Seventh Presbyterian Church

Cincinnati Post | 11 June 1938

Citizen’s Committee of One Hundred on Slum Clearance and Low Rent Housing

25 September 1938 | Cincinnati Enquirer

Bureau Planned By Group To Present Housing Situation To Organizations of City—members Named

A special subcommittee to organize a speaker’s bureau to present Cincinnati’s housing program to local organizations was announced yesterday by August Marx, Chairman of the newly formed Citizen’s Committee of One Hundred on Slum Clearance and Low Rent Housing.

Members of the subcommittee are Rev. John Malick, Chairman; Dr. Earle E. Eubank, Sol Freiberg, Bishop Henry W. Hobson, Phil E. Ziegler, Mrs. Anna Budd Ware, Mrs. Mortimer Matthews, Mrs. Alvin J. Lehman, and Martin Low.

Members of Marx’s committee of 100 are the following:

Dr. and Mrs. Richard S. Austin . . . Rev. Jesse Halsey, Rabbi James G. Heller, Mrs. Smith Hickenlooper . . . Standish Meacham . . . Mrs. Robert A. Taft . . .

Civic Leaders to Voice Indignation At Treatment of Jews in Germany—Protest Meeting Is To Be Held Tuesday Night.

20 November 1938 | Cincinnati Enquirer

A city-wide protest meeting against Germany’s treatment of Jews will be held at 8 o’clock Tuesday evening at Emery Auditorium under auspices of Clergymen, educators, labor leaders, and city officials.

Councilman Russell Wilson will preside. Mayor James G. Stewart will head a list of speakers representing a wide range of community interests. Charles L. S. Easton, headmaster of the University School, will be Chairman.

Sponsors include Dr. Raymond Walters, President of the University of Cincinnati; Rev. Jesse Halsey, President of Cincinnati Council of the Federation of Churches; Jack Hurst, President of Central Labor Council; Jack Kroll, head of Cincinnati Amalgamated Clothing Workers; Phil E. Ziegler, Secretary of the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks, Judson J. McKim, Executive Secretary of the Y.M.C.A.; Dr. William Keller, and Mrs. Lowell Hobart, Jr.

Easton said last night that the meeting has been arranged “to show Cincinnati Jews just where Gentiles stand” on the Nazi anti-Semitic program.

This protest, he declared, was not merely “an empty token of sympathy,” but a militant stand against what Nazism represents in the world today.

Christians must understand, he asserted, that their own interests were endangered, too, by the wave of intolerance and reversion to force seen now in Germany.

"it gives me renewed faith in mankind to know there are such people as you"

29 June 1938

Mrs. Albert H. LeBlond to Rev. Jesse Halsey
Cincinnati

Dear Sir:

Anyone busy with so many different kinds of good work as you are cannot long dwell on any one particular problem, it would see to me; and so I am hoping my troubles have long since been dismissed from your mind. For some time, however, I have felt it was discourteous, to say the least, not to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to you for your kindness and helpfulness when, in desperation, I came to you for advice early last spring. It is still a source of humiliation to me that I felt impelled to lay bare before another the private difficulties of our family. Winnie has improved very much, and probably has done so more through your influence than I may ever know. Therefore, I feel that my own humiliation is a small price I should gladly pay for what I believe is a permanent more wholesome outlook on life on her part.

Winnie got out of work the last of April and although she immediately applied through various agencies, she received no encouragement about a new position until business conditions improve. Don (our son) was most anxious for her to come to Greeley for the summer school term and, as she was persuaded to go, she is there with him now. Don had to be in Greeley through the summer to retain his job as janitor of the dorm, and is himself going on with class work there instead of taking an extension course here at U.C. as he at first considered doing. We are hoping the invigorating air and change of environment will further help Winnie in every way and that distance may enable her to learn her true feelings toward her friend.

Mr. LeBlond’s mother has been with us now, for almost a month. She has needed a daughter to look after her more than I realized—especially in the way of her clothing—and I hope I shall be able to do for her what she needs. Her other son, who drove here from Seattle, assured us that she is well able to shoulder her share of running expenses, so we are glad we risked moving here where we can make her comfortable, rather than renting what we alone could afford and where she would not have had a porch or large comfortable room.

Mr. LeBlond is again the devoted husband of former years, and, Don is applying himself to preparation for his life work; hence, while life is still far from easy in many respects, the problems that were proving almost too hard to stand-up under seem to be in the process of being solved.

My own sphere of usefulness in this world of need is very limited. Although I cannot have a part in the larger work, it gives me renewed faith in mankind to know there are such people as you, [General Secretary of the YMCA in Cincinnati] Mr. Judson McKim, Rev. Almy [L.W. Almy, minister of West Cincinnati Presbyterian Church] and the Aschams [J.B. Ascham, supt. Cincinnati Children’s Home] in our City, and Mr. Harry Emerson Fosdick and others elsewhere, doing what is possible to bring about “The Kingdom of Heaven,” of which Jesus spoke so many times and for which he, too, worked.

I was so sorry about your accident of some weeks past, and I hope you are entirely recovered. Thanking you again for your helpfulness to me, a stranger, I am

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Abbie LeBlond

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"Angels, From the Realms of Glory"

The Messenger | 18 December 1938

Order of Worship | Seventh Presbyterian Church

"The Church for Such a Time as This."

"Great Germany has become gross Germany"

14 November 1938

"Calling on his congregation to consider the benefits of freedom, Rev. Mr. Halsey cited persecution of minorities as the inevitable result of loss of freedom.

"'Tell the truth, trim your words, let no slander escape your lips concerning any man, or his race, or his religion,' he urged. 'In the face of world confusion and torment and persecution we proclaim anew our belief in freedom and tolerance of diverse opinions as God-given rights.'"

Halsey Denounces Persecution of Jews

November 1938

"Dr. Nelson also declared that the German situation should be a warning to Americans to 'master the racial prejudices insidiously present in this country.'"

Villa Faulkner Page | Lecures 1937-1938

Presbyterians Voted Against Entering Union c1938

Abigail Fithian Halsey Talk at Museum of the City of New York

1938

Letter from Pattie M. Eakins to Jesse Halsey

1938

No Time For Silence by Janette Hassey

Letter from Charles Erdman to Jesse Halsey

1938

Southampton Declines WPA Storm Clean-Up Aid

The Village Board of Southampton voted today to decline an offer of WPA aid in cleaning up after Wednesday's hurricane. Many trees were blown over and considerable damage was done to the waterfront of this exclusive Summer resort.  (Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. September 27, 1938)

Long Island Town Declines WPA Storm Clean-up 

Southampton, L. I., Sept. 28. —The village board of-Southampton has voted to decline an offer of WPA aid in cleaning up after Wednesday's hurricane. Many trees were blown down and considerable damage was done to the water front of this exclusive summer resort. After the village board meeting. Mayor Albert P. Loaning said: "The village board has', declined WPA aid in cleaning up the highways and for the rehabilitation work in the village. In Southampton we have always been able to handle our ownn affairs in the 300 years of our existence. The village board appreciates WPA offers of help, but the members feel that the sister communities of Southampton, which sustained greater damage, should receive whatsoever assistance would have gone to us." (Syndicated: Tipton Tribune, 28 September 1938

Miss Halsey To Teach at Oxford University | 1938

Edward Post White | Obituary

Funeral Rites Sunday For Edward P. White"

Southampton Press | Friday, September 9, 1938

Edward & Lizbeth White c1926

The death of Edward Post White on Friday, September 2, 1938, came as a shock to his many friend. Mr. White had been in ill health since March, but of late had been much better. He was born July 15^th, 1865, the only son of Captain Hubert A. and Sarah Post White. Both his father’s and mother’s families have been active in the affairs of Southampton since the days of its early settlement. His uncle, Albert J. Post, was the first president of Southampton Village. The Old Post House was his birthplace and the home of his mother’s family for several generations. Sebonac, now the home of C.H. MacDonald, was his father’s family home.

Mr. White was educated in Friends’ Academy, Locust Valley, and Mohegan Lake Military School. He has severed his town in many capacities, as assistant postmaster for twelve years, later as tax collector, town clerk and finally as, justice of the peace. In all these offices his quiet and genial personality and his just decisions have won him the respect and cooperation of his fellow citizens. But it was in his own home that Edward White was at his best, a devoted son, a loving husband, and helpful father, always more interested in his children’s pleasures or successes than in his own. December 24^th, 1892, he married Lizbeth Halsey, whose family, like his goes back to the founders of Southampton. Together they worked to preserve its history. White town clerk, Mr. White worked with the late harry Sleight of Sag Harbor, in compiling the seventh and eighth volumes of the Town Records, 1883-1927. Mrs. White compiled the World Records while she was town historian. Her death occurred in 1932.

Their children, all of whom are married, are Captain Edward White, Jr., who is with the Bureau of Marine Investigation and Inspection, Washington, D.C., and was in London at the time of his father’s death; also Mrs. Gerald T. Adams of Westhampton Beach, and Harry Halsey White, who lives in the home on Post Crossing. There are five grandchildren, Edward and Helena White, Jean and Gerald Adams, and Harry Halsey White, Jr.

The funeral services were held in his home on Sunday afternoon at five o’clock, The Rev. James N. Armstrong of the Presbyterian Church conducted them. The Rev. John E. Zeiter of the Methodist Church spoke as a friend and neighbor. Edwin O. Swain sang “Abide with Me.” Rev. Jesse Halsey, brother of Mrs. White, offered the prayer at the grave and closed the service.

"Colonial Society Plans Historical Museum"

Southampton Press | May 20, 1938

At a meeting of the Southampton Colonial Society [members] were elected for the ensuing year and several articles of incorporation and to the by-laws were adopted. The society plans to establish a museum for the Town of Southampton wherein can be assembled and preserved the relics and mementos of the early days of Earn Long Island. It is proposed to lease the Parrish Memorial Hall from the trustees of the Parrish Art Museum and to renovate the interior. The hall stands close to the site of the original village, and seems ideally suited to the purpose.

The museum is made possible by the generosity of Mrs. Charles B. Foster of Water Mill. She has presented to the society the priceless collection of antiques, mementoes of whaling days and farming implements formed by her late husband. Mr. Foster spent a great deal of time and painstaking effort in getting his collection together. It is now housed in the old barn on the Foster homestead. Many other articles from the attics and store rooms of local families will be loaned or given outright as soon as the project gets under way.

The new president of the society is William D. Halsey of Bridgehampton, who is historian for the town. The other elected officials are:

First vice president, C. Edwin Dimon; second vice president, Adrian H. Larkin; third vice president, J. Foster Terry; fourth vice president, Dr. David H. Hallock; fifth vice president, Frank. H. Corwith; secretary, Miss Grace Foster; treasurer, Horace Foster; and historian, Miss Abigail Halsey.

As the new museum will have to be financed by donations it is hoped that al those interested will give generously in order that this most worthy object may be accomplished. The subscription list is now open and several large gifts are already pledged.

"An Old Southampton House in New York"

Friday, May 20, 1938 | Southampton Press

No. 90 Grove Street and No. 88 Grove Street, N.Y.C.

Among the many houses and gardens exhibited for the benefit of Greenwich House in New York last week was that of Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Phelps Stokes, 88 Grove Street. The house was built in 1827 by three Halsey Brothers of Water Mill, Henry, Jesse and Edward. Later Jesse and Edward went to sea and became captains. In 1833, Henry, with his wife and infant son, Charles Henry, moved to Southampton and built the house on North Main Street owned by Rev. Jesse Halsey. The brothers, when they retired from the sea, also built in Southampton, Capt. Jesse, the house now owned by Dr. D.H. Hallock and Capt. Edward the house on Hill Street owned by Mrs. George Burling.

In the older house in New York are details that are repeated in the Southampton houses. It was built at the time when Greenwich Village (The Green Village) was made a part of the City of New York. The streets are irregular here and depart from the rectangular plan of the city . . .  A.F.H. 

 Sheridan Square, N.Y.C., 88 Grove Street Center

[Abigail Fithian Halsey] 

Images courtesy Abigail Fithian Halsey Files | Southampton Historical Museum Archives and Research Center 

Seventh Presbyterian Church: Holy Week Advertisement c1938

Seventh Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati | Newspaper Ad for Holy Week Services | c1938 | Jesse Halsey, Minister

“A Puritan in Babylon”

Jesse Halsey's review of A Puritan in Babylon, The Story of Calvin Coolidge, by William Allen White, The Macmilliam Company, 1938

A best seller surely, “definitive” likely.

The Kansas editor looks at the Yankee politician and with shrewd observations, keen appraisals, and dogged persistence tracks his subject (neither victim nor hero) through the decades.

Some college prank involving the revolutions of a pot-bellied stove down a dormitory stairway; young Coolidge questioned disclaims responsibility—“It wasn’t my stove.” True to form he meets the successive emergencies of life from there on to the oil scandals—“not my stove.”

“Money honest” refusing lucrative positions, unsmirched by any suspicion of ever having been bought, he “avoided the big problems” (as he said to Will Rogers) and so “became an attitude rather than an executive” (so says Mr. White). On the verge of economic earthquake—“a time of momentous decision”—“yet the President apparently knew nothing of it. Certainly did nothing about it.”

“A man who has been President is not free—“ no business offer (there were plenty) allured him after his term. He died a poor man, earning every penny—and making it “work.”

Praise there is—but “faint praise” that often amounts to damnation. Fair is the author and painstaking. He is faithful to his thesis equaling Gamaliel Bradford, but hipped on no psycho-analytical procedure. His sources are many of the personal—sometimes it seems as if it hurt him as a friend to tell all the truth, but he does tell it.

Coolidge was shy and taciturn, often impolite and boorish. White charges it up to the repression of a Puritan background, his mother’s death, and (later) to his boy’s. “Plymouth never entirely died out of his heart. Inside him that little boy—sentimental, mischievous sometimes inconsiderate and cruel—never grew up.”

New Hampshire’s governor stood by Gov. Coolidge for five hours during a parade when the rainbow division came home after the war and Coolidge spoke to him just once in the five hours! At a White House weekend when the Whites and a few intimate friends were present, the President was almost dumb except one night when sitting next to Mrs. White he talked at length quietly to her. It was after his boy had died—the White’s had lost a girl of twelve!

General Edwards under criticism for some war statement met Gov. Coolidge. “Hello, Chatterbox,” ventured the general. “Well, General, I notice what I don’t say gets me in less trouble than what you do say.” “His habit of silent cerebral cogitation make him conspicuous sometimes but never notorious,” so comments the author.

“While I have differed with my subordinates, I have always supported loyally my superiors” . . . “Stated cynically and therefore not entirely truthfully, this means that Calvin Coolidge always knew on which side his bread was buttered.”

There is a lot of gossip here picked up as only a newspaper man can pick. And then deleted and appraised as a good biographer should and as only William Allen White can.

Mr. White has a knowledge of economics, of war-time history, of politics and of American life and middle-class psychology that admirably fit him for his task (at times it seems like his labor of love). He is critical and appreciative; he preached little but hits hard. He reveals an era and a dynasty, now gone forever. We hope his next biography will be on Henry Cabot Lodge. We have a notion he might uncork his vials as he has not in his lives either of Calvin Coolidge or of Woodrow Wilson.