St. John's History Books — The 1860's

[This article appears in the February 2008 issue of The Good News]

The history of St. John's, from 1859 to 1959, is contained in three books, all written anonymously. The "Red book" covers 1859 to 1898, the "Blue Book" 1898 to 1934, and the "Black Book" 1934 to 1959. In the late 1990's a committee discussed writing a book to bring us up to date, but no one has yet had the courage to take this on. My intent now is to summarize highlights of St. John's history, by decade, with sketches of some of the early members. Most of what follows, and all the quotations, is taken from the Red Book, which also includes accounts of leading parishioners as well as some lengthy sermons.

History of St. John's Episcopal Church, Youngstown, Ohio was written in 1898 by Joseph M. Butler, the church's Junior Warden. Only three or four copies remain, and the Red Book is old-fashioned in style, with a tone of nineteenth-century self-satisfaction. In about 100 years Youngstown had grown from a small settlement to an industrial city of 50,000, a force in the steel industry, and the leaders of St. John's were also leaders in the city. They were, as Mr. Butler put it, "wide-awake people."

Joseph Marion Butler's name appears in the Red Book only as a Vestry member and Junior Warden. However, the Blue Book tells us that he came to Youngstown as a young man, was married in 1884, and at once became active at St. John's. He was soon elected to the vestry, and served as its secretary for ten years, till he moved to Chicago in 1899. From 1897 to 1899 he was also Junior Warden. He wrote the history in his own hand, researching it in the church archives, through conversations with older members, and correspondence with former clergy.

Over the years, Episcopal clergy from Boardman and Warren had held services in Youngstown, sometimes in homes, sometimes in the Presbyterian or Methodist churches. As the town's population grew, so did the number of Episcopalians. The Rev. C. S. Abbott of Warren wrote to Mr. Butler in 1898: "I held services and preached on the afternoon of Trinity Sunday, June 19, 1859. The Methodist Church was kindly loaned to us for the service. This was the beginning of the Church movement. On Thursday night, July 7, Mr. McMurphy [the rector of St. James, Boardman] and myself took the incipient steps towards organizing the Parish."

By December of that year, a petition had been prepared and signed, meetings held, Wardens and Vestry elected. They proceeded immediately to raise money to buy land and build a church.

In July 1860 the Vestry purchased land on Wood Street with a building on it, which they used for a Sunday School, continuing the work begun by Henrietta Thornton. The Red Book claims that the very first Christmas festival in Youngstown was held that year — "Mrs. Freeman Arms, who had a very pleasant voice, sang some of the Church music, and the members present joined in singing hymns as best they could without the aid of instrumental music. This was a gala day for those interested in the Church, for up to this time the Youngstown people had never held any religious services on Christmas."

Visiting clergy continued to hold services at the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches until in December 1861 the Rev. Wyllys Hall was appointed rector "at a salary of $400.00 per year and what would be given by the Diocesan Missionary Society as their proportion of the mission fund — amount not known." A hall was rented for services. The congregation was "small in those days, yet it was an earnest, wide awake lot of people; the ladies then, as now, working faithfully to obtain money for the Parish expenses." In July 1861 the Ladies raised $94 from a Strawberry Festival and in July 1862 $100 from an Oyster Supper — impressive numbers when compared to Mr. Hall's salary (increased in April 1863 to $500). Mr. Hall resigned in 1865 and in 1866 the Rev. Samuel Maxwell was elected Rector at $1,200 a year (diocesan assistance was apparently no longer needed). Mr. Maxwell had prior experience in New York City and Akron, held a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of the City of New York, and had completed a course at the Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. Perhaps this accounts for the difference between his salary and Mr. Hall's. A year later, it was increased to $1,500, and during his seventeen years the parish "prospered exceedingly," to the extent that in 1869 a rectory was built for him next to the church.

Next month — a look at some of the early members.

— Liz Wrona