History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 85

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882

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With the cessation of the oil flurry he severed his connection with this paper and went to St. Catherines, Ont., arriving there when that place was a center of refuge for both northern and southern rebels, and a nest in which many treasonable plans were hatched. His experi- ence as a newspaper man had made him an expert at obtaining information, and his un- compromising union sentiment had prompted him to communicate to the secret service officers of the United States Government located in that city. He remained at St. Catherines seve- ral months engaged in the dangerous business.

The following spring he went east, bearing letters to Horace Greeley. Previous to going to New York City, he visited a number of the large cities of the east. On his arrival at New York he presented his letters to the venerable editor of the Tribune, and was cordially re- ceived. Greeley offered him several positions of responsibility, but feeling keenly his phys- ical inability, he hesitated to accept. IIe be- came acquainted with the elder James Gordon Bennett, of the Herald, met Henry M. Stanley, the African explorer, then a newspaper re- porter, and other newspaper notables. He was an eye witness of the terrible draft riots in the

city, passed up the Hudson River to Troy and there saw a similar scene, but lacking the ter- ror of numbers which marked the metropolitan ementi. Settling in one of the suburban por- tions of Troy - the village of Lansingburg - he embarked in two enterprises, one journalistic the other matrimonial. The latter was his mar- riage to Miss Louise Bradshaw, on New Year's Day, 1866. For several years after his mar- riage he was connected in various capacities with a number of the leading papers of the country.

In 1872 he came to Monroe as foreman of the Monroe Commercial. He soon became favor- ably known as thoroughly skilled in all the details of his craft and as a forcible writer. The death of E. G. Morton some years after- ward rendered necessary the closing up of the affairs of the Monroe Monitor, which had been for years the local Democratic paper of the county. The interest of Lee & Kurz was pur- chased by a syndicate composed of some of the leading Democratic citizens; some of the other stockholders of the Monitor also entered the syndicate, and on March 17, 1880, the first number of the Monroe Democrat was issued, with Mr. Crampton as manager and editor, and J. H. Kurz as secretary and treasurer of the new corporation. Since that time Mr. Cramp- ton's story is the story of the Monroe Democrat, to which he has devoted his energies and abilities, and which has had a gratifying and successful career of steady and unprecedented growth.

Two children have been born to Mr. Cramp- ton, one of whom, Charles, a bright and promis- ing lad, has passed across the waveless sea to the silent shore beyond ; the other, Faust, a close and energetic student, is laying the foundation for future career of usefulness and honor.

Mr. Crampton became a member of Monroe Lodge, No. 27, F. and A. M., in April, 1875. An ardent advocate of the " mystic tie," he entered the Chapter in December of the same year, became a Cryptic Mason in 1877, and a Knights Templar in 1878. He was for several years the secretary of Monroe Lodge, No. 27, and has been the junior warden ; has been sec- retary of the Chapter ; for a number of terms recorder of the Commandery, and in 1888 was elected its eminent commander.

Politically, Mr. Crampton has sought no office. In 1888 he was chosen by the common

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THE PRESS OF MONROE COUNTY.

council a member of the board of education, and was made secretary by the board. His interest in the cause of education knows no limit, and he contemplates with reasonable pride the recent remarkable advancement made in our public school system.

As a writer, Mr. Crampton is terse, vigorous and pointed. He is a sleepless, untiring and persistent advocate of any measure calculated for the good of the community. The question of popularity or expediency is always sub- servient to the question of right. To every one who has anything to say of general in-

terest, and knows how to say it, whether the subject be poetical, political, polemical, theo- logical, domestic, agricultural or literary, the latch string of the sanctum always hangs out, and the door of the column is always open. His own writings, whether as unsigned edito- rial and comment upon current and local events, or appearing over a pseudonym, are widely read ; and for a time in addition to the work demanded by his own journal, he fur- nished editorial for one of the newspaper unions. He is yet in the prime of his powers, with probably many useful years yet before him.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCHES OF MONROE COUNTY.

T THE First Presbyterian church of Monroe, was organized in the old court house, by Rev. Messrs. Moses Hunter and John Monteith, the 13th of January, 1820. So far as can be ascertained, the following individuals consti- tuted the church at the time of its organiza- tion, viz .: Joseph Farrington, Persis Farring- ton, Isabella Mulholland, Mary Moore, Samuel Egnew, George Alford, Priscilla Alford, Polly Wells, Eliza D. Johnson, Samuel and Anna Felt, Rebecca Rice, Harvey Bliss, Nancy Bliss, Mrs. Sanborne, and Lucy Egnew, who united with the church by letters of dismission from other churches ; together with John Anderson, Eliza Anderson, Wolcott Lawrence and Caroline Lawrence, who were received on profession of their faith. On the 30th of the same month the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was, for the first time, administered - the number par- taking of the communion being twenty-two. During the year 1820, others were admitted into the fellowship of the church. The 21st of May Wolcott Lawrence and Joseph Farring- ton, who had been elected to that office the day previous, were ordained as the elders of the church ; and not long afterwards (the exact date cannot be ascertained) Henry Disbrow and Oliver Jolinson were added to the session. In the course of the same year the Sabbath school was organized under the superintendence of Charles Noble.

Rev. Moses Hunter, who labored alternately at Monroe, Fort Meigs and Perrysburg, sup- plied the pulpit for a few months. Mr. Hunter came into the Territory from the East at the solicitation of Rev. John Monteith, who was at that time the English preacher in Detroit He was the instrument of doing much good as a Missionary of the Gospel in this part of our country.

After Mr. Hunter's departure the church en- pyed occasional preaching -- not unfrequently r a few months at a time - from Rev. Messrs.

Frontis, Ely, Prince, Goodman and McIlvaine, until the year 1829, when Rev. P. W. Warriner was installed their first pastor by the Presby- tery of Monroe. April 5, 1833, Robert Clark and Harry Conant were elected members of the session. When Mr. Warriner resigned his pastorial office in the spring of the next year, the church numbered one hundred and twenty communicants.

The church remained destitute of a stated supply for some months, when Rev. John Beatie served them in that capacity for a short time, yielding his post in June, 1835, to Rev. R. H. Conklin.

Not long after this Mr. Conklin left the field, and Rev. Samuel Center supplied the pulpit until the 16th of May, 1837, when Rev. J. W. Blythe was invited to the pastoral charge. As this call was not an unanimous one - the minority of the members being opposed to him on doctrinal grounds-considerable dissatisfac- tion was felt, which resulted at the close of the year in a division of the church - twenty-nine individuals leaving it for the purpose of form- ing the Second Presbyterian Church of Monroe. They chose Rev. R. S. Crampton as their pas- tor ; and also elected Wolcott Lawrence, Nor- man R. Haskell, William H. Boyd and Isaac Lewis as their session. The First Church at the same time added to the eldership John Anderson and Charles Noble. Zion met with a great loss in the month of October of this year in the death of Dr. Robert Clark, a learned, judicious and distinguished member of the session, and an exemplary and devoted Chris- tian.

In the autumn of 1838 Mr. Blythe was dis- missed, and the First Church immediately after extended an unanimous call to Rev. Conway P. Wing to become their pastor. He accepted the invitation, and soon entered upon the duties of his office.

April 9, 1839, the union of the two churches

[498]

THENEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY,

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDAT ONS.

Conway P. Wing

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THE CHURCHES OF MONROE COUNTY.

was effected. thirty-four individuals composing the Second Church being cordially received back into the old organization. The 19th of June Mr. Wing was installed their pastor by the Presbytery of Mouroe. In the month of November following, Norman R. Haskell, William H. Boyd and Stephen P. Morehouse were elected elders of the church. Two years after this Mr. Wing was constrained on account of ill-health to resign his charge and leave for a milder climate, to the sincere regret of the church and congregation. The number of communicants at this time was two hundred and thirteen. {For steel plate of Mr. Wing see page 499.)

July 3, 1840, the session were called upon to part with one of their number, Colonel John Anderson, from the very infancy of the church one of its main pillars, and most efficient and active members.

Rev R. W. Patterson succeeded Mr. Wing as a stated supply for a few months; but not wishing to remain, Rev. Nathaniel West en- tered into the pastoral relation in the fall of 1842. The following year about twenty took letters of dismission for the purpose of organ- izing a new Presbyterian Church at La Salle. Mr. West vacated the field soon after this re- vival. Before his departure God in his provi- dence saw fit to bereave his people again by the removal of another of their valued and faithful members, their first elder, and an able officer in the church. Judge Lawrence died April 29, 1843.

After these events Rev. William Paige sup. plied the pulpit the greater part of the time until the autumn of 1845, when Rev. Robert Southgate accepted the call to the pastoral office. The installation of Mr. Southgate did not take place until the 15th of February, 1848, on the evening of the same day in which the new house of worship was dedicated to the service of the Triune Jehovah. Mr. Southgate accepted a call to Ipswich, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1849; the church numbering at the time of his departure two hundred and three members. Soon after this event several individuals were, at their own request, dis- missed to constitute the Congregational Church of Raisinville.

After the lapse of a few months Rev. Henry H. Northrup came to supply the pulpil. Dur- ing his ministery the Sabbath School enjoyed a

pleasing work of grace, which resulted in the addition to the church of sixteen of the youth, in 1850. September 2, 1851, God called to his heavenly rest Dr. Harry Conant, the wisdom of whose counsels, the consistency of whose life and whose reliableness as a member of the session were such as to render his death generally lamented.

At the commencement of the next year Rev. Thomas Forster succeeded Mr. Northrup in the same capacity as a stated supply. Six months afterwards, the 7th of July, Henry Disbrow, another of that company of efficient, active and honored officers in the church, departed this life.

Rev. Lonis P. Ledoux, having accepted a call to the pastoral charge, entered upon his labors in July, 1853. His installation took place the 26th of October following. Believing that the health of Mrs. Ledoux required his removal to a milder climate, he left in April, 1855, for Richmond, Virginia, having been invited to the pastoral office there.

He was succeeded in the same relation the first of November by Rev. Addison K. Strong, his installation occurring January 14, 1856. God converted many of the impenitent - a large part of whom were heads of families. As the fruits of this gracious manifestation of the divine favor to Zion, fifty persons were received into its fellowship on profession of their faith. The first Sabbath of August following Daniel S. Bacon, Thomas Clark and George Landon, were ordained elders in this church. The number of members in June, 1857, in full com- munion was two hundred and eleven. During Dr. Strong's pastorate Isaac Lewis was elected and installed an elder of the church.

The Rev. Dr. A. K. Strong was succeeded by the Rev. Charles N. Mattoon, D. D. His in- stallation occurred January 6, 1864, followed by a very successful pastorate until 1869, when having attained the age of over 70, and in declining health, tendered his resignation. He died at Monroe, May 27, 1886. Rev. W. W. Newell was installed October 1, 1869, and supplied the pulpit the two following years, and was succeeded by the Rev. Douglas P. Putnam, who was installed pastor April 4, 1871, and sustained that relation for the ten succeeding years. In 1881 Rev. W. W. Mac- omber supplied the pulpit for the two succeed - ing years as a supply, when Rev. Samuel S. Pratt received a call from the church ; was in-

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stalled as pastor October 26, 1883, and sustained that relation until October 1, 1889, when he tendered his resignation. The Rev. Erasmus Boyd, D. D., for over a quarter of a century principal of the Monroe Female Seminary, fre- quently supplied the pulpit. Reference is here made to his biography below.

The Monroe Presbytery was organized Feb- rnary 12, 1834. The First Presbyterian Church was erected on the corner of First and Cass streets, now occupied by Zions Lutheran Church for school purposes. The large and spacious brick church now occupied by said church and society was erected on the south side of the public square, west of Washington street (the site therefor having been donated by Colonel Oliver Johnson), was built and dedicated in 1846, and during the pastorate of Rev. D. P. Putnam was greatly improved and re.dedicated at an expense of $14,000. The chapel adjoining the church on the west was erected and dedicated in November, 1869, and the parsonage, located on the west side of Washington street, which will favorably com- pare with any one in the State, was erected in 1880. August 1, 1886, Henry Austin and Tal- cott E. Wing were ordained elders. The pres- ent membership in full communion is two hundred and thirty six, and membership of Sabbath School one hundred and sixty.

ERASMAS JAMES BOYD,

Brother of the Hon. William H. Boyd, was born in central New York. He was graduated from Hamilton College, and from the New York Theological Seminary. From the latter he immediately accepted a pastorate in Brook- lyn, Michigan, where he won the hearts of his people, and is still remembered by the friends he drew about him. The citizens of Monroe, Michigan, offered Mr. Boyd great inducements to come to Monroe and found a young ladies' seminary. The buildings and grounds were purchased from Stolham Wing, and Mr. Boyd became principal. The seminary proved a great success under his management, and in a few years he was enabled to purchase the property and make additions required by the increasing number of scholars. He employed a fine corps of teachers in all branches, and the departments of music and art developed un-

usual talent. The annual concerts of instru- mental and vocal music, as well as those given at intervals during the year, were a rare treat to the people of Monroe. A course of lectures during the winter months was an interesting feature of the institution. And the citizens as well as the pupils listened to such men as President Tappan, Professors Heavens, Winch- ell and Upham and President White, of Cor- nell, together with many others too numerous to mention. Mr. Boyd was unusually quick in detecting talent as well as the particular bent of minds under his instruction, and many a timid girl has been encouraged in the line when her success eventually showed the rare decernment he possessed. He was also an ex- cellent and discriminating judge of literature, poetry and the fine arts, and those under his care ever remember the pleasure and enthus- iasm be displayed with their best, but imma- ture efforts. Thus he endeared himself to every member of the school by his sympathy, charity and kindness. To the struggling student he was unfailing in patience and atten- tion, and generous to many in a substantial degree With all his duties as principal of a flourishing seminary, and as a public spirited man in the church and city, he ever sought out the neglected and needy. Mr. Boyd established a mission school in the third ward; a brick building suitable for the undertaking was erected, and many of foreign descent were gathered into the Sunday School and evening meetings. Some of the young boys were incited to a better education, and a number of them grown to manhood are promising busi- ness men in this and other cities. Some en- tered the army during the rebellion and fought a good fight, from time to time writing to their benefactor, and amid the dangers of the camp and battlefield, were sought out by kind and encouraging letters from Mr. Boyd, whose care for their welfare never ceased. Those who knew Mr. Boyd's kind and beautiful spirit can not wonder he is so devotedly embalmed in the hearts of his pupils, who ever speak of him in words of love and glistening eyes. After the war the country passed through a financial crisis, which effected the seminary as well as most institutions of the kind throughout the West. Other schools of like nature were opened in neighboring cities and towns, and our Mon- roe Young Ladies' Seminary received a blow

E.t. Boyd

NEW YORK UBLIC LIBRARY,

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THE CHURCHES OF MONROE COUNTY.

from which it never entirely recovered. Rev. E. J. Boyd accepted a call to Laramie City, Wyoming Territory, where he preached a year, and died suddenly, November 23, 1881, regretted by the people to whom he had en- deared himself in an unusual degree.

Rev. Erasmas J. Boyd was married soon after leaving the theological seminary to Miss Sarah Clark, who was educated at Miss Wil- lard's famous seminary of Troy, New York. During their residence in Monroe three daugh- ters were born - Ella, who died at the age of fifteen ; Florence, who married Mr. T. E. Schwarz, of Boston, Massachusetts, now living in Colorado; Anna, who married Mr. F. K. Copeland, of Boston, Massachusetts, now of Chicago, Illinois. A meeting of the resident Alumni was called in September, 1883, at which it was decided to erect a monument to the memory of Mr. Boyd; former members of the seminary from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast were notified and responded heartily and grate- fully, and in a few months a Scotch granite monument was imported and erected over his last resting place, with the following inscription : " Reverend Erasmas J. Boyd was born No- vember 1, 1814, died November 23, 1881. For twenty-nine years Principal of the Monroe Young Ladies' Seminary. He possessed in a high degree the affection and respect of his pupils, who, in loving remembrance, have erected this monument."

His character and the esteem in which he was held cannot be better portrayed than by quoting from the sermon by Rev. J. Y. Cow trick, D. D., preached at the funeral services in Laramie City on November 26, 1881. He said : "I shall never forget the first time I saw him in Presbytery at Denver, as he rose his tall form towering over those around him, he said he had heard much of the West and had come to see the glory of its wonders and to cast in his lot with us. Not one word of complaint, not one word of seeking for health -only de- sirous of entering on the work that is so abundant in the wide and wild fields of the West. He at once entered the conflict and like a mailed warrior died with his harness on in the midst of the battle, 'Let me die the death of the righteous and let my end be like his.'

" Who can say my friend E. J. Boyd was not a royal knight of a royal master ? He preached to you, my friends, one year; his last sermon

being on the anniversary of his first year, and by his brethren in the ministry was requested to preach a union Thanksgiving sermon. He had just completed it and died with it in his hand. Yet he died with his harness on, went into the presence of the king of kings with thanksgiving, which, as he joined the hosts at once, was a peace of victory. He was truly, while here, a prophet, priest and king. He was a prophet because he spoke for his Master always and everywhere when it was proper and possible to do so. He was a priest because he was often found interceding for those at a throne of grace. He was a king because by purity and gentleness manifested in a vigorous life, he ruled for good wherever he was present. " No man ever closed his earthly career in a grander way, working for the Master until within fifteen minutes of his call. He could, with the Apostle, have well said: . I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, and to this, people would respond, ' Verily, thou hast.' Henceforth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness."

Prof. Boyd's body was sent to his old home, Monroe, Michigan, and laid to rest by the side of his first born and beloved daughter, Ella.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ERIE.

The formation of the Presbyterian Church of Erie was the work of Rev. William L. Buffett, who preached here at regular intervals while residing at Otter Creek, near La Salle.

In June, 1849, a request from Christian people in Erie was made to the Presbytery of Monroe to be organized into a church, and Rev. William L. Buffett and Rev. J. B. Taylor, of Bedford, were appointed a committee for this purpose.

On Saturday, September 8th, Mr. Buffett met with the people in the school house of Erie, Mr. Taylor being detained by illness, and preached a sermon, and took names of some who designed to be members of the church.

On the next day, September 9th, the follow- ing persons were duly organized into the first church of Erie, to wit: John P. Rowe, Sarah Ann Rowe, Gilbert Hitchcock, Nancy Agnew, Sarah Mulhollen, Francis Mulhollen, Eliza Cor- nell, Catherine Darrah, Mary Stowell, Ann Elizabeth Teall, Angeline Saxton, Marilla J.

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HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Stump and Lucy Williams. Gilbert Hitchcock was made clerk, and John P. Rowe, treasurer, who were afterward chosen the first elders of the church, and were ordained February 22, 1852.

The first church edifice, a plain frame struc- ture, was dedicated August 8, 1850, by Rev. Mr. Buffett, assisted by Rev. J. B. Taylor, of Bed- ford, and Rev. Henry H. Northrop, of Monroe. It became necessary after thirty-eight years to repair the house extensively or build again. It was determined to rebuild of brick, under the management of John A. McDonald, George O. Perry, Charles M. Rowe, Charles R. Brigham and Alvin G. Kelley, as the building com- mittee.

The corner stone of the new church was pre- sented by Mrs. Wilmer J. Keeny's Bible Class, which took a lively interest in the new enter- prise, and contained a copy of the Holy Bible, the constitution of the Presbyterian Church, with its form of government and discipline, and the names of the subscribers to both churches, as well as the building committees of both, and the name of the teacher and mem- bers of the Bible Class, with their resolutions in connection therewith. The church officers and name of pastor were included. The mis- sionary publication called The Church at Home. and Abroad, the New York Evangelist, and several other papers of this vicinity, the num- ber of church members who have been in its connection, in all one hundred and seventy- one, as well as the present number, which was fifty-eight.

This stone was put in place on Wednesday, July 20, 1887, with religious exercises, Rev. S. W. Pratt, of Monroe, assisted by Rev. Dr. Duval and Bacon, of Toledo, and Rev. Mr. Brown of the same place. The church was dedicated February 8, 1888.

The elders of this church who have passed away are John P. Rowe, who died June, 1865; Gilbert Hitchcock, who died October 30, 1862; and James Mulhollen, who died February 16, 1871, the last of whom became a member April 8, 1851.

The present session are William H. Wells and Charles Dohm. The first was added to the church by letter from Monroe, April 2, 1865 ; the other by profession of faith, Decem- ber 4, 1881.

The ministers who have preached two years

and over, are Rev. William L. Buffett, Rev. Robert R. Salter, D. D., Rev. Samuel Fleming, Rev. Arthur W. Sanford, Rev. E. W. Willard and Rev. William S. Taylor. Rev. Noah M. Wells should be mentioned also, who resided several years with his son, who sometimes preached in the absence of the minister, and assisted at the communion table, and was ready for every good work.

Rev. Noah M. Wells was a member of the Presbytery of Detroit, but died in Erie, May 3, 1880. He was born in Saratoga, New York ; was educated in Union college, and privately with a minister, actively engaged as pastor of a church. His first preaching was at Galway, New York, then at Brownsville in the same State.

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History of Monroe County, Michigan, Part 85

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed Publication date: 1890 Publisher: New York, Munsell & company Number of Pages: 882

Author: Wing, Talcott Enoch, 1819-1890, ed
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: New York, Munsell & company
Number of Pages: 882