Bibb County GaArchives Church Records.....History of Christ Church Parish, Macon - Pt.1 Copyright Date 1925 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 June 21, 2004, 12:37 am The History of Christ Church Parish Macon, Georgia March 5th, 1825 March 5th, 1925 Complied by Oliver J. Hart, Rector "Yet have Thou respect unto the prayer of Thy servant, and to his supplication, 0 Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee today: That Thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which Thou bast said, My name shall be there." 1 Kings 8:28,29. CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK COPYRIGHTED, 1925. BY THE REV. OLIVER J. HART. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. EDITION LIMITED TO THREE HUNDRED COPIES. FOREWORD. WHEN it was decided to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of this Parish I was requested to prepare a historical sketch to be published at that time. I have had neither sufficient time nor data to prepare an accurate and complete history. Many interesting events and acts worthy of commemoration have not been mentioned. Many names of those who loved and labored for this Parish have been omitted. All such events and names in the memory of those living should be made into a definite record which would form the basis for a more adequate history. I would like to be informed of any errors in the present sketch. I have quoted freely from an address by the Reverend Chauncey C. Williams, delivered in December 1877; from "The History of Christ Church Parish," compiled by the Reverend J. R. Winchester in 1884; and from "The History of St. Barnabas' Mission" by Theresa M. Setley. Grateful acknowledgement is made for information furnisbed by Mrs. G. C. Conner, Mrs. John Ingalls, Miss Mary Baber-Blackshear and others. Our thanks are due to the Ladies' Aid Society for underwriting the cost of publication and agreeing to pay the deficit. OLIVER J. HART, Compiler. March 5, 1925. RECTORS OF CHRIST CHURCH BEGAN RESIGNED Rev. Lot Jones March, 1825 cir. January, 1827 Rev. Seneca Bragg January, 1833 August, 1846 Rev. Joseph Shanklin August, 1846 October, 1854 Rev. H. K. Rees October, 1854 June, 1869 Rev. Benjamin Johnson June, 1869 February, 1875 Rev. Chauncey Williams August, 1875 January, 1878 Rev. Otis A. Glazebrook February, 1878 January, 1882 Rev. J. R. Winchester February, 1882 February, 1890 Rev. F. F. Reese April, 1890 November, 1903 Rev. Wm. Bohler Walker February, 1904 October, 1907 Rev. John S. Bunting March, 1908 January, 1915 Rev. Charles L. Wells February, 1915 September, 1916 Rev. Robert F. Gibson December, 1916 May, 1920 Rev. Oliver J. Hart October, 1920 CONTENTS 1825-1833 9 1833-1850 21 1850-1869 35 1869-1891 48 1891-1915 73 1915-1925 89 Memorials 109 Officers of Christ Church 113 HISTORY OF CHRIST CHURCH 1825-1833 At the first Convention of the Diocese of Georgia, held in February 1823, there was instituted a society called, "The Protestant Episcopal Society for the General Advancement of Christianity in the State of Georgia." It was under the auspices of this society that the Reverend Lot Jones made a missionary tour throughout the State in February 1825, and visited Macon. The people here had been for some time without any form of public worship and there was no resident minister. A large and attentive congregation assembled and the services of our Church were duly conducted. The congregation requested the Reverend Mr. Jones to give them as much of his time as possible and, consequently, after a short visitation to other parts of the State, he returned and took up his residence in Macon. At an informal meeting held in the Lodge room of Macon Lodge F. and A. M. No. 5, located on Cotton Avenue, the following resolutions were drawn up and signed: "At a meeting of sundry citizens of Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, favorable to the establishment of a reglar mode of religious worship, holden on the 5th of March, 1825, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted: " `Whereas, in all societies, some mode of religious worship is necessary, for the harmony, government and well-being thereof; we do hereby agree to associate our-selves as a congregation, for the performance of public worship, according to the rites and usages of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America-to be known and called by the name of Christ Church, in the Town of Macon, State of Georgia. Therefore, " `Resolved, That the Rev. Lot Jones be appointed Rector thereof. " `Resolved, That the Hon. C. B. Strong and Dr. A. Baber be appointed Wardens thereof. " Resolved, That Capt. Luke J. Morgan, Charles Bullock, Gen. J. M. McDonald, Edmund D. Tracy, E. McCall, R. Birdsong, and Thomas Campbell, be appointed Vestrymen thereof. " `Resolved, That Simri Rose be Treasurer, and Nathaniel Barker, Secretary thereof. " `Resolved, That we will be governed by the Edicts and Rules of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Georgia. " `Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be forthwith forwarded to the Standing Committee of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this Diocese.' (Signed) "NATHAN'L BARKER, Sec'y." The above resolutions were subsequently submitted to a meeting of the citizens generally, with the result that they were forwarded to the Diocesan Convention, which met in St. Paul's Church, Augusta, on the eighteenth of April. Whereupon the following resolution was placed before the Convention and passed unanimously: "Resolved, That Christ Church, Macon, be, and hereby is received into union with the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this Diocese." Mr. Jones then read to the Convention a letter from the Hon. C. B. Strong, in which be said: "Thrice happy should I be, were I enabled, as an humble representative of our newly formed society, to meet our dear brethren in Convention; but you know the weighty and very imperious circumstances that forbid. Situated as I am, all I can do is to communicate through you to the members of the Convention, my feeble views and humble desires. You know, by the short tour you have made through the State, the forlorn and scattered situation of the almost lost sheep of our flock-their destitute and bewildered condition; and how little is known of our holy faith and sublime mode of worship. You are also in some degree apprised of what might be done, were there proper means employed for raising our venerable Church from the dust." Christ Church was the first congregation organized in Macon. Its lay officers were representative men of the community. The Reverend Lot Jones was himself a Mason, and evidently most of the lay officers were also Masons. However, they were evidently not all Episcopalians because in the Act of the Georgia Legislature to incorporate the Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Baptist Churches in the Town of Macon and the County of Bibb, R. Birdsong was named as one of the trustees of the Baptist Church. This Act was passed on December 26, 1826, and the part relative to Christ Church reads as follows: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same. . . that Christopher B. Strong, Edward D. Tracy, Albert G. Clopton, Addison Mandell, and Reuben Burroughs and their successors in office, shall be, and they are hereby declared to be, a body corporate, by the name and style of the wardens and vestry of the Protestant Episcopal Christ Church, in the town of Macon and County of Bibb; and the said trustees . . .are hereby authorized to have and use a common seal and they are hereby made capable in law of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, and of having, holding, and enjoying real and personal property for the uses of the churches aforesaid respectively, and for the support of the ministers of the Gospel of said churches. "IRBY HUDSON, Speaker of the House of Representatives. "THOMAS STOCKS, President of the Senate. "G. M. TROUP, Governor." It will be seen, from the foregoing, that Christopher B. Strong and Edward D. Tracy are the only signers of the original resolutions in 1825 who were named as trustees of Christ Church by the Legislature in 1826. At first the growth of the Parish seems to have been rapid. It quickly gathered a Sunday School numbering about fifty pupils. The editor of the "Savannah Georgian," having visited Macon, wrote, under date of December 1, 1825: "I was delighted with the place and its growing prosperity. Last March two years ago, it was a wilderness. It has now thirty-two stores; has cotton stored from sixteen counties, and perhaps nothing characterizes its refinement more conclusively than the fact that it maintains an Episcopal minister." The subject of building a Church was at once proposed, and when the Convention of the Diocese met in Macon the following year, (1826), the cause was earnestly commended to the generosity of all members of the Church throughout the State. This Convention assembled in the Courthouse, a plain wooden building on the corner of Mulberry and Third Streets, April 24, 1926. This was nearly fifteen years before the consecration of Bishop Elliott, and the Diocese of Georgia was under the provisional care of the Right Reverend Nathaniel Bowen, Bishop of South Carolina, who presided in the Convention. The services, held in connection with the sessions of the Convention, created a lively interest throughout the community. The Parish itself was strengthened, and the first confirmation ever held in Macon was on Tuesday, April 25, 1826, in the old Courthouse. The Holy Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper were also administered, and several missionary addresses delivered by the Reverend Abel Carter, of Christ Church, Savannah. Bishop Bowen, in his Convention address, said: "The esteem and confidence which the Reverend Mr. Jones has already caused to rest upon him, personally and professionally, are promissory of his making himself, in this flourishing portion of the State, the instrument of an honorable advancement of the work, to which, with a pious zeal so pure, and with a character of manners and disposition so amiable, he is devoted." At this Convention Mr. Jones made the following report: REV. LOT JONES, Rector CHRIST CHURCH, MACON Baptism-Infant 1 Marriage 1 Funerals 5 Communicants 9 A Sunday School of fifty scholars. The following parochial report was made to the Fifth Annual Convention of the Diocese, which met in Savannah on Monday, February 12, 1827: "Christ Church, Macon-The Rev. Lot Jones, late Rector. "Baptisms 8; Marriages 3; Funerals 6; Communicants 10; Scholars in the Sunday School 50. "This Church has been incorporated by the Legislature of the State, and received from them a site for the erection of a House of Worship; towards which, about one thousand dollars have been subscribed by the inhabitants of Macon. (The site referred to is on the southeast corner of First and Poplar Streets). A Clergyman might receive the greater part of his support from the people of the place; and preach a portion of his time in the neighbouring villages. A highly interesting field of labour is here rendered vacant, by the removal of the recent incumbent, which cannot fail to receive the continued attention of the friends of the Church and is earnestly recommended to their notice and favourable regard. A number of respectable and intelligent young men, who may be regarded as the future pillars of this rising and flourishing town, manifest a laudable determination to support the Episcopal mode of worship and encounter all the difficulties, with which, in their secluded situation, they may have to con-tend. May the great Head of the Church, without whose blessing, all our efforts will be fruitless, crown their incipient exertions with the most abundant success, to the praise and glory of His name!" To this same Convention, (1827), the Society for the General Advancement of Christianity in Georgia reported: "We deeply regret that the Rev. Mr. Jones, by whose assiduous labours, Christ Church, at Macon, was founded and organized, has resigned its Rectorship, and removed from that place; carrying with him the esteem and regrets of its citizens. Deeply solicitous that this new and interesting congregation should be supplied with the ministrations of the Church, they have accordingly recommended to the Board of Trust, that this should be made a missionary station; indulging the hope, that the friends of the Church there will readily, to the extent of their ability, co-operate with them for its establishment and support." It will be seen from the above report that some time between the meeting of the Fourth Annual Diocesan Convention in Macon in April, 1826, and the Fifth Annual Convention, which met in Savannah in February, 1827, the Reverend Lot Jones resigned the Rectorship of this Parish and moved away from Macon. Speaking of his work, the Reverend Chauncey C. Williams says: "The work done here by the Rev. Lot Jones was really very remarkable under the conditions of the time. He succeeded in gathering together a number of prominent people, many of whom had little knowledge of the Church and no special connections with it, and with this material developed a good working Parish organization. Services were regularly held and largely attended. A most successful Sunday School was inaugurated and steps were taken for the building of a Church, when suddenly the whole work seemed to go to pieces. Something happened. It was called in those days a ‘religious revival,’ a period of strange excitement and wonderful doings. It was a curious misnomer to call this outbreak a `religious revival'. Perhaps it was felt that calling it so might make it so. Some people like to feel that way. However, in the track of this cyclone, the work of the Church in this town was left seemingly wrecked." In 1830, an attempt was made to reorganize the Parish and a subscription list was circulated for the support of a minister. The original document is preserved in the archives of the Parish and reads as follows: "To reorganize a Protestant Episcopal Church in the town of Macon and to secure the services of a clergyman by affording him an assurance of a comfortable support during his ministry among us, the subscribers do agree to pay on demand for the object above mentioned to any person or persons who may be appointed for the collection of the same, the several sums of money affixed to their respective names-November 22, 1830." Then follows the list of subscribers: Isaac G. Seymour Rufus R. Smith Oliver Sage R. Burroughs John B. Wick James Rea J. Willcox A. R. Woodson C. Townsend William Bivins Robert Parkman Edward Kellogg G. D. Young C. B. Strong Benj. C. Franklin E. C. Bulkley John Harrison H. Yonge Joseph Davison E. L. Shelton John W. Bartleman Mason Hutchings Wm. P. Hunter Robt. Collins Saml. Hannad George Jewett Joseph Phillips Charles A. Jones Levi Eckley Elam Alexander Geo. A. Smith R. W. Fort John Smith Chas. Washington U. J. Bullock A. Darragh D. Woodbury M. B. Wallis G. T. Conner B. R. Warner A. R. McLaughlin Charles Cotton Erastus Graves & Son Mrs. Jno. B. Lamar The amount of the subscriptions totaled $605.00. The name of Dr. Baber does not appear on this list, but it may well have been that he circulated the petition and had not added his own name, due to the fact that they did not know definitely of any minister to whom they might extend the call. Over two years elapsed before their efforts to secure a minister met with success. Bishop Elliott says of Dr. Baber: "From the moment of the first agitation to establish an Episcopal Church in Macon, Dr. Baber took the warmest interest in its progress, selected the plan of the edifice, superintended much of the building, and contributed largely of his means to its erection and support." The following minutes of a meeting, held in April of the next year, are preserved in the records of the Parish: "At a meeting of the friends of the Protestant Episcopal Church, convened (agreeably to previous notice in the gazettes of this town) in the Courthouse in Macon on Monday evening the 4th of April, 1831. "Wm. P. Hunter, Esq., was called to the chair and D. Woodbury requested to act as secretary, when "On motion of Doct. Baber the meeting proceeded to ballot for two wardens and five vestrymen. When Wm. P. Hunter, Esq., was elected first warden; C. B. Strong, Esq., second warden, and Messrs. A. Baber, I. G. Seymour, O. Sage, R. R. Smith and D. Woodbury were chosen vestrymen. "The funds of the Church as verbally reported to the meeting consist of the proceeds of the sale of a lot granted to the Protestant Episcopal Church of Macon, amounting to twenty-four hundred dollars to be paid at six, twelve, and eighteen months from the day of sale (the day of sale 17th Jan'y, 1831) and about six hundred dollars sub-scribed by individuals friendly to the Church in Macon-a large part of which is supposed to be available on demand. "Resolved that this meeting of the friends of Christ Church in Macon approve of the sale on the 17th Jan'y, 1831, of the lot No. 5 in Square No. 41 in the town of Macon granted by the Legislature of the State of Georgia to the Protestant Episcopal Church and request that the proper officers of the Church make titles to the said lot agreeable to the terms of the sale. "Mr. Sage from the committee further reported that under appointment of a former meeting of the friends of the Church they have purchased for the use of the church one half of lot No. 5 in Square No. 18 in the town of Macon cornering on Walnut and Third Streets for which they have promised to give four hundred dollars-payable on the 17th of July next. "Resolved, that this meeting approve of the purchase made by the Committee and direct the payment to be made in the terms of the purchase and that titles be received by the proper officers of the Church. "On motion it was unanimously resolved that the wardens be empowered and requested to procure a Clergyman for this church. "The members then proceeded to ballot for a Treasurer, when A. R. McLaughlin was declared duly elected. "On motion it was then ordered that the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the Chairman and Secretary and the minutes of the same banded over to the Treasurer-when the meeting was adjourned. Signed (Signed) Wm. P. Hunter, "D. Woodbury, Sec'y. Chairman." The Tenth Annual Diocesan Convention was held in Macon in May 18 3 2. The delegates from this Parish were: Dr. Ambrose Baber, Wm. P. Hunter, and Robert A. Beall. The following parochial report was made from this Parish: "Christ Church, Macon-No Minister. "The Wardens and Vestry of Christ Church, at Macon, "Report: That their diligent endeavours to procure the services of a resident minister, have thus far been unsuccessful. Their destitution is the more to be lamented, because without the services of a minister, many of those among us who prefer the Church modification of Christian service, have been constrained to unite with others in their public devotion whose forms are less acceptable, not from a want of true Christian piety, but the absence of that method which had received and continues to command their preference from early impression. "As this portion of the State is not often visited by ministers of our Church from abroad, they are probably ignorant of the field for usefulness which is here presented. Although the means of our congregation would at first be limited, an adequate support would be afforded to the minister who might be settled among us, and it would be increased in proportion to the success with which his labors were blessed. "We do not despair, trusting to the promise made by the Author of all good, `That where two or three are gathered together in My name, I will be in the midst of them to bless them.' We will continue our efforts to obtain a minister yet a little longer, humbly beseeching the Almighty, that He may be pleased soon to send among us one who may be mighty in building up the desolations of Zion." To this same Convention, the Protestant Episcopal Society for the General Advancement of Christianity in Georgia reported: "A congregation organized some years since at Macon, are very anxious to secure the services of a minister, who would at once unite their hearts, and strengthen their hands to build a house of worship. They have already purchased a lot for this purpose, and have funds in hand for the commencement of the pious work. "The town of Macon contains 3,500 inhabitants, and is considered a healthy place, being situated in a high and hilly country, and possessing all the advantages of a northern climate. The situation is highly desirable for any zealous man who may be disposed to build up the desolation of Zion, without entering into other men's labours, and, as such we beg leave to commend it to the attention of the Clergy generally." The difficulties of securing a clergyman for this Parish are shown by the following letter written to Dr. Ambrose Baber. "Bedford, Va., June 5th, 1832. "My dear Sir: "In compliance with a promise made you in a letter a few weeks since I address you again on the subject of a minister whom you are so anxious to obtain for your interesting town. It is with pain my dear friend I am compelled to say that my efforts to supply your wants have, as yet, proved ineffectual. Although we had 8 young men ordained from our Seminary I found them all pre-engaged: indeed such is the demand for Episcopal clergymen in Virginia that there is literally a snatching and scrambling for them among the different parishes. You may judge of the state of things when I inform you that our Diocesan Missionary Society has not been enabled for three years to procure the services of a minister. But my dear sir, don't despair: I can't doubt but that God will send you a clergyman after having put into your heart so earnest a desire to be favored with his ministrations. The Church of our fathers is lifting up her head: the number of young men looking to the ministry is greatly increasing and we may cherish the hope of soon seeing a mighty host of laborers successfully toiling in the vineyard of the Lord. Again I would affectionately say to you, don't give up the ship, but bear up a little longer and the Lord will hear your prayers and bless your efforts. Perhaps from a source you least expect, help will be raised up in your behalf. It must be that God has some designs of mercy towards His Church in your town, from having infused in your hearts so strong a desire for the services of a clergyman. May He speedily send you one after His Own heart to build you up in the faith and to qualify you for the joy of His heavenly kingdom. We had a very interesting convention in Alexandria: Plainly the Lord is with His Church shedding upon her, after a long night of adversity, the beams of His love and mercy. Whilst faction, heresy and schism are making sad havoc among other denominations, there is with us the utmost harmony and concord. In these days of radicalism, of ecclesiastical iconoclasm, the beauty and excellency of our Apostolic Church are eminently conspicuous. Unless I am greatly deceived in the signs of the times our Church with her evangelical forms and primitive ministry will prove to be in this country and as she ever has been in England the great `Bulwark' of the Protestant Religion-the very sheet anchor of sound and vital Religion. I will send you one of our Journals as soon as they are published and forwarded to me; and in return I beg you to favor me with a copy of yours for this year, if it be convenient to obtain one. May Almighty God abundantly bless you-making you rich in the comforts of the Gospel and strong in the hopes of a glorious immortality. "Very sincerely, your friend, "N. W. Cobbs. "Dr. A. Baber." THE FIRST COMMUNION CUP AND BOWL The cup and the bowl shown on the preceding page were both originally owned by the Rev. George D. Sweet, one of the early Rectors of Christ Church, Savannah. They were presented by Mr. Sweet to Dr. Ambrose Baber. Dr. Baber offered the cup for use in the first celebration of the Holy Communion in Christ Church. It must have been used at the very first communion services held in Macon; at least we have no record of an earlier .one. This was, of course, before any Church structure was built and while services were being held in the old Courthouse on Mulberry Street. It was also used when the services were held in the basement of the old bank building on the corner of Walnut and Third Streets. The bowl was the first baptismal bowl used in this Parish. It was likewise used before the first Church building was erected. The first baptism performed by Bishop Beckwith after his consecration was that of Dr. Baber's grandson, Paul Baber-Blackshear, and this bowl was used on that occasion. Both the cup and the bowl have had a singular history. The vessel containing the personal effects of Dr. Baber was wrecked in the Mediterranean Sea, and these went to the bottom with the other cargo. Afterwards they were recovered by a diver who descended and found them. The one purpose of the diver was, of course, to secure what might have seemed more valuable property, but by a strange fortune these two little treasures, so intimately connected with the history of this Parish, were recovered. They are now in the possession of Dr. Baber's two granddaughters, the Misses Baber-Blackshear. 1833-1850 Finally the services of the Reverend Seneca G. Bragg were secured and he became Rector of the Parish the first week of January 1833. To his faithful ministry of nearly fourteen years this Parish is indebted under God for its revival and permanent establishment. During the first months of his ministry here services were held in different places, among others, in the basement of the house on the southwest corner of Third and Walnut Streets. At that time it was used as a bank, and the first communion service which Mr. Bragg held in this Parish was celebrated there in the counting room of Mr. William Hunter. The following parochial report was made to the Diocesan Convention, April 1833: "CHRIST CHURCH, MACON. "Rev. S. G. Bragg, Minister. "To the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the State of Georgia: "The Rector of Christ Church, Macon, respectfully reports: "That he entered on his ministerial duties, in this Parish, the first week in January last. "The comparatively few persons, who still retain their attachment to the Protestant Episcopal Church, have manifested a firm resolution to unite their efforts, with a view to its revival, and permanent establishment in this city. No stronger evidence of their intention could be given, than is furnished in the proceedings of the Vestry. The members of that body have promptly assumed the responsibility of contracting for the erection of a Church Edifice, which is to be completed in October next. This step has been taken in full confidence, that many friends of our Zion, throughout the Diocese, will feel a pleasure in aiding their operations, according to their ability. Without such assistance, the zeal of our little band may fail of accomplishing their desire to render this feeble outpost a future stronghold of primitive faith and piety. "It is expected of the Rector and Delegates, representing this Parish in Convention, that they will frankly state the circumstances, under which a pledge has been given to raise necessary funds, for providing a suitable house for public worship, adapted to the peculiar services of our Church. They would hope, however, that the exhibition of such real, not imaginary wants, already made, together with the exertions of certain friends, who have generously anticipated a direct application, will result in a substantial proof of the strength and purity of those principles, which form an endearing bond of union between brethren of the same Christian household. "The number of Episcopal families, attending our Services, is eight. "There are three male and five female communicants; four having been added (two of them by certificate from another denomination), since the commencement of last February. "One adult has been recently baptized. "Marriages, none; Funerals, none. "Circumstances have hitherto prevented any attempt to organize a Parish Sunday School. "In conclusion, the Rector begs leave to commend that portion of the moral vineyard, included in his charge, to the fostering care of the Convention; especially of the Clerical Members, and the Right Rev. Presiding Bishop; and to acknowledge, with gratitude, the numerous mercies bestowed, by the Divine Head of the Church, on his unprofitable servant. "Macon, April 10, 1833. SENECA G. BRAGG." The lot which had been given to the Parish by the State had been sold to Mr. Leroy M. Wiley, with the understanding that, on demand of the Vestry, he should pay the purchase money with interest to date. Mr. Wiley subsequently re-moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and when called upon to fulfill his part of the contract, declined to pay, but offered to give the lot back to the Church. This the Vestry declined to accept, and put their claim in the hands of Mr. James L. Petigru, of South Carolina, for collection. The Parish was successful in the law suit which followed, and received the sum of $3,392.90 on June 3, 1837. Meantime the present lot on Walnut Street had been bought for $700.00. Mr. Bragg at once set to work to raise funds for the building of the Church. The people, inspired by his enthusiasm, zealously seconded his efforts. Offerings came from different parts of the State, and also very generously from the Diocese of South Carolina, and on Sexagesima Sunday, 1834, the first Episcopal Church in Macon was opened for divine service. It was built in the form of a Roman Cross and was surmounted by a dome. There was a gallery at the end opposite the chancel and the Church contained sittings, in all, for between three hundred and four hundred people. The pews were all rented from the day that they were offered for that purpose, with the exception of four pews which, by resolution of the Vestry, dated December 5, 1833, were set aside for strangers. A considerable debt was still upon the Church and lot and this was gradually liquidated. In the year following the building of the Church the Rector acknowledged gifts of a beautiful chandelier and a sweet-toned organ. This chandelier and the first font are now in St. Luke's Church, Hawkinsville, Georgia. This organ was the first that had ever been brought to Macon, .and its use in the services of the Church is said to have produced a sensation in religious circles of the community. The Church, being free of debt, was consecrated and set apart to the services of Almighty God according to the Rites and Usages of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, on the twenty-fifth day of March, 1838. The Bishop consecrating was the Right Reverend Jackson Kemper, Missionary Bishop for the States of Missouri and Indiana, acting at the request of Bishop Bowen, of South Carolina. The original papers, relating to the consecration, are preserved among the archives of the Parish. Among them are the Instrument of Donation, executed by the Vestry and signed by Seneca G. Bragg, Rector; Nathan C. Munroe, Warden; I. G. Seymour, Charles Day and H. K. Carter, Vestrymen; and also the Bishop's sentence of consecration with his Episcopal seal attached. The latter reads as follows: "The Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of Christ Church, Macon, in Bibb County, Georgia, having requested me to consecrate and set apart the House of Worship lately erected in and for the said Parish- "Be it known, that on this twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, with the rites and solemnities prescribed, I have consecrated and set apart the said House of Worship; separating it henceforth from all unhallowed, worldly, and common uses; and dedicating it to the service of the Eternal God, offering to his glorious Majesty the sacrifices of prayer and thanksgiving, for blessing His people in His name, and for the performance of all other offices, through Jesus Christ our blessed Lord and Saviour, and according to the Rites and Worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. "In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my band and seal, and delivered this instrument, at the City of Macon, this said twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and in the third year of my consecration. "JACKSON KEMPER, "Missionary Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church for the States of Missouri and Indiana and now officiating at the request of the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Bowen, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina." At the same time Bishop Kemper administered the Holy Rite of Confirmation to twenty persons. Speaking of his visit, Mr. Bragg said: "We desire to record our grateful sense of the benefits which have already flowed from that visit, and our confidence that it will long continue to exert a happy influence on all the interests of our Parish, together with deep solicitude in relation to the future enjoyment of Episcopal supervision and services." Mr. Bragg continued to stress the importance of the diocese having its own bishop. On February 28, 1841, the Reverend Stephen Elliott was consecrated Bishop of Georgia. The Diocesan Convention of 1841 met in this Parish to welcome our first Bishop, coming in the vigor of his youth to spend his life for the Church in Georgia. Mr. Bragg reported (in 1842) that during the past year "some needful improvements had been made for the accommodation of the friends of the Church by the addition of nineteen new pews, the erection of a plain belfry and the purchase of a bell," and "a few young men of the congregation had generously presented a baptismal font of convenient form, chaste design and beautiful workmanship." The addition of new pews did not involve an addition to the building. It was accomplished simply by a change in the arrangement of the two transepts. Mr. Bragg's ministry was fruitful not only in works of material improvement, but in much spiritual zeal and in many activities. In the years 1835 and 1836 he made an effort to institute in the Parish a plan of systematic Church offerings. He succeeded in persuading a number of persons to adopt the Scripture method of laying by in store, upon the first day of the week, "as God had prospered them", and the effort was justified by a large increase in the missionary and other offerings of the congregation. In 1838, however, he merged this plan into another which seemed to promise a more general adoption and efficiency. His idea seems to have been to organize the whole Parish into a Benevolent Association, covering every department of Church work. This idea was never fully carried into effect; but one branch of it, the Ladies' Aid Society, prospered from the very first, and its history from that day until now is one of the noblest records in the life and work of Christ Church. In August 1846, the state of Mr. Bragg's health demanded an entire separation from the duties and responsibilities of his charge and he resigned as Rector. He then took up his residence at the Montpelier school. Speaking of him, Bishop Elliott said: "Nobly and earnestly and successfully did he labour, and now that he has worn himself out in the service of His Master, truly might he say to the flock of his gathering and nursing and feeding, `Ye know from the first day that I came among you, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind and with many tears and temptations. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ'." In 1855, Montpelier Institue was closed and Mr. Bragg returned for awhile to live in Macon. Speaking of his return, the Reverend H. K. Rees, then Rector of this Parish, in his annual report to the Diocese, says: "Among the blessings which a kind Providence has brought to us, is the return of the venerable Father of this Parish to reside among his people; for we all feel, both pastor and flock, that in having him among us we inherit a blessing." During a ministry of about fourteen years, Mr. Bragg had baptized one hundred and ninety-five persons, of whom twenty-seven were adults, one hundred and fifty-four white, and fourteen colored children. He had solemnized eighty-two marriages, officiated at one hundred and fifty-three funerals, and presented seventy-six persons for confirmation. In his last re-port to the Convention, he stated that the Church had seventy-five communicants, the Sunday School sixty pupils, and the Sunday School for colored children thirty pupils. During his ministry the Parish had contributed for Missions, $783.03, and to other benevolent objects, $2,247.00, making a total of $3,032.03, outside of current expenses and the funds contributed towards building the Church. Mr. Bragg remained in Macon until the summer of 1860 when he went to visit relatives in the North, and died on Monday, the twenty-first of January, 1861, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. A marble tablet was placed in the sanctuary of the Church by the ladies of the congregation, who had loved him in life and cherished his memory. The inscription reads as follows: To the memory of REV. SENECA G. BRAGG The Founder and beloved and faithful pastor of this Parish. He became its Rector A. D. 1832. In 1846 he was compelled by ill health to withdraw from his labours. He died Jan. 21st, A. D. 1861. He will continue to live in the grateful hearts of his people until all shall be called to enjoy with him a blessed reunion in their Master's Kingdom. Mr. Bragg was immediately succeeded by the Reverend Joseph A. Shanklin. Mr. Shanklin was admitted to the Holy Order of Priesthood in the chapel attached to St. Luke's Church, Montpelier, on the third Sunday of August 1846. He was a graduate of the University of Virginia and of the Theological Seminary at Alexandria, Virginia. He combined with rare intellectual ability a spiritual depth and earnestness which impressed itself with increasing power upon the congregation. He was highly gifted as a preacher and his life and work illustrated his preaching. His sermons were the outpourings of a heart full of love for his Saviour and for those whom the Saviour came to save. From the beginning to the close of his ministry here this Parish grew and prospered. The Journal of the Diocese, 1847, shows that the Committee on Missions was composed of the following: of the clergy, the Reverend Edward Neufville, D. D., Rector of Christ Church, Savannah, and the Reverend Joseph A. Shanklin; of the laity, N. C. Munroe, W. S. Williford and L. N. Whittle. It is interesting to note that one of the clerical and all three of the lay members were from this Parish, showing how vital was the interest in Missions in Christ Church at this time. Of the three lay delegates elected to represent this Parish at the annual Diocesan Convention in 1848, one was Dr. C. T. Quintard, afterwards the Bishop of Tennessee. DIAGRAM OF PEWS On the opposite page is shown a diagram of the pews in the first Church. This diagram is a copy of the chart which evidently hung in the vestibule of the Church during Mr. Shanklin's Rectorship. (This chart is preserved in the archives of the Parish. On the original chart the names were written on small pieces of cardboard and pasted on the diagram. These cardboard slips have dropped off for pews number 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 37, 38, 39, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53. The names given for these pews are taken from a list written by Mrs. Mary E. Baber, entitled, "The Original Pew Holders in Christ Church." Mrs. Baber's list corresponds with the original chart as to all the names still on the diagram with the exception that her list has Pew No. 54-James Green, while on the chart no such number appears. Only one pew, No. 32, is designated, "Free", whereas the Vestry decided on December 5, 1833, that four pews were to be set aside for strangers. The list of names on the diagram may not be complete. Some persons whose names are not given may have shared pews with those whose names are recorded. For example, there is evidence that Amos Benton purchased one of the pews to the left of the chancel, but his name does not appear. Some pews may have changed hands between 1834, the date of the opening of the first Church, and 1846-1850, the date of this chart. There are several minor mistakes in the names: No. 2, S. Hall for L. Hall; No. 5, Jaugstetter for Janjstetter; and perhaps others. 1850-1869 Mr. Shanklin had not been Rector for many months before it was apparent that a new and larger Church building was a necessity. On the twenty-eighth of January, 1850, the Wardens and Vestry resolved, in view of the small size and unsafe condition of the present edifice, to make an effort to build a new Church. Messrs. L. N. Whittle, N. C. Munroe, and John L. Jones were requested to obtain subscriptions. The original subscription list is preserved in the archives of the Parish and reads as follows: "For the purpose of building a new Protestant Episcopal Church in Macon, we, the undersigned hereby agree to pay to the Vestry and Wardens of Christ Church, Ma-con, the sums attached to our names respectively (provided the sum of $10,000.00 be bona fide subscribed for said purpose, otherwise said subscriptions to be void). As soon as said subscriptions are received one-fourth of each sum to be payable in cash and the other three-fourths in equal installments at three, six and nine months in notes to meet the progress of the work, all subscriptions of $50.00 and upwards to be re-salable and reimbursible as purchase money in the sale of pews in said Church as soon as sold -Macon, January 28th, 1850." Then follows a list of seventy-two persons with their subscriptions which total $11,880.00. J. A. White waived all pew rights. N. C. Munroe L. N. Whittle W. B. Parker H. K. Green Charles Day Thos. A. Brown W. B. Carhart Daniel C. Hodgkin Wm. Dibble M. S. Graybill Asher Ayres Jno. Boardman W. H. Bragg I. C. Plant Logan Atkinson J. J. L. Jones Isaac Scott Rea & Cotton James M. Green Sarah A. Usher J. D. Carhart George Payne Thomas Gibson James H. Bishop Peter & Jaugstetter Joseph Bond Mix & Kirtland Horace Fitch I. S. Hutton Z. T. Conner A. A. Roff Samuel Hall John T. Napier Wm. A. Ross James Harrold Jas. B. Artope N. Ousley & Son Hugh T. Powell J. B. Stow J. A. White F. S. Bloom I. M. Kibbee Lanier House W. S. Williford J. A. Shanklin Mrs. Skelton Napier Estate of F. E. Nicol Thos P. Stubbs John Low J. S. Hutton A Friend E. A. Wilcox R. L. Wood J. B. Ross E. Bond B. C. Stiles A. I. White Wm. Cowls James S. Fish John B. Lamar Mrs. Leroy Napier Wm. Collins Jas. B. Ayres G. R. Barker Wm. Benson E. A. Bradley Ladies' Association Dr. Banks C. A. Ells J. M. Bivins J. Monroe Ogden P. C. Mitchell G. R. Baker In his annual report to the Diocese in May 1851, Mr. Shanklin states: "In October last our Church building was taken down. For three months we worshipped in an inconvenient and out of the way room. Since then we have occupied a public hall which is used by nearly all the exhibitions which visit our city. In addition to all this the winter has been one of unusual worldliness and gaiety and it has required all the care and watchfulness of the Rector to prevent the spirit of the world from invading the Church." The corner stone of the new building was laid on Wednesday, the tenth of March, 1851. Bishop Elliott was prevented by illness from being present and Mr. Shanklin officiated. Every brick of the old building that could be used was incorporated in the new building. The members of the congregation would, with their own hands, pick up brick from the pile of the old and put them with the new brick. It was hoped that the Church would be completed in the fall of 1851, but the building was delayed by different causes and was not finished and ready for consecration until the following spring. It was consecrated on Sunday, May 2, 1852, by Bishop Elliott who later said of it: "This is a very chaste and capacious Church, having nearly double the sittings of the former Church. It reflects great credit on the congregation of Christ Church, Macon, who have built it entirely out of their own resources." The architecture of the Church is Gothic. The following are its dimensions: Eighty-seven by fifty-one feet in area; the height of main building is thirty-one feet; height of the tower, one hundred feet; buttresses to tower, each four feet thick; buttresses to main building, each three feet thick. The tower is surrounded by four pinnacles fifteen feet high, six on each side. The outer walls are finished in imitation of free stone. The interior is divided into ninety-two pews on the main floor, nine feet long; two galleries and an organ gallery. The Church cost, when completed, about $15,000.00. In order to improve the structure there was a change made from the original design at the suggestion of William B. Johnston, who liberally defrayed the expense of the change. Mr. Shanklin continued his hard and zealous work. He began to work among the colored people and in his annual report to the Diocesan Convention in May 1853, he states: "The Rector reports with gratitude and pleasure the addition of four colored communicants to his flock. The attendance of this class upon our service has been increasing, and it is hoped that a work has been commenced among them which will go on until numbers are brought within the fold of a Church so admirably adapted to their wants." In his annual report in the following year (1854) he states: "This Parish by a strong effort has relieved itself of all debt and now stands unembarrassed." In the summer of 1854, Mr. Shanklin was offered the Rectorship of St. Peter's Church, Charleston, South Carolina. He felt constrained by a sense of duty to accept the position, and on the fourteenth of July, 1854, he resigned as Rector of this Parish. He left for his new work in Charleston about the first of October; but he was not to labour long in his new field. A fearful epidemic of yellow fever broke out in Charleston in the summer of 1855. Mr. Shanklin refused to quit his post and fell a victim to the ravages of the fever while serving the distressed of that community. Bravely he had lived and bravely he died. Speaking of his death, Mr. Rees says: "We have been filled with sorrow and called deeply to mourn the death of one who was dear to all hearts, our venerable and beloved former pastor, the Reverend Joseph A. Shanklin, late Rector of St. Peter's Church, Charleston. This loss and grief we count our own, and our hearts bid our bands shroud the Church, reared by his efforts, with the emblems of mourning." A marble tablet on the walls of the sanctuary denotes the veneration of this Parish to his memory, but the Church in which we worship today is itself his monument. The inscription on the tablet reads as follows: IN MEMORY OF REV. JOSEPH A. SHANKLIN For eight years the earnest and faithful Rector of this Parish, and the loved friend and Pastor of its people! This building was erected during his Ministry. In September 1854, he was constrained by a sense of duty, to resign the charge of this Parish, for that of St. Peter's Church, Charleston, S. C., where in the faithful discharge of his duty, he fell a victim to the Yellow Fever. AUGUST 11, 1856. AGED 34 YEARS. "An excellent spirit was in him." Reverend Henry K. Rees, Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Darien, Georgia, was elected to succeed Mr. Shanklin, and entered upon his duties the first of October, 1854. Mr. Rees came to Macon a young man, having entered our Church after a short service in the Presbyterian Church. At this time he was a deacon. He was admitted to Priest's Orders in this Church on January 17, 1855, by Bishop Elliott. In his report to the Council of 1856, Mr. Rees reports, "Unity of feeling and kindliness of action have pervaded the congregation, evidenced by schemes of benevolent liberality originating with the laity, and generously executed". Mr. Rees' greatest love and force were in missionary work, and during his ministry at Christ Church he organized in the city and nearby towns missions that lived, and through his efforts and God's blessing, grew into self-supporting Churches. In his annual report of 1858 Mr. Rees says: "At the request of the Bishop I visited some weeks since the town of Griffin and held missionary services, finding eight communicants and eight others favorable to the Protestant Episcopal Church. There is a good prospect of organizing a Parish, at the expected visit of the Bishop." Bishop Elliott notes the fact that in the confirmation class of twelve presented to him by Mr. Rees on May 29th of the same year, eight were young men. In 1860, Mr. and Mrs. Rees went out to a settlement which lies below the line of Hazel Street and on towards the swamps and by visiting from house to house found much destitution and suffering among the poor. With help from this Parish Mr. Rees rented a small house on the corner of Sixth and Hazel Streets and employed a Mrs. Gray from among the people he had visited to act as matron. He fitted up a part of the house and gathered in the sick women wherever they could be found. A small number were thus kindly cared for and instructed by Mr. and Mrs. Rees who went out every Sunday afternoon for this purpose. A night school for men was opened in one room of the building and from time to time Divine Service was held there. Due to his many Parish duties Mr. Rees was finally forced to give up the night class. Mrs. I. C. Plant and Mrs. George Payne were then called upon to help by opening a sewing school. They gladly responded, and the first meeting was held on March 14, 1861. Two teachers, the matron of the house, one sick woman, and five pupils were in attendance. A year later the school numbered ninety-eight pupils, and five hundred garments were made. In 1862, as the war was then raging between the States, the output of the school consisted mainly of clothing for Confederate soldiers. The work was given out to all who needed employment, women and children being paid a regular price for the work. The garments were sold at cost, and thus the money was again turned into material for fresh employment. At this time, Mr. I. C. Plant, finding that the expenses could not be met by the ones who had been paying the same, offered this working band a building on the adjacent lot. Here the Sunday School which had been organized met regularly and all branches of the work, with the exception of the hospital work, were promptly carried forward. The building was named St. Barnabas' Chapel. In his annual report to the Diocesan Convention in 1864, Mr. Rees states: "Divine service has been held at the Mission Chapel whenever it was practicable and a growing interest in its whole work has been manifested." In 1865, the sewing school was closed and the interest centered exclusively upon the Sunday School. The work settled into a regular Church Mission. Later the sewing interest was revived and conducted by the St. Barnabas' Aid Society. On October 25, 1869, the St. Barnabas' Day School was opened with Mrs. T. M. Setley, principal, and seven pupils. Mrs. Setley gave her service for this work. The number of pupils was limited to fifty and rapidly rose to that figure. Books, heat, and equipment were furnished by members of Christ Church. At a meeting of the Vestry, held on May 26, 1862, it was unanimously resolved to tender the Church bell to Captain Richard M. Cuyler, for use of the Confederate Government. Captain Cuyler replied that he would not call for the bell unless it became absolutely necessary. The necessity arose and the bell was called for in October 1863. In September 1862, Colonel John B. Lamar, who had been for many years a generous benefactor of the Parish, and a member of the Vestry, died of a wound received in battle. From his estate the Parish received its first legacy. This be-quest, amounting to $6,000.00, was paid to the Parish by General Howell Cobb in April 1864. By resolution of the Vestry the whole amount was invested in 7-30 interest notes of the Confederate States of America. A package containing these notes is preserved among the archives of the Parish. In his address to the Diocesan Convention, in 1865, Bishop Elliott states: "On Easter Day (1865) I performed a series of most interesting services in Christ Church, Macon. Morning service was held at seven o'clock, A. M., and I performed a marriage service for one of my clergy. At mid-day I baptized three children and administered the Holy Communion to a very large number of communicants, and at night con-firmed forty persons, the largest class ever presented at that chancel. Having been detained in Macon, in consequence of the capture of Columbus by the Federal troops, I officiated again, on the first Sunday after Easter, and confirmed one person." Bishop Elliott died on the twenty-first of December, 1866. His loss was felt as a personal bereavement throughout the whole Diocese, and nowhere was it deplored more sincerely than in this Parish. The present pulpit is a memorial to him. The Forty-fifth Annual Council of the Diocese was held in this Church in May 1867, at which time the Reverend John W. Beckwith, Rector of Trinity Church, New Orleans, was elected Bishop of Georgia. Bishop Beckwith selected Macon as his place of residence and the sum of $5,000.00 was subscribed by members of this Parish towards an Episcopal residence. At a meeting of the Vestry, held October 26, 1868, the Bishop was requested to make Christ Church, Macon, the Cathedral Church of the Diocese. This project does not appear to have gone further than a proposal. When Bishop Beckwith moved to Savannah, the Bishop's house reverted to the original subscribers and was sold. The wedding of Mary Day to Sidney Lather, the South's greatest poet, took place in this Church on Wednesday, December 19, 1867, at four P. M., Mr. Rees officiating. On Sunday morning, May 3, 1868, Nathan C. Munroe, Senior Warden of this Parish, died at his residence in Vineville. He had become a member of this congregation in 1834; shortly afterwards a communicant, and then one of the Wardens of this Church, which office he continued to hold until his death. During his long connection with the Church in the Diocese, he was constant and zealous in his endeavors to build up and extend its influence, whether as a member of the General Convention, of the Convention of the Diocese, of the various Committees of the Church, as Trustee of Montpelier Institute, as a Warden of the Parish, and in short in whatever work the Church called on him to do, so far as his health would allow, with head, heart, hand and purse he was ever ready and gladly performed all that a Christian could do. A tablet has been placed on the north wall of the Church to his memory. Bishop Beckwith, in his annual address to the Diocesan Convention, said of him: "During a long life he labored faithfully in the Church. To his liberality and zeal the Diocese is largely indebted for its ability to support a Bishop, and therefore to obtain the services of a Bishop at the time when its choice fell upon the great man (Bishop Elliott) whose death was lamented throughout the American Church." On September 6, 1868, a new bell was presented to the Church by Mr. A. A. Roff. On the bell is the following inscription: Presented to Christ Church, Macon, Ga. by A. A. Roff Sept. 6th, 1868 "On earth peace, good will to men." During the latter part of Mr. Rees' rectorship a mission Sunday School was organized for those living near Tattnall Square. In 1868, Mr. Rees made the following report to the Convention: "On the opposite side of the town we have secured a building just suited to the purpose, and have opened in January another Mission Chapel-St. Paul's-where every Sunday afternoon a mission service is sustained by lay reading, with a full musical or choral service, which is exciting a very deep interest and a constantly increasing attendance." The "full musical or choral service", referred to above, led to a crisis in the life of this Parish. The Oxford Movement had not made any perceptible impression upon our Church in this country. Bishop Doane of New Jersey was perhaps more responsive to its appeal than any other of our Bishops. It represented to him a revival of much that was beautiful and helpful in ritual, which belonged to us by inheritance and which had simply fallen into disuse. It happened that Mr. Rees spent a summer with Bishop Doane and was much attracted by all that he saw and beard. The aesthetic part of the movement appealed to him very strongly. On his return to Macon, his one thought was to communicate to his people and Parish some of the light and happiness which had come to himself and which he had found to be so helpful in adding to the dignity of public worship and deepening the individual spiritual life. He proceeded, therefore, to introduce certain changes in the service of the Church which were described under the vague and comprehensive name of "Ritualism". The great majority of the people did not like it and did not want it. There followed a series of communications between Mr. Rees and the Vestry.- (These communications are preserved in the archives of the Church) The specific question upon which the issue was made was the musical rendering of the Service, the singing of the Creeds and Prayers in the Sunday School and the Church. Throughout this painful episode both the Rector and Vestry behaved with admirable temper and courtesy. However, the controversy shook this congregation to its center and at one time seemed to threaten its disruption. Matters seemed on the eve of adjustment when on the thirty-first of May, 1869, Mr. Rees resigned the Rectorship to take charge of St. Paul's Parish which had been organized on March twenty-fifth. On June fourth the Vestry accepted his resignation. St. Paul's Church sprang al-most in a day from a struggling mission into an enthusiastic, working and self-supporting Parish with seventy-five communicants. Mr. Chauncey Williams says: "The energy and life which have marked St. Paul's Parish from its beginning were taken bodily, however, from Christ Church. And the work of building up Christ Church to its former strength has been the aim and purpose of both priest and people ever since. It was a terrible strain to which the old Parish was subjected when so much of her strength her real working strength-went from her in a day: but it served to develop new energies among those who were left, and I think it is one of the most gratifying signs of the vast latent power of this congregation, that it did rally and has since maintained itself in the face of many discouragements." The Vestry assured Mr. Rees, on parting with him, that their differences had in nowise affected their opinion of him as an earnest and zealous Christian minister and man, and that he carried with him, individually and collectively, their best wishes for his health and happiness wherever he might go. At a called meeting of the Vestry, held on March 27, 1893, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted: "The Rector, Wardens and Vestry of Christ Church, Macon, desire to place upon record a minute expression of their sorrow on learning of the death of the Rev. Henry Kollock Rees, Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Darien, and at one time rector of this Parish. "Mr. Rees accepted an election to the rectorship of Christ Church on August 28, 1854, and severed his connection with the Parish on June 4th, 1869, thus occupying the position for a period of nearly fifteen years. "The Rector, Wardens and Vestry are glad to testify to the personal worth and consecrated fidelity of Mr. Rees as a man and a Christian priest. In devoted love of the Master, in untiring zeal and loving earnestness as a pastor ministering the peace and comfort of the Saviour to a sorrowing people during the troubled years of war, in self-denying labors in the Missionary enterprises of the parish, he made full proof of his ministry. And now after a long life full of labors for Christ and the Church unto the end, he has entered into the well-earned rest of those who die in the Lord. By his death the Church in Georgia has lost a devoted priest and many in this Parish and throughout the entire Diocese a sincere friend and one who faithfully strove by precept and example to guide souls to the peace and light of the Saviour. It is, therefore, hereby resolved that these minutes be spread upon the records of the Vestry. "H. G. CUTTER, Sec'y." File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/bibb/churches/gbb95historyo.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 63.2 Kb