Evening Star Newspaper, December 8, 1929, Page 99

— . - SR THE .SUNDAY STAR.. WASHINGTON, .D.. LI,. DECEMBER 8 .1929. New Book Comnzenorates St. Alban’s Faithfully Recording Growth of Local Church, Clarifying Relation of Parish and Cathedral, and Throwing New Light on District of Columbia History, Mewmorial Volume Is a Ialuable Contribution to W ashingion Literature. Rev. Charles T. Warner, rector of St. Alban’s parish. BY WILLIAM RUFUS SCOTT, UBLICATION next week of “The History of St. Alban’s Parish, 1854- 1929,” wiil add to the literature of local church records perhaps the .nost ambitious volume of the kind yet attempted here. The 225 pages and 30 il- lustrations throw new light not only on parish history, but on the history of Washington and of the District of Columbia. That it will be a valuable book for the public at large, as well as for the church members, is indicated by advance perusal of its pages. Observance of the seventy-fifth anniversary already has been marked this year by St. Albans in special sermons, meeting and recep- tions. The decision to commemorate the date - by a permanent record was reached and Dr. George R. Wales was named chairman of a committee on history, under whose direction the book has been prepared. The editing has been done by Miss Mary Badger Wilson, au- thor, among other works, of “The Painted City,” a book of sketches of Washington life. Considérable research was necessary here and outside of Washington, resulting in the cor- rection of a number of confusing statements about- the parish, and in the addition of new material. Since the beginning, in 1854, the parish has had only six rectors. Rev. Wentworth L. Childs was the first rector, and the present rector is Rev. Charles T. Warner, who was installed in 1912, and has had the longest tenure of office among the incumbents. Bishop Philip " M. Rhinelander served the parish one year, in 1896, as minister in charge. This was when he was a deacon. The immediate predecessor of Mr. Warner was Very Rev. G. C. F. Brate- nahl, dean of the National Episcopal Cathedral, within a stone’s throw of St. Albans, on Wis- consin avenue. He served as rector for .15 years. ONLY a brief outline of the forthcoming his- tory can be given here, but at thé outset it will be useful to make the distinction be- tween St. Albans and the National Cathedral that is presented in the book. St. Alban’s Parish is entirely separate from the cathedral and will not be impaired as to its identity or functions by the completion and full use of the * cathedral. Misapprehensions as to the relation of the parish church and the cathedral are cleared up in the book in the following way: In Europe the building of cathedrals pre- ceded the establishment of churches and parishes, whereas in America the rule was re- versed during Colonial days and down to the Revolutionary War period, so that parishes pre- ceded cathedrals. In those early days there were no bishops of the Church of England in America. Ministers, however, came out with the colonists and organized churches. It was nearly two centuries after the first settlement, in 1607, before bishops were consecrated in America. ‘The first bishop to be consecrated in America was Thomas John Claggett, who, it is interest- ing to note, was buried in St. Albans, but now has a final resting place in the cathedral. The usual procedure in Europe was first to erect the bishop’s church, known as a cathe- dral, and from that center the missionary work was extended in the opening of local parish edifices. The cathedral does not have members as does a parish church, nor does a cathedral engage in parish work. The cathe- dral is for the whole diocese. Hence the Na- tional Cathedral and St. Albans do not and will not conflict, even though they are so close together. An illustration of the relation of cathedrals to parishes is afforded in ancient Palestine. The temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish religious life, yet there were 480 syna- gogues serving the people locally throughout the land, it is pointed out in the history of St. Albans. In 1854 the site of St. Albans was part of the estate of Joseph Nourse, the first register of the United States Treasury, who was appointed by President George Washington. It was con- sidered “out in the countrf.” Mr.« Nourse bought the estate, situated at the juncture of Woodley lane and Tenleytown road (now known as Wisconsin avenue) about the year 1813 The original St. Alban’s Church. where the west entrance of the cathedral will e erected. St. Alban was the first Christian martyr in the British Isles, the history sets forth. His death was decreéd because he had become con- verted to Christianity and because he aided in the escape of another Christian being persecuted by the authoritics. St. Alban is recorded as having served as a soldier in the Roman legions, though he was a Brfton. His martyrdom took place in 304 AD. The Nourse hcme was famous for its hospi- tality and as a rendevous of celebrated person- ages as well as of humbler citizens. Thgmnas Jefferson was a frequent visitor and gave Mr. Nourse a boxwood, brought from Monticello, St. Alban’s Church in rear, with two guild halls in foreground. The original frame church is encased in stone. While both St. Alban’s Church and the cathe- dral stand on the Nourse estate, only the site of St. Atbans was a gift of the Nourse family to the church, as will be explained subsequently. The name “Mount Alban” was given to the estate by Mr. Nourse because the countryside reminded him of the sloping hills where St. Alban was martyred in ancient Britain. The front door of the frame dwelling occupied by Mr. Nourse originally stood at about the spot Va., and which still stands in the cathedral close. Later Joseph Nourse built for his son, Maj. Charles J. Nourse, the mansion farther out on Wisconsin avenue and known as the Highlands. There have been mistaken impres- sions about this house and the original Nourse home on Mount Alban. Rear Admiral Cary T. Grayson now lives in the Highlands and this year, as part of the observance of the seventy- fifth anniversary of St. Albans, gave a large reception at the Highlands for the parish. Th: Highlands also was the rendevous of famous men and women of the day, among whom v .re John Quincy Adams and Dolly Madison. Miss Phoebe Nourse, daughter of Maj. Nc irge and granddaughter of Joseph Nourse, di:d at the age of 18 years and left a bequest of $40 in gold to be used in the erection of a church edifice, the money having been earned by her needlework, at which she was skilled. Other members of the Nourse family gave the land for the church. Her sister, Miss Rosa Nourse, was long active in the church work. The upbuilding of the community is shown to have been aided con- sistently by the church, the school it maintained with Miss Nourse as teacher, having been the only opportunity in that section for children to get an education. For nearly 30 years this school served the children without regard to religious persuasion and wi‘hout charge if they could not pay tuition. Public schools estab- lished later made this parish effort unneces- sary. IT was not until 1902 that the electric car lins was extended out as far as St. Albans. Be- fore that, especially in the earlier years of the church, dusty dirt roads or paths through fields and woods were used by members to reach the edifice. They came on foot, on horseback or in carriages. Mrs. Grover Cleveland, afier the President purchased a home in what'is mow Cleveland Park, usually walked to the church from her house. The interesting fact is recorded in the his- tory that the site of the cathedral was saved by the decision of St. Albans to hold on to its own site in the face of a projected residential development in the vicinity. The land now owned by the cathedral had passed into the hands of an owner who contemplated-the sub- dividing of the section, calling for a street that would run through St. Alban's rectory. When the parish declined to sell, the project was dropped, and, in 1898, Bishop Henry L. Satter- lee purchased the site of the cathedral for the National Cathedral Foundation. Members and non-members now living have contributed important material to the history. One of these, Mrs. Eliza Shriver Fundenberg, more than 90 years old, and still living in Washington, was in the first confirmation class of 1854. She has described the beginning as modest, but courageous and forward-looking. It was a noteworthy event in that section of the District. The population then was scat- tered and generally poor, though here and there were pretentious homes. Mrs. Fundenberg has seen the parish become one of the most popu- Continued on Fifth Page “Mount Alban,” the home of Joseph Nourse, first register of the U nited States Treasury, Reproduced from a painting,