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Harrison William Osborne
Elder Harrison W. Osborne was born July 1, 1800. He was a successful evangelist on the Western Reserve. He settled and lived among Christians in Illinois. He preached among churches of Christ and was involved in the planting of churches including Jacksonville and Woodson. He traveled with B.F. Hall and Barton W. Stone preaching about the Christian churches in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. He settled near Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois to work with the church that was established by Barton W. Stone in 1836. He was married to Eliza V. Osborne (March 24, 1806-October 5, 1858). He passed from this life June 3, 1883, and is buried in the Antioch Church Cemetery, Morgan County, Illinois.
Old Jackson Church Organized 1832, by B. W. Stone; present membership, 1,200; value of property, $85,000; Bible school began 1860; present enrollment, 900. This church was organized in October in the old courthouse that stood near the southwest corner of the square. There were seventy-two charter members. Among them were Harrison W. Osborne, Philip Coffman, John T. Jones and Josephus Hewitt-all leading spirits. The meetings for public worship were continued in the courthouse and residences of the members until a chapel was built on Beardstown Street, which is now North Main Street. This chapel served until the early fifties, when, during the pastorate of A. J. Kane, a two-story brick building was erected on the same street. Joel Headington taught school in this house. It was in use till 1869, when, during the pastorate of Enos Campbell, a new brick house was built on East State Street. This was enlarged and remodeled in 1888, while A. N. Gilbert was pastor. The present stone structure was finished during the pastorate of R. F. Thrapp in 1906. Throughout its life this church has always held a goodly number of representative citizens. Its ministers also have generally been men of a high type. Among the pioneers, besides those above named, there were Henry Cyrus, the first pastor; Jerry Lancaster, Jonathan Atkinson, W. W. Happy and D. P. Henderson. The church was divided during the pastorate of W. S. Russel by his unscriptural teaching. The two parties came to a mutual agreement in 1866, and under the superior ministry of Enos Campbell were welded into one. The teaching of Mr. Russel not only crippled the church for a time, but also affected adversely other congregations in the county and lost to the Disciples Berean College. W. W. Happy, Sr. and Jr., James Stark and William Gilliam were ordained to the ministry by this congregation. The pastorate of Mr. Thrapp "was characterized by splendid missionary expansion and progressive civic reform." This is a great church, abounding in many good works. Haynes, N.S. History of the Disciples In Illinois, Pages 337,338
Harrison W. Osborne Was baptized by Barton W. Stone in 1817, and two years thereafter was ordained to the ministry. Thus he early became actively associated with Mr. Stone in his reformatory work. Mr. Osborne came to Morgan County about 1830, and was an earnest preacher in the Christian Denomination until the union of the "New Lights" and the "Reformers" into the Jacksonville Church of Christ by Mr. Stone in 1832. Thereafter, to the dose of his long and useful life, he was a faithful teacher of the truth as it is in Jesus. He was a small man physically, but with superior mental endowments and spiritual culture. He rode horseback over a wide territory and was very prompt in meeting all his engagements. His manner was modest and his voice gentle, but he emphasized those teachings of the Scriptures with great earnestness that his hearers most needed. Colonel Judy says of him: "He was quite eloquent, hewing close to the line all the way through." His last years were passed at Berlin, Sangamon County. There his beautiful and winsome character so took hold of the community that many of the young people thought they could not be married without "Uncle Harrison," and his services were in wide demand for funerals. When the burden of years became heavy upon him, he said: "I am waiting for my Saviour's welcome on the other shore." —Haynes, N.S. History of the Disciples In Illinois, Pages 581,582
Directions to The Grave Of Harrison Osborne GPS LocationN39º 45.074’ x WO90º 06.168’ Acc. 17’ Grave Faces E The Antioch Cemetery is located seven miles east of Jacksonville, Illinois on the north side of the Old State Road. Legal description of the cemetery site places it in the southeast quarter of Section 9, Township 15N, Range 9W. Antioch Christian Church was formerly adjacent to the cemetery. That building was moved to Ashland around 1955 and was still used for church purposes as late as April 1978. Antioch Cemetery was not incorporated until July 14, 1873. Shortly thereafter bodies were removed from nearby family cemeteries and re-interred in Antioch Cemetery. It is believed that an unusually large number of Negroes are buried in this cemetery, being family members of workers hired by the Strawn family. For a time this cemetery was the second burial site of the famous preacher, Elder Barton W. Stone. His body has since been disinterred and removed to Cane Ridge, Kentucky.
So Jesus slept, God's Dying Son,
Special Thanks To Ken Christensen of Bloomington, Illinois for helping to locate information on H.W. Osborne, and the Antioch Cemetery. The pictures were provided as a result of a number of circumstances. In June, 2009, the cemetery was visited by your web editor, C. Wayne Kilpatrick, and Tom Childers. It was late in the evening, and the pictures on this site were taken as the sun was going down. The photos of H.W. and Eliza V. Osborne along with the funeral notice of H.W. Osborne were provided courtesy of Phyllis (Hodgen) Hansen, a fellow historian and descendant of the Osbornes. |
