McBlain Memorial Chapel
By Becky Chapin, Archivist
On January 30, 1900, Mrs. Thomas McBlain died in Lakewood, New Jersey. Ella Soverhill McBlain was born to James Madison and Angeline Crawford Soverhill in Geneva in 1840. She married Thomas McBlain in the 1860s, who is listed as working as a lawyer and later in the steam bending and spoke works factory in Geneva. Ella’s father started off apprenticing as a tailor but soon started in the real estate business which led to his accumulating a large fortune.
Glenwood Cemetery, c. 1875, Entrance
As a result, after her death, Ella left a lot of money to various institutions around Geneva. In her will, she left $10,000 for the City Hospital to construct a detached building for the care and treatment of contagious diseases. This was done in 1902 with the Soverhill-McBlain Memorial Building. Ella left another $10,000 for a mortuary chapel in Glenwood Cemetery, $500 to the YMCA, and $5,000 to Charles Mellen who was the family’s financial planner.
The mortuary chapel was on the minds of many in Geneva who had to attend funerals in the cold winter months. Usually, these funerals were held in the vault, constructed in 1874, which were damp and caused many people to catch a cold afterwards.
The Glenwood Cemetery Commission quickly moved to start making plans for a chapel. From March 1900, the Commission was soliciting plans from architects and visiting the cemetery to select a site. It was thought that a place right in front of the vault was a good location for the chapel. In May, three architects had submitted plans including Mr. Bickford of Elmira, WB Camp, and Mr. Potter. The location was approved by Ella’s daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. FM Fast.
Another four years went by with no progress on the chapel. It’s unclear what the hold up with construction was. The president of the common council proposed in March 1904 that the chapel should be downtown where more visitors could see the structure, but he seemed to be alone in this wish.
One of the Tiffany windows in the McBlain Memorial Chapel from the Geneva Daily Times, December 26, 1908.
Three years later, the chapel finally started construction. The architect chosen was Mr. Potter of New York and the contractor was William Frautz, a local mason. While the March 1907 article said the chapel could be ready by wintertime, it was not completed until December 1908. There are no articles in the newspaper that report on the long delay, but on December 26, 1908 the McBlain Memorial Chapel was ready for use.
A fire was to be maintained in the building at all times and there was no charge for use of the building. Additionally, there were no religious restrictions on the chapel so any person could use the chapel. The article published an image of one of eight Louis C Tiffany designed and executed windows installed in the chapel.
A bronze tablet was installed and read “This chapel is erected to the honored memory of James Soverhill and Thomas McBlain, 1908.” The Memorial Chapel was in use well into the late 20th century, but I could not find when it was no longer in use.
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What happened to the windows?
I knew people were going to ask me this question! There is no definitive answer as inside the chapel is boarded up. The DPW may know.
Great information, Becky,
I have often tried to look inside but all dark. I thought the windows were still there but you can’t see through. I have to go and take another look.