The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 96

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co
Number of Pages: 1096

USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I > Part 96

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REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCHES.

Epiphany Reformed Episcopal Church.

This society was organized and incorporated March 10, 1880, with fourteen members; during the year the number increased to forty. The first

EPIPHANY REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

services were held in what had been St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, and the society for a

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REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCHES.

time controlled that property. It was eventually turned over to its original owners, and the society built a new church on the south side of Myrtle Street near Trumbull Avenue. The lot cost $600 and the church $1,400.

The church was first used on Easter Sunday, 1880. It has two hundred sittings, and the average Sunday morning attendance during that year was 60. The total annual expenses were $400.

Up to 1883 the society had no regular ordained pastor, although in 1882 it was supplied for a time by Rev. Dr. W. H. Poole. The services after that time were conducted by Rev. Frederick Woolfen- den for several years, and then by various temporary supplies. In March, 1887, Rev. H. T. Wirgman began his pastorate.

Emanuel Reformed Episcopal Church. (Extinct.)

This society was organized in January, 1879, by Rev. P. B. Morgan. The first meetings were held in the First Congregational Church, and subsequently in Young Men's Hall, in the Tabernacle Church on south side of Duffield Street near Woodward Ave- nue, in the Y. M. C. A., and St. Andrew's Halls, in the Opera House, the Industrial School build- ing, and then again in the Tabernacle Church. The society was incorporated on February 13, 1879. Rev. Dr. Morgan left in January, 1881, and after that date services were conducted by lay readers.

Number of members in 1880, 110. Average attendance, 35. Total yearly expenses, $350. In March, 1882, the society disorganized.

CHAPTER LX.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES .- OCCASIONS OF INTEREST TO PRESBYTERIANS.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES. First Presbyterian Church.

THE organization known as the First Protestant Society inherited the title, building, and property of the old society whose name it bears. . By the adoption of certain Articles of Faith, on January 23, 1825, it became a Presbyterian Church, with twelve male and thirty-seven female members, and became the third Protestant denominational

Mary Hunt, Sarah Hubbard, Theodocia C. Petit, Nancy Caniff, Mary Gillett, Sophia Seymour, Lucy Brown, Melicent Hunt, Mary Rice, Mary Owen, Matilda Hurd, Asenath Lee, Emily Deming, Ann Henry. At this time the society had no minister. Rev. Noah M. Wells, who had been previously called, arrived in May, 1825, and became the first pastor. On November 5, 1825, the Governor and Judges "ordered that a Deed issue to the trustees of the Protestant Church for the ground heretofore ordered

DOPVINIGHT INO BY SILAS FARMER-

VIEW OF CHURCHES ON EAST SIDE OF WOODWARD AVENUE IN 1849.

I. First Methodist Episcopal Church. 2. Congress Street. 3 Old Burchard Building. 4. St. Paul's Episcopal Church. 5. Session Room. 6. First Presbyterian Church. 7. Larned Street.

church organized in Detroit. The names of the first members were as follows: Stephen C. Henry, Eurotas P. Hastings, John J. Deming, Ashbel S. Wells, Elijah Converse, J. W. Woolsey, Seth Beach, Cullen Brown, Justin Rice, Wm. B. Hunt, Phebe Crosby, Mary Chapin, Catharine Jones, Fanny Mack, Hannah Roby, Elizabeth Noble, Temperance Mack, Lovicy Cooper, Rebecca Converse, Elizabeth Cass, Margaret Audrain, Jane Kelly, Jane Palmer, Martha Ten Eyck, Mary J. Scott, Almira Willcox, Lydia Sanderson, Mary McMillan, Abigail Goodwin, Mary Brewster, Achsah Goodin, Lucretia Goodwin, Catharine Bronson, Ann Hunt, Ruthy Edwards,

to be conveyed to them." This deed, which was the first one made for the property, gave them what was known as the "English burying-ground," on Woodward Avenue, including all of the block west of the alley between Woodward Avenue and Bates Street. The deed is dated December 9, and was recorded December 21, 1825. The gift was cer- tainly a munificent one, even at that day.

In 1827 the city came into possession of the Mili- tary Reserve and buildings of old Fort Shelby, on Fort Street, and in September the Assembly Room, or Military Hall, was removed to a lot on Larned Street in rear of the church. It was there used as

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THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.

595

a session-room, both by the Common Council and the church. This same year the presbytery of Detroit was created, consisting of Rev. Noah M. Wells, of Detroit, Rev. E. Prince, of Farmington, Rev. Isaac W. Ruggles, of Pontiac, Rev. William M. Ferry, of Mackinaw, and Rev. William Page, of Monroe.

In March or April, 1832, there was a revival at Detroit, and sev- enty persons joined the church. In the spring of 1833 the church erected a brick session-room on Woodward Ave- nue, and during the year Mr. Wells re- signed. After his departure the pulpit was supplied by Rev. George Horn- ell and Rev. George Sheldon until June, 1834, when Rev. J. P. Cleveland be- came the pastor.

A plan for a new church had been drawn by Alonzo Merrill, as early as 1831. In the spring of 1834 the work of erection was begun. Alanson Sheley was the contractor. As a preliminary step, the old wooden church was sold. It was purchased by Robert Hilton, who, with Mr. Caniff, John Farrar, and others, proposed to establish a Univer- salist Church. The building was moved to the northwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Bates Street, where it became a Roman Catholic Church. After the sale of the church the congregation met in the Capitol until their new church was completed. It was of brick, sixty by ninety feet, with a steeple one hundred and thirty feet high. The total cost reached $30,000.

It had one hundred and forty-six pews, with galleries on three sides, and seated nearly one thou-

sand persons. It was dedicated April 28, 1835, with a sermon by the pastor, and the exercises were made particularly interesting by the singing of an original hymn written by Mrs. L. H. Sigourney On May 27, 1835, Rev. Mr. Cleveland was regularly in- stalled. At this time the church had two hundred and twenty members. Mr. Cleveland resigned in 1837, and on November 26 preached his farewell sermon from Jonah iii., 2. On October I, 1838, Rev. Geo. Duffield became the pastor. On Oc- tober 16 following, a clock, which had been contracted for three months before, was com- pleted and began to keep town time in the tower. In Jan- uary, 1840, Horace Hallock started a branch Sunday school in the City Hall, which was continued for nearly three years, with an average attendance of some three hun- dred scholars.

In December, 1844, the society lost a number of its members by the or- ganization of the First Congregation- al Church. On Feb- ruary 11, 1849, other members left the congregation and founded the Sec- ond Presbyterian Church. In Febru- ary, 1851, the old brick session-room, with the ground on which it stood, was sold; the building was torn down, and a brick block erected the same year.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

In the fall of 1852 Dr. Duffield visited Europe and Palestine in search of needed health and rest. He remained abroad about a year, and during his absence the pulpit was supplied by Rev. Myron Barrett.

On January 10, 1854, the church, with several

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THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.

other buildings in an adjacent block, was entirely burned. When the flames caught the tall steeple it was a magnificent sight. After the fire the remains of the old bell which had called thousands to prayer and praise were dug out of the ruins, and numerous souvenirs in the shape of tea-bells were cast. They were inscribed, "Part of the old bell destroyed Jan- uary 10, 1854," and readily sold at $5 each, bringing many dollars into the fund for a new church. The old bell rings no more for fire, but its voice in many households gives a welcome call to tea and toast.

On July 15, the first Sunday after the fire, ser- vices were held in Firemen's Hall, and in the old Young Men's Hall on January 28, and continuously thereafter until the completion of the new brick church on the northwest corner of State and Farmer Streets. This building was dedicated Sep- tember 9, 1855. The lot, one hundred by one hundred and twenty feet, cost $8,000; the church, seventy by one hundred, cost $40,000. It has one hundred and forty pews, and seats about 700. To aid in building their church the society received about one half the net proceeds from the sale of the old property; the rest was given to the Jefferson Avenue and Fort Street Presbyterian churches.

In March, 1862, the side galleries in the audience room were removed and other improvements made. In April, 1865, Rev. W. A. McCorkle was called as associate pastor. Three years later, in June, 1868, while Dr. Duffield was giving an address of wel- come to the delegates of the International Conven- tion of the Y. M. C. A., a sudden illness seized him, from which he did not recover. He died June 26. His associate continued as pastor until May, 1871, when he resigned. In September, 1871, Rev. Dr. G. D. Baker became the pastor, and served until December 1, 1884. His successor, Rev W. A. Barr, served from October, 1885, to August, 1887.

The pastor's salary in 1880 was $3,000. The cost of the choir, $1,200. The sexton was paid $300. The total annual expenses, reaching $6,000, are almost entirely defrayed by the receipts from pew rents. The property in 1880 was estimated to be worth $55,000. The average attendance at the morning services was 400. Number of mem- bers in 1830, 86; in 1840 and 1850, the same num- ber, 448, is reported in each decade; in 1860, 300; in 1870, 368; in 1880, 753.

This society has the favored distinction of being the only one that has ever attempted to sustain a school for the Chinese. Since 1872 a number of these "Celestials" have been found here on every Sabbath, in the care of faithful and benevolent teachers.

Scotch or Central Presbyterian Church.

The preliminary meeting which resulted in the organization of this church was held in a room in the old City Hall, on November 10, 1842. Two weeks after, the lot on the northwest corner of Farmer and Bates Streets was purchased for $500, and a plan for a wooden church, forty by seventy feet, agreed upon.

The building was opened for worship in an unfin- ished state on September 6, 1843. Regular services

THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

in the completed church began in October, 1844. It cost $3, 500 and seated 600. On February 21, 1845, the society decided to unite with the United Asso- ciate Church of Scotland, and on April 14 following a church was fully organized, with sixty-five mem- bers, and Rev. David Inglis as pastor. He resigned on May 1, 1846, and was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Torrance, who preached for about six weeks. Rev. Mr. Dalrymple, from Scotland, then served the church for two months, but declined a call.

Rev. John McLellan entered upon the pastorate in December, 1847, was installed in 1848, and re- signed in April, 1854. Rev. John Hogg, the next

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.

597

pastor, served from December, 1854, to April, 1858. He was succeeded by Rev. Stephen Balmer, who was ordained in November, 1860, and resigned July I, 1866. During the next three years there was no regular pastor. On July 29, 1869, Rev. George McBeth Milligan was installed. During his pas- torate the old church was sold, and moved to Washington Avenue.

A brick church was begun, and the basement first used on July, 3, 1871. On November 5 fol- lowing, the main audience room was dedicated. Including the galleries, the church seats 1,200, and cost $26,000. On April 12, 1879, the congregation decided to unite with the Ameri- can Presbyterian Church, and the name of the church, except for corporate purposes, was changed to Cen- tral Presbyteri- an. Mr. Milligan soon after re- signed the pas- torate,preaching his farewell ser- mon on October 1, 1876. He was succeeded by Rev. William Stephenson, who was called on October 24, en- tered upon his duties Novem- ber 15, was reg- ularly installed on December II, 1876, and resigned on February 25, 1878. On April 25, 1879, Rev. J. F. Dickie was installed as his successor.

of its present strength and influence. The first record states that on August 7, 1848, the First Pres- byterian Church appointed a committee to co-oper- ate with Rev. R. R. Kellogg in establishing the society. On September 10 he commenced holding services in the old capitol; on February 21, 1849, a society was fully organized with twenty-six mem- bers, and on March 19, 1849, was incorporated as the Second Presbyterian Church. In August following they began the erection of a brick church on the southeast corner of Lafayette Avenue and Wayne Street.

FORT STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The average attendance at morning service, in 1880, was 400. The pastor's salary was $2,000. The total church expenses were $2,760. The num- ber of members in 1850 was 300; in 1860 and 1870 the number is given at 350 for each decade; in 1880 there were 292 members.

Fort Street Church.

The beginnings of this society gave no indication

The building, forty-five by seventy-five feet, was dedicated on April 7, 1850. It cost $4,364. On May 21, 1850, Rev. R. R. Kel- logg was in- stalled as the pastor, and con- tinued as such until he resigned on September I, 1853. He was succeeded by Rev. Henry Neill, who en- tered upon the pastorate in Jan- uary, and was installed Octo- ber 18, 1854. During his pas- torate the church building on the southeast corner of Fort and Third Streets was erected. The lot cost $7,000, and the building $70,000. It was dedicated November 18, 1855. It was built of lime-stone, the main audience room was sixty by ninety feet, had 120 pews, and seated 1,000 per- sons. The basement was twelve feet high and would seat 400. The height of the spire from the ground to the top was two hundred and thirty feet. On the completion of the new building, the old church was sold to the United Presbyterian Society.

On June 17, 1857, Mr. Neill resigned. The church was then supplied for three months by Rev. P. S. Byington. He was succeeded by Rev. James Means, who remained six months. Rev. Dr. Ervin

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THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.

Hall then preached two months, and was followed by Rev. W. A. McCorkle. Rev. Azariah Eldridge was installed pastor on December 2, 1858. On March 19, 1859, by special Act of the Legislature, the name of the society was changed to Fort Street Presbyterian Church. Mr. Eldridge resigned on June 4, 1865. Rev. W. H. Clark then supplied the pulpit for three months. In October, 1865, Rev. S. T. Clarke began his ministry. He was installed July 1, 1866, and resigned in November, 1868. On February 8, 1869, a call was extended to Rev. Ar- thur T. Pierson, of Waterford, New York, who was installed May 5, 1869. In August, 1882, he resigned, and on January 7, 1883, Rev. A. P. Tinker entered upon the pastorate as his successor. Owing to poor health, on March 1, 1884, he resigned. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. H. T. Miller, who served about a year, and on Sept. 30, 1885, was suc- ceeded by Rev. Dr. Wallace Radcliffe.

On January 30, 1870, a young peo- ple's prayer meeting was established, and this year the entire interior of the church, and as far as necessary the exterior also was repaired and im- proved at a cost of $30,000, and on the evening of Decem- ber 29, 1870, the church was re- opened with a vocal and instrumental concert. About 5 A. M. on March 25, 1876, a fire broke out in the church which destroyed the building. Whitney's Opera House was then engaged for the Sabbath ser- vices, and the pub- ! FARMER END lic, as well as the old congregation, thronged the build- ing from Sabbath to Sabbath. Meantime the work of rebuilding the church went forward, and as the old plan was closely followed, the present building is almost a fac-simile of the original.

It was dedicated on June 10, 1877. The expense

.C.W. SYMNERVEN

JEFFERSON AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

of reconstructing amounted to about $90,000, two thirds of the amount being provided by the insur- ance. All the appointments of the church are exceptionally complete, even to a service of table- ware for festival use, made expressly for the church, with a picture of the building on each piece, J. D. Hayes, after the fire, dupli- cating his original gift of fifteen hundred pieces.

The pastor's salary in 1880 was $4, 500. The choir cost $1,300. The sexton was paid $770. The total expenses were $7,500, and $9,000 was received from pew rents. The property was then valued at $100,000.

The church has sittings for 1,300. The average at- tendance at Sunday morning service in 1880 was 850. Number of mem- bers in 1850, 62; in 1860, 196; in 1870, 282 ; in 1880, 686. In addition to its own Sunday school, the church sheltered for many years a Sunday school which was established in 1853 in a public school building in the Eighth Ward. When school build- ings could no longer be used for Sunday schools, the school was removed to this church, where it was held until 1874, when its continu- ance was no longer deemed desirable. In its earlier life it accomplished great good.

Jefferson Avenue Church.

This society was incorporated January 25, the church was organized February 8, 1854, and began Sunday-school ser- vices in the old Detroit Institute, a school building on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, between Beaubien and St. Antoine Streets.

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THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.

From here, in October, they moved to the old Congregational Church, on Jefferson Avenue. The Rev. Joshua Cook was then serving as pastor. In the spring of 1855 Rev. Hugh McElroy took charge of the congregation, and on December 9 of the same year the brick church on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, between Russell and Rivard Streets, was dedicated. The church with lot cost $50,000. The audience room is sixty by ninety feet, with one hun- dred and seventy pews, and will seat 1,000. During 1886 Mrs. John S. Newberry and her children com- menced the erection of a chapel in the rear of the church, on the corner of Larned and Rivard Streets. It is designed as a memorial of her husband, long connected with the church, and the structure will be exceptionally complete in all respects. The cost will be about $50,000, and it will be completed during 1888. Mr. Mc- Elroy was installed as pastor on July 2, 1856, and died December 24, 1857. Atablet of Italian marble, in the church, bears testimony to his worth.

He was succeeded by Rev. William Hogarth, D. D., who was in- stalled June 30, 1858, and resigned July 13, 1873. The pulpit was then supplied by various clergymen until May 6, 1875, when Rev. R. J. Laidlaw was installed. He resigned February 8, 1878, and was succeeded in May by Rev. E. B. Mason, who was in- stalled on May 15, 1879. In December, 1881, he resigned, and on April 19, 1882, Rev. A. H. Kellogg was installed his successor, and served until April, 1883. He was followed by Rev. T. A. Hoyt, who served one year, and was succeeded in December, 1884, by Rev. J. G. Williamson, and he resigned in the fall of 1887.

The pastor's salary in 1880 was $3,250. The choir cost $1,000. The sexton was paid $365. The total yearly expenses were $5,250, and $4,250 were raised from pew rents. Number of members in 1860, 189; in 1870, 346; in 1880, 360. The aver- age attendance at morning service in 1880 was 300.

Westminster Church.

This society was organized with thirty-one mem- bers, on October 6, 1857, and incorporated on Octo-

ber 26. The first services, with Rev. Henry Neill as pastor, were held in the United Presbyterian Church on Lafayette Avenue, corner of Wayne Street. The society worshiped there until Janu- uary 13, 1861, when the brick church, on the east side of Washington avenue, between State and Grand River, was dedicated. The building was sixty-six by one hundred feet, and seated five hun- dred and fifty persons.

In April, 1861, Mr. Neill resigned. On July 14, Rev. G. W. Prime entered upon the pastorate, and was installed October 23, 1861. In the sum- mer of 1866 his health failed, and he went abroad. The church was then temporarily supplied by vari- ous clergymen until July, 1867. Rev. W. E. Mc- Laren then became the pastor, and soon after the

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

building was extensively enlarged and repaired at a cost of $17,000. It was rededicated December 8, 1867. Mr. McLaren was installed January 12, 1868, and resigned in February, 1872. He was succeeded in April by Rev. William Aikman, D. D, who was installed June 5, 1872.

On March 1, 1873, the society sold their prop- erty, and it passed into the possession of the St. Aloysius Catholic Church. The last service of the Presbyterian Society was on March 2, 1873. On the first Sunday of the previous November evening services had been commenced in one of the buildings of Harper Hospital, and on and after March 9 all the church services were held at the same place. A Sunday school had been conducted in the building by R. C. Smith since 1865, and this was now transferred to the church.

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THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.

Prior to their removal, the society had bought, for $16,000, a lot on the northwest corner of Wood- ward Avenue and Parsons Street. A large brick chapel, costing $20,000, was erected on the rear end of the lot, and on May 10, 1874, it was dedicated. It seated three hundred and sixty persons.

Dr. Aikman resigned on May 1, 1877, and was succeeded by Rev. Frank T. Bayley, who preached his first sermon January 27, and was installed March 7, 1878. On February 11, 1883, he resigned on account of his wife's health, and soon after removed to Portland, Maine. In June, 1883, Rev. Nathaniel West, D. D., entered upon an engagement for six months; his term expired in November, and on the 26th of that month a call was extended to and accepted by Rev. G. H. Duffield, and on April 10, 1884, he was installed.

In 1879 the audience room of the chapel was enlarged, increasing its capacity about fifty sittings.

The church cost $35,000 and seats 860. It was first used November 13, and was dedicated Novem- ber 29, 1881. The estimated value of the church property is $65,000.

During the summer and fall of 1887 various im- provements were made in the audience room, a tower costing $12,000 erected on the southeast corner, and on November 6, the building was re-opened for ser- vice with appropriate exercises.

The number of church members in 1860 was 72 ; in 1870, 192 ; in 1880, 252. The average attendance in 1880 was 350.

Calvary Church.

This church is an outgrowth of a mission Sunday school. The school was started in May, 1868, in a small building on Harrison Avenue which had been a grocery; in October it was moved to a cottage on Michigan Avenue near the toll-gate. In the summer of 1869 a lot was purchased on the south- east corner of Mayberry Avenue and Butternut Street, and a frame building, thirty-six by seventy- five feet, was erected at a cost of $3,500. It was dedicated December 13, 1869.

On October 3, 1872, a church was organized and incorporated with sixteen members. Rev. Dr. J. G. Atterbury, the first pastor, served until August, 1874. He was succeeded by Rev. William Grandy, as stated supply. On November 24, 1878, Mr. Grandy resigned, and on October 29, 1879, Rev. G. W. Barlow was installed.

The church seated 300. The average morning attendance in 1880 was 200. The number of mem- bers, 115. The pastor's salary was $1,400, and the total annual expenses, $1,800.

During 1887 the society erected a new church on Michigan Avenue, facing Maybury Avenue. The lot cost $4,000 and the building $17,000. It seats 776, and was dedicated January 25, 1888.

Union Church.

This society had its beginnings in a mission Sunday school established by Z. R. Brockway. He was efficiently aided by John S. Newberry, James and Hugh McMillan, Mrs. H. A. Wight, and many others. The school was opened March 8, 1863, in a primary room of the Bishop School. It was largely attended from the first, and within a year subscriptions were obtained from persons of every denomination, to erect a building for the school. The last $400 of the amount received was obtained at a union meeting at the Jefferson Avenue Presby- terian Church, D. L. Moody, of Chicago, making an appeal for the money.

CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ORIGINAL BUILDING.

On March 20, 1864, the chapel, a neat wooden building, was first occupied. It was located on the northwest corner of Russell and Napoleon Streets, and in 1866 was enlarged by an addition, twenty by thirty feet in size. In the summer of 1868 it was moved across Russell Street to the grounds of the old City Cemetery in order to make room for a new brick building, seventy-five by eighty feet, which was dedicated February 17, 1869. It could seat 2,150 children, and cost $16,000.

Mr. Brockway did not favor a church organiza- tion, and it was difficult to determine the full results of the efforts put forth. In 1872 he was called to another field of labor, interest in the school began to wane, and for a time it was entirely closed.

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The history of Detroit and Michigan; or, The metropolis illustrated; a chronological cyclopedia of the past and present, Vol I, Part 96

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902 Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co Number of Pages: 1096

Author: Farmer, Silas, 1839-1902
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Detroit, S. Farmer & co
Number of Pages: 1096