USA > Arkansas > Pulaski County > Little Rock > The annals of Christ church parish of Little Rock, Arkansas, from A. D. 1839 to A. D. 1899 > Part 17
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At a meeting of the clergy of the Diocese of Arkansas, held at Little Rock on the 7th instant, the following minute was unanimously adopted :
"To-day the clergy of the Diocese, here assembled, bear witness to their grief at the death of our beloved Diocesan, the Rt. Rev. Henry Niles Pierce, D. D., LL. D.
"As our chief in holy orders his scholarship and spiritu- ality were constant inspiration and guide. As our father in God he was essentially judicial-minded, in no case ever listen- ing to an ex parte statement, no matter from whatever source it came.
"His sympathy always responded to our experience of life. He listened with a patient ear to the story of all our trials and sorrows, and left the narrator cheered and com- forted.
"His mind was particularly that of an instructor, and it was a liberal education to listen to and appropriate his views on any subject.
"His hospitality was limited only by the circumstances of his habitation.
"His works were manifold and will live after him. They were beset with the difficulties and hardships of an early Epis- copate-successes and disappointments which are matters of history, and will be discussed elsewhere.
"These are some of the prominent characteristics of the Bishop and the man which endear his memory, sanctify his
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influence, and impress the nobility of Bishop Pierce upon us.
"While we mourn our loss on earth, we are not unmind- ful of the admonition 'not to sorrow as men without hope for those who die in the Lord.' Our Bishop's clear thought, firm faith, and childlike trust have been a blessing from our Lord and Master.
"J. J. VAULX, "D. B. RAMSAY, "C. H. LOCKWOOD, "R. W. RHAMES."
The Bishops' testimonial to their departed brother is as follows :
"The brethren of the House of Bishops gathered at the funeral of the late Bishop of Arkansas lay his sacred body with the offices of honor and reverence belonging to a soldier brother, with deep and affectionate sympathy extended to his family and friends, desire to leave on record this tribute to his memory.
"The late Bishop of Arkansas was a man of unusual mental energy. He was a constant student, and delighted in keeping perpetually fresh the university attainments of his early years. He was a graduate of Brown, and also professor of higher mathematics there.
"The young people of Little Rock know well how often they brought their mathematical problems and other puzzling questions to him for solutions, always finding a cordial wel- come and ready solution of their difficulties.
"To the great force of natural ability the late Bishop united marked persistence of character, working with un- abated courage towards the attainment of purpose. The building of the Cathedral illustrates these characteristics in an impressive manner. Almost single-handed he undertook the task of raising the necessary funds. The Cathedral was to express in the concrete certain ideals which were dear to
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the Bishop's mind, but lacked any exemplification in the Dio- cesc. The building in which the last solemn rites have just taken place over his remains stands as at once the monument and memorial of his earnestness and Catholicity of mind and feeling.
"As a man, his scholarship and superior ability gave him influence and authority ; as a Bishop, he ruled his large and difficult field with courage and constancy. Everyone knew liis views. His trumpet gave no uncertain sound.
"Consecrated missionary Bishop of Arkansas and Indian Territory January 25, 1870, and dying at Fayetteville, Ark., September 5, 1899, while supplying the services of a faithful pastor, who was taking a little time of needed rest, the Rt. Rev. Henry Niles Pierce, D. D., LL. D., was for nearly thirty years a leader of missionary work in one of the most eminently missionary regions of our domestic field. Obstacles were plentiful. Resources and help were meagre. But loy- alty to the Church and his Master kept him unyieldingly . steadfast to his aim of standing in his lot and doing duty to the end.
"His counsel given in the House of Bishops was of great worth to his brethren, as was his leadership in the field of value to the Church at large. The Church militant mourns his loss, while grateful to the loving mercy of Almighty God that his faithful servant was spared to do service to the last of his days and up to the seventy-ninth year of his earthly life.
"DAN S. TUTTLE, "Bishop of Missouri. "ALEXANDER C. GARRETT, "Bishop of Dallas. "WILLIAM M. BROWN, "Bishop of Arkansas."
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TRIBUTE TO BISHOP PIERCE
FROM REV. T. B. LEE, RECTOR OF ST. DAVID'S CHURCH,
AUSTIN, TEXAS.
Rev. T. B. Lee, Rector of St. David's Church, Austin, Texas, paid the following tribute to the late Bishop Pierce last Sunday :
"I have kept the faith." Beloved, last Sunday I took these words for my text, not knowing then that a "Prince in Israel" was on the point of departure from sharing his Mas- ter's cross to the radiance of his Master's crown. Of no one could these words be more fittingly said, "I have fought a good fight ; I have finished my course ; I have kept the faith," than of Henry Niles Pierce, D. D., first Bishop of Arkansas. Nothing was nearer his heart than the Catholie faith. Some of you may remember his definition, given from this pulpit. "Catholic," according to the whole Church. That held from the beginning-everywhere-and by all as distinguished from the accretions which have gathered upon it, from the opinions of different schools of thought. Bishop Pierce was so well known for his learning and his extraordinary gift of language, being a master in seven or more languages, that he was one of the several appointed by the late Archbishop of Canterbury to serve on a committee to confer with the Greek Church in regard to the disputed translation of a word in the Nicene creed, on which the eastern and western branches of the Church Catholic disagree. The Greeks say "from the Father through the Son," and we "from the Father and the Son." Bishop Pierce held with the eastern Church. When the Bishop held the Rectorship of Christ Church, Little Rock, I was his assistant and chaplain, and part of the time was an inmate of his family. I knew him as intimately as one can know another, and we loved one the other as father and son. I was taken into his great heart, and revered his com- manding intellect and wide learning. Withal he was gentle as a child and his sympathies embraced all of God's creatures. He never felt it condescension to put himself on a level with
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the least of his flock. It was said of him by one leaving the Diocese, "Bishop, I will miss the great rock which you are to your people." This describes his character-a rock-im- movable-of firmness, of truth, of sincerity, of courage-and I say without hesitation that on the bench of Bishops he had not a peer. Bishop, doctor, shepherd, friend, weighed in the balance over against the high ideal of Thine own faith, thou art not found wanting. Therefore, we thank God on his behalf "for the grace of God which was given him by Jesus Christ, that in everything he was enriched by Him, in all utterances, and in all knowledge," and may his strength be given us that we may so live through the days of this earthly life that we and all God's faithful ones may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in His eternal and everlasting glory through Jesus Christ our Lord.
IN LOVING MEMORY.
RESOLUTIONS ON BISHOP PIERCE'S DEATH BY THE LADIES OF THIE CIIURCH.
[Arkansas Democrat, September 23.].
At a joint meeting of the Woman's Guild, the Woman's Auxiliary and the Daughters of the King, held in Trinity Cathedral September 18, 1899, the following resolutions were passed :
"Our beloved Bishop having entered into the Church Expectant, therefore be it
"Resolved, That our heartfelt sympathy be extended his family in their deep sorrow. May God in His great mercy comfort them.
"We of the Cathedral parish are indeed thankful that it has been our great privilege to see him often and to know him well. Those of us who have felt his dear, gentle hands on our heads and the words, "Defend, O Lord, this thy child," from his lips, will as long as life lasts remember him with love and veneration.
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"Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent his family and spread upon our books. [SIGNED. ]
"MRS. S. M. APPERSON, "President Woman's Guild. "MRS. P. K. ROOTS, "President Woman's Auxiliary. "MISS EMILY ROOTS, "Directress Daughters of the King."
REV. THOMAS BOOTH LEE, M. A.
A. D. 1861-1872. Rev. Thomas Booth Lee, M. A., of Oxford, England, was born in Brynderwyn, Flintshire, England. The name Lee was originally spelled Legh, being Welsh, but was changed in spelling with the inheritance of some property. His mother was Miss Ann Uenett Booth, who, with her daughters, was heiress to a large property. At the time of her decease, a few years since, an English paper published the fact that in her youth she and a sister under- took the maintenance and education of forty poor children. Rev. Thomas Booth Lee was ordained Deacon in 1861, and two years later, 1863, was ordained Priest. In 1869 he was induced to come to this country and act as Chaplain to Bishop Quintard, on the return of the Bishop from England. (Meet- ing Bishop Quintard in England he was induced to come.) After attending the consecration of Bishop Pierce at Mobile, Ala., with Bishop Quintard, who was one of the consecrating Bishops, he accompanied the former to Little Rock, Ark., January, 1870, where he was induced to remain, and served the Bishop as assistant in the office of Rector of Christ Church. In the following year the Bishop resigned the office of Rector and Rev. Mr. Lee was elected to fill the vacancy. He was the incumbent Rector for nearly four years. On July 18,
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REV. THOMAS BOOTH LEE.
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1872, he was married to Miss Ada Beall Cochrane. Her father, Richard Ellis Cochrane, lieutenant in the United States army, fell at the head of his company* at the battle of Resaca de la Palma. He was a descendant of the Cochrane family of England, and one of his maternal ancestors, Colonel Cooch, was a colonel in the French and Indian war. Another, the Rev. Evan Evans, was first Rector of Christ Church, Phil- adelphia. Mrs. Lee's mother was a Miss Beall, of Kentucky, whose family was from Virginia, her grandmother, a Miss Rector. The governors Rector and Conway, of Arkansas, were cousins germane.
The treasurer's books of the Ladies' Aid Society at that time show a loan to the Building Association of $1,000, "which the Vestry appropriated at one time, but could not collect, as it was in Bishop Pierce's name, as trustee."
At this time came the great calamity of the burning of the Church. Through the kindness of Mr. Louis M. Samuel, who copied the account from the files of the newspaper of that date for the annalist, a description is here subjoined :
EPISCOPAL CHURCH BURNED.
BATTLE OF THE ELEMENTS-FIRE AND WATER-LOSS ABOUT $10,000, INSURED FOR $5,000.
(From the Daily Arkansas Gazette, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1873.)
Sunday evening and night a continual storm of rain and wind, accompanied by lightning, prevailed, which increased to almost a tornado between 1 and 2 o'clock. About 1 o'clock, while the rain was falling in torrents, the alarm of fire was sounded at the Pulaski and Torrent engine houses, and in a
*Acting Captain.
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very short time it was discovered that the Episcopal Church, on the corner of Scott and Fifth streets, was on fire.
Owing to the storm, comparatively few persons turned out, but the fire laddies responded nobly, and were by far the largest portion of those present.
Colonel Page, chief of the fire department, was promptly on the ground. The Torrent hand engine, with a good force of men, was the first at the fire, but owing to the small amount of hose, was unable to do any service, no cistern being nearer than Fourth and Main streets. The steam engine Cleburne threw the first water, of which a limited supply was obtained at the corner of Scott and Third streets, two squares from the fire. Engineer Dale had steam up some time before men arrived to move the engine. Shortly after the Cleburne dropped the water a noble stream came from the hose of the Pulaski steamer, at the corner of Main and Fourth streets. Engineer Ives worked the engine handsomely, amidst the storm, about an hour, when the water gave out.
The hook and ladder was pulled to the corner of Scott and Second streets, when the men gave out, and no one came to their assistance. The members who responded to the call were Bob Bruce, Bob Newell, John Cowpland, Harry Thomas, and Geo. Wehr, who deserved to be set down as always ready.
Shortly after the fire broke out a few men forced an entrance into the window of the church, and removed the larger portion of the valuable furniture, which, however, was badly damaged by the rain. The organ was removed by Louis Bernays and Henry Brodkins, among the first on the grounds.
At 1:20 the whole tower was a mass of flames, burning like tinder, and the rain, which fell in volumes, seemed not to have the slightest effect.
At 1:25 the bell, with a terrible crash, fell to the ground and two of the corner posts fell out.
At 1:45 the roof caught fire from the inside, and the front wall fell out like a crash of thunder.
At 2 the whole building was a raging mass of flames, which no amount of water could subduc.
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Policeman Wolf, who was on the night watch, was the first to see the fire, which was burning in the lower portion of the tower. He sounded the alarm and deserves credit for his watchfulness and prompt action.
After the roof was burned, the rain, in a great measure, subdued the fire, and at 9 o'clock yesterday morning the three standing walls and a few burned and charred timber were all that remained of what a few hours before was a handsome house of worship.
The cause of the fire is a mystery, but the general opinion is that it was occasioned by lightning. Assistant Rector Lee knows of but two ways in which it could have been fired-by lightning, or that some man went to sleep in the tower with a lighted cigar or pipe. The loss is about $10,000, and the insurance $5,000; $2,500 in the Franklin, of Philadelphia ; $2,500 in the Peoples, of Arkansas.
There was to have been confirmation in the Church Sun- day evening, but the storm prevented the service.
This Church was of brick, and erected in 1841, by Mr. Geo. S. Morrison. Bishop H. N. Pierce is the Rector and Rev. T. B. Lee, assistant, and the communicants number about 300. The lot on which the Church was erected was conveyed to Judge John Wassell, who laid out the lots, made the plans, and had the edifice built. The successive pastors were Rev. W. H. C. Yeager, Rev. Jas. Young, Rev. Wm. San- ders, Rev. A. F. Freeman. During the two years, commene- ing September, 1870, Rev. E. S. Peake, a Federal chaplain, occupied the position. Then came Rev. P. G. Robert, fol- lowed by Rev. H. H. Morrell, and then the present occupants.
The Vestry of the Church desires to express their thanks to the firemen and other gentlemen who so gallantly aided in rescuing from the flames numerous articles of furniture, which, but for their timely assistance and presence of mind, would have been destroyed.
The Vestry also desires to state that a temporary place of worship will be provided in time for the services of next Sab- bath, notice of which will be duly given.
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EPISCOPAL CHURCHI.
(From the Daily Arkansas Gazette, Thursday, Oct. 2, 1873. )
The services Sunday will be held in the Opera House, on Main street, at 11 o'clock in the morning, and 7:30 in the evening. Every member of the congregation is earnestly requested to attend.
The Holy Communion will be celebrated at the Rectory, at the residence of Bishop Pierce, at 9 o'clock in the morning.
At the time of the fire the old Church was scarcely large enough for the regular congregation. The plans for the second Church were accepted and the foundation laid during the incumbency of Rev. Mr. Lee. The members of the Vestry were Mr. Luke E. Barber, Mr. John Wassell, Judge Ringo, Mr. W. B. Wait, and others. The organist was Miss Mary . E. Harrell. The quartette choir was composed of sopranos at successive times, Mrs. Helen Ames, Miss Edwards ; the alto, Mrs. Wm. G. Whipple; tenor, Judge W. I. Warwick; bass, Colonel W. G. Whipple. The president of the Ladies' Aid Society at this time was Mrs. H. N. Pierce; and Miss Ada Beall Cochrane, treasurer; Miss Georgie Woodruff, secretary. The organist was Mrs. Kerr; the choir was composed of Miss Lily Wright and Miss Lillian Cantrell, sopranos; Mrs. W. G. Whipple, alto; Major Smith, tenor, and Colonel W. G. Whipple, basso.
For four years the Rev. T. B. Lee administered the ser- vices of the Church in the Opera House and Chamber of Com- inerce. IIe was then transferred to the Diocese of Northern Texas, and became Rector of St. David's Church, at Austin, of which he now has charge.
Rer. Tullius C. Tupper, D. D., was called to fill the vacaney, and for eleven years he officiated in the Supreme Court room, and in the Chapel, which the congregation had caused to be erected, watching the upbuilding of the temple which grew to be the ornament of the city. He resigned his office to accept a call at Leavenworth, Kan., just before the new Church was completed.
CHRIST CHURCH, LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. OCCUPIED EASTER SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 1887.
THE ANNALS OF CHRIST CHURCH PARISH 229
PART SECOND.
THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH.
MAKE THOU MINE EARTHLY HABITATION GLORIOUS.
BY FAY HEMPSTEAD.
Tall tower that risest fair and high,
Toward the vault of yonder sky,
And beamest o'er a prospect wide, Of city waste and country side ; Look down in grace and grandeur more, And stateliness than e'er before; Look on us drawn through many ways
To lift the voice of grateful praise, For this the end of all the toil, The delving hand, the ceaseless moil ; Of all the labor and the care, That marked thy growth from year to year : And brought thee on by slow degree, To this full strength that crowneth thee !
Fair house, ye long in building rose ; And now thy far-drawn labors close, Thon standest elad in splendid guise, All rich in tint and fair in dyes. Like the King's daughter art thou made In vesture glorious arrayed. O'er aisle and chancel, nave and beam, The sunrays, many-tinted, stream, As clear thy blazoned windows shine, Through vaulted arches roofed with pine. And holier seeming shalt thou make, Yon organ's rolling thunders shake ;
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Or loud thy towered steeple elang, When some deep clarion there shall hang, And scatter through the smitten air, The wide repeated call to prayer: Or yet o'er dirges sad and low, Shall toll a deeper note of woe.
And what were all the past regret So slowly wert thou forward set ? Doth not this day for all atone ? The triumpli of this day alone ? Not this enough ? Doth not the end For all the past make fit amend ? Yea, should we rather honor those, Who from the dawning to the close, The zealous few, the willing band, Who wrought with ready heart and hand, Through hours of censure and dispraise ; Through weary seasons, cheerless days ; Through days of failure, times of doubt, Till thus the end is brought about.
And long mayest thou, O house of prayer, Stand in thy shining presence there! Long may the years go by ere thou Shalt lightly show on breast or brow, ยท The earlier traces of decay, Or that thy beauty fade away ! Long may ye stand to be indeed The center of thy people's need, And be for them the force that stays, Their footsteps through life's winding ways !
To thee oft come the trusting bride And pledge to him who stands beside, Her life entire with his entwined, One equal blend of heart and mind. To thee for long the child be brought,
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And in thy holy lessons taught, To lisp the prayer, to hymn the praise, Through numberless succeeding days. In thee through time eternal be, The infant pledged to purity ; The cross be signed upon the front, Beside the waters of thy Font.
And as the future time unfolds, Full many be the zealous souls, To dedicate their lives anew, To worship of the Pure and True; Full many at thy sacred board, By faith feed on the risen Lord, And take through grace of Love Divine, As sacred types, the bread and wine !
And more : when past thy portal go, The feet that moving sad and slow, Bear lowly forth the bier and pall, To that low house that waiteth all, Oh, may the word from out thy place, Dry off the tear from many a face, Of those who mourn the spirit fled, To those fair lands where rest the dead : And be the well-springs of relief, To quell the rising pangs of grief.
And thou, O servant of His grace, That speakest from the Holy place, What Minister soe'er shall prove Interpreter to speak His love, Be blessings showered on thy ways, And peace be on thy forward days ! May all thy walk be whole and good, Thy labors crowned with plentitude ; Thy prayers be voices of the heart, In which thy inner self hath part!
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Be purity in alb and stole, But typical of cleanly soul, And through the voice of fervor hurled, Preach thou the Christ to all the world ! -Fay Hempstead.
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
ON THE COST OF BUILDING CHRIST CHURCH, ACCOMPANIED BY AN ITEMIZED STATEMENT.
Little Rock, Ark., 1887.
To the Rector and Vestry of Christ Church :
Gentlemen-Your committee have examined the books and papers of the building committee of Christ Church, and after a thorough investigation, beg leave to submit the enclosed itemized statement of receipts and expenditures. This state- ment includes the names of subscribers and the amounts sub- scribed ; the cost of windows donated, and the names of the donors ; and the amounts paid for pews, and the names of the purchasers, and shows that-
The foundation cost $10,719.14
The superstructure cost 45,799.01
$56,518.15
Amount received from subscribers, windows and pews. $38,945.58 Amount received from sale of Rectory 3,361.75
Amount received from insurance on old church and interest. 5,211.49 Amount received from sale of ma- terial, etc . 1,999.33
$49,518.15 $49,518.15
Leaving a debt of
$ 7,000.00
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It is but justice to the building committee to say in this report, what is well known to every member of this congrega- tion, that they have built for us a most suitable and beautiful church at a remarkably low price, and the thanks of every member of Christ Church are due to them as a committee and individually.
Colonel S. L. Griffith rendered a service in soliciting con- tributions, with a degree of success that no one with less than his great zeal and urbanity could have achieved.
Mr. W. B. Wait has for years given to us the benefit of a ripe financial wisdom, that has guided the committee through difficulties that must otherwise have materially postponed the completion of the building. Such services could not be pro- cured for money.
Mr. J. H. Haney for five years has superintended the work on the building; seen that everything was done in accordance with contracts and specifications; rendering ser- vices that have certainly lessened the cost of the building 10 per cent, with faithfulness and love of the work which it would be impossible to hire.
Mr. G. H. Van Etten has given the committee the benefit of his extensive acquaintance with the market price of build- ing material, enabling them to buy with rare judgment, and at the right time and place.
Mr. Logan H. Roots has ever stood ready to furnish the means for the steady continuance of the work, which but for his timely pecuniary assistance must have stopped many times. This willingness to advance money to a struggling Church is one of the rarest of virtues.
Mr. W. G. Whipple, though not a member of the com- mittee, yet eager to aid in the completion of the building, has taken upon himself the most disagreeable duty of soliciting subscriptions, and has performed the work in a manner that can only be appreciated when the large amount paid in is considered.
L. R. STARK, R. L. GOODRICH, F. D. CLARKE,
Committee.
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P. S .- It is only honest to state that the immense amount of clerical work and investigation imposed by you upon this committee, has been performed entirely by Mr. Ralph L. Goodrich, the other two members only verifying his results. L. R. STARK. F. D. CLARKE.
ITEMIZED STATEMENT.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS AND AMOUNTS SUBSCRIBED TO CHRIST CHURCH.
Augspath, Mrs. Aldence
$ 20.00
Arkansas Pump and Pipe Co.
2.43
Anderson, Mrs
5.00
Adams, Sam B. .
68.75
Adams, Mrs. E. C. (window $300, cash $475)
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