USA > Wisconsin > Rock County > Beloit > Past made present : the first fifty years of the First Presbyterian Church and congregation of Beloit, Wisconsin together with a history of Presbyterianism in our state up to the year 1900 > Part 23
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*Buck's Mil., II, 289, says that the building as thus enlarged was called admiringly the steamboat church, because the transept gave it somewhat the appearance of one of those comfortable floating palaces of the olden time.
+Authority of the Rev. A. V. C. Schenck, D. D., Madison, Wis.
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Bonesteel, Levi H. Kellogg, Samuel C. West, George Tracy, Anthony Green, Moses Kneeland and Harvey Curtis .*
The Rev. James Leonard Corning, of Buffalo, New York, assumed charge of the church October 6, 1859, and remained as its pastor until February 19, 1861. Difference of views caused his retirement .¡ His successor in August of the latter year, was the Rev. Joseph H. Towne, D. D., ¿ a man of profound erudition and great astuteness. He continued with this people until 1865. Dr. Towne resides in Andover, Massachusetts.
During the vacancy in 1866, the pulpit was supplied for a time by the Rev. B. St. J. Page .?
On February 13, 1867, the Rev. Hiram Eddy was installed as pastor of the First Church. During his highly successful, although brief ministry, Calvary Presbyterian Church, on the West Side, was organized in 1869. Another event of transcendent importance-the fusing of the Old and New School branches of the Presbyterian church occurred in Philadelphia the same year, November 12, 1869. One of the many beneficent effects of this reunion was the rebanding of the First and North Churches. The resigna- tion of Dr. Buchanan, in August, 1870, leaving the latter church without a pastor, greatly facilitated attempts at union. And that nothing whatever should impede the progress of a consummation so desirable, Mr. Eddy, of his own motion, resigned the pastorship of the First Church. This was November 10, 1870. To accomplish the merger with the least friction the two bodies agreed to coalesce under a new designation. Their union under the name of Immanuel Presbyterian Church was officially declared on December 5, 1870.
It is most proper here to chronicle that the Rev. Hiram Eddy, D. D., died in Canaan, Conn., November 30, 1893, aged over eighty years, and that the Rev. John M. Buchanan, D. D., died in New York city, January 13, 1894, aged over seventy-five years. It is a pleasing coincidence that these two
*Samuel C. West died in Milwaukee, December 10, 1892 ; Anthony Green died in Mil- waukee, December 16, 1870 ; Moses Kneeland died in Milwaukee, January 21, 1864 ; Mr. Ford removed to Kansas City and died there ; Mr. Hall removed to Watertown and died ; H. H. West died in Milwaukee, January 30, 1893 ; Mr. Mason died April 25, 1869 ; Mr Fair- banks lives in Milwaukee ; Mr. Post died in Milwaukee, February 24, 1880, Mr. Bonesteel removed to New York and may now be living in Bridgeport, Conn .; Mr. Kellogg died in Milwaukee, December 12, 1873 ; Mr. Lawrence left the city and is believed to be dead ; Mr. Curtis resides in Portage ; Mr. Tracy has been since 1856 and still is a member of this church,
+Mr. Corning has not been in active pastoral work for many years. He is now Vice Consul at Munich, Germany. In the spring of 1894 he delivered lectures in this country entitled "A Pictorial Parliament of Religions."
ĮDr. Towne was born in Salem, Mass., May 27, 1805, graduated at Yale 1827, and studied law in the office of Pickering & Otis. Boston. His purpose was changed, however, and he turned to theology. His first parish was in Portsmouth, N. H., his second in Boston, where he remained ten years. His pastorate in Milwaukee was about coincident with the period of the civil war. The affection of the throat which made his Milwaukee church his last pastorate, began to trouble him during his residence here. Some years after he left the church he returned to Milwaukee to live. His letter from Andover, dated May 15, 1894, thus closes : "As to my preaching labors I wish they had been better. May God pardon my imperfections and graciously accept his unworthy servant through the inerits and advocacy of our great High Priest." He died at Andover, July 30, 1897, aged 91 years.
¿The Milwaukee Directory of 1866-7 states that Mr. Page was the pastor of the First Church. This is not correct and his period of supply was doubtless short. The Rev. Ben- jamin St. John Page was a graduate of Adelbert College, 1834, and died in 1868, aged fifty- three years.
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*REV. HIRAM EDDY, D. D.
honored divines, who assisted by their christian gentlemanliness in promo- ting the peace of Zion in Milwaukee, survived for more than a score of years to see the prosperity which they had aided to create, and died within a few weeks of each other.
The annals of Immanuel Presbyterian Church since December 5, 1870, are matter of modern history.
. And now, what of the fate of the old White Church? It was used for the regular religious services of the united church until the new structure on Astor Street was ready for occupancy, at its dedication January 3, 1875. On April 1, 1874, the lot whereon the White Church had stood, on the corner of Mason and Milwaukee streets, was sold with its appurtenances to Alonzo L. Boynton, for twenty-three thousand dollars. The trustees in their contract of sale, retained the use of the auditorium on the main floor until January 1, 1875, and exempted the bell and organ from the transfer.
While the main audience room was still being used for sanctuary pur- poses, the basement was leased for a short time by Mr. Boynton to the United States for post office purposes. This was from Nov 1, 1874, until April 1, 1875, pending enlargement of the government building. After this last date the basement proper was unused. When the congregation vacated the main floor on January 1, 1875, the front portion thereof was converted by the owner into a place for entertainments and amusements, nanied Boynton's Hall. The rear portion of the main floor and also of the basement was
*Rev. Hiram Eddy was an elder brother of that eminent clergyman, Rev. Dr. Zachary Eddy, of Detroit, Michigan, and second cousin to Rev. Alfred Eddy, our first pastor at Be- loit, Wisconsin.
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leased to and used by Sherin Brothers as a carriage repository; and does not this mention recall the long incline punctuated with wooden step-guards which led from the second story rear to the ground ?
On May 25, 1881, the site and building were conveyed by Mr. Boynton to Charles L. Colby and Edwin H. Abbot, for $33,000. For two years longer Boynton's Hall and Sherin Brothers remained as tenants of the old White Church. In 1883 the venerable structure was sold to Joseph Jung, an owner of small houses in the First and Eighteenth Wards. Such portions of the frame as he could utilize for patching his tenements he appropriated for that purpose, the remainder he and the Poles used for firewood.
The bell was sold for $125 to the Presbyterian church of Baraboo, Wis- consin. Having become cracked, it was in 1888 sent to a foundry in Mil- waukee for recasting. Some new metal was added and the bell returned in November, 1888, to the church at Baraboo, where it is now heard. The organ was purchased by Hanover Street Congregational Church, and is still in use there. The cushions and pews were a legacy to Westminster Presby- terian Church. The vane surmounting the spire was presented to Fire Engine Company Number One, on Broadway, and ornamented for a number of years the east tower of its building. When, for purposes of enlargement that tower was demolished, the last vestige of the old White Church knew no longer its accustomed haunts .* Of all those who shared in the joy of building and dedicating it there is left with us only one resident member, Mrs. John Ogden.t (See page 262. )
Mere courtesy requires just a mention of the successors of Doctors Eddy and Buchanan. The Rev. Gideon Parsons Nichols was elected February 22, 1871, installed April 28, 1872, and the pastoral relation was dissolved July 1, 1881. His successor, the Rev. John Newton Freeman, was elected Novem- ber 7, 1881, installed January 12, 1882, and the pastoral relation was dis- solved February 27, 1889. Rev. William Chester, elected October 10, 1889, was installed December 5, 1889, and was released from the pastorate of Im- manuel Church, April 6, 1898. Rev. J. Beveridge Lee, his successor, was installed Nov. 20, 1899.
*See Buck's Milwaukee, II, 299, note, for a current story which has been refuted. When the building was dismantled in 1883, Mr. Boynton carefully examined the cornice and the brass sphere below the vane. He states emphatically that Mr. Buck is very much mis- taken.
+Mrs. John Ogden (Jane Eliza Gray) was born in the town of Sherburne, Chenango County, New York, December 7th, 1810. This venerable lady, the only resident survivor of that first year's membership of the First Presbyterian church, is now (March, 1900) living with her son, John G. Ogden, at 2606 Grand Avenue, Milwaukee. That pleasant face speaks for itself. Her clear memory of the past, hearty appreciation of the present, and a bright, intelligent way of talking, make the dear old lady very good company even in this her ninetieth year.
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MRS. JOHN OGDEN IN 1897.
262
history of the Presbyterian Church in Wisconsin.
The following outline, slightly corrected, is from the pen of J. M. S., a Philadelphia friend.
The Synodical Sabbath School missionary of Wisconsin.
REV. JOSEPH BROWN.
In the southeastern portion of Scotland. partly in the county of Roxborough, and partly in the county of Selkirk, lies a prosperous town on the banks of the Gala and the Tweed, famous for its manufacture of woolen cloths, called Galashiels. There, in 1837, Joseph Brown was born, the youngest of three brothers. His parents belonged to what may well be called the aristocracy of the working class. As a boy he was healthy in body, sprightly in spirit, and full of fun. He began his education in the schools common to the town and period. In his ninth year his parents moved to Sel- kirk, another town now famous for its manufacture of woolen cloth, six miles from Galashiels.
Selkirk is the County Town of Selkirk County. It overlooks REV. JOSEPH BROWN, Syn. S. S. M. for Wis. the beautiful scenery formed by the hills and valleys through which flow the classic streams of the Ettrick and Yarrow. Looking west from the town, a fine view is obtained of the famous battlefield of Philip- haugh, where the Covenanters under Leslie defeated Montrose, and thus gave the final blow to the cause of King Charles in Scotland. Here it was that Sir Walter Scott had his seat as High Sheriff of the County, and here also, in the market place, stands a monument erected to his memory.
In this beautiful town and district Joseph was destined to spend thirty- five years of the prime of his manhood. In Selkirk he resumed and finished his day-school education at the Grammar School of the town, then ably taught by Mr. Walker. When twelve years old he began to work in the woolen mill where his father was employed, his first work being that of a "piecer " to his father. As a young lad he was not only a capable piecer, but was also expert in all the sports common to that period. When about fifteen years of age he developed further a taste for good reading and serious study, and realizing the value of a good education sought to improve by taking advantage of the " winter evening schools." He also became a
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member of the "Mechanic's Institute," making good use of the lectures, reading room and library.
He continued to work in the same woolen mill which he entered when a boy, for the long period of twenty-five years. During the first ten years of this time he labored as a common workman. For the last fifteen years he held the position of foreman of the carding and spinning department of that large and successful factory.
At the close of his twenty-fifth year of factory work, he started in business for himself as a mill furnisher, still having his home in Selkirk, but doing business all over the north and south of Scotland, where woolen mills are plentiful. During the years that he was in this business he was blessed with a fair amount of success, not only financially but also in having the friendship of all with whom he did business.
As a citizen Mr. Brown, from his youth up, took an active part in the discussion and progress of those opinions and measures calculated to ad- vance the welfare of the people. He served ten years as a member of the Town Council of Selkirk, of which town he was made a Burgess in 1867. It was during this stage of his career that he was appointed member of a committee to deliver an address to Hon. William E. Gladstone, and was once so associated with Lord Roseberry as to have the honor of dining with him. He was also elected to serve as a member of the Public School Board for three terms of three years each. For twenty years he was President of the Working Men's Medical Society, also for a number of years President of the Selkirk Total Abstinence Society, and for more than twenty years he took an active interest in the Co-operative Society of the town. These positions, though involving much time and labor, were all honorary, and carried no remuneration whatever.
A few words here, as to his connection with the christian church. His parents were members of the West United Presbyterian Church of Selkirk. Brought up under the sacred influences of this church, he became a mem- ber of it at the age of sixteen. This was an important and happy event for him, leading him to take an active interest in the church's work, and bring- ing him into contact with men and women who were, indeed, "the salt of the earth." In connection with this church it was his privilege to listen to some of the most noted preachers of that time, whose able preaching has been to him an unspeakable blessing all through his life. At the age of twenty-eight he was elected and ordained to the sacred office of Elder of that church, which office he held for eighteen years.
Let us take a glimpse of his home environment, as this ever forms an important factor in every man's life. In the year 1857; he was married to Miss Helen Richardson, daughter of James Richardson of Foulshiels, a classic spot on the banks of the Yarrow, near Selkirk, and just opposite Newark Tower, which is said to be one thousand years old. Their start in life was humble, but it was fair and hopeful. Two things were agreed upon by the young couple at the very start; first, they would have a family altar, and second, no one should even taste intoxicating drink in their home. This agreement was kept sacredly from the day of their marriage until on March 1, 1893, the beloved wife and mother fell asleep in Jesus; blessed life and memory.
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The fruit of this marriage was a family of one son and two daughters, all of whom are living and grown to manhood and womanhood.
In 1879, John, his only son married, and in the last month of that year the young couple emigrated to America, to push their interests there. We note this, because it was the pivot fact in moving Mr. Brown and his family to America, in the following year. A mother's love for an only son was the human power in a divine hand that occasioned this great change.
In June, 1880, Mr. Brown and family landed in America, and settled in Germantown, Philadelphia. It was a great trial for Mr. Brown to leave Bonnie Scotland, its scenery and friendships giving it a place in his heart which never can be blotted out. Having settled in Germantown, he accept- ed the position of foreman of the carding and spinning department of the leading mill there. He also connected himself with the First Presbyterian Church of that place, taking an active interest in the Sabbath-school work of that church, for a number of years. During this time he became the author of two small books, one on wool carding, being a collection of a series of articles contributed to the "Textile Record" of Philadelphia. The other entitled "Characteristics of a Good Workman" was the fruit of his observation as a working man given for the benefit of the young.
Both of these books have a large circulation, especially in countries where woolens are manufactured. The Baldwin Loconiotive Works ordered two thousand copies of the latter, as soon as it was issued, for distribution among their employes. The years that he and his family spent in German- town were pleasant and happy, filled with sunny memories and sweet experiences.
It was about this time, 1888, that the Sabbath-school mission work of the Presbyterian Board of Publication was inaugurated. A wealthy Presby- terian in the vicinity of Philadelphia immediately became interested in the movement and generously offered to support a missionary to be stationed in Wisconsin, if the proper man could be found. Mr. Brown was recommend- ed as a man of wide experience in christian work, and well fitted for the position. At first he was reluctant about leaving the East where he had made so many friends, and going to the far West where all were strangers. Yet it seemed that this was the great work for which during all these years. God had been preparing him. The board was of the opinion that he was just the man for the place.
Consequently he was commissioned to the Presbytery of Winnebago, and started to his field of labor on July 5th, 1888, he being the first per- manent Presbyterian Sabbath-school missionary in Wisconsin. He has worked faithfully in that field, so that now his name may be said to have become a houseword over a large part of our State. His genial manner, large heart, and consistent christian living have won for him and his work hosts of friends, and as a consequence, there is no better friend to-day to this branch of Presbyterian mission work, than the Synod of Wisconsin. He was promoted to the position of Synodical S. S. Missionary for Wisconsin, in November, 1893, which position he now holds.
During the past six years, for a few weeks in the depth of each winter, Mr. Brown has visited a large number of our churches in the East, especially in Philadelphia and vicinity, giving graphic word pictures of what the
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Sabbath-school mission work really is. This branch of his labors has been signally blessed, as is evidenced by the deepening interest and increasing contributions of churches and Sabbath-schools to this important branch of our church's work.
An Incident in 1890.
The following suggestive incident occured on a Saturday, in the month of December; the ground was covered with snow to the depth of four inches. At 10 A. M. I stopped at a town called Unity, and from that place started to walk directly east into the country to the Allen settlement, a distance of four miles. As I walked along I met a farmer with a cheerful "Good morning, my friend." He kindly returned the salutation and a conversa- tion was begun. I told him my name and purpose to visit the Allen Sabbath-school and also to hold service. He replied, "I was at the Sabbath- school last Sabbath, and if spared I will be there to-morrow." Then, look- ing me very earnestly in the face, he said, "Friend, why did not you or some one else come out years ago and start Sabbath-schools in these settle- ments. My home is three and a half miles farther out than the Allen's settlement, and I have lived twelve years there destitute of all means of grace, and my 'boys' are growing up and they are not turning out well." As he spoke the tears dropped from his cheek. Such grief was to me a sure indication that behind these tears there was a deep cause. For the men of Wisconsin are by no means soft-hearted. Having reached the Allen's settlement I made inquiries as to the "boys" and found that one of them was in Wapun prison, and is there still. On learning this I was better able to grasp the eloquence of his tears. Since then another of his "boys" has come under the meshes of the law, charged with its violation. In this incident stand revealed conditions similar that can be counted by the hundreds all over this State, and they will remain until such time as the Sabbath-school missionary finds them out, and helps men to help them- selves by the fourfold means at his disposal, viz: Organization of Sabbath- school, house to house visitation, distribution of Bibles, books, and tracts, frequent revisitation and evangelistic service.
" A Photograph of Sunday-School mission Work. "
SEPTEMBER 18th, 1890 .- Rode sixteen miles on the stage over a rough road. Stepped from the stage at Maple Works, Clark County. The time is 3 o'clock P. M. The day is warm and sultry. The clouds are gathering in a threatening manner, indicating the approach of a thunder-storm. Have a walk of nine miles before me in order to reach the interior of the country. As in my custom, I make calls at the different families as I pass along, and leave with each some suitable reading for young and old. Six miles of my journey was accomplished, when the thunder storm burst in all its fury. Hail and rain came down in torrents. Took shelter in the first house I came to. Waited; darkness came on, the rain continued, the lightning flashed, and the thunder rolled athwart the sky. What am I to do during the night, as I find I cannot stop where I am, for the good reason there is no suitable accommodation.
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I faced the storm and went forward to a house a mile farther on, where I felt sure the inmates would kindly lodge me for the night. In this I was not disappointed. It was a humble home, but I was entertained right royally. The good people had loving hearts, and did their best to make me comfortable. The Lord will reward them for all their kindness to His servant.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th, dawned, the rain still falling, and the roads deep in mud and water. I must go forward to Spokeville, five miles distant. The road lay through a forest, and was only partially made, and con- sequently I found it ankle deep in mud and water. Rolling up my pants, I waded through and at last reached my destination, wet and soiled with mud. But the soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the nineteenth century, must be brave and hardy, as in the days of old. What are mud and water com- pared with the experience of christian workers of the past described in Hebrews xi. 37. Having reached Spokeville, I began my work of house-to- house visitation, and found the people desirous of having a Sabbath-school. At present they have no means of grace among them. I arranged to hold a meeting with them on Sabbath afternoon. On Friday and Saturday night held service in another school-house four miles distant.
SABBATH, SEPTEMBER 21st, held a meeting at 3 o'clock P. M. in Spokeville school-house, which was filled to the door. Had a short service, then an address on the benefits of Sunday-schools as a means of grace for all. At the close a Sunday-school was organized, officers elected, lesson papers given and arrangements made to meet the next Sabbath, at 3 P. M. Thus it is that the work is begun, so full of important results to the children and parents. I leave the people, promising them all the aid I can give. The people feel drawn to the missionary, and the missionary to the people. They are not now strangers, but friends. All hardships are forgotten in the success that has attended this work for God.
Summary for One Year.
ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 1899.
The workers engaged with the Superintendent in the field during the past year were as follows : Rev. James Baine, in Presbytery of Madison ; Mr. Samuel McComb, in the Presbytery of Milwaukee ; Mr. Wm. J. Large, who has labored in the Presbytery of La Crosse for ten months ; Mr. Alfred Terry, in Chippewa Presbytery for five months ; Mr. Samuel A. Martin, in the Presbytery of Winnebago for three months (taking the place of Mr. Clark Mack, who expects to return to this Presbytery March 1st, 1900, and who labored during the first four months of the year ; also Mr. Abraham Woodhead, in the Presbytery of Milwaukee for eight months. (Mr. Wood- head has now retired from the work). Mr. Baine and Mr. McComb have been at work the entire year. These statements regarding the duration of the period of labor of each missionary are necessary, in order that the work done may be rightly understood. This faithful corps of workers have gone- forth far and near into the "highways and hedges " of Wisconsin, visiting from home to home, preaching the word in schoolhouses and mission
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chapels, planting Sabbath Schools, helping and reviving those already or- ganized, distributing tracts and books, and thus sowing the seed.
The table following represents numerically the total amount of work accomplished by each missionary during the year 1899 :
S. S. Organized.
S. S. Re-Organiz'd
No. Teachers.
No. Scholars.
S. S. Visited.
Families Visited.
Addresses Given.
Pages of Tracts
Volumes Given.
Bibles Given.
Conversions.
S. S. Institutes.
Collections.
Miles Traveled.
Churches Organ'd
J. Brown
3
5
16 61
100 603
63
747
296
30855 19135 6932
109 127
79 70
26
23 10
$ 69.85 15.95
1
S. Macomb
5
1
18
175
59
1458
188
95
55
2
C. Mack
2
1
6
60
41
506
76
5614
7
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