Dr. Hobart is a man of superior abilities, and his labors have been in special demand.  He has been elected five times to the General Conference, and has been seven times appointed to Districts.  As a Preacher he is always acceptable, but at times he delivers extraordinary sermons.  It requires a great occasion to take the full measure of the man.  At such times he has been known to move audiences with overwhelming power.  Especially was this the case under the sermon he delivered at a Camp-Meeting held two miles west of Big Foot Prairie, in 1849.  On this occasion the tide of feeling rose to such a height that great numbers of the congregation unconsciously left their seats and stood entranced, while the saints shouted for joy, and sinners cried out in the anguish of their souls for mercy.

Having thus spoken of the Presiding Elder of the Racine District, it is fitting that we should now glance briefly at a few of the early charges.

Kenosha, as we have seen, was included in the Racine Mission in 1837, and shared the labors of Brother Curtis.  The first class was formed during this term probably by either the Pastor or Rev. John Clark, the Presiding Elder, and consisted of Rev. Reuben H. Deming, Austin Kellogg, Hon. and Mrs. Charles Durkee, Mrs. Harvey Durkee, John W. Dana Martha E. Dana, and Susan Dana.  The Presiding Elder, Rev. Salmon Stebbins, held a Quarterly Meeting in Kenosha, then called Southport, November 24th, 1837.  The meeting was held in a small log school house standing near the present site of the Simmons Block.

During the following year a revival occurred, which resulted in the conversion of nearly the entire community.  The meetings were held in a public building on the North Side, but the erection of a Church immediately followed.  As before stated, Brother Stebbins became the Pastor in 1839, and remained also the following year.  The succeeding Pastors up to 1845 were Rev. F.T.  Mitchell, Rev. James Mitchell, Rev. Wm. H. Sampson, Rev. C.D.  Cahoon and Rev. Warner Oliver.  At this writing, Kenosha ranks among the leading stations of the Conference.

Brother Stebbins entered the New York Conference in 1822.  When the Conference was divided he fell into the northern portion, which took the name of Troy.  In this field he labored fourteen years, his charges covering the territory from Albany to the Canada line.  At the solicitation of Rev. John Clark, he was transferred to the Illinois Conference in 1837, and appointed Presiding Elder, the District extending from the Illinois State Line to Green Bay.  In 1839 he was appointed to the Racine and Southport Mission, as before stated, and remained on the Southport part the following year.  After leaving Southport charge he was stationed at Platteville, Lake, Madison and St. Charles.  Subsequently taking a location, he became a resident of Kenosha, in the vicinity of which place he still resides.

Brother Stebbins is a man of superior ability, and in his prime enjoyed considerable reputation as a Preacher.  He is spending the evening of his life in quiet, trustingly awaiting the change that now cannot be long delayed.