Coming from Rochelle, IL, Dr. Oliver Edwin Murray, Ph. D served 1900-1901. He was a pastor in churches within Chicago in the previous 13 years and had lectured in principal cities of the United States. He was a composer, musical director and wrote song books. His wife, Hattie Brush Murray, sang. She studied under teachers in America, Italy, Paris and London and is well known on both sides of the Atlantic. Murray was born in 1857 in England. His family left England in 1869 and settled in Michigan. Following the death of a sister, he joined the Methodist Church in 1856 and the ministry in 1875. Coming to Brooklyn (Oct. 1900), his wife arrived 2-weeks later with their baby. The doctor offered singing lessons at
the church for a dollar to 24 interested pupils, plus others from Cooksville. During his time here a barn was built for the horse and carriage and the church was re-papered and painted. Visiting Chicago, Murray traded his stereopticon (a slide projector) for a fine roadster. Murray was transferred to Brodhead.

Rev. Albert Wood and wife, Etta arrived at Brooklyn on the train, April 15, 1903, and then settled in the parsonage. Rev. Wood was very active with the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
efforts, even helped close a “Fizz Joint” at Brodhead. The annual WCTU conventions of 1904 and 1905 were held here. The church membership was 108 with two others taking lessons to join and 135 in Sunday School. Rev. Wood made attempts to reach everyone. The printing of “Violation of the Sabbath, Section 4595” appeared in “The Brooklyn News.” Prof. Mercia, a former president at Waupun’s Reform School, spoke at the church; his topic was “The Boy That Goes Wrong.” Along with his services here, Wood assisted in the marriage of Tressa Ames and Robert Templeton and presided at the funeral of Horace Phillip, a Civil War Veteran, and others. During 1904, the Epworth League presented a new organ for the church. A sidewalk around the church and parsonage was being planned. Missionaries (Rev. and Mrs. Murray) showed pictures of India from slides with his Cilium Lantern and she sang. Quincy Ames told of his trip to the Holy Land in September. Celebrating the coming new year, the church was largely attended. Readings and singing were heard. Etta Wood and Mrs. Jees Mason provided music. The offering ($14) went towards silverware for the church. Wood’s first born,
William, happened here in December of 1905. His baptism took place in the former parsonage during the following April. Later, elsewhere they had a daughter, Catherine. Rev. Wood was assigned to the Caledonia Street Church at LaCrosse in 1906, then to Eau Claire’s First Methodist in 1908 to 1909. In 1911, he
transferred to the Kansas Conference. Sometime in the 1920’s, he lost an arm in an auto accident. Then, he transferred to the Illinois Conference in 1922, where his father, Preston Wood Sr. was a prominent minister. There in Chicago, Albert had an operation to take away the lingering pain of his amputation. Two hours after
the operation, he died October 29, 1928. Etta lived until 1970.

Born and educated in England, Rev. George Brown began his ministry in a small church in Polk County, Wisconsin called Alabama (now Cushing) in 1887. There he met and married Laura Murphy, the
following year. He was assigned to Brooklyn in 1906. Following other assignments, seven years later in 1913, he was Secretary of State of Wisconsin. He became the clerk of records and elections from 1916 to 1944 and reorganized the system of filing state records. While employed by the state, he enjoyed preaching in many
other churches on Sundays. Greatly interested in the Missionary Cause, he invested $1000 towards a church in Africa and in Madison. He was the secretary to the Madison Auxiliary of the American Mission to Lepers, an interdenominational association which ministered the physical and spiritual needs of Hansen’s Disease sufferers. Upon his death, the Wisconsin State Journal wrote, “the reverend was an unusual man, never rose his voice or never said an unkind word, loved his church and his state service with quiet devotion.” Laura was teaching school when she met Rev. Brown. They had two children, Paul and Hazel. Assigned to churches in northern Wisconsin, they requested to serve in the southern part of the state. She often assisted work with the choir or gave the entire service in her husband’s absence. In later years, she taught the Women’s Bible Class in First Church, Madison. Both of their bodies are resting in Mount Hope in Brooklyn. During a funeral he conducted at Evansville for Arthur Fuller (age 21), a favorite poem, “Crossing the Bar“ by Alfred Lord Tennyson was read. The Brooklyn Choir sang selected hymns and tenor Ferd Anderson sang his
most requested song, “Face to Face.”

Edmund Upson was born in East Moline, IL in 1865, he and his wife, Mary Jane, lived in the first parsonage with their five children, Myrtle, Richard, Raymond, Robert, and Porter from 1908-1913.
Raymond’s life ended in 1918, as a private in the 26th Infantry, 1st Division during World War One (his remains arrived on the train from France in 1925) and Robert was only six years old when he passed. Richard was lost in action in the Pacific, April 1944. He’s remembered in the Walls of the Missing at Arlington Cemetery having been declared dead in 1946. These three are resting with the reverend and his wife in Mt. Hope in Brooklyn. Edmond was the state conservation department’s first official publicity man. From 1918-1935- he had the status of a warden, and lectured on the need for conservation. An amateur photographer and collector, he took pictures on the many motor trips through the southwest of America, and Mexico with his family. He retired early because of his wife’s health, but substituted for other ministers. Rev. Upson passed the year following Mary Jane’s death. His funeral was at Trousdale Methodist Church in Madison. During Upson’s second year, Annette Benson’s body was brought to our church from her daughter’s home in Texas for her final service and burial in Jug Prairie. Her husband, Ezza Benson, was one of the men selected in Wisconsin’s Sharpshooters Regiment during the Civil War.

James W. Barnett was behind the pulpit at Brooklyn 1913-17. Written in his obituary, he had a deep, musical voice but never was heard singing, always a twinkle in his eyes and humor in his conversation. His wife was Nettie. Their daughter, Floy was married in the parsonage by her father. Barnett’s son, Hurst enlisted in an Illinois Regiment, expected to leave for the Mexican border. Accompanying Ferd Anderson in his tenor range, others performed
in quartets and duets. Drawing the community, events such as the Lecture Course (a Mr. Brigham showed pictures of national parks and sang), the W.C.T.U. Benefit was at the Opera House (Ray Snedeker presented a 4-act play), the W.C.T.U. Teacher Reception
was hosted by the women and the men’s choir sang. Other events were the Epworth League Halloween Social, Annual Men’s Supper (proceeds went towards cement walk & steps around the parsonage/church replaced the wooden boardwalks in November), the prison chaplain at Waupun told of his experiences, Chicken Pie Suppers, M.H. Jackson told of living in British Isles when war was declared in Germany. Because of rain, the Memorial Day tributes were held at the church (the reverend and the school children had a program), and the W.C.T.U. made comfort bags for the local soldiers.
After his last sermon in 1917, Barnett was assigned to Mt. Horeb.

Following Barnett, Walter James Marshfield was here, just over a year. Discontent, he asked for a transfer. He was assigned to Muscoda. Still unhappy, he withdrew his membership in the Methodist faith and then moved to New York to study in a theological seminary with plans to unite with the Protestant Episcopal Church.

Rev. George Brown was assigned to finish Marshfield’s second year. Brown had served here earlier (1906-08). During 1907, It was reported in the Wood County Reporter of Grand Rapids in their Oct. 3rd edition: “The Brooklyn Church was struck by lightning and set afire. Reverend Brown and his wife saved the building by working with buckets. The steeple was nearly torn off and left hanging in the street.” Under Brown, during 1918, the ladies of the church financed a furnace for the parsonage, the WCTU convention was held
in Brooklyn, Herbert Miller from Delevan arrived in Brooklyn as the new drug store owner and replaced A.R. Dahm as cashier at the bank.

The conference approved Reverend Thomas Bevin for the coming year.

Finishing the year 1919 for Rev. Brown, Rev. Thomas Bevin and his wife, Lizette hosted a gathering on New Year’s Eve with music from the Victrola, loaned by Mrs. Charles Wackman. The records were from Albert Smith’s store in Madison. Beavin loved music and was very impressed by anyone that could carry a tune. Often his expression afterwards was “Bow down Haamen, the son of Amidoth!” Previous to his arrival here, Beavin was doing “War Work” at the Y.M.C.A. Only here for a year, he presided over many
baptisms, new members (21 in the confirmation class), many marriages, and funerals. Bevin passed just ten days prior to his 87th birthday, July 6, 1971. There was a guest speaker, Mary Belton in April, speaking on orphanage work. Previously, she spent two
years at an orphanage in Grenoble, France. The church participated in a community pageant, titled “In Freedom’s Quest” at the abandoned factory building on Market Street that was transformed into an auditorium for this production. The W.F.M.S (Women’s Foreign Missionary Society) was formed with seven members at
the parsonage. They used “mite boxes” to hold their offerings towards the work of their society. Under their supervision, the “King’s Heralds” was established for the children to learn the scriptures.