The collection nicely documents the history of this small church. There is no personal information about the pastors or members except for birth, marriage, and death dates.
The Certificates of Dismission and Reception is a record of members who joined or left the church with names and dates. The Church Registers include lists of pastors, deacons, communicants, members who were baptized, marriages, and deaths in the church, with names and dates. Most of the remaining volumes include minutes for the church’s annual membership meetings, board of trustee meetings, or the meetings of various church organizations. Correspondence and miscellaneous papers are very miscellaneous and scattered.
Researcher Note: A number of the papers and volumes in the collection have suffered water, mud, or mold damage. The collection should be used with care by researchers with allergies and because of the fragility of a number of the volumes due to rotting and severe acidification of the pages and covers.
Organizational History:
The first Presbyterian services were held at the McKnight School, a log schoolhouse located one mile south of Rosebush, Michigan. On March 17, 1880 the church was organized and called the Calkinsville Presbyterian Church. In 1902 the name was changed to the Rosebush Presbyterian Church. The first minister was Rev. Luke Nott, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. In 1881-1882, a small group of Presbyterians decided to build a church building. The land for the church was donated by Jonah Archer. Most of the building material was donated and built by church members, with help from carpenters, friends, and other members of the community. The church was dedicated on July 15, 1883 by Rev. E. G. Cheesman of the Presbyterian Church of Mount Pleasant, who served as moderator.
Over the years, pastors from Mount Pleasant and Coleman, Michigan, and student pastors from Alma College acted as the pastors for the church in Rosebush. The first resident pastor was Rev. James W. Dallas, 1897-1901. During his time, the tower was built and the bell purchased. In 1931, when Paul K. Heberlein was a student pastor, the basement was built, stained glass windows and electric lights were installed, choir chairs and a piano were purchased, and a rostrum was built. The Willing Workers of the Presbyterian Church was largely responsible for the raising of the necessary funds. In 1939, an addition was added to the basement and a new Sunday School room was built. In April 1948 the manse was purchased. It was dedicated on June 20, 1948. (This information is from the collection.)
