USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > Los Angeles from the mountains to the sea : with selected biography of actors and witnesses to the period of growth and achievement, Volume I > Part 26
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formed, with ornamental canes, beautiful arches, through which the procession passed, and as it marched along, the heavy artillery of the presidio continued to thunder forth its noisy welcome. At the time he left the barque she was en- veloped in smoke, and the distant report of her guns, was heard echoing among the hills in our rear. At four o'clock, the Bishop was escorted to the Mission, and, when a short distance from the town, the enthusiastic inhabitants took the horses from his carriage and dragged it themselves. Halting at the small bower, on the road, he alighted, went into it, and put on his pontifical robes; then returning to the carriage, he continued on, amidst the sound of music and the firing of guns, till he arrived at the church, where he addressed the multitude that followed him."
It does not appear that Bishop Diego had either any joy out of Los Angeles, or any trouble with it, or that he even came near it. The first bishop had a hard road to travel. He could not raise money for the support of his administration. And, after all, Los Angeles was the great thorn in his side for the reason that it was here that Pio Pico had his head- quarters as governor and conspirator as well.
It was from Los Angeles that Pio Pico directed his cam- paign for the secularization of the missions, which really meant the destruction of the missions. And it was from here that he sent his polite but heart-breaking messages to Bishop Diego-messages couched in diplomatic language but deadly in their real intent. Under the strain of his troubles, this faithful first bishop of the Californias sickened and died and went to his reward.
One of the things that troubled and distressed a great deal the authorities of the Catholic Church at this time was the marriage of Protestants and Catholics, which was against the laws of Mexico and the church. But nearly all of the prom- inent citizens of Los Angeles who were of American or Eng- lish birth, and not Catholics, married the women of the coun- try and joined their creed. "Americans and English who in- tend to reside here became Papist,-the current phrase among them being, ' A man must leave his conscience at Cape Horn,' " said Dana in his "Two Years Before the Mast."
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But there were still marriages taking place without the sanction of the church, and when the padres complained about it to the American authorities in 1847, just as the Americans had got their hands on California, it is interesting to note the view that the American military authorities took of these marriages. The following highly diplomatic letter written by Col. R. B. Mason, military governor of the territory of Cal- ifornia, to a justice of the peace who had performed the mar- riage ceremony for a Protestant man and a Catholic woman, will prove interesting. The letter was as follows :
"Sir: I desire that, during the existing state of affairs in California, you will not perform the marriage ceremony in any case where either of the parties are members of the Catholic Church of this country.
"I am induced to give these instructions from the fact that the United States Government are exceedingly desirous, and indeed make it obligatory upon their authorities here, to se- cure to the Californians the full enjoyment of their religion and security in all their churches and church privileges.
"As their canonical laws, and I believe their civil laws also, prohibit any but their own priests from uniting members of their Church in marriage, it is not proper that we should break in upon those laws, or customs, as the case may be, and particularly it is the wish of the President that when the coun- try is subjected to our laws the people may be as favorably disposed toward our government as possible.
"It is therefore good policy for us to abstain from doing anything that will have a tendency to give them offense in matters wherein it may be thought their relations or Church privileges are encroached upon. I am, respectfully, your obe- dient servant, R. B. Mason, Colonel 1st Dragoons, Governor of California."
Colonel Mason proved to be the right man in the right place during the crisis that existed between the end of Mex- ican rule and the beginning of American rule in California. The Catholics were pleased with his actions, and the few Protestants then in the territory were not offended by any- thing that he did.
The next bishop of California was Jose Sadoc Alemany,
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a Dominican. And California-our present, of Alta Califor- nia-was at the same time erected into a separate and distinct diocese and separated entirely from Lower California. Bishop Alemany took up his Episcopal residence at Santa Barbara. Then, in 1853, he was made an archbishop with his Metropol- itan see in San Francisco. Then a new diocese, including Los Angeles, and called the Diocese of Monterey, was erected, with Thaddens Amat of Barcelona, a Vincentian, as bishop. Bishop Amat selected Monterey as his Episcopal residence. Later he removed to Santa Barbara, and, according to Fray Zephyrin, he made the old mission church there a pro-cathe- dral. He finally, however, came to Los Angeles, where he laid the cornerstone of the Cathedral of St. Vibiana, the present cathedral, on October 3, 1869.
Since then there have been four bishops in succession, namely, Francisco Mora, George Montgomery, Thomas James Conaty and the present bishop, John Joseph Cantwell. Los Angeles became the See of the bishop with Mora, and still remains so.
There are today in the City of Los Angeles thirty or more Catholic churches and numbers of parochial schools and con- vents, and a Jesuit college, with the number of them all con- stantly increasing. And the old first church, built on the Plaza, is still standing and is attended every Sunday morning by thousands of devout worshipers.
We feel that we would rob our readers if we failed to re- produce here from the writings of the late Professor Guinn the following colorful references to the old Plaza Church, which Professor Guinn wrote some years ago in his book on California, after long residence here and much patient and painstaking investigation into ancient and dusty records :
"The first church or chapel built in Los Angeles," says Guinn, "stood at the foot of the hill, near what is now the Southeast corner of Buena Vista Street and Bellevue Ave- nue. It was an adobe structure about 18x24 feet in size, and was completed in 1784. In 1811 the citizens obtained permis- sion to build a new church-the primitive chapel had become too small to accommodate the increasing population of the pueblo and its vicinity.
Vol. 1-20
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"The corner stone of the new church was laid and blessed August 15, 1814, by Father Gil, of the Mission San Gabriel. Just where it was placed is uncertain. It is probable that it was on the eastern side of the old Plaza. In 1818 it was moved to higher ground-its present site. The great flood of 1815, when the waters of the river came up to the lower side of the old Plaza, probably necessitated the change. When the foundation was laid a second time the citizens subscribed 500 cattle. In 1819 the friars of the San Gabriel Mission contrib- uted seven barrels of brandy to the building fund worth $575. This donation, with the previous contribution of cattle, was sufficient to raise the walls to the window arches by 1821. There it came to full stop. The Pueblo colonists were poor in purse and chary of exertion. They were more willing to wait than to labor. Indeed, they seem to have performed but little of the labor. The neophytes of San Gabriel and San Luis Rey did the most of the work and were paid a real (twelve and a half cents) a day each. Jose Antonio Ramerez was the archi- tect. When the colonists' means were exhausted the Missions were appealed to for aid. They responded to the appeal.
"The contributions to the building fund were various in kind and somewhat incongruous in character. The Mission San Miguel contributed 500 cattle, San Luis Obispo 200, Santa Barbara one barrel of brandy, San Diego two barrels of white wine, Purisima six mules and 200 cattle, San Gabriel two barrels of brandy and San Fernando one. Work was be- gun again on the church and pushed to completion. A house for the curate was also built. It was an adobe structure and stood near the northwest corner of the church. The church was completed and formally dedicated December 8, 1822- eight years after the laying of the first corner stone.
"Captain de La Guerra was chosen by the ayuntamiento padrino or godfather. San Gabriel Mission loaned a bell for the occasion. The fiesta of Our Lady of the Angels 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 lit- tle resemblance to the 'Nueva Iglesia' (new church) that
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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 cushions 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 aristo- cratic, a petition was presented to the ayuntamiento to pro- vide 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. Na- varro, 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 shin- gled one, and the tower altered. The grounds were inclosed 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 Meth-
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odist minister, conducted the first Protestant service known to have been held in Los Angeles.
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 An- geles 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 addi- tion to that, a minister has to contend against a torrent of vice and immorality which obliterates all traces of the Chris- tian Sabbath-to be compelled to endure blasphemous denun- ciations of his Divine Master; to live where society is disor- ganized, 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 wor- ship 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 organiza- tion was formed. Its title was the
FIRST PROTESTANT SOCIETY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
At the first meeting the following preamble and constitu- tion were promulgated and agreed upon :
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CONSTITUTION
Article 1. Our style and title shall be "the First Protest- ant Society of the City of Los Angeles."
2nd. Our officers shall be a Board of Trustees, five in num- ber, 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 Presi- dent 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 meet- ing, then, as soon after as notice can be duly given, for the purpose of hearing the annual report of the Board and hold- ing 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 per- sons 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 sim- ply the signing of this constitution. And the duty of each member shall be to aid in all suitable ways in securing the present maintenance and permanent establishment and suc- cessful 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,
ยท N. A. POTTER, J. R. GITCHELL.
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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 pub- lished 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 Protest- ant denominations 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 Presby- terians second. The Rev. James Woods held the first Pres- byterian 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, north- west 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 Broad- way 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 or- ganizations, the First Presbyterian and the Central Presby- terian. The First Presbyterian built a church on Figueroa
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and Twentieth streets. The Central Presbyterian secured a site on the east side of Hill Street, between Second and Third streets, with a 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 Right Rev. W. Ingraham 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, preached his first sermon in Odd Fellows' Hall, Downey Block. The 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 Reverend Bird- sall 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 property 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
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Parker, a Scotchman by birth and a graduate of Oberlin Col- lege 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 mem- bers. 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 Congre- gational 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 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 per- sons."
Reverend Parker resigned in August, 1868. He was suc- ceeded 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 south- west 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
Y.M.C.A. TECHNICAL SCHOOL
LYCANSTRY ASSAYING
JAUTOMARLE SURVEYING
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION BUILDING
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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 Bap- tist minister in Los Angeles was delivered by Reverend Free- man 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 aban- doned 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 organization. The services were held in the old courthouse. Doctor Hobbs severed his connection with the church in June, 1857. 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 court- house to a hall owned by Doctor Zahn, on Spring Street be- tween 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 baptistery 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
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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 in- quiries were made in the city for persons who had been con- nected with the church in other places. Twenty-three were found. Of 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. Dur- ing 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 Elev- enth 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 Broadway, near Temple, at a cost of about $20,000.
UNITARIAN CHURCHES .- The first religious services held by the Unitarians were at the residence of T. E. Severance in March, 1877. In May of that year an organization was per- fected and regular services were conducted by the Rev. J. D. Wells.
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