USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > History of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, N.Y. : 1817 to 1888 > Part 15
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September 12, 1885, Charles W. Evans, as one of the executors, reported that the $4,000 and $2,000 bequests of the late William Shelton to St. Paul's Church, had been deposited in the Merchants' Bank in Buffalo, at four per cent. interest. December 18th, the vestry resolved that the memorial window to the late Dr. Shelton be placed in the chancel, and that the rector and wardens be a com- mittee to have the work accomplished. The memorial windows were thereupon ordered by the committee, and the entire cost of them was paid by the voluntary contributions of the many friends of the late rector.
The rector reported that he had appointed Henry R. Howland superintendent, and William A. Joyce assistant superintendent of the Sunday School, and Dr. M. D. Mann to conduct the Bible class.
During the year 1885 the Common Council of the City of Buffalo ordered that no more interments of the dead should be made in any
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INTERIOR OF ST. PAUL'S.
Looking east from the west organ gallery, October, 1884. (See pages 68 to 72, 141 to 143.)
From photograph by G. H. B.
History of St. Paul's Church. 155
of the receiving vaults attached to any church in, the city, as they were injurious to the health of the living ; consequently, the receiving vault of St. Paul's was no longer used for the dead.
1886.
At the annual election on Easter Monday, April 26, 1886, Rev. Dr. Brown, rector, presiding, Charles W. Evans and William H. Walker were elected wardens, and John Pease, A. Porter Thompson, James R. Smith, A. R. Davidson, Henry R. Hopkins, George A. Stringer, Robert P. Wilson and Albert J. Barnard, vestrymen.
May 14, 1886, the vestry reappointed G. Hunter Bartlett clerk, and James W. Sanford treasurer. The treasurer reported that the receipts for the year ending Easter, 1886, were $11,185 ; disburse- ments, $11,100 ; receipts from the receiving vault, $133, appropriated to the use of the Sunday School.
The vestry appropriated $2,000 from the bequest of the late Rev. Dr. Shelton, the said appropriation to be used for the pur- pose of repointing the church edifice, and for restoring the broken stone crosses and finials, and putting the water conductors from the roof in good order, the work to be done under the superintendence of the wardens. The whole of the said work was accordingly done, and was of much benefit to the preservation and improved appearance of the edifice, which is such a lasting monument to the beneficence of our former rector. It was proposed to sell the German Mission property on Spruce Street, and to invest the proceeds in establishing a Mission Church on Richmond Avenue ; but after mature consideration the plan was abandoned, and subsequently the services in the German Mission were fully resumed, under the name of St. Andrew's Mission Church, under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Brent, one of the assistant ministers of St. Paul's Church, occasionally assisted by the Rev. Dr. Brown and the Rev. Mr. Huske.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
1887.
At a meeting of the vestry on February 8, 1887, the rector stated that he had signed the form of oath required by the United States Custom House Department for the free entry of the new windows for the church, in memory of the Rev. Dr. Shelton, from Cox Sons, Buckley & Co., in England, and that the windows would soon be in Buffalo.
Dr. Hopkins from the committee reported that he had secured sub- scriptions to the amount of $1, 100 to pay the salary of the Rev. Mr. Huske, as assistant minister and for other parish purposes.
The three beautiful windows, to fill the lancet-triplet over the altar, in the chancel of St. Paul's, being the memorial to the late Rev. Dr. Shelton, were made by Cox Sons, Buckley & Co., of London, arrived in Buffalo in March, 1887, and were placed in position by Mr. Cox. They remained veiled until Easter Sunday, April 10, 1887, on which day the parishioners looked upon them with much pleasure.
The window on the north represents the conversion of St. Paul on his journey to Damascus. A light is shining down from heaven upon the blindness of the apostle. At the base is the inscription, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" and under this " In Memoriam."
The centre window is the largest of the three, and depicts St. Paul standing on Mars Hill surrounded by the people of Athens, to whom he is preaching of Christ. At the base is written : "God that made the world, He is Lord of heaven and earth, He giveth to all life and breath," and underneath "William Shelton, D. D., Rector."
The south window shows St. Paul at his trial before Festus. At its base is the inscription "Speak forth the words of truth and soberness," and under this "From 1828 to 1882."
The two side windows in the chancel, facing Erie Street and the one looking out on Church Street are also new and beautiful. The artists have finely blended the colors and the rays which come through the glass will throw a soft light over the entire chancel which, when finished,
THE FIRST SHELTON MEMORIAL WINDOWS AT ST. PAUL'S. The Reverend Doctor Brown in the Chancel, Easter Monday, 1887. These windows were unveiled at Easter, 1887, and destroyed in the fire of 1838. (See page 156.)
From a composite photograph by E. F. Hall and.G. H. B.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
will be one of the handsomest in the country. The floor will be of marble ; the walls are to be retinted and a new altar will take the place of the one now in use.
At the annual election on Easter Monday, April 11, 1887, the Rev. Dr. Brown, rector, presiding, Charles W. Evans and William H. Walker were elected wardens, and John Pease, A. Porter Thompson, James R. Smith, A. R. Davidson, Henry R. Hopkins, George A. Stringer, Robert P. Wilson and Albert J. Barnard, vestrymen. At a subsequent meeting of the vestry G. Hunter Bartlett was re-appointed clerk, and James W. Sanford treasurer.
Margaret Louise Smith, wife of Judge James M. Smith, died in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 24, 1887, while traveling with her family. She was buried from the residence of her husband in Buffalo, August 18, 1887. For many years she was much engaged in parish duties in Trinity Church, and latterly in St. Paul's, and was an efficient manager in the Home for the Friendless, and also in the Church Home. At the Convention of the Diocese of Western New York in September, 1887, Bishop Coxe, in his annual address, referred to her decease in affectionate terms, and in conclusion said, "Long will she be remembered by her fellow Christians as one who nobly bore her part in every effort in Christian charity and beneficence, and who was endeared to the inner circle of her more intimate friends by those graces of true womanhood which shrink from publicity, and court only the hearts and homage of those whom God has made the immediate partakers of its love in the sphere of private duty." She was survived by her husband, her daughter, Mrs. Robert P. Wilson, and her son, Philip S. Smith.
On the October anniversaries of the death of the Rev. Dr. Shelton, it was customary for the Rev. Dr. Brown to call the attention of the congregation to memorials of him, sometimes by reading portions of his sermons preached many years before, but yet applicable to the present time, and also by instituting an annual October collection to contribute a fund for the future support of the parish, and also by
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History of St. Paul's Church.
collecting funds to make every window in the church a memorial, and by substituting memorial stone columns for the wooden ones. It was under the auspices of Dr. Brown that the very appropriate chancel windows were placed in position on Easter Sunday, 1887, commemorating the rectorship of Dr. Shelton from 1829 to 1883. The annual October collections for an endowment fund now amount to nearly $425, and the Shelton Memorial Society, composed of the younger women of the congregation, have raised a fund of more than $600.
" The Altar and the Hearth " is the name of the St. Paul's parish paper, published mostly under the direction of the rector. The Octo- ber, 1887, number contains the annual report of the parish to the Diocesan Council, held in Buffalo in September, 1887, for the year ending September 1, 1887, as follows : Families, 242 ; individuals not included in families, 75 ; communicants, 593 ; Sunday-School scholars, 407 ; teachers, 47 ; number of scholars in the Sunday-School of St. Andrew's Chapel, the former German Mission, 150; teachers, 15 ; $20,963 were contributed for parish purposes, including $14,325 for current expenses, including salaries, and $3,000 for the memorial windows ; $1,130 for objects within the diocese, and $1,703 for objects exterior to the diocese ; in all, $23,797. Value of the church edifice and lot as estimated by the wardens, $200,000 ; Guild House and lot, $12,000; St. Andrew's Chapel, $4,000. Number of sittings in the church, 1,200. Daily services commenced September 1, 1887.
The following articles were published in the November (1887) number of the " Altar and Hearth," relative to the Sunday evening services in St. Paul's Church, Buffalo :
" The evening service, to which attention is called in this paper, is intended for all sorts and conditions of men. Situated as the church is, in the heart of this large and growing city, with the street railways centering in such close proximity to it, with hundreds of people passing to and fro in full sight of it every Sunday evening, there is earnest hope of building up a people's service - free to all - a service which should attract by hearty, devout and beautiful music, and by the plain and earnest preaching of the Gospel of Christ, as the Church holds and teaches the same. Surely such a ser-
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History of St. Paul's Church.
vice ought to be, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, a great power for good in this community ! St. Paul's parish will thus maintain four services every Sunday, and ample opportunity will be afforded to all to 'worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness.'
" Zeal and devotion in church work must never be allowed to take the place of personal holiness. We can imagine a man or a woman thoroughly engrossed in Church work merely for its own sake- for the sake of seeing the Church grow and prosper in the community - taking a personal pride in the mere temporal advance- ment of the kingdom of Christ, without having the heart, the soul, the life conse- crated to Christ ; our Lord would have us first, and then our labors for His kingdom follow naturally. Self-consecration is the most important element in Church work. From personal holiness flow all the fruits of the Spirit. Celebrating, as we do at this time, the blessed Feast of All Saints, it becomes us to remember that they did most for Christ who were most in Christ. The closer our sacramental union with Christ, the more fruitful that union will be in earnest work for Christ and His kingdom.
"Organized effort has been a mighty factor in the spread of Christ's kingdom in the world, and in enlarging the sphere of Church work. But isn't there to-day a danger of too many organizations ? Isn't it better to have a few good organizations, working on broad and liberal principles, than to have a vast number very limited in their fields and in their modes of operation ? Isn't there a danger, when there are so many organizations, of diverting the mind, nay, even the heart, from that one grand organization which embraces them all-the Church ? It is only as the various mem- bers minister to the general welfare of the whole body that they are useful. If they live at the expense of the body without making any adequate return, they are worse than useless - they are positively harmful."
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Re-pointing Spire. 1886.
1
THE RUINS OF ST. PAUL'S FROM MAIN STREET. (See pages 165 to 167.)
From a photograph by E. F. Hall, taken on the day of the fire, May 10, 1888.
Continuation of the history of St. Paul's Church,
Buffalo, In. D.
1888 to 1903.
WITH CHAPTERS ON :
THE RESTORED ST. PAUL'S; THE MEMORIALS ; THE IVY ; THE CHIMES OF ST. PAUL'S ; THE GREAT TOWER AND SPIRE ; THE MUSIC, 1817-1903 ; HISTOR- . ICAL NOTES, 1817-1903 ; LIST OF THE CLERGY, 1817- 1903 ; LIST OF THE VESTRY, 1817-1903 ; THE ARCHI- TECTS OF ST. PAUL'S ; SUBSCRIPTION LISTS, ETC.
BY ALICE M. EVANS BARTLETT AND G. HUNTER BARTLETT. 1903.
Continuation of the
history of St. Paul's Church,
1888 to 1903.
1888.
At the annual parish election on Easter Monday, April 2, 1888, the following persons were chosen : Charles W. Evans and William H. Walker, wardens ; John Pease, A. Porter Thompson, James R. Smith, Dr. A. R. Davidson, Dr. Henry R. Hopkins, George Alfred Stringer, Robert P. Wilson and Albert J. Barnard, vestrymen.
May 1, 1888, G. Hunter Bartlett was re-elected clerk of the vestry, and James W. Sanford was re-elected treasurer of the parish.
At the same meeting of the vestry, a letter, dated April 25, 1888, from the rector, the Rev. Dr. Brown, to the wardens and vestry, was read, in which he said : "I desire to make the first communication to you of the recent official action of St. Thomas's Church, New York City. The vestry of that parish on Monday evening accepted the resignation of their venerable rector and unanimously elected me to be his successor. I accepted their invitation to assume the full charge
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History of St. Paul's Church.
on June Ist next. This acceptance now compels my resignation of St. Paul's, which I now offer, to take effect on the above date. In resigning your parish and my work in Buffalo I need not assure you of the regret and pain which this separation causes me. My relations with you and the congregation have always been the most pleasant and harmonious, and I find that now when I must sever them that my attachment is even stronger than I supposed. I thank you for all your courtesy and friendship, and fervently pray that the good work shall still go on with God's blessing, and soon some one shall be found to succeed to what I have endeavored to found and develop in the Name and for the sake of Christ and the Church."
In the resolutions of the vestry on the resignation of Dr. Brown it was said : "The Rev. Dr. Brown took charge of this parish six years ago, when the parish required great ability and great skill to strengthen and maintain it in the position it had so long held in the Diocese and in the Church. How well he has succeeded the present condition of the parish fully shows. During his administration the number of com- municants has largely increased, the services of the church have been multiplied, and its finances have been established on a solid basis, and in all respects the parish is in a state of harmony and of substantial prosperity. We also desire to place on record our appreciation of his great kindness to our former venerated rector, the Rev. Dr. Shelton, and of his generous fidelity to him and to his memory." After offering the congratulations of the vestry to the rector on his call to St. Thomas's Church, the resolutions conclude : "That we tender to the Rev. Dr. Brown, and to his family, our most cordial wishes for their health and happiness in their new home."
On motion, the rector appointed Messrs. W. H. Walker, Col. Bar- nard, A. P. Thompson, Dr. Hopkins and James R. Smith as a commit- tee to take action with reference to filling the vacancy in the office of rector of St. Paul's.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
The Burning of St. Paul's.
"Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire : And all our pleasant things are laid waste." - Isaiah, lxiv., II.
On Thursday morning, May 10, 1888, Ascension Day, the church edifice was almost entirely destroyed by fire, the result of an explosion of natural gas used for heating the church. The explosion, which was caused by an unexpected increase in the pressure of gas in the main pipe, happened about nine o'clock in the morning -an hour or two later the church would have been filled with a crowd of worshippers at the Ascension Day service. At the same hour many natural gas meters were burst and several other fires broke out in different parts of the city, on account of the failure of the Natural Gas Company's appliances for regulating the pressure of the gas throughout the city. Almost immediately the large interior of the church was a mass of flame. The heavy black walnut doors on the Pearl Street and Erie Street sides of the church were blown from their fastenings and into the street by the force of the explosion, and volumes of smoke and flame poured forth. The fire department was early on the scene, but could do nothing to save the interior of the building. The firemen fought most bravely to save the main tower, pouring streams of water into it through the tall louvre windows. At noon the fire was under control, as far as the spire was concerned, and at twelve-thirty o'clock the chimes in the tower rang a triumphant peal, showing that they were not injured, and that the tower and spire were safe. Great throngs of people on all sides of the building watched the burning, and universal was the sorrow expressed at the loss to the city of the beautiful and historic church. The fire raged nearly the entire day, and was not
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History of St. Paul's Church.
completely subdued until the roof had fallen in, and the interior and all that it contained had been entirely destroyed. The stone walls were left standing, but were greatly damaged in many places. The main tower, with the lofty and graceful stone spire, and the small tower were saved, but the "fire marks" on both towers still show how high and fierce were the flames.
The following poem was printed in the Buffalo Express on the Sunday following the fire :
ASCENSION DAY, 1888.
[Suggested by the hymn rung from the belfry of St. Paul's at noontide.]
" Our Lord is risen from the dead ;" (O dauntless bells ! your message sweet Swells out through shuddering flame and heat And smoke that crowns your spire's head.)
" Our Jesus is gone up on high," (Brave bells, your tongues their faith confess The nobler, stronger, in their stress, Like martyr spirits in their cry )
" The powers of hell are captive led," (What though within your ruined wal's An earthly temple fails and falls ? Its spirit rises from the dead.)
" Dragged to the portals of the sky." (O wounded bells ! Ascension Day ! Lift saddened hearts with you to pray And bring the eternal gates more nigh.)
Buffalo, May 10th. - EDITH EATON.
The photographic reproductions, given in this volume, of the ruins of the church taken directly after the fire show better than any descrip-
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE RUINS OF ST. PAUL'S. Looking east from the west organ gallery. (See pages 165 to 167 ; also 70, 274.)
Photograph by G. H. B., May 11, 1888, the day after the fire.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
tion the complete destruction of the interior. The brass Altar Cross and the memorial Alms Basin (see pages 279, 291) were all that were saved of the beautiful appointments of the chancel; the silver communion service - which dates back to the year 1825 - fortunately escaped injury, being in the safe at the Guild House. At the time of the fire, several of the choir boys and younger men of the parish, J. Clark Milsom and Robert Wilkinson, the sexton, especially, did good work, under the direction of Dr. Davidson and others, in removing the me- morials and other articles saved from the vestry room. It was impossible to enter the church after the fire broke out, but the closing of the door in the Erie Street porch leading to the tower-room, by H. S. Hilliard, immediately after the explosion, may have been a factor of some im- portance in the preservation of the main tower and spire. As will readily be seen, this doorway was a serious menace to the safety of the tower and chime. A simple precaution, and one worthy of consideration, would be to fit this opening - the only entrance to the tower - with a metal-clad, self-closing door, in place of the wooden one still in use.
In the evening of the same day, May 10, 1888, a meeting of the vestry was held, and it was decided to take steps at once for the rebuild- ing of the church. A committee of seven was appointed to superintend the work. Colonel A. J. Barnard was elected as chairman of this com- mittee with power to appoint the other six members. He appointed Messrs. W. H. Walker, A. Porter Thompson, Dr. H. R. Hopkins, Robert P. Wilson, Geo. Alfred Stringer and James R. Smith.
Dr. Davidson, Mr. Stringer and Dr. Hopkins were appointed a committee of three to consult with the rector, the Rev. Dr. Brown, in regard to a suitable place for holding the church services. It was decided to ask the congregation to continue paying their pew rents as usual while the church was being rebuilt.
Mr. Walker stated that the Rev. John Huske would probably be willing and able to accept the invitation of the vestry to take charge of St. Paul's from June Ist to September 1, 1888, after the departure of Dr. Brown to his new parish in New York City.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
Letters were then read from the Rev. Dr. Lobdell, offering the use of Trinity Church, from Wm. Thurstone, warden, offering St. John's, and from the Rev. Dr. Hitchcock, placing Ascension Church at the use of St. Paul's. Judge George A. Lewis, on behalf of the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church, generously offered the use of that edifice. Letters of condolence and sympathy were received from ministers and people of all denominations, showing how much affection was felt by the people for the "mother church " of the city.
Dr. Brown also stated that the Rev. Dr. Israel Aaron, Rabbi of the Temple Beth Zion, had called upon him, and most kindly and cordially offered the Temple for the free use of St. Paul's congregation, on Sundays, until the church should be rebuilt.
In the correspondence between the authorities of the Temple and St. Paul's Vestry, the secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Temple writes : "In answer to that part of your communication with reference to remuneration, this Board has resolved that in the spirit in which the use of our Temple has been offered to your congregation it would be impossible for us to accept compensation under any consid- eration."
The generous offer of the Rev. Rabbi and the Trustees of the Temple was accepted by St. Paul's committee as follows :
" May 21, 1888. " REV. DR. ISRAEL AARON.
" Rev'd and Dear Sir, - The communication of Secretary Rosenau of the Board of Trustees of Temple Beth Zion, dated 17th inst., tendering the free use of your Temple for four months to the congregation of St. Paul's came duly to hand, and at an informal meeting of the vestry of the church and Rev. Dr. Brown, your very gen- erous and noble offer was accepted in the spirit in which it was made and with our most sincere and heartfelt thanks. The chairman of our committee, Dr. Davidson, being seriously ill, the writer and the other member of said committee, Dr. Hopkins, would be pleased to meet you and Mr. Keiser, at your residence, this Monday evening at half-past eight, or to-morrow evening at that hour. Kindly advise as to which even- ing will be most agreeable to you.
" Yours very sincerely, "(Signed.) GEORGE A. STRINGER."
INTERIOR OF THE RUINS OF ST. PAUL'S, LOOKING WEST FROM THE CHANCEL.
Photograph by G. H. B., May 11, 1888, the day after the fire.
(See pages 165 to 167, also 69 note, 100, 101 note, 268.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
The services, beginning on the Sunday after the fire, were accord- ingly held, until the completion of the new church, in the Temple Beth Zion* on Niagara Street, between Pearl and Franklin streets, where the new Masonic Temple now stands, the Rev. John Huske being the minister-in-charge after the departure of Dr. Brown for New York.
At the first service in the Temple, May 13, 1888, the Sunday following the fire, being the First Sunday after the Ascension, most of the parish- ioners were present, feeling their common calamity. The singular coin- cidence of the words in the regular Gospel for the day -" They shall put you out of the synagogues " - was noticed and commented on by all, with a feeling of thankfulness that the days when those words were literally true had passed away forever, and in their place had come a period in which disparity of religious views did not interfere with brotherly sympathy and help in time of trouble. This was especially referred to by the Rev. Dr. Brown, in his sermon.
A special meeting of the vestry was held on Friday evening, May 25, 1888, to take action relative to the death of Dr. Augustus R. Davidson.
During the fire, Dr. Davidson had been foremost in directing the work of removing the few memorials and other articles which it was possible to save from the flames. Overexertion and exposure to wet and cold at this time brought on the attack of pneumonia which caused his untimely and deeply-mourned death.
The following preamble and resolution were presented, and, on motion, unanimously adopted :
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