....... [The writer found] a reminiscence written by James C. Goodwillie on the occasion of the Fullerton Avenue Church's 50th anniversary in 1914. Mr. Goodwillie had been present at the first service of the Fullerton Church in 1864 and was telling about all the people he remembered over the 50-year history of the congregation. There is one sentence referencing "Landis":

"The Landis family were quite prominent in church work from 1868 on."

I brought the earliest record book of the Fullerton Avenue Presbyterian Church home with me. The active member roll in this book was started in 1905.

The very first name listed under "L" was:

Edwin Robinson Landis
(joined) 25 Mar 1900 by Profession of Faith
"Retired" 4 Apr 1918

I believe "retired" was used to indicate a person was no longer active and thus taken off the roll.

I have completed my review of the relevant LPPC archives for your query. I did not find any other mention of Landis (other than what I sent previously) in the records of the Fullerton Avenue Church. The first official record book we have covers approximately 1905 to 1916. The next record book we have begins in the late 1920s. In the first book, I scanned all the names for the first name of "Ida Mary" but no luck. I also looked for the last names of "Maher", "Cox", "Adams" just in case there was some connection. Of course, the 1910s are a long way from the 1860s and 1870s when the Landis family was most prominent in the church.

I did notice in your "Carroll’s Scrapbook" the clipping about the marriage of J. Wm. Landis and Alice Cox by the Rev. Dr. W.C. Young. Dr. Young was pastor of the Fullerton Avenue Church, 1872-1879. Orchard Street is several blocks west of the church.

I also checked the early records of the Covenant Presbyterian Church and the Christ Presbyterian Sabbath School/Church, as they were close to the Fullerton Avenue Church and I’ve seen a lot of switching back and forth among these congregations. There was nothing in the Christ Church records. In the Covenant Church records, I found one Landis:

Mrs. Emily M. Landis received into the Covenant Church on 13 Sep 1893 by letter of transfer from the First Presbyterian Church of Linden, Michigan. She was transferred out on 9 May 1894 to the Presbyterian Church of Avoca, Iowa. I don’t see this women on your website, so she may not be a relative.

I am puzzled by one thing in the obituary of Dr. Edmund Landis. Why did Rev. Jeremiah Porter have such a prominent role in the funeral service? Incidentally, Porter did not give the first sermon in Chicago. Rather, he founded the first formally organized religious body (1833) and delivered the first sermon to that body. This group became the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago. Rev. Porter left Chicago in 1835 and served a number of places during his career, including among others, 1840 to 1858 at the Presbyterian Church of Green Bay, and 1858 to 1862 at the Edward’s Congregational Church in Chicago. He became a military chaplain in 1862 and served both military and non-military posts all over the U.S., including Kennesaw Mountain (which I mention only because I noted the possible connection of your family with Judge Landis). In 1881, Porter was serving as chaplain at Fort Russell in the Wyoming Territory. He retired (by act of Congress) in 1882 and died in Beloit, WI in 1893. Thus, Rev. Porter had to make a special trip to Chicago for Dr. Landis’ funeral. What was their connection?

Well, not a lot of information for you, I’m afraid. I’ve been making copies of the materials as I’ve gone along, and if you want to send me your postal address, I’ll be glad to send this stuff your way. I can also send a bio and photo of Rev. Jeremiah Porter from the 80th history of the First Presbyterian Church. I checked through this volume also, just in case the Landis family had had some association with that congegation, but the name did not appear.