USA > Washington DC > The chronicles of Georgetown, D.C., from 1751-1878 > Part 13
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*It may, perhaps, be well to mention that at sunrise on last Christ- mas, just fifty years after, the congregation assembled to commemo- rate this first service held in these walls. The memories and changes of fifty years made it a deeply solemn and touching occa- sion to all present. Tears came unbidden to many eyes, and all felt it was a sad, though hallowed, service.
The rector has since learned from an estimable lady who was present on this occasion, that she well remembers that first service held by Dr. Keith fifty years before.
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life unto life,' so that when Christ shall appear, we may be found an acceptable people, well pleasing in His sight. Brief as are the early notices of the occu- pation of the church, we cannot fail to be impressed with the promptness, energy, zeal, and liberality mani- fested by that first vestry, in prosecuting the work in which they engaged to a speedy completion. Within the short space of a year, we behold a congregation organized, a minister called and liberally supported, and a church begun, finished, and occupied.
" Fifty years ago things moved much more slowly, and wealth was far less generally distributed than at present, so that the enterprise they exhibited is worthy of all commendation, and their labors well entitled to our grateful remembrance. There must have been among them all a sincere love for the church, and a spirit to devise liberal things, in order to carry them through the difficulties and demands of such a work. But among those carly founders, entitled to our spe- cial remembrance, we must record the names of Mr. Thomas Corcoran and Mr. Clement Smith; from the first inception of the movement, through the earlier years of our history as a church, their efforts in its be- half were untiring, and when the work of building the church was embarrassed for want of means, they came forward and liberally advanced what was needed for its completion. The entire cost of the church, includ- ing the lot, was fifteen thousand nine hundred and fifty-two dollars.
" In January, 1820, the Rev. Mr. Keith resigned the charge of the congregation. Though only of two
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years' duration, his ministry had been signally blessed, and he had the satisfaction of leaving the church thor- oughly organized, and with every promise of a pros- perous career. On the 12th of April, 1819, the second election of a vestry was held, and among other names which have been mentioned, are found those of Jere- miah Williams and Thomas Plater. One item in the minutes of the vestry, at this early period, deserves a passing notice, as showing the interest then felt in a sub- ject which, I trust, has still a place in the prayers and charities of this people. Shortly after the resignation of Mr. Keith, and prompted, perhaps, by the difficulty of finding a successor, a resolution was offered looking to the organization of a society for the education of pious young men for the ministry, to be auxiliary to that existing in the diocese of Maryland and Virginia. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution for an Educational Society, which was afterwards pre- sented to the congregation for their adoption. That the movement was not a fruitless one, appears from the testimony of Bishop Meade, in an address deliv- " ered at the seminary, in 1859. In enumerating the benefactors of the seminary, without the bounds of Virginia, he specially mentions the congregation of Christ Church, Georgetown, as having, under the promptings of its several pastors, furnished no little aid to its support.
"On the 8th of March, 1820, the Rev. Charles P. McIlvaine was elected to succeed Mr. Keith, as rector. Not being ordained at the time of his election, he did not take charge until the following July. Of his min-
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istry of five years' duration, it is unnecessary for me to say much; the zeal, devotedness, and success with which he here labored are well known by many still among us who were the fruits of that ministry, and for nearly fifty years he has been so prominent an actor in all the great movements of the church, as to make his name and work a familiar one to us all. During this period, we find the following names appearing among the vestry, and active supporters of the church : Jeremiah Williams, James S. Morsell, Charles A. Bur- nett, Richard Burgess, James Corcoran, John Mar- bury, John Myers, Robert Read, H. C. Matthews, William G. Ridgely, William Sewell, Thomas Hyde, Joseph Brewer, Jeremiah Bronaugh.
"During the interval between the resignation of Mr. McIlvaine and the call of the Rev. H. W. Gray, on the 19th of May, 1825, Dr. Keith officiated. Mr. Gray continued the rector until the 20th of December, 1828, when he was compelled by ill health to resign his charge. The Rev. Mr. Cobbs, of Virginia, was called, but declined. The Rev. John Thompson Brooke, then in charge of the parish at Martinsburg, was elected, and entered upon his duties on the 15th of March, 1829. His connection with the church lasted for six years, and seems to have been signally blessed. His preaching was 'in the demonstration of the spirit and with the power,' and his private life one of singular beauty and consistency. Few ministers were ever more warmly loved and respected, and so deep and lasting was the attachment of the congrega- tion to him, that eight years after he had resigned, we
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find the vestry again electing him as their pastor, and, in the letter urging his acceptance, saying, 'that as soon as it became manifested that the continued ill health of their rector would sever his connection and leave their church without a pastor, all eyes were turned towards the west, in hope that you might be induced to turn homewards, where your old congrega- tion are waiting to receive you with open arms.' The Tractarian movement was then beginning to scatter its deadly errors through the church, and awaken alarm, and this presented as an additional plea in urging his coming; the letter then goes on to say, 'we need not only the most skillful, but the strongest arms to stay the mighty torrent, and we call upon you to come to the help of the Lord against the mighty.' Dr. Brooke felt compelled to decline the call, but the repetition and earnestness with which it was urged, shows how deeply he had left the impress of his character upon the hearts of the congregation.
" Nothing of special interest requires our notice dur- ing this period ; we find about this time, 1829, a move- ment on foot to withdraw the District of Columbia from the diocese of Maryland and Virginia, and erect the said District into a separate diocese ; but the move- ment met with no more favor then than it has lately done, and the vestry declined to send delegates to at- tend the proposed meeting. It may be mentioned, in this connection, that the church seems to have been regularly represented in the diocesian convention, and that the choice of the vestry often fell upon Mr. F. S. Key to fill the place as delegate. After Mr. Brooke's
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resignation, there seems to have been some difficulty experienced in finding a successor to fill his place; the Rev. William Jackson, of New York, and the Rev. Mr. Jones, of Orange Court House, Virginia, were called, but declined. For some reason, which does not appear in the record, the vestry at this time departed from their usual custom of calling a minister, and re- ferred the matter to the pew holders for their action ; the step seems to have been an injudicious one, for after various ballotings, and ineffectual efforts by the friends of the different candidates, no decision was reached, and the whole matter had to be referred back to the vestry, and they authorized to proceed to an election. The Rev. P. Slaughter was then chosen, and entered upon his duties in December, 1835. About this time the steeple of the church was finished ; the committee having in charge its erection, and procur- ing subscriptions for the same, being Messrs. Morton, Richard Burgess, and H. C. Matthews. We also find in the minutes of the vestry, at this time, the resigna- tion of Mr. John Marbury, who had filled the labori- ous office of treasurer for so many years, and to whose energetic efforts the debt which was contracted in building the church, and which had hung as an ineu- bus on its prosperity, was finally discharged by the transfer of certain pews owned by the church, and funds due it to its creditors. It is but just to state that these creditors were very generous in their dealings, and one of the largest ultimately relinquished his claim and donated it to the church. In July, 1837, Mr. Slaughter's health compelled his temporary relinquish- 26
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ment of his charge, and the Rev. Mr. Goodrich occu- pied the pulpit and ministered very acceptably to the congregation. Mr. Slaughter finally resigned in Octo- ber, and Mr. Goodrich was elected his successor, but declined. Several unsuccessful efforts were made to secure a rector, but it was not until September, 1838, nearly a year after Mr. Slaughter's resignation, that the vestry succeeded in securing the services of the Rev. J. F. Hoff. On Easter morning, 1841, the following gen- tlemen composed the vestry : James S. Morsell, John Harry, J. Davidson, C. A. Burnett, Hezekiah Miller, J. Marbury ; H. McPherson, Mr. Mix, wardens; P. T. Berry, register. In March, 1843, Rev. Mr. Hoff was compelled by ill-health to resign, much to the sorrow and regret of the whole congregation. The Rev. Ste- phen G. Gassaway, of Ohio, was then called, and en- tered upon his duties as rector, on the 21st of April, 1843. We have now reached a period, so fully with- in the memory of the greater part of the congrega- tion, that only the briefest notice of the remaining changes and events in our history is necessary. In 1844, a parsonage on Beall Street was purchased by subscription, and the aid of the ladies of the congre- gation. In 1847, we find extensive repairs and changes were made in the church building under the supervis- ion of Messrs. Lyons, W. R. Abbott, HI. C. Matthews, J. Marbury, and that the ladies of the congregation showed their accustomed zeal by raising the means for beautifying the church. Two handsome chancel-chairs were the gift of Mr. W. W. Corcoran. Easter Mon- day, 1845, the vestry was as follows: Messrs. Evan
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Lyons, John Marbury, H. C. Matthews, Levin Jones, William B. Boggs, Dr. G. Tyler; William R. Abbott, register; Mr. Lyons, treasurer; Col. Stull, and R. J. Bowen, wardens. In November, 1850, Mr. Gassaway resigned his charge, and removed to Missouri. An interval of more than a year elapsed before the Rev. David Caldwell entered upon his duties in April, 1851, during which Dr. Sparrow filled the pulpit. In May of that year, a movement was made to secure a par- sonage, the one before purchased having been relin- quished on account of a defective title; and through the energy of the committee to whom the matter was referred, the present commodious rectory was bought and furnished. The year after (in 1852), and princi- pally through the efforts of Mr. H. C. Matthews, for many years an active vestryman, and the efficient leader of the choir, a new and very superior organ was purchased. In March, 1854, the Rev. Mr. Cald- well was compelled to resign his position because of increasing ill-health, and four years after he was called to rest from his labors. The Rev. Dr. Norwood suc- ceeded him on the 20th of April, 1854, and continued for seven years rector of the church. The Rev. Mr. Harris then took temporary charge of the parish until April 1st, 1864, when the Rev. J. H. C. Bonte entered upon his duties as rector, and was succeeded by the present incumbent on the 27th of May, 1866. Vestry in 1860: Messrs. Marbury, Matthews, Berry, Dr. Sny- der, Lyons, Cox, Davidson, Dr. Tyler. Wardens: Messrs. Abbott and Knowles.
" From this brief outline of events, during the first
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fifty years, it will be seen that of the eleven rectors, who have ministered in this church, but six are now living; and of the original list of subscribers and pew holders, but a single one survives. An entirely new generation now occupy their places, and the many changes which these passing years have witnessed, ad- monish us that we too are 'pilgrims and strangers,' and call us to prepare for that eternal world to which we are so fast hastening.
" Time allows me to give but the briefest sketch of the rebuilding of our present church edifice. The lapse of fifty years had left its marks upon the house our fathers built; and it was felt that something was needed to adapt it to the enlarged wants of the con- gregation. Our homes showed a large increase in ele- gance, and comfort, and expense, and it was but right that God's house should keep pace with our increased prosperity, and be the exponent of our gratitude for the privilege and blessing so long enjoyed here. With great unanimity it was determined by the vestry, at a meeting held on January 28, 1867, to solicit plans and estimates for the improvement of the church. On the 20th of March, the plan of the present building was selected, and a committee appointed to wait on the congregation and solicit subscriptions. They were met by a liberal response on the part of the congrega- tion, over thirteen thousand dollars being at once sub- scribed. Feeling fully justified in beginning opera- tions, having thirty additional pews to fall back upon for any expenses outside of the estimates, contracts were entered into. The last service held in the old
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church was on Sunday night, May 26, 1867. The fol- lowing week the work was begun. On the 15th of July, the corner-stone of the old church was removed to its present position at the northeast corner of the tower, and there was deposited in it the journal of the diocesan convention for the year 1867; the minutes of the vestry authorizing the construction of the church; the names of the rector, vestrymen, ward- ens, building committee, architects, and contractor ; some United States fractional currency, and city papers.
" The rector, soon after the work was begun, was laid aside by protracted illness from participating in the arduous duties of the building committee, of which he was the chairman, and did not assume his charge until the lecture-room was completed and occupied, on the 16th of February, 1868. I may, therefore, the more fully bear my testimony to the zeal, and un- wearied diligence of the committee, who, at no little sacrifice of their time, gave their personal aid and at- tention during the progress of the work. The com- mittee consisted of Messrs. Matthews, Boggs, Kurtz, and Davidson. Upon the treasurer of the committee, Mr. C. M. Matthews, the largest part of the burden of the undertaking fell ; and I feel that I record but the sense of the committee and the vestry, when I say that to his unwearied energy, and personal efforts, and financial skill, we are largely indebted for the success- ful completion of our enlarged, improved, and beau- tiful church edifice. Upon the well-known taste and judgment of Capt. W. B. Boggs the building com-
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mittee largely depended, especially in the ornamenta- tion of the church. Unlooked for delays and difficul- . ties were experienced, but I rejoice to bear witness to the united spirit on the part of the whole congrega- tion, which has enabled us to surmount them ; they have not only served to call forth greater liberality and self-sacrifice in behalf of the church, and revealed much undeveloped strength, but, I trust under God's blessing, have qualified us for a higher place of use- fulness and a greater consecration to His service. To the ladies, as is the case in every good work, we are also largely indebted. Many years ago some of them raised, by their efforts, a fund which was kept for the purpose of building a lecture-room, and which, amount- ing to thirteen hundred dollars, was handed over to the building committee for that object. The ladies of the Christ Church Sewing Society (organized in Octo- ber after I took charge), by their needle and other ef- forts, raised also nine hundred dollars, which was de- voted to the use of the church building, and in addi- tion to this, they carpeted the aisles and chancel, fur- nished the desk and pulpit, and, together with liberal donations from two of the members, procured a costly stained-glass window for the church, showing, as the result of their work for two years, the sum of two thousand dollars. On the 14th of June last, the pres- ent church edifice was first occupied, and the voice of supplication and praise resounded in its walls. Such are the items and events of our history as a church. What wondrous changes have these fifty years wit- nessed ? When we first begun our existence, the
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Episcopal Church was small in numbers and influence : almost entirely confined to the seaboard and few older States, it has now expanded into a communion num- bering over forty bishops, two thousand clergy, and one hundred and forty thousand communicants, and spread its agencies from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Whatever changes the future may bring, God grant to us, as a congregation, that we may cling to, and love the old gospel of the grace of God, which the saintly Keith first proclaimed in these walls, and wor- ship Him in the same simple, solemn way as our fath- ers, when they first knelt together here around the throne of grace. The old bible, the old liturgy, the old doctrines bequeathed to us by the Reformers, in the sixteenth century, are our heir-loom and our pre- cious heritage. Let us strive to transmit these, unini- paired and uncorrupted. We need nothing new to adapt the Church to her work of converting souls and edifying God's people. What we do need is the out- pouring of the Holy Ghost upon the gospel preached, that it may be with power and His presence in our hearts, that we may adorn that gospel by holiness and righteousness of life.
" May He to whose service this house is dedicated. be ever present with his people here, so that it shall, indeed, be the house of God, and the gate of heaven to many immortal souls. Thus, and thus only, can the declaration be verified-
"' The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former.'"
I herewith give a list of the different rectors who
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have had charge of the church, and the respective pe- riods of their ministry here :
Rev. Ruel Keith, November 19th, 1817, to Janu- ary 29th, 1820; Rev. Charles P. McIlvaine, March 8th, 1820, to March 1st, 1825; Rev. H. H. Grey, May, 19th, 1825, to December 20th, 1828; Rev. J. Thomp- son Brooke, March 15th 1829, to March 17th, 1835; Rev. Philip Slaughter, December -, 1835, to Octo- ber 3, 1837; Rev. J. F. Hoff, September 17th, 1838, to March 1st, 1843; Rev. S. G. Gassaway, April 21st, 1843, to November 18th, 1850; Rev. David Caldwell, April 13th, 1851, to March 4th, 1854; Rev. William R. Norwood, D. D., April 20th, 1854, to October 4th, 1861 ;* Rev. J. H. C. Bonte, April 1st, 1864, to March 26th, 1866; Rev. W. W. Williams, May 27th, 1866, to May 28th, 1876; Rev. Albert R. Stuart, May 28th, 1876, to the present time.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
This church was formerly located on Montgomery Street. The original deed for the church is recorded in liber E, No. 5, page 238, from Anthony Holmead to Lloyd Beall, Richard Parrott and others, trustees. The deed is dated March 22, 1800, about which time a church was erected on said lot, thirty feet by forty feet deep, being one and one-half stories high. In course of time the congregation increased, when the original building was taken down, and the present building (now a public school) erected in its place.
* From this date, to October 4th. 1861. until Rev. Mr. Boute en- tered upon the duties of rector, Rev. William A. Harris filled the pulpit and was in temporary charge.
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This was about the year 1820. The brick building was two stories high, substantial and strong, and an- swered the purpose of worship for many years, when the congregation sold the church to the Corporation of Georgetown for the sum of twelve hundred dollars, (as per deed, recorded in liber J. A. S., No. 11, page 279, February 17, 1850,) Some defect was in the original deed, and the corporation had a new deed from the heirs of Holmead to the trustees of the church before they would purchase the same. A new building was then contemplated for a church, and the ground selected was lot No. 39, in Beall's addition to Georgetown, conveyed by David English to John Pickrell and others, trustees (as per deed, recorded in Liber J. A. S., No. 4, page 226; deed dated May 16, 1849). The building erected on this lot is a spacious church, two stories high, the basement being used for the Sabbath school, which now numbers two hundred and ten scholars, while the main room of the church is used for public worship.
METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCHI.
The founders of this church worshiped formerly in St. John's and the Presbyterian Church, and in the Lancaster school-room, for one or two years, before they erected the present church on Congress Street. The lot was purchased by one Butler Cook, trustee of one Samuel Robertson, in April, 1829, for the sum of ten hundred and thirty-five dollars. The original trustees were Leonard Mackall, John Eliason, Wil- 27
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liam King, Joseph Libbey, Jeremiah Orme, Gideon Davis, and William C. Lipscomb.
This lot was once in jeopardy, or in danger of being lost to the church, by the original owner not paying in full the parties he purchased from. A note for the deferred payment fell into the hands of the United States branch bank, at Norfolk, Virginia; suit was in- stituted to recover the property, but the trustee, Cook, effected a compromise, and it was released and the title made perfect. In the meantime, while this diffi- culty was pending, it was sold for taxes by the col- lector for the Corporation of Georgetown. Mr. W. W. Corcoran purchased it for twenty-two dollars, and very generously relinquished his title to the church. The lot, as originally purchased, was sold for sixty feet front, but when measured it only ran out fifty-five feet front, and this is all the church holds a title to. The trustees endeavored to effect an act of incorporation, so that they might sue and be sued ; sell and purchase real estate ; but it never was successfully carried out.
When the trustees began to build the original church the membership was small and comparatively poor, and hence were often in straightened circum- stances .. Their indebtedness to the builders was a source of great disquietude ; and in order to close up the matter the trustees agreed to give the builders a deed of trust for fifteen hundred dollars to secure their debt ; but this debt was settled by the individual mem- bers giving their notes and paying them at maturity. But there was one debt that gave the church some trouble, which was due to the late Gideon Davis.
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After his death his executor discovered there was a debt due the said Davis by the church for the sum of five or six hundred dollars. The church refused to pay unless a credit of two hundred dollars was allowed. In the meantime the widow of Davis married, and the matter was amicably settled without a suit.
The lot on which the parsonage stands was pur- chased of Ninian Beall for the sum of six hundred and fifteen dollars, on May 1st, 1839. The trustees who made the purchase were William King, Joseph Libbey, Jeremiah Orme, Thomas Jewell, Fritz J. Bartlett, Thomas A. Newman, and John E. Cox. One fact in the purchase of this lot was quite commend- able. The ladies of the church paid nearly the whole purchase-money. They also organized themselves into a sewing society, while the male members organ- ized a sinking-fund, which worked well and gradually released the church from debt. Upon this lot con- nected with the church the lecture room was built in 1857, at a cost of seventeen hundred dollars, which was enlarged in 1867, at nearly the same cost. The present house of worship was enlarged and beautified in 1867, and dedicated in February, 1868 ; the cost of which exceeded the cost of the origmal church, the parsonage, and lecture room combined, and, after a hard struggle, this church is nearly free from debt.
The church was dedicated in 1830, when Rev. W. W. Wallace was in charge of this station. The open- ing sermon was preached to a large audience. The choir was quite a feature in the dedication. It was led by W. C. Lipscomb, with a corps of practical singers.
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