USA > Ohio > Mahoning County > Youngstown > History of St. John's Episcopal Church, Youngstown, Ohio : with part of the history of St. James Church, Boardman, the pioneer parish of Ohio > Part 2
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The following extracts from his journal of that year are inter- esting : -
"Sept. 8th. Rode to Warren and in the evening preached and per- formed divine service in the Court House. The audience was very large and attentive."
"Sept. 9th. Proceeded to Youngstown, here also in the midst of a respectable congregation the same duties were per- formed."
"Sept. 10th. At Poland, in addition to the evening services and a sermon, I baptized two children."
"Sept. Ilth. Sunday rode to Boardinan where I officiated in the morning and evening, administering the communion to twenty-six and confirmed three persons, baptized four adults and four children. The congregation though so crowded as scarcely to admit the admin- istration of the ordinances, was most attentive and reverential during the great length of the service and two sermons."
" Sept. 12th. Rode to Canfield preached and baptized and on the next day rode to New Lisbon."
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Clergymen at Boardman.
Rev. John Hall, who had been a student of Mr. Searle, was ordained a Deacon in June, 1822, and preached in Boardman a few times. Rev. Intrepid Morse was in Boardman in April, 1823, and baptized several. He was there occasionally afterwards, and made an especial visit in August, 1823, to administer the Holy Communion to Hon. Elijah Boardman, of New Milford, Connecti- cut, then on his death-bed at the house of his son, Henry M. Boardman, and who there died on August 18, 1823.
In the Fall of 1828 Rev. Benjamin Benham, of Brookfield, Connecticut, father of Mrs. H. M. Boardman, visited his daugh- ter and her husband, and stayed until the following Summer with them. During his stay he preached at Boardman and at Canfield on alternate Sundays.
Rev. Marcus Tullius Cicero Wing was the first settled Rector in the new Church. Having raised $400 for him, on September 5, 1829, the Vestry decided to give him a call to take charge of the Parish, in connection with Youngstown and Vienna. He was then an instructor in Kenyon College, the new Episcopal College, at Gambier, Ohio. He accepted the call. We have no record of the services he held, if any, at Youngstown, but it is on record at Boardman that after the first year he was engaged for two- thirds of the time for the same sum, $400 per year. He re- signed his charge September 25, 1831, and returned to Gambier, where he held for many years a professorship in Kenyon College.
Rev. John L. Bryan was then engaged as Rector, and continued in that relation, two-thirds of the time, at Boardman, until Octo- ber 13, 1834.
Rev. Joshua L. Harrison, from West Farms, New York, was called December 25, 1835, accepted the call, and came to the Par- ish in the Spring of 1836. He also officiated at Canfield, a new Church having been erected at that place. He was the first to
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hold regular services at Youngstown; prior to this time the services had been very irregular. The following is a copy, in part, of the letter he wrote November 24, 1863, to Rev. C. S. Abbott, of Christ Church, Warren, Ohio: -
" REV'ND. DEAR Sir: - Your favor of the 8th., June came duly to hand. I remember Mr. Jacob Baldwin, and also Mr. John Crowell, with whom I stayed, on my visit to Warren. I do not recollect any of the names of the persons who may have been in Warren, but I organized the Parish and gave it the name of Christ Church. And now to refer to Youngstown, and I believe I may claim the honor of having been the first preacher of the Church in what was then a very pleasant village on the banks of the Mahoning; for I preached there, as these extraets from my own personal register will show, 'On the 23rd., June, 1836, in the Presbyterian Meeting House' and again on these dates; viz, June 30, July 14, Aug. 11, Aug. 25, Sept. 22 and Oct., 6th., and then I baptized the following children, sons of J. W. and Lucy Rayen ;- viz, Isaac Jackson. aged 9 years, William Asa, 7 years, Philo Porter 5 years and James Wil- son, 3 years. October 18, I preached at Youngstown, and on 8th, August, 1837, married at Youngstown, Francis Reno to Rachel Pent- land; I received $10. Nov. 23, married John H. McCoombs to Amaryllis B. Fitch and received $10. Nov. 30, married Wm. B. Fos- ter to Mary Ann Wick. The young lady died in about six weeks after her marriage. Mr. Foster, who was a friend of mine and a relative of the Rev. E. A. Buchanan, gave me $20.
"Perhaps this brief record may not be deemed unworthy of a place in the Register of the new Parish at Youngstown.
Yours very sincerely,
J. L. HARRISON." Mr. Harrison removed to Greensburg, Pa., November, 1838.
The Rectorship was vacant until May, 1840, when Rev. Joseph T. Eaton came to the Parish and remained until April, 1845, holding services in Warren part of the time. Rev. William Granville, from Medina, Ohio, on July 13, 1845, preached, for the first time, in Canfield, and officiated there and at Boardman until March 22, 1846.
Henry M. Boardman removed to Boardman in 1819, and resided there until his death, resulting from an accident, on December 17, 1846. Soon after his arrival he was elected Clerk of the Parish. In . 1827 he was elected Junior Warden, and on
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the retiracy of Ethel Starr, in 1843, Senior Warden, which he held until his death. He commenced Lay-reading in April, 1846, and continued it until September 27, 1846, when Rev. C. F. Lewis took charge of the Parish. He was succeeded in May, 1848, by Rev. Joseph Adderly, who was succeeded in December, 1852, by the Rev. C. S. Doolittle, who officiated about four years, until after September, 1856. There was again a vacancy and Rev. A. T. McMurphy entered upon , the Rectorate about October, 1857, and continued as Rector of Boardman and Can- field until 1863, officiating occasionally in Youngstown and other places, and was largely instrumental in organizing the Parish of St. John's in Youngstown.
Church Edifice in Boardman.
At a meeting held in the house of Mr. Ethel Starr, September 5, 1825, on motion it was resolved to build a Church, and a build- ing committee, consisting of Asa Baldwin, H. M. Boardman and Trial Tanner, was appointed. The records do not show when they commenced work on the Church, but it was in course of con- struction in 1827. The records do not say when building was finished, which must have been in the Summer of 1829, as their yearly meeting, in April of 1829, was held at the house of Ethel Starr; their next vestry meeting was in the Church, in August of that year. On August 23, 1829, the Church was consecrated by Bishop Chase.
The building was remodeled in 1881, but the chancel remains practically the same as it was built in 1827. Many articles of furniture belonging to the original edifice are still in use, some of them very old, among which may be noted the quaint old bap- tismal font brought from New Milford, Connecticut, an old fash- ioned Communion table, and the stained glass window creeted in memory of Hon. Elijah Boardman and his wife Mary Anna. This window was for many years in the Church at New Milford, but
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was removed to Boardman when the old Church at that place was taken down. The baptismal font was also removed to Board- man, and from it many of the ancestors of the people of the Western Reserve received baptism, the grandmother of our present Bishop (a relative of the Boardmans) being one of the number.
The earliest record of baptisms of Youngstown people is found in the Register of St. James' Church, Boardman, in the handwriting of H. M. Boardman, Clerk of the Parish, and is as follows : - "May 22, 1823, by the Rev. Roger Searle." ( Place not given, but apparently in Youngstown.)
1. James Wilson Rayen, adult.
Witnesses: - Mr. E. E. Rayen; H. M. Boardman, not present, but answering by request.
2. Margaretta Amanda, infant daughter of James W. and Clarissa E. Rayen.
Sponsors: - The parents and Mrs. S. H. Boardman. Mrs. Boardman was absent, but became sponsor by request.
The Church in Youngstown.
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The Youngstown Church had its beginning through the Sun- day School work begun in the early fifties by Mrs. Jesse Thorn- ton, nee Miss Henrietta Foster, a sister of Stephen C. Foster, the song writer. Mrs. Thornton, who was an Episcopalian, taught a class of young children every Sunday in one of the rooms of her home on West Federal street. Her daughters Mary ( afterwards Mrs. Major Crosman ) and Eliza, assisted in this work, which was continued for several years, until the Thorn- tons removed to Warren, Ohio. Some of the scholars who attended her class became teachers of the Sunday School held in the old brick school house, corner Wood and Champion streets, of which mention is made further on.
Rev. A. T. McMurphy, as already stated, became Rector of St. James' Church, in Boardman, in 1857. He frequently held services in Youngstown. Rev. C. S. Abbott, of Warren, also
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held services here occasionally, the Presbyterians and Methodists generously furnishing the use of their Churches on these occa- sions. With her increasing population many additions were made to the number of Episcopalians, and it was considered desirable to form a Church organization. For this purpose a meeting of " The Friends of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Youngs- town " was held on July 7, 1859, of which Mr. M. T. Jewell was Chairman, and Hiram A. Hall, Secretary. Revs. McMurphy and Abbott were present. They instructed the meeting as to the measures necessary to effect an organization. It was resolved that "it was desirable and practicable to organize a Parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Youngstown," and on motion of Mr. Jewell, "St. John's" was adopted as the name of the Parish. Committees were appointed, one to prepare a petition and procure signatures, and another to procure a suitable room for holding Church services, and Revs. McMurphy and Abbott were invited to hold services here as often as might be conveni- ent, it being understood that their services would be remunerated and they would be hospitably and handsomely entertained. Rev. C. S. Abbott, in a letter dated February 8, 1898, stated that "at odd intervals in preceding years, clergymen had been invited by friends of former parishioners to visit them and hold services, but there was no thought, as far as I know, from these invita- tions, of any permanent work as their result. I held services and preached on the afternoon of Trinity Sunday, June 19, 1859. The Methodist Church was kindly loaned to us for the service. This was the beginning of the Church movement. On Thursday night, July 7, Mr. McMurphy and myself took the incip- ient steps towards organizing the Parish. The meeting was held in a small frame building,- session room, I think it was called,- ou the grounds of and belonging to the Presbyterian Church."
Bishop Bedell visited Youngstown on November 29, 1859, and the requisite number of names having been signed to the petition,
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he advised a notice to be given for a meeting to be held for organization.
Organizing St. John's Parish.
The notice was given, and the meeting was held in the old Presbyterian Church, on East Federal street, on the evening of December 9, 1859. Bishop Bedell, as we are informed, was present and preached. After the sermon and usual religious services, Rev. Mr. McMurphy was appointed Chairman, and H. A. Hall, Secretary. The committee, consisting of William M. Hunter, Henry Manning, Jr., and Joseph B. Wilder, appointed at a previous meeting, presented the petition and signatures.
The following is a copy of the petition as it appears on the old record book : -
Petition.
We, whose names are hereunto affixed, deeply impressed with the importance of the Christian Religion, and earnestly wishing to promote its Holy influence in the hearts and lives of ourselves, our families and neighbors, do hereby associate ourselves together, under the name, style and title of the Parish of St. John's Church, in the Township of Youngstown, County of Mahoning, State of Ohio, and by so doing, do adopt the Constitution and Canons of the Protes- tant Episcopal Church in the United States of America and of the Diocese of Ohio.
Signers' Names.
Signers' Names.
JOSEPH B. WILDER,
MRS. MARY H. POWERS,
M. T. JEWELL,
MRS. M. F. JEWELL,
H. A. HALL,
MRS. J. M. WILDER,
JOHN W. ELLIS,
MRS. SOPHIA MANNING,
MRS. ELIZABETH BYRD,
MRS. MARY EMERSON,
MRS. ALEXANDER CAUFIELD,
MISS EMMA SMITH,
MRS. A. SMITH,
MISS MARY SMITH,
MRS. C. M. A. MANNING,
ARTHUR G. LEWIS, SUSAN LEWIS,
MRS. EMILY ARMS,
T. W. JOHNSON,
MRS. A. S. MANNING,
C. G. EDWARDS,
MR. WILLIAM CREED,
WM. J. HITCHCOCK,
MRS. HANNAH CREED.
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H. MANNING, JR., W. M. HUNTER, JOHN SMITH, SAMUEL A. Ross, F. O. ARMS, JAMES M. RENO,
Morris T. Jewell.
Hiram A. Hall.
John Smith.
John W. Ellis.
First Vestrymen of
Freeman O. Arms.
J. B. Wilder.
W. J. Hitchcock.
St. John's Parish.
Others who were active assistants in the organization, although not signers of the petition, were : -
FRANCIS RENO, . JOHN MANNING,
MRS. RACHEL RENO, R. J. POWERS,.
MISS SARAH MOCOY,
ALEXANDER CAUFIELD,
MRS. WM. J. HITCHCOCK, MRS. HENRIETTA THORNTON.
Election of Officers.
At this meeting, December 9, 1859, the Church was organ- ized by electing the following officers: - Francis Reno, Senior Warden; Henry Manning, Jr., Junior Warden; M. T. Jewell, John W. Ellis, H. A. Hall, John Smith, William J. Hitchcock, Freeman O. Arms, J. B. Wilder, Vestrymen. The Vestry elected Mr. Jewell their Secretary.
On December 13, of the same year, the Vestry met, and after electing Mr. Jewell their Secretary, took steps toward hav- ing a Church of their own by starting a subscription paper to obtain subscriptions "for the purpose of purchasing a lot and erecting thereon a suitable Church edifice." Those present signed that evening to the amount of $550.00. On May 21, 1860, Messieurs. F. O. Arms, H. Manning, Jr. and M. T. Jewell were appointed to choose a location, and in June they reported favorably on a lot offered by Dr. Manning. On July 23, 1860, the old High School property, on the Southwest corner of Wood and Champion streets, was purchased from John Manning for $1,400.00, he taking in part payment at $400.00 another lot on Walnut street, which had been given to the Church by Dr. Manning, who approved the exchange.
The history of this piece of property is interesting. It appears that in 1827 John Moore began the erection on it of a building to be used for a Presbyterian Church, but when he had finished the first story, a dissension arose among the members of the congregation, which resulted in an abandonment of the work. Dr. Henry Manning bought the building and roofed it
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over. For many years it was used as a private school, and is often mentioned as the "Old High School." From the time it was purchased by the Parish until shortly before the laying of the corner-stone of the Church, it was used by the Sunday School, which was organized and doing good work before a Rector had been placed in charge. The teachers and workers in the Sunday School were, of course, from among those who were prominent in the organizing of the Parish. Mrs. Freeman O. Arms was the prime mover in the work, in which she was ably assisted by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Manning, Mrs. Mary Powers, Mrs. Rachel Reno, Miss Emma Smith, Mr. J. M. Reno, and others. In this old building, in 1860, was held the first Christ- mas festival held in Youngstown. The program of the day's exercises is not on record, but Mrs. Freeman Arms, who had a very pleasant voice, sang some of the Church music, and the members present joined in singing hymns as best they could without the aid of instrumental music. This was a gala day for those interested in the Church, for up to this time the Youngs- town people had never held any religious services on Christmas. Happily in these days of grace Christmas, Easter and some other days considered by us as Holy, are treated by other Churches with considerable more respect, as regularly arranged services, copied closely after ours, are now quite common with those who in former years condemned us for, as they erroneously said : - "Copying after the Romanists."
Building the First Church.
On Easter Monday of the year 1861 the Vestry appointed Messieurs. W. J. Hitchcock, F. O. Arms, John W. Ellis and M. T. Jewell as the Building Committee, and on May 27, of that year, the corner-stone of the Church was laid by the then Assistant Bishop, Gregory T. Bedell, assisted by the Rev. A. T. McMurphy, of Boardman. The contents of the stone, as shown
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by Mr. Jewell in the brief history of the Church, which he pre- pared and read at the time were as follows: -
Copy of the Western Episcopalian. Copy of each of the Youngstown papers. Journal of Diocesan Convention for 1860. Catalogue of the Theological Seminary and Kenyon College, at Gambier. Brief history of the Church. Bible, Prayer Book and some specimen coins.
The ceremonies incident to the laying of the corner-stone were as follows : -
Repeating by all the people the 122d Psalm.
Introductory address by Rev. Mr. A. T. McMurphy, and prayer.
Reading of Scripture lesson.
Singing of first and second verses of Hymn 38.
Reading of brief history of the Church by Mr. Jewell.
Laying of the corner-stone by Bishop Bedell.
Gloria in excelsis.
Prayer. Address by the Bishop. Hymn No. 25. Doxology and Benediction.
The building was completed in the early part of the year 1862, and consecrated by Bishop Bedell, October 21, 1863.
First Rector - Rev. Wyllys Hall.
From the formation of the Parish until the Autumn of 1861 Reverends A. T. MeMurphy, of Boardman, and C. S. Abbott, of Warren, held services every two weeks alternately, the Presby- terians and Methodists giving the use of their Churches on such occasions. Rev. Wyllys Hall, of Portsmouth, Ohio, came to the Parish on invitation in October, 1861, and was so well liked that he was on December 15, 1861, elected Rector of St. John's Parish at a salary of $400.00 per year and what would be given by the Diocesan Missonary Society as their proportion of the mission
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fund - amount not known. At this time Arms & Murray's Hall, Southeast corner of Federal and Phelps Streets, was rented and the Church services held there regularly thereafter until the con- gregation moved into their own building. Although the congre- gation was small in those days, yet it was an earnest, wide awake lot of people; the ladies then, as now, working faithfully to obtain money for the Parish expenses. An entry on the Treasurer's book for July 2, 1861, shows he received $94.00, proceeds from "Ladies' Strawberry Festival," and on July 13, 1862, cash from "Ladies' Oyster Supper, $100.00."
Mr. Hall's salary was increased in April, 1863, to $500.00. On September 15, 1865, he resigned, and his resignation was accepted, to take effect on the 25th of the same month. This was Mr. Hall's first charge, but he is favorably spoken of by those who knew him and remember the good work he did when the Parish was new and struggling for existence. Mr. Hall is now retired and lives at San Mateo, California.
Rev. Samuel Maxwell, Rector.
Mr. Maxwell was born August 6, 1839, at Albany, New York. He graduated as an A. B. from the College of the City of New York. After a post graduate course, he received degree of Bachelor of Science. He then took a course at the Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1861 he was ordained a Deacon by Bishop Horatio Potter in the Church of the Epiphany and became Assistant Rector at St. Mark's Church, New York. In 1863 he went to Akron, Ohio, and on March 23, 1866, the Vestry of St. John's Church, Youngstown, unanimously elected him as Rector at a salary of $1,200.00 per year. He accepted the call and entered upon his duties May 1, 1866. The next year his salary was increased to $1,500.00. During Mr. Max- well's administration of seventeen years the Parish prospered exceedingly, making it possible to extend the work and add
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improvements to the Parish. In 1869 the Parishoners built a Rectory for Mr. Maxwell on the west side of the Church lot. The increased growth of the Parish having made it very neces- sary to have more church room, there were commenced in 1879 a series of improvements, all under the supervision of Mr. Max- well. A Sunday School room was built below the Chapel, front- ing on Champion street; the Vestry room was added; new furniture and altar were procured and Church newly frescoed. The thoroughly remodeled Church was opened with appropriate services by Bishop Bedell on May 20, 1880. Mr. Maxwell built up St. John's Church from a small Parish to a vigorous, self- sustaining, aggressive institution, and when his energies and ability had finally excited the interest of other Parishes and a call was given him to extend his labors into the wider field of Trinity Church, of Pittsburg, his people were compelled reluct- anly to give him up. Mrs. Maxwell shares with her husband the friendship and esteem of St. John's Parish. She was a will- ing and energetic worker in all lines of Church work, and assisted materially in making the musical part of the Church service very attractive. On Sunday, April 1, 1883, Mr. Maxwell preached his farewell sermon to an audience that was limited by the size of the Church, many people being unable to gain admis- sion. After many years in Pittsburg, Mr. Maxwell went to a Parish on Long Island, New York, and in the Autumn of 1896 was stricken with apoplexy while conducting services. Ile never regained consciousness, dying in a few hours.
Boundary Dispute.
During Mr. Maxwell's time was commenced the suit of the County Commissioners to compel the Church to give to the County four feet of their land on Wood street, adjoining the Court House property, which the County claimed. The case was bitterly fought by the County Attorney. The final trial, which
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took place in 1889, was decided in favor of the County, to the surprise even of the Judge (as the testimony was overwhelmingly in favor of the Church) who promptly granted a new trial. Before it could be taken up again, it was discovered that all the papers and data bearing on the case had mysteriously disap- peared.
The Vestry at an informal meeting decided to not carry on further litigation, and abandoned the case, as well as the dis- puted ground. Mention is made of this (to us now) very trifling matter, but at the time it was a very serious affair to those interested, and will be remembered by many of the members, who felt that they had been tricked out of property that had been their own for years, without question.
Bell Fund.
In 1876 the subject of a bell, or chime of bells, was agitated and a "bell fund " started. Nothing came of it, however, and the project was abandoned. This was as near as the Parish ever came to owning a Church bell. The congregation has always found its way to services without the primitive summons in use by some Churches.
The Rev. Frederick Burt Avery, Rector.
On March 30, 1883, the Vestry elected the Rev. F. B. Avery, who accepted and held his first services Sunday, April 8, 1883. Mr. Avery was born at Cleveland, Ohio, June 7, 1854, his father, the Rev. John T. Avery, being a noted Congregational Evan- gelist. He received his early education in the Cleveland publie schools, afterwards entering Oberlin College, where he received the degree of M. A. He studied law at Cleveland, and was law librarian of Cuyahoga County for three years; received the degree of Doctor of Legal Learning from the Ohio State Law College, and practiced law for two years with U. H. Birney. He
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then took a theological course at the Divinity School, in Phila- delphia, receiving his diploma in 1880. In that year he was ordained to the Deaconate at Trinity Church, Cleveland, and afterwards was appointed "Minister in Charge" of St. Paul's Church, Canton, Ohio. He was ordained a Priest in 1881.
January 25, 1884, Rev. Avery was instituted Rector of St. John's Parish by the Rt. Rev. Gregory T. Bedell, D. D., Bishop of Ohio, assisted by the Reverends James' A. Bowles, W. C. French and George Hinkle, of Cleveland; Ganter, of Akron; J. A. Matthews, of Warren; S. W. Garrett, of Hudson, and Samuel Maxwell, of Pittsburg. Mr. Avery was the second Rector insti- tuted to a Parish in Ohio, according to the ritual of the Book of Common Prayer. The institution proper was conducted by Bishop Bedell, closing with a brief address by him, after which the keys of the Church were presented to the Rector by the Senior Warden, Mr. James M. Reno, who stood at the right of the altar, the Junior Warden, Mr. James Rudge, standing at the left. After prayer by the Bishop the services closed. An elo- quent sermon was then preached by Mr. Maxwell.
St. James' Chapel.
In 1883-1884, St. James' Chapel was built on a lot given by James and David Mackey, at the South-west corner of Albert and State streets, near the mills of the Mahoning Valley Iron Company. The Chapel was opened February 24, 1884, with divine services by Rev. Avery, at which time he baptized sixteen persons. The name St. James was given to this Chapel because St. James was a brother of St. John, whose name the mother Church bears. It was also the name of both Wardens, the Parish Treasurer and one of the gentlemen who gave the lot.
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