Title: Grace Presbyterian Church (Green Bay, Wis.) Records
Inclusive Dates: 1873-1973

Creator:

• Grace Presbyterian Church (Green Bay, Wis.)

Call Number: Green Bay Micro 11; Micro 609

Quantity: 3 reels of microfilm (35mm)

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of Grace Presbyterian Church (before 1907 known as the French Presbyterian Church), including session records and minutes, 1903-1959; Board of Trustees minutes, 1902-1964; Treasurer's record book, 1874-1885; Board of Deaconnesses records, 1927-1929, 1932, 1944-1948; Ladies Aid Society minutes and financial records, 1904-1952; Women's Missionary Society minutes and records, 1921-1935; death registers, 1871-1882; registers of ministers, elders, deacons, trustees, communicants, baptisms, marriages, and deaths, 1873-1968; miscellaneous financial records, circa 1946-circa 1951; and anniversary programs, photographs, and other miscellaneous items. Some of the records are in French.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0609

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Grace Presbyterian Church began as a small gathering of French and Belgian people brought together by the Reverend Henri Morell in the early 1870s. On September 16, 1873, this fellowship organized as the French Presbyterian Church under the leadership of the Reverend Leopold Lavasseur, a Presbyterian clergyman educated in France. In August 1874, the congregation purchased the property of the German Methodist Church in Green Bay and erected an improved building on the site in 1885. The church was located there until 1907 when the property was condemned for construction of the Brown County jail. The site of the present building at Stuart and Monroe Streets was purchased in 1905 but a church building was not immediately erected. The church was incorporated and the name changed to Grace Presbyterian. Also in 1907, services were conducted in French until 1908, when the congregation decided to conduct morning and evening services in English and afternoon services in French.

The first 36 years of Grace Presbyterian Church's existence were unstable. Nine pastors served the congregation during that period, most of whom were of French-Canadian descent from Canada. They were: Lavasseur, 1873-1876; J.B. Muraire, 1876-1882; Eugene LaPorte, 1882-1884; Rene Valette, 1884-1885; Ishmael Brunneau, 1886-1889; William Parent, 1890-1894; G.C. Mousseau, 1894-1902; Pierre Beauchamp, 1903-1906; and J.E. Lods, 1907-1909.

The Rev. Louis Girloux arrived from Canada on December 17, 1909 and found members of the Grace Presbyterian Church attending other churches in Green Bay because the congregation lacked a permanent meeting place. He encouraged the members to reunite, holding services in the upper schoolroom of the Lutheran Church, and on March 10, 1910, a building committee was appointed. A new church was built and dedicated later that year by a congregation of 140 members. A more stable organization for the church was established, governed by a Board of Elders, who supervised the direction of the church, and a Board of Trustees, mainly in charge of financial matters. A Board of Deaconesses was established in 1927 to supervise the Sunday School, visitation, and community work. The church enjoyed steady growth; and membership reached nearly 500 by 1938. A new sanctuary was added in 1929 and substantial remodeling was undertaken in 1948. Further renovations were made in 1966. Ministers who followed Reverend Girloux were: Howard Talbot, 1914-1917; Edward Raue, 1917-1918; Owen Jones-Robert, 1919-1920; Roland Blue, 1920-1926; Marvin Walters, 1926-1942; De Loyd Huenink, 1943-1959; Bernard Jeffries, 1960-1969; John C. Cole. 1969-1970; and William Osick, 1971- . The church celebrated its 100th anniversary with a week of special events, September 9 to 16, 1973.

The records of the Grace Presbyterian Church are organized in three categories: Church Records and Minutes; Church Registers; and Minutes and Records of Women's Organizations.

Church Records and Minutes constitute approximately one-half of the collection and consist of historical materials, 8 volumes of minutes and records of the church's governing bodies, and miscellaneous financial records. Among the historical materials are programs for the dedication service for the new sanctuary January 5, 1930, and for the 75th and 100th anniversaries of the founding of the church; and photographs of the first ministers, Morell and Lavasseur, 1873. The records of the Session, a board made up of the Elders and the minister, are in three volumes, 1903-1923; 1923-1948; and 1949-1959. These volumes contain minutes of Session meetings pertaining to the operation and direction of the church; some financial records; and occasional minutes of congregational meetings. Volume one includes a copy of the information found in the church register, 1873-1923. The records of the Board of Trustees are in four volumes. The first volume is a record of the treasurer of the Board, 1874-1885, written in French, listing receipts and disbursements. The remaining three volumes, 1902-1917, 1918-1950, 1951-1964, contain minutes from meetings pertaining to church business, the allocation of funds, and other financial records. Minutes from some congregational meetings are included in these volumes. The volume of records from the Board of Deaconesses includes the constitution, March 1927, which outlines the organization and duties of the Board, and an incomplete collection of minutes and annual reports. Miscellaneous financial records, circa 1946-circa 1951, include budgets, bills, insurance records, and related correspondence.

The Church Registers constitute four volumes. The first volume, written in French, is a record of deaths, 1871-1882, including some biographical data. The remaining volumes contain rosters of ministers, elders, deacons, trustees, communicants, baptisms, marriages and deaths. There is some duplication in the church registers because information from old volumes was transcribed when a new volume was started.

Minutes and records from two Women's Organizations compose a third section of the collection. Records of the Ladies Aid Society are in five volumes spanning 1902 to 1952. The minutes and records of the Women's Missionary Society are in two volumes, 1921-1928 and 1928-1935.

Acquisition Information

Loaned for microfilming by the Grace Presbyterian Church via the Rev. William Osick, Green Bay, Wisconsin, March 3, 1976. Accession Number: M76-051

Processing Information

Processed by Margaret Hedstrom and John Fleckner, September 15, 1976.

	Church Records and Minutes
Reel   1	Historical items, 1873-1973
Reel   1	Session Records and Minutes, 1903-1959
	Board of Trustees Records and Minutes
Reel   2	Treasurer's Record Book, 1874-1885
Reel   2	Minutes, 1902-1964
Reel   2	Board of Deaconesses Records, 1927-1929, 1932, 1944-1948
Reel   2	Miscellaneous Financial Records, circa 1946-circa 1951
	Church Registers
Reel   2	Register of Deaths, 1871-1882
Reel   2	General Registers, 1873-1904, 1873-1949, 1873-1968
	Minutes and Records of Women's Organizations
	Ladies Aide Society
Reel   3	Minutes, 1904-1926
Reel   3	Financial Records, 1913-1926
Reel   3	Minutes and Records, 1926-1952
Reel   3	Missionary Society Minutes and Records, 1921-1935