USA > Michigan > Saginaw County > History of Saginaw County, Michigan; historical, commercial, biographical, Volume II > Part 39
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Among the general interest meetings that have been held may be men- tioned those in which Wellington R. Burt spoke on "The Constitutional Con- vention," William B. Mershon on "Forestry," William S. Linton on "The Parcel Post," Professor .R. C. Allen on "The Iron Mines of the Upper Pen- insula," Frank C. Peck on "Railway Mail Service," Eugene Wilber on "Alaska," Professor Shull on "Eugenics," William J. Gray, of Detroit, on "The Federal Reserve System," C. W. Stive on "The Shipping Bill," and Bishop Charles D. Williams, of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, on "Taxation."
The club has extended its membership to include others than those con- nected with the Congregational Church, and has added materially to the cultural life of the city.
The First Baptist Church.
The first Baptist Society was organized in 1853 with scarcely a score of members, but with zealous purpose of worshiping according to the tenets of their church. Their first house of worship was a small frame building erected by James S. Webber, on South Jefferson Avenue nearly opposite the present church. A picture of this primitive meeting house appears on page 191. The first meetings of the society held in this building, which was known as "Union Hall," were on the third and fourth of July, 1858. Ten years later, when there was extensive church building and other improvements in East Saginaw, the society acquired the lot at the northeast corner of Jefferson and German Streets, and soon after erected thereon a red brick
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edifice with gray stone trimmings. In style the church building resembles the Methodist and St. John's German Lutheran churches, and has an audience room seating six hundred, noted for its excellent accoustic properties. The basement is divided into lecture and Sabbath school rooms and pastor's study. Even in the early days the church was heated by steam and lighted by gas ; and the total cost was thirty-six thousand dollars.
The erection of this substantial church edifice in so commanding a loca- tion was largely due to the indefatigable labors of the Reverend 11. L. More- house, who was pastor for twelve years, and also to the liberal support of the active church members, many of whom were numbered among our most solid citizens. In 1873, the Reverend Theodore Nelson assumed the pastorate and under his able ministrations covering a long period of years, the member- ship, which was one hundred and seventy at his coming, increased more than two fold. He was followed by the Reverend Taber and other able ministers : and in 1908 his son, the Reverend Wilbur Nelson, was called as pastor and remained in charge four years. The present pastor is the Reverend Stuart Gordon Boone who assumed his duties July 1, 1912.
In more recent years the church property has been greatly improved. the stained glass windows and large pipe organ being features appreciated by the large congregation.
Other church societies of the Baptist faith are the Fordney Avenue Church, at South Saginaw, and the Zion Baptist (negro), at the corner of Johnson and Second Streets.
Warren Avenue Presbyterian
Among those who formerly united with the Congregationalists in sus- taining preaching in East Saginaw, were a few persons who still adhered to the Presbyterian faith. These devout Christians withdrew in 1867, and on March 24th of that year organized the "First Presbyterian Church of East Saginaw," afterward changed to the Warren Avenue Presbyterian. On that day the Reverend L. J. Root preached and administered the Sacrament, and was assisted by the Reverend Calvin Clark, secretary of Home Missions. Alexander Mitchell and Alexander Ross, having been previously ordained. and duly elected ruling elders of the church, were regularly installed as pastors. Besides these devoted ministers and their wives, there were thirty- two charter members of the society, including Mrs. Frances E. Spinney, Mr. and Mrs. William Allen, Mrs. Isabel Sutherland, Mr. and Mrs. David M. Austin, Orrin M. Stone, Mrs. Mary A. Hodson, David Taggart and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Steele.
The Reverend W. W. Thorpe ministered to the congregation and was succeeded by the Reverend A. F. Johnson. In 1870 the Reverend S. E. Wishard became pastor and remained for two years, when the Reverend Thomas Middlemis took charge and continued his ministrations for five years. During his pastorate the society, which hitherto had not prospered. began a new life and built a substantial brick church building on the corner of Warren and Millard Streets. It was at length completed at a cost of twelve thou- sand dollars, and first used as a house of worship in the Fall of 1874, when the congregation comprised seventy-six members.
In 1877 the Reverend David Van Dyke was called as pastor, and on July 1, 1880, the Reverend John T. Oxtoby, of hallowed memory. assumed pastoral charge. Under the ministrations of this able and scholarly minister the church grew in members and influence, and soon numbered among its staunch supporters some of our representative citizens. His pastorate cov- ered a period of sixteen years, during which he endeared himself to thousands by his sturdy Christianity, strong character and great sympathy for all in
0333
EPWORTH M E. CHURCH
CHURCH OF CHRIST
»FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
**** WARREN AVF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
ST PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
GROUP OF SAGINAW CHURCHES
ST MARY'S CHURCH (ROMAN CATHOLIC)
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distress. He retired in 1896 and was followed in March of that year by the Reverend Joseph Riley Tewell, who ministered to the congregation until his death in 1903.
Mr. Tewell was an earnest and devoted minister of rare spiritual endow- ment, and an indefatigable worker. Through his efforts the church edifice was greatly improved, refurnished and redecorated, and a new heating system installed. But by a strange turn of fortune the house of worship was not again to seat the congregation, for on the very Sunday morning that it was to have been reopened for worship and joyful hymns of praise, a fire started around the furnace and the structure was entirely destroyed. Dismayed but not disheartened by the loss of their church home, the minister and congre- gation set about with commendable energy to rebuild the edifice along modern lines well adapted to present needs. In a remarkably short time the present building arose on the site of the old, and is a monument to the labors of Reverend Tewell and his able helpers in the congregation. By his influ- ence and persistent efforts the entire debt on the property, including three thousand dollars for the organ, was liquidated shortly after the church building was completed. The strain of overwork, however, was too great for his enfeebled state of health, and he died on February 23, 1903, deeply mourned by all who bad known him, or had come under his helpful influence.
The present pastor is Reverend J. A. Dunkel who assumed charge Sep- tember 1, 1903. Under his able direction of the church activities the member- ship increased to eight hundred and fifty, including a mission maintained in Buena Vista. The other church property consists of church house at 510 South Warren Avenue, and the Manse at 710 South Weadock Avenue, from which the religious work of the congregation is directed.
Other churches of the Presbyterian faith are: Grace Presbyterian, at the corner of Dearborn and Fayette Streets ; Immanuel, on Genesee Avenue between Hill and Hanchett Streets; and the Washington Avenue Preshy- terian, at the corner of Washington Avenue and Williamson Street.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
The beginning of St. Mary's Church, the largest and most influential of the Roman Catholic parishes of this city, was in a small mission established by Father Schutzes in the eighteen-fifties. He was one of a band of devoted priests of Dutch descent who came to the forest wilderness along the Huron shore, to establish missions among the pioneer settlers. At the mouth of the Saginaw River he first planted the Cross, but soon pressed on to the settlement of East Saginaw, where he formed a flourishing mission among the few followers of his faith. This good work he continued until 1863, when Father Vanderhayden, who the preceding year had assumed charge of the mission at Saginaw City, was assigned to the duties of both missions.
The first church edifice of St. Mary's was built in 1863, and dedicated on Christmas day of that year. It stood on the site of the present imposing and churchly building, at the corner of Wells ( Owen) and Hoyt Streets, and was capable of seating about six hundred persons. From 1863 to 1866 the parish was under the charge of Father Vanderhayden, who was then relieved of the duties of this church to devote all his energies to the upbuilding of St. Andrew's on the west side of the river. Father Vanderbom was deputed to the work at St. Mary's, which he continued for twenty-three years, and was greatly beloved by his flock. In 1874 the number of communicants was fourteen hundred and thirty-two, an illustration of the remarkable success of the early missionary priests of the Church.
During the pastorate of Father Vanderbom the church property was greatly improved by the addition of the parochial school and priest's residence
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on Hoyt Street. Besides the church services and pastoral duties his activi- ties included the establishment of a branch of the Convent of the Immaculate Heart, consisting of four sisters, who taught in the school which numbered two hundred and seventy pupils. St. Vincent's Orphan Home, which cares for a large number of indigent children, was also established, very largely through the efforts of this devoted servant of God.
In 1889 Father Michael Dalton was appointed to the charge of St. Mary's. and ministered to the spiritual needs of the congregation for over twenty- four years. Ile was born in County Clare, Ireland, February 24, 1852, and received elementary education in schools of his native land, where he finished his classical and philosophical studies. Upon coming to America he con- tinued his preparation for the priesthood at Mt. St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati. Ile held pastorates at Sandwich, Ontario, Detroit, Ludington, Berlin, Grand Haven and Big Rapids, and came to Saginaw in the prime of his intellectual and spiritual power. It was during his charge of St. Mary's that the magnificent church edifice was erected with its many beautiful memorials and costly gifts, representing the sacrifice and loving devotion of the faithful in Christ.
Father Dalton died October 9, 1913, greatly mourned by his congregation which then numbered more than twenty-five hundred souls; and the parish of St. Mary's with its many activities in religious and charitable work, is a monument to his consecrated life.
The Reverend Edward A. Caldwell was then appointed to the charge of this prosperous church, the appointment being a high tribute to years of faithful service in minor parishes. Father Caldwell was born and reared in this city, and received his early education and religious instruction in the school of the church over which he now presides as priest. Before the altar at which he says mass and hears songs of praise, he received his first com- munion, and at the confessional in which he hears of the sorrows of the penitent, he first confessed his sins. To him his people are like one great family which he has known and loved for a lifetime, and which, having known him from boyhood, regard him as their very own.
St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church
In 1872 a number of Catholic families connected with St. Mary's Church, among whom was Michael Jeffers, set about to form a new parish in the northern part of the city. This section of East Saginaw was then beginning to build up by railroad men in the employ of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad, and the church people saw an opportunity to plant the Cross on fruitful soil. They entered with zeal upon the task of organizing the new parish, and in the Summer of 1873 the Reverend Richard Sweeney was appointed to the charge. He was a young man of exceptional ability, and grew in favor with his people, so that soon the church numbered one hun- dred and thirty-five families.
The commodious and churchly house of worship, which was begun in 1872 at the corner of Sixth and Sears Streets, was finished soon after Father Sweeney assumed charge, and has served the congregation to the present time. In due course a pastoral residence was built adjoining the church, and a parochial school and Sisters' house erected at the rear. From a small beginning made forty-four years ago, St. Joseph's parish has become one of the best equipped Catholic churches in Saginaw Valley.
Father Sweeney remained the beloved pastor of St. Joseph's, laboring long and late for the spiritual welfare of his flock, for forty-one years, and relinquished his charge only when, old in years, his enfeebled state of health compelled such action. This was much against the wishes of his devoted
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HOLY ROSARY CHURCH AND SCHOOL Saginaw, Mich.
parishioners, many of whom he had baptised, communed, married and watched over as they grew from childhood to manhood, and became stead- fast followers of the faith.
This able and consecrated prelate was succeeded by the Reverend K. J. Whalen, who assumed charge January 1, 1914. He is a priest of command- ing figure, a powerful preacher, a true friend of the poor and needy, and is endeavoring by spiritual grace to worthily continue the good work of his predecessor, and afford comfort and assurance to the two hundred families which comprise his flock.
Church of the Sacred Heart
Like St. Joseph's parish, the Church of the Sacred Heart sprang from the mother church of St. Mary's. On the fifteenth of January, 1874, the first meeting of the German Catholics of the old congregation was held to elect trustees of the new parish. A. Baumgarten acted as chairman and Arnold Nachtweih as secretary of the meeting. The trustees were: Adolph Schmidt, Alois Grohmann, Gottfried Fritz, Simon Frey, G. Schmitt, William Casparr, George Wirtz, Bernhard Berghoff, Caspar Echenbach, Joseph Ham- burger and John Henrigs.
The corner stone of the building intended for the use of the church and school was laid on August 24, 1874. The location, at the corner of Sixth and Cherry Streets, was most advantageous for steady growth of the parish, and time has shown the wisdom of its selection by the founders of this pros- perous and influential church. At that time the congregation consisted of only forty-five families, but by personal efforts and large sacrifices they at length completed the building, at a cost of seventy-three hundred dollars. The school opened very auspiciously on December 14, 1874, with Miss Weiss and Miss Geisler as teachers in German and English. On Sunday, December 20th, of that year, the first service was held in the new church-school, the pastor being the Reverend Hugo Praessar.
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The priests' residence on Cherry Street was built in the Summer of 1878 by Father Joseph Reis, who assumed charge of the parish September 28, 1876. During his remarkable pastorate covering a period of forty years, he has witnessed great changes in the city and wonderful growth of the Roman Catholic churches. His congregation has grown steadily, and at present con- sists of one hundred and sixty families. The school has also kept pace with the advancement of Catholicism, and now has enrolled one hundred and forty-five scholars, divided into eight grades. At present the school is in charge of the Dominican Sisters.
The present church edifice, which is an excellent example of true ecclesi- astical architecture, was commenced in 1891. The high basement was soon completed and finished off, and used for church services for a number of years. Meanwhile the erection of the imposing superstructure was under way, and was com- pleted in 1911 at a cost of eighty thousand dollars. In this large and beautiful church the congregation worships, listen to songs of praise. and receives spiritual comfort from the scholarly discourses of their beloved rector, which are spoken in both English and German.
Father Reis, the aged prelate who still min- isters unto his people, directs the activities and benevolent work of this prosperous church. There are few priests of the Church in Michigan whose labors for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of Christ have been of longer duration; and the Church of the Sacred Heart, in both its material and spiritual establishment, is to a large de- PHAREWAF THE SACRED HEART gree a monument to the patient, persistent and kindly endeavors of this consecrated priest. Other Roman Catholic parishes of Saginaw are: Holy Family Church ( French ), Father Louis M. Prud'homme, priest in charge, on South Wash- ington Avenue opposite Hoyt Park; Holy Rosary Church (Polish), on Annesley Street between Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets: Lady of Mt. Carmel Church ( Italian), on Warren Avenue between Lapeer and Tuscola Streets ; and St. Josaphat's Church in the northwest section, and its parochial school with two Dominican Sisters and one hundred and twelve pupils.
St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran Church
Another of the older church organizations is St. John's German Evan- gelical Lutheran, whose valuable property is situated on Germania Avenue between Second and Third Streets. The substantial brick church was erected in 1808, at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, and is of a style of architecture common to that period. and has a chime of bells in the tower. In later years a comfortable and attractive parsonage was erected on Second Street. adjoining the church, and in 1915 a large brick school house replaced the old wooden building on the corner of Germania and Third, which had served the needs of the society for nearly fifty years.
The form of worship observed by this society is distinctively Lutheran as laid down in the rubrics of the Reformed State Church of Germany. The Reverend Conrad Volz was pastor of this church for many years, and was greatly beloved by the old and the young. Under his able ministrations the society increased in membership and in influence, and upon his death his son, the Reverend Frederick Volz, who for many years had labored in the church as assistant to the pastor, was called to the pastorate, and continues the good work of the church.
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In addition to the older churches of the Lutheran faith there are: St. James German Lutheran, on the east side of Washington Avenue, south of Ortman Street: St. John's Evangelical Lutheran, on the southeast corner of Bliss and Elm Streets : St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran, South Fifth Street, between Germania and Lapeer; Trinity German Evangelical Lutheran, cor- ner of Cherry and Ninth Streets, and Zion Lutheran at Hancock and North Mason Streets.
Other denominations of the Christian Church are: St. Mark's Evan- gelical at Lapeer and Third Streets; the Michigan Avenue Evangelical ; Church of Christ, at Genesee Avenue and Burt Street ; Genesee Avenue Con- gregational, at 1815 Genesee Avenue ; Free Methodist, at Clinton and North Harrison Streets; the First Methodist Protestant, corner of Farwell and Fourth : the Stevens Street Methodist Protestant, at Stephens and Fayette Streets ; the First Church of Christ ( Scientist ) on Warren Avenue at Hayden Street : The Free Methodist and the Seventh Day Adventist, and the Hebrew Temple B'Nui Israel.
The total valuation of all church property, including parochial schools, in the City of Saginaw. is placed at one and a quarter million dollars, and is increasing each year.
St. Mary's Hospital
This well known and admirably conducted institution was founded August 22, 1874, and incorporated as the "Sisters of Charity of St. Mary's Hospital, East Saginaw." Father Vanderbom, rector of St. Mary's Church, and Doctor B. B. Ross, a leading physician of this city, were largely instru- mental in establishing the hospital, which was first opened in a private house on Washington Street, near Wickes Brothers plant. The location selected for the hospital building, on South Jefferson Avenue, was a most fortunate one, as it is the highest ground in the vicinity and permits of expansion to meet future needs. The first wooden building was completed in 1875, and accommodated from eighty to ninety patients.
The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, by whom the hospital is conducted, is an ancient order of consecrated women with the mother house in Paris. In the United States there are two provinces governing the order, the mother house of the Eastern province, with which the Sisters of St. Mary's are connected, being at Emmitsburg, Maryland, near Baltimore, and that of the Western province at St. Louis, Missouri. The four Sisters who opened St. Mary's Hospital were Sister Mary Elizabeth Roche, deceased ; Sister Cecelia Casey, now connected with the retreat at Dearborn, Mich- igan : Sister Agnes Bauer and Sister Regina Wren. During the forty-one years of the hospital's existence it has ministered to thousands of suffering humanity, and attained a high reputation for the excellence of its service and care of patients.
In the days of extensive lumbering in this section of Michigan, St. Mary's came into prominence for its care of injured and maimed woodsmen. For a small individual fee paid to the hospital early in the logging season, as a sort of insurance premium, the Sisters agreed to care for and nurse back to health the holder of the insurance certificate, in case of accident or sickness. This was a noble work, and furnishing protection, as it did, to thousands of lumber-jacks in the north woods, brought a steady income to the Sisters of Charity.
At length the demands upon them for medical and surgical treatment became so great that a new and larger hospital building was laid out on an extensive scale, providing for future as well as the present needs. To this end the south wing of a magnificently planned hospital was built in 1891. It is a substantial brick structure with a height of four stories and high base-
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ment, which is capacious and well equipped. At some future time the main building will be erected without destroying the architect's original scheme of noble proportions or beauty of design. AAt present the grounds are capacious with broad driveways and well-kept lawns, which are a source of pleasure to convalescent patients and to the public in general.
The fine new hospital building was opened under the supervision of Sister Frances O'Connor, who ably conducted its noble service to mankind until 1905. She was succeeded by Sister Eugenia Gill, who still has charge of the institution. In 1916 there were twelve Sisters and thirty-three nurses in the training school, who cared for the ninety to one hundred patients. the normal capacity of the institution. The old hospital building, since the erec- tion of the new structue, has been used as the nurses' home.
St. Vincent's Orphan Home
Another institution of benevolent character conducted under the direc- tion of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, is St. Vincent's Orphan Home. This institution was founded in 1875 by Sister Cecelia Casey, and was first opened in a small house in Hoyt Street. Soon after, the increasing demands on the Home and the liberality of Catholic churchmen, resulted in the erection of a wooden building on the corner of Howard and Emerson Streets, a very appropriate site affording ample play grounds for the chil- dren. This institution carried on a successful work for indigent children. continually growing in influence and public favor until the great fire of May 20, 1893, when the llome and its contents was entirely destroyed in the conflagration.
Not discouraged nor disheartened by their great loss, the Sisters at once set about to rebuild a more substantial structure on the site of the old. To their appeals for aid in their inspired work. Roman Catholics and others not connected with the Church responded liberally, and in 1895 the present struc- ture was opened. Sister Cecelia directed the activities of the Home until July, 1915, when she retired and was succeeded by Sister Marie Murphy, an able and competent director.
.At present there are about one hundred and fifty children cared for in the Home, requiring the devoted services of nine Sisters. The work of the Home is not confined to receiving and caring for children of Catholic families; all indigent children are welcomed, and no child under any circumstances is refused admission. As the noble work is very largely among the very poor and needy, or unfortunate class, very little revenue is received from the parents or natural guardians of children so entered, and the income is prin- cipally derived from the annual banquet given on the anniversary of Wash- ington's Birthday, by the devoted women of the Catholic parishes. Citizens of all creeds and denominations of the Christian Church, to the number of about fifteen hundred, support this event with enthusiasm, and a considerable sum is derived for the support of this worthy institution. In addition to this source of income an annual collection in all Catholic churches is made thoughout the Diocese. for the support of St. Vincent's and a home of similar character in Grand Rapids.
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