William T. Major

Who was William T. Major?

William Trabue Major was a prominent religious leader in Bloomington, Illinois in the mid-19th century. He founded the First Christian Church and built the city's first public meeting hall, Major's Hall, which hosted an early convention of the Illinois branch of the Republican Party and became best known as the site of "Lincoln's Lost Speech".

Major was born in Kentucky in 1790, a son of John Major and Judith Trabue. He moved to Illinois in 1835. He had begun as a Baptist, but disagreed with their beliefs that supported slavery. He changed his affiliation to the "Campbellites", as the Disciples of Christ denomination was then known informally, and founded the First Christian Church of Bloomington in 1837.

Initially he and his wife, the former Margaret Allen Shipp, held services in their home. In 1840, they opened a wooden church building near the corner of Front and East Streets just south of the downtown. In 1852, they opened a public meeting hall next door to the church, which was known as Major's Hall.