USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > History of St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, N.Y. : 1817 to 1888 > Part 26
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" The eagle, because of its lofty heavenward flight, is the symbol of inspira- tion, and its position upon the globe and its outspread wings remind us how the Word of God is to be carried into all the world." .
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The Font, of brown Scotch sandstone, is a quatrefoil bowl, resting upon a square, which is surrounded by eight circular stone shafts, with carved capitals and moulded bases. Each face of the square bears a sunken quatrefoil panel. The whole stands upon an octagonal base, and was designed by the architect, Mr. Gibson.
It is the gift to the church of William D. Collingwood, and stands in the baptistery, being approached by two stone steps placed at the back. (See pages 274, 394.)
The inscription, carved in raised letters on the stone, is near the top of the bowl : "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." The bowl has a heavy brass-mounted oaken cover, quatrefoil in shape.
The Ewer is of polished, engraved brass, and is inscribed :
" The gift of those baptized in St. Paul's Church." Below are the words: "Water to the mystical washing away of sin."
The Litany Desk, at the head of the main aisle, is of antique oak, elaborately and beautifully carved ; the pointed end pieces have finials and doubled crockets. At each corner of the desk, on the chancel side, is the carved figure of an angel, eighteen inches high, standing under a Gothic canopy, and between the two figures is an open arcade
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The Memorials.
of narrow, pointed trefoils resting on slender shafts. The desk was the gift to the church of Charles A. Gould, at the time of the restor- ation (see page 181.) . .. " The solemn service of the Litany has been said from very early times from the Litany-desk, placed at the head of the nave, before the entrance to the chancel. ' Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord.' Joel ii., 17. Our Litany, retaining the same words of supplication, is said, in allu- sion to this, in the midst of the church." . .. .
On the desk is a book of the Litany, bound in full red turkey morocco, with a plain brass cross on the front cover, and "St. Paul's Church " in gold letters. On the reverse is the inscription : "Thank Offering, Easter, 1890."
The Communion Service of the church consists of a large silver flagon, a large and a small paten, and two chalices. To these have been added lately two cruets of glass and silver.
The older pieces are of heavy silver, of graceful design, and, with the exception of narrow ornamental borders, the surfaces are plain and polished, the inside of the vessels showing the tool marks of the workers. The lid of the flagon is topped with an acorn. Upon the flagon and upon the smaller paten the following inscription is engraved :
" PRESENTED BY THE EPISCOPAL FEMALE SOCIETY TO ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, BUFFALO, N. Y., 1825."
Upon each of the two chalices is engraved :
" Presented to St. Paul's Church, Buffalo, by the Female Episcopal Society, 1826."
The larger paten is similar in design to the smaller one, but bears no inscription. It was doubtless purchased later, as it became needed in the growth of the parish.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
The society mentioned in the inscriptions may have been a local organization, or, perhaps, a New York or a Philadelphia society, formed for the purpose of supplying necessary articles to young and struggling churches, as St. Paul's was in 1825 and 1826. In spite of much inves- tigation, no record has, however, been found of the society.
The two cruets are alike in design, and are of glass mounted in silver, the covers each bearing a small Greek cross. On one is inscribed :
'ST. PAUL'S CHURCH. PRESENTED BY THE SUNDAY SCHOOL, EASTER, 1891."
Upon the other cruet is engraved :
"ST. PAUL'S CHURCH. PRESENTED BY THE LADIES, EASTER, 1891."
The Communion Service escaped the fire of 1888, being at the time in the safe at the Guild House.
The Processional Cross is the gift of Dr. and Mrs. Matthew D. Mann, in memory of their daughter Helen. It is of richly-wrought polished brass, and is a Latin cross with quartrefoiled ends, bearing symbols of the Four Evangelists ; in the center is a representation of the Agnus Dei. The cross is mounted on an oaken staff, and when not in use rests in brass sockets placed to receive it, upon the east end of one of the choir desks. It was first used at Easter, 1890, as was also a memorial altar cloth, presented by Miss Stevenson.
The inscription reads :
"+ TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF HELEN MANN, SEP'T 12, 1870, + SEP'T 3, 1887
Altar Vases .- On either side of the cross, on the altar, are large brass vases, which were presented to the church by the women of what was formerly called the " ecclesiastical committee."
The brass Book-Rest for the altar is ornamented with pierced work and an engraved panel representing the pelican and her young - a
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The Memorials.
symbol of the Atonement. It was presented by Mrs. John W. Brown, wife of the former rector of the church, as a thank offering for recov- ery from a severe illness. The inscription is : "In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen." "St. Paul's Cathe- dral Church." On the under side is inscribed : "A Thank Offering, A. D. 1888. A. G. B."
The Alms Basin is a memorial of the late Mrs. John Pease, who died October 22, 1873. It was the gift to the church of the teachers and scholars of the Sunday School, and is of polished brass, beauti- fully engraved. The text, "Blessed is the man that provideth for the sick and needy," encircles an engraved, conventionalized figure of St. Paul. Farther down is the inscription : "In Memoriam. Sarah Eliza Pease, A. D. 1874." The alms basin was saved in the fire of 1888, being in the vestry room when the fire broke out. The fire- men had been able to beat back the flames from the vestry room, so that later it was possible for some of the choir boys to enter the room by the window and save several articles. Some of Dr. Brown's vestments were saved in this way, and the alms basin also was carried out through the window and taken to the Guild House, blackened by the smoke and gas, but otherwise uninjured.
The Chancel Books .- The set of seven books for the chancel, con- sisting of the altar service, prayer books and hymnals, was given by Charles Robert Wilson, in memory of the late Robert Preston Wilson. They are bound in full scarlet turkey morocco, with plain brass crosses on the front covers, and lettered : "St. Paul's Church." On the reverse of each volume is the inscription : "In Memoriam, Robert Preston Wilson, A. D. 1892."
The gift also includes an oaken chest for the vestry room in which the books may be properly preserved.
In April, 1896, a baptismal shell and eucharistic spoon were pre- sented to the church by the choir boys, as a memorial to Harold J. McKenna, formerly a member of the choir.
In 1898, Mrs. James Sweeney made a most appropriate memorial gift to the parish. In loving memory of her daughter, Kate S.
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History of St. Paul's Church.
Harrower, wife of H. C. Harrower, who died in October, 1895, she presented for use in the Communion of the Sick, a complete and beautiful set of silver communion vessels, with altar cross, cruets, and all else needed for a reverent celebration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Among the memorials in the church must also be recorded the gifts to the Shelton Memorial Endowment Fund, now incorporated in the " Permanent Endowment Fund." (See pages 244, 245) :
June 1, 1897, The George E. Hayes Memorial Gift, $1,000.00
November 5, 1897, The Charlotte Kimberly Memorial Gift .. 1,000.00
December 30, 1897, The Jane Wey Grosvenor Memorial Gift, 1,000.00 1898, Bequest of Miss Elizabeth Bull, 475.00
1899, Bequest of Hon. James M. Smith, 3,000.00
1899, Special Gift, 100.00
1899, Additional for the "George E. Hayes Memorial," I,OCO.CO
1900, Bequest of Mrs. Agnes L. Warren, 3.000.00
1902, Bequest of Dr. Thomas Lothrop, 5,000.00
1902, The Frank W. Abbott Memorial Gift, . 100.00
On the south wall of the south transept, in a gabled niche built for the purpose, stands the marble bust of Sheldon Thompson, one of the founders of the parish, presented by his son, A. Porter Thomp- son, and his daughters, Mrs. Warren and Mrs. Viele, in 1890, to replace the one destroyed in the fire of 1888, and which had been placed in the church in the year 1852. The inscription, on a marble tablet below the bust, is :
" IN MEMORY OF SHELDON THOMPSON, JULY 2, 1785 MARCH 13, 1851. ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE PARISH AND A MEMBER OF THE FIRST VESTRY.
CATHARINE THOMPSON, HIS WIFE,
AUGUST 31, 1793 + MAY 8, 1832."
The bust is a finely-executed portrait in white marble, and was made in Italy. (See pages 64, 188.)
293
The Memorials.
On the north wall of " the chapel " are two brass tablets, inscribed as follows :
"JAMES DANIELS SHEPPARD. BORN IN FROME, ENGLAND, JANUARY 16, A. D., 1793. DIED IN BUFFALO, OCTOBER 24, A. D., 1881. HE WAS ORGANIST OF THIS CHURCH. FOR MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS. HE BEQUEATHED BY HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT TO THE VESTRY OF THIS CHURCH, THE SUM OF ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS, TO BE HELD IN TRUST, THE INTEREST TO BE PAID BETWEEN ST. THOMAS'S DAY AND CHRISTMAS DAY IN EACH YEAR, TO NOT LESS THAN TEN INDIGENT PERSONS OF THIS PARISH.
' BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT PROVIDETH FOR THE SICK AND NEEDY.'" (See pages 154, 321, 324, 325.)
The second of the two tablets is inscribed :
"SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF GEORGE TRUSCOTT, CAPTAIN ROYAL NAVY, DIED JULY 2, 1851, AGED 66 YEARS, AND MARY, HIS WIFE, WHO DIED AT TORONTO, JULY 16, 1837, AGED 37 YEARS."
ALSO TO THEIR CHILDREN :
WILLIAM EDWARD, DIED OCTOBER 29, 1838, AGED IO YEARS. FRANCES CHARLOTTE, WIFE OF W. H. MARTIN, U. S. A .. DIED OCTOBER 24, 1841, AGED 22 YEARS. ELIZA, DIED OCTOBER 9, 1853, AGED 18 YEARS.
THEIR REMAINS WERE REMOVED TO FOREST LAWN CEMETERY.
ALSO TO GEORGE, DIED MARCH 4, 1884, AGED 58 YEARS. ELDEST SON OF GEORGE AND MARY TRUSCOTT."
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History of St. Paul's Church.
In the east wall of the south transept of the church, and near the pulpit, is the Stevenson memorial window, made by Louis C. Tiffany of New York, and very beautiful in drawing and coloring, representing a procession of twelve angelic musicians and choristers. It replaces the similar one destroyed in the fire of May 10, 1888, and was placed here in memory of the wife of the late Edward L. Stevenson. The inscrip- tion is: " In Memoriam, Amelia S. Stevenson." Mrs. Stevenson died August 31, 1886. The original window was given in 1887, and the present window at the time of the restoration of the church after the fire.
The next memorial window is in the south wall of the south tran- sept, the second window from the east. It was placed here in Novem- ber, 1891, in memory of the late Dr. George E. Hayes, and was made by John Hardman & Co. of London. The principal portion of the design portrays the Transfiguration and represents Our Lord in rai- ment " white and glistering," with Moses and Elias on either side. Below, in the foreground, are Peter, James and John. Above, in a . smaller panel, are the three Israelites in the fiery furnace, with the fourth Person, whose form is described in Daniel iii., 25, as "like the Son of God." The inscription at the bottom of the window reads :
"GEORGE EDWARD HAYES, BORN NOVEMBER 7, 1804, DIED APRIL 27, 1882."
To the right of this is the window in memory of the late General Scroggs. It represents the warlike figure of Joshua and the carrying of the Ark of the Lord around the City of Jericho, and replaces a similar one destroyed in the fire. It was placed in the church in 1889, during the restoration. The inscription is :
" IN MEMORIAM,
GENERAL GUSTAVUS A. SCROGGS."
General Scroggs died January 24, 1887, aged 66 years.
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The Memorials.
Both windows were made by Hardman & Co. G. M. Booth of Buffalo, who put the glass in place, had finished the setting of the original window only one hour before the fire broke out which destroyed it with the church.
The next window to the right, was given in 1893 by Mrs. James Sweeney, in memory of her father and mother. The inscription is : "In loving memory of John Scott Ganson and his wife Sophronia Ballard," lettered on a scroll, borne by two angel figures.
Mr. Ganson died August 30, 1875 ; Mrs. Ganson died September 23, 1881.
The window is the work of Mayer & Company of Munich. Above is a panel representing the raising from the dead, by Elijah, of the widow's son, and below the design shows the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the promise of the Resurrection as shadowed forth in the Old Testament and in the New. At the top of the win- dow an angel figure holds a scroll, with the words " Holy, Holy, Holy."
The large window in the north wall of the addition to the main edifice, called "The Chapel," is a memorial to Mrs. Lucretia Stan- ley Shelton, the universally beloved wife of Dr. Shelton. This window was placed in the church in October, 1889, in part by Mrs. Seth H. Grosvenor (a niece of Mrs. Shelton) and her children, and in part by the use of the bequest made by Dr. Shelton for a memorial in St. Paul's to his wife. (See pages 149, 150.) The executors of Dr. Shelton's will originally intended, before the burning of the church, to pay the amount of this bequest towards the proposed new altar, but the fire caused them to change their plans in this respect, and it was decided to join with Mrs. Grosvenor and her children in this most appropriate memorial. The window was executed by John Hardman & Co. of London, England, and in conception, drawing, and color- ing is very beautiful. "The artist has seized upon that most pathetic incident in the life of St. Paul, when, by the seashore at Miletus, he is bidding the Elders of Ephesus farewell, at which time we read : ' They all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most
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History of St. Paul's Church.
of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.' This scene is described in the twentieth chapter of the Acts, from the seventeeth verse to the end." . . The inscription reads :
" TO THE GLORY OF GOD, AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF LUCRETIA STANLEY SHELTON, BORN JULY 21, 1798, DIED SEPTEMBER 6, 1882."
A large room in the basement of the church is fitted up as a chapel, sometimes called the "Crypt Chapel," and is used for the sessions of the Sunday School. A small altar is placed here, a lectern, seats, etc.
In the crypt chapel is a memorial font of carved black walnut, with a brass-mounted cover. On the hexagonal base is the inscription :
IN MEMORY OF LUCRETIA STANLEY SHELTON, A. D. 1884.
From the base rises a stem of clustered shafts with carved brack- ets supporting the six-sided upper part of the font, which has quartre- foil panels inlaid in each side. Above, around the margin of the moulded top which frames the bowl, are carved the words : "One Lord - one Faith - one Baptism." This memorial was the gift to the church of Miss Elizabeth A. McKee, Easter, 1884.
It was in the crypt during the fire of 1888, and is one of the few memorials not destroyed at that time.
On the altar in the crypt chapel is a brass altar cross, on the back of which are engraved simply the words, "In Memoriam." It was given at Easter, 1872, by Mrs. Charlotte A. Brace, widow of Curtis L. Brace, in memory of her only son, Frederick Gelston Brace, who died February 12, 1872, in his twenty-first year. He was, at the time of his death, treasurer of the Sunday School, and was a grandson of Lester Brace, for many years a warden and vestryman of St. Paul's. The cross was in this chapel at the time of the fire.
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The Memorials.
The Bible on the lectern also passed through the fire of 1888, and was much damaged by water. The inscription on the cover is, " Pre- sented by Henry C. and Sarah L. Squier to St. Paul's Chapel." It was given about the year 1876.
A memorial in this part of the church edifice is that to the two sons of the late Horatio and Elizabeth Staats Seymour, which memorial consists of the first two windows on the Erie Street side of the base- ment, with a brass tablet between. On the tablet is the following inscription :
"IN PURSUANCE OF THE WILL OF
MRS. ELIZABETH STAATS SEYMOUR, THEIR MOTHER, THESE WINDOWS HAVE BEEN PLACED IN MEMORY OF
HORATIO SCHUYLER SEYMOUR AND BARENT STAATS SEYMOUR, A. D., 1884."
The amount left to the church in Mrs. Seymour's will was $500, part of which was used by the vestry towards enlarging and refitting the Sunday School room. (See page 133.)
These windows were not injured in the fire of 1888.
Immediately to the right of the Seymour memorial windows is a window filled with old-fashioned stained glass, the design being a cross in a red medallion above, and in a foiled, oblong panel below is the inscription : "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise." This is a part of the stained glass which was formerly set in the window next to the pulpit, now occupied by the Stevenson memorial, where it was originally placed soon after the building of the stone church, having been purchased with money con- tributed for the purpose by the children of the Sunday School. The original window was over twice the length of the fragment now pre- served here, and is shown entire, near the pulpit, in the photograph
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History of St. Paul's Church.
of the interior of the church taken in 1884, reproduced in this volume. It was removed about 1887 to make way for the first Steven- son memorial window, and the glass was reset and used to fill two of the windows in the basement Sunday School room. One of these two windows was destroyed by the fire of 1888, but the other was un- harmed.
The Top.
Those who knew and loved the old church missed, after the fire, the beautiful mantling ivy which, before, had almost completely covered its walls, and which formed the home of great numbers of English sparrows. This ivy was originally brought by Dr. Shelton from West- minster Abbey, on his return from his second visit to England in 1865. These vines were killed by the fire of 1888, and the sparrows have disappeared. Ivy plants (Ampelopsis Veitchii) were set out in the spring of 1894, at short distances, all around the edifice. The plants were the gift of Philip S. Smith and Charles R. Wilson. The ivy grows very rapidly, and the passing of only a few years has been necessary to cover again the stone walls with a fresh green veil.
The progenitors of the sparrows in the old ivy vines were sent from England to Dr. Shelton on his return from his visit there in 1865, and were watched over by him with the greatest care and pleasure, as he walked from his home in the rectory on Pearl Street and around the enclosure of the church he loved so well, often stopping to feed the birds with his own hand. Their twitterings around the old east window, during service time, softened a little by the distance and the thickness of the stone walls, always suggested the words from the Psalter :
"Yea, the sparrow hath found her an house, and the swallow a nest, where she may lay her young ; even Thy altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God."
For some unknown reason the doves, too, are gone, which circled so gracefully about the pinnacles of the old church. They made their homes year after year in the belfry and in the unused clock-niches of the great tower - niches where they reigned supreme, for the turning
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1
THE RESTORED ST. PAUL'S. From northwest corner Pearl and Church streets.
Photograph by G. H. B., April, 1895.
2
The Chimes of St. Paul's. 299
wheels and pointing hands, measuring the procession of the hours, never came to dispossess them.
The elm which had stood for sixty years inside the church fence, at the corner of Pearl and Erie streets - long leafless - was cut down August 12, 1902. The last of the other shade trees, which in old days surrounded the church, were destroyed by the fire.
The Chimes of St. Paul's.
" Where ring old bells eternally, For prayer incessant made."
The Chime Fund Association was formed by a number of the younger members of the parish, in the year 1850, for the purpose of raising subscriptions for the bells to be placed in the tower of the new church edifice.
According to the original book of the minutes of the meetings of this association, the first meeting for consultation was held in September, 1850 ; there were present Charles W. Evans, George C. Webster, DeWitt C.Weed and William H.Walker. The next week a more general meeting was called for the election of officers, and Mr. Walker presented a form of constitution, which was adopted. The officers chosen were : President, Edward S. Warren ; first vice-president, Amos I. Mathews ; second vice-president, William B. Rochester ; secretary and treasurer, William H. Walker. Any person might become a member of the association on payment of $5, and signing an agreement to pay the sum of $5 semi- annually thereafter, until the necessary amount should be raised.
On October 20, 1853, the treasurer reported a balance to the credit of the fund of $1,056.76, from dues, subscriptions and various sources ; and Mr. Walker having resigned as treasurer, Charles W. Evans was chosen in his place. In February, 1854, the treasurer reports $1,223.43, and on June 25, 1856, he reports $2,184.20; also that the "young ladies of the parish have within the past month formed a young ladies' society to aid the Chime Fund, and propose holding a fair
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History of St. Paul's Church.
next December for that purpose. It is expected that the tower will be ready to receive the chime of bells by next October, and it is recom- mended that measures be taken to contract for the chime at an early day." A committee was accordingly formed for that purpose.
On August 27, 1856, the committee reported a proposition from A. Meneely's Sons, of the West Troy Bell Foundry, to furnish nine bells, as per schedule of weights, "together with a suitable oak frame and ' rotating yokes' and all other fixtures requisite for ringing said bells either by one person or by eight." They were to be allowed a margin of 150 pounds either above or below the aggregate given in schedule, for deviation in weight in casting. The nine bells were to be placed in position for the sum of $3,800. The committee was authorized to accept the proposition, and to contract for the nine bells with the Messrs. Meneely, which was done.
It was resolved to solicit subscriptions from the congregation towards meeting the deficiency, which would be about $1,200. The Rev. Dr. Shelton was requested to furnish a suitable inscription to be cast on each bell.
January 8, 1857, the committee reported that the chime of nine bells had been procured as ordered, and placed in the tower ; and they recommended that another bell be purchased, to make the chime con- sist of ten bells instead of nine, which was ordered done. The sched- ule of weights of the ten bells was as follows :
I. Tenor, Eb, F, G, 1,250 6
2,500 lbs. 1,800 “
2.
3.
4. Ab, 1,050 800 5. 620 6. Bb,
C,
7. 8. 9.
(Flat 7th) Db, D, Eb,
580 “ 550 530 9,680 lbs.
IO. F, 480 “
10, 160 lbs.
30I
The Chimes of St. Paul's.
With their mountings, frames, etc., the total weight is close to 14,000 lbs. The chime gives the whole octave in the key of Eb, namely : Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, and F beyond the octave, and Db -(the Flat 7th)-as an accidental. Also, in the key of Ab, the follow- ing series of tones ; Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, with G, F, Eb below the key-note - and in this case D becomes the accidental.
Ten bells is the number generally used to form a complete chime for all practical purposes ; it will play all the tunes that are usually required.
The musical notation of the chimes of St. Paul's seems never to have been correctly published since they were placed in the tower. An error in the description, first made in the records of the "Chime Fund Association," has been repeated whenever the bells have been referred to, and, in addition to this, the tone value of the tenth bell has been omitted entirely. The matter was referred to the Messrs. Meneely & Co., of Watervliet, West Troy, N. Y., successors to the makers of St. Paul's chime, and to their courtesy we are indebted for the corrected notation as given here.
August 13, 1857, the treasurer reports the amount of the Chime Fund to be $5,268.95. Of this sum, $1, 138.36 was from "the young ladies' fair, held for the benefit of the Chime Fund at American Hall, December 12, 1856." Of the $5,268.95, was expended: To A. Meneely's Sons for the ten bells, with ringing apparatus, $4,053.78 ; for freight, rope, extra work, etc., $205.47 ; paid for adjusting bells for chiming, complete, roof over bells in tower, fitting up ringing room, etc., $260.44 ; leaving a balance of $749.26. The bells and the bal- ance of the fund were then handed over to St. Paul's Church vestry. The vestry agreed, for themselves and successors, to raise and appro- priate the sum of $100 annually, if necessary, to be applied towards ringing and chiming the bells and keeping them in order.
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