USA > New York > Seneca County > History of Seneca Co., New York, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public building and important manufactories > Part 33
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88
HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
with so much acceptance as to obtain a call to become the pastor; but the offer was declined. In January, 1820, Rev. Aaron D. Lane passed a Sabbath in Waterloo and preached to the people, who desired him to remain. As soon as he had com- pleted engagements with a Missionary Association, he returned to Waterloo, and in July entered upon the stated supply of the pulpit. Responding to a call to be- come pastor of the congregation, unanimously given, he, on March 21, 1821, was ordained pastor over this church by the Presbytery of Geneva. Mr. Lane came opportuncly, and encouraged the church. Kind, self-sacrificing, and eloquent, he secured the confidence of the community and the affection of his church.
The first action regarding the erection of a house of worship was had in No- vember, 1822. Two committees were formed, one to circulate a subscription paper, the other to begin and prosecute the work of building as fast as possible. The site of the edifice, a little west of the court-house, was a gift from Elisha Wil- liamus and Reuben Swift, and the dimensions of the house were to be forty by sixty feet. The committee on building were Seth M. Maltby, Isaac Rosa, and Oren Chamberlain. On the 4th of June, 1822, the corner-stone was laid with appropriate services. Meeting at the court-house, they marched in procession to the contemplated site. Rev. Mr. Lane offered prayer consecrating the ground to be covered by the church, and invoked the Divine favor. Reuben Swift then laid the corner-stone with a few pertinent remarks. He spoke of the rapid population of the infant town, its change from forest to field, and the pressing need of houses of worship. The building was dedicated on September 30, 1824, somewhat less than two years from the time when the congregation resolved to build. The building stood a quarter of a century, and became too limited for the occupancy of the members, who had increased from one hundred and ten in 1825, to two hundred and seventy in 1832, and three hundred and ten in 1840, and hence, on the 8th of April, 1850, a public meeting was held which resulted in the formation of a stock company to build a new house. On April 29, thirteen thousand dollars stock had been taken and the sum was deemed ample; consequently the corner- stone was laid August 21 by the pastor, Rev. S. H. Gridley, and John MeAlister, Esq., Secretary of Board of Trustees. A hymn was sung, a prayer offered, and an address made by the pastor. The dedication of this edifice to the service of God took place November 12, 1851. The dimensions of the building were sixty- four by one hundred and four feet, including the towers. The audience-room at the time was the largest in western New York out of the cities. Its foundations are as those of a fortress, and its strong and massive walls promise to endure through many generations. The sittings are estimated at eight hundred, while extra seats would accommodate from two to four hundred more. Though built for the future, yet the immediate application for seats showed it was not too large. The entire cost of the church, including interest on a deht in which, for a time, it was involved, cannot have been less than twenty-six thousand dollars, an amount twice as large as the first estimate. For fifty-six years this church has employed but three pastors. Rev. Aaron D. Lane, now in his eightieth year, was installed in 1821, and served the church till the autumn of 1835, when he resigned from physical inability to continue his labors. As evidence of his favor among the people, during a single year one hundred and sixteen persons were added to the church, ninety-three of whom made a profession on the same day. The Rev. S. H. Gridley, constituted pastor in 1836, continued his pastorate until April, 1873. Perhaps no pastor of thirty-seven years' experience with a single flock was more favored by a united people. Marked periods when showers of grace were especially enjoyed were the years of 1837, 1842, 1843, 1851, 1852, 1865, 1872, and 1873. The ministry of the first pastor brought into the church three hundred and thirty- four souls, and that of the second eight hundred and thirty. Revs. Lane and Gridley are present residents of Waterloo; the latter, at the age of seventy-three, is the temporary supply of a neighboring congregation. The Rev. Martin D. Knecland, the third and present pastor, was ordained and installed on July 1, 1873, and has proved acceptable. This church, the pioneer in time, has been active in education, temperance, and other reforms. In zeal and self-sacrifice to sustain the American Union in time of trial, her efforts were conspicuous. She has been tolerant of other churches, while satisfied with her own polity and forms, and ever ready to engage in such fellowship of general Christian labor as shall tend to the furtherance of religious influence. From the first, there has been connected with the church a Sabbath-school, whose influence has been marked in its prepa- ration for the duties of the church, of the children of her families, and of those not themselves connected with any religious society. The hour of meeting is that of noon, between twelve and one o'clock, and it is believed that no instrumentality yet devised has been more potent in maintaining and building up the church than that of the Sabbath-school. Much of the prosperity now enjoyed is the fruition of that effort put forth in youth-instruction in earlier years. Recently a system of lessons originating with the " Berean Leaf" has won in favor, and has been gen- erally adopted by this and other schools.
ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, parish of Waterloo, dates from November 17, 1817, at
which time a meeting was held for the organization of a society, to be known as St. Paul's Church, at the school-house in the village. Rev. Orrin Clark, Reetor, was in the chair. Benjamin Hendricks and Gardner Welles were elected wardens; John Watkins, Daniel Rhoads, Enoch Chamberlain, Martin Kendig, Jr., Jesse Clark, John Knox, Charles Swift, and William H. Stuart, vestrymen. Proceed- ings were duly recorded in the Clerk's Office, October . 26, 1818, J. H. Halsey Deputy Clerk. On March 13, 1820, it was resolved " to erect a house of public worship." On May 1, Swift, Kendig, and Watkins were appointed a building committee. On January 9, 1825, the effort to build a. church was renewed ; wardens and vestrymen were authorized to contract with Messrs. William H. Stuart and Adon Cobleigh, and August 18 a contract for a bell authorized. The first sale of pews was made on April 3, 1826. Daniel Crist laid the church foundation, for which payment was to be made from the store of Watkins or Swift. Previous to the erection of the church, services were held in the school-house and court- house, conducted by Orrin Clark, Dr. McDonald, George Norton, and Mr. Davis, at different times. On May 3, 1826, it was resolved that the Rev. William M. Weber be offered two hundred and fifty dollars for a year's service, with privilege of holding service on the first Sunday of each month at Vienna. An organ worth one hundred and fifty dollars was authorized . on August 2, 1827. The church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. John H. Hobart, of New York, on the 16th of September, 1826. . At the meeting held April 4, 1831, Rev. Mr. Hubbard was pastor. His . successor . was Rev. Stephen S. McHugh, who served four years. In May, 1837, Rev. Foster Thayer was called as pastor, and, accepting, served the society two. years. The church had no pastor for a part of 1839, when on May 6 Rev. Eli Wheeler entered on a ministerial charge, which he con- tinued till June 30, 1847, when he tendered his resignation, which was accepted, to take effeet April 10, 1848. On July 31, following, Rev. D. H. McCurdy was elected rector of the parish; accepted August 14, and served till September, 1850. The society purchased the brick school-house and lot near their church on March 24, 1849. Rev. Edward Livermore was, on October 22, 1850, called to the ree- torship of the parish, and served until May 10, 1855. It was in 1852 that an addition to the parish school-house was built, and the school opened on the festival of the Epiphany, under the oversight of the rector. The death of the Senior Warden, John Watkins, occurred March, 1854. The Rev. Malcolm Donglas was, on April 24, 1855, elected rector, to enter on duty on June 1 following. During this year the house and lot in the rear of the church were purchased for a . parsonage. In December, 1858, William V. I. Mercer, vestryman, died. Rev. Mr. Douglas resigned May 30, 1859, and July 6, of the same year, Rev. Robert N. Parke was called. It was in the following November that Samuel Hendricks, one of the wardens, died, and was succeeded, on the last of the month, by Thomas Fatzinger, elected to fill vacancy. The need of a new church had been discussed since 1860, and a parish meeting was held December 22, 1862, to devise the ways and means for its erection, and S. R. Welles, William Knox, and S. Warner, were appointed a Committee on Subscriptions. A Building Committee, consisting of L. Fatzinger, C. W. Cooke, D. S. Kendig, S. G. Hadley, Thomas Fatzinger, S. Warner, and the rector, was appointed February 5, 1863, and on March 31, following, the contract was taken for thirteen thousand three hundred and seventy-five dollars, by John Price and Seth W. Howard, nf New York. Messrs. Draper & Dudley, of the same city, were the architects. The old church edifice having been sold and removed from the lot, work was begun on May 4 by Mr. Price, the mason, and the corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies on June 9, by the Rt. Rev. William II. DeLancey, Bishop of Western New York. The church was duly consecrated by the Rt. Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe, Bishop of Western New York, and R. N. Parke instituted rector. On April 3, 1866, C. W. Cooke and Thomas Fatzinger were wardens. The officers of the . vestry, who had held office since 1851, were John C. Watkins, George Cook, M. D. Mercer, Daniel S. Kendig, H. C. Welles, and S. Warner. H. Montgomery was elected on Committee on Incidental Expenses, vice D. S. Kendig, resigned. The final report of the Building Committee, made August 7 and 28, shows the cost of church, fence, and organ to be twenty-eight thousand seven hundred and eighty dollars and fifty-three cents. The first quarterly meeting of this Missionary District Convocation, No. 5, was held August 4 and 5, 1869, in St. Paul's Church, Waterloo. On March 9, 1870, Levi Fatzinger, a member of the vestry, died. The Rector, Rev. R. N. Parke, after a decade of years in this parish, tendered his resignation, to take effect February 1, 1871. On the 18th of the same month the Rev. Wm. D'Orville Doty was called to the rectorship of the parish ; accepted, and still continues with the church. During this year the residence of James Ste- venson, on Main Street, was purchased for a, rectory. On January 4, 1872, it was resolved to enlarge the parish school-house, and Messrs. Terwilliger, Mercer, and Welles, were appointed committee. The death of Calvin W. Cooke, senior warden, occurred February 15, 1873. The cost of the parish school-house enlargement, as reported November 18, was two thousand one hundred and forty
PLATE XXX
t
HENRY BONNELL.
MRS. HENRY BONNELL.
RES. FF HENRY BONNELL. WATERLOO TP. SENECA CO., N. Y.
Methodist Episcopal Church .- Waterloo.
face
Residence of Mrs. A. Draper. Waterloo.
ST JOHN'S CHAPEL! OF ST. PAULS PARISH, BUILT IN MEMORY CALVIN W. COOKE
RESIDENCE of J. C. WOLF, WATERLOO TP., SENECA CO., N. Y.
PLATE
XXX
RES. OF ALFRED VAIL WATERLOO TP., SENECA COUNTY N.Y.
RES or FRED L. MANNING, VIRGINIA ST, WATERLOO, N. Y.
T. A. MCINTYRE
T .. A.MEINYYRE ALLT HOL FRENCH SUNT
REGISTERED DISTILLERY Nº 1 MECOHOL COLOGNE, FRENCH SPIRITS. FRE BOURBON & RYE WHISKIES.
PUREWHITEWHIAT RYES BOURBON WALLSKILS
MANUFACTURING VIEW, WATERLOO, T. A. M'INT
GRAIN WARE
HOUSE
BONDED WARE HOUSE
7
OLOFALER LTDA
ERY AND RECTIFYING WORKS.
ضريبة
Union School.
Primary School.
Dutch Refd. Church.
Court House.
Waterloo Park.
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HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
dollars and eight cents. On June 4, 1874, the rector submitted to the vestry the matter of building a chapel in the Third Ward of the village, to be called St. John Chapel, as a memorial to Calvin W. Cooke, deceased. On August 11, a half- acre of land was accepted as a donation from Miss Jane M. Hunt, as a site for the building. Messrs. Welles, Mereer, and Terwilliger were appointed Building Committee. The services at the breaking ground for the erection of St. John's Memorial Chapel took place in the afternoon of August 30, 1874. The corner- stone was laid September 26, following, and the first service held therein on Feb- ruary 14, 1875.
Missionary services have been held by the pastor, Rev. Mr. Doty, at Junius Cor- ners, Fayette, and Cayuga. During 1874 the semi-centennial of the Waterloo Parish Sunday-school was celebrated, and two mission schools are in vigorous operation. Of late, the interior of the chinreh has been neatly decorated in colors and richly carpeted, and a new solid silver service for the Holy Communion was laid upon the altar on All Saints' Day, 1874, in memory of the departed. The church has between two and three hundred communicants, and its Sunday-school, teachers and pupils, numbers full four hundred.
WATERLOO BAPTIST CHURCH .-- The first Baptist sermon preached in the village was by Elder John Goff, of Benton, Ontario County, in 1824. Appoint- ments were made for a meeting every fourth Sabbath, to be held in the court-house. In the spring of 1825, Elder Thomas Brown, then pastor of Geneva Baptist Church, was invited to preach here, and consenting, meetings were held on alternate Sundays, still using the court-room. During this year the First Baptist Society was organized with seventeen members, only three of whom, the last named below, are living. Their names are recalled as follows : Cornelius Hill, William Child, Asa Warden, Catharine Riker, Harris Usher, Betsy Usher, Charlotte Long, John Demconson, Eunice Demconson, Mary Warden, Nancy Whiteford, Ray G. Lewis, Polly, Susan, and Sarah Smith, Elizabeth Snook, and Edward Buck. The meet- ing for organization was held in the court-house, August 6, 1825. Elder Thomas Brown was chosen Moderator, and Wm. Child, Clerk. Emily Trask gave evidence of Christian experience at this meeting, and was baptized on the 14th following, being the first to whom the ordinance was administered. In September of this year Asa Warden and Cornelius Hill were elected Deacons, and the latter was made Treasurer. At a meeting of the Council, held November 5, the church was admitted as a member of the "Ontario Baptist Association." Soon, Geneva Church changed pastors, and Elder E. M. Martin divided his time equally with this church. Social meetings were held at members' homes, and Sunday meetings at the court-house. Elder Martin continued to preach until July, 1826, when only occasional preaching was had for several years. In 1829 and 1830, the only evidence of church existence was the appointment of delegates to annnal meet- ings of the Association. In 1831 the Clerk called the church together, and Rev. Mr. Taylor was chosen to their pastorate, and remained one year. Transient preachers supplied the desk for two years, with occasional services, and on October 15, 1833, a meeting was called, and the society disbanded.
Three years elapsed, when, October 1, 1836, Rev. Moses Rowley, on a missionary tour, halted at Waterloo, and by invitation began to preach at the old place, the court-house, every Sabbath. November 21 a meeting was held at the residence of Cornelius Hill, and a reorganization was effected with the following ten members: The Elder, C. Ifill, Sr., and Junior, Wm. P. Hunt, Harvey Munson, John D. Johnson, Francis Yauger, Isaac Jones, Ephraim G. Hunt, and Henry Peters. C. Hill, Jr., and George W. Milliner were elected Deacons; subsequently, and at the same meeting, C. Hill, Jr., Isaac Thorn, G. W. Milliner, John Marshall, J. W. Durham, and J. Lautensliker were elected Trustees. A Sunday-school was soon organized, with G. W. Milliner as Superintendent. Once more a Council was held in March, 1837, and the struggling church reorganized by the Ontario Asso- ciation, its ten members increased to thirty-seven. On February 10, 1838, Geo. W. Lambert and I. Thorn were added to the list of Deacons. In May following the church changed the place of meeting to the school-house, in South Waterloo. During a ministry of four years Elder Moses Rowley baptized one hundred and twenty into the church, and is still living, at the age of eighty years, and active in missionary work, in Aurora, Nebraska.
Exertions were put forth towards the erection of a house of worship, and on June 15, 1840, a church was dedicated, and the society had a place of assembly, in dimensions forty by sixty feet, with seats for four hundred persons, and erected at a cost of three thousand dollars. A heavy debt hung over the society, and, unable to relieve themselves of this incubus, they sold their house November 1, 1843, and returned to the school-house.
In 1849 a store building opposite the old store of Ed. Fatzinger was purchased, remodeled, and occupied till 1853, when it was resolved once more to disband. The pastors succeeding Elder Rowley, meanwhile, were Revs. E. Marshall, Lewis Remsted, John Halliday, Nathan Baker, now resident of Seneca Falls, E. Blakeley, S. Ewer, Huff, and Litchfield. Preliminary to a third organization a
meeting was held January 5, 1863, at the Dutch Reformed meeting-house, near the park. Committees were appointed, and the meeting adjourned till the 17th, when the following enrolled as members: Rev. C. T. Kreyer, Jas. C. Halsted, Jas. Garrison, Thos. Jackson, John L. Cone, Leonard B. Mosher, Geo. Seybald, Mr. Love, Joseph Macon, C. Hill, Eliza Powers, L. B. Mosher, Sarah Hill, Mary Warner, Mrs. J. C. Halsted, and Seymour and Phoebe May. The society was formed as the Waterloo Baptist Church, and called a council for February 9. Anburn, Seneca Falls, Romulus, Ovid, and Lodi responded, and the church being admitted, Carl T. Kreyer was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry. The first ordained pastor of this church, he remained nine months, and was then sent by the American Baptist Missionary Society to China, where he is at present. James C. Halsted and Leonard B. Mosher were chosen Deacons, and John L. Cone, Clerk. Later successors of Rev. Kreyer are, Rev. J. E. Rockwood, Rev. W. H. Stegar, Rev. Stephen B. Marsh, Rev. Willis M. Robinson, Rev. Fred. P. Suther- land, and Rev. Charles A. Harris. The church was admitted as a member of the Association in October, 1863. In 1865 the church repurchased the meeting- house, then owned by the Lutheran Society, and continued to worship in their former church until its destruction by fire, on February 21, 1875. The society at once secured the use of Towsley Hall for one year, at the expiration of which they moved, April 1, 1876, to a new Sunday-school and lecture-room just finished, and located on Williams Street. The house is of brick, will seat two hundred, and cost three thousand dollars. Upon the same lot is a good brick dwelling, used as a parsonage. The present pastor is Rev. Chas. A. Harris; Deacons, Seymour May and James C. Halsted; Clerk, C. V. D. Cornell; Trustees, J. C. Halsted, S: May, S. Bigelow, L. B. Mosher, and Mr. Cornell, who is also Superintendent of the Sabbath- school, a position he has held since its organization, nine years since.
The present membership is eighty-six, and its pioneer hardships, unusually severe, have terminated, while its permanence is assured.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH has none of its original male members living. Its first meeting, held parsnant to legal notice, was in the court-house of Waterloo, on February 27, 1833, to organize a society to be known as the Fletcher Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Waterloo. Rev. James Hall and Mr. John C. Allen were chosen to preside, and the following-named were duly elected to the office of Trustees: Samuel B. Chidsey, Oliver Ladue, James Mosher, James Young, and Gardner Childs. Proceedings were signed and sealed by James Hall and John Allen, and duly recorded in the County Clerk's office. Prior to this meeting for formation, Methodist preachers had occasionally held religions meetings in any available place, in school or private house, and on their recognition by the Genesee Conference, had regular preaching on the circuit plan in that refuge of infant societies-the court-house. Among the circuit preachers were Hall, Jewett, Anderson, Hutchens, and Coats. On November 12, 1835, the society prepared to supply themselves with a building wherein to be localized and to worship. A lot was deeded to them by Seth Grosvener and others, executors of Elisha Williams. It originally fronted Elisha Street south, and Virginia Street on the west, and cost the organization but seventy dollars. A church was erected upon their lot, and in it on August 14, 1837, was held a meeting to re- organize the society. Rev. Calvin S. Coats presided. William Scott, Joseph L. Dewey, John R. Green, John Mensch, Samuel Carey, James Young, James Lin- dram, Gardner Childs, Hiram Moss, Amos Van Ormer, Jared Bentley, and Urial Belles were present. The " Fletcher" was omitted from the name, and it was to be known as the Methodist Episcopal Society of Waterloo. John Mensch, Sam- uel Carey, and Daniel Reed were elected Trustees. This meeting was held just prior to that of the Genesee Conference, who sent Rev. O. F. Comfort to this station, and he became the first resident pastor of the society in Waterloo. A year elapsed, and E. G. Townsend came, and, staying two years, was succeeded by Rev. A. N. Fillmore. About 1841 the Anburn and Rochester Railroad was pro- jected, and a strip of land from the south end of the church lot was purchased by the company, for which the commissioners awarded the society thirteen hundred dollars-a convenient help for a church in debt, but making a depot a strange neighbor. Thus came the railroad so near the church. During 1841 a house and lot were purchased on Church Street for a parsonage, still held and used as originally designed. Rev. Fillmore was followed by Rev. William Fergusan; a year, and Rev. William Hosmer entered on duty as his successor. In the latter part of August, 1843, the church edifice and contents, the Bible excepted, were quite destroyed by fire. The building-not Methodism-was ruined. An in- surance of two thousand dollars was the beginning of a sum required to rebuild. Rev. John Dennis was returned from the Conference, and zealously urged imme- diate action without waiting for the insurance. In the fall of the same year the. contract for a new edifice was let to Charles C. White, and the walls were up and inclosed before winter set in, and the building was dedicated in March, 1844. The audience-room has a capacity to seat four hundred and fifty persons, a base- ment for meetings, and four class-rooms. The membership is two hundred and
90
HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
thirty, and connected with the church is an interesting and growing Sabbath- school. Following Dennis came . Revs. Hibbard, Stacy Manderville, George Me- Mahon, Parker, Ferris, Fillmore (a second term), Trowbridge, Wheeler, Gulick, Tuttle, Hogahoom, Manning, Herman, and, finally, R. C. Fox-the preacher in charge .. Frequent revivals have strengthened the church by accession and awakened its energies, till it stands strong and influential in saving and salutary influence.
THE CHURCH OF THE DISCIPLES was organized on April 1, 1853, by Elder W. A. Belding, with twenty-five members. The court-room, which had re- sounded not only with the pleadings of attorneys for the proper expounding of the law, hut those of' Christian ministers of various denominations in their ex- hortations to obey the spirit of the Divine law, was the carly place of holding meetings .. "A hall was next hired, and on January 2, 1854, the house then owned by the Baptist Society was purchased, and was occupied as a place of meeting till the year 1871, when a lot was secured on William Street, nearly opposite the Protestant Episcopal Church. Thither they removed their building, which they proceeded to refit and thoroughly repair. The house was re-dedicated to the worship of God on the 10th of February, 1872, by Elder I. S. Hughes, and has since been used as a place of Sabhath assemblage for religious exercises. Existing as a church for twenty-three years, they have had hut two regular pastors of one year each, while frequent pastoral visits have not left them altogether without preaching. Whether accompanied by a pastor or without, each Lord's Day has seen them in attendance upon Christian duty, and faithful to their profession. Their present membership is forty-one, and at present they are not supplied with a pastor.
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