This is a finding aid (or, description) of materials available in the La Crosse Public Library Archives. At this time, none of the materials listed below are accessible over the internet.
Contact the Archives to learn more about using these materials.
Guide to the Christ Episcopal Church (La Crosse, Wisconsin) Records, 1854-1990
MSS 100
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Abstract
- Records of Christ Episcopal Church, one of the oldest organized denominations in the city of La Crosse, Wis., also called Christ Church, 1854-1990, and records of its mission church, St. Peter’s, located on the North Side of La Crosse, 1886-1932. Historical materials include genealogical information on the Mary Edgar Sill (1838-1919) family, originally from Scotland. Other historical materials include newspaper clippings, photographs, and information on the stained glass “Window of the Beatitudes” designed by Charles S. Connick in 1933 and donated by Alice E. Hixon in memory of Frank Pennell Hixon. Congregational records include a parish list, parish registers, registers or logs of church services, vestry minutes, and sacramental records (1887-1951). St. Peter’s Mission, which was located on the North Side of La Crosse, included some Syrian and Greek families. These sacramental records consist of baptisms, 1887-1929; communicants, circa 1893-1896; marriages, 1886-1902; and burials, circa 1887-1932. Financial records include cash books, records of member donations, and miscellaneous materials. Related materials pertain to the Diocese of Eau Claire and consist of annual journals, a written history, and proposed canon revisions.
- Collection Title
- Christ Episcopal Church (La Crosse, Wisconsin) Records
- Date of Materials
- 1854-1990
- Creator
- Christ Episcopal Church (La Crosse, Wis.).
- Creator
- St. Peter's Mission (La Crosse, Wis.).
- Call Number
- MSS 100
- Amount
- 5.3 cubic feet
- Physical Description
- 7 archives boxes, 7 bound volumes, 2 flat boxes
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- La Crosse Public Library Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Christ Episcopal Church (La Crosse, Wisconsin) Records, MSS 100, La Crosse Public Library Archives, La Crosse, WI
Historical Note
The first complete worship services connected to Christ Episcopal Church were held June 23, 1850, on Grandad Bluff on the eastern edge of La Crosse. Services were held in various homes and businesses occasionally thereafter. On February 10, 1857, Christ Episcopal Church was officially organized. Christ Church was the only church in Wisconsin to celebrate communion every week during 1860.
Christ Church’s first house of worship was constructed in 1863 at the corner of 9th and Main streets. This church was home to the first pipe organ in La Crosse and the first vested boys’ choir in Wisconsin. A new church facility on the same premises of the original (111 N. 9th St.) was dedicated September 10, 1899.
The architectural survey describes the structure as being constructed from gray and red sandstone quarried from Grandad Bluff, Romanesque in style with a Venetian Renaissance interior. The church was completed with a gothic cruciform shape with counter balancing buttresses, a 108 foot tower, and has two impressive leaded stained glass windows. A window, depicting a figure of Christ, was designed by the Tiffany Glass Decorating Co. of New York in 1898. This window underwent an extensive restoration process that began in August 2000 and was completed in November 2001.
A second stained glass window, the Window of the Beatitudes, also known as the Hixon window, was designed by Charles S. Connick of Boston. The window was given in memory of Frank Pennell Hixon by his widow, Alice E. Hixon and was dedicated on Oct. 15, 1933.
Vinter Hall, an addition that provided space for church school classes, offices and a nursery, was constructed in 1962. The church was presented with a Heritage Award in 1982 by the La Crosse Area Society for Historic Preservation for its outstanding efforts in historic preservation. In 1985, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Scope and Contents
Historical materials include genealogical information on the Mary Edgar Sill (1838-1919) family, originally from Scotland. Other historical materials include newspaper clippings, photographs, and information on the stained glass “Window of the Beatitudes” designed by Charles S. Connick in 1933 and donated by Alice E. Hixon in memory of Frank Pennell Hixon.
Congregational records include a parish list, parish registers, registers or logs of church services, vestry minutes, and sacramental records (1887-1951).
St. Peter’s Mission, which was located on the North Side of La Crosse, included some Syrian and Greek families. These sacramental records consist of baptisms, 1887-1929; communicants, circa 1893-1896; marriages, 1886-1902; and burials, circa 1887-1932.
Financial records include cash books, records of member donations, and miscellaneous materials. Related materials pertain to the Diocese of Eau Claire and consist of annual journals, a written history, and proposed canon revisions.
Arrangement
Arranged in four series:
Series 1: Historical Materials
Series 2: Official Congregational Records
Series 4: Diocese of Eau Claire
Administrative Information
Publication Information
La Crosse Public Library Archives 2006
800 Main St.La Crosse, Wisconsin, 54601
(608) 789-7136
archives@lacrosselibrary.org
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for patron use.
Acquisitions Information
(Accession nos. 2006.016, 2006.026) Donated by Christ Episcopal Church via Charles H. Miller III, Feb. 2006
Processing Information
Processed by Christine Stolz, 2006
Related Materials
Related Materials
- (Clipping file)
- La Crosse--Churches--Episcopal--Christ Episcopal Church
- (Ephemera file)
- Churches--Episcopal--Christ Episcopal Church
- (MSS 046)
- Christ Episcopal Church (La Crosse, Wisconsin) Records
- (MSS 066)
- Christ Episcopal Church (La Crosse, Wisconsin), Friendship Program Records
- (283.77572 C4615LH)
- A Short History of Christ Church, 1850-1899: The Seventy-Fifth Jubilee of the Building of Christ Church
- (283.77572 C4615L)
- Christ Episcopal Church directories
- (283.77572 C4615LI)
- Index of the First Register of Christ Episcopal Church, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1857-1865
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
- Christ Episcopal Church (La Crosse, Wis.).
- Episcopal Church. Diocese of Eau Claire.
- St. Peter's Mission (La Crosse, Wis.).
Subject(s)
- Church records and registers--Wisconsin--La Crosse
- Greek Americans--Wisconsin--La Crosse--Religion
- Syrian Americans--Wisconsin--La Crosse--Religion
Collection Inventory
(Series 1) Historical Materials |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Altar services book, undated |
1 | 1 | ||
|
Edgar family |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Genealogical collections concerning the Scottish House of Edgar, 1873 |
1 | 2 | ||
|
Letters and genealogy of the Edgar family, 1930 |
1 | 3 | ||
|
Miscellaneous, 1899-1923 |
1 | 4 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Heritage award, 1982-1984 |
1 | 5 | ||
|
History, 1930-1984 |
1 | 6 | ||
|
Newspaper clippings, 1892-19(?) |
1 | 7 | ||
|
Photographs |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Building, undated General notePhotocopies only |
1 | 8 | ||
|
Miscellaneous, 1950s-1960s |
1 | 9 | ||
|
Nativity program, 1952 |
1 | 10 | ||
|
Stained glass windows |
||||
|
Connick, Charles S. |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Adventures in Light and Color illustrations, circa 1937 |
1 | 11 | ||
|
Miscellaneous, 1933-1946 |
1 | 12 | ||
|
Window of the Beatitudes (Hixon Window) |
||||
| Box | ||||
|
Artwork, circa 1930s |
8 | |||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Correspondence, 1932-1941 |
1 | 13 | ||
|
History, 1930s-1980s |
1 | 14 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Other windows, 1979-1982 |
1 | 15 | ||
|
Vinter, Reverend Robert recordings, circa 1957, 1990 12 audio cassette tapes; runtime unknown |
2 | 1 | ||
|
|
||||
(Series 2) Official Congregational Records |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Christian education building, 1962 |
2 | 2 | ||
|
Constitution and bylaws, 1857, 1971-1976 |
2 | 3 | ||
|
Parish list, 1874-1892 |
2 | 4 | ||
| Volume | Volume | |||
|
Parish register, 1854-1922 |
1 | 2 | ||
|
Publications |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Lenten service booklets, 1922-1927 |
2 | 5 | ||
|
Miscellaneous, 1899-1987 |
2 | 6 | ||
|
Newsletters, 1930-1949 |
2 | 7 | ||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Register of church services, 1921-1944 |
3 | 1-2 | ||
|
Sacramental records |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Marriages, 1919-1962 |
3 | 3 | ||
| Volume | ||||
|
Register C, 1877-1895 Scope and ContentsBaptisms (1887 April - 1895 July), Confirmations (1887 May - 1895 April), Marriages (1887 April - 1895 April), Burials (1887 May - 1895 September) |
3 | |||
|
Register C, 1895-1917 Scope and ContentsList of families (1900), Baptisms (1895 December - 1917 November), Confirmations (1896 May - 1917 April), Communicants (circa 1907-1917), Communion statistics (1901-1905), Marriages (1896 January - 1917 December), Burials (1896 January - 1917 December), Index |
4 | |||
|
Register D, 1918-1951 Scope and ContentsIndex, Communicants, Baptisms (1918 January - 1950 November), Confirmations (1918-1951), Burials (1918 January - 1950 December) |
5 | |||
| Volume | ||||
|
St. Peter's Mission register, 1886-1932 Scope and ContentsPhotograph of interior of church, Index, History of church, Communicants (1902-1903), Baptisms (1887 March-1929 October), Confirmations (1887 May - 1906 June), Communicants (1893-1896), Marriages (1886 December - 1902 June), Burials (1887 - 1932 October) |
6 | |||
| Box | Box | |||
|
Scrapbooks, 1922-1949 |
8 | 9 | ||
| Box | Box | Folder | ||
|
Vestry minutes, 1956-1988 |
4 | 5 | 1 | |
|
|
||||
(Series 3) Financial Records |
||||
| Box | Folder | Volume | ||
|
Cash books, 1899-1920 |
5 | 2-3 | 7 | |
| Box | ||||
|
Donations, 1899-1928 |
6 | |||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Member contributions, 1922-1927 |
5 | 4-6 | ||
|
Miscellaneous, 1915-1922 |
7 | 1 | ||
|
Receipt book, 1902-1903 |
7 | 2 | ||
|
|
||||
(Series 4) Diocese of Eau Claire |
||||
| Box | Folder | |||
|
Annual journals, 1944-1957 |
7 | 3 | ||
|
History, 1928-1978 |
7 | 4 | ||
|
Proposed canon revisions, 1984 |
7 | 5 | ||
|
|
||||