USA > Michigan > Washtenaw County > Ann Arbor > A history of St. Andrew's Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan > Part 3
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faith; and while the billows of disorganiza- tion have swelled high and dashed angrily around, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world, hath granted us his peace." Mr. Taylor, who was noted in the community as a man of learning, was ap- parently equally strong in his orthodoxy ; for we find him making the following entry in his parish register, 17 February, 1845 : " Baptized, at the house of her mother, . . a young woman sick with consumption. She had been educated in the errors of the Bap- tists." Even as late as 1866, under Mr. Gillespie, a lady belonging to a well known family was removed and was declared " lia- ble to suspension for heresy (Unitarian- ism ) ."
Mr. Taylor's reports are steadily en- couraging. In 1846, he states that, besides paying in advance most of the current ex- penses of the year, the parish has raised $400 for additional land to improve the church ; $120 for a well at the rectory ; $50 for improvements on the edifice and organ. In addition they have begun building a new
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fence about the church, at a cost probably of $75, and have raised $100 for missionary and other religious purposes. They have recently adopted the plan of weekly collec- tions in the Sunday school. It is encour- aging to learn that the " church building is quite too small to accommodate all who apply for pews," and still more pleasant to hear that the congregation are "of one spirit and of one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel."
In the course of the parochial year 1846- 1847, about $200 was raised for improve- ments, and the rector in describing the con- dition of his charge again employs the favorite figure of "dew" as contrasted with "outpourings " of Divine grace. He calls attention to the fact that " the num- ber of families connected with the parish has increased during the year past, and the demand for more and better accommoda- tions for the comfort and convenience of those who wish to attend our services, is every day becoming more urgent." He takes occasion to express his thankfulness
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to individuals of his parish " for many acts of liberal and unexpected benefaction to himself and family," and states that "the prospects of the parish have never been more encouraging." Year after year, however, money had to be raised for repairs and the need for better accommodations was urged in vain, not only by the rector, but by the bishop. In 1848, it is recorded that the congregation had doubled in the last four years, and in the following year the rector ventured to assert that it could be redoubled in a short time, if additional sittings could be obtained. During the years 1845, 1846, 1847, 1848, there is a blank in the minutes of the vestry, so that we have practically nothing to supplement Mr. Taylor's annual reports to the conven- tion.
In the spring of 1849, he notes that " during the past year the parish has suf- fered severely from the prevalence of an unusual, alarming and fatal disease. Some of our most efficient members have been re- moved from the church militant and their
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spirits enrolled with the just in the heav- enly paradise." Possibly this may have been the cholera.1 From the absence of any further mention of the subject in the annual reports the epidemic seems to have spent itself in this year ; but as late as 1849 we find this record in the parish register : "Died, a young man by the name of Hall, supposed by his friends to have had the cholera-was buried before light the same night he died-a sermon was preached ap- propriate to the occasion on Sunday, Au- gust 5." In this year the records in the Vestry Book are resumed, and under date of 28 April we find the following entry : " Resolved, that Rev. C. C. Taylor be and is hereby authorized and requested by this Board to visit the Eastern States, at any time convenient to himself, for the purpose of a Parochial School in this Parish, pro- vided the same meet with the approval of the bishop, and subject to such arrange- ments as may be agreed upon between the
1 Miss Corselius states that it was an epidemic of fever, something like meningitis. The great cholera epidemic was, of course, in 1833.
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Parish and the Convention of the State, relative to the change thereof into a Dio- cesan School." Apparently this interest- ing project came to nothing.
Although in this year the rector looks forward to a time not far distant when they can apply some money to the building of a new church, the financial situation seems to have become, for the moment, acute. In the spring of 1850, he was obliged to report that a debt has for sometime past been accumulating and at present amounts to $200 or $300, " and has, at last, assumed such a form that it can no longer be neglected without great peril to the pros- perity of the Parish." However, there is a unanimous resolve that the next year it shall be fully paid. One favorable indi- cation is that the congregation is prompt in paying the rector's salary, at this time $625. During the previous year the par- sonage had been sold to Mr. Ladd, and the payment, amply secured or invested, was to be held in readiness for a new building when needed. The reasons given for the
REV. GEORGE P. WILLIAMS
Ann Arbor, Michigan. 49
of the bishop and clergy of the diocese than from his own desire. The report to the convention in the spring of 1857, signed by Mr. John A. Welles, senior warden, notes : " Since the resignation of the rector, Mr. Taylor, there has been no settled pastor in this parish. In the interim an invitation has been extended by the vestry to the Rev. George P. Williams of the University. He has faithfully and gratuitously per- formed the services and all the various duties appertaining to the sacred office, notwithstanding his arduous professional engagements, and he has, in this way, be- come the largest contributor toward the payment of a debt of $460 incurred some years since." Bishop Gillespie, in citing this extract, takes occasion himself to pay a deserved tribute to this rare personality, who devoted his life to the services of the church of St. Andrew and the University of Michigan. Mr. Welles' report contains further interesting matter. The church is now free of debt, and " the parsonage fund, amounting to $720, is safely invested in 4
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bonds and mortgages, and, with the avails of lots valued at $250, will be applied to the sole purpose for which the money was originally given. In addition to the pres- ent church lot, which can hereafter be used for the parsonage, the parish owns an acre of ground adjoining, which is designed for a new church. The subject of building one worthy of the place is now beginning to be agitated. Is it not worthy of considera- tion on the part of the church at large whether we should be assisted to enlarge the place to an extent which will accommodate with free sittings such students of the Uni- versity as may be inclined to attend the ser- vices of our church?" This latter sugges- tion, afterwards adopted when the new church was built, must have been cordially welcomed by the bishop, who early recog- nized St. Andrew's as one of the most important points in the diocese, owing to the number of young men connected with the University who were within reach of its influence.
Receiving a unanimous call to return,
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Mr. Taylor resigned from his duties in the western part of the State, 10 March, 1852, and resumed his work at Ann Arbor, where we learn that "the parish are contemplat- ing an immediate effort for the erection of a new church." The report for the year 1852-1853 is very hopeful. For the thirteen months preceding the last Easter meeting there had not been one cent of repudiated or unpaid rent for pews. Every pew was rented and about two thirds by more than one family, while in the city and vicinity were ten or fifteen nominal Episcopalians with no seat in the church. The income of the parish exceeded all ex- penses, so that the church continued free of debt. When Mr. Taylor first came they owed $700 and did not own all of the small lot on which the church stood. The parsonage fund had reached $900, and the ladies had accumulated about $450 for a new organ. He adds: "Half enough to build a new church might have been ex- pended in enlarging and repairing the present edifice had I not ever conscientiously
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and earnestly disapproved of the measure." But the rector concludes his extremely sat- isfactory account with the announcement of his resignation to take effect during the July following when he purposes to as- sume the charge of St. Luke's, Kalamazoo. He gives as the reason for this step his conviction, confirmed by the bishop, that the unoccupied field to which he is called has a paramount claim on his services. Bishop Gillespie, however, conjectures that his discouragement at the uncertain pros- pect of securing a church building suit- able to the needs of the community here may have determined him to make the change. As an evidence of his popularity in this parish it should be noted that the vestry endeavored to induce him to with- draw his resignation, and after that failed they voted that resolutions of regret, drafted by a committee appointed for the purpose, be sent to the Christian Witness and Church Advocate.
Mr. Taylor died on the first of Feb- ruary, 1855, less than two years after his
REV. DAVID F. LUMSDEN
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removal to Kalamazoo. He must have been a man of great versatility, uniting the oc- cupations of preacher, scholar and farmer. Unfortunately the present writer has not had the advantage of examining the dis- course delivered at his burial by the Rev- erend D. T. Grinnell, in which his character and work were described. The statistics of his pastorate at Ann Arbor, given in his final report to the convention, are: mar- riages, 21; burials, 80; confirmations, 91; baptisms, 144, of which 41 were adults and 103 infants; contributions for religious and benevolent purposes, aside from those for the payment of the debt, salaries and , incidental expenses, $2,500.
After a vacancy of nearly a year, during which the Reverend A. S. Hollister sup- plied part of the time, the Reverend David S. Lumsden, of Connecticut, was called, and entered upon his duties 12 March, 1854, although according to the vestry minutes he preached his first sermon 1 March. Originally offered $600 a year, with $50 for transporting himself and family to the
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new parish, he was finally engaged at $750. Some of the salaries at this period may not be without interest. Miss Sarah South- well was asked to play the melodion in the church at $50 per annum. The next year, on 9 April, Mr. Wagner was engaged as sexton at $1.00 a week for six months, and at $1.25 a week for the remainder of the year. At this meeting the pew rent of Professor Frieze was remitted as a slight acknowledgment of his services as organ- ist-whether regularly or from time to time does not appear. Mr. Lumsden's first re- port contains the following paradoxical statement: "There are indications of much vital power in the parish, and, should we judge from outward signs, the time is not far distant when the great Head of the church will pour out his blessing.
Since my connection with my people I have buried three-one a communicant and one Sunday school scholar." But he tells us beside that they have taken the preliminary steps toward erecting a new church, and are waiting for the architect to place the
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plans and specifications in their hands. The new building is to cost $8,000, of which $6,000 is now subscribed, $1,000 is promised, and the remainder is in a fair way of being obtained.
The bishop, in his annual address to the convention which met in the following spring, in referring to the need of increased church accommodations at Ann Arbor, puts the case very strongly. "The congrega- tion," he says, "has increased under the active exertions of their pastor. But until a new church is erected, or the old one greatly enlarged, its further increase must be limited. Many of the students of the State University who have been brought up in the church, and others who prefer her services, are kept away for the want of church accommodations. It is a serious loss to us, and I trust the zeal and energy which have been exerted on this subject in the parish will be kindly met by the mem- bers of the church throughout the diocese, as it deeply concerns us all. Part of the year, including the medical students, there
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have been three hundred persons connected with the University, and it is sad to think that the church has made no provision for their instruction in holy things."
For some reason or another the project of rebuilding was given up, and, 9 April, 1855, the vestry passed a resolution em- powering the building committee to make plans and contracts for additions to the existing church. Possibly the extra ex- penses of the year may have influenced the decision.
On the twenty-fourth of March the rec- tor's salary was increased to $900, 21 June the specifications for the new organ, en- tered in detail in the Vestry Book under that date, were received, and 10 September the contract for new furnaces was awarded. Besides the putting in of the new organ and furnaces, the church was let down two feet and enlarged, and the lot was fenced in. As to the cost the rector states in a report to the convention in 1856: "I cannot state what our expenses have been, since our bills are not yet settled; but our liabilities seem
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to be between $4,700 and $5,000, the organ and furniture included." Of this the ladies furnished nearly $600 for the organ and $200 for lamps. Ranging beyond these business details, the rector indulges in another of his flights of pessimistic elo- quence. "But," he says, "the spiritual condition of a church is the momentous object for the pastor. , The harvest indeed is white, as the promise is abundant, but the return is meagre save in the depart- ment of death."
A subscription list dated 31 March, 1855, containing a sketch of the projected improvements is worth quoting at some length.
"The undersigned being desirous," it says, "of repairing the edifice in the city of Ann Arbor, known as St. Andrew's Church, letting down the same two feet or more, building a large addition thereto, and fencing the lot, hereby agree to pay to the Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Andrew's Church at Ann Arbor the sums set opposite their respective names, on instalments, as the same may be needed and called for by reso-
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lution of the Vestrymen, to effect those ob- jects and defray the expenses of the same. When the repairs and the additions shall be completed, the new seats shall be ap- praised by the Vestrymen, or by a commit- tee appointed by the Church or Society, at the relative values for such sums in the aggregate as shall be equal to about three fourths of all such expenses, and the same shall be put up at auction, the appraised value of each seat or pew being the mini- mum bid that shall be received on the same, the bidders bidding above the ap- praised value for a choice of seats. The sums paid on this subscription shall be re- ceived as so much payment on such bids and in payment for seats at the appraised value. After the conclusion of the sale, each purchaser shall be entitled to a certifi- cate, signed by the Vestrymen, certifying that he has become the purchaser of the same, and that he and his heirs and assigns are and shall be entitled to the use and occu- pancy thereof subject to such taxes and assessments as the Vestrymen may impose on the same, from time to time, to support the clergyman, pay incidental expenses of the church and repairs, and on condition that such taxes and assessments shall be paid by such purchaser or the person hold-
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ing under him, and that, if the same are not paid punctually, all the right, title and in- terest acquired by such purchaser and cer- tificate may be declared forfeited, the occu- pant turned out the possession, and the seat again sold by the Vestrymen for the benefit of the church, Provided, that, if any owner of a seat shall give the use of the same to the church for a year or from year to year, he shall not be liable for any such taxes or assessments during the year or years the use of the same shall be given to the church. The subscriptions shall be recorded in the Record of the Society, in order to be preserved as a matter of evi- dence and as an agreement between the church of the one part and the subscribers respectively of the other part. Estimated expenses, three thousand dollars, $3,000."
Then follow thirty-three names whose total subscriptions amount to $2640. They are: E. C. Seaman (in case the branch form of addition be adopted $150, other- wise $100), $100; C. H. Millen, $100; V. Chapin, $300; Wm. L. Loomis, $150; L. R. [Bachan ?], $50 ; A. H. Lund, $150; A. F. Schmidt, $50; H. Rumsey, $100; H. I. Beakes, $50; Wm. Finley, $150; E. Welles,
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$150; A. B. Wood, $50 ; C. Thornton, $15; I. S. Pierson, $25; T. W. Root, $25; J. N. Gott, $25; James Kingsley, $150; Geo. Danforth, $75 ; C. H. Vandon, $25; Thos. Edwards, $25; Wm. M. Sinclair, $150; Robt. J. Barry, $10; Mrs. Sophia Page, $100; Dr. Palmer, $25; Wm. D. Briggs, $25; C. Chapin, $50; B. Lichner, $150; J. C. McMaster, $40; H. S. Friese, $50; E. R. Tremain, $75; Dr. Douglas, $25; H. W. Welles, $100; Professor Fasquelle, $75. At a meeting of the vestry on 15 January, 1856, twenty-two pews were sold, ten at $100 each; four at $75; seven at $50, and one at $40.
Bishop Gillespie, in discussing the advis- ability of enlarging or rebuilding at this time, regards it as extremely fortunate for the parish that the former policy was adopted. Owing to the difficulty of raising money and owing to the inferior style of architecture then prevailing, it would have been impossible to secure an edifice equal to the present one. In the Vestry Book for 2 April, 1858, there is a list of
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pews assessed with the amounts on each. Numbers 6 to 12, 30-36, 43-49, 67-73 are rated at $25 each ; 5, 13, 29, 50, 66, 74 at $22; 14, 28, 37, 42, 65 at $20; 4, 15, 27, 38, 41, 52, 64, 75 at $18; 16, 26, 53, 63 at $15 ; 3, 76 at $14; 1, 2, 17, 18, 25, 54, 62, 77, 78 at $12; 24, 39, 40, 55 at $10 ; 19, 20, 59, 60 at $8 ; 21, 58 at $6; 22, 23, 56, 57 at $5. It was further or- dered that those not already taken be sold at auction, the highest bidders to be given the choice of seats and the remainder to be rented at the assessed annual value.
The improvements seem to have been a heavy strain on the resources of the parish, as appears from the following entry, 2 July, 1857: " St. Andrew's Church of Ann Arbor being embarrassed with numerous debts, amounting in the aggregate to more than $600, and about four hundred and thirty dollars over and above the present available assets of the church, we, the un- dersigned members of the congregation, for the purpose of relieving the church of its most pressing debts and embarrassments,
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severally promise and agree to pay the treasurer of said church the several sums set opposite our names respectively, on con- dition that the sum of $200 at least shall be subscribed by responsible persons ; and these subscriptions shall not take effect and be payable until such sum or more shall be subscribed." The twenty-seven appended subscriptions range from $5 to $25 each. On the same day on which this proposition is recorded, the vestry issued a printed circular, to "respectfully call the atten- tion of the members of the congregation to the financial condition of the church, and the necessity of making provision for the payment of its debts." Among the items of indebtedness specified, there was due Mr. Wagner, the former sexton, $45; Mr. Toms, the present sexton, $28; the rector for one quarter's salary and the un- paid balance of another's, $326.00 ; due the diocese, $75, for three years' assessments, 1855, 1856, 1857, less $15 paid in June, 1857. The remainder of the $601 is owing for lumber, glass and other materials used
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in the repair of the church. The resources to meet these obligations are about $170, chiefly unpaid pew rents. The remainder of the circular is quoted in order to show what urgent language the vestry had to make use of even in those days.
"In addition to the above," they say, "Mr. Jordan has a claim against the church of over $150, which is now in suit, and on which he may or may not recover judgment.
" The sundry collections have been tri- fling in amount, quite too small to pay for fuel, lights, the services of the organ boy, insurance and other incidental ex- penses, and the Diocesan assessments, which amount in the aggregate to over two hun- dred dollars per year.
" The annual assessment of the Diocese is to defray the annual expenses of the con- vention, to pay the traveling expenses of the bishop, etc., etc. ; and we submit to the good sense of the congregation if it is cred- itable to allow such expenses to remain un- paid, and to accumulate from year to year. The present sexton is a poor man, and so was the former one, and yet their salaries for nearly two years are in arrears and
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unpaid. Is it right? Has the church treated them justly and properly?
" The Rector also needs his pay prompt- ly ; but such have been the embarrassments of the church during the past year, that the income of each quarter has been applied to previous debts of the most pressing char- acter, due to the Rector and others.
"The question arises, What remedy can be adopted? Insomuch as the pews belong- ing to the church cannot be sold at present and are unavailable, we know of no remedy but to raise the money by loan and mort- gage the church property, or to raise the money by subscription. As the amount is not large, the undersigned indulge the hope that it may be raised by subscription, and recommend that mode of doing it. We, therefore, call upon all members of the congregation to give attention to the sub- ject, to contribute more liberally, as a general rule, to the Sunday collections, and to subscribe as much as they deem reason- able, considering their circumstances and the condition of the church, to aid in reliev- ing the church from its embarrassments and redeeming its credit."
Apparently the congregation responded to this appeal and to the example of the
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few more devoted members who began the subscription; for, in 1858, the rector re- ports : "We have paid all our indebtedness for the new church, so that we are now free of debt." During the course of the ensuing year the arrears in the assessment was paid to the convention.
In view of the brighter financial pros- pects various new projects were under- taken. On the seventh of April, 1858, $3,000 insurance was put upon the church and $1,000 on the organ. At the same meeting, a committee was appointed to take into consideration the expediency of erect- ing a parsonage on the church grounds. Three weeks later, it was resolved to build, and to raise a sum not exceeding $2,000 by a mortgage on the lot and church, if necessary. The interest, it is curious to note, was not to exceed 10 per cent. The undertaking never got very far; for, 22 May, the rector sent a letter to the board requesting that the whole matter be dropped in consideration of the opposition of certain persons in whose friendship and 5
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judgment he had the highest confidence. In consequence it was nearly twenty-five years before St. Andrew's got a parsonage, the one now in use.
One more improvement remained still to be made during Mr. Lumsden's term. On the nineteenth of July, 1858, he submitted a proposal to light the church with gas, and, a committee being appointed on the subject, the contract was awarded, 14 Sep- tember, to Mr. James Clements for $292.16. It seemed difficult to extricate the church permanently from its financial embarrass- ments. Among other measures adopted, it was resolved, 9 April, 1860, that, since the parish was $200 in debt, the assessment on the pews should be raised, and later a special collection was made Sunday evenings ; but it was not until the advent of Mr. Lums- den's successor that affairs were put on a better footing.
For the spiritual conditions of this period we are mainly dependent on the annual reports of the rector. In 1857, although the number of confirmed was only
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seven, and although the finances were at a low ebb, he reported: "The prospects of this parish were never brighter; . . . the time is not far distant when this must, from the nature of the case, became a strong point in the Diocese. Young men come here from all parts of the Union, and many go away with the prejudice removed (with which they come) against the church." Perhaps he was anticipating the extraor- dinary increase of the next year when sixty- five persons were confirmed. The bishop was obliged to come twice, and notes that on his first visit, 22 March, 1858, " many persons were prevented from attending the service, as the crowd was so great that the church edifice was not sufficient for their accommodation." Owing to the number of students to be cared for, he expresses the opinion, often heard before and since, that it should concern the whole diocese to pro- vide increased accommodations. But, al- though the church continued to increase steadily, the record for this year was ab- normal, a local manifestation of a revival
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