USA > California > Los Angeles County > History of Los Angeles county, Volume I > Part 41
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"Captain de La Guerra was chosen by the ayuntamiento padrino or god- father. San Gabriel Mission loaned a bell for the occasion. The fiesta of Our Lady of the Angeles had been postponed so that the dedication and the celebration could be held at the same time. Cannon boomed on the Plaza and salvos of musketry intoned the services.
"The present building and its surroundings bear but little resemblance to the 'Nueva Iglesia' (new church) that Padre Payeras labored so earnestly to complete eighty-five years ago. It then had no floor but the beaten earth, and no seats. The worshipers sat or knelt on the bare ground or on cush- ions they brought with them. There was no distinction between the poor and the rich at first, but as time passed and the Indians degenerated, or the citizens became more aristocratic, a petition was presented to the ayuntamiento to provide a separate place of worship for the Indians.
"At the session of the ayuntamiento, June 19, 1839, the president stated 'that he had been informed by Jose M. Navarro, who serves as sexton, that the baptistry of the church is almost in ruins on account of a leaking roof.' It was ordered that 'Sunday next the alcaldes of the Indians shall meet and bring together the Indians without a boss, so that no one will be inconvenienced by the loss of labor of his Indians, and place them to work thereon, using some posts and brea now at the guardhouse, the regidor on weekly duty to have charge of the work.'"
In the sindico's account book is this entry: "Guillermo Money owes the city funds out of the labor of the prisoners, loaned him for the church, $126." As the prisoners' labor was valued at a real (twelve and a half cents) a day it must have required considerable repairing to amount to $126.
In 1861 the church building was remodeled, the faithful of the parish bearing the expense. The front wall, which had been damaged by the rains, was taken down and rebuilt of brick instead of adobe. The flat roof was changed to a shingled one, and the tower altered. The grounds were in- closed and planted with trees and flowers. The old adobe parish house built in 1822, with the additions made to it, later was torn down and the present brick structure erected.
The church has a seating capacity of 500. It is the oldest parish church on the Pacific coast of the United States and is the only building now in use that was built in the Spanish era of our city's history.
For a period of seventy years after the founding of the Pueblo of Los Angeles, the voice of no Christian preacher save that of a Roman Catholic priest was ever heard within its confines. It was in June, 1850, that Rev. J. W. Brier, a Methodist minister, conducted the first Protestant service known to have been held in Los Angeles.
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And, off and on for several years afterwards, it seems that spasmodic but futile efforts were made here by various Protestant denominations to obtain footings. We find a Protestant minister, Rev. T. M. Davis, quitting the Los Angeles field in disgust in 1856, and returning to his home in the East. Anent this occasion we find the editor of the Los Angeles "Star" giving vent to the following utterance in the columns of his paper :
"The Protestant portion of the American population are now without the privilege of assembling together to worship God under direction of one of his ministers. The state of society here is truly deplorable. To preach week after week to empty benches is certainly not encouraging, but if in addition to that, a minister has to contend against a torrent of vice and immorality which obliterates all traces of the Christian Sabbath-to be com- pelled to endure blasphemous denunciations of his Divine, Master ; to live where society is disorganized, religion scoffed at, where violence runs riot, and even life itself is unsafe-such a condition of affairs may suit some men, but it is not calculated for the peaceful labors of one who follows unobtrusively the footsteps of the meek and lowly Savior."
There is every evidence, however, that the Protestants of Los Angeles in that far-off day did not lose spirit or courage, and that in a couple of years after the departure of Mr. Davis they determined to arrange matters so that they might worship God according to their own consciences and in accordance also with their traditions and early teachings.
So it is that in the year 1859 we find members of various Protestant denominations meeting on common ground and perfecting an organization. In May of that year an organization was formed. Its title was the:
FIRST PROTESTANT SOCIETY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
At the first meeting the following preamble and constitution were promulgated and agreed upon :
CONSTITUTION
Article 1. Our style and title shall be "the First Protestant Society of the City of Los Angeles."
2nd. Our officers shall be a Board of Trustees, five in number, three of whom shall constitute a quorum, to be elected annually, and report at the end of each year. One of their own number shall be selected by themselves to be the President of the Society, and another as Secretary and Treasurer.
3rd. An annual meeting duly called and publicly notified by the Board, shall be held on the first Wednesday of May in each year, or if that day shall be allowed to pass without a meeting, then, as soon after as notice can be duly given, for the purpose of hearing the annual report of the Board and holding the annual election. Any vacancy occurring in the Board during the year may be filled ad interim by the selection of some one by the Board itself.
4th. Money may be collected for the society by such persons only as the Board shall appoint. And the Treasurer may pay out money for the Society only upon the written order of the Board, signed by the President.
5th. The condition of membership in the society is simply the signing
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of this constitution. And the duty of each member shall be to aid in all suitable ways in securing the present maintenance and permanent establish- ment and successful progress of Protestant worship in this city.
Adopted this fourth day of May, A. D. 1859.
ISAAC S. K. OGIER, WM. McKEE, A. J. KING, C. SIMS, CHARLES S. ADAMS,
WM. S. MORROW,
D. McLAREN, THOS. FOSTER,
WM. H. SHORE, N. A. POTTER, J. R. GITCHELL.
The constitution having been signed by those present, the Society proceeded to nominate and elect its officers for the ensuing year, whereupon the Hon. I. S. K. Ogier, Hon. B. D. Wilson, J. R. Gitchell, N. A. Potter and Wm. McKee were unanimously chosen trustees. On motion it was
Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in the newspapers of this city.
On motion the Society adjourned.
W. E. BOARDMAN, Chairman. WM. H. SHORE, Secretary.
Concerning the early struggles and progress of the Protestant denomi- nations in Los Angeles Professor Guinn has made the following record :
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES .- As pioneers in the missionary field of Los Angeles, the Methodists came first and the Presbyterians second. The Rev. James Woods held the first Presbyterian service in November, 1854, in a little carpenter shop that stood on part of the site now occupied by the Pico house. The first organization of a Presbyterian Church was effected March, 1855, with twelve members. The Reverend Woods held regular Sunday services in the old court house, northwest corner of North Spring and Franklin streets, during the fall of 1854 and part of the year 1855. He organized a church and also a Sunday school. He was succeeded by the Rev. T. N. Davis, who continued regular services until August, 1856, when he abandoned the field in disgust and returned to his home in the East.
The next Presbyterian minister to locate in Los Angeles was the Rev. W. C. Harding, who came in 1869. He abandoned the field in 1871. The Rev. F. A. White, LL. D., came in 1875. He was succeeded by the Rev. F. M. Cunningham, and he by the Rev. J. W. Ellis. Under the ministry of Mr. Ellis in 1882-83 a church was erected on the southeast corner of Broadway and Second Street. The building and lot cost about $20,000. Services were held in it until March, 1895, when it was sold for $55,000. The congregation divided into two organizations, the First Presbyterian and the Central Presbyterian. The First Presbyterian built a church on Figueroa and Twentieth streets. The Central Presbyterian secured a site on the east side of Hill Street, between Second and Third streets, with a
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dwelling house upon it which they enlarged and remodeled and used for a church.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHES .- The first Protestant Episcopal Church service held in Los Angeles was conducted by Dr. Mathew Carter. An item in the Weekly Star of May 9, 1857, states that "Dr. Carter announces that he has been licensed and authorized by the Rev. W. Ingra- ham Kip, Bishop of California, to act as lay reader for the Southern District." He held regular services for a time in Mechanics' Institute Hall, which was in a sheet iron building near the corner of Court and North Spring streets. In October, 1857, St. Luke's Parish was organized, and the following named gentlemen elected a board of trustees: Dr. T. J. White, Dr. Mathew Carter and William Shore. A building was rented on Main Street, near Second, where services were held every Sunday, Doctor Carter officiating. Services seem to have been discontinued about the close of the year 1857, and the church was dissolved. On January 1, 1865, the Rev. Elias Birdsall, a missionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, The preached his first sermon in Odd Fellows' Hall, Downey Block. Protestant Society, which had begun the erection of a church building in 1859 under the ministration of Rev. William E. Boardman, a Presbyterian minister, as has been previously stated, offered the unfinished building to the Rev. Birdsall for services. He assented to this on condition that it be transferred to the Episcopalians. Those who had contributed toward its erection consented, and the transfer was made. The edifice was completed and named St. Athanasius Church, and the Episcopalians continued to worship in this building until Christmas, 1883; in the meantime the prop- erty was sold to the county for a courthouse site. A site for a new church was purchased on Olive Street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, where a handsome building was erected. In 1884 the name of the organization was changed to St. Paul's Church, the name it still bears.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES .- The first Congregational minister to locate in Los Angeles was the Rev. Alexander Parker, a Scotchman by birth and a graduate of Oberlin College and Theological Seminary. He had served in the Union army as a member of the famous student company of Oberlin College-a company whose membership was largely made up of theological students.
He preached his first sermon here July 7, 1866, in the court house. A church was organized July 21, 1867, with six members. A lot was purchased on New High Street, north of Temple, where the Beaudry stone wall now stands, and a movement began to raise funds to build a church. The effort was successful. The following extract from the Los Angeles Star gives an account of the dedication of the church :
"On Sunday morning last, June 28, 1868, the new Congregational Church was opened for divine service at 11 A. M. The Rev. E. C. Bissell, pastor of Green Street Church, San Francisco, delivered the dedicatory sermon. At the close of the sermon the Rev. Alexander Parker came forward and gave an account of his stewardship in his exertions to raise this house for the worship of God The total cost was about $3,000, of which $1,000 was obtained from San Francisco, $1,000 partly as a loan and partly as a gift from churches in the Atlantic states, and collections of small amounts at home, leaving at present a debt of about $400 on the
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Y.M.G.A. TECHNICAL SCHOOL
MINING HRCTRICITY CHEMISTRY ASSAYING PHYSICS, PLUMBING AUTOMASHE SURVEYING ISLACZONE SHOP PRACTICE
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
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HISTORY OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY
building, which, though complete, is not yet quite furnished. The house is small, but very neatly arranged; the pews are ample and comfortable, and the building is lofty and well ventilated. Its dimensions are 30x50 feet ; it will seat 175 to 200 persons."
Reverend Parker resigned in August, 1868. He was succeeded by the Rev. Isaac W. Atherton, who reorganized the church November 29, 1868. Services were held in the little church on New High Street until 1883, when, on May 3d of that year, the church on the corner of Hill and Third streets was completed and dedicated. The building, lot and organ cost about $25,000. In May, 1888, this building was sold to the Central Baptist Church, and a lot purchased on the southwest corner of Hill and Sixth streets. On this a building was erected in 1889. The cost of the lot, church building and furnishing amounted to about $72,000, to which was added a fine organ, at a cost of about $5,000. This church property was sold in 1902 for $77,000, and a new site purchased on Hope Street near the corner of Ninth, where a beautiful brick and stone church costing $100,000 was completed in July, 1903.
BAPTIST CHURCHES .-- The first sermon preached by a Baptist minister in Los Angeles was delivered by Reverend Freeman in 1853.
The first regular church services held in this city by a Baptist minister were conducted by the Reverend Fryer in schoolhouse No. 1, which stood on the northwest corner of Spring and Second streets. The Reverend Fryer held services every Sunday during the year 1860. He seems to have abandoned the field in the early part of 1861. I find no record of any services by a minister of that church between 1861 and 1874.
The First Baptist Church of Los Angeles was organized September 6, 1874, by Rev. William Hobbs. There were but eight members in the organi- zation. The services were held in the old courthouse. Doctor Hobbs severed his connection with the church in June, 1875. For fifteen months the church was without a pastor. In September, 1876, Rev. Winfield Scott took charge of it. He was succeeded in 1878 by the Rev. I. N. Parker, and he by Rev. Henry Angel, who died in 1879.
The church meetings were transferred from the courthouse to a hall owned by Doctor Zahn, on Spring Street between Fourth and Fifth streets. From there it moved to Good Templars' Hall on North Main Street. The ordinance of baptism was administered either in the river or in the baptistry of the Christian Church on Temple Street.
For two years after the death of Doctor .Angel the church remained without a regular minister. In 1881 Rev. P. W. Dorsey took charge of it. A lot was secured on the northeast corner of Broadway and Sixth Street, and in March, 1884, a church building was completed and dedicated. The building and lots cost about $25,000. In the summer of 1897 the lot and building were sold for $45,000, and with the addition of $5,000 raised by subscription a larger and more commodious building was erected on Flower Street, between Seventh and Eighth streets.
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES .- The first sermon preached by a member of the Christian denomination was delivered by Rev. G. W. Linton in August, 1874, in the courtroom of the old courthouse. In October and November of that year inquiries were made in the city for persons who had been con- nected with the church in other places. Twenty-three were found. Of
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these fifteen signified their willingness to unite in forming a church. On the 26th of February, 1875, the first church was organized. Rev. W. J. A. Smith was the first preacher. He was succeeded by Rev. John C. Hay. The Rev. B. F. Coulter filled the pulpit from 1881 to 1884. During his ministry, and largely through his contributions, the First Church was built on Temple Street near Broadway, where the Aberdeen lodge now stands. In 1894 it was sold and a church edifice erected on the corner of Hope and Eleventh streets at a cost of $25,000, with Rev. A. C. Smithers as pastor. In 1895 the Rev. B. F. Coulter erected the Broadway. Church of Christ on Broad- way, near Temple, at a cost of about $20,000.
UNITARIAN CHURCHES .- The first religious services held by the Uni- tarians were at the residence of T. E. Severance in March, 1887. In May of that year an organization was perfected and regular services were con- ducted by the Rev. J. D. Wells.
In 1885 the Rev. Eli Fay located in Los Angeles and conducted services for a time in the Masonic Hall, 135 South Spring Street. The church was reorganized and the services were held in Child's Opera House on Main Street. A lot was secured on Seventh Street near Broadway, and largely through the liberality of Doctor Fay, a church building, 45x100 feet in area, was erected at a cost of $25,000. The church was dedicated June 16, 1889. It was destroyed by fire in 1892. The congregation then purchased from the Baptists the church building on the northeast corner of Hill and Third streets, originally built by the Congregationalists. This site was sold for business purposes in 1899. The last sermon was preached in it by the Rev. C. K. Jones March 18, 1900. The congregation built a new church on Flower Street between Ninth and Tenth streets.
SYNAGOGUES .- Congregation of B'nai B'rith. The first Jewish serv- ices in Los Angeles were held in 1854. No place of worship was erected for several years later. In 1862 Rabbi A. W. Edleman organized the congregation of B'nai B'rith and conducted the services until 1886.
The first synagogue was built in 1873 on what is now the site of the Copp Building, just north of the city hall grounds on the east side of Broad- way. The lot and buildings were sold in 1894 and a new synagogue erected on the corner of Ninth and Hope streets.
OTHER DENOMINATIONS .- The Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) was first organized in the autumn of 1882. Services are now held at No. 516 Temple Street.
The New Church (Swedenborgian) was organized in 1894, and held services for some time in Temperance Temple. It has since erected a church building at 515 East Ninth Street at a cost of $3,000.
Seventh Day Adventists organized in 1880 and built a church on Sixth Street. They have now a church on Carr Street which cost $6,000.
Friends Church was organized in 1897. The congregation has erected a church building on the corner of Third and Fremont Avenue at a cost of $4,000.
Twenty years ago Professor Barrows related to the local Historical Society some interesting reminiscences of the early ministers and churches in Los Angeles. In his address he said :
As Alta California was settled by a Spanish-speaking people who toler- ated no other form of religion except the Roman Catholic, of course there
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were no churches except of that faith in Los Angeles from the time of the settlement of the ancient pueblo until the change of government in 1846.
From and after the founding of the Mission of San Gabriel, in 1771, until and after the completion of the old Plaza Church in the latter part of 1882, that mission became and remained the center of industrial activity, as well as the headquarters of clerical authority for this portion of the province. Fathers Salvadea, Sanchez, Boscana and Estenega managed with zeal and great ability the extensive concerns, both spiritual and tem- poral, of the mission, sending a priest occasionally to the pueblo, or coming themselves, to say mass, at the capilla or chapel which had been built north and west of the present church. After the latter was built, Father Boscana became the first regular rector or pastor, serving till 1831. He was suc- ceeded by Fathers Martinas, Sanchez, Bachelot, Estenega, Jimenez, Ordaz, Rosales and others who served as local pastors for longer or shorter period of the only church in town, from 1831 to 1851.
The first priest whom I knew of, but did not know personally, was Padre Anacleto Lestrade, a native of France, who was the incumbent from '51 to '56. Padre Blas Raho, who came here in 1856, I knew well, and esteemed highly. He was broad-minded and tolerant. He told me that he had lived sixteen years in the Mississippi Valley before he came to Los Angeles. He was a native of Italy.
It was during his pastorate that the old church building was greatly improved. It was frescoed inside and out by a Frenchman, H. Penelon, the pioneer photographer of Los Angeles. The lettering on the front of the building as seen today was done by Penelon, viz .: "Los Fieles de Esta Par- roquia A la Reina de Los Angeles, 1861 ;" and also on the marble tablets :
DIOS TE SALVE, MARIA LIENA DE GRACIA EL SENOR ESTA EN SU
SANTO TEMPLOS: CALLE LA TIERRA ANTE SU ACATAMIENTO SANTA MARIA MADRE DE DIOS, RUEGA POR NOSOTROS PECADOROS
Padre Raho was the first vicar general of the diocese, under Bishop Amat.
Later, Padre Raho, who served his parish faithfully for a number of years, and who was respected and revered by his parishioners, fell sick and went to the Sisters Hospital, which was located in the large two-story brick building which stood to the east of the upper depot, and between the latter and the river, which the sisters bought of Mr. H. C. Cardwell, who built it.
Fathers Duran and Mora succeeded Father Raho. There were other priests whom I did not know so well, who made their home at different times at the parsonage adjoining the old church. But none of these, so far as my acquaintance permitted me to know, with the possible exception of Father Mora, were as liberal as Father Raho. The bishop of these times was Tadeo Amat, who, though his jurisdiction extended to Monterey, made his headquarters first at Santa Barbara, and then at this old church of "Nuestra Senora, la Reyna de Los Angeles." Bishop Amat was succeeded by Bishop Mora, a gentle and scholarly prelate. It was during the latter's administration that the Cathedral was built, on Main Street. Bishop Mora was succeeded by Bishop Montgomery.
Of the early Protestant ministers who came to Los Angeles, I knew
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personally nearly all of them, as they were comparatively few in numbers, whilst of the many, many who now reside here, I hardly know one, intimately.
One of the first to come here, I think, was Parson Adam Bland, who had the reputation of being a smart preacher and a shrewd horse trader. But I heard that after laboring here a year or two in the early '50s, he abandoned the field as hopeless, though in after years he came to the county again, when he found the Gospel vineyard vastly more encouraging.
When I came here in '54, there was only one church building in town- that fronting the Plaza-and no regular Protestant church edifice at all.
Rev. James Woods, Presbyterian, was holding Protestant services then in the adobe that stood on the present site of the "People's Store;" and he came to me and asked me to assist in the music each Sunday, which I did. Just how long he preached here, I cannot now recall. But I remember that when the bodies of the four members of Sheriff Barton's party, who were killed in .1857 by the Juan Flores bandits, were brought here for burial, there was no Protestant minister here then to conduct the services. But, as it happened, two of the murdered men were Masons, and that fraternal semi-religious order, in sheer pity, turned aside, after decorously and reverently burying their own two brethren, and read a portion of the Masonic burial service over the bodies of the other two men, who were not Masons.
Rev. W. E. Boardman, a Presbyterian clergyman, came here in 1859. He was an able and eloquent preacher and writer and the author of a popular book, entitled "The Higher Christian Life." The want of a commodious place of meeting stimulated a movement to raise funds for the erection of a church, and, as good B. D. Wilson had donated a lot-a portion of the hill on which the County Courthouse now stands-to the "First Protestant Society," people of various denominations who, without regard to sect, attended Mr. Boardman's ministrations, formed an organization, under the name of "The First Protestant Society of Los Angeles," and erected the walls and roof of a church on the lot donated by Mr. Wilson, but this work came to a standstill after Mr. Boardman left, and not until 1864, upon the arrival of Reverend Birdsall, was any further progress made.
Rev. J. H. Stump was a Methodist minister here in the '60s. Rev. A. M. Hough was another early preacher of the same denomination at the same time. On the establishment of the "Southern California Conference," Mr. Hough became the presiding elder. It is said that Rev. J. W. Brier preached the first Protestant sermon ever preached in Los Angeles, in 1850; but I do not think he stayed here long, as there were neither Methodist worshipers nor a house of worship in Los Angeles at that early date.
Rev. Elias Birdsall, who came to Los Angeles in 1864, soon after his arrival organized an Episcopalian Church. I knew Mr. Birdsall very well, and respected him as one of the best men whom I ever knew. He was in all respects an admirable citizen. He believed-and most laymen will surely agree with him-that every person who is to become a public speaker should make a special preparatory study of elocution.
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