USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > History of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, N.Y. : 1817 to 1888 > Part 13
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At the meeting of the vestry, April 1, 1882, held at the resi- dence of William H. Walker, on Pearl Street, a communication was received from Mr. Charles G. Curtiss, making a memorial gift in memory of his deceased wife, the late Amelia Lent Curtiss, of a polished brass Litany desk. The vestry accepted it with
I35
History of St. Paul's Church.
thanks, and directed it to be placed in its appropriate place near the chancel .*
At the same meeting of the vestry, on April 1, 1882, Mr. Walker stated that the revenue of the parish was very nearly $6,000, and that the committee having in charge the selection of a rector, had again visited Cleveland for the purpose of consulting the Rev. Dr. Brown. After a full consultation with him the result was that he expressed his willingness to accept a call to the rectorship of St. Paul's parish ; that thereupon they tendered him a call, on March 31, 1882, his salary to be $6,000 per year, and that he had accepted the call. The vestry unanimously confirmed the action of Messrs. William H. Walker and Albert J. Barnard, composing the said committee.
The Rev. John W. Brown, D. D., was born in Baltimore, Md., July 7, 1837. The following short biography of him was published in one of the Buffalo papers :
" His father was a prominent citizen of the ' Monumental City,' and was for many years identified with its public interests. Dr. Brown received his early education in the schools of his native city, and afterwards pursued his studies at Dickinson Semi- nary, Williamsport, Pa. He graduated from this institution after completing the scientific course, having prepared himself for the profession of civil engineer, which calling he followed for several years. His inclinations, however, prompted him to return to the seminary and take up a course of Divinity. He first entered the Metho- dist ministry, where he remained for a short time, until his convictions led him to take orders in the Episcopal Church, which were given him by the late Bishop Whitting- ham of Maryland. His first parish was St. Ann's, Middletown, Del., where he was advanced to the priesthood. Thereafter, he was successively rector of parishes in Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland. He accepted a call to the rectorship of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, in May, 1882, where his eloquence has since drawn large and devout congregations. Dr. Brown has always shown strong musical inclinations, and commenced his education in that art under Prof. Stoddart of Baltimore. Since that time he has continued his studies in this direction, devoting himself, however, more especially to church music. He was one of the founders of the Detroit Vocal Society, and afterwards president of the Cleveland Vocal Society, which, under his administra- tion, held its first May Festival about five years ago."
* This memorial was destroyed with the church, May 10, 1888.
I 36
History of St. Paul's Church.
The Rev. Dr. Brown entered on the duties of his office, as rector of St. Paul's, on the fourth Sunday after Easter, May 7, 1882.
At the annual election on Easter Monday, April 10, 1882, William H. Walker presiding, the following persons were elected : Charles W. Evans and William H. Walker, wardens, and Messrs. John Pease, A. Porter Thompson, Howard H. Baker, Dr. Henry R. Hopkins, Dr. A. R. Davidson, Henry R. Howland, George A. Stringer and Albert J. Barnard, vestrymen.
At a subsequent meeting on April 22d, Theodore F. Welch was appointed clerk, and J. W. Sanford treasurer. The wardens reported that they had executed a life lease of the rectory, on Pearl Street to the Rev. Dr. Shelton. The vestry approved of their action. The treasurer reported that the sum of $286 had been received during the past year from the use of the receiving vault in the basement of the church, for the burial of the dead. William H. Walker, one of the wardens, reported to the vestry that no indebtedness of any kind existed on the church property, which had not been the case for a period of more than twenty-five years.
At a meeting of the vestry, held at the residence of the Rev. Dr. Brown, the rector, No. 686 on the west side of Main Street, south of and near Tupper Street, on June 3, 1882, the finance committee reported that the estimated receipts for the year ending Easter, 1883, were : From pew rents, $7,500 ; parish fund collections on Sundays, $400 ; probable receipts from the receiving vault for the dead in the church basement, $700 -in all, $8,600 ; and that the estimated expen- ditures were: The rector's salary, $6,000 ; music, $2,500 ; sexton, $475 ; fuel, $275 ; insurance, $375 ; water and gas bills, $250 ; taxes, $200 ; incidental and other items, $710-in all, $10,785 ; leaving a deficiency of $2,185, which would have to be provided for by con- tributions.
The Rev. Dr. Brown, the rector, called the attention of the vestry to the necessity that as soon as possible the parish should have a suitable rectory. A committee, consisting of Messrs. Walker, Barnard
THE REVEREND JOHN W. BROWN, D. D. Rector of St. Paul's, May 7, 1882, to June 1, 1888.
From a crayon drawing made in 1888, by Mrs. Persch von Ehrenberg. Now at the Parish House.
History of St. Paul's Church. 137
and Hopkins, reported favorably, but after considerable delay the further consideration of the plan was indefinitely postponed and, early in 1883, the Rev. Dr. Brown purchased for himself the residence, No. 568, on the east side of Delaware Avenue, north of and near Allen Street, and removed to it in May, 1883.
June 3, 1882, it was resolved that the rector be requested to convey to the Rev. Dr. Ingersoll and the Rev. Mr. Bielby the thanks of the vestry for their services in St. Paul's Church during the vacancy in the rectorship, and also to convey to the Rev. Mr. Jones their thanks for his services.
At a meeting of the vestry on September 13, 1882, it was unani- mously resolved that the following minutes be recorded, and that a copy be sent to the Rev. Dr. Shelton :
" The death of Mrs. Lucretia Stanley Shelton, the estimable wife of the honorary rector of this parish, who for more than half a century was its beloved pastor, merits from the vestry an especial recognition that she has been associated with St. Paul's parish from its beginning, and has ever been known as one of its most valu- able and devoted members. In her most exemplary life she fully illustrated and confirmed the power and reality of our holy religion ; her devotion to duty in all the ways of the Church, her gentleness, her unceasing benevolence, her generous hospitality, her forgetfulness of self for the welfare of others, with the other notable traits which adorned her Christian character, offered us an example most worthy to be followed. With this tribute of high esteem to the memory of one departed, we send our loving sympathy to the Rev. Dr. Shelton in his sore bereavement, and do assure him of our continued regard and affection, praying that divine strength and consolation may be granted to him during the closing years of his most useful and honored life."
Lucretia Stanley was born in Geneva, N. Y., July 21, 1798. She first married Stephen K. Grosvenor of Buffalo, N. Y. She was
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History of St. Paul's Church.
married to the Rev. William Shelton, D. D., April 7, 1845. Mrs. Shelton died at the Rectory on Pearl Street, Buffalo, after a long and painful illness, September 6, 1882.
1883.
February 8, 1883, the vestry adopted suitable resolutions on the occasion of the sudden death of the Rev. Edward Ingersoll, D. D., for many years the rector of Trinity Church, Buffalo, and who served St. Paul's Church as minister in charge for more than two years during the vacancy in the rectorship. He died very suddenly, at eight o'clock in the evening of February 6th, in the parlor of the Church Home on Rhode Island Street, where he was a frequent visitor.
The resolutions of St. Paul's vestry were as follows:
" The Rev. Edward Ingersoll, D. D., now called to his rest, having served this parish as minister in charge for more than two years, dur- ing the vacancy of the rectorship, we hereby place on our records the following minute as a tribute to his memory :-
" In the death of the Rev. Dr. Ingersoll, the Church suffers the loss of one of her most excellent and devoted priests, who was remarked for the loveliness of his Christian character by all who knew him. He was truly a man of God.
"In his associations with St. Paul's Church we recall his kindly inter- est in her welfare and the quiet dignity of his presence among us. He was ever ready to discharge all the duties of his sacred office with sin- cerest fidelity, and his ministrations were most acceptable. He also endeared himself to the members of the parish by his long and intimate friendship with the beloved honorary rector, the Rev. Dr. Shelton."
Dr. Ingersoll was born in New Haven, Connecticut, November 26, 1810 ; graduated from Yale College in 1831, and received the degree of D. D. from Hobart College in 1856. He came to Trinity Church,
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139
History of St. Paul's Church.
Buffalo, in 1844, succeeding in the rectorship the Rev. Dr. Hawkes, who was afterwards Bishop of Missouri. Dr. Ingersoll was rector of Trinity Church for a period of thirty years. Upon his retiracy from Trinity Church in 1874 he was for about two years in charge of St. Peter's Church, Niagara Falls ; returning to Buffalo, he was elected rector emeritus of Trinity Church, and for some three years prior to his death he acted as chaplain of the Church Home. He was married at New Haven in 1836, to Catharine F. Seymour, daughter of Gordon Seymour. Mrs. Ingersoll died many years ago, but several sons sur- vived Dr. Ingersoll.
Samuel G. Cornell died February 5, 1883. He was for many years connected with St. Paul's parish, and he was a member of the vestry from 1855 to 1857, again from 1863 until 1869, and in 1872 ; junior warden in 1870 and 1873, and one of the building committee of 1867 for the completion of the church edifice. He was also a trustee and a liberal supporter of Hobart College, Geneva, and was in many direc- tions a representative man.
Mr. Cornell was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., July 28, 1808, and came to Buffalo in 1852. He was one of the founders and president of the Cornell Lead Company, which had, for many years, its manufactory on the north east corner of Virginia Street and Delaware Avenue ; he resigned from the company in 1878, and lived for a time in New York City. Returning to Buffalo, he died February 5, 1883, at the home of his son, Mr. S. Douglas Cornell. In 1838, Mr. Cornell married Sarah, daughter of Major David B. Douglas, U. S. A., and grand-daughter of Andrew Ellicott of West Point, the first surveyor-general of the United States. Mrs. Cornell died in 1877.
At the annual election on Easter Monday, March 26, 1883, the Rev. John W. Brown, D. D., rector, presiding, the following persons were elected : Charles W. Evans and William H. Walker, wardens ; John Pease, A. Porter Thompson, Howard H. Baker, Dr. Henry R. Hopkins, Dr. A. R. Davidson, Henry R. Howland, George A. Stringer and Albert J. Barnard, vestrymen.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
March 31, 1883, T. F. Welch was appointed clerk, and J. W. Sanford treasurer. Hobart Weed, Edward C. Walker and Henry R. Hopkins were appointed the music committee. The treasurer's annual report and the report of the finance committee showed that all the obligations of the parish had been met, and that there was no debt of any kind. A tax of twenty per cent. was levied on the sold pews to defray the parish expenses for the ensuing year.
Russell H. Heywood, for many years the senior warden of St. Paul's Church, and a prominent resident of Buffalo, died at his residence near Sandusky, Ohio, in July, 1883, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. He was born near Worcester, Mass., September 20, 1797, and subsequently moved to Paris Hill, Oneida County, N. Y., and there married Sarah Wicks in 1824. He there first became identified with the Episcopal Church, and soon after removed to Buffalo and became an active mem- ber of St. Paul's Church. He was elected vestryman, afterwards junior warden, and subsequently senior warden. In 1829, he erected a spacious residence, with extensive grounds, near what is now the corner of Seneca and Wells streets, and resided there for some fifty years, until his removal to Ohio. His wife, Sarah, died in 1840, leaving him three sons and two daughters ; but his daughter Sarah, the wife of President Folwell, of the University of Minnesota, was the only one of the five children who survived him. Mr. Heywood married his second wife, Harriet King, in 1846. She was the sister-in-law of the Rev. Dr. Hale, president of Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y., and died some two years previous to the death of her husband. Mr. Heywood was one of the largest contributors to the erection of the new church edifice of St. Paul's. His contributions exceeded $7,000, and to him we are indebted for the beautiful black walnut which so enriches the interior of the edifice. In the obituary notice of him it is stated that he was a large and cheerful giver in public and private charity. At Venice, Ohio, he erected a most beautiful little church, as a memorial to his deceased children and their mother. This church he gave to the Diocese of Ohio. It was also stated that he pursued his
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History of St. Paul's Church.
business with ardor, but was never a slave to it. He possessed the rare ability to leave his business when he went to his house to be the friend and companion of his children. The gain of a fortune never greatly elated him, and the loss of one never for a moment ruffled his composed and resolute mind. His funeral took place from St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, on July 23, 1883, on which day the vestry adopted suitable resolutions as a memorial of his many services to the parish.
A Brief Sketch of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, in 1883. From the " Church Kalendar" of July 14, 1883 .*
" The organization of the parish of St. Paul's Church took place at the house of Elias Ransom, in the then village of Buffalo, February 10, 1817. The Rev. Samuel Johnston, a missionary of the church for all the country west of the Genesee River, officiated on the occasion. The certificate of incorporation was signed by him and by George Badger and Jacob A. Barker.
Messrs. Erastus Granger and Isaac Q. Leake were the first wardens, and Messrs. Samuel Tupper, Sheldon Thompson, Elias Ransom, John G. Camp, Henry M. Camp- bell, John S. Larned, Jonas Harrison and Dr. Josiah Trowbridge were the first vestrymen.
The church edifice, a handsome frame building, was built in the Gothic style in 1819, on the lot given to the parish by the Holland Land Company, bounded by Main, Erie, Pearl and Church streets, and cost $5,000. It was enlarged in 1828, at an expense of $2,500. The enlarged building was 78 feet in length, 44 feet in width, and 24 feet in height to the square, and the height of the tower was 40 feet from the square. The Holland Land Company also gave to the parish, in 1826, one hundred acres of land near the lower village of Black Rock, which was sold by the vestry in 1844, and the proceeds of the sale applied to the purchase of the lot on Pearl Street, on which St. Paul's rectory was built in 1846, at a cost of $8,000.
The first settled missionary pastor of the parish was the Rev. William A. Clark, in 1819 and 1820. He was succeeded by the Rev. Deodatus Babcock from 1820 to 1824, and the Rev. Addison Searle, from 1824 to 1828. The Rev. Reverard Kearney, in 1828, was followed by the Rev. William Shelton, who preached his first sermon, as rector, in the church on September 13, 1829. He was the first rector of the parish who received no support from the missionary fund, and faithfully served in St. Paul's for more than fifty years.
* This article was written for the Kalendar by the late Charles W. Evans.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
Under his auspices the present stone church edifice was erected, in 1851. It is situated on the lot bounded by Erie, Church and Pearl streets. The lot is triangular in shape, the apex towards Main Street, and the edifice is cruciform, with the excep- tion of there being no south transept. Such is the beauty of the design, having an entrance from each of the three streets, that, seen from any point, the part presented to the view appears to be the front.
The greatest length of the edifice is 175 feet, and the greatest width 94 feet. It is divided as follows : Nave, interior, length 84 feet, width 59 feet ; transept, length 49 feet, width 28 feet ; chancel, length 28 feet, width 24 feet ; vestry-room, length 14 feet, width 12 feet. The tower, at the junction of Erie and Pearl streets, is of the following dimensions : Exterior length 40 feet ; width, 39 feet ; and the interior is 13 feet square. The entire height from the base line to the spire cross is about 274 feet, being but little, if any, less than that of Trinity Church, New York.
The church possesses a fine chime of ten bells, in the large tower, and a single bell in the small tower, costing in all about $5,000. The spire is octagon, and there are large louver windows in the belfry, eighteen feet high to the apex of the arches. The smaller tower, on Church Street, is of the following dimensions : Base, 16 feet square ; height of the tower section, 76 feet ; and of the spire, 32 feet.
The walls of the chancel end are 43 feet, from the base line to the top of the cornice, and to the apex, 67 feet ; on the Erie Street front 41 feet, and on Pearl Street 40 feet. The nave is 53 feet high on both sides, and to the extreme of the apex, 72 feet. The chancel window is a Gothic lancet-triplet, 28 feet wide and 39 feet to the apex of the arch, and is filled with fine, stained glass. The roof is an open timbered one of beautiful design, supported by two rows of large Gothic columns. The windows are all of the lancet form, filled with stained glass. In the basement is a Sunday-School room, also used as a chapel, with the entrance from Pearl Street ; and in another part is a receiving vault for the dead. The exterior of the wall is laid with Medina red stone, and the interior with limestone and rubble work. The walls in some places are thickly overgrown with luxuriant, creep- ing ivy.
The interior walls are decorated with genuine fresco work, the design being burnt in on wet plaster, a method of work very uncommon, as yet, in the United States. The sittings accommodate about 1,200 persons, and the furniture through- out is of solid black walnut. The chancel stalls are massive and richly carved, with Gothic canopies and finials. The reredos, also of carved walnut, is beautifully decorated in gold and colors. St. Paul's is regarded as the Cathedral Church of the diocese, and contains the bishop's chair, which faces the nave at the entrance to the chancel ; it is similar to the stalls in design and workmanship, although on a larger scale.
History of St. Paul's Church. 143
Among the different gifts to the church is a beautiful eagle lectern, of polished wrought brass and a memorial Litany desk, also of brass. The church has two fine organs, made by Hook & Hastings of Boston ; the larger one, in the organ loft at the west end of the nave, is used for the chorus choir at the morning service ; and the smaller one, in the chancel, furnishes the music for the surpliced choir at the afternoon service. The organ loft will accommodate a full orchestra and a chorus of sixty voices, and the beautiful rendering of the music, especially at the high festivals of the church, is well known.
The foundation was commenced September 3, 1849. The corner-stone was laid by Bishop De Lancey, June 12, 1850, and the edifice was consecrated by him, October 22, 1851, but was not fully completed until about the year 1873.
It has cost something over $160,000, but this sum represents only a part of what the cost of such an edifice would be at the present time.
The whole work may be justly considered as a fitting monument to the untiring perseverance, zeal and industry of the Rev. Dr. Shelton, the rector, who witnessed the laying of the first foundation stone, the laying of the last stone on the tall spire of the main tower and the erection of the gilded cross thereon. The style of the archi- tecture is early English Gothic ; the architect was the late Richard Upjohn, Sr. The structure has justly been called " Upjohn's Masterpiece," and is considered one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in the United States, the spire of the main tower being especially remarkable for its grace and symmetry.
Dr. Shelton resigned the rectorship of St. Paul's, and was made honorary rector, January II, 1881 ; he was succeeded by the Rev. John W. Brown, D. D., who was elected by the vestry April 1, 1882, and assumed the duties of his office May 7, 1882. St. Paul's parish is entirely free from debt."
At a special meeting of the vestry, at the residence of William H. Walker, on October 11, 1883, in the absence of the rector, Charles W. Evans, senior warden, took the chair, and stated that the meeting had been called for the purpose of taking suitable action on the occasion of the death of the honorary rector, the Rev. Dr. Shelton, who died in Bridgeport, Conn., on Thursday, October 11, 1883, quietly amid the scenes of his earliest childhood, and surrounded by a few of his nearest relatives, in the old homestead in which he was born, over eighty-five years ago. The following preamble and resolutions were
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History of St. Paul's Church.
offered, and, on motion, unanimously adopted. They were prepared by Mr. Stringer, one of the vestry :
WHEREAS, By the decease of the Rev. William Shelton, D. D., honorary rector of St. Paul's Church, we, in the Providence of God, are deprived of one who for more than fifty years was the rector of this parish, and who was ever foremost in promoting its welfare,
The rector, wardens and vestry not only sharing the common grief, but lament- ing their own peculiar loss, desire to record their high estimate of his life ; and do, therefore,
Resolve, First, that in the death of our revered and life long friend, the Rev. Wil- liam Shelton, D. D., we mourn a character of high Christian excellence, of exalted nobleness and purity, of sterling honor, of self-sacrificing generosity, of unflinching courage, of singular affectionateness, and of a rare and tender constancy.
Springing naturally from such a character was his preëminent fearlessness in preach- ing and advocating the principles of the Church, in whose doctrines, worship, polity, and apostolical constitution he most thoroughly believed, so that we can most truly say that his trumpet gave no uncertain sound.
So evident was his spirit of habitual and earnest prayerfulness to those who were blessed with his intimate friendship that it seemed to them that he always felt the presence of God at all times and in all places.
The loving and gentle elements were so closely woven with his bolder and stronger traits that while he upheld and strengthened with his counsel he never failed to sympa- thize with his heart.
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