The congregation of the Wilmore Church of Christ, Wilmore, Comanche County, Kansas, July 1952. Photo by James Allen Nichols.
The congregation of the Wilmore Church of Christ, Wilmore, Comanche County, Kansas, July 1952. Photo by James Allen Nichols.
Introduction by Jerry Ferrin In her Report of the Wilmore Church of Christ, August 23, 1953, my grandmother, Nellie May (Barnett) Ferrin said:
Since December 30, 1950, James Allen Nichols has preached for us. He plans to leave next month for Princeton, New Jersey, to further his education; so he too will soon be history. Everyone says nice things about James Allen Nichols, and I have observed his conscientious visits to the shut-ins and what I believe to be his sincere efforts to live a life above reproach, I think often of the definition of religion given us in the book of James: "Pure and undefiled religion before God is to visit the widows and sick in their affliction and to keep oneself unspotted from the world". However, I have never heard James Allen quote that verse of Scripture. When in years to come we have another meeting such as this, when we open memory's album and look at pictures of the past, I shall hear James Allen as he has stood so many Sunday mornings, quoting the Scripture, 'They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up as on the wings of eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and faint not."As yet another example of how RootsWeb makes connections possible, I answered my phone on July 12th, 2001, and found myself speaking with James Allen Nichols, former pastor of the Wilmore Church of Christ! He had been alerted to this webpage by his son and had found my phone number by tracking down a Ferrin cousin who is descended from my great-great grandfather's brother! It's a small world!
I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with him, and am happy to report that Pastor Nichols was agreeable when I asked if he'd like to contribute his personal memoirs about his time as pastor of the Wilmore Church of Christ to this website.
On July 24th, 2001, Pastor Nichols mailed me copies of pages from his Pastoral Record book, from which was taken the following information.
From the "RECORD OF PASTORATES" page:
Date Began at Wilmore Christian Church: 12-3-1950. Church address: Wilmore, Kansas. How Assigned to Pastorate: Student Pastor by Paul Cary. Church membership: 68. Salary: $35.00 per week.
From the "RECORD OF BAPTISMS" page:
Baptisms at Wilmore Christian Church
Date of Baptism: 4-8-1961: Donald Skinner, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 15?
Date of Baptism: 1-27-1952: Mrs. Alice Ferrin, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 24?
Date of Baptism: 4-27-1952: Gene Raney, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 17?
Date of Baptism: 4-27-1952: Sherry Raney, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 13?
Date of Baptism: 4-27-1952: Albert Cruzan, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 12?
Date of Baptism: 4-27-1952: J.B. Delaney, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 16?
Date of Baptism: 5-4-1952: Mrs. Sue Lenertz, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 45?
Date of Baptism: 8-30-1953: Billy Fry, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 11
Date of Baptism: 8-30-1953: Clarence Trummel, Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 14Note by Pastor Nichols: J.B. Delaney later married Barbara Fry, a daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Lester Fry. Billy Fry was a son of the Lester Frys. Clarence Trummel's father was an uncle of Lester Trummel.
From the "RECORD OF MEMBERS RECEIVED" page:
Date: 9-21-1952: Mr. & Mrs. Charles Bish of Wilmore, Kansas, received into the Wilmore Christian Church. Remark: Supt. of Schools Fr. Tangier, Okla.
From the "RECORD OF MARRIAGES" page:
Marriages performed at Wilmore Christian ChurchDate: 6-24-1951: Helen Joann Huck of Wilmore, Kansas, age 19, student, married to John Harold Hansen of Sedgewick, Kansas, age 22, student. Wedding fee: $5.00. Place of ceremony: Wilmore.
Date: 8-5-1951: Josephine Fry of Wilmore Kansas, age 22, teacher, married to James C. Mathews of Pratt, Kansas, age 30, student. Wedding fee: $10.00. Place of ceremony: Wilmore.
Date: 10-21-1951: Delphia Lou Monroe of Wilmore, Kansas, age 18, married to Edward Roy Schauf of Wilmore, Kansas, age 19, section hand. Wedding fee: $5.00. Place of ceremony: Wilmore.
Date: 7-26-1953: Carol Jean Fry of Wilmore, Kansas, age 22, Nurse, married to Eugene L. Swaney of Clinton, Missouri, age 24, Med. Student. Wedding fee: $15.00. Place of ceremony: Wilmore.
Date: 7-26-1953: Eloise Fry of Wilmore, Kansas, age 20, store clerk, married to Floyd Leah Fleming, age 22, Air Force. Wedding fee: $15.00. Place of ceremony: Wilmore.
Note by Pastor Nichols: The 3 Fry girls were daughers of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Fry. The wedding of Carol and Eloise was the only double wedding I ever performed. Carol's husband is a retired dentist in Independence, Missouri.
From the "RECORD OF FUNERALS" page:
Funerals performed at Wilmore Christian ChurchDate: 9-30-1951. Roy Toothaker of Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 69. Text or subject: Job 14:14. Member of United Brethren church.
Date: 3-16-1953. Lavinia Emerick of Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 70. Text or subject: "Eternal Home", Jn. 14:1-3. Member of Wilmore Christian Church.
Date: 4-16-1953. Thomas R. Berrey of Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 87. Text or subject: "Building For Eternity", I Cor. 3:5-14. Member of Wilmore Christian Church.
Date: 8-26-1953. Irven Richard Mangels of Wilmore, Kansas. Age: 63. Text or subject: Luke 10:25-30. Member of Wilmore Christian Church.
Note by Pastor Nichols: On May 10, 1973, I went to Wilmore to conduct the funeral of Lester Trummel in the Wilmore Federated Church.
From the "RECORD OF SERMONS DELIVERED" page:
Note by J.F.: Pastor Nichols also provided me with a complete list of the tiles of his sermons delivered at the Wilmore Christian Church which I will, in time, transcribe for this webpage.
Pastor Nichol's address (24 July 2001):
James A. Nichols
8313 N. Highland Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64118
Also see:
Report of the Wilmore Church of Christ, August 23, 1953.
Dedication of the Wilmore Christian Church, March 15, 1913
This website is being created by Jerry Ferrin with the able assistance of many Contributors. Your comments, suggestions and contributions of historical information and photographs to this site are welcome. Please sign the Guest Book.
This page was last updated 16 November 2003.