History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 23

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 948

USA > Illinois > Union County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 23
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 23
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 23

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).

The Christian Church was organized in Cairo in May, 1865, the original members consisting of Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Fenton, Mr. and Mrs. S. R. Hay, J. C. Talbott, Mrs. Gilkey and daughter, Mrs. Sarah Clark, Mr. R. J. Cundiff, and others whose names can- not now be ascertained. In the organization, there were about twenty members. A little earnest band of devout Christians, planting the cross of their Master in His vineyard and consecrating a spot where they could gather in response to the "come let us worship." Of all those who constituted that little band who first assembled together here, but two are left namely, Mr. J. C. Talbott and Mrs. Sarah Clark. In 1866, the Cairo City Prop- erty Company donated the church four lots on Eighteenth street, between Washington and Walnut streets, and during the same year the church building now occupied was erected. It is a frame, 36x55, and cost $4,500. The pastors, in the order named, have' occupied the pulpit: Rev. L. Brown, of Ohio; John Friend, of Pennsylvania; R. B. Tremble, of Kentucky. For some years they have had no regular preaching and no Sunday school. There are meetings, how- ever, every Sunday of a social and spiritual character. The officers of the church are: Trustees, S. R. Hay, G. M. Alden, Charles

Armstrong, J. C. Talbott, Mr. Saul; Elders, J. R. Hay, William McClosky; Deacons, A. B. Fenton and J. C. Talbott.

St. Patrick's -- Catholic-is situated on the corner of Ninth street and Washington avenue; was built in 1855 by Rev. Father McCabe, who was its first pastor. The build- ing is a substantial frame on a rock base. ment, and cost $3,600, most of which was collected from the hands employed in the construction of the Central Railroad during the years 1853 and 1854. The basement, up to 1882, was used as a parochial school. The lots upon which the building stands were donated by Col. S. S. Taylor. In the latter part of 1857, Rev. Father McCabe was succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. Thomas Walsh, who, on Sunday, the 15th day of March, 1861, and while addressing his con- gregation on the heinousness of the sin of blasphemy, was suddenly attacked with par- alysis of the heart, and which in a few hours terminated in death. His remains lie buried beneath the altar from which he loved so well to offer up the holy sacrifice. May he rest in peace. At this time, Rev. L. A. Lambert was appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the demise of Father Walsh, and continued to serve the congregation un- til October, 1867, at which time, his health becoming impaired, he received permission to go to New York. He is at present in charge of a parish in Waterloo, in that State. The bishop at once supplied the spiritual wants of his people by the appointment of Rev. P. Brady, who faithfully attended to the wants of his flock until the latter part of 1869, when he was appointed to another parish. He is now pastor in the city of Springfield, Ill. Father Brady was imme- diately succeeded by Rev. P. J. O'Hallo- ran, who continued in charge until Novem- ber, 1873, when he was sent to East St.

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Louis to take the place of Rev. Francis Za- bel, who was assigned to the Cairo pastorate. His parishioners and the citizens of Cairo generally will bear cheerful testimony to his worth as a Christian minister, in remain- ing at this post of duty night and day during the terrible yellow-fever epidemic of 1878. At his own request he was, in 1879, trans- ferred to a parish at Bunker Hill, this State, where he now resides.

To supply the place made vacant by Father Zabel's departure, Rev. Thomas Mas- terson was sent from Mound City, but the malarial atmosphere of Egypt soon made sad work with a physically delicate constitution. He left his flock for a more healthful location in the town of Paris, Ill., his present address. In the latter part of 1882, Rev. J. Murphy assumed charge and is the present incumbent.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church. - In the year 1870, the Catholic congregation having wholly outgrown the capacities of St. Pat- rick's Church, a few of the leading members determined to build a new one. This move- ment was finally made by the Germans for two reasons: 1st. St. Patrick's Church was too small for the congregation, and second, the Germans desired to have a church of their own, in which they hoped to have serv- ices in their native language. The princi- pal movers in this, and those who made the principal donations for the new church were Peter Saup, William Kluge, Henry Lattner, Valentine Riser, Jacob Klein, George Latt- ner, Jacob Lattner, Nicholas Veithe, L. Saunders, William Weber, Joseph Bross, Joseph Bruikle and William Brendle.

The organization was effected in 1870, and the church commenced and the building com- pleted in 1871, being an elegant brick build- ing, 65x100 feet, and cost $23,000, and is by far the finest church in the city, and has an elegant organ.

Father Hoffman was the first pastor, and soon grew in the love and confidence of his people, until he became a great favorite. The present pastor is the Rev. Father O'Hara.

Presbyterian Church .- This church build- ing was erected in January, 1856. The Rev. Robert Stewart, through whose efforts the building had been erected, preached the dedication sermon. It cost about $2,796. The three lots upon which it stands were do- nated by the trustees of the Cairo City Prop- erty. The funds for building the church were raised mostly abroad, through the efforts of Rev. Robert Stewart, who was building agent of the Alton Presbytery. It was turned over to the trustees of the first Presbyterian so- ciety of Cairo, free from debt. The ladies of the Alton Presbyterian Church donated the carpet for the aisles, a Bible for the pulpit and the chandelier and lamps.

This was the first Protestant church erected in Cairo. A Presbyterian society was formed on the 9th of January, 1856. The constitution was signed by the following members: C. D. Finch, Marion Hall, R. H. Cunningham, William T. Finch, J. D. Mc- Coughtry, John C. White, D. Hurd, Edward Willett, Frank Shipman, S. Staats Taylor, H. H. Candee, E. Norton, C. A. Bullock, B. S. Harrell, Julia A. Harrell and Maria A. White.

The first board of trustees consisted of Dr. Coffee, M. Hall, C. D. Finch, Edward Willett and William T. Finch. The latter was elected chairman and Edward Willett Secretary. The church building and prop- erty and society were fully equipped now, but there was still no church proper and no pastor. Steps were taken by the society to remedy this defect, and Mr. Kenware was called to act as the first pastor. Mr. Kenware stayed only eight months, when becoming

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afflicted with a bronchial affection, he ten- dered his resignation, which was accepted.

The Rev. A. L. Payson was then called at a salary of $1,000 a year, and accepted. Yet there was one act necessary to make a com- plete church, and that was the signing of the articles of faith and covenant. This was done, and thus a complete organization effected, ten persons signing, to wit: Will- iam T. Finch, Mrs. Rosanna White, Mrs. Catharine Stewart, Mrs. Mary Jane Stewart, Mrs. S. L. Bowers, Miss Harriet A. Paine, James Degear, Mrs. Sarah Ann Bellew, Mrs. Lucy A. Leftcowitch and Mrs. A. P. Ryan.

The Rev. Payson seems, by the church re- cords, to cut no other figure than being called and accepting. Possibly he was washed out in the June flood of that year, and this is suggested by a resolution of November, 1858, passed as a feeler, to confer with Rev. A. G. Martin and ascertain if he would accept a call at $500 a year. At all events Mr. Mar- tin accepted the $500 proposition and came on, and for two years labored faithfully with his flock. He organized a Sunday school, which is said to be the first ever organized in Cairo, but the truth is there was a school of the kind here in 1848. The first Sunday of the Presbyterian school there were only fifteen pupils present, but since that time it has grown to more than 300.

Under the ministrations of Mr. Martin, eleven members were added to the church- ten of these by letters. This minister re- signed in January, 1861. The church was without a pastor until June, 1862. The war was here, and men's thougths seemed to run in other channels. But the Central Railroad had arranged to pass preachers free to Cairo to hold services, and many came from a distance and services were tolerably regular.

An incident in the life of this church, as

well as in the life of Commodore Foote, is well worth relating: After the capture of Fort Henry, Commodore Foote returned to Cairo to care for his wounded and to get ready for the Fort Donelson fight, and as he spent Sunday in the city, as was his wont, he went to his loved chruch-the Presbyterian-of which he was a zealous member. On this particular Sunday the congregation assem- bled, but the minister who was expected failed to come. After waiting awhile, the audience began to grow impatient. At this juncture the Commodore arose and walked deliberately to the pulpit, and, making some remark as to the duty of letting one's light shine, there, in the full trappings of his uni- form of war, conducted the services in regu- lar order. He read his text and addressed the congregation in a most earnest manner, and closed the exercises with a fervent and touching prayer. He died in 1863, as faithful a soldier of Jesus Christ as he was of his country. This remarkable incident is well remembered by many citizens of Cairo who were present in church on that Sunday in February.

In June, 1862, Rev. Robert Stewart was called to attend the spiritual wants of the congregation, and for two years filled the place to the great satisfaction of his flock. Mr. Stewart preached his farewell sermon November 6, 1864. It was during his pas- torate that the frame portion of the parson- age was erected, and he secured this money, as he had for the church, mostly from abroad.

January 1, 1865, Rev. H. P. Roberts be- came the pastor of the church. He had re- ceived a collegiate education, and when the war came he went into the army as a Lieu- tenant; was wounded severely. He served as pastor for the years 1865-66. He received a salary of $1,500 per annum, and ceased hi

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connection with the church as its minister in the early part of 1867.

Rev. Charles H. Foote succeeded him, and he continued in the position until 1871.

The brick parsonage was erected in 1867, at a cost of $2,363.70, and in 1868 a fine organ was purchased.

Rev. H. B. Thayer took charge as pastor in January, 1872, and remained until March, 1875, and he was succeeded by the present pastor, the Rev. B. Y. George, who has al- ready been with this church more than seven years. None of his predecessors gained a stronger hold upon the affection of his peo- ple.

In the autumn of 1878, Cairo was visited by that terrible scourge, the yellow fever. There were a few cases in August-all fatal. A number of cases in September, nearly all fatal, and still more in October, about one- half of them fatal; several cases in Novem- ber, but most of them mild. In all there were about 100 cases in Cairo and about one- half proved fatal.

In September, Mr. George was in Colum- bia, Mo., with his family, taking his annual vacation. When the news reached him that the disease had broken out again and in a virulent form in Cairo, and that the town was in a panic and hundreds fleeing to places of safety, and that all prudent people who could get away from the town were doing so, we say, upon learning this dreadful state of affairs, he left his family in Missouri and came here, and remained during the epi- demic, visiting sick, comforting the dying and burying the dead.

The whole number of persons connected with the church during the twenty-five years of its existence is 372. . Mrs. Rosanna White is the only one out of the original ten mem- bers that is now living in Cairo.

[We desire to return our thanks to Mr.

George Fisher, from whose extensive history of the Presbyterian Church we gather the above data .- Ed. ].

Episcopal Church. - There were members of this church in Cairo from the time or be- fore the founding of the city. But like the general Protestant people, the number was not enough to organize a church body for a long time, and the history of the Presbyterian Church shows that these select few would identify themselves often with some other church and assist them in the holy work, awaiting the arrival of enough of their own to form their separate organization. In this way the curious fact is several times illus- trated in the Presbyterian Church that there would be a reduction in their number in the face of an increase in the population.

During the early forties, when there were only four or five families in the place who were communicants in the Episcopal Church, occasional services were conducted in a little chapel in one of the Holbrook houses, by the Rev. J. P. T. Ingraham, now of St. Louis. Mr. Ingraham was a resident of Cairo as early as 1840. During all his time here, there were not members enough to officer a society even, much less a church, and it was only at rare intervals that the few people of that church met. After the calamity of 1841, the number was so reduced that it was only when some of their friends would join them in attendance that they could get enough together to have even the simplest church services. There was a slow increase up to 1850, when several families came and once more the early settlers began to look forward to the day when they would have a prosperous church here. During these times, the Rev. Mr. Clark often conducted the church services.

In the year 1857, a movement was made, for the members to separate themselves from

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the other churches, and by combining to- gether they hoped to form the nucleus around which a church would soon grow. And in the early part of 1858, grounds were secured and steps taken to erect a church building. The place selected was the lot on which now stands the elegant office of the Cairo Trust Property. A large lot of material was de- livered upon the ground, such as brick, stone, lime and other material, when the flood of June, 1858, came and left such de- struction in its wake that for the nonce the project was abandoned.

During the war, Chaplain S. McMasters who was stationed here, frequently held services for the congregation in the Presby- terian Church building, and the congregation constantly grew and strengthened. Novem- ber 3, 1852, there was a preliminary meet- ing held at the office of Col. S. S. Taylor, and there were present at this meeting Rev. I. P. La Baugh, S. S. Taylor, Walter Falls, Capt. McAllister, Charles Thrupp, J. C. White, H. H. Candee, John Rosenberg, W. H. Morris, L. Jorgensen, J. B. Humphrey and others. Rev. La Baugh was made chairman, and J. B. Humphreys Secretary. Vestrymen were elected as follows: S. S. Taylor, Senior Warden; H. H. Candee, Junior Warden; and J. B. Humphreys, Charles Thrupp, Capt. Pennock, Col. A. E. Watson, W. H. Morris, A. B. Safford, J. C. White, R. M. Jennings and Walter Falls, Vestryme n

The second attempt, and a successful one, too, to build a church was commenced in 1861, the building now occupied on Four- teenth street, between Washington avenue and Walnut street. This building cost about $7,000, and is the most elegantly finished inside and furnished of any church in the city. They have an organ costing $2,000.

November 5, 1862, Rev. I. P. La Baugh was called to the pastorate and accepted, and

for more than two years he continued in that position, winning the good will and love of his entire people in an eminent degree. His successor was Rev. Thomas Lyle, who was installed as pastor in charge in January, 1864.

In 1863, J. C. White was Senior Warden, and H. H. Candee, Junior Warden, and the Vestrymen were A. B. Safford, J. Q. Har- man, J. B. Humphreys, W. P. Halliday, A. M. Pennock, S. B. Halliday, S. Staats Tay- lor, A. E. Watson, W. H. Morris and A. H. Irvin.

April 25, 1864, there was a re-organization of the parish, and on November 24 of that year, the church was completed and conse- crated by Bishop Whitehouse. And the Ves- trymen were: Senior Warden, J. C. White; Junior Warden, H. H. Candee; and A. E. Watson, A. J. Irvin, J. B. Humphreys, A. B. Safford, S. B. Halliday, W. P. Halliday, H. Lifferts and L. Jorgensen.

Rev. Lyle was succeeded in 1867 by W. W. Rafter, who, for a little more than one year, discharged the high functions of his office with eminent ability and piety.

In 1868, Rev. James W. Cole was called, and he also remained about one year.

Rev. Edward Coan was his successor. His pastorate, for three years, the time he was with his church here, was marked by good works and a building-up of God's temple. His administration was eminently satisfac- tory to the congregation, and the love and prayers of his flock followed him when he retired in 1872.

Rev. Charles A. Gilbert was his successor, and for five years he labored for God's king- dom and glory 'among the good people of Cairo. He was an ·unselfish, pious and holy man, and his stay here will long be remem- bered by his people.

In April, 1877, Rev. M. R. St. J. Dillon

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Lee was called, and at once entered upon his sacred mission among his people. But in the midst of his good work he sickened and died, May 30, 1879.

Rev. D. A. Bonnar accepted the position of pastor, and was installed in the early part of the year 1879, where he remained a dili- gent, faithful and able minister to his flock until January, 1881, when he resigned.

He was immediately succeeded by Rev. F. P. Davenport, the present incumbent, and it is the hope of all that he may be long spared to his people and the church he loves so well, and his works are already doing so much for the cause of morality and religion.

The present officers of the church are: H. H. Candee, Senior Warden; W. B. Gilbert, Junior Warden; and M. F. Gilbert, D. J. Baker, E. L. Manager, Frank L. Galigher, John H. Janes and Charles Pink, Vestrymen.

A Sunday school was established in 1863, and H. H. Candee was made Superintendent, a position that he has held continuously ever since and still holds, of itself a sufficient testimony that he is the right man in the right place. Among the earliest of the Sunday school teachers were W. H. Morris, Mrs. W. R. Smith, Miss Josie Taylor (Halliday), Miss Remington and Mrs. Elizabeth White. From the first to the present day, the school has been one of the flourishing and successful ones of the city. Among its first youthful scholars are now found some of its most val- ued teachers, and others have here imbibed in their young lives their first and deepest lessons in the simple and sublime story of the God-Man, and have gone out in the world bearing testimony to the faith that was in them.

The Methodist Church .- Through the kind- ness and labors of Rev. J. A. Scarritt, pres- ent pastor, we were enabled to gather the following notes of the coming and building

up of the church in this city. There were Methodists here as citizens as soon almost as there was anybody else. In the earliest set- . tlement of the town, when three or four fam- ilies constituted all there were in the place, Rev. T. C. Lopas and H. C. Blackwell would occasionally visit the town and held regular services and preach to the little flock, liter- ally in the name of where " two or three are gathered together." Then Ephraham Joy, the Presiding Elder, made two visits here, and on a recent occasion on writing to Rev. Mr. Scarritt, he gives some of his long-time-ago impressions of Cairo, and some account of the early efforts of the church people. He says in substance: The Cairo Mission was traveled by Henry C. Blackwell, the circuit embracing Alexander County. Then Rev. Lopas was sent to take his place. There were only six or eight families or members of the church at this time in the place, and these were mostly of the transient population. The first quarterly meeting was appointed for Cairo, January 1 and 2, 1853, but Brother Lopas left there about a week before this and attended a quarterly meeting of the Thebes Mission, about fourteen miles south of Jonesboro. As soon as possible, I sup- plied Cairo with Rev. J. S. Armstrong, who remained about three months, and then it was left out for awhile. Efforts were made to have Rev. Lopas visit it from his Thebes Mission, but failed. The scheme was then adopted to have the minister from the ad- joining work-Thebes or Pulaski or Caledo- nia-visit Cairo, but these efforts were like, the Elder says, trying to sit down on two chairs and slipping between them. The place was left deserted by the church for two years. The Elder in the meantime vis- ited Cairo twice, in April and in August. He traveled down the country in his buggy. The appearance of the place on his first

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visit he graphically describes. He says he carefully counted everything-houses and boats-in which human beings were living. His recollections are the boats and houses about equaled each other, and there were but few of either, and some of the houses were the merest shanties-the boats mostly small craft tied to the shore, some in the water and some on dry land-some lying. just as the water left them, and others had, after a fashion, been propped up and were stranding tolerably level. He again says: Bishop Ames presided over our conference in 1852, and visited us at the conference at Mount Carmel. He told me that he passed Cairo on his way, and remarked, " I wonder what we sent a man there for." The Mis- sion Committee at their next conference gave it as their opinion that one quarterly install- ment of appropriation (for Cairo) should be refunded, and the Elder says: "I covered it into the treasury, although I felt that I much needed it." The two visits referred to above by the Elder were made during his tirst year. He again, in the fourth year of his office, visited it twice. He says that this time he came by the railroad. During that year it was connected with the Pulaski Mission for quarterly meeting purposes, and Pulaski embraced what had been Thebes and Caledonia Circuits. That year, Rev. Hughey spent most of the year traveling and solic- iting funds to erect a church in Cairo. He succeeded well in procuring funds, but could do but little in building up the congregation. Elder Joy had secured two lots for the church building, and these afterward were exchanged for those now occupied by the church by Rev. Hughey. The Elder again says: " I preached in Cairo during my visit in August, 1853. I do not remember where the preaching was-perhaps in some room in a hotel. In April, 1855, I was there and

preached. The meeting was held in a school- house, back in the woods. I think this building has since been used as the African Methodist Episcopal Church. I think dur- ing the summer of 1855, O. Kellogg, then in the Jonesboro work, visited the place one or more "times, and I corresponded with Bishop Ames, proposing to connect it with Jones- boro. I thought the arrangement doubtful, as a circuit lay between. Bishop Ames con- sented to the work, but it was not effected." When the good old Elder comes to the effort to recall the early Methodist families, he quaintly says: " I cannot call up any of the names of the first members. There was the wife of a hotel keeper-a Pole or Spaniard or some kind of a foreigner-with an unpro- nonnceable name. [This must have been old Rattlemueller .- ED. ] They called him for convenience, Martin. [This was where Mark Twain got his idea when in Europe of calling each one of his guides Furgeson .- ED.] The two or three families in Cairo were anxious for regular preaching aud I as anxious to supply them. * * On one of my visits, I stopped on a boat (hotel). The landlord was not a Methodist, but very clever to us. He told me of one G. who had been a Baptist, a Methodist and a Presbyte- rian, and who at one time proposed to be a preacher. He boarded a long time at this hotel, and the last the landlord saw of him, he was wending his way up the levee, carrying his bundle and said he was hunting a cheaper hotel. The jolly landlord laughed when he said he did not know where he could find such, as he never paid him a cent."

In a letter from Rev. R. H. Manier, we are permitted to extract the following his- orical facts: "I was stationed in Cairo in 1856. Brother G. W. Hughey was my pred- ecessor. When I took charge, the church was inclosed and the roof on. The trustees

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were in debt, and the workmen wanting money. I spent the first Sabbath after con- ference in Cairo, and on Monday following struck out to raise money. From that time until the church was finished I was on the wing. It required $1,200 to pay what was due and finish the church, I had succeeded in raising about $800, when the church was completed and left only $400 in debt, which we hoped to raise on the day of dedication, which was early in February, but postponed on account of small-pox breaking out in a boarding house on a corner opposite the church, until the latter part of March. Dr. Akers preached the dedication sermon-I cannot recall the text. We had bad luck on the day of dedication. When Dr. Akers had only fairly commenced his sermon, a strong March wind started down the flue, and the coal smoke poured out in the room and drove the people out, most of whom went home, and the Doctor finished his discourse to empty benches. The collection was an utter failure. I started out again and did not return until I had the money to pay off the debt. * The member- ship when I went there consisted, as I now remember, of S. S. Brooks and family, W. P. Trunnion and wife, Miss Emma Robert- son, Sister Martin, Dr. J. G. D. Pettijohn, Sister Finch and James Degear."

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History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois, Part 23

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 948

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 948