History of Sandusky County Ohio with Illustrations 1882, Part 75

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We have also a copy of the sentence of consecration signed by Charles P. Mellvaine, bishop of the Diocese of Ohio, under date of November 14, 1845.

The parish now entered upon a new era, having the advantage of a new and pleasant house of worship.

On the 15th of August, 1846, the Rev. Oliver Taylor entered upon his duties as rector, and resigned July 1, 1847. During his ministry the baptisms were six, and one confirmed. In the clergy list of 1875 Mr. Taylor is recorded as a resident of Pontiac, Michigan. During these three years the wardens of the church were William C. Otis, senior warden; A. W. Cutter and A. Coles successively, junior wardens.

The Rev. H. P. Powers entered upon the charge of St. Paul's church in September, 1848, and remained with some interruptions, until August 9, 1851. About this time the name of the town was changed from Lower Sandusky to Fremont. The change was desirable from the fact that the name Sandusky was attached to a number of towns, townships and streams in this part of the State. During the rectorship of Rev. Mr. Powers there were twenty-four baptisms and six persons presented for confirmation; there were four marriages and five burials. Wardens, A. Coles, A. J. Dickinson and Dr. J. W. Wilson; R. P. Buckland, J. W. Wilson, and H. Everett, delegates to the diocesan convention.

Bishop McIlvaine visited the parish during the vacancy that followed and ad-ministered baptism to five children.

The Rev. H. T. Hiester entered upon

the charge of St. Paul's church in June, 1852, and resigned on Easter Monday, 1856. During his stay in Fremont the baptisms were 19; presented for confirmation 7; marriages 4; burials 17. Soon after leaving here Mr. Heister took charge of St. Andrew's church, Farm Ridge, Illinois, where he still remains. Mr. Hiester was evidently very much respected by the people, who regarded him as "a true Christian and faithful minister."

We find that in April, 1853, H. E. Clark and M. A. Elder were appointed a committee to raise funds to pay the debt on the melodeon. In those days the congregation turned around and faced the choir in the gallery during the singing. At one time the bass viol and flute were played by two gentlemen in the choir as an accompaniment to the hymns and chants. More than twenty- five years ago a pipe organ was purchased in the city of New York, having been used for a short time by a congregation there. This instrument was cleaned and repaired several times, and served a useful purpose until 1881, when it was replaced by a fine, large organ of superior quality. After a vacancy of a few months the Rev. R. L. Chittenden, of Columbus, Ohio, entered upon the charge of the parish, remaining eight months, when he resigned in consequence of ill health. He administered baptism once to six persons, all members of one family, and officiated at four burials.

The second service at that time was in the afternoon instead of the evening. During the vacancy which followed Mr. Chittenden's stay here three persons were con-firmed. The Rev. W. H. Cooper, of Tiffin, supplied the church with Sunday afternoon services for some time. Rev. William Fulton assumed charge in August, 1857, and held the rectorship until October, 1859, a period of two years and two

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months. Mr. Fulton is spoken of as an able preacher. During his pastorate the baptisms were fifteen, and fourteen persons were presented for confirmation. Marriages, six. Burials twelve.

During the eight years preceding October, 1859, the following persons held the office of warden: James W. Wilson and Dr. Coles, senior wardens; A. J. Dickinson, Daniel Cooper, Charles Trowbridge, and John Flaugher were in succession junior wardens. The names of delegates to conventions during the same period are James W. Wilson, Daniel Capper, and John Flaugher.

The church building had now been in use for fourteen years, and the bare walls had, no doubt, become somewhat discolored by time and smoke. An artist was accordingly procured who should adorn the walls with fresco painting. After a number of days the doors of the church were opened, and the members of the congregation were admitted to view the work. For some cause the work fell far below their hopes and expectations. It was lacking in taste and adaptation, and to say the least, the interior of the church was not improved. The parish was now vacant for more than a year. During the interval The Rev. Lyman N. Freeman visited Fremont and administered baptism to four children.

The. Rev. Alanson Phelps, of Painesville, Ohio, commenced services as rector of the church, on the first Sunday in December, 1860, and remained in charge just five years. During his rectorate there were: baptisms, thirty-six; presented for confirmation, twenty-four; marriages, nine; burials, twenty-three.

Dr. J. W. Wilson and John Flaugher held, the office of warden, and Messrs. Wilson, Flaugher, William St. Clair and E. W. Amsden were delegates to the diocesan convention.

Gas was introduced into the church in the year 1861. A donation of prayer-books was made to the church by the New York Bible and Common Prayer-Book Society. The gift was very thankfully received, as is proved by the resolution of the vestry regarding it. Special pains were taken to attract children to the Sunday-school, and it became unusually large.

During a part of the year 1865, Mr. Phelps held only one service on Sunday on account of ill health, and in November he resigned the charge from the same cause. The vestry accepted his resignation with expressions of regret and good-will.

During the residence of Mr. Phelps here, some preliminary steps were taken looking to the enlargement and improvement of the church edifice.

The Rev. George H. Jenks now accepted a call to the rectorship, but resigned within a week. This sudden change in his plans was caused by the receipt of a message from friends in California, requesting him to come to that State. The Rev. Charles H. Young, of Tiffin, Ohio, assumed charge of the church in January, 1866, retaining it for over four years, or until April 1, 1870. Under Mr. Young's ministry the baptisms were forty- two, and seventeen persons were presented for confirmation. Marriages, sixteen; burials, twenty. Wardens, Dr. Dillon and John

Flaugher. Delegates, Messrs. Wilson Flaugher, George H. Rice, E. S. Thomas, and John Weaver.

Mr. Young's ministry was marked by an event which, it is believed, stands alone in the whole history of the church in Fremont. He induced a worthy and intelligent young man, a communicant of the church, to begin his studies at Gambier with a view of preparation for the ministry. Frank M. Quig might have done good work in the cause of Christ, but the Lord

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of the harvest ordered otherwise. His health failed, and he came home to die. After languishing for several months, he departed this life in October, 1870, in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope. Who among the youth of this church will take up and carry forward the work which he began.

The Rev. Mr. Young is now in charge of St. John's Church, Worthington, and Christ Church, Clinton, in the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

During the brief vacancy which followed Mr. Young's removal, the Rev. C. S. Doolittle, of Mansfield, Ohio, held Sunday services. In June, 1870, the Rev. R. L. Chittenden (the writer) took charge of the parish the second time, and remained until succeeded by Rev. D. W. Coxe, in 1879. In 1872-73 the church building was enlarged, and the interior entirely reconstructed, at a cost, including furnace, carpets and other improvements, of some eight thousand dollars. The plan includes a handsome tower and spire to be added at some time in the future. The leading features of the improvement are, an addition of fourteen feet in the length of the building, giving room for fourteen additional pews, a handsome recess, chancel, vestry and organ room, an ample cellar for the furnace and fuel, the removal of the gallery, a tasteful pulpit, lecture and communion-table, and stained glass windows. Handsome chandeliers have since been added by the young ladies, who are now organized as a Church aid society. We also have the promise of an appropriate baptismal font. The chancel window is the gift of Rev. Mr. Phelps, a former rector, and is a memorial of a deceased daughter. Mr. Phelps now resides with his family in a very pleasant home in Painesville, the scene of his earlier labors, and occasionally looks in upon us. The first chancel window having been broken

by a hail storm, the windows are now all protected by wire netting. These improve- ments occupied about one year, during which time the court-room was used for our services and Sunday-school.

I have said little of the part taken by the lady members in the work of the church. Their efforts have been constant and very helpful. I recall the names of four who were valued helpers and have been removed by death, viz: Mrs. D. E. Capper, Mrs. Susan A. Everett, Mrs. Priscilla Brown, and Mrs. Josephine A. Dougherty.

LUTHERAN ST. JOHN'S CHURCH.

In the third and fourth decades of the present century (1820-1830), Lutherans from Pennsylvania and Germany began to emigrate to Sandusky county, and to the town of Lower Sandusky. They were visited at very long intervals by the missionaries Stauch, from Western Pennsylvania, J. Krauss and Rev. Charles Henkel, from Somerset, Ohio.

In 1836 a highly esteemed and pious pastor by the name of Adolph A. Konrad, located at Tiffin, Ohio. The Lutherans of this vicinity, hearing of his settlement there, applied to him for his services as pastor among them. Although he had charge of nine preaching places, in Seneca and Wyandot counties, he saw the need of the Lutherans here, and so consented to visit them once every four weeks. But the labors and exposures of such a field proved to be too much for the good man, and being of a frail constitution, he died at Tiffin, March 23, 1841. After his death, Rev. J. J. Beilharz, from Seneca coun- ty, New York, was called to the pastorate, and in the autumn of 1841, moved with his family to Tiffin, Ohio, from which place he served this congregation and also that four miles west of this city. The sainted Konrad having promised the little flocks in this vicinity to send them

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Henry Lang as their future pastor, as soon as he should leave the theological seminary at Columbus, Ohio, his promise was complied with by the proper authorities of the synod, and in July, 1843, he was installed as their future pastor. The congregation being very small and poor, was glad to obtain permission to worship in the school-houses of the town. For nearly two years the congregation worshiped in the Howland street school-house.

In 1.843 the congregation purchased of the county commissioners, the old court-house and the two lots on which it and the old jail stood, for the sum of eight hundred and ten dollars. Eleven years elapsed before this property was paid for, None but God knows the anxiety experienced while this debt was hanging over the congregation. But then, what joy when the last installment was paid off ! The membership was small, and, as already stated, poor; money was scarce, farmers receiving store-pay for their produce instead of money. The struggle to pay off this debt, small as the sum may at present seem to have been, was greater than the burden of the erection of the new church edifice, that being by no means insignificant.

In 1842 the congregation was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, under the name of the Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed St. John's Congregation. By a unanimous vote of the congregation this name was changed, January 1, 1853, to the name Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Congregation, only two active members being German Re-formed, and their families being Lutheran. Judge Otis, of the court of common pleas, granted this petition for change of name in 1856.

For fifteen years the congregation wor- shipped in the old court-house, which had become quite a respectable place of wor-

ship after the necessary changes and re-pairs were completed. Here gradually the flock grew larger, and it needed a larger fold.

At a meeting of the congregation held October 31, 1857 (anniversary of the Reformation,) it was resolved "to erect a new and more suitable church building." A lot was purchased of Miss Jennie Grant, corner Court and Clover streets, for the sum of four hundred dollars, November 10, 1857 (Luther's birthday); the plan for the church was adopted (seventy-six by forty-six). June 1, 1858, work was begun; June 25 (anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession), the corner-stone was laid; and October 31, 1861, the church was dedicated as a house of divine worship. April 11, 1870, a bell weighing two thousand five hundred pounds was hung in the tower. The tower having as yet no spire, Mr. A. Foster was employed to erect one, after a plan drawn by Mr. J. C. Johnson. This spire was dedicated on the pastor's fifty-fifth birthday, November 28, 1873, being Thanksgiving Day, and also the pastor's thirtieth jubilee as pastor of this congregation. On that occasion, among other statements the following was made:

Baptisms, 2,300; confirmed, 1,005; communicants, 15,000; marriages, 680; burials, 810; sermons preached, about 5,000. These figures include all his congregations, however.

As stated above, the congregation consisted, in 1843, of forty communicants. It now numbers about six hundred. The congregation, though numerous, is not wealthy, as the impression seems to be in the community. It possesses a number of well- to-do citizens and farmers, but the greater number are yet struggling for an existence. The growth of the congregation has been gradual, but healthy. The labors be-

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stowed upon it have been blessed, and not been in vain. But the changes since 1843 have been great indeed. The pioneers have nearly all passed away.

But to return. In 1865 the old court-house, having become greatly dilapidated, the congregation determined to renovate the same thoroughly. At an expense of one thousand six hundred dollars it was changed into a comfortable parsonage. Since 1845 the pastor occupied the three lower rooms, which were formerly occupied by the county auditor, clerk of the court, and county treasurer, as offices. The frame of this building is an immense one, some of the timbers in it measuring fourteen inches square. In 1822 it was erected, in the vicinity of the Pease property, when the commissioners determined to remove it to the present spot. Judge Knapp told the writer of this repeatedly, that in the removal of this frame twenty-five yoke of oxen were used, all pulling at the same time. And this seems likely, judging from the ponderous structure, and the want of convenient implements, such as are now used for the removal of buildings. Since 1845 the pastor of the Lutheran congregation occupied this house as a parsonage. Here all his children were born, save one. From this house were conveyed the remains of his wife, three children, a son-in- law, and a little grand-daughter, to their resting-place in Oak-wood cemetery. Joys and sorrows ex-changed places repeatedly within its walls.

The old county jail stood a few feet south of the old court-house, and it was used as a stable. It was here where Sperry, of Green Spring, who had killed his wife, and who had been sentenced to be hanged, committed suicide in 1842. Our lamented friend Birchard once asked the pastor if he was not afraid of spooks, coining home late and putting away his horse in the old jail. The reply was that

he did not suffer himself to be scared by evil spirits, when Mr. Birchard said: "What! not afraid of spooks in the old jail, where Sperry killed himself? It is a capital place for spooks, sir, a capital place." This old jail, used as such until the prison under the present court-house was prepared to receive evil-doers, was taken down in 1865, when eight men worked industriously for three days to level it with the ground, the logs of which it was built being two feet square. The foundation still remains, but the spot where it stood has become an inviting one, forming part of the pastor's flower garden. It is no longer a "capital place for spooks." But if that spot could speak, what a sad history it would relate of the persons imprisoned above it. But the flowers that grow there annually seem to say: "Cast the mantle of charity upon all their sins."

On festival occasions our church proves to be too small for us, and the church officers have been seriously talking of an enlargement.

The church council consists of the pas-tor (being chairman by virtue of his office), three trustees, two deacons, and a treasurer.

Since 1845 a Sunday-school has been sustained by the congregation, At first it numbered twenty-thirty children, now upward of two hundred. For a number of years Mr. Jacob Tschumy has acted as superintendent with efficiency. He is assisted by twenty-five teachers, all of whom were former scholars of the Sunday-school, and are confirmed members of the church. Catechetical instruction is given by the pastor each Sunday before the close of the Sunday-school, in which the children and teachers participate.

Our history may seem monotonous, but to the congregation and the pastor it seems varied enough. Every year brought forth new labors, trials, and conflicts; every year

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brought with it new mercies, rewards and victories.

Both the German and English languages are used in conducting the services of the church. This makes the labors of the pastor greater than they would be if only one language could be made to answer the purpose. But the greater part of the congregation being: European Germans, the German language is indispensible. The younger members, speaking the English better than the German, would prefer to have the English language used exclusively.

May God safely conduct us to that land, where but one language is spoken-the language of Zion.

We conclude this sketch with a brief mention of the faithful pastor of the church. He has all this time been emphatically a worker. He came to Fremont young and poor in this world's goods, and took charge of a congregation as young and poor as himself. Thirty-eight years spent in incessant application to self-improvement and in discharge of his pastoral duties, have at last borne abundant fruit. Often laboring against adverse circumstances, which would have .discouraged other men, he was always at his post. In addition to his pastoral duties, he has exercised a large and beneficial influence in the public schools by the faithful discharge of his duty as a member of the city board of education. He has preached and taught his congregation weekly in two languages, and his incessant work has evoked, from almost nothing, a large congregation, a comfortable parsonage, and a church edifice worth about twenty-five thousand dollars, which is an honor and an ornament to the city. His influence now, through his congregation, is wide-spread and efficient for good. Without detracting from the merits of any man, it may be pertinently asked, of all citizens, who has labored so

many years and so faithfully, to uphold and extend morality and religion, as the subject of this notice ?

*THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

In 1819, Rev. J. Montgomery, Indian agent at Fort Seneca, and a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church, came to Lower Sandusky and preached the first Methodist sermon ever preached in this place. He continued to preach here at stated intervals until 1820, when, so far as he had authority, he organized himself, wife, and daughter into a class. This organization, though well intended by him, was evidently more in assumption than in reality. It was, however, the nucleus of a church. A letter from Montgomery's daughter, Mrs. Sallie Tryham, now living in Tiffin, Ohio, to the writer, says: "At the first communion service the communicants were the above mentioned three persons with the addition of a local preacher from Springfield, Ohio, named Moses Hinkle."

In March, 1822, the Bowlus family em- igrated from Maryland and settled in Lower Sandusky. Of this family Jacob Bowlus, wife and four sisters, and brother-in-law, Thomas White, were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. These were the first members so far as can be ascertained, of the Methodist Episcopal church, that settled either in Lower San-dusky, or what is now included in the territory of Sandusky county.

In the fall of the same year Joel Strahn with his family, emigrated from Perry county, Ohio, and settled on what is now known as the Hafford farm, three miles up the river from Fremont. Mr. Strahn and his wife were members of the church before they emigrated to this place.

Very soon after Mr. Strahn's arrival Rev. James Montgomery proceeded regularly to

*Rev. A. Skinner and H. R. Adams.

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rganize the first class of the Methodist Episcopal church ever formed in Lower Sandusky, with eleven members, namely: Jacob Bowlus, Sarah Bowlus, Margaret Bowlus, Susan Bowlus, Elizabeth Bowlus, Sophia Bowlus, Thomas L. Hawkins, Thomas White, Joel Strahn, Sarah Strahn, and Nancy Halloway. Joel Strahn was appointed leader. Shortly after the organ- ization their number was increased by the addition of Rebecca Pryor, Mrs. Wilson, and Mrs. Tyler. Of these fourteen none are now living but Jacob Bowlus, who still lingers among the men of another generation, the honored patriarch of the Methodist Episcopal church in Sandusky county. His connection with the church has never been broken for a day, and he has always enjoyed not only the respect but the confidence and love of his brethren and the community. Joel Strahn moved to Illinois after he had been here some ten years, and died in 1864.

Rev. James McIntyre, a local preacher living in Huron county, visited Lower Sandusky occasionally and preached in 1822. He subsequently joined the Ohio conference; travelled a few years and retired. The date of his death is not known to the writer.

Rev. James Montgomery was ordained by Bishop Asbury, at Lebanon, Ohio. He was a local preacher thirty years, and died at Fort Seneca in 1830. His funeral was preached by Rev. Ezekiel Cooper, at that time travelling the Lower Sandusky circuit. Methodism and religion, not only in Fremont but in the surrounding country, owes him a debt of lasting gratitude. He preached the gospel to the scattered communities in the country where no church in its regular organized capacity had found its way among the people. By him and his early associates in this irregular work the word of life was carried to the sparsely settled communities, and the way

or a more regularly organized ministry prepared.

From the best evidence at my disposal, it appears that John and Nathan Walker, two men of the same name, were appointed to the Huron circuit in the fall of 1822, and that Lower Sandusky was sup-plied by them. In the fall of 1823, William Swazy, presiding elder on Lancaster district, employed Benija Boardman, a local preacher living in Huron county, as a missionary to organize a circuit up and down the Sandusky River, and from the adjacent settlements, with Lower Sandusky for headquarters. Mr. Boardman seems to have been a man of fair talents, and blessed with a good degree of energy and fidelity to his work. The enterprise was a success, and the close of that conference year the Lower Sandusky circuit was organized by the Ohio conference, placed upon the ministers, and the Rev. E. H. Fields, a young man who had recently been received into the conference, appointed, with Rev. James McMahon as presiding elder. This is the first recognition of Lower Sandusky circuit we have. What the extent of the territory or number of appointments it embraced I do not know. There were ninety- seven members in all the circuit. Mr. Fields remained on the circuit but one year, it then being the practice of the church not to return young men the second year unless there was something-in the circumstances to require it. Rev. J. W. Clarke was appointed to succeed Mr. Field in the fall of 1825. Mr. Clarke remained but one year. What his future history was is not known.

In the fall of 1826 Rev. Arza Brown was appointed to the circuit. He remained two years. The members of the church and those that were interestedly associated with it- who are still living-have a distinct recollection of Mr. Brown. During his pastorate. Lower Sandusky was

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lessed with a powerful and extensive re- vival, perhaps, considering the number of population, the most remarkable religious awakening the place was ever favored with. This revival and ingathering Into the church was a matter of great encouragement to the little struggling society, that had become well nigh discouraged in consequence of the hardships and privations of a new country. I am informed by Mrs. Sallie Ingham, a daughter of Rev. James Montgomery, that Mr. Brown died in Chicago in 1870. How long he continued in the ministry, or what his occupation was after he left it, is not known.

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History of Sandusky County Ohio with Illustrations 1882, Part 75

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