Evening star., 1951-04-08

| SSoAANAAV SAASptNA 6A1d11 AL UIluI
did not follow the religion of his
father, the Rev. William Arthur
who was a 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 is now known as the Presi-
dents Church.
When Grover Cleveland became
President in 1885, one of his first
acts was to rent a pew in the
First Presbyterian Church on
John Marshall place. This was
a most natural thing for him to
do, since the Presidents father,
Richard Falley Cleveland, was
ordained to the ministry in 1923
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 accompanied to church by
his sisters, Miss Rose Cleveland
and Mrs. Hoyt, and indeed the
former served as the mistress of
the White House during the early
part of her brothers administra-
tion, or until he married the beau
tiful and youthful Frances Folsom
on June 2, 1886.
According to published &C
count, the time required for the
marriage ceremony was just seven
minutes: "At 7:03 o'clock Mem
delssohn's march was played by
the band. At the same 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
Washington that the marriage
had taken place. The Marine
Band finished the march at 7:05.
At 7:12 the band again began to
play" indicating that the cere-
mony was over.
The ceremony itself was the
same ritualistic one that DR.. Sun
derland had read to many con-
tracing parties before. AS he per-
formed it, the Rev. William H.
Cleveland, Presbyterian clergy
man, and brother to the President,
stood beside him
| Among the kilograms received
by the President was one from the
then Queen Victoria of England.
Her telegram said: Pray accept
my sincere congratulations on
your marriage, and my best wishes
for your happiness. Victoria"
President Harrison
/ Benjamin Harrison was a Pres
byterian and occupied pew No. 43,
not far from the pulpit, in the
Church of the Covenant at the
corner Of Eighteenth and N streets
NV, just off Connecticut avenue.
The history of this beautiful stone
church relates that about 1883
Some 20 gentlemen, including the
late Justice Matthews, James G.
Blaine, Gardiner G. Hubbard.
Admiral Colhoun, Admiral Carter,
Samuel Shellabarger, James E.
Fitch, M. w. Gait, and w. M.
Gait, met at the house Of ex-
Justice Strong and decided to Sc
cure a church organization and
purchase a site for q building.
They bought, for $4,000, the lots
at the corner of Connecticut ave-
nue. and Eighteenth street, the
committee making the first pay
ment Of $4,000.
"An appeal by circular was made
in November, 1888, for subscrip-
tionS to a fund to enable the in
Icorporators to complete the pur-
chase of land and erect a chapel,
and among the early contributors
were the persons already named,
together with Senator Cameron,
William Walter Phelps. Col. John
Hay, the late ex-senator Yulee
and others. With plans for the
entire church in their possession
the Committee of Incorporators
began, the latter part of 1884, a
chapel on the rear of the lot. This
part of the edifice was open for
public worship October II, 1885.
A week later the church was for
mally organized by the Presbytery,
SO persons uniting with the church
at that time"
Ground for the main edifice
was broken in April, 1887, and all
went well with the construction
work until the massive tower fell,
August %, 1888, crashing into the
front wall and wrecking part of
the interior of the building. Dis
Iastrous as this might seem, yet
the church people came forward
and supplied the necessary addi-
tional funds to rebuild the tower
and even the incidental difference
caused by the accident, with the
result that work was Immediately
resumed and the church complet-