"...a family in Heaven, Amen"

The first Trinity Church in Boston was built in 1735. It was a simple barnlike structure that had served its parishioners without much elegance for almost one hundred years. It was plain and well-lit and had a pretty little organ, but as Phillips Brooks said, its appearance was “of such exemplary plainness as would delight the souls of those who grudge the House of God the touch of beauty.”

On June 24th, 1828, the family and many notables of Boston gathered at the church for the funeral service of James Perkins, Jr., dead at the age of 37. The elderly rector Dr. Gardiner presided; his promising young assistant, the Rev. George Washington Doane, was solicitous to the grieving family. It was a busy season for funerals - Trinity filled again three weeks later for the service for Gilbert Stuart who for his part left behind six unfinished commissions and a debt to John Doggett of $326. 

When James Perkins Jr’s estate was inventoried after his death, it was valued at $166,553.34. His house on Pearl Street was valued at $18,000.00, the house and grounds at Pine Bank at $15,000.00, wines and other liquors came to $ 1,515.17, and horses and carriages were valued at $1,195.00.  His Last Will and Testament provided various accommodations for his family and the yearly sum of six thousand dollars for his widow Eliza. While it is difficult to compare the value of money over time, by some measures his estate would be worth at least $150 million dollars today.

These were the last funerals held in the old church. The aging Rector, John Sylvester Gardiner, was recuperating from an illness so his assistant, the Reverend George Washington Doane, preached the final Sunday sermon on August 3^rd, and notice was given that the congregation would move its services to Boylston Hall, above the meat market at the corner of Boylston and Washington Streets, while a new church building was being constructed.

Rev. George Washington Doane

Father Doane was twenty-nine years old and eager to make his mark and began reaching out to his well-to-do congregation. In September the Episcopal Watchman brought news from Washington College in Hartford of a proposed “African Mission School” which planned to educate promising young men of color. The Watchman reported eight subscriptions received from the Boston area - including $20 from the Rev. George W. Doane and $20 from Mrs. Eliza G. Perkins. By the following summer it was clear that Reverend Doane was actively courting the rich young widow. On August 2, 1829, Margaret Winslow wrote in her journal:

“We heard today that the marriage of Mr. Doane, Episcopal clergyman of Trinity Church to Mrs. Perkins, widow of James Perkins Jr, is certainly to take place in October. 

Six weeks later, on September 17th, George Doane recorded in his journal:

“My happy wedding day.   May the blessing of the Lord rest upon it and all its issues.”

Margaret Winslow recorded the event as well:

 “All of us went to a tea party at Mrs. Willis’ in Purchase St. - Amory and Catharine told us while making a call here this morning, that they had just returned from their Aunt Perkins’ wedding. - She was married by Dr. Gardiner at the North Church - Trinity Church, of which Mr. Doane is Rector, not being quite finished.”

Margaret Winslow was not fully correct in her account – The Reverend George Washington Doane was still the assistant rector of Trinity Church, and the marriage ceremony was pronounced not by old Dr. Gardiner, but by the groom’s best friend, the Reverend William Croswell. Doane and Croswell had met in Hartford [6] where Doane had been a professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres at Washington College and where they had jointly edited “The Episcopal Watchman”.  When Doane was called to Boston,

Croswell started to feel a similar call. In January 1829 Croswell received an invitation to visit Christ Church (the Old North Church) and by Easter he had found himself called as the church’s assistant minister. A month later, when the rector resigned, Croswell was offered the full position.  It was a daunting task for a young cleric, but “Mr. Doane will hold himself in readiness to stand in the gap, in case of failure…”

Rev. William Croswell

A month after the wedding Rev. Croswell made a pastoral call on the newlywed couple at Pine Bank, where the Reverend and Mrs. Doane had taken up residence:

"I went out about midday. It was the perfection of autumnal weather. The woods were changing most gorgeously.  The atmosphere was perfectly transparent, and there was a glory in the sunshine beyond the burning brightness of midsummer. The scenery about my friend's seat is always picturesque and enchanting, and reminds me of those scenes described by Isaac Walton… The sunset was indescribably beautiful. I returned to town by a rich moonlight, which, struggling with the haziness of autumn, invested everything with a sort of sleepy magnificence."

George Washington Doane, who fancied himself a poet, celebrated his new life as well:

LINES BY THE LAKE -SIDE

This placid lake, my gentle girl,

Be emblem of thy life,

As full of peace, and purity,

As free from care and strife;

No ripple, on its tranquil breast,

That dies not, with the day;

No pebble, in its darkest depths,

But quivers, in its ray.

 

And see, how every glorious form,

And pageant of the skies,

Reflected, from its glassy face,

A mirrored image lies;

So be thy spirit, ever pure,

To God, to virtue given;

And thought, and word, and action, bear

The imagery of Heaven. 

 

Construction of the new Trinity Church on Summer Street was completed that fall. On November 11, the congregation processed out of the hall above the meat market and made its way to its new edifice, built in the Gothic Revival style of rough-hewn granite and dominated by an imposing square tower. Bishop Alexander Griswold gathered the congregation before him, explaining how through the ages, Almighty God had moved his people to build houses of prayer and set places apart for the ministry of his holy Word and Sacraments. The congregation then marched up to the entrance - “Let the doors be opened!” the bishop commanded, and the doors swung wide and with his staff the bishop marked the sign of the cross saying “Peace be to this house, and to all who enter here: + In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The Reverend George Washington Doane then preached from St Jude - “Earnestly contend for the faith.  May God give us all this grace and to His Name shall be all the glory”.

Margaret Winslow faithfully recorded the festivities in her Diary:

“Nov 11^th -“Great doings today at the new Trinity Church in Summer St, – which is to be consecrated or dedicated, and all the rich and fashionable world will be there. I have not seen it since the walls were up; but they say it is a very elegant and noble church, the handsomest in the city.

In the evening Mrs John Callahan, Quincy Hill, Catharine W, her father, Miss Lee, Mrs Pickering & boys, and our TS and BPW are all going to the theatre. Box taken by Ben Winslow Sen’r.” Theatricals in the morning and theatricals in the evening, some people would say.”

She noted that the celebrations continued throughout the week:

“Nov 13th - William Pickering and our BP went by invitation to Miss Callahan’s – where they had some music with their flutes, Quincy Hill playing on the piano. Mrs John Callahan was there, and Catherine Winslow, Miss Lee, Timmins Blanchard, Miss Cotton, and Mr & Mrs Doane”.  

 

When the year came to a close, George Washington Doane took note in his journal:

“Thus ends the year 1829.  The happiest year of all my life.

For it has united me till death with her whom my heart holds dearest.”                             

He had good reason to be thankful. He had been called as Rector of the most prominent Episcopal church in Boston, and he had married one of the richest young widows of the town. He also found himself, at age thirty, in an unexpected role – that of stepfather to four energetic young children.        

“May we be meek, humble, and holy. May our love for each other and for Him abound more and more.

May we be disposed and enabled to discharge every duty to Him, to each other, to our dear children, to the Church, and to all mankind.  And when we have done serving Him here, may we rest together in peace and together rise to His celestial presence, to dwell accepted for His dear Son's sake, a family in Heaven, Amen.”