History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 163

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 163

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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.

First Congregational Church .- The first Con- gregational Society established in St. Louis was organ- ized in the spring of 1852, and was an offshoot from the Third Presbyterian Church. In 1847, Rev. Truman M. Post, D.D., arrived in St. Louis under an engage- ment for four years as pastor of what was then the Third Presbyterian Church, whose members wor- shiped on Sixth Street, between Franklin Avenue and Wash Street. This congregation had been or- ganized in April, 1842, by eighty-five members of the First Presbyterian Church, who had been dismissed for that purpose, and Dr. Post continued to serve as its pastor until about the time of the organization of the Congregational Society. At the request of several leading citizens, Dr. Post preached, on the 11th of January, 1852, a discourse on Congregationalism and

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HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

the expediency of forming a Congregational Church in St. Louis, and on the 14th of March following the First Congregational Society was organized by sixty- seven members of the former Third Presbyterian Church and ten others. The interest of the other owners in the building on Sixth Street was purchased, and the new organization continued to worship there with Dr. Post as pastor. Shortly afterwards the sum of twenty thousand dollars was raised by subscription, and a lot at the northwest corner of Tenth and Locust Streets was purchased. On the western edge of this lot a chapel was erected, into which the congregation moved in December, 1855, having sold the Sixth Street property and with the proceeds liquidated the debt incurred in building the chapel. The corner- stone of the main church edifice was laid in the spring of 1858, and the basement was occupied on the 16th of October, 1859. The chapel was then rented to the Homoeopathic Medical College, and on the 4th of March, 1860, the church was dedicated, its entire cost being fifty-five thousand dollars. Since 1879 the building has been rented to the Young Men's Temperance Union. Its dimensions are one hundred by seventy feet, and it occupies a lot one hundred and two by eighty feet. It is a brick struc- ture, with a solid stone basement .. In 1863 the con- gregation found itself burdened with a debt of forty thousand dollars, and at the annual meeting of that year it was determined to liquidate it. The sum of ten thousand dollars was subscribed on the spot, ten thousand dollars more was obtained by subscription soon afterwards, and in 1864 the chapel property was sold, the society being thus' lifted out of debt. Pil- grim Church was founded as a colony from the First in 1866, and during the same year several members withdrew for the purpose of forming the Webster Grove Church. The location of the First Church became from year to year more and more unsuitable, owing to the removal of population westward, and finally the present site of the church (Delmar and Grand Avenues) was purchased, and a wooden chapel erected, which the congregation first occupied in Feb- ruary, 1879, and in which it still continues to wor- ship. In January, 1872, Dr. Post tendered his res- ignation as pastor, but withdrew it at the urgent request of his congregation, and on the 1st of Janu- ary, 1882, he was allowed to retire from the active duties of his charge, his congregation, however, con- tinuing him in honorary connection with the pastorate, under the title of Pastor Emeritus. The present pastor is the Rev. J. G. Merrill.

Rev. Truman M. Post was born in Middlebury, .Vt., June 3, 1810. His father, a lawyer, died before

he was a year old, and his training devolved upon his mother. He attended the common schools of his native place, but studied and read independently of his teachers, his progress being so rapid that at the age of fifteen he entered Middlebury College, a self-taught and rather precocious young man. He graduated from this institution when only nineteen years old, as valedictorian of his class. He was then engaged for a year as principal of the Castleton Academy, and for two years as a tutor at Middlebury College. He then began the study of law, but he had also a decided bias for theological investigation, and in 1831, while a tutor at Middlebury, he was led to change his pur- pose. Accordingly, in the autumn of 1832, he went to Andover, with the view of pursuing a course of study for the Christian ministry, but when about to make profession of Christianity he found himself de- barred from communions which seemed genuinely representative by creeds which requircd, as conditions of membership, categorical statements of belief which seemed to him speculative, and as to which he had no positive convictions. These difficulties not yielding, he turned again to the law, and in the prosecution of his studies spent the winter of 1832-33 in Wash- ington, where he was a constant attendant upon the sessions of the Supreme Court, and a deeply-interested spectator of the exciting oratorical contests between Webster, Calhoun, and other giants of the period, which marked the close of the old régime and the inauguration of a new political era.

While yet in doubt as to his future course, Mr. Post was persuaded by Gen. (afterwards Governor) Duncan, of Illinois, to visit the West, and in the spring of 1833 started thither, passing a few days at Cincinnati, where he made the acquaintance of Salmon P. Chase, then a young lawyer, whose friendship he retained through life, and of Dr. Lyman Beecher, who advised him as to his religious difficulties. He arrived at St. Louis in May of that year, and made arrangements to enter the law-office of H. R. Gamble. Before settling down to his new career, however, he visited his friend, Gen. Duncan, at Jacksonville, Ill., and soon after his arrival there was prevailed upon to accept a temporary engagement as assistant instructor in Illinois College, at that point. This temporary arrangement was soon made permanent, and resulted in a stay of fourteen years at Jacksonville.

In the fall of 1833 he made his first formal public profession of faith in Christianity (his religious diffi- culties having been partly removed), and joined a little Congregational Church then being formed. In 1835 he revisited Middlebury, his native place, and married a daughter of the Hon. Daniel Henshaw, a

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prominent citizen of Vermont. The union proved a singularly happy one.

In the financial revulsions of 1837-38 the funds of the college failed, and pecuniary considerations urged Mr. Post to return to the law. But while con- sidering the problem he was besought by the church to " take license" and become its pastor. Eventually he acceded to the request, but on appearing before the association for examination he expressly repudi- ated the term " licensing" or " being licensed," and the implied assumption of spiritual authority over preacher or congregation. The association was star- tled, but on examination of Mr. Post's historical ref- erences it conceded his position, and granted him merely a recommendation as a preacher. For several years he combined the classical instruction and his- torical lectures of the class-room with the labors of the pulpit and the pastorate.

But the revenue from both sources was still insuf- ficient to satisfy his pecuniary necessities, and a change became imperative. Meanwhile he had been repeat- edly solicited to remove to St. Louis, to assume charge of the Third Presbyterian Church, and in 1847 he received a specially urgent call. He was, however, deeply attached to the college, and was also extremely unwilling to live in a community in which slavery existed. He finally accepted the invitation on the express condition that his letter of acceptance should be read publicly, and then the question of renewing the call be submitted to the people. In this letter he stated that he regarded holding human beings as prop- erty as a violation of the first principles of the Chris- tian religion, and that while he did not require the church to adopt his views, he thought every Chris- tian should be alive to the question of slavery ; and as for himself, he must be guaranteed perfect liberty of opinion and speech on the subject, otherwise he did not think God called him to add to the number of slaves already in Missouri. The church heard the letter and unanimously renewed the invitation, where- upon Professor Post, in the fall of 1847, became the pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church of St. Louis, limiting the engagement to four years, in the hope that he might be able to return to the college at the expiration of that period.

But at the close of the allotted term, the church with great unanimity voted to become a Congrega- tional Church, and chose Rev. Mr. Post as its pastor, a position which under the circumstances he was constrained to accept, and which he held uninter- ruptedly until his resignation, which took effect Jan. 1, 1882. Under his pastorate the church prospered, and became the rallying-point for opinions that later

became potential in the great civil war. During that period Mr. Post did not forbear to assert the suprem- acy of those principles of personal liberty and respon- sibility which he had brought with him from New England, but did so with so much courtesy as well as courage, that he commanded the entire respect of a con- gregation and community of widely differing opinions.

REV. TRUMAN M. POST, D.D.

Outside of the duties immediately pertaining to his pastorate, he became closely identified with the development of the educational and charitable enter- prises of the city, and labored with an energy and catholicity of spirit not excelled by any in his pro- fession. The abolition of slavery removed a great barrier to the spread of Congregationalism, and the subsequent rapid planting of churches of that faith in this portion of the Mississippi valley was greatly aided by his counsels.

His resignation as pastor of the First Congrega- tional Church was accepted with reluctance, and, as previously stated, in recognition of his years of service, the title of Pastor Emeritus was conferred upon him. Many years ago his Alma Mater, Middlebury Col- lege, bestowed upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.

Force and effectiveness are the characteristics of Dr. Post as a preacher. He possesses a brilliant and poetic fancy, and his historical studies enable him to analyze events with a philosophic eye. This perhaps was the secret of his power and influence in the agita- tion preceding and attending the civil war. Many

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HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

of his discourses and addresses were widely circulated, and contributed greatly to strengthening the hands of the Unionists. He also aided the cause by frequent contributions to the press.

Although a prominent actor in the local agitation of the period, Dr. Post was never lacking in the per- formance of any of the usual duties of a pastor, and his nearly thirty-five years in the ministry in St. Louis were singularly faithful and useful ones.

In 1873, while in Europe, he was summoned home by the death of his estimable wife. Their union had resulted in three sons and three daughters, all living ; two of the sons are lawyers and one is a physician, all of them occupying a creditable position in their several callings.

Pilgrim Congregational Church, corner of Washington and Ewing Avenues, Rev. C. L. Goodell, D.D., pastor, grew out of Pilgrim Sabbath-school, or- ganized in 1853, by Rev. F. A. Armstrong, of Ten- nessee, temporarily residing in St. Louis. The school was established in the upper room of a two-story frame house at the northwest corner of Garrison Avenue and Morgan Street, where the residence of William Ballentyne now stands. After conducting the school one Sunday Mr. Armstrong was called away, and Stephen M. Edgell, a member of the First Congregational Church, continued it, chiefly at his own cxpense. For about twelve years he had per- sonal care of the school-room, and in winter brought coal and kindling-wood from his own home, acting both as instructor and janitor. In 1854, the school having become too large for its quarters, Mr. Edgell leased a lot where now stands the residence of D. P. Rowland, 2910 Morgan Street, and erected on it a one-story brick building, in which besides the school religious services were held. On the 22d of Septem- ber, 1865, an informal meeting was held at the house of William Colcord, 2800 Morgan Street, to consider the question of erecting a permanent building for the Sabbath-school and of organizing a new congregation. In June, 1866, S. M. Edgell and James E. Kaime purchased a lot fronting eighty and eight-twelfthis feet on Washington Avenue, and one hundred and thirty- four and three-twelfths feet on Ewing Avenuc, for $7620, and presented it for the " uses of an orthodox Congregational Church." Pilgrim Chapel, a brick building, capable of seating four hundred people, and costing $14,460.80, was erected on this lot during the same year. On the 5th of December, 1866, the proposed church was organized as a colony from the First Congregational Church, thirty-six of whose members had been dismissed for the purpose. The chapel was dedicated on the 22d of December, 1866,

the 22d being known as " Forefathers' day," the an- niversary of the day on which the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth Rock. A council of Congrega- tional Churches was convened for the occasion, with Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, Jr., of Hannibal, as moderator, and Rev. J. M. Bowers, of Sedalia, Mo., as scribc.

In 1867 the foundations of the present stone build- ing were built, at a cost of three thousand and forty dollars and forty-five cents, and Dec. 21, 1867, the corner-stone was laid with appropriate services at the northeast corner. In 1871 the erection of the pres- ent edifice was commenced, and on the 22d of De- cember, 1872 (Forefathers' day), the building was formally dedicated. The total cost, including that of organ and furniture, was fifty-six thousand three hundred and forty-eight dollars and nine cents. S. M. Edgell and D. F. Kaime were the building committee, and Henry L. Isaacs was the architect. The church is capable of seating thirteen hundred and twenty persons. The spire and tower were finished in 1876, and in the latter is the " Oliphant chime" of ten bells, presented at Christmas, 1876, by Dr. R. W. Oliphant, in memory of his deceased wife and son. In con- nection with the chimes is a tower clock, striking the famous Cambridge University quarters, the first of its kind in America. The bells, clock, etc., cost ten thousand dollars. The pastors have been Revs. John Monteith, Jr., of Cleveland, Ohio, began Nov. 1, 1866, dismissed with seventy-one other members to form a colony, March 15, 1869; W. C. Martyn, of Union Presbyterian Theological Seminary, appointed June 24, 1869, resigned Sept. 1, 1871 ; H. C. Haydn, ap- pointed Dec. 1, 1871, resigned April 1, 1872 ; C. L. Goodell, called Sept. 12, took charge Nov. 27, 1872, and formally installed June 5, 1873, the installation having been delayed by his illness.

In December, 1871, S. M. Edgell presented the two-story brick dwelling-house and twenty-five feet of land adjoining the church for a parsonage.

The brick chapel was rebuilt in the autumn of 1873, with a stone front, and raised to the height of the main edifice, and was fitted up with sewing-rooms, parlors, etc., at a cost of $13,229.80, and dedicated Jan. 21, 1874. The entire church property has cost $106,207.89. This was the first church erected west of Seventeenth Street, and out of it have grown the Third, Plymouth, Fifth, and Hyde Park Churches. It has also dismissed several members to unite with the Congregational Church at Webster Grove. About fifteen hundred persons are connected with the church, and there are seven hundred and fifty communicants. The Sunday school has seventeen officers, fifty-four regular teachers, and a reserve corps of nineteen others.

C. L. Goodell

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS.

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During the year 1881 the whole number of scholars was seven hundred and fifty, the additions seventy- five, number of classes fifty-six, and number of vol- umes in the library five hundred and forty-two. Con- nected with the church are a Young Ladies' Mission- ary Society, a Ladies' Home Missionary Society, a Woman's Board of Missions, the Pilgrim Workers, a Flower Mission, etc., while the congregation is also largely represented in the Young Men's Christian Association, missionary work in the jail, and several other religious and benevolent enterprises. During 1881 tlic church contributed in outside benevolence $26,638.85, and during the year previous $25,- 882.87.

Rev. Constans L. Goodell, D.D., pastor of Pilgrim Church, is descended from Robert Goodell, one of the early settlers of Salem, Mass., who came from Eng- land in the ship " Elizabeth," landing there in 1634, six years after the founding of that town and fourteen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. One of his descendants, Aaron Goodell, emigrated to Calais, Vt., where Constans L. Goodell was born March 16, 1830. He belongs to a race which has contributed much to the growth of Christianity in our own and other lands. His mother, Elvira Bancroft, was of a family which for five successive generations furnished a deacon in each (of the same name) for the church in Lynn, Mass. Eleven of his ancestors chose the ministry for their life-work, including the eminent Dr. William Goodell, for forty-two years a missionary of the American Board in Turkey.

Dr. Goodell is a graduate of the University of Ver- mont, class of 1855, and of Andover Theological Semi- nary, 1858. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred by his Alma Mater in 1874.

Hc married, May 5, 1859, Miss Emily Fairbanks, daughter of Governor Erastus Fairbanks, and sister of Governor Horace Fairbanks, of St. Johnsbury, Vt. Mrs. Goodell has had a large share in his remarkable success, and few women have exercised so wide and valuable an influence on the life of a great city. All the rich gifts of her generous heart and cultured mind are fully consecrated to the work to which his life is devoted. She is beside her husband in. all his labors, and all movements for the advancement of the church and for reaching and comforting the uncared-for and afflicted are planned by the two together. His first pastorate was at New Britain, Conn., where he was settled over the South Congregational Church in 1859, and where he remained fourteen years.

On Nov. 27, 1872, he comincneed his pastorate in St. Louis, and this date marks the commencement of that rapid growth which has placed Pilgrim Churchı

among the great evangelizing forces of the city. That his work has been successful is clearly shown by its effects. The high position universally accorded him is the result of the labor which has developed a church of ninety-two members into one of eight hundred, and increased its benevolence from three thousand dollars a year to nearly thirty thousand dollars, all in the short space of ten years. He uses no sensational methods, but depends on quiet and effective labor. When asked once what was the secret of his success, from a human stand-point, he replied, “ Eternal vigi- lance." He is remarkably successful in inspiring others with a love for Christian effort.

His belief is thoroughly evangelical, and what is technically known as the "New England theology," and he preaches only his convictions. No one has ever heard doubts ventilated from Pilgrim pulpit while he has occupied it. He is thoroughly consecrated to the work of the pastorate. He knows his people thoroughly, and is as well known by them. A stranger at one of the services said that when the preacher rose in the pulpit he knew at once that he was the pastor of that church ; his manner, his prayers, and his preaching all showed that he was the shepherd of the flock. In the church of which he is the pastor people of all sects and circumstances are perfectly at home.

Many churches in St. Louis have felt the impulse of Dr. Goodell's work, and through him have gained courage to go forward. There are several organiza- tions in the city besides Pilgrim Church that are now strong, and becoming more vigorous and useful every year, which might not be in existence but for him. At least three new churches have been organized within the city limits as the direct result of his wise planning and generous help; and they have all been set in motion with such a liberal spirit that their suc- cess was assured from the start. Numerous churches in various parts of the State afford the same evidence of the thoughtful care and wise generosity of Dr. Goodell. His influence on his brethren in the min- istry is great, and not only by his example, but by his active sympathy and sound advice, has he saved them from many grave mistakes, and contributed greatly to their success.

In educational matters he has always been active. Drury College owes much of its prosperity to his la- bors as a trustee and an earnest friend. There are many who believe that but for him the college could never have survived the trials through which it has passed. Illinois College and other similar institutions have also felt the effects of his efforts and counsel.

Dr. Goodell's life is an eminently peaceful one. He

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studiously avoids all controversies, believing that the plain preaching of the truth and earnest work form the best answer to any attack or criticism. It natu- rally follows that his influence in unifying and har- monizing Christian work is great. The Young Men's Christian Association has always found in him a faithful and practical ally. The different branches of union effort in the city have representatives and ac- tive workers from his membership, and look with confidence to the pastor of Pilgrim Church for help and advice. During the time that Rev. E. P. Ham- mond, the evangelist, labored in St. Louis, and later when D. L. Moody held his meetings, Dr. Goodell was foremost in the work. The Evangelical Alli- ance has learned to expect from him words of peace and wisdom on difficult points, and one of its pleas- antest and most helpful years was that in which he was its president.

In his own denomination Dr. Goodell is recognized as a leader and has great influence. At the meeting of the National Council of Congregational Churches in Detroit, in 1877, his paper on " Woman's Work as a Part of the Religious Movement of the Time" was regarded as one of the wisest and most timely utter- ances ever made on that difficult subject. In 1881, in his sermon before the American Home Missionary Society at its annual meeting in New York City, he asked for " one million dollars a year for home mis- sions," and the churches seem likely in the near fu- ture to meet this demand. He is a member of the committee of twenty-five, appointed for the purpose of framing a new statement of Christian doctrine, and occupies many other positions of trust and influence. There have been several efforts to draw Dr. Goodell away to other pastorates and positions of great im- portance, but his response in each case has been that his work was in St. Louis.

lieved by his successor ; Rev. E. P. Powell, appointed April 26, 1871, took charge Sept. 17, 1871, resigned Sept. 12, 1873 ; Rev. W. S. Peterson, appointed Jan- uary, 1874, resigned January, 1875; Rev. William Twining served as supply three months in 1875 ; Rev. Theodore Clifton, appointed Oct. 12, 1875. During the last quarter of 1873, the congregation being with- out a pastor, lost so many members that in January, 1874, it reorganized, and closed the year with sixty- six members, of whom thirty-nine had belonged to the former organization. In 1875 it suffered from the same cause, and the organization was only pre- served by the determination of a few individuals. In December, 1875, when the present pastor, Rev. The- odore Clifton, took charge, only twenty-five resident members remained, the services during the interval having been conducted by a reader, and a debt of one thousand dollars had accumulated.

Since then, however, the congregation has prospered. On the 12th of April, 1876, the church united with the St. Louis Congregational Association, and Oct. 1, 1876, its name was changed to that of "Third Congregational." In November, 1876, S. M. Edgell, of Pilgrim Church, presented the church with fifty feet of ground on Francis Street, and in the fall of 1877 the Boston Street lots were sold, the debt was paid, and the building was removed to the new location on Francis Street, and enlarged, repaired, and refur- nished at a cost of $2015.35, of which $1350 was given by the Pilgrim and First Congregational Churches. The remainder was raised by the members of the Third Church. The edifice was rededicated, free of debt, Dec. 19, 1877, by Revs. C. S. Goodell and Dr. T. M. Post. In June, 1882, the lot occupied by the present church, at the southeast corner of Grand and Page Avenues, was purchased from D. R. Garri- son for the sum of twelve thousand dollars. Its dimensions are one hundred and twelve by one hun- dred and fifty feet, and on it is situated a handsome residence, which was included in the purchase and is now the parsonage. The church, a neat Gothic frame building, was removed to the new site, and two thou- sand dollars was expended in refitting it. A lecture- room and other apartments were added as a basement, and the building, which is capable of seating five hundred persons, was formally reopened on the 10th of November, 1882. The membership numbers over two hundred. There are about one hundred and fifty families connected with the church, and the average attendance is about one hundred and fifty. The Fair Ground Mission Sunday-school was organized July 17, 1870, and formally recognized as a mission of the

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 163

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358