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A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
IN THE
NATIONAL CAPITAL
Drawing of the First Unitarian Church in Washington Charles Bulfmch, Architect
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
IN THE
NATIONAL CAPITAL
1821—1921
BY/
JENNIE W. SCUDDER
ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE WASHINGTON CHAPTER, UNITARIAN LAYMEN'S LEAGUE
THE BEACON PRESS
BOSTON MASS.
1922
Copyright, 1922, BY JENNIE W. SCUDDER
^11 Rights Reserved
FEINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON CHAPTER UNITARIAN LAYMEN'S LEAGUE
OFFICERS
1920-1921
J. C. Robertson, President T. M. Roberts, Vice-President George Livingston, Secretary J. J. LiGHTFOOT, Treasurer
1921-1922
J. E. Jones, President
A. M. Holcombe, Vice-President
Laurence C. Staples, Secretary-Treasurer
1922-1923
A. M. Holcombe, President George A. Ricker, Vice-President Laurence C. Staples, Treasurer Remick S. Ferguson, Secretary
PREFACE
Permission to use in this work any part of the Historical Sketch of the Unitarian Church of Washington, D. C, written in 1909 by me, and copyrighted by the Columbia Historical Society, District of Columbia, was granted May 16, 1921, by Mr. Allen C. Clark, presi- dent of the Historical Society.
In the preparation of the history I have been helped, in the matter of arrangement, by the criticisms and suggestions of Mr. H. Barrett Learned, sometime a member of the Department of History of Stanford Univer- sity. For this help I am very thankful.
Mr. William L. Brown of the Library of Congress gave me the benefit of thoughtful criticism worthy the gratitude I here express.
I have to thank the Rev. F. C. Southworth, President of Meadville Theological School, for information concerning several of the early ministers of the Unitarian church of Wash- ington.
To Harold H. Scudder, Associate Professor [vii]
PREFACE
of English in the New Hampshire State Col- lege, I am gratefully indebted for revision of English and style.
In the publication of the history I have been guided and assisted in the various essentials by Mr. John E. Jones, President (1921) of the Washington Chapter of the Unitarian Lay- men's League. He has spared no pains in aiding the author and in helping her to see the volume through the press.
Other indebtedness I have acknowledged in the course of narration.
Jennie W. Scudder. Washington, May 11, 1922.
[viii]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER TASa
I The First Church Founded .... 1
II Prominent Members 10
III The Struggle for Life 25
IV Ministers of the First Church ... 36 V The Shadow of Slavery 49
VI The Church in the Civil War ... 63
VII Reconstruction Period 72
VIII All Souls Church 78
IX Civic and Denominational Activities . 90
X Heirlooms 105
XI National Adherents 112
XII The New All Souls 122
XIII Ministers of All Souls Church . . .135
Appendix 145
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Architect's Drawing of the First Unitarian
Church Frontispiece
The First Unitarian Church, 1822 9
Excerpt from Report of the Reverend Robert Little 27
The Reverend Rush R. Shippen 43
The Reverend E. Bradford Leavitt 59
All Souls Church, 1877 79
The Reverend Clay MacCauley 91
Facsimile of Title Page of Mr. Little's Hymn
Book 107
Architects' Drawing of All Souls Church and Edward Everett Hale Memorial Parish House,
1922 129
The Reverend Ulysses G. B. Pierce 139
A Century of Unitarianism in the National Capital
CHAPTER I
THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED
On November 11, 1921, the Unitarian Church of Washington, D. C, became one hundred years old. It was organized on No- vember 11, 1821, as the "First Unitarian Church," and retained that designation fifty- six years. This organization was effected by a small congregation, which began to meet in 1820 in a room over some pubhc baths on C Street, between Four and One Half and Sixth Streets N. W., to listen to the preaching of Robert Little. This congregation consisted of some of the most intelligent and cultivated families of the young capital. Several had been drawn to Unitarianism by the preaching of Edward Everett in the hall of the House of Representatives ; some were associated with the government of the new republic, while
[1]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
others were English people who had been Uni- tarians in their native land and friends, there as here, of Dr. Joseph Priestley.
Mr. Little, himself, was one of these. He had experienced the injustice, both social and political, which England then inflicted upon dissenters. To escape this he had come to America and had become, according to some accounts, a merchant in Washington and, ac- cording to others, a clerk in governmental em- ployment. His preaching had attracted some notice in England, especially a sermon deliv- ered in Birmingham entitled The Decline and Fall of Spiritual Babylon, which dealt with the unjust treatment of dissenters.
Knowing these things of him, it was natural that the little company who wished to exercise their privilege of freedom in religious worship should think of him, and thus began the meet- ings on C Street. Opposed to any connection between church and state, they yet wanted a faith that should express the democratic idea in religion as the new government expressed it in politics. This they found in Unitarian- ism. The desire and need for a more positive assertion of the new religious idea grew, and a meeting was called for July 31, 1820, to con- sider the matter. Notice of the calling of the
[2]
THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED
meeting, and of its proceedings, was made in the local papers, which reported that on mo- tion of William Eliot it was
"RESOLVED, That it is expedient that measures be taken for erecting a church upon Unitarian principles in the city of Wash- ington ; and also that a meeting be held August 6th, to concert measures for carrying into ef- fect the above resolution."
Several months passed before a working plan was developed by which to try to attain their common desire. Mr. Little wrote to Jared Sparks, then the Unitarian minister in Baltimore: "I am going on in much weak- ness, fear, and trembling, preaching to our fel- low citizens and others, and the numbers of respectable hearers increase." Some of the congregation thought that Mr. Little ought to withdraw from business so as to give more time to the church-building project. This he did not feel financially able to do, and he doubted the wisdom of such action until the congregation became larger and more zealous. Finally it was decided, as he again wrote to Sparks: "to form a Society on Unitarian principles and to maintain regular worship an- tecedently to the building of a church. Ac- cordingly a subscription has been offered of
[3]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
from ten to twenty dollars each per annum for this purpose, and one or two families have with- drawn from the Presbyterian Church to join us. Last Sunday we had several members of Congress and several fresh faces from the stated residents of our city."
Probably because of this subscription, Mr. Little was able to give more attention to the affair in hand, as he went to New England in May, 1821, to solicit money therefor. In this instance, a task unpleasant by its very nature was made more so by intimation that his com- ing on such an errand would be displeasing to congregations and embarrassing to ministers. Discouraging as the prospect was, he suc- ceeded in a measure and was able to write to Mr. Sparks in October, 1821: "I now enter- tain no doubt of ultimate success, and the sister churches of Baltimore and Washington may hereafter be mutually useful to each other as well as to the Southern States generally. We received three hundred dollars more from Boston a few weeks since and I believe they have a little more in reserve there."
In Providence, R. I., Mr. Little preached three times on one Sunday and was given one hundred dollars toward the building fund. The letter already quoted expresse4 his satis-
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[le preached jjffivenone ling fund, ■d bis satis-
THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED
faction at the increase of numbers in atten- dance at the meetings, and the "distinguished respectabihty" of the individuals. It enu- merated the difficulties under which he had labored in the way of personal matters — his change of employment and lack of books — and expressed his gratitude at having been able to accomplish so much in spite of all.
On November 11, 1821, the first step was taken toward the goal when the congregation organized as a church, adopted a constitution and made Mr. Little minister. The number of members is variously given, the maximum being twenty-seven. All accounts include the names of John Quincy Adams, John C. Cal- houn, William Winston Seaton, Joseph Gales, Sr., and Joseph Gales, Jr., William G. Eliot, Charles Bulfinch, John F. Webb, C. S. Fowler and Judge William Cranch, all now well known in denominational, local and na- tional history.
The church records give also the names of Moses Poor, D. F. May, N. P. Poor, Noah Fletcher, Richard Wallach, Robert Little, Seth Hyatt, C. Andrews, S. Robinson, Pishey Thompson, Thomas Bates, A. B. Waller, Thomas C. Wright, M. Claxton, S. Franklin, William Cooper and P. ^lauro.
[5]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
from ten to twenty dollars each per annum for this purpose, and one or two families have with- drawn from the Presbyterian Church to join us. Last Sunday we had several members of Congress and several fresh faces from the stated residents of our city."
Probably because of this subscription, Mr. Little was able to give more attention to the affair in hand, as he went to New England in May, 1821, to solicit money therefor. In this instance, a task unpleasant by its very nature was made more so by intimation that his com- ing on such an errand would be displeasing to congregations and embarrassing to ministers. Discouraging as the prospect was, he suc- ceeded in a measure and was able to write to Mr. Sparks in October, 1821: "I now enter- tain no doubt of ultimate success, and the sister churches of Baltimore and Washington may hereafter be mutually useful to each other as well as to the Southern States generally. We received three hundred dollars more from Boston a few weeks since and I believe they have a little more in reserve there."
In Providence, R. I., Mr. Little preached three times on one Sunday and was given one hundred dollars toward the building fund. The letter already quoted expressed his satis-
[41
THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED
faction at the increase of numbers in atten- dance at the meetings, and the "distinguished respectabihty" of the individuals. It enu- merated the difficulties under which he had labored in the way of personal matters — his change of employment and lack of books — and expressed his gratitude at having been able to accomplish so much in spite of all.
On November 11, 1821, the first step was taken toward the goal when the congregation organized as a church, adopted a constitution and made Mr. Little minister. The number of members is variously given, the maximum being twenty-seven. All accounts include the names of John Quincy Adams, John C. Cal- houn, William Winston Seaton, Joseph Gales, Sr., and Joseph Gales, Jr., William G. Ehot, Charles Bulfinch, John F. Webb, C. S. Fowler and Judge William Cranch, all now well known in denominational, local and na- tional history.
The church records give also the names of JNIoses Poor, D. F. May, N. P. Poor, Noah Fletcher, Richard Wallach, Robert Little, Seth Hyatt, C. Andrews, S. Robinson, Pishey Thompson, Thomas Bates, A. B. Waller, Thomas C. Wright, M. Claxton, S. Franklin, William Cooper and P. Mauro.
[5]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
The church was not established without some excitement in orthodox circles which found expression in magazine and newspaper articles. These were answered and the cause defended by Jared Sparks. Lately ordained by Channing, in Baltimore, whose sermon on the occasion of May 5, 1819, had cleared the the- ological atmosphere and made plain the schism in the Congregational body, Sparks was a fit- ting herald of Unitarianism in the South. With the enthusiasm of youth but the judgment of maturity, he asserted its principles with vigor and defended them with ability. The magazine. Unitarian Miscel- lany, which he edited, supplemented his pulpit. In it he often had an explanatory or an en- couraging or a complimentary word for the struggling Unitarian congregation and its minister in the neighboring city. When finan- cial help was asked for the new venture. Sparks preached a suitable sermon from the text, Isaiah xli. 6: "They helped every one his brother and every one said to his brother 'Be of good cheer,' " with the result of a collec- tion of one hundred and fifty-one dollars and eighty-one cents.
After coming to Washington as Chaplain of the House of Representatives, in 1821, Mr.
[6]
THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED
Sparks, during an illness of Mr. Little, preached every other Sunday to the congre- gation in the "upper room." His kindness to ^Ir. Little was the beautiful tribute of youth to age, for Mr. Little was no longer young. It later appeared that Sparks more clearly than any one else outside Washington realized the need and the possible value to denomin- ation and to country of a Unitarian church at the seat of government.
On June 9, 1822, a church building for use by the new society was dedicated. On this oc- casion, the sermon by Mr. Little ended thus: "These walls I trust will bear witness that our lives have not been altogether useless to man- kind. Some, I hope, may be better and wiser for our exertions in the cause of truth. If not in an obvious and direct manner, yet in some effectual way, may we have served our generation, and promoted the knowledge, the service and the will of the one true God." Of this event Mrs. Seaton wrote to her father, Joseph Gales, Sr. : "The Unitarian Church has been dedicated with all the solemnity and simplicity characterizing the profession of its members. Mr. Little's discourse was irresis- tibly forcible and pathetic, his impressive man- ner adding to its exceeding interest. There
[7]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
were upwards of four hundred persons pres- ent."
The building stood on the corner of Sixth and D Streets, then considered a convenient and suitable location. It was designed by the famous architect, Charles Bulfinch, and marked, at the time of its completion, a de- cided advance in architectural excellence in this city. It served its purpose as a Unitarian church for fifty-five years. The original Bul- finch drawings of the First Church are in the possession of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A picture of the church has lately been supplied to that institution.
An item in the Washington News of Au- gust 10, 1850, referred to the Unitarian Church, then twenty-eight years old and un- dergoing repairs, as follows:
"They are giving this edifice a new dress. The old was full of rents and patches. We think there is no better site for a church in the city than this; nor indeed is there a prettier church. Its architecture is so simple, its di- mensions not large and yet we always like to see it. So calmly it stands there on its bright elevation looking over a great part of the city and then surrounded by the old sentinel pop- lars— we love it dearly. Part of this love may
[8]
THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED
be due to the recollection of our boyhood when the Unitarian Church was indeed an important edifice, for we had but two or three other places of worship in those days, and that bell used to tell the service hour to all in the neighborhood, being the only bell within a mile or so. The stuccoing of the walls and pillars wanted re- pair badly and so did the steeple. This is now being done by our townsman, Mr. C. Gill. The building is very conspicuous and will, when restored, be a pleasant and picturesque object."
[9]
CHAPTER II
PROMINENT MEMBERS
The First Church was distinctive in that it was from the beginning Unitarian and not an orthodox society hberalized. It ranks among the earhest churches with this distinction; those of Baltimore, Maryland, and Charleston, South Carolina, having been founded in 1817, while the first Unitarian church in New York City was dedicated only six months before that of Washington. To Philadelphia belongs the honor of having built and dedicated the first church in America for Unitarian wor- ship. Among the workers toward that end was Joseph Gales, Sr., whose name is found among the original members of the First Church of Washington.
Mr. Gales had been obliged to leave Eng- land because of his liberal political ideas, sac- rificing thereby his well established business of publisher, bookseller and editor of the Shef- field Register in the city of that name. His
[10]
PROMINENT MEMBERS
religious ideas were no less liberal and unpop- ular.
Possessed of a discretion which might have averted such a crisis, Mr. Gales became the victim of the indiscretion of an employe who wrote seditious letters from his publishing house. JNIoreover the attention of the govern- ment became fixed upon the establishment be- cause of its suspicion that Thomas Paine's works were published and sold there. This suspicion was not groundless. Fortunately for Mr. Gales, the King's Messengers called to investigate while he was away from home, with no worse result than the suggestion to ISIrs. Gales, who had received them with great tact, that it would be well if her husband were to remain away until the times were more set- tled. This leniency was avowedly shown be- cause of the high opinion in which even his po- litical enemies held Mr. Gales. Seeing the ruin of his business and probable imprison- ment in the near future if he returned to Shef- field, he left England for Germany, where he awaited the arrival of his family and whence they sailed for Philadelphia in 1795. In that city he was met by Dr. Priestley, his personal friend and fellow exile, and later they worked
[11]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
together in bringing Unitarianism before the pubhe. Congress was then in session there and, as Mr. Gales had found employment in a newspaper office, he was asked to make a re- port of a day's proceedings of that body. This he was able to do verbatim by means of stenography, greatly to the surprise of his employer and of members of Congress. This event was the beginning of a successful career in America. He bought a newspaper in Philadelphia, but later disposed of it and went, at the solicitation of members from North Carolina, to Raleigh in that state. There he established the Raleigh Register, be- came printer for the state, and trained in journalism the two men who were to become moulders of public opinion in the capital of the new nation — Joseph Gales, Jr., and Wil- liam Winston Seaton.
The elder Gales, in his last years retiring from business one of the most honored citizens of his state, came to Washington and was in- terested in the management of the African Colonization Society. He died in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was born in Eckington, England.
While his father is counted as a member of the First Church of Washington, Joseph [12]
PROMINENT MEMBERS
Gales, Jr., was more closely identified with that organization. He was the worthy son of a noble father, whose principles and ex- ample he made his own with the result of a life equally rich in "true things truly done." He came to Washington as assistant to the editor and proprietor of the paper which later became his own, and began daily reporting of Congi-essional debates, which was a feature of the paper for many years. Such was the vigor and inspiration which he gave to the pa- per that within two years he was a partner in its management, and in another j^ear its sole editor and owner.
The cumbrous title of National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser was curtailed, be- coming the National Intelligencer. From the first, INIr. Gales asserted his purpose of main- taining and preserving inviolate the independ- ence of the paper and the right of following the unbiased convictions of his own judgment.
With him was soon associated his brother- in-law, William Winston Seaton, who, no more nor less firmly based upon right princi- ples than Gales, was perhaps more brilliant in word and deed and more of a politician. This association was closer than that of most broth- ers. They had "no bickerings, no misunder- [13J
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
standings nor differences of view that a con- sultation did not at once reconcile; they knew no division of interests ; from a common coffer each drew what he chose."
Mr. Seaton was a Virginian of Scotch de- scent. He was educated by tutors, and in the^ schools of Richmond, especially at the cele- brated Ogilvie Academy there. After editor- ial experience in several southern towns, he had gone to Raleigh to take a place on the Register and there began his relation to the Gales family when he married Sarah Gales. He became a Unitarian, though he always re- tained a love of the forms of the Episcopal service, and with his wife was a member of the First Church in Washington. JNIr. Seaton was for twelve successive years Mayor of Washing- ton. He was the intimate friend of Daniel Webster and knew well most of the celebrated men of his time. He was not only the friend of those in high position, but of the poor and unfortunate as well.
The opinion in which contemporaries held Messrs. Gales and Seaton is shown in an ar- ticle in the Atlantic Monthly of December, 1860, shortly before death severed their part- nership. It says of the paper which was their mouthpiece: "There has in all our times [14]
PROMINENT MEMBERS
shone no such continual hght on pubhc affairs; there has stood no such sure defense of what- ever was needful to be upheld; tempering the heats of both sides, renationalizing all spirit of section; combating our propensity to lawless- ness at home and aggression abroad ; spreading constantly on each question of the day a mass of sound information the venerable editors have been all the while a power of safety in the land, no matter who were the rulers."
Of these great citizens of the District of Columbia, there remains there today no sug- gestion except in the name of "Eckington" given to a suburb grown up about the Gales estate and in the designation of two school buildings and that of two minor streets.
That the association of these high-minded men with the cause of liberal religion in its early days in the National Capital may be a little better known to local and national Uni- tarians, is one reason for its extended mention. Joseph Gales, Sr., is represented today by de- scendants in All Souls Church.
As given in the list of original members of the First Church, the names of John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun speak for them- selves as to character and social position, both at that time officials in the cabinet of Presi- [15]
A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM
dent Monroe. Mr. Calhoun is said to have remarked, when making his contribution to- ward the building of the First Church, that "Unitarianism is the true faith and must ultimately prevail over the world."
One of the most illustrious names on the register of the First Unitarian Church is that of Judge William Cranch. He had come to Washington a young lawyer in 1794 before the city could furnish homes for all who wanted them. Therefore he made Alexandria, then a part of the District of Columbia, his dwell- ing place for several years. He was fifty- two years old when the church was organized. He did not come into it through conversion but through inheritance. He was simply making public profession of the faith which had thus far inspired his well ordered life and with him antedated Channing and his famous pronunciamento.
Judge Cranch was a relative and had been a playmate of John Quincy Adams. To- gether they had heard the Declaration of Inde- pendence read in Boston by Sheriff William Greenleaf, interrupting their boyish play for that purpose. To Adams came the brilhant career of diplomat, cabinet officer and Presi- dent of the United States; to Cranch the se- [16]
PROMINENT MEMBERS
date practice of the law, culminating in 1805 in his appointment by President Jefferson as Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of the Dis- trict of Columbia. It was an interesting coin- cidence in his life that when twenty-six years old he should marry the daughter of Sheriff Greenleaf, the man whom he had heard read the Declaration of Independence, and when thirty-six should be made Judge by the author of that Declaration.
Judge Cranch suffers not at all in compar- ison with the notable men who were associated with him in the new religious enterprise of 1821. It has been said of him that nature must have intended him for a judge, so per- fectly had she endowed him for that calling. He had great love of order and of clearness; he delighted in straightening out puzzling con- ditions. His perception in matters of the law was keen and certain. He was by nature serious. Pie read the English classics and was fond of poetry. He was a hard worker and gave ten hours a day for sixty years to the requirements of his position. His recreations were walking, playing chess and music. He delighted in nature and in sculpture and paint- ing. It is significant that three of his sons were artists and all were men of fine tastes. [17]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
His clear mind no doubt helped solve many of the problems that continually puzzled the First Church, and perhaps sometimes antici- pated its proper course. It is known that he wrote Dr. Channing of the financial condition of the church after Mr. Little's death, and it was he who arranged for a fitting funeral ser- mon in Washington in memory of the first minister. His love of sacred music led him to take an active part in the musical service of the church for many years. It is related that on one occasion when the organist failed to at- tend the service. Judge Cranch — then with flowing white hair — rose from his pew, went into the choir and played all the music. At the organization of the American Unitarian Association in 1825, Judge Cranch was made a Vice-President, and he was one of the board of trustees of the first public school in the Dis- trict of Columbia.
William G. Eliot was a merchant and ship- owner of New Bedford, Mass., whom the em- bargo previous to the war of 1812 forced out of business into a government position in Washington. Here for thirty-five years he was chief examiner in the auditing office of the Post Office Department. He resigned that office in 1853 and died in Washington the
[18]
pro:mixent members
next year. He was a man of culture and re- finement and at some sacrifice gave to his children the best education attainable. To this end, he bought a certificate of scholarship in Columbian College for which he paid $134.16. This certificate entitled its owner to twenty years' school tuition. Columbian College has developed into the George Wash- ington Universit}^ but the change in name is not more marked probably than that in its schedule of prices.
Of Mr. Eliot's part in the hfe of the First Church, the records have this to say at the time when he thought best to resign the position in its management which he had held for many years. Just what that position was, is not stated.
"His colleagues desire in his absence to ex- press their deepest thankfulness and gratitude on their own part and that of the church for the untiring interest, the most open-hearted liberality which he has always manifested; and to express their sincere conviction that the prosperity of the church has been greatly in- debted to him not only for the wise counsels he has given, the energy he has inspired, the cheerfulness he has imparted in its darkest hours, but more especially for the pure and unswerving rectitude of his private life."
[19]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
Mr. Eliot is of interest to all Unitarians as the father of William G. Eliot, Jr. This son, though born in New England, lived in Wash- ington from his eleventh to his twenty-first year and was one of the youthful members of the congregation of the First Church. He graduated from Columbian College in 1830, and after a year as government employe went to the Harvard Divinity School for three years. He was ordained as an Evangelist and went to St. Louis as a pioneer preacher, there to enter upon a career which brought him en- during local and national fame. Mr. Eliot, during the Civil War, was the organizer and active supporter of the Western Sanitary Commission, was founder of Washington Uni- versity in St. Louis, and deserves more than any one else to be called the father of the pub- lic school system of Missouri.
Charles Bulfinch came to Washington as architect of the Capitol in 1818, two years be- fore the little band of liberals began their Sun- day meetings in the "long room" over the public baths. At that time several families of Unitarians attended St. John's Church, to whose building some of them had contributed. There the Bulfinches went for a while and of their first Sunday Mr. Bulfinch wrote: [20]
PROMINENT MEMBERS
*'We have attended once at the new church near the President's house, a very beautiful building. This church is frequented by the genteelest society of the place. It is furnished with an organ, the only one here, but the preacher is so violent in expressing his condem- nation of all of different tenets from his own that our townsman, John JNIason, Esq., re- quested one of the Wardens to endeavor to control his zeal or at least the harshness of his expressions."
Later, when Mr. and Mrs. Bulfinch had be- come known in the community and were still attendants at that church, the rector made Unitarians the special object of his attack, much to the dismay of some of the communi- cants who expected, as they said, to see the Bulfinches leave the church. His animosity toward Unitarians did not prevent this doughty theologian from consulting Bulfinch in regard to plans for enlarging St. John's.
Soon after coming to Washington Mr. Bul- finch, in a letter to a Boston friend, mentioned under the head of the inconveniences of life in Washington that there were "a number of places of public worship of various denomin- ations, but all agreeing in circulating the most trinitarian and Calvinistic opinions." It was quite natural that he should desire a more con- [21]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
genial religious environment and he was soon actively interested in the organization of a Uni- tarian Society and the building of a church. That Bulfinch drev7 the plans of the First Church is well known, but his part in rousing public opinion in its favor in the north is not so well known. This active interest is shown in a letter to his brother-in-law, Joseph Cool- idge, wherein he said:
"I have lately written to P. O. Thacher chiefly on the subject of a church commencing here on liberal principles. We look for as- sistance from your quarter and shall soon make our appeal to Boston generosity and have no fear that it will be in vain."
It is pleasing to know that Mr. Coolidge re- sponded as desired. In January, 1820, he wrote again :
"Last evening the committee on the new church met and requested me to write to Boston for advice as to the best methods of ob- taining assistance. I shall address a letter in a few days to Rev. F. Parkman on the subject. He knows our circumstances here better than any other of our clergy."
In the Life and Letters of Charles Bulfinch there are given no details of the building of [22]
PROMINENT MEMBERS
the church under his guidance, but that the welfare of the Society was always of impor- tance to hini is shown. Mrs. Bulfinch, in writ- ing to her son Stephen, then at the Harvard Divinity School, gave this intimate picture:
*'Dec. 16, 1827. We have witnessed today the first baptismal ceremony ever performed in our church. Mrs. Poor with her two chil- dren and her daughter, Mrs. Webb, with two infants came forward to the table and a short ceremony and prayer followed."
Miss Charlotte EHzabeth Webb, who died in Washington in 1921, aged ninety-four years, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Webb, was doubtless one of the children here men- tioned. The ceremony was performed by Mr. Mott, who supplied the pulpit for a time after Mr. Little's death.
In a letter to another son, just before their removal from Washington to Boston in 1829, Mrs. Bulfinch wrote:
"The church is one of those concerns we wish to leave settled and prosperous whenever we take our departure."
They left Washington in 1829, to return in 1838 to spend two years with their youngest [23]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIAN ISM
son, Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, who was then minister of the church in which they had been so interested.
[24]
CHAPTER III
THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
Mr. Little's pastorate lasted about six years. He died at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, whither he had gone for a visit and where he was bur- ied, in 1827. Mr. Little had a reputation for eloquence which attracted many outside the congregation, even those of high degree. Mrs. Seaton in a letter to her parents in 1824, said:
"Lafaj^ette goes with us next Sunday to the Unitarian Church, being desirous of hearing Mr. Little of whose fervid eloquence he has heard so much."
He was several times asked by the Speaker of the House to preach in the hall of the House of Representatives. On one of these occasions he spoke on "Religious Liberty and Unita- rianism Vindicated," and at another time on "The Duty of Public Usefulness." A copy of this latter sermon may be read at the Li- brary of Congress, and the former may be [25]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
found in the library of All Souls Church. He was not averse to the discussion of current top- ics in his pulpit, and once delivered a sermon which was spoken of thirty-eight years after- ward, by Mr. Seaton, as "a grand sermon, de- picting with prophetic force the evils of Gen- eral Jackson's election." He evidently had a diversity of gifts, being devoted to literature and natural science. He was editor during its brief existence of the Washington Quarterly Magazine, which was devoted apparently to whatever promoted the agricultural, commer- cial and manufacturing interests of the coun- try. It was earnest in advocating the cutting of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and it an- nounced in each number the issue of patents for the preceding quarter. In it were also pub- lished monthly meteorological records made by its editor. Mr. Little is said to have been instrumental in the creation of the Botanical Garden. He made a collection of hymns for the use of his congregation, which was printed by William Cooper, a member of that body. Jared Sparks noticed this col- lection in his magazine, saying that it was made with good taste. A letter by Mrs. Sea- ton describes him as "patriarchal in appear- ance, mild and truthful yet so energetic in [26]
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■f^ ^
THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
his appeals to the reason and the heart, that the most indifferent auditor finds himself imperceptibly engaged in self-examination." Mr. Little had hesitated to take the leadership in the church enterprise for various reasons. In his report to the church at its annual meet- ing in 1823 he said: "I have never pretended to those talents either natural or acquired which the distinguished situation of your min- ister renders desirable. But all that I have has been, and will be, cheerfully devoted to this service so long as my ability and your appro- bation coincide." At his death, very kindly things were said of him by people of other re- ligious denominations who seemed to value him for his sincerity of life. A funeral sermon for Mr. Little was preached in the First Church August 12, 1827, by the Rev. Fred- eric Farley, who was temporarily occupying the pulpit in Baltimore.
For the remainder of the year 1827 and until some time in 1828 the pulpit was supplied by ministers from the north, several of whom were asked as candidates for the pastorate. The choice of a new minister was a matter of inter- est not without difficulty. In a letter to a northern friend, written from Washington in 1827, Associate Justice Joseph Story of the [27]
A CENTURY OF UNITAMANISM
Supreme Court of the United States said;
"There is no spot in the Union where a very able Unitarian minister is more wanted than here. I think such a man would soon gather an excellent congregation. But the position requires tact as well as talent and elevated and fervid piety. It is of very great con- sequence to bring such a man here with a view to large operations, and our Cambridge friends ought to consider that it is not suffi- cient to fill the office but to fill it so well as to command reverence and attract the busy and the gay; the contemplative and the learned. I repeat it, a young man of suitable ambition and talents ought not to desire a fairer or a freer field."
This was apropos of a sermon by a supply, or possible candidate. It may have occurred to Justice Story also because of another sermon, by an unknown preacher, of which he wrote to the same friend:
"His manner of treating the subject — Rea- son and Revelation — was striking and stirring and somewhat startling to timid minds, and though he dealt with powerful truths, the man- ner, to weak brethren, would seem somewhat uncompromising and harsh. I was mj^self much pleased, though a little more suavity would have made it more generally engag- ing."
[28]
THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
The Society was small, poor and in debt and remained so for many years. Then as now there was a transient population in the Capital which might help fill a church but not its treas- ury. Many members were dependent upon the administration for their positions and were li- able to be thrown out of them when a political change should occur. It is gratifying to re- cord that, fifty years later, the correction of this evil by Civil Service Reform was largely due to the efforts of a member of All Souls Church, Dorman B. Eaton. Though poor in purse, the people were rich in ideals and sought a minister equally endowed. The Rev. John Pierpont bluntly stated the situation when he replied to a correspondent here:
"There is difficulty in meeting your wishes . . . for the simple reason that the gentle- man who would fill your pulpit as you wish, and as it ought to be filled, is not to be had. Your beau-ideal exists only in idea."
^Massachusetts was the source of supply and, in the light of the after careers of many whom she sent here, would seem to have done very well by the poor but ambitious church.
Perhaps one cause of the church's slow [29]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
growth was its geographical location. The place was not suited to the social ideas which were the mainspring of Unitarianism. The- ologically Unitarianism attracted many by its common-sense explanation or setting aside of long accepted dogmas, but when it insisted on doing as one would be done by, and on loving one's neighbor as one's self, the matter was dif- ficult by either precept or example in the midst of slavery. Candidates came, took in the sit- uation, thought it an impossible one, and went away. Edward Everett Hale has said of his impression in 1844<:
"I knew perfectly well that there was to be a gulf of 'fire between the North and the South before things went much further and I really distrusted my own capacity at the age of twenty-three to build a bridge which should take us over."
Mr. Little had been obliged to eke out his salary by clerical work for the government. In this he was not alone, as Charles Bulfinch, writing to his wife, said :
"No parish is large enough to give a living
to or tempt any man of superior talents to fix
with: indeed they are all obliged to follow
some other calling to enable them to gain a
[30]
THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
support. Most of them keep private schools, but several are writers in the public offices during the week."
Some years later, when Mr. Bulfinch's son, Stephen, was minister of the Unitarian parish, this obligation still existed, and the Committee of ^lanagement applied to the War Depart- ment for some position which would add to the income of the j'oung pastor. After enumer- ating the qualities he possessed that would make him an efficient clerk, they said that be- cause he spoke ex tempore he would be able to give the requisite time to clerical duties with- out inconvenience to himself. John Quincy Adams mentions with some show of annoy- ance the fact of Mr. Little's having asked his help in securing more pay from the govern- ment. Later, when the Rev. Mr. Palfrey asked his influence in obtaining the position of assistant doorkeeper of the House of Repre- sentatives for one of his parishioners, he re- plied that the applicant should have the influ- ence but that he had disqualifications for the place which would defeat him, viz. : that he was a Yankee and a Unitarian.
It is greatly to the credit of both ministers and laity that they persisted in spite of pov- erty and unpopularity, in keeping alive the [31]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
flickering flame on the altar of their faith. In 1829, when the church felt obliged to ask help from the denomination in order to pre- vent the loss of their building, even Dr. Chan- ning wrote Judge Cranch a very discouraging letter in which, after enumerating reasons why- it would be difficult to raise money for the pur- pose, he said:
"I found, too, what I confess surprised me, that the importance of Washington as a reli- gious station, though generally acknowledged, was not felt by some very judicious persons."
This was in reference to that part of the pe- tition sent Dr. Channing, which stated:
"We wish to exhibit here in the centre of the Union, at the seat of the National Govern- ment, not only the simple doctrines of pure Christianity but an example of religious re- publicanism, a model of an independent church, unfettered by human creeds and un- awed by the mandates of Popes and Bishops, Presbyters and Councils, Synods and Sessions, and all the contrivances by which spiritual pride seeks to control the consciences of men — manfully to assert that liberty with which Christ has made us free."
In that spirit they went bravely on in their [32]
THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
efforts to save the church in spite of discour- agement from the High Priest of their faith. Of their struggles then and later Mr. Francis Ormond French said, when presenting a win- dow to All Souls in memory of his mother, Elizabeth Richardson French:
"The period was one of feebleness for the society. It was misunderstood and misrepre- sented in the community and at times politi- cal dissensions threatened its existence. But the families of Seaton, both Taylors, Purdy, Brown, Adams, Webb, the venerable John Quincy Adams, Judge Cranch and Mr. Fill- more during his presidency, stood together in the old church edifice as in a strong fortress."
Adverse conditions did not change for many years and the records of the First Church are pathetic reading. Danger that 'its building might be sold was probably averted by renewal of the mortgage on it. This relief was tem- porary and in a few years another appeal was necessary. In 1823 the trustees said, after ex- plaining the financial difficulties of the church : "Under these circumstances, the proprietors of the church feel themselves compelled to ap- peal to the sympathy and enlightened charity of those Christians out of their immediate neighborhood who take an interest in the prog-
[33]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
ress of rational religion, and especially of those views of Christianity which the wisest and best men in the community have regarded as most salutary to society, most sustaining to human hope, and most honorable to the gov- ernment and character of God. The pro- prietors of this church are persuaded that gentlemen in this vicinity will feel, that the cir- cumstances of their case are peculiarly inter- esting. They can not reproach themselves with extravagance, or with having made any other than the best possible use of their means. They are willing to ask those gentlemen who have visited Washington and seen their church, whether, at the same expense, more has been done in any part of the country. They con- sider, too, that it is not only important to them as a rehgious society, that they should be able to worship God together in spirit and in peace; but it is also of importance to the general in- terests of rational Christianity that at the seat of the National Government, there should be a place where Unitarians, from different sections of the country, may meet in social worship; and where the most eminent men in the nation may have an opportunity of hearing the reli- gion of the New Testament represented as something that shall command their respect,
[34]
THE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
and lead them back, from the skepticism into which the finest minds are too often driven by- irrational views of religion, to the hopes and the peace which flow from enlightened faith. They ask reluctantly but earnestly. They ask of those whose liberal hearts are not unused to the devising of liberal things, and who do what their hearts devise, with a deep convic- tion that God is not unrighteous to forget the offices of benevolence which they shall have shewed in his name." This was a circular let- ter to be distributed or presented in the north by Mr. Philip INIauro.
In 1835 the same danger moved the trus- tees to ask the church members and the people of Washington for help. This troublesome spectre of debt was not banished until the time of the reorganization of the Society and the new start in 1877.
[35]
CHAPTER IV
MINISTERS OF THE FIRST CHURCH
From 1821 to 1921, the Unitarian pulpit has been occupied for longer or shorter periods by nineteen ministers. Not all were settled as pastors, but all contributed toward the estab- lisliment in the National Capital of the "sweet reasonableness" of a liberal faith.
The first successor to Mr. Little who served long enough continuously to be designated as a pastor was Andrew Bigelow. His stay was of one year's duration, from some date in 1828 to 1829. He was a young man just entering upon the profession which later he signally honored. After leaving Washington, Mr. Bigelow was for some years minister at Taun- ton, Massachusetts. In 1845 he began the work as minister at large among the poor in Boston, which ennobled his life. There for thirty-two years he served those in his charge as friend and adviser in temporal needs and as instructor in moral and spiritual matters. [36]
MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH
There he was entitled to be called a pastor. He died in 1877.
The short ministry of Andrew Bigelow was followed by that of Cazneau Palfrey, which lasted nearly six years. Very little can be learned from the church records in regard to the period from 1830 to 183G. It is known that at ]\Ir. Palfrey's ordination in Washing- ton, the officiating clergymen were Dr. Bur- nap of Baltimore, the Rev. Francis Parkman of Boston, and the Rev. Hersey B. Goodwin of Concord, Massachusetts. For this occa- sion Stephen G. Bulfinch wrote a hymn, which dealt especially with Mr. Little's death and Mr. Palfrey's coming to take the place thus made vacant. It is interesting because of the fact that its author grew up in iNIr. Little's church and was destined to be INIr. Palfrey's successor in the same church. The records of the Harvard Divinit}' School show that after leaving Washington Mr. Palfrey was minister at Grafton and Barnstable, Massachusetts, until 1847, and at Belfast, Maine, for twenty- three years from 1848 to 1871. He died at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1888. Among the church papers is a little slip, brown with age, on which is written a resolution offered by Joseph Gales, Jr., and adopted by the Com-
[37]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
mittee of Management, December 10, 1834. It reads: "Resolved, that in order to keep up a spirit of inquiry on the subject of Reli- gion, the Rev. Mr. Palfrey, our much esteemed pastor, be requested to deliver on Sunday eve- nings during the present session of Congress, a popular Discourse on some leading doctrine of the Unitarian System and cause the same to be announced in the City Papers on the pre- ceding Saturday, and that the Pews of the Church will be open as heretofore to all who desire to attend."
Mr. Conway, in his sermon "The Old and the New" delivered December 31, 1854, said of Mr. Palfrey : "His ministry was attended with success. He presented in a series of Lec- tures the reasons which his congregation had for separation from other churches, in a forc- ible manner. In the year named (1836) he left for private reasons, to the sorrow of the church and himself."
The interim of seven months between Mr. Palfrey and Stephen G. Bulfinch was filled by the Rev. Frederic A. Farley. Like several other pastorates, as given in Dr. Shippen's calendar, its length hardly justifies such des- ignation. But it shows, as do the others, that it was the intention of the church and the de- [38]
MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH
nomination to bring to the Capital, even for short stays only, men of marked mental cali- ber and merit.
Mr. Farley had prepared himself for the practice of the law, which he relinquished to enter the Harvard Divinity School in prepar- ation for the ministry. His first important settlement was at Providence, Rhode Island. Afterward he was for some j^ears in Brooklyn, New York. It was he who came to Washing- ton at Judge Cranch's request to preach a fu- neral sermon for Robert Little, the first minis- ter.
The name of Bulfinch occurs not only in the history of the laity of the church, but in that of the ministry as well. Stephen G. Bulfinch, tenth and youngest son of the celebrated ar- chitect, was the fourth settled minister of the First Church. He succeeded the Rev. Caz- neau Palfrey in 1838, and retained the pulpit until 1844. His boyhood was spent in Wash- ington, from his ninth year, where he gradu- ated from Columbian College in 1827. After three years at the Harvard Divinity School, he was ordained as an Evangehst and went to Augusta, Georgia, there to enter upon an Evangelist's duties. He edited there for a year or more a quarterly called The Unitar- [39]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
ian Christian. He came as minister to Wash- ington from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The records of his pastorate in Washington are very meager. Several of the sermons he preached here may be found in the Library of Congress as also copies of his poems and other writings. He was an earnest student, and a writer of hymns and books for use of Sunday Schools. Some of his hymns are still in use. He substituted for Dr. George R. Noyes, pro- fessor of Greek and Latin in the Harvard Di- vinity School, during an illness of Dr. Noyes. One of his sermons, published by request by Gales and Seaton, was suggested by Weare's picture in the Capitol of the "Embarkation of the Pilgrims." It has a more modern tone than much of the writing of the time and is very readable. In it he spoke of the Pilgrims as the "trebty refined gold of the English dis- senting body," and foreshadowing national events he said "God gi-ant that without civil dissension or individual injustice the cause of freedom may yet have entire and triumphant success in our land." Mr. Bulfinch was very hospitable to other sects and welcomed the Lutherans when they established their church at the Capital. He was opposed to persecu- tion of any sect, and was long gratefully re- [40]
MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH
membered by some Catholics in Washington because of his attitude at a time when the tide of religious and political feeling set strongly against them.
Here Edward Everett Hale, in October, 184'!, began the career which took him into na- tional and universal rank as preacher, au- thor and philanthropist. The letter in which he gave his reasons for declining the position offered him by the First Church is interesting as an evidence that in a literary sense the boy was father to the man, and as an hitherto un- published document by a famous author. It was addressed to the Standing Committee of the Unitarian Society, Washington. It was dated, Washington, Saturday, Nov. 23, 1844, and said:
"Gentlemen: Since our conversation of IMonday evening I have given the most care- ful consideration to the invitation you extended to me in behalf of the Unitarian Society.
"On full reflection I can not feel that I ought to undertake the duties of your minister. For it is but a short time since I entered on the labors of my profession. I have therefore neither such professional resources nor exper- ience as would justify me in proposing to my- self the responsible duties of an isolated posi-
[41]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
tion of such importance, which would separate me so far from all my early associations. I say this in full recollection of the thoughtful consideration of the Society, for I am very grateful to all its members for the kind atten- tion with which they have received my efforts in its service; and for the cordial hospitality which has made my residence in Washington so agreeable to me.
"I shall be glad to supply the pulpit as at present until the first of February or perhaps the first of March, unless at any tipie the Com- mittee should prefer some other arrangement.
"With great respect, Gentlemen, "I am Truly Yours,
"Edward E. Hale."
From this pulpit also spoke Samuel Long- fellow, for a s^hort time only, but long enough to deliver his soul of its burden on the subject of slavery. When he came to Washington for the month of April in 1847, Mr. Long- fellow had just finished his preparation for the ministry and had not yet settled with any church. He was probably a candidate for the pulpit of the First Church. This may be in- ferred from his writing to his friend, Samuel Johnson, that he thought they would never set- tle any man who was an abolitionist. The let- ter was written soon after Mr. Longfellow had said his word to the church as to slavery. He [42]
The Reverend Rush R. Shippen (1881-1895)
MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH
had hoped to be able to get through the month with no very positive expression of opinion in regard to that institution, but the final Sunday found him convinced that he must not leave it unmentioned. He had discovered in the church a degree of indifference toward the great evil which he thought merited reproof, and this he determined to give. He said after- ward that he did this, mildly but plainly; that "they took it beautifully, no one went out, and some came to say good-bye." Through the long years since that Sunday, darkened by fu- rious agitations and political actions, which culminated in war, this earnest effort of a young preacher shines with the light of a "good deed in a naughty world." Samuel Long- fellow became one of the denomination's best known ministers. He held long pastorates in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. He was one of America's best hymn writers, a man of fine soul and beautiful life.
Here at different periods preached Orville Dewey to large congregations who listened to his eloquent presentation of a practical rather than a dogmatic Christianity. Of Dr. Dewey, his intimate friend, Dr. Henry W. Bellows, said : "Dewey is undoubtedly the founder and most conspicuous example of what is best in
[431
MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH
the modern school of preaching. Like Frank- lin, who trained the lightning of the sky to respect the safety and finally to run the er- rands of men on earth, Dewey brought rehgion from its remote home and domesticated it in the immediate present. He first successfully taught its application to the business of the market and the street, to the offices of the home and the pleasures of society. We are so familiar with this method now prevalent in the best pulpits of all Christian bodies that we forget the originality and boldness of the hand that first turned the current of religion into the ordinary channel of life and upon the work- ing wheels of daily business."
Dr. Dewey spent three winters in Wash- ington as Minister of the First Unitarian Church. Educated and ordained in orthodoxy, he had remained but one year in her service. In 1821 he was appointed assistant to Dr. Wil- liam E. Channing, and a few years afterward was called to the Unitarian Church in New Bedford. In that city he remained eleven years and gave up the charge only because of a condition of health which forbade contin- uous application. After a long rest he ac- cepted the invitation which came to him from the Second Congregational Society of New [44]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
York. This Society was long known as the Church of the ^lessiah. In New York he re- mained until 1849. Dr. Dewey's first winter in Washington, that of 1846-47, was by way of relief from the onerous duties of the New York charge. The second and third winters fol- lowed soon after his resignation of the New York pulpit. The demands here were not greater than he could meet physically, and his coming brought to the Unitarian Church and to the Capital one of the finest minds in the denomination and the country.
Of his second winter in Washington, that of 1851-52, Dr. Dewey said : "Life in Wash- ington was not agreeable to me and yet I felt a singular attachment to the people there. This mixture of repulsion and attraction I could not understand at the time, but walking these streets two or three years later when experience had become history I could read it. In London or Paris, the presence of the government is hardly felt; the action of pub- lic affairs is merged and lost in the life of a great city, but in Washington it is the all- absorbing business of the place. Now, whether it be pride or sympathy, one does not enjoy a great movement of things going on around him in which he has no part, and the [45]
MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH
thoughts and aims of a retired and studious man especially sever him from the views and interests of public men. But on the other hand this very pressure of an all-surrounding public life brings private men closer together. There they stand while the tides of successive administrations sweep by them and their re- lation becomes constantly more interesting from the fluctuation of everything else."
Dr. Dewey's explanation reveals vividly the change which the succeeding years have wrought in the life of the Capital. Where once government affairs were first in the minds of all, and even churches were regulated by the coming and going of the Congress, they are now as completely merged in the interests of a great city as were those of France and England in the Paris and London of which he thought in 1851. Washington has attained identity since that date.
In a letter to Dr. Ware, and excusing an ebullition of nonsense with which he had be- gun, Dr. Dewey wrote: "Life is such a sol- emn abstraction to a clergyman in Washing- ton! What has he to do but what is solemn? The gayety passes him by; the politics pass him by ; nobody wants him ; nobody holds him [46]
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b}^ the buttonhole but some desperate, dilapi- dated philanthropist."
The shadow of slavery darkened life in Washington for Dr. Dewey and was the sub- ject of very serious thinking by him. He was not in accord with the extreme ideas of north- ern abolitionists. He differed with them as to ways of removing the evil. He abhorred it as much as they did. He was misrepresented and misunderstood by many. He believed that emancipation should be gradual, and in this opinion he was not alone. In Washing- ton he met statesmen from both North and South with whom he discussed the subject of slavery. The opinions thus gathered indi- cated, to his mind, disunion of the states. Of this he said: "I fear disunion and no mortal line can sound the depth of that calamity." When issues between the two sections were more clearly drawn, his judgment was cer- tain and unerring. His only son served in the Union army when the condition he had fore- seen came to pass.
From 1847 to 1850 Joseph Henry Allen was minister, during a season of more or less anx- iety because of the narrow means of the so- ciety. After leaving Washington Mr. Allen [47]
MINISTERS OF FIRST CHURCH
became distinguished as author, editor and lecturer on history in the Divinity School of Harvard University. College students of a generation or two ago may discover in him the joint author of many of the Latin text- books used in their classical course, but this authorship was a minor incident in a life rich in scholarly and literary attainment.
[48]
CHAPTER V
THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY
On February 28, 1855, was installed Mon- cure D. Conway, who alone has represented the South in the Unitarian pulpit of Washing- ton. Probably no greater enthusiasm ever in- spired a minister there than that of the young Virginian, born in 1832, who, having overcome tradition by reason, in both religion and pol- itics, was fired by such a zeal for absolute right as to make him intolerant of compromise and possibly impolitic in method. His utterances on the slavery question brought about his dis- missal as minister. Throughout a long, wan- dering, intensely interesting life, the bond of friendship between himself and some of his former parishioners remained unbroken. To them he was the lovable friend, to the world he was the radical and somewhat eccentric thinker, the impulsive actor, the interesting writer, who must in fairness be set down as "one who loved his fellow men." [49]
THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY
Mr. Conway's pastorate proved to be a spec- tacular as well as a serious period, in the life of the church. It may be doubted whether the most discreet and non-committal minister could have further delayed the bursting into flame of the fire that had been smouldering so long. It would seem certain that with the accession to the pulpit of an ardently sincere young man, filled with the zeal of the convert and the reformer, and quite self-confident, no other result could have been expected than that which followed. Mr. Conway was twenty- two years old when he took charge of the Washington church. His lineage was that of education, culture and prominence in public affairs. On the plantations of his father and his uncles, young Conway saw slavery at its best. His maturing mind soon began to dis- cover the moral and economic evils of the sj^s- tem. Later with broader vision in all things, its absolute wrong was very plain to him. In his autobiography, Mr. Conway said that he came by his anti-slavery notions honestly, as one of his ancestors had been one of the early emancipationists of Virginia. His father be- lieved that slavery was doomed and often made this assertion to his son.
Mr. Conway's parents were Methodists who [50]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
had broken the regular family order in reh- gious matters, which was EpiscopaHan. Their Methodism was of a strict nature, wherein the day of judgment loomed large, as every action was considered in relation to that dread day. Yet the geniality of JNIethodism was not wholly lacking in the family circle, and life was very happy there.
At fifteen years of age, Mr. Conway was a sophomore at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, whence he graduated in 1849. He had before this time passed through the religious experience of conversion and it was the hope of his father that the ministry might be his choice of profession. The fascination of writing had taken possession of his mind and for some time delayed this choice. When made, it was that of the law. His study, though diligent, left time for other reading and for writing. Thinking that Virginia was losing her status as leader in intelligence in the re- public, he began to search for the reason. He believed it was found in her lack of a public school system. He wrote a pamphlet on the subject of public schools, which he published and distributed among the prominent men of his State. Nothing came from it and its au- thor began to consider carefully Horace Gree- [31]
THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY
ley*s statement that Virginia's white children would not be educated until her colored chil- dren were free.
Mr. Conway was convinced by this expe- rience that writing did not appeal to the pub- lic, and that the spoken word was necessary to carry to the people the message he was sure he had for them. Then suddenly he saw the power which a Methodist minister might exert, if he cared to do so, and declared his intention of becoming one. In a short time he was ap- pointed to the Rockville, Maryland, circuit. He had lately begun reading Emerson and Carlyle, and their writings with a book by Coleridge jostled the Methodist discipline, Taylor's Holy Living and Dying and Wat- son's Theology, in the circuit rider's saddle bags. No disastrous results of this conflict of opinions were apparent, but it chanced that his circuit took in a community of Hicksite Quakers, and some other liberal-minded peo- ple, with whom in the course of time Mr. Conway became acquainted. Through his reading of Emerson, and through his observa- tion of the fact that people, living the finest of lives, cared nothing for the dogmas which he thought necessary, the leaven of liberalism entered his mind and began to work. Very [52]
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soon his conscience forbade him longer to ride the circuit. He took a week's vacation and went to visit relatives in Baltimore, where he consulted Dr. Burnap, Unitarian minister. He was advised and helped financially to en- ter the Harvard Divinity School. His father, grieved and disappointed, refused him any aid. The fact that his course was a cause of sorrow to those dearest to him was the only shadow upon the new, active, congenial life which opened before him. During the three years at the Divinitj^ School, Mr. Conway was in daily contact with anti-slavery agitators as well as with the leaders of liberal religious ideas. His mind furnished fertile soil for the seed of extreme opinions and he left there a radical in politics and religion. He had neg- lected no opportunity for culture during his Cambridge sojourn. Art, music and the drama contributed materially to the develop- ment of his liberalism, opening avenues which he never ceased to explore. Not long after his graduation, he was asked to supply the Washington pulpit temporarily, and on Oc- tober 29, 1854, was elected minister by the church.
His installation was made an event by the congregation. John Weiss preached the ser- [53]
THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY
mon and Dr. Burnap gave the ministerial charge. These men were Mr. Conway's choice. In his autobiography, Mr. Conway said that in his first sermon before his election he mentioned slavery and that on the day of his appointment he said, "The Church must hold itself ready to pass free judgments on all custom, ideas and facts; on trade and politics — and in this country more especially hold itself ready to give free utterance in relation to our special sin — the greatest of all sins — human slaverj^" It is but fair to say that every minister before him had put himself on record in some way in regard to slavery, and none had favored it.
His first published sermon to which refer- ence has heretofore been made in these pages was entitled "The Old and The New" and contained a history of the church up to that date, December 31, 1854. His unorthodox views as to dispensations of Providence were shown in a sermon preached when a plague was prevalent in Norfolk, Virginia. He said that while he could not see God in the pesti- lence he could see a Satan, "namely, the evil institution that degrades labor and herds fam- ilies into squalid quarters where disease and crime find their nests." The city authorities [54]
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had asked churches "to unite in petitions to Almighty God in behalf of those whom He has seen fit to visit so sorely and that He will be pleased to avert from us such terrible ca- lamity." The Unitarian church was not opened for such service, but the sermon quoted was printed — with a preface more sarcastic than discreet — and distributed instead. Mr. Conway would seem to have had the support of his congregation in such action. It brought forth much criticism from orthodox pulpits. This was answered in a sermon on "Pharisaism and Fasting." This incident was probably more remarkable in its religious than in its political sense ; but it was like the sermon that followed it, a ripple on the surface of the strong current which was carrying the country forward to the great event.
On January 26, 1856, a sermon by the min- ister on "The One Path or the Duties of the North and South," called forth a report from the Committee of INlanagement to the congre- gation in which they expressed their regret at the course of the minister and their disapproval of the use of the pulpit for political discussion. They regretted also the fact that notices by the press of the country made the church re- sponsible for its minister's utterances. There- [55]
THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY
fore they wished the church to disavow such responsibihty. The congregation, voted that Mr. Conway should be informed of the Com- mittee's report.
In reply Mr. Conway made plain the fact that he would not submit to any restriction in the pulpit, and that if moved to speak again as he had spoken he would not be checked by the action of the church. He spoke, again and again, with the result that some members left the church while others remained at home, and the congregation was made up largely of strangers.
The situation was a serious one for the Com- mittee of Management. The affairs of the church were becoming involved and necessary repairs to the building were to be provided for. The climax was reached on July 6, 1856, when Mr. Conway preached a sermon on "War and its Present Threatenings" which caused the church to refer the matter of the independent course of the minister to a special committee of investigation with instructions to report. The church was closed until the following Oc- tober, and the minister spent his vacation in the North where he solicited aid toward the repairs of the building. Of this tragic July Sunday, Mr. Conway has said: "When my [56]
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discourse had ended that morning, I gave out the liymn as usual and the organist played the tune, but the choir did not sing. It was a quartet of church members and they were so troubled by my discourse that they could not sing. Harmony had left the old church for- ever. The assembly sat for some moments in weird silence. I uttered a benediction from my heart, after wliich most of them slowly moved out while others pressed up to grasp my hand." Early in October, an adjourned meeting of July 13th was held. The special investigation committee made no report. The subject was generally discussed and a resolu- tion passed dissolving the relation which ex- isted between JMr. Conway and the First Uni- tarian Church. When informed of this action, ]Mr. Conway claimed that the meeting had been "illegally conducted and was violative of the constitution." He said he asked only "a full, fair and legal expression" of the church. He gave several reasons for his belief. This attempt to reverse the decision of the church was not successful and in a few weeks Mr. Conway received a call to the Unitarian Church of Cincinnati. He preached accept- ably there for some time.
The church's unpleasant relation to Mr. [57]
THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY
Conway had been made worse by the fact that money had been given to him by northern Unitarians on condition that the pulpit should be free for discussion of slavery. After the dismissal of Mr. Conway, several of the con- tributors wrote very positive letters as to the conditions on which they had given money and as to the action of the church in severing its re- lation with Mr. Conway. In some instances these were not such as to promote harmony between northern and southern Unitarians. On the other hand, the church, through its Committee on Repairs, declared: "The church never has and never will pledge itself to the anti-slavery or the pro-slavery cause. In its extremest need it will with the blessings of God preserve its independence. . . . The First Unitarian Society of Washington never gave nor authorized the promises and pledges upon which those funds were given, and never have and never will receive one farthing of them coupled with any such condition."
Some of the church members who con- demned Mr. Conway's action were anti-slavery men, while some of his best personal friends were politically opposed to him. During the Civil War, Mr. Conway was neither idle nor silent. Voice and pen gave utterance to con- [58]
The Reverend E. Bradford Leavitt (1897-1900)
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
victions and schemes — the convictions sincere, the schemes not always practical and occasion- ally indiscreet. Early in the conflict he dis- covered that his father's slaves were refugees in Georgetown. He got them together and with the aid of military officials succeeded in taking them to southern Ohio, where he set- tled them in homes of their own. Mr. Con- way's ministry in Cincinnati was his last in America. Before the war ended, he went to London, England, as a minister for The Free Religious Society there, and the remainder of his life was mostly spent abroad. He died in Paris, France, November 15, 1907.
The ministry of the Rev. W. D. Haley is noticeable now chiefly because of its setting between that of Conway and Channing. Mr. Haley was apparently a young minister of promise when he came to Washington. He had graduated from Meadville in 1853, had helped to organize the church at Alton, Illi- nois, and had been its minister from 1853 to 1856. He had won recognition from the leaders of the denomination as a capable pion- eer of liberalism in the Middle West. The city of Alton proved to be a storm center of pro-slavery activity, and because of Mr. Haley's opposition his church was broken into [59]
THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY
and its windows demolished. For this opposi- tion he was censured and naturally the result was his resignation as minister. An item in the Christian Register in 1855 speaks of a tour that Mr. Haley had lately made among the Chippewa Indians, which had resulted in his obtaining much valuable scientific and liter- ary information.
In 1858, Mr. Haley was called to the Wash- ington church. Why the church should have chosen a minister who was in a way a martyr for his reproof of pro-slavery methods, after having itself dismissed Mr. Conway for a very similar reason, is hard to understand. But thus it was. Mr. Haley retained the pulpit until his enlistment in the Civil War in 1861. Concerning his last Sunday in Washington, the Christian Register in February of that year quoted the Christian Inquirer as saying: "Rev. W. D. Haley closed his ministry of three years and more in the Unitarian Church. Hon. Edward Everett, Thomas D. Eliot and other distinguished gentlemen were present. A discourse was preached by the editor of the Christian Inquirer on Hope in God, after which communion was administered. Not having seen this church since its renovation, we [60]
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were impressed by its elegance and conven- ience." This item further stated that "in establishing a mission school for poor chil- dren INIr. Haley had made a movement in Washington of a useful and an important kind, which we trust will be revived and con- tinued."
To Mr. Frank J. JNIetcalf, of Washington, the church is indebted for information regard- ing Mr. Haley. As a hymnologist he has dis- covered that this minister published a church service together with a compilation of hymns. Following the hymns, in this very uncommon book there is an "Order for Evening Prayer compiled for the use of the First Church of Washington," in 1858, and "Dedicated to the church by its affectionate pastor, W. D. Haley." Mr. Metcalf's researches have re- vealed the fact that Mr. Haley was of English birth, and a student at Harvard before going to jNIeadville. He left the Washington pul- pit to enter the army as Chaplain of the 17th JNIassachusetts Volunteers. He was after- ward a Lieutenant in the army, and another enlistment as Captain completed his military record. After the Civil War, Mr. Haley would seem not to have resumed the ministry [61]
THE SHADOW OF SLAVERY
but to have chosen the life of a wandering printer and newspaper correspondent, which led him finally to California where he died in San Jose in 1890.
[62]
CHAPTER VI
THE CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAE
The name of Channing, synonymous in the Unitarian mind with hberal-mindedness and philanthropy, was worthily borne by the min- ister of the First Church in 1861. This man was William Hemy Channing, nephew of William Ellery Channing. The annals of Unitarianism are rich in idealists, but few have had the all-embracing vision that distinguished William Henry Channing. Universal broth- erhood was the only satisfying answer to the questionings of his exacting mind. Every re- form that might help toward this end found an ardent advocate in him — whether it was social, political or religious. To the anti-slavery question, to woman's rights, to socialism and transcendentalism, he gave himself with a zeal not exceeded by that of the leaders in these matters. His was not the mind to offer prac- tical methods of accomplishment, but his the impassioned word to envisage wrong and move the hearts of men to pity and to justice. It is [63]
CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR
useless to try to give any adequate idea of this great-souled man in a few words. As he gave distinction to the Unitarian pulpit in Washing- ton in a great national crisis, more than casual mention should be made of him.
First of all he was eminently a preacher. Christopher P. Cranch has said of him:
"He seemed to me then the most eloquent and fervid of preachers — all other preaching was tame in comparison. I have never seen such purely intense aspiration in any speaker. It is hard to describe a man who seemed so per- fect. He would have appeared like one of the saints of the old time had not his keen, culti- vated but restless intellect and his broad, lib- eral tendencies allied him to all the nearest and most practical interests of life."
Mr. Channing's interest in reforms had brought him occasionally to Washington and he had hoped that his ministerial fortunes might fix him here, but friends had dissuaded him from such thought. In 1854 he went to Liverpool, England, as minister at Renshaw Chapel. Of his first sermon there, Mrs. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote to Channing's mother :
"I have never heard a sermon, not even from Dr. Channing (W. E.), so grand in its [64]
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scope, so complete in symmetry and propor- tion, so perfect a unit as a work of art, and at the same time so rich and tender in spirit."
His biographer, O. B. Frothingham, said that "the churches where he preached became resorts of the most spiritual people and Uni- tarianism a name for the loftiest aspirations."
The politics of his native country still en- gaged JMr. Channing's mind and he watched events, there most carefully. In 1861 he came home to visit his mother and take a closer look at national affairs, and now there was none so bold as to advise against his taking the Washington pulpit when the chance came. The hour called for a leader of highest rank in ability, loyalty and faith, and such was Channing. Temporizing, if that had been the policy in regard to the Washington church, could be indulged in no longer. He was in- stalled as minister on December 9, 1861. Of him then, John W. Chadwick said:
"There for once was complete adjustment between the man and his environment — as minister of the Unitarian church converting its building into a hospital; as a worker in the sanitary commission, as chaplain of the House of Representatives his heart was wholly in his work."
[65]
CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR
His first Sunday in the church was thus re- ported by the correspondent of The New York Evening Post: "Rev. Mr. Channing, of Liv- erpool, on Sunday preached his first ser- mon in the Unitarian Church here as regular pastor. The church is not in a very healthy pecuniary condition, but there are so many northerners here now that it is expected they will come in and sustain a clergyman who is alive to the issues of the hour. Every time he has preached here the house has been crowded to inconvenient fullness, and there is little doubt that his acceptance of a call to the Soci- ety will prove a success in every meaning of the word. Times have changed since Mr. Con- way was forced to leave the same church for the expression of anti-slavery sentiment. Mr. Channing does not hesitate boldly to support the war from his pulpit nor to dwell at length on the causes of the war."
It was his inspiration to suggest offering the church building as a hospital. In return for the gift, promptly accepted by Secretary Stan- ton, the congregation was invited to meet in the Senate chamber. Mr. Channing was made chaplain of the House of Representatives in the winter of 1863-64.
[66]
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He had resigned his position in England, but his family remained there.
For the time, the duty of both minister and congregation was largely the expression of loy- alty as shown in the care of wounded and sick soldiers. It may be assumed that the minis- ter let no occasion pass when the utterance of positive words might hold all to the task which was great, or help toward what he felt to be the only possible consunmiation of the war — the abolition of slavery.
As chaplain of the House of Representa- tives, JNIr. Channing considered himself leader in the People's Church with no hint of sec- tarianism. Noted men of various denomina- tions were asked to officiate there, and true to his convictions he made the daring innovation of asking a colored minister to speak on one occasion, and a woman on another. The lat- ter was Rachel Howland, "the beautiful Quaker."
His ministrations to the soldiers were not in hospitals only. He was present at the battle of Fredericksburg, and there after a day of carnage baptized a dying boy who wished the rite, and performed the last service for num- bers of hurriedly buried dead.
[67]
CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR
At the end of the war and after the deatli of Lincoln, worn in mind and body Mr. Chan- ning decided to return to England. Great preacher that he was, he was not suited to par- ish routine nor the work of gathering together a scattered charge. His family was com- pletely anglicized and held a place deserv- edly in the ranks of the most cultivated. His son, Francis Allston Channing, graduated from Oxford with honors. He was a member of the House of Commons from 1885 to 1910. In 1912 he was made first Baron Channing of Wellingborough, and is known according to the English custom as Francis Allston, Lord Channing. One of the daughters of the Rev. William H. Channing married Edwin Arnold, author of The Light of Asia. The re- mainder of Mr. Channing's life was passed most congenially in England. He never lost interest in new phases of religious experience, and his religious affinities were bounded on one side by Martineau and on the other by Car- dinal Manning. He made frequent visits to America, but he died in England in October, 1884.
The First Church building was in the pos- session of the government for six months, as is shown in a circular issued by the Commit- [68]
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tee of Management for the year 1863, which said: "The Unitarian Church will be re- opened for religious service next Sunday, Feb- ruary 1st," and also, "Earnestly as we shall always rejoice to remember that in a time of national calamity our House of Worship was offered and accepted as a home for sick and wounded soldiers, yet it will be with the deep- est gratification that we shall return after six months' exile to a sanctuary made dearer than ever by deeds of charity in which it has been the privilege of many of our friends and members to participate." While as a body the congre- gation gave their church to the government, as individuals in several instances they made their own houses into hospitals and convales- cent homes, or entered upon the work of nurs- ing under the Sanitary Commission.
The Johnson-Donaldson home at 506 Twelfth Street N. W. and the hospital at Twelfth and E Streets fitted up and managed by these ladies were long held in grateful re- membrance by men who had there experienced the kindly ministrations of the patriotic own- ers.
One church member was left in charge of the savings of a soldier when he returned to the front after a time of convalescence in her home. [69]
CHURCH IN THE CIVIL WAR
At the close of the war, every effort was made to find the man or to learn his fate, but with no success. In the course of time, the money was made the nucleus of a Unitarian mission fund by the lady with whom it had been left. With additions secured by her untiring devo- tion during life, and by her will at death, it now constitutes the Rebecca Wallace Unity Mission Fund.
Mr. and Mrs. George A. Bacon were co- workers with their friend, Walt Whitman, in the hospitals.
Mrs. Lucy A. Doolittle was a hospital visi- tor under the Sanitary Commission during the war. Later, when the retreating tide of war left Washington strewn with the human flot- sam and jetsam of two armies, she rendered an equally valuable service. It was largely due to her exposition of conditions which her work among these unfortunates revealed to her that a police court was established whereby they might obtain prompt and just treatment. It is a rather significant coincidence that the church in which she worshipped should later be the place of its dispensation.
One of the most efficient nurses and man- agers during the Civil War was Miss Amy Bradley. Her work is comparable to that of [70]
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Dorothea Dix, being on a large scale. She was stationed on the transport boats which brought the wounded from the battlefields in the Peninsular campaign. From 1862 until the end of the war she was in charge of. a con- valescent camp at Alexandria, Virginia. In her last years IMiss Bradley made her home in Washington, where she had many friends, and was one of the congregation of All Souls.
Captain Frank E. Brownell, who in the very first days of the war of secession avenged the murder of his Colonel, Elmer Ellsworth, in Alexandria, was in after years a member of the congregation of All Souls. At his death he made the church a bequest for char- ities.
[71]
CHAPTER VII
RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD
At the close of the four years of civil war, the Unitarian Society was exhausted, divided and scattered. Yet the new life which began soon thereafter to invigorate the nation was not without effect upon it, and after a while the society also began to respond to the time- spirit. The ministries of Sharman and Hinck- ley, with many temporary supplies, filled the years from 1867 to 1877.
For six months of the year 1865, the Rev. Rufus P. Stebbins was associated with the First Church as its minister. He was a man of decided personality and it may be assumed that the time of his service was not a dull one for those who listened to his preaching or met him in society. Of himself in his first settle- ment, he once said: "I was fresh from the seclusion of student life, ablaze with enthu- siasm, flaming with zeal to correct all evils. I was restless, aggressive, belligerent." Time and experience may have tempered these char- [72]
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acteristics but did not obliterate them. At the time he preached in Washington, he was fifty- seven years old. Harvard had lately given him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He had been President of ^Nleadville Theological School twelve years. After his short service here, he was made President of the American Unitarian Association. He was six years at Ithaca, New York, and at a time when most men wish to retire from active life he reorgan- ized the church of Xewton Center, Massachu- setts. He died in Cambridge in 1885. His cousin, Horatio Stebbins, wrote of him: "He delighted in the Commandments and his hon- est, indignant soul would have liked it better if there had been three or four more." Dr. Shippen said of him: "God was to him no vi- sionary abstraction but a living presence clearly seen in human history and life; his law run- ning its line through earth and eternity. His religion was no mere theory of the pulpit but a vital experience — a principle of duty solid as the granite."
The Rev. William Sharman was an English- man, educated at Sheffield for the ^Methodist ministry. After becoming a Unitarian, and before he came to America, he was located at Aberdeen, Scotland. He was with the Wash- [73]
RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD
ington church during the years from 1868 to 1870. As in other instances, the records of the First Church afford very Kttle information as to the minister at this time. Mr. Sharman held other short pastorates in America, and was for a time engaged in business in Texas. He returned to England in the seventies and preached at Plymouth and at Preston. He died at the latter place in 1889. While in Washington, Mr. Sharman was unmarried. In 1873 he married, in New York City, the lady — Miss Sophia Jackson Russell — who sur- vived him until the spring of 1921. Of them both, the London Inquirer of May 7, 1921, said: "Mr. Sharman will be remembered by our older readers as keenly interested in social reform and a powerful preacher, while tender memories gather about the name of her who has now joined him after her long widowhood." Mr. W. C. Russell, of the Philadelphia Re- cord, whose brother-in-law he was, writes of Mr. Sharman: "He was a friend and fol- lower of William JMorris, the poet. He took active part in campaigns directed against social and religious evils and he had many friends in the English Labor party."
In 1870, the Rev. Frederic Hinckley was chosen as minister. He had held pastorates in [74]
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various places in New England and in the State of New York. He was an able man and made many friends in Washington. Soon after Mr. Hinckley's settlement with the First Church, the matter of a better building began to be seriously considered by both the Wash- ington organization and the American Uni- tarian Association. There was some discus- sion of the question in the Christian Register. At the Conference of 1872, Mr. Hinckley made a proposition to the denomination, which was presumably the expression of the will of the Washington congregation. He said that the people would sell the old church, and raise what they could besides what the building would bring, if the Association would contrib- ute $50,000. With the money thus obtained, they would build a church which the Associa- tion should hold in its own right, giving Wash- ington people its use under such regulations and conditions as might be adopted. As usual, the point was made that Washington was a missionary field. It was a place not for gathering but for scattering; not for accumu- lation but for diffusion. The motion by means of which the matter was presented called forth many remarks. The report of the day's pro- ceedings is interesting and enlightening. [751
RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD
Every one acknowledged the need of a larger and better building. Very plain statements were made as to the unattractiveness, not to say positive meanness, of the little church which in 1822 had seemed so suitable. Thus has church history repeated itself to the third generation in Washington. One speaker spurned any idea of a fine national church, as it would probably be a stone elephant on the hands of the denomination. Others would consent to no help for a church to be managed by local Unitarians. A weighty consideration in the mind of one speaker was the possible early removal of the Capital to a more nearly central part of the country. In such event, a fine church would be sacrificed. Among them' all, one had the discernment which led him to say that what was needed was a good church building and continuous pastoral supervision of the Society. Nothing resulted from this discussion and the Washington church settled down to make the best of what it had and to try to become self-sustaining. The united ef- forts of the congregation toward this end would seem to have developed a strong social bond which made the time memorable. Such is the verdict of some of those yet remaining from those days. But in these years occurred [76]
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a schism in the church, which resulted for a time in two congregations. What its cause or nature was is now hard to determine, if indeed it be worth while to try to do so. In spite of the fact that mistakes probably were made and in- justice possibly was done, it is for the church of today to be grateful that out of disunion has come union. Whatever the differences were, whether of belief or administration, they were overcome by the permanent withdrawal of some members and the return of others after the re- organization of the church in 1877.
[77]
CHAPTER VIII
ALL SOULS CHURCH
By the early seventies, the growth of the capital city had rendered the location as well as the building of the First Church undesir- able, and the possibility of removal to a spot farther from the center of the city's activities began to be considered. With the help of the denomination at large and of the American Unitarian Association, such removal was brought about and on June 27, 1877, the cor- ner stone of a new church building was laid at the southeast corner of Fourteenth and L Streets, eight squares west and seven north of the first location. There was objection on the part of some members because of the remote- ness of this location. The estimated cost of the church and lot was sixty thousand dollars, of which one-half was to be furnished by the Washington Society and one-half by the American Unitarian Association. The denom- ination was appealed to for money for the pur- pose and nearly twenty-five thousand dollars
[78]
All Souls Church, 1877 Fourteenth and L Streets, N. W.
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was pledged by church delegates present at the Unitarian Conference at Saratoga, New York, in September, 1876. From its treasury the American Unitarian Association completed the $25,000 and from the Winn Bequest, made to the denomination about that time, its trustees allowed ten thousand dollars to the Washing- ton project. The amount to be raised by the church was thus reduced to twenty-five thou- sand dollars, but the mortgage given to the American Unitarian Association was for $35,- 000 instead of $30,000. This mortgage was to prevent possible alienation of the church from its purpose and to secure it to the Uni- tarian denomination. It was unlimited in time, drew no interest and was to be held in perpetual trust by the Association. It was not until July 1, 1880, that the old church was sold and the new organization became free from debt.
On June 4, 1877, the First Church reorgan- ized under the name of All Souls Church and as such it has been known since the dedication of the new building on January 29, 1878. The sermon on that occasion was delivered by Rev. Henry W. Bellows, minister of All Souls' Church of New York City, a man of national fame as president of the United States Sani- [79]
ALL SOULS CHURCH
tary Commission during the Civil War. The opening of that sermon proved that Dr. Bel- lows, at least, believed that the First Church had lived up to Mr. Little's hope for it half a century before, since he said:
"If the shining record of the men of influ- ence, culture and character ; women of dignity, purity, and saintliness, who have witnessed their faith in its truth and power, and borne the cross of its reputed heresy — if this record could be properly read here and now, it would prove how great and good is the company al- ready translated to which you belong."
The sermon ended with this petition :
*'May this church stand openly, and while its walls shall endure, the church of those who honor and practice the widest and most search- ing use of God's greatest gift — Reason."
The installation of the Rev. Clay Mac- Cauley as minister took place on January 30, 1878. After the reorganization of the So- ciety, the First Church Building was rented, and finally sold to the District Government which used it as a police court until it was torn down in 1906.
The last sermon in the First Church was preached by Dr. MacCauley on May 27, 1877. [80]
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The text was Genesis xii, 7, 8: The Lord appeared unto Abraham and said, 'Unto thy seed will I give this land' : and there builded he an altar unto the Lord. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel and there he builded an altar unto the Lord." Its theme was life's progress from form to form. Lentil the completion of All Souls Church, the congregation met in Willard Hall, a small building on F Street back of the old Willard Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. Mr. Seth Hyatt was the only original member of the First Church who was living when All Souls was built.
The character of the membership or laity of the Unitarian Church did not change when the name of All Souls was adopted. The two Piresidents who attended the First Church, John Quincy Adams and INIillard Fillmore, were succeeded in All Souls Church by Wil- liam Howard Taft.
Cabinet Secretaries Webster, Nathan K. Hall and Calhoun have been followed by George S. Boutwell, William E. Chandler, John D. Long and John W. Weeks.
In the Senate the First Church was repre- sented by Webster, Sumner, Edward Everett Hale of New Hampshire, Howe of Wiscon- [81]
ALL SOULS CHURCH
sin and Fairfield of Maine, while members there from All Souls have been Morrill of Vermont, George F. Hoar, George C. Moody, Anthony, Allison, Pike, William E. Mason, Thomas W. Palmer, Burnside, Burrows, Fletcher and Townsend.
In the House of Representatives the two churches have had Upham, J. G. Palfrey, Davis, Stone, Banks, Ketcham, Baker, Bar- rows, Stevens, William Everett, Thomas D. Eliot, Hoar, Horr, Hazleton, Roberts, Kent and Luce.
In the judiciary, Associate Justice Joseph Story has been followed by Associate Justice Samuel F. Miller, while Judge William Cranch has had a successor in Judge William A. Richardson. The later years of All Souls have been honored by the membership of Judge Martin A. Knapp. Judicial honor for the Unitarian Church culminated in the appoint- ment of Chief Justice William Howard Taft.
The historian, George Bancroft, was an at- tendant at both churches.
Dorman B. Eaton, civil service reformer;
Carroll D. Wright, authority in economics, and
Lester F. Ward, celebrated in sociology, have
been more or less active members of All Souls.
L82.1
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Mr. Wright served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Among educators have been George J. Abbott, principal of a private school, member of the board of trustees of pub- lic schools in their earliest days; W. B. Powell, Superintendent of Schools, whose name appears in the list of church members from 188G to 1900, inclusive; and Mrs. Frederic A. Holton. ]\Ir. Abbott was confidential secre- tary to Daniel Webster when Secretary of State in Fillmore's cabinet. Of him his friend, Edward Everett Hale, has said: "He was one of the men who was ready to help the world forward in anj^ way he could, and was a distinguished agent in helping it forward though his name scarcely ever appears in print." Mr. George J. Abbott is commemo- rated in the city of Washington by a public school building which bears his name. Dr. Percival Hall, president of Gallaudet College, and Prof. Edward A. Fay, and Prof. C. R. Ely of its faculty have been numbered for many years among the active members of All Souls Church.
Ainsworth R. Spofford and Bernard R. Green have represented the Library of Con- gress.
The scientific world has had most able rep- [83]
ALL SOULS CHURCH
resentation in both churches by William Fer- rel, noted in meteorology; Asaph Hall, well known in astronomy; Spencer F. Baird, and Charles V. Riley. Living representatives are Henry S. Pritchett, Dr. Robert S. Woodward, Dr. Wm. H. Dall, P^rof. F. W. Clarke and Dr. Louis A. Bauer. The list of scientific names worthy of mention is too long to be given in its entirety.
From the Navy have come Woodhull, Walker, Evans, Schroeder, Wainwright, Clark, Taussig (father and son), Deering, Hanscom, Cutter, Canaga, Pook, Bright and Flint; from the Army, Saxton, Batchelder, Smith, Greely, Wood, Baxter, Pelouze, Tan- ner, Woodruff and Newcomer.
Sumner I. Kimball, long prominent in the organization and management of the Life Sav- ing Service, has been quite as long a member of All Souls.
The Rev. Moncure D. Conway has men- tioned as one of his hearers Helen Hunt, wife of Captain Edward Hunt, and has spoken of her as a bright, vivacious woman, inclined to ridicule any one with a mission. Being led by great sorrow to a more serious view of life, she became the apostle of justice to the American Indian. Later she married Mr. W. S. Jack- [84]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
son of Colorado Springs, and was well known under the nom de plume of "H. H."
The congregation of All Souls includes Miss Alice C. Fletcher, ethnologist, versed in Indian lore, whose life has been largely devoted to research in the traditions, customs, religions, ceremonies and music of the Indian, and to practical means of promoting his civilization and education. Her worth has been recog- nized by the government, which has made her a special agent in Indian affairs in several im- portant instances.
For many years the Unitarian congregation of Washington contained two men of great distinction in national affairs. They were the Honorable Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, and the Honorable George F. Hoar, of Massa- chusetts. Neither of them took active part in the management of the church, but their reg- ular attendance at the Sunday services was proof of interest and sympathy. Members of their families were identified with the affairs of the church.
JNIr. jNIorrill came to Washington as member of the House of Representatives in 1855. He may have been one of the congregation of the First Church. He is known as a member of All Souls from its earliest days. He died in [85]
ALL SOULS CHURCH
Washington in 1898. It may well be a mat- ter of pride to future members of All Souls, as it is to many of its present members, that a man whose name is held in especial honor in every State of the Union was so long one of the church's devoted adherents. It was ow- ing to Mr. Morrill's persistent efforts for sev- eral years that the act bearing his name was passed by Congress in 1862. That act made possible the establishment of State colleges which should receive federal aid. Besides the Morrill Act which is considered one of the epoch-making acts of the American nation. Senator Morrill was the author of statutes which resulted in the extension of the Capitol grounds; the erection of the State, War and Navy Building and the Library of Congress. Mr. JNIorrill was a leader in the financial policy of the government during the Civil War. The dignified presence of this noted man at the services of All Souls is a beautiful as well as a proud memory for many of her members. The genial face of Senator Hoar, as seen at the Sunday service of the church, is another pleasant memory for many of the people of All Souls. Senator Hoar came to Washington in 1868 and may have been an attendant of the First Church. His name is connected with the
[86]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
history of All Souls from 1877. At the meet- ing of the Unitarian Conference in Washing- ton in October, 1899, Senator Hoar gave the address of welcome. This was a notable event for the church and the denomination. He said then: "I think there can be found in the country no sectarianism so narrow, so hide- bound, so dogma-clad, that it would like to blot out from the history of our country what the people of our faith have contributed to it. On the first roll of this Washington parish will be found close together the names of John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun. John Quincy Adams learned from his father and mother the liberal Christian faith which he in turn transmitted to his illustrious son. If we would blot out Unitarianism from the history of the country, we must erase the names of many famous statesmen, many famous phi- lanthropists, many great reformers, many great orators, many famous soldiers from its annals, and nearly all of our great poets from its literature."
The Honorable Samuel F. Miller, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from July, 1862, until October, 1890, was a gentleman of high position who was willing to serve All Souls in the capacity of trustee. Justice Miller was [87]
ALL SOULS CHURCH
a contemporary of Abraham Lincoln and a fine example of the typical citizen of that time. He was of immense physical stature. He was born in Kentucky, but entered the Supreme Court from Iowa. He was appointed to the bench by President Lincoln. It has been said of him that "from the time of taking his seat until his death Justice Miller was regarded not perhaps as the most enlightened, certainly not the most learned, but it is believed as the strongest man on the bench and as one who united integrity with conviction." Justice Miller was three years President of the Amer- ican Unitarian Association. He was one of the founders of the Unitarian Church of Keo- kuk, Iowa.
The Honorable William E. Chandler was a faithful member of the Unitarian Church dur- ing his public and private life in Washington. In the midst of the affairs that pertain to a cabinet Secretary and a Senator, he found time to lend his aid in the management of the church.
A coincidence worthy of record in the an- nals of All Souls is that the Honorable Wil- liam E. Chandler and General A. W. Greely have been members of her Board of Trustees. In 1884, while Secretary of the Navy, Mr. [88]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
Chandler was responsible for the rescue of Lieutenant Greely from the perilous Arctic ex- pedition he had undertaken two years before. Another member of the United States Sen- ate wlio has honored All Souls by his presence and his counsel is the Honorable Duncan U. Fletcher, of Florida.
[89]
CHAPTER IX
CIVIC AND DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Not all the members of the Unitarian Church in Washington have been celebrities. There has been as well a sturdy rank and file who have given time and work and thought without stint, and money as they were able, to its proper maintenance and develop- ment.
The church has been fortunate in selecting as trustees men and women of executive abil- ity, versed in the traditions of Unitarianism, and imbued with faith in its future. It has been their policy to regulate the financial af- fairs of the Society by the rules that govern those of secular or commercial institutions.
With good preaching and sound financing a church is well equipped, but it is still necessary that the members be ready and quick to follow their leaders, or to suggest means and methods for efficient promulgation and practice of the principles professed. In short, a Unitarian church must show by its life in a community [90]
The Reverend Clay MacCauley (1877-1880) from painting by Hazard, presented by Dr. MacCauley to be hung in the Edward Everett Hale Parish House
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
that its professions are not vain. Therefore this Unitarian church has tried always to be engaged in some work for humanity.
Of systematic charity and philanthropy there is a clear record since the beginning of All Souls Church. In the partition of duties at that time, "benevolent work" was assigned to the Ladies' Sewing Society, but would seem to have been a little later assumed by the In- dustrial School Committee whose reports for several years reveal what was done in that line by the women of the church. The Industrial School had been carried on by the First Church for some time as a mission school in George- town. On the completion of the new church in 1878, it was brought there and re-named "The Industrial School." It was really a sew- ing school for girls, and some pupils were en- abled to gain a living because of the instruc- tion received there. The school was given up when in 1887 a greater opportunity offered in the establishment of a Day Nursery, a Kin- dergarten and later a sewing class, at the Miner Building in South Washington.
Members of the First Church had been ac- tively interested in ^lyrtilla Miner and her heroic efforts before the Civil War in start- ing in Washington a school for colored youth. [91]
DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES
When the trustees of the Miner Fund, among whom were the minister and several members of All Souls, bought in South Washington a large building with the intention of establish- ing there "an educational and industrial insti- tution for the colored race," it seemed almost imperative that All Souls should help in the undertaking. In this they were aided by many outside the Unitarian Church. These new activities were directed by the Charity Committee of the Parish Union rather than by the Industrial School Committee. The Charity Committee of the Parish Union after- ward became the Charity Committee of the Church, for several years a standing commit- tee.
In 1891 the Committee extended its work by instituting a kindergarten in the Potomac School building, also in South Washington. This was done with the avowed hope that it might furnish an example which the District Government would follow in the addition of kindergartens to the public school system — and the hope was not a vain one. W. B. Powell, at that time Superintendent of Schools in Washington, was a member of All Souls Church who expressed his gratification at this [92]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
deed and helped the committee always by counsel and encouragement. The entire main- tenance of the various enterprises at the jNIiner Building was assumed by the trustees of the Fund in 1894, leaving the people of All Souls free to work elsewhere.
The next opportunity that offered to the Charity Committee was that of supporting one of the nurses employed by the Instructive Vis- iting Nurse Society, which began operating in the District of Columbia in 1900. The amount of money necessary was $700 a year and the equipment of a "Loan Closet" for use of the nurse. After some consideration it was decided to make this the future work of the committee, as it was felt that in no better way could the church become a living presence in the community. The funds were soon raised and for twenty years the account with the In- structive Visiting Nurse Association has been an important item in the report of the Treas- urer of All Souls. Here again the way of duty seemed plain to the committee. The In- structive Visiting Nurse Association owed its existence largely to the generosity of a mem- ber of All Souls and it was fitting that the church should be the first to pay an entire sal- [93]
DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES
ary of a nurse and thus help to secure success for a philanthropy whose need and worth were most apparent.
By means of funds coming into its treasury from bequests left it for philanthropic pur- poses, the church has lately begun the support of a Visiting Housekeeper who, under the di- rection of the Associated Charities, tries to teach better methods of domestic economy to those who from lack of such knowledge are liable to and often do become dependent upon public charity.
Philanthropy in All Souls has not been lim- ited to what may be called these official in- stances. Every organization of the church has had its own adventures in philanthropy, no- tably the Lend-a-Hand Society, which since its formation in 1890 has been true to its name in all sorts of humanitarian offices.
Social settlements in Washington have en- gaged the active attention of the Women's Al- liance more or less for several years. After experimenting with one under its own manage- ment, it was decided to be better to help a set- tlement already established and needing aid than to form another.
Another experiment in social work was a mission for boys, located on Fourteenth Street [94]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
near Boundary Street. For some time a kin- dergarten for colored children was maintained in a Lutheran church on Eighth Street. The mission received help from different organiza- tions of the church, particularly the Twentieth Century Club. The kindergarten was under the management of the Charity Committee.
The trustees have contributed to the in- dustrial schools at Calhoun, Alabama, and Ma- nassas, Virginia. Ministers and members of the church have held important positions in the management of the latter school.
The record given would seem to indicate that the Unitarian Church has been a not incon- siderable asset to the District of Columbia since 1877. Its ministers and its members have served on the governing boards of many of the most important educational, social and philanthropic enterprises of the Capital. More than this, they have been pioneers in ad- vanced methods in all these lines. They were leaders in the formation of the Associated Charities; the Board of Guardians for De- pendent Children; the Reform School for girls; the introduction of kindergartens; the Hu- mane Society; the Diet Kitchen; the Juvenile Protective Association ; as well as the two phi- lanthropies specially mentioned. At the pres- [95]
DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES
ent time the minister is a trustee of Howard University and Secretary of the Board of Gal- laudet College. One church member serves on the Board of Education; another on the Board of Management of Columbia Hospital; one is President of the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association, as well as of the Juvenile Protective Association, and member of the Board of Charities of the District of Columbia. The church is also represented on the Board of the Florence Crittenton Mission and on that of Friendship House.
By way of social and intellectual develop- ment, there have been established various clubs and societies, not all of which have survived. One of the first of these was the Unity Club, organized in the First Church but for many years dissociated from the Unitarian Church.
Among the later records of the First Church are those of the Washington Unitarian Asso- ciation, which would seem to have been devoted to the promotion of Unitarianism at home and abroad. It distributed Unitarian liter- ature, arranged lecture courses and sent dele- gates to the May meetings. It established, and supported for a while, schools for adult colored people who had just then come out of slavery into citizenship. This Association in [96]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
1867 became the Washington Christian Union of whose career tliere is no record.
As early as 1840 there was a Washington Unitarian Tract Association in behalf of whose mission Rev. Stephen G. Bulfinch preached a sermon.
The Parish Union was organized in 1877 to take charge of social and literary enter- tainment. The Channing Club was a short- lived experiment.
In 1902 the men of All Souls organized the Unitarian Club of Washington. This Club, which was local in character, was transformed in 1920 into the Washington Chapter of the Unitarian Laymen's League w^hich is a Na- tional organization. The formation of the League Chapter is one of the most important events in the history of All Souls Church. The stimulus of association with Unitarian lay- men throughout the country has created greater interest in local and general church growth. This has led the chapter to present Unitarianism to the Washington public in a series of evening meetings addressed by offi- cials of the League, by prominent ministers and by men of national repute. The Chap- ter has a membership of one hundred and thirty.
[97]
DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Another local branch of a national organiza- tion is the Women's Alliance. Organized in 1892, it has had for its objects the quickening of the religious life of the church ; the bringing of its women into closer acquaintance, co-op- eration and fellowship and the promotion of missionary and denominational work. Its degree of success in the attainment of these ob- jects is indicated by a membership of nearly three hundred ; its substantial support of most of the enterprises of the national body, as well as its unwearied devotion for several years to the building of a new Church and Parish House and the furnishing of the latter. To- ward this it has contributed more than $15,000 and has pledged $10,000 to the campaign fund of 19S0. Through its Post Office Mission, its lines have gone out literally to the ends of the earth, but this is a distinction common to other Alliances.
The Liberal Religious Union is also a branch of a national body. For many years the only expression of Unitarianism in Wash- ington during the summer months was through this Union.
To the proper conduct of a Sunday School the church has given considerable attention, which has resulted in the adoption of a graded
[98]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
course of study from kindergarten up to ma- ture years.
The social needs of younger members have not been overlooked and L'Allegro Club takes care of these. A Boy Scout Troop, Number 42, under the Washington Council, is regis- tered as connected with All Souls Church.
In 1890 a group of women belonging to All Souls Church organized a Club. They named it the Twentieth Century Club, and as such it was incoi*porated on June 5, 1890. Its object, as stated in the articles of incor- poration, was "to promote benevolence," which was quite broad enough to include that given in the preamble to its constitution, viz. : "The promotion of liberal thought and philanthropic work in its broad sense." For a few years such work was done in connection with the Charity Committee of the church. Post Office INIission work in Washington originated in this Club, but upon the formation of the Women's Alliance in 1892 it was given over to that so- ciety. From the year 1896, the Twentieth Century Club has pursued its own course, which has been a very successful one. Mem- bership in the Club was never limited to Uni- tarians. For that reason, and because there was no other organization of the sort in Wash- [99]
DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES
ington, the Club has attracted many of the most intelligent women of the city, besides those found in All Souls Church, with the re- sult that it has developed into a well organized body of women, alive to the higher interests of humanity, actively promoting those inter- ests in the Capital of the Nation.
Until the year 1911, the Plresident of the Twentieth Century Club was a member of All Souls Church, as were most of the other offi- cers. In the election of that year this prece- dent was not followed, nor has it been since. So great has been the Club's attraction, and so generous has been its management in admission to membership, that the anomalous condition has arisen — of a church auxihary with a majority of its members entirely unre- lated to that church. This fact renders the connection between the Twentieth Century Club and All Souls Church a purely nominal one at present. Yet the fact remains that but for the Church the Club would not have ex- isted and therefore its history may rightfully be related in that of the first hundred years of the Unitarian Church, and its formation may be proudly noted as an important event in that history. To have been the means of es- tablishing here a club which in the year 1922 [100]
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has an enrollment of nearly four hundred women of varied interests, yet all tending to the increase of the knowledge and culture of individuals, and to the benefit of society, is not the least of the ways in which the Unitarian Church has contributed to the welfare of the community.^
The esthetic sense of the church has always demanded good music as essential in the sat- isfactory conduct of religious services. It is said that on the dedication day of the First Church the music was a great surprise to the audience because of its excellence. It was conducted by Philip Mauro, who is mentioned as one of the members of the First Church, and the singers were mostly from the congre- gation. Of this voluntary choir the records say:
"The choir has been sustained most success- fully not only in our opinion but also in that of numerous visitors to our metropolis through a long course of years by the free, hearty and efficient services of a few devoted persons."
Judge Cranch and Miss Seaton are es- pecially mentioned. Even the critical John
lOn January 5, 1922, the Club in revising its constitution voted to omit the clause which stated its relation to All Souls Unitarian Church.
[101]
DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Quincy Adams had a good word to say for the music on the occasion of "the funeral of John Law when 'Pope's Dying Christian to his Soul' was given with organ accompaniment with much effect." The standard then set has been well maintained and the choir of All Souls has always comprised some of the best musical talent of the city. The voluntary choir was given up with the old church. Mr. Hitz, a member of the First Church, left a bequest of $1000 for providing suitable music. This was used toward paying for the organ of All Souls.
The organ in the new All Souls Church will be a gift in memory of Bernard Richardson Green, from Mrs. Green and family. For many years an active member of the church, Mr. Green served it as Secretary, Superinten- dent of Sunday School, and as Trustee. He was many times Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Green believed that the stand- ard of All Souls should be of the highest in every respect and to this end he gave it the benefit of a practical mind and correct taste whenever called to any of its offices. He was a lover of fine music and always wished that of All Souls to be the best obtainable. The or- [102]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
gan will be a fitting memorial to him from those who loved him best, and a beautiful gift to the church which was honored by his faitliful care for many years. IMr. Green was a civil engineer by profession. He superintended the construction of several of the notable buildings of the Capital. Among these were the State, War and Navy Building, the Li- brary of Congress, the Washington Public Library and the National Museum. The Li- brary of Congress was at first under the direc- tion of General Thomas L. Casey, with whom Mr. Green had been associated in operations by the government in the harbors 'of Portland, Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts. At the time of General Casey's death, while the Li- brary of Congress was building, ]Mr. Green was given entire charge of its construction by- Act of Congress. His name is closely con- nected with the history of the Washington JNIonument. He was the originator of the method used in strengthening the foundations of the Monument when its erection was re- sumed after the Civil War. He also designed the marble pyramidion which caps the summit of the great shaft. Mr. Green was a member of All Souls from the time of his coming to [103]
DENOMINATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Washington in the spring of 1877 until his death in 1914. He was a masterful man and left an indelible impression upon the minds of those who were associated with him.
[104]
CHAPTER X
HEIRLOOMS
An historic church needs some relics or heir- looms to complete its interest. The Unitar- ian Church is not lacking in this respect. The best known of these is the church bell. It was cast by Joseph W. Revere, son of Paul Revere. In a letter to Charles Bulfinch, written from Boston in September, 1821, ]Mr. Revere said: "A bell suitable for the church in Washington ought to weigh one thousand or twelve hun- dred pounds. If you shall employ me to make a bell for your church, I will cast as good an one as possible. It shall be subject to the examination of such persons as you shall see fit to appoint here. If it should not please them, another shall be cast without any ex- pense to you whatever. The price will be .40 p. lb. and it will be warranted with suitable usage, for one year." This letter was in reply to one from Charles Bulfinch dated August 17, 1821. That was a very early date in the [105]
HEIRLOOMS
history of the church and shows Mr. Bulfinch's foresight as to the .details of the building then hardly on paper. The early purchase of the bell was probably brought about by an acci- dent. What the architect had considered an accessory to the new building, needful for reli- gious purposes, a destructive fire in the neigh- borhood revealed as a valuable public utility. A report made by George S. Bulfinch and George W. May to the Committee on Man- agement on Sunday, July 7, 1822 — one month after the dedication of the church — stated that "immediately after the late destruc- tive fire had occurred, they in consequence of the obvious necessity of procuring a bell of sufficient size and power to alarm the citizens on similar occasions, voluntarily undertook to collect subscriptions from their fellow citizens generally for the purpose of purchasing such bell to be hung in the new Unitarian Church at the corner of D and Sixth Streets. They feel much pleasure in being able to announce to the Committee that the object has been favored by their fellow citizens and that it has received the liberal aid of the President of the United States. They would observe, however, that the aid last mentioned has been given condi- tionally, viz. : 'provided a bell of about 900 lbs. [106]
HYMNS,
SELECTED FROM VJiRlOVS dUTHOES,
rOB, THE LSn OF THE
UNITARIAN CHURCH
WASHINGTON.
" Giving thanks vmto the Father." Paul.
»' This is life eternal; that they might know tfief. THE ONLY TRLE GOD, and Jcsus' Christ, whom then hast sent." John 17, a.
WASHINGTON:
Ptinled by ]V. Cooper.
1821.
Facsimile of title page of Mr. Little's Hymn Book
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
in weight should not be procured previous to the 1st of January, 1823, then that the under- signed shall refund the sum so advanced, to wit, $100,' — and that the undersigned have be- come bound to the government to that effect. They further report that the amount of their subscription list, including the contribution of the President, is $4^19 and they now offer said funds to the Committee to be applied to said jDurpose under the limitations and conditions herein mentioned." At that time the Presi- dent of the United States was James JNIonroe. Dr. Shippen has said of the bell:
"Down to 1861 it was rung for public pur- poses. I am informed that it tolled a requiem for John Brown on the day of his death [Dec. 2, 1859]. Thenceforward it was de- nounced by some as an abolition bell and in the exciting time of 1861 its use by the city au- thorities was discontinued."
In 1909 it was found necessary to change the action of the hammer, as the side of the bell upon which it had struck for ninety years had grown dangerously thin. Mr. Revere had warranted it for one year, with suitable usage.
The communion service is also of interest and value. The flagon, which bears the name of Revere as maker, is thus inscribed: [107]
HEIRLOOMS
"Presented by the Society in Hollis Street, Boston, to Charles Bulfinch as a testimony of their grateful acknowledgment for the elegant plans fm-nished them for their Meeting House and for the unwearied care in the execution."
Reverse :
"1787. Presented to the First Unitarian Church,
Washington,
By
Charles and Hannah Bulfinch
June 1830."
The plates of the service were given by ^Irs. W. D. Stroud, and are made from silver used in the family of her aunts, Mrs. Nancy M. Johnson and Miss Mary Donaldson, "as a memorial of their faithful devotion to the lib- eral faith and of their interest and share in promoting its growth in this community." Upon the occasion of their first use, Easter Sunday, April 17, 1892, after some commem- orative remarks, Dr. Shippen read letters re- ceived from former pastors from which ex- tracts are made.
Rev. Joseph H. Allen said:
"I am glad that the memory of our dear, kind old friends, Mrs. Johnson and Miss Don- aldson, is to be so fitly and pleasantly pre- [108]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
served. A church is greatly privileged which has such lives to record among its many and rich memories of the just made perfect."
Of them Moncure D. Conway wrote:
"Since the beloved Teacher, many good women have given their bread to flesh and blood for the higher humanity, but I have known none more faithful and large hearted in such service than Mrs. Johnson and ^liss Don- aldson."
Frederick Douglass said:
"None better knew than they, that justice and mercy to the oppressed is the true cross of Christ of the present day — and this cross they nobly bore through a long life. Let them be remembered in the Church of All Souls — with Him who took His place among the lowly and went about doing good."
Dr. Shippen said:
"Loyal supporters of the Unitarian Church and faith through life, their house was the hospitable home for all workers for freedom and humanity. Widely known, respected and beloved, their table has often been one of high spiritual communion and their names and memory are fragrant and precious."
The individual cups were the gift in 1916 of the organist of the church, Mr. Lewis Corn- [109]
HEIRLOOMS
ing Atwater, in memory of his mother, Ada Corning Atwater.
The pulpit of the First Church was placed in the chapel of All Souls.
The baptismal font in All Souls was given by Miss Ahce Adams, and the pulpit Bible by Mrs. George Deering.
Memorial windows were presented by de- scendants of early families. Others placed memorial tablets on the walls. Mrs. Emma W. Fuller of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a grand-daughter of Robert Little, presented to the church in 1911 a manuscript book of serv- ices and prayers written by him. Some time afterward she sent to the church an account book which was owned and used by Mr. Little. This book contains a list of the contributors to the building fund of the First Church.
The church also possesses through the kind- ness of Mr. James F. Hood, many years a trustee, an original of its own first hymn-book, herein before mentioned; bearing the title: "hymns, Selected from Various Authors, for the Use of the unitarian church in WASHINGTON. Printed by W. Cooper, 1821." The little volume is 5I/2 ^ 3l/4 inches, and con- tains one hundred and one hymns. It is [110]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
in excellent preservation and is of such ex- cessive rarity that it may be unique. Other gifts from INIr. Hood are "A sermon preached before the Unitarian Society in the City of Wasliington on Sunday, July 15, 1821, by Robert Little"; a bound volume of eight discourses dehvered to the Society by ^Ir. Little on various dates from October 7, 1821, to July 4, 1824, two of them spoken in the hall of the House of Representatives; "A sermon on Making Good Resolutions, deliv- ered in the Unitarian Church, Washington City, January 1, 1832, by the Pastor" (Rev. Cazneau Palfrey) ; a small framed engraving, from copper, of the "Unitarian Church, Wash- ington, published by Sherwood, Neely and Jones, London, January 1, 1823," and another engraving somewhat larger, also from copper, "View in Washington City, first unitarian CHURCH, City Hall in the distance," undated, but printed about the year 1825.
The silver trowel, suitably inscribed, used by President Taft at the laying of the corner stone of the Church designed to be built on Sixteenth Street, was furnished for the oc- casion by Mr. Hood and has been added to the heirlooms of the Society. [Ill]
CHAPTER XI
NATIONAL ADHERENTS
The Unitarian Church of Washington has been proud and rightly so, of the fact that three such celebrated men as John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore and John C. Cal- houn have been her adherents. To find these names counted among those of the regular at- tendants of an orthodox church of the Capital is somewhat disconcerting to the enthusiastic but not well-informed devotee, while to the impartial seeker for information it is mislead- ing if stated without explanation. During the presidential campaign of 1908, wherein the successful candidate was a Unitarian, the as- sertion was made in a local paper and prob- ably in others, that "while there have been Unitarian presidents there is no record of any president's having attended the Unitarian Church," and that "there is no assertion that the later Adams and Millard Fillmore at- [112]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
tended the church after its establishment in 1821."
Concerning JNIr. Adams, this statement would seem to be refuted by the following pas- sage from the Diary of that gentleman. Not- ing therein the death of Rev. Robert Little in 1827, Mr. Adams said:
"This is a fact greatly to be lamented by his congregation of whom I was one. I had con- stantly attended on his ministrations for the last seven years."
Associate Justice Joseph Storj^ writing of a special occasion at the First Church, refer- ring to President J. Q. Adams, said:
"The President attended and indeed he gen- erally attends this church."
That John Quincy Adams was a regular at- tendant at the church from its beginning to the end of his life is without doubt. When Mr. Little visited JNIassachusetts on his trip soliciting funds for building the church, he wrote home:
"I had a very pleasant interv^iew with Presi- dent Adams [Ex-president John Adams] at Quincy last week and he seems much pleased with his son's attachment to our Society." [113]
NATIONAL ADHERENTS
The Rev. Joseph Henry Allen, minister of the First Unitarian Church at the time of Mr. Adams' death, in a memorial sermon to him on February 27, 1848, said:
"We fondly remember how but a few weeks since neither age nor feebleness, nor storm, nor darkness, detained him from his accustomed place on the Lord's day."
From his Diary, one learns that Mr. Adams often attended the afternoon service at St. John's, and that he also attended the Presby- terian Church. Mr. Adams was essentially devout, but a lover of argument as well, and frequent churchgoing may have been neces- sary to him for mental stimulus as well as for spiritual comfort. He was a daily reader of the Bible and confessed that he had tried hard to believe the doctrine of the trinity, because certain passages in the New Testament seemed to countenance it. But his caustic comments on a sermon on that subject which he heard at St. John's in 1839, indicate very clearly the conclusion at which he had arrived in regard to the matter. The peculiar tenets of Calvinism were no less mercilessly criticised by him in writing of a sermon he heard in the Presbyterian Church, December 3, 1837 — both [114]
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dates later than his presidency. ]Mr. Adams was also critical of sermons he heard from Mr. Little and charged him on one occasion with not having respect enough for his text. The sermon was on miracles and was delivered Xovember 12, 1826. He speaks in his auto- biography also of the fact of ]Mr. Little's ob- jection to the baptism of children as "one of Mr. Little's great errors." This was apropos of his having attended the First Church when JNIr. JNIott baptized several children.
Mr. Adams resented unjust or flippant crit- icism of Unitarians, as is amusingly shown in his treatment of Mr. Tazewell of Virginia. That gentleman, when dining with Mr. Adams, remarked that Tokay and Rhenish wine tasted exactly alike; whereupon his host asserted that he did not believe that Mr. Taze- well had ever tasted a drop of genuine Tokay wine. But INIr. Adams was so troubled over his rudeness to a guest, that he sent Mr. Taze- well a note of apology. Recording the inci- dent in his journal he said:
"I was moved to speak as I did because Mr. Tazewell had said that he never knew a Uni- tarian who did not believe in the Sea Serpent."
When in Congress and while Vice-Presi- [115]
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dent, Millard Fillniore retained and paid for a pew in the First Church. Upon his succes- sion to the presidency, and after the settle- ment of his invalid wife and family in the White House, he accepted the oif er made him by St. John's Church of a pew there, as he said, because of its nearness to his home and greater convenience for his family. Whether this action was the courtesy to fashion that is sometimes made by those in high places, or was the result of political wounds received in the house of his friends, cannot here be stated, but it probably was taken as he said for the convenience of his family. Mr. Fillmore's Unitarianism was of too long standing to be impeached by, nor did his attendance at the First Church cease with, his acceptance else- where, as is indicated in a letter written by him.
The fact that John C. Calhoun was also an attendant at St. John's might seem to nullify the claim which the Unitarian Church makes upon him. His biographer, Mr. Gaillard Hunt, saj^s:
"Unitarianism attracted him as it did many
of the public men of his day; he contributed
to the erection of the First Unitarian Church
in Washington and had a pew there. Not-
[116]
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withstanding this, he commonly attended the Episcopal Church of which his wife was a member. He was raised in the Presbyterian Church."
The Seaton biographical sketch speaks of him as "a warm friend and consistent adherent of Unitarianism."
Chief Justice John Marshall is sometimes included in the number of celebrated men who were connected with the First Unitarian Church of Washington. He is generally claimed as a Unitarian by the denomination. His biographer, Mr. Albert J. Beveridge, says: "The evidence as to his own views and feelings on the subject of religion, although scanty, is definite. He was a Unitarian in belief and therefore never became a member of the Episcopal Church, to which his parents, wife, children, and all other relatives be- longed." Associate Justice Story, who was a Unitarian and an interested attendant of the First Church, said in his eulogy of the great jurist: "Among Christian sects, he person- ally attached himself to the Episcopal Church. It was the religion of his early education and became afterwards that of his choice. But he was without the slightest touch of bigotry or intolerance."
[117]
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The founders of the First Unitarian Church were very careful to make known the fact that the organization was to be congregational. In an account book kept by Mr. Little, the list of contributors is headed by the statement that the money is given for "the establishment of a church on the principles of a resolution taken from the minutes of the Society, viz.: 'Sep. 1820. Resolved that it is the intention of this meeting that in the church proposed to be erected for Unitarian worship in this city the government and order of the Society shall be strictly congregational, the Pastor and officers chosen by the people and all commit- tees of management elected only for limited periods and for specific purposes.' "
This list of subscribers carries first the name of Thomas Law, who gave the largest amount noted, viz.: one hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. Law was an eccentric Englishman of very broad religious ideas who, with his brother John, had become a citizen of the new republic. John Law was also a generous contributor. His name occurs again among the first pew owners.
A name not heretofore mentioned as a con- tributor is that of William H. Crawford, fol- lowing those of John Quincy Adams and John [118]
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C. Calhoun, with which it makes a trio distin- guished in national history. JNIr. Crawford had served as both Secretary of the Treasury and of War in the cabinet of President Madison. In 1824 he was a republican candidate for the presidency, as were John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay with Andrew Jackson in opposi- tion. Calhoun was candidate for the vice- presidency and was elected, but the presiden- tial election was thrown into the House of Representatives and Adams was chosen.
Among the contributors from abroad was Anios Lawrence of Boston, whose widely known philanthropy did not protect him from theological attacks by the orthodox. On one such occasion Father Taylor, in reply to the statement that a Unitarian could not go to heaven, told this story of Amos Lawrence's pocketbook. One fold of the book was in- scribed, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose .his own soul?"; an- other, "The gold is mine, said the Lord of Hosts," and another, "He that giveth to the poor, lendeth to the Lord." Father Taylor had asked the reason for these inscriptions and Mr. Lawrence had said that as men grow old they afe apt to grow selfish and he wished to be reminded of the great principles of the gos- [119]
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pel by which he ought to hold and to use his worldly goods. Therefore he kept money in these folds for all the good purposes that Providence might suggest.
The names of two other subscribers suggest the now and the then of Unitarianism. They are Samuel A. Eliot and William Ellery Channing. The latter was the first great apostle of Unitarianism; the former was the grandfather of the present President of the American Unitarian Association who bears the same name.
In this list are found the names of Thomas and George Bulfinch, as well as that of their father, Charles Bulfinch. They were young men in business when the family left Boston for Washington. Their business was that of building materials, which was quite in line with their father's profession. Their subscriptions were partly if not wholly paid in materials for the church building. George Bulfinch inher- ited something of his father's talent, but Thomas found business irksome and gave it up to become a bank clerk in Boston. He was able then to devote himself to the things he liked best and made himself known as the au- thor of "The Age of Fable." This work has been the basis of several modern works on [120]
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mythology. He was appointed secretary of the first meeting called to consider the forma- tion of a Unitarian society and his signature is on the copy of the resolution offered by Wilham Eliot on the 31st of July, 1820.
Mr. Little was very methodical in his ac- counts and in his reports to the church. The last entry in the little book is not without a hint of sentiment. It is:
"July 12, 1821. The workmen commenced digging the foundation for the church. August 12th. All the window frames in. September 12th. Roof putting on. October 23rd. Covered in. June 9, 1822. Opened for worship."
Mr. Little would seem to have had the whole affair well in hand and if his plans had met with the response which he expected from the church and the public much financial trouble would have been avoided. As it was, only one-half of the subscriptions in Washington were ever paid in, and the sale of pews was not so gen- eral as he hoped and as was necessary finan- cially.
ri2i]
CHAPTER XII
THE NEW ALL SOULS
By the year 1909 Unitarian Church history began to repeat itself. The congregation was aware that in the near future another removal to a location more secure from the merciless en- croachment of commercialism would be neces- sary together with a building larger and bet- ter suited to the needs of the organization. At the annual meeting of the year, Mr. Ber- nard R. Green, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said of the development of the church and the limiitations of- its building: "This it has in turn outgrown in the short period of about thirty years, keeping pace with the modern growth of the city itself and now it must burst its bonds and be more adequately housed for its third period of advancing life."
It was voted at this time that a committee of ten associated with the trustees be appointed to consider the question of increased accom- modations for the church. On June 2nd this [122]
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committee reported that "All Souls Church re- quires a new edifice and accessories which make a new site necessary." The report was adopted. The committee of ten was enlarged to thirty to take in charge the matter of a new church, the enlarged committee to consist of the nine trustees, the ten who had served on the committee which had just reported and eleven additional members.
As in 1877, so in 1909, no effective action could be taken without the aid and consent of the American Unitarian Association. Con- sultation with that body resulted in an arrange- ment whereby the property at Fourteenth and L Streets might be sold and a site elsewhere selected and bought. Committees were ap- pointed for these purposes and for the collec- tion of necessary funds. After consideration of several sites, and the selection of one, the title of which proved faulty causing its rejec- tion, the committee of Thirty secured an op- tion of lots 74 to 85 in square 192 on Sixteenth Street near R. The American Unitarian As- sociation approved the site and the church authorized its purchase together with as much of lot 73 as might be necessary. This land was afterward referred to as lot 104 in square 192. There on February 13, 1913 — ominous fig- [123]
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ures — the cornerstone taken from All Souls was relaid by Ptresident William Howard Taft, as the beginning of a new All Souls Church and Edward Everett Hale Parish House. Funds in cash and subscriptions to the amount of $90,000 were raised. A satis- factory plan for the edifice was selected from a competition. The lot was paid for, leaving a small cash balance, but nothing more was pos- sible until the sale of the property at Four- teenth and L Streets. Three years of discus- sion and effort had passed before this partial Success was achieved. They had been years of special interest otherwise to the people of All Souls, as they were included in the presidency of Mr. Taft, whose presence at the church serv- ices had been very regular. The fact of his Unitarianism and his attendance at All Souls had been a source of publicity for the church, not always exact in statement, but al- ways gratifying in the opportunity given for making better known to many per- sons the faith held in common with this dis- tinguished citizen.
Of the last day of President Taft's atten- dance at the church, the minister, the Rev. U. G. B. Pierce, said in his annual report of 1913: "And Sunday, March 2nd. On that day we [124]
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bade sincere and affectionate good-bye to the President of the United States who for four years had worshipped with us. The service was simple and severe — that is our way. An address by the President of the Board of Trus- tees, the Honorable Duncan U. Fletcher; the presentation of the portrait of INIr. Taft by Prof. A. W. Spanhoofd on behalf of the Uni- tarian Club ; the touching farewell of the Presi- dent himself; the singing of Blest be the Tie That Binds; the reception by the President to the members of All Souls; the last good-bye and salute by the Boy Scouts, our boys, as the White House automobile sped away ; it is easy to recite all this but it is not easy to say what it meant to us and how we remember the occa- sion as one about which to tell our children. And now we return to normal church life. We are thankful that during all these years there was no accident or disturbance; and we trust that to our honored fellow-worshippers, as to us, the memory of those years may be without spot or blemish."
Within a year and a half thereafter, the World War made life abnormal for all man- kind. Upon the entrance into the war by our own government all the interest, energy and money of the congregation of All Souls were [125]
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diverted into patriotic channels and church building was necessarily postponed.
It happened in the course of time that. the desirability of the site on Sixteenth Street was greatly lessened by the erection next it of a large apartment house. When an offer of $105,000 cash was made for the lots by the company building there, it was deemed best to accept it and buy elsewhere, always with the ratification of the American Unitarian Asso- ciation. The corner stone, which was fast be- coming a veritable Ark of the Covenant to the Unitarian people, was removed from Sixteenth Street and returned to Fourteenth and L Streets to await developments, the first of which was the recommendation in January, 1920, by the Board of Trustees, that a site for the church be bought at Sixteenth and Har- vard Streets, consisting of lots 20 to 22 and 807 to 818 in square 2577. Those members of the church present at the special meeting of January 2, 1920, voted that this site be pur- chased at a price not exceeding $90,000. The vote was sixty in the affirmative to eight in the negative. At the same meeting the Trustees announced a proposal lately made to them by the Buick Motor Company that that company would rent the property at Fourteenth and L [126]
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Streets for ten years at an annual rental of $30,000, provided the church would erect thereon a building of design approved by the company. It was moved that this be done. The motion gave rise to serious discussion. The desirability of creating from this property a source of future revenue for the church was set forth, while in opposition was shown the great risk of building in such uncertain and abnormal times. The motion was carried by a vote of 32 to 27. A committee of three to be selected from the Board of Trustees and mem- bership at large with the Chairman of the Board, INIr. George A. Bicker, as advisory member and the Secretary of the Chm'ch, JNIr. Elmer Stewart, as secretary, to consummate the proposition, was also authorized.
Thus in a few moments were the affairs of All Souls changed from a state of stagnation to one of liveliest activity. The church was to be abandoned and torn down. A temporary place of worship was to be found. A large business building was to be put up at once, and a church as soon as possible. Necessary ar- rangements between tlie three parties con- cerned, viz.: the Church, the Association and the Motor Company, consumed several weeks, but by the middle of June, 1920, All Souls [127]
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Church had become a memory only for those who had loved it for years, and in its place foundations were laid for an industrial build- ing six stories in height.
The first step toward the building of a new church was the selection of an architect. After consultation with the American Unitarian Association, it was decided that the rules of the American Institute of Architects should be followed in this selection. The competition was limited to six firms or individuals. Prof. Warren P. Laird, Head of the Department of Architecture of the University of Pennsyl- vania, acted as architectural adviser for the church. It was his duty to prepare the pro- gram for the competition. This he did from data furnished by the Trustees and the Com- mittee, setting forth the needs, the wishes and the ideals of the church in regard to its pros- pective home. The plan was to include a Par- ish House. One stipulation was "That the de- sign typify Unitarian ideas and ideals and at the same time harmonize with the architecture of Washington and fit into the surroundings of the chosen site." The completed drawings were to be judged by a jury elected by the competing architects. The jury elected was Cass Gilbert, Henry Bacon and John Wyn- [128]
All Souls Church and Edward Everett Hale Memorial Parish House, 1922. (Architects' drawing)
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koop, all of New York, three of the most dis- tinguished architects of the country.
By decision of the jury, the architect whose plans should best meet the given conditions would become automatically as it were the ar- chitect of the new Unitarian Church of Wash- ington. The jury agreed that design No. 5 best met the conditions stated. This proved to be that submitted by the firm of Coolidge and Shattuck, of Boston. This design, with some modifications, is the plan from which the new All Souls Church and Parish House is being built.
In an article published in the Christian Reg- ister of September 29, 1921, Mr. George A. Ricker, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said:
"The practical details of the plan have many features of interest. The approach to the church proper is by a monumental terrace up broad flights of steps and through a portico with tall Corinthian columns surmounted by a pediment, above which rises the graceful spire. The auditorium is in the typical Colonial style with a barrel-vaulted ceiling supported by col- umns. The organ and choir gallery are over the entrance vestibule. There are also side galleries. The maximum seating capacity will be nine hundred and thirty-four, of which [129]
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number six hundred and sixty-six will be on the floor and two hundred and sixty-eight in the galleries.
"Flanking and connecting with the far end of the church are wing buildings of two stories and basements housing the social and educa- tional facilities; the right wing containing an assembly-room, with dining-room in the base- ment; the left wing, class-rooms and club- rooms for men and women, with the boiler and storage-rooms in the basement. These two wings extend a considerable distance to the street back of the church proper, and are united by a narrow one-story connecting build- ing on the street side, enclosing an open court which will have a cloister and garden. This cloister and its garden, corresponding to the cloister garth of the old churches, will be a most charming place for rest as well as a centre of interest for social functions whether in the afternoon or evening. The basement of the main building is planned to house the rec- reational activities of the institution, the gym- nasium and swimming-pool. A decorative fence around the group will enclose other spaces on either side of the church proper which may be laid out with lawns and plant- ing. The group of buildings will be con- structed in the Colonial materials, dark red brick and light stone."
On Thursday, September 8, 1921, ground [130]
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was broken for this building and a little later the work of laying its foundation was begun. The last service held in All Souls Church at Fourteenth and L Streets was on March 14, 1920. The text of the sermon delivered by Dr. Pierce was the same as that chosen by Dr. MacCauley when his congregation bade fare- well to the First Church: Genesis xii, 7-8. He said:
"Built into the very structure of this church, pervading its history, animating our very spirits, urging on our spiritual life, the great stream of hfe of our fathers still persists; and it is not for our righteousness or for any sense of power in ourselves, primarily, that we are enabled to take up in our day and in our gen- eration the work that they did so nobly in theirs. And in a peculiar sense we are chil- dren of our spiritual parents.
"What we want is what our fathers wanted — a place of worship adequate, not simply to some of our needs, but adequate for all our growing needs whereby we may serve our com- munity and our generation. That is the ideal as I understand it — the only ideal that is worth while. We would like such a place of worship, with its parish house, that those who come to Washington and honor us by worshipping with us shall not necessarily say it was the big- gest tiling that ever was, the most gorgeous, or the most costly, but that they may feel that [131]
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here is a sanctuary which, with its emphasis on the human end of rehgion, typifies the simple, the straightforward, the practical gospel of the Unitarian Church."
After this sermon, two communications were read by the Minister, one expressing the wish, if agreeable to the church and congregation, "to present to it a communion table as one more link between the old church and the new, in memoiy of all those whose lives have been built into this church and into whose labors we have entered." The other said: "Wlien the new church building is erected on the site recently purchased at Sixteenth and Harvard Streets, I desire the privilege of donating a full and complete set of chimes for the belfry as a mem- orial to my father." The names of the donors were withheld. These offers were ac- cepted by a rising vote of the congregation. It was also voted, upon motion of the Minis- ter, that "the affectionate salutations of this church be sent to Dr. MacCauley," sole sur- viving Minister of the old church, at Tokyo, Japan.
The sermon was followed by a particularly solemn and impressive communion service, with which ended the life of the church in its home of forty-two years. [132]
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On ^larch 21, 1920, the congregation met in the Knickerbocker Theater, at Eighteenth Street and Columbia Road, which had been generously offered it as a meeting place in- definitely by the managers of the theater. ^ An apartment in the immediate vicinity was secured by the trustees for use of the various organizations of the church and, thus accom- modated, the members have patiently, cheer- fully and hopefully waited for the dawn of bet- ter times when building operations might be begun. That nothing might be lacking on their part, they contributed $100,000 to the Unitarian Campaign Fund of 1920.
The one hundredth anniversary of the or- ganization of the Unitarian Church of Wash- ington, D. C, was celebrated on Sunday, November G, 1921. This anticipated the cen- tenary by five days. Sunday was chosen, so that all interested might be present. More- over, the 11th of November, the exact centen-
1 On the night of Saturday, January 28, 1922, the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater collapsed, causing death or injury to many persons. Within a few days thereafter the Manager of B. F. Keith's Theater, Mr. Roland S. Bobbins, extended to the congregation of All Souls an invitation to hold its Sun- day services there until the new church should be completed. This invitation was accepted and the first service there was held on February 5, 1922.
[133]
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nial, was to be the day of the ceremonies at- tending the burial of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington. The service held at the theater was largely attended. Addresses were made by the Minister, the Rev U. G. B. Pierce; by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr. George A. Ricker; by the Rev. Samuel A. Eliot, President of the American Unitarian Association, and by Chief Justice William Howard Taft, President of the Unitarian Con- ference.
[134]
CHAPTER XIII
MINISTERS OF ALL SOULS CHURCH
The ministers of All Souls Church have been but four in number: Clay MacCauley, Rush R. Shippen, E. Bradford Leavitt and Ulysses G. B. Pierce.
In February, 1877, the Rev. Clay Mac- Cauley was asked to serve temporarily as pas- tor for the First Church, and in July of that year was elected to the position permanently. His service dated from September, 1877, to September, 1880. The three years included between these dates were important ones in the history of the church. Mr. JNIacCauley Jias said that he found in his "new field a de- voted but small band of regular attendants at the church. In the community, however, a considerable number of persons, who had once been either active members of the Society or its friends, were then holding themselves aloof." It seemed to Dr. MacCauley that a reorganization of the church with a new sys- [135]
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tematization of its departments might help in the reconciliation of differences and in infus- ing new life. This with the sanction of the trustees he proceeded to effect.
He wrote a new constitution, associating with it a Bond of Union for church member- ship, and made a new grouping of the various organizations within the church, "And that the mission of the Church might be strongly and accurately signalized" he proposed for it the name of All Souls Church.
It was fortunate that such a leader answered the call of the church at that time. He brought to its service a well-trained mind. He had torn away the husks of orthodox dogma from the kernel of truth which they conceal, and had resolved thereafter to interpret that truth after the liberal manner. He was a graduate of Princeton, where his course had been interrupted by a year of service in the Civil War when he suffered wounds and im- prisonment. He had spent three years of study in Germany. He was born in Cham- bersburg, Pennsylvania, and there when a boy he heard Frederick Douglass speak, spell- bound by that masterful orator. Years after- ward Frederick Douglass, in the audience of All Souls, often listened to Dr. MacCauley. [136]
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The reorganization of the church proved its efficiency in enlarged congregations and in- creased interest. In May, 1880, Dr. INIac- Cauley resigned his position and most of his life since then has been spent in Japan, where he has served in the Unitarian INIission in To- kyo. Of him and his work in Japan, the Secretary of the American Unitarian Asso- ciation, the Rev. Louis C. Cornish, has said:
"By his knowledge of Japanese, by his Japanese text-books, long and widely used, by his position as a broad-minded and public- spirited servant of the two countries. Dr. Mac- Cauley has slowly gained in Japan a position which is unique both for the affection in which he is held and the influence he has been able to exert. In a recent letter from Ambassa- dor Morris, the representative of the United States in Japan, to the Governor of the Phil- ippines, commenting upon Dr. INIacCauley's approaching visit to the Islands, he described Dr. MacCauley as follows: —
" 'Dr. ^lacCauley, of Tokyo, has been for many years one of the most loyal and effec- tive Americans in Japan. He is a member of the American Unitarian Association, and his services have been chiefly engaged in the spread of liberal Christianity in Japan; but his influence has gone far beyond any limit of church or creed, and today he is our most dis- [137]
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tinguished as well as most liberal fellow-coun- tryman here/ "
Dr. JNIacCauley has lately returned to America after resigning his position in Tokyo.
The Rev. Rush R. Shippen succeeded Dr. MacCauley as minister of All Souls. He had been prominent in the affairs of the denomin- ation for many years, having served as Secre- tary of the American Unitarian Association. In that position he had been in close touch with the rejuvenation and rehabilitation of the Washington church. He had officiated at the dedication of All Souls in 1878 and must have been welcomed as an old friend when he came as minister in 1881. With his pastorate the church entered upon a more active life than had yet been hers.
During these years, by arrangement between the church and the American Unitarian As- sociation, prominent Unitarian ministers were heard here in the winter months.
Dr. Shippen was a man of fine presence, and, when called upon for public speaking outside the church, always rose to the emer- gency and gave distinction to the day. Little children loved him. He is vividly and kindly remembered by his Washington parishioners [138]
The Reverend Ulysses G. B. Pierce, Minister since 1901. Underwood & Underwood, Washington
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and as a citizen of the District of Columbia was known and appreciated. Dr. Shippen resigned the pastorate in 1895.
After a pastorless interval of fourteen months, during which the pulpit was supplied by ministers from different parts of the coun- try, the church called the Rev. E. Bradford Leavitt, who was installed January 13, 1897. In 1900 ]Mr. Leavitt resigned his position and went to San Francisco, California, as pastor of the First Unitarian Church of that city. His stay in Washington, though short, left the impression of a man of earnest convictions which he expressed ably.
The requirements necessary for a minister suitable for the Washington church set forth by Associate Justice Story in his letter of the early days may never be completely met, but they found a very satisfactory fulfillment in 1901, when the Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce entered its pulpit. He met a congregation ready to help in making the church what its founders so earnestly wished it might be, a national center from which should radiate the truth, the goodness and the beauty of a liberal faith. As a guide to this end he has not hesi- tated, nor has he cliosen a circuitous route. Preaching the plain truth, he has avoided ex- [139]
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travagance of statement or of style. Sensa- tionalism has not weakened the force of its presentation, and asking the bread of life the people have not been given the stone of eco- nomic, socialistic or political theory. The need of a pure and an applied Christianity has been made plain to them and their respon- sibility as individuals, and as a church, in help- ing to supply this need. The function of re- ligion in every possible phase of human life has been preached with persistency, in a man- ner vigorous and impressive enough to gratify a modern audience, and yet not lacking in the "engaging suavity" which Associate Justice Story thought desirable.
The pulpit of All Souls during the World War was a source of loyalty, of comfort, of strength and faith that right would prevail, while the daily life of its minister was a suc- cession of deeds, private and public, helping to- ward the, great consummation. Dr. Pierce is another of the Unitarian ministers whom the legislative department of the government has been pleased to call into its service. He served the United States Senate as Chaplain from 1909 to 1913. In the history of the Unitarian Church of Washington, the names of William Henry Channing and Ulysses G. [140]
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B. Pierce will be associated as preachers and as leaders in two great national epochs. Of New England birth, Dr. Pierce's ministry has led him to the Middle West and the Pacific Coast. He has been located at Decorah, Iowa, and Pomona, California. When called to Wash- ington, he was in charge of the church at Ithaca, New York.
The ministry of Dr. Pierce in Washington is the longest in the annals of the parish. It embraces a little more than one-fifth of the century ending November 11, 1921 — twenty years and more of hearty co-operation between minister and people in the work begun by the little band of 1821. The ideal of the early days was not lost during the growth of the struggling First Church into the well-organ- ized All Souls and in its preservation there has developed a sense of spiritual kinship among its followers.
An examination of this period reveals the gradual disappearance from church meetings and councils of many who were prominent there at its beginning, but it also shows, in many instances, their places held by sons and daughters of the same willingness and devo- tion. Together with these are increasing numbers, drawn by the minister's presentation [141]
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of a gospel so attractive and convincing as to enlist their enthusiastic aid in its wider dis- semination. Examination also shows the de- votion, sedulously cultivated in the interests of its faith, to have been equally strong for the preservation of the state as expressed in loy- alty of word and thought and deed in the nu- merous ways which offered during the World War. Numbers of its youth answered the call to arms, and three of these did not return ; Jesse M. Robinson, Fred E. Smith and Earnest E. Weibel. The contributions of money by the congregation to the Young Men's Christian Association and to the Red Cross were not inconsiderable. The women were active in the local service of the latter organization. It was the happy thought of Miss Helen Nicolay of All Souls that the Uni- tarian women of the Middle States should raise sufficient funds for the restoration of the village of Fleville in France. Under her su- pervision, this was successfully accomplished. All Souls was fortunate in having in her mem- bership scientific men whose specialties were such as to prove invaluable to the government when offered for its service in its time of need. An incident of the World War in which All Souls was entitled to take pride was the fa- [142]
A CENTURY OF UNITARIANISM
mous Tep\y of Capt. Joseph Taussig to Ad- miral Bayly of the British Navy. Capt. Taussig commanded the first division of the fleet of torpedo-boat destroyers sent by the United States to the rehef of England and France. Immediately after the fleet's arrival at Queenstown, Taussig called upon the Ad- miral in command there, who asked "When will you be ready to go to sea?" Capt. Taussig answered, "We are ready now, sir." All Souls knew Taussig as one of her own in Sunday School and congregation during boy- hood and early manhood.
Several years of this period of the church's history were enriched by the companionship of Edward Everett Hale, who, after the time of storm and stress which he had foreseen in his early days, found in Washington a resting place before taking leave of earthly things. His memory will be perpetuated in the Parish House which will bear his name.
That this pastorate may reach well into the church's second century is the hope of all who have thus far shared its duties, its pleasures and its anxieties.
At present, and may it long be so. All Souls Unitarian Church stands four-square to the world with "all the windows of her soul wide- [143]
MINISTERS OF ALL SOULS
open to the day"; which is to say that she is ever ready to lend a hand in the world's work, and that she is on the watch for new truth, whose coming she will welcome with hospital- ity. Conscious of the changing order in the thoughts of men, she will strive more earnestly to justify her existence by "translating into life" the two commandments which may be called the canons of her faith, viz.: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength"; and the no less important one: "Thou shalt love thy neigh- bor as thyself," for she believes that "upon these hang all the law and the prophets."
[144]
APPENDIX
Original JVIembers of
The First Unitarian Church
OF Washington, D. C.
William Winston Seaton Joseph Gales, Sr. Joseph Gales, Jr. John Quincy Adams John C. Calhoun William G. Eliot Charles Bulfinch John F. Webb C. S. Fowler William Cranch Moses Poor N. P. Poor G. F. May
P.
Noah Fletcher Richard Wallach Robert Little Seth Hyatt C. Andrews C. Robinson Pishey Thompson Thos. Bates A. B. Waller Thos. C. Wright M. Claxton S. Franklin Wm. Cooper Mauro
[145]
APPENDIX
Ministers of the Unitarian Church. Washington^ D. C.
|
Robert Little |
1821 |
- |
1827 |
||
|
Andrew Bigelow |
1828 |
- |
1829 |
||
|
Cazneau Palfrey- |
1830 |
- |
1836 |
||
|
Frederic A. Farley |
1836 |
7 |
months |
||
|
Stephen G. Bulfinch |
1838 |
- |
1844 |
||
|
Edward Everett Hale |
Oct., |
1844 |
- |
March, |
1845 |
|
Orville Dewey |
Nov., |
1846 |
- |
April, |
1847 |
|
Samuel Longfellow |
April, |
1847 |
|||
|
Joseph Henry Allen |
1847 |
- |
1850 |
||
|
Orville Dewey |
Dec, |
1851 |
- |
June, |
1852 |
|
Orville Dewey |
Dec, |
1852 |
- |
July, |
1853 |
|
Moncure D. Conway |
1854 |
- |
1856 |
||
|
Wm. D. Haley |
1858 |
- |
1861 |
||
|
William H. Channing |
1861 |
- |
1865 |
||
|
Rufus P. Stebbins |
1865 |
6 |
months |
||
|
William Sharman |
1868 |
- |
1870 |
||
|
Frederic Hinckley |
1870 |
- |
1875 |
||
|
Clay MacCauley |
1877 |
- |
1880 |
||
|
Rush R. Shippen |
1881 |
- |
1895 |
||
|
E. Bradford Leavitt |
1897 |
- |
1900 |
||
|
Ulysses G. B. Pierce |
1901 |
- |
[146]
APPENDIX
Trustef-s of First Church
1823. W. W. Seaton Richard Wallach
Charles Bulfinch John Bailey
Committee of Management. Charles Bulfinch W. W. Seaton
Benjamin Thomas Pishey Thompson
P. Mauro Moses Poor
George W. May
1826.
Trustees. Charles Bulfinch W. W. Seaton
Joseph Gales^ Jr.
1829. Trustees. Charles Bulfinch W. W. Seaton
Joseph Gales, Jr. Committee of Management. T. B. Barrel Charles S. Fowler
William Cranch
1835. Committee of Management. William Cranch William G. Eliot
Joseph Gales
1838. Committee of Management. William Cranch Pishey Thompson
Joseph Gales W. G. Eliot
[147]
APPENDIX
Trustees of All Souls Church
. 1877-78. Henry A. Willard Gen. L. H. Pelouze
Dr. J. H. Baxter Dr. W. F. Wallace
Dr. R. A. Bacon George B. Clark
W. P. Dunwoody I. P- Libby
W. C. Murdock
1878-79. Wm. C, Murdock Reuben A. Bacon
Col. Jedediah H. Baxter Henry A. Willard George B. Clark Wm. P. Dunwoody
Justice Samuel F. Miller Gen. Geo. F. Cutter Com. Isaiah Hanscom W. P. Dunwoody, Secretary Dr. W. F. Wallace, Treasurer
1879-80. Henry A. Willard George B. Clark
Wm. P. Dunwoody Justice Samuel F. Miller
Paymaster Gen. Geo. F. Cutter Com, Isaiah Hanscom W. Scott Smith
Col. John Cassels Dr. W. F. Wallace
1880-81. Justice Samuel F. Miller Gen. Geo. F. Cutter Hon. Wm. E. Chandler Col. John Cassels W. Scott Smith Dr. W. F. Wallace
Henry A. Willard Col. J. H. Baxter
W. C. Murdock [148]
APPENDIX
1881-82. W. Scott Smith, Chairman John Cassels Dr. W. F. Wallace
Col. J. H. Baxter H. A. Willard
W. C. Murdock Hon, W. A. Richardson
Geo. E. Baker W. P. Dunwoody
J. B. T. Tupper, Secretary H. B. Bennett, Treasurer
1882-83. W. P. Dunwoody, Chairman Col. J. H. Baxter H. A. Willard
W. C. Murdock Hon. W. A. Richardson
Geo. E. Baker Hon. Wm. E. Chandler
Dr. Geo. N. French O. R. Merrill
B. R. Green, Secretary Geo. A. King, Treasurer
1883-84. Geo. E. Baker, Chairman Hon. W. A. Richardson W. P. Dunwoody Hon. W. E. Chandler Dr. Geo. N. French
O. R. Merrill Justice S. F. Miller
S. R. Bond Bernard R. Green
Wm. J. Canby, Secretary Geo. A. King, Treasurer
1884-85. Bernard R. Green, Chairman Hon. Wm. E. Chandler Dr. Geo. N. French O. R. Merrill Justice S. F. Miller
S. R. Bond Hon. Dorman B. Eaton
Dr. John Edwin Mason H. B. Bennett [149]
APPENDIX
1885-86. Bernard R. Green, Chairman Justice S. F. Miller S. R. Bond
Hon. Dorman B. Eaton Dr. John Edwin Mason H. B. Bennett Wm. P. Dunwoody
Maj. S. Willard Saxton Prof. Edward A. Fay
1886-87. Geo. A. King, Chairman Dr. T. H. Sherwood Dr. John Edwin Mason
H. B. Bennett Wm. P. Dunwoody
Maj. S. Willard Saxton Prof. Edward A. Fay John R. Gisburne Wm. A. Richardson
Wm. J. Canby, Secretary Chas. W. Hills, Treasurer
1887-88. Geo. A. King, Chairman Prof. Edward A. Fay Robt. S. Fletcher
William Hutchinson Wm. A. Richardson
John R. Gisburne James B. T. Tupper
William Brough Harvey Spalding
Wm. J. Canby, Secretary Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer
1888-89. Geo. A. King, Chairman James B. T. Tupper Wm. A. Richardson
William Brough John R. Gisburne
Edward C. Seward Harvey Spalding
Samuel R. Bond Bernard R. Green
1889-90. Samuel R. Bond, Chairman James B. T. Tupper William Brough
[150]
APPENDIX
Harvey Spalding Edward C. Seward
Bernard R. Green Charles W. Hills
Gen. A. W. Greely Prof. Edward A. Fay
1890-91. Samuel R. Bond, Chairman Bernard R. Green Maj. S. Willard Saxton
Charles W. Hills Gen. A. W. Greely
Prof. Edward A. Fay Myron M. Parker
William Hutchinson Hon. Carroll D. Wright
Dr. Thos. H. Sherwood, Secretary Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer
1891-92. Henry F. Blount, Chairman Geo. A. King Hon. Wm. A. Richardson
Myron M. Parker Wm. Hutchinson
Hon. Carroll D. Wright Charles W. HiUs Prof. Edward A. Fay Gen. A. W. Greely
1892-93. Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman W^illiam Hutchinson Myron M. Parker
Henry F. Blount Geo. A. King
Samuel R. Bond Wm. A. Richardson
Dr. A. B. Jameson Bernard R. Green
1893-94. Samuel R. Bond. Chairman Henry F. Blount Geo. A. King
Wm. A. Richardson Bernard R. Green
Dr. A. B. Jameson George A. Bacon
Nathan Bickford Gen. C. H. Smith
[151]
APPENDIX
1894-95. Bernard R. Green, Chairman Samuel R. Bond Dr. A, B. Jameson
J. B. T. Tupper Prof. Wm. B. Powell
George A. Bacon Gen. C. H. Smith
Gren. Rufus Saxton George Doolittle
Wm. Cyril Keech. Secretary Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer
1895-96. Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman Mrs. M. H. Doolittle Henry F. Blount
Prof. Edward A. Fay Mrs. Blanche Woodward
George Doolittle George A. Bacon
Gen. C. H. Smith Gen. Rufus Saxton
1896-97. Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman Mrs. M. H. Doolittle Henry F. Blount
Prof. Edward A. Fay Mrs. Thomas M. Gale
George Doolittle James F. Hood
Henry K. Willard Bernard R. Green >
1897-98. Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Chairman Mrs. M. H. Doolittle Henry F. Blount
James F. Hood Henry K. Willard
Bernard R. Green Geo. A. King
Mrs. J. G. Walker Mrs. Thos. E. Hatch
1898-99. Bernard R. Green, Chairman James F. Hood Henry K. Willard
[152]
APPENDIX
Geo. A. King
Mrs. Thos. E. Hatch
Gen. Chas. H. Smith
Mrs. J. G. Walker Mrs. Lucia E. Blount James A. Sample
Geo. Mrs. J. G. Walker Wm. P. Robinson Jas. A. Sample Prof. Wm. H. Ball
1899-1900.
A. King, Chairman
Mrs. Thos. E. Hatch Mrs. Lucia E. Blount Prof. Edward A. Fay Prof. F. W. Clarke
1900-01. Bernard R. Green, Chairman Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Mrs. Mary H. White
Prof. Edward A. Fay Prof. F. W. Clarke
Prof. Wm. H. Dall Wm. P. Robinson
Mrs. Lucia E. Blount James A. Sample
1901-02". Bernard R. Green, Chairman Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Mrs. Mary H. "White
Prof. Edward A. Fay Prof. F. W. Clarke
Prof. Wm. H. Dall Mrs. Jennie W. Scudder
Dt. Henry A. Stokes Geo. A. King
1902-03. Bernard R. Green, Chairman Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Mrs. Mary H. "White
Mrs. Jennie W. Scudder Dr. Henry A. Stokes Geo. A. King Henry F. Blount
J. B. T. Tupper E. B. Eynon, Sr.
[153]
APPENDIX
1903-04. Geo. A. King, Chairman Mrs. Jennie W. Scudder Dr. Henry A. Stokes James A. Sample Henry F. Blount
J. B. T. Tupper E. B. Eynon, Sr.
Charles W. Hills Mrs. John G. Walker
George A. Bacon, Secretary Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer
1904-05. James A. Sample, Chairman Henry F. Blount J. B. T. Tupper
Edward B. Eynon, Sr. Charles W. Hills Mrs. John G. Walker James F. Hood
Chauncey C. Williams Dr. Isaac S. Stone
William H. Lemon, Secretary Dr. Geo. N. French, Treasurer
1905-06. James A. Sample, Chairman, Charles W. Hills Mrs. John G. Walker
James F. Hood Chauncey C. Williams
Dr. Isaac S. Stone Mrs. Thos. M. Gale
William B. Todd Maxwell V. WoodhuU
1906-07. Bernard R. Green, Chairman James F. Hood Chauncey C. Williams
Dr. Isaac S. Stone Mrs. Thos. M. Gale
William B. Todd Maxwell V. WoodhuU
Robert S. Woodward Dr. Truman Abbe
1907-08. Gen. Maxwell V. WoodhuU, Chairman Mrs. Thos. M. Gale William B. Todd
[154]
APPENDIX
Bernard R. Green Dr. Robert S. Woodward
Dr. Truman Abbe Mrs. Thos. M. WoodrufF
George N. Brown Delbert H. Decker
Archibald King, Secretary Charles E. Hood, Treasurer
1908-09. Bernard R. Green, Chairman Dr. Robert S. Woodward Dr. Truman Abbe Mrs, Thos. M. WoodrufF George N. Brown Delbert H. Decker Mrs. Henry F. Blount
William H. Lemon John Mason Boutwell
1909-10. James A. Sample, Chairman Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff George N. Brown Delbert H. Decker Mrs. Henry F. Blount
William H. Lemon John Mason Boutwell
James F. Hood Louis A. Simon
1910-11. James A. Sample, Chairman Mrs. Henry F. Blount William H. Lemon
John Mason Boutwell James F. Hood
Louis A. Simon Mrs. Thos. M. Gale
Hon. Duncan U. Fletcher William J. Eynon
1911-12. James A. Sample, Chairman James F. Hood Louis A. Simon
Mrs. Thos. ^L Gale Hon. Duncan U. Fletcher
Mrs. Whitman Cross Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff
Louis H. Stabler Gen. Maxwell V. WoodhuU
[155]
APPENDIX
1912-13. Hon. Duncan U. Fletcher, Chairman Mrs. Thos. M. Gale Mrs. Whitman Cross
Mrs. Thos. M. WoodrufF Louis H. Stabler Gen. Maxwell V. WoodhuU Hon. Martin A. Knapp Daniel Douty Dr. James M. Flint
1913-14. Hon. Martin A. Knapp, Chairman Gen. Maxwell V. WoodhuU Louis H. Stabler Dr. James M. Flint Miss Edith Totten
Mrs. Frederic A. Holton Hon. Myron M. Parker Louis A. Simon Mrs. F. W. Clarke
1914-15. Hon. Martin A. Knapp, Chairman Dr. James M. Flint Hon. Myron M. Parker
Mrs. Frederic A. Holton Louis A. Simon Mrs. Frank W. Clarke Herndon Morsell
Edward B. Eynon, Sr. Archibald King
S. Jay Teller. Secretary Charles E, Hood, Treasurer
1915-16. Louis A. Simon, Chairman Mrs. Frederic A. Holton Mrs. Frank W. Clarke Herndon Morsell Edward B. Eynon, Sr.
Archibald King Mrs. Whitman Cross
H. Barrett Learned John C. Scofield
1916-17. H. Barrett Learned, Chairman Edward B. Eynon, Sr. Archibald King
Herndon Morsell Mrs. Whitman Cross
[156]
APPENDIX
John C. Scofield Julius Garfinkle
Frank S. Hight Mrs. Caleb S. Miller
1917-18. H. Barrett Learned, Chairman Mrs. Whitman Cross John C. Scofield
Julius Garfinkle Frank S. Hight
Mrs. Caleb S. Miller Nathaniel Hersbler
William F. Roberts Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff
1918-19. William F. Roberts, Chairman Mrs. Caleb S. Miller Nathaniel Hersbler
F. S. Hight Julius Garfinkle
Mrs, Joseph Stewart William L. Brown
Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff James C. Robertson Louis A. Simon, vice W. F. Roberts, resigned
1919-20. Louis A. Simon, Chairman Mrs. Joseph Stewart William L. Brown
Julius Garfinkle Geo. A. Ricker
Mrs. Duncan U. Fletcher Mrs. Thos. M. Woodruff James C. Robertson Charles E. Hood
Mrs. C. C. Williams, vice Mrs. Woodruff, resigned. Major Leonard S. Doten, vice Mrs. Williams, resigned. Martin M. Kallman, vice Mrs. Fletcher, resigned. Major Archibald King, vice James C. Robertson, re- signed.
1920-21. George A. Ricker, Chairman William L. Brown Dr. Julia M. Green
Charles E. Hood Hon. Martin A. Knapp
[157]
APPENDIX
Jessie B. Stewart Col. M. M. Parker
M. M. Kallman Capt. Leonard S. Doten,
Archibald King, vice M. M. Kallman
1921-22. George A. Ricker, Chairman Capt. Leonard S. Doten Dr. Julia M. Green Charles E. Hood Dr. Percival Hall
J. E. Jones Martin A. Knapp
Miss Helen Nicolay Col. M. M. Parker
1922-23. Dr. Percival Hall, Chairman Julius Garfinkle Herndon Morsell
Dr. Julia M. Green Miss Catherine A. Newton
J. E. Jones Miss Helen Nicolay
Martin A. Knapp Laurence C. Staples
Elmer Stewart, Treasurer Charles B. Bryant, Secretary
[158]
APPENDIX
Building Notes
The trustees of the church when All Souls was built at Fourteenth and L Streets, in 1877, were:
Henry A. Willard, Chairman Gen. L. H. Pelouze Dr. J. H. Baxter
Dr. W. F. Wallace Dr. R. A. Bacon
George B. Clark W. P. Dunwoody
W. C. Murdock I. P. Libby
The Building Committee consisted of Henry A. Wil- lard, George B. Clark and Isaiah Hanscom. The archi- tect was R. G. Russell, of New Haven, Connecticut. The church was built on the model of a church in New Haven, designed by Mr. Russell. The builder of All Souls Church was Col. Robert I. Fleming, of Washing- ton, D. C.
The committee from the church in charge of erection of the industrial building at 14th and L Streets in 1920 consisted of George A. Ricker, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, John C. Scofield and Charles E. Hood.
The contractors were the Boyle-Robertson Construc- tion Company of Washington, D. C. The building was completed and formally opened on January 18, 1921, and in July, 1922, it was sold for $350,000.
Ground was broken for the new All Souls Church and Edward Everett Hale Memorial Parish House at Six- teenth and Harvard Streets, September 8, 1921. The Br.ilding Committee at that time consisted of George A. Flicker, Chairman; Dr. Percival Hall and Captain Leon- rad S. Doten, members of the Board of Trustees; and [159]
APPENDIX
Advisory Members from the congregation as follows: William L. Brown, Julius Garfinkle, Mrs.F. A. Holton, Mrs. Richard Fay Jackson, Mrs. H. Barrett Learned, John C. Scofield, W. B. Todd, Dr. U. G. B. Pierce, ex- officio. This Committee adopted the plan of a limited competition for the selection of the architects.
The Building Committee, named in the spring of 1922, consisted of Dr. Percival Hall, Chairman; Julius Garfinkle and Dr. Julia Green, members of the Board of Trustees; George A. Ricker and Captain Leonard S. Doten. Architects :
Coolidge & Shattuck, Ames Building, Boston Frederick E. Marcus, Clerk of Work Builders :
The Boyle-Robertson Construction Co., Washing- ton, D. C. W. S. Morgan, Superintendent.
[160]
APPENDIX
Bequests
Several bequests have been made to the church. The first noted is that of $1,000 by Mr. John Hitz for the provision of suitable music.
In 1892, Dr. Jayne left his library to All Souls. Some of it was absorbed in the church library, and the remainder otherwise disposed of.
In 1893, the sum of $500 was received from the estate of Dr. J. Edwin Mason.
In 1897, a bequest of $174'2 was received from James Brackett through the American Unitarian Association.
By his will dated in 1892, Capt. Frank E. Brownell made All Souls Church residuary legatee. In 1916, the sum of $4,897.97 was received from this source, its in- come to be used for the charities of the church, and in May, 1922, an additional sum of $4,800.72 became avail- able.
In 1915, Mrs. Fannie S. Reynolds bequeathed to the church $864.42. This was made up to $1,000 by the trustees and invested as The Fannie S. Reynolds Fund.
In 1918, Mr. Zebina Moses left to the church $5,000, the income of which was to be used "to aid the Church in maintaining a high grade of music."
Mrs. Florence Tryon Baxter, who died in 1914, made All Souls Church residuary legatee. After a few years, the sum of $40,183 came into the possession of the trus- tees, "to be invested and re-invested in perpetuity" by them, the income to constitute a fund to be devoted an- nually to charitable work connected with All Souls Church.
[161]
APPENDIX
In 1920, Miss Ellen Marian Elizabeth WoodhuU left $4,000 to All Souls as an Endowment Fund for the pur- pose of the upkeep of the church.
In addition to the "WoodhuU Fund" indicated above, All Souls Church is to receive the income from an ad- ditional Fund provided in the will of Miss E. M. E. WoodhuU, and when this is available it will furnish approximately $5,000 a year revenue to the Church, a considerable portion of which may be used for general purposes when the new Church building is occupied.
In October, 1921, the church received a bequest of $800 for charities, from Mrs. Sarah E. Stevens. In addition, Mrs. Stevens left a sum now amounting to $175 for "some separate picture or equipment for the new Church."
[162]
APPENDIX
Memorial Windows
1881 Window presented to All Souls Church by Hon. W. A. Richardson in memory of his wife, Anna M. Rich- ardson.
1882 Window presented by Francis Ormond French in memory of his mother, Elizabeth Richardson French.
1883 Window presented by Mrs. John Cassels in memory of her father and mother. Arthur W. Fletcher and Elizabeth J. Fletcher.
1886 Window presented by Hon. Wm. B. Webb and Miss Charlotte E. Webb, in memory of their parents, John F. Webb and Charlotte Ann Webb.
1887 Window presented by George P. Baker in memory of his father, George E, Baker.
1893 Window presented by Mary Bellows Gardner in mem- ory of her brother, Dr. Augustus Kinsley Gardner. [163]
APPENDIX
1897 Window presented by Arthur Fletcher, Margaret Gib- son, Elsie and James Donald Cassels, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Fowler.
1897 Window given by Albertine L. Houston in memory of her husband, James D. Houston.
1900 Window presented by Maxwell Van Zandt WoodhuU, Miss Ellen M. Woodhull and Charles Woodhull in memory of their mother, Mrs. Helen Frances Wood- hull.
1910 Two windows presented by Henry K. Willard in memory of parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Willard.
Tablets
John Purdy
General L. H. Pelouze
Commander Isaiah Hanscom
William C. Murdock
Reuben Bacon
Susan Dorr Willard
Zoe Rodman Shippen
William A. Widney
[164]
BX9834 .W3A4 S4
A century of Unitarianism in the
Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library
1012 00021 2466