USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne county, Ohio, from the days of the pioneers and the first settlers to the present time > Part 32
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Other circumstances point to Presbyterian worship in the year 1815. In a little house on West Liberty street, nearly opposite the present residence of Mr. Bonewitz, some ten or twelve of the Presbyterian faith assembled, prior to 1815, for the worship of God. In that place this church had, as all the circumstances indi- cate, its birth.
Who dispensed the Word of Life, and who all the worshipers were, are not known. Would that we could have their names
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carved on some marble tablet to hand down to succeeding genera- tions. The fathers and mothers were few in number and have long since gone to their rest, but their sons and daughters are nu- merous, in the enjoyment of a rich legacy bequeathed by the first worshipers at a cost of self-denial of which we can have no real appreciation.
In the manuscript of the history of Wayne county, by Mr. Ben Douglass, I find the following oral testimony touching the organiza- tion of this church: From this manuscript it appears that Mr. Alexander McBride told Mr. John McClellan that this church was organized with fifteen (15) members, in the year 1815, by Rev. Wil- liam Mathews, by the order of the Presbytery of Richland, at which time Mr. Alex. McBride and Mr. Walter Buchanan were chosen ruling elders. At the time Mr. McClellan received this in- formation Mr. McBride was the only person living that was pres- ent at the organization of the church.
Any anxious desire to know whether Mr. McBride and Mr. Buchanan were two of the ten or twelve persons who worshiped in the little house nearly opposite the present residence of Mr. Bonewitz, and whether the church was organized then, by Rev. Wm. Mathews in 1815, must rest satisfied with the probabilities in the case. For one year only after this organization, with Mr. Mc- Bride and Mr. Buchanan as ruling elders, the Rev. Mr. Mathews continued a stated supply.
We must now leave the infant church for a period of five years, knowing nothing of it except the occasional preaching the congregation received from different clergymen.
What prosperous or adverse winds blew over it, what for peace or dissension obtained in that struggling flock, we know not, except from an inference that in the year 1821 it comes to the sur- face again strong for duty and manly in purpose.
Meanwhile the tides of emigration came rolling in and fur- nished reinforcements to the struggling band, while a merciful God, with an eye ever watchful of His people's seemingly most trivial interests, had guided their efforts, enlarged their hearts and smiled on them benignantly. At this juncture they seemed well prepared to make aggressive efforts for the cause of Christ. Under the leadership of a wise, faithful, energetic and godly pastor, they be- gan to lengthen their cords and to strengthen their stakes. The records of the old Presbytery of Mansfield show that Rev. Thos. Barr accepted, April 4, 1820, the call of this congregation for one-
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half of his time, and that on May 24, 1820, he was installed pas- tor over the united charge of Wooster and Apple Creek. Rev. Mr. Barr, the pastor, was chairman of the meeting of the congre- gation, in the Baptist church, October 30, 1821, at which the present constitution and articles were adopted. In pursuance of the adoption of the constitution one of its provisions was com- plied with, in the immediate election of Messrs. A. Hanna, Thos. Robison and Alex. McBride, trustees of the congregation.
The Trustees, by virtue of authority given them in the Consti- tution, elected Mr. Reasin Beall Clerk of the Board of Trustees. As thus constituted, they entered immediately on the duties per- taining to their office, and have transmitted through their success- ors in office to this time, all their proceedings, which, as ratified by the congregation, have put the present organization into possession of all the rights of property and estate originally acquired by the organization. At this same congregational meeting, Mr. John Christmas, of Wooster, offered a certain lot of ground on West Liberty street, for the purpose of erecting thereon a house of wor- ship, and requested the board to accept the same as a donation for the benefit of the congregation and for no other use whatever." The donation was accepted, and at a meeting of the Trustees, held at the house of Reasin Beall, November 2, 1821, Mr. Beall, as Clerk of the Board, presented "a deed of conveyance from John Christmas and Elizabeth, his wife, to the Board in trust for the congregation, which deed was approved, and ordered to be re- corded in the Recorder's office of Wayne county."
The deed, as prepared, was received for record November 3, 1821, and recorded November 7, 1821, in Book B, page 407, 8. and 9, of the Records of Wayne county, by L. Cox, Esq., County Recorder.
The lot thus donated is the same as that on which the residence of the late Dr. S. Wilson now stands. The ground having been secured, the Trustees, under direction of the congregation, made arrangements for the erection of their new house of worship. For this purpose the congregation, evidently large in territory, was divided into five districts, and a collector appointed to each, with instructions to take subscriptions, "payable in money, grain, or such produce as is usually taken in stores, in two equal installments, viz: The first to be paid on the Ist day of March next; the sec- ond to be paid on the Ist of December following." The part sub- scribed in money to be paid to the Treasurer, Mr. John Christmas,
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the part subscribed in grain to be delivered at Mr. Stibbs' or Mr. Plank's mills, and the part subscribed in produce to be delivered by the subscribers at the store of Mr. William McComb, in Woos- ter." The miller's receipt for the grain, and the storekeeper's recept for the produce, to be delivered by the subscriber to the Treasurer, and in all cases of payment by a subscriber, the receipt was to be delivered through the Treasurer to the Clerk of the Board of Trustees.
It would be impossible to give minutely the successive steps taken by the congregation in the erection of their first house of worship. I pass rapidly to this difficult and perplexing task. The records show evidence of embarrassment, disappointment, and yet, withal, a determination, coupled with moral and religious heroism, which must be admired. At last a sufficient amount was sub- scribed to justify the Trustees to make contracts for the speedy erection of the house. The first contract was on May 10, 1822, with Mr. Thomas Carroll and Dr. Daniel McPhail, for fifty thou- sand bricks, for which they were to receive in payment, on the day of delivery, $37.50 in cash, and $75 in equal proportions of wheat, at 621/2 cents per bushel, delivered at Mr. Stibb's and Mr. Plank's mills. This was one-half the cost of the fifty thousand bricks, the other half to be paid in June, on terms equal to the first.
The first subscription was taken November 3, 1821, and then after the congregation had held two meetings, one in the German church, June 3, 1823, and the other in the Court House, June 10, 1823, a second subscription was taken August 25, 1823, and a third, June 21, 1825, ere a sufficient amount had been subscribed for the completion of the house. The specifications describing the inside character of work are certainly curiosities. As an illustra- tion of this, I quote as follows : "Four outside doors to be made of good, sound and well-seasoned pine or white walnut boards, similar to the front door in Reasin Beall's dwelling-house." The thirteen windows, washboards, posts and gallery floor, lathing and plastering stairs to the gallery, and its front, the pulpit, the seats and the railings, are each and all as quaintly and as minutely specified. At what time the congregation entered their new house of worship does not appear, since no record is made of the first service held in the new house. The presumption is that it was about November 25, 1825, as on the 20th of this month the seats were sold to the highest bidder for the following purposes, viz: To
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raise funds for the completion of the house, and to accommodate all with seats of their own choice, as to location and price. Each purchaser was to give his note to the Trustees for the purchase, payable in part in three months, the remainder in nine months ; one-half of the purchase in money and the remaining half in wheat, rye and corn at the market price. The following quaint receipt corroborates the presumption that the congregation entered their new house of worship in 1825 :
I have received from R. Beall and others, twelve dollars in full, for making fires, lighting candles, and sweeping the meeting-house, for the year 1827, com- mencing November 30, 1826, and ending December 31, 1827.
JACOB MASON.
The different subscriptions show that the cost of the building was as follows :
$508.75 in cash, $34 in work, $20 in bricks, 2000 bricks, $16 in wheat, 200 bushels wheat, $105 in sawed stuff, $42 in flooring, $47 in hauling, 258 bushels corn, $Io in digging stumps and foundation, 175 lights of sash, $10 in poplar boards, 114 bushels rye, 10 joists at 4 cents per foot, $12 in leather, $78 in cloth, 5 yards in linen, 5 yards in tow-linen, 20 lbs. flax, $9.3712 in coarse shoes, $20 in silver work, $Io in teaspoons, $5 in tailoring, $6 in " blacksmithing," $2 in cabinet work, $13.50 in hats, $8 in saddlery, $30 in nails, I spinning wheel, and 42 gallons of whiskey .
[ Mr. McCurdy very irreverently neglected to furnish the names of the church members who made these contributions, especially Mr. - and the other donor of the "whisky !"]
In such an age as this, we can scarcely reconcile such a sub- scription, either with religion or common sense. Neither can we appreciate the times in which the founders of this church lived. All these articles were as truly money as the currency of this age is to us. In money, as they regarded their subscriptions, the house cost the congregation, according to the final report, January I, 1829, $2,737.838. The whole subscription amounted to $1,568.58. The amount realized by the sale of seats was $1, 136.40. The amount of delinquent subscriptions was $184.71. On Janu- ary I, 1829, an indebtedness of $217.56 rested on the congregation, which was speedily provided for. On September 7, 1829, the Rev. Thomas Barr having asked, the congregation consented to the dissolution of the pastoral relation, he having served this con- gregation for nine years and four months ; a period which was evi- dently the most trying in the history of the congregation. It is not too much to say, that this congregation owes, under God, whatever of success it has attained to this godly servant of Christ,
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and those noble laymen, who, with him, struggled hard and long, to establish this congregation and church on a basis firm and solid. The fidelity with which the first Trustees served the congregation may be inferred from their continuance in office long after the pastoral relation between Mr. Barr and the congregation was dis- solved. The pastor's salary was raised annually by collectors, appointed to each of the five districts, into which the congregation was divided. As a relic of this fact, one of the old subscription lists still exists, and is worthy of the greatest care, in its transmis- sion to future generations. At the time Mr. Barr ceased to be the pastor of this congregation, Alexander Hanna, Alexander McBride, Robert Patterson and Thomas Cox were ruling elders, though no notice of the election of either of them appears on record, save that of Alexander McBride. It is a source of profound regret that no mention is made of the increase of membership to this church dur- ing the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Barr. That which will be given subsequently is both conjectural, and traditional. From this point onward the history is more easily traced. I have been particular to give all the available circumstances, presumptions, and proba- bilities, connected with the early history of this church; only for the reason that so little data is given in the records, which, however, with the oral testimony that is fresh in the memory of many, fur- nish what is believed to be an accurate history of the congregation in its first years.
On January 8, 1830, the session were authorized by the con- gregation to make application for the ministerial services of Rev. William Cox. Mr. Cox served this congregation as stated supply for one year, at the expiration of which he declined an invitation to serve the congregation longer, and accepted an agency in the interest of the American Sunday-school Union.
Mr. Adley Hemphill and John Cunningham were added to the members of the session on the 18th of April, 1831, after several unsuccessful attempts to dissolve the union between Wooster and Apple Creek congregations.
It was finally accomplished September 13, 1831, at which time Wooster congregation adjudged itself able to employ a pastor for the whole of the time, and acting upon this decision, a call was made out on this date for the ministerial services of Rev. William Wiley. On August 3, 1832, a call was made out for the minis- terial labors of the Rev. George W. Warner. At what time he
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entered upon the pastoral oversight of this congregation is not known, but the fact of his dismissal from the pastorate is recorded as having taken place April 4, 1836. On March 4, 1833, a meet- ing of the congregation was called for the purpose of adopting measures looking toward the purchase of a place for the burial of the dead. A committee, consisting of Messrs. A. Hanna, Reasin Beall, Joseph Stibbs and Adley Hemphill, were appointed to make the purchase of a lot lying south of the house of worship on West Liberty street. Said committee reported to the congregation April 1, 1833, the purchase of the lot aforesaid, from Mr. John Christmas, for $88.50, together with a deed of the same, which was accepted, and recorded in Book I, pages 189-90, in the rec- ords of Wayne county, by L. Cox, Esq., County Recorder. From the dissolution of the pastoral relation between Rev. Mr. Warner and this congregation, until December 31, 1838, there was a vacancy in pastoral labors, during which the Rev. Woodruff acted as stated supply.
The successor of the Rev. Mr. Warner was Mr. William Mc- Candlish, a licentiate, who was ordained and installed pastor in June, 1839, and continued the pastor of this church until May I, 1849. The good name of this honored servant of Christ is fra- grant with rich memories of a faithful, earnest and most untiring labor. The Lord richly blessed him in his labors here, and by means of him brought many to Christ. During this pastorate the following historical facts appear : Ist. Almost cotemporaneous with the settlement of Mr. McCandlish as pastor, a movement was made looking towards the improvement of the church building, which was one of those peculiar notions of congregations, which, as in this case, usually developed into a new house of worship. The proposed improvements resulted in temporary repairs to the foundation of the church edifice, and the erection of a board fence around the lot on which it stood. 2d. The first change in the Board of Trustees was January 6, 1840, in the election of Mr. William McComb, in the place of Mr. Alexander Hanna, whose term of office had expired. 3d. On September 20, 1841, Messrs. Samuel Coulter, John Jacobs, David Schamp, William Jacobs and William McComb were duly elected to the office of Ruling Elder; and to the same office, October 16, 1848, Isaac Johnson, Leander Smith, Joseph E. Mcconahay, Stephen F. Day and William Slem- mons were elected. 4th. On the 24th of March, 1845, a meeting of the congregation was held, at which Mr. McCandlish presented
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his request for a dissolution of the pastoral relation, with reasons therefor ; thereupon the congregation adjudged his reasons insuf- ficient and very kindly invited Mr. McCandlish not to "grow weary in well doing." It was on Monday, January 24, 1840, that a com- mittee was appointed by the congregation to examine the church building and report favorably or otherwise in the matter of a new house of worship. The enterprise of a new church building was now fairly inaugurated ; all agreeing on the necessity, but disagree- ing as to the time when such an enterprise should be undertaken. Along with this movement there was introduced into the congre- gation an element of restlessness, and there being no favorable evidence for harmonious action in this regard, and while the sub- ject of a new house of worship was still being agitated, Rev. Mr. Mc- Candlish, on April 9, 1849, tendered to the congregation his resig- nation as pastor. The congregation agreed to acquiesce in Mr. McCandlish's request, and by consent of pastor and people, Pres- bytery dissolved the relation, to take effect in the month of May following.
The congregation was now vacant for about one year, when on April 1, 1850, a call was ordered to be presented before the Pres- bytery of Steubenville for the ministerial labors of the Rev. Joseph H. Chambers. He took charge of this congregation on the last Sabbath of the month of May following. His work in this con- gregation was brief. He became pastor on the last Sabbath of May, 1850, and to this congregation he preached his last sermon on the last Sabbath of August of the same year. On the first Sabbath of September, although very much indisposed, he assisted Rev. Dr. John Robinson, of Ashland, at a communion service, and afterwards returned home with an attack of typhus fever, from which he died September 13, 1850. His precious dust lies undis- turbed in a cemetery near Pittsburg, Pa. In this same year (1850) the project of a new church was vigorously undertaken. It appears from the records that a subscription had been taken with a view to rebuild on the old site on West Liberty street. The change in location, however, was effected by the endeavors of the ladies of the congregation, as is seen by the following resolution of the congregation, on April 1, 1850, viz :
WHEREAS, A portion of the ladies of this congregation propose to donate to the congregation, in fee simple, a lot of ground on the corner of North and Walnut streets, being 90 feet on North street and 180 feet on Walnut street, and in addition
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to the same obligate themselves to procure not less than $300 additional subscrip- tion for the erection of a new church edifice on said lot; therefore,
Resolved, That the subscribers to the paper for building on the old site accept the above proposition, and apply their subscriptions for building on the "old site" to the erection of a new church edifice on the lot proposed to be donated.
The resolution was adopted with the amendment that a com- mittee be appointed to solicit the concurrence of the subscribers to the proposed change. On April 13, 1850, the committee reported to the congregation that they had obtained the concurrence of the subscribers to the proposed change of location for the new church edifice, and at the same meeting the ladies presented their sub- scription, amounting to $515, coupled with the assurance that they were prepared forthwith to obtain the title to the lot donated, whereupon the congregation resolved that the church be located on the present lot. A building committee of five persons, viz : J. P. Coulter, James Jacobs, Ephraim Quinby, Isaac Johnson and David Robison, were appointed. A call for the ministerial labors of Rev. J. N. Shepherd was ordered November 16, 1850, who, instead of becoming pastor, acted as stated supply until March, 1851, at which time the call of the congregation was reissued, but finally declined by Mr. Shepherd the following October. On the 8th of December following a call was made for the Rev. James H. Baird, who accepted the same and entered upon the duties of this relation during the year 1851. During this pastorate, on Novem- ber 24, 1852, David Robison, John Cunningham, H. F. Ewalt and George Brinkerhoff were elected ruling elders. To this office, on the same day, the previous election of Judge Avery was reaffirmed. Of these, George Brinkerhoff and Harris Ewalt accepted, and were duly ordained and installed January 16, 1853. Meanwhile the erection of the new church was pushed rapidly by the Trustees. The cost of this structure was between five and six thousand dol- lars.
The congregation held its first meeting in the new house Janu- ary 2, 1854, at which time E. Quinby, Jr., was elected Trustee for the unexpired term of John M. Robison, who had recently moved away. Mr. Quinby served subsequently as Treasurer for a num- ber of years.
In April, of 1854, the Rev. J. H. Baird gave notice that at the ensuing meeting of Presbytery he would ask for a dissolution of the pastoral relation, to which request the congregation assented. Following this vacancy, the congregation seems to have been
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quite popular with the ministers. Perhaps the attraction was the new house. They seem to have been quite eager to settle a pas- tor, as may be inferred from the fact that they actually made out a call for a dead man. It happened in this wise : On July 20, 1854, at a congregational meeting for the purpose of electing a pastor, four ministers were put in nomination, viz: Rev. Dr. McClarran and Rev. Messrs. Burrough, Harris and Fulton; the names of Rev. Dr. McClarran and Rev. Mr. Burrough were withdrawn, and the choice of the congregation was for Rev. Mr. Harris, by a vote of thirty-nine to eight. The call to Mr. Harris was made unani- mous and forwarded to him at Louisville, Ky., only to receive a reply from Mr. George Smith, of that city, that Mr. Harris had died July 17, three days before the call was made out for him. Rev. J. B. Stewart, at present of Milwaukee, Wis., was unani- mously called to the pastorate on November 2, 1854. Mr. Stew- art entered immediately on his duties as pastor, but on account of ill-health, tendered his resignation September 1, 1855. He was not released, however, until April, 1856, but was granted absence for a time with a view to his restoration to health, the congregation meantime supplying the pulpit.
The remaining history of the congregation is quickly told. On March 12, 1856, Rev. Alexander Swaney, of the Steubenville Presbytery, was called to this pastoral charge, and on the 10th of April following notified the session by letter that he declined the call. On the Ist of July, 1856, a unanimous call was ordered for the Rev. R. Colmery, who, having accepted, was duly installed, and continued the pastor of this charge until the pastoral relation was dissolved by the Presbytery of Wooster, April 17, 1860. During this pastorate, on October 10, 1856, Messrs. Edward Avery, Joseph Caldwell and John McClellan were elected Elders. Messrs. Avery and McClellan refused to serve.
The first movement of the congregation looking towards the erection of a parsonage was on January 11, 1859. To further this project a committee, viz: John H. Kauke, John McClellan, E. Quinby and R. B. Stibbs, were appointed to ascertain what amount of money could be secured for this purpose, and also, for the erec- tion of a lecture-room for the church. The lot on which the pres- ent parsonage stands was purchased of E. Quinby, Jr., for $750, and the parsonage was erected thereon at a cost of about $2,500. The erection of a lecture room, as was proposed, failed through inability to raise sufficient funds. On May 28, 1860, Rev. J. H.
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Reed was called to the pastoral oversight of this church, and soon after entered upon his duties as such, and continued the pastor until November 5, 1867, at which time the relation was dissolved. To the eldership were added John McClellan and John H. Kauke, on April 6, 1861; George H. Clark and Anderson Adair, on April 27, 1861. No notice of their ordination and installation appears, but the first mention of their presence as elders is at a meeting of the session held July 6, 1861. Messrs. Caldwell and Clark removed from the congregation, and returned again, and on June 28, 1868, they, and William Osborn, and Dr. J. M. Weaver, were by a large vote of the congregation called to this office, all of whom were duly ordained and installed September 29, 1868.
The Rev. S. W. Miller commenced his labors on the first Sab- bath of May, 1868. A call was made out for him January II, 1869, which he accepted and was installed pastor on the third Tuesday of May, 1869, and continued in this relation until April 28, 1874, when the relation was dissolved. He did not cease his labors, however, until the second Sabbath of May following. The first mention we have of deacons in this congregation is on Janu- ary 3, 1870, at which time D. Robison, Jr., G. Troutman, James Numbers and Thomas B. Cunningham, were elected to this office. One year later, Mr. S. A. Wells was elected deacon in place of Mr. T. B. Cunningham, who had removed out of the con- gregation. During his ministry 299 persons were added to the membership of the church. The project of enlarging the present house of worship, initiated during the pastorate of Mr. Miller, was not executed until after his resignation of this charge.
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