Belleville's Church History
Belleville Township's
Methodist Episcopal Church

The Methodist Episcopal Church (and churches of any faith) have led the way in establisment to almost any other township "business." They have been a dominant factor in the life of the community, and the driving force for many prominent village officals.
The first minister in Belleville Township was Reverend John Hayden, who had come to the area around 1824. He was granted a land patent and settled in French Landing, on Section Number 24 on May 25, 1825. When Hayden first came to the area, there were less then a dozen families in the entire township. He conducted simple services of prayer and devotion and carried the "Word" to many cabins up and down the old Pottowatamie trail. He also served the Van Buren Township area, and held various township offices over the several years he lived here.
Reverend Elias Pattee, organized a class in 1825, that would later grow into the Methodist Episcopal Church. He held meetings in private homes, and served as Belleville's second pastor in 1841. This organization was developed 5 years prior to the establishment of a post office and 8 years prior to the plat of the village being recorded. The circuit area here contained Van Buren, Denton, and Dearborn village as well as Belleville Township. Another, minister, Reverend J.B. Findlay established a parish for the benefit of the Huron Indian, around 1823. The first regular minister appointed to the circuit was, Reverend Adam Minnis. Two township citizens, Robert Clark and Daniel L. Kirk donated the lot for the building of a church.
By 1862, a number of Methodists organized and built a church at French Landing, which stood south of the Wabash Railroad. It became known as the Second Methodist Epsicopal Church. Because of a lack of community support, however, it was later abandoned.

In the early 1870's, the Methodists of the Detroit Conference, leased a tract of land south of French Landing, upon the farm land of Neil Savage. The local trains and Detroit area trains made regular stops at French Landing, which brought nearby farmers and their families to the church. For many years the social activities of the township, centered around the church.

Ministers of the Belleville Methodist Episcopal Church

Name Date of Service
Reverend Adam Minnis 1840
Reverend Elias Pattee 1841
Reverend Robert Howe 1841
Reverend John Gray 1842
Reverend William Taylor 1842
Reverend Alanson Fleming 1843
Reverend Cable Bruce 1843
Reverend R. Dubois 1843
Reverend Gideon J. Shurtliff 1844
Reverend Henry Penfield 1844
Reverend Robert Bird 1844
Reverend Jonathan Blanchard 1845
Reverend W.H. Hayes 1845
Reverend Daniel Bush 1846
Reverend William Benson 1846
Reverend Daniel Bush 1847
Reverend Francis Glass 1847
Reverend Isaac Abbott 1848
Reverend William Mothersill 1849
Reverend Robert Bird 1849
Reverend J.F. Collins 1850
Reverend William Fox 1850
Reverend Samuel Bessey 1851
Reverend William Fox 1851
Reverend Samuel Bessey 1852
Reverend Jacob Wortley 1852
Reverend Ebenezer Steel 1853
Reverend C.W. Leeman 1853
Reverend E. Westlake 1854
Reverend John J. Smith 1855
Reverend J. Kellogg 1856
Reverend Dwelle 1856
Reverend J.W. Kellogg 1857
Reverend A.J. Bigelow 1857
Reverend John Levington 1858
Reverend W.C. Way 1858
Reverend John Levington
Reverend Rufus C. Cane 1861
Reverend H.N. Brown 1863
Reverend S.P. Warner 1864
Reverend Charles M. Anderson 1865
Reverend Jesse Kilpatrick 1867
Reverend J.G. Morgan 1870
Reverend William J. Campbell 1872
Reverend James S. Sutton 1873
Reverend John Crippen 1875
Reverend W.J. Clack 1876
Reverend E. Barry 1878
Reverend S.L. Ramsdell 1879
Reverend W.R. Jordon 1881
Reverend R.B. Rogers 1883
Reverend H.A. Merrill 1884
Reverend L.C. York 1885
Reverend R.L. Hewson 1886
Reverend J.S. Rose 1890
Reverend Hartley Cansfield 1891
Reverend Timothy Edwards 1892
Reverend James A. Roberts 1894
Reverend Hiram C. Colvin 1896
Reverend Frank Dodds 1900
Reverend D. Stanley Shaw 1901
Reverend Nathaniel Harris 1903
Reverend Addis Albro 1905
Reverend T.H. Martin 1906
Reverend E.W. Frazee 1908
Frank L. Leonard 1909
Reverend H.A. Magoon 1911
Reverend S.J. Pollock 1912
Reverend A. Balgooyan 1915
Reverend William S. Smith 1919
Reverend Ralph Brown 1924
Reverend Frank Miner 1926


In July of 1841, the First Baptist Church and Society was organized in Belleville. It's first minister was Reverend John Goff. It's first church was erected in 1853, and occupied lots 47 and 48. Lot Number 48 was originally owned by Thomas & Hanna Spence who deeded it to the society. The building was used for worship until about 1885 and stood vacant for several years after. In 1913, Peter S. Smith, Eugene W. Conant, and Stephen Taylor, the trustees of the First Baptist Church and Society of Nankin, sold the property to the Michigan Baptist Convention.
Here are the following pastors of the Baptist Church:

Name Date of Service
Reverend John Goff 1841 - ?
Reverend A. Whitman 1851 - 1857
Reverend T.L. Bulis 1857 - 1859
Reverend A.H. Harris 1860 - 1862
Reverend P. Gambell 1862 - 1868
Reverend D. Osborn 1868 - 1869
Reverend J.P. Chenworth 1869 - 1870
Reverend David J. Parker 1871
Reverend A.B. Kinne 1873
Reverend A. Snider1876 - 1878
Reverend A. Gower 1878 - ?
Reverend R.D. Herrington 1881 - 1883
Reverend A.M. Lyon 1883 - 1885
Reverend H.C. Scofield May - November of 1885


The other near area church was that of Rawsonville. It was erected in 1876 by a society that was organized in 1843. It was known then as the "Good Templar Hall". The Denton village church organized in 1835 remained open until 1931, however the denomination is not mentioned.

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