USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > The annals of San Francisco; containing a summary of the history of California, and a complete history of its great city: to which are added, biographical memoirs of some prominent citizens > Part 57
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The floating character of the population has hitherto much embarrassed the public-school enterprise. But few pupils are now in attendance who belonged to the schools a year ago. Some have returned to their eastern homes ; others have removed to the interior ; and not a few have been sent abroad to complete their educations, for want of the high school or collegiate depart- ment here. Those who have steadily attended, have made rapid and commendable improvement. Their teachers are proficient, liberal, benevolent, zealous and indefatigable in the discharge of their duties. The climate is the most salubrious in the world, and well adapted for the highest mental exertion and proficiency. The school-bell now echoes through the streets of the busy city, and the astonished stranger meets groups of bright and smiling faces merrily trudging to their daily tasks, and ere long may listen to learned professors expounding to classes of intelligent students, art, literature and science as completely and perfectly as can be heard in the most time-honored institutions of the world.
1
FIRET
PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH SERVICE CJIANENSE
First Presbyterian Church.
CHURCHES AND RELIGION.
WE have gazed so long on the moral turpitude of the San Fran- ciscans, that both eye and mind would turn away pained if they could dwell on no more pleasant sights. It would be a sad necessity to have to think that so much of exalted in- tellect, unexampled energy, and toilsome industry, had labored only to furnish the pabulum for voluptuous and unbridled pas- sion ; sadder that our country's fair fame should be marred by nourishing in the midst of her sister cities one so favored in beauty, and honored in rank, yet whose white bosom was crim- soned with crime. Happily, the long record of vice and immorality (the black pages of our diary) has a bright and noble counter- part, like the gold-dust among the muddy atoms of our own river-beds, that redeems our character from wholesale condemna- tion. Hitherto we have said but little concerning religious
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ANNALS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
enterprises or observances in this portion of the country since the missions of the Jesuits, which had gradually, and almost entirely, been neglected and discontinued, so that when the place subse- quently became of note, there was little of good left to restrain those evil inclinations that spring up, a plentiful crop, whereso- ever the god of wealth scatters his golden seed. Later still, when the adventurous flocked to the shrine of that deity, few could be expected among them who would tarry to listen to the teachings of a plainer and poorer master. Very early in its his- tory, however, there were men in the community whose sterling worth and upright examples combatted the dangerous allure- ments surrounding them ; and ever since, the field has been filled with honest laborers in the good cause, who now are gladly reap- ing what they sowed with the sweat of their brows.
In October, 1848, Rev. T. Dwight Hunt, who until the summer previous had been in the service of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, arrived in San Francisco from the Sandwich Islands, and was the first Protestant clergy- man in California. The town had then an almost unenviable notoriety for wickedness, and its reputation at the Islands was such that any attempt at reforming it was deemed wild and foolish. Mr. Hunt was, however, welcomed with a cordiality that proved that all who dwelt on American soil had not forgot- ten, or lost sight of American institutions. Three days after his arrival, he was formally invited by the prominent citizens of the place, of every religious persuasion, to reside among them, and act as chaplain of the town for one year, dating from November 1st, 1848. A salary of $2500 was voted at the public meeting as compensation for such services, and was all promptly sub- scribed, and paid in quarterly instalments. Thus, at the very outset of religious enterprise on this coast was exhibited that generous liberality that has ever been a characteristic of its people. Mr. Hunt entered at once on his labors. The school- house on the plaza was appropriated by the town as the place of public worship, and services were at once held in it at 11 o'clock, A. M., and 73, P. M., of every Sabbath. The attendance at both hours was such on the very first meeting as afforded the most ample encouragement. Soon the accommodations were alto-
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CHURCHES AND RELIGION.
gether too limited. It was not a month before listeners stood at the doors and windows. The people eagerly testified their joy and gratitude at the presence of an ordained minister of the gospel among them, to perform those rites, which, except in the efforts of a few individuals, had been unheard since they left their far-off homes. Captain Thomas, of the English brig " Laura Ann," then in port, had for two or three Sabbaths been reading the service of the Episcopal church and a sermon to a few whom his example had induced to public worship. Pre- viously, a Mr. Anthony, a Methodist, had once or twice addressed some of the people, who had been called together by public notice. A prayer-meeting had been held for several months before the discovery of the gold by two or three members of dif- ferent churches, in the counting-house of a pious merchant, among whom was Mr. Thomas Douglas, of New London, Con., who subsequently taught the public-school on the plaza. But beyond these, and perhaps a missionary, who had touched here on his way to Oregon, or a chaplain of the army or navy, who may have once or twice held public service, there had been nothing of the kind prior to Mr. Hunt's arrival. One of the ear- liest results of this gentleman's labors was the more general observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest. Many who had opened their stores as on other days, closed them, and the ex- ample shamed some whom it did not otherwise influence. On the first Sunday in January, 1849, the first sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to twelve communicants of five or six different denominations. The scene was a rare and novel one. Men and women gathered together to do homage to their common Maker, and thought not of cavilling about creeds and forms ; but forgot sectarian jealousies in the promptings of that innate spirit through which they sought to do what was right and consistent with those dictates of honor and justice that made them men above brutes. Despite all its vices, this city has one proud boast over more puritanic communities, that its people have always been ready to render unto every man his own, and to aid their suffering fellows, unasked, and unasking whether they be Christian or Jew, Catholic or Protestant, Pagan or Be- liever.
44
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ANNALS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
For about four months Mr. Hunt was alone in the State, until the steamship California,-which reached San Francisco February 28th, 1849,-brought four missionaries from New York, who soon seconded his endeavors ; viz., Rev. O. C. Wheeler, a Baptist, who located in San Francisco, but is now at Sacra- mento ; Rev. Sylvester Woodbridge, an old-school Presbyterian, who proceeded to and still resides at Benicia, where he orga- nized the first church in the State ; Rev. J. W. Douglass, new- school Presbyterian, who first resided at San José, but now edits and publishes " The Pacific," a religious paper, in San Fran- cisco ; and Rev. S. H. Willey, of the same persuasion as the latter, who landed at Monterey, and remained there a year and a half, having officiated as chaplain to the convention that framed the State Constitution. He was the second clergyman in the State, having left the steamer on the 23d of February.
During the ensuing spring and summer other ministers ar- rived. Rev. Albert Williams, who had reached the city in the steamship Oregon, on the 1st of April, 1849, after preaching a few times in the public school-house on the plaza, organized on the 20th of May the first Protestant ecclesiastical society in the city, and second in the State only to that at Benicia. This was the " First Presbyterian Church," and it had originally but six members ; viz., W. W. Caldwell, from the Second Presbyterian Church, at Newburyport, Mass. ; Dr. George F. Turner, of the Missionary Church, at Mackinaw, Mich. ; Frederick Billings, of the First Congregational Church, at Woodstock, Vt. ; Sarah B. Gillespie, of the Presbyterian Missionary Church, at Macao, China ; Margaret A. Geary, of the Presbyterian Church, at Johnstown, Pa. ; and Ann Hodghton, of the Missionary Church, at Valpa- raiso, Chili. The first named two were elders. Messrs. Bezer Sim- mons, Elihu Woodruff and Hiram Grimes were the first trustees.
This little congregation selected a lot as the site of their place of worship, on the west side of Dupont street, between Pa- cific street and Broadway, upon which they erected a large tent, which had been the marquee of a military company in Boston ; and in it during the remainder of the dry season of 1849, they statedly held their meetings. It was plainly, but neatly fur- nished with matting, pulpit, seats and seraphine, and afforded
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CHURCHES AND RELIGION.
accommodations for about two hundred persons. In the summer of 1849, Mr. Alfred De Witt, a member of the congregation, very generously, upon his personal responsibility, ordered for its use a church edifice from New York. The correspondents and
Presbyterian Church, destroyed by fire June 22d, 1S51.
friends of Mr. De Witt assumed the labor of procuring the plan and execution of the building ; and by their own donations, jointly with an appropriation from the funds of the Church Ex- tension Committee of the General Assembly, they forwarded it entire in its materials and work, including pulpit, seats, lamps, and a fine-toned bell, as a donation, exclusive of the freight, to the congregation. It was designed by J. Coleman Hart, archi- tect, of New York, and was of the early Gothic style of archi- tecture. It was thirty-five feet wide, by seventy-five feet in
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ANNALS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
depth, with a vestibule of eleven feet in front, and could seat eight hundred persons. Pending its arrival, a period of about one year, the congregation worshipped for the most part in its tent on Dupont street, and in the superior court-room (city-hall, corner of Pacific and Kearny streets), and the adjoining council- chamber, into which a communication had been opened to accom- modate the increased number of members. On the arrival of the building, in the fall of 1850, the present site on the west side of Stockton street, near the corner of Broadway, was secured and the church erected ; the whole expense, including lot and freight, being about sixteen thousand dollars.
On Sunday, January 19th, 1851, the church was dedicated in the presence of a crowded auditory, by Rev. Albert Williams, its pastor, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Prevaux and Hinds. A re- markable prosperity attended the society during the time of its occupancy of that church edifice ; but five months only were permitted to the congregation to remain in "its holy and beau- tiful house." The sixth great fire, June 22d, 1851, totally destroyed the building ; and in that sweeping desolation, which involved very many of the citizens in extreme losses, its members suffered heavily, and were much scattered by the overwhelming calamity. In this emergency they availed themselves of the best accommodations which could be had at the time, in the room occupied by the superior court, in the St. Francis Hotel, where they regularly worshipped until the present church, a plain and unpretending building, was erected and ready for use (Sunday, October 12th, 1851), on the site of the first edifice, and designed only as a temporary structure. The society has rapidly recovered its strength, and has enrolled at present one hundred and sixty- seven communicants ; and the Sabbath-school, which from the time of its formation has been connected with it, numbers one hundred and fifty teachers and pupils in usual attendance.
Although this was the first society organized, it had not the first building erected in San Francisco for religious worship. Rev. O. C. Wheeler, one of the passengers in the " California," in February, 1849, organized on the 24th of June following, the " First Baptist Church" of the city ; and shortly afterwards they erected a spacious and commodious building in Washington
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CHURCHES AND RELIGION.
street, between Dupont and Stockton streets. The society has grown as large and influential as any in the city, and has a numerously attended Sabbath-school and Bible-class attached to it. On the departure of its originator for Sacramento, Rev. B.
Present Presbyterian Church.
Brierly was appointed their pastor, and still conducts divine worship. A second church of this persuasion, and almost as numerously attended, has been established in Pine street, near Montgomery, under the pastoral charge of Rev. Wm. Rollinson.
Mr. Hunt, of whose early labors we have already spoken, completed the organization of a society, the "First Congrega- tional Church," in July, 1849, which at present meets for divine service at the corner of Dupont and California streets. This was the third in point of date, and the fourth sprang into exist- ence in the same month. The latter was the Trinity Church, Episcopalian, organized by the Rev. S. F. Mines, who subse-
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ANNALS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
quently died in 1852, the only clergyman who has ever deceased in this city. This society has lately increased in size, and ranks among the most prominent in the city. Its building is adjacent to the Second Baptist Church, in Pine street, between Mont- gomery and Kearny streets. Rev. Dr. Wyatt is the present pastor.
The next of the early religious pioneers, whose zealous labors have raised this city to the rank of a Christian community, was the Rev. Dr. Ver Mehr, the first missionary sent by the Protes- tant Episcopal Church to California. This gentleman arrived in San Francisco in September, 1849, and preached his first sermon in the American Hotel, now the State Marine Hospital, on Stockton street. During three months he officiated in Mr. Frank Ward's, afterwards Mr. George Plume's residence, at the corner of Greene and Stockton streets. Meanwhile, a subscription list had been filled to the amount of more than six thousand dollars for the erection of a chapel. A fifty-vara lot, for one year rent free, was given by Mr. James C. Ward, on which Grace Chapel was opened, Sunday, December 30th, 1849 (a very plain build- ing, costing, however, eight thousand dollars), at the corner of Powell and John streets, which has since been converted into the private residence of Mr. H. B. Truett.
In April, 1850, at a meeting of the congregation presided over by Mr. W. Burgoyne, "Grace Parish" was regularly orga - nized, Col. E. Bryant and Col. D. E. Turner being appointed first wardens. The missionary, Rev. Dr. Ver Mehr, was called to the rectorship. Towards the end of the same year, the con- gregation became too crowded, and it was contemplated to build a larger church. The whole fifty-vara lot was purchased, and a contract made with Mr. G. L. Murdock to erect a substantial building, which was progressing, when the fire of May, 1851, arrested further subscriptions. The church, however, was nearly completed, when the June fire swept away the whole neighbor- hood ; and it was only saved with great difficulty and unusual exertions. Finally, July 19th, 1851, it was opened to a crowded congregation. To pay part of its indebtedness, a sacred concert was given in February, 1852, by the Sänger-bund ; and a second one in the same year, by the talented Signora Elisa Biscaccianti,
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1
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CHURCHES AND RELIGION.
who, in December, sang for the same object, the Stabat Mater of Rossini, which was the first oratorio ever performed in San Francisco. The debt was further discharged in 1853, by the sale of the remainder of the fifty-vara lot, not occupied by the church and parsonage. Dr. Ver Mehr, having established a fe- male seminary at Sonoma, found it necessary, in February, 1854, to resign the principal charge of the church to the Right Rev. Bishop Kip, remaining himself as an assistant. A third Epis- copal Church (Christ's Church) now worships in a room over the post-office, under guidance of Rev. John Morgan, rector.
The summer of 1849 had brought still others, who were no less ardent in their endeavors to reform the city. Among them were the Rev. J. A. Benton, Congregationalist, who located at Sacramento ; and the Rev. William Taylor, Methodist, whose untiring exertions in behalf of the religious cause have accom- plished much of the good that has been done. This gentleman is pastor of the "Seamen's Bethel," a Methodist Episcopal Church ; but in addition to his labors there, he preaches regularly every Sabbath afternoon to large congregations that assemble in Portsmouth Square. These latter meetings are universally con- ducted with the utmost propriety, and their results have been exceedingly beneficial. Probably no man in modern times has followed up the practice of out-door preaching so successfully and to so great advantage, as Mr. Taylor, whose unremitting zeal and religious deportment have gained for him the esteem and admiration of the entire San Francisco community.
Early in 1850, a society of Unitarians held divine services every Sunday in Robinson & Evrard's Dramatic Museum, in California street ; and on July 17th, 1853, the same denomina- tion opened a very handsome church on Stockton street, between Clay and Sacramento streets, of which Rev. Dr. F. T. Gray was pastor, for about one year, when he removed to the Eastern States. At the dedication of this church, five ministers of three different denominations sat in the pulpit. How much better would it be if divines elsewhere should imitate the truly religious spirit that actuates ministers here in their practice and preach- ing of the gospel ! Their freedom from sectarian rancor has con- tributed as much as any thing to their wonderful success. People
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ANNALS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
are more disposed to listen where they can hear something be- sides abuse of contrary beliefs.
The southern part of the city, in the beginning of 1850, at- tracted the attention of many Christian people as a field de- manding religious effort. Along the beach, from the intersection of Market and First streets to the Rincon, numerous families were residing in temporary houses and tents. Many people were employed in this section of the city in various branches of busi- ness, and throughout the neighborhood there was a large number of children. Of the older population few went to any place of divine worship on the Sabbath, while the greater number, both old and young, passed the day in frivolous employments at
Vallejo strect Catholic Church.
home, or in riding, walking, or hunting game among the hills. These facts, and the prospective growth of this portion of San Francisco, seemed to establish the necessity of erecting a church in the vicinity ; and, accordingly, after several preliminary meet- ings, the "Howard Street Presbyterian Church" was organized on the 15th of September, with six members ; and a temporary place for worship and Sabbath-school secured. Subsequently a lot was presented to the congregation by Mr. Wm. D. M. Howard, and a building capable of seating four hundred persons com- menced in February, 1851; and dedicated on Sunday, June
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CHURCHES AND RELIGION.
15th, following. Its board of trustees consisted of Major A. B. Eaton, Henry Haight, Wm. H. Dow, Capt. W. A. Cheever, D. N. Nawley and J. S. Bacon. Its pastor was Rev. S. H. Willey, who had left Monterey, where we have already noticed his arrival as being that of the second Protestant minister in the State.
These were the earliest efforts made in San Francisco for the extension of a purer and holier philosophy over the riot rampant spirit that had so firmly seized upon the place. Now the city is full of societies, though as yet but few permanent structures have been erected. Still, it is a matter of gratulation that so much has been accomplished, and the self-sacrificing efforts of the clergymen who immigrated here cannot be too highly esti- mated. On the 9th of June, 1851 (the festival of the Pen- tecost), Rev. John Maginnis, curate of the diocese of Monte- rey, founded a Catholic church, and held divine service every Sunday for three months, in a house rented for the purpose, at the corner of Third and Jesse streets ; and on the first Sun- day in September, the building, known as St. Patrick's Church, in Happy Valley, fronting on Market street, between Second and Third streets, was opened for worship. The congregation has increased so rapidly that a new building is already designed. Attached to it is a flourishing school and orphan asylum, under the charge of five Sisters of Charity (superintended by Sister Frances Assisium McEnnis), a branch of the house of St. Joseph, near Emmetsburg, Md. There are two other Catholic churches in the city ; one in Vallejo street, between Dupont and Stockton streets, in which services are conducted by the Rt. Rev. Arch- bishop Joseph Allemany and Father Liberea, vicar-general ; and one at the Mission de Dolores, of which Rev. E. O'Connell is pastor. All of these are largely attended. Services are held in English, French and Spanish. Before long they will have erected large and magnificent churches, which are already projected, of one of which, " St. Mary's," corner of Dupont and California streets, we give a representation. It will be principally constructed of brick, but will have a rough stone foundation, and mouldings of cut stone. The interior will be columned and arched, and the different parts of the edifice finished in the Gothic style of the
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sixteenth century. The dimensions of the building are seventy- five by one hundred and thirty feet. It will have a spire two hundred feet in height. Altogether this building will be one of the architectural beauties of San Francisco.
St. Mary's Catholic Church,
Towards the close of 1853, the Universalists, comprising a large body of intelligent and respectable citizens, met and estab- lished a society, which, regularly every Sabbath evening, held meetings for divine worship in Meiggs' Concert Hall, on Bush street. They employed the Pacific Music Troupe as their choir,
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and liberally paid two hundred and fifty dollars a night for the hall and orchestra. Subsequently they removed to the Superior Court room, which, we have already seen, had been frequently used for similar purposes, and attracted large and respectable con- gregations. Rev. John Upson officiated as pastor of this society.
On the 28th of August, 1853, a second Congregational soci- ety was organized, and a house of worship, capable of seating three hundred persons, erected in Greenwich street, between Dupont and Stockton streets. Its pastor, Rev. W. C. Pond, was supported at the inception of the enterprise by the American Home Missionary Society.
There are more Methodist Episcopal churches in San Fran- cisco than of any other denomination. Beside that of Mr. Tay- lor, there is one in Powell street, near Washington, Rev. M. C. Briggs, pastor ; the Wesley Chapel, at the corner of Bush and Dupont streets, Rev. Dr. Boring, pastor ; the New Jerusalem society, which meets in the Superior Court room every Sabbath morning, and which has no permanent pastor ; and a church for the colored population on Stockton street, of which Rev. James Moore is pastor.
In Spring Valley, a chapel has been erected, in which every Sunday afternoon, various clergymen, of all denominations, preach to the people of the vicinity. The Jewish citizens, very generally, observe their peculiar rites at their synagogues. The French and Spaniards have services in their own languages at the Catholic churches. In July, 1853, efforts were commenced to erect a chapel for the Chinese residents of the city, and so popular was the enterprise, that at a single lecture on the 21st of that month upwards of $8000 were subscribed for the erec- tion of the building. This was finally completed on the corner of Sacramento and Stockton streets at a cost of $18,000, and opened by dedication on the 4th of June, 1854. Rev. Wm. Speer is the pastor ; Messrs. Jas. B. Roberts, David S. Turner and H. C. Beals, are the trustees. The building is neat and resembles churches generally, except that its walls are hung with tablets inscribed with Chinese hieroglyphics.
Such an array of churches and societies are surely evidences enough of the sincerity, zeal and success of the early svirit of
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moral reform. It has also established numerous benevolent institutions, and sought to excite sympathy and gratitude, by alleviating sorrow, softening the harsh blows of misfortune, and leading the erring by example and precept back to the road from which they had strayed, many of whom have shunned the chapel door, first through shame and then indifference. In all of these societies, the members of the various churches, as will be seen elsewhere, took prominent parts ; but there are others yet, which are more particularly of a religious character. We have already spoken of the public-school effort, and of the good accomplished through it, and we may remark now, that it has been ably seconded by the establishment, in almost all the churches, of Sabbath-schools and Bible-classes, which are extremely well attended.
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