USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 51
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Cavalry Baptist Church dates its beginning from 1885, when the First Baptist Church established a mission on Twenty-fourth Street, just north of Cuming, and erected a frame building at a cost of $1,300. The mission prospered and on November 22, 1886, thirty-seven members of the First Church withdrew by letters and organized the Calvary Church, with Rev. A. W. Clark as pastor. A little later the chapel on Twenty-fourth Street was sold to the Welsh Presbyterians and a new house of worship was erected at the corner of Twenty-sixth and Seward streets, which was dedicated in December, 1888. The congregation now owns a large and handsome brick honse of worship at the corner of Twenty-fifth and Hamilton streets and is prospering under the pastoral charge of Rev. J. A. Max- well, D. D.
The German Immanuel Baptist Church, located at 2719 North Twenty-fourth Street, is another society that originated in the First Baptist Church. On March 19, 1886, letters were granted to Rev. F. A. Genius and eleven others for the
FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OMAHA ST. MARY'S CHURCH, OMAHA, 1856
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purpose of organizing a German Baptist Church. It now has a membership of about forty and is doing a good work among the German Baptists under the leadership of Rev. Oscar Autritt as pastor.
On November 18, 1888, the First Baptist Church established a mission at Tenth and Bancroft streets and services were held there regularly until March 11, 1894, when the mission was organized into the Grace Baptist Church. The society now owns a comfortable frame church edifice at the corner of Tenth and Arbor streets, with Rev. E. B. Taft as pastor.
Immanuel Baptist Church, located at Twenty-fourth and Pinkney streets, had its origin in a Sunday school which was established in October, 1887, at No. 2409 Twenty-fourth Street. On the last day of April, 1888, the church was organized with twenty-four charter members and the next year a house of worship was erected on the corner of Twenty-fourth and Binney streets. It was dedicated on December 15, 1889, and was used by the congregation until the erection of the present building. Rev. Arthur J. Morris is the present pastor.
The Olivet Baptist Church was organized in October, 1889, with Rev. Thomas Stephenson as pastor, and the following year a church building was erected on Grand Avenue between Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth streets, at a cost of $2,000. Rev. William A. Mulford is the present pastor.
The other Baptist churches of the city are: Mount Moriah, located at No. 2553 Seward Street, organized in 1893; South Side, located at the northeast corner of Twenty-fifth and H streets, Rev. W. R. Hill, pastor; the Swedish Baptist Church at No. 4523 South Twenty-second Street, Rev. Lars Arlander, pastor ; Bethel Church, at Twenty-ninth aiid F streets, organized in August, 1906, with nine charter members, Rev. J. C. Brown, pastor, and Zion Church, at No. 2608 Franklin Street, Rev. W. F. Botts, pastor. The- last two are colored churches.
THE CATHOLICS
If the reports concerning the expedition of Coronado in 1541 be accepted as true, the first clergyman to visit the region now included in the State of Nebraska was a Catholic priest-Father Juan de Padilla, who accompanied the expedition. According to reports, he went to visit an Indian tribe, taking with him some Quivira Indians as guides, but the party was attacked by a war party and Father Padilla was killed.
From 1670 to 1776 the country of the upper Missouri was under the juris- diction of Quebec, and for the next century it was subject to the diocese of Santiago de Cuba, during the Spanish domination of Louisiana. After the Louisiana Purchase was made by the United States, the country was again placed under the French ecclesiastical authorities of Canada until 1851, when the terri- tory now forming the states of Kansas and Nebraska was included in what was known as the "Vicariate Apostolic of the territory east of the Rocky Mountains." Some time in May, 1855, Rev. W. Emonds came to Omaha from St. Joseph, Mo., and celebrated the first mass in Nebraska in the hall of representatives in the old state house. Father Emonds did not remain long in Omaha, but ground was secured as a site for a church and the work of raising funds to erect a building
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was commenced. There were then but a few Catholic families in the town and after Father Emonds left the building project was temporarily abandoned.
In the spring of 1856 the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company donated a lot on Eighth Street, near Howard, for a Catholic church. While the building was going up Father Scanlon came up from St. Joseph and celebrated mass at the residence of Acting Governor Cuming. He then remained in Omaha long enough to see the church building finished and officiated at its dedication. This was the first Catholic church in Nebraska and was known as St. Mary's. Father Scanlon was succeeded by Rev. John Cavanaugh, who remained about three months, and in the fall of 1858 Father Cannon was installed as the first resident priest of St. Mary's. In May, 1859, Bishop O'Gorman was consecrated as "Bishop of Raphanea and Vicar Apostolic of Nebraska." On June 25, 1859, the new bishop ordained Rev. William Kelly in the little St. Mary's Church, the first priest to be ordained on Nebraska soil.
In 1865 a quarter of a block at the intersection of Harney and Ninth streets was purchased by Bishop O'Gorman as the site for a cathedral and Father Kelly was commissioned to raise the funds necessary to erect the building. He visited the Catholics in several of the eastern cities and raised about thirty thousand dollars. To this sum Edward Creighton added a liberal donation, Mrs. Creighton donated the handsome marble altar, and the ladies of the parish gave a $4,000 pipe organ. The corner-stone was laid on June 2, 1867, and the dedication took place on Passion Sunday, March 29, 1868, the cathedral taking the name of St. Philomena's. The old St. Mary's Church was, then taken for a school, which was in charge of the Sisters of Mercy until 1882, when the building was torn down.
On Sunday, October 13, 1907, the last services were held in the old St. Philomena's Cathedral. The property was then sold to John Deere & Company and the people belonging to the parish worshiped at. the Church of St. Mary Magdalena until the completion of the new St. Philomena's, which was dedicated in August, 1909. It is located on the south side of Williams Street, between Ninth and Tenth streets, and cost $41,500, exclusive of the furnishings, which were taken from the old church. The priest's house was built in 1910, at a cost of $11,500, and the parish has a handsome brick schoolhouse of two stories and basement. The school is conducted by the Sisters of Mercy. Rev. James W. Stenson, the present pastor, has been connected with the parish since 1898, when he came to St. Philomena's as assistant to Rev. H. J. McDevitt.
The next oldest Catholic church in Omaha is that of St. Mary Magdalena, located on the southeast corner of Nineteenth and Dodge streets. Shortly after the close of the Civil war Father Otto Groenbaum came as a missionary to Nebraska. Under his ministrations the few German Catholics about Omaha decided in the summer of 1868 to build a church of their own, and for that purpose held a meeting at St. Philomena's Church. It is said that when Bishop O'Gorman arrived at the meeting and seeing only a few persons present he asked: "Father Giroenbaum, what will you do? I see you have only a baker's dozen at this meeting." Among that "baker's dozen" were John Baumer, John, Joseph and Peter Frenzer, Andres Wassermann, Henry Koester, Nicholas Scheid, George Kleffner and a few others who were not easily discouraged and the church was organized.
.A lot 66 by 132 feet, located on the north side of Douglas Street, between
NEW ST. CECILIA'S CATHEDRAL, OMAHA
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VIEWS OF ST. CECILIA'S CATHEDRAL, OMAHA In course of construction
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Sixteenth and Seventeenth, was purchased and on Christmas Day, 1868, the brick house of worship erected thereon was dedicated under the name of St. Mary Magdalena, though it was frequently called "The Little German Church," or "The Doll Church."
On Christmas Day, 1893, the people of St. Mary Magdalena parish celebrated their silver jubilee with appropriate ceremonies. Not long after this their rejoic- ing was turned to sorrow, for on February 3, 1894, the fire that destroyed the old Boston Store also swept away the little German church, causing a loss of about thirteen thousand dollars, with only a small insurance. On September 29, 1894, a new church edifice on the site of the old one was dedicated according to Catholic rites and was occupied by the congregation for about ten years. During this period Father G. J. Glauber was in charge of the parish.
Ground for the present St. Mary Magdalena's Church was broken on March 15, 1902, and it was to be completed in time for the people to hold services on Christmas Day, the anniversary of the dedication of their first house of worship, thirty-four years before. Father Glauber left Omaha in May, 1904, and on August 16, 1904, Rev. Bernard Sinne came to the parish as pastor. St. Mary Magdalena's Church is not so strong as in former years. Many families left the city and others withdrew to unite with St. Joseph's in the southern part of the city. Those that are left have lost nothing in earnestness, however, and Father Sinne has been doing all he could in recent years to build up the parish to some- thing like its former prestige.
Bishop O'Gorman died on July 4, 1874, and was succeeded by Rt. Rev. James O'Connor, who was consecrated Bishop of Dibona and Vicar Apostolic of Nebraska on August 20, 1876, and began his labors in Omaha about a month later. The diocese of Omaha was established on October 2, 1885, with Bishop O'Connor as the first bishop. The diocese then included all of the State of Nebraska and the State of Wyoming, but in August, 1887, the dioceses of Lincoln and Cheyenne were erected. Under the administration of Bishop O'Connor a number of new Catholic parishes were formed.
As early as 1868 Bishop O'Gorman purchased a piece of ground on the southeast corner of Seventeenth and Cuming streets for church purposes, but no parish was organized there until 1876, when Bishop O'Connor sent Rev. John Curtis there as the first pastor. An old schoolhouse moved from the cathedral parish was the first house of worship, which was dedicated on December 17, 1876, under the patronage of the Holy Family. In 1879 the site of the church was changed to Eighteenth and Izard streets and a church with a basement was erected. In April, 1883, work was commenced on a new church edifice, which was dedicated the following October. Father S. L. Dowd was appointed pastor on July 7, 1912, and still has charge of the parish.
St. Wenceslaus, the Bohemian Catholic Church located at No. 1432 South Twelfth Street, was also organized in 1876. Services are conducted in the native tongue of the members by Rev. John Vranek.
St. Patrick's parish was organized in 1883, with Father Jennette as the first pastor. The first church was a small building which stood on the site now occupied by the Convent of Mercy. In 1895 Father Jennette was succeeded by Father Smith, who was in turn succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Peter C. Cannon. A new church was built in 1910 on the corner of Fourteenth and
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Castellar streets, a substantial brick structure of pleasing design, and the parish maintains a parochial school under the charge of the Sisters of Mercy.
St. Peter's Church was established in 1886 and for thirty years it has been one of the leading Catholic churches of Omaha. The present house of worship, on Leavenworth Street near Twenty-eighth, is to be abandoned as soon as a new church is completed on the corner of Thirty-first and Pacific streets, where seven lots were purchased in the fall of 1912, which will give ample room for church, schoolhouse and priest's residence. Rev. J. F. McCarthy is the present pastor.
In 1884 Father Glauber, then pastor of St. Mary Magdalena's parish, bought a site for a new German church on Center Street, between Sixteenth and Seven- teenth streets. Two years later plans were drawn for St. Joseph's Church and the foundation was laid that fall. Bishop O'Connor dedicated the building on September 12, 1887. This edifice was subsequently replaced by the present handsome and commodious building. The membership is composed of German and Polish families and Rev. Pacificus Kohnen is the pastor.
St. John's Collegiate Church, at first connected with Creighton University, but now a parochial church, was built in 1887. It has always been attended by students of the university and is one of the handsome church edifices of the city. The pastor in the spring of 1916 was Rev. M. M. Brongeest.
St. Agnes' Church, in South Omaha, was organized in 1888 and the house of worship at No. 2211 Q Street was built soon afterward. The first services were conducted by Father Jennette, of St. Patrick's parish. The corner-stone of the new church was laid on May 26, 1889, and the house was dedicated on the 13th of the following October. Including the furnishings it cost $25,000 and has a seating capacity of 624. Rev. D. W. Moriarty was the first pastor, who served the parish for fifteen years. He resigned in October, 1903, and was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. James Aherne. The parochial school is in charge of the Sisters of Providence.
The parish of St. Cecelia was also founded in 1888. Bishop O'Connor died on May 27, 1890, and Rt. Rev. Richard Scannell was installed as his successor on April 12, 1891, having previously been bishop of the Concordia diocese in Kansas. Bishop Scannell decided to build a new cathedral for Omaha and selected St. Cecelia as the cathedral parish. On October 6, 1907, the corner-stone of the new cathedral was laid, the sermon on that occasion being delivered by Archbishop Ireland, of St. Paul, Minnesota. The plans were made by T. R. Kimball, under the direction of Bishop Scannell, and work was commenced 011 the structure in April, 1905, more than two years before the laying of the corner- stone. Its dimensions are 158 by 255 feet over all, and the extreme height of the towers is 187 feet. The style of architecture is Spanish Renaissance, the walls massive in their proportions and faced with Indiana oolitic limestone. When completed it will be one of the finest church edifices in the country. It is located at the corner of Fortieth and Burt streets, on what is known as Walnut Hill.
In 1890 the Catholic families living in the vicinity of old Fort Omaha and Kountze Place were organized by Father Smith into a parish known as Sacred Heart. A small church and rectory were built on Twenty-sixth Street, between Sahler and Sprague streets. The ground there was low and in wet weather it was almost impossible to get to the church without wading. Father P. J. Judge took
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ST. JOHN'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, OMAHA
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charge in 1894 and one of his first acts was to secure a new site for a church on Binney Street near Twenty-second. Here he erected the present magnificent church building, which was dedicated on June 8, 1902. Father Judge is still in charge of the parish.
The Bohemian parish of the Assumption, in South Omaha, was organized in 1891, the first services being held by Father Kolin on the 9th of August. A piece of ground at the northwest corner of Twenty-second and U streets was purchased in 1893 and the church building was erected the succeeding year. Since then a comfortable schoolhouse and a priest's residence have been built. Rev. Joseph Chundelak is in charge of the parish.
When St. Agnes' parish was organized in 1888 there were about one hundred and fifty Catholic families in South Omaha. By the close of 1894 the number of families had increased to over five hundred and the accommodations at St. Agnes' Church were insufficient to care for that number. On January 1, 1895, the parish of St. Bridget was organized and took the old church property at the southwest corner of Twenty-sixth and F streets, where mass was first celebrated in the parish of St. Agnes. The present pastor of St. Bridget's is Rev. William . Borer.
The other Catholic parishes of Omaha are as follows: St. Saviour, on South Thirteenth Street, organized in 1894, Rev. Elias Abboud, pastor; St. Mary's, on the southeast corner of Thirty-sixth and O streets, Rev. Charles Meegan, pastor ; Church of the Immaculate Conception on the southwest corner of Twenty-fourth and Bancroft streets, under the pastoral care of Rey Theobald Kalamja; St. Francis' located at No. 4501 South Thirty-second Street, organized in 1898 and now attended by Rev. Michael T. Gluba; St. Anthony's, a Lithuanian parish organized in 1901, whose church is located on the southwest corner of Thirty- second and S streets, with Rev. George F. Jonaitis as pastor; and the Church of the Holy Angels on the northeast corner of Twenty eighth and Fowler streets, organized on October 16, 1910, and now under the pastoral charge of Rev. P. A. Flanagan.
Nearly all the parishes support parochial schools and there are a number of Catholic institutions in the city, such as St. Berchman's Academy, Mount St. Mary's Seminary, the Convent of Mercy, Good Shepherd and Sacred Heart convents, St. Rita's Home for Girls, St. Joseph's and St. Catherine's hospitals and Creighton University, the history of which will be found elsewhere.
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
The First Christian Church of Omaha was organized in 1868 with Rev. J. W. Allen as pastor. A church building was erected on Harney Street, between Fourteenth and Fifteenth, but after a few years the congregation disbanded, the church building was sold, and was afterward used as a blacksmith shop.
In 1878 Elder B. B. Tyler, of New York, visited Omaha and reorganized the church. Services were held for a time in the Methodist Church on Seventeenth Street, near Dodge, with Rev. J. W. Ingram as pastor. Among the charter members at the time of reorganization were: William Stephens and wife, Lee, Lucian and Wilcox Stephens, W. P. Wilcox and wife, Dr. S. D. Mercer, Levi McCash and wife, Platte Saunders and wife, Brice Biers and wife, John B. Snead
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and wife, John Mott, Alvin Saunders and wife, O. F. Stephens and wife, Henry Van Dusen, J. B. Van Aernam, Byrd Rogers, Josiah Rogers, W. J. Mount and wife, James F. Tyler, William M. Semones, Andrew Rowley; Mesdames Sarah Hart, George A. Coulter, J. B. Cox, Louis Hospe, A. A. Adams, T. W. T. Richards, George H. Fitchett, Cornelia Crowe, Charles W. Burgdorf, T. E. Tannyhill, William Snowden, Anna M. Kennel; and Misses Jennie Carrigan, Alice Van Aernam, Anna Truland, Margaret Truland, Martha and Ella Parrati, Stella Shaw and Ella B. Kendrick.
The first house of worship was a brick structure, which was used for a few years, when a frame house was built on the corner of Capitol Avenue and Twentieth Street, which with the lot was valued at $25,000. The present build- ing, located on the southwest corner of Twenty-sixth and Harney streets, was dedicated in October, 1907, having just been completed at a cost of $60,000. The congregation now numbers 600 members, with Rev. Charles E. Cobbey as pastor.
The South Side Christian Church was organized in the spring of 1890, with fifteen charter members, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Howe, C. C. Clifton, and Mrs. S. C. Shrigley. Meetings were held in the Presbyterian Church until the fall of that year, when C. M. Hunt tendered the congregation the use of his hall at the corner of Twenty-sixth and N streets. Meetings were then held in the hall until the spring of 1891, when the little Swedish Church at Twenty-second and K streets was rented. That summer a lot on the southeast corner of Twenty- third and I streets was purchased and a two-story building erected on the back end of it, the lower floor being used as a house of worship and the pastor living upstairs. A little later the congregation bought the colored Methodist Episcopal Church in Albright and moved it on the front of the lot. It was dedicated on June 28, 1896, and served until the congregation decided to build a new church. The old house was then sold and the services were held in the hall of the Ancient Order of United Workmen while the present building was under construction. The corner-stone was laid on November 27, 1908, and the church, a handsome brick edifice, was completed the following spring, at a cost of $16,000. This church was dedicated on May 23, 1909. The congregation now numbers 250 under the pastoral charge of Rev. John G. Alber.
In 1892 the North Side or Walnut Hill Christian Church was organized by Rev. Charles E. Taylor, who served as the first regular pastor. Before the close of the year a frame house of worship was erected at a cost of about six thousand dollars. The present church edifice, located on the corner of Twenty-second and Lothrop streets, was erected at a cost of $25,000 and was dedicated in 1912. The North Side Church takes an active interest in missionary work and has a Sunday school of over three hundred scholars. The membership of the church on April 1, 1916, was 467, with Rev. G. L. Peters as pastor.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH
The Christian Science Church, or more correctly speaking, the Church of Christ Scientist, is founded upon the teachings of Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy and is of comparatively recent origin. About 1885 Mrs. L. B. Fenn came to Omaha and began teaching the doctrines of the church. She made a number of con-
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FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST, OMAHA
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verts, but no regular church was organized until 1893, when the First Church of Christ Scientist was organized and in 1894 Mrs. Al-Freddie De Long came to take charge of the new church as pastor. Meetings were at first held in the Patterson Block, 1623 Farnam Street. On November 4, 1896, the church was re-incorporated under the name of First Church of Christ Scientist, of Omaha, Neb. Fanny D. Wakeley was elected as secretary, and the following directors were chosen: M. A. Free, Jennie B. Fenn, Mrs. Harriet Fonda, Mrs. M. A. Lathrop, Mrs. Emma G. Gatch, Mrs. Clara B. McMillan, and Mrs. M. O. Flick. As the church grew in numbers preparations were commenced for the erection of a church edifice. A lot at the corner of Twenty-fourth Street and St. Mary's Avenue was purchased and after numerous delays the present cozy house of wor- ship was dedicated and services are held there regularly every Sunday.
The Second Church of Christ Scientist was organized about five years ago and holds meetings in Dundee Hall, at the corner of Underwood Avenue and Fiftieth Street, though a lot at the intersection of Thirty-ninth and Davenport streets has been purchased preparatory to erecting a church.
In the spring of 1916 a movement was started for the organization of a Third Church of Christ Scientist, to be located somewhere in the northern part of the city. About one hundred and fifty names were secured to a membership roll and the organization of the church was perfected at a meeting held in Druid Hall, Twenty-fourth Street and Ames Avenue on May 15, 1916. Until a church can be built services will be held in Druid Hall.
THE CONGREGATIONALISTS
To this denomination belongs the credit of having erected the first Protestant church in the City of Omaha. A society known as the First Congregational Church was organized on May 4, 1856, and before the close of that year a small brick house of worship was built on the west side of Sixteenth Street, just north of where the United States National Bank now stands. Rev. Reuben Gaylord was the first pastor and his daughter taught a school in the basement of the church soon after it was completed. In 1865 Mr. Gaylord was succeeded by Rev. William Rose, who started the movement for a new church at the corner of Nineteenth and Chicago streets, but did not remain until it was completed, which was in 1870, during the pastorate of Rev. A. F. Sherrill.
The church building first occupied in 1870 served the congregation until 1888, when the handsome and commodious structure on the northeast corner of Nine- teenth and Davenport streets was erected at a cost of $60,000. The pastor on April 1, 1916, was Rev. Fred T. Rouse.
The Second Congregational Church, also known as the St. Mary's Avenue Church, was incorporated on March 7, 1882, most of the members having formerly been affiliated with the First Church. A lot on St. Mary's Avenue, just east of Twenty-seventh Street, was purchased for $1,200 and a small frame building erected thereon at a cost of $3,175. It was dedicated on October 29, 1882, and in December following, Rev. Willard Scott was installed as pastor. In 1887 two lots directly opposite the church were purchased and the present building erected. It was completed in the spring of 1889. Rev. G. A. Hulbert is the present pastor.
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