Church History
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Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Holmesburg
Our History
The First 100 Years
Efforts to establish a Protestant Episcopal church in
Holmesburg were made primarily by the Reverend George Sheets, rector of All Saints
Church, Lower Dublin, in 1831. Through these efforts, and a gift of money from
Miss Hannah Lardner, the land, on which the chapel was subsequently erected,
was on March 21, 1831, conveyed by William Bartolett in trust for All Saints
Church. On that land, which is now a portion of the Emmanuel Church property, a
Chapel of Ease was erected, and on January 30, 1832, consecrated. The
consecration was made by the Right Reverend Henry Onderdunk, Assistant Bishop
of The Diocese of Pennsylvania. The consecration services were conducted in the
chapel. As long as it continued to be a chapel, the services were conducted by
the Reverend Mr. Sheets and his successor the Reverend Mr. Frederick Beasley.
Under the paternal care of All Saints parish, church work steadily progressed
until, in January 1844, the band of faithful worshippers resolved to emerge
from their dependency and establish an independent parish. With that object in
view, a general meeting of the congregation was held on Monday, February 12,
1844, at which the following men were present; Alexander Brown, Edward J.
Glenn, Benjamin Crispin, Richard Penn Lardner, Jacob Waterman, Dr. John H.
lngham, Simmons H. Barrett, Dr. Newton May, Paul Crispin, George Fox, James
Lever, -George Wagner, James Day, Casper W. Morris, Joshua B. Smith, James
Graham, and Joseph Hall.
At that meeting it was resolved to form a parish, and
a vestry was elected. On that same day the vestry met, and elected Alexander
Brown as Rector’s Warden, and Edward J. Glen as Accounting Warden and
Secretary. As All Saints Parish agreed to convey to the new parish the Emmanuel
chapel property, as soon as it could legally do so, application was made to the
legislature for an act of incorporation. The legislative machinery moved
promptly, and an act incorporating:
"The Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of Emmanuel Church of
Holmesburg, in the County of Philadelphia."
was passed and on April 9, 1844 approved by the governor. Emmanuel became
a parish on that date so far as the civil power of the Commonwealth could
create it, but it did not become so ecclesiastically until May 24, 1844, when
the convention of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania accepted its
charter, and accepted its lay deputies. On May 24, 1844 the vestry elected the
Reverend William Henry Bournes as rector. Mr. Bournes accepted the call and on
July 16, 1844, assumed the duties of the position.
The advent of Mr. Bournes marked a new era for the
congregation; the labors and the patience necessary to the formation of the new
parish were relieved by wise counsel and Christian guidance of an able and
amiable rector. Reverend Bournes resigned in 1848 for reasons of ill health.
While in charge, he was married to Miss Frances B. Chapman of Holmesburg.
During Mr. Bournes rectorship, services were not only
held in the church, but also at the poorhouse, and at the Pennypack Print
Works, at both places church schools were established. Two confirmation
services were held by the Right Reverend Alonzo Potter, Bishop of The Diocese
of Pennsylvania, one on December 10, 1845, and the other on December 10, 1847.
All spiritual activities were kept up, while the congregation strove to meet
requirements for raising revenues for church maintenance and a future goal of
church enlargement.
The vestry on November 28, 1848 elected the Reverend
George Godfrey Field as rector to succeed the Reverend Mr. Bournes. While he
was rector at Holmesburg, a schoolhouse was built and the agitation for a new
church building was kept up. That resulted, shortly after his retirement, in
the erection of the present church edifice. A church school building, twenty
feet by forty feet, was erected in 1849, first occupied on October 1 of that
year (this building is the site of the present St Mary’s Chapel). On April 1,
1851 the bell was purchased and placed in the tower. In the middle of November
1850, a new organ was installed in the church. During the spring of 1851 a
"lady of the parish" erected at her own expense, an addition to the
church school building of 1849. A parish school was opened May 5, 1851 with ten
scholars, which was increased to forty-eight by July 1851. Mr. Field resigned
as rector of Emmanuel Church on April 12, 1857.
In the interval between the resignation of the
Reverend Mr. Field and the election of his successor, the vestry took active
measures for the erection of a new church building. Plans and specifications as
made by Mr. Samuel Sloan, architect, were adopted by the vestry on June 3,
1857. Alfred Enoch and George C. Wagner were selected to construct the
building, being the lowest bidders. The cornerstone was laid on September 21,
1857 with appropriate religious ceremonies by the Right Reverend Alonzo Potter,
Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. On November 1, 1857 the vestry elected
the Reverend John P. Lundy, D.D. Upon assuming his duties as rector in
Holmesburg, he found the construction of the new church building under way. The
building was completed at a cost of $10,377.72, and opened for services on
Sunday, July 4, 1858 at which Dr. Lundy preached a congratulatory and patriotic
sermon. On July 7, 1858 the sacrament of baptism was administered for the first
time in the new edifice, the person to receive it being Kenneth Mackensie
Blakiston, infant son of Presley and Sarah Blakiston. The first marriage
solemnized in the new church was that of Elias Chase and Malvina Susan Jones on
July 15, 1858.
The consecration of the church took place on December
16, 1858, the Right Reverend Samuel Bowmen, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese
officiating, assisted by the Reverend J. P. Lundy and George G. Field. A score
of visiting clergyman were present, and, in addition to the consecration
ceremonies, Holy Communion was celebrated and t a large class confirmed.
Upon completion of the church, the vestry took
measures for the erection of a rectory. On February 16, 1859, the vestry
accepted the generous gift from Mr. Presley Blakiston, consisting of a lot of
ground 125 feet fronted on Maple Lane (now Blakiston Street) by 250 feet in
depth, whereon to erect the rectory. (Unfortunately, this building no longer
exists.) Plans were adopted March 16 1859, and a committee elected to carry
them out. On February 27, 1861, the committee reported _ that the rectory had
been completed at a cost of $5,097.83 which included the cost of a stable,
porch, well, roads, cistern, fences, etc.
During Dr. Lundy’s term as rector, the Thornley
addition to the graveyard was purchased at a cost of $2,536.50, including all
expenses; of that amount, Miss Catherine Moore subscribed $2,000.00. The means
to erect the wall extention came principally from the same source, while the
railing surmounting the wall and the iron gates. were the gift of Mrs. Hugh
Davids. Dr. Lundy’s resignation, which was caused by his wife’s ill health, was
reluctantly accepted by the vestry on November 23, 1863.
A living legacy from Dr. Lundy’s rectorship is the
Cedar of Lebanon tree that still prospers between the church and Emmanuel
House. It was brought as a seedling from the Holy Land by Dr. Lundy in 1860.
The Reverend D. Caldwell Millett, D.D. was elected rector of the parish
on July 21, 1864, and assumed charge in September of that year. For thirty
years he conducted the affairs of Emmanuel parish with ability, faithfulness,
and zeal, but at the close of that period, recognizing the weight of years and
increasing infirmities, he resigned, the change effective October 1, 1894. On
October 23, 1894 the vestry conferred upon him the title of Rector Emeritus. He
died in Holmesburg on February 28, 1900.
During his rectorship at Holmesburg he held a third service at Tacony.
The first services were held on December 8, 1867, and continued in the old
railroad station during the summer of 1868. This parish later became Holy
Innocents. Thirty years of ministerial service in one parish, with ever
increasing growth and prosperity indicates a rare devotion to the cause which
the church represents. Let it be sufficient to note that during the period of
Dr. Millett’s supervision, the principal things that were accomplished were the
enlargement of the cemetery and the building of a wall around it; the
reorganization of the Parish School Association; the erection of the parish
house (now the chapel); and a new rectory.
The wall was ordered May 2, 1872, and was completed April 6, 1874. The
cemetery in its territorial limits of 1914 were consecrated on June 15, 1883.
The Parish School Association was formed in January 1872 for the purpose
of re-organizing the committee on superintendence of the parish school. The
association set about to raise funds, holding a bazaar, from which nearly one
thousand dollars was raised. Encouraged by that success, the ladies of the
association directed their energies to raising sufficient funds to erect a
school and parish building. As the funds increased they invested them for the
use of that purpose, but their investments were destined to be used in
supporting a parish day school, and not in the erection of the building, for
Miss Eliza J. Brown offered to erect a parish building for church purposes, at
her own expense. In the spring of 1879 building operations were started, and on
June 11, 1879, the cornerstone was laid with appropriate ceremonies. On
November 29, 1879 the building, having been completed, was opened with prayer,
after which a presentation of the building and keys were made to the church
corporation. They were received by the Rector in the name of and for the
corporation. Placed in the cornerstone were;
The Holy Bible
Book of Common Prayer
Frankford Gazette
Philadelphia Inquirer
Church Almanac
Public Ledger
Ledger Almanac
Proof coins from the U.S. Mint
Episcopal Register
and a memorial to Mrs. Elizabeth D. Fisher and Mary D. Brown, signed by
the members of the Parish School Association.
Almost from the time of the completion of the rectory on Maple Lane
(Blakiston Street), the agitation for its removal to closer proximity to the
church began, and only ceased when the former rectory on the corner of
Frankford Avenue and Decatur Street was assured. By the power and under the
discretionary authority in him as executor and trustee by Mr. Joseph E.
Temple’s will, Mr. Theodore M. Allen secured from the Orphan’s Court of
Philadelphia, on November 3, 1887, a decree setting aside "$11,000.00 in
trust to be invested in a lot and a memorial to be called the Joseph E. Temple
Memorial". These facts were communicated to the vestry in January of 1888.
The vestry accepted, and the grounds purchased, the plans of the architects
approved, and on March _ 20, 1889 building began and continued until the
building was completed and ready for occupancy.
Reverend Millett moved into it on Monday, December 16, 1889. Its cost was
$15,265.81. The old rectory was rented until June 11, 1892 when it was sold for
$5,000.00, the proceeds used to cancel the obligations incurred by obligations
to the Memorial Rectory Fund, and toward payment for church repairs. The
benediction was pronounced on October 7, 1890.
A new organ was presented to the church in 1892 by the Ladies Aid.
The 50th Anniversary of the incorporation of the church was observed on
April 8th and 9th
1894. It was celebrated with prayer, addresses of visiting clergymen, an
afternoon reception even ing prayer, and a reading of the first fifty years of
church history by Mr. William Bender Wilson a member of the vestry, having been
formally asked to do this.
On September 27, 1894, a reception was held in the parish house to honor
the thirtieth anniversary of Dr. Millett’s advent to the parish as rector. The
Reverend Arnold Harris Hord was elected rector on October 23, 1894. On Sunday,
December 16, 1894, Mr. Hord was formally instituted by the Reverend Dr. D. C.
Millett, the Reverend Dr. Edward J. Bartlett, Dean of the Philadelphia Divinity
School, and the Reverend Horace A. Walton, first assistant minister at St.
James Church, Philadelphia. Mr. Henry B. Weed, Accounting Church Warden,
accompanied by Mr. Frank Clay, a member of the vestry, stood in the chancel
with the clergy, and formally acknowledged the new rector by presenting him
with the keys of the church. This was the first time the office of institution
was performed in the church.
The period of Mr. Hord’s administration of the parish was one of
progressive activity and many improvements in church facilities were made during
it.
In the summer of 1895, Mrs. John R. Wucherer, through Miss Eliza J.
Brown, presented the parish library with 280 bound volumes of standard works;
the rectory was connected with the sewage system; two handsome reflectors
(lamps) placed over the pulpit and lectern were presented by the Ladies Aid
Society and Miss Louise Stokes; and the bequests to the parish under the will
of Mrs. Frances B. Bournes became availalbe.
Mrs. Bournes, in the exercise of discretionary powers under the will of
Miss Catherine M. Moore, bequeathed a certain portion of the income from the
trust for the purchase of books for the parish library. She also made liberal
provision from the trust for the purchase of an organ, and the placing of a
stained glass window in the church.
The vestry decided that the stained glass window should be a memorial to
the Reverend William H. Bournes and his wife. The window, which has for its
central panel the figure of Our Savior, was placed in the rear of the chancel,
overlooking the altar and facing the nave. (It is now on the right front as you
enter the church). It was placed on November 16, 1895, and on the following day
the old window was presented to St. George’s Mission in Port Richmond.
In 1896 there was presented to the church, a brass chancel rail, by Miss
Sarah Painter and her church School class of young men; a brass reading desk by
the church school and two brass standard lights, one on each side of the altar.
The old chancel rail was presented to Holy Innocents Church, Tacony.
In 1897 a new communion service was presented by the Altar Guild, and a
brass altar desk by Miss Louise Kreis.
In 1898 Mrs. Presley Blakiston presented a brass pulpit as a memorial to
her husband, which was dedicated on September 22, 1898, and Miss Eliza J. Brown
presented a bookcase for the parish library.
In 1899, under the auspices of the Altar Guild, an extensive addition to
the chancel was made, and robing rooms erected. These improvements were
completed for service by January 7, 1900, and formally presented to the
corporation without expense to it on April 11, 1900. The cost of the
improvements, with incidental repairs including a new furnace, was $5,706.03 of
which amount Miss Eliza J. Brown contributed $3,229.99, the balance of which
was raised by the Guild. Mr. Hord resigned as rector at Holmesburg on January
1, 1901.
The Reverend Robert Alexander Tufft was elected sixth rector of the
parish on March 1, 1901.
During 1901, St. Martha’s Guild presented a Ewer and shelf for use at the
font as a testimonial to Reverend Arnold Harris Hord, and in 1902 presented as
an Easter offering, a silver baptismal shell.
On December 7, 1902 the Right Reverend Leighton Coleman, S.J.D., Bishop
of the Diocese of Delaware, consecrated an altar of white sculptural marble,
provided by the vestry and congregation, as an affectionate memorial to the
late Reverend D. C. Millett, D.D. The wooden altar which it displaced was
presented to St. George’s Mission, in Port Richmond, Philadelphia.
In 1904 the burial grounds were improved and surveyed; stones to
establish the lines of the lots were set, old sheds torn down, new sheds put
up, part of the boundary wall rebuilt, privet hedge planted and grounds
generally put in good condition at a cost of $778.00.
In 1905 a metal cover for the font was presented as a memorial to Miss
Lizzie C. Glenn.
In 1906 the church was repainted and thoroughly renovated.
During February 1906, a new organ was installed in the church. It was put
in use at the services on the first Sunday in Lent, March 4, 1906. The price of
the organ and the cost of installation was $3,386.95, paid for out of the funds
provided for in Mrs. Frances B. Bournes will and from the sale of
the old organ.
The old organ was sold for $600.00 to St. Lukes Church, Orlando, the cathedral
church of the Diocese of Southern Florida.
The Reverend Mr. Tufft resigned October 18, 1910.
The Reverend Sydney Goodman was elected the seventh rector of the parish
on March 24, 1911 and took charge of its administration on Easter Sunday, April
6, 1911. He spent nearly twenty years with us, and is remembered for his manner
of conducting the church services, always in full accord with their solemn and
spiritual beauty. Mr. Goodman is also remembered for his missionary work, and
his kindly visitations of the sick.
It is recorded in the vestry minutes that "during Mr. Goodman’s long
service, Holmesburg changed from a small, old fashioned country village, into a
modern suburban district of Philadelphia, and that through his earnest efforts
the congregation has increased considerably."
During his incumbency the church property was greatly improved, and
nearly the whole cost thereof was raised by contributions obtained through his
efforts. Among these improvements we list;
Electric lighting of the church, installed in 1913.
New carpet for the whole floor of the church, and an altar rug.
Installation of a stained glass window in 1915, in memory of Miss Jennie
Pattison.
Aquisition of the lot at the corner of Frankford Avenue and Stanwood
Street and subsequent erection of Garret Hall (now known as Emmanuel House).
Installation of a central heating plant for haIl and church.
The Weed Memorial cross atop the steeple.
The beautiful chancel window - The Brown Memorial.
In August 1916 a proposal was adopted to replace the chancel window with
new "art glass" window, to be called the Brown Memorial. The window
is made of imported art glass, designed and built by the Gorham Company of New
York City. The subject is the adoration of the new born Jesus, and its
treatment is wonderfully complete. A critic of the day wrote of it "The
mistake so often made, of over elaboration, has been carefully avoided. Very
few accessories are admitted, and then only such as are absolutely necessary to
adequately express the subject." The window was dedicated on Trinity
Sunday, June 4, 1917.
On May 28, 1915, Mr. Tage Teisen, a lay reader of our church, was
ordained deacon, becoming the first member of our parish to enter the holy
orders.
In 1916 the General Endowment Fund of the church was started through Mr.
Goodman’s work.
It is interesting to note that in the vestry minutes of October 26, 1918,
the state and city authorities had ordered that all churches, church schools,
day schools and all other places of public assembly be closed until further
orders, in consequence of the prevailing Spainish Influenza epidemic.
In 1919, a week long celebration was held to honor the incorporation of
the church. On October 26, 1919, at the morning service, The Reverend Waldemar
Jansen, rector of Trinity Church Oxford, preached the anniversary sermon.
The congregation then proceeded to the parish house to witness the
unveiling of a tablet placed on the wall as a memorial to the late Eliza J.
Brown, donor of the building, given by the Parish School Guild.
The Church of the Resurrection in Mayfair, owes its early development to
the earnest efforts of Mr. Goodman.
On March 1, 1931, Mr. Goodman resigned to take charge at the Church of
Saint John the Baptist in Germantown.
During 1931, the election of a rector again occupied the vestry, and
among the names presented we find that of Henry E. Kaufmann, who was later to
become the ninth rector of the church.
The eighth rector, the Reverend I. E. Brooks,then of Grace Church
Hulmeville, was elected on June 18, 1931, and took charge August 1 of that same
year.
With his selection, the church assumed the responsibility for the full
amount of the rector’s salary, whereas for some years prior we had received aid
in this direction from the Sustentation Fund.
In October of 1931, Mrs. Mary M. Garrett, who had generously donated to
our church during the past several years, requested that her name be removed
from Garrett Hall. That name had been used since the hall was opened, and
appropriately too, as it was she who purchased the ground on which it was
built, and she who contributed nearly all of the money for its erection.
However, in compliance with her wish, her name was removed from the hall, and
henceforth it became known as "Emmanuel House."
Mr. Brooks, mainly through his own handicraft, and with the artistic help
of Mr. Lewis Carr, converted the central wing of the Parish house into a
chapel. Many parishioners still recall that much of the chapel’s lovely
interior was fashioned from mahogany wood of old and discarded dining room and
bedroom furniture, donated by the parishioners. The chapel was named and
consecrated "Saint Mary’s Chapel" by Bishop Tait in 1934.
During Mr. Brooks’ rectorship, the church bazaar and dinner, as we know
it today, was started in 1931.
In 1938 the basement robing room for the choir was built. The Junior
Choir was organized during Mr. Brooks’ rectorship.
Mr. Brooks resigned on Easter Day, March 24, 1940, after nearly nine
years as rector.
Mr. Brooks’ departure was followed by our ninth rector, Dr. Henry E.
Kaufmann. Dr. Kaufmann was elected rector on June 20, 1940 and assumed charge
on September 1, 1940. He spent twenty-seven years with us, and many changes in
Emmanuel were accomplished during this time.
Much in the way of upkeep to the church was done, and also the physical
property had been improved and several items of note were accomplished. We list
among these;
A new stone wall and concrete pavement and entrance steps.
Rebuilding of the church organ.
Painting of the church interior.
Enlargement of the church burial ground.
Renovation of the Sexton’s house and workshop.
Painting interior walls in the Church school rooms in the chapel.
Installation of new electric lighting exterior f fixtures.
Aquisition of the parking lot on Stanwood Street.
The sandblasting of the church in 1960, for the first time in its 100
years of existence.
The sacristy was started in 1952, utilizing stone from the Broad Street
Station, which was being demolished that year. Construction continued through
1952, and in May of 1953 the sacristy was dedicated by the rector as a memorial
to Louisa K. Schafer.
In 1956 extensive renovation of the chapel was started to add to the
capacity of the church school classrooms. Funds for this important addition
were realized by contributions of the congregation over a two year period.
Many celebrations and anniversaries were also held during Dr. Kaufmann’s
rectorship. On April 23, 1944 a service was held, marking the 100th anniversary
of the independence of the parish. Concluding a week of celebration, a dinner
was held with Bishop Oliver J. Hart as speaker.
Dr. Kaufmann celebrated his twenty-fifth anniversary in the ministry and
his fifteenth year at Emmanuel in April, 1956 with a reception in Emmanuel
House, which was attended by the Bishop. Mr. Kaufmann was presented with his
portrait in oils by the congregation.
In 1958 the 100th anniversary was celebrated including a display of
photographs, and a booklet was given to parishioners with a brief history of
Emmanuel.
Mrs. Alice Farrow was hired as organist and choir director in 1956, and
continued doing fine work in that capacity until 1980.
In 1959 a decision was reached by the vestry to purchase a new organ from
the Mudler-Hunter Company at a cost of $16,000.00. Some pipes from the previous
organ were used. This organ continues to provide us with beautiful music today.
The organ was dedicated at the morning worship service on October 24, 1960, and
a recital was given on October 30 with Wesley A. Day as recitalist.
Many lovely memorial gifts were given Emmanuel during this time, to both
the Church and Saint Mary’s Chapel. The remaining windows of the church not
previously given were donated. These are;
The French and World War Two memorial window.
The Frost window.
The Birkmann window.
The Twelves window.
The Pickel window in the sacristy.
The Lynam and Koester windows in the chancel
Further memorials and gifts enriched the church to make our place of
worship a more beautiful and fitting house of God. They are;
A new oriental Altar rug.
Brass gates at the communion rail.
New offering basins.
An eternal light over the baptismal font
New Altar hangings.
These are but a few of the lovely and generous gifts bestowed on Emmanuel
Church.
Neither has the chapel been exempt; in 1960 the vestry gave permission
for memorial windows to be placed in that building. Since then every window in
the chapel, and the nursery and kindergarten wings are filled with lovely
windows.
In September of 1967, Dr. Kaufmann retired and moved to Point Pleasant,
Pa.
