In answer to the question about the location of Otterbein Chapel. Otterbein
was in the Bee Camp area, a creek which rambles back and forth across the
Milton and Madison Twp. Boundaries. This narrative is from my thumb-nail
scketches of churches of the Indian-Kentuck Region and is also posted on the
Jefferson County GenWeb Site.
Copyright 1999 by Robert Scott
Otterbein Chapel, United Brethren (Madison Twp., Jefferson Co.)
Otterbein Chapel was not per se in the Indian Kentuck Valley. But it drew
members from the Pleasant Ridge area and was as much oriented towards
Manville as Madison. On 3 June 1867, the trustees, Robert Imel, William Imel
and Henry Davis Jr., were elected to purchase a lot to construct a building
on Bee Camp Creek for use as a church of the United Brethren of Christ
(Jefferson Co. Mortgage Book 14 p. 273.) Robert Imel was presiding elder and
Isaac Ball was Secretary.
A deed involving the purchase has not been found. However, an article in
the Madison Courier of Nov. 9, 1869 notes that "Otterbein Chapel located at
Bee Camp will be dedicated Sunday."
The book "Descendants of Peter Imel" says that Robert Imel, Dec. 6,
1815-Aug. 28, 1895, was a minister who moved to Bee Camp from Bennington in
1846 and built the United Brethren Stone Church. After 1886, he moved to
Kansas where he died. Imel's involvement is confirmed by a mortgage dated 16
Jan. 1872 in which the trustees for the Otterbein Chapel, United Brethren
Church at Bee Camp, borrowed $866.99 to pay Imel "for work, labor, money and
material in erection of said church building." The exact property description
is not given, but refers to a border tract owned by Henry Davis and cites
Deed Book 25 p. 420 for a more specific location. This deed from Gabriel
Woodfill to Henry Davis, dated 3 Apr. 1865, was for 20 acres in the NE1/4
Section 33 Twp. 4N Range 11E. Bee Camp Creek crosses this quarter section.
On March 15, 1873, Otterbein elected James Bingham, J.W. Connett, J.W.
Denning, Joseph Gray and John W. Brandon as trustees (Jefferson Co.
Miscellaneous Records Book 1 p. 219.) The election notice also reported that
the trustees voted to acquire land "to be erected a house of worship." It is
not known why the church abandoned the stone building. Perhaps, they did not
pay back the construction loan as there is no listing of the cancellation of
the mortgage.
Things may also have been complicated by the fact that Robert Imel may
have become a Baptist as he was granted the right to preach at Milton Baptist
Church on the 3rd Saturday in January 1872, assuming this is the same man.
Perhaps the Baptists took over the church building as the Bee Camp Baptist
Church made its brief appearance at the Madison Baptist Association in 1872.
The search for a new building does not appear to have been immediately
successful. On May 8, 1875, trustees met at the United Brethren Church near
the Lewis School House in Ripley Co. and voted to buy the Eagle Hollow School
House (Miscellaneous Records Book 1 p. 331.) The trustees were William Kiel,
Daniel Grebe, and Nathan Schoolcraft On Aug. 20, 1875, the church elected
Kiel, Grebe and George Patton to get a deed for the property. On Jan. 25,
1879, the church elected trustees in a meeting held at the Eagle Hollow
School Schoolhouse (Miscellaneous Records Book 1 p. 530.) Elected were
Anderson Melton, Daniel Grebe, Henry Sherlock, Gamaliel Taylor, Hoss Haskell
and David Clark, P.C.
The group was finally successful in purchasing the school house,
identified as located at the corner of Ferry and High Street. School trustees
sold the property to William Kreil, Daniel Grebe, Nathan Schoolcraft, Joseph
Gray and George Peters for $300. The church was still in existence on April
5, 1902 when George Davis and J.H. Drennen, were elected trustees. L.L.
Schoonover was presiding elder and F.W. Cole was secretary.