USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > History of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, N.Y. : 1817 to 1888 > Part 16
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" WHEREAS, Almighty God in His inscrutable Providence has taken from our midst our beloved friend and associate, Augustus R. Davidson, M. D .;
" Resolved, That while we submit in faith and hope to the will of our Heavenly Father in taking to the rest of Paradise our brother, we desire to place on record our appreciation of the noble nature of the deceased, who for the past eight years as a vestryman of this parish, and for many years a communicant of St. Paul's, and also for a long period an active and efficient member of the Council of St. Paul's Guild, and recently a sustaining power in St. Andrew's Mission, always performed with unswerv- ing devotion the duty of the hour. He was a most affectionate husband and father, a
" See letter of the late Hon. Lewis F. Allen, page 366.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
tender and sympathetic physician, a loyal and a steadfast friend. ‘Spirit nobler, gentler, braver, never shall behold the light.' With this expression of our love for him and our sense of loss in his death, we extend to his bereaved family, to the parish which he adorned, and to the community in which he held an honored place, this assur- ance of personal grief and heartfelt sympathy."
Augustus Reginald Davidson, M. D., was born in Canada in 1845 ; his father was a clergyman of the Church of England. He came to Buffalo about the year 1870, and became proprietor of the former " Peabody Drug Store," on the corner of Main and Chippewa streets. In 1878, having graduated from the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of Buffalo, he began the practice of medicine, and made a specialty of chemistry, in which he was very proficient. He was, at the time of his death, one of the professors in the Medical Depart- ment of the Niagara University. Dr. Davidson was a member of the vestry of St. Paul's from the year 1876 until his death, May 25, 1888.
On Sunday morning, May 27, 1888, the Rev. Dr. Brown preached his farewell sermon as rector of St. Paul's, at the Temple Beth Zion. His text was from II. Cor., xiii., 14 : " The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen." His parting words at the close of his ser- mon were marked with deep feeling, as he recalled the years during which he and his people had worked so happily together, and he assured them that wherever he might be his love and affection would ever be with them.
October 2, 1888, at a meeting of the vestry, it was decided to obtain subscriptions for restoring the church edifice according to the plans of Robert W. Gibson of New York City, the architect of All Saints' Cathedral at Albany.
Mr. Gibson came from Albany, and, after consulting with the committee, some changes were made in the plans, the proposed Church Street porch and the vestry-room being (at first) omitted. The plans,
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History of St. Paul's Church.
with these changes, were again submitted to the builders, and the con- tracts were finally let at the following figures :
Charles Berrick, mason work, $19,741.00
Wm. D. Collingwood, cut stone, 26,969 00
Jacob Reimann, carpenter work, 28,492.00
Kellogg, iron work, . 403.00
Making a total of . $75,605.00
This does not include plastering, or the woodwork of the pews or of the chancel. Mr. Walker stated that $40,000 would be needed over and above the insurance to rebuild the church. Mr. Barnard said that if $50,000 could be raised it would be possible to carry out the original plans of the architect without omission or changes.
On motion, it was decided to send out a circular, signed by the vestry, to the congregation, explaining all that had been done so far towards rebuilding, and calling for subscriptions, which was accord- ingly done.
October 23, 1888, the finance committee reported to the vestry the several amounts received from insurance on the church property, amounting in all to $60,445. The insurance companies paid at differ- ent dates from May 19th to September 6, 1888.
It was decided to add the building of the new vestry-room to the contract. On November 8, 1888, the building committee decided to add the Church Street porch also.
1889.
February 10, 1889, a special meeting of the vestry was called to take action on the death of the senior warden, Charles W. Evans, which took place on February 8th.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
Mr. Walker opened the meeting with a few appropriate remarks, and presented the following minute, which was then adopted :
" The vestry of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, desire to place on record their deep sense of the loss sustained by the vestry and by the church in the death of Charles W. Evans, who for many years has been the efficient and devoted senior warden of the parish.
"True and loyal as Mr. Evans was in all the relations of life, he was pre-eminently so in relation to St. Paul's Church. Formerly the faithful clerk of the vestry, also the treasurer of the parish, afterwards a member of the vestry, and for nearly twenty-five years the senior warden, he discharged the duties of all these positions with rare fidelity. He was one of the most valued friends of the late Dr. Shelton, who knew him well, and had for him the highest regard.
"His knowledge of the parish was unequaled, and by his efforts its records have been most carefully arranged and preserved. His benefactions to the church were constant and very liberal.
" He was a wise counselor, and the parish and vestry will sadly miss and deeply mourn the departure of their associate and friend."
Charles Worthington Evans, son of William and Margaret (Ran- dall) Evans, was born in the City of Baltimore, Maryland, March 13, 1812. His family and immediate connections were members of the Society of Friends, and he attended their meetings, but never formally joined them. As a young man, in Baltimore, he was in the Firemen's Insurance Company and the Merchants' Bank of Baltimore, and June 28, 1835, he removed to Buffalo, where his father's family had been living since 1832, and soon after joined St. Paul's parish.
During the fifty-three years of his business life in Buffalo, he was established on the Evans Ship Canal, which was constructed in 1833 by his father, William Evans, through part of outer lot No. 3 deeded by the Holland Land Company to Benjamin Ellicott, brother of Joseph Ellicott, who laid out Buffalo in 1804. On the death of Benjamin Elli- cott this property was set off to his sister, Letitia Ellicott Evans, the mother of William Evans, and grandmother of Charles W. Evans. Mr. Evans was the oldest surviving elevator owner in the city, having operated the Evans elevator for more than forty-one years. He was also one of the oldest members of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, having
History of St. Paul's Church. 173
been connected with the parish for more than forty-three years. He was associated with George C. Webster, DeWitt C. Weed and William H. Walker in what was known for several years, from 1847, as the " Junior Vestry," and these four young men made the first concerted movement towards the building of the new church.
Mr. Evans had been honored by his fellow parishioners with all the offices in the parish, and was one of the wardens for the twenty-five years preceding his death. He was clerk of the vestry from 1848 until April, 1854, when he was also appointed treasurer of the parish, and in May, 1854, he was also elected vestryman, which three offices he held until 1858. He was one of the vestry from 1860 to 1862; he was junior warden from April, 1863, until 1870, when he was elected senior warden, continuing in this office until his death in 1889.
He was probably more familiar with all matters relating to the parish than any other person ; he was also a warm personal friend of the late Rev. Dr. Shelton, who made him, in connection with Mr. William H. Walker, one of the executors of his estate. During his long life Mr. Evans had entrusted to him for settlement many large estates, and he was continually being placed in positions of trust and responsibility. In 1857 he married Miss Mary Peacock of Mayville, Chautauqua County, daughter of John and Mercy M. Peacock, and niece of Judge William Peacock, in whose house at Mayville she had always lived as a daughter, her mother having died while she was still a very young child.
Mr. Evans was a studious man, and all his life a lover of good books and of literary work. He wrote the " History of the Fox, Elli- cott, and Evans Families," published in 1882, and had for many years been collecting materials for and writing the "History of St. Paul's Church," which he left in manuscript, and which forms the first part of this volume, as mentioned in the Preface. Outside of his family, one of his chiefest objects of interest and affection was St. Paul's Church, with which he had been identified for so many years, and in which
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History of St. Paul's Church.
he was almost always present at divine service on Sundays, sitting in the same pew which he had occupied from the time the church was built until it was destroyed by fire in 1888. He did not live to see the restoration of the present church edifice completed, his death occur- ring February 8, 1889. He was survived by his wife and two daugh- ters, Mrs. G. Hunter Bartlett and Miss Virginia Evans, now Mrs. Walter Devereux.
The property of the First Presbyterian Church, opposite St. Paul's, was sold April 18, 1889, to the Erie County Savings Bank, the total cost to the bank being $188,500. The new " First Church " was built on The Circle. The old edifice was demolished, and the imposing new building of the bank which was erected on its site was completed in 1893.
This piece of land was " Lot 43," which had been deeded to the trustees of the First Presbyterian Society of the Town of Buffalo, by the Holland Land Company, December 12, 1820, and upon which, in 1823, the society built a small, frame lecture-room, which gave place to the brick "First Church," dedicated March 28, 1827. (Page 30.)
In 1818, Joseph Ellicott, agent of the Holland Land Company, had informed the Rev. Mr. Clark, rector of St. Paul's, that the vestry might have their choice of lots 43 or 42 (the opposite lot across Church Street) on condition that they build their church on the lot chosen. The vestry promptly accepted this offer, and selected Lot 42. (See facsimile of Mr. Ellicott's letter of May 20, 1819, opposite page 14.) The corner stone of the original St. Paul's was laid June 24, 1819. The formal deed of Lot 42 from the Holland Land Company was given on June 14, 1820. (Pages 14, 19.) St. Paul's was consecrated February 25, 1821. (Page 20.)
Ever since these early times, this part of Main Street has borne the popular designation of "The Churches." In 1897 it was officially renamed Shelton Square by the city authorities, in honor of Dr. Shel-
History of St. Paul's Church. 175
ton, a new street or square having been formed as described on page 219. (See illustrations opposite pages 16, 38, 46, 152, 254, 440.)
At the annual election, Easter Monday, April 22, 1889, the follow- ing wardens and vestrymen were chosen :
William H. Walker and A. Porter Thompson, wardens ; John Pease, James R. Smith, Henry R. Hopkins, George Alfred Stringer, Robert P. Wilson, Albert J. Barnard, James Sweeney, and Edmund Hayes, vestrymen.
At a meeting of the vestry held May 9, 1889, 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 an explanation was ordered entered in the minutes in regard to the sum of $150 appearing in the Treasurer's Report as paid to the treasurer of Temple Beth Zion for rent. The authorities of the Temple Beth Zion gave the use of the Temple to St. Paul's free of all charges whatever, refusing compensation even for heating and lights. The building was sold to the Masonic bodies of the city, February 1, 1889, and the $150 mentioned in the report was paid for the use of the Temple after February Ist, and went into the Masonic treasury.
On motion, it was resolved : " That the clerk of the vestry be directed to transmit to the Reverend Rabbi and to the trustees of the Temple Beth Zion the grateful thanks of the rector, wardens and vestry of St. Paul's Church for the hospitality extended to the congregation of St. Paul's during so many months. It is difficult for the vestry to ade- quately express their thanks for the bestowal of a hospitality so gen- erous and open-handed, which refused all compensation even for heating and lights, and hard to state in words their full appreciation of the spirit in which it was given."
The finance committee reported that the sums subscribed and pledged by the members of the congregation for the rebuilding of the church amounted to more than $60,000.
176
History of St. Paul's Church.
Subscription, Rebuilding St. Paul's Church, 1888.
FROM THE ORIGINAL LIST.
E. L. Stevenson, · $5,000.00
Mrs. Louisa M. Weed,
Wm. H. Walker,
5,000.00
Hobart Weed,
.
. $1,000.00
James M. Smith,
3,000.00
Geo. N. Burwell, 1,000.00
Charles W. Evans,
Geraldine H. R. Richmond, )
Mary Evans,
John R. H. Richmond,
A. P. Thompson,
Matilda C. Thompson,
2,500.00
Gerald H. Richmond,
S. Douglas Cornell, . 2,500.00
James R. Smith, . 2,000.00
A. Cleveland Coxe, 500.00
Mary H. Lee, 500.00
Agnes Squier, 500.00
H. R. Hopkins, 1,000.00
Matthew D. Mann, . 1,000.00
Jane G. Dann,
500.00
A. J. Barnard,
Mary R. Mc Williams,
500.00
Clara S. Barnard, 1,000.00
Charles G. Curtiss, 500.00
Jane W. Grosvenor,
Abby W. Grosvenor,
1,500.00
Lucretia S. Grosvenor,
Edward L. Kimberly, 500.00
William H. Glenny,
T. W. Cushing,
250.00
Jane G. Glenny, 1,000.00
Howard H. Baker, 300.00
James Sweeney, . 1,000.00
Robert P. Wilson,
E. C. Walker, 200.00
Margaret L. Wilson, S 1,000.00
O. H. P. Champlin, 200 00
Agnes L. Warren, 1,000.00
S. D. Caldwell,
200.00
Laetitia P. Viele, 1,000.00
Edward Bennett, .
200.00
Sarah E. Bryant, . 1,000.00
Lester Wheeler, . 100.00
Geo. S. Field,
Bernard Bartow, 50.00
Margaret C. Field,
1,000.00
P. P. Burtis, 200.00
Elizabeth A. McKee, 1,000.00
John L. Kimberly, Jr., 200.00
Edith K. Walker,
1,000.00
J. Tillinghast, 200.00
Susan E. Kimberly,
M. Powers Fillmore, 500.00
Charlotte Kimberly,
1,000.00
Edward S. Richmond,
Edmund Hayes, . 2,000.00
Geo. Alfred Stringer, 1,000.00
Ella F. Cook, . 200.00
E. H. Hutchinson, 1,000.00
R. E. McWilliams,
Lucy H. Weed,
George T. Weed,
500.00
W. A. Joyce, 200.00
John Huske, 100.00
2,500.00
Lillian R. Richmond, 1,000.00
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History of St. Paul's Church.
Mrs. J. C. Devereux, $50.00
Mrs. Geo. E. Hayes, $2,000.00
Miss Catherine McVicker, 100.00
Jas. R. Silliman,
Dr. and Mrs. Frank W. Abbott, 100 00
Urania Silliman, 50.00
Elizabeth A. Longnecker, . 100.00
Thos. F. Lewis, 25.00
Josephine Looney, 50.00
W. B. Moore, 25.00
Frances C. Dougherty, . 25.00
Sanford C. McKnight,
C. A. Dougherty,
25.00
Susan Sanford,
Samuel G. Walker,
50.00
J. W. Sanford,
400.00
Caroline E. Scroggs,
200.00
Geo. F. McKnight,
J. A. Lepper, . 15.00
Anna Hoxsie Cook, .
200.00
R. Ferguson, . 50.00
Chas. E. Williams,
50.00
Wm. Y. Warren, 100.00
Thomas G. Perkins,
100.00
Clara B. Warren, 100.00
Geo. M. Ogilvie,
100.00
Janet W. Rodney, 50.00
John M. Ogilvie,
20.00
E. S. Warren, 100.00
J. H. Marling,
25.00
Laetitia V. W. Hasbrouck, 50.00
Helen L. Spencer,
S. T. Smith, 50.00
Harriet M. Spencer,
25.00
Sheldon T. Viele,
Philip S. Smith, 50.00
Anna D. Viele,
John G. Luber, 50.00
Sheldon Thompson,
Henry Bristol,
200.00
Fannie M. Thompson, 50.00
M. Caroline Persch, .
100.00
W. T. Miller,
Edward L. Brady,
50.00
Mrs. Edward L. Brady,
50.00
Alice J. Thompson, 25.00
Thomas Lothrop,
50.00
Agnes W. Thompson, 25.00
E. F. Meister,
25.00
Augustus A. Thompson,
Jessie A. McKenna,
25.00
Mary E. Walker,
25.00
T. H. Mendsen, . 100.00
S. L. Porter,
20.00
Clara B. Thompson, . 25.00
S. E. Laird,
25.00
Albert S. Thompson,
J. C. Nagel,
200.00
Lee H. Smith,
Matilda J. Thompson, Nath. J. Hall, 25.00
Corrie L. Smith, 50.00
Charlotte T. Wright,
100.00
Wm. B. Gallagher,
50.00
Eliza Gorman, 25.00
Mary L. Gallagher, . 50.00
Mary Gorman, 25.00
Henry English, 100.00
Matthew O'Neill, 500.00
Fred T. Johnson,
25.00
Mrs. Edwin Hurlbert, 500.00
Mrs. Chas. Mary,
25.00
Maria L. Callender, . 150.00
100.00
Catharine T. Miller, 50.00
Marian A. Thompson, Laetitia V. Thompson, E. W. Thompson,
25.00
Carrie G McKnight,
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History of St. Paul's Church.
Matilda Hill, .
$ 15.00
H. R. Howland, .
$ 25.00
Mrs. Streater and family,
25.00
B. Rumsey,
25.00
Spencer Clinton,
100.00
Elisha T. Smith, .
50.00
Charles R. Wilson,
25.00
Julia W. Smith,
30.00
Mrs. Thomas Rose,
50.00
Wm. Warren Smith, 20.00
T. W. McKnight,
25.00
Daniel O'Day,
100.00
The pews in the former church edifice were mostly held in fee by individual owners, who also paid a yearly rental, as fixed by the vestry. (See reproduction of old pew deeds opposite pages 22, 54.) As the destruction of the church by fire in 1888 annulled this ownership, it was decided that henceforth no pews should be sold to individuals, but that they should be owned by the church, and rented from year to year. The former individual ownership dated from 1820, when the first sale of pews in the original frame church was held. This individual ownership led to some curious complications, the Bank of England at one time obtaining title to one of the pews. (See page 385.)
The same system was continued in the new stone church, which was first occupied in 1851. The subscriptions to the building fund were made in the form of purchases of stock, the pews being deeded by the church to the various subscribers in proportion to the amounts of their several subscriptions. Persons who had owned pews in the old frame church were also given pews of a proportionate value in the new church. In after years this ownership of the pews by indi- viduals caused, as before stated, many complications, and it was found desirable to do away with it, but the legal difficulties in the way could not be overcome without undue trouble and cost. The fire, however, cancelled these obligations, and all of the pews in the restored St. Paul's are now held in fee by the church corporation, and rented from year to year by the vestry. The subscriptions to the fund after the fire of 1888 were made with no reference to an equivalent ownership of stock or pews in the restored edifice, but simply as gifts for rebuilding the church.
A communication from the finance committee to the congregation,
History of St. Paul's Church. 179
dated April 10, 1889, reports that "during the past eventful year the pew rentals have - as a general rule - been promptly paid. . .. The church is now approaching completion, and for the ensuing year we shall at first hold our services in the Sunday School room." The Easter services, April 21, 1889, were held in the basement Sunday- school room, or "Crypt Chapel."
At the vestry meeting of May 9, 1889, a letter from the Rev. John Huske, the minister-in-charge, dated May 7, 1889, was read, in which he placed in the hands of the vestry his resignation of the position of minister-in-charge of St. Paul's, the resignation to go into effect on Saturday, the 11th inst. Mr. Huske had been called to the rectorship of St. Paul's Church in Erie, Pa., of which parish he took charge in the autumn of 1889, on his return from a European trip.
In the minutes of the vestry on the resignation of Mr. Huske, it was stated :
"The wardens and vestry of St. Paul's Church accept the resignation of the Rev. John Huske as minister-in-charge of the parish, with sincere regret, and will always retain a grateful memory of his ministrations among us. The circumstances under which Mr. Huske took up the work in St. Paul's were peculiarly sad. The church had been partially destroyed by fire, and this was followed by the departure of the rector, the Rev. John W. Brown, D. D., who had, previous to that calamity, accepted the call to St. Thomas's Church, New York. In the face of these and many other serious difficulties, Mr. Huske has performed most excellent work. By his courage and efforts he has succeeded to an unusual degree in holding the congregation together, and his labors, especially among the sick and afflicted, have been constant and faithful. In all respects he has done his duty nobly and well.
"The vestry unite with the congregation in wishing the Rev. Mr. Huske a pros- perous voyage to Europe and a safe return, and also tender to him their warmest wishes for his welfare and happiness in the important parish to which he has been called." .
At the same meeting Mr. Walker stated that the Rev. G. Mott Wil- liams had been temporarily engaged as minister-in-charge of the parish.
(In 1895, the Rev. Mr. Williams was made bishop of the diocese of Marquette, Michigan.)
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History of St. Paul's Church.
A committee of five, consisting of A. P. Thompson, chairman, W. H. Walker, Col. Barnard, Edmund Hayes and Dr. Hopkins, was ap- pointed to receive applications for memorial windows, and to pass upon the artistic merit and appropriateness of the designs selected.
At a special meeting of the vestry, September 12, 1889, Mr. Walker introduced the subject of obtaining a rector for St. Paul's Church, and spoke at some length concerning the Rev. Henry A. Adams, first assistant of Trinity Church, New York City. The following motion was then offered and unanimously adopted :
" Resolved, That the committee charged with the duty of securing a rector for the parish be and are hereby authorized- if acting unanimously -to call the Rev. Henry A. Adams of New York to that position."
The Hon. James M. Smith, George Alfred Stringer and O. H. P. Champlin were elected delegates to the fifty-second annual Council of the Diocese, at the same meeting.
October 16, 1889, the chairman reported for the committee on finding a rector, the call and acceptance of the Rev. Henry A. Adams ; that the rectorate was to date from October 15, 1889, and that the rector's salary was to be $6,000 per annum.
Robert Wilkinson gave up his position as sexton, and afterwards became janitor of the new First Presbyterian Church on The Circle. He had been at St. Paul's for ten years, and was succeeded in Novem- ber, 1889, by William Graveson.
At a meeting of the vestry, November 29, 1889, at the house of the rector, the Rev. Henry A. Adams, it was moved and carried that the dedication of the church be held upon January 2d or 3d, 1890, and that the rector and wardens be a committee to make the necessary arrange- ments for that occasion. It was also moved and carried that this committee wait upon the bishop and invite him to hold the services of his twenty-fifth anniversary in St. Paul's, and also inform him that it is the desire of the vestry that the dedication of the church shall be held in connection with his anniversary services.
On motion, the clerk was directed to express the thanks of the
18I
History of St. Paul's Church.
vestry to William D. Collingwood for his generous gift of the stone font to the church. (See pages 274, 394.)
December 21, 1889, at a meeting of the vestry, a letter was read from Mrs. Charles W. Evans and her daughters, Mrs. Alice Evans Bartlett and Miss Virginia Evans, formally presenting the brass memo- rial lectern to the church, upon which the following was offered :
" WHEREAS, A communication has been received by the vestry from Mrs. Charles W. Evans and her daughters stating that they have placed a brass lectern in St. Paul's Church as a memorial to the late senior warden, Charles Worthington Evans ; therefore,
"Resolved, That this vestry gladly accepts this costly and beautiful memorial, and wishes to offer to Mrs. Evans and her daughters its grateful acknowledgment of this most acceptable gift." . (See page 287.)
At a meeting of the building committee, December 12, 1889, it was resolved that the designs " for the oak litany desk to be presented by Charles A. Gould be adopted, with the thanks of the committee to the donor." (See page 288.)
Saturday, December 28, 1889, there was a second fire in St. Paul's Church, which was, however, overcome with slight damage to the build- ing or contents. It was caused by an overheated smoke pipe in the Erie Street porch. One of the local papers, commenting on this fire, said : "Fifty dollars will probably cover the loss, which is a low price to pay for discovering a dangerous fire-trap." Another paper said : "Few events within the limits of ordinary happenings in the city could cause so intense and widespread excitement as the report that St. Paul's Church was on fire. . . . . If the City Hall had been on fire, the excitement about town would not have been so great."
1890.
For detailed description of the church as rebuilt, see special chap- ter, "The Restored St. Paul's," page 265.
182
History of St. Paul's Church.
January 2, 1890, at a meeting of the vestry, the rector stated that the entire church edifice was not to be consecrated by the bishop, but only the new extension to the church, the old walls being still standing. The service, as stated by the bishop, would be one of " Hallowing and Reconciling " after the restoration of the church edifice.
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