USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > The history of Saint Luke's Church, Marietta, Ohio > Part 2
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"Need I repeat here, what it is my duty so often to repeat, my deep impressions of the great need of Missionaries? When will you come again ? What hopes have we for public instruction? When will our children, and the rising generation, be rescued from the ignorance which pervades our infant settlements ? When will .Gospel ordinances be administered among us? These were the questions which met us everywhere. What answer could be returned ? Pray constantly and fervently to the great, the heavenly Husbandman, that he would send forth laborers into the harvest."
In the Journal of 1822 is the Bishop's notice of his visit in 1821 be- fore mentioned. He begins his address to the Convention thus: "Since our last meeting, I have performed but little Episcopal duty ; but that little, though mixed with much imperfection, has been the extent of my abilities. Cramped in my circumstances, and attacked by a violent and lingering disorder, last summer, I was unable to perform but a small part of what I had wished to do in the vineyard of our adored Master. I, however, visited Chillicothe, Portsmouth, Zanesville and Marietta. Near the last mentioned place, in company with the Rev. Mr. Morse, I was seized with the bilious cholic and intermitting fever so severely, that I was obliged to be transported in a boat for several miles, to the house of a friend, on the margin of the Muskingum river, whence, after about three weeks' sickness, I returned home ; all the appointments at the east and north being thus frustrated, and my weak state of health not permitting a renewal of them. To those persons, who with great kindness and assiduity, ministered to me, and to the Rev. Mr. Morse, (for he was also my companion in sickness,) I beg leave in this way to make my acknowledgments of sincere gratitude. I have .since understood that some considerable preparations are making for the erection of a church at Marietta."
17
LETTER OF BISHOP CHASE.
He had inspired the people with his own energy and enthusiasm, but they had no leader, and the church was not built for twelve years afterwards.
In April, 1822, Mr. Woodbridge received the following letter from Bishop Chase :
To DUDLEY WOODBRIDGE, Junr.
Dr Sir-
Yesterday I reed 5 Dollars as the subscription of yourself, Dan' Greene. Alexr Henderson & R. J. Meigs to the Missionary Fund of the P. E. Missionary Society of the Diocese of Ohio. The Former Treasurer having resigned and the office being vacant, I shall deliver it. and all other like monies in my hands, to his suc- cessor who. no doubt, will be appointed in June next, the annual meeting of the Society.
I have advised my son, since his return from the east, to visit some of the vacant parishes; accordingly have made the follow- ing appointments, which, if the Lord will, he will fulfil, viz:
.April 6, at Newark.
. 21, " Zanesville. 23. " Marietta. May 5, Monroe County at Mr. Dement's. 6, Wendall's.
7, Morristown, &c.
Now, Dear Sir, should you have an opportunity to send to Monroe County notice agreeable to the appointments stated you would much oblige me & perhaps do a kindness to the people in that neighborhood. I have advised my son to go on Monday if possible from Z. to M. that he may be with you to fulfil any inter- mediate appointments which you may think proper to make and also to form an acquaintance with the good people of M. which, to him, I am convinced will be very agreeable.
Be assured. Dr Sir, I think of the kind offices & the much friendship rendered me while at Marietta last summer with never ceasing gratitude. Would I could enjoy your loved society more! Do give my love to them all.
With particular respects to yourself & Mrs. W., I am, Dr Sir, Your Friend,
PHIR CHASE.
Aprl 9th 18:22.
The Rev. Philander Chase. Jr., (then a Deacon) accordingly visited Marietta and held Divine Service and preached on the 26th and 29th of April.
By referring to the Convention Journal, it may be seen that the other appointments were filled as follows : at Newark, April 21st ; Zanesville, 22nd: Union Township tin Mr. Putnam's school-house), 4th ; in Malaga. Monroe County, May 4th ; at Mr. Dement's, on Sen- cea creek, 5th ; at Mr. Wendall's, on Little Beaver, 6th; at Morristown, 7th, &c.
Mr. Chase came in company with a son of Henry Clay and another young gentleman, and was at the house of Mr. Woodbridge. He was a
18
ST. LUKE'S ORGANIZED.
remarkably attractive man and many were interested in the services he held here, but none more so than Mrs. Woodbridge herself, whose guest he was, and it was at this time that she came more fully to believe the great truths of the Gospel. The 14th chapter of St. John was what particularly interested her.
The Rev. Mr. Chase was admitted to the Holy Order of Priests on the 8th of June, 1823; the next winter he went to South Carolina to re- cruit his health and died there.
The "sickly seasons" of 1822-3 almost devastated Marietta. Among -the very few who were able to go about and nurse the sick was Henry Dana Ward, who did great service in that way. He now resides in Philadelphia.
He became an Episcopal clergyman, being ordained Deacon in 1844 by Bishop Henshaw, and had a parish in Charleston, Va., in which con- nection he is mentioned by Bishop Meade, (in "Old Churches and Families of Va."), who also mentions Mrs. Colonel Lovell as one of the "only two communicants of our Church in Charlestown", when he first went there. Mrs. Lovell was for many years a much beloved member of St. Luke's, Marietta.
No further record has been found of the visit of any clergyman un- til 1824, when the Rev. Intrepid Morse reports to the Bishop that he has performed Divine Service at "Marietta and vicinity one Sunday, once on a week-day and baptized one infant."
In the Bishop's address to the Ninth Convention in 1826, he says: "Passing down the Ohio river, at Marietta I officiated four times, at. Portsmouth thrice, baptized five children, confirmed five persons and administered both in public and to a sick person in private, the Supper of the Lord."
It was while on the steamboat between here and Portsmouth that Bishop Chase wrote his circular in regard to the purchase of lands for Kenyon College, which he issued at Portsmouth, March 23, 1826.
Among the names of new parishes formed in 1826, the Bishop men- tions "St. Luke's Church in Marietta," "through the instrumentality of our pious and excellent lay-brother, A. Nye, Esq."
Arius Nye was a native of this place, having been born in Campus Martius, the Stockade, December 27, 1792. He was the son of Colonel Ichabod Nye and grandson of General Tupper, who were among the pioneers. His ancestors were English and came from England to Massachusetts in 1639 and afterwards settled in Connecticut. When quite young, he went to Putnam, near Zanesville, and afterwards lived in Gallipolis. He married Miss Rowena Spencer in 1815. He was a lay-delegate from St. James' Church, Zanesville, to the Conventions of 1819 and 1822. The first Confirmation in that parish was on May 23, 1819 and among the names of those confirmed are Arius Nye and Mrs. Row- ena Nye. He returned to Marietta in 1825, and being exceedingly de-
19
ARTICLE OF ASSOCIATION.
voted to the Church, he at once undertook to bring about an organiza- tion among the Church people in the town and vicinity, which was effected at the beginning of the year 1826.
On a modest piece of paper, now yellow with age and soiled at the edges, is written, in the handwriting of Arius Nye, the Article of Par- ochial Association, signed, as follows:
We, the undersigned, inhabitants of Marietta and its vicinity, do . hereby acknowledge and declare ourselves to be members or adherents of the - Religious Society and Parish of St. Luke's, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the Diocese of Ohio, at Marietta; and agree to conform, as such Society and Parish, to the Constitution and Canons of that Church in the said Diocese.
MARIETTA, Ist January, A. D. 1826.
ARIC'S NYE, BILLY TODD,
JAMES ENGLISH.
A. V. D. JOLINE,
DAN'L H. BUELL,
JOHN K. JOLINE,
ENOCH RECTOR.
These were the seven original signers. Of these seven, but one is now living, Enoch Rector, who is a Baptist preacher, living near Park- ersburg, in West Virginia.
These men were prominent persons in the community. In this same year there was a grand Fourth of July Celebration ; Captain Billy Todd was Chairman of the committee of arrangements and was also ap- pointed Marshal of the Day, and formed the procession. D. H. Buell, Esq., read the Declaration of Independence, Arius Nye, Esq., was the Orator of the Day, and Mr. A. V. D. Joline responded to one of the toasts.
In the newspapers of that year is a controversy, carried on in a series of long articles, between Mr. Joline and Nahum Ward, Esq .. the one upholding the faith of the Church, the other that of Unitarianism. .
Arius Nye was for several years Cashier of the Bank of Marietta ; he served several times as Representative and Senator in the State Legislature; he had an extensive law practice and was elected President Judge for the Circuit.
"As a jurist he ranked among the first chancery and criminal law- yers of the West."
-"At the time of his death he had obtained a wider celebrity than any other Marietta man."
His daughter Frances R., married Shelton Sturgess, of Chicago, whose cousin, James D. Sturgess, married Rebecca N. Cram, sister of Mrs. John W. Conley and of Mrs. Sarah Gilbert.
His daughter Harriet married Judge Henry A. Towne, now of
20
NYE AND BUELL.
Portsmouth, whose name is found in the Circle Records. His only de- scendants living in Marietta are the family of Dudley S. Nye, but the families of his nephews Col. R. L. Nye and A. T. Nye, Jr., are also con- nected with St. Luke's. His sons 'Arius Spencer, Dudley Selden and William Spencer, all followed their father, as lawyers, in Marietta. The 'names of his other children will be found elsewhere in this book.
"The Transactions of the Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio", published in 1839, contains "A Fragment of the Early History of the State of Ohio-an Address delivered at Marietta, on the 48th Anniversary of the first settlement of the State-By Arius Nye, Esq."
He died at his home, the old stockade house, at the west corner of Second and Washington streets, July 27, 1865, in the seventy-third year of his age, survived by his second wife, who, with her children, removed from Marietta a number of years since.
Judge Nye was a selfmade man, of original thought, of feeling and strong conviction, whose influence was felt by those about him. He was the prime mover in the organization of St. Luke's, and, no doubt, he exerted his influence in bringing the opinions of others to conform to his own on Church matters. Mr. Buell was a Congregationalist and a good friend of Mr. Nye; they used to have long talks upon the sub- ject of Episcopacy, until Mr. Buell was convinced of the correctness of Mr. Nye's views and he became a most pronounced Churchman and one of the most prominent men in St. Luke's. He was appointed as- sistant lay-reader some years later, and served in that capacity for sev- eral years, until his voice failed him.
It is related of him that he was one day reading a prominent Church paper which he subscribed for, and came upon some sort of slur upon Bishop MeIlvaine. He threw the paper violently into the fire and at once wrote to have it stopped, saying he would not take a paper that would allow in its columns any reproach upon his Bishop.
Daniel Hand Buell, son of Gen. Joseph Buell, and of the seventh generation from William Buell, who came from Huntingdonshire, England, to Connecticut in 1630, was born at Marietta, October 1, 1790. His early childhood was spent in the garrison at "the Point." He was . sent to New England to be educated, and returned when about twenty- one years old. He became a man of mark in the community. He was for many years Justice of the Peace and was Mayor of the city. He also held the office of County Recorder, was several times County Com- missioner and was one of the incorporators of the Marietta Library. He died after a long illness, October 12, 1843. One who knew him well, declared that he was the most able man in Washington county in his day. He lived in a handsome home at the north corner of Second and Greene streets, built by his father in 1801, which is said to be the oldest brick house in Ohio. His second wife, Theodosia Hall Buell, died in 1875. His son, Edward W., married Melissa S., daughter of Judge
21
ARIUS NYE APPOINTED LAY-READER.
Joseph Barker, son of Col. Joseph Barker. His son, William H., mar- ried Maria, daughter of A. T. Nye, and niece of Arius Nye. Their fam- ilies and the children of his son, C. F. Buell, are connected with St. Luke's.
Captain Billy Todd owned a portion of the present College Campus and lived near the corner of Fourth and Putnam streets, in the "Todd House", a brick building which was torn down a few years ago. He owned a fulling mill in town. He and his wife returned to New Jersey.
James English was a young unmarried man, employed in the office of the Clerk of the Court. He was a man small of stature and wrote a beautiful hand.
": The Jolines were unmarried men, brothers of Mrs. Todd.
Mr. A. V. D. Joline was somewhat of a politician, and in 1826 was editor of the Marietta and Washington County Pilot, which was first issued in- 1826, and he-was also proprietor of a reading-room which he conducted. He was Postmaster from 1829 to 1841, Mr. Buell having pre- ceded him in that office.
=- Mr. John K. Joline was a scholarly man, and at one time was en- gaged in teaching in the house occupied by the Misses Stone. Both the Jolines were engaged in publishing the Marietta Minerva in 1823.
Enoch Rector resided at Lowell, on the Muskingum, ten miles above Marietta.
In the year 1826, the population of Marietta, within the limits of the corporation, was 1051; there were also quite a number of families living outside the corporation.
Mr. Nye must have gone to Columbus a few days after the signing of the Article, for his appointment as lay-reader is addressed to "Arius Nye, Esq., at Mr. Brown's Tavern, Columbus." It reads as follows :
Know all men, that we have appointed and by these presents do appoint our well-beloved in Christ, ARIUS NYE, a LAY READER in the Parish of St. Luke's Church, Marietta, he conforming to the Rubricks and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church and until another is: appointed in his stead.
PHILANDER CHASE, Bp. of the Prot. Epis'l Church in the Diocese of Ohio.
DIOCESE OF OHIO, Jan. 9th, 1826.
Under this appointment, Mr. Nye kept up the services of the Church for seven years, until the Parish had a Rector, for during all that time from its organization it received only irregular visitations from various clergymen.
"During the greater part of this long period the congregation
consisted mainly of his wife, children and a colored servant girl. To whom some derider, counting them as they were leaving the Court House, added one dog !"
22
THE OLD COURT HOUSE.
The Old Court House was built in 1798. It was about forty by forty-five feet in size and the walls were three feet thick, made of double tiers of logs eighteen inches square, neatly hew- ed and dovetailed at the corners of the building, and held together by heavy iron bolts. The two lower front roonis were occupied by 2 the jailer and his family and a passage between them led to the jail in the rear part of the structure. The front room in the upper story, where the services were held, was the court room, about forty by thirty feet in dimensions, lighted by seven windows and heated by two large fire-places. It was finished in the plainest style, the walls being covered with smoothed but unmatched boards. There was a platformi with the Judges' bench on one side of the room with the Sheriff's box, and the benches which filled the room were of the plainest sort. The bell in the cupola rang regularly at nine o'clock, A. M., at noon and at nine, P. M.
The following are the minutes of the first three Annual Parish Meetings :
1826.
At a meeting of the members of the Religious Society and Parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Luke, at Marietta, on Easter Monday, in the year of our Lord 1826, for the purpose of reorganizing said Society, and of electing Parish Officers; Arius Nye was appointed Chairman, and John K. Joline, Secretary of the meeting.
Upon motion, it was resolved, that the meeting proceed to the elec- tion of Wardens, Vestry and a Secretary of the Parish.
Whereupon, Arius Nye and Joseph Barker were appointed War- dens.
And, Daniel H. Buell, Billy Todd, Alexander Henderson, Silas Hobby and Joel Tuttle were appointed Vestrymen.
And, James English, Secretary of the Parish.
Resolved, that Arius Nye be the Agent of the Parish, and Delegate to the Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of this Diocese.
23
FIRST PARISH MEETINGS.
Resolred, that the Wardens and Vestry be requested to take such measures as may be just expedient to provide for the support of pub- lick worship atut obtaining the services of a Clergyman in the Parish.
JOHN K. JOLINE. Secretary.
ARIUS NYE, Chairman.
18.7.
At a meeting of the members of the Religious Society and Parish of' the Episcopal Church of St. Luke, at Marietta, on Easter Monday, in the year of our Lord 1-27, for the purpose of electing Parish Officers : Billy Todd was appointed Chairman. and John K. Joline, Secretary. - Upon motion. Rossolied. that the nieeting proceed to the election of Wardens. Vestry. and a Secretary of the Parish.
Whereupon. Arius Nye and Billy Todd were appointed Wardens. And Daniel H. Buell, Aaron V. D. Joline, James B. Mathews, Joel Tuttle and : Hlas Hobby were appointed Vestrymen.
Rootred, that Arius Nye, and on his failure, B. Todd, be the Dele- gate of the Parish to the Annual Convention of the P. E. Church of this Diocese
Resolved that Arius Nye be the Agent of the Parish.
Resolved, that William P. Skinner be the Secretary of the Parish. JOHN K. JOLINE, BILLY TODD,
Secretary. Chairman.
William P. Skinner having declined to act as Secretary. in pur- suance of the above election. John K. Joline, (Secretary of the meeting, ) is appointed Secretary of the Parish.
ARIUS NYE, 1 BILLY TODD, Wardens.
1528.
At a meeting of the members of the Religious Society and Parish of St. Luke, of the P. E. Church, Marietta, at the office of Arius Nye, on Easter Monday, April 7th, Anno Domini 1:28: being the annual meet- ing, agreeable to the use of said Church, for the election of officers : . Arius Nye. Senior Warden, presided, and James B. Mathews was ap- pointed Secretary of the meeting.
Upon motion. Resolved to proceed to the election of Officers of the Parish for the ensuing year. viz : Two Wardens, Five Vestrymen, Sec- retary, Delegate to the Convention and Agent.
Whereupon, Arius Nye and Billy Todd were appointed Wardens. Joseph Barker, A. V. D. Joline, John K. Joline, Silas Hobby and James B. Mathews were appointed Vestrymen.
James B. Mathews was appointed Secretary.
Resolved to defer the appointment of a Delegate to the Convention for the present : it being understood that the Wardens and Vestrymen may appoint a Delegate at some future time.
Resolved, that Billy Todd be the Agent of the Parish.
JAMES B. MATHEWS, Secretary. ARIU'S NYE, Chairman.
2-4
VISITS OF CLERGYMEN.
At the same time the following resolution was offered and agreed to, viz : That J. B. Mathews, B. Todd and A. Nye be a committee to ascer- tain what amount of money can be raised and counted upon in this place and neighborhood for the support of a clergyman in the Parish for any given portion of time - say one-half; exclusive of boarding: and also to ascertain, in such mode as they may deem expedient, whether parishes can be formed in Parkersburgh and other neighboring places, which would join in and contribute to the employment and support of a clergyman ; and what amount may be calculated upon therein for that purpose ; and also, in case they shall find the prospect favorable, to eor- respond with the Bishop and others, with the view to the obtaining of a elergyman for the above purpose.
ARIUS NYE, Chairman.
At the Eleventh Annual Convention which met in October, 1828, at Kenyon College, the Rev. Amos G. Baldwin, minister of St. James', Zanesville, says in his report to Bishop Chase : "I have spent two Sun- day's in Marietta, (the Rev. Mr. Stem filling part of my appointments,) preached seventeen times in that place and vicinity, administered the Lord's Supper to eight persons, and baptized two infants."
Written with a lead pencil, on the back of a sheet of paper con- taining the minutes of the Parish meeting in 1828, before they were en- tered in the Records, is the following :
"Memo. of entries to be made in the minutes ---
The attendance of Mr. Baldwin on Easter Sunday, 1828, and the Sunday preceding-the adnin. of the Communion and of the Sacrament of Baptism (to A. Nye's 2 children Frances Rowena and George)."
At the same Convention, the Rev. Alvah Sanford, missionary, who had recently come from the Diocese of Vermont, reports being at differ- ent places along the river. He says : "At Gallipolis I preached twice, at Marietta, three times. Here the subject of a Prayer-Book and Tract Society was proposed, but it was found inconvenient to form them at that time. They have since been formed. The situation of this parish I consider interesting. They are anxious for the service of a clergyman and would probably employ one half of his time, if he could devote the rest of it to places in the vicinity. As a testimony of their gratitude for my imperfect services they made me a donation to the Missionary Socie- ty of seven dollars. On leaving Marietta, I proceeded to Union, Wash- ington Co., and performed divine service. Here Mrs. Putnam gave me two dollars and a half for the Society. From Union I proceeded to Waterford and preached."
"Union" (Township), here mentioned, was the region about Devol's Dam, which has been divided up among the neighboring townships. Mr. Sanford probably held service in the school-house.
٠
25
PARISH MEETINGS.
In the American Friend and Marietta Gazette of Saturday, June 14th, 1828, is this paragraph, from which is known the date of Mr. San- ford's visit :
"We are requested to mention, that the Rev. Mr. Sanford, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, will celebrate Divine Service tomorrow ; in the forenoon at the brick school-house, Point Harmar, in the after- noon at the Old Court House."
Mr. Sanford was for a number of years proprietor of the Female Seminary, at Granville. He died a few years since.
In the Journal of 1828 is a list of subscribers to Kenyon College, which includes these at Marietta :
Cash, Marietta $1 00 - Catharine Stone $1 50
Arius Nye 10 00 | Mary Stone 1 00
do (second gift) 2 50 Dudley Woodbridge 100 00
(See Note III. in Appendix.)
In 1828 the name of Arius Nye appears in the Journal as one of the Standing Committee of the Diocese.
In 1827-8-9 St. Luke's is reported as having twelve families and ten communicants.
The following minutes were found on a loose piece of paper, and are all that have been discovered for 1829:
At a meeting of the members of the Religious Society and Parish of St. Luke of the P. E. Church, Marietta, at the Dwelling house of Miss Stones, held agreeably to previous notice, on the 27th Day of August, A. D. 1829, Billy Todd was appointed Secretary, and Arius Nye was ap- pointed Delegate to the Annual Convention of the Diocese.
BILLY TODD, Sec. .
This seems to have been the first year that the Parish was represen- ted in the Convention. The name of Arius Nye appears as one of the Standing Committee of the Diocese and as one of the Vice Presidents of the Prayer Book, Sunday School and Tract Society. St. Luke's was assessed $1.00 towards paying the expenses of the Convention ..
In 1830 there is no report from St. Luke's. Although Arius Nye was appointed delegate, as will be seen from the following, he did not attend the Convention :
At a meeting, after due notice, of the members of St. Luke's parish, Marietta, at the House of the Misses Stone, on Monday evening the 31st August, A. D. 1830, Arius Nye, Senr. Warden, presiding :- B. Todd, Secy.
Agreed to proceed to the appointment of a delegate to the Conven- tion of the Diocese, to be held at Gambier on the 2nd Wednesday in Septr. next ; whereupon, ARIUS NYE was appointed such delegate.
BILLY TODD, Secretary.
ARIUS NYE, Chrmn.
-
26
BISHOP M'ILVAINE.
The following entry is made at the back of the Record Book.
Aug. 31st 1:30.
Payments made by members of the St. Luke's Prayer Book and Tract Society, auxiliary to the Genl. Diocesan Society of Ohio, for 1820 to 1:30-1 yr.
Capt. D. Greene, 1.25
Also for 1 prayer book, .50
Catharine Stone. .50
Mary Stone. .50
Contributed by Mrs. Woodbridge
to be laid out in tracts, .25
3.00
B. Todd,
1.
A. Nye,
1.
5.00
Monday, August 22, 1831.
At a meeting of the members of the Parish of St. Luke, of the P. E. Church, Marietta, after due previous notice, Billy Todd, Warden, in the chair:
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