[Page XVI] -
House. The first parish
organization was effected Dec. 22d, 1841. On that day the
following persons were chosen as members of the vestry:
Charles Creuzet, Darius Maxon, Peter Menager, A. Cushing, A. C.
Farrington, E. Naret, James E. Eaton, Wm. Clendinen, E. Morgan,
Augustine Le Clercq,, Joseph Drouillard and Robert Black.
At a meeting of the vestry, held Dec.
29th, 1841, Rev. J. B. Goodwin was chosen rector.
On the 13th of January, 1842, a committee of three was appointed by
the vestry to procure a lot and erect a church thereon.
Messrs. Wm. Clendinen, Elisha Morgan and Alonzo Cushing
were appointed said committee. A lot was procured on Second
street, and a building erected thereon, but it was never completed.
The next election for vestrymen, as appears by the
record, was held Apr. 8th, 1844, resulting in the election of J.
B. H. Beal, A. Cushing, A. Vance, Julius Regnier and Thomas
L. Perry. The vestry having failed to perfect the title to
the lot upon which the church was erected, a compromise was effected
with the person holding the legal title, and the church building was
surrendered.
In May, 1858, the vestry purchased of the board of
education city lot No. 217, with the old school house thereon,
paying therefor the sum of $700. A building committee was
appointed to erect a church edifice on said lot, which was
accordingly done, and the new church building was opened for public
worship Sunday, Dec. 19th, 1858, Rev. A. B. Sturgess, rector
of the parish, officiating. The church was consecrated Apr.
12th, 1859, by Bishop Chas. P. McIlvaine The total cost
of lot and building was $2,341.
At a meeting of the vestry, held in the church, Sept.
2d, 1868, the following communication was received from an unknown
source:
To the Vestry of St. Peter's Parish, Gallipolis,
Ohio:
GENTLEMEN:
There now stands in the vestibule of the church, a bell, weighing
632 pounds, with hangings complete, weighing 328 pounds, in the
Sunday School room, from the foundry of the Marruley's, at West
Troy, N. Y., and with the following inscription:
"Presented to St. Peter's Episcopal Church of
Gallipolis, Ohio, July 1st, 1868. In Memoriam.
"Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob." - Isa. 2-3.
The conditions of the donor are as follows: That
the bell is to be rung upon the occasion or celebration of no
military, civil or political successes or defeats; nor upon the
celebration of the 4th of July, or other national holidays, nor as
an alarm fire bell. IN brief, its use is to be confined
exclusively and strictly to religious services, under the auspices
and direction of the rector and wardens of the parish. This
donation, with its conditions, and with all charges paid so far, now
awaits the action of the vestry."
At the same meeting, a motion of G. W. Jackson
that the donation be thankfully received, was carried.
The following persons are the present vestrymen:
A. Vance, senior warden; W. Cherington, junior warden;
W. R. Morgan, secretary; William Cherington,
treasurer; S. A. Nash, E. S. Aleshire, A. L. Langley,
Samuel Roberts.
The following ministers have officiated
in the parish, in the following order, since its organization:
Revs. James B. Goodwin, T. B. Dooley, A. Edwards, G. B. Sturgess,
William Thompson, H. Judd, Mr. Johnson, John Gribble, H. E. Hayden,
D. W. Cox, A. J. Yeater, W. T. Bowen, C. D. Barbour.
At the present writing the parish is
without a rector.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SOCIETY.
By reference to the
preceding history of the settlement of Gallipolis, it will be seen
that the Catholic religion was the first observed. One or more
priests came with the first settlers from France, arriving with them
in October, 1790, and mass was held on every Sunday morning in the
council room within the stockade upon the public square.
There are no early records of this church in existence,
but the statements handed down from that early day are to the effect
that the form of religion was so intimately associated with the
troubles that drove them from "La Belle France, and landed them in
this strange, wild region with such feelings of sorrow, homesickness
and regret, that they nearly all turned from it, neglected the
duties incumbent upon them as good Catholics, and in a manner became
alienated. The result was that the priests soon stood almost
alone in their fealty to their church - "their occupation gone" -
and they met with so little sympathy and support that they were
almost reduced to the point of sympathy and support that they were
almost reduced to the point of starvation and obliged to abandon
their almost reduced to the point of starvation and obliged to
abandon their zealous effort and depart. About the year 1812,
a bishop was sent from Detoit to try to awaken an interest in the
community in the cause, who held services in a log house on the bank
of the river, nearly three squares above the public square,
immediately below the present incline railroad side truck to the
river. He met with little encouragement or success and soon
abandoned the field.
After that time nothing substantial seems to have been
attempted until 1852, when Bishop Purcell came here
and purchased a site on Grape street, between Second and
Third, of Mrs. J. G. Devacht, paying therefor the sum of five
hundred dollars, fifty dollars of which was bestowed upon the church
by Mrs. Devacht as a donation. A neat and pretty divide
was erected on this lot, which they have since occupied. The
contract was taken by James Mullineaux at a cost of about
twelve hundred dollars, which was raised by subscription.
Father Allbrich was the first priest appointed
to the charge, who divided his services between this point and
pomeroy, as did also all but two, who were afterward sent. He
remained for four or five years and was followed by Father Gells
next came Father John Kallenberg, Father Jesseng, Father Loedig,
Father Kramer, Father quirk, Father Dorsey and Father Hartney.
Those who devoted their entire services to this point were Father
John McKernan and Father John Gamber.
Since about the first of January last
no regular services have been held. The society is formed of
sufficient numbers to sustain a flourishing church, but they are not
blessed with sufficient means to enable them to do so, and they have
never been self-sustaining.
BAPTIST CHURCH SOCIETY.
About the
year 1852 the first society of Baptists was organized in the city.
They erected a neat church on Third street, and for a time they grew
and prospered, when, owning to some mismanagement, their building
was sold to the German Lutherans and they ceased to exist as an
organization. Mar. 7th, 1871, a meeting was called at the
German Lutheran church, and though the instrumentality of Revs.
R. W. Davis and B. Cade, of West Virginia, another church
was started, and the latter gentleman was called to the pastorate,
but sufficient interest was not created and it lasted but about six
months. In 1874 they inaugurated weekly prayer-meetings, which
were held alternately at private residences, until 1878, when
arrangements were made and they were continued in the basement of
the Lutheran church. Jan. 3d, 1879, a meeting was held and
through the efforts of a member of zealous members, aided by Rev.
W. L. Gear, secretary of the Baptist State Convention, a new
society was formed, which met in the academy building, where every
two or three weeks the pulpit was occupied by different ministers.
The following October, Rev. W. E. Lyon was called, who
remained pastor for two years, and the membership increased to
thirty-eight.
Feb. 1st, 1882, Rev. Charles Davis became a
pastor, who sitll continues with them. The membership has
increased to over fifty, the interest in the church is increasing,
and the prospects for the future are bright. There is a
prosperous Sabbath school connected with the church, which has an
average attendance of eighty-five. They still continue to hold
their services in the academy building, and receive liberal aid from
the Baptist State Mission society.
UNIVERSALIST
CHURCH.
Universalism was preached
in Gallipolis as early as 1830, by Revs. Mr. Sweet, Waldo,
and others, services being held at the Court House, which then stood
in the Public Square. This was continued until 1850,
when funds were raised by public subscription. Mainly through
the generosity and energy of the late Charles Creuzet, who
also donated a lot for the purpose, a commodious church was erected,
which was dedicated in October, 1860. The friends of the cause
maintained preaching at regular intervals, and numbers were received
into fellowship with the denomination, although no church
organization was in existence.
In April, 1877, Rev. Andrew Wilson, agent for
the State Universalist Convention, visited Gallipolis, and a regular
church organization was effected and officers elected, since which
time the church has grown and prospered. The membership,
although not large, includes some of her best and most cultivated
people of the town and county.
THE AFRICAN M. E.
CHURCH SOCIETY.
of the Ohio Conference, was organized about the year
1822, Henry Bell, William Napper, Thomas Scott, John Gee
and ____ Paxton being the first trustees. Their first
meetings were held in a school house, located upon Pine street,
between Second and Third streets, every four weeks, the services
being conducted by a circuit preacher. Their first regularly
appointed pastor, of whom a record can be obtained, was John
Gibbons, about 1840, who occupied the pulpit two years.
The list of pastors from that date to the present is as follows:
Rev. Coleman, one year; Jeremiah Lewis two years;
Rev. Williams, one year; John Gibbons, three years;
Arthur Howell, two years; Rev. Gellespie, one year;
John Gibbons, three years. For a time, commencing at about
the beginning of the late war, in 1861, they were without a pastor,
and in 1863, Rev. Peters was appointed, who continued with them for
two years; Rev. Mortimer, nine months; Rev. Morgan,
one year; Geo. W. Mason, nine months; Rev. Lee, one
year; Rev. Hurley, one year; one year no pastor; Rev.
Smith, one year; Rev. Cumberland, two years; Rev.
Bell, three years. The present pastor, Rev. J. W.
Barber, has been with them since 1880.
Their first church was built on the opposite side of
the street from the school house on Pine street, first occupied by
them, and completed in 1849. This building was torn down in
1868, and a neat little church edifice erected, under the
supervision of their pastor, Rev. George W. Mason, which they
have since owned and occupied.
The present church membership is about 150.
BAPTIST
CHURCH (COLORED)
This society was organized
in Isaac Lewis' house, a short distance from the city, about
the year 1833, and was called Paint Creek Church, taking its name
from the small stream that empties into the Chickamauga, a short
distance from its mouth. It was instituted by Elder James
B. Stewart
See Page XVII -
< BACK TO TABLE OF
CONTENTS OF HISTORY OF GALLIA COUNTY, OHIO > |