USA > Pennsylvania > Lycoming County > Williamsport > Chronicles of Christ Church Parish, Williamsport, Pa., 1840-1896 > Part 2
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Hardly know why I have troubled you with these personal reminiscences, which can be of little interest to you, and so will only subscribe myself.
Yours very truly,
B. WISTAR MORRIS.
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MR. LIGHTNER'S RECTORSHIP
other Sunday1 and hold services in the Court House. Before long he had the support of influential people, including the wife and daughter of the Hon. Ellis Lewis, afterwards Chief Justice of Pennsylvania; and when he resigned in 1842, twenty-six months after the first introduction of the services, the communicants numbered fourteen, and there had been completed, paid for, and consecrated, a beautiful brick church, which cost nearly $3,000-Bishop Onderdonk described it as "a very beautiful edifice of brick"-40 by 56 feet, "with a tower, basement, gallery, and robing room." The report of 1842 shows that the parish then embraced 14 families, in- cluding 72 persons, that seven persons (three adults and four children) had been baptized and five confirmed during the year, and that there had been two burials. No Sunday School had as yet been formed, because there was no place in which to assemble. Twelve dollars, $7.00 for the "Advancement Society" and $5.00 for the "Christmas Fund," had been con- tributed. No mention is made of any stipend paid the Mis- sionary, because during all the two years and more of his visits here he received no money from the Williamsport congregation. His salary at Muncy was less than $400, and the congregation in this parish seems to have thought that his services here were paid for by the Diocese! He either rode to Williams- port on horseback after morning services in Muncy, or else was driven here by the same vestryman whose horse he rode when he came alone. Surely it is only by a sort of poetic justice that this parish has in a measure retrieved this dis- honor by becoming in later years one of the foremost con- tributors to Diocesan missions.
1Again the "History of Lycoming County" is at variance. On page 397 it credits Mr. Lightner with conducting services only once a month. [Ed.]
THE REV. JOHN BAKER CLEMSON, D. D. RECTOR 1842-1843
TWO SHORT RECTORSHIPS. 1842-1844.
THE REV. JOHN BAKER CLEMSON-THE REV. DR. THOMAS C. YARNALL.
All the historical data within our reach, of this period and for many years thereafter, indicate plainly enough what an uphill struggle it was to maintain the feeble Church-life thus heroically begun.1 In the history of any parish, short
1 The following summary view of general conditions in the State in the early days of this parish appeared in "The Wayne Churchman" at the time of our semi-centennial celebration:
"The State of Pennsylvania was one Diocese, under the care of the Right Rev. Henry U. Onderdonk. His labors were in one sense very like those of the pioneer bishops of the West. The parishes were small, often far apart, and travel hard throughout the State. There were no railroads except the Pennsylvania Rail- road from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. But the sinewy soul of the Bishop was equal to his faithfully performed work. Not only did the established parishes receive his visits and care, but at many a point where the Church was not known did the good Bishop pause to drop a seed. Williamsport was one of these. Francis C. Campbell was at that time the only known Episcopalian in the place. The Bishop was in the annual habit of passing a night with Mr. Campbell and holding a service in the Court House. The population was composed of Presbyterians and Methodists, both of whom looked with doubt and suspicion upon the new (to them) form of worship.
"Undeterred by the scarcely disguised hostility of the com- munity, Judge Lewis and Mr. J. F. Maynard, who had become in- terested, determined, with Mr. Campbell, to organize a parish and build a church. A small brick building sufficed for the wants of the infant parish, which was sustained by a faithful few. At first the ministrations were conducted fortnightly by the Rev. Mr. Light- ner, who had a parish fourteen miles distant, and who used to ride on horseback in all extremes of weather to the scene of his labors, "
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CHRONICLES OF CHRIST CHURCH PARISH
and unsettled rectorships and vacant periods when no ser- vices are held at all, point clearly enough to the financial dis- couragement, moral indifference, and spiritual inertia of the people ; and Christ Church, Williamsport, had all the early experience of a weak and struggling young mission.
After Mr. Lightner's resignation, the Rev. John Baker Clemson,1 who had been rector of the Church of the Ascension,
1 The Rev. John Baker Clemson, D. D., was born 1803. His father was Thomas Clemson, a Philadelphia merchant; his mother Elizabeth (Baker) Clemson.
Mr. Clemson graduated from Princeton 1822; was ordained deacon in St. Stephen's Church, Philadelphia, during the rectorship of Dr. James Montgomery, and priest in St. James's Church, Phila- delphia, which then stood at Seventh and Chestnut Streets.
In 1826 Bishop White noted that "the Rev. John B. Clemson has succeeded the Rev. Jacob De Pui at Harrisburg. He officiated in Thompsontown and Millerstown; traveled over Pennsylvania seek- ing the Lord's direction as to Church work, and selected Harris- burg, where two Sunday Schools were established;" officiating also at Esthertown and in the Dauphin County almshouse. In 1828 Dr. Clemson was associate rector of St. John's, Pequea, and Christ Church, Leacock, under the Rev. Joseph Clarkson, of Lancaster. He afterwards became rector. In 1832 he was at "the self-support- ing school," as he styles it; in Delaware, and rector of Chester, Marcus Hook and Concord. In 1836 he became rector of the Church of the Ascension, Philadelphia, a newly organized congre- gation. In 1842 he came to Williamsport and remained from June of that year till March 1843, when he accepted the rectorship of Holy Trinity, West Chester. From West Chester Dr. Clemson went to Claymont, Del., where he conducted a school for years and was rector at first of the Church of the Ascension there, and also of St. Martin's, Marcus Hook, Pa., but afterwards the latter parish was relinquished. He died at West Chester, February 3, 1891. Dr. Clemson, in 1826, was chaplain of the Masons, in a district com- prising Lancaster, York, Dauphin and Lebanon counties; he also, after moving to West Chester, acted as chaplain to one of the schools in that place. He was president of the Standing Commit- tee; a member of the Missionary and Education Committee, and a delegate to the General Convention. Dr. Clemson married a daugh- ter of the Rev. Dr. Bull, and one of his sons, Thomas G., has fol- lowed the footsteps of his grandfather and father by entering holy orders. [Extracted from a "Memoir" of Dr. Clemson by the Rev. S. F. Hotchkin, Philadelphia, Jacobs, 1898. Ed.]
THE REV. THOMAS COFFIN YARNALL, D. D. RECTOR 1843-1844
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TWO SHORT RECTORSHIPS
Philadelphia, but who was now living at Holmesburgh, was in- vited to take charge of the church "and gather a congregation." This he undertook and entered upon his duties June 26th, 1842. His was a rectorship of only ten months, but to him belongs the credit of starting our first Sunday School, which he did the month after he came. His aggressive zeal was evidently unaffected by the heat of mid-summer, and the school that began in July had, three months later, the very creditable membership of 12 teachers and 60 scholars. Mr. Clemson was always present at the Sunday School, to en- courage and control the school and to make an address.
He resigned this parish in March, 1843, to accept the rectorship of Holy Trinity, West Chester. When he removed in April,1 it is recorded that he left "a large and flourishing Sunday School, and the Church in good standing for piety, zeal, and consistency among other sectaries (?)." He him- self wrote of Williamsport: "All this field is very inviting to the faithful, diligent laborer, and will amply repay him."
Mr. Clemson was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Coffin Yarnall,2 a recently ordained deacon, who entered upon his
1 He preached his farewell sermon April 16, 1843.
2 The Rev. Dr. Thomas C. Yarnall was born December 10, 1815, and after graduating from Yale University received the degree of D. D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
He was ordained deacon, by Bishop Onderdonk, shortly before assuming charge of Christ Church in 1843. When he resigned, early the next year, it was to become rector of St. Mary's Church, Hamilton Village (now part of the 27th ward of the city of Philadelphia); and there, on May 19, 1844, he was ordained priest by Bishop Onderdonk. His rectorship at St. Mary's lasted fifty- six years, or until 1900, when he was made Rector Emeritus. Dur- ing his long rectorship the plain building in which his congregation worshipped was replaced by the beautiful edifice that stands to- day; while, by the end of fifty years of work, he was able to report that the number of communicants had increased from sixty-two to five hundred and sixty.
Upon the occasion of the Jubilee of Dr. Yarnall's rectorship of St. Mary's appropriate services were held, at which the Bishop of
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CHRONICLES OF CHRIST CHURCH PARISH
duties as minister of the parish on September 17th, 1843. This was a rectorship of between six and seven months, in the course of which the Bishop visited the parish and during his visitation baptized and confirmed Judge Ellis Lewis and J. W. Maynard, Esq. Mr. Yarnall resigned April 11, 1844.
Dr. Yarnall, who is still living, relates the following amusing reminiscence of the time of his rectorship here, to illustrate the feeble condition of the Church in Williamsport. A small company of lawyers were gathered in the Hotel United States on one occasion during court time, when, after dinner, one of their number left the parlor of the hotel in company with Mr. Yarnall. As the two gentlemen closed the door behind them they heard the company merrily enjoy- ing some one's remark, "There goes the whole Episcopal Church." Writing to the author of these chronicles, Dr. Yarnall says: "Christ Church, Williamsport, was feebleness itself while I was there, consisting of about twenty people all told."
the Diocese was present to add his congratulations to those of the members of the parish.
Dr. Yarnall married, July 9, 1846, Sarah Price Rose, by whom he had nine children, all of whom are still living. Mrs. Yarnall died June 24, 1904 but Dr. Yarnall, at the great age of 95, though suffering from physical infirmities, still continues Rector Emeritus of the church to which he went as rector sixty-six years ago. [Ed.]
THE REV. WILLIAM JAMES CLARK RECTOR 1846-1851
MR. CLARK'S RECTORSHIP. 1846-1851.
BRIGHTER PROSPECTS-THE CONVOCATION OF NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA-PUSHING ALONG.
For two years and a half the church was without a rector, and there are no data to show that anything was attempted or accomplished during that period. But under the rector- ship of Mr. Clark,1 the next incumbent, the parish entered upon a new era of hope and increasing prosperity, which may also, perhaps, in a measure, be attributed to the vigorous ad- ministration of the Diocese inaugurated by the new Bishop, the Right Rev. Alonzo Potter, who had been consecrated in September, 1845. Among other indications of Bishop Pot- ter's influence upon this parish through the person of its rector, is the acquisition, to be noted hereafter, of a Parish
1 The Rev. William James Clark was born in Philadelphia in 1812, and educated at a college, under the Rev. Stephen A. Tyng, at Bristol, Pa. He then went to the Theological Seminary, Alex- andria, Va., and there was ordained deacon by Bishop Moore; being advanced to the priesthood by Bishop Onderdonk, in St. Andrew's Church, Wilmington, Del., in 1836 (or 1837).
He served as assistant at St. Andrew's, Wilmington, Del., and then took charge of churches at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Berlin, Md., and Churchtown, Pa., before, in 1846, he accepted the rectorship of Christ Church, Williamsport.
Subsequent to leaving Williamsport he had charge of churches at Shrewsburg, Md., Portsmouth, Ohio, and Vineland, N. J., while for several years he conducted schools for young women in Wash- ington and Georgetown, D. C.
In 1838 he married Annabella Harlan Mccullough, of New Castle, Del. His death occurred in Philadelphia, January 23, 1893. Two daughters and three sons survived him, the best known of whom is Charles Heber Clark, who, under the pseudonym of Max Adeler, is the author of "Out of the Hurly Burly," "Captain Bluitt," "The Quakeress," etc., etc. [Ed.]
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CHRONICLES OF CHRIST CHURCH PARISH
library and a "parsonage lot." The Bishop's connection with these gains is to be traced, we think, to his address to the Diocesan Convention of 1848, wherein he urges upon par- ishes the importance of providing homes for their clergy and adding thereto, where possible, a rector's library.
The Rev. William James Clark, of Churchtown, Lan- caster County, visited the Church in October, 1846, with ref- erence to a call to the rectorship, and having accepted the Vestry's invitation of November 15th, entered upon his duties. The Missionary Society of Grace Church, Philadelphia, pledged $400 a year for three years towards the rector's sal- ary, on condition that this parish pay annually $200 for the same period and that the existing debt of $650 be paid off within this time.
An event of more than local interest was associated with the parish when, in April, 1847, the Convocation of North- ern Pennsylvania was organized here. The idea of convoca- tional gatherings thus begun was the starting point of that system of Diocesan Church Extension which has since been de- veloped into the four archdeaconries of the Diocese of Cen- tral Pennsylvania,1 the eight convocations of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and the two convocations of the Diocese of Pittsburg, all of which territory was, until 1865, embraced in the one Diocese of Pennsylvania. Bishop Potter, in his convention address of 1847, was very sanguine of the great benefit that would accrue to the clergy and people of these remoter regions through quarterly meetings in different par- ishes for the purpose of holding public services and private conferences. This was the second convocation inaugurated by the Bishop, the first one having been called by him in Pittsburg the preceding October. To Christ Church, Wil-
1 At the present date the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, with its name changed to the Diocese of Bethlehem, contains two of these archdeaconries, Reading and Scranton. The Diocese of Har- risburg, which was carved out of the Diocese of Central Pennsyl- vania, contains the other two, Harrisburg and Williamsport, and in addition a new Archdeaconry of Altoona. [Ed.]
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MR. CLARK'S RECTORSHIP
liamsport, therefore, belongs the honor of having been the first place in the State, east of Pittsburg, where a convocation was held. Appended to the Bishop's address of the next year is a copy of the rules of this convocation, which the Bishop seems to have regarded as a model of excellence. The counties embraced within the Convocation of Northern Penn- sylvania were Bradford, Sullivan, Tioga, Lycoming, Colum- bia, Northumberland, Union, Clinton, Centre, Mifflin and Huntingdon, all of them, with the exception of Bradford, Mifflin, and Huntingdon, within the present Archdeaconry of Williamsport.
At the Diocesan Convention in May, 1847, the parish applied for admission to the convention and was duly re- ceived. A fair was held in the Court House by the ladies of the parish in June of that year, and by the sale of useful and fancy articles they netted the sum of $275 towards the pay- ment of the $650 debt. The following September the young ladies of the congregation commenced sewing one afternoon a week for the erection of a fence in front of the church. Their sale in December netted them $42. During 1847 and 1848 the Sunday School received the gift from the American Sunday School Union of two libraries comprising two hun- dred volumes. In 1849, the three years of grace having come to an end, Mr. Clark could thankfully record that the debt of $650 had been entirely wiped out. In May, 1850, the parish received from the Bishop White Prayer Book Society a donation of the parish library of St. Mary's Church, Jersey Shore, and also an addition thereto of twenty-five other vol- umes. A portion of this grant still remains in the rectory as part of the study library. Through the kindness of a few friends Mr. Clark was enabled to procure six lamps for the church, at a cost of $30, and by a fair held on the 5th of June, 1850, the ladies of the church realized the sum of $500 for the purchase of the lot next to the church, whereon to build a rectory. Thirteen days later, no doubt with great gladness and elation, the lot was purchased; and on the
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CHRONICLES OF CHRIST CHURCH PARISH
same day the parish bought "an uncommonly fine-toned organ" for $400, the builder being James Hall, of Baltimore.
Thus within a few years, from a condition of great dis- couragement and inactivity, we see evidences of temporal improvement crowding upon each other as tokens of Mr. Clark's energetic administration. Looking to the spiritual condition of the parish, Mr. Clark regarded the attendance upon the services of the church as very good, and thought that a general degree of seriousness pervaded the congrega- tion. He thought the parish "remarkable for its unanimity." But at the same time he seems to have felt some discourage- ment at the slow growth in the number of families and com- municants. This condition of Church life appears, however, to have been more or less general throughout the region. After a rectorship of nearly four years and a half, on the 6th day of April, 1851, Mr. Clark resigned the parish in order to take charge of a female seminary in the city of Washington. The church was now entirely free from debt, and Mr. Clark reported that his salary of $3001 had been paid regularly. The real estate of the parish consisted of the church building and lot, and the adjoining "parsonage lot," and the people were encouraged to believe that in a very few years the parish would be self-sustaining.
1 The fact that the minute book of the Vestry was not com- menced till 1852 makes it impossible to explain this statement. Mr. Clark, when he came in 1846, was promised $600 annually for three years ($200 from Christ Church, $400 from Grace Church). Possibly from 1849 he was compelled to get along on $300. [Ed.]
THE REV. JOHN HENRY BLACK RECTOR 1851-1853
THREE MORE SHORT RECTORSHIPS. 1851-1855.
THE REV. JOHN HENRY BLACK-THE REV. EDWARD PURDON WRIGHT-THE REV. W. H. COOPER.
The next incumbent of the parish was the Rev. John Henry Black,1 who entered upon his rectorship on October IOth, 1851,2 and remained until June 12th, 1853.3 An unusu-
1 The Rev. John Henry Black was born October 27, 1822, and graduated at Hamilton College, 1848, B. A., and afterwards M. A. He was principal of the Erie (Pa.) Academy, 1848-1851, when he accepted the rectorship of Christ Church, Williamsport, Pa., 1851-1853. After leaving Williamsport he was rector of Zion Church, Belvidere, and St. John's Church, Somerville, N. J., 1853- 1857; St. Paul's Church, Sing Sing, N. Y., 1857-1862; Trinity Church, Newport, R. I., 1862-1865; St. John's, Erie, Pa., 1866-1868, and Trinity Church, Renovo, Pa., 1874-1881. He resided at Wil- liamsport, Pa., from 1869 to 1888, but in the latter year removed to Washington, D. C., where he continued to reside until his death, August 17, 1893.
While at Williamsport he married, November 3, 1853, Caroline Campbell, daughter of Francis C. (Vestry's Warden) and Jane Campbell.
He was for several years a trustee of the General Theological Seminary, New York, and was Dean of the Convocation of Wil- liamsport 1880-1885. He was a man of marked administrative ca- pacity, of wide and deep learning, especially in the classics and in the history and exegesis of the Bible. He published no books, but was much occupied in the later years of his life in the prepara- tion of lectures on various topics for theological students and classes and occasional papers for clerical clubs and meetings. [Ed.]
2 Mr. Black accepted the rectorship with the understanding that his connection with the parish was not to be of lengthy duration. The financial difficulties under which the parish labored during his rectorship are noted in "Summary Notes: 'The Money Problem.'" The first minute book of the Vestry was commenced during Mr. Black's rectorship. [Ed.]
3 The Parish Guide (February, 1870) is apparently in error, perhaps by a typographical slip, in giving June 11 as the date.
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CHRONICLES OF CHRIST CHURCH PARISH
ally large confirmation class marked this period, eleven per- sons being presented for the apostolic rite on the 21st of July, 1852. Among these were two who subsequently became prominently active in the life of the parish-Oliver Watson, Esq., and Miss Elizabeth W. Hepburn, afterwards Mrs. Val- entine S. Doebler, the latter of whom is still an active com- municant.1 Before leaving Williamsport the marriage of Mr. Black and Miss Caroline Campbell, daughter of F. C. Camp- bell, Esq., Vestry's Warden, was solemnized by his successor, the Rev. Mr. Wright.
Mr. Black was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Purdon Wright,2 of Burlington, New Jersey, who was called to the
1 Mrs. Doebler has since died (May 25, 1907,) at the age of 75 years. [Ed.]
2 The Rev. Dr. Edward Purdon Wright was born in Lincoln- shire, England, April 25, 1825. He was the eldest son of the Rev. Robert and Eliza (Purdon) Wright, the former a native of Ireland, the latter of Wales.
Dr. Wright was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, and graduated from Burlington College, N. J., in 1853, having been ordained deacon by Bishop Doane in the previous year. He was advanced to the priesthood in 1853, and was acting rector of Bur- lington College at the time he came to Christ Church, Williamsport. He tendered his resignation six months from that date (April 3, 1854), to accept the rectorship of St. John's, Pequa, and St. Mark's, Honeybrook.
During the next twenty years Dr. Wright had numerous charges. He was in Nashua, N. H .; at Christ Church, Waukegan, Ill .; St. James's Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Christ Church, Dayton, Ohio. In both his Ohio parishes new churches were built under his super- vision, that in Dayton costing $50,000. He went to Milwaukee in 1873, and for seventeen years labored in the State of Wisconsin, chiefly in missionary fields, but in 1890 (?) was rector of Trinity, Wauwatosa, a parish founded by him. In 1889 he was appointed chaplain of the National Military Home for Disabled Veteran Sol- diers, which position he held until his death, January 25, 1910, at the age of eighty-five.
Dr. Wright married, in 1846, Mrs. S. P. Coryell, of Philadelphia, who died in 1884, and in 1885 Miss Georgia Bennett, daughter of C. W. Bennett, former Sheriff of Waukesha County, Wis., who sur- vives him. He was interested in Masonry, being a thirty-second degree member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rites. [Ed.]
THE REV. EDWARD PURDON WRIGHT, D. D. RECTOR 1853-1854
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THREE MORE SHORT RECTORSHIPS
rectorship October 3d, 1853,1 and entered at once upon his duties.2 At the end of three months Mr. Wright records with devout thankfulness to Almighty God that the congregations had steadily increased, the church being frequently filled com- pletely, and that the Sunday School, which seems to have run down previously very much, had also steadily increased in numbers and efficiency, from 9 teachers and 27 scholars to 13 teachers and 59 scholars. When Mr. Wright resigned, April 3d, 1854,3 the number of scholars had increased to 65, and subscriptions amounting to about $1,500 had been made for the erection of a "parsonage house."
The Vestry were using commendable exertions to hasten the accomplishment of this project. They took their first action looking to this end on the 23d of January, 1854, and at a meeting held the following month, the plans of Mr. James Damant, a member of the Vestry, were approved, and it was resolved to build a house at a cost not to exceed $2,200, which was to be completed by the first of the following October. Thomas Throp proposed to build the parsonage for $2,195 and the old house on the lot, and offered to make a contribution of $50 toward the building. Before the completion of this struc- ture, which was delayed beyond the expected time, the Vestry felt obliged to borrow $1,000, and place a mortgage on the house, so that when Mr. Cooper, the next rector, was able to report the structure completed, it had cost $2,250, besides some $150 for extras, fencing, etc .; and upwards of $973 was yet due on it. Mr. Cooper described the rectory as "a beautiful and commodious parsonage of brick," such as "would do credit to many a more extensive and more wealthy parish."
1 The Parish Guide (February, 1870,) says October 10, 1853.
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