Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County, Part 145

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Short, William F., 1829- 4n
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

USA > Illinois > Morgan County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County > Part 145

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Protestant Episcopal Church,-"Trinity Church" was the first parish belonging to the Protest- ant Episcopal Church in the State of Illinois. It was organized on the 11th of August, 1832. Jeremiah Barker and Bazaleel Gillett were the wardens, and Joseph Coddington, Ebenezer T. Miller, Samuel T. Prosser, Dennis Rockwell, Ignatius R. Simms, Richard W. Dummer, Aylet H. Buckner and Austin Brockenbrough were the vestry. In the summer of 1833, Rev. John Batchelder, of Providence, R. I., was called, and took charge of the church. In the autumn of that year the wardens and vestry of the parish determined to take immediate measures for the erection of a house of public worship. The church was built on a lot donated by Dennis Rockwell, which Is the site still occupied for that purpose. In the spring of 1834 the building was commenced. Ebenezer T. Miller being the architect. On the 7th (or 9th) of June the cor- ner-stone was laid with suitable religious exer- cises by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Smith, of Ken- tucky, he being then on a visit to Illinois. The church was a one-story brick building, with basement, and tronted on West Morgan Street. January 9, 1836, the church being completed, was consecrated to the worship and service of

726

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

Almighty God by the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, Missonary Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church for the States of Indiana and Missouri, and having in charge the diocese of Illinois, in the absence of its Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Philander Chase, D. D. In 1867 tne church edifice was re- modeled and greatly improved, at a cost of some $16,000, by the addition of a recess chancel at the south end, stained glass windows and the heightening of the roof and ceiling. In 1875 the church premises were surrounded by a neat and substantial iron fence, and in 1876 the inside of the church was greatly improved, and an excel- lent organ, of twenty-six stops, was placed in it. A valuable improvement was recently made in the addition of Trinity Hall for chapel, social and other purposes, on the east side of the church. From the beginning the membership of the church included many of the best citizens of Jacksonville, and its rectors ranked among the ablest ministers of its churches.

Central Christian Church .- "The Church of Christ," commonly called “The Christian Church," had a number of distinguished fore- runners through whose early and active efforts that church was established in Morgan County, and the memory of whose names yet lingers among the few who knew them. Among those was the Rev. John Eads, a man of great moral worth; Rev. John Green, respected and loved by all; Rev. Matthew Elder, who lived a long and useful life; Rev. Harrison W. Osborn, with man- ner so meek and voice so gentle and loving, who, for nearly three-quarters of a century, broke to thousands in this and other states the bread of eternal life; Rev. Barton W. Stone, the founder and leader of the people known as New Lights; Rev. Josephus Hewett; Rev. D. Pat Henderson; and a number of others, ministerial and lay, who wrought well in planting the church in Morgan and adjacent counties. Those pioneer preachers were noted for their upright lives and ministerial ability.

The church was organized in the court house that stood on the southwest corner in the public square (Central Park) of Jacksonville, October 31, 1831, with seventeen members. In the same year Rev. Barton W. Stone, assisted by Rev. Josephus Hewett, was instrumental in effecting a union of the church and a similar religious or- ganization, known as Stoneites, that had been formed previously; the united organizations adopting the name "The Church of Christ." The

membership at that time numbered eighty-six. This church has since been known and accred- ited far and near as the Mother Church of that denomination. It was the first church of that body of Christians organized in Illinois and the great Northwest. Soon after its formation Rev. William Trimble was called as first pastor. Be- sides those already named, the list of those who have served at different periods as pastors of this church includes the names of Elders Jere- miah P. Lancaster, Horatio P. Gatchell, Jona- than Atkinson (two terms, during his second pastorate becoming the first President of Berean College), A. J. Kane, Benson Pyatt, Walter Scott Russell (brother of the late Sol. Smith Russell and the second President of Berean College), Dr. J. W. Cox, Enos Campbell, John W. Allen, Mr. Welch, J. Madison Williams, A. N. Gilbert, Samuel B. Moore and George L. Snively, lead- ing up to the present pastor, Elder Russell F. Thrapp.

At first, not having any church building, the society held their services in the second story of a frame building on West Court Street, formerly used as a wool-carding factory. In 1836 a church building was erected on the northeast corner of North Main and North Streets. In 1850 a larger brick church, with baptistry and other conven- iences, was erected on the same site. Under the pastorate of Rev. Enos Campbell, cousin of Dr. Alexander Campbell, in 1868, they built a still more commodious church on East State Street. The dedicatory services, by Rev. Enos Campbell, pastor, were held July 4, 1869. Their former church on North Main Street is owned by the Turn Verein Hall Society. During the pastorate of Rev. A. N. Gilbert an addition to that build- ing was made at an expense of $9,000, in 1886. They are now (1905) engaged in the erection of a new church building on the southeast corner of College Avenue and Church Street, at a cost, when finished and furnished, of $50.000. It will probably be the finest church building in Jack- sonville. The corner-stone of the new edifice was laid under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Illinois in the presence of a large concourse of citizens The exercises consisted of a large parade from the old church on East State Street to the site of the new church, composed of municipal, fraternal and religious bodies and citizens, preceded by the Jeffries Concert Band.

The pastor, Rev. Russell F. ,

1866

B. Alvierson

1995

727

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

Thrapp, delivered the introductory address. Prayer was offered by Rev. W. W. Wharton. Rev. W. F. Short, D. D., delivered an address as the representative of the Jacksonville Ministerial Association. Rev. S. B. Moore, D. D., of St. Louis, Mo., a former pastor, delivered an ad- dress in behalf of the church; Grand Master W. B. Wright laid the corner-stone, and Rev. C. A. Burton, Grand Orator, delivered the address in behalf of the Masonic Order. The occasion was one of the most impressive and memorable events that have occurred in the church his- tory of Jacksonville. The Central Christian Church has the largest membership of any sin- gle Protestant church in the county.

Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church .- The Sa- lem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Synodical Conference, was organized September 12, 1858, by Rev. Theodore Kraus, visiting minister. The organization was effected in the Christian church, then situated on North Main Street, with eight members, among whom were John Knollenberg. Fred Walker, Edward Beyer, Henry Peckloeffel and Joseph C. Kackman. They met for divine worship in various places until 1863, when they completed their church build- ing, which they continued to use until 1877, when they purchased their present church. The first pastor was Rev. F. C. M. Heinle. The num- ber of communicants (1905) is 186; all souls, 258. Some of the public services are conducted in the English language.

Christian Science .- A Christian Science Soci- ety was organized in June, 1899. The First Church of Christ, Scientist, was organized De- cember 11, 1902. Its membership is about thirty. Regular services are held on Sunday and Wednesday evening, at 221 West Morgan Street, in charge of First and Second Readers. The readings are from the Bible and "Science and Health." The topic for the Sunday service is usually announced previously. Freedom is given for the expression of personal views and experience.

CATHOLIC CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOUR.

The memory of the French Catholic mission- aries of the seventeenth and eighteenth centu- ries has lent a halo of romance and heroism to the early history of the Mississippi Valley and its adjacent country. Every spot where their footsteps lingered during their journeys is, to the student of history, no less than to the

devout Catholic, a place replete with interest and hallowed by the memory of all that is noblest and highest in man. If traditions may be relied upon, there is within the limits of Morgan County a spot nallowed by the memory of the presence there at one time of one of these glorious pioneers of the faith. At the western edge of the county, where the Illinois River broadens into a lake-like stretch of water, is a small plateau bordering upon the eastern side of the river. Here, long years ago, stood an Indian village which was visited from time to time by one of the red men's beloved "black robes," Pere Antoine d'Osia, and to this day, the lake and a village which lies just south of the plateau, bears the priest's name in the form of Meredosia-a corruption of the French words Mere d'Osia. In addition to the interest which this tradition holds for the student of history. it is full of meaning to the Catholic as indicat- ing that the first Christian worship within the beunds of our county was the holy sacrifice of the mass. Long years passed after the days of Pere Antoine before the mass was again to sanc- tify the region in which he labored, but at length the time came when apostolic men of a different race and language were to preach the true faith once more in that same region.

The town of Jacksonville was laid out in 1825. The early settlers were some of Southern birth and some of New England extraction, but the founding of Illinois College in 1829 by men from Yale College brought a large increase to the New England element in the town, and resulted in giving to the growing community a decidedly Puritan cast-socially, intellectually and reli- giously. To a town, therefore, typically New England in spirit, came the first Catholic set- tiers in Jacksonville; and what that means one can alone realize who understands the deep- seated prejudice against, and the grotesque mis- conception of, Catholicity, common to most men and women of Puritan descent. To a commu- nity, then, which feared and hated their faith came the first few Catholics. They were sturdy folk, poor in material things, but rich in faith. Quietly, humbly they went to work to earn their llving and to save their faith for themselves and their children. The beginning was small; the result has been what It has been all over our broad land, where the growth of the Cath- olic Church in the past fifty years has been a thing to strike wonder to our hearts, were we

728

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

not so used to its contemplation. The growth of the Church of Our Saviour from its humble beginning to its present magnitude, is but the type of what has been going on from the At- lantic to the Pacific. Less than fifty years ago the first mass in Jacksonville was said in a private house for a congregation numbering at the most only five or six families; to-day a noble group of buildings, valued at $200,000, is the property of the Church of Our Savior, while the parishioners number over 3,000 souls.

So far as can be learned, the first mass in Jacksonville was said by the Rev. Father Gif- ford, a priest at that time stationed in Spring- field, in 1851. A committee was at once ap- pointed to collect funds for the building of a church edifice. The Hon. Murray McConnel gave the little congregation of the faithful a piece of ground on North Sandy Street, near the Wabash Railroad tracks, and soon thereafter a small brick building was erected thereon and the modest beginning of the Church of Our Savior was made. The first resident pastor of the mission was the Rev. P. T. McElhern, but before his coming the Rev. Father Quigly, of Springfield, visited the church at intervals; and the old members of the congregation tell an in- teresting story of how that devoted priest man- aged to say a Christmas mass for the little flock by hiring a handcar and making in that un- comfortable manner the journey from Spring- field (thirty miles away) on Christmas morning, after having said two early masses in that town -an act which non-Catholics will not appre- ciate, unless it is explained to them that a priest cannot say mass unless he has fasted since the midnight preceding. Father McElhern was suc- ceeded in turn by Fathers Brennen, Mangan, O'Halloren and Clifford. In 1866 the Rev. Father Costa, O. C., succeeded Father Clifford. The congregation had been growing steadily in num- bers and prosperity during its fifty years of ex- istence, more than keeping pace with the growth of the town, and adding to its natural increase by occasional converts from Protestantism. Father Costa, immediately upon assuming charge of the parish, put in operation plans for the building of a new church in a more desirable part of the town than that in which the old church was located. In 1868 his labors were crowned with success and the present spacious edifice on East State Street was completed and was shortly afterwards blessed by the famous

Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati. Father Costa at once set about the building of a rectory, erecting the substantial brick residence on Court Street, now used by the Dominican Sis- ters as a convent. Father Costa also began about this time to build a parochial school build- ing and, before he left Jacksonville for other scenes of priestly work, had the present school building on Court Street well under way. The building was completed by Father Costa's suc- cessor, the Rev. Father Mackin. At first lay teachers were employed in the school, but in 1872 Father Mackin secured a band of Domini- can Sisters from St. Catherine's Convent, Springfield, Ky., and the school since that time has been in charge of sisters of the Dominican order-an order which, it will be remembered, has a wonderful history behind it of nearly seven hundred years of labor and prayer in the cause of holy church. At the present time eight sisters teach 350 children in Our Savior's parochial school. After Father Mackin came Father John O'Halloren, and after him Father Hickey. During Father Hickey's pastorate, Lib- erty Hall-a large, well lighted auditorium, sup- plied with stage, drop curtain and scenery-was built upon land adjoining the parochial school, being a gift to the parish from the late Chas. R. Routt. After Father Hickey's transfer to Springfield came the Rev. Father Brady as the first rector of the parish, Our Savior's Church having been named one of the irremovable rec- torships of the diocese, and shortly after the death of Father Brady came (in 1892) the pres- ent rector, the Very Rev. John W. Crowe.

The history of the church in Jacksonville dur- ing the past ten years, under the rectorship of Father Crowe, is a story of indefatigable labor on the rector's part and of a steady expansion on the part of the parish, under his direction, in all lines of Catholic work- spiritual, philan- thropic and intellectual. One of the first works undertaken by Dr. Crowe was the redecoration of the church interior. This work was com- pleted in the autumn of 1895, and makes Our Savior's church one of the most beautiful in- teriors in the State. The side walls in tones of cream color, ending near the ceiling in a broad frieze of dull gold filigree work, form a fine setting for the ten gorgeous memorial windows of stained glass illustrating such subjects as the Nativity, the Assumption, St. Cecelia, etc., each window being a gift from individuals or

729

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

from some one of the church societies. Above the golden frieze, upon the broad ceiling, are twelve brilliant panels in oil, illustrating events in the life of our Lord. The walls of the chan- cel are in deep, rich red, against which the white and gold of the high altar stands out with fine effect. The two side altars, of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, are also white and gold and help make the sanctuary end of the church the beautiful and striking place it is. In No- vember, 1896, just a year after the completion of the decoration of the church, Father Crowe was able to announce the opening of Our Sa- vior's Hospital, an institution devoted to the relief of physical suffering without regard to creed, race or color. The founding of a hospital was one of the works of charity fostered by the will of the late Charles L. Koutt.

Charles L. Routt was born in Kentucky in 1824 and came to Illinois ten years later with his father, who was one of the pioneers of Morgan County. Charles Routt's mother was a sister of the late Reuben Springer, Cincinnati's famous millionaire philanthropist, and about 1839 she sent her son to Cincinnati to be edu- cated. In 1840, while in the Ohio city, Mr. Routt became a Catholic, an incident which naturally interested his unele In the claims of Catholi- cism, and a few years later led to Mr. Springer's entrance into the church. his subsequent devo- tion to which, and many generous donations to his city and to the church, gaining for him a nationalreputation. A year or two after his con- version to the faith, Charles Routt returned to Jacksonville, where for over fifty years, he was conspicuous as an upright, public-spirited citizen and a devout Catholic. November 26, 1895, he passed to his reward, and by his will left out of his great wealth numerous bequests to some of the diocesan institutions. The high altar in the Church of Our Savior is a memorial to hin, pre- sented to the church by his brother and sister- in-law, Mr. and Mrs. William R. Routt; his sis- ter, Mrs. McMillan, and his nephews, the New- man brothers, of Chicago, none of whom at the time of making their donation were Catholics. But in 1896, Mr. William R. Routt and his wife were received into the church, their son, Mr. Harvey Routt, having become a Catholic in 1888. Mr. William Routt and his son have, by their continued and generous gifts to the church, carried out the tradition of Catholic phi- lanthropy left to them by Reuben Springer and Charles L. Routt.

The building occupied by Our Savior's Hos- pital is first west of the church, and was orig- inally the mansion of Richard Yates, the noted War Governor of Illinois. It was purchased from the Governor's heirs by the Dominican Sisters, and was for a time used by them as a convent and mother house, until their headquar- ters were removed to Springfield, when it was bought by Father Crowe for a parochial resi- dence. Early in 1896, the work of remodeling the fine old house for the necessities of a hos- pital was begun by Father Crowe, and, as stated above, it was opened as Our Savior's Hospital in November of that year. It is in charge of . the Sisters of the Holy Cross from Notre Dame, Ind .- an order which originated in France in 1834 and was introduced into the United States in 1843, where it already has nearly a thousand members engaged in teaching and in hospital work. Among the sisters engaged in their holy work of mercy in Jacksonville are some mem- bers of that famous band of nurses who went forth from Notre Dame during the Civil War and did such heroic work on the battlefield, under the direction of the late Mother Angela- the favorite cousin of the late James G. Blaine. and a woman whose saintly character, combined with rare executive ability, made her one of the most noted women of her day. The work of the Holy Cross Sisters at Our Savior's Hospital has been crowned with instant success, and within a year of its opening, it became necessary to build an addition to the hospital, which will nearly double its capacity. Mr. William R. Routt generously placed the necessary money for this addition in Father Crowe's hands.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1897-just a year after the opening of this hospital-Father Crowe had the pleasure, in the opening of the new club house of the Routt Club, of seeing another of his projects for the welfare of his people, crowned with success. The Routt Club was organized by Father Crowe. shortly after assuming the rec- torship of the parish, for the social and intel- lectual benefit of the Catholic men of Jackson- ville. At first the club had rooms in the old rectory ( now the hospital ), and afterwards, for a time, used Liberty Hall as its home. In the summer of 1897, Mr. William R. Rontt, recogniz- ing that the club was of inestimable value in conserving the social and more secular interests of the Cathonc men of the city, purchased and presented to the parish a fine old family man- sion on East State Street, just opposite the

730

HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY.

church, for the use of the club as its home. A house built on the generous scale of thirty years ago, with high ceilings, large, airy rooms and standing in the midst of a spacious lawn, shaded by spreading elms, it is an ideal club house. Father Crowe, immediately upon the receipt of Mr. Routt's fine gift, put in operation plans for its suitable furnishing, and on Thanksgiving Day was enabled to turn the house over to the club, fully equipped-many of our non-Catholic fellow-citizens having manifested their good will by presenting donations for the purpose. The interior of the house is attractive in the extreme, with handsomely furnished drawing room, smoking rooms, pool and billiard rooms and card rooms, and a beautiful sunshiny read- ing room and library, where already is the nu- cleus of a book collection which is destined to grow year by year until the club possesses a well selected and complete library of Catholic and general literature. The club has a large and enthusiastic membership, not alone of the young men of the parish, but as well of the mid- dle-aged and older men, and as it is open to re- spectable men of all creeds or of no creed, it numbers among its members many non-Catho- lics-this being a factor in the blessed work of breaking down the wall of religious prejudice. The club is officered as follows: President, John Buckley; First Vice-President, Michael Heffer- nan; Second Vice-President, Frank Corcoran; Treasurer, W. S. Ehnie; Financial Secretary, Michael White; Recording Secretary, J. J. Kelly. In keeping with his former generous donations, Mr. William R. Routt set aside the sum of $6,000 in the spring of 1901 for a new organ. This magnificent instrument, the work of the Hook- Hastings Company, of Boston, represents the perfection of the latest organ building art, and combines grandeur and power with the most exquisite delicacy.

The final touch to the decoration of the church was given by the substitution of elegant mahogany pews for those long in use. The ad- dition of new pews gives the church an audito- rium unsurpassed in grandeur and complete in every detail.

The fall of 1902 marked the completion of the parochial school system, by the addition of a Catholic high school. Thus far the corps of teachers in charge are the Rev. Francis Formaz, S. T. L., Latin, history, Bible study and ad- vanced courses in religion; Prof. B. H. Wort-

mann, classes in German and vocal music; Sis- ter M. Regina, higher mathematics and English. Such, in brief outlines, is the history of half a century of Catholic progress in our typical country town in the Middle West-a progress from a handful of sturdy emigrants striving to protect their faith in the midst of an unsympa- thetic and suspicious community, to a vigorous, united parish of nearly 3,500 souls, with a spa- cious, handsome church, a thoroughly equipped school, a magnificent hospital, a thoroughly well appointed club house and a large hall for public meeting. It has been a progress so healthy and natural in its development that its marvelous nature has been little realized by the onlooker. Of late years, at least, this growth has been aided by a constant stream of conver- sions from the surrounding Protestant sects- no less than 200 converts having been received into the church by the Rev. Father Crowe dur- ing the ten years since he became rector of the Church of Our Savior. Should the next halt century · witness a growth and development of equal proportions-and there seems little reason to doubt that such will be the case-the town of Jacksonville will have become, in its general tone, as Catholic as it was once Puritan, and an ever increasing number of our non-Catholic Christian fellow-citizens will turn, year by year, to the true church, realizing that there they have found at last

the world's great altar stairs That slope through darkness up to God."

(NOTE .- The preceding history was written by Mr. Charles A. L. Morse, and furnished by Very Rev. John W. Crowe, who requested its use in the exact form in which it was given. The ex- pressed churchly claims, and roseate prophecy are not shared by the editor. As the sketch in- cludes an account of all the various institutions of the church in Jacksonville, they are not treated under their respective heads elsewhere. -EDITOR. )

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Morgan County, Part 145

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Short, William F., 1829- 4n Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn; Short, William F., 1829- 4n
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286