OUR PILGRIMAGE FROM AlJOBE BEGINNINGS , 1845-1910
First Presbyterian Chur ch, San Antonio, Texas
Donald E. Everett
Protestantism in San 'Antonio had its genesis in an unlikely vineyard in
April, 1844. Of a total population of less than 2, 000 souls, there were perhaps
twenty English speaking families in the town. These were the persons inkeeper
Anton Lockmar invited to the first Prot estant service in this city , and some
fifteen people came to hear the sermon by Methodist minister John Wesley
DeVilb\ iss and prayers led by his traveling companion, Presbyterian minister
John McCullough. Their stay was brief, but both would return.
When the Rev. John McCullough returned with his wife in June, 1846,
at the outset of the Mexican war, his assignment from the Board of Foreign
Mission, place d emphasis on education. It was John McCullough ' s efforts ,
beginning more than 130 years ago that gave birth to thi s , the oldest Protestant
congregation in San Antonio.
MCCULLOUGH:
My labors at San Antonio were inces santo We established a Sabbath School
shortly after Our arrival there. The school consisted of American children who
came there about the time the Army commenced assembling. During the first
year of the school we had an average attendance of thirty Mexicans, and during
the second year from ten to twenty Americans. I had to teach all day, preach
on the Sabbath, superintend the Sabbath School, raise sUbscriptions for the
church, purchase the material and superintend the building of OUr adobe church.
All the while I preached to the army troops, visited their sick, and preached
their funerals.
It took two years to raise the funds to compl ete our adobe church. You
can have no idea how difficult it was to establish a foothold for the gospel in
San Antonio. I was persecuted, slandered, and insulted. Every effort was
made by ungodly Americans to induce me to leave. I rebuked gamblers publicly
from the pulpit, and I was threatened by violence from them. I was accused
of passing counterfeit money and traced the slander to a woman who opened a
school in competition to mine.
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The death of John McCullough's first wife, his own poor health, and the
cholera epidemic in 1849, l ed to OUr first minister's departure for Galveston
in the late summer of that year. There would be no minister for two years,
but the adobe church was put to good use by an outside r, Mr. DUBois.
DuBOIS:
I would respectfully announce to the citizens of San Antonio that I have
opened an evening school at the Presbyterian Church for teaching the art of
penmanship. I will also give instructions in Mezzotinto and Poonah painting.
Private lessons will b e given to those who desire it.
San Antonio continued to grow, with large numbers of immi g r ants from
the Germanies and the United State s. It is little wonder that the founder of the
Pre sbyterian Church in the Republic of Texas, the Rev. Dr. Danie l Baker saw
an opportunity in San Antonio to give r ebirth to the Presbyte rian faith. This
zealous traveling evangelist came and preached at the adobe church on October
19, 1851.
BAKER:
Immediate ly after divine s ervice on Sunday morning, the 19th of October, l8 5J
with Baker acting as moderator, the First Presbyt e rian Church of the city of
San Antonio, Texas, was organized by the enrollment of the following members of
the Presbyterian Church: John C. Atwater, Samuel Newton, Frank McC. Newton,
Mrs. John Vance, Mrs. Ann Walker, and Miss Lucy Jane Newton.
Three ministers served the small cong regation for little more than a year
each, prior to the arrival of the Rev. Dr. R. H. Bunting in January, 1856. In
April of tha t y ear the congregation r eceived the first of its colored members,
eight by l e tter and three by profession of faith. The Session a lso began to
respond to new responsibilities, according to the Clerk's records of 1856.
CLERK:
Job Walton {colored} who had b een charged with public intoxi cation, appeared
before the Session, confessed the charge, professed sinc e re sorrow and repentance ,
and promised not again to offend. Afte r due admonition, the Session acce pted
Job's repentance and continued him a member of the Church. Unfortunate ly, Job
continued to b ecome intoxicated and sometime late r was cut off from communion
of the Church. The Session worked for six months with another alcoholic membe r,
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an army colonel, who was "indefinitely suspended from church privileges."
On another occasion, the Session took into its consideration if a Welsh
immigrant, whose wife had refused to follow him to T exas, had beCOlne
a bigamist when he married a member of this church.
Another transg r ession heard before the Session suggests only one conflict
which a Christian soldier fac ed in this army town.
CLERK:
Mr. John Person was arraigned before the Session for breaking the Sabbath
by a ttending a shooting excursion on the Sabbath with a Military company of which
he is a m embe r. The accused states that he opposed the excu rsion on the Sabbath
in Company m eeting, but the majority voted for it. He believed military law to
be paramount to civil and moral law, and considered himself bound to obey his
Captain, Or b e fined and disgraced, as that is the custom in Europe where he
previously live d. The law, military, civil, and moral exi s ting in the United
States was explained to him, and his cOUrse of duty U11der the circumstances
fully pointed out. He expressed sincere repentance and promised to do it no
mOre. The Session then deemed furthe r action wmecessary.
Hundreds of persons who carne to Texas saw fit to change their names ,
not a lways for legitimate r easons, and one who did so f a iled to gain immediate
admission to this congregation.
CLERK:
Philip L. Ramble, he being a stranger among us until information could
be had of his private characte r from the place he forme rly r esided, was received
on profession of faith in Chri s t. The Session, howev er , deemed it prudent to
advise him to ab stain for a season from openly uniting with the Church because
corning to Texas he had changed his name . The n ame change might bring
reproach upon the cause of Christ, though the Session b e fully satisfied of his
repentance and sincerity.
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More serious decisions would confront our Presbyterian l eadership in the
years to come, and the entire congrel!"lion must have read in the San Antonio
Herald a report from the Presbyterian Convention which met in Richmond in
September, 1857, to discuss the propriety of an "inde pendent organization."
REPORTER:
The gravity and importance of the objects for which this convention has
assembled should attract to its d e liberations the very earnest and thoughtful
attention of the whole country. We have another sign of serious import and wide
significance- for we are reminded that another cord, which binds togethe r the
beautiful and wondrous fabric of the American Union, has been snapped. Sectionalis
and fanaticism have invaded and driven asunder all the Christian denominations
but two, and how long these two may hold together, i t is not for finite m en to
foresee. We only know that the political future is dark with shapes of evil which
a wise and merciful providence a l one can dissipate .
Grave as the situation was for the Presbyterian Church on the national
scene, the small congregation in San Antonio made plans for a l a rger building.
Legal title to the adobe property had been challenged over the years , but more
important, First Presbyte rians saw the need of a larg e r place of worship in their
growing city. Dr. Bunting's evangelism would surely attract many of these
Amedcan newcomers, and in 1858 the ladie s of the Congregation set out to
assist him in fund raising . Perhaps they knew that Dr. Bunting referred to their
house of worship as the "Mud T emple."
REPORTER:
Let it be r emembered that the Ladies Supper comes off tonight in the
Presbyterian Church, and from the energy and tact of the ladies engaged in it,
we can promise a rich treat in the way of eatables . We are assured that no
pains will be spared to load the tables with eve rything that can b e procured.
And then the agreeable comp.ny of the smiling and beautiful ladies will add to
the entertainment.
We cannot conceive how a dollar could be spent for a b e tte r object, nor how
an hour could b e spent more pleasantly. Such reunions are always delightful, and
under such circumstances the purpose , the time, the company, all being considered-
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they become both profitable and high 1 Y entertaining. Let none n eglect this
opportunity to aid and encourage the ladies who have been toiling for months in
arranging and preparing article s, both ornamental and useful, for sale on this
occasion.
By the summer of 1859 the contra ct for the new church on the northeast
co,'ner of Flores and Houston street had b een let to contractors Russi and Fries.
Profits from the Ladies Suppers and local contributions would n e ve r pay for the
proposed structure. So it was that the cong regation worshiped without its minister
for m any months as Dr. BWlting traveled to mOre a fflu ent cities in the role of
a mendicant.
REPORTER:
We have a priva te note from Dr. R. H. BWlting, this able and zealous
ministe r who has been absent from our city several months in the States , soliciting
aid for the erection of the Presbyterian Church now Wlde r contract in our city.
He writes from Louisville of the succes s he has met with in carrying out the
object of his mission. Indeed, we could not have expected anything e l se from
one of his tact and indomitable perse ve ranc e .
With more than 400/0 of the $15, 000 on hand colle cted from non-Texan s by
Dr . BWlting on his long journey, San Antonio's First Presbyterians d e termined
that they could at l east put their building under roof. On February 29, 1860,
a large as semblage of townspe ople gathe red for the laying of the cornerstone .
at the northeast COrner of Houston and Flore s Streets. And what were the contents
which Dr. BWlting d e posited the rein?
DR. BUNTING:
The Holy Bible . The Confession of Faith, Form of Government, and
Book of Discipline of the Pre sbyterian Church The Hymn Book . copie s
of San Antonio p a per s . SWldry state documents . a brie f history of the
Presbyterian Church in San Antonio a roll of its church m embers . nalTI('
of the contributors to the new building . a copy of my well-received sermon
on the Me ssiahship of Christ •• • a draft of the Old Adobe Church on Comme rce
Street copies of the Texas Almanac . •. and othe r records of the Church
related to the new building.
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As the pastor, I then struck th" s tone three times with a hammer and
pronounced in the name of the Trinity that the corner stone of an edifice was
laid, that it was being erected by the name of the First Presbyterian Church of
San Antonio, and that it was to be devoted to the service of Almighty God
agreeably to the principles of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of
America, in its doctrines, ministry, polity, government, and usage. Other
foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, even Jesus Christ; who is God over
all, blessed forevermore; and in whom we have redemption in his blood, even the
forgiving of sins. Amen.
Members of the cong r egation would remain only a few short months in the
Church of their fathers, the Presbyte rian Church in the United States of America.
Not only did war come, but so did the fat eful dissolution of the Pre sbyte rian
Church, North and South. Dr. Bunting rode away to b ecome a Confederate
chaplain and the local congregation was served during the Civil War for the most
part by itine rant ministers, if at all . Sometimes they met in the hall over
G. W. Caldwell's store on Commerce Street, and on other occasions at the old
adobe . At war's end, on April Z, 1866, the small congregation with no minister
Or elders, m e t in the old Adobe to r eo r ganize. Reverend Chevalie r came from
Gonzalez and offered a r e solution which was adopted by the twenty m embers
pre'sent.
REV. CHEVALIER:
That in as much as our interests r equire imme diate attention and as we
have no settled minister and our Elders are all absent from the city and may
be so for some time to come that we elect a committee consisting of the following
persons to take such steps as they may deem expedient for the comple tion of our
new building and for the prOlTIotion of our interests as a church and congregation.
Gentlemen: John C. French, E. R. Norton, Isaac Simpson, Washington
James, George O. Sweet, Henry Weir and Frank P. Newton.
Ladies: Florida P. Tunstall, Mary Paschal, Sally French, Mary A . Bennett,
Fanny Simpson, Janet Richardson, Jane Gilbert, and Catherine Norton.
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A San Antonio Herald report in November, 1866, indicates that progress
was slow.
REPORTER:
The new Presbyterian . Church, situated on the corner of Paseo and Flores
Streets, is one of the best public buildings in the city. Its walls were erected
before the war, and the roof was put on during the war, since which nothing has
been accomplished till within the past four weeks work has been resumed. The
floor has lately been laid and the doors put in at a cost of about $875, which has
about exhausted the funds of the congregation. The progress of the work is again
stayed for the want of money. It now only requires windows to make it a
comfortable place of worship. The refreshing breeze that blows through the
open walls of the church is not generally disagree able at this season, it was the
month of November, and weekly service is held in the church, but the chilling
Northers of corning days will render this impossible. To put in the windows,
about $500 will be required.
It is a good policy aside from any higher motives, to encourage such works.
They greatly aid in giving character to a place and its people. It is also a
means of drawing in the young especially, and restraining them from Sabbath
desecration, and its consequent evils, by attending church. This can be secured
only by providing comfortable , if not e legant, places of worship. If anyone
is desirous of he lping in this work, by voluntary contributions, he will be
courteously received by either R. C. Norton, F. W. Sibert, or J. H. French
at their respective places of business.
The basement of the Church had been usable for some time, and in the
ecumenical spirit of that day offer ed to various groups in the city. Progress
on St. Mark's Church, m e anwhile, never got beyond laying the foundation stones.
Inde ed local Episcopalians were embarrassed when visitors to the city mistook
the already deteriorating stones of St. Mark's as one of the old Spanish missions
they had heard about. Major J. H. Kampmann had finally been contracted to build
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the structure. The St. Mark's ladies hdd a fund ralslng supper in the basement
of the unfinished Presbyterian Church, but alas, according to a visitor to our
city, all did not go well.
VISITOR:
Many officers of the Federal army, actuated by a desire to assist the treasury
of the Episcopal Church of your City, were induced to attend the supper given last
night by the ladies of that congregation in the basement of the new Presbyterian
Church. But I regret to say, although thus amicable were their intentions , they
came away with the utmost disgust.
It is a pity that the ladies of San Antonio have so far forgotten the courtesy
due from a hostess to her guests, as to think it a sufficient honor to a Yankee
to be permitted to enter their fair presence for the consideration of a dollar or
two, and to deem it unnecessary to conduct themselves afterwards with any regard
for the feelings of their guests. Many of the ladies were observed to stop their
earS when they army band, which was present through the courtesy of a Federal
officer, struck up one of our national airs. Such demonstrations were not only
insulting to the officers present, without whom the affair would have been a
pecuniary failure, but were in extremely bad taste.
Perhaps this admonition explains the formal resolution of thanks which the
First Presbyterian Session bestowed upon the U.S. Army band when it played a
fund raising concert on behalf of the windowless church at Flores and Houston.
Fund- raising would occupy the exertions of the people for more than a
dea,cade. Their first permanent minister since before the Civil War arrived
by the New Year of 1867, and both Dr. and Mrs. J. Fo Martin assisted in
numerOUS projects. Some of the participants found that fund raising offered
opportunity for pleasant distractions.
REPORTER:
The ladies of the Presbyterian Church propose to have a handsome
"Christmas Tree" in their new church, to be seen on Christmas Eve and following
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nights. Admission: 25 cents alike for ,,11; hoping everybody will come and bring
their little people. Any contributions for the adornment of the tree will be
thankfully received at the Church.
The dance and supper given on Tuesday evening at the Menger Hotel, in aid
of the Presbyterial. Church, went off tolerably well, though the supper accorded
was not as regal as might have been expected. The dance was good and seemed
to be the most appreciated of the evening's entertainment.
ANOTHER REPORTER:
We look with pride upon the noble exertions of the young ladies of the
Presbyterian church, in behalf of the interests of that church. Most successful
entertainments in the form of spelling schools and concerts have been recently
given by them. So elated are they by attendant successes that tomorrow evening,
May 1st, they propose to give a Social Hop, to which a friendly public is invited.
The "initiation fee" is so light, we are confident no votary of Terpsichore will
deny his presence. This dance will positively be the last of the season. Make
a note of the fact, young men ••••
One youth paid ten cents to go to the lantern exhibition at the Presbyterian
Church last night. It was a failure. The manager could not make his lights
work. Better luck next time.
Fund ralsmg was all the =re important as the Old Adobe had been
destroyed in a severe storm on May 19, 1868. But there were other dimensions
to the character of the fund raising Dr. Martin. These virtues were acclaimed
in a letter to the San Antonio Herald, signed ANTHROPOPOS.
ANTHROPOPOS:
The zeal, enterprise , bustle, and cordial urbanity of Dr. Martin have most
favorably impressed those who have been favored with his acquaintance. Being
a man of erudition, of kind and genial sympathies, a profound judge of man IS
nature--in a word a noble, learned Christian gentleman, regarding his as the
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spiritual physician, instrumentally to J",,,l the morally sick. These remarks
are not intended in disparagement of other Divines in our midst, but as merely
giving publicity to one evidencing the moral and religious progress and future
of our city, whose destinies , we are persuaded, despite present discouragements,
are upward and onward.
The erudite Dr. Martin gave a series of public lectures for fund ralslng
purposes. Less than a decade after publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of the
Species, a small group of residents of a frontier town, which would not see a
railway train for yet another decade, heard about evolution. They may not have
recognized it as a singular experience, but surely they would r ecall it a few
years later when OUr church underwent the most traumatic experience in its
history involving the learned Dr. Martin.
REPORTER:
The lecture by Rev. Dr. Martin last night at the Presbyterian Church was
one of the most interesting entertainments we have ever enjoyed. The subject,
"Genesis and Geology," was ably handled by the lecturer, comparing the
successive steps of the creation, as chronicled by Moses and indicated by science.
Of course it was assumed that the "days " in which God is said to have created
light, the firmament, etc., were not such periods of time as we understand now
by that term, but rather ages or epochs , and in this sense the word is frequently
used by the Bible itself. Though man has been created only about six thousand
y ears, the clearest demonstrations have been made that the earth has been in
existence millions of year-so The subject is too complex for us to give even
an abstract of what the lectur e r held as established theory, and which must
certainly have been satisfactory to the reasoning faculties of everyone present.
Or was it the contents of a lecture given by a visitor in our church that
led to the trials and tribulations of Dr. Martin? Perhaps not, because some
of San Antonio's elite would be attracted to phrenology in the coming generation.
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REPORTER:
That the audience at the Presbyterian Church last night for Dr. McMullen' s
lecture on "Phrenology" was small does not argu e well for the taste and
intelligence of a community' that a lecture on a liberal science should awaken no
inte re st. There was a misunderstanding in regard to admission last night. There
is no charge tonight. We bespeak for Dr. McMullen an audience worthy of an
able lecturer on a liberal science.
Even while local Presbyterians became engrossed in ecclesiastical matters,
they still enjoyed laughing at themselves. Hear this story making the rounds about
a local judge in 1870.
STORY TELLER:
"Well, Jolm, going to the First Presbyterian Church with me this morning?"
"No father, I reckon I'll go down to the Second Methodist."
But on hi s way to the Methodist edifice , John uniformly stopped at his father' s
office, unlocked the old gentleman's private closet, and indulged himself with
pleasant fluid. Every Sunday the Judge repeated his laudable inquiry, but John
preferred the Second Methodist. The Judge soon noticed a marked diminution
in the contents of his demij ohn, and rightfully suspected the CUlprit. He emptied
the remaining contents into another vessel and hid it.
Next Sunday morning carne the usual interrogatory: "Going with me to
First Presbyterian this morning?"
"No, father, I reckon I'll stick to Second Methodist."
Upon reaching the Judge's office, John saw with disgust the empty demijohn.
Then he noticed a piece of paper attached to the handle. It read: "Second
Methodist closed for repairs."
A mOre sophisticated sense of humor would be required of First Presbyterian"
during the Martin years as the Session haggled with Radical Republical elemEnts
in the City over two bells.
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STORY TELLER:
Two bells had originally been purchased for hanging in each of San Antonio's
two market places. Unfortunately, the market places had no belfries and the city
had no money with which to build belfries. The First Presbyterian Church had two
belfries and no money with which to buy two bells. The bells lay rusting on the
ground for six months, even though a new city council would willingly have one
bell hung in the centrally located Presbyterian belfry. It would thus serve as a
fire bell and a church bell. But San Antonio Fi;ce Company No. 1 claimed it
owned the bells and refused to cooperate with the Presbyterians. One rusty bell
finally was mounted on a temporary scaffold in Military Plaza and became a
leading local eyesore.
More serious difficulties awaited First Presbyterians, however, as Dr.
Martin's sermons provoked critical comment. While he attracted a number of
strangers to the church, mOre orthodox Presbyterians raised questions as to
their minister's doctrinal soundness. Publication of one of his 1871 sermons
in pamphlet form led to the only here sy trial in the l30-year history of this
church. He resigned as pastor of First Church, however, before April 23,
1872, when Presbytery "divested Mr. J. F.' Martin of all authority to preach,
on the grounds of heresy." Among the "dangerous errorS" reported, Committee
Chairman William Hall listed the following contradictions to the Confession
of Faith:
HALL:
1. He said "That the Wisdom, Justice and other attributes of God
are but manifestations of the Love of God."
2. He said "That salvation is the effect and not the cause of
moral condition; and that God cannot convey salvation by a
Sovereign act of grace."
3. Hc "maintained that saving faith may exist without historical
knowledge of the life, sufferings, and death of Christ."
4. He said: "The absolute truth being let down into the hearts
and minds of the early writers of the Bible took form and
coloring expression, according to their materialistic and semi­barbarous
charcter."
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Rev. Martin remained in the city nearly two years, giving lectures on such
topics as "Facts and Philosophy of Modern Spiritualism." Thereafte r, he departed
for Galveston to take charge of a group known as the "New Church." Once again
the congregation survived with a minister of brief tenure and supply ministers
until December, 1872, when Dr. J. W. Neil arrived. Few would have guessed
that this unprepossessing man, constantly in ill health, would within the next two
decades become one of San Antonio's most respected and b e loved citizens . One
newspaper man reported on his contact with young men.
REPORTER:
Not less than nineteen young m en, at the invitation of Rev. Dr. Neil, met
last night at the Presbyterian Church for prayer. This is the first time in the
history of San Antonio that such a meeting has been held.
Ten righteous men could have saved Sodom, and at the rate we are progressin:
it will take a battalion for this town.
Dr. Neil also had interest in organlzlng the ladies and here he had assistance
from his wife. Mrs. Neil had already corne to public attention by winning first
prize as San Antonio's best speller at one of the church's n ever- ending fund
raising Spelling "Skules." Perhaps the Women of the Church should have celebrated
their own centennial, last spring for they began as a formal organization on
March 21, 1877, even though the group first carne into being some three years
earlier and had sponsored a Centennial Supper at the Menger Hotel on April 18,
1876.
REPORTER:
This Express reporter attended yesterday a business meeting of the Ladies
Aid Society, organized within the membe rship of the Presbyterian Church. Quite
a number of the most influential ladies of our city were present, and entered
upon the duties for which they were met with energy and deterrnination. Their
object was announced to be the raising or securing of means for the repairing
and improving Of the Presbyterian Church, and also for charity.
A constitution and by-laws were adopted, and the following officers chosen:
President, Mrs. J. H. French; Vice -President, Mrs. Morris Pawly; Secretary,
MrS . Sam Johnson; Treasurer, Mrs. Nellie Logan; Visiting Committee, Mrs. W. A.
Bennett, Mrs. Major Wilson, and Mrs. J. W. Neil.
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It seems that this organization 11:, " existed in rather an informal way for
some time, and was only yesterday reorganized and officered. We were informed
that a neat little sum is now in the Treasurer's custody, and also that the Society
has not been unmindful of true appeals to charity. If success is possible, it will
be achieved, for the ladies at .the head of the movement are not lacking of ability
and energy.
Many of these ladies were, of course, mothers of children. It was the lot
of mothers to arrange for the annual May Day celebrations which continued for
seve ral decades. The Presbyterian Sabbath School Picnic of 1879 was no different
from dozens of others, except those f ew times that the children joined with
Methodist children for a parade out to San Pedro Springs.
REPORTER:
Attendance of both old and young was unusually large at the Presbyterian
Sabbath School Picnic yesterday at San Pedro Springs. Amusements were quite
varied and all took part in them with the fullest spirit of mirth. Just before
dinner time, a king and queen of May were chosen by a vote of the young people.
These honors were conferred upon Master Johnnie Neal and Miss Emma Van
Duyn, by rather complimentary majorities. It was decidedly amusing to watch
the little people manage these e l ections . All the traits of the average modern
politician were there. Even the little girls appeared to be governed by impulses
akin to those which influence men when they attend ward meetings. Several of
the mOre influential boys held a caucus in advance . When the voting began,
there was a perfect din of voices, each side attempting to overthrow the other.
When the vote was announced the victorious mounted the chairs and tables and
exultantly cheered. One little girl was displeased with the result in a certain
instance, and coming upon poor Mothe r Earth with her little foot, she vowed
winsome powers to gratify her ambition. Invading the very centre of the adverse
ranks, she planted sweet kisses upon the cheeks of three Or four smaller girls ,
telling them to follow her • They obeyed. When she was asked why she worked
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earnestly when there was no doubt that her side was in the majority, her reply
calTIe: "I want a big majority. "
Seemingly the noise of the children on May Day at San Pedro Springs was
matched by nearby neighbor~ to the church in town. I. P. Simpson, N. O.
Green, and P. H. Ward were appointed a committee "to devise a means of
abating the theatrical nuisance opposite the church."
VISITOR:
On Sunday night the services of the Presbyterian Church on Flores Street
were stopped on account of the noise made by a band and theatrical company
immediately in front of the place or worship. I am a stranger in your city,
and must say that I am anything but favorably impressed with the morals which
seem to predominate in San Antonio. I had intended to remove my family to
this place, but I cannot because the influences under which my children would come
are very bad. My friends here are of the opinion that just such Sabbath violations
will keep away just that class of people you most feel the need of.
EDITOR:
These complaints are not groundless. The fact that a theater was open
nearby a church on Sunday night, and disturbed the regular routine of worship,
could not even be abated were the Sunday law in vogue here, for the force of
the law does not apply at night. Worshippers have rights, and so do theater
people, yet it would seem neither the pulpit nor the stage should be located
where the interests of either would seriously conflict. As the Presbyterian
Church has been long used as a place of worship, it must seem unright for
any theater to interfere with its services, either intentionally Or optionally.
Theatrical and other distractions not conducive to worship led some members
to suggest moving the church, still unfinished in 1878. It soon became apparent
that other factors were more real-the desire of the Northern Church to take
over OUr congregation and the willingness of San Antonio's wealthiest citizen,
George W. Brackenridge, to make available the necessary funds. Curiously
the matter CalTIe to a head while Dr. Neil was absent six months from the
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city attending the World Alliance of Pdormed Churches in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dr. Neil explained the developments after his return in the Spring of 1878.
NEIL:
Very soon after my d~parture from here last SUIDmer for Europe , the
Rev. Dr . Bell carne here to organize a Northern Church. He was invited by
the congregation to preach. He and Dr. Wright of Austin stated that they had
a lways intended to have a Northern Church here as soon as the railroad carne
and the city began to gain. Implications were that .r might be the minister of
this new church if we would join the Northern Church. That I would not.
Their plan was that we should sell our church for what it would bring.
Mr. Brackenridge was to give one-third of all the money necessary to build
said church and manse. Dr. Bell would obtain $1,000 from the Northern Church.
But the modest condition, was, we of the Presbyterian church of this city (more
than 150 members) with a congregation of 300 or 400 , were to give up our
ecclesi astical cOlUlection with the Southern Church and go into the Northern
church. This we would not do.
Not only did our congregation determine to remain within the Southern
church, but it accepted the r eport of Committeemen I. p. Simpson, E . R.
Norton, and P . H. Ward to r emain at its Flores street lo cation, but for
financial rather than other reasons.
WARD:
We have a building yet unfinished which has cost between $25,000 and $30 ,000.
It is unencUIDbered of debt and in the center of the city.
To build elsewhere we must first sell our present prope rty for a reasonable
amount. It cannot be sold except at a ruinous sacrifice.
To buy a suitable lot in a desirable part of the city will cost not less than
$5, ODD, which SUID will complete the present building.
In view of the fact that an effort has been made for two years to sell the
property, without meeting with success , the committee recommends that all
17
Illoneys raised be applied towards compl<'ting the present church building.
Not only did our congregation deterIlline to reIllain within the Southern
Church, they finally cOIllp1eted the building in 1879, nearly twenty years after
construction began.
NEIL:
"The original plans, having been lost, Alfred Giles, the architect, was
called on to reproduce theIll as far as was possible in his finish, which he did
satisfactorily. J. H. SIllye was the contractor for the finishing work. Both
Mr. Giles and Mr. SIllye have given entire satisfaction. The large house is
now neatly finished. The pews are fine, and the stained glass windows, furnished
by McCully & Miles, of Chicago, protected by wire netting on the outside, add
Illuch beauty to the inside perspective. The large window in the rest of the
pulpit was a gift froIll one of the societies of the church known as "the Rosebuds,"
and cOIllposed of children. The church now has three sets of wide steps leading
up to the three different front doors, which are also new, and Illassive. The
pajnting and general orna=ental work within the building is new and first-<:lass
as to workInanship. The pulpit is also entirely new, and to the right of it
has been established a private room for the minister. The building will be
heated by stea=, the arrangments for which are already in perfect order. The
building committee, in which the work of these improvements was entrusted,
was composed of E. R. Norton, I. P; Simpson, George S. Williamson, P. H.
Ward and J. W. Glass."
Grand as the completed church seemed to local Presbyterians, an English
visitor saw it otherwise. Our church did not fare so well in comparison to
the newly completed St. Mary's in the eyes of this Church of England man.
18
ENGLISHMAN:
I Inade Iny way to a plain stone church with two u gly towcrs of UllCqual
hcight and neithe r useful nor ornaInental. The first look inside is about the
saInC as Scotch churches. A courteous staff of g rave elders Ineet the strangers
at the door. The re is a seriousncss obse rvable in the deIneanor of the r egular
congregation not felt in any other place of worship in the city, seeIning to prove
Inany of the In descendants of the sturdy convenanters so fatal to the Stuarts in
English history.
The preach e r @r. Nei~ was evidently a Inan of note, by the large
attendance, every seat being full. The address was e vidently ple asing to the
congregation, but a Latin quotation used would be thought out of place in England
unless used in a university. The singing was quite in the Scotch way and the
prayers earnest and profound. A collection was then Inade, and this seeInS
part of every service which in England can hardly be toleratcd once a Inonth
and the collection Sunday scares ha lf of the p e ople away £rOIn worship on that
day.
Scssion IneInbers still took seriously their responsibilities to sit a s a
court of judgInent in the case of e rrant church IneInbers . What Inakes an
1883 case seeIn singular today i s tha t the church officers had no intention of
reporting the case to civil officials who would have had jurisdiction had the sin
been Inade public.
NEIL:
As Inoderator I r CInindcd the court of their high character as judges of
a cour t of J esus Christ in the Casc of onc of our IncInbers who confesscd that
he had repeatedly defrauded others in violation of the e i ghth COlnIllanWnent.
The Court suspended hiIn froIn the cOInInunion of this church until such tiIne as
he Inight give evidence , by his conduct and deportInent, that h e had heartily
repented of his great sin. One evidence of his repentance Inust be a rapid
19
restitution to those whom he had defrall<1cd. It was resolved that in consideration
of his motherless children and the danger hc was subjected to from the Civil law,
in case this sin become public, that the action of the session would not be
published to the church.
Session also on occasion called before it some very prominent San Antonians,
members of the congregation, who did not respond to letters similar to one dated
March 15, 1885, from Frank Newton, longtime clerk of the Session.
NEWTON:
Dear Brother: The session of the Church, charged with its oversight, has
for months noticed with great solicitude your continued absence from the services
of the Sanctuary. We do not know your reasons for this studied absence. Hence,
we address this affectionate epistle to you, as we do to others, and ask you to
return to the church and its public services. Or if for any reason or grievance,
say why you cannot return. We urge you to meet with us and tell us your
troubles. You have been, with others, the special object of our prayers and
we affectionately urge you to come back to your Father I s House and grieve Him
no longer for your absence. Again Brother, let us assure you of our deep
interest in your spiritual welfare and OUr great desire to have you return
to your allegiance to Him who has done so much for you.
San Antonians, and not just Presbyterians, were shocked in January,
1890, when they heard that Dr. J. W. Neil had resigned as ministcr. This
came in response to a small minority, including two elders and three deacons,
who had been vocal in opposition to him. At a congregational meeting, by a
vote of 100 to 12, the re signation was not accepted. The large majority
supported the Resolution prepared by the Hon. George Paschal.
PASCHAL:
1. That we do hereby express and reiterate full and complete
confidence and esteem for Our pastor.
2. That the ties which bind us together represent a growth,
approaching two decades, of mutual Christian love and confidence.
20
3. That we are neither preparr,l nOr willing to sunder these
tie s.
4. That we believe it will be
interests and welfare, present
s f'riously detrimental to the best
and future, of this church.
5. That we do not consent to the supposition that there are
any considerable number who believe that the usefulness of
Dr. Neil is at an end.
6. That it is the duty of such persons who object to Dr. Neil's
pastoral relation to either withdraw from this congregation, or
to henceforth unit~ wholeheartedly with the majority in promoting
the welfare of an undivided church.
7. That, in view of our feelings and sentiments, we do most
earnestly request Dr. Neil to withdraw his resignation and
continue his relation with us as OUr pastor.
By the 1890's the Session had become especially alert to the world1iness of
the congregation. Church sponsored dances for fund raising purposes had long
since given way to pew renting as a morc acceptable revenue source. In fact,
dancing had become a minor sin in the eyes of Elders. Church members who
attended the horse races were surely guilty of gambling, which the Bench of
Elders regarded as sinful. And for a time it would appear that Progressive
Euchre was the cardinal sin, at least it warranted a published admonition from
the Session, signed by Clerk Newton.
NEWTON:
The Session of this Church desires to call the attention of its members to
the prevalence in OUr communiiy and even among the members of this Church of
playing of games with gambling tendencies.
As a Session we are disposed to make no tirade against card playing in
general, believing that this is a matter for each individual conscience, but we
do single out the phase of card playing known as Progressive Euchre and all
other so called progressive games, and without fear of contradiction assert that
as now played they have a direct tendency to gambling.
We stand aghast before the spectacle of young and middle aged ladies
being instrumental in leading young men to form a habit which is so degrading,
which has caused the destruction of thousands of young men and which our
21
officers and courts too often try in v ai n to suppress.
Finally if one is so constituted that he can see no wrong in playing a game
of chance for a prize then our appeal to him will be from another and higher
standpoint. We beg of everyone to refrain from taking part in such games for
the sake of others and to be enough of a christian not to put a stumbling block
in his brother's way. How much nobler it is to forego a questionable pastime
than to run the chance of leading anyone astray.
The bitter fight over Dr. Neil's ministry did not end when the Session
dissolved its relationship with the five obstructionist officers, as they carried
their case to Presbytery. Presbytery, however, did support the action of the
First Church Session which arrived at Presbytery bearing 120 signatures of local
congregational support. Less than a year later this servant of God died while
attending Presbytery at Victoria and Judge George Paschal was once again called
upon to prepare resolutions:
PASCHAL:
Whereas, The loving ties that so long did bind us to our faithful pastor,
friend, and brother, have been sundered by the Master's Call; therefore be it
Resolved, by the members, congregation, and friends of the First
Presbyterian Church of San Antonio, that this church is bereaved of a minister
and pastor who had no other thought than his Master's will.
Resolved, That in his death the orphan has lost a father, a friend,
and a guide.
That as a citizen the spontaneous and universal outburst of grief at his
calling away speaks in tones more eloquent than our words here portray. Be
it further
Resolved, that we mourn his loss, not as those who have no hope of reunion,
but with that abiding faith he so long laboreth to instill within our minds and
hearts, that we will meet again, and in that brighter clime meet him with
heavenly greeting.
22
Dr. Neil's standing with all rani, s of San Antonio citizens was no less
than with his own congregation. Editorial expressions memorialized this
Christian leader 's death but remind us of the singular role of our ministers who
for 130 years in San Antonio have also se rved the rejects of society, a class
of people who have seldom b een Imown by our congregation.
REPORTER:
"Probably no man in the city of San Antonio was more universally loved
and re spe cted. His ministry was not confined to his own denomination. He
was the friend of the poor, the afflicted, and the needy. The gambler and
the desperado have died outside the congregation of the Lord, and yet over the
unrepentant dead he was the man to perform the rites of a Christian burial.
He was learned, cultivated, pious, exemplary, and saturated from head
to foot with kindliest Christian charity. For ten years past not a gambler or
prostitute died in San Antonio but Dr. Neil preached the sermon at the grave .
When no carriage was furnished he went on foot, through mud or dust. He
never asked a cent for his services and always spoke of a dead man or woman
as his dear brother or sister. Some of his gatherings in the cemetery, where
desperado elbowed courtesan have become historic. His congregation proper
is composed of very wealthy and prominent people. He was a little , bent,
gray man, with an honest face, perpetually in bad health, but of tireless
industry in doing good. He died poor."
First Church was blessed once again with the arrival of Dr. Arthur
Gray Jones in April, 1895. He would r evitalize the church which had known
two peripatetic ministe rs briefly in the past three y ears. His published
Sessional L e tter to the congregation in 1898 on church attendance was
considered to be most effective .
JONES:
Beloved:--
Every soul is responsible to God for itself, but in a peculiar way God
has made us, the Session, responsible for the guidance and help of the members
23
of the church in which we are office r s . This is the r eason why we now speak
in this Sessional letter to the !TIe!TIberS of our church.
The the!TIe of this lette r is THE DUTY OF ATTENDANCE A T THE
SERVICES OF GOD'S CHUR CH.
FIRST: It is a duty to God, to support by your pr esen ce , and to participate
in the worship of His house on His day, one design of which, and one effect of
which, is the divine glory. Negl ect of this is therefore a refus a l to honor God.
SECOND: It is a duty to your own soul. Faithful participa tion in the
worship of God's Church is an indispensable !TIeans to the h ealth, to the vigor,
to the life of your spiritual being. Negl ect in this is the r efore a b etrayal of
your own soul.
THIRD: It is a duty to your church. Your r egular presence will give
encourage!TIent and help to all h e r work, will prosper h e r in all he r interests.
Neglect in this is therefore treason to your church.
FOUR TH: It is a duty to your f e llow !TIen. Your regular presence at
God's house is an endorse!TIent of the Gospel, cO!TI!TIends Christ to !TIen,
will influence the!TI, a s nothing you !TIay say can influence the!TI , to seek
e te rnal life.
The p a t ent fact is that the church-attendance of our people i s b elow
par, and a long way below par, too. When we are gratified with large
congregations, as we frequently are, the personnel is l a rgely of thos e
outside of the !TIe!TIbership of the chur ch. The people on who!TI we have the
right to depend, and in whose spiritua l welfare we are so deeply concerned,
are not the cause, and do not constitute the p e rsoIUlel of OUr congregations.
This state of things is a fact. It is a disastrous fact.
24
Lay Presbyterians are u s u ally u "r:uniliar with the report to Presbytery
known as the IINarrative. II It should be revealing, but the n arrative of 1896,
with slight variations, reads like those of the previous thirty yea rs. That
most Narratives were prepared by th" faithful Clerk of Session Frank Newton,
ordained in 1866, may explain their s ameness.
NEWTON:
Attendance upon the Scrvice of the Sanctuary in the forenoon is encouraging .
At the evening service there has been some improvement of late. Family
worship is generally ncglected by our people. The Prayer Meeting services
are fairly well attended, but we sincerely hope that more of our members will
soon realize that it is both a duty and a pleasure to attend these meetings.
About one-fifth of the membership of the Church attend the Sabbath School,
and all the teachers are professing Christians. The Catechism is taught in
Sabbath School, but we lament the fact that it is not taught in our f amilies
as generally as it should be.
A Society known as the "Young People's League ll has be.en fonned to aid
in our church work, but more especially to bring young people into the church.
About twenty percent of Our male members lead in prayer in public,
which is an increase over the past.
Intemperance is almost unknown among OUr people, but wc fear that
wordly amusements and other forms of sin are far too prevalent for that welfare
and spiritual growth to which the followers of OUr Lord should attain.
As the years passed members of the congregation again grew restless
about the loca tion of the church. North Flores had been considered the most
beautiful residential street in San Antonio before the Civil War whcn the site
was chosen, but commercial encroachments had become an increasing problem.
Of the fashionable new neighborhoods at the turn of the century, that area along
Alamo and Avenue C (Broadway) and north of Fourth street was in closest
proximity to the downtown area.
Z5
CLERK:
Having sold our church property at the corner of Houston and Flores
streets, we leased one rOom and the auditorium of the YMCA for one year
at $75.00 per month, and moved on January 1, 1908. On account of this move
oUr regular services were somewhat interrupted for a few weeks. We hope
to commence the building of our new church within the next few months.
The cornerstone of this church was laid on April lZ, 1909.
not complaed for use as a house of worship until Sunday June 5,
But it was
1910.
REPORTER: The beautiful new church of the First Presbyterian congregation
was opened Sunday morning for services for the first time and an audience
attended that filled the body of the building, which seats nearly 1,000 people.
The services were not dedicatory formally, as the Presbytery will not dedicate
the chu Tch until the fall. The church was attractively decorated with flowers
and a special musical program was rendered by the choir and a solo by Mrs.
C. E. Watson. After services seven new members were received by the -
congregation.
An impressive sermon was delivered by the minister, Rev. Arthur Gray
Jones, from the text: Psalms cxxii, "Our feet are standing within thy gates,
o Jerusalem."
JONES:
It is with humility and profound gratitude to Almighty God that I lead you
in your first sacrifice of worship in this new temple of OUr Savior. The primary
sentiment of thanksgiving which I feel today is not that we have brought a great
and beautiful task to completion with some credit and satisfaction to ourselves,
though I am grateful for that. Nor in it that we have put here a Presbyterian
Church in which those of our particular denomination may feel a special pride,
though I am grateful for that. But first of all, I am thankful today that this
house, with whatever of grace and beauty it may have, is a symbol of the faith
26
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love it: most not because it is ours, or because
it is presbyterian, but because in the deepest s ense it is not ours and it is not
Presbyterian, but a church of God-a symbol of that divine love which broods over
the weak and sinful life of men and stretches forth hands of compassion to the
weary and heavy laden--a symbol of the new commandment 'that we love one
another.' And because it means this, the father-love of God and the brother-love
of man, I venture to hope that not only our love will center here, but that
this will be a place in which every man who loves God or his fellowman may
feel some personal satisfaction.
This Psalm is one of the Pilgrim songs and I think our hearts today are
attuned to the feeling of the Psalmist. He was a devout soul, living at a
distance from Jerusalem. He was glad when the pilgrim company formed
for the journey to the holy city and said to him: 'Let us go into the house of
the Lord.' We can almost see the procession starting. We can see the eager,
happy faces. We can hear the songs of faith and gladness with which they
beguiled the tediousness of the journey. In the test, the anticipation is realized.
It is the moment of arrival and as the impression of the stateline ss and beauty
of the holy city comes upon his soul, he says with deep satisfaction and
simplicity: 'Our feet are standing within thy gate s, 0 JerusaJ. em. ' Moved
by these thoughts, he pours out his heart in prayer to God for the peace and
prosperity and glory of the house of the Lord.
And as we worship here today our desire and hope run out into the future
for the divine glory of this house. It is our prayer to God that it may be
forever consecrated to the old gospel, the gospel in which our fathers and
mothers lived and died and with which they went home to God; the gospel
27
with which the s aints and martyrs in ~ r,(' s gone witnes s e d a good confe s sion
and overcame the world. The gospel of e t e rna l love m aking atonem ent by the
L amb of God for the taking away of the sin of the world and saying to all men
everywhere : 'Come, for all things are now r eady.' The gospel of for giveness
and hope and divine powe r and eternal life as the gift of God through our Lord
J e sus Chri st.
May no strange fir e s b e ever offe r ed upon the altar here, but m a y he who
ministers at this shrine , with a simple r e v e rence for the sacredne ss of the Holy
Scripture and with a de ep conviction of the specific r e ligious function of the
church, ke ep himself to the preaching of J e sus Christ and him c rucified and
the testimony of the grace of God to the sinful souls of the childr en of m en.
It is our prayer at Almighty God today that this church shall foste r the
communion of s a ints, and a lways put emphasis not upon the thing s which
s e parate, but upon the thing s which m a ke for unity and p eace in the one great
famlly of God. May its glo r y be neve r t a rnished by the corroding evil of
big otry! May it hold fa s t, indeed, to the old gospel with loy alty any vigor,
and contend earne stly for the f aith once d e live red unto the s a ints , but m ay
it forever hold the truth in love . Let the r e never b e at the threshold of this
house of God any secta rian shibboleth which would close the door upon a
brother b e caus e , forsooth, hi s tongue m ay gi ve expr e ssion to his f aith in a
differ ent accent. My bre thren, let us lo ok with gladne ss upon the m a r c hing
banners of the g reat host of God, and for ev e r give the s trong hand of brother­hood
and the t ender sentiment of fraternity to every soul that loves the Lord.
It i s also OUr pray e r to God this day that though the sentiment m ay not
b e engraved upon these wa lls, it may b e so deeply en g r av ed by the divine
s pirit upon OUr hea rts who wor ship h e r e that the sweet fr ag rance of it m ay
28
have tempted him to feel that no man ,-;:tres for his soul.
The men and women to whom life is hard and the pathway rough, who
have battled against odds till the soul is tired and tempted to be bitter with
the feeling that the world is against them--O God, in mercy grant that this
may be one place into which they may come and forget all about it, where
they may find fellowship and love and be made to feel that there is indeed one
God and Father of us all, and that all we be brethren. 0 men and women, this
is something which your church cannot do. It is something which your minister
cannot do. This is a sacred trust which today is placed in your keeping. May
you be always faithful ot it, so that any soul which bears the image of Our
heavenly father, however marred that image may be, shall be made to feel in
this place that in spite of the grime of the world and the soil of sin which may
be upon hUn, yet in Christ's name, we claim him as a brother still.
It is OUr deep desire today that in the largest and most beautiful sense
this place may be Bethel, the house of God and the gate of heaven to the
souls of men. In the years to come may it be the sacred spot where OUr
children and OUr children's children shall learn to love and serve the Lord;
where they shall be trained for God and glory; where they shall labor to the
coming of the kingdom of our Savior in all the earth.
And in the larger and unknown future which will come to this city long after
we have gone, even to far distant years, may this shrine of worship which we
today consecrate to OUr God, continue to be a place of rest for the soul, a
haven of immortal hope, a temple of brotherly kindness, an altar of eternal
salvation, the very gate of heaven to the men and women who shall come after
us.
Whatever may be the changes of the future, long may it stand here amid
29
the surging tide s of hwnan life as they r bb and flow, to speak of heaven to
the children of m en and b e stow upon them the bene diction of God.
. ..,
fIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
McCulloug h, "Reverend John,' ,2
money ra ising,l,4, 5,8-10,20
Presbyterian church(first)in
San Antoni o, 1-7,9-14,18-26
Protestantism in S.A. , 1
St:Marks Episcopal church,7,8
INDEX
Of special interest: the moral climate of the time, both good
and bad; the controversies which beset the church; early-years
problems of money raising ; and the difficulti es in beconling an
established entity.