USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I > Part 75
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The second period of Presbyterian history embraces the work among the early settlers of the Panhandle. The Presbyterian Church at Moscow was established in January, 1880, by Rev. Daniel Gamble, and before the close of that year the Presbytery of Idaho was organized, embracing the entire Territory of Idaho and the eastern portions of Oregon and Washington. This period includes only three years, during which a number of church societies were organized in different parts of the territory. In 1883 the Presbytery of Idaho was divided and the southern part of the territory was organized under the name of the "Wood River Presby- tery."
The third period of the history of this church covers the time since 1883. The first Presbyterian sermon within the limits of the Wood River Presbytery was preached at Boise City on February 24, 1878, by Rev. H. W. Stratton, superin- tendent of missions of the Synod of Oregon. The services were held in the Methodist Church and the First Presbyterian Church of Boise was organized with eighteen charter members. The first house of worship erected by this con- gregation was on the corner of Tenth and Main streets, where the Idanha Hotel now stands. This was the first Presbyterian Church erected in the territory com- prising the Wood River Presbytery. The present house of worship was built in 1893.
In 1891 the northern Presbytery-the Presbytery of Idaho-was divided between the presbyteries of Walla Walla and Spokane, and in 1893 the Wood River Presbytery was divided into the presbyteries of Boise and Kendall, the latter, named in honor of Rev. Henry Kendall, includes all of Eastern Idaho. The first station in that presbytery was established at Montpelier in 1883 by Rev. D. J. McMillan, afterward one of the corresponding secretaries of the home mis- sion board. Since 1893 the growth of the Presbyterian Church in Idaho has been
ST. STANISLAUS CHURCH, LEWISTON
MORMON CHURCH AND AUDITORIUM, IDAHO FALLS
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such that the denomination is represented in all the principal cities and most of the towns and villages.
EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The first well defined movement toward establishing the Protestant Episcopal Church in Idaho was made in 1864, when Rev. St. Michael Fackler came from Oregon to Boise City, then only about one year old, and as a result of his mis- sionary work a small frame church was built at a cost of about $1,500 in gold. The following year Rt. Rev. Daniel S. Tuttle was appointed missionary bishop of Idaho. He arrived in Boise on October 2, 1867, and for nineteen years occupied the position of missionary bishop for a field embracing the present states of Idaho, Montana and Utah. Immediately upon his arrival, with the assistance of Rev. G. D. B. Miller, the resident missionary, he established a parish school, which was opened on November 4, 1867. Once each year Bishop Tuttle covered his field, visiting every place where the interests of his church called him, but owing to the extensive territory and the primitive means of travel, he could spend only a short time at any one place. For a time his labors in Idaho were confined chiefly to Boise, Idaho City and Silver City.
The following story as illustrating Bishop Tuttle's popularity among all classes of people has been told: In the spring of 1869 a disastrous fire occurred at Helena, Montana. The bishop happened to be in the town at the time and assisted in the efforts to save a stock of provisions stored in a building and in extinguishing the flames. Side by side with the bishop worked William Bunkerly, a noted desperado, better known as "Bitter Root Bill," and Joseph Floweree, a gambler usually called "Gentle Joe." After the danger was past, William Bunkerly pro- nounced the following eulogy on the bishop: "He's full jeweled and eighteen karats fine. He's a better man than Joe Floweree ; he's the biggest and best bishop that ever wore a black gown, and the whitest man in these mountains. He's a fire fighter from away back and whenever he chooses to go on a brimstone raid among the sinners in this gulch he can do it, and I'll back him with my pile."
Bishop Tuttle's work was manifold. "In some places he served for a time as pastor ; in others he taught in the various schools he established; he married young people, baptized children, and uttered the words of consolation when the fathers and mothers who had undergone the hardships of a new country passed to the Great Beyond."
On Eighth Street, between State and Washington in the City of Boise, stands an attractive stone building bearing the inscription :
"1867-BISHOP TUTTLE CHURCH HOUSE-1886
Erected to the Glory of God Commemorating the Work of Bishop Tuttle in Pioneer Days and for the Upbuilding of the Church in Idaho
1907."
In 1896, writing of his experiences in Idaho and his farewell to the territory, Bishop Tuttle said: "Idaho is now a state. For more than nineteen years, when it was a territory, I was its bishop. In fifty towns and hamlets in it I held services. . . . All the nineteen years of my association with her I found her and her people kind and loyal and helpful. On her soil, at Soda Springs, on the
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afternoon of August 9, 1886, by official reception of the notice of the consents of majorities of the house of bishops and of the standing committees, I ceased to be her bishop and became bishop of Missouri. With the letter in my hand I hung my head as if I were a deserter, and tears accompanied the goodbye I whispered within. I love her still. I wish to her and her people now and always, health, wealth and happiness."
At the time Bishop Tuttle left Idaho in 1886 there were eight regularly organ- ized missions, viz .: St. Michael's, Boise City ; St. James', Silver City ; St. Mark's, Idaho City ; the Nativity, Lewiston; Holy Innocents, Blackfoot; St. Paul's, Belle- vue; Emanuel, Hailey ; St. Mark's, Ketchum.
On May 27, 1887, Rt. Rev. Ethelbert Talbot was consecrated bishop of a missionary district comprising Idaho and Wyoming and arrived in the district the following July. During the ten years of his episcopate he erected churches at Blackfoot, Idaho Falls, Mountain Home, Montpelier, Murray, Nampa, Pocatello, Shoshone, Wallace, Weiser and some other points, and he began the erection of St. Margaret's School for Girls at Boise, on ground previously secured by Bishop Tuttle.
The general convention of 1898 made a new arrangement of the territory em- braced by the district. Southern Idaho and Western Wyoming were linked together and Northern Idaho was attached to the District of Spokane. The former was called the Missionary District of Boise and Rev. James B. Funsten, rector of an Episcopal Church at Portsmouth, Virginia, was elected bishop. He took up his residence at Boise soon after his election and called his first con- vocation to meet at St. John's Church, Idaho Falls, on September 12, 1899. In 1907 the general convention erected a new missionary district embracing the State of Idaho, and Bishop Funsten remained as missionary bishop of this district until his death on December 2, 1918. A sketch of Bishop Funsten and his work appears elsewhere in this work.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Rev. Jason Lee, who preached the first sermon ever delivered in what is now the State of Idaho, at Fort Hall on July 27, 1834, was a Methodist missionary, but the denomination was not firmly planted within the limits of the state until almost forty years later. The first regular missionary assigned to Idaho was Rev. Robert M. Gwinn. He was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, June 5, 1833, of Scotch ancestry, and was educated in Pittsburgh, after which he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He served as a sharpshooter in the Union army during the Civil war and in 1866 joined the Methodist Church at Cherry Run, Pennsylvania. In 1870 he was ordained to the ministry and two years later went to Salt Lake City, Utah, where witli Bishop Foster and others he assisted in forming the "Rocky Mountain Conference."
Mr. Gwinn was assigned the Territory of Idaho as his mission field and took up his residence in Boise. Before the close of the year 1872, he organized the First Methodist Church of Boise-the first to be organized in Idaho. During the legislative session following his arrival at Boise, Mr. Gwinn served as. chaplain. Among other churches organized through his efforts is the one at Caldwell, where Mr. Gwinn passed the closing years of his life, retired from the active work of his profession, after years of assiduous labor traveling by stage coach or on
FIRST M. E. CHURCH, BOISE
ST. MICHAEL'S CATHEDRAL (PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL), BOISE
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HISTORY OF IDAHO
horseback, preaching and organizing the scattered representatives of Methodism into congregations. No man was ever better fitted for pioneer missionary work than Mr. Gwinn.
James L. Onderdonk, in his report as territorial secretary for 1885, gives the number of Methodists in the territory as 650, with ten church buildings, seven parsonages and fifteen resident ministers. Since then the Methodist Episcopal Church has extended to all parts of Idaho, its church edifices being the finest in a number of towns and cities. A Methodist College, located at Gooding, was opened in 1917, the college property being valued at $500,000.
OTHER DENOMINATIONS
Secretary Onderdonk's report for 1885, above referred to, gives the number of Baptist churches in that year as six, located at Boise, Mann's Creek, Middleton, Moscow, Payette and Weiser. One of the pioneer ministers of this church was Rev. S. E. Stearns, who organized the Moscow Church at Paradise Valley in August, 1876, and who was active in the work of the ministry for a number of years.
The Seventh Day Adventists have church organizations in a number of towns and cities of the state and an academy at Caldwell; the Congregationalists are represented in many of the leading centers of population ; the Christian Scientists own neat houses of worship in a number of places; the Christian Church (some- times called Campbellite), the Lutherans, and some other smaller denominations have their adherents and support churches and ministers at various points in the state.
CHAPTER XXXIX FRATERNAL AND CIVIC SOCIETIES
FRATERNAL SPIRIT OF PIONEER DAYS-SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER-MASONIC FRA- TERNITY-THE ODD FELLOWS-KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS-GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC-THE ELKS-OTHER ORDERS-WOMEN'S CLUBS-COMMERCIAL CLUBS.
From the early placer mining days the fraternal spirit has existed in Idaho. Men who had joined some secret order before coming to the territory sought out their "brothers" in the mining camps, and it was not long until lodges were organized. As the population grew and social conditions improved, the fraternal organizations kept pace with the general progress, until now all the leading societies of that nature are well represented in all sections of the state.
The same is true of the civic spirit. As towns sprang up the citizens became interested in the improvement of their environment, clubs were organized to work for the installation of modern municipal conveniences, the members of these clubs recognizing the truth of the old adage-"In union there is strength." Much of the civic advancement of Idaho is due to these societies.
It would be impossible in the scope of one chapter to give a detailed history of every fraternal and civic organization in the state, even were such a course considered desirable. The members of the fraternal societies-those naturally most interested-can easily obtain the history of their order from its own records, at' those outside of such organizations are, as a rule, not especially interested in the subject of their history.
In the case of the civic societies and clubs, most of them have a history that is largely local in its significance. The people of any given town or city are not particularly interested in what is going on in another two or three hundred miles away, except as a lesson can be learned from the methods employed to secure better municipal conditions.
Therefore, in treating the subjects indicated by the heading of this chapter. the object will be to give more attention to the general history of the leading fraternal orders than to local lodges, and the civic organizations will be noticed only in a general way, except where their influence has extended beyond the sphere of local activity.
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MASONIC FRATERNITY
Freemasonry is beyond question the oldest and most widely distributed of all the secret fraternal societies. Tradition carries the origin of the order back to the Pythagoreans, Essenes, Carmathites and other organizations of ancient times. It is quite possible that certain features of the rituals of these ancient brotherhoods were incorporated into the ceremonies of the guilds of stonemasons and builders during the Middle Ages-the era of church and cathedral building-when mem- bers of these guilds traveled over Europe under the patronage of the church. They were invested with certain privileges and immunities, hence the term "Free Masons." Toward the close of the church-building period, members of these guilds banded themselves into a society for friendly intercourse and mutual bene- fit, and it is practically established that this fraternal society is the mother of modern Freemasonry.
The order is said to have been introduced into England by Edwin Athelstan about 930 A. D. A few years later a convention of Masons at York adopted a code of laws which it is claimed is the basis of all subsequent Masonic constitu- tions. In 1275 A. D. a convention of the traveling guilds was held at Strassburg, and a century later the members were divided into three classes-Apprentices, Craftsmen and Master Workmen. From England and Continental Europe the order found its way into Scotland, where the oldest known Masonic lodge in the world is now to be found, viz .: Mother Kilwinning Lodge, whose records date back to 1599.
Four lodges of English Masons sent delegates to a meeting in London on June 24, 1717, at which time the English Grand Lodge was instituted. At that time there was but one degree in the order, but in 1724 the English Grand Lodge adopted the classification of the guilds and near the close of the Eighteenth Century prepared a ritual including the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, the three degrees which constitute the "Blue Lodge" of the present day.
On June 5, 1730, Daniel Coxe of Burlington, New Jersey, received a commis- sion as "Provincial Grand Master of the Provinces of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in America." The commission was issued by the Duke of Norfolk, then grand master of England. St. John's Lodge at Philadelphia was organized by Mr. Coxe in the fall of 1730 and was the first Masonic lodge in America.
The first Masonic lodges in Idaho were organized under charters granted by the Grand Lodge of Oregon. In 1866 the Legislature passed an act providing for the organization of grand and subordinate lodges of Masons and Odd Fellows. There were then four Masonic lodges in Idaho, viz .: Pioneer, No. 12; Idaho, No. 35: Boise, No. 37, and Placer, No. 38. On December 16, 1867, delegates from those four lodges met at Idaho City and organized the Idaho Grand Lodge, with George H. Coe as the first grand master and P. E. Edmondson, grand secre- tary. Under the jurisdiction of the new grand lodge the subordinate lodges changed their numbers, beginning with No. I. Two years later there were six lodges in the territory, viz .: Idaho, No. 1 ; Boise, No. 2; Placer, No. 3; Pioneer, No. 4; Owyhee, No. 5; War Eagle, No. 6. The last three are no longer in existence.
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In 1918 there were sixty-five chartered lodges in the state, with a total mem- bership of over 5,000. Many of them-those located in the principal cities and towns-own their own temples, and connected with a majority of the lodges are chapters of the Order of the Eastern Star, an organization to which the wives, mothers, sisters, widows and daughters of Master Masons are eligible. The higher degrees, Royal Arch Masons and Knights Templars are represented by chapters and commanderies in all the larger cities, the Scottish Rite has con- sistories at Boise, Lewiston and Pocatello, and at Boise the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine have a fine "mosque."
THE ODD FELLOWS
The modern order of Odd Fellows had its beginning in 1745 in a society organized in England under the name of "The Antient and Most Noble Order of Bucks." Some writers have tried to establish the fact that the society was founded by some dissatisfied members of the Masonic fraternity in the hope of making it a successful rival of that order, but the statement lacks authenticity. The oldest records of "The Antient and Most Noble Order of Bucks" are those of Aristarchus Lodge, which held its meetings in the Globe Tavern in London. About 1773 the society began to decline, but a few lodges held on and finally succeeded in effecting a reorganization. George IV, when Prince of Wales, was admitted into the "Bucks" in 1780, and tradition says that on the occasion of his initiation the words "Odd Fellow" were used for the first time.
A grand lodge was organized in England in 1803, but six years later the lodge at Manchester withdrew and declared itself "independent." As a sort of self- constituted grand lodge, it assumed authority to organize other lodges, with the result that in 1813 delegates from these lodges assembled and founded the "Man- chester Unity, Independent Order of Odd Fellows."
On December 26, 1806, Solomon Chambers and his son, John C. Chambers, who had been initiated into the order in England, organized an Odd Fellows lodge in New York, but it seems they were working without proper authority and the lodge was short lived. Another attempt was made to organize a lodge in New York in 1816, but without success. In 1818 Thomas Wildey came over from England and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. He had been made an Odd Fellow in England and soon after locating at Baltimore he began a search for other members of the order with a view to establishing a lodge, even going so far as to advertise in the newspapers. His efforts bore fruit and on April 26, 1819, a lodge was instituted at Baltimore with Thomas Wildey, John Welch, John Cheatham, Richard Rushworth and John Duncan as the charter members.
This was really the beginning of Odd Fellowship in the United States. The organization of other lodges followed and on September 23, 1842, the order in America separated from the Manchester Unity and established a grand lodge for the United States and Canada. In 1917 there were in these two countries nearly two million Odd Fellows.
Odd Fellowship was introduced into Idaho by the organization of Pioneer Lodge, No. I, at Idaho City during the prosperous era of placer mining. A little later Owyhee Lodge, No. 2, was instituted at Silver City, and it was soon followed by Ada Lodge, No. 3, located at Boise. These lodges, and one or two others, were reorganized after the passage of the act of January 9, 1866, which provided for
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the incorporation of grand and subordinate lodges of Odd Fellows and Masons, but the Idaho Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows was not organized until November 13, 1883. At that time there were ten lodges in the territory, to wit: Pioneer, No. I, Idaho City ; Owyhee, No. 2, Silver City ; Ada, No. 3, Boise City ; Excelsior, No. 4, Centerville ; Rocky Mountain, No. 5, Salmon City ; Covenant, No. 6, Placer- ville ; Mount Idaho, No. 7, Mount Idaho; Lewiston, No. 8, Lewiston ; Bellevue, No. 9, Bellevue; Caldwell, No. 10, Caldwell.
Connected with Odd Fellowship are also an Encampment, a ladies degree called the "Daughters of Rebekah," and a semi-military degree known as the "Patriarchs Militant." The first encampment in Idaho (Idaho No. 1) was organ- ized at Boise a short time before the institution of the grand lodge. In all the larger cities of the state encampments have since been established and in a few of them there are cantons of the Patriarchs Militant, while the "Rebekahs" are well represented wherever lodges have been established.
KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS
On February 15, 1864, five clerks in Government offices at Washington, D. C., met and listened to the reading of a ritual for a new fraternal society that had been prepared by one of their number. These five men were Justus H. Rathbone, William H. Burnett, Robert A. Champion, Dr. Sullivan Kimball and David L. Burnett. All were members of the Arion Glee Club and intimate associates. The ritual, which was the work of Mr. Rathbone, based upon the friendship of Damon and Pythias, was approved by those who listened to its reading and the name "Knights of Pythias" was selected for the proposed order.
Four days after the adoption of the ritual Washington Lodge, No. I, was organized in Temperance Hall in the national capital. Franklin Lodge, No. 2, was instituted at the Washington Navy Yard on April 12, 1864, and during the next six months several other lodges were established in the immediate vicinity of Washington. Owing to the Civil war, the time was inopportune for launching a new fraternal society and before a year had passed all the lodges except Frank- lin were disbanded. The outlook was not encouraging, but the founders never lost faith in the principles, and on May 1, 1866, members of Franklin Lodge and some of the disbanded lodges met and organized a grand lodge.
During the next two years the order spread to Pennsylvania, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware and New Jersey, and on May 15, 1868, delegates from those states organized the Supreme Lodge. Since then the Knights of Pythias have had a steady growth, being now represented in every state of the Union and in Canada. In 1915 the order ranked fourth largest of the fraternal societies, numbering almost 1,000,000 members. Over $1,500,000 were expended by the order in that year for relief and charity.
The Uniform Rank was established in 1878. The manual of drill used by this degree is that of the United States Army and in 1898 a number of officers in the volunteer service in the Spanish-American war were drawn from the Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias. Another feature of the order is the "Dra- matic Order, Knights of Khorassan," and there is also a ladies' degree, the members of which are called "Pythian Sisters."
The first Knights of Pythias lodge in Idaho was organized at Silver City some time in the latter '70s. In 1878 William F. Kettenbach, a charter member
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of Star Lodge, No. 27, of Indianapolis, Indiana, came to Lewiston. Finding a few Knights of Pythias in that locality he interested them in a proposition to organize a lodge, and the result was Excelsior Lodge, No. 2. A little later Ivanhoe Lodge, No. 3, was instituted at Boise. Weiser, Caldwell, Rathdrum, Kendrick, Pocatello and Wallace were next in order to organize lodges of the Knights, and from 1890 to the present the growth of this order in Idaho has been steadily onward until it compares favorably with some of those that entered the field at an earlier date.
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC
The Grand Army of the Republic is an organization of soldiers, sailors and marines who fought on the side of the Union in the War of the Rebellion-1861- 65. It was founded by Dr. B. F. Stephenson and Rev. W. J. Rutledge, surgeon and chaplain respectively of the Fourteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. As early as the spring of 1864 these two officers discussed the advisability of organizing some kind of an association of veterans to perpetuate the fraternal spirit and good fellowship that grew up among the soldiers while in camp, on the march or on the firing line during the war. After the war they formulated their plans, issued a call for a meeting of veterans at Decatur, Illinois, on April 6, 1866, and at that meeting the Grand Army was born.
Each state constitutes a department and local societies are called posts. The first post was organized at Decatur, Illinois, on the date of the meeting above mentioned. Those who attended that meeting returned to their homes, where they interested others, and the first national encampment was held at Indianapolis, Indiana, in November, 1866. The objects of the organization are: To collect and preserve historic relics and documents pertaining to the war; to aid and assist disabled Union veterans, their widows and orphans; to observe Memorial Day by suitable exercises and the decoration of the graves of fallen comrades with flags and flowers ; to keep alive through reunions the cherished recollections of the camp and campaign, and to teach to the rising generation lessons of patriotism.
The Grand Army reached its greatest strength in 1890, when. it numbered 409,487 members. Each year since then the number of those who answer the "last roll call" has increased until in 1915 the death rate was about 1,000 per month. The order is largely responsible for the recognition of Memorial Day (May 30th) as a legal holiday by nearly all the loyal states, and it has been influential in establishing soldiers' homes and asylums for the care of soldiers' orphans.
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