USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > A historical account of Christ Church, Philadelphia : from its foundation, A.D. 1695, to A.D. 1841 : and of St. Peter's and St. James's, until the separation of the churches > Part 1
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.
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
Gc 974.802 P53do 1893903
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02223 8742
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/historicalaccoun00dorr_0
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
OF
CHRIST CHURCH,
PHILADELPHIA.
ERRATUM .- Page 316, note, for Brown, read Bacon.
1
A.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
OF
CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA,
FROM ITS FOUNDATION,
A. D. 1695, TO A. D. 1841 ;
/ AND OF
ST. PETER'S AND ST. JAMES'S, ,
UNTIL THE SEPARATION
OF THE CHURCHES.
6
BY THE REV. BENJAMIN DORR, D. D.
RECTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH.
NEW YORK: SWORDS, STANFORD, AND CO.
PHILADELPHIA: R. S. H. GEORGE.
1841.
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by Benjamin Dorr, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Penn- sylvania.
1893903
TO
THE CONGREGATION
CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA, OF
THIS HISTORY
OF THE CHURCH IN WHICH THEIR FATHERS WORSHIPPED,
IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED,
BY THEIR FRIEND AND PASTOR,
THE AUTHOR.
OUR HOLY AND OUR BEAUTIFUL HOUSE, WHERE OUR FATHERS PRAISED THEE. ISAIAH, LXIV. 11.
1
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE principal source from which the mate- rials of this history have been drawn, are the records of Christ Church, and the minutes of the vestry. Other sources of information have been diligently, and often successfully sought after; and every thing in the Philadelphia and Loganian libraries, calculated to throw light on the subject, has been carefully examined. No time nor pains have been spared to render the work as accurate as possible.
The causes which have delayed its publica- tion, and the reasons for departing from the original plan, as set forth in a prospectus issued two years since, being matters which cannot interest the generality of readers, need not be mentioned here. The delay has made the work much more full and accurate, than it could otherwise have been; and it is hoped
viii
ADVERTISEMENT.
that it will not be found an unacceptable con- tribution to the ecclesiastical history of our country. If it be thought by some readers, that many of the circumstances recorded are too trifling in their nature to be so preserved, let it be borne in mind, that they are facts which posterity may regard with interest ; and to most of those who will peruse these pages, the simplest incident connected with the church in which they and their fathers worshipped, is valuable ; for no record can be unimportant, which serves to awaken hallowed associations, or to perpetuate time-honored usages.
The author will only add, in reference to those who now worship, or who shall hereafter worship, in this venerable edifice, "Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will wish thee prosperity."
3
CONTENTS.
Page.
INTRODUCTION
1
Historical Account of Christ Church
23
Succession of Rectors 280
Succession of Assistant Ministers 288
A list of Wardens
294
Officers of Christ Church for 1841
. 301
APPENDIX.
Church Edifice 305
Monuments
310
Pulpit 320
Church Plate 322 ·
325
Organ
Bells 330
Library
333
Christ Church Hospital
335
Architect's Letter 338
Report of Committee on Steeple 344
Miscellaneous
347
X
CONTENTS.
Charter granted by Penn
349
Addition to Charter 355
Act of Separation 359
Division of Property 371
Early History of the Church in Pennsylvania 389
INTRODUCTION.
,
-
" I love the Church, the holy Church, That o'er our life presides, The birth, the bridal, and the grave, And many an hour besides ! Be mine, through life, to live in her, And when the Lord shall call, To die in her, the spouse of CHRIST, The Mother of us all."
CHRISTIAN BALLADS.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
OF
CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA.
INTRODUCTION.
THERE is no building in our city, and it may be doubted whether there is any in our country, around which so many hallowed associations cluster, and which calls up so many time-hon- oured and holy reminiscences, as the venerable structure known as Christ Church. It is nearly a century and a half since the first humble edifice was erected on the spot where the pre- sent beautiful building now stands ; and this last has withstood the storms and the tempests of more than a hundred years. In a country so new and changeful as ours, where the most sacred and venerable piles are often sacrificed to the love of gain, and not unfrequently pulled down to make room for what is miscalled
1
2
INTRODUCTION.
" modern improvement," it is claiming for a building great antiquity, to say that it has stood for a century. To every citizen in Philadelphia, who cherishes the recollection of departed years, and values the monuments of olden time, this Church must be looked upon with respect ; while by every Episcopalian, it must be re- garded with feelings of veneration and love. Some there are, who are now far down the vale of life-some whose heads are whitened by the frosts of nearly four score winters-who have worshipped here from earliest childhood, and in the very pew where their fathers, and their fathers' fathers worshipped before them. And what a tide of " sweet and bitter recollec- tions" must gush upon their aged hearts, as they enter its consecrated walls, and stand beneath its hallowed arches, or tread its sacred . aisles, with the monuments of the dead around them, and the dust of those who died a century ago sleeping beneath their feet, while busy memory carries them back to the days of their childhood-to the time when here the man of God first signed the sign of the holy cross upon their sunny brow ; or when they came glad and
3
INTRODUCTION.
gleesome, around the chancel rail, to say their catechism; or, in after years, with the young and joyous group, to renew their vows of baptism in the holy rite of Confirmation ; or, in still later life, to receive the sacred symbols of a dying Saviour's love.
Pleasant, yet mournful to the soul, are the remembrances which crowd upon the memory of such an one, at such a time. A multitude of affecting inquiries press upon his mind, and as faithful memory prompts the answer, he feels how true it is " that the fashion of this world passeth away ;" that " all are of the dust, and all return to their dust again ;" that " we bring our years to an end as a tale that is told." He looks at the baptismal font, and he asks- " Where are the parents, or the sponsors, who brought me, a helpless infant, and consecrated me to the Lord, before my guileless heart had known sorrow or care ?" He looks at the chancel rail, and mentally exclaims-" Where now is that goodly company of happy children who first essayed with me their catechism ? Or where now is that young and healthful band with whom I came to renew and ratify my
4
INTRODUCTION.
baptismal vows ?" He looks around him and asks-" Where are those who once worshipped with me in this house of prayer ?- those well remembered forms of hoary age, and ruddy youth, and playful childhood, which, in former years I was wont to meet here-where are they ?" Reflections such as these must crowd upon the minds of many of those who now statedly worship in this temple, and impress upon them that affecting truth, that as it is now with these, so will it shortly be with them ; the places which now know them will know them no more forever; the seats which they now fill, will be occupied by strangers, who, in their turn will ask-" Our fathers, where are they ?"
The history of this Church is in a measure identified with the first organization and establishment of the Church in these United States ; for here it was that the first general Convention of Clerical and Lay deputies, from seven of the thirteen States, met to frame an ecclesiastical Constitution, in 1785, and again in 1786. Here the first Diocesan Convention was held, in May 1785, and the subsequent Con-
K
5
INTRODUCTION.
ventions were held here for twenty-eight years, with a single exception. Here the first ordi- nation in the state was held by Bishop White in May, 1787 ;- and here six Bishops have been consecrated by him, viz :- The Right Rev. Robert Smith, D. D., of South Carolina, the Right Rev. Edward Bass, D. D., of Mas- sachusetts, the Right Rev. Theodore Dehon, D. D., of South Carolina, the Right Rev. Nathaniel Bowen, D. D. of South Carolina, the Right Rev. Henry Ustick Onderdonk, D. D., of Pennsylvania, and the Right Rev. James Hervey Otey, D. D., of Tennessee. *
Nor is this church without some associations which are dear to the bosom of the patriot ; for here it was that the members of the Continental Congress assembled for worship on the 20th day of July, 1775, a day set apart by them as a day of general humiliation, fasting and prayer, through all the American provinces ; and in this temple the revered and beloved Washing- ton, when President of the United States, and during the period that this city continued the seat of government, habitually worshipped. The pew appropriated by the vestry for his use is 1* Rt. Rev. Cotton Chase, I.D. of N. Hampshire Rh Ren. Nicholas Heuser Cobbs, S.S. of Alabama Rt. Rev. Einer Halben Neko, $.3. of Missouri
6
INTRODUCTION.
well known to all who have been familiar with the Church for even a few years; and has often been pointed out to the inquiring stran- ger.
But that which crowns all the other associ- ations connected with this sacred edifice, that which will continue to impart an interest to it through all coming time, that which will cause every patriot, and christian, and churchman to regard it with peculiar veneration, is the recol- lection that here the intimate friend of Wash- ington-the first Chaplain to Congress-the beloved and revered Patriarch of the Episcopal Church in these United States, officiated for more than three-score years. In this temple he was baptized, and here he had worshipped from earliest childhood. Here he commenced, and here he ended his ministerial labours ; having been seven years an assistant minister, and fifty-seven years the rector. How pure and blameless must have been his life, who could pass from the cradle to the grave, · through four score and eight years, amid such a variety of scenes in public and private, during the whole period of our revolutionary struggle,
7
INTRODUCTION.
and actively engaged in all the measures for perfecting the ecclesiastical organization of the church in this country, and in his native city too-untarnished by the breath of envy, hatred, or malice ! We are told by high authority, as a general truth, that " a prophet is not without honour, save in his own country ;" but this example proves that there are times and cir- cumstances when he may have honour even there.
The first building known as Christ Church was erected on the spot where the present edifice stands, in the year 1695, only twelve years after the laying out of the city. The population of Philadelphia at that time could not have been more than four or five thousand, and the building then erected, though humble in its size and architecture, must have been a goodly structure for a city then in its infancy. By what authority it has been represented as a wooden structure, I have not been able to discover. We think we can adduce sufficient evidence to prove that it must have been of brick; and although very far inferior to the
8
INTRODUCTION.
present edifice, yet by no means so small as has been represented.
Watson, in his " Annals of Philadelphia," speaking of Christ Church, says-" The facts concerning the premises, gleaned from a variety of sources, are to the following effect, to wit :-
" The first Church, of wood, built under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Clayton, in the year 1695, is specially referred to by Gabriel Tho- mas's publication of 1698, who says, 'the Church of England built a very fine Church in this city in the year 1695.' The most we should infer from this commendation of it is, that it was probably sufficiently sightly for its small size. We know it was his general
manner to extol other buildings which still remain to convince us that good buildings then, are but ordinary in our present enlarged conceptions of beauty and greatness. Such as it was, it was enlarged in 1710.
" The original records were accidentally destroyed by fire; of course, what we can now know must be such as have been incident- ally mentioned with other facts.
9
INTRODUCTION.
" Among the witnesses who had once seen the primitive Church, and had also been cotemporary with our own times, was old blind Alice, who died in 1802, at the advanced age of 116 years. She had been all her long life a zealous and hearty member of that Church. At the age of 115 she came from Dunk's Ferry, where she lived, to see once more her beloved Christ Church. She then told my friend Samuel Coates, Esq. and others present, that she well remembered the original lowly structure. The ceiling of it she said she could touch with her lift- ed hands. The bell, to call the people, was hung in the crotch of a tree close by. She said when it was superseded by a more stately structure of brick, they run up the walls so far outside of the first Church, that the worship was continued unmolested until the other was roofed and so far finished as to be used in its stead."
Most of the above account rests on the tradition of an aged coloured woman, who professes to have seen the first Church; but either her memory must have failed her, which
10
INTRODUCTION.
is quite probable, considering her extraordinary age, or else the persons to whom she related these facts must have misunderstood her. That most of the circumstances here said to be detailed by " blind Alice," with such minute- ness, are without foundation in truth, can be shown from authentic documents now in the possession of the vestry of Christ Church. It is true, there are no minutes of the Vestry of an earlier date than 1717; but the Cash Book goes back to 1708, only thirteen years after the first Church was erected. Nor is it impro- bable that " the original records were accident- ally destroyed by fire," as Watson states. But we shall find that the existing records are sufficient to disprove the accuracy of the foregoing tradition.
That the original building was of brick may be fairly inferred, if not clearly proved, from the following facts, viz :- In April, 1709, there is a charge on the Cash Book for " 2250 bricks for the belfry ;" and in May, 1711, when the first alteration was made, sixteen years after the erection of the Church, there is on the Cash Book a charge for " 37,000 bricks for an
3 1833 02223 8742
11
INTRODUCTION.
addition to the Church ;" and at the same time a charge for " pulling down the gable end and cleaning the bricks." That the gable end, therefore, was of brick there can be no doubt, and it is hardly probable that so many thou- sands of bricks would be used in enlarging a wood Church, of such small dimensions as the above quotation from Watson's Annals repre- sents this to be; besides, the enlargement of the Church cost nearly four hundred pounds.
We think Gabriel Thomas's testimony en- titled to much greater weight than is given to it by the Annalist. Writing in 1698, only three years after the Church was built, he says,- " The English have four sorts of assemblies, or religious meetings here :-- as first, the Church of England, who built a very fine Church in the city of Philadelphia, in the year 1695."* Now when it is borne in mind that Thomas had resided in Pennsylvania for fifteen years, and had known Philadelphia from its first foundation, and that his book was printed in 1698, when the city had many good buildings
*History of Pennsylvania, by Gabriel Thomas, London, 1698, p. 51.
12
INTRODUCTION.
in it, we can hardly suppose that he would apply the epithet " very fine" to a church of wood so low that a person "could touch the ceiling with the lifted hands." But there is one other circumstance which seems to place this matter beyond all question; when the west end of the present building was erected, it was added to the other; and so added, that both should form one audience room; which could not have been, had the old Church been so very " lowly a structure" as has been repre- sented.
"As to the tradition that " the bell to call the people was hung in the crotch of a tree close by ;" if this were ever the case, it could only have been a temporary arrangement, and while repairs were making to the tower, on which the bells, for there were two, usually hung. Our reasons for this opinion are these : -in 1708, November 9th, there is mention made in the Cash Book of "four cedar posts to support the belfry ;" in 1709, April 5th, of "2250 bricks for belfry ;" in April, 1717, a proposition is laid before the vestry to erect a steeple ; in 1712 the " little bell" and "great
13
INTRODUCTION.
bell" are mentioned ; and in 1720, May 30th, at a meeting of the vestry, "the belfry being so much decayed, the clerk is ordered not to ring or toll the great bell." In August of the same year, 1720, the vestry " resolved that it is expedient to enlarge the Church, build a tower, and purchase a set of bells." This was the first step towards erecting the present edifice. In 1717, the Governor " erected a spacious pew right before the altar, and paid five pounds per annum, for the same;" another circum- stance which strengthens the opinion that the old Church, though much inferior to the present, was of a respectable size for those days. One other fact and I dismiss this point. In Decem- ber, 1723, I find on the minutes of the vestry, an address to the Bishop of London, in which is the following sentence : "It is now about twenty-eight years since the foundation of an English Church, by a very few of her commu- nion, was first laid in this city; since which, by the blessing of God, the congregation has so increased, that two additions have been made thereto." It appears from the above extract that the Church mentioned therein, was erected
2
14
INTRODUCTION.
in 1695, and that it was the first building twice enlarged. It must, however, have been an edifice of very moderate size, for when enlarged in 1711, it contained only forty-two pews, the annual rent 'of which was about 450 dollars.
Although in 1720 the vestry resolved that it was expedient to " enlarge the Church, build a tower, and purchase a set of bells," yet nothing further was done until April 15th, 1727, when it was again resolved, that the Church being too small, an addition of thirty-three feet be made to the west end ; and also a foundation for a tower and steeple.
Thomas Makin, who was master of a latin school in this city, has left a poetical descrip- tion of Philadelphia, in latin, written in 1729, which has been translated by Proud, and may be found in his History of Pennsylvania .* The following allusion is made to Christ Church, while yet in an unfinished state :-
" Five houses here for sacred use are known, Another stands not far without the town. Of these appears one in a grander style, But yet unfinished is the lofty pile.
*Proud's History, vol. ii. p. 371.
15
INTRODUCTION.
A lofty tower is founded on this ground, For future bells to make a distant sound."
We think the translator has hardly done justice to the latin original ; but if there is not much poetry in the above extract, there are several interesting facts which will gratify most of our readers. Of the five houses of worship within the city, in 1729, that of Christ Church, with its new addition, was considered the most elegant.
The work of enlarging was now commenced in good earnest, under the superintendence of Dr. John Kearsley, who for many years after, proved himself a devoted friend of the Church ; taking an active interest in all its concerns ; and at his death, in 1772, at the advanced age of 88 years, leaving the bulk of his pro- perty to found that noble charity which, agree- ably to his will, is named "Christ Church Hospital." The laying of the corner stone of the new addition to the Church, which now forms the western end of the present venerable structure, is thus noticed in a Journal of that day : " April 28th, 1727. Yesterday the Hon P. Gordon, our Governor, with the Mayor,
16
INTRODUCTION.
Recorder, and the Rev. Mr. Cummings, our minister, and sundry gentlemen, laid the first stone of the additional building designed to be made to the Church of this city." This addi- tion was not completed until March, 1731; at which time the old part of the Church is repre- sented as in a " ruinous" state. At a meeting of the vestry then held, the pulpit was ordered to be moved further forward, so as better to accommodate the occupants of the new por- tion of the Church. In the following year, May, 1732, a pew is made for the Governor on the spot where the pulpit stood, and the one fronting the chancel, which had been erected in 1717, was taken away. With this large addition to the Church of thirty-three feet, there were, in all, only sixty-seven pews, and the annual rent was fixed at £158. 13s. The front pews in the new gallery were assessed at £3. each, and the back pews at £2. 8s. each.
There are no minutes of the vestry from October, 1732, to April 1735, nor from July, 1737, to April, 1740; and it does not appear when the eastern end of the present building
17
INTRODUCTION.
was commenced ; most probably in 1735. In April, 1740, mention is made of the "finishing the Church," as still in progress; and in July of that year it was "Resolved that the pulpit be removed to the east end of the middle aisle of the Church." In August, 1744, " the Church is happily finished," and in October of the same year the vestry pass a vote of thanks to Dr. Kearsley for his indefatigable zeal in conduct- ing the new Church to a completion. It appears that for the building, erected " at two several times," commenced in 1727 and finished in 1744, Dr. Kearsley had expended £2,197; but it does not appear whether this was the whole cost of the building thus far.
In 1745, it was " moved that a steeple be erected in order to have a ring of bells. A plan of a tower and spire was drawn by Mr. Harrison and agreed upon. In May 1747, the vestry vote their thanks and a present of plate of the value of £40. to Dr. Kearsley, for his services "in building and ornamenting this Church." Nothing further was done about the steeple until 1751, when a resolution was again passed to build a steeple and provide bells.
2*
18
INTRODUCTION.
To aid in this object a lottery was formed, and Benjamin Franklin was appointed one of the Managers. " It was called a 'scheme to raise £1012. 10s., being half the sum required to finish the steeple to Christ Church, and to purchase a ring of bells and a clock.' The lottery was drawn in March, 1753. As it was deemed a Philadelphia ornament, it was appro- priately enough called ' the Philadelphia steeple lottery.' The managers, therefore, say, 'we hope that a work of this kind, which is purely ornamental, will meet with encouragement from all well-wishers to the credit, beauty and pros- perity of Philadelphia."* The money raised by this lottery being found insufficient, although £1000. had been previously obtained by sub- scriptions, a second lottery was instituted, for the same amount as the first, and drawn in May, 1753. By means of these funds the steeple was partially finished, and the ring of bells placed within the tower in 1754. In August, 1755, the money already disbursed on account of the steeple was £3,162. 9s. 11d., and
* Watson's Annals, p. 331.
19
INTRODUCTION.
it was not yet completed. It was probably finished very shortly after this time ; and thus the edifice remained, without any considerable change, until the year 1836, when the old pews and galleries were removed and replaced by new ones, so as to correspond with what seems to have been the original design of the architect; and it is now regarded as one of the most beautiful and commodious Churches in our country.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
OF
CHRIST CHURCH,
PHILADELPHIA.
WE HAVE THOUGHT OF THY LOVING KINDNESS, O GOD, IN THE MIDST OF THY TEMPLE. PSALM, XLVIII. 9.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
OF
CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA.
Having given in the introduction a brief sketch of Christ Church, from its first founda- tion until the present time, we shall now take up the most interesting events connected with its history, in their chronological order.
1695.
The first building in Philadelphia, known as Christ Church, was erected this year. It must have been, as appears from the preceding account, a goodly structure for those days ; for it was of brick, with galleries, and large enough to accommodate more than 500 persons, who usually assembled there, as early as 1702. That it was somewhat inferior to the old Swedish Wicaco church, Gloria Dei, in South- wark, which was built in 1700, only five years after the first Christ Church, would appear from the following representation of the
24
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
former building, made by the Swedish clergy- man, in one of his letters written about that time. " Thus through God's blessing, we have completed the great work, and built two fine churches, Wicaco and Christiana, superior to any built in this country, particularly that at . Christiana; so that the English themselves, who now govern this province, and are beyond measure richer than we are, wonder at what we have done."*
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.