History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 82

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1013

USA > Tennessee > Davidson County > History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 82

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The asylum is managed by a commission of three, of which James Haney is chairman and E. H. Childress and T. K. Griggs members. Isaac Lanier is local superintend- ent in charge of the premises for the commissioners, and Mrs. Lanier, his wife, is superintendent of the female de- partment. The commissioners are appointed by the County Court.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

First Presbyterian Church of Nashville .- Rev. Thomas B. Craighead is believed to have been the first Presbyterian minister who visited the settlements on the Cumberland River. He came with a party of emigrants from Kentucky early in the year 1785, reaching here on Saturday evening. The next day he held divine worship, using the stump of a tree for a pulpit. During the year he fixed his residence at Haysboro', or Spring Hill, eight miles east of Nashville. A neat rough-stone church was built at once, and in this the Davidson Academy was opened the 25th of September, 1786, Rev. Mr. Craighead being the teacher. He was a graduate of Nassau Hall, Princeton, N. J., of the class of 1775, and was ordained by the Presbytery of Orange in 1780, at the age of twenty-seven years. He was a tall, erect, dignified- appearing man, calm in his style of speaking, but possessed of great oratorical powers. He was an earnest advocate of education, and to his exertions more than any other man's the Nashville University was indebted for its first endow- ment. The old stone church was occupied by him as pastor and as a school-room for more than thirty years. Rev. Mr. Craighead also preached to a congregation in Nashville for several years previous to 1816. He died in 1824. There was gathered a congregation of Scotch Se- ceders in Nashville near the close of the last century. Rev. Wm. Hume came to Nashville in 1801, and was ad- mitted pastor of the congregation December 2d of that year. He preached to them until about 1818, when he joined the Presbyterian General Assembly of the United States.

The First Presbyterian Church was organized by him Nov. 14, 1814, with the following members : Mrs. Andrew Ewing, Mrs. Mary McNairy, wife of Frank McNairy, Sr., Mrs. Josiah Nichol, Mrs. Thomas Talbot and her daughter, Mrs. Sophia Hall, wife of Elihu S. Hall, Margaret L., wife of Col. Patton Anderson of the United States army, and Robert Smiley, who was made ruling elder. This meeting was held in the court-house by Rev. Mr. Blackburn and Rev. Robert Henderson, D.D., of Mur- freesboro'. George M. Martin and wife, Calvin Jackson and wife, and eighteen other persons, all married ladies, were soon after added. Rev. Gideon Blackburn, the first pastor, told of Dr. Henderson, who exchanged pulpits with him sometimes, that he remarked that " he was not in the habit of preaching to such a congregation,"-composed of ladies only. Among their number were Mrs. Felix Grundy, Mrs. Sheriff Michael C. Dunn, Mrs. Jesse Wharton, and others whose husbands were leading citizens. Though never installed, Mr. Blackburn was stated supply from 1811 to 1818, and moved to Nashville in 1816. He would hold week-day meetings in Mr. Hume's meeting-house and

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CITY OF NASHVILLE.

on the Sabbath preach to immense congregations in the woods near the public square. A Wednesday four-o'clock ladies' prayer-meeting, organized by Mr. Hume, lasted for many years. In 1816 a " society house" was erected by seven hundred dollars' subscription, and an industrial chari- table society held meetings there to prepare and distribute clothing, visit the sick and needy, and distribute tracts and Bibles. The members attended the meetings on all occa- sions, unless detained by sickness. The building was burned in 1848. Rev. Allan D. Campbell, of Pennsylvania, be- came the first settled pastor, in 1820, and remained until 1827. His pastorate was especially marked by the organi- zation of a Sunday-school. Rev. O. Jennings, D.D., of Washington, Pa., was installed the next pastor, in April, 1828. Through his exertions some of the prominent gen- tlemen of the city became members of the church. He died at this charge, Jan. 12, 1832, after increasing its membership to one hundred and sixteen. The meeting- house, a neat brick building forty by eighty fect, was built in Nashville, fronting on Summer Street, and occupied in 1816. This was burned on the night of Jan. 29, 1832, while still draped in mourning for the late pastor.

With occasional preaching by Mr. Hume and others in the Masonic Hall, the congregation went at once to work rebuilding the meeting-house. Rev. Dr. John T. Edgar, one of the earliest students of Princeton College, was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, N. J., in 1816, and entered upon his labors as pastor of this church Aug. 4, 1833. The new church was dedicated during the fall. It was one hundred and fifty feet in height from the vestibule to the cross of the spire, hand- somely finished at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, and had a seating capacity of one thousand. It was burned Sept. 14, 1848. The congregation accepted the use of the Masonic Hall in which to continue worship, and imme- diately proceeded upon the erection of the third and present edifice. The corner-stone was laid on Saturday, April 28, 1849. The following list of officers was, among other relics, placed in a zinc box beneath the stone: John T. Edgar, Pastor; Elders, N. A. McNairy, R. H. McEwen, M. C. Dunn, A. W. Putnam, James Nichol, John M. Hill, A. A. Casseday, W. Williams, N. Cross, W. A. Ramsey; Deacons, S. V. D. Stout, B. H. Shepherd, W. Eakin, A. Hume. Communicants, three hundred and fifty-seven. On Sunday, Jan. 5, 1850, worship was held in the lecture-room for the first time. The house was completed the following spring, at a cost of fifty-one thousand dollars. It is of Egyptian architecture, with two front towers each one hundred and four feet high. The main room has a seating capacity of thirteen hundred. The building was almost wholly un- roofed in 1855 and again in 1859. It was occupied as an army hospital by the United States government from Dec. 31, 1862, until June, 1865; after which eight thousand dollars were expended in repairs, seven thousand five hun- dred dollars of which were received from the government as compensation for damages. In 1867 a bell weighing four thousand and fifteen pounds was presented by Mrs. Adelicia Acklin, afterwards Mrs. Dr. William A. Cheat- ham.

Rev. Joseph Bardwell was installed pastor with Dr. 40

Edgar, Dec. 17, 1859. He was installed pastor in April, 1861, and that relation dissolved June 26, 1864. Rev. J. T. Hendrick, D.D., supplied the pulpit from March to August, 1862. Rev. R. F. Bunting, D.D., began his labors in July, 1865, was installed June 10, 1866, and was succeeded, Aug. 30, 1868, by Rev. T. V. Moore, D.D., of Richmond, Va. Rev. Dr. Van Dyke succeeded Dr. Moore, and was pastor till 1873. He was succeeded by Rev. T. A. Hoyt, D.D., who was called and installed pastor in 1873. Dr. Hoyt had previously been pastor at Louis- ville, Ky. IIe was born in South Carolina and educated at Columbia, in that State, and at Athens, Ga.

Deacons .- G. M. D. Cantrell, William K. Hunter, elected May, 1850; Andrew J. Smith, November, 1865 ; Bradford Nichol, May, 1867; William C. Collier, Frank Porterfield, January, 1870; Byrd Douglas, Jr., John H. Eakin, Wilbur F. Foster, Alfred Hume Lusk, Thomas HI. Maney, J. Thompson Plunket, Henry Sperry, Decem- ber, 1873; L. T. Webb, J. McG. Dickinson, January, 1876.

Organization of the Diaconate .- Wilbur F. Foster, Chairman ; T. II. Maney, Secretary ; A. H. Lusk, Treas- urer ; F. Porterfield, Assistant Treasurer.

Ruling Elders .- Adam G. Adams, James M. Hamilton, H. Hill McAllister, elected May, 1867 ; Joseph B. O'Bryan, January, 1870; Dr. J. R. Buist, Robert S. Cowan, John C. Gordon, Robert G. Throne, December, 1873; Dr. J. M. Safford, January, 1875.

Members on roll in 1876, six hundred and four; re- newed since, two hundred and forty-one; present number, seven hundred and seven. The total collections for 1879 were thirteen thousand three hundred and seventy-four dollars and seventy-three cents, of which two hundred dollars were for the yellow-fever sufferers.

Sabbath- School Officers .- First Presbyterian Church, corner of Summer and Church Streets : Adam G. Adams, Superintendent ; J. M. Hamilton, Assistant Superintend- ent; Robert S. Cowan, Secretary and Treasurer; C. A. Thompson, Librarian.

Cottage Chapel, corner of Bass Street and Stevenson Avenue: H. Hill McAlister, Superintendent ; Bradford Nichol, Assistant Superintendent ; Frank P. Elliott, Sec- retary, Treasurer, and Librarian.

Edgar Chapel, McGavock Avenue near Cheatham Street: Joseph B. O'Bryan, Superintendent; R. S. Cowan, Assist- ant Superintendent; R. S. Gillespie, Secretary and Treas- urer.

Church Society Officers .- Ladies' Benevolent Society : meets in the lecture-room first Wednesday of each month from October to June : Mrs. D. F. Wilkin, President ; Mrs. Anna Johnson, Secretary ; Mrs. Hu. S. Guynn, Treasurer.

Ladies' Home and Foreign Missionary Society : meets in the lecture-room first Wednesday of each month from October to June: Mrs. A. G. Adams, President ; Mrs. M. A. Spurr, Secretary and Treasurer.

Girls' Missionary Society : Mrs. T. A. Hoyt, President and Treasurer ; Miss Ada Cunningham, Secretary.

Boys' Aid Society : Mrs. Mary Clare, President; Robert Dyas, Secretary ; Robert S. Gillespie, Treasurer.

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HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

SYNOD OF NASHVILLE.

In 1867 the Synod of Nashville made the northern boundary of North Alabama, now Columbia, Presbytery to correspond with the northern lines of Perry, Lewis, Maury, Marshall, Lincoln, and Franklin Counties ; and in 1871, at the request of Nashville and North Alabama Presbyteries, the county of Franklin was transferred to Nashville Presbytery.

The Presbytery of Nashville, then, is bounded on the south by the above line, on the west by the Tennessee River, on the north by the Kentucky State line, and on the east by the line between East and Middle Tennessee, and comprises twenty-nine counties, besides Davidson. Eight of its thirty-five churches are within this county.

The First Presbyterian Church of Edgefield was or- ganized May 8, 1858, in a school-house on Fatherland Street, by Rev. John T. Edgar, pastor of the First Church in Nashville, Rev. J. T. Hendrick, and Rev. J. S. Hays, who delivered a sermon on the opening of the meeting. Jackson B. White, Esq., was then made chairman of the meeting, and R. S. Hollins recording secretary. Ten persons from the First Church and twenty from the Second then presented letters from their respective churches, and were enrolled as members of the new church. Officers were then elected, as follows: Ruling Elders, Nathaniel Cross and Col. W. B. A. Ramsey, who were foriner elders in the First Church, and Jackson B. White and Robert S. Hol- lins (who were ordained by Rev. Dr. Edgar) ; Deacons, William H. Webb, Arthur C. White, and Josiah Boston.

Rev. J. W. Lanius was chosen pastor March 31, 1859, and remained until his death, September 9th of that year. A meeting-house was immediately commenced. Meetings were held in the school-house until its completion. It was built on a lot on Woodland Street, presented to the society by Col. W. B. A. Ramsey for that purpose, and dedicated, out of debt, by Rev. Mr. Lanius, May 7, 1859. The building, which is of brick and has a seating capacity of three hundred and fifty, cost five thousand four hundred and thirty-three dollars.

Rev. J. T. Hendrick became the next pastor, May 27, 1860, and remained until his death. He was a young man, son of Rev. J. T. Hendrick, of Clarksville, Montgomery Co., and a very promising divine. He died March 14, 1862, in the twenty-eighth year of his age.

The church remained without a pastor during the war, but the elders met every Sunday, and with the assistance of army chaplains and Sanitary or Christian Commission agents services were continued through the war. The church doors were ever open to any and every one who would come and listen to the teachings of the gospel. Thousands of soldiers from the surrounding camps attended worship here, and thus the church was preserved from injury.

Rev. E. C. Trimble became pastor May 17, 1864, and remained until Sept. 16, 1867. On November 16th, Rev. J. H. McNeilly was elected pastor, and served nearly ten years, resigning in April, 1877, to accept a charge in Hous- ton, Texas. Rev. E. O. Frierson, the present pastor, accepted this charge in April, 1877.

Col. W. B. A. Ramsey was succeeded as clerk in May, 1874, by the present clerk, Jackson B. White, Esq.

The following persons have been elders : Nathaniel Cross, W. B. A. Ramsey, William Williams, James Anderson, and Joseph A. Bowman, all installed Oct. 13, 1861, and since deceased; William H. Webb, installed July, 1862, Baxter Smith, installed June, 1875, removed ; and the present elders David P. Rankin, installed March, 1868; C. N. Ordway and Henry Cooper, installed March, 1869; H. F. Banks, installed June, 1875; R. S. Hollins and J. B. White, ordained March, 1869. Of the first deacons, Mr. White is dead, Deacons Boston and Webb re- moved, and Sherwood Smead, since appointed, has moved to Texas. The present deacons are C. H. Lesueur, F. S. Hall, Arthur A. Breast, C. D. Longhurst, and William R. Bell.

The church property consists of a fine parsonage worth twelve thousand dollars, and church and grounds worth seven thousand dollars. There are now one hundred and eighty-five members in the church, and a Sunday-school of one hundred and fifteen scholars, under the superintendence of Deacon F. S. Hall. The contributions for benevolent purposes during the last year were four thousand two hun- dred and twenty dollars.

Second Presbyterian Church of Nashville .- From the philosophical remark of Rev. Dr. Baker to a young clerk, a member of his charge, " There is nothing the matter with you ; go to work !" given in answer to an anxious inquiry for moral advice, in the spring of 1841 a Sunday-school was started by the young man and an older member of the First Presbyterian Church among the then few and scat- tered homes along Line Street and beyond " Fish Branch" towards the north. This Sunday-school was opened April 13, 1841, in a basement room of Col. Andrew Hynes' warehouse, where salt was stored. Samuel Hill and A. G. Adams, its projectors, called together the families who would come, explained their plans, and opened the school with eight teachers and fifteen scholars. From this a series of prayer meetings commenced September 25th, and were con- ducted at sunrise throughout the winter. A religious in- terest thus awakened was concentrated, through the exer- tions of Mrs. Alpha Kingsley, and a half-yearly subscription was started for the establishment of a Second Presbyterian Church. By the spring of 1843 this sum had increased to three hundred dollars. Rev. Allen Vancourt and Rev. R. A. Lapsley preached to them during the summer.

In the fall of 1843 an application was made by the fol- lowing members of the First. Church to the Presbytery of Nashville, in session at Smyrna, September 28th, request- ing that proper steps be taken to organize a new church in the city, to be called the Second Presbyterian Church, namely : Alpha and Elizabeth Kingsley, James and Mar-

garet Erwin, James B. Furguson, Samuel Hill, Phoebe Caldwell, Harriet Rosser, Lucy and L. A. Wingfield, Agnes Norvell, Mary Kelly, Nancy and C. H. Peabody, Elizabeth T. Clark, C. F. Williams, M. A. Eastman, A. G. Adams, James M. Hamilton, Abram Stevens, Andrew J. Smith, John and Janet McCrea, George T. and C. A. R. Thomp- son, and Horace J. Berry.

In response, Rev. John R. Thompson was appointed to organize the applicants into a church, and they were accord- ingly dismissed for that purpose November 10th, together

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THE Dismukes family are of French extraction. The ancestors of the Dismukes of America are said to have come over in the colonial days with the Huguenots.

Paul Dismukes was born in Virginia on May 1, 1762. He married a Miss Richardson. Their family consisted of seven sons and four daughters. In 1811 he moved from Virginia to Davidson Co., Tenn., and settled near the Sumner County line. The old homestead is still in posses- sion of his descendants. He was two years a soldier in the Revolutionary war, having enlisted in his eighteenth year. After returning from the war, he engaged in farming, and spent his life in that pursuit, living a quiet, retired life, never seeking or accepting any office or public trust. He died in 1838, in the sixty-sixth year of his age.

Wm. Miller Dismukes, his son, and whose portrait is presented above, was five years of age when he came with his father to Davidson County, having been born in Vir- ginia, May 30, 1806, was reared on his father's farm, and received such literary instruction as the common schools of our county at that day gave. On the 7th of June, 1836, he married Judith Ann Burks, daughter of Col. David J. Burks, of Logan Co., Ky., one of the pioneers of that section. After his marriage he continued to reside upon the homestead of his father, and during his long life followed the occupation to which in his youth he had been reared.

His children were David J., Paul, George R., Sallie M., John L., Lizzie P., Sue C., and William M. Only three of his sons are living,-David J., farmer and lumber merchant; John L., now a prominent merchant of Nash-

ville; and Wm. M., who is a farmer, residing upon the old home-place. Though never aspiring to public honors, yet Mr. Dismukes was a public-spirited and enterprising man, always alive to the importance of enterprises tending to the improvement of his county. He aided in building the Nashville and Gallatin Turnpike, and was for nearly thirty years secretary and treasurer of the company controlling the same.

Both himself and wife were devoted members of the Old School Presbyterian Church, in which church he was for many years an elder. In politics he was prior to the civil war a Whig, and when the question of secession arose he voted for the Union, but when Lincoln issued his proclamation calling for troops to suppress the Rebellion, he gave his vote in favor of the Confederacy, preferring, as he expressed it, " secession to coercion." Being, however, at that time quite aged, he took no active part in the war; but, in common with the rest of his neighbors and friends who had espoused the cause of the South, he suffered much persecution, and was for quite a while imprisoned in con- sequence of his refusal to take the "oath of allegiance." While his views were by no means radical or extreme, yet, being based as they were upon honest conviction, he was too true a man to sacrifice them to personal comfort or ad- vantage. His firmness in this matter was so much admired by Governor Johnson that he granted him an indefinite parole, and he was not molested further. Mr. Dismukes died Nov. 11, 1878, and his wife on Jan. 1, 1880. Their loss was deeply mourned by the large circle of friends whom they won by an upright, honest life.

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CITY OF NASHVILLE.

with seven others, among whom was Samuel Seay, a ruling elder, and were organized as a second church Nov. 12, 1843. Others joined, and the organization was formed in the old warehouse with thirty-five members. William H. Marquis was made ruling elder, and Abram Stevens, Samuel Hill, Fos- ter Williams, and John McCrea deacons. Ten days later a plan was adopted for a church, to be built upon land on Col- lege and Gray Streets donated by Mr. Erwin. The corner- stone was laid in April, 1844, by Rev. Philip Lindsley, D.D., assisted by Rev. J. T. Edgar. The house was com- pleted in August, 1846, at an expense of eleven thou- sand one hundred and five dollars and eighty cents, eleven hundred dollars of which were furnished by a ladies' fair. Rev. Mr. Lindsley dedicated the house September 6th ; Rev. R. A. Lapsley was supplying pastor until May 9, 1850, when he was regularly installed. He retired from poor health in 1855, after eleven years' service, and died soon after. Rev. B. H. Charles, of Springfield, Ky., became supply in October, 1850, John S. Hayes in March, 1857. He was installed the next year, and remained until 1860. His ministry was marked by an increase in the church, and the dismissal of some fifteen families to form the First Presby- terian Church of Edgefield. In the latter part of 1863, Rev. R. H. Allen, from the Walnut Hill Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, was installed pastor. He removed to Philadelphia, Pa., in the spring of 1867, and in September, Rev. W. W. Campbell, of Pennsylvania, took charge. He was installed Jan. 5, 1868, and remained until February, 1870. The church was transferred from the General As- sembly North to South in the fall of 1871, and attached to the Presbytery of Nashville by its own request, and with Rev. J. W. Hoyte, stated supply. He was installed pas- tor May 1, 1872, and succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. John S. Young, in March, 1876.

The present membership is one hundred and twenty-three, besides which there is a Sunday-school of one hundred and twenty-nine members. The officers are :

Elders .- James Geddes, Clerk; James E. Wilson, Wil- liam A. Hartwell, Horace C. Smith, John Rahm.

Deacons .- N. T. Freeman, William M. Cassetty, A. G. Turner, S. G. Wood.

COTTAGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHI.

About the year 1850, Col. A. W. Putnam, W. K. Hun- ter, and Alfred Hume resolved to open a Sabbath-school on the vacant grounds south of the railroad, near Franklin pike, which were used on the Sabbath for ball-playing and other riotous assemblies. Fifteen or twenty children living in the neighborhood were sometimes assembled in the small brick kitchen of the Stephens house, but chiefly taught in the shade of a large apple-tree. The first class of Col. Putnam occupied the tongue of a convenient ox- wagon for their seat. From this beginning the school con- stantly increased, and a larger room near the Franklin pike was rented and supplied with a stove. After two years more of continued schools the Cottage church was erected, at a cost of eleven hundred dollars. This is the property of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. IIume did not long aid in the work, but was succeeded by Nathaniel Cross and his son, N. Davidson Cross, as teachers. Each Saturday

afternoon and Sunday morning one of these workers rode through the neighborhood to solicit the attendance of chil- dren and parents. The building was dedicated by Rev. John T. Edgar, D.D. Regular services were afterwards held by Rev. W. H. Thompson, city missionary ; Rev. J. Twitchell, of New Orleans. A day-school was also taught previous to 1859. During the war the building was used as a hospital. In 1865, Mr. McAllister reorganized the school, and the United States quartermaster restored and partially repaired the house. There is here a fine library and constant attendance under the auspices of the First Presbyterian Church.

CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church have furnished, as fruits of their revivals, both ministers and lay-members to all other Christian churches. Seats are free, and a cordial welcome is extended to visitors in all their churches. Be- fore a church was organized revival meetings produced converts whose only choice was to join some of the already- existing societies. Robert Donnell, who appeared before the first session of the Presbytery in March, 1810, as a candidate for the ministry, was the first preacher here. He had made a profession in 1800, at the commencement of the great revival, and soon began to preach. Though not educated to the ministry, he was especially endowed. He boldly courted the largest assemblages of his opponents. At Nashville he first preached in the old market-house, at the court-house, and under the shade of the trees. Af- terwards a bush-arbor was built on Summer Street and a two days' meeting held, which resulted in one hundred and thirty-four conversions. He was assisted by Thomas Cal- houn, but neither them was ordained. A lady opponent, thinking to embarrass Mr. Calhoun, asked him, " In what school did you study ?" "In the third heaven !" was his quick reply. It was not until 1828 that a church was formed, and 'then with but seven members,-Mrs. Eleanor Whitson, five other ladies, and one gentleman. These met in the legislative hall of the court-house. A house of wor- ship was built in 1832. Rev. James Smith, a learned Scotchman, came and remained two years, rendering service which proved a source of disaster. The church was sup- plied by many different revival-workers in those early days. Rev. Dr. Samuel G. Burney was pastor for two years when the house was finished. The next preacher remained a year and a half, and was succeeded by Rev. John Smith, a preacher of ability, but of poor health. Rev. Dr. Baird, the present pastor, came here first to assist him, and found a congregation of thirty-seven. These were increased to above sixty, and Rev. J. C. Provine was called to the pul- pit. The church was then a small building with basement and galleries around the main room. A little cracked bell hung in the box which answered for a steeple. The galle- ries were afterwards taken down, and the bell was sold for twenty-one dollars to a neighboring church. Rev. Wiley M. Reed, the next pastor, came in 1858, and opened regu- lar prayer-meetings in the old low basement with a con- gregation of eleven. Seven of these were of one family name. Mr. Reed was discouraged and was going to leave, but was restrained by Rev. Mr. Provine, and soon the

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History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 82

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1013

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1013