USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Centennial annals of St. Luke's Church, Rochester, N.Y., 1817-1917 > Part 2
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In September, 1823, the Vestry resolved to enter into a contract with H. T. McGeorge to build a stone church 53 x 73 with a tower 16 x 6 at the
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contract price of $9,000, and William Pitkin, Caleb L. Clark, S. M. Smith, T. H. Rochester and Silas Smith with the minister ex officio, were appointed the building committee. The cost of the edifice, however, reached the sum of $10,400. The old frame church was removed to the rear of the lot and was subsequently used for Sunday School pur- poses until 1832, when the building was sold, re- moved to Buffalo St., converted to secular uses and finally demolished in April, 1875.
The corner stone of the new structure was laid May 11, 1824, and the edifice was first opened for public worship Sept. 4, 1825. The following con- temporary description is taken from the first Roch- ester Directory, published in 1827 :
The style of the building, is Gothick, which has been rigidly observed in every particular. The main part of the front is of hewn gray stone from Auburn. The two cor- ners of the tower and the two corners of the body of the house are of red freestone, as are also the water table, the caps, sills and jambs of the windows and doors. The two windows in the tower are strikingly beautiful, con- taining a proper number of spandrels and branching mul- lions, and ornamented with rich and delicate tracery. Around the arch of the first of these, handsomely cut in the stone cap, is the name of the church, with the year of its erection. The tower is 16 feet square, projecting five feet beyond the body of the church, and rising to the height of 90 feet. This is finished at the top with eight pinnacles, connected by a castellated or embattled balus- trade. A similar balustrade runs around the roof of the whole house, having similar pinnacles at each corner. The wood-work on the outside of the house has been made strongly to resemble the red free-stone, by a process term- ed smalting.
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In the arrangement of the interiour will be seen con- venience, elegance, and a strict economy of room. The pulpit and desk consist of a number of delicate Gothick arches, behind which is a drapery of dark blue velvet. The chancel is in the form of an oval, placed in front of the desk, and containing a Communion Table of Italian marble, and a baptismal font of the purest alabaster, rest- ing on a pedestal of agate marble. The gallery is sup- ported by large cluster columns, painted in imitation of light blue variegated marble. The ceiling is finished with intersecting vaulted or groined arches, ornamented with stucco work. In the church is placed a large and remark- ably fine-toned organ.
This organ was built by Hall & Erben of New York and cost $1,300, most of which was raised by a special subscription; the instrumental music in the old church having been furnished by a violin, flute, clarionet and bass viol. The first organist was Daniel Clark, who held the position till May, 1827, when he was superseded by William Staun- ton, remaining, however, in charge of the choir until April, 1828. The engagement authorized to be made with the new organist was "at a salary of $200 per annum and a guarantee of ten scholars in music @ $10 per year for one year."
The pews were " offered at public sale on per- petual lease, and for one or three years by bids for choice at the valuation and annual rents affixed in the schedule attached." The highest valuation was $280, and the highest annuity $20. The num- ber of pews on the ground floor was sixty-six, and in the gallery twenty-six.
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The church was consecrated by Bishop Hobart, Sept. 30, 1826, the ceremony having been thus long delayed owing to the Bishop's absence in Europe.
A Letter to the Parishioners of St. Luke's Church on the subject of the "Spiritual Character of The Liturgy " was issued in pamphlet form by its first rector in 1827, a rare copy of which is preserved in the archives of the parish.
The Christian activity of the parish found ex- pression, March 2, 1827, in the organization of the " Female Benevolent and Auxiliary Missionary Society," whose object was "the procuring of funds in aid of plans and societies formed for the purpose of promoting the cause of religion as con- nected with the interests of the Prot. Epis. Church, special reference being had to the wants of the General Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church and the Monroe County Episcopal Associa- tion, for disseminating religious knowledge." This last-named association, organized in February, 1827, appears to have allowed the object for which it was formed, viz., "the supply of vacant places within the county with the services of the Episcopal Church, assisting in the establishment and support of new congregations, and the formation of Sun- day Schools," to devolve entirely upon the ladies' society, designed to be auxiliary to it. This organ- ization, however, devoted itself at once to earnest work, with a membership of 126, and with Mrs. Elisha Johnson for President, Mrs. H. Montgom-
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ery, Vice-President, Mrs. W. Pitkin, Secretary, and Mrs. T. H. Rochester, Treasurer.
The first efforts of the society were directed to providing missionary services in parts adjacent, as is evident from the following extract from a letter of Mr. Cuming, dated May 21, 1827, enclosing to his correspondent a copy of the constitution of the newly-formed society :
The inducements which the society can at present hold out are by no means so great as we wish we had it in our power to offer. But when it is mentioned that there are strong, very strong reasons to authorize the belief that the prudent, zealous, persevering efforts of some able and pious clergyman would much promote the interests of the Episcopal Church in this quarter and result in building up two or three respectable congregations, we think we pre- sent an argument calculated to have much weight with those who sincerely love the Church.
The minutes of the society show that appropri- ations were made from time to time for missionary work at Penfield, Pittsford, Brockport, Scottsville, and Honeoye Falls. The need of missionary work within the city (for Rochester became a city in 1834) claimed more and more attention, and from 1846 (with increased ability on the part of diocesan agencies to care for outlying points), this society addressed its efforts mainly to the city field by pro- viding successive Rectors with clerical assistance. With some modification of its name, the society re- mained in existence till Feb. 3, 1868, when the Christian activity of the ladies was directed into other channels. It may here, however, be fitly re-
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marked that great interest was early manifested by the congregation in the missionary cause, both for- eign and domestic; an interest largely fostered by this association, which through systematic annual offerings liberally contributed to missionary objects. An evidence of the special interest felt in the mis- sion to Greece lies in the fact that a scholarship in Dr. and Mrs. Hill's school at Athens was supported by ladies in St. Luke's; and the first Greek girl received into that school, Agathoula by name, tes- tified her gratitude by working on canvas, with emblematical and ornamental designs, a scripture text, " In memoriam of Mrs. Sophia Rochester, Dec. 9th, 1845 "-a memento still preserved in the Roch- ester family.
Another organization was formed of unmarried ladies in the parish, on Ash Wednesday, 1827, to be known as " The Young Ladies' Benevolent and Reading Society." Its objects were "to promote the mutual instruction of the members, and to pro- cure funds for charitable or religious purposes." The society met once in two weeks, and during a reading by one of their number, the others were required "industriously to employ themselves in making such articles as may be disposed of to the advantage of the society." Its benefactions took a wide range, including appropriations to missions, theological students, parochial needs and the main- tenance of a charity school ; and its good work as a distinct organization was continued until 1838.
The earlier establishment of the Rochester
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Female Charitable Society, Feb. 26, 1822, should also properly be noted here; which, although a general organization, included among its first offi- cers and members many ladies of prominence in St. Luke's Church. The first public discourse in its behalf was preached by the Rector of St. Luke's, and it has ever retained the confidence and prac- tical sympathy of the congregation.
The letter of Rev. Mr. Cuming last quoted contains, at the close, the following important ref- erence: "Measures are now taken to organize another Episcopal congregation in this village, next Monday." The measures referred to originated in the following action of the Vestry of St. Luke's, May 7, 1827 :
WHEREAS, The congregation of St. Luke's has become so numerous in consequence of the increasing population of the village, that their present church cannot afford the necessary accommodation, and it being therefore advisable to establish an additional church in the Village of Roch- ester, and application having been made by parishioners of St. Luke's Church residing on the east side of the Genesee river for the organization of such additional church and society agreeably to the Constitution and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church; therefore,
Resolved, That the said additional church be located on the east side of the Genesee river within the bounds of the village corporation.
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to carry the above resolutions into effect in a legal manner and as soon as practicable, and that the following gentle- men compose said committee: Messrs. Atkinson, Johnson, Boulton, Whittlesey and Pitkin.
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Resolved, That the said committee wait upon the Rev. Mr. Cuming and express to him the continued con- fidence and attachment of all the parishioners of St. Luke's Church, and request him to proceed in the organization of the additional church.
In accordance with this action, St. Paul's Church was organized, May 28, 1827, in a room of the Franklin Institute in East Rochester, the Rev. Mr. Cuming presiding at a meeting duly convened, and Wm. Atkinson and Giles Boulton were elected Wardens, and Elisha Johnson, Elisha B. Strong, Jared N. Stebbins, S. M. Smith, Enos Stone, Sam- uel J. Andrews, Daniel Tinker and A. B. Curtiss, Vestrymen of the new Church. The Rev. Suther- land Douglas was the first Rector. The following communicants were transferred from St. Luke's to the new parish: Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Atkinson, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Andrews, Mr. and Mrs. Jared N. Stebbins, Giles Boulton, E. Smith Lee, Mrs. Susan Lee, Mrs. Mary Williams, Mrs. Elisha Johnson, John Carnes, Mrs. Richard P. Petherick, and Mrs. W. G. Russell. Five others also were dismissed during the year to form the nucleus of a new organization in the village of Penfield, to be called Trinity Church.
A contract for a bell of 2,000 lbs. weight was authorized to be made, July 5, 1827, with Ward, Bartholomew & Brainerd. Its cost was $900, $500 of which was provided by the proceeds of a lot given to the parish for this purpose by Colonel Fitzhugh. The bell was hung in the tower, April 17, 1828.
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At the Easter meeting in this year, Monday in Easter week was substituted for Thursday as the time of the annual election. An enlargement of the church by the addition of two arches at the west end was deemed expedient, which would increase its length by thirty feet. A contract was entered into with Elias J. Mershon to execute this plan at an expense of $3,000, Wm. Pitkin, S. O. Smith and F. Whittlesey being the building committee. The work was so conducted that the use of the church was not interrupted, and the new part was thrown open for occupancy in the fall of the same year.
The Rectorship of the Rev. Mr. Cuming was brought to a close by his resignation under date March 23, 1829, after an incumbency of eight years and four months. The Vestry accepted the resig- nation,, " deeply regretting the existence of reasons that in his estimation are deemed of sufficient weight and importance to determine him to resign a situa- tion he has so usefully occupied and the duties of which he has so faithfully and satisfactorily dis- charged."
An invitation to become the Rector was now extended to the Rev. Francis L. Hawks of New Haven, but declined by him on the ground of duty to his present parish and the condition of his health.
The Rev. Henry J. Whitehouse of Reading, Pa., was then called to the Rectorship, Sept. 9, 1829. After visiting the parish and officiating, the call was renewed, Oct. 4, by the Vestry and accepted " by the advice of Bishop Hobart," and on the first Sun-
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day in December the new Rector entered upon his duties. His formal Institution took place Aug. 29, 1830, on which occasion the Bishop preached upon " The Reciprocal Duties of Minister and People." The rite of confirmation was administered in the evening of the same day to sixty-one candidates ; on which occasion the Bishop accidentally over- turned the alabaster font, which was thus broken to pieces. It was his last service in St. Luke's, as his lamented death took place on the 12th of the ensuing month. The Vestry placed on record their feelings in reference to the loss of their beloved Bishop, in the following language:
But two weeks before his decease, he in this church instituted our Rector and administered the apostolic rite of confirmation. It was almost his last ministerial act. We feel sensibly, we hope, this divine dispensation, and humbly pray God to direct us in the way of our duty, and that in due time He will raise up another bishop who shall with equal consistency preserve the integrity of the Church, with equal self-devotedness dedicate himself to her inter- ests, with equal purity adorn her highest office, and, like him we mourn, be the polished gentleman, the practical scholar, the consistent Christian and the best of bishops.
The church was draped in black and the Vestry wore the usual badge of mourning, for thirty days. The Vestry further requested the family of the late Bishop " to furnish for publication a copy of the sermon delivered by him at the Institution of our Rector, that we may have continually before us his parting exposition of the relative duties of minister and people."
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The Rector reported to the Convention of this year, that he had given a third service for ten or twelve Sunday evenings in the village of Penfield, and occasionally a week-service in the town of Brighton. In the following year, these services in Penfield were continued, and six persons were con- firmed there by Bishop Onderdonk, Aug. 22, 1831.
The venerable founder of the village and the first warden of the church, Col. Nathaniel Roches- ter, deceased on the 4th of May, 1831, at the age of seventy-nine years. The Vestry manifested their respect and affection for his memory by appropriate resolutions and official participation in the funeral solemnities. On that occasion a memorable sermon was preached by the Rector, from the text, Gen. xliii. 27, " The old man of whom ye spake, is he yet alive? "
A communication addressed to the Rev. Mr. Whitehouse by the Vestry of St. Paul's Church, bearing date Dec. 5, 1831, was laid by him before the Vestry of St. Luke's, in which it was unani- mously proposed to associate the two Churches under his parochial charge as Rector of both, with authority to procure an assistant-minister,-the services and the expenses to be equally divided between the two Churches. The Vestry of St. Luke's, after full consideration of the subject, found themselves of one opinion as to the inadvis- ability of the proposed scheme, and to a detailed statement of their objections thereto, added these words: " This Vestry receive with much gratifica-
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tion the expression of the committee of St. Paul's to our Rector, of their 'approbation of the views and policy exhibited by him during his connection with St. Luke's Church,' and sincerely hope it is an earnest of the desire and determination of that congregation to be governed by the same sound and consistent views and policy, as they are calculated to present our episcopal institutions under one form, establish harmony and engage the cordial co-opera- tion of the members of our respective congrega- tions."
In 1832, a building was erected in the rear of the Church as a lecture-room and for the Sunday School, and also for the Charity School, which it was proposed to establish. This latter was organ- ized in 1833 with seventy-five scholars and was supported mainly by the Young Ladies' Benevolent Society of St. Luke's, Gershom P. Waldo and Ethan Allen, both afterwards in Orders in the Church, being among the teachers of the school. The sub- sequent development of the common school system occasioned its discontinuance, and in April, 1843, the Vestry authorized "the giving away of the Charity School apparatus."
At a meeting of the Vestry, Sept. 29, 1832, the embarrassed condition of the affairs of St. Paul's Church were again presented to their attention through a communication from the Vestry of the latter, whereupon the following preamble and reso- lutions were adopted :
WHEREAS, certain statements of the affairs and condi-
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tion of St. Paul's Church in the Village of Rochester from the Vestry thereof, have been submitted to the considera- tion of the Vestry of this Church; from which it appears that the pecuniary affairs of said Church are in a condition so embarrassed that they entertain no hope of being able to extricate themselves, and that without means, without a Rector and burdened with debt, they fear that they must sink under their difficulties, the Church be borne down, the congregation dispersed and the building sold, to the great injury of the Episcopal interest in this section, unless some new arrangement can be made for their relief and the benefit of the Church in general, and so suggesting that the Corporation of this Church should purchase the building of St. Paul's Church as a Chapel of St. Luke's, as the only practical measure of saving it from entire sacri- fice and averting a serious and permanent injury to the prosperity of the Episcopal Church generally, therefore
Resolved, that the interests of the Episcopal Church demand that St. Luke's Church should make an effort to purchase the building known as St. Paul's Church as a Chapel of this Church, if it can be done without too great a burden upon its resources and funds.
Resolved, that the Rector of this Church be empower- ed to ascertain what foreign resources can be depended upon for the above object, and to this intent, if necessary, present the matter to the Vestry of Trinity Church, New York.
After considerable negotiation, it was finally deemed unwise and impracticable by the Vestry of St. Luke's for them to assume the responsibility which the purchase of St. Paul's as a Chapel would involve, since the conditions connected with the offer of Trinity Church, New York, to pay the interest on $10,000 indebtedness for two years, re- quired the purchase of the property by St. Luke's
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and the clearing off of all claims and incumbrances in excess of that amount.
A plan for the reorganization of St. Paul's under another name was subsequently devised, and liberally aided by Trinity Church, New York; and the new corporation of Grace Church came, through foreclosure, into possession of the property.
The only occasion when St. Luke's has been visited by fire was in the early morning of Sunday. December 23, 1832, when the damage was slight and mainly by water. The kind invitation of their neighbors of the First Presbyterian Society to wor- ship in their edifice was gratefully accepted : which courtesy the Vestry were pleased to reciprocate on a subsequent occasion, when the walls of the First Church came to be considered unsafe; proffering the use of the Church to a religious society, whose relations with St. Luke's, its oldest and nearest neighbor, have always been of the most friendly character.
The Rev. Mr. Whitehouse proposing a trip to Europe for his health, and the Vestry expressing their cordial concurrence in the plan, he left the city Aug. 8, 1833, having preached a farewell ser- mon on the evening preceding. The Rev. James A. Bolles, of New York, was invited by the Vestry " to take charge of the parish as assistant minister there- of from the first day of September next at a salary of $600. The Rev. Mr. Bolles accepted the propo- sition, preaching his first sermon Sept. 15. The Rector returned Dec. 7, 1834, having received dur-
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ing his absence the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Geneva College.
In 1836 a project for the establishment of a second offshoot of St. Luke's was agitated, and a committee of the Vestry was appointed to " circu- late a subscription for purchasing a lot for a new church in Frankfort." As the result of this effort an eligible site was secured opposite Brown's Square, and Seth C. Jones opened a Sunday School in the school-house which then stood on the square ; and here the work rested for a time.
In October of the same year the Rev. Dr. Whitehouse, having secured leave of absence from his duties, was married in New York and sailed for Europe Nov. 22, remaining abroad until Oct. 8, 1837. The services meanwhile were supplied by the Rev. N. F. Bruce, M. D.
Toward the close of the year 1843, $1,200 was subscribed " for the purpose of making necessary and suitable repairs on or about the exterior of the church edifice and for erecting chancel rail, altera- tion in gallery, cleaning and painting ceiling and walls, varnishing woodwork, carpeting aisles, pro- curing trimmings for desk and pulpit, etc." The desk and pulpit therefore were themselves con- structed at an earlier date, as is further evidenced by a parchment found some forty years later attached to the interior of the pulpit, on which is inscribed in the handwriting of Dr. Whitehouse and bearing date June 29, 1839, " This pulpit was erected A. D. 1836 from original designs of the Rev. Henry
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J. Whitehouse, D. D., Thomas Thorn, carpenter. The Screen and Canopy, completed 1839, from de- signs by the same, Elijah Somers and Henry Rogers, carpenters; Painting and Graining by Wm. H. Myers." This document is now preserved in the archives of the parish.
The ministry of Dr. Whitehouse was terminated by his resignation Feb. 19, 1844, his farewell sermon being preached on the 5th of the ensuing May. The Vestry and congregation very unwillingly assented to the separation of the ties which had bound them together for fourteen years and five months, and placed on record their testimony to his ability and fidelity, and their recognition of the fact that to his faithful services it was chiefly due that the Church which he " found comparatively feeble " he was leaving " strong, prosperous and influential."
A call to the vacant Rectorship was extended, May 9, 1844, to the Rev. Thomas C. Pitkin, of Louisville, Ky., and accepted by him May 21st. He entered upon his duties July 14, 1844, just 27 years from the date of the parish organization, and was instituted by Bishop DeLancey on the 11th of the following August.
The influence of the new Rector was cordially given to the realization of the project to establish a new church in the northern part of the city. The friends of the movement and the subscribers to the lot already secured on Brown's Square, met in Au- gust, 1845, in the public school-house corner of Fish (now Centre) and Jones Sts., and inaugurated pub-
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lic service Sunday afternoons and evenings under the auspices of the Rector. This movement resulted in the formal organization, Oct. 27, of Trinity Church, the following persons participating in the meeting : the Rev. T. C. Pitkin in the chair, Francis Brown, who acted as Secretary, Henry E. Roches- ter and Seth C. Jones, who were elected Wardens, George Arnold, P. G. Buchan, George R. Clark, S. F. Witherspoon, Lewis P. Beers, who were chosen Vestrymen, and Alfred Ely, John Parsonson, Salva Anderson, and B. F. Gilkeson. Those elected to complete the number of Vestrymen were David Hoyt, W. E. Lathrop and Seth M. Maltby. The Rev. Vandevoort Bruce was elected the first Rec- tor, and it was resolved to sell the lot on Brown's Square, as being rather too far out of the city, and to purchase one which was regarded as more eligible on the corner of Fish and Frank Sts. adjoining the school-house in which the services were being held.
The Rev. Mr. Pitkin, " finding his health inade- quate to the care of so large a parish," tendered his resignation April 3, 1847, which took effect after three years of service, on the 12th of the following July, amid general expressions of regret on the part of the people. He was assisted during part of the year 1846, by the Rev. John N. Norton. An invita- tion to the Rectorship was now extended to the Rev. Wm. Suddards, of Philadelphia, but declined by him.
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