CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM Z/tiSiM Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions i the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029457813 HISTORY ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH HEMPSTEAD LONG ISLAND, N. Y. REV. WILLIAM H. MOORE, D.D. NEW YORK E. R DUTTON & COMPANY orphans' press, church charity foundation, brooklyn, n. y. PREFACE. HERODOTUS declares that his object in writing his history was "in order that ■events which have taken place may not vanish from mankind by time." In preparing the work herewith presented to the public the compiler has been influenced ■by a like motive. There are facts relating to the origin and growth of St. George's parish Tvhich, in a Churchman's view, are worthy of "being generally known, and which should be rescued from the oblivion to which they are in- creasingly exposed and which was already en- shrouding some of them. Some of the facts here related may possibly be considered of but little importance, and per- haps none of them will be deemed of much moment to the world. Yet as those who come after us may desire the very information we may nowlightly esteem, so it has been deemed prudent not to omit anything which might 4 Preface. serve to give a true picture of the parish in its several stages of progress, and of the men who were the principal actors in it. Many of the facts here narrated have been gathered only by prolonged and persistent investigation. And this simple history will indicate to those only who have engaged in similar undertakings how much patient research has been necessary to secure and reduce to the form of a consistent narrative the facts which are here presented. My facts have been derived principally from the Parish Records, which, in the early dates, are happily fuller and in a better state of preserva- tion than those of most of the Colonial parishes. The other sources of my information I have commonly noted. I return thanks to those who have obligingly furnished me with accounts of the organization of their several parishes located within the original limits of St. George's Parish; viz., the Rev. Messrs. Samuel W. Sayres, S. Stebbins Stocking, J. C. Middleton, S.T.D., W. P. Brush, and W. M. Geer. But, like every one who seeks information on any subject relating to the antiquities of Long Island, I owe especial thanks to Henry Onderdonk, Jr., of Jamaica, not only for a valuable contribution of facts which he had Preface. 5 gleaned with great industry; but also for words of encouragement to persist in a task the mag- nitude of which, small as it may seem even now to others, was little foreseen at the begin- ning. I have felt the more inclined to heed his encouraging words and do what I could to ac- quaint the public with the history of one of the oldest parishes in the land, from a grateful recollection of the quiet and happiness I have enjoyed as its Rector for nearly a third of a century. W. H. M. St. George's Rectory, Hempstead. Easter Tuesday, 1881. LIST OF RECTORS WITH THE PERIOD AND LENGTH OF THEIR REC- TORSHIPS. Rev. John Thomas From 1704 to. 1724 20 years.- RoBERT Jenney, LL.D. . . " 1726 to 1742 16 years. Samuel Seabury " 1742 to 1764 22 years, Leonard Cutting " 1766101783 17 years. Thomas Lambert Moore " 1785 to 1799 14 years. John Henry Hobart... " i8oo 6 mos. Seth Hart " 1800 to 1829 28 years. R. D. Hall " 1829 to 1834 5 years. W. M. Carmichael, D.D. " 1834 to 1843 9 years.. O. Harriman, Jr " 1844 to 1849 5 years^ Wm. H. Moork, D.D.... " 1849 to CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. 1695-1736. Xegislatiott which prepared the way for inlrodudng the Church- Duke of York's laws first proclaimed at a representative Assembly at Hempstead— Services held by the Rev. William Vesey and the Rev. George Keith — The Rev. John Thomas appointed missionary to Hempstead by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts — His Induction to the Rectorship — Reports of his labors made to the Sodety — His death 9 CHAPTER H. 1726-1742. Kev. Dr. Robert Jenney is appointed Mr, Thomas' successor— Bio- graphy of Dr. Jenney — Account of the Church property and the sources from which it was derived — Reports made Co the Society by Dr. Jermey — Site granted by the Town and a Church built^Cere- monies of its opening by Gov. Cosby — A charter granted to the Parish — Its peculiar features — Remains still the organic law of the Farish, never having been amended or altered — Dartmouth College -case as bearing on its inviolability — Dr. Jenney resigns and removes to Philadelphia — Account of his death — Gifts to the Church by John March 43 CHAPTER HI. 1743-1764. Sev. Samuel Seabury appointed to the Rectorship— Biography — His Induction — J^xtensive field of his ministrations — His successful labors — .Reports made by him to the Venerable Society — Encoun. iters oppositions, and how be met tbem^ — His school — His death. 79 CHAPTER IV. 1766-1784, "Rev. Leonard Cutting becomes Rector — His Biography^Waraing signs of the approaching Revolutionary War — Incidents in the Parish during the war — Predominance of Royalists in the Parish-^ Mr. Cutting vacates the rectorship at tbe close of the war — His sulisequent occupations and death 109 CHAPTER T. 1784-1799. Jlev, Thomas Lambert Moore called to fill the vacancy — Mode of his Induction — Biography — One of the original promoters of the orgam- zation of tbe Church in the United States— Office and duties of Clerk described^Communion Plate, and whence derived — First ordination in New York held at Hempstead — Rev. Mr. Provoost's oppo^tion to Bishop Seabury — Tbe attachment to him of St. ■George's Parish — New Rectory resolved on and built— Sale of a. 8 Contents. portion of the Parsonage farm South, and purchase of Greenfield farm— History of the Church and Parish at Oyster Bay— The first Confirmation in St. George's Parish— Death of the Rev. Mr. Moore — ^Tributes to his memory —Death of the last member of his family. 141 CHAPTER VI. 1799-1829. Rev. John Henry Hobart becomes Rector— His brief stay — Removal to Trinity Church, New York— The Rev. Seth Hart called^His bio- graphy—Christ Church, Manhasset, organized and set off as an -independent parish — A new church built in Hempstead — Rev. Mr. JIart's Sermon at its consecration — His impaired health — Resigna- stion— -Death I9I CHAPTER Vn. 1829-1849. 'Rev. Richard D. Hall becomes Rector — Peculiarities of the call given him — Excitement at 4th of July celebration— An annual meeting of the Parish "postponed" — Accoimt of organization of St. Paul's Church, Glen Cove — first Sunday School in the Parish — Mr. Hall resigns — Rev. William M. Carmichael becomes Rector — Sale of glebe and diversion of funds — Organization and subsequent history of Trinity Church, Rockaway — Lecture Room built for St. George's "Church — Dr. Carmichael resigns — Bishop Coxe's Ballad on St- ■George's Churchyard — Rev. Orlando Harriman, Jr. called to the Rectorship — Grace Church, South Oyster Bay, organized — Rev. ^r. Harriman resigns 224 CHAPTER Vm. 1849- Rectorship of the Rev. William H. Moore, D. D. — Alterations and improvements made in the Church and Rectory — Their Cost — clock purchased — the subscribers to it — Parish Library established — Bequest to it from Thomas W. C. Moore — Report of Committee on inviolability of funds bequeathed for Rector's support — Parish of Trinity Church, Roslyn, organized— Garden City founded — Cathe- dral of the Incarnation — Lines on the- fcurial of Mrs. Elizabeth Nichols 258 Appendix A. Bishop Coxe's Ballad on St. George's Cbiirchyard, 283 Appendix B. List of Wardens and Vestrymen of St. George's Chuich 287 Appendix C. Charter of St. George's Chureh 288 ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, HEMPSTEAD. CHAPTER I. 1695— 1724. ST. GEORGE'S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH in Hempstead owes its establishment. Tinder God, to the venerable Society for the Propaga- tion of the Gospel, and was one of the first fruits of .its organization in England in 1701. But various ■events had prepared the way for this-establishment, and even for the selecting of this place for the mis- sionary operations of the Society. As early as the -closing years of the seventeenth century, steps were taken leading to the introduction of the Church in this town. ' One of these preparatory steps was, that ■on the first of March, 1665, Governor Richard Nich- ■ols gathered in this very town of Hempstead the first xepresentative assembly ever convened in the pro- vince of New York. There were present two repre- sentatives from each town on Long Island, and two ^rom Westchester County. The representatives from Hempstead township were John Hicks and Robert lO S^. George's Church. Jackson. Before this assembly, Governor Nichols laid his own commission from the Duke of York, to whom this province had been granted by his brother, Charles II. He also produced a code of laws by which he was ordered by the Duke to govern the province of New York. This code of laws, commonly called " The Duke's Laws," continued to be the laws of the colony until October, 1683. One article of this code forbade any minister to officiate in the province unless he had satisfied the Governor that he had received ordination from some Protestant ■ bishop or minister within some part of his majesty's dominion. Another provided for the establishment and orderly management of the spiritual and tempo- ral affairs of parishes through eight overseers, the constables and overseers to elect two of their number to be church -wardens, and for the support of a minis- ter by a rate upon the town.* In 1686 Governor Dongan, the fifth governor of the province, was instructed " to take care that God Almighty be devoutly served throughout the govern- ment, the Book of Common Prayer as it is now es- tablished be read every Sunday and Holy Day, and the blessed Sacraments administered according to the rites of the Church of England, and no minis- ter be preferred to any ecclesiastical benefice in the province without a certificate from the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury." These instructions were not immediately enforced, * See Hoffman, Ecclesiastical Laws of New York, pp. 2, 3. Also Bolton, Church in Westchester Co., p. x. Governor Fletcher. \ i and when compliance to them was required, the officers whose duty it was to make the requisition, were, by many, bitterly reproached, and a great outer}' was made as if some unexpected imposition was laid upon them. A hindrance to complying with the instructions arose from the fact that the population of the southern part of the Province was composed principally of Dutch, who were connected with the Church of Hol- land ; or dissenters from the Church of England. But, in New York, and in Queens County especially, there were some adherents to that Church, some of whom were holding office under the government, and were persons of influence. But no measures were taken for several»years alter Gov. Dongan's departure to introduce the Services of the Episcopal Church even in those parts of the Prov- ince of New York where members of the Church were settled. There was a chaplain to the British forces in New York, who held services within the fort. But there was no other Episcopal clergyman in all the Province to maintain the claims of the Church and administer the Word and Sacraments. Of this period, in a com- munication from this county, the writer says : " Before Gov. Fletcher there was no provision made for the maintenance or support of a minister of the Church of England; nor church erected in any part of the Province for the members thereof to worship God in." * • N. V. M.S.S., and Bolton, p. xiii. 12 SA Georgis Church. But a change was now to take place. In 1692 Col. Benjamin Fletcher became Governor of the Province. He was a firm, decided and zealous Churchman; and he felt it to be his duty, as it was- also his privilege, to carry into effect the instructions given by the royal proprietor of the Province to his. predecessor, Gov. Dongan, and to promote the estab- lisment of the Church to which — as well as to the State — he had sworn to be faithful and true. He en- deavored to have the Assembly of the Province make provision for tlie Church. For doing this his motives have been aspersed — ^his character maligned, and he stigmatized as a " bigot," and " a narrow-minded sec- tarist," by Smith, in his History of New York, and by some recent writers. But it is not apparent wherein his offence consisted, and a very favorable contrast to him might be drawn with the deeds,of many whose views were contrary to his. Gov. Fletcher succeeded in his effort with the As- sembly of New York, so far as to get them to pass a Bill in Sept. 1693, providing for "Settling a Minister and raising a maintenance for them in the City of New York and the Counties of Richmond, West- chester and Queens." The Bill provided that ia Queens County there "Should be two Protestant Ministers called and inducted within a year, to offici- ate and have the Care of Souls ; — one to have charge of Jamaica and the adjoining towns and farms ; the other to have charge of Hempstead and the next adja- cent towns and farms." Thus, by the way, it is to be noted, were the boundaries of St. George's Parish de- Governor Fletcher. 13 creerf and defined* as embracing all Queens County east of Jamaica. The third section of the act required that " the freeholders of every City, County and Precinct should annually, on the 2d Tuesday of January, chuse Ten Vestrymen and Two Churchwardens," these, with the Justices, were " to lay a reasonable tax on said respect- ive Cities, &c,, for the maintenance of the Minister and Poor of their respective places." The majority of the Assembly were dissenters ; and the act was so drawn as to prevent its provisions from yielding any especial benefit to the Church of England. In the language of Col. Morris, a member of the Governor's Council, "the Act to settle the Church is very loosly worded — the dissenters claim- ing the benefit qf it as well as we."+ It will be noticed that Ministers were to be called and inducted " by the Justices and Vestries." But the ' Vestries' themselves, in despite of their Churchly title, might be Dissenters, if the freeholders so willed, and sometimes were so. From whence there sprung- up contentions and two Vestries — the one a Civil Vestry, as it was called, and the other Ecclesiastical. The act of 1693 was a disappointment to Gov. Fletcher. Finding that he could obtain no concession from the Assembly in favor of the Church of Eng- land, he determined to send fit persons, as soon as he could find them — even if they were but laymen — ^tO' hold Church servicesin places, contiguous to New York,. • Doc. Hist, 5 3, p. 76 ! " Hecnpstead Parish of 3 towns, Hemp- stead and Oyster ■Bay." \ Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. 3, p. 151. 14 S^. Georges Church. to which the act for the support of a Ministry ap- phed ; and where there were Englishmen who de- sired her offices. "There is a mighty cry and desire," said Rev. G. Keith, in a letter to Dr. Bray, Feb. 24, 170I — "almost in all places where we have travelled, to have Ministers of the Church of England sent to them."* He soon received aid in furtherance of his purpose from an unexpected quarter. The Puritans of Massachusetts, under the lead of Increase Mather, assiduously sought to propagate their ecclesiastical system — that of Independents or Con- gregationalists — and to overthrow other systems. The Episcopal Church came in for a very large share of their opposition. On leaving England for America, a company of emigrants had sent forth an address from on board the Arbella, dated April 7, 1630, in which they said — "We esteem it an honor to call The Church of England, from whence we rise, ' Our Dear Mother ;'t and much more of the same sort But after they were settled in New England this affectionate regard for the Church disappeared and tliey turned to be her enemy. Tliey very actively opposed her. Besides seeking to prevent her obtaining a foothold in Mas- sachusetts, they attempted to weaken her in those Colonies where she was already effectively at work. They made such an attempt in Virginia at an early day. • Prot. Epis. Hist. CoUec. v. I., p. xxiii. t Hutchinson, Hist. Mass., vol. I. Appendix. Governor Fletcher. 15 •* In 1642, in answer to requests from sundry well- disposed people iji Virginia to the ministers of the Province of Massachusetts, three ministers were agreed upon, viz., Mr. Phillips of Watertown, Mr. Thompson of Braintree, and Mr. Miller of Rowley ; which tlie General Court approved of, and ordered that tlie Governer should command [commend ?] them by his letters to the Governor and Council of Virginia, On their return it appears that God had greatly blessed their ministry for tlie time they were there* — which was not long, for tlie rulers of the country did in a sense drive tliem out, having made an order that ail such as would not conform to the discipline of tlie English Church should depart out of the country."* Failing in this direction, the Puritan clerical circle, after a time, directed their attention, it is thought, to New York Province, with tlie benevolent purpose of suppressing the evident tendency to ' prelacy ' which was incited by Gov. Fletcher's countenance and efforts. In 1695, a young man named Vesey, "widiout orders," say= Miller — /. c, not ordained — a layman — " was ofBciating in Hempstead," (" a Description of ye Province and City of N. Y., A. D. 1695, by ye "Rev. John Miller," London, 1696). We do not con- trovert the suggestion that Mr. Vesey was sent here by tlie Massachusetts Puritans ; but we have founo no evidence that he was acting as their agent, ur oven agreed witli their religious views. Nothing is known of the nature or form ol the services he held here. On the strength of a casual mention of Mr. * HisL of OH Bcainlree, &c., W. S. Pattee, M.D., p. 246. i6 Si. George's Church. Vesey in a letter to the Bishop of London, from .anonymous friends of Gov. Hunter, as " a dissenting preacher on Long Island,"* it has been concluded that he officiated as such at Hempstead. We re- frain, under our present lack of definite information, from claiming that Mr. Vesey acted here in behalf ■of the Church of England, and that he was the first ■one to use her services here. But we have abundant reason for claiming that it was greatly owing to him that St. George's Parish came into existence. He, at least, prepared the ground for her foundations to be laid. For to the knowledge he gained while here of the people and the spiritual needs of the place, wc attribute those active efforts he soon after- wards made as an avowed Churchman to establish the Church here, and that affectionate interest in the •welfare of the parish which he manifested for nigh fifty years. If Mr. Vesey did officiate here for a few •months as a representative of the Independents or Congregationalists of New England, he was acting contrary to the traditions of his birth and the princi- ples of his whole after life. It is possible that, from youthful inconsiderateness, he may have discarded the belief in which he was reared. But if he lapsed, the lapse must have been for but a brief period. For when Mr. Vesey officiated in Hempstead, he was but twenty-one years old, having been born in Braintree, Mass.,. in 1674. In 1693 he, graduated at Harvard College, and in less than two years thereafter he was • Doc. Hist. N. Y., Vol. iii. p. Hev. Wffi. Vesey. 17 wliat would now be called a candidate for holy orders in tlie Episcopal Church. Mr. Vesey's father was a Churchman of the siauncliest kind. He evidently had very little respect for the sentiments of tiie " Standing Order" which ruled ill Massachusetts with a heavy ecclesiastical hand, and he did not disguise his sentiments as an adherent to the Church of England. Two extracts from Sam- uel Sewall's Diary make this manifest: " yime 20) 1696. — Wm, Vesey is bound over for plowing on the day of Thanksgiving," p. 428. Mr. Vesey " Claimed to be of the Church of England and objected to being taxed for the support of the Con- gregational minister."' — ^p. 386, note. Such was the stock of which young Vesey came, and here is the explanation of tlie fact tliat when Mr. Vesey, wiiile at Hempstead, received a call, January 26, I694-5, to be the minister of Trinity Church New York, he did not accept it ; the call having been given by tlie civil Vestry, whidi was composed of Dissenters — persons unfriendly to Gov. Fletcher's designs for the Church. But the very next year, January 14, .1695-6, when the call was renewed, the composition of the Vestry having been meanwhile changed, and Churchmen then being in the ascendant and making the call, he expressed his willingness to accept the po- sition, when he should have been duly ordained. It has been more tlian once uncharitably suggested that Mr. Vesey was won over from Independency through promises of favor from Gov. Fletcher. Such a sugges- tion ought not to be made without some shadow o'f evidence tliat there was such a barter, partaking of i8 Si. Georges Church. the sin of simony. Such evidence does not exist. While, on the other hand, the facts of Mr. Vesey's ibirth and education supply a rational and sufiScient motive for his adhesion to the Episcopal Church and his change from Independency, if he had unwittingly •and for a brief time taken to its ways. As bearing upon Mr. Vesey's views at this time, the following quotation will be found to have an important bearing: In an answer of the Church of England in Brain- tree, to a charge laid against them, bearing date 1709, we read, " Mr. Vesey, minister of the Church of New York, when he was a youth, can say that he, with his parents and many more, were communicants of the Church of England, and that in their family at Brain- tree, divine service was daily read, which things to mention would argue great pride and vanity were it not in our own defence." From which it appears that as early as 1689 a little company of Church people held services here. "An address to the Bp. of London, dated April 22, 1704, 'from Braintree,' is signed by William Vesey and John Cleverly, Church Wardens, &c.; — thus showing there was an organized parish here {Braintree) at that early day."* We make one further quotation from this work (p. 430 and note) : " He (Vesey) was one of the first of the young men referred to by President Mather at the ordination of Mr. Wadsworth, of the First Church — ' who had apostatized from New England • Hist, of Old Braintree, &c., W. S. Pattee, M. D., p. 247. -Rev. Wm. Vesey. 19. principles, contrary to the Light of their educa- tion.' *'* This shows what influences had been exerted at Harvard College on young Vesey to seduce him from the Church principles in which he had been reared ; and it shows also that Vesey, in returning to those principles, had disappointed the hopes, and^ perhaps, disconcerted the plans of the governing ministers of the Independents or Congregationalists- of Massachusetts. From this statement of Mr. Vesey's ecclesiastical position prior to and while he was at Hempstead — a point on which some obscurity has hitherto rested — we resume the narrative of his acts when he ceased to be an alien to his father's faith and complied with the admonition — " Hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother." Prov. 1 : 8. After he had given a favorable response to the call of the Churchmen composing the Vestry of Trinity Church, he prepared himself to go abroad for ordination. With this purpose he returned to Boston and put himself under the spiritual guidance and instruction in theology of the Rev. Samuel Myles, the Rector of King's Cliapel. We hear this of him while he was there: "July 26, 1696. — Mr. Vesey preached on Sunday in the Church of England and had many auditors. He was spoken to to preach for Mr. Willard; but ant told this will procure him a discharge."! • Hist, of Old BraiDtiee, &c., W. 5. Pattee, M. D., p. £47. t Sewell's Mary, p. 430. 20 S^ George's Church. The editor of the Diary rightly interprets the last sentence, "While by so doing he might peril his Episcopal standing." We learn from this contemporary with Mr. Vesey that he officiated as a lay- reader under the direc- tion of the Rev. Mr. Myles, in the Episcopal Church,, as an avov/ed Episcopalian, and declined to preach for the Congregationalists or Independents, lest his position might be mistaken. A few months after the incident mentioned by Sewell, Mr. Vesey returned to New York, bearing with him testimonials from the Rev. Mr. Myles of King's Chapel — with whom Mr. Vesey had studied theology — and from the wardens of the church, which were laid before the Vestry of Trinity Church. Whereupon the following action was had by that Vestry : "Nov. 2, 1696. — At a meeting of the Church- wardens and Vestry of Trinity Church, New Yorkr Wee, ye Church-wardens and Vestrymen elected by Virtue of ye Said Act, having read a Certificate under the hands of the Reverend Mr. Samuel Myles, Min- ister of the Church of England in Boston in New England, and Mr. Gyles Dyer and Mr. Benjamin Mountford, Church- wardens of ye Said Church, of the Learning and Education, of the pious, sober and Religeous behaviour and Conversation of Mr. Wil- liam Vesey and of his often being a Communicant in the Receiving ye most holy Sacrament in the said Church, have called the said Mr. William Vesey to officiate, and to have the care of souls in this City of New York. And ye said Mr. William Vesey being sent for, and acquainted with the proceeding of this board, did return them his thanks for their great Rev. Wm. Vesey. 21 Savor, and affection showed him, and did assure ' Ihem that he readily accepted of their call and would with all convenient expedition repair to England and apply himself to the Bishop of London in order to be ordained according to the Liturgy of the Church of England, and would return to his Church •lere by tlie first convenient opportunity." Assisted by the Vestry with funds to the amount ■of ;^90, Mr. Vesey sailed for England in tiie Spring ■ lof 1697. July 8 of tliat year he received the degree ■of M. A, at Oxford. August 3, he was ordained — ■ both Deacon and Priest it is thought — by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Henry Compton, Bishop of London. He returned promptly to New Yorh, and on De- ■cember 24, Gov. Fletcher issued the order for his induction into Trinity Church, which act was per- formed the next day — Christmas — being Saturday. In this Rectorship — the first in Trinity. Church's honored line — Mr. Vesey continued foi <,\ years, •even until his death, in July, 1746. His- whole ■career fulfilled the bright promise of his youth. JMr. Vesey had as his Assistant, in 1715, the- Rev. Mr. Jenney, who in 1722 was transferred to Rye, West- ■chester Co., and thence, in 1728, to Hempstead. Mr. Vesey's widow married Judge- Daniel Hors- manden.* The next person of whom we have any record whose ministrations prepared the way for the estab- lishment of the Episcopal Church in Hempstead, was the Reverend George Keith, who had been ap- pointed by the Venerable Society with the approba- • H, OnderdoDk, Jr. Esq. 22 Si. Georges Church. tion of the Bishop of London, to make a tour of •observation through the colonies and ascertain where the services of the Church could be usefully intro- duced. In his Journals of Travel we find these .entries of his visits to Hempstead : " September 27, 1702, Sunday. — I preached at Hampstead on Long Island, in the afternoon, where was such a multitude of people, that the Church ■could not hold them, so that many stood without at ±he Doors and Windows to hear ; who were generally well affected, and greatly desired that a Church of England Minister should be settled among them; which has been done, for the Reverend Mr. John Thomas, is now their Minister. My text was, Luke 10 : 42." — p. 30. " November 26, Thursday. — I preached at Hamp- ■stead on Long Island, on Acts 26 : 18." " November 29, 1 702. — I preached again at Hamp- ■stead, on Heb. 8 : 10." "November 21, [1703], Sunday. — I preached at Hampstead Church on Long Island, on i Peter 2 : 9, and Lodged that Night at Isaac Smitli's House, four Miles distant from the Church, and there I Baptised .a Young Woman of his Family, and a Boy and a Girl of his relations, and a Neighbour's Child, a Boy. This Isaac Smith had been formerly a QuEiker, and was Scarce then fully come off, but came and heard me Preach, and was well affected, and did kindly -entertain me." — p. 45. Mr. Keith had been a Quaker, and a man of re- nown among them. After his conversion and •ordination he used his rare gifts most effectively to .advance the cause of Christ's holy Church ; and there was great curiosity felt to see him and hear him Rev. Geo. Keith. 2i " preach the faith which once he destroyed."* He was peculiarly effective among the Quakers, who greatly dreaded his addresses, and often violently interrupted tliem. It is to be recollected that the Quakerism of that day, and particularly in this region, was by no- means of a quiet and inoffensive form ; but was of an obtrusive and often abusive and very trenchant char- acter. It openly assaulted those whose views and ceremonies it disUked. It ceaselessly fretted about a ' hireling ministry ; ' denounced liturgical services and the sacraments as ' carnal ordinances,' and denomin- ated responsive worship, in peculiarly elegant language,, as 'geese-gabbling/ The members of ' tlie Society thought themselves bound to bear their ' testimony,' as they termed it, against their neighbors' religious views, and they did this sometimes in such a manner as to interrupt their worship and dissolve the congre- gation. Their contentiousness and annoyance are frequently mentioned by the ministers of this parish for the first fifty years of its existence. The efforts of Vesey and Keitli fostered the desire which a small number of persons in the town had already felt to have the Church services permanently established here ; and both of them exerted their influence to have this wish gratified. What Mr. Vesey had done when'he was in England to be or- dained, may be inferred from the evident gratification with which he wrote, June 9, 1702 : " I have received letters from my good Lord Bp. of London. His worship does now assure us six good men shall be sent to supply the vacant livings in our 24 S^. Georgds Church. Province and also that communion plate, furniture and books shall in a short time be obtained for us. We are presently to see that this promise was kept. And the Rev. Mr. Keith , directly besought the Venerable Society to send a missionary to Hempstead. A few months after he had officiated here, he thus wrote the Secretary of the Society : ''Philadelphia, Apr. 3, 1703.— The main thing of importance I have at present to write to you is to tell you of the extreme desire that people have in several parts where I have travelled to have the Church of England ministers sent to them, particularly in East Jersey, at Amboy ; at Burlington in West Jersey ; also at Oyster Bay in Long Island, and at Hempstead. "^ Dr. Humphreys, in his History of the Venerable Society, says : " Earnest memorials were sent from the inhabitants of New Rochelle, from those of Jamaica and Hempstead towns of Long Island.'' In Nov. 1 702, according to Keith, a meeting of the clergy — seven in number — was held in New York, at which an account of the state of the Church in Penn- sylvania, New Jersey and New York Province was drawn up and a copy sent to the Venerable Society.* Besides these representations of the desire of people in Hempstead to have the services of the Church of England, like memorials were forwarded by Gov- ernors Dudley, Morris and Heathcote.f In answer to these petitions the Venerable Society- selected Hempstead as one of the stations to be im- mediately occupied. Before this decision was known • Keith's Journal, p. 33, Vol. I, Prot. Ep. His. Colls. + Anderson's Church of England in the Colonies, Vol. iii. p. 221 Rev. yohn Thomas. 25 on this side of the Atlantic, the Rev. Mr. Bartow of Westchester wrote to the Secretary of the Society, " May 2\, 1704, — The town of Hempstead upon Long Island have long expected a missioriary from the Society. I hope they will soon be answered."* And Mr. Vesey, in renewedly urging the attention of tlie Society to the spiritual needs of Hempstead, writes in October of the same year — " In Hempstead there is a Church, a house and lands for the minister; the people are generally well affected to the Church of England and long for the arrival of the Rev. Mr. Thomas. "+ Mr. Vesey was tlius aware of the fact that the So- ciety had already fixed upon the Rev. John Thomas as a fit person to be entrusted with this station. Mr. Thomas, thus designated to tlie honorable position of laying the foundation of the Parish and to be its first Rector, was at the time of his appointment, residing in Philadelphia, acting as Assistant to the Rev, Evan Evans, in Christ Church, and the head of its Parish School. ' He was still a Deacon, having been ordain- ed in 1700 by the Bishop of London. On receiving his appointment to Hempstead, he left Philadelphia in April, 1 704, to be ordained presbyter by the Bishop of London, bearing with him letters of commendation to the Bishop of London from Lord Cornbury and the Rev. Messrs. Evans and Keith,:!; as follows: "Burlington, 23 August, 1703. " My Lord : — I trouble your Lordship with these * MSS. N. Y. His. p. 39, and Bolton, p. 32. + Doc. His. N. Y., Vol. iii. p. 115. % Peiin. Hist. Coll. p. 17. 26 S^. George's Church. lines in behalf of the bearer, Mr. Thomas, who is a ve^ sober, ingenious Gentleman. He has served in the: Church at Philadelphia as Lecturer upwards of three years. The minister of that church (one Mr. Evans)^ who is a very sober, pious man, gives Mr. Thomas an excellent character, and so do all the Gentlemen of that Church, where, through the blessing of God upoiL those two Gentlemen's endeavors, there is now a con- gregation of near 500 persons. Mr. Thomas has like- wise set up a school at Philadelphia, where he has taught with very good success. The occasion of his going to England now is in order to be admitted intO' Priests' orders. I hope your Lordship will grant him. his request, and that you would send him to be min- ister either of Jamaica or Hempstead, in Long Island, is the request of, . " My Lord, " Your Lordship's most humble serv't, " CORNBURY." The Rev. Mr. Evans, for himself and Vestry, wrote r "Philadelphia, Aug. 31st, 1703. " May it Please your Lordship : " Mr. John Thomas, the bearer, returning to your Lordship for Priest's orders, we think ourselves in Justice obliged to certifie your Lordship that for the time he remained among us (which was about 3 yrs.), he demeaned himself very soberly and unblameably, and gave the enemies of the Church not the least occasion of cen- suring his actions, but by his discreet and prudent be- haviour carried himself inoffensively towards all peo- ple, and by using more than ordinary industry has beea instrumental of doing very good service to the Church of God in this Province, particularly in this Church of Philadelphia, and Trinity Church, nine miles distant from this city. As also his sedulity and good man- agement of the school, which he has performed to the Rev. John Thomas. 27 satisfaction of all concerned, both children and Parents. " And now, my Lord, considering the good service "he has performed in this Infant church, and his sober ■deportment, suitable to the sacred character he bore, ■we humbly recommened him to your Lordship's im- mediate Favour and Patronage, not doubting but your Lordship, out of'your usual candor and benig- nity, will look upon him with a favourable aspect ; Tvhich, with our hearty Prayers for your Lordship's Temporal and Eternal happiness, is all from "My Lord, Your Lordship's " Most dutiful sons and Servt's, " Evan Evans, " Rector of Philadelphia, et al." The Rev. Mr. Keitli's attestation was : "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2 April, 1703. " My Lord : The present occasion of my writing these few lines, to your Lordship \% to recommend to your favour Mr. John Thomas, the assistant to Mr. Evans here in the ministry, and schoolmaster in the town of Philadelphia. He received the ordination of a Deacon from your Lordship a little before he came intotliis country, and has been here above two years. About a year hereafter he informs me he intends to ■come for London to receive from your Lordship the ■ordination of a Presbyter, that he may be further serviceable to ye Church of Christ either here or else- where, as divine Providence shall order him. " 1 certifie to your Lordship that he is a person of very good repute among al! and a very good charac- ter among the people here, both from those of the Church, and also from others for his good behaviour and his great diligence in attending the school, and his extraordinary pains in preaching in sundry country places who (sic) have no settled minister among them. 28 SL George's Church. which as also the like extraordinary pains of Mr. Evans in his preaching in country places, have had very good effect. " My worthy Lord, I remain " Your most humble servant, " Geo. Keith." The application of Mr. Thomas, thus seconded, was successful, and he returned to this country in October, 1704, and in the following December he came to Hempstead, bearing the following mandate for his induction : "Edward, the most noble Viscount Cornbury, Cap- tain General, Governor of New York in America, Vice- Admiral of the same, &c., &c. " To ALL and singular the Rectors, Vicars, Chap- lains, Curates, Clergymen and ministers whatsoevei and throughout the Province aforesaid wherever estab- lished, and also to the present Church- Wardens of the parochial Church of Hempstead, Greeting : — " Whereas I commit to you jointly and severally our beloved in Christ, John Thomas, Clergyman, presented to the rectory or parochial Church of Hempstead, (now vacant) to be instituted as rector of the same rectory or parochial Church, in and of the same ; and firmly enjoining I command that you col- late and induct, or cause to be inducted, the same John Thomas Clergyman (or his lawful Proctor in his name and for himself,) into the real, actual and corporal possession of the rectorate or parochial Church of Hempstead, of the glebes and all its rights and appurtenances, and that you defend him so in- ducted ; and what you shall have done in the premises you will certify me or some other duly competent judge in this behalf, or he will certify whoever of you Rev, John Thomas. 29 being present may have executed this mandate (when thereunto duly required). " Given under the prerogative seal of said Prov- ince, the 26th day of December, Anno Domini, 1704. " COENBURV. ** Geo. Clarke. Sedy" The Return (or Certificate of Induction.) "We whose names are subscribed, by virtue of tlie above instrument, have inducted the Rev, Mr. Thomas into the real, actual and corporal possession of the rectorship or Church of Hempstead, this 27th day of December, Anno Domini, 1704. William Vesey, Thos. Jones, William Urquhart, Thos. Gildersleeve^ Church Wardens." In the early settlement of the colonies many of the clergymen who came from England were very un- worthy persons, who retained their office simply because they were so distant from tlie sources of ecclesiastical discipline. The organization in 1701 of the Society for Propagating the Gospel effected a benificent change in tliis respect. They used great care in selecting persons as their missionaries, and their endorsement was a passport to confidence not readily given to tliose who had not received it. It is but a just and fitting tribute to the Venerable Society to say that all the missionaries tl.ey sent to Hempstead — five in number — were men of real piety, and faithful in discharging the responsible duties of their sacred office. Mr. Thomas, now duly settled, found ample field for the exercise of all the excellencies which had been attributed to him, and he proved him- 36 Sf. George's Church. self worthy of all the encomiums which had been passed on him. He soon encountered stur- dy opposition. The few persons in the town who- were favorable to the Church had excited pleasant anticipations which Mr. Thomas' experience did not sustain. A large part of the population entertained, strong prejudices against the Church, which were actively exhibited as soon as a positive effort was. made to establish her services among them. Abun- dant testimony of an unfriendly temper, and of the admirable spirit in which Mr. Thomas met and com- bated it, is afforded us in his correspondence with the Venerable Society at this period ; the following ex- tracts from which will be found interesting and in- structive : March i, 1705. — Mr. Thomas thus writes to the Venerable Society: " After much toil and fatigue, I am through God's assistance safely arrived, and have been two months settled at Hempstead, where I met with civil reception from the people. They are gen- erally Independents or Presbyterians, and have hith- erto been supplied, ever since the settlement of tlie town, with a dissenting ministry. " The prejudice and bias of education is the great- est difficulty I labor under. The country is extreme- ly wedded to a dissenting ministry, and were it not for His Excellency my Lord Cornbury's most favora- ble countenance to us, we might expect the severest entertainment here that malice and the rigor of preju- dice could afflict us with. AH we of the clergy need, the influence of His Lordship's most favorable aspect. " Government is our great asylum and bulwark which My Lord exerts to the utmost when the ne- cessities and interests of the Church call for it. His; Rev. John Thomas, 31 countenance, next to the Providence of Heaven, is my chiefest safety, I have scarce a man in the par- ish truly steady and real to the interest and promotion of the Church, any farther than tliey aim at tlie fevor or dread the displeasure of His Lordship. His Lord- ship's extraordinary respect to the clergy has set them above the snarling of the vulgar and secured to them respect and deference from the best of the people. The people of Hempstead are better disposed to peace and civility than they are at Jamaica. This is the face of affairs here according to the best observa- tion I could make in the short time I have lived here. " The gall of bitterness of this Independent kidney is inconceivable — not unlike that of Demetrius and his associates at the conceived downfall of the great Diana of the Ephesians. We have a great work tO' go through, unruly beasts (with Daniel) to encounter,, but we trust that the great God whose cause we stand for will enable us to go on. "The fathers of these people came from New England, and I need not tell you how averse they of that country are to our Church discipline. The people here being generally very poor, and utterly averse to the service of tlie Church of England, The inhabitants transported themselves here from New England, and have been ever since their first settle- ment supplied by a ministry from there. " I have neither pulpit nor any one necessary for the administration of the Holy Eucharist, and only the beat of a drum to call the people togedier. His Excellency Lord Cornbury is a true nursing father to our infancy here ; his countenance and protection is never wanting to us, his being by inclination a true son of the Church moves him zealously to sup- port that wholly. If it had not been for the coun- tenance and support of Lord Cornbury and his Govern- 52 Si. George's C hutch. ment, it would have been impossible to have settled a Church on the Island." 1705, May 26. — "My path here is very thorny; all my steps are narrowly watched ; I am obliged to. walk very singuly. I have brought soirie few of the honestest, best-inclined, to religion, and the soberest to the holy communion, and hope in time (if God enable ine) to have a plentiful harvest among them." 1705, Jufie 27. — "The people here are all stiff Dissenters — not above three Church people in the whole parish — all of them of the rebellious offspring; of '42. Brother Urquhart, of Jamaica, and mySelf belong to one county, and the only English ministers- on the Island. We are the first that brake the ice amongst this sturdy, obstinate people, who endeavor what in them lies to crush us in embryo; but,, blessed be God, by the propitious smiles of heaven and the particular countenance of my Lordship's Government, we keep above water, and, we thank God, have added to our churches." " The inhabitants of this county are generally Inde- pendents, and what are not so are eitlier Quakers or of no professed religion at all. The generality are averse to the discipline of our Holy Mother the Church of England, and enraged to see her ministers- established among them. Their prejudice of educa- tion is our misfortune, our Church their bugbear, and to remove the averseness imbibed with their first principles must be next to a miracle." " I am very pleasantly situated here, upon an even,, delightsome plain, sixteen miles long, richly furnished with beef, mutton, and fowls of all sorts ; the air sharp and severe, and not subject to tliose fulsome fogs so natural to the English climate. The place is sweet and pleasant. I have two distinct churches. Rev. yohn Thomas. 33 fifteen miles asunder, where I preach by turns, but have neither Bible nor Common Prayer book in either, so I am necessitated to carry small ones of my own about with me for to read Divine service. I know of no place upon the main tliat is a truer and more real ■object of the Honorable Society's charity than this " 1 70s, November 9. — " Our parishes here are widely ■extensive (being eighteen miles one way and sixteen the other) and the people much scattered. Besides, two sermons a Sunday make my private visits and familiar conferences with them at their own dwellings fewer than I could wish. However, I embrace all occasions of converse with them, that are consistent with my studies." 1 709. — " Though Hempstead had been settled above sixty years before my coming, and the people had some sort of Dissenting ministers, yet for above fifty-five years the sacrament had never been admin- istered here. The oldest here could not remember to have seen or heard of its being celebrated. I have brought thirty-three to full communion of the Church, though at the first time of administermg I could per- suade but three to receive. Tiie young grow up in ■miserable ignorance, and I can't catechise for want of '.a schoolmaster to teach children to read." Mr, Thomas, by his prudent and zealous efforts, was successful in his ministry to a very large degree, when the hindrances, in his way are considered. This will become apparent from the following extracts from his correspondence : "170S, April 23.— The Church is not only better .attended now than it ever was before, under the Dis- senters, according to their confession, but I have ad- mitted to the communion at one time three, at .another four of the most rigid of the Independents, 34 -S^. Gporges Church. while twelve have just received the holy ordinance of baptism, among whom were several adults." iyo6, April 7. — "I have by God's blessing ad- vanced the number of my communicants from three to twenty-one, all of them rigid Dissenters, influenced against conformity to the Church by the strong bias of deep prejudice, inveteracy, and a contrary educa- tion. I have the prospect of a plentiful harvest among them, having already waded, I hope, through the most formidable difficulties." " I want Common Prayer books and some small tracts of controversy between us and the dissenters. ' Bonnet's Abridgement,' and ' The Faith and Prac- tice of a Church of England Man,'- would do very great service, and help blunt the knees of their bias and prejudice. The people are highly sensible and gratefully accept of the charity of the Honorable Society. The ;^5 worth of books .which you gave me in trust have been distributed to the best advantage." 1 7 10, January 16. — "The Vestry pay Job Be- dell I OS. a year for beating the drum on Sundays and other Church days, and to Daniel Bedell 20s. for sweeping and cleaning the church, taking care of it, and opening and shutting the doors." 1 7 10, December 3. — "Nothing new or very memo- rable since my last. All is well in my parish in gen- eral, and a happy continuance of mutual accord and anfection between me and my parishioners." 171 2. — Mr. Thomas says, "The children of Hemp- stead, for want of letters and education, are as wild, uncultivated and unimproved as the soil was when tlieir forefathers first had it, and requests that Mr. Thomas Gildersleeve be appointed catechist and schoolmaster. The Society grant him ;^lo yearly to teach the poorer children (with several others) reading, writing and to Rev. John Thomas. 35 cast accounts, at under 20s. yearly a head each. The Society also send paper for the use of the school. The Vestry write to the Venerable Society that : ' With- out your bounty our children would have no educa- tion. Our people are poor and settled distantly from one anotlier.'" 1715, Februaiy 17. — " The Church is in a tolerably thriving condition vhow powerfully opposed by its adversaries, dissenters of all denominations !) chiefly throug;h the prayer books sent by the Venerable Society, whose cliarity was well answered in that benefaction, consisting of two dozen prayer books, two dozen • King's Inventions of Man,' two dozen 'Dean of St, Asaph's Faith and Practice of a Church of England Man,' and one 'London Cases Abridged.' " IT^I, February 21. — " Mr. Thomas, within eigh- teen months, has baptized at least one hundred and sixty, many of whom are adults. He in- culcates in the people a sense of the benefit and privileges of tlie sacraments, and finds them in the main convinced of the wholesomeness and necessity of these ordinances." " 1723, April I. — Mr, Thomas writes that he has baptized ninety children and adults, thirty-seven whereof at one time, 18 of whom were adults, upon which occasion (it being performed in a distant pri- vate house) he discoursed at large, ex tempore, upon the subject and great necessity of the sacrament of baptism. " I have all along inculcated into the people here a sense of the benefit and privilege of the sacra- ments, that particulary of the Lord's Supper. The word ' damnation,' so rendered in our English transla- tion, is a mighty bugbear to weak scrupulous con- sciences, which by public preaching and private conferences I have endeavored to explain. 36 S^. George's Church, " My necessary hospitality has all along in a very- great measure amounted to the height of my salary both here and at home, much beyond those more cautious limits consistent with the welfare of my family. I have served my publie view by it, though, to the detriment of my private self Burthening the purses of the new converts to the Church would soon render our ministry of little effect. I find affability and hospitality, next to a conscientious discharge of duty, to be very sinewy, prevailing arguments tO' mollify their innate, inveterate principles. It pro- motes my public designs." There is no record of Mr. Thomas' ofiScial acts, with a partial exception to be noticed presently. The reason for this deficiency is thus deplored and ex- plained by Mr. Thomas in one of his letters. It will be a ceaseless source of regret that he did not get the book for a register which he hoped to have. 1707, April 22. — "I have often laid before my vestry the necessity of a register book in the parish,, but to no purpose. Having no method of raising a fund to defray that and such like public exigencies, since I came here, I have converted the commiinion offerings (the poor here being very few and provided plentifully for by a public tax from the government) to buy some requisite necessaries for the communion table, &c., and out of our late Easter offerings I hope to buy a register book, which I bespoke already j and then I shall take particular care to register all christenings, marriages and burials, according to our instructions from the Venerable Society. I have baptized some scores of infants and adults since my arrival here, and married some dozens of couples, but would never receive a farthing perquisites for them hitherto. It was customary here for the jus- liev. yohn Thoinas. 37 tices to solemnize marriages, wlio are very tenacious of that addition to tlielr offices, and in order to bring marriages to the church I have solemnized all gratis j- first, in order to reconcile them to our way, and then, to take off that grand aspersion so often in their mouths against the Churcli of England's ministers, that they greedily covet the feece and neglect the Jiock. I have received four pieces of eight [$4] for one funeral sermon, the person dying being a bach- elor and ordered it to me in his will ; and 12 shillings, from one married couple, who going out of my parish to be married into the city, Mr. Vesey reserved one- half of his perquisites for me ; and that is all I ac- cepted of since ray coming to this parish. The. people I live among are poor, and from their cradles, prejudiced and disaffected to our constitution, and should I have screwed them up to perquisites I should assuredly have nipped tlie church in the bud. I have been strictly brought up in it, and shall spare no pains to propagate it. I allow my clerk a small salary out of my own annually, and without that I could have none. I have raised a school in the town since my coming, and allow towards it (in con- junction with the inhabitants) £"20 a year. We, are now building a schoolhouse and settling a piece of land upon it, which I have contributed unto. .A good precedent of tliat nature, I presume, is the most moving rhetoric I can use to persuade those whose intellectuals are so mean and earthly that they can- not discern the advantage worth and excellency of education for their children's present and future wel- fare. In vain I preach to them the superstructures of Christianity when they are destitute of the ground- works and fundamentals of religion by education. I have bought catechisms to give away among the children, and hope in some time to have a set of catechumens. While the Honorable Society are 38 6"^. George's Church. pleased to continue to us their allowance; we may- live upon honorable terms, independent of our people, and not subject to either their scorns or contempts. When it is once withdrawn, we must expect to be assuredly miserable and subject to their insolencies." In the book recording the proceedings of the justices and civil vestry acting as overseers of the poor, there is the beginning of a parish record. But Mr. Thomas was not long allowed the space he de- sired. The record of Mr. Thomas is prefaced and authenticated with the following words, written in a bold, masculine hand : " I, John Thomas, E. Coll, Jesu Oxon, was In- ducted Rector of Hamstead on Nassau Island in the Province of New York, the 27th of December in the year 1704, and baptized the persons and children underwritten, since my induction in 1704, to this present 13th of July, 1707. The distinct time of their initiation into the Church by Baptism, I can- not particularly and precisely notice, this Register book being lately bought and delivered into my hands, but all Christenings hereafter, shall, (God will- ing), be duly and precisely Registered." Tben follow the names of 5 adults and 17 infants or children. The first entry is — "Asa Gildereleeve, born March 19, 1685, was baptized in the year 1705, the son of Thomas and Mary Gildersleeve of Ham- stead." Besides these entries in the hand-writing of Mr. Thomas, subsequent entries were made of chil- dt-en, all of'them born after Mr. Thomas' death, and entered probably by a Mr. Peters, as they are of that name, and he was the Clerk or Secretary to the Justices and Civil Vestry. There are no marriages Rev, yohn Thomas. 39 recorded, and the book was soon appropriated by the Soard of Justices and Vestry for their proceedings, exclusively. No register is to be found of the other baptisms and the marriages referred to by Mr. Thomas in his correspondence witli the Venerable Society. The only other paper of the nature of a record of Mr. Thomas' proceedings, of which I am informed, is one which reads thus : " This is to certify whom it may concern, that Richard Cornwell and Miriam Mott, both of Hemp- stead, wei'fi thrice published for Matrimony in tiie Parish of Hempstead, pursuant to tlie Law in that Case provided. "Bymp, John Thomas." "Hempstead, February yc Qi/i, 1712. It will be noticed, that though Mr. Thomas com- monly wrote the name of the Parish, 'Hamstead,' in this paper he wrote it as we do now, ' Hempstead.' The regular register of the parish commences June ^3i 1725, in a book which — as an inscription in it declares — " was given to tlie parish of Hempstead by Theodorus Van Wyck, Esq., Justice of tlie Peace, and inhabitant in tlie said Parish." The book con- tains only baptisms and marriages. Funerals were not recorded until 75 years after tliis register was begun, by tlie Rev. Robert Jenney, and were first made by Rev. J. H. Hobart. The Rev. Mr, Thomas, in his report to the Ven- erable Society in 1722, speaks of his having had pro- longed sickness, and intimates that he accepts it as an admonition that he was approaching the close of his ministry and life. But he was spared to report the 40 Si. Georges Church. next year — ' Since my last, I have baptized above 90 ■children and adult persons, ^ whereof were baptized at one time, 18 of whom were adults.'* Nothing could more effectively testify to ' labours above measure ' and ' Zeal for God,' than such a record as that ! Mr. Thomas wrote to the Secretary of the Society some months later, as follows: 1724, October i. — "Pray, Good Sir, give my humble duty to the Honorable Society, and assure them of my utmost fidelity in my mission as far as lame limbs and a decrepid state of health will permit. My heart is warm and sound, though lodged, God knows, in a crazy, broken carcase. Pray, tell them that like Epaminondas I shall fight upon the stumps for that purest and best of Churches as long as God indulges me with the least ability to do it." After this the name of the Rev. John Thomas dis- appears from the list of the Society's missionaries. It is thought that he died in the same month in which tlie above dispatch was written. It is evident, judging from his works, that Mr. Thomas was an earnest yet pru- dent man, and a zealous and faithful minister for Christ. He encountered prejudice, misrepresentation, and malignity from the beginning to the end of his officiating here ; but he met all obstacles with appar- ently a cheerful and hopeful spirit, and was not dis- mayed because there were many adversaries, and God rev/arded his persistent endeavors with a good measure of success. It is no little encomium which • MSS. Church Docu. N. Y., p. 94. Rw. yohn Thomas. 41 Wood ^ves him when he says,* " Mr. Thomas had to encounter the difficult task of uniting a mixed and discordant population into one society, and of reduc- ing them to order and regularity. He seems to have. been laborious and successful In his effijrts to melio- rate the condition of the town." Mr. Thomas actively participated with the other leading clergy of the Pi'ovince of New York in the measures which were adopted from time to time to- advance the interests of the Church. His name is found associated witli theirs in several documents issued by them. Mr, Thomas' will was made March, 1724, and proved October 28, 1 726, He gives his wife Marga- ret the management of his farm in Harrison's Pur- chase, Westchester County. He leaves a son John [born October 23, 1708,] and two daughters, Mar- garet . and Gloriana. His wife, his brother-in-law Edmund Smith, Captain John Tredwell and John Cornell of Rockaway, are the executors. The wit- nesses are Jeremiali Bedell, Elias Dorfin and William Wiliis. The last is probably the writer of the will, Theie is no stone in St. George's churchyard tO' mark the spot where the sacred dust of Mr. Thomas reposes. One cannot but regret the apparent neglect of the generation whom he had served so faithfully for twenty years, in allowing the remains of their rector and friend to repose in an unmarked grave. Mrs. Thomas suivived her revered husband, but tliere is no record concerning her death. There is- - Silas Wood, First Settlemeni of L. I., p. da. 4-2 S^. George's Church. this pleasing testimonial in the pfoceedings of the Venerable Society: 1727, February 16.-:-" A gratuity of £^^0 is voted by the Venerable Society to the widow of the late Rev. Mr. Thomas, missionary at Hempstead, in con- sideration of his long and faithful services, upwards of twenty years." It is a duty to keep in grateful remembrance the name of the Church's pioneer in Hempstead ; — ^the man to whom belongs the honored title, " The father of St. George's Parish." Mr. and Mrs; Thomas' son, the Hon. John Thomas,. was the first Judge of Westchester County, and a. representative to the General Assembly of the Prov- ince of New York. He married Abigail, daughter of John Sands, a Quaker, of Cow Neck, L. I., died May 2, 1777, and was buried in Trinity churchyard. New York city. The Hon. John and Mrs. Abigail Thomas left two- sons and a daughter. The second son was Major- General Thomas Thomas, an officer in tlie Continen- tal army. He married Catherine Floyd, of Mcistic,. Long Island.* For two years after the death of the Rev. Mr. Thomas the parish v/as unsupplied with a clergyman. * Bolton, His. West Co., Vol. i. p. 254. CHAPTER II. 1726 — 1742 THE vacancy in the Rectorship which was caused by the death of the Rev. Mr. Thomas, in 1724,. was filled in 1726 by the Rev. Robert Jenney, A. M., who was directed by the Propagation Society to re- move to Hempstead from Rye, Westchester Co., where for four years he had officiated as a missionary of the Society — having succeeded the Rev. Christo- pher Bridge, who died at Rye, May 22, 1719, * Mr. Jenney was the son of the venerable Henry Jenney, of Wanney-Town, in the North of Ireland ; who was descended from the Jenneys of Knoddis or Knodding Hall, Suffolk County, England, He was born in the County of Armagh, A. D. 168S, and educated in Dublin, under Dr. Jones. October 13, 1704, he was matriculated as a pensioner at Trinity College, Dublin ; his tutor being Mr. John Wetherby,, a fellow of that College. In 1710 he was admitted to deacons' orders — and to priests' orders the same year. He was soon afterwards appointed to a Chap- laincy in the Royal Navy, in which service he con- tinued until 1714. Resigning his chaplaim;y, he be- • Bolton, His, Church West Co., p. 3i8. 44 '5'^' George's Church. came a missionary of the Venerable Society, and was, by it, appointed assistant to the Rev. Evan Evans, in Christ Church, Philadelphia, and acted also as the schoolmaster in that Parish. Mr. Jenney "Was thus successor, in two instances, to the Rev. John Thomas; first at Philadelphia, and then at Hempstead. From about the year 1 7 17, he was, for a time, chaplain to the forts and royal forces in New York City, and assisted the Rev. Mr. Vesey in Trinity Church. In 1722, he was appointed Mission- ary to the Parish at Rye, where he very effectively- labored until transferred to Hempstead. It may be well before we proceed to relate the events of Mr. Jeniiey's ministry in Hempstead, that a statement should be made respecting the Church- property which he found here, and the sources from, which it had been derived. CHURCH PROPERTY — ITS SOURCES. We have seen that the Rev. Mr. Keith mentions a church and parsonage as being here awaiting the coming of a missionary. The church he thus referred to was the second building erected in Hempstead at public cost, for religious and also secular purposes. The first one was built in 1648 ; was twenty-four feet square, and Thompson says (p. 35), was placed near the present Burley Pond. After nearly twenty- six years use, this gave way, in 1673, to another, built likewise at public cost. At a town meeting,. held April, 1673,* a committee was appointed to see to the construction of the building, to be thirty feet * Town Records. Rev. Robert yenney. 45 long, twenty-two feet wide and twelve feet studs, with a lean-to on each side. And the site was changed to a place in the present churchyard, and a veiy little west of the present St. George's Church. Mr. Jenney, in 1728, stated the dimensions of the building to be forty feet long and twenty-six feel wide. Probably the committee saw fit to depart from the specifications named in the vote. Both of the buildings thus erected by the civil authorities, out of the public funds, were intended to serve the double purpose of affording a place for the business meetings of the town on week days and for religious services on Sundays, and they were so used. Warrants for town meetings directed the free- holders to assemble at the Church. By tax, provis- ion was made from year to year, for a person to take care of the building. It was in this second building that both the Rev. Mr, Thomas officiated, and Rev. Dr. Jenney also, for the first years of his rectorship. The house for the minister was built in 1682, and occupied the same site with the present Rectory. This too, like the church, was built by order of the freeholders from public funds. It was intended to be the domicile of the person who was the minister for the time being, and its use accounted as a part of the means for his support, which the law directed them to provide. The following is the entry on the Town Records concerning this building: " At a town meeting held May 6, 16S2, it was re- solved by a major vote of tlie town to build a house for the Rev. Jeremy Hubard, and when he sese cause to leve it, tlien it is to return to the town agam." 45 Si. George's Church. It was further " ordered that this building be placed on the town lot with three acres of ground, where it is most convenient." Thus the parsonage, like the church and the glebe, ■was the property of the town and not of any religious iBbdy, and the minister resident was a tenant of the town, which did not surrender its title to the property till near half of a century after the Episcopalians entered Hempstead. The parsonage was ^6 feet long, 1 8 feet wide, and lo feet between joints. Not a very imposing structure. It will be observed that the site has been used for a minister's residence for near 200 years. Mr. Hubard — or more coirectly Hobart — who was a Presbyterian, or more likely an Independent, for lack •of support left Hempstead in 1696 and removed to Haddam, Connecticut, and for more than 100 years afterwards — says Thompson, p. 353 — " the Presbyte- rian church has had no settled clergyman." When the Rev. Mr. Thomas came here there was no minister ■of any denomination settled here — both the church and parsonage were without occupant, and the house and glebe had reverted — as per stipulation — to the ■disposal of the town. It was given to the occupancy of Mr. Thomas in 1704, as it had been to Mr. Hobart, and he too was thus but a tenant at will of the town, and both church and parsonage, and probably a glebe 'of more than 100 acres near the South Bay, which in 1682 had been voted by the town to the use of Mr. Hobart,* were held by this tenure until 1735 — when • See Wood, p. 15. Rev. Robert yenney. 47 the title to the church (and parsonage and glebe) was- tran^erred, by a vote- of the town, to St. George's Church, Dr. Jcnney being rector, and the transfer confirmed to it by a charter from George II. It may oe well to state hi some detail the action which was. had in this matter. First, m respect to the action of tlie freeholders. Tlie town records state that a warrant was duly issued for a town meeting to be held April 4, 1734 ^ that the meeting was held, and the following action taken on tlie matter before us ; " On the application of John Tredwell, William Cor- nell, John Cornell, Jacob Smith, Esq., John Searing and Rd. Thorn, Gents., freeholders of the said town, &c., &c. — then and there voted and concluded neniine contra dicentc by all tlie freeholders then and there present, — that the said John Treadwell, Wm. Cornell, &c., &c., — shall and they hereby respectively have liberty granted to them and their respective heirs, assigns &c. &c., — to take up the quantity of half an acre of land at or near the place where the old church now stands — whereon to buitd a church wherein to perform divine service according to the usage of the Church of England, and also for a churchyard or burying place." " Ordered, — Tliat Thomas Gildersleeve and John Mott, Gents., do survey and lay out to the above said persons tiie said J^ acre of land."* The building of a new church to supersede the one- now dilapidated, it appeai-s, had been determined on, and on October nth, 1733, at a meeting of the sub- scribers for building a church the following persons- * Church Record, p, 19. 48 S^. George's Church. were chosen to act with the Rev. Mr. Jenny as man- agers to carry on the said building, viz. Thomas Williams, Col. John Tredwell, Joseph Smith, Major John Cornell, John Serri-ng, William Cornell ) -^ Robert Marvin, Jacob Smith", f ^ ' Robert Sutton, James Pine, James Stringham, Richard Thorne, Benjamin Tredwell. Micah Smith was appointed treasurer, to receive the subscriptions and make payments as they should be ordered. The survey of the half acre was duly reported, and it was then ordered that the church be set at the west end of the old one.* The grant was made, it will be noticed, by the town to individuals, and only of a site for a church. It was doubtless felt that this was an imperfect and insecure form for holding a trust in perpetuity — there being a liability of a lapse through the extinc- tion of successors. The only secure tenure for suc- cession and preservation for all time, would be tlirough a corporation, and this determined the parties inter- ested to take steps for securing an act of incorpora- tion. The second step in these proceedings was as follows : An application was made to the Governor and Coun- cil of the Province of New York for incorpora- tion. In the office of the Sec. of State, Albany,f * It is presumed that the old building was removed, for in 1742, John Dorland, & Co. " are appointed to take care and charge of our old church or town house, to secure it from any further damages, and to prosecute those who have pulled and carried away a greater part of it." t Col. MSS., Vol.. 70, p. 131. Rev. Robert Jenney. 49 under date of June 27, 173 5, js this entry— "Petition of Robert Jenney, &c. —inhabitants of the parish, &c., for incorporation, &c. — ^proceedings of the Council thereon." The petitioners were as follows: Rev. Robert Jenney, Rector. James Albertus, Robert Marvin, George Balden, Jacamiah Mitchell, Gerhardus Clowes, Clerk Joseph Mott, ■ of Vestry, Charles Peters, William Cornell, Sr. & Jr., James Pine, Sr., John Cornell, Jr., John Roe, John Cornell, Micah Smith, Richard Cornell, Jr., Peter Smith, Jr. WiiUam Cornell, Timothy Smith, Thomas Cornell, Jr. Peter Smith, Isaac Germon, Jacob Smith, Thomas Gildersleeve, Joseph Smith, George Gildersleeve, Silas Smith, Daniel Hewlett, Robert Sutton, James Hugins, Richard Thome, Esq., Joseph Langdon, Joseph Thome, Esq., W^lUam Langdon, Thomas Williams. Thomas Lee, The application was successful. A charter of in- corporation was granted, confirming the action of the freeholders, and extending the grant to the par- sonage and glebe and other lands, including those which until recent date were known as " the Parson- age on the South-bay." The terms of this charter will be particularly noticed presently. From the facts thus recited it appears that up to ■ April, 1734, the title to the meeting-house and minis- ster's house and the glebe and other lands resided in so Si. Georges Church. the inhabitants of the town who were freeholders, and that the town ceded their right to the meeting-house and its site to representatives of the Church of England^ and that the sovereign authority of the State confirm- ed their action by making these and other representa- tives of the church — including its Rector — a corpora- tion, and transferring this property and all other which had been devoted by the town to religious purposes, to said corporation, absolutely and forever. And it further appears that at the time said grant was made to the corporation of St. George's Church,, there was no other religious body in the town having an organization with a succession of officers, and that,, therefore, no inchoate reserved or other rights of any- party or body were invaded by said grant. To all the action we have described there were no opposing voices. The Town Records of April 4, 1734, states expressly that what was ' then and there voted and concluded ' was, ' nemine contradicente ' — ' na one objecting.' Few titles to property in this country rest upon such a stable double foundation as the property of this parish. And if there had been any defect in the grants to us so made and confirmed, that defect would have been cured by this provision in the 36th article of the Constitution of the State of New York, adopted in 1777: "Nothing in this Constitution contained shall be construed to affect any grants of land within this State made by the authority of the King of Great Britain or his predecessors, or to annul any charters Rev. Robert yenney. 51 to bodies politic, by him or them, or any of them, made prior to the 14th of October, 177S'"''' Concerning this clause, Judge Redfield of Vermont says : " It is manifest that all royal Charters incorpo- rating Churches, and all the francL-^ises and powers they confer, are recognized and in full validity at this hour, excepting such provisions in tliem as may de- clare or involve the exercise witliin tlie State of an authority by a foreign prince or poteiitate."t As we have mentioned that a Charter was granted by royal authority to St George's, Hempstead, it may be well to state that Dr. Jenney was made sensible of the great value of that instrument, both for rector and parish, when he became rector of Christ Church, Phil- adelphia, which had not been endowed with one. In his correspondence with the Venerable Society, under date of 1 749, he gives tliis expression to his con- sciousness of the disadvantages that his parish labored under from being deprived of one ; and to which he was, doubtless, made more alive by his experience of tlie benefits he had found at Hempstead from the one it possesses : " Our Church labors under very great discourage- ment, as we have no legal establishment (as they have at New York), not so much as a Charter of Incorpo- ration to enable us to manage our Business to tlie best advantage, "f * "So the 14th Section of the Act of Apnl, 1784, Chap. iS, re- newed in iith Sec. of the General Act of April 5, 1813, recognizes the legality of religious corporations created under the great deal of the Co\aay."— Hoffman Eccles. Laws N. Yp rj. + See Hoffman's Eccles. Laws N. Y„ p. 4o, 43. i Docit. Church. Hist. Fenn., p. z6a. 52 Si. Georges Church. From the statement we have thus made respecting the title of St. George's Parish to its land and build- ings, we now turn to a narrative of the events in the parish under its second rector, Dr. Robert Jenney — a most worthy successor to the excellent Thomas, who laid the foundations on which his successors have builded. The following extracts from Dr. Jenney's corres- pondence will be found to afford an interesting and instructive view of the condition of the parish under his ministrations, and prove that he here exhibited that wise and persevering spirit which won for him a distinguished position among the clergy of the Church in his day : • May, 1726. — "I have baptized 11 persons, 2 being adults and i negro infant, and have admitted 6 to the sacrament — one of them a negro who has all along preserved his character unblemished. June 27, 1728: — "Our past winter has been very severe. Mr. Gildersleeve, our schoolmaster, says Hempstead was settled some time before they had any minister or house for Divine service. The first church was very small, much less than the small one we have now. Travelling preachers, sometimes Independents, sometimes Presbyterians (for the most part from New England), did now and then ofKciate, without any cov- enant with the people or settlement by law. In 1680 the tov/n agreed to build a better house by name of a meeting house ; but after it was built there arose a great controversy between the Presbyterians and In- dependents, in which the Presbyterians got the better, and one Denton was covenanted with to be their min ister ; but he soon left, as did several others that were afterwards covenanted with in the same manner, till Rev. Robert yenney. 53 the arrival of Mr. Thomas from the Honorable Society. Him they inducted into the possession of the church, parsonage -house and glebe. The church is not kept in good repair, which occasions thin congregations in cold weather. There is a cloth, said to be presented by Queen Anne, which seems designed for a table in front of the desk, which we are forced to make use of when we receive the sacrament The minister's salary is ^40 from Hempstead and £2,q from Oysterbay, by an agreement among them. I have in possession an old, ruinous house, much out of repair, near the church, with three acres of poor, worn-out land, the pasture of which will not support one horse. There belongs to the parsonage a farm, about five miles distant, of one hundred and seventy-two acres jaf upland and twenty-five of meadow. I have put a poor man upon it, but whether to any advantage to me I can't yet tell. These two have been surveyed by Mr. Samuel Clowes,- of Jamaica, who underwrites his draft that the church has a title to a hundredtii part of the whole township. Besides this there is, about seven miles distant, a small lot of meadow, which I did lease out but got nothing by it. "But I am threatened with an ejectment, first, by the heirs of one Ogden, from whom the purchase was made, in what year I cannot find, for it is not in the records, and the deeds are lost, and all those con- cerned in the purchase are dead ; second, by tlie Pres- byterians; third, by the Quakers, who saj' it belongs to the town.," Concerning the source from whence were derived these 197 acres, referred to by Mr. Jenney, no certain information is preserved. We know only that in the very, early records of the town, the " parsonage meadow " is often spoken of as a distinct piece of 54 Si. George's Church. property from "the parsonage home lot" And Henry Onderdonk, Jr., of Jamaica, has in his "Annals of Hempstead " furnished sundry transcripts from the Town Records, which afford sufficient grounds for a reasonable conclusion respecting the source of the Church's possession of this property. Under the date of March 7, 1666, is this record : " In the 17th year of His Majesty's reign, Charles the Second, by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of tlie Faith — Joseph Jennings hires the Parsonage farm, formerly so called, at ;^7.S per year, to be paid in corn or cattle." It is clear from this entry that land was devoted to the use of the minister of the town, prior to even this early date, and that it was of considerable extent to bring such a rental at that day. December 2$, 1678 — there is also this reference ta a " Parsonage Meadow." — "Agreed, that the one hundred acre lots shall be taken up in turn (as drawn by lot), three days being allowed each to make his choice and mark it. Mr. Seaman and Daniel Bedell are chosen to lay out, forthwith, all the common meadow in the town bounds, except the cow meadow and the Parsonage meadow, &c." — B. 255 — 8. It is reasonable to conclude, that by some such ' allotment,' the land spoken of by Mr. Jenney had been set apart at an early period of the settlement of the town, towards the support of a minister. That a considerable portion of the town was set apart by lot from the earliest period of the town's Rev. Robert jfenney. 55 settlement, we have this testimony in the Town Records, under the date of " February 13, 1706:" " At the first settling of the town, it was settled upon fifty proprietors — (the names are given) — and the land was divided as follows r^home lots, &c. — ■ and twenty-two acre lots, and 150 acres to each pro- prietor, and 50 acres to every inhabitant, as they are named in record : these we do confirm to every man that has a just right to them ; also, all former grants and gifts shall stand, &c." — D. 167. Under this term, " grants and gifts " the " Parsonage Meadow," described in Mr. Jenney's letter as " a farm belonging to the parsonage, about five miles distant, of one hun- dred and seventy-two acres of upland, and twenty- five of meadow," would properly come. The records, of the grants made by the proprietors and their suc- cessors are believed to -have been lost; and Mr. S. Clowes, an intelligent authority, asserted, as we have seen, p. 43, tliat"the church was entitled to 100 parts of ye whole township;" and there is, therefore, no way now of determining who were the grantees. I have referred to tlie matter, not because it is of great impoitance to determine, at this day, the source from which the property was derived, but simply be- cause it is a matter to arouse our curiosity. So far as title IS concerned, it is sufficient to know that the church has evidence of possession undisputed, run- ning back more tlian one hundred and fifty years-. It may not be amiss to add another reference to tlie Town Records under the date of May 30, 1705, where John Searing, Sr., Joim Carle and Thomas Glide rsl::cvi.' were chosen by major vote — at a general 56' Si, George's Church. town meeting — " For to repair the parsonage house and home lot, and fence the parsonage meadow, so that they may be tenantable, at the town's cost and charge, and to repair the Church, and what is needful about them all." — D. i6o. From this it will be seen — in confirmation of what has been said already — that the church was at this date, and when Mr. Thomas had been here several months, owned by the town and not by any religious body. But to continue the extract from Mr. Jenney, which has been interrupted by this statement concerning the Parsonage South, so called : " As to the number of inhabitants at first, I can't meet with any information, from the oldest men here being at a loss in this point. But it is certain it is much greater now, for the whole parish is settled very thick. In 1722 the governor ordered a census. The constable gave in : HEMPSTEAD. OYSTERBAY. WHITES. 475 Men, 472 Women, 532 Boys 1 325 Men, 472 Girls 1 325 Women, NEGRI )ES AND INDIAN SLAVES. 331 Boys 268 Girls 116 Men, 75 Women, 76 Boys 1 41 Men, 51 Girls 1 27 Women, Total, 3,629 in my parish. 17 Boys 26 Girls "At the first coming of Mr. Thomas, I am told, not above five or six adhered to the Church, and they brought their religion from England, where they were born. The rest were Presbyterians or Independents,, and the most Quakers. Our congregation now is very uncertain, being greater or smaller according to the weather. In summer we are generally crowded entirely, especially in the afternoon, and also ia Rev. Robert yenney. 57 ■winter when there is snow enough upon the ground to carry their slays (a very convenient and easy way of travelling at such seasons), but they are but rare at ■other times. Our church is generally full but not ■crowded. Most of the professed members of the ■church live at a distance from it ; the body of the Presbyterians, at least the much greater part, live here in the town spot. The people's manner of liv- ing is scattered up and down, excepting that there are ■a few very small villages, as Hempstead, Jerusalem, Success, Bungy or Westbury, Oysterbay, Bethpage, Norwich and Wheatly. Those who live in the vil- lages are the poorest of the people, the more substan- tial farmers finding it for their interest to live at a ■distance from eacli other. There are but two churches in my parish, one at Hempstead and a very small one at Oysterbay, where our congregation in- creases, but is yet very small. " The Quakers have two meeting houses, one at the Head of Cow Neck, another at Bungy ; but they meet at many places in barns or houses, according to the bigness of their congregation. " In the town spot of Hempstead is but one Pres- byterian meeting house, the only one in the parish ; but they are so poor and few that it is with difficulty that they maintain their minister. We daily expect ie will leave them. " The religions in my parish are a very few Presby- terians in Hempstead, and rather fewer Baptists ; at Oysterbay more of the Church, more than both to- gether of tlie Quakers. But most of all of latitudi- nanans, who run from one congregation to another .and hold to that religion whose preacher pleases them best. " Both the towns of my parish extend across the Island, sixteen miles from nortli to south, froni east to west about twenty miles, from corner to corner near 58 Si. Georges Church. thirty miles. The roads are good in good weather, but yet travelling is very troublesome in the heat of summer and the cold of winter, which are both extreme. For a great part of my parish being a plain of sixteen miles long, without shade *or shelter, the wind and sun have their full strength, and some- times in winter the snow is so deep as to make trav- elling impossible, and so it has been for a great part of this winter. "There is nothing more inconstant than schools here, excepting those from the Honorable Society. The usual custom is for a set of neighbors to engage a schoolmaster for one year. 'Tis seldom they keep the same longer, and often they are without for sev- eral years. The only master that has staid long with his employers is one Thomas Keble, upon a neck of land called Musqueto Cove,* where he behaves very well and does good service. The common rule for payment for the masters is by subscription, ;^20 with diet, or £io without. But Mr. Gildersleeve has five shillings per quarter for each scholar. " The cliurch has no donation ; the minister and schoolmaster no benefactions ; the library is only that from the Venerable Society. " The negroes are so dispersed that it is impossible for me to instruct them, and scarce any of their mas- ters or mistresses will. " There is in the town spot Mr. [Gerardus] Clowes, who about three-quarters of a >ear ago began a school, and spent the Sunday evenings in catechising those negroes which would go to him during the winter ; but in summer he has no time, the evenings being short and the day taken up with the service in the church being twice performed, and then there went but a few to be instructed by him. I have one • Now Glen Cove. Rev. Robert yenney. 59 negro a communicant, and my own were baptized in their infancy, and they (being two) shall be carefully instructed while I have them. " At my first coming here several of the leading men of the town pressed me eariiesdy to represent to the Society the necessity of a successor to IVIr, Gil- dersleeve. Then Mrs. Thomas was among them, who assured me that her husband designed to do so if he had recovered. I enclose a memorial recom- mending Mr. Clowes. He thereupon has wrote me a letter, which is also enclosed. He is the son of a very active friend of the missionaries, Mr. Samuel Clowes, of Jamaica, whose services, especially to the two parishes of Jamaica and Hempstead, are upon record. " 1729. — I preach every Sunday morning, and catechize and read lectures on the catechism every Sunday afternoon. Every third Sunday at Oyster Bay. At both places I have an encouraging number of hearers. " Very naturally, Mr. Jenney was not satisfied with a church building unsuitable for the proper perform- ance of the Church services, — which was used for political meetings, — ' was not kept in good repair,* — and above all was the common property of the town and not of the parish. He, therefore, deter- mined to have a new edifice, if possible ; properly arranged, and which should be used exclusively as a ' house of worship,' and should be built by individual gifts and be the property of the parish. His enter- prise slowly gathered adherents, till at length, in 1733, the matter took formal and effective shape. The Churchmen here asked of the town the gift of the site of the now dilapidated church, and the request 6o Sf, George's Church. was, as we have seen,* readily granted at the town meeting, held April, 1734; and the work was imme- diately begun. The vestry records give an account of the several steps of the proceedings, of which the following is one item : 1734, April 2. — "John Mott and Thomas Gilder- sleeve, by order of the town, set apart half an acre for a new church, west of the old one. The carpen- ter gave the vestry a scantling of the timber. Anthony Yelverton, the head workman on the church, had 4s. 6d. a day and found. He boarded at Richard Bedell's. His apprentices had some 4s., some 2s. per day. Joseph Hall, Sr., worked with the carpenters, at 4s. 3d. a day, and found himself. His sons, Joseph, Benjamin and John, also assisted." The dimensions of the church were 50 feet long, 36 feet wide ; with a tower 14 feet square, and with steeple 100 feet high. The pitch of the ceiling with- in was 23 feet. It was of timber grooved, covered with cedar shingles, rounded butts. The tower faced the west, and through it was the main entrance to the church ; and here was a tablet on which was lettered in gilt — " Keep thy foot when tliou goest to the house of God." — Ecclesiastes 5:1. There was another entrance from the south, in the side of the church, which admitted to a short aisle crossing the main one, coming from the west Oppo- site the south door was the pulpit, standing against the north side of the house, and underneatli this was placed the reading desk and the desk of the clerk. The chancel was at the east end of the church, over which was a large •p-34. ST ^IDl&B S SHaK^Kg HE i^i^ I h I liu LT 3 O VL \ Tj. 1. D M ] \i. K I Rev. Robert fenney. 6l window. These internal arrangements were not un- common witli the churches of that day. It was. ordered that " half the cliurch be seated with com- mendable pews of a convenient breadth. There were eighteen such pews. But in time, other pews took the place of open benches. The pews were let or sold for a limited period, and those who had sub- scribed to the building, were to be allowed the amounts of their subscriptions towards the purchase money of a pew. By action of the vestry, a deed was ordered to be given "the Hon. George Clark,. Esq., Lieut. -Gov. of New York, for pew No. i."" Mr. Clark, at that time, resided at Hyde Park, and had generously aided the church. The site of the chancel of that church, thus built through Mr. Jenney's exertions, is indicated to us by the inscription on the grave-stone of the Rev. Thos. L. Moore, which stands by the edge of the flagging, coming from the west gate — for that inscription reads : " On the 22d of February, 1799, (Then under the altar of the old diurch ;) The remains of the late REV. THS. L. MOORE, were here interred." The site of the church was of half an acre, but the town in April, 1734, " granted half an acre of the undivided lands of the town to be added to the half acre already given, for a churchyard or burying- place." Any representation of the church built under Dr. Jenney, was not known to be in existence until very recently a sketch of it was found, haf^ily preserved 62 Si. George's Church. in a school book belonging to Walter, one of the excellent family of Nichols. The drawing made by him, while but a lad, has rescued the picture of it from oblivion. The church having been finished, it was opened and dedicated with an imposing degree of ceremony. In defect of there being any Bishop in North America to perform the appropriate service,, the offices of Gov. Crosby, the Governor of the Province, were brought into requisition, and he ap- pears to have deemed the occasion worthy of his- personal presence. The incidents connected with the dedication, are thus fully described in Bradford's New York Gazette of that day : "Consecration of St. George's Church. 1735. " On Tuesday, April 22, His Excellency our Governor, with his lady and family, attended by his son-in-law and lady, Secretary Clarke, Chief Justice Delancey, Rev. Mr. Vesey, some of the clergy, and a great many of the principal merchants and gentlemen and ladies of the city of New York, set out for Hemp- stead, to be present at the consecration of the church lately erected there. About six miles west of Jamaica he was met by the troops of horse, who escorted him to Jamaica, where a 'handsome dinner was provided for all the company. In the afternoon he proceeded to Hempstead (escorted as before), where he arrived in the evening, and was entertained in a very handsome manner by the Rev. Robert Jenney, minister of that place. "The next day, being St. George's Day, the regi- ment of militia and troop being drawn up on either side, from Mr. Jenney's house to the church. His Ex- cellency, attended by the most considerable gentle- men of the county, walked to the church, where a %3ii "TT j Groun d Plan o f OU C/iurc/i. I. Co/nmunion Table. 2,3&4. Puipii,Iieae^lnfj and C/etUsDesk. 5. Souih J)oor. t). Tower & West Moor. Rev. Robert Jenney. 63 very excellent sermon was preached on the occasion, before a most crowded audience, by the Rev. Mr. Jen- ney, from Psalm 84 : i, 2 : "How amiable are thy tab- ernacles," &c. " After divine service His Excellency reviewed the regiment of militia and troops standing under arms, and expressed a particular satisfaction on the appear- ance both of the officers and men. His Excellency was afterwards entertained in a splendid manner by Colo- nel Tredwell, commander of the regiment, and in the evening by Colonel Cornwell of Rockaway, in the same manner, "The next day the Governor returned, and arrived in town in good health, pleased with the reception he everywhere met with from all ranks, with the extraor- dinary concourse of people from all parts on the oc- casion, and with the handsome appearance of the militia, botli horse ard foot." — Ne^sj York Gasclle. " A generous collection was made for the church on this occasion. The Governor gave the King's arms, painted and gilded ; Secretary Clarke, a crimson dam- ask set of furniture for the communion-table, pulpit and desk ; and John March a silver basin for baptism. The Rev. Mr. Vesey and his people had already con- tributed about ;^S0." The following is the Rev. Mr. Jenney's account of this event, as reported to the Venerable Society : "Hempstead, 5^/;/)' 30, 1735. — My congregation had grown too big for the house I officiated in, which is also very much gone to decay, and too old and crazy to be repaired and enlarged to any tolerable purpose. So we resolved to build a new one. We now make use of it. When I first set about it I consulted Mr. Com- missary, Vesey, and he proved very serviceable, by contributing largely out of his own purse, and by the interest he has, of a long standing, amongst my •64. St. Georges Church. people, whom he encouraged and spurred on to the business, and by recommending the affairs to his own people, from whom I have about ^50. His Excel- lency Governor Crosby and his lady (under whose influence and encouragement the church flourishes continually) have appeared for us in a public and remarkable manner, so as to influence others. They have done us the honor to name our church St 'George's, and appointed St. George's day for the open- ing of it. There were present at the Divine service His Excellency and lady, with their Excellencies' son- in-law, with his lady, attended by Secretary Clarke, Chief-Justice Delancey, Rev. Commissary Vesey, some of the clergy and a large company of gentlemen and ladies from New York, and some from other parts •of the Province. At the same time a collection was made after the sermon, in which the Governor and lady and the gentlemen and ladies present were re- markably generous. Mr. John March, a gentleman from Jamaica, W. I., now in this Province for the re- covery of his health, gave us a silver bason, to serve for baptism in the place of a font, wliich we are not provided with. His Excellency also has made us a most noble present of His Majesty's Royal charter to make us a corporation, &c. Mr. Secretary Clarke lias generously remitted the fees of his office. Mr. Attorney General Bradley has given his fee and Messrs. John Chambers and Joseph Murray, counsel- lors and attorneys at law of great reputation, have prepared and engrossed the charter gratis. The chancel is railed in. Our pulpit and desk is com- pletely finished, and half the church is pewed. We design to pew the other half The east end window only is as yet glazed, and no plastering done ; but we were in a fair way of completing the whole, when an unhappy accident put a stop for a while to our proceedings. On the 23d of June a thunder clap Rev. Robert yenney. 65 strirck our steeple and did it considerable damage^ but we are now vigorously proceeding to repair it,, and at present the greatest difficulty we apprehend is how to get a bell of such size as to be serviceable to so large a parish. His Excellency and all his com- pany have been pleased to approve our proceedings. They commend the workmanship and think we have done wonders, considering our circumstances and the time we have been about it" Thus was completed the third building for the religious use of the people of Hempstead. The first, built 164S, continued to 1673, 26 years. The second, built 1673, continued to 1 733, 60 years, The third, built 1734, continued to 1821, 87 years. The fourth, built 1833, is the present one. With the effort to build a church distinctively Epis- copal, there was an endeavor to secure a charter of incorporation, to which we have already referred. The petition having been granted, the charter was formally presented to the managers and read to them by Dr. Jenney, July 28, 1735. The following is the record : " Att a meeting of the managers for building a church at Hempstead, the 38th of July, 1733^ present : Mr. Jenney, Rector, Thomas Williams, Coll. Cornell, Richard Thorne, / Benjamin Treadwell, William Cornell, } Esqs. Robert Marvin, John Serring, Jacob Smith, Micah Smith. " His Majesty's Royal Charter for incorporat- ing the Communicants of the Church aforesaid was Read — appointing tlie said Mr, Jenney Rector, CoL 5 66 Si. George's Church. Cornell and Micah Smith, Church Wardens ; William Cornell, Jacob Smith, Richard Thorne, James Pine^ Joseph Smith, Robert Sutton, Robert Marvin, Thomas Williams, John Serring and Benjamin Tread- well, Vestrymen." The charter in full is given in an Appendix. This venerable and valuable instrument is still in our possession, and in a remarkably good state of preservation, considering the hazards and exposures it has been subjected to.* It is engrossed on a sheet and a half of parchment, and has attached to it the Great Seal of the Province of New York^depicted as No 7 in Doc. His. of N. Y., Vol. 4. Charters were granted likewise to other churches in this Province. Two of them were earlier than, ours, viz., that of Trinity Church, New York, in 1697, and St. Andrew's, Staten Island, in 17 13. The others were subsequent, viz., Jamaica, Flushing, and Newtown, 1761 ; St. Peter's, Westchester, 1762 ; Rye, 1764. But ours has features which are peculiar to it ; and Judge Hoffman, in his work on the Ecclesi- astical Laws of the State of New York, (P. 16,) has selected it as a criterion by which to exhibit the va- riations of the other charters. And a noteworthy fact to be mentioned is that this charter, unaltered, is the organic law of the parish to this day. While some, if not all the other charters, have been submitted to the Legislature for alterations of title, or in some other particular, oiurs has never been put within the power of the whims or the malice of that body. And we may well congratu- • See Appendix C, for Copy of the Charter. Rev. Robert yenney. 67 late ourselves on this. Judge Hoffman's judgment * is that the other parishes would have done wisely to have abided in the intrenched position their charters afforded them, and that the inconveniences they sought to have removed were less than those entailed by the interference they were thenteforth liable to from the not always friendly hands of legislators. A char- ter once submitted to a Legislature for alterations, to be enacted, is from that time its creature, and ex- posed to have changes made in it which are neither asked for nor desired. Till so submitted it cannot be altered. It is inviolable. It cannot be amended or in any way infringed upon. This most important point was setded in the well known Dartmouth Col- lege case. Thafcase is entitled " The Trustees of Dartmouth College against Woodward," and is reported 4 Whea- ton, 518, and was this. In December, 1769, George the Third, hy John Wentworth, Governor and Com- mander-in-chief, &c. of the Province of New Hamp- shire, granted a charter to twelve persons, with their successors, incorporating them as Trustees of Dart- mouUi College, to have and to hold all and singular, the privileges, &c., §ic., given and granted unto them, the said Trustees of Dartmouth College, and to their successor forever." For fifty years the college prosecuted its work under tlie Charter, undisturbed. But in 1816, the' Legislature of New Hampshire, of its own motion, amended this charter. Tiie trustees refused to recog- nize the amendments. But the treasurer of the * Ecc. Laws N. Y., p. 309 68 Si. Georges Church, college deferred to the action of the Legislature — kept possession of the book f).f records, the corporate seal, and other property, and refused to obey the old board of trustees. Thereupon the trustees brought an action in behalf of Dartmouth College, in the State Court of New Hampshire, to recover their prop- erty. The State Court upheld the action of the Legislature, and decided against the plaintiffs. From that decision, by writ of error, the case was carried to the Supreme Court of the United States. Daniel Webster argued the case on behalf of the trustees, and WiUiam Wirt for the defendants. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the State Court, and decided that the original charter was a contract ; that the charter was not dissolved by the Revolution ; that under the provision of the Constitution of the United States, that no State should make any law impairing the obligation of a contract, this charter could not be changed : that the act of the State Legislature of New Hampshire, altering the charter witliout the consent of the corporation, was an act impairing the obligation of the charter, and was unconstitutional and void. The questions involved were of such grave importance that opinions were written by Chief- Justice Marshall, and by Justices Washington and Story. Charters of the present day are granted only with the reservation clause — " This act may be amended or repealed at any time." But our charter has no such reservation. Like that of Dartmouth College, the Charter of St. George's has the habendum clause — " To have and to hold all and singular, the prem- Hev. Robert yenney. 69 ises aforesaid, &c. — forever." Thus, as says a legal writer — " here was a corporation endowed with immortality, that could set itself within its corporate limitations, above the State — an imperium in hnperio. For it will be observed that tliere is no limitation made, or authority reserved in the " /labetidmnclaMss." " Mr- Jenney writes (May 5, 1737), that he has re- ceived the box of Common Prayer Books and has distributed them where he thought them most wanted, and received for the Society humble thanlts from every one of the receivers of them. He baptized within the last year thirty-two, viz. : three adults (one a negro man slave) and twenty-nine infants." "iyiZ,March 25. — The year 1737 has offered noth- ing remarkable in his parish. He baptized thirty- five, of whom five were adults and one a young negro slave. He officiates, as usual, two Sundays at Hempstead and the third at Oysterbay. At Hemp- stead he has a large congregation, when weather per- mits, the larger part of his ilock living a great way from the church, many of them twelve or thirteen miles ; but at Oysterbay he meets not with the same encouragement, owing, as he supposes, to the want of a resident missionary among them." Towards the close of this year Mrs, Jenney died, aged 64 years, and was buried in the churchyard ; ope of the first interments after the ground was given to the churcii for a burying- ground. The ia- scription on her tombstone is : "Here lyes the body of Sarah, Wife of Robbrt Jenney, Rector of St. 6eoi^'s Church, Hempstead; who departed this life on Christmas Day, 1738." 70 Si. George's Churcfi. . "1740, Aprt/ 21. — Mr. Jenney writes that he pro- ceeds carefully in his duty, and has a very encourag- ing congregation. He has baptized within the half year twenty persons, of .whom two are adults and ten negro children. He recommends and transmits a petition of the inhabitants of Hempstead, that Mr. Thomas Temple be appointed schoolnlaster there in place of Mr. Gildersleeve, deceased. Mr. Temple is well qualified, and has taught school many years in the neighborhood, with a good character." In 1 74 1, Mr. Jenney visited England. This fact is not directly noted in the Church records, but is incidentally referred to. On Aug. 11, 1741, he is recorded as presiding at a Vestry Meeting. In the next month his absence is thus mentioned : " Att a meeting of the Church Wardens and Vestry (in ye absence of Rector) on Tuesday, the twenty-ninth day of September, Anno Dom. 1741," &c. From which it appears that Mr. Jenney's departure was between August 11, and September 29. The next notice the record gives us of his absence occurs in the following letter, of October 27, 1741, addressed by the Vestry to the Secretary of the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, referring to a letter from Mr. Jenney, " with thanks to them for appointing Mr. Thomas Temple schoolmaster of Hempstead, and recommending our Rector Mr. Jenney to the favour of the Society." " Hempstead, Lon^- Is/and, October 27, 1741. " Revd. Sir : — Wee the Church Wardens and Vestrymen gf St. George's Church in the Parish of ♦ Church Record, p. 32. Rev. Robert Hempstead in Queens County, being lately Informed by a letter from the Reverend Mr. Jenneyour Rector that the Honble. Society have been pleased to appoint Mr, Temple oui- School master in the room of Mr. Gildersleeve, Deceased, Wee embrace this first op- portunity to return our most humble and grateful acknowledgment to tliat Venerable Body for that and all other their favours, and at the same time assure them wee will use our best endeavours to encourage and promote tlieir pious designs toward us. And as our worthy Minister has lately Imbarked for, and we hope will shortly arrive in England, so we humbly crave leave to Recommend him to the Honble. So- ciety as a Gentleman truly worthy the continuance of their favour and countenance, he having hitherto faithfully and conscientiously discharged his Mission to the General Satisfaction and approbation of all his hearers, and has not only preached Sound Doctrine, but also enforced the practice thereof by the example -of a good Life and Conversation, which, witli his hos- pitable and generous Temper, has so endeared him to us all that we desire nothing more than his return, as soon as his affairs and the Honble. Society shall permit; in the mean time care is taken by the Gentle- men of the neighbouring parishes to supply his cure and to Perform Divine Service in their turns, for which we are thankful, and remain with our humble Duty to the Honble. Society. Rev'd Sir, Your most hnmble Serv'ts." This was a gratifying attestation to Mr. Jenney's faithfulness and usefulness. But the Vestry's desire for his continuance among them was not to be grati- fied. In April, 1741, there had died In Philadelphia the Rev. Archibald Cummings, the Rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia, whoalso held the office of Com- 72 S^. George s Church. missioner for the Bishop of London of the churches in Pennsylvania : an office in which the holder acted as a kind of supervisor or archdeacon, and the mouthpiece of the Bishop of London, to whom the care of the churches in North America was confided, as being, in some sort, a part of his diocese. Mr. Jenney desired to be appointed to the church which was rendered vacant by the Rev. Mr. Cummings' death. Earnest efforts were made by some of the members of that church to have the Rev. Richard Peters made its rector, and petitions to this effect were forv/arded to England. Mr. Jenney being in England, and having made a favorable impression upon the authorities there, his application was most effective. The result is declared in the following cor- respondence :* " To the Vestry of Christ Church, Philadelphia. " Gentlemen — I take the opportunity by Captain Wright, to acquaint you that some of your friends and mine, have desired me to go to Philadelphia, in order to settle there as minister of the Church, if your congregation and I can agree upon the matter ; for I think no such thing can be done without a full agree- ment of both parties. To facilitate the affair, I have obtained my Lord of London's license, and a letter from him to you, not by way of appointment, but recommendation, or rather his approbation of it. I am to go over in the Lancaster man of war. Captain Warren, along with the governor of New York, Captain Clinton. We are to sail in May, and hope to arrive in July. If we can bring all things to bear so that I shall remain with you, I do not in the least • Dorr's Hist. Christ Church', pp. Jft-yS. Rev.'Rdbert y^nney. 73 doubt our living agreeably together. It shall be my study to do my part, being resolved to approve my- self in all things your affectionate friend and servant, " Robert Jenney. " London, April 12, 1742." In reply-to this.letter tiie Vestry of Christ Church directed a letter to be sent to New York to meet Mr. Jenney on his arrival in that city, expressing their desire to "receive him as their minister, " Oct.- 20. — The Vestiy again met, when 'the fol- - lowing letters from Mr. Jenney and the Bishop of London were laid before them : "New York, Octobeni, 1742. " Gentlemen : Having arrived yesterday, I re- ceived yourldnd letter of the'Sth of July, signifying ' your 'ready compliance with my Lord of London's license to me to be mihister to your congr'egation ; ' and professing your hope that by our joint endeavors Jrt the discharge of our respective duties and obliga- tions to each other, we may, by the blessing of God, live together in that peaceable harmony which be- comes true members of the Church of England. I thank you heartily for the first, and make no doubt of tlie other, Since I am fully resolved, by the grace of God, if we come together, to do my part toward it, and make no question of the congregation doing theirs. " But whereas I am credibly informed that there are divisions amongst you, and that some oppose my '"Sfcttlemeht there ; afld considering that I - am easy in my parish at Hempstead, and am indulged by my ..superiors in the liberty of choosing in which place to settle,- 1 must beg Ihe favor -to be info'rined how that ^affair stands, and wrth^ whether I may depend on being instated in thesame rights and priviteges Tvhich 74 Si. George's Church. the late Mr. Cummings enjoyed ; without which I cannot think of removing from Hempstead. I send enclosed my Lord of London's letter, and am, " Your most humble servant, " Robert Jenney. " Directed to William Pyewell and John Ross, " Church Wardens of Philadelphia. "Whitehall, March 29, 1742. " Gentlemen — I have waited a good while it* hopes of hearing that the differences among yourselves about a new minister were adjusted, and that you had unanimously agreed in recommending some worthy- person to be licensed by me, or in desiring me to send such an one from hence. It could not be supposed that I should send any person who had no other con- cern in the- plantations, under an uncertainty whether he would be received or not ; but as the bearer, Mr. Jenney, is and has long been a missionary from the Society here, to a cure in the province of New York, and is a person whom I believe to be exceedingly well qualified in all respects to succeed your late worthy minister, Mr. Cummings ; I was willing upon his re- turn from hence to his cure in New York, to grant him a provisional license to your church, on suppo- sition that he would be received there in such a man- ner as might encourage him to quit his present mission and remove to Philadelphia. " I have nothing in view but the peace and welfare of your church, and earnestly recommend it to you all to pursue the same good end. I pray for the divine blessing upon you and your proceedings, and remain^ "Your assured friend, " Edmund (Gibson) London." "For the Gentlemen of the Vestry of Philadelphia."^ "The above having been read, it was Ordered^ that the Wardens forthwith return an answer to Mr» Rev. Robert Jenney. 75 Jenney's letter, and invite him hither, under the same privileges and advantages allowed tlie late reverend Mr. Cummings, and request Mr. Jenney to accept and jtpprove of the Reverend Mr. Enos Ross to be his assistant in this church." " Dr. Jenney promptly accepted this invitation, and at a meeting of the Vestry, Nov. Stli, he produced a Hcense, from the Lord Bishop of London, appointing hun minister of this church," On accepting the charge of Christ Cliurch, Philadel- phia, Mr, Jenney formally resigned St George's, Hempstead. The resignation was accepted, and the following certificate of tiie resignation was entered upon the records of St. George's Churcli : " New York, December -jth, 1742. "These are to Certify whom it may concern, that on Fryday the Twenty-Sixth of November last, I did make a Resignation of the parish of Hempstead to the Church-Wardens and Vestrymen of ye parish and also to those of the Corporation met together at the house of Gerhadus Clowes at Hempstead, whicli Re- signation they accepted off and I do hereby acknow- ledge Confirm and Stand by. Witness my hand, Rob't Jenney." " Witnesses, Will'm Vesev, Rich'd Charlton."* Thus was dissolved that pastoral connection be- tween Dr. Jenney and St George's parish, which had ■existed for seventeen years. In his new sphere, Dr. Jenney continued until his death, in 1762. In that enlarged field of action he was efficient and accept- 76 Si. George's Church. able. He was a vigorous writer ; sometimes, perhaps, inclined to severity of expression in defending his views. His executive ability was considerable. His accurate learning and weight of character gave him wide influence. He took a prominent part in all the efforts which were made in his tjme to extend the ministrations of the Church to destitute places, and to defend the claims of the Church as scriptural and Apostolic in her creeds and usages. We find his name associated with the principal clergy of the coun- try, as appended to sundry documents addressed by them to the civil rulers and ecclesiastical authorities, respecting sundry matters of current interest. At the meeting of the clergy of Pennsylvania, in 1760, met to organize as a permanent body, he was invited to preside ; but the infirmities of age, aggravated by a stroke of palsy,* compelled him to decline the honor. He had as his assistant in Christ Church the Rev. Ja- cob Douch», renowned as the clergyman who acted as chaplain to the first American Congress. The degree of LL.D. was conferred upon Mr. Jenney by the College of Philadelphia, which was afterwards merged in the University of Pennsylvania. The sermon at Dr. Jenney- s funeral was preached by the Rev. Dr. William Smith, Provost of the Col- lege of Philadelphia, and his remains were interred beneath the aisle of Christ Church, immediately in front of the chancel. In Dr. Smith's discourse he says of Dr. Jenney : " He was a man venerable in years, and a striking pattern of Christian resignation under along and severe illness. He was a man of strict *Penn. Ch. Doc, p. 295. Rev. Robert yenney. 77 honesty, one that bated dissimulation and a lie ; ex> emplary in his life and morals, and a most zealous member of our Episcopal Church," This testimony is the more weighty from the fact that Dr. Jenney had opposed some projects of Dr. Smith. The Rev. Dr. Dorr, in his History of Christ Cliurch, gives the following as the inscription — some parts of which are almost obliterated — on Dr. Jenney's tomb- stone.* ROBERT JENNEY, LL.D., ' • CoL S. S Trinitat. Dublin Studit Alumnus, Obiit die V. Mensis Januar. Anno Salut. MDCCLXII. lEl. LXXV. Age Lector, Purse Religionis, honesta veritatis, benevolcDtifisime, Hunc Christiauje Fldei vindicem, Probilatis Cultorem, Benevolentia Studia, Respice, sequere, miitare. Juxta Hoc etkm marmoE, sepulta jacet JoAMHA Elizabetha, priedictl RoBERTi Jenny, conjux, QuK sei tantuminodo dies post mariti scpulturam, OWil, anno eetatis SUK LXIV. Of which the following is a free translation : ROBERT JENNEY, LL.D., An alumnus of Trinity College, Dublin, Died on the sth day of January, A. D. 1762, Aged 75. Attend, Gentle Reader. Should yoa wish an Example of Pare Religion, honest truth,— Regard, — Follow,— Emulate, This Champion of the Christian Faith, this teacher of moral rectitude. In his benevolent zeal Also near this marble lies buried Jane Elisabeth, wife of the before-mentioned Robert Jenney, Who died only six days after the burial of her husband, In the 64lh year nf her age. *Penn Doc Hist., p 274- yS S^. Georges Church. Dr. Jenney left no children by either of his wives. Before we close this sketch of the parish during the Rectorship of Dr. Jenney, we should state that about the -year 1739, the first recorded bequest was made to the parish. The honor of this primacy be- longs to John March, Esq., who, Mr. Jenney has told us in his letter of July 30, 1735, was from Jamai- ca, W. I., who spent his summers in this town for the recovery of his health. He left to the parish the sum of ;£"ioo, which was expended by the Vestry in having the churchyard put in order, the purchase of a bell, and repairing the parsonage. He had pre- viously showed his generous devotion to the church by the gift of the silver alms basin, on the rim of which is this inscription : " The gift of Mr. John March, to St. George's Church, in Hempstead, 1735." We do not know whether any tombstone marks the place of Mr. March's burial ; but by these gifts he secured a memorial more enduring than any marble could be. Many a one who has been connected with the parish since, and had abundant means, would have done a wise thing for their memories if they had followed Mr. March's' example. CHAPTER III. 1742— 1764. THE REV. DR. JENNEY, having received and accepted an invitation in October, 1742, to take the Rectorship of Christ Church, Philadelphia, re- signed St. George's Parish. His resignation termin- ated a connection which had profitably continued for seventeen years. During this time the Parish made large and substantial gains. Nearly all the years of the Rev. Mr. Thomas' rec- torship were employed in diminishing " inveterate prejudices" against the Church, He had so well succeeded, that when Dr. Jenney came upon the ground, tlie Church had got beyond the point of ask- ing mere toleration, and of seeming to continue her work, only by sufferance. Her excellencies had begun to be seen, and her righteous claims to be admitted. And Dr. Jenney had promptly proceeded to have her position established by obtaining from tlve town a gift of the property which it had set apart for religious purposes ; and perpetuated tlie transference by the Charter, which secured to tiie parish a corporate exist- ence 8o Si. George s Church. The Vestry proceeded at once to fill the vacancy thus made, by calling to the Rectorship the Rev» Samuel Seabury, from the Mission at New London, Connecticut, and they addressed the following peti- tion to Lt. Governor Clarke to ratify their call :* " By the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the Parish of Hempstead, in Queens County, within the Colony of New York, in America : " Whereas, the Reverend Doctor Robert Jenney, who had officiated as Minister of the aforesaid parish, nearly for the Term of Seventeen years, has lately voluntarily Resigned and Released unto us (in whom the Calling and presenting a good. Sufficient, PrcrteS- tant Minister, to officiate and have the care of souls in the said Parish of Hempstead, does of Right belong- upon any avoidance) all his Right to the said parish as minister thereof. Wee, thereforcj pursuant to the- powers in us residing, by virtue of an Act of the Gen- eral Assembly of this Colony, entitled. An Act for setling a Ministry, and raising a Maintainance for them in the City of New York, Cbunty of Richmond, Westchester and Queens County,, and one other Act made by the said General Assembly, for the better explaining and more effectual puting in Execution. the aforesaid Act, Do by these Presents Call and Pre- sent the Reverend Mr. Samuel Seabury, Clerk, to be Minister of the said Parisli of Hempstead. And we do humbly pray, that His Honour the Lieutenant Governor of this Colony, or the Commander- in-Chier for the time being, will be pleased to cause the said Mr. Samuel Seabury to be Inducted to the Parish^ Church of the said Parish of Hempstead, with 9II and singular, the Rights, privileges and appurtenances to- the same belonging or in any ways Appertaining^ * Ch. Records, p. 34. Rev. Samuel Seabury. 81 3n Testimony whereof we have hereunto put our "hands and seals at Hempstead aforesaid, this fifth ■day of 'December, in the year of our Lord Christ, Seventeen hundred and forty-two. — John Dorland, Samuel Manone, Church Wardens. Jacob Smith, John Cornel, Jr., Joseph Halstead, Wright Frost, Geoige Weeks, Peter Luister, John Birdsal, Jeremiah Bedell, i the mark of James Pine, Vestrymen."* The Rev. Mr, Seabury, with the approbation of the Venerable Society, accepted the call to Hempstead, and the Lieutenant Governor granted the petition of Ahe Vestry, as the following papers show : " George Clarke, Esq. — His Majesty's Lieutenant 'Governour and Commander in Chief of the Province of New York, and the Territories thereon depending dn America : "To all and singular the Rectors, Vicars, Chaplains >or parish ministers, Curates, clerks and ministers what- ■soever in or through the said Province, or any of you ■Constituted, Inducted or appointed — or to John Dor- lland or Samuel Manoont die present Church War- ■dens of the Parochial Churcli of Hempstead in Queens ■county, and to the members of the Vestry of tlie said Church, Greeting : "Wheieas the said parochial Church of Hemp- stead aforesaid is now become vacant by the resig- nation of the Reverend Doctor Robert Jenney, ;iate Curate or Rector thereof, and the Rever- end Mr, Samuel Seabury having been, at tlie request ■of the Church Wardens and Vestry of the said Rectoiy ■or Parochial Church aforesaid, represented unto me as • The names of some of this Vestry are new. Them is no record of itheil election, and at the next annual meeting, seveml changes in tlie IBoard were made, .■f Probably Marvin. 82 Si. Georges Church. a person they desired to be Inducted and appointed as the Rector or Parish minister for the said Church. — I Therefore Commit unto you the ministers afore- said, or Church Wardens of the said parochial Church, hereb)'- firmly injoyning and Commanding that you Induct or cause to be Legally Inducted the said Sam- uel Seabury into the parisli Church aforesaid, and into all the glebe Lands now or at any time heretofore ap- propriated or set apart for the use of the said Chuixh, and into the actual, Real and Corporeal possession of the same. And him so Inducted you shall Maintain and Defend. — And what you shall do in the premisses you shall Certifye to me or to some other Competent Judge in this Behalf, when you shall be thereunto reasonably required, or any one of you who shall be present at the execution of this Mandate. " Given under my hand, and the prerogative Seal of the said Province, the Seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord one Thousand Seven hundred and forty-two. " George Clarke, By His Hon's Command. " Geo. Jos. Moore, Dep'y SecWy." On the T oth of December this precept of induction was carried into effect by the Rev. Mr. Colgan of Ja- maica, as the following certificate attests.* "This is to Certifye, all whom it may Concern, That on the tenth day of December, in tlie year of our Lord Christ Seventeen hundred and forty -two, at Hempstead in Queens County, upon the Island of Nassau, commonly called Long Island, in the Prov- ince of New York— I Thomas Colgan,- Clerk and Rec- tor of the parish of Jamaica in the said County, by virtue of the within Mandate from the Hon'ble George • Records, p. 37. Rev. Samuel Seabury, 83 Clarke, Esqr., Lieu't. Gouvernour of said Province, did Induct the Rev'd Mr. Samuel Seabury Clerk into the Real, personal and actual possession of the Parish Church of Hempstead aforesaid, of all the Rights, Glebes and Rectory thereunto belonging. In Wit- ness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, the day and date above written, " Thos. Colgan, "Present, Will'm Cornell, Micah Smith, Robert Marvin, Adam Lawrence." With this formality of Induction, Mr. Seabury's in- vestiture with all the privileges and rights of the Rec- torship was not yet complete. There was a further act of "Declaration," as it was termed, which was required, by act of Parliament 14th of Charles II. to be made by a minister within two months after enter- ing into actual possession of a Parish. Mr. Seabury having left some matters unarranged at New London, received permission from Governor Clarke to defer compliance with the requisition until he returned from attending to them ; and on Febru- ary 13th, 1743, he proceeded to fulfill this duty as the following certificate attests: " Wee the Subscribers, Do hereby Certifye That Samuel Seabury, Rector of the Parish of Hempstead, in Queens County, upon the Island of Nassau, com- monly called Long Island, in the Province of New "York, on the thirteenth day of February, 1742, [1743], being the Lord's Day, did Read in his parish church aforesaid — Openly, PubUcly and Solemnly, the Morning and Evening Prayer, appointed to be read by and according to the book, entitled the Book of Common Prayer, &c., att the time thereby appointed, and Did Openly and Publicly before the Congrega- 84 Si. Georges Church. tion then assembled, Declare his unfeigned assent and consent to all and every thing contained and pre- scribed therein, according to this form, viz. : ' I,. Samuel Seabury, do Declare my unfeigned assent and consent to all and every thing Contained and prescribed in and by the Book Intitled the Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacra- ments, and the other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church according to the use of the Church of England,, together with the Psaltre and Psalms of David,, pointed as they are to be Sung or Said in Churches,, and the Form and manner of making, ordaining and consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons ;' and these things we promise to testifie upon our Corporal Oaths, if at any time we shall be duly called there- unto. In witness whereof we have hereto set our hands this thirteenth Day of February, in the year of our Lord, 1742-3. " Benjn. Tredwell, Jacob Smith, MicAH Smith." The translation of Mr. Seabury from New London to Hempstead, was regarded with interest by the friends of the Episcopal Church, and considered as very favorable to her welfare, as will be seen in tlie following extract from the proceedings of the Vener- able Society for 1742-3:* "Mr. Commissary Vesey acquaints, the Society that the Church Wardens and Vestry of Hempstead hath called the Rev. Mr. Sea- bury of New London ; and Mr. S. hath accepted the call on condition that it be approved by the Society, which Mr. Vesey earnestly beseeches them to do, as what will very much contribute to the peace zind * Abstract, p. 45. Rev. Samuel Seabury. 85 edification of the good people of Hempstead. And" upon this recommendation, joined to the humble- petition of the Church Wardens and Vestry of Hemp- stead, and of Mr. Seabury, hath consented, &c," Anderson says * — "Tlie success which attended' Mr, Seabury's labors in New London, led to his ap- pointment to the more important sphere of duty at Hempstead, Long Island, when Dr. Jenney was re- moved thence to Philadelphia, in 1742. The like- success waited upon him tliere ; and at Hempstead, Oyster Bay, and Huntington, congregations increas- ing in numbers and continuing for the most part stead- fast amid the wildest outbrealis of religious entliusi- asm tlien caused by many of Whitfield's foltowerSr bore witness to its enduring character," The Vestry of this parish expressed their gratifica- tion for the appointment of Mr. Seabury by the Ven- erable Society, by the following action •.\ " At a meeting of the Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of St George's Church, in Hemp- stead, at tlie house of Geradus Clowes, of Hempstead, on Friday, the 21st of October, Anno Domini, 1743 : " Agreed — That a letter of thanks be sent the Honorabie Society from this Vestry for their favour in appointing the Rev. Mr. Samuel Seabury to be Missionary to this our Church of St George afore- Said, at which meeting the members present were the Rev. Mr. Seabury, Rector, Coll. Cornell and Justice Micah Smith, Ch. Wardens; Mr. Jacob Smith, Mr. Robert Mervin and Mr. Ridiard Thorn, Vestrymen :" The following letter was sent accordingly : ■ Church of England in the Colomes, V. 3, p. 426- t Records, pp. 39, 40. 86 Si. Georges Church, "Hempstead, Oct. 21, 174J. "RevereKD Sir: — We, the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of St. George's Church, in the parish of Hempstead, beg leave to approach the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Forerign Parts with our most hearty thanks for the repetition of their favour to our Parish. We are the posterity of those who long ago partook of the benefit of your Charity, and we hope the repeated expressions of your Care for us, will be considered as an ObHgation on our parish in general to make a good improve- ment of the Same. And we take this opportunity to assure the Honorable Society that it appears the greatest concern of our present Minister, the Rev. Mr. Seabury, that we may improve in true religion and piety, answerable to your gjreat favour to us. And we hope the Honorable Society will be pleased to accept the tender of our thanks in behalf of the parish for appointing Mr. Seabury our minister, and believe yt we will endeavour by all means to express our reverence to the Honorable Society by our most Kind and obliging treatment of their Missionary. "We are, Revd. Sir, yours, the Venerable Society's, most obedient and most humble servants, &c. "To the Revd. Dr. Bearcroft, Secretary." Having thus related the steps taken in connection with the Rev. Mr, Seabury's assuming the Rector- ship of the parish, we proceed to offer some account of his ancestry and history. The Rev. Samuel Seabury's ancestors were of Por- lake, Devonshire, Eng. It has been affirmed that the ancient form oC the name was Sedborough or Sea- berry. He was born in Groton, — now Ledyard — Conn., in 1706. He was a grandson of Samuel Sea- bury, a noted physician and surgeon of Duxbury, Rev. Safnuei Seabury. 87 Mass. The father of Mr. Seabury was a man of prominence among the Congregationalists of New London, and held the office of a deacon among them. He appears not to have been entirely satisfied with the results of the religious excitement which had been brought about by the teaching of Whitfield and his admirers. It is related that on one occasion he ■arose in his seat in the church, and interrupted the noted Mr. Temiant, who was preaching, saying — " Sir — You are continually crying — ' Come to Christ," — 'Come to Christ,' 'Bring your sins to Christ;' But, sir, you do not tell us how to come or how to bring our sins to Christ You speak as if they were to be put in a basket, and taken somehow to Him. Let us have instruction, as well as exhortation."* The change in his son's Church views did not, ap- parently, alienate the deacon's affecdon. He died aged eighty-six years, Dec. 17, 1759, while on a visit to his son at Hempstead, and his remains were interred in St. George's churchyard. In Mr. Seabury's early manhood he officiated as a licensed preacher to the Congregationalists ; but, says ■Sprague.t was never Congregationally ordained. He married Abigail Mumford, a relative of his Episcopal jieighbor, the Rev. Dr. McSparran. This lady was the mother of Bishop Seabury. She died in 1731. In 1733 Mr, Seabury took as his second wife EUza- beth, daughter 'of Adam Powell, a merchant of New- port, R. I., and a granddaughter of Gabriel Demon. ■She survived lier husband thirty-five years and at- • MSS. of Rev, Dr. Sam. Seabury, p. 6. ^ Zpi-:. PjilpU, p. 149 :88 Si. George's Church. tained a venerable age, dying Feb'. 6, 1799. '^^ '^^^ 87th year. She was buried in St George's church- yard, by the side of her husband. Mr. Seabury's grandmother was Elizabeth Alden — a descendant of John Alden, who is said to have ■been the first man that landed on Plymouth Rock. Mr. Seabury was thus, remarks Dr. Hallam,* the de- scendant of a godly seed, the heir of an hereditary piety. Mr. Seabury's social relations with Dr. McSparran ■doubtless contributed towards the convictions he came to entertain concerning the divine constitution of the ministry and the Church. For Dr. McSparran, who -was Rector of the Episcopal Church at Narragansett i(Tower Hill) R. I., was a man of great mental ability ■and influence. And Mr. Seabury's attention had .already been drawn to these subjects while he was a member of Yale College. For he was a student there at that memorable period, when the Congregational "standing order" were astonished, horrified, and in- tensely angered by the announcement of Dr. Cutler, the President of the College, that he had become an Episcopalian. In the bitter strife and confusion which arose in consequence of tliis avowal, Mr. Seabury found his studies interrupted, and therefore transfer- red himself to Harvard University, where he gradu- ated in 1724. Being convinced of the necessity of Episcopal or- dination to a valid ministry, he determined to seek it. With this purpose, leaving his family, he took passage for England in the spring of 1730.- He carried with •Quoted by Sprague, p. 150. Rev. Samuel Seahury. 89 him the following letter of commendation from the Rev. Dr. Timothy Cutler, of Christ Church, Boston,, to the Secretary of the Venerable Society.* "Boston, 23 March, 1729-30. "Sir — This waits upon the Society, in the hands of one Mr. Seabiiry, a person who, upon true and regular conviction, is come into the bosom of oar ex- cellent Church, and now humbly desires a Mission from the Society in her service. My acquaintance witli him is earlier than my own Mission, and I have had furtlier opportunity of informing myself of him from the Dissenters, among whom he lias preached,, and find everything in favor of his sobriety and good conduct, for which reason he has my ardent wishes- -of success in the afiair, and my intercess'on for him to the Society, with the deepest humility and respect due from "Their and your obedient, &c., &c. "Tim. Cutler." Dr. McSparran also wrote to the Secretary o( the Society, as follows : " Narragansett, May 20, 1730. "Rev. Sir — Mr. Samuel Seabury, at whose hands- you will receive this, was educated at the seminaries of learning here, and did, for some time, preach to the Dissenters, by whom he is well reported of for a virtuous conversation. He has, for some time past, conformed to our Church, and, manifesting a desire of going upon the Society's Mission, I thought it be- came me to encourage a person of his merit by rec- ommending him to the Society's notice. The place „ ^f his birth and most intimate acquaintance is Groton,. in the neighbourhood of New London, which I * His. Coll, Am Col Church, Mas5., p, 256. 9© S^. George's Church. thought proper to observe, in hopes that it might prove an inducement to determine his Mission to that place, &c. &c."* James McSparran." The application for orders was successful, and Mr. Seabury was ordained Deacon, and shortly afterwards, Priest, probably by the Bishop of London. And on the 2 1 St of August, 1730, he appeared before the Venerable Society, and, after due examination and enquiry, was appointed a Missionary to New London, Conn. He remained in England a few months after his ordination. On the 30th of August, 1730, he preached in St. Michael's Church, Cornhill, from I Thess. 5:17: "Pray without ceasing." This ser- mon, still in the possession of his descendants, shows Mr. S. to have been a preacher of great earnestness, directness of address, a devout spirit, and an excellent logician. These traits are manifested perhaps still more forcibly in another sermon, preached by him at this period, in which he maintains with great lucidity in the arrangement and statement of his argument, that the use of a Liturgy and prescribed forms of prayer, are both Scriptural, and best adapted to the spiritual needs of men in public worship. Returning to this country in 1732, Mr. Seabury commenced his labors in New London, as the first minister of St. James' Church, where, for the succeed- ing ten years, he prosecuted the duties of his calling with assiduity, and with an encouraging degree of success. Before leaving New London, he preached a * Ch. Docu. Conn., Hawkes and Perry, p. 142. Rev. Samuel Seabury. 91 sermon which was " Published at the desire of some who heard it" The few productions of Mr. Seabury's pen which have been preserved, make us regret that he had not published more. They show that he was a man of no ordinary mental capacity. He took hold of sub- jects with a firm grasp, and treated them with vigor- ous common sense, and was able to convey the im- pression that he was thoroughly convinced, himself, of those things of which he sought to convince odiers. The materials from which to gain a just compre- hension of him are very scanty. Yet it is evident from even die little we have, that he was a person of superior endowments. It is the misfortune of the Church to have heard so little about him : so little, indeed, that to this day, where the name of Samuel Seabury is mentioned, it is by many persons sup- posed his son, the Bishop, must be meant. In fact, the conspicuous figure of the son, has really cast into the shade the name of his excellent father. Yet those qualities which made the son a man of mark, were inherited from his fatlier. The only idea we have been able to obtain of Mr, Seabury's personal appear- ance was from the recollections of an aged parish-^ ioner* who was born in 1771, seven years after Mr. Seabury's death; and himself died in 1863, aged 92 years. He remembered the description given of Mr. Seabury by his father. " My father described him to me, as, seated on a strong sorrel horse, he made his way to Oyster Bay and Huntington, with his saddle-bags strapped to his saddle. He was strongly , • John Bedel, Esq , late Senior Vi'atden. 9-2 Si. George's Churth built, but not tall, and he had a countenance which was intelligent and kindly, and showed decision and. fifmness. He wore a three-cornered hat, aind small clothes and top boots. He rode well, but sometimes, he could not make the journey in time to have service and return the same day." At the time Mr. Seabury became the minister of Hempstead, the labors and influence of his predeces- sors, Thomas and Jenney, had begun to bring forth increasing good fruits, a recompense to their devoted efforts. Prejudices and enmities had nearly expended themselves. Most of the inveterate opposers of those good men and of Christ's Holy Church had died. A more tolerant and intelligent generation occupied their places ; and the services of the Church were not only accepted, but even sought after in all directions. Mr. Seabury, who evidently possessed a most vig- orous constitution, endeavored to improve every opening ; and the church records show that his min- istrations were extended to all parts of Queen's County east of Jamaica, to Huntington, and also to many places in Westchester and Dutchess Counties. The parsonage, built in 1682, being in a ruinous state, one of the first acts of the Vestry under Mr. Seabury' s ministration was to take proper measures for its repair. The following is the record of the proceedings in the matter : " Whereas the Parsonage house in Hempstead is now very much out of repair, So that if immediate care is not Taken thereof great part of it will be inca- pable of being Inhabited if not in danger of falling Down. We tlicrefore, whose names are here under Jiev. Samuel Seabury. 931 written, Do hereby promise and Oblige ourselves, To pay unto such person or persons as shall be nomin- ated and appointed by the Major part of the Vestry of St. George's Church to receive .the same and to manage the work, the respective sums of money here under mentioned against- our several and respective names, towards the re-buildjng of the said parsonage house, as to the said managers in their Discretion shall be thought fit. In witness wliereof we have hereunto set our hands, the thirteenth Day of March, Anno Domini, 1743. John Cornell 6 Richard Thorn s Rich'd Cornell 2 John Smith 3 John Seeving 2 R'd Cornell fi ] Z. Southward o Benj. Lester i Henry Allen i Ben. Treadwell 5 Benj, Hewlett i Jos. Kissam 2 Charles Peters 2 Mrs. Allyn, I 1 James Hewlett o 1 Samuel Searing o 1 Micah Smith 2 Tihi'y Smith i Ino.- Mitchell o James Smith o 1 John Cornell i Henry Smith «- Jon. Smith i Daniel Pine 3 Jno. Woiley i S. Pearsall O Dan'i Kissam i Jos. Hewlett o S. Hewlett o Jno, Peters o R'd Townsend o R'd Williams O R. Marvin 2 Cornl. Cornell i Jacob Smith 3 Thos. Lee i Benj. Cornell i Peter Smith, Sr. o J. Sprung O Jos. Smith 3 Adam Mott 2 Benj. Lewis o Wm. Latham o Jos. Valentine i Uriah Mitchell I Phil AHyn i Jno. Townsend o Lefft. Hogewout i 94 •^^- George's Church. " At a meeting of the Rector, one of the Church Wardens and Vestry of St. George's Church in Hempstead, at the house of G(eradus) Clowes, on Tuesday, 29 May,^ 1 744 : " Agreed, To proceed in building the parsonage house, in hempstead, this present year. " Agreed, That the Rev. Mr. Samuel Seabury, the church warden Micah Smith, and Mr. John Borland, be the Managers for the building the parsonage house and be authorized to receive the money subscribed, in a subscription for that purpose. " Dated in Hempstead, the 13th day of March, Anno Domini, 1743." The subscriptions of £66 \os were apparently not ail that were made for the re-building. And it appears that the amounts obtained were not quite suf- ficient to meet the outlay required, for : " At a meeting of the Rector, Chu«ch Wardens and Vestrymen of St. George's Church, in Hempstead, the 25th March, 1746: Present, Mr. Seabury, Rector. Micah Smith ) ^, , „, , Richard Thorne f ^^^"''^'^ Wardens. Joseph Smitli Robert Marvin John Dorland Leffert Haugewout - Vestrymen. " Agreed, That Mr. Richard Thorne (having Dis- bursed and paid off Sundry persons having Demands on Account of Building the parsonage, house in Hempstead, and has also undertaken to Discharge all other Debts which are due on that account), shall be repaid him by the first day of May next, and if there happen to be any unpaid at the time, from thence, Rev. Samuel Seabury. 95 Lawful Interest shall be allowed him until the same be Discharged, and that if any money be paid by him after the said first day of May towards the said par- sonage, the same shall be Remitted to him in manner aforesaid, to be paid in equal proportion by tlie Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen present at the meeting above said."* It is to be supposed that this agreement was com- prehended by the parties to it, though its language is rather ambiguous to us. Immediately after this agreement is the following entry, by another hand : "May 30, 1739. — Then received from the Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen Seven pounds fifteen, in full of the above obligation. " Richard Thoene." " I739i" here is clearly an error in writing, as the undertaking was not begun until 1743. Mr, Seabury made reports regularly to the Vener- able Society, which had appointed him its missionary. But in those forwarded by him during the first two years of his ministrations in Hempstead, we do not find any statements of the condition of the Parish differing from those which had been already given by Dr. Jenney. But the following extracts from his com- munications to the Society will afford an interesting account of Mr. Seabury's experience and labors in the years following. In 1746, he thus wrote: "The people have imbibed Quaker notions, and are loth to come to the sacrament I had two new com- municants, and want copies of the ' Reasonable • Church Recorde, p. 43. 96 SL George s Church. Gommuiticant' I have baptized many adults and a vast many children since my mission at Hempstead, many of whom are grown to years to join in the public worship. It is a genuine work of charity to give them prayer books. I want catechisms with questions, to try whether the catechumens understand the answers." " The sectaries of all sorts (who abound in this parish) and professed infidels exert themselves to the utmost to hinder the growth of the Church ; and the more diligence I use, the more the infidels particular- ly seem to be inflamed, yet the Church manifestly gets ground." The following is the first reference we find to Mr. Seabury's son Samuel — afterward the Bishop of Con- necticut, and who at the time of his father's removcJ to Hempstead was about 14 years old. " September 30, 1 748. — My son is now studying^ physic, and before he be of age to present himself to the Society, I intend he shall spend one or two j^ars at Edinboro' in the study of physic. I wish the Society to give him a place in their books, and grant what Commissary Vesey may recommend in regard to Huntington. He is not yet nineteen. He may be employed at some small allowance, as I presume to hope at Huntington, in reading prayers and ser- mons, and in catechising, to good purpose, before he will be of age for Holy Orders." Enlarged accommodations for an increasing con- gregation being necessary, an additional gallery was ■built in 1753. The following' being the subscribers for the necessary outlay: Rev. Samuel Seabury. 97 Joseph Kissam 3 John Brown 3 James Wood 2 Samuel Seabury 2 Jacob Johnson o Daniel Pine 5 Valentine H. Peters 3 iRichard Ellison I £ s. -David Allgeo 10 Josiah Martin 20 ■Richard Thome 5 Leffert Hagawout 8 Ben^min Hewlett 2 James Smith i 10 -Isaac Golden i John Peters 5 Robert Marvin 5 The number of communicants at this time was seventy-eight In 1748, Mr. Seabury informed the Venerable Society that at Huntington a considerable number of people had conformed and built a church for the .worship of God, according to the liturgy of the Church of England, and that he had frequently offici- ated there. But he could not give them as frequent visits as was desirable for them. That their need might be in a measure supplied, the Churchmen at Huntington, addressed a petition to the Venerable Society that Mr. Samuel Seabury, Jr., might be- ap- pointed as catechist for them — of which the followkig is an -extract : " We are inhabitants of a town, which, till of late, has been under great prejudices against the Church of England, a few excepted ; but by late enthusiastic confusions,* which -mightily prevailed here. Some of us have been awakened to consider the consequences of those principles in which we had been educated, ;,'and-by the assistance of thejRevercnd iMr." ,£eab]iry, -the Society's missionary .at.Hempstead, who has_heea • 'Referring to 'WMtBeld's operations. 98 Si. Georges Church. very ready to visit us on week days, and to perform divine service among us, we have most heartily em- braced the established Church, and think it our duty, for our own improvement in true religion, for the- good of our country, and for the honour of God, to- ioin with our neighbours, conformists, and do all in our power for the promotion of the interests of the established Church ; in our zeal for which, we have built a church, that, in a little time, will be commodi- ous for public use ; but as we are eighteen miles dis- tant from Mr. Seabury, who is the nearest Mission- ary, and he being obliged to attend two churches in his own parish, viz., those of Hempstead and Oyster Bay, we, therefore, most humbly beg the Society to attend to our prayers, which is, that Mr. Samuel Sea- bury, the son of your worthy Missionary, a young gentleman (lately educated and graduated at Yale College) of a good character and excellent hopes, may be appointed the Society's Catechist at this place, and perform divine service among us in a lay- capacity, with some allowance from the Honourable Society for that service. " In testimony of our sincerity, we have to this af- fixed our subscription of such sums of money as each, of us respectively promise and oblige ourselves to pay- to Mr. Samuel Seabury aforesaid, yearly, in hdf yearly payments, for the space of three years, for officiating amongst us ; which subscription, we beg the Honourable Society to believe, will be punctually paid by the Honourable Society's most humble petitioners, the subscribers. "H. Lloyd, Mid others."* Mr. Lloyd started the subscription towards the • Ch. Doc, Conn,, Hawks and Perry, p. 247. Rev. Samuel Seabury. 99 church he mentions by a gift of ;f 145. The sum of £,^ was paid to John Davis for the site. The re- quest for the appointment of Mr. Seabury as catechist was granted, and the sum of ;^iowas ordered by tlie Society. When the Rev. Mr. Seabury began to officiate at -Huntington, a severe attack was made upon him by *i preacher at that place as being an intruder, and as one who was a destroyer of souls and a hinderer of Christ's work. This virulent attack, which was but the manifestation of the evil temper towards the Epis- copal Church which had been excited by Whitfield's preaching, who, although himself a minister of that ■Church, could not recognize the existence of real piety as being possible to iier members, and who re- sembled the Maronites of Asia Minor, who declare that every Maronite will be saved and every one else will be accursed. Mr, Seabury is said to have pub- lished a reply to this assault which was couched ni gentle terms and manifested a forbearing and kindly spirit, well adapted to convince a gainsayer. But "Leviathan is not so tamed." The man of bitter •spirit proposed to Mr. Seabury a public discussion of their different religious systems. To tliis proposition Mr. S. rephed : " I have no leisure for controversy — aior delight in it. My great desire is (so far as God will enable me) to prosecute the commission and command of our Lord as given in Luke 24: 47: " That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations." This is probably but one example of many attacks whicli our early missionaries had to encounter. For too Si. George's Church. we find in Mr. Seabury's correspondence the remark : "The Church in the Province of Nev/ York is truly Militant, being continually attacked on one side or the other ; sometimes by the enemies of Revelation; at other times by the wild enthusiasts ; but in the midst of them, true religion gains ground." The condition of things and the quiet advance of the Church in despite of opposition, is related in the fol- lowing extracts : 1750, October 5. — "Religion prospers, though in- fidels try to weaken it. The new church at Oyster- bay, which has been some years in building, is so far completed as to be convenient for use, and was dedi- cated to the service of God according to the Litur- gj' of England, on the 14th of June last. " The church at Huntington is also rendered very commodious, and a congregation of fifty or sixty persons, and sometimes more, constantly attend Divine service there, who behave very devoutly and perform their part in Divine worship very decently. They had taken from them in the late mortal sickness four of their most substantial members, who bore the principal part of building the church, which has very much weakened their ability, and they have desired me to ask of the Society a folio Bible and Common Prayer Book, for the use of the church." 1752, March 26. — " Religion has gained but little in our bounds the winter past, the Church having been troubled with some disturbers from a pretence that could hardly have been suspected. The increase of our congregation had brought us to a resolution to build galleries in the church, which were accord- ingly erected by subscription, are well-nigh com- pleted, and are commodious to entertain one hundred and fifty people, which some restless spirits, enemies Reiy.- SaMuel SeabUfy. roi' to the Ghurch aiWtl ReVrfafioli in ganei-ai, erivying (as I fear) the Church's prosperity, have made mi occa- sion to raise a party who seem zealous for nothing but contention ; but I hope, by the moderation of those who have the good of the church at heart, that the ill-effects and mischief intended will be obviated." Mr. Seabury, hke every minister of the Church in North America, became increasingly sensible of the evil and anomaly of the Church not being provided with a Bishop, and he felt constrained to address the Bishop of London a letter, in 1753, urging that a Bishop be consecrated for the American Colonies, His arguments were like those used by Caner and Chandler and hosts of others ; and as little effectual. The Church was hindered by politicians. And these cared not if tliree out of every ten candidates for or- dination who sailed for England either died of small pox contracted in England or by shipwreck. In answer to a request from persons in Dutchess County, he visited it ; and findmg the people were attentive to hear, and that they were eager for the services of the Church, he repeated his visits, and after a time, by the direction of tlie Venerable Soci- ety,* foi-mally took them undfer his' pastoral care ; although one might think he was already well bur- dened. Among the places m whi'cii official acts ai'e recorded as having been dbne by him in that county isrentron is made of Poughkeepsie, Fishldil, Phillips- bbroUgh, Nme-Partners, Rumbout, Batertian's Pre- cititf;, and Crom-Elbow. ■ Church Document'!, Connecticut; VoU i. p. 324 102 Si. George's Church. Mr. Seabury frequently refers to the extreme diffi- culty he experienced in convincing the people in his missionary field of the duty of observing the Sacra- ments. They had not been taught to attribute any value to them, but only to preaching, and a verbal declaration of adhesion to Christianity. This repug- nance was mainly owing to the influence of Quaker- ism in this region. In discarding the sign, the inevi- table result was, that soon they also discarded the things signified thereby. And so, as one of the missionaries declares, " In those villages where the Quakers were formerly most numerous, there is now the least appearance of any religion at all."* " 1757, May 31. — ;^i a year for the past year, and 255 a year for next year, is allowed to Newport, the sexton, for sweeping and keeping the church clean^ and for his service on Sundays in ringing the bell. He is to demand 2s for tolling a funeral bell." In 1 76 1 the number of inhabitants of Hempstead was 5,940 ; communicants, 72 ; professors of tlie Church of England, 750. No other place is kept up for public worship, says Mr. S., in his letter of April 5th, 1759, except a Quaker meeting-house. But ia 1761, there was an Independent preacher on the: ground. Meanwhile the congregation at Oyster Bay continued large. At Huntington, the church was well filled and the people had " purchased a house and glebe, worth about ;£'200 N. Y. currency, which tliey are ready to make a conveyance of for the use of the Church at Huntington forever, hoping to have leave * Documen. Hist. New York, Vol. 3, p. 327. Rev. Samuel Seabury. 103 within a year or two, to send over a candidate for holy orders." It appears from letters from Dr. John- son and their own petition that they applied in 1762 for a missionary. Faithful and unremitting in his labors as Mr. Seabury was, the people did not generously supply him witli the means for a comfortable support, and in addition to his " care of all the churches," he was compelled to resort to teaching, in order to obtain the funds to supple- ment his inadequate salary. He built a school-house in the rear of the Parsonage, which was removed, it is said, about 1820, the Rev, Mr, Hart having either en- larged it or added a separate building, for lodgings for the pupils. In connection with Mr. Seabury's school there ap- peared in the New York Mercury, the following : " A Card. — The Rev, Mr. Samuel Seabury, of Hempstead, in order to enlarge his school, has en- gaged a young gentleman as usher, who is candidate for orders. Mr. S. will entertain young gentlemen at his own house in a genteel manner at ^^30 per year, schooling, washing and wood for school-iire in- cluded. March 27th, 1762." Thjs school obtained much repute, and its advan- tages were appreciated by many of the principal families of New York City and all over Queens County. Among his pupils in 1754-63 were the following — Philip son of Philip Allen ; a son of Justice Si- mon Cooper of Oyster- Bay ; James son of Charles Crommeline ;* Henry and Telamon Cruger ; Thomas )r of Columbia College in 104 '^^- George's Chutch. Frost; John, son of Benj. Hicks; David Jones;. James, son of Dr. Wm. Farquher of New York ; Da- niel, Robert and John Grenel ; PhiHp Hicks ; Ar- thur, son of Benj. Jarvis of New York ; Gilbert Lester ; William, son of Dr. Lawrence, of Mosquito. Cove ;* Joseph, son of Daniel Kissam ; Jacob, son of Joachim Melchior Magens, a Lutheran minister of Flushing ; Henry Montressor ; Benjamin, son of Hendrick Onderdonk ;f Micai (Micajah ?) and Jotham Townsend ■,% Epenetus, son of Capt. Micajah Town- send ; Thomas Truxton, the afterwards famous- commodore; John Taylor, James Rockwell, Daniel Wiggins, Isaac Wilkins, from Jamaica, W. I.; whO" became a clergyman, and rector of St Peter's, West- chester County ; and Charles, son of Jacob Valentine of Oyster Bay. . In Mr. Seabury's report to the Society, March 26^ 1762, he states that he had been the happy instru- ment, under God, in bringing eleven adults to bap- tism, who all appeared properly affected on the occa- sion. " One of them particularly, Joseph Cheese- man, declared publicly, that it was after considering most other professions, and upon mature delibera- tion, he had determined to make the solemn confes- sion of his faith in the Church of England ; and ac- cordingly, himself, his wife and eight children were baptized." Mr. Seabury had marked success in bringing persons * Now Glen Cove. t He became a physician, and died 1772, at Eustatia. \ He became a clergyman ; was a Tory, and was lost in 1779 on a voyage to Nova Scofia. Rev, Samuel Seahury. 105 to baptism. During the twenty-two years of his min- istry in Hempstead, he baptized 1,071 persons. A number of these a^e recorded to have been baptized ■"by immersion." He was in a proper sense of the term "a Baptist." The parish records abundantly prove that Mr. Seabury remitted none of his labors ±0 the very end of his life. He was constantly passing from point to point in his extended field of labor, seeking to win souls to Christ; and his utter forget- fulness of self, cannot but have mitigated towards him the opposition of which he had so often to complain, and with his well doing " put to silence the ignorance «f foolish men." In the midst of his faithful endeavors his career was brought to a close. Having taken a voyage to England in June, 1763, probably to seek surgical aid, lie returned in 1764, in the language of his wife, "a sick — adying.man."* Inanewspaper of that day ap- peared the following notice of his death: — " Rev. Mr. Seabury died of a nervous disorder and an impos- thume in his side, June 15, 1764, aged 58 ; a gentle- man of amiable, exemplary character, greatly and generally beloved and lamented." — New York Post- ■boy. His remains lie interred in St George's churchyard, .and the stone at the head of his grave has this in- scription : — ' ' Here lyeth interred tlie body of the Rev. Sam'L Seabuev, A.M. Rector of 'the parish of Hempsleid, Who with the giealest diligence And most indefatigable labour, •Updike's Nanagansetl Church, p. 134. I06 Si. George's Church. For 13 years at New-London, And 21 years in this parish, Having discharged every duty .Of his sacred functions ; Died the 15th of June, A. D. 1764, MX. 58. In gratitude to the memory of the best of husbands His disconsolate widovi', Elizabeth Seabury, Hath placed this stone." I do not find the record of any action taken by the Vestry on the death of -their faithful and most excel- lent Rector. It seems hardly credible that they neglected to perform this duty of respect ; and we may justly suppose that such action was taken, but that there was a neglect to record it Mrs. Seabury survived her husband 35 years, dying in February, 1799, at the age of 87 years, and was buried by the side of her husband. Dr. Carmichael, in his historical discourse,* says, on the authority of a letter of Mr. Cutting, presently to be quoted — that the church purchased a lot of ground and built a house upon it and gave it to Mrs. Seabury. She sus- tained herself by taking boarders, and in 1767 Lieut Harry Munroe, Archibald Campbell, and Col. Mar- tins' son are named among those who boarded with her. The year before Mr. Seabury died, a second enlarge- ment was made of the churchyard, by a grant from the town, as is stated in the following extract : " 1763, April 5. — Samuel Clowes, John Borland, Leffert Hagewout, Richard Hewlett, John Jackson, Daniel Kissam, Robert Marvin, Jacob Mott, Epene- tus Piatt, Isaac Smith and John Townsend petitioned * Rise and Progress of St. George's Church, Hempstead, 1841. Rev. Samuel Seabury. loj the town to grant St George's Church such a parcel of ground, joining on the east side of the churchyard, as that the burying ground may be enlarged as much as the town shall see fit, since the east end of the burying -ground is filled with graves, and the west end, which is not enclosed, is necessary to lay open for the congregation to tie their horses on, as many families have, of late, begun to bury tlieir dead in said churchyard. It was voted by a majority that the land on the east side of the churchyard, on the south side of the lot of Jeremiah Bedell, Jr., be set apait for a public burying- place, to extend as far east as Totten's lane, andsoutiierly on the road." — F., l. The " Totten's lane" — here spoken of may be that referred to in the following action by the town : " 1767, April. — The town vote to stop the lane on the east side of the burying-ground, and to set over the land in said lane as an addition to the burying- ground, and the trustees are to stop up'said lane, and fence in the burying-ground, and hire out the pasture there the ensuing year." This was confirmed by the Commissioners of High- ways in 1769.* 'As an illustration of the sentiment of the times and of the changes which time and experience eflfect, it may be recorded that in June, 1763, Mr. Seabury expressed great thankfulness that "his ticket in the Light House and Public Lottery of New York drew a prize of ;^soo." Of the children, four sons and three daughters, left by the Rev. Mr. Seabury, it is not necessary to say anjrthing relating to his son Samuel ; who more than * F., 44, 8a. io8 S^, George's Church.. fulfilled all his fond father's anticipations, and obtain- ed fbr himself the place of renown in the history of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America as its first Bishop. Oct. 1756, he married Mrs. Mary Hix» of New York. Another son — Adam — became a physician, and established a wide reputation in Hempstead for excellence in his profession. He married, June, 1762, Miriam Peters, and his descendants are with us. A daughter, Elizabeth, in 1762, married Benjamin Tread well. And another daughter, Abigail, in 1768^ married Gilbert Van Wyck, CHAPTER IV. 1766 — 1784. FIR nearly two years after the death of the Rev, Mr, Seabuiy in June, 1764, St George's, Church was without a Rector. About a month after his decease, his son, then the Rev. Samuel Seabuiy^ and missionary at Jamaica, acquainted the Venerable Society of his father's death, by wliich " a very large congregation of decent and well-behaved people were left destitute." And he conveyed a request from the Vestiy of St George's that the Society would still consider them in the number of its missions, and per- mit them to look out for some proper person to succeed tlieir late worthy minister. Mr, Seabury promise,'), in the mean time, to give them such assist- ance as his duties to his charge at Jamaica will admit ot And in a subsequent communication, he states that he had fulfilled his promise and had baptized here, ten children. In June, 1765, the Rev. Mr. Seabray forwarded a petition -to the Society from the Vestry of St George's Church, and accompanied it with a letter from him- self, which declares the nature and ©bject of the petition, and describes the internal condition, of this no Si. George's Church. parish at that date. This letter, deserving especial attention, was as follows : "Jamaica, June 28, 1765. " Rev. Sir — The enclosed petition from the church wardens and vestrymen of the parish of Hemp- stead, I have been desired by them to forward to the Honorable Society. They have called and presented to that parish the Rev. Mr. Cutting, the Society's present Missionary at Brunswick, N. J., and as tlie Church people at Hempstead are very much pleased with Mr. Cutting, and very desirous of having him for their minister, and as I think (from the acquaint- ance of twelve years) that he is well qualified to sup- ply that parish, and that he will do real service there- in to the cause of virtue and religion in general, and to the interest of the Church in particular, I hope the Society will not think me too presuming when I say, that I think his removal thitlier will be attended with happy consequences. Tho' the congregation there is large, yet a great part of it is composed of those who have had no religious impressions made on them by their parents in their younger years. They come to church rather from habit than a sense of duty and love of religion. * * * It is evident to the most superficial observer that where there have been the greatest number of Quakers, there infidelity and a disregard of all religion have taken the deepest root ; and if they have not entirely corrupted the religious principles of the other inhabitants, they have at least very much weakened them and made them look upon religion with indifference. * * * This seems to be the reason why the people of Hempstead, tho' able to do considerable towards the support of their minister, are so very backward. '* •Doc. His. N. Y., Vol. 3, p. 328. Rev. Leonard Cutting. 1 1 1 This is not an agreeable statement of the prevailing temper of the parish — and one hopes that the traits of a parish are not transmitted and perpetuated from generation to generation, as are tliose of individuals and families. But there are evidences that for many long years after this, the parish was deficient in a generous care of its pastor, and that as it had suffered Mr. Seabuiy to seek a part of his maintenance by teaching, so several of his successors were compelled to disregard the apostolic injunction, and their own ordination vows, to " give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine : give thyself wholly to them :"* and resort to various measures to obtain that supply to their needs which their people could have given them, if they had been so minded. The society granted the request for Mr. Cutting's transfer from New Brunswick to Hempstead, and July 24, 1766, a precept for his induction to St. George's parish was issued to the Rev. Mr. Seaburj', of Jamaica, by Sir Henry Moore, Governor of the Province. The induction took place August nth, 1766 ; and a cer- tificate of the Rev. Samuel Seabury was given that he, "Rector of the parish of Jamaica, by virtue of the within written mandate, did induct the Reverend Mr. Leonard Cutting, Clerk, into the real, actual and cor- poreal Possession of the Parish Church of Hempstead, called St. George's Churcli, together with all its Rights, Privileges, Dignities, Immunities, and appurtenan- ces whatsoever." The subscribing witnesses were : * I Timothy, 4 : 13. 112 Si. George's Church. Daniel Kissam, James Wood, Timothy Smith, James Turner, George Watts, John Potters, George Reirson, CorneHus Vannostrand, Leiifert Haugowort, A. Seabury. A few weeks after, viz., September 2ist, 1766, Mr. Cutting complied with the legal requisition to make — after reading Morning and Evening Prayer accord- ing to the Book of Common Prayer — " publickly be- fore the Congregation then assembled, his unfeigned a,ssent and consent to the use of all and every thing contained and prescribed by the Book entitled the Book of Common Prayer : * * Also he did read a Certificate under the Hand and Seal of the Right Reverend Father in God, Richard, Lord Bishop of London, of his having declared Conformity to the Liturgy of the Church of England." The witnesses to this public declaration by Mr. Cutting of his assent and obedience were Richard Thorne, Elias Dorlin, 3d, A. Seabury.* At the first meeting of the Vestry, after the induct- ion, Nov. Sth, 1766, it was agreed to return thanks in a letter to the Society for supplying the Mission in the room of Mr. Seabury. " Present the Rev'd Mr. Cutting, Rector, Mr. Leflfert iHaugowout, Church Warden. James ^Vood, \ James lui-ner, \ Vestrymen. John Peters, ) * Church Records, p. 79. Rev. Leonard Ctditng. 113 Such letter was accordingly sent " to the Re«f. Df. Burton, Secretary to the Society for the Pfbjiagatiott' of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." For an account of the clergyman who was thus in- stalled In liie place which had been so well filled by the Rev. Mr. Seabury, we are largely indebted to the information gleaned by the Rev. Dr. Sprague, and given in his " Annals of the American Episcopal Pulpit." Leonard Cutting was born at Great Yarmouth, in' the County of Norfolk, England, in the year 1724, He belonged to an ancient and respectable family j some of his ancestors having at different periods, filled the office of High Sheriff of Norwich, &c. He was left an orphan at the age of nine years, in the charge of his aunt. Admitted a member of Pembroke Col- lege, Cambridge, he became Bachelor of Arts, 1 747. His little property was exhausted in obtaining his ed- ucation, and being in straits, he suddenly resolved to come to America. Not being able to pay the price of die passage, he bound himself, after a custttm which then prevailed, to tlie Captain of the ship, to give him" the returns of his labor till the cost of his passage was refunded. He secured, during the voyage, the' confidence and esteem of the Captain as an exem- plary young man, intelligent, honorable, trustworthy, and entitled to full confidence; and was thus enabled to obtain lucrative occupation, on landing, as manager of a plantation, first in Virginia and then in New Jer-- sey. While thus occupied he was providentially met by a former College friend — tlie Rev. Samuel Cook^ a missionary in tlie employ of the Venerable Society, 114 •^^' Georges Church. who immediately sought and obtained for Mr. Cut- ting — in 1756, — the position more appropriate to his acquirements and congenial to his tastes, of Tutor in the Greeic and Latin tongues in King's — now Colum- bia College, in New York City : from which College he received the honorary degree of A.M. in 1758, and his name is found in the first list of the names of those upon whom the College conferred her honors. In this position he remained until 1763. During this time, feeling it his duty to devote himself to the sacred ministry, he diligently pursued the studies which would fit him to discharge the obUgations of the holy office. After due preparation he proceeded to England, and he was prepared for his successful application for orders by a letter from Dr. Samuel Johnson, President of King's (Columbia) College, under date of May 10, 1763, to the Secretary of the Venerable Society, in which he says : " Mr. Hubbard, from Guilford, and Mr. Jarvis, from Middletown, de- sign to wait on the Society in the fall, as does also Mr. Cutting, a gentleman bred at Eaton and Cam- bridge, in England, a person of piety and virtue, and of much learning and eloquence, who, for seven years, has been one of my assistant tutors at King's College, and is now desirous of orders, and some vacant mis- sion."* He was ordained, December 21, 1763, to the Diaconate, and Priest, shortly afterwards. In 1764, he returned to this country, having been appointed by the Venerable Society its missionary at New Brunswick and Piscataway, New Jersey, where he * Church Documt. Conn., Vol. 2, p. 37. Rev. Leonard Cutting. 115 remained until transferred to Hempstead, in July, 1766. Mr. Cutting appears to have entered upon his work in his new Mission in a very hopeful spirit, not- withstanding that he had early experience of the faithfulness of the description which the Rev. Samuel Seabury, of Jamaica, had given of the parish to the Venerable Society. It was not long before he found the parish made inadequate provision for his support, and he was obliged, in order to supplement his in- sufficient salary, to continue the classical school whick Mr. Seabury had begun. After Mr. Cutting had been here about a year, he made to the Venerable Society the following report t " April % I'jGy. — It is with pleasure I can inform you of the civil behavior of the congregation of Hempstead towards me. They have built a barn* and put the house in convenient repair, and endeavor at present to render my situation easy and comfort- able. The Mission is very extensive, and as the severity of the weather came on before I was well settled, I could not take such a circuit round the country and can't give so perfect an account as I could wish. The church is generally well filled. It is difficult to form a judgment of the real members, from the number of those that attend, as I find per- sons of different denominations pretty constant in their attendance and apparently devout during the performance of Divine Service ; but according to ther best calculation I have as yet been able to make, tliere are about ninety fam.ilies in Hempstead town- ship, profest members of tlie Church of England. The Dutch are numerous and powerful, and declare * Replaced by another in 1800. Il6 Si. Georges Churck-i to me their regard to our Established Chui^ch.* The Quakers and their adherents are, I think, the next in number. The Presbyterians appear to me at present to be the fewest. I find it for the interest of reHgion and the Church, to make in regard to my external behavior no difference betwixt the members of my own and other congregations. I have baptized at Hempstead fifteen white children. I find it very difficult to demand Godfathers. Necessity, I hope, will excuse me, if I accept frequently of the parents. I must go to their houses and comply sometimes with their humors, or the children will go unbaptized. The communicants that I have seen present have been about thirty-five at one time. The long inter- valf betwixt the death of the late Mr. Seabury and my being appointed, has been of some disservice ta the Church. " I officiate at Oyster-Bay every third Sunday. The greatest numbers there are Anabaptists and descendants from Quakers. This town (Hempstead)- is of large extent.:]^ As the weather now grows moderate, I propose visitingevery part of the Mission as often as I can on week-days, that I may be enabled to give a more perfect account to the Society in my next." The purpose thus expressed by Mr. Cutting, was not soon fulfilled. It was ten months afterwards before he forwarded to the Society the following^ letter. But he compensates for the delay by the interesting details with which it is replete : * " It v/as about this time that Hendrick Onderdonk, grandfather of the two bishops, joined the Hempstead Church." — Henry Ondtrdonk, Jr., yamaica. t About two years, as we have seen. X Three miles long, ten miles broad. Rev. Leonard Cutting. 117 1768, yanuary 7. — "I have not," writes Mr. Gutting, " transmitted an account of my mission in the limited time, owing to my being incapable of giv- ing so perfect information as I could have wished. The parish is^ large, and I was prevented in the sum- mer, by several accidents, from visiting every part of it, as I expected, nor is it any easy matter in so short a time to form a certain judgment of so great a num- ber, so dispersed. I have, however, found the people civil and hospitable, and I may venture to say, are grateful. As a proof of this, on the death of their late worthy missionary, JVIr. Seabury, they at their own expense built a handsome house and made it a present to his widow ; but I am afraid they are opin- ionated and not very easy to be persuaded. "The church at Hempstead is large, and in general full: but that is an imperfect way of judging of the number of a congregation, as several of other denom- inations pretty constantly attend divine service. The sectaries here have no settled teacher amongst them. Many of them, therefore, frequent the church, and appear devout and attentive. The spot where I live is surrounded with Presbyterians. I find them kind and obliging neighbors, sober and pious in their con- versation, and no friends to religious animosities; though I am confident the number of those who pro- fess themselves members of the Church are superior in number to those of any other denomination, the Dutch excepted. Great numbers of every profession, however, remain unbaptized, owing, I imagine, to the principles of Quakerism, which prevailed here so long, nor' are there so many catecliumens* as I might have hoped from- so. large a parish/ I have proposed to some to attend for that purpose on evenings, at houses properly situated, and hope that plan will succeed. * t. e,, persons under catechetical inslructioii. ii8 Si. Georges Church. To the south of Hempstead [village— £"^0 for sev- eral miles, are great numbers of inhabitants, in gen- eral in very indigent circumstances. They say they can't procure conveniences to come so far to church. I frequently, on week days, go among them to offici- ate. I find large numbers of them assembled, who appear glad of my services and willing to be in- structed ; but are totally illiterate, great part of them not being able to read, nor have they abilities or op- portunity to get their children instructed. A school there would be a real blessing. " At Oyster-bay, the church is not finished, nor are they able to do it. It is indeed in general well filled, as neither have the dissenters there (who are mostly Anabaptists and Quakers) any settled teacher. The members of the Church are constant, serious and de- vout, though not equal in numbers to those of other denominations." Mr. Cutting wasl aboring under a mistake in assert- ing, above, that the members of the parish at tlieir own expense had built a house for Mrs. Seabury and made it a present to her. They may have done the larger part of the benevolent work, but the widow had assisted in it with her own small means. We learn this fact from a letter of Mrs. Seabury to her brother- in-law — Judge James Helme, of Narragansett, Rhode Island — as given in Updike's Narragansett Churches.* Under date of Nov'r 26, 1764, she writes to Judge Helme : " I am much hurried with business, having ^ith the assistance of some gentlemen of the parish raised a dwelling-house and got it under cover, but don't purpose doing any more to it this winter, as I see no prospect of being obliged to quit the Par- • Page 137. Rev. Leonard Cutting. rip sonage. My affairs will not allow of my making a journey to you." Another observation suggested by tlie statement in Mr, Cuttmg's letter that tlie Dutch were more numerous in the town than persons of any other de- nomination is, that it is surprising they should not have had an organized congregation in the town. From lack of one they were in time absorbed by other denominations. The next communication we give from Mr. Cut- ting to the Venerable Society, is under date of December 28, 1768, in which he says : "As we are not in this parish disturbed with a variety of itinerant preachers,^ a greater appearance of regularity, with its happy consequences, prevails ; and as no animosity (that I can discover) reigns amongst those of different persuasions, no consider- able change in any short time can be expected- Persons of all denominations attend Divine service, and the Church here is much esteemed, and is cer- tainly, both in respect to the number and import- ance of its friends and professors, superior to the sects. Amongst the friends to the Church I include the Dutch {who are a very respectable congregation), and it is with pleasure I observe that the disputes which some evil-mmded persons (to serve a present particular term) have raised concemiag our earnest desire for Episcopal government in the Church, has been of real service, as it has opened the eyes of the people, made them examine more closely the princi- ples of the Church, and habituated them to tlie name of a Bishop, and taught them to reflect upon that sacred office witliout terror or suspicion." » Alluding, perhaps, to Whitfield and his followers. I20 St. George's Church. Allusion is made in the last sentence to the yearn- ing and efforts made among Episcopalians in all the provinces to have a Bishop consecrated for the colonies. Bishops have ever been regarded as es- sential to the existence of the Church. The an- omaly of a Church striving to live with its mem- bers in one continent and its head in another, was being felt daily more and more, as intolerable. To remedy the evil in part, certain clergymen in several of the colonies had been made " Commis- sioners of the Bishop of London." But they had no superior ecclesiastical power, because they were not inheritors of Apostolic grace and authority. They could supervise tlie material affairs of churches, but they could not continue and transmit spiritual authority to men to preach the Gospel and minister the Sacraments. To obtain ordination, those in this land who desired Holy Orders were obliged to cross the Atlantic. Of those who yielded to this stern requisition it is calculated that one-fifth were lost by shipwreck or by disease. No wonder that the clergy here should earnestly desire and petition to be supplied with a Bishop. And little wonder that those should be unfavorable to tlie effort and do all in their power to thwart it, who had not been instructed that for a true ministerial au- thority, it should be received from those who had themselves received it through the Apostles from our Lord Himself, the great Bishop. Petitions to have the Church duly equipped with its tliree orders of an Apostolic Ministry, were constantly going to England, and Mr. Cutting was probably do- Rev. Leonard Cutting. I2l ing his share in this work. But politicians in Eng- land were able for some time yet to come, to baffle all tliese efforts. In 1769, there was no communication of moment from Mr, Cutting, In 1770, there were two. In the second he states that a school had been opened at the south of Hempstead, which began operations, June 32, 1769 ; Mr. William Leaky being the school- master, with the approbation of the Venerable Society, who had appropriated to him £\0. Mr. Leaky removed in 1771. This same year Mr. James Greaton is appointed Missionary at Hunting- ton, witli an allowance of ^'40, having been licensed January 2S, 1760, by the Bishop of London. Mr. Greaton was formerly of Christ Church, Boston. He died, after a short illness, at Huntington, April i7> '773- Mr. Greaton's widow married B. Y. Prime, M. D. The abstracts of the reports of the Venerable Society for the following two or three years present no items from Mr, Cutting, relating to any new features in the condition of the parish. In a letter dated January 8, 1 774, he mentions the issue of the effort made to establish a Presbyterian church in the south part of the town. "The dissenting teacher who was settled to the south of Hempstead, made no long continuance here. He married, and from the inability of the people to support him, was obliged to remove. They now de- pend (as they have for a long course of years) on those who are sometimes sent-by die Presbytery from the other congregations. When their_ meeting-house 122 S^. George's Church. is shut, numbers attend Divine service at church, and we live on very amicable terms. " As to the wild set at Oyster Bay, they must dwindle. They already disagree among themselves. Opposition would raise them to a character they can't attain of themselves, and as it is not worth while for any artful person to make himself their head and form them into a regular sect, they will, I trust, soon sink into their primitive insignificance. The masters of the slaves and the near inhabitants feel the principal inconvenience." We do not know the tenets of the "wild set" ta whom Mr. Cutting alludes in the above extract, but probably they were the sect which arose in 1759, and is described in Chas. S. Wightman's History of the Baptist Church in Oyster Bay, as " New Lights" of which a certain Madame Townsend was the ruling spirit. One of its tenets was unrestrained freedom in speaking, the right of every member of the church, in the time of worship. The outcome of tliis claim was, says Wightman, " the wildest disorder and tumult"* In 177s, February 17, Mr. Cutting reports the baptism of thirty-six children and seven adults dur- ing the year, and the admission of six male communi- cants. Mr. John Lefferts, a person of character, has taken the school, erected by the Society at the south of Hempstead, with the usual salary of ^^ lo. We have no information when the schoolhouse above mentioned was built ; nor have we been able to learn where it was located, nor is there any record of what became of it Histoiy Bap. Ch., Oyster Bay, p. 4. Rev. Leonard Cutting, 123 Mr. Cutting, under the same date, mentions that *' a petition had been received from the Church Wardens, &c. in Huntington, Brookhaven, Islip and Queens Village for a Missionary in the place of their late worthy pastor, Mr. Greaton, with the former allowance from the Society, to which they hope they shall be able to add ;^20. But the Society, consider- ing the proposed subscription as insufficient, nor properly engaged for, on the part of the petitioners, have thought it advisable for the present to postpone the application." January 9, 1776, Mr. Cutting states that Mr. Xefferts continued at his school but a quarter of a year, and that he has no encouragement to attempt to supply the vacancy. The Church continues in its usual state. Thirty-three children and eight adults have been baptized, and five new communi- cants added. At this point we have the first intimation that this parish was feeling the effects of the political turmoil which was upheaving the country, and whose un- Jiappy effects were to be felt more and more by the parish, but not by any means to such a disastrous extent as by many others in our country. Tliis inti- mation is in this brief paragraph in the arniaal report of the Venerable Society, viz.: "Owing to the gen- .erai disturbance in the Colonies, the accounts are short and imperfect" In fact we have mention of but two more letters being sent by Mr. Cutting to the Society, during the war of the revolution ; and one is thus referred to in their report : "January 6, 1777. — The Society have received 124 •^^- George's Church. one letter from Mr. Cutting, whence they learn that his church at Hempstead had escaped better than was expected, but that he was obliged to shut it up for three Sundays before the arrival of the King's troops, and that in the foregoing year he had not attended at Huntington, thinking it not advisable to go out of his own parish. Since his last he has baptized one negro child, and twenty-five whites, and five white adults and one negro woman." The letter of which an abstract of its contents is thus given is so interesting, and conveys such a vigorous representation of the condition of the parish and of this part of the country in those " troublous " times, that we herewith give it at length : " jFan. 6, 1777- — In the turbulent and precarious situation this country has been in since January last, the Church here and at Oysterbay has escaped better than was expected. The people in general in this par- ish and through the whole countj'^ [of Queens] were profest steady Loyalists and opposed to the utmost of their power the choosing Delegates, Committees, &c. Tliey were indeed harrassed by parties from almost every Pro\ance ; our houses often filled with an armed rabble who lived at free quarters; the men forced to quit their habitations and conceal themselves in woods and swamps; some were seized and carried pris- oners to Connecticut. These frequent incursions, however, and this temporary distress they rather chose to suffer than submit to the hourly tyranny of a Com- mittee of the basest and vilest among themselves • and in this they persisted till the King's troops happily landed on this Island. In this distracted state the Church was often threatened by banditties from the Jerseys and other Provinces. I continued, however as usual. Divine service was uninterrupted for some Rev. 'Leonard Cutting. 125 weeks after Independence was declared by the itifatu- ,ated Congress, and the Church was ia general much "better filled than I coulci expect from the perilous situ- ation the people were in. Orders were often issued from some distant parts, to take me out of the church, but never executed. At last I received intimation that as this was the only church in this and the neighboring Provinces that was kept open, it would be particularly marked for vengeance ; and as the suc- ceeding Sunday several armed men were sent from various districts, we were advised, though with re- 'luctance, to shut the doors. I abstained from per- forming Divine service three Sundays at Hempstead and one at Oysterbay, when we were (by the blessing of God) relieved by His Majesty's forces, since which time we have been secure and undisturbed, suffering now only in common with others, the natural though great inconvenience that must attend every place Biat is the seat of war, the scarceness and dearness of ■the necessities of life. "The Church here has rather gained, I think, -during this unnatural tumatt, for it is with pleasure -said, I can assure you, that in the whole parish there were not above three who called themselves Church- men amongst the malcontents, and as there was no settled Presbyterian preacher to influence the minds of the people, the dissenters were left to their own cool judgment, attended the Church service, and in general approved of and joined their neighbors in the ' opposition to the Congress. " 1 have not attended the vacant church at Hunt- ington this last year, as the principal persons of my congregation thought it by no means advisable for me to go out of my own parish " I have written some particulars to tlie Rev. Dr. ; Chandler, whicli (as he knows the people) may be ble to him." 126 Si. George's Church. The Rev. Thomas Bradbury Chandler, Rector of St. John's Church, Elizabethtown, N. J., is here meant. He was a man of eminent qualities, and the author of a work appealing strongly for Bishops to be provided for North America. He was in England from 177s to 1785. A daughter of Dr. Chandler be- came the wife of Bishop Hobart ; who was in a few years to succeed Mr. Cutting. It will be seen from Mr. Cutting's letter that this parish had not been able to evade sharing in that great struggle of our forefathers which was to end in sundering the colonies from the mother country and in dissolving the connection — which had been fruitful in results which were to bless unnumbered genera- tions — between the clergy and people of the Protest- ant Episcopal Church in America and the Venerable Society which had faithfully acted as a nursing mother of the Church here for many years. The situation of Mr. Cutting and his parish in this trying struggle was favorable for continued pros- perity. Minister and people were of one mind. Almost all were Loyalists. Indeed, nearly the whole of Queens County adhered to the side of the King; and Parliament. Sabine* says, that " in 1776, 1293 persons in Queens County were avowed Loyalists, or Tories." In most of the parishes in the country, the political sentiments of the clergy not according with those of their people, led to the abrupt dissolution of their relations to each other, and left the clergymaa without a parish and without any means of support. But the unanimity of political views between Mr, * American Loyalists, p. 17. Rev. Leonard Cutting. 127 Cutting and his parishioners did not wholly secure him and them from annoyance. We see from his letter that service In tiie church had been suspended for three Sundays.* We may conclude, therefore) that the friends of the colonial cause, to whom the prayers for the King and royal family were obnox- ious, were at work here using repressive measures. And this interruption of services may be explained by and sustains the statement of Judge Thomas Jones, who was a member of tiiis parish at that time, in his recently published " History of New York during die Revolutionary War." " Col. Cornell, of the Rhode Island Line, of the Continental Army," says he, "with 1600 men, established his head-quarters at Hempstead, seeking out Tories. He converted the Episcopal Church into a store house, forbid the parson to pray for the King or any of the royal family, and made use of the communion table as a convenience for his Yankees to eat upon."t How long Col, Cornell remained here is not known, but probably not long, for in August, 1776, the Bridsh troops landed upon Long Island, and the 17th Light Dragoons took up tlieir quarters here. Henceforth Hempstead became a retreat for many royalists banished from other places. Of this number was the Rev. Mr. Mansfield from Derby, in Connecti- cut. Nov. 21. 1778, the Hon. Josiah Martin died at his seat. Rock Hall, Rockaway. He had been Governor * Mr. Cutting, m 1776, removed the royal coal of arms and other thines from the church.—^. OmUrdmtk, Jr., p. 15, \ Vol. I, p. 109. t,28 St. George's Church. of the Province of North Carolina. But at the break- . ing out of the war his Tory principles made him ob- noxious to the Whigs of that province, and he was obUged to flee from it, leaving a large landed estate in North Carolina, which was confiscated.* He established himself at Rockaway, and built Rock Hall for his residence. The architect or draftsman, was Timothy Clowes, who also drafted the plan of the present St. George's Church. Said Timothy- was son of Geradus, who was son of Samuel, who came from England ; lived in Jamaica, and was a member of that parish at the time of its prolonged troubles. In Rock Hall there is still a fine painting- by Sir John Copely, representing a child playing with a dog. The child's portrait is that of one of Gov- ernor Martin's family. The widow of Governor Martin died in 1825, in New York city, in a house standing on what is now the site of the Astor House.f Governor Martin was the father of Dr. Samuel Martin, of whom we shall hear more ; who also died at Rock Hall, April 19, 1806, aged sixty-six years^ and was buried under the then chancel of St. George's Church. On the removal of the church to a dif- ferent position, his grave was left unmarked. When the British troops took up tlieir quarters ia Hempstead it was reasonably expected that the pre- dominant Tory element here would cause the troops to show them particular favor. In this expectation, they were doomed to be greatly disappointed. Judge Jones, who was himself a distinguished up- holder of the royal cause, and a most determined * Sabin's Loyalists. \ Furman, p. 150. Rev. Leonard Cutting. 1,29 "Qpponent of the Federal Congress and troops and <:ause, suffered annoyance and bss from those he .supposed would befriend all loyaliats. It is not sur- prising therefore that he should say, somewhat tartly, " Instead of finding protectors in the King's troops, they (the royalists) were most scandalously, barbar- ously, and indiscriminately plundered ; suffered every insult and abuse during the whole war ; could never ■obtain redress eitlier from generals or governors."* The Presbyterian church in Hempstead was seized and converted to military uses. The Episcopal churda — whose Rector was an Englishman, and an up- holder of the cause of die King, and whose prayers for him were constantly used, — where the officers of the army attended, and the Chaplain of tlie army, the Rev. Elias Cooper frequently officiated — even this was not exempt from intrusion. In the account of a meeting of the Vestry of St George's Church, held Feb, 4th, 1780, it is stated -tliat application had been made to the Rev. Mr. Cut- ting, by the commander ofthe British troops, for the ■use of a part of the church for a granary, and that Dr. Samuel Martin and Mr. Leffert Haughwout having been appointed a committee, waited on the ■commander, who withdrew his request and left the ■church free from desecration. Two montlis after this, the Rector and Vestry found themselves obliged to forward a protest to Lt CoL Birch, then in command "of the British troops, quartered here, in respect to ah ■" outrage committed by one Cornet Searle of the 130 Si. George's Church. 17th Dragoons, during service on Whitsunday, by which the whole congregation had been offended; and beg redress and protection for the future." The pro- test was not in vain. Cornet Searle was required to send a letter of apology, which he did in the following terms, on the 29th of May, 1780: " Sir — It was never my intention by the circum- stances last Sunday to give any general offence to the inhabitants. Had I forseen it could have been taken in so serious a light, I should have saved you this trouble with pleasure. — Through you, however, as minister of the church, I feel myself bound to make every acknowledgment to the congregation, and as nothing is further from my mind than to disoblige, so I shall always be happy to apologize. "I am &c., Your Most Obed't Servant, Chas. Searle, Thursday night. i "jth Light Dragoons. Rev. Mr. Cutting, Hempstead" This stiff and evidently reluctant approach to an apology the Vestry felt it best to accept and be satis- fied with, and they passed the following resolutions: "Resolved, That it is the opinion of the Vestry that by the kind behavior of Colonel Birch the Honour and Peace of the Church is {sic) Secured. Resolved, That in consideration of the thoughtless- ness of youth, the Vestry are willing to accept of the apology of Cornet Searle for this time, in full assur- ance that they shall have no cause of complaint for the future. Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. Cutting and Dr. Sam- uel Martin wait upon Colonel Birch to thank him for so kindly exerting himself to redress the Insult offered Rev. Leonard Cutting. 131 tiie Church, and acquaint the Colonel that the Vestry is satisfied, and rest assured of his future Protection. Resolved, That Cornet Searle's Letter be entered into the Records of the Church." Again, in April of the following year, the Vestry found it necessary to take the position of cdmplain- ants; as the following action of the Vestry, April ir, 1782, shows; " Resolved,'Yhs.t the Church- Wardens do wait upon Captain Archdale, commanding officer at Hempstead, to complain in the name of the whole Congregation of an outrageous insult committed on Saturday night, the 30th of March last, by boisterously breaking open the doors of the church, and various other riotous acts, committed against Religion, and the peace of4he Congregation by Cornets Sinclaire, Loyd, De Lancy and others, and to beg Redress for the present injury and protection in future, " At the s^me time the Vestry beg leave to observe, that Mr. Sinclaire, as a gentleman, has expressed much concern, and made such an apology as the circumstances of the case will admit." At the same time the Rev. Mr. Cutting produced a letter from Mr. George D, Ludlow, wherein he (Mr. Ludlow) declines acting at all in the affair, or giving his opinion as a Vestryman, and desired that at the ensuing Election some other Person might be chosen to serve in the Vestry in his Room. The Honorable George Duncan Ludlow, Esq., had been elected a Vestryman Oct 3, 1780, in the place of Mr. James Turner, deceased, And doubtless it was thought that the Vestry had greatly strengthened itself by Uie acquisition of a per* 132 iS^. Georges Church. son of such standing and influence. His refusal to join in a protest against the impious acts of the young British officers must therefore have been an unpleasant surprise to his associates; and it can be accounted for only on the supposition that he was afraid that his position as an adherent to the British cause would be endangered if he made any opposi^ tion to the acts of any member of the British army. He had a high and lucrative office, and was anxious- to keep it. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of New York. And when martial law supplanted civil law in the State, Mr. Ludlow was appointed by Gov. Robertson, in 1780, the Master of Rolls or Superintendent of Police of Long Island ; this Police, as it was called, taking the place of all courts and proceeding in a most summary — and, not infrequent- ly, most arbitrary manner to dispense justice accord- ing to rules of its own making. Mr. Ludlow freed himself from all suspicion of being half-hearted in the Loyalist cause or of being too lenient towards the aiders and abettors of the rebel Washington and his companions in arms. Mr. Ludlow therefore shunned to appear to side against Capt. Archedale and for the parish of which he was a member and an offi- cer. Mr. George Duncan Ludlow's name appears in the list of those affected by the Act of Attainder passed by the Legislature of New York, Oct. 22, 1779, and by which his estate at Hyde Park, as now called, was confiscated and himself outlawed. And when, by the issue of the Revolutionary War, the rebels took pos- session of the land, Mr. George D. Ludlow went inta Rev. Leonard Cutting. 133; exile and died in Frederickton, New Brunswick, Feb^ 1808. But to return to the case of Capt. Archedale, On the 31st May, 1782, the Church Wardens re- ported, at a meeting of tiie Vestry, that they had watted upon Capt Archedale with tlie complaint they were directed to make, but that their reception was by no means satisfactory. The Rector stated that Capt. Archedale had met him on the road and told him he had given the young officers a severe lecture. But the Vestry were naturally disinclined to accept of this declaration as a proper answer to their formal complaint, and so — "The Vestry unanimously declare that they are dis- satisfied with the ungenteel behaviour of Capt. Arche- dale, and defer tlie consideration of the affair till a. iuture day." That day never came. The tide was turning in favor of the Continental arms and the British troops were ere long to abandon this land. Besides the above-mentioned annoyances and troubles to which the members of tins parish were subjected during the- Revolutionary war, although it was exceptionally fa- vored in having among its members persons of great influence and authority with the English Government, there were many others, to which allusion is made in the correspondence of the Rector. In a letter to the officers of the county whose duty it was to collect and pay over the stipend which the law assigned to the minister of this parish, the Rev. Mr, Cutting complains that they had not paid him. what was due him for several years' service at Oyster 134 S^. Georges Church. Bay. " You must think it hard," says he, " for ser- vices thro' all weathers for so long a time, attended with fatigue to myself and expense in horses, should pass unrewarded." The following letter, dated December 9, 1781, and probably intended to reach the Venerable Society, details some additional troubles which Mr. Cutting encountered, together with his efforts to obtain recom- pense for losses which he had sustained. " My situation obliges me to trust my letters to a friend, generally to the gentleman who takes my bills. In respect to the schools, Mr. Timothy Wetmore is at present provided for. Mr. James Wetmore I know- not ; and if I did, it would be to no purpose, as the rapacity of an officer of rank [Col. Birch] has put an end to all hopes of that kind. When the 17th Light Dragoons came to Hempstead in 1778, the command- ing officer, after various acts of violence and oppres- sion too tedious to mention (and by which I suffered considerably in my property), at length moved a public building [the cage] which he had used as a guard-house, and joined it to a house he had seized with some land (the owner [Mr. Samuel Pintard] being then in England), converted the school to a guard-house, and appropriated to his own use three acres of land allotted for the benefit of the school- master. In 1780 this officer was removed to a very high command in New York. We then had assur- ance that the school and land should be restored. In this expectation I wrote to the Society ; but as [yet] his worse than useless regiment has been scarce out of the smoke of Hempstead since its first arrival. He still keeps possession of all. This is one, and perhaps the most trifling instance of a thousand, that might be produced of the tyranny we groan under. Rev. Leonard Cutting. 135 Where the army is, oppression (such as in England -you have no conception of) universally prevails. We have nothing we can call our own, and the door to redress is inaccessible. What a state must that people be in who can find relief neither from law, justice nor humanity, where the military is concerned ! This is the case of the inhabitants within the King's lines. In regard to myself I have often applied for redress ; first in 1778, to Mr. Eden, one of the Com- missioners, from whom I had a letter to head-quarters, which, however, was ineffectual. On other occasions I tried memorials to as little purpose. Necessity obliged me to apply more attentively to the earth for subsistence, and an advantageous purchase present- ing, a friend kindly lent me the money to secure it. I now hoped to provide for my family in spite of oppression. How I was disappointed the enclosed memorial [to Governor Robertson] will show. It had no effect. Whether it proceeded from want of power or something else in the Governor is not for me to determine. Hospitals and everything of that kind are, I know, fully charged to governments, and when private property is thus violently seized, it is only to fill the purse of the oppressor." " The memorial of Leonard Cutting humbly show- eth that the means for subsistence for my family having been much impaired by the present times, I some time since made a purchase of a dwelling-house and about twenty-five acres of land near the town- spot of Hempstead. During the last winter, while I was a proprietor of it, the house was occupied as a hospital for the 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons; that no rent being allowed by them, I applied to Your Excellency for allowance of rent, or for -the re- moval of the troops; tliat the troops continued in it till July or August last, and then left it in a ruinous condition, saying they had no further use for it. X36 Si. George's Church. "Wishing since to make the most advantageous use of it for the support of my family, I have been at con- siderable expense in repairing the house, and have let it to a tenant for the ensuing winter, who was put in possession of it. I have also on the land upwards of fourteen acres of winter grain, and have contract- ed to let the house and one acre of land for a year from next spring at a rent of £,<,o. On October 28 th, by order of the commanding officer of the above-said regiment, said house was broken open and entered into by violence, and possession taken of it for the purpose of a hospital ; and I am tlie more astonished at a measure so injurious to me, after sustaining last winter the burden of having the same house employ- ed for the public use without receiving any compen- sation for it. At present my winter grain, in the midst of which is the house, will be exposed to -destruction if the hospital is continued in it. I beg leave to complain of an unjustifiable violation of my property and of an unreasonable imposition on me; nor can I help feeling the distresses to which my family must be exposed when stript of so considerable a part ofthe slender means I have for their support. I hope for redress from your humanity and your well known justice, and pray Your Excellency will order the house to be restored to me or rent given for the use of it." The parish records bear testimony of tlie presence of the British forces in this neighborhood during the war in numerous entries of tlie marriages of officers and privates by Mr. Cutting, and ofthe baptism of-cliildren whose parents are designated as being connected with some British regiment, of De Lancey's Brigade. In some instances those who termed alliances here either remained after the disbanding ofthe army, or returned Rev. Leonard Cutting. i^f afterwards, .and are the progenitors of a nuoiber of influential ^milies on Long Island. When the war terminated favorably for Congress, and the Continental forces, Mr. Cutting could not comfortably, nor, perhaps, safely remain in the Rector- ship. He left the parish probably quite informally, as there is no record of his resignation or the time of his departure, and only this reference to it, viz, : "Dec. 1784. — Rev, Mr, Cutting having acquainted the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of his resolution to leave the Parish, it was agreed IVIr. Stephen Carman should wait upon Mr, Moore and acquaint him it was their request he should appoint some- day on which to preach at Hempstead." * From Hempstead Mr. Cutting appears to hav& retired to Maryland, for among the names of the clergy of that State who signed a recommendation for Dr. William Smith for the office of a Bishop, and which is dated Annapolis, Aug. 16, 1783, is that of " Leo. Catting, All-Hallows Parish, Worcester Co."t Yet again, hi the list of clergymen mentioned by Bishop Wliite,J as attending the Preliminary Con- vention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Oct. & and 7, 17S4, is that of " Cutting." He officiated first at Snow Hill, Maryland, and was called thence to the charge of Christ Church, New- heme. North Carolina, where he officiated for nearly eight years, lie is dius referred to m the minutes of the Committee appointed to forward an address to- ■ Records of Vestry, p. lo6. \ Per-/'- -His. Notes and Doc, vol. 3, p. 338. % Memoirs, second edilion, p. 7g. 138 Si. Georg(^s Church. the Archbishops of Canterbury and Yoric : " The let- ter to the Clergy of North Carolina, addressed to the Rev. Mr. Cutting, to be communicated, was," &c.* In 1792 he was appointed Secretary to the House of Bishops, on the resignation of the Rev. Samuel Keene.t In 1793, as appears by the Journal of the Diocese of New York, (p. 6^, Qnderdonk's reprint,) a deed of gift of Christ Church, Duanesburgh, is attested by " Leonard Cutting, Minister of the Pro- testant Episcopal Church, United States." From the assertion of this attestation it is evident that Mr. Cutting had submitted fully to the change in the ecclesiastical relations which had resulted for him by the issue of the Revolutionary struggle. After residing in New York city for about two years after he removed from Newberne, he was prostrated by an apoplectic fit, from which he died, January 25, 1794, in the seventieth year of his age. The following notice of his death appeared in the Daily Advertiser of January 28, 1794 : \ " Died, on the 25th inst., after a very short illness,. Rev. Leonard Cutting, aged 69 years ; formerly Pro- fessor of Greek and Latin Languages in King's (now Columbia) College; then Rector of St George's Church, Hempstead, Long Island, and late Rector of Christ Church, Newbern, North Carolina. For learn- ing, probity, unaffected piety, and a generous spirit of independence, respected, esteemed and beloved, equally by his pupils, his parishioners, and his friends." * Perry's Hist. Notes, &c., Vol. 3, p. 398. ■f Perry's J6urnal, Vol. I,, p. 163. i Sprague, Epis. Pulpit, p. 226. Rev. Leonard Cutting. 159 Mr. Cutting left two children, Wlliam and diaries Spencer. The record of their baptisms is as follows : ?ofH "*773 — S^l.yt Sth — Baptized at Hempstead, William son of Leonard >f Hempstead. Ann Frances Cutting Rev. Dr. Cooper, President of King's College, Capt. Samuel Pintaid, Fiances lAidlow." " 1783, May the t^ih. — Baptized at Hempstead, Charles Spencer, son of Leonard 1 Cuttine AnnF^ces } "f Hempstid. sponsor.. Rev. Mr. Cooke, William became a lawyer. In l8oo he married Gertrude, daughter of Walter Livingstone. A sister of Mrs. Gertrude Cutting married Robert Fulton. William died in 1820, leaving six sons and two daughters. Mrs, Cutting continued to reside in Hempstead after her husband left the parish, and held possession, of the parish plate and books until urgently requested by the Vestry to deliver them up. She died in Phil- adelphia in 1803.* Mr. Cutting is represented to have been short in stature and of a slender frame ; amiable, cheerful and agreeable in manners, and fond of social intercourse. His costume, after the fashion of that day, was a black velvet coat, small clothes with buckles at the • Sabin's Loyalists, p. 239. I40 St Georges Ckurch, knee and in his shoes. His hair was powdered^ and he wore a three-cornered hat His venerable and. dignified appearance made an impression on the memory of persons who saw him in their youth, and who have given me this description, which they vividly retained, after a lapse of more than seventy years. CHAPTER V. 1784— 1799. WITH the close of Mr. Cutting's Rectorship a new era opened in the history of St. George's Parish. By the changes wrought by the recognition of our country as an independent nation, the Church fol- lowed the fortune of the State in being sundered from the mother country. The connection of the Mission- ary parishes with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, which, for near a century, had been a nursing mother to this and otlier parishes, was broken, and the people were hericeforth obliged to tax their own resources for the support of their ministers, and to act in all things according only to the dictates of their own discretion and wisdom. The parish had so decidedly favored the Royal cause that it would have been a matter of little sur- prise if, at the turn of affairs, it should have been well-nigh extinguished ; for such was the fate of many a parish in other parts of the land. It was weakened by the departure of some of its families to Nova !Scotia and other of the British Possessions, and it felt especially the loss of such prominent and influ- 142 'S'^. George's Church. «ntial members as Judge Thomas Jones, the author ■of the recently published history, from the Tory point of view, of New York in the Revolutionary war; George Duncan Ludlow and Daniel Kissam. But in God's good providence it suffered less than ■might have been reasonably expected. The articles of its Charter made adequate provision for the exigency which had arisen, and enabled it to enter readily on an independent course of life. And the Vestry which was in existence at Mr. Cutting's departure, promptly -assumed the responsibilities devolved upon them, and sought at once to fill the vacancy in the Rector- ship. And yet their proceedings indicate a measure •of inexpertness and indecision for a time, as that of persons unaccustomed to the helm. This becomes apparent in the following record. First, on the 9th of January, 1785, the congregation were notified to assemble the next day. On the lOth of January they assembled accordingly, and " agreed unanimously to call Mr. Moore, and allow him for two'thirds of his ministerial services at St. George's Church, the sum of One Hundred Pounds New York currency, and also to put him in possession of all and singular the Privileges belonging to said Church." This call, it will be perceived, was not — as heretofore — by the Vestry, but by the congregation : and that although the Charter expressly " declares and grants that — the presentation of and to the said church and parish — shall appertain and belong to and be hereby vested in the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of Saint George's in the parish of Hempstead aforesaid, for the time being, and their successors forever, or to Rev. Thos. Lafttbert Moore. 14:3 the major part of tiiem, whereof one Church Wardeit always to be one." But the call was accepted by Mr, Moore, and the Parish Records* state that " on Thursday, 20th of January, (1785) Mr. Moore removed to Hempstead, and on the 23rd of same Month gave Public notice to the congregation — ' That Thursday, Sth February, was appointed the Day for choosing Trustees to take charge of the Temporalities of the Church,' which, notice was continued for three successive Sabbaths." " Zth February. — The Congregation assembled for the purpose above mentioned, unanimously made choice of the following gentlemen to fill that office — Namely — Messrs. George Hewlett, Andrew Onder- donk, Stephen Hewlett, Thos. Clowes, Jr., Igrael Smith and Richard Thorne. A certificate of which Election wast — before Judge Smith, and registered a few days after by the County Clark," The gentlemen thus chosen Trustees were not the same as the Wardens and Vestrymen at that time, as will be seen by comparing the names presently to be given, but were a distinct body of men. Mr, Moore having accepted the invitation to the rectorship, — the next step was to give him formal in- troduction into the office. How should this be done?' Heretofore the civil authorities had issued a precept tO"some one to see that this was done, and to certify to it But the authority of those to whom this duty- had fallen was now abrogated, and there was no Bishop- in the country to assume the duty. There was no form then provided in the Prayer- Book for the Induction or • p. 107. t Blank in the original entry. 144 ^^- George's Church. Institution of Ministers. Tlie Vestry were thrown upon the suggestions of their own judgment in meet- ing this exigency. And it is interesting to see what their action was. They wisely adopted a form of pro- ceeding, continuing the custom, instead of pleading the novelty of their position as an excuse for neglecting it ; and did the best they could under the circumstances, and that best could hardly have been bettered. The parish records, under date of Feb. 24, 1785, state that one of the Church Wardens, Mr. Haugewout, and sev- eral of the congregation assembled on that day at the church agreeably to notice given them the previous Sunday morning, the 20th inst., to Induct Mr. Moore ; but as few of the Vestry were present, the weather ex- tremely stormy, and an error appeared in the call and certificate of Induction, it was postponed till Thurs- day, the 3d of March ensuing. "3d March. — ^The Church-Wardens, Vestrymen and Congregation being assembled, proceeded to In- duct Mr. Moore — when the Following Call and Cer- tificate of Induction being read, and Mr. Moore's letters of Orders examined — He was put in full pos- session of the Parish — with all, its rights, dignities, and appurtenances as formerly held and enjoyed by all former Rectors." A copy of the Call given to Mr. Moore : "Ll. s.] Whereas the Rev'd Mr. Leonard Cutting, late Rector and Clerk of the Parish Church of St George, in South Hempstead, has voluntarily vacated the said Church: We the Church Wardens and Vestrymen have by and with the consent of the Con- gregation of said Church, unanimously Called the Rev'd Mr. Thomas Lambert Moore to supply the Chtirch Wardens. ■^ Rev. Tkos. Lambert Moore. 145 'Place of the Rev'd Mr. Leonard Cutting: and after Induction to enjoy all and singular the Rights, Priv- ileges, and Appurtenances to the said Church belong-- ing or any way appertaining as heretofore held' and enjoyed. — In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals, and afSxed the seal of our Cor- poration, this third day of March, One Thousand Seven hundred and Eighty- five. Leffert Haugewout, [l. S. James Wood, [l. S. f Sam'l Martin, [l. S. j Richard Hewlet, L. S. Vestrymen, j Cornelius V. Nostrandt, L. S, I Martin V. Nostrandt, [l. S. George Watts, [l. S._ L G. Beldwin(hisXmaik) [l. S.^ " A true copy frona original;" Then follows tlie form of Induction used in this, probably, first insiance of the Induction of a Rector into an Episcopal Church in North America after the separation of the States from the mother country. We give it in full, [l. S.] " By Virtue of Powers Vested in us by our Office as Church Wardens and Vestrymen duly elected, We incjuct you into the Real and Actual Possession of the Rectory of St George's Church in South Hempstead, with all its Profits and Appurte- nances. " This is to Certify to all whom it may concern that on Thursday, the third Day of March, in tiafi year of Our Lord Christ, One Thousand Seven Hun- dred and eightyTfive, at South Hempstead, in Queens County, and State of New York: "We the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the Parish Church of St George, in South Hempstead, County andState afore- 146 S^. Georges Church. said, did, as well by Virtue of powers derived to us from our Office, as by authority conferred upon and reposed in us by the unanimous voice and consent of the Congregation in general. Induct the Rev. Thos. L. Moore into the Real and Actual Possession of the said Parish Church, together with all its Rights, Dignities, Immunities, and Appurtenances. In Wit- ness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals, and affixed the seal of our Corporation, the Day and Year above written — Church Wardens. \ Leffert Haugewout, [l. S, ( James Wood, [l. s. r Cornelius Van Nostrandt, Martin Van Nostrandt, Vestrymen. \ Samuel Martin, George Watts, -Richard Hewlet. L. S.} L. S.] L. S.J L. S.} L. S.} Witnesses. A. Seabury, Andrew Onderdonk, D. Brooks, Benj. Hewlet, Benj. Tredwell, Thos. Clowes, Timothy Smith, Israel Smith, George Hewlet, James Cornell. " A true copy." Duly considering the novelty of the position of the Vestry, that they had no ecclesiastical superior to direct them, for even tlie nominal oversight of the Bishop of London had terminated; and that the present office for the Institution of Ministers was not adopted until twenty years after this, viz., in 1804; and that the Vestry had no precedent to guide them in selecting a proper form for the orderly and digni- fied introduction of their new Rector into his charge. Rev. Tkos. Lambert Moore. 147 it must be conceded that they proceeded in a highly becoming manner. We have seen (p. 142, 143) that certain persons were elected Trustees — "to take charge of the Tem- poraUties of tiie Church." This was to comply with the terms of an act of the Legislature of the State of New York, passed April, 17S4, entitled, " An act to enable all the religious denominations in this State to appoint Trustees, who shall be a body corporate, for the purpose of taking care of the temporalities of their respective congregations ; and for other purposes therein mentioned." Whether this act rightly ap- plied to a parish already incorporated, and whose incorporation was recognized by the State,* it is not worth our while now to inquire. In the uncertainty of the times as to what rights survived the upheaval of the Revolutionary war, and what ones had been dissolved by it, it was doubtless wise for the Vestry to use " excess of caution." Their own perplexity is disclosed in the following resolution passed by the Vestry, Jan. 10, 1785! in relation to this act: "Resolved.'Va.^t it is the opinion of this Vestry, tliat as they cannot at present define the precise signifi- cation of the term Temporalities, the Trustees had better take immediate possession of what can strictly be so called, viz.: The Parsonage House, Land adjoin- ing and Glebe at South, to which the Vestry are willing to consent, till Whitsun- Tuesday next, pro- vided They (the trustees) will leave in their hands and possession the Church, Church- yard and whatever Revenues may arise from the same, during that space of time," * See p. 50. t Records, p, I lo. 148 Si. Georjes Church. At a meeting of the Vestry, in May, 1785, it was " Ordered, That the two Church- Wardens and Dr. Martin be a committee to wait upon Mrs. Cutting and request to be informed by her when she imagines it will be convenient to give Mr. Moore possession of his house." Of the response made to this inquiry there is no record. The Rev. Thomas Lambert Moore, whose election and induction into the Rectorship of St. George's parish we have recounted, was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Channing Moore. He was born in the city of New York, Feb. 22, 1758. In his youth he served in the counting-house of Mr. Lewis Pintard, but his heart and mind were set on the work of the ministry ; and after acquiring due preparation under the private tuition of an excellent classical teacher, Mr. Alex. Leslie, lie entered Kings — now Columbia Col- lege — with the class of 1775, and was thus an associate with Benjamin Kissam, afterwards Professor of the Institute of Medicine, and with Alexander Hamilton and other distinguished names. But on tlie 6th of April, 1776, the College buildings were taken for military purposes. The exercises of the College were interrupted, and were not resumed until the close of the war; and consequently Mr. Moore could not complete his course. He joined his family, v/ho had removed to West Point. In the autumn of 1776, he went to his brother, John Moore, Esq., then an offi- cer in the Custom House, New York ; at whose re- quest he was received into the office of Daniel Car- nier, Esq., Commissary General of the King's army. f^/' THE REV. THOMAS LAMBERT MOORE, Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 149 While diligently performing the duties devolving upon him in that position, he devoted all his evenings to theological studies. In 1781, being furnished with letters of recommendation from the Rev. Dr. Charles Inglis, then rector oif Trinity Church, after- wards Bisl^op of Nova Scotia, to the Rev. Dr. Tho- mas Bradbury Chandler, who was then residing in England, and was in high esteem with the Eisho|)s and Government of England ; Mr. Moore went to England for ordination. He remained in London about a year. He was ordained deacon by the Bishop of London, the distinguished Robert Lowth, Sept 21, 1781, and priest Feb. 24, 17S2, by the Rt Rev. Beilby Porteus, the Bisliop of Chester. After his ordination he frecLuently preache^ to crowded churches in London and vicinity, with high approba- tion. Iri his private diary he records having ofSciated and preached in the following churches, among others named, viz.: Lord Chancellor's Chapel, Lincoln's Inn ; St. Mar- garet, Westminster; St, Butolph's, Aldersgatc; St. Lawrence, Guildhall, by order of the Lord Bishop of London ; St. George's, Hanover Square ; All Hal- lows ; St Bartholomew the Great ; St, Mary-Le-Bow ; St, Martin's, Ludgate Hill ; St John's, Westminster. , The following letter to his brother, John Moore, Esq., of New York City, refers to his ordination and his efforts to secure a passage home.' " London, Qth March, 1782. " My dear Brother — The mail for the Packet having very unexpectedly closed, I have just time to 150 Si. George's Church. inform you thai I am well ; was ordained Priest, on the 24th ultimo, and shall embark for New York by first good opportunity. A Fleet it is said will cer- tainly sail in the course of Threp Weeks, and I am not without hopes of being able either to procure a Chaplaincy on board one of the men of war, or of obtaining a passage upon an eligible plan. " Remember me afifectionately to sister Moore. Duty, love and compliments as respectively due. Kiss little Darling, and believe with every sentiment of gratitude and love, " Your truly affectionate brother, "Thomas Lamb't. Moore. " N. B. — ^Your letter by Packet arrived safe ; ac- cept of best thanks for its kind contents ; and depend upon my complying with every practicable part of your advice. Tiie Lottery Book you request has not been sent, so that I trust that I shall deliver it myself I have written to my dear Rib informing her that I hope to meet with her by the latter end of June; don't suffer her to expect me sooner, and it may prevent a good deal of anxiety." On the recommendation of the Right Hon. Ed- mund Burke,* tlien in the British ministry, Mr. Moore was appointed chaplain to the frigate Renown, in which he sailed for New York ; where, after stop- ping for a time at Halifax, the vessel arrived, Oct. 28, 1782. Mr. Moore proceeded almost immediately to perform clerical duties at Islip, in Suffolk County, to which charge he had been appointed by the Bishop of London, at the instance, probably, of the proprietor of the large estate known as "the Nicol • From the Family Record, by John Moore, Esq. Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 151 Patent." The following is a copy of the Bishop's License, to which the Episcopal Seal is attached : " Robert, by Divine Permission, Bishop of London — ^To our beloved in Christ, Thomas Lambert Moore, Clerk, Greeting ; We do by these Presents Give and Grant to you, to whose Fidelity, Morals, Learning, Sound Doctrine and Diligence, We do fully Confide, our License and Authority, to continue only during our Pleasure, to Perform the Ministerial office at Islip, in Suffolk County, or elsewhere in the Province of New York, in North America — in reading the Common Prayers and Performing other Ecclesiastical Duties be- longing to said Office according to the form prescribed. in tlie Book of Common Prayer made and Published by Authority of Parliament, and the Canons and Consti- tutions in that behalf lawfully established and pro- mulgated, and not otherwise, or in any other manner. (You having first before Us subscribed the Articles and taken the Oathes which in this case are Required by Law to be subscribed and taken.) " In witness whereof WE have caused our Seal which WE use in this Case to be hereto affixed.. Dated the twenty-first day of September, in tlie Year- of our Lord, 17S1, and in the Fifth Yearof curtrans'- lation. Mark Holman. R. [l. S.] London. Dep'y Reg'r." The legend of the seal attached to this License- reads : "The seal of Robert Lowth, D.D., Bishop of London, 1777." On the field of the seal is repre- sented a unicorn rampant, — two swords crossed, and these surmounted by a mitre. Mr. Moore extended his ministrations to Setauket, where he regularly held service. In this field he continuea until called to Hempstead, where for four- 152 -S"/. Georges Church. teen years he labored indefatigaMy, and with most encouraging success. Just before going to England Mr. Moore married Miss Judith Moore, sister to the Rt Rev. Benjamin Moore, Bishop of New York, by which two families of the same name and, possibly, originally of the same stock, though the kinship cannot now be traced,, were brought into union. Mr. Moore was of an energetic and active nature, and participated in those memorable measures which saved the Church from extinction in this country — encouraged the drooping spirits of her children, and fitted her for vigorous action and rapid extension. He was present — as we learn from Bishop White's Memiors* — at the meeting held in New Brunswick^ New Jersey, in May, 1784, and was one of the nine Clergymen from whom emanated the first effective measures to have the Episcopal Churches of the several States unite themselves in Conventions, and appoint deputies who should be authorized to form a confederacy of Dioceses, and become the source of law and the preservers of the unity of the Church in a compacted body in these United States. There was a subsequent meeting held in October, 1784, of the same voluntary character, to " consult on the existing exigency of the Church." It is stated that deputies appeared at this second meeting, pre- paratory to definite organization, from several States not represented at the previous one. As the names, of those present at the second meeting has not been * P. 78 of 2nd edition. Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 153 preserved, we are unable to say whether Mr. Moore ■was present likewise at this. This last meeting formally recommended the ■churches in the several States to unite and organize themselves into State Conventions and send deputies ±0 a General Convention at Philadelphia, in September, 1785. In compliance with this recommendation, ■clergymen and laymen of this State met In the city of New York, June 22, 1785, and organized the first Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York. In this primary Convention of New York, Mr. Moore's name does not appear — possibly the cause ■of his absence may have been that he had but re- ceiidy been settled in the Rectorship of St George's parish. But it is to be noted that several other parishes in the State were also without represent- atives in that Convention. But in the Second Convention of the Diocese of New York, held May 16, 1786, this Parish was rep- resented by its Rector, Rev. Mr. Thomas (L.) Moore, and Hendrick Onderdonk, Samuel Martin and David Brooks. At the Vestry meeting. May 6, 17S6, " Mr. Moore had leave to build a Vestry Room and to have a new Kneeling Board made round the Altar, and a cushion to put on it." At a Vestry meeting. May, 1787, "It was agreed ■to repair the east-wiiTdow (which was over the com- munion table) which could not be opened, and the resolution be carried into effect as soon as possible.," In June the same year, the Vestry determined to 154 Si. Georges Church. *' open for Mr. Moore a new subscription, which shall augment his salary from One Hundred to One Hun- dred and twenty Pounds per annum, and continue yearly and every yeaf during his abode in this Town as Rector of said Church." In February, (the 4tb) 1787, the Rev. Samuel Pro- voost was consecrated at Lambeth Palace Chapel, England, the first Bishop of New York, and on the 7th of April following he arrived in New York. St George's Parish, through its Rector, presented to the Bishop an address, to which the Bishop sent a courte- ous reply. The Vestry, at a meeting held the year following (1788), took action to meet the requisition of the act of the Legislature passed April (4) 1788 (already noticed, p. 147) requiring an estimate to be made and sworn to before a County Judge of "the Real and Personal Estate of all and singular the Religious So- cieties in the State." What the object was of this inquisition I have not been able to learn. But it is interesting to know that the return made from this parish in compliance with the act for 1788, was as follows : Revenue from Pew Rents ;f 1 1. W- Collections 12. o Glebe Lands 40, o Homestead 15. o Total TSTT Real Estate, Valued. Homestead « •;^ 'S" Glebe Lands 600 Total ~75^ May 13, 1788. — The thanks of the Vestry were Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 155 voted to Mr. Leffert Haugewout on his retiring from. it, after a faithful service of 42 years. At a meeting of the Vestry, held May 24th, 1788,. the Rector stated that he had received a call from St John's Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and requested advice from the Vestry, whether they desired him to- accept of it; whereupon it was by them — "Resolved, That we are satisfied with his (Rev. Mr. M.'s) servicesj and we wdl faithfully endeavor to comply with our engagements and honorably fulfil our promises made to him." Sundry necessary repairs to the church and par- sonage were ordered to be made, "if sufficient money shall be raised for this purpose by the Young men of the Parish." It is pleasant to see this recognition of the duty of tlie rising generation of Churchmen to take an interest in the welfare of the Parish and assume a part of its burdens. The reliance, m this instance, was justified by the result. The repairs were made and paid for; and at the annual meeting of the parish, held June 2, 17S9, it was — " Ordered, That the thanks of the Corporation be publickly given to tlie young men of North- Hempstead for the Generous Subscription raised by them towards painting the Parish Church." What was done by the part of the parish lying in -- (South) Hempstead is_left untold. At the same meeting, " Mr. Kissam offered his services as Parish Clerk, provided Mr. Silvanus 156 Si. George's Church. Begel would not officiate in full, and until another caa be provided, and was accepted with thanks."* This language is somewhat ambiguous. We are left in doubt whether ' Mr. Silvanus Begel ' was un- willing or incompetent to discharge the duties of Clerk. What were those duties ? PARISH CLERKS. It may be well to state what the office was and its duties, especially because it is now discontinued, and because some may suppose he was the secretary of the Parish and Vestry to record its proceedings. Such was not the position or the principal duty of the person who in old times was called the parish Clerk. He was the minister's assistant in divine service. A desk was assigned for his use, which in some par- ishes was placed in front of the reading desk — in others beneath the pulpit ; and to him usually a salary was given. In early times clergymen filled the office. From the Latin term for a Clergyman ' Cleri- cus,' the name has been Anglicised into ' Clerks,' and this formerly was commonly pronounced — 'Clarks.*^ After a time laymen were appointed to perform the duties of the office. Clerks usually wore no distinctive dress, but it was customary for them, until a recent period, to wear a wig, which was often of formidable proportions. It pertained to the clerks to lead in the responses in the service. Where readers were not common, this was a help to a congregation. And even after educa- tion was shared by the pebple generally, it was * Parish Records, p. 129, Ren. Thos. Lambert Moore. £57' thought that the prompt and prominent voice of the clerk would serve to incite the congregation to do their part with the more heaitiness. But in fact, the effect was usually the other way. Even the clerk's resonant and emphatic "Amen!" was but too fre- quently left without an echo from the congregation. It pertained' also, usually, to the clerk, to give out notices. It was his duty, too, to announce the metrical por- tions which were to be sung, to select the tune, and to lead in the singing. The music for many years in this parish was wholly vocal. Organs were not to be heard in the land except in a very few churches, even down to modern times. There is a tradition that on a few extraordinary occasions a bass viol and one or two other instruments were used in St. George's in early days. But as there was no choir, the singing being truly congregational, instruments could have been of little help. For the first years of the pai-ish the singing was confined to the Psalms in metre, and the rugged version of Sternhold and Hopkins was used. A specimen or two of this version we take at random ; — Pialm, 43. Like as the heart doth breathe and bray the well-springs to obtain, So dott my Soul desire alway with the Lord to remain. My soul doth thirst and would diaw'neare the living God of mieht, Oh when'shall I come and appeire in preseiioe of his sight ? 158 Si Georges Church. Pmlm 33. My Shepherd is the living Lord, nothing therefore I need : In pastures faire with waters calm he sets me for to feed. He did convert and glad my soule, and brought my mind in frame To walk in paths of righteousnesse, for his most holy name. Yea, though I walk in vale of death, yet will I feare none ill: Thy rod, thy stafiFe do comfort me, and thou art with me still. And in the presence of my foes, my table thou shall spread: Thou shalt (O Lord) fill full my cup, and eke annoint my head. Through all my life thy favour is so frankly shew'd to me, That in thy house for evermore my dwelling place shall be. Psalm 133. O how happy a thing it is, and joyful for to see Brethren together fast to hold the band of amitie ! It calls to mind that sweet perfume, and that costly oyntment. Which on the sacrificer's head, by God's precepts was spent. It wet not Aaron's head alone, but drencht his beard throughout: And finally it did run ctown his rich attire about. &c. Re9. Thos. Lambert Moore. 159 It is a comfort to us to know that the spirit of de- votion is not easily quenched, and that tlie souls of our ancestors could be lifted heavenward through even such encumbering lines. In later days the improved version of Tate and Brady was introduced. Tliere were no Hymns in the early years of the parish history. Nor were there any in use in tlie Church by recognized authority until about 1786. At that time, in connection with the revision of tlie Prayer Book, twenty-five Hymns were introduced — two for Christmas, two for Good Friday, two for Easter, three for Whitsunday, three for Holy Communion, two for New Year, and one for funerals ; all of which, with but one exception — that for Good Friday — "From whence these direful omens sound," &c., are still in our Hymnal. The introduction of even this small number of Hymns gave much gratification to Cliurchmen, an expression of which is thus given by Dr. Wm. Smith of Chester, Penn., — himself one of the Prayer Book Revisers, to the Rev. Dr. — afterwards Bishop White. "Chester, April 17, 1786. " Dear Sir — My congregations were exceedingly pleased witli the two Good Friday Hymns, which, as they had not books, were first read and then sung, and also the two Easter Hymns, No VII, and No. vm ; but what above all seemed to make the greatest impression was the Two Communion Hymns, viz., No. XVII, beginning, " My God, and is thy Table spread," sung after sermon as an invitation to the Sacrament, and No. xviii, beginning, "And are we now brought near to God," &c., sung after the Com- munion. It adds a Solemnity which they confess'd "i6o Si. George's Church* they had not experienced before. The Hymns are indeed beautiful, and every Line of them applicable to the blessed occasion. Have you yet introduced them in this way ? When you do, you will find it of use to read them for the first Time yourself, from the Place where you are, the Desk or Communion Table. Every Communicant will before another Day have them by Heart, as I believe was the Case here, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, as the Book was sent for and sundry Copies taken in writing. I mean of Hymns 17 and 18."* Respecting the musical portions of the services in ■early days and the changes which took place, the :following statement by Bishop White is interesting :f " Within the memory of the author of this work there has taken place a most remarkable change, in refer- • ence to the subject now noticed. When he was a young man, and in England, and even when he was there fifteen years after, he never, in any church, heard ■other metrical singing than what was either from tlie version of Sternhold and Hopkins, or from that of 'Tate and Brady. In this country it was the same ; •except on Christmas Day and on Easter Sunday, when there were the two Hymns now appropriate to those days, which was strictly rubrical ; they being no more than passages of Scripture, put into the trammels of metre and rhyme." The chants, such as the Venite, &c., were read by the Clerk and congregation. Such a feat as singing them was not attempted here, and, in fact, in scarce any Episcopal Church in the land until within the past seventy years. And under tlie system of the * Jour. Gen. Con., Ed. by Bp. Perry, Vol. 3, p. 194. t Memoirs Prot. Epis. Church, 2nd Ed. p. 256. Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. iBi Clark's leading in music from his little desk* — taking the pitch usually from a tuning-fork — such a thing as an Mithenl could not be attempted. But in time more attention was given to the musi- cal part of the service. Choirs were introduced, t The Clerft's duty was in this direction abbreviated> and gradually, with other changes of custom, his ser- vices were felt to be needless, and the office itself fell into disuse. Thfe first Clerk mentioned in our Records was Tho- mas Jecocks, in 1735, whose salary was to be thirty- five shillings a year. Mr. James Gildersleeve held the position from about 1800 undl 1824 ; and he was the last one who filled it. May 2,Cj, 1796 — It was resolved to "take up," that is, hire for the use of the church, ;^ioo for needful repairs of the churchyard and Parsonage ; and that the Churcli Wardens give their bonds for this sum. And, further, " That the Coppers collected in the Parish Church and at Success be sold for as much as. they will fetch " " Ordered, That a new Register be purchased by Mr. Carman, for which he shall be repaid." March 16, 1791, the Vestry, having received a gift towards the Communion Service, which is still in use, from Capt. Samuel Pintard : " Ordered, That Captain Pintard be thanked by this Corporation for the present made the Church of an Handsome Silver Plate, for the use of the Chancel, and that the Rector be requested to signify to him tilt Same in writing." • One is still retained in Trinity Cliurcli, Newport, R. I. t In 1803 Mr. James Hall became chorister, and, fot his servictS- recCT^d Sio and the thanks of the vestry. CUP AND PATEN Presented ty Queen Anne to St. Geokge's Chukch, in 1710. gORPORATE SEAL OF ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH. Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore, 163 which were the gift of Queen Ann, the following ac- count is given in the proceedings of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.* " At a monthly meeting of the Society, in 1706, the Lord Bishop of London, reported that her Majesty of Iter princely grace and favour, had been pleased (through his lordship's hands) to allow five large Bibles, Common Prayer Books, and Books of Homi- lies, as also pulpit cloths. Communion table-clotlis, silver chalices and patens, for each of the five Churches in the government of New York, viz., Hempstead and Jamaica in Long Island, West Ches- ter, Eye, and Staten Island." These pieces of plate bear the simple inscription "Annze Reginje." The chalice is large, holding about a quart ; the paten is small, and so formed as to admit of being used as a cover to the chalice. The alms basin, the gift of John March, Esq., in 1735, and so inscribed on its rim ; and the large silver plate now used as the principal paten, the gift of Captain Samuel Pintard, have been ah^eady mentioned. These pieces constituted the whole Communion set down to 1830, when a silver gilt flagon of modern form was added. In 1851 the churcli was presented with another chalice or cup, which bears this inscrip- tion : " Presented by Thos Wm. C. Moore, Nephew of the late Rector, Rev. Thos, L. Moore, to St. George's Cliurch, Hempstead, 1851." In 1S70 the sei-vice was made complete by the gift from Mr. Samuel "Wood — descended from one of the oldest families of the parish, and who, with his brother •John Chamberlayne, quoted Bolton His Ch., &c., p 347. 164 Si(. George's Cktirch. •'•-■•' '.liiiv. . :-,_;( .,(1 ,,..;., ,'■,,. . . , ■ ,/ .,-'.,1, Abraham, left bequests to the church, — of a silver flagon, of large size and proper ecclesiastical design, which bears this inscription : " To St. George's Church, Hempstead, L. I. The gift of Samuel Wood. A memorial of his beloved parents, Epenetus and Catharine Wood : of his brothers, Epenetus, David, Abraham ; and of his sisters, Maria Wood and Mrs. Nellie Hewlett. Easter, A. D. 1870 — being the 20th year of the Rectorship of the Rev. Wm. H. Moore in said parish.'' Around the flagon is en- graved in old English letters the words — " The blood of Jesus Christ Cleanseth us from all sin." These gifts are memorials of the givers, which are continu- ally before God. By them, though dead, they still speak. The Bible, which was given St. George's Parish by- Queen Ann, has not been preserved. But the Prayer Book is still in the possession of the parish. It is a folio, and, with the exception of the Morning and Evening Services, which are much worn, -is in a good state of preservation. The type is large and dis- tinct, and the ink a brilliant black. The back of the book has been mended with parchment. The volume bears this imprint: "London — Printed by the Assigns of Tho. Newcomb and Henry Hills, deceased, Printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Maj'ty, 1710." The transition from the Royal government to the Republic, required the substitution of prayers for the; President and Congress, for those of the Royal family and Parliament. These changes, with others ordained, by the General Convention of the Church at its early- r y I ' ME. SAMUEL WOOD. Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 165 are exhibited in this Prayer Book by cover- ing the portions dliariged witli paper containing the forms substituted. These were written in large print- like letters by the Rev. Mr, Moore. In our narrative we have overpast the reference to an event in this parish which was of considerable moment, viz., the first ordination in this parish, which was also the first ordination in the Episcopal Church in the State of New York — and only ten had pre- ceded this in our Church in this country, all of them performed by Bishop Seabury of Connecticut, The following is "the account found in a ' contemporary print of the transaction, and in the private diary of the Eev. Thos. L. Moore : " 1785, Nov'r 2d, Wednesday. — Read the morning ■service previous to Mr. Jiio. Lowe of Virginia receiv- ing Confirmfition and Deacon's orders " Nov'r 3d, Thursday. — After morning service Read by the Rev'd Mr. Bloomer and a Sermon by the Bishop, the same gentleman was solemnly ORDAined Priest." "On Thursday last, 3d inst, Mr, John Lowe, a gentleman from Virginia, received holy orders from the hands of the Rt. Rev. Samuel Seabury, Bishop of the Episcopal Protestant Church in Connecticut, in St George's Church at Hempstead, on Long Island, As this Xvas the first instance of an ordinance of the Church which has ever taken place in this State, the solemnity of the occasion was almost beyond descrip- tion — the excellent sermon delivered by the Bishop, the prayers and tears of liimseif, his presbyters, and the numerous assembly, for thesuccess of tliis gende- man in hisministry, will be long had in remembrance by every spectator." — The 'New York Packet, Nov. 1 66 Si Georges Church. .21, \^Z%,.^-'N. Y. Historical Society Calendar for year iZ^O, page 374. The subsequent career of the Rev. Mr. Lowe I have not been able to trace. But the ordination was re- garded as being important and significant, because of the circumstances under which it took place, and which are thus referred to in a letter from the Rev. Mr., afterwards Bishop Provoost of New York to the Hev. Dr. WiUiam White of Philadelphia, in which Mr. Provoost, referring to the application which had been forwarded to England, to have himself and Dr. White consecrated Bishops — says : " I expect no obstruction to our application but what may arise from the intrigues of the non- juring Bishop of Connecticut, who a few days since paid a visit to this State (notwithstanding he incurred the guilt of misprision of Treason, and was liable to ^confinement for life for doing so) and took shelter at Mr. James Rivlngton's, where he was seen ■only by a few of his most intimate friends ; whilst he was there, a piece appeared in a newspaper under Rivington's direction, pretending to give an account of the late Convention, (the General Convention, 1785,) but replete with falsehood and prevarication, and evidently intended to excite a prejudice against our transactions, both in England and in America. " On Long Island Dr. Cebra appeared more openly — preached at Hempstead church, and ordained the person from Virginia I formerly mentioned, being as- sisted by the Rev. Mr. Moore, of Hempstead, and the Rev. Mr. Bloomer, of New Town, Long Island. " 1 relate these occurrences, that when you write next to England, our Friends there may be guarded Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 167 against any misrepresentations tiiat may come from that Quarter, " I am, with respects to Dr. Magaw and Mr, Blackwell, Dr Sir, " Your most sincere Friend and Humble Servant, " Samuel Provoost.* " Nevj York, Nov. y, '1785." The strong prejudice which influenced the Rev. Mr. Provoost against Bishop Seabmy is exhibited here in his persistent misspelling the Bishop's name, writing it always " Cebra," in tlie withholding the title "Bish- 8p," and in his misconstruction of the newspaper arbcle to which he alludes, which is given in full in " Perry's Historical Notes and DocumentS,"t together with some further communications from the Rev. Mr, Provoost, and is free from the artfulness he attributes to it. The exhibition of such an unamiable spirit towards Bishop Seabury was, unfortunately, not an isolated instance. In the New York Convention, June 14th, 1786, the following resolution was adopted: " Resolved, That the persons appointed to represent this Church [in General Convention] be instructed not to consent to any act that may Imply the validity of Dr. Seabury's ordination," But it is a matter of pleasant reflection that the members of St. George's parish, so far from adding to the good bishop's burdens, did what they could to encourage and sustain him. « Perry's Early Conventions— Hist. Notes vol. 3, p. 283. \ A Half Century of Legislation of the American Chuicli, vol. 3, p. Z83, 1 68 Si. Georgis Church. In those critical months to the Protestant Episco- pal Church in America, when, partly from opposition to the Bishop's consecration by the Scotch Bishops ; partly from sectional jealousies ;* partly from such ecclesiastical idiosyncrasies as moved Virginia ta forbid her delegate— Dr. Gwffith— to a general Con- ference, to take a seat as a member ; and South Caro- lina to stipulate that she would participate in the conference only on the condition that ''No Bishop should be settled in that State," there appeared little prospect of bringing such divergent elements to coa- lesce harmoniously in the union of one body, and a permanent disassociation of the churches in the several States seemed inevitable — at that critical period this parish manifested its undiminished affection and respect for Bishop Seabury, and con- tributed its influence to promote that amiable inter- change of sentiment between him and Bishop White, the embodiments of gentleness and kindliness ; which, under God, averted the impending dissension of Churchmen, and led to that firm compact which has made the Church vigorous and victorious. Bishop Seabury was regarded by the Churchmen of Hempstead with pride and affection, as the child of the parish ; and he reciprocated the feeling. Through * An example of which is given in the following extract of a letter from the Rev. Mr. Parker of Boston, to Bishop White: "In these Northern States I much doubt whether a Bishop from England would be received, so great is the jealousy .itill remaining of the English nation. Of a Scotch Bishop there can be no suspicions, because wholly unconnected with the civil power themselves, they could in- troduce none into these States." — Church Documents, Connecticut, Vol. ii. p. 290. Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 169 all his after years he frequently revisited the scenes of his youth and tlie home of his numerous relatives. The private diary of the Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore contains frequent records of his officiating here. In 1791, tlie Vestry of St, George's adopted a measure for which, probably, they had some reason not now to be discerned. It was by them " Ordered, that every person acting in any pubHc office of the Church should declare his consent and assent to the doctrines and discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church ;" and the following certificate of the compli- ance with this ordinance of those who made it, was drawn up and signed. "South Hempstead, 21 July, 1791. " The Vestry of St. George's Church in this Town having taken into consideration the necessity of Uniformity as well in Doctrine as in Discipline, have unanimously agreed to the following Resolutions, which Resolutions they sincerely subscribe for them- selves, and which they seriously recommend to all their successors in office, viz. : " That every person acting in any Public office in this Church, shall, as soon as elected, declare his con- sent and assent to the Doctrines and Discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and his conformity to the Canons made for the Government of the same, "Thos. Lambt, Moore, Rector. Tlios. Clowes, I ^^^^^^^^ Wardens. George Hewlet, ) George Weeks, ' Benj. Hewlet, I ^„, „ Saml, Carman, ■' Danl. Kissam, . 170 Si. George's Church. Having referred to the Diary of the Rev. Mr. Moore, we make from it one or two extracts. Un- der date of November 12, 1786, he notes that the number who partook of the sacrament that day was forty- one. " 1783, Nov. 23. — Read and Preached at St. Paul's: Chapel (New York), morning; do St. George's, after- noon. — N. B. This was the last time that His M(ajesty) G(eorge) III. was prayed for in this State." Up to 1787 all evening services were held in pri- vate houses, there being no provision for lighting the church ; evening services in Episcopal churches not being customary nor regarded favorably by Church- men generally. But the necessary arrangements having been made, the church was henceforth used for evening services, as tlius noted in Mr. Moore's diary: " 1787, Nov. 25. — Read and preached, morning. South Hempstead. Lectured in church, evening, first time of thus assembling." We learn from this diary that from the middle of October until the following spring, it was Mr. Moore's custom to have but one service, eithei at Hempstead or at Success,, where he officiated every third Sunday. A continuance of some of the obtrusive peculiari- ties of the Quakers is probably aimed at in a . resolution passed by the Vestry, May 29, 1 792 : " Resolved, That the Church Wardens and Vestry- men shall see due order observed in Church — and that no person be hereafter permitted to come withia the walls of the same, whether Service or not — covered." Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 171 At this meeting there was passed the following resolution — " That a new Parsonage House be erected next Spring, and that materials be purchased this season." NEW PARSONAGE. The above resolution was promptly carried into effect. The parsonage which was now to be displaced by the new one was built, as we have seen, in 1682. And when tlie Rev. Mr. Seabury came here in 1744, it was in so ruinous a condition as to require such extensive repairs that it might be said to have been almost rebuilt. It had never been a com- modious dwelling. Its style was one that prevailed ■on Long Island at the period of its erection, and of which a few specimens still survive. It was a story and a half high in front, with a roof of a single pitch sloping down to one story in tlie rear. A front door in the middle of the house opened into a narrow hall running tlirough the house, with two rooms on either side. At the rear end of the hall was a passage way into a small building in which was the kitchen. The ceilings were low, even on the ground floor, and lower still in tlie two or three rooms above, ■ Tlie stipulations for the new parsonage directed it should be 44 feet front by 34 feet deep, with a build- ing at tlie east end, for a l;itchen. Mr. Mackrel, of Jamaica, was the builder, and the cost was to be ^500 ; the Vestry stipulating to be at the expense of carting the lumber, finding the stone and digging the cellar. The lack of height in the old building was avoided in the new one, but unfortunately, the designer of the plan, if there was such a person, gave 172 Si. Georges Church. the greatest height to the part of the building of the least use — the attic. The ceilings were but a little higher than those of the old building. And with a singular lack of foresight, the house was constructed without having in it a single closet ; a defect which has since been but very imperfectly remedied. The building was regarded, at the time, as a rather imposing one. It was constructer largely of hewn oak timber, contributed principally by the parish- ioners on the north side of the island. This timber, not having been seasoned, by its warping and twisting has affected the regularity of the bevel and angles. Being covered only with shingles nailed to laths, renders it but too accessible to cold and wind. All parts of the parish, which then included a large portion of the county and extended across the Island from the ocean to Sands Point on the Sound, actively participated in providing the new residence for their Rector, as the following inscription on its corner stone declares : " This Parsonage was erected by the voluntary Donations of the Episcopal Congregation of North and South Hempstead, Anno Domini, 1793. Unity, Perseverance, and Public Spirit. Laus Deo." The old parsonage building was sold for ;^40 — the piazza to Mr. George Weeks for j^S — and a part of it was removed to a lot on Greenwich Street, which afterwards came into the possession of Mr. Henry Eckford, when it was taken down. Another part was taken to the land now owned by Mr. Stewart Haff. ►I r -^- '1 ,i Rev. Tkos. Lambert Moore. 173 "Nov. 28, l793.^TIie Jrustees chosen to sell the old parsonage, reported they had sold the west part to Mr. George Weeks, Jr., for £i&^' In the new parsonage Mr. Moore dwelt during the last six years of his Rectorship, In March, 1794, the Vestry directed the sale of that portion of the glebe lands at the south — near the bay — designated as the Middle and Little Neck.* How many acres were comprised in the sale is not stated. The lands brought ;^35o. With this sum and an addition of ^£"50 more, on which the Rector agreed to pay in- terest, tlie Vestry bought for a glebe from Mr. Thos. Clowes, a piece of land of twenty-three acres, now lying in the eastern edge of the village of Hempstead, and whose nortliern boundary is the Parmingdale Road, and which was afterwaids desig-. nated as the Greenfield property, and " Green Farm." By resolution of the Vestry a letter of thanks was sent, about this time, to " the Minister, Eiders and Deacons of the Reformed Dutch Church, for the use of the Church at Success," It is surmised that the services of the church had been conducted at Success only since Mr. Moore was Rector, and were for the especial accommodation of the members of the parish residing in tliat neighborhood.+ At the Vestry- meeting in May, 1795, one of the Wardens, rlVIr. Thos. Clowes, was appomted Treas- urer of the " Sacramental Fund," and Col. Carman, ." Ireasuror of all Contingent Moneys." And it was ordered that £1 be allowed this year from tiie Sa9Eik> mental Fund, for support of " Travelling Missionaries * Harish Records, p. 14^1. f Parish Recoidi, p. 145 r.nd 14S. 174 "S*^- George's Church, of this Church upon the frontiers of this and the neighbouring States." The purpose was excellent, but the proceeding was not in accord with the rubric in the Communion office, which designates the Rector as the dispenser of the fund, and prescribes the objects. In October, 1795, a meeting of the corporation was held, and by its order,* the salary of the Rector was advanced to ;^2oo. In April of this year — 1795 — at a town meeting, there was a resolution adopted respecting the PUBLIC LANDS IN FRONT OF THE PARSONAGE, of which the following is a copy from the Town Records, p. 390 : " This is to certify that the inhabitants of South Hempstead, in Town Meeting assembled, the 7th day of April, A. D. 1795, did voluntarily and in a legal manner, as they were by law authorized to do, grant unto the Rev. Thomas L. Moore and his successors in office, all the land in front of the Episcopal Parson- age down to the brook, reserving the public roads above and below the hill for the use of the public, and prohibiting- the Rev. Thomas L. Moore or his successors in office, from fencing said land or other- wise enclosing, under penalty of forfeiting this grant. " Entered and compared with the original the fifth day of April, 1796, By Mr. Richd. Beadle, Town Clerk." The following letter, in the possession of Mr. Jack- son J. Jones, of Seaford, found among the papers of * Parish Records, p. 153. Rev, Thos. Lambert Moore. 175 his grandfather, explains the source of the above quoted resolution : " Sir — I have again made application to this Town Meeting for a grant of the Land opposite the Parson- age. Deeming you to he a man of an independent mind, I hope you will give my memorial your ap- probation and support. " As opposition to this Grant can only proceed from party motives, I rely upon your understanding and honour to frustrate the views of such characters, " I am, with best wishes, " Your Friend and Servant, "Thos. Lamb't. MoorK " 5. Hempd. 7 April, 1795. " Major Jackson." In May, 1796, the Vestry " Ordered — That a letter be written to the Right Rev. Bishop Provoost, laying before Him the situa- tion of this Corporation; viz., That they are burdened with a debt of ;^200 and praying assistance from the Corporation of Trinity Church to relieve them, if it can be done." This petition was not fruitless. Trinity Church, as- in almost innumerable other instances, kindly gave the relief asked, and the Rector of St George's was ordered to send a " Letter of sincere tlianks to the Coiporation of Trinity Church for their recent generous respectable donation." The donation was ;^SOo, more than double the amount asked. John Moore, Esq. was authorized and empowered by the Vestry to receive the donation, and deposit one-half in the Bank" of New York, the remainder to be used for the present exigencies of the church. i-^^e -Si. George's Ckwch. These appear to have been, to pay an amount st^U due Mr. Mackrel, the builder of thjc Pajrson^^e, repay the Rector the sum he had advanced for the parsonage house, and pay a long standing note dye the estate of a former Senior Warden, Leffert Hauge- wout. The south Parsonage was ordered to be rented, .as heretofore, to Col. Carman, for forty pounds per * annum. Mr. Moore, on becoming rector of St George"^, did not resume the services which his predecessors had been accustomed to hold at Oyster Bay, and which Mr. Cutting had been obliged to discontinue because of the perils attendent upon travelling there during the turbulence of the Revolutionary War. As from this period an informal but practical dis- solution took place of the connection which by the enactment of the Assembly, in 1693, ordained that " Hempstead and Oyster Bay should be one par- ish," it will be proper to introduce here a sketch of the subsequent condition of CHRIST CHURCH, OYSTER BAY. As prefatory to that sketch, we first state certain proceedings in that town of a very early date, which will throw light upon remarks made by the mission- aries, Jenney, Seabury and Cutting, in tlieir corres- pondence with the Venerable Society. One of the Duke of York's laws (1665) for the government of the Province of New York, says : Parish Records, p. 164. Christ Church, Oyster Bay. 1 77 " Whereas the pubUc worship of God is much dis- credited for want of painful and able ministers to instruct the people in the true religion, it is — Ordered, that a church shall be built in each parish capable of liolding two hundred persons ; that ministers of e^'ery church shall preach every Sunday, and pray for the King, Queen, Duke of York, and the Royal Family ; and to marry persons, after legal publication or license."* But while houses of worship were thus ordered to "be built, and ministers were expected, the law was of little effect until the Act of the Assembly of the Pro- vince, in 1693, for raising by tax a maintainance for ministers gave it practical efficiency. But Oyster Bay did not regard this provision favorably, as the follow- ing extract from the town record shows : " 1693, Feb. 19. — The town met together in order to a late Act of the Assembly for settling two minis- ters in the county, but nothing was done about it; but made return that it was a thing against their judgment — therefore could do nothing about it" But the people of the town afterwards receded from this indefensible position, and, tike good citizens, con- formed to the law. " 1706, Sejit. 14. — Capt. John Dickenson and Wm. Frost, Sr., are chosen Trustees for the town, to act as provided by Act of Assembly, to build and repair tiieir Meeting- Houses and other public buildings." " 1707, Mar. 3, — Justice John Townsend is chosen Treasurer of the town, to receive the £^0 raised for the furnishing fce church, &c." • See Thompson, 1st ed. p. 103. 178 Christ Church, Oyster Bay. "1710, Jime 27.— At a town meeting it was or- dered that I y^ acre of land joining to the church be laid out for a church-yard."* The place for worship had now been built (al- though not completed, as the missionaries long after this state), and, — " 171 1, Feb. 16. — Ordered, that the Trustees and Church Wardens [of the civil Vestry, ^aT.]— should receive and lay out the money to be raised for that purpose to the best advantage for seating the church." This building, after the custom elsewhere, was used for town meetings. In 1768, Oyster-Bay petitioned the Assembly [for authority] to raise the ministers' and poor tax separ- ate from Hempstead. The cessation of the Church services by Mr. Cut- ting was followed by a scattering of the congregation. The church building fell into decay, and in 1801 what remained of it was sold for tlie sum of %6t, which was delivered to the Overseers of the Poor " until the same shall be called, for by the religious Society, if any may demand it." Meanwhile certain of the citizens of Oyster Bay had resolved to establish a Seminary or Academy — and they petitioned the town to grant to them the plot of land on Church Hill, then lying unoccupied, on which to erect said seminary. To give weight to their appli- cation, the proprietors of the Academy obtained the following expression of the consent of members of the Episcopal Church that the land might be loaned for the purpose prayed for : * Book D, Town Records, Folio 9. Christ Church, Oyster Qay. 179 "Be it known to whom it may concern, that we whose names are hereunto subscribed, being the lawful Heirs and Descendants of the Pro- prietors of the Episcopal Church situate in the Town spot of Oyster-Bay, do freely and voluntarily agree to put the said church in its present situation (with the appurtenances tliereunto belonging) into tlie charge of the Trustees of the Academy building in the said Town, and by them kept in trust until at some future day it may be found necessary to apply the said Church with its appurtenances for the use of said Episcopal Society. " Robert Townsend, Administcatoc of the Estate of Samuel Townsend, dec'd. Samuel Haviland, John Jones, David Jones." " Oyster-Bay, 1801. At the time of this agreement the probability that" the Episcopal Church would be revived in Oyster Bay, must have appeared very small. But tliese Churchmen verj- wisely stipulated, in view of the' possibility of it. They evidently had an abiding trust in the indefecfibility of the Church. The Academy, which was opened in iSoj, proved less enduring than its friends expected, being superseded by the public school ; while tlie Church, on the other hand, exhibited renewed energy when its vitality was supposed to be extinct. The first intimation we have been able to find — after this time — that the Episcopalians of Oyster Bay still cherished a love for the Church and a purpose to have her services, is in an advertisement in the Long Island Star, April 17, 1821, that^"the Rev. Dr. i8o Christ Church, Oyster Bay. Bletsoe, has been appointed Principal of the Acade- my at Oyster Bay, and it is intended by the Trustees to appropriate a part of Edmund Hall to the purposes of an Episcopal Church, in which Divine Service will be performed regularly by Dr. Bletsoe." Of this person little is now known further than that he claimed to be an English clergyman, and that be- cause of some defect in his credentials, he failed of being recognized by tlie ecclesiastical authorities of the diocese. Whether he carried out his purpose to hold Church services we cannot learn. Shortly after this time the Academy project failed,, and the building was closed. The purpose of rees- tablishing the services of the Church was still enter- tained by the old members of the parish, and as a preparatory step, they bought up the now almost valueless stock of the proprietoi's of the Academy,, and voted — the Academy had never been incorpo- rated — to give the building to the Church for a parsonage ; and such it is to-day. In 1822, Mr. Edward K. Fowler, a resident in the neighborhood and a candidate for orders, began to hold services as a lay reader in the Academy, with en- couraging results. In a letter to Dr. James De Kay, in 1850, from Monticello, N. Y., he says : " On every occasion of public worship in which I was engaged in the Academy at Oyster Bay, the congregation was respectable, and oftentimes as large as the building would comfortably contain." Upon his ordination, in 1823, by Bishop Hobart, he continued to officiate at Oyster Bay and at Hunt- ington on alternate Sundays, until 1826. when an Christ Church, Oyster Bay. i8t affection of the throat compelled him to remove to> another part of the State. But his services resulted ui gathering the scattered members of tlie old con- gregation and in bringing in new ones, and in confirming in all the purpose to have tlie parish re- sume effective hfe. After the Rev, Mr Fowler removed, service was held occasionally in Oyster Bay by the Rev. Joseph F, Phillips, Rector of Christ Church, Manhasset, from 1833 to 1835. In 1835 Christ Church, Oyster Bay, was made a missionary station of the diocese, and tlie Rev. Isaac Sherwood was appointed the missionary. From that date no marked progress was made for several years in reviving the parish. But in 1S44 the question of a location for a church-building, which had caused some difterence of opinion, was settled. It was ac- cordingly built, at a cost of $2800, upon the site and amidst the venerable graves of the former one, which is so frequently referred to in the correspondence of the missionaries with the Venerable Society, And in September, 1844, tlie Rev. Edwin Harwood became the minister of the parish. Thus was the continuity of the parish Hfe maintain- ed — the interrupted current flowed on again in the ancient channels. The church building erected in 1844 soon showed serious defects in its construction, and in 1877 the Vestry decided to take it down and erect another, at a cost of $I2,0CX3. David J. Youngs, Edward M. Townsend and William Trotter, Jr., were appointed the building committee. Messrs. Potter and Robert- Kev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 1S3 his parish. At Success, in the north part of the parish, he held services at least one Sunday every month in the Reformed Dutch Church, which was kindly loaned to him, for the convenience of his parishioners at Manhasset and on the Necks. He also held services on week days in private houses and school houses in the south part of the parish, as at Hicks' Neck, and at Gen. Van Wyck's at Rockaway. But at the parish church alone could the services be enjoyed with all appropriate ceremonies, and this fact was appreciated by the people. At the festivals especially, and particularly at Christmas, when the dressing of the Sanctuary with evergreens was so distinctive a custom of the Episcopal Church, — and so common a matter of reproach lo us then from other denominations, — the people flocked to the old church in numbers entirely beyond its capacity to ac- commodate them. They came from the most distant parts of Rockaway, from South Oyster Bay, from Foster's Meadow, and from tlie Necks of north Hempstead even down to Sands Point, An aged lady,* who in her youth lived at Success — Lakeville, — related to the writer her "well remembered experi- ence in attending church in those days, when "Parson Moore was the minister," To traverse the fourteen miles, from Great Neck and Cow Neck, over bad roads, and when light carriages were a luxury unattainable, required a start of at lea:it three hours before church, time. The usual convey- ance was a farm wagwi — witliout springs — prepared * Mts. Hannah Nostrand Comwcll. 184 Si. George's Church. for Sunday use by having chairs for the elder persons and clean straw in the bottom for children. Those who could not compass even such a moderate degree of luxury, and were obliged to come on foot, were ■careful to reserve their shoes and stockings in their hands, until they reached the borders of the village ; -when, either in the ' • Parsonage Brook " or Burly Pond, they removed the accumulated dust from their feet, and completed their toilet. An interesting and memorable event during Mr. Moore's rectorship, was the first confirmation in the parish. Until this period there had been no Bishop in the country to administer the sacred rite. Pre- vious generations of Churchmen in this land had been ■deprived of the privilege of the sanctifying act They had felt — as already observed, p. 120 — the depri- vation to be a hardship and a wrong. And it was a wrong harder to bear because it was produced by tlie opposition of godless statesmen m Great Britain, to the appointments of Bishops for the Colonies. Churchmen from all parts of the land had protested and had prayed in vain to be endowed with the in- struments of Apostolic appointment, without which the Church could not preserve her existence. " The poor Church of America," v/as the complaint of Churchmen at the time — " is worse off than her adversaries that are round about her. She has no- body on the spot to comfort or confirm her children, — nobody to ordain such as are willing to serve." The complaint was well founded. " Only that communion which clave close to the Apostolic model was on all sides cramped and weak- R^.- Tkas. LebmbeH Meore.^ 185 9ped ; wUhoirt tl;e centre of visible unityT^witlipiit tjie direction pf common efifaris — .without tbg power of confirming tlie young, whilst it taught the youi^ that tliere was a blessing in the very rite nvhiqh \t withheld from them, — Without the power of ordina- tion, whilst it maiatained that it was needful for a. true succession of tlie priesthood, — declaring by its own teaching, its maimed and imperfect condition^ and feeling it practicall}' at every turn.'-* The consciences of Churchmen, and especially the clergy, were hurt by reason of this arbitrary with- holding of privileges pertaining to tlie Christian birthright " There is a dispute among our clergy," wrote one of them to the Bishop of London,t " relat- ing to tlie exhortation after baptism to the godfatlier, to bring the child to the Bishop to be confirmed. Our adversaries object to it as a mere jest to order the godfa'herto bring the child to the Bishop, when there is not one within a tliousand leagues of us." Tlie evil and wrong which was done to the Church in America by those who were in authority in Eng- land, in stubbornly disregarding her piteous entrea- ties to send her men endowed with the Apostolic order and authority, has recently been recited in a speech msde before the Propagation Society at Lin- coln, England, at the Anniversary of that Society, November 7, iSSo, by the Rt. Rev. A. N. Littlejohn, D.D,, LL.D., Bishop of Long Island,- of which we give an extract : " For nearly a century and a half the Church in • Wilberforce, Hist. Amer. Cbnrch, p. III. f Wilberforce, tlist. Amer. CJiuicb, p. 112. 1 86 - S^. George's Church. America was left without the Episcopate ; and whetf given, it was with reluctance and almost under constraint. For all that time a hearty' allegiance to the Mother Church was repaid with neglect Meanwhile, there were hundreds of parishes, but no diocese ; multitudes of the baptized, but no confirm- ation ; priests demanded on all sides to guide the infant colonial life, but no ordination save by crossing 3000 miles of ocean. Meanwhile, too, every Eng- lish speaking sect, embarrassed by no such funda- mental defects of polity and discipline, going out to the New World on fire with zeal kindled by both politi- cal and ecclesiastical differences at home, found a safe and welcome lodgment, and laid deep and wide the foundations of their power ; so that when the Ameri- can Church at last appeared in the field, with the Apostolic Equipment so long withheld, she seemed as one born out of due time," &c. The great impediment to the growth and welfare of the Church haying been removed, and Bishop Provoost having been consecrated in England, Feb. 4, 1787, Bishop of New York, — the following October, Wednesday the 3 ist, he came to this parish, and after the Morning Service, read by the Rev. Mr. Beach, an assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York, and a sermon by the Rev. Mr. Bloomer, of Grace Church, Jamaica; he confirmed one hundred and fifty-five persons — the accumulated candidates of many years, and the. largest class yet confirmed in the parish. The list of that first class has been happily preserved. It includes the names of persons from all portions of the extended parish. Among them are the familiar names of such sturdy Churchmen as Kissam, Allen, Burtis, Treadwell, Thorn, Clowes, Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 187 Mitchel, Hewlett, Piatt, Van Nostrand, Cornell, Gilder- sleeve, Demot, Jackson, Bedel, Sands, Curtis, Car- man, Hagner, Onderdonk, Rhodes, Weeks, Petit, Durling, Pool, Titus, Baldwin, Stringham and John- son, It may be regarded as a fulfilment of tlie assurance of long life as a part of the heritage of righteousness, that of those thus confirmed in 17S7, there were several still living and active members of the church, more than fifty years afterwards, viz.: George Weeks, died 1854 aged 84 years. Mrs. Jane (Stringham) Abrams, died 1S64, aged 93. Miss Sarah Smith, died i860, aged 93 years. Mrs. Abigail (Carman) Clowes, died 1855 aged 81. Benjamin Treadwell, died 1855, aged 85 years. Mrs. Mary Ann (Moore) Hewlett, (sister of the Rector) died 1853, aged 86. Mrs. Sarah Pettit, died 1853, aged 89 years. On the 20tli of February, 1799, the useful minis- try of the Rev. Thomas Lambert Moore was closed by death, in the 41st year of his age. At his funeral the church edifice was draped in mourning. The burial service was read by the Rev. IVIr. Rattoone, of Jamaica, and a sermon preached by tlie Rev. Mr. Van Dyke, of St. James' Church, Newtown, and the interment was under the chancel of the church, which position is indicated by the tombstone erected over the remains, when the church was taken down, and the present site chosen for the new one. A mural tablet was erected In 1S07 in the church to his memory, which bears this inscription: 5V. George's Church, I. H. 8. ^aored to the Memory erf the REVD. THOS. t,AMBT. MOORE, M. A„ late Rector of this Church. Bom at New York the 22nd February, 1758, Ordained Deacon by the Bishop of London, the 2ist Sejiiteinber, .1781, and Priest by the Bishop of Chester, the 24th February, 1782. Called to this Parish the 3rd March, 1785, and died the 20trh February, 1799. By his engaging and persuasive manners, his Christian zeal and popular talents, he gathered and left a numerous and respectable Congregation To perpetuate his revered memory and usefulness. The Corporation of St. George's Church, have erected this stone, the tribute of their gratitude and affection. The portrait of the Rev. Thos. L. Moore was painted while he was in England, and a copy of it, presented by his son, Thomas Daniel Moore, to St George's Church, hangs in the robing room. The publications of Mr. Moore were : Sermon before Convention of the Diocese of New York, Nov. 3, 1789. Sermon on Religious Divisions, 1792. He was elected a delegate to the General Conven- tion from New York, in 1789, 1792, and 1795, and was a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of New Yorlc in 1 790. At his death he left a widow, Mrs. Judith Moore, who died October, 1834 ; a son, Thomas Daniel, who became a merchant in New York City, and died June 18, 1857 ; and three daughters, who remained unmar- Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. I89 ried. One of these, and tfae latest survivor, Elizabeth Francies, born in the Rectory, and the first child borii In it, Decemfeer 18, 1793, died at Hempstead, where she had resided for the previous seventeen years, February 19, 1881, aged 88 years and two months. In her infancy she was so feeble that no hope was eoteitained of her continuing long to hve. And through all her life her attenuated frame declared the absence of ro- bmst health, and yet she outlived and was lon'ger lived than any member of her family Always of a buoyant spirit, in despite tlie lack of bodily vigor, her declining years exhibited a pleasing example of cheerful piety and placid old age. Her remains were laid beside those of her parents and sisters, in the ground which had 'uccn beneath the chancel of the old church. Mr. Moore's ministry left a beneficent impression, which endured through the lives of his parishioners. It was cherished and extolled by the few aged sur- vivors when tiie writer came to the rectorship, fifty years after Mr. Moore's decease. It is not the privi- lege, nor in the power of many of Christ's ambassa- dors to write their memories so deeply in the hearts of their people. Mr. Moore's influence is accounted for by his ex- cellent qualities as a man and pastor, and his effectiveness as a preacher. In the latter point he is said to have strongly resembled his brother. Bishop R. C. Moore, of ■Virginia. Like his brother, he com- bined vigor of delivery and emphasis of manner with a peculiarly suasory intonation of voice, which was at once clear, flexible and sympathetic. Like him, too, igo Si. Georges Church. he had the gift of ai'ousing and enchaining the atten- tion of those who are usually apathetic. And he Jiad, in an unusual degree, the ability to impress his hearers with the feeling that his intense earnestness proceeded from his deep conviction of the truth and immeasurable importance of what he declared. He was permitted to see large fruits to his ministry, and accomplished what St. Peter desired : " I will en- ■ ,- '■'If THE REV, "\VM, II. MOORE, D.D. Rev. WiUiam, H. Moore. 259 city, now become so populous, was then but recently founded. After laboring in Manchester for nearly seven years, he resigned the parish in consequence of prolonged sickness from typhoid fever. When, after several months, he had sufficiently recovered his healtli, he accepted a request to organize a parish at Ballard- va!e, in the town of Andover, Massachusetts. While engaged in that work, he received, through the Rev. Dr. E. C. Cutler, of St. Ann's, Brooklyn, a request to supply for a Sunday the vacant pulpit of St. George's,, Hempstead, a parish of which he had then no knowledge. Desiring to gratify Dr. Cutler, and at the same time visit friends in Brooklyn and New York, he complied with the request, and officiated in St. George's, Sunday, August 12th, 1849. Much to his surprise, before leaving to return to his parish in Massachusetts, he received from tlie Vestry of St George's the following communication : " We, the undersigned, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. George's Church, Hempstead, do hereby calt the Rev, Wm. H. Moore to be Rector of said parisii, as long as the parties, (that is,) tlie Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen, sliall agree ; and tliat when a dissolu- tion of the connection shall be requested, due notice- shall be given,not less than tliree months beforehand. And it is hereby declared and agreed, that the salary shall be six hundred dollars per annum, in half-yearly payments, to commence with the Rector's regular ser- vices, together with the use of the parsonage-house,. barn, garden, &c. " Hempstead, August \<,th, 1849. 26o St. George's Church, Samuel L. Seaman, " Lewis Rushmore, Samuel Hewlett, IVestrvmen Harry H. Marvin, ' vestrymen. Wm. Rhodes, Jonathan Gildersleeve, . To which communication the following reply was made. " To the Wardens and Vestrymen of St. George's Church, Hempstead : " Gentlemen — I have taken into prayerful conside- ration the call to become your Rector, which you have extended to me with such pleasing unanimity. And I am guided, I trust, by the Spirit of Divine wisdom to accept it. " The more I have reflected upon the spirit of con- cord in which you were enabled to act, and by which diverse minds were so quickly brought to entertaitt the same preference, the more I am disposed to re- gard it as a token of God's pleasure, and a presage of good for your parish. I devoutly trust that this same spirit may mark all our counsels and inter- course ; and that the sacred connection into which we have been led will be sanctified and sealed by the increasing holiness of believers and the conversion of the impenitent to God. " My expectation and purpose is to be with you, God willing, on the first Sunday in September. " I remain sincerely, " Your friend and brother in the Gospel, "W. H. Moore." " Andover, Aug. 21, 1849. The promptness and unanimity with which this in- vitation was given by the Vestry, is to be attributed to kindly recommendations made, unsought, by tlie Rev. William H. Moore. 261 Rev. Dr. Cutler, Thos. Wm. C. Moore, Esq., and Mr. Thomas Stanford, the then Church bookseller of New York : and to the fact that the very name " Moore " was cherished by the aged members of the parish, from being connected with a former Rector, who had endeared himself to them by his attainments and vir- tues. And it is but duly reverent to record — after a lapse of more than thirty years — that the conviction of a divine leading in the determination made in 1849, is abiding with increased strengtli in the writer in 1881. And while all but three of those who called him to the parish are dead, it is due to their memo- ries and to tlie yet- living to make the grateful decla- ration that the harmony of the begmning has not been disturbed for an hour since ; and that with every member of each succeeding Vestry, he lias, by God's blessing, maintained unbroken affectionate intercourse. Some of those who have gone were, like other men, persons of rigid will and strong prejudices, but they were al! accessible to reason, and would readily re- spond to a respectful and patient approach. The following prominent events in the history of the parish since 1S49, are recorded. In October, 1849, anotlier and the final enlarge- ment of the churchyard was made, by the purchase of the land at tlie north and west of the Sunday- school room, from Coles Carman and Benjamin T. Smith, for $400, and the money hired of Samuel Hewlett with which to pay for it. This amount iWr. Hewlett bequeatlied to the church in 1S69, on tlie condition that his grave plot in the yard should be kept always in good order. 262 Si. George's Church. In 1850 the now stately row of trees outside the churchyard were set out, under the direction of the Rector and Messrs. Laing and John Harold. The trees were a gift from William Horace Brown, Esq. ; a member of the parish, then residing at Foster's Meadow. The same year the Treasurer's account showed : Receipts $1 184 97 Expenditures. 1096 46 Balance 88 51 In 1852 : Receipts were ". . $1673 39 Expenditures 1661 00 Balance 12 39 One hundred . dollars was added to the Rector's salary, and the thanks of the Vestry were given to Miss A. E. Angevine for her acceptable and gratui- tous services as organist. The rent of the pews was advanced. In 1853 the Treasurer's account showed a balance of cash on hand of $311.91. The Rector's salary was made $800. In 1854 the clock now in the church tower was bought of the makers, Sherry and Byram, of Sag Harbor, for the sum, including dials, &c., of $638. This amount was raised by general subscription, the names of the donors being engrossed on parchment ; and by a ladies' fair, which yielded $240. By a vote of the contributors, it was placed in St. George's Church. Rev. William H. Moore. 263 In 185s, the piazza on the south side of the par- sonage was built, and also a new kitchen, at a cost of $400. In 1856 the recess chancel, twenty-five feet wide. by seventeen feet deep, with robing-room adjoining, was built, at a cost of $1300 — this sura being raised by the subscriptions of the members of the parish. To effect this addition there was necessarily dis- placed the old arrangement for conducting the service, which was neitlier convenient nor seemly. The chancel extended into the body of the church. Within the rail was the communion-table. Directly over this was the reading-desk; behind, over the reading-desk, towered the pulpit, whose top was on a level with the galleries. Access to the pulpit was had by winding stairs on either side of the chancel, though why two were necessary, unless for mere uni- formity of appearance, we cannot say. Behind the pulpit was a mock representation of a heavily pan- elled arched door, over the centre of which waa perched a gilt dove, bearing a gilt olive-branch in his beak. Underneath the pulpit, and behind the read- ing-desk, was a door to the robing-room, a small building attached to the north end of the church. This building, having been enlarged three feet,, is tlie present Infant Sunday-school room, attached to the Sunday-school room, which was, at the same time, lengthened thirteen feet, and the room painted, and a melodeon purchased. By the erection of the recess chancel, space was obtained for the addition of eight pews. In tlie designmg and plans for the chancel, great 264 Si. George's Church. assistance was derived from the taste and skill of Mr. William H. Dannat, then a member of the parish. The work M'as done — and therefore well and hon- estly done — by Sands Powell. In February, i860, gas was introduced into the church. In 1862, in consequence of leaks in the roof of the church, a portion of the ceiling having fallen, the church was new ceiled, and a slate roof put on. In 1868 was purchased the organ of twenty-two stops, built by Alexander Mills, of New York, at a cost of $2300, including the appraised value of the old organ. This sum was raised by the generous subscriptions of the members of the parish, few of whom gave less than $10 each, and the larger num- ber of whom gave $25 each. Those who gave this amount and upwards to $100, were the following: William Norton, Esq. Edwin Webb, M. D. Charles W. Mulford, Charles Denton, J. F. Oakley, Peter C. Barnum, Henry Walters, Philip J. A. Harper, Thos. W. C. Moore, Thomas H. Clowes, WiUiam Miller, Lewis Angevine, E. W. Breuninghausen, Mrs. Prof Docharty, Edward Skillin, Mrs. Whitman Matthews^ George G. Waters, Esq. Robert S. Seabury, Benjamin F. Rushmore, Henry P. Seabury, Mrs. William Coles, Mrs. McBrain, Samuel L. Seaman, Jacob Valentine, Daniel Clark, Esq. Miss Elizabeth Moore, Gideon Nichols, George N. Peiff. Many other expenditures were made at this period for carpets, furnace.s, and other improve- Rev. William H, Moore. 265 ments, in every case the rule being to raise tlie money before the expenditure was made. The fol- lowing table will give, in one view, a statement of the principal items of the extra outlay. Building recess chancel, $1300 00 Furnishing do do, 68 00 Carpet for church, 100 00 Blinds, and refitting Sunday-school room. So 00 Melodeon for do do 75 00 Clock, 63S oa Enlargement of Sunday-school room, 326 oo Slating church roof 600 00 Kitchen to Parsonage, and piazza, S7S OO Painting church, 313 00 Roofing Rectory, g6 00 Painting Rectory, 216 oo- Gas-piping Church and Rectory, 276 60- Fence around Church-yard, iioo 00 Flagging in Church-yard, 96 OO- Flagging in front of Church- yard, 464 00 Furnaces in Church and S, S, Room 619 00 Graining, fresco -papering, and carpeting Sunday-school Room 150 00 Seats for Lecture Room, 300 00 Church Organ (excluding old organ,) 1600 00 Iron Safe, 80 00 Re-carpeting Church, I45 00 Re-painting Church-fence, Oct., 1879, 176 00 Building Porch to Rectory, 236 00 The churchyard was re-fenced in 1S66, the work being done by Sands Powell, the principal contribu- tors to which were Samuel and Abraham Wood, $150, and John Kellum, $100. The other subscrib- ers were those who also had relatives interred in the 266 Si. George's Church. yard. Five feet of the south end of the yard, as now- marked by posts, was thrown out for a walk. PARISH LIBRARY. In 1850 was begun a Parish Library, which at this writing numbers about 550 volumes, principally of a churchly bearing, and selected with reference to various tastes and spiritual needs, and all of an en- during interest. Its use is free to all members of the parish. From time to time it is added to, through collections made for the purpose, and it receives alsa a small sum yearly from bequests of Thomas W. C. Moore, Esq., and Miss Eloise Moore. Besides the books in this library there are otliers belonging to the parish, which properly pertain to the Pastor's library, the germ of which collection is of considerable antiquity. In it are the following named works : Drelincourt on Death, one cover and title page gone. Brady's Sermons, 4 vols., 2 series; one edition 1704^ the other, 1 730. Bishop Hickman's Sermons, only 2nd vol. West on the Resurrection. Hicks, D.D., Rev. George, Sermons, vol. i only, ed. 17 13. This work, and also Brady's, the gift to St. George's Church, by Robert Ellison, Esq., Comptroller of Customs in the province of New York, 1735. Bishop Jeremy Taylor's " Ductor Dubitantium," or Guide to the Doubting. Folio, ed. of 1659. Bishop Andrews on the Commandments. These volumes are perhaps but the remnants of a collection once made for the Rector's use. Rev William H. Moore. 26/ Funds In-vested for Rector's Support. In April, 185 1, the Vestiy sold for the sum of $125 a gore of land lying in the rear of some of those lots on Greenwich street, which had been sold in 1834. They ordered this sum invested, and the interest of it to be paid the Rector annually, as being derived from property which had been set apart for his support Subsequently the Vestry borrowed this money, ■" pledging the interest to the present, and all suc- ceeding Rectors, and authorizing him to draw an- nually on the treasurer for it, at the rate of six per cent. And lest this pledge should be overlooked at any future time, it was entered in the Vestry minute book in rod ink, that it might be " conspicuous."* This proceedmg of the Vestry offers a striking con- trast to the action had, as we have already related, ■with the funds derived from the sale of the Green- wich street lots and the Greenfield pioperty. In re- membrance of that misappropriation, and that future Vestries might be guarded from repeating the perver- sion, the Vestry at this time appointed John Bedell, Lewis D, Rushmore, and Wm. L. Laing a Committee to ascertain and report the sources from which the invested funds were obtained, and the objects for "which they were given. This Committee reported, Nov, l8S3,t that the funds were derived, as we have seen, from several sources ; but were in each case granted or bequeathed solely for the benefit and support of the Rector of St. George's for the time being, and could not therefore * See p. 3S4 of Records. f Records, p. 405. 268 Trinity Church, Roslyn. be applied to the current expenses of the parish, or any other purpose than this, without a breach of trust, and the perpetration of an act of injustice and wrong. It is a pity that the facts thus stated had not been attended to before the Fund liad been depleted sev- eral hundred dollars, in order to pay debts and make repairs, which could have been paid from funds raised at the time. The evil of resorting for common needs, to funds which have been sacredly devoted to another use, is fruitful in evil results. One of them is that it discour- ages persons from making bequests for a pious or benevolent. purpose. And another is that encourage- ment is thus given to a disposition already rife in our country, to entertain lax views respecting moral obli- gations. In view of that report, in 1853, which was promptly accepted and approved, it may be hoped that no trust funds of the parish will hereafter be diverted from their proper use. TRINITY CHURCH, ROSLYN. As belonging to this period it is proper to give an account of the establishment of a parish at Roslyn.* The first attempt to establish an Episcopal church in Roslyn was made by the Rev. Moses Marcus, in 1836, while he was minister of Christ Church, Man- hasset. The services he began ceased to be held on Mr. Maicus' removal, in 1837. * Occasionil services had been held there from an early period. In the private diary of the Rev. Thos. L. Moore, 1 785-1799, are found recorded under their proper dates the entry, " Read and Preached at Hempstead Harbour." Trinity Church, Roslyn, 269 Subsequently, the Rev. Ralph Williston, being in feeble health, came to reside in Roslyn. He renewed the holding of services, and they were so well attend- ed, that it was determined to build a church. The corner-stone was laid by Bishop B. T. Onderdonk, in 1839, on a lot given by John R. Schenck. But the sudden death of Mr. Williston stopped the enterprise. Nothing further was done \\\ tlie matter until the Rev. Samuel Cox, D.D., Rector of Christ Church, Man- hasset, (1849-1854,) with the purpose of teaching- persons in that distant part of his parish who could not attend church, again began to hold services there. Inviting the co-operation of the writer, and one or two other clergymen occasionally, the services were, held frequently and regularly, first in the public- school house, and afterwards in a room over a store in tlie village, which was appropriately fitted up for the purpose. Here a Sunday-school was begun and prospered. All efforts were heartily seconded by the Episcopalians tlien living in Roslyn, and many others. Tlie prospect became so encouraging tiiat in June, 1854, tlie " Convocation of Queens and Suffolk Coun- ties " adopted the place as a missionary station, and provided for the support of a missionary. The Rev. Charles E. Phelps was appointed to that office. In consequence of tlie removal of some of the most effi- cient Church families, the favorable current of affairs was interrupted ; Mr. Phelps resigned and the services were again discontinued. A few years afterwards, matters having again be- come promising, the effort to establish the church was 270 Trinity Church, Roslyn. renewed, and principally through the efficient support of Mrs. Ann E. Cairns, it was successful. Mrs. Cairns in 1862 deposited with the Rector of Christ Church, Manhasset, (the Rev. G. W. Porter, D.D.,) the sum of $2,500, to be applied towards the erection of a chapel at Roslyn, which was to be held in trust for the Episcopalians of Roslyn until they should be able to organize and take care of them- selves. To the sum given by Mrs. Cairns there was added at least $1,500 more, contributed by tlae resi- dents of Roslyn and its vicinity, which sum was alstt placed in the hands of the Rector and Vestry of Christ Church, Manhasset. The Vestry took action, as follows :* " At a meeting of the Vestry of Christ Church, held at the Rectory, on Eebruary 6, 1 862, present the- Rector and Messrs. Hewlett and Willis, Wardens; and Messrs. Poole, Allen, Bremner and Mitchell of the Vestry. It was on motion : '^Resolved, That the following preambles and. resolutions be adopted : "Whereas, we have been duly informed by the Rector, that our respected and venerable tov/nswoman Mrs. Ann E. Cairns, being desirous of having a cha- pel erected in Roslyn, the village of her residence, for the celebration of Divine worship according to the Doctrine and Liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal church, has given the generous sum of $2500 to be applied to the erection of said chapel : " And whereas Mrs. Cairns has given this money on the condition that the Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of Christ Church, Manhasset, shall be the trustees thereof, and of the property which shall be * Records of Christ Church, Manhasset. Trinity Church, Roslyn. 271 purchased therewith, until such time as the Episco- palians of Roslyn shall be sufficiently numerous to warrant the organization of a separate parish ; there- fore, " Resolved, That tJie Rector, Wardens and Vestry- men of Christ Church, Manhasset, do accept for ourselves and for our successors in office, the trust, and do hereby record our deep and lively sense of the Christian liberality of the donor. " Resolved, That a committee consisting of Messrs. Samuel L. Hewlett, Samuel J. Willis, and the Rector, be appointed to purchase laud and superintend the. erection of the proposed chapel tliereon, "Resolved, That a copy of the proceedings of this meeting, so far as they relate to the above named donation of Mrs. Caims, be most respectfully com- municated to her by the Rector, " Signed by GEO. W. PORTER, Rector. Samuel J. Hewlett, Samuel J. Mitchell, Wardens^ Samuel-C. Poole, Richard Allen, ) Andrew A. Bremner, John S. Morreli, > Vestry- Wm, A, Mitchell, I-. G, Capers, j men. Joseph L. Hewlett, " Wm. a. Mitchell, Clerk." The Committee to purchase land for the Chapel, obtained the present site of one acre from Mr. Ste- phen Mott, for $1000 cash, and the title was duly vested in tlie corporation of Christ Churcli, Manhas- set. A plan and specification for the building were obtained from McDonald and CHuton, and a contract made with S. Roe, of Flushing, to erect it, for $1995. The Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, on tlie iitli of July, 1S62, laid the corner-stone, which was the same that in 1839 had been used It was opened, and additional 272 Trinity Church, Roslyn. documents inserted in the box. When the edifice was built, the ladies of the congregation provided a furnace, carpets, and other furniture, and the chapeL was consecrated on Tuesday, December 2, 1862, by- Bishop Potter ; the Rector, Rev. Geo. W. Porter, reading the request for consecration and instruments of donation ; the Lessons and Prayers being by the Rev. Thomas Mallaby of Glen Cove, and Rev. Wm. H. Moore, D. D., of Hempstead. For seven years the Rector of Christ Church, Man- hasset, continued to serve the portion of his flock, who met in the chapel at Roslyn. March 19, 1869, at a meeting of the Vestry of the parish, the following action was taken, sundering the connection between mother and daughter, by the unanimous adoption of the following preamble and resolution : " Whereas, the Protestant Episcopalians of Roslyn, by a committee of H. W. Eastman, Thos. Clapham, and John J. Willis, have made application to the Vestry of Christ Church, Manhasset, to have the chapel of that place, now a part of this Parish, set over to them for the purpose of a separate organization, and to establish a settled ministry, the more effectually to carry out the good work begun in that part of God's vineyard, and believing, as we do, that tlie future growth and prosperity of the church depends. wholly or mainly on the active exertions of a settled minister : now therefore, " Resolved, That as soon as tliey shall be organized as a Vestry, that the application be granted. And may God add His blessing to their labors and speed the good work. " S. S. Smith, Clerk of the Vestry." Trinity Church, Roslyn. 273 The congregation at Roslyn thereupon proceeded to organize a parish. * " At a meeting of the male members of the con- gregation worshipping in the Chapel at Roslyn, attached to Christ Church, Manhasset, held at said Chapel, April 7, 1869, notice of the same having been previously given, the Rector, Rev. Geo. W. Bugbee, occupied the chair ; H. W, Eastman appointed Sect'y On motion of A. A. Bremner, it was "Resolved, That the Church and Parish be known by the name of ' Trinity Church,' of Roslyn." An election was held, and Stephen Day was elect- ed Senior Wardeu, and John Ordronaux, Junior Warden. Thomas Clapham, Franklin Wight, Francis Skillman, Henry W. Eastman, William J. Willis, Andrew A. Bremner, John T. Willis, Henry T. Hew- lett, Vestrymen. " It was Resolved, That Easter Monday be the day of termination of office of the Wardens and Vestry- men. " H. W. Eastman, Sec'ry." In 1873, a rectory was built on the church land at a cost of nearly $3,000. The whole property is now valued at some $6,000. In the church ground is a single grave, enclosed ■within an iron railing. In the grave are deposited "the remains of John, son of Otto Pollitz, Esq., who for some years resided in Roslyn. Young Pollitz was one of the most active members of the young parish. He died at the age of nineteen, in a southern hospi- tal, while serving in the army engaged in putting down the rebellion. He devoted the pay he received * From minutes of Trinity Church, Roslyn. 2 74 •^^- George's Church. from the government to purchase a bell for the church. He was also an ardent soldier of Chi'ist. Mrs. Cairns died March, 1866, and her daughter has presented to the parish, as a memorial of her, a considerable sum towards a fund for the support of a rector, and to ensure the continuance of services irx the church. The following is a list of the Rectors: Rev. Stephen A. McNulty, from June, 1869 to May, 1873- Rev. Charles Pelletreau, from May, 1873, to July, 1875- Rev. James W. Sparks, from Nov. 1875, to Nov. 1878. Rev. William P. Brush, from May, 1880. CATHEDRAL AT GARDEN CITY. An important event in the history of St. George's parish took place in 1876, in the yielding up of a portion of its limits for the establishment of a Cathe- dral for the See of Long Island. In June, 1875, in answer to a request, the writer waited upon Mrs. Alexander T. Stewart, who stated to him that she wished to erect at Garden City a church, as a memo- rial to Iier deceased husband, of which, she hoped, the Bishop of Long Island would take charge ; and as Garden City was within the bounds of St. George's parish, she asked consent of the writer, as Rector of the parish, according to the rules of the Protestant Episcopal Church, for such a partition of its territory. Consent was given readily, and with rejoicing that the Diocese and the whole Church were to be so [ §'t1 ^f J^"' ,j/«i>rtBf=? -•■■iiiT-i ijL V ^ST'V"! T" 1 I jl '<*?!!' I>. S..II / r f..- ■V-N\ \ \ f ^ \ . I t iijjy .\,\ I Jl, IS;/ T^r k= i Cathedral at Garden City. 275 enriched, although the old parish might he thereby- diminished. In the following year, June 28, 1877, the corner stone of the designed memorial structure was laid, with memorable services, in the presence of several thousand persons, under the title of the " Catliedral of the Incarnation of the Diocese of Long Island — in Memoriam — Alexander Turney Stewart," Twenty-two of the young men of St. George's parish acted as tlie aids of the Committee of Arrange- ments and Chief- Marshals on that occasion, and per- formed their duties so well under the unusual cir- cumstances, as to draw forth from the marshals a letter of grateful appreciation to them, as having very largely contributed to the eifective carrying out of the plans for that ceremony. The project thus begun has already effected great things, and among other results, has attracted no little attention to tlie mother parish itself The work already done indicates what will be effected when tlie generous plans of the founder are fully developed. The Cathedral, as may be seen, is a thm'g of beauty, and is as substantial as beautiful. " Though not pretentious in the matter of its dimensions, yet in gracefulness of design, in beauty of pro- portion and ornamentation, it will not suffer by comparison with the finest architectural creations of Europe."* And St. Paul's School building includes every * Dr. Snivoly's address at the laying of the comer-stone. 276 Si. George's Church. known device to secure to its pupils all possible advantages. Its massiveness of construction tells us that it is built to endure for ages, and yield its bene- fits to many generations. A sketch of the religious family, which a parish is,, has mainly to do with the exteriors of the life of that family ; matters of a visible, and mostly of a material nature. It has to be occupied with the incidents of its outward growth or decline, of the building up or taking down of temples made by hands. ' Of the spiritual, which is the real and supreme .life of that family, very little can ever be said which is not either of a very general nature or essentially indefinite. The things of the spirit are cognizable only by those who are themselves familiar with spiritual experiences. Ta such persons a bare intimation will suffice to convey a world of precious information. In giving this historical sketch of St. George's parish, we have presented a few statistics of baptisms, confirmations and additions ta the Holy Communion ; but we have not attempted to declare how far even these signified real "growth in grace," and the development of the life of God in the souls of men. So far as works of benevolence and zeal for God disclose faith working by love, so far do- the acts of the several generations of those who have made up the continuous life' of the corporate parish afford data for judging them. We know them only by their works ; the Judge of all alone knows them: by their hearts, and as they really are. While it has not been deemed judicious or safe to- seek to portray the religious condition and attain- Rev. WilUani H. Moore. 2'ji ments of the members of the church in the several periods of tiie existence of the parish which have been under review, the compiler does not hesitate to- say, in general terms, concerning this essential mat- ter, that se\'eral valuable religious features are plainly to be discerned as characterizing the members of the church. They have invariably adhered to the old paths of the Church: to the old, precious, distuictive truths and doctrines of the Gospel; as letters and specimens of the sermons delivered to them and ac- cepted "by them, which are still preserved, abundantly testify. We know tliat the several pastors of the parish have proclaimed to its members, in unqualified; terms, "the unsearchable riches of Christ," The elTect has doubtless been much the same aforetime as> now, and here, as elsewhere ; some have believed the things spoken, and some have believed not. Some have had a name to live, but were dead ; while others truly lived and died unto Christ. More than once, in the history of the parish, has a whirlwind of religious excitement swept around it, and " overthrown tlie faith of some," who were in each instance carried away by the love of some new thing — but the great number remained unshaken and steadfasL And when the excitement had spent it- self it was manifest that religion with earnestness, but not with outciy and self-assertion, is usually deepest and most durable. There are sundiy incidental statements in the par- ish records which plainly show that it has had mem- bers whose Christian life shone with extraordinary brightness. And they show what is better s*ill, that 278 Si. George's Church. very many, by a quiet and humble walk and con- versation, and by patient continuance in well doing — some of them to very great age — glorified God in their bodies and spirits. They illustrated Cyprian's saying : " We do not speak great things, but live them."* It would not be difficult to mention the names of several of the past members of the parish who " let their light so shine before men as to glorify our Fa- ther in heaven." But we could hardly do this with- out appearing invidious. But there is one whose name we may recall without liability to such objec- tion, because of the peculiar incidents of her history ; whose life exemplified those traits of a solid and effective but unobtrusive piety, which had character- ized many of her relatives and fellow members. MRS. ELIZABETH NICHOLS. October 24, 1858, the remains of Mrs. Elizabeth Nichols were laid in St. George's churchyard. She was the daughter of Mrs. Abigail Smyth, who in 1828 bequeathed $1000 towards the support of the Rector of St. George's. Her father was Captain John Ferdinand Stuart Smyth, or Smyth-Stuart, for he used both forms of cognomen, and claimed to be a descendant of the Duke of Monmoutli, son ^f Charles II. He was Captain o'" the Queen's Ran- gers, and was stationed on Long Island, where he married Miss Abigail, daughter of Leffert Lefferts, a staunch Churchman, and Warden of St. George's Church from 1746 to 1788. Mr. Lefferts, who was * " Non loquimur magna, sed vivimus," de Bono Patientise. Mrs. Elizabeth Nichols. 279 of Dutch descent, was also called " Haugewout ;" and by this title he is commonly mentioned in the Parish Records. The name is said to have been derived from the residence of his ancestors, " Haugewood," on the Hague. Captain (Stuart) Smyth was married to Miss Lef- ferts,Oct. 23, 1778, by the Rev. John Bowden, chap- lain of Gen. De Lancey's brigade. The connection was not agreeable to Mr. Lefferts, who foresaw that at the termination of the war his daughter would probably be separated from her husband. Such separation took place sooner than he anticipated. The year after his marriage Captain Smyth embarked for England with the ostensible purpose of presenting to the Government his claims to be recompensed for losses of property in Virginia he had sustained for adhermg to the Crown against the Colonies. If he made such claims, they were unsuccessful Mrs Smyth, on her husband's departure, returned to her father's house, and there, May 4, 1780, was born a daughter, the subject of this sketch. For sixteen years after his departure, nothing was heard of Captain Smyth. His statement afterwards was that he had often written, but having no replies to his letters, and some reason to think his wife was dead, he had married again in England. When Miss Elizabeth Smyth was seventeen years old, her father visited New York and sought her out. Learning that she was visiting a friend in New York city, he called on her, and met at the same time his deserted wife. The incidents of this painful inter- view we pass over. The effect upon Mrs. Smyth was 28o S^. George's Church. only to open anew the wound which preyed upon her spirits. After Captain Smyth returned to England, he occasionally wrote to his daughter. He died in London, December, 1814. On the 30th of March, 1802, Miss Smyth was married to Mr. Gideon Nichols, by the Rev. Seth Hart. A few years after this Mrs. Nichols became conscious of a defect in her hearing, which resulted in total deafness. But her ability to speak she never lost; and being able to discern what others said by the movement of their lips, she was not deprived en- tirely of the pi'ivileges of social intercourse. But she was excluded from a full participation in the Church services, and this was a great grief to her. The por- tions of the services she could unite in she used with fervor. Her appreciation of the advantages of a Lit- urgy was thus declared. Visiting a relative belong- ang to the Society of Quakers, she accepted an invitation to accompany her to their place of worship. There was a "silent meeting." On their return liome her friend remarked to her that she must feel that their mode of worship suited her best, for they all hear alike on that occasion. No, Mrs. Nichols replied, she was more than ever convinced that the Church to which she belonged was best adapted to her case ; for when with the Quakers and others, she knew not whether any one was speaking or not ; but -with the Prayer Book before her, she could join with the other worshippers of the congregation almost as well as those who could hear around her. In 1843 she was made greatly happy in seeing her Mrs. Elizabeth Nichols. 281 youngest son, the Rev. Edwin A. Nichols, admitted to Holy Orders. Mrs. Nichols exemplified in every way a mortal can, deep and heartfelt love to her Lord Her reli- gion was wrought into the very warp and woof of her daily life and conversation. As truly as any of the saints whom the Church delights to remember, -she "walked with Christ" At her funeral, in October, 1858, as the coffin reposed in front of the chancel, tlie image of the dove with outspread wings, in die colored glass window in the chancel, was reflected upon the plate of the coffin- lid, on which was inscribed : "Elizabeth Nichols — Aged 78 — Asleep in testis." The observant eye of one of her daughters noticed this prophetic sign, and in the following lines gave expression to the thoughts and emotions it awakened. Thy form was borne, O mother dear. Where lale thy steps had gladly trod. And placed, from off the sable bier, Within the hallowed honsc of God. Without the tudc winds raged and sighed, But all seemed sheltenng peace within ; So shall their souls m peace abide, Whom Christ receives, secure from sin. Then rose the strains of praise and prayer, And words of cheenng hope were said ^y priest and people gathered there To honor the lamented dead. To me the preacher's voice was mute,* And grief of bitter sorrow (old ; • The daughter shared in defect of hearing. 282 Si. George's Church. Yet, dearer than the sound of lute, Sweet thoughts were on my spirit rolled. For while I sat with tearful gaze Fixed ever on the coffin lid, Which henceforth, through my lonely days. From me life's dearest object hid : Then, from the pictured height above. Soft gleams of light upon thy name Reflected fell ; the mirrored dove Around it shed a beauteous flame. And trusting hope came whispering near. Behold a token thus displayed, — Her soul whose name is graven here, In God's pure light is now arrayed. It is to be added that this daughter has consecrated of her means a fund with which is built the chapel of St. John's Hospital, of the Church Charity Founda- tion of Long Island, in Brooklyn, as a memorial of her mother. It remains to be stated, in conclusion, that the in- stitution of the compiler of this history into the rectorship of St. George's Church, took place on Tuesday, November 13 th, 1849, the Rev. Samuel R. Johnson, D.D., Professor in the General Theological Seminary, acting as institutor by request of the Stand- ing Committee of the Diocese of New York. The sermon was preached by the Rev. B. C. Cutler, D.D., Rector of St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn, the Rev. Wm. L. Johnson, D.D., of Grace Church, Jamaica, and the Rev. George Shelton, of St. James' Church, New- town, being present and assisting. The keys were delivered by Mr. John Bedell, Senior Warden. APPENDIX A. CHURCHYARDS. ST. GEORGE'S, HEMPSTEAD. 1. I never can see a churchjard old, With its moasy stones and monDds, And green trees weeping the unforgot Tbat rest in ita hallowed bounds; I never can see the old cliuTchjard, But I brentbe to Qod a prayer, That, sleep aa I ma; in this fevered life, I may rest mhen I slumber there. Our mother, tbe Earth, bath a cradle-bed Where she gathereth sire and son. And tbe old world's fathers are pillowed there, Her children, every one 1 And her cradle it hath a dismal name, When riseth the banquet's din, And pale is the cheek at dance or wine. If a Eong of its sleep brealc in. Bnt onr Mother the Chnrcb b&th a gentle nest, Where the Lord's dear children lie, And its name is sweet to a Christian ear, As a motherly lullaby. 284 1- Appendix A. Oh the green churchyard, the green churchyard, Is the couch she spreads for all; And she layeth the cottager's baby there. With the lord of the tap'stry hall! 4. Our Mother, the Church, hath never a child To honor before the rest, But she singeth the same for mighty kings And the veriest babe on her breast ; And the bishop goes clown to his narrow bed As the ploughman's child is laid. And alike she blesseth the dark-browed serf And the chief in his robe arrayed, 5. She sprinkles the drops of the bright new-birth The same on the low and the high. And christens their bodies with dust to dust, When earth with its earth must lie ; Oh, the poor man's friend is the Church of Christ, From birth to his funeral day; She makes him the Lord's, in her surpliced arms, And singeth his burial lay. 6. And ever the bells in the green churchyard Are tolling, to tell ye this ; Go pray in the church, while pray ye can, That so ye may sleep in bliss. And wise is he in the glow of life Who weaveth his shroud of rest. And graveth it plain on his coffin-plate, That the dead in Christ are blest. 7. I never can see a ureen churchyard But I think I may slumber there, And I wonder within me what strange disease Shall bring me to homes so fair; Churchyards. 285 And whether in breast, in brain, or blood, There Ini'keth a secret sore. Or whether this heart, so warm and full, Hath a worm in ita inmost core. For I koow, ere long, some lioib of mine To the rest may iraitor prove, And steal from the strong yuung frame I we "iTie generous flush I love: I know I may burn into ashes soon, With this feverish flame of life; Or the flickering lamp may soon blaze out, With ita dying sulf at strife. And here — I tliink — when they lay me down How stiange will my slumber be. The cold cold day foi mj dreamless head, And the turf for my canopy ; How stilly will ereep the long long years O'er my (juiPt sleep away. And oh, what a waking that sleep shall know, At the peal of tlie Jndgment-Daj ! Up — up from tlie graves and the cliids around The qnickened bones will stare; I know that wjthin this green churchyard A host shall be born to air; A thonsand shall struggle to earth agen, From under the sods I tread: Oh, strange — thrice strange, shall the story be Of the field where they lay the dead ! II. Oh, bury me, then, in the green churchyard, As my old forefathers rest, Hor lay me in cold Necropolis, 'Mid many a grave unblest ; 286 6 Appendix A. I -would sleep where the church-bella aye ring out ; I would rise by the house of prayer, And feel me a moment at home, on earth, For the Christian's home is there. la. I never loved cities of living men, And towns of the dead I hate ; ' Oh let me rest in the churchyard then, And hard by the churcb's gate; 'Tis there I pray to my Saviour Christ, And I will, till mine eye is dim, That, sleep as I may in this fevered life, I may rest, at last, in Him. APPENDIX B. LIST OF WAEDBNS AND VESTRYMEN.— PEKIOD OP CONTINQANCB IN OFFICE. * indicates "still in office." AlburtlB, Joseph, 17S5-1767. Onderdouk, Andre? ,1789-1797. Baldwin, Isaac. 1763-1765. .,*1877 Baldwin, Georgre, 1781-1787. Peter., John, 1753-1779. BarroU. W H., 1835-1837. Peitii. Lewi 3. 1880-1857. Brown, John, 1749-1754. Peitit. Townsend B ,1857-1880. Berrian, William, 1860-1861. Pine. Daniel. 1750 1763. Bedell, John, 1840-1863. Pine, Richard, 1833-1839. Carmao, Samuel, 1789-1817. PralL, Jonathan. 1708-1782. Carman, Stephen. ie20-183i Rhodes. William, 1837-1853. Clowes, Ed. A , 1835-1831. Rockwell, James, 1764^1705. Clowes, Thomas, 1787-1834. Roebuck, Jarvis, 1783-1783. Clowes, John, 1829-1838. Itiishmore, Lewis, 1834-1860. Clowes, Will. J., 1837-1839. Searing, John, 1744-1745. Clowes, Th.H,* 1877 Seaman, Samuel L. 1831. Cornell, Jolin, 173e-1743 Seabuvy, Robert S. 1803-1877. Cornel), William, 1736-1741 Seabury, Adam," 1877 Dorland, John. 1745-1749. Smith, Micah, 1736-1746. Denton, Charles, 1840-1878. Smith, Jacob. 1730-1745. Dannat. W. H., 1861-1866. Smith, John, 1747-1749. Gildersleeve, Jair.e . 1799-1834. Smith, Joseph, 1737-1747. Gildersleeve.Jona' .1849-1803. Smith, James, 1703-1765. , (LeflertB.) Suedeker, Abraham, 1816-1820. 1746-1788. Siiedeker, Isaac, 1819-1833. Hewlett, Richard, 1783-1786 Thorn e, Richard. 1737-1763. Hewlett. George, 178l}-1818. Thome, Richard, 1795-1814. Hewlett, Benjamin 1788-1809. TredwBll, Beuiamir ,1739-1744. Hewlett, Richard, J r. 1816-1834. Tredwrll.Benjamu: . 1837-1848 Hewlett, Benj , Jr 1818-1835. Turnei, Jamea, 1766-1780. Hewlett. John J., 1828-183S. Valentine, Jacob, 1864-1877. Hewlett, Samuel, 1849-.186a Valentine, Samael, 1826-1849. Hewlett, Whitehead H., Vaunoalrand.Corne . 1765-1785. 1S54-1857. VannoBtrand, John 1769-1770. Hentz, John H.,* 1867 Vannostrand.Martm, 1780-1789. Jouee, David R F. 1835-1836 Vaunc8trand.George,1834-1849. KiSBam. Joseph. 1751-1761. Walters, Heur;-, 1863-1873. Kissam, Daniel, 1788-1790. Wati, George, 1766-1784. Kiaaam. John, 1814-1819. Webb, Edwin. M.n Lott, Hermones, 1811-1816, Weeks, George, 1786-1795. Ludlow, George D 1781-1781. Weeks, Thos W., 1835-1830. MattiB, Sam'l, M.D ,1770-1791. Weller, A. N * 1880 Marvin, Kobert. 1739-1774. Wetmore, Samuel, 1785-1787. Marvin, Hairy H., 1836-1863. Willits, David B., 1853-1854. Mitchell, Wilham, 1809-1819. Wood. James, 1751-1789. Moore, John, 1797-1816 Wood, Samuel, 1817-1838- Mnnrop, G G., lSfi3-1804, Willis, John.* 1378 MuUord, Charles W .1^73-1877 APPENDIX C. PATENT AND CHARTER OF ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, HEMPSTEAD, GRANTED BY KING GEORGE II. IN 1 73 5. GEORGE THE SECOND, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, &c. — TO all to whom these presents shall come, greet- ing : WHEREAS, We have been Informed by the Humble Names of Petition of our Loving Subjects, the Rev. Robert Jenny, Petitioners, jj^^^j^j.^ ^^^ j^j^j^ Cornell, William Cornell, Joseph Smith, Thomas Williams, Jacob Smith, and Richard Thome, Esq., Micah Smith, Robert Sutton, James Pine, Sen., John Roe, Thomas Gildersleeve, George Gildersleeve, John Cornell, Jr., Peter Smith, Silas Smith, Joseph Thome, Esq., Joseph Langdon, James Albertus, Thomas Lee, Robert Marvin, William Langdon, Daniel Hewlit, George Balden, Timothy Smith, Joseph Mott, Geradus Clowes, James Hugins, Jaka- miah Mitchell, Peter Smith, Jr., Charles Peters, Richard Cornell, Jr., Thomas Cornell, Jr., William Cornell, Jr., and Isaac Germon, Inhabitants of the Parish of Hempstead, in Queens County, presented to our Trusty and well-belov- ed William Cosby, Esq., our Captain -General and Gover- nour-in-Chief of our Provinces of New York, New Jersey, and Territories thereon Depending in America, Vice-Admi- ral of the same and Colonel in our Army, &c. That by the Countenance and Approbation of our said Govemour they had lately by Voluntary Contributions Erected and Built a Patent and Charter. 389 L New Church in the sdd Parish, and the suine had Dedicated to the Service and worship of God, according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Ch'urch of England as by law estali- lished, by the name of Saint Geotg;e'sChurcb, which Church cburcfa they hold and enjoy, together with i parsonage House andg"({|(^J^ Glebe Lands in Ihe said Parish, but that for want of their Pied. but being Incorporated they are not capable of Receiving or ac- porauon, cepting such Donations as Pious Design'd peisons were orb"'"™*!- may be disposed to give unto them, or of purchasing any Lands or Tenements for the use of the said Church, or of Transacting and carrying on the afiairs and Imsiness thereof in such advantagious and beneficial manner as otherwise they might do: Wherefore, to the End the said Petitioners and their Successocs may be Secured in the quiet and peaceable Poiacsion and enjoyment of the said Church, Parsonage and Glebe Lands, and also erected and made a Body Politicli P'tL^o'' and Corporate, the better to manage and carry on the .tfTairs paradou and baaness of the said Church to and for the Glory of God "■"'■'lered. and the pious uses intended thereby, they prayed our Roy- al Grant and Confirmation of the said Church, Parsonage and Glebe Lands, and that they and all other the Commun- icants of the said Church may be Incorporated into a Rody Politick and CorporateinDeed, fact and name, by the name and Scileofthe Rector and Inhabitants of the Parish of Hemp- . ^ stead, in Queens County, on Long Island, in Communion of the Church of England as'tiy law established: And that, as such and by that name they and their Successors may have, hold, use, occupy and enjoy all the Rights, benefits, advan- tages, privileges, immimities and appurtenances as are usually ^^*'** leldaud enjoyed by any parochial Church within the Realm Df England, and we being willing to give all due encourage- ment and promotion to the pious intentions of our said Sub- jects and to grant this their reasonable request in that be- halfe made: KNOW YE, that we of our Especial Grace, certain taowled^ and meer motion, HAVE made, Ordan- ed Constituted and Declared, and by these presents for us, our Heirs and Successors, DO make, Ordun, Constitute, jj^^ ^ Grant and Declare, That the said Robert Jenny, John Cor- Incorpon- nell, William Cornell, Joseph Smith, Thomas Williams, ""■ Jacob Smith, Richard Thome, fctcah Smith, Robert Sutton, James Pine, Sen , John Roe, Thomas Gildersleere, Geoi|[e 290 Appendix C. Gildersleeve, John Cornell, Jr., Peter Smith, Silas Smith, Joseph Thome, Joseph Langdon, James Albertus, Thomas Lee, Robert Marvin, William Langdon, Daniel Hewlitt, George Balden, Timothy Smith, Joseph Mott, Geradus Clowes, James Hugins, Jakamiah Mitchell, Peter Smith, Jr., Charles Peters, Richard Cornell, Jr., Thomas Cornell, Jr., William Cornell, Jr. , and Isaac Germon, and the rest of the Communicants of the said Church in the Parish of Hemp- stead aforesaid, be, and they and their Successors, Com- municants of the said Church, shall be from time to time Decree of and at all times forever hereafter a Body Corporate and poi- son. " itick in Deed, fact and name, by the name of the Rector and Inhabitants of the Parish ol Hempstead, in Queens County, on Long Island, in Communion of the Church of England as by law established, and them and their Successors, Com- municants of the said Church, by the name of the Rector and Inhabitants of the Parish of Hempstead, in Queens County, on Long Island, in Communion of the Church of England as by Law established, One Body Politick and Corporate in Deed, Fact and name, really and fully we do for us, our Heirs and Successors, Erect, make. Constitute Declare and Create by these presents : And that by the same name they and SttaoSon their Successors shall and may have perpetual Succession, and shall and may be responsible and Capable in the Law t» Sue and be Sued, to Implead and be Impleaded, to Answer and be Answered unto, to Defend and be Defended in all Courts and Elsewhere in all and Singular Suits, Causes, Quarrels, matters. Actions, Demands and things, of what nat- Maintain ure or kind soever. AND ALSO, that they and their Suc- cessors by the same name be and shall be forever hereafter Capable and able in the Law to take. Accept of. Acquire and purchase. Receive, Have, Hold and Enjoy in fee for- ever, or for Life or Lives, or for Years, or in any other man- Riehts to ner, any messuages. Buildings, Houses, Lands, Tenements, qoIq sod dispose of Hereditaments and Real Estate, and the- same to Lease or real estate. Ogmjgg fg^ ojjg gj. more years, or to Grant, Alien, Bargain, Sell and Dispose of for Life or Lives or forever, under cer- tain yearly rents: AND also to accept of, take, possess and purchase any Goods, Chattels or personal Estate, and the same to Hire, Lett, Sell or dispose of at their Will and pleas- ure, and all this as luUy as any other Corporation or Body^ Patent and Charter. 291 -polidclc within that part of oui Kingdom of Great Biitaia ■called England, OT this our Province of New York may Law. fiilly Do: PROVIDED, That such messuages and Reil . . .. Estate as they or their Successors shall have or may be en- come ftom titled unto shall not at any one time Exceed the Yearly"^'*""* Rent of Two Hundred Pounds, Current Money of our said Province, over and above the Church and the Ground on ■which the same sta.nds, and Parsonage and Glebe Lands hereinafter mentioned. AND FURTHER, we do will and Grant that the said Rector and Inhatntants and their Suc- cessors shall and may Forever hereafter have a Common Seal ^^ to Serve and use lor all inatters, causes, things and affairs SuL ■whatsoever, of them and their Successors, and fall power and Authority to break, alter. Change and New-make the same or any other Common Seal from time to time at their ■will and pleasure as they shall think fit, AND FORTH- ER, We Wll and Ordain and by these presents for us our Heirs and Successors, Do Declare and Appoint that for the belter Ordering and managing the Affairs and Bu^ness of the said Corporation, there shall be One Rector or Parochial Recior. MinL'^ter of the Church of England as by Law Established, duly Qualiiied for the Care of Souls; Two Church Wardens, Church and a number of Vestry Men from time to time Constituted, "ardena. Elected and Chosen in Manner and form as is hereafter in these presents Expressed: Which Vestry Men,' or the Major part of them, and the Two Church Wardens, or one of them together witl\ the Rector for the time being, shall apply Dune! of themselves to lake care for the best Disposing, Governing ''es'T- and Ordering the General Buaness and affairs of and con- certung said Church and of and Concerning all Such Lands, Tenements, Hereditaments, Real and personal Estate as shall or may be acquired as aforesaid ; and for the better Execution of onr Royall will and pleasure herein, we do for us, our Heirs and Successors, Assign, name, Constitute and Confirm the I'aid Robert Jenny to be the present Rector ■or Parochial Minister of the said Church and Parish dureing "his Natural Ufe and Residence la the same Parish ; and K«^ Ihe said John Cornell and Micah Smith to be the present Wardens, Church Wardens of the said Church; and the said William JJIJ^^?^'^" Cornell, Jacob Smith, Richard Thome. James Fme.poimei Joseph Smith, Robert Sutton, Robert Marvm, Thomas Wil. 292 Appendix C. liams, together with John Syron and Benjamin Tredwell, to be the Vestrymen of tlie said Church ; which said Church Wardens and Vestry Men are to Continue in the said Sev- tervice. eral Offices During their Respective Life-times, or untill others be duly t'hosen in- their Rooms in such mannour as is hereinafter expressed; they, the said Church Wardens and Vestry Men hereby appointed, having been the Mana- gers and been at great Trouble, Loss ot time and Expense in Carrymg on the work and building of the said Clmrch. AND FURTHER, we do will, and by these presents for us, our Heirs and Successors, Do Ordain, appoint and di- rect that the Rector of the said Church for the time being or in his Absence by Sickness, one Church Warden for the together. '""^ being by Consent of the Rector shall and may from time ro time upon all Occasioiis Assemble and call together the said Cliurch Wardens or one of them and Vestry Men for the time being or the Greater Number of them to Con- sult,- advise and do the Business and affairs of the said Church and to hold Vestrys for that purpose, and in Case it should so happen that there should be a vacancy of a Rector, or that the Rector for the time being should absent himself from his said Parish, then and in either of Such Cases during such vacancy or absence, the Church Waidens for the time being or one of them may call and hold fuch Vestrys as the Rector might Do. AND FURTHER, our will and pleasure is and we do for us, our Heirs and Suc- cessors Establish, appoint and Direct That after any Four of the said Vestry Men hereby appointed as Vestry Men as aforesaid shall happen to Dye, be removed, or refuse to VKh-ymen. ^'^' ^^ such, then that the Number of Vestry Men of and for the said Church forever thereafter shall not consist of any more or greater number than Six, and after the said number herel ly appointed Vestry Men shall be so Reduced to Six, then and in such case if any of the said number shall happen to Dye, be Lawfully removed, or voluntary remove themselves, or refuse to act as aforesaid, then the number of such Vestry Men so Dying, removeing or refuse- ing to act shall be Chosen and made up out of the Com- municants of the said Church by the greater vote of the Communicants of the said Church and of the Petitioners herein before particularly named, and that always within Patent and Charter. 293 one month after sucli DycitiE, Kemoval or Refusal afore- ^"^'vS said, and this so long as any of tlie said Six Vestry Men shall Live or remain of the Vestry ; and in case the present Church Wardens, or either of them, or the Chnrch Wardens for the 'time being, or either of them, shall happen to Dye, remove or refuse to Act in the office of Church Wardens, then and m Such Case the said Office shall he filled and supplyed out of the number of the Vestry Men then being by the Greater Vote of the Vestry and Petitioners aforesaid, and that jvithin One Month after such Vacancy. AND FURTHER, our will and pleasure is and we do for us, onr Heirs and Successors Establish, appoint ami Direct that from and after the Death, Removeal or Refuseal to act of the several Vestry Men herein before named and appointed Vestry Men as aforesaid, then and from thenceforth the Choice as well of the Vestry Men as of the Church Wardens AjJ^ ^ for the said Church shall be annual, and (hat Yearly, Once Votryaeo. in the Year forever thereafter, that is to say, on Tuesday in Witsunweek in every year, at the said Church, the Com- municants of the said Church for the time being, or the- Major part of them then present, shall Elect, Chuse and. appomt Two of the Communicants of the said Church to- be Church Wardens and Six other Communicants of the said Chnrch to be Vestry Men for the Ensueing year, vvhich Church Wardens and Vestrymen so Chosen and hereafter to be Chosen, shall Immediately Enter upon theii Respec- tive Offices from the Respective times they shall be so Chosen until other fit persons be respectively Elected in their respective Rooms and places, and Shall and by these presents have fiill power and Lawfii! Authority to Do, Ex- ecute and perform their Several and respective Offices in as full and ample manner as any Church Wardens or Vestry Men in that part of Great Britain called England or this Province have or Lawfully may do; and it it shall happbn that any or either of the said Church Wardens and Six Vestry Men (so to be annually Elected after the Death or removal of the present Vesfry Men as aforesaid) shall Dye, or be removed, or deny, refuse or neglect to Officiate in the said Respective Offices of Church Wardens and Vestry Men before their or either of their time for serving therrin be Ex- pired, then and in every such case it shall jnd may be Law- IB* 294 Appendix C. Filling va- full to and for the Communicants of the said Church for '*"°'"' the time being or the Major part of them to proceed in manner aforesaid and make a new Election of cine or more of their Communicants in the Room or place of Such: Officer or Officers so Dying, or removeing, or denying, re- fusing or neglecting to Officiate in his or their Respective Office or Offices as aforesaid, and so as often as the case- shall happen or require. AND we Do for us, our Heirs and Successors Declare and Grant that the Patronage, Advow- son. Donation or presentation of and to the said Church. Rights ves- and Parish after the Decease or removal of the sai.l Robert Church Jenny, the present Rector thereof, or next avoidance thereof, smd V«trv- ^^^^^ appertain and belong to and be hereby vested in the; men. Church Wardens and Vestry Men of Saint George's, in the: Parish of Hempstead aforesaid, for the time being, and. their Successors forever or to the Major part of them, where- of One Church Warden always to be one. AND WE do» Give and Grant by these presents to the said Rector and Inhabitants of the Parish of Hempstead, in Queens County, on Long Island, in Communion of the Church of England salary!'^ as by Law Established, that the said Kobert Jenny, the present Rector of Saint George's Cliurch aforesaid, and. his Successors the Rectors or Ministers of the said Church,, for the time being shall have and Receive the Sum of Sixty- Pounds Yearly, to be assessed, Leveyed, Collected and: paid by the Inhabitants of the precinct or Parish of Hemp- stead, in Queens County aforesaid, for and towards the- maintenance provided for by Two Acts of Assembly in our said province, the one entitled AN ACT for setling a Ministry and raising a maintenance for them in the City oV New York, Counties of Richmond, Westchester, and Queens County, and the other entitled An Act for the- better Explaining and more effectual putting in Execution the former act. AND our further will and pleasure is^ That it shall and may be LawfuU to and for the present or- any other succeeding Rector of the said Church at a Vestry or meeting by and with the Advice and Consent of the- Major part of the Members then present, to nominate and: Clerk, Sex- appoint a Clerke, Sexton or Bellringer to and for the said. Jtagef,°&o. Church, also a Clerke and Messenger to serve the said; Vestry at their meetings, and such other under Officers as. Patent and Charter, 295 they shall stand in need of, to remain in their respective oflices so long as the said Rector, Church Wardens and Vestr; for the lime beiog or the Major part of them shall think fit. AND WE do further of our Especial Grace, certain knowledge and nieer motion. Give and Giant unto the said Rector and Inhabitants and to their Successors forever, That the Rector, Church Wardens, or ore of them, and Vestrymeii of the said Church for the time being or the Major part of them in Vestry sliall have and have hereby Given and Granted unto them full power and authority from time to time and at all times hereafter, to make. Ordain and Constitute such Rules, Ordeis and Ordinances Vestry lo for the Good Discipline and weal of the members of the ^^r^ g^;, said Church and Corporation, as they or the Major part ot them shall think Gc, so that those Rules, Orders and Or- dinances be not repugnant Co the Laws of that part of our Kingdom of Great Britain called England, or of this our Province, but as near us may be agreeable thereto, which Rules and Orders shall be from time to time fairly entered in a Book or Books lo be kept for that purpose. AND l--URTiIER KNOW YE, that we of oar more abundant Grace, certain Knowledge and meermolion, HAVE Given, Granted, Ratified and Confirmed, and by these presents for us, our Heirs and Successors, Doe Give, Grant, Ratifie and Confirm unio the said Rector and Inhabitants of the Parish of Hempstead, in Communion of the Church of England as by Law Established, and their Successors, ALL That the „ . said Church and Ground on which the same stands, and land ea which Doth belong to the same, containing in the whole c^«h Halfeanacre of Land. AND ALSO all that Parsonage stands. House and Land commonly called the Paisonage Home Lent, situated and being m the Townspott of Hempstead ^^f ^^■■ aforesaid, now in the possession of the said Robert Jenny, • containing alioiit Three acres and a half of Land, to and for the use of the said Robert Jenny and his Successors for ever Rectors of ihe said Church: TO HAVE AND TO HOLD all and singular the Premises aforesaid with the appurtenances unto (hem Ihe said Rector and Inhabitants of the Parish of Hempstead, in Queens County, on Long Island, 111 Communion of the Church nf England as by Law Established, and their Successors, TO their only proper 296 Appendix C How to be use and behoofe for ever ; TO BE HOLDEN of us, our Heirs and Successors, in free and Common Socage as of our Mannor of East Greenwich, in the County of Kent, within. that part of our Kingdom of Great Britain called England ^ YIELDING, Rendering and paying therefore Yearly arid, every Year for ever unto us, our Heirs arid Successors, on the Feast Day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. „ , Mary, at our Cityof New York, the Annual Rent of One therefor. Shilling, Current Money of our said Province, in lieu and stead of all other Rents, Dues, Duties, Services, Claini.s and Demands whatsoever for the premises. AND LASTLY^ we Do for us, our Heirs and Successors Ordain and Grant unto the said Rector and Inhabitants of the I'arish of Hemp- stead, in Queens County, on Long Island, in fomraunion of the Church of England as by Law Established, and their Successors, by these Presents, That this our Grant shall be Re-affirm- Firm, Good, Effectual and available in all things in the Law ing grant. ^^ ^ Intents, Constructions and purposes whatsoever, ac- cording to our true intent and meaning herein before De- clared, and shall be construed, reputed and adjudged in all Causes most favourable on the behalfe and for the best ben- efite and behoofe of the said Rector and Inhabitants of the Parish of Hempstead, in Queens County, on Long Island, ia Communion of the Church of England as by Law Established, and their Successors, altho' express mention of the yearly- value or certainte of the Premisses or any of them in these: presents is or are not named, or any Statute, Act, Ordi- nance, Provision, Proclamation or Restriction heretofore, had, made. Enacted, Ordained or Provided, or any other matter, cause or thing whatsoever to the contrary hereof notwithstanding. IN TESTIMONY whereof we have caused these our Letters to be made Patent and the Great Seal of our said Province of New York to be hereunto affixed, and the same to be Entered on Record in our Secretary's Office of our said Province, in one of the Books, of Patent there remaining. WITNESS our said Trusty andi well-beloved William Cosby, Esq., Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of our Provinces of New York, New Jet- sey and Territories thereon Depending in America, Vicfi- Admiral of the same and Colonel in our Army, &c., in, by and with the Advice and Consent of our Council of our said Patent and Charter, zgj Province of New York, at our Fort George in our City of New York, the tivenCy-third Day of July, m the Ninth year of onr Reign, and in the year One Thonsand Seven Hun- dred and Thirty Five. FRED'K MORRIS, D Sec'Cy. ENDORSEMENT ON THE BACK AS FOLLOWS : AVzfi Verk, Sec'Ifs Office, Oclober 13th, 173$. I hereby certify that tbe wiihin patent is recorded in one of the Books of record remamingm the Sec'ty's office for the Province ot New York, entitled (Patents liegun June the Stli, 1731,) in fo. 190, and cootinued thence to page saz. Inclu- sively, and that there are no raisures nor Interlineations tliat were made either in the Iiigrossing of the wilhin patent before the pas^g of the gi-eat Seal thereto, or in the re- cording of the same, but what are tsken notice of in a Memorandum for tLat purpose made at the Bottom of Rec- ord. The Ori^al and the Record thereof having been «arefiilly examined hy FELED'K MORRIS, D. Sec'ty. INDEX. PAGE Alburtis, Joseph 387 Albertus, James 49 Alden, John, ancestor of Rev. Mr. Seabury .... 88 Allen, Henry 93 Allen, Mrs 93 Allen, Philip 93 AUgeo, David 97 Avchdale, Captaiti, disor- derly acts of his officers complained of 138 Angevine, Miss A. E., thanks of Vestry to. ... 363 AngLvine, Lewis 364 Baldwin, Isaac 387 Bartow, Kev. Mr. letter of 35 Barroll, W. H 341, 387 Baptism, Joseph Ohees- man and eight children. 104 Baptist, Rev. Mr. Sesibury deserves the title lOo Baptl-ts in Hempstead . . 57 Barnum, Peter C 364 Baldwin, George 145, 387 Bethpage 57 Barry, William J 301 Barr, Rev. David E 355 Beach. Rev. Dr 194, 196 Bedell, John 359, 387 Betts, Rev. Beverly R.. . . 348 Borrian, William 287 Berrian, Mrs. Sarah A., be- quest of 219 PAGB Bequests to Church . 205, 216 317, 219 Bishop, the desire to have one in America. 101, 119 130, 184 Bissett, Rev. Mr 194 Bloomer Rev. Mr 165 Bletsoe, Rev. Dr 180 Books given to the parish 35 Brown, John 97, 287 Braintree, Mr.Vesey, born in 18 Brookhaven, petition for a missionary 128 Breuningliausen, E. W. 364 Bruce, Rev. Vandervoort . 246 Brooks, David 146 Brush, Rev. William P. 4, 274 Burials, recording of be- gan 204 Burial ground, 47, addi- tions to. 107, 214, 247, 261 Gary Ordination, excite- ment 256 Onrman, Stephen 287 Carman, Frederick Z 255 Carman, Samuel 287 Carmichael, Rev.Wm. M., D.D. Called to rector- ship, 239; expenditures under. 240 ; parochial report of, 243 ; bur- ies emigrants drowned, 242; organizes chnrcb at Rockawaj, 243; le- signs parish, 249; Gcr- mon publiabed at re- quest of vestry Cattaedral, GardeD City.. 274 Cbildren of Hempstead, wild and uncultivated. 34 Chandler, Eev, Dr. Thomas Bradbury .... Charlton, Dr. John 195 Chancel, site of in old church Chancel, a recess built... 263 Church propertj, — par- sonage, glebe, &c., whcDce derived (see Property, Church) 44 Church, built by gifts of congregation, 48. Its dimcnsiun^ 60 ; plan of it, 61; a drawing of it but recently found, 61 ; struck by lightning, 64; Closed for a time dur- ing the Revolutionary Wat, 125 ; British desire to use it for a ' grana- ry,' 129 ; demolished and another built, 205 ; con- secrated, 208. Seals declared free, 214 ; rented again, 338 ; part of glebe sold, 240 ; addi- tinns to church yard, 106, 347, 361; ballad on, 248, S83; recess chan- cel bnilt, 263; roof slated, 364 ; organ bonght, 384;new fence, 305 ; investments, 267. charter of incorporation petition for, 4, 8, 0; granted. 49 ; still in force, CI ; inviolability sus- tained by case of Dart- mouth College, 67 ; treated on by Judge Hofiman, 66; charters to other parishes, 66 ; Appendix 2 Christ Church, Philadel- phia, Dr. Jenny's ap- plication for rectorship, 72 ; Bishop of London's letter to the Veatry, 74; Dr. Jenny invited to ., ', Christ Church, Oyster Bay. early history of, 57; resumption of servi- , 176 Clowes, Geradus, Samuel, Jamaica ... 49, 59- Clowes, William J 287 Clowes, Samuel 59,106 "" res, Edward A. ... 287 Clark, Hon. George. , ..61, 64 Clark, Eev. J. P. F..201, 238 Clark, Daniel, Esq 364 Clowes, Mrs. Abigail, be- quest 319 Clerk, Mr. Thomas pays the from bis own salary, 37 ; otBces and duties of the, descnbed, 156; lirst and last named per- son in this office 161 Clock, turret, purchased: ;, &o.. . 263 Thomas 387 Clowes, Thomas H. .364, 387 Clowes, John 337,387 Oombury, Lord, letterfrom 33 Cosby, Governor, attends consecration of St. George's Church, 63; his gifts to it 63, 64 Cornell, John 48, 93, 387 Cornell, Rinhard ... .49, 93 Cornell, Col 93 Cornell, Col. of the Rhode Island troops 137 30O Index. PAGE Cornell, "William 49, 287 Cooper, Simon 103 Cooper, Rev. Elias, chap- lain 139, 194 Coles, Mr. and Mrs. John B 338 Coles, Mrs. William 364 Cow Neck 57, 237 Coxe, Bishop, ballad on Church Yard . 348 Cox, Rev. Samuel, D.D 304, 369 Communion Plate, de- scribed 163 Communion Fund 178, 205 318 Confirmation, first in Hempstead 184, 186 Congregation, call Rector 143, 334, 351 Coppers taken in collec- tions to be sold 161 Cummings, Rev. Archi- bald 71,72 Cutler, Rev. Dr. Timothy, President of Tale Col- lege, 88; letter com- mending Mr. Seabury. 89 Cutler, Rev. Dr. Benj. 0. ; 359, 361 Cutting, Rev. Leonard, 110 ; transferred to Hempstead, 111: induc- tion, 112; biography, 113; reports to Society, 115 ; experiences during the Revolutionary War, 134; letter describing, 134; leaves the parish, 187 ; subsequent offices and ministrations, 188 ; his family, 189; de- scription of his person, 140; Mrs. Cutting, 139; Communion Fund 178 206, 208 Communicants, number in 1748 96: Currency, Federal, when introduced 304 Crommeline, James 103- Cruger, Henry 103 Cruger, Telamon lOit- Dannat, William H. .364, 287 Dartmouth CpUege case, as bearing on St. George's Charter i67 De Lancey, Comet, dis- turber of worship 131 De Lancey, Chief Justice, 64 Denton, Charles 264, 287 Debts, created, and how paid 347 Dissenters, their opposition to the parish 34, 35 Docharty. Mrs. Prof. G. B 364 Dongan, Governor, 10, 11, 13 Drum, used to call con- gregation 34 Dudley, Governor 34 Duke's Laws, the 10 Dorland, John... 94, 106, 287 Dorlin, Elias, 3rd 112 Election, postponed, an annual 331 Ellison, Richard, Esq.... 97 Empie, Rev. Adam, D.D. 300 Evans, Rev. Evan 25, 26- Farquher, James, sou of Dr. William 104 Farm at South, size, and whence derived, 53 ; part sold, 173 ; another do, 304; the remainder sold, 215 ; proceeds, how invested. 216^ Floyd- Jones .' 255- Fletcher, Governor, efforts to establish the worshiu of Church of England, 11 ; hia agency id found- ing St. George's 13 Flushing, charter granted to Proat, Thomas 104 Fulton, Eohei-t, married 3. sister of Mrs. William Cutting Pnnerals, recording of Fnnds, invested, 341 ; misapplied, 247; leport against such proceed- ing Qardeo City, Cathedral . . Qaa introduced into church Gildersleeve, Asa, first re- corded Baptiam Geer, Bev. W. M 4, Gildersleeve, Thomas, ap- pointed catechist, 34, 47, 49 Gilderaleeve, George . .. Gildersleeve, James Gildetsleeve, Jonathan 360,287 Glebe, building lots sold from, 340 ; the proceeds, how applied Glen Cove, 58, 104; parish organized 334 Bolden, Isaac "" Gtieaton, Bev. James offi- ciates at Hantington, hia death Grenel, David, Roberl, and John Grace Church, South Oys- ter Bay 254 Hart, "Rev. Seth,. called to be Hector, 103; hia bi- ography, 197; school, 197; efforts togetfunda for a new i-hurch, 213; consecration of, 308 ; sermon at consecration of, Q09 ; resignation. 319; death 2 Hart, Rev, William H. . 3 Hall, Rev. Richard D. called to be Rector. 224 ; biogi'uiihy, 235; peculi- arities of the call, 336 ; salary, 337; Fourth of July commotion, 338 ; annual election post- poned, 231; bis labors, 332: small effects, 232; resignation 3 Hall, James, Choir master in 1803, salary 1 Ilarriman, Rev. Orlaudo, elected Rector, 3a3; instituted, 253; biog- raphy, 354; South Oys- ter Bay organized as a parish, 254 ; Oxford Tracts controversy, 556; Mr, Harriman resigns, 2 Harwood, Rev, Edwin, D. D 1 Harper, Philip, J. A.... 3 Haviland, Samuel . ... 1 Heathcote, Governor .S4, 2 Hempstead, origin of church In, 9; church and house built for the minister, 25; its situa- tion and healthiness de- scribed, 32; population of the town 10 1761,103; population largely tories in the Revolutionary war 1 Hentz, John H 3 Herodotus quoted Hewlett, Whitehead H. 3 Hewlett, Benjamin. . . ,93, 3 Hewlett, George 3 302 Index, PAGE Hewlett, Bichard, 106, 145, 287 Hewlett, Stephen 337 Hewlett, Daniel 49 Hewlett, John J 387 Hewlett, Samuel, bequest 319, 360, 387 Hewlett, Joseph, Rectory, at Rockaway 346 Hewlett, Mrs. Mary Ann (Moore) 187 Hicks, Philip 104 Hobart, Rev. J. H. call to, 192; brief Rectorship, 194; related to Rev. Jeremy Hobart, 195 Horsmanden, Judge .... 31 Hospital, St. J'ohn's, Brooklyn 383 Hogewout, Leffert, . . .93, 106, 113, 145, 379, 387 Huntington, church built, 97 ; petitions Venerable Society, 98 ; the congre- gation at, 100; house and glebe purchased, 102; petitionsfor a mis- sionary 133 Hubbard or Hobart, Rev. Jeremy, a house built for, by the town, 45; leaves Hempstead, 46 ; akin to Rev. (Bishop) J. H. Hobart 195 Hutton, Rev. Richard Graham 183 Hugins, James 49 Humphrey's History Prop. Society 34 Hymns, when introduced in the Church Service, 159; Dr. Smith's gratifi- cation at 159 Hyde, Edward Henry, grave in church-yard, and Bishop Coxe's bal- PAGE lad on 243 Invested Funds, 241, 247, 267 Independents inimical to the church 31 Induction of Rev. Mr. Thomas, 28; Rev. Mr. Seabury, 81; Rev. Mr. Cutting, 113; Rev. Mr. Moore 145 Islip, petitions for a mis- sionary, 123; Rev. T. L. Moore sent there 150 Ireland, Rev. Mr 194 Jarvis, Jacob, son of Ben- jamin 104 Jackson, John 106 Jamaica, Charter granted to 66 Jenks, Rev. W. A 238 Jenney, Rev. Dr., 21; succeeds Rev. Mr. Tho- mas, 43; his reports to Ven. Society, 53, death of Mrs. J., 69;vis- itsEngland, 70; applies to be Rector of Christ Church, Phil., 73; re- signs St. George's, 75 ; his character, 76 ; degree of LL.D. conferred, 76; Inscription on tomb- stone 77 Jenny, Mrs., her death. . . 69 Johnson, Rev. Evan M. . . 231 Johnson, Jacob 97 Jones, Gen. Henry Floyd 355 Jones, John 179 Jones, Elbert Floyd 255 Jones, David 179 Jones, Samuel 355 Jones, Judge Thomas, History of New York during the Revolution- ary War 1S7 Jonea, J. 8. Jackson 355 Jecacks, Tbomas, clerk in 1785 161 Jones, Jackson J 174 Jonea, David R. Plojd.. 315 287 Seith, Bev, George 14, 31 ; extracts /rom jour- nal, 33; letter from, 37; Eeble Thomas, BChool-mas- ter atMosquuo Cove... 68 Kellum, John 365 Ejtmarn, Daniel, 93, 104, 106 lia, 143, 169, 303, 387 lEassam, JoGoph 93 ILangdon, Joseph 49 Langdou, W^ilUam 49 Land in front of parson- age, voted to care of Hector 174 Latliam, William 93 LawroLce, William, son ofDr 104 tee, Thomas 49,93 Leak;, William, school- master 121 LaJng, William L., office "and geneniaitj 354 Lefferts, John, opens school at 8outb of Til- lage, 133; resigns it, 133, 205; bequest of to St. George's 316 Letter. Gilbert 104 Lester, Benjamin 93 LewiK, Benjamin 93 Library Paiish 266 Lowth, Bishop 151 Lott Hermones 387 Lowe, Mr John, ordained lit flempetead 165 Littlejohn, Rt. Rev. A. N. D.D., LL.0. address of 185 Loyd, Cornet, a disturber ■of worship 131 Ludlow, George D., a ves- tryman, refuses to act with the others, 131; his offices and career.. . II Manhasset church built, 108; academy bnill, 300; Organized asi a parish, 202 ; rectors of. . . . 204, S Mftllaby.Eev. Thomas, S38, S Marcus, Eev. Moses S McNulty, Hev. Stephen A 2 March, John, Esq. gifts to church,.. .,63, 64, 78, 1 Martiu, Josiah 97. 1 Martin, Samuel, M. D., 128 145. 387 Mnr^ h-, Ecibtit, 4S. ?i, C:, 106 McSparran, Hev. Dr.. Recrtnr of Narraganset church, influence of on Eev. Mr, Seabury, 88; letter of commendation, from , . . 89 Marvin, Harry H 287 Mcllvaiae. Eev. Chas. P., afterward Bishop 233 Mein ell, James 355 MiJDor, Rev Dr. James . 233 Ministry, hill for settling a 13 Miller, William 264 McBrain. Mrs. . . : 264 Mills. Alexander, organ purchased of 264 Matthews, Mrs. Whitman 264 MiddletoD, Rev. Dr. J. C. 4 239 Mitchell, Uriah 93 Mitchell, John 93 Mitchell, Jacamiah 49 Monroe, George G 287 304 Index. PAGE Montressor, Henry 104 Moore, John 287 Moore, Thomas W. C. 163, 261 364 Moore, Bishop Richard Ghannintf 191, 194 Moore, Miss Elizabeth Frances 264 Moore. Rev. Dr. Beojamin (Bishop) 194 Moore, Rev. Thos. L. 137; culled to be Rector, 142; Induction, 144; biogra- phy, 148 ; preaches in London, 149; Hon. Ed- nnind Burke commends him, 150; appointed to Islip, 150; marriage; 153; participates in or- ganizing Church in America, 153 ; Call to Halifax, 155; extent of his field of labor, 188; first confirmation, 184, 186; his death, 187; mural tablet, 188; por- trait, 188 ; death of Mrs. Judith Moore, 340 ; their children, 189; death of the last one, 189 Moore, Rev. W. H., D.D. Call to Rectorship. 259'; pleasant relations with Vestry, 261 ; iniprove- menis in church prop- erty 265 Mott, Jacob 106 Mott, Joseph 49 Mott, John, Esq 47, 60 Morris, Col., vs. Assembly bill 13 Morris, Governor 34 Mo.>quito Cove, (Glen Cove) 58, 104 Music in the parish, 157; chants read, 160; no or- PAGE gan, 157; Hymns intro- duced, 159 ; changes in 160 Mulford, Charles W. ,264, 387 Myles. Rev. Samuel, King's Chapel, Boston, 19 ; theological teacher of Mr. Vesey 80 Keide, Rev. George L. . . 246 Newtown, St. James, charter granted 66 New Rochelle, petition from 24 Nichols, Governor, Rich- ard 9, 10 Nichols. Gideon 306, 380 Nichols'. Gideon 264 Nichols, Mrs. Eliza- beth, incidents of her life and death 278 Noble. Rev. Birdsey, G. . 200 Norton. William, Esq ... 364 Oakley, Jacob, F 204 Onderdonk, Benjamin, of Hendrick 104 Onderdonk, Bishop B. T. ...204, 237. 239, 248, 253 Onderdonk, Henry, Jr. of Jamaica 4, 201 Onderdonk, Andrew. 146, 287 Onderdonk, Mrs. mother of the Bishops 243 Ordination at Hempstead, first in New York 163 Onderdonk, Henry M.... 387 Ordronaux, Prof, John, M.D., Esq 273 Organ bought, subscribers 264 Oyster Bay, 24; church people, 57; Quiikersat, 57 ; Dr, Jenney officiates at, 59 ; large congrega- tion at, 102 ; Mr. Cut- ting oflficiates, 116; a "wild set" at, 132; no- Jndese, 305 count of revival of cliuKili at 1 Oyatei Bay, Soutli, Qrace Gbuich, liietory of its orgaaizatiou, etc 3 Pariah Regiater, date of beginniDg, 39; nbat it contains, 39 ; fonerale, when £rat recoided in, Pariah Library, a Parish, its extent and bound artes, 13, note, and 57, 58 ; number of membeiB 1 PaTBonage, 25; when and by whom built, 45 ; re- paired, 92; anew one, ■"' ' ' ' , front of ato c ■eofn . 174 Parsonage, South, a farm whence derived, 53 ; pait of it sold, 173; Btitl another part do, 204; remaiader sold, 215. PpfE, George N 364 Petition for missionary from Hempstead .. .34 Pew rents abolished, 314; restored 228 FeUetrau, Bev. Cbarlea, , 274 Pearson, Rev. Robert T. . 246 Peters, John S3, 97, 387 Peters, Charles 49, 93 Peters, Valentine H 97 Petit, TownaendB 387 Petit, Lewis 350,387 Pine. Diiniel ... 98, 97, 287 Pine, Ricbard 235 Pine, James, ...... 48, 49 Phillips. Rev. J. F..181, 238 Piatt, Epenetus 166 Pintard, Captain, gift of mlver plate, 1S1 ; bard iiaage from Britiab, 163; his property adjoiaing church glebe 162 Potters, John 113 Postponement of an aonu- al election 231 Porter, Rev. G. W.. D.D. 271 Population of Hemp- stead in 1733 58 Provoost, Bishop, conae- crated, 154; address of coDgr.itulation to, 154; his prejudice against Bishop Seabory 166 Property, Church, whence derived. 44 and 54; parsonage built, 45; Church built, 44; town property voted to church, 46 ; farm at south of Hem Instead, 46 ; action of freeholders about church and glebe, 47; parsonage format aouth, 53,valueof, 154; 5 art sold, 173; do, S04; o, 215 ; proceeds of sale 318' Presbyterian effort to establish a cuagrafi^- tion south of village, 121; the church in Hempatead used for military purposes 139 Presbyterians preached occasional in Hemp- stead, 52 ; controveray with the Independents for possession of church, 52, 56. Psalms, version of Stem- bold and Hopkins . . 157 Prayer Book, presented by Queen Ann, still preserved, and deacrib- ed 164 Puritans of Sew England, 3o6 Index. PAGE efforts to oppose Church iu Virginia, 14 ; also in New York 15 Eansoni, Bev. Joseph .... 183 Ratoone, Rev. Mr.. .193, 194 Rierson, George . . . . . . 113 Register, parish, long un- supplied, 36 ; a tempo- rary resort, 38 ; one pre- sented 89 Revolutionaryr War, dis- turbances iu parish wrought by 133, 133 Rhodes. William . . ..SO."), 335 337, 360, 387 Richards. Rev. Edmund, 183 Rockhall, Rockaway, buil- der, 138; painting there by Oopely 138 Rockaway, Trinity Church, history of, 343 ; chapel consecrated 345 Rockwell, James. . , .104, 387 Roslyn, Trinity Church, History of..." 368 Rushmore, Lewis 247, 360,387 Rushmore, Benjamin F.. 364 Rye, Dr. Jenney called from, 43; charter 66 Sands, Rev. John Jackson 194 Sacrament Fund, 173, 305, 318 Sayres, Rev. Gilbert H., D.D 337 Sayres, Rev. Samuel W. 4, 343, 346 Schools inconstant, except those of the Venerable Society, 58; masters, how paid 58 School-house at parsonage built, 103; sold 333 St. George's Church, di- mensions, 60 ; consecra- ted, 63; gifts to, 63; PAGZ gallery added, 96 ; taken down, and another built, 305 ; consecrated 308 St. Andrews, Staten Is- land, charter 66 St. Peters, Westchester, charter 66 Seabury, Rev. Samuel, called to St. George's, 80; Induction, 81; De- claration, 83 ; biogra- phy. 86 : goes to Eng- land, 88 ; Ordination, 90; characteristics as a preacher, 90 ; person- al appearance, 91 ; at- tacked by a dissenting preacher, 99 ; extracts from his reports, 100; urges that a bishop be sent to America, 101 ; ministrations in Dutch- ess County, 101; his school, 103 ; many bap- tisms, 105. death and epitaph, 106; prize in a lottery, 107; hisdescerd- ants 108 Seabury, Mrs., survives her husband, provided with a home 106,118 Seabury, Rev. Samuel, Jr. (Bishop) first reference to in his father's corre- spondence, 96 ; petitions Society to supply vacan- cy at Hempstead, 109; describes the Hemp- stead parish, 110; his opponents, 166; loved at Hempstead 168 Seabury, Rev. Charles... 194 Seabury, Robert S . . . 364, 287 Seabury, Dr. Adam.. 113, 146 Seabury, Adam 287 Seabury, Henry P 364 Index. Searing, Samnel £ Searing, Jamea, M. D. . . 16 Searle, Comet Cbarles, apologizes for outrage at Chuich 13 Seaman, Sumnel L. 227, 3S 260, 264. 2E Serring, Jobn 48, 38 Shelton, Rev. Dr. Wil- liam 30 Siuclaire, Coroet, a distur- ber of worship 13 SbiUm, Edward 26 Smith, James 93, 3f Smith, John S Smith. Timothy 93, 13 Smith, Mioah, ...93,94,26 Smith, Joseph . ..48, 93, 2f Smith, Peter, BeDior S Smith, Isaac IC Smith, Jacob 48, 3f Smith, Rev. Dr. "William to be Bishop If Smith, Rev. J. Carpentur, D.D 85 Smith, Israel 1^ Smith, Mrs. Abigail, be- quest. 317; Marriage, 3t Smith's History, vs. Gov. Fletcher ] Snedeker, Abraham %i Snedelier, Isaac 2G South Ovster Bay, Qiace Church 3S Society Propagation, 9,31; petitioa, 109 ; Ihauks to 11 Spai'ks, Rev. J.W. 31 Sprague, Dr. W., Episco- pal Pulpit 11 Stanford, Thomas, Esq.. SG Steams, Rev. J IE Striogham, James 3S Striogham, James 4 StDwelU Rev. Heniy 0. .. 26 Stewart. Atexauder T. me- morial to 27 Sutton, Robert 48 Sunday-school oi^anized. S33 Taylor, Jobn 104 Temple, Mr., Schoolmas- ter 71 Thomas, Rev. John, 26 ; iniluction, 38; corre- spondence with Ten. Society, 30; no register of his acta, 36; a tempo- rary one, 38; his last let- ter, 40, date of death, 40; Wood's estimate of his qualities, 41 ; his will, 41; no tombstone, 41 Thotnas, General TbomaE, of Con tine utal Ai'my, grandson of Hev, Mr. Thomas 42 Thorne, Richard .48. 94, 387 Thrall, Rev. S. Chipraan. 365 Totten's Lane, closed and added to church-yard 107 Ttiwnsend, Micajah . ... 104 Towosend, Jotham 104 Toirnsend, Epenetua 104 Townsend, Jobn 106 Townaend, Samnel 179 Townsend, Rohert 179 Toivnsend, Edward M..,. 181 Tredwell, Benjamin .48, 146, 38T Tredwell, Benjamin, 363, 287- Tredwell, Col. Jolio 48 Trinity Church, New York, call to Mr. Yesey, 17 ; gift to Bt. George's 175 toManhasset, 199;loan from St. George's, 216; repaid 218 Trotter, William, Jr. . . . 161 Trustees of temporalities of the church chosen, 143, 147 Turnpike Stock bought.. 305i 2ia 3o8 latdex. PAGE Turner, James 112, 387 Urquhart, Rev. William. . 29, 194 Valentine, Charles, of Ja- cob 104 Valentine, Samuel.. 325, 337, 253, 287 Valentine, Jacob 387 Vandewater, Rev. Qeorge R 183 Van Dyke, Rev. Mr 194 Van Nostrand, Cornelius 113, 145, 287 VanNostrand, George, 227, 287 Van Nostrand, Martin, 145,387 Van Zandt, Wynant 203 Vesey, Rev. William, 15 ; a communicant of Church of England, 20 ; called to Trinity Church New York, 20 ; Inducts Rev. Mr. Thomas 29 Vesey, Mr. William, of Braintree, Mass., iined for disregard of rules of Congregationalists 17 Vestries, Civil, vs. Eccle- siastical Vestry, 13 ; Ves- trymen, list of 287 Virginia, Puritan efforts in 15 Watts, George... 112, 145, 287 War, Revolution, signs of approach, 123; inter- rupts intercourse of PAGB missionaries with Ven. Society,.. 124 Wardens and Vestrymen, list of S8T Waters, George G., Esq.. 264 Walters, Henry 264 Ward, Rev. C. W 182 Webb, Edwin, M.D. 264, 387 Weeks, George. ..112, 145, 287 Weeks, Thomas W. . .206, 235 287 Weller, A. N., Esq 287 Westbury 57 Wilberforce, Bp., quoted. 185 Willets, David B 287 Wheat ley Village 57 Westchester, St. Peter's, charter 66 Whitfield, Bev. George, his career 119 Wilkins, Isaac 104 Willis, John.. 287 Wiggins, Daniel 104 Wheeler, Rev. Eli 80» Wood, James, 97, 112,145,287 Wood, Samuel, gifts to church 163, 365 Wood, Abrara 337, 265 Wood, Stephen 205 Wooley, Misses Sarah and Elizabeth, bequests . . . 319 Woodbridge, Rev. Sylves- ter, sermon against church right to property 250i Youngs, David J 181 Cornell University Library BX5919.H49 S2 History of St. George's Church olin Hempstea 3 1924 029 457 813