Henry Caswall 1839

The 1839 visit of Henry Caswall in 1839 is one of the few accounts from the decade to comment on the river traffic at Madison.

Caswall, Henry, 1810-1870.

America, and the American Church. By The Rev. Henry Caswall, M.A. Rector Of Christ Church, Madison, Indiana, and Late Professor in the Theological Seminary Of The Diocese Of Kentucky. Ten Years Resident in the United States. London: Printed for J. G. & F. Rivington, St. Paul's Church Yard, and Waterloo Place, Pall Mall. 1839.

“During the continuance of these troubles, I received an invitation to take charge of a recently-formed Episcopal congregation at Madison, in Indiana, within the jurisdiction of Dr. Kemper, the missionary bishop. I immediately accepted the offer, and proceeded with my family to this new sphere of labour.

Madison is agreeably situated on the northern bank of the Ohio river. It is about eighty miles from Lexington, the same distance below Cincinnati, and fifty miles above Louisville. Its inhabitants amount to between 4000 and 5000, and are characterized by industry, enterprise, and general morality. On an average about six steam-boats daily stop at the wharfs. There are daily packet-boats to Cincinnati and to Louisville, which, besides numerous passengers, carry the mail-bags and a quantity of freight. There are seven places of worship in the town, viz. one Roman Catholic, one Episcopalian, two Presbyterian (old school and new school), two Methodist (Methodist Episcopal and Protestant Methodist), and one Baptist.

Indiana, which a few years since was a wilderness inhabited by savage tribes, is now a prosperous and improving state with a population of half a million. The Indians from whom it derives its name, have been almost entirely removed, and emigrants are constantly pouring in from the eastern and middle States. The prevailing religious denomination is that of the Methodists; but the Presbyterians and Baptists are also numerous. Vincennes, the old capital of the State, is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop, who has fifteen clergymen under his charge. In 1835 there was but one Episcopal clergyman in Indiana. The appointment of the missionary bishop has produced the happiest results, and as I have already stated, there are now eight clergymen and as many congregations in the State. The parish of Christ Church at Madison is barely three years old, and already about forty families are connected with it, and the number is rapidly increasing. Nearly one third of these Episcopalians have emigrated from England.”