USA > New York > Tompkins County > Ithaca > History of the First Presbyterian church of Ithaca, New York, during one hundred years : the anniversary exercises, January twenty-first to twenty-fourth, 1904 > Part 8
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6. The remainder devoted to benevolence, as follows :
I: Foreign Missions 38% 10. Auburn Theological Seminary 2 %
2. Home Missions 25%
II. Ithaca City Hospital
2%
3. Aid of weak Churches of Presbytery. 6% 12. The Home (for aged women) 1 %
4. Freedmen. 5% 13. The Children's Home 1%
5. Church Erection 31/2 %
14. Free Kindergarten 1/2 %
6. Ministerial Relief 6% 15. Church Library 1/2 %
7. Publication & S. S. Work 1 1/2 %
16. Our S. S. Libraries 1%
8. Aid for Colleges 1 1/2 %
17. Ithaca Y. M. C. A. 1/2 %
9. Education 2 % 18. Reserve Fund (in care of Session) __ 3%
Special gifts made to these or other objects are sent as designated, in addi- tion to the percentage of the regular funds. In some instances such "special gifts " have aggregated from $800 to $1,500 a year. In general, the total of benevolent offerings and the total expenditures for our own expenses have been nearly equal.
At her death, December 31st, 1898, Miss Nancy Beers, who was formerly for many years a teacher in our Sunday School, bequeathed to the Church property amounting to about $6,800, the income of which is to be devoted to the assistance of the poor members of the Church. Miss Helen M. Tuthill (who died April 15, 1901) made a generous bequest of $500 for the same object.
The Church sustained the loss of two valued officers in the deaths of General Charles F. Blood (April 11th, 1898) and Mr. John C. Stowell (August 23rd, 1902), the former having been an Elder for twenty-seven years and a Trustee for thirty years during large part of which time he served as Treasurer of the congregation; while Mr. Stowell served as Deacon for ten years and then as Elder for twenty years, during part of the time acting as Treasurer of benevolent funds.
In October, 1903, the Church entertained the Synod of New York and the Woman's Synodical Home Missionary Society, on the occasion of their annual meetings. Three hundred delegates were in attendance, and enjoyed the hospitality of our homes, leaving delightful remembrance of their sojourn and the inspiration of most interesting and helpful meetings in the interest of the wide-reaching work of these agencies.
The most important event during this pastorate has been the erection of the noble edifice in which we are privileged to worship God and to work for
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
the good of men. Before leaving the old structures, as a fitting recognition of God's blessing therein so richly enjoyed for so many years, a week of special services were held. On Sunday, May 21st, at the morning service, the Pastor preached on "The heart of the Gospel, John III : 16." In the afternoon the last service was held, the Communion being then observed, with impressive and loving memories. During the two years this edifice was in process of construction, the Church held its Sunday services in the Lyceum Theatre, the prayer meetings and social gatherings in St. John's Church Parish House, and the Communion services in the Congregational Church edifice,-our brethren of these Churches having kindly extended these courtesies to us.
Regarding the whole enterprise of building this new structure the best record is the final Report of the Building Committee (slightly amended), as follows :
" To the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca, N. Y.
At a regularly called meeting of the congregation held on May 3d, 1899, a Building Committee was appointed and given power to make all necessary preparation for the erection of a new church edifice. No power was given this committee to make any contract for construction uutil plans were finally adopted by the congregation. Early in June the removal of the old structures, so dear to many hearts, was begun and the ground was cleared by the last of July. Owing to the necessary delay in perfecting the plans, no bids could be obtained from con- tractors until the early part of July, at a time when there had already been a large advance in the cost of building material of many kinds, and much difficulty experienced by builders in obtaining prompt deliveries of steel, iron and lumber. Under these circumstances the Building Committee deemed it wise to reject all the bids received, having reserved the right to do so, and this was done the same day upon which they were opened.
August 23, 1899, at a regularly called meeting of the congregation, it was voted to authorize the committee (appointed May 3) to make a contract with the lowest bidder, in their judgment, to build the foundation of the new church according to the plans and specifications of Cady, Berg & See, Architects, 31 East Seventeenth street, New York, the same to be completed as early as possible that fall. This action by the congregation virtually carried with it the adoption of the general plans for the church as prepared by the architects. Report was made to the congregation in the following December of the completion of this part of the work, in which was used all the stone from the foundations of the old buildings, the committee rescue- ing one stone which was clearly in the first church built on this site in 1816, and which is now in the tower vestibule. The steps on Mill street, into the cellar, and the stone border of the terrace on Cayuga street, are made of the steps of the second church, and that of the Mill street side from the water table of the chapel. The black walnut of the pews and pulpit was carefully saved by the committee, and has been most satisfactorily used by the architects in the study and parlor of our new church.
The experience of the committee during the building of the foundations led them to realize that a far more satisfactory building could be obtained for the congregation if a different system was adopted for building the superstructure. This judgment was strengthened by the advice of experienced men who were interested in the problem of your committee, and too, in getting the best possible building for the congregation. After very careful thought over plans for pushing the work of preparation during the winter, your committee entered into a contract by which the services of Thomas B. Campbell, a builder of wide experience and great skill and
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
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ability, were secured to oversee the work, purchase materials, provide apparatus for building, and give the congregation the utmost benefit of his genius for doing thoroughly good work. The result has fully met every expectation of your committee.
Before entering into this arrangement the committee had made a very favorable contract for stone with the Cleveland Stone Company, and a large supply was secured and placed near the site of the new church, and a force organized for cutting and preparing the same under the supervision of H. J. Hicks, who continued in charge of this work until its completion. The perfection of this work attests the skill, ability and fidelity with which it was supervised.
The preparation of cut stone was vigorously pressed during the winter and spring, and on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 18, 1900, the first stones of the superstructure were laid. On the 8th day of May, at 4 P.M., the corner stone was laid by our Pastor, with appropriate services ; and being favored with a long season of good weather, and with most energetic workers, the last cap stones of the tower were put in place on December 7th of the same year, thus completing and enclosing the exterior and main walls of this large building, and without accident, or injury to any person, and with the loss of but one and one-half days between these dates from rain or any other cause.
Your committee made great effort to secure a speedy completion of the Sabbath School wing of the church, and, with but slight inconvenience to the congregation, the rooms were used for the first time on Sunday, May 5th, 1901, while our Pastor was absent on his trip to the Holy Land, and continuously thereafter for all our services until the completion of the auditorium aud its occupation on October 6th.
To the Building Committee this work has been a trial of faith and patience, but it has also been more a labor of love, and now that the work is done the committee most heartily con- gratulate you on the possession and use of an exceptionally well built, commodious, conveni- ently-arranged house of worship, dignified in architecture, harmonious in all its details, and beautiful in its unity and simplicity. It is the hope of your committee, as it must be of all, that this home which we have together built may be the center of an ever increasing beneficent activity, and those who worship here stand in this community for righteousness and truth in the name of our adorable Master. May this long be the house of God and the very gate of heaven to multitudes of souls.
Before closing their report, your committee wish to make grateful record of the generous co-operation of those who have sought to beautify this house with special gifts, many of which at the same time aided in its construction.
The addition of three hundred copies of "Church Song" to our supply was made by our former Pastor, the Rev. M. W. Stryker, D.D., who thus testifies to his continued interest in this Church.
The screen is the gift of the architects, and attests the deep interest and sympathy with which they have wrought in this work and their wish to have a continued share in it.
The columns and pilasters which adorn the auditorium with their strength and beauty, are the gift of Mr. E. P. Gilbert, and stand as a memorial of his wife.
The Vocalion Organ is also the gift of Mr. Gilbert.
The windows so beautiful and chaste in design, and which by their abundant admission of light contribute to the cheerfulness of the whole interior, are the gift of Miss Augusta H. Williams.
The organ in its massive beauty and power is the memorial of one who long was an honored and useful helper of this congregation, and the gift of one endeared to this Church by her love and sympathy and helpful kindness, and whose ear opened to the harmonies of heaven before this instrument was in its place,-Mrs. Elias Treman.
The pulpit and sedilia are the gift of our Pastor and his wife, and in their artistic perfection testify to the hope that only purest truth and love may here have place and utterance.
The pulpit desk in the chapel is also the gift of our Pastor.
INTERIOR OF PRESENT EDIFICE, FROM NORTHEAST CORNER.
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
And too, to the large number of men, women and children, who have given, and wrought, and prayed, and whose gifts and prayers are inwrought with these walls and their adornment surely to you, the Committee render their thanks for the constant strength they have received through your supplications for them to the God of all grace and the giver of every perfect boon. And to Him be all the Praise.
On behalf of the Committee,
Ithaca, Nov. 25th, 1901.
EDWARD P. GILBERT, Chairman."
The total cost of the completed structure, including memorials, was $130,843.96.
The Subscription Committee reported gifts from 233 persons, aggregating $59,593.14. The Treasurer reported further gifts through the regular Sun- day offerings ; also additional subscriptions, during the preceding week, of $23,986.52, as well as accrued interest on some deposits ; and that the debt still remaining was $28,013.48. " The Building Committee throughout the time of building paid cash, borrowing as was necessary for the purpose, so that no workman or party supplying material had to wait on the collection of funds." Provision was at once made to pay $1,000 of principal each year, and this, together with numerous and generous "special gifts " received in the weekly offerings from time to time, has already reduced the debt (Janu- ary Ist, 1904), to $14,358. Considering the ability of our congregation, this is certainly very generous giving; the delightful thing about it is that all has been so willingly given, no pressure having been brought to bear upon any one ; it has been " a free-will offering," indeed. Especially is it a source of much gratitude, that, while engaged in this large and costly build- ing enterprise, the beneficences of the Church have been so nobly maintained.
On the opening day of consecration of this auditory, the evening service was one to which had been invited by special personal invitation all who had had any part in the construction of the edifice from the beginning. We were glad thus to acknowledge our indebtedness to all who, because of their skill and fidelity, had reason for personal pride in the finely-matured result. To the Building Committee great credit is due, especially to its chairman, Mr. E. P. Gilbert, whose faithful and most efficient watchcare of every part, throughout the whole time of building, gave repeated evidence that he had " come to the kingdom for such a time as this."
We consider ourselves most fortunate in having had for our architect Mr. J. Cleveland Cady, who was known to us as a conspicuously successful builder of churches. In addition to possessing the highest technical skill in his profession, and a fine feeling of simplicity and harinony, together with a true sense of what is worthy and enduring, Mr. Cady has brought to the study and development of our needs an instinctive sympathy born of his service in the Eldership and in the Superintendency of a Sunday School for
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
a generation past. As a result, he has given us a building preeminently adapted to our kind of work and worship.
With the new equipment, the Sunday School work and the social life of the Church have received a fresh impetus. The Lord's day services, under these delightful auspices, and stimulated by the large chorus choir, have in- creased in attendance and interest. The effort is also made to have the church building ininister to more of the needs of the community than formerly. During the past two seasons an Organ Recital has been given each week, to which all are freely welcomed. It is hoped that still other agencies may here be brought into effective play. The Men's Association, organized in 1902, is bringing the men of the congregation into closer touch with one another and with the Church. Above all, and in all these varied and increasing activities, it is the earnest hope and prayer that here souls may be born into the kingdom of Christ and trained in His service.
The present resident membership of this Church is 629, with 139 additional on the absentee list. During one hundred years the total membership has been 3,452 ; or, counting those in the membership in any one year, an aver- age working force of 407 each year. The Christian life and service of such a group of people working together for righteousness could not fail, under the divine guidance and blessing, to have wrought great good in this commu- nity. Some of the particular lines of service have already been mentioned. In addition to gifts and labor for the Children's Home and the Hospital, the Inlet Mission, The Home (for aged women), and the Free Kindergarten have each received not only financial assistance, but much time and devoted effort on the part of members of this Church. Various other union or inter- denominational efforts, too, have enlisted the hearty cooperation and service of members of this Church ; such as the Bethel Sunday School which, for many years, was conducted in a storehouse which stood where the D., L. and W. coal sheds now are. Mr. W. R. Humphrey, Miss Harriet Williams, Miss Jane Hardy, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Williams were among the number of faithful teachers engaged in this work. About the same time, through the effort chiefly of Mr. J. B. Williams, a " Waterman's Library " was established at the inlet ; it supplied good books to the many boatmen whose business of canal freighting brought them there. At different times Sunday Schools have been maintained in the Burt, Coddington, East Lawn, Forest Home, Green Tree, Hayt, Kline and South Lansing outlying districts, enlisting the active service of many devoted workers.
From 1840 until his death in 1849, Mr. Timothy S. Williams carried on a Sunday School at Fall Creek. Regarding it, ex-Gov. Alonzo B. Cornell sends this note :-
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
" Prior to 1840 ' Fall Creek ' was a detached hamlet of about twenty-five dwellings, occupied by employes of the several mills and factories near by, with neither Church nor school house.
In that year a fine brick school house was provided for the children, very few of whom had attended school in the village of Ithaca, which then was situated wholly south of Farm Street. The intervening space was cultivated fields with only Aurora and Cayuga Streets dividing them. Shortly after the opening of the school, notice was given that a Presbyterian Sunday School would be held in the school house, the following Sabbath. When the time came, the edifice was thronged by the scholars, and many of their parents.
They were received and welcomed by the Honorable Timothy S. Williams, one of the lead- ing business men of the village. He continued in charge of the little mission until it attained its own momentum, and continued his generous attention during the remainder of his life.
Not a few of the present citizens of Ithaca look back, with greateful pleasure, to their early days at the Fall Creek Sabbath School, and hold Mr. Williams in blessed memory ; one of whom takes sincere pleasure in penning this affectionate tribute.
Yours most respectfully,
A. B. CORNELL."
The first record we have of a benevolent offering is that, in 1820, $39.45 was contributed to Foreign Missions. From that day to this the benevolent contributions of our Church, as far as known, and not including many indi- vidual gifts sent direct by members of the Church, amount to at least $250,000. Besides the greater, permanent causes of Home and Foreign Missions, of Sunday School Work and Education, of Ministerial Relief and the Freedman, the Bible and Tract Societies, Church Erection and College Aid, a very long list of special and temporary needs had been met,-of the Soldiers and Sailors, of Jews and Greeks and Armenians, of sufferers by flood or fire, of destitute and afflicted.
For the maintenance of our own Church, as nearly as can be reckoned, the aggregate is also about $250,000. In addition to this, the erection of three edifices, a session house and a chapel, three bells and three pipe organs, with repairs and additions at various times, make at least $175,000 more.
It is another source of gratitude that from the membership of this Church there has gone out a great company who, trained here, have been efficient workers in other Churches throughout the land; also many teachers in graded schools, in academies, and in higher institutions of learning.
The aid received in turn from students and inany teachers in our city schools and the University is gratefully acknowledged. Several Ministers and Missionaries, who at one time and another have made this their tempo- rary Church home, have done us good which we gladly record :- Reverends P. C. Headley, John Whitbeck, Dana W. Bigelow, James R. Robinson ; Miss Jane Bush, afterwards the wife of Rev. E. B. Turner, one of the " Andover Band " of Missionaries to Iowa, Mrs. Charles Mills, of China, and Mrs. S. Hall Young, of Alaska.
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
Especially grateful are we that so many of the sons and daughters of this Church have gone into the Ministry or into Missionary service. On this Honor Roll are thirty-two names ; of most of them the faces here greet us. The numbers on the pictures correspond with those in this list in which are first named those sent out by the Church though not members of it.
(Conf. faith, means united with this Church on confession of faith. )
a .- SAMUEL PARKER, Initiator of the Oregon Mission ; a member of the congregation ; (a minister is not a member of an individual Church but of a Presbytery) ; see pages 27-30.
b .- JOHN DUNBAR, born in Ware, Mass., Mch. 4, 1804; grad. Williams, 1832; Auburn Sem., 1834 ; see pages 27-34.
c .- BENEDICT SATTERLEE, M.D., and Mrs. S., " After their marriage at Fairfield, N. Y., they drove in a sleigh to the top of the hill . took a last look at the home of the bride, and came on to Ithaca, and were several days in our town, to become acquainted with the members of the Presbyterian Church who were to support them .. . a fine-looking man, of fair not vigorous strength, interesting in a quiet manner. He addressed the people much to their satisfaction." (Dr. S. J. Parker's Mnis. History) ; see page 32.
d .- MISS MARY AUGUSTA DIX, a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, but a mem- ber of our choir ; married in this Church to Wm. H. Gray, see page 31 ; " Mrs. Gray was an estimable lady, and selected by the ladies of the Pres. Ch. of Ithaca to be Wm. Gray's wife, and go as a Missionary worthy of the name." (S. J. Parker's Mms. History. )
I .- SAMUEL ALLIS, born Conway, Mass., Sept. 28, 1805 ; conf. faith, 1830 ; see pages 27-34.
2 .- MISS EMELINE PALMER, born in Conn. May 19, 1808; conf. faith, 1826 ; taught the two Indian boys brought east by Dr. Whitman in 1835 and left in Ithaca for a year ; left Ithaca for work among Pawnees, Mch. I ; married to Samuel Allis, Jr., at Liberty, Mo., April 23, arrived at station May 27, 1836 ; see pages 27-34.
3 .- WILLIAM CARPENTER WISNER, eldest son of Rev. Dr. Wisner, born Dec. 7, 1808 ; conf. faith, 1821 ; Union Col. 1830 ; studied theology with his father ; in 1832, began preaching in 3rd Prs. Ch. Rochester while father was in Brick Ch .; married Nov. II, 1834 at Scottsville, N. Y. to Jane E. Hanford ; Athens, Pa. and Avon Springs, N. Y. one yr. ; 2 yrs. in 2nd Pres. Ch. of St. Louis while father in Ist Ch .; supplied 2nd Ward Pres. Ch. of Lockport 1837-42, doing evangelistic work in 1841-42 ; installed Pastor First Pres. Ch. Lockport, N. Y. in Aug. 1842 ; Moderator of N. S. Gen. Assembly, 1855 ; D.D. Hamilton 1855 ; long a Trustee of Hamil- ton ; resigned charge, 1876 ; died in Lockport, July 14, 1880 ; bequeathed his library to Auburn Sem .; " a prince of peacemakers", " never was a Pastor more beloved by his people", "as a preacher he was a power, and in his meridian stood in the front rank of the noble sermonizers of his denomination."
4 .- JAMES McCHAIN, son of John, elder bro. of George, namesake and favorite of his bachelor uncle James, an Elder, with whom he spent much time ; conf. faith, 1829 ; grad. Yale 1838, Union Sem. 1841, ordained and installed Pastor of Pres. Ch. of Franklin, N. Y. Jan. 18, 1843. In Oct. of same year, became Pastor of Pres. Ch. of Abingdon, Va., continuing so until death Mch. I, 1869. . For 5 yrs. editor of Calvinistic Magazine. In Civil War, took sides with the South, and his son entered the Confederate Army. Married Jane C. Gibson, March, 1845 ; two children. " At the time of his marriage, he fully expected to go as a Missionary to Persia, but the examining board could not accept him on account of his feeble constitution." He was a most faithful, untiring and efficient, spiritually-minded minister of Christ.
5 .- SAMUEL JULIUS PARKER, son of the Missionary ; born May, 8, 1819; conf. faith, 1831 ; studied two years at Yale, then two years at Amherst, grad. 1842 ; grad. Union Sem. 1845 ;
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MINISTERS AND MISSIONARIES FROM THIS CHURCH
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
licensed at Slaterville Springs, N. Y .; preached at Clyde and Rampo, N. Y .; then attended College of Physicians and Surgeons in N. Y. for 3 yrs .; in1 1856-58, in charge of hospital ship in Mobile Bay ; married in 1844 to Miss Rachel Field ; three children ; the sons died in infancy, the daughter, Florence, still resides here.
6 .- WILLIAM ALLEN NILES, born in Binghamton, N. Y., May 29, 1823, son of Rev. Benj. Niles, Pastor of Ist Pres. Ch. of that city ; moved to Ithaca with his widowed mother who taught in the Academy ; they both united by letter Nov. 1, 1835; both took letters to Wil- liamstown, Mass .; grad. Williams 1847 ; Auburn Sem. 1850 ; ordained at Ithaca by Presbytery of Ithaca, June 22, 1850 ; married June 27, 1850, to Mary E. West of Binghamton ; Pastor at Beaver Dam, Wis,, 1850-53 ; Pastor Congregational Ch. in Watertown, Wis., 1853-59 ; Pastor at Corning, N. Y., 1859-72 ; at Hornellsville, N. Y., 1872-89 ; Prof. at German Theological Semi- nary, Bloomfield, N. J., 1889-92 ; Pastor at Trumansburg, N. Y., 1892-96 ; died Sept. 14, 1897 ; two sons in the ministry and a daughter a Missionary Physician in China.
7 .- SAMUEL MCCULLOGH, a brother of our fourth Pastor ; by letter, 1835 ; he was for many years Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Tioga, Pa., and died there in 1867.
8 .- HENRY WEBSTER PARKER, son of the Missionary, born in Danby, N. Y., Sept. 7, 1822 ; conf. faith, 1839; grad. Amherst, 1843 ; Auburn Sem., 1846 ; licensed by Ithaca Pres., 1845 ; pastorates at Aurora, N. Y., 1848, Danville, N. Y., Brooklyn, N. Y., 1854, New Bedford, Mass., 1856 ; Professor of Natural Science at Grinnell, Iowa, 1863 ; Chaplain and Professor of Mental and Moral Science at Amherst, Mass. (State College), 1870-79 ; General Reviewer of Standard Dictionary ; Editor of Popular Science News ; published poems and religious books ; honorary corresponding member of the Victoria Institute of Great Britain ; died Nov. 21, 1903.
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