THE EMINENT DEAD IN SPRING GROVE.
Mary Mac Milian
At the wide clean entrance to Spring Grove where the great gates stand silently open from
morning till night, the driveway stretches out in front amid billows upon billows of green. A
fresh breeze blows, the sky is the wonderful heaven of June, "argosies heavy with fruitfulness
sail the blue peacefully." Away ahead, mounting out of the green .and piercing the blue is a
slender gray shaft, beautiful, solemn, still, the first signal to the living that he is in :the city of the
dead.. The broad smooth road leads straight ahead down through the archway where every
footstep sounds and re-echoes and where, at the side, in the Perfection of fresh June beauty are
banked up masses of red rambler roses and the young red leaves of the sweetgum.
Just beyond the road divides into three branches and in the centre one of the triangular corners
made: by these, stands the monument to General William Haines Lytle. It is, appropriately
enough, in a commanding position and is a dignified and touching emblem of the man who was a
poet and a soldier the man who wrote the unforgetable lines beginning "I am dying, Egypt,
dying" and who could at the head of, his brigade ride to his death for his country. The monument
bears the names of three generations of Lytles, soldiers all of them. It is a broken column, an
eagle standing on the top with lowered head and a wreath of laurel leaves in his beak. Below,
carved in the stone, the words
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460 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
record that General Lytle was killed at the battle of Chickamauga. Shot in the head he was, eased
down from his horse to the ground by a devoted young officer of his staff, this ,being the third
time he had been wounded in, the war. On a morning of early June flags from Memorial Day still
decorate his grave.
Only a few steps further down this central avenue are carved in -the monuments such names as
Resor, McAlpin, Sherlock, all old families of Cincinnati, and here stands "a tall carved
monument to R. M. Bishop, governor of the stateof Ohio. Just behind this, ideally placed on the
smooth green sward with the -lake behind -it, is the Fleischniann mausoleum, a miniature Greek
temple. A little way further on where another road bends off to the right, just in the middle of the
central avenue, stands the Soldiers' monument, for, not far from this spot lie many officers of the
Union army in the Civil war, and in the immediate vicinity, on the other side of the road from
Governor Bishop's ;monument are the graves of many private soldiers.
Immediately beyond the Soldiers' monument in the Masonic burial place of section twenty-three,
is the grave of William McMillan, Jot. whom our long McMillan street stretching from hill to hill
was named, who was a lawyer, a fudge, a gentleman, who came down the river in 'the first
boat-load of pioneers that landed at Yeatman's cove, the little nucleus of the future great city, in
that hardly kept first Yuletide 'of 1788. He was a man of ability, but his death occurred too early
in the beginning of the next century for his personality to affect the city's history as much as it
would have done undoubtedly otherwise.
Beyond and to the northwest, in section 24, is the burial place bf Peter Rudolph Neff of the
College of Music. And near by in a distinctive position at the corner or the section is the large lot
and fine monument to Nicholas Longworth. That name carved in the stone at once calls to mind
the peculiar old gentleman, as wise as he was eccentric, reputed to be stingy yet giving money
most generously where he chose; living in great simplicity yet a patron of art, keen-witted,
far-seeing, sometimes land-poor, as interesting as any character of fiction, and one of the. most
individual of the many strongly marked personalities who have lived in Cincinnati.
Just across the road, in section 36, are .monuments to other well-known names, Dr. Dandridge,
for many years 'the leading' surgeon, of Cincinnati; the Bowlers, and further on in the same
section the Emery monument, of plain, gray stone with Gothic ornamentation. Behind the
Dandridge lot, further up the hill, is the monument where lies Senator George H. Pendleton
—"Gentleman George," as he was affectionately called. Suave and efficient in manners and
mind, a statesman, he was United States .senator from Ohio, ran for the vice-presidency, and was
appointed minister to Germany, dying four years.later in Brussels. whence he was brought to lie
on the Cincinnati hillside. Sedams and Kempers, good old pioneer names, are near, in the' same
section. Here, too, lies Justice Stanley Matthews, a judge on the bench of the Supreme court of
the United States, and a scion of a brilliant family of which he was perhaps the most brilliant
member.
The road lading to 'the northwest from the front archway and immediately to the left, of the Lytle
monument, goes by the lot of, John Shillito, next to it being that of Henry Probasco and his
brother-in-law, Tyler Davidson, in memory
CINCINNATI-THE QUEEN CITY - 461
of whom Mr. Probasco gave to Cincinnati the famous fountain. And the .road directly to the
south lies near the lakes and leads to the McCook monument. This stands in a little triangle in the
junction of this road with the one leading .to the west and near by, to the south and west, are two
of the beautiful lakes, of the cemetery. The monument is a little round, stone Greek temple, and
beneath the columns are carved the names of the "Fighting McCooks"—that family, so famous
for its Civil war record, which sent in all fifteen of the name to battle and some of them to die for
their country, all officers save one,' who, a mere boy, preferred to be' a private and was killed
before he could mount from the ranks.
Opposite the memorial to the McCooks and on the borders of Mahkettewah lake, is the Truman
B. Handy mounment of red stone in the form of a sarcophagus. Next to this is the Robert
Mitchell monument and then that of H. and S. Pogue, names so well known to Cincinnatians
today, and across the road on the left-hand side, where the splashing water sings always to the
silent stone, is the square carved gray monument to Matthew Addy. Next to this is the Alexander
McDonald mausoleum of gray stone in Greek architecture, with a life-size female figure carved
in stone at either side of the entrance. Next to this is the burial place of the Mussey family, a
bronze bust of the first doctor of the name surmounting the monument. It was a family
distinctively of the' medical profession and the old doctor was one of the eminent number of
good physicians 'who have so blessed Cincinnati. Next is the Seth Evans Monument and a few
minutes further on, where the other road from the archway joins this one, stands the monument
erected by the alumni of the school to the memory of Thomas Hughes, founder of Hughes _high
school—that curious, quiet, old shoemaker recluse of Scotch descent, who lived alone with his
horse and his dog and died leaving his farm to the cause of education.
A little further up the road and then to the left, up on the hillside in front, in section 3o, is the
stone memorial to General Hooker, where he lies. It is a handsome, heavy red sarcophagus, and
it, too, is marked by many flags from Decoration day. Back again toward the lake, up on a
hillside in section 30, lie two graves of especial appeal, that of Salmon Portland Chase and his
daughter, Kate Chase Sprague. A man of luminous power, whose personality fascinates one even
today, and the daughter of beauty and rare charm, who inherited her father's spirit. Side by side
they are and alone, removed from ,everything else, on this hillside overlooking the road beneath,
and all the green and the lake, away into the distance. Ivy covers the graves and only headstones
mark them, the one reading that Salmon P. Chase was governor of Ohio, senator from Ohio,
secretary of the treasury, and chief justice of the United States, and the other bearing simply the
name, Kate Chase Sprague. A redbird sings in full-throated ecstasy near by, as if he would give
his music and beauty of color and form—all he has of loveliness—in glad honor to the memory
of the brilliant father and daughter. Behind, and up on another road, is a red granite monument to
Asa Van Wormer, benefactor of humanity in many ways and founder of the Van Wormer library
of the Cincinnati university. Not far from the grave of Salmon P. Chase is of General Peter J.
Sullivan, and down in front of Chase's ivy-mantled grave, across the, road, 'is the monument to
the
462 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
memory of Charles W. West, founder of the Cincinnati Art museum. It stands in .a splendid
position with the lake behind and is a sitting figure of Mr. West carved in stone.
The road rises here, for Spring Grove stretches over hill and dale and none of the avenues
continue far on a level, but ascend and descend gentle, long, gradual slopes continually. Next to
the monument of Charles W. West rises high, above the lake the Dexter mausoleum: It is one of
the finest structures in the cemetery, being in form a little Gothic cathedral, with flying buttresses
and all the perfect details of the wonderful Gothic architecture. In the corner, directly across from
it, in section 35, is, the: tomb of Bishop McIlvaine. In a niche of the stone stands a marble bust of
the good and fair and dear old man, who was for forty years Bishop of Ohio. The monument Was
erected by his "Friends in Ohio"—so it tells on the back. And away up here it is overlooking. the
valley below where is the monument of General Lytle, at whose huge military funeral Bishop
McIlvaine officiated.
A little distance further up the road to the west is a little three-cornered plot of ground called in
the records section 32, which belongs to the Caledonian society. The monument marking it
simply, is a great, square rough stone, carved with the Scotch thistle. Just across the road from
this, to the north, is an oval piece of ground which is marked as the Pioneer association. Here lies
Peyton Symmes, a near relative of the proprietor of the Miami purchase himself, John Cleves
Symmes. Another curious old soul was. this Peyton. Symmes, a man who just escaped being a
genius. He was a lover and patron of art, who knew everybody in Cincinnati and had a rather
disconcerting way of going to parties with a notebook, in which he would sketch the ,different
guests while he himself stood off in a corner. Evergreens grow where he is sleeping now, and
maples and sweetgums stand close by.
To the west of the Pioneer association. ground, across the road in section 43, lies perhaps the
most famous woman, certainly the one of the strongest character and freest temper Cincinnati has
ever known, Frances Wright. Many Cincinnatians know her grandson, William Norman Guthrie,
but few of them perhaps know that Fanny Wright was one of the most, notable women of her
time, a friend of Lafayette and celebrated in both Europe and America. A young Scotchwoman
she was, an heiress, a philosopher of the French materialist school, a reformer, a woman with a
fearless soul like a flame. She lived much of her life in Cincinnati and died here. There stands her
plain, old-fashioned monument, her likeness in profile with quaint ringlets carved in the stone.
And right across the way is the Caledonian society monument, a strange coincidence, for she,
too, was Scotch.
Farther to the west in about the middle of section 51, near an old cedar tree, lies the ivy-covered
grave of James E. Murdoch. The monument is in the form of crass with an American flag draping
it, and that cross and flag tell the story of his marvellous Christian kindness and his patriotism; as
well as being a great actor—one of the greatest in Shakespearean parts—he is noted for his 'noble
work in the Sanitary commission during the Civil war. Near Murdoch's grave in the same section,
is that of Mary Wright Curwen, whose name
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 463
is still fresh upon the lips of Cincinnatians. A gray granite cross marks the grave of this gifted
woman, who was a writer and lecturer.
On to the northwest, across the road, and in section 74, lies Israel L. Ludlow, son of the pioneer
Israel Ludlow, and himself the founder of Ludlow, Kentucky. And next to this lot, on the north,
where a young speckled thrush sits upon a low limb, is a monument that is in itself the most
remarkable in Spring Grove. Marking the grave of a brilliant young man cut short in his career of
study in Icelandic literature, it is a heavy, oblong horizontal Icelandic stone with Runic characters
carved about the name, Arthur Middleton Reeves.
Across the road again, to the southwest, in section 106, is the grave of Edward D. Mansfield. It is
right on the edge of the hill, where the improved part of the cemetery drops down into a far
ravine in which a road and lake lie amid the shade of the deep woods. The son of Colonel Jared
Mansfield, who was the first surveyor general of the United States to fix our meridian, he himself
was a man of great civic importance. His monument is a simple, dignified old stone which, too,
records the virtues of his wife.. In marked contrast to it is a monument only a few yards away, a
very handsome stone, English looking and ornate,. carved elaborately with a cross and old
English lettering. This is the grave and monument of Rufus King, and there is another strange
coincidence in the fact that these two men, who had, in different generations, lived in the same
house, down on Third street, should now lie so near each other. It is a very aloof and strange and
silent place. Behind is the dusk of the deep glen. and myriad quiet branches of the great trees.
Far around to the northwest from this last spot, and at the extreme end of the present improved
portion of the cemetery, in lot 170 of section 113, lies all that remains mortal of Israel Ludlow,
the first surveyor of the Miami purchase, and one of the three original proprietors of Cincinnati.
To this spot he came, an adventurous young man, nearly a century and a quarter ago, and in this
beautiful wilderness cleared his farm, little guessing that a part of it would be included in the
cemetery which so far hence was to be his last resting place. He, too, like William McMillan,
died early, therefore not leaving so strong an imprint upon the city's history as he undoubtedly
would have made if his life had been spared to him. He was buried first in the old graveyard
around the First Presbyterian church on Fourth street, and it was not till 1896, when the new
building was put up in front of the church, that he was disinterred and all that was left of him
carried out to Spring Grove and placed in the foundation of his monument. On the reverse of his
tomb is a memorial to his wife, Charlotte Chambers, who died out in Missouri.
Back again eastward toward the front of the cemetery, and in a straight line to the gates but less
than a third of the distance, past section 100, and down the road between sections 99 and 110, at
the head of section 97 stands a fine, dignified, gray monument to the memory of another man
noted in the early history of the city. Martin Baum, who built the lovely old house which now is
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Taft, was a citizen of commercial value and importance. It
is fitting and comforting to find his lot occupying almost all of the section and a big, handsome,
well-kept monument to his memory where so many old names are forgotten.
464 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
Down the road a little farther to the east, in section 77, stands the monument to Dr. Daniel Drake.
A plain, old-fashioned monument it is, wholly suitable to the memory of the worthy scientist. He
died in 1852, the year that marked the death of Fanny Wright and a number of other events
significant in the history of the city. On two sides the monument bears long epitaphs of Dr.
Drake, noting him as a distinguished physician, a philosophic writer, an eminent teacher of the
"Medical Art," and a citizen and man of so many abilities and virtues that "his fame is indelibly
written in the records of his country." This is very true and very accusingly true, for the memory
of the present generation scarcely holds his name in remembrance. The monument was erected
by their children to the memory of Daniel and Harriet Drake, the beloved wife with whom he
lived in rare happiness for eighteen years. In the same lot is buried the doctor's brother, Benjamin
Drake, who himself was a prominent citizen and young literary man 9f Cincinnati. And in the
next lot lies Dr. Drake's son-in-law, Alexander McGuffey, a name printed upon the mind of every
man and woman of the present generation who has plodded or skimmed through the long course
of the old. six readers. There is something peculiarly fitting and decorous about the grave of Dr.
Daniel Drake on a brilliant spring morning. Birds are about, as they are everywhere in Spring
Grove. There is an uplift, an inspiration in the high hill of the situation as well as in the reverent
words of the epitaph. The great bushes of boxwood have grown into full trees and are rich and
reminiscent and fragrant. A cricket chirrups away in its wee life .of cheer, so well placed here of
all places. And every thing seems to be in the spirit of beauty and peace and hope, as the fine old
doctor would have wished.
In a very small, oval section near the Drake lot is a monument to Mr. Schoenberger. On the high
hill it is, looking down across the valley and straight over to the splendid house he built, Scarlet
Oaks, in Clifton. Straight to the north is the next section, 79, and here in the Lewis vault at the
foot of the section, lies Dr. William Goforth. Another quaint and fascinating figure in the history
of the city is he, one of the very earliest physicians when Cincinnati was nothing but a rude, little
village ; he never went forth, of a morning without having his wig dressed and curled and his
gold-headed cane in his hand. A wise doctor, as skillful as the ignorance of his day permitted, he
was the preceptor of young Daniel Drake, who said of him, that he had the most winning
manners of any physician he had ever known.
Down again to the east, and then to the north, between sections 65 and 67, and about in the center
of section 54, is the Cist lot, where lies the benignant old historian of the city who wrote a
miscellany and the three books called Cincinnati, in 1841, in 1851, and in 1859. On to the north
again, out the road that skirts section 55, up on the hillside of section 57, stands the simple
headstone of. Dr. Joseph Ray, in his time the foremost teacher in Cincinnati and the author of the
famous arithmetics. By his side lies his wife, Catherine Gano, who was of the large and famous
family of pioneers of that name. And in the same section, a little further southeast, lies Charles
McMicken, the founder of the University of Cincinnati. Over in section 52 lies Judge Alphonso
Taft, himself an eminent man and the father of President William H. Taft. Down
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 465.
then, directly eastward, toward the main entrance, past section 39, towards the center of section
29, are the graves of the parents of General Ulysses S. Grant. A good monument marks them and
on one face of it, to distinguish them perhaps, from Grants of more common clay, is the name of
the eminent son, who himself lies in the splendid tomb by the Hudson in Riverside park. Further
on, towards the entrance in the next section, 22, lies Murat Halstead, editor of the old
Commercial, a brilliant man, whose name was known over all the country. In the same section
are other well-known names : the great curious and elaborate monument of John S. Gano's large
family. And then on a little further down in the same section on the grassy shore of the lake,
stands the headstone of Miles Greenwood, that Ajax in power, broadminded and capable, who
could shoulder any mercantile or civic responsibility and carry it through mightily. In the same
section still, further around the lake on the east side, and toward the entrance, is the tall, dignified
red shaft to the memory of David Sinton, the self-made boy of Scotch-Irish descent, who became
the wealthiest man. in Cincinnati and a great benefactor to the city in which he made his riches.
Further on, and to the right, is the Burnet vault, where lies the first Judge Jacob Burnet, the
lawyer and writer and gentleman, who owned much larid including the square between Third and
Fourth and Vine and Race, where his residence stood, who created a memory to be revered by the
lightest searcher into the city's history.
Nearly eighty thousand others lie in Spring Grove, the most beautiful cemetery in the world. Less
celebrated personages they were, most of them, but each grave represents its human grief and is
quiet now. Ground squirrels play and run over the turf, a brood of four brown thrashers walk
gingerly among the fresh, stiff spears of grass, and try their wings. A redheaded woodpecker flies
and drops to a nearby tree. All manner of birds live and sing happily here. On the lakes float
African geese and at sunset take their slow, meandering way up to a distant hill to roost. At
sunset, when the evening glow begins to fade from the marble and the trees, a robin sings his
ever wistful twilight song.
CHAPTER IV.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
THE FIRST CHURCH FOUNDED BY THE PRESBYTERIANS-THE PIONEER PREACHER,
JAMES KEMPER-ORGANIZATION OF RELIGIOUS BODIES KEPT PACE WITH
GROWTH OF THE TOWN-DESCRIPTION OF THE EARLY CLERGYMEN AND PLACES
OF WORSHIP-VICISSITUDES OF THE TIMES AND INDOMITABLE PERSEVERANCE
DISPLAYED BY THE HEROIC MEN AND WOMEN.
The first church in Cincinnati was a Presbyterian church, but the first in the Symmes purchase
was of the Baptist denomination.. This was in Columbia. The Rev. David Jones, a noted Baptist
preacher of that day, visited Columbia in December, 1789, and preached the first sermon to the
pioneers of this vicinity, in one of the blockhouses. The Rev. David Rice, a Presbyterian minister
from Kentucky, also made a visit to the village. Elder John Mason, a Baptist from Virginia, was
one of the earliest religious teachers who appeared in Columbia. Elder. Stephen Gano, in 1790,
organized a Baptist church in the, settlement. The services were held in the home of Benjamin
Davis. Beginning with nine members, the church increased in a few weeks to fifteen. Elder Gano
was invited to take charge of the church, but he declined and returned to his home in the east,
and. Elder John Smith was then selected as a spiritual leader, entering upon his work in the
spring of 1791. A building site for the proposed church was given by Major Stites, and a frame
house for purposes of worship was ready for occupancy in the spring of 1793. According to
arrangement, in April, 1790, the Columbia church permitted Elder Smith to spend half his time
in preaching in Cincinnati.
In laying out the town of Cincinnati, half of the block bounded by Fourth, Fifth, Walnut and
Main streets, had been set apart for the uses of a Presbyterian church. This was done before a
single lot had been disposed of for any other purpose. This original plan was, drawn by John
Filson, who, with Mathias Denman and Robert Patterson, purchased an extensive tract of land.
After Filson had been killed by Indians, a new plan was drawn by Israel Ludlow, who succeeded
to Filson's interest. The plans, however, were identical in devoting the half square spoken of
above to "uses of a Presbyterian church." Denman and Patterson were Presbyterians ; Israel
Ludlow had been reared a Presbyterian, and was later identified with the First Presbyterian
church.
On October 16, 1790, a church was formally organized by the Rev. David Rice, under a
commission from the Presbytery of Transylvania ; this presbytery covered at that time all the
ground west of the mountains. The fact of this
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468 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
organization was later recognized by the presbytery by the installation of a pastor.
In 1792 a Presbyterian church was built at the corner of Fourth and Main streets. In 1790 the
Rev. James Kemper, a Presbyterian minister, had arrived. A subscription was started for the
purpose of building church. Until the building was erected, the congregation held their services
in the open air, at the chosen site, seated on logs, and with rifles at hand. The church, when
completed, was frame, 30 by 40 feet. It had clapboards for roof and weather- boarding. Within
were neither laths nor ceiling. The floor was of planks laid upon, the sleepers. The seats .were of
logs covered with rough boards. The pulpit was of unplaned cherry wood, while the preacher
stood upon a plank resting on blocks.
It appears that the majority of the early settlers of Cincinnati were Presbyterians. The first church
here was Presbyterian. James Kemper was the pioneer preacher of the community., .Mr. Kemper
:was a native of Fauquier county, Virginia, born November 23; 1753. He was born, reared and
married in the Episcopal church. He began his career as a farmer, later becoming a school
teacher. He became a Presbyterian and had all of his fifteen children baptized in the church of his
choice. Having forsaken teaching he became a civil engineer, a deputy county surveyor and a
government surveyor in Tennessee in 1783. In 1785, he removed with his family, under escort of
forty horsemen, one hundred and eighty miles through the wilderness, near Danville, Kentucky.
There he began to prepare for the ministry under the tutelage of the Rev. David Rice.
During his residence in Kentucky, he lived on a small farm, studied theology, taught school,
managed the farm, while his wife occupied herself with spinning and weaving. Mr. Kemper in
1785 taught school in a log cabin, the first gram-Mar school in that state. Mr. Kemper was
licensed by the presbytery in 1789 to preach "under direction of Mr: Rice while he continues in
the study of divinity." He first came then to Cincinnati in 1790 as a licentiate and not as an
ordained minister. On April 27, 1791, he was examined by his presbytery, and was authorized "to
supply in the settlements of the Miami at discretion." This was the first ecclesiastical
appointment made by any church for regular ministrations north of the Ohio, and Mr. Kemper
was the first duly authorized preacher in Cincinnati.
He was invited by the Presbyterian Congregation to become their minister and accepted in June,
1791. He went back to Kentucky for his family, and Daniel Doty of Columbia, and a man named
French, were appointed to act as escort. These two followed a bridle path, on which two men had
been killed the week before by Indians, reaching Georgetown on the second night out. At
Lexington they hired horses from an army contractor, proceeded to
Mr. Kemper's home, transported Mr. Kemper and his large family, with their goods, to
Limestone, where they put all on board a flat boat and carried them down to Cincinnati.
Mr. Kemper came to Cincinnati but a few days before the defeat of St. Clair, and when the sick
and wounded appeared after that disaster the minister proved a helper. in the time of need, and
strengthened the people' in their season of fear by his courage.
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 469
Before the coming of Mr. Kemper, it is asserted that the Baptist minister of Columbia, the Rev.
John Smith, sometimes preached in Cincinnati. Sometimes the people assembled for worship in
the open air, sitting on logs ; again they met in the horse mill, which stood on Vine street, below
Third ; and again they assembled in private homes. The law of the territory ordered that every
man who came to worship should carry a gun, ready for the possibility of attack by Indians. It is
recorded that Colonel John S. Wallace was fined seventy-five cents for neglecting to go armed at
worship. It is asserted that the fashion of having men sit in the outer ends of pews arose from the
need of prompt action during Indian raids.
The arrival of Mr. Kemper, with his family, in Cincinnati, was on October 17, 1791. The minutes
of the presbytery state that he "is appointed a supply at the Miamis until the next stated sessions"
of the presbytery. The next regular half-yearly meeting was held April 2, 1792, and it was then
ordered that "Mr. Kemper supply one Sabbath at the North Bend of the Miami, and that he
supply the rest of his time at Columbia, Cincinnati and Round Bottom and that Mr. Rice supply
at the Miami settlements two Sabbaths."
The rule of Presbyterianism is that only an ordained minister can organize a church, ordain elders
and administer the sacraments and that a licentiate can preach only under the supervision of the
presbytery or that of a fully equipped minister. Mr. Kemper being thus far only a licentiate, was
under the supervision of the Rev. David Rice. A call was formally made out for the services of
Mr. Kemper, October 2, 1792, by the united congregations of Cincinnati and Columbia. He
accepted this invitation and was ordained by the presbytery in Cincinnati, October 23d, and
constituted pastor of "Cincinnati and Columbia churches." He continued in this pastorate until
October 7, 1796, when he handed his resignation to the presbytery. Later he had charge of the
Duck Creek church for a time. He served other Presbyterian churches in this region up to the time
of his death, August 20, 1834.
The organization of the church was incomplete when Mr. Kemper was installed as pastor, as he
himself states it was "still unorganized, because they thought the number of males too small to,
select a promising session." He wrote to a friend that he had "an unorganized church, composed
of six males and two females, in Columbia and Cincinnati. The church was one for the two
places."
The first arrangements for the founding of this church were probably made October 16, 1790,
after Mr. Kemper's first visit to Cincinnati, when the Rev. David Rice came to inspect the field.
The original eight members of this church were : Joseph Reeder, Annie Reeder, Jacob Reeder,
Samuel Sering, Sarah Sering, David Kitchell, Jonathan Ticknor, Isaac Morris.
Those who took part in the ordination of Mr. Kemper and his installation as pastor of this church
were the Revs. David Rice, James Connel and Terah Templin, who constituted the Presbytery of
Transylvania. These men had been brought from Danville under an armed convoy, for safety
from Indians.
When, on September 5, 1793, the numbers of the congregation had increased until there were
nineteen adult male members, it was decided practicable to select five ruling elders and two
deacons, and this was done. Until 1796, when
470 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
Mr. Kemper resigned, the Cincinnati and Columbia churches were practically one. Then the
Columbia congregation went off from the Cincinnati church. The Columbia congregation then
divided into two churches, the Duck Creek (now Pleasant Ridge), and the Round Bottom. In
1798, when the Rev. Peter Wilson suceeded Mr. Kemper in the pastorate he ministered to the
Cincinnati church only.
At the time of Mr. Kemper's coming in October, 1791, it had been agreed by the congregation
that they should endeavor to raise seven hundred dollars,. which should be devoted to the
erection of a church on the corner of Fourth and Main streets. Timber growing on this lot was to
be used for building material.
On January 16, 1792, a subscription paper was passed around, which read as follows
"We the subscribers, for the purpose of. erecting a house of public worship in the village of
Cincinnati, to the use of the Presbyterian denomination, do severally bind ourselves and
executors firmly, and by these presents, the several sums of money and commutations in labor,
respectively annexed to our names, to be paid to John Ludlow, Jacob Reeder, James Lyon, Moses
Miller, John Thorpe, and William M'Millan, or either of them, their heirs or administrators,
Trustees appointed for the business of superintending the building aforesaid, payments to be
made as follows : One-third part of our several subscriptions to be paid so soon as the timbers
requisite for the aforesaid building may be collected on the ground where the said house is to be
built. Another third when the said house is framed and raised. And the other third part when the
aforesaid house may be under cover and weather-boarded. In witness whereof we have hereunto
subscribed our names, on the day affixed to our names.
The following list of subscribers certainly contains the names of nearly every male inhabitant of
Cincinnati at the time, and is strikingly notable as the united effort. of a whole community to
combine in erecting one church for all the people, though that church was of one special
denomination. Either the community was predominantly Presbyterian or the people set a gold
example of practical church unity in general cooperation regardless of denominational
differences.
The list of subscribers is as follows : John Ludlow, Jacob Reeder, James Lyon, Moses Miller,
Benjamin Valentine, Asa Peck, Robert Hurd, Samuel Dick. John Thorpe, William M'Millan,
John P. Smith, David E. Wade, James Brady, Joel Williams, Levi Woodward; William
Woodward, Jeremiah Ludlow, James Demint, Richard Benham, John Cutter, Joseph Lloyd,
Nehemiah Hunt, Cornelius Miller, Abr. 'Boston, Gabriel Cox, Samuel Pierson, Daniel Bates,
Benjamin Fitzgerald. James Kemper, Isaac Bates, John Adams, William Miner, James Miller,
Seth Cutter, S. Miller, John Lyon, Robert Benham, Joseph Shaw, Isaac Felty, James Wallace,
Robert Caldwell, Jonathan Davies, Thomas Ellis, Daniel Shoemaker, John Blanchard, Benjamin
Jennings, John Gaston, Jonas Seaman, Reuben Roe, John Cummins, Elliot & Williams, Thomas
M'Grath, James Bury, Thomas Gibson, Henry Taylor, Elias Wallen, Thomas Cochran, James
Richards, John Bartle, J. Mercer, H. Wilson, William Miller, James Reynolds, Thomas Brown,
James McKane, Ensign William H. Harrison, Margaret Rusk, Samuel Martin, Moses Jones, J.
Gilbreath, Winthrop Sargent, Captain Mahlon Ford, M. McDonogh, Matthias Burns, Jabez
Wilson; James Lowry, Alexander McCoy, David Hole, James Cun-
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 471
ningham, Major Joseph Shaylor, Captain William Peters, H. Marks, Ezekiel Sayre, W. Elwes,
Daniel Hole, Mathew Deasy, James McKnight, John Darragh, Daniel C. Cooper, Francis
Kennedy, General James Wilkinson, Dr. Richard. Allison, Ensign John Wade, Samuel Kitchell,
Samuel Williams, David Logan, David Long, Joseph Spencer, James Blackburn, J. Mentzies,
James Kremer, W. M. Mills, Mathew Winton, Samuel Gilman, John Dixon.
Many subscriptions were for one, two or three days labor ; some were for so many days work of a
team. Others were for nails, boards or boat plank. The original subscription paper has been
preserved. The largest money subscription was by R. Allison, $11. There were five subscriptions
for $10 each. These were by Israel Ludlow, James Wilkinson, Winthrop Sargeant, Mahlon Ford
and C. D. Strong. The most liberal subscription, all things considered, was that of the Rev.
Kemper, who gave five dollars, five days work, five days team and five boat plank. The total
subscription in money was a little over $300.
The building was of frame, 30 by 40 feet. It was occupied in the autumn both as a church and
court room. In that room in October, 1792, a man named Mays was tried and sentenced for
murder.
On October 21st the Presbytery of Transylvania began its sessions in this church, the first
ecclesiastical court ever held in the village. On the 23d Mr. Kern-per was ordained and installed
as pastor.
The church was not plastered until 1794, when another subscription paper was passed around.
Judge Burnet, in his "Sketches of the West" thus describes the building before that event : "It was
enclosed with clapboards, but neither lathed, plastered nor ceiled. The floor was of boat plank
laid loosely on sleepers. The seats were of the same material supported on blocks of wood. There
was a breastwork of unplaned cherry boards, called the pulpit, behind which the clergyman stood
on a piece of boat-plank resting on blocks of wood."
This was the first Protestant house of worship north-west of the Ohio.
The seats were of course without backs ; and here our forefather pioneers worshipped, with their
trusty rifles between their knees.
June 11, 1794, the trustees decided to raise another subscription "to finish the meeting house, to
pale the door-yard and fence in the burying ground." The list of subscribers to this purpose is
preserved among the papers of the First Presbyterian church, and has value as giving further
names of early men of Cincinnati : Moses Miller, $8; Jacob Reeder, $8; Jacob Lyon, $5 ; James
Kemper, $8; John Lyon, $2 ; Ezra Fitz Freeman, $2 ; Stephen Reeder, $6 ; William Red-deck,
$1; Thomas Denny, $2.50; Robert Mitchell, $2; William Harris, $4; Christopher Dickson, $4;
David E. Wade, $10 ; John Brown, $10; Nathaniel Stokes $2 ; Elliot & Williams, $8 ; Thomas
Irwin, $1; Joseph Brice, $3 ; A. Avery, $1; Jacob Lowe, $1; Edward Kelly, $1; John Galbraith,
$1; Andrew Paul, $1; M. Winton, $3 ; John Adams, $3 ; Robert McClure, $3 ; William Maxwell,
$3 ; Robertson & Mackay, $3 ; 0. Ormsby, $2 ; John Riddle, $4; Job Gard, $3 ; Samuel
Robinson, $3 ; Luther. Kitchell, $5 ; Stophel Oldrid, $1; William Irvin, $1; Nehemiah Hunt, $1;
John Dixon, $3 ; James Brunton, $2 ; William Miller, $2 ; D. C. Orcutt, $2 ; Matthias Person, $1;
Frederick Coons, $1; J. Gibson, $1; Robert McCray, $2 ; A. Hunt & Co., $20 ; Samuel James, $5
; James Ward, $1; James Garrison, $1; Duncan Steward, $1 ; Thomas Underlevy, $1; Alexander
Darlington, $1 ; Martin Baum, $1 ; Enos Terry, $2; J. Caldwell, $1; Mrs. Willcocks,
472 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
$1 ; Peter Kemper, $2 ; Thomas Goudy, $4 ; G. Yeatman, $2 ; Ezekiel Sayre, $3 ; Nathan
Moody, $3 ; Samuel Kitchell, $4 ; Samuel Foster, $2 ; McElwee & Duffy, $3 ; Isaac Felty, $3 ;
Cornelius Van Nuys, $3 ; William Woodward $2 ; Moses Jones, $2 ; Elijah Craig, $5 ; Nathan
Barnes, $1; Evan James, $1 ; Joel Williams, $3 ; Ziba Stebbins, $3 ; John McCay, $1; John
Miller, $1 ; William Darragh, $1; Michael Fox, $1; James Ferguson, $5 ; Miss Henderson, $2 ;
Thomas Kebby, $2 ; Patrick Dickey, S2 ; Samuel Criegh, $10 ; William Irwin, $1 ;.Azarias
Thorn, $1 ; James Gillespie, $1 ; John Welsh, $1 ; Samuel Freeman, $1 ; Moses Bradley, $1 ;
George Gillespie, $1 ; Caleb Mulford, $1 ; John Miller, $1 ; Ham. Flaugher, $1 ; David Logan $1
; Timothy Scanan, $1 ; Adam Galliger, $1; Alexander Lewis,. $2; Benjamin Davis, $1; John
True, $1; Fred Brokaw, $1 ; Israel Ludlow, $10; T. Hole, $8 ; William Cummins, $3 ; Robert
Kepe, $3 Thomas Kennedy, $6 ; Joseph Kennedy, $3 ; Samuel Kennedy, $3 ; Samuel Dick; $3 ;
John Hamilton, $3 ; Russell Farmer, $2 ; Abel Sprague, $2 ; Kennedy ''Morton, $1; James
Campbell, $1; Francis Kennedy, $1 ; Levi Sayres, $2; William M. Bothero, $1 ; Abraham Parker,
$2 ; George Dougherty, $1 ; Joseph McKnight, $2 ; Noadial Albord, 7s. 6d. ; J. Strickland, 7s.
6d.; James McKee, 7s. 6d. ; Benjamin Jennings, 7s. 6d.; Wm. Bedell, $4; James Bedell, $4;
Philip Cook, $1; Leonard Teeple, $2; John Mc-Kane, $3 ; James Brady, 7s. 6d. ; Starking
Stafford, $1 ; Thomas Williams, $1; Enos Potter, $3 ; Thomas Cochran, $4; A. Andrew, $1 ;
Thomas Gibson, $8; Love Marcelof, $3 ; William McMillan, $8 ; Thomas Fream, $2 ; Samuel
Williams, $3 ; James Lowry, $2 ; John McKane, ; Matthias Ross, $4 ; Daniel ,McCarry, $1 ;
Allyn Baker, $5 ; John DeHass, $1 ; Reuben Kemper, $2 ; William McLain, $1 ; James McLain,
$1 ; Elijah Davis, $1 ; Jonathan Davis, $2; Daniel Hole, $1 ; Richard Hoells, $2 ; Daniel Ferrel,
$; John Mercer, $1 ; David Bay, $2 ; David Reeder, $3 ; Jedediah Tingle, $2 ; Jabesh Phillips, $2
; Isaac Bates, $3 ; Simeon Nott, $1; Samuel Pierson, $1. Total, $430.
The four lots were soon afterward enclosed with a post and rail fence.
February, 1795, a meeting was held to arrange for the distribution of pews among the members
of the congregation. At this meeting David E. Wade and -William Bedell were chosen as
additional trustees. The church building was not wholly finished until 1799•
In 1794 a school was held in the church "building, and in 1796 the session, at the request of
citizens, allowed a school building to be erected on the west part of the church lot. The action
was taken against the protest of Jacob Reeder and Moses Miller, and though in the interest of the
town was a loss to the church. It was practically giving away property worth many thousands of
dollars. It has been asserted that Mr. Kemper himself built the school house at his own expense.
Mr. Kemper has been described by Dr. A. C. Kemper, his grandson, as follows : "Whet he came
to Cincinnati, he measured five feet nine inches, weighed one hundred and sixty pounds, and was
full of health, strength and endurance. He wore knee breeches, silver knee and shoe buckles,
three high collars to his coat, a queue, a voluminous neckcloth, and was a careful dresser. He was
unsurpassed as a horseman. He was winning in his manners and slow to speak. His eye was dark,
commanding and attractive. His countenance was open, serious, preoccupied and expectant. His
personal appearance attracted attention. He
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 473
was not pretentious, brilliant nor profound, but plain, simple, unassuming, ready and reliable, and
endued with an exquisite common sense. He shrank from personal controversy, yet never chose
the line of least resistance for its own sake. In his family he was quiet, gentle, reserved and was
obeyed. In his habits he was regular, abstemious, temperate, and a total abstainer from spirits and
tobacco. He was hopeful and cheerful, never cast down."
It is notable that Mr. Kemper played a very serviceable part in Cincinnati after St. Clair's defeat.
In November, 1791, St. Clair, then military governor and in command of the army of the
Northwestern Territory, suffered a terrible defeat in battle with the Indians. More than nine
hundred men were killed, and this brought mourning into almost every house and family in
Cincinnati, for nearly one-half of the settlers had entered upon this fatal campaign. The people
were disheartened, and many of them prepared at once to leave and cross the Ohio river and find
a place of greater safety, and it was proposed in Congress to abandon the Northwestern Territory
entirely and make the Ohio river the northern boundary of the United States. Mr. Kemper had but
shortly before arrived in Cincinnati, but he proved to be a man of courage. He set to work to
inspirit his people and neighbors; and taught them that it was their duty as Christians to maintain
their ground on the north side of the Ohio, and, although many of the congregation had lost their
lives in St. Clair's defeat, they should not give up. J. M. McCullough states that he was assured
by one who was with St. Clair in his defeat that the Rev. James Kemper and his little
Presbyterian church was all that prevented the settlers from making a stampede for the south side
of the Ohio river. All the Miami country settlements were abandoned for a time, except those in
the immediate vicinity of Fort Washington.
Mr. Kemper's pastorate closed in 1796, after a prosperous work. He was an earnest preacher and
a fearless man. He was the man for the time and place, and his name stands as the pioneer
minister of this whole region.
After peace had been established with the Indians, many members of this church scattered to
farms and small villages, and thus the church lost many who had been its support. But this loss to
the First Presbyterian church of Cincinnati was the gain of religion throughout a large section.
Many new churches were organized at once.
In 1797, the Rev. Peter Wilson took charge of the First Presbyterian church of Cincinnati. Little
is known of him. He. was not installed and he died after a brief service. He was' followed by the
Rev. Mathew G. Wallace, a man of much ability, who remained, part of the time as pastor and
part as stated supply, about four years. Mr. Wallace was a brother of Captain Robert Wallace, of
Covington, of Mrs. Burnet, Mrs. Baum and Mrs. Green of Cincinnati. From 1804, the close of
Mr. Wallace's labors, until 1868 was a time of controversy. The New Light doctrines and
methods gained ascendency throughout the Miami country. Three ministers, the Rev. John
Dunlevy, Richard McNemar and John Thompson seceded from the Presbytery and led off or
divided their churches. During this period the Rev. Peter Davis and the Rev. John Davies
supplied the first church for a short time. The fall and winter of 1866 was a time of revival ; a
number of persons were added to the church and increased interest was taken in its affairs. Steps
were taken toward an incorporation, and in January,
474 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
1807, a charter was obtained. According to this charter the following persons were, on July 1,
1807, elected trustees : James Ewen: (probably Ewing), Joseph Van Horn, David E. Wade,
Thomas McFarland and Robert Merry. Joseph Van Horn was chosen clerk, Jacob Burnet,
treasurer, and Jacob Wheeler, collector.
The number of members in 1807-1808 was about eighty. The church moreover was stronger
financially, and was anxious, as an old record says, "for a man of God who would take charge of
it and stay." Such a man was found in the Rev. Joshua L. Wilson, who visited the city, and,
having preached was invited to take charge of the church. He accepted for one year, and
removing to the city from Bardstown, Kentucky, began on May. 28, 1808, a long and useful
ministry. He was a man of remarkable ability, in the thirty-fourth year of his age and the fourth of
his ministry.
During the following years the church grew rapidly, and a larger building became a necessity. It
was determined to build and subscriptions were taken. The list of subscribers has been preserved
and is a valuable document. It shows the growth of the city not only in population but in wealth.
The year was 1812.
The purposes of this subscription were stated :
1. To erect an edifice for public worship in Cincinnati.
2. That each, by self or proxy, should have an opportunity to purchase a pew therein at public
auction, crediting his subscription and twenty per cent of amount paid in cash, but none of the
money to be refunded.
3. The pews to be subject to an annual tax for support of a minister in the congregation.
4. Pay to be in cash, material, produce, manufactures, merchandise, or labor, as may be accepted
by the treasurer, under the direction of the trustees or the building committee, one-fourth in sixty
days after public notice in the Cincinnati newspapers, one-fourth in six months, one-fourth in
twelve months, one-fourth in eighteen months, and complete the whole in one year and eight
months after the first public notice.
The subscription list is as follows : Jacob Burnet, $500; Martin Baum, $500; Wm. Lytle, in land,
$1,000; Dan'l Symmes, $400; David E. Wade, $400; Jesse Hunt, $400; Jacob Wheeler, $200 ;
Lucy. Zeigler, $400 ; James Ferguson, $400 ; Joel Williams, in land, $400; N. Longworth (on
condition that a sum above $12.000 be raised, cash $200, and on time $250) ; J. Carpenter, $100;
C. Park, $200; Jos. Ruffner, $300; Hezekiah Flint, $100; James Conn, $100; Joseph Warner. $75
; Leonard Taylor, $75 ; John P. Spinning, $75; Robert Merrie, $75 ; Peter McNicol, $75 ;
Jeremiah Reeder, $75 ; A. Moore, painting and glazing, $100; John Mahard, $50; Samuel Stitt,
$200; Francis Carr, $200; Casper Hopple, $200, Griffin Yeatman, $200 ; Samuel Lowry, $200;
W. Barr, $200; John Kidd, $200: David Kilgour, $200; Wm. Irwin, $200; Jacob Williams, $200 ;
Wm. Woodward, $300; Nathaniel Reeder, $200 ; Jacob Reeder, $200; Wm. Betts, $200; Elmore
Williams, $300; John. S. Wallace, $200 ; Pat Dickey, $200; Samuel Perry, $200 ; A. Dunseth,
$200; John McIntire, $100; Samuel Newell, $100; Elias J. Dayton, $100; Wm. Ramsay, $100;
Joseph Prince, $150; John S. Gano, $100; Wm. Ruffin, $100; John H. Piatt, $100 ; John
Cranmer, $50 ; Zacheus Biggs, $100; Davis Embree, $75; Geo. St. Clair, painting and glazing,
$75; John Gibson, Jr., $50 ; Robert Caldwell, $150 ; Daniel Mayo, Newport, $50; Joseph
Jenkinson, $100 ;
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 475
John Andrews, $50; Geo. P. Torrence, $109; 0. M. Spencer, $199; Samuel Ramsay, $100; John
Riddle, $250;. Ichabod Spinning, $100; A. Hamilton, $50; Isaac Bates, $190 ; Clark Bates, $199;
EzStanley,chinson, $109; Wm. Stanley, $300; Wm. Corry, $109 ; Chas. L'Hommedieu, $190;
James Riddle, $250; John B. Ennis, $50 ; Daniel Drake, $75 ; Robert Allison, $75 ; Francis
West, $59 ; J. Watson, painting work, $50; Thomas Boal, $109; Joseph McMurray, $199; James
Dover, $30; Isaac Anderson, half cash material or work, $100 ; Thomas Ashburn, $109; H.
Bechtle, $199 ; John Jones, $50; Jacob Baymiller, $200 ; Thomas Graham, $390 ; Andrew
Hopple, $50; Samuel Yonars, carpenter work, $100 ; Wm. Casey, $50; Charles Marsh, $25 ;
Jabez C. Ferris, $59 ; John Armstrong, $299 ; Henry Hafer, $50 ; Stephen Butler, $25; John
Heighway, $25 ; Robert Archibald, $75; J. N. Gluer, $25; Jonah Martin, $59 ; Arthur Ferguson,
$30; Nath. Edson, lime, $50; Andrew Mack, $50; David Wade, $50; Benj. Coop, $30; Solomon
Sisco, $25; Arthur St. Clair, Jr., $125; W. Noble, $150; Samuel W. Davies, $50; Alex. Johnston,
$39 ; W. C. Anderson, $59 ; Wm. H. Hopkin $25 ; Jos. B. Robinson, $100 ; Jeremiah Hunt,
$100; Oliver Ormsby, $199; Samuel Kidd, $50; John Brown $25; Thos. Sloo, Jr., $30. Total,
$16,745.
Building was begun at once, but the house was not completed until the winter of 1814. It was of
brick, 68 by 85 feet and faced Main street. Two square towers flanking the front and crowned
with spires gave it the name of "The Two-Horned Church." The audience room was spacious,
with a gallery on three sides. The pulpit was high, and below was an entrance to the session
room. The space about the church was used as a cemetery.
In 1812, woman's work began to have a prominent part in the church work. There is a record that
the "Female society were efficient is raising funds for the new sanctuary." It is also noted that for
some years previous this society had maintained regular weekly prayer and conference meetings.
About the time the sanctuary was finished this society resolved itself into the "Cincinnati Female
Society for Charitable purposes." It was benevolent, missionary, Bible and tract society all in
one, and as such continued for many years.
At a meeting of the session, September 3, 1814, a communication was received from Charles
Greene and John Kelson, asking that steps be taken toward the establishment of another church.
This met with opposition, but was the beginning of the Second Presbyterian church of this city.
The city was growing, and it was none too soon for such colonization as would secure more
thorough cultivation of the field.
There is no record as to the number of members in the church at the time those who formed the
second church withdrew, but in 1816, after all who had gone into it had taken their letters, the
number left on the roll was 165. In 1821 it had increased to 240.
In 1819 the Church of Walnut Hills was organized. Walnut Hills was then a village entirely
separate from the city. Many, if not a majority, of its members came from the Duck Creek (now
Pleasant Ridge) church.
From 1821 to 1827 the First church grew more in influence and wealth than in numbers. The
congregations were large. In 1827 the church building was remodeled. In the winter of 1827-28
there was a revival of marked influence.
Vol. I-31
476 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY,
In April the Cincinnati Presbytery resolved : First, That the members of this Presbytery will
spend a portion of time in special prayer between sunset and dark, every evening. Second, That
those who have not already engaged their people in this agreement will use their best endeavors
to do so. Third, That twilight prayer shall have for its objects revivals of religion in our own
hearts, in our families and churches through all this country, and throughout the whole world,
that the kingdoms of this world may become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his *Christ.
Among those who united with the First church at the spring communion were James Saffin,
Andrew McAlpin, William Flintham, John Baker, Lewis Baker. In June, a little later, the Rev.
James Gallagher and the Rev. Frederick A. Ross, who had been successful in revival work in
various places in Tennessee and Kentucky, came to the help of Dr. Wilson, and the interest
already manifest deepened and extended until the city was moved as it had not been before and
perhaps has not been since.
During the month of July the session received into the church 15 persons by letter and 248 on
examination. There were also others received in August and September, making 364. This
revival was one of far-reaching importance. The church was greatly strengthened. In 1827, it
reported 231 members, and in 1828, 604. Among these were the parents and grandparents of
many prominent people of the city today. On the list are such names as Burnet, Kautz, Cobb,
Lytle, Funk, Keys, Baker, Johnson, Montgomery, Skillinger, Newell, Wheeler, Hart. Woodward,
Hopple, Chute, Flint, Clopper, Baird, Bates, Ramsey, Torrence Bailey and Miller.
In 1841 Dr. Wilson being somewhat enfeebled by age, his son, the Rev. S. R. Wilson, was called
to be his assistant.
In 1844 the Central church was organized with thirty-three members.
In August, 1846, Dr. Wilson died, full of years and honors, and his son succeeded to the full
duties of the pastorate, in which he remained until March 2d, 1861
The Rev. Joshua L. Wilson was a native of Bedford county, Virginia, born September 22, 1774.
In 1781 his father removed with his family to Kentucky. There Dr. Wilson as a youth studied
theology and was ordained by the Presbytery of Transylvania. He first became pastor of the
Bardstown and Big Spring Presbyterian churches. This was in 1804. He came to Cincinnati in
1808, and remained until his death in 1846. He was buried in Spring Grove cemetery. The Hon.
E. D. Mansfield wrote of him : "The city he found a village of one thousand inhabitants, and left
it at his death, with one hundred thousand. In this period, Dr. Wilson maintained throughout the
same uniform character and the same inflexible firmness in principle. He was a man of ardent
temperament, with great energy and decision of character. The principles he once adopted he
held with indomitable courage and unyielding tenacity. He was not only a Presbyterian but one of
the strictest sect. It is not strange, therefore, that he contended with earnestness for what he
thought the faith once delivered to tile saints. In consequence of these characteristics, many
persons supposed him a harsh or bigoted man. But this was a mistake, unless to be in earnest is
harshness, and to maintain one's principles bigotry. On the contrary, Dr. Wilson was
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 477
kind, charitable, and in those things he thought right, liberal. Among these was the great cause of
popular education. Of this he was a most zealous advocate, but demanded that education be
founded on religion, and the Bible should be a primary element in all public education."
It is notable that during the great revival the church was often filled to its capacity, including
gallery and aisles, there being then no law against filling the aisles ; this meant above three
thousand people, or one seventh of the population of the town at that time. The proportion to the
population was evidently greater than at any single religious service since.
As indicating however that discouragement had to be overcome then as now, a letter of Mr. Ross,
one of the revivalists, written in his eighty-second year, is valuable. He wrote : "From
Wednesday, when we began, until Monday, there was, seemingly to us, not the slightest
impression made, and, being totally discouraged, we told Dr. Wilson Monday morning after
breakfast we had made up our minds to go back to Kentucky the next day, if the meeting that
night should be so thinly attended and so without life as the previous ones had been. Dr. Wilson
then suggested that the "anxious seat" had never been tried in Ohio. and that he had been afraid
of it. But he was now persuaded, from the prudent way we had used it, to see what .effect it
would have that night. Accordingly after the sermon, he, I well remember, placed a chair in front
of the pulpit, stood on it, and simply said in substance that he had told us that he had made up his
mind to try the measure. Gallagher then gave one of his rousing appeals. Twenty came. The spirit
was in Cincinnati. He had heard the Macedonian cry and. had come over the river.
"The next morning there was an inquirer's meeting at nine o'clock, in Dr.. Wilson's house, when
it was determined that at the night service we would defer the appeal to the impenitent, and
request Christians of the church to come, who felt they had backslidden or were cold in duty. Of
course when the call was. made the very best members were soon on the bench,—Mr. Wilson the
first one. The effect, as expected, was great and delightful. The huge building showed that night
the interest already felt.
"We had to go. Wednesday to Maysville, Kentucky, but engaged to lecture on the Tuesday
following. We did so, and the Wednesday thereafter we began our work in Cincinnati in the
moral certainty that the city was moved. That Wednesday was the Fourth of July. But God had
ordered and every soldier and all the patriotic gunpowder rejoicings went boldly out of town, and
it was calmer than any other day, hardly a shop open, and every one free to hear the gospel .
under conditions most favorable. Suffice, the meeting, preaching and inquiries. went on with
great power. The church was filled, floors and galleries, and a. little court, leading from a side
door into the street, was frequently so jammed it was hard to get in or out. On the next Sabbath
one hundred and fifty were admitted to the First Church, and I think about the same number the
next Sabbath in the Second Church. I cannot recall, for I write entirely from memory, how many
weeks we were in Cincinnati and the neighborhood, spending one series of meetings in Dayton.
But it is my impression, when we finally took our leave, five hundred, or thereabouts, had made
profession in Cincinnati alone."
478 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
This revival derives its historic importance from its influence upon the religious life of the city,
since it was one of the shaping and directing forces of the city.
Up to 1829 the First Church had a gallery for colored people.
The pastorate of the Rev. S. R. Wilson, son of Joshua and his successor, was marked by two
important events. The first was the organization of the Seventh Church in 1849 ; this drew from
the First Church many of its people, including some of its strongest and most honored elders. The
second was the building of the present church edifice, dedicated September 21st, 1851. This
structure stands near but not upon the exact site of the former building. It cost sixty thousand
dollars. It has a lofty spire, two hundred and eighty-five feet high, ten feet higher than that of
Trinity church, New York.
In the early years of the twentieth century a movement was started to merge the First Church, and
several other down-town Presbyterian churches that had been weakened by encroaching business
and by removals to the suburbs, with the Second Church, using the plant of the Second Church
for all services, disposing of all the other church properties. Such an organization was formed
under the name of the Church of the Covenant. The letters of many of the people of the First
were received by the Church of the Covenant ; the Presbytery of Cincinnati confirmed the action,
and the First Church was, according to the rules of Presbyterianism, out of existence. But a
minority of the people of the First Church, who had never been satisfied with the proposed
arrangement, wished to maintain their separate organization and had voted against the merger.
These continued to hold services in the First Church in spite of the orders of the Presbytery. It
appears that in the First Church there exists a peculiar condition, the existence of two separate
corporations, one technically called the First Presbyterian Congregation and the other the First
Presbyterian Church, and it appears that such an action as the merger required' the joint action of
both these bodies. The two bodies to a large extent consisted of the same persons but not wholly
so, though all of course were' members of the First Church. While a majority vote in the one
body would be sufficient in the one body for the merger, in the other body a two thirds vote was
needed. Also, in the "Congregation" it is contrary to the rules to vote by proxy. It appears that
while a majority voted for the merger in the one case and two thirds voted for it in the other case,
there were in this two thirds some proxy votes. This made the merger seem to the people who
clung to their organization illegal. The matter was carried to the courts and, after much delay, it
was decided in 1910 that the merger was illegal, and that the First Church was an independent
organization, with all its rights unimpaired by previous arrangements. In December, 1910, Dr.
Watson, pastor of the Church of the Covenant, presented to the Presbytery of Cincinnati a
resolution declaring the independent existence of the First Church, calling for the seating of its
delegate on the floor of the Presbytery, but declaring that such persons as had been members of
the First Church but had taken their letters to the Church of the Covenant or to any other church
should be considered as belonging to the churches to which they had taken their letters. This
resolution was passed unanimously. Thus the famous merger, which had been a subject of
discussion and agitation for many years in the Presbytery and in the newspapers, came to
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 479
a peaceful end, so far as the First Church was concerned. The First Church now exists as an
independent organization, with an immensely valuable property, but a small congregation in the
midst of the business district. It is possible that the congregation will dispose of this holding and
remove to a residence part of the city.
The pastoral relation of Dr. S. R. Wilson was dissolved March 2, 1861. The ;following year the
Rev. J. E. Annin began a term of service which closed July 13, 1864. He was followed by the
Rev. Dr. William C. Anderson for a brief period. On January 4, 1867, a call was extended to the
Rev. Dr. C. L. Thompson, who accepted and remained with the church for five years. He was
succeeded by the Rev. George B. Beecher, called November 6, 1872, and released February 21,
1879. The Rev. Dr. F. C. Monfort supplied the church for more than two years, became the
regular pastor in 1881 and so remained until June 14, 1888.
November, 1888, the Rev. I. W. Gilchrist became the minister. The church is now supplied by
the Rev. Spiegel.
The Rev. Dr. Reynolds tells of his recollections of the First church in 1838. "On cold winter
mornings we would go to the Sabbath school in the gallery at 9 o'clock, and would first visit the
large audience room below to get warm at the immense stoves, four of them, which were
crammed with wood, and made a small space around excessively warm, while the main part of
the church would be cold. In extremely severe weather the ministers would preach wrapped in
their cloaks, standing in the lofty pulpit which rose like. a tower. . . . I remember Dr. Joshua
Wilson. He was a man of striking appearance, holding his head a little to one side in consequence
of being hurt' by the overturning of a stage coach. He is said to have resembled General Jackson
in personal appearance and in dignity. His voice was musical, not very loud, and well modulated.
On one occasion, on a fast day, when Dr. Wilson was preaching, the dinner bell of a hotel near by
began to ring, and the minister with a quaint smile said, "Do not let that dinner bell disturb you,
for remember you are to have no dinner today."
"When in 1845 the general assembly met in the First church, a delegation of Indian chiefs visited
the assembly, and they were introduced to the moderator by means of an interpreter. Speeches
were made by the Indian chiefs and by the moderator."
Woman's Christian work in Cincinnati, which has grown to such vast proportions in this city, had
its beginnings in this First church. December 13, 1827, the executive committee of the Female
Missionary association of the First Presbyterian church of Cincinnati, presented its first annual
report. It was a small beginning, with forty-five subscribers and $20 collected. But it was the
forerunner of great things.
As a type of the Christian womanhood of the early time, it is of value to state something in regard
to Mrs. Kemper, the wife of the first minister. "Judith Hathaway Kemper, wife of the first
Presbyterian pastor of Cincinnati, was born and reared of English parentage in Virginia, where
she received the best education of her time. She was a woman of fragile physique but of enduring
fibre ; she was a faithful, efficient and heroic worker, possessed of an
480 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
unusually sound judgment, modest, amiable, an attractive, genial companion, intelligent -and
wise, and thoroughly, unswervingly devoted to the promotion of the cause of Christ. She was
unassuming, self-possessed and had marked decision of character. When the Rev. David Rice
and his. first Kentucky convert and elder, Jacob Fishback, selected her husband as the fittest
person they knew to do the work of a pioneer evangelist 'and educator in Kentucky, it was her
voice that decided his acceptance. The young husband was in the government employ as surveyor
in the Carolinas, now Tennessee, with every prospect of speedy and permanent _worldly
advancement.. But when these men, armed for mutual protection, urged upon the surveyor the
need of the Gospel And education in Kentucky, to which all eyes were then turned, and the
seeming impossibility of securing these, the devoted wife deemed it her privilege and highest
duty to decide that this Was the call of God, fully appreciating the responsibility she assumed..
At once, at the age of twenty-nine, with her husband and six children, she made the journey on
horseback through the wilderness to Kentucky. From that date she was the breadwinner of the
family. Her loom was at the same time the family support and an important educational
institution in Kentucky then, and afterward in Ohio. That loom, and subsequently her farms, were
the source of the ideas upon manual training that were attempted to be incorporated into many of
our earlier educational institutions.
"Never was she in the least daunted by adversity. When the memorable change in the value of
current money of the time ruined the finances of so many, she was prompt and cheerful with
patient fortitude to reestablish her worldly fortune. Whatever estimate may be put upon the
life-work of her husband as the heroic bishop of the churches in these regions, that work was
made possible by her delicate, consecrated hands."
Roosevelt in his "Winning of the West," gives an account of the pioneers, applicable generally,
but applicable here as showing to some extent the reasons why Presbyterianism was so strong in
the early days of Cincinnati. He says
"The backwoodsmen were Americans by birth and parentage, and of mixed race; but the
dominant strain in their blood was that of the Presbyterian/ Irish, the Scotch-Irish as they are
often called. Full credit has been awarded the Roundhead and the Cavalier for their leadership in
our history ; nor have we been altogether blind to the deeds of the Hollander and Huguenot; but it
is doubtful if we have fully realized the importance of the part played by that stern and virile
people,—the Irish, whose preachers taught the creed of Knox and Calvin. These Irish
representatives of the Covenanters were in the west almost what the Puritans were in the
northeast, and more than the Cavaliers were in the south. Mingled with the descendants of many
other races, they nevertheless formed the kernel of the distinctively and intensely American stock
who were the pioneers of our people on their march westward, the vanguards of the army of
fighting settlers who, with an axe and rifle, won their way from the Alleghenies to the Rio
Grande and the Pacific.
"The Presbyterian Irish were themselves already a mixed people. Though mainly descended from
Scotch ancestors—who came originally from both lowlands and highlands, from both the Scotch
Saxons and Scotch Celts—many
CINCINNATI -THE QUEEN CITY - 481
of them were of English, a few of French Huguenot, and quite a number of pure old Milesian
Irish extraction ; they were the Protestants of the Protestants.
"That these Irish Presbyterians were a bold and hardy race is proved by them at once pushing past
the settled regions and plunging into the wilderness as the leaders of the white advance. They
were the first and last set of immigrants to do this ; all others have merely, followed in the wake
of their pre decessors. But, indeed, they were fitted to be Americans from the very start ; they
were kinsfolk of the Covenanters ; they deemed it a religious duty to intrepret their own Bible,
and held for a divine right the election of their own clergy. For generations their whole
ecclesiastic and scholastic systems had been fundamentally democratic. In the hard life of the
frontier they lost much of their religion, and they had but scant opportunity to give their children
the schooling in which they believed; but what few meeting-houses and schoolhouses there were
on the border were theirs."
While to many the subject of the influence of the Sunday school in shaping early Cincinnati may
seem unimportant or commonplace, yet actually it was one of the forces that helped make the
Cincinnati of today. Kipling has said, wisely or unwisely, that "Asia will never go to Sunday
school ;" this is of course a debatable epigram, since the religions of the Western world came out
of Asia, since the Jews, who were Asiatics, drilled their children in the law, since Hindoo,
Chinese and Japanese children have been for ages taught the principles of Confucianism,
Buddhism or Mohammedanism, according to the choice of their parents.
Even if Asia does not in the future go to Sunday school, Cincinnati in its early days did, and to a
large extent it does yet. We cannot ignore the effect of drilling hundreds or thousands of children
in the ideas and words of the Bible, any more than you could understand aboriginal American
Indians and ignore the drill their children received in hunting, in war, in uncomplaining
endurance of pain. Its influence cannot be ignored more than we can forget that today, the
anarchists, socialists, communists, etc., have the equivalent of a Sunday school and tutor their
children in the principles of their social faiths. Of course, early Cincinnati was not peculiar in this
respect, since all -American communities have to a large extent passed through the same
experience. But the fact is no less significant about Cincinnati because it is significant of other
communities as well.
In 1790 the first organized effort to establish and sustain Sunday schools in this country was
formed in Philadelphia, and nearly all the Protestant churches there united in the effort. Oddly
enough, in view of the movement today to have salaried teachers in the Sunday schools, the
teachers at the beginning were generally paid. They received a salary of eighty dollars a year. In
1791, Mrs. Lake, the wife of a soldier at the stockade, a military post where Marietta now stands,
gathered the children of the garrison and from the log cabins protected by it, and gave them Bible
instruction on the Sabbath day.
The systematic adoption of the Sunday school in and about Cincinnati was not immediate.
Among the earliest Sunday schools in Ohio was one at Zanesville, in 1815, which had four
teachers and forty-five scholars.
482 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
In 1836 there was a great gathering of Sunday school workers in Wesley chapel, Cincinnati. In
1842 the Sunday schools held a union celebration and pupils, teachers and officers thronged the
streets and ma rched with banners and songs. The procession and the enthusiasm showed that
seventy years ago this city had many Sunday schools and hosts of devoted friends, who were
earnest and devoted in their support.
In 1879 there was celebrated in Delaware county the semi-centennial of the beginnings of a
Sunday school in a log cabin in that vicinity.
It is noticeable that the methods of Sunday school instruction, particularly those for the primary
scholars, were then very different from those of the present time. Primers and spelling books
were then used for the instruction of the little ones, who were drilled in their A B C's. The fact
that a certain amount of secular instruction was given accounts for the opposition to these
schools from certain of the ministers of that day ; it seems singular that the clergy should have
even to a small extent stood aloof from Sunday schools until you understand that they were not
opposing Bible instruction but secular instruction on the Sabbath.
One elderly woman in giving her reminiscences some years ago of that early period says, "Being
very small when I entered the Sunday school, the. kind old superintendent led me into a class of
little ones taught by a young lady, who kindly took me in her lap and had me say the A B C's ;
succeeding with the alphabet, she had me spell some short Word ; and my first day's lesson was
finished apparently to her satisfaction, but not to mine. I could hardly restrain my disgust and
indignation , until I reached home, and declared emphatically that 'I would never go to that
Sunday school again. I could read in the Testament, and to be considered a 'little know nothing'
and put in the primer was too great an indignity to be borne. I got no sympathy from the home
folks, but was blamed and laughed at for not having sense or courage enough to tell the teacher
that I could read. Children did not rule in those days, so I had to go back the next Sunday.
Committing verses to memory was the usual Sunday school lesson for the larger scholars, the
Sunday school union books also being used. Frequently, bright scholars would recite whole
chapters and hymns at one time.
"Many of the books in the Sunday school library were dull, prosy biographies of unnaturally
good children, who all died young, and those were left uncalled for when more interesting ones
could be had, and though few of them were written in an attractive style, yet they were eagerly
taken and in many cases read and re-read with interest and improvement. All the books, Bibles,
etc., lay around on the window sills and the seats until some one went around with a subscription
paper and raised funds to purchase a bookcase. In those days of hard work and little money some
persons excused themselves from sending their boys to Sunday school on the plea that 'they had
no shoes,' so at one time my father had some of my brothers go barefoot, to have others willing to
do likewise. There were hard lessons and stern truths inculcated in those days, but doubtless
many have lived more efficient and useful lives from such training.
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 483
"When pretty things were not plenty, it was no easy or pleasant duty for young girls to be
required to give up the pleasure of wearing what they had, for the reason that others who could
not have the same, might feel badly, and perhaps stay at home and thus lose a pleasure which
they otherwise could enjoy. Sunday school picnics were then unknown, but Fourth of July
celebrations were bright days, even though minus flags, fireworks, etc. The first one I remember
was held in the well shaded church grounds. Parents and children were there in large numbers ;
there were speeches' and singing, and the crowning act of all was the distribution of a barrel of
old fashioned ginger cakes, each child receiving two, plenty of water was handed. round in tin
cups, and all went home happy and satisfied.
"It does not require the phonograph to bring back the old familiar psalms and hymns as heard in
my youthful days. The leader standing in front of the pulpit started the old tunes, such as
'Arlington,' 'St. Martin's Mear,' and `Windham,' and some tunes not at all attractive to the juvenile
part of the congregation. The practice of 'lining' out the hymns lasted only a few years, but there
were some laughable incidents connected with the custom. Once the sing-song tones of the
reader led several persons to think that the singing was going on, so they joined in with energy,
but the sudden halt showed a realization of their mistake. Occasionally some, cheerful, common
meter hymn was sung to 'Auld Lang Syne,' and 'When marshalled on the nightly plain' to `Bonny
Doon,' and would prove quite a musical treat and be heartily sung by the children.
"Finally some of the more ,progressive parents hired a good singing teacher and a regular weekly
singing school was organized. After a time a good choir was organized, and seats arranged for
them, much to the displeasure of some of the 'old fogy' element, who are to be found everywhere,
but at length they had to succumb to the inevitable, being made to feel that the world was
marching on, and soon the grand old anthems, with instrumental accompaniments, became a
necessary part of the regular Sunday services. The Sunday school hymns and tunes were
gradually changed to something better suited to children's voices, and well do I remember the
welcome advent of the now almost obsolete 'There is a happy land.' My brother heard it sung and
immediately taught the words and music to our Sunday school, even before it came in the first
number of the little anniversary hymns. Soon the children were singing it on the streets, men
whistling it at their work, and yet ,none tired of it, until other Sunday school hymns and tunes
came to take their place.
"On communion Sundays the church was usually crowded., Many of the aged but pleasant faces
of some who always sat on chairs in the open space near the pulpit are photographed on my
memory. The portrait of one of the `Mothers in Israel' hangs now in the Mercantile library.
Another old lady sometimes came, who was an object of childish wonder, for the dangers and
sorrows she had endured in her early pioneer life in the Milcreek valley. Her child having been
killed by the Indians, she fled with a feather bed wrapped around her to shield herself from their
arrows, quite a distance to her husband, who was working in the fields ; fortunately he had his
gun with him and thus saved her life as well as his own."
484 - CINCINNATI--THE QUEEN CITY
Third church. The second of the daughters of the First church to go forth to a long life of activity.
and fruitfulness, was the Third Presbyterian church, a child of the revival of 1828-29. A record of
the minutes of the session of the Third church states, "Pursuant to previous notice given, a
meeting of a number of persons desiring to be organized as a Presbyterian church in this city was
held in the First Presbyterian church, January 22, 1829. The Rev. J. L. Wilson, D. D., was
moderator of the meeting, and John Mahard, Sr., was appointed secretary. The meeting was
opened by the moderator with singing and prayer, after which fifty-nine persons presented their
certificates of dismission from other branches of the church, and were constituted a distinct
church, to be denominated the Third Presbyterian Society of Cincinnati." (Then follow the names
of fifty-nine persons, forty-six of whom came from the First church.) "The persons present then
proceeded to elect three men to the office of ruling elder in the' society, whereupon Jabez C.
Tunis, Nathan Baker and Robert Boal, Sr., were duly elected. The society was further organized
by the election of seven trustees and a treasurer and clerk." The Rev. James Gallagher became
the first pastor.
This church grew remarkably. From its organization to April, 1832, three years and three months,
four hundred and sixteen members, beside the fifty-nine charter members,, were received into the
church, two hundred and thirty-one of these in a single year.
(Old) Fourth Presbyterian church. The next child in order, born also of the revival of 1828-29,
was the old Fourth church, which must either be identified as the old "Fulton church," or more
probably as the since defunct "High Street church." In the records of the Presbytery, a church
called the "High Street church," was enrolled by Presbytery (many years later), on October 7,
1846; the name a fterward changed, September 6, 1854, to the Fourth' Presbyterian church ; and,
under the name of the "Fourth church" dissolved by act of Presbytery, April 26,1859. It is
probable that this was the successor of the original Fourth church ; at all events 'the church has
long been out of existence, and the present Fourth church is another organization.
All that can be learned as to the early history of the Fifth Presbyterian church is that it was
organized (as the official records of Presbytery clearly state), under the order of Presbytery, by
the Rev. Mr. Stark, with ten members, on March 29, 1831, and -according to the most reliable
authorities was direct offspring of the First church, being the fourth child of this mother. It has
done a noble work. It became part of the Church of the Covenant by the merger of several
churches with the Second church.
The Vine Street Congregational church was formerly the . Sixth Presbyterian. It was the fifth
child of the First church. It bore the name Sixth Presbyterian until 1846, when by its choice and
the authority of the legislature of Ohio, it became the Vine Street Congregational church.. Its
former name, the Sixth, was later given to one of the grandchildren of the First church. April 5,
1831, twenty members of the First church petitioned the Cincinnati Presbytery to be set off, and
with others organized into a church to be known as the Sixth Presbyterian church of Cincinnati.
The request was granted,
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 485
and the Revs. Elijah Slack and Ralph Cushman were appointed a committee to attend to their
request. They were accordingly organized.
The cause which originated this church movement was pulpit defense of American slavery drawn
from the Bible, and denunciation of those who agitated the subject of emancipation. The change
of name was made under a legislative act of February 28, 1846. On the loth of November, 1846,
the church unanimously voted to change its ecclesiastical connection and adopt the
Congregational form of government. The withdrawal from the Presbytery was accomplished in
the usual way.
The Central Presbyterian church was organized in part from a desire to reach the western portion
of the city,. and in part from the desire of a number to strengthen the cause in the city by securing
the services of the Rev. Nathan L. Rice, then of Kentucky, whose ability, although comparatively
a young man, as called forth by his celebrated debate with the Rev. Alexander Campbell, had
attracted general attention. The "Manual of the Central Presbyterian church for 1851," published
during the pastorate of Dr. Rice, states :
"With a view to the formation of a colony from the First Presbyterian church of this city, a
meeting was held in the session room of that church in February, 1844. This meeting consisted of
the pastor, ruling elders, and several members of the First church. The proposed enterprise met
with the approbation of the meeting, and Dr. Wm. S. Ridgely, Samuel B. Findlay and Alexander
McKensie were appointed a committee to obtain the names of those who desired to become
members of the proposed church. The names of thirty-three persons having been obtained, they
presented to the Presbytery of Cincinnati, April 2, 1844, a petition to be organized as a church, to
be called the Central Presbyterian church of Cincinnati. The petition was granted, and the church
was organized, April 23, 18th, with thirty-three members. Dr. Wm. S. Ridgely and James M.
Johnston were elected ruling elders and were ordained to that office. The church extended to Dr.
Rice a unanimous call to be their pastor." He was installed January 12, 1845.
Dr. Rice was one of the most notable ministers who has ever been in this city. The Central
church had a very rapid growth, and in less than nine years was the largest old school
Presbyterian church in the city.
The Seventh Presbyterian church. The records of the Presbytery, April 2, 1844, show that a
petition was granted, signed by fifty-nine persons, for the organization of the Seventh church. But
for some reason the organization was deferred for more than five years. December 5, 1849, the
First church made an arrangement to pay the proposed new church $30,000 in ten annual
payments. December 7, 1849, ninety-seven members from the First church were dismissed to
form the Seventh church. December 8th the new church was organized by the Presbytery. Being
financially as well as numerically strong, it entered upon a brilliant career on Broadway, where it
erected the handsome building which is now the Scottish Rite cathedral. This was for years one
of the most important and influential churches of the city, and numerous men and women who
have gone out from it have been, and are, the pillars of many of the other churches throughout
this region. The Seventh church some years ago removed its site to East Walnut Hills.
486 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
Pilgrim Chapel church began life on Mt. Adams. It was for a time an independent church, lost
some of its strength ; the membership was transferred to the Seventh church. The First church
then undertook to revive the organization, with a handful of young people. There came to be a
strong Sunday school, and at last the present site of Pilgrim Chapel was selected and the building
constructed. The work was carried on for some years as a branch of the First church, but in May,
189o, seventy-three members were dismissed from the First church and organized into the
Pilgrim. Chapel church. The present organization has really no organic connection with the old
Pilgrim church.
The Tabernacle Presbyterian church was a colony from the Third church and existed from 1842
to 1859, when it was dissolved,. most of its members entering the Fifth church.
The Sixth Presbyterian church appears to have had a. previous history in the early part of the
nineteenth century,. under the title of the First Presbyterian church of the Eastern Liberties of
Cincinnati, which died and was afterwards reorganized February, 1831, with the name of the
First Presbyterian church, of Fulton. This was afterward dissolved. It was again resuscitated and
was organized December, 1842, as the Sixth Presbyterian church, with twenty-two members, of
whom sixteen were from the Third church, five from the old Sixth (now Vine Street
Congregational), and one from New Jersey. It is now a prosperous church.
The Eighth Presbyterian church was also a child of the Third church, organized February, 1848,
with thirty-one members. In 1862 this church was dissolved.
In 1842, a colony was sent out from the Second church and organized as the Seventh church, on
George street, but five years later it became the Seventh Street Congregational church, which has
since removed to the hills, and is now the flourishing "Congregational church of Walnut Hills."
Another vigorous grandchild of the First church is the Poplar Street church. It began with a
Sabbath school on Freeman and Liberty streets, in 1856. It proved successful and a year. later the
Young Men's Home Missionary society of the Second church, on a proposition from. Mr. L. H.
Sargent and an offer of $2,5oo, bought a lot and built a church edifice, which was dedicated June,
1856. January, 1859, the, church was organized.
The Ninth Presbyterian church came into existence as a mission of the Central church, under the
pastorate in the Central church of Dr. Nathaniel West. It was dissolved in 1864.
Lincoln Park Presbyterian church began as a mission of the Central church, and was organized in
1868. It existed until 1881, when it was dissolved.
Westminster Presbyterian church, on Price hill, was organized ;in 1883. It was born in the parlors
of the home. of Col. Peter Rudolph Neff, who was an elder in the Second church, and more than
two-thirds of its original twenty-two members came from the Second church.
Calvary Presbyterian church, Linwood, is an offspring of the Third church. It was organized
April, 1887, with forty-seven members, all from the Sixth church.
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 487
The First Presbyterian church of Walnut Hills, was the result of the labors of the Rev. James
Kemper, who began preaching there in 1817. The church was organized October, 1818. In
1818-19, the old stone church was erected and was dedicated July 4, 1819. "Lane Seminary
Presbyterian church" was organized in 1831. These two churches united in December, 1878,
forming the present large and prosperous "First Presbyterian church of Walnut Hills."
Cumminsville Presbyterian church. In November, 1853, a new Presbyterian church building was
dedicated in Cumminsville, and arrangements were made for regular Sunday services. In 1855
the petition of applicants to Presbytery for an organization was granted, and the Cumminsville
Presbyterian church was organized with fifteen members.
In November, 1856, an organization of fifteen members was effected by the Associate Reformed
church in Engine House hall, Webster street. In 1857 this church went into the United
Presbyterian body and removed to the corner of Franklin and Sycamore streets. In .September,
1867, the church withdrew from the U. P. body, on account of the "close communion" practice of
that denomination, and was received into the Presbytery of Cincinnati, and given the name of the
Fourth Presbyterian church.
The Mt. Auburn Presbyterian church. The first meeting looking toward this organization was
held January 20, 1867. This was followed by a general meeting March 14, 1867, at which it was
voted to raise $25,000 for the erection of a house of worship. The legal organization was effected
July 23, 1868, and. on October 13, 1868, the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian. church was fully
organized by the Presbytery, with sixty-nine members, a large portion of whom had come from
the Seventh, the Second, Central, Third and Fifth churches. This is one of the strongest, most
active and generous churches in the city.
The Avondale Presbyterian church was organized April 21, 1868, with thirty members from
various churches. It grew rapidly and became and continues one of the strong and influential
churches of the city.
Clifton Presbyterian church began with the establishment of a Sabbath school in October, 1879,
which developed into a Presbyterian mission, March 15, 1881. The following January, 1882,
steps were taken to secure an organization, and in April, 1882, the Clifton (Immanuel)
Presbyterian church was organized by Presbytery, with twenty-seven members from seven
different churches.
The First German Presbyterian church was Organized. in 1850, and has done a. very excellent
work. The Second ,,German Presbyterian church was organized in 1866. It also has flourished.
Bethany mission, Price Hill, is under the care of the Second church. Riverside mission is also
under the care of the same church. Bethany chapel, Walnut Hills, is under care of the First church
of Walnut Hills. Mohawk mission is under the care of the Presbytery.
There are besides in Cincinnati of Presbyterian churches, Westwood, Westwood German,
Westminster, Trinity, Reading-Lockland, Norwood, Knox, Fairmount German, Evanston,
Elmwood Place, College Hill, Clifford, Carmel, Calvary, Bond Hill, and the Italian mission.
488 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN. CITY
In the Cincinnati Presbytery there are more than forty churches, with more than 12,000 members,
more than 11,000 Sunday school pupils. The churches of the Presbytery raise for all purposes
about $200,000 annually.
Methodism. It was thirteen years after the founding of the First Presbyterian church that, the first
Methodist church was established in. Cincinnati. But the Rev. John Kobler, presiding elder of a
Kentucky district, and who had been commissioned by Bishop Asbury as a missionary to the
Northwest Territory, came in 1798 to look over the field in Cincinnati. In a paper he wrote long
afterwards, he says : "I rode down the Miami river thirty-six miles to explore this region of
country. I found settlements very spare in. deed, only now and then a solitary family. About four
o'clock in the afternoon I came to an old garrison called Fort Washington, situated on the bank of
the big river, which bore very much the appearance of a declining, ;time-stricken, God-forsaken
place. Here are a few long buildings extra of the fortress, and a few families residing together,
with a small printing office 'just put in operation, and a small store opened by a gentleman named
Snodgrass. This, I was told, was the great place of rendezvous of olden time for the Federal
troops when going to war with the Indians. Here, also, General St. Clair made his last
encampment with his troops before he met his lamentable defeat ; here I wished very much to
preach, but could find no opening or reception of any kind whatever. I left the old garrison to
pursue my enterprise, with a full intention to visit it again and to make further efforts with them
on my next round; but this I did not do for the following reasons, namely : When I had gone a
second round on my appointment, and further explored the settlements and circumstances of the
.country there were some places where the opening prospects, appeared much more promising
than what I had seen in Fort Washington ; and I was eager to take every advantage of time and
things, by collecting what first was already apparent, by forming societies and building up those
already formed ; so that in a few rounds I had nearly lost sight of old Fort Washington, and
finally concluded that it would be most proper for me, under the existing circumstances, at least
for the present, to omit it altogether."
A description of the Rev. John Kohler is furnished by McLean in his account of the Rev. Philip
Gatch. "I frequently heard him, and shall never forget his appearance and manner. My curiosity
to hear him was excited by the account given of him by the son of Captain Davis, who was a few
years older than I was. His time was almost wholly taken up, as represented by young Davis, in
reading and praying; that, although he was kind in his manner and sociable, yet a smile was
seldom seen on his face, but he was often seen to weep. I. heard 'him often, and was always much
impressed with his discourse, and especially with his prayers. He was tall and well-proportioned ;
his hair was black, and he wore it long, extending over the cape of his coat. His dress was neat,
with a straight-breasted coat, and in every respect as became a Methodist preacher of that day. He
had a most impressive countenance. It showed no ordinary intellectual development, united with
sweetness of disposition, unconquerable firmness, and uncommon devotion. His preaching never
failed to attract the deep attention of every hearer. His manner was very deliberate at the com-
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 489
mencement of a discourse ; but as he progressed he became more animated and his words more
powerful. He awakened in himself and in his Christian audience a sublimated feeling in the
contemplation of Heaven, and in those who had a foreboding of future ill unspeakable horrors.
On these topics he was eloquent. Indeed his mind was well stored with information, and in every
point; of view he was a most useful and excellent preacher. His aims were more at the heart than
the head. The Methodist preachers of that day believed that if the heart were made right, it would.
influence the life and conduct of the individual."
In 1799 another circuit rider, Lewis Hunt, came to ride the Miami and Scioto circuits, including
the whole southern and western parts of Ohio. During his sickness, which proved temporary, the
Rev. H. Smith was sent to do his work. Smith met Hunt on the Mad river so much improved in
health as to be able to resume his preaching. Hunt and another circuit rider, the Rev. Elisha
Bowman, preached at Fort Washington several times,
In 1805, the Rev. William Burke, then presiding elder of the Ohio district, preached in the
courthouse in Cincinnati. In 1804 a Methodist society, meeting from house to house, was formed
in Cincinnati, and to this congregation Mr. Burke preached in the house of Mr. Newcome, on
Sycamore, street. A Methodist class meeting was held at Fort Washington toward the end of the
eighteenth century, but details are wanting.
It is generally considered that the beginnings of Methodism in Cincinnati date from. a visit here
of John Collins, about 1803. He was a; youthful farmer, licensed as a local preacher in New
Jersey, who resided along the Little Miami. In his neighborhood he was an enthusiastic worker
and exhorter and won many to Methodism. On the occasion of a visit by Collins to Cincinnati to
purchase a supply of salt, he called at the store of a Mr. Carter who he learned was a Methodist.
Delighted to find in each other brothers in faith, they discussed the possibility of arousing the
interest of others in their views. To this end it was decided to hold a meeting in an upper room of
Mr. Carter's home, on Front street between Walnut and Vine. Seats were provided and a general
invitation was sent out to come and hear Collins preach. The congregation proved to be small,
consisting of twelve persons, nearly all of whom were Methodists.
Collins preached to this little group. This is supposed to have been the first sermon delivered by a
Methodist in Cincinnati, except the sermons given in Fort Washington. Collins organized a class
meeting. In 1807, he was licensed as an itinerant preacher. His appointment was to the Miami
circuit, which then included most of the region ,now within the conference of Cincinnati. For
more than twenty-five years he was one of the most forceful preachers in southwestern Ohio.
Toward the end of his work he was stationed in Cincinnati.
During a revival conducted by Collins, John McLean, afterwards on the Federal supreme court,
and his brother Colonel McLean were converted.
In "A Sketch of the life of the Rev. John Collins," the writer says : "Will the reader linger a
moment on that remarkable congregation of_ twelve—not remarkable for their positions in
society, but as the first assemblage of Methodists, to hear a sermon by a Methodist preacher in a
town which in a few years was to become noted for Methodism? In the small apartment, lighted
with one or two
490 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
flickering candles, sat the twelve. The preacher performed his duty most faithfully and
affectionately. Many tears were shed. Some wept under a conviction of their sins, others from a
joyful hope of the future. The speaker. had a word for each hearer, and it took effect. There were
no dry eyes nor unfeeling hearts in the congregation. How small and feeble was this beginning;
and yet who can limit the consequences which followed it ?"
In 1804, the Rev. John Sale and the Rev. J. Oglesby were appointed to the Miami circuit. In
1803, the first district arrangement of Methodism in this state had been organized, and called the
Ohio District ; the Rev. William Burke was the presiding elder. Mr. Sale, soon after his
appointment, preached in Cincinnati in a house on Main street, between Front and Second. A
congregation of about thirty persons assembled to hear him.
In Finley's "Sketches of Western Methodism," the writer says : "After preaching, a proposition
was made to organize a society in the usual way, and according to the discipline of the church.
Accordingly, a chapter was read from the Bible ; then followed singing, prayer and the reading of
the general rules of the society. All then who felt desirous of becoming members of the society,
and were willing to abide by the general rules as they had been read, came forward and gave in
their names. The number who presented themselves on that occasion was only eight, consisting
of the following, namely : Mr. and Mrs. Carter, their son and daughter, (the latter afterwards Mrs.
Dennison, mother of Governor Dennison, and long a resident of Cincinnati), Mr. and Mrs.
Gibson, and Mr. and Mrs. St. Clair. Mr. Gibson was appointed the reader.
"A regular church being organized, arrangements were made to have preaching regularly every
two weeks by the circuit preachers. The society received an accession in the ensuing spring by
the arrival in town of two Methodist f amilies, namely those of Messrs. Nelson and Hall.
Meetings were held in the little old log schoolhouse below the hill, and not far from the old fort.
The location of this schoolhouse was such, as to accommodate the villagers ; and as its site was
somewhere not far from the intersection of Lawrence and Congress streets, it is presumed that
this portion of the town was the most thickly inhabited. Sometimes the rowdies would stone the
house ; and on one occasion Ezekiel Hall, a zealous Methodist, and one who was always present
to lead the singing, was taken by the rowdies after meeting, and carried to his home on Main
street, where, after giving him three hearty cheers for his zeal and fortitude, they left him. The
rioters were followed by two very strong young men, who were members of the church, and had
determined at all hazards to protect their feeble brother. The young men were Benjamin Stewart,
now (1854) living near Carthage, in this county, and Robert Richardson, now living on
Broadway, in this city."
In 1805, the Rev. Mr. Sale was appointed on the Lexington circuit, in Kentucky, and the Rev.
John Meek was put in his place on the circuit which included Cincinnati.
In the courthouse, the first love-feast of the Methodists in this city was held during a quarterly
meeting. In the same year, the Methodists purchased a lot on Fifth street, between Sycamore and
Broadway, for a church edifice and burial ground. A stone church on this spot was dedicated in
1806.
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 491
Mr. Finley, in his "Sketches" continues : "From this point the society increased rapidly, and it
was not long till the native eloquence of the backwoods preachers and the zeal of the
membership attracted large congregations, and the church was too small to hold the crowds that
collected there to hear the word of life. The building, however, was too small, being only about
twenty feet wide and forty long. To accommodate the increasing masses, who crowded to the
"Old Stone," the rear end was taken out and twenty feet. of brick added to it. Notwithstanding
this enlargement, still there was not sufficient room, and it was resolved to make arrangements
for other enlargements. It was concluded to take out the sides of the brick part, and extend the
building out each way twenty feet, this giving the church the form of a cross. After some time
this last improvement was made, and though the congregations still continued gradually to
increase with the ever-increasing population, yet it was many years before any movement was
contemplated to meet these wants. At length, however, it was resolved to tear down and build on
the site of the "Old Stone" a mammoth church, which would not only be the parent Methodist
church in Cincinnati, but which would be sufficiently large for all occasions.
"Colonies had already gone out from the old parent church and had located preaching places in
several parts of the city. One of these was located on the northeast corner of Plum and Fourth
streets. Here the brethren erected a plain, substantial brick church, which in progress of time was
called the "Old Brick," to distinguish it from the "Old Stone ;" and it was also designated by a
certain class as "Brimstone. Corner." Another charge was formed in the northern portion of the
city, which was called Asbury, and also one in Fulton, denominated McKendree Chapel.
In the early days, there was among the itinerants on the Cincinnati circuit, in 1811, the Rev.
William Young. He had as one of his charges the church at North Bend. Riding from Cincinnati
to North Bend on a cold December day he became chilled and soon afterward developed
consumption, dying from this disease at twenty-five years of age. In 1812, the Rev. William
Burke and the Rev. John Strange were on this circuit. Mr. Burke in his autobiography says : "At
the conference held at Chillicothe in the fall of 1811, I was appointed to Cincinnati station, it
being the first station in the state of Ohio. I organized the station, and many of the rules and
regulations that I established are still (1854) in use. We had but one church in the city, and it
went under the name of the Stone church. I preached three times every Sunday, and on
Wednesday night; and while stationed in that house my voice failed me. The Methodists being
too poor to buy a stove to warm the house in winter, and on Sunday morning it being generally
crowded, their breath would condense on the walls; and the water would run down and across the
floor. The next conference did not attend, but was appointed supernumerary on the Cincinnati
circuit. I was the first married preacher in the west who traveled after marrying."
The Rev. Alexander Cummins was on the circuit in 1816-17 and was dis- tinguished for zeal,
piety, usefulness, devotion, diligence, for his pathetic sermons and fervent prayers. He was later
made a presiding elder in Kentucky, and died at his home in Cincinnati September 27, 1823,
aged thirty-six years.
Vol. I-32
492 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
"The time at length," continues Finley in his "Sketches," had come for the erection of a large
central church ; and, the arrangements being made, the "Old Stone," with its brick appendages,
was torn down, and from its ruins arose a mighty structure, denominated Wesley Chapel. It was
dedicated in 1831 ; at that time the largest church in the place, and at the present time (1854)
capable of holding a larger congregation than any building in the city. On account of its capacity,
as well as its location in the heart of the city, it is selected on all great occasions. The address of
the Hon. John Quincy Adams, on the occasion of laying the corner stone of the Astronomical
Observatory, was delivered here. Here the various large benevolent societies hold their
anniversaries. It was here, to listening thousands, the eloquent Bascom delivered his lectures on
the evidences of Christianity ; and it was in this old cradle of Methodism the logical and earnest
Rice delivered his discourse on the subject of Romanism.
"The 'Old Brick,' of which we have already spoken, was built in 1822 ; but after several years,
during which it became a place of hallowed memories, on account of the numerous conversions
which had been witnessed at its altars, it was necessary to enlarge the borders of our Western
Zion in this place, and hence preparations were made to erect a new church. In the meantime,
however, a colony had gone out from Fourth street, and had built a fine church edifice on Ninth
street. Instead of tearing down and rebuilding, it was determined to purchase a lot on Western
Row, between Fourth and Fifth streets. Here the congregation built a very neat and commodious
church, which was denominated Morris Chapel, in honor of our beloved Western Bishop.
"But Methodist enterprise did not stop here. Asbury Chapel, in the northern part of the city, was
consumed by fire ; but the zealous brotherhood erected near its ruins a new and handsome
edifice. .Colonies from Morris Chapel and Ninth street went out, having among their number
some of the most zealous and efficient of their membership, and founded Christie Chapel and
Salem, York street and Park street chapels, all having now energetic and active memberships.
And last, not least, in that direction, from these, in their turn, was formed Clinton Street Chapel,
a young but vigorous branch of Methodism. In the meantime Bethel Chapel was founded by a
colony from old Wesley and McKendree ; and the trustees are now (1854) engaged in erecting a
new and beautiful church on Ellen street. Nor do we stop here ; colonies from the different
charges have founded societies and erected churches on Walnut Hills, in the Mears neighborhood
and Mt. Auburn."
In the old Methodist Discipline there was a rule which read, "Let the men and women sit apart,
without exception, in all our churches formation regulation led to the formation in Cincinnati of a
church which rebelled against this restriction. This was the Union Chapel organization. Its
original members came from several other churches, and these seated their families together.
They bought from the Episcopalians the Grace church building on Seventh street. Because of this
violation of the rules, the Union Chapel was for a long time not recognized by the Conference,
was forced to do without a regular pastor and employ local preachers, and to govern themselves
as an independent body. Finally the matter in dispute was brought before the General Conference
and the rule forbidding the seating of men and women together in the churches was stricken from
the
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 493
Discipline. The Union Chapel then became a regular Methodist Church. Its innovation in regard
to the seating of the sexes soon became the general custom of all the Methodist churches.
In 1854 the Methodist Episcopal Church South had in Cincinnati one large congregation. The
Protestant Methodist Church on Sixth street also had a large congregation and supported a couple
of city missions.
The Methodists of Cincinnati in 1836 began mission work among the large numbers of Germans
in the city. Dr. William Nast was the leader in this important movement. He had been a pupil and
then a professor of Greek and Oriental literature at the University of Tubingen. He had also
taught at Kenyon College. Having been converted to Methodism, he settled in Cincinnati and
began to work among his countrymen. He became editor of a German religious magazine called
Christliche Apologete. This mission in the course of twenty years gained large influence. Mr.
Finley, in his "Sketches". says, "It went back to the east ; and the large cities and towns, as far as
Boston, had missionaries sent to them, and societies were organized all over the land, from
Maine to Louisiana. From this mere handful of corn what a mighty harvest has already been
gathered. In Cincinnati there are four churches, some quite large ; and in almost every large town
where there are Germans, churches have been erected. No mission was ever established since the
days of Pentecost that has been attended with greater success. This was the crowning glory of
Methodism in the city, if not in the entire west."
Mr. Finley gives an incident that shows the profound impression often made by these early
preachers of Methodism. He is telling of an occurrence in 1813, while the Conference was being
held in this city. "There being no church on Sabbath large enough to hold the congregation, or
rather the vast crowds which attended upon the ministrations of the occasion, we adjourned to the
Lower Market space, on Lower Market street, between Sycamore and Broadway. The services
commenced at eleven o'clock. The Rev. Learner Blackman preached from the third petition of the
Lord's prayer, 'Thy kingdom come.' He was followed by brother Parker (presiding elder of a
district embracing the whole of the present states of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, and a preacher
of great eloquence and power), with a sermon on the fourth petition of the same prayer. 'Thy will
be done. After he had concluded, brother James Ward gave an exhortation, after the manner of
olden time. Then followed brother John Collins, (he who preached the pioneer sermon of 1803,)
who, from the same butcher's block whereon the preachers had stood, commenced with a soft and
silvery voice to sell the shambles, as only John Collins could, in the market. . These he made
emblematic of a full salvation, without money and without price. It was not long till the vast
assembly were in tears at the melting, moving strains of the eloquent preacher. On invitation a
large number came forward and kneeled down for an interest in the prayers of God's people. We
joined with them and other ministers who were present heartily in the work ; and before the
meeting closed in the market-place many souls were happily converted to God."
The early Methodist ministers endured hardness as good soldiers. As they rode from place to
place, often long journeys through the wilderness, they suffered more from exposure than in
general did other preachers who stayed more
494 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
in one locality ; though, of .course, all the pioneer preachers lived roughly and bore privations
heroically. As an instance of the hardships in the lives of these men, even so late as 1832-33,
when Bishop Morris was stationed in this city, the following from the "Life of Bishop Morris" is
worthy of record : "Mr. Morris sent his household goods by wagon to Cincinnati, while he with
his family took. Athens in their route, to visit his son, then a student in the Ohio University. On
their arrival finally at the Queen City, they were doomed to meet an unexpected defeat of their
previously determined mode of living, Having no 'suitable outfit for housekeeping in the city,
Mr. Morris had written from Columbus to one of the stewards in Cincinnati to engage a suitable
boarding place for himself and family. To this reasonpaid;equest no attention was paid-; and at
the first official meeting .the steward signified that it was their Wish to have the parsonage
Occupied by the preacher in charge. He at once moved into the old house thus designated, on
Broadway, near Fifth street, and furnished it as comfortably as his means would allow. All this
could have been borne cheerfully if his al-. lowance had been adequate to meet his expenses ;
but, in addition to the house, which was poor and uncomfortable, his salary was four hundred and
fifty dollars, all told. The last fifty was added, he was informed, in view of the fact that he would
be expected to entertain 'corners and goers,'—visiting brethren, lay and clerical.
"Having but a limited supply of beds for the 'comers and goers,' Mr. Morris found it necessary to
buy a cot, which he carried home on his own shoulders. The first attempt to use it broke 'it down.
He carried it back for repairs, and, when mended, bore it along Fifth. street as• before, the third
time. It' was hard Work, but saved the drayage. His .wife's health was very poor, and that of his
daughter scarcely better; but to hire help without the means to pay for it was a thing not to be
thought of ; and so, as the next best thing, he secured a washing machine, which, together with
his saw and axe, furnished him an abundance of healthy exercise. His daughter had just strength
to prepare the clothes, change the water, and rinse them when clean, while he was both able and
willing,—under the circumstances—to turn the machine, by far the hardest part of the job.
Meantime, however, the water works were destroyed by fire, and 'washing' became a more
serious as well as more expensive business, involving an outlay of twenty-five cents a barrel for
water, hauled from the river, for laundry purposes. As for the ordinary daily supply for drinking
and cooking purposes, Mr. Morris carried that in buckets from Spencer's well, a square and a half
distant from the parsonage."
As illustrating the power and influence of some of the meetings held by the Methodists, this
passage from the "Life of Bishop Morris" is given : "The most remarkable demonstration of the
Spirit took place in Wesley Chapel, at a watch night service on New Year's eve, when hundreds
were prostrate at the same time, pleading for mercy, the joyful shouts of new-born souls mingling
with the earnest cries of the penitent. The house was crowded above and below, and in every part
of it the cry arose, "What must I do to be saved ?" Not less than fifty were converted that
evening, and fifty-six united with the church on probation. Forty-seven were added to the Fourth
street church the next night, and seventeen at McKendree. From that time the revival was
regarded as general in all the congregations, and continued with very little abatement for months.
During this
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 495
great work of grace the official business of the church was not neglected. The class meetings
were held regularly, and proved to be the most powerful auxiliary to the more public services;
society meetings were held often, to which none but members and penitents were admitted.
Much care was taken to instruct penitents and watch over those who had been admitted on trial
as seekers of salvation; and as a result of this judicious administration, they were nearly all
converted and became living and useful members.
"Early in the spring the pastors held a series of meetings in their several charges, beginning .on
Friday and closing with a love-feast on Monday night. At these meetings they concentrated all
the Methodistic forces in the city day and night, except Sabbath, and the result in every instance
was glorious. At the close of such an effort in Fulton, the very foundations of wickedness seemed
to be broken up. Wives who had long prayed for their husbands, and mothers who had wept in
secret for their prodigal sons and worldly minded daughters, saw them fall down at the foot of the
cross to plead for mercy, and heard them rejoice subsequently in their glorious deliverance from
the bondage of sin. The reformation of morals in that part of the city was very striking and the,
church grew and multiplied.
"Upon the whole, this was a memorable year in the history of Methodism in Cincinnati. While
hundreds were made sorrowful by the loss of dear friends, more still were permitted to rejoice
over the salvation of relatives and neighbors. The whole number' of applicants for membership
on probation was thirteen hundred; but as some of these were transient persons, driven out of the
city by want of employment, and others were swept off by the wasting epidemic, the number
enrolled by the preachers, who were very careful not to admit improper persons, was but one
thousand."
The Methodists in Cincinnati have grown in numbers and influence until they form one of the
most powerful of the churches in the city, as, of course, it is well known that they are the most
numerous of the Protestant churches in the United States.
In the Cincinnati district, which includes a part of Hamilton county outside the city; there are 58
Methodist churches. The salaries of pastors amount in total to $53,036. House rentals to $7,575.
Total for support of pastors, $60,611. Total support for pastors, conference claimants, district
superintendents and bishops, $67,340. Total current expenses for church, sexton, fuel, light, etc.,
for Sunday schools, books, etc., $29,459.
They have 59 Sunday schools, with 1,065 officers and teachers. The number of scholars of all
grades is 9,340. There are 790 in the home department, and 610 children on the cradle roll. Total
enrollment, 10,170. Current expenses of Sunday schools, $6,357.
There are in full membership 10,599, with 485 probationers. There are 28 local preachers. The
Epworth Leagues have 38 senior chapters, with 944 members, and 18 junior chapters with 628
members.
The probable value of the 58 church buildings is $965,300. There are twenty parsonages,
probable value, $116,000..
Swedenborgians. In the order of organization in Cincinnati the Swedenborgian church comes
next after the Methodist body. The New Jerusalem so-
496 - CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY
ciety was founded here in 1811. The Rev. Adam Hurdus, called the Father of Swedenborgianism
in the northwest, established it here. This church had in 1819 between forty and fifty members,
and was preparing to build a small edifice for worship. It now has a very handsome new structure
and a large membership.
The Friends had one of the earliest meeting houses in Cincinnati. It was a plain wooden building,
between Fourth and Fifth streets. There were but a small number of Friends in this town previous
to 1812. But quite a number of them had come in 1804-05 into the Miami country, from the
south east. In September, 1808, the "Miami Monthly Meeting" had been established at
Waynesville. It also had under its care a number of "indulged meetings" under supervision of
committees, and it is probable that the Cincinnati meeting was one of these. In 1812 a number of
Friends families removed from the northward to Cincinnati. "A preparation meeting for
discourse" was in 18r3 opened here. In 1814 the regular monthly meeting was established in
Cincinnati. In 1815 there were thirty-two families in the meeting. In 1819 the number of Friends
families here had increased to forty, containing one hundred and eighty individuals. There are
now two Friends societies here, the. Orthodox and the Hicksite.
The Friends for some time previous to 1813 held their meetings in private houses, especially in
that of Oliver M. Spencer. In 1812 they had a public meeting in the courthouse, on Main street
south of Fifth street. This meeting was addressed by the noted English Friend, Elizabeth Robson.
While the Baptists established a church earlier at Columbia, and their preachers had appeared
from time to time in Cincinnati, no church had been formed by them in this city until 1813. This
congregation consisted at first of eleven members. Their first place of worship was a log house
on Front street. In two years the membership had increased to thirty and the number of
worshippers had doubled. In the summer of 1814 the first immersion took place. The
congregation, having been presented with a lot at Sixth street and Lodge alley by Gen. John S.
Gano, proceeded to erect a brick edifice.
In 1816 the congregation divided in two parts, each claiming to be the First Baptist Church. A
council of Baptists of this region was called in March, 1816, to settle this dispute, and its finding
was that the party containing the majority had the right to call itself the First Baptist Church. The
minority, consisting of the minister and six laymen, for a time maintained an organization known
as the "Enon Baptist Church," but not being recognized by the Baptist Association they soon
went out of existence as a separate church.
The majority congregation came to be known as the "Original and Regular 'First Baptist Church."
In 1831 it also disbanded on account of diminishing numbers, and its few members joined the
Sixth (Row the Ninth) Street Baptist church.
The original "Enon Baptist Church" having gone out of existence another colony from the old
"First" went out in 1821 to form the "Enon Baptist Church of Cincinnati." Seven years after the
old "First" had ceased to be, this second "Enon" church changed its name by due legal form to
the "First Baptist Church of Cincinnati," March 5, 1838, and this has been its title ever since.
CINCINNATI—THE QUEEN CITY - 497
A brick church, large enough for a congregation of seven hundred persons, was dedicated on the
16th of March, 1822. It was built on a lot which had been bought, September 5, 1821, from
Nicholas Longworth. This ground was on the west side of Walnut street, between Third and
Fourth streets. Ten years later this church purchased from Mr. Longworth another lot in the rear
of the first one, and in 1832 a church was on this spot ready for occupancy. At the end of another
decade, October io, 184.1, still another church building was dedicated. This stood on the
southeast corner of Seventh and Elm streets. This edifice was sold in 1844 to the Fifth
Presbyterian Church, on account of financial pressure. In the settlement of this debt, the Baptists
received a small church building and lot at the corner of Ninth and Elm streets. This, known then
as the "Bethel Church," had been built in 1829 by some of the Baptists who, under the leadership
of the Rev. John Boyd, had gone out from the Enon church. This organization occupied the
building only two years and then dissolved. The congregation of the First Church used this
building for some time. Later the people of the First Church held worship in the Medical College,
on the northwest corner of Court and Plum streets. During that period their church building at
Court and Wesley avenue was in course of erection. This church was dedicated in August, 1848.
The First Baptist congregation has experienced some very notable revivals. In 1828, the Rev.
Jeremiah Vardeman, of Kentucky, held a series of revival services, during which one hundred
and sixty-nine persons were converted and baptized. The church, so increased in numbers, soon
sent off a colony, which formed the Sycamore Street church, which later, under the influence of
the teachings of Alexander Campbell formed the "Central Christian Church" on Ninth street.
The "African. Union Baptist Church" was formed in 1835 by forty-five colored persons who
went out from the First Church.
The Walnut Street Baptist Church was established in 1846 by another colony from the First
Church.
The First and Second Baptist churches united in 1869, under the name of the First Church.
The Ninth Street Baptist Church is now one of the most powerful and efficient religious
organizations in Cincinnati. It has had a remarkable series of pastors, and the present pastor, Dr.
Herget, is one of the ablest preachers and organizers in the city. This church is conspicuous for
many reasons, and among these is the fact that though in latter days the falling off of church
attendance is a general complaint the Ninth Street Baptist Church is always full at every meeting.
We give in another chapter a detailed account of the history of this powerful church.
CHAPTER V.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY CONTINUED.
THE SIXTH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH-INTERESTING HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL
CHURCH AND ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL-ARCHBISHOPS. AND BISHOPS-
EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS OF 1911-CINCINNATI A CITY OF CHURCHES-THE
SALVATION ARMY-GREAT REVIVALS.
In 1830, the Sixth Street Baptist Church (now the Ninth street) was organized by fourteen
members from the. Enon Baptist Church, whose place of worship was on Walnut, West side,
between Third and Fourth streets, and five members from the church on Sycamore street.
The company was recognized, as a 'Christian -Church by a council called for that purpose,
November 9th, of that year.
Records of many of the details of this organization during the first ,eight years of its existence are
missing. We have, however, the names of the members of the little church as follows :
William Morgan, Ebenezer Marsh, Joshua W. Kendall, Thomas Harris, Thomas Mitchell,
William Bruce, Luke Kendall, Jahn Woolley, Thomas Bevan, Henry Miller, John Shays, Thomas
Simpson, Elizabeth Morgan, Laura Kendall, .Mary Bruce, Lydia Kendall, Lydia Woolley,
Elizabeth Bevan, and Sarah J. Vallette.
The council met in the old city council chamber on the north side. of Fourth, between Main and
Walnut streets. Among the ministers who took part, in the exercises were Rev. Dr. George
Patterson, of the Enon church, and Rev. John Boyd, of the Bethel Church. The right hand of .
fellowship was extended by Rev.. S. W. Lynd, who had been visiting in the. city for, a short time
and had preached in the Enon, and possibly in the Sycamore Street Church.
Immediately following the constitution of the church, a call was extended Rev. Samuel W. Lynd
to become its pastor. He entered upon his duties the first Sabbath of the year 1831, at a salary of
$800 for the first year.
For a while services were held Sabbath mornings in the council chamber, above mentioned. In
the afternoon they occupied, through the courtesy of the Enon church, their house of worship. For
social and other meetings they met at the private houses of the different members.
Later they secured a house in what was then known as the Wing schoolhouse, on the southeast
corner of Sixth and Vine streets, on the site now occupied by the Hulbert block.
Contrary to the prophesies of some, who thought the movement, carried away by the popularity
of the preacher, would be short-lived, the church, .within
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