Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1906)
THE OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE. April 29, 1MO. Half-Century of Activity of REV. REUBEN GAYLORD. MEMBERSHIP of nearly 6.00 in jt1 I 2tl churches; the largest deiumi- I lnatlonal school urouortv In the state; one college and four Nourishing academies; a property amounting to ilTS.ifctS, with a telal endow ment of $106,000 and a spiritual influence In proportion, . la the rexird of Congrega tionalism in Nebraska, which will celebrate the semi-centennial anniversary of Us founding May 4. The history of the Con gregational church in Omaha dates back almost to the beginning of the city itself, while that In the state, which was the out growth of this beginning, is an Insepar able part of the record of the hardship And struggle of those sturdy, steadfast pleneer men and women who extended a Christianity broader than the denomlna tlonallam that directed It and that con tributed some of the most substantial in fluences to the very foundation upon which Nebraska was built. Coming; of Reuben Gaylord. It was In 1S66 that Reuben (Jay lord, a graduate of Vale college In the class of 1834, for seventeen years a m.-slonary in Iowa and one of the first trubt os of the Iowa State college, was sent i :iaha by the American Home Mission uclety to begin his labors at the munificent salary of $WQ a year. Undaunted by discouragements and physical hardships such as only the pioneer missionary can know, he laid the foundation for the Congregational church In Nebraska. During the winter of 1&6 be preached in the assembly room of the territorial legislature, and May 4 of the following year the Congregational church was organised with the following mem bers: Governor and Mrs. O. D. Richard son, Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Chapman, James W. Seymour, Mrs. Allen, Miss Sara Oay lord and Rev. and Mrs. Reuben Gaylord. It was to Reuben Gaylord that Dr. Oeorge I Miller referred as "that brave Christian soldier who brought Sunday into Omaha and the transmlssourl eountry." Dr. Miller was one of the first trustees of the church and a valued worker and he tells the following Incident in the early work of Rev. Gaylord: Passing the Im provised chapel one morning he heard a man's voice raised In prayer. Looking In he saw Rev. Gaylord on his knees pray ing that the Lorld would send him an audience. missionary IUee's Effort. However, the way had been been pre Battle of I us this year we naturally recall aroused national Interest as few crises In our personal memory have done, and gave us one of our national heroes George Dewey, who will proba bly live In our memories and our chil dren's memories when the other men who distinguished themselves In military or naval command during our short wars with the Spanish and the Filipinos are forgotten. We hear little of Admiral Dewey today, but that Uttle Is to the effect that he is quietly but efficiently doing his duty and doing It well. According to the old maxim "young men for action, old men for counsel," the admiral is sitting as the president of the, naval general board; and none can say that any other officer Is today performing more valuable service for his country. We have at hand the official .correspondence of the Navy de partment with Commodore Dewey at the time of the Spanish war, and all of it Is Interesting. Some of it will be recog nised as having been published at the r . j f . , t ;-n M v V v f lit - rT. REV. A. F. SHERRILU pared for it. . beginning by Governor O. D. Richardson, for four years lieutenant ifcoverm r of Michigan; Dr. George L. Mil ler, then a practicing physician in Omaha, and Rev. George G. Rice, pastor of the Congregational church in Council Bluffs. Governor Richardson had come to town In 1864 and was an earnest Congregatlonollst. It was Rev. George Rice who preached the first Congregational sermon In Nebraska, and the story of this sermon, together with much Interesting information, is best told by this venerable and venerated clergyman himself, who still lives In Council Bluffs, In the following letter to the compilers of a history of the church In Nebraska, and which settles several disputed points: "Dr. D. B. Cole, secretory of the Ameri can Home Missionary society, wrote me In July, 18E4, requesting that I keep the so ciety Informed regarding the settlement and needs of Nebraska. August 4 I re plied: The Indiana have not yet been removed to their reservation, and until that time the territory will not be open to settlement. The agent Is hastening the removal of the Indians and the territory will likely be open to settlers In a few days. September 19 I wrote again: "The Indians hnve been removed snd there Is a brisk movement Into the territory. Omaha, Just across the river from Council Bluffs, Is to be the capital of the territory. A steam ferryboat Is conveying materials across the river for the capitol building, which Is already under way. Omaha should have a minister as soon as a suitable man can be found, for, being tho capital. It will build up rapidly. Another man should be sent to the territory as general mis sionary.' t "About this time I secured two lota a gift from the Omaha Land company for a Congregational church. When the church was built one of the lots was sold for S700 and the money used In building. The latter part of January I spent a, Sabbath In Omaha and preached morning and even ing In the . legislative hall, and Monday morning I officiated as chaplain In the same hall. This was the first Congrega tional sermon preached In Nebraska aflei the territory was organised. There were a few Congregatlonallsts In Omaha at that time with whom I was frequently In con ference, trying to aid. them In securing a minister. In September, 1856, Reuben Gay lord came across the state on a vacation tour. I went with him- to Omaha and we called upon Governor Richardson and made arrangements for Brother Gaylord f Manila Bay Told by close of the war, but a good deal will be new to the readers.' American Sympathy for Cuba. The excesses and outrages Incident to the Insurrection in Cuba stirred the peo ple of the United States to the heart, and developed a strong sympathy for the Cubans. The demonstration of the in ability of the Spanish to put down the insurrection and maintain a permanent peace in Cuba showed the condition to be hopeless and engendered a strong desire In the people of 'this country to end a situation felt to be Intolerable. For some reason it was thought advisable by our government and that of Spain, both of which were averse' to war between the two countries, to send naval vessels to exchange visits of courtesy. Many, n official as well as private life, desired war between the two countries, though it Is believed that the two governments were sincere In their attempt to avoid lt Many Americans desired to make war out of sympathy with Cuba, many to put an end to the Intolerable restraint exer cised by the condition of perpetual, war A. - ' ' V'.A 1 vw" v ' " V. & a OLTMTIA, PEW EI '8 rT-AGSIirP. ROT. O. W. RICB. " y. r v-v - FIRST preach In Omaha the next Sabbath after noon. After Sabbath morning service in Council Bluffs we rode down to the river, tied our horses In the willows and were conveyed across the river In a canoe. At the close of that afternoon's service sev eral persons expressed a wish that Rev. Gaylord would come and be their minister. After considerable correspondence he re signed his charge In Iowa and came to Council Bluffs with his family, December 22, 1S5, on his way to Omaha, where he at once commenced his missionary labors." For eight years Reuben Gaylord served in that island. Some Spaniards were Im patient of American assistance and sym pathy for Cubans, and thought that Spain would be able to chastise us. Others be lieved that the situation in Cuba was hopeless for Spain, and that they could save prestlve 'by yielding to the United States what they were too proud to yield to the Cubans. Sinking; of the Maine. The Spanish visit, that, of the armored cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa to New York, was marked by no unpleasant incident, the usual official courtesies being exchanged. But the return visit of the armored cruiser Maine to Havana resulted in a tragedy that made the war inevitable. The- Maine was destroyed at 9:40 p. m., February 15. There was a strong and almost general belief that the work was due to Spanish assassins, but the Navy department decided to con duct such an Investigation as would leave no chanoe for reasonable doubt. A Spanish naval board of Inquiry reported on March 22: Fourth That the Important facts con nected with tha explosion in its external apoearances at every moment of Its dura- V Omaha's RBV. JOSEPH ' i - ''4 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF OMAHA. as pastor of the Omaha' chprch. A vigor- ous weekly prayer meeting and a flourish ing Sabbath school was maintained and women's work In the church Inaugurated and the work was well on Its feet when he resigned themlnlstry In 1864 to become superintendent of missions la the terri tory. He died In 1880 at Fontanelle, Neb., and was buried from the church he had founded twenty-four years before. Eight Pastors In Fifty Years. During the fifty years of its existence the First Congregational church has had Dewey tlon having been described by witnesses, and the absence of all circumstances which necessarily accompany the explosion of a torpedo having been proved by these wit nesses and experts, it can only be honestly asserted that the catastrophe was due to Internal causes. Before the report of this board was made, the Investigation of the United States naval court of Inquiry developed unquestionable evidence that the explosion was due to external agencies that a large mine had been exploded "under the '' bottom of the ship at about frame IS and somewhat on the port side of the ship;" but It 'was at tempted to Veep secret the discoveries of the divers and the Investigation was con tinued and completed. Of course the Navy department knew that war would neces sarily follow the publication of the evi dence of the divers or the findings of the court, so that as complete advantage as possible was taken of the Intervening time. Arrangements for the purchase of war ships In Europe were begun in February. It was necessary to purchase some vessels In order that Spain should not get them, and even then Spain did better than we, for she got the fine new Argentine armored cruiser that as the Cristobal Colon crossed the Atlantic to find a grave. Congress on Arrll 26 declared that war had existed since April 21. Dewey's Tremendous Taste. We know now that Dewey's task was easy, as far as the first of May was con cernedthe result of the first of May de pended upon the previous preparation of the squadrons but neither Dewey nor any body else anticipated that It would be easy; and even after the first of May he was almost constantly threatened with at tack by forces nominally superior to his own first the Germans under Admiral Dlederlchs and then the Spanish squadron under Admiral Camira. which started out for the. reoor.quest of the Philippine seas. The question of the Filipinos the Insur rectos was another of the thorns that made his bed a poor one for sleep. At first Agulnaldo Imposed upon his susceptibility, and the Insurrecto leader seems vto think that the commodore imposed somewhat upon him. It is noticeable that Aguinaldo arrived at Cavlte May 13. on the naval collier Nanshan, that on June 27 the ad miral hat considerable confidence In the natives and Agulnaldo. On August 11 the city of Manila capitulated to the Joint forces of army and navy (the day after the signing of the peace protocol), and tho acting secretary Intimated that the presi dent was about to summon the admiral to Washington for advice. In reply the ad miral cabled: "I trust that It may not .be necessary to order me to Washington. Should regret vyry much to leave hers while matters remain In present critical condition." The critical condition at that time was the question of Agulnaldo and his men. There is many a man ?j Nebraska today who could give personal testimony as to that critical condition; soldiers' pho tographs in other homes that give their tes timony where ths loved ones fell victims to that condition. It was not unrll tha Firs! Congregational Church XyCTRTEA. v ' - .;': 'X: " 'v.- 7. ; ; : "-far-m. eight pastors and Its congregation, num bering almost 1.20Q, has worshiped Jn three churches. ' - The ministers, who have succeeded Ren ben Gaylord have all been scholarly men who have retained In the congregation a goodly proportion of the city's foremost fam ilies. During the six years following Rev. Gaylord's resignation the church had three pastors: Rev.. A. D. Shotwell, Rov. W. W. Rose and Rev. .E. S. Palmer. In 1870 Rev. Sherrlll, D. D was ordained and entered upon a pastorate of eighteen years, during which the church grew steadily in numbers and Montojo in Their Reports following- February that the plans of the natives to massacre the Americans In Ma nila were discovered and hostilities com menced at Marlqulna. Dewey's Story of tho Fight. U. 8. Naval Force on Asiatic Station, Flagship Olympla, Cavlte Philippine Islands, May 4, lh9. Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report of the oper ations of the squadron under my com mit nd: The squadron left Mies Bay on April 27, immediately on the arrival of O. F. Williams, United States consul at Manila, who brought Importnnt Information and who accompanies the squadron. Arrived off Bollnao on the morning of April 30 and, finding no vessels there, pro ceeded down the coast and arrived off the entrance to Manila bay on the same after noon. The Boston and Concord were sent to reconnolter Port Subic, I having been In formed that the enemy Intended to take position there. A thorough search of tha port was made by the Boston and Concord, but the Spanish fleet was not found, al though from a letter afterwards found In the arsenal (enclosed with translation) it appears that it had been their Intention to go there. Entered :he Boca Grande, or south chan nel, at ll:3o p. m., steaming in column at "J . .v. Is : .... - a REV. F. A. WARFIELD. and spiritual strength. Dr. Sherrlll ap plied his energy unsparingly and In 1M the church gave from Its congregation Its first colony for the organisation of St. Mary's avenue church, Plymouth, Hillside and Park Place, or afterward. Pilgrim, following as the city and the denomination grew. Co mine of nr. Dnryeau In 18S8 Dr. Sherrlll resigned to accept ft call from Central Congregational church of Atlanta, Ga. After an Interval of sev eral months Rev. Joseph T. Duryea, D. D., of Boston accepted the call of the church and until 1894, when falling health com pelled him to resign. Dr. Duryea's mag netlo Influence attracted the largest au diences In the history of the church. The congregation had Just moved into the au ditorium of the present church and Sunday after Sunday this, with the lecture rooms adjoining were filled to the utmost and on several occasions when special popular subjects had been announced, people were turned away unablo to be admitted. For two years following Dr. Duryea's resignation the church was without a pas tor except as supplied, but In 1S96 Rev. Frank A. Warfield. D. D of Brockton, Mass., was called. Though his pastorate lasted but two years. It covered one of the most difficult periods In the church history. In common with other churches of the elty the First Congregational suffered se verely from Uie financial depression of those years, but by his practical sagacity Dr. Warfield guided the church through. Dr. Hubert C. Herring, D.D., succeeded Dr. Wurfleld In 1R9G, and Is still pastor, having reclaimed all that the church lost during the years following Dr. Duryea's term and the financial depression. Homes of the Charehv i Since the year following Its organization the church has taken pride in Its houses of worship and each of the three buildings that It has occupied have been centers for educational and other progressive move ments In addition to those emanating di rectly from the church. The first building was erected In 180 at a cost of 14.500. part of which was fur nished by the Congregational union, part resulted from the sale of one of the church lots and the remainder was supplied by the congregation and townspeople. The build 107 was a modest little brick structure, 27x36 feet, with basement and audience distance (1.200 feet from mainmast of one sl.lp to that of ship next ahead) at eight knots. After half the squadron had passed, a battery on the south side of the chan nel opened lire, ncne of the shots taking effect. The Boston anil MeCullough re turned the fire. . The squadron proceeded across the bay at slow speed and arrived off Manila at daybreak, and was tired upon at 6:16 a. m. by three batteries at Manila and two at Cavlte and by the Spanish fleet an chored In an approximately east and west line across the mouth of Bakor bay, with their left In shoal water in Canacao bay. The squadron then proceeded to tha at tack, the flagship Olympla, under my per sonal direction, leading, followed at dis tance by the Baltimore, Raleigh, Petrel, Concord and Boston, in the order named,' which formation was maintained through out the action. The squadron opened tire at 6:41 a. m. While advancing to the at tack two mines were exploded ahead of the flagship, too far to be effective. The squadron maintained a continuous and precise range at ranges varying from 6,000 to 2,000 yards, countermarching in a line approximately parallel with the Span ish fleet. The enemy's fire was vigorous, but generally ineffective. ' Early in the engagement two launches put out toward the Olympla with the ap parent Intention of using torpedoes. One was sunk and the other disabled by our fire and beached before an opportunity occurred to fire torpedoes. At I a. tn. DEWltl'B FLETET TU HONTJ EXTNO HARBOR, REV. HUBERT II. HERRING. room. It stood on the west side of Six teenth street about ninety-five feet north of Farnam street. It had a seating ca pacity of 226 and was the source of much pride to tho townspeople In general. In 1870. at tho beginning of Dr. Sherrlll's pas torate, a new church was enected at Nineteenth and Chicago streets. This was of frame and much more modern In Its equipment. This building cost $10,000 and seated on the floor and In the gallery about $00. The congregation removed to this building In 1871, but in 1887 this building was sold and torn down, the congregation moving to the chapel of the present church at Nineteenth and Davenport streets, which was completed and dedicated In 1888 at a cost of 180,000. Dr. Duryea and Dr. Frank Gunsaulus of Chicago officiated at the dedi cation. For some time previous to this, however, services had been held In the chapel adjoining the church auditorium. The present church has a seating capacity of 650 In Its auditorium and 300 In the lec ture room. In addition to these audience rooms there Are parlors and class rooms on the main floor and Sabbath school rooms and a completely equipped kitchen in the basement. lues of the Aodltorlom. For several years the Omaha Woman'i club has used the auditorium and class rtioms as club rooms, and these are con tinually In demand for lectures, publlo re ceptions and like things. Among the men and women who have made up Its congregation have been soma of the most prominent who have lived In Omaha, and their loyalty and service have demonstrated their affection for the insti tution. For twenty-five years Mrs. Charies Squires was a member Of the church choir, commencing when a young girl, and later, after a prolonged season of voioe culture, returned, singing for years. Later Mrs. Squires, with Mr. Nat Brlgham and Mr. and Mrs. Henry D. Estabrook, formed a quartet that was one of the best In tho city, and with Mr. Tabor at the organ was one of the musical attractions of the Sab bath day services. P. C. Helmbaugh, who started the sub scription for the first Young Men's Chris tian association building, was another staunch member, while General O. O. How ard was also prominently Identified with the church during his residence here. the Spanish flagship Relna Christina made a desperate effort to leave the line and come out to engage at short range, but was received with such galling fire, the entire battery of the Olympla belna; con centrated upon it, that It was barely able to return to the shelter of the point. The fires started In it by our shell at this time were not extinguished until It sank. At 7:35 a. m., it having been erroneously reported to me that only fifteen rounds per gun remained for the five-Inch rapid fire battery, I ceased firing and withdrew the squadron for consultation and a redis tribution of ammunition if necessary. The three batteries at Manila had kept up a continuous fire from the beginning of the engagement, which Are was not re turned by this squadron. The first of these batteries was situated on the south mole head of the entrance to the Paslg liver, the second on the south bastion of the walled city of Manila, and the third at Malale, about one-half mile further south. At this point I sent a message to tho governor general to the effect that If the batteries did not cease firing the city would be shelled. This had tha effect of silencing them. At 11:16 a. m., finding that the report of scarcity of ammunition was Incorrect, I returned with the squadron to the attack. By this time the llagHlup and almost the entire Spanish fleet were In flames, and at 12:30 p. m. the squadron ceased firing, (Continued on Page Seven.) I . &St