Evening star., 1928-12-23

~ HESTER ALAN ARTHUR did
not follow the religion of his
father, Rev. William Arthur,
~ who was Baptist clergyman,
but became an Episcopalian,
and upon succeeding to the presidency
after the death of James A. Garfield,
he took a pew at old ST. Johns, which
again became the Presidents church.
The Presidents wife, who was before
her marriage Ellen Lewis Herndon of
Fredericksburg, Va, was a church.
woman and this most likely accounted
for his change of faith. She died the
year before Arthur became President
and she is remembered by handsome
stained-glass window in the south
transept of the church.
While President, Arthur was seldom
absent from service at st. Johns. 1t
may also be said with safety that no
President ever lived in more lavish
style than did he, and this may have
had something to do with his early
and sudden death in 1886, at just a lit
tie over SIS years of age and only a
year and a half after he turned the
reins of the executive Office over to his
successor, Grover Cleveland.
When Mr.. Cleveland became Presi-
dent in 1885, one of his first acts was
to rent pew in the First Presbyterian
III A1dISIIdu Ills
was indeed most natural thing for
him to do, since the Presidents father,
Richard Falley Cleveland, was ordained
to the ministry in 1929 and it was in the
Presbyterian parsonage at Caldwell,
N. j., that the future President was
born on March 18, 1887. From the be-
ginning of his administration it was not
unusual for the President to be accom-
panied to church by his sisters, Miss
Rose Cleveland and Mrs. Hoyt, and in
deed the former served as the mistress
of the White House during the early
part of her brothers administration,
or until he married the beautiful and
8Sss. ' VI '"'' %
Naturally this event proved of ma
ESonal and international interest. The
Eresident was then a bachelor, 49
years of age, and the bride not quite 22
OF all White House weddings, Cleveland
was the first and indeed the only Pres
ident to avail himself of that privilege
1t was no doubt the greatest event of
the kind to occur within that historic
structure, that is replete with SO many
notable events of the past 1913 years
The position of the bridegroom natural
4y made it so.
The bride and her party did not
arrive in the city until early on the
1norning of the wedding, being met at
the depot by the Presidents sister, Miss
Rose Cleveland. They were driven direct
20 the White House, where preparations
were being made for the event, which
took place shortly after z o'clock that
same evening.
T.fro ceremony was performed in the.
blue room, which was transformed into
b bower of beauty for the occasion, and
The noted bandmaster, John Philip
6ousa, then director of the Marine
Band, came with that celebrated or
ganization Of musicians to enliven the
occasion. The officiating clergyman
WAS the Rev. Byron Sunderland, who
had been the pastor of the First Pres
byterian Church from 1853.
~ CCORDnSG to a published state
ment, the time required for the
marriage ceremony was Just seven min
Gtes: "At 1908 o'clock Mendelssohn's
march was played by the band. At the
kame instant the booming of guns
was heard and the ringing of church
bells and blowing of steam whistles told
the story to all the people Of Washing
Non that the marriage had taken place
kThe Marine Band finished the march at
RIOS. AT 7:12 the band again began to
play" indicating that the ceremony
hWas over.
The ceremony itself was the same
kitualistic one that DR.. Sunderland had
kead to many contracting parties be-
More and as he stood before the diStin-
guished couple beside the Rev. William
II. Cleveland, a Presbyterian clergyman.
and brother to the President, he is re-
ported to have said:
"'If you desire to be united in mar
tiage you will signify the same by join
ang your right hand CThe bridegroom
and the bride joined hands)
"'Grover.' said the minister, do you
take this woman whom you hold by the
hand to be your lawful welded wife, to
live together after Gods ordinance in
the holy estate of wedlock? Do you
promise to love her, cherish. comfort,
and keep her in sickness and in health,
In JOY and in sorrow and, forsaking all
Others, keep you only unto her so long
AS you both shall live?'
"The bridegroom (frmly): I do