USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > A history of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, (Vol. 1) > Part 52
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A new departure in city government came into being following the administration of Mr. Kohler. At a previous election the city manager plan was adopted by the voters. This plan had been in operation in various cities of the land but Cleveland is the first large city to adopt it. The new council chosen under the new provisions were elected from districts and not from wards and consists of twenty-five members. There are four councilmanic districts. The council consists of Peter Witt, Clayton C. Townes, Michael H. Gallagher, William G. Schooley, Sam B. Michell. Peter F. Rieder, from the first district; Emil Robechek, Bernard B. Orli- kowski, William J. Kennedy, Louis Petrash and A. H. Roberts, from the second district; Herman H. Finkle, Thomas W. Fleming, James J. McGinty, Marie R. Wing, Thomas E. Walsh and Henry L. Bronstrup, from the third district; and John M. Sulzmann, A. R. Hatton, Walter E. Cook, John D. Marshall, Fielder Sanders, Helen H. Green and William E. Potter, from the fourth district. From the first district William G. Gib- bons was also chosen in addition to those already mentioned.
The council at its first meeting January 7, 1924, elected William R. Hopkins city manager and fixed his salary at $25,000 per annum. They chose William S. FitzGerald, the former mayor, as a member of the civil service commission, elected Clayton C. Townes as president and by reason of his position mayor of the city, and Fred W. Thomas, clerk. City Manager Hopkins appointed immediately his cabinet as follows: Director of public safety, Edwin D. Barry; finance, William J. Semple; utilities, Howell Wright; public service, William S. Ferguson ; law, Carl F. Shuler ; welfare, Dudley Blossom ; parks, Frank S. Harmon; secretary, William J. Murphy ; secretary to director of parks, Miss Ruth Stone. Thus for the first time the city government was organized on a bi-partisan basis, the two parties that had controlled the city government each at various periods being represented in the cabinet of the new city manager.
We are closing the chapter on the municipal government of Cleveland at an interesting period. William R. Hopkins in his message to the coun- cil outlined a programme of constructive improvements in every depart- ment of the city government, and we can not close this chapter more fit- tingly than by using the closing words of his message :
"I trust that we shall all be able to strengthen the bonds of mutual confidence and good will, forget small things in great things, and remember that the City of Cleveland expects and deserves the very best that is in every one of us."
CHAPTER XXVIII
CLEVELAND'S CHURCHES AND MISSIONS
"Show me a place where there isn't any Meetin' Houses and where preachers is never seen, and I'll show you a place where old hats air stuffed into broken winders, where the children are dirty and ragged, where the gates have no hinges, where the wimmen air slipshod, and where maps of the devil's wild land air painted upon men's shirt bosums with tobacco jooce! That's what I'll show you. Let us consider what the preachers do for us before we aboose 'em."-Artemus Ward.
About the beginning of the nineteenth century, Rev. Joseph Badger, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, preached under a tree by the roadside out in Newburgh. He was a missionary. He wrote home that the people here were opposed to piety and gloried in their infidelity. No effort was made at this time to organize a church and it was not until 1816, twenty years after the city was founded by Moses Cleveland, that it had a church organization and then no church building.
On November 9th of that year Rev. Roger Searle from Connec- ticut got together a small gathering at the home of Phineas Shepherd. Thirteen families were represented at this meeting and Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, the first in the city, the oldest of the multitude that we can now point to with pride, was organized with eleven members. The first vestrymen and wardens were Josiah Barber, Phineas Shepherd, Charles Taylor, James S. Clark, Sherlock J. Andrews, Levi Sargent, and John W. Allen. In 1820 they held their meetings out in Newburgh, where the more active and influential members lived, but two years later they moved back to Cleveland. Reverend Mr. Freeman gave some of his time to the church, and preached, and was the first rector. He went East and secured $1,000 to aid in building a church. In 1828 the vestry incorporated and a frame building was raised. It was built at a cost of $3,000 and dedicated August 12, 1829. This, the first church built in Cleveland, was located in the residence and business sec- tion of the town, at the corner of St. Clair and Seneca (West Third) streets, and the site was purchased at the nominal price of two dollars per acre. In 1830 Reverend Mr. Elroy succeeded Reverend Freeman and was the first rector who gave his whole time to the church. Trinity grew and in 1854 the site that had cost two dollars an acre was sold for $250 per foot front, the old frame church having in the meantime been burned, and a stone church was built at the corner of Superior and Bond (East Sixth) streets. This church was dedicated in 1855. It had a tower and an equipment of chimes comprising nine bells. Among the early rectors of Trinity, the first church, were Revs. W. N. Lyster, Seth Davis, E. Roy, E. Boynden, David Burger, Richard Bury, I. Windsor, James A. Bolles, Thomas A. Starkey, Charles Breck, W. E. McLaren and John W. Brown. The next and crowning achievement after the building of the stone church on Superior Street was the erection of Trinity Cathedral at Euclid and East Twenty-second Street. This present struc-
380
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ture is the center of the Protestant Episcopal churches of Ohio. It is under the wing of Rt. Rev. W. A. Leonard, Bishop of the Diocese of Ohio, Rev. Francis S. White is dean and Rev. W. L. Rutan, curate. Near by is the Cathedral House, the Church Home and the City Mission.
Since the organization of this first church in Cleveland, which we have outlined in its history thus briefly, the religious life of the city has kept pace with the growth in other respects, or it may be historically true that it has led. As Cleveland is noted for the diversity of its products in manufactures, for the cosmopolitan character of its people, developed from the New England nucleus that came before the beginning of the nineteenth century, so is it remarkable in its religious development, having now nearly six hundred churches and missions, scattered in
"OLD TRINITY" CHURCH, 1828-29
convenient locations throughout its borders, and embracing nearly one hundred different denominations.
Of the Protestant Episcopal churches since Trinity St. John's on the West Side was organized in 1834. Meetings were held in Columbus Block, in schoolhouses, and in homes until 1836 when a stone church was built at the corner of Church and West Twenty-sixth (Wall) streets. This building cost $17,000 and is still the home of the original organization. In 1866 it was partly destroyed by fire but was rebuilt with additional room. The first rector was Rev. Seth Davis. Among those who served later were Revs. S. R. Crane, D. W. Talford, William Burton and Lewis Burton. In the '80s the wardens were George L. Chapman and C. L. Russell; vestrymen, Thomas Axworthy, George L. Chapman, J. M. Ferris, M. A. Manna, F. W. Pelton, Elias Simms; treasurer, A. L. Withington; and clerk, Howard M. Ingham.
Grace Church was organized in 1845 at the residence of Rev. Richard Bury by former members of Trinity, this congregation having outgrown its accommodations. A lot was bought at the corner of Erie (East Ninth) and Huron, then the eastern limits of the city. Here a brick church was built costing $10,000. The first vestrymen were A. A Treat
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and E. F. Penderson, and the first wardens, H. A. Ackley, Moses Kelley, J. F. Jenkins, S. Englehart, William Richards, John Powell, Thomas Bolton and George F. Marshall. Among the early rectors were Revs. Lawson Carter, Gideon Perry, William A. Rich and William Allen Fisk. The money to build Grace Church was subscribed on condition that all seats should be free. This was a new departure and Grace was desig- nated as the "Peoples Church." It was the first "free" church in Ohio. The down-town section of the city became so valuable for business purposes and the churches with one or two exceptions, which we will name later, have moved for the better convenience of the people into the residence districts and Grace Church moved with the rest. It now is located on Prospect Avenue at Boliver Road. Rev. George C. Wads- worth preceded the present rector, Rev. Wm. C. Hicks.
St. Paul's was organized October 26, 1846. The first rector was Gideon B. Perry. D. W. Duty and Aaron Clark were the first vestry-
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, 1828-29
men and James Kellogg, H. L. Noble, Moses Kelley, W. J. Warner, T. W. Morse, O. A. Brooks, Oliver Arey and Edward Shepard were the first wardens. Services were first held in an upper room on Superior Street near Seneca (West Third). In March, 1848, a lot was bought at the corner of Sheriff (East Sixth) and Euclid and a frame church begun but this was burned while under construction. Nothing daunted the members immediately began the construction of a brick building which was completed and opened for services in 1851. The first sermon in the new building was preached by Rev. Dr. Perry. Following him in their order were Revs. R. B. Claxton, Wilbur T. Paddock, J. H. Rylance and Frederick Brooks. In 1874 the church property was sold and a chapel built at the corner of Euclid and Case (East Fortieth). At this point is located the commodious church of today. In the '70s, Rev. Nelson S. Rulison was rector; Rev. W. C. French, assistant rector ; C. J. Comstock, senior warden; J. D. Devereaux, junior warden; Zenas King, A. C. Armstrong, F. W. Hubby, H. C. Ranney, George A. Tis- dale, J. M. Adams, E. S. Page, C. E. Stenley, vestrymen. The present pastor is Walter R. Breed. It should be mentioned that the last rector of St. John's was Rev. Frederick B. Avery, and at present there is no settled rector, as the church has not yet called his successor.
Another of the earlier churches of this denomination was St. James, a child of Trinity and presided over for some time by the assistant
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rector of the parent church. The first established rector was Rev. R. Bury. A brick church at the corner of Superior and Alabama streets was its home for many years. It is now located on East Fifty-fifth Street and the present rector is Rev. Vivian A. Peterson.
Grace Church, South, was organized in 1869 by Rev. Frederick Brooks, rector of St. Paul's. The congregation first held meetings in an old Presbyterian building. This they afterwards purchased and moved to a site secured at Harvard and Sawyer (East Ninety-first) streets, where it is now located. After Frederick Brooks, Rev. Royal B. Bascome was at the head, then came Revs. Stephen W. Garrett, Marmaduke M. Dillon and I. McK. Pittenger. Reverend Pittenger had been pastor of the Congregational Church at Brecksville. This became Presbyterian and Reverend Pittenger was chosen presiding elder at a meeting of the Synod in Cleveland. Soon after he embraced the Episcopal faith and became rector of Grace Church. This came in the days when the articles of belief were more strictly drawn in the popular mind than now and he was roundly criticized by some of his former associates in religious work. This would seem unjust, for in Protestant churches, according to Schaff, the authority of creeds is relative and always subordinate to the Bible as the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We have referred to this incident in the history of Grace Church as showing how in later years, as the churches multiplied, there has been a change and church homes are selected with less regard to the form of worship. We would like to give more of the history of this church and of others but the limits of this chapter will not permit. The present rector of the church is Reverend Mr. Trinkett.
St. Mary's Church began as a mission or school in 1863, when Levi Battles and S. N. Sanford started The Cleveland Female Seminary, a school for girls, providing for religious training. Meetings were held and Mr. Sanford acted as licensed lay reader. In 1868 a church was organized with S. N. Sanford and Levi Battles as wardens and Lorenzo R. Chapman, Walter Blythe, H. C. Deming, J. W. Fawcett and T. W. Mason as vestrymen. The first rector was Rev. Royal B. Bascom, and under his rectorate a church was built and dedicated in 1870. Among those who served after him were Revs. J. J. A. Morgan, Frank M. Hall and J. Sidney Kent. We mention these who were connected with the earlier history of the church. The present rector is Rev. James W. Heywood and the church building is located on Ramona Boulevard.
All Saints, St. Mark's, Emanuel Church, Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd, and St. Luke's, all have an interesting history dating back some fifty years. To one who would pass today the modest frame church at the corner of Scranton Road and Mentor Avenue, the home of All Saints Church, he would hardly associate it, without previous information, with the many who are and have been prominent in the business and civic life of Cleveland and have been identified with its history. The present rector is Rev. J. S. Banks. Emanuel Church on Euclid Avenue was organized in 1876. The first wardens were Dr. J. B. McConnell and W. C. Miller, and its vestrymen, Thomas C. Early, Enos Foreman, Zenas King, A. C. Armstrong, George Wratten, William Snape and B. C. Field; Rev. B. C. Noakes was its first rector. Its first home was a chapel at Euclid and Case (West Fortieth) and its present home the commodious church at Euclid and East Eighty-seventh Street. The present rector is Rev. Kirk B. O'Ferrall. Memorial Church of the Good Shepherd was built as a memorial to Rev. Alexander Varian, his widow and children providing a lot on which a church was built in 1873 on Addison Road. The present rector is Rev. Geo. I. Foster. St. Luke's
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began as a mission of St. Paul's and a brick church was built on Broadway. The St. Luke's of today is located at West Seventy-eighth Street on Lake Avenue and the present rector is Rev. Leon T. Haley.
The number of Protestant Episcopal churches in Cleveland, at the present time, is exceeded by other denominations but it has the dis- tinction of having established the first church in a city of six hundred churches, a consummation not probably dreamed of by the little gathering that met at the log house of Phineas Shepherd in 1816 and organized Trinity. Among the later churches organized may be mentioned Christ Church at Superior and East 108th with E. G. Mapes as rector, Holy Spirit on Wade Park Avenue, with Edwin L. Williams as rector; Incar- nation on 105th Street, A. R. Mckinstry, rector; St. Albans on Edghill Road, J. E. Carhartt, rector; St. Andrews (colored), East Forty-ninth Street, William B. Southern, rector; St. Mark's, on Franklin Avenue, Lucius W. Shey, rector ; St. Martin's on Fairmount Boulevard, John K. Coolidge, rector ; St. Matthew's on Clark Avenue, Leon T. Haley, rector ; St. Paul's, Euclid in East Cleveland, Walter R. Breed, pastor ; St. Peter's, Edanola Avenue, L. B. Goodwin, rector; St. Stephen's East 105th, Wil- liam H. Rogers, rector ; and St. Phillip's at West Thirty-third and Denison Avenue, Rev. George Bailey its rector. The last named church under the active support of its rector and a men's league of unusual capability has in the past year erected a beautiful brick church replacing a modest frame building that had been its temporary home. And here again, as appears in so much of written history, we have made a grave omission, for the woman's guild was an important factor and history should so record.
Methodist preaching began in Newburgh quite early and a class was formed in 1818. This had its ups and downs and finally became extinct. The town was given up as a lost colony for a while. The statement writ- ten home by Reverend Badger seemed to be founded on fact. On New Year's day in 1832, Lyman Ferris went to Cleveland and invited Reverend Mr. Goddard, who had preached out there, to come out and try again. He did so and a class was formed consisting of Lyman Ferris and wife, Stephen Ames and wife, Cyrus Chapman and wife, Mr. D. Henderson and Mrs. Willis. This was the beginning of Methodism in the present limits of Cleveland. The first Methodist to live in Cleveland was Mrs. Grace Johnson, who came to the county in 1822. The class formed in Newburgh in 1832 grew, having preachers from neighboring circuits, and in 1841 a church building was erected at a cost of $3,000. This church had no settled pastor until 1860, when Rev. D. C. Wright was engaged. Revs. S. Gregg, D. Prosser, R. M. Warren, M. Hill, G. W. Chesbro, Thomas Stubbs, J. R. Lyon and A. S. Dobbs followed him in the order named. Under Reverend Dobbs a brick church was built to replace the first frame building. In the '70s the board of trustees consisted of Edmund James, John Henderson, William P. Braund, George R. Hill, George W. Culett, J. D. Jones, Robert Woodley, Noah Rathmer and William Jones. Revs. C. Prindle, A. D. Morton and Benjamin Excell had also been settled pastors of the church prior to the '80s.
Various meetings had been held by circuit riders in Cleveland, as originally bounded, previous to 1841, and in that year the first Methodist Church was organized and a church built at the corner of St. Clair and Wood streets. This was the first Methodist church organized in the original boundaries of Cleveland. In 1869 a new chapel was built at the corner of Euclid and Erie (East Ninth), which became the church home until 1874 when the chapel was replaced by a fine building costing $140,000. This church on the outskirts of Cleveland soon found itself in the
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business center of the city and in 1904 the present beautiful edifice at Euclid and East Thirtieth, costing $250,000, was erected. In all of its history this church has been the parent organization of Methodism in the city, establishing missions and churches and starting them on their way. It has a membership of over three thousand and the pastor is Rev. Albert E. Piper. Among the early pastors have been Revs. Francis A. Dighton, Hiram Gilmore, J. W. Lowe, Hiram Kinsley, H. N. Stevens, J. Renney, J. K. Hallock, H. M. Bettes, A. M. Brown, L. D. Mix, Samuel Gregg and B. K. Maltby.
Of the fifty churches in the city and vicinity multiplied as the popula- tion grew to the present time, we have mentioned the East Cleveland, which was organized in 1827. There was the First German Methodist Episcopal, which was organized in 1845 and three years later built a brick church building between Ontario and Erie (East Ninth), the Frank- lin Avenue, however, was organized fifteen years before, in 1830. In 1860 the First German Church was built on East Ninth (Erie) and later exchanged for the Baptist Church building at the corner of Scovill and Sterling. Early pastors of this church include Revs. C. H. Buhre, C. Helway, John A. Klein, C. Gahn, P. F. Schneider, J. Rothweiler, N. Nuhfer and Ennis Barr.
Christ Church organized by Rev. Dillon Prosser, and Taylor Street organized three years later, in 1853, by Rev. Benjamin Parkins, and The German Methodist Church of the west side, are linked with the early history of Cleveland. Reverend Prosser in the '50s established a Ragged School at the corner of Canal and Water streets. This was a sort of relief work, such as the Salvation Army, are engaged in at the present time. The efforts of Reverend Prosser were directed towards the rescue of destitute children. As Mrs. Ingham wrote of his work: "His pulpit was an inverted flour barrel, from which he preached to the ‘great unwashed.'" Mrs. Harriet Sanford Mitchell and Mrs. Abby Fitch Bab- bit were engaged with Reverend Prosser in this rescue work. The work was enlarged and, in 1855, many were engaged in perfecting the workings of this rescue mission. Homes were visited and idle and destitute chil- dren were brought in, but as many came from the vicious classes the work of the missionary was an important element. Classes were taught, clothing was distributed, and work now done by the Associated Charities was carried on. Rev. Dillon Prosser was a pioneer in this work, the importance of which in the building up of a great city can hardly be over- estimated. Quite early the headquarters of this relief or rescue work was located on Champlain Street near where the police station now stands. Of this we will speak later.
Superior Street Tabernacle, the Scovill Avenue Church, the first organized in 1860 and the second in 1866, were also brought into being under the enthusiastic direction of Reverend Prosser. Lorain Street Methodist Church was organized in 1868 by Rev. H. L. Parish, who was its first pastor. Grace Church near Literary Street, organized in 1870, and Broadway in 1872 under Revs. Ruddick and C. N. Grant, respectively, have a place in the history of the early Methodist churches. The Willson Avenue Mission is identified with the early history of Methodism in Cleveland. This was organized in a saloon on St. Clair Street as a mission Sunday school, then Mrs. Prosser, wife of Rev. Dillon Prosser, purchased the building and had it removed to Willson Avenue (Fifty-fifth Street). This was never organized into a church.
Closely allied in religious worship but differing somewhat in creed was the first Wesleyan Methodist Church formed in Cleveland. It came about in this way. At the Erie conference of the Methodist churches
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held in 1838 some expression was adopted on the question of slavery that offended very many of the Cleveland Methodists. This action seems to have been taken at the conference before the organization of the First Methodist Church, but was probably brought before the church here at a later period. As a result sixty members of the First Church withdrew and formed the First Wesleyan Methodist in 1843. This church stood alone until 1848 when it entered into the Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America. Thus early in the churches of Cleveland as elsewhere the slavery question became an issue.
Of the fifty Methodist churches in Cleveland three are German, one is Swedish and nine are colored. The first colored church was organized in 1874 under the name of the Union Chapel. In the same year a church building was erected by C. H. Norton and given to the society. The first pastor was Rev. Henry Stum. Since that others have been organized from time to time and they have been a great factor in the training of men and women for good citizenship. There is the Allen Chapel Mission on Burke Avenue with David Irvin as pastor. The Avery Methodist Episcopal Church on East Twenty-eighth Street with Rev. Jesse Bass as pastor, the Bethel on Shiloh Road with Rev. H. H. Applegrove as pastor, the Cory on Scovill Avenue with Rev. John B. Redmond as pastor, the Holsey Mission on Croton Avenue, Rev. Robert B. Vinson, pastor ; Lee Memorial on Cedar Avenue, Rev. L. H. Brown, pastor, and others.
It would be interesting to include a history of each of the fifty churches of this denomination. The German churches have taken an enviable place in the caravan of progress. As early as 1853 Mrs. Charlotte Deg- meier, wife of a German Methodist minister, began a work among the neglected children of the city, particularly among those of her own nationality. She organized a School and Relief Society. The boys and girls were collected in a brick building at the corner of Detroit and Pearl (West Twenty-fifth) Street. This labor of love continued and Mrs. Degmeier purchased a building on Main Street and was aided by Mrs. Alf Davis, Mrs. Horace Benton, Mrs. W. B. Guyles and Mrs. John Cannon in her School and Relief Society. How much we owe to the women through the century and more of Cleveland's building the writer can only indicate and the reader reflect upon.
Of the Free Methodists there are only two churches in the city. The first was formed in 1873. It started with six members and a small build- ing was erected on Pearl (West Twenty-fifth) Street. The first officers were A. Bradfield, William C. Jones, E. Thomas and Thomas Service. The first pastor was Rev. William H. James. Rev. C. F. Irish was the pastor in the latter part of the '70s and he was later the pastor of churches of the Methodist Episcopal faith. There was a Welsh Calvinist Church organized in 1858. We have given the Union Chapel as the first African Methodist Church organized in the city but St. John's appears to have been organized in 1865 and hence should claim the distinction of being the first.
The circuit riders of the Methodist Church were genuine pioneers, they endured the hardships of the forest life and were a part of the crude civilization that built the first fires in the woods, beside which they called to a better life based on the example of the Great Master. It is probable that some in this later time who are engaged in the ministry may trace their ancestry back to the circuit riders of the early days. Among them are Revs. Elmer E. Smith, John M. Baxter, John Oetjen, James T. Hoffman, John H. Le Croix, John B. Redmond, Paul E. Secrest, Elton D. Barnett, Louis C. Wright, Albert E. Piper, William C.
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