History of Baltimore, Maryland, from its founding as a town to the current year, 1729-1898, including its early settlement and development; a description of its historic and interesting localities; political, military, civil, and religious statistcs; biographies of representative citizens, etc., etc, Part 42

Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1344

USA > Maryland > Baltimore County > Baltimore City > History of Baltimore, Maryland, from its founding as a town to the current year, 1729-1898, including its early settlement and development; a description of its historic and interesting localities; political, military, civil, and religious statistcs; biographies of representative citizens, etc., etc > Part 42

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JACKSON SQUARE ENGLISH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.

This congregation is also the result of the earnest labors of the Rev. Wm. Dallman, and was begun in 1891. A church building on the corner of Fairmount avenue and Irvin Place was purchased from the Methodists for $7,000. It was greatly im- proved at a cost of $3,000, and then oc- cupied by the new congregation, whose growth has been steady, until it now num- bers 225. A fine large parsonage adjoins the church. The outlook of this church is very bright.

German Evangelical Synod of North America.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ST.

JOHN'S CHURCH.

This congregation began in a small frame chapel on the rear of the lot occupied by the present church on Biddle street, near Penn- sylvania avenue, about 1847. The Rev. Mr. Heier was the first pastor, but held this po-

sition only nine months, when he was suc- ceeded by the Rev. G. H. Brandau. In the early part of his administration the present church was built. It was dedicated Decem- ber 18, 1853. Until 1869 the Rev. Mr. Brandau remained in charge. He was suc- ceeded by the Rev. J. Muller, who served until 1873. The Rev. B. Sickel was pastor for one year following. The Rev. N. Burk- hart became pastor in 1874, and is still in charge. His administration has been most successful, the membership of the church is 700. The congregation is full of activity and good works. The congregation owns a suitable parsonage near the church.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ST. MATTHEW'S CHURCH.

This is a child of Trinity Lutheran Church, and established its independence in 1852. The first church was erected in 1854 on Canal street near Fayette. The present edifice on Fayette street and Central avenue was dedicated April 27. 1873. The bells in its steeple are cast from cannon captured by the Germans in the late Franco-Prus- sian War. The Emperor of Germany pre- sented them to the congregation. The first pastor was the Rev. Charles Weyl. Others have been the Rev. Messrs. Lubkert and L. D. Meier. The present pastor is the Rev. E. Huber, who assumed charge in 1883. This church has a fine situation and a splendid property. A large chapel is at the rear of the church, which is used for the Sunday-school. In 1890 a large brick par- sonage was erected on the side of the lot at a cost of $11,000. The church cost $60,- 000 when it was erected. There are 350 families connected with it, and the number of communicants is 1,200. The Sunday-

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school has 650 pupils. St. Matthew's also maintains a mission at Homestead, organ- ized in 1889 by the Rev. Mr. Huber.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN JERU- SALEM CHURCH.

In the suburb of Gardenville this im- portant congregation was founded about fifty years ago. It is on Belair avenue. Its history has been most prosperous. The edifice is a two-story brick, with Sunday- school rooms below. The membership of both church and Sunday-school is large. The present pastor is the Rev. Mr. Ruff.

FIRST UNITED EVANGELICAL CHURCH.

The Rev. A. Schwartz, D. D., began a new work and erected a new Lutheran church in 1852 on Eastern avenue, be- tween Register and Bank streets. The church building is a two-story brick edifice and the congregation also owns a school house. There are 300 hundred families at- tached to this church, and its membership is over 800. The Sunday-school is also very large. The present pastor is the Rev. F. A. Conradi, who is doing a good work and is greatly beloved.

INDEPENDENT ST. JOHN'S LUTHERAN CHURCH.

This church was erected about 1870 on West Lombard street extended. It is a two-story brick edifice, and has a strong and vigorous congregation. The large school house owned by the congregation is now used as a public school. A com- fortable and convenient parsonage is also owned by this congregation, and is occu- pied by the present efficient pastor, the Rev. Karl Fritsch.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ZION'S CHURCH.

This church is situated on Canton street, Canton, and was erected some twenty-five years ago under the administration of the Rev. Dr. A. Schwartz. It is a brick build- ing. There is also a good parochial school building owned by the congregation, and a very suitable parsonage was erected in 1897-1898 at a cost of $6,000. There are 200 families attached to this church and 450 communicants.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SALEM CHURCH.

On the corner of Randall street and Bat- tery avenue this brick church was erected in 1886 under the supervision of the Rev. Wm. Kirshnaff, who served as the first pastor until 1897, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, the Rev. John C. Rudolph. There are 125 families attached to this church and 500 communicants. The con- gregation is full of activity and is growing rapidly.

ST. PETER'S GERMAN INDEPENDENT LUTHERAN CHURCH.

A brick church edifice owned by the Bap- tists on the corner of Eager street and Broadway, was purchased in 1886 for a new Lutheran congregation. On November 28, 1886, the new congregation was or- ganized by the Rev. Dr. Kaessman, who, after a few years, was succeeded by the Rev. W. Batz. The congregation has grown gradually, and is now in a prosperous con- dition. The present pastor, who succeeded the Rev. Mr. Batz, is the Rev. Jacob Burk- hart.

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHRIST CHURCH.

This church is situated on the corner of Beason and Decatur streets, at Locust Point. The congregation was organized by the Rev. E. Huber, pastor of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, in 1887, and the church was erected in that year. It is a two-story brick edifice, well suited for religious uses. A suitable parsonage is also owned. The first pastor was the Rev. W. Batz. This church was built in connection with the Emigrant's Mission, and is under the mis- sionary of that institution, who at present is the Rev. H. Dalhof. There are 75 families and 180 communicants attached to this church.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN ST. MATTHEW'S MISSION.

The pastor of St. Matthew's German Lu- theran Church, the Rev. E. Huber, estab- lished this mission at Homestead in 1889, and his congregation still maintains it, un- der the immediate care of the Rev. Karl Buff. The edifice is of composite character, having a stone basement and a frame struc- ture above. It cost $3,000. There are 75 families attached to this mission.

GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CON- CORDIA CHURCH.

In 1893 this church was erected on Wal- brook avenue, near Payson street, under the Rev. J. J. Burkhart. It is growing gradually under the present pastor, the Rev. L. Brendel. Two hundred families are attached to it, and the outlook is en- couraging.

Synod of Ohio.

ST. MARK'S GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH.

In the eastern part of the city a congre-

gation was organized in 1867 on the 3d of November. About sixty heads of families joined in this movement, and met in Broad- way Institute, where the new congregation was immediately organized. They first worshiped in Powhatan Hall, corner of Bond and Pratt streets. A church was built in 1870 corner of Broadway and Fair- mount avenue, and is still the ecclesiastical home of this congregation. The first min- ister in charge was the Rev. W. F. Seeger. Until November 2, 1873, this congregation was affiliated with the Synod of Maryland, but it then withdrew and connected itself with the Synod of Ohio. The edifice is brick, and the congregation is very strong, numbering 600 communicants. The pres- ent pastor, the Rev. John Hoerr, assumed the pastorship in the fall of 1873.

ST. PETER'S ENGLISH EVANGELICAL LU- THERAN CHURCH.

On August 16, 1874, the Rev. E. L. S. Tressel held a service in St. Mark's German Lutheran Church at night, for the purpose of forming an English Lutheran congrega- tion. There were but few present, but after faithful labors of six months a congregation was organized. Up to this time the services had been held in St. Mark's Lutheran Church. A new brick edifice was erected in 1875 at the corner of Fayette street and East street (now Rogers avenue). It was a plain structure. The congregation grew very rapidly, until a larger edifice was necessary, and in 1895 the present hand- some property was built at a cost of $20,- 000. It is constructed of granite and con- sists of church, parsonage and Sunday- school building. The communicants at- tached to St. Peter's number 400, and the

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Sunday-school has an enrollment of 400. This congregation has grown so rapidly that in its comparatively short history it has established four other congregations, all of which are now independent: Concordia, begun in 1880 and organized independently 1887; Martin Luther (organized 1890); Faith (organized 1892); St. James (organ- ized 1894).

CONCORDIA ENGLISH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.

A Sunday-school was organized by the Rev. E. L. Tressel, in a hall on Baltimore and Poppleton streets, in 1880. A congre- gation was gradually gathered and became strong enough to become an independent church in 1887. A small frame chapel had been erected in 1880 on Franklin street, near Arlington avenue. This is still in use. The first pastor was the Rev. A. Pfluger, who was succeeded by the Rev. G. T. Cooper. The present pastor is the Rev. R. E. Golladay. There are 160 communicants attached to the church, and 150 scholars in attendance upon the Sunday-school.

MARTIN LUTHER EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.

In 1890 a goodly number of the members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church were dis- missed for the purpose of organizing an- other congregation. They organized in 1890, and erected at once a parsonage, the first floor of which was made into a large room for church purposes. In 1893 a pretty stone edifice was erected beside the parsonage, at the corner of Patterson Park avenue and Orleans street. It cost $16,000. The Rev. D. E. Snapp has been in charge from the beginning. There are 250 commu- nicants and 500 Sunday-school scholars.

FAITH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.

In 1892 twenty-five members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church were dismissed, for the purpose of organizing Faith Luth- eran Church. For a time the new congre- gation worshiped in a hall, but in the sec- ond year of its history it erected the present edifice on Wolf and Federal streets. It is but the rear portion of the future church, which will doubtless be completed ere long, as the congregation already numbers 150 communicants, and has a Sunday-school of 300. The first pastor was the Rev. Edward Loe. The present pastor is the Rev. H. H. Ackler.

ST. JAMES EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.

This church is also an offshoot from St. Peter's Church. In 1894 it was organized by members from the latter, who were dis- missed for this purpose. It purchased a good church property from the Methodists, at the corner of Hanover and Hamburg streets, at the low cost of $3,000. It con- sists of church edifice and parsonage, and is built of brick. The congregation was or- ganized under the Rev. C. A. F. Hufnagle. The present pastor, who succeeded him, is the Rev. W. E. Tressel, a son of the pastor of St. Peter's Lutheran Church.

Independent of Synodic Connection.

TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH.

Although this is one of the oldest and strongest German congregations in the city, it has no synodic connection; but it still claims to be Lutheran. It was at one time connected with the Synod of Pennsyl- vania. It was organized in 1839, and its

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

large brick edifice is situated on Trinity street, near High street. The first pastor was the Rev. Mr. Guistiniani, who had been a priest of the Roman Catholic Church. The succession of pastors has been as fol- lows: The Rev. Father Heyer, in whose administration the present edifice was bought from the Episcopal Church; the Rev. W. Weyl, who was the founder of St. Matthew's German Lutheran Church; the Rev Mr. Weimann, who went to Germany in 1858 and lost his life in the steamer " Austria;" the Rev. Martin Kratt; the Rev. W. Strobel; the Rev. Jacob Pister; the Rev. Dr. C. F. A. Kaessmann; the Rev. E. Hartmann. The present pastor is the Rev. F. A. Sterger. The membership of the church is very large.

ST. LUKE'S GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH.

In 1864 an offshoot from St. Stephen's German Lutheran Church organized itself into an independent congregation, under the Rev. L. F. Zimmerman. It worshiped for two years in a chapel on Henrietta street near Eutaw. On this same site the present church edifice was erected in 1866. It is a large brick building, and a school house stands adjacent to it. The membership is 700. The present pastor is the Rev. John Wittke, who is a member of the Pennsyl- vania Ministerium. The church, however, is independent.

Lutheran Institutions.

AISQUITH STREET ORPHANAGE.

This institution is not distinctly under the control of the Lutheran Church; but it is very largely supported by individuals of that faith. It is a very large and handsome

building and accommodates a large number of children.

ORPHANAGE AND OLD PEOPLE'S HOME.

The Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church maintains this institution on Lex- ington street, near Fremont street. It is in a vigorous condition and is well supported. It is called the Augsberg Home.

HOME FOR DEACONESSES.

The congregations of the General Synod have a Home for Deaconesses on North Fulton avenue.

. THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The Presbyterian Church was among the last of the great Protestant denominations to perfect an organization in America; but it is safe to say that no ecclesiastical body has been more instrumental in creating our national character than it. Not only in mat- ters moral and religious have these disciples of Calvin and Knox been prominent, but also in affairs commercial and educational. They possessed and presented those sturdy virtues of purity and piety which alone can make a people great, and to these they add- ed a sublime patriotism. The religious and political victories which they had gained abroad they perpetuated here. Though they came comparatively late to these shores, they made their influence felt when they did come. Nowhere was this more true than here in Baltimore where, for two centuries, the Presbyterians have been fore- most in every municipal as well as com- mercial advancement.

Just when or how the Presbyterians first began to settle in Maryland is entirely un- known. Possibly they came hither from Pennslyvania and Delaware, where there

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

appears to have been a goodly number at the dawn of the eighteenth century. The earliest organization of the Presbyterians of America was effected at Philadelphia in 1703, and it is to the records of this Mother Presbytery that we must look for the first reference to the Presbyterians of Maryland. It is recorded in the Minutes of September 21, 1715: "Mr. James Gordon having pre- sented a call from the people of Baltimore county to Mr. Hugh Conn, the Presbytery called for, considered and approved the said Mr. Conn's credentials, and made arange- ments for his ordination." This, it will be remembered, is fifteen years before the town of Baltimore was founded. Beyond this no historical reference is made to the progress of Presbyterianism in Maryland until 1740, when the Rev. Mr. Whitfield (a clergyman of the Church of England) visited Balti- more, and states that he "found close oppo- sition from the Presbyterians in Baltimore."

It is impossible to ascertain just when the first congregation of Presbyterians was formed in Baltimore. About the date of the founding of the town (1730) it would appear that they began to settle in this neighbor- hood. Undoubtedly they were widely sep- arated at first, and lacked organic union. They doubtless worshiped in little groups and in private houses and upper rooms, af- ter the manner of the early Christians. For many years they were held together, not by a common ecclesiastical body, but by a common religious belief.

After Whitfield's reference to the Presby- terians of Baltimore, in 1740, there is no further knowledge of them until 1751, when the Rev. Dr. Bellamy, of New England, visited Baltimore, and found a revival of religion among them there. From this time

on, the history becomes quite clear and cer- tain. The first Presbyterian minister to visit the town was the Rev. Mr. Whittlesey. This was between 1751 and 1760. How long he remained is not known; but, in all like- lihood, it was for a short period, as the con- gregation was not yet strong enough to support a pastor. In 1760 the Donegal Presbytery appointed Mr. John Steele to preach one Sunday in Baltimore. About this time active measures were taken to or- ganize a congregation. The few who had long resided in or near the town were in- creased by the advent of several Presbyter- ian families from Pennsylvania, and by a like number from Europe. The succinct history of this important step is recorded thus by the first settled minister, the Rev. Mr. Patrick Allison: "In 1776 the advanta- geous situation of the town of Baltimore in- duced a few Presbyterian families to remove here from Pennsylvania, and these, with two or three others of the same persuasion who had migrated directly from Europe, formed themselves into a religious society, and had occasional supplies, assembling in private houses, though liable to persecution on this account, as the province groaned under a religious establishment."

In this same year of 1761 Rev. Hector Allison preached in Baltimore on several Sundays, and application was made to the Presbytery of New Castle, Delaware, to have him assigned here. A commission was appointed by the Presbytery to consider this application. It visited Baltimore in November of this year, and found the con- gregation so small that it reported adversely upon the ground that the congregation could not support a minister.

Two years later another attempt was

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

made, and application was this time made to the Presbytery of Philadelphia to send the Rev. Patrick Allison to preach to them. This request was granted. Mr. Allison came at once to Baltimore and entered upon the pastorate of the little Presbyterian flock. He found only thirty houses in the town when he arrived, so slow had been the growth of the place in thirty-three years.

Until 1802 he remained in charge of this congregation, and his administration was attended by great growthand success. Very soon after his advent to Baltimore the con- gregation leased two lots on Fayette street, near Gay, and immediately erected a small log church. Two years later (in 1766) this was sold, and a more suitable lot on the northwest corner of Fayette and North streets was purchased. A plain brick "meeting house" (for so the Presbyterians called their places of worship in those days) was erected thereon, having the dimension of forty-five feet in length and thirty-five feet in width. It contained thirty-six pews. So great was the demand for sittings that all the pews, save two, were immediately rented. In 1771 the edifice was enlarged so as to contain fifty pews. So rapidly did the growth continue that in 1789 this build- ing was found to be too small, and the con- gregation erected a new church edifice on the same site. Two years were required to build it, and when finished, in 1791, it was one of the finest and largest churches in America, having two steeples, and boasting an ample portico supported by four mass- ive, lofty pillars. A parsonage was erected beside the church and a portion of the ground was used as a cemetery.

The Rev. Dr. Allison was succeeded in 1802 by the Rev. James Inglis, D. D., of

New York, whose election gave such grave offense to a large minority that they seceded from the First Church, and established the Second Presbyterian Church, erecting their church edifice on Baltimore street, at the corner of Lloyd street.

In 1804 the first regular organization of the First Presbyterian Church, according to the provisions of "The Form of Govern- ment," took place.

On April 1, 1804, five laymen, Messrs. Robert Purviance, David Stewart, Christo- pher Johnston, Ebenezer Finley and George Salmon, having been duly elected as elders of the First Church, were solemnly or- dained and set apart to the said office. The Rev. Dr. Inglis died suddenly on Sunday morning, August 15, 1819.

In 1820 the Rev. Dr. William Nevins succeeded to the pastorate, and served until 1835 with marked success. To him there succeeded, in 1835, one of the most distin- guished ministers the Presbyterian Church has ever known, the Rev. John C. Backus, D. D. His charming personality-tall, dignified and handsome-was united to great intellectual powers, and he speedily won the good will of the city, as well as of his congregation. It was during his re- markable administration of thirty-nine years that the First Church made its most marked progress and built its present hand- some edifice. It was also in his pastorate that numerous colonies went out from the First Church to establish Presbyterian con- gregations in other parts of the city: the Aisquith Street Church in 1843, the Frank- lin Street Church in 1847, and the West- minster Church in 1859.

In 1852 the question of the removal of the First Church began to be considered,

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

and in the following year it was decided to sell the old site and to remove to the north- west corner of Park avenue and Madison street, where a large lot was at once ac- quired. In July, 1854, ground was broken for the new edifice, but it was not until five years later that it was ready for occupancy. The final service in the old church was held on the last Sunday of September, 1859, and drew together such a vast concourse of peo- ple that the building could accommodate but a small part of them. It was a most solemn occasion and closed most fittingly the long and honorable history of the old First Church. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Backus. The new church is a most imposing edifice, with a stone steeple not to be equaled in America and hardly to be surpassed in the world. The style of the architecture is the decorated Gothic. From time to time it has been enriched with beautiful stained glass win- dows, erected as loving memorials of the departed members of the church. It is justly considered the leading Presbyterian church of the South, and has always been noted for its wealth and its liberality.

The Rev. Dr. Backus was elected Pastor Emeritus in 1875, and was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. James T. Leftwich, who con- tinued the marked prosperity of the con- gregation until 1894, when, owing to failing health, he was obliged to resign his import- ant charge. He, too, was made Pastor Emeritus. He was a man of marked ability and was greatly revered by all who knew him. He died in 1897. In his day the con- gregation maintained its liberal gifts and its charitable works. It also purchased one of Rosevelt's best organs and placed it in

the gallery of the church. It is quite equal to any in the city.

The Rev. Jere Witherspoon, D. D., was next elected to the pastorate. He remained in charge but a few years and then resigned to accept a call to Richmond, Va., in 1897. The present membership is 623. The church maintains an Orphanage for Girls, known as the Egenton Orphanage, at the corner of Madison avenue and Preston street. An attempt is now being made to remove it to the country. This will doubt- less be done in the near future. This is the only charitable institution under the control of the Presbyterian Church in the city.

SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

This important church sprang from the division which arose in the First Church over the election of the Rev. Dr. Inglis in 1802 to its pastorate. Its history has been a vigorous and prosperous one down to the present date. The first edifice at the south- west corner of Baltimore and Lloyd streets was a very plain building. The Rev. Dr. Glendry, who resided near Staunton, Va., was called to the pastorate and inaugurated that era of prosperity which has now con- tinued for almost a century. The church has always had a very large Sunday-school and maintained numerous charitable organ- izations. In 1850, under the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Smith, the present church was built on the old site. Its pastors have been notable men and exercised a wide influence. The succession has been as follows: The Rev. John Breckinridge, D. D., and his brother, the Rev. R. T. Breckinridge, D. D .; the Rev. Lewis Green, D. D., the Rev. Jo- seph T. Smith, D. D., the Rev. G. P. Hayes, D. D., the Rev. Dr. Edwards, the Rev. Dr.

Jm E. Morley MM. D.

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HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

Fulton, the Rev. Dr. Alex. Proudfit. The present pastor is the Rev. R. Howard Tay- lor. The membership is 316.

THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

In 1819 a new church, bearing the above name, was organized on Eutaw street. It had a checkered and precarious existence until 1830, when the Rev. Dr. Musgrave became the pastor. Under him it seemed to thrive. But it gradually declined, though persisting through many hard struggles, until 1861, when the congregation dissolved and the members attached themselves to the Central Church.

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Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n Publication date: 1898 Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1344

Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1344