TTTH OMAHA BTINTVAY BEE: DECRMBKK 2 ,1910.
First Presbyterian Celebrates Its Fiftieth Anniversary
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' " X l tlh I' L i v iV mnon'nced that t fair and festlr! beld the precefl- Omaha for California, the pregent paator. Dr. Bfllrta .J . ' I A
. r w M? '-' .-, t - " -: ' t " ;V in week they had realized $1,400; which would lndl- H. Jenka, left California for Omaha. t A'- - Wl I VI
II ,Vr?.. - 5 - 'i-' .'I Ill cate the people of early Omaha were as generous aa
II I ' ', ;'.!, " ; ; --r;W 1 1 1 their helra ot today. This money was uaed to pur-
II , : . I ; .? t ! I chaie an organ, which waa brought from Chicago, car- Dlmmlck: Mrs. Julia C. Huntington, '62; Mra. B. IV , , V V
n , ; 4 T . . s m,'.; , 7 j ., ' . 1 1 pet and much of the rnrniture ror me auauorium.
.1,. . ' ' : ' " . ,x. iJL'f-j- t - " . ,r1Si,,ll I n.4i.fin f a h,,iHine occurred in December.
I I ' 'It1 f : t 1 - -i , ' , I ijauivauvu v " "
II - ,iv-ux,J ; w " .,-" "..,-'" " - 1889. Dr. Dlmmick waa In charge of the ceremony, Myers, '68; Mrs. Eliza Patrick, '69; Mra. Oertmd '-'jJk
II 'tlL " T"- "- '-" """"l ; aaaiated by Rev. A. F. Bherrili, wno ior many yean
II .. , II waa pastor oi me nri tuun.v... , , . ,. -t If I
II . c . t.-. II mxs. JLienmer xiaa xxonorea riacc. i i
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i 1 r t-J 1 fund t0 care for an indebtedness of about i,uuu. io see ner cnuaren, granacnuarea, ana greanrana-. i . . . .
w
Pew Rental Decided On.
The church completed and ready for occupancy,
ft was decided to rent some of the pews, the money
thus secured to be applied in part to the support of
the church and the balance to be placed in a sinking
fund to care for an indebtedness of about $9,000.
And here it may be noted, while efforts have been
made from time to time to make all pewB free, the
rental system still prevails.
At the time of its completion the Presbyterian
HEN a Sunday school ganlzed In a the afternoon of the Sabbath. December 16, 1860, In
-i , i n.h. on- the Conereeational church. On Wednesday evening,
day, July 20, 1856, some one of wld ?hecem,brv19' ?ft" prayer T? . .fn of church was the finest edifice' t its kind In Omaha, to the timea of their death, this service extending
' th Bfilrl rhurr.h. thorn waa held a DUSineBB meeting OI v " . . . ,. 1 .. .v. i .. .vi.,. -t, u.nii.tliir
Omaha for California, the present pastor. Dr. Edwla
H. Jenks, left California for Omaha.
Among the present membership of the church the
following persons came in under the ministry of Mn
Dlmmlck: Mrs. Julia C. Huntington, '62; Mrs. E.
Evans, '65; Mrs. E. A. Maul, '66; Mrs. W. V. Morse,
'66; Mrs. Elizabeth S. Lehmer, '66; Mrs. Mary 3
Myers, '68; Mrs. Eliza Patrick, '69; -Mrs. Gertrude)
Perine, '69. j
Mrs. Lehmer Has Honored Place.
Mrs. Lehmer la the only member of the present
congregation who waa affiliated with the Old School
church, and Is the oldest living member. For a gener
atlon she esteemed it a privilege to bake the com-
munion bread with her own hands, and she has lived,
to see her children, grandchildren, and greatgrand
children (the latter by baptism) enrolled In the nami
bership of this church.
Three of the trustees, William Lehmer, P. X
Perine and C. K. Coutant served the church from 1870
vision remarked that it "might form the
wOW(i nucleus toT a Presbyterian church."
rii?ij Tq empnaalz6 tnl8 thought, as Judge
Howard Kennedy pointed out In his ad
dress last Sunday evening at the First Presbyterian
church, the young organization adopted the porten
tous name, "The Sunday school ot the First Old Pres
byterian church of Omaha City, Nebraska."
William P. Snowden and his wife, the first actual
settlers on the present site of Omaha, had arrived two
years previously and in their home a Methodist service
had been held. The Presbyterlana In the new settle
ment were stirred by the spirit of emulation and when
the time appeared ripe they organized what at that
time was the orHy Sunday school in the city. It will not
be amiss to noto, in this connection, that the Catholics
had erected the first church edifice a month after the
organization of the Presbyterian Sunday school, and in
May of 1856 Rev. Reuben Gaylord had formed the
original Congregational church of Omaha. An Epis
copal parish was given Its start one week previous to
the Presbyterian meeting.
"The hopes of the organizers of the Sunday school
were subsequently realized," said Judge Kennedy, "for
in April, 1857, the Rev. George P. Bergen, a home mis
sionary of the Old School Presbyterian church, came
here from Iowa, and after some weeks of effort, on
June 14, 1857, organized the First Presbyterian church
of Omaha." Fifteen members met together for the
purposo in the Methodist Episcopal church, a structure
then standing on the site where the old Omaha Na
tional bank stands today.
the said church, there was held a business meeting
the persons present. It being the opinion of the meet
ing that, in the Providence of God, the way was open
for the organization of a New School Presbyterian
church, It was voted to organize the next Sabbath at
3 o'clock p. m., and preliminary steps were taken for
such an organization."
, ' The record then goes on to say that at the time
appointed, Sunday, December 23, Rev. Mr. Dlmmick or
ganized the church as the Second Presbyterian. Twenty-four
members were enrolled, all but three being re
ceived on certificates from other churches, two by a
renewal of the piofesslon of faith, and one "after ex
amination and profession of her faith and baptism."
' Of the original charter members, Mrs. Emily V.
Preston of Seattle, Wash., is now the only survivor.
This family has kept Its name on the rolls,
through some representative, right up to the present
time, when Walter G. Preston and his son, Walter O.
Preston, jr., are members.
and by Borne its pretentious character was not consid- nearly thirty, thirty-eight and forty years, respectively,
ered Justified by the prospects of the young town. Mr. Perine was clerk of session from September, 1870,
The faith of the builders has been most amply proven to August 1889, since which time H. A. Doud has been
to have been well founded.
By April, 1870, the membership of the church had
Increased to 178, from the original twenty-four. Re
vival of religious feeling had caused many to unite
with the church immediately after the end of the war,
and special tribute is borne to the good work done
for a great many years by one of these, Oscar F.
Davis. That the session was alive to its responsibilities
is evidenced by a notation on the minutes of the ap
pointment of a committee to visit a woman who had
fallen away from church attendance. Later, in the
same spirit, the session requested the pastor to preach
against theater-going, card playing and dancing. This
deliverance was prepared, passed on, corrected, ap-
clerk.
At the time of the Dlmmick secession In 1870 t he
church had left a membership of but sixty-seven and S
Sunday school enrollment ot 110, In a total population
of 16,000. Rev. George D. Stewart came as pastor la
September 1870, and remained with the struggling;
congregation through the panic and the grasshopper
years. All the time a heavy debt was resting on
the congregation, but it grew steadily, and when ha
left on a call to Fort Madison, la., in 1877, the con
gregation numbered 138, with the like number In the
Sunday school. Of the persons uniting with the church
during Dr. Stewart'a pastorate only nine now remain:
Mrs. Laura J. Cooley, Mrs. Cornelia Carrier, Mrs. E. M.
Morsman, Mrs. Sarah Lockridge, Miss Mae Evans, Miss
Minnie Wilson, Mrs. S. F. Woodbridge, Mrs. A. D.
proved by the session, but was never delivered, me
not anDear: but Judge Kennedy's investl-
Judge Kennedy, in his historical review, sets down Uon Drougbt to light a vote indefinitely postponing Schermerhorn, Mrs. Thomas A. Crelgh.
the fact that most of those of the "Old Church" who .. ., ...v.,),.. hT reason of a change of views rj;n t T)na4ntt tr u
" - UlUllidblUU tfl X OiOlAJL UOlDUOh
Rev. William Justin Harsha, who succeeded Dr.
the people does not appear. Stewart, was ordained and installed October 31, 1877,
Stlit in the Church. " ' hls father- Rev- w- w- H"Bha D- D" belng th8
opiiu in iuo vuiuw preacher of the day. Mr. Harsha remained with the
During the summer of 1870 trouble loomed on the church almost fifteen years, and during that time the
horizon, and' as a result Rev. Mr. Dlmmlck withdrew, standing debt was materially reduced, interest charges
It. reading.
remained in Omaha when the new congregation was, qq part of the eBBlon or cf manners on the part of
lormed united wun it. l nese numDereu nine, ana
eight others came from the First ' Congregational
church. ' . ?
First Board of Officers.
At the meeting the following . officers were
chosen: Robert Mitchell. John H. Kellom and Andrew taking with him a majority of the congregation. Elders cut down, and the membership Increased to. 200, the
Unpromising Outlook.
Mr. Bergen continued as pastor of the First
church for two years, but In the spring ot '59 he
pushed on west to bring the Gospel to the miners.
Stated services were not resumed uutil December,
when, the day before Christmas, George H. Webster,
from Philadelphia, assumed charge of the little congre
gation. While he was the active spirit, he had not
yet been ordained, and Judge Kennedy's paper noted
the fact that Rev. William McCandllsh or "Father".
Hamilton officiated at all communion services and
baptisms during the pastorate of Mr. Walker. When
the latter suddenly gave up the struggle in the sum
mer of 1860, the congregation was, to all intents and
purposes, dissolved.
, By this time seven church organizations were
striving for a foothold in Omaha, for, in addition to
those already mentioned the Lutherans had been or
ganized by Rev. Henry W. Kuhns, the Baptists by
Rev, G. W. Barnes and the Mormons were actively
propagating their peculiar beliefs.
While the original Presbyterian congregation of
Omaha had been "Old Church," as noted, the real be
ginning of the present First Tresbyterlan now fin
ishing the celebration of its fiftieth anniversary was
under "New Church" auspices. The call was pub
lished in the fall of 18C0, in the Omaha newspapers;
and on October 10 a meeting was held at the residence
of E. F Cook. Robert Mitchell was chairman and J.'
P. Black secretary. Those assembled selected Messrs.
A. R. Orchard, O. P. Hurrord and E. 1 Cook as a
committee to correspond with the board of home mis
sions and to thus procure the names of such persons
as might be Interested in giving support to the new
church, If organized. A week later, at a second meet
ing. It was announced that subscriptions sufficient to
arsure the success of the project had been secured. J.
It. Kellom, clerk of the first 6esslou, made the follow
ing entry In the record:
Arrival of Pastor Dimmick.
"The Rev. F. M. Dlmmlck of the presbytery of
Cincinnati, O.. came to this city as the commissioner
of the general assembly of the New School Presbyte
rian church of the I'nlted States, through their execu
tive cowuUUw at Philadelphia, and preached for us in
R. Orchard, ruling elders; Oliver P. Hurford and Ed
Ward F. Cook, deacons; James P. Black, O. P. Harford
and E. F. Cook, trustees. .Mr. Kellom . was elected
clerk of the session and held that office until February,
1870.
A special act of the territorial legislature of Ne
braska incorporated the church in January,, 1861, as
the "Second Presbyterian church of Omaha City."
Meredith and Huntington and Deacon Hurford stood Sunday school also having an encouraging growth.
with the minority, "a group of brave and loyal souls,
on whom rested the burden of a heavy debt," as J udge
Kennedy puts it.
Mr. Dlmmlck proceeded to organize an inde
pendent church in December. It was to be known as
the Central Presbyterian, and had a membership of
eighty to start with. Shortly afterward Mr. Dinimick
Worship was held by the congregation up to April, accepted a call to Santa Rosa; Cal., and the new church
fell apart. Of Tastor Dlmmlck, Judge Kennedy said in
his address: '"He was aggressive and impulsive, with
the weakness of those qualities. ' I do not find that
he was ever formally installed, though he ministered
to the church for nearly ten years. He died in Cali
fornia only a few years ago."
In his address Judge Kennedy pointed out the in
teresting coincidence that, while Mr. Dlmmick left
1861, in the Congregational church which stood on
the site now occupied by the People's Store. Then use
was made of the Baptist church, at that time on the
north Bide of Douglas street, between Fifteenth and
Sixteenth. Soon the first court house was finished at
Sixteenth and Farnani streets, and by furnishing its
own seati the congregation secured permission to use
a room therein, which was used from November of
18C1 to November of 18C6. The only intermission in
this use of the court house room was during the sum
mer of 1864, when the Congregational church was
without a pastor and the two congregations held union
services In the church building. From November 19,
1SG6, to Christmas time, 1868, the Presbyterians again
used the Congregational church.
More Good Work in December.
As the result of good work by a committee to
which the buying ot a lot and the building of a church
had been entrusted, the Presbyterians were able to
hold services in the basement of the, present church
in Christmas week of 1868. To Bet down this fact
without elaboration does not convey a proper impres
sion of the campaign made by the church for a home
of its own. This began lu October, 1864, at the annual
meeting of the church and two months later the bite
of the existing building was purchased for . $1,250.
The church had a membership of but fifty-five persons,
yet in December, 1864, a building committee was
named, consisting of Dr. Gilbert C. Monnell,. O. P.
Hurford, John R. Meredith, J. P Black and J. N. Ire
land. These men found the coet of building materials
soaring as they are today, so nothing further was done
until after the war had closed.
February 1, 1866, the trustees were authorized
to proceed to erect a church building and in the fol
lowing July the first contract was let to John Green.
The cost of the finished structure waa to be about
$30,000. When the first service waa held in the base?
ment. the women of the cougregatton "most active
and efficient, then as now," writes Judge Kennedy-
It was 1879 before stoves that did not heat the
edifice were replaced by a furnace that gave a com
forting warmth, and it was 18(14 before the church was
entirely out of debt.' Then a new debt of $5,000 had to
be contracted to equip the church with galleries, In
order to provide necessary accommodation. In the
next year the trustees bought a pipe organ for $3,000,
paid musical director,. Frank S. Smith, having been
engaged since 1881. Despite these new obligations,
the church was again free from debt In 1889, and
never since has it carried any mortgage Indebtedness.
By 1890 the membership had growp to over 600,
and with the passing years other churches had sprung
from the branch Sabbath schools that had been con
ducted, notably the North Presbyterian at Twenty
fourth and Nicholas; the Southwest Presbyterian at
Fresh Fish is Fresh in Copenhagen
w
HEN a person buys fresh fish In Copen
hagen he really getslt- More than that,
he gets unoontamlnated fish.. The sew-r
ers used to empty Into the sea at the
nearest convenient points. ' Now the
sewage is collected into a main trunk
line and carried two kilometers out to
sea before it is released, .. says the . London
Lancet. This not only puts, an end to the nuisances
that used to arise, but enables boats full of live fish
to come close to shore and right into the town by
means of the salt water canals.
In this manner at least the smaller fish are kept
alive until the moment they are sold. Any number of
wooden boats are pierced with holes and filled with
fish; these boats Just float on the surface of the water,
and the living fish Is taken out of them when wanted.
But as everyone cannot go to the water's edge to
buy fish there are water tanks on wheels and the live
fish are brought to the doors of the people's houses.
The principal fish market was built by the munici
pality and Is let to a wholesale fish salesman.
It Is a delight to see how clean and bright these
premises are kept. There is no spreading the fish on
Blabs so that dust and dirt may settle on them. Very
pretty tessellated tile tanks are filled with running
water, and here the smaller fish swim about. The
larger fish, such as cod or halibut, are too cumbersome
to keep alive, and are therefore placed in the cold
storage rooms.
Not only are the fish fresh, but they are well
cooked. At Copenhagen the domestic servants' trade
union has Instituted a school where members of the
union are taught how to be clean and neat, how to
sew, to wash and starch, and above all bow to cook.
A little restaurant is attached to this school where any
one can have a cheap meal, thus giving the pupils an
Opportunity of exercising their art.
'.The trade union, while Insisting that a good
servant shall earn from 25 to 30 kroner (a krone
equals 1 shilling twopence) a month and pay half a
krone subscription to her union, does at the same time
endeavor to render her fully competent to accom
plish her work. Also, by providing sleeping accom
modations, it helps to prevent servant girls falling
into bad company or suffering undue hardships when
out of employment.
, In the same way there is an old frigate moored
In a canal close to the most fashionable center of the
town. Here there is a school for ships' cooks. On
board a ship with the limited space such as prevails
at sea young cooks try their 'prentice hands at making
dishes such as are served to paesenzers on sea voyages.
There is sn awning on the deck, tables are laid out
and numerous inhabitants of Copenhagen take their
meals there, for tbey are both varied and Inexpensive.
Thus fully qualified cooks are prepared for the sea.
Twentieth and Leavenworth; the German Presbyterian
on Eighteenth near Cuming; the Castellar Street
church, the Ambler Place church, the Lows Avenui
church, the Knox church, the Westminster (whosa
congregation went almost bodily from, the mother
congregation), Grace church, the Bohemian, the Clif
ton Hill and the Bedford Place churches. All were
strongly influeuced, aided and encouraged by the Origi
nal congregation, which regards with affection those
that have survived the stress of time.
Named by Act of Legislature,
In April 1888, by act of the legislature, the name
was changed to "The First Presbyterian Church of
Omaha." Since 1870 the distinctions between "Old"
and "New" churches bad disappeared.
After Rev. J. Milton Greene, D. D., had acted as
supply pastor during the fall and winter of '92-93,
Rev. J. M. Patterson came from Tacoma as pastor In
May 1893, being installed in June. He remained only
a year, being disappointed In the ambition, to have
a new and larger church built. The hesitancy of the
congregation was wise, as the bad years of the early
'90a disrupted business quite severely.
Rev. Samuel Black McCormlck came sb pastor in
December 1894 and remained with the church until
September 1897. Then the church was without a pas
tor for nearly two years, but stated services were held
regularly. Rev. F. S. Stein, D. I)., of Lincoln waa
supply preacher a good part of the time
Rev. Edwin Hart Jenks arrived from Los Angeles,
Cal., to take the place of pastor In September 1899.
He has been a tower of strength to the cause of his
Master ever since, and the congregation hopes he will
long remain. His pastorate has been markedly suc
cessful in every respect. Sln:e 1903 the church
treasury has always shown a balance on band, and the
membership has grown to that point where it becomes
necessary to build a new and larger house of wor
ship. To that end a site has been purchased at Thirty
fourth and Farnam streets, and the trustees have been
authorized to sell the present building and site when
they deem it wise to do so.
From all of which It will be seen the First
Presbyterian church is a vital part of the life of
Omaha, from its village days to the present moment,
when the city takes high rank for Ua religious life, for
its culture and educational advantages and as a giant
among the commercial and financial centers of the
nation. '
Any history of the First church that left out the
custodian would be incomplete. John L. llobbs has
held the position for the last thirty years, with entire
satisfaction to the pastors, the officers and the mem
bers of the congregation. He has always been faith
ful to his duties and today Is as much a part of the
church as the pulpit. In a humble, but very useful,
capacity he has been doing the Lord's service for a
generation, and bids fslr to continue for many years.
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