Evening Star Newspaper, December 16, 1934, Page 95

THE SU:NDAYA STAR, WASHINGTON, D. pulpit and to the comfort of the minister who occupies it. We trust he will be rewarded by at least a share of the patronage of the congregation. The pulpit, planned by Mr, J. C. Harkness, and executed by Messrs. Donovan & Gerhess, is chaste and appropriate, L3 HE dedication sermon was preached by the Rev, Thomas B. Balch of Virginia, from Genesis 28:17: ‘How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven. The discourse was rich, eloquent and appropriate, and was listened to with marked attention. We are gratified to learn that the session of the church has requested a copy for publication. In the afternoon the communion was administered to a large number of professors of religion from the different evangelical churches in the city, who beautifully illustrated the great principles of Christian charity by uniting with members of ‘the Central Church’ in commemorating the love .and suffering of their common Saviour, “The occasion altogether was one of profound interest, although the high gratification of - those immediately interested in this enterprise was necessarily chastened by the heavy be- reavement and deep affliction of one of the most lovely and interesting families connected with this congregation. We allude to the family of the lamented Col. Cross. As an appropriate appendix to the foregoing notice, it is proper to add that at a meeting of the congregation held on Monday afternoon the Rev. Septimus Tustin, chaplain of the United States Senate, was unanimously chosen pastor of this congre- gation.” The Presbyterian congregation did not hold the property long, and soon it became the home of the Methodist Church South, which occupied it when the Civil War began, and when the Government was in urgent need of hospitals, due to nearby battles of the Army of the Potomac, this property was taken over for the purpose stated, as were a number of other churches in the city, and it was while thus being used that it was bought in March, 1863, for $8,000. APPARENTLY the Government gave up the building immediately after it was secured by the Hebrew congregation, for it ceased to be a hospital the month it was purchased, and the congregation took possession. Under the direction of the following managers and Build- ing Committee, improvements at once began: Isaac Herzberz, B. Kaufman, G. Bechard, C. Hamerschlag, Sam King, Levi Bar, Leopold Op- penheimer, Morritz Oppenheimer and B. J. Behrend. 8. T. G. Morsell drew the plans for the improvements and the work was executed un- der the direction of John C. Harkness, who seems to have made a specialty of building and improving churches at that period. The carpentering work was let to Grosse & Bro., the painting to John Davis, slating to Matthew Waite, and the frescoing was done by Carson. The cost of the repairs was about $4,500, which brought the total cost of the building up to $12500. The congregation then num- bered only about 80 persons and yet, by the time the repairs were completed, the entire sum had been raised, except $2,000, which was advanced by members who took stock for that amount. The ceremony of dedicating the church took piace on Friday, July 31, 1863, and, as usual, The Star of the following day carried a good write-up, saying: ".Dedicntlon of the Jewish Synagogue—Inter- esting Ceremonies.—Yesterday afternoon the new synagogue on Eighth street between H and I streets (formerly the M. E. Church South) was dedicated by the congregation with appropriate ceremonies in the presence of a large audience, Several of the clergy of the District were present, among them Revs, W. M. D. Ryan of the M. E. Church and C. T. Cochel and Oliver Cox of the M. P. Church and S. P. Hill of the Baptist Church: also many prominent citizens, including the mem- bers of our City Council,- members of the bar and the press. “The ceremonies were begun at the old syna- gogue at Harmony Hall on D street between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets where the congregation assembled at 2 o’clock., Here the prayer Minchio (evening prayer) was said, and Dr. Archheimer of Baltimore delivered a short farewell address in German, after which the congregation repaired to the new syna- gogue. The five books of Moses, which are written on parchment enveloped in velvet, were taken in carriages in charge of the presie dent of the congregation, Isaac Herzberg, as- sisted by the two oldest members, Jonas Gluck and Solomon Pribram, and the reader, Samuel Weil.” PON this occasion the Rev. Dr. Isaac Leeser of Philadelphia, who dedicated the synae gogue, preached a short and interesting sere mon, embodying reference to the Jewish re ligion. “They had lived,” he said, “in one faith for upward of 35 centuries since God had instructed them, through Moses, how to adore Him, and they knew that God had fa- vored them, and for many years they dwelt in peace and harmony together; but now they were looked on as a degraded race; no one had a kind word for them, and the finger of scorn was pointed often at them. It was said that they had done nothing for civilization; but he contended that this was an error. Al- though they had not done much in the invene tion of arms and instruments peculiar to war, they had done much to civilize the world. They had trials in profusion, but these were nothing compared to God’s blessings. They had lived in one faith for ages, and now the same prayers which were handed down from Moses, and the commandments given him are still religiously observed.” * ¢ ¢ “They had as a class always been obedient %o the laws of the land in which they lived end their bands had not been tainted with C., DECEMBER 16, 1934. The-old Presbyterian Church, the corner stone of which was laid in July, 1855. Later the M. E. Church South, and then converted into a Jewish temple in 1863. blood even to purchase for themselves that inestimable boon—freedom. But Hebrew blood had been shed in Europe and America, and has been shed for nations having sympathy with them. They would not teach their chil- dren to hate their fellow-beings, one would not recite the atrocities committed against mm." * s The Jewish people did not find everything to their liking when they came to Washing- ton, for some of the same restrictions apply- ing to the race elsewhere did not seem clearly not in effect here. But a good Samaritan, so to speak, in the person of Capt. Jonas P. Levy came to the rescue and secured the passage of a charter which left no doubts as to the rights of the Jews to hold property in the District The late Henry King, jr., “Father of the New Temple.” of Columbia for religious purposes. This char- ter—signed by Nathaniel P. Banks, Speaker of the House of Representatives (December 3, 1855); Jesse D. Bright, president of the Sen- ate pro tempore (June 2, 1856), and approved by Franklin Pierce, President of the United States—states: “That all the rights, privileges and immunities heretofore granted by law to the Christian churches in the city of Wash- ington be, and the same hereby are extended to the Hebrew congregation of said city, and that the third section of the act approved the seventeenth day of June, eighteen hundred and forty-four, entitled ‘An act concerning conveye ances or devices of places of worship in the District of Columbia,’ shall be so construad as to allow the members of the Hebrew congre- gation from time to time, by a vote of two- thirds, to elect their own trustees, and the same by a like vote to displace at pleasure; which said trustees shall during their con- tinuance in office, have the same title in and power over any lot or tract of land, as if held by them under the act aforesaid for Christian church,” etc. ATHER an interesting sidelight to the Jews of the District. of Columbia is the part played in their enfranchisement in Maryland by a Scotchman named Thomas Kennedy, who, as a young man, set out from Paisley, Scotland, on April 18, 1796, to make his fortune in America. He was of good ancestry, being de- scended on his paternal side from the noble house of Cassillis, and through his mother from the ancient house of Lindsay and the illustrious, though ill-fated, family of Stuart. He was the youngest of a family of 12 children, nine boys and three girls, 11 of whom grew up, and one of whom, Matthew Kennedy, having preceded him to America by 11 years, settled in George- town, where he married the daughter of John Hines, the writer's great-great-grandfather. Young Kennedy, who was born November 29, 1776, was not familiar with the whereabouts of his brother in America, and yet, strange to say, after leaving the boat at Georgetown, the first person he met was his brother, Matthew. He first settled at Matildaville, near the Great Falls of the Potomac, and later went to Wil- liamsport, Washington County, Md., and bee came the leading merchant of that place. He soon entered politics, serving Washington County for a number of years, as a Delegate and Senator in the Legislature, and it was while thus serving his State that he introduced, in 1822, a bill to change the Maryland constitu- tion, so that persons taking office would not be required to declare their belief in the Christian religion, and which provided drastic penalties for disbelievers. Kennedy's action caused a furor in Washing- ton County, and two tickets were put in the field—the “Jew ticket” (so-called), headed by himself, and the “Christian ticket” headed by Ben Galloway. Kennedy was overwhelminly defeated. In 1825 he was more successful and was returned to the Legislature, where his bill was enacted into law, and “religious freedom in Maryland” from that date meant all religions. He was a man of considerable distinction and the writer regrets he cannot give a sketch of his life, which terminated in 1832, when he died in Hagerstown from cholera and was buried there. But it is interesting to know that a man who first landed in the District of Colum- bia, and whose connections lived here, rendered such valuable service to the Jews of Maryland. HE corner stone of the new Hebrew Temple, which occupies the site of the old building, was laid September 15, 1897, in the presence of President McKinley and his cabinet, and the dedicatory services took place on September 9, 1898. Henry King, jr., who died August 15, 1897, 7 =7 . was largely responsible for the erection of this building and encouraged it in every way, but he did not live to see it begun. In talking to Harry King the other day in his office in King's Palace it was refreshing to note the sentiment and devotion manifested by him for his father and the high regard he held for the memory of his mother. The elder Kings was a native of Germany and came to this country and to this city when young. In the fifties he owned a cloth- ing store on the south side of Pennsylvania avenue, near Ninth street, and here his son Harry was born at a later date. The Justice Department covers this site. In 1859 he went into the millinery business and later also engaged in business at Ninth and F streets, before moving to the present building on Seventh street. He was active in charitable work and took part in many civic matters of importance to the city. He had six sons, Harry, Joseph, Philip, Abraham, Meyer and Samuel, and one daughter, Grace, All are living except Meyer and Joseph. Harry, whom we all know, is a graduate of the old Columbian University (now George Washing- ton), while Philip and Samuel graduated from Princeton. Phil King was one of Princeton’s star foot ball players. Of course, there were others who rendered valuable assistance in connection with the new temple, especially the members of the Building Committee, which included William Hahn, chairman; S. Bieber, Amnon Behrend, Meyer Loeb, Max Kaufman, S. Sondheimer and Leopold Luchs. At the dedication Past President Henry Gus- dorf, Hon. Simon Wolf, Dr. Abram S. Isaacs and Dr. Louis Stern took a prominent part. Of the early leaders and rabbis of the Wash ington Hebrew Congregation Rev. S. M. Lans- burg is worthy of note, as is Rev. S. Weil, who was succeeded by Rev. I. S. Jacobson, and he by Dr. Herman Baar. Then came Rev. Isaac Stemple in 1870, followed by Michael Goldberg, Louis Stern and Dr. Simon. Rev. Stern came in 1872, at a time when the congregation was “struggling mightily” and the idea of disbanding was often expressed. He proved to be the man of the hour and during his administration the church was twice greatly altered and improved. R. ABRAM SIMON, the present rabbi, for- merly of Omaha, Nebr., came to the Temple Pebruary 5, 1904, and since then he has been one of the outstanding figures in Washington. He has had the honor of opening Congress with prayer, a distinction also granted Drs. I. M. Wise, D. Philipson, J. L. Levy, Edward H. Galisch, Joseph Silverman and Rev. Stern. The Washington Hebrew Congregation has always been of a progressive nature, and has long since abandoned many of the so-called orthodox forms, such as segragating the women from the men, avoiding the use of instrumental music, the wearing of hats by the men when in church, and other early forms. On account of this spirit of progressiveness, a split in the synagogue came in 1870, and since that time other Jewish churches have been formed here, Today there are about twelve, and there is also a Hebrew Home for the Aged, a Jewish Foster Home, four Hebrew cemeteries and an up-to-date community center is maintained on Sixteenth street. 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