Green's Chapel

Date: 1892 to 1958
Location: Polk, Nebraska, United States
Surnames/tags: Green Greens_Chapel Polk_Nebraska

History

Thomas Green.

Thomas Green donated land from his farm and "started Green's Chapel in 1892 because it was so far to any other church and he disliked to miss and he had to when the roads and weather were bad." This Methodist Episcopal congregation had its beginnings some years earlier as a "Sunday School had been conducted at the Liberty School for many years, but it now (1885) transferred all its help and enrollment to the Green's Chapel Church."

An early story happened in 1873, according to Thomas' daughter, Rebecca Myers, when a service was being held in an unoccupied old sod house on Steever's neighboring land. A sudden blizzard trapped the members of the Sunday School for two days. At the time, Thomas was on a business trip to Lincoln, the state capital, and was out of contact for a week or two. Part of his family was at the meeting and some had stayed home, all without communication until Mr. McGaw found a way to force his way out of the sod house and got to his home where he gathered food, water and horses to take back. Everyone was in their homes later Tuesday afternoon, unharmed, but apprised of the perils of the weather. At the same time, Thomas was caught mid-way to Lincoln, while traveling on foot, and survived because he did not stop to rest. It was certainly a miracle that he did not lose his way, as so often happens during a disorienting blizzard. The part of his family at home almost succumbed to this lack of visibility, just between the house and barn, which they avoided by stringing a guide rope.

Green's Chapel about 1930.

The blizzard story was written in a family history by a daughter, Rebecca Green Myers. Other details were gathered and summarized in a newspaper article, both cited below. Some other notes regarding Polk County and nearby Stromsburg. There was a large Green family in Polk County, but they were not related to Thomas. Stromsburg adopted the nickname of "Swedish Capital of Nebraska" many years ago, but Thomas was born in Ohio and had no Swedish ancestry. It is not know how or why Thomas selected Polk County, but probably made arrangements by mail before leaving Ohio and certainly before leaving his brother, Isaiah's, home in Illinois in 1872. Thomas had two brothers, William Jasper and David, who lived in Nemaha County, Nebraska, bordering Missouri and Kansas. He had four additional brothers who lived in northeastern Kansas, at least for a time.

Book: "History of Polk County, Nebraska" author, date and publisher unknown.
Newspaper: Folkets Vän 83 -Dalakarl Newspaper Columns http://dalakarl.com/van7.html

Founders

Thomas Green donated land from his farm for the initial site of this Methodist Church in 1892. His wife, Christianna (Nutter) Green (1818-1897), and his children would have also been involved, along with their spouses. His oldest two daughters were married in Illinois and remained there. His oldest son died in 1879, but his widow remarried and remained in Polk county until at least 1900. The remained were;

Daughter-in-law, Clarice Bell (Hodgkinson) Downer (1855-1935) with Eden's two children and her second husband, Arthur E Downer (1855-1925), and their two children.

Lewis P Green (1854-1922) and Anna Wade (McGaw) Green (1860-1948), plus their fourteen children.

Rebecca (Green) Myers (1859-1939) and William H Myers (1845-1907), plus their five children.

Sophronia (Green) Kincaid (1860-1948) and Robert R Kincaid (1853-1923), plus their four children.

Thomas died in 1893.

The Green's Chapel church was moved three and one-half miles northeast to land identified as belonging to Perry Louis Steever (1853-1932) and Millie Annice (Taylor) Steever (1862-1941) in 1904. The Steevers had six children.

Another neighbor, who at least attended the preliminary Sunday School, rescued those members trapped by the blizzard in a sod house in 1873, and may have helped Thomas found the church at Green's Chapel, was Lee K. McGaw (1837-1913). Lee was born about 1837 in Pennsylvania and his wife was Mary (Park) McGaw (1840-1917). They had five children.

There were many more neighbors; some of these neighbors were a Mr. Berries, George Zair, Wm. Miller and L.K. McGaw. George Frederick Hodgkinson (1829-1901) and Permilla Delight (Button) Hodgkinson (1829-1918) were the parents of Eden's wife Clarice.

Thomas' daughter, Rebecca, was the first music teacher in Polk County. In the summer of 1874 she gave lessons to Mrs. J.A. Frawley (nee Josie Headstrom), Helen Backlund, Lilly Morrill and Andrew Carlson. Rebecca Green was married to William Henry Myers.

The well to which we had to go for water was on the Albert A Shoemaker (1839-1928) and Louvina (Riddle) Shoemaker (1845-1933) farm.

Neighbors in 1880; Charles & Anna Johnson, Tim Hughes, William, Roselle & George Steever, Thomas & Ellen Ross, William & Hannah Warner, Peter & Charlotte Durocher, Frank & Ellen Hodeskinson, brothers Otto & Andrew Falk, Eli & Mary Douglas, William & Rebecca Myers, George & Rose Warner, Joe & Bell Hornback, John & Sophie Schlatter, Hann & Lousindy Sarles, John & Carrie Holmquist, Gust & Sophie Carlson, Frank & Pluma Smith, Thoma & Margret Record, Nelson & ML Stafford. Beyond plus or minus a page (9 houses) are Lee & Marry McGaw, Amon Steever (1824-1890) & Mary Ann (Hanawalt) Steever (1823-1912) ( the parents of Perry Louis Steever and eight other children), Frances & Susan Berry, Fred Hodskinson

Only in 1958 did the congregation finally merge with Stromsburg Methodist Church and end its history out in the country.