USA > Tennessee > Davidson County > Nashville > History of Nashville, Tenn. > Part 53
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
St. Anne's Episcopal Church, of Edgefield, was organized in a school- house on Fatherland Street in 1858. The following-named ladies and gentlemen were present: Rev. Dr. C. T. Quintard, Rev. L. L. Smith, M. E. De Grove, Turner S. Foster, W. H. Baker, G. H. Hunt, Q. C. De Grove, F. Shegog, W. H. De Grove, Mrs. W. H. Baker, Miss Sallie J. Buck, Miss Annie Weakley, and Miss Cecil De Grove. The name of the new organization adopted at that time was St. Stephen's. Commit- tees were appointed to solicit subscriptions for the erection of a church- edifice upon a lot donated for that purpose two years before to Rev. Charles Tomes by Dr. John Shelby. On August 31 G. H. Hunt was elected Secretary ; and Q. C. De Grove and T. S. Foster, Wardens. The first rector was Rev. William D. Harlow, who assumed charge of the parish on March 9, 1860. In April the corner-stone of the new building was laid, and the church completed the following September. Upon the arrival of the Federal army the church was closed, and was not opened again for religious purposes until after the war. The Church was prompt- ly reorganized upon the return of peace, and Rev. J. H. Bowles was made rector. Mrs. David Williams, a descendant of Dr. Shelby, do- nated a lot in Edgefield to aid in liquidating the debt of the Church; and in recognition of this generosity on her part the name of the Church was changed to St. Anne's Church, in honor of her granddaughter, Mrs.
493
CHURCH HISTORY.
Ann Minnick Shelby. The proceeds of this lot, in addition to a gener- ous donation from Bishop Quintard, completely paid off the debt.
Rev. Mr. Bowles resigned June 5, 1868, and was succeeded by Rev. L. P. Tschiffely, who remained until August 1, 1869. Rev. F. R. Hol- man served from March 14 to November 1, 1870; Rev. William Ellis, from January 1, 1871, to October 31, 1872; Rev. Augustin Stanley, from January II, 1874, to July 13, 1878; and Rev. Thomas F. Martin, from April 13, 1879, to the present time. The lot on which the church stood was sold in 1880, and a new one purchased on Woodland Street in a more eligible situation. A new church-building was commenced in 1882, the corner-stone of which was laid by Bishop Quintard. The first services were held in this building on Christmas-day following, and the church, being free from debt, was consecrated on Wednesday, June 10, 1885. The total cost of the new church, together with the pipe organ and all the appurtenances and fixtures, was $12,000.
St. Peter's Mission was started on Sunday, June 10, 1868, on Jefferson Street, North Nashville, by Rev. W. T. Helm and his wife. A subscrip- tion-paper, circulated to obtain funds to build a church, was liberally signed. A lot was purchased on the corner of Madison and Mclemore Streets, and on May 4, 1868, a building was begun. On June I follow- ing it was nearly complete; but then a tornado demolished it, and a new one was begun on a larger scale. Rev. Mr. Helm solicited assistance from Northern cities with such success that this larger house was com- pleted and paid for by February 1, 1869. Rev. L. P. Tschiffely was placed in charge, but upon his resignation the Church was discontinued. In 1871, however, Rev. Mr. Helm succeeded in reviving it, when it was turned over to Christ Church, which for ten years sustained a Sunday- school there, without any other services; but in 1881 Rev. Mr. Cabell Martin accepted the rectorship, not receiving priest's orders, however, until 1885. In 1886 the mission was admitted as a parish, and under the ministrations of Rev. Mr. Martin the parish has continued to prosper until the present time. For some time, however, on account of ill health, Rev. Mr. Martin has been compelled to be absent from his charge; but the pulpit has been ably filled by Edward E. Barthell, as lay reader. In 1888 the interior of the church-building was thoroughly renovated, and a handsome stained-glass window, donated by the bishop, was put in. A new vestibule was added in 1889, and altogether the building is one of the neatest in the city.
St. Paul's Mission was started on Wharf Avenue, in South Nashville, in 1866. It met with but little success, however, until Rev. Mr. Royce became rector of Holy Trinity Church. He purchased two lots, and pro-
494
HISTORY OF NASHVILLE.
ceeded to erect a neat little building, and the mission was soon ready to be organized into a parish. After the death of Mr. Royce the mission so languished that it was disbanded in 1876. Under the fostering care of Rev. Mr. Harrison it again became active, and, with the aid of funds contributed by friends in New York and from other parishes in the city, the old debt was paid off, and a new era of prosperity dawned upon the struggling mission. Still the success here is not what could be desired. Rev. Mr. Martin has conducted the mission since 1886, and is working faithfully to build up the parish, having recently added a belfry, bell, and chancel window.
The First Christian Church of Nashville is inseparably connected in its origin with the First Baptist Church of this city. Schism is the inevita- ble result of thought and discussion, and the First Baptist Church of Nash- ville is no exception to the general rule. This pulpit having been vacant for somewhat more than a year, extended a call in May, 1826, to Rev. Phil- ip S. Fall, then preaching in Louisville, Ky. The call was accepted, and Rev. Mr. Fall soon afterward entered upon his duties as pastor of the Church. He made no secret, however, of a change in his views upon certain doctrines which the Baptists had uniformly maintained, though he at that time had no intention of separating from the Baptist Church. One of the first statements of doctrine that he made to his congregation which attracted special attention was that no congregation worshiped ac- cording to the New Testament that did not partake of the Lord's Sup- per on every Lord's day. This subject was thereafter carefully studied by the congregation, and at length, in August, 1827, the congregation de- cided its duty to be to attend to this ordinance weekly in the future. Only three of the congregation dissented from this view. The church- building in which the change of belief was consummated and made known stood on Church (then Spring) Street, between High and Vine. Dr. Philip S. Fall was an Englishman by birth, and was an eloquent preacher, as well as very attractive in his person and manners, and when he proposed a change of faith the proposition was readily accepted by nearly all of the congregation. The exceptions were only five, whose names have been given in connection with the history of the First Baptist Church. The majority of the members retained the property of the Church. Rev. Mr. Fall remained pastor of the First Christian Church thus established until 1831, when he was succeeded by Dr. William H. Wharton, of Tuscumbia, Ala. Dr. Wharton was a very successful pastor, and was followed by Rev. Jesse B. Ferguson. So popular was Dr. Ferguson and so strong had the congregation become, that it was de- cided to erect a new house of worship, which was accordingly done on
495
CHURCH HISTORY.
Cherry Street a short distance south of Church, near where the post- office then stood. It was the largest and finest church-edifice then in Nashville, and is said to have been the most popular. The membership of the Church was eight hundred, and there was a paid choir whose mu- sic made the Church famous throughout a great portion of the State. A difficulty, however, soon arose in the Church, on account of the eloquent and able pastor having embraced the doctrines of the spiritualists, and a litigation over the possession of the Church property resulted in its being retained by the opponents of Dr. Ferguson. About a week after the case had been settled the church was destroyed by fire, and the old build- ing which had been sold to the Presbyterians was repurchased, refitted, and used until 1888. Dr. Philip S. Fall was again recalled from his po- sition as President of a school in Kentucky, to collect together the scat- tered members and to rebuild the Church organization. Dr. Fall this time remained with the Church eighteen years, and was the only minister in Nashville not molested by the military forces for entertaining secession sympathies. During Dr. Fall's second pastorate Alexander Campbell made frequent visits to Nashville, and materially assisted to build up the Church. After the resignation of Dr. Fall, in 1876, he became Presi- dent of a school in Frankfort, Ky., and he still lives there at the ad- vanced age of ninety-two years. He was succeeded in the Nashville Church by Rev. Samuel Kelly, who remained until his death, September 18, 1879. Rev. Mr. Kelly's successor was Rev. R. C. Cave, who was educated at Bethany College, West Virginia, and when called to this charge was not in full health, and on this account, though a powerful preacher, was obliged to resign, and his brother, Rev. R. Lin Cave, the present pastor, was called to the vacancy thus caused. Rev. R. Lin Cave was educated at the Kentucky State University, at Lexington, formerly known as the Transylvania University, and was graduated in 1872 by the Bible College of that institution. He preached his first ser- mon in this church June 12, 1881, since which time the Church has steadily grown in numbers and financial ability, its membership now be- ing about six hundred, about two hundred having gone to the South Nashville Church at the time of its organization.
The old church-edifice on Church Street served the congregation until 1887, when it, together with the lot, was sold for $20,000, and for a time services were conducted in Watkins Hall, and in the meantime a new building has been erected on Vine Street, not far south of Church Street. The lot on which this new church stands cost $11,000, and the building, when completed, cost $20,000. It is one of the neatest church-edifices anywhere to be found, the auditorium is richly upholstered, is furnished
496
HISTORY OF NASHVILLE.
and finished in quartered oak, and has frescoed walls and stuccoed ceil- ing. The basement contains commodious Sunday-school rooms, pastor's study, ladies' sewing-room, and a reception-room.
The Woodland Street Christian Church was organized in May, 1872, after several months of preaching and Sunday-school work by different individuals. At first Pythian Hall, on Woodland Street, was used for preaching, the preachers being Elders E. G. Sewell, David Lipscomb, and R. M. Gano. In 1876 they began to erect their present house of worship on Woodland Street, between Fifth and Sixth Streets, which was completed in 1878. It is a handsome building, and cost about $8,000. It was dedicated July 7, 1878, by Rev. Samuel A. Kelley, of the First Christian Church. Elder E. G. Sewell, who was educated at Burritt College, was the first regular pastor, serving from 1878 until 1882, and was followed by Elder W. J. Loos, who remained until 1885, when he became editor of the Apostolic Guide, published at Louisville, Ky. From that time until January 1, 1887, there was no regular preaching from this pulpit, but on that day the present pastor, Elder R. M. Giddens, a grad- uate of the Biblical College of the University of Kentucky, began to preach for the Church, and under him there have been several revival meetings, resulting in greatly increased membership, which is now about two hundred and fifty.
The North Nashville Christian Church was organized in 1882, after re- ligious services had been held for some years in the barracks on Buena Vista pike. A neat frame house was erected on Spruce Street, near Monroe, and the Church had been progressing under the preaching of several pastors when J. P. Grigg, a school-teacher from Kentucky, came to the Church with the view of conducting revival services, and was so successful that he was induced to take charge of the Church. Mr. Grigg remained two years. For some time following there was no preaching, but in 1888 Elder J. C. Martin came and remained until the spring of 1890, when he was followed by Elder W. T. Kidwell, who is now in charge, preaching once each month. The present membership is two hundred, there is a prosperous Sunday-school, and the Church is free from debt.
The South Nashville Christian Church was organized in the lat- ter part of 1887, and ever since that time it has carried forward the work of bringing in members with remarkable success. It is located at No. 807 South College Street, where a neat brick building has re- cently been completed. There have been three great revival meetings held by this organization, the first being conducted by Elder T. B. Lari- more, and as a result of which there were one hundred and twenty-three
a
497
CHURCH HISTORY.
additions, about one hundred of whom joined this Church. The second revival was conducted by Elder. A. M. Growden, and resulted in forty- five additions to the Church; and the third was conducted by Elder J. A. Harding, of Kentucky, adding one hundred and thirteen new members to the rolls. There have been no paid pastors in this Church, three of the elders having preached regularly for the congregation. These three elders are David Lipscomb, T. C. Martin, and W. H. Timmons. The membership now numbers between five and six hundred, and the Church is in an active and prosperous condition.
The North Edgefield Christian Church was organized the first part of 1886, in Cherokee Hall, North Edgefield. Elder J. L. Stephenson, a practicing physician, was the first preacher for this Church. He removed to Dexter, Mo., at the end of his ministry, and was succeeded in 1889 by Elder J. C. McQuiddy, the present pastor. He is a graduate of Mars Hill Academy, near Florence, Ala. About the time of the beginning of Elder McQuiddy's pastorate plans for a new church-edifice were adopt- ed, and a neat brick church erected, capable of seating two hundred people, and dedicated in December, 1889. In the summer of 1889 a protracted meeting was conducted on a vacant lot adjoining the church, . the result of which was that one hundred and fifteen members were add- ed to the roll, the membership now being about two hundred.
Besides these five regularly organized Christian Churches there are two flourishing missions in the city, one on Line Street near the Stock Yards, which is largely indebted to Mr. A. Perry, who furnishes it a convenient and well-furnished hall, in which a Sunday-school is taught every Sunday, and preaching had twice each month. The other mission is at the corner of Lafayette and Claiborne Streets, in South Nashville, where the attendance is regular and large. Services are held here in a new and commodious hall, erected for the purposes of this mission.
The first Lutheran Church organized in Middle Tennessee was the " Shoffner Church," on Duck River, near Shelbyville, in 1825, by Rev. William Jenkins. For many years he took great interest in the growth of this denomination, and at length, in 1859, established the First Lu- theran Church in Nashville, and secured the services of Rev. Herman Eggers, then a professor in the Western University, as pastor. Rev. Mr. Eggers came to Nashville in July, 1859, and delivered his first sermon in the Second Presbyterian Church on Sunday, the 3Ist of that month. Soon afterward the "First German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Nashville " was organized, and for some time services were held in the court-house, until the fall of Fort Donelson. After the Federal forces took possession of the city this congregation occupied the church-build-
32
498
HISTORY OF NASHVILLE.
ing belonging to the German Methodists until the fall of 1863, when the Methodists received a new pastor and the Lutherans soon again wor- shiped in the Second Presbyterian church. They soon began to make arrangements to build a church of their own on North Market Street, in which services were held for the first time on Sunday, February 10, 1867. In the fall of that year Rev. Mr. Eggers, resigned the pastorate, and was succeeded by Rev. J. Bachman, who remained about two years. Rev. C. A. Nolte was then chosen pastor, and remained two and a half years, and was followed by the Rev. Johannes Heckel, who remained four years. Rev. F W. E. Peschau came to Nashville from Nebraska City, Neb., in September, 1878, and introduced English services. Under him the membership rapidly grew until it numbered about two hundred and fifty. He was succeeded in 1882 by Rev. H. Juilfs, who remained two years and was then followed by the present pastor, Rev. C. E. Ray- mond. The present church-building on North Summer Street, between Union and Cedar Streets, was erected in 1838 by the First Baptist Church, and when they removed to their present building on the corner of Vine and Broad Streets it was sold to the German Lutheran Church.
Ohavaj Sholom ("Lovers of Peace") Congregation was organized in 1865 by Rev. Dr. Wechsler, and met for worship in Douglas Hall, on North Market Street, until 1878. Dr. Wechsler, however, did not re- main long, and the congregation was practically without a pastor until the arrival of Dr. S. Goldamer in 1878. In 1877 they had erected a fine synagogue on South (now North) Vine Street, which they have occu- pied ever since. This temple is capable of seating about eight hundred people, and cost, together with the lot, about $15,000. In 1888 Rev. Isaac S. Moses came to this Church and remained nine months, when he was succeeded by the present rabbi, Rev. Isidore Lewinthal, who came here August 1, 1889. Dr. Lewinthal had been rabbi of a congregation in San Antonio, Tex., previously for eleven years. The membership of this congregation is now about two hundred, and the Sunday-school has one hundred and two scholars. The officers of the congregation are: L. J. Loventhal, President; Joseph Hirsch, Vice-president; M. Werth- an, Secretary; J. Lefkovits, Treasurer; M. Cronestein, Warden; and the other members of the Board of Trustees are M. Martin, Nathan Cone, Joseph Lindauer, L. Jonas, S. Weil, and I. Tugendreich. Serv- ices are held on Friday nights and Saturday mornings.
The only other Jewish congregation in Nashville is Adath Israel, which was organized in 1878 with twenty members. The President was S. Martin. The succeeding Presidents have been: I. B. Cohen, 1880; Jo- seph Greenstein, 1884; and H. Frank, 1885 to the present time. In
499
CHURCH HISTORY.
1887 this congregation bought a lot on North Cherry Street near Broad, on which it is their design to erect a synagogue in 1891. Up to this time they have held religious services in Douglas Hall on North Market Street. The present officers are: H. Frank, President; E. Franklin, Vice-presi- dent; H. Saltzman, Secretary; S. Kronestein, Treasurer. Board of Trustees: Joseph Levy, S. Gilbert, M. Freedman, and A. Bigler. S. Klyman is Warden.
In 1821 Rt. Rev. Bishop David, coadjutor of Bishop Flaget, of Bards- town, Ky., started on his first visit to Nashville, reaching here on the roth of May. He was accompanied by Rev. Father Abell, who preached every evening during his stay in the city, in the court-house, and had large and attentive audiences. On the IIth of May mass was said for the first time in Tennessee. There were about sixty Catholics in Nash- ville. These Catholics were composed mainly of laborers who had come to Nashville from Pittsburg, Louisville, and Cincinnati for the purpose of building a wooden bridge across the Cumberland River, which was lo- cated just below the present magnificent piece of modern architecture that superseded not only that first wooden bridge, but also a still later structure, the suspension bridge, and the pile of stones still visible in the middle of the river indicates the place where this first wooden bridge stood. These first Catholics received from Robert Foster, a leading Mason, a gift of a lot seventy by one hundred feet in size, on the north- east corner of Capitol Hill, then called "Cedar Knob," from the fact that it was covered with a thick growth of stunted cedar trees. The lot do- nated by Mr. Foster not being large enough for their purposes, they pur- chased an additional lot of equal size, and then by subscriptions raised $3,500, with which they bought materials for a neat little brick church- edifice, which they themselves constructed for the most part with their own hands. This church was erected in 1830.
When the wooden bridge was completed most of the laborers returned to their homes, and the few who remained permitted religious services to be discontinued and the little church to fall into decay. Soon afterward, how- ever, Rev. Father Durbin, an itinerant priest, came to Nashville from his home in Bardstown, Ky., and was so cordially received, that he returned twice each year, at Christmas and at Easter, to visit the Catholics. Serv- ices were held in the parlor of Mr. Philip Callaghan, near the corner of Church and Market Streets. The old church on Cedar Knob was re- paired with money raised by subscription, eighteen hundred dollars be- ing raised, two-thirds of which was paid by Protestant merchants. About this time the diocese of Bardstown, Ky., to which Tennessee and other territory to the southward had hitherto belonged, was reduced to Ken-
500
HISTORY OF NASHVILLE.
tucky and Tennessee, and in 1837 Tennessee was made a separate dio- cese under the name of the Diocese of Nashville. The Rt. Rev. Rich- ard Pius Miles, a native of Maryland, was appointed missionary to the State in October of this year, and on September 16, 1838, he was conse- crated Bishop of Nashville. Upon arriving in the city Bishop Miles made his home with Mr. J. H. Buddeke, a German Catholic, until he be- came settled in his diocese. His house stood in the middle of a ten-acre lot, and was surrounded by many trees and a large vineyard. From this vineyard the bishop supplied all the wine for the use of the Church. In the basement of his residence, which was a three-story structure, were two chapels, in which the services of the Church were held. In these services Bishop Miles was assisted by Rev. Father Montgomery, between whom and himself existed a most beautiful friendship. Bishop Miles was very successful in his labors here, and before many years he made preparations to build a cathedral. He had intended to accomplish this work earlier in his ministry, and to this end had purchased a large lot on Market Street with the design of bringing the Jesuits here; but as the people of Nashville were opposed to their reception, he disposed of the property by piecemeal, selling the first lot to the Gas Company for $5,000. The cathedral, standing on the south-east corner of Cedar and Summer Streets, was dedicated November 1, 1847. It cost, when com- pleted, $47,000. It was christened the " Church of the Seven Dolors," but subsequently its name was changed to that of St. Mary's. The debt incurred in the erection of this cathedral was much of it paid off by sub- scriptions which the bishop solicited in Philadelphia. In 1849 a splendid pipe organ was erected in the cathedral, at a cost of $2,000. Great at- tention was paid to music, and the cathedral choir was long famous in the city.
In 1859, Father Montgomery having died, Rt. Rev. James Wheelan was made coadjutor, with the right of succession. Bishop Miles died February 1, 1860, and Bishop Wheelan immediately entered upon his duties as Bishop Miles's successor. Bishop Wheelan resigned in May, 1863, and retired to a Dominican convent at Somerset, Ill. He was suc- ceeded in the cathedral here by Rev. Father Kelley, who administered the affairs of the parish until 1866. These were the stormy years of the war, and religion was to a great extent neglected by all denominations, but during the occupation of the city by General Rosecrans Catholicism was the form of worship preferred by those by whom he was immediately surrounded, and many of the same faith remained in the city after the close of the war.
Rt. Rev. Patrick A. Feehan was consecrated Bishop of St. Louis
501
CHURCH HISTORY.
November 1, 1865, and in November, 1866, was regularly installed as the head of the Diocese of Tennessee, relieving Father Kelley. Bishop Feehan improved the cathedral and increased the congregation. His work in Nashville was extremely successful, schools, convents, and hos- pitals, mentioned elsewhere, being the result of his arduous and indefat- igable labors. He remained in Nashville until 1880, when he was made Archbishop of Chicago. In this year Rev. Richard Scannell became pas- tor at the cathedral, and was assisted by Rev. Father Veale and Rev. Father Gill. On June 24, 1883, Rev. Joseph Rademacher was conse- crated Bishop of Tennessee, and has since been in charge of St. Mary's Cathedral. He has been very successful in all the work he has under- taken. At the cathedral he is assisted by Revs. T. Larkin and T. F. Delaney. The membership of this parish is now about twelve hundred, and it is very prosperous and influential.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.