In addition to individuals already mentioned, there j
are teachers of music whose services entitle them to
special notice. Such are Henry Robyn, Mrs. Brainerd,
H. M. Butler, Charles Green, M. Epstein, A. Epstein,
Mrs. Ralston, Carl Richter, Madame Petipas, Madame
Caramano.

The Polyhymnia Society was organized in the
summer of 1845, and for several years was, as we have i
already stated, well and favorably known in art and
musical circles. Many gentlemen, musicians, artists,
and others favorable to the encouragement of the arts,
were engaged in its organization. Among the most ac-
tive of these were Alexander Kayser, Dr. Pollak, Wil-
liam and Henry Robyn, and Messrs. Beneke, Obert, !
Ringling, Burke, Schnell, and Kribben. The ob-
stacles of comparatively empty coffers, of occasional
dissensions among the members, and of inexperience
were surmounted by the strenuous exertions on the
part of those who had the objects of the association
most at heart. In the early part of the society's exist-
ence, some serious misunderstanding among a portion
of its members on one or two occasions nearly brought
it to a sudden close. The first president of the Poly- i
hymnia was Mr. Wesselhoeft, who retained the office
during a period of two and a half years. The society
gave its first concert at Concert Hall on the 27th of
November, 1845. Its success induced renewed en-
ergy, and a year after that time the society numbered
nearly two hundred members. The orchestra con-
sisted of twenty or twenty-five performers. As hereto-
fore stated, the society went out of existence in 1870.

The Socialer Saenger.cb.or. After the failure of
the revolution in Germanyin 1848 a large number
of those who had taken part in it fled to the United
States and many settled in St. Louis. These emi-
grants at once proceeded to organize societies for in-
tellectual and bodily culture and social recreation.
The very earliest of these associations was doubtless
the St. Louis Saengerbund, organized in 1849, which
after an honorable career of some twenty-five years
was merged in the Orpheus Saengerbuud and ceased
to exist. The next was established Sept. 13, 1850,
as the " Saengerchor des Arbeiterbildungsverein," or'
the song section of a union for the improvement of ,
workingmen. The next January it took the name of



" Socialer Saengerchor," by which it is yet known,
and is recognized as the oldest singing society in St.
Louis. It also enjoys the honor of being about the
only surviving Saengerbund of the hundreds which
were established during that period throughout the
country, and is certainly the only one that remains of
those in the West.

The first meeting of the infant society was held in
Kossuth Hall, on South Second Street, and Herr
Holzmann was the first president. The first concert
was given Nov. 30, 1850. In the winter of 1851 a
library was established ; on the Fourth of July, 1852,
the society took part in the usual celebration, and in
October, 1852, a debating club was formed. In Jan-
uary, 1855, the society gave a masked ball, the first
ever given by a German society in St. Louis, which
was the event of the season in German circles.

The society prospered, and was a representative
German institution until the war, when, in common
with its sister societies, it lost largely through the
enlistment of many of its members in both armies,
but chiefly under the Union flag. Since the war its
career has been without special incident. It has
been subjected to the friendly rivalry of younger or-
ganizations, but has maintained its place as one of
the leading German singing organizations of the city.
In April, 1868, it was incorporated, the incorpora-
tors being Clemens A. Schnake, Conrad Kellermau,
Henry Thon, Philip A. Nolting, Wilhelm Poking,
Jacob Eckhardt, Wilhelm Dentz, Henry Meyer,
Charles Roock, and Anton Helle. Since 1875 it has
been under the efficient leadership of Professor A.
Willhartitz. It has taken the following prizes :

First prize at the Westliche Saengerbund of North
America in June, 1854.

A silk banner at the fest at Highland, 111., May,
1855.

First prize at the St. Louis Agricultural and Me-
chanical Association, 1856.

First prize at the Saengerfest at Highland, 111.,
May, 1880.

The membership numbers about five hundred and
fifty, of whom eighty are active. The library, started
in 1851, has been well cared for, and numbers nearly
four thousand books. The society owns a piano, etc.,
and has a reserve fund of several thousand dollars.
The present officers are as follows : President, August
Blittersdorf ; Vice-President, Charles J. Bremer ; Sec-
retary, William Oyentrop ; Corresponding Secretary,
William Vogel ; Financial Secretary, John Tighman ;
Treasurer, Henry Trieselmann ; Musical Director,
Max Ballmann.

Germania Saengerbund. This excellent German



MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



1633



singing society was organized March 19, 1859, by
the two brothers, William and Adolph Reisse, under
the name of " Berg Saengerbund," or " Mountain
Saengerbund." The society was formed at Yaeger's
Garden, now Anthony & Kuhn's, in South St. Louis.
The first president was William Reisse ; the first
leader, F. Glaser, who was succeeded by F. Boch-
mann, Egmont Froehlich, Charles Gottschalk, Herr
Sabatzky, and Theodore Abbath. The society has
been prominent at several fests, and always won a
prize. It has brought out the following operas: " Die
Wein probe ;" "Die Gerichtsitzung ;" "Die Vier
Glatzkoepfe ;" " Der Vetter aus Amerika ;" " Incog-
nito ; oder, Der Fuerst wider Willen."

The society numbers thirty-two active members,
one hundred and forty-five passive members, and five
honorary members, embracing many of the best Ger-
man citizens of South St. Louis.

For ten years past the society's hall has been in
the building of the Lafayette Bank, corner Carondelet
Avenue and Second Street. On the 19th of March,
1882, it celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in the
same garden where it was organized.

The Saengerbund has property representing a capi-
tal of two thousand five hundred dollars. It has
also a select library for the benefit of its members.
The present officers are : President, Frederick Schroe-
der ; Vice-President, A. Loux ; Recording Secretary,
Wilhelm Meyer ; Financial Secretary, F. Vischwitz ;
Manager, F. Themeyer; Leader, Theodore Abbath.

St. Louis Philharmonic Society. In pursuance
of a notice previously given, a meeting was held in
the rooms of the Missouri State Mutual Insurance
Company, June 21, 1860, at which the constitution
of the " St. Louis Philharmonic Society" was read and
adopted, and the following officers and board of
directors were chosen : James E. Yeatman, presi-
dent ; Charles Balmer, vice-president ; John J. An-
derson, treasurer; George W. Parker, recording sec-
retary ; Thomas Marston, Jr., corresponding secretary ;
Board of Directors, L. A. Benoist, William Robyn,
William H. Benton, E. C. Catherwood, Henry T.
Blow, Dabney Carr, James B. Eads, B. A. Bode.
The object of the society was to encourage the study
and elevate the taste of music among the citizens.
The civil war came on soon after the organization of
the society, and put an end to its existence.

Musiker Unterstuetzungs Verein. This society
was organized in 1863, and was incorporated in 1864.
The first officers were: President, J. H. Keller;
Secretary, Louis Schnell ; Treasurer, Charles Geb-
hardt. It was originally designed as a protective
union, to enable the musicians of the city to obtain



better prices for furnishing music at concerts, balls,
etc., but eventually was changed into a beneficiary
society. It pays six dollars per week sick benefits
and thirty-five dollars for funeral expenses. There are
about sixty members, and the officers are : President,
Nicholas Lebrun; Vice-President, Michael Ensinger ;
Secretary, George Zaenglein ; Treasurer, Charles Geb-
hardt. Herr Gebhardt has been treasurer continu-
ously since the organization. .

Orpheus. The Orpheus Singing Society was organ-
ized July 16, 1867. The first president was William
Homann. In 1875 it was enlarged by the accession
of the Saengerbund. It has been one of the most
efficient of the numerous German singing societies of
St. Louis, and in the various musical contests has
taken its fair share of prizes. It has sixty active mem-
bers and one hundred and ninety passive members.
The present officers are as follows : President, Nicholas
Christman ; Vice-President, John Schorr ; Recording
Secretary, Louis Stockstrora ; Corresponding Secre-
tary, William H. Lahrmann ; Financial Secretary,
; George R. Kramer; Treasurer, Charles Schweikardt.
The Liederkranz. In 1870 a disagreement among
the members of the Arion des Westens, a German
: singing society of some note, resulted in the secession
of sixteen members, among whom were Eugene Haas,
Ferdinand Diehm, and Rudolph Schulenburg, who
immediately issued a call for a new singing society,
and on the 27th of November, 1870,' thirty six
j united in forming the Liederkranz. The first direc-
j tors of the new society were Eugene Haas, Edmund
| Wuerpel, Theodore Kalb, Dr. Nagel, A. Link, Ferdi-
nand Diehm, and A. Laeffler, and the first officers
were : President, Eugene Hass ; Secretary, A. Link ;
Treasurer, Ferdinand Diehm ; Musical Director, Eg-
mont Froehlich. The latter was also director of the
Arion des Westens, but during the year he resigned,
and has continued uninterruptedly as the director of
the Liederkranz.

For some years the society met in the building of
the People's Savings Institution, Park and Carondelet
Avenues ; then it went to Freemasons' Hall. From
1877 to 1880 it met at the Annunciation school-house,
at Chouteau Avenue and Sixth Street, and Dec. 22,
1880, it occupied its present elegant quarters.

From its inception the Liederkranz was conspicu-
ously prosperous, and rapidly drew to itself the finest
musical talent among the Germans. It has always
enjoyed a high degree of popular favor. In 1879 the
Arion des Westens, which had two hundred and fifty
members, joined the Liederkranz, and added one hun-
dred voices to it. This accession emphasized the need
of more commodious quarters, the want of which had



1634



HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.



long been felt, and at last it was decided that the
society might safely undertake the erection of a hall
of its own. In August, 1879, therefore, the Lieder-
kranz Building Association was organized. The
capital was placed at fifty thousand dollars, and the
Liederkranz Society took three thousand five hundred
dollars of stock, and every member of the society
became also a member of the building association,
which was managed by the following officers : Presi-
dent, F. W. Sennewald ; Vice-President, Charles
Wezler ; Secretary, A. Link ; Treasurer, Ferdinand
Diehm ; Directors, Louis Gottschalk, Lorenz Lampel,
W. J. Lemp, Eugene Haas, Statius Kehrmaun, Fer
dinand Herold, Joseph Emanuel, Emil Donk, and
Egmont Froehlich.

The building association bought an eligibly situated
lot at Chouteau Avenue and Thirteenth Street, and
on the 31st of July, 1880, laid the corner-stone of
the new hall. On the 22d of December, 1880, the ;
building was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies.
The hall was erected by Messrs. Wilhelm & Janssen,
after plans procured from abroad. It has a frontage
of ninety-four feet on Chouteau Avenue and one hun-
dred and forty feet on Thirteenth Street, and is two
stories high. The style of architecture is the renais- \
sance. A handsome entrance at the intersection of j
these streets conducts to the interior. The complete-
ness of the appointments and the entire absence of
any glaring' or " loud" details are the conspicuous fea-
tures which first strike the eye. The special char-
acteristics of the structure are solidity and safety, ,
combined with beauty and a complete adaptability to
the objects for which the building was erected. The
grand hall is sixty-five by eighty-one feet, and there
is a refreshment-room one hundred and five by twenty-
four feet, besides a number of toilet-rooms and apart-
ments for billiards and other games. The stage is
thirty by twenty-five feet, and is shaped like a shell
in order to secure the best musical effect. The
acoustic properties of the hall are very fine. The lot
cost eight thousand dollars, the building thirty-six
thousand dollars, and the furniture six thousand dol-
lars. The building, in spite of its simplicity and
modesty of style, is one of the most imposing and
beautiful in the city, besides serving as a cheerful
home for the society and its friends.

The Liederkranz has six hundred members, of
whom one hundred and thirty are active. It is the
largest singing society in the city, and its success is
due chiefly to the high standard which it has applied
to its own performances, and to its aim to introduce
and familiarize the best work of the most eminent
composers. Under the direction of Herr Froehlich, it



has gained recognition as one of the best and most
proficient singing societies in the West. Among the
great works which it has brought out with distin-
guished success are Verdi's " Requiem," Schumann's
" Pilgrimage of the Rose," Mendelssohn's " Wal-
purgis Night," Gade's <; Erl King's Daughter," Vier-
ling's " Rape of the Sabines," Becker's " Die Zigeu-
nerin," Gade's " Zion," Bruch's " Odysseus," Hoff-
man's " Die Schoene Melusine," Haydn's " Seasons,"
Moehring's "Auff Offner See," Erdmannsdoerfer's
" Princessin Use," etc.

The officers for 1882 were : President. F. W. Sen-
newald ; Vice-President, 0. J. Wilhelmie ; Secretary,
M. Klaus ; Treasurer, Fred. Aberold ; Corresponding
Secretary, F. W. Meyer ; Cashier, E. P. Olshausen ;
Musical Director, Egmont Froehlich.

Schweitzer Maennerchor. This was originally
the Gruelti Singing Society, a song section of the
Gruelti Verein, the Swiss Benevolent Society ; but in
February, 1874, it was chartered as the " Schweitzer
Maennerchor," with the following incorporators : Ul-
rich Schwendener, Francis Romer, John Jacklin,
Henry Hotz, August Wildberger, J. J. Kiburz, Sam-
uel Putscher, F. X. Siedler, Adolph Walser, John
Boerdin, and others. It has about forty members.
The present officers are : President, Albert Bugg ;
Vice-President, Rudolf Bellinger ; Treasurer, J. J.
Martin ; Musical Director, J. B. Trumbi.

West St. Louis Liederkranz. In 1871, Anton
Huber, Frank Wieser, August Gruenewald, Louis
Schaefer, A. Meyer, Henry Pohlmann, and Louis
Wiesler organized the West St. Louis Liederkranz,
with headquarters near Spring and Easton Avenues.
Henry Pohlmann was the first president, A. Meyer
the first secretary, and John Oberreiter the frrst treas-
urer. Herr Haar was musical director. The society
prospered, and gained an enviable reputation for good
music, and in 1880 took the second prize at High-
land, 111., competing with fifteen clubs from St. Louis
and Southern Illinois. It has a membership of two
hundred and twenty, of whom twenty are active.
Quite a number of ladies belong to the society, and
are its most energetic members. Frederick Parten-
heimer has been director for five years. The present
officers are : President, Otto Keil ; Secretary, Carl
Golschen ; Treasurer, William Schroeder ; Musical
Director, Frederick Partenheimer ; Trustees, Louis
Schaefer, August Gruenewald, George Kramer, Theo.
Hoell, William Koehler.

There are many other German song unions of some-
what lesser note. Many of them are simply song
sections of German clubs, turnvereins, etc. Among
them may be mentioned the Rock Springs Saenger-



MUSIC AND MUSICIANS.



1635



bund, Camp Spring Leidertafel, Apollo Gesangverein,
Teutonia Gesangverein, Rheinischer Frohsinn, Maen-
nerchor der Hermann Soehne, etc.

The St. Louis Choral Society was organized
Sept. 1, 1880, by Professor Joseph Otten. The first
officers were : President, L. L. Tebbetts ; Vice-Presi-
dent, R. Chauvenet ; Secretary, Thaddeus Smith ; Li-
brarian, A. A. Schnuck ; Conductor, Professor Joseph
Otten. During the first year four subscription concerts
were given, and the works rendered were " The Mes-
siah," " The Fair Melusine," by Hoffman ; " Dettingen
Te Deum," by Handel; and fragments of "Tann-
hiiuser." Beethoven's Mass in C, etc. The society
has a chorus of one hundred and thirty voices, and is
regarded as a promising young organization. The
present officers are : President, Nathaniel P. Hazard ;
Vice-President, S. S. Leach ; Secretary, Richard
Fenby ; Conductor, Professor Joseph Otten.

Musical Union. In November, 1881, Professor
A. A. Waldauer and Dabney Carr organized the St.
Louis Musical Union, an orchestra of nearly sixty
pieces, which for two seasons past has given con-
certs of a very high order of merit, having performed
with great acceptability the most difficult works of
most of the great composers.

Henry Shaw Musical Society. In the fall of
1882 was organized a society with this name, under
the lead of Professor R. S. Poppen. Its first season's
performances were highly creditable.



CHAPTER XXXIX.

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.^

The Catholic Church. The Catholic missionaries
were the first to preach the gospel in the territory
now known as the State of Missouri, and, indeed, in |

1 For material assistance in preparing the sketches of the
churches of St. Louis the author is greatly indebted to Rt. Rev.
C. F. Robertson, D.D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Dio-
cese of Missouri ; Rt. Rev. P. J. Ryan, D.D., Coadjutor Bishop
of the Catholic archdiocese; Rev. Walter H. Hill, S.J., of St.
Louis University; Lewis E. Kline, of the Baptist Depository;
Rev. J. W. Allen, D.D., of the Presbyterian Depository; Rev.
Timothy Hill, D.D., of Kansas City, author of a " History of
Presbyterianism in Missouri;" Rev. Benjamin St. James Fry,
D.D., editor of the Central Christian Advocate, and his assist-
ant, W. E. Barns ; Rev. John E. Godbey, D.D., editor of the
8<>nthirrtfrn Methodist; as well as to a " History of Metho-
dism in Missouri," by Rev. Dr. D. R. McAnally ; " Pictorial St.
Louis," by Catnille N. Dry, published by Compton A Co., 1876;
and the St. Louis Spectator, in addition to the pastors of the
various churches.



that now actually comprised in the United States.
Long before the " Mayflower" entered Massachusetts
Bay the Franciscan missionaries had commenced their
sacred labors on the coast of Maine. Side by side
the cross and the fleur-de-lis moved into the wilder-
ness, marching not to the sound of the drum, but to
the solemn tones of the Gregorian chant. The
Jesuits, succeeding the Franciscans, carried on the
holy work, unchecked by snows or forests or tor-
rents, until within a few years the vast basin of the
St. Lawrence, from Quebec to Lake Superior, was
dotted with rude chapels, in which the sacred wafer,
" all that the church offered to the princes and nobles
of Europe, was shared with the humblest savage
neophytes." ' 2 And five years before Eliot, the Indian
apostle of New England, had commenced his labors
among the red men in the vicinity of Boston, the
cross of the Catholic Church overlooked the valley
of the Mississippi. The Indian proselyte loved the
Catholic missionary. The man of learning, the
scholar, and the gentleman became as a brother to
the children of the wilderness. He lived in their
wigwams, smoked their pipes, and ate of their veni-
son. He shared their hardships and sympathized
with their joys. In a word, acting upon the apostolic
rule, " with the weak he became as weak, in order
that he might gain the weak."

But it is not alone because the missionary adopted
the Indian habits and became as one of the tribe he
was proselyting that he was blessed with success.
This but furnished him with his moral lever. Instead
of demolishing the natural religion of the Indians, he
directed its energy and inspired it with an object. In
his eyes it was the rough block which he was to chisel
into life and beauty. Nature furnished him with ma-
terials ; it was his business to produce the image.
And with true knowledge of the world and the human
heart, he saw that the savages, possessing uncultivated
intellects, could only be thoroughly impressed through
the medium of their senses. Accustomed as they
had been to the greatness of the material world, they
could not at once become spiritual in their aspirations.
He therefore charmed them with the fascinating
powers of music, and took extraordinary pains in the
embellishment of the church and the altar. Fragrant
woods of the forest furnished materials, which his
own ingenuity carved into seraphs and saints. Fields
which had never been broken by the plow surren-
dered to his pious exertions wild flowers and ever-
greens. Sweet-smelling gums exuded from trees,
" which spread an odor equally agreeable with that of

! Bancroft.



1636



HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.



incense." Simple art and more simple nature com-
bined to decorate the log-built temple ; and the rays
of the morning sun, pouring through the window of
the little chancel, both gilded and sanctified the holy
work. " The Indians," says an eminent Protestant
writer, " felt that the place was sacred ; that the Great
Spirit, though everywhere present in his creations,
was peculiarly present here, invisible and holy ; and
that the cross, which was the soul of baptism and the
sign of devotion, which was symbolized in every mo-
ment of danger or deliverance, on lying down and on
rising up, which sparkled in every constellation of
the heavens, was indeed a holy emblem, significant of
the Great Sacrifice made far away in that Eastern
land, from which they derived light both for body
and soul. In this way the Jesuits succeeded in teach-
ing European virtues, and not teaching European
vices." l

The same writer adds,

" Let all honor, then, be paid to the memory of the Jesuit mis-
sionaries in America. They have set a noble example to their
fellow-laborers in God's vineyard. They have illustrated by their
lives the force of that thrilling command, 'Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature ;' and the promise
which accompanied the command was faithfully kept in every in-
stance. Though ' most of them were martyrs to their faith,' God
was with them in all their sufferings and trials, and their deaths
were scenes of peaceful triumph. But the monuments of their
labors are fast passing away. Where are the Hurons, the Mo-
hawks, and the Abenakis ? Where are the mighty war-chiefs
of the Five Nations? The sun shines upon their graves; their
tomahawks are forever buried ; the fire of their calumets forever
extinguished. The wild forests of America no longer resound
with hymns to the Virgin, chanted in languages unknown to
civilization. The little bell of the chapel no more rings matins
and even-song by the shore of the inland lake. They have all
fled, and with them has fled away the glory of the Jesuit mis-
sions. But wherever history is read, the names of Breboeuf and
Jogues, Raymbault, Rasles, Marquette, Joliet, and Lallemand
shall be mentioned with honor, and wherever the Catholic faith
is promulgated these heroes shall have what they never sought,
an earthly immortality." 2

As early as 1512 the Spanish missionaries preached
the gospel to the Indians of Florida, but Father Mar-
quette had the honor of first planting the cross in the
Illinois country, after he had, in 1673, discovered and
explored the Mississippi River. For two months he



sailed down the river in his bark canoe, and the nar-
rative of his extraordinary voyage, revealing to the
world the fact that the St. Lawrence could commu-
nicate with the Gulf of Mexico by an almost uninter-
rupted chain of lakes, rivers, and streams, gave
France the first idea of colonizing Louisiana. The




1 Peter Oliver : Historical View of the Puritan Common-
wealth.

s Ibid. Also see on the same subject Hazard, vol. ii. pp. 313,
314,393; Bancroft; Kip's Jesuit Missions ; Hutchinson's His-
tory of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 158, n.; Colden's Five Nations,
vol. i. p. 60 ; Moore's Life of Eliot, p. 76 ; British Review, Octo-
ber, 1844; Wilberforce's American Church; Mercure de France,
1806; De Maistre's Essay on the Generative Principles of
Human Government, translated in 1847 by a gentleman of Bos-
ton ; and Shea's Catholic Missions.



MARQUETTE ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.



Mississippi valley soon beheld missions rise among
the Illinois, Miami, Yazoo, Arkansas, Natchez, and
other tribes. Jesuits, Recollects, and priests of the
foreign missions here shared the rude toil of convert-
ing the Indians, and the French missions of North