USA > Louisiana > The Diocese of Louisiana, some of its history, 1838-1888; also some of the history of its parishes and missions, 1805-1888 > Part 14
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Soon two ladies, Miss JJulia Black and Mrs. Sarah E. Archer, proffered their services to play and assist in singing. Miss Black. afterwards Mrs. Charles D. Stewart, was the only com- munieant. "Mr. Dean read the prayers, sang the praises and explained the Scriptures with such devotion that every one was impressed with his earnestness. To his efforts. the seed he sowed, do we owe St. Stephen's success," says one who knows.
A central and pleasant location for a church edifice was pro- cured, and a contract made for a brick edifice, a sufficient amount of funds being subscribed to complete it.
High water and crevasses, however, impeded the progress of the work. In 1851, it was reported that the brick had been moulded. and that was all.
The Rev. Mr. Dean resigned January 1, 1852.
Of one of the ladies mentioned above, Mrs. Archer, it would be proper here to say, while not detracting from the praise of her fellow laborers, that whatever prosperity the parish now enjoys is due very largely to her zeal. ability and energy. She has
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toiled, unceasingly, for its welfare: interested others in its work : encouraged them when disheartened : and mainly to her exer- tions the parish is indebted for its neat, churchly looking and comfortable rectory. She was the first person confirmed in the mission.
In December. 1854, the Rev. John Rowland took charge of the mission, which. up to this time, had been known under the name of "St. James." He found the congregation in possession of twenty-six acres of land, but that was all.
A parish was organized in the spring of 1855 under the name, suggested by the Bishop, of "'St. Stephen's Church." The Vestrymen were Robert W. Boyd. Charles D. Stewart. Edward B. Hopkins. Dr. W. D. Smith, Dr. John G. Archer, B. Coyle and John Hamilton. A Building Committee was appointed and instructed to proceed with the construction of the church.
The rector officiated also on the plantations of Mrs. Lucy Taylor, E. B. Hopkins and Mrs. Judge Black. for the servants. on Sunday afternoons.
The parish was admitted into union with the Convention May 12, 1855, being represented by Robert W. Boyd.
The services were still held in the old school house. Mrs. Luey Taylor gave the parish a solid silver encharistie service. The rector had leave of absence during the summer of 1856.
The church was completed at length, and 1st May, 1859, was consecrated. At the same time the Bishop consecrated the ground near and around the church for a place of burial. The church is one of more than ordinary neatness and beauty. Its style is Gothic : its interior arrangements chaste and simple.
The Rev. Mr. Rowland resigned March 19. 1866. All through the weary days that followed. pious care tended the church and protected it from violence and decay. At Christmas the church was visited. and upon its silent walls were hung the green emblems of the unfading Hope, come into the world of the silent darkness of despair. and at Easter the font was filled with choice signs of a resurrection to new life, the Lord's Prayer was said, and a hymn was sung, and then the church was left in its voiceless solitude.
From 1866 to 1869. the entire Church services were read every Sunday, with the Sunday school of some sixty pupils. first
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by Mr. Thomas Muir, then by Mr. H. W. Coyle, and lastly by Mr. John McRae.
In 1869, the Rev. Richard Johnson, of St. Francisville, took charge of the parish. He died January 7, 1872. The condition of the parish was now an affecting one. Added to the loss of their pastor, they were now left without a male communicant to read the service. The Bishop was asked if a lady could perform the duty ; for, " with a constancy unparalleled, this little congre- gation had never remitted the habit of assembling for public worship." The Bishop authorized a lady, Mrs. Archer, to lead in the worship from her pew. a youth from the Sunday school to read the lessons.
The Rev. J. E. Brown became rector August 3, 1872. Soon after this St. Philip's Chapel, Latenache, was built. The rector also revived the work of Grace Church, on the Atchafalaya, and established a mission near the head of that stream. Mr. Brown resigned January 1, 1881.
In 1883, the church was re-roofed, and materials were col- lected for a rectory. In 1884, the house was completed, at a cost of about $2,000. During this interregnum, Mr. David Letherman, the senior warden, acted most acceptably as lay reader. He was noted for his simple and unaffected piety, and his memory is cherished by all classes with deep affection.
The Rev. James Philson became the fifth rector April 1, 1884. The parish has been represented in the Councils of the Dio- cese by Robert W. Boyd. three times ; E. B. Hopkins, J. H. Halsey. twice; C. W. Baker, Dr. I. Batchelor, C. G. Hale, twice, and Dr. A. A. Batchelor.
LATENACHE .- This mission was commenced in an old school house, on Mrs. Lucy Moore's plantation, in 1872. In that year a chapel was built. On the 11th May, 1873, seventeen persons were confirmed at this chapel. For a reason that is unexplained the work was afterwards abandoned.
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HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
CHRIST CHURCH, BASTROP.
ON the 25th April, 1851, the Rev. R. H. Ranney, of Mon- roe, established regular services at Bastrop. He 'resigned, how- ever. in September. 1852.
On the 15th March, 1855, the Rev. F. R. Holeman, also of Monroe, took up this work. He resigned also. after a few months' labor.
In 1856, the Rev. William Miller, of Prairie Jefferson, began and continned the work for some time.
On the 16th March, 1860, the Bishop organized the parish " under circumstances of great promise." The Rev. T. B. Law- son became rector November 19, 1860. The services were held in the court house. There were then five communicants and sixteen families connected with the parish.
On the 1st May, 1861, the parish was admitted to union with the Convention.
In 1862, the rector put up a school house, in which he taught, and in which he held services as often as possible. It has since been used as the church.
In 1869, the rector reported that the Sunday school was "carried on faithfully by a few ladies and gentlemen, who are worthy of all praise for their zeal and indefatigable labor."
The Rev. Mr. Lawson resigned in 1869, and was succeeded, June 3, 1889, by the Rev. William McCallen. The latter re- signed June 8, 1872. The Rev. William Miller, of Prairie Jeffer- son, took charge of the parish in 1874, and retained it until his death in 1877.
In 1875 the parish acquired a cemetery.
The Rev. Charles Stewart became rector in 1880, resigning in 1881, and was succeeded. in 1882, by the Rev. Oliver Wilson. In the summer and fall of that year the ladies caused to be erected a very convenient rectory.
The Rev. Mr. Wilson resigned in 1883, and the Rev. R. H. Prosser became rector on December 21. 1884. resigning February
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5, 1886. He was succeeded, October 1, 1886, by the Rev. R. S. Stuart.
On the 3d December, 1886. the rectory was destroyed by fire. Mr. Stuart resigned August 1, 1887. Since then services have been held by the Rev. E. W. Hunter, of New Orleans.
The parish has been represented in the Councils of the Dio- cese by J. C. Weaks. D. C. Morgan and David H. Vaughan.
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TRINITY AND ALL SAINTS' CHURCHES, DESOTO PARISH.
IN 1850, "St. Mark's," Shreveport, and "Trinity, " DeSoto. were begun as an united parish by the Rev. William Scull. In that year, chiefly through the exertions and liberal contributions of W. B. Means and Henry Marshall, a neat and comfortable house of worship was built. It was situated near what is now called Gloster. The parishioners were, in addition to the families of the gentlemen named above, the families of General William- son, Mrs. Anne Campbell and JJesse Goodwyn.
In 1853, Mr. Scull resigned. In February. 1854. the Revs. A. D. McCoy and T. S. Bacon held services for two days, and Mr. Bacon, of Natchitoches, thereafter, for a year or more, held monthly services. In 1855, the Williamson and Campbell families removed, and there were no services until 1860, and then an "accidental" one, when Bishops Polk and Gregg, and the Rev. A. B. Russell, of Shreveport, happened to meet there. In 1863. Bishop Lay confirmed one person.
On the 1st Jannary, 1864, the Rev. John Sandels revived the work, holding service twice a month. During the next two years he baptized a white adult and two infants, twelve colored adults and one hundred and twenty-five children.
In May, 1866. Mr. Sandels resigned. The Rev. Dr. Dalzell. of Shreveport, then held service once a month until November, 1867. In March, 1872, the Rev. Mr. Sandels returned, and held monthly services at Keachie, seven miles from Trinity Church. He died October 15, 1874.
The old church, which was never finished, being abont to fall down and being in constant danger from forest fires, was now pulled down, and the materials sokl.
In March, 1881, the Rev. A. Kinney Hall. of Mansfield. re- vived the mission. A neat chapel in the residence of Mrs. M. M. Forman was fitted up with some of the pews, altar rail. etc .. from the old church, and services were recommenced. Mr. Hall re- signed in September. 1882.
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Of this chapel, Bishop Galleher wrote: "There, under the roof which shelters at once the altar of God and a domestic life which only God can make, the worshippers gather from the neighboring country side, and religion finds its honored place."
The Rev. Oliver Wilson served this mission from May to October, 1883. In December, 1883, the Rev. M. T. Turner took charge of it. He resigned in March, 1885.
In 1886, a very tasteful church was erected, "the work," said the Bishop, "of a little band of zealous Churchmen, who know the blessedness of sacrifice for Christ's sake." It was con- secrated. under the name of "All Saints' Church." February 26. 1887.
The Rev. R. H. Prosser took charge of the mission in May, 1886. He resigned in April. 1887, and was succeeded. May 29, 1887, by the Rev. W. T. Douglas.
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HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
CHRIST CHURCH, MANSFIELD.
IN 1851. the Rev. William Scull began holding occasional services at Mansfield. There were three communicants then.
There is no further record of services for some twelve years, when, January 1, 1864, the Rev. John Sandels. then of Arkansas. took charge. He gave one service a month to Mansfield.
On the 17th May. 1866. the parish was admitted into union with the Convention, being represented by Dr. R. T. Gibbs, long the senior warden, and a most earnest, zealous and efficient officer.
The Rev. Mr. Sandels resigned in May, 1866. There were then no regular services until his return in January. 1872. From that date on to his death. October 15, 1874. he faithfully ministered.
Services were held at this time in the court house. The Rev. C. A. Cameron had charge of the parish in 1878. for about a year. Services were then held in a rented hall.
On the 23d February. 1881, the Rev. A. Kinney Hall became rector. A church building of pure Gothic design was soon after commenced. after plans drawn by the rector. and as a completed work was dedicated as a memorial of the dead who fell in battle three miles from its site. April 8. 1864. in the engagement known as the battle of Mansfield. Much of the money to build the church was contributed by friends and comrades of those who fell in the battle.
The church was consecrated June 16. 1882.
The Rev. Mr. Hall resigned in December, 1882. and the Rev. M. T. Turner succeeded him about November, 1883.
The Rev. Mr. Turner resigned in March. 1885. In that year a rectory was built.
The Rev. R. H. Prosser served the parish from May, 1886. to April, 1887; and the Rev. W. T. Douglas from May 22. 1887. to date.
In August. 1888. a very appropriate stained glass window. the workmanship of a Chicago firm, was placed in the church. to the memory of the late Dr. R. T. Gibbs. It was by the untiring
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labors of the good doctor that the plan of building a church, at Mansfield, at last succeeded. It was during his last sickness that the rectory was built. and when he could no longer go down to see how the work progressed, his remaining days were cheered by almost hourly reports of what was being done.
The parish has been represented in the Conneils of the Dio- cese by Dr. R. T. Gibbs, four times ; E. W. Sutherlin and H. H. Stockley.
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HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
MT. OLIVET CHURCH, NEW ORLEANS.
IN November. 1851. the Rev. C. H. Williamson established services and organized a congregation in Algiers.
In 1852. the parish was organized and a suitable piece of ground was purchased. There were twelve communicants.
On the Sth April. 1853. the parish was admitted into union with the Convention.
A neat little church was erected in 1854. It was at the corner of Peter and Olivier streets.
The Rev. Mr. Williamson resigned January 2, 1855, and the Rev. C. F. Rottenstein succeeded him in that year.
On the 17th June, 1855. the church was consecrated.
Mr. Rottenstein resigned in June. 1855, and was succeeded immediately by the Rev. N. C. Pridham. He resigned in 1857.
On the 1st November, 1857. the Rev. Ballard S. Dunn be- came rector. Five months afterwards the parish was declared self-sustaining. A bell was purchased for $200. and a melodeon for $150.
In 1858, the church was repaired and enlarged. at a cost of $1,500, most of which amount was raised outside the parish.
Mr. Dunn resigned October 1. 1859. Mr. C. W. Hilton, then a lay reader, and afterwards a priest, kept the church open, read- ing service twice every Lord's day. The Sunday school, under Mr. John Wesley, as superintendent, was. in 1860, in a most flourishing condition. In the summer of that year, the church was repaired and painted throughout, new lamps were added, and the vestry room was appropriately furnished. Mr. Hilton was ordained December 9, 1860, and then took charge of the parish.
During the Civil War, Mr. Hilton was driven out of the town. August 27, 1863, under orders of the commanding general. The congregation and the Sunday school were scattered by the same power.
At the close of hostilities, the church was in charge of a late chaplain in the Federal service.
On the 30th September, 1865, the Rev. A. G. Bakewell was invited to take charge of the parish. and. on the resignation of
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Mr. Hilton, he became rector, the interdict imposed on the church by General Banks being removed by General Canby.
A large Sunday school was immediately gathered, two hun- dred and thirty pupils, under Mr. John Cosby, as superintend- ent.
On Sunday, the 9th December, 1866. fire was discovered in the fine of the church, but too late to resene it from destruction. In a few hours, this holy edifice, which had just been renewed and made complete in all its arrangements, was consumed to ashes.
With brave hearts the congregation undertook the work of re-building. A generous Vestryman came forward to undertake it when there was not one cent on hand, and soon the new church arose from the ashes of the old one. The first service in the new church was held on Easter day, April 21, 1867. During the win- ter the Methodists had kindly shared their place of worship with the congregation. There were one hundred and twenty-three communicants in 1868, while there had been but thirteen in 1865.
The Rev. Mr. Bakewell resigned in January, 1870, and was sneceeded, in March, 1870, by the Rev. William Leacock. He resigned in 1872, and was succeeded at once by the Rev. C. W. Hilton.
On the 12th November, 1872. the ladies gave an entertain- ment that netted $3.500. The church was then repaired and painted. The mission in Gretna was established this year, mainly by the members of the Youth's Guild.
The Rev. Mr. Hilton resigned in 1875, and was succeeded the same year by the Rev. Wm. C. MeCracken. He resigned after a brief service, and the Rev. Edward Fontaine became rector in 1875.
In 1876, Mr. Dyer became superintendent of the Sunday school.
The Rev. Dr. Fontaine resigned in 1878, and was succeeded. in June of that year, by the present reetor, Rev. C. S. Hedges. D. D. In addition to his labors as rector. Dr. Hedges undertook the duties of a city missionary, visiting the parish prison, the St. Anna's Asylum and Charity Hospital.
In 1881, the parish was reported as gradually improving in every respect. The Ladies' Aid Society was doing a noble work, and the Ladies' Sewing Circle was very zealous.
The communicants now number eighty-one.
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The parish has been represented in the Councils of the Dio- cese, three or more times by James Sanl. three times : James M. Penniger, three times: A. B. Bacon. three times ; W. H. Sey- mour. three times; N. G. Gunnegle, three times: Thomas H. Jones, seven times; G. P. Harris, four times; R. F. Nichols, three times : D. D. Hackney, three times; Lea JJ. Burton, four times: John Winterhalder. three times, and W. S. Smith. four times.
GRETNA .- In 1872, the Rev. C. W. Hilton, of Mount Olivet Church, New Orleans, assisted by A. J. Tardy. then a candidate for Holy Orders, established a mission at Gretna. On Sunday, March 9, 1873, the Bishop preached and reported the congregation as a "good" one.
On the resignation of Mr. Hilton. of his parish Church. he relinquished this mission also. Mr. Tardy was about this time ordained and appointed to Christ Church, New Orleans. The mission was then, in consequence of these losses, abandoned. and has not since been resumed.
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HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
CHRIST CHURCH, NAPOLEONVILLE.
THE first service held in Napoleonville was by Bishop Polk, Sunday, June 25, 1843. but there were no regular services until nine years afterwards.
The Rev. J. F. Young. afterwards Bishop of Florida, was the first rector. He began his work July 18. 1852. There were then buf two communicants.
On Monday, January 10, 1853, the Bishop organized the par- ish " under circumstances of great encouragement. Preparations were made to build such a church as will be in some measure appropriate for one of the wealthiest communities in the State to present as an offering to God."
The first Vestry were Dr. E. E. Kittredge, senior warden : W. W. Pngh, junior warden ; G. W. Jones, A. Franklin Pugh, Edmund Pugh. R. Sparks and William Reed Mills (secretary), Vestrymen.
The plans of the church were drawn by an eminent architect, Frank Wills, of New York, and the promise was of an "exceed . ingly beautiful church in the Gothic style."
Services were held at this time, not only for the white popu- lation, but also on two plantations for the servants.
On Wednesday, May 10, 1854, the church was consecrated. Within a year $9,500 had been contributed towards the erection of the building. Dr. Kittridge gave the land for the church site and burial ground ; subscribed as large an amount as any, and, when the subscription was found not sufficient by half, assumed the whole pecuniary responsibility beyond what subscriptions might cancel. Fortunately subsequent subscriptions made a draft, to any large extent, upon this additional generosity unnec- essary.
. Mr. Young resigned June 6. 1855. During the months that followed, the Rev. Wm. E. Phillips, of Donaldsonville, ministered to the congregation, and continued to do so until 1859, with the exception of the time between January and March 9. 1856, when the Rev. R. HI. Bourne officiated.
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The Rev. John Fulton became rector in 1859, resigning in 1860. There were then twenty white and twenty colored commu- nicants.
In 1867, Bishop Wilmer visited Napoleonville. He held ser vice at the court house, "the church, one of the most complete and graceful structures in the land. having been nearly destroyed. Occupied during the war by troops from Ohio and Indiana. it was converted into barracks, next into a stable for horses, and now into a naked ruin. The inscriptions left upon the charred walls of this holy and beautiful house remain to attest the worth of pop- ular education when not restrained by reverence for God and re- ligion." In visiting this congregation and aiming to revive their drooping energies. the Bishop was gladdened with the many proofs of their sound instruction in the faith, and their intense de- sire to welcome the advent of a minister of Christ, and the res- toration of their church from its ruins.
The congregation, now greatly impoverished, took up the task of restoration, and of their own slender means, made it avail- able for public worship. On the 21st April. 1869, they were able to greet the Bishop within its sacred walls. Of this congregation he declared that they were persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed.
But scarcely was the edifice made habitable, when it was in- jured by a thunder storm. At another time it was struck by lightning, and finally, had to be again abandoned.
In January, 1870, the Rev. Charles A. Cameron took charge of the parish. The fencing of the church property was soon after this restored. and active operations instituted for the rehabilita- tion of the church edifice.
Mr. Cameron resigned in 1875. In 1877, the Rev. Edward Lewis, of Donaldsonville, took charge of the parish. He resigned in 1878. and was succeeded by the Rev. R. S. Stuart, also of Don- aldsonville, February, 1879.
The parish at this time gave earnest hope of faithful work in the future. and of the building of a rectory.
In 1879, a beautiful tablet was erected in the church as a me- morial to the Bishops and to the founders of the church, and another to the memory of Edward Everitt Anding, a noble young man who sacrificed his life during the yellow fever epidemic.
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The names inscribed on the former of these tablets are those of Bishops Polk, Wilmer and Young, together with those of E. E. Kittredge, G. W. Jones. I. D. Ford. E. E. Malhoit. W. R. Mills. W. A. Sims. F. W. Pike, W. W. Pagh. Augustine Pugh, J. E. Pugh, Mrs. J. N. Pngh. Mrs. W. H. Pugh. Mrs. S. A. Phillips, R. C. Martin and E. P. Wright.
In 1881. a handsome lot had been given, and 8250 had been raised for the proposed rectory. This fund grew to $950 during the next year.
Mr. Stuart resigned March 1, 1882. On the 17th July, 1882. the Rev. A. S. Clark. of Thibodaux, assumed the charge. devot - ing half his time to it. Shortly after this the parish united with Thibodaux in the gift of a valuable horse and buggy to the rector. When Mr. Clark relinquished the charge of Napoleonville, the parish at Thibodaux elaimed the privilege of refunding half the value of this gift to Napoleonville, wishing to retain the gift in their own parish. The parish was reported as " harmonions, will- ing to work, and anxious to strengthen itself."
Mr. Clark resigned in July. 1883. In November of that year, the Rev. C. C. Kramer became rector. He resigned in January. 1885. During the interregnum that followed, the Rev. E. W. Hunter, of New Orleans, held services.
In 1886, a rectory was purchased for $1,500.
The Rev. Upton B. Bowden became rector January 1. 1887. and was instituted, May 22d of that year.
During the ineumbeney of Mr. Bowden, two memorial win- dows have been placed, one in memory of Mary Louise Kittredge. wife of G. W. Jones, and the other in memory of Stephen and Mary Louise, their children.
The church has been carpeted throughout, and a handsome eagle lectern has been presented by two of the ladies of the parish.
The parish has been represented in the Conneils of the Diocese by O. Roubien. George W. Jones, three times; W. W. Pugh, three times : Lewis Guion, three times, and Walter Guion.
The present Vestry is: W. W. Pugh, senior warden ; G. W. Jones, junior warden ; Walter Guion, Dr. T. B. Pugh. J. S. Per- kins. W. E. Howell, H. W. Barton and Edward Monsen.
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HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOUISIANA.
ST. LUKE'S CHURCH-TRINITY CHAPEL- GRACE CHURCH, NEW ORLEANS.
. IN 1853. when it was determined to build a new church for St. Paul's parish, the materials of the old church were carefully taken down and re-erected on lots purchased for the purpose at the corner of Hercules (now Rampart) and Euterpe streets, and the care of it was given to the City Missionary Society. For some time the clergy of the city held services. by arrangement among themselves, of a Sunday evening.
In December. 1854. the Rev. John Woart became rector, and regular services were established. Mr. John A. Mitchell, Jr .. was the faithful and efficient superintendent of the Sunday school. the average attendance of which. in 1855. was seventy-seven.
Mr. Woart resigned in 1855, and was succeeded. July 25. 1855. by the Rev. C. S. Hedges. The attendance on the minis- trations of the sanctuary increased rapidly. and. September 25th, a charter for a parish. under the name of "St. Luke's Church." was obtained.
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