I
St. James Church
At Lenoir
Few churches in North Carolina
possess a larger or more beautiful
collection of art work, thanks to
J.
Л.
Oertel and others.
By HARRY Z. TUCKER
LENOIR is proud of St. James
Episcopal Church, and well
1 may she be. Situated on a
hill almost apart from the busy
city, the group of buildings,
quaint in their modified Gothic
architecture, stand neat and sig¬
nificant, a reminder of the city’s
glowing past. The church is in
keeping with the ideas of the fit¬
ness of things that characterized
the lives of the old planters of
“Happy Valley" a hundred years
ago.
While a number of public-
spirited citizens gave generously
of their time and means in the
building of the edifice, it was the
prosperous planters along the Yad¬
kin River who made the feat pos¬
sible. The names of General Sam¬
uel Finley Patterson, Colonel Ed¬
mund Jones, Colonel William
Davenport. Captain Walter Lenoir.
Mr. Rufus Patterson, and Miss
Sarah Joyce Lenoir, are remem¬
bered for their hearty interest and
substantial gifts of money and ma¬
terials.
As early as 1846. Azor Shell, the
community architect, was ap¬
proached and employed to do the
design and superintend the build¬
ing of the church. The grounds
were given by Mr. P. Miller, son
of Old Parson Miller, rector of a
rural church in the community
by the name of St. Andrews. Par¬
son Miller is remembered as a
grand character, a real prince of
the Kingdom.
Consecrated in 1852
St. James was consecrated in
1852 by Bishop Levi S. Ives, and
the church bell, which all denomi¬
nations in Lenoir love to hear ring
out soft and mellow, was rung for
the first time. The bell was pre¬
sented by Dr. Larkin G. Jones,
of Clover Hill Plantation, in mem¬
ory of his beautiful wife, the
adored Martha Lenoir. Around the
outside of the bell is carved this
inscription: “The influence of the
heavenly Martha presenteth me."
The historic bell continues to
call descendants to the old house
of worship; sometimes it calls the
select congregation to hear the
vows of a joyous wedding serv¬
ice; again, it is the tolling tones of
a funeral knell. But the communi¬
cants of St. James declare that the
bell is pleasantly appealing to
the ear. and belated worshippers
have often been heard to say, as
they went leisurely on their wav
to gather in Divine guidance: “I
must hurry; there’s the bell. Mar¬
tha is calling me.”
An old Parish register, dated
September 10, 1861. bears this bold
inscription, in a fine Spencerian
hand: “Register of St. James'
Church, Lenoir, during the Rector¬
ship of the Rev. S. C. Roberts, who
on taking charge of the parish
could find no record previously
kept to guide him." This is the
first of the registers to escape the
wreckage of passing years.
The Reverend Stephen C. Rob¬
erts came to St. James in the sum¬
mer of 1859. He served faithfully
for nearly eight years, including
the sad and lean years of Civil
War. He made his home in Mor-
ganton, where he served as rector
of Grace Church. His journeys to
and from Morganton were made
on horseback, and the ladies of
both parishes were wont to make
preparations, on the sly, for his
large family at home, who were
insufficiently supported by the
small salary paid their father. Mr.
Roberts terminated his rectorship
in 1867.
Immediately afterwards. Miss
Laura Norwood left Lenoir to study
art in New York. While on a visit
to the Reverend H. H. Prout in the
Catskill Mountains, who had for¬
merly been rector at Lenoir, she
was introduced to Mr. J. A. Oertel,
a diaconate, and a man of various
gifts and abilities. From Miss Nor¬
wood Oertel learned of the many
opportunities for services among
the people in North Carolina, left
destitute in the war.
“It is a cry from Macedonia,” he
declared. Mr. Oertel accepted the
invitation to take charge of the
church at Lenoir, where he planned
to teach, paint, and preach without
remuneration among a distressed
people.
The Work of Reconstruction
Upon his arrival in Lenoir in
April, 1869, he found St. James
church at Lenoir, where he planned
forsaken, for Northern soldiers had
used the building as a prison dur¬
ing the spring and early summer of
1865; the rectory as a Headquarters
for General Stoneman and a group
of his officers. But the charming
natural scenery of the mountains
around Lenoir, the climate and in¬
comparable, life-giving air so
charmed the Oertel family that
they gave the finest of which they
were capable in both word and
deed.
Lenoir is proud to know that the
fine paintings in the Church of
Heavenly Rest, New York City,
were completed for the most part
on the church grounds of St.
James. Perhaps of greater interest
is the lovely reredos, carved by
hand in minutes of leisure while
Mr. Oertel was rector at Lenoir,
and presented to St. James on
( Continued on page 19)
THE STATE. February 21. 1948
