Born: Illinois, 1830.
Died:
Mr. Gregg was born in a log cabin a short distance west of the site of the city of Charleston. Indians were still living thereabout. In the winter-time he attended school in a log house when the days were not fit to break and scutch [sic - scotch?] flax. In 1849 the California gold fever attacked him. He crossed the plains with the view of gathering gold by the basketful. Like many others, in this he was disappointed, and after two years returned to Illinois. The trip had cost him two years of schooling.
In the southeast part of Douglas County there was a community of intelligent settlers. It came to be known as Rural Retreat and is yet so called. A debating society was formed and its weekly meetings were held in the schoolhouse. In these meetings Mr. Gregg soon became an active participant.
It was not long until the Disciples in the community encouraged him to preach. He was modest and timid, but they insisted. Thus it was that he was led into the ministry. His work was done mainly in Douglas, Coles and Edgar Counties. Associated with him were A. D. Fillmore, Thomas Goodman, Gershom Rude, Joseph Hostetler and W. F. Flack.
One day Mr. Gregg was plowing in his field. A neighbor residing five miles away called on business. In the course of the conversation the caller misquoted a passage of Scripture, which Mr. Gregg corrected. Then the neighbor so persistently besought him to come over and preach in their schoolhouse that a promise was given. The results were conversions among the people, the organization of a church of Christ and the building of a substantial church. His ministry was continued there four or five years. A good sister remarked to the preacher one day that honey-bees always did well for a man who lived amicably with his wife; whereupon, she gave him a colony. This was the sole material compensation received from that congregation for those years of service. Frequently Mr. Gregg's preaching was of the militant type. It could hardly have been different. In those years he and his brethren, pleading for the authority of Jesus Christ and the word of God, were often called "water-dogs" by pious denominationalists. Sometimes even women would shake their fists in his face and mutter their dissent. But this preacher was always true to the word of God.