USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > The history of Saint Luke's Church, Marietta, Ohio > Part 10
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
Conscience, by His control, Awakened, whispers, hear me ! "Recall the tears, "Of former years- "When I to thee have spoken : "The promise given, "To live for Heaven : "Thy solemn vows all broken !"- Thus to my secret soul --- &c.
Now I remember all My former sins and folly : Before my Judge I humbly fall, And own his sentence holy. I hear with awe, Decrees his law- "The soul that sinneth dieth!" "To Jesus fly ! "Thy Saviour 's nigh !" The Gospel Herald crieth ! Now. from my inmost soul, I pray, "O God forgive me!" Faith, with a touch, makes whole: And Hope and Love shall save me! S. P. W.
Dr. Wheat has also published Reminiscences of My Pre-Nuptual Life, in Homely Rhymes; read at his Golden Wedding in 1875.
In honor of that occasion presents were sent from Marietta through Mrs. Rolston, which were thus acknowledged.
Salisbury, N. C. 11 March, 1875.
Mrs. W. L. Rolston. Marietta, Ohio.
My dear daughter,
How vividly comes back to me at this mo- ment your sweet girlish face as I saw it first at the gate of your father's beautiful front lawn, in the dear old town. And now after an interval of nearly forty years. to have you, on behalf of others, mo less vividly remembered, & no less gratefully) giving expression to the same reverential love for God's minister which you showed me when present, & doing it with the same gracious cordiality that welcomed me to your father's house, -all this takes me back to one of the pleasantest portions of my long, eventful life. Wife & I look back to our stay in Marietta always with grateful benedictions.
We have been deeply touched by the loving remembrance of the dear friends who with yourself have done so much honor to our Golden Wedding. No gifts or congratulations (coming from all quarters) have been more gratifying to us.
102
MRS. WHEAT AND THE HUGUENOT FONT.
Be pleased to make our most grateful acknowledgments to each & every one of them.
"We were but half glad if we could tell it." We can but in- voke for you all His blessing & the fulfilment of His promise Who has said, "For as much as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto Me, enter ye unto the joy of your Lord."
You will be glad to learn that my dear wife retains her youth- ful vivacity & that although in my 74th year, I still have charge of a parish.
Four of our children are gone to Paradise. Mary De Neale is in San Francisco; Josephine May (Mrs. Shober) resides here & Leonidas, our youngest, at Richmond, Va., is married & has two children. Mrs. S. has five lovely children, who contributed large- ly to the joy of our Golden Wedding.
Before we left our rooms, they sang some appropriate & beau- tiful lines. At the breakfast table our seats were canopied & wreathed with evergreen. The whole house was garlanded in like manner, with an inscription in the Hall, "Golden Wedding: 1825 10 March 1875." The renewal of our Marriage vows was . (with necessary variations) the same as in the Prayer Book we used in 1825. The reception afterwards was numerously attended, & all were eloquent in praise of the "lovely bride."
In connexion with this festival, my dear wife had a sermon of mine on the "Communion of Saints" printed for private distribu- tion, as if bidding the absent to their proper places at the Feast. She sends a copy, addressed to Mrs. Creel (once an inmate of our family & lovingly remembered) with the presumption that it will be read by you all.
Conunending you all & severally to the loving care of our Heavenly Father,
I am, my dear "Kate," Yours truly & gratefully,
J. T. WHEAT.
The portrait on page 49 is made from a lifesize portrait in oil, by James Hart, in Nashville in 1846, and presented to the Parish of St. Luke's by Dr. Wheat, at Easter, 1882.
The signature is a fac-simile of that attached to his letter of accept- ance in 1833.
Mrs. Wheat, whose maiden name was Selina Patten, was born in 1805, and is the granddaughter of Gen. Daniel Roberdeau, a man of con- siderable prominence, of whom much of interest might be said. He was a Representative in the Pennsylvania Assembly. On the 4th of July, 1776, lie was elected the first Brigadier General of the Pennsylvania Forces. In May, 1777 he was elected a member of the Continental Con- gress in which body he served several years. After the war he removed to Alexandria, Va., and to Winchester, where he died January 5th, 1795.
On the 50th anniversary of Dr. Wheat's Ordination to the Diaconate by Bishop Moore, Mrs. Wheat presented to the Moore Memorial Church in Richmond, Va., a Font which had been given by the Huguenots of Rochelle, France, to the Huguenot Church in New Rochelle, New York,
103
"BACHELOR'S ROW."
before the Revolution. She says: "I am glad to tell you the lovely history of the Font. It was presented to me by Mrs. Cheseborough, widow of one of the Trustees of the Huguenot Church in New Rochelle, N. Y. She heard me say, my grandfather, Genl. Roberdeau, was a na- tive of Rochelle, France, and a Huguenot, so with great fervour she said to me, 'I.have now the very great pleasure of presenting you, as the descendant of a Huguenot, a relie of our dear Church in Rochelle.' (It was made an Episcopal Church and the relies here mentioned were given to the former trustees. Mrs. C., a devoted member of our Church, now lives in Europe.)
She was glad to donate also the Bible and Psalm Book with the Records, which I requested her, at the Doctor's suggestion, to present to the New York Historical Society. She gave them in my name. It was during the meeting of the General Convention in 1868 and prompted our dear friend, Rev. Dr. Craik of Louisville, Ky., to say "See how these Christians love one another.' You can imagine how glad I was to give the sacred Font to the Moore Memorial. It was of white marble, at least three feet high, and without a blot or crack upon it."
For some time Dr. and Mrs. Wheat have made their home in Hart- ford, Conn. After a long life of faithful service in the Church he has retired from active work and has had no parochial cure for more than two years, partly on account of a protracted illness.
It is their hope to make a long desired visit to relatives in this State, in which event the people of St. Luke's look forward to wel- coming them again to Marietta.
In Mr. Wheat's time the Rector's family sat forward in the church, in front of the chancel, as is the custom at present in St. Luke's.
On the right hand side of the chancel sat Mr. Nye's family, who of- ten occupied two seats, Nos. 1 and 2. Some years later the back seat No. 2 was given to the Rector's family.
On the left hand side of the chancel, facing Nos. 1 and 2, were Nos. . 41 and 42, called "Bachelors' Row", generally occupied by the beaux of the Parish, who were all observing and of all observed, much to their discomfort on one occasion, when they had been up the river to a dance and had come home quite carly in the morning, all unknown to Mr. Haensel, then Rector, who had prepared a sermon on the text "Evil communications corrupt good manners", in which he strongly de- nounced such affairs as the one they had just attended, in such a pointed way, that they thought the sermon intended specially for them, and it caused more or less ill feeling until they learned that Mr. Haen- sel knew nothing of the dance.
The chancel rail was wide and flat, quite high, and enclosed a space about 12 by 16 feet square; inside of this were the Table and chairs, the latter standing against a paneled enclosure about six feet high and six by twelve square, over the front of which was the reading-desk. In-
.
104
ARRANGEMENT OF THE CHANCEL AND PULPIT.
side this and about four feet square rose the pulpit to the height of ten feet or more. Under the pulpit was a closet, in which the robes were kept. The partition surrounding it was just high enough to allow the minister's arms to be seen as he raised them to put on the surplice or gown ; it also served to hide some deficiencies, as on one occasion, when a visiting clergyman could not find a surplice to fit him, he did not put his arms into the sleeves but buttoned its ample folds about his neck, mounted the step behind the desk and thus read the service to a con- gregation unconscious of his odd attire.
At the top of the steps leading into the pulpit was a bar which lifted on a hinge back against the wall, and served, when shut down, to keep the preacher safely in his high position. This caused some an- noyance to visiting clergymen who were unacquainted with it; it fell down on the head of one as he was entering the pulpit, and nearly knocked him off the steps. Another found it closed down and not dis- covering how to open it was obliged to crawl under. The chancel was entered through a similar opening, a portion of the rail on one side lift- ing up against the wall.
On each side of the chancel was a window, often open during the service in the summer. One time when Mr. Winthrop had become very much warmed up in his sermon, a cow, which had somehow gained en- trance to the church yard, poked her head in at the window hardly ten feet from the pulpit and gazed enquiringly around in such a way as to set the greater portion of the congregation a-laughing. Mr. Winthrop said afterward that if he had seen it, he thought he would have laughed too.
Above the chancel, on a sort of frieze running across the end of the church, was the text "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." in well shaped letters which were covered with small broken glass in such a way as to make them very bright. Over the text was a triangle with rays proceeding from its sides, enclosing the word JEHOVAH in Hebrew characters. All this was done in raised stucco work in the best style of workmanship; there was also an elaborate piece of stucco work in the center of the ceiling overhead.
The church was heated in winter by two Franklin stoves, one on each side, near the center, the seats being moved to make room for them. Barrel stoves were afterwards used. It was seldom necessary to light the church ; the hour for Evening Prayer was always before dark, generally about 4 o'clock. On Christmas Eve sconces and candles were used. It generally took the young people about a week to trim the church and make everything ready for that occasion. During the last years in the old church the evening service was held later in the day and a handsome chandelier was hung in the center of the building to give light. This chandelier was afterwards taken to Parkersburg and used in Trinity Church.
After some ten years the pulpit was found to be uncomfortably high
-
.
2
b
-
49
4
₫
c
d
1
℮
e
40
39
3
4
38
37
6
36
35
7
8
34
33
9
10
32
31
11
12
30
29
13
14
28
27
15
16
26
4 25
17
18
24
23
19
20
22
g
g
21
f
f
g
O
O
O
O
PLAN OF ST. LUKE'S CHURCH.
& Pulpit.
b Reading-desk.
c Communion Table.
dd Chairs.
e e Chancel-rail.
ff Stairs to Gallery.
ggg Doors.
The stars in seats 17, 18, 25 and 26 represent the pillars supporting the gallery.
1
107
LATER HISTORY OF THE PULPIT.
and fell into disuse, and when in Mr. Winthrop's time, the young ladies were attending to a renovation of the interior of the church and had painted the windows with white, in order to keep the eyes of the con- gregation from being drawn away to what was going on in the outside world, and had otherwise altered things, they, knowing it would meet the approval of the vestry, had the pulpit taken down, and a reading desk of circular form placed in front and below the old desk, the latter serving thereafter as a pulpit. The place where the old pulpit stood against the wall may still be detected, although the whole arrangement of the chancel has been changed. The front of the upper portion of the pulpit which was removed, was afterwards taken to Parkersburg. Its history there is thus told by Mrs. Dr. Safford, formerly Miss Sarah D. Roe : "Mr. Coleman (the minister who preceded Rev. Mr. Highland) brought the pulpit front, also a chandelier, from Marietta to this place, I think it was in '56 or '57, sorry I cannot be accurate, nor do I know whether it was a purchase or a gift.
The chandelier was hung in the church, the pulpit front placed in the basement, which was then used for Sunday school and evening service. When the old church building was torn down to give place to our present one, the pulpit from the basement was taken to a school room which was temporarily used as a church. When the church was finished, said pulpit was removed to a room that was rented for Sunday school and other purposes, and now somewhat altered, it is being used in Trinity Hall, our Sunday school chapel. Many good men have spo- ken from its desk, some whose voices are hushed on earth. Bishops MeIlvaine, Johns, Whittle, Peterkin, and, I think, Bishop Meade have all officiated in it."
The Communion Table was oblong with the corners rounded and rested on a central support.
Afterwards, in the lecture room of the new church, it served as a desk, with a gas pipe up through the center of it, before the present desk was built. Then it was given to a German woman, who took it with her to West Virginia.
The Communion set was of Britannia ware; the tankard and chalice and paten were given away some time since. The collection plates are still used occasionally. There was no font in the old church; in lieu of one a white glass bowl made with a small base and pedestal was used.
The chairs were square shaped with high, pointed backs and up- holstered with velvet. As it has been stated, the Table and chairs were made by Mr. Peterson.
The kneeling stool in the reading desk was small and oblong, had four legs and was embroidered with a white dove holding an olive branch in its bill. It and the chairs are now in the Sunday school room.
The stools in the chancel matched the chairs, and are now used in the present church.
108
SACRED MEMORIES OF THE OLD CHURCH.
The pulpit, built by Richard Parker, was a more shapely and elab- orate affair than is represented in the engraving on page 43; when that was made, the writer did not know the pulpit was still in existence. It was rounded at the corners and had a projecting cornice around the top and was ornamented with moulding. In other respects the engraving is materially correct. The exterior view is from a painting in oil by Mr. Sullivan. The building at the left is the parsonage erected in 1851.
Some recollections may cause a smile, but many are the endearing associations, many, the sacred memories which cling around the old church building. Those who cherish them most, those who had a share in its history, one by one, are passing from us; but another generation reveres it for their sake: another generation, who find in the present church the same religious life which their parents and grandparents ex- perienced in the old. To them it was none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven. There went up the faithful prayers of pious men ; there many a mother's heart beat quick; there the expa- triate found a home ;
"And there the Norway rover, or the Swede, Knelt with frank Switzer, and the florid Dane; And England's exile wept to find the seed His mother scattered-bound in sheaves again."
The building has passed into the possession of others; the prayers now offered there are in another tongue, but some who respond to them are the descendants of those who worshiped there nearly fifty years ago. The church is still called by the same name, Et. Yucas; and we may still repeat the collect used in the Form of Consecration :
Blessed be thy Name. () Lord, that it hath pleased thee to put it in- to the hearts of thy servants to appropriate and devote this house to thy honour and worship : and grant that all who shall enjoy the benefit of this pious work, may show forth their thankfulness, by making a right use of it, to the glory of thy blessed Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CHAPTER III.
THE FIVE SUCCEEDING RECTORATES.
. We have thought of thy loving kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.
Psalm 48, 9.
These, the ALMIGHTY contemplating, Did as priests before Him stand, Soul and body always waiting Day and night at His command : Now in GOD's most holy place Blest they stand before His Face. -FRANCES E. Cox: from the German.
1
1
THE FIVE SUCCEEDING RECTORATES.
-
יהוה
FTER the departure of the Rev. Mr. Wheat, the Sunday services were continued with regularity, Arius Nye being Lay- reader. The duties of his profession, however, took him away from Marietta much of the time and Daniel H. Buell re- ceived an appointment as assistant Lay- reader. He acted in that capacity for some years until his voice failed him and he could no longer serve, when Mr. F. A. Wheeler was appointed assistant to Mr. Nye, and he continued to be assistant until 1846, when Bishop Mellvaine recalled the licenses of Lay-readers and issued others. Mr. Wheeler was then appointed the Lay-reader of the Parish and still holds his appointment. On some occasions when Mr. Buell read the Service, a sermon was read by Mr. Nye's son, Arius Spencer Nye.
In the Spring of 1837 the Rev. J. W. Hoffman of the Diocese of Pennsylvania spent some weeks in Marietta and was asked to take the Rectorship, as will be seen.
.
112
THE REV. MESSRS. HOFFMAN AND HAENSEL.
May 1st, 1837.
At a meeting of the Senr. Warden and Vestry of St. Luke's Church, Marietta, this day (at the office of Arius Nye),
Present Arius Nye,. D. H. Buell, Joseph Barker, J. E. Hall, Daniel Greene.
Senr. Warden, presiding.
On motion of Mr. Buell it was unanimously resolved that Mr. Nye be a committee to wait upon the Rev. J. W. Hoffman, (now visiting the parish,) in the name and on behalf of the wardens and vestry of this parish and to invite him to accept of the appointment of, and become the minister of this parish, in communion with the Protestant Epis- copal Church of the U. S. in the diocese of Ohio; and to convey to Mr. Hoffin the views of the vestry in respect to the provision which the parish may probably and shall provide for his support as their clergy- man : and to receive and convey to the vestry the reply of Mr. Hoffinan.
Adjourned to meet at the same place on Saturday next at 2 o'clock P. M.
ARIUS NYE, Sen. Warden.
-
May 8, 1837.
The vestry upon notice met : the adjd. meeting having failed, Present A. Nye, S. W. D. H. Buell. D. Greene.
Mr. Nye reported verbally, upon the application to the Rev. Mr. Hoffinan, and his reply; indicating the probability of the acceptance by Mr. Hoffman of the invitation to him pursuant to the resolution of the vestry at the last meeting, to take the clerical charge of this parish. And that Mr. Hoffman would reply more definitely in a few weeks, from Philadelphia .- Whereupon. on motion, Resolved that Mr. Buell, Capt. Greene, Mr. J. E. Hall, Mr. A. Nye and D. Barber be a committee to solicit and procure subscriptions to "St. Luke's Church," for the support of clerical services therein.
Resolved, that D. H. Buell be appointed the Agent of the parish in respect to the fund arising from Sect. 29, in Marietta, and that he be re- quested to take measures to secure to the parish such proportion of the fund for the current year as the number of its members (subscribing) will entitle it to-
Later in the month the Rev. Charles Louis Frederic Haensel came to Marietta ; as appears from the following letter, with the idea of taking charge of the Parish school, but there being no other clergyman present, he began to officiate regularly on the last Sunday in May, 1837, being the First Sunday after Trinity, and became Minister in charge at the re- quest of the vestry, when they learned that the Rev. Mr. Hoffman had reconsidered his acceptance of the Rectorship.
1
113
LETTER OF THE REV. J. W. HOFFMAN.
On the 14th of June, 1837 Mr. Buell received this letter :
Philadelphia, June 8, 1837.
My Dear Sir,-
Yesterday I sent Mr. Nye my acceptance of the call to Mari- etta. Before I left Pittsburgh, I wrote, requesting him to send on to the Domestic Committee in New York'a representation of the vestry stating the amount of assistance it would be necessary for them to receive. I suppose it has accordingly been transmitted, but if it has not, I beg you to use your efforts to have it forwarded immediately. In looking over the Apt. of Missions for this month I do not find that any action has been taken by the: Committee upon our case, and it occurs to me that the reason is in their not having the document referred to. I saw Bp. Mellvaine a few days ago, and he told me that the application of the vestry had been forwarded and that he had recommended me to be appointed miis- sionary, but as that application did not state the amount the vestry needed, it is necessary that the more definite statement I have mentioned be forwarded.
I received a letter from Dr. Ufford yesterday telling me that the Rev. Mr. Haensel had gone to Marietta, and would take charge of our School if the vestry chose to employ him. I trust he will meet with sufficient inducement to stay among us. I promised him that I would lend him my aid in the classical department if he would consent to become the teacher of the School. He would be a valuable acquisition both to the School and to our Church and I trust will consent to remain with us. Give him my warm- est regards.
Our Presbyterian brethren have hot work in the general as- sembly. The old school men have the majority, and they are taking measures to keep it hereafter. They have cut off the West- ern reserve synod, and dissolved several presbyteries. They will continue to prune and cut off, until Congregationalism and new school views have no place among them. But it strikes me, that evil has taken so deep root that it is next to impossible to eradi- cate it. The leaven pervades the whole lump, and is intimately mixed with it, so that in attempting to purge the body, much of the sound part must share the same fate as the diseased. If they want to get well, they had better come back to our good mother the Church, and she will take care of them.
Private matters will detain me here until the early part of July, when I shall be able to leave for my future field of labour. Mr. Haensel will take good care of the flock during my absence. Give my best respects to Mrs. Buell, and all my friends and believe me to remain
Truly yours, JOHN W. HOFFMAN.
My direction is No. 262 Race St. Phila., where I shall be happy to hear from you.
J. W. H.
Daniel H. Buell, Esq. Marietta,
Washington County, Ohio.
. .. ..
114
ANOTHER LETTER OF THE REV. J. W. HOFFMAN.
The Gambier Observer of June 28, 1837, has this item taken from the Episcopal Recorder: The Rev. John W. Hoffman of this Diocese (Penn.) has received and accepted a call to St. Luke's Church, Marietta, Ohio.
This letter was received by Mr. Buell July 23rd. -
Phila. July 1, 1837.
My dear Sir,-
With this note you will receive the books you desired me to purchase for you. I have not yet obtained some of the numbers of the Spt. of Missions for the present year, but as soon as I get them, they shall be forwarded either by mail or private convey- ance. I paid your subscription for last year and the present. The amount I received from you $3.00 I laid out as follows.
Sp of Missions for 1836 & 7 $2.00
Scattered Fragments 1.00
Sacra Privata .25
Portion of the Soul .25
$3.50
Mrs. Hall gave me $1.00 to procure a likeness of Bp. White, which is contained in your bundle. I paid 50 cents for it, and ex- pended the balance on your acet. Be good enough to refund it to her and we shall be square. Through forgetfulness I neglected to purchase Mr. Cumming's sermon for you, but if I can get one I will contrive to send it to you.
I hope you are all pleased with Mr. Haensel and he with you. If you can make an arrangement for his location among you as your minister I should be quite gratified, for I think he would be a faithful and useful pastor.
I cannot say what my future course will be, but I am deter- mined to remain in my own Diocese for the present. Give my regards to Mrs. B. and all our friends in Marietta and believe me to remain
Sincerely yours, JOHN W. HOFFMAN.
Daniel H. Buell, Esq. Marietta, Ohio.
The Bishop, in his address to the Convention at Trinity Church, Columbus, in September, 1837, says:
The Rev. Charles L. F. Haensel, having exhibited authentic letters of orders, in evidence of his having received orders in the Church of England, and also satisfactory evidence of moral and pious character, and of theological acquirements, is considered as a Presbyter of this Diocese and licensed to officiate therein, while passing the required term of residence, preparatory to a regular settlement. He is now of- ficiating in the Parish of St. Luke's, Marietta.
The Rev. John T. Wheat, late Minister of St. Luke's, Marietta, has taken letters dismissory from this Diocese to the Diocese of Tennessee.
.
T
115
PARISH MEETING, 1838.
PAROCHIAL REPORT, 1837.
The Rev. C. L. F. Haensel, having recently commenced to officiate in this parish, has received from the Senior (and at present, only) Warden of St. Luke's Parish, Marietta, the means of reporting to the. Bishop: that, about the time of the last Convention, the Rev. J. T. Wheat, late Reetor, resigned the clerical charge of this parish, and re- moved to the south ; that the parish was, thereafter, for a considerable part of the year, without clerical services ; during which time, however, -- as in years past, when there was no clergyman in the parish,-regular services, in conformity to the ritual of the Church, were maintained, by lay-reading. In the spring the parish enjoyed the ministrations,-upon the occasion of a very acceptable visit, of several weeks,-of the Rev. J. W. Hoffinan, of Philadelphia; and, since the last Sunday in May, the Rev. C. L. F. Haensel, (late from Jamaica, West Indes) has regularly officiated in the parish, and has been, by the Vestry, invited to, and has accepted, the ministry of the parish; (so far as, under present circum- stances, he as a foreign clergyman eanonically may) expecting, shortly, to receive the official recognition of the Bishop, as the officiating clergy- man of the parish in full charge.
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.