USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Centennial history of the city of Washington, D. C. With full outline of the natural advantages, accounts of the Indian tribes, selection of the site, founding of the city to the present time > Part 57
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The Church of the Ascension, standing at the corner of Massa- chusetts Avenue and Twelfth Street, was organized in May, 1844, Rev. L. J. Gilliss, then acting as missionary in that part of the city, being called to the .rectorship. The trustees at the time were T. H. Gilliss, William J. Darden, John M. Duncanson, William A. Bradley, A. Holmead, James Reeves, and Samuel Butt. This organization was given a site for its building by General and Mrs. John P. Van Ness, a short time previous to the death of Mrs. Van Ness, but until able to build, they occupied Mr. McLeod's academy, on Ninth Street. The corner stone of the new church building was laid September 5, 1844, on HI Street, near the Orphans' Asylum, by Rt. Rev. Bishop W. R. Whittingham. The edifice erected here was fifty-four by eighty-five feet in size, and of the Gothic style of architecture. The church was opened for public worship December 14, 1845, many distinguished persons being present, among them Major-General Scott. Rev. Dr. Stanley, after being associated with Dr. Gilliss, succeeded him to the rectorship, and was himself followed
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by Rev. William Pinckney, who began his ministry here October 11, 1857. Upon the resignation of Dr. Pinckney, Rev. Orlando Hutton, D. D., became rector, and at the close of his ministry, Rev. Dr. Pinckney returned on the condition that he should have an assistant. In 1873, Rev. John H. Elliott, D. D., became associate rector.
In 1874, the corner stone of a new church building was laid on Massachusetts Avenue and Twelfth Street. In December, 1875, the congregation took possession of the new building. The entire cost of this building was $205,000, of which sum Mr. Corcoran gave $100,000. Improvements, including a new pipe organ, have recently been added. On the death of Bishop Pinckney, Dr. Elliott became rector, and is still in the position. This church has two missions, one for colored people near the Freedmen's Hospital, and the other for Chinamen.
Grace Episcopal Church was established in 1851, in the Seventh Ward, a separate parish having been laid off by the Convention of the State of Maryland. A Sunday-school has been maintained for several years by the exertions of ladies of the vicinity, but church services had been only occasionally enjoyed. Rev. Alfred Holmead was elected pastor, and regular services held. Measures were then taken looking to the erection of a new church building, and the corner stone was laid October 7, 1851, Rev. Smith Pyne being the principal actor in the ceremonies, assisted by Rev. Mr. Holmead. The church was erected at the corner of D and Ninth streets Southwest, and was seventy by thirty feet. The present rector is Rev. J. W. Phillips.
St. Alban's Protestant Episcopal Church, on the turnpike leading from Georgetown to Rockville, was established in 1854. Its present pastor is Rev. Neilson Falls.
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, on the corner of Fourteenth and Corcoran streets, was established as a parish in 1857, and began to erect an edifice on the site of the Lutheran Memorial Church, on Fourteenth Street, near Thomas Circle. The War coming on, the parish became demoralized, and the site, which had been donated by IIon. Caleb Cushing, was sold for taxes. By decree of court, the property reverted to Mr. Cushing, who sold it and divided the pro- ceeds between several parishes.
For a number of years after this loss of site, St. Andrew's was maintained as a mission station by the Rev. Harris. In 1881, the present site was acquired, and Rev. Josiah B. Perry became rector. The chapel was erected at the time, and has been enlarged several
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times since. The church has over four hundred communicants, and is in a prosperous condition.
The Church of the Incarnation ( Episcopal ), at Twelfth and N streets Northwest, was founded in 1865. The corner stone of the present church edifice was laid June 18, 1866, and on December 24, 1867, the first service was held in the completed building, Rev. Charles Hall delivering the discourse. The church cost $21,000. The first, rector was Rev. James R. Hubbard, who served from July 16, 1871, to May 31, 1874. He was succeeded by the present rector, Rev. I. L. Townsend, on October 18, 1874. The present membership is three hundred and twenty-five.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, located on Twenty-third Street, be- tween Pennsylvania Avenue and I Street, Northwest, was organized in 1866, when it was separated from the parish of St. John's. The St. Paul Parish is geographically small, extending from Twenty-second Street to the boundary, thence around on the borders of Rock Creek to Twenty-fifth Street, to HI, and thence to Twenty-third again. The number of its communicants is over four hundred and fifty.
Immediately after the founding of the church, work began on the edifice, which is one of the neatest and coziest in the city. The first rector of the parish was Rev. Augustus Jackson, who retained his position fourteen years. His successor was Rev. William Barker, who, in 1887, was followed by the present rector, Rev. Alfred Harding. This congregation has given special attention to music, it being the first in the city, it is alleged, to introduce the choral service.
St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, located on Third Street, near A, Southeast, was organized in May, 1869, with thirty-five members, by Rev. A. Floridus Steele, the only rector. The first building was a wooden one, standing in the rear of the present struct- ure, and was thirty-five by sixty-five feet. In 1889, the present brick edifice was erected, at a cost of $21,000. The new house has not yet been consecrated.
This congregation is a colony from Christ's Church. It is sus- taining the Mission of the Good Shepherd, with forty attendants, at 312 K Street Northeast. The congregation has grown to two hundred and forty.
St. James' Episcopal Church, on Eighth Street, near Massachusetts Avenue, Northeast, was organized June 26, 1873, from Washington Parish. The building, not yet finished, is constructed of Potomac blue stone, with interior lining of brick. The part first built was occupied March 2, 1884. Thus far the structure has cost $15,000.
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The membership at the date of organization numbered twenty-seven; at present, two hundred and ten. The rectors from the first have been Revs. James A. Harrold, J. M. E. McKee, F. W. Winslow, I. L. Townsend, and J. W. Clark, the present incumbent.
The Dunbarton Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, of George- town, was founded in 1792, and was the first church of this denomi- nation established in the District of Columbia. The doctrines of this Church were preached in Georgetown as early as 1772, and it is reasonably certain that the first sermon was preached here by Robert Williams, an Englishman, who came to the United States in 1769, and that this first sermon was preached in October, 1772, when Mr. Wil- liams was en route to Norfolk, Virginia, accompanied by William Walters, a young native preacher, who was received into the regular ministry the following year, 1773, and who became the first native American itinerant, "having honor never to be shared, never im- paired."1 This first apostle of Methodism was also the founder of the same denomination in Virginia and North Carolina.
Three of the most prominent pioneer preachers - Robert Straw- bridge, who built the first Methodist chapel in America; Richard Owings, the first American local preacher, and William Walters, the first native American itinerant, were all connected with Methodism in Georgetown. They were followed by Philip Gateh, who was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, and was the second native American itinerant. Philip Gatch suffered much persecution. At one of his appointments near Bladensburg, he was seized by a mob and tarred. The last stroke made with the paddle with which the tar was applied, was drawn across his naked eye-ball, causing severe pain, and from the effects of which he never fully recovered. Of this event Mr. Gatch wrote: "If I ever felt for the souls of men, I did for theirs. When I got to my appointment, the spirit of the Lord so overpowered me that I fell prostrate in prayer before him for my enemies. The Lord, no doubt, granted my request, for the man who put the tar on, and several others, were afterward converted."
It is not certain where the first place of public worship of this denomination in Georgetown was located, but it is considered toler- ably safe to say that the first meetings were held in a cooper shop belonging to a Mr. Williams, and standing near the intersection of Gay and Congress streets. It is probable that the first house built especially for religious purposes by this organization was erected on
1 Abel Stevens.
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Montgomery Street in the early part of 1795. Bishop Asbury speaks of this building under date of November 2, 1795, as a "new chapel." The building was a small brick one, and the ground upon which it stood was conveyed to the society March 22, 1800, for five shillings. In 1806 the building was enlarged, and in 1849 it was sold for a school building. In 1849, during the pastorate of Rev. Henry Slicer, the present edifice was erected. Funds from abroad to the amount of $2,500, and from the home field to the extent of $7,000, were collected. In 1868 the church was thoroughly repaired and refurnished; and in 1882 it was refrescoed, repainted, and provided with new doors, carpets, and cushions. The site of the present church edifice was purchased from David English for $500, the deed bearing date of May 16, 1849.
From this congregation a number of colonies have sprung. In 1828, forty-four members withdrew and organized the "Associate Meth- odist Church," now known as the Protestant Methodist Church, else- where described.
In 1854, a mission school was established in West Georgetown by Edward H. Brown and James A. White. In 1855, a church was built, of which the first pastor was Rev. William F. Speake, now pastor of Fourth (Ebenezer) Church, Southeast. This congregation is now known as the "Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church."
A colored church was in existence at a very early date. It was, until 1855, under the control of the white congregation, the junior preacher of the charge usually looking after the interests of the colored congregation.
Inasmuch as this is the parent congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the District, the list of preachers from the first is appended: Robert Strawbridge, Richard Owings, Philip Ebert, Edward Drumgole, Philip Gatch, Robert Strawbridge, William Wal- ters, Freeborn Garrettson, Martin Rodda, Samuel Spraggs, Caleb Ped- dicord, Richard Garrettson, William Glendenning, William Walters, Thomas Foster, Charles Scott, Jonathan Forrest, Reuben Ellis, Philip Cox, Michael Ellis, Ignatius Pigman, William Phebus, John Magary, Isaac Smith, Jonathan .Forrest, William Ringgold, Samuel Breeve, Michael Ellis, Joseph O. Cromwell, Jonathan Forrest, Benton Riggin, Benjamin Roberts, Robert Green, John Allen, James Wilson, John Childs, George Haggerty, John Regan, John Rowen, Aquilla Garrett- son, Joshua Wells, Thomas Bell, Morris Howe, Rezin Simpson, F. Garrettson, Jr., Edmund Wayman, John Chalmers, William Bishop, John Bloodgood, D. Martin, Aquilla Garrettson, Thomas Lucas, Lasley Matthews, Joseph Rowen, Wilson Lee, and John Potts, to 1800;
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
Thomas Lyell, William Walters, John Potts, Seely Bunn. From 1801 to 1804. the society in Washington at the "Point" was supplied by the preachers stationed in Georgetown. In 1805, the pastor in George- town, after the first quarter, changed every other Sabbath with William Walters, stationed in Washington. John Bloodgood, Enoch George, Thomas F. Sargent, Stephen George Roszel, Nicholas Snethen, Robert R. Roberts, Asa Shinn, Stephen G. Roszel, William Ryland, Thomas Burch, John Davis, Beverly Waugh, James MeCann, Job Guest, to 1825-26; Norval Wilson, Robert S. Vinton, John L. Amiss, Henry Furlong, James M. Hanson, Charles B. Tippitt, Henry Slicer, William Hamilton, William B. Edwards, Littleton F. Morgan, James S. Hansberger,1 Stephen Asbury Roszel,1 Stephen George Roszel,1 Alfred Griffith, William Wieks,1 Henry Tarring, William Taylor,1 Thomas Sewell, Henry Slicer, William H. Wilson,1 Charles MeElfresh,1 John Lanahan, Samuel Rodgers,1 to 1850; Andrew J. Myers, 1 Samuel Brison, John C. Dice,1 John Landstreet,1 Benjamin F. Brooke, B. Newton Brown, William B. Edwards, N. J. B. Morgan, William H. Chapman, William B. Edwards, James A. MeCauley, John Il. Dashiell, B. Peyton Brown, to 1875; Richard Norris, J. MeKendree Reiley, J. J. G. Webster, William I. MeKenney, W. S. Edwards, M. F. B. Rice, J. Edwin Ames, and George Elliott. Of this long line of esteemed pastors, four were elected bishops: Enoch George, Robert R. Roberts, Beverly Waugh, and William Taylor.
The Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal Church, on Fourth Street, between South Carolina Avenue and G Street Southeast, is the pioneer organization of this denomination in the city.
All Methodist history connected with Washington prior to 1802 is largely inferential. At the Baltimore Conference, held that year, William Walters was appointed pastor at Georgetown and Washing- ton. At that time the nucleus of Methodism was Greenleaf's Point, in the southern part of the city. At the corner of what is now South Capitol and N streets, stood the "Twenty Buildings," in one of which the Methodists, under the direction of Mr. Walters, held their first services. Of the attendants at the Point may be mentioned Mrs. Elizabeth Lipscomb, Joseph Wheat, Peter Miller, and George Col- lard. Mention is made of these members in connection with a church meeting at Georgetown, April 7. 1803, in which it was stipulated that the "friends at the Point", agreed to pay one-third of the salary and one-fourth of the board of the preacher in charge, Rev. John Potts.
1 Junior preachers in charge of the colored church.
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About 1807, the congregation changed from "the Point" to Dudley Carroll's barn, which stood on New Jersey Avenue, south of E Street. It was the home of the Methodist congregation from 1807 to 1811. During this period (1807-11), the membership increased from one hundred and two to one hundred and fifty-nine.
On the 5th of October, 1810, the trustees, consisting of Henry Foxall, John Brashears, Electius Middleton, Ambrose White, James Vauzenette, John A. Chambers, Leonard Machall, John Eliason, and Jacob Hoffman, bought a lot of William Prout, for the sum of $227.64. Under the pastorate of Rev. Beverly Waugh, they began the erection of the first church edifice owned by the Methodists in Washington. It was a brick structure of modest pretensions, and was dedicated in November, 1811. A chapel was erected by its side for school purposes a few years later. The church was not supplied at first with benches or chairs, and the sexes were separated by a partition. This church was called Ebenezer.
In 1830, a number of members, seceding, established what is now called the First Methodist Protestant Church, on the corner of Fifth Street and Virginia Avenue Southeast.
The present house of worship was erected in 1857, under the pastorate of Rev. W. H. Chapman.
Foundry Methodist Episcopal Church was established in 1814 and organized in 1815. The man who above all others was deserving of credit for its establishment was Rev. Henry Foxall, whose foundry is mentioned in the "Manufacturing" chapter. In 1814, Mr. Foxall purchased a lot at the corner of Fourteenth and G streets, erected a church edifice upon it, and presented it to the society. The first trustees of this church .were Isaac Owen, Leonard Machall, John Eliason, William Doughty, Joel Brown, John Lutz, and Samuel MeKinney. This first church building was dedicated September 10, 1815. Soon after building the church, Mr. Foxall went to England, and in his absence the congregation built a parsonage, a two-story frame building, which displeased Mr. Foxall, as it was his intention to erect a fine parsonage for the church at his own expense. He died near his native village in England in 1823. With regard to the name of the church, it was supposed to have been adopted from the fact that John Wesley and his associates, when driven out of the English church, first occupied an old foundry, and to the additional fact that Mr. Foxall established this church with money made in his own foundry.
The building at the corner of Fourteenth and G streets was used
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
without repair until 1835, when it was repaired. It was again repaired in 1849, when the galleries, till then occupied by the colored members, were taken down, and the floor of the church raised so as to make a basement, which was then used for a Sunday-school. A separate church was erected for the accommodation of the colored members on Eleventh Street, named Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, organ- ized, at that time, with about three hundred members. The Foundry Church, as improved according to the plan last mentioned, was used until May, 1864, when it was torn down and a new building erected in its place, the corner stone being laid July 20, 1864, with Masonic ceremonies. This church edifice was dedicated November 4, 1866, Rev. D. W. Bartine, D. D., of Philadelphia, delivering the address.
The first pastor of this church was Rev. Thomas Burch, an Irish- man, and the second was Rev. William Ryland, in 1816; Rev. Mr. Burch in 1817; Rev. John Emery, 1818-19; Rev. William Ryland, 1820-21; Rev. Samuel Davis, until September, 1822, when he died, and then Rev. Joseph Baer; Rev. William Hamilton, 1823-24; Rev. William Ryland, 1825-26; Rev. John Davis, 1827-28; Rev. Stephen Roszell, 1829-30; Rev. James M. Hanson and Rev. George Nildt, 1831-32; Rev. John Baer, 1833; Rev. Samuel Brayson and Rev. Thomas B. Sargent, 1834-35; Rev. William Hamilton and Rev. Charles B. Tip- pet, 1836-37; Rev. Henry Slicer, 1838-39; Rev. Thomas C. Thornton, 1840 and half of 1841; Rev. John A. Robb, remainder of 1841; Rev. John Davis, 1842-43; Rev. Henry Tarring, 1844-45; Rev. Nicholas J. B. Morgan, 1846-47; Rev. John Lanahan, 1848-49; Rev. Littleton F. Morgan, 1850-51; Rev. Jesse T. Peck, D. D., 1852-53; Rev. Elisha P. Phelps, 1854-55; Rev. Samuel Register, 1856-57; Rev. B. H. Nadal, D. D., 1858-59; Rev. William B. Edwards, D. D., 1860-61; Rev. Wil- liam Hearst, to August, 1862; Rev. J. R. Effinger and Rev. Joseph B. Stitt, remainder of 1862; Rev. W. M. D. Ryan, 1863-65; Rev. B. Peyton Brown, 1866-68; Rev. Alexander Gibson, D. D., 1869-71; Rev. Samuel A. Wilson, 1872; Rev. Horace A. Cleveland, 1873-75; Rev. B. Peyton Brown, 1876-77; Rev. John Lanahan, D. D., 1878-80; Rev. Frank Ward, 1881-83; Rev. Henry R. Naylor, D. D., 1884-86; Rev. George Elliott, 1887-1891.
Wesley Chapel, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, located at the southwest corner of Fifth and F streets Northwest, was organized in 1823. In its earlier years, it was visited, at times, by the prominent members of the denomination. Rev. Bishop MeKendree occupied its pulpit on the 17th of May, 1829. In 1838, Rev. G. S. Cookman became pastor, and remained until 1841.
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Some of the pastors who came after Rev. Mr. Cookman were: John Davis, 1841-43; W. B. Edwards, 1843-44; Norval Wilson, 1844- 48; II. Slicer, 1848; Dasliiell, 1855; W. Krebs, 1856-58. The first house of worship, erected about the time of the organization of the church, served its purposes until 1856, when it was taken down and replaced by a new and larger one, with a seating capacity of two thousand five hundred, and at a cost of $16,000, which was dedi- cated December 26, 1856, during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Krebs. In March, 1858, Rev. E. D. Morgan, D. D., became pastor. Its present membership is four hundred and thirty-four, under the pastorate of Rev. L. B. Wilson.
Ryland Chapel is on D and Tenth streets Southwest. It was organized in 1843. Its house of worship was not completed for a year or two later. Rev. F. S. Evans was pastor. The conference report for 1891 shows four hundred and seven members, and a church property valued at $25,000. Rev. J. A. Price is serving as pastor.
McKendree Methodist Episcopal Church is on Massachusetts Ave- nue, near Ninth Street, and was organized in 1844. A house was begun, but not finished, that year. In 1845, Rev. William G. Eggle- ston was pastor; in 1847, Rev. T. M. Reese; in 1856, Rev. George Hildt; in 1857, Rev. Dabney Bale; in 1859, Rev. William Hamilton; in 1861, Rev. Dr. Ryan; in 1863, Rev. J. Thrush; in 1868, Rev. Mr. Krebs. It is now one of the large churches of the denomination. Its membership for 1891 was reported as four hundred and thirty-one. The pastor is Rev. L. T. Widerman.
Union Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1846. It is situated at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Twentieth Street. It has a membership of two hundred and eighteen, and Rev. Joel Brown is pastor.
The Metropolitan Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1853, at a time when Rev. R. L. Dashiell was agent for the District of Columbia. The idea connected with its establishment was that it should give increased accommodations to strangers visiting the metropolis, and hence it was intended to build it on the free-seat plan. The trustees of the church were C. W. Boteler, Sr., T. H. Havenner, W. G. Deale, T. Pursell, C. II. Lane, Samuel Fowler, F. Howard, S. Nor- ment, and Z. W. MeKnew. The bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, under date of March 16, 1853, had issued a circular strongly recommending the enterprise, and in compliance with a request from the Baltimore Annual Conference, appointed Rev. Henry Slicer agent for the new church.
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HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
The church building which it was then designed to erect, was to be situated on the corner of C and Four and a Half streets, and was to be seventy-five feet front on C Street, and one hundred and eight feet deep on Four and a Half Street. The corner stone was laid October 23, 1854, the address of the occasion being made by Bishop Simpson. The walls of this building were erected to a height of a few feet above the surface of the ground, and then, on account of want of funds, caused by the impractibility of making collections in the Southern States because of the breaking out of the War, were permitted to remain in that condition until 1868, when a determined effort was made to complete the edifice. Rev. Francis S. De Hass was appointed general agent, and he succeeded in raising over $100,- 000 toward its completion. The church erected in part with this money is a brown-stone structure in the Gothic style of architecture. At the time of the dedication, March 7, 1869, it had cost $225,000, the tower and steeple not then being completed nor the chimes put in. To do this would cost, as was then supposed, $25,000 more, bringing the entire cost of the church up to $250,000. The main entrance to the building is on C Street, and from the vestibule rise commodious stairways to the galleries, besides which three doors admit to the main audience room. This room is sixty-four by eighty- five feet in size, seating comfortably one thousand two hundred persons, and being at that time considered the finest room in the District. In the gallery is a superb organ, manufactured by Johnson, of Westfield, Massachusetts, and presented to the church by Carlos Pierce of that State, at an expense to him of $15,000. In the audi- torium there were set apart pews for each State and Territory, the President, and the Cabinet officers. The rest of the pews were rented, except those in the gallery, which were free. The fountain in bronze was designed by Clarke Mills. It represented Hagar in the Wilder- ness. The trustees at that time were President U. S. Grant, S. P. Chase, M. G. Emery, S. Norment, S. Fowler, F. A. Lutz, F. Howard, T. L. Tullock, and D. A. Burr. The dedicatory exercises were of a most interesting nature. The morning address was delivered by Bishop Simpson, the afternoon address by Rev. W. Morley Punshon, one of the greatest pulpit orators of England, and the evening address by Rev. Dr. T. M. Eddy, of the Northwestern Christian Advocate. Fifteen thousand dollars were raised on the day of the dedication.
Subsequently to this time, the steeple was erected, carried to a height of two hundred and twenty-five feet, and a chime of bells, sixteen in number, put in. On the wall west of the pulpit, beneath
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the gallery, are two mural tablets, erected respectively to the memory of General U. S. Grant and General John A. Logan, both of whom were regular attendants at this church. Since this time, the ministers of this church have been: Rev. J. P. Newman, D. D., elected bishop in the midst of his term; Rev. T. M. Eddy, D. D., elected missionary secretary at the beginning of his term; Rev. O. II. Tiffany, D. D .; Rev. II. R. Naylor, afterward presiding elder of this district; Rev. R. N. Baer, D. D., Rev. E. D. Huntley, D. D., and Rev. George H. Corey, D. D., the present pastor.
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