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Grace Episcopal Church (Syracuse, N.Y.) Records

An inventory of its records at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: GBS
Date: Feb 1969

Biographical History

Grace Episcopal Church was established in the Diocese of Central New York in 1870. The first church building was a simple wooden structure at the corner of Madison Street and University Avenue. This was replaced in 1876 by a limestone edifice which is still in use. In 1916, the church added a parish house, and in 1940 the two upper stories of the tower were removed; otherwise, the structure designed by architect Horatio Nelson White remains much the same.

The parish's first rector was the Rev. Thomas E. Pattison who served for sixteen years, 1870-1886. The present rector, the Rev. Walter N. Welsh, began his pastorate in 1949. A complete list of rectors who have served the church, together with the dates of their incumbency, is as follows:

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Grace Episcopal Church (Syracuse, N.Y.) Records are divided into the following groups: historical material, vestry minutes, correspondence, parish registers, registers of services, published material, and miscellany.

Historical material consists of five folders of both manuscript and published items, the former including notes, the typescript of a history of the church, 1870-1886, by t?. Freeman Galpin, and a small amount of correspondence, and the latter including several clippings, the Historical souvenir by the Rev. Herbert G. Coddington, and a list of Memorials, 1922.

Vestry minutes, 1870-1893, 1896-1956, 1961-19E6, are the official minutes of the church's governing board. During the earlier years they were kept in bound volumes, and from 1930-1966 in looseleaf notebook form. The minutes for meetings 1894-1895 and 1957-1960 were not present when the collection was received.

Correspondence, 1890-1966, consisting of both incoming and outgoing letters, is quite scattered. The bulk of it falls into the period 1961-1966, with a gap from 1957 to 1959. There is also a substantial amount for the period 1916-1918 which deals with the construction of the parish house. The 1964 correspondence includes an exchange between the clerk of the vestry and three New York Congressmen regarding proposed civil rights legislation; the Congressmen are Representative R. Walter Riehlman, Senator Jacob K. Javits, and Senator Kenneth B. Keating. Generally, however, the correspondence is concerned largely with routine matters dealing with operating the church.

The Parish registers, 1871-1946, include baptisms, confirmations, marriages and burials, and each volume is indexed to provide easy access to vital statistics contained therein. Registers of services, 1931-1966, list services during the period indicated, give attendance, the presiding clergyman, and other pertinent details.

Published material, 1890-1952, includes church calendars, a file of the Grace Church Visitor, 1890-1895, and three altar service books.

The remaining records have been grouped under the heading of Miscellany. Covering the period 1889-1965, this group includes certificates of various kinds, a deed, an engineering report, a scattering of financial records (1901-1965), lists of vestrymen and committees, two mortgages, a number of photographs, a folder each of material relating to the parish house and of unclassified papers, and a dozen printing cuts. The items in this group are arranged in the order in which they are listed here.

Arrangement of the Collection

Vestry minutes are arranged chronologically.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has made a concerted effort over the years to ensure that its manuscript and rare books holdings complement each other. As a result, many of our manuscript collections are supported by books, pamphlets, serials and other items which are cataloged in the Rare Books Collection. Please be sure to search Libraries Search for these related materials.

Subject Headings

Corporate Bodies

Grace Episcopal Church (Syracuse, N.Y.) -- Archives.

Subjects

Church records and registers, New York (State) -- Syracuse.
Civil rights -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.
Episcopal Church -- New York (State) -- Syracuse.
Episcopalians -- New York (State) -- Syracuse.

Genres and Forms

Church registers.
Correspondence.
Minutes (administrative records)

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Grace Episcopal Church (Syracuse, N.Y.) Records,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Grace Episcopal Church, 1968.

Table of Contents

Historical material

Vestry minutes

Correspondence

Parish registers

Registers of services

Published material

Miscellany

Inventory