VO l • 4 NO. 3 WHOLE No . ]5 TPE FIRST ST . PAUL'S CH URCH ANO PARISH HOUSE AND SCHOOL THE EPISCOPAL CHURCHES Eli Wheeler became rector at a OF SENECA COUNTY salary ot $650 . He remained with the church until June 30, 1847. Episcopalians we~e not among the largest in church memberships in In 1849, the church purchased a Seneca County but members were cer­ brick schoolhouse n?.cr the church. tainly enthusiastic. In a period Many parents relished thi idea that of about 15 years, no less than they coul d have a choice in an educ­ s e ven Ep i s c o p a 1 c h u r c he s 1a n<! c h a p e l s ation program for their children. were built in the centr2l and The pa~is h school became too small south-central section of the county. and i !: 13 32 it was enlarged . ST. PAUL'S CHURCH,WATERLOO The church socie~y grew and it became apparant that a larger church This was the first Protestant was needed. In July 1859, the Rev . Episcopal Church in Seneca County . Robert N. Parke came and it was It was organized on Nov. 17, 1817. during his term as rector that the The meeting occured at the village present beautiful Gothic church was schoolhouse, just four months and built. ten days following the organization of _the First P~esbyterian Church of The wardens at that time were Waterloo. The Rev. Orrin Clark Calvin w. Cook and Thomas Fatzinger; of ficiated at this first meeting. the vest rymen were : Sterling G. Benjamin Hendricks and Dr. Gardner Hadley, Levi Fatzinger, George Co ok, Welles were eie::ted ilarcens; John Be njamin Bac on, Daniel S. Kendig , Watkins, Daniel Rhoad~s, Enoch Eno s Laney, John C. Watkins and Chamberlain, ~artin Ker.dig, Jr. Sidney Warner . Miss Serene Birdsall Jesse Clark, John Kr.ox, Charies was organ ist . Swi f t and William H. Stewart were named vestrym?n. The cost of the building including a fence and the organ was $28,780.5~. For the first seven and a half Many of the needed and valuable years the services were he ld in furn i shings were provided as gifts the school house or court house. by the various members and organiz­ A resolution was made in March ati ons of th~ church society . 1820 to uerect a house of ~ublic worsh i p" • but it was n ' t u n i:i 1 The Rev. Mr. Parke remained until January 1825 that a contract was February l 3 71 and he was rep I a c e d i n made with a mason to iaY the Aori 1 of the same year by the Rev . foundation of the chu~ch. The cost William D'Orville Doty . During his of $3,300 was raised through rent­ term of service, the parsonage on als of the slips and pews of the Main St. was purchased. St. John's church. Chapel was built in the north­ eastern section of the vill age on The first sale of the pe~s was land dorated by Miss Jane M. Hunt. on Apri I 3. 1826 and th@ fol lowing It was built to provide educational May, the Rev . William Weber was and religious services to children offered $250 as rector for the and adults in other sections of the year. The church was ccnsfr rated village. Sept. 16, 1826 by the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, bishop of New The clergym~n who perhaps r emainec York. On May 6, 1839, the Rev. the lo~gest period of time at 39 40 installed in May, 1855 , ~nd re­ John Fi tch , appointed a vestry­ mained as rector ur1ti l il l health ma n in 1835, became a warden in forced him to resign in May 1876 . 1844 . He remained a warden until he moved to the west in 1884 . Work started on the first Trinity church on Nov. 18, 1833 . The Rev. In 1859 the church was enlarged Jesse Pound was rector at the time and improved. A rectory ~ a s built The cornerstone was laid by the on Cayuga St . on land donated by Rev . J . C. Rudd , D. D. of ~uburn. th= junior warden, Frederick J . t Swahy . The building fund was sta r~e d Services were in a l arge room with a bequest from Mrs. Ruth M. over the post office, in a building Ford. on the northeast corner of Bayard and Ovid Streets. The new cl.urch OnP of the hist ories of the opened on Sunday July 27, 1834 an d church was written by George M. on September 10 , the same year, it Guion, son of the rector , for the was consecrated by Bishop Onderdonk . historical soci ety. In his manu ­ A class of 15 persons were con ­ script he recalled the time when firmed by the bishop that evening. the young men of the church answered Mr . Pound only remai ned until the call of President Abraham 1835. Lincoln and enlisted in the Civil War Three full compan ies were quickly According to a his~orical article si gned up at Sen eca Falls and many on the church, printed for the came f rom Trinity Church . Seneca Falls Historical Scoety, Dexter C. Bloomer was elected Guion recalled a special · day when warden in 1841, replacing Anthony these young men attended a special Dey who resigned. Al~o Josiah T. service in the!r honor. He no~ed, Miller became a vestrvman . He "The earnest scld ierly looking held the office until 1883 wren he company, with full ranks and even transferred to St. Pau l's Ctlurch tread filedslowly into the sacred in Waterloo. edifice. Placi ng their banner upon the steps OT :he altar, they re ­ According to the record s of the v~rPnt.1 v bent the knee before the Wa terloo Presbyterian Church . eternal.God of battles. The white­ Dexter C. Bloomer and Amelia Jenks robed priest invoked His blessing daughter of Anancsias Jenks were upon them and upon their fla y . ~ Married at the Waterloo Presbyterian Church Oct . 9, I 839 . Some records Two of the young men, George M. give the date April 15, 1840 but the and J. Mars hall Guion were sons of first da t e was cop i ed from the the rector. The Rev . Dr . John Guion church 1·ecords . retired in 187G after 50 yearsof mini>teriel labor. Trinity church records show that Dexter C. Bloomer was bap tised at The parishoners outgrew the church Tri nity Church on April 8, 1843, w and in 1883, whi le celebrating its with Anthony Dey as sponsor. Amelia 50 ~h anniv~r~ary , a movem ent was Bloomer was baptised the same day ~ade for a ne w building. The corner with Malvina Seymour as sponsor. stcnp far the present church on a It is doubtful that he would have Fall Street was laid June 2, 1885 been ~amed a vestrym3n before he ' and the firs t service was on Easter was an official member of the church. Sunday. April 25 , 1886. 41 42 George Eastman, a student at Hobart was appointed lay reader. The first service was on April 20, 1873 at the Vincent M. Halsey home at Willowdale on East Lake Road. Twenty - two persons attend­ ed the first service . For a special Christmas servi~e. Thomas Berryman offered his ho~e. About 100 attended this service . Wit h the encouragement of his family, Vincent Halsey gave of portion of his farm to build a church. The deed recorded Sept. 9 1874, noted that one-half acre of Lot 24 in Fayette, formerly Romulus. It was to go to the trustees of the Parochial Fund of the Protestant Episcopal Church, for one dollar. The land, sur­ veyed by Prof. J. Fowler was to be used to erect a church or chapel for those who resided in the vicinity. On Oct. 2, 1874 a cornerstone for the new church Consecrated on J . i~e 22, 1880 by was laid by Bishop Huntington. Bishop Hun~ing~on. Tha church ontlnued tor s~v~ra: years but While the church was being it was extre~ely d '. 7F!cu:~ to built Mr. Halsey invited the keep c le rgymsn ~nd I~ ~as closed b Pc a use t ner t-: '~ e" ~ 0 t ~;er churches workmen to stay at his horn~ . The church was consecrated as nea~by tJ ~cr19 th~ ~em~ers . Grace Church, Willowd~;e ~n April 1, 1875. In the early years Grace Church also provided serv ices at the Jerusa~em brick church . ST. ANDREW'S, DEY'S LANDING On Sept. 8, 1878, th<:! Rev. Charles W. MacNish, then chap­ lain at Willard Asylum. began services in a schoolhouse at Dey's Landing, along Seneca Lake. It was an immediate and successful endeavor and by summer. ground was br0ken for a new church. The church was 43 EPISCOPA~ CHAPEL, GLENWOOD resident ~rom ~stor!e, NY who own ed a home in that vicinity. Soon the c~apel became toe small to hold a:l t hos e who attended ~h~ church se- vic~s and other act1v1t1E and a go od - s'.z~d hcss ~as built to accommoda:e ~ : l these who attended, church se~ v !ces, Sunday School and other pro;~ a ~ s sr~n~ored·by the church . T~o Episcopal chuches were built at K~dder 1 s and Sheldrake.