The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1853-04-09

on the Increase. Those who are able and ready
TO build, are beginning to find there is economy
in erecting, at the outset. safe, permanent. COM
Portable and tasteful dwellings and store houses.
We note about the city numerous plies Of brick
and sand, which will shortly rise into stately
walls, TO add materially to the substantial bu-
slness appearance of the place, and to relieve
the eye from the monOtonOus lines of nine
boarding. daubcd with white lead.
Churches in st. Paul.
From the outset, the means of Grace have
been abundant in st. Paul If she should ever
go down to a degraded end. through sin and in
fumy. it will not be the fault of the various re-
l!gious institutions and denominations of our
common country. or the want of faithful and
zcalous ministers sent here to instruct her. As
almost matter of course the Catholic Church
Was the first to organize here. The first organ
ization took place in 1871, and shortly after the
log house Of worship yet standing on Bench,
between Minnesota and Cedar streets. was
erected. The Older society at Mendoza being
called the church of st Peter the one here
took the name in cOntra-dstinction of the great
Apostle Of the Gentiles--St. Paul. This gave
name TO the town: and it is but an act of sim
pie justice to state, that to the good taste of
the Catholic clergy are we Indebted for the eX-
communication of the outrageous cognomen of
Pigs Eye which in its fight from our high
and salubriOus bluffs, found no resting place
until 1T reached an ENHANCEMENT Of sloughs.
marshes and mosquito dcns some miles below.
We cannot at this moment recall the name Of
the first Catholic priest who Oficiatcd here.
Upon our advent into the place. i'm Nav. '49,
we found large and devOut congregation
worshipp;ng in the log church. under the care
of the Rev. Mr. Ravoux "a faithful and Jealous
man. The following year, Minnesota was set
off as bshoprc, with the seat at st. Paul.
Father Crctan. OF Dubuque, was ordained
Bishop, and arrived here in the spring of 81.
During that year. the brick building, at present
nscd rs a church edificc, was erected It was
originally designed for college. and will be 20
used after the erection of the contemplated ca
thcdral. This latter building will be upon a
magnificent scale. Funds are now being raised
for its commencement. The Catholic church
of ST. Paul now numbers about 500 communi-
caats, mostly of Canadian French and Irish
extraction.
The first Protestant church organization in
st. Paul was the Methodist Episcopal. 1t was
organized on the :Ilst of December, 1S4S, by
Key. y: Close, now Of Oregon, and numbered
at the time eight members. The following sum
mcr. the present brick church cdificc of this
congregation was erected. 1t was the first
brick church in the TcrritOry-Rcv. Mr.. Ncill's
dwelling being the first brick building of any
kind. There are now scvcnty-three members
in communion, and the church is well filed on
the sabbath day. Rev. Mcssrs. Hobart Dick
ems and Fullerton have at different periods Off
ciatcd as Ministers in charge. Rev Chanccy
Hobart has been the Presiding Elder of this
district from the time the Territory was organ
lied, and still holds the position, much beloved
and respected by Christians of all denomina-
tons. as well as his ncighbors outside the
church. His removal from among US, if ever
it should occur, will be great public loss.
Rev. E. ID. Ncill, missionary of the Presbyte-
rian Church, \. S., arrived here in April, lS49,
he having Eeen assigned this post by the Beard
of Missions CT his Church. He instantly set
about his work with that commcdabe and earn
est zeal which characterizcs him in everything
he undertakes. He laborcd Upon each Sabbath
day in the then) only School House in the vii
lagc, until he could build, mostly at his own
expense, a temporary place of worship near his
dwelling. In this, the first Presbyterian con-
gregatiOn was organized towards the close Of
1S49. 1t consisted of only seven members,
including the pastor. all of whom are yet liv-
ing save one. May following, the building, a
slight frame, was destroyed by fire. This acci-
dent gave Zcst to the contemplated erection Of
the present elegant brick edificc, at the corner
of st. Peters and Bench streets, which il the
best finished, appointed, and most cOmmOdiOus
church in St, Paul. Worship was first had in it
during the carly part Of the following winter.
Inc Dullulng is now thoroughly hnlsned, anu
last summer a supurb organ was added to the
choir. The number of commandments connected
with this Church is small in comparison to the
number in attendance each Sabbath day. They
comprise about twenty-five or thirty out Ofa
regular congregation of rising two hundred
Aside from his rigid attendance to his ministe-
rial and other religious duties, Mr.. Ncill is al
most an indispensable in the way Of good citi-
zen His labOrs as Secretary of the Minnesota
Historical Society," in collecting and writing
our history : as we 60 along and his zeal in
the cause Of popular education are truly COM
mcndable. In fact, all of our clergymen take "a
deep and laborious interest in this latter great
and commcndablc work. ...
The scattered members Of the Baptist flock were
also collected in 1s49, by the late Rev. Mr.. Par
sons. He was man Of great simplicity OF man
ners and purity Of character. He died on ms
way home from the East, in Now 81, just alter
the completion of the church cdifcc on Fifth
street, which he had worked hard to hnish anu
pay for. His funeral sermon was the flrsf ever
preached in the housc. The present worthy
pastor. Rev. T. Z. Crcsscy, was called during
the summer of 1852, to take charge of this con-
oreeation 1t has about rs cOmmunicants.
The Home Missionary Society Of the Protest
ant Episcopal Church, established a mission in
70 -. -' Continued on Fourth page,)