USA > Kentucky > Franklin County > Frankfort > A history of the First Presbyterian Church, Frankfort, Kentucky, together with the churches in Franklin County, in connection with the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America > Part 4
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General Wilkinson reserved for his own private benefit the river front between St. Clair Street and the bend of the river below, and at the latter point he estab- lished his home. The purchasers of the lots in the new town were required, under forfeiture of title, to build within two years tenements of at least sixteen feet square, with stone or brick chimneys. The mansion erected by General Wilkinson for his own use was a very elegant and imposing one, far in advance of any building in this section at that time. To encourage purchasers of lots and settlers, he opened a system of drainage, by which the low lands covered by the swamps on the north and east of the town were reclaimed, thereby removing a standing menace to the health of the place. And in order to divert from Leestown, his rival town on the river one mile below, the through travel between the settlements east and west, which used the ford for crossing the stream, he built a public road up the hill eastwardly towards Lexington, and established and maintained a ferry at the south end of Wilkinson Street, near his residence. His house thus
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occupied a strategic point, being on the "big road," communicating between Lexington and the east, with Louisville and other western points. It afterward became, as the Love Tavern, the public inn of the town, as well as the resting place of the traveling public, and was destined to play a prominent part in the history of the town. The free use for several years of its spacious rooms, proffered to and accepted by the State in 1792, was an important factor in deciding the location of the Capital at Frankfort.
The location of the State Capital at Frankfort in 1792 gave at once an impetus to the growth of the place, and it assumed somewhat of the political import- ance previously enjoyed by Danville. The seat of State government permanently located here, with the State offices, the Federal and State courts, with the sessions of the Legislature, drew hither men of influence and ambition from all parts of the State. Not a few of these, " men of affairs," and promoters of public or pri- vate enterprises, were induced for convenience to take up their permanent residence at the Capital.
From this time on the population of the town * increased rapidly, and partook in a marked degree of the prevailing characteristics of the population of the State at that period. The time and energies of the inhabitants were devoted entirely to secular pursuits and pleasure, with a general disregard for the claims of religion. The Sabbath day was the chosen time for various festivities and sports of all kinds, target-shoot- ing, horse-racing, hunting and fishing parties. Yet in
* Ninety male voters, two hundred and thirty-nine women and children, and one hundred and twelve negro slaves.
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the midst of the abounding worldliness and immorality of the place there were an elect few, whose active piety shone out in bright contrast. There was no church or meeting-house of any religious society in the town, yet religious services were maintained from time to time by a little band of pions and consecrated women. These meetings were held for the most part in the " big room " of the Love Tavern, at other times in the mansion of Hon. John Brown, whose accomplished wife, Mrs. Mar- garetta Mason Brown, was the acknowledged center of religious influence in the community, and principal pro- moter of these religious services. Her house became " The Preachers' Hotel," and " no minister of any ortho- dox denomination was allowed to pass through the place without having an opportunity of holding a religious service." Upon these occasions her two sons, Mason and Orlando Brown, with James Love, son of Mrs. Elizabeth Love, would be sent out for a house-to-house notification, and to spread the news through the public streets, thus securing a congregation.
After a time the citizens of the town, realizing to some degree the desirability of public religious services, with their uplifting influence upon society, yet unwilling to contribute directly of their means for the building of a church, inaugurated a movement for this purpose in a "lottery scheme." A bill was drafted and presented to the Legislature by Governor Greenup, authorizing a lottery by which to raise four thousand dollars for church purposes. The act became a law in 1808, and provided for the construction of a "Publick Meeting House, upon the State Capitol grounds, which should be open to any religious sect which should perform divine service in an orderly manner." The funds were
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thus realized, and after many delays the building was erected on the west side of the State House square, facing Madison Street, and for some years was the only public meeting-house in the town. It was hardly to be expected that God would honor and bless a house built by such questionable methods, and such was not the case, for its joint occupancy and care gave rise to strife and contentions among the " sects " using it, and it eventually took fire and was burned to the ground.
It is a matter of regret that we have no record giving the exact date and details of the organization of our Church in Frankfort, including the name of the offici- ating minister, with a complete list of the original mem- bers. We live now in a day of statistics; at that time scant attention was given to such matters. Indeed, the reports and tabular statements of our General Assembly itself, of that period, and years afterward, were meager and incomplete; and it is not to be wondered at that the inferior bodies, Presbyteries and sessions, should be derelict in their records.
From reliable information, however, we may fix upon 1816 as the year in which the organization was effected. We learn from the records of the Upper Benson Church, then in existence over twenty years, that at this time Thomas Paxton, a ruling elder, removed his member- ship to Frankfort to aid in the formation of a church there, and act as one of its session, and his name and those of his family appear on our first recorded roll. There appears to have been a lack of suitable material for ruling elders in this congregation, hence the trans- fer of the country elder. Dr. J. J. Miles and John M. Foster were also elected elders, and served for some years, but the latter was subsequently removed
.
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for cause, and the former changed his residence tem- porarily to Danville. The congregation then looked to the country again for help, and two other Benson elders, William Boyd and Robert Hamilton, were induced to move their membership to town and take part in the spiritual oversight of the congregation. Mr. David C. Humphreys, from Woodford Church, also located here just at this time, and was added to the session, and acted as its clerk.
The first minister in charge was Rev. Eli Smith, who began his labors here about 1817, and served the church faithfully and successfully about ten years. The first roll of membership on our records bears date May 5th, 1825, and includes fifty-nine names, forty-five of whom were females. It thus appears to have been at first essentially a woman's church, and their preponderance was not only in numbers, but in intelligence, zeal and vital piety as well. Rev. Eli Smith was moderator of session, with Ruling Elders Thomas Paxton, William Boyd, Robert Hamilton, J. J. Miles and David C. Humphreys.
Mr. Smith terminated his labors here in the latter part of 1827. At the same time the three country elders, Paxton, Boyd and Hamilton, addressed a letter to the congregation resigning in a body, giving their reasons therefor, and returned to their country church. Mr. Humphreys, the other elder, had also left, returning to Woodford, and the church was thus without pastor or elders. In this emergency, there being no session, the congregation assembled. In the absence of suitable church members to preside and conduct the proceedings, the congregation called to its aid a number of men who 1; were not members of any church. Colonel James David-
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son was chosen to preside, and the following gentlemen, also non-professors, were chosen a committee to draft and submit a set of resolutions to the meeting, together with a memorial to Presbytery: Mr. John H. Hanna, John J. Crittenden, Mason Brown and Jarvis Russell. The committee, through its chairman, Mr. Hanna, reported a series of resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, sixty-nine persons voting, of whom thirty-four were members of the church. The memorial to Pres- bytery was also adopted, in which was set forth, " That, owing to the resignation of Rev. Eli Smith and of the elders of the church, the congregation was left without officers, and could not appear before Presbytery in a reg- ular and orderly manner, and came directly by committee and memorial." A request was made for the ministerial services of Rev. John T. Edgar, who by invitation had been preaching to the people since the departure of Mr. Smith. The committee to present the " memorial " to Presbytery consisted of Mr. John H. Hanna, Mason Brown and John J. Vest, and their mission appears to have been successful, for Mr. Edgar entered at once, by authority of Presbytery, upon the duties of stated supply.
Shortly after Mr. Edgar's coming the church expe- rienced perhaps the greatest revival and work of divine grace in its history. Over sixty persons were added to the membership, many of whom were heads of fami- lies and prominent and influential citizens of the place.
Previous to this time there had been no deacons in this church, and the temporal affairs of the congrega- tion had been conducted in a loose and irregular way. Having now acquired abundant material for office-bear- ers, Mr. Edgar at once undertook a reorganization of
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the church. About this time Dr. James J. Miles, a former ruling elder, returned to reside here, and was again elected to the office in this church. Hon. Ben- jamin Mills, who had recently removed hither from Paris, to a seat on the bench of the Court of Appeals, an elder in the church from which he came, was also added to the session, together with Hon. John Brown, Jarvis Russell and Dr. Luke Munsell, who were ordained and installed. A Board of Deacons was elected and installed, consisting of Austin P. Cox, John Swingle, John P. Reading, William M. Todd, Albert G. Hodges, Joseph Clarke and George A. Robertson.
In March, 1829, Mr. Edgar received a unanimous call to the pastor's office, and was immediately installed. His pastorate, which was a very pleasant and successful one, terminated in July, 1833.
During his ministry here Dr. Edgar, under direction of Presbytery, spent a considerable part of the summer and fall months in missionary tours, confirming and strengthening the weak and destitute churches in dif- ferent parts of the Presbytery. He also preached statedly to the country churches in this vicinity. At that period the Presbyteries seemed to have exercised a very close watch and paternal care over their weaker and struggling congregations, making regular details from the pulpits of the stronger churches for their spir- itual nourishment. These ministers were sent accord- ing to Scripture injunction, "two and two," holding usually four days' meetings, administering the ordi- nances, concluding with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper on the Sabbath. The stated meetings of Pres- bytery, and especially of Synod, were occasions of great import and interest to the churches and to the whole
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community. The entertainment of these bodies no doubt fully taxed the ability of the places where the meetings were held, but the Scriptural rule of “ hospi- tality without grudging " seemed to have prevailed, for the occasions were earnestly sought after, contended for and enjoyed by the churches. That being before the day of good roads and adequate public conveyances, the visiting ministers and elders came mostly on horse- back, occasionally in their own vehicles. The congre- gation was called on to entertain "man and beast," as is shown by sundry livery bills in our church papers, paid by our treasurer, one of which, for keeping the horses of Synod, * amounted to $78.22. In contrast somewhat with these ecclesiastical bodies of to-day, they were then in no hurry to depart, remaining over the Sabbath, and thus these convocations were a benediction to the church and community.
Rev. Daniel Baker, D.D., was pastor from October, 1834, to November, 1836. He was one of the most noted and successful home missionaries and evangelists of the Church in his day, and was not content to remain very long in the restricted work of a pastor. During his ministry here his services were much in demand, by appointment of Presbytery, and elsewhere; so much so that it was made the subject of a formal remonstrance to Presbytery by the session, and the church was only in part mollified by the supply of another minister to fill the pulpit during Dr. Baker's absence. During this pastorate William M. Todd and Joseph Clarke were added to the session, and James F. Dryden and William J. Phillips to the Board of Deacons.
* See Appendix.
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HISTORY OF FIRST CHURCH, FRANKFORT.
In December, 1836, the session invited Rev. Joseph J. Bullock, a licentiate of West Lexington Presbytery, to supply the pulpit for twelve months, and he entered at once upon the work. Before the expiration of the time, however, he was called to the pastorate of the church, and in October, 1837, he was ordained and installed in this, his first charge, at the age of twenty- four. Many years afterward, in an obituary notice, pub- lished after Dr. Bullock's death, which was prepared by one who knew and loved him well, and who was at the same time intimately acquainted with his Frankfort charge, in speaking of this early pastorate, among other influences which contributed to mold the character and determine the destiny of Dr. Bullock, said: "While still a youth he was called to the pastorate of the Pres- byterian Church at the Capital of the State. Here, by reason of his office, he became intimately associated with perhaps as brilliant and accomplished a body of men and women as were ever congregated in a single community -a body composed of the Crittendens, Mon- roes, Moreheads, Browns, Letchers, Harlans, and others of like character - embracing not only distinguished men, but women fitted by extraordinary endowment and culture to adorn any society on earth. Most of these were more or less identified with his church, and thus encompassed the youthful pastor with a stimulating and refining atmosphere, that was of incalculable value in the process of his development. His mind and person exhibited the visible fruit of this favored environment. His personality was distinguished and attractive, and his massive and towering physical frame formed a fit abode for his noble and lofty spirit, and gentleness and
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strength were exquisitely blended in his countenance and bearing."
Dr. Bullock continued in office until the summer of 1846, when he was forced by impaired health to resign. During his pastorate Judge Benjamin Monroe, Zephe- niah Williams and William J. Phillips were ordained as elders, and Richard Knott and George W. Lewis, dea- cons. The church was very loth to give up Dr. Bullock, a very strong attachment existing between pastor and people. The congregation, by unanimous vote, offered him all the time he might desire in which to recruit his health, his salary to continue as if present, but he was constrained to decline their offer.
During the interim between this and the next pas- torate the session invited in succession to the pastorate Rev. Leroy J. Halsey, of Jackson, Mississippi ; Rev. Dr. John Leyburn, of Virginia; Rev. Dr. Nathan L. Rice and Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, all of whom declined.
The next pastor was Rev. Stuart Robinson, D.D., who was installed in June, 1847. During his pastorate the old church building on Wapping Street was sold, and the present edifice erected and occupied. This was rendered necessary, as the old church was insufficient to accommodate the increased congregations drawn to the church by his ministry. Dr. Robinson resigned in May, 1853. The church was strongly opposed to the severance of the relation, and by unanimous vote declined to unite with him in the matter before Pres- bytery. Among other resolutions adopted by the con- gregational meeting was one requesting Presbytery to overture the General Assembly to take such action as would secure greater permanency to the pastoral rela- tion, and that the practice of one church calling the
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pastor of another be discountenanced by solemn act of the General Assembly. During Dr. Robinson's min- istry here Mr. Asa Farrar, Richard Knott and John B. Temple were added to the session, and Thomas S. Page, Daniel Harris and William T. Herndon to the Board of Deacons.
From May. 1853, to December following, the pulpit was supplied by Rev. John R. Hendrick, and at a con- gregational meeting in November he was elected to the pastorate, but declined to accept the call.
In July, 1854, a call was made to Rev. Joshua F. Green, who had visited and preached for the congre- gation, for his pastoral services. Pending his accept- ance, of which the church was assured, he was suddenly removed by death from a ministry of great usefulness and promise.
The next pastor was Rev. J. P. Safford, who was installed in February, 1855, and resigned in August, 1857. In May, 1856, Thomas S. Page was elected ruling elder, and Mr. William M. Todd, who had returned to reside in the city, was also added to the session. At the same time Dr. J. M. Mills was elected deacon.
From November, 1857, to April, 1858, Rev. J. J. Bullock, D.D., served the church as stated supply. At a protracted meeting which closed this, his second term of service, the church was greatly refreshed and strengthened, a large number of members being added. On the eve of his departure Dr. Bullock presided as moderator of the congregational meeting, which called to the pastorate Rev. B. T. Lacy, D.D., of Virginia: Dr. Lacy entered upon his work here in July, 1858, and served the church with great acceptance and success until the opening of the Civil War, when in July, 1861,
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he returned to his native State, and eventually entered the Southern army as chaplain. In the month of March, 1862, Presbytery dissolved the relation existing between Dr. Lacy and the church. During this pastorate Messrs. E. I .. Samuel and S. C. Bull were elected and installed in the deacon's office.
In April, 1862, at a congregational meeting mod- erated by Rev. Dr. W. C. Matthews, Rev. John S. Hays was elected pastor, and entered at once upon the duties of the office. He served the church for five years, which covered the critical and trying period of the Civil War. Mr. Hays was uncompromising in his adherence to the government, as were also the other members of the session. To this unanimity of sentiment is largely due the fact that this church did not divide on the issues of the war, as did many others in the State, and was spared the calamity of rending asunder its membership, which we see, even to this late day, weakening and retarding the Presbyterian Church in Kentucky.
Dr. Hays resigned in April, 1867, and removed to Louisville. During his pastorate Messrs. S. C. Bull, Hugh Allen and W. H. Averill were added to the session.
In July, 1867, Rev. J. McClusky Blayney was invited by the session to act as stated supply for three months, which arrangement was continued two years. At the expiration of that time Mr. Blayney removed to Albany, New York, to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church of that city.
In October, 1868, at a large congregational meeting, moderated by Rev. Dr. E. P. Humphrey, the congre- gation extended a hearty call to Rev. Leroy J. Halsey, D.D., of McCormick Seminary, who had been previously
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called to this church in 1846, while pastor in Mississippi. Dr. Halsey held the call under consideration, and visited the church, supplying it during the ensuing summer, when he declined the call on account of impaired health.
The next minister who served this church was Rev. J. H. Nesbitt, who was called in May, 1870, and served first as stated supply, then as pastor. He resigned in May, 1876, on account of the ill health of his son, and sought a change of climate in the mountains of Penn- sylvania. During his pastorate Messrs. E. L. Samuel and D. R. Jones were added to the session, both of whom had been ordained elsewhere. At the same time R. K. McClure and Frank Chinn were made deacons.
In June, 1876, Rev. William R. Brown, then at Peewee Valley, Kentucky, was elected by unanimous vote to the pastorate of this church. On account of impaired health, however, he was led to decline the call, much to the regret of the congregation, among whom he had labored for a short season with great acceptance.
In February, 1877, Rev. J. W. Pugh accepted a call to the pastorate, and was installed in the month of May following. He remained in office until December, 1882, when he resigned, and removed to labor in the Synod of Indiana. In July, 1877, four ruling elders were ordained and installed - George A. Robertson, R. K. McClure, Frank Chinn and W. T. Reading; and five deacons were added to that Board - H. H. Watson, W. H. Sneed, J. W. Pruett, John McClure and George C. Watson.
During the interim of 1883 the congregation extended in succession calls to Rev. J. G. Hunter, D.D., then at Georgetown, Kentucky, and to Rev. William
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Torrance, D.D., then at Franklin, Indiana, both of whom declined to leave their fields of labor.
Rev. J. McClusky Blayney, D.D., came to this church the second time in January, 1884. He was on his way to the far South for the benefit of the health of one of his sons, and came by Frankfort to pay a short visit to his wife's relatives. He found, unexpectedly, the Frank- fort pastorate vacant, and yielded to a cordial invitation of the session to remain for a season, and preach to his old charge. This resulted in the following month in a hearty and unanimous call to the pastorate, and in the month of June following he was duly installed in office.
In April, 1884, the following additional deacons were elected : Dr. J. Q. A. Stewart, William Craik and Dr. Samuel E. James, and on April 4th, 1890, Mr. Peter Rule was added to the session. In January, 1895, five new deacons were elected and ordained - Charles E. Hoge, T. L. Edelen, W. C. Herndon, J. B. Hendrick and David Nicol; and in January, 1901, Thomas P. Averil! and William A. Bull were added to the same Board.
On December 5th, 1900, in compliance with the recommendation of the General Assembly in regard to the Twentieth Century Fund, the congregation met and took up the matter of the finances of the church. In order to enable the church to enter upon the new cen- tury free of debt and thus comply with the injunction of the Assembly, the congregation proceeded to raise by subscription an amount sufficient to pay off the float- ing debt of the church, amounting to about twenty-four hundred dollars. This amount was pledged at the meet- ing, and a committee was appointed to collect and apply
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the subscriptions to this object, and at a subsequent meeting reported that the obligations were all dis- charged, and the church closed the century free of debt.
The present pastor has now entered upon the nine- teenth year of his successful ministry to this church, thus covering a period of twice the length of service of any of his predecessors in the office. During this time the number of members has doubled, four hun- dred having been added upon examination and one hundred and fifty by certificate; the number of infants baptized, two hundred and sixty-two; adults, one hun- dred and twenty-six.
At the close of the nineteenth and the opening of the twentieth century the session addressed the fol- lowing communication to the congregation, which was read from the pulpit, and may be appropriately inserted here :
"A PASTORAL LETTER,"
And Message of Greeting from the Session to the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church, January 1, 1901.
"Beloved in Christ: It has been deemed by us both appropriate and fitting at this time, the closing of the nineteenth and opening of the twentieth century, to present to you our Christian salutations and fraternal desires for your spiritual and temporal welfare. At the same time we would also seek the prosperity and suc- cess of our beloved church, for on you and on us, under God, its fidelity and usefulness depend.
" We are made of God one family in Christ, and if any member fails, the whole family suffers loss. Faith- fulness, then, in each one is necessary to the complete-
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