Scandal deals final death blow to First Congregational Church

This is an early postcard featuring the Immaculate Conception Church. The building, constructed in the early 1870s, formerly served the First Congregational Church, which disbanded in 1880. The Marion County Assessor lists the current property owner as Qpex, with a mailing address of 601 Hampshire, Quincy, Ill. Postcard contributed by Robert Spaun.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

When the Rev. G.W. Grover officiated at the elegant ceremony uniting Miss Belle C. Sproul and Fred C. Stephens in marriage on Jan. 15, 1879, the service somewhat masked - at least for a little while - the turmoil pre-existing within Hannibal’s First Congregational Church, located at Sixth and Lyon.

Rev. Grover, called to the church in November 1877, had already pulled the congregation together following the dismissal of the previous minister, the Rev. John Foster, who was accused of multiple counts of bigamy.  Now, Rev. Grover was helping the congregation stand together during a tumultuous scandal involving a few of the most prominent of the church families.

Rev. Grover’s tenure at Hannibal wasn’t destined to be lengthy, however. By September 1879, he had moved on, and the Rev. Julian M. Sturtevant Jr., who had been the church minister 1860-1870, once again filled the pulpit.

But his pastorship ended in the winter of 1880, when the church disbanded, falling victim to scandals and financial woes within its walls.

The building, which is still standing, was said to have cost nearly a quarter of a million dollars to construct during the early 1870s. It was sold in January 1880 at a trustees sale to Col. J.T.K. Hayward and W.H. Loomis, two of the most prominent members of the church, for $10,000. Ultimately, the church was repurposed as the Immaculate Conception Church.

Where to begin ….

The First Congregational Church building itself was by far the largest church structure in Hannibal. The building was constructed circa 1870 when the growing congregation decided to make a move from South Hannibal, across Bear Creek, to a prime location at the corner of Sixth and Lyon Streets.

The congregants were prominent citizens, for the most part, including a number of important associates with the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. In fact, the aforementioned Fred C. Stephens, whose marriage took place in the church in 1879, was the son of R.S. Stevens, who served as the railroad’s manager and general superintendent in 1877.

In recent weeks, through this column, you have read about other church members with railroad affiliations, including:

Walter J. Hilton, treasurer for the H&St. Joe;

C.W.A. Cartlidge, accountant for the H&St. Joe;

John Skinner Putnam, clerk for Walter J. Hilton, treasurer of the H&St. Joe;

G.G. Gould, clerk, H&St. Joe; 

Goodwin O. Bishop, who built bridges for the H&St. Joe;

George H. Nettleton, superintendent of the H&St. Joe in 1871; and

J.T.K. Hayward, superintendent of the H&St. Joe in 1859.

In addition to the railroaders, there was a significant number of prominent businessmen and their families associated with the church, including this random sampling, as of the late 1870s:

G.A. Collins, books and stationery;

William C. Ebert, ice dealer and former newspaper editor, and his wife, Luranah A. Ebert. (Ebert lost an arm as a Union soldier in the Civil War.)

W.H. Loomis, wholesale dealer in salt, coal, oil, grain and produce, and his wife, Melvina Loomis.

Scandal brewing

The year 1879 started out like many others in Hannibal.

An essay published in the Oct. 2, 1879 edition of the Nodaway, Mo., Democrat newspaper, described Hannibal:  “Hannibal is a city of 12,000 inhabitants, situated on the Mississippi and nestled amid a cluster of hills. Six railroads run here, and boats daily ply up and down the river; and yet there is not the life one would expect. The general appearance of the place is rather countryfied, and a majority of the buildings have a Methuselah-like make up. Main and Broadway streets are the principal thoroughfares of the city, and on these the leading business houses are situated. The merchants advertise pretty liberally, and that is equivalent to saying they have a large trade.”

By the end of 1879, a scandal among the church members had been reported on and republished in newspapers across the land.

The St. Joseph Gazette, in its Dec. 19, 1879 edition:

“There is just now a disgusting church scandal going on in Hannibal, and it is said not half of the story has yet been told, although enough has already been developed to damn forever the reputation of a half a dozen men and women. C.O. Godfrey, the well-known coal operator, has been expelled upon his own confession of immoral conduct, and others, no less prominent, are, it is said, to follow him. They are all members of the Congregational Church and have been worshipping God openly for a number of years while secretly they have been kneeling at the shrine of the devil.”

Singled out for inclusion in the scandal in 1879 were:

J.J. Cruikshank Jr., lumber dealer, and his wife Mary Ellen Bacon Cruikshank, who lived on the SE corner of Fifth and Lyon;

Mrs. Kitty Heywood, 208 N. Third, previously good friend of Mrs. Cruikshank; and

Cyrus O. Godfrey, coal dealer, south side of Bird, east of Section.

While the church investigation uncovered information ripe for the gossip mill, the church ceased its investigation without taking any action against those accused.

Pamphlet scandal

The St. Joseph Gazette reported in its Jan. 25, 1880 edition, that the Hannibal Clipper published the church investigating committee’s report: “It takes up thirteen columns of closely printed matter, and the prominent names are mixed up with the scandal.”

In addition, G.O. Godfrey’s admission to his participation in the scandal - which he later maintained was coerced by J.J. Cruikshank Jr., - was printed in a pamphlet form and subsequently mailed to certain younger members of the church.

That action brought the scandal into the court’s jurisdiction. Beginning in April 1880, in Judge Burr F. McPherson’s courtroom, three men faced charges of printing obscene pamphlets and sending them to the members of the Congregational Church.

The men standing trial were J.J. Cruikshank Jr., Col. J.T.K. Hayward and John Hayward, the latter two associated with the Clipper-Herald newspaper.

Attorneys were William P. Harrison and Rufus E. Anderson for the defendants, and George Mahan for the prosecution.

The jury found Col. J.T.K. Hayward guilty, as charged in the indictment, and assessed a fine of $200.

The jury found James Hayward guilty, and fined him $100.

The jury found John J. Cruikshank Jr., not guilty.

The Cruikshanks were subsequently divorced in January 1884, and the church granted Mrs. Cruikshank a “letter” so that she could join the Presbyterian church.

The St. Joseph Gazette opined: “The whole thing proves that for a number of years several of the most prominent men and women in the city of Hannibal have been acting in an outrageous manner.”

Mary Lou Montgomery retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,”  and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com