History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 138

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992

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Ilow long the society remained at Masons' Hall after the union of 1790 is not certain. The Philadel- phia Directory for 1793, published in the early part of that year, in the appendix gives the names of " all the buildings appropriated to the worship of Almighty God, and where situated, with the names of their re-

spective pastors, and says, "Universalists perform Divine worship in the Anatomical Hall, Fifth Street, between Chestnut and Walnut, and under the care of Rev. Hugh White."

In the same Directory, in the alphabetical portion, is the following : " White, Rev. Hugh, of the Uni- versalist Church, schoolmaster, No. 146 Spruce Street."

There is nothing else said about the Universal Church in this Directory, nor does the name of Win- chester appear in it. Rev. Hugh White is represented to have died in the yellow fever visitation of 1793.

In 1793 it was determined to obtain better accom- modations for the congregation. Subscriptions were therefore raised in the summer of that year. There were forty-nine subscribers, who gave about four hun- dred pounds Pennsylvania currency, being nearly eleven hundred dollars. A piece of ground was pur- chased on the south side of Lombard Street, begin- ning at the distance of one hundred feet west of Fourth Street, and being one hundred feet front ou Lombard Street by seventy-eight feet in depth. The price was five hundred pounds, and the deed was made in trust to Thomas Francis, Israel Israel, Anthony Cuthbert, Thomas Fitzgerald, Elisha Gordon, James Moore, and John Vannest. Upon this ground they built a church building, eighty feet on Lombard Street by fifty feet in depth. The location was badly chosen, and they were much cramped for means.

Thomas, in his history, says, "The walls were without plastering, aud the only seats plain benches. I was told that the first pulpit was a rongh platform, made by a mast-maker and a shoemaker."

Elhanan Winchester preached in that building from 1794 to 1796. He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Jones, who held the position of pastor in 1801. In 1796, Dr. Joseph Priestley, the English divine and philosopher, delivered a series of dis- courses on " Revealed Religion" in the Lombard Street Church. A political meeting was held there Nov. 6, 1798, Israel Israel in the chair.

Mr. Thomas numbers among the helpers of Uni- versalism at different periods some who were not members of the congregation, among whom were Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Dr. Wil- liam Shippen, Thomas Say, Christopher Marshall (who wrote in favor of Universalist doctrines), and Thomas Dobson (bookseller and publisher, known in literature as the American publisher of the "Cyclo- pædia," a very famous work when reprinted by him). Mr. Thomas says that Dobson for some time minis- tered to a few individuals in Carpenters' Hall, south side of Chestnut, between Third and Fourth Streets.

Dr. Thomas D. Mitchell says, in his "Recollec- tions," --

" The only Universalist Church in the city, in the days of my youth, was that on the south side of Lombard, west of Fontth Street. Being near to the homestead of my early youth, I have vivid recollectione uf the place and its early history. For many years the house was not plastered, and there were nu galleries in it. The entrance was by two

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doors on the Lombard Street front, near to the west end, while the pulpit wae on the south side. There was a celler under the whole, which yielded a revenue as a place for the storage of liquor and gro- ceriee in general. Who hegan the Lombard Street enterprise I know not; but It is certain that the actors were men of small means, for it was a long while before the house could be called a finished edifice, even according to the most ordinary taste, for the occupants were obliged to rent it for the use of singing schools, lecturee, etc., in order to meet current expenses. For a long series of years it was impossible to pro- cure a settled pastor, and, the dependence being ou casual eupplies, there was no obvious increase of the congregation. As it was important to rally once in a while, and to make a great effort to draw ont the people, the eccentric and shrewd John Murray was frequently brought from Boston to beat up for recruits to the popular standard."

In the foregoing account the Baptist sect are ob- served to have lost more than any other by this defec- tion. Besides the two Winchesters, they lost Rev. Nicholas Cox, Rev. William Worth, of Pittsburgh Baptist Church, also Rev. Abel Sargent, and prob- ably others. Cox was a Philadelphian, and had labored in Warren and Sussex Counties, N. J. In 1790 the Philadelphia Baptist Association adopted the following :

" This Association lament that they have occasion again to call the attention of that part of Zion we represent to another awful instance of departure from the faith once delivered to the saints. Nicholas Cox, late a brother in the ministry, having espoueed, and artfully as well as strenuously endeavored to propagate, the fatal viewe of the universal restoration of bad men and devils from hell, as such we caution in churches those of our sister Associations and Christian brothers of every denomination to beware of him."

In the year 1800, Rev. Thomas Jones was pastor of the Universalist Church in Lombard Street. During his pastorate he was assisted by Timothy Banger, an accountant and layman preacher, and intimate with Dr. Benjamin Rush. His name first appears in the minutes of a Convention in 1805. Thomas says, "He never had a pastorate, but was eminently useful as a preacher, especially during the many unsettled eras of our cause in Philadel- phia." In 1821, Rev. Abner Kneeland wrote of him as " an amiable and worthy brother, who has always rendered his services gratuitonsly, and who has sup- plied the desk, when otherwise it would have been vacant (excepting what time it was thought best that the doors of the church should be closed) for more than twenty years."

Rev. Thomas Jones only remained until 1804, when he removed to Massachusetts, and died in Gloucester, after a ministerial service of forty-three years. He was educated at the seminary established by the Countess of Huntingdon, at Treveca, Wales, and came to America in 1796. Until 1807 the church was only supplied at irregular intervals, but in that year Rev. Noah Murray, of Connecticut, took charge. He had been the first Universalist preacher in Brad- ford County, Pa., and a monument stands to his mem- ory at the town of Athens, erected by the North Branch Association of Universalists.1 In 1808 he retired from the Lombard Street Church, and for a year Elders

Timothy Banger and John Rutters were lay preach- ers. The next settled pastor was Rev. George Rich- ards, in July, 1809. He was a writer of considerable repute, a poet, and a lecturer, particularly on Masonry. The church grew apace under his care. His sermon on the "Burning of the Richmond Theatre, Dec. 26, 1811," was printed and widely circulated. In the same year he also took the editorship of the Free- mason's Magazine.

Serious dissensions arose in the First Universalist Church in 1812, in consequence of the political and national antipathies that then existed. Among the members were three Englishmen and their families. These were Thomas Dallett, Elijah Dallett, the elder, and Thomas Lay. They were entitled to all the privileges of the church, and they had declared their intention to become citizens, but were compelled to await the legal interval. Upon some occasion of business in the church the votes of these three per- sons were objected to on the ground that they were not citizens, and the ballots were thrown out by the officers, who sympathized with the anti-English party. The result was that the Dalletts and Lay were refused, and they withdrew from the congregation. This se- cession was of disastrous consequence. All the per- sons who attended services and supported the church, but were not allowed a voice, went out, and stripped it almost entirely of the greater portion of its attend- ants. The two Dalletts and Lay united with them, and it was resolved by the seceders to establish a new church, which they called the Church of the Resti- tution. Mr. Thomas says that there were one hun- dred and fifteen persons in this movement. They met in the fall of 1812, at the court-house, at Sixth and Chestnut Streets, and afterward at the hall of the University, on Fourth Street, below Arch. Rev. Mr. Richards went out with them, but he could not stand the strain and excitement of controversy. The position in which he was placed, heightened perhaps by want (for the old congregation was indebted to him for services, and the new one was not able to promptly meet the requirements of his salary), to- gethier with domestic troubles, affected his mind. He was placed in the Pennsylvania Hospital, and died there, by suicide, about March 1, 1814. His remains lie buried in the rear of the Lombard Street Church. The fact of a minister committing suicide seemed to the people a terrible thing, and Mr. Richards' self- murder was a heavy blow to the Universalist per- suasion. After the death of Mr. Richards the Church of the Restitution ceased altogether.

By an act of Feb. 4, 1808, the Legislature ap- pointed Israel Israel, Elisha Gordon, Thomas Anies, Jacob Thomas, Thomas Tompkins, John Murray, Thomas Kingston, and Thomas F. Gordon, commis- sioners, to conduct a Universalist lottery to raise ten thousand dollars to buy a burial-ground, and to pay off the debts. Mrs. Ellet, in her " Recollections," says,-

1 His death occurred May 11, 1811, in his seventy-fifth year. 92

1446

HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

" The experiment was a disastrous one; the tickets sold slowly ; the drawing was commenced when only a small amount had been received, and the first turn of the wheel brought out the grand prize. As a re- sult, the church was deeper in debt than before, and the struggle with poverty was a long and severe one."

The controversies and financial troubles, outlined in the preceding paragraphs, weakened the First Church so that for some years its doors seemed to be open to anybody who desired to preach within its walls; and there are occasional notices in the news- papers of the intention of wandering clergymen and religious persons to speak there. The eccentric apostle of itinerancy, Rev. Lorenzo Dow, preached a charity sermon in November, 1814, " for the re-estab- lishment of the Philadelphia Female Hospitable So- ciety, for the relief of indigent sick persons." In February, 1815, it was announced that Dorothy Rip- ley, "the female Whitefield, will preach for the benefit of the Female Hospitable Society." In the early part of September, 1816, Rev. Ebenezer Lester, of Connecticut, was announced in the newspapers as having accepted the call of the Universalist Church on Lombard Street, and that he would com- mence service the following Sunday. He remained in Philadelphia about a year, when he went back to Connecticut, and died shortly afterward. Rev. Ed- ward Mitchell, of New York, preached on the 10th of November, 1816, and again in June, 1817. Rev. Mr. Van Vliet preached in the early part of Feb- ruary, 1818. In the same month there came, it may be supposed, as a candidate for the pastorship, Rev. David Gilsom, who had been previously preaching in Western New York, and attracted many, but, for some unexplained reason, was not employed.

In September, 1818, Rev. Ahner Kneeland assumed the pastoral care of the church, and a new schism soon arose. His introduction caused an entire change in some of the principles which were held by the congregation. In 1803 the Universalist Convention, held at Winchester, N. H., had adopted unanimously the articles of religion since known as "the Win- chester Confession of Faith,"-a platform upon which the General Conventions of Universalists were estab- lished. The chief tenet thus laid down was: "We believe that there is one God, whose nature is love, revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ by one Holy Spirit 1 Abner Kneeland was born in 1774, and became a preacher in Ver- mont, where be edited a work entitled "Mrs. Johnson'e Captivity." After he left Philadelphia be succeeded Rev. Nehemiah Dodge as pastor of the Second Society of United Christian Friends-commonly called "the Second Universalist Society"-in their new church at the corner of Prince and Orange Streets, New York. A controversy springing up of Grace, who will finally restore the whole world of mankind to holiness and happiness." This was a some- what Trinitarian plank, while Kneeland's opinions were purely Unitarian ; and, " however Murray might distinguish between the wrath of God and the fear of , in the congregation, he and his followers left in the spring of 1827, and the wrath of God, both he and Winchester held to occupied the New Jerusalem Chapel in Paul Street, where they organized the Second Universalist Society. He edited the Olive Branch in 1828, and published " A Review of the Evidences of Christianity" in 1829. He also appeared in the press ae a controversialist in reference to a tract which had been promulgated under the auspices of Rev. Thomas H. Skinner, of the Fifth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, which city he evidently revisited in 1829. The journals of that year say that on the 29th of September, when Fanny Wright, of England, and Robert Dale Owen lectured in Arch Street Theatre, Philadelphia, Abner Kneeland, former pastor of the Lombard Street Church, was a prominent leader in the movement. The Mechanics' Free Press was its organ. Robert Dale Owen made an appeal for funds to enable the friends of free inquiry in protracted future misery ; whereas, Kneeland deuied that the Bible taught any retribution beyond the present life." In his letter of acceptance he referred to the articles of faith embodied in the church organi- zation to which he had been invited to minister, and reserved the right to interpret those articles himself. A number of families then withdrew, also Timothy Banger, who became a member of the Dunker con-

gregation under Rev. Peter Keyser; but a majority remained, and there were many accessions.

Mr. Kneeland commenced his labors at the Lom- bard Street Church by the delivery of eight lectures on "Universal Benevolence," which were afterward published. In 1822 he edited "The Deist" (12mo), and the New Testament, in Greek and English, in two volumes. He was editor of the Philadelphia Universalist Magazine and Christian Messenger, 1821- 23, according to Griesbach, which was printed by William Fry and published by Abraham Small. In May, 1824, he published a " Specimen of a Pronounc- ing Spelling-Book of the English Language, the Sounds represented by Phonetic Signs."

His celebrated debate took place with Rev. W. L. McCalla, of the Eighth Presbyterian Church, upon the question, " Is the punishment of the wicked ab- solutely eternal ? or is it only a temporary punish- ment in this world for the good, to be succeeded by eternal punishment after death ?" Mr. McCalla was the challenger, and Mr. Kneeland took up the gaunt- let. Each of these debaters was represented by a moderator,-Mr. Kneeland by Rev. William Moss, a Universalist ; Mr. McCalla selected Nathaniel Ken- nedy, a Presbyterian elder. These moderators united iu the choice of an umpire in the person of Rev. William Hogan, formerly of the Roman Catholic Church in the city of Philadelphia. The discussion commenced Tuesday morning, July 13th, at the Lombard Street Church, and continued for four days. Mr. Kennedy, the Presbyterian moderator, became greatly excited during this controversy, and was im- moderate in his expressions to his associates, in con- sequence of which he was persuaded to retire, and Rev. Ezra Styles Ely was chosen in his stead. This debate, which ended July 17th, was taken in short- hand by R. L. Jennings, and published in a volume of three hundred and thirty-six pages. In the year 1825, Mr. Kneeland's pastorate was closed by his re- moval to New York, and Rev. Nehemiah Dodge sup- plied the pulpit from Angust to November. Mr. Kneeland's subsequent career was a strange one.1 Rev. A. C. Thomas, in his history, says of him,-

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" He was certainly the most venerable man I ever saw in the pulpit. His commanding presence, slightly florid complexion, all-illuminating blue eye, his voice never boisterons, his temper never ruffled, not elo- quent according to received standards, but wonderfully impressive in calmnese and persuasive candor, remarkably self-possessed,-all these qualities have fastened him in my memory."

The First Universalist Church had a Sabbath-school under Rev. George Richards in June, 1812, when first organized containing sixteen children, but this effort probably came to grief when the Richards party left. On the 15th of October, 1816, while Rev. Ebenezer Lester was pastor, a female Sunday-school was opened, and a male Sunday-school was established in Decem- ber of the same year. Societies were organized in the congregation to assist these schools, the members making contributions of two dollars each per annum. The number of members of each society was not more than eighty or ninety. Beside instruction, these schools were somewhat in the character of charities, as donations of shoes for the use of the children were frequently considered necessary. They were gener- ally the children of poor parents, having no other opportunity for instruction, and were sought for in the lanes and alleys. Here there was published in 1819, for the use of the Sunday-schools, the " Phila- delphia Hymn-Book ; or, a Selection of Sacred Poetry, consisting of Psalms and Hymns, compiled by Abner Kneeland."

Among the members of the First Church during this period was Professor James P. Espy, scientist and teacher, who for more than twenty years was teacher in the classical school of the Franklin Insti- tute. His work on the "Philosophy of Storms," published in 1841, attracted much attention through- out the United States and Europe. He was taken into the service of the National Observatory at Wash- ington, and his observations have been published in several volumes. The reports which he obtained from all parts of the country were collated, and deduetions made. Dr. D. Francis Condie was from the time of his admission to membership in the Lombard Street Church, September 13, 1819, until his death, an earnest and attentive worshiper. He was a frequent writer in Universalist periodicals.

The origin of the Second Universalist Church can be briefly stated. Residents of the Northern Liber- ties, in March, 1820, organized a society and opened

Philadelphia to erect a public hall. Subscription-booke were opened in the bar-rooms of Tobiason's tavern, next door to the Arch Street Thea- tre ; at Mrs. Neal's Circulating Library ; at Nathan B. Starr's, No. 6 Arcade ; and at Joseph Mcclintock's, Morgan Street, near Teoth. John Butterworth, George D. Henk, John Yeager, John Thomason, Alva Mason, Francie Brelsford, Joseph A. Mcclintock, Stephen Poultney, William J. Young, Jamee Glasgow, Frederick Shriver, and Simon M. Furst were appointed a committee to collect the necessary funds for that purpose. Subscriptions amounting to several thousand dollars were received. Mr. Kneeland became a friend and admirer ot Fanny Wright ; finally went to Boston, where he published the Investigator ; was charged with blasphemy ; afterward went West, and settled at Salnber, on the Des Moines River, where he died Aug. 27, 1844. Among other eccon- tricities he became interested in a company to dig up the valuables buried by Capt. Kidd, the pirate, on the North River.

their meetings in Commissioners' Hall, North Third Street. Rev. Mr. Kneeland officiated. In 1821 a so- ciety was formed for the discussion of Universalism, which was called the Berean Society. Meetings were held at Commissioners' Hall, Northern Liberties, and the debates were participated in by friends and oppo- nents of Universalism, Mr. Kneeland taking a con- spicuous part. In the latter part of December, 1821, Rev. Hosea Ballou visited Philadelphia, where he remained for three weeks and preached twelve ser- mons. He officiated in the pulpit of the Lombard Street Church, in Washington IIall, on Third Street, north of Spruce, and at Commissioners' Hall, North- ern Liberties, strengthening the new Second Church. Large numbers of persons were attracted to his dis- conrses, and it is said that the last of the series was preached to seven thousand hearers. About this time Charles Rogers, of Rogers & Brother, hardware mer- chants, advanced seven thousand and twenty-five dol- lars toward the purchase of a lot on the north side of Callowhill Street, between Fourth and Fifth. The amount was afterward increased to ten thousand dol- lars. A portion of the ground was laid out in burial- lots, the church being set back from the street some distance.

A building association was formed and was success- fully managed. The church was built with a Doric front, supported by columns, and for a burial-place underneath the pillars, James Nice, a member of the congregation, paid one thousand dollars. The build- ing was sixty by eighty feet. The ground was bought in March, 1822, and the corner-stone was laid in Sep- tember of that year, and the church dedicated Oct. 17, 1823. During the remainder of that year, and for a portion of 1824, Mr. Kneeland officiated in the Sec- ond Church, assisted by others. Rev. William Moss was in the latter year selected by the congregation, and accepted the charge. He was ordained on the 10th of June, 1824, in the Callowhill Street Church. Rev. Edward Mitchell, of New York, preached the ordination sermon, and Rev. Richard Carrique and Rev. Abner Kneeland assisted. Mr. Moss remained in the service of the church less than a year, going to New England the following April. He was succeeded in June by Rev. Stephen R. Smith, who had preached first in Philadelphia in October, 1822, at Commis- sioners' Hall, Northern Liberties, and to the First Church, in Lombard Street. Thomas' " Universal- ism in Philadelphia" says of Mr. Smith,-

" He was a most earnest, impressive public speaker, with the single fanlt of pouring out the burning or melting words of his inspiration until it seemed that his lungs would collapse beyond recovery As a writer he was very thorough, and I have often Borrowed that he left NO few marks of bis pen in Philadelphia. Beside editorial arti-bra, chiefly of temporary interest, his printed record is comprised in four or five pamphlets."

Rev. John S. Thompson preached at Commis- sioners' Hall during the year 1823. He was a Scotch- man, was educated at the University of tilasgow ; was originally a Methodist, and afterward became a Uni-

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HISTORY OF PHILADELPHIA.

versalist. He was conspicuous in the history of that denomination in the central part of the State of New York. He afterward published his discourses in the Second Church,-" Universalism, the Religion of Jesus ; or, Critical Lectures on the Unity of God and the Salvation of all Men."

The Messiah Church, at the northeast corner of Locust and Juniper Streets, is built of brick, rough cast in the Collegiate Gothic style. This congrega- tion was formed in 1850, and met for worship for some time in the Assembly Building, situated at Tenth and Chestnut Streets. The session-room of the church was opened for worship in March, 1851, and dedicated November 19th of the same year, Rev. Henry Bacon, pastor. The present pastor is Rev. Edwin C. Sweetzer, D.D.

The Church of the Restoration, on the south side of Master Street, between Sixteenth and Seventeenth, is built of brownstone. It was dedicated April 3, 1872, and presents an attractive appearance. The pastor is Rev. Frank A. Bisbee, D.D.

THE MILLERITES.

Millerite Church was on Julianna Street, between Wood and Callowhill, and there his followers met, night aud day, and watched the stars and sun, and prayed and warned the unrepentant that the "day of judgment was at hand."

Many of them began to sell their lands and their houses at prices which were merely nominal. Others gave away their personal effects, shut up their busi- ness, or vacated their houses. On a store on Fifth Street, above Chestnut, was a placard, which read thus :

"This shop is closed in honor of the King of kings, who will appear about the 20th of October. Get ready, friends, to crown Him Lord of all [''

On a Chester Street sign was an inscription,-" The Bridegroom is Coming !" It was at this time that Henry Clay was making his celebrated 1844 canvass against James J. Polk, but the Millerites, when asked how they would vote in November, pointed solemnly to the heavens, and declared it was no use. People laboring under the excitement went mad, and the grand jury was called upon to indict the fanatical preachers, and thus put an end to the horrible de- lusion. On one occasion all the windows of a meet- ing-house were surrounded at night by a crowd of young fellows, and at a given signal the darkness and gloom were made lurid by flaming torches, and the air resounded with the roar of fire-crackers. The saints inside were wild with terror, for they thought the fiery whirlwind was come. The Sunday before the final day was an eventful one. The Julianna Street chapel was crowded. A mod of unbelievers on the pavements stoned the windows and hooted at the worshipers. The police of the Northern Liber- ties and Spring Garden, and a sheriff's posse, headed by Morton McMichael, were on hand to quell the threatened disturbance. The members of the congregation repaired to their homes, and after, in many cases, leaving their doors and windows open, and giving away their furniture, set out for the suburbau districts. A large number went over into New Jersey; but the chief party assembled in Isaac Yocomb's field, on the Darby road, three miles and a half from the Market Street bridge. . While here a furious hurricane strengthened the faith of the Millerites, and struck awful terror to the souls of the timid. It swept over the city, destroying ship- ping and demolishing houses. The Ledger a few days before had said, " If, on the 22d or 23d of this month, there should be a storm, or the day be as black and inauspicious as days in the calendar can occasionally be, it will add to the delusion."

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History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 138

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 992

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992