Era of Expansion

Old Boston Road (Washington Street)

When the Upton tavern farm was sold in 1819, it was a time of deep economic recession - bank failures, unemployment, soup kitchens, and overcrowded debtors' prisons.  It was also a time of geographic expansion and many divisions among religious parties.  Were these the issues that prompted Jesse Upton's solo migration to the Ohio River in Indiana?  

Jesse's church, the First Baptist Church of Danvers was formed in 1781 and was marked with the true independence of the sect.  Founders early recognized "the evils of slavery and the bane of intemperance" and in 1793 its population increased from 37 to 50 members - continuing a majority of women members, including Elizabeth Upton.  

The church built a new meeting house in the 1820s. Dissensions arose from differences in theological opinions that resulted in the formation of the Universalist Society in Danvers. It included several abolitionists and liberal minded citizens, such as Mary Ferrin's King relatives. (More to follow in a future post.)

Throughout the country, religious exploration was growing along with the numbers of people moving west. The westward-moving population ultimately could be explained by the quest for cheap land and natural resources, economic opportunities, and more amenable living conditions. In Indiana, there was considerable Baptist presence. A letter in the 1827 edition of the "Watchman" in Aurora, Indiana states: "There are a number of separate Baptists in the State, who in doctrine are nearly Arminian, and who practice open communion.  I have heard of some churches of Tunker Baptists, and some Sabbatarians...the Socinians under the name of New Lights, or Christians, are numerous and increasing, and generally baptize by immersion."

"The settlement of this section of the country has many peculiarities.  It has been peopled with unexampled rapidity, in less than six years.  But what is more peculiar, these people present you with nothing of the rusticity of the backwoods men, which has generally been characteristic of new settlements.  The rude cabin, and the half-cultivated farm of huntsman, are almost unknown.  It is true, you but seldom see a superb dwelling, or an extensive farm, but almost every where you see an air of neatness and industry, and no small portion of genuine taste.  The moral character of the inhabitants is also peculiar.  I have witnessed the program of population in the Western Country, but have never known such extensive bounds filled up at first with a people so decidedly moral! - But that peculiarity which I chiefly designed to mention, is that there are more professors of religion among them, than have commonly emigrated to any new country in the west...There is a larger proportion of the inhabitants, of the Baptist denomination than is found in any section of the Western Country, except in the central and northern parts of Kentucky."

Jesse Upton settled in the lowlands along Anderson's Creek in Troy, Perry County, Indiana. In December 1822, the Indiana House of Representatives approved "the petition of John Upton and others, praying an act, authorizing said Upton, to erect a mill dam across Anderson's river."  The river (or Anderson Creek) flows into the Ohio River.  He died two years later.

In addition to the Baptists in southern Indiana, there was also the Harmonists and their Utopian community, Harmonie Society.  Jesse Upton's skills could be applied at numerous nearby building sites.

Jesse left his wife Elisa, 46;  Eliza, 19; George, 14;  Andrew, 13 and Mary, 9.  How did their lives change?  

Works Cited

 

Arminianism. 23 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminianism.

“Documentary History of George Rapp's Harmony Society.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/nhprc/projects/catalog/harmony-society.

Holcombe, Charles. “First Baptist Church of Danvers.” Historical Collections of the Danvers Historical Society Danvers Historical Society, Google Books, www.google.com/books/edition/Historical_Collections_of_the_Danvers_Hi/j4slAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=historical collections of the danvers historical society first baptist church of danvers&pg=PA2&printsec=frontcover&authuser=2. Accessed 26 Aug. 2020.

“Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of Indiana 1822 ...” Google Books, Google, books.google.com/books?id=0W1BAQAAMAAJ.

Old Boston Road. Peabody Historical Society, Peabody, Mass.

Old German Baptist Brethren. 16 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_German_Baptist_Brethren.

“Religion in Indiana.” Religion in Indiana, Jesse Holman, 1827.,

Baptist History.  baptisthistoryhomepage.com/indiana.religion.html.

Sabbatarianism. 29 Apr. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbatarianism.

“Socinianism.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Aug. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socinianism.

Western Immigration. www.connerprairie.org/educate/indiana-history/western-immigration/.