Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Christ Church Hospital (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Episcopal Church]]> Chapels]]> Church property]]> Church controversies]]> Trusts and trustees]]> Estates (Law)]]> Wills]]> Clergy]]> Hodge, George Woolsey, 1845-1929]]>
The file also includes records from Christ Church Hospital regarding the estate of Maria H. Campbell, who died September 2, 1880, leaving her estate to the hospital after a cemetery payment. Notes describe a caveat entered by her sister, Mrs. Rhodes, and a proposed compromise involving life income from the estate and eventual conveyance to Christ Church for Christ Church Hospital.]]>
A lengthy March 30, 1880 statement from contributors to the Chapel building fund recounts the full history of the enterprise: the 1874 printed address seeking to preserve Christ Church by establishing a Chapel in the western part of the city [p.3]; the 1875 and 1876 appeals and the February 9, 1876 resolution creating the Christ Church Chapel Board of Management [p.4]; the 1876 purchase and conveyance of the Pine Street property in trust, and the November 17, 1876 consent of the Bishop and Standing Committee given solely on the ground that the Chapel be an integral part of Christ Church parish [p.5]; the opening of the Chapel by the Bishop on June 9, 1877, and subsequent reports and appeals [p.6]; and the demanded resignation of the Assistant Minister, accepted February 4, 1880 [p.6]. The statement describes the congregation meetings, the vote of 53 against to 16 for separation, and the forcible seizure of the Chapel building on March 9, 1880, held for the proposed Church of the Holy Communion [p.7-8]. It recounts the rejection of the proposed charter by the Court on March 20, 1880 after objections, the presentation of a new charter, and a March 29 meeting adopting articles of association asserting the congregation "has never had any organic connection with Christ Church" [p.8-10]. The contributors request the Vestry to take action to protect their rights and the corporation's title to the Chapel property [p.10].

The second matter is an October 6, 1880 letter from George Hoffman, Secretary of the Board of Managers of Christ Church Hospital, requesting the corporation authorize its accounting Warden to affix the corporate seal to a deed in the matter of the estate of Maria H. Campbell, deceased [p.11r-11v]. An accompanying memorandum details that Miss Campbell died September 2, 1880, leaving her estate to the Hospital (after $150 to Lafayette Cemetery) under a will dated June 7, 1880; describes the property of three small houses at 3rd & South subject to ground rent and mortgage; notes her impaired mind before death and a caveat entered by her sister, Mrs. Rhodes; and sets out the terms of a compromise conveyance in trust [p.12r-12v].]]> Manuscripts]]> Correspondence]]> Records (Documents)]]> ]]> United Churches of Christ-Church, St. Peter's, and St. James's (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> St. Peter's Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Church management]]> Pews and pew rights]]> Cemeteries]]> St. James's Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> St. Thomas' Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Episcopal Church]]> Church buildings]]> Sepulchral monuments]]> Sunday schools]]> Church finance]]> Church controversies]]> Wills]]> Decedents' estates]]> United Churches of Christ-Church, St. Peter's, and St. James's (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]>
Notable events documented include Harriet Keatting's remonstrance to protect her parents' gravestone, a formal petition from St. James' Church members to separate from the union due to financial difficulties, and Rev. W. H. Delancey declining a permanent pastoral connection due to his University duties. Additionally, the Male Sunday School's request for a church collection was formally denied, though members of the Vestry personally raised funds for them.]]>
An October 1828 petition, signed by members including John Markland, Thomas Hale, J. Read, and William Rawle Jr., requests that the vestry consider erecting St. James' Church into a separate corporation, attributing the churches' financial embarrassment to their union; it was read in vestry October 17, 1828, and referred to a committee [p.3].

Several items concern pew rights. An 1849 letter from William Watson to Joseph R. Ingersoll disputes the number of sittings in a pew held by his mother for 25 years [p.4r-4v]. An April 1831 letter from Mrs. Francis inquires about the terms for two seats formerly held by the late Mrs. Powel [p.5]. The most substantial correspondence, dated July 6, 1830 (with related dockets from February 1830), is from executor Edward Shippen Burd to the committee of vestry regarding two sittings in Pew No. 41 at St. Peter's Church held by the late Elizabeth Powel. Burd quotes at length the residuary clauses of Powel's will and includes a legal opinion by Horace Binney dated April 6, 1830, concluding that the pew interest should vest in John Hare Powel, whom Elizabeth Powel treated in loco parentis and who had adopted her name at her request [p.8-22].

A letter from Rev. William H. Delancey, dated April 16, 1832, declines the vestry committee's overture for a permanent connection with Christ Church, citing his obligations to the University [p.6]. Finally, an April 20, 1832 request from Clement English and Eliza C. Souder, a committee of the Male Sunday School of Christ Church, asks permission to take up a collection to address a debt of thirty-five dollars contracted in May 1831; the vestry declined to permit another collection but some individual members collected ten dollars, given to Mr. English on April 29, 1832 [p.7].]]> Manuscripts]]> Correspondence]]> Records (Documents)]]> Petitions]]> ]]> Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Church controversies]]> Confession]]> Women--Suffrage]]> Episcopal Church]]> Church property]]> Pews and pew rights]]> Hospitals]]> Women]]> Suffrage]]>
Noteworthy events detailed in the correspondence include Assistant Minister G. Woolsey Hodge defending his theological position and use of private confession against the Rector's demands for his resignation; Tobias Wagner objecting to women being allowed to vote on the release of the Chapel property; and Bishop William Bacon Stevens withdrawing a proposed compromise between the Chapel and Christ Church due to the Chapel congregation taking forcible possession of the building to form a new parish (Church of the Holy Communion). Additional letters concern financial transactions for Christ Church Hospital, the assignment of a pew for the Bishop's family, and Thomas H. Montgomery's resignation as Treasurer of the Endowment Fund.]]>
Tobias Wagner objects to votes cast by women on the release of the Chapel property, arguing women are not entitled to vote for Vestrymen [p.13]. Thomas C. Hand, holding a proxy for the ill George H. Flanagan, protests the refusal of Flanagan's vote against the separation as an infringement of his rights as a pewholder [p.14]. Bishop William Bacon Stevens withdraws his compromise plan (22 March 1880), citing the Chapel Committee's forcible possession of the Chapel, its effort to charter a new parish (the Church of the Holy Communion), and its disregard for diocesan canons [p.15r-p.15v].

W. H. Lansdale reports resigning from the trust holding title under the deed from James McCoy, with no transfer of property having been made [p.16r]. George E. Hoffman conveys resolutions from Christ Church Hospital requesting assignment of a $5,000 bond and mortgage and authorization to sell U.S. government loans held in trust [p.17r-p.17v]. Bishop Stevens thanks the Vestry for assigning a pew for the use of the Bishop's family [p.18r-p.18v]. Finally, Thomas H. Montgomery submits his resignation as a Vestry member and Treasurer of the Endowment Fund (10 May 1889) [p.19].]]> Manuscripts]]> Correspondence]]> ]]> Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Christ Church (Philadelphia, Pa.)]]> Elections]]> Church property]]> Legal opinions]]> Church management]]> Episcopal Church]]> Clergy]]> Church buildings]]> Endowments]]> Church controversies]]> Ecclesiastical law]]>
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.]]>
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].]]> Manuscripts]]> Correspondence]]> Records (Documents)]]> Contracts]]> ]]>