The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-05-03
SOUTH BAPTIST
CHURCH NEVER
SHOULOEREO DEBT
East Kinney Street Edifice, SO
Years Old, Has Had Re-
markable Career.
MANY GENERATIONS
HAVE BEEN MEMBERS
List of Pastors Contains Names
of Gifted and Popular
Clergymen.

While the South Baptist Church, To-
Gated at % East Kinney street, has a
large membership. the feature of the
church which most endears it to the
hearts of its members is its family
nature. Most of the communicates
have had fathers and g~randfathers in
the church before them, and expect to
have their children attend after them.
Again, the church has w been bur
dened with debts, from the very be-
ginning of its career to the present.
With a present as encouraging as its
past the church is looking forward to
a rosy future.
The present pastor, the Rev. Clark
T. Browneil, has served but a few
months as pastor of the church, but is
popular with the membership. He sue
ceeded the Rev. William G.. Fennell on
December l, 1908. In its flfty-eight
years Of existence the church has had
twelve pastors. each serving on an
average of FIVE years. The list from
the founding of the church is as sol-
lows: The Rev. William Hague. D.. D..
ls50-1s5s; the Rev. o. S. Stearns. D. D.,
1s54-1s56; the Rev. James L. Hodge.
d. D., 1S55-1s57; the Rev. Edgar NJ
Levy, D. D., 1S5s-1ssS; the Rev. John
Bowling, D. D., 18e9-1ST2; the Rev.
George A. Peltz, d. d.. 1s73-1s75; the
Rev. Charles Y. Swan, d. D.. 1SI6-15S0;
the Rev. Thomas e. Vassar, ID. D..
1880 1883; the Rev. John B. English,
d. D., 1sss-1S9o; the Rev. Robert M.
Luther, d. D., 1s91-1Ss9; the Rev. Will
lam G. Fennell. ID. D., 1900-190s. and the
Rev. Clark 7. Brownell, the present
pastor.
Began In 1850.
The church was constituted on Feb
ruary 13, 1850, by forty-ive members
of the old First Baptist, then located
in Academy street, and now known as
the Peddie Memorial. The members Of
that church decided that all of their
number who lived below William
street should band together and form
another congregation. All of the con-
sregation. whether affected by the
order or not, gave their share toward
the building OF the church edi1ce, a
beautiful and substantial brown-stone
building. which u still in excellent con-
dition, and by the time the church was
ready for occupancy all the cost of its
construction had been paid off. DR..
Hague, the first pastor, was one of the
best men in the ministry at the time.
and gave the church an excellent start.
From that time to this the same high
standard has been maintained.
AS an illustration of the relation the
church has borne TO families from gen.
GRAFTON to generation, the Nichols
family is a premier example. The late
Joseph o. Nichols, one of the con-
stituent members of the church, built
the parish house which stands at 70
Walnut street, in 1853. Nilsson, Sayre
o. Nichols, has served as clerk of the
church for the past forty years. and his
widow, Mrs. Eliza d. Nichols, is the
only living constituent member.
Throughout its life the church has had
but W clerks, George H. Bruen, who
served from 1850 to 1868. and Mrs.
Nichols.
The present day activities c the
church are all in a thriving condition.
The membership of the church at this
time is AIS, and of the Bible school. 225.
The Young Mems League. a we'll estab-
Iished body, numbers So on its roll
adil. Wine ltt llilit-liltd DpA%dS ~
oiety, the oldest society of the church,
numbers practically all the ladies of the
church Interested in sewing in its
membership.
The officers of the church are as fol-
lows:
Deasons. senior deacon. Jerome Tay-
Tor; J C. Boice. n. A. Merritt. J.. D..
Runyon. the Rev. W. H. Bergfels, H.
F.. Morton; church clerk, S. o. Nichols,
$50 Washington street; trustees. r, Y.
Taylor, chairman; S. NJ. Dunn. Walter
Drake, w. s. Ferdon. G. A. Hosgland.
T. Fl. Pollock. w. r. Smith: treasurer,
Walter Drake. 1854 Broad street.
The various organizations and So
cieties Of the church are as follows.
Young Mems Glee Club. director. l.. D.
Fl Gilrnour; Treble Clef Society
directress, Mrs. Clark T. Brownell.
Bible neutrality-suspicious., H. A.
Marshall; assistant, H. e. Morton; lady
superintendent, Mrs. II. T. Garrigus:
secretary and treasurer, Walter Drake.
Young Mems Lea sue-President, n.
T. Garrigus: vice-president, A. F.
Lange; treasurer, G. o. Reock; seere-
tary, K. Pierson.
Young Peoples Society-President.
Miss Lula Metz; v~ice-president, Miss
Isabella Hardy; secretary, Miss Flor
nee Hardy; treasurer. Charles Buck
ley.
Ladies' Aid society-President. Mrs.
n e. Morton; vice-president. Miss Lin
rie Nerpel: secretary, Mrs. n. A. Mar
shall treasurer. Mrs. Philip Long.
Ladies Missionary Society-President,