Bringing in the Sheaves

 Two New Bern photographs illustrate an old harvest tradition

Christ Episcopal Church, interior decorated for a harvest or thanksgiving festival, ca.1920-1930.

by John B. Green III

Since ancient times many cultures around the world have developed rituals to observe the turning of the seasons, the times of planting and reaping, and the storing away of the harvest to sustain the community until the time of planting would come again.  The Anglican Church tradition of the harvest festival was transported to the English colonies at an early date. The basic harvest festival was a religious service of thanksgiving for the bounty of the harvest in a church decorated with samples of the local crops. Following the service, the edible decorations along with other donated provisions would be distributed to the poor. 

Two photographs found in our collection illustrate the decoration of New Bern's Christ Episcopal Church for harvest or thanksgiving festivals in the early twentieth century.  A close examination of the offerings reveals sheaves of wheat, stalks of corn and cotton, potatoes, collards, apples, and many other items of local produce.

The Daily Journal (New Bern), Wednesday, 29 Nov 1905.

Christ Episcopal Church, interior decorated for a harvest or thanksgiving festival, ca.1900.

Rufus Morgan, New Bern photographer

 

The recent acquisition of three early stereographs of New Bern provides an opportunity to remember an artist whose career was tragically cut short.

Stereograph of Christ Episcopal Church, New Bern, by Rufus Morgan, c.1869-1870.

by John B. Green III

Of all the photographers who have called  New Bern home since the 1850s, one of the more interesting and unusual, was a young Virginian named Rufus Morgan.  Just twenty-three years old when he opened his gallery in New Bern, he soon came to specialize in stereographs of local scenery.  Stereographs were made by a camera with two lenses  which simultaneously took two photographs of the subject from slightly different angles.  The resulting double image, when observed through a special viewer called a stereoscope, caused the observer's left and right eyes to resolve the double image into a single image which appeared to be three-dimensional.  Stereographs were extremely popular from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, with many homes having sets of stereo cards depicting world events, exotic locales, and natural wonders.

Rufus Morgan produced a set of thirteen views of New Bern and traveled about the state producing sets for Raleigh, Wilmington, Goldsboro, and western North Carolina. He also photographed in Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and California.

Rufus Morgan advertisement, The Republic and Courier, New Bern, NC, 8 November 1873.

Morgan married Mary D. Clarke, daughter of Mary Devereux Clarke and W.J. Clarke of New Bern, in 1873.  With a daughter born in 1875 and a son in 1879, Morgan apparently came to the conclusion that his photography did not provide sufficient income for his growing family.  He determined to go west to California and operate an apiary, a long time interest of his and a business in which he had previously engaged.  Morgan planned to send for his wife and children once he was established in California.  Unfortunately, on April 3, 1880, he prepared a meal of wild mushrooms, some of which were thought to have been poisonous, became very ill, and died two days later.

Rufus Morgan's five-year old daughter, Mary Bayard Morgan, would grow up to pursue her own career in photography.  As Bayard Wootten, she would become one of North Carolina's most talented photographers of the 20th century.

The largest collection of Rufus Morgan's photographs survives at the North Carolina Collection of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  We at the Kellenberger Room are pleased to add three of his New Bern views to our collection.

Stereograph of entrance gate to Cedar Grove Cemetery, New Bern, by Rufus Morgan, c. 1869-1870.

Stereograph of the main avenue, Cedar Grove Cemetery, New Bern, by Rufus Morgan, c.1869-1870.

Reverse of stereograph listing New Bern views available, c.1869-1870.

The First Christ Church

A Church of George the 2d's reign
Still flings its shadow o'er the plain,
But mould'ring on its ancient base,
Must soon resign its resting place.
                       -Stephen Chester, New Bern, 1818

Engraved view of Christ Church from the c. 1824 Price-Fitch Map of New Bern

by John B. Green III

In our last post we discussed the 1871 destruction by fire and the subsequent rebuilding of Christ Episcopal Church.  That church, completed in 1824, and the reconstructed version that followed were actually the second and third churches to occupy that prominent Pollock Street site.  A much older church once stood in the familiar churchyard - the first Christ Church, completed by 1754 and demolished seventy years later after its replacement had been erected.

Act of 1745 concerning the building of Christ Church, from A Collection of all the Public Acts of Assembly of the Province of North-Carolina: Now in force and use (New Bern: James Davis, 1752)

Craven, later Christ Church, Parish of the Anglican Church was established in 1715 although no church seems to have been erected at that time or for many years thereafter.  A series of acts of the colonial assembly between 1740 and 1751 appointed commissioners for the parish to "erect and finish a Church in Newbern in Craven County" and imposed a tithe or parish tax on the inhabitants to pay for the church.  The 1740 act indicated that the commissioners had already made 100,000 bricks for the proposed church.  Eleven years later the act of 1751 noted that the church was "not Compleatly Finished."  Four years later in 1755, however, Royal Governor Arthur Dobbs was able to report to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel that "The church in Newburn is finished, and is a neat Brick Building."

The building was situated at the northeast corner of Pollock and Middle Streets with the entrance on Middle Street. As delineated in a border vignette of the c. 1824 Price-Fitch map of New Bern, the rectangular brick structure featured a three-stage brick entrance tower, supported by arched openings at ground level and  topped by a frame belfry with louvered openings.  Decorative urns marked the corners of the base of the belfry.  The eastern end of the church was designed with a semicircular bay or apse.  This church would serve the congregation until it was replaced by the larger 1824 Christ Church.  The old church is said to have been demolished shortly after the new church was completed and consecrated.

Detail of the 1769 Sauthier Map of New Bern, showing the position and outline of Christ Church at the northeast corner of Middle and Pollock streets

The long-buried foundations of the first church made a brief reappearance in the 1960s, confirming the outline seen on the 1769 Sauthier map.  In May 1964, as part of a new landscaping plan for the churchyard, the foundations were excavated by Morley Jeffers Williams, church member and landscape architect, who had previously designed the gardens for the reconstructed Tryon Palace. Present just beneath the surface were the brick and ballast stone foundations for the walls of the nave as well as the semicircular apse at the east end of the church and the entrance tower at the west end.  Eventually the foundations would be built over to create an outdoor chapel, dedicated in 1967.  Low brick walls delineate the outline and thickness of the walls as well as the placement of door and window openings.

Christ Church Communion Silver, from Emma H. Powell, New Bern, North Carolina, founded by De Graffenried in 1710, (New Bern, 1905)

Although the first Christ Church disappeared nearly two centuries ago some some relics of the long-lost church do survive, most notable its handsome communion silver.  Crafted by London silversmith Mordecai Fox in 1752 and bearing the royal crest on each piece, it is said to have been presented to the parish by George II.  An incredibly rare survival is the 18th century wooden storage and carrying case lined and fitted to hold the five-piece service.  Also surviving are a Bible published in 1717 and a prayer book printed in 1752, both bearing the royal arms on their covers.

Little else remains today of the first Christ Church aside from its foundations, now buried beneath the outdoor chapel, and the few 18th-century gravestones scattered across the churchyard.

Note: The lines of poetry which open this post are from a long, satirical poem by Stephen Chester published in the Newbern Sentinel, on October 17, 1818. In this poem, Chester, New Bern merchant and member of the firm of Devereaux, Chester, and Orme, humorously describes the various public buildings, churches, and notable features of the town including the original Christ Church ("A Church of George the 2d's reign"). 

A Fire Bell in the Night

The burning of Christ Church in 1871

Christ Episcopal Church, photograph by J.D. Heywood, c. 1865

by John B. Green, III

Two photographs in our collection, never before published, provide an opportunity to recount the Pollock Street fire of January 10, 1871 which culminated in the destruction of New Bern's Christ Episcopal Church.  These photographs provide rare before and after images of Christ Church, constructed between 1821 and 1824, and burned to its brick walls in 1871.  The first photograph by J.D. Heywood shows the church as it stood about 1865 during the Union Army occupation of the town.  A Union soldier can be seen standing near the corner of Pollock and Middle streets with the church behind him.  The second photo by an unknown photographer reveals the blackened walls of the church shortly after the fire.

Ruins of Christ Episcopal Church, unknown photographer, c.1871.

The fire began in a stable behind Hahn's Bakery on Pollock Street opposite the church late on the evening of January 10 and quickly spread to adjacent commercial structures.  Although the New Bern fire companies responded to the blaze, they were unable to prevent embers from drifting across to the wood-shingled roof of the church.  Christ Church was soon reduced to its brick walls with only the brick base of its tower remaining. It is said that the church bell rang out one last time as it crashed to the ground amid the flaming timbers.

No New Bern newspapers survive for the first days after the fire. This notice was copied from the Newbern Journal of Commerce by the Charlotte Democrat, 17 January 1871.

Within days the congregation of Christ Church had set about to rebuild.  Church services were transferred to the chapel in the parish's parochial school (the former stable wing of Tryon Palace) and the offer of the use of First Presbyterian Church was gratefully accepted for evening meetings.  Fund raising began in earnest in February with donations and pledges being solicited and concerts and excursions being planned.

Of all the fund-raising activities, those conducted by the Juvenile Sewing Society of Christ Church, were the most endearing.  A group of girls, aged five to thirteen, was organized by a lady of the church with the goal of teaching them sewing and helping them to raise money from the sale of the items they produced.  They quickly were able to raise $100 for the rebuilding and eventually were able to provide enough money to purchase and install one of the principal windows of the rebuilt sanctuary.  Still in place today above the altar is the large stained-glass window with a scene of Christ blessing the little children.

Cover, Esclairmond Claremont, Answer to an Appeal, for the Benefit of the Church, lovingly inscribed to a Former Pastor, 1871

The burning of the church and the activities of the Juvenile Sewing Society are documented in a small volume published by an adult member of the congregation under the pen name "Esclairmond Claremont."  The twenty-seven page publication, Answer to an Appeal, for the Benefit of the Church, Lovingly Inscribed to a Former Pastor, was copyrighted in 1871 in the name of "The Juvenile Sewing Society of Christ's Church, Newbern, N.C.," and was sold to raise money for the reconstruction.

Christ Episcopal Church, as reconstructed, photographer unknown, c. 1900.

Although the rebuilding of the church moved slowly, by April 1873 the church was able to host a visit from the bishop as well as the Easter services.  The building would be occupied on a regular basis by the fall of that year.  Additional work on the church would continue for the next twelve years with the porch being completed in 1884 and the spire in 1885 before the last vestige of the fire of 1871 had been erased.

The Weeping Arch

By John B. Green III

The Weeping Arch, from Die Berner Woche, November 11, 1939.

The large triple-arched gateway to Cedar Grove Cemetery has long accumulated rain water in its soft mortar joints which eventually seeps through to fall as drops of water from the arches.  This seepage has been regular enough over the years to allow calcium deposits much like tiny stalactites to accumulate on the undersides of the arches.  The seepage has also allowed legends to attach to the gateway as tenaciously as the calcium deposits.

The Weeping Arch, from Emma H. Powell, New Bern, North Carolina, 1905.

The essential legend, which dates from the second half of the 19th century, is that the "Weeping Arch" cries tears of mourning for the dead interred within the cemetery.  This legend was later modified to include the cautionary element that any person struck by one of the Weeping Arch's tears would be the next person carried through the gateway in a hearse.

Cemetery wall and Weeping Arch, photo c. 1895.

Cedar Grove Cemetery had its beginning in 1799 in the cemetery established by Christ Episcopal Church as an extension of their overcrowded churchyard.  This cemetery was deeded to the City of New Bern in 1853.  The city began a program of improvements which included enlarging the burial ground and giving it the romantic name "Cedar Grove."  Chief among the improvements was the building of a "shell rock" wall around the graveyard between 1854 and 1856.  The centerpiece of this wall was the monumental arched gateway which would become known as the Weeping Arch.

The gateway may always have wept "tears."  In 1862, six years after the arch's completion,  occupying Union soldier Hiram Alonso Worden noted in his diary "drops of water continually dropping" from the arch.  For the rest of the 19th Century nearly every article or publication which mentioned Cedar Grove Cemetery described the Weeping Arch and its tears for the dead.  Sometime in the 20th Century the legend took its more sinister turn with the tears dealing out death to whomever they struck.  Generations of daredevils raced between the falling drops or pushed others beneath them.  Occasionally, especially during dry spells, a little stagecraft might be employed.  It is said that on the day before a large tour group was due to visit the cemetery, the fire department would be called out to thoroughly soak the triple arches, thus ensuring an ample supply of tears.

All this lachrymose activity may have come to a halt, though.  Recent repairs to the Weeping Arch included capping the top of the arch and repointing some of the mortar joints.  This has resulted in a distinct drying of the arch's tears.  Whatever shall we do?  Wait!  What's that siren I hear approaching from the distance?