USA > New York > Onondaga County > History of Onondaga County, New York > Part 39
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The pulpit was then supplied for about two years by Rev. Dr. Condit, of Auburn, when Rev. Lewis H. Reed, to whom we are indebted for most of this his- tory of the church, became pastor. He concluded his labors here May 1, 1868, accepting a call to Chicago. His successors have been Rev. John H. Frazee, Jan. 7, 1870, and Rev. Alfred H. Fahne- stock, Jan. 20, 1875, the present pastor. Under the last named ministry about twenty members were added to the church last spring. The number is now 143, and the members of the Sunday School 150. Elders : John Hartshorne, James Van Vleck, Augustus G. S. Allis and Charles Cushney.
PARK CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-The Park Church was organized December 24, 1846, and consisted of thirty-nine members. The first elders were Robert Furman, John Stewart and Ralph R. Phelps. Subsequently Josiah Wright, F. W. Tut- tle, Horace B. Yates, Johnson Cowles, and David Hotchkiss became at an early day members of the session. Of the original members of the church, but seven now remain in connection with it, viz: Mrs. Bradley Carey, Mrs. L. W. Butler, Mrs. Eliza- beth Phelps, Mrs. Alvira S. Cook, Mrs. Minerva S. Cowles, Mrs. Emily Goodwin, and Mrs. Emily M. Seymour.
The society was organized December 30, 1846. Ralph R. Phelps and John Stewart, two of the elders of the church, presided as moderators over the meeting for organization, and J. B. Huntington, Israel Smith, Benjamin R. Norton, John Stewart, Bradley Carey and George Barney were elected the first Board of Trustees. At the first meeting seventeen members were enrolled in the society, of whom only one now remains, Mr. Bradley Carey, who has faithfully shared the vicissitudes of the church from that time to the present. Two or three others of the original number are still living, but reside elsewhere.
January 4, 1847, the Trustees recommended the erection of a house of worship provided it could be built for $7,000, and on the 11th of January, the society adopted the recommendation, and author- ized the purchase of the original lot from the late R. R. Phelps, March 17, 1847, the contract for the building was signed. The entire sum specified in the contract to be paid for the building of the church was $8,550.
Rev. C. Gold Lee was stated supply of the church until 1847, when he resigned, and Rev. Wm. W. Newell was called to the pastorate and installed November 10, 1847. The church edifice was dedi- cated February 3, 1848. Rev. Dr. Newell was pastor of the church until October, 1850, when he
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
resigned, and in August, 1851, Rev. Byron Sunder- land assumed the duties of the pastorate, and administered them until January, 1853. Rev. Samuel Ilall succeeded him in October, 1853.
In January, 1855, the church property was sold under foreclosure, and by a subsequent arrangement with the purchasers, came into possession of a new society, organized from the Park Church Society, under the corporate name of the Park Presbyterian Society, and in April, 1855, Rev. S. Il. Hall was called to the pastorate and duly installed in May following. He resigned in 1856, and the church and society remained without a settled pastor for some time. Rev. S. T. Reeves was temporary supply in 1857 for a period of one year.
In March, IS58, the church and society were re- organized under the name of the Park Central Presbyterian Church and Society, which name it still bears. Rev. Mr. Fillmore was elected pastor and commenced his ministerial labors in January, 1858, continuing his relations with the church until 1865. The pulpit was supplied during the follow- ing year by Prof. James E. Pierce, of the Auburn Theological Seminary.
How earnestly and faithfully these early pastors toiled and labored for the prosperity and stability of the Church, often amidst overwhelming discourage- ments, is known to all who during those years were conversant with the affairs of the church. Their self-sacrificing work and their devotion to the inter- ests of the church and society will ever be held in grateful remembrance.
In 1866, Rev. Addison K Strong was elected pastor and installed in April of that year. He was dismissed at his own request in April, 1870. Dur- ing his pastorate the church was greatly prospered and large additions were made to the number of its members. The project of building a new house of worship was agitated quite carnestly during Dr. Strong's pastorate. but the enterprise seemed too great to be undertaken and was for a time deferred.
In May, 1870, Rev. Edward G. Thurber was elected pastor. During his ministry he has secured the highest confidence and warmest love of his peo- ple. His encouraging words and example of devo- tion greatly forwarded the enterprise of the new church, the corner-stone of which was laid on the 9th of September, 1872, and the edifice completed and dedicated on the 24th of June, 1875. The cost of this church was nearly $75.000. It has large and complete appointments for the Sabbath School, social services, and for the weekly prayer meetings of the church. The present pastor, Rev. Edward G. Thurber, has been with the Church
since May 12, 1870. The present membership is 418, the Sabbath School numbering 515. Many have gone from this church to other places, who hold important positions of Christian influence and usefulness. The Church and Society are united, harmonious and progressive in Christian work.
FOURTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-This church, like the Park Central Presbyterian, is an outgrowth of the First Presbyterian Church, of this city, and was organized under its auspices and in its session room on the evening of February 2, 1870. A short ad- dress was made by Rev. S. B. Canfield, D. D., who then read the names of eighty-one persons propos- ing to unite in forming the organization, sixty-two of whom were from the First Presbyterian, three from the Park Presbyterian, six from the Reformed, one from Plymouth, and nine from churches outside the city. Among the original members were the following :
Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Hayden, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. C. Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Ilough, Mr. and Mrs. D. S. Hubbard, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hubbard, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Chadwick, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Miles, Mr. and Mrs. E. G. La- throp, Mr. and Mrs. John Reed, Mrs. C. C. Bradley, Mrs. Mary Bradley, Mrs. C. M. Barrett, Mrs. A. L. Smith, Mrs. Esther C. Barker, David Bonta, S. 11. Starin, H. C. Hooker, Dr. John VanDuyn.
John Reed and Henry C. Hooker were ordained Elders, and Edwin Miles, Deacon.
The church first met for worship at Conserva- tory Hall, corner of Warren and Fayette streets, Sunday, February 6th, 1870, and organized a Sun- day school at the close of the morning services. In April, 1870, Rev. John S. Bacon was duly installed as pastor. During the year to January 1, 1871, 62 members were added by letter and 27 by profession of faith. Rev. John S. Bacon remained pastor for six years, and was succeeded in September, 1877, by the present pastor, Rev. Norman Seaver, D. D., who came here from an eight years' pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, N. Y.
The present church edifice was begun in 1872, and dedicated February 27, 1873. It cost $60,000. Present membership, 375 ; attendance at the Sun- day school, 380.
REFORMED CHURCH. - The Reformed Church of Syracuse, N Y., was organized by the Classis of Cayuga, March 10, 1848, and consisted of eleven persons, dismissed for this purpose from the Reformed Churches of Chittenango and Geneva, and from the First Presbyterian and Park Presby- terian Churches of Syracuse. Their names are :
Wessel B. Van Wagenen, Lavinia Van Wagenen,
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Cornelia D. Van Wagenen, Mary Ann Beardsley, Peter Burns, Elizabeth Pope, Harriet S. Walter, Mary E. VanRenssalaer, B. C. Vrooman, Susan Vrooman, Simon V. A. Featherly.
The organization was completed by the election of W. B. Van Wagenen and B. C. Vrooman, Elders, and Simon V. A. Featherly and Peter Burns, Deacons.
In July following the Rev. J. A. H. Cornell was unanimously called to be first pastor to the new enterprise, and entered upon his duties and was installed in August. The meetings of the society were held in the old Unitarian Chapel, on East Genesee street, till the church edifice could be erected. An excellent site was secured on James street during the following winter, and in the spring of 1849, the corner stone of the church edifice was laid by the late Dr. Isaac N. Wyckoff, of Albany, with appropriate ceremonies.
The Building Committee consisted of the follow- ing gentlemen : John G. Forbes, John B. Burnet, John A. Robeson, W. B. VanWagenen and James Noxon.
The structure was completed and dedicated to the service of the Triune Jehovah, July 16th, 1850, the venerable Dr. Thomas DeWitt, senior pastor of the Collegiate Church in New York City, preach- ing the sermon. The cost of the church lot was $1,900, and of the edifice $14,000, of which the Collegiate Church contributed $2,000, and about $5,000 more was raised among the churches at the East by the faithful and persevering efforts of the Pastor and Elder Van Wagenen.
A Sunday School organization was perfected soon after the church organization. Mr. John B. Burnet being elected as first Superintendent.
In September, 1851, Rev. J. A. H. Cornell re- signed his charge, and was succeeded in May, 1852, by Rev. J. Romeyn Berry. Mr. Berry's pastorate ended in 1857. The church was now vacant till 1859, when Rev. T. De Witt Talmage became its pastor. He remained till February, 1862, when he was suc- ceeded in May of the same year by Rev. Joachim Elmendorf, whose pastorate continued till Decem- ber, 1865. The next pastor was Rev. Jeremiah Searle, who began his work in May, 1866, and re- mained till February, 1868. The church was now vacant more than a year, when a unanimous call was made in March, 1869, on Rev. Martin Luther Berger, who remained till May, 1875, when he re- moved to California. The present pastor, Rev. Evart Van Slyke, succeeded him as stated supply in April and as pastor in Nov. 1875. The church has just been repaired and elegantly decorated, (August,
1877,) at an expense of $3,500. On Sunday after- noon, February 3, 1878, the church edifice was destroyed by fire.
Present membership, 270; attendance at the Sunday School, 350. J. C. Mix, Supt. Consisto- ry - Elders, Samuel Bonta, Alphonso W. Blye, Henry Babcock, E. P. Hopkins ; Deacons, James C. Mix, Bradford Kennedy, Rasselas A. Bonta, Fred. A. Broadhead ; Organist-Maltbie C. Bab- cock.
CONGREGATIONAL.
PLYMOUTH CHURCH .- The Plymouth Church of Syracuse was organized September 24, 1853. Thirty-one persons united in its organization. Of these the following only remain :
William E. Abbott, Stephen E. Maltby, Jane A. Abbott, Grace Scribner, (Mrs. Bainbridge,) Abner Bates, Mary D. C. Scribner, '(Mrs. Gane,) Susan Foster, J. Stewart Tallman, M. Waldo Hanchett, Clarissa Tallman, Martha A. Hanchett, Julia A. Tallman, Margaret G. Hanchett, Margaret Tall- man.
For a time the church worshiped in the edifice formerly owned by the First Congregational Society of this city ; but measures were soon taken to pur- chase a lot and erect a new building. The present location, at the junction of Onondaga, Warren and Madison streets, was accordingly purchased and the chapel erected. On the 25th of February, 1855, the chapel was dedicated, and entered for regu- lar worship. It soon, however, became manifest that it was too small to accommodate the growing congregation, and in the autumn of 1858, a con- tract was entered into for the erection of a new edifice. The corner-stone was laid September 24, 1858, on the fifth anniversary of the founding of the church.
On the 26th of September, 1853, Rev. M. E. Strieby received and accepted a call to the pastoral office. The church edifice was completed and dedi- cated in August, 1859. Rev. M. E. Strieby, after a pastorate of eleven years, resigned in March, 1864. Rev. S. R. Dimmock succeeded, July; 1, 1864, and resigned September 25, 1868.
Rev. A. F. Beard, D. D., the present pastor, was called in April, 1869, and entered upon his services June 1. During the winter of 1870, a precious re- vival was granted the church, and in the spring the people were encouraged to build a new chapel, and to rebuild, enlarge and beautify the church. The NEW CHAPEL was dedicated November 13, 1870, the pas- tor preaching the dedicatory sermon. The chapel is tastefully finished and furnished, and capable of seating about three hundred and fifty persons.
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The NEW EDIFICE of Plymouth Church was completed and dedicated March 22, 1871. It was built from designs by Architect HI. N. White, under the immediate direction of the Building Committee, consisting of Messrs. Peter Burns, H. R. Olmsted, M. E. Carter, James Terwilliger, W. E Abbott. George W. Wilson. (Trustees,) and J. T. Bon, M. W. Hanchett and A. G. Salisbury. The audience room is attractive and very pleasant, and affords nine hundred and thirty-seven sittings, besides those of the galleries.
From the Church Manual for 1872, we take the following statistics :
Whole number now belonging to the church, 346 ; whole number now absent, 34 ; male members, 114 ; female members, 232 ; number admitted from No- vember, 1870, to June, 1872, 53.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHES.
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, was organized May 22, 1826, Rev. John McCarty, Presiding. John Durn- ford and Samuel Wright were chosen Wardens, and Amos P. Granger, Archy Kasson, James Mann, Matthew W. Davis, Mather Williams, Barent Filkins, Othniel Williston and Jabez Hawley, Vestrymen. In 1825, a lot of ground was donated to the parish for a church by the Syracuse Company ; in September the frame was raised and enclosed and the building was completed in 1827. It stood on the ground now occupied by the Granger Block, and was subsequently sold to the Roman Catholics, who removed it and converted it into St. Mary's Church.
The corner stone of the present St. Paul's Church was laid July 12, 1841, and the building completed and occupied the following year. The wing portion of the building was about the same time erected for a parochial school, which was under the charge of the Rector. In 1858 the church was enlarged by an extension in the rear, and in 1870 about $6,000 were expended in improving the seats, repainting and frescoing the interior, which has rendered the audience room very pleasant and attractive.
Prior to the erection of the first edifice, services were held in the school house, and sometimes in the building of the First Baptist Church.
The clergymen who officiated previous to the or- ganization of the parish, were Revs. Lucius Smith, William B. Thomas, - Wilcox, William J. Bulk- ley, Augustus L. Converse ; and later, Revs. John McCarty, William Barlow, Palmer Dyer, Richard Salmon, John Griggs, Francis Todrig, Clement M. Butler, Charles H. Halsey, William Walton, Isaac Swart, John B. Gallagher and Henry Gregory.
Rev. Dr. Gregory was succeeded by Rev. Wm. B. Ashley, December 1, 1848, who remained till March 10, 1857. May 3, 1857. Rev. George Morgan Hills became rector. continuing till August 21, 1870. January, 1871, Mr. Hills was succeeded by the Rev. Simon Greenleaf Fuller, who remained rec- tor till his death, November 21, 1872. He died suddenly of apoplexy while in his study, and was lamented by a bereaved parish and a large circle of friends.
Rev. Henry R Lockwood, the present rector, was called and settled over the parish January 19, 1873.
ST. JAMES CHURCH-The earliest service was held January 27. 1848, in the chapel built for a mission of St. Paul's Church. St. James' l'arish was organized August 14. 1848: communicants at the first Communion Service, twenty-one. Among the earliest parishioners were James D. Wallace, Abraham Bartlett, William W. Green, Barent Filkins, Cornelius Shirley, Henry D. Hatch, Thomas Hurst, Nehemiah H. Earll, Dr. I. F. Trow- bridge, all now deceased, with others who still re- main.
The present church edifice was commenced in 1851, completed in 1853, enlarged in 1866. Cost of chapel $1,400, of church $13,000, of enlargement (uniting church and chapel in one building,) $10,- 000. Dr. Henry Gregory was Rector from 1848 till 1857, Rev. C. C. Barclay in 1857 and 1858, Dr. Joseph M. Clarke from 1858 till the present time. Present number of communicants 300. At- tendance at Sunday school about 100.
TRINITY CHURCH .- This church originated with Trinity Mission Sunday School, established by St. Paul's Church in July, 1855. A congregation was gathered and a chapel erected adjoining the Sey- mour school building, which was consecrated Nov- ember 25, 1855, and the parish was organized March 3, 1856. Rev. William Long, assistant of Rev. Dr. Ashley, of St. Paul's, began.the Mission, and was succeeded by Rev. David E. Barr in 1856. Since then the regular succession of pastors and time of ministry have been as follows : Rev. J. B. Linn, one year and eight months ; Rev. N. F. Whiting, two years : Rev. D. F. Lumsden, nine months ; Rev. J. K. Lewis, four years ; Rev. S. R. Jones, two years and a half ; Rev. J. E Pratt, pres- ent Rector, five years.
Rev. J. K. Lewis, under whose ministry the present church was built, is now a chaplain in the United States Navy.
Trinity Church is situated on Seymour street, south of West street. It was erected in 1869, is a wooden building and cost about $9,000.
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The bell used by this church is the old bell of Zion Church, Onondaga Hill, founded by Rev. Ezekiel G. Gear, in 1816.
About 105 families are connected with the parish ; the communicants number 165, and the Sunday school 20 teachers and 150 scholars.
GRACE CHURCH .- The movement for the estab- lishment of this church was inaugurated by Rev. Thomas E. Pattison in 1870, the first service being held in December in a small wooden chapel erected on the site of the present elegant stone church, on University avenue, corner of Madison street. The parish was organized early in 1871, with John V. Needham and Wells B. Hatch, Wardens; and Arthur Crittenden, John R. Hawkins, Henry A. Leggett and John C. White, Vestrymen. The corner stone of the church edifice was laid in June, 1876, and the building finished and consecrated in February, 1877. The site is one of the most beauti- ful in the city. The structure is of blue, rough- dressed Onondaga limestone, relieved and beauti- fied by cut stone of the gray variety, and cost, in- cluding furniture, organ, &c., $25,000. The pres- ent Wardens are Elisha P. Howe and Edgar S. Mathews ; Vestrymen, J, C. White, Frank A. May, John V. Needham, Wells B. Hatch, A. B. Grover, V. B. Chase, F. L. Smith and W. H. Dimmick.
Rev. Thomas E. Pattison has been Rector from the first, and still officiates. The number of com- municants is 157 ; Sunday School, 150.
CALVARY CHURCH (Protestant Episcopal) is situa- ted on the corner of Highland and Beecher streets in the Fourth Ward of the city. This church began with a Sunday School opened by Bishop Hunting- ton, in a small house on Butternut street beyond Farmer, in September, 1873. The school was soon transferred to a barn close by, which had been altered to serve the purpose of a temporary chapel. The building was unpainted and uncarpeted, but the attendance at the Sunday School increased, a service was held every Sunday evening, and before the winter a Sewing School was opened on Satur- day afternoons.
The Mission continued to gather members for several years, and on the 20th of September, 1877, the corner-stone of a new permanent structure-the present church-was laid by the Bishop of the Dio- cese. This building is of wood, with a large base- ment of stone ; it was raised and finished at a cost of about $2,500, most of this amount having been contributed by friends of the church in Syracuse. The first service in the new church was Morning Prayer and the celebration of the Holy Communion on Christmas morning, 1877.
While serving as the place of worship for the former attendants at Calvary Mission Chapel and others in the neighborhood, Calvary Church is also the Chapel of St. Andrews Divinity School in Highland Place, and all its services are under the immediate direction of the Bishop. The services as now held are on all week days at a quarter be- fore 9 A. M., and on Sunday at half past IO A. M., at half past 3 P. M., and at a quarter past 7 in the evening. A part of the basement is to be opened as a reading room every evening. The Sunday School numbers over 200 children.
ST. ANDREWS DIVINITY SCHOOL.
This is an institution for the education of candi- dates for the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church. It was opened by Bishop Huntington in September, 1876, at Highland Place, Syracuse. The Trustees are, the Rt. Rev. F. D. Huntington, S. T. D., President cx-officio ; Rev. J. M. Clarke, D. D. ; Rev. H. Lockwood ; H. O. Moss, Esq., and Hon William Marvin.
Faculty of Instruction-Rt. Rev. F. D. Hunting- ton, President ; Rev. C. P. Jennings, Dean ; Rev. J. M. Clarke, D. D. ; Prof. Rudolph Wahl.
METHODIST CHURCHES.
FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH-Previous to the erection of the First M. E. Church in the vil- lage of Syracuse, services were held in the school house on Church street by Rev. Eben. L. North, now living at South Onondaga, and Rev. Vincent M. Coryell, residing at present in Waverly, N. Y. It is thought by Rev. E. Arnold, that Rev. E. L. North organized the first class here about 1830. The writer, sometime in September, 1877, addressed a line to Rev. Mr. North, making inquiries and seeking to get the names of the members of the first class, but he has received no answer.
Rev. V. M. Coryell preached in Syracuse during the years 1835 and 1836. In the latter of these years the church edifice was begun, and was finished in 1837.
The regular succession of ministers in this church, as nearly as can be ascertained, has been as follows : Rev. V. M. Coryell, 1835 to 1836; Rev. A. D. Peck, 1837 and 1838 ; Rev. W. W. Nind, 1839 and 1840 ; Rev. N. G. Baker, 1841 and 1842 ; Rev. A. D. Peck, 1843 ; Rev. Edward Ban- nister, 1844 and 1845 ; Rev. James Erwin, 1846; Rev. E. E. E. Bragdon, 1847 ; Rev. H. E. Chapin, 1848 and 1849; Rev. I. S. Bingham, 1850 and 1851; Rev. Nathaniel Salisbury, 1852 and 1853 ; Rev. A. J. Phelps, 1854 and 1855 ; Rev. Hiram Mattison, 1856 and 1857 ; Rev. John B. Foote,
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
1858 and 1859; Rev E. C. Bruce, 1860 and 1861 ; Rev. S R. Fuller, 1862 and 1863: Rev. Wesley Mason, 1864 and 1865 ; Rev C. P. Lyford, 1866, 1867 and 1868; Rev. J. D Adams, 1869, 1870 and 18;1; Rev. L. C. Queal, 1872, 1873 and 1874 ; Rev. W. 11. Anable, 1875, 1876 and 1877.
Nathan W. Rose has been class-leader contin . uously since the old church was built in 1837, and most of the time a trustee. William Judson, David French, C. T. Hicks and Father Pease, were prominent among the old members. An anecdote is told of Father Pease and the builders of the old church, with reference to the peculiar shaped tower which, many of the early citizens may remember, once surmounted the building. It was a sort of pyramid built up from a square base and covered with tin. Messrs. Judson and Hicks, well known and enterprising early citizens, had the most to do with the original building of the church, and they departed from the plain Methodist style of those days in having a fine tall steeple put upon the build- ing. This, in the eyes of Father Pease, a genuine old-fashioned Methodist of the congregation, was a tower of pride and vanity and an insult to high heaven, and after protesting against it, he resolved to invoke the Lord to take it down. He prayed earnestly against the steeple. In a short time it was struck with lightning and splintered from top to bottom ; but the friends of the steeple soon had it rebuilt. Father Pease still prayed against it. It was demolished a second time-a strong gust of wind struck it, and carried it entirely from its base, landing it in fragments upon the ground near by. The friends of the steeple did not again rebuild it. Whether they believed the Lord was actually work- ing against them, or whether they came to the conclusion that their work was not sufficiently strong to resist the strain of a tornado, is uncer- tain, but it is certain that the steeple was twice de- molished, and that the last time, instead of attempt- ing to rebuild it as at first, the base of the tower was carried up and finished in the peculiar pyramid- shaped dome referred to, and that tower remained on the church for more than thirty years.
The church was thoroughly repaired inside in 1856, by the devotion of Mr. David French, who mortgaged his own private property to make the repairs.
Among the prominent ministers of this church, Rev. Hiram Mattison was well known as an anti- slavery man and an author of considerable note. Rev. S. R. Fuller, died at Watertown, N. Y. Rev. J. D. Adams, D. D, is now at Erie, Pa. Rev. Dr. L. C. Queal is Presiding Elder at Elmira, N. Y.
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