USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > Annals of the First Presbyterian church of Cleveland, 1820-1895 > Part 12
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It is impossible for me to do more than name those pioneer preachers, Rev. Messrs. Stone, McLean, Brad- street, Sessions, Hutchings, Keep, who ministered so
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faithfully to this Church from 1820 to 1835. They were Gospel ministers, earnest, devoted, self-sacrific- ing, worthy ambassadors of the great King.
The Associate Pastors since 1880, Rev. Messrs. Ogden, Simpson, Smith, Dunning, Selden, Howard, Knight, George, Zelie, are all living, and earnestly engaged as pastors of other churches in the work of their lives. We owe them a grateful debt of remem- brance. Our friend, Rev. Mr. Jackson, is still with us.
History demonstrates this great truth, "that reli- gion is the only stable basis on which a commonwealth can be reared." It has been wisely said "that no amount of wealth, no extent of culture, has ever given a nation strength and stability, when the religious ele- ment has been in decay." No godless nation ever survived.
Cleveland is in a few months to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its existence. A century ago and the place where we stand was a primeval wilderness. At this moment the city is a thriving, growing, influential municipality; the home of hundreds of thousands of people. It may, in respect for law, order, temperance, morality and education, claim equal rank with any of its sister cities.
But the debt Cleveland owes to religion cannot be computed. It is religion that founded her unrivalled schools, built her beautiful churches, erected her noble seats of learning, and made so large a share of her people temperate, moral, cultivated and happy.
We celebrate tonight the 75th anniversary of this Church. Thank God she is still in the vigor of a
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healthful, mature age, and as useful, as necessary, influential and powerful for good, as at any time in her history.
As we look down the long aisles, we miss the elder children of the church who formerly crowded these pews. One by one they have disappeared, and we shall see them here no more. As we recall their faces and their useful lives, we realize with bitter regret the brevity and uncertainty of human life. We only appear on earth to stay a little while, make a few friends, strive to do our narrow round of duty, when we are called away, our work all incomplete, and some fresher traveler takes our place. But this is our trust, "The word of the Lord endureth forever." Religion is as living and true this day, as when the Pilgrims prayed on the bleak shores of New England, or the Shepherds sang their songs on the plains of Bethlehem.
So let us all unite in that beautiful prayer of the collect: "When we shall have served Thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, hav- ing the testimony of a good conscience, in the com- munion of the Catholic church, in the confidence of a certain faith -- in the comfort of a reasonable, religious and holy hope, in favor, with Thee our God, and in perfect charity with the world. All of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord."
ASSOCIATE AND ASSISTANT PASTORS.
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1. REV. AARON PECK. 2. MR. B. F. SHUART.
4. REV. ROLLO OGDEN.
5. REV. JOS. H. SELDEN.
11. REV. JOHN S. ZELIE.
3. REV. J. W. SIMPSON.
6. REV. WILTON M. SMITH.
7. REV. GILES H. DUNNING. 8. REV. BURT E. HOWARD. 9. REV. WILLIAM KNIGHT.
10. REV. R. A. GEORGE.
12. REV. F. W. JACKSON.
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MEN OF MARK IN THE CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
HON. SAMUEL E. WILLIAMSON.
When I was asked to prepare an address on Men of Mark in the Church and Society which should occupy fifteen or twenty minutes, I could think only of that outburst of St. Paul at the end of his futile attempt to catalogue the witnesses to the faith : "For the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Sam- son, Jephthah ; of David and Samuel and the proph- ets; who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises."
My task is especially difficult, because any list of prominent men would be sadly incomplete if it did not include those whom we call early settlers. Yet almost all who emigrated from the Eastern States before the days of railroads and canals were neces- sarily men of mark. The others stayed at home. One who finds the name of an ancestor enrolled among the early members of the First Presbyterian Church or Society need seek no further for proof that he was not an ordinary man. Some of them were very eccen- tric. Doubtless, some had defects of character which are not mentioned in their biographies. Perhaps their very faults made some of them conspicuous ; but, whatever else they were, they were certainly men of mark. A few words, therefore, must suffice for the
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most distinguished, while time forbids even the men- tion of many who have been honored on earth and in heaven ; and the living must be left for the most part to speak for themselves.
Twenty-eight persons were named by the Charter as constituting the First Presbyterian Society, and nearly every name illustrates the truth of what has been said.
Samuel Cowles was the first President of the Society. He was a lawyer, and, like so many of the early settlers of the Western Reserve, a native of Con- necticut. He was graduated from Williams College, and came to Cleveland in 1819. He was slow and cautious, and the title of "Father Cowles," which was sometimes given to him, was not intended to be entirely complimentary, but his safe counsel and per- fect reliability led to a lucrative practice, and at the time of his death he was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
Perhaps the best proof of the confidence that was reposed in him is the fact that the land on which the main part of this church is built was conveyed to him, and still stands on the public records in his name.
For the first six years of the Society's existence, Peter M. Weddell was its Treasurer. He was a Penn- sylvanian by birth, and a successful merchant before he came to Cleveland in 1820. His prosperity con- tinued, and like Leonard Case and Nathan Perry, he showed his foresight by investing his means largely in land to which only a vast increase in population could give any great value. The house and store which he
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built in 1823 on the corner of Superior and Bank streets was torn down in 1845 to make room for the hotel which bears his name, and has so many historic associations. It is said that he was especially helpful to young business men, and that many prominent merchants owe their success largely to his assistance. He must have been among the first citizens of Cleve- land to make any considerable bequest to Home and Foreign Missions.
Among the first trustees of the Society were David Long, Ashbel W. Walworth and Samuel Williamson.
Dr. Long was the first physician who settled in Cleveland. Who that has witnessed the beautiful life of his daughter, Mrs. Mary H. Severance, will doubt that his devoted professional service and public spirit in the face of hardship, privation and danger, won the lasting honor and affection of the community ? It was his vote as County Commissioner, which decided that Cleveland, instead of Newburgh, should be the county seat. He, with Nathan Perry and Samuel Williamson, were the first trustees of the village, but perhaps you will not think the honor very great when you learn that there were only twelve voters at the election, and nine of them were elected to office.
A. W. Walworth was a native of Connecticut, and the son of Judge John Walworth, who brought his family to Cleveland in 1806. (Judge Walworth pur- chased a farm of three hundred acres, lying just south of Huron street, and extending from Erie street to the river. He held many public offices, and his son. Ashbel, assisted him in the discharge of his numerous
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duties.) He succeeded his father as postmaster upon the death of the latter in 1812. He was collector of this port for seventeen years, and village treasurer for twelve years. He was also township clerk, justice of the peace, and member of the council. The shipping interests of Cleveland demanded a pier at the mouth of the river that should enable vessels to enter the port in safety. The needed money was secured from the Government with great difficulty, and largely through his efforts, and much, if not all of it, was spent under his direction. The inestimable value of this service thus rendered can be better appreciated now than ever before. He must have been a man of strong character and broad views, ready to serve his neighbors, and deeply interested in the prosperity of this city.
Samuel Williamson-not he whom most of you knew, but his father-was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, but had crossed the Allegheny Moun- tains when a boy. He came to Cleveland in 1810. His long service as Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, shows the estimation in which he was held by the people of the county. His inheritance of Scotch-Irish Presbyterianism impelled him to take an active and earnest part in promoting the moral and intellectual welfare of the village. He was especially interested in the education of its youth, and gave the highest proof of it by having his own son prepared for the sophomore class in college as early as 1826. His name is the first in the charter of the Society and the first upon its records.
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It is a somewhat remarkable fact that but one of those who organized the Society was at that time a member of this church, although a number afterwards became such, and others may have been members of churches in the East. The efforts of such men to aid the church, and their sacrifices for it, show that they considered it vital to the welfare of the future city that its people should be a Christian people. Indeed, the motives by which they were guided are well and fully expressed in the preamble to the Constitution : "Whereas, morality is essential to a free government, and is the foundation of civil liberty and social happi- ness, and since genuine morality is the legitimate effect of the Christian Religion, and is best promoted by the preaching of the Gospel ; and especially since the preaching of the Gospel is the means which God has appointed for the salvation of his creatures, it be- comes the duty of all who love their country to lend their aid in supporting the institutions of Religion and maintaining the public and stated administration of truth, and since this object is better accomplished by the united and systematic exertions of well organized societies than by the occasional efforts of indi- viduals."
One of the prominent members of the Church, who was also President of the Society for several years, was Zalmon Fitch. He was born in Connecti- cut in 1785, and came to the Western Reserve in 1804, and was Cashier, and afterwards President of the Western Reserve Bank in Warren, which obtained a great reputation by continuing specie payments
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when the New York banks suspended in 1836. In 1840, he was elected President of the Bank of Cleve- land, and settled in this city. He took an active part in the construction and management of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad, and was one of its directors. He was also land agent of members of the Connecti- cut Land Company, and thus became widely known to the early settlers of the Reserve, and greatly esteemed by them. Such a man was almost neces- sarily prospered in his own affairs, and enjoyed a deserved reputation for executive ability and strong character.
Among those who filled a large place in the busi- ness world, have been James F. Clark, Amasa Stone, George Mygatt, George H. Ely and Truman P. Handy. The head and bearing of Mr. Clark were proof that he was an uncommon man. They would have invited remark and inquiry in any assembly. He was born in Cooperstown, N. Y., in 1807, and was an engraver in his earlier years. In 1833 he came to Cleveland and connected himself with this church in the following year. From 1860 until his death he was a trustee of the Society. Mr. Clark's rare business ability brought him great and speedy success. His aid was widely sought for great enterprises. He was a director and officer in several railroad companies, and especially was intimately associated with the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad, and the develop- ment of its great coal trade. For many years he was also a director in the Merchants' National Bank. In all of these positions he performed distin-
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guished service. He was everywhere recognized as one of the foremost citizens of Cleveland, and com- manded universal respect and esteem. His large bequest to Oberlin College evidenced his deep interest in education, and his appreciation of the good work which that institution has done for the young men and women of Ohio. The people who worship here owe him and the other trustees of the Society a great debt for the painstaking care and personal liberality by which they enabled the Church to continue its use- fulness, without imposing any heavy financial burden upon the congregation.
There has been no layman who better deserves to be held in grateful memory by the people of this Church than Amasa Stone. For over twenty-two years the weighty affairs, which pressed upon his attention, had to give way to the performance of his duty as a trustee of the Society. He found time to take the leading part in building this edifice, and to rebuild it after the fire. He valued most highly the maintenance of orderly and attractive public worship, and during his later years the music commanded as much attention from him as it could have received from any young man with nothing else to occupy his attention. The salient events of his life are well known, and time will not permit an enumeration of them. He came from New England with an established reputation for success in great enterprises. He and his partners built the railroad from Cleveland to Columbus. He was also connected with the construc- tion of the railroad to Erie, of which he took charge
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as Superintendent, and afterwards as President. Sub- sequently he had for a time the management of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. These were but a few of the many important undertakings with which he was associated. But whoever looks at the beautiful window in the south end of the church will understand that it is not his remarkable success in business, but his noble charities which will perpetuate his name, and make future generations grateful for his life. He provided generously for the education and training of neglected children, and built a home for old ladies who might otherwise be homeless. But, most of all, he brought from Hudson to Cleveland a college, rich in traditions and learning but poor in the ability to provide for the rapidly growing demands upon institutions of learning, and endowed it so liber- ally that the young men of Ohio need not leave their own State to find the best instruction and the highest scholarship. Every year has added proof of Mr. Stone's wisdom in the removal and endowment of Adelbert College. May I not add without impro- priety, that but for him and the fortune which he and his family have administered, it would have been hardly possible to celebrate the seventy-fifth anniver- sary of the Church within these walls.
It has always seemed to the present generation that George Mygatt was a large part of the First Presbyterian Church, and that he and the office of elder were intended for each other. It is certain that no one ever filled it more admirably, or performed its duties more consistently. He was born in Connecti-
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cut in 1797, and his family came to Mahoning County in this State in 1807. He settled in Cleveland in 1847, after having had considerable experience as a banker in Norwalk and Painesville. Here he pursued the same calling, partly as a private banker and partly as president and cashier of incorporated banks. He was cashier of the Merchants' National Bank during the depression which followed the panic of 1857. In 1855 he was a member of the Legislature. It would be faint praise to say that he was noted for his integ- rity and faithfulness to duty. Every one knew him as a man whose whole life was controlled by the highest Christian principle. Every one knew him, too, as a pillar of this Church. The promise to attend upon its ordinances was with him no idle pledge. If there can be such a person as a High Church Presby- terian, Mr. Mygatt came near to being one. He had comparatively little sympathy with most of the various reform organizations, because he believed that nearly every good end which they sought could be better reached through the Society which Christ had founded and called his Church. Is it sure that he was alto- gether wrong ?
The death of George H. Ely, and the tributes paid to his memory are so recent, that we hardly need to be reminded of the great service that he rendered his country and the church. Mr. Ely came to Cleveland to reside in 1863. He was then thirty-eight years old, and had been engaged in large business ventures in Rochester, where he was born. He was already inti- mately connected with the Lake Superior iron ore
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trade, and maintained the connection during the remainder of his life. He made a thorough study of the conditions necessary to its success, and was a clear, logical speaker. The natural result was that he became the spokesman for those engaged in the business on all occasions. The rate of duty to be imposed upon foreign ore was a matter so vital to the prosperity of the miners in the Lake Superior region, that Congress became the arena for constant contest between conflicting interests. There his thought, time and strength were spent year after year, in secur- ing legislation which he firmly believed to be de- manded by true patriotism, as well as by the needs of himself and his associates. It was while engaged in the performance of this duty that death overtook him. Mr. Ely was also State Senator from this county. Nearly all the prominent charitable organizations of the city sought his aid, and invited public confidence by inducing him to assume some responsibility for the execution of their trusts. He was President of Lake- side Hospital, and Trustee of Adelbert College and Western Reserve University. But this church is especially indebted to him for his long and devoted service as elder and trustee.
I intimated at the beginning of this address that as far as possible I should avoid mention of the living, however distinguished, but there are exceptions to all rules, and a notable exception to this one is the man whose recollection extends over the whole period of this church's existence; whose fifty years' service as a banker in Cleveland was commemorated thirteen
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years ago; who still walks with elastic step, and may be found every day at his desk, and who has to-day borne an important part in these anniversary services. Mr. Truman P. Handy came to Cleveland in March, 1832. On the second of April following he became a member of the Society, and in the next October was elected a trustee. In the same year very character- istically he served as a member of a committee to procure funds to finish the house of worship. It need hardly be said that no layman was more active in church or society until he withdrew to become one of the founders of the Second Presbyterian Church. His life is still too closely interwoven with that of the city and its many enterprises and charities to permit us to forget what he has done for them, and what man- ner of man he has been and is. The whole country recognizes him as one of the most successful bankers, and as prominently connected with railroads and man- ufactures. It knows about his public spirit, how zealously he supported the war for the Union, and cared for the sick and wounded soldiers, how he has given his time and money to the cause of education in college and theological seminary, as well as among neglected children, and how large a share of his life has been devoted to the church and its missions; but only we who have enjoyed somewhat of his personal friendship know how very little any record of his achievements can tell of the good and the brightness that he has brought into the lives of three generations.
In addition to Dr. Long, the church has enrolled among its members two other men of mark who were
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physicians-John Delamater and Erastus Cushing; indeed, Dr. Delamater has a place in the history of his country. He was born in New York, near the boundary of Massachusetts. His ancestors were Huguenot exiles and Hollanders. He commenced the practice of medicine at the age of nineteen, and after a few years established himself in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. While he was professor in the Berk- shire Medical Institute, he acquired a wide reputation for ability as a lecturer. In 1827 he accepted a posi- tion in the faculty of a medical school in Herkimer County, N. Y., which was opened in that year by the Regents of the State. He remained there eight years, and was recognized as one of the leaders in his pro- fession. A prominent physician in Boston, who was consulted by a gentleman in Utica, replied: "You have no need to write to me. You have Dr. Dela- mater near at hand, than whom there is no abler prac- titioner in the country." He removed from Herkimer County to Willoughby, and soon afterward, in 1842, to Cleveland. He seemed to prefer the frontier, and the plain life of new communities. Here he helped to organize the Cleveland Medical College, the Medi- cal Department of Western Reserve College, and lec- tured to its students regularly until 1860. It is said that he delivered at least seventy courses of lectures, treating all branches of medical science. While filling his professorship in Cleveland, he delivered full courses of lectures in Bowdoin and Dartmouth Colleges and in Geneva and Cincinnati. Dr. Goodrich preached a most appreciative sermon on the occasion of his
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funeral, from which I quote a few sentences in refer- ence to his manner of speech: "He spoke the pure Saxon of the common people, and never went about for a fine word. His style, whether in conversation or the lecture room, was as lucid as water, and the course of his thought equally so. As a means of con- veying knowledge, or of stating facts, the English language was probably never better used by any man of his time; few thought how well and clearly he was elucidating, but when he had finished, it was clear there was nothing more of importance to be said." I never saw him in court myself, but I have heard older lawyers say that as a medical witness he had no equal. He did not want to be questioned at length. He believed that truth and justice were the objects to be attained, and therefore took matters into his own hands, and made them so clear that it was useless to answer him. When he had finished, the court and jury were convinced. His whole life was characterized by strict integrity and conscientious devotion to duty. His generosity was extreme, and very detrimental to himself. His piety was practical, as well as sincere, and his whole conduct was regulated by his responsi- bility to his Maker, and his need of divine help. It was by his own profession that he was best appre- ciated, and few, if any, names hold a more prominent place in its annals than Dr. John Delamater.
But Dr. Cushing was closer to many of us than Dr. Delamater. No physician of his time was a visitor in so many Cleveland homes. He was born in Berk- shire County, Massachusetts, in 1802, and located
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here in 1835. He acquired a large practice at once, and led an exceedingly active and laborious life until his retirement in 1872. During all this time he com- manded the absolute confidence of his patients. They trusted themselves and families to him with a feeling of satisfaction that by securing his care they had done the best thing possible, and that all that medical skill could suggest was at their service. For he was more than a physician. He was a true friend, proved in times of anxious and sometimes bitter trial. General esteem and affection followed him into retirement, and increased with every passing year, as old and young saw him growing more and more into the likeness of Him whom he loved and worshipped.
No one profession can justly lay exclusive claim to Charles Whittlesey. He was born in Connecticut in 1808. In 1827 he became a cadet at West Point, where he graduated in 1831. He remained in the army until the close of the Black Hawk war, when he resigned, and opened a law office in Cleveland, being at the same time part owner and one of the editors of the Whig and Herald. Subsequently, as assistant geologist of Ohio, he had much to do with disclosing the rich coal fields of Eastern Ohio. Perhaps no one did more than he in locating the iron and copper of the Lake Superior region. After serving for the first three months in the Civil War he was made Colonel of the 120th Regiment of Ohio Infantry. He partici- pated in the capture of Fort Donelson, and in the second day's battle of Shiloh, but after the latter battle bad health compelled his resignation. His geo-
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