Family:Daniel Parkinson and Unknown (1)

http://www.fccoshkosh.org/index.php/about/fcc-history/ Chapter One of Independent of Mind, Open of Heart: The Gathering of the Church Through the Civil War 1849-1865

The Church with No Name

Even while the church was concerned about the needs of others, matters of church discipline kept forcing themselves to center stage. The Parkinson family?who you will remember was "hopefully converted" in the revival meetings of 1857?was to become the main players. They were found to hold beliefs contrary to the Articles of Faith and the Covenant. Refusing to submit to the authority of the church, they asked for a trial. This forced the church to decide how a trial should be handled, and so they researched and adopted portions of the Church Manual of Plymouth Congregational Church in Milwaukee?but not without discussion: "After an hour and a half of warm discussion the church adjourned."
It was probably because of this process of defining their church government that it was discovered that the church had no formal name: "The clerk then read the history of the formation of this church from which it appears that this church has no distinctive name. Brother Jackson then moved that this church be called the ?First Congregational Church of Oshkosh.' Motion carried" (March 7, 1859).
The First Heresy Trial
The trials of Chloe and Daniel Parkinson and Chloe's mother, Hannah Norton, are included in the records in great detail. It appears that the Parkinsons had doubts about the inspiration of the Bible, and were Unitarian in their view of Christ, denying his unique divinity. They sound rather "New Age" to us today, (they were called "Spiritualists" at the time), when they spoke about the divinity in all people?"every one who has the love and Spirit of God in his heart is divine to that degree in which he possesses that love and spirit; that in this way alone Christ is divine," stated part of the charges.
The church could not tolerate this departure from orthodox belief, and the whole Parkinson family?including two young sons, Morris (later to be the organist and choir director of the church!) and was expelled. At the close of the worship service the following Sunday, "Dan'l Parkinson . . . gave notice that all who wished to hear his ?justification' should come to McCourt's Hall at 2 p.m." We do not know if any came to hear him.
Thus we have in these years a picture of a young church born in the western frontier, flourishing in a revivalistic, orthodox theology, and struggling to deal with the rapid changes in its membership. Holding to the rigidity of a closely defined theology and a demanding Covenant, yet inviting new converts into the fold?converts who might or might not share all the views of the founding membership?First Congregational Church of Oshkosh (at least they had a real name now!) was growing up and inevitably changing with the city. This clash between the "orthodox" and more open-minded members would culminate in 1889, with the trial of the Reverend Edward Smith.