ness of a father, and when told of Mr. Lemen's purpose to soon
organize a new church on a strictly anti-slavery basis Jefferson sent
him a message to proceed at once to form the new church and he sent it
a twenty-dollar contribution. Acting on Jefferson's suggestion, Mr.
Lemen promptly took the preliminary steps for the final formation of
the new church and when constituted it was called the Baptist Church
of Canteen Creek and Jefferson's contribution, with other funds, were
given to it. This church is now called the Bethel Baptist Church, and
it has a very interesting history.

But in view of the facts and circumstances the church might properly
have been called the "Thomas Jefferson Church," and what volumes these
facts speak for the beneficent and marvelous influence which Mr. Lemen
had over Jefferson, who was a reputed unbeliever. The great love he
had for James Lemen not only induced him to tolerate his churches but
he became an active adviser for their multiplication.

[30]The original agreement between Jefferson and Mr. Lemen was
strictly confidential; on the part of Jefferson, because, had it been
known, his opponents would have said {p.34} he sent paid emissaries
to Illinois and Indiana to shape matters to his own interests, and the
extreme South might have opposed his future preferment, if it were
known that he had made an anti-slavery pact with his territorial
agents; and it was secret on the part of Mr. Lemen because he never
wished Jefferson to give him any help and his singularly independent
nature made him feel that he would enjoy a greater liberty of action,
or feeling at least, if it were never known that his plans and
purposes to some extent were dictated and controlled by another, not
even by his great and good friend Jefferson; so the agreement between
them was strictly private. [30]And there was another circumstance
which finally determined Mr. Lemen to always preserve the secrecy, and
that was that some of Mr. Jefferson's opponents shortly before Mr.
Lemen's death informed him that he had become an absolute unbeliever,
and this so impressed his mind that he wept bitterly for fear, if the
fact should ever be known that he had an agreement with Jefferson,
that they would say that he was in alliance with an unbeliever in the
great life work he had performed, and he exacted a promise from his
sons, his brother-in-law, Rev. Benjamin Ogle, and Mr. Biggs, the only
persons who then knew of the agreement,