USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > The history of Saint Luke's Church, Marietta, Ohio > Part 9
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REMINISCENCES OF THE REV. J. T. WHEAT.
lands previously purchased by an agent whom they had sent out for that purpose, about eight or ten miles, I think, north of Mari- etta. They were a very devout Christian community. Their pas- tor had died on the voyage. His son, a well-educated young man and speaking English fluently, was introduced to me, and not be- ing himself in Orders, begged that I would give them, at least, an occasional service. This I did repeatedly, using a portion of the Prayer Book, the young man standing by my side, and interpret- ing sentence by sentence, service and sermon. We met at a school house, which being entirely too small, we went to a grassy, well-shaded slope near by, my interpreter and myself at the bot- tom of our natural amphitheatre, and the congregation in concen- tric groups around. The singing ( German hymns ) was magnifi- cent, accompanied by a full band of wind instruments. The nov- elty of these religious services was soou noised abroad, and people came from great distances to attend them. One of the natives ex- pressed great surprise at. the preacher's silk hunting shirt-my black silk gown.
I baptized the infants of these good people in their greenwood place of worship; but for the other Sacrament, the Holy Commun- ion, they came to St. Luke's, and I used German in administering the elements to them. They sometimes numbered twenty and thirty recipients. .
Our communion was increased from time to time by accessions from other religious bodies. Amongst them a good, honest Roman Catholic, a Mrs. Brophy, who kept a hotel on the river (Ohio) front. As long as I remained in Marietta, she was a worthy, con- sistent member of the Church, and contributed very liberally to- wards my support. She gave me an old-fashioned mantle-clock, which I carried with me to Louisiana ( L established St. Paul's, the second parish in New Orleansi, to Nashville, Tenn., (Rector of Christ Church 12 years, to the University of North Carolina, where I was a professor ten years. The old elock, always reminding me of Marietta and of my dear friends of St. Luke's, is still always up to time in the house of the daughter who, as a baby was a great pet among the young people of my congregation. It was at her house, some of them will remember. we received their gifts at our Golden wedding in 1875. Besides the German, we had several most worthy Danish families in our communion. I wish I could recall all their names. Mr. Bredahl, a Dane, was our sex- ton for some time. Mr. Hartwig was another, and named a daughter Selina, after my wife, who is Godmother for her name- sake. Another, whose name I cannot recall, a very respectable mechanic, a wheel-wright, I believe, married Elizabeth, a German girl, our domestic factotin, cooking, washing, ironing, house- cleaning, helping also in the garden, taking care of cow, and doing chores generally, a perfect marvel of industry, order, neatness and dispatch; she found time for lessons in English, of which she couldn't speak a word when she came to us. She was a contant attendant upon all the services of the Church, and when Bishop Mellvaine, his wife and two sons spent a week with us, Elizabeth was the constant subject of surprise and remark by them all. She seemed ubiquitous in her care for everybody and everything. Re- ceiving the benediction at the church, she hastened home, and when the rest of us arrived, the well-prepared table was ready for
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REMINISCENCES OF THE REV. J. T. WHEAT.
us, with the nicest hot dishes from the stove. The bishop was constantly exclaiming, "What a wonderful woman !"'
Our main reliance was upon Judge Nye, Mr. Swearingen, 'Squire Buell, Capt. Greene, Capt. Todd and Mr. Hall. We had a few members from the country, George Henderson across the Ohio; his mother lived with him, and her son, the Col. Com- mandant of the Marine Corps, came to visit her once a year, and gave liberally to our new church, The staunch, reliable MeFar- lands were a short distance up the Muskingum, and 'Squire Bar- ker, still further off, came less frequently to church, but gave cheerfully to its support. Then there was a Mr. Martin, a French gentleman, who had a small farm a few miles north of Marietta; on which he had built a house, French fashion, with a large salon, on whose walls ( while he and his wife were spending the day in town) their daughter of about twelve years only, drew, with a char- coal, the likenesses of the entire household, in life-like, character- istic postures, so truthful as to be recognized at once by every one who knew them. Her father soon after took her to Cincinnati, where as soon as she learned to paint in oil, she became famous as an artist. Her most pleasing pictures, chiefly of children and domestic life, have been immerously sold in chromo. She is known now as Mrs. Spencer, and has her studio in New York.
Others temporarily connected with the parish were (a) Mr. Sullivan, a landscape painter, the scenes mostly on the Ohio river. He also painted portraits, among them one of Judge Nye, and one of the "High Priest of Nature," Mr. Page. (6) A young Irish- man, named Bell, who assisted me for six months in the parish school. He and his beautiful young wife greatly enlivened our society, and (c) Mrs. Sheppard, a music teacher, who having mar- . ried Dr. Creel of Parkersburg, removed to that place. 'Squire Emerson and wife were regular attendants, though they did not become members of the Church. Mrs. Emerson was the daughter of the architect that built Blennerhasset's elegant mansion on his island in the Ohio river. Mrs. Blennerhasset, she says, was by far the loveliest being she ever beheld, was exceedingly gracious to her poorer neighbors on the mainland and gave them many a fete champetre. The night that the riot went down from Parkersburg, after the flight of Burr and Blennerhasset, and sacked the house, after they had got drunk in the wine-collar, Mrs. Emerson's father, having gone over to protect Mrs. Blennerhasset, found her shiver- ing under the river bank, having csenped in her night dress, and as he carried her in his arms into his boat, she did literally tas Wirt, in his great speech at the trial of Burr, asserted) "mingle her tears with the iey flood of the Ohio." Mrs. Emerson had then in her possession a lady's work-table, the gift of Mrs. Bleu- nerhasset. She had also her father's drawings of the mansion.
My first residence was up on the plain, not far from the Mound Cemetery. It was a two-storied brick dwelling, of five rooms and a kitchen, with a large garden, a small apple orchard of very su- perior engrafted fruit, and an acre of grass for my cow. For all this, I paid the enormous price of forty dollars a year! I made several barrels of cider, and put up large quantities for winter use. I lived better on my five hundred a year, than I had done at Wheeling on $1,000. In my day, beef was 2 to 23 ets. a pound, pork 3 cts., chickens 75 ets. a dozen, eggs 5 cts., butter 10 to 15 ets. a pound, hen turkey 25 to 30 ets., gobbler 40 ets., a twenty-pound
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REMINISCENCES OF THE REV. J. T. WHEAT.
wild one 50 cts., saddle and both hams of fine large venison I bought one Christmas for 75 cts .. and cranberries 50 cts. per bushel, apples, the best from Belpre, 75 ets. a barrel, Irish potatoes 15 to 20 cts. a bushel. for the winter's supply.
I lived next in what was called the "Dodge Cottage," just op- posite to Mr. Woodbridge. I remember George as a most promis- ing young man. and I often longed and hoped to see him come into the Church. Dr. Hildreth. my family physician, who gave us the lot for the church. was the best neighbor Lever knew, not only giving his eminent professional services gratuitously, but constant- ly supplying my table with the finest fruits and vegetables, besides having us frequently to tea, when he had an unusual display of rare flowers. His eldest son married Sarah Swearingen. They went up to Zanesville to live. .
From the cottage. I went to a house adjoining the Parish School, both of which were built for us solely at the expense of Mr. Nye. ( See engraving on page 72.) They were at the rear of Mr. Nahum Ward's beautiful premises, on the (Second ) street leading up to the "Stockade." Opposite to us were the three Misses Stone, zealous members of the Church, to which they had but little money to give. and they gave it cheerfully and conscien- tiously; wherefore they gave of their money, and also an example which gave great moral strength to our cause. These maiden sisters ( somewhere in the neighborhood of the fifties) kept house singularly, that is a week about, each one having her own sup- plies and her own separate accounts, so that each week one of the sisters being sole mistress of the establishment, entertained her two sisters lovingly and handsomely ; and so there was kept up a perpetual round of visiting, only it was always in the same house. I suspect that when children they had played "ladies go see," tak- ing the part of visitor and visited by turns. I and my family were frequent guest- at their "tea-parties," and were equally pleased, whichever of the three Graces might happen to preside.
The old Court House. a wooden structure, was on the lot ad- joining Mr. Woodbridge. There it was that Mr. Nye kept up the unpopular religious worship for seven years regularly. The old building was, in my day, occupied by the servitor of the new, and he rang regularly the nine o'clock bell, always the signal for break- ing up social gatherings, ending a neighbor's visit, shutting up. house, and a general retiring for the night.
There was a great deal of social intercourse among the mem- bers of St. Luke's. Once a week the Parish Aid Sewing Society met successively at their several residences at two P. M. The af- ternoon was industriously given to work, then an early tea for the unmarried ladies, the others going to their duties at home. After tea the young men came flocking in, and bought watch guards and pin-cushions. c., had a lively conversation generally with a beautiful bevy of young girls, till the Curfew sounded, and then such delightful walks homeward through the silent streets of the beautiful village.
The belles were Mises McFarland, Greene, Holden, Dodge, Swearingen, Mary de Neale, cour adopted daughter ) and Miss Clark, my assistant in the school : the beaux were Messrs. Joline ( postmaster . Barber, Whittle-ey, Goddard, Greene, Holden, Dr. Trevor, and Mr. Delafield. Miss Nancy Wood ( daughter of the old Judge) was very friendly, though not a member, and frequent-
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"DODGE COTTAGE."
ly entertained the Society. Mr. Ward's promising son and lovely daughters often attended our Services. Their father came occa- sionally and responded liberally when asked to help our Church building and other parish funds.
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The years I spent in Marietta were truly delightful. The inter- course of the Church people was charming. I have the most grateful remembrance of each and all of them, and devoutly pray that we may meet again in our Father's house above.
In Christ and His Church,
Yours truly, J. T. WHEAT.
With "a genial hearth" and "hospitable board" the Rector and Mrs. Wheat kept "open house" and Dodge Cottage was the resort of a very delightful set of young people, who were always welcomed by a host and hostess unequaled for hospitality, and assisted by Mrs. Wheat's niece, Miss Mary De Neale Wolfe, a charming young lady (now Mrs. John B. Harmon of Oakland, California.)
Those who remember the time recall with pleasure their attractive ways and rehearse little incidents to illustrate them.
Their disposition as husband and wife is well symbolized by two trees which Mr. Wheat planted in the churchyard and twisted together, call- ing one John Thomas and the other Selina; they grew to be good sized trees but have now disappeared.
Elizabeth Bohl, the German girl of whom Dr. and Mrs. Wheat speak in terms of praise, was confirmed by Bp. Mellvaine, who offered her a home at Gambier, when they left Marietta, but she remained here and married a Swede, O. Nielssen, and afterwards a Mr. Middleswartz. She has now removed to the West.
A view of Dodge Cottage, at the west corner of Third and Putnam treets, is given on page 68. The portion of the building running back, at the right, was added at a later date, as were the lattices about the doors. This house was afterwards the residence of Mr. M. P. Wells. In Mr. Wheat's time the street in front of the house was several feet lower than it is shown in the engraving.
As a pastor Mr. Wheat endeared himself to all who came un- der his care, and more than one family was brought into the Church by reason of his kind ministrations; and this was so among the foreigners as well as among his American parishioners. Those of them who re- main say with old John Peterson, "I would like to give Mr. Wheat a good shake of the hand."
Theodore Schreiner, who acted as interpreter to Mr. Wheat in the "greenwood place of worship," afterwards took up the work his father had relinquished at his death, and became the pastor of this German colony.
Mr. Wheat learned sufficient German to enable him to administer
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ANCESTRY AND ORDINATION OF THE REV. J. T. WHEAT.
the Sacraments to these people in their own language, as he says in his report in 1834.
The pleasant sky of those early days was not always cloudless ; there were trials and struggles within and without. Dr. Wheat in one of his letters alludes to an expression of unfriendliness to the Episcopal Church on a public occasion, which was the cause of a protracted con- troversy in the newspapers. But all such animosities have ceased long since.
The writer had anticipated a visit to Dr. Wheat and the pleasure of holding a conversation with him concerning the early days of the Church in Marietta, but found it impossible to carry 'out his wish. Of this he wrote Dr. Wheat, at the same time asking him for some facts concerning his ancestry and that of Mrs. Wheat, his ordination &c., and received this in reply :
76 Bellevue St., Hartford, Conn. 28 November, 1582.
Dear Sir.
I am truly sorry that it has not been convenient for you to take your proposed trip East. From the very beginning of our corre- spondence I have greatly desired to see the face & hear the voice & grasp the hand of one who has so much endeared himself to us by a greatly honoring respect & consideration - issuing in a con- stant stream of Christian kindness & courtesy. Above all, would I be glad if we might "walk to the House of God in company ;"
"As birds of social feather helping each We'd soar into the skies, & cast the world With all its tardy, leaden-footed cares Beneath our feet, and talk the speech, & eat The food of heaven."
That you should think of giving us so prominent a place in your "History of the Church in Marietta" quite shames our mod- esty." As to our ancestry, wife will make, if you wish, some ex- tracts from the "Genealogy of (her; the Roberdeau Family." She has only one copy or she would send it to you. Gen. Roberdeau. a Huguenot, was the first commissioned General of the Penn-vi- vania troops of the Revolutionary Army, & built a fort at his own expense & furnished the outfit of the first commissioners to France.
My own ancestors were English. In "Heath's Heraldry" there are two Knights Baronet, named Wheate. Wheate of Plympton, Oxfordshire, May 6th, 1696. The Rev. Sir John Thomas Wheate, Bart., was born 5 Sept, 1750; succeeded his brother Sir Jacob in 1783. His family is descended from Thomas Wheate. E.g., of Walsal, in Staffordshire, who lived in the 16th century. The Rev. John Thomas was baronet in 1806.
I was born in Washington City, on the 15 November, 1501 (my father having removed thither from "Cold Spring," Prince George Co. Maryland).
I was ordained deacon on the 22d November, 1825, by Richard Channing Moore, D. D., Bp. of Virginia; & Priest by James Kemp, D. D., Bp. of Maryland on the 18th December, 1826; the former in Christ Church, Alexandria, Va., the latter in St. Paul's Church, Baltimore.
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THE CHILDREN OF DR. AND MRS. WHEAT.
No children were born to ns in Marietta. Our eldest son, Genl. Chatham Roberdeau had a somewhat distinguished career as a soldier. #
Our eldest daughter was a great and very succesful worker in Domestic Missions - originating & sustaining for several years three stations that have grown into permanent parishes. Our youngest son. Leonidas, educated in Leipsic, Germany, has been devoted to Church Music, & has published numerous compositions for the organ, on which he is an eminent performer. His Te Deum & other chants have been much commended by the musical crit- ies. Pond of N. Y. i- bis publisher. My second son, t John Thomas, was a rising member of the Bar. He & his elder brother were both killed during the late war. 'Our second daughter is the wife of the present Secretary of the U. S. Senate, Hon. F. E. Shober, formerly member of the House of Representatives from N. Carolina of whose State University I was professor of Logie & Rhetoric for ten years.
I have to thank you for several numbers ( regularly, I believe) of your interesting "Chronicle," & am grateful for the "pleasant recollections" of our Ch. people in Marietta.
In the best bonds of Ct. & His Ch.,
Yours truly & gratefully, J. T. WHEAT.
* He is remembered as a boy in Marietta. He was born in 1.26: graduated at the University of Nashville. Tenn .. in 195: read Law at Memphis; was admitted to the Bar at New Orleans in 1847. He was one of the first to volunteer in the Mexi- can War, where he served as Captain of a company of Cavalry. He joined Gen. Lopez' first Cuban expedition as Colonel. Under Alvarez, in Mexico, he served as General of the Artillery brigade and when Alvarez became President, he received permanent rank and pay under his administration. He afterwards joined a party of congenial spirits in England and tendered his services to Garibaldi, who gave him a hearty welcome and a position on his staff. He engaged at once in active service and his dash and gallantry were the frequent theme of the army corre- spondents of the English press.
The civil war called him home. His friend, Gen. Scott, promised his influence to procure for him an eligible position in the Federal army, but by a painful sacri- fice he severed the ties which bound him to his old commander and the old flag and answered the call he felt to share the fortunes of his own people and kindred and family. He was in command as Major; was desperately wounded at Manassas but recovered to end his gallant career at the battle of Gaines' Mill. near Cold Harbor, June 27, 182. The funeral services were performed at the Monumental Church, Richmond.
He was a true Christian and on the morning of his death. before the battle, he read to his officers, from a little book of devotions. "Morning and Night Watches," the gift of his mother. a portion (marked by her hand, which he thought appropri- ate to the occasion. He early adopted as his own his father's motto, "Astra Castra." being the terminals of the distich-
"Non per sylvas, Ard per castra, Nobis iter est ad astra"-
and which he rather freely rendered :
Through rural quiet doth thy pathway lie ? Unending conflicts bear me to the sky.
+ Captain John Thomas Wheat, fell at Shiloh. He was a devoted Churchman ; often delegate to the Conventions, and wanted to be a clergyman but thought it his duty to make money to support his aged parents and so became a lawyer.
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EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF THE REV. J. T. WHEAT.
The Wheat family in America in the earlier days were Churchmen, as the parish registers show. At the time of the Revolution many of the English clergy forsook their parishes and the churches were closed. Then the Wesleyan Methodist came upon the ground and among those who embraced his preaching was the family of Dr. Wheat's father. His mother had been a Romanist.
But he, having heard Dr. Wilmer preach, "began to use the Prayer Book and to taste the sweetness of the Liturgy" and after careful study made up his mind that it was his duty to come back into the Church, which Wesley never left.
In his youth he taught a school and had for one of his scholars Richard Hooker Wilmer, now Bishop of Alabama.
In the Rev. Ethan Allen's "Clergy in Maryland", published by James S. Waters at Baltimore in 1860, is the following :
213. John Thomas Wheat, D. D., is a native of Washington City-a Methodist Preacher, and was ordained by Bishop Moore, of Virginia, in 1825. He came to this Diocese from Virginia, in 1827, and became Rec- tor of Queen Caroline Parish, and St. John's Church, Am Arundel Co.,-in 1829 he removed to Wheeling, Va.,-he has been Professor in the University of North Carolina, and has published four or more occas- ional Sermons. He is now in Arkansas.
Bishop Meade, in "Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Vir- ginia", published by Lippincott & Co. in 1857, mentions the Rev. Mr. Wheat as minister of St. Matthew's Church, Wheeling, and that he re- signed in 1832.
He was made D. D. by the University of Nashville in 1845 while rector of Christ Church in that city. He says: "During my twelve years at Nashville and six at Memphis, I was president of the Standing Committee of the Diocese and was always elected a delegate to the General Convention, though I did not always attend. My first was in 1838, and a late writer in the Churchman names me with two or three others as the only survivors of the entire body. Between my rectorship at Nashville and that at Memphis was the long interval of my professor- ship in the University of North Carolina. It was just before leaving Memphis that I went as a delegate to the General Convention for the last time, in 1871 at Baltimore."
While Rector of St. Lukes, Marietta, he delivered, at Wheeling, a Funeral Oration on La Fayette, when at his death, the military of Zanesville, Steubenville, Wellsville and Washington, Pa., united in paying funeral honors. His published writings consists of, An Essay on Taste ; a number of sermons, some eight or ten published by request, one on the Apostolic Succession, the Ministry in Three Orders, preached at the Ordination of Thomas Hume, President of the University of East Tennessee, one on St. John the Evangelist, before the Grand Lodge of A. Y. M., and one on St. John the Baptist ; others were Funeral Dis- courses and Biographical sketches of prominent citizens; also a Prepa- ration for the Holy Communion, a little book prepared hastily while he was acting as Chaplain in the late war. His wife and another lady were
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STANZAS BY THE REV. J. T. WHEAT.
his amanuenses, he being at that time blind, though often officiating at burials and the Holy Communion from memory. On one occasion he was asked by a sick soldier, "Doctor, is not this Holy Week ?" It was, and another sick youth asked, "What means Holy Week ?" While Dr. Wheat was explaning, the Captain staid to hear, and when he had finished, followed him, saying, "Doctor, write about Holy Week for my men and I will have it printed to distribute." This he did. The Cap- tain was the son of a Presbyterian clergyman, and had never heard of Holy Week. He afterwards became an active member of the Episcopal Church.
After the war, Bishop Quintard, of Tennessee, asked for a copy (as he had used it when he too was chaplain) and took it to New York and had another edition printed in 1866.
He has printed a number of hymns, some of them written while at Marietta ; one for New Year's Day, one for Christmas Day, one for Good Friday, dated April, 1835.
A lady of Marietta, one of Dr. Wheat's parishioners, has an album in which are the following verses, the first in Dr. Wheat's hand, the others in Mrs. Wheat's. While he was writing the first verses, Mrs. Wheat was sitting at the table with him, marking some handkerchiefs with indelible ink, into which he, without thinking, dipped his pen as he was about to write the words printed in small capitals, which made them appear more prominently than the others; but he remarked, it was fitting those words should be indelibly written.
A Contrast to Moore's Song :
"Though 'tis all but a dream at the best."
Oh the bliss that I feel is no dream ! Though exquisite it ne'er shall end.
No meteor's treacherous gleam, This sun-shine all gladness shall lend. Sweet Hope doth impart This joy to my heart
And CHRISTIAN HOPE WAS NE'ER UNTRUE. . Fresh flowers still burst, As at the first; And Amaranthine too. Oh the bliss that I feel is no dream ! &c.
Delusive all passions of earth- They perish where they take their rise.
Affections, of heavenly birth, Are lasting and fair as their skies. The bow on the cloud Is a banner proud By Hope unfurled when storms are o'er, A token of Love, Which Faith shall prove, When time shall be no more.
J. THOMAS WHEAT.
Marietta, Sept. 13th, 1836.
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GOLDEN WEDDING.
Hymn to the tune of "Oft in the Stilly Night,"
By My Husband.
Oft to my secret soul, When none but God is near me, -
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