Moses Franklin Shinn (January 3, 1809 – 1885) was a pioneer Methodist Episcopal Church minister in Omaha, Nebraska.
Aside from founding Omaha's first cemetery, called Prospect Hill, he was also renowned for renouncing his Methodist affiliation in Keokuk, Iowa in order to remain a member of the Freemasons.
[3] Historical records place Shinn in Council Bluffs, Iowa after 1851, when it was noted he was a "fiery Methodist preacher" who some claimed was "as learned in full deck poker as in theology".
[6] He was the presiding elder of the Council Bluffs District of the Methodist Church, which included work that developed in the new neighboring Nebraska Territory.
[12] He operated an early rope ferry twelve miles (19 km) east of Columbus, Nebraska for emigrants following the Platte River.
At the next general conference of the church, a resolution to that end was adopted by Shinn's fellow ministers.
A portion of the money went to help some families, including relatives; however, the majority of it went to building new churches across Iowa and Nebraska.