The History of the First Church of Evans
1818 – 2024
A Brief Historical Sketch of the First One Hundred
Years
In the 1797 Treaty of Big Tree, the
Holland Land Company purchased all of the land in Western New York from the
native Americans, except lands reserved to the native Americans. After
surveying its purchase, the Company began to sell parcels in 1801 to those who
wanted to move to Western New York. In 1803 Ebenezer Ingersoll and in
1804 Joel Harvey moved to the mouth of Eighteen Mile Creek. In 1809 Aaron
Salisbury arrived and settled nearby. By 1811, several such families
moved to what is now the Town of Evans, which was then part of the town of
Willink, later known as Eden. The War of 1812 against the British,
including the burning of Buffalo in 1813, interrupted prosperity in Western New
York, including the area that is now the Town of Evans. At that time,
families had to produce for themselves all material matters of life.
Dense woods and lack of roads hampered travel. Yet in these harsh
conditions traveled the Reverend John Spencer, a Congregationalist minister
sent forth by the Presbyterian Synod on horseback, to minister to those in the
wilderness.
The First Church of Evans was
organized July 4, 1818, by Rev. Spencer, and united with the Niagara
Presbytery. (Construction of the Erie Canal began the previous year, July
4, 1817, in Rome, New York. The Erie Canal later had a role in the
church’s history, as described below.) The twelve original members were
Nathaniel Gray, Zery Hamilton, Rhoda Wright, Sarah Gray, Truman Dewey, Jerusha
Hamilton, George Cook, Lois Dewey, Patrick Hamilton, Polly Curtis, Florilla
Tolman and Elijah Tolman, the latter two of whom are buried in the old part of
the church cemetery, as is Aaron Salisbury. Rev. Spencer remained as
their pastor until 1822, visiting them once or twice a year as he had
opportunity, until the Rev. Samuel Leonard was called as their first regular
pastor. Currency was scarce, and Rev. Leonard was paid mainly in
goods. He held services in the two school houses in the area, including
one near the site of the present church, because the church lacked funds to
build a church building.
In 1821, the Town of Evans was
founded. In early 1822, the congregation met and formally organized as an
unincorporated organization under the name First Congregational Church and
Society, Evans, First Church of Evans. The minutes of this Meeting for
Organization were filed in the Erie County Clerk’s Office March 6, 1822.
The filing of these minutes better enabled the church to conduct legal
business, such as owning real property, by making a formal public record of its
status as an organization and, in particular, as the first church in
town. As it was the Holland Land Company’s custom to present 100 acres of
land to the first church organized in each town, lands near Backus Road were
given to the First Church of Evans.
After the Erie Canal was completed
in 1825, there was a phenomenal growth of commerce and population in Western
New York. In 1829, following Rev. Leonard, three pastors each served one
year. By 1832, the church had 131 members. In 1833, sixteen members
were released to found a church at North Evans. It must be borne in mind
that travel was very difficult then, even a matter of a few miles. The
church remained as associate of the Presbytery until 1835 when it formally
transferred to the Congregational Association. At the same time, the
church resolved to build a church building on the present site secured from
Deacon Tolman because it was the highest land in town, nicknamed
Jerusalem. The builder was James M. Claghorn, and the building cost
$1,800. Pews were sold to help pay for the building. It was
dedicated December 11, 1835, and lasted until February 28, 1914, when it burned
to the ground. Because the new site was farther from Evans Center, then
called Jericho, the 20 Evans Center members also asked and were granted release
to organize a church nearer to their homes. The ministers preached in
turn at the Evans Center, Jerusalem and North Evans locations. In 1849, a bell
was bought for $147.12 and was used until it melted in the 1914 fire, on
Sundays at 9:30 and 10:00, for 5 minutes and at 1:00 for 10 minutes, and at
6:00, noon and 9:00 weekdays. In 1851, after obtaining court permission
February 26, 1851, to do so, the church quit-claimed the lot from the Holland
Land Company to Cornelius Backus for $100.
Before the Civil War, the church
struggled a bit with membership, but was revived prior to the War. During
the War, there was extreme poverty; in 1863, the church took in only
$2.00. In 1864, the old parsonage, across the street from the present
Manse, burned. In 1867, the situation was so dire a vote was held to
discontinue the church, but that proposal lost due to the women who voted
against it. Instead, it was then proposed that prayer meetings be held
without regard to denomination. The next 20 years were difficult, without
a regular minister. The parsonage lot had to be sold for $90. In
1890, a new minister came, and there were regular pastors until 1900.
The first 20 years of the 1900’s
saw an influx of Buffalo families to the area. In 1910, a renewed effort
was made to awaken interest in the church. At a meeting of the church
October 2, 1910, affiliation was formally severed with any particular
denomination and the church was declared nondenominational. One aspect of
being a nondenominational church is that all who accept Christ’s invitation are
welcome at His communion table. In about 1910, Spencer Kellogg remodeled
the church as it had been originally built. (His fortune came from
linseed oil, distributed to eastern markets via the Erie Canal.) There
was no regular pastor from 1900 to 1912 until Rev. Robert G. Leetch was called,
although a Rev. Frank H. Coffran often led services from 1904 on. In
1912, the church bought the house, barn and land embracing the entire corner of
Erie Road and what is now Sturgeon Point Road from Malcolm Ingersoll, including
the new cemetery site. The new cemetery was laid out by the
Superintendent of Lochevan, the summer home of Spencer Kellogg in Derby.
It was designed with walkways in the shape of a “celtic” cross. The house
was remodeled as a manse, and the barn was in part remodeled as a club and
community house by the men of the church. The club house immediately
became a factor of tremendous importance in the church and community life and
was (has been and is) of priceless value to the church in developing a
community spirit and welding the people together for a common purpose. In
1912, a supper was prefixed to the Wednesday evening meetings to bring people
together, and Sunday School was organized. In 1909, the annual Church Fair was
organized, which has not only been of much financial assistance to the church
but has brought the people of the entire district into closer friendly touch.
Until that time, the church was
legally an unincorporated organization known as the First Congregational Church
& Society. On August 4th, 1912, the congregation met and
decided to formally incorporate as a religious corporation under the name The
First Church of Evans. The first six trustees elected were Spencer
Kellogg, (Rev.) Robert G. Leetch, Stuart R. Mann, Frank C. Trubee, William H.
Barr, and Percy P. Pierce. This was accomplished by the filing of the
Certificate of Incorporation of The First Church of Evans on August 12, 1912,
in the Erie County Clerk’s Office. This formal status better allowed the
church to conduct legal business, such as getting a mortgage, which it
apparently did on or about September 3, 1912, and May 27, 1915. On
February 25, 1915, a court order was entered consolidating the unincorporated
organization formalized in 1822 as the First Congregational Church &
Society and The First Church of Evans incorporated in 1912 under the name First
Church of Evans.
After the fire of February 28,
1914, burned the church building to the ground, the church members raised over
$8,000 among themselves and contracted with George W. Ingersoll to rebuild, the
architects being Mann & Cook. The interior was a close copy of the
old church, but with a spire, enlarged windows, and a portico. The wood
was solid mahogany. The new building was dedicated on February 28, 1915,
one year to the day from the burning of the old building. In 1916,
Spencer Kellogg entirely remodeled and built an addition to the Club House as a
gift to the community, including bowling alleys. The building was in
daily use for the development of the church’s work and the needs of the
community. World War I caused some privations, although a call for
$10,000 to be raised to pay off all debts and begin an endowment fund for the
future stability of the church was met with $8,000 in pledges as of July 4,
1918, the end of the first century of the First Church of Evans.
A Brief Historical Sketch from One Hundred to One
Hundred Seventy-Five Years
Between 1918 and 1943, as the world
modernized in terms of communication and transportation, so did the Town of
Evans where the First Church of Evans is situated. For instance, a
horse-drawn bus to bring people to church or the Community House was replaced
by private transportation. Following Rev. Leetch’s service from
1912-1922, there were four more pastors. Then, in 1938, Rev. Dr. Earle W.
Gates from the New York State Christian Endeavor Union became the minister of
the First Church of Evans. He served for the next 25 years, until his
death in August, 1963. Christian Endeavor, founded in 1881, was the first
interdenominational youth ministry, so, naturally, the new pastor emphasized
youth ministry. In 1943, there were four Christian Endeavor Societies
serving the Youth of the community, as well as Bible School, Boy Scout and Girl
Scout Troups. Dr. Gates desired a women’s service group at the church and
approached Mrs. Sally Patterson to form the King’s Servants. She was also
instrumental in bringing Vacation Bible School to the First Church of Evans and
was asked to paint the portrait of Dr. Gates that hangs in the pastor’s study
at present. There were also 45 church members or constituents in active
military service that year in World War II. A Service Men’s Committee of
the church sent a monthly newsletter to them, and the Community House was used
by the American Red Cross and Civilian Defense services. There was also
an active Women’s League. Accompanying the annual Derby Fair was
the Derby Horse Show for a number of years. After the death of benefactor
Spencer Kellogg, the church received a $10,000 memorial gift in
1942.
From 1943 to 1968, the church grew
from about 200 to 800 members, comprised of 36 denominations. This was in
part due to the growth of the community due to transportations improvements,
such as the Skyway and Route 5, and other infrastructure improvements to the
Town. A one-acre plot across Route 5 from the Manse was purchased from
the Vail family by Howard Kellogg, son of Spencer, and deeded to the church in
1944. From 1963 to 1966, the youth groups under adult direction
landscaped the plot, such that it received state and national commendations and
citations. In the 1950’s and ‘60’s, the Sunday School bus drove around
the town and picked up a bus-load of children to attend Sunday School classes
each week. Mrs. James Burke kept strict attendance, handing out
attendance pins and recognizing perfect attendance.
As alluded to above, Christian
Endeavor was brought to our church when Rev. Earle W. Gates became our
pastor. Rev. Gates was raised in Christian Endeavor and was a youth
leader in his “home” church. This youth organization became a very
important part of the church through the 1940’s. Many names on the
membership rolls became leaders in the church as well as adult leaders in C.E.
In early 1951, the church held a
community-wide “youth round up.” This brought many young people into the
church, and even some of their parents and extended families joined the
church. Lifelong friendships were formed among the youth.
During this time, the adult leaders included Miss Pearl Reed (foster daughter
of Rev. Gates and church secretary), Mrs. Gates and Miss Olive Wood (aunt of
Nancy Mackenburg, later long-time Steepleview manager [more below] and cemetery
committee chair). One of the young men, David Jackson, became an ordained
minister. He dedicated his life to serving youth Christian development
through C.E. David served most of his adult life as General Secretary of
the International Society of C.E. He never returned to live in Derby
after his education, but never failed to think of The First Church of Evans as
“My home church.” It should be mentioned that Rev. Gates, who received an
honorary Doctor of Divinity degree during his pastorate, remained in C.E. leadership
beyond our church, serving as President of the N.Y.S. C.E. Union and later
President of the International Society of C.E. Dr. Gates also was a
contributor to the “Christian Endeavor World,” a monthly publication giving
guidance to youth for conducting their own weekly meetings of worship.
As stated, Dr. Earle W. Gates was
the New York State and International Society President of Christian Endeavor,
and his interest in this Christian youth leadership training organization led
to active Junior and Senior High Societies at the First Church of Evans that
lasted into the 1970’s. A major event in the C.E. calendar was Christian
Endeavor Sunday. It was celebrated with red and white decorations on the
Sunday around Valentine’s Day. Youth from both Societies participated in
the morning worship service as greeters, taking the offering, reading scripture
and even delivering the message. Mr. Freeman D. Bell rehearsed
music with student pianists to play the morning hymns. Many of those
young people have gone on to be ministers, missionaries, nurses, teachers and
church leaders today.
The C.E. leaders taught the
youth how to run the weekly meetings. Mrs. Jean Rieg and Rev. Frank
Darling supervised the Junior C.E. Society, while Mr. and Mrs. Paul Burke with
Mrs. Karen Bromley led the Senior group. The leaders reached many young
people within the church family and the greater Evans community for Christ by
showing the love of God to all young people interested in coming to the
meetings. Each summer, C.E. campers filled a rented school bus that drove
them to Le Tourneau Christian camp for a week of intensive Bible study and
Christian fellowship with C.E. members from all across New York State.
The Christian Endeavor Societies
were an integral part of the ministry at the First Church of Evans. The
C.E. youth Christmas caroling to shut-ins on Christmas Eve was followed by
meeting to eat chili in the Community House and going to Christmas Eve
service. During Lent, the C.E. groups held fish fries every Friday to
earn money for summer Christian camp. This active C.E. Society hosted
singsperations and other youth events with churches across New York State.
The King’s Servants, Vacation Bible
School, and other endeavors continued, while Adult Bible Class, Recreation
Program, Supervised Nursery, Inter-Faith Dialogues, Migrant Projects, Sunday
Morning Greeters, and Family Fellowship Dinners were instituted. In 1966,
a 3-story Christian Education Addition and remodeled Community House were
completed to provide space for 400 children, including nursery, and dining
facilities for 300. The improvements cost $170,000, of which $110,000 was
raised through gifts and donations. Around 1965 there was a fund-raising
drive by the Sunday School children to help finance the Christian Education
building. The children sold Catherine Beich candy. During the
remodeling, classroom space was at a premium. Mrs. Elsie Bush’s Sunday
morning High School class was even held in the kitchen, and during Lent the
class had to put up with the odor of leftover fish smell from the Christian
Endeavor fish fries.
During that time, Elsie Trudel also
worked diligently to make the Trash & Treasures event a successful fund
raiser at the Derby Fair. In later years her work was continued by Edel
Vail, Gerd Newman and their volunteer helpers to continue its success.
In 1965, Mrs. J. M. Harwood (mother
of Nina Dusenbury McMahon), the organist and Choir director since 1913, retired
after serving 52 years. She was replaced by Freeman D. Bell, who served
until his death in 2004, making for only two such musicians over 91 years.
Between 1968 and 1988, the church joined the International Council of
Community Churches, of which it remains a member today. Rev. Carl Burke
served twice as pastor during that period, and was named Pastor Emeritus in
1987. In 1977, when a parishioner had to move away because our town had
no senior apartments, Rev. Burke and parishioner William E. Mackenburg led a
committee to form Steepleview Housing Development Fund, Inc., a non-profit
senior apartment complex. The church donated 5.2 acres of land across
Sturgeon Point Road from the church to accommodate this complex. In 1985,
after much effort, the 34-apartment complex was finally opened.
Rev. Donald Menzel served as pastor
during the years from 1978 to 1984. He suggested a different approach to
the financial campaign which was called the Pony Express. It was agreed
that teams made up of a trustee, deacon or Christian Education member would
visit a home of a church member on a designated Sunday. They would talk
to and leave information concerning the financial campaign with the
family. It was a different approach, and it did get the members of the
three boards working more closely together.
Rev. John Van Haneghan served as
pastor during the years from 1991 to 1996. He was noted for his
children’s story during the worship service utilizing various animal hand
puppets. The story related to his sermon for the day. The children
enjoyed and learned from the story, and it also reinforced the message for the
adults.
Harold and Margaret Abrams were
among the first to welcome members and visitors to the worship service on
Sunday. Harold always remained close to the narthex throughout the
service to welcome late arrivals. He made sure that he was in the
sanctuary to hear the scripture reading and the sermon. In 1993, Harold
was named Deacon Emeritus for his service.
The church Community House has long
been open to community service groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and
Community Concern. Parishioner Patty Defries, who later passed away as a
young mother from a heart transplant rejection and is buried in our cemetery,
painted the wonderful Noah’s Ark mural that still adorns our nursery. The
curtains that adorn our beautiful stage room came from the high school which
was replacing its stage curtains. They were tailored to fit our stage by
church member and retired home economics teacher, Ellen Stahl.
A Brief Historical Sketch from One Hundred
Seventy-Five Years to Two Hundred Years
In 1996, our current pastor, Rev.
Stephen E. Ridge, came to us from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.
His spiritual guidance has been of inestimable value to the preservation and
continuance of the church in this community and Christianity broadly in an
increasingly secular era. Also, that year, Contemporary Musician,
Christopher Panfil, and John Freidhoff, youth leader, joined the staff.
John later died in a tragic scuba diving accident at work in 2007 and was
buried at sea; his memorial headstone is set in our church cemetery where a
tree root obstructs a lot. In addition, the Boards of Deacons, Trustees,
and Missions and Worship were replaced with one Church Council, although the
Council divides to meet as Trustees and Elders to separately address secular
and spiritual matters. In 2006, a Fellowship of Deacons was established
to aid with the spiritual and outreach work of the church. Since many
years, the First Church of Evans has supported widely-varied ministries at home
and in far-flung corners of the world. Beginning in 1997, church member
Frank Vail, Jr., led many church members, including, e.g., Bill Furey and Wayne
Harvey, for thirteen summers in a project called Kanoeing for Kids, paddling
(in historic French fur-trader attire) his 26-foot historic reproduction canoe
down the Erie Canal to raise funds for Camp Good Days and Special Times, a camp
for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. At a
later date, Matt Roth led a group of students from St. John Fisher College to
continue the fund raiser as a community project. This was followed by
Alex Lahood continuing the endeavor by organizing a team of church members and
Nichols School students in canoeing the Erie Canal in support of Camp Good Days
and Special Times. In 2000, inspired in part by the Ridge family interest
in running, the Derby Fair added a 5-K race, which continues to this day.
After the passing of Freeman Bell in 2004 and a period of volunteer
organists, including Judy Driscoll and Rhonda Davis, Sarah Maybee came to us as
Sacred Musician and continues to this day. Mr. Bell generously bequeathed
the Schimmel piano in the church balcony and one-quarter of his estate to the
church. A music scholarship has been established in his memory.
The church council was very busy
during the years from 2004-2005 overseeing the work on repairs and restorations
to the buildings on the church property. The largest project was the
restoration to the brick deck and stairs to the church. It was found that
the original foundation to the deck was inadequate and had to be
replaced. Because of this, the four columns had to be removed and the
front portico had to be braced and secured. Due to unforeseen delays, the
front entrance to the church could not be used for a number of weeks, and it
was decided for safety reasons that the Sunday worship services would be held
in the community building. This included the Christmas Eve
services. Although it was inconvenient, everything worked out in the
end. Also during this time, work was conducted on the community building
and the manse. Some of the contractors and businesses involved were
Gianadda Contractors, Nichter Construction, Ingersoll Steeplejacks, Winters
Rigging, Gambee’s Garage, DePan Construction, Building Solutions Contractors,
Hoefner Construction, and South Towns Glazing.
Tom Dyl and Shirley Pfalzgraf led
the successful effort to have our church campus declared a State (December 14,
2005) and National (April 12, 2006) Historical Site. They met with Claire
Ross, a representative of the New York State Historic Preservation Society who
works with applications from Western New York. An application form with a
brief history of the church was submitted. Mrs. Ross reviewed and
presented it to the State Legislature for Historic sites. It was approved
by the State and forwarded to Washington, D.C., and the Congressional Committee
for Historic Sites, where it was approved as National Historic Site. A
marker was placed to note that status in front of the church on September 8,
2007. Boy Scout Troop 578 (originally 78) was sponsored by the church and
chartered in 1919. The troop will be observing their Centennial
Anniversary in 2019. During those one hundred years, their charter has
never lapsed. In 2005, as his Eagle Scout project, Francis Ridge placed a
historical marker at and restored the gravesite of Aaron Salisbury, the first
permanent settler in the Town of Evans, in the old section of the church
cemetery. A memorial walkway was built on the grounds in 2008.
Lorraine Glashauser, Sanctuary
Custodian and later Sexton with her husband, Dan, with the instruction of Nina
McMahon, carried on the tradition of used clothing sales to benefit the
community and church for many years, as did Edel Vail lead and carry on the
tradition of rummage sales for many years. Shirley Vail Peterson
Pfalzgraf, now with help from former Council Chair Gail Galfo, has chaired the
Derby Fair committee for many years, including the 100th Derby
Fair. Gail has also chaired a Ladies’ Tea at church for seven years to
raise funds for women’s charities. Shirley also has overseen many
Election Day Roast Beef Dinners in the Community House. Pat DePan has
carried on the tradition of Vacation Bible School for many years as well.
All of these efforts, as well as many efforts not named above, of course, are
done with the help of many willing hands.
The church has belonged to the Lakeshore
Association of Christian Churches for many years. For two summers, the
church has had visiting student preachers from Gordon Conwell Theological
Seminary, and has always had occasional guest preachers. There is weekly
prayer and adult Bible Study group, Joshua’s Men group, Sunday School from
nursery to adult, Children’s Church, women’s participation in World Day of
Prayer, Youth Group, and many other Christian fellowship, worship, study,
prayer ministry, and work groups in the church. The church choir has been
in continuous service from the times of Edith Harwood’s and Freeman Bell’s
leadership as choir director, which represents close to one hundred
years. Since 2006, Sarah Maybee has been our Sacred Musician and choir
director. In recent years, women from the Ladies League and King’s
Servants merged together to form a new service organization called
STITCHES. Members of the group work with the pastor and deacons helping
to provide funeral and memorial services for the grieving families. They
also work together on missionary and fund-raising projects. In 2015, Rev.
Ridge led us in refining our Statement of Faith; also, that year a proposal to
join the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference was not approved
after a close vote. Thus, through the grace of God, those above named and
countless others not named have been able to serve God’s kingdom on earth for
200 years. May His mercies and our faith, worship, prayer, and attentive
reading of His word permit us to continue Christ’s work through His church in
this corner of the world and throughout the world until He comes again.
A Brief Historical Sketch from Two Hundred Years and
Onward
After steering the church through the COVID-19 pandemic,
including video-taped worship services with congregants watching and worshiping
at home, Pastor Ridge retired in December, 2021. His faithful service for
25 years was recognized by a grateful congregation with a celebration at
Suncliff on the Lake and a plaque placed on the large rock outside the
church. Rev. Dr. Ed Kuffel proved a godsend, faithfully serving as
interim pastor during the necessary careful, deliberate, and lengthy pastoral
search process. Providentially, Pastor Joseph Han accepted the Call
February 28, 2023, to be Pastor of the First Church of Evans and was installed
as Pastor July 2, 2023, in a special service attended by many
community members, leaders, local pastors, and Pastor Joe's family
members and officiated by Rev. Ridge, Rev. Dr. Kuffel, and Pastor Joe's father,
Rev. Dr. Han. Meaningful preaching of the Word every Sunday and other
ministries of the church continue to bless the lives they touch and attract new
members to the First Church of Evans.
Pastors
of our Church
1818-1822
John Spencer 1872-1874 --Francisco
1822-1829
Samuel Leonard 1874-1877 C.W. Drake
1829-1830
William Beardsley 1877-1878 H.W. Danforth
1830-1831
George Coad 1878-1881 no regular preacher
1831-1832
Abel Parmelee 1881-1882 H.D. Olds
1832-1833
–Seymour 1882-1885
W.G. Marts
1833-1834
S. Thompson 1885-1887 --Thorp
1834-1835
Jebediah Parmelee 1887-1890 no regular pastor
1835-1836
Edmund Ingalls 1890-1893 L.G. Rogers
1836-1837
Orin Catlin 1893-1895 S. Horace Beshgetoor
1837-1838
Charles Fitch 1895-1900 J.H. Mallows
1838-1839
–Calwell 1900-1912
no regular pastor
1839-1842
Isaac Oakes 1912-1922 Robert G. Leetch
1842-1843
–Callahan 1922-1925 Charles Pusey
1843-1844
Philo Canfield 1926-1929 Robert James Elliott
1844-1847
J.S. Emery 1930-1933 William MacLeod
1847-1849
John Scott 1933-1938 John B. Dobson, Jr.
1849-1850
N.H. Barnes 1938-1963 Earle W. Gates
1850-1852
David S. Morse 1964-1970 Walker Helpler
1852-1853
Joshua Lane 1971-1973 David Halvorsen
1853-1855
John Scott 1974-1978 Carl F. Burke
1855-1857
F. Graves 1978-1984 Donald David Menzel
1857-1861
S.D. Taylor 1985-1987 Carl F. Burke
1861-1862
–Richmond 1987-1990
Thomas E. Cook
1862-1863
W.D. Henry 1990-1991 Robert Mattke (Interim
Pastor)
1863-1864
–Cushman 1991-1996
John H. Van Haneghan
1864-1868
L.P. Frost 1996-2021 Stephen E. Ridge
1868-1872
Charles Keeler 2022-2023 Ed Kuffel (Interim
Pastor)
2023-Present
Joseph Han