USA > Ohio > Franklin County > Columbus > Columbus, Ohio: its history, resources, and progress : with numerous illustrations > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
By appointment of the bishop, in 1839, Rev. Father J. M. Young, a convert and recently ordained priest, was ordered to take charge of the Columbus church as its pastor, and also to visit Lancaster, Logan, Chillicothe, Circleville, and Waverly. As there was no pastoral residence in this city, he made his headquarters at Lancaster. Father Young died Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania, September, 1866.
On the 8th of December, 1839, the Most Reverend Archbishop Purcell held, in the new church, the first confirmation in the city, and in the evening delivered a sermon in the Senate cham- ber in the old state-house.
In December, 1840, robbers broke into the church, destroying the crucifix on the altar, and stealing four silver-plated candle- sticks, the vestments, a linen cloth and black coat belonging to Father Young. Two years after this robbery, a convict in the Ohio penitentiary confessed that he and his confederates had broken into the church, and that some of the stolen articles were hidden in a hollow tree in the woods, near Alum creek bridge, on the Broad street road. Messrs. Vance, McElvain, and others went in seach of the tree, and, after spending the greater part of a day, they found it, with nearly all the missing articles in an old saddle.
Commencing on Sunday, November 21, 1841, and continuing every evening during the following week, Archbishop Purcell delivered lectures in the United States court-house, an engrav- ing of which is in this work, then standing on High street, nearly opposite the site of the present Neil House building. On the 28th of the same month, Father Henni preached in German at the same place.
Services were held in the fall and winter of 1842 by Fathers Wertz and Gallinger. Father Young, in 1842, proposed to lo- cate in Columbus, if the congregation would provide him a small house on the south side of the church. This was done at once.
Rev. Father William Schonat, on the 25th of February, 1843,
167
CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES.
by order of the bishop, came here to remain during the season of Lent, having just arrived from Silesia, in Germany. After Easter, he announced the approach of the time for his departure from Columbus. The congregation were very desirous that he should remain and become their permanent pastor, as Father Young's work was entirely too heavy. They joined in a peti- tion to the bishop, asking that Father Schonat might remain here as the pastor of the church. Henry Moore, of the stage- line firm of Neil, Moore & Co., sent a private letter to the bishop in support of the petition. In a few days Mr. Moore received a reply from the bishop, stating that the prayer of the peti- tioners was granted. So Father William Schonat became the first resident pastor of the Columbus church, and, on the 10th of May, 1843, moved into the house originally built for Father Young.
The congregation, even while congratulating themselves on their good fortune, became aware that the church was too small, as their number was rapidly increasing. The result was that in April, 1844, Father Schonat announced the necessity of building a larger church, one that would not in a few years become too small, as the increase of Catholics in Columbus plainly showed the need of providing for the future a large house of worship. Meetings of the congregation were held, and the subject was discussed. In the meantime, November 10, 1845, additional ground was purchased from M. J. and L. T. Gilbert, being lot No. 760, for $600. Besides, on the 8th of June, 1849, a piece of ground, twenty-three feet east and west, and eighteen feet north and south, was bought of A. S. Chew, administrator of the es- tate of Edward N. Gregory, for $137. These purchases gave the church lot 125 feet front on Rich street.
At a meeting, on the 8th of December, 1844, Father Schonat presiding, the congregation decided to build in the Gothic style of architecture, with a thick stone foundation and a wall of well-burned brick, a plain but substantial church edifice, 115 feet long and 62 wide, exclusive of the buttresses, and 40 feet in height from the floor to the ceiling; the walls to be supported with cut- stone, and the building to be finished without unnecessary orna- mental work. A building committee was appointed, consisting
168 ·
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
of Horace McGuire, John Duffee, Jacob Schoeringer, F. Mutter, Anton Rolling, C. Jacobs, Jacob Sattler, Peter Ury, John F. Zimmer, and George Enterd. The committee were instructed to cause a plan to be made and submitted to a subsequent meet- ing of the congregation. This was done, and the plan reported by the committee was adopted.
The result was the erection of the present church edifice on the corner of Rich and Fifth streets, known as
HOLY CROSS CHURCH.
The timber used for the roof of the building was donated by John F. Zimmer and Benedict Luts. As the timber was to be taken off the land of the donors, men offered to do the chopping, and farmers offered their horses and wagons for the hauling. A day was agreed upon, on which to start out at two o'clock in the morning, cut down and hew the timber, and haul it to town in the evening. The day came, the plan was carried out, and the timber brought in at evening was piled on Fifth street.
The architect of the new building was Cornelius Jacobs. The masonry and carpenter-work were done by men employed by the day-the foreman of the masons being Joseph Sattler, and of the carpenters, J. Schoeringer and F. Mutter. The building contains 800,000 brick, and its first or original cost was $10,000.
Father William Schonat, who is still living in Germany, con- tinued pastor of the congregation until the new church was completed. He was succeeded by Rev. C. H. Borgess, now Bishop of Detroit, who remained about ten years. During his pastorate, the steeple was placed on the church at a cost of about $7,000, and improvements made in the interior of the building, such as painting the walls, a new pulpit, a new St. Mary's altar, and a new organ, which cost $1,400, and the church bells, which cost $1,500.
The present worthy pastor, the Very Reverend J. B. Hem- steger, V. G., by order of Archbishop Purcell, took charge of the congregation May 5, 1859. Since that date, a splendid school-house and a fine pastoral residence have been erected on the church premises. The church is also to have a new main altar very soon.
169
CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES.
The present value of the church property is $95,000. The number of members is 2,100.
The following reverend fathers have assisted the present pastor : Francis Karrel, Casper Weise, Jacob Roswiz, Bernard Seling, F. X. Specht, and Chancellor G. H. Ahrens.
The officers of the church are: Bro. Peter Daekus, sexton ; Cornelius Lang, secretary, and Henry Theado, treasurer.
Professor H. J. Nothnagel is the organist for the church.
ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH.
An organization for the purpose of building the present St. Patrick's Church was formed by Rev. John Furlong, the first regular Irish priest stationed at Columbus. He remained about one year, and was succeeded by Rev. James Meagher, who, through John D. Clark, purchased of Robert Neil, for one thou- sand dollars, a lot, 187 feet square, on the northeast corner of Seventh and Naghten streets. On this lot, St. Patrick's Church was built by Messrs. Clark & Harding. The corner-stone was laid September 5, 1852, and the church was dedicated Septem- ber 25, 1853, by Archbishop Purcell.
The church edifice has a front 52 feet wide, and a depth of 125 feet. It is built of brick and is Norman in the style of its architecture. It will comfortably seat a congregation of 800 persons. It contains three neat altars, and has a good organ, with 78 stops.
In the rear of the church, and connected with it, is a good substantial brick dwelling, 36 by 432 feet, containing ten rooms, and having large halls, basement, and cellar. It is at present the bishop's house.
Father Meagher, assisted by Rev. Edmund D. Flahery, con- tinued pastor of St. Patrick's congregation till 1857, when he was succeeded by Rev. Edward M. Fitzgerald. The latter was pastor for ten years, or till 1867, when he was created Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas. He was assisted during his pastorate by the following priests in succession : Rev. John Murray, now pastor of St. Mary's, Chillicothe, Ohio; Rev. Joseph Fitzgerald, at present stationed at Lowville, New York; and Rev. F. C. Mallon, now at St. Martin's, Brown county, Ohio.
170
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
Immediately after Bishop Fitzgerald's departure for Little Rock, Bishop Sylvester Horton Rosecrans, D. D., consecrated, March 25, 1862, Bishop of Pompeiopolis in partibus infidelium, and Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati, Ohio, took charge of St. Patrick's congregation as its pastor, and continued as such, for a brief period, until the Diocese of Columbus was established, March 3, 1868, of which he was created the first bishop. He was assisted by Rev. George H. Ahrens, at present chancellor of the diocese, who was succeeded by Father Gouesse. Rev. James Daly, who afterward died in charge of a congregation at Bellaire, Ohio, and Rev. N. A. Gallagher, now president of St. Aloysius Seminary, also assisted for some time.
Rev. J. A. Murray is now pastor of the congregation. The number of members is 2,000. The church choir is under the direction of Mr. Pirung. The sexton is James O'Donnel. The church property is valued at $40,000.
Three important missions have been held in the church since its erection, at each of which over three thousand persons par- took of the Holy Communion.
ST. MARY'S CHURCH.
In the spring of 1865, at a meeting of Holy Cross congrega- tion to consider the propriety of building a Catholic church in the southern part of the city, it was decided to proceed in the first place with the erection of a school-house. The first build- ing committee consisted of Louis Zettler, Peter Hintershidt, John Ranft, Fred. Weber, Frank Wagner, Peter Boehm, and Cornelius Lang. The school-house and improvements cost $9,000.
In 1866, the present St. Mary's Church was commenced and the foundations laid. Rev. Father F. X. Specht, who had come to the city to assist at Holy Cross Church, and afterward, if found necessary, to build a new church, was placed in charge of the supervision and management of the new structure. In 1867 the building was put under roof, and was completed the year following at a cost of about $40,000.
The new church was dedicated on the 28th of November, 1868. The Right Reverend Bishop Rosecrans officiated, assisted by
171
CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES.
clergymen of adjoining parishes. There were present three societies from Dayton, one from Zanesville, and one from New- ark, besides the societies from Holy Cross and St. Patrick's Churches of this city.
The church edifice is 622 by 140 feet ; 75 feet in height, 60 in the clear, with a gallery, and four convenient rooms in the rear portion. The fresco painting cost $1,925, and was done by Wenzelaus Thien and William Lamprecht, of Cincinnati. The main altar is 45 feet high and 20 feet wide. It is of a very beautiful Gothic design and finish, and is the workmanship of Allard Klooter. It cost $2,500. The pulpit and confessional, by the same artist, cost $1,170. They are built of white wal- nut. The church now seats an audience of 700, and can be made to seat one of 1,000.
Father Specht, the present pastor of St. Mary's congregation, was appointed to that office in 1868, by Bishop Rosecrans, at the request of a large number of the members of the congrega- tion.
A fine new pastoral residence was built in 1872, at a cost of $6,000. It stands on a lot of 75 feet front, making a total frontage of 156 feet on Third street for the church grounds, which extend back to Fourth street. The total value of the church property is $75,000. The number of members is 1,500. The officers of the church are: Peter Hintershidt, secretary ; Peter Boehm, treasurer; John Berbrich, sexton; and Francis Lauber, organist.
The style of the church architecture is Gothic. The archi- tects were Messrs. Blackburn and Koehler. A chime of three bells, procured from Mr. Meneely, of West Troy, New York, was put up in 1870, at a cost of $2,200.
Connected with the church is a school, containing about 120 boys and 110 girls. The principal is John Berhich, and the as- sistant teachers are Bauirs and Bertha Lauber. The school building is of brick, and consists of four rooms, each 60 by 32 feet.
CATHEDRAL CHAPEL.
Naghten Hall, located on the east side of High street, between State and Town streets, was used, commencing
172
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
in the year 1870, as a chapel for a temporary congregation intending future worship in St. Joseph's Cathedral, then in pro- cess of construction on Broad street. It could seat about 500 persons. Connected with the chapel was a small-sized, but finely tuned organ, and a good choir, under the direction of Michael Fahey, who has been connected with choirs in the Catholic churches of the city during the last twenty years.
Soon after the organization of the chapel, Father Rocheford assumed its entire charge, and so continued until the spring of 1872, when he became connected with the St. Vincent Ferrers Church, in New York city. The Chapel, until within a few months ago, was in the care of Bishop Rosecrans, assisted by Rev. N. A. Gallagher.
The congregation of the Cathedral Chapel are now worship- ing at the St. Joseph's Cathedral.
ST. JOSEPH'S CATHEDRAL.
Next to the State-house, the most substantial and imposing edifice in the capital of Ohio is St. Joseph's Cathedral. It is a vast and noble structure, alike creditable to Catholic enterprise and devotion, as well as ornamental to the city. The Cathedral stands on the northwest corner of Broad and Fifth streets. Its site consists of two lots, making a frontage of one hundred and twenty feet on Broad street, with a depth of two hundred feet on Fifth street. These lots were purchased in April, 1866, for thirteen thousand dollars, by Rev. Edward M. Fitzgerald, then pastor of St. Patrick's Church in this city, now Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas. Plans for a church, one hundred and ninety- three by ninety feet, were drawn by Michael Harding, of this city. A subscription list was opened and liberally signed. Ex- cavations for the foundations were made during the summer of 1866. The corner-stone was laid, with much pomp, on the 11th of November following, the Right Reverend Bishop Rosecrans, then coadjutor to the Most Reverend J. B. Purcell, D. D., Arch- bishop of Cincinnati, officiating.
On this occasion, the Catholic clergy of the city, and of Del- aware and Newark, were present. The societies of the churches of Holy Cross and St. Patrick's, with the children of the schools
173
CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES.
and sodalities, with music and banners, made the day one of joyous festivity.
In 1867 no work was done upon the building, Rev. E. M. Fitzgerald, pastor of St. Patrick's, having been called by the Holy See to the large diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas. His place here was supplied by the coadjutor bishop to the Most Reverend Dr. Purcell.
Papal bulls having arrived in March, 1868, making Columbus an Episcopal See, it was decided that the proposed new church should be the Cathedral, and that it should be built of stone instead of brick, making such changes only in the plan as the change of material might suggest. One of these changes was the tearing up of the foundation walls, and the laying of one deeper and more solid. Another was the planning of the tow- er and baptistry on the southwest corner. The main idea in the original plan has, however, been substantially preserved. The chiseling of the sandstone, outside, was suggested by J. G. Hartman, while superintending the workmen on the building, in answer to the bishop's wish for some means of relieving the deadness of a yellow stone wall. The arching of the windows, and the supports of the clear story, carry out the directions of General W. S. Rosecrans, who, in the summer of 1870, spent several days with his brother, the bishop, aiding in the details of the work. Rev. J. A. Murray, now pastor of St. Patrick's, entered fully into the ideas of General Rosecrans, carrying them out with such modifications as the actual construction showed to be necessary. Michael Fahey, of this city, has been, for the last two years, superintendent of the work, which has rapidly progressed under his supervision.
The Cathedral is Gothic in the style of its architecture, and the outside work is known as the brouched ashlar. The ma- terial of the walls is sandstone, of the kind which, instead of disintegrating, becomes hardened by exposure to the atmos- phere. It will last for many hundred years. The stone has been brought from different quarries, principally from Hanover and Clay Lick, in Licking county, a portion from Lancaster, and some from Haydenville, Hocking county.
The dimensions of the building are ninety-two feet, fronting
174
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
on Broad street, by one hundred and eighty-five feet on Fifth street. Its capacity, when finished, will be sufficient to seat two thousand two hundred people. There are three main entrances on Broad street, and one on Fifth street. A stairway at the rear, on Fifth street, winds through the turret, to the place for the sacristies.
The outside walls are forty-two feet in height from the ground level, and thirty-four feet from the floor-line of the building. They are ornamented, at intervals, with stone crosses. The in- side, or clear story walls, have an altitude of seventy feet from the ground, and sixty-two feet from the floor. The main walls are between two and three feet in thickness. The inside walls, thirty-six in number, rest on clusters of Gothic columns, placed six in a group, and are surmounted by cornices of white free- stone. The windows are cased in freestone, mostly obtained at Lithopolis, Pickaway county. The brackets are cut from Co- lumbus limestone. This is about the only stone in the structure procured at home.
Light is thrown into the audience-room from stained glass windows in the lower outside walls, and above the first roof on each side, by similar windows in the clear floor walls. The in- terior will be finished with grained arches, and the effect can not but be excellent, so far as architectural design and light are concerned.
The cost of the edifice, when completed, it is estimated, will not be less than a quarter million of dollars. The massive spire will be two hundred and fifty feet in height, and will, when completed, have ample room for a clock and a chime of bells, · with which it is to be furnished.
It is a matter of no little surprise and gratification to the Catholics of the city that the building of this splendid cathedral has progressed for the last four years without suspension. The funds have been supplied by subscription, fairs, donations from private persons outside the diocese, collections throughout the diocese, and loans.
٥٩
RICHES
TRINITY CHURCH.
175
CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCHES.
Rev. Philander Chase, afterward Bishop of the Diocese of Ohio, about 1817, resigned the position of rector of a parish in Connecticut, and came to Ohio for the purpose of forming churches here, fixing his residence on a farm between Columbus and Worthington. He preached in the Buckeye House, on Broad street, in the then borough or town of Columbus, on the 3d of May, 1817, and performed divine service according to the liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States.
TRINITY CHURCH,
Located east of Capitol Square. Rev. Philander Chase preached in Columbus the second time, on Wednesday, May 7, 1817, After service, an instrument was signed by thirty persons, asso- ciating themselves as the " Parish of Trinity Church, Columbus, State of Ohio, in connection with the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America." The signers were :
Orris Parish, Joel Buttles, Benjamin Gardiner, Alfred Upson, Philo H. Olmsted, John Kilbourn, John Warner, Thomas John- son, John Webster, George W. Williams, Cyrus Fay, Charles V. Hickox, John Callitt, Amasa Delano, Silas Williams, Chris- topher Ripley, Austin Goodrich, Daniel Smith, Josiah Sabin, Cyrus Allen, Abner Lord, James K. Cary, John C. Brodrick, James Pearce, M. Matthews, Wm. K. Lampson, Cyrus Parker, William Rockwell, A. J. McDowell, Jr., L. Starling.
On the 11th of the same month, after preaching and service by the Rev. Mr. Chase, the constitution of the Protestant Epis- copal Church of the United States having been read, was adopted by the parish of Trinity Church. Orris Parish and Benjamin Gardiner were appointed wardens; John Kilbourn and Joel Buttles, vestrymen, and Benjamin Gardiner and Joel But- tles, delegates to a diocesean convention, to be held at Columbus, on the first Monday of January, 1818.
The services of the church were subsequently held in several different buildings. Bishop Chase conducted services at Wor- thington and also at Columbus, when his other duties would permit. Occasionally the assistance of other clergymen was
176
STUDER'S COLUMBUS, OHIO.
· obtained. Members of the congregation, appointed for the pur- pose, officiated at times.
It is recorded that, on the 16th of September, 1819, Benjamin Gardiner and Cyrus Fay were appointed "lay-readers to read the service of the church on each and every Sunday;" and also that, on the 10th of September, 1825, Matthew Matthews was appointed "lay-reader."
Rev. William Preston was the first regular rector of the parish of Trinity Church. He took charge on Easter Sunday, 1829, in connection with the parish of St. John's Church, at Worthington. After the expiration of two years, he took up his residence in Columbus, devoting himself to the care of the parish exclusively. At the commencement of his labors here, there were in the parish seventeen communicants and eleven families. The congregation worshiped in a small frame build- ing on a lot on Third street, upon which the Universalist Church now stands.
During Rev. Mr. Preston's connection with the parish, the stone church on Broad street was erected on the site now oc- cupied by Peter Hayden's elegant business block. The lot was purchased, in 1830, for $1,000, and the building, which was erected in 1833, cost $10,000. The number of communicants increased in the meantime to 110, and the number of families to 70.
The first record of confirmation bears date September 15, 1830. Of the class of fourteen persons confirmed at that time by the Right Reverend Philander Chase were the following: Justin Morrison, P. B. Wilcox, Abram McDowell, Mrs. McDowell, and Mrs. Wm. Neil. The second confirmation services in the parish were held by the Right Rev. Charles P. McIlvaine, on the 30th of August, 1833. Among the persons then confirmed were John C. Broderick, John A. Lazelle, Mrs. C. Matthews, Mrs. A. Brooks, and Mrs. Kirby.
The first marriage of record in the parish is that of Justin Morrison and Melissa Boardman, solemnized October 20, 1831, by Rev. Wm. Preston.
The following is a list of the several pastors of the parish to the present time : Rev. William Preston, from 1829 to 1841;
177
CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES.
Rev. Charles Fox, 1841 to 1842; Rev. Alexander F. Dobb, 1842 to 1846; Rev. Dudley A. Tyng, 1847 to 1850; Rev. Wm. Pres- ton, 1850 to 1854; Rev. Charles Reynolds, 1855 to 1858; Rev. G. H. Norton, 1858 to 1859; Rev. Wm. D. Hanson, 1859 to 1860; Rev. Julius E. Grammer, 1861 to 1864; Rev. C. A. L. Richards, 1865 to 1869 ; Rev. Rufus W. Clark, from September 1, 1871, to date.
It may be interesting to note the salaries paid some of the rectors. The yearly salary of the Rev. Charles Fox was $600 ; Rev. A. F. Dobb, $700; Rev. D. A. Tyng, $1,000; Rev. Charles Reynolds, $1,500; Rev. G. H. Norton, $1,600; Rev. J. E. Gram- mer, same; Rev. C. A. Richards, $2,000.
Much apprehension was felt, in 1854, on account of the decayed state of some of the timbers on the spire of the stone church, and the vestry appointed John Burr and S. B. Fay to make an examination. The result was the removal of the spire, and the sale of the bell to the school board. The bell was placed on the high-school building on State street, where, after being in use for some time, it was cracked and its beautiful tone ruined.
The first attempt to build a church in place of the stone edi- fice, on Broad street, was made in 1853 with but little success. The second attempt was made in 1855, when the "Work lot," on the southeast corner of Broad and Sixth streets, was purchased for $8,000. The lot had a front of 99 feet on Broad street, and ex- tended south to Oak street. The foundation for a church super- structure was laid on this lot in 1856; but at that point the work was suspended. In 1859, 200 feet in depth off the north or front side of the lot was sold to the Columbus board of education for $8,820. On this ground the board subsequently erected the pres- ent high-school building. The remainder of the " Work lot" was sold, in November, 1862, for $2,500, to Governor Dennison, of whom was purchased, for $7,500, the lot, 75 by 187} fect, on the southeast corner of Broad and Third streets. Dr. John An- drews purchased, in 1863, for $10,000, the Broad street stone church, " around which had clustered so many pleasant recol- lections."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.