Rev. Cornelius Springer married 3 times: 18 Jul 1820 in Ross Co., OH to Mary A. McDowell; 29 Mar 1849 in Muskingum Co., OH, to Catherine Munday; 5 May 1857 in Coshocton Co., OH, to Elizabeth Sarah Thrapp (who died in Leesburg, FL).
Springer was born of Swedish parentage near Wilmington, Delaware, on Dec. 29, 1790. His family joined the tide of migration flowing westward and settled in Virginia. Hearing of better land in Ohio, they hitched their team to the wagon and drove to Muskingum County west of Zanesville. Young Springer was hungry for knowledge. There were few schools in the townships in 1806 and they were taught by poorly qualified itinerant schoolmasters. Springer's obituary in the Zanesville Courier said: "By seizing every opportunity to make the best use of the means at his command, by untiring industry and perseverance he acquired a good knowledge of English literature.
Joined Methodist Church.
About this time Springer started to teach school. He learned while he taught. His obituary said that "while he was communicating the rudiments of education to others, he seized upon every available means of storing his our mind with useful knowledge."
In 1812 he left the school room for the battle field. His pension papers show that in the second war with Britain he commanded a company at the Battle of Mackinac and served at Fort Gratiot in Michigan. After coming home from the War of 1812, Springer taught in the Putnam Stone Academy on Jefferson Street, later the home of author and actress Elizabeth Robins and now the Taylor residence. Z.M. Chandler, a pupil in that school, said that classes for girls were held on the first floor and boys met on the second floor of the Stone Academy.
Entered Methodist Ministry.
In 1816 Springer left the academy and entered the Methodist ministry. For 13 years he traveled in the itinerant ministry, "carrying words of cheer to many of the old pioneers of the Muskingum Valley." But Springer himself was not of "good cheer" about the government of the church. His name topped the list of signers to "An Appeal to the Public" which filled five and one-half columns in the Zanesville Ohio Republican on May 30, 1829.
The signers were members of a committee appointed at a Quarterly Conference of the Associate Methodist Church in Zanesville on April 4, 1829. The Associate group had seceded before 1830, the year given in the Encyclopedia Britannica for the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church. The committee complained that the conference of 1824 at Baltimore had refused to pay any attention to the laity. The reformers then organized the Union Society and started publication of a periodical called Mutual Rights.
Complained Bitterly.
Springer and his fellow committee members complained that "contrary to the express wishes of Mr. Wesley," the founders of the church in America "arrogated and retained to themselves the title of Bishop." The bishops appointed the ministers. That power said the committee "enables them to accommodate their friends with popular and wealthy stations, if so minded, and to place the opposers of their prerogative on the poorer circuits and outskirts of their charge." There were many more complaints. It seems that the Associate Methodist Church merged into the Methodist Protestant denomination.
Springer lost no time. Late in 1829 he and his wife, Elizabeth Thrapp Springer, organized Meadow Farm Methodist Protestant Church. Meetings were held in the old stone school house that stood on the site of the later Meadow Farm School. He spent a year forming M.P. churches in West Virginia and the Mononghela Valley and filling several other appointments.
Church Paper Editor.
Then the conference appointed him editor of the Methodist Correspondent, a semi-monthly paper. He held that position for four years. In July, 1839, he began editing the Western Recorder, a weekly paper authorized by the Pittsburgh conference. It was printed on the second floor of a frame building that stood until a couple of years ago near Springer's farm home. When we stop to think of the difficulties involved, that publication seems remarkable. How did he transport the press over almost impassable roads? How could he pay a printer to set the type by hand? A story entitled "Sweet Home" appeared in the Recorder. In 1841 it was printed as a booklet at the Meadow Farm office by J.W. White printer. Only one copy is known to exist. It was probably while he was editing the Recorder that Springer built and moved the office to Putnam, where it remained for ten years. It was adopted by the M.P. conference at Zanesville in 1855 and published at Springfield, Ohio. Later it was renamed the M.P. Recorder and moved to Pittsburgh and still later to Baltimore where it continued as the voice of the denomination until the M.P. and M.E. churches merged in 1939.
Meadow Farm Church Built.
In 1854 the present Meadow Farm Church was built on land donated by Springer near his home. The church published a 48-page booklet on its 100th anniversary in 1954. Rev. Springer served as minister in many locations. In 1837 he was elected president of the Pittsburgh Conference. He was an organizer of the Muskingum County Historical Society and served as its president. He performed the same service and held the same office in the Agricultural Society of Muskingum County. He also found time to be active in the Licking County Historical Society. A complete biography of Rev. Springer is found in A. H. Bassett's Concise History of the Methodist Protestant Church, published in 1882. Another publication was issued at Pittsburgh in 1875. It was "A record of the Funeral and Memorial Services of the Reverend Cornelius Springer of the Muskingum Conference, Methodist Church."
He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. Springer's obituary said that he discontinued editing the Recorder when his eyesight failed. He managed his farm for a few years and then moved to Zanesville. His obituary tells that he died on Aug. 17, 1875, at his home on McIntire Terrace, then the first house west of the Art Center on Adair Avenue. In his will he specified that his books and papers be deposited in the library of Adrian College, a Methodist Protestant institution. But the school had no record of this. Rising from a frontier farm boy to a position of national importance, the Reverend Cornelius Springer ranks as one of Muskingum County's most successful citizens.
Times Recorder, "Reverend Springer", Zanesville, Ohio, March 9, 1975.
Springer was born of Swedish parentage near Wilmington, Delaware, on Dec. 29, 1790. His family joined the tide of migration flowing westward and settled in Virginia. Hearing of better land in Ohio, they hitched their team to the wagon and drove to Muskingum County west of Zanesville. Young Springer was hungry for knowledge. There were few schools in the townships in 1806 and they were taught by poorly qualified itinerant schoolmasters. Springer's obituary in the Zanesville Courier said: "By seizing every opportunity to make the best use of the means at his command, by untiring industry and perseverance he acquired a good knowledge of English literature.
Joined Methodist Church.
About this time Springer started to teach school. He learned while he taught. His obituary said that "while he was communicating the rudiments of education to others, he seized upon every available means of storing his our mind with useful knowledge."
In 1812 he left the school room for the battle field. His pension papers show that in the second war with Britain he commanded a company at the Battle of Mackinac and served at Fort Gratiot in Michigan. After coming home from the War of 1812, Springer taught in the Putnam Stone Academy on Jefferson Street, later the home of author and actress Elizabeth Robins and now the Taylor residence. Z.M. Chandler, a pupil in that school, said that classes for girls were held on the first floor and boys met on the second floor of the Stone Academy.
Entered Methodist Ministry.
In 1816 Springer left the academy and entered the Methodist ministry. For 13 years he traveled in the itinerant ministry, "carrying words of cheer to many of the old pioneers of the Muskingum Valley." But Springer himself was not of "good cheer" about the government of the church. His name topped the list of signers to "An Appeal to the Public" which filled five and one-half columns in the Zanesville Ohio Republican on May 30, 1829.
The signers were members of a committee appointed at a Quarterly Conference of the Associate Methodist Church in Zanesville on April 4, 1829. The Associate group had seceded before 1830, the year given in the Encyclopedia Britannica for the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church. The committee complained that the conference of 1824 at Baltimore had refused to pay any attention to the laity. The reformers then organized the Union Society and started publication of a periodical called Mutual Rights.
Complained Bitterly.
Springer and his fellow committee members complained that "contrary to the express wishes of Mr. Wesley," the founders of the church in America "arrogated and retained to themselves the title of Bishop." The bishops appointed the ministers. That power said the committee "enables them to accommodate their friends with popular and wealthy stations, if so minded, and to place the opposers of their prerogative on the poorer circuits and outskirts of their charge." There were many more complaints. It seems that the Associate Methodist Church merged into the Methodist Protestant denomination.
Springer lost no time. Late in 1829 he and his wife, Elizabeth Thrapp Springer, organized Meadow Farm Methodist Protestant Church. Meetings were held in the old stone school house that stood on the site of the later Meadow Farm School. He spent a year forming M.P. churches in West Virginia and the Mononghela Valley and filling several other appointments.
Church Paper Editor.
Then the conference appointed him editor of the Methodist Correspondent, a semi-monthly paper. He held that position for four years. In July, 1839, he began editing the Western Recorder, a weekly paper authorized by the Pittsburgh conference. It was printed on the second floor of a frame building that stood until a couple of years ago near Springer's farm home. When we stop to think of the difficulties involved, that publication seems remarkable. How did he transport the press over almost impassable roads? How could he pay a printer to set the type by hand? A story entitled "Sweet Home" appeared in the Recorder. In 1841 it was printed as a booklet at the Meadow Farm office by J.W. White printer. Only one copy is known to exist. It was probably while he was editing the Recorder that Springer built and moved the office to Putnam, where it remained for ten years. It was adopted by the M.P. conference at Zanesville in 1855 and published at Springfield, Ohio. Later it was renamed the M.P. Recorder and moved to Pittsburgh and still later to Baltimore where it continued as the voice of the denomination until the M.P. and M.E. churches merged in 1939.
Meadow Farm Church Built.
In 1854 the present Meadow Farm Church was built on land donated by Springer near his home. The church published a 48-page booklet on its 100th anniversary in 1954. Rev. Springer served as minister in many locations. In 1837 he was elected president of the Pittsburgh Conference. He was an organizer of the Muskingum County Historical Society and served as its president. He performed the same service and held the same office in the Agricultural Society of Muskingum County. He also found time to be active in the Licking County Historical Society. A complete biography of Rev. Springer is found in A. H. Bassett's Concise History of the Methodist Protestant Church, published in 1882. Another publication was issued at Pittsburgh in 1875. It was "A record of the Funeral and Memorial Services of the Reverend Cornelius Springer of the Muskingum Conference, Methodist Church."
He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. Springer's obituary said that he discontinued editing the Recorder when his eyesight failed. He managed his farm for a few years and then moved to Zanesville. His obituary tells that he died on Aug. 17, 1875, at his home on McIntire Terrace, then the first house west of the Art Center on Adair Avenue. In his will he specified that his books and papers be deposited in the library of Adrian College, a Methodist Protestant institution. But the school had no record of this. Rising from a frontier farm boy to a position of national importance, the Reverend Cornelius Springer ranks as one of Muskingum County's most successful citizens.
Times Recorder, "Reverend Springer", Zanesville, Ohio, March 9, 1975.
Rev. Cornelius Springer married 3 times: 18 Jul 1820 in Ross Co., OH to Mary A. McDowell; 29 Mar 1849 in Muskingum Co., OH, to Catherine Munday; 5 May 1857 in Coshocton Co., OH, to Elizabeth Sarah Thrapp (who died in Leesburg, FL).
Springer was born of Swedish parentage near Wilmington, Delaware, on Dec. 29, 1790. His family joined the tide of migration flowing westward and settled in Virginia. Hearing of better land in Ohio, they hitched their team to the wagon and drove to Muskingum County west of Zanesville. Young Springer was hungry for knowledge. There were few schools in the townships in 1806 and they were taught by poorly qualified itinerant schoolmasters. Springer's obituary in the Zanesville Courier said: "By seizing every opportunity to make the best use of the means at his command, by untiring industry and perseverance he acquired a good knowledge of English literature.
Joined Methodist Church.
About this time Springer started to teach school. He learned while he taught. His obituary said that "while he was communicating the rudiments of education to others, he seized upon every available means of storing his our mind with useful knowledge."
In 1812 he left the school room for the battle field. His pension papers show that in the second war with Britain he commanded a company at the Battle of Mackinac and served at Fort Gratiot in Michigan. After coming home from the War of 1812, Springer taught in the Putnam Stone Academy on Jefferson Street, later the home of author and actress Elizabeth Robins and now the Taylor residence. Z.M. Chandler, a pupil in that school, said that classes for girls were held on the first floor and boys met on the second floor of the Stone Academy.
Entered Methodist Ministry.
In 1816 Springer left the academy and entered the Methodist ministry. For 13 years he traveled in the itinerant ministry, "carrying words of cheer to many of the old pioneers of the Muskingum Valley." But Springer himself was not of "good cheer" about the government of the church. His name topped the list of signers to "An Appeal to the Public" which filled five and one-half columns in the Zanesville Ohio Republican on May 30, 1829.
The signers were members of a committee appointed at a Quarterly Conference of the Associate Methodist Church in Zanesville on April 4, 1829. The Associate group had seceded before 1830, the year given in the Encyclopedia Britannica for the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church. The committee complained that the conference of 1824 at Baltimore had refused to pay any attention to the laity. The reformers then organized the Union Society and started publication of a periodical called Mutual Rights.
Complained Bitterly.
Springer and his fellow committee members complained that "contrary to the express wishes of Mr. Wesley," the founders of the church in America "arrogated and retained to themselves the title of Bishop." The bishops appointed the ministers. That power said the committee "enables them to accommodate their friends with popular and wealthy stations, if so minded, and to place the opposers of their prerogative on the poorer circuits and outskirts of their charge." There were many more complaints. It seems that the Associate Methodist Church merged into the Methodist Protestant denomination.
Springer lost no time. Late in 1829 he and his wife, Elizabeth Thrapp Springer, organized Meadow Farm Methodist Protestant Church. Meetings were held in the old stone school house that stood on the site of the later Meadow Farm School. He spent a year forming M.P. churches in West Virginia and the Mononghela Valley and filling several other appointments.
Church Paper Editor.
Then the conference appointed him editor of the Methodist Correspondent, a semi-monthly paper. He held that position for four years. In July, 1839, he began editing the Western Recorder, a weekly paper authorized by the Pittsburgh conference. It was printed on the second floor of a frame building that stood until a couple of years ago near Springer's farm home. When we stop to think of the difficulties involved, that publication seems remarkable. How did he transport the press over almost impassable roads? How could he pay a printer to set the type by hand? A story entitled "Sweet Home" appeared in the Recorder. In 1841 it was printed as a booklet at the Meadow Farm office by J.W. White printer. Only one copy is known to exist. It was probably while he was editing the Recorder that Springer built and moved the office to Putnam, where it remained for ten years. It was adopted by the M.P. conference at Zanesville in 1855 and published at Springfield, Ohio. Later it was renamed the M.P. Recorder and moved to Pittsburgh and still later to Baltimore where it continued as the voice of the denomination until the M.P. and M.E. churches merged in 1939.
Meadow Farm Church Built.
In 1854 the present Meadow Farm Church was built on land donated by Springer near his home. The church published a 48-page booklet on its 100th anniversary in 1954. Rev. Springer served as minister in many locations. In 1837 he was elected president of the Pittsburgh Conference. He was an organizer of the Muskingum County Historical Society and served as its president. He performed the same service and held the same office in the Agricultural Society of Muskingum County. He also found time to be active in the Licking County Historical Society. A complete biography of Rev. Springer is found in A. H. Bassett's Concise History of the Methodist Protestant Church, published in 1882. Another publication was issued at Pittsburgh in 1875. It was "A record of the Funeral and Memorial Services of the Reverend Cornelius Springer of the Muskingum Conference, Methodist Church."
He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. Springer's obituary said that he discontinued editing the Recorder when his eyesight failed. He managed his farm for a few years and then moved to Zanesville. His obituary tells that he died on Aug. 17, 1875, at his home on McIntire Terrace, then the first house west of the Art Center on Adair Avenue. In his will he specified that his books and papers be deposited in the library of Adrian College, a Methodist Protestant institution. But the school had no record of this. Rising from a frontier farm boy to a position of national importance, the Reverend Cornelius Springer ranks as one of Muskingum County's most successful citizens.
Times Recorder, "Reverend Springer", Zanesville, Ohio, March 9, 1975.
Springer was born of Swedish parentage near Wilmington, Delaware, on Dec. 29, 1790. His family joined the tide of migration flowing westward and settled in Virginia. Hearing of better land in Ohio, they hitched their team to the wagon and drove to Muskingum County west of Zanesville. Young Springer was hungry for knowledge. There were few schools in the townships in 1806 and they were taught by poorly qualified itinerant schoolmasters. Springer's obituary in the Zanesville Courier said: "By seizing every opportunity to make the best use of the means at his command, by untiring industry and perseverance he acquired a good knowledge of English literature.
Joined Methodist Church.
About this time Springer started to teach school. He learned while he taught. His obituary said that "while he was communicating the rudiments of education to others, he seized upon every available means of storing his our mind with useful knowledge."
In 1812 he left the school room for the battle field. His pension papers show that in the second war with Britain he commanded a company at the Battle of Mackinac and served at Fort Gratiot in Michigan. After coming home from the War of 1812, Springer taught in the Putnam Stone Academy on Jefferson Street, later the home of author and actress Elizabeth Robins and now the Taylor residence. Z.M. Chandler, a pupil in that school, said that classes for girls were held on the first floor and boys met on the second floor of the Stone Academy.
Entered Methodist Ministry.
In 1816 Springer left the academy and entered the Methodist ministry. For 13 years he traveled in the itinerant ministry, "carrying words of cheer to many of the old pioneers of the Muskingum Valley." But Springer himself was not of "good cheer" about the government of the church. His name topped the list of signers to "An Appeal to the Public" which filled five and one-half columns in the Zanesville Ohio Republican on May 30, 1829.
The signers were members of a committee appointed at a Quarterly Conference of the Associate Methodist Church in Zanesville on April 4, 1829. The Associate group had seceded before 1830, the year given in the Encyclopedia Britannica for the organization of the Methodist Protestant Church. The committee complained that the conference of 1824 at Baltimore had refused to pay any attention to the laity. The reformers then organized the Union Society and started publication of a periodical called Mutual Rights.
Complained Bitterly.
Springer and his fellow committee members complained that "contrary to the express wishes of Mr. Wesley," the founders of the church in America "arrogated and retained to themselves the title of Bishop." The bishops appointed the ministers. That power said the committee "enables them to accommodate their friends with popular and wealthy stations, if so minded, and to place the opposers of their prerogative on the poorer circuits and outskirts of their charge." There were many more complaints. It seems that the Associate Methodist Church merged into the Methodist Protestant denomination.
Springer lost no time. Late in 1829 he and his wife, Elizabeth Thrapp Springer, organized Meadow Farm Methodist Protestant Church. Meetings were held in the old stone school house that stood on the site of the later Meadow Farm School. He spent a year forming M.P. churches in West Virginia and the Mononghela Valley and filling several other appointments.
Church Paper Editor.
Then the conference appointed him editor of the Methodist Correspondent, a semi-monthly paper. He held that position for four years. In July, 1839, he began editing the Western Recorder, a weekly paper authorized by the Pittsburgh conference. It was printed on the second floor of a frame building that stood until a couple of years ago near Springer's farm home. When we stop to think of the difficulties involved, that publication seems remarkable. How did he transport the press over almost impassable roads? How could he pay a printer to set the type by hand? A story entitled "Sweet Home" appeared in the Recorder. In 1841 it was printed as a booklet at the Meadow Farm office by J.W. White printer. Only one copy is known to exist. It was probably while he was editing the Recorder that Springer built and moved the office to Putnam, where it remained for ten years. It was adopted by the M.P. conference at Zanesville in 1855 and published at Springfield, Ohio. Later it was renamed the M.P. Recorder and moved to Pittsburgh and still later to Baltimore where it continued as the voice of the denomination until the M.P. and M.E. churches merged in 1939.
Meadow Farm Church Built.
In 1854 the present Meadow Farm Church was built on land donated by Springer near his home. The church published a 48-page booklet on its 100th anniversary in 1954. Rev. Springer served as minister in many locations. In 1837 he was elected president of the Pittsburgh Conference. He was an organizer of the Muskingum County Historical Society and served as its president. He performed the same service and held the same office in the Agricultural Society of Muskingum County. He also found time to be active in the Licking County Historical Society. A complete biography of Rev. Springer is found in A. H. Bassett's Concise History of the Methodist Protestant Church, published in 1882. Another publication was issued at Pittsburgh in 1875. It was "A record of the Funeral and Memorial Services of the Reverend Cornelius Springer of the Muskingum Conference, Methodist Church."
He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. Springer's obituary said that he discontinued editing the Recorder when his eyesight failed. He managed his farm for a few years and then moved to Zanesville. His obituary tells that he died on Aug. 17, 1875, at his home on McIntire Terrace, then the first house west of the Art Center on Adair Avenue. In his will he specified that his books and papers be deposited in the library of Adrian College, a Methodist Protestant institution. But the school had no record of this. Rising from a frontier farm boy to a position of national importance, the Reverend Cornelius Springer ranks as one of Muskingum County's most successful citizens.
Times Recorder, "Reverend Springer", Zanesville, Ohio, March 9, 1975.
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aged 84y 7m
Gravesite Details
Married Mary A. McDowell and Catharine B. Monday
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