History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 89

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 89

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There are now connected with it St. Peter's and St. John's missions, an industrial school, and ladies' aid society. This latter was organized about 1870, and have since pur- chased a fine parsonage at a cost of eight thousand dollars ; besides, they have obtained more than five thousand dollars towards a fund for erecting a new house of worship.

The secretaries have been : G. M. Fogg, 1829 to 1862; A. Crawford, to 1868; D. R. Johnson, to 1870; S. M. D. Clark, 1871 to 1876; and Abbott B. Payne, since 1876.

Officers .- Rector, Rev. William Graham ; Senior War- den, - -; Junior Warden, Charles Mitchell, Jr .; Treasurer, S. M. D. Clark ; Secretary, Albert B. Payne; Ushers, A. H. Robinson, C. W. Smith ; Vestrymen, W. D. Gale, C. W. Smith, J. P. Drouillard, A. HI. Robinson, S. M. D. Clark, A. B. Payne, D. R. Johnson, George S. Blackie, A. W. Wills, W. A. Goodwyn, Charles Mitchell, Jr.

The Church of the Advent .- At the beginning of the year 1857 there were two parishes of the Episcopal Church within the corporate limits of the city of Nashville,-viz., Christ Church, of which the Rev. Charles Tomes had been rector for nearly nine years, and the Mission Church of the Holy Trinity (built by the Rev. C. Tomes), of which the Rev. W. D. ITarlow had been rector for two or three years.

The latter church was at a distance from the crowded

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portion of the city, and was but indifferently attended ; while Christ Church building, which was small, was occu- pied entirely. For some time the Rev. Mr. Tomes had urged upon his congregation the necessity of enlarging the edifice, but met with little encouragement, those interested particularly not thinking that the building was at all in- sufficient in size, arguing from the fact that on no ordinary occasion of public worship was the church crowded or every pew occupied.

Some few weeks prior to Easter, 1857, Rev. Mr. Tomes called a meeting of the congregation and made a statement that of all the ordinances of the church-baptisms, burials, marriages, etc .- during the past two years, more than two- thirds had been at the instance of persons who were inter- ested in the church and desired to attend his ministrations, but were unable to obtain sittings in a church building, and, as a counter-argument to that above stated,-that the edifice was large enough for all who wished to come,-he proposed to them to make the pews free. A majority of those present owning pews were in favor of this movement, but, a few objecting, the matter was postponed until Easter Monday. In the intervening time, the project was canvassed of making the pews free for one year by way of experiment. On Easter Monday the whole movement was quashed as a constructive injustice to those few who declined under any circumstances to relinquish their pews which they held pos- session of by fee-simple.

A few days after this meeting, April 18, A.D. 1857, a number of the communicants of Christ Church met in a room over Berry's bookstore, No. 30 Public Square, and organized a new parish and voted its name,-" The Church of the Advent,"-embodying in its articles or organization the following important and (in this diocese) new condi- tions :

1. That all persons, without distinction of sex or age, who are registered communicants of the parish, shall be entitled to a vote on parochial affairs.

2. That only male communicants shall be qualified to act as vestrymen.

3. That the church when erected should be free to rich and poor alike, rejecting the pew-system and abolishing every species of lay-privilege, based on wealth, station, or any other foundation whatsoever.

4. That the revenues of the church should depend, as nearly as possible, on the weekly offertory.

To this organization the consent, as prescribed by canon, of the reverend rectors of the adjoining parishes of Christ Church and the Holy Trinity, and of the right reverend the bishop of the diocese was obtained. A vestry was elected, which was instructed by the congregation to call the Rev. Charles Tomes to the rectorship. This was done and the call accepted. Through the generosity of Mr. John Kirkman, the owner of the " Odd-Fellows' Hall," the use of that building on Sundays was obtained gratuitously for divine worship, and the 13th of June was fixed upon as the time for the opening services. On the 7th of June the Rev. Mr. Tomes was taken sick, and after a protracted ill- ness died at Glenoak, his residence, on the 10th of July of the same year.

Aug. 10, 1857, the vestry requested the Rev. W. D.

Harlow, rector of the church of the Holy Trinity, to offi- ciate at the " Hall" until Mr. Tomes' successor should be chosen, which he kindly undertook. The " Hall" was opened August 16th, the Rev. J. H. Ingraham officiating, assisted by the Rev. W. D. Harlow, and the Rev. George White, D.D., of Alabama. The number of the registered communicants at this time was fifty-four.

On the 6th day of October, 1857, there was convened at the Odd-Fellows' Hall a meeting of the vestry, at which all the communicants.of the congregation were invited to be present, the object of the meeting being the election of a permanent rector. This meeting was well attended, and, on the third ballot, the Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, M.D., then rector of Calvary Church, Memphis, was chosen. Dr. Quintard accepted the rectorship, and entered upon its duties on the first Monday in January, 1858.

The first confirmation at the hall was held Feb. 18, 1858, when the Rt. Rev. Dr. Otcy officiated, confirming sixteen persons.

During the same year the parish rapidly increased in strength, paying one thousand dollars per annum rental for the hall, and fitting it up as a church at considerable ex- pense. The prosperity of the parish was uninterrupted until 1861, when a majority of the young men of the parish joined the armies of the South ; and, when they went away, the pastor (Dr. Quintard) felt it his duty to accept the office of army chaplain and to go with them.

The Rev. George C. Harris was chosen assistant rector, and continued services until February, 1862. At this time Nashville was occupied by Federal troops, and the " Hall" was taken possession of and occupied as a barracks for Fed- eral soldiers.

In 1858 the vestry had purchased a lot on Vine Street (where the present church building now stands), and paid two-thirds of the purchase-money therefor, and had built a foundation and basement in a solid and durable manner.

After the fall of the Confederacy, in 1864, the rector, Dr. Quintard, returned to Nashville and called the congre- gation together. It was a sad meeting. Instead of two hundred and seventy-four communicants (the number reg- istered in 1861), coming to meet him, about a dozen re- sponded, entirely dispirited and disheartened, hopeless and demoralized.

The original construction and early growth of the parish was but light work compared with its restoration. Dr. Quintard was not disheartened, and continued to encourage the members, and presently stirred up some enthusiasm.

In the fall of 1865, Dr. Quintard was elected bishop of the diocese of Tennessee. The grief at the loss of this be- loved rector was greatly mitigated by the satisfaction with which every member of the congregation hailed his election to the episcopate, and by the assurance that his love for the parish and all its people had in no way diminished.

Early in the year 1866 the basement of the church building was fitted up for service, and a temporary roof thrown over it. The first service therein was held at six o'clock on Easter morning, April 1st, the Rev. J. H. Bowles officiating, by request of the vestry.

The Rev .. Frederick Fitzgerald, of Hoboken, N. J., was then elected to the rectorship. He accepted the call, but

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was taken sick, and after an illness of four days departed to the rest that remaineth for the people of God. The Rev. James Moore, of Maryland, was then chosen, and assumed the charge of the parish Nov. 26, 1866.

After Mr. Moore's resignation Bishop Quintard again accepted the charge of the parish, appointing the Rev. Thomas Booth Lee assistant minister. Under the bishop's administration the walls of the church were carried up and inclosed, and the elegant structure, now occupied by the congregation, prepared for worship. The front of the building remains unfinished, awaiting means for the con- struction of the proposed tower and spire. The building is of uncut stone, of ample dimensions and superior accommo- dations. The nave (audience-room) is lofty and elegant, the style of architecture is Gothic, the windows are filled with stained glass, and four of them are " memorials" of the departed. The church is spacious and of fine elevation. The pews and furniture, of oiled walnut, are all of approved models. All the seats in the church are free, and many of them are elegantly cushioned and carpeted. The " Parish Aid Society," consisting of the ladies of the congregation, have done much towards furnishing the church, the cushions, the carpets, the elegant gas-fixtures, and two large furnaces for heating the church having been provided by their exertions. The beautiful corona for lighting the church was the gift of a single parishioner, and so were the stone font for baptism, the eagle lectern, the pulpit, the litany desk, and the organ. The bishop's throne, of rare size and elegance, was the gift of one of the clergy resident in a distant city. The magnificent velvet and silk embroi- dered altar-cloths, for the varying seasons of the ecclesi- astical year, were the gift of the Sisters of Clewes, England, and the work of their own hands. Various other gifts of useful articles have, from time to time, added largely to the furnishing of the temple, and the convenience of the clergy and worshipers.

On the 16th of October, 1870, the Rev. John M. Schwrar became rector, and served until Feb. 1, 1872.

The Rev. Edward Bradley, the present rector, com- menced his pastorato July 1, 1872.

Church of the Holy Trinity .- In July, 1849, the Rev. Charles Tomes, rector of Christ Church, perceiving that numbers of persons residing in and about Nashville were destitute of those blessings and privileges that were by others enjoyed in the fold of the church, determined upon the es- tablishment of a mission in South Nashville, in connection with his own parish church. Accordingly, the Rev. John P. T. Ingraham, by invitation, became the " assistant min- ister in the parish, with a view to the particular ministerial charge of the mission."

On the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 23, 1849, the rector and his assistant minister opened in their " own hired house," on Summer Street, "St. Paul's Chapel," and thus was begun what was ere long to become the Church of the Holy Trinity. " At first there were not more than four families on whom any material dependence could be placed; but in less than a year many more had given in their names as permanent parishioners. The work seems to have been committed mainly to the hands of Mr. Ingraham, and every family came in for its share of his time and attention, whether

black, white, rich, or poor, between the Franklin pike and the river, on the one side, and from Broad Street two miles south on the other, as he went about inquiring after the children everywhere, and by his kindness and attention al- luring many to the services of the church." But in July, 1850, his health failed and he resigned his position, return- ing to Wisconsin. At the time of his leaving his memo- randa exhibited thirty-two baptisms, seventeen confirma- tions, twenty-seven communicants, four marriages, and six burials. During the summer the cholera raged fearfully. In a letter of some years afterwards Mr. Ingraham says, " Attention to duties consequent upon this state of things broke down my health." The congregation was scattered, and Mr. Tomes was obliged to suspend the services. We next find the Rev. M. S. Royce in charge of the mission, but in a short while Mr. Tomes was again alone. In 1851 a movement was made towards the erection of a church edi- fice, and a lot for that purpose was given by Mr. M. W. Wetmore. In the next year a parish was regularly organ- ized, and the Rev. James W. Rodgers was called to be its first rector. In the afternoon of May 7, 1852, the corner- stone of the new church was laid by the bishop of the dio- cese, the Right Rev. James Hervey Otey, D.D.

The edifice is after a design of Wills & Dudley, of New York, an illustration of which appears in this work. It is of the pure Gothic order, built of blue limestone, and with its open roof of varnished cedar and its deep recessed chancel it is, indeed, a pure and beautiful piece of archi- tecture. Its altar is of cedar, and a crown of thorns adorns the centre of its frontal. The nave is seventy by thirty-five feet, and has a seating capacity of two hundred and fifty people.

At first the congregation worshiped in the chancel; but by the end of 1853, through the untiring efforts of Mr. Tomes, who never seemed to weary at his work, the nave, too, was complete. He obtained large means from friends in the East; he expended his own ; and again and again were his people full of heartfelt expressions of gratitude for their noble friend. After Mr. Rodgers resigned, and again after the short rectorship of Dr. Mccullough, he gave to this work all the time he could spare from his own immediate charge.

" In the year 1855 the Rev. W. D. Harlow became rector, and continued to discharge the duties till 1857, when, Mr. Tomes having died, he was temporarily called to Christ Church. From this he took charge of the Church of the Advent until the election of a rector, to which all the communicants were transferred except two." Next the Rev. C. T. Quintard, M.D., held services for the congregation in the afternoon, and in connection with his own parish, the Church of the Advent. In July, 1858, the Rev. George C. Harris was ordained, and was rector until the war. Under his faithful ministrations the parish grew into a very prosperous condition. The number of baptisms was large; the year previous to the war they numbered forty-five. At the same time the Sunday-school had in it one hundred and seven scholars, and there were sixty-six communicants. From the beginning the parish had been supported by the offertory. The seats have been always free, and it is in every sense a free church. Up to this time in the history

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of the parish there had been one hundred and eighty-eight baptisms, sixty-four confirmations, and one hundred and thirty-two admitted to holy communion. But after the war began we find the parish again without a rector. However, during his rectorship, Mr. Harris had succeeded in getting the tower built up as far as the comb of the roof; and nothing has been added to it since his time. To-day it stands unfinished. After the struggle began occasional services were held, and for those four long years, so full of carnage and strife, these people were as sheep without a shepherd. After the occupation of the city by the Federal army the church was left to pursue its peaceful course until 1862, when it was taken for a powder-maga- zine and kept for three months ; teamsters were then quar- tered in it for two months. During this time the altar was used to cut beefsteaks on, and the font was a washbasin for the soldiers. The organ was torn to pieces, the beauti- ful stained-glass windows shattered, and all the interior much abused. However, an inventory had been taken of everything in the church by command of the authorities, with the written promise to return it in its former condi- tion. When, then, it was returned to the senior warden, there being no rector, damages were paid to the amount of twelve hundred dollars, and one hundred and twenty-five dollars for rent: damages had been assessed by a committee sent by Federal authority at sixteen hundred dollars. During this time chaplains in the United States army had held occasional services. All through the war, with the exception of the time of its occupation, the church was opened every Sunday for Sunday-school by Mr. Charles Sheppard, the senior warden of the parish, as its superin- tendent, assisted by several faithful teachers.

After the war the Rev. J. H. Bowles became the rector, dividing his time with St. Stephen's Church, Edgefield. After this had continued about a year, the Rev. W. T. Helm was rector until February, 1869, when the Rev. Moses S. Royce was called. He began at once a vigorous and successful work. The parish again revived, the Sun- day-school and services were full of life, and much people was added. But alas ! in May, 1873, that dreadful scourge, the cholera, again appeared. The faithful priest was every- where among his people, breaking the Bread of Life for the sick and the dying, and burying the dead. On Sunday, June 9, 1873, he laid down his life in the Master's cause, dying of the fell disease after a sickness of but a few hours. Ilis faithful ministry is part of the history of South Nash- ville. He was everywhere that human souls needed help, and in families without number his name is a household word, and his face long familiar. His counsel and life and teaching live in the lives of those who were under his care and were by his presence blessed.

From November of this year till December, 1876, the Rev. Thomas B. Lawson, D.D., was in charge. He was a man of varied talents. His acute mind and clear reasoning powers seemed to revel in the lore of the divine science, and in the history of the Christian Church in all the ages he seemed no stranger. While since the war the work had grown, it suffered no little-as it had done from the begin- ning-from the frequent vacancies in the rectorship. Its revenues had never been large, and its people never rich.

So, although much faithful work had been done, a perma- nent foundation had always been hard to secure.

In September, 1877, after invitation, the present rector, the Rev. Jesse B. Harrison, S.T.B., took charge. He found the people much scattered, but work has been steadily kept up for now almost three years, and not without results. There have been within this time, baptisms, 85; confirma- tions, 41 ; persons admitted to holy communion, 56. The present number of communicants is one hundred and twelve.

St. Paul's Chapel .- A mission was inaugurated in what was known as Fairfield in 1870, by the Rev. M. S. Royce, while rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity. Services were first held in a hall over a drug-store on the Lebanon pike. In 1872 the mission became a parish, under the name of St. Paul's Church. A large Sunday-school was held, and the services, partly choral, were largely attended. A lot was bargained for-which has since been paid for- and the present chapel all but completed, when the untimely death of Mr. Royce put an end to the work.

Under Dr. Lawson the work was again begun. On a petition from the people being presented to the Diocesan Convention of 1878, this church was made a " chapel of the Church of the Holy Trinity, to be known as St. Paul's Chapel." It is a neat wooden chapel, with a recessed chan- cel, and has a seating capacity of one hundred people. It is situated on a lot of seventy by one hundred and fifty feet, on the corner of Wharf Avenue and Cannon Street. It now has a Sunday-school of one hundred and forty-opc pupils. The Church of the Holy Trinity is the parish church for all its people. It is out of debt and in a flourishing condition.

The parish of the Church of the Holy Trinity may, then, be said to have its parish church on the corner of South High Street and South Union Street, and its chapel-St. Paul's chapel-on Wharf Avenue.

The officers of the parish are as follows : The Rev. Jesse B. Harrison, S.T.B., Rector ; George W. Seay, Senior War- den; Frederick Wright, Junior Warden; Joseph W. Fisher, Treasurer; Thomas G. Cox, Secretary ; Charles Sheppard, George R. Knox, P. M. Radford, Vestrymen.

Organist of the parish church, Mr. P. M. Radford; or- ganist of the chapel, Miss Jessia Harman ; superintendent of the Sunday-school, Mr. Charles Sheppard.

The communicants, 112; parish Sunday-school pupils, 130; chapel Sunday-school pupils, 141 ; total, 271.

St. Anne's Church, Edgefield .- In the year 1856, when Edgefield contained a population of not exceeding seven hun- dred and fifty, the late Dr. John Shelby conveyed to the late Rev. Charles Tomes, as trustee of the Protestant Episcopal Church, a beautiful lot on Oak Street. This lot was to be used for no other purpose than the erection thereon of a church edifice or parsonage. July 29, 1858, nearly two years after, there assembled together in a school-house on Fatherland Street the following Episcopalians : Rev. Dr. C. T. Quintard, Rev. L. L. Smith, M. E. De Grove, Turner S. Foster, W. II. Baker, G. H. Hunt, Q. C. De Grove (2d), F. Shegog, Mrs. W. H. Baker, Miss Sallie J. Buck, Miss Annie Weakley, Miss Cecil De Grove, and W. H. De Grove. This meeting was organized by calling Rev. L. L.

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leo. R. Williamson

THE Scandinavian element has played an important part in populating America, not only by direct emigration from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, but through its early oc- cupation of Scotland it has impressed the peculiarities of its nationality on the people of that country and the re- sultant "Scotch-Irish." To that element these people owe their love of adventure, bold hardihood, and persevering energy ; also that resolute will which meets and surmounts all obstacles. From the Scotch-Irish branch settling in North Carolina came many of the settlers of Tennessee, among them John J., son of David Williamson, who was born in North Carolina in 1809. He married in that State Eliza B. Carr. Of their four children born in North Caro- lina, George R. was third. The others were Thomas D., James, and John J. In 1839, Mr. Williamson moved to Maury County, in this State, and settled in the same neighborhood where he yet resides. His family now consists of fifteen children. The following were born in this State : Mary, Olivia M., Susan N., Margaret E., Aun E., Josephine, Pleasant D., William B., Rufus A., Alice, and Mellville.

George R. Williamson was born Oct. 13, 1836, brought by his parents to Tennessee at the age of three years, and remained with his father until about seventeen years of age, receiving a common-school education; then engaged as book- keeper in a mercantile establishment in Columbia. In this avocation he continued three years. Choosing the medical profession for his life work, and desiring to thoroughly qualify himself therefor, he went to Nashville and com- menced study with Dr. Madden; then attended Shelby Medical College. While there he was granted the position

of prescriptionist or dispensarian at City Hospital. This position was one of great advantage to a medical student and was much sought after. This is evinced by the fact that at that time there were thirty applicants for the posi- tion, and only one other proving successful.

From this college our young student went to Philadelphia and attended the University of Pennsylvania. He was a diligent student, patient and careful.in his work, and stood well in the estimation of his instructors. In the spring of 1860 he received the degree of M.D.

After graduation, Dr. Williamson returned to Nashville and began the practice of his profession in Edgefield (now East Nashville). After the passing of twenty years, many who were among his first adherents are still his patrons. He married, May 5, 1863, Mary P. Roche, daughter of F. G. Roche, Esq., then of Edgefield, but formerly of Phila- delphia, Pa. She died May 25, 1879. Their married life had its peculiar sorrows, five of their children dying in early childhood. Lizzie R., born Aug. 18, 1870, and Mary E., born April 29, 1879, are the sole survivors.

Both Dr. and Mrs. Williamson were members of the Episcopal Church of Edgefield, where Mrs. Williamson was organist for years prior to her death. He has been vestry- man and senior warden in this church many years.

Politically, Dr. Williamson has always been a staunch Democrat. Has been a member of the State Medical Society twenty years, and was elected president of Edgefield Med- ical Society at its organization, in 1872. Few of the physi- cians in this city or county have enjoyed so long a practice, or won more credit for their skill.

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Smith to the chair and appointing Q. C. De Grove secre- tary, after which an Episcopal Church was formed, under the name of St. Stephen's Church ; and W. E. De Grove, G. H. Hunt, Turner S. Foster, W. H. Baker, Q. C. De Grove, and W. B. Walton were elected vestrymen, and H. La Crue and G. H. Hunt were appointed to solicit sub- scriptions for the chapel. T. S. Foster and Q. C. De Grove were added to this committee, and August 31st, G. H. Hunt was elected secretary and treasurer ; Messrs. De Grove and Foster wardens; and the secretary was in- structed to notify the bishop of the diocese of the organi- zation of the parish, with the written consent of the rectors of Christ Church and the Church of the Advent. Rev. William D. Harlow became rector of the church March 9, 1860, and a building committee, of which he was chairman, was appointed to erect a church edifice.

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History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 89

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