USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Rockford > Golden anniversary exercises, historical record and manual of the Second Congregational church, Rockford, Illinois. November 7, 1849. November 7, 1899 > Part 6
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The new society purchased from J. W. Taylor, asignee of Kent and Brinkerhoff, the lot and little frame building formerly used by the First Church.
At the annual meeting in November, 1850, Rial K. Town was re- elected deacon, and J. Blount, Clerk and Treasurer. In 1851 the little frame building was overhauled and enlarged to nearly double its original size. During this year Rev. L. Porter, J. H. Rodgers and T. D. Robert- son were appointed a committee to revise the Articles of Faith, Covenant and By-laws. No action seems to have been taken, however, as no further mention of the matter appears in the records until March 22, 1854, when Rev. J. Emerson, David Lewis, T. D. Robertson, J. B Blount and Ralph Emerson were appointed a committee " to unite with a committee from Hist. Rec. 8.
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HISTORICAL RECORD AND MANUAL
the First Church (should one be appointed) to revise articles of Faith, Covenant and By-laws."
On December 24 of this year John S. Coleman and S. G. Tyler were added to the committee on revision. This committee reported one year later, March 2, 1855, and the report was ordered printed and distributed for examination before final action, March 13, 1855. The articles were taken up one by one, carefully revised and adopted.
At the annual meeting of 1852, J. H. Rodgers was elected deacon and John S. Coleman clerk and treasurer.
On the evening of January 3, 1851, Rev. L. Porter read to the church a letter which he had received from Victor, N. Y., asking if he would en- tertain a call to that city. The church by unanimous vote expressed the desire that he should decline the call. Just what his reply to the church at Victor was we do not know, but he evidently declined the call, as he re- mained. pastor of this church until January, 1853.
At the annual meeting in November, 1852, Rial K. Town was re- elected deacon and T. D. Robertson was elected clerk and treasurer.
In January, 1853, Rev. L. Porter closed his pastorate, the accessions during this time being nineteen on confession of faith and seventy-four by letter, a total of ninety-three, exclusive of the forty-one original charter members.
At the annual meeting in November, 1853, J. H. Rodgers was elected deacon and Ralph Emerson clerk and treasurer.
From the time of Mr. Porter's resignation until early in 1854 the the church was without a pastor. December 16, 1853, after a day of fasting and prayer for Divine guidance a unanimous call was extended to Rev. Joseph Emerson, which was accepted, and he began work in his new field early in 1854, though the church records do not mention the exact time.
May 21, 1854, a Council was convened for the purpose of ordination, the following churches being represented : Elida, Byron, Grand de Tour, Rockton, Beloit, Plymouth of Chicago, Edwards of Chicago, First Presby- terian and First Congregational of Rockford. The following were invited to sit as members of the Council :
Rev. Joseph Emerson, Beloit College.
Rev. L. Porter, Rockford, Illinois.
Rev. E. D. Willis, Rockford, Illinois.
Rev. Benj. R. Stone, Concord, New Hampshire.
1
59
SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Rev. N. Boughton, Concord, New Hampshire.
Rev. C. A. Leach, Detroit, Michigan.
Rev. H. Lyman. Wisconsin
The Council passed favorably upon the call, and at 10 o'clock A. M. of the next day Mr. Emerson was duly installed.
At the annual meeting in 1854 Rial K. Town was re-elected deacon and Ralph Emerson re-elected clerk and treasurer.
I have been unable to find any "Society" records back of 1855, hence have no record as to who were trustees in the earlier years of the church. The first record I find being of the election of G. A. Sanford on January 1, 1855.
There seems to be no record as to when the system of renting pews was adopted, but it must have been very early in the history of the church, for in the minutes of the annual meeting January 1, 1855, appears this record, " G. A. Sanford was by vote requested to act as auctioneer in the renting of the pews."
The first Manual of the church was issued in 1855, and shows a total enrollment of 178, with a present membership of 141.
At the annual meeting November 30, 1855, W. A. Dickerman was elected deacon, and began the career in official relations to this church, marked by such faithfulness, devotion and sweetness of spirit as have sel- dom been met with anywhere. I think it no discourtesy to any officer of this church, living or dead, to say that Deacon Dickerman held first place in all our hearts. So timely in council, so gentle when he thought it his duty to chide, so helpful in all the relations of church life we think of him as everybody's friend and the ideal deacon.
At this meeting Ralph Emerson was again re-elected clerk and treasurer.
At a called meeting of the Society July 19, 1855, Joseph Blount offered the following which was adopted :
" Resolved, That it is expedient for us to take action towards building a church building."
After full discussion this was unanimously adopted, and T. D. Robert- son, Dexter G. Clark, John Edwards, G. A. Sanford and John S. Coleman were appointed said committee.
On August 16, 1855, an adjourned meeting of the Society was held to decide on the location of the new church. A small but resolute minor- ity, with keener foresight than their fellows, saw that in the future the best
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HISTORICAL RECORD AND MANUAL
residence portion of Rockford would be north of State street, and contended earnestly for the location of the new church with reference to that fact. But to the majority the idea that the thickets and swamp of the north would ever be the choice residence portion of the city seemed preposter- ous, and by a vote of eleven to two it was decided to accept Mr. Rood's offer of $3,000.00 for the lot at the corner of South Church and Chestnut streets, and the trustees were instructed to purchase the lot.
To my mind we owe a lasting debt of gratitude to the majority, for had they allowed themselves to be convinced by that persistent and long headed minority. we should not now, in all human probability, be in posses- sion of this magnificent house of worship.
At the annual meeting of the Society January 1. 1856, T. D. Robert- son was elected trustee. and the following were appointed " as a building committee to build a church and to circulate a subscription to raise funds for the same." G. A. Sanford, Dexter G. Clark, John Edwards, T. D. Robertson and Ralph Emerson. Later Mr. J. G. Manlove was, by vote, added to the committee.
The story of the building of the " stone church," the financial struggle through which the Society passed in its construction, the heroic self-sacri- fice and devotion which, against obstacles almost insurmountable, pushed the work through to completion, have been ably told in the paper on " Church Buildings."
About this time missionary operations were begun at Pecatonica and true to the Divine injunction, " we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak," we find that on April 16, 1856, with all the load of building upon their hands, this church voted two hundred dollars to assist the work at Pecatonica. At the annual church meeting in 1858 the num- ber of deacons was increased to three, and W. A. Dickerman was chosen for three years and Rial K. Town for three years. From this time on until the time of his death Mr. Dickerman served continuously as deacon.
August 3, 1859, Rev. Joseph Emerson tendered his resignation and asked to have a Council called. The Council was called as requested, and met on the 23rd of August, and after due deliberation declared the pastoral relations of Mr. Emerson with this church dissolved. During Mr. ' Emerson's pastorate twenty-nine were received into the church on confes- sion and one hundred and thirty-five by letter.
No mention whatever is made in the records of the church or society of the completion or dedication of the new church. The only reference
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SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
to it in the records of the society is this at the annual meeting in 1858 : " Moved that we proceed to the renting of the seats for the ensuing year or until we leave this present church (if we shall during the year)." The minutes of the next annual meeting of the society begin : " Annual meeting held at the new church." I presume there were dedi- catory services, and that they were impressive and interesting, but when they occurred, who conducted them, or what their precise nature was, is a profound secret so far as the minutes of either church or society are con- cerned,
The new church was not blessed with any social rooms, and the social meetings of the church were held in the rooms of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association. An action of the society instructed the trustees to rent the rooms of the Young Men's Christian Association for the winter of 1859 and '60 at $25.00. Later they moved into " Congregational Hall " in the Masonic Block, which they occupied until the removal to this church.
December 7, 1859, a call was extended to Rev. J. E. Walton. The call was accepted and he began work February 15, 186C, remaining until December, 1863.
During the pastorate of Mr. Walton, in 1863 the pipe organ was built and the bell placed in the tower. This was the same bell which now sends out its sweet tones to call us to worship, it, with the old bible, being brought with us from the old church.
During Mr. Walton's pastorate twenty-seven were received into the church on confession of faith and forty-five by letter.
In 1856 there came to us from Connecticut a man of such faith and devotion that the church soon recognized his sterling worth, and only three years later elected him deacon, and have re-elected him ever since as often as his term of office has expired. I refer to our present Senior Deacon, Benjamin Blakeman. But time would fail me to follow the record of elec- tions from year to year. Deacons Dickerman and Blakeman served side by side from 1859 until Deacon Dickerman was called home July 19, 1899. In 1863 Silas G. Tyler was elected deacon and served until his resignation in 1873. Mr. L. D. Upson was his successor who served until January 1, 1879, when Mr. J. B. Agard was elected. January 30, 1884, Mr. A. E. Cutler was elected to succeed Mr. J. B. Agard, who had been removed by death. In 1886, on motion of Mr. W. A. Dickerman, three additional deacons were chosen, as follows : Mr. J. F. Agard for one year, Mr. P. R. Wood for two years, and Mr. S. J. Caswell for three years. On February 10th,
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HISTORICAL RECORD AND MANUAL
following his election, Mr. J. F. Agard resigned and Mr. H. N. Baker was elected to succeed him. In 1892 the number of deacons was increased to eight, and Mr. M. S. Parmele and Prof. P. R. Walker were elected. In January, 1897, Mr. R. J. Hazlett was elected to succeed Mr. M. S. Parm- ele, resigned, and January 1, 1899, Mr. F. W. Waterman was elected to succeed Mr. H. N. Baker, resigned. We find the following record of offi- cial service :
AS DEACON.
Rial K. Town 12 years
Alonzo Gorham 2
J. H. Rodgers 4
W. A. Dickerman 43
Benjamin Blakeman 40
Silas G. Tyler 11
L. D. Upson
6
J. B. Agard 5
66
A. E. Cutler
16
66
P. R. Wood
14 66
S. J. Caswell
14
H. N. Baker
13
M. S. Parmele 5
P. R. Walker
8
R. J. Hazlett 3
66
F. W. Waterman 1
AS CLERK AND TREASURER COMBINED.
T. D. Robertson 3 years.
J. Blount
1
John S. Coleman 1
Ralph Emerson 3
Evans Blake
2
E. P. Hodges 8 months.
Spencer Rising 16
AS CLERK WITHOUT BEING TREASURER.
W. A. Knowlton 3 years.
Spencer Rising 2
J. E. Humphrey 3
-
-
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SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Rev. Albert Paine 10 months.
W. A. Dickerman 2
C. L. Robinson 12
years.
R. C. Rowland
6
Walter B. Taylor
11
AS TREASURER WITHOUT BEING CLERK.
T. D. Robertson
33 years.
Spencer Rising 5 months.
W. A. Talcott 7
Allen R. Rea
2
years.
John Barnes
2
AS TRUSTEES OF THE SOCIETY.
G. A. Sanford 30 years.
T. D. Robertson 4
W. A. Dickerman 3
J. G. Manlove
5
..
Dexter G. Clark
1
H. N. Spalding
1
Benj. Blakeman 4
U. M. Warner 2
66
H. W. Taylor
1
Ralph Emerson 9
J. B. Agard 3
Evans Blake 6
John P. Manny 19
E. L. Woodruff 13
John Barnes 9
J. H. King
6
Geo. M. Blake
1
J. F. Agard
2
William Dobson 12
..
Lyon P. Ross
4
Henry Knowles
2
A. D. Early
5
M. B. St. John 3
Frank C. King
1
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HISTORICAL RECORD AND MANUAL
H. N. Starr 3 years.
J. B. Whitehead 8
A. H. Frost 3
66
W. C. Taft 6
.
Henry Marsh 2
W. W. Bennett
2
W. A. Stapleton 2
E. M. St. John
1
A. W. Banks
1
On August 10th, 1864, Rev. M. P. Kinney, of Janesville, was called to the pastorate and was installed by Council on the 29th of November. He served the church faithfully and well until June 25th, 1870, when he resigned. He was dismissed by Council September 14th. 1870. The last year of Mr. Kinney's pastorate is spoken of by Mr. Ralph Emerson as "the golden year." On May 1st of that year there were received into the church. as the result of special, union effort, fifty-one by confession of faith besides six by letter.
During Mr. Kinney's pastorate occurred one of those little acts of courtesy and thoughtfulness indicative of the spirit this church has always manifested. A Congregational church was to be organized at St. Joseph, Mo., and a request was received by this church to send pastor and delegate to take part in a Council, December 4th, 1867. The church voted to send the pastor and Deacon S. G. Tyler, as delegates, the expense to be paid by the church, and as this church had recently purchased a new communion set, it was voted to send the old communion set, as a token of regard, to the new church.
December 6th, 1870, Rev. Frank P. Woodbury accepted a call and soon after began the pastorate, the memory of which is so blessed to those who were privileged to enjoy it. Early in Dr. Woodbury's pastorate (1871) the church was thoroughly overhauled and remodeled, a recess for the organ built in the rear of the pulpit, and in all about twelve thousand dollars spent.
In 1885 Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Talcott, who have done so much for the social and intellectual uplift of Rockford, together with their sons, in mem- ory of their deceased daughter and sister Fanny, built and presented to the church the " Memorial Room" for the use of the infant class and which was also used for many years by the Christian Endeavor Society. They
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SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
also presented the room in our present church, used by the Primary De- partment. Among those who have contributed most to the success of this church, Mr. and Mrs. Talcott stand in the front rank.
For more than 17 years Dr. Woodbury and his noble wife reigned as king and queen in the hearts of the membership of the Second Congrega- tional Church. April 1st, 1888, Dr. Woodbury resigned to accept the pas- torate of the Park Avenue Congregational Church in Minneapolis.
During Dr. Woodbury's pastorate there were at least two occurrences of historical interest. Deacon Cutler, in his able paper on the Sunday School, has told you that " Children's Day," now so generally observed by churches throughout the world, had its origin with us. It may not be generally known, but the words of that inspiring Christian song, " Hold the Fort," were composed by P. P. Bliss, upon the rostrum of the old stone church, inspired by Major Whittle's graphic description of the well known incident in the civil war in which General Sherman signalled, "Hold the Fort."
On June 20th, 1888, a call was extended to Dr. Walter Manning Barrows, then Secretary of the American Home Missionary Society in New York. July 19th, the call was accepted, but owing to the unwilling- ness of the Society to release him sooner, he did not begin his work here until October 1st, 1888, moving into the parsonage which had been pur- chased the previous summer for $9,000.00. The following extract from Dr. Barrows' letter of acceptance very fitly represents the modesty and earnestness of the man.
"I now formally accept the call that you, with such unanimity, have extended to me. I esteem it an honor and a privilege to be the successor of such a man as Mr. Woodbury and in such a church as yours, and yet it is with great diffidence that I think of following a leader so efficient and so beloved in a church so important. But putting my trust in God and rely- ing upon the hearty co-operation of you, his loyal people, I promise to come and labor to the best of my ability. Let us pray earnestly that the Divine blessing may rest richly upon our united efforts to extend and build up the Kingdom of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ."
The Fortieth Anniversary of the church occurred on November 7th, 1889, and upon that occasion Mr. Barrows preached a sermon which is fairly entitled to be called " historic," for I believe it is a legitimate claim that this beautiful temple is the logical outgrowth of that sermon. The - next week at the prayer meeting the matter of a larger and more centrally Hist. Rec. 9.
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HISTORICAL RECORD AND MANUAL
located place of worship was taken up and a resolution passed by the church to take immediate action, looking to the erection of a church building.
At the Society meeting, the following week, a subscription list was started with the understanding that not less than $80,000.00 should be raised. The trustees were instructed to get options on several different locations, and the project of building a new church was fairly launched. Mr. Ralph Emerson, with magnificent generosity, headed the subscription list with $10,000.00, others lined up beside him, and the work went grandly forward.
I cannot tell the story ; it would need a more eloquent tongue than mine. The lots where the building now stands were purchased, houses re- moved, and under the magnificent leadership of Mr. John Barnes, chair- man of the Building Committee, backed up by the other members of the committee, by April 28, 1891, the building was ready for the laying of the corner stone, which was done with imposing. ceremonies. The following documents were deposited in the corner stone, which was laid by Mr. Ralph Emerson.
Records of the Church, Walter B. Taylor.
Records of the Church Society, Wm. Dobson.
Records of the Sunday School, Marcus S. Parmele.
Records of the Y. P. S. C. E., Joel B. Whitehead.
Records of the Aid Society and Social Union, Mrs. P. R. Wood.
Records of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, Mrs. H. W. Taylor.
Records of the Woman's Home Missionary Union, Mrs. Ralph Emerson.
Records of the Sunshine Mission Band, Mrs. W. A. Talcott.
Records of the Bohemian Band, Mrs. Henry E. Marsh.
Records of the Young People's Association Allan R. Rea.
List of Contributors to the new church, John Barnes.
Records of Rockford Seminary, G. A. Sanford. Records of our Public Schools, A. D. Early.
Records of the Rockford Hospital, Horatio Stone.
Records of the Rockford Churches, Rev. W. A. Phillips.
Records of the City of Rockford, Henry N. Starr.
The Rockford Press, Edgar E. Bartlett.
On May 8, 1892, the church was ready for dedication, and the event was easily the most noted of its kind in the history of Rockford. Dr. W.
F
BURNING OF THE SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, FEBRUARY 20, 1894.
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SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
W. Leete, of the First Church, Rockford, preached the dedicatory sermon to an audience which crowded the building to its fullest capacity.
On Tuesday, February 20, 1894, our beautiful house of worship was destroyed by fire and the church and society plunged into the deepest gloom. As we gathered together and realized that our holy and beautiful house was destroyed, it seemed at first as if all hope was gone. But the magnificent courage of our pastor never failed. He sounded the bugle call, the mem- bership rallied grandly around him, and on December 2d of the same year the church was ready for re-dedication. On this occasion invitations were sent to the pastors of all the churches of the city, and we saw the unusual spectacle of Catholic Priest and Protestant Pastor sitting side by side and speaking from the same platform, while to make the illustration of Chris- tian charity and catholicity complete, the Salvation Army had also its rep- resentative there. This scene, which those who witnessed it will not soon forget, is strikingly illustrative of the great heart of Dr. Barrows.
The story of the building and re-building of this church under the supervision respectively of Mr. John Barnes and Mr. William Dobson, if told in all its detail of light and shadow, would of itself, make a most inter- esting volume. I believe it would be exceedingly difficult to find its equal anywhere in the annals of church building. Fortunate indeed is the church which has in its service two such men.
The first Sabbath in April, 1898. Dr. Barrows read his resignation to a sorrowing people, but he felt that it was best for him to accept the call to Greenwich. Conn., and reluctantly the church accepted his resignation. No purer, truer man ever labored in any field, and his influence for good in this city was unbounded. Senator Price once said, " We pay a preacher not only for preaching on Sunday but for his influence during the week," and the influence of Dr. Barrows' pure manly life in the community and the sweet, gentle influence of his beautiful wife and children can hardly be over-estimated.
February 20th last, Rev. Wesley C. Haskell was welcomed to our midst and began his labors.
We look back over the last half century and our hearts thrill as we think of the noble men and women who have toiled and sacrificed in behalf of this church. Besides the faithful pastors and their wives we owe much to faithful ministers of the gospel who after labor in other fields have come to abide for a time with us and give us of their wisdom and counsel and service. Those who are familiar with the past history of this church will
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HISTORICAL RECORD AND MANUAL
bear witness to the valuable (at times invaluable) service of such workers as Rev. Mr. Foltz, and his estimable wife and daughter who are still among us; Rev. Kimball and family, Rev. Chester Fitch and wife, Rev. Albert Paine and grand old " Father Emerson." How they enriched the prayer meetings, ministered at the bedside of the sick, were ready to officiate at funerals, or if need be to supply the pulpit. How much we owe to the lives and influence of these men.
Twenty-seven years ago Mrs. Chandler Starr began to preside at the organ for us. In storm and sunshine, through heat and cold, her devotion to the musical interests of the church has never flagged, and the exalted position which our church holds to-day in the realm of sacred music is largely due to her energy and efficiency. What do we not owe her for all these years of faithful service !
It is often said that the missionary spirit is a good index of the life of a church. Judged by that standard this church has been very much alive. I have not been able to gather the figures for the whole fifty years. I see in the records of the thirtieth anniversary that it was estimated that up to that time the church had contributed about $32,000 to the mission work, an average of over one thousand dollars a year, including all the " child- hood years " of the church. The official figures taken from the Congrega- tional Year Book show the benevolent contributions (including what has been contributed since the last year book was made up) for the last ten years to be $93,044.32 (to say nothing of $232,000.00 in legacies to benevolent purposes by members of this church and congregation), and it is indicative of the care with which this grace of giving has been cultiva- ted, that the year the church raised so much money for building purposes they reached the high water mark on benevolent contributions, the record for that year (1892) being $12,371.00. It will be a sad day for this church when this spirit of giving to missions is allowed to wane. The members of this church have always been foremost in their readiness to reach a help- ing hand to all good work. The records of the City Hospital show that this church, as an organization, has contributed over $7,000.00 to that work, while those who are acquainted with the facts in the case know that to the earnest, thoughtful labors of one of the workers in this church, the incep- tion and success of that institution is largely due. We all remember how promptly and cheerfully a hand of help was stretched out to Calvary Chapel, and the Salvation Army has had no better friend in the city. In the mag- nificent paper on " Woman's Work in the Church," we heard somewhat
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SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
of the Home and Foreign Mission work of this church, and the missiona- ries and teachers supported in whole or in part by this church. Besides the mission collections to which I have referred, there is something over $700.00 in pledges towards the " Forward Movement " collection taken some weeks ago.
The amount contributed and used for expenses of carrying on the local work have been large. Had the records of all the earlier years been com- plete, it would have been interesting indeed to have given a complete sum- mary of the expenditures of the church and society, but that is not possi- ble. I find, however, that the society has expended for real estate, build- ings and furnishings over two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. During the last decade all accounts have been carefully kept, and the figures for that period are at hand. They show a total expenditure by the society for current expenses of $83,732.37. Some of the principal items of this expenditure are :
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