USA > Illinois > Adams County > Quincy > Quincy and Adams County history and representative men, Vol. I > Part 58
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74
Very Rev. Henry B. Degenhardt, pastor of St. Boniface. is also
QUINCY AND ADAMS COV. TY
Jean of the diocese, and has been the admnistra ... .. since the death of Farber Weis. He supbeaded Mim In July 200.
The Mored is prosperous and has a pecularly heamler Epot I tle hearts of the Catbolies of the city, as it is the mother of all .º5 churches. As the German Carlos! population Is.reasel Si Fraucs enngregation in the eastern part if the fry st Mary's la the ammilem
bran hed out from the track of St Bonifame. The present para -
ST. PETER'S CHURCH /ROOLAS CYSOM
Allegh the Sameas Ref. J. I. S. My Lad charge of de Ee- Del speaking Cathedes of the Quincy missin in 1507. and preached in place conasi cally. Rev. HMarins Touker Est settled or resident priest. Many of the året congregation were Irian laborers
be emmented Do iuli a little brick lunch. 1= remed our and as the laborers left the locality the strangan of que wingregation was also dise, pared. The Engiu speaking Cachos dwinded co sud a weak hand that the partir Aniole! chunch Trus cli Father Tweber remained ar Quimby meall Nomember. 1886, and also soyyliod such Outside points as Versalles MIL Sterling. P .: rc. feld and Gile d Within the following ffteen Ur sirven F. Darwin. Rev. Patrick T. MeEMteam. Rev. James Damyde. and Rev. M. MeLoughlin served St. Peter's. The administration of its aFlim by Rev. Peter MeGir was very noticeable both for the long perini i: covered and its fraisfulness. He came to Quincy in ile fail of 1802 and labored there with marked suc ess until his jean' Mar 2 10. 1893. First be commenced a parish sillon! in a rented house a: Niech and Maine streets, bon in 1664 bit: the brick selon !- house honk if ile ebmack which is still used for that yorpose. In 1580 he Mimplened the present House of worship a: a tost of 8700000 I;s dimensions are 160 by 65 feet. with a speople aver 2000 feet big and at the time it was formally opened om New Year's day. 1672 was & modern and impressive religions stronrare. S: Peter's Ceme- tery on East Broadway was also purchased anving that year. Father
a small bonse promsbased by him in 1660. A: Des dea-d im 1-33 M
present priest in charge.
ST. JOHN'S PIREET AND CITADEL
According in the fest parish register St. John's Parish Igs or- ganized mo Easter Day, Mark 26, 1837. On the: day. the Pel- Rer. Philander Chose D. D. Bishop of the Diese -: ITT: E-
546
QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY
ciated in the first Episcopalian services held in Quincy. Among the announcements given at that time was one to the effect that a meet- ing of the friends of the church would be held immediately after service at the home of Jesse Avise, for the purpose of forming a parochial association. This was done in regular form, the articles of association for "the parish of St. John's church in Quincy and vicin- ity" being signed by Jesse Avise, Isaac Davis, Francis C. Moore, John L. Avise, Erastus A. Strong, S. C. Sherman, Ebenezer Moore, Abra- ham DeHaven and S. Touzalin. The following names were later added to the foregoing list: D. G. Whiting and James R. M. Sell- wood, November 20, 1837; George Bowers, February 10, 1838; Isaac O. Woodruff and William II. Taylor, April 16, 1838.
At this time, also, Abraham DeHaven was elected senior warden, and Francis C. Moore, junior warden. The following were elected vestrymen : Ebenezer Moore, Jr., Seth C. Sherman and Jesse Avise.
As no clergyman could be obtained to officiate, Ebenezer Moore, under appointment by Bishop Chase as lay reader, conducted the services during the ensuing summer of the year 1837, in various dwellings of the parishioners.
On October 13, 1837, Rev. John Sellwood, B. D., a graduate of the Theological Seminary, at Gambier, Ohio, sent out by the Mis- sionary Society, conducted worship in the Congregational Church, which was kindly offered for the occasion. He also officiated in the same place three times on the following Sunday, on which day he gave notice that the friends and members of the newly organized parish would meet on the following evening, at the store of Daniel G. Whitney, for the transaction of important business.
At the meeting held on that evening, it was decided to proceed immediately with the erection of a church edifice. The contract was awarded to John Gwen. The building was to be of frame, weather- boarded. and was to be 24 feet wide by 35 feet long. A lot on North Sixth Street, between Hampshire and Vermont streets, near the Women's Christian Temperance Union Building, was purchased for $225, and the building itself was to cost $1,200.
Immediately after this parish meeting, the wardens and vestry met and extended a call to Rev. John Sellwood to assume charge of the parish. He accepted and entered at once upon his duties, hold- ing services and preaching regularly every Sunday in his own dwelling house, with steadily increasing congregations until the completion of the church building. In less than three months the new church was completed and it was used for the purposes of worship for the first time on Sunday, December 31, 1837.
The parish at this time numbered twelve communicants; by the following Easter the number had been increased to seventeen. At a meeting of the parish held on April 16, 1838, the vestry was con- stituted as follows: Senior warden, Francis C. Moore ; junior warden, Seth C. Sherman ; vestrymen, Daniel G. Whitney, Isaac O. Woodruff and G. Bowers.
547
QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY
The new church building was formally consecrated by Bishop Chase on June 24, 1838. It is noteworthy that this was the fourth parish church ereeted in the diocese of Illinois, the others being located at Chicago, Jacksonville and Rushville.
On October 1, 1838, after a year of service, the Rev. Jolin Sell- wood severed his pastoral relation with St. John's Church and re- moved to Fairfield, Illinois (now known as Mendon), where he took charge of a mission. At the time of his removal from the parish, the number of communicants was twenty-four.
The next reetor of the parish was the Rev. James Young, who entered upon the duties of his office on October 14, 1838, and con- tinued in charge for about one year and a half. The Rev. George P. Giddings took charge of the parish in April, 1841, and continued as reetor until October 5, 1856. During his ineumbeney of fifteen years the parish grew into a strong and flourishing body. A new site for the church was selected on the corner of Seventh and Hampshire streets. After much patient waiting and effort, an edifice of stone was ereeted and occupied in 1853. The Rev. Mr. Giddings died in 1861 and his remains were brought back to Quiney and interred in the parish lot in Woodlawn Cemetery.
On June 1. 1857, the Rev. William Rudder suceceded to the reetor- ship and was in charge nearly a year.
The Rev. Alexander Capron entered upon his duties as rector November 24, 1858. He was succeeded soon after by the Rev. John Egar, who began his ministry in St. John's during the first part of the Civil war. During the bitterness and excitement of these stirring times, the Rev. Mr. Egar was wrongly suspected of cherishing dis- loyal sentiments toward the Union, and his position became so un- comfortable that after a few weeks of labor in his new field he deemed it expedient to resign. Doetor Egar had at this time just completed a theologieal work which he expected shortly to have published in England and America simultaneously. Being an Englishman he re- frained from becoming naturalized until after the publication of his book, lest the faet of his naturalization should prove prejudicial to his influenee as an anthor in the transatlantie country.
The Rev. Henry Noble Strong. D. D., LL. D., beeame reetor of the parish on March 9, 1863. At the dioeesan convention in 1863 the communicants reported numbered 160. On April 28, 1864, the reetor suffered the loss by death of his wife, Margaret Sweyer Strong.
On Easter Monday, 1865, the Rev. Sidney Corbett, D. D., ae- eepted the rectorship of the parish. During the first year of his work the church was considerably enlarged by adding the transepts and a new ehaneel. In May, 1872, a $6,000 organ was installed at St. John's, and in April, 1875, after ten years of a sneeessful pas- torate, the Rev. Dr. Corbett resigned his reetorship of St. John's Parish to accept that of St. Mark's Church, Minneapolis, Minne- sota.
The Rev. William Fiske, of St. Paul's Church, Cineinnati, Ohio,
548
QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY
was the next incumbent, becoming rector on July 1, 1876. He was followed by the Rev. Edward A. Larrabee, now dean of Nashotah, who officiated until shortly after Easter, 1879. At this time the chapel and chapter honse were built.
On October 11, 1877, the general convention authorized and gave consent to the erection of two new dioceses within the limits of the Diocese of Illinois. One of the new dioceses, of which Quiney was to be made the See City, was to be formed out of that portion of Illinois west of the Illinois River and south of the counties of White- side and Lec. The vestry of St. John's Parish accordingly conveyed the church property to the new diocese of Quiney as its cathedral. The primary convention met in St. John's Church, Quincy, on De- cember 11, 1877. Thirteen clergymen and lay delegates, representing eleven parishes, were present. The Rev. Dr. Samuel Smith Harris, Rector of St. James' Church, Chicago, Illinois, was unanimously elected bishop. Upon his declination, a special convention was held in the Cathedral Church of St. John, Quincy, on February 26, 1878, when the Rev. Alexander Burgess, D. D., LL. D., rector of Christ Church, Springfield, Massachusetts, was elected bishop.
During the period of Bishop Burgess' episcopate the following clergy were on the Cathedral staff: The Very Rev. Robert Ritchie (1879-1881), the Rev. J. M. Dempster Davidson, D. D. (1881-1883), the Very Rev. Ingram N. W. Irvine (1883-1885), the Rev. Henry C. Dyer (1886), the Rev. Michael Hicks (1886), the Very Rev. C. C. Lemon (1888-1891). the Rev. Edward II. Rudd, D. D. (1891-1892). and the Very Rev. Walter H. Moore, M. A., who was dean for four- teen years (1892-1906). In 1883 the sanctuary had been beantified by the gift, from Mrs. Richard Newcomb, of a fine new altar of Caen stone, in memory of her mother, Elizabeth Ritchie, and during Dean Moore's incumbency the cathedral was thoroughly repaired and re- decorated, and the lots east of the building were acquired, or rather bought back, they having been sold in past years under financial stress. Thus a cathedral elose, ample and beautiful, was made possible.
Bishop Burgess died on October 8, 1901, having occupied the Sec for nearly twenty-three years. Shortly before his death, the Rev. Frederick William Taylor, D. D., had been elected coadjutor, and upon the death of the Senior Bishop, succeeded him. He had been consecrated on August 6, 1901. The period of his service in the episcopal office was destined to be short, however. In declining health for a number of years, he died April 26, 1903.
The Rt. Rev. Edward Fawcett, D. D., Ph. D., the present occu- pant of the Episcopal See, was consecrated in St. Bartholomew's Church, Englewood, Chicago (of which he had been rector), on Janu- ary 20, 1904. His enthronement as the third bishop of Quincy took place in the cathedral on February 2, 1904.
The Very Rev. Wyllys Rede, D. D., held the deanship from Sep- tember, 1906, to January 1, 1909. In 1907 the Newcomb Memorial Reredos was erected. It was the gift of Mrs. Anna M. Newcomb,
549
QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY
in memory of her husband, Richard Foote Newcomb. The wood work was designed by Ralph W. Cram, of Boston, the foremost ex- ponent of Gothic architecture in America, and the architect of the new cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. The central paintings of the reredos-a representation of "The Final Harvest" -and the panels on either side-the Blessed Mother and the Beloved Disciple-are the work of the Bavarian painter and priest, Johannes Oertel, well-known all over the land as the painter of "The Rock of Ages, " a picture of a young maiden reaching up out of the raging waters and clinging to the Cross up-reared on the impregnable rock, a copy of which was once to be found in almost every home. It is noteworthy that in the elaborate art work published a number of years ago by Macmillan & Co., entitled, "Notable Altars of England and America," among the six American altars there described and illustrated, the altar of St. John's Cathedral, Quiney, with its ex- quisite wood carving and magnificent paintings, was accorded an honorable place.
The Rev. William A. Gustin, MI. A., as canon in residence, ofhi- ciated at the cathedral from January, 1909. to August, 1910. During that period the interior of the cathedral and chapter house was greatly improved. The Very Rev. Chapman S. Lewis, M. A., entered upon his duties as priest in charge on November 1, 1910, and a few weeks later was made canon residentiary and vicar of the cathedral, thus serving until his advancement to the deanship November 14, 1912. He resigned Ash Wednesday, 1914. On November 14, 1912, the Rev. William O. Cone, by virtue of his office as priest in charge of the church of the Good Shepherd, Quincy, was elected to a canonry, and became dean, May 15, 1914. He is the present ineumbent. The St. John's Parish has now within its bounds about 275 communi- cants.
EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF ST. JOHN
The pioneer of the German Protestant churches in Quincy origi- nated in the gathering of a small floek of the faithful, under Rev. Mr. Hinholz, who held religious services Sunday afternoons at a hall on Fifth Street between Maine and Jersey. These assemblies or- curred about the middle of the '30s, although a a regular congrega- tion, or class, was not organized until 1837, with Rev. John Gnmpel in charge. At that time a constitution was drafted and a prodigious name adopted for the launching of the little society, viz. :- "The Ger- man Evangelieal Protestant Congregation and the United Lutheran Reformed Confessions. " Archibald Williams and John Wood pre- sented the congregation and confessions with three lots on Sonth Seventh Street, and in 1838 they erected their Hill Church, a small frame strneture built on a high terrace far above the level of the street. The contributing members numbered over 100, with good German names. Of the earlier pastors who did most to build up St.
550
QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY
John's, prominent mention must be made of Rev. Jacob Seidel, whose pastorate of ten years, from 1863 to 1873, was fruitful of good works. The old Hill Church proved inadequate for the needs of the growing congregation, and in December, 1868, the present house of worship and parsonage displaced the outgrown buildings, being erected on a less abrupt elevation. Mr. Seidel's predecessor, Rev. Christian Popp, had established a parochial school, which grew so rapidly that the duties of teaching it were taken from the pastor and placed with G. A. Weisel. Rev. L. Hoelter, Mr. Seidel's successor who served for five years, founded the Young People's Society, and in 1878 Rev. A. Willner assumed the pastorate and continued in charge until 1892. During his incumbency the Ladies Aid Society was organized and other extensions of church activities made. Rev. Louis Zahn was in charge for nine years and the present large and handsome school was commenced during the last of his pastorate, but he did not live to see it completed, his sudden death from apoplexy occurring in November, 1901. He was stricken while delivering an address at the laying of the corner-stone of St. Jacobi's parochial school. The St. John's School was completed under his successor, Rev. W. Schaller, under whom not a few improvements were made in the house of wor- ship. In 1908 he was succeeded by Rev. Theodore Walz and in June, 1915, Rev. W. C. A. Martens took charge of the congregation.
Originally organized as a German speaking congregation, St. John's in the course of time became bilingual, until during the past decade the English language has almost wholly supplanted the Ger- man, only an average of eight services monthly being conducted in the latter language. The congregation has now about 85 voting and 465 communicant members, with a Sunday school enrolment of 218 and 700 souls. A sinking fund for building purposes is now in process of formation, it being the intention to erect church and school buildings in some more favorable locality, with the coming of more auspicions times.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
The First Presbyterian Church of Quincy was formally organized in the old courthouse, with twenty-two members and Levi Wells, A. M. Hoffman and Phillip Skinner as elders, on Sunday January 19, 1840. Samuel P. Church, William A. Wood and J. D. Robinson were elected trustees in the following month, and a Sunday school organized. The first pastor of the church was called March 4, 1840, in the person of Rev. James J. Marks. He served until 1855 and his successors have been as follows: Rev. George I. King, 1855-67; Rev. J. A. Priest, 1868-75; Rev. Newman Smythe, 1875-82; Rev. John S. Hayes, 1883-85; Rev. R. V. Atkinson, 1885-90; Rev. John K. Black, 1891-94; Rev. John M. Linn, 1894-95; Rev. Henry T. Miller, 1895-97 ; Rev. Rollin R. Marquis, 1897-99; Rev. William Wylie, 1899- 1900; Rev. Edwin M. Clingan, 1900-10; Rev. R. H. Hartley, since January, 1911.
551
QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY
The First Presbyterian Church building was located on the south side of Maine, between Sixth and Seventh. In 1877 a new house of worship was completed and was about to be dedicated in January, 1878, when it was partially destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and re- dedicated in November, 1879, at a cost, for both buildings, of $100,000. The membership of the society is abont 500 and of the Sunday schools, about half that number.
SECOND CONGREGATIONAL UNITARIAN CHURCHI
The first Unitarian minister who ever visited Quiney was Rev. William G. Elliot, of St. Louis, who came early in April, 1839. He preached on Friday evening and on the following Sunday morning and evening at the courthouse. There were at that time several Unitarians in the place, but they were not known to each other as such. Through the efforts of Mr. Huntington, of Hillsborough, on the 31st of May following Doctor Elliot's preaching, an organization was formed known as the Second Congregational Society of Quiney, and the former soon afterward went East to solicit aid from the Unitarians in that part of the country. Mr. Huntington met with such success that in Mareh, 1840, upon his return, ground was leased on Maine Street between Third and Fourth as a site for a meeting house. It was completed in August, under a hundred-day contract with Robert S. Benneson. John Wood and Samuel Holmes had donated a building lot, but it was never used for that purpose and was subsequently sold.
The first meeting house was dedicated in October, 1840, and Rev. George Moore began his labors with the society in the following December. Under his lead a meeting of its members was held Deeem- ber 29, 1840, and a church was organized by adopting the constitu- tion of the Unitarian Society of Louisville, Kentucky.
Rev. Mordecai D'Lange, who succeeded Mr. Moore, began his serviees as pastor in November, 1847, and resigned in January, 1850. As the lease of the ground occupied as a church site was abont to expire, land was purchased of James C. Odiorne, of Boston, for a building lot, the deed for it being dated in May, 1850. The meeting house on the south side of Jersey Street above Sixth was begun in Angust of that year and dedicated in November, by Rev. William G. Eliot, the pioneer Unitarian preacher to visit Quiney. and Rev. William A. Fuller, who had assumed charge of the church on the first of that month. Mr. Fuller resigned in April. 1854, and during his pastorate the Universalists, who had been affiliating with the so- eiety, withdrew and built a small church on Eighth. The latter maintained an organization until 1858, when Rev. D. P. Livermore. their last minister, moved to Chicago.
Rev. Liberty Billings eame to Quincy during the later part of July, 1854, and after preaching temporarily and delivering some tem- peranee leetures, formed a permanent connection with the Unitarian
552
QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY
Church in January, 1855. The membership and general activities of the church so expanded that in 1857 building operations were com- menced on the R. S. Benneson lot (donated) on Maine Street be- tween Sixth and Seventh, and in December of that year the third meeting house was dedicated at that locality. Mr. Billings remained with the society until May, 1861, subsequently entered the army as lieutenant colonel of a colored regiment, and after the war moved to Florida, where he died. Regular preaching was not resumed until July, 1862, when Rev. Martin W. Willis assumed the pastorate. In October, 1865, he was followed by Rev. Sylvan S. Huntington, who became western secretary of the American Unitarian Association. Rev. Frederick L. Hosmer served from 1872 to 1877, and Rev. J. Vila Blake for the six years ending May, 1883, when he resigned to accept a call from the Third Unitarian Church of Chicago. The suc- cessive pastors since have been : Rev. James D. Callihan, Rev. Francis S. Thatcher, Rev. John Tunis, Rev. Charles F. Bradley (died May 7, 1896), Rev. Thomas J. Horner, Rev. Samuel L. Elberfeld, Rev. Charles W. Pearson, Rev. Charles F. Elliott (1906-12), Rev. Richard F. Tischer and Rev. Lyman M. Greenman, the present in- cumbent, who commenced his ministry in December, 1913. Under Mr. Greenman's pastorate the church has held its own and, in defer- ence to the manifest wishes of the society for a change of location to a present residence district of the city, a beautiful new church was erected in 1913-14, on Hampshire and Sixteenth streets, at a cost of about $20,000. It was dedicated in February, 1914.
KENTUCKY STREET METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The organization above named was known for more than seventy years as the First German Methodist Episcopal Church, and dates its foundation from October, 1844, when Rev. Phillip Barth came to Quincy from St. Louis as the representative of Reverend Jacobi, the presiding elder. Although a number of German Methodists were interested in the enterprise, the society was not organized until March, 1845, when twenty-eight members came together for that purpose. In July, 1846, the first house of worship was erected on Jersey Street near Fifth, and six years later a new building was erected on that site. That structure is now the natatorium. In 1873 the Bethel German Methodist Episcopal Church split off from the parent trunk and occupied a building at Twelfth and Jefferson. In 1901 the parent church erected the present meeting house at Eighth and Ken- tucky streets, at a cost of $20,000. Following is a list of the pastors up to the time that the society adopted the name by which it is now known. Rev. Philip Barth, William Schreck, William Herminghanf, Sebastian Barth, Philip Barth (second term), Casper Yost, H. F. Hoenecke. Charles Holtmann, George Boeshenz. John Walter, David Hnene, Dr. John Schmitt, George L. Mulfinger, Henry Ellerbeck, E. C. Margaret, George Beuhner, John Schlagenhauf, M. Roeder,
553
QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY
William Wilkenning, C. A. C. Archard, Henry Schutz. J. F. Froeschle, Franz Pichler, George Heidel, II. C. Jacobi, John Lemkau, A. II. F. Hertzler and D. S. Wahl. The name was changed from the First German Methodist Episcopal Church to the Kentucky Street Metho- dist Episcopal Church in December, 1916. The approximate value of the church property as it stands today is $23,000; present member- ship, 225.
THE SALEM EVANGELICAL CHURCH
This is one of the old and flourishing Protestant churches which have given Quiney such a high standing in the religious community. The commencement of the organization was found in the holding of serviees by Rev. Christoph Jung, on Maine Street near Seventh, in the month of April, 1848. Soon afterward his hearers and followers, under his pastorate, formed the Salem German Evangelieal Congre- gation of Quiney, being in affiliation with the German Evangelical Synod of North America. At first they met in the old Congrega- tional Church building, at Fifth and Jersey streets, but in the sum- mer of 1848 ereeted their own house of worship, a small brick church, on a lot donated to them for that purpose by Governor Wood. on the northeast corner of Ninth and State. It was dedicated on Thanks- giving day of 1848. The first officers of the church were: Charles Michel, president ; George Gutaphels, secretary; and John Schoene- mann, treasurer. A school building was erected in 1852 and in June of that year Mr. Jung resigned the pastorate, on account of sickness contracted during the cholera epidemie. His successor, Rev. S. Liese, served for about eight years, and in 1860 took with him all but forty-seven of the voting members of the congregation to form St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church.
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.