Vestry correspondence, 1887-1922

Vestry correspondence, 1887-1922

1887/1922

ChristChurch.VestryCorrespondence1887-1922_1-7-0-9

1.7.0.9; F63(c)

A majority of the documents in this folder pertains to the 1904 Easter Monday election. Of note was the issue of ending the rectorship of C. Ellis Stevens. Present are a high number of regret letters from various parish members explaining their inability to attend the vote. Edward H. Coates details the vestry's specific objections to Dr. Stevens, which included allegations of frequent inconsistency, falsehoods, drinking and intoxication, offensive manners, and worldly ambition.

Other notable documents include extensive legal opinions provided by Judge M. Russell Thayer on issues such as the potential separation of Christ Church Chapel, vestry qualifications, quorum rules, and property holdings. Additionally, the folder contains a 1910 letter regarding a music committee contract, and a 1922 letter from John C. DaCosta, 3d to Clement R. Wainwright expressing his acceptance to the Vestry.

Pennsylvania--Philadelphia

Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA

22 documents

tiff

http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

eng

Text

The folder opens with correspondence between George M. Coates and Hon. M. Russell Thayer regarding the proposed separation of Christ Church and Christ Church Chapel, in which Thayer advises that such a separation would require the concurrent assent of all interested parties, ecclesiastical authorities, and possibly an amendment of the Church's charter, and deprecates any premature attempt [p.1-5]. A brief 1889 letter records the resignation of Thomas H. Montgomery [p.6]. A lengthy 1893 legal opinion by Thayer addresses the qualifications of Vestrymen under the 1765 Charter and the Act of 1832, concluding that Vestrymen must have paid for a sitting for three successive years, and that seven members constitute a quorum with the Rector not counted as a Vestryman [p.7-18]. An 1896 opinion to Charles P. Keith weighs the risks of accepting the Act of 1889 and subjecting the corporation to cumulative voting under the Constitution of 1874 [p.19-21]. Additional Thayer opinions from 1894 and 1897 address the burial ground endowment trust obligations [p.22-23].

The bulk of the folder concerns the 1904 Easter Monday election held April 4, and the movement to sever the rectorship of the Rev. C. Ellis Stevens. Proxy appointments and letters from members abroad or ill—including Charles E. Coxe, writing from Rome [p.24-25], B. M. Campbell [p.32], Harriet M. C. Jacobs [p.33], Elizabeth Hays Da Costa [p.29], M. Russell Thayer [p.34], Richard Peters [p.35], Charles D. Clark [p.36, p.39], and Robert Ralston [p.37-38]—endorse the present Vestry's action. Central to this dispute is confidential correspondence between Edward H. Coates and T. Chester Walbridge: Coates enumerates the Vestry's objections to Stevens, including unreliability in statement, church accounts, and conduct (with allegations of intoxication), as well as offensive manner, intrigue, and worldly ambition [p.26-27]. Walbridge replies that while indebted to Stevens for personal courtesies, he cannot support him, yet urges consideration of Christ Church as a national monument akin to Independence Hall deserving perpetual protection [p.30-31].

A 1910 letter concerns a contract for church music referred to the Music Committee [p.40]. The folder closes with a 1922 letter from John C. DaCosta, 3d, humbly accepting his election to the Vestry and asking that his appreciation be conveyed to the body [p.41].

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