USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > History of Rochester and Monroe county, New York, from the earliest historic times to the beginning of 1907 > Part 45
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THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCHES.
A society was organized in November, 1836, un- der the title of the "Free Congregational church," with John T. Avery as the first pastor, so far a: is known. From the fact that no mention is made of that organization in the directory of 1841 it is probable that it was not then in existence, bui on the 30th of August in that year the State Street Congregational society was formed, with its meet- inga in Teoronto hall. Rev. Shubael Carver being the pastor at least as early as 1845. Rev. Henry E. Peek assumed the pastorate of the small flock in 1847, preaching in the small upper room of the Teoronto block for more than a year, when, in 1848, a commodious church was erected nearly opposite, where Mr. Peck preached for nearly four years, when, on being elected to a professorship in Oberlin college, he resigned on the 11th of
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January, 1852. Mr. Miner and Mr. Harper were the succeeding ministers, under the latter of whom the final service was held on August 30th, 1856, on the occasion of the funeral of Deacon Leonard Hitchcock; the church was then abandoned and the building given up to commercial purposes.
There was another Congregational society of that period on South avenue, organized in 1847, of which Rev. Richard DeForest, William Dewey and D. D. Francis were the successive pastors.
Plymouth Church .- The propriety of having a strong society of this denomination became 80 manifest that in February, 1853, an organization called the Plymouth church of Rochester was formed for the erection of an edifice on the corner of Troup and Sophia streets, the name of the latter being subsequently changed to Plymouth avenue on account of the church. Four months later a building committee was appointed, consist- ing of Aristarchus Champion-who was the prin- cipal contributor to the fund-Edmund Lyon, Freeman Clarke, William A. Reynolds, and Wi !- liam Churchill. The corner-stone was laid Sep- tember 8th of that year, and the society was in- corporated by the legislature on April 15th, 1854, the trustees being the first three named above, together with Charles J. Hill, William W. Ely, Alhert G. Bristol, Emmett H. Hollister, Cornelius A. Burr and Erastus Darrow. The church was dedicated August 21st, 1855. The first pastor was Rev. Jonathan Edwards, whose term extended from February, 1856, to November, 1862; after an interregnum of more than two years, during which the pulpit was generally filled by Rev. D -. Robinson of the Theological seminary, Rev. Dwight K. Bartlett became the pastor in February. 1865, and remained so till February, 1873. Then came another hiatus, still longer than the first, until a call was accepted by Rev. Myron Adams, who filled the pastorate from May, 1876, till his death on the 29th of December, 1895. Rev. Wil- liam F. Kettle, Rev. William Thurston Brown and Rev. Charles R. Evans were the succeeding min- isters, each for a short term, till August, 1904, when the society became involved in financial diffi- culties and the congregation dissolved, the church passing, a little later, into the control of the Spiritualists, by whom it is now occupied.
South Congregational .- This society was organ- ized in 1886 and has continued to the present time,
the church building being on Alexander street at the corner of Pearl. 'The present pastor is Rev. H. S. Capron.
THE UNITARIAN CHURCH.
This did not come into existence in Roches- ter at a definite time, as was the case with other churches. Rev. William Ware, then of New York, preached here four times, in the court-house, at the close of 1828, and at the be- ginning of the following year Rev. James D. Green came here from Cambridge, Mass., of which place he was afterward mayor. He does not seem to have stayed here very long and was probably hardly more than a missionary preacher. There was, how- ever, enough interest in the Liberal movement to warrant the purchase of a little wooden building. which St. Luke's church people had abandonedl and which was then moved to the north side of West Main street, near Plymouth avenue, The effort was soon abandoned, the building was sold and for the next ten years those who felt in that way had to be content with desultory services held at a place on Exchange street and afterward in the school-house on the corner of Plymouth avenue and Troup street, as well as more regular meet- ings down in Carthage, near the lower falls, where Myron Holley was the sustaining member of the congregation. After these preliminaries, the or- ganization of a real society took place on Angust 17th. 1841, when a board of trustees was chosen, with Dr. Matthew Brown as president and George F. Danforth as clerk, the other members being John Briggs, W. W. Allcott, H. B. Sherman and W. H. Swan. Several preachers came here, each for a few Sundays only, and the first settled pastor was Rev. Rufus Ellis, D. D., who remained for one year. Under his brief administration a church building was erected on Fitzhugh street, where German church now stands, the corner-stone being laid on September 29th, 1842, and the edifice dedi- cated on May 9th, in the following year. The building, which cost $6,000, was a commodions one, but the society was at the outset very small, for it included, apparently, only ten persons, those in addition to the trustees above named being Daniel Knower, James H. Watts, Miss Maria G Porter and Mrs. Louisa Schenck. Following Dr. Ellis in the pastorate were Rev. Frederick W. Hol-
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land, Rufus H. Bacon, W. H. Doherty, W. H. Channing, Thomas Hyer, James Richardson James K. Hosmer and Mr. Fitzgerald, the last of whom had preached only one Sunday when the church was burned, November 10th, 1859.
Then came a break of six years, a season of si- lence, which was broken by the return of Mr. Holland, who gathered the society together and sneereded in raising enough money to build, on the east side of Fitzhugh street, another church, which, with the land on which it stood, cost $12,- 000, and was dedicated on January 24th, 1866. This stood till 1883, when the place was sold to the United States government as part of the site for the post-office building; the money received, 820,000, was immediately paid to the Third Pres- byterian society for their stone church and chapel occupying both corners of Cortland and Temple streets; there the Unitarians have remained per- manently. Following Mr. Holland's second min- istry were Rev. Clay MeCauley and E. H. Dan- forth, after whom Newton M. Mann held the pas- torate from June, 1870, till 1889, when he re- moved to Omaha, Neb. His long term of service has been already nearly equaled by that of his immediate successor, Rev. William C. Gannett, the present minister. The church has no formal creed. in the usual sense of the term. but its members are held together by a bond of union which de- clares a helief in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man and which emphasizes the principles of freedom, fellowship and character in religion, as above all doctrinal belief.
THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
As early as 1838 the few Universalists re- siding in Rochester organized the "First Universalist society of Rochester, N. Y." A church was purchased at the corner of Court and Stone streets, and Rev. P. T. Abell was engaged as pastor, three preaching services being held each Sabbath. Mr. Abell was followed by Charles San- derson and Jacob Chase, the latter continuing a+ pastor until March 26th, 1843. Among the visiting ministers who occupied the desk was Rev. G. W. Montgomery, who preached for the first time in Rochester, March 12th, 1843. To quote from the records "the house was full, and so were the hearts of all who heard him." On May 28th of that year
Charles Hammond was engaged as regular pastor, and on July 22d a church organization was effected with nine members. For some reason this seems not to have succeeded, but the banner of Univer- valism was kept floating through the persistent ef- forts of the Sunday school, which had been formed in 1839. The officers and members maintained regular preaching services three times each Sun- day, some one of their number officiating when no minister could be secured. On April 1st, 1844, the church edifice was sold to the Scotch Presby- terian society, who took immediate possession. An invitation from the Unitarian society to use part of the basement of their church on Fitzhugh street was soon after accepted, and there the Sunday school met until Minerva hall, on the corner of Main street and South avenue, was engaged, in which place Dr. Montgomery, above referred to, be- gan his pastorate on December 7th, 1845, the large room being always crowded during the two years that it was occupied. The society was incorporated in April, 1846, the constitution being signed by nine members; Isaac Helmes, and John Fowler were made trustees, Isaac Pitts treasurer, Almon Gage clerk and George H. Roberts collector. A lot har- ing been purchased on South Clinton street, near Main, a church was built there, which was dedi- cated, free from debt, December 19th, 1847. The first communion was observed there on January Ist, 1850, George H. Roberts and J. J. Van Zandt acting as deacons.
Dr. Montgomery continued as pastor until 1853. when a serious throat trouble necessitated his re- tirement. He was sucereded by Rev. J. H. Tuttle, D. D., whose pastorate covered a period of six years. A call was extended to Rev. Asa Saxe, D. D., January 10th, 1860, and was accepted by him. He began his pastorate soon after, and after forty-seven years is still the beloved pastoor emeritus of the church. In 1871 the church was remodeled at a cost of $20,000. At the rededica- tion, some of the ministers assisting were present at the first dedication in 1847. In 1892 the parish engaged the Rev. H. P. Morrell to assist Dr. Save in the strenuone work of the large and growing church. Mr. Morrell gave one year of efficient ser- vice, at the end of which time he accepted a call to Buffalo. Dr. Saxe's health now began to show the effect of so many years of labor and in March 1897. he was obliged to resign his active pastorate.
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UNITARIAN CHURCH.
FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
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and the first board of trustees, with Mayer Roths- child as president, was elected October 8th, in that year. The society was incorporated on Oc- tober 16th, 1854, and two years later an old Baptist church on St. Paul street was purchased. This answered well enough for purposes of wor- ship for twenty years, when it was torn down and a temple erected in its place, at a cost of $25,000, which was dedicated September 15th, 1876. As the congregation increased in size and in wealth a natural desire was felt for a more imposing as well as more capacious building, so the present temple of Berith Kodesh, on Gibbs street, at the corner of Grove, which fills all the requirements, was erected and was dedicated on the 1st of June, 1894, with ceremonies that were most remarkable for the comprehensiveness of the denominations that were represented. Prominent parts were taken not only by rabbis from a distance, but by Dr. Saxe (Universalist), Rev. Myron Adams (Congregationalist), Dr. Hill (Baptist), presi- equivalent to $120,000, and the final services were . dent of the university, and Rev. William C. Gan- nett (Unitarian), all of this eity; the chimes of St. Peter's Presbyterian church rang out a glad salute and all the Protestant clergy of Rochester attended the dedication.
The resignation was reluctantly accepted, and Rer I. H. Squires was called to the vacant pastorat ... In December, 1897, the church celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, all the pastors being present in the pulpit. Mr. Squires resigned in 1898, and Rev. I. P. Coddington was called to succeed him, beginning a successful pastorate December 1st, 1898. In 1901 the church was again entirely re- modeled and rebuilt at an expense of $60,000, which was paid by Mr. and Mrs. James Sargent. The new edifice was dedicated October 24th, and December 8th, 1902, the society celebrated the pay- ment of all mortgage and other indebtedness in an elaborate service. The severe strain upon the strength of the pastor so affected his health that it became evident he could not longer bear the bur- den, and he resigned May Ist, 1905. Rev. A. W. Grose, the present pastor, accepted a call, begin- ning his work September 1st, 1905. In November, 1906, it was decided to sell the church property to the Seneca Hotel corporation for a consideration held in the old church on Easter Sunday, March 31st, 1907. During the present summer, while a new church is being erected on the fine lot at the southeast corner of Clinton avenue and Court street, the congregation worships in the temple of the Berith Kodesh, which has been most gener- ously placed at its service.
THE JEWISH CHURCHES.
Although the Jews of Rochester are sufficiently numerous to count up nearly three thousand, there seems to be no record as to the first settlement here of persons of that faith. Some few were bere as early as 1840, but it was 1848 when the. first Jewish congregation was formed, the original members being M. Rothschild, Joseph Wile, S. Marks. Joseph Katz, Gabriel Wile, Henry Levi, Joseph Altman, Jacob Altman, A. Adler, Elias Wollf, A. Weinberg and J. Ganz. The meetings of the society were held at first on North Clin- ton street, at the corner of Clinton place, but at the end of six months a hall was rented at the corner of Main and Front streets, and there a permanent organization was effected, called Berith Kodesh (Holy Covenant). A burial lot was pur- chased in Mt. Hope by the society on May 23d,
The first pastor of the Jewish congregation was the Rabbi Tuska, who was succeeded by Dr. Isaac Mayer in 1856. In 1859 Dr. Sarner took charge, but he held the position only nine months, after which there was no rabbi till 1863, when Dr. Ginsberg was called. He retired in 1868 and the pulpit was again vacant for more than two years until, finally, Dr. Max Landsberg was chosen in December, 1870, and in the following March he entered upon the functions of his pastorate, which has continued to the present time. At the outset the congregation was strictly orthodox, the first advance being made in 1862, when an organ was purchased, and the next in the following year, when a few slight alterations were made in the ritual. In 1869 family pews were introduced, taking the place of the old system by which the sexes had been kept strictly apart during the serv- ices. This change caused a schism, a few fam- ilies, beaded by Meyer Greentree, breaking away and founding a new congregation, that of Etz Raanon (Green Tree), which erected a church on Hyde park. From that time the parent body in- creased steadily, in numbers and in spiritual
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growth, so that it now includes 279 families, while there are 211 children in the Sabbath school, of which the rabbi is the superintendent, assisted by several young people of the church, who serve as teachers; this has always been conducted on Sun- day morning. In December, 1883, a new ritual was introduced, consisting almost entirely of prayers in English, so that Berith Kodesh was the first Jewish congregation in the country to intro- duce the custom, now followed by many others, of having the services conducted mainly in the prevailing language.
There are a few other Jewish congregations in the city, all quite small and all strictly orthodox- Beth Israel (House of Israel), founded in 1879, located on Leopold street, with Rev. David Ging- berg as pastor ; Benai David (Sons of David), organized in 1892, on Hanover street, Rev. Isaac Kaplin being the rabbi, and two or three others of Polish nationality.
THE AFRICAN CHURCH.
This goes back to 1827, when a few colored people met in a school-house on Ford street and organized a Methodist society in connection with another church then called by the name of Zion, and in 1836 an incorporation was effected under the title of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church, the last part of the name being the one by which the congregation and the building have always been known. Charles Dixon, William Earles and Alfred Williams constituted the first board of trustees. Five years before it was incor- porated the society had built a church on Favor street, near Spring, and this answered all purposes until last year, when it was torn down to make way for a more commodious structure on the same site. The successive pastors have been Isaac Stewart, Henry Johnson, John P. Thompson, Dempsey Kennedy, W. S. Bishop, John A. Wil- liams, C. Thomas, James H. Smith, William Sandford, William Abbott, Thomas James, W. A. Ely and J. W. Brown, the last named being the present minister. Many years ago another col- ored society was formed, which occupied a small house of worship on Joiner street, but it was soon found to be impracticable to support two churches, so the second enterprise was abandoned.
OTHER CHURCHES.
There are several other bodies, ecclesiastical in their nature, which may be disposed of in a few paragraphs.
The Advent Christian church (commonly called the Second Advent) held its first meeting here on June 220, 1843, in a large tent on the east side of the river, north of Main street, Elder J. V. Hines conducting the services. Elder J B. Cook was the first regular pastor, from 1850 to 1853, but it was not till 1867 that an organiza- tion was effected, under the title of the "First Christian church of Rochester," with a member- ship of 200. The present -pastor is Rev. Milton M. Livingston, and the society is located on William street. It is to build a church on Hay- ward avenue during the present year.
The Evangelical Association might be supposed to have some affiliation, at least, with the United . . Evangelical churches, the more especially as all of them are German, but the former prefer to be considered as a separate denomination, though the line of demarcation is difficult of understand- ing by outsiders. This has now two churches here, the first of which was founded by J. G. Marquardt, about 1849, and which is now located on Hudson avenue, the pastor being Rev. Ernest M. Glasow. The second church, called Calvary. which was founded in 1898, is on Ontario street near Union, and has Rev. N. S. Methfessel as its pastor.
On the 6th of March, 1870, a few persons joined themselves together under the name of the Christa- delphian Ecclesia, claiming to be "called out to God's kingdom and glory," and acknowledged as their only authority "the mind of Christ as ex- pressed in the written word." They have no paid ministers and they have always been very few in number, but they hold their meetings regularly in the Frankfort temple, on the corner of Frank and Smith streets.
Christian Science has two churches here, both with large congregations. The first, founded in 1894, is located on the corner of Alexander and Cobb streets; the second, organized in 1898, bas lately purchased and is now occupying the old Rochester Female Seminary on Fitzhugh street
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JEWISH TEMPLE.
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which was kept for so many years by Miss Doo- little, and afterward by Mrs. Nichols.
A denomination bearing the somewhat generic title of "Christian" has also two churches here, one, called the First church of Christ, founded in 1886, being located on Howell street, with Rev. Robert Stewart as pastor; the other, beginning in 1897, called the Columbia avenue church of Christ, being on the street named, with Rev. E. C. Harris as its minister.
The Spiritualists have for many years had an organization here, which until recently met on
South avenue, but they have now come into possession of the old Plymouth Congregational church, on the corner of that avenue and Troup street.
Besides those named above there are a great number of associations, too many to be all traced out and mentioned in detail-such as the Salva- tion Army, the People's Rescue Mission, the Liberty Mission, the Christian Brotherhood and the Missionary Alliance-in which the religious and the philanthropic elements are so blended that it is impossible to differentiate them.
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CHAPTER XIX
THE CIVIL LIST.
The Village Trustees -- The Mayors-Members of Congress-Collectors of the Port-Members of the Legislature-Assessors-City Treasurers --- City Clerks-City Surveyors-The Executive Board-The Police Commission-Chiefs of Po- lice-The Common Council.
A full list of all officials connected in any way with the courts, whether municipal or those of the county-including the judges, the district-attor- neys, the sheriffs, the city attorneys, the surro- gates, the police justices, and even the county clerks as being. in a sense, officers of the county court-will be found in the chapter on the "Courts and the Bar," those of the supervisors and of the county treasurers are given in the chapter entitled "How Monroe Became a County"; the postmas ters appear in the narrative portion of this history and the chief engineers of the fire department are mentioned in the chapter devoted to that subject The following list, which is complete as far as it goes, embraces all others who have held offices of any great importance within the limits of the county. We will begin with the
TRUSTEES OF THE VILLAGE.
Francis Brown, 1817-19; Daniel Mack, 1817-19 Everard Peck, 1817-19; William Cobb, 1817 and 1820; Jehiel Barnard, 1817; Isaac Colvin, 1818- 19; Ira West, 1818-19; Matthew Brown, jr., 1820- 23, 1825-26 and 1831; Moses Chapin, 1820-21 : Charles J. Hill, 1820-22; Elisha Taylor, 1820-21 :
Warl.am Whitney, 1821-22 and 1824; Hastings R. Bender, 1822; S. Melancton Smith, 1822-23; Jacob Graves, 1823; William P. Sherman, 1823; Abner Wakelee, 1823; John W. Strong, 1824; Anson Coleman, 1824; Jonathan Packard, 1824; Ashbel W. Riley, 1824; Phelps Smith, 1825; Frederick Starr, 1825; William Rathbun, 1825 and 1832; Gilbert Everingham, 1825; William Brewster, 1826; Vincent Mathews, 1826; John Mastick, 1826; Giles Boulton, 1826; Frederick Whittlesey, 1827; Ezra M. Parsons, 1827-28; Jonathan Child, 1827 and 1830; Elisha Johnson, 1827-29; A. V. T. Leavitt, 1827; Eben- czer Ely, 1828; Ephraim Moore, 1828; Nathaniel Rossiter, 1828 and 1831; John Haywood, 1829; Sidney S. Alcott, 1829; Robert L. McColluma 1829; William H. Ward, 1829; William Pease, 1830; Joseph Medbery, 1830; Adonijah Green, 1830; Harmon Bissell, 1830; Rufus Meech, 1831; Jacob Thorn, 1831-32; Harvey Humphrey, 1831; Samuel L. Selden, 1832; Daniel Tinker, 1832; Orrin E. Gibbs, 1832; William E. Lathrop, 1833; Fletcher M. Haight, 1833; Elihu F. Marshall, 1833; Nathaniel Draper, 1833,
MAYORS OF THE CITY.
Jonathan Child. 1834; Jacob Gould, 1835-36; Abraham M. Schermerhorn, 1837 (resigned) ; Thomas Kempshall, 1837; Elisha Johnson, 1839; Thomas H, Rochester, 1839; Samuel G. Andrews, 1840 and 1856; Elijah F. Smith, 1841; Charles J. Hill, 1842; Isaac Hills, 1843; John Allen, 1844; William Pitkin, 1845-46; John B. Elwood, 1847: Joseph Field, 1848; Levi A. Ward, 1849; Samue!
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Richardson, 1850; Nicholas E. Paine, 1851; Ham- lin Stilwell, 1852; John Williams, 1853; Maltby Strong. 1854; Charles J. Hayden, 1855; Rufus Keeler, 1857 ; Charles H. Clark, 1858; Samuel W. D. Moore, 1859 and 1866; Hamlet Serantom, 1860; John C. Nash, 1861; Michael Filon, 1862; Nehemiah C. Bradstreet, 1863; James Brackett, 1864; Daniel D. T. Moore, 1865; Henry I. Fish, 1867-68; Edward M. Smith, 1869; John Lutes, 1870; Charles W. Briggs, 1871 ; A. Carter Wilder, 1872-23; George G. Clarkson, 1874-75; Cornelius R. Parsons, 1876-89; William Carroll, 1890-91; Richard Curran, 1892-93; Geo. W. Aldridge, 1894; Merton E. Lewis, 1895; Geo. E. Warner, 1896-99; George A. Carnahan, 1900- 01; Adolph J. Rodenbeck, 1902-03; James G. Cut- ler, 1904-
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.
Monroe county was, for the first session of Con- gress after its formation, in the twenty-first dis- triet, with eight other counties; for the next ten years it was in the twenty-sixth district, with Liv- ingston county ; for the next thirty years it formed & district by itself ; for the next twenty years it was with Orleans county, the district being first the twenty-eighth, then the thirtieth; since 1883 it has been by itself, continuing for some time ax the thirtieth, becoming afterward the thirty-first then the thirty-second, which it is at present. The first representative who lived in this county (with the exception of William B. Rochester, who was a resident of Allegany county while a member of Congress, though he lived here both before and afterward) was Daniel D. Barnard, who was elect- ed in 1826. His successors were as follows, the year of election (or appointment) being given hereafter in all cases, except in the common coun- cil, where it indicates the year of service: Tim- othy Childs, 1828, 1834, 1836 and 1840; Frederick Whittlesey, 1830 and 1832; Thomas Kempshall 1838; Thomas J. Patterson, 1842; Elias B Holmes, 1844 and 1846; A. M. Schermerhorn. 1848 and 1850; Azariah Boody, 1852; Davis Car- penter (to succeed Boody, resigned), 1853; John Williams, 1854; Samuel G. Andrews, 1856; A !- fred Ely, 1858 and 1860; Freeman. Clarke, 1862. 1870 and 1872; Roswell Hart, 1864; Lewis Selye,
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