Shelby Co. TN
The First Presbyterian Church was organized with five members—three females and two males—June 7, 1828, by W. C. Blair. L. Henderson was chosen ruling elder and Rev. W. P. Alrich acted as stated supply from December 13, 1829, to February 12, 1830. In the following November Rev. S. M. Williamson became stated supply and remained until November, 1833. Services were conducted in the log schoolhouse on Court Square up to 1834, when a lot was presented as a building site upon which a frame building was erected. Rev. Samuel Hodge became stated supply in February of this year, remaining only a few months, after which there was no regular pastor until March, 1837, when the Rev. J. Harrison was installed, remaining until July, 1843. The Rev. George W. Coons was engaged in December, 1843, and installed in November, 1844, when the South Memphis Church was organized. In October, 1852, the Rev. Mr. Coons was succeeded by the Rev. S. Kay, D. D., of London, who served as stated supply until January, 1854, when the Rev. J. O. Stedman was elected pastor, remaining until March, 1868, when the Rev. F. H. Bowman of Virginia came and remained until his death, October 6, 1873, of yellow fever. The church was then without a pastor fourteen months, when the present pastor, the Rev. Eugene Daniel, was engaged as stated supply and installed April 18, 1875. The church building erected in 1834 was used until 1852, when a new one was commenced and completed in 1854. This was used until destroyed by fire in 1883. The brick church now used was then commenced and completed in 1885, at a cost of $30,000. The present membership is about 350. The Bible class and the Ladies' Benevolent Society connected with this church are the means of accomplishing much good.
The Second Presbyterian Church was organized Friday night, December 26, 1844. Following are names of the original members: Alexander S. Caldwell and wife, Martha; Dr. Joseph N. Bybee and wife; T. Pritchett; M. F. Prichett; Misses M. A., M. C., P. C. and M. L. Patillo; Mrs. Eliza Houston, James D. Goff and wife, Miss L. C. Boyd and her slave, Scipio; Dr. R. H. Patillo and wife and J. S. Levett. The first elders were Joseph N. Bybee and R. H. Patillo, and the first deacons A. S. Caldwell and J. S. Levett. Rev. John H. Gray was unanimously elected pastor on Monday, the 29th of December, on which day the session was constituted and Joseph N. Bybee elected its clerk. Seven additional persons were admitted to membership that morning. The church edifice, standing at the corner of Maine and Beale Streets, was soon afterward erected, and dedicated April 2, 1848. The Rev. R. C. Grundy was elected to the pastorate February 22, 1857, and remained until 1861, after which the Rev. J.N. Waddell and Rev. J. H. Gray were each stated supply for a short time, and in August, 1865, the Rev. T. D. Witherspoon became pastor, remaining until , when Rev. W. E. Boggs was chosen and remained until 1879. The pulpit was filled by supplies until January, 1881, when Rev. J. M. Rose became pastor and remained until 1882, when he was succeeded by the Rev. J. F. Latimer, who remained two years. In May, 1885, the present pastor, Rev. Dr. Boggs, returned to the church. The membership is now about 350, and the Sunday-school, of which R. E. Wilcox is superintendent, has about 220 scholars.
The Third Presbyterian Church, standing at the corner of Seventh and Chelsea Streets, was organized October 7, 1856, with fourteen members. The Rev. Edward Porter, having served the church from the time of its organization as stated supply, was installed pastor October 20, 1860, and on the next day the brick church which had been in process of erection about eighteen months was dedicated by the Rev. John H. Rice, D. D. On the 27th of April, 1862, the pastor resigned and entered the Con-federate Army and was succeeded by the Rev. William A. Sampler, who was installed October 13, 1866. Rev. E. M. Richardson, D. D., the present pastor, was chosen November 10, 1868, and installed June 13, 1869. The church is situated in what is known as Chelsea and is a most attractive and comfortable structure, with a seating capacity of 500. The present membership is about 150, and both the Sunday-School and ladies' society are in an energetic and flourishing condition. The Church meets its obligations promptly, and liberally contributes to benevolent objects.
The Alabama Street Presbyterian Church was organized in 1868 by a colony of about thirty from the First Presbyterian Church, who chose the Rev. Dr. J. O. Stedman, a native of Fayetteville, N. C., and a graduate of Princeton College, pastor. A temporary church edifice was erected standing at the corner of Alabama Street and Jones Avenue, the lot upon which it was built having been donated for that purpose by J. C. John-son. This, a frame building, cost about $1,500, and was occupied until the present brick church was completed in 1880 at a cost of about $9,000. The Rev. Dr. Stedman remained pastor until this year, when on account of failing health he resigned and was succeeded by the Rev. E. E. Bigger, who remained about a year and was followed by the Rev. William Johnson in 1882, who died within a year and was followed by Rev. William Darnall, who also remained about a year. In July, 1885, the present pastor, Rev. J. L. Martin, was chosen. The present membership of the church is about 140, and the Sunday-School, of which Carrington Mason, Jr., is superintendent, has about the same number of scholars.
Lauderdale Street Presbyterian Church was established as a mission on Union Street during the pastorate in the Second Presbyterian Church of the Rev. T. D. Witherspoon. A chapel was erected and dedicated by the Rev. John H. Gray, and a Sunday-school was conducted for some years by members of the Second Presbyterian Church. The first preacher at this mission was the Rev. Mr. Wykoff, who was succeeded by Rev. J. F. Latimer, now professor in Union Theological Seminary, Virginia. In 1874 the church was established by the name of the Union Street Presbyterian Church with the Rev. A. Shotwell pastor about a year. He was succeeded by the Rev. John A. Waddell, at present chancellor of the Southwestern Presbyterian University at Clarksville. Subsequently a lot was purchased at the corner of Lauderdale and Beale Streets and the present building commenced in June, 1876, and dedicated in October following when the name was changed to the Lauderdale Street. Church. In 1879, upon the election of Dr. Waddell to his present position, the Rev. N. M. Long was engaged and in 1881 the Rev. R. A. Lapsley became the pastor, remaining until 1882. The present pastor, Rev. Samuel A. Caldwell, was then chosen. In connection with this church is a large and flourishing Sunday-school of which Judge B. M. Estes is the superintendent.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized August 1, 1840, or a few days thereafter at a protracted meeting held by the Revs. Samuel Dennis, Reuben Burrow, D. D., with eighteen members. Rev. Samuel Dennis remained pastor of the church one year during which time nine more members were admitted. Soon afterward a lot was purchased for $1,100, and on September 3, 1844, the corner-stone of the new church was laid with imposing Masonic ceremonies by Memphis Lodge, No. 91. Rev. Robert Donnell accepted a unanimous call to the pastorate and began his labors February 9, 1845, remaining until June, that year, and was followed by Rev. Mr. Dennis who remained until March 16, 1851, and was succeeded by the Rev. Herschell S. Porter, of Philadelphia, a very able preacher and author, who died in 1855 of yellow fever. The Rev. A. M. Bryan, D. D., began his labors in April, 1856, but resigned to return to his former congregation in Pittsburgh, Penn., in April, 1859; Rev. A. C. Davis, of Lexington, Mo., succeeded and remained until his death in 1867. On January 1, 1868, Rev. L. C. Ransom, of Murfreesboro,. entered upon his duties, also remaining until his death in October, 1874. Rev. G. W. Stainback began his ministry in January, 1875, and resigned in January, 1879, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. H. A. Jones, of McMinnville, Tenn.
The church building is a large, two-story brick structure, with Sunday-school and other rooms in the basement, and auditorium capable of seating 1,200 persons above. Here is a very large, fine pipe-organ, one of the largest, if not the largest, in the Southern States. The Sunday-school was organized March 23, 1845, and is in a flourishing condition_
The First Methodist Episcopal Church was organized as a society in February, 1826, by Rev. T. P. Davidson. The society consisted of three members: Elijah Coffee, Mr. Dickens and Mrs. Paulina Perkins, who afterward married Dr. Dudley Dunn. Mr. Coffee withdrew from the Methodists and united with the Primitive Baptists because the Quarterly Conference would not license him to preach. In 1830 Revs. T. P. David-son, J. E. Jones and Moses S. Morris were in the circuit with Thomas Smith, presiding elder. In 1831 Joshua Boucher was presiding elder with Pleasant B. Robinson and Ashley B. Rozell as circuit riders. In 1832 Memphis was made a station with Rev. Francis A. Owen, preacher, appointed by the conference in response to the petition of the Methodists residing at Memphis. Upon his arrival there was but one available male Methodist in Memphis, John Manning. After preaching at a private house and one Sunday in the upper room of a store, the dining-room of the old " Blue Ruin Tavern " was chosen for an auditorium.
Becoming tired of having no church home Mr. Owen made an earnest appeal to the congregation, and especially to the ladies, who are always foremost in religious work, to build a church edifice. A lot was purchased of Maj. Winchester, a church building commenced, and the first sermon delivered in it as yet incomplete on the first Sunday in June, 1832. A revival commenced, resulting in sixty converts; when the church was organized by Rev. Mr. Owen there were but eleven, the organization taking the name of Wesley Chapel. Following is a list of the preachers of this church, together with the year in which their respective pastorates commenced: Revs. Robert Alexander, 1832; W. Phillips, 1833; T. P. Davidson, 1834; S. S. Moody, 1835; W. D. F. Sawrie,1836; Isaac Heard, 1837 ; T. C. Cooper, 1838, remaining but a few months, his appointment being filled out by Rev. Joab Watson; Rev. Samuel Watson, 1839, who returned a membership of 387; A. T. Scruggs, 1841; S. S. Moody, 1842; Dr. Thweat, 1843; S. G. Starks, 1844; Wesley Warren, D. D., 1845, in which year a new church building was completed; M. J. Blackwell, 1847; S. J. Henderson, 1848; James L. Chapman, 1850; W. C. Robb, 1852; J. W. Knott, 1853; Thomas A. Ware, 1855; James E. Temple, 1856; J. T. C. Collins, 1857, during which year 150 joined the church; A. H. Thomas, 1858; W. T. Harris, 1860. Rev. Mr. Harris entered the Southern Army and was followed by Rev. Samuel Watson, and he in 1862 by Rev. J. W. Knott, " who, considering that the city was filled with Yankee soldiers, did about as well as could be expected;" D. J. Allen, 1863. But he had no sooner commenced his work than the Methodist Episcopal Church, by order of the Secretary of War, occupied the building through chaplains, and after a short time the Rev. Mr. McMullen, of Indiana, was selected to be the permanent pastor of the church; finding, however, that the members were disinclined to attend, Mr. McMullen retired. After the Methodist Episcopal Church gave up the building, Rev. J. W. Knott again took charge, and was succeeded in the fall of 1865 by Rev. A. H. Thomas; A. P. Mann, 1866; E. C. Slater, D. D., 1869; S. B. Suratt, 1873; E. C. Slater, D. D., 1877, who died of yellow fever in September, 1878; R. H. Mahon, 1878 ; S. A. Steel, 1882, and R. H. Mahon again in 1886. The present church-building, a two-story brick standing on the east side of Second Street, near Poplar Street, was erected in 1850. In 1886 the lot on the corner of Second and Poplar Streets was purchased and plans and specifications for a new stone church to be erected on this lot, were prepared by Jacob Snyder, architect of Akron, Ohio, which when completed will be the most elegant and complete edifice in Memphis.
Asbury Church stands on the corner of Hernando and Linden Streets. It was first regularly organized in 1843 by Nathan Harcott and John Brown. Previous to this time, however, there had been religious services in the vicinity in private houses, and in John Brown's carpenter shop, standing on the corner of Hernando and Vance Streets, fitted up for such services by Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Upon the advice of Rev. Moses Brock the lot upon which the present church stands was purchased. The first house built upon this lot was exceedingly primitive, and a description of it is worthy of preservation: "It was a shanty. Holes were dug in the ground, posts set up, and rough planks nailed on the sides. It was covered with planks. Scantling laid on the ground and planks laid on them made the floor." Enlarged a little, the congregation continued to use it as a house of worship until 1847, when a plain frame building was erected which lasted until 1882. This frame building then gave way to a one-story brick Gothic structure which will seat about 450 people and which cost $15,000. Following is a list of the pastors of Asbury Chapel, named after Bishop Asbury, the founder of Methodism in America, as Wesley Chapel, now the First Methodist Episcopal Church South, was named after John Wesley, the founder of Methodism in the world: Revs. Benjamin A. Hayes, commencing in 1843; D. W. Garrard, 1845; L. D. Mullins, 1846; W. C. Robb, 1847; A. H. Thomas, 1849; S. J. Henderson, 1850; Joseph H. Brooks, 1852; James W. McFarland, 1853, who died before his year had expired and was succeeded by B. M. Johnson; J. T. C. Collins, 1854; Philip Tuggle, 1856; W. H. Leigh, 1857; J. T. Meriwether, 1858; E. E. Hamilton, 1859; Robert Martin, 1860; Guilford Jones, 1861, who in 1862, not wishing to add to his experience at Paducah, Ky., with the Federal Army, left for Arkansas, D. J. Allen filling out his appointment; Guilford Jones, 1865; F. S. Petway, 1867; L. D. Mullins, 1869; J. H. Evans, 1871; E. Hamilton, 1873; J. C. Hooks, 1875; Guilford Jones, 1877; Warner Moore, 1879; David Leith, 1882; J. M. Spence, 1886. In 1850 the membership of this church was 235 whites and 43 blacks; in 1854, 153 whites and 104 blacks; in 1865, owing to the war, the membership was very low. Both church and Sunday-school are now in prosperous condition.
Central Methodist Episcopal Church South was started not long before the war, their small frame church edifice, at No. 187 Union Street, being dedicated in 1860. This congregation was organized by the Rev. J. T. C. Collins, and the building dedicated by Bishop George F. Pierce. For some time the church was served by temporary supplies. The small frame church lasted until 1868, when the present brick building was begun. It cost $40,000, will seat 750 people, and was finished in 1883.
Since 1869 the pastors have been Revs. W. M. Patterson, 1869; A. L. Pritchett, 1871; P. T. Scruggs, 1873; S. B. Suratt, 1873; E. C. Slater, D. D., 1874; J. A. Heard, 1875; W. T. Harris, 1877; S. W. Moore, 1879; S. B. Suratt, 1880; J. H. Evans, 1881; R. H. Mahon, 1882, and R. W. Erwin, 1886.
Besides the above Methodist Churches there are two small congregations, one called the Georgia Street Methodist Episcopal Church South, and the other the Saffarans Street Methodist Episcopal Church South. All of the Methodist Churches in Memphis belong to the Southern connection. The colored Methodists have Collins' Chapel, on Washington and Orleans Streets, and Avery Chapel, on De Soto Street, the latter being one of the most elegantly finished edifices in Memphis.
The first Baptist Church was organized April 6, 1839, with eleven members, at McGeveney's schoolhouse, standing near where the fountain now is in Court Square. The first pastor was Rev. L. H. Milliken, who remained though the years 1839-41. During 1842 Rev. Mr. Eager and Rev. B. F. Farnsworth served as pastor or supply, the latter gentleman resigning in September. In 1843 Rev. S. S. Parr was pastor. In 1845 a lot was purchased on Second Street, between Adams and Washington Streets, on which there was a small frame building which was fitted up as a temporary place of worship, and in February, 1846, Rev. P. S. Gayle was elected pastor, remaining three years. During his pastorate a church costing $7,000 was erected, the membership being about 175. February 14, 1849, Rev. John Finlay was elected pastor, remaining until 1852, when he was followed by the Rev. C. R. Hendrickson. He was succeeded in 1857 by the Rev. T. J. Drane, who remained until 1862, when Rev. S. H. Ford began preaching, and remained until the occupation of Memphis by the Union Army, June 6, when he left for the South, and the church building was taken possession of by the military authorities for hospital purposes, the damage to the church caused by such occupancy being afterward made good by the United States Government. In the spring of 1863 the American Baptist Home Mission Society of Philadelphia advised the church that unless a minister were secured a preacher would be sent to take charge of the church,. and in order to avoid having a foreign minister, not of their own choosing, a call was extended to Rev. A. B. Miller, of Owensboro, Ky., who became pastor in June, 1863; and remained until January, 1868. The subsequent pastors have been the Rev. D. E. Burns, commencing in 1868; Rev. I. T. Tichnor, April, 1871; Rev. Dr. G. A. Lofton, May, 1872; Rev. R. B. Momack, 1876; Rev. Dr. W. A. Montgomery, 1878, and the present pastor, Rev. R. A. Venable, October 6, 1880. The present membership of the church is about 350. R. G. Craig has been the superintendent of the Sunday-school for twenty-one years.
The Central Baptist Church was organized December 3, 1865, at the First Church, standing at the corner of Adams and Second Streets. Before the war the Beale Street Church and the mission at Fort Pickering were doing the work of the Baptists, but at its close the Beale Street Church had no pastor, no house of worship, no regular meetings, and to all appearances had gone to pieces, as was the case with the Mission at Fort Pickering. South Memphis was thus without Baptist services, and the only Baptist Church was in the extreme northern end of the city. A considerable number of members of the First Baptist Church, however, lived toward the south end of the city, and it was inconvenient for them to attend their own church. After consulting with old members of the Beale Street Church, a new organization was effected and named the Central Church, composed of forty-three members of Beale Street Church and seventy-five of First Church. The Beale Street Church conveyed their lot to the new organization, and the First Church allowed its retiring members $10,000, as their share of the property. On December 3, 1865, at a meeting presided over by Rev. S. H. Ford, D. D., the Central Baptist Church was organized, and Dr. Ford immediately chosen pastor. For six months the new church and the First Church used the building of the First Church on alternate Sundays, and in the meantime the Central Church leased a lot on Court Street, upon which they erected at a cost of $3,000, a frame building known as the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was used from June 24, 1866, to December, 1868. In the fall of 1867, the Central Church bought the ground upon which the present church stands, paying therefore $22,500. Times were then prosperous, everybody had plenty of money and was confident of the future. An architect was employed whose plan was approved and accepted, and work on the building commenced, but on account of business depression which was felt throughout the country from 1868 to 1873, but little could be done except to complete the basement story of the building containing the lecture room. This was used first on February 21, 1869, and continued to be used nearly seventeen years. The walls of the second story, the roof and tower which is of the Swiss order of architecture, and designed when erected to be only of temporary utility, were all completed in 1876, and imposed upon the organization a debt of $10,000, most of it bearing ten per cent interest. The existence of this debt made it impracticable for the organization to finish the structure until 1884, when work was resumed and the building completed by and dedicated on December 6, 1885. At this time the membership was about 300, and at the present time (January 1, 1887) it is 369. The building is a two-story brick, with lecture room in the basement seating 400, and the auditorium in the second story containing 600 opera chairs.
The extreme length of the building is 150 feet, and the extreme width 80 feet and the tower 150 feet in height. The total cost of the building has been about $130,000. The Sunday-school has about 150 scholars and twenty officers and teachers. The Rev. Dr. S. H. Ford was pastor until July 1, 1871; the Rev. Sylvanus Landrum, D. 13,, from October 1, 1871, to July 1, 1879; the Rev. Thomas J. Rowan from January 1, 1880, to July 29, 1882, and the present pastor, Rev. A. W. Lamar, from Macon, Ga., commenced his pastorate November 1, 1882.
The colored Baptists have a very fine church on Beale Street, which is massive in construction and well attended.
St. Peter's Church was organized in 1840, the building standing at the corner of Adams and Third Streets. In 1841 the Rev. Michael McAleer was placed in charge and remained until 1845, when he resigned, when Bishop Miles placed the parish in charge of the Dominicans, whose mother house was then as now at St. Rose, near Springfield, Washington Co., Ky. The first Dominicans in charge were the Rev. James S. Alemany, O. S. D., afterward archbishop of San Francisco, and the Rev. Thomas L. Grace, O. S. D., present bishop of St. Paul. From 1845 to 1853 in addition to these two priests Fathers J. H. Clarkson, Anthony O'Brien, Aloysius Orengo, Francis Cubero, R. A. White, J. A. Boekel, Sr., and J. R. Cleary ministered in turn to the Catholics in West Tennessee and eastern Arkansas. In 1853 the population of Memphis had reached 11,000, and the Catholics had so increased in numbers that the little brick church was far too small for their accommodation; hence in the beginning of this year the Rev. Father T. L. Grace with the aid of his assistant pastors began the work of building the present St. Peter's Church edifice, which was completed in 1857. It is a fine structure, 80x150 feat, cruciform in shape, of the Gothic style of architecture, capable of seating 1,500 people and cost $150,000. As an ecclesiastical structure it stands unrivaled in the South, and the organ in this church procured through the exertions of the Rev. Father Clarkson, is also one of the remarkable instruments of the kind in the Southern States. It was procured in 1864, having been originally built for a church in Atlanta, Ga., but the closing in of the lines of the Federal Army around that city prevented its being erected in its originally designed position. Accordingly negotiations were entered into with Henry Erben, of New York, then the foremost organ builder in the United States, as the result of which the magnificent instrument was set up in St. Peter's in the spring of the year mentioned. Its original cost was to have been $13,000, but it was secured for St. Peter's for $9,000. It has three manuals and a pedal of twenty-nine keys.
In 1856 Rev. Father Grace established St. Peter's Orphan Asylum, placing it in charge of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Dominic, and for the last thirty years this asylum has been sustained by the efforts of the Dominican Fathers. During the last forty-one years forty different priests have been stationed at St. Peter's, those in charge at the present time being Pastor Very Rev. M. D. Lilly, O. S. D., and the Rev. R. M. Bloomer, O. S. D., and Rev. J. P. Moran, O. S. D. During the yellow fever epidemics of 1873, 1878 and 1879 no more heroic sacrifices. were made in attempting to relieve the sufferings of the sick than were made by the priests of this church. As soon as one priest died another came from the North to take his place, when to do so was almost certain death. At the close of terrible epidemics St. Peter's had furnished eight victims as follows: In 1873-Rev. J. R. Daley, O. S. D.; Rev. D. A. O'Brien, O. S. D. ; Rev. B. V. Carey, O. S. D., and Rev. J. D. Sheehy, O.S. D. ; in 1878-Rev. J. A. Boekel, Jr., O. S. D. ; Rev. J. R. McGarvey, O. S. D., and Rev. P. J. Seawell; in 1879-Rev. Dalmatius Reville, O. S. D. All of these voluntary victims to the dread epidemic lie buried in Calvary Cemetery, where a fitting monument commemorates their heroic deeds. About 400 families belong to the church. A parish school was established soon after the church was built. It is under the control of the pastor and taught by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Dominic. At present there are about 120 pupils in attendance.. Tuition is free.
St. Mary's Church is the only German Catholic Church in Memphis. It was established as a mission of St. Boniface in 1852, the object being to build up a charge for the Germans, who had hitherto been members of St. Peter's Church. Among the Dominican Fathers at St. Peter's were some German priests who had cared for the German Catholic members of the congregation. The last of these was the Rev. Father J. A. Boekel, who with the German Catholics of St. Peter's purchased a lot on Union Street, which they sold in 1856 and purchased one on the corner of Market and Third Streets for $9,000. A small frame building on the lot was fitted up for a church and the Rt. Rev. James Whelan, bishop of Nashville, sent in 1860 a secular priest to take charge of the new congregation, the Rev. W. J. Repis, who died in 1885 at Feehanville, near Chicago. In 1862 the Rev. Father Thoma took charge. The war coming on then materially checked the growth of St. Mary's, but in 1864 a new and substantial brick church was erected, having been begun by the Rev. Cornelius Thoma. The Rev. L. Schneider succeeded Father Thoma in 1867, and nearly finished the church outwardly and purchased the adjoining lot at a cost of $9,000.
Petitions of the German Catholics of Memphis for the Franciscan Fathers were at length answered by the appointment of Father Eugenius Puers from Teutopolis, Effingham Co., Ill., in 1870, who on account of poor health was superseded in August of the same year by the Rev. Kilian Schlosser, at present rector of St. Peter's in Chicago. In September, 1871, Rev. Ambrosius Jansen built a fine new monastery near the church. In 1873 Rev. Father Buchholz built a new entrance to the monastery on Market Street. Being called back to Germany in 1879 Rev. Aloysius Wiener became rector and remained until 1885, when he was succeeded by Rev. Father Nemesius Rohde, who came here from St. Peter's in Chicago. During the epidemics in 1873, 1878 and 1879 the Franciscan Fathers were very much devoted to the sick, especially Father Aloysius Wiener, who lived and labored successfully through all the fever years, though three learned assistants fell victims to the scourge: Rev. Fathers Lee Rinklage, Maternus Mallmann and Chrysostom Reinke, and also the good Fathers Amandus and Erasmus. Besides these four Franciscan Sisters died of the yellow fever, as also some sisters of St. Mary's from St. Louis. In connection with St. Mary's Church is St. Mary's School, which was kept by Franciscan Sisters from Joliet, Ill., until after the fever of 1873, when, having lost so many Sisters, the General Sister Superior gave up the school, and for six years the girls were taught by the Dominican Sisters of Memphis and the boys by male teachers secular and regular. After the epidemic of 1879 the U'rsuline Sisters from Louisville accepted the oft-repeated petition to take charge of the school at Memphis, and since that time the school has steadily improved. Plans are now completed for the erection of a new school building.
The Very Rev. Martin Riordan, V. G., under Bishop Feehan, came from St. Louis to Tennessee with the Bishop in 1865, and also Father Martin Walsh, who built St. Brigid's Church. Rev. M. Riordan was appointed to labor among the Catholics in the northern part of Memphis, and he at first established a school in a rented building on Wellington Street. Rev. M. Riordan also at this time attended the Catholic Missions throughout West Tennessee. In 1866 he built the parsonage at St. Patrick's, in which he held services on Sundays pending the erection of the brick church now used as a schoolhouse, which continued to be used as a school until 1869, when the present frame church building at the corner of De Soto and Linden Streets was erected, costing the enormous sum of $11,000, the parsonage having also cost $11,000, and the brick school-house when up one story costing $5,000. The explanation of this great cost is in the flush times in which they were built, carpenters and brick-layers then receiving $7 per day for their labor. In 1867 a cemetery containing eighty acres was purchased at a cost of $500 per acre. This purchase was made by Rev. M. Riordan, after consulting some of the best business men of Memphis, who pronounced the price not by any means too high. The purchase was made wholly on credit, $5,000 to be paid annually at six per centum if paid at maturity, otherwise eight per centum was to be paid, and in some cases ten per centum.
While Rev. M. Riordan paid for all the buildings he erected and for the ground upon which they stand he found it impossible to meet the annual payments, on the cemetery (Calvary) grounds as they came due, and there still remains to this parish as a legacy, including, however, the floating debts, about $30,000 of debt. In 1877 Calvary Association was formed consisting of six laymen, with the bishop of the diocese an ex-officio member, and the pastors of St. Patrick's and St. Brigid's Churches, directors. Rev. Mr. Riordan, a very excellent man, died of the yellow fever in 1878, and was succeeded by Father Edward Doyle, who died of the fever in 1879. Father Quinn then took charge of the parish and remained until June, 1881, when the present pastor, Rev. Father J. Veale, commenced his labors here. He has added the second story to the brick school building and has improved both the church building and the parsonage at a cost of from $5,000 to $6,000. The present membership of the church is about 300 families and the school which is taught by Sisters of Charity from Nazareth, Ky., contains about 240 pupils.
St. Brigid's Church, standing at the corner of Third and Overton Streets, was opened for worship December 25, 1870. The building is about 103 feet long by 55 wide, and will seat 750 persons. It has five altars. Over the high altars is an artistic stained glass window representing the Crucifixion and Sts. John and Luke, the evangelists. The other windows are adorned with the statues of the patrons of the church : St. Brigid, St. Joseph, the Blessed Virgin and of the Sacred Heart of the Redeemer. Attached to the church is a convent of the Sisters of Charity from Nazareth, Ky., and a two-story brick schoolhouse erected in 1873, the school having on an average 200 scholars in attendance. At first this school was conducted by the Franciscan Sisters and subsequently by the Sisters of St. Dominic and lay teachers. In 1879 it was taken charge of by the Sisters of St. Joseph and then by lay teachers until June, 1882. Since September, 1882, it has been conducted by the Sisters of Charity. From 1879 to 1883 it was a free school, but now, as at the beginning, it receives contributions toward its expenses by such pupils as are both able and willing to pay. The priests in charge of this church have ever since its foundation been particular in the matter of education. The first pastor was the Rev. Martin Walsh. In 1873 the congregation suffered severely from the yellow fever.
About 800 of the Catholic population who died that year were attended chiefly by Rev. Fathers Walsh and Quinn. But notwithstanding the great suffering of the church on account of this epidemic the congregation contributed liberally toward the upbuilding of the church, pastoral residence and brick school, all occupying a half-square of ground. In 1878 Father Matthew Camp originated here, organized at the suggestion of the present rector by the Father Matthew, Total Abstinence Society attached to St. Brigid's Church. A camp of refuge was established for all persons worthy of relief who could be reached by the camp's officers. Both Father Martin Walsh and Michael Meagher died August 29, 1878. Father Walsh was succeded by Rev. William Walsh, who has been assisted by the Rev. Michael Ryan and Rev. John J. Walsh, the latter of whom died of small-pox in February, 1882. In 1878 the pastors of this church received as contributions from various parts of the United States, $29,000 toward the relief of the distressed. Father Matthew Camp was established in 1879 with similar success. The Rt. Rev. Patrick Feehan, then bishop of Nashville, and the Very Rev. Martin Riordan, his vicar-general, were originators of the project of forming a new congregation in the southern part of Memphis, otherwise called Ft. Pickering. It was entrusted to the care of Rev. Antonio Luiselli, then assistant pastor of St. Patrick's, having served seven years in that capacity. The corner-stone of St. Joseph's Church was laid March 17, 1878, in the presence of a large concourse of people. The address of the occasion was delivered by the Rev. Mayer of Nashville. The church building was dedicated June 23, 1878, though yet unfinished. A beautiful and exquisitely sweet-toned organ has recently been imported from Europe by the pastor, at a cost of $2,000. The membership of this church is composed mostly of Italians, of whom there are about 1,000 in the parish, though some of the Italians belong to other parishes in Memphis.
The Stranger's Church was organized as the First Congregational Church in 1863. Meetings were held in various places, as in the Odd Fellows' hall, Greenlaw's Block on Union Street, etc., until 1864, when the church received from Massachusetts assistance toward the purchase of a lot, and from F. H. Clark a gift of $1,000 toward the same object. The present church edifice on Union Street was erected at a cost of about $5,000, and was dedicated June 20, 1865, by the Rev. T. E. Bliss, the first pastor. During the war there were very large congregations because of the large number of northern people in the city.
After the retirement in 1868 of the Rev. Mr. Bliss, the pastor was Rev. A. E. Baldwin, from Lincoln, Ill., who remained until 1875, and was succeeded by Rev. W. D. Millard, who was pastor two years and was succeeded by Rev. N. M. Long, who had been for some time pastor of the Lauderdale Street Church, but who was compelled to retire from the Presbyterian Church on account of a trial for heresy, in which, however, he was three- times acquitted by the presbytery, synod and general assembly. Rev. Mr. Long commenced his labors in the old First Congregational Church building in December, 1881, with eight members, the name Stranger's Church being adopted. One year afterward there were thirty-four members, and at the present time about 100. The Ladies' Aid Society is very active, having paid out $935 during the past year.
The Linden Street Christian Church was organized in 1846 by Mr. and Mrs. Egbert Wooldridge, Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Caldwell, Mary McIntosh and Ann McGuire. A lot on the southeast corner of Linden and Mulberry Streets was purchased, on which stood a small frame dwelling which was immediately remodeled and fixed up for a church. This church building was used until 1860, when the present large brick church edifice was erected, but which was finished after the war. It is a two-story structure with Sunday-school room and pastor's study below and auditorium above. A massive tower stands on each front corner of the building, which is itself about 45x100 feet in dimensions, and which cost the remarkably low sum of about $20,000. The parsonage, a two-story frame building at the rear of the church, was erected in 1877 and cost $4,000. The organ used in the church is of Mason & Hamlin manufacture and cost $1,000. The pastors of this church have been as follows: From its organization to 1853, Elder B. F. Hall, who in that year was succeeded by Elder R. E. Chew. In 1855 Elder W. J. Barbee became the pastor and remained until the war, during the continuance of which there was no regular preaching. Since the war the following elders have filled the pulpit: R. A. Cook, commencing in 1861; T. W. Caskey, in 1866; Curtis J. Smith, 1869; David Walk, 1870; J. M. Trible, 1879; G. W. Sweeney, 1882, and J. B. Briney, January, 1886. The church organization was chartered about the year 1850. The present members of the incorporation are Tom Gale, president; D. C. Jones, secretary; J. J. Lovin, W. H. Bates, T. J. Latham, W. C. Griswold, J. H. Smith, J. N. Jones and R. C. Lane. S. C. Toof is the treasurer. The policy of this organization is to avoid debt, which is one secret of its success, and its affairs are managed on strictly business principles. The minister is relieved from all labors except those legitimately belonging to pastoral work and preaching. The church thus has the benefit of his maximum efficiency, and its whole work, including business management and Sunday-school work, is accomplished with a minimum friction. Its membership is now about 220, and the Sunday-school, of which S. C. Toof has been superintendent most of the time for the last twenty-three years, has about 110 scholars.
St. Mary's Cathedral (Episcopal) is located on Poplar Street at the junction of Orleans Street. The church was founded in 1857, during the episcopate of the Rt. Rev. James H. Otey, D. D. It stands on a lot fronting 100 feet on Poplar Street and extends through to Alabama Street; this lot, together with the one on which stands the Episcopal residence, was donated by the late Robert C. Brinkley. The church was originally built as a mission chapel by members of Calvary Parish, under the rectorship of the Rev. Dr. C. T. Quintard. The late Rev. Richard Hines, D. D., held the rectorship fourteen years, and at the close of his rectorship the parish was made a cathedral or church of the bishop of the diocese. The Rev. George C. Harris, S. T. D., was installed as dean in 1871, holding the position until 1881. The Very Rev. William Klein was installed dean immediately after the resignation of Dean Harris, and is the present incumbent. During the past year there were 109 baptisms and seventy-one persons presented for confirmation. There are connected with the cathedral the following organizations: Sunday-school, teachers twelve, scholars 148; choir of men and boys; cathedral school for girls; St. Mary's mission to the poor; the Cathedral Guild for women; St. Mary's Guild for women; St. Timothy's Guild for Sunday-school teachers; St. Martha's Guild for the children of the cathedral school; the Ministering Children's League; a Ward of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament for the deepening of spiritual life.
The parish school of the cathedral is in successful operation. Adjoining the cathedral is St. Mary's School, a boarding and day school for young ladies and children, in charge of the Sisters of St. Mary, containing about 150 pupils. These Sisters also have charge of the church home, an orphanage located on the Old Raleigh Road, which provides for fifty or sixty orphans.
A part of the work of the cathedral is the parish of Emanuel Church for colored people. The church edifice, located on Third Street between Jefferson and Court Streets, originally built for a German Lutheran congregation, was purchased in 1884. Dean Klein has entire charge of the work, the Rev. D. R. Anderson, a colored deacon, serving under him. Connected with this colored mission is a parish school of about 100 pupils, taught by the Rev. Mr. Anderson.
Calvary Parish was organized in 1835. The first building was erected near Court Square, and the present structure standing on the corner of Adams and Second Streets, in 1841. This building was enlarged and improved in 1880, and is now worth about $25,000.
It will seat 750 people. The membership of the parish is about 900, and the communicants number 352. The altar and the organ in the church cost about $6,000. It is believed that the first rector of this parish was Dr. Page, who was followed by Dr. Philip Alston before the war. Bishop Otey and the present bishop of Tennessee, Dr. C. T. Quintard, both served this church, and were followed by Rev. Dr. George White, who was rector nearly twenty years, is now rector emeritus, and was succeeded by Rev. Davis Sessums in 1883. Rev. Mr. Sessums, in the latter part of 1886, resigned to accept a call to New Orleans. Calvary Parish has been very liberal to the venerable Dr. White, having paid him during the three years and nine months prior to January 1, 1887, $7,300, while at the same time it has paid its rector, Rev. Mr. Sessums, $6,475. This extreme liberality to its rector emeritus has militated seriously against the prosperity, and while it is creditable to the hearts of the parishioners, yet it reflects little credit upon their judgment.
The Congregation of the Children of Israel was formed in 1854 by a few Israelites, who obtained that year a charter for the congregation. The incorporators were J. I. Andrews, Moses Simons, John Walker, D. Levy, Julius Sandac, T. Folz, M. Bamberger, M. Bloom, Joseph Strauss and Reinach. From a large sum bequeathed by Judah Touro of New Orleans, toward assisting small congregations in building synagogues, $2,000 was set aside to this congregation. A lot was purchased on Second Street, and a building at the corner of Main and Exchange Streets, formerly occupied by the Farmers and Merchants Bank, rented and dedicated as a house of worship in February, 1858, by the Rev. Dr. Wise. Shortly afterward this property was purchased and used as a synagogue until January 18, 1884, when the present elegant building on Poplar Street was erected at a cost of $50,000. At this dedication the Rev. Dr. J. M. Wise, H. Sonneshein and M. Samfield officiated. The congregation at present numbers 176, and the Sunday-school, of which Rev. M. Samfield is superintendent, has 120 pupils, taught by a staff of eleven teachers. A new cemetery was dedicated in 1885 and a mortuary chapel built on it in 1886.
July 1, 1860, the Rev. S. Tuska was elected rabbi of the congregation, and served until his death, December 30, 1870, when he was succeeded by the present learned rabbi, Rev. M. Samfield. The Congregation of Beth El Ernes was formed from members of this congregation about 1863, but it was reincorporated into this congregation in 1883, since which time it has been very strong in members and in means.
The German Lutheran Church of Memphis, was organized in 1855, and had religious services and preaching by Rev. W. Fick, of New Orleans, who also attended his own congregation in New Orleans. Toward the latter part of the year Paul Beyer, a student of theology at St. Louis, was sent to Memphis and preached a short time. In 1856 he was called to the ministry of this church and remained until 1858, when he was succeeded by Rev. G. M. Gotsch, D. D., who remained until his death in 1876. He was succeeded by his pastor, Rev. H. Lieck, who remained until the breaking out of the yellow fever epidemic of 1878, when he left the city, and was followed by Rev. Thomas Bensen, who died in 1881. In September of this year Rev. T. G. Plautz became pastor and was followed by the present pastor, Rev. Wilhelm H. Th. Dau, in 1886. The congregation now numbers thirty members.
The parochial school in connection with this church has always been under the direction of pastors of the congregation, who have been assisted by various teachers. At the present time there are about forty pupils. After worshiping and teaching at No. 110 Main St. for several years the. congregation bought Lot No. 98, Washington St., in 1874, and upon it Mr.. Stoltz of Washington, D. C., erected the first story of the present building. The second story which is not yet finished inside was added in 1883. The congregation have recently agreed upon the following name: " The German Evangelical Lutheran Trinity Church and School."
Paulette Carpenter, Project Coordinator
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