John Alter gravesite

The grave of Rev. John Alter, the father of Rev. Helenor Alter Davisson, both of whom were circuit-riding preachers of the Methodist Protestant Church in the 1840s to 1860s, is found near the center of the private cemetery on the Alter Family Farm in Carpenter Township. Rev. Davisson was the first woman known to have been elected to Deacon's Orders in any branch of The United Methodist Church in America (1866). Her father's grave is one of a cluster of five locations in Jasper County associated with Rev. Davisson and the Methodist Protestants. In 2014, the cluster was designated as "United Methodist Historic Site No. 487" by the General Commission on Archives and History. Visits by prearrangement only; please call the Trinity United Methodist Church in Rensselaer at 219-866-7271 to arrange an appointment with the owners. On Jasper County Road West 1600S, 0.7 mile west of CR S880W.

GPS reading: 40 46 36.3, -087 13 31.5.

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