(page 590)

 

CHAPTER XXIII.

 

Church History-First Presbyterian Church-Third Street Presbyterian Church-Park Presbyterian Church - Fourth Presbyterian Church - Memorial Presbyterian Church-United Presbyterian Church-First Regular Baptist Church-Wayne Street Baptist Church-Linden Avenue Baptist Church-Zion Baptist Church-Grace Methodist Episcopal Church-Raper Methodist Episcopal Church-Davisson Methodist Episcopal Church-Sears Street Methodist Episcopal Church-First German Methodist Episcopal Church-Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church-St. Panes-Wesleyan--Christ Church-Ascension Chapel-First United Brethren-Second United Brethren-Third United Brethren-4ummit Street United Brethren-High Street United Brethren-Oak Street United Brethren- Broadway Christian -Brown Street Christian-Emmanuel Church Evangelical Association-Wayne Avenue Evangelical Association- First Reformed-Second Reformed-Trinity Reformed-Hebrew Congregation-First English Lutheran-St. John's Evangelical Lutheran-St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran-First Orthodox Congregational-The Catholic Churches-Dayton Ministerial Association-General Boards of the United Brethren Church-Young Men's Christian Association-Woman's Christian Association.

 

            THE First Presbyterian Church, of the Presbytery of Washington, Synod of Kentucky, was organized in 1799. During the rest of that year, and the early part of the next, religious services were held in Dayton in the block house which had been built at the head of Main Street some time during the same year, in which the Presbytery above named was organized. In the same year, also, the initiatory steps were taken toward the erection of a meeting-house, which, when completed, stood on lot 134, at the corner of Main and Third streets. It stood on four short posts, one at each corner, which raised it about two feet from the ground. It was 18x20 feet in size, seven logs high, without chip-chinking, yellow clay daubing, and clap-board roof held down with weight-poles. It had rough slab flooring and log seats, and was thus in all respects a pioneer log cabin meeting-house, even to the entire absence of windows. It was approached from the roadway, or Third Street, by a winding pathway through clumps of hazel bushes, which hid the little church from the passer-by on Main Street.

            On the 14th of April, 1801, a petition was presented to the Washington Presbytery, requesting that occasional supplies might be granted the little congregation, and in response to the petition, the Rev. James Kemper was appointed to preach one Sabbath. At this time there. was also a log cabin meeting-house at Beavertown, which was occupied by the Beulah Church, by a New Light congregation, and perhaps by a Baptist congregation. The Beulah Church was supplied by the Rev. (page 591) William Robinson, who lived about three miles east of Dayton, on Mad River. lie also owned a mill, which he operated to accommodate his neighbors and to supply his own bread, during the week. On Sundays he preached to the Beulah and Dayton congregations, and also to others as opportunity presented or necessity required. The two churches, Beulah and Dayton, were then really but one congregation, and the former soon was dropped from the records, the Dayton Church only remaining. here there were occasional supplies until the spring of 1804, when the Rev. James Welsh was called as the regular minister. Rev. Mr. Welsh remained for a period of eleven years, or until 1817, about the time of the completion of the second church building erected by this congregation. A congregational meeting was held October 23, 1804, at which John Miller, Robert Edgar, David Reid, John McCabe, and John Ewing were elected trustees. The little log meeting-house was used by the Presbyterians until 1805, and also by the Methodists occasionally, when it was sold for $22. In the meantime a subscription had been raised, amounting to $390, and the whole amount, $412, loaned to the county commissioners with which to build a courthouse, with the understanding that the use of the new courthouse, when completed, should be permitted for religious services until the money was refunded. The courthouse stood on the corner of Main and Third streets, and was completed iii, 1806. While it was in process of erection the services of the church were held at various places, and from 1806 until 1817 in the courthouse. During this year the new brick church which had been in process of erection for several years, was completed at the corner of Second and Ludlow streets. This building cost $5,794.122. It was a two-story brick, 42x50 feet, with a gallery on three sides of the room. It had two front doors on Ludlow Street, two entrances and one cross aisle. The pulpit was on the west side, was about eight feet high, and was approached by a flight of winding steps. On the lower floor were thirty-eight single and four double pews, and in the gallery were thirty-two pews. The preceptor's desk was under the pulpit, and was entered from the cross aisle. A difficulty, however, sprang up as to the preceptor's leading the singing from the position assigned him, and in 1821, the question having been referred to the trustees of the church, they, in order to settle the matter, resolved that the front seats, middle block in the gallery, should be reserved for the musicians, and that persons who were acquainted with the rules of singing have leave to occupy the seats. Some years afterward, the question arose as to the propriety of allowing the use of the base viol in church, which' was at length settled by its use being permitted probationally.

            (page 592) The pews of this new church were offered for sale October 4, 1817, and brought $2,980, and were occupied the Sunday following in public worship. The entire cost of the lot and the improvements upon it were $6,96162. Thirteen years had elapsed since the movement for the erection of this building had been inaugurated, and its final completion was hailed with proportionate delight. Others who had only a general interest in the subject of religion, also shared with the members of the congregation the pleasures of the final completion of the building.

            The resignation of Rev. Dr. Welsh, although desired by some, and was in fact caused by their opposition to him, was not altogether satisfactory to all. These latter wished him to continue on in the relation of pastor, and their feelings found expression in a call for a congregational meeting of all who desired the organization of a second Presbyterian church in Dayton. The meeting was held, and there being more than twenty members of the First Presbyterian Church present who were favorable to the organization of another church, it was resolved to constitute the meeting by the appointment of Dr. Welsh, moderator, and F. Gosney, secretary. Officers were then elected as follows: Henry L. Brown, Henry Robinson, and Andrew Hood, trustees, and F. Gosney, clerk. The meeting also directed that legal notification of the action of the meeting be fled with the recorder; and this being done, no further action was taken with reference to the organization of a second church at that time.

            The church was incorporated April 6, 1812, with the following trustees: D. C. Cooper, John Ewing, Andrew Hood, J. H. Williams, John Miller, James Hanna, and William King, with Mr. McClure, treasurer, David Reid, clerk, and Matthew Patton, collector. Upon the f inal organization of the board, James Hanna was chosen chairman and John Ritchie clerk.

            Up to the time of completing the first brick church building, the trustees of this church were as follows: John Miller, Robert Edgar, David Reid, John Ewing, John McCabe, D. C. Cooper, James Hanna,   Andrew Hood, William King, J. H. Williams, Hezekiah Robinson, Matthew Patton, James Steele, 11. G. Phillips, Isaac G. Burnet, G. W. Smith, and David Lindsley; clerks, David Reid, Rev. James Welsh, Benjamin Van Cleve, Job Haines, and James Steele; treasurers, W. McClure, Obadiah Conover, and John Folkerth; collectors, Matthew Patton, A. McFadden, R. Wilson, John King, Daniel Pierson, and A. Darst; elders, John McKaig, John Ritchie, James Hanna, John Miller, and Robert Parks; pastor, Rev. James Welsh.

            (page 593) Rev. Backus Wilbur, a licentiate from New Jersey, visited and preached for this congregation several months during the summer and fall of 1817, and on August 13th received a call to become pastor of the church. Mr. Wilbur soon afterward paid a visit to New Jersey and did not return to Dayton until June, 1818. At this time he commenced his ministry and Was installed August 27th. On the following Sunday he preached his first and only sermon for this church. The next Sunday he filled an appointment to preach for and administer the communion in the Second Presbyterian Church at Cincinnati. While in that city, he was taken sick and returned to Dayton, where lie died on September 29, 1818, in the thirtieth year of his age. His remains were deposited in Woodland Cemetery. From the commencement of his short ministry until his decease, fifty-one members were added to the church, and in 1819 there were ninety-four communicant members on the roll.

            In December, 1818, the Rev. Ahab Jenks was invited to preach for the congregation, and on February 2, 1820, the officers of the church were authorized to procure his settlement as pastor as soon as practicable at a salary of six hundred dollars per year. Mr. Jenks accepted the call, was installed pastor, and remained in that relation until the fall of 1821. During his ministry fifty-one members were added to the roll.

            During the winter of 1822-1823 the Rev. William Graham preached for the congregation, and in March of the latter year he was elected pastor at a salary of four hundred dollars per year. On May 8th, following, he was ordained and installed, and remained pastor until February 6, 1826. During his pastorate there were ninety-seven additions to the membership.

            In September, 1827, the Rev. F. Putnam was requested to supply the pulpit for a time. In April, 1828, he was engaged as stated supply for one year at a salary of four hundred dollars. He remained until 1836. The entire number of additions to the membership during Mr. Putnam's ministry was three hundred and forty-two.

            May 30, 1836, the Rev. James C. Barnes, of Kentucky, was invited to preach for the church one year as stated supply at a salary of eight hundred dollars. The call was accepted, and in March following he was requested to accept the pastorate. This call was also accepted, and he was installed April 28, 1839. He remained with the church until April, 1845, when a dissolution of the relation was granted. During his ministry four hundred and fourteen members were added to the roll. The congregation was so prosperous under Rev. Mr. Barnes and increased so largely in membership that a new house of worship became a necessity, and subscriptions were authorized for the erection of a new (page 594) building. The old house was taken down and a new one erected in its place at a cost of $14,213.08. The building was enclosed and the basement occupied for public worship for the first time October 26, 1839. On April 18, 1842, the trustees reported the completion and cost of the building, as stated above; that the appraised value of the seats was $16,080, and recommended that sale of the pews be made on the 30th, in accordance with the terms of subscription. At the sale forty-seven pews were sold for $12,011, and the main audience room was occupied for religious worship on the following Sunday. During the early part of Mr. Barnes' ministry there arose, in the Presbyterian Church, a controversy which finally resulted in the division of the church into the old and new school branches. The schism was, of course, felt in Dayton, and in 1838 the First Church contributed a colony to the new school branch. This colony consisted) of about seventy-five members, with Peter Odlin and Dr. John Steele as leaders. This colony became the Second Presbyterian Church of Dayton. As was perfectly natural and as is usual in such cases, the seceding branch claimed an interest in the property of the parent church which gave rise to a serious disagreement. The difficulty was, however, amicably adjusted by the First Church paying to the Second fifteen Hundred dollars. This compromise was brought about through the moderation and wisdom of Dr. Job Haines and Dr. John Steele. This suns was raised by individual subscription without touching the property of the corporation and without any acknowledgment by the trustees or corporators that the claim was a legal one.

            The Rev. Mr. Barnes was succeeded in the pastorate of this church by the Rev. W. C. Anderson, D. D., who began his ministry February 1, 1846. Before the close of his pastorate there arose a very general sentiment in favor of establishing a new colony iii the eastern part of the city, and a committee was appointed for the purchase of a lot suitable for a house of worship for the new congregation. This committee consisted of Dr. Job Haines, Herbert S. Williams, and Henry L. Brown. This was in February, 1849, and about the same time Dr. Anderson's health became so much impaired by chronic throat trouble that the session readily assented to his proposition to make a tour of Europe, hoping that thereby his health might be fully restored. During his absence his place in the pulpit was filled by the Rev. F. T. Brown, of Madison, Indiana. Rev. Mr. Brown remained with the church until September 1st, when he accepted a call to another field of labor. Dr. Anderson returned from Europe about this time, but his throat trouble was not sufficiently relieved to permit of his remaining in the ministry, and he therefore resigned. He was afterward called to the presidency of Miami University, at Oxford, (page 595) Ohio, which position lie filled for several years. He served in other important stations until his death, August 28, 1870.

            The next pastor after Dr. Anderson was the Rev. Phineas D. Gurley, then of Indianapolis, who entered upon his ministry November 6, 1849.

            He remained with the church until January, 1854, when he accepted a call to what is now the New York Avenue Church, Washington, D. C. He remained in Washington until his death, which occurred September 30, 1868. In the second year of his pastorate in Dayton the question of the mission church in the eastern part of the city, brief mention of which has already been made, was again revived. When the time carne for entering upon the work, twenty-three members of the First Church formed the colony, which was headed by Joseph Barnett, John F. Edgar, and John Morehouse. The church organized by this colony was called the Third Presbyterian Church. But, notwithstanding the formation of this new Presbyterian Church, the accession to the membership of the First Church during. the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Gurley was greater than in any preceding one in the history of the church.

            The Rev. James H. Brooks, a recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, and a man of more than-ordinary endowments, was elected pastor of the church April 20, 1854. Under his ministry the membership of the church grew largely, and in November, 1856, a new colony went out under the lead of William King, Sr., Herbert S. Williams, and Daniel Osborn, which was organized into a new church, the Fourth Presbyterian, now at the corner of Summit and Fifth streets. Notwithstanding this depletion, the First Church continued to grow, and the old building becoming too small, plans were considered for its enlargement; but as the members were not in full accord regarding some of the suggestions of the architect, the improvements were not made. About the same time Dr. Brooks received a call from the First Church, St. Louis, and resigned his pastorate here, preaching his farewell sermon February 14, 1858.

            Dr. Brookes was succeeded almost immediately by the Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Thomas, then of New Albany, Indiana, who, on the 12th of April, 1858, began what proved to be a remarkable pastorate in this church. Dr. Thomas was in many respects a remarkable man. The agitation of the slavery question at that time threatened not only the destruction of the government, but also the disruption of the church. It was becoming clear to the people of the slave-holding States, that the anti-slavery sentiment of the North was so strengthening and crystallizing that the further extension of the system into the territories of the United States must ultimately be prevented, and they well knew that the entire (page 596) abolition of slavery must be the result. Many people of the free States sympathized with people of the slave States in what they believed the threatened loss to the latter of their constitutional rights. And it became necessary for all who believed that a firm, if not an uncompromising attitude with reference to the great question at issue, should be maintained by all who were opposed to the extension of slavery, to boldly stand by the country, no matter what might be the course of the Southern States. Dr. Thomas was one of the many able public men who tools a deep interest in public affairs, and was recognized everywhere as a fearless champion of human liberty. It is a remarkable fact that previous to the War of the Rebellion, almost every ecclesiastical body in the United States maintained a conservative attitude regarding American slavery. The doors of almost every Presbyterian church in the country were closed against those preachers who denounced the sinfulness -of slavery and advocated its abolition. It was dangerous to be an active Abolitionist in many portions of the free States. Dr. Thomas received his full share of the persecution and obloquy of the times. His zeal, however, never flagged, and his courage never wavered until the stain upon the national escutcheon was removed.

            Though the excitement incident to the Civil War was prejudicial to the spiritual interests of all the churches, the First Church, which, with the rest, felt the depression to a considerable extent, yet, on the whole, prospered under Dr. Thomas's ministrations. In 1869, more members were added to the roll than in any previous year, with the single exception of 1844, under Dr. Barnes. In the spring of 1867, the question of enlarging the church or of building a new one was agitated again. March 4th, Dr. Thomas, as chairman of a meeting called for the purpose of considering this question, announced the amount of the subscriptions obtained, and on the motion of Major-General McCook, it was voted to reconsider the action of a preceding meeting, which was decided in favor of enlarging and improving the old building, and the entire matter of repairing or of rebuilding was placed in the hands of a committee of ten persons, as follows: T. A. Phillips, 11. Stoddard, Jr., C. McDermont, Isaac Haas, John G. Lowe, J. W. Stoddard, T. 0. Lowe, J. D. Phillips, E. A. Parrott, and Samuel Craighead. Afterward D. W. Stewart and C. Wight were added to the committee.

            On the 6th of May, the trustees formally authorized the building committee to remove the old edifice, and in place thereof to erect such a building as will, in their judgment, meet the demands of their congregation, and at the same time placed at the disposal of the committee all funds that had been or should be subscribed for the purpose. The general (page 597) plan of the new building was prepared by Dr. Thomas, and the work was carried on under the superintendence of Isaac Haas, one of the elders of the church, without compensation. On entering the eastern vestibule of the church, a handsome tablet attracted the attention, on which were inscribed the names of Thomas Ebenezer Thomas, D. D., and Isaac Haas, with a brief reference to the part each performed in the construction of the building. The walls and roof of the church were completed in 1869, and the Sunday-school room was finished and used for public worship, but owing to the general depression of business throughout the country, the main audience room was not finished until seven years afterward. The total cost of the building, exclusive of the materials used from the old church, was about one hundred thousand dollars.

            Before the completion of the building, Dr. Thomas was elected to a professorship in Lane Theological Seminary. Accepting the position, his pastoral relation was dissolved in July, 1871. On account of the preeminent fitness of Dr. Thomas for his position, and the strong attachment his congregation had formed for him, it was all extremely difficult thing for the church to agree upon his successor. Several calls were extended and rejected, and it transpired that in most of the cases where the call was rejected, it was because the parties called were distrustful of their abilities to fill the pulpit acceptably. Dr. Thomas died February 2, 1875, at Walnut Hills, the seat of Lane Seminary, and his remains rest in the cemetery near Dayton, the scene of his most important labors. The Rev. John McVey, of Lebanon Springs, New York, accepted the second call extended to hint by this congregation, and began his pastoral duties September 18, 1872. His relations with this church as pastor were dissolved by the Presbytery October 17, 1874, to take effect on the last Sunday of the month. The Rev. George A. Funkhouser, a professor in the Union Biblical Seminary, at Dayton, was then engaged to preach and administer the sacraments, and remained in the pulpit somewhat more than a year. His ministrations proved highly satisfactory to the church. Oil the 4th of June, 1876, lie was succeeded by the Rev. Benjamin B. Warfield, who had just completed a theological course at Princeton. A unanimous call was afterward extended to him to become pastor of the church at a salary of $2,500 per year. The call was declined by the advice of his physician, on account of a serious throat trouble with which Mr. Warfield was affected. An invitation was then extended to the Rev. Leigh Richmond Smith, of Bordentown, New Jersey, to accept the pastorate. The invitation was accepted, and he began his pastorate November 12, 1876. His first engagement was for (page 598) six months, but before its expiration the congregation extended to him a unanimous call to the pastorate with an assured stipend of $2,500 per year. Rev. Mr. Smith remained pastor until September 28, 1880, when the relation was dissolved. The church called the present pastor, Rev. Prentiss de Votive, D. D., October 16, 1881, and he was installed April 20, 1884.

            The Third Street Presbyterian Church was established in 1838, as has been stated in the history of the First Church, on account of the division in the Presbyterian Church at large into the old and new schools. This new church organization in Dayton became a new school church, and its first session meeting was held March 11, 1838. Rev. Mr. Graves was appointed moderator, and Dr. John Steele and Peter Odlin elders. Steps were immediately taken to erect a church. Ground to the extent of 100x200 feet was purchased on the southeast corner of Third and Ludlow streets for $2,700, and a two-story brick building was commenced in 1838 and finished in 1840 at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. The church was dedicated March 25, 1840, by Dr. Lyman Beecher, then of Lane Seminary. The first pastor of the church was Rev. Randolph Stone, who VaS succeeded by Rev. John Hall who served from 1840 until 1852. He was succeeded by Rev. G. P. Tyndall who remained until 1857. The pulpit was then supplied for about two years by Drs. Allen, Smith, and Day, of Lane Seminary. The next pastor of the church was Rev. S. G. Specs, and following him was Rev. Rollin A. Sawyer, who remained until 1870. Rev. J. H. Montgomery, the present pastor, began his labors with church in 1871. In 1874, a chapel was erected in the rear of the It is of stone, of the Gothic style of architecture and cost sixteen thousand dollars In April, 1880, the old church building, which had been enlarged and repaired several times at considerable expense, was torn down and the present imposing edifice corm1tenced. It is of stone and of the old English Gothic style of architecture. The floors gradually incline toward the pulpit, and the seats are arranged in circular form. The building cost about sixty-five thousand dollars, and is one of the handsomest church edifices in the State. At one corner of the building is a massive tower, surmounted by a tall spire; within the tower is lung the bell from the old church. The seating capacity of the auditorium is about seven hundred and fifty. The present membership of this church is four hundred and fifty, and the Sunday-school has two hundred scholars.

            Park Presbyterian Church was organized in 1851, by a colony of thirty members, who had withdrawn from the First Church, November 13, 1851. In the same year a lot was purchased on Second Street, near (page 599) Madison, and a church was erected at a cost of four thousand dollars. It was a two-story brick edifice, and was dedicated March 13, 1853, by Rev. Mr. Kemper. The name Third Presbyterian Church was adopted the same month. The pastor, until January 6, 1852, was Rev. P. D. Gurley, and at that time the Rev. James T. Kemper was called, accepted the pastorate, and served until 1872. In 1857, the church sold its lot on Second Street, and began the erection of a two-story brick edifice on a lot on St. Clair Street, donated by Joseph Barnett. It is sixty feet wide by eighty long, and was completed at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars. The auditorium has a seating capacity of about four hundred. Rev. J. R. Russell served as pastor from 1872 to 1876; the church was without a pastor from 1876 to 1878 when J. W. Walden came and

remained until 1882. He was followed by Rev. Alexander N. Carson, who remained until 1886, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. W. F. McCauley. The membership of the church is now three hundred and sixty, and that of the Sunday-school two hundred and fifty. The Fourth Presbyterian Church was organized November 25, 1856. It was the result of the establishment of a mission school in 1854, in Miami City. The organization was effected in Davisson's chapel, with the name of the First Presbyterian Church of Miami City. Services were at first held in the brick college then used as a military institute. Both church and Sunday-school met in this building until 1859, when the basement of the new church which the organization was erecting was ready for occupancy. From the time of the organization of the church until April, 1857, the pastor was Rev. James H. Gill, who was succeeded by Rev. J. S. Grimes. Mr. Grimes remained until February, 1858, and was followed by Rev. A. C. Kemper, who remained until May, 1859. Following is a list of the ministers who have since filled the pulpit of this church: Rev. Mr. McKeehan, John Hancock, C. B. H. Martin, Dr. Findlay, R. T. Drake, A. M. Junkie, John H. Graybell.

            The church building occupied at the present time was erected at a cost of about $20,000, and was dedicated in May, 1874. It stands on the corner of Fifth and Summit, streets. In 1871, when Miami City became a part of the city of Dayton, the name of this church was changed to the. Fourth Presbyterian Church. The membership at the present time is a little over one hundred and sixty, and the number of scholars in the Sunday-school is about one hundred and seventy-five.

            Memorial Presbyterian Church was organized in April, 1868, by a committee from the Dayton (New School) Presbytery. The ground upon which the church building was afterward erected was purchased early in 1867, at a cost of one thousand dollars. A frame building was erected (page 600) during the spring and summer following, which cost about one thousand five hundred dollars, and was 28x40 feet in size. It was dedicated July 7, 1867. A Sunday-school was organized the next Sunday, and Lambert Woodhull was made the superintendent. There were fifty-eight scholars present on that day, and as Sundays came, the numbers so increased that it soon became necessary to enlarge the building. Two rooms were therefore added, and on the 29th of October, 1867, it was determined to have preaching in the chapel. Rev. Joseph B. Little was selected as the preacher, and he entered upon his duties November 10, 1867. The name under which the church was organized was the East End Presbyterian Church of Dayton. Fourteen persons, most of them members of the Third Street Church, presented certificates of dismission from that church which had been granted them that they might unite in the organization of this church. Rev. Mr. Little labored with the church twenty-three months, and in October, 1869, a call was extended to Rev. James R. Hughes, of the Presbytery of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, then the old school. He began his labors November 28, 1869, was installed April 23, 1870, and remained pastor of the church until the present time. The membership of this church is now two hundred and ten, and the number of scholars in the Sunday-school is nearly four hundred. In 1871 it was determined to erect a new and larger church building, and friends of the enterprise in the Third Street Church contributed fourteen thousand. dollars, and about three thousand dollars was contributed by members of the church itself and their friends. On October 13, 1872; the first story was occupied and dedicated. The Ladies' Society of the church contributed the carpets, gas fixtures and chairs. As a memorial of the reunion of the two branches of the Presbyterian Church, and of the liberality of those who had contributed so liberally toward the erection of the church edifice, the name was changed to the Memorial Presbyterian Church, of Dayton, Ohio. This was upon a petition which was granted in May, 1872. The total cost of the church and ground was about nineteen thousand dollars. There are several societies connected with this church.

            The Riverdale Presbyterian Mission was established as a Sunday-school, under the care of the Third Street Presbyterian Church, in 1884, in a building on North Main Street. In 1885, a beautiful one-story frame building was erected on the north side of Herman Avenue, just east of the hydraulic.

            The United Presbyterian Church was regularly organized November 23, 1860. An attempt had been made to organize such church in 1853 by a few of those who held to the views of the old Scotch Covenanters, (page 601) but it was not successful. The effort which did succeed in the organization of the church, was made in 1859. In May of that year, Rev. J. W. Bain was appointed stated supply and served one year. There had been a church building erected on the southwest corner of Fourth and Jefferson streets in 1841 by the First English Lutheran Church which was purchased by the United Presbyterians, and this still serves them for a house of worship. The pastors of the church have been as follows: Rev. J. B. Foster, E. Creny, W. S. McClanahan, Robert Stewart, W. S. Owens, T. A. Hutchinson, D. H. French, the present pastor. The church at the present time has fifty members, and one hundred and fifty scholars in its Sunday-school.

            The First Regular Baptist Church. But little is known as to who were the first Baptists to settle in Dayton or its vicinity. In 1806, an application was made by Charles Roe for land on the southeast corner of Main and Third streets as a site for public worship. The application was made on behalf of the "Baptist Union Congregation of Dayton." This land had been donated to the town for public purposes by D. C. Cooper. Some time afterward the petition of this church, which was then called the "Anabaptist Church," was granted, but- no use appears to have been made of the grant, and that the claim of the Anabaptist Church to the land was never perfected, is evident from the fact that this particular piece of land was afterward conveyed by Mr. Cooper and his heirs. About 1823 certain Baptists moved to Dayton from the vicinity of the Lebanon church and other places, and at their request ministers occasionally visited them and preached to them. Among these visiting ministers were Rev. Stephen Gard, of the Elk Creek church, in Butler County, and Rev. Wilson Thompson, of the Lebanon church. The church at Dayton was organized May 29, 1824, by a small council, which assembled here to draw up the constitution of the church. Elder Jacob Mulford, of the Wolf Creek church, drew up the articles of faith. The church council held its first meeting on the porch of William Huffman's house, on the corner of Third and Jefferson streets, where the Beckel House now stands. After services on the next Sunday, Mrs. Huffman was baptized in the river a little east of the head of Main Street, and this was the first baptism ever witnessed in Dayton. In September, 1824, the church was received into the Miami Association, and for the next two years was supplied once a month by Elders Thompson, Gard, Martin, and others, and in 1826, Rev. S. D. Burnett was called to the pastorate. Large additions were made to the congregation, and a house of worship was erected on the west side of Main Street, between Water and First streets. This structure was used during the war as the young (page 602) men's gymnasium. At the end of Mr. Burnett's second year there were eighty-four members in the church. The young minister, becoming deeply interested in the teachings of Alexander Campbell, carried most of his church over with hint to the neglect of everything like articles of faith or creed. The final step was taken March 24, 1829, and thus the church became what was then called it Campbellite Church. This portion of the church held the property, and the remaining members of the First Regular Baptist Church were for a time without a house of worship. There were only seven who remained true to their original faith, and they met in the house of Elizabeth Crowell and passed a resolution to "keep the stand of the First Baptist Church in Dayton." At a subsequent meeting they excluded the pastor and those of the church affiliating with him, from the Baptist Church of Dayton, notwithstanding those thus excluded constituted a large majority of the church and had already excluded the small minority which found it necessary to take this action, merely as it may be supposed, for their own satisfaction. The minority also petitioned the supreme court for possession. of the property, but their petition was denied. The little undaunted band continued to hold prayer and conference meetings at private houses, and occasionally used the old courthouse. They had preaching for two years by Elders Thompson and Mulford, Elder Thompson and Elder Gard having done much to hasten the division in the church by the preaching of "sound doctrines," which at that time to them meant "election and limited atonement," and opposition to " educated ministers, Bible and missionary societies, and all human institutions."

            In 1834, several additions were made to the little devoted baud by letter, and the members rented a small church building from the United Brethren congregation, standing on Main Street. Rev. Samuel R. Clark was invited to the pastorate, and, accepting the call, preached half the time for this church, and the other half for the church at New Carlisle. Rev. Mr. Clark died September 11, 1835, the membership having at the time of his death reached thirty-eight.

            At this time came the anti-mission into the Baptist Church, the "old school" being opposed to spreading the gospel in any other way than by preaching, while the "new school" favored missions, Sunday-schools, etc. The Dayton church cast its lot with the new school, and in 1837 Elder Martin E. Cook became pastor of the church. On February 25th, this year, the church was incorporated. Elder John L. Moore carne to Dayton in the summer of 1838, and in January, 1839, became pastor of this church. The membership of the church at the time was only fourteen males, and less than fifty, including, females, While they altogether paid (page 603) on less than $10,000, yet for the purpose of erecting a church they subscribed over $2,000. A lot was purchased on the northeast corner of Jefferson and Fourth streets for $1,350, and a church building commenced, the basement being ready for occupancy in December following. The building was not completed until 1842, and cost $5,164.50. The feeble membership could not have built this church without outside assistance, which was given them with liberal hand; and to those who, though not belonging to their church, yet contributed to the erection of their building, they have always felt very grateful. The names of these contributing non-members were as follows: Thomas Clegg, Joseph Gilmore, D. M. Curtis, Joshua Clements, Charles Anderson, Robert C. Schenck, Peter Aughinbaugh, J. D. Loomis, Joseph Barnett, Samuel Doyle, G. J. Curtis, George B. Holt, Dover & Cullum, P. P. Lowe, E. E. Brown, William Raymond, Elijah Reeves, James McDaniel, J. R. Wagoner, G A. Hatfeld, P. N. and W. F. Comly, F. C. Estabrook, E. Fowler, Samuel T. Harker, John Mills, John Garner, D. W. Wheelock, David Stevenson, G. W. Bomberger, John H. Achey, Dickson & George, William Davie, E. Favorite, Thomas Parrott, J. Patterson, II. A. Fry, William Ogan, B. F. Ells, David Stone, Cozad & Brown, P. Voorhees, J. D. Phillips, Thomas Brown, Samuel Forcer, Simon Snyder, Lewis Lindsley, Samuel McPherson, Richard Green, Oliver Kittridge, C. Koerner, William Parrott, A. Pruden, John W. Harries, and Henry Bacon.

            In 1840 Elder S. S. Parr became pastor of the church and remained until December, 1843, when he was succeeded by Rev. Frederick Snyder, who remained until 1850. The next pastor was Rev. Samuel Foljambe, who resigned at the close of 1855. He was followed by Rev. Samson Talbott, who came in June, 1856, and remained until July, 1863, when he accepted the presidency of Dennison University, at Granville. During this year the old church was disposed of, a lot purchased on Main Street, 100x200 feet in size, and the present beautiful, commodious, and massive edifice erected. The church and lot together cost $45,856, of which sum the church cost $37,000. It was dedicated free from debt October 25, 18633 by the Rev. E. G. Robinson, D. D., of New York. Professor II. Harvey, of Hamilton Theological Seminary, was then called to the pastorate, accepted the call, and preached for the church on the 20th of December, 1863, although he could not enter on his pastorate until the following April. Rev. H. Colby succeeded to the pastorate in 1867, and has been the able and efficient pastor until the present time. The membership of this church is now six hundred and eighty, and the number of scholars in the Sunday-school is five hundred and twenty.

            (page 604) The Wayne Street Regular Baptist Church was organized. December 29, 1848, by forty-four members of the First Regular Baptist Church, who had sought and secured letters of dismissal therefrom. On January 9, 1849, they were publicly recognized as a regular Baptist church by a council of delegates from the Baptist Church, called for the purpose of considering the question of their recognition. For several weeks the church was known as the "Oregon Regular Baptist Church of Dayton." The first officers of the church were J. B. Turner, J. McCammon, and John Washington, deacons; J. H. Thomas, clerk; John Ewing, treasurer; J. B. Turner, S. P. Clarke, and John Clarke, trustees. For some time the congregation held religious services in the church owned by the Dunkards, and afterward in the Oregon engine house, which was soon found to be too small; consequently, on February 27, 1849, they resolved to build a church edifice of their own. For this purpose ground was purchased of E. Thresher for three-hundred dollars, Mr. Thresher giving one half of the ground, as it was valued at six hundred dollars. The condition of this partial donation was that the lot should be devoted exclusively to the purposes of erecting thereon a Baptist church. A brick building, 40x60 feet in size, was begun, but while it was in progress the cholera broke out, and, in consequence, the work on the building was greatly delayed. The basement, however, was completed in time for occupancy January 1, 1850. The exercises of the occasion were             conducted by Rev. F. Snyder, of the First Regular Baptist Church, assisted by Rev. J. L. Moore. The auditorium was completed and dedicated in 1853.

            The first pastor of this church was the Rev. S. Gorman, who remained until May, 1852, when lie was succeeded by Rev. Marsena Stone, who remained but a few months. In April, 1853, Rev. J. Chambers became the pastor, and remained one year. He was followed by Rev. Nicholas S. Bastian in October, 1854, who remained until the spring of 1856.

            During the winter of 1855-1856 there was a great revival in the church, which was conducted by the pastor, assisted by Rev. D. E. Thomas, who was stated supply for several months during the summer of 1856. There were added to the membership, as a result of this revival, six by letter, five by experience, and seventy-four by baptism; eighty-five in all. In October, 1856, Rev. E. W. Dickinson became the pastor, and remained until August, 1861. During his pastorate, in the winter of 1858-1859, there was another revival in which the First Regular Baptist Church united. As a result of this revival, there were made fifty-six additions to the church. Rev. Mr. Dickinson was followed by the Rev. E. F. Strickland, who served one year.

The next pastor was the Rev. D. F. (page 605) Carnahan, who began his services with the church in the summer of 1863. Rev. William D. Bunker was pastor from July; 1865, to July, 1868; Rev. P. M. Weddell from September, 1868, to the fall of 1873; Hugh A. Marshall from January 1, 1874, to April 1, 1874; Rev. H. A Delano from December 21, 1874, to April 17, 1876; Rev. H. M. Dean from December, 1876, to the latter part of March, 1878. From that time to August 12, 1878, the church had no pastor, and was engaged in making arrangements with the Baptist Union, of Dayton, for the surrender of its property and debts to the union. On August 12, 1878, it voted to disband, and to give letters of dismissal to all in good standing who should apply for them previous to November 12, 1879, when the disbandment should be complete.

            The Baptist Union secured the services of Rev. H. H. Bawden, who began his labors with the LG Central Baptist Union, of Dayton," November 20, 1878. In the early part of 1880, the union sold the old meeting-house and lot, and paid off the debts of the church, which amounted to a little more than four thousand dollars. When the debts were all paid off, the union had in its possession a lot on the corner of Clay and Van Buren streets, 65x32 feet, with a brick dwelling-house upon it., which cost $8,500, and they had besides $3,386.36 in cash.

            J. B. Thresher, E. M. Thresher, and Albert Thresher offered to pay each one thousand dollars toward a. new church building for the mission, provided a house should be built to cost not less than ten thousand dollars, and which should be free from debt. The offer made by the Threshers led to the securing of a subscription amounting to nearly eleven thousand dollars, and in addition to this, E. E. Barney offered to become responsible for four thousand dollars in cash. The beautiful church edifice which now stands on the corner of Clay and Van Buren streets is the result of these various efforts. It is a two-story brick, with a seating capacity of over five hundred. It was dedicated May 4, 1882, the sermon being preached by Rev. Dr. King, of Cleveland, Ohio. The entire cost of the building was fourteen thousand dollars. Rev. H. H. Bawden remained pastor of this church until 1886, when he was succeeded by Rev. J. W. Icenbarger, the present pastor. The membership of this church is now about one hundred, and the number of scholars in the Sunday-school, two hundred and seventy-five.

            Linden Avenue Baptist Church was organized September 20, 1872, with fifty-seven members, of whom thirty-five were from the First Regular Baptist Church, twenty from the Wayne Street Baptist Church, and two from elsewhere. Rev. Frederick Chatworthy was the first pastor. He was ordained October 18, 1872, and served the church until (page 606) September, 1878. Rev. J. H. Parks became pastor December 1st of the same year. Not long after the organization of the church, ground was purchased of W. P. Huffman, at the corner of Linden Avenue and May Street, upon which a church edifice was erected. The auditorium is 46x86 feet, and occupies the entire upper floor of the building except ten feet at one end which is taken up by the vestibule. It has a seating capacity of six hundred persons. On the first floor are the Sabbath-school room, the Bible class room, and rooms for kitchen and pantry. The lower story was completed and opened for service in the evening of December 30, 1873, and was then dedicated by the Rev. A. J. H. Behrends, of Cleveland. The auditorium was dedicated December 12, 1870, the sermon on this occasion being preached by the Rev. Dr. John Peddis, of Chicago. In 1881, the membership was one hundred and seventy-five. Rev. J. H. Parks was succeeded in 1884 by Rev. E. W. Lounsbury, who is pastor at the present time. There are about three hundred and seventy-five members in this church and fve hundred scholars in the Sunday-school.

            In addition to the churches above mentioned, there are the Browntown Mission on Kirkham Street, between Hartford and Albany streets, which was established in 1886, and of which Rev. L. D. Morse was pastor for some time; the West Dayton Chapel located on Third Street, between Broadway and the railroad; and the East End Mission, situated on the south side of Third Street, east of Findlay Street.

            The First German Baptist Church was organized in June, 1852, by twelve persons, who had been members of a society in Berlin, Prussia.

            There were present at the organization of the church, Rev. A. Heinrich, of Rochester, New York; Rev. M. Stone, Rev. Samuel Foljambe, of Dayton; Rev. J. L. Moore, of Springfield; B. C. Cane, of Carlisle; 0. B. Stone, of Xenia, and J. G. Brown, of Cincinnati. The first meeting of the church was held at the Wayne Street Baptist Church, after which they met at the Sixth Street engine house until 1854, at which time it was decided to build a church edifice. Ground for this purpose, situated on East Fifth Street, was purchased of William Huffman for five hundred dollars, upon which a church building was erected at a cost of three thousand dollars. It consisted of one story and a basement. In 1861, Rev. Henry Koehler, of York, Pennsylvania, became pastor of the church. In 1855, Rev. G. Eisele became pastor, and remained until 1877.

            In 1872, a division occurred in the church, sixty members leaving it. These members worshiped at Rocky Mission Chapel until 1878, when the Rev. G. D. Menger having been recalled to the pastorate, they all (page 607) returned. Rev. A. Griep has been pastor of this church since 1882, and it has one hundred and twenty members. The Sunday-school has one hundred and fifty scholars.

            Zion Baptist Church (colored) was organized November.30, 1870, at the house of Humphrey Moody, in Miami City. The original members of this church were Humphrey and Elizabeth Moody, Albert Matthews, Sarah Anderson, and William Lenyer. Rev. Albert Matthews was the first pastor of the church. At frst services were held in the house of the pastor of the church, then in a hall on Wayne Street, and in the Baxter Street engine house. In the fall of 1876 a lot on Sprague Street, in West Dayton, was purchased for four hundred dollars, on which a one-story brick church was erected at a cost of one thousand eight hundred dollars. Since the retirement of the first pastor, Rev. Albert Matthews, the pastors of the church have been as follows: Rev. Spencer Young, Rev. Albert Matthews, second term, Rev. William Harris, Rev. Henry Roberts, Rev. James Shocraft, Rev. H. Rockhold, Rev. J. T. Olive, and Rev. Charles M. J. Clark.

            Shiloh Baptist Church (colored) is located on Hawthorne Street, between Fifth and Fitch streets. It was established in 1887, with Albert Matthews as pastor.

            Grace Methodist Episcopal Church has a history extending back to the very beginning of the settlement of the town. A class was formed in 1797 by William Kamer, which met for worship at his house three miles up Mad River. In 1798 Bishop Francis Asbury sent John Nobler to organize the Miami Circuit, and in the prosecution of this work Mr. Nobler preached in Dayton August 12th, that year. Rev. Mr. Nobler in his diary mentions William Ramer as a local preacher. Rev. Mr. Kobler preached again on August 26th; and in reference to the effect of the preaching of the word, which he said in his diary was brought to bear upon the company with a powerful, quickening influence, he noted that " All appeared to be struck under conviction, and some made inquiry, 'What shall I do to be saved?"' Rev. Mr. Kobler preached again in Dayton on January 1, 1799, and on April 2d, class meetings were held  at various places in the surrounding country and at Aaron Baker's in the village.  On the 22d of September, 1811, Bishop Asbury preached to about a thousand persons in the courthouse. Rev. John Collins, who had been appointed with two others to the Mad River Circuit, preached in Dayton on two successive Sundays soon afterward. Soon after this he urged upon the people the necessity of erecting a "meeting-house," and three subscription papers were started to raise a fund for that purpose. On December 26th following, the trustees were appointed, and it (page 608) was found that $457.55 had been subscribed toward the fund. In the winter of 1813-14 the church was incorporated by the legislature, and lot No. 155 was donated to the society by D. C. Cooper. Oil the east half of this lot they built their first church, a frame one-story building, 40x30 feet in size. It was occupied for the first time in 1814, previous to which time meetings had been held in the open air in the log cabin of the Presbyterians and in the courthouse. In 1815 George S. Houston was steward of this church, which was then named the Dayton Methodist Episcopal Church, and had a membership of forty. In 1818 there were sixty-three members, and two classes were formed. The Sunday-school was organized this year. The frame church erected as above narrated was used until 1828, when the work of erecting the second church building was begun, and completed the next year. This building was of brick, 50x40 feet in size, and twenty-four feet high. Owing to the short terms of the pastors in the early history of the Methodist Church, there were many pastors here before the erection of this second building. In 1830 the Rev. Mr. Dyche became the first regularly stationed preacher of this denomination in Dayton. In 1832 he was succeeded by the Rev. Arza Brown. Subsequently the following ministers preached for this church: William D. Barnett, 1833-1834; William Simmons, 1834-1836; J. A. Waterman, 1836-1838; William H. Lawder, 1838-1839; Samuel Latta, 1839-1840; David Whitcomb, 1840-1841; Joseph A. Waterman, 1841-1842; William Herr, 1842-1844; J. W. Weakley, 1844-1846; Cyrus Brooks, 1846-1847; John S. Inskip, 1847-1849; George C. Crum, 1849-1850; William P. Strickland, 1850-1852; William H. Sutherland, 1852-1854; E. G. Nicholson, 1854-1856; William I. Fee, 1856-1858; J.M. Leavitt, 1858-1860; J. F. Marley, 1860-1862; Charles Ferguson, 1862-1864; Asbury Lowrey, 1864-1865; William L. Hypes, 1865-1869; W. W. Ramsey, 1869-1871; J. F. McClelland, 1871-1872; M. A. Richards, 1872-1875; T. H. Pearne, 1875-1877; A. B. Leonard, 1877-'.879; William L. Hypes, 1879-1884; R. 11. Rust, 1884-1886, and B. F. Dimmick, 1886-1889. During the pastorate of Rev. John S. Inskip, 1847-1849, a new brick church was erected on the old location on Third Street. The cornerstone was laid by Rev. Arthur W. Elliott, April 10, 1848. This building was 55x82 feet in size, and had a tower in front. In 1866, more room was needed by the congregation, and a lot was purchased on the southeast corner of Fourth and Ludlow streets. The corner-stone of the new building erected on this lot was laid July 2, 1866, and the completed     building was dedicated March 27, 1870, by Revs. E. 0. Haven and John S. Inskip. The present membership of this church is six hundred and fifty, and there are two hundred scholars in the Sunday-school.

            (page 609) Raper Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1841. On the 9th of August a committee was appointed to estimate the cost of the new "meeting-house." On August 12th, J. W. Griswold was made a committee to convey lot Number 101, on the east side of the canal, to the trustees of the church. The lot had previously been purchased and conveyed to him for the purpose of erecting thereon a new church building. Mr. Griswold made the conveyance immediately to the trustees. On August 14, 1841, the trustees named the new church Finley Chapel, in honor of Rev, James B. Finley. On the 2d of September, a contract was made with Daniel Coffin and Daniel Waymire to erect the building for $763, and on the 15th of December, a contract was made with the same parties to seat the building and make the altar and pulpit fpr one hundred dollars. the building was a one-story frame which was afterward moved to the corner of Wayne and Short streets. The new church grew in membership much more rapidly than was expected, and in 1851 it became necessary to erect a larger building. This new edifice was erected and completed in 1852, and was named Raper Chapel, in honor of a former pastor. The original cost of the new church was about ten thousand dollars, and improvements made on it since have cost about ten thousand dollars additional. A parsonage was built in 1862 at a cost of three thousand dollars. From 1841 down to the present time the pastors of Raper Methodist Episcopal Church have been as follows: Revs. Moses Smith, D. D., A. W. Musgrove, William II. Raper, Werter R. Davis, D. D., Thomas Gorsuch, William H. Lawder, Granville Moody, D. D., William I. Ellsworth, J. Ford Conrey, James T. Bail, George C. Crum, D. D., L. F. VanCleve, John F. Marley, D. D., Thomas Collett, William A. Robinson, Edward T. Wells, Lucien Clark, John N. Irvin, and Stanley 0. Royal. The present membership of this church is about six hundred and sixty, and there are in the Sunday-school fve hundred and fifty scholars.

            Davisson Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1854. In January of that year Rev. W. Fitzgerald was appointed minister of the new church, and soon afterward a one-story brick church was erected at it cost of $2,500. The name it bears was given to it in honor of Rev. D. D. Davisson, who was largely instrumental in having the church building erected. The church remained a mission until 1857. From this time on for two years Rev. G. H. Kennedy was pastor of the church, which together with the one at Ebenezer, constituted one charge, but afterward this church was self-supporting. During the conference year 1867-1868 it was connected with the Buckeye Street Mission. Some of the more recent pastors have been Rev. G. W. (page 610) Goudy, Rev. W. Williams, Rev. J. W. Gaddis, Rev. M. Kugler. The name of this church was changed to the Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church in 1885, and since then the pastors have been Rev. Samuel D. Clayton and Valorous F. Brown. The membership of the church is now six hundred and of the Sunday-school five hundred and twenty-five, Sears Street Methodist Episcopal Church was started in 1857 as a Sunday-school. This Sunday-school was organized October 11th, of that year, in what was then the Friend's meeting-house on Sears Street. Rev. Maxwell F. Gaddis was the first superintendent, and was assisted by the following ofcers: S. C. Emily, assistant superintendent; Charles Parrott, treasurer; Thomas B. Stevenson, librarian; and Charles Burvinger, secretary. The Sunday-school grew into what was for some time known as Gaddis Chapel, and afterward into the Sears Street Methodist Episcopal Church. This church was organized November 17, 1860, and was re-organized January 1, 1861, by the Rev. J. F. Chalfant. The first board of stewards was composed of John Birch, J. H. Cheever,  Alexander McCandless, and J. Hicks. Among the preachers who delivered sermons to this congregation just previous to and immediately after the organization of the church were the following: Rev. J. J. Hill, of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Waynesville, Ohio; Rev. John F. Marley, of Wesley Chapel, Dayton; Rev. Maxwell F. Gaddis, Bishop Matthew Simpson, Bishop Morris, and others. There was a great revival in this church in February, 1861, by which upward of one hundred new members were received into the church. Rev. Mr. Gaddis was the first pastor of the church, remaining in that capacity until 1862, when he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Marley, who was succeeded June 11, 1863, by the Rev. William Simmons. On the 24th of November following, the society purchased the Friends' meeting-house for nine hundred and fifty dollars. Rev. Mr. Simmons remained pastor of the church until 1866, when lie was succeeded by the Rev. E. F. Hill who .remained one year and was followed by Rev. M. F. Gaddis. Rev. J. B. Ellsworth was pastor during the years 1868 and 1869, and Rev. A Bowers during 1870 and 1871. Rev. G. H. Kennedy was pastor during 1872; Rev. William B. Polling, 1875; Rev. W. N. Williams, 1876 and 1877; Rev. J. W. Gaddis, 1878, 1879, and 1880, and Rev. J. Y. Lemming in 1881. In 1882, the church was disbanded for the purpose of forming the East Dayton Methodist Episcopal Church. The old chapel building was sold for two thousand dollars, and a lot oil the corner of Huffman Avenue and May Street was purchased* upon which to erect a larger and more imposing structure. The membership of the church at this time was one hundred and fifty-two. The First German, Methodist Episcopal Church of Dayton was (page 611) in 1840 with twelve members. In 1843, they built a church edifice on the corner of Jackson and Sixth streets. It was a one-story brick and cost nearly two thousand dollars. About the close of the war the building was sold and a lot bought on the corner of Clay and Van Buren streets, upon which the present church building was erected. It is two stories high and cost fourteen thousand dollars. It has a seating capacity of nearly six hundred people. Following is a list of the ministers of the church: Mr. Englehart, Mr. Riemeschneiver, Joseph Hebner, John Kessling, Charles Shelver, George A. Bruenich, George Daucker, John Bier, Wilhelm Ahrens, John Hopen, Jacob Rhodweilder, Bonneville Braumiller, Christian Foegler, George Daucker, Charles Kisseuger, Conrad Gohn, George Widman, Earhart Wunderlect, J. F. H. Pietrman, Edward Ulnict, Philip B. Weber, John Bier, F. W. Rhinehart, A. Kressley, John Swinefoot, Charles Bozenhard, George Schwinn, Charles Militzer, J. C. Egly, and H. E. Wulzen. This church has now about one hundred and ninety members, and the Sunday-school has one hundred and twenty-five scholars.

            Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church is located on the west side of Valley Street, north of Chapel. It was established in 1884. Its pastors have been Rev. Lafayette Young and Rev. W. R. Dille. Its membership is two hundred and fifty, and there are nearly two hundred scholars in the Sunday-school.

            St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church is located on the corner of Huffman Avenue and May Street. It was established in 1884. Its pastors have been Rev. Thomas Collett and Rev. J. P. Schultz. The membership of the church is now about four hundred and forty, and the number of scholars in the Sunday-school is five hundred and fifty.

            Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church (colored) was organized in 1842.. Soon afterward they bought a lot of the Daughters of Zion, a colored society, and upon this lot erected a one-story frame church building on Wilkinson, between Bruen and Ziegler streets. In 1854, they sold this building and erected a two-story brick church at a cost of about two thousand and five hundred dollars. The following ministers have had charge of the church: Shadrach Green, Charles Clemens, Robert Anderson, John Fall, William Jackson, Thomas Clinton, Benjamin Gardner, L. C. Kiner, and J. E. Artis. At the present time there are one hundred and forty members in this church and sixty scholars in the Sunday-school.

            Eaker Street African Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. W. T. Maxwell, Rev. Philip Tolliver, and Rev. Alexander Smith have been the pastors of this church.

            (page 512) Buckeye African Methodist Episcopal Church is located on Hawthorne Street, between Fifth and Fitch. Rev. J. M. Payne has been pastor of the church since 1888.

            Christ Church. The first services of the Episcopal Church in Dayton were held May 15, 1817, by Rev. Philander Chase, who was at the time on a missionary tour through Southern Ohio. Immediately a parish was organized and named St. Thomas. Only seven persons signed its articles of association. The organization, however, seems to have had but little vitality, as it was two years later when the Rev. Philander Chase, who had in the meantime been consecrated bishop of Ohio, field a second service in Dayton. This was in October, 1819. As a result of this second visit of Rev. Mr. Chase, St. Thomas Parish was re-organized November 27th following, its articles being signed by twenty-seven persons. Judge Joseph H. Crane and Warren Munger, Sr., were among the number. Although this organization was thus early effected, the parish was without a regular minister until October 19, 1821. At this time Rev. Spencer Wall, a deacon in charge of the missionary work at Piqua and Springfield, took charge of the congregation, preaching on alternate Sundays and serving until March, 1822. St. Thomas Parish had no other regular pastor. There were, however, other clergymen who. held occasional services for several years. Among these ministers were Samuel Johnson, Thomas A. Osborne, Ezra B. Kellogg, Galen McMillan, and Alexander Hall. During these years services were held in the Lancasterian schoolhouse oil St. Clair Street, in the churches of other denominations, in the courthouse, and in private houses. The struggle to maintain the church was, however, too great, and St. Thomas ceased to exist some time in 1827. From that time until 1830 there was no church, but on the 7th of October of that year the Rev. Ethan Allen, who was on a missionary tour of inspection throughout the southwestern portion of Ohio, visited Dayton and stated his mission to Judge Crane and Warren Munger, Sr., and proposed to hold services the next Sunday. Receiving no encouragement, however, he left town next morning, but returned October 21st, bringing with him letters of introduction, stating his mission. His services were this time accepted, and the use of the Presbyterian church secured. In this church, which stood on the corner of Second and Ludlow streets, two services were held October 24th. A subscription paper was started the next morning to raise money for the support of Mr. Allen, and fifty-nine persons pledged three hundred and twenty dollars toward his first year's salary. He entered regularly on his duties in the old courthouse on Sunday, November 24th. Articles of association for the parish were signed May 13, 1831, and in 1835, the (page 613) was incorporated by a special act of the legislature under the name of Christ Church. On June 25, 1831, a subscription was started for the purchase of a lot and the building of a church. May 17, 1832, it was reported that eighteen hundred dollars had been raised and a lot was selected on South Jefferson Street, which cost four hundred and eighty dollars. The edifice erected on this lot was completed and opened for service by the rector. The general style of the building was Gothic and it was 65x45 feet. November 17, 1833, Bishop Mcllvaine made his first visit to the parish and consecrated the church. In October, 1843,

            Rev. Mr. Allen resigned and was succeeded by Rev. Richard S. Killen, who entered upon his duties February 4, 1844, and resigned October 15th of the salve year. He was succeeded by Rev. William W. Arnett, who remained five years. Rev. James B. Britton took charge of the parish November 12, 1849. In June, 1852, on account of the increasing congregation, a new front was added to the building at a cost of about five thousand dollars. Upon the resignation of the Rev. Mr. Britton in 1855, a call was extended to Rev. H. H. Morrell, who became rector in November, 1855, and remained until July, 1857. Rev. John Woart was the next rector. On May 12, 1859, a second parish was established in Dayton, which was named St. Paul's. This parish remained in existence until 1863, when its warden, John Powell, closed his report to the convention. In March, 1860, Rev. Anthony TenBroeck became rector and remained in charge until April 20, 1862. Rev. Edward H. Jewett became rector October 19, 1862, and remained eight years, during which time the membership and financial strength of the church largely increased. In April, 1868, a committee of the vestry and the ladies established a mission which resulted in the organization of Ascension Chapel, which was consecrated June 20, 1870. The Rev. Edward P. Wright, D. D., became rector in November, 1870, and during his rectorship the present brick church edifice was erected. It stands on First Street, between Main and Ludlow. The corner-stone was laid July 12, 1871, by Bishop Bedell, and the building was opened for worship March 22, 1874. It is in the Gothic style of architecture and is trimmed with Dayton limestone. It has a seating capacity of seven hundred persons, is 126x68 feet in size, and the extreme height of its steeple is 166 feet. The cost of this edifce, including the lot upon which it stands, was forty-seven thousand dollars. Rev. E. II. Jewett became rector of Christ Church for the second time May 18, 1873, and resigned in May, 1879. Rev. J. T. Webster became rector January 1, 1880, and was succeeded by the present rector, Rev. Herbert J. Cook, in 1886. The membership of this church is now five hundred and twenty, and that of the Sunday-school is four hundred and ninety.

            (page 614) Ascension Chapel, as is stated in the history of Christ Church, was established as a mission Sunday-school in the eastern portion of the city in 1868. A lot, upon which it was the design to erect a church edifice, was purchased on the following Ascension Day, and hence the name of the organization. Finding soon afterward that the location was not suitable for the work of the mission, a lot was purchased in South Dayton, on the southeast corner of Monroe and Warren streets, upon which a building was erected and completed in 1870 at a cost of nine thousand dollars, including the cost of the lot. This lot was consecrated June 20, 1870, by Bishop Bedell. Rev. A. W. Seabrease was called to the rectorship December 23, 1870, but declined, and on July 18, 1871, a call was extended to the Rev. F. B. Bartlett, who likewise declined. This experience was of such a discouraging nature that for some time no further efort to secure the services of a. rector was made, but the Sunday-school was kept up regularly and was the means of bringing many into the church. Rev. J. H. Logie became rector of this church in 1885 and remains in the pulpit to the present time.

            The First United Brethren Church was organized in 1847 in a small upper room of the Oregon engine house, which stood at the southeast corner of Sixth and Tecumseh streets. This was not, however, the first movement to organize a church of this denomination in Dayton, an unsuccessful attempt having been made in 1840. Of the church organized in 1847, there were fifteen members, among them being John Dodds and wife, Daniel Keifer and wife, John W. Crabbs, and Mrs. Bowen. At first there was preaching every other Sunday afternoon, in connection with the Springfield circuit. The first pastor was the Rev. Robert Norris, who was assisted by Rev. William J. Shuey. For the first few years the chief obstacle to the growth of the society was the want of a house of worship. This obstacle was, however, at length overcome, the congregation being 1850-1851 the erection of a church building was undertaken in by valuable accessions from the country, and 1852 at the corner of Sixth and Logan streets. This building was of brick and was completed that year. It was dedicated by Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner, and served the congregation as a temple of worship until 1873. It is now used as a mayor's office and by the police court of the city. When the church building was erected, a parsonage was also erected adjoining the church on the west.

            The first regular pastors of this church after the erection of this new building were the Revs. William R. Rhinehart and D. K. Flickinger, who served jointly, services being sustained both morning and evening on Sundays. A Sunday-school was organized, in which D. L. Rike and (page 615) E. W. McGowen were active workers. The growth of the church was slow but steady, and was aided in 1853 by the establishment here of the publishing house which gave valuable additions to the membership. In 1856, there were ninety-two names on the roll. At a revival in 1860-1861 one hundred and four persons were received into the church. A Young Men's Association was established, and the prospect was inspiring, but when the War of the Rebellion broke out, it swept away the young men into the army and the association was broken up. In 1858, under the leadership of J. B. King and John Lawrence, a mission was begun among the colored people of the city, which resulted in the organization of the Third United Brethren Church on Ludlow Street.

            The pastors during the first twenty years of its existence, while it occupied the Sixth Street property, were, besides those above mentioned, the Revs. John W. Price, L. S. Chittenden, Henry Kumler, Jr., Alexander Owen, John Walter, William J. Shuey, S. M. Hippard, Jacob M. Marshal, D. Berger, W. H. Lanthurn, and C. Briggs. During the pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Briggs, the conviction seized upon a few of the members that further expansion and usefulness would be next to impossible in the old location, east of the canal. The discussion of this question resulted in the sale of the old property-church building and parsonage-to the city of Dayton for the purposes above mentioned, and the purchase of a site on Fifth Street, between Main and Jefferson, oil which the church now stands. The old house was vacated January 1, 1873, and before the next Sunday a temporary place of worship had been secured in what is now St. John's Lutheran Church on St. Clair Street. In the meantime the trustees rented the Universalist church, on Main Street, at an annual rental of five hundred dollars. At this time the membership was two hundred. In 1873, a new church was erected on the site purchased in 1872. The basement was completed and opened November 20, 1873, and dedicated by Bishop Weaver, who also dedicated the auditorium on Sunday, December 17, 1876.

            The Rev. Mr. Briggs served the church from 1870 to 1873, and was succeeded by the Rev. W. J. Pruner, who remained one year. Rev. E. S. Chapman became pastor in 1874 and remained until March 1, 1882, when he was succeeded by Rev. S. A. Mowers. In 1888, Mr. Mowers was succeeded by Rev. L Bookwalter, A. M., the present pastor. In 1874, under the Rev. Mr. Chapman, a new and upward career of the church began, which resulted in trebling the membership, the Sunday-school, and the stated congregations. For many years a mission Sabbath-school had been conducted on High Street by this congregation. A lot had been purchased and a frame building erected as far back as 1865. In (page 616) under Mr. Chapman's pastorate, a brick building was erected in place of the frame, and in 1881 the Conference was requested to organize a             separate congregation at that place. This was accomplished in the fall of 1881, and the church is now known as the High Street United Brethren Church. In the spring of 1886, one of the members of this church suggested to the Dayton United Brethren Ministers' Association the establishment of a mission in the southern part of the city, between Wayne and Brown streets. A committee was appointed to examine the field and a member of the High Street United Brethren Church to canvass it. An encouraging report was made, and the committee continued with power to act. The First Church Quarterly Conference elected a board of five trustees from the various congregations. A lot was purchased on the corner of Oak and Bonner streets, and a chapel and parsonage erected at a cost of six thousand and five hundred dollars. With the exception of one thousand and twenty-five dollars given by the Annual Conference, the money was contributed by the First Church. The results of this mission work so far have been exceedingly gratifying. At its first session in the new building the Sunday-school numbered 279; at the third, 370; at the fourth, 360; and at the fifth, 377. The membership of the First Church in 1881 was 555; in 1887 it was 609, and in 1889 it is 630, and that of the Sunday-school, 475.

            The Sunday-school of this church is in a very flourishing condition. Some of the statistics are as follows: The attendance for the three years 1883, 1884, and 1885, was more than eighty per cent of the enrollment. The average attendance of adult scholars per Sunday was 236, while for the year 1885 it was 252. The average attendance of the school was, for three years, 353, while for 1885 it was 381. The regular collections of the school for the three years amounted to $1,603.07, or $534.36 per year, while, in 1885, the regular collections amounted to $544 60. In 1883, tell scholars united with the church; in 1884, thirty, and in 1885, thirty-five.

            The Ladies' Aid Society of this church, first known as the United Brethren Sewing Society was organized in 1861. Its first meeting was held in a small room on the second floor of the Telescope building. Afterward its meetings were held at the houses of the members, then at the parsonage, and later at the church. The purpose of the sewing society was to secure, by donation or manufacture, articles of clothing for the needy poor of Dayton, and such other places as the society may determine. In 1872, the name of the organization was changed to the Ladies' Aid Society, the constitution was revised, and the work of the organization enlarged, its purpose now being "to supply the wants of (page 617) needy in our church, and to urge children to come to Sunday-school; supply them with suitable clothing when necessary, and to do all in our power to induce the parents or guardians to become Christians." Originally, the society derived its revenues from fees of members, donations, and solicitations. Now the church is called on annually for a subscription to which it cheerfully and generously responds. Its labors have been directed in other channels besides that of helping the poor. In 1882, it raised, by subscription, $514 for the purpose of refitting the lecture room of the church, frescoing the walls and ceiling, and carpeting the floor. An organ recital was given, under the auspices of the society, which netted $218.50, and the society donated one hundred dollars toward paying for the new organ. The money for the pulpit furniture was given by the ladies. The society, in its quiet way, is doing a great deal of good, and its efforts are characterized by a spirit of humility and charity. The members are extremely thankful that the efforts of the society to do good have been uniformly crowned with success.

            The Second United Brethren Church (German) was organized in 1853. The first pastor was the Rev. H. Staub, and the second was Rev. J. A. Sand. At first, worship was conducted in the lecture room of the First United Brethren Church, but in 1855 a one-story brick church edifice was erected on Wayne Street, near Jones. Rev. W. L. Craumer was the third pastor, and he was succeeded by Revs. E. Light, G. Fritz, G-. Schmidt, A. Krause, M. Bussdicker, C. Streich E. Lorenz, Charles Schneider, Solomon Vonneida, Justus Moeller, Charles E. Schneider, George Schmidt, and Justus Moeller.

            The Third United Brethren Church was organized in 1858 as a mission, under the care of the First United Brethren Church, for work among the colored population in the city. A brick building was erected a few years later, on South Ludlow Street, at the present entrance to Court Street. The church was disbanded in 1883, many of the members were taken into the other United Brethren churches, and the building was sold and removed. Four of its former members, Rev. and Mrs. Joseph Griner, and Rev. and Mrs. D. F. Wilberforce, have been for many years missionaries at Shaingay, West Africa.

            Summit Street United Brethren Church was organized in 1871 by a number of members of Miami Chapel, a United Brethren church a short distance south of the corporation limits. It was then known as the Home Street Church. The house of worship, partially completed, was dedicated May 21, 1871, by Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner. The church building remained in an uncompleted condition until 1880. But this the congregation would have been unable to accomplish, had it not been (page 618) for a generous proposition made by John Dodds, to furnish all the money necessary to complete the work, after the congregation had itself raised three thousand dollars. A neat and commodious church edifice was the result of this proposition. The church will seat one thousand persons, and the entire cost was $8,098.90. The Ladies' Aid Society gave $513 toward the cost of the cupola. The church was dedicated April 30, 1882, by Bishop Glossbrenner. The pastors Have been as follows: J. P. Landis, C. Briggs, A. W. Drury, William Dillon, different members of the faculty of Union Biblical Seminary and editors of the Religious Telescope who served in the interval when the church was without a regular pastor, William Beardshear, M. H. Ambrose, W. C. Day, and George M. Mathews.

            High Street United Brethren Church was organized as a mission of the First Church in 1870, a Sabbath-school having been established in 1866. The pastor, in 1881, was Rev. George M. Mathews, who was succeeded by the Rev. E. S. Lorenz, and he by the Rev. J. W. Kilbourn, the present pastor of the church.

            Oak Street United Brethren Church is located on the northwest corner of Oak and Bonner streets. It was established in 1886, with. Rev. Lewis Bookwalter, A. M., as pastor. In 1888, Rev. E. A. Starkey, A. M. succeeded the Rev. Mr. Bookwalter. Its membership is now about two hundred.

            Miami Chapel United Brethren Church is located east of Broadway and south of the corporation line. It is the oldest church of the denomination in this vicinity, and the parent of all the United Brethren churches in the city. Rev. E. F. Powell was pastor in 1882, and he has been succeeded by Revs. Edgar W. Bowers, George W. Arnold, M. R. Bair, and Henry Doty.

            The Otterbein United Brethren Church (German) was organized in North Dayton, in April, 1889, with Rev. J. Sick as pastor. It is located on Chapel Street.

            The Dayton United Brethren Ministers' Association was organized in 1886. Its present president is Rev. W. J. Shuey. It holds monthly meetings from September to May, discussing topics of general and special interest, and planning for the extension of church work. The Broadway Christian Church was organized in 1828 with nine members. Not long afterward a church building was erected on Main Street, between Fourth and Fifth, which was known as the Union Meeting House. In 1848, the church was re-organized and a new covenant adopted, which was signed by twenty-one members, and a short time afterward seventeen other names were added. In 1849, a prominent (page 619)  member of the organization died, having bequeathed the south half of lot number 206, upon which the meeting-house stood, to the church. In 1852, the church commenced receiving colored persons as members. Three years later the heirs of Mr. Bruen purchased the half-lot of the church for thirteen hundred dollars. From 1851 to 1857 the church was without a regular pastor, and was supplied by the conference.  In 1858, it was again re-organized with thirty-nine member and in 1859 two lots were purchased on the corner of what are now Broadway and Home Avenue. A building committee was appointed to erect a house of worship, and a one-story brick church with basement was erected, and the basement dedicated in June, 1860, by P. McCullough, who was then the pastor.

            From 1864 to 1867 the church, being again without a pastor, was supplied by the conference. In 1868, the auditorium of the building was completed and dedicated by Rev. J. W. Weeks. It has a seating capacity of four hundred. In 1872-1873 the debt of the church was paid. In 1874, the name was changed to the Broadway Christian Church. In 1876, an effort to unite with the Christian (Disciples') Church failed. Following is a list of the ministers of this church since its organization: Revs. T. S. Wells, E. W. Humphreys, J. M. Dawson, J. T. Lynn, P. McCullough, J. W. Weeks, J. Byrkit, H. Y. Rush, W. A. Gross, J. S. Jones, W. J. Lawrence, J. W. Nobles, C. D. Williamson, George Tenney, and Josiah P. Watson.

            Brown Street Christian Church was organized at first as the First Regular Baptist Church, as has been set forth in the history of that organization. On the 21st of March, 1829, it became what was then known as a Campbellite Church and continued to worship in the church building on Main Street, between First and Second, until about 1850, when it transferred its worship to the corner of Brown and Sixth streets. While on Main Street, some of the pastors were Elders D. S. Burnett, David Gosney, William Pinkerton, L. H. Jemison, and J. R. Fraim, and the visiting ministers were Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, Aylett Rames, Samuel Hushom, and Joshua Swallow. From 1849 to 1862 the pastor in charge was Elder J. M, Henry, and his successors in the regular order of their pastorates were Elders John Errett, J. M. Long, D. E. Van Buskirk, J. II. McCullough, L. H. Frazier, Dennis M. D. Todd, L. R. Gault, and H. L. Willett, the present pastor.

            There has recently been established another church of this denomination in Dayton View, called the Church of Christ. It is located on Salem Avenue, between Gilbert and Superior avenues.

            Emmanuel Church Evangelical Association was established in 1840 by Rev. A. B. Schafer. The first meeting was held at the house of Peter (page 620) Sehneiber in August, and in 1841 a class of twelve was formed and attached to Miami Circuit as a mission. In 1843, a lot on the corner of Walnut and Fifth streets was purchased for two hundred dollars, and a small brick church erected at a cost of four thousand dollars. This building was dedicated on the first Sunday in September, 1843, by Rev. A. B. Schafer. In 1849, a second church was erected in front of the old one, 38x50 feet in size. In 1851, this building was dedicated by the same pastor. In 1855, it became a station, and in 1857 it was added to the Indiana Conference. In 1870, a lot was purchased on Commercial Street, near Fifth, upon which a commodious house of worship was erected at a cost of seventeen thousand dollars. It is a two-story brick, the auditorium being in the upper story, with a seating capacity of over five, hundred, and the Sunday-school rooms and class rooms in the basement. The building was dedicated in 1870 by Bishop It. Dubs, D. D. Following is a list of the pastors of this church in the order in which they have served: A. B. Schafer, John Hall, Frederick Meyer, Jacob Burkert, Levi Mess, G. F. Spring, A. B. Schafer, John Nicholai, -- Koag, A. Dreisbach, John Dreisbach, Dar] Strohman, Leonard Scheurinan, M. Steufte, Philip Brech, F. Weithoupt, John Fuchs, J. M. Gower, M. Hoehn, M. Steufe, M. Klaiber, John Kaufman, J. E. Troger, J. M. Gomer, J. F. Hansing, Mathias Hoehn, Charles F. Hansing, Mathias Hoehn, and C. C. Beyrer. The membership of this church is now two hundred and ninety, and the scholars in the Sunday-school number two hundred and twenty. There is connected with this church a mission, having forty members, and its Sunday-school has three hundred and fifty scholars.

            Wayne Avenue Evangelical Association was begun as a mission of the Emmanuel Church. In 1888, a frame building was erected on the southeast corner of Wayne and Xenia avenues, and a church was organized in June, 1888. The pastor is Rev. A. O. Raber. The First Reformed Church was organized in 1833 with seven members. Rev. David Winters was one of the first ministers of this denomination to preach in Dayton, and it was as the result of his work here that this church was formed. Regular services were held for a time in the courthouse, but soon the Christian Church on Main Street was secured, and it was in this building that the church was organized. Some years afterward a number of German families were taken into the congregation, and services were held alternately in the English and in the German language. A charter was obtained for the church in January, 1837. On the 18th of April, 1837, the trustees purchased the ground now occupied by the church on Ludlow Street, between Second and (page 621) Third, for seven hundred dollars, and a fine brick church was erected on the lot the same year. The building was dedicated June 7, 1840, there being two sermons, one in English by Rev. Henry Willard and the other in German by Rev. George Weisz. In 1849, a German organization with ninety-fve members was effected as an integral part of the congregation. In 1850, a division of the charge, which included three congregations besides Dayton, was made, and the pastor resigned. Rev. A. P. Freeze took charge of the Dayton church, and the Rev. David Winters of the other three congregations. Rev. Mr. Freeze retired in 1852 and was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Phillips, who retired in April, 1853. In the following September, six families withdrew to organize the Mt. Carmel Church, three miles west of the city. On the 1st of January, 1856, Rev. George W. Willard, D. D., became pastor and retained the pulpit until December, 1860. Rev. Lewis H. Kefauver became pastor of the church January 1, 1861, and remained until July 1, 1863. Ile was succeeded in October by T. B. Bucher, who remained until January 1, 1867. In the meantime the church had been improved at a cost of nearly twenty thousand dollars. Rev. Dr. Van Horne then served the church as pastor from September 1, 1868, until 1875, and was succeeded by Rev. W. A. Hale, the present pastor. This church has now six hundred members, and the Sunday-school has three hundred and forty scholars. The Second Reformed Church grew out of a separation of a part of the members of the First Church from that body, as set forth in the sketch of that church. About thirty families withdrew, in order to have services in their own (the German) language. In 1859, they erected a church building at the corner of Clay and Cass streets, which was dedicated in the fall of the same year by Rev. H. J. Rutenek, of Cleveland, Ohio. The following have been pastors of this church: Revs. A. Tonsmeier, C. Becker, E. F. Luedders, W. Wittenweiler, George Rettig, Oswald J. Accola, C. H. Schoepfle, and the present pastor, H. A. Meier. Rev. Oswald J. Accola came first in 1866, and remained until 1876, when he was succeeded by Rev. C. H. Scloepfle, who remained two years, when Rev. Mr. Accola returned, and remained the second time from 1878 until 1886, when the present pastor came. Since then the congregation has erected a new brick church on the site of that erected in 1859. It is a one-story structure, 76x54 feet in size, and with a spire one hundred and ten feet high. When completed, it cost twelve thousand, five hundred dollars. The Sunday-school has one hundred and fifty scholars, and the church two hundred and fifty-six communicant members.

            Trinity Reformed Church was organized December 12, 1886. It is (page 622) an organic part of the Miami Classis of the Reformed Church of the United States. Originally, there were forty-nine members in the organization. The first services were held on January 2, 1889, and the Sunday school was organized on this day. The Rev. E. Herbruck was pastor in charge of the church from the date of its organization until August 28, 1887, when the present pastor, Rev. M. Loucks, came. Services have been held, so far, in Room 12, Central Block, at the southwest corner of Fifth and Jefferson streets. The church has now two hundred members. The ;following have been elders of the church: G. G. Prugh, V. P. Van Horne, D. C. Lichliter, M. D. Myers, and G. W. Shearer; and the following have been deacons: G. G. Galloway, S. B. Hall, J. S. Crilly, John Blum, and W. A. Filbert. The elders and the deacons constitute the consistory of the church. The following is a list of the trustees: M. D. Myers, W. G. Miller, David Hawker, John Blum, and J. H. Dorfmeier. On the 5th June, the church held a congregational meeting, at which it was determined to raise thirty thousand dollars for the purpose of erecting a new church building, and that ten thousand dollars should be raised before any selection of ground upon which to build should be made. V. P. Van Horne has been superintendent of the Sunday-school ever since its organization. At first there were one hundred and thirty-two scholars enrolled, now there are four hundred and eight. It has a library of three hundred volumes, and G. G. Galloway is the librarian. Mrs. V. P. Van Horne is the president of the Ladies' Association; Mrs. Rev. M. Loucks, of the Mission Band; W. A. Blum, of the Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor; and Mrs. Rev. D. W. Ebbert, of the Missionary Society.

            The Hebrew Congregation, Kilo Kodish B'Nai Jeshuren, was organized in 1850, with about twelve members. Among these first members were Jacob Schwab, Joseph Lebensburger, Abraham Ach, Simon Ach, Adam Lebolt, Morris Wertheimer, and Abraham Mack. For some time they met in what had been the old Dayton Bank building, on Main Street, which was afterward the residence of Joseph Bimm, and in other places. Some time in the early part of 1863, they purchased the church building standing on the corner of Fourth and Jefferson streets, of the Baptists, put it in a good state of repair, and adapted it to the uses of their own congregation. It was then called the New Jewish Synagogue, and on the 28th of September, 1863, was described as nearing completion. The tables of Moses had been established above the ark of the covenant, and on either side of the ark were seats for the president and vice-president. In the center. of the synagogue was a second altar, upon which was a desk, where the scroll was read on Sabbath days and (page 623) holy days. This new synagogue was dedicated October 7, 1863. A procession was formed at two P. M. The band headed the procession and was followed by the city council, invited guests, little girls, young ladies, prominent members of the Jeshuren bearing the three scrolls containing the law, and male members of the Congregation. The Rev. Dr. Wise, of Cincinnati delivered a short address, and was followed by Rev. Mr. Demary, rabbi of the Congregation, and after the dedicatory address there was a song by the Cincinnati choir. Rev. Gotthilf Taubenhaus was pastor of the church until 1883, when he was succeeded by Rev. Israel

Saenger.

            The First English Lutheran Church was organized July 6, 1839, upon which day the following article of agreement was adopted: "We, the subscribers, feeling the importance of forming an Evangelical Lutheran congregation in Dayton, Ohio, for ourselves and children, do hereby, in humble reliance on the great Head of the church, form ourselves into a Lutheran congregation. We acknowledge ourselves members of the Lutheran Church, and of course subject to the discipline and church government of the General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the United States." This article was signed by the following persons: Henry Creager, Philip Beaver, John Prugh, Peter Baker, Frederick Gebhart, Elijah Ely, Samuel Keller, John Hoppert, and J. G. Hoppert. Of these persons the following were elected officers: Elders, Henry Creager and Philip Beaver; deacons, Frederick Gebhart and Peter Baker. A committee was appointed to secure the temporary use of the German Reformed Church, and the vestry was authorized to procure a lot suitable for the erection of a church building. In August, 1840, the Rev. D. P. Rosenmiller was elected pastor of the new church, and in April following a lot was purchased on the corner of Fourth and Jefferson streets. Upon this lot a brick church building was erected, 45x60 feet in size. In 1856, this house became too small for the congregation, and was sold to the United Presbyterians. A lot was thereupon purchased on Main Street, between Fourth and Fifth. Upon this lot a large brick was erected in 1860 and dedicated January 20, 1861. It is in the Gothic style of architecture, and is 121x72 feet in size. The lecture room iii the basement is 61 feet 6 inches by 43 feet in size, and contains 104 pews which will accommodate 416 people. Besides the lecture room, there are the infant class room, the young men's prayer meeting room, the Sunday-school room, and the library. There are also rooms for the use of the Ladies' Benevolent Association, three rooms for the sexton, and one for the pastor’s study. The audience room above is 92 feet long by 61 6 feet inches wide and the ceiling is 31 feet high. The pulpit is 18 feet wide (page 624) with a recess of 6 feet. The number of pews is 152 and the seating capacity of the room is 800. The cost of the church, as it was when dedicated, was $31,000, and the tower, which was to be completed, was estimated to cost $3,000. The ground upon which the building stands cost $7,000.

            The Rev. Mr. Rosenmiller served the church as pastor from 1840 to 1849, when he resigned and went to Hanover, Pennsylvania. He was succeeded by the Rev. P. Rizer, who had been pastor of the German Lutheran Church, at Cumberland, Maryland, and who remained until 1855. The next pastor was the Rev. F. W. Conrad, D. D., who remained until 1862. The Rev. D. Steck was pastor from 1862 to 1864; Rev. L. A. Gottwald, D. D., from 1865 to 1868; Rev. Irving Magee, from 1865 to 1872; Rev. J. B. Helwig, from 1872 to 1874; Rev. T. T. Everett, from 1874 to 1876; the Rev. G. F. Stelling, D. D., from 1877 to 1882, when he was succeeded by Rev. Joseph H. Barclay. Mr. Barclay was followed by the Rev. Peter Born and the Rev. E. E. Baker, the present pastor. This church has now six. hundred and sixty members, and the Sunday-school has four hundred and sixty scholars.

            St. John's English Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in 1864. At that time the Rev. D. Steck, D. D., was pastor of the First English Lutheran Church. His views on political questions not being in accord with those of the majority of the members, he was dismissed by the council, and on the 9th of December, 1864, the following "Church Notice" was published in the daily papers: " There will be a meeting of those members of the First Evangelical Church of Dayton who disapprove of the recent action of the council of that church in dismissing Rev. Daniel Steck from the office of pastor thereof, on Saturday, the 10th day of December, A. D. 1864, at 9:30 A. M., at Clegg's Hall, for the purpose of determining what action shall be taken by them in the premises." This notice was signed by Jacob Whitmore, Jacob Mumma, John Shafer, D. W. Reese, J. H. W. Mumma, J. C. Hoefer, Martin Smith, Daniel Kurtz, John Dieter, William Walker, Henry Bunstel, and A. Geiger. The result of the action of these gentlemen was that on Sunday, December 18th, a large congregation assembled in Huston Hall to hear the deposed pastor preach. From among those present on this occasion a new congregation was organized under the name of St. John's English Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Rev. Daniel Steck was of course elected its pastor. Huston Hall continued to be the regular place of holding religious services until April 24, 1865. On the. morning of that day the church hall was discovered to be on fire, and nothing was left standing but the walls. The loss to the church was an organ, the pulpit (page 624)  furniture and the Sunday-school library. The congregation soon afterward secured Clegg's Hall for a place of worship, and continued to occupy it for several years. Rev. Mr. Steck resigned the pastorate in December, 1868. Just previous to his departure the church was incorporated, and application was made for reception into the District Synod of Ohio. About this time the society purchased its present lot on the west side of St. Clair Street. There was at the time a church edifice on the lot, which had been used for some time by the First Congregational Church, of Dayton. The congregation, as soon as in possession of its own church property, extended a call to the Rev. M. C. Horine, and he became the pastor. Soon afterward the church was received into membership in the District Synod of Ohio, in connection with the General Council of the Lutheran Church of North America. The Rev. Mr. Horine remained pastor of the church only about a year, and he was succeeded by the Rev. S. L. Harkey, who, after a short pastorate, resigned, and the congregation was again without a pastor. The church then remained for nine months without a regular pastor, depending on irregular supplies. These were, however, unable to assist the society to raise the mortgage of two thousand dollars on the property, and in March, 1873, the mortgage was foreclosed and the property advertised for sale. Application for assistance was then made to the Home Mission Committee of the General Council. The chairman, Dr. W. A. Passavant, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, thereupon came to Dayton, gathered together the remnants of the congregation, collected the interest still due on the mortgage, and paid of the mortgage itself by securing a new loan from parties in the East, which loan, like the previous one, was secured by mortgage on the property. This trouble being thus settled, a call was extended in May, 1873, to the Rev. A. F. Siebert, who accepted the call and became the pastor of the church in the following July. Soon after he became pastor, the mortgage was canceled by means of a bequest from H. H. Hartman, who was for several years an officer in the church, and who died in 1875. The Rev. Mr. Siebert remained pastor until 1886, when he was succeeded by the Rev. J. G. Neifer, who is pastor at the present time.

            St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in the courthouse in 1838 or 1839, with a membership of about twenty-five families. July 18, 1840, this church body adopted a constitution, and in a year or two afterward it was incorporated as the German Evangelical Lutheran Church. At the time of the adoption of the constitution the pastor was Rev. Frederick Reiss. In 1840 a lot was purchased on Sears Street, upon which a one-story brick church was erected in 1841. In (page 626) 1849 it was enlarged. In this church the congregation worshiped until the completion of a new church building, which was begun in 1869. The lower story of this building was dedicated in June, 1870. It was erected on the north side of Third Street, between Madison and Sears, and was almost totally demolished by a storm on July 9, 1871. Between three hundred and four hundred Sunday-school children and their teachers had assembled in the building for shelter from the storm, and as the walls fell inward, a number were injured, and the superintendent, Christian Thomas, Mrs. Theresa Randall, a teacher, and Leonhardt Weyrangh, a child, were killed. The edifice was at once rebuilt at a cost of about forty thousand dollars. This new building was dedicated, the basement at one time and the auditorium at another, the latter in 1874. The auditorium has a seating capacity of one thousand persons. It is furnished with a fine organ, which cost five thousand dollars. The pastors of the church have been Rev. Mr. Grosskardt, Rev. Frederick Reiss, Rev., Randolph Bartels, Rev. Andrew Hordorf, Rev. T. E. Hertseh, Rev. Mr. Borhard, Rev. C. A. Fritze, Rev. Peter Born, and Rev. Carl Mueller. The name of this church was changed to what it is at present in 1852. There is a flourishing Sunday-school in connection with the church.

            St. Paul's German Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in 1852. A division occurred in opinion in St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran Church among the members on a question of church government, which resulted in the withdrawal of the pastor, Rev. Andrew Hordorf, and twenty-five families. For a time those who withdrew worshiped in the old Christian Church, on Main Street, but soon afterward purchased of Raper Methodist Episcopal Church, a one-story frame building, for $1,350, which they used for church purposes until the erection of a building on the corner of Wayne and Short streets. The ground upon which it was erected was purchased in 1865 for $5,250, and the foundation of the church laid in the fall of 1876. The corner-stone was laid in July, 1868, and the building dedicated August 15, 1869. Rev. Mr. Horndorf resigned the pastorate in June, 1859, and was succeeded by Rev. Frederick Zur Meuhlen, who remained until November 1, 1861. He was followed by Rev. Frederick Groth, who was succeeded in 1876 by Rev. Godfrey Loewenstein, who was followed by the Rev. A. H. Feldmann.

            Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized in August, 1881, as the result of the labors of Rev. O. S. Oglesby. There were seven members at first, and they worshiped at the corner of Commercial and Barr streets, in Union Chapel. Rev. M. L. Baum succeeded Rev. Mr. Oglesby in 1886, and is still the pastor. There are now about seventy (page 627) members in the church, and the Sunday-school has nearly one hundred scholars.

            The First Orthodox Congregational Church of Dayton, Ohio, was organized in 1854, by Rev. James C. White, pastor at the present time of the Poplar Street Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio. Some of the names of the first members of this church were as follows: George M. Young, D. M. Curtis, S. B. Brown, William Clark, N. S. Lockwood, and William McGregor, and there were others up to about seventy-five. From thirty to forty of the first members were dismissed from the Third Street Presbyterian Church for the purpose of assisting to organize this Congregational church. Services were held at first for about a year in Phillips' Hall, on the corner of Second and Main streets, and then in Clegg's Hall, until some time in 1857, when the church purchased a lot on St. Clair Street, and erected a small chapel thereon, which was used as long as the organization maintained its existence, and is now used by St. John's English Lutheran Church. Rev. S. P. Fay became pastor in 1854, and remained with the church four years. There was then a period of supplies, and in 1861 Rev. Fayette Shipherd became pastor, remaining but little more than a year. He was followed, in 1862, by Rev. Justin E. Twitchell, who remained until the latter part of 1866, and was succeeded by Rev. James C. White, who remained until the disbandment of the church in the latter part of 1868, and was thus the last as well as the- first pastor of the congregation.

            In January, 1869, a petition was presented to the court for permission to sell the property, and for instructions as to how to invest the money realized from the sale. By order of the court, the property was sold, and in 1873 the money was turned over to the American Congregational Union, which is the church-extension society of the Congregational churches in the United States, the trustees of which pledged themselves to return the money to any Congregational church that might be organized in Dayton within ten years from that time. No church of that denomination was, however, organized in this city until in the early spring of 1889, so that the legal obligation to return the money is in all probability no longer binding. As to the moral obligation, that is a matter outside the province of this history.

            As stated above, in the early spring of 1889, another Congregational church was organized in Dayton, in response to two independent notices which appeared in the Dayton Herald of January 26th of that year, one being inserted by J. W. Nichols and the other by Rev. Thomas Clayton, of Zanesville, who had come to the city at the invitation of W. W. Tyler, for the purpose of considering the propriety of organizing such a church. (page 628) Members of this denomination thereupon met in the lecture room of the Young Men's Christian Association building and listened to preaching by Rev. Mr. Clayton between January 24th and April 1st, his congregations averaging forty persons. On the 3d of April a partial organization was effected by the adoption of a creed and articles of faith, and on the 17th of that month H. S. Doxsey was chosen clerk and B. N. Davis treasurer of the new organization. On the 14th of April Rev. Irving W. Metcalf, then pastor of the Eastwood Congregational Church, at Columbus, Ohio, preached his frst sermon for the new church, and on May 12th took temporary charge of the enterprise. Soon afterward the, church was organized with about forty members, and at present hold its services in Gravel Hall. This church was recognized June 25, 1889.

            Emmanuel Church was the first Catholic church organized in Dayton. The first Catholic family to arrive in this city was that of Robert Conway, who came from Baltimore, Maryland, in the spring of 1831. His family consisted of himself, wife, and nine children, and was for some time the only Catholic family in Dayton. Mr. Conway was, however, extremely anxious to enjoy the privileges of religious worship, and made arrangements, in 1832, with the Rev. Father E. T. Collins, of Cincinnati, to   become a resident of Dayton. Father Collins made the Conway residence his home, and for a portion of the time it was also used as a church. During the years 1832 and 1833, several Irish and German families settled in Dayton. Cincinnati had already become a bishopric, and although the bishop there had but few priests at his disposal, he sent out several of them to traverse the State. Some of these visited Dayton, among them being Rev. Fathers Thienpont, Juncker, Horstman, Henui, Tochenhens, Wurz, Young, and Murphy. Other priests came at various times, and the Conway residence became too small to accommodate the numbers that would congregate from the city and the vicinity to hear taught what, to them, were the sacred truths of the gospel. The first church building used by these devoted Catholics was a one-story brick building, a portion of which was occupied at the same time as a bakery, and located on St. Clair Street, opposite the park. After a great deal of trouble and labor, it was at last made possible for the Rev. Father Emmanuel Thienpont to collect a permanent congregation, and to erect a church building, which was dedicated in November, 1837. This church was a one-story brick building, and it stood on Franklin Street, between Ludlow Street and Prairie Avenue. Father Thienpont was succeed in the pastorate, in 1844, by Rev. Henry D. Juncker, under whom the congregation increased to such an extent that the church building had (page 629) to be enlarged. A large organ was purchased and three pure white marble altars. Rev. Mr. Juncker served as priest of this church until 1857, when he was elected bishop of the newly erected bishopric of Alton, Illinois, in which capacity he served until 1868, when he died. In May, 1857, Rev. Father John F. Hahne, was sent to Dayton to succeed Rev. Father Juncker. He remained until his death 'in 1882. During his pastorate, he was assisted by the following priests: Rev. Fathers J. Schiff' Volm, Charles Hahne, and William Scholl. In 1869, it became necessary to erect a new church building, and a new one was erected on Franklin Street, just east of the old church site. The first stone of the foundation was laid September 8, 1871. The building is was of brick, and 166x84 feet in size. There are two towers in front, each 212 feet high, and one in the rear 150 feet high. The vestibule is 42x8 feet, and is entered by three doors, each 15 feet high. The audience room is 126x66 feet in size, and the ceiling is sixty feet from the floor. There are two galleries, one above the other. Opposite the main entrance is the sanctuary, and in front of the sanctuary is a low elliptical iron railing, with handsome gilt ornaments. The whole interior of the church is appropriately finished with canopy, inscriptions, altars, figures, etc., and the frescoing is both chaste and elegant in design. The pews are of black walnut and ash, and the seating capacity of the auditorium is one thousand five hundred people. The children's gallery will seat six hundred in addition, and the cost of the edifice was nearly one hundred thousand dollars. It was dedicated October 6, 1873, and the ceremonies connected with the dedication were of the most imposing character. It was estimated that there were seven thousand persons present from abroad, who took part in the ceremonies. At the church, Archbishop Purcell, with his attendant deacons and acolytes chanting the Litany of Saints, took in the circuit of the church, sprinkling the walls with holy water. Pontifcal High Mass was then celebrated by Bishop Borgess, of Detroit, and the dedicatory sermon was preached by Archbishop Purcell from the Revelation 20: 2, 3.

            Rev. Father John F. Hahne died February 21, 1882. At his funeral there were present thousands of people who had come to participate in and witness the last sad rites of respect to the dead, whom they had known and loved so well. He was succeeded in the pastorate by his brother, the Rev. Father Charles Hahne, and the Rev. Father William Scholl became his first assistant. Rev. William Scholl remained assistant pastor until May, 1885, and was succeeded by the Rev. F. X. Lasance, who has been the assistant ever since. At the present time there are about six hundred and fifty families connected with this parish, and the (page 630) annual revenue of the church is about ten thousand dollars. The present pastor of this church, Rev. Charles Hahne, celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of his entrance into the ministry in 1888, as his brother, John F. Hahne, had done before him in 1873.

            St. Joseph's Catholic Church was formed in 1846 or 1847 by the English-speaking Catholics withdrawing from Emmanuel Church and organizing themselves into a separate body. In the latter year a church building was erected by them on the northeast corner of Madison and Second streets. The building cost about six thousand dollars, but the tower remained unfinished. The two lots upon which it stands cost two thousand dollars. The first pastor of this church was Rev. Father Patrick O'Maley, who was succeeded in 1850 by his brother, Rev. Father Joseph O'Maley who remained until 1853, when he was succeeded by Rev. Father O'Connor, who remained but a short time. The Rev. Father Thomas Bulger then became the pastor and remained until 1856, when he was followed by the Rev. Father David J. Kelly, who served the church until his death September 29, 1867. During the early portion of his ministry the tower of the church was completed, and there was hung therein the largest bell in the city, and there was also put in the. tower a large clock. A year or so afterward the rear portion of the church was added at an expense of six thousand dollars. The building is plain but substantial, and with the exception of a small vestibule, the entire interior is one large audience room. In the gallery, which extends across the front and about half way down each side of the church, there is a large pipe organ. The seating capacity of the church is about one thousand.

            The funeral of Rev. Father Kelly was largely attended. Archbishop Purcell delivered an appropriate panegyric upon the life of the departed clergyman, and among those present were Bishop Rosecrans, of Columbus, Ohio, and other dignitaries of the Church. The assistants of Father Kelly had been Rev. Fathers R. N. Young and William F. O'Rourke, the latter succeeding to the pastorate of the church upon his death. Rev. Charles Daugherty became assistant pastor to Father O'Rourke, who served until 1869 and was then succeeded by the Rev. Richard Gilmour, since then bishop of Cleveland. His assistant was the Rev. Father Francis Cubero. Father Gilmore was succeeded in April, 1872, by Father William M. Carey, who remained until the summer of 1879, and was assisted by Revs. O'Reilly, Murphy, Daly, and Grace. He was succeeded by the Rev. Father James O'Donohue, who was assisted by the Rev. Fathers James M. Carey and Hugh J. McDevitt. Father Donohue was succeeded in July, 1883, by the Rev. Patrick Henry Cusack, the present pastor. Since that time he has been assisted by Revs. Francis, (page 631) Roderick A. Finnerty, and Dennis M. Mackay, but at the present time he is without an assistant. There are now connected with the parish about four hundred and fifty families, and the annual revenue of the church is eleven thousand dollars. The congregation is composed of English-speaking Catholics who take great pains with the education of their children. The church building is centrally located, and is of easy access to all classes of those who belong to the parish, which is in a prosperous condition. In connection with this church are the following societies for men: St. Joseph's Society, St. Vincent de Paul's Society, the Hibernian Society, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, St. Alonisus Sodality, the Catholic Knights of America, and the Hibernian Rifles; and for the women: The Altar Society, the Young Ladies' Sodality, and the Children of Mary, the latter for girls under sixteen years of age. The Church of the Sacred Heart was established July 3, 1883, by a number of members of St. Joseph's Church, the withdrawal being in .part on account of the want of accommodations at that church. There were at first about one hundred families who formed this congregation, permission to form it having been granted by the Right Rev. William H. Elder, coadjutor of the archdiocese of Cincinnati, to the Rev. Father J. B. Donohue., The work of establishing the congregation was placed in the hands of Rev. Hugh J. McDevitt, at that time assistant pastor at St. Joseph's church. During his administration of the affairs of the new parish, the congregation worshiped in Gebhart's Hall, and ground was secured at the northwest corner of Fourth and Wilkinson streets, which cost nineteen thousand dollars, and while Father McDevitt was pastor of the church the number of families belonging thereto increased to two hundred and fifty. In the fall of 1887 the erection of the present magnificent structure on the lot already mentioned was begun, Rev. Father R. A. Finnerty taking charge of the parish in November of that year, and the corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies, June 17, 1888, by Archbishop William H. Elder. The building is constructed of Dayton granite and trimmed with Berea brown stone. It is 115x92 feet in dimensions, is two stories high, one story being a basement, and the upper one being what is known as a clear story. The entire height of this story is seventy-five feet. The building is an imposing structure, and is of the strictly Romanesque style of architecture. The furnishing of the building is almost entirely a donation, the magnificent windows, 22x36 feet in size, being donated by generous members of the parish, and costing about six thousand dollars. The three pure white marble altars, also a donation, cost seventeen thousand dollars; the rose window of the sanctuary, also a donation, cost (page 632) one thousand dollars; the steam-heating apparatus, the entire building being heated by steam, cost two thousand, five hundred dollars. The building is lighted with gas and electricity, and, in short, all the modern improvements applicable to such a structure have been introduced. The members of this perish, when their numbers are taken into account, have shown a most remarkable spirit of generosity toward the gigantic enterprise, and it is worthy of note that a considerable number of non-Catholic friends of the parish contributed liberally toward the construction of the building, which was ready for occupancy about the latter part of July, 1889. The parish now numbers about three hundred and fifty families, and the church building, it is already evident, will soon prove too small for the accommodation of those who will desire to join. The annual revenue of the parish is about twelve thousand dollars.

            St. Mary's Catholic Church was organized in 1859 by members of Emmanuel Church, that congregation having again become too large for its accommodation. It is situated at the corner of Xenia Avenue and Allen Street. The ground upon which the church, pastor's residence, and schoolhouse stand, was donated by Albert McClure for church purposes. The lot is 150 feet front by 280 feet deep. The church building was erected in 1859-1860 at a cost of $9,427. It is of brick, 110x50 feet in size. It has a tower and spire, and within the tower are three bells and a clock. The interior of the building is handsomely frescoed, and the ceiling is decorated with many scriptural scenes. A fine altar was placed in the church in 1881 at a cost of twelve hundred dollars. It is of Gothic design, and is made of black walnut with gold trimmings. The building itself was dedicated August 15, 1860, the sermon being preached by the Rev. Bishop Henry D. Juncker. Father Schiff was the first pastor of the church, remaining until 1869, when lie was succeeded by the Rev. Father Henry L. Stuckenborg, who remains in the pastorate at the present time. Holy Trinity Catholic Church was organized in 1860 by another off-shoot from Emmanuel Church. Ground was secured on the corner of Fifth and Bainbridge streets, upon which was erected a large one-story structure. It is 160x70 feet in size, is constructed of brick, with lime stone trimmings, and has in the front center a massive tower, in which is placed a large clock and three bells. The church is supplied with a large and fine organ, which is in the gallery in the rear of the audience room. The interior finish of this church is equal to that of any other Catholic church building in the city, the frescoing representing scripture scenes, and the altars are seldom excelled in point of magnificence in more pretentious church edifices. The seating capacity of this church is about one thousand persons. The corner-stone was blessed and laid May 17, (page 633) 1860, by the Most Rev. J. B. Purcell, archhislnop of Cincinnati. The building itself was dedicated August 18, 1861, by Bishop Henry D.Junker, of Alton, Illinois. Rev. Father F. J. Goetz was the first pastor of this congregation and remains-with it to the present time. He was at first assisted by Rev. Father Kress, and afterward by Rev. Father B. Frohmiller, the latter of whom was installed as such assistant pastor in July, 1875, and served in that capacity until Christmas, 1888. The congregation is very prosperous, and is out of debt. It consists of over four hundred and fifty families.

            The organization of the holy Rosary Catholic Church was sanctioned by the Most Rev. William II. Elder, archbishop of Cincinnati, December 12, 1887. Ground was purchased on Hanover Street, North Dayton, of Mr. and Mrs. Adam Pritz, upon which the proposed church building was erected. Ground was broken April 30, 1888, and work begun. Services were held for the first time in the chapel on December 25, 1888. The church building was dedicated by the Rev. F. J. Goetz, pastor of Holy Trinity Church, Dayton, Ohio, May 26, 1889. The building is of brick and of Dayton limestone. The foundations are massive and the walls are unusually heavy. It is 50x100 feet in size, and the height from the round to the top of the cross is one hundred and ten feet. In the basement of the building is the heating apparatus; the first floor is used for school purposes, and the second floor for church purposes. The chapel has a seating capacity of between four hundred and five hundred; the tower contains a bell weighing over one thousand two hundred pounds; the cost of the building was about sixteen thousand dollars, and the congregation numbers about six hundred souls. The church building was dedicated on Sunday, May 26, 1889, by Rev. Father F. J. Goetz, assisted by all of the Catholic clergymen in the city, and by Rev. J. Wiczarck, of Toledo, Ohio; Rev. Peter Scherock, of St. Elizabeth Hospital, and Rev. J. Isler and Rev. Mr. Weckesser, of St. Mary's Institute. Owing to the illness of Rev. F. X. Wimsay, of Cincinnati, who had been invited to preach the dedicatory sermon, no sermon was preached, but, the services were of a very impressive character and were participated in by a large assemblage of people. The Dayton Ministerial Association is an organization of the Protestant ministers of the city for consultation and cooperation. It was first organized several years ago and re-organized in 1883. It meets on the first Monday of each month in the pastor's study of the First Presbyterian Church. A chairman is elected at each meeting. The secretary and treasurer is Rev. Prentiss de Votive, D. D.

            Six general church boards of the United Brethren in Christ have had (page 634) their headquarters in Dayton ever since their organization-the Home, Frontier, and Foreign Missionary Society, the Church-Erection Society, the Woman's Missionary Association, the General Sabbath-School Board, the General Board of Education, and the Church Historical Society. All except the Board of Education have their offices in the United Brethren Publishing House building, and all are incorporated under the laws of Ohio. The Home, Frontier and Foreign Missionary Society was organized by the General Conference at Miltonville, Ohio, in 1853. Its first officers      were: Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner, president; Bishops H. Kumler, Jr., L. Davis, and D. Edwards, vice-presidents; Rev. J. C. Bright, corresponding secretary; Rev. John Kemp, Jr., treasurer; William Longstreet, Rev. D. Shuck, T. N. Sowers, John Dodds, and D. B. Crouse, managers. Its corresponding secretaries have been: Rev. J. C. Bright, 1853 to 1857; Rev. D. K. Flickinger, D. D., 1857 to 1885; Rev. Z. Warner, D. D., 1885 to 1887; Rev. William. McKee, acting secretary, 1887 to 1888; Rev. B. F. Booth, D. D., 1888 to the present. The treasurers have been: Rev. John Kemp, Jr., 1853 to 1869; Rev. William McKee, 1869 to 1873; Rev. J. W. IIott,1873 to 1877; Rev. J. K. Billheimer, 1877 to 1885; Rev. William McKee, 1885 to the present.

            The present board is composed as follows: Bishops J. Weaver, D. D., E. B. Kephart, D. D., LL.D., N. Castle, J. Dickson, D. D., and J. W. Hott, D. D.; and Rev. G. A. Funkhouser, D. D., John Dodds, Rev. W. I. Beatty; Rev. D. K. Flickinger, D. D., Rev. J. L. Luttrell, Rev. W. M. Weekley, and Rev. E. Lorenz. The present executive committee are Bishop J. Weaver, D. D., Rev. William McKee, Rev. G. A. Funkhouser, D. D., John Dodds, and Rev. B. F. Booth, D. D. Missionary work, under the direction of the society, is conducted in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Africa. The first foreign missionaries sent out by the society were Rev. W. J. Shuey, Dr. D. C. Kumler, and Rev. D. K. Flickinger, who sailed to the west coast of Africa in 1855, for the purpose of locating an African mission. Rev. W. J. Shuey has since been, for twenty-five years, in charge of the Publishing House in this city, and for a number of years a member of the board of missions, and of the executive committee. Rev. D. K. Flickinger became the corresponding secretary of the board ilk 1857, continuing in that responsible position until 1885, when he was elected foreign missionary bishop. He has made numerous voyages to Africa and Germany, in the interest of the work of the society. Four former citizens of Dayton are now employed as missionaries at Shaingay, West Africa-Rev. and Mrs. Joseph Gomer and Rev. and Mrs. D. F. Wilberforce.

            (page 635) The total number of home and foreign missionaries employed is three hundred and forty-six. The organ of the society is the Missionary Visitor.

            The Church-Erection Society was organized in 1872. The incorporators were the following: Bishops J. J. Glossbreuner, D. D., D. Edwards, D. D., J. Weaver, D. D., and J. Dickson, D. D.; and Rev. D. K. Flickinger, D. D., Rev. William McKee, Rev. John Kemp, Jr., T. N. Sowers, B. F. Witt, Rev. W. C. Smith, Jacob Hoke, and Rev. W. J. Shuey. Bishop J. J. Glossbreuuer was elected president; Rev. D. K. Flickinger, corresponding secretary, and Rev. William McKee, treasurer. Until 1889 its officers were the same as those of the Missionary Society. In May, 1889, the society was re-organized by the General Conference, and its present officers are the following; The Board-Bishops J. Weaver, D. D., J. Dickson, D. D., N. Castle, E. B. Kephart, D. D., LL.D., J. W. Mott, D. D., and Rev. J. H. Snyder, Rev. C. I. B. Brane, Rev. G. F. Deal, Rev. J. W. Nye, and John Dodds; executive committee, Bishop J. Weaver, D. D., Bishop J. Dickson, D. D., John Dodds, Rev. J. Hill, and Rev. William McKee; corresponding secretary, Rev. J. Hill; treasurer, Rev. William McKee. The society has afforded assistance in building many churches since its organization.

            The Woman's Missionary Association was organized in the First United Brethren Church, Dayton, Ohio, October 21, 1875. Its first     officers were: Mrs. T. N. Sowers, president; Mrs. Z. A. Colestock, Mrs. M. R. Bridgeman, Mrs. S. Haywood, vice-presidents; Mrs. L. R. Keister, corresponding secretary; Mrs. D. L. Rike, recording secretary; Mrs. W. J. Shuey, treasurer. Its present oficers are the following: Mrs. L. K. Miller, M. A., president; Mrs. A. L. Billheimer, Mrs. Bishop Edwards, Mrs. M. R. McFarlau, vice-presidents; Mrs. L. R. Keister, M. A., corresponding secretary; Mrs. Benjamin Marot, recording secretary; Mrs. D. L. Rike, treasurer, Mrs. W. J. Shuey and Mrs. E. S. Lorenz, other trustees. The work of the society has been in Germany, Africa, and among the Chinese on the Pacific coast. A mission in China is now projected. The organ of the association is the Woman’s Evangel. The General Sabbath-school Board was first projected by the General Conference of 1865. Its first officers were: Rev. W. J. Shuey, superintendent; Rev. I. Crouse, secretary; J. B. King, treasurer. Its secretaries have been Rev. I. Crouse and Colonel Robert Cowden; its treasurers, J. B. King, Rev. S. Vonueida, and Rev. W. J. Shuey. At present the board consists of the following: Rev. D. Berger, D. D., Rev. J. P. Landis, D. D., Ph. D., Rev. J. S. Mills, S. E. Kumler, and C. B. Rettew; secretary, Colonel Robert Cowden, who also has charge of the Bible (page 636) Normal Union and the Home Reading Circle; treasurer, Rev. W. J. Shuey.

            The General Board of Education was organized in 1876. The first officers were: Rev. H. Garst, D. D., president; Rev. H. A. Thompson, D. D., LL. D., secretary, and Rev. L. Davis, D. D., treasurer. The present board, elected in 1889, are: Rev. R. J. White, Rev. L. Bookwalter, A. M., Rev. W. M. Beardshear, D. D., Rev. II. Garst, D. D., Rev. G. A. Funkhouscr, D. D., Rev. J. P. Landis, D. D., Ph. D., Bishop E. B. Kephart, D. D., LL. D.; Rev. J. W. Etter, D. D., Rev. E. S. Lorenz, A. M., B. D., and Rev. J. A. Weller. The secretary is Rev. L. Bookwalter, A. M., and the treasurer is Rev. G. A. Funkhouser, D. D. The Historical Society of the United Brethren in Christ was organized in Summit Street Church, Dayton, Ohio, May 4, 1885. Its first officers were: Bishop E. B. Kephart, D. D., president; Rev. H. Garst, D. D., Rev. G. A. Fuukhouser, D. D., Rev. G. W. M. Rigor, vice-presidents; Rev. A. W. Drury, D. D., secretary; D. L. Rike, treasurer; W. A. Shuey, A. M., librarian; managers (with above named officers), Rev. W. J. Shuey, Rev. L. Davis, D. D., Rev. Z. Warner, D. D., Rev. M. Wright, D. D., Rev. D. R. Miller, Rev. J. W. Hott, D. D., Rev. D. K. Flickinger, D. D., and Rev. W. M. Beardshear, D. D. Its present officers are: Bishop E. B. Kephart, D. D., LL.D., president; Rev. H. Garst, D. D.,-Rev. G. A. Funkhouser, D. D., and Rev. C. T. Stearn, vice-presidents; Rev. A. W. Drury, D. D., secretary; S. L. Herr, treasurer; E. L. Shuey, A. M., librarian; managers (with the above named officers), Rev. W. J. Shuey, Rev. L. Davis, D. D., Rev. B. F. Booth, D. D., Rev. M. Wright, D. D., Rev. D. R. Miller, Bishop J. W. Hott, D. D., Rev. W. M. Beardshear, D. D., and Rev. L. Bookwalter, A. M. The society has its office, museum, and library on the third floor of the Publishing House building. Excellent work has already been done in securing books, pamphlets, periodicals, records, letters, pictures, relics, etc., and a valuable collection already affords abundant material for the antiquarian and church historian.

            The Dayton Young Men's Christian Association had its immediate origin in the great religious awakening of 1869-1870. To perpetuate the unity of feeling of that occasion, and to maintain the beneficial results by giving to young men opportunities for effort, the pastors and leading     citizens called a meeting at the First Lutheran Church., Sunday afternoon, February 13, 1870. Mr. J. II. Thomas presided and Colonel F. W. Parker was secretary. A committee with Judge T. O. Lowe as chairman, was appointed to prepare a constitution and by-laws for a Young Men's Christian Association. The formal organization occurred March (page 637) 2, 1870, with the following board of directors: It. W. Steele, L. M. Wood, G. G. Prugh, J. E. Gilbert, C. G. Parker, J. 11. Winters, Josiah Gebhart, J. C. Kiefaber, J. II. Thomas, H. E. Parrott, E. T. Sweet, T. O. Lowe, W. K. Eckert, Eugene Wuichet., J. A. Shauck, and G. W. Hoglen. The president was Mr. R. W. Steele, who from the beginning has been a warm friend of the association.

            The object of the association, as set forth in its constitution, was "the physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual improvement of young men." With this in view, parlors, reading-rooms, amusements, entertainments, and religious services were provided for all young men. The religious meetings were open to all-men and women. The membership during these years included only Christian men. The associate membership was added later. The home of the association at this time was on the second floor of the Journal building, just north of the court-house. In accomplishing its object, in addition to the attractions named before, it was thought best., during these early years and for many years after, to do general missionary work. The association therefore encouraged its members to assist in union efforts, especially in organizing Sunday-schools in the suburbs and in holding open-air services during the summer. At that time hardly a church maintained a mission school, but from these early efforts of workers of the association have grown some of the best schools and churches: Harshmanville school has become a Lutheran Church; Wagner, a United Brethren Church; Patterson Chapel in Browntown, a Baptist school, and Calvary Chapel in North Dayton is now Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. The association was in these years a center of all forms of Christian effort, but as time passed it was found that the churches could do most of these things better in their regular channels, leaving to the association its proper work for young men. The period of this class of work continued till 1885. Immediately upon its organization, in 1870, a secretary was chosen to direct the work. This officer was lI r. II. I'. Adams, of Manchester, New Hampshire, who began work in May. Mr. Adams was a man of rare ability, and won many friends for himself and the association during his four years of service. In 1874, lie resigned, to remove to Baltimore. In the interim that followed, Rev. James McNary and Mr. W. A. Wagoner served most faithfully. In June, 1874, the International Convention of Young Men's Christian Associations was held in Dayton. The local board of directors found among the delegates the future secretary, Mr. D. A. Sinclair, of Hamilton, Ontario, who accepted the position in August , 1874. Since that date there has been no change in this office, Mr. Sinclair having, by his rare tact and Christian life, led the association (page 638) through all its changes. It is but a platter of history that the high rank and great usefulness of the association to-day are largely due to his efforts. Soon after Mr. Sinclair's arrival, the need of larger quarters was realized; therefore, in the spring of 1875, funds were raised, property      bought, and the building remodeled, furnished, and occupied, all within a single month. This happy result was attained very largely through the efforts of Messrs. John Dodds and C. V. Osborn. The property thus speedily utilized was the Dunlevy residence, 32 and 34 East Fourth Street, the site of the present building. The lot is 66x200 feet, and cost originally sixteen thousand dollars. A year later a large hall was built in the rear, and was used for general purposes until converted into a gymnasium in 1885.

            The history of the succeeding ten years is varied. While doing all the work possible with its appliances, there were days of seeming failure and meager support. At one time, in 1878, the board seriously considered the best means of doing the work without expense. At last ' one of the oldest members proposed to close the doors, acid put up a placard, "Closed for want of support." This proposition not only aroused the friends of the association, but touched the pride of all citizens, who rallied to the support, and soon the advancement began. Since that time there has been no hesitation.

            Among those prominent in these years of the association's history were men whom Dayton still delights to honor. No one forgets Mr. Henry L. Brown, so strong in Christian life; Mr. Patterson Mitchell, for thirteen years a member of the board of directors, and the devoted friend of Calvary Chapel ; Dr. E. F. Sample, genial and warm-hearted, a leader of young men; Mr. L. M. Davis and Mr. Herman Darrow, two most active laborers; or Mr. Charles H. Crawford, a trustee of the association's property and its staunch friend. Mr. Valentine Winters and Mrs. Letitia Baker have expressed their interest by generous donations, forming the basis of an endowment fund. Among others who have been identified with the history are P. W. Steele, E. A. Daniels, J. H. Winters, C. V. Osborn, D. E. McSherry, Jolin Dodds, C. L. Hawes, W. B. King, and E. J. Barney.

            As the plans were developed and the wants of young men better understood, the peculiar purpose of the association became more prominent. In 1885, the board of directors, after careful consideration, decided that it would conserve the interests of the association and bring it into more cordial relations with the pastors and people of the city, to restrict its activities to definite work fir young men. At this time over three hundred of these young men agreed to pay ten dollars annually if the (page 639) association would introduce and maintain "appliances and agencies to meet the physical, social, and intellectual needs of the subscribers." The plans suggested were acted upon at once. Association Hall became a finely-equipped gymnasium, opened in the fall of 1885. This only demonstrated the necessity of greater facilities and a building adapted in every way to the wants of the association in its new life. A brief canvass showed that there would be hearty cooperation on the part of Dayton's business men if it handsome building were undertaken and a reasonable pledge given that the work would be carried on in its particular line. The generosity of Dayton's citizens was seen at once, for in 1886 they contributed toward the new building, in sums of one dollar to five thousand dollars, over fifty-five thousand dollars. That building is one of the handsomest in the city and ranks among the best in the country. The old residence was vacated February 3, 1886, and the new building dedicated February 6, 1887. Governor J. B. Foraker laid the corner-stone July 7, 1886, in the presence of an immense audience. The property is valued at eighty thousand dollars. This handsome building, covering the entire lot, provides reading rooms for the members and their friends, social parlors and amusement rooms, class rooms for various evening educational classes, gymnasium and bath rooms for physical development, lecture room for religious meetings, and a beautiful hall for concerts, lectures, and general purposes. The enjoyment of all these privileges is conditioned only upon the payment of a small annual membership fee. The association employs a general secretary and his assistant, a gymnasium instructor, instructors in various educational branches, and numerous other helpers. The young men who are members carry out the details by their service on the various committees of the association.

            As an indication of the difference in the interest under the earlier methods and those of to-day (1889), it may be noted that in 1883-a very prosperous year-there were 312 members, now there are 838; in the former year 47 served on committees, in 1888, 103; then 93 persons visited the rooms daily, in 1888, 235; then $3,480 were expended for the work, now $6,914; most of the money then received was in gifts, now it is largely from memberships and regular income. Then there were no evening classes, no gymnasium and bath rooms, few meetings for men alone; now these are all essential.

            The management of the affairs of the association is in the hands of a board of directors, chosen annually by the active members. While any man may become a member, only members of evangelical churches can participate in the direction of its business.

            (page 640) The presidents of the association have been: 1870-1871, R. W. Steele; 1871-1873, E. A. Daniels; 1873-1874, H. E. Parrott; 1874-1876, C. V. Osborn; 1876-1878, John Dodds; 1878, W. C. Herron, three months; 1878-1880, D. E. McSherry, eighteen months; 1850-1882, J. C. Reber; 1882-1885, G. N. Bierce; 1885-1888, E. A. Daniels; 1888-7889, E. L. Shuey. In 1889, the board of directors includes E. A. Daniels, John Dodds, G. N. Bierce, J. C. Reber, G. P. Huffman, Houston Lowe, J. R. Boalt, W. W. Smith, C. L. Hardman, W. G. Tanner, E. L. Shuey, F. W. Gebhart, F. A. Moss, W. H. Sunderland, W. A. Scott, V. P. Van Horn, A. E. Thomas. The trustees are J. H. Winters, John Dodds, C. V. Osborn, W. Webster, E. Canby. The general secretary is D. A. Sinclair, and the gymnasium instructor is W. E. Day.

            Nothing has shown more fully the character of Dayton than its support of this institution, and nothing brings larger returns in good citizenship, strong character, and Christian life.

            The Woman's Christian Association, of Dayton, was formally organized Saturday afternoon, November 26, 1870. The work talked of that afternoon was that its efforts might be in unison with the Young Men's Christian Association, helping them in visiting and relieving the poor. It was determined to ask contributions from women only. The Young Men's Christian Association, anticipating the need, freely offered the use of their rooms for the meetings. Volunteers were called for, and committees were formed for visitation and missionary work in all the wards of the city.

            In order to receive the property of the old Orphans' Home, which was no longer needed for that purpose, and which had been by an act of the legislature through the special effort of the late Mrs. Nancy Bates, made transferable to a society for the support of widows and destitute women, this association became an incorporate body, adopting the name necessary: " Woman's Christian Association, of Dayton, Ohio, for the support of widows and destitute women." Hon. L. B. Gunckel kindly arranged the legal transfer.

            The fiscal trustees appointed were: Messrs. J. H. Winters, Robert W. Steele, and Charles H. Crawford. The first managers and officers were as follows:

            President- Mrs. J. H. Winters.

            Vice-Presidents- Mesdames J. B. King, William Herr, and H. N. Stephens.

            Corresponding Secretary.-Mrs. J. Harry Thomas.

            Recording Secretary.-Miss Maggie Cox.

            Treasurer.-Mrs. H. D. Carnell. (page 641)

            Managers.-Mesdames C. E. Corpe, A. L. Martin, C. L. Hawes, J. H. Brownell, Preserved Smith, M. E. King, Abia Zeller, Miss Joan Rench, Mesdames George Hoglen, David Gebhart, H. M. Van Doren, and Miss Elicit Brown.

            Membership Committee.-Mesdames E. A. Daniels, John Achey, M. A. Hewens, J. P. Jacobs, and Miss T. R. Roberts.

            Finance Committee.-Mesdames H. N. Stephens, J. E. Gilbert, Charles Parrott, H. M. Van Doren, James Turpin, E. E. Barney, T. S. Babbitt, and Miss Annie Harries.

            The presidents of the association have been : Mrs. J. H. Winters, 1870-1882; in 1883, for six months, Mrs. J. Harry Thomas; 1883-1888, Mrs. C. E. Corpe;1888-1889, Mrs. W. D. Bickham.

            The present (1889) officers are:

            President.-Mrs. W. D. Bickham.

            Vice-Presidents.-Mesdames J. H. Winters, E. A. Daniels, M. H. Ramsey.

            Corresponding Secretary.- Mrs. D. H. French.

            Recording Secretary.-Miss Virginia Whitmore.

            Treasurer.-Miss Carrie Brown.

            Managers.-Mesdames C. E. Corpe, Abia Zeller, John Shank, J. R. Young, J. V. Dicks, Leonard Moore, D. E. MeSherry, G. W. Rodgers, J. D. Platt, G. A. Black, J. C. Kiefaber, L. B. Allen, A. C. Fenner, and J. M. Phelps.

            Fiscal Trustees.-Messrs. J. H. Winters, Eben M. Thresher, and S. W. Davies.

            The association has had but four treasurers: Mrs. H. D. Carnell, Misses Ruth Marshall, Mary Mitchell, and Carrie Brown.

            Its recording secretaries have been: Miss Maggie Cox, Mesdames J. B. Thresher, John G. Doren, T. F. Marsh, James A. Robert, Miss Ruth Marshall, Mrs. George W. Hoglen, and Miss Virginia Whitmore. The association began without a penny. To-day it owns three pieces of property, valued at fifty-three thousand dollars, with an endowment fund of thirty thousand dollars for the Widow's Home and of five thousand dollars for its general fund. Its rooms are in the west half of the Young Men's Christian Association building.

            Its work is varied in character. For thirteen years it has successfully conducted an industrial school, Saturday afternoons, of over two hundred little girls. Mrs. A. L. Connelly and Mrs. James Applegate were the founders., Young ladies of different churches assist in this grand work. A. Widow's Home is sustained, with twenty-eight permanent inmates. A Woman's Exchange is well established, meeting a long felt need in (page 642)  the city. The educational department holds evening classes for women and girls. A committee visits twice a month the Soldiers' Home hospital. Another committee twice a month conducts Sabbath services in the Soldiers' Home Church. It has also a jail committee, a work house committee, a nursery basket committee, infirmary, Chinese, employment, and reformatory committees, together with committees in every ward of the city for missionary work. Regular business meetings are held on the first Saturday of every month, at two P. M. All interested or willing to help are cordially invited.

            In this limited space but a mere outline of this association's work has been given. Many touching incidents might be related, but it would be a breach of confidence to, portray to the public these every-day home scenes to which these ladies have been admitted. What has been done by this band of the King's daughters, "In His Name," will be carefully noted by the recording angel. And the work will some day all be tried as with fire; the wood, the hay, and the stubble will all be cleared away, and only the gold and the silver will remain.

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