Metadata
Title
Vestry correspondence, 1856-1880
Date
1856/1880
Digital Identifier
ChristChurch.VestryCorrespondence1856-1880_1-7-0-7
Call Number
1.7.0.7; F63(a)
Description
Correspondence of the vestry of Christ Church, Philadelphia, dating from 1856 to 1880. The documents include John A. McAllister's note presenting a photograph made from an 1787 engraving of the interior of Christ Church; the resignation letter of vestry member William C. Kent; a request from St. Peter's Church for a contribution toward the funeral expenses of Bishop Henry Ustick Onderdonk; a salary-related letter from a former assistant minister writing from Savannah during the Civil War; correspondence and a plan concerning property on West De Lancey Place; an invitation to the opening services of the new St. James's Church; and letters from architect Henry A. Sims regarding perceived imperfections in the parish building and proposed repairs.
The file also includes 1880 correspondence from assistant minister George Woolsey Hodge to the vestry concerning Rector Edward A. Foggo's request that Hodge resign, Hodge's conditional resignation, and his concerns for the chapel under his charge.
The file also includes 1880 correspondence from assistant minister George Woolsey Hodge to the vestry concerning Rector Edward A. Foggo's request that Hodge resign, Hodge's conditional resignation, and his concerns for the chapel under his charge.
Subject
Place
Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Georgia--Savannah
Massachusetts--Boston--Roxbury
Congregation
Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA
Extent
12 documents
Format (Digital)
tiff
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Language
eng
Type
Text
Abstract
This collection of twelve documents comprises correspondence received by the Vestry of Christ Church, Philadelphia, between 1856 and 1880. It opens with an 1856 note from John A. McAllister presenting a photograph prepared from an old engraving of the "Interior of Christ Church in 1787," a plate originally published by James Peller Malcolm with Bishop William White's permission, with proceeds aiding the Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons [p.1]. This is followed by William C. Kent's brief resignation as a vestry member, dated 4 June 1856 [p.2].
An 1858 letter from Horace Binney Jr., writing for a committee of St. Peter's Church, encloses a resolution authorizing payment of fifty dollars toward the funeral expenses of the late Right Rev. Henry Ustick Onderdonk and solicits Christ Church's participation [p.3r-3v]. An 1864 letter from Savannah, Georgia, by the former Assistant Minister (signed Cadwalader) to Peter McCall recounts a salary dispute: a $92 balance owed him was paid in depreciated Confederate currency worth only about $33 in specie, and he requests the difference be sent to his niece, Mrs. Mary S. Winslow of Roxbury, widow of Capt. Francis Winslow, U.S.N. [p.4r-4v].
An 1867 letter from Eph. Clark to Edward L. Clark discusses the offer of lots on West De Lancey Place for the Vestry of St. James's, with a diagram of the lots and their prospective owners [p.5r-6]. An 1871 letter from Warden G. W. Hunter invites the Vestry of Christ Church to the opening services of the new St. James's Church [p.7]. An 1871 note from G. Woolsey Hodge concerns a contested election and pending protests [p.8r-8v].
A substantial 1873 exchange with the architectural firm H. A. & J. P. Sims addresses defects in the Parish Building. Henry A. Sims explains that his original design supported the floors with wooden columns, but that the Vestry objected to columns and to the interior height, prompting a revised design placing the large parish school room above and spanning it without adequate support, against his stated judgment; he argues the resulting fault is not his and that he should not bear the repair cost [p.9-14]. In a follow-up letter of 5 May 1873, Sims itemizes the work he proposes—reimbursing $55.85 paid to contractor R. B. Blake, adding a man hole to the roof deck, stopping a leak, and placing a flag stone under a wooden post—provided the Vestry pass a resolution accepting the work as final [p.15r-16].
The collection concludes with an extended 1880 statement by Assistant Minister George Woolsey Hodge to the Vestry, transcribing his correspondence with Rector Edward A. Foggo. Foggo demands Hodge's unconditional resignation based on a verbal pledge, refusing to reveal the complaints against him; Hodge tenders a conditional resignation tied to the appointment of a successor or the chapel's erection into a separate parish, which Foggo returns as noncompliant. Hodge defends his conduct, denies the accusations made by a lady formerly connected with the chapel, and stresses his six years of labor for the chapel while leaving the final terms to the Vestry's decision [p.17-24].
An 1858 letter from Horace Binney Jr., writing for a committee of St. Peter's Church, encloses a resolution authorizing payment of fifty dollars toward the funeral expenses of the late Right Rev. Henry Ustick Onderdonk and solicits Christ Church's participation [p.3r-3v]. An 1864 letter from Savannah, Georgia, by the former Assistant Minister (signed Cadwalader) to Peter McCall recounts a salary dispute: a $92 balance owed him was paid in depreciated Confederate currency worth only about $33 in specie, and he requests the difference be sent to his niece, Mrs. Mary S. Winslow of Roxbury, widow of Capt. Francis Winslow, U.S.N. [p.4r-4v].
An 1867 letter from Eph. Clark to Edward L. Clark discusses the offer of lots on West De Lancey Place for the Vestry of St. James's, with a diagram of the lots and their prospective owners [p.5r-6]. An 1871 letter from Warden G. W. Hunter invites the Vestry of Christ Church to the opening services of the new St. James's Church [p.7]. An 1871 note from G. Woolsey Hodge concerns a contested election and pending protests [p.8r-8v].
A substantial 1873 exchange with the architectural firm H. A. & J. P. Sims addresses defects in the Parish Building. Henry A. Sims explains that his original design supported the floors with wooden columns, but that the Vestry objected to columns and to the interior height, prompting a revised design placing the large parish school room above and spanning it without adequate support, against his stated judgment; he argues the resulting fault is not his and that he should not bear the repair cost [p.9-14]. In a follow-up letter of 5 May 1873, Sims itemizes the work he proposes—reimbursing $55.85 paid to contractor R. B. Blake, adding a man hole to the roof deck, stopping a leak, and placing a flag stone under a wooden post—provided the Vestry pass a resolution accepting the work as final [p.15r-16].
The collection concludes with an extended 1880 statement by Assistant Minister George Woolsey Hodge to the Vestry, transcribing his correspondence with Rector Edward A. Foggo. Foggo demands Hodge's unconditional resignation based on a verbal pledge, refusing to reveal the complaints against him; Hodge tenders a conditional resignation tied to the appointment of a successor or the chapel's erection into a separate parish, which Foggo returns as noncompliant. Hodge defends his conduct, denies the accusations made by a lady formerly connected with the chapel, and stresses his six years of labor for the chapel while leaving the final terms to the Vestry's decision [p.17-24].
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