paid and the present attractive and commodious church building erected. The church property is now valued at $50,000. Mr. Gregory was pastor of the church for twenty-two years, and during this time 1,064 were received to church membership, $110,656 were raised for church expenses, and $32,828 for various benevolences. The membership of the church at the close of Mr. Gregory's pastorate was 472.
   In the meantime, the church had become

the mother of other churches of the denomination in the city. The seven other Congregational churches in Lincoln, viz., Plymouth, Vine Street, Butler Avenue, German First, German Zion, German Salem, and Swedish Congregational, are all practically daughters of the First Church. These churches have a total membership of 1,517 and church property valued at $75,000. Rev. W. H. Manss was pastor of the church for two years following the ministry of Rev. Mr. Gregory; and the present pastor is Rev. John E. Tuttle, D.D., under whose vigorous leadership the entire indebtedness of the church has been paid, and it is having an era of growth and developement (sic). Dr. Tuttle closed his work with the church in 1909. Rev. T. M. Shilherd was called the same year and remained pastor for three years, closing in 1912. In 1915 Rev. R. A. Waite accepted the pastorate, serving the church two years. In 1917 he resigned to accept a national secretaryship with the Y. M. C. A. The present pastor, Rev John Andrew Holmes, D.D., began work with the church in 1917.

   The First Congregational Church of Fremont was organized by Rev. Isaac E. Heaton, August 2, 1857, with seven members, four from his own family, H. A. Pierce and wife, and R. H. Barnard.
   Mr. Heaton's pastorate extended over a period of about twelve years. He received

SITE OF NEBRASKA UNIVERSITY AT FONTENELLE, 1905

such meager contributions as his little flock of weaklings could bestow, and sometimes a small pittance from the H. M. S. But his main dependence, like Paul's, was upon the labor of his own hands. He led a life of unselfish devotion to the welfare of others.
   About 1860 material was gathered for a church building, which took fire one windy night from a Pawnee Indian camp-fire, and was entirely destroyed. A small unfinished house was procured soon after and used for a church until about 1868. Then a church 29 x 40 was built and a suitable bell placed in its tower. It was Fremont's first bell, and for several years was used to call the people together on public occasions, the children to school, and to sound fire alarms. Father Heaton resigned in 1869. The membership then exceeded fifty. A few months later the church called Rev. J. B. Chase, at a salary of $1,000 and it became self -supporting. From the first Mr. Heaton was one of the most liberal contributors. Rev. Roswell Foster was called to the pastorate in 1872, George Porter in 1875, Rev. A. T. Swing in 1878, Rev. L. F. Berry in 1887, and Rev. W. H. Buss in 1890. Rev. John Doane was pastor from 1902 to 1905, when Mr. Buss returned to the work. The old frame church was enlarged under Rev. Foster's pastorate. Under that of Rev. A. T. Swing the church was again greatly enlarged, a $1,000 organ was purchased, and the present brick building erected at a cost of about $25,000. It was dedicated June 2, 1885,

and a few months later Mr. Swing resigned his very successful pastorate. The church occupies a quarter block originally donated by one of the charter members. The present value of the church and its equipments, including grounds, is about $30,000. The longest pastorates were those of Mr. Heaton, about twelve years, Mr. Swing about nine years, Mr. Buss about eleven years. The present membership is about 355.

   One of the distinctive characteristics of Congregationalists is to build colleges and academics. Our Pilgrim fathers landed at Plymouth in 1620, and in 1636 founded Harvard College and in 1701 Yale College. Since then, with the development of the denomination, colleges and academies have been established east and west, north and south, until today the Congregational institutions of learning bear noble testimony to the educational genius of the Congregational churches and stand in the very forefront in the splendid educational system of the republic. It is not surprising, then, that our pioneer fathers in Nebraska at the first annual meeting of the Congregational churches in the territory, held in Omaha, October 30, 1857,

    Resolved, That we deem it expedient to take measures to lay the foundation of a literary institution of a high order in Nebraska.
   Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to take into consideration the location of the literary institution.
   Voted, that this committee view locations, receive propositions, and, if thought expedient, call a special meeting of the association.
   In accordance with these instructions the Nebraska University, located at Fontenelle, February, 1855, and commonly referred to as the "Fontenelle school," was transferred to the Congregationalists, January, 1858. A tract of 112 acres was set apart for the school almost ideal in the lay of the land, and the early prospects of the school were bright, but subsequent disappointments many. Fontenelle had an ambition to secure the county seat and also the capital of the new state.
   The building of railroads and the push of settlements west and south of Fontenelle sealed its fate as a school center and as a town. Fremont secured the county seat and Fontenelle was set in another county, Lincoln was awarded its hoped for capitol, Crete its college, and the open fields its once ambitious town. The Fontenelle school never reached a secure footing. When the state capital was located at Lincoln and the trend of immigration went that way, it became evident that the Congregational college must have a more central location. The result was that the school at Fontenelle was abandoned, and a new college was organized at Crete by vote of the general association, June, 1872, and was duly incorporated July 11, 1872. An academy had been located at Crete the preceding year incorporated as Crete Academy, May 22, 1871 and this doubtless had no little to do with the location of the new college.
   No name was attached to the college when it was located, but in virtue of the generous aid, active coöperation, and splendid qualities of manhood of Thomas Doane, chief engineer and superintendent of the Burlington & Missiouri River railroad in Nebraska, the college corporation wrote his name in the articles of incorporation, and the institution was called Doane College.
   Among those who had much to do with locating the college and advancing its interests were George S. Harris, a deacon, and Rev. Charles Little, first pastor of the First Congregational Church, Lincoln. Through their efforts as well as those of Mr. Doane, the railroad company was led to offer very liberal inducements to the proposed college. President Perry relates this incident in connection with the railroad grant:

   An indescribable charm invests the story that the late Edmund McIntyre of Seward told of the way in which the prime movers in the college enterprise were encouraged to ask the railroad company for the large grant of 600 acres. These men in earnest deliberation had purposed to limit their petition to eighty acres, but one of them, Rev. Charles Little, at length, with a peculiar light in his eye, says, "Why not ask for the whole 600 acres? The Scriptures say, Ask, and ye shall receive." Thereupon these college builders had

a large accession of faith, and they asked and received. That their faith was rewarded was due in no small measure to the railroad land commissioner, Mr. George S. Harris, who was a large-hearted, broad-minded man who took great interest in all educational and religious work in the new state.
   No more beautiful site for a college could be desired than this land grant affords. From it a campus of ninety acres has been reserved, overlooking the city of Crete and the beautiful valley of the Big Blue. A stroll through this campus in the month of June is a delight. It is beautifully laid out, and the lay of the land adds to its attraction. "The campus rises in knolls and falls away in slight ravines which contain choice springs of water. These ravines have been filled with groves, while the high grounds have their winding drives bordered with shade trees." It is an ideal-spot and reminds one of some of the attractive New England landscapes. It has a fine athletic field, and manly sports are encouraged.
   During his life Mr. Doane was a constant and liberal giver, and since his death his estate has yielded more than $70,000 and has enabled the college to advance the endowment fund to $170,000.
   Other property, including lands, buildings, and equipment, would carry the total assets of the college to nearly $300,000. "The college has now (1906) four substantial brick buildings, biological, chemical, and physical laboratories; a library that contains 10,000 volumes and 6,000 pamphlets; a well equipped observatory; a time service; a museum with varied collections of plants, minerals, and animals," writes President Perry. Of these buildings Merrill Hall, costing $13,000, was erected in 1879. The building is in the form of a cross, three stories, 89 x 56 feet. Boswell Observatory, one story with seven small rooms, was built in 1893 at an expense of $3,000, and has an equipment of telescope, transit, clocks, weather service, electrical devices, etc., which cost as much more. Gaylord Hall, erected in 1884, cost $31,000. The main part of the hall is four stories, 50 x 36 feet; two wings with high basement, three stories, each 48x36 feet. Whitin Library, erected in 1894 at an expense of $9.000, is 1 1/2 stories, high basement, 62 x 38 feet. Lee Memorial Chapel and Conservatory of Music, to cost $30,000, is now being secured. The plans are adopted and a large part of the money is already raised. This will be followed by a new science hall costing $25,000, and when secured and furnished the material equipment of Doane College will place it in the front rank for scientific work.
   In classical and literary work it has for years stood among the best colleges in the land, and in scientific research and instruction Doane College has achieved splendid results considering its meager equipment.
   There are now in the college ten professors and twelve instructors. The chairs are mental philsophy and history, economics and ethics, ancient languages and principal of the academy, Greek and Latin, English literature and history of art, German, French, and elocution, chemistry, physics and astronomy, biology, mathematics, and biblical literature.
   In addition to these there is a fine music school and a successful commercial department. Much attention also is given to pedagogy, and excellent work is being done along this line the course in pedagogy leading to a state teacher's certificate. The college has had a healthy growth from its beginning in 1872. The first year there were fifteen students and one teacher, Mr. Perry himself; the second year forty students and two teachers; the third year sixty students and three teachers. It now has an annual attendence of about 250 students. The 1904-1905 catalogue gives an attendance of 136 in the college classes; of these 1 was a graduate student, 19 were seniors, 20 juniors, 31 sophomores, 39 freshmen, and 26 special. The other students were in the academy, school of music, department of art, and commercial school. The president of Doane College, Rev. David Brainerd Perry, D.D., has the unique record of being the first teacher in the college, its first professor in charge of the school, and its first and only president, being elected to that office and Perry professor of mental and moral philosophy in 1881. The members of

the faculty are men and women of culture, fine intellectual attainments, inspiring teachers, and of positive Christian influence. It is through their self-sacrificing devotion to the college and Christian education that they remain with the institution on salaries wholly inadequate. The endowment fund. should immediately be increased to a sum sufficiently large to enable the college to give at least a fair compensation for the service rendered on the part of its able and devoted faculty.
   Doane College early adopted the motto, "We build on Christ," and in the inspiration of this thought the work of the college is conducted. This may be one reason why so many of its 237 graduates represent strong Christian manhood and womanhood.
   The Congregational system of schools in Nebraska is somewhat unique. Doane College with Crete Academy is the center, and related to it as feeders, though with no organic connection, are four academies, Chadron in the northwest corner of the state, Gates at Neligh in the northeast, Franklin in the southwest, and Weeping Water in the southeast. In all these Congregational schools there were, in 1904, 750 students and 42 teachers.
   The college is governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees, twenty-seven in number, who serve for three years but are eligible for re-election. College graduates are invited each year to nominate one or more of their number to fill vacancies on the board, and in like manner the Congregational churches of the state have the privilege to nominate one or more trustees, the object being to keep the college in close touch with its alumni and with the churches of the state. The board shall have not less than twelve nor more than twenty-seven members, its present number, and of these not less than three-fourths shall be members in good standing in Evangelical Congregational churches.
   The college is broad in its sympathies, nonsectarian in its methods, charitable in its dealings with others, and welcomes students of other denominations, and of no church leanings, and seeks to bring all under the influence of higher learning, based on eternal truth.
   The college presents three carefully prepared courses of study leading to the baccalaureate degrees in art, literature, and science. In 1904 Doane College conferred one degree of master of arts, fourteen of bachelor of arts, four of bachelor of science, and one of bachelor of letters. Each course of study covers a period of four years, and all work is prescribed at the end of the sophomore year. A wide range of elective studies for the junior and senior years gives the student ample opportunity to follow his specialty in preparation for post-graduate work, and laboratory methods of teaching are extensively employed.
   "It is the full purpose of the trustees," says President Perry, "to go on increasing the facilities for imparting instruction and to bring the advantages of a good education within the reach of every capable and deserving young man or woman in the state. Opening its doors alike to young people of both sexes, thoroughly identifying itself with educational and religious progress, successful in the past, hopeful for the future, Doane College seeks to fill a good place in developing the best interests of Nebraska." Among the graduates of Doane who have already won distinction we find ministers, teachers, editors, writers of fiction, lawyers, representatives in all the learned professions, and in the spheres of home and business occupations. These with the larger student body who did not graduate have gone into active life and are making the world better by reason of their educational training and strong character moulded under the influence of Doane teachers.
   Nebraska Congregationalists have said; "No order of Christians can hope to be respectable or useful which neglects its educational interests. The order under God which embodies the most Christian thinkers will be the moulding power of the age and nation and will do most for God and humanity.
   To make Christian thinkers and workers is the supreme object of Doane College, and in accomplishing this sublime purpose it faces a bright future and a magnificent opportunity

   As early as 1874 the Congregationalists of the North Platte began to look forward to organizing a Christian school in that region. In the fall of 1880 the Columbus association began to consider the matter more definitely; and the next year bids were invited for the location of "an institution of academy or seminary grade." The Neligh bid was most favorable, and by vote of the association in special session, August 10, 1881, the institution was located there and christened Gates College. During the ensuing winter a building was erected, and in the fall of 1882 the work of instruction began.
   For four years, only secondary work was offered, but in 1886 the school was opened to college classes, and three students were enrolled as freshmen. This undertaking of college work "precipitated a prolonged and somewhat acrimonious debate" among the churches, which proved a serious handicap to the growth of the institution. The avowed policy of the general association had been to have but one college in the state; and notwithstanding Gates' insistence for recognition, this policy seems to have been quite closely adhered to until 1891, when, as a temporary solution to the problem, qualified endorsement was given to Gates College. But this solution was only temporary, while an effort was made to consolidate the two colleges. This failing, "the two institutions 'were left to adjust their relations as they might be able."
   In 1895 a new crisis arose. The institution was struggling under an increasing debt, and the trustees, yielding to overtures from certain Norfolk parties, voted to remove the school thither. This action was vigorously opposed by citizens of Neligh, including several of the trustees; and through the aid of the courts removal was prevented. Nevertheless the attempt did serious injury to Gates; since its president, part of its faculty, and most of its trustees resigned and cast their influence with the rival institution at Norfolk. Gates College bravely continued its work for four years more. "But the long controversy had so weakened its strength that it was unable to maintain its position; and in the spring of 1899 it resigned its college charter and became an academy."
   The academy inherited not only the property and traditions of the college, but its debts also, which, by 1901, amounted to about $20,000. Here was another crisis. But "through the kindly efforts of President H. K. Warren, Dr. Theodore Clifton, the Congregational Education Society, and the timely gifts of many friends east and west," the debt was lifted March 31, 1901. It was a splendid acheivement (sic) and meant life to the institution.
   Thus the first two decades of the history of Gates were a struggle for existence. But they were more. During this period the school maintained high standards and did a noble work for the young people of the North Platte region.
   The academy property, including grounds, buildings, and school equipment, is valued at $22,500. Though the school has no productive endowment, it has a large field and the basis for a strong constituency.
   The one aim of Gates now is to be "a first-class Christian academy." As such it should have a large and important part in the upbuilding of northeast Nebraska.

   The Franklin Academy Association was organized under the auspices of the Republican Valley Association of the Congregational churches in February, 1881. A building was built and the school opened before the end of the year, with Rev. W. S. Hampton, principal. Stewart Hall was built in 1882 and burned in 1900. Harrison was built 1886, Blose Cottage 1889, and Dupee Hall of Music 1902. The buildings, and equipment are worth campus, probably $28,000.
   A library of about 4,000 volumes has been gathered, and the laboratories are well equipped for elementary science work. From the first the school has been conducted as a high grade, thoroughly Christian preparatory and normal school. Later, excellent music and business departments have been added.