^ tT++rt+-; -c■§"f•ftlrffttrt'•$••$••?♦•>•4"i"++ i-i-H-H1 •H-H' ^ ! A HISTORY OF It* + * m if u* II •t ]!• < * ■i + 4 j! i it 4 »• i I ■ - ; ■" V + •» t BROWN A. M. E. CHURCH ; ' -, ; ■. "■'.; ''; - ' • %* ■'-* -• ■; •• . , " ■ -- : II XI XX + f fit t|T % I it + % it + f _ 1837 BROWN CHAPEL" . N. S„ PITTSBURGH, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA '• B Y C. M. TANNER D. J) Pa dor PUBLISHED ON THE 71st ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONGREGATION V ' I: 1908 Brown A. M. E. Church By C. M. T. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying-. When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying', Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the'waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over. That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ''Of all the things which men can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful and worthy are the things we call books."—Thomas Carlyle. The Congregation known as Brown A. M. E. Church, popu¬ larly as "Brown Chapel," located in what was formerly the City of Allegheny, but now the North Side, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Coun¬ ty, Pa., was organized during the winter of 1837-1838. Previous to 1837 there was but one A. M. E. Congregation, the present Wylie Avenue, west of the Allegheny Mountains. All the people of color attended this Church. At this time Pittsburgh was but a town and Allegheny a village. It might be interesting to note some important events of the years 1837-1838: The invention of the screw propellor. The great steamer Western crossed the Atlantic. The common schools opened in Pittsburg. The Board of Trade was organized. Martin Van Buren was President. Jonas R. McClintock was Mayor. Great financial panic in the country. Pittsburgh first lighted by gas. First anthracite coal shipped to Philadelphia. Prudence Crandal opened her first school for colored girls at Cambridge, Connecticut. Elijah Parish Lovejoy, anti-salvery agitator and philanthro¬ pist, was assissinated at Alton, Illinois. Organization of the "Anti-Slavery Free Women of America." Accession of Queen Victoria. Garrison, Sumner, Phillips and Douglass were young men. Church Destroyed by Cyclone March 31st, 1902 English and American authors who flourished at this time: Southey, Wads worth, Tennyson, Browning, Macaulay, Carlyle, Dickens, Maria Edgeworth, Jane Austin, Elizabeth Barrett, Edgar Allen Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson, Wendell Phillips, Harriet Beech- er Stowe. Slave population in America was 2,487,455. The Congregation, at first known as "Macedonia," was not established without great sacrifice and devotion. Prayer meetings were held in the homes of Mrs. David Tim- bins, Mrs. Daniel Jones, Mr. Robert Bailey, a local preacher, Broth¬ er Peter Sorrell, Moses Howard, Samuel Bruce and Samuel De- laney. , ! In 1837 regular meetings were first held in a small frame building, formerly a blacksmith shop, on First street, between James and Cedar streets, North Side. In 1843 the congregation moved to Union avenue, or the Commons," as it was called, between Erie and North Diamond or Strawberry alley, on the present site of the Presbyterian Church. I his building was burned in 1856, and the congregation then went to a stable situated on West Diamond street, at the present site of the Post Office. From this place they moved to Park way, or Water street, near Federal, to Davis Hall 011 Davis alley. The Interior of Destroyed Church congregation was chartered in 1863. From Park way the congre¬ gation moved to Hemlock and Boyle streets, under the pastorate of Rev. Jesse Devine in 1866. They had purchased, in 1863, the lot at the corner of Boyle and Hemlock streets, 90 feet on Hem¬ lock and 79 feet 011 Boyle and White Oak alley or Loraine street. The church purchased, through its Trustees, Moses Howard, George Dimny, Alfred Streets, Parker Sorrell, Joseph Monroe, Thos. R. Raoch and James Barnes, for $1,200, from Thomas Han- ney the entire lot from Boyle to Loraine street and from Hemlock to the alley, laid out by John C. Mowry and now called Ann alley. The first church erected on the corner of the present site was a commodious two-story brick building. It was built at a cost of $8,629. Here the congregation worshiped from 1865 until 1902. On Easter Sunday, March 31st, 1902, while morning service was in progress, Rev. J. W. Gazaway, preaching, a cyclone struck the southwest corner of the building and wrecked it. Plans were at once laid to erect another building. After great sacrifice and toil the present structure was erected with a seating capacity of 950, and at a cost, including all, of $22,000 (twenty-two thousand dol¬ lars). The present structure is complete in every particular, and is a monument to the toil and labors of a faithful and devoted pas¬ tor and people. The present structure was dedicated, under the pastorate of Dr. Gazaway, by Bishop B. W. Arnett, D. D., on Palm Sunday, March 27th, 1904. The church derives its name from Bishop Morris Brown, the second minister in the church to be ordained a Bishop. The first Bishop to visit and supervise the young congregation was Rt. Rev. William Paul Quinn. The first regular pastor of the church was Rev. David Smith. At this time the Pittsburg Conference was at¬ tached to the work in Ohio. The church was assisted in its early struggles by a number .of leading members of the opposite race va¬ riety. Pronvnent among these were: Rev Charles Avery, the bene¬ factor. Mr R. H. Morri on, Mr. R. Davis, Mr. Frank Smith and Mr. Christopher Yeiger, the man who held for years a lien against the property. When our church was established African Methodism wras but in its infancy. Slavery was flourishing in our land and the people of African descent were counted as chattels. In Pittsburg there were few settlers. There was but one bridge over the Allegheny river, the Hand Street Bridge, now Sixth Street Bridge. There were no cars and 110 sidewalk on the North Side. There was a line of 'busses that ran out Perrysville avenue. There were just four houses on Federal street. The Park was simply a common with a board fence around it. The Market House was in the middle of Federal street. A Canal ran through the Commons. In those days the Indians in great numbers often passed through North Side, traveling afoot, with their wives, who had their papooses strapped to their backs, on their way to Washing¬ ton City, to receive their pension from the government. As to the church, there were few colored people to attend. Brother Moses Howard was the first Preacher's Steward. Brother Bruce, Sr., was the second Steward. These two brethren were es¬ pecially prominent in the affairs of the church. Mr. Hiram Myers, Mr. Mason Washington, Mr. Nathan Peters, Class Leader Trustee Steward Mr. Thomas M. Moore, Mrs. Adelia Murry, Mrs. Louisa Henderson, Trustee Deaconess Stewardess The church owned the three adjoining houses on Boyle street, which had formerly been a carepnter shop, and the visiting preach¬ ers, who usually traveled afoot, stopped at the home of Brother Bruce, who was allowed the free rental of one house in exchange for lodging the preachers. They ate at the restaurant of Brother Moses Howard. Three services were usually held on Sabbath—morning, after¬ noon and evening. The old ladies of the church wore Quaker bonnets and large white handkerchiefs tied around the neck and fastened at the waist. The word of the Lord was very precious in Members of the Official Board those days. The preaching was with great fervor and effective¬ ness. Shouts of praise and hallelujah rang throughout the congre¬ gation. Such Saints of God as are mentioned above, together with others like William Catlin, G. W. Dimmey, S. Delaney, J. Brunson, America Harris, Hannah Robinson, Mahala Dorsey, Sarah Catlin, Lizzie Moore, Patsy and James Monroe Martha Fitzhugh, Catherine Derry, Mary Pearson and others too numerous to mention prominent in the church. Often would such giants in the cause of Christ as Bishop Wayman, or Bishop Campbell, visit the struggling congregation and cheer the people by their zeal and eloquence. "These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect " The church has long been known for its loyalty and industry. Outriding' every storm and conquering its many difficulties it stands to-day with a membership of 325 souls. ()ne of the greatest struggles, through which the church has ever passed, occurred during the spring of 1907. The pastor was stricken with a lingering illness, and from March to July the pulpit was without his ministration and affairs without his direction, and yet the congregaton remained loyal and at work. Every debt of the church was met and every want of the pastor and his family supplied with unfaltering devotion and faithfulness. At Confer- Tanner Club ence every claim was met as usual. The church forever vindi¬ cated itself as one of the greatest and most truly loyal congrega¬ tions in the bounds of the connection. During the past cjuadrennium, under the supervision of Bishop \V. B. Derrick, D. D., one of the most able and interesting charac¬ ters before the church to-day, the church has steadily grown and bids fair to become, in years yet unborn, a still greater lever for good in its field of operation. "Fear not to build thine eyrie in the heights. Bright with celestial day. And trust thyself unto thine inmost soul I11 simple faith, alwav; And God shall make divinely real The highest forms of thine ideal." The following Bishops have presided over our church : Bishop William Paul Quinn, Bishop Daniel Alexander Payne, Bishop John #M. Brown, Bishop Alexander Wayman, Bishop James A. Shorter, Bishop Jabez Pitt Campbell, Bishop Benjamin F. Lee, Bishop Ben¬ jamin \Y. Arnett, Bishop William Benjamin Derrick. The following ministers have served as pastors: Rev. David Smith, Rev. Radcliff, Rev. Edward Hart, Rev. Thomas Lawrence, Rev. John Tibbs, Rev. S. T. Jones, Rev. Newsome, Rev. Grafton Graham, Rev. Lewis Woodson, Rev. Samuel Watt, Rev. Jesse \Y. Devine, Rev. Dudley E. Asbury, Rev. W. H. Hunter, Rev. T. H. Minute Club and Members of Choir Jackson, Rev. Charles Hurbert, Rev. J. G. Yeiser, Rev. C. (). H. Thomas, Rev. W. H. Brown, Rev. H. A. Grant, Rev. Thomas B. Caldwell, Rev. Cornelius Asbury, Rev. Jeremiah M. Morris, Rev. Benj. Wheeler, Rev. W. S. Lowry, Rev. I. N. Ross, Rev. D. S. Bentley, Rev. R. H. Morris, Rev. J. W. Gazaway, and Rev. C. M. Tanner. We are indebted to Mr. T. M. Moore, Mr. James H. Page, Mr. Isaac Mann, Mrs. Ruth Jones, Mrs. Eliza Lane and several others for information. There have been no written records at our dis¬ posal, but here and there the above facts have been gathered. Officers and Societies Lewis E. Harp, Nathan Brightful, Edward. Porter, Nathan Peters, Hiram Myers, STEWARDS Edward Brewington, William Johnson, Robert Johnson, James Bissell, James Hendricks. James H. Page, Thomas M. Moore, Mason Washington,