Atchison County Churches
"THE STORY OF A KANSAS PARISH, Trinity Church, Atchison, Kansas, 1857-1911"
by
Rev. Francis S. White
Page 4, 1886-1900
In May, 1886, the Diocese elected Dr. Elisha S.
Thomas as an assistant Bishop to Bishop Vail. Dr.
Thomas came to Kansas from Minnesota and
began an effective Episcopate which unfortunately,
was cut short by his untimely death nine years after his consecration.
December 15, 1887 the Vestry was called together
to consider the question of a successor, he having
been chosen by the House of Bishops to the then
Bishopric of Utah and Nevada. This well deserved
promotion for Mr. Leonard was a sad blow to the
parish hopes; but the Vestry wished him God speed,
the people did their share in presenting him with the
robes and other insignia of his approaching
Episcopal office, and the townsfolk on all sides united
in sending him from his Parish with every expres-
sion of loyal love and friendly interest; and in Jan-
uary, 1888, after six and a fraction years of devoted
and disinterested service, this best of pastors and
friends started on the work of Episcopal oversight,
to which he gave himself so unreservedly that an
overtaxed strength succumbed to fatal fever, and
the Shepherd Bishop went to his reward.
In October, 1888,
THE REV. FRANCIS K. BROOKE
Rector of St. Peter's Church, St. Louis, having
yielded to the insistent persuasions of our
Vestrymen, came to Atchison and began his pastoral
labors. Then continued a season of quiet but sub-
stantial growth.
In 1889, Bishop Vail, full of years and honors,
departed this life, and Bishop Thomas became the
Diocesan of Kansas.
Easter, 1892, was memorable, for on that day,
a gift of $400 to extinguish the debt on the Rectory
was made anonymously. It is not surprising to
learn at this date, that the anonymous giver was
that ever good friend of the parish, Mrs. A. G. Otis.
With this gift the mortgage on the Rectory
property was released and satisfied, and the church
stood clear of debt. All the societies were more
than busy in their various ways but the sewing
school under Mrs. Brooke and Mrs. Haskell, was at
this time the most flourishing one ever had in the
parish. All this steady work had not gone on
unobserved by the General Church, and when the
General Convention of 1892 met, it chose for its first
Bishop of the newly opened territory of Oklahoma,
the Rector of Trinity Church, Atchison, and
Bishop Brooke, in January, 1893, was sent from us to
head the Church's forces into a new country.
Chicago sent us our next rector,
THE REV. JOHN HENRY HOPKINS
Who came to us from St. James' Church, whence
had sprung the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. Full
of youth, and ardent love for his kind, and
accompanied by a wife of more than ordinary
accomplishments, these two people of God threw
themselves into the parish work with absolute and
entire devotion. The results were immediately
apparent. Young people, both men and women, were
attracted to the work; hearty services were held in
the parish church and St. Andrew's Chapel; all the
Guilds were flourishing; a parish library started by
Bishop Leonard was developed and enlarged ; the
Brotherhood of St. Andrew enlisted the best blood
of the parish; a Mission Sunday School was
started south of town, to which the town teachers drove,
and where Mr. Hopkins preached every Sunday
afternoon; a large chorus choir was organized and
trained by Mr. Hopkins, himself an accomplished
organist; everything parochial was "humming"; all
that was needed was a "hive;"' and in February,
1894, the "hive'' took to itself a form of reality in
the vote of thanks tendered Mr. E. L. Kellogg for
his donation of $100 to Mr. Hopkins for the commencement of a Parish House Fund.
In May of that same year, Messrs. Giddings,
Yale and Wills, with the Rector, were appointed a
committee to secure plans, specifications and
estimates for the building of a Parish House to adjoin
the church. In September, 1894, the Vestry
having: in hand $1200, about half of the estimated cost
of building the Parish House, the ground was broken
and the following spring the construction of our
present Guild Hall was begun by contractor O. W.
Uhrich. It was opened for use in 1905, and the
parish meeting for that year was held there amid
great rejoicings.
Then like a bolt from the blue came the
notice of Mr. Hopkins' resignation and the parish
lamented and felt most keenly the loss of their
brilliant Rector and his most efficient wife. Mr.
and Mrs. Hopkins left in July, 1895, and in the
fall of that year came as Rector
THE REV. JOHN E. SULGER ,
big, blonde, jolly, breathing the atmosphere of the
great Wyoming country where he had been laboring
as a general missionary. Mr. Sulger and his
charming young wife soon found their way into the
people's hearts and in July, 1896, under the Rector's
efforts Trinity Church Guild had the church
beautifully decorated.
During the summer of 1896 the parish at Terre
Haute, Indiana, became vacant, and in casting about
for a new rector came to Atchison and claimed her
new Rector. He accepted the call, and the Rectorship was again vacant.
In October, 1896, on the recommendation of
Bishop Doane, of Albany, the Vestry extended a
call to
THE REV. JOHN HENRY MOLINEUX
of Whitehall, New York, and in November of that
year Mr. Molineux began his labors. His coming
marked a completion in the transition period begun
under Mr. Hopkins. The quartette choir had given
way to the chorus choir; more attention was given
to the care for and adornment of the altar; the
Brotherhood idea had worked so well that Robert
H. Mize, a son of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Mize,
offered himself for work in the ministry of the church.
The debt on the parish house was paid off, and the
church opened daily for private prayer. In October
of 1897, the Rev. Mr. Barnes of Beloit, Kansas,
accepted an offer to come and work as assistant and
choir master. A surpliced boy and men choir was
introduced and made fine progress. The ritual of
the Altar was elaborated and enriched. Mr. and
Mrs. R. B. Morris gave the Eucharistic Lights in
memory of their son, Richard Hunt Morris. Under
Miss Constance Ingalls, a flourishing Altar Guild
worked most enthusiastically; Vesper Lights were given, and elaborately embroidered
silk Eucharistic vestments were made and placed in
a commodious and handsome vestment case.
Largely through the individual efforts of Miss
Katherine Cosgrove, a piano was bought for use
in the Guild Hall; Miss Cosgrove also gave a large
brass vase for flowers for the Altar, in addition to
two others given by Mr. William S. Cain.
A processional cross was given by Miss Maybelle
Bayley in memory of her father.
For a long time there had been in use a beautiful Altar cross given by his father in memory of
Charles Morris Styles. In 1899 the old chancel
furniture was placed by the Vestry at the disposal
of Rev. Robert Mize, who had become head of St.
John's School, Salina, after a successful year of
Avork at Hiawatha, Kansas. Later, in place of the
old lecturn and reading desk, were installed a
fine brass lecturn in memory of Mr. John W. Cain,
Sr., and a beautiful brass pulpit in memory of Mr.
and Mrs. William Otis.
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Atchison Co. KHHP
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This website created Jan. 24, 2012 by Sheryl McClure.
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