Important dates

By Jane Dunbar Madson and George Ralph Madson

Chapter I

“Establishment of the Church in Harrison County”

SOMETIME before the spring of 1835 the Episcopal Church made its first appearance in Harrison county. Exactly how it came is not definite, but in the early months of that year the Rev. Edmund Davis, a deacon, was officially in charge at Leesburg. By the following year he had gone to England for a protracted stay, from which, indeed, he never returned to this country. Although there seems to have been no other clergyman connected with the new parish, there was nevertheless plenty of activity under the leadership of Mr. William Hearne, a layman. In May, 1836, Mr. Hearne appeared at the Convention of the Diocese of Kentucky, meeting in Louisville, to petition for the admission of Christ Church, Leesburg, into union with the Convention. The parish was admitted with Mr. Hearne as lay delegate, and an assessment of $20 per year toward the Bishop’s salary was laid upon the parish.

It so happened that this Convention was an extremely important one, with results directly affecting the history of the Church in Harrison county, as became apparent within the next few years. There was in the diocese a certain amount of opposition to, and criticism of, the Diocesan Bishop Smith. Accordingly, at this Convention a series of closed committee meetings was held at the home of the Rev. Mr. Peers in Louisville for the purpose of bringing charges for impeachment or presentment against the bishop. Mr. Hearne was present at most of these meetings, and although there is of course no evidence concerning his attitude in the matter it may be conjectured from his subsequent actions that he was favorable to the bishop. He had also at this Convention been appointed to a committee to promote “the erection of infant churches in the Diocese.”

A year later Mr. Hearne again represented Christ Church, Leesburg, at Convention. Although still without a rector, the parish had erected a building which was finished enough to enable the bishop to preach there and confirm five persons sometime before Convention. Thus, the parish had six communicants, and since only communicants might be delegates, Mr. Hearne must have been the only communicant in the parish at the time of its admission into the diocese, and must be credited with its formation.

At the same time that the church in Leesburg was taking definite form some work was going on in Cynthiana. The earliest records indicate a school in progress in 1837, although when it was established cannot be determined from diocesan records. Mr. N. N. Cowgill directed the school, and in 1837 he was received as a candidate for Holy Orders, at Convention. At this same Convention admission into union with the Convention was granted to St. Paul’s Parish, Cynthiana, “to take effect from and after the adjournment of this Convention.”

The charges formulated a year before by secret committee were now brought forward on the demand of the bishop that he be accorded trial by his peers. Motion was made that a list of charges be prepared and laid before the Convention. Although the motion was passed, the minority opposing it included Mr. Hearne. A committee was appointed which presented a list of six charges of from three to 42 specifications each. One of these charged the bishop with trying to give the power of voting to two persons known to be in his favor, the delegates from the two parishes admitted in that same Convention, Cynthiana and Owingsville. The final clause in the motion for admission had prevented them from receiving that power in time to be of assistance to the bishop. The bishop was further charged with citing Mr. Cowgill as a member of the senior class of the diocesan Theological Seminary before he had finished the preparatory department. As there is no further mention of that matter the truth of the statement cannot be known, but it would naturally put Mr. Cowgill on the side of the bishop. With Mr. Hearne, a member of the committee on infant parishes, in Leesburg, and Mr. Cowgill in charge of the school in Cynthiana, it may be seen that the inevitable result was the formation of St. Paul’s Parish on the eve of the Convention in order to increase the number of friends of the bishop.

That a parish had been formed too soon was soon evident, for St. Paul’s was short-lived. About January 1, 1838, Mr. Cowgill, having been ordained deacon, left for Zion Church, Shelbyville. He was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Crowe who was ordained about the same time, and took charge of the parishes in Cynthiana and Leesburg. In May, 1838, he reported to Convention, “I am sorry to say the prospects of the Church in Cynthiana at present, are not good,… but this, in my opinion, is much more that counterbalanced by the prosperous appearance it wears in Leesburg.” In this latter place there were seven communicants, and

hardly any in Cynthiana. The difficulty seemed to be that there was no secure basis for the church in Cynthiana. In 1839, Mr. Crowe moved to Cynthiana and conducted a school there as well as continued services in both towns. After the spring of that year, no further mention was ever made of St. Paul’s Church.

Shortly thereafter Mr. Crowe removed to Lexington in order to carry on work in Leesburg and in Versailles. His work at Leesburg, although he had been ordained priest by this time, was described by the bishop as “laborious but gratuitous.” The church there was still incomplete, but work was slowly progressing. Donations in sufficient amounts to complete the building had been received from Louisville and from Christ Church, Lexington, but local difficulties slowed up construction. The communicant list still stood at seven. No record exists of payment of the $21 assessment on the parish.

By May 1841, Mr. Crowe was no longer connected with Leesburg although he still lived in Lexington. After he left the parish, presumably in the fall of 1840, the retired rector of St. Peter’s, Paris, the Rev. Amos Cleaver, officiated every two weeks in Christ Church, until winter made the roads impassable. Not until Mr. Cleaver’s return in the following spring were there any services of any kind. In October 1842, Mr. Cleaver was re-elected rector of St. Peter’s Church and was obliged to reduce the number of his visits to Leesburg to once a month, until the condition of roads again stopped his traveling.

In the early part of the winter of 1842-43, the Rev. J. Avery Shepherd, upon his ordination to the diaconate, took charge of Christ Church. On July 22, 1842, there was paid to the diocese $2 of the assessment, and on May 23, 1843, $10 more, evidently the first payment into diocesan funds from the parish. In the same May, the parish sent Mr. Hearne as delegate to the Convention. About the middle of August, Mr. Shepherd left to be rector of ‘St. Peter’s, Paris. Finally, the church building was sold by William and James Hearne, and an additional $500 was made, which was possibly given to the congregation in Cynthiana; for at this time a second parish was developing in that town. Thus the work of the Church came to an end in Leesburg sometime in 1846.

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All of the material for the foregoing chapter has been found in the annual journals of the Conventions of the Diocese of Kentucky of those years. The composition of the history is the joint effort of the Rev. and Mrs. George Ralph Madson.

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A PRAYER FOR THE TIMES

LORD GOD, who art always our Shield and Defence, we thank thee for thy continued guidance and protection. Enable us to go forward with courage as we enter a new era; rejoicing in its opportunities and avoiding its perils. Let no difficulty dismay us, no hardship hinder the upbuilding of thy kingdom. May we in quietness and confidence pursue our several callings. Forgive and remove the tendency to distrust both ourselves and thee. Open our eyes to the invisible hosts which thou has appointed to encompass and encourage us. Lift up our hearts to the divine presence where there is no place for fear; through him who is Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

— Bishop Ingley of Colorado

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Chapter II

“The New Parish”

The revival of the parish in Cynthiana, or the rise of the new parish, whichever it may have been, occurred during the year 1846. The Rev. George Weeks states that a prominent physician of the town, Dr. George H. Perrin, became interested in some way in the Episcopal Church. What was the impetus cannot be ascertained, but it is quite possible in view of the personnel of the parish a year later that Mr. Hearne, of the Church in Leesburg, had something to do with it. At any rate, on December 1, 1846, Dr. and Mrs. Perrin “were baptized by immersion, the Rev. G. G. Moore, rector of the Church at Paris, administering the sacrament.”

Thinking Cynthiana not a feasible location for a parish, Dr. Perrin purposed to become a member of St. Peter’s Church, Paris; but on Bishop Smith’s advice it was determined to organize a parish in Cynthiana.

According to the parochial report of the Rev. G. G. Moore, rector at Paris, “On the 4th of November, 1846, Episcopal service was commenced in this place (Cynthiana) and continued regularly once a month, in addition to which several successive services were held at different times in connection with the Rev. Mr. Berkley of Lexington.” These successive services were probably preaching missions conducted to arouse interest in the Church and to attract a nucleus for a congregation. Mr. Moore continues, “The 6th of January… a Parish was duly organized and the present incumbent invited to the Rectorship where he officiates regularly the second Sunday in each month and once on a weekday in the intermediate time.” There were listed in May 1847, 15 communicants.

At the Diocesan Convention of 1847, at which the parish applied for union with the diocese, the bishop credited the formation of the parish to “a noble self-denying system of voluntary missionary efforts on the part of the Rev. G. G. Moore and the Rev. Ed. F. Berkley.” on May 14, 1847, the Articles of Association of the Church of the Advent were presented to the Diocesan Convention and acted upon favorably, and Dr. Perrin and Mr. William Hearne were recognized as accredited delegates. The name is said to have been chosen because the parish was organized about the season of Advent.

The following February - 1848 - Mr. Moore resigned the rectorship of St. Peter’s Church, Paris and the Church of the Advent, Cynthiana, to take charge of Trinity Church, Covington, and St. Paul’s Church, Newport. How hard this was on the young parish is expressed by Bishop Smith in Convention in May: “I cannot refrain from the expression of my sympathy for the few resolute Episcopalians at Cynthiana, who are struggling bravely against the discouragement consequent upon the loss of the services of the Rev. Mr. Moore, and who are likely, for years, to require more than a common share of our cooperation and support.” Mr. Berkley, who had assisted Mr. Moore in starting the parish, was to be occupied in the building of a new church for Christ Church parish, Lexington, and in working with the rector at Frankfort to establish a parish at Versailles. There were no delegates from Cynthiana at this Convention.

The first of October, however, a rector came to Paris and Cynthiana, the Rev. Horace Hill Reid, from the diocese of New York. He reported 17 communicants in Cynthiana and a Sunday School with four teachers. Parish contributions were: to Domestic Missions, $3, for Prayer Books, $5, and to the Episcopal Fund, $15 — a total of $23.

Mr. Reid reported further: “This parish is still feeble but, in some respects the prospects are brightening. A semi-monthly appointment is regularly kept, and every service attracts large congregations. The children receive regular catechetical instruction.” At the Convention of 1849, the parish was represented by Mr. Hearne.

Mr. Reid’s tenure was short, and before the Convention of 1850, he had transferred to the diocese of Connecticut and there was no on in charge at Cynthiana. The only record for the two years following is that $15.00 was paid to the Episcopal Fund in August, 1850, an evidence that it was still a parish with a diocesan consciousness.

In 1851, Bishop Smith requested the Rev. Carter Page, then officiating in Bowling Green and Russellville, to spend the month of December in Cynthiana; following which Mr. Page became rector of the parish in February, 1952. He found the parish small but eager and reported in May that there were nine communicants and 20 Sunday school scholars. He conducted two services each Sunday in the buildings of the various denominational churches, and by Convention time he had acquired $2,000 from “three individuals towards the erection of a church edifice and there is good prospect of raising $600 more.” With this beginning the parish negotiated for a half-acre lot on which to build. At this Convention, the parish was represented, as usual, by Dr. Perrin and Mr. Hearne.

Within another year, although the communicant list had dropped to eight, the half-acre lot had been purchased and the parish planned to have the walls and roof constructed by the fall of 1853.

This was not accomplished, but in May of the next year the difficulties, whatever they had been, had been straightened out and W. Russell West, of Columbus, Ohio, had been required to furnish plans and specifications for the building. Although the communicant list had increased by but one, the Sunday school enrollment rose from 20 to 30, an encouraging sign. Although not present at Convention, Thomas Elliott had been elected a delegate from the parish.

No further mention of the employment of Mr. West as architect is found in the records. The church was built according to a model furnished by Bishop Smith. Parish tradition has it that the church is a copy of the parish church of Stoke-Poges in England, and that the bishop’s model was of that building, and was kept in Cynthiana. That the model was or was not of that famous church cannot be proved from the records, but a comparison of the two churches as they stand today makes it conclusively evident that the Church of the Advent is of the general type, but by no means a faithful replica of Stoke-Poges. In the first place, the English church, like most of the very old ones, has been built in stages, frequently added to through the years. Thus there is in it a mingling of the various types of English church architecture. There is a similarity in the towers of the two churches, although Stoke-Poges has a steeple on the tower. In Stoke-Poges there are tall, marrow windows; but they are always paired. In Stoke-Poges there is a Norman chancel arch — the low, rounded arch. But the Church of the Advent has no chancel arch. The Church of the Advent is almost entirely of Early English architecture and lacks the additional types found in Stoke-Poges.

It may be seen, therefore, that this church is not a direct copy of Stoke-Poges; but it is possible that its plan embodies certain characteristics of the English church.

The corner-stone of the Church of the Advent was laid on the 5th or 6th of May, 1855. Bishop Smith called it a “signal incident” in the growth of the diocese, and said of it, “By the great liberality of a very few friends, it promises to be one of the neatest and most complete of our small churches and the first in the diocese constructed of stone.” The estimated cost of construction was $4,500, of which $3,500 had been subscribed in June, 1855, chiefly by Dr. Perrin and Mr. William Thompson, the latter having been confirmed at the time of the laying of the cornerstone. As this time there were 11 communicants, and 35 Sunday school pupils.

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Chapter III

The parish report to the Diocesan Convention in the spring of 1856 was not encouraging. The services were still being held in the other church buildings in town with the result that they were “regular except when (once a month) the denomination to which the house belonged occupied it.” There had been no confirmations. Nearly $4,500 had been spent on the church of which $75 had been a gift from Christ Church, Lexington, $95 from Christ Church, Louisville, and $65 from St. Paul’s Church, Louisville, and there were still not pews and open windows, and the inside was unplastered and unpainted.

The Bishop in his address to the Convention brought the matter before the diocese:

“I found our fine little church edifice in Cynthiana at an absolute standstill for want of a few hundred dollars to glaze, plaster and seat it; after the most generous contributions upon the sot, in bringing it so near to completion, of any that have been made in any part of the diocese… My deliberate advice to them is, either to worship in it in its present state, or to leave it just as it is until the sympathies of the Diocese are aroused to furnish the means for furnishing it.”

But the appeal did not reach many sympathetic hearers for at the next Convention the Rev. Mr. Page reported his own efforts to raise sufficient funds to complete the church.

Within the year the glazing and plastering had been done, pews and chancel furniture provided and $100 in addition had been spent for “Painting and varnishing the body of the Church; the open timber roof being still untouched by the painter’s brush.” Mr. Page’s own statement of his struggles is: “The Rector returned to his Parish last summer, greatly disheartened by his almost utter failure to procure any effectual aid from the Church people of Louisville, in behalf of his struggling Church; but by assuming a large personal responsibility he stimulated some of the parishioners, who had already been too heavily taxed, to come forward and put the Church in its present comfortable condition. More than $1,000 has been expended… since the last report (Spring, 1856) and all contributed by two or three individuals.” (Dr. Perrin and the Rector are two of these.) The choir was at this time preparing to have a concert, the proceeds of which, added to some previous contributions, was expected to be sufficient to purchase a small organ. The credit for the erection of the church at this time must certainly go to the Rev. Carter Page. And at the same time he carried on the regular services of the church, managed to present occasional candidates for confirmation, and in the year 1857, conducted regular services for the colored population of Cynthiana, at which, he says, “a large number have always been in attendance.”

The church building was publicly opened for services at the end of March, 1857. At these services was first developed the idea of missionary convocations within the diocese, a most valuable and constructive agency for diocesan growth for many years following.

For several years the parish grew steadily, and work on the building was continued. In 1859, Christ Church, Louisville, contributed $25 to the Church of the Advent, and St. Peter’s Church, Paris contributed $81 and a surplice. About $1,000 was expended that year on the building, $500 being raised in the parish and the rest coming from friends in Louisville, Lexington, and Paris.

In the spring of 1860, the tower was completed at a cost of $175, and the church was ready for consecration. That service was held by Bishop Smith on Saturday the 14th of May. The Bishop said, in speaking of both the Church of the Advent and St. Paul’s Church, Henderson, which was consecrated in the same month:

“There are remarkable proofs of strength already acquired, and of a vast increase in the vigor of our church life, and of a growing willingness to do and to give up to our ability, and in the case of our first stone edifice in the Diocese, in Cynthiana, far beyond the measure of a customary liberality. It is a charming little church… and afford(s) almost the first example of an improved taste in grading, inclosing, and ornamenting of the grounds around the church.”

The Rev. Carter Page, although not present at the Convention that year, reported 13 communicants, and 40 Sunday school pupils. He had held regular Sunday services as well as on Ash Wednesday and on every Friday in Lent. Mr. Page continued his work into the Civil War period, leaving the parish in 1862. After his departure, services were interrupted for several years and the church was left without regular ministrations until after the close of the war.

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Chapter IV

“Post-War Period”

Just why the Rev. Carter Page left the parish to teach in a Female Seminary in Jefferson County at such a critical time is not indicated in any of the records. To be sure, journals of Convention for the years 1863 to 1868 inclusive are missing, but no hint is ever given.

In 1866 the Rev. Charles Stewart took charge of the parish, remaining for one year. After he left, the Rev. Dr. Silas Totten, Principal of Christ Church Seminary, Lexington, “did able and wise service in the parish during the following two years,” according to the brief history in the Parish Register.

The Assistant Bishop, Dr. Cummins, visited the parish on December 8, 1868, preaching, confirming three and baptizing one. The following May, in Convention, the Report on Missions included this statement: “In Eastern Kentucky there is a large district… embracing the towns of Cynthiana… entirely without the ministrations of the Church.”

This report had good results for the parish, for a missionary was put in charge of the work. The Rev. Walter Tearne, in his report to Convention, 1870, said, “After my ordination to the diaconate, Easter, 1869, at the request of the bishop I visited Cynthiana occasionally...until August 1… when… I accepted charge.... At that time, from causes well known to the Convention, the church was in a crushed and deplorable condition, (no information that was “well known” then can be unearthed today) nine discouraged and disheartened souls alone composing it.... At present and for another year she will need the aid and fostering care of the Diocesan Missionary Society and her wealthier sisters. My people have done well....” They paid Mr. Tearne in salary $582.63, spent $548.50 on the building and sent $40 to the Episcopate Fund, in ten months. The Missionary Society paid $200 toward his salary.

On October 7 and 8, the Central Convocation held its autumn meeting in the Church of the Advent. Bishop Cummins was present, and confirmed two persons. He visited the parish again the following April 18, 19, and 20 — Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Easter Week — preaching four times, confirming six. On June 24, 1870, Mr. Tearne was ordained priest. Bishop Cummins considered the work greatly revived by Mr. Tearne. “The congregations have increased; a promising Sunday school has been organized; the church building improved; an excellent bell placed in the tower; and an earnest effort is now on foot to establish a parish school.” The rector said a schoolhouse was needed, to cost $1,200. The New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society had given the parish a Bible, and a library had been donated by the American Sunday School Union.

Twenty-two communicants were reported in 1871, Sunday school of 37 pupils and five teachers.

On July 1, 1871, Mr. Tearne resigned and went to Mt. Sterling. Later he was the first resident minister in Beattyville and organized the first church there, working in Proctor, too.

On September 1, 1871, Dr. Silas Totten began to visit the parish twice a month, in addition to his duties in Lexington and his visits to Nicholasville. After the end of the year he visited but once a month. He reported to the Convention of 1872 that, “The congregations are small and there is little hope of increase without the services of a resident minister.” Dr. Totten died in 1873, and Cynthiana was without regular ministrations. No parish report was made in 1874.

The diocese was greatly upset over the abandonment of the Church by Bishop Cummins in November, 1873. Bishop Smith was on a two years leave of absence at the time. In November, 1874, Bishop Dudley was elected assistant bishop.

Bishop Dudley visited the parish April 23, and 29, 1875. On the 28th, the Rev. George A. Weeks of Paris, and the Rev. Charles T. Kellogg of the diocese of Northern New Jersey, principal of a girls’ school in Covington, read the service. Four persons were confirmed the second day. The vestry soon arranged for the Rev. Mr. Kellogg to officiate in the church every Sunday.

On the Sunday after Easter, April 23, 1876, the Rev. J. S. Johnston, formerly of Mississippi, took charge of the parish, having charge also of the Church of the Ascension, Mount Sterling, in which town he lived. He conducted services in Cynthiana on alternate Sundays. Part of his salary was paid by the Missionary Convocation. He hoped that “this old and important parish can be raised out of its present depressed condition and placed in that position which it should occupy in the Diocese.” The Rev. Mr. Weeks of Paris had held six services in the while it had been without a rector.

After a lapse of several years, the parish was again represented in Diocesan Convention in 1876. G. H. Perrin, P. W. Peck and James Hedges had been elected delegates, but were not present.

A year later the parish reported 24 communicants, and the rector said, “This parish, I think shows evident signs of improvement and I hope the good work may go on until the Church is firmly established in this important town.” The following year he reported in absentia, “This parish about holds its own. No perceptible change since I took charge. It needs a resident rector.” He had conducted 48 services during the year.

To the Convention in 1879, the rector reported, “The Church moves on slowly, but is gradually growing in favour, I trust, with God, and certainly with man. It is the subject of quite general remark that the respects of the Episcopal Church in Cynthiana were never so flattering as at the present time. I have been disappointed too often by appearances to base any very sanguine expectations. On the present improved condition of things, I only trust that we may accomplish the will of God concerning us, whether that be to achieve temporal success, or show that highest type of Christian manhood, devotion to duty despite of discouragements.”

The Rev. Mr. Johnson [Johnston?] resigned as missionary to Mt. Sterling and Cynthiana in January 1880, and went to Alabama. The Rev. Mr. Weeks came once a month from Paris to conduct services for about a year. At Convention, May 1881, there was no parish deputation, and there were no proper credentials. Dr. Perrin, Senior Warden, sent in the parochial report: “During nearly half the past year this Parish has been without regular ministrations and at no time has had the services of a Clergyman more than half the time. When services have been had the congregations have been remarkably large and attentive. The Parish has a good deal of zeal and life in it and is now looking anxiously forward to the coming of the new Rector, who is expected on Whit-Sunday.” The new rector, the Rev. Mr. Cross, was thus expected on June 5th, about two weeks after the adjournment of Convention. The report of the secretary of the Board of Diocesan Missions stated at this time:

“Cynthiana, a most important work, has had only such ministrations during the year as could be given by the Rev. G. A. Weeks, of Paris. Here the Churchmen have ever been earnest and willing to aid in the work of Church extension. Could the services of an earnest worker be secured for this parish, to abide among the people, the work would gain strength and permanency.”

It was probably at this time, before the arrival of Mr. Cross, that the parish gave $50 to the fund raised by St. Peter’s Church, Paris, to enable Mr. Weeks to go abroad.

The Rev. Edward S. Cross came from the Missionary District of Colorado to the Church of the Advent, but there can be found no estimate of his work, and before the next spring he had transferred to the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, and the parish was again without regular services.

About the first of the year, 1883, the Rev. John F. Spivey, deacon, came from the Diocese of Iowa “to accept an election as Rector of the Church of the Advent.” Within three months he baptized 13 and presented eight for confirmation. On the 21st of May the standing committee recommended that “Rev. J. F. Spivey be admitted to the Sacred Order of Priests.” The ordination took place in Christ Church, Louisville, during the Diocesan Convention, May 27, 1883. From all appearances the parish was receptive and ready to prosper, and did so until the first of the year when Mr. Spivey was taken ill. Although he lived until March 27, he was unable during those months to hold services, and the church was closed from January till August, when the Rev. G. W. Weeks resigned as rector of St. Peter’s Church, Paris, and became rector of the Church of the Advent, although he continued to live in Paris.

The death of Mr. Spivey was a great loss to the parish and a severe blow to anticipations. Bishop Dudley, the assistant bishop of the diocese, said of him: “He had during his short ministry gained the confidence and affection of the people of his charge, and the outlook for the future of the Parish seemed more hopeful than ever before during my Episcopate.” Immediately upon the advent of Mr. Weeks the parish contracted for a new stone baptismal font as a memorial to Mr. Spivey.

It was in this same spring, 1884, that word came of the death of Possible Smith, long resident in New York because of illness and age. The assistant bishop, the Right Reverend T. U. Dudley, automatically became the second Bishop of Kentucky.

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Chapter V

“The Close of the Century”

The five-year rectorate of the Rev. George A. Weeks is a highlight in the history of the Church of the Advent. The communicant list increased, the Sunday School flourished and the whole parish was in splendid condition. This was accomplished in spite of the fact that Mr. Weeks was never resident in Cynthiana, and that he was in failing health.

In 1886 a national drive was opened to raise $1 million for missions. The money was all to be pledged and then collected only if the goal was reached in the pledges, which were to be of $5 per person. The Diocesan Convention decided that in case the national goal was not reached, the pledges made in the diocese should nevertheless be collected and spent on diocesan missions. Six persons in the parish made pledges of $5 each.

The only records for the next two years show the number confirmed — eight in each year.

In 1888 part of the report of the Board of Diocesan Missions reads: “The Rev. George A. Weeks reports that the Church has made steady progress at Cynthiana during the year, notwithstanding the fact that they have suffered by removals, still there has been a decided increase.... The last class for confirmation (eight persons)...embraced several of the most influential citizens. The Sunday School has done particularly well and the fruits will be manifest in the near future.” This confirmation class included such names familiar to the history of the parish as Ashbrook and Megibben.

The following year there was only one confirmation, that of James William Victor, who was confirmed on the 10th of May and as sent as a delegate to the Diocesan Convention five days later. He was the last candidate Mr. Weeks presented.

It was in this year, 1889, that Bishop Dudley started an Episcopal Endowment fund to which 18 members of the Church of the Advent contributed $50.50. The contributors were Mr. and Mrs. John Peck, Gertrude Hedges, Arabella Hedges, Mary Nebel, Emilie Lalla, Mrs. Hannah Wilson, Mrs. Catherine Cooke, Hattie Cooks, Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Ashbrook, Mrs. Josephine Wolford, Bertie Wolford, Louis C. Wolford, Mrs. Sarah McNees, Amy McNees, Lucy McNees and the Rev. G. A. Weeks.

In August, 1889, Mr. Weeks gave up the work because of his health and removed to Lexington to make his home with his son. But wishing to continue some work in the ministry as long as possible he became an Assistant Minister in Christ Church, and “in this position served faithfully and acceptably until ten days before his death.” During his rectorate in Cynthiana, he presented 37 for confirmation, and baptized the same number. The various testimonials following his death, March 30, 1890, show why the parish so benefited from his ministrations.

Bishop Dudley said of him: “His works shall surely follow him, for of all the men whom I have known in the ministry he was the equal of any as a teacher.... Reserved in manner, devoted to study and to solitude, and not a ready mixer among men, he yet, by his still, quiet, and persevering pursuit, brought a great number into the Church, and so instructed them that they stay there, and know why.” The committee to report on that portion of the Bishop’s Convention Address wrote: “The Diocese sustained a great loss in the death of the Rev. George A. Weeks. One of the oldest resident clergymen of the Diocese, he was honored and respected by all. Quiet and unobtrusive in his manner, a thorough scholar and efficient teacher, his systematic and logical instruction will be missed not only by the Parishes where he had labored, but the clergy as well; yet the influence of his life and labors will follow him and be the means of lasting good.”

And the report of the Board of Diocesan Missions said: “He was a man of modest, retiring disposition, but true as steel to what he believed to be right. He believed the Church of which he was ordained minister to [be] the divinely appointed means for the renovation of human nature. He believed it with all his heart and accepted it in its every consequence. Yet, while steadfast for the truth, it was always spoken in love, and his work in this Diocese will always be held in grateful memory.”

Mr. Weeks’ place in the parish had been taken by the Rev. C. L. Pindar, who relinquished his charge of Hickman and Columbus to come to Cynthiana. He received $600 a year from the parish and $300 from the Diocesan Board of Missions. In neither of the two years that Mr. Pindar spent in the parish was he present at the Diocesan Convention, nor did any delegates from the parish attend, although in both years the parish was reported as paying its diocesan assessment in full.

In May 1890, the parish purchased for $200 a strip of land approximately 10’ x 172’ adjacent to the church, to make possible the erection of a rectory. Although there is no record of the actual erection of the building, it must have been done immediately upon the purchase of the lot, for a year later, in May 1891, the parochial report cited $1,000 debt on the rectory, which was reduced by $400 in 1894.

No confirmations were reported in 1890 and only two in 1891. Of the condition of the parish, however, the Diocesan Board of Missions reported: “At Cynthiana... the work has gone on steadily, being prosecuted in the most faithful and zealous manner.”

Mr. Pindar resigned September 1, 1891, to go to the Diocese of Ohio, and the parish was evidently without a rector until the following year when the Rev. Rolla Dyer resigned St. Peter’s Church, Paris, to accept the rectorate of the Church of the Advent. He is said to be the first to live in the new rectory.

In this same year the parish suffered a serious loss in the death of the senior warden, Dr. Perrin. Bishop Dudley, paying tribute to him in Convention, May, 1892, said, “He became the champion of the region round about. He literally built the Church of the Advent, the aid he received from others being hardly appreciable; until the very day of his death he was by far the largest contributor to the maintenance of the parish and he did hope to consecrate a goodly portion of his estate to its endowment (but it became doubtful) whether this pious purpose can be realized.”

Mr. Dyer’s work was increased by the addition of Falmouth in which there was no organized mission. On April 11, 1893, just a year after his arrival, he presented a candidate to the bishop for confirmation.

He remained in the parish about five years, doing good work. In June 1893, he was assisted six different times by Arthur Broom Hobrogh, of Winchester. In this year the parish bought a new furnace at a cost of $115, and was sufficiently prosperous that the diocesan assessment was overpaid by $8, and the assessment had been raised in 1890 from $30 to $35 a year. The depressions of those years were making themselves felt, however, for in 1895 the Diocesan Board of Missions was able to pay Mr. Dyer only $288.75 on the $400 due him, and the parish was in debt to him by $576.66.

In September 1895 the Diocese of Kentucky was divided, and the Rev. Lewis Burton was elected Bishop of the new Diocese of Lexington. Mr. Dyer was a member of the committee appointed to notify the Rev. Mr. Burton of his election, and he was also present at the consecration of the first Bishop of Lexington on January 30, 1986 [1896].

The following September — 1896 — Mr. Dyer resigned the Church of the Advent to go to St. John’s Church, Bellevue-Dayton, Kentucky.

**** **** **** ****

COPY OF THE DEEDS TO THE CHURCH LOTS

•

2nd of February 1854.

Henry F. Cromwell and wife

to

George H. Perrin and William Thompson

Trustees of Protestant Episcopal Church

$400.00 cash

in Harrison Co. — 100 ft. wide on the back

street and running to the RR.

•

Eliza Reese May 19th 1890

to

Bishop T. W. Dudley, Trustee

Strip 10 ft. wide and back to lot owned by ...

172 ft. more or less. $200.00 cash

**** **** **** ****

Chapter VI

“Uncertainty”

During the first year of the new Diocese of Lexington, the Church of the Advent did not prosper. Mr. Dyer left in September and the parish was without a rector for some time thereafter. At the Second Convention of the Diocese, held in Frankfort in May 1897, the Bishop reported:

“This parish has been vacant ever since the removal of the Rev. Rolla Dyer to Dayton. I have been making various, but so far ineffectual attempts to fill the vacancy. The small amount which the Parish is able to offer in addition to its rectory handicaps the Vestry and myself seriously. I have held service and preached twice; administered the Holy Communion once; visited the Sunday School once; met the Vestry twice; met the ladies of the Guild and of the Woman’s Auxiliary; and performed the necessary pastoral work at the time of my visits. I accompanied one of the clergymen called to the rectorship on his visit of investigation, and with him met the people.”

It is evident that Bishop Burton gave liberally of his time and energy to the parish at a time when he was undoubtedly very busy with the affairs of the newly organized diocese. At the time of this report a call had been extended, but an answer was still pending.

This mention by the Bishop of the Woman’s Auxiliary refers to that very new organization in the parish. It was listed in the report of the secretary of the diocesan Auxiliary as one of the branches “organized and interested in the study of Missions, though not yet actively at work.” There were ten members in the parish branch.

After the resignation of Mr. Dyer, the Diocesan Board of Missions withdrew all support from the parish until a rector should be secured, when the Board would grant $100 to the parish. This action was necessary in view of the situation facing the financing of missions. After the division of the diocese, the mother diocese granted for missions in the new diocese $500 for two years. In the spring of 1897, then the Board of Missions was planning to carry the entire load. In order to increase the missions fund, the Bishop inaugurated a voluntary offering known as the “Bishop’s Missionary Fund.” To this fund the parish contributed $6.45, and one individual later gave $5.00. At the same time an offering of $13.37 was given for the missionary work

outside the diocese. This took place while the parish was still without a rector.

The parochial report for this year numbers the parishioners at 125, the communicants at 67. Twelve of the services reported for the year were held “at a schoolhouse at a place known as Pedro Ridge, where the average attendance was about 200.”

On the 8th or 9th of January, 1898, the Rev. Franklin Anderson Ridout, Jr., became the rector of the Church of the Advent and missionary in charge of Christ Church Mission, Richmond. He was received into the Diocese of Lexington from the Diocese of Virginia. He was paid about $15.00 a month by the parish and $100 a year by the Board of Missions.

During 1898, the parish contributed only $4.30 to diocesan missions and nothing to general church missions, but some of the arrearage was paid on Mr. Dyer’s salary.

Mr. Ridout resided in Cynthiana and went to Richmond every other Sunday, so that each congregation had services twice a month. At the end of a year he resigned the work in Richmond and took charge of the work in Falmouth. The parish in Cynthiana was growing slowly, the membership of the Woman’s Auxiliary was increasing. Forty dollars was spent on church furnishings, so some improvements must have been made within the building. On his visitation, the bishop received $4.66 for the mission fund. The Sunday School Lenten Offering for general missions was $7,076.843.... [?]

One of the communicants of the parish, Mrs. Annie Laurie Wilson James, was a teacher in the Ashland School for Girls, a diocesan institution. During the summer of 1899, she made a canvass for pupils in the region about Ashland, with no success.

The school therefore moved to Versailles, hoping for greater enrollment.

Mr. Ridout resigned as rector on Oct. 31, 1899, and was immediately replaced by the Rev. H. E. Spears by appointment of the Bishop. Mr. Spears, a native Kentuckian, had been ordained the previous year in his home parish, St. Peter’s, Paris. He was ordained priest the following April and was elected rector of the Church of the Advent. Shortly thereafter there was installed “a beautiful hand-carved and home-made altar” — to quote the parish report — which was valued at $500. This is the altar now in use in the church.

In April, 1901, Mr. Spears removed to the diocese of Southern Ohio. There were seven members of the Woman’s Auxiliary, but a circle called the Babies’ Branch — now known as Little Helpers — had been organized, and had contributed $6.70 to missions.

The Vestry arranged with the Rev. H. H. Sneed of Georgetown to take charge of the parish in addition to his work in Georgetown, Nicholasville and Lawrenceburg. He assumed temporary charge on June 9, 1901, and was called to be rector on March 1, 1902. Part of the time he conducted services in Cynthiana every Sunday morning and in Georgetown every Sunday evening, but the greater part of the time he spent alternate Sundays in each place. In 1902, the fence across the front of the church property was erected at the cost of about $87. The parish was still in arrears on Mr. Dyer’s salary, and paid $150 on that, besides contributing

$85 to diocesan missions and maintenance, and $12.40 to the general church work.

Mr. Sneed resigned all his work in the diocese January 1, 1905, and went to Gulfport, Mississippi. During his rectorate the parish had progressed, not spectacularly, but gradually and steadily. In 1904, there were 75 communicants. The Ladies Guild and the Auxiliary grew in membership, and especially in activity. In 1904, the Auxiliary sent three boxes valued at $90 to the mountain missions, as well as giving scholarships for the school in Corbin. And in this same year the church was painted inside. At Mr. Sneed’s resignation, the Senior Warden, Mr. William Handy, took charge as Lay Reader. In the parochial report of May 1905, a startling reduction of the communicant list is shown, two having removed, three having died, and 18 removed otherwise, bringing the number down to 52, with an average of only 18 making their communions during the year.

Mr. Handy supplied weekly services, with some assistance from visiting clergy, until March 25, 1906. During that time he conducted 45 services, assisted in one, and had one funeral. All parish obligations were paid.

On the above date the Rev. H. K. Coleman, who had been principal of St. John’s School, Corbin, was appointed by the Bishop to the temporary charge of the churches in Paris, Cynthiana, Georgetown, Nicholasville and Lawrenceburg. He spent only a few weeks in Cynthiana. On the 9th of June he was deposed from the priesthood by Bishop Burton, having renounced the ministry formally in Christ Church Cathedral.

At the request of the Vestry, the Rev. R. C. Caswall took charge of the parish on the second Sunday in June 1906, for one year. This appointment by the bishop was in addition to his work as Archdeacon and the care of the churches in Georgetown, Nicholasville and Lawrenceburg. The chief event of the following year was the conduct of an Industrial School for ten weeks, 22 enrolled. It was repeated in 1907.

**** **** **** ****

Chapter VII

“Concluded”

The Diocesan Convention of 1908 passed a resolution of sympathy for Mr. William Handy “suffering from a long-continued sickness borne with patient resignation.” Mr. Handy died before the next Convention.

At some time during the preceding years the Sunday school had died, and Mr. Caswall tried to revive it. He gave up the attempt in 1909 because “there are only three possible children and two of them live four miles away.” In March of that year, the Rev. F. R. Mallett, of Sharon, Penn., conducted an eight-day mission, on which Mr. Caswall reported: “The church was crowded full over and over again and about 75 persons signed papers testifying to the great benefit the addresses had been to them.”

Mr. Caswall resigned May 1, 1909, and died almost exactly a year later. During part of those last months, from July 30, 1909, to May 1, 1910, he supervised the lay reader in charge of Cynthiana and Winchester, Mr. P. B. Ellsworth, received into the diocese as a postulant and admitted a candidate for Holy Orders in January 1910. The following June, his name was stricken from the list of candidates.

In the summer the Rev. John Stuart Banks, deacon, principal of St. John’s School, Corbin, took temporary charge during the school vacation. He continued after vacation, having relinquished his work in Corbin in September. He was ordained priest on St. Mark’s Day, 1911, in Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington. The parish paid him $320 and the National Church $750 per year. The communicant list rose to 46, two having been confirmed. The Sunday School was organized in October, after a lapse of eight years. The rectory was repaired, and a new roof was put on the church.

Mr. Banks resigned February 1, 1912, and went to the Diocese of Ohio, and the parish was supplied by visiting clergy for several months.

In September, the Rev. J. E. Thompson, deacon in charge of Christ Church, Richmond, added this parish to his care, relinquishing Mt. Sterling. On May 31, 1913, just before his ordination to the priesthood, he was transferred to Jenkins, McRoberts and Fleming. During the year the parish received a chest of altar linens, which was dedicated.

After a few months the Rev. George Henry Harris added this parish to his charge, residing in Paris. Two were confirmed during his three years. The diocesan assessment was raised from $50 to $80, in 1916. In 1918, the Bishop requested that those parishes able to give only “a comparatively small portion of the total stipends of their ministers and needing the income of their rectories to make out this sum” voluntarily vest their property in The Trustees of the Diocese and become missions. This parish did not accede to the request.

Mr. Harris resigned November 1, 1917, to be president of Margaret College and rector of St. John’s Church, Versailles. The parish was inactive, only three services being recorded during 1919, by the General Missionary, the Rev. J. J. Clopton, and no diocesan assessment paid, until 1920, when the Rev. Walter Cain became rector of St. Peter’s Church, Paris, and of this parish.

Mrs. T. E. King was the first woman delegate to Diocesan Convention from the parish in 1921, the first year the canon permitting them was effective. During 1923, Miss Gaither, principal of Margaret College, addressed the Woman’s Auxiliary.

Mr. Cain resigned April 1, 1924, and was succeeded by the Rev. Paul Due, who was in charge of Emmanuel Church, Winchester. He added Paris to his work in 1926. He went to the Diocese of Ohio in January 1928.

Mr. J. H. Chillington, lay reader, took charge on the first of June 1929, supervised by the Rev. Harold Boon of Paris. He was later transferred, and the Rev. Herbert Purchase, from the Diocese of Eau Claire, became rector on April 6, 1930, remaining until the first of September, 1931. He conducted catechism classes for the parish children and had a small boy choir for a time. The present priest-in-charge succeeded Mr. Purchase in 1931.

**** **** **** ****

Chapter VIII

The period 1931 to 1938 was the longest that any clergyman remained in charge after 1862, when the Rev. Carter Page concluded 11 years as rector. No other men have remained more than five years.

Soon after the Rev. George Ralph Madson, who resided in Paris and had charge of St. Peter’s Church there and of Holy Trinity Mission, Georgetown, took charge, a new furnace was ordered. The need was imperative. A year and a half later a new roof was put on the rectory, and $200 was borrowed to meet this expense and finish paying for the furnace. During 1933, the salary for the priest-in-charge was cut in half, and during the winter months services were held but one Sunday a month.

The Ven. V. G. Lowery, of Birmingham, Ala., conducted a two-day teaching mission in December 1931. On the 20th of the month Mr. Madson was ordained priest in Paris.

The Diocesan Convention in January 1932 passed an amendment to the canons affecting this parish among others. It provided that parishes receiving outside aid automatically are in the mission status as far as appointment of the clergy is concerned, the Bishop having authority to place and remove the clergy in such parishes. At this same Convention the parish reported the acceptance of 70% of the Church’s Program apportionment, but afterward one member guaranteed payment of 100%.

Early in 1932, Mr. John C. King of Lexington gave the parish a walnut Missal Stand. In May the music committee sponsored a “May Queen’s Court,” the proceeds being for the boy choir which Mr. Purchase had inaugurated. However, the choir soon ended, the organist having moved away.

In January, 1934, Mr. Madson became Vicar of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lexington, for six months, and services were held two Sunday evenings and one Monday morning a month. In May the parish, with Parish [Paris] and Georgetown, gave the Bishop a red stole on his fifth anniversary.

The Treasurer of the National Council wrote to the parish in 1935 thanking the members for their loyal and generous support of the Church’s Program. In the fall the oldest member of the parish, Mr. Charles Riockel, reached the age of 100.

On Easter Day, 1936, the daughter of a former member was baptized in the church, the first baptism in several years. In June, at his visitation, the bishop dedicated a part of Eucharistic Lights, given by the Woman’s Auxiliary in memory of Miss Sarah Gibson.

In July, 1937, with the Bishop’s approval, Mr. Madson set up the Blue-Grass Associate Mission, of Paris, Cynthiana, Georgetown and Mount Sterling. The Rev. Austin B. Mitchell, Jr., became Mr. Madson’s associate, and conducted most of the services in Cynthiana. He attempted to organize a church school, but only one pupil attended regularly, and she was prepared for Confirmation, to be presented June 26, 1938, the first candidate in 17 years.

Late in 1937, the parish again had music at the services, when Miss Lucy Logan Desha became organist. About the same time the Church of the Advent Woman’s Club was organized, in which many non-Episcopalians were interested.

Mr. Mitchell was ordained priest in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lexington, on January 30, 1938.

Soon after Easter, 1938, the church interior was redecorated, funds having been given for the purpose by several persons, and the Woman’s Club having raised a considerable amount by card parties.

The Blue-Grass Associate Mission came to an end on June 1. Funds to continue it were not available. Mr. Mitchell resigned and moved to the Diocese of Dallas. Mr. Madson resigned, continuing the work in Paris, Georgetown and Mt. Sterling.

During these six and three-quarter years the communicant strength of the parish changed but little, and the budget of the parish remained fairly constant. All obligations to the Diocese and National Church were paid regularly.

By Gregg L. Riley

Senior Seminarian, Episcopal Theological Seminary of Kentucky

May 7, 1979

The History of the Church of the Advent Cynthiana is one of long and arduous periods. There have been few times in its past where it was prosperous; not so much because of a lack of zeal on the part of its members as much as the lack of length of time spent there by its rectors and vicars. Looking over its history one can see that when it had a rector or vicar that stayed there any reasonable length of time, the membership and enthusiasm of the members increased.  1

Of its 133 years, there have been only three rectors or vicars, including the present one, that have remained there more than a period of five years. This single factor more than any other has contributed to the growth and decline of the Church of the Advent.

As we look at its history, we can see that from the very beginning it even had trouble getting off the ground. The Church at Cynthiana Episcopal began in the spring of 1835. This was the first appearance of the Episcopal Church in Harrison county, Kentucky. This fledgling effort was mainly due to a Mr. N.N. Gowgill, who established a school at Cynthiana. In 1837 he was received as a candidate for Holy Orders at the Diocesan Convention and petitioned for union with the convention, a parish called St. Paul’s, Cynthiana.

In January 1838, Cowgill was ordained deacon and left Cynthiana for Zion Church, Shelbyville. He was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Crowe, who not only took charge of Cynthiana, but also Leesburg. In May of 1838 he was reported to have said at convention, “I am sorry to say the prospects of the Church in Cynthiana at present are not good,… but this, in my opinion, is much more than counterbalanced by the prosperous appearance it wears in Leesburg.” Leesburg at this time had seven communicants, whereas Cynthiana had hardly any. A base was definitely lacking in Cynthiana. In 1839, The Rev. Charles. Crowe moved to Cynthiana and conducted a school there as well as conducting services both at Leesburg and at Cynthiana.

Not much is heard of the Church at Cynthiana after the spring of 1839, for Crowe moved to Lexington in order to carry on work in Leesburg and Versailles. It seems that Cynthiana was sacrificed for the welfare of the other two.

The Church at Cynthiana emerges again in the summer of 1846. A prominent physician of the town, a Dr. George H. Perrin, became interested in a Church at Cynthiana. On December 1, 1846, Dr. and Mrs. Perrin “were baptized by immersion in the Licking River” by the Rev. G. G. Moore, rector of the Church at Paris. 2 However, Dr. Perrin did not think that Cynthiana was a very good place for a parish, and he proposed to become a member of the Church at Paris, but on Bishop Smith’s advice it was determined that a parish be instituted at Cynthiana.

According to the parochial report of the Rev. G.G. Moore, rector at Paris, “On the 4th of November, 1846, Episcopal service was commenced in this place (Cynthiana) and continued regularly once a month in addition to which several successive services were held at different times in connection with the Rev. Mr. Berkley of Lexington.” Mr. Moore’s report continues, “The 6th of January… a parish was duly organized and the present incumbent invited to the rectorship where he officiates regularly the second Sunday in each month and once a weekday in the intermediate time.” 3 There were listed in May, 1847, 15 communicants.

On May 8, 1847, the Articles of Association of the Church of the Advent were presented to the Diocesan Convention and acted upon favorably. Dr. Perrin and Mr. William Hearne were recognized as accredited delegates. The name of the church is said to have been chosen because the parish was organized about the time of the season of Advent.

In Feburary, 1848, the Rev. G.G. Moore resigned his rectorship both at Paris and at Cynthiana and Bishop Smith was quoted as saying, “I cannot refrain from the expression of my sympathy for the few resolute Episcopalians at Cynthiana, who are struggling bravely against the discouragement consequent upon the loss of the services of the Rev. Mr. Moore, and who are likely for years to require more than a common share of our cooperation and support.” 4 Consequently, there were no delegates from Cynthiana at the 1848 Convention.

By the first of October, a rector came to Paris and Cynthiana, the Rev. Horace Hill Reid, from the diocese of New York. His initial report listed 17 communicants in Cynthiana and a Sunday School with four teachers. Parish contributions were: to Domestic Missions, $3.00, for Prayer Books, $5.00, and to the Episcopal Fund, $15.00 — a total of $23.00. According to Reid’s report, “This parish is still feeble but in some respects the prospects are brightening. A semi-monthly appointment is regularly kept, and every service attracts large congregations. The children receive regular catechetical instruction.” Reid’s tenure was also short, and before the convention of 1850, he transferred to the Diocese of Connecticut. For the next couple of years there is not much evidence of “life” in the Church at Cynthiana, except for $15.00 which was paid to the Episcopal Fund in August of 1850.

Bishop Smith got things rolling again in 1851 when he requested the Rev. Carter Page, then officiating in Bowling Green and Russellville, to spend the month of December in Cynthiana. This led to his being called as rector in February 1852. He reported that there were nine communicants and 20 Sunday School “scholars.” He conducted two services each Sunday in the buildings of the various denominational churches, and by convention time he had acquired $2,000.00 from “three individuals toward the erection of a church edifice and there is a good prospect of raising $600 more.” With this beginning the parish negotiated for a half-acre lot on which to build. Within another year, the lot had been purchased and the walls and roof were to be constructed by the fall of 1853.

The Church was to be built according to a model furnished by Bishop Smith. Parish tradition has it that the church is a copy of the parish Church of Stoke Poges, St. Giles, England, where the poet Thomas Gray wrote his “An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” That the model was or was not of that famous church cannot be proved from the records, but a comparison of the two as they stand today makes it clear that the Church the Advent is of the general type. The corner-stone was laid on the 5th of May, 1855. Bishop Smith called it a “significant incident in the growth of the diocese.” It was the first church in the diocese built of native stone. The estimated cost of construction was $4,500. At this time there were 11 communicants and 35 Sunday School pupils.

Of the $4500.00 for the building, $75.00 was a s gift from Christ Church, Lexington, $95 from St. Paul’s Church, Louisville, and there were still no pews and open windows, and the inside was unplastered and unpainted. 5 Bishop Smith put out a plea for contributions at the next convention, in order to complete the work. But it seems that his plea fell on deaf ears. Due to the personal courage and expertise of the Rev. Carter Page, the money was secured and the inside finished. Dr. Perrin was noted to be a heavy contributor. In the year 1857, Page conducted regular services for the colored population of Cynthiana, at which he a says, “a large number have always been in attendance.” The Church building was publicly opened for services at the end of March, 1857.

For several years the parish grew steadily, and work on the building continued. In 1859 Christ Church, Louisville, contributed $25.00, St. Peter’s, Paris, $81.00 and a surplice. In the spring of 1860 the tower was completed at a cost of $175.00, and the Church was ready for consecration. The service was held by Bishop Smith on Saturday the 14th of May, 1860. The Rev. Carter Page’s report of that year stated that there were 13 communicants and 40 Sunday School pupils. Page continued his work into the Civil War Period, leaving the parish in 1862. After his departure, services were interrupted for several years and the church was left without regular ministration until after the close of the war.

In 1866, the Rev. Charles Stewart took charge, but he only remained for one year. After he left, the Rev. Dr. Silas Totten, Principle of Christ Church Seminary, Lexington, “did able and wise services in the parish during the following two years,” according to the brief history of the parish register. The Assistant Bishop, Dr. Cummings, visited the parish on December 8, 1868, preaching, confirming three, and baptizing one. The following May at convention a report was made concerning the lack of ministration at Cynthiana, and the Rev. Walter Tearne took the parish.

Tearne was ordained deacon, Easter, 1869, and began visiting Cynthiana; it was not until August that he accepted charge. Nine communicants were all that he had but they paid Tearne a salary of $582.63. They also spent $548.50 on the building, and sent $40.00 to the Episcopal Fund in just ten months’ time. On January 24, 1870, Tearne was ordained priest. Twenty-two communicants were reported in 1871, the number of Sunday School pupils was 37 with five teachers. On July 1, 1871, Tearne resigned and went to Mt. Sterling.

During the period of July, 1871, until April, 1875, there were no regular services held at Advent. During this period Dr. Silas Totten, along with Bishop Dudley, the Rev. George A. Weeks of Paris, and the Rev. Charles T. Kellog visited the church off and on; the latter was soon contacted by the vestry and he held regular services until April, 1876, when the Rev. J.S. Johnston, formerly of Mississippi, took charge of the parish. Johnston also had charge of Mt. Sterling and had to alternate services. A year later, the parish reported 24 communicants and the rector said, “This parish, I think, shows evident signs of improvement… .”6 The Rev. Mr. Johnston resigned as missionary to Mt. Sterling and Cynthiana in January, 1880, and went to Alabama. The Rev. George A. Weeks came once a month from Paris to conduct services for about a year. During this time the parish was searching for a rector and located one in the person of the Rev. Edward S. Cross from the Missionary District of Colorado. But as it turned out, their expectations were in vain, for Cross only stayed a few months and left Cynthiana for the diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Again, the parish was without regular services.

About the first of the year, 1883, the Rev. John F. Spivey, deacon, came from the diocese of Iowa to accept the rectorship. Within three months he baptized 13 and presented eight for confirmation. On May 21, he was recommended for the priesthood. The ordination took place on May 26 at Christ Church, Louisville. The Church prospered under Spivey’s leadership, and he became endeared to the people’s hearts. It was unfortunate that his leadership was short lived, for around the first of the year, 1884, he took ill, and died on March the 27th. During his illness he was unable to conduct services and the Church was closed from January until August, 1884. At this time the Rev. G.A. Weeks resigned as rector of St. Peter’s, Paris, and became the rector of Advent. At the coming of the Rev. G. A. Weeks the congregation contracted for a new stone baptismal font as a memorial to the Rev. John F. Spivey — it stands as a tribute to him today and is still in use. This was also spring that Bishop Smith died, and the Rt. Rev. T.U.Dudley became the second Bishop of Kentucky.

For the next five years the Rev. G.A.Weeks’ rectorship was the highlight of the history of Advent. The communicant list increased, the Sunday School flourished, and the Church as a whole was in good health. However, the Rev. Mr. Weeks was not in good health. The only records for the next two years only show the number confirmed as eight per year. In August, 1889, the Rev. G.A. Weeks gave up his work because of his health and moved to Lexington. During his rectorship he presented 37 for confirmation and baptized the same number. Bishop Dudley said of him, “His works shall surely follow him, for all the men whom I have known in the ministry he was the equal of any as a teacher… .” 7 The Rev. C.L. Pindor replaced Weeks as rector, but he only stayed two years.

In May, 1890, the parish purchased for $200.00, a strip of land 10 x 172 feet adjacent to the church, to make possible the erection of a rectory. A year later in the parochial report there was noted a debt of $1,000.00 on the rectory, which was reduced by $400.00 in 1894. No confirmations were reported in 1890 and only two in 1891. The Rev. Mr. Pindor resigned September 1, 1891, to go to the diocese of Ohio. The parish remained without a rector until the following year when the Rev. Rolla Dyer resigned St. Peter’s Church, Paris, to accept the rectorship of the Church of the Advent. Dyer became the first rector to live in the new rectory. Within a year, after his arrival, he presented a candidate for confirmation. He remained in the parish about five years and did a good job. In September, 1895, the Diocese of Kentucky was divided and the Rev. Lewis Burton was elected Bishop of the new Diocese of Lexington. Dyer was present at Burton’s consecration. The following September, 1896, Dyer resigned the rectorship at Advent, in order to go to St. John’s, Bellevue-Dayton.

During the first year of the new diocese of Lexington, the Church of the Advent did not prosper, due to the leaving of its rector. However, Bishop Burton gave liberally of his time to Advent as evidenced by the parish register. He held services twice, met with the Ladies Guild, administered the Holy Communion once, and attended the Sunday School once. The parochial report for the year 1897 showed the number of parishioners at 125, and the communicants at 67. On the 8th of January, 1898, the Rev. Franklin Anderson Ridout, Jr., became the rector and also was missionary in charge of Christ Church, Richmond. The Rev. Mr. Ridout resided in Cynthiana and went to Richmond every other Sunday. At the end of the year he resigned his work in Richmond. He also resigned from Advent on October 31, 1899, and was immediately replaced by the Rev. H.F. Spears, by appointment of the Bishop. Shortly after his election as rector, there was installed “a beautiful hand-carved altar.” 8 It is presently in use and is just as beautiful as the day it was installed. In April, 1901, the Rev. Mr. Spears removed to the diocese of Southern Ohio. The vestry arranged for the Rev. H.H. Sneed of Georgetown to take charge of the parish in addition to his work at Georgetown, Nicholasville, and Lawrenceburg. He was called to be rector March 1, 1902. The Rev. H. H. Sneed resigned all his work within the diocese on January 1, 1905, and went to Gulfport, Mississippi. But during his rectorship at Cynthiana, the parish progressed, not spectacularly, but gradually and steadily. In 1904, there were 75 communicants and in the same year the church was painted inside. At the time of Sneed’s resignation, the Senior Warden, Mr. William Handy, took charge as lay reader. Mr. Handy supplied weekly ervices, with some assistance from visiting clergy, until March 25, 1906.

On the above date the Rev. H.K. Coleman, who had been principal of St. John’s School, Corbin, was appointed by the Bishop to the temporary charge of the Churches in Paris, Cynthiana, Georgetown, Nicholasville, and Lawrenceburg. On the 9th of June, he was deposed from the priesthood by Bishop Burton, for having renounced the ministry formally in Christ Church Cathedral. 9 At the request of the vestry, the. Rev. R.C. Caswall took charge of the parish on the second Sunday in June, 1906, for one year. This appointment by the bishop was in addition to his work as archdeacon and also the care of the Churches in Georgetown, Nicholasville and Lawrenceburg.

At some time during the preceding years the Sunday School at Advent had died, and the Rev. Mr. Caswall tried to revive it. He gave up the attempt in 1909 and on May 1st, the rectorship. Almost exactly one year later, he himself died. In the summer the Rev. John Stuart Banks, deacon, principal of St. John’s School, Corbin, took temporary charge. He was ordained priest on St. Mark’s Day, 1911, in Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, and took the rectorship of the church of the Advert, Cynthiana. However, he resigned February 1, 1912, and went to the Diocese of Ohio. The parish was supplied by visiting clergy for several months after his departure. In September, the Rev. J.E. Thompson, deacon-in-charge of Christ Church, Richmond, added Advent to his care. On May 31, 1913, just before his ordination to the priesthood, he was transferred to Jenkins, McRoberts and Fleming. After a few months the Rev. George Henry Harris took on Cynthiana, although he resided in Paris. There were two confirmations during his three years. Harris resigned November 1, 1917, to be president of Margaret College and rector of St. John’s, Versailles. Cynthiana became inactive, and only three services were recorded in 1919 by the General Missionary, the Rev. J.J. Clopton.

In 1920, the Rev. Walter Cain became rector of St. Perer’s Church, Paris and also of Advent. Cain resigned and was succeeded by the Rev. Paul Due, who was in charge of Emmanuel, Winchester. He also added Paris to his work in 1926, but he left and went to the diocese of Ohio in January, 1928. Mr. J.H. Chillington, lay-reader, took charge the first of June, 1929, and was supervised by the Rev. Harold Boon of Paris. Chillington was later transferred and the Rev. Herbert Purchase, from the Diocese of Eau Claire, became rector on April 6, 1930, remaining until the first of September, 1931. During his tenure, Purchase conducted catechism classes for the parish children, and had a small boy’s choir for a time.

During this period of 1931-1938, the longest tenure of any clergyman at Advent in the 20th Century took place in the person of the Rev. George Ralph Madson. Madson resided in Paris and took charge of St. Peter’s Church there and of Holy Trinity Mission, Georgetown. Early in 1932, a Mr. John C. King of Lexington gave the parish a walnut missal stand. In January, 1934, Madson became vicar of the Church of The Good Shepherd, Lexington, for six months. On Easter Day, 1936, the daughter of a former member was baptized in the Church at Cynthiana, the first baptism in several years. In July, 1937, with the Bishop’s approval, Madson set up the Blue-Grass Associate Missions of Paris, Cynthiana, Georgetown and Mt. Sterling. The Rev. Austin B. Mitchell Jr., became Madson’s associate, and conducted most of the services at Cynthiana. The first candidate for confirmation in 17 years was presented on June 26, 1938.

Mitchell was ordained priest in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Lexington, on Jan. 30, 1938. The Blue-Grass Associate Mission came to an end on June 1, 1938. Funds to continue it were not available. Mitchell resigned and moved to the diocese of Dallas. Madson resigned Cynthiana but continued his work at Paris, Georgetown and Mt. Sterling. During these six years the communicant strength of Advent changed. very little and the budget of the parish remained fairly constant.

During Advent’s first 91 years, its most prosperous period was that of 1891-1905. During this period communicant strength remained fairly constant at 70 to 75.

According to the Diocesan Journal of 1938, the Rev. Irving Spencer was noted as the rector of the Church of the Advent. The first parochial report that he sent in as rector noted the communicant strength at 22, and the figure for all baptized members was 24. Also during his first year there was at Advent one marriage and one confirmation. The rector’s salary at this time according to the report was set at $303.52. 10 For some reason the report of 1939 lists the Ven. F. Davis as rector of Advent. His parochial report for that year lists the same number of communicants and also the same number of baptized members, as well as the same number of marriages and burials. 11

It could be that the Rev. Irving Spencer took a sabbatical, for he is listed as the rector in the Journals for the next four years, representing the years of 1940 through 1943. A comparison of his first year’s accomplishments with his last year at Advent finds the number of communicants has fallen to 17, however the overall number of baptized members has risen to 30. 12

In 1944 and 1945 the Rev. David Clark was the rector at Advent. Beginning with the numbers that Spencer had left as far as communicants and baptized members were concerned, he ended on a low note. The parochial report of 1945 showed a decline in the number of communicants to 13. Even though there were three confirmations listed, the number of baptized members also dropped to 13. 13 After two years, Clark left Cynthiana. He was replaced by the Rev. Pomeroy H. Hartman. His first report was issued in 1946. It noted that there was at Advent 13 communicants as well as the same number of baptized. members. There were no marriages or burials noted for this period. 14 Within this same report, the rector’s salary was listed as $220.00. Hartman only stayed at Advent for a period of two years, and his last year, 1947, there was no report listed for the Church of the Advent in the Diocesan Journal.

Things got going again in the year 1948. The appearance of the Rev. George A. Tocher at Advent, and his subsequent cure of four years, helped to start the ball rolling once again. His first report of 1948, showed that there were four burials and two confirmations, as well as 24 baptized members and 17 communicants. 15 The salary was also listed as $480.00. Tocher’s first two years at Advent were pretty static. However, by the parochial report of his third year the membership as well as communicant strength had begun to decline, and by 1951 members as well as communicants strength stood at 18. 16 Shortly thereafter, Tocher left Cynthiana, for the report of 1952 listed no rector, although the members were listed as being 22 and the communicants at 11. 17

About this time the seminary at Lexington was reactivated by the Rt. Rev. William R. Moody, Bishop of Lexington. Advent being without the services of a rector, the Bishop sent a seminarian, Virgil M. Miller, to Cynthiana as seminarian-in-charge. Miller’s first report from Advent shows that there were only 18 members and 15 communicants. 18 Miller was ordained sometime during 1954, for he is listed as the Rev. Virgil M. Miller in the parochial report of the same year.

During the month of December, 1954, the Church of the Advent celebrated its 100th year. There was at the church at this time a parishioner by the name of Mrs. Elizabeth Frisbee. An article in the Courier Journal Magazine noted that Mrs. Frisbee had, for almost a quarter of a century, kept the church open when its membership had dwindled almost to nothing. “For many Sundays Mrs. Frisbee was the church’s sole communicant, many times kneeling alone in private devotion.” 19

Mrs. Frisbee was one of the women who helped carve the altar in 1892 and was at that time the only survivor of the group. She was 79 at the time of the article. The altar is made of solid oak and assembled by wooden pegs. “I carved some of those little buttons in the border and the big symbol way up there at the right — that’s the Greek letter Omega. All of us worked on the buttons and borders, but Dr. Mary Boyd and the Wiggensworth [Wigglesworth] girls did all the really hard parts — the grapes and olive branches and lillies.” 20

The article goes on to say that at the time of the centennial, there were 29 members and that they had a pastor of their own, though not a permanent one. This was the seminarian Virgil Miller. Miller, it is reported, had plans to be a missionary in Mexico. His first sermon at Advent a year before was preached to two people: Mrs. Frisbee and a friend. At Easter services the next spring, following his arrival, there were 54 in the congregation. At the centennial service, the Rt. Rev. William R. Moody, Bishop of Lexington, delivered the sermon. The article also notes that there were “many church dignitaries in colorful vestments as well as seminarians in attendance.” One of these, Arthur Willis, played the pump-organ. 21. Mrs. Frisbee, who had attended alone for so many years, that evening, according to the article, saw her church filled to the furtherest pew, plus a few folding chairs hastily brought in. The parish register notes that the pew capacity is 300. Miller remained at Advent after he was ordained to the deaconate until 1955. His last report shows that the membership at Advent was 38, and the communicative strength at 26. The salary had also risen to the figure $980.00. 22

In 1956, another seminarian by the name of David Zimmerman took charge of Advent by order of Bishop Moody. Zimmerman remained at Advent until after his ordination in 1959, and stayed until he was replaced by W.S. Moore in 1960. Zimmerman’s first report showing that seven had been confirmed, and that the communicant strength was at 22. 23 His last report, that of the year 1959, revealed that the communicants as well as the number of baptized members had increased, to the tune of 23 and 34 respectively. 24 More remained at Advent for his three seminary years, and upon his leaving, the parochial report of 1962 revealed a substantial increase in the number of baptized members, as well as the number communicants. The report listed them at 52 members, and 33 communicants. 25

Herbert L. Aman, also a seminarian, replaced Moore as seminarian-in-charge in 1963. While at Advent, Mr. Aman was made deacon and later priest. He left sometime in the fall of 1965. The report for that year showed that the number of baptized members was at an all-time high. The number was listed in the parochial report as 62, and the number of communicants was 40. 26 During his tenure, Aman was successful in beginning a drive to raise funds for the building of Parish Hall. Some monies were obtained before he left, however, the actual building of the parish-hall was not begun until his successor arrived. Robert B. Skinner, also a seminarian, replaced Aman as seminarian-in-charge at Advent in 1966. Skinner continued to work on the fundraising. His efforts were not in vain, as the building was erected in 1966 of buff-brick. It contains a well-sized kitchen, a large meeting area and three classrooms, one of which became the vicar’s office. This was quite an accomplishment for the two seminarians, as well as an act of giving on the part of the members. It is reported that the paving of the parking lot was accomplished by funds received from the Harvest Ball of 1968. 27 The Parish Hall was dedicated to the memory of Mr. Henry L. Ewing, a long-time member and contributor to the building fund.

Skinner left in late 1966, and was replaced by Joe Hammond, another seminarian, as Bishop Moody’s precedent continued. Nothing out of the ordinary happened at Advent during Hammond’s two years, although when he left, the communicant strength had risen to 54. 28 Powell Harrison’s name appears on the parochial report for the year 1969, and two baptisms as well as two confirmations were noted. 29 E.W. Marshall, also a seminarian, replaced Harrison as seminarian-in-charge at Advent in 1970, and he remained there for a period of three years. During his three years, the status of communicants and also of baptized members remained constant. There were nine confirmations and seven baptisms during his tenure. 30

Fr. Gregg L. Riley can be reached at frgregglriley@gmail.com.