USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania in the olden time; being a collection of the memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 53
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Their next built church was the large church on Fourth street, corner of Cherry street, built there in 1772. The site which they took up had been the board yard of General Roberdeau. While the British occupied Philadelphia, they took out the pews of this church and used it as their hospital.
The Lutherans had been accustomed to hold separate meetings of
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worship before they had a pastor in Dr. Muhlenberg, or a church of their own to assemble in. On these occasions they were instructed by the Rev. Mr. Dylander, the Swedish minister at Weccaco,-a very zealous minister, who often preached sixteen sermons in a week!
The church which they had before used was a building on Allen's lot, used alternately by the Lutherans and the Moravians. While the latter were once using it, the Lutherans came and drove them out, taking forcible possession. Indictments, &c., followed. This was in the year 1742.
The German Reformed Church .- The first was built in Race street near Fourth street, about the year 1747, and was made in an octagon form, having a steeple. They built their schoolhouse by a lottery in 1753-4. The octagon church they tore down in a few years, and built the present larger one on the same site in 1762. Again pulled down in 1836. The first church was built for the Rev. Michael Schlatter who was sent from the Society in Holland,- his old journal I have seen, wherein he states, that before his coming they were preached to by a Mr. Bæhm, a layman, at a hired house. When Mr. Schlatter arrived, he found 165 communicants in Phila- delphia, and 115 in Germantown.
" An Almanac Forever" was found affixed to one of the rooms of the house they pulled down to give room for the new enlarged church. It being of curious construction it has been preserved in my MS. Annals, page 202, in the City Library.
In the year 1750 this church had to encounter an unpleasant in- cident; a great strife in the church between the two contending pastors, Mr. Schlatter and the former minister from Dortrecht; they disputed about the possession of the pulpit several Sundays. The former at last took the pulpit on Saturday and stayed in it all night! The other and his followers being thus excluded, some beating and bruising occurred, much to the scandal of religious profession. At length the Magistrates interfered and decided in favour of Mr. Schlatter. Mr. Kalm, who saw the first church, described it as being like a church near Stockholm.
The Roman Catholic Churches .- It was always the enlightened and peculiar characteristic of Pennsylvania, even when yet a colony, that it respected and cherished the unfettered rights of conscience in matters of religion. In this respect it was more indulgent and free than the parent country, so that when we would countenance free- dom of religious exercise, there were those among us, jealous of pa- rental prerogative, who cried " Church and State in danger !" To this cause probably arose the caution of Penn, in his letter of 1708, to James Logan, saying : "With these is a complaint against your government, that you suffer public mass in a scandalous manner ; pray send the matter of fact, for ill use is made of it against us here."
This early-mentioned mass probably had its origin in the frame building once a Coffee House on the north-west corner of Front and Walnut streets. Samuel Coates, the late aged owner of that lot
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has told me that when he received the premises from his uncle Rey- nell he told him, jocosely, to remember it was holy ground, and had been once consecrated as a chapel. Mr. Coates also told me that he remembered to have seen a neighbouring man often passing the house to the Green Tree pump for water, who always made his genuflexion in passing, and on being questioned, said he knew it was consecrated ground.
Fifteen years ago I saw a lady, Sarah Patterson, born in 1736, who dwelt in her youth at the house south-east corner of Chesnut and Second streets ; she had often heard her parents say it was built for a Papal chapel, and that the people opposed its being so used in so public a place.
There was a Roman chapel near the city of Philadelphia, as early as the year 1729; at that time, Elizabeth M'Gawley, an Irish lady, and single, brought over a number of tenantry, and with them settled on the land (now Miss Dickinson's) on the road leading from Nice- town to Frankford ; connected with her house (now standing oppo- site to Gaul's place) she had the said chapel .* Mrs. Deborah Logan has told me that much of it was in ruins when she was a girl ; but even now the spot is visible. It was then called " the haunted place." These facts in general have been confirmed to me also by the late Thomas Bradford, Esq., of Philadelphia, when 88, who told me he remembered well, when a lad, to have heard of this chapel as a haunted place. It was the report of the time in Philadelphia, &c., and he added, as a fact, that a person, to test the reality of the thing alleged, went to the road, by the premises, at midnight, and walking with his hands behind him, was suddenly alarmed with a sensation of an application of death coldness to his hands! Too terrified to turn and examine the cause, he endeavoured to rouse his courage by calling on the familiar names ot some dogs; at last hitting on one that had lost his owner, which ran before him at the call, and offered to caress him, he was led to discover that the terrific coldness had been the dog's nose. It may be a question whether the aforesaid Roman chapel may not have been there before Elizabeth M'Gawley settled there, even from the earliest origin of the city, and that such chapel was put there for Roman Catholics, because their religion, however agreeable to Penn's tolerant spirit, was not so to most pro- testants then in power ; for we may remember that one of Penn's letters from England to his correspondent in Philadelphia, says, "It has become a reproach to me here with the officers of the Crown, that you have suffered the scandal of mass to be publicly cele- brated." To avoid such offence, this chapel may have been at an inconvenient distance, and as if in secrecy. At a very early period the first chapel in Philadelphia was on the premises now Samuel
· Near the place (one eighth of a mile off ) is a stone enclosure, in which is a large tombstone of marble, inscribed with a cross and the name " John Michael Brown, Ob 15 Dec., A. D. 1750, R. I. P." He was a priest.
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Coates', at the north-west corner of Front and Walnut streets. And as early as 1686, I have recorded William Penn's letter to Harrison, (his steward) wherein he tells him he may procure fine smoked shad of the old priest in Philadelphia. And in 1685, his letter spoke of Charles De la Noe, the French minister, coming to settle among them with servants as a Vigneron. These remarks may prove interesting inquiries to papists themselves among us ; none of whom I am satisfied have any idea of any older chapel than the one now in Willing's alley, built in 1753, and now called the oldest. The Rev. Dr. Harrold, of the Catholic church, assured me that they have no records in Philadelphia of any earlier church than that in the said alley, although he thinks there may be some records in the College of St. Mary at Georgetown, which may (if any where to be found) exhibit where the first Catholic worship occurred in Philadelphia.
We, however, know that Governor Gorden, in 1734, informed the Council that a house had been erected in Walnut street, [probably at the north-west corner of Walnut and Front streets, or else St. Joseph's on Willing's alley and back from Walnut street,] for the open celebration of mass, contrary to the statutes of William the Third. The Council advised him to consult his superiors at home In the mean time they judged them protected by the charter, which allowed " liberty of conscience."
The minutes of the Council, at the same time, calls their proceed- ings thereon " the Consideration of the Council upon the building of the Roman mass house, and the public worship there," July 1734.
In the year 1757 Mr. Harding, the popish priest, made a report of the Catholics in Pennsylvania, at the request of the Governor, viz .: in Philadelphia, 139; in Chester county, 40. The whole number, in all the state, including Germans, &c., men, women and children, about two thousand souls.
The Moravian Church .- This church, at the corner of Race and Bread streets, was built in 1742 ; before that time they appear to have held their meetings at a building on Allen's lot, in conjunction with the Lutherans; the latter using the place every third Sunday, and the others three times a month. Some jealousy got among them, so that while Mr. Pyrlaus was preaching for the Moravians, the Lu- therans came in force, and violently excluded the others.
Although the Gazettes of the day called the above opponents "Lutherans," there is reason to believe they were mistaken in the society named, and that they must have been the German Reformed sect ; because I see, in the Lutheran account of their mission ir. Philadelphia at this time, that they state that "the Reformed and Lutherans had rented a house in common for public worship. That on one occasion a Mr. Pyrlaus, the Moravian preacher, entered the house by force without the keys, in order to preach, and that because he so entered against the will of the lawful owners, the Reformed pulled him from the pulpit, and put him without the doors." See for these facts Nachrichten von einiger Evan., & c., p. 136.
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Secretary Peters, who mentions this event to the Penns, in 1742, says these indicted the others for a riot, but lost their cause. It probably educed good from evil, by inducing them to build that year a church for themselves.
Kalm, the Swedish traveller, at a later period, speaks of the Mo- ravians and the German Reformed hiring a great house, in which they performed service in German and English, not only two or three times every Sunday, but likewise every night! But in the winter of 1750 they were obliged to desist from their night meetings, because some young fellows disturbed them by an instrument sound- ing like the cuckoo, and this they did at the end of every line when they sang their hymns.
St. Paul's Church .- This was originally founded in 1760, with a design to be more in accordance with Mr. Wesley's church con- ceptions, than was tolerated in other Protestant Episcopal churches. It was built in 1762. The walls were run up by subscription ; after which a lottery was made to complete it.
When the church was to be plastered, the men not being skilful in constructing so large a scaffolding, it fell, and killed and wounded several persons.
The church was first got up for the Rev. Mr. Clenachan. He preached at one time specially against the lewdness of certain wo- men. Soon after a Miss H., celebrated in that day for her beauty and effrontery, managed to pluck his gown in the streets. This gave rise to some indignation, and a mob of big boys went in a strong body and demolished her house, with some others in her fel- lowship-" down town."
The Methodist Church .- Methodism was first introduced into Philadelphia in the year 1769, by the late Rev. Dr. Joseph Pilmore of St. Paul's church, he having then as a young man arrived here on a mission from the Rev. Mr. John Wesley. He preached from the steps of the Statehouse in Chesnut street, and from stands put up in the race fields, being, as he has told me, a true field preacher, and carrying his whole library and wardrobe in his saddlebags. His popularity as a preacher soon led to his call to St. Paul's. Among the novelties of his day, he was occasionally aided in preaching by Captain Webb, the British barrack-master at Albany, who being a Boanerges in declamation, and a one-eyed officer in military cos- tume, caused attraction enough to bring many to hear, from mere curiosity, who soon became proselytes to Methodism. The Method- ism of that day was not so exclusive as now; it collected people of any faith, who professed to believe in the sensible perceptions of divine regeneration, &c., and required no other rule of association than " a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and having the form of godliness, were seeking after the power thereof." Calvinists and Arminians were therefore actual members of this first association. The Methodists of that day, although remarkable for their holiness of living, were not distinguished by such violent emotions and bodily
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exercises in their assemblies as often occur now. There were no jumpers among them, nor fallers down, nor shouters.
The first regular meetings of this society were held in a pot-house in Loxley's court, a passage running from Arch to Cherry street, near Fourth street.
The first church owned by the Methodists, was the present St. George's, in Fourth near New street. It was an unfinished building, which they bought of the Germans; it having no floor laid when the British possessed the city, they took it to the use of their cavalry as a riding school. In the rear of that church was an artillery yard of cannons and balls after the peace.
The reminiscences of that church, given by another hand, as seen by him when Methodism was young, shall close this article, to wit:
Saint George's Methodist church in Fourth street, and the only one at the time in Philadelphia, was without galleries within or railing without, a dreary, cold-looking place in winter time, when, from the leaky stove pipe, mended with clay, the smoke would fre- quently issue, and fill all the house. It was then customary with the female worshippers to carry with them small " wooden stoves" for the feet, such as are to be seen used by the women in market. The front door was in the centre; and about 20 feet from the east end, inside, there stood a square thing not unlike a watch box, with the top sawed off, which in that day served as their " pulpit of wood," from whence the Rev. Mr. Willis used to read prayers previous to the sermon, from Mr. Wesley's Liturgy, and John Hood (lately living) raised the hymn standing on the floor. Mr. Willis, during service, wore a black silk gown, which gave offence to many, and was finally laid aside. "Let all things be done soberly and in order" seemed to be the standing rule, which was first broken in upon by a Mr. Chambers, from Baltimore, who, with a sharp pene- trating voice and great energy of manner, soon produced a kind of revolution in the form of worship, which had assimilated itself with that of the Church of England.
About the same time, the far-famed (among Methodists) Benja- min Abbott, from Salem county, New Jersey, used to " come over and help" to keep alive the new fire which had been kindled in "the church at Philadelphia." He was at the time an old man, with large shaggy eye-brows, and eyes of flame, of powerful frame, and great extent of voice, which he exerted to the utmost, while preaching and praying, which, with an occasional stamp with his foot, made the church ring. It was like the trumpet sounding to battle, amidst shouts of the victorious and the groans of the wounded. His words ran like fire sparks through the assembly, and " those who came to laugh" stood aghast upon the benches-looking down upon the slain and the wounded, while, to use a favourite expression of his, "The shout of the king was in the camp."
American Churches, before the American revolution, were all considered as appendages of the mother country, so far as to be
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generally governed by the rules at home. The Protestant Episco- pal church had to receive its ordinations and book of forms from the bishop of London. Both Dr. White of Philadelphia and Mr. Pro- vost of New York had their consecrations as bishops in London even as late as 1787. The Presbyterian churches were guided by Scottish precedents; and the American students of divinity were accustomed to read Stewart's Scottish Collections as a book of au- thority on discipline and government. The Methodists took all their authority and rules from John Wesley. The general synod of the Dutch church, which began to construct its laws as early as 1787, had them under advisement down to the year 1792, when they de- termined on the constitution by which its churches are now go- verned.
The Presbyterians, it is understood, took very great pains to make their ecclesiastical laws of enduring and unchangeable character. To this purpose, they were subjected to several reconsiderations and revisals in the several Presbyteries-and after three years of consider- ation, they were finally adopted, in May, 1788. Little or no part of the Confession of Faith was altered, save that which related to the civil government and the civil magistrate. In the Scottish form, the civil magistrate had power to " call synods, to be present at them, and to provide that all done therein should conform to the mind of God." In place of that, the American Presbytery declared it to be the duty of the civil magistrate to protect equally the churches of our common Lord, without a preference to any one denomination above the rest ; to the end, that " all should enjoy full and free liberty of ac- tion, without violence or danger." This constitution, it has been said, is sufficient in itself to show, that they as a people can have no power, even if they had the wish, to unite church and state. The Scottish form also included a declaration, that " it was a sin to tolerate a false religion," which was left out here, by a unanimous vote.
The Friends, at all times, had been most free from this foreign in- fluence. They have indeed always received annual epistles from abroad, reporting their views and feelings on given subjects of religious character, and in return the American Friends have been equally free to send their responses " in reciprocal interchanges of brotherly love."
Concluding and general remarks .- We shall herein endeavour to sketch some few of the remembered differences between the past and the present, in the ways and circumstances of public worship. Formerly there were no choirs set apart as singers : and an obvious reason was, that there were no tunes used of such complicated and artificial construction as to require a separate order or class to manage them. There was, from that circumstance, a much more general and hearty co-operation of the whole body of worshippers. In the Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist churches, the singing was led by one good singer standing below the pulpit, and bearing the ap- pellation of " the setter of tunes." Such were "Josey Eastburn" and VOL. I .- 3 H 39
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"Johnny Hood," names long endeared to many. In Christ church, the singer, there called the clerk, was Joseph Fry-a small man with a great voice, who standing in the organ gallery, was wont to make the whole church resound with his strong, deep and grave tones.
It was the forte, and the purposed system of the Methodists, to have very superior and attractive singing-always of such popular cast and spirit, as would easiest please the ear and enchain the atten- tion ; and it well succeeded with all those who were unsophisticated with high artificial refinements. The " sweet singer" of that church, familiarly called "Johnny Hood," (as was much the wont of that day with all familiar and cherished names,) was himself a singer wholly of nature's own make, one who had never learned one note of gamut-music, and yet he never jarred or failed! His sweet smiling face too, whilst he sang, was only equalled by the charm of his clear, mellifluous voice. His utterance, too, was so clear and distinct, as that most people could join in his singing without a book, following only his words.
The Methodist churches had a quicker and more animated style of singing at all times, than prevailed in the slower, heavier cadence of the other churches of the city. It was not uncommon to find many persons who went purposely to Methodist churches to hear the singing. We have known such " who remained to pray."
The very first perceptible innovations in the public singing of the Protestant churches, generally, was seen to come in from that cast and character of public singing which has been seen to catch the curious and artificially prepared ears of the amateurs. This style of singing and chanting was first witnessed in Philadelphia in the Papal churches, and came to be but slowly imitated. At last, however, by the force and prevalence of the piano teachers, a style of lessons came to be imposed, which put down natural music in churches, al- most as generally as in parlours.
In the present day, there is no very marked difference in the general appearance of the congregations who worship in the different churches in the city. But there was a marked distinctive difference formerly. The Episcopalians showed most grandeur of dress and costume,-next the Presbyterians,-the gentlemen of whom freely indulged in powdered and frizzled hair ;- the Baptists showed a graver and humbler style, with scarcely any powdered head visible among them. The Methodists desired to be " a peculiar people," and for a time effected their purpose. No powdered heads of men, and no gay bonnets or ribands were to be seen among them. It was really so, that persons gaily dressed shunned to go there lest they might be "preached at." We could name such an individual, with powdered and toupeed hair and ruffles over his hands, who was so preached at, and afterwards became a Methodist preacher himself.
They aimed in general to dress much like the Friends, except that they intended not to be mistaken for them, and therefore they wore
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collars to their coats, and their clothes of various colours-avoiding only such as should be esteemed gay,-and such as were drab, be- cause that colour was then a much more prevalent one among the Friends than now. Indeed, it was the exclusiveness of this drab to them, then, as a class, which caused the sneering Tom Paine to say, that if they had their will, there would be nothing but drab as a colour, to all created things! The Methodists all wore "shad breasted" coats, and low-crowned hats ; - the women all wore plain black satin bonnets-straw bonnets were never seen among them- no white dresses-no jewellery-no rings. No male persons were to be seen with tied or queued hair, but lank long locks straitly combed down in thick and natural profusion. The females wore no curls, no side locks, or lace or ornaments. Their ministers, as such, could be readily recognized when abroad in the streets. They moved with solemn looks and pace-never in black, but in a kind of " parsonic attire" called " parsons' gray"-a gray in which a proportion of blue was given; their coats were without lapels-and their hats were generally white and large-brimmed. They wore small clothes and vests of cotton-velvet of olive colour, and sometimes of black-lastings, such as are now used in shoes. Their bishop, Asbury, wore an en- tire suit of blue-gray cloth, with a big white hat, and a fine, solemn, venerable looking man he surely was. He had greatly the dignity and port of a ruler.
Such was the adherence to the things afore mentioned for princi- ples' sake, that it was long before all these distinctive marks of a people could be broken down. The first ministers that wore pantaloons and frock coats were scarcely tolerated ; and the members who first began to wear lapels, and frock coats, and the women to wear straw bonnets, were subjects of concern. But in time, as if wearied in watching at invading breaches,-one and another of the barriers which marked them from the world around them gave way,-and now, if the heart be right, they leave their own consciences to regu- late their sumptuary obligations.
It might be remarked also, that they did not as a people value or expect an educated ministry. They went solely upon " the call," and upon that, like the Friends, they rested their sufficiency, as "able ministers." In this way it occasionally happened, that " Black Harry," who accompanied Mr. Asbury as his travelling as- sistant or servant, would serve the pulpit as a preacher, although he knew not a letter. He has so preached in Philadelphia.
It may be remarked also, that the Methodists were not originally an Episcopacy in this country-they were " followers of Mr. Wesley." Their first leaders here,-Asbury, Whatcoat and Coke, were " su- perintendents" under Mr. Wesley, who himself earnestly disclaimed Episcopacy for himself and people ;- but in time, Mr. Asbury took the title of bishop-which title has since been perpetuated, on the ground, that as the epithet of bishop meant in effect a superinten- dency or oversight, in the original Greek, it was at most a harmless
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conformity with apostolic usage to use the term Bishop (Episc. pus) for the future.
From these, as a precedent, arose afterwards in Philadelphia, among the coloured Methodists, the separate Methodist church of Episcopal order. It was begun under Richard Allen, who finding himself in the actual ministry of the first black church in Philadel- phia, chose to assume the title of bishop, and has since ordained many other ministers. They thus purpose to preserve their perpetuity and independency in their own way. Such independency to Bishop Allen may have been peculiarly sweet, for he, like another Onesimus, had once been a servant. He had belonged to the Chew family.
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