Evening star., 1951-04-08
The Presidents Churches
Washington Houses Of Worship Attended
By Chief Executives and Their Families
By John cIoqett Proctor

0itO iSu ] NutIbICS
eett Proctor
led and opened for the first time
ito the public Sunday, February
"a. following, at a total cost of
about $215, 900.
President Harrison joined the
congregation in 1885, when it was
worshiping in the chapel, and
while he was a Senator in Con-
|gress. Harrison's Secretary of the
Treasury, William Window, and
his Postmaster General, John
Wanamaker, also were pew hold
ers in this church.
Mckinley and Roosevelt
President William Mckinley.
like Gen. Grant, was a Methodist
and attended here the Metropol-
itan M. E. Church. Few men who
have occupied the White House
have died so thoroughly beloved
as he.
His successor, Theodore Roose-
welt, was member of the Dutch
Reformed Church. Not finding
this particular denomination here,
he selected as his church the Grace
Reformed Church of the German
Reformed denomination, at Fif-
teenth and o streets NV. The
present church was dedicated
June IL. 1908, and President
Roosevelt and his family attended
the exercises. He made a brief
address.
Taft and Wilson
All Souls, a Unitarian Church,
which formerly stood at the south
east corner of Fourteenth and L
streets NV. and which was the
church of William Howard Taft
while he was President, was re-
to be replaced by a large
building for automobile purposes.
It was an old-established congre-
cation and numbered among its
members many prominent Wash
ingtonians. The new All Souls
Church, where the Chief Justice
Of the United States attended, is
at Sixteenth and Harvard streets
NV. and is one of the most beau
tiful church buildings on the street
leading north from the White
House.
Woodrow Wilson was the son Of
a Presbyterian minister and, fol-
lowing the faith of his father, at
tended. for a while at least, the
Presbyterian churches in Wash
ington, principally the Central
Presbyterian Church. After his
second marriage he was frequently
seen with Mrs. Wilson at St.
Johns Church, across the park
from the White House. AS to
whether he ever changed his re-
ligion, the writer is in doubt, but
he does know that at his funeral
on February 6, 1924, three clergy
men officiated. namely, Rev. DR..
Sylvester w. Beach, pastor of Mr..
Wilson's church at Princeton,
N. j.; Rev. James H. Taylor, pas
tor of the Central Presbyterian
Church OF this city, and the Right
Rev. James E. Freeman, Bishop of
Washington Of the Episcopal
Church. The body of the de-
ceased President was placed in the
crypt Of the Cathedral of SIS.
Peter and Paul at Mount st.
Adams. President Harding, the
29th President, was probably a
Methodist. He died in 1928.
Coolidge and Hoover
President Coolidge attended re-
ligious service at the theater
building at Tenth and F streets
until the First Congregational
Church at Tenth and G streets
was made in a safe condition.
This structure was built especially
for religious services and was used
May 10, 1868.
Mr.. Hoover belongs to the
Quaker denomination and at
tended new church known as
the Friends Meeting House at
2111 Florida avenue NV. For
many years, however, there was no
church in Washington of the exact
sect until this church was built.
Naturally, however, the coming to
this city of Mr.. Hoover, and to
the presidency, brought to promi-
nence the Friends Meeting House.
formerly on H street between
and Nineteenth streets
NV, erected in 1879, but which
replaced an old church dating
back to 1908. The school attached
to this church in more recent
years was attended by Charles
The deed to this property Is
dated February q, 1908, and the
two lots purchased were trans
ferred to William Morgan, Isaac
Briggs. Gerard Brooke, Samuel
Lukens and Samuel Snowden, az
trustees.