The First Methodist Church of Lawrence, Kansas was founded in 1854. On May 30, 1920, a special service was held at the church to accept a $5,000 Liberty Bond as a gift from the estate of Frederick Eggert, who died on April 26, 1918 at Portland, Oregon. Prior to his long residency in Oregon, Eggert had been an early settler in Kansas Territory, lived in or near Lawrence from 1856 to 1876, was a survivor of William Quantrill's Lawrence massacre of 1863, and was for many years a successful Lawrence businessman and member of the First Methodist Church.
The church held its service, establishing the Frederick Eggert Memorial Fund, on Mr. Eggert’s seventy-seventh birthday. Hannah Oliver, a lifelong friend of the Eggerts, presented the bond to the church in the name of Mrs. Eggert, who was unable to be present. William F. March, chairman of the Board of Trustees, accepted it on behalf of the church. Minister Samuel Sylvester Klyne officiated. A picture of Mr. Eggert was also presented to the church. In later years, the name of the church became the First Methodist Episcopal Church, and then the First United Methodist Church.
From the guide to the Frederick Eggert gift acceptance speech by the Board of Trustees [William F. March, Chairman], First Methodist Church, Lawrence, Kansas), May 30, 1920, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)
