* I v\ ^rr i-^^^LcJ^.^^^M^GA^.. .A.AA7A'^J2 3Ap..0...jJ4U.. S817 The date shows when this voluili6 was taken. -^^mhr^'m- ^ HOME USE RULES. Books not needed for instruction or re- search are returnable within 4 weeks. Volumes of periodii- cals and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible. For special purposes they are given out for a limited time. Borrowers should not u.'ie their library privileges for the bene- fit of other persons. Books not needed during recess periods should be returned to the library, or arrange- ments made for their return during borrow- e;f 's absence, if wanted. Books needed by more than one person are held on the reserve list. Books of special value and gift books, when the giver wishes it, are not allowed to circulate. Cornell University Library BX5980.N5 Z79 History Pt.|he,,Church,of_Zion jnd^^St Ti Clin 3 1924 029 458 696 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029458696 Cburcb of Zion anb St. tTimotbi?. History of the Church OF ZioN AND St. Timothy OF New York ^ ^ ^ ^ 1 797- 1 894 IKIlitb miustratione PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION NEW YORK & LONDON *i^ ►J. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS ►^ ^ ►I^ ^ Printed and Bound by Zrbc Tknichcrboct^cr press, HAcvv J^orh G. P. Putnam's Sons TO THE PARISHIONERS OF THE CHURCH OF ZION AND ST. TIMOTHY, NEW YORK. A FEW words by way of introduction may properly precede this compendium. In 1890, when Zion Church was consolidated with St. Timothy's Church, the writer, being the custodian of all the books of record and documents belonging to the older corporation, and subsequently being kindly offered the use of the records of the younger parish, was induced, as both parishes had thus lost their individuality, to rescue their respective histories from possible oblivion by putting them in printed form, together with a short sketch of the parish which is the outgrowth of the union. In performing this labor of research, much time has necessarily been spent, in the intervals of an active business life, in the collection of historical and statistical data. The writer is not unaware of the fact that in historical sketches of parishes the incidents of their origin and growth, and the biographical portraitures of their principal actors, have no particular interest except to those long attached to such parishes, to the descendants of former parishioners, and to IV INTRODUCTION. those that come after. Yet an acquaintance with the history of one's parish, even when connection with it be short, may deepen interest in it. In this compilation the writer's first inquiries were di- rected toward the books of record and original manuscripts of the respective parishes in his possession. Further historical incidents and facts have been gleaned from The Churchman, Church Journal, Diocesan, and other journals, histories of New York, secular newspapers, Hall of Records, and such other sources as are noted. The writer has also been aided in completing this volume by his own recollections of the older parish which extend over twenty-nine years. DAVID CLARKSON. New York, jfune, iSg4. CONTENTS. PAGE Lutheran Church i Arrival of Exiled Palatinates, 1710 — Trinity Lutheran Church in Broadway Built — Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church Organized — Old Brewery in Cliff Street Occupied, 1749 — Stone Church Built in William Street, 1767 — Trinity Lutheran Church Destroyed by Fire, 1776 — Union of the Lutheran Corporations — Their Site on Broadway sold — The First Edifice of Grace Church Built — An English Lutheran Church Incorporated, 1797 — Rev. George Strebeck, Pastor — Action of Consistory — A Frame Church in Pearl Street Built — Stone Church in Mott Street Built, 1801 — Known as the English Lutheran Church Zion — Adjoining Land Purchased — Parsonage and School-house Built — Burial Plot in Astor Place Bought — Resignation of the Rev. Mr. Stre- beck — Ordained Deacon — Elected Rector of St. Stephen's Protestant Episcopal Church in New York — Consolidation Proposed by St. Stephen's Church — Rev. Ralph Williston became Pastor in 1805 — In 1810 Pastor and Congregation Joined the Episcopal Church and Founded Zion Church. ZiON Church .12 Incorporated March 13, 1810 — Mr. Ralph Williston ordained Deacon — In Temporary Charge — Certificate of Incorporation — Deed of the English Lutheran Church to Zion Church — Communion Service — Zion Church Consecrated — First Vestry — Stipend from Trinity Church. Rev. Ralph Williston, First Rector . . . .21 Election — Ordained Priest — Church Burnt — Efforts to Rebuild — Appeals for Help — Gift of Trinity Church — Corporation Embarrassed — Rector Resigns — Church Advertised for Sale — Sold under Fore- vi CONTENTS. closure Proceedings — Recovered by Six Members of the Congregation — Loan from Trinity Church — Church Completed — Sale of Cemetery in Astor Place — Church Consecrated — The Rector's Subsequent Pas- toral Relations and his Death. Rev. Thomas Breintnall, 1819-1837 .... 33 Letter of Acceptance — Ordination — Improvement of the Locality Since the Fire — Large Sunday-School — The Superintendent, W. R. Whittingham — Mr. Whittingham, upon His Ordination, Preaches in Zion Church — Gift of $20,000 from Trinity Church — Missionary So- cieties — Organ Purchased — Copy of Parochial Register During In- cumbency — Rector Resigns— Action of the Vestry — His Death. Rev. William Richmond, 1837-1845 51 His Biography — Dickens' Description of Zion's Territory, 1841 — Failure to Make Zion a Free Church — Resigns — Missionary to Oregon, 185 1 — His Death — Tribute to His Memory from the Bishop of Nevi^ York. Rev. Richard Cox, 1845-1859 56 His Institution — Biography — The Condition of the Neighborhood compels a Change of Location — Ten Lots of Land on Madison Avenue given by the Heirs of Susan Ogden — Brick Chapel Built in Thirty-Eighth Street — Mott Street Church Advertised for Sale — Meet- ing of Clergy and Laity to Secure Zion Church — Failure of the Project — Sale of the Church — The Church JournaPs Criticism — Will of Mary Welsh — Laying of the Corner-Stone of the New Edifice — Rector's Address upon the Significance of Church Architecture — Consecration of the Church — Extracts from the Sermon Preached by Bishop Doane — Death of Bishop Wainwright — Description of the Church — Memorial Windows and Tablets — Removal of the Dead from Mott Street Burial-Place — Land owned Opposite the Church Leased — Rector Accepts a Call from a Church in Santa Cruz — Resigns — Fare- well Address — Resolution of the Vestry — His Death — Funeral — Memorial Tablet. Rt. Rev. Horatio Southgate, D.D., 1859-1872 . . 105 His Biography — Letter Resigning Episcopal Jurisdiction — His Publications — Extract from Inaugural Sermon — Mission Chapel Organized — Copy of Sermon Preached May, 1861 — Peal of Bells — Interior of Church Improved — Organ Purchased — Zion Chapel — Sale CONTENTS. vii PAGE of the Land Opposite the Church — Rectory Built — Rev. James Murray Memorial Service— Churches Built within Parochial Limits of Zion Church — Change of Choir — Encounters Opposition and Causes Litigation — Zion Chapel Abandoned— Parish Church Suffers — Rector Vacates the Rectorship — Vestry's Expression of Regret — Assistant Ministers — Rev. C. T. Woodruff in Charge — Bishop Southgate Retires to Astoria — His Death — His Funeral. Rev. John N. Galleher, D.D., 1873-1880 . . .150 His Biography — Extract from Patten's Lives of Clergy (1874) — Con- dition of the Parish Presented no Terrors to the Rector-elect — His Successful Labors — Outlook Altogether Promising — Financial Crisis of 1873 — Further Crowding of Churches Around Zion — Rector Elected Bishop of Louisiana — Resigns — Minute of the Vestry — His Consecration — Address at the Funeral of Jefferson Davis — Bishop Galleher's Death — Funeral — Tribute to His Memory by the Clergy of the Diocese of Louisiana — Burial. History OF the Church of the Atonement in Madison Avenue, New York, and its Consolidation with Zion Church 164 Early History of the Site Purchased by the Church OF the Atonement in Madison Avenue . . .173 Rev. C. C. Tiffany, D.D., 1880-1890 . . . .176 His Biography — Inaugural Service — Sale of the Church of the Atone- ment — Debt of Zion's Church Reduced — Revenues Increased — Chapel of the Atonement Adopted as Zion Chapel — Memorial Gifts of Chancel Window — Brass Lectern — Brass Pulpit — Extensive Interior Improvements of Church — Legacy from Samuel Hawk — Mortgage Debt on Church Paid Excepting only that Held by Trinity Church — Parish Societies — St. Cuthbert's Club — Assistant Ministers — Report of Committee on Changing Location of Church — Change of Choir — Appeal to Parishioners — Gift of an Organ— Report of Vestry Meet- tings Regarding the Future of Zion Church — St. Timothy's Church Destroyed by Fire — Rector's Proposition for Zion to Unite with St. Timothy's Church — Conference Committees Appointed — Preliminary Agreement Formulated — Vestries Meet — Corporators Meet — Final Action — Consolidation — Copy of Last Sermon Preached in Zion viii CONTENTS. PAGE Church by the Rector — Copy of Letter from Late Members of the Vestry to Dr. Tiffany — Reply of Dr. Tiffany — Closing Services in Zion Church — Sermon Preached by the Bishop of New York — Parish Register from i8lo-i8go — Necrology — Parochial Report, i88g. Saint Timothy's Church, Founded by the Rev. James Cole Tracey, 1853-1855 217 Centre of Missionary Work under Auspices of the Rev. Thomas M. Peters — School-house in Fifty-First Street — First Parochial Report — Certificate of Incorporation — First Vestry — Elected Rector — His Biography — Rector's Published Appeal — Editorially Noticed in The Churchman — Bishop Horatio Potter's First Celebration of the Order of Confirmation — Rector's Impaired Health — His Death — Tribute to His Memory from the Church Journal, the Vestry, and the Bishop of New York — His Funeral. Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D., 1855-1885 . . . 231 Then Assistant Minister of the Church of the Holy Apostles — Assumes Charge of St. Timothy's Church — Parochial Report — Election to the Rectorship, Retaining His Relation to the Church of the Holy Apostles — Bishop Potter's Visitation — Rev. Richard Clarence Hall Elected Assistant Minister — Offer from Rev. Robert S. Hovifland — The Superintendent of the Sunday-School Elevated to the Episcopate — Rev. William Tatlock Succeeds the Rev. Mr. Hall — Site Purchased in Fifty-Fourth Street — Frame Church Built — Memorial Window — Font — Parish without Debt — Site Again Changed — Present Site Pur- chased — Rector Severs His Connection with Church of the Holy Apostles — His Biography — Extract from Patten's Lives of Clergy (1874) — Rectory Hired — Brick Chapel Erected — Organ Purchased — Site on Fifty-Fourth Street Sold — Chapel Opened — Stipend from Trinity Church — Rectory Built — Cost of — Debt of Corporation — Be- quest under Will of Amelia M. CoUard — Leave of Absence to Rector — Illness — His Death — Funeral — Action of the Vestry — Minutes of the Clergy of the Diocese — Tribute to His Memory from the Bishop of New York — Sale of the Rectory — Debt Reduced — Memorial Service. Rev. E. Spruille Burford, M.A., 1886-1887 . . . 254 His Biography — Letter of Acceptance — Resigned after a Rectorate of about One Year — The Vestry Formally Expresses its Estimate of CONTENTS. ix PAGE the Acceptable Ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Burford— Subsequent Pastoral Relations— His Death— His Funeral— Copy of Resolutions Adopted by the Vestry of St. Timothy's Church, Church of the Intercession, Calvary Church, Memphis, and at a Meeting of the Bishop of New York and the Clergy of the Diocese Attending the Funeral. Rev. Henry Lubeck, M.A., LL.B., 1887-1890 . . .262 His Biography — Letter of Acceptance — Inaugural Service — Estimate as a Preacher — Large Accessions to the Congregation — Munificent Gifts toward a New Edifice — Parish a Legatee for over $60,000 — Copy of Clause in will of George P. Clapp — Rev. C. H. S. Hartman Elected Assistant Minister — Guild of the Parish — Guild-Room Hired — Congregational Singing — Stipend from Trinity Church Discontinued — Brick Chapel Destroyed by Fire — Meeting of the Vestry — Architect Appointed — Proposition from Zion Church — Purchase of the Gore Lot on Fifty-Sixth Street — Consolidation with Zion Church — Parochial Report, 1889 — Parish Register, 1853-1890 — Review of its History — Necrology. Church of Zion and St. Timothy, Consolidated April 25, 1890, Rev. Henry Lubeck, LL.D., Rector . . 279 First Vestry — Election of Rector — Rector Emeritus — Assistant Minister — Organist — Sexton — Appointment of an Architect — Building Committee — Place of Worship — Sale of Zion Church — Purchaser — Adoption of Zion Chapel — Building of a Church Edifice and Parish House Commenced — Removal of Dead from Crypt of Zion Church — Title of Endowment Fund — Amount of the Fund — Rev. Carl Schwartz Succeeds the Rev. Mr. Hartman — Laying of Corner-Stone — Address of Rev. Dr. Satterlee — Letter from Rector Emeritus — List of Clergy Present — Second Place of Worship — Parish House Completed ; Evening Service held there — Church Edifice Finished — First Service in the Church — Copy of the Sermon Preached by the Rector — Church Consecrated — Report of the Services— Clergy Present — Sermon by the Bishop of Nebraska — Instrument of Donation — Description of the Church Memorial and other Gifts — Organ — Cost of the Buildings and Furnishing — Resolution of the Vestry Thanking Building Com- mittee — Commemorative Tablet — Rev. Dr. Tiffany as Rector Emeri- X CONTENTS. PAGE tus — Summary of Four Years' History — Organist and Choir Members — Sunday-Scliools — Parish Guild — The Brotherhood of St. Andrew — Knights of Temperance — Band of Young Crusaders — Chapel of Zion and St. Timothy — Bible Classes— St. Cuthbert's Club — Indus- trial School — Report on Temporal Interests — Present Vestry — Death of Mr. George Montague. Appendix .......... 331 A 331 List of Parishioners attached to Zion Church, i8io-i8ll. B 335 List of Parishioners attached to Zion Church in 1890. c 340 List of Wardens and Vestrymen of Zion Church from iSio-iSgo, and the Period of their Continuance in Office, also of the Treasurers and the Clerks. D 347 Copy of the Abstract of the History of Zion Church Deposited in Comer-Stone in 1853. E. . , 351 List of Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Timothy's Church from 1854-1890, and the Period of their Continuance in Office, also of the Treasurers and the Clerks. ILLUSTRATIONS. Church of Zion and St. Timothy . . Frontispiece ZiON Church, Mott and Park Streets Rev. Thomas Breintnall .... Rev. William Richmond Rev. Richard Cox Zion Church, Madison Avenue and 38TH Street Rt. Rev. Horatio Southgate, D.D. Rt. Rev. John N. Galleher, D.D. Rev. Charles C. Tiffany, D.D. Interior of Zion Church, Madison Avenue St. Timothy's Church, 51ST Street Rev. James Cole Tracey .... St. Timothy's Church, 54TH Street Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D. St. Timothy's Church, 56TH Street Interior of St. Timothy's Church, 56TH Street Rev. E. Spruille Burford, M.A. . Rev. Henry Lubeck, M.A., LL.B. . Interior of Church of Zion and St. Timothy Reredos and Altar, Church of Zion and St. Timothy, FACING PAGE 30 32 5° 56 88 104 150 176 192 216 222 236 240 242 244 254 262 314 316 ZION CHURCH. ZION Protestant Episcopal Church of New York was incorporated March 13, 18 10. The interesting circum- stances which led up to its formation are traceable to as remote a period as 1710, when, under a decree of Louis XIV., several thousand Germans of the Rhenish Palatinate were driven from their land, and besought the English Gov- ernment to give them homes in the New World. Ten thousand pounds sterling were appropriated by Parliament to defray the expenses of these unfortunate exiles. This was about the first recorded immigration of Germans to the United States. A portion of these new-comers remained in New York — some of them belonged to the Lutheran body, and it was chiefly through their efforts that the Lutheran Church was rebuilt. The first church of this denomination on Manhattan Island was established in 1664, by Hollanders, and stood in front of Fort Amsterdam, near the Bowling Green. In 1673, under an edict of the Governor, this church, and 2 ZION CHURCH. Other buildings interfering with the Fort repelling attacks were levelled. Another site was assigned the Lutherans on the southwest corner of Broadway and Rector Street, where, during the following year, a frame church and par- sonage were erected. Early in the eighteenth century these newly arrived Palatinates aided in building, on the same spot, a large and solid church of stone, which, upon comple- tion, was dedicated as " Trinity Lutheran Church." The services were conducted in the Dutch language exclusively, pursuant to a contract between the Dominie and the few older Dutch families. In 1749 the German element, preponderating nearly eight to one, made strenuous efforts to have each alternate sermon delivered in German. Being unsuccessful, they separated the same year, and established " Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church." They purchased and remodelled the old Benson brewery on Clifl Street, and here the congregation wor- shipped until 1767, when a stone church was built at the northeast corner of Frankfort and William Streets, and was consecrated the same year. It was commonly known as the " Old Swamp Church," and its queer oval windows and gable roof were familiar sights until 1850. The Lutheran Church on Broadway was destroyed by a fire September 21, 1776, which swept over the western part of the city, and destroyed nearly one-fourth of it, including the first church building erected on the site of Trinity Church. The con- gregation soon afterwards united with the Old Swamp Church, the only Lutheran Church in the city. They built EARLY HISTORY. 3 upon the Broadway site, near the ruins, an inexpensive hotel, and leased it in 1790 for twenty-one years. Although the following fact has no immediate connection with our subject, it is historically interesting to learn that this site came into the possession of Trinity Church Cor- poration before the lease expired. In 1804 a committee of that Vestry was appointed to select a suitable location below St. Paul's Church for a new edifice. The committee finally reported, that the trustees of the Old Swamp Church had made an offer to give a perpetual lease of the site on Broadway, having a frontage of 82 feet,, 66 feet in the rear, 97 feet on Rector Street, and 88 feet ont the southerly side, on which the ruins of the church and the hotel building stood, for $1000 per annum. During the next year, the lease of the hotel was purchased by Trinity Church Corporation, and a reversion in fee of the site obtained for $15,000, or its equivalent, as we notice that the Lutherans at this time acquired a large plot in Carmine Street, originally owned by Trinity Church, and there for many years they buried their dead. This purchase was made by Trinity Church in trust for a Protestant Episcopal Church to be thereafter instituted. The trustees appointed were Matthew Clarkson, Herman Le Roy, Peter Schermerhorn, Henry Rogers, and Julian Ludlow. By deed dated January 31, 1809, the aforenamed trustees having been thereto required, conveyed to Grace Church the said described property for, and in considera- tion of, one dollar, and of a church having been erected 4 ZION CHURCH. thereon, and the congregation having been incorporated. This structure, of brick, was consecrated the same month. The land in the rear was afterwards bought by Trinity Church, upon which the rectory of Grace Church was built. To return from our digression to " Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church." The Rev. Dr. John Christopher Kunze, born in Saxony, 1744, and son-in-law of the patri- arch of the Lutheran Church in America, the Rev. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, was the pastor from 1774 until his death in 1807. He also occupied the chair of Oriental Languages and Literature in Columbia College 1 784-1 787, and again in 1792-1797. His ability as a Hebrew and Arabic scholar was recognized outside of his church, and even by Jewish Rabbis, who came to him for information. This divine, as well as his eminent successor, the Rev. Dr. F. W. Geissenhainer, preached only in his native tongue. In 1794 some of the younger members of the congrega- tion, chiefly the English-speaking descendants of the Ger- man Lutherans, who were without facilities for acquiring a knowledge of German, besought the trustees to have ser- mons occasionally delivered in a language understood by them. Failing in this endeavor, they invited the Rev. Dr. Strebeck to officiate for them, but did not at that time venture to set up a separate organization. On June 25, 1797, however, they were duly incorporated under the title of " The Trustees for the English Lutheran Church in the City of New York." The trustees were Alexander Fink, Jr., Lewis Hartman, Adam Kartell, Jacob Varian, Robert EARLY HISTORY. 5 Seaman, Lawrence Hyer, Cornelius King, and Godfrey Kant. This certificate was executed before Richard Varick, Mayor of the city. The trustees rented land on Magazine (now Pearl) Street, opposite to City Hall Place, and erected a frame church, about fifty feet in width, with galleries. Soon after a committee, consisting of Messrs. Henry Heiser, elder, Lucas Van Buskirk, deacon, and Lewis Hartman, trustee, was appointed to inform the Evangelical Ministerium about to convene in Rhinebeck of the recent action of the trus- tees of the English Lutheran Church. The trustees in their communication dwelt at length upon the reasons which had impelled their incorporation, and received in reply thereto the following extract from the Minutes of the Lutheran Consistory, dated September i, 1797: " Upon reading a letter from New York signed by Henry Heiser, Lucas Van Buskirk, and L. Hartman, representing that they have erected an English Lutheran Church, on account of the inability of their children to understand the German Language : "Resolved — That it is never the practice in an Evangelical Consistory to sanction any kind of Schism ; that if the per- sons who signed the Letter wish to continue their children in the Lutheran Church connection in New York, they earnestly recommend them the use of the German School, and in case there is no probability of any Success in this particular, they herewith declare, that they do not look upon persons, who are not yet communicants of a Lutheran 6 ZION CHURCH. Church, as apostates, in case they join an English Episco- palian Church, regularly established and not created by an authorized Secession from a former Church Connection. "Resolved, 2d. — That on account of an intimate connection subsisting between the English Episcopal Church and the Lutheran Church and the identity of their doctrine and near alliance of their Church discipline — this Consistory will never acknowledge a new erected Lutheran Church merely English, in places where the members may partake of the services of the said Episcopal Church." Coincident with this action of the Consistory, v/e notice in Bishop Perry's History of the American Episcopal Church, that the Rector of St. Peter's Church, Albany, com- municated to the State Convention "that some Lutheran clergymen had, in the name, and on behalf of the Consistory of the Lutheran Church in the State of New York, intimated to him a desire to have it proposed to this Convention, that their Church might be united with the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State, and that their ministers might receive Episcopal ordination." A committee, of which the Rev. Benjamin Moore was chairman, was appointed, " to meet such gentlemen of the Lutheran Church as may be duly ap- pointed by their ecclesiastical authority, to confer with them on the subject." Unfortunately for this scheme of comprehension, the meeting of the General Convention was deferred until 1 799, in consequence of the prevalence of yellow fever, and no State Convention was held until 1801, when the sudden resignation of Bishop Provoost occupied its attention. EARLY HISTORY. 7 On September 13, 1797, at a meeting of " The Trustees of the English Lutheran Church " the letter of the committee to the Synod and the resolutions adopted by it were read. It seems that the following resolution was the only action taken at this meeting : " That the Rev. Mr. Strebeck have a certificate signed by the Board, specifying his regular induction as minister of the English Lutheran Church." The success of this movement, originating with but a few members of the church, far exceeded the expectations of its most sanguine projectors, so that within four years much larger accommodations became necessary. The trustees bought a plot of ground 83 feet by 85 feet on the corner of Mott and Cross (now Park) Streets, and erected thereon a large, commodious, and substantial stone church, 55 feet in width and 76 feet in length, walls 30 inches in thickness, with galleries, at a cost of about $15,000. The elevation of the site suggested a change in the name (not of the corporate title) to the " English Lutheran Church Zion." In 1802, Nos. 33, 35, and 37, Mott Street were purchased, having a frontage of 57 feet and a depth of 88 feet, on which were built a frame parsonage and a school-house. The frame church on Magazine Street, together with the lease of the land, were sold to the Society of the United Christian Friends, and afterwards became a Baptist Church for colored people. Upon the day of the dedication of this new edifice, the Rev. Dr. Kunze delivered the sermon, of which 1000 copies were ordered printed. » ZION CHURCH. In 1804, the pastor, the Rev. George Strebeck, decided to apply for admission, as a candidate for Holy Orders, in the Protestant Episcopal Church. Upon his ordination by Bishop Moore, he endeavored to induce his people to con- form to the worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and at one time seemed to have succeeded, for a resolution to that effect is recorded under date June, 1804. It was ratified at a subsequent meeting in July. Measures in accordance therewith had been taken, and a certificate obtained for a new charter, but before it was recorded, the trustees were advised that the Rev. Mr. Strebeck had submitted to the re-baptism of his children at Trinity Church. This act, in their opinion, threw doubt on the validity of the Lutheran ordinance, in accordance with which they and their children had been baptized, and to which they still adhered. Therefore it was resolved and declared that the church remain, as heretofore, an " English Lutheran Church," and that the certificate of the new charter be not recorded. Upon this resolve the Rev. Mr. Strebeck resigned the pastorate. The trustees gracefully offered him the continued occu- pancy of the parsonage for a year. This hospitality was not accepted, for soon afterwards he became a missionary in the Episcopal Church in Bedford and its vicinity in Westchester County. He retained this office until March, 1805, and then resigned to accept, on April 22d, the rectorship of St. Ste- phen's Protestant Episcopal Church, which he had aided in EARLY HISTORY. 9 organizing. This church was in New York, on the corner of Broome and Chrystie Streets. It was built of brick. The corner-stone was laid in 1805, and the building was conse- crated the same year, on St. Stephen's day, by Bishop Moore. The first congregation and the Vestry were principally composed of members of the " English Lutheran Church Zion," who were impatient to change their ecclesiastical connection. The Rev. David Austen was in temporary charge of the Lutheran Church for a period of six months. During that interval the Rev. Henry A. Muhlenberg, of Reading, Penn- sylvania, was invited to the pastorate, which he reluctantly declined. The Rev. Ralph Williston succeeded as pastor, his introductory sermon being delivered in July, 1805. During his pastorate of five years he witnessed a continuous movement of his flock towards the Episcopal Church, a movement to which he himself was inclined. This disaffec- tion finally became so pronounced that the following action was taken by the trustees, at a meeting held January 22, 1810. The subject of our church turning Episcopalian was dis- cussed at length. A proposition from St. Stephen's Prot- estant Episcopal Church, offering an opportunity for a union of the two churches, was laid before the meeting, but it being doubtful "whether a union with St. Stephen's Church would be more advantageous than assuming the name of a separate Parish, the further consideration of the proposal was deferred until the adjourned meeting, January 26th." lO ZION CHURCH. Then, however, the subject was again postponed to the subsequent meeting, held February lo, 1810, and it does not appear that the question of a union with St. Stephen's Church was again introduced. This overture, so graciously made by St. Stephen's Church in grateful recognition of the source from whence came its own corporate existence, would seem to have been virtually declined, notwithstanding that the proposing par- ish was at that time largely endowed by the liberality of Trinity Church, with a grant of several lots of land in War- ren and Greenwich Streets, and was also possessed of a con- siderable sum of money ; while the Lutheran Church was heavily encumbered with debt, was without any certain revenue, and was hampered by the uncertainty attending a change of ecclesiastical connection, in a region where the Episcopal Church was unknown. The resolute spirit of the founders of Zion Protestant Episcopal Church was unin fluenced by these considerations. They determined not to abandon the field then occupied, nor to surrender their in- dividuality by being absorbed by another parish, and forth- with proceeded to the consideration of the most noteworthy incident in the history of the Church. At a meeting held February 10, 1810, it was ^'Resolved, That on account of the identity of the doctrine, the near alliance of Church discipline subsisting between the Lutheran and Episcopal Churches, the English Lutheran Church do become a Parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church, a majority of the congregation coinciding. Resolved, That EARLY HISTORY. II a committee of three be appointed to wait on each contribu- ting member of the Church for their assent, or dissent, and as soon as this is accomplished, a meeting of the congrega- tion be called, for Friday, February, 23, at 3 P.M. in the Church : further Resolved, That the Rev. Ralph Williston be continued as the clergyman of this Church after the wor- ship shall have changed, he being ordained agreeable to the order of the Protestant Episcopal Church." At a meeting of the congregation pursuant to the foregoing call, Mr. Lucas Van Buskirk was elected chairman, and Lewis Hartman, secretary. The business relative to chang- ing the worship of the church was laid before the meeting by Mr. John P. Ritter. After considerable debate, it was moved by Mr. Benjamin P. Beekman, and seconded by Mr. John Graff, " That, whereas many difficulties attend the up- holding of the Lutheran religion among us, and whereas, that inasmuch as the Doctrine and Government of the Episco- pal Church is so nearly allied to the Lutheran, and also on account of the present embarrassment of the finances of this Church, therefore Resolved: That the English Lutheran Church with its present form of worship and Government be dissolved after Tuesday, the 13th day of March next, and that this Church do from that day forward become a parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and the present board of officers of this Church take every measure to carry this resolve into effect." The whole number of votes cast was thirty, of that number twenty-three voted in the affirma- tive and seven in the negative. 12 ZION CHURCH. It was also " Resolved, That the Rev. Ralph WilHston be requested to notify the congregation, that an election for two Church Wardens and eight Vestrymen will be held on Tuesday 13th of March at 2.30 P.M." The names of those who composed the first Vestry of Zion Church appear in the following "Certificate of Incor- poration." It reads as follows : " In the name of God, Amen. We, the subscribers, do certify that a meeting of the male persons of full age be- longing to the congregation of Zion Church, which Church is situated in the City of New York, in the sixth ward of the said City, for the purpose of incorporating themselves a Protestant Episcopal Church under the act entitled, 'An Act to Provide for the Incorporation of Religious Societies,' was held in the said Church on the thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ten, pursuant to legal notice given for that purpose, and we certify that at the said meeting, John Graff (there being no Rector present) was called to the chair and presided, and thereupon the said meeting did by a majority of votes elect John Peter Ritter and Lewis Hartman, Church Wardens of the said Church, and John Graff, John Heath, Fred'k Ris- ler, Aaron Swarts, Henry Willers, Lodowick Harple, Nicho- las Steele and Jacob Jeroleman to be Vestrymen of said Church or Congregation. And the said meeting did then and there determine, that on Monday in Easter week, the said ofifices of Church Wardens and Vestrymen shall an- nually cease, and their successors in office be chosen, and EARLY HISTORY. 1 3 we do further certify, that the said Church or Congregation is to be known in law by the name or title of the ' Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of Zion Church in the City of New York.' In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands, and aiifixed our seals the day and year first above written. " Witness " John Graff (seal) " Adam Kartell " Henry Heiser " John Buscawen " " James Young " Copy of Deed of the Trustees of the English Lutheran Church conveying all their Real Estate to Zion Church Cor- poration : " The Trustees of the English Deed Lutheran Church in the City Dated 13 March 18 10 of New York To Whereas the said the Rector, Church Wardens, & parties of the first part Vestrymen of Zion Church in are now seized in fee the City of New York simple of the several Lots & parcels of land hereinafter mentioned, and whereas the Congregation of the said English Lutheran Church have resolved hereinafter to worship God according to the rules orders and canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York, and in consequence of such resolutions have proceeded to incorporate themselves as a Protestant Episcopal Church, pursuant to the directions of the statute in such case made 14 ZION CHURCH. and provided, and are now a corporation by the name of the (Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of Zion Church in the City of New York) : " And whereas, the said parties of the first part, are seized of the said lots and parcels of land, hereinafter men- tioned, as Trustees merely to, and for the use of, the said Congregation, who are desirous that the legal estate in and to the same, should now be vested in their new Corporation, as members of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York : " Now this indenture witnesseth that they, the said Trus- tees of the English Lutheran Church in the City of New York, for, and in consideration of, the premises, and for, and in consideration of the sum of ten dollars, &c., have granted &c., and by these presents do grant, &c., convey, and con- firm unto the said, the Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestry- men of Zion Church in the City of New York, their succes- sors and assigns forever "All that certain lot, piece, or parcel of ground, in which Zion Church now stands, situate, lying, and being in the Sixth Ward of the City of New York, on the west side of Mott Street, bounded, easterly, in front, on Mott Street, eighty-three feet four inches; southerly, on Cross Street, eighty-five feet ; westerly, in the rear, ninety-six feet, and on the northerly side, eighty-five feet. " Also all that certain other lot, piece, or parcel of ground, with the dwelhng-house thereon erected, situate, lying, and being in the said Sixth Ward of the City of New EARLY HISTORY. I 5 York, and on the west side of Mott Street aforesaid, and known and distinguished by number thirty-three in said street, bounded easterly, in front, on IVIott Street, nineteen feet, five inches ; on the southerly side, eighty-six feet, by ground now, or late, the property of Andrew Williams ; westerly, in the rear, twenty-five feet, nine inches, and on the northerly side eighty-eight feet, by ground lately be- longing to the said parties of the first part. " And also, all that certain lot, piece, or parcel of ground, and premises, situate, lying, and being in the Eighth Ward of the City of New York, near the two-mile stone, Bowery Road, or Lane, in the vicinity of Vauxhall Garden, being part and parcel of the estate late of Rachel Rickeman, de- ceased, to-wit : Lot number sixteen, which by the partition and division of the said estate, fell to the share of the chil- dren and heirs of Richard Rickeman, deceased, and Deborah, his wife, said lot, number sixteen, containing ninety-six feet, six inches on the west ; the same on the east, with a passage of eight feet to Art Street, and seventy-nine feet, six inches on the north and south, as the same is particu- larly described and bounded, in the deed of partition of the said estate, and recorded in the office of the Clerk of the City and County of New York, and laid down on a map of the said partition, made by Samuel Stilwell, City Surveyor." Zion Church also came into possession of a handsome silver communion service, which was a gift from the ladies of the Lutheran congregation in 1806. This service has 1 6 ZION CHURCH. ever since been in use in Zion Church, and is now used in the Church of Zion and St. Timothy. February lo, 1810, Nos. 35 and 37 Mott Street, opposite Pell Street (upon which a school-house was built in 1802), were sold. The bonded and floating liabilities, amounting to $1 1,000, were assumed by the new corporation. These liabilities comprised $5000 to Peter Lorillard since 1802, $3000 to David Seaman since 1806, $1000 to Frederick Risler since 1805, and sundry other smaller amounts. On Thursday, March 22, 1810, the church was conse- crated according to the rites and ceremonies of the Prot- estant Episcopal Church. The consecration service was performed by the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, assisted by several of the clergy. Morning prayer was said by the Rev. Mr. Lyell, and an appropriate sermon preached by the Rev. Mr. Howe. On the following day the Rev. Ralph Willis- ton was ordained to the Diaconate in Trinity Church by Bishop Moore. Thus Zion Church entered upon its four- score years of a useful and honorable history. The imme- diate district in which the church was located was sparsely populated, a large portion of it being covered by the Collect Pond, now the site and vicinity of the City Tombs. The church members were scattered over a very extended field, many of them being in very humble circumstances. There were at this time but ten Episcopal churches on this island. Trinity, built in 1696; St. Paul, 1766; St. EARLY HISTORY. 1/ George, 1751 ; St. John, 1803; Christ, 1793; St. Esprit, 1804; St. Stephen, 1805; St. Michael, 1806; and Grace, 1808. The population of the city was about 90,000. Within the United States there were but 218 clergymen of the Episcopal Church. The following persons were elected on Easter Monday, April 26: Wardens. John P. Ritter. Lewis Hartman. Vestrymen. John Graff. Jacob Jerolemen. John Sparks. John Heath. Aaron Swarts. Nicholas Steele. Lodowick Harple. Jacob Weaver. Zion Church was admitted the same year into union with the Diocesan Convention. Messrs. John P. Ritter and John Sparks were the first delegates chosen to repre- sent this parish. The following are the first official acts as recorded in the parish register. 1 8 ZION CHURCH. On Wednesday, March 28, 18 10. Marriages. Joseph Osburn to Ann Lent. Hans Osterman to Catharine Fredericks. Joseph Ayers to Mary Pierson. Baptisms. Martha, daughter of Court and Catharine Went. Catherine, daughter of John and Catherine Wilcocks. Mary Emma, daughter of Timothy and Hetty Barnard. David, son of Conrod and Catherine Baker. The expenditures of the parish for the first year were as follows : Rector's salary $750.00 Precentors 150.00 Sexton . 7S.OO Bell-ringer 15.00 Taxes on parsonage 7.84 Painting fence 29.50 Light and fuel 41.38 Total . . $1068.72 The income was : From rental of pews . $53900 Subscriptions . 188.50 Rent of cellar under chu rch . . . 125.00 OfTertories 297.62 Burial fees 35-75 Total . . 1,18587 EARLY HISTORY. 1 9 We extract from the first annual parochial report, 1811, the following statistics : Baptisms ..... 54 Marriages ..... 86 Funerals ...... 33 Communicants .... 59 In 1812 the Corporate Seal was adopted. This new organization soon realized that, to provide the means to meet current expenses, and the punctual payment of the interest on the debt assumed, was under all the cir- cumstances a greater undertaking than had been expected ; nor did it fail to experience the inevitable results of a mort- gage debt. Thenceforward it exerted every endeavor, by faithful and assiduous effort, to make manifest the need of the church and its influence in a field where no other provi- sion of the church was likely to be made. These efforts and attending success in rescuing the neglected, soon at- tracted the notice and interest of the venerable corporation of Trinity Church, which, with its accustomed liberality, stood ready to relieve Zion Church. Upon application it assumed for five years the annual payment of $900, the amount of the interest on the debt, and contributed $500 annually toward the salary of its Rector for the same period. This gratifying adjustment of the temporalities encour- aged the Vestry to extend the following call to the Rev. Ralph Williston (who had been in charge, by virtue of an agreement and resolution adopted the loth February, 18 10). 20 zion church. " Rev. Ralph Williston, " Rev. and Dear Sir : " Agreeable to notice given from the desk, a meeting of the Congregation was held in Zion Church on Monday 27 January 1812, when the following call was agreed upon: The Wardens and Vestrymen of Zion Church in the City of New York send greeting. That we the Wardens and Vestrymen reposing special confidence in the Godly conver- sation and meet learning of you, the Rev. Ralph Williston, have called and do hereby call and appoint you to be our Pastor, and Rector, to perform the functions and duties agreeable to the Rubrics and canons of the Protestant Epis- copal Church in this State. To preach a sermon on every Sunday morning and evening. And for your maintenance we (by and with the consent of the congregation had in said Church on the 27th January last) do promise to pay you $800 per annum, with the occupancy of the parsonage to this Church belonging." The Rev. Ralph Williston shortly afterwards received the Order of Priests at Zion Church, from the Right Rev. Bishops J. H. Hobart and Nathaniel Bowen. The Rev. Thomas Lyell delivered the sermon. THE REV. RALPH WILLISTON, FIRST RECTOR OF ZION CHURCH. THE Rev. Ralph Williston, in entering upon his duties as Rector, with the encouragement and countenance of the clergy of the city, together with the generous support of the Mother Church, must have been inspired with feelings of confidence and courage. Moreover, the circum- stance that he and his flock had at the same time renounced Lutheranism, and pledged their allegiance to the Protestant Episcopal Church, assured him that there was thus formed a bond of union that presaged well for the future. He was not long in overcoming, as the church became known, whatever prejudice had existed, and by his faithful, earnest, and efificient labors, and acceptable visitations, he gathered the children, their parents, and others under the teaching of the church, and soon developed a large and growing parish. This most encouraging beginning, and promise for in- creasing usefulness, were, however, soon to be interrupted by a calamitous and unexpected event. As the records are followed, our attention is arrested by the following suggestive words : " Sic Gloria transit Mundi," 22 ZION CHURCH. which we may interpret in the words of Isaiah : " Our holy and beautiful house where our fathers praised thee is burned up with fire, and all our pleasant things are laid waste." At midnight on the 31st August, 1815, the church edifice (ex- cepting a portion of the walls) was destroyed by fire, origi- nating in a feed store, corner of Mott and Pell Streets. It was of incendiary origin ; the guilty man — a notorious criminal — was arrested, brought to justice, and sufTered on the gallows. So widespread and intense was the sympathy awakened in the mind of the community, in those days, by the burning of a church, that a special appeal from the Vestry to the citizens was extensively published, as was also an address, delivered in Trinity Church, by the Assistant Bishop of the Diocese. Both of these are here copied. There was also a grand oratorio, projected by the prin- cipal composers, and embracing all the available musical talent in this city, Philadelphia, and the neighboring towns. It was sung in St. Paul's Chapel, on Broadway, for the pur- pose of raising funds to aid in rebuilding Zion Church. This is believed to be the first oratorio ever given in the City of New York. (From the Evening Post, September i, 1815.) About II o'clock last evening, a fodder shop or place for selling hay, straw, etc., in Mott Street, near the corner of Pell Street, was discovered to be on fire. Being surrounded REV. RALPH WILLISTON. 23 by a large block of wooden buildings, stables and workshops, and the wind being very high from the N.W., the flames had risen to an alarming height before the firemen arrived, and when they commenced, the want of water prevented them from checking the fire, until all the adjacent buildings were enveloped in flames, and the whole southeastern part of the City was threatened with destruction. Zion Church, which stood nearly opposite the place where the fire origi- nated, was soon consumed except the bare walls. At length it was got under, but not until thirty-five build- ings were destroyed, and the tenants turned into the street. These buildings were inhabited principally by poor people, who suff'ered much in the loss of furniture etc. ; but most of the houses were of but little value, and if they are replaced by buildings of brick, will give little cause for regret. Zion Church was a very neat and convenient edifice ; belonged to a small congregation of Episcopalians, con- sisting mostly of mechanics not in opulent circumstances, who have for several years past, by extraordinary exertions, maintained public worship in a decent and becoming style. But unless they shall be assisted by their more fortu- nate neighbors, the congregation, as such, is ruined ; it cannot survive this misfortune ; and its funds are by no means sufficient to rebuild the church. We sincerely hope that Episcopal congregations which have funds, will take this case into consideration, and grant them such relief as may be in their power. 24 ZION CHURCH. AN APPEAL FROM THE VESTRY. (Published in the Evening Post^ To THE Citizens of New York : The undersigned, in behalf of the congregation of Zion Church, presume to call the attention of their fellow citizens to a view of the present desolate state of their church, and it is hoped on reviewing the recent calamitous event by which the church has been destroyed, the citizens of New York, and others, will be actuated with sentiments of com- miseration and benevolence towards the sufferers, as well as with an impression of venerated awe of that God who sends His righteous judgment in various forms through the earth. Although the congregation of Zion Church is respectable for its members and its character, yet it is a fact that the mass of its members, being of the middle class of society, are not able to contribute largely towards rebuilding their church ; and, therefore, the late afflicting calamity would reduce the congregation to despair, were it not for their full trust and confidence in the goodness of an overruling Providence, for Whom are all things, and in the sympathy, zeal, and benevolence which has so characterized the citizens of New York on all former appeals to their benevolence. To that sympathy, zeal, and benevolence, the congrega- tion of Zion Church, by the undersigned, address this appeal. And under the pressure of poverty, and amidst the desola- tion of their church, they confidently look to their fellow citizens for that aid, which may enable them to rebuild the REV. RALPH WILLISTON. 2$ sanctuary of their God, and once more assemble around the altar of their Redeemer. That to aid in rebuilding one of the temples of God is a most laudable charity, no one, it is believed, who either knows the blessing of Christianity, or duly appreciates the worth of souls, can entertain a doubt. A reverence for the place where records His name and where His honor dwells; a regard to the public good, to the welfare of society, and to the advancement of the Redeemer's Kingdom in the salva- tion of the souls of men, suggest numerous and powerful motives to the display of charity on this occasion. The undersigned respectfully inform their fellow citizens that they will be waited on with all possible despatch for their subscription and donations, which will be thankfully received by either of the subscribers. (Signed.) Ralph Williston, Rector. Lewis Hartman, Pearl Street ) y Wardens. John Graff, Bayard Street, \ New York, October, 1815. In aid of the benevolent objects of the above address the following was read on Sunday, October 22d, to the congre- gations of Trinity Church : " It is deemed proper to call the attention of this congre- gation and of Episcopalians generally to the situation of the congregation of Zion Church in this city. By a dispen- sation of Providence, the building in which they worshipped has been destroyed. It is entirely beyond their ability to 26 ZION CHURCH. erect a new one. There are few individuals among them of more than moderate wealth. In these circumstances they have applied for relief to the corporation of Trinity Church. But, from the heavy expenditures to which for many years that corporation has been exposed, its pecuniary afTairs are now in a situation which precludes all increase in expendi- tures, and demands a system of rigid economy. That cor- poration does not possess, and will not in all probability for many years possess, productive property in any degree adequate to the demands which are made upon it. These facts are stated in this solemn manner, and in this sacred place in order to impress upon Episcopalians the necessity and duty of coming forward by their individual contribu- tions for the support of religion and their church. " To aid the Vestry of Zion Church in rebuilding their house of worship there appears no other resource than the liberality of the friends of religion generally and particularly of the Episcopal Church. For this purpose the Vestry of Trinity Church has resolved to commence a subscription, and, besides the sum contributed by them as a corporation (which is considered by them as a larger sum than the state of their finances justifies), have also resolved individually to exert themselves in procuring contributions, and to make personal application to all the members of their congrega- tion. Measures will also be adopted for soliciting the pious bounty of Episcopalians generally. " It is not to be supposed that while other denominations by private bounty alone raise splendid edifices, Episcopa- REV. RALPH WILLI STON. 2/ Hans, who possess so large a proportion of the wealth of the community, will incur the stigma of failing in an attempt to erect by an appeal to individual beneficence an edifice for public worship and of refusing to aid a sister congregation in circumstances of peculiar distress. There can be no object more calculated to excite their sensibility and their pious benevolence and zeal, than to raise from its ashes one of the temples of God, to reinstate their exiled brethren in those sacred courts where they rejoiced to worship, and to comfort the heart and strengthen the hands of the exem- plary and respectable servant of the altar who now mourns its desolation and ruin. " John Henry Hobart, " Assistant Bishop of the Protestant, Episcopal Church, and " Assistant Minister of Trinity Church, New York." In view of the insufificiency of the means then employed in extinguishing fires, and of the inflammable character of the buildings surrounding the church, it is marvellous that the Vestry neglected the insurance of the building. Until their church was rebuilt the congregation wor- shipped in the Church du St. Esprit, the use of which, for evening services, was kindly tendered by its trustees. The sum raised in response to these numerous appeals for means to rebuild the church is unknown, no record appear- ing upon the treasurer's book, but $5000 was received from Trinity Church. That the aggregate amount was wholly in- sufficient is undoubted. Failing in this endeavor, the mem- 28 ZION CHURCH. bers of the parish did not suffer the restoration of their church to be abandoned without making zealous efforts to the con- trary. Work was commenced and prosecuted with vigor, and considerable progress was made, but not without contracting debts, which subsequently so embarrassed the monetary affairs of the parish, as to render necessary the resignation, January 3, 1817, of its worthy Rector, the Rev. Ralph Wil- liston, whose usefulness was transferred to the Diocese of Maryland. This unhappy circumstance was followed by an attempt to sell the church, as appears by the following ad- vertisement in the Evening Post. ZION CHURCH. " The Vestry of Zion Church, finding their means inade- quate to the completion of the new building, are induced to offer the whole of the property of said church for sale until the 17th March next, or until a different course is taken. It consists of four lots of ground, on which the church stands, at the corner of Mott and Cross Streets, together with all the material, such as the frame of the roof, which is all ready, cornices and window-sashes, as also a quantity of other material, nearly sufficient to inclose the building. " Also, the house and lot in Mott Street, near the church. " Also, the lot and stable in Art Street, adjoining the burying-ground, which is also offered for sale. " Also, a lot of brass chandeliers, consisting of three large and thirteen small ones. REV. RALPH WILLIS TON. 29 " Also, a small organ, now in use in St. George's Church (Beekman Street), besides some church furniture, with re- mains of pews, sashes, stoves, etc. " The subscriber is duly authorized to treat with any relig- ious society for the whole or a part of said property, who will exhibit a more particular inventory and make known the conditions of sale. " Lewis Hartman, " 423 Pearl Street, corner of Rose Street. " February 12, 1817." On April 22, 1817, No. 33 Mott Street, and the frame building thereon, used as a parsonage, were sold to William Lawrence for $2500. In 1817 an application was made to the Chancellor for leave to sell, by public auction, all the property belonging to Zion Church, the proceeds derived therefrom to be ap- plied to the liquidation of its indebtedness. Pending this application, a bill was filed in the Court of Chancery for the foreclosure of a mortgage dated July 30, 1814, to secure the payment of $5000, together with interest since that date. An order directing the sale of the mortgaged premises on Mott Street was entered June 20, 1817, and on September 9th, of the same year, the ground on which the church had stood, together with so much of the new edifice as the Vestry had been able to complete (at a cost of $18,000, $7000 of which amount was due to mechanics for materials), were sold by public auction at the Tontine Coffee House, in Wall 30 ZION CHURCH. Street, to the plaintiff for $9700. This amount satisfied his mortgage claim, and also another one, which, together, amounted to $9107.37. The purchaser, Mr. Peter Lorillard, made known to the anxious parishioners that he would re- tain the property until some of the friends of the church would stipulate to finish the rebuilding, and then restore the property to its former ecclesiastical organization. Two weeks afterward his proposition was accepted by six mem- bers of the congregation, some of whom had belonged to- the Lutheran body. The purchase money, $9700, was paid to Mr. Lorillard, and the deed of said property executed by him to names worthy of honorable record : Alexander Fink, John Graff, John P. Ritter, Gilbert Fowler, John Heath, and Adam Kartell. November 11, 1817, under a decree of the Court of Chancery, the following described property was sold by public auction at the Tontine Coffee House: A lot of ground situated near the two mile stone, Bowery Lane, in the vicinity of Vauxhall Garden, containing about 96 feet on the west, the same on the east, with a passage of 8 feet to Art Street (now Astor Place), and 79 feet on the north and south. Also a lot on the southerly side of Greenwich Lane (or Art Street), 109 feet easterly from Broadway containing 25x100. The first-mentioned plot was purchased for a cemetery, in June, 1809, by the Lutheran trustees. It was enclosed Zlon Cburcb, /IDott an^ iparft Streets. REV. RALPH WILLISTON. 3 1 with a fence and planted with willow trees. The adjoining lot was subsequently purchased, but was not part of the cemetery. In February, 1818, the six grantees heretofore referred to, were aided in their laudable efforts to rebuild their temple, by a loan of $10,000 from Trinity Church under a trust deed by which they agreed to complete the church building and, upon its completion, to permit it to be consecrated, to rent the pews, and to allow pewholders to incorporate them- selves according to law, and, after repayment of moneys advanced and the liquidation of debts incurred by them, they were to deed said property to the new corporation. On the i6th of November, 1818, the new edifice (which is yet standing) having a frontage of 64 feet on Mott Street, and a depth of 83 feet on Cross Street, was solemnly set apart for worship by the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, D.D. Morning prayer was said by the Rev. Thomas Lyell, Rector of Christ Church, and a sermon was preached by the Bishop to a large and attentive congregation. A number of the clergy assisted in the ceremonies, which were highly impressive. The Bishop took occasion to refer to the noble action of those six gentlemen whose names are given above. The church was reincorporated April 13, 1819, and again admitted into union with the Diocesan Convention. The year following his resignation as pastor of Zion Church, the Rev. Ralph Williston was Rector of Trinity Church, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. In 1822 he was ap- pointed Rector of Trinity Church, Wilmington, Delaware. 32 ZION CHURCH. While in this diocese (which was unable to sustain a Bishop until 1841) he presided over the Conventions, was a member of the Standing Committee, and deputy to the General Con- vention. In 1828, he went to the Diocese of New York, and was a missionary at Ithaca and parts adjacent, until 1831. He then went to New Jersey and was elected Rector of St. Paul's Church, Paterson, where he remained several years. The Rev. Ralph Williston died at the village of Roslyn, Long Island, whither he had gone to reside in 1838, being in feeble health. While there he renewed the holding of services, which had been commenced in 1836, by the Rector of the church at Manhasset. These services were so well attended that it was determined by the residents of the village to build a church. In 1839 the corner-stone was laid by Bishop B. T. Onderdonk on a lot given by a resident. But the sudden death of the Rev. Mr. Williston stopped the enterprise. In 1862 Bishop Potter re-laid the same corner- stone, the church was finished and consecrated that year, and organized in 1869 as Trinity Church. "IRev. Ubomas asreintnall. EiiJ*Jj-vaEHa)i. REVP THOMAS B RE INTNALL, rev. thomas breintnall, second r'ector of zion church. REV. Thomas Breintnall who had temporarily assumed the charge of the parish, was formally called to the rectorate June 3, 1819, at a salary of $1200 per annum. He was canonically received from the Diocese of Pennsylvania, where, May 31, 1818, he had been ad- mitted to Holy Orders. His letter of acceptance follows: " To THE Wardens and Vestrymen of Zion Church : " Accept, gentlemen, my best thanks for those repeated acts of kindness, and that friendly attention which I have experienced from you since my arrival at New York, but more particularly the honor you have conferred on me by a permanent call to the Rectorship of Zion Church. Under the pleasing hope that my labors may not be unsuccessful in building up our Zion and in reclaiming the sinner to his God, I accept the call. To your persevering exertions, under the blessing of God, this Church owes its existence. To your countenance and support, and to that Divine Be- ing, your Rector now looks for aid to strengthen his hands in the great work before him. So long as it shall please the 33 34 ZION CHURCH. Lord to bless his labors and continue him among you, his unceasing aim shall be, under the providence of God, to de- serve your confidence and revive a spirit of true piety and virtue in the congregation. " With respect and esteem, " I remain gentlemen, " Yours in Christ, " Thos. Breintnall. " New York, June ii, 1819." On Sunday, the 1 8th of July, 1819, Bishop Hobart held an ordination in Zion Church and admitted the Rev. Mr. Breintnall, Rector-elect, to the Holy Order of Priests. The Rev. William Harris, D.D., President of Columbia College, said the morning prayer ; the sermon was by the Bishop. On October i6th Mr. Breintnall was instituted Rector by the Bishop of the Diocese. Morning prayer was said by Dr. Samuel Jarvis, Professor in the General Theological Semin- ary ; the sermon was preached by the Rev. Benjamin T. Onderdonk, assistant minister of Trinity Church. A bright and interesting era began for Zion Church from the hour that the Rev. Thomas Breintnall, who was then twenty-six years of age, entered upon his duties. The loca- tion of the church was much improved since the fire, as the neighborhood, which was now growing and prosperous, con- tained many inviting residences. The church building was new, and the talents of the minister were well calculated to attract the public mind. Able and well disciplined, sanguine REV. THOMAS BREINTNALL. 35 and judicious, he soon gathered around him the scattered members of the congregation, and put the whole organi- zation into working order. On several occasions large numbers were confirmed, the communicants rapidly in- creasing. The Sunday-School was the largest in the city, number- ing fifty-six teachers and six hundred pupils. The super- intendent afterwards became the eminent prelate, the late Right Rev. W. R. Whittingham. In short, new life and spirit were infused into everything connected with the parish. The influence of this church, and of its discreet and faithful pastor, must have contributed greatly to direct and fix those aspirations and views which afterwards rendered Bishop Whittingham so distinguished an ornament of the American branch of the Catholic Church. Bishop Whittingham's father, Mr. Richard Whittingham, was a member of the Vestry from 1819 to 1831, excepting in 1823 and 1829. His mother, Mrs. Mary Ann Whittingham, with a view to her son's education, made herself acquainted with the learned languages, and became so proficient in them that she gave lessons in Hebrew to divinity students. Young Whittingham had no instruction other than that he received at home until he was sent to the General Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 1825. He was ordained to Holy Orders, March 11, 1827, in St. John's Chapel, by the Right Rev. John Henry Hobart. We make the following extract from his private diary as recorded in Brand's Life of Bishop Whittingham : 36 ZION CHURCH. "March 11, P.M. Preached my first sermon in Zion Church (the family parish), performing service myself. Text, Phil I., 29, written the preceding week. Was not gen- erally heard. Too rapid in enunciation, voice weak. Even. Read Service and preached in Zion Church. Gal. VI., 4, written the preceding week. Enunciation better, but still not well heard. Hope this sermon may have had some effect. Much exhausted." It is a pleasing reflection that when the Bishop of Mary- land was invited by the Standing Committee to administer in this diocese, he was always permitted to hold the service of confirmation in Zion Church, thus holding a confirmation on the spot where, in the days of his youth, in 1819, he had himself received that holy rite. The parish was indebted to the six gentlemen who had some time before, on their own responsibility, aided by a loan of $10,000 from Trinity Church, redeemed the site and rebuilt the church. While it was possible to mortgage its property for a portion of the amount due, the parish was unable, from its limited resources, to meet the annual in- terest, besides maintaining the work itself. In this extrem- ity, after attempting several fruitless plans, it was deter- mined to prepare a full and exact statement of the financial affairs of the parish, to be submitted to its former benefac- tor. It was hoped that their appeal would be favorably re- garded, as there was not an Episcopal Church on this island that had been built independently of the bounty of Trinity REV. THOMAS BREINTNALL. 3/ Church, nor one that had not been endowed by its liberality. That venerable corporation generously responded by dis- charging Zion Church from the payment of the $io,000 loaned to the parties named in the trust deed, and by a gift of an additional $io,000, in consideration of a release by Zion Church of an annuity of $1400 theretofore granted, and upon the execution of the following agreement: " Resolved, That Zion should be united with the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the State of New York, and should conform in their services and worship, and in all other re- spects to the Doctrine and Discipline of the said Church. " Now, therefore, we do covenant and agree for ourselves and our successors that if Zion Church aforesaid, shall not continue to be used as a place of public worship, according to the rites of the said church, and shall not conform and hold to the doctrine and discipline of the said Protestant Episcopal Church, but shall depart therefrom, that then and in any such case, we and our successors shall and will return and repay the said sum of twenty thousand dollars to the Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of Trinity Church aforesaid, their successors and assigns. In witness whereof we have hereunto caused our seal to be afifixed this four- teenth day of July, in the year of our Lord 1820." The following resolution was adopted by Zion Church upon the same day as the foregoing covenant and agree- ment was executed : 38 ZION CHURCH. " Resolved, That the Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestry- men of Zion Church, of the City of New York, impressed with a sense of gratitude and obligation to the Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of Trinity Church, of the City of New York, for their liberal donation of the sum of twenty thousand dollars, which has been the chief means under Providence of rebuilding their Church, do hereby acknowledge their sincere and heartfelt thanks for the truly Christian generosity which has been manifested toward them by the guardians of the mother church, and while they implore the blessings of Heaven upon their benefactors, they cannot omit testifying their ardent attachment to a church whose doctrines and discipline they will ever cherish with zeal and affection." Within the first year of the rectorate of the Rev. Mr. Breintnall a decided missionary spirit prevailed in the con- gregation, showing itself in 1820 by the formation of the fourth auxiliary of the " New York Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society," organized in 1817, whose efforts ex- tended through the " Committee on the Propagation of the Gospel " to the untutored sons of the forest of this State. At the fourth anniversary of the Society, held at St. Paul's Church December 6, 1820, it was reported that "one auxiliary only has been added during the last year, but that is one of which we may well be proud, and from which we anticipate important aid. Zion Church, our fourth aux- iliary, in August last placed in our treasury a very generous REV. THOMAS BREINTNALL. 39 sum, received from the spirited subscription of that congre- gation alone, and it was " Resolved, That this society duly appreciate the exertions of the Rector and congregation of Zion Church, in forming our fourth auxiliary and recommend their example to the congregation of the Church in general." The auxiliary organized February, 1820, with the Rev. Thomas Breintnall, President William Tripler, .... First Vice-President James M. Murray, . . Second Vice-President Richard E. Purdy, Secretary Wm. Bakewell, Treasurer MANAGERS : Samuel Jarvis, Jacob B. Smith, Jacob Stout, Jr., Samuel Sparks, Jonathan Waterbury, Dr. B. R. Robson, Wm. H. Earl, Wm. T. Pinkney, Joshua Hyatt, P. Lorillard, Jr., Alex. C. Gestain, Isaac Odell, John Richardson, 40 ZION CHURCH. Richard Ten Eyck, John Graff, John Rodgers, John T. Hawes, Samuel Heath, Wm. McLaughlin. This relation to the Society continued with undiminished interest many years thereafter. In 1821, an organ, built by Mr. Hall at a cost of $1500, was purchased by subscriptions. In January of the same year a deed of release was made by the corporation of Trinity Church to Mr. Alexander Fink and others, who, later, during the same month, upon a final settlement of their accounts with the corporation of Zion Church, exe- cuted a deed unto the Rector, Wardens, and Vestrymen of Zion Church, of the church property in Mott Street. To perfect the foregoing final settlement, a loan mortgag- ing the church for $12,000 was procured in March of the same year. To liquidate this loan an auction sale of all the pews on the ground floor was held toward the end of 1825, which resulted in selling 35 pews for $5841, out of a total of 115 pews, with an appraised value of $20,000. The unsold pews were then rented, excepting those in the galleries, which were declared free. " Married at Nev/ark New Jersey on May 23, 1825, by the Rev. Henry P. Powers, Rector of Trinity Church. The REV. THOMAS BREINTNALL. 4 1 Rev. Thomas Breintnall to Sophia Augusta Nelson. Present George Nelson, Elizabeth Nelson, Rev. Benjamin T. On- derdonk, Rev. Manton Eastburn, Horatio Nelson, Julia Gammon, Gertrude Lee. The Rector sent the following letter to the Vestry, dated October 8, 1826: " To THE Wardens and Vestrymen of Zion Church : " Gentlemen. " Understanding from the views that have been before us that the finances of our Parish are in such a situation as to render its present expenses burdensome and injurious, and actuated by my feelings of sincere attachment to the Parish, an ardent desire to promote in every practicable method its interest and welfare, and a deliberate conviction that it is the course required by duty and propriety, I beg to express my unwillingness to stand in the way of any measure which you may deem essential to the requisite improvement of our financial concerns. " The Vestry in its liberality a few years ago added to the salary first voted to me by the Vestry the gratuity of Four hundred dollars ; this, or so much thereof as you may think the exigency requires and for such a period as you may deem necessary, I beg leave voluntarily and cheerfully to relinquish. " The sacrifice which I here make of the comforts of my family and the means of increased professional usefulness I 42 ZION CHURCH. should not regret if I should have the happiness of finding the real interest of the Parish thereby promoted. " Sincerely yours, " Thos. Breintnall, "Rector." At a meeting of the Vestry, November 6th, it was " Resolved, That the thanks of the Vestry be communi- cated to the Rector by the Secretary for the very liberal sentiments contained in his letter, and assure him that such generosity cannot fail to be fully appreciated by the congre- gation at large." The following preamble and resolution were adopted : " Whereas, The Vestry of this Church are not legally authorized to fix or regulate the salary of its minister ; that power being by the Act under which it is incorporated exclusively vested in the congregation, therefore " Resolved, The resolution passed on the 9th February 1824, raising the Rector's salary Four hundred dollars per annum be and the same is hereby repealed to take effect on and after the 1st December next." At a meeting of the Vestry held Friday, January 8th, 1830, the following memorial was prepared and its transmis- sion ordered : " TO THE CORPORATION OF TRINITY CHURCH. " Compelled again to solicit pecuniary aid in behalf of Zion Church from your Board we respectfully present the REV. THOMAS BREINTNALL. 43 following brief statement of our affairs for your information and serious consideration. " By a partial sale of our pews a few years past we reduced the debt which then encumbered the Church to about half of its former amount, and by pursuing since that period a system of rigid economy in our expenses have been enabled until the present time to meet all our necessary engage- ments. " From various causes over which we have no control, but among which may be enumerated the closing of our vaults (city ordinance prohibiting burials below Grand St.) the pressure of the times and the high price at which our pews are unavoidably rated, this state of things unfortunately exists. " Upon a large proportion of our congregation whose cir- cumstances in life are very moderate, the depression in trade and the high rate of pew rents (averaging about $30 each) has produced a self-evident effect. Some, from these causes, who in former years rented whole pews, now have taken a few seats, while others influenced by still stronger motives of economy have vacated their pews and left the Church ; to such an extent have these results taken place that nearly one third of pews heretofore rented are now given up, and the revenue of the Church has become so much diminished that we find our income quite inadequate to defray our cur- rent expenses. " To prove that we have not been prodigal in the manage- ment of our fiscal concerns and how difificult it must be to 44 ZION CHURCH. make any retrenchment in our expenditures, particularly in the salaries of our officers, already very low, the following statement of our annual disbursement is exhibited : Rector's salary . $1200 Choristers' " 150 Assistants' " 40 Organist's " 150 Sexton's " 125 Incidental expenses 380 Interest on balance due on mortgage, $5750, @ 7 % Interest on bond, $1500 2045 402.50 105 B2552.50 " The state of our Church is now before you, if it should be asked what we needed, our reply could only be that if the burden of our debt was removed we could reduce our rents to the capacity of our congregation to pay, our vacant pews would soon be filled, our revenue restored, and the reputa- tion, prosperity, and usefulness of our Church sustained. " It is true, and we acknowledge it with gratitude, that you have already dealt nobly and bountifully toward us, yet as it is not the motto of Christians to be weary of well doing, we cherish that this appeal again to your liberality will not be disregarded. We cannot believe that the parental hand JiEV. THOMAS BREINTNALL. 45 that ushered us into being and supported us in our infancy will now permit us to wither and sink under the baneful influence of an accumulating debt. " In behalf of the corporation of Zion Church, " Lloyd D. Windsor, " Secretary." Without a response to this appeal a loan of $7000 at 6 ^ was obtained from William Underbill, of North Hempstead, secured by a first mortgage upon the church and ground. During the following year, in May, 1831, Trinity Church consented to accept the assignment of this mortgage, con- ditioned, it being made to appear to the satisfaction of that corporation, that the edifice and grounds were subject to no other incumbrance. The wisdom of adopting that method of relieving Zion Church from debt has had a very beneficial influence in restraining any subsequent alienation of its realty unless with the assent of the mortgagee. This mort- gage was held by Trinity Church until 1890, a period of nearly sixty years, when it was paid. No interest has ever been paid, or applied for, upon it. No further application to Trinity Church for aid has since then been made. In concluding the first decade of this history, which is re- plete with trials and triumphs, we find the same heroic spirit that animated the founders of the Parish remaining steadfast throughout. The second decade opened without a single element to detract from the vigorous and successful prose- cution of the work under the conspicuous ability and energy of the incumbent. 46 ZION CHURCH. At a meeting of the male and female Missionary Associa- tion of Christ Church, held June, 1831, the importance of establishing a City Mission Society was suggested, and a circular call was issued, which reads as follows : "A meeting will be held on Thursday evening 15th Sep- tember at 7.30 o'clock at the basement of Christ Church in Anthony Street to devise the necessary measures prepara- tory to the organization of an association for the support of a City Mission. Your attendance as a friend to the proposed measure is respectfully solicited. " Dated Sept. 8, 1831." This circular was sent to the reverend clergy and active laymen. At this meeting the Rev. Thomas Breintnall, Rector of Zion Church, was called to preside. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution and report at an adjourned meeting to be held September 29th. At this meeting the constitution was adopted, and officers and a board of managers chosen. Two years afterwards it obtained its corporate rights. The third decade of this parish was drawing to its close, and with it the severance of the pastoral relations that had existed for nearly nineteen years — a period often referred to " as the golden days of Zion." From the parochial register we garner some of the fruits of this promising vineyard during the incumbency of its faithful and beloved chief laborer : REV . THOMAS BREINTNALL. ISIQ. Baptisms, 86 Marriages, II 1820. ti 98 ^t 23 I82I. i( 79 It 31 1822. iC 104 it 30 1823. n 82 it 29 1824. ti 85 a 31 1825. (t 64 ii 30 1826. t( 71 ti 29 1827. tl 77 it 43 1828. it 103 it 38 1829. a 74 it 35 1830. a 118 it 41 183I. it 102 ti 31 1832. it 71 ti 23 1833- it 75 it 32 1834. a 120 it 39 1835- ti 52 it 39 1836. It 56 ti 24 1837- a 39 it 12 Total bapt isms . . . 1556 Marriages • • ■ 571 Confirmed • • ■ 339 Burial s, no record. 47 The number of Sunday-school scholars reached 630 ; Bible class pupils, 379 ; communicants, 283. On the 2ist of April, 1837, the Rev. Mr. Breintnall ten- dered his resignation as follows : 48 ZION CHURCH. " To THE Wardens and Vestrymen OF ZiON Church, New York : "After a residence with you for almost nineteen years, it becomes my painful duty to separate myself from a charge which I had fondly hoped to have retained until removed by death. The prospect of usefulness in another but more destitute portion of the Lord's vineyard, and the hope that you may obtain a successor whose labors will be more abun- dantly blessed, has induced me to resign the Rectorship of Zion Church. Accept. Gentlemen, my grateful acknowledg- ments for every act of past kindness and my best wishes for your temporal and spiritual welfare. And may the Lord bless and keep my beloved flock, may He lift up the light of His countenance upon them, and give them peace. " Thos. Breintnall." A committee of the Vestry was appointed to urge a reconsideration of this letter, but in vain, as the Rev. Mr. Breintnall signified his determination to adhere to his resig- nation. The following resolutions were thereupon unanimously adopted : "Resolved, That the Wardens and Vestrymen of Zion Church have received with feelings of the deepest regret the letter of the Rev. Thomas Breintnall resigning the rector- ship of this Church, and severing the ties which have con- nected him for nearly twenty years with this congregation. XEV. THOMAS BREINTNALL. 49 " Resolved, That we are convinced that in resigning his charge, painful as the circumstance is to us, and although we are apprehensive that it will prove of serious disad- vantage to the Church, the Rev. Mr. Ereintnall has been influenced by no other motive than that referred to in his letter of resignation, and that our confidence in the purity of his character is such that we believe that no other motive could have influenced his resignation than his sincere belief that his Christian labor would be more effectual in the new field of exertion to which he has been called. " Resolved, That on behalf of the congregation we repre- sent, and expressing the feelings of this body and of its individual members, we hereby testify to the zeal, industry, ability and Christian singleness and purity of purpose with which our late Rector has performed the duties of his holy and responsible station during the period of his ministration amongst us. " Resolved, That we have always found exemplified in his character the highest attributes of the Christian and the gentleman, sincere and enlightened piety, unmixed with bigotry or prejudice, a true eloquence springing from the deep fountain of a benevolent heart animated by the example and elevated by the precept of his Divine Master. " Resolved, That to whatever field of Christian exertion the labors of our late beloved Rector may hereafter be directed, he will always carry with him the grateful remembrance of his late parishioners and their ardent prayer to the Giver of every good and perfect gift that his future life may be pros- so ZION CHURCH. parous and happy, and that the connection now severed may- be again renewed in that brighter and happier world to which his precepts have directed and his example pointed the way." The Rev. Mr. Breintnall died in Newark, N. J., May 24, 1847, i"^ the fifty-fourth year of his age. The burial service was held at his residence in Newark, N. J., by the Rev. John L. Wortson, Rector of Grace Church, Newark, assisted by the Rev. Richard Cox, Rector of Zion Church of this city, and, at the grave in the burial-ground of Trinity Church of that city, by the Rev. M. H. Henderson, the Rev. Mr. Breintnall being considered as attached to Trinity Parish. The Vestry extended a call to the Rev. Alexander H. Crosby and to the Rev. William Cooper Mead, D.D. Both in turn declined. 1Rev. Milliam 1Ricbmon5. Eng •? ly H.B. Hall's S ojL3.Newyorli . PvEVP WILLIAM RICHMOLTD. REV. WILLIAM RICHMOND, THE THIRD RECTOR. REV. William Richmond was born in Dighton, Mass., on the nth of December, 1797; called as Rector August 9, 1837; ordained to the Diaconate by Bishop Hobart, December 21, 18 19, at Grace Church, and to the Holy Order of Priests by the same Bishop on the festival of St. Thomas, Friday, December 21, 1 821, at St. Michael's Church, Bloomingdale, he being the minister in charge of that Church and of St. Mary's and of St. James' Church. Morning prayer was conducted by the Rev. Benjamin T. Onderdonk, an assistant minister of Trinity Church, and a sermon was preached by the Rev. Jonathan M. Wainwright, Rector of Grace Church. Mr. Richmond received his early education among the Congregationalists, and entered upon a course of study pre- paratory for the bar. While yet a youth at Union College, his attention being drawn to the claims of our Church, he was baptized in St. George's Church, Schenectady, and animated by the same zeal which ever gave life to his character, he obeyed at once the voice calling him to the holy ministry as his post of 51 52 ZION CHURCH. greatest usefulness. Trained for that sacred calling under the direction of Bishop Hobart, he received as his guides in the study of the Holy Scriptures the standard theologians of the Episcopal Church. The first eighteen months of his ministry were given to missionary work in the vicinity of Philadelphia, of Pitts- burgh, and in the State of Ohio. In the spring of 1820 he was called to the rectorate of St. Michael's Church, Bloom- ingdale (now Amsterdam Avenue and 99th Street), also to the charge of St. James' Church, Hamilton Square, and entered upon his duties in the summer of the same year. This office he held until chosen Rector of Zion Church. During his rectorate of Zion Church, the Rev. Mr. Rich- mond approved himself in all things an affectionate, faithful, and diligent pastor. He was a man of warm benevolence, of a pure and gracious mind and heart, frank, fearless, and unwavering in the discharge of duty. His care for the spiritually destitute was manifested in the system he organ- ized for visiting among the poor, by which, with the aid of members of the parish, large numbers of the destitute and outcasts were habitually visited, instructed, and relieved. In no portion of the metropolis had the fruits of the Chris- tianizing process of philanthropy been more apparent, and nowhere were they more needed than within this portion of Zion's territory. Dickens ventured into that focus of iniquity, while visiting this city in 1841, and thus described its horrors : " Near the Tombs, Worth, Baxter, and Park Streets came together, making five corners or points of REV. WILLIAM RICHMOND. 53 varying sharpness, hence the name ' Five Points.' It was an unwholesome district suppHed with a few rickety build- ings, and thickly peopled with human beings of every age, color, and condition. " An old brewery built long before the City, hove in sight on its northern route, tottering, with yawning seams in its walls, and broken glass windows, sheltered daring outlaws, and furnished a place of rendezvous for the vilest of the vile. The police were dismayed and discouraged. With the history of the old brewery are associated some of the most appalling crimes ever perpetrated. The arrival of every emigrant ship rendered this plague spot hideous. City missionaries joined in the humanizing work to make success- ful efforts to reclaim this spot." The Rev. Mr. Richmond had for some time been serving a congregation who were endeavoring to form a free Church in this city, many of whom followed him to Zion Church, where the galleries were declared free for the purpose of meeting the emergency ; but as they were unable to develop their views, they did not long remain. The Rev. Mr. Rich- mond's desire was to resume the charge of St. Michael's Church, which he had exchanged for that of Zion, hoping with the aid of an assistant, to retain the charge of both. This arrangement not being satisfactory, his resignation was received on the 9th of June, 1845. He had long wished to give his days to frontier missionary life, and by the severance of the tie which bound him to Zion Church, he found himself free to enter upon missionary work in Oregon, 54 ZION CHURCH. with the purpose, if his strength allowed, to give to it the closing portion of his life. Early in 185 1 a missionary ser- vice of farewell to the Rev. Mr. Richmond was held in St. Bartholomew's Church in this city. An ode hastily written by Martin Farquhar Tupper was read, beginning with the following words : Push on to earth's extremest verge, And plant the Gospel there. Till wide Pacific's angry surge Is soothed by Christian prayer. Advance the standard, conquering van. And urge the triumph on, In zeal for God and love for man. To distant Oregon. The exposure and deprivations incident to the missionary work of Oregon, were too great for his years, so that after striving for awhile, almost against hope, the Rev. Mr. Richmond returned to the scene of his former labors, St. Michael's Church. He died on Sunday, September 19, 1858, after a ministry of thirty-nine years. Resolutions were passed at a large meeting of the clergy, held imme- diately after the burial services, in testimony to the worth of the beloved dead. At the Diocesan Convention of the same year, the Provisional Bishop of the Diocese, Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, thus referred to the death of the Rev. Mr. Richmond : REV. WILLIAM RICHMOND. 55 " In the death of the Rev. Mr. Richmond the Church has lost a warm-hearted and laborious minister. During a min- istry of nearly forty years his heart glowed with a fresh, fervent zeal for every holy cause of God and man. Scarcely had I been introduced into my new duties when he proposed to me to accompany him on a visit to a family then in deep affliction, and some time afterwards we went together at his request to examine and officiate in the institutions in which he was so much interested on Blackwell's Island, and we closed a very touching day with services at the House of Mercy at Bloomingdale. It was in scenes like these, in the midst of human misery and degradation, that you saw the true character of the man, full of melting pity and love and as ready to labor and deny himself for the wretched as he was to feel. May others as warm-hearted be raised up to walk in his steps, and may the works of mercy to which he had dedicated his life never lack friends to carry out his benevolent designs." REV. RICHARD COX, THE FOURTH RECTOR. THE Rev. Richard Cox was instituted Rector the Second Sunday in Advent, 1845 (December 7th), by the Rev. William Berrian, D.D. ; the Rt. Rev. Samuel A. McCoskry preached. The Rev. Mr. Cox was born in Philadelphia, December 17, 1808. He was not originally educated for the sacred calling. He was designed for business pursuits. At a very early age he obtained a situation in Wall Street, and was there schooled for what appeared to be his course of life. Developing business talents of high order, he received offers which opened before him brilliant prospects in life. But having been awakened to the importance of religious things, he renounced his worldly prospects for the sake of devoting himself to the ministry of the Gospel. Although arrived at man's estate, he determined to make a thorough preparation for the work. With this intent, with characteristic ardor, he fitted himself for college, amidst all the cares and anxieties of a very responsible business position. Entering Columbia, he graduated in 1833. A full course of study followed in the General Theological Seminary. Soon after his ordination in 1836, he listened to overtures from the 56 IRer. IRicbarb Coj. ■' bvHE.Halli Soiib.MewYorK /h ^-e Xi_ <3L--i^< -Z- C-i^^szL^ fSj fSj fSj REV. RICHARD COX. 57 Domestic Committee of the Board of Missions, and as one of the pioneers to the Southwest, he proceeded to Vicks- burg, where he laid the foundations of a flourishing church. After a few months' labor he returned North, and accepted the charge of St. John's Church, Troy. In that city he labored zealously and successfully for several years. He there formed friendships which lasted during life. But cir- cumstances at length induced him to leave a congregation to which he was sincerely attached. His next parish was St. Paul's, Woodbury, Conn. His heart, however, was in the city of his youth, and he did not long hesitate when invited to the rectorship of Zion Church, New York, the church in which he had been baptized, confirmed, had re- ceived his first communion, and preached his first sermon, — the scene of his youthful associations, and amid those who had known him from boyhood. The previous relations of the Rev. Mr. Cox to Zion Church rendered the institution service peculiarly interest- ing. He had been brought up in the congregation, having at the early age of thirteen been offered as an assistant teacher to the Sunday-school by a devout and anxious parent. For a long time he was the active and laborious Superintendent of the school, an ofifice which he held dur- ing the whole of his collegiate course. In his character, Mr. Cox was ardent almost to a fault. He was warm in his attachments, and self-sacrificing in his friendship. He was earnest, diligent, and laborious in his chosen work. When he had formed a plan, he hesitated not for a moment in 58 ZION CHURCH. striving to carry it out, let the effort cost what it might. He was devotedly attached to the Church in whose ministry he served, and to her work he gave abilities of a high order. For the advancement of her interests he spared not him- self, and was most abundant in labors. For her sake he was willing to spend and to be spent. Under her direction he put forth untiring efforts, always desiring to carry out in its perfection her system of doctrine, worship, and discipline. The Rev. Mr. Cox expected that such exertions as he should be enabled, by God's help, to put forth, would re- store the parish to its former prosperous condition. Owing, however, to the changing character of the neighborhood, and to the removal of many families to the upper part of the city, he found, within a few years, that the permanent resuscitation of the parish in that locality was a hopeless undertaking. The question of changing the locality of the church was formally considered by the Vestry two years afterwards, but no final action was taken until June, 1850, when the Rector, who had been appointed chairman of the committee to which the subject was referred, submitted the following report : " That the Hon. Murray Hoffman, acting for and in be- half of the heirs of Susan Ogden, had offered as a gift to this corporation ten lots of land, five on the southwest cor- ner and the same number of lots on the southeast corner of Madison Avenue and 38th Street, each plot being 98.9 feet on the avenue by 125 feet on the street. On the first day of February, 185 1, the deed for the foregoing described lots REV. RICHARD COX. 59 was executed for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar to Zion Church, by William H. Harrison of the City of New York, counsellor-at-law, and Mary H., his wife, of the first part (by and with the consent and direction of Murray Hoffman and Mary M., his wife, and Lindley M. Hoffman and Susan L., his wife, Harriet R. Ogden and Elizabeth Giles signified by their uniting in the execution of these presents) and the Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of Zion Church, in the City of New York, of the second part." " The Vestry without delay entered into a contract to build a small brick chapel in the rear of the easterly lot on 38th Street. Services were held in it for the first time, on Sunday, October 19, i85i,and were continued on Sunday afternoons for a year. Then the services in Mott Street Church were entirely discontinued, and were regularly cele- brated, morning and evening, in the chapel. In October, 1852, the church and land in Mott Street were advertised for sale. The Rev. Ralph Hoyt, rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, being without a church building, applied for leave to hold services in Zion Church in Mott Street until it was sold, or during the pleasure of the Vestry. Permission was accordingly given, and the following advertisement was in- serted by the Rev. Mr. Hoyt : " Zion Church will probably continue open on Sunday for Divine Service by the Church of the Good Shepherd until May. 6o ZION CHURCH. " The Subscriber proposes after that time to hold services somewhere in that immediate vicinity, that there may be at least one humble taper to represent the light of Protestant faith in that idolatrous, Church forsaken district. (Signed) " Ralph Hoyt." The announcement by advertisement that Zion Church was offered for sale provoked the following proceedings by the prominent clergy of the cities of New York and Brooklyn : " Zion Church, Mott Street, New York, being offered for sale: We the undersigned Rectors and Ministers of Churches in the Cities of New York and Brooklyn, believing that there is no portion of the city of New York where a church and the labors of a faithful ministry are so much needed, invite so many of the clergy and laity of these two cities as may take an interest in the matter, to meet on Friday, October 29th inst. (1852), at 12 o'clock noon, in the Sunday School room in the rear of St. John's Chapel, New York, for the purpose of considering what measures can be taken to pro- cure the present Zion Church Edifice as a centre for mis- sionary work in that part of the City." Joseph H. Price. S. H. Weston. Lot Jones. R. M. Abercrombie. James Milnor. Francis Vinton. Henry Dana Ward. I. Pardee. G. H. Houghton. J. H. Hobart. G. T. Bedell. George B. Draper. REV. RICHARD COX. 6i E. H. Canfield. Stephen H. Tyng. Jesse Pond. D. V. M. Johnson. J. W. Diller. E. Y. Highbee. S. Cooke. P. S. Chauncey. Wm. E. Eigenbrodt. Theo. A. Eaton. C. Clapp. Francis L. Hawks. Isaac H. Tuttle. Chs. Seymour. J. F. Schroeder. Wm. A. Muhlenberg. Alex. S. Leonard. Corns. R. Duffie. J. J. Elmendorf. Wm. J. Frost. John H. Hanson. A. Bloomer Hart. J. M. Wainwright. Thos. House Taylor. Henry Anthon. Benj. I. Haight. George L. Niede. Wm. Morris. Ed. Harwood. T. M. Peters. From the Church Journal. " We have been favored with the proceedings of the meetings on this subject and have much pleasure in insert- ing them. " The object is an important one and commends itself to the best sympathies of Churchmen. " Proceedings at a meeting of clergy and laity of New York to take into consideration the subject of the purchase of Zion Church in Mott Street as the centre of missionary operations. " On motion, the Rev. Dr. Wainwright, Provisional Bishop 62 ZION CHURCH. elect of the Diocese, was called to the Chair and opened the meeting with prayer. The Rev. Mr. Eaton was chosen Secretary. " Remarks were made upon the great importance of the subject before the meeting and suggestions offered as to the best means of accomplishing the object in view, by the fol- lowing clergy and laity. Doctors Wainwright, Hawks, Haight, the Rev. Messrs. Peters, Cox, Evans, Halsey and J. H. Swift, Esq. " On motion of the Rev. Mr. Peters the following action was taken : " ^ Resolved, That a committee be appointed in behalf of this meeting as follows. The Provisional Bishop elect shall be Chairman, additional members shall be nominated by the Chair. It shall be the duty of the Committee to take into consideration the subject before the meeting and report at an adjourned meeting of the Clergy and laity to be held in this place Friday, November 15th, at noon. Committee; Dr. Wainwright, Chairman ; Drs. Hawks, Haight, and Vin- ton, Rev. Mr. Peters and J. H. Swift, Esq.' " After awaiting action of this committee for three months, the Vestry of Zion Church concluded a sale of the property on the 28th January, 1853, to the Rt. Rev. John Hughes, of the Roman Catholic Church, for $30,000. Application was made, February 14th, to the Supreme Court for permission to sell ; leave being granted, the sale was perfected by delivery of deed, dated April 30th. The Church Journal made the following comments : REV. RICHARD COX. 63 " We are spared the pain of announcing the sale of Zion Church to the Romanists by its publication in the secular papers. It is a disgrace in the Churchmen of this City that such a thing should have happened, and it is best not to smooth it over, but to acknowledge it with shame and con- fusion of face. Shortly after the Convention in September a movement was made, as most of our readers know, to pre- serve Zion as a centre of missionary work and charitable operations in the wretched neighborhood which has been forming for years around it. A public meeting was called whose proceedings were reported in public prints. A large committee was appointed, which met frequently, discussed many plans, took some partial steps, not accomplishing much, however, until the necessity of meeting any longer was ended about a fortnight since by the sale above men- tioned. It appears that previously to this slow movement the Vestry of Zion Church had received intimation that a purchaser stood ready, but it gave no encouragement to this overture, in the hope that some way the sale would be effected within our communion. When the matter was once fairly brought before the Churchmen of New York, it rested with them to take the necessary steps, and three months were surely long enough for their zeal to have shown itself effectually. The Vestry being satisfied on good infor- mation that nothing was likely to come of the movement from which so much had been hoped, entertained the formal proposition made by a land agent for the purchase of the Church, exclusive of the Church furniture &c., and the sale 64 ZION CHURCH. was speedily concluded at $30,000 for this church within a stone's throw of the notorious Five Points — notorious for vice and wretchedness. " This parish was sustained, like any other, by pew-rents and the attendance of those who had a respectable standing in the community. When in the change that took place in the neighborhood the parishioners of this class were driven or drawn off to a distance, it is not for us to say that the Vestry were precluded from building in a more attractive locality. We should have unfeignedly rejoiced in the addi- tion of one to the number of our Churches had Churchmen generally come forward to secure the old foundation for a spiritual edifice of another kind adapted to the wants of the neighborhood and such as circumstances just then loudly demanded. " The whole town was rousing up to the possibility of doing some such permanent good in the Five Points. " We do not question that the Rector and Vestry of Zion Church have done what they deemed best for the altered interests of their Parish, nor do we for one moment suppose that they have done anything more than use their legal powers to secure the best interests of their actual parish- ioners now in attendance on the services. We do not blame them nor wish to be thought to do so." Upon the adjustment of the sale and the payment of the purchase money, $30,000, Trinity Church having consented to transfer the mortgage loan of $7000 held since 1831, to REV. RICHARD COX. 65 the new site on Madison Avenue, a building committee was appointed, which selected Mr. Frank Wills as architect. Drawings and specifications were submitted and approved, and excavation commenced. Among the incidents to be noted as occurring during the Rectorship of the Rev. Mr. Cox, is the death, on April 4, 1848, of Mary Welsh, an aged communicant, and, widow of James Welsh. After providing by will for her friends and connections, she made liberal bequests to the Missionary Committee of the Diocese, founded the Mary Welsh and the Zion Church Scholarships, $2500 each, to aid neces- sitous students in the General Theological Seminary, and made Zion Church her residuary legatee. The amount received in consequence, $11,811.78, was large enough to remove an oppressive debt. Letters testamentary were issued in 1850 to the Rector as the sole executor. The validity of the will was contested. On the afternoon of Saturday, August 6, 1853, the corner- stone of the new edifice of Zion Church was laid by the Right Rev. J. M. Wainwright, D.D., D.C.L., Provisional Bishop of the Diocese. The site of the new edifice, known as Murray Hill, was one of the highest spots in the city^ commanding a wide prospect of town and country. Upon this hill once stood the residence of Robert Murray amid extensive grounds and designated as Inclenberg. These grounds are now traversed by Fifth, Madison, and Park Avenues, between 36th and 45th Streets. The ceremony of laying the corner-stone took place be- 66 ZION CHURCH. neath a large canvas awning which was erected to shelter the assembly from the rain. The services were conducted by the Bishop, the Rector of the Church, and the Rev. Messrs. Elmendorf and Davis, who, together with the Wardens and Vestrymen of the Parish and others, walked to the spot in procession, repeating the I22d Psalm, after which the Rt. Rev. Prelate, standing near the stone which was inscribed thus A. + D. made the usual address as follows: 1853- " Christian Brethren : It is decent and proper, and agreeable to the precepts and examples of Holy Writ, that in all our doings we should beseech Almighty God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, to direct us with His most gracious favor, and to further us with His continual help, especially therefore, when we are now assembled to commence a house which is to be set apart to His honor and service, and in which His holy name is to be worship- ped, and His words and sacraments to be proclaimed and celebrated by the ministry whom He hath commissioned, let us humbly and devoutly supplicate His assistance, pro- tection, and blessing." After this address the Rev. Mr. Elmendorf read off the contents of the box to be deposited in the stone, viz : " Bible and Book of Common Prayer, both of the edition of the New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society ; Journal of the General Convention of the Protestant Epis- copal Church of 1850; Journal of the New York Diocesan REV. RICHARD COX. 6/ Convention of 1852; Annual report of the General Prot- estant Episcopal Theological Seminary 1852 ; Annual report of the General Protestant Episcopal Sunday-School Union 1852 ; Annual report of the New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society 1852 ; Annual report of the Protestant Episcopal Tract Society 1852." He then read an abstract of the history of the Parish. It was written on parchment and enclosed in a glass bottle. (A copy of this abstract will be found in the Appendix). This done, the Bishop then laid the stone in its place, striking it three times with a hammer, and repeating the usual form of words. While so doing, the sun came forth from behind the clouds, and a beautiful rainbow lent its happy augury to the occasion. The ceremonies being finished, the Rev. Richard Cox, Rector of the Parish, was about to deliver an address, when a blind woman handed him a little scroll, from which he read the following : " Eternal source of Light Divine Who bade the stars in glory shine. Whose mighty hand, whose piercing eye, Controls the ocean, earth and sky, While angels round Thy throne above Proclaim Thy wisdom, power and love ; Wilt Thou this structure deign to bless And crown these efforts with success. 68 ZION CHURCH. Here would we now a temple raise In humble tribute to Thy praise ; Here let Thy glory, as of old, The beams of sacred peace unfold. 'T is done, the corner-stone is laid ; Again we ask Thy sovereign aid. Guide Thou the work we now pursue, — Without Thy strength we nought can do." — Frances Crosby, of the Asylum for the Blind. The Rector then proceeded with a very interesting and appropriate address : " Beloved Friends : A step so important and remarkable as the removal of an old and established church to a site nearly three miles distant from that which it formerly occu- pied, justifies a few words of apology and explanation. For these the present is deemed a suitable occasion. " When the old edifice was erected, the district to which it belonged was of a character that warranted expectations of great and extensive improvement. The neighborhood needed the building, and it was almost certain that in a very short time it would be crowded with persons of respect- ability and influence then moving into the vicinity. The expectation was realized. The congregation became posi- tively large, and enjoyed every kind of prosperity. " At length, however, a very great change began to pass REV. RICHARD COX. 69 upon the neighborhood. Removals were continually taking place, until the old and reliable residents went away almost in crowds. They were succeeded by classes of persons in- ferior alike in character and resources, and generally having little or no sympathy with our Protestant Episcopal Church. When the tide was fairly set in this direction, the fate of Zion Church as a self-supporting enterprise was sealed. Nearly all the income it enjoyed was the pew-rents, paid for the most part by persons who had already removed to a distance from its site ; and it became evident that to retain such persevering and devoted adherents, it was necessary to seek a location in their vicinity. "It is due to ourselves and to facts to state here that it is understood that the experience of almost every congrega- tion in the lower part of the city corresponds with our own in this particular, that their resources are constantly being absorbed. It is believed that no congregation of any Prot- estant denomination in what are known as the lower wards, sustains its services by the usual means of pew-rent. Those that remain continue in their locations because they have endowments, or receive equivalent aid. It is said that be- tween the years 1820 and 1830, there were forty places of public worship in the six lower wards, and of these thirty- three are now removed. " Just as our Vestry had most unwillingly arrived at the conclusion that it was necessary to regard our church as a tabernacle than a temple, and had begun to look out some other and more favorable spot on which to rear and set up 70 ZION CHURCH. the Ark of the Lord, it was ascertained that we could obtain this property. Ten lots for a church had piously been set apart by the heirs of an estate even before they divided the property among themselves. And thus, as we may say they actually and happily consecrated all their remaining wealth." " Of course, in leaving our old edifice, there was much to occasion pain. This, however, was alleviated by the con- viction that the one which it was intended here to erect was not likely ever to be removed. We could not see a reason why here there could be the least occasion for unfavorable changes. On the contrary we deemed it as nearly certain as could be anything in the range of human affairs, that the growth and character of this vicinity would be such as to warrant belief that here must always be a neighborhood which will both require and support a church. " We regarded the property we held as a corporation as consecrated to the service of God ; and by removing it to this locality we certainly have not changed its sacredness. No portion of it has been diverted from the holy uses to which it was devoted. It is still set apart for the glory of God and the good of men as much as it ever has been. Indeed we may say that not only have we preserved it for holy purposes — for the self-same holy purposes for which it was set apart by solemn acts — but also have added to its value and importance by removal to this most promising spot. We seem to have obeyed the injunction of the blessed Lord, and now return to Him His own with usury. REV. RICHARD COX. 71 For certainly we may say that pecuniarily, if in no higher sense, for every talent entrusted to us we have joined at least one talent more." The officers of the parish were as follows : Rector, Richard Cox. Wardens, Frederick Pentz, James Van Norden. Vestrymen, John T. B. Maxwell, Smith Barker, John A. Graff, Jasper W. Hughes, James B. Cooke, Edward Carter, John S. Williams, one vacancy. Building Committee, James Van Norden, John T. B. Maxwell, Jasper W. Hughes. Architects, Frank Wills, of Wills & Dudley. Master Mason, John Calvert. Master Carpenter, Robert Pugsley. In the remainder of the address the Rector entered upon the subject of the symbolical character of Gothic archi- tecture, explaining how every part of a building erected in that style has its Christian meaning. Believing that, as in the Tabernacle and Temple of old everything had a mean- ing, so in the rightly appointed and arranged Christian Church everything should be symbolical of doctrines or facts embodied in our holy faith, we plan the edifice of which we now recognize the beginning, with special refer- ence to the expression of truth and the illustration of holy principles. We wish it to speak in its own language to the minds and hearts of every one who looks upon its walls or occupies a place beneath its roof. In a word, we wish that all who behold it shall discern at once that it is dedicated 72 ZION CHURCH. to the most solemn and sacred of uses, and that every one of its many parts shall convey a lesson if it be possible, even to the very thoughtless, and for this purpose we adopt the style which for many reasons we say is inaptly called the Gothic — the style in which the skill of masters found the many ways of giving life and power to dead material things, and at the same time appealing with nearly equal effect to the pious feelings of alike the cultivated Christian and the unrefined but meek imitator of his heavenly Master. " In making this selection we have the approbation of the many poetical and learned, not the least of whom is Cole- ridge ; who says : ' The Greek art is beautiful. When I enter a Greek Church my eye is charmed and my mind elated ; I feel exalted and proud that I am a man. But the Gothic art is sublime. On entering a Cathedral, I am filled with devotion and with awe ; I am lost to the actualities that surround me, and my whole being expands into the in- finite ; earth and air, and nature and art, all swell up into eternity, and the only sensible impression left is, that I am nothing.' It need hardly be said that he thus speaks of an effect the fulness of which is not likely to be reached in such parish churches as our limited means enable us to erect in this country. The edifice here to be placed can only ap- proach that effect by a humble, yet faithful, adherence to the style so justly and appropriately praised. All we can hope to accomplish is described by him who wrote : REV. RICHARD COX. 73 " ' As chanced, the portals of the sacred pile Stood open ; and we entered. On my frame At such transition from the fervid air, A grateful coolness fell, that seemed to strike The heart, in concert with that temperate awe And natural reverence, which the place inspired.' — Wordsworth. " We are told that when Christian edifices were first erected, they were made to extend from the West to the East, their length being far greater than their breadth, and terminating at the east end in a semicircle, representing as closely as possible the body of a ship, in allusion to the ship into which our Lord entered, which was always looked upon as a type for the Church ; and also to the Ark, in which Noah and his family were saved from destruction. Hence comes the architectural term nave, derived from the Latin word navis, a ship. The following passages from the Apos- tolical Constitutions shows how far this allusion was carried. It orders, ' When thou callest an assembly of the church, as one that is the commander of a great ship, appoint the as- semblies to be made with all possible skill ; charging the deacons, as mariners, to prepare places for the brethren as for passengers, with all care and decency. And first, let the church be long like a ship, looking towards the East, with its vestries on either side at the end. In the centre let the Bishop's throne be placed, and let the presbyters be seated on both sides of him ; and let the deacons stand near at 74 ZION CHURCH. hand, in close and small garments, for they are like the mariners and managers of the ship.' (Book ii., Sec. 28). " In obedience to this ancient usage and direction, we plan this edifice with its length nearly twice its breadth and with especial reference to orientation. For we cannot forget the example set us by the primitive Christians, and that earlier example of the Jews, who in all their wanderings, in their devotions, turned towards the sacred city and the site of their holy Temple. We would emulate their thoughtful and suggestive piety, and turning eastward look towards those spots and places more hallowed than any others on earth — the birthplace of our blessed Lord, the region in which He passed His ministry, and especially that peculiarly conse- crated hill on which in unheard of and, to us, incomprehen- sible sufferings. He made an atonement for a guilty world. If I may be pardoned the apparent play upon a word, I will say that here, on this rising ground, in this metropolitan centre of the West, we provide that the attention of the people gathered in an edifice dedicated to God with the ap- pellation of an ancient sacred hill, shall ever be turned Zion- ward ; and thence derive suggestions of thoughts and emo- tions most appropriate to the place and the duties and employments for which they shall be assembled. Here do we plan that by a perspective directing the eye towards the altar, through an avenue of similar and several times re- peated parts, there shall be provocatives to a solemnity in which the mind shall be at once centred in the sanctuary and borne away to the distant sacred land, and to that HEV. RICHARD COX. 75 higher holy of holies ' whither the forerunner is for us en- tered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedek.' " And surely this feature of our plan is not inapt or use- less — not based alone on ancient usage, for, " ' Our life lies eastward ; every day Some little of that mystic way By trembling feet is trod ; In thoughtful fast, and quiet feast Our thoughts go travelling to the East To our Incarnate God. Fresh from the Font, our childhood's prime To life's most oriental time. — Still doth it eastward turn in prayer And rear its saving altar there. Still doth it eastward turn in creed While faith in awe each gracious deed Of her dear Saviour's love doth plead ; Still doth it turn at every line To the fair East — in sweet, mute sign That through our weary strife and pain We crave our Eden back again.' "As of old, so here is it contemplated that much of our edifice shall mutely express a testimony to the cardinal doc- trine of the Trinity — the mysterious and eternal Three in One. This we have in the nave, for the people ; the chancel. "J^ ZION CHURCH. or, as it is sometimes termed, the choir, for the minister to preach from and to receive the faithful when communicants ; and the most holy place, within the chancel rails, for the priest alone. 'The nave,' says Lewis, ' being the commencement of the Church, would, in the language of the designer, be read the Father, and being the first part is of none. The chancel is of the nave alone ; and the holy of holies is of the nave and chancel, proceeding from them. Thus it is that the Ecclesiastical designer translated the creed into his own language, and informed the community, through his varied forms, divisions, and arrangements, upon the doctrine of the Trinity.' Nor is the architectural expression of the doc- trine only thus ; for to signify the Holy Trinity we have, besides, the three parts lengthwise, to which allusion has now been made, the threefold division breadthwise of the nave and aisles, of which Keble so simply and yet so beauti- fully says : " ' Three solemn parts together twine In harmony's mysterious line ; Three solemn aisles approach the Shrine, Yet all are one.' " There we erect the tower, indicative of strength — the strength which is peculiarly the Christian's — that to which the Apostle alluded when he said, ' My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.' In its deep foundations and its proportions, more massive than the other parts of the structure, we read the confidence we REV. RICHARD COX. yj ought to have in the might and protection of Him for whose honor the building is intended, or, as some will have it, in the tower we have signified the love of the Christian heart, descending to deepest depths and laying there its strong foundation and rising thence in equal strength and apt and fair proportions, supporting well the spire, indicative of the sublime aspirations of holy hope, which out of love so cer- tainly do spring. " Should the liberality of the neighborhood, as we trust it will, enable us to add this feature of a spire to the other features of our plan, how shall we rejoice, whether we view the tower as symbolizing either strength or love, when with upturned eye we view gracefully growing from it, the tall index, penetrating the atmosphere above and pointing the pilgrim, weary and wayworn here, to mansions in heaven. What other spot in all this Mammon-worshipping city can vie with this in fitness for such an emblem of the disciples' hope ? Where more suitably than here can be established the silent yet eloquent pleader for concern and effort for the far-off and blessed rest with Christ in His Father's house — the contrast between the base things of earth, towards which the Spire never looks, and the pure celestial things to which, in spite of man's perversity, it is ever directing his attention ? Kind friends, ye who have the means, and especially ye who are interested in adorning and rendering conspicuous this pre-eminently beautiful portion of our city plot, help us to do our duty ; help us here to erect the proper and, perhaps, most expressive finish to our sacred building. Help us to 78 ZION CHURCH. make the tower with which now our plan terminates, but the foundation for the striking emblem of Christian aspirations that may direct even the busy worldling to profitable thoughts in the brief intervals in which he turns his mind from thrift and calculation, and read a profitable and consol- ing lesson to the mariner as he sails upon our noble bay or rivers. Then, as we construct the system of arches with which the interior is to be graced — each one of which is symbolical of faith — the great religious faith which sup- ports all our spiritual structure — the structure which is noth- ing without the keystone, Jesus Christ — may we anticipate that through coming ages many will realize what Words- worth described and felt when he wrote : " ' In my mind's eye a Temple, like a cloud Slowly surmounting some invidious hill, Rose out of darkness : the bright work stood still ; And might of its own beauty have been proud. But it was fashioned and to God was vowed By virtues that diffused, in every part, Spirit divine through forms of human art ; Faith had her arch — her arch, when winds blow loud. Into the consciousness of safety thrilled ; And love her towers of dread foundation laid Under the grave of things ; Hope had her spire Star high, and pointing still to something higher Trembling I gazed, but heard a voice, — it said, Hellgates are powerless phantoms where we build.' REV. RICHARD COX. Jg " Even our doors must be allowed to have their sweet expression. We make them comparatively low, betokening thus the humility with which we should enter the house of God and gate of heaven, and illustrating also the words of the Saviour when He said, ' Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life.' Besides, as has justly been remarked, ' Wherever the porch and door may be, the language of the Lord Jesus Himself has consecrated them as a memorial of His own person, as ' Emmanuel, God with us.' ' " I am the door," saith He, and this it has been supposed that He said, pointing at the door of the Temple, before which He stood.' Lest I should be tedious, let me give, instead of what I should like to have said more at length, a comprehensive quotation, the substance of which is from Durandus. It says : ' The roof signifies charity, which covereth a multitude of sins.' The floor signifies humility, of which David saith, ' My soul cleaveth to the pavement.' ' The language of St. Paul has consecrated the pillars zs an allusion to the Apostles, and great doctors of the Church, James, Cephas, and John, saith he, seemed to be pillars.' ' The glass windows in a church are the Holy Scriptures, which repel the wind and rain, i.e., all hurtful things, but transmit the light of the true Sun, i.e., God, into the hearts of the faithful. These are wider within than without, because the mystical sense is the more ample, and precedeth the literal meaning. Also by the windows the senses of the body are signified ; which ought to be closed to the vanities of the world, and open to receive with all 8o ZION CHURCH. freedom, spiritual gifts.' And while I am quoting, let me add as it has been said by another, that the ' clerestory with its spring pinnacles and woven tracery, hangs over the altar and the sanctuary, like a coronet upheld by the strong arms, which the Christian architects learnt to make powerful and obedient for this purpose.' — Poole. " Of course, while we are mindful of the different parts of our edifice to which reference has been made, we shall not omit to set in its conspicuous place the font, destined to be, as we trust, the ' laver of regeneration ' to many a soul, and to speak effectively where the Spirit admonishes to ' wash and be clean.' Here it shall stand a constant preacher of the purity of which the element it shall contain is the emblem, and looking at it many an adult shall say almost unconsciously to himself, ' See, here is water ; what doth hinder me to be baptized.' While many a parent shall seem to hear emitted from its strong sides : ' Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.' ' Suffer them to come unto Me in the way I have appointed, in the sacrament I have consecrated, and they shall receive the Holy Ghost.' " And finally, here we build the chancel, with a roof exclu- sively its own, to indicate how entirely it is set apart from the rest of the sacred edifice for the peculiar services of the priesthood and the altar ; and we make its roof lower than that of the nave, to admonish those who shall ofificiate within it that the more we are exalted, so much the more does it become us to be humble. Ruled off by the chancel REV. RICHARD COX. 8 1 rails, at the very head of the whole sanctuary, are we to have the Christian ' holy of holies,' the sacred altar to be contained within— sacred because it is set apart for the cele- bration of the most solemn mysteries of the most holy faith. It will be ' an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.' Its language will always be 'Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.' It will always proclaim the Atonement. An impenetrable awe will shut in and enclose those sacred precincts. Around that holy table, as some delight to call it, will rest a cloud, illumined, it may be, with sacred light. Presumptuous men will endeavor to fathom what is there revealed and yet concealed. But they shall be baffled ever. To the simple and the childlike, those mysteries are, in a measure, open ; to the proud and arrogant, never. There symbolically, in mere bread and wine, shall be celebrated that wondrous, painful, yet happy event in which the Son of God offered Himself an atonement and a ransom for this world. There, as the ministering servant, conscious of his great unworthi- ness of the place and duty, endeavors by his symbolically official act to ' show forth the Lord's death until He come,' shall he be conscious that the angels gather around the con- secrated recess, and look with delight upon the repentance which approaching hundreds bring as an offering to the altar-steps, and the faith by which they look through sym- bols to a once crucified, but now risen Lord. " Here shall Christ Himself be present — revealing Himself as He does not reveal Himself unto the world — taking pos- 6 82 ZION CHURCH. session anew of many a reclaimed and devoted heart, and so fitting it for its multiplied struggles with the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and preparing it for the victory which we all may have through the Beloved. " I do not wonder, therefore, that the poet wrote : ^' ' Unto the East we turn, to which belong More than the heart divines, or eye descries ; There is the altar which our life supplies. The voice is silent, lest it should do wrong To things which are too high for mortal tongue. The Heavens are looking on with wondering eyes And Angel faces crowd the o'erhanging skies.' The Cathedral. " Were our contemplated temple for nothing else than for the erection of such an altar it would be worthy of all the expense, the labor, and the skill which we mean to have devoted to it. But when, as we have shown, it is to con- tain suggestions in every one of its parts ; when in every item of the perfect whole which we wish it to be, it is to have a voiceless, yet a powerful discourse ; when everywhere it is to speak of Christ, and Him crucified, and the doctrines, the facts, and the persons with Him connected ; and when we add that it is ever to be used for the reading and the preaching of His Word, — who shall say that we have not good ground to rejoice that He has enabled us to lay this corner-stone, and under it to deposit the Bible and the REV. RICHARD COX. 83 Book of Common Prayer in token of our sincere devotion not only to ' the faith once delivered to the saints,' just as it was once delivered to them — without change or alter- ation — but also to Him from whom all pure faith doth come ? " After the address the Gloria in Excelsis was sung, the remainder of the form of the ritual gone through, and the assemblage were dismissed with a benediction from the Bishop. "At a meeting of the Vestry in May, 1854, it was Resolved, That the owners of pews in the Church in Mott Street be allowed to hire and occupy pews in the new Church without payment until the rent shall amount to the sum originally received by this corporation for their former pews, when their right to any property in said pews shall cease. "Resolved, That the pew committee be authorized to negotiate the extinguishment of all pew rights in the old Church upon the foregoing resolution or any other terms acceptable to the owners and not less advantageous to the Church. ''Resolved, That the Rector and Clerk be authorized to execute and afifix the seal of this Corporation to a Deed of donation of this Church in order to its consecration." June II, 1854, the church was opened for Divine Service, and was consecrated Wednesday, the 28th June. The day, though warm, was, on the whole, exceedingly 84 ZION CHURCH. fine, the beams of the June sun being tempered and allayed with refreshing breezes, and altogether the occasion was one to be marked and remembered in the history of the church in this city. The procession, consisting of Bishop Wainwright, Bishop Doane, of New Jersey, and between thirty and forty clergy in surplices, left the chapel and proceeded into the church at half-past lo o'clock A.M., the Bishop of New York taking the right side of the altar, supported by the Rector, and Bishop Doane the left, supported by the Rev. Dr. Berrian. About a dozen of the clergy were accommo- dated in the stalls and chairs in the choir, and the rest in the eastern part of the nave. The instrument of donation was read by the Rector, the sentence of consecration by Dr. Ber- rian. Morning prayer was said by the Rev. Dr. Price, as- sisted by Rev. Messrs. Odenheimer and Duffie in the Les- sons, and Dr. Van Kleek and Mr. Richmond in the prayers. The ante-communion office was said by Bishop Wainwright, assisted by Bishop Doane. The sermon was preached by the Rt. Rev. George Washington Doane, D.D. LL.D., from Genesis, xxviii, 17: " How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven." The Bishop began with a description of Jacob, lying down wearily at evening, sleeping and dreaming, — seeing God in his dream, beholding opened before him the world which is invisible, and the way leading up thereto, peopled with celestial forms. And he also heard the Voice of God — his God and the God of his fathers — assuring him REV. RICHARD COX. 85 that all the length and breadth of the land around him — of which he then possessed but as much as he covered with his weary body for a night's lodging — should be his, and that of his seed after him, and that they should grow and spread, and continue until they had become a blessing to all ages and nations. He then bade his hearers to place themselves in the place of Jacob, lying down wearily, with a stone for a pillow, seeing what he saw, and hearing what he heard — who would not awake with the feeling of Jacob, and express his relig- ious awe in the same words of amazed wonder? The preacher then enlarged upon the fulness of meaning embod- ied in the words " the House of God," and also in that other title of honor, " the Gate of Heaven." And he concluded a brilliant and powerful discourse by an exhortation upon the exclamation of the Patriarch — " How dreadful is this place." He said : " Will a man bring hither, then, his un- charitableness, his envy, hatred, lust, passion, vanity, greed of mammon ? Will any here dare to indulge the whisper of levity, the frivolous talk or jest, the empty smile, the idiotic grin? Then would he also do the same, if, instead of the elements upon that altar, the Cross itself was there once more, dropping blood as it did on Calvary. But will he do so when consuming fire shall go forth from that Cross against those who are thus careless of sin and of God ? Suppose that this roof were to open, and the throne of God were to hang in mid-air, and the Judge of all were to be disclosed ? For you there would appear no angel protector, no Way of Life, no Gate of Heaven ? 86 ZION CHURCH. The day of grace is past and gone ; Trembling, they stand before the Throne, All unprepared to meet Him ! " Father, forgive them ; they know not what they do ! " The offertory was then said by the Rector, the alms being collected by several deacons. After the prayer for the Church Militant, the non-communicants were dismissed by Bishop Wainwright, who then proceeded with the com- munion office, a large number partaking, both of clergy and laity. On the Sunday following the day of the consecration the Vestry met after the evening service and passed the follow- ing resolution of thanks : '^Resolved, That this Vestry in behalf of themselves and the congregation of Zion Church, New York, tender to the Right Reverend George W. Doane, D.D., LL.D., their cordial thanks for the appropriate and very eloquent ser- mon preached at the consecration of our church, and assure him of the very general satisfaction with which his obliging services were received, and of our conviction that the ser- mon must be as useful as it is excellent." And upon the announcement of the death of the Pro- visional Bishop of the Diocese, on the 2 1st of Sepember of same year, the Vestry assembled upon 28th of the same month and adopted the following resolution : " Resolved, That this Vestry, having heard the painful in- telligence that it hath pleased God to take out of this REV. RICHARD COX. 8/ world the soul of our late Provisional Bishop, the Right Reverend Jonathan M. Wainwright, D.D., D.C.L., desire to place on record their sense of the afflictive dispensation, and their estimate of the departed prelate, as an accomplished Christian gentleman, a learned and able theologian, an active, persevering, and laborious overseer and Father in God. " Resolved, That while we cannot but regret that unwonted exposure in the discharge of duty should have caused him to contract the disease which has so fatal a termination, we hold in admiration the zeal which prompted the acts deli- terious to his health. ^^ Resolved, That remembering that among the more recent acts of Bishop Wainwright was the consecration of Zion Church, we shall cherish the association thus made be- tween our sacred edifice and his brief but arduous and en- terprising Episcopate. " Resolved, That the Rector transmit a copy of the fore- going resolution to the respected family of the deceased Bishop and assure them of our sincere sympathy and our prayers in their behalf." The following description of the architectural features and of the building is taken in part from The Church Jour- nal and The Churchman : " The church of which Frank Wills, of Wills & Dudley, was the architect, is in many respects highly creditable to him. The building is of rough gray stone, laid with good masonry, and the corners and dressings are all of 88 ZION CHURCH. Connecticut brown stone, the two harmonizing very agree- ably. It is capable of seating, including the gallery, about six hundred and fifty persons. The design of the church is of the style usually denominated by architects third pointed Gothic, one of the purest specimens in the city. The tower, surmounted by a lofty spire, the commanding position of the site, and the fine outline of the tower, renders it a feature absolutely necessary to the architectural effect of the building. It stands at the northwest end of the building, is nineteen feet square, with massive and boldly projecting buttresses at either angle, is four stories high, the lower one being used as a porch, the second as a vestibule or hall to the organ gallery, the third is intended by the Rector to be used as his study, and the fourth for the belfry, which we are happy to see is quite large enough to contain a good peal of bells. The tower is finished on the outside by pinnacles at each angle and cornice battlements between, with somewhat grotesque heads carved at the angles of the cornice. The height from ground to the tops of pinnacles is about ninety feet. The spire of wood which surmounts the tower is octagonal, covered with slate, has four spire lights of two compartments each, and the whole is surmounted by a cross fleury. The total height of spire from ground to apex of cross is 165 feet. " In the interior the general proportion and effect are ex- ceeding satisfactory, the side elevation is good. The roof both of nave and aisles is of very good pitch. The nave and aisles (84 feet long by 56 feet wide in all) are of six bays Zton Cburcb, /BJaMson Hvenue an& Sgtb Street. REV. RICHARD COX. 89 (one bay of the north aisle being occupied by the tower) height of nave 60 feet. The piers supporting the clerestory are octagonal monoliths of brown stone, and the arcade is of very good effect, the arches being finished with plaster mouldings. The seats are open, grained in imitation of oak. The chancel arch is well managed. The pulpit is on the south side, and a reading desk on the north, both standing within the range of the arch. The chancel is elevated two steps above the nave, and the sanctuary is a step above the choir. The sanctuary contains an altar of excellent pro- portions, altar chairs from the old Church in Mott Street. The glass is well worthy of a distinct notice. The altar win- dow is of five lights, and filled with glass by Doremus & Akeroyd. Owing to the haste with which the work was necessarily executed, and the limited amount paid, the glass of this window is unequal — the side lights being not of such high excellence as the central compartment, and the balance of color being injured by too great a preponder- ance of German red. The style, however, is far superior in effect, for church work, to the German picture-framed groups, and the designing shows the hand of an artist more thoroughly trained to design in the material than any one we have previously had among us. Mr. Akeroyd shows a great familiarity with these pecularities of manage- ment, which give the designs of ancient glass their singular effectiveness for the purpose for which they, were intended. The instructions and example of the late Mr. Pugin have not been lost on this his promising disciple ; and we risk 90 ZION CHURCH. nothing in predicting a brilliant career for him in the art of church decoration — an art at which there has already- been some attempt made, but in which we have not hitherto had any one among us who could be looked upon as much more than an experimenter. The central light — the figure of the Saviour — is the only one, however, in which Mr. Akeroyd has done himself full justice ; and in that the effect is remarkably good, the harmony of color clear, cool, rich, and effective, — and the English ruby is far superior to the Ger- man at either side. The other four lights are filled with the Four Evangelists. The colored lights of the stained windows at the western extremity of the nave as it plays through the tracery of the organ has an especially rich effect. " The glass in the nave and aisles is plain, with the excep- tion of four memorial windows, two in the north aisle and two in the south. " In the north aisle, the western contains in its two lights, the Resurrection and the Ascension ; in memory of Eliza G. Cox, the wife of Rev. Richard Cox, who died 1842; the eastern, the Good Shepherd, an angel presenting a cup of suffering, and the Agony in the Garden ; in memory of Frederick Pentz, who died 1820, and EHzabeth, his wife, who died 1851. " In the south aisle, the eastern contains a group, Christ preaching from a boat to people on shore, and one illus- trating ' the pure in heart,' in memory of Alexander Fink, who died 1821, and Elizabeth, his wife, who died 1848. The REV. RICHARD COX. 91 western, St. Peter and St. Paul, in memory of John G. Graff, who died 1839, and his wife, who died 1850. " These four windows are executed by Ernest Kuhn, a very meritorious German artist, whose manipulation is in most parts of his work very careful and exact. The style is that of the famous Munich windows, the general idea of which seems to be an imitation of a picture in a gilt or ara- besque frame. The result is much less satisfactory than in the ancient examples of the art. The groups are so small that one must stand within a few feet to master their mean- ing. But Mr. Kuhn's chief triumph is the memorial window of Bishop Hobart, on the south side of the choir. The like- ness is executed with uncommon care, and considering the material, with remarkable success. Under it is the appro- priate legend (beautifully illustrated by Mr. Akeroyd) : ' God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.' (2 Tim., i., 7). This memor- ial was a gift from John T. B. Maxwell, Esq. " The most remarkable feature of the Church — and which we have therefore reserved for the last — is the roof and wall decoration, in which a decided step in advance is here taken, marking the progress of church art in this country. The whole roof of nave, aisles, and chancel is painted blue, with yellow figures in each compartment. The crowning beauty of the whole church, however, is Mr. Akeroyd's decoration of the altar and the east wall, immediately behind it, both of which are successful in the highest degree. Bold projecting mouldings, battlemented, run 92 ZION CHURCH. across the whole width of the east wall, just below the win- dow sill. Over the window arch are illuminated the verses : ' To Thee all Angels cry aloud ; the Heavens and all the Powers therein.' ' To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim ; continually do cry.' And immediately under the moulding above mentioned : ' Holy, Holy, Holy ; Lord God of Sabbaoth ; ' ' Heaven and earth are full ; of the Majesty of Thy Glory.' " The lettering of these inscriptions is very choice, and far superior to that of the verse ' Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem. Praise thy God, O Zion.' which appears on either side' of the chancel, just below the wall-plate of the roof. From the moulding to the floor, the breadth of the east wall is divided into three compartments, all of which are covered with rich coloration, the central compartment being a crimson ground alter- nating with green, relieved by roses and lilies. The altar itself, however, is the most brilliantly effective of all, the deep red and blue grounds of the panels, the gilded leaves, sprigs, and flowers, and the free picking-out of white through the whole, making it, as it ought to be, the most prominent point in the furniture of the chancel. " Color will soon cease to be confined only to the windows of our churches. The organ, removed from the Mott Street Church, was built by the veteran Thomas Hall. " The interior, in its impressive and solemn character, bears REV. RICHARD COX. 93 a closer resemblance to an English church than any other we have seen. It is certainly very pleasing, and the entire subordination of the parts to one general expression has the effect of causing the building to appear smaller than it really is. Withal, this sanctuary posseses what indeed is seldom found, though easily attainable, that dim, subdued light by which architectural forms are softened or moulded to a oneness of expression, that religious gloom which aids the withdrawment of the senses from the outer world and gives to devotion the power of religious association. The late respected Bishop Wainwright used to speak of Zion as his ideal of what a church should be." The cost of the construction and furnishing, about $45,000, was chiefly provided for from the proceeds of the sale of the Mott Street Church. The building com- mittee, having so satisfactorily performed the duties de- volving upon them in the erection of the new edifice, received the grateful thanks of the Vestry. A tablet was placed in the wall of the north vestibule, inscribed : THIS EDIFICE BUILT A.D. 1854, ON LAND QIVEN TO ZION CHURCH BY THE HEIRS OF SUSAN OGDEN. JAMES VAN NORDEN, Warden, ] „ Building JOHN T. B. MAXWELL, \ „ ' Committee. JASPER W. HUGHES, Vestrymen,] FRANK WILLS, Architect. 54 ZION CHURCH. In the same porch was placed the following tablet : ZION CHURCH erected a.d. 1801 Consecrated by the Right Rev" BISHOP MOORE A.D. 1810. ' For the Lord hath chosen Zion. He hath desired it for his habitation." PS. CXXXII. 13 The above tablet was inlaid in the exterior of the front wall over the central doorway of the Mott Street Church. It was exposed to the fire of 1815 without injury. Upon the sale of the old church in Mott Street the burial place, also the receiving vaults of the church had to be abandoned. Advertisements appeared for days exhort- ing the relatives and friends of those who had hitherto allowed the remains of their kindred to go unclaimed, to come forward and take charge of them. The Corporation found itself eventually to be the final custodian. These remains were at different times carefully gathered in coffins and removed to a rectangular crypt prepared for their reception beneath the tower of the new church on Murray Hill. A tablet was placed in the tower vestibule, in- scribed : REV. RICHARD COX. 95 BENEATH THIS TOWER REPOSE THE REMAINS OF THE DEPARTED, REMOVED FROM THE FORMER PARISH BURIAL PLACE IN MOTT STREET A.D. 1854. This tablet was removed from Zion Church, in Mott Street, and inserted in the wall of the vestry room : SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF ALEXANDER FINK ONE OF THE ORIGINAL FOUNDERS OF THIS CHURCH WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE AUGUST 14th 1821 : AGED 67 YEARS 9 MONTHS AND 5 DAYS. RESPECTABLE AND RESPECTED, HE MAINTAINED THROUGH LIFE, THE CHARACTER OF A WARM FRIEND, AN AFFECTIONATE HUSBAND, A KIND PARENT, A VALUABLE CITIZEN, AND AN HONEST MAN. WE WEEP, BUT WE CHERISH, THE REMEMBRANCE OF HIS EXAMPLE, AND ANTICIPATE THE HAPPINESS OF A UNION WITH HIM IN THE ZION ABOVE. HIS AFFECTIONATE WIFE, HAS CAUSED THIS STONE TO BE ERECTED. O Death, all eloquent you only prove, What dust we doat on, when 't is man we love 96 ZION CHURCH. SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF GEORGE THOMPSON, BORN SEPT. v., MDCCLXXX. DIED APRIL II., MDCCCXXIV. ALSO TO THE MEMORY OF HIS WIFE MARIA THOMPSON, DAUGHTER OF ALEXANDER FINK; BORN JAN. XXIX. MDCCLXXXIV, DIED JULY XVIII. MDCCCXXVIII. TO RECORD THE MEMORY OF AFFECTIONATE AND BELOVED PARENTS THIS TABLET IS ERECTED BY THEIR SURVIVING DAUGHTERS: AS A FEEBLE BUT GRATEFUL TRIBUTE OF FILIAL RESPECT AND ESTEEM. The above tablet was also removed from Zion Church, in Mott Street, and placed on the wall in the vestry room. On the west wall, beneath the large window was inserted a caen stone cenotaph to the memory of Mary Welsh, which bears the following inscription : IN MEMORY OF MARY WELSH, WIDOW OF JAMES WELSH, WHO, DYING IN A GOOD OLD AQE, APRIL 4™ 1848, FOUNDED IN THE GENERAL P. E. THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY THE "mARY WELSH" AND " THE ZION CHURCH," N. Y. SCHOLARSHIPS, AND BEQUEATHED LIBERAL SUMS TO THE MISSIONARY COMMITTEE OF THE DIOCESE, AND TO THIS PARISH. HER REMAINS ARE INTERRED BENEATH THE TOWER OF THIS CHURCH. REV. RICHARD COX. 97 When Zion Church was built on Madison Avenue its locahty was suburban, surrounded by fields, only a few scattered residences being in sight. The only Episcopal Churches to the northward were St. Michael's, St. Mary's and St. James, all frame buildings. The Central Park of the future, excepting the receiving reservoirs, was wild, uncultivated wooded land, as in the days of the abo- rigines. Madison Avenue was not then opened beyond 42d Street. The nearest church to Zion was the frame building of St. John the Baptist, on Lexington Avenue, corner of 35th Street, which was soon afterwards replaced by a handsome stone edifice designed by Frank Wills. The Church of the Transfiguration was in 29th Street and the Church of the Incarnation was then located on the corner of Madison Avenue and 28th Street. Several families long attached to Zion Church when in Mott Street had removed to the upper part of the city. Among those that resumed their relation to this parish were : John A. Graff, John T. B. Maxwell, Frederick Pentz, James B. Cook, William H. Sparks, Daniel A. Webster, Mary M. Jessup, Calvin Sweezy, Jane Galloway, John P. Ware, Caroline Boscowan, Smith Barker, Margaret and Edward Carter, Theodosia Ann Fink, W. W. Miner, 98 ZION CHURCH. James Van Norden, George S. Mumford, John B. Peck, John Stanton WiUiams, Jasper W. Hughes, William Cuthbert, John H. Cuthbert. The first ministration of baptism in the church was in the afternoon of the day of consecration, when Charles Eugene, son of Clement and Caroline H. Jewett, was bap- tised by the Rev. Richard Cox. The Order of Confirmation was held for the first time on the first Sunday after Easter, April 15, i855i when the Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, Provisional Bishop, confirmed forty-two candidates. The service for the solemnization of matrimony and that for the burial of the dead were customarily held at private dwellings. January, 1856, the five lots of land opposite the church included in the gift of the heirs of Susan Ogden were leased, with the approval of the Hon. Murray Hoffman, to Henry Coggill for twenty-one years, at eighteen hundred dollars per annum, together with all taxes and assessments and covenant for two renewals of a similar period at six per centum on valuation. In 1858, Christ Church, then located in i8th Street, upon the present site of St. Ann's Church, applied for the canonical consent of this corporation to change its location to the corner of 5th Avenue and 35th Street. The Vestry of Zion Church withheld its consent, regarding the forma- tion of another congregation in proximity to their church REV. RICHARD COX. 99 as injurious to its rights and interests. That objection did not hinder the proposed movement and the site was pur- chased from the Baptist Society. In June of the following year, the Rector, having an opportunity for exercising his ministry in a milder climate, which he imagined to be better adapted to his declining health, and influenced by the prospect of doing greater ser- vice to the Church, accepted a unanimous call to the rector- ship of St. John's Church, Christianstedt, Santa Cruz, West Indies, recently vacated by the Rev. Fletcher Hawley, D.D. Although surrounded by many warm and earnest friends who stood by him alike in his joys and sorrows, he was in- duced to leave the parish of his love. On Whitsunday, June 12, 1859, Rev. Mr. Cox preached a farewell sermon (which was published), from which we quote. Speaking of the Christian pastor's conflict between duty and inclination : " I saw interest, pleasure, and prosperity here. I saw here an edifice which, though smaller than the one pertaining to my new charge, can hardly, at least according to my taste, be surpassed. I saw a people bound to me by ties which have been strengthening every day throughout thirteen and a half years. I saw here a location in the most commanding spot in the com- mercial metropolis of the continent. And I foresaw a future for our Church that must outshine the brightness of not only any period in its history, but, probably, also the brightness in the history of any other congregation in the land." lOO ZION CHURCH. Upon concluding his address, he spoke touchingly to the children of the Protestant Episcopal Orphans' Home. These children, numbering seventy-eight, attended Zion Church because of its nearness to the Home. They were striking examples of good order and devout attention, and merited and received the sympathy and regard of the entire congregation. The children arose and stood during the delivery of his parting words. The following day he tendered his letter of resignation to the Vestry : " New York, June 12, 1859. " To THE Wardens and Vestrymen of Zion Church, New York : " Gentlemen : " A tie which has existed thirteen and a half years cannot easily be broken. The causes of my attachment to Zion Church are too many to allow me to separate myself from it without pangs amounting almost to agony. But I am constrained to listen to the voice of duty. I am called to the Rectorship of St. John's Church, Santa Cruz, W. I., a parish comprehending fifteen hundred communicants and several thousand souls. The opportunities for usefulness it offers must be very great. All who have a right to advise me, urge me to accept the invitation on the ground of my personal fitness for the field. Thus influenced, I offer you my resignation. To yourselves personally, gentlemen, I acknowledge myself indebted for many acts of kindness. REV. RICHARD COX. lOI Not the least have been a cordial and harmonious co- operation in all I have attempted to do for our Parish, and a liberal estimate of my efforts to make full proof of my ministry. Praying for your individual, temporal, and spiri- tual prosperity, and for the best and holiest success of Zion Church and its people, I am " Affectionately yours in Christian Bonds, (Signed) " Richard Cox." The Vestry in accepting the resignation of their Rector passed the following preamble and resolutions. "Whereas, The Rev. Richard Cox, Rector of this Church, has informed this Vestry that having been called to the Rectorship of St. John's Church, Santa Cruz, W. I., he has been influenced by the great opportunity for usefulness thus offered, to accept the same and consequently tenders the Vestry his resignation. " Resolved, That though the separation is painful it does not become us to interpose an obstacle to his assuming the charge of a parish comprehending fifteen hundred com- municants and several thousand souls and that therefore his resignation be accepted. ''Resolved, That we entertain a deep conviction of the talents and attainments of the Rev. Mr. Cox fitting him as they eminently do for usefulness and success in the pul- pit and other ministrations of a Parish, and of his very high order of executive ability directed by an earnest and dis- criminating zeal. I02 ZION CHURCH. ''Resolved, That it is to his laborious and self-denying services we are mainly indebted, under God, for the temporal and spiritual success with which our Parish has been favored. " Resolved, That we take pleasure in testifying that as dur- ing his Rectorship of more than thirteen years his labors have been abundant, so has his life uniformly been above reproach and consistent with his calling. " Resolved, That we hereby appropriate to the Rev. Mr. Cox, the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars in token of the gratitude and affection we owe him, and we assure him that notwithstanding his removal to a distant Church we shall continue to hold ourselves united to him in the bonds of Christian fellowship and affection." We have already spoken of the kindness of the old Lutheran trustees toward their first pastor, the Rev. Mr. Strebeck, in offering him as a mark of their esteem the occupancy of the parsonage for a year after his resignation. We have just recorded another striking example of Chris- tian liberality. These incidents we record with pleasure. The Rev. Mr. Cox devoted himself to the work in his new field with the most untiring zeal. At her altars he stood until complete physical prostration absolutely compelled him to return to his native clime. But he came home to languish and die. His earthly work was done. Al- though desirous to live for the sake of the good work to which he had devoted himself, he submitted in hum- REV. RICHARD COX. 1 03 ble resignation to the will of God. During a long and painful illness, he waited in patience for the end, unap- palled at the steady approach of death. And when the last conflict came, he departed in peace, having " The confidence of a certain faith and in the comfort of a rea- sonable religious and holy hope." He entered into rest on Sunday, December 16, i860, in the 53d year of his age and the 25th of his ministry. The last official act of the Rev. Mr. Cox was the baptising of an infant in Zion Church, October 19th, i860. His funeral took place at Zion Church, December i8th. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Potter, the Rev. Wm. E. Eigen- brodt, the Rev. P. T. Babbitt, the Rev. I. A. Williams, and the Rector, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Southgate, took part in the services. The burial was in Trinity Cemetery. The Vestry, upon the death of their former Rector, passed the following preambles and resolutions : " Whereas it has pleased the Lord and Giver of Life to remove from this world by death, the Rev. Richard Cox, who for nearly fourteen years prior to June 1859 was the Rector of this Church, and to whose influence and exer- tion under Providence the Parish is chiefly indebted for our present beautiful Church Edifice, long to remain, we trust, a monument of his industry and faithfulness. " And whereas, it is most fitting and proper that an ex- pression of the sense of this Vestry in reference to one whose decease in the midst of his usefulness was hastened, there is 104 Z/OA^ CHURCH. every reason to believe, by his earnest and untiring devotion to the interests of the Church, therefore " Resolved, That in the death of the Rev. Richard Cox the Church has lost one of her most sincere, active and in- defatigable ministers, who from the time of his entrance upon the duties of his sacred calling until his decease was constantly laboring in sickness as well as health, to dis- seminate and extend the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and to promote the prosperity of his Holy Church. " Resolved, That the Rector and two other members of this body to be selected by him, be a committee to cause to be erected at the expense of this Vestry on one of the walls in the interior of the Church a monumental tablet with a suitable inscription commemorative of the clerical life and labors of the Rev. Richard Cox." The mural tablet thus ordered was placed over the door entering the Vestry Room, and is inscribed as follows : IN MEMORY OF THE REV. RICHARD COX, FOURTEEN YEARS RECTOR OF ZION CHURCH. BORN DECEMBER 17th, 1808. DIED DECEMBER 16th, 1860. THIS CHURCH BUILT BY HIS SKILL AND ENERGY IS THE NOBLEST MONUMENT OF HIS MINISTRY. ERECTED BY THE VESTRY. IRt. TRcv. iboratio Soutbgate, 2).2>, RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D., THE FIFTH RECTOR. BISHOP SOUTHGATE, was elected Rector August 5, 1859, and entered upon the rectorate September 1st. Another bright prospect awaited this parish under the ministrations of its distinguished head. Bishop Southgate was born July 5, 1812, in the city of Portland, Maine, graduated at Bowdoin College, Brunswick, in 1832, then studied in the Theological Seminary of the Congregationalists, in Andover, Massachusetts. In 1834 he was confirmed in St. Peter's Church, Boston, by Bishop Griswold, and admitted to Holy Orders July 12th of the following year, in Trinity Church, Boston, by the same Bishop. Shortly afterwards he was appointed by the foreign committee of the Board of Missions to make an investiga- tion of the state of Mohammedanism in Persia and Turkey. On that duty he sailed from New York, April 24, 1836, and was occupied some time in this field of research. Upon his return to the United States, December 30, 1838, he was advanced to the priesthood October 3, 1839, i" St. Paul's Chapel, New York, by Bishop Benjamin T. Onderdonk. In May of the following year, he again sailed for the Orient, 105 I06 ZION CHURCH. arriving at Constantinople during August. After a tour through Mesopotamia, he left for America May, 1844. The Episcopal Church having resolved to send bishops into the foreign missionary field, the Rev. Mr. Southgate was appointed by the General Convention as Missionary Bishop for the dominions and dependencies of the Sultan of Turkey, and was consecrated in St. Peter's Church, Phila- delphia, October 26, 1844. In 1845, he again took his de- parture for Constantinople, where he continued his Episcopal labors without intermission until 1849, when he returned to the United States. Bishop Southgate received the degree of S. T. D. from Columbia in 1845, and the same from Trinity College in 1846. At the first Convention of California held in Trinity Church, San Francisco, July 24, 1850, he was elected bishop by the concurrent vote of the clergy and laity. He, however, declined the invitation. On September 20, 1850, while at Portland, Maine, the Bishop addressed the following letter : " To THE House of Bishops of the Protestant Episco- pal Church in the United States of America. " Rev. Fathers in God : " It has become my duty to inform you of a purpose to which the Providence of God has led me, and which involves a necessity for your deliberation and decision. It has pleased Almighty God to visit me with a sore bereavement, which, in addition to the affliction attending it, renders it RT. REV. HORATJO SOUTHGATE, D.D. \OJ impracticable, in my view and in the judgment of my nearest friends, that I should return to my field of labor in Turkey. I am left with five young children, entirely de- pendent upon me and requiring my paternal care. I can neither take them with me to Turkey, nor leave them here under such superintendence as would justify me in resigning my parental charge. It seems to me therefore, my duty, after careful inquiry and consultations with relatives and others most interested and most able to advise me in such a matter, to abandon the hope, until recently cherished, of returning to Constantinople. " This being settled, the next step seems to me plain and simple. As I cannot exercise the office which the Church has conferred upon me, the only upright and honorable course appears to be to resign it. I was elected to the Episcopate to serve the Church in Turkey. My consecra- tion was in view of this object. I hold my Missionary Bishopric in that country for no other purpose. Having then, in the all wise Providence of God, been prevented from continuing in the exercise of the office and having no sure prospect of ever resuming it, I deem it my duty to resign it. This is the course which commends itself to my judgment and my feelings. Though the question might easily be embarrassed by private and personal considerations, and though I feel most painfully the act which cuts me off from all connexion with a work in which some of the best years of my life have been employed, and which has still my warmest interest, the decision which I have adopted I08 ZION CHURCH. appears to me alike honorable and just, and in this view alone have I chosen it — leaving all doubtful and perplexing ques- tions to the wisdom of Him who has placed me in the position in which I am called thus to act. " I do, therefore, present to you my resignation of the office of Missionary Bishop in or at the Dominions and De- pendencies of the Sultan of Turkey, to which I was elected by joint vote of the House of Bishops and the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies in the General Convention of 1844, and I respectfully ask you, Reverend Fathers, if so in your judgment it seems best, that this my resignation be accepted. " Horatio Southgate." His resignation was accepted by the General Convention on October 12th. Bishop Southgate resumed the duties of a presbyter, and during the following year organized in his native place the parish of St. Luke's, which has since become one of the strongest and most flourishing churches in that diocese, and is now the cathedral church of the diocese. In 1852 he was called to the Church of the Advent, Boston, as the successor of the lamented Dr. Croswell. He held this cure for nearly seven years, approving himself as a discreet and faithful pastor, and a bold and able defender of church prin- ciples. Among his chief labors in this parish was the con- troversy which he found pending between the Bishop of that diocese (the Rt. Rev. Manton Eastburn) and the RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. I09 Church of the Advent (which was printed in Boston, 1856). Through his determined efforts, and upon a memorial from the Church of the Advent approved by the entire deputa- tion of that diocese, the General Convention of 1856 adopted a revision of the canon relating to Episcopal visita- tions. When the Bishop of Massachusetts returned from the close of its sittings to his diocese, he, with a prompt- ness that did him credit, at once assigned a day for admin- istering confirmation in the Church of the Advent. On the third Sunday in Advent sixty-three candidates were confirmed ; thus ended a conflict of eleven years in peace, joy, and gratitude. In 1858 Bishop Southgate resigned the rectorship. In the autumn of 1859 ^^ assumed the rectorate of Zion Church. His chief publications are : Narrative of a Tour through Armenia, Kurdistan, Persia, and Mesopotamia (2 vols.. New York, 1840) ; Narrative of a Visit to the Syrian Church of Mesopotamia (1844); Parochial Sermons (1859); ^^^^ War in the East (1856). This volume is a masterly review of the questions involved in the Russian and Turkish war, defen- sive of the position of the former power. It was extensively circulated in this country and in Europe, and quoted in Parliament by Earl Gray as unanswerable. He also pub- lished Practical Directions for the Observance of Lent (1850); The Cross Above the Crescent, a Romance of Constajitinople (Philadelphia, 1877). He has also contributed freely to the religious reviews and journals. He speaks the Turkish, no ZION CHURCH. German, Italian, and French languages, besides being a classical and Hebrew scholar. His Oriental mission was everywhere appreciated ; he strengthened the bonds of true Christianity, which is uni- versal brotherhood. Bishop Southgate has since 1887 been the senior bishop in order of consecration (1844) i" the Anglican communion throughout the world. The Rt. Rev. incumbent commenced his labors in Zion on Sunday morning, September 4th, by ofificiating to a crowded church, and administering the Holy Communion to a large number of communicants. The Rev. Prof. Hackley, of Columbia College, read as far as the Creed, and the Rev. Dr. Price the concluding prayers. The Rev. Mr. Harriman, agent of the Church Book Society, was also present in the chancel. Bishop Southgate read the Ante Communion, the Rev. Mr. Capron, Rector of Grace Church, Quincy, Illinois, reading the Epistle. Those present who had familiarized themselves with the circumstances attend- ing the origin of St. Stephen's Church, to which we have elsewhere alluded in this history, could not fail to appreciate the peculiar propriety and deeply interesting character of the participation of the Rev. Dr. Price, the able, devoted, and energetic Rector of that parish, in the services of this interesting occasion. The sermon was preached by Bishop Southgate from a portion of the Epistle for the day : " By the grace of God I am what I am . . . not I, but the grace of God which was with me." i Cor., xv. : 10. It was an able discourse RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. Ill on the ministry of the church : the source of its commission, the nature of its work, its duties, trials, and responsibilities, and its chief dependence for success upon the grace of God, blessing the faithful discharge of ministerial labor. The Rt. Rev. preacher showed that the Apostle had reference here to the ministry, from which it appears that the ministry and its results are by the grace of God; that the object of the Apostolic Succession is to connect the office with the original gift of God ; that the Divine gift which is thus con- veyed must be used by the minister with entire dependence upon God for the issues of his ministry ; with an habitual feeling of his own unworthiness of being called to a work so closely connected with the Deity, and with a spirit free alike from vanity and discontent, since the work and its results are not his own. He then proceeded to mention some conditions of God's blessing, particularizing especially fidelity and devotedness on the part of the minis- ter, and a faithful reception of the means of grace on the part of the laity. Under this last head, he exhorted his own congregation to rely upon the means of grace as being of Divine appointment, to depend upon the office of the minis- ter rather than upon the individual man, and to remember that as God alone can give the increase. His blessing is to be expected only upon a faithful, punctual, and prayerful reception of His ordinances. The sermon concluded with a hopeful picture of the future of the parish under the fulfil- ment of this double condition of the united fidelity of Rector and people. 112 ZION CHURCH. We extract the following from the first parochial report of Bishop Southgate to the Diocesan Convention : " The Rector cannot conclude his report without bearing a cheerful and cordial testimony to the great value of the labors of his predecessor, the Rev. Richard Cox. Able and energetic, he strengthened the foundation of the Parish by the erection of a Church, which, built chiefly through his perseverance, skill, and extraordinary business talent, will remain to future generations a monument (and who could desire a better) of his industry and faithfulness. The financial competency of the Parish is largely his work. And the general regard which the old parishioners retain for him shows that he combined with executive ability the higher fidelity of a spiritual pastor." When Bishop Southgate assumed the rectorship, the uninhabited region in which his predecessor patiently toiled was marvellously transformed, being almost covered with elegant and costly brown-stone dwellings. These were mostly occupied by their owners, many of whom became attached to the parish and remained connected therewith for many years. The Rector's well-known powers and scholarly attainments eminently qualified him as an able expounder of the Church's doctrines, and soon attracted a large and permanent congregation, chiefiy composed of churchmen, intelligent, cultivated, and of ample worldly means. On Sunday, April 7, 1861, the Rector preached a parish sermon giving a statistical review of what had been accom- RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTIiGATE, D.D. 1 13 plished since he had taken charge of the parish, a period of about nineteen months. The sermon opened with an ex- tended and beautiful analysis of the parochial system, and the mode in which it may be made to supply all the church's wants. Special emphasis was laid upon the fact that in this parish the charities were conducted without societies, the chief agents being persons appointed by the Rector himself to aid in their several departments. The Parish Register shows : Baptized, 71 ; confirmations, 71 ; communicants, 220. Parishioners, 600, — about 360 of whom had come into the parish since he became Rector. The Rt. Rev. Rector resumed the subject the following Sunday, with special reference to the missionary work in which this parish had so zealously engaged during the past year. In the summer of i860 a missionary was employed to explore that part of the city lying between and including Thirty-eighth and Forty-seventh Streets on the East River. The result of this exploration, which was very thorough, was the discovery of eighty-nine Church families numbering five hundred souls, of whom about half were adults, living wholly without the means of grace. Besides these there were seventy-four families (about 450 souls) unconnected with any denomination, but willing to join the church, and forty- five families formerly belonging to some denomination, but now without a place of worship of their own, and not likely to have one. These were chiefly Lutherans, and it was peculiarly appropriate that Zion, once a Lutheran society. 114 Z/OA^ CHURCH. should take charge of them. But in the whole district it was impossible to rent a room suitable for a Sunday-school or for public service. In this dilemma it was thought best to unite our efforts with the Church of the Atonement, then occupying a large room on the second floor of Second Avenue, northeast corner of Thirty-third Street. This church had its own parochial organization under the rectorship of the Rev. Matthias E. Willing and was doing an admirable work, though it sadly wanted qualified teachers for its rapidly increasing Sunday-school. Since its organization this parish had been chiefly maintained by the zeal of a single layman. On Palm Sunday, 1861, the object was formally presented to the congregation of Zion, and $1440 was given on the spot for the support of this missionary work for the year. The Rector assured his people that it was one of the dearest consolations they could give him, to know that though Zion was, and he presumed was destined to remain, a pew church, she yet entirely supported another church in a section where it was so greatly needed. The first anniversary of the Church of the Atonement was held on the afternoon of the same day (Palm Sunday). The statistics are as follows: Baptisms, 60; confirmed, 31; communicants, 100 ; parishioners, 400. The further growth of this work must necessarily be retarded until more ample and eligible accommodation could be obtained. We here copy a sermon preached in Zion Church, May 5, 1 861, by the Rector: RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 1 15 " Subjection to the powers that be : a Christian duty." This sermon attracted so much attention that its publica- tion was requested. It was delivered soon after the first gun was fired upon Fort Sumter, garrisoned by United States troops. Upon its surrender, April 13th, President Lincoln instantly called for 75,000 militiamen, for three months' service. SERMON. Romans, XIII., i, 2. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. These words lead us, naturally, to consider the duty of the Christian to those who are over him in civil authority. That they afford a fitting theme for the teaching of the pulpit, is evident from the fact that they are themselves a part of the instruction given by an Apostle to Christians under his spiritual oversight. It is, also, evident from the fact that Christians have duties to civil government as Christians. Their holy religion teaches them how to apply its principles to the various relations in which they stand in life, and, among others, to the relation which they hold towards the civil power; and, inasmuch as it is the duty and the office of the ministers of the Church to set forth the obligations of Christians, in all their different aspects and applications (at least, so far as the word of God teaches them), so, as that word does plainly teach how the Christian Il6 ZION CHURCH. is to behave himself towards those who are in authority over him, the ministers of the Church, at the present day, can hardly be excused from giving the same instruction. You will see at once the difference between such teach- ing and what is commonly called " political preaching." This involves no discussion of political theories or particu- lar acts of governmental policy. It simply lays down the rule of the permanent, abiding, and regular duty of the Chris- tian to civil authority ; as it does that of the child to the parent, the wife to the husband, the servant to the master, &c. The function of the minister, in enforcing it, is limited by the terms of Scripture. He cannot, rightfully, go be- yond the Word of the Lord to say less or more. And, if he keeps himself within that limit, there is no danger of his verging into the forbidden field of temporary or local politics. The duty which he enjoins is one which, once declared by the word of God, is the same, in all ages, under all forms of government, and in every condition of civil action and polity. It is a permanent duty, towards a permanent institution, without regard to the formal changes which that institution may undergo in different ages and in different countries. This leads me to my first remark in the discussion of our present subject. The Bible does not indulge in theories of civil government. It assumes civil government as an exist- ing fact, and says that it has divine sanction and ordina- tion. " The powers that be," the powers which actually are, " are ordained of God." It does not allow the Christian HT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. WJ to look beyond. His duty to civil government is, in its performance, to be rendered to the government under which he lives. He is not at liberty to consider whether it is a government that pleases him, in its form or manner of action. As a Christian, he has a duty towards civil government ; and that duty is practically to be fulfilled towards the government under which, in the providence of God, he finds himself placed. " The powers that be are ordained of God." The exist- ing government is ordained of God. It is not necessary to suppose that every form of government which may exist is directly created, or positively sanctioned, by God. It may have been established by wrong, by fraud, by unholy vio- lence. We must remember the purport and object of the argument which the Apostle is using. Christians, as Chris- tians, have, among their duties, one to civil government. The government which exists, is the one towards which that duty is to be performed. It is the one appointed by God for that purpose. The Christian finds it ordained for him by the providence of God. This is enough. He is not to search into theories of right. He is not to investigate the character of its origin. There is hardly a government on earth that can show a perfectly pure birth. His concern is, or should be, to do his duty as a Christian to the civil power. The duty is to be performed to the power that is. That power is the one for him ordained by God, as the authority towards which, in practice, his obligation to civil government is to be fulfilled. The Il8 ZION CHURCH. powers that be are the powers which God would have you obey, the powers which His providence, by setting them over you, has ordained for your obedience. This is the clear teaching of the passage from which my text is taken ; and wherever, in other parts of Holy Scripture, the duty of the Christian to civil government is enjoined, it is in a sense congruous with this. The difficulties which this interpreta- tion of Christian obligation in the premises suggests, at least to an American mind, will have due notice bye-and-bye. The government that is, is, then, the government towards which the Christian's duty to civil authority is to be per- formed. The question arises, What is that duty ? What is the exact and appropriate obligation of the Christian to civil government ? Each specific relation has its specific duty. The parent to the child, the child to the parent, the master to the servant, the servant to the master, we all know by heart from the word of God, what each one of these several relations requires of the Christian. The question now is, What specific act, or acts, does the same word demand of him, in his relation to civil authority? The Bible is as clear on this point as it is with regard to the other relations just alluded to. How is the Christian's duty to civil government to be performed? You will understand the theory of the Chris- tian religion. The Christian has but one Master, even Christ ; that is to say, He only is the supreme and absolute Master of the Christian. His obligation to inferior govern- ments, therefore, is only that which is required or sanctioned RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. II9 by the Law of Christ ; and it is an obligation on that ac- count. The act of confessing Christ is the acknowledg- ment of Him as one's only King. It is, therefore, the renun- ciation of all other authority as supreme. Christ's is a real Kingdom, and He is a real King. The Christian has no other monarch or ruler, except as subordinate to Christ, and as claiming allegiance in conformity with Christ's law. Whatever, therefore, is rendered to any other authority is rendered, not to that authority in itself, as independent and supreme, but it is rendered to Christ, through that authority. This is the simple, clear, and complete theory of the Christian's action, in every human relation. Now, Christ requires, by the mouth of His Holy Apostle (and His own teaching and practice as a man, in the days of His humiliation, before God exalted Him, and gave Him a name which is above every name — the name, to wit, " King of Kings and Lord of Lords," were conformed to the same rule), Christ, I say, requires, towards the powers that be, the civil authority under which the Christian finds himself living, the practice of subjection. This is the one duty which belongs to the civil relation, just as much as obedience belongs to the child, or to the servant. It is the specific obligation which fulfils the Christian's duty to civil government. No words can be plainer than those of St. Paul. " Let every soul," every individual person, "be sub- ject unto the higher powers," the civil powers which are over him in this world. The reason for this subjection we have already stated. Those powers are of God. They are, I20 ZION CHURCH. providentially, ordained by Him. They are a recognized government, subordinate to Christ's universal dominion ; for He alone, of men (and He is still man), has "a// power." He, then, the Apostle continues, who resists those powers, refuses or discards subjection to them, resists the ordinance of God. His crime goes beyond his mere human relation. It terminates on God. It is rebellion towards God. The consequence is the necessary result of crime towards God. " They that resist," the individuals (for this is a matter of individual obligation), " shall receive to themselves damnation." It is a mortal sin, because it is rebellion towards God ; and it is in this sense that we pray in the Litany : " From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion, good Lord, deliver us." It is not, primarily and mainly, that we be delivered from such acts and their fearful consequences, as perpetrated by others. The petition is, chiefly and firstly, that we may not be guilty of them ourselves ; as being acts which must bring upon us condem- nation from God. A further question here arises ; a delicate question, because the answer to it may run counter to some of the popular notions and prejudices which the abuse of our peculiar civil polity has engendered widely in the American mind. I beg you, as I enter upon the discussion of this question, to give me credit for a sincere desire to keep my teach- ing within the limits of God's word, and also to understand that I am not dealing with any political theories, of human origin, but simply, as is my office here, laying down and RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 121 explaining the lines of Christian duty, as they are revealed in Scripture ; and that I am doing it now, on this parti- cular topic, because while it is a clear obligation of my ministry to instruct you upon the subject, there is a pe- culiar necessity that you should, at this time, be tho- roughly grounded in your duty as Christian citizens, so that your practice may the more readily and surely be conformed to your obligation. The question which I have in mind, and which I can imagine has already sprung up in many of your minds, is this : What are the limits of this required subjection to the powers that be ? Is any and all resistance, at all times, and under all circumstances, unlawful, so that it can never be anything else than rebellion against God, bringing the indi- vidual guilty of it into condemnation from Him ? To answer this question sufiSciently, I must call your attention to a general truth connected with the divine pre- cepts, and then apply it to the case in hand. God gives commands in His holy word, and threatens the violation of them with punishment. But, He does not say what shall become of those exceptional instances in which violation has some extraordinary excuse. These are reserved in His own power, and His own secret right of judgment. Let me illustrate by cases. Every one is required to be baptized ; and the Scripture saith, " Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Suppose the case of an infant, dying unbaptized. He has not been born of water and of the Spirit. The law declares. 122 ZION CHURCH. he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But, he has an extraordinary apology for the omission of baptism. It is not his own fault that he was not baptized. Still, there stands the law, " Except one be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." We may think, there is an exception to be made, in favor of the unbaptized infant ; and, possibly, we are correct in so think- ing. But, who authorizes any such exception ? Not God. He nowhere says, a case may occur, in which a person dying unbaptized can be saved. Perhaps he can be, when, as is true of the infant so dying, there is some extraordinary ex- cuse for the non-baptism. I am myself inclined to think this of the infant, although such seems not to have been the general opinion of the Fathers. But, I think so on other grounds than any revealed declaration on the subject — for there is no such declaration — and my thinking so is a mere opinion of my own. It is not an article of faith ; and my brother may, if he pleases, think differently, and I have no right to condemn him for his opinion. Take another case. The commandment of God requires that children obey their parents, and the maledictions against undutiful children are many and vigorous in the word of God. Yet, we can conceive of an instance in which there is a singularly strong and controlling reason for filial disobedience — that is, for violating this command — a command which, in one place is expressed in the broadest and most sweeping terms : " Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well- pleasing unto the Lord." (Col. iii., 2o). But, does the word RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 123 of God warrant any such exception? Not at all. It does not follow, from such want of revealed exception, that no exceptional case can arise, or that, in such case, God may not excuse an act of disobedience. All that I would afifirm is, that God does not declare or provide for such exceptional cases, if they exist. He gives us the command, the promise of reward, if we keep it, the threat of punishment, if we break it, — and this is all. What, then, are we to say of exceptional cases, supposing that they may exist? We can say, only, that they are in the secret keeping of God. He reserves them wholly to Himself; and most fitly. Our business is with the command — our duty is to obey it. It would be self-degrading in the Law-Giver, it would be derogatory to the law, were He to say, " I give you this command, but you are at liberty to understand, that, in such and such cases, and, in fine, in all instances when you consciously think it right, you may vio- late it." This were to destroy the law, by the authorized exceptions. No ! He gives the law. He makes no excep- tion to the duty of obedience. If we make one, we must answer to Him for it. He may excuse it — He may justify it — He may even, in some cases, find, in the exception, a higher and truer obedience to Him ; but, when we make the exception, we do it with the risk of condemnation, if, at the last, the exception be found untenable. Now, in this matter of subjection to civil authority, I conceive that it stands upon precisely the same ground with all the other commands of the Gospel. You will 124 ZION CHURCH. remember, it is, like them, a matter of individual obligation. " Let every soul (each person) be subject unto the higher powers." Every person must answer for himself, as to his obedience or disobedience of this, as of every other com- mand. His responsibility cannot be merged in that of the community. The obligation of the community is merely the aggregate of the obligation of the individuals who com- pose it. The command is to the individual man ; and it is worthy of remark, that St. Paul, as if conscious of the par- ticular necessity, in this instance, of impressing that idea, uses the singular person ; thus addressing, as it were, sepa- rately, each one to whom he wrote, or who might thereafter read his epistle. " Let every ?,o\x\ : " " Whosoever resisteth : " " Wilt thozi not be afraid of the power ? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same," &c. In fine, it is a religious duty of each and every person to be in sub- jection to the civil authority. It is a duty, as it is the duty of the child to obey his parent, as it is the duty of every one to be baptized, as it is the duty of every one not to steal or kill. It is, simply, one of our obligations to God. Now, then, I conceive, that exceptions, in this case, stand precisely where exceptions in the other cases supposed stand. It is the duty of every person to be subject to the civil authority which is actually over him. God has revealed no exceptions to this law. If any one makes an exception, he does it on his own responsibility ; and every man must answer for his own act. If he can make his exception avail- able before God in judgment, well. If not, he receives to RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 1 25 himself damnation for resisting the power, as he would if he had violated any other command of God. > " But, do you not, then," it may be asked " destroy the sacred right of revolution ? " To this I answer, first, I am not preaching to you a political sermon. I am simply de- claring to you, according to my office, the law and will of God. Secondly, I answer, According to that law, there is no sacred right of revolution. If there be a right (which I need not deny), it is not a sacred x\^\., in such sense as that it has, in any particular case, the positive revealed sanction of God. When it is right, it is a formal violation of God's law, with an excuse which He will admit ; and the answer must be made to Him by each separate individual who resists the power, though the revolution is the result of the combined actions of many. You may say, I am making revolution a much more riskful business than it is commonly among us supposed to be. I tell you, / am not making it one thing or another. I am simply teaching you the plain word of God. How it may affect any theories of conduct which you may have outside of that word is no concern of mine. I am setting before you a moral and religious, not a mere human political, duty. I am setting it before you just as I might set before you the duty not to steal. Mutatis mutandis, all that I have said applies equally to any other command of God. With regard to those great events of past ages in which subjects have risen against their rulers, each is to have its separate judgment ; and that judgment I am 126 ZION CHURCH. not now called upon to give. Perhaps if I were asked to give it, some I should justify, and others I should con- demn. But, in every case, I must say, it was a departure from the divine law, justified, when justifiable, by a higher obligation to the Author of that law ; for, it is evident, that to make an exception to a law of God can be vindi- cated only as a duty to Him. All those who have acted in the great scenes of past revolutions, have made such exceptions. To their own Master they stand or fall. I have no call to judge them here. My only duty, so far as the application of principles is concerned, is to the case in hand ; for there we have a duty of our own to perform. To that I shall come before I close, giving my opinion, but leaving your judgment equally free with mine. With re- gard to the past, let me add, that each actor in those scenes was a separate agent, and individually responsible ; and individual obligation is not to be merged in general action, for this relates to moral duty, where each one has his own answer to give to his Judge. This rule is applicable to ourselves at the present time. That there has been, in former days, conscientious resistance to lawful authority, that such resistance has been urged under a sense of religious obli- gation, we cannot doubt. Who, for example, could doubt it of Washington ? Such action we must respect ; but the re- sponsibility is with the agents, and their account is with God. There is one contingency in which it is clear that resist- ance to the powers that be is not only right, but of superior obligation. If the civil government should command any- RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 12/ thing contrary to the law of God (as when the King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image, and decreed that every man should fall down and worship it ; or as when King Darius forbade prayer to any god or man, for the space of thirty days, save to himself; or as when the Roman Emperor Maximian required the Christians in his army to sacrifice to the pagan gods), in every such case, there can be no just question that it is the duty of the Christian to decline obedience. And the reason for such refusal is manifest. Christians obey the civil government under the command of God. Allegiance, therefore, if we carry it back to its source, is, as we have before declared, based upon subjection to Deity. But Deity cannot have required an allegiance which violates His own laws. In such case, the reply of the Christian must be like that of St. Peter and St. John to the Council, when they were commanded not to teach in the name of Jesus: " Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." (Acts iv., 19.) The principle and ground of such refusal are well stated by Tatian, one of the early Christian apologists: "If the Emperor order me to pay tribute, I am ready to do it. If my Lord com- mand me to serve and obey him, I confess my obligation to do so. Man is to be served with that respect which is due to man : but God only, the Invisible and Incompre- hensible, is to be rehgiously feared and honored.' If com- ' The allusion here is to the requisition which the Christians had frequently to encounter, that they should render unto the Emperor Divine honor. 128 ZION CHURCH. manded to deny Him, I must disobey, and die rather than be found disloyal and ungrateful to Him." {Orat. cont. Graecos.) This was uniformly the position of the early Christians, against such demands of government as contra- vened their fidelity to God. While they were most ex- emplary in their subjection to the civil authority, even when it was a pagan power, and most exact and scrupulous in the performance of every lawful obligation, they utterly refused to acknowledge the Emperors as gods, or to observe idolatrous festivals, or to offer heathen sacrifices. There is little danger, perhaps, in these days, that our loyalty to God will be put to such a test as this. There is more danger that violations of God's law will be sanctioned by civil authority than that they will be required of the individual citizen. The allowance of divorce for other than the solitary reason warranted by Holy Scripture, the enact- ment of a lower penalty than death for murder, in con- trariety to the express statute of Deity, permission to break the Sabbath, the day of rest consecrated by God from the foundation of the world, all these, and such as these, may be sanctioned by civil government ; and civil government, by so doing, may bring upon itself such punishments as we are now suffering; since, by these viola- tions of the law of God, it is itself resisting the highest Power — the Power from which it derives its own surest guarantee. But all this falls short of an injunction upon the citizen to violate that law himself ; and, therefore, is no just ground for rebellion. RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 1 29 Beyond this, aside from the case just supposed, in which government attempts to enforce disobedience to Deity, I do not see that a universal rule can be laid down. I am not prepared to say, that in no other case is a man at liberty to resist the civil authority. But I am prepared to say, it must be a very clear case which can justify a man in making exceptions to a law of God which makes none for itself. It appears to me, however, that it must be left to the indi- vidual conscience. But several considerations bearing upon the point may be gleaned from Holy Scripture. First, our Saviour enjoined the payment of tribute to Caesar, although his authority over the Jews was that of a conqueror, his rule was, to them, a foreign domination. Yet he was to them the existing civil authority ; and this is the sacred definition of the power to which allegiance is due. Secondly, St. Paul, in the epistle from which our text is taken, was writing to the Christians in Rome ; and they were, at that time, chiefly, Jews. Yet he enjoins, in the strong terms which you have heard, subjection to the powers that be. It is worth while to add, that those powers were then heathen and anti-Christian, and that the Emperor at that time sitting upon the throne was none other than the cruel, the de- bauched, the infamous Nero ; for whom the greatest charity can invent no better apology than that he was a madman. He was a bitter enemy of the Christians ; he was personally most unworthy to reign ; he was a heathen ; and his do minion was to the Jews a foreign one. Yet, under such a rule, St. Paul declares, " The powers that be are ordained of I30 ZION CHURCH. God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God." Thirdly, St. Peter gives the direc- tion, " Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake ; whether it be to the king, as supreme (that is, among human rulers), or unto governors (authorities subor- dinate to the supreme power), as unto them that are sent by him." And in the case of oppression on account of religion, he enjoins that Christians rejoice, as partakers of Christ's suffering. He nowhere intimates a right to rebel, even in this aggravated case. And it is a significant com- ment on the Apostolic teaching, that, through all the bloody persecutions of the first three centuries after Christ, the disciples bore them patiently at the hands of their Emperors, and seem never to have thought them a sufficient pretext for overturning the general law of God. Fourthly, The whole genius of Christianity intimates that wrong should be suffered meekly and unresistingly from any authority or- dained by God. In what may be regarded as the lowest of such relations, that of the slave to his master, the instruc- tion of the Bible is, that he be, " subject to his master with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward," and that if he should do well and suffer for it, and take it patiently, it would be acceptable with God. Is it not a strong instance of the a fortiori argument to say, if so it is to be from the slave to his master, how much more from the master to the civil authority which is over him, since its rule is so much higher in dignity and importance than his, and such vast interests, it may be of millions, will be affected by its maintenance or its overthrow ? RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 1 31 But it would require more time than I have at command, to go through the whole array of teaching on the point of resistance to civil authority which might be inferred from the Bible. With a very brief application of the truths which I have now delivered, to the circumstances in which we find ourselves placed, I will conclude. That there is now a resistance to the powers that be, to the supreme authority of the land, no one, I presume, will dispute. It may be called " secession " ; it may be called " revolution " ; the name is of little importance. The question is. Is it a refusal to be subject to the powers that be ? If so, then it falls within the verge of the Apostle's doctrine ; and the only remaining question concerning it, is. Has it such justi- fication that it may rightly set aside the positive command of God? Each man must determine that question for him- self. For myself, I will say, that, in my judgment, the present uprising against the National Government is rebellion. I cannot remember, in history, a case which seems to me clearer than this. Those who are engaged in this resistance must show, not grievances suffered from a portion of their fellow-citizens, but wrongs from the government which they resist, of such a nature, so heinous, so outrageous, so dia- bolical, that they, undoubtedly, abrogate the law of God ; so grievous that the infinite evils, the unutterable calamities, that may ensue from resistance, ought to be risked, in addi- tion to revoking, for the time being, the divine law. If this cannot be shown (and it must be shown beyond reasonable doubt), then every person who has raised a parricidal hand against the civil authority is guilty of mortal sin before God, 132 ZION CHURCH. a sin which brings condemnation. The justification neces- sary cannot, in my opinion, be proved. Thousands may be involved who are innocent, who are merely yielding to the powers that be in submitting to this act of guilt. They can- not escape from it because the authority immediately over them forces their allegiance. This, unquestionably, is the position of thousands. Here, again, each one is responsible to his Master in Heaven, who will judge all rightly. As for otir own duty in the premises, unless we are pre- pared to say (and who of us is prepared to say ?) that our National Government has forfeited its divine right to our subjection, by acts so hideous as to set aside the law of God, our course of duty is as plain as the sun at noonday. It is, to obey " the powers that be," as " ordained of God." It is, to give them the support which they demand. It is, to declare ourselves faithful subjects of the authority set over us by the Lord, the Supreme Ruler of all. It is, to main- tain that authority to the utmost of our ability, in simple obedience, and with no distrust of consequences. If we may but do our duty in the fear of God, we can safely leave results to Him. There can be no middle course. Inaction is resistance, because the powers that be demand action, and it is our duty to obey, unless we can show a duty to God higher than His written law. It is, as now propounded, a simple question of religion. The flag upon our tower, which elsewhere might emblemize only the raging passions of men, or, at the best, display a carnal and temporal patriotism, is, where we have hung it out, a symbol of our allegiance to RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 1 33 Him to whose worship and glory this House is consecrated. It testifies that in this, as in other things, we wish, and we mean, to keep God's commands. It is, therefore, where we have placed it, a religious symbol ; and though one or two, I understand, have taken offence at it, as if it were z. political banner, I trust that what I have now said will suffice to show that it is linked with our very hopes of heaven ; since he who doeth the will of our Father who is in heaven, can alone expect to enter that blest abode, and His will is, that we be subject to, and resist not, the powers that be. The Flag at the base of our spire is, in our present condition, as truly an emblem of our religion as the Cross upon its summit. Therefore, it flies there with my full consent, and with the consent of the lay authorities of the Parish. Therefore, we gather under its folds, by the same title by which we assemble beneath the Banner of the Son of God. There- fore, we pray that it may float over the whole land, the sign of subjection, not alone to the power of man, but, chiefly and above all, to the supreme ordinance of the Most High. In the spring of 1861, the peal of bells, remarkable for purity of tone and harmony, was hung in the vacant belfry under the graceful spire. There is an episode that is somewhat interesting in this connection. In or about 1846, these bells were on board a sailing vessel, bound from New York to a southern port. The vessel was stranded, during a gale, shortly after the 134 ZION CHURCH. voyage began. The cargo was recovered and sold with the exception of the bells. By order of the master of the vessel these were stored in a warehouse, the lessee of which hap- pened to be, in 1861, a member of Zion parish. Upon hear- ing that the Vestry were about to purchase a peal of bells, he offered the use of these three bells until a lawful claimant appeared. They were recast with additional metal, and hoisted into the tower, where for thirty years they have given forth their clear and musical sound, under the skilful handling of Richard Steele, the assistant sexton since 1856. " One hastening to business in those days from the upper part of the city, about the third hour of the day, would hear bell after bell calling to prayer. Zion Church begins, and the low tone from Holy Innocents Chapel echoes back the call. The sound is lost in the distance, to be replaced by the triple chime of Trinity Chapel. The deep tone from the Church of the Holy Communion sounds on the wind to the Annunciation. If one turns aside to the right he may catch the sound of St. Luke's bell, and but for the swelling roar of business he might begin to catch from far down town Old Trinity's chiming summons to prayer." In 1863, the Rector's committee on "decorations and improvements," composed of Messrs. Joseph Sands, Gerard B. De Peyster, Thomas B. Peck, and Eugene Schiefinin, un- dertook extensive alterations. These embraced the con- struction of an organ chamber north of the chancel by enlarging arches on two sides, the purchasing of a new organ, and the building of a vestry-room south of the RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. I35 chancel connecting with the chapel or Sunday-school room. The desirableness of the proposed scheme, which transferred the organ to its proper place, thus relieving the large west window and gallery, and adding to the light and accommodation of the edifice, met not only with the ap- proval of the Vestry, but also with the very general and liberal response of the congregation. When the organ was removed from the gallery, seats were arranged there for the accommodation of the children of the Protestant Episcopal Orphans' Home and Asylum, who had hitherto occupied the seats in front of the pews. The parish had now reached a point in its progress when a more liberal development of policy was necessary to in- sure the continuance of its growth, and the increase of its strength. Thus far it had proceeded on what might be called an hereditary policy, a policy into which it naturally grew under the entirely different circumstances of its former position. The Rector concluded the before-mentioned exhortation to his Vestry by indicating where some of the principal de- ficiencies lay, and by saying that in his belief there was no congregation in the city which, as a body, surpassed that of Zion in cultivated intelligence. The Vestry was thus incited to action, which resulted in a considerable advance in the rent from pews. This sum supplied the means requisite for a decided improvement in the character of the church music, besides securing the services of a permanent, instead of an occasional assistant minister. 136 ZION CHURCH. During the following year, 1864, upon the solicitation of the Rector, the fee of the land opposite the church building, leased in 1856 to Henry Coggill, was offered for sale. The Rector, in a communication to the Vestry upon this subject, said : " For myself I shall be glad when the last cent of property outside of the church and its appendages is gone. We shall then rest where alone a parish can rest with safety, on our own zeal and energy." The selling of these five lots had the approval of the Hon. Murray Hoffman, and the consent of a majority of the corporators. Mr. Theodore Edgerton was the pur- chaser at $48,000. That site is now the residence of Mr. Theodore A. Havemeyer, who has extensively altered and enlarged the dwelling erected by Mr. Coggill. The pro- ceeds from this sale were applied toward the building of the rectory and the payment of the mortgage debt on the church. In October, 1866, Mr. Alfred W. Fraser was appointed sexton. He has always shown ability in the discharge of the varied and often trying duties of his office, which he held until the period of the union of this Parish with that of St. Timothy. The building of the rectory was not however commenced until 1867, by reason of the high price of labor and building material, incident to the premium on gold caused by the Civil War. Mr. Emlen T. Littell was chosen architect. The building, 25 X63 feet, is in architectural harmony with the church which it adjoins, and is built of graystone RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 1 37 resembling in color the rock used in the church building. The cost was about $25,000. It recedes from the front line about thirty-six feet, so as not to interfere with the light of the church. The interior arrangements are very comfortable, commodious, and cheerful ; the building is lighted on all four sides, has parlor, library, and dining-room on first floor, and seven bedrooms on second and third floors. It was furnished and ready for occupancy during the autumn of 1868. The sombre willows within the railing gave the church and rectory a very quaint appearance. In August, 1863, occurred the resignation of the Rev. Matthias E. Willing, Rector of the Church of the Atone- ment, which had been adopted as a mission chapel by Zion Church. The Vestry of the Church of the Atone- ment, in accepting the resignation, recognized the fact that all the funds necessary for the existence of the parish had been supplied by the parent church, and did not therefore think it expedient longer to retain the form of a parish. After conference with the Rector of Zion Church, an informal but practical dissolution took place. The mission was thenceforth known as Zion Chapel, thus giving it solidity and permanence. For the maintenance of this chapel annual offertories were made at the church, and were always adequate to its needs. The Rev. Mr. Willing was for many years thereafter identified with the New York City Mission Society. He died March 2, 1891, in his seventy-seventh year. The first curate appointed was the Rev. Albert U. Stan- 138 ZION CHURCH. ley, then recently ordained, who remained in charge labor- ing with great fidelity and success, until he resigned in May, 1864, to accept a call from a parish in Connecticut. The Rev. W. G. French, now the venerable patriarch of the New York City Mission Society, was in charge for about five months. He resigned in September of the same year. The Rev. John Boyle commenced his services soon after- wards under a temporary appointment. In May, 1865, he was chosen curate. During his curacy a large hall, on Third Avenue, between 38th and 39th Streets, was leased. This was known as Gethsemane Hall, and afforded much larger and more attractive accommodations. The Rev. James Murray became the curate in September, 1867, resigning January i, 1869. The Rev. James Murray's resignation was very reluc- tantly accepted by the Vestry, as he was highly esteemed and beloved by his people. He went to the charge of All Saints Memorial Church in the Highlands of New Jersey. There he toiled, as he toiled with us, in season and out of season, too arduously for his delicate and sensitive frame. When he could endure no longer, he came home to his father's house to die. A me- morial service was held in Zion Church Sunday evening, February 4, 1872, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Southgate preaching from the text, " Thy brother shall rise again." An extract from the sermon is here copied, as showing a character worthy of portrayal. " James Murray was a rare man, in several respects. In RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 139 intellect, he was superior to the common order of humanity. In mental culture, few men, of his age, surpassed him. In scholarship, he was precise and careful. His sermons, for one so young, were models of good writing; terse, clear, unambitious English. They were, as was his nature, unaffected, plain, direct, and sincere. " His heart was a loving heart, to those who knew him well. But, it took time to appreciate it ; for, he had no strong demonstration : show, of all kinds, was most alien to his spirit. " He was charitable, more than any other man I have ever known. He could not suspect or distrust. And, in conse- quence, he sometimes trusted to his injury. He was not made altogether for the world that is ; and, therefore, it may be the better that he is early taken away from it. A more simple, childlike spirit never lived. In a year and-a-half of most familiar intercourse, I never heard him say one hard word of any other. " And, this was the effect, not only of his charity, but of his modesty. For, he had none, absolutely none, of that self- assertion out of which suspicious thoughts and rough speeches most largely grow. He had, indeed, hardly enough of self in him, for his necessary protection, in such a world as ours. He suffered severely, in one period of his Ministry, because he would not defend himself against wrong. He always preferred to suffer, rather than to resent. And yet, he was delicate and sensitive, to the last degree: and his sensitiveness, working silently within him, helped to wear 140 ZION CHURCH. out his young life. He died because he was an exotic in an unfriendly clime ; a plant too tender to live. " As a workman, he could hardly be excelled. Wholly free from bluster and display, never advertising himself, never asking attention to his work, he was diligent, in season and out of season ; of slender frame, yet never wearied in well- doing; often going beyond his strength, never falling short of it ; performing the humblest toil most gladly, because no one saw him performing it. He entered into the smallest details of missionary work, when he was with us in Zion, with patient assiduity and with minute attention. " Always cheerful, always hopeful, he lingered in the thought that he might yet give himself to the life of a Missionary in the West. But, his Lord had a better thought for him. He called him to his reward ; too early for the Church, in our human seeming ; but, most gladly, (as his dying words confess), most gladly for himself. He was content to die ; and, at last, he wished to die ; believ- ing, as he surely did, that, by dying, he would be with his Saviour Christ, which would be far better. He died, as he had lived, in humble trust in Him Who was, in his eyes, the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. " He has gone away from us. But, the separation is not final. We shall see him again. He will not return to us, but, we shall go to him. We loved him well, when he was with us ; and, in that better world, we trust and believe, our old friendship for him will be renewed, under brighter auspices, and with purer souls. RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. I4I "Then will fully appear the uses of earth's discipline. And, I am sure, there is no one who knew and loved Murray here, who will not be glad to meet him again : no one who will not expect, out of his high gifts and culture, to see most precious fruits maturing, through Eternity, to the glory of God. For myself, I may say, that I have never known a man more worthy to be loved ; none whom I loved better ; none with whom I would more gladly walk in the golden street of the Celestial City." The Rev. Mr. Murray was succeeded by the Rev. J. Rad- cliffe Davenport, D.D., who, having volunteered his services without compensation, remained in charge for the year 1869, when, for reasons which will hereafter appear, Zion Chapel was discontinued. The large Sunday-school had, during the continuance of the chapel, the valuable services, as teachers, of several can- didates for the holy ministry who, while prosecuting their course of studies at the General Theological Seminary, usually attended the services of Zion Church. The rec- ords of the parish refer with gratitude to the efficient and faithful services of these and other co-workers, but especially to the ability and energy of Mr. George L. Jewett, who for many years was the Sunday-school superintendent. The fact was recognized that to him were due the marked growth and success of this important seminary of the church. During the brief period since Bishop Southgate became its Rector, Zion had developed into a strong and active parish, whose influence was constantly widening within a 142 ZION CHURCH. region that had become one of the wealthiest in the city, if not the most so. This promising condition of the field wherein Zion had for a decade successfully labored under less favorable and different circumstances, attracted other Epis- copal churches to enter within its parochial boundaries. The Church of the Incarnation, then in Madison Avenue corner 28th Street, secured a site only three blocks removed from Zion in the same avenue, and built a large church in 1864. Within the same year the Church of the Holy Trinity was organized, and erected its first edifice on the large plot of land in the same avenue, but four blocks northward of Zion Church. This was consecrated the fol- lowing year. These movements were projected without either the consent or knowledge of Zion Church, and with- out regard to its canonical rights. The inevitable consequence of this undue multiplication of churches soon appeared in the withdrawal from Zion of many parishioners to join one or the other of these new, large, and otherwise attractive churches. To overcome this tendency the Vestry felt constrained to employ methods more competitive than churchly in character. An organist and a quartette choir, conspicuous for rendering the most elaborate and ornate music in any Anglican church, were engaged. Their efforts proved successful in point of draw- ing audiences so large as to make awkward any ingress to one's pew. All the pews were rented, and there were numer- ous applicants for such as were surrendered. While it can- not be denied that the temporal interests of the parish were RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 143 thereby promoted, its spiritual welfare was, in the judgment of the Rector and many others, imperilled. These trying circumstances continued for two years, until 1868, when a change in the character of the music became a necessity. The Vestry on March 5th, by the casting vote of the Chair, resolved to place the appointment of an organist and choir where, by church ordinance, power over them belonged, and where by precedent in this parish it had (excepting the last engagement) always been placed. By virtue of this author- ity, the Rector concluded an arrangement for a vested choir of men and boys out of regard for, as he believed, the inter- ests of the parish, both spiritual and temporal. Upon the execution of this contract, a petition numer- ously signed by parishioners was received by the Vestry, wherein it was stated that the petitioners, " having learned that a change in the choir from a quartette to one of men and boys is contemplated, would respectfully request that the present style of music be continued." The contract having been executed prior thereto, was observed in- violate. This radical change (with all the then apprehen- sions of ritualistic practices) aroused much dissatisfaction among the admirers of the retiring choir, which feeUng culminated in a closely contested election for Wardens and Vestrymen, Easter Monday, April 15th, when seventy-six votes were received. The regular ticket having been elected, many families thereupon severed their connection with the parish, as if their relation thereto was no more than that of patrons. 144 ZION CHURCH. At this election some votes, chiefly of members of Zion Chapel, were challenged, and their legality was contested in the Supreme Court. The decision of the trial judge sus- tained the validity of the votes. Appeal was taken, and the decision was affirmed by the full bench. The Vestry, doubt- ing the equitable right of these votes, changed the legal status of the chapel in its relation to the parish church (Act April 23, 1867). The parish at this juncture suffering a loss of nearly half of its parishioners, and a corresponding falling off in its revenue, was compelled, after exhausting all other ways and means, to mortgage its church building and land to meet current expenses, and to discontinue Zion Chapel with its large Sunday-school, though the latter was endeared to many of the workers in the parish. We gratefully record the fact that not long afterward the Church of the Holy Trinity assumed the lease of Gethse- mane Hall in Third Avenue, and maintained a chapel and a flourishing Sunday-school, which was attended by many of the scholars from Zion Chapel. Thus the parish lingered between life and death until September, 1872, when the Rector tendered his resignation. In the letter announcing that decision several expedients to restore the parish were suggested by the Rector for the consideration of the Vestry. From among them we extract the following, as prophetic. The Rector dwelt at length upon the future welfare of the parish, recognizing its present condition as one justify- RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 145 ing much concern. " My belief is that Zion cannot rise under any regular system of administration without changing her location. The truth is that the region around us has become overcrowded with churches and the disproportion- ate increase still goes on. I believe that she soon will be compelled to do it. As population is advancing northward, here she can only keep up an existence of rivalry in a field which does not need her. I think such a course is unworthy of her and must soon terminate." To which communication the following reply was made : " To the Rt. Rev. Horatio Southgate, D.D., " Rt. Rev. and Dear Sir : " The Vestry in accepting your resignation to take effect on the first day of September next, cannot, without doing injustice to their feelings, and, to those of the parishioners they represent, permit your pastoral relations to terminate without an expression of sincere regret, and of testimony to your long and faithful pastorate. "Although there are few of the present members of your Vestry who were parishioners of Zion at the time you assumed the charge of the parish, still, there are amongst its members some who are not unmindful of the unpromis- ing condition of the work when you accepted the relations which it is now your purpose to sever. Beginning with a small nucleus, gradually under your faithful, persistent, and earnest effort, you gathered a united, consistent, and devoted 146 ZION CHURCH. flock, who thoroughly appreciated the worth of mind and character of the Pastor. " Thus Zion continued for many years increasing in power and usefulness under your untiring zeal, until within the field which she alone occupied, there were erected several large Churches, thus depleting her strength and diminishing her influence. " The consequent impoverished condition of the Parish has for some time past deeply exercised both yourself and Vestry, and has prompted you after mature reflection to tender your resignation. Under the circumstances we can well imagine and fully appreciate the conflict in your mind of your sense of duty to the parish. " The severance of the connection of Pastor and People cannot but awaken deep emotion, and naturally provokes a retrospect of the long, agreeable, and, may we not trust profitable, associations. Memory lingers upon our many official meetings, in which were always shown your unwaver- ing love and confidence for all that concerns our Zion, even amidst the threatening clouds which at times darkened her future. The same trustful spirit presided and pervaded our councils. " Of your sacerdotal relations, words from laymen, seem too feeble to approach even their consideration, when the subject of our thought is one elevated to the highest rank in the Master's service. Still we offer our feeble tribute, in the hope that poor as may be our words, they may convey RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. li^'J to you the assurance of our high esteem for you in all the relations associated with your office. " We can hardly express how highly we have valued the performance of all your ministration amongst us, your readi- ness of thought and expression, suitable to the clearness and excellency of the Holy Word, the earnestness and direct- ness which characterized your instructions and admonitions, the encouragement and effort with which you led Zion into missionary work, these and other thoughts which illumine our recollections of your Pastoral associations and intercourse, will we trust long be cherished by the members of Zion. " In anticipation of the period fixed by yourself for your withdrawal from us, we offer our earnest prayer that in your future labors in the Master's work you may have continued to you that measure of health and strength which has hitherto been vouchsafed to you." During the rectorate of Bishop Southgate he was assisted by the Rev. Edwin Benjamin Russell in 1865, Rev. Walton W. Battershall 1866-67, Rev. Robert Evans Dennison 1868, Rev. Edward Southgate 1870. An interval of one year elapsed before a successor to Bishop Southgate was elected. During that period services were regularly held by the Rev. William A. Holbrook and Rev. Curtis T. Woodruff. The latter always cherished pleasing recollections of his early association with this parish. There he was confirmed, married, ordained to Holy 148 ZION CHURCH. Orders, and preached his first sermon. He died February, 1887, his funeral taking place at Zion Church. Bishop Southgate lived for many years a very quiet and retired life at Astoria, Long Island, suffered more or less, was seldom able to attend church. He died April 12, 1894, in his eighty-second year. The funeral services were held at the Church of the Redeemer, Astoria, on Monday, April i6th, and were attended by a large number of the clergy and laity. The Right Rev. A. N. Littlejohn, D.D., LL.D., of Long Island, the Right Rev. Henry C. Potter, D.D., LL.D., of New York, the Right Rev. Leighton Coleman, S.T.D., LL.D., of Delaware, the Right Rev. Frederick Courtney, D.D., of Nova Scotia, the Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix, the Rev. Dr. Samuel M. Haskins, and the Rev. Dr. Edmund D. Cooper, Rector of the parish, occupied seats in the chancel. The other vested clergymen sat in the front pews on the north side of the nave ; among them were the Rev. Dr. Cornelius Duffie, the Rev. Dr. Henry Lubeck, the Rev. Joshua Kimber, the Rev. James Hoyt Smith, the Rev. A. Vallete Clarkson, the Rev. Mr. Kuehn, the Rev. Edward H. C. Goodwin, the Rev. C. M. Belden, the Rev. Joseph W. Hill, and the Rev. W. H. Weeks. The service was a very impressive one. The bishops and clergy, preceded by the choir, met the body at the door of the church, the opening sentences being recited by the Bishop of Nova Scotia. The lesson was read by the Bishop of New York, the Nicene Creed was recited by the Bishop of Long Island. The RT. REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, D.D. 149 Bishop of Delaware made the address, and paid a most glowing tribute to the memory of the departed prelate, reviewing his self-denying and successful Oriental mission. The burial was in the family plot, Kensico Cemetery, where the committal service was read ; the Bishop of Delaware, the Rev. Dr. Cooper, and the choir of the Church of the Redeemer accompanying the body to the cemetery. REV. JOHN NICHOLAS GALLEHER, D.D., THE SIXTH RECTOR. DR. GALLEHER was called to the rectorship of the parish March 5, 1873, and assumed its parochial duties September 2 1st. He was born February 17, 1839, ^^ Washington, Mason County, Kentucky, and was educated in the local grammar schools of Mason County. In 1856, being then in his eighteenth year, he matriculated at the University of Virginia. He graduated in the Latin school of the University, attaining " distinctions " in moral philosophy, Greek, and mathematics. In 1858-9 he turned his atten- tion to the study of the law under Messrs. Beatty and Bush at Thibodaux, La. About this time it was that he sought admission to the Church by baptism in St. John's Church, Thibodaux. He received the rite of confirmation in the same church from the hands of the warrior prelate, the Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk. In 1861, on the breaking out of the Civil War, he promptly responded to the call of his native State and joined the Confederate army, enlisting in a company of Kentucky cavalry. His culture and scholarship being soon recognized 150 1Rt. IRev. 5obn IR. ©alleber, 5).2). JiEV. JOHN NICHOLAS GALLEHER, D.D. 151 by his superiors, he was relieved from service in the ranks and detailed as secretary to Gen. S. B. Buckner, then sta- tioned at Bowling Green, Ky. _ Taking part as acting aide-de-camp to Gen. Buckner in the sanguinary battles around Fort Donelson, he was cap- tured on February 16, 1862, by troops belonging to Gen. Grant's command, and subsequently underwent an expe- rience of prison life at Camp Chase, O., and in Fort Warren, Boston harbor. After being exchanged, during the following summer, he obtained his commission as first lieutenant and aide-de- camp on the staff of Major Gen. Buckner. He served actively in Gen. Bragg's Kentucky campaign, assisting in the operations at Mumfordsville, Ky., that compelled the surrender of the Federal garrison. At the battle of Perry- ville he was with Gen. Pat Cleburne, one of the brigade commanders under Gen. Buckner, with whom he continued to serve in Eastern Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and Middle Tennessee, participating in the engagements with the Federal General Thomas at McLemon's Cove. Then he came in for some heavy fighting in the great battle of Chickamauga and at Chattanooga, whence, shortly before the battle of Missionary Ridge, he was transferred to Mobile as adjutant general of the department, along with Gen. Buckner, to whom had been assigned the task of for- tifying that place. In 1864 Buckner left Mobile, relieving Gen. R. Taylor, and Galleher, who had previously attained in succession the 152 ZION CHURCH. grades of captain, lieutenant colonel, and acting assistant adjutant general, was ordered to take up duty in the De- partment of the Transmississippi. Col. Galleher continued, until the termination of the Civil War, to serve in the ad- jutant general's branch of army administration, acting tem- porarily as chief of the staff, and always discharging his most responsible functions with efficiency and distinction. Finally, when the cause was lost, he accompanied the flag of truce under which was arranged the surrender to Gen. Canby, of the military forces of the Transmississippi Department. The war being concluded, he quietly resumed his legal studies at New Orleans, afterward attending the law school of Judge Brickenborough, at Lexington, Ky., where, after graduating, he was in due course admitted to the bar. He then fixed his residence at Louisville, Ky. After a brief, but not briefless, career as Col. Woolsey's partner at the bar, his chivalrous, combative instincts, whether against assailants of his home or of his faith, induced him to take, so fortunately for his co-religionists, and, it may be said, for the entire community among which his influence has made itself so beneficently felt, the all-important step which determined his path in life. Becoming a candidate for Holy Orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church, he studied privately in Kentucky until removing to New York, when he took a partial course at the General Theological Seminary. Here his progress was so rapid and so satisfactory that at the end of his " middle REV. JOHN NICHOLAS GALLEHER, D.D. 153 year," June 7, 1868, he received deacon's orders from Assis- tant Bishop Cummins, in Christ Church, Louisville, where he remained for six months as an assistant to the Rector, the Rev. Dr. Craik. In 1869, while still deacon, he removed to Trinity Church, New Orleans, where he was called to the rectorship as the successor of the Rev. John W. Beckwith, D.D. (who had been elected Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia). In this parish he established a reputation for eloquence, and endeared himself to all with whom he came in contact. He was ordained priest by Bishop J. P. B. Wilmer May 30th of the same year, in Trinity Church, New Orleans. In the autumn of 1871 he became Rector of John's Me- morial Church at Baltimore, thence after two years he was invited to the rectorate of Zion Church. He received the following academical degrees: Bachelor of Arts in i860, from Shelby College, Kentucky, and of Doctor of Sacred Theology from Columbia College in 1875, and of Doctor of Divinity from the University of the South in 1880. We extract the following criticism from Patten's Lives of Clergy, 1874. " The Rev. Mr. Galleher went into the ministry from the deepest personal conviction. Already in a profession offering the widest scope for talent and ambition, he prepared himself for another of a sacred character on the promptings of a converted heart. His opportunity for observation among men has been greater than is generally the case with clergymen, and this circumstance has given 154 ZION CHURCH. him additional power in his preaching and other efforts. In the pulpit his gifts as a speaker, his originality of thought and his polished language are not less effective. He penetrates to the truth of human motives however hid- den, he tenderly unfolds the daily life and aspirations of man, and he paints in glowing language the bliss of religion and virtue, while he tempts the froward heart to penitence and peace. His voice rings out in tones of melody and he stands strikingly impressive in his stature and bearing. No one can doubt his sincerity, and no one can fail to feel the force of his reasoning and the thrill of his eloquence. Preacher and people are thus made one in sympathy and purpose and they go forth from these ministrations alike anointed with heavenly grace and inspired with a stronger courage in faith and duty." The condition of the parish at this time did not present any alluring features, and yet upon its condition being fully disclosed to the Rector-elect it failed to present any terrors. The parish speedily discovered that the recently chosen Rector was a ripe scholar and an erudite theologian, whose aim was ever to convince his hearers by cool, clear, incisive reasoning. He succeeded in mastering the exceedingly difficult art of extemporaneous preaching, and was wholly free from its not unusual defects. His warm attachments, genial character, and self-sacrificing friendship were ever increasing the love and esteem in which his people always held him. The determination of the Rector to resuscitate REV. JOHN NICHOLAS GALLEHER, D.D. I 55 the parish by every endeavor aroused the earnest co-opera- tion of the parishioners, and their joint efforts accompHshed the much-hoped-for result. The congregation so rapidly increased as to occupy every available pew at advanced rents ; the parish societies and the Sunday-school were restored to renewed activity and interest ; in fact, the out- look was altogether promising and gratifying. The financial crisis of 1873, following closely upon the advent of the Rector, with its lingering and depressing effects, caused several of the parishioners to surrender their pews. To tide over this and other sudden emergencies, a number of the friends of the parish came to its rescue with liberal offerings, removing, as they believed, every obstacle to the permanent prosperity of the work. It was not, however, long before the parish was reminded of the prophetic words of its preceding Rector, for again it witnessed during the same year the construction of the present and larger Church of the Holy Trinity, and in 1876 that of the costly Church of St. Bartholomew, 44th Street and Madison Avenue. Nov. 12, 1879, the Rector was unanimously elected Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana, whereupon he tendered his resignation to take effect the 1st of January. The fol- lowing action was taken by the Vestry upon the severance of the pastoral bond : MINUTE. Resolved, That in the severance of Dr. Galleher's relations to this Parish we recognize most keenly the great and, as it 156 ZION CHURCH. seems to us, except by God's interposition, irreparable loss, and we appreciate his profound sense of the Holy Apostolic character of the Church, of the dignity and sacred functions of its ministry, of its Scriptural Doctrines and methods, of the orderly simplicity of its ritual, of its sublime and stately Liturgy, and we bear willing testimony to his able and effective enforcement and illustration of them by profound scholarship, high intellectual attainments, pleasing and for- cible elocution, simplicity of demeanor, sincerity of purpose, fervent zeal, and earnest and unostentatious piety, all in admirable equipoise, making his ministration wise, prudent, dignified, conservative and fruitful. Yet pervaded by a self-forgetfulness and a broad and generous liberality in full harmony with the Catholic spirit of the Church of which he is an honored minister, rendering the adequate supply of his place both difficult and improbable. Resolved, That while for these reasons we deplore the sundering of such sacred relations yet we will strive to rec- oncile ourselves to the Providential dispensation, which bereaves us, but exalts him to the chief ministry of the Church, wherein his influence for good will be greatly en- larged and the general councils of the Church strengthened, an appreciation and love of the Church and her enterprises deepened in the minds and hearts of his people, and wherein perchance he may be able to nurture the Graces of Christian and brotherly concord between differing sec- tions to the tranquillity of our common country and the glory of God. REV. JOHN NICHOLAS GALLEHER, D.D. 157 Rev. Dr. Galleher was consecrated in Trinity Church, New Orleans, on February 5, 1880. The venerable Bishop of Mississippi was the consecrator, assisted by the Bishops of Alabama and Missouri and the Assistant Bishop of Kentucky. The latter, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Dudley, was the preacher. The words chosen as descriptive of him who should be the meet successor of the sainted Wilmer were prophetic : " Fill up the breach, when thou a man dost find Refreshed with childhood's grace, a warrior brave, yet kind ; A lion, yet a lamb, a minister to men, a man of mark and mind." The following brief address delivered by Bishop Galleher, in 1889, from the portico of the City Hall, New Orleans, over the remains of his old chieftain, Jefferson Davis, affords a glimpse, no more, of his earnest, concise, and eloquent method of speaking ; with that view it is copied. " When we utter our prayers to-day for those who are dis- tressed in mind, when we lift our petitions to the Most Merciful, and ask a benediction on the desolate, we remem- ber that one household above all others is bitterly bereaved, and that hearts closely knitted to our own are deeply distressed. " For the master of Beauvoir lies dead under the droop- ing flag of the saddened city ; the light of his dwelling has gone out and left it lonely for all the days to come. " Surely we grieve with those who weep the tender tears 158 ZION CHURCH. of homely pain and trouble, and there is not a sigh of the Gulf breeze that sways the swinging moss on the cypress trees sheltering their home, but finds an answer in our over- burdened breathing. " We recall with sincerest sympathy the wifely woe that can be measured only by the sacred deeps of wifely devo- tion, and our hearts go travelling across the heaving Atlan- tic seas to meet and comfort, if we might, the child, who, on coming home, shall for once not be able to bring all the sweet splendors of the sunshine with her. " Let us bend with the stricken household and pay the ready tribute of our tears. And then, acknowledging the stress and surge of a people's sorrow, say that the stately tree of our Southern wood, planted in power, nourished by kindly dews, branching in brave luxuriance and scarred by many storms, lies uprooted. " The end of a long and lofty life has come ; and a moving volume of human history has been closed and clasped. The strange and sudden dignity of death has been added to the fine and resolute dignity of living. " A man who, in his person and in history, symbolized the solemn convictions and tragic fortunes of millions of men, can not pass into the glooms that gather around a grave without sign or token from the surcharged bosoms of those he leaves behind, and when Jefferson Davis, reaching ' the very sea-mark of his utmost sail,' goes to his God, not even the most ignoble can chide the majestic mourning, the sorrowing honors of a last salute. REV. JOHN NICHOLAS GALLEHER, D.D. 159 " I am not here to stir, by a breath, the embers of a settled strife ; to speak one word unworthy of him and of the hour. What is writ is writ in the world's memory and in the books of God. But I am here to say for our help and inspiration that this man as a Christian and as a church- man was a lover of all high and righteous things ; as a citizen was fashioned in the old, faithful type ; as a soldier was marked and fitted for more than fame, the Lord God having set on him the seal of a pure knighthood ; as a statesman he was the peer of the princes in that realm ; and as a patriot, through every day of his illustrious life, was an incorruptible and impassioned defender of the liberties of men. " Gracious and gentle, even to the lowliest — nay, especi- ally to them — tender as he was brave, he deserved to win all the love that followed. " Fearless and unselfish, he could not well escape the life- long conflicts to which he was committed. Greatly and strangely misconceived, he bore injustice with the calmness befitting his place. He suffered many and grievous wrongs, suffered most for the sake of others, and those others will remember him and his unflinching fidelity with deepening gratitude, while the Potomac seeks the Chesapeake, or the Mississippi sweeps by Briarfield on its way to the Mexican Sea. " When on the December midnight the worn warrior joined the ranks of the patient and prevailing ones, who — l6o ZION CHURCH. ' Loved their land, with love far brought ' — if one of the mighty dead gave the challenge : ' Art thou of us? He answered : I am here.' " The health of the Bishop had become so impaired that it was deemed advisable to relieve him from a portion of his duties, and to that end his son-in-law, the Rev. Davis Ses- sums, D.D., was appointed assistant bishop by the Council of the Diocese of Louisiana, April, 1891, and was consecrated June 24th. On December 7, 1891, the Rt. Rev. John Nicholas Gal- leher, D.D., died at New Orleans. The funeral services took place at Christ's Church, New Orleans, December loth, in the presence of a great con- gregation. The church was beautifully decorated with flowers. Above the Bishop's chair was a crown of flowers, and beside it a shepherd's crook and a purple cross. To the heavy mourning drapery of the chancel was added an immense shield of ivory bearing a crown of immortelles and violets. Bishop Wilmer of Alabama, Bishop Quintard of Tennes- see, Bishop Garrett of Northern Texas, and Bishop Thomp- son of Mississippi, besides the clergy of the State, were present and assisted in the ceremony. The bishops and clergy preceded the flower-laden casket, which was placed upon a purple catafalque. Between the lines of the clergy REV. JOHN NICHOLAS GALLEHER, D.D. l6l passed Assistant Bishop Sessums and his wife, Bishop Galle- her's daughter, and the family. The Sons of the Army of Tennessee and Confederate veterans followed. After the impressive religious services the coffin lid was removed and the people were allowed to take a last look at the dead. On Friday morning the body was taken to Louisville for burial. The funeral proper took place in Christ's Church, Louisville, on Sunday, and the clergy of that city had charge of the ceremony. Immediately after the service was concluded in the cathe- dral, the Rt. Rev. Richard H. Wilmer, D.D., Bishop of Alabama, called all the clergy together in the guildroom for the purpose of drafting resolutions appropriate to the occa- sion. Bishop Wilmer, as chairman, called the meeting to order. On motion of Ven. Archdeacon H. C. Duncan, M.A., the chairman was requested to draft the appropriate resolutions, the committee to consist of three bishops, three priests, and three laymen, the Bishop of Alabama to be added to the committee and to serve as chairman of same. The chair then appointed the following committee : Bishops — the Rt. Rev. Hugh Miller Thompson, D.D., Bishop of Mississippi ; the Rt. Rev. Charles Todd Quintard, D.D., Bishop of Tennessee ; the Rt. Rev. Alex. C. Garrett, D.D., Bishop of Northern Texas ; with the Rt. Rev. Richard H. Wilmer, D.D., Bishop of Alabama, as chairman. Priests — the Venerable Archdeacon John Percival, D.D.; the Ven- erable Archdeacon W. K. Douglass, D.D.; and the Rev. A. Gordon Bakewell. Laymen — Hon. James McConnell, Chan- 1 62 ZION CHURCH. cellor of the Diocese ; Hon. W. H. Rogers, Attorney- General of the State ; and the Hon. H. C. Minor. The following resolutions and preamble were then pre- pared by the committee and unanimously adopted by the clergy present for themselves, and in behalf of all the clergy and laity of the diocese : " It having pleased the great Head of the Church to remove from his wide sphere of usefulness on earth the beloved Bishop of Louisiana, John Nicholas Galleher, S. T.D., we, the bishops, clergy, and laity, assisting at the burial service from Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans, desire to place on record the deep feelings of sorrow with which we are penetrated in presence of our heavy bereave- ment. "Resolved, That in the death of Bishop Galleher, in the zenith of his day, the diocese of Louisiana and the Church of God in America has sustained no common loss. " Resolved, That we extend to the afflicted family our tenderest sympathies, and the assurance of our most fer- vent prayers at the throne of divine grace that the con- solations of the Holy Spirit may be abundantly poured out upon them. " Resolved, That we embrace the opportunity to assure the Bishop, now called to exercise in full the functions of his high episcopal office, of our unfeigned sympathy with him in his great trials, and of our earnest prayers, that he may be guided by divine grace, and sustained in the discharge of his new responsibilities. REV. JOHN NICHOLAS GALLEHER, D.D. 1 63 " Signed : Richard H. Wilmer, D.D., Bishop of Alabama ; Charles Todd Quintard, D.D., Bishop of Tennessee ; Alex. C. Garrett, D.D., Bishop of Northern Texas ; Hugh Miller Thompson, D.D., Bishop of Mississippi ; Jno. Percival, D.D., Archdeacon ; W. R. Douglas, D.D., Archdeacon ; A. Gor- don Bakewell, Rector Trinity Chapel ; James McConnell, Walter H. Rogers, H. C. Minor." On motion of Rev. A. S. Clark, the Rev. E. W. Hunter was requested to act as secretary of the meeting, and was asked to send a record of the proceedings and the resolu- tions adopted to the family of the Rt. Rev. J. N. Galleher, to the Rt. Rev. Davis Sessums, D.D., to the city press, and to such church papers as he might deem proper. On Saturday, December 12th, the body of Bishop Galleher was brought home for burial, and was met at the station at Louisville by the Episcopal clergy of the city and by a com- mittee from the ex-confederate association. The funeral, one of the largest ever held in the city, took place on Sun- day from Christ Church. The interment was in Cave Hill Cemetery. ZION CHURCH AND THE CHURCH OF THE ATONEMENT IN MADISON AVENUE UNITED. OUR historical sketch is now brought to an eventful period. The Vestry realized the responsibility which the existing condition of the parish placed upon them. They had to choose whether Zion Church, with comparatively a small building and weighty pecuniary burdens, should continue the unequal strife with the large churches surrounding her, by calling another Rector, or should consolidate with another parish in that vicinity. The Vestry, after extending a call to the Rev. Frederick Courtney, D.D. (now Bishop of Nova Scotia), which was declined, decided upon the latter project as the wisest solu- tion of all the actual difficulties. This plan was accordingly followed and speedily consummated. Informal conferences were held between the respective Vestries and the Rev. C. C. Tiffany, Rector of the " Church of the Atonement in Madison Avenue," which resulted in the adoption of a formal agreement for a union and consolidation of the two corpora- tions. Upon the presentation of this agreement and of a separate petition from each corporation, the Supreme Court did, March 30, 1880, grant the order for a new corporation, 164 REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 165 under the title of " The Rector, Wardens, and Vestrymen of Zion Church in the City of New York." This agreement pro- vided for the sale of the Church of the Atonement in Madi- son Avenue and the land attached thereto, and for the payment of proceeds thereof, after satisfying the mortgages thereon, the bonded debt, and the rights of the pew owners (several of the pews were generously surrendered by their owners), toward the payment of the floating and mortgage debt of Zion Church. It also provided that the following- named persons should be the Church Wardens and Vestry- men of the proposed new corporation until the first annual election (Monday, April 18, 1881): Wardens — Samuel Hawk and David Clarkson. Vestrymen — George L. Jewett, William Graydon, Benja- min F. Watson, Frederic A. Potts, George H. Byrd, Fred- erick W. Devoe, Delano C. Calvin, and Robert Colgate, Jr. An historical notice of the parish with which Zion Church was united is not devoid of interest. The first step in its history was a meeting, in November, 1865, of a few members of the Episcopal Church, who, having determined that an- other church was needed in the upper portion of the city, leased the chapel of the Home of the Friendless, No. 29 East 29th Street, adopted the name of the " Milnor Memo- rial Church," and extended an invitation to the Rev. William T. Sabine, of Philadelphia, to the rectorship. This clergyman was born in New York, October 16, 1838. He was gradu- ated from Columbia College in 1859, and from the General Theological Seminary in 1862. 1 66 ZION CHURCH. He was ordained deacon in 1862 at the Church of the Transfiguration by Bishop Horatio Potter, and ordained priest in 1863 at the Church of the Ascension by the same bishop. He was first settled as assistant to the Rev. Dr. Tyng at St. George's Church, where he remained nine months. In December, 1863, he was called to the Church of the Covenant, Philadelphia, where he remained until called to the Church of the Atonement, December 16, 1865. He returned to New York to assume the rectorship of the Church of the Atonement, in April, 1866. Shortly after the beginning of this enterprise the name adopted was changed to that of " The Church of the Atone- ment in New York City." Divine service was held in the chapel by the Rector for the first time, Sunday morning, April 7, 1866. It was a deeply interesting occasion, and the result proved highly encouraging, as many prominent families identified them- selves with this movement, and the future was reasonably assured. In the evening the chapel was filled a second time by an attentive congregation. The Rector was cordially and generally welcomed to his new field of labor. It became legally necessary to change the title again, so as to distinguish it from a corporation under the same title, abandoned in fact but not judicially dissolved. On December 31, 1866, the church was incorporated as " The Church of the Atonement in Madison Avenue in the City of New York." REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 6/ The following persons were elected its first Vestry : Wardens. George T. M. Davis, William Harman Brown. Vestrymen. James D. Fitch, M.D., Gustavus A. Sabine, M.D., James H. Fay, Alexis S. Mcllvaine, William E. Vermilye, M.D., Benjamin C. Wetmore, George B. Watts, Samuel A. Strang. From this comparatively small beginning, the parish rapidly acquired sufficient strength to enable it to pur- chase, in January of the year following, the valuable and eligible site formerly owned and occupied by the Church of the Incarnation, on the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and Twenty-eighth Street. It had been sold in 1864 to the Second Congregational Unitarian Church, and thus was restored to the Episcopal communion a site having an interesting history. To this, brief reference will hereafter be made by the writer, who was identified with the early history of the Church of the Incarnation. The church in Madison Avenue was opened for divine service Sunday, May 14, 1867. 1 68 ZION CHURCH. The parish, having secured so desirable a church build- ing, was not long in attracting a large and attached congregation. Through their united efforts, under the energetic and zealous Rector, the deed of the site pur- chased for $70,000 was recorded April 4, 1867, subject to a mortgage for a moderate sum. Important mission work was soon undertaken by establishing a free chapel. A hall at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Twenty-fifth Street was secured and placed under the charge of the Rev. Dudley D. Smith, who proved, during his ministration of five years, a most faithful and efficient worker, and was regarded by his flock as their pastor, friend, and counsellor. During his connection with the chapel an industrial school was maintained and a large Sunday-school was gathered ; in fact the work merited and received the liberal support of the members of the parent church. In 1869, the chapel work was conducted with much larger success in Rose Memorial Chapel in West 41st Street, east of Tenth Avenue, which was leased for the purpose. In 1873, the Rev. Dudley D. Smith resigned to accept a call elsewhere. He was succeeded by the Rev. George Howell, from Grace Church, City Island, Westchester County, who took charge February, 1874. The Church of the Atonement, beginning so promisingly, was destined to but a brief existence. On Sunday, April 26, 1874, the Rev. William T. Sabine preached his farewell sermon, announcing his secession from the Protestant Episcopal Church. This letter of resignation, dated April REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 69 13th, was accepted by the Vestry the same day, to take effect May ist. A copy of the letter and of the action of the Vestry follows : LETTER OF RESIGNATION. To THE Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the Church of the Atonement, Madison Avenue, in the City of New York: " My dear Friends : " The time has come for the surrender of my pastorate among you and the severance of my connection with the Church of which you are the oiificial representatives. This action is taken, believe me, not without reluctance, sadness and many regrets, for to the Church of the Atonement and its dear people I am sincerely and tenderly attached. With the circumstances which have caused it you are all familiar. I tender herewith my resignation of the Rectorship to take effect May 1st. Accept my heartfelt thanks for all your courtesy, kindness, and forbearance. May the richest bene- diction of the Great Head of the Church ever rest upon you and the congregation for which you act. " Faithfully and affectionately, " Your friend and Pastor, " William T. Sabine." Ill East iqth St., April 13, 1874. The following is the response of the Vestry : i70 zion church. " Rev. William T. Sabine : " Reverend and Dear Sir : " The Vestry of the Church of the Atonement receive with very great regret your communication of this day resigning the pastorate thereof. They had hoped for a long continu- ance of the relations heretofore so pleasantly existing among us. Believing that you have come to an unalterable decision, we are reluctantly obliged to accept the same- We unitedly pray that the Great Head of the Church will continue to bless the Church which you have founded, and that both you and yours may receive an abundant measure of his grace. " We are " Very respectfully and affectionately, " The Vestry of the Church of the Atonement. " W. Sutten, Clerk." April 13, 1874. Many of those most interested in founding the parish for him some seven years before, went with him to join the First Reformed Episcopal Church. At a meeting of the Vestry held the 25th May of the same year the following resolution was unanimously adopted, viz. : " Resolved, That the Rev. Charles C. Tiffany at present in charge of St. Mark's Church, Boston, be and is hereby invited to assume the Rectorship of the Church at as early a date as his present engagement will permit." When the Rev. Mr. Tiffany took charge of the parish, REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. I /I May 25, 1874, he had in reality a new parish to build up from the remains of an old one. The burden of debt which it inherited weighed heavily upon it, though it continued to maintain its efficient Mission Chapel in 41st Street, and carried forward all its church work successfully. For some time it was a question with the Rector and Vestry when and where they could move in order to build up a more permanent congregation without, on the one hand, going beyond the reach of that already secured, or, on the other, crowding upon a neighborhood at present sufficiently supplied. The last Vestry of " The Church of the Atonement in Madison Avenue " : Wardens. Samuel Hawk, William Graydon. Vestrymen. Frederic A. Potts, Frederick W. Devoe, Joseph Hall, Robert Colgate, Jr., Louis Neilson, Lyttelton G. Garrettson, Thomas W. Scott, Henry A. Himely. Statistics from Parochial Reports during the fourteen years of its existence : 172 ZION CHURCH. Baptisms 200 Confirmed . . . • • 269 Marriages °9 Burials ^^S EARLY HISTORY OF THE SITE PURCHASED BY THE CHURCH OF THE ATONEMENT IN MADISON AVENUE. IN 1 850, Grace Church purchased, for $6000, a plot of ground having a frontage of 74 feet on Madison Avenue by a depth of 95 feet on Twenty-eighth Street, and erected thereon a brick church cruciform in shape. The exterior appearance, by reason of its rough construction, suggested great age, the contrast being the more pronounced in com- parison with the modern and substantial edifices then in course of erection in the vicinity. The interior presented a very inviting aspect. The object of its projectors was to make it a chapel of ease to Grace Church. It was known as Grace Chapel, and placed under the faithful, edifying, and successful ministry of the Rev. Edwin Harwood, an assistant minister of Grace Church (now Doctor of Divinity and Rec- tor of Trinity Church, New Haven). Failing in the object for which it was projected, it reverted to another organiza- tion. On April 19, 1852, with the concurrence of Grace Church, 173 174 CHURCH OF THE INCARNATION. the congregation became incorporated under the title of the Church of the Incarnation, and continued to worship in the same building, which was freely offered to them by Grace Church. The Rev. Edwin Harwood was chosen Rector. Upon his return from Europe, in October, 1854, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health, he resigned his charge. March 11, 1855, the Rev. Henry E. Montgomery, D.D., became the second Rector. The success of the parish under his ministration led to the appointment during the following year of a committee of the Vestry to confer with the corporation of Grace Church with a view to purchasing the site. Negotiations were speedily concluded by which the site was secured for the moderate sum of $20,000 — a price far below its market value. Not only was this gen- erous concession made in the price, but the terms of settle- ment were also made very accommodating, as is shown by the date of the deed, June 24, 1859. Upon the execution of contract, extensive interior alterations were made, and the seating capacity was greatly increased by erecting galleries in the transepts and by enlarging the organ loft. To comply with the terms of the purchase it became necessary to resort to a sale of the pews by public auction. Messrs. H. H. Leeds & Co. conducted the first auction sale, October 15, 1856; the subsequent and final sale was by Messrs. Thomas R. Minturn & Co. Amongst those attached to the parish during its early history, the writer recalls the following names : EARLY HISTORY. 175 Hon. John Duer. Hon. Murray Hoffman. Hon. William Jay. Christopher F. Bourne. John Davenport, George F. Nesbitt. William Floyd Tompkins. Joseph B. Vandervoort. Charles H. Smith. Samuel M. Valentine, M.D. Henry T. Jenkins. Charles F. Alvord. Commodore Matthew C. Perry. August Belmont. Hon. John Jay. Robert E. Livingston William Tracey. Charles De Luze. Clement Jewett. Henry A. Oakley Charles E. Milnor. John H. Earle. Phillip Pritchard. George L. Jewett. Louis F. Therasson. E. Montague Travers. John W. Harper. William Hustace. Henry Eyre. Alfred R. Whitney. Charles Ely. Lewis S. Thomas. Charles M. Leupp. William Hegeman. Samuel G. Ogden. Lemuel Arnold. William B. Gierke. William B. Crosby. John F. Butterworth. Judge Mumford. REV. CHARLES C. TIFFANY, D.D. THE SEVENTH RECTOR. DR. TIFFANY was born in the city of Baltimore, being the youngest son of Comfort and Laura Tiffany. The family is descended from English Puritan ancestors, who settled at Rehoboth (afterwards Attleborough), Massachusetts, previous to the year 1660, and from whom the various branches of the family now bearing that name have come down. Dr. Tiffany was prepared for college by Mr. John Prentiss and Mr. Horace Morrison, successively head masters of the collegiate department of the University of Maryland, commonly called Baltimore College. He entered Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1846, and was duly graduated as Bachelor of Arts in 1850. He took the degree of Master of Arts in 1853. He received from his Alma Mater the hon- orary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1884. After his graduation in 1850, he studied in the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mass., where he was graduated in 1854. He spent the two subsequent years in Germany, hearing lectures, being entered as student successively at the Universities of Halle, Heidelberg, and Berlin, and having the privilege 176 1Rev>. Cbarles C. tTiffans, 2).H). ^ f^ ""f^mglgm^- ^. ^ REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 77 to sit as learner at the feet of Tholuck, Julius Miiller, Rothe, Twesten, and Nitzsch. Returning to America, he was settled as Pastor of the First Church in Derby, July 15, 1857, '" charge of which he remained until February, 1864, when he resigned, and shortly after entered the army as chaplain of the 6th Connecticut regiment, U. S. V. He served as chaplain until the end of the war, and was present at the capture of Fort Fisher. Having suffered from severe illness, consequent to attendance upon the returned prisoners from Virginia and North Carolina, he spent the year after the war, 1865-6, in travelling abroad, visiting Egypt, Mt. Sinai, the Holy Land, and Greece, as well as portions of the continent of Europe. During this tour he became a candidate for Holy Orders in the diocese of Rhode Island, in which State his father resided at that time. On his return he was ordained deacon by Bishop Thomas M. Clark, D.D., in July, 1866, and was advanced to the priesthood in November by the same Bishop, in Grace Church, Providence, R. I. In October he took temporary charge of Christ Church, Germantown, dur- ing the absence of the Rector (the Rev. Dr. Atkins) in Europe, and continued there until the summer of 1867. In December, 1867, he became Rector of St. James Church, Fordham. In 1871 he resigned, and accepted a call as assistant minister of Trinity Church, Boston, upon the Greene Foundation, in charge of their Chapel, known as St. Mark's Church. In 1874 he received a call to the rectorship of the Church of the Atonement, in Madison 178 ZION CHURCH. Avenue, New York, where he remained until its union with Zion Church, in 1880. Upon the decree of the Supreme Court uniting these cor- porations, the Rev. Charles C. Tiffany was unanimously elected to the rectorship at a meeting of the Vestry held April 2d. This biographical sketch is resumed at the close of the history of the Church of Zion and Saint Timothy. On referring thereto it will be noticed that on May 22, 1894, the Rev. Dr. Tiffany was chosen " Archdeacon of New York," thereupon he severed his official relation as " Rector Emeri- tus " of the combined parish. The biographer, therefore, is not restrained from drawing a closer portraiture of the last Rector of Zion Church. Dr. Tiffany is one of those men whose personal appear- ance gives an immediate insight into both his disposition and principles. Looking at him one will not mistake him in either of these particulars. Most striking of all is his composure and unstudied dignity. Having taken his part in the preceding services, we see him composedly ascend to his place in the pulpit. His face is serious and intellectual, showing in every feature something which impresses the beholder with his amiability as well as mental and moral strength. It is a countenance that gives expression to a tenderness of heart, united with a firmness of principle, a grasp of thought for higher scholarship, and also a full con- sideration of the practical and common-sense matters of life. It is one which shows that he has laboriously and zealously REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 79 sought for all the gifts that scholarship could give, while he has not neglected to exert an influence in the things which are essential in gaining the attention and confidence of his fellow-men. His manner is always friendly, but dignified. The impulse is never for any one to make free with him, but there is the quick desire to confide in him and rely upon his friendship. Among his parishioners he has always established a relation in which they held to him with an influence born of this per- sonal respect, confidence, and love, and he holding to them by the most tender and earnest sympathy arising from a fellowship of faith and interest in their welfare. His sermons are often in part, or wholly, unwritten, amply premeditated always, argumentative in style, comprehensive and graceful in diction, and most devout in tone. He writes and speaks with a clear perception in regard to every thought and statement, and he uses language which is always effective, and often eloquent. His gestures, while not frequent, are well-timed and appropriate. He receives the undivided attention of his hearers, and at the conclusion of his sermon there is a feeling on the part of the hearer that the text has been fully elucidated, that every question has been answered, and that something more has been done in the preaching of God's word to make faith clearer and Heaven nearer. At the same time there is a realizing sense that there has been no striving for undue effect, but a ser- mon has been delivered which has illustrated in the highest sense the dignity, impressiveness, and influence of the pul- l80 ZIOM CHURCH. pit. While his sermons are as varied as the themes which have suggested them in a long ministry, all are perfect as lucid interpretations of the doctrines of the Church and of moral duty. But it may be said that the great force of these sermons, as it is of the whole ministerial career of the man, is the vivid impression which is found in them, and in him personally, of the love of Christ. Throughout his ministry the spirit which has glorified his soul and penetrated into every word that he has written and uttered, is his intense conviction of the truth of a Redeemer, and his purpose to preach it as the only source of human happiness and means of salvation. And as he stands in his sacred place, so solemn in his language, so earnest in his manner, one can see that he seeks to impart to the hearer his own steadfast reliance on the life and teachings of the Master. This has been the in- spiration which has nerved him in every duty of his active ministry, and it is the holy light which now falls upon his steps in the calm evening of his career. On the First Sunday after Easter, April 4, 1880, the in- augural service of the consolidated parishes was held in Zion Church. The event was one not soon to be forgotten by those participating, as it was the harbinger of the peace and harmony that have ever since prevailed. All the mem- bers of the Vestry, and almost, if not quite, every member of the Church of the Atonement joined in the movement, so that, together with the congregation of Zion Church, the church building was completely filled. REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. l8l The revenue of the parish rapidly increased, and for the first time in its history exceeded expenditures. The float- ing debt was paid, and the mortgage debt largely reduced by the net proceeds ($27,000) from the sale of the Church of the Atonement, which was sold for $60,000. In fact, one strong parish, comparatively out of debt, was secured to the diocese in the place of two sorely encumbered. A new career of prosperous growth seemed to await the parish at the opening of its eighth decade, with the hopeful prospect of restoring Zion to its former lustre, so that its future might no longer be doubtful. Under its energetic Rector, the parish was soon vivified into the true type of a working church. The chapel of the Church of the Atonement, on Forty-first Street, was con- tinued under the name of Zion Chapel. Several societies were organized in the parish church, a brief mention of which, as also of the chapel, will hereafter appear. The very encour- aging aspect of the church, and the promising future referred to in the first annual address of the Rector, encouraged the parishioners to undertake extensive improvements and alter- ations in the interior of their church, so as not only to remove its soiled and faded appearance, but to beautify the house of God. The committee having the work in charge, after con- sulting architects, recommended the decoration of the chancel ceiling and walls, the painting of the body of the church, the coloring of the nave and aisles, the reconstruction of the organ, a chancel window, west window, aisle and clerestory windows, corona lights, and the removal of the gallery. 1 82 ZION CHURCH. The very generous contribution of the congregation, amounting to $7500, together with many memorial gifts, were amply sufficient to accomplish all that was undertaken. The chancel window, a remarkable work of art, symbolical of Mount Zion, the Heavenly Jerusalem, was executed by Messrs. Heaton, Butler, & Bayne, of London, who were aided in the treatment of the design by the Rector, while visiting Europe in the summer of 1881. It was presented by the late Mr. Samuel Hawk, in memory of his wife. The lights of the former chancel window, with the exception of the central light (representing the Saviour) which was broken in handling, were removed to the large western window, the figures of the evangelists were placed in the four large com- partments. The eight memorial aisle windows were trans- ferred to the smaller mullions. The illuminated verses and inscriptions on the chancel walls were covered by the decorators. Mr. John W. Harper presented, in tnemoriam, a brass lectern, beautiful both in design and execution, upon the condition that if Zion Church should at any future time change her location, it should revert to the donor or his heirs. Mr. William S. Hawk presented a very handsome brass pulpit. The rectory, having been completely renovated the pre- ceding year, and the Sunday-school or chapel building dur- ing the following year, the entire architectural group became still more impressive and attractive. REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 183 In 1882, the parish received, under the will of Mr. Samuel Hawk, a legacy of $5000, " to be invested by the Rector and Vestry of Zion Church as a permanent fund, and the income arising therefrom to be applied to promote the benevolent work of the Church." The income has always been applied to the relief of the needy of church and chapel. A movement was auspiciously commenced in 1884, tend- ing to cancel the remaining mortgage debt on the conse- crated church edifice. By the generous contributions of the parishioners (amounting to $15,000) this movement was carried forward to a successful and gratifying issue, except- ing only that the mortgage of $7000 held by Trinity Church remained. The Vestry, desirous of declaring their church free from all mortgage debt, petitioned the corporation of Trinity Church to discharge from record the aforesaid mort- gage, or transfer the same as a lien upon the rectory. This application could not be granted for reasons which appear in the following letter from the Comptroller of that Corpo- ration : " We hold many mortgages upon Churches upon the same terms as this one, and while recognizing with pleasure the sound financial condition of Zion Church, the Vestry is unwilling to make an exception in any of our Church mortgages upon which interest is not paid. I make this brief explanation in order that you may appreciate our position and regret that we cannot consistently comply with your request." 1 84 ZION CHURCH. Zion Chapel continued to occupy the premises at Rose Memorial Chapel in West Forty-first Street formerly used for the Chapel of the Atonement. The work has been maintained at an annual expense of $2500, contributed by members of the Parish church and by offertories at the chapel. Mr. (since Rev.) John G. Faw- cett, who for a brief period faithfully and acceptably labored for this chapel, while under its former connections, generously offered to continue his relation and duties there- with without compensation, which offer was gratefully accepted. He remained in charge until Christmas-day, 1882. Then the Rev. Percy Barnes was appointed, who, after a brief connection, was succeeded in 1884 by the Rev. Isaac C. Sturges. The latter was elected an assistant minister of Zion Church, in charge of Zion Chapel, Octo- ber, 1884, and began his labors February 12, 1885. Under his earnest and effective ministrations, wise judgment, constant and acceptable visitations, and rare gift of under- standing human nature in its every phase, the chapel has attained so great a measure of success as to render its sup- port by voluntary offerings a most cheerful privilege. The Sunday-school of the chapel is, and has been for some time, in charge of Mr. William S. Collins as superin- tendent, and is doing most excellent and admirable work. There is practically no limit to the work in that overcrowded section of the city, save in the helpers to carry it on. The school now numbers between four and five hundred pupils, with a staff of twenty-eight efficient teachers. There JiEV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 8$ are two Bible classes, the one for men being taught by Dr. W. C. Jarvis, whose scientific knowledge and wide reading make his lectures especially valuable and interesting. That for women has had the continued services of Mr. Robert L. Harrison. As he is well equipped both in law and Bible study, uniform success has attended his instructions. He has also rendered invaluable aid as a lay-reader at the chapel. In January of 1887, a club was organized for the social benefit of the young men connected with the chapel, as also of those living in the neighborhood. It was opened under the name of St. Cuthbert Club, at 416 West Forty-first Street, and soon afterward removed, by reason of the increasing mem- bership, to No. 335 of the same street, where it is domiciled in more cheerful rooms, which are carpeted and thoroughly furnished. It has a library, games, and apparatus for the gymnasium, all supplied through the liberality of a member of Zion Church who is the President of the Club. The rent and other expenses are met in part by the dues of membership, and in part by outside help. In March, 1890, the Rev. Mr. Sturges, for reasons satis- factory to himself, tendered his resignation. The Vestry very reluctantly acceded to his wishes, considering this severance of relation as a great loss to the chapel. He became connected with the New York City Mission Society. The action of the members of the chapel upon this occa- sion best illustrates the esteem in which he was held. 1 86 ZION CHURCH. COMPLIMENTARY RESOLUTION. "At a meeting of the committee of the congregation of Zion Chapel, New York, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : " Whereas, the Rev. J. C. Sturges has deemed it advisa- ble to resign the charge of Zion Chapel and to accept a call to another field of spiritual labor; therefore, " Resolved, That by his practical, forcible sermons and satis- factory work in pulpit and desk he has been very acceptable to his people. " Resolved, That by his patient and unceasing labor in the face of many and great obstacles and discouragements, he has brought this work to a very satisfactory condition, with good congregations, large Sunday-school and Bible-classes, numerous clubs and guilds well established, and that owing to his excellent judgment and knowledge of practical affairs, our chapel is in a better financial condition than ever before. " Resolved, That he has led us on to better things, not only by his precepts, but by the example of his patient, steadfast and godly life. " Resolved, That in periods of danger and death from con- tagious disease he has never shirked his duty, and in the discharge of such duty has been brought very near to death. " Resolved, That he has been a true pastor and friend to all, and that we shall never forget his kindness in hours of REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 8/ sorrow, nor his many helpful deeds and favors, pleasantly and cheerfully rendered. " Resolved, That by his patient labor and cheerful, pleasant manners, he has endeared himself to every member of his flock, and that it is with sincere regret that we sever the ties that have so long bound us together. "Resolved, That while it is with deep sorrow that we give him up, we cannot help congratulating those to whom he will minister on their good fortune. " Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the Parish Records of Zion Chapel, be printed in The Churchman, and be given to the Rev. Mr. Sturges. " That God may be with him and bless him wherever he may be and whatever work he may undertake, is the prayer of us all. " Arthur Hamilton, Adam Spohr, Robert Martin, Joseph Noirjeam, Frederick Debes, John Hughes, " Committee. "New York, April 7, i8go." The ladies of the parish church organized several active societies, among them we mention : ZION AID association, whose object is to provide employment for and minister aid to poor and destitute Protestants, especially members of Zion Church and congregation. 1 88 zion church. women's missionary association. Its object is to awaken in the parish a deeper, more per- manent, and general interest in the mission work of the church, diocesan, domestic, and foreign, and to secure sys- tematic contributions towards its support. ZION CHAPEL SEWING-SCHOOL SOCIETY. Its title suggests its work, and it now numbers two hun- dred and nine scholars and twenty-five teachers. NIOBRARA SOCIETY. This society seeks to support Indian scholarships in schools under the jurisdiction of the missionary Bishop of Niobrara, now of South Dakota. These activities, clustering around the parish, have been most efficiently managed, liberally sustained, and beneficial in their administration. The Rector vacated the rectory in 1886, to occupy his own residence, No. 37 East Thirty-ninth Street. Professor Doremus has been the tenant of the rectory since then. During the rectorship of the Rev. Dr. Tiffany the parish was favored, at different periods, with the very valuable and acceptable services of Messrs. Bottome, Jones, and Van Bokkelen, as superintendents of the parish Sunday-school, and as lay-readers, while prosecuting their course of studies at the General Theological Seminary. REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 89 Mr. George Hill Bottome was ordained to the diaconate in 1887. Upon his ordination to the priesthood in 1888, at Zion Church, he accepted the appointment of assistant minister of Grace Church, New York. Mr. James Clarence Jones continued in the relations men- tioned during 1887 and 1888. In the following year he was ordained deacon, and called to the rectorate of St. Thomas' Church, Brooklyn. Rev. Libertus Morris Van Bokkelen, Rector's assistant, was ordained deacon at Zion Church in 1888, and priest at St. John's Chapel in 1889. During the latter year he established The Zion Chapter of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, as the outgrowth of the St. Andrew's Society, which was organized in the parish in the autumn of 1888. He also assumed charge of Zion Chapel in March, 1890, where he remained until he received a call, in the same year, to the rectorship of the new Church of St. Thomas, Mamaroneck, built as a memorial to Mrs. James M. Constable, by her husband and children. Amid all these signs of generous giving and efificient working, commenced a gradual and continuous diminution of numbers and resources, so that in January, 1888, the fol- lowing action of the Vestry was taken : " Resolved — That a committee consisting of the Rector and Wardens be appointed to consider and report at the next meeting, as to the desirability and feasibility of moving the Church from its ecclesiastically crowded neighborhood." 190 ZION CHURCH. The Committee reported : "That your committee, while recognizing the fact that the attendance at Zion Church has been gradually decreas- ing, so that at the present time scarcely more than half the number of pews are rented, and that the chief cause of this condition is that the region around us is overcrowded with churches, yet, after careful consideration of this subject in all its bearings, cannot regard the exigencies of the Parish such as would justify them in recommending at the present time the movement suggested by the resolution and which is fraught with so much concern not only to the immediate welfare of the Parish but extends far into its future. They would rather advise that earnest united effort be made to resuscitate the Church in its present location. Your com- mittee, therefore offer the following resolution and ask to be discharged : " 'Resolved, That it is inexpedient at the present time to change the location of the church.' " The report of the Committee was inconclusive in that it failed to indicate what united effort it would recommend. The Vestry, however, decided as an experiment to make a change of the choir, and accordingly issued the following circular appeal: " New York, March 8, 1888. " To THE Parishioners of Zion Church : " Upon the solicitation of the Rector and of several mem- bers of the parish, the Vestry, after full and careful consid- REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. I9I eration, have decided to change, on the first of May, the present choir of Zion Church to a SurpHced Choir of men and boys, composed of twelve treble, six alto, four tenor, and four bass voices, which, with the Organist and Choir- master, will occupy the choir floor of the chancel. " It is confidently believed that this change will promote both the temporal and spiritual welfare of the Church, and will therefore meet with the approval of all who desire its prosperity. " Such change will necessarily involve considerable ex- pense, not only for the increased cost of the new choir, but also for the alterations required to place the choristers and organ in their proper positions. The main expense will be the purchase of a new organ, which, in the judgment of organ- ists, is absolutely requisite to the satisfactory development and proper rendering of the music of the Church. It is estimated that the sum needed to cover the expenses of the entire project, over and above the amount which may be received from the sale of the present organ, will be about $5500, — the new organ to be built in the organ chamber, so that the cost of an expensive case will be avoided, — and, as the revenues of the Church will not justify any appropria- tion from its funds, the Vestry appeal to your generosity, and solicit your aid in carrying forward to a successful issue this important movement. " Already some of the parishioners have given assurances of their hearty approval and co-operation, and your Vestry earnestly hope that the liberal offerings on Easter Day, in 192 ZION CHURCH. response to this appeal, will assure them of the approval and co-operation of all the parishioners of Zion. " Wm. B. Beekman, " Clerk of the Vestry." The response on Easter Day to this appeal exhibited how willingly all the parishioners united in another effort to re- store the prosperity of their church. The offertory amounted to over $4800. At the same time the committee having the alterations in charge was authorized by Mr. William S. Hawk to order from the factory of Mr. Frank Roosevelt a valuable organ, completely filling the organ compartment, as a memorial of Mr. Samuel I-Jawk, thus giving another evidence of his ardent zeal for the church. The cost of this gift and of a carved oak organ screen, together with the amount of the offertory, exceeded $9000 — an amount largely in excess of all requirements. The excess, amounting to nearly $3000, was, with the permission of the donors, applied to the renewing of the heating appliances throughout the building which were found very defective. A choir of exceptional merit was secured, with Mr. Alfred I. McGrath as organist and choirmaster. After two years of trial, it became evident to those interested in the parochial organization and the objects for which it existed, that any further effort to permanently resuscitate the parish where it was located would not only be a vain and hopeless en- deavor, but would impair resources which, if conserved, could be utilized in another field. This conviction was the interior of Zion Cburcb, /IDaMson Hvenue. REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 93 outcome of the deliberate judgment of those who had watched the results of all the efforts put forth for many years. Upon this conclusion being reached, several informal con- ferences between the Rector and members of the Vestry were held regarding the future of Zion Church. These were followed by a series of Vestry meetings, the first being held at the residence of the Rector, on January 25, 1890. At this meeting the Rector stated what is here recited, with substantial accuracy, from memory : The object of the meeting (without dwelling upon the existing condition of the parish, with which all were familiar), was to determine what our common desire should be in the use of the means committed to us to do larger work for the church than is possible where we are located. To aid those present in reaching a conclusion uninfluenced by any personal consid- eration, his resignation was placed at the disposal of the Vestry. If perchance any one present believed that Zion could be restored where it is, or if perhaps it was believed that by a reduction of expenditure to equal income the church should be continued where it is, the Rector expressed his entire willingness to assent to such a reduction in his salary, but did not hesitate to say that such a scheme, in his opinion, could not prove otherwise than a hopeless undertaking, and one in which he could have no heart. Having thus removed every impediment to a full and free consideration of the object of the meeting, the Rector pro- ceeded to express his own views. His judgment was that the 194 ZION CHURCH. valuable resources of Zion could be more effectually em- ployed elsewhere, and in no way be made more productive of good to the church at large, as well as to Zion itself, than by selling the present valuable site and erecting a free church in a less wealthy region, and one less amply supplied with churches, or by consolidating with some free church already established in a rapidly growing neighborhood. The destruction by fire of St. Timothy's Church, on Fifty- seventh Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, at mid- night of the 22d of the same month, offered an opening for just such church work. The land owned by St. Timothy's Church consisted of seven lots — three in Fifty-seventh Street and four in Fifty- sixth Street, — thus presenting an eligible and valuable site for the erection of a large and solid church edifice and a parish house, leaving an ample endowment fund. To facili- tate a project which, if it commended itself as strongly to the judgment of the Vestry as it did to his own, he desired it to be distinctly understood that in the event of its consumma- tion, the Rector of St. Timothy's Church, the Rev. Henry Lubeck, should be the Rector of the united corporations, and that the Rector of Zion Church should be Rector Emeritus, without salary. The Vestry, while deeply sensible of the complete self- abnegation involved in this noble proposition of their Rec- tor, by which he made it clear that the future of Zion Church was alone in his thoughts, refrained from taking any initia- tory steps until the proposed movement had the approval of REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 95 the Bishop of the diocese and the acquiescence of the Rec- tor of St. Timothy's Church. To secure these the Rector kindly volunteered his services. At a subsequent meeting of the Vestry, held at Dr. Tiffany's house in Thirty-ninth Street, on February 7th, the Rector reported that he had called upon the Bishop of the diocese, from whom he learned that the contemplated move- ment for uniting Zion and St. Timothy's churches (involving the sale of Zion Church), not only had his approval, but was to be commended as illustrative of the wisdom of the people of Zion. The Rector of St. Timothy's Church replied that he was much gratified to be approached by Zion Church with a proposal of that nature. Thereupon an informal committee of conference was ap- pointed, consisting of the Rector and three members of the Vestry, to meet a similar committee from St. Timothy's Church. The committee thus appointed had but one meeting. After an interchange of views as to the desirability and feasibility of the proposed union, and a full and frank state- ment of the financial condition of each parish, a preliminary agreement was formulated, setting forth the terms and con- ditions for a union and consolidation of the two parishes. The Vestries of the two parishes met on February 21st, at the Windsor Hotel, in separate parlors kindly offered them by the proprietors. 196 ZION CHURCH. After mutual conferences, resolutions were passed sub- stantially adopting all the articles submitted in the prelimi- nary agreement. A committee composed of the Senior Warden from each parish was appointed to have prepared, through counsel, an agreement in due form for the union and consolidation of the corporations, and to submit the same at the next joint meeting of the Vestries. Before any formal action was taken, the respective Ves- tries, although not legally required to do so, deemed it not only courteous, but eminently proper and advisable, that so important a movement, extending far beyond their term of office, should be submitted to the consideration of the re- spective corporators. Notices of meetings were accordingly issued for Thursday evening, February 27, 1890, when the whole matter was laid before the corporators of each church. After full consideration resolutions were passed, without a dissenting vote, requesting the respective Vestries to com- plete the arrangement as soon as possible. The following is the official report of the meeting of the corporators of Zion Church : "A meeting of the parishioners of Zion Church was held at the chapel, Thirty-eighth Street and Madison Avenue, on Thursday evening, February 27, 1890, at 8 P.M. " Rev. Dr. Tiffany was called to the chair. " The chairman stated that the following notice of the REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. I97 meeting had been sent to all the members of Zion Church qualified to vote at the election for Wardens and Vestry- men : ' 37 East Thirty-ninth Street, ' February 24, 1890. ' My dear Sir : ' At a meeting of the Vestry of Zion Church, held on Friday evening last, February 21st, a preliminary agreement looking to the consolidation of Zion Church with the Parish of St. Timothy was adopted. 'You are respectfully invited and urged to attend a meet- ing on Thursday evening, February 27th, at eight o'clock, in the chapel on Thirty-eighth Street, adjoining Zion Church, that the plan may be fully explained and considered. ' Very respectfully, ' C. C. Tiffany, ' Rector. ' Wm. B. Beekman, ' Clerk of the Vestry.' " The following corporators were found present in response to the invitation : Rev. C. C. Tiffany, D.D. " Libertus M. Van Bokkelen. Mr. David Clarkson. " Francis T. Garrettson. " George H. Byrd. 198 ZION CHURCH. Mr. Charles Haight. " William C. Collins. " George L. Jewett. " Benjamin F. Watson. " Delano C. Calvin. " Alfred W. Fraser. " William B. Beekman. " Frederick W. Devoe. " William S. Hawk. " Charles Kellogg. " Robert L. Harrison. " Mr. Harrison was appointed secretary of the meeting. " The preliminary agreement adopted by the Vestries of Zion Church and St. Timothy's was then read. Mr. Clark- son then made a statement of the condition of the parish and the reasons which had led the Vestry to urge the con- solidation of the two parishes. Dr. Tiffany also explained the situation. Mr. Garrettson and other gentlemen then expressed their views, all being in favor of the course sug- gested by the Vestry. It was '■'■'Resolved, that the union and consolidation of Zion Church and St. Timothy's Church into a single corporation, under the name of " The Rector, Wardens, and Vestrymen of the Church of Zion and St. Timothy in the City of New York," substantially upon the basis of the preliminary agree- ment read at this meeting, entered into at a recent meeting of the Vestries of the two churches, be and the same is approved REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 1 99 by this meeting, and the Vestry of this Church is requested to proceed and consummate such union by entering into a formal legal agreement to be approved by the Bishop and Standing Committee of the Diocese, and by taking the proper legal steps to obtain the order of the Supreme Court for the union and consolidation of the two corporations determining all the various conditions and provisions thereof.' " The resolution being put was carried unanimously. On motion it was unanimously resolved that all leases of pews be terminated May i, 1890. " It was further moved and carried that the action of this meeting be reported by the Rector at morning service on Sunday next. "On motion the meeting then adjourned. " Robert L. Harrison, " Secretary." In consequence of an unavoidable delay in the legal pro- ceedings, the annual Easter election for Wardens and Ves- trymen became necessary and was held upon April 7, 1890, thus affording another opportunity for the expression of any adverse judgment by the corporators. The election re- sulted in the unanimous re-election of the members of the former Vestry, with the exception that Mr. Robert L. Harrison was chosen in place of a former member long ab- sent on a tour around the world. On April 11, 1890, both Vestries met and formally 200 ZION CHURCH. authorized the execution of the agreement and the petition to the court. After procuring the approval of the Bishop of the diocese, and the consent of the Standing Committee, upon petition from each of said corporations and upon the said agreement duly proved, the Supreme Court did on April 25, 1890, make an order for the union of the two corporations under the title of "The Rector, Wardens, and Vestrymen of the Church of Zion and St. Timothy, in the City of New York." Sunday, April 20th, the Rector preached his last sermon to the congregation of Zion Church, as on the following Friday the two corporations were legally united under another corporation title. This sermon was published in The Church- man and is here copied, omitting the historical sketch. A nd thou shall remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee. — Deut., viii., 2. To progress is not simply to advance, but to advance in right lines. There must therefore be retrospect as well as prospect to lend progress to motion. We must know the whence before we can know the whither. The new move- ment must join on to the old to give completeness to the achievement. Past and future clasp hands in the present if there is to be the continuity which makes the end the accomplishment of the beginning. All this is especially true of moral progress and spiritual gain. Men may wander in a circle mentally as well as physically. You recollect that among wanderers in the for- REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 20I est this is the inevitable tendency — a return to the starting point because, without ability to track the course they have already come, they move in a circle instead of going straight on, and return to the initial point at last with much move- ment but without advance, instead of gaining in distance by progression along the line of original direction. This same error is repeated often in mental and moral action for lack of that circumspection which is born only of retrospection. To obviate that, to prevent a step backward, we must casta look backward. Thus it was that when the children of Israel were about to enter the promised land to begin a new phase of existence, they had but to cast all former experience be- hind them, though that had been a wholly different experi- ence — an experience of wandering instead of settlement, an experience more of internal development and instruction than of the new warfare, offensive and defensive, to which they were now called in the land of Canaan. " That ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers. And thou shaft remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." 202 ZION CHURCH. A moving picture this, of how experience of the past (how different soever in form), is to mould the experience of the future by bringing men into communion with the thought and purpose and Hfe of the great Orderer of experience, making them apt to seize and hear every word which pro- ceedeth out of His mouth — an experience not of drill and routine to fit them for a mechanical repetition of the old life in its old form, but an experience of principle, enabling them to discern the meaning of the past and apply its essential lesson in all new forms of the coming time. As this church is now standing on the verge of a new expe- rience, to which God in His providence seems to beckon us, we may well for a few moments cast a look backward to compre- hend the force which moves us forward — which takes us out of the old surroundings and gives a new task to our hands. You will find that the history of this church (like that of Israel of old), has been a history of wanderings, — that like Israel's nation it had its origin in an exodus from an old country by reason of the persecution of a tyrant ruler, and that the great lesson of its experience has been to teach it that it must not live by bread only, i.e., in familiar scenes, settled in customary forms and language, fed by natural source of supply, but that by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God must it live; by the new command ordering change in speech, then in ecclesiastical rule, then in varying local situations ; apt to hear calls to new duty, and ready to respond to the indications pointing to new tasks. (An historical sketch then followed.) REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 203 In 1880, March 30th, the Corporation of Zion Church was consoHdated with that of the Church of the Atonement in Madison Avenue. At this period the present incumbent be- came the Rector. The financial statement for ten years is as follows : In repairs, gifts, and church debt . . $35,000 00 For support of chapel ..... 20,000 00 City Missions .... $4,618 00 Foreign and Domestic Missions . 6,620 00 Niobrara scholarship . . . 2,000 00 Diocesan Missions, about . . 1,000 00 Total for missions .... 14,238 00 Hospitals 4,250 00 Expenditures of ladies' societies . . 10,000 00 Expense of maintaining parish . . . 100,000 00 Also for poor and various charities, as Aged and Infirm Clergy, Seamen's Missions, etc., or $1800 annually .... 18,071 00 Grand total .... $201,559 00 In ten years the spiritual life results are as follows: Num- ber of church services, 2113; sermons and lectures, looo ; confirmed— church, ill, chapel, 176,-287; baptisms, 108; marriages, 90; burials, 80; communicants, 180; chapel com- municants, 166. Of the 185 communicants of ten years ago, by death and removal we have lost all but 58. The present number beyond these have been chiefly added by confirmation. The new movement is the result of the judgment of those most continually and mo.st practically engaged in its affairs. 204 Z/OiV CHURCH. The original need of the church in this locahty is more than supplied to-day. The great fund of the parish is locked up in its real estate. The church goes forth to do what the benefactors in the gift of this site intended, and a free church, especially dear to her whose name is preserved in the gift of land, will be maintained, and such endowment as the new corporation may secure will perpetuate her name — and the benefaction of her heirs. The site now occupied has proved wholly one for well-to- do and wealthy people, and our mission chapel has been our chief ministration to the poor. The changes of residents in our neighborhood deplete, and do not replenish, the parish — those who come into it are already attached to other and wealthier parishes easy of approach. Thus the prospect of building up here is not promising. Moreover, church ac- commodation for all is more than sufficient without us. Our new work will be to build up where we are needed, in con- junction with a parish which has forced its vigor and vitality by growth amid difficulties ; not a dead or weak thing, to be resuscitated, but a strong body which deserves strength- ening; touching all classes, welcoming all classes, under a Rector who has proved his efficiency ; with the co-operation of your Rector who is glad to help, but not willing to harass him. With many of you, then, (I would it were with all of you), we say not to the old parish " good-night," but we greet it with " good-morning," as its new dawn of usefulness and reinvigorated life rises before us. Hopeful and expec- tant of the future as we remember all the way which the REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 205 Lord our God hath led us, trusting Him to teach us in and through all changes not to live by bread alone, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God ; which word we seem to hear Him speak to-day as He says by His providence, " Go forward." COMPLIMENTARY LETTER. REV. CHARLES C. TIFFANY, D.D. Rector Emeritus of the Church of Zion and St. Timothy, New York City. Dear Dr. Tiffany : At this time of concluding our relations as Rector and Wardens and Vestry of Zion Church — relations which have existed for ten years in uninterrupted harmony and friend- ship — we cannot refrain from expressing, as the last joint action on our part, our regret at the partial parting implied in the impending change, our deep sense and appreciation of your unvarying personal kindness to us, and our gratitude for your warm, ready, and helpful sympathy in all that has affected us and our families. We desire also to record our testimony to the ability and devotion you have at all times shown as Rector of Zion ; to the zeal and wise judgment you have displayed in success- fully building up the mission work and other enterprises of the parish, and to the large liberality with which time, strength, counsel, and means have been expended by yourself and your family in all cases of personal or parish needs. We desire most affectionately and appreciatively to recog- 206 ZION CHURCH. nize and commend the rare and signal self-abnegation which has enabled you, when causes you could not control indi- cated the desirability of changing the location of the parish property, to inspire and actively lead the enterprise of con- solidating the parishes of Zion and St. Timothy, and to offer any personal sacrifice in your power which could tend to the successful union of the parishes. We beg affectionately to express our hope that our future relations may be as close and constant as it is possible for you to make them, and that you may long be spared to wit- ness and share the success of the wise course which you have done so much to encourage, and that you may be blessed with health and vigor for the usefulness and helpfulness which are sure to fill your life. Trusting that you will not deem it improper for us to publish this expression of our regard, we remain. Yours faithfully, David Clarkson, George L. Jewett, Benjamin F. Watson, George H. Byrd, Frederick W. Devoe, Delano C. Calvin, William S. Hawk, William B. Beekman, M. Taylor Pyne, Robert L. Harrison, Late Wardens \ and Vestrymen of Zion Church. New York City, April 26, i8go. REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 207 REPLY OF THE REV. DR. TIFFANY. 37 East 39TH Street, Sunday Evening, April 27th, 1890. My dear Mr. Clarkson : I beg to convey to you, and, through you, to the members of the late Vestry of Zion Church, my most grateful thanks for the letter you have all signed and sent me. Coming at such a time it is most consoling. To receive so full and generous a recognition of my services as Rector for the last ten years, is, while I recognize its too great partiality, a very deep and lasting satisfaction. I fully reciprocate the kind feeling you so cordially express. I deem it a great honor to receive the approbation of such men, and I wish I could adequately convey to you my thanks for the steadfast friend- ship and support which I have always experienced from you all. To me the personal relationship can neither be broken nor forgotten. The official connection in great measure ceases, but we shall be as good and steadfast friends as ever. It may be rare that ten years of official relation should end in strengthened ties of affection and regard ; but, thank God, in this case it is eminently true. The movement we have just jointly consummated has not been unattended with pain to any of us. We have mutual sympathy as well as mutual encouragement. This generous and charitable communication of yours has given me real consolation, and I would it might be returned an hundred-fold to you all. We shall not stand apart in time to come, and if you think that the publication of your letter will tend to convince others of our mutual co-operation and good-will, I gladly 2o8 ZION CHURCH. give my consent, though I could not ask that so flattering a testimonial to myself should be published to the Church. May God's blessing rest upon each and all of you, and may we be permitted to share in the future as in the past, much work for our common Master, in whom we are all brethren. I remain faithfully and most gratefully, Your friend always, C. C. TIFFANY. Services were held for the last time in the building of Zion Church on Sunday morning, April 27th, at 11 A.M. There was a large attendance, composed of the parishioners of the newly consolidated church of Zion and St. Timothy, and members of Zion Chapel. The Rt. Rev. the Bishop of the diocese, the Rev. Henry Lubeck, LL.B., Rector of the new corporation ; the Rev. C. C. Tiffany, D.D., Rector Emeritus, and the Rev. Libertus Van Bokkelen were present. The services were very impressive. The sermon was preached by the Bishop of the diocese, and in it he took occasion to congratulate the members of the new church upon the bright prospects that were before them, for active and useful work in the field laid out for them by the happy completion of the union of the two parishes. This union had been furthered and made possible by the self-renunciating spirit of him who had so long with faithful zeal ministered at this altar, and in whose presence he could not refrain from saying how highly he had always valued his wise counsel. The Holy Communion was celebrated. The gates of Zion were then closed. REV. C. C. TIFFANY, D.D. 209 In bringing to a close the history of Zion Church, a name enshrined in the memory of the great numbers who have worshipped within its consecrated walls (among whom are several descendants of those who were connected with the parish in its earliest history), nothing but gratitude arises as the record of this venerable and revered parish is reviewed. The sad thought, however, will not fade, " that the gates of Zion are forever closed," with all its cherished memories and hallowed associations. To complete this history of fourscore years, we record the silent testimony to the spiritual life of the parish. Prominent in that panorama are scenes at font, chancel-rail, altar, and at the bier, and what an epitome of these numerous and solemn services is sup- plied by statistics taken from the parish register. Baptisms were 3848, confirmations 1267, marriages 1352, burials (in- complete) 883. Baptisms. Marriages. Confirmed. Burials. 1810-1814 219 254 Records incomplete. 1815-1818 No record, rebuilding after the fire. I8I9-I837 1556 571 339 No record I837-I845 466 75 — 120 I845-I859 499 132 205 284 I859-I872 699 145 392 236 I872-I880 53 36 44 45 1880-1890" Church - 108 90 III 80 Chapel 248 49 176 118 Totals 3848 1352 1267 883 NECROLOGY. THE records of this parish are barren of testimonials of respect to the memory of the deceased members of its Vestries until the rectorate of Bishop South- gate began. During that period some of the most promi- nent men who were the strength of the parish departed, from whose memoirs we derive the best account of the true spirit and character of the past and early history. Frederick Pentz died July 13, i860. Mr. Pentz attested his interest in the parish not more by his length of service than by his well tried love and zeal for its prosperity and use- fulness. By his ready aid and sound judgment the parish was chiefly sustained during periods of necessities and difficulties. A tablet to his memory was placed over the north porch, and is inscribed as follows : IN MEMORY OF GENERAL FREDERICK PENTZ, TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS A MEMBER OF ZION CHURCH, TWENTY-THREE YEARS ITS TREASURER, FIFTEEN YEARS ITS SENIOR-WARDEN, AND ALL HIS LIFE ITS BOUNTEOUS BENEFACTOR. BORN JAN. 10th, 1793. DIED JULY 13th, 1860. ERECTED BY THE VESTRY A.D. 1864. NECROLOGY. 211 Smith Barker died June, 1872, aged 71 years. For all his adult life a member of the parish, he was for nearly fifty years a Vestryman, choosing for himself never to go up higher. He was a man thoroughly honest and incorruptible one on whom his associates could fully rely, and for whom remains no feeling but of love and reverence. James Van Norden died December 3, 1872. Over thirty years a member of the Vestry, more than twenty years of that period he was a Warden. His name has been identified with the history of the parish for over half a century. In the death of Mr. Van Norden the last link was severed that united the parish with its early history. He has left a name which will be long remembered not only by the parish he had so long known and loved, but the church whose institu- tions he always valued. " We ask for Zion no better friends, for the Church no truer sons." Philip Reynolds died April 2, 1867. For ten years he was a member of its Vestry, and was at the time of his death a Warden, having been connected with the parish since its removal from Mott Street. The tribute of respect to his memory upon the records of the parish speaks of his Christian character, the worth of his example in the Church, in his profession, and in private life, his kindliness and cheerfulness of disposition, and the readi- ness and efificiency with which, at all times, he gave his time and talents to the interest of the parish. 212 ZION CHURCH. Allan Melville died February, 1872. His associates in the Vestry express a high regard for his many conspicuous traits of character, his literary cultivation and taste, his genial and courteous disposition, his earnest interest in everything concerning the prosperity of the parish, cherish- ing his memory as of one well worthy of their esteem. John M. Stuart died January, 1877, within the first year of his official relation to Zion Church. Yet his colleagues in the Vestry had the opportunity to know his worth as a Christian man, and the high qualities which his life exhibited were such as to command their affectionate regard. Carlos Cobb died in September, 1877. Upon the death of Mr. Cobb the Vestry convened and adopted a minute from which we make an extract : " While bowing in humble submission to the bereavement which takes from us by death our associate in this Vestry, we desire in some measure to express our sense of loss, by recording in enduring form our recognition of his unremitting devotion to the in- terests, both spiritual and temporal, of this parish, his sym- pathy and aid in the work of faith and labor of love, un- limited by parish lines, his illustration of Christian life by his steady pursuit of pure purposes and by his undeviating integrity, united with marked sincerity, courtesy, and modesty." Samuel Hawk died August, 1882. In the death of Mr. Hawk the Vestry felt that both in the relation of personal NECROLOGY. 213 friendship and of Church fellowship they were called upon to mourn the loss of one deeply loved and highly ap- preciated. The parish, by the removal of Mr. Hawk, lost one of its staunchest friends and one of the most devout and generous of its members. He was a potent and con- spicuous illustration of the Apostle's precept " Love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous." Frederic A. Potts died November, 1888. In recording the death of their beloved companion the Vestry testified to a deep sense of, and unfeigned sorrow for, the great loss which they as well as the whole Church sustained in the decease of so earnest, consistent, generous, honorable, and honored a member. While cherishing his memory we shall mourn the loss of his inspiring example, manly sincerity, and genial presence. IT would be difficult, without detracting from the com- mendation justly due to all, to add to the honored roll of benefactors the names of those now alive who, during the occasional monetary trials of this parish since 1868, "let their light so shine before men as to glorify our Father in Heaven." The amount of these benefactions toward sustaining the parish church and for improvements and repairs (exclusive of pew rents) exceeded $75,000, while other and non- parochial objects were not neglected. The last parochial report (1889) : " New York City, Zion Church ; the Rev. C. C. Tiffany, D.D., Rector ; the Revs. I. C. Sturges and L. M. Van Bokkelen, Assistants. David Clarkson and George L. Jewett, Wardens. Wm. B. Beekman, Clerk of the Vestry. David Clarkson, Treasurer. " Families and parts of families, 120. Number of Souls, 450. Baptisms (inf. 7, ad. 2), 9. Confirmed, 33. Marriages, 9. Burials, 6. Communicants: number last reported, 266; added by Confirmation, 12; loss by death, 2 ; present number, 276. Public Services : Sundays, no; Holy Days, 20; other days, 80 — total, 210. Holy Communion : public, 30 times ; pri- 214 PAROCHIAL REPORT. 2l5 vate, 5 times. Sunday-school : Officers and Teachers, 9 ; Scholars, 50. " Expenditures. — Parochial objects : Current Expenses (in- cluding all salaries, fuel, etc.), $10,500 ; for the Poor, $2,207.- 1 1 ; Support of Zion Chapel, $2,000 ; Repairs and improve- ments, $775 ; Payment of debts, $720 ; other objects within the parish, $536.46— total Parochial objects, $16,738.57. Diocesan objects: Diocesan Missions: Missionary Commit- tee, $200 ; New York City Mission Society, $610.90 ; Church Missionary Society for Seamen, $92.60 — total for Missions within the Diocese, $903.50 ; Episcopal Fund, $50 ; Diocesan Fund, $48 ; Aged and Infirm Clergy, $109.56 ; Church Charities in New York City (not otherwise specified), $409.84 — total Diocesan objects, $1,520.90. General objects : Do- mestic Missions, $500: Foreign Missions, $315.57; other objects without the Diocese, $123.29; Albany Claim, $400 — total General objects, $1,338.86. Total for all objects, $19,598.33. ''New York City, Zion Chapel ; the Rev. I. C. Sturges, Minister. " Families and Parts of FamiHes, 200. Number of Souls, 800. Baptisms (inf. 29, ad. i), 30. Confirmed, 23. Marriages, 4. Burials, 26. Communicants : number last reported, 161 ; received from other Parishes, i ; added by Confirma- tion, 18 — total gain, 19; loss by removal, 5 ; loss by death, 8 — total loss, 13; present number, 166. Public Services : Sundays, 104 ; Holy Days, 5 ; other days, 39 — total, 148. 2l6 ZION CHURCH. Holy Communion: public, 12 times; private, 10 times. Sunday-school : Ofificers and Teachers, 25 ; Scholars, 500. Industrial School : Teachers, 20; Scholars, 250. Church: Seating capacity, 400 ; free sittings, all. "Expenditures. — Parochial objects: For the Poor, $50; Repairs and improvements, $15; other objects within the Parish, $697 — total Parochial objects, $762. Diocesan ob- jects : Diocesan Missions : Missionary Committee, $5 ; Church Charities in New York City (not otherwise specified), $125 ; other objects within the Diocese, $5 — total Diocesan objects, $135. General objects: Domestic Missions, $34; Theological Education, $5 ; other objects without the Dio- cese, $15 — total General objects, $54. Total for all objects, $951. " Receipts. — Offerings at Church Services, $410 ; Sunday- school Offerings, $154; all other sources, $387 — total, $951." -^^c^^i55i|0,£§tx^ St. Uimotbs's Cburcb, 5 1st Street. SAINT TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. THIS parish had its origin in the unremitting toil and unwavering devotion of its youthful founder, the Rev. James Cole Tracey. He came to this diocese from that of Ohio toward the end of 1852, and was engaged in holding services in public institutions, almshouse, peni- tentiary, and other places, under the auspices of the Rev. Thomas McClure Peters (deceased August 13, 1893), then Rector of All Angels' Church, and assistant minister of St. Michael's Church. The latter had also been success- fully engaged in missions to public institutions. The health of the Rev. Mr. Tracey soon compelled him to abandon that work. In February, 1853, at the solicitation of the Rector of All Angels' Church, he undertook missionary work in the northwestern portion of New York City, where there was then only one Episcopal Church for a population of about forty thousand. A low, ill-ventilated school-house of clap- boards, holding scarce one hundred people with comfort, and located on the north side of Fifty-first Street, west of Eighth Avenue, was rented for seventy-five dollars a year. This enterprise, under the name of St. Timothy's Church, made 217 2l8 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. steady and successful progress. After being only six months in use, the building was found insufficient to accommodate the congregations. An enlargement was made which nearly doubled its capacity. At the Diocesan Convention of the same year, the Rev. Mr. Tracey presented the following parochial report, viz.: " The number of families connected therewith is 62 ; num- ber of souls 253 ; baptisms 22 ; burials 8 ; communicants 29 ; catechumens 75. A self-supporting parish school has been in existence for four months, and now numbers seventy-five scholars. The charges are low and payable weekly. There are one assistant, and two occasional teachers, besides the Rector, engaged in instruction. A considerable number of families interested in the church, and at times attending the services, have not been reported, as there was not sufficient evidence of membership. Four lots of ground are offered as a gift^ for a new church, which I hope will soon be begun." The delegates chosen to represent the parish at the Diocesan Convention of 1853 were not admitted into union at that session, for the reason that the certificate of in- corporation, dated March 28, 1853, had not been duly acknowledged. The parish was incorporated on February 27, 1854. In the subjoined certificate of incorporation will be found the names of several gentlemen who, though prominently REV. JAMES COLE TRACE Y. 219 connected with other parishes in this city, were, never- theless, much interested in uniting as incorporators of this new parish. "To All whom these presents may concern, we, whose names and seals are affixed to this Instrument do hereby certify that on the twenty-seventh day of February, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, the male persons of full age, worshipping in the school-house on Fifty-first Street, between the Eighth and Ninth Avenues, in which congregation Divine worship is celebrated accord- ing to the rites of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York, and not already incorporated, met at their place of worship aforesaid, for the purpose of incor- porating themselves as a religious society, under the Acts of the Legislature of the State of New York, and in pursu- ance of notice duly given to the said congregation, in the time of morning service, and two Sundays previous to such meeting, that the male persons of full age belonging to said congregation would meet at the time and place aforesaid, for the purpose of incorporating themselves and of electing two church Wardens and eight Vestrymen, and we further certify that the Reverend James Cole Tracey, being officiat- ing minister of said congregation, was, by a majority of the persons met, called to the Chair, and presided at the said meeting, and we further certify that at the said meeting, Anthony B. McDonald and John G. Davison were duly elected Church Wardens of the said congregation and 220 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. church, and Fanning C. Tucker, John Carey, Junior, Don Alonzo Cushman, Gouverneur M. Ogden, Thomas A. Rich- mond, Henry A. Cargill, Ambrose K. Striker and Charles Mallesen were duly elected Vestrymen, that Monday in Easter week was by the said meeting fixed on, as the day on which the said offices of Church Wardens and Vestry- men shall annually thereafter cease, and their successors in office be chosen, and that the said meeting determined and declared that the said church and congregation should be known in law by the name of the ' Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of Saint Timothy's Church in the City of New York.' " In testimony whereof, we, the said James Cole Tracey, who presided at the said election of Church Wardens and Vestrymen, and Ambrose K. Striker and John Bradford, who were present and witnessed the proceedings aforesaid, have hereunto subscribed our names and affixed our seals this twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. " Signed and sealed Jas. Cole Tracey. L. S. in presence of Ambrose K. Striker. L. S. J. Thomas Whaley J. Bradford. L. S. Abram Coleman." On Easter Monday, April 17, 1854, the first election for Wardens and Vestrymen was held, and the following gen- tlemen were chosen : REV. JAMES COLE TRACE Y. Wardens. Anthony Bleecker McDonald. John Carey, Jr. 221 Vestrymen. Fanning C. Tucker. Gouverneur M. Ogden. Don Alonzo Cushman. Henry E. Davies. Galen Terry. Ambrose K. Striker. John G. Davison. Henry A. Cargill. The street on which the church stood was called " St. Timothy's Place," a sign having that name is now on " The Albany " corner of Broadway. THE REV. JAMES COLE TRACEY, THE FIRST RECTOR. THE Rev. James Cole Tracey was unanimously elected Rector, at a meeting of the Vestry held at noon on May 2, 1854, at the Leather Manufacturers' Bank, of which institution the senior Vestryman was president. The Rev. Mr. Tracey was born at Baltimore, June 16, 1822. He was sent to St. Mary's (Roman Catholic) College of that city, where he graduated, unshaken in his fidelity to the Protestant Episcopal Church. At the threshold of his young manhood his choice of a career was made. He en- tered the General Theological Seminary at New York. At the Advent ordination, December 20, 1846, he was ad- mitted to the Diaconate, by the Rt. Rev. William R. Whittingham, Bishop of Maryland, at St. John's Church, Queen Caroline Parish (now Ellicott City), Howard Dis- trict, Maryland. The bishop preached on that occasion from the text, ist Timothy vi., 20, 21. "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust," etc. In the following year he ministered for a time as mission- ary in charge of St. George's Church at Mount Savage, and at St. Paul's Church at the Maryland mining works, Alle- IRev. James Cole trracey. Erijs ly H B.Halls Sons, HewYoik , REV? JAMES COLE TRACEY. REV. JAMES COLE TRACE Y. 22$ ghany County. At the former station he established a parochial school. He was admitted to the Order of Priests by the same bishop, on the first Sunday after Easter, April 30, 1848, at the church at Mount Savage. In March, 1849, ^^ resigned the missionary work and became Professor of Ancient and Modern History in St. James College, Hagerstown. This college was founded by Bishop Whittingham. In less than two years thereafter his connection with the college ceased. In 185 1, under letters dimissory, he was received into the diocese of Ohio, where he was immediately called to the rectorate of Grace Church, Cleveland. In the autumn of 1852, he resigned that charge and came to New York. In The Churchman of July, 1854, we find over the signa- ture of the Rector, the following appeal to the friends of the church : " I wish to make a statement of facts in regard to this new congregation. The district in which it is located has been entirely of a missionary character, the city proper hav- ing advanced its improvements but little further than Fifty- first Street, in which street, near Eighth Avenue, the school house stands in which we are worshipping, and the inhabi- tants being mostly of the working class. Above Twenty- eighth Street and west of Seventh Avenue, there is but one Episcopal Church, within the city Hmits, already built, and this church is of the smaller class. " The extent of territory comprises almost the whole of two wards of the city. 224 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. " The Sunday-school began with two scholars, and the congregation with two families. But pastoral visiting through a large part of the neighborhood, and other efforts, have been blessed to the present most gratifying condition of the church, which in a little more than a year numbers over seventy families and about sixty communicants. A few months since, on 23d January, seventeen were con- firmed by Bishop Wainwright, Provisional Bishop of the diocese. It is now time that v/e build a church ; a building committee has been appointed by the Vestry to take charge of this matter. For many reasons we can build a church now far better than we could if we waited for two or three years. Indeed it is almost conditioned on our building at present, for the city population is growing rapidly around us, requiring accommodations we have not to offer. We have a vantage-ground over other religious bodies which we must lose if not at once improved, and more than all, we have a munificent offer of four lots of ground from two opulent families in the neighborhood, and the offer will be withdrawn if funds are not soon secured for the building. I have been induced to make this plain statement, in the hope that the information may lead others to contribute to the building fund, the foundation of which it is necessary to commence at once. Persons wishing to aid us will facilitate our endeavors by sending their offerings, without waiting to be called on, to the office of this paper, or to the store of Messrs. Stanford & Swords. " (Signed) J. C. Tracey, Rector." REV. JAMES COLE TRACEY. 225 This communication of the Rector was editorially noticed as follows : " The attention of our New York readers is specially in- vited to the Rev. Mr. Tracey's communication in another column. Mr. Tracey is among the ablest, the most resolute, and the most efficient of our younger clergy, with a stout heart to face difficulties and a skilful hand to conquer them. " In churchmanship he may be set down as a pattern of sound-mindedness, who, well understanding what he believes and why, holds on to it with a firm and steady grasp. The method and working of his mind, while there is anything to be done, are eminently practical. We have often had occasion to notice how apt and quick he is to take hold of things by the right handle, and any one who has seen him about his duties, will not need to be told that he is not a man to spare himself in a worthy cause. The work he has undertaken is a noble one, and one that has been sadly neg- lected in this city of late years, and the results which have already grown up under his hand show that there is a great need of it, and of him, in that section. What these results are, and in how short a time produced, may be seen from his communication, so that it is needless to recapitulate them here. " We take pleasure in commending his enterprise to something more than the kind thoughts and good wishes of our readers." At the Diocesan Convention of 1854, the following dele- 226 ST. mWTHY'S CHURCH. gates represented the parish. Messrs. John G. Davison, Ambrose K. Striker, and Galen Terry. On the afternoon of Sunday, November 24, 1854, the Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, Provisional Bishop of the Diocese, visited this parish. His consecration to that office had taken place on the Friday preceding, so that he now celebrated for the first time the order of confirmation. The occasion was peculiarly interesting to the Bishop, and he touchingly alluded to it upon his next visitation. The Rev. Mr. Tracey's health, to the grief of his many and attached friends, had for some months been steadily declining from rapid consumption — the technical descrip- tion of the breaking down of a constitution naturally weak, and both physically and mentally long overtaxed. A brief trip to the South gave no relief, and left but strength enough, after travel, to return to the house of his father in the city of Baltimore, where he departed hence in the Lord, on the evening of Wednesday, the 6th June, 1855. His death was mercifully softened by the consolations of home, cheered by the constant attendance of his brethren in the priesthood, and hallowed by that heavenly food which strengthens the soul on its solitary way through the dark valley. From an editorial in the Church Journal we copy a tribute to the memory of the Rev. James Cole Tracey. " He was of ripe scholarship, and most studious habits, his fund of information was much more extensive than is usual even among our highly educated clergy ; and his own powers REV. JAMES COLE TRACE Y. 227 of thought, and his deep love for theology as an exact science, gave a weight and finish to his writings, by which the editorial columns of the Church Journal \\dMit frequently been enriched. Faithful and successful in his pastoral re- lations, he has endeared himself to many among the laity. His last labor was the founding and building up of St. Timothy's Church, in the upper part of this city. The zeal and self-devotion with which he gave himself up to this work, were doubtless the chief cause of his premature death. Not content with living in the most humble and frugal sim- plicity far out in the suburbs, he devoted all that he could raise from friends, to the support of his infant parish ; and to provide for his own personal necessities, and gain yet more of means for the good work, he undertook additional labors with his indefatigable pen, not only in our columns, but also in the pages of the New York Review (to which he contributed a series of valuable articles on Russia), and other periodicals. The effect of this severe and exhausting toil upon a constitution naturally frail, was further aggra- vated by the pressure of parochial troubles upon a sensitive mind — troubles such as are more or less incident to every such enterprise, but which his weary, yet loving soul, found it hard to bear. No more shall we behold his bending coun- tenance of grave and gentle thoughtfulness ; no more hear the calm, contemplative softness of his measured speech ; no more see the steady gaze of his studious eye, fixed, as if unconscious of the busy life around him, and intent, with rapt abstraction, upon the great realities that wait for us 228 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. beyond. He is gone! But let him not be forgotten. He has willingly, devotedly, laid down his life as the corner- stone of his youthful parish of St. Timothy. Let the Churchmen of New York, among whom he went in and out, so patiently struggling for their aid in his work carry out his plans, and build up his church as the only monument worthy of his laborious life, or of his early death." Extract from a Baltimore paper giving an account of the burial services : " The funeral of the Rev. James Cole Tracey, Rector of St. Timothy's Church, New York, who died at his father's residence in this city, on Wednesday last, after a lingering illness, took place on Friday afternoon from St. Luke's Church, Franklin Square. The body was carried from the residence of the father of the deceased, in the vicinity, by the reverend clergy of the city churches, all wearing sur- plices, who were in turn followed by the relatives and friends of the lamented dead. The coffin containing the remains, was constructed after the ancient form, broad at the head and tapering toward the foot, richly mounted with silver, and covered with purple, having on the lid a raised cross of crimson, of nearly full length. A garland of flowers lay upon his breast, a fit emblem of the virtues and graces of the departed, who in the bloom of early manhood, adorned with high attainments, and zealous in the discharge of his sacred functions, had been called away by death. " On the arrival of the procession at the church, the re- REV. JAMES COLE TRACE Y. 229 mains were met at the door by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Whit- tingham, who, going before it toward the chancel, read the sentences in the office for the dead. After the body had been deposited in front of the chancel, the usual anthem was read by the Rev. H. Stringfellow, the Gloria Patrihe- ing solemnly chanted by the choir. The lesson was read by the Rev. R. C. Hall, after which De Profundis was chanted in a touching manner. The services in the church being thus concluded, the body was removed to St. John's churchyard, Huntington, where the remainder of the service was said by the Rev. C. W. Rankin and the Bishop." Action of the Vestry of St. Timothy's Church : " At a meeting of the Vestry of St. Timothy's Church, held at the church in Fifty-first Street, City of New York, June 18, 1855, the meeting having been opened with prayer by A. B. McDonald, Esq., senior Warden of the Church, and presiding officer of the meeting, the death of the Rev. James Cole Tracey (who died at his father's residence in Balti- more, Md., June 6, 1855), having been announced, it was resolved that the following resolutions be entered by the Clerk of the Vestry upon the record of the meeting : " ' Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God to remove from the scene of his earthly labors our beloved and faithful Rector, the Rev. Jas. Cole Tracey, be it therefore " ' Resolved, That the Vestry of St. Timothy's Church feel it to be their duty to record their grateful recollections of 230 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. the short, but arduous labors of their devoted Rector, who originated this parish, and labored with unwearied and unremitting zeal for its permanent establishment. " ' Resolved, That the many excellent qualities of our de- parted pastor, his ardent piety, his zeal and faithfulness, as well as the pleasant and useful intercourse which we enjoyed with him, will ever be cherished in our memories. " ' Resolved, That while we deeply sympathize with his family and relatives in the irreparable loss which they have sustained, and when we call to mind the devotion of the deceased to the services of the Church, his deep religious faith in the Divine Mercy through Christ, we feel that both they and ourselves are called on to acquiesce submissively to the will of God, fully believing that he has entered into that rest which remaineth for the people of God. " ' Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the family of the Rev. Mr. Tracey, and to the Church Journal. " Galen Terry, Clerk of the Vestry." At the Diocesan Convention of 1855, the Rt. Rev. Ho- ratio Potter, Provisional Bishop of New York, in reviewing the record of deaths during the past year, thus spoke: "Of the Rev. Mr. Tracey, so young, yet so able, so modest, so earnest and devout, so full of zeal and high principle in his endeavors to organize and build up a new parish, I need say nothing. Many an eye grew moist at the tidings of his departure, yet it was only those who knew him intimately, that knew all his worth and all the promise of his character." REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. IN CHARGE. FOR a time, a shadow, not of despair, but of uncertainty and anxiety, rested over this bereaved parish. Its members realized, as probably they had not before, that, though numerically strong, they were financially feeble. For at this initial period of the history of the parish, with every incentive to extend a call to another faithful shepherd, to lead the people in carrying forward to a successful issue the cherished hope of its late Rector, they found themselves unable to do so. They were, however, bravely determined to withstand all discouragements, and steadfastly to hope for better prospects. Their hopes were not long deferred. The Rev. Robert Shaw Rowland, Rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles, who had watched the parish with much interest from its beginning, came forward to its rescue, by suggesting a quasi- union of the two parishes, terminable at the pleasure of either. A mutually satisfactory arrangement was entered into, by which the assistant minister of the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Rev. George Jarvis Geer, a life-long and esteemed friend of the Rev. Mr. Howland, was to assume, from November ist, the supply of the pulpit on Sunday mornings, and render whatever other parochial service his 231 232 S7\ TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. clerical duties elsewhere would allow. Services were held thenceforward every Sunday, through the liberality of the Church of the Holy Apostles. Other parochial expenses were borne by St. Timothy's Church until the election of the Rev. Mr. Geer to the rec- torate. The Rev. Mr. Geer, being then in charge of the parish, made his first annual report to the Diocesan Conven- tion in 1856, viz. : " A small parochial school has been kept in the building. A Sunday-school, under an efficient superintendent, num- bering seventy to ninety scholars, has been twice in session on every Lord's Day. Strenuous efforts to effect the erec- tion of a suitable edifice have thus far proved unavailing. This accomplished, and the active services of a Rector thereby secured, a work, tenfold greater than is now possi- ble, might be at once entered upon." The Vestry expressed its grateful acknowledgment to the Church of the Holy Apostles for its fostering care, and to the Rev. Mr. Geer for his regular observance of divine ser- vices after the death of the Rev. Mr. Tracey. On September 26, 1857, the Rev. George Jarvis Geer was unanimously elected Rector of this parish, with authority to procure an assistant minister to aid in the parochial work. A biographical sketch of the Rector-elect is reserved until his assumption of the full duties of the office. At this time he was also assistant minister of the Church of the Holy Apostles. REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. 233 Friday evening, May 14, 1858, the Bishop of the dio- cese held one of the most interesting of his Confirmation services at the little church. A touching allusion was made by the Bishop to his personal relations to this infant parish, as the scene of his first episcopal ministration, and also to his deep interest in the pastor who first called that little flock together, and who, in their service, laid down his life. Of him the Bishop spoke in warmest terms of admiration, because, like a good shepherd, " he gave his life for the sheep," and fed with his heart's blood the roots of a tree which since his day has blossomed and borne fruit. His flock had been left to worthy successors who had carried on his work, and begun to reap his harvest. April 29, 1858, the Rev. Richard Clarence Hall, a pres- byter of the diocese of Maryland, and a graduate of the General Theological Seminary in 1844, was presented by the Rector as assistant minister. His faithfulness and diligence in this relation are illustrated by his presenting to the Bishop, as the fruits of his first year's labor, a class of twenty-two persons for confirmation, only eleven of them being from church families or antecedents ; the remainder were from different denominations. The services were held in the Church of the Advent, kindly offered for the occasion by the Rev. A. Bloomer Hart, Rector, as the building used by St. Timothy's Church was too small to accommodate so large a congregation as usually attends on such occasions. February, 1859, the R^v. Mr. Howland further evidenced 234 ^^- TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. his interest in this parish by offering to contribute five thousand dollars toward building a church for St. Timothy, upon the sole, condition that an equal amount should be contributed from other sources. This noble and generous offer had to be decHned. Mr. Charles Franklin Robertson, then prosecuting his studies at the General Theological Seminary, became the superintendent of the Sunday-school. Upon his admission to Holy Orders June 29, 1862, he delivered his first ser- mon in St. Timothy's Church, where, in 1868, he also preached his first sermon after his elevation to the episcopate. In 1886, Bishop Robertson thus referred to his early recollections of this parish : " The little ark-like church was on the north side of Fifty-first Street, the lot was somewhat depressed. The parish and Sunday-school were overflowing with the life imparted by the contagious enthusiasm of Dr. Geer, taken up and carried out by the generous co-operation of his attached and devoted people ; every corner of the building was occupied by children." The Rev. Mr. Hall resigned his office November 17, 1859. I" accepting the resignation the Vestry expressed by the following resolution its regret at the severance of a relation that had proved so acceptable. " Whereas, the Rev. Richard Clarence Hall has resigned his pastoral charge of this church, and is about to remove to another field of labor, and whereas he has during the last REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. 235 two years while laboring in this parish, greatly endeared himself to all of us as a faithful pastor and preacher of the Gospel, sympathizing with those in affliction and distress, visiting the sick, and extending relief to those suffering from want and poverty, and has been very zealous in train- ing the youthful members of his flock in the paths of religion and virtue, showing them as well as all of us an example of a Godly life and conversation, be it therefore " Resolved, That this Vestry hereby express their regret at being obliged to part with him, and their determination to ever hold him in their grateful remembrance. ''Resolved, That this Vestry commend him to the protec- tion and care of our Heavenly Father, and pray that health, happiness, and prosperity may attend him through life, and that his labors may be abundantly blessed to the salvation of many souls. " Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing preambles and resolutions be signed by the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry- men of this church, and sent to the Rev. Mr. Hall." The Rev. William Tatlock, of Connecticut (since D. D. and Rector of St. John's Church, Stamford, Connecticut), an alumnus (i860) of the General Theological Seminary, suc- ceeded as assistant minister and formally accepted the office January 23d. Before his admission to Holy Orders, which had but recently occurred, he was superintendent of the Sunday-school of this parish, hence he entered upon his office as no stranger. His connection, however, was 236 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. soon to terminate, for on September loth of the same year he accepted a call to another diocese. Upon his withdrawal the Vestry adopted the following resolution : " Resolved, That in the opinion of this Vestry the efforts of the Rev. Mr. Tatlock have contributed greatly to the prosperity of this church, and it is with regret that we must consent to his severing a connection which has been so advantageous to the parish. " Resolved, That the present prosperous condition of the Sunday-school connected with this church is a pleasing evidence of his energy and zeal. " Resolved, That the zeal and ability with which the Rev. Mr. Tatlock has devoted himself to the welfare of this church and its members, entitle him to our love and gratitude." Under the persevering and acceptable ministrations of its devoted Rector, the parish had now acquired such a measure of strength and influence, as to awaken a spirit of enterprise on the part of the Vestry, com- mensurate with the increased growth of the congrega- tion which moved them to select another and more attrac- tive place of worship. The first act of the Vestry to further that object was the adoption of a Corporation Seal in January, i860. April 23, i860, it was first affixed to a contract for the purchase of a large and desirable plot of land, at a cost of $10,000. This plot was located on the southerly side of Fifty-fourth Street, west of Eighth Avenue, having a frontage of one hundred feet and a depth of one St. trimotbg's Cburcb, 54tt) Street. REV. GEORGE JARV/S GEER, D.D. 237 hundred and seventy-five feet or thereabouts. A temporary, unpretending frame building thirty-five feet by eighty-five feet was erected upon a brick foundation. It was capable of seating three hundred persons, which was its chief merit, and cost $2575. It was opened for divine service Sunday, September 23d, of the same year. The progress of the parish is shown from the parochial report presented to the Diocesan Convention in session that week : " Number of families, 109 ; baptisms, 65 ; confirmations, 31 ; communicants, 106; total contributions, $5641.97." The Rev. Mr. Geer was elected associate Rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles in 1859. March 31, 1861, Easter Day, a beautiful altar window, a memorial to the founder of the church, was unveiled. It was the gift of the first class of girls in the Sunday-school, and was in the form of a medallion of rich mosaic glass, by Gibson. Each of the three lights had three emblems. The central light had the Dove, the Lamb, and a crown, with a scroll legend admir- ably applicable to the Rev. Mr. Tracey. The right hand hght bore the monogram of Jesus, the font, and the pelican in her piety, and the other thefalpha and omega, the chal- ice, and the open book bearing the words, " Faithful unto death." The effect of the whole was very striking. During this year other gifts were forthcoming. A hand- some font of statuary marble, with appropriate legend and 238 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. carving, was presented by a lady member of the Church of the Holy Apostle. The breaking out of the Civil War the following year, with its consequent financial disturbances, interrupted all attempts toward the liquidation of the amount due upon the site recently purchased. In 1863, the efforts of the friends of the parish were directed, and the assistance of friends without the parish was solicited, toward that object, with the gratifying result that the treasurer was enabled to announce, upon receiving the offertory on Easter Day, 1865, amounting to $7409.93, that the corporation was then free from all debt. Whatever impetus the project of erecting a permanent structure upon this site had acquired, came to naught when the adjoining westerly lot was sold to a purchaser, who built thereon an enormous frame tenement-house. Its four stories of windows and doors over against the church involved such an amount of noise as would interfere with the comfort of divine service. Under this compulsion, which was grievously regretted by all, a site elsewhere became an imperative necessity. The prosperous condition of the parish at this time opened the way for the auspicious events which signalized the year 1866. February 23d the Vestry purchased, at a cost of $33,600, the eligible site on the southerly side of Fifty-seventh Street, west of Eighth Avenue, one hundred feet in front, nearly one hundred and eighty-eight feet in depth on the easterly REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. 239 side, and one hundred and seventy-five feet on the westerly, leaving an oblique boundary line or a gore fronting on Fifty-sixth Street. This valuable gore lot was subsequently purchased by a generous member of its governing body, Mr. Welcome G. Hitchcock, and retained by him until such time as the church was able to own it. The parish was now to have at this interesting period of its history the undivided labors, the wise forecast and ability of one who, stepping aside from an established parish, took hold of St. Timothy's Church, recognizing the field con- nected therewith as one of great usefulness and encour- agement. THE REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D., THE SECOND RECTOR. THE Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D., was born at Water- bury, Connecticut, February 24, 1 82 1. His early studies were at Cheshire Academy. He was grad- uated at Trinity College, Hartford, in 1842, and at the Gen- eral Theological Seminary, New York City, in 1 845. He was made deacon in the latter year at Christ Church, Hartford, by Bishop Brownell, and priest in 1846 at Christ Church, Blaston Spa, by Bishop Delancey. Soon after graduating he had been called to Christ Church, Balston Spa, and he dis- charged the duties of an efificient rectorship of seven years. At the end of this time he was invited to the more extended field of an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Robert S. Howland, at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Ninth Avenue, New York; in 1859 he became associate Rector and in Novem- ber, 1866, he entered upon the rectorate of St. Timothy's Church. Dr. Geer received the degree of S.T.D. from Columbia, and that of D.D. from Union College in 1862. By appoint- ment of the House of Bishops he edited and published with Bishop Bedell and the Rev. Dr. Muhlenburg, the Tune Book 240 IRev. (Beor^e Jams (Beer, D.D. ^«^v^^l/^^t/^ SCj^/l^y^^ REV. GEORGE JARVIS CEER, D.D. 241 of the Protestant Episcopal CJmrch (1858). He also pub- lished The Conversion of St. Paul (1871.) In 1874, he served as a deputy to the General Convention. The writer extracts the following from a biography of Dr. Geer, written by Mr. J. Alexander Patten in the Lives of the Clergy of New York and Brooklyn (1874), as truthfully portraying his graces and character : "Dr. Geer is peculiarly armed for his work in the field of the Lord. He goes about it with an earnest spirit and cheerful heart. He makes no failures, for he is persevering and not less practical. He always works harder than anybody else. " Whatever may be the measure of his success, be it small or great, he is neither discouraged nor elated. But he keeps right on cheerful and confident, bold and determined, he sweeps away obstacle after obstacle, and in the end often astonishes those who are looking on, by his signal triumphs, but never himself, as he has not allowed his sanguine nature to contemplate anything short of success. He is sanguine, but only so because he has faith in works and prayer. With- out these he expects nothing. As neither is ever wanting, he has always a great hopefulness. He has been emphati- cally a worker in all the parishes he has been connected with. He does not believe in an ornamental, inefficient ministry, but in one that earns success by work, struggle, and heroism. If the sheep do not come to his flock, he goes after them. Self-sacrifice, toil, in season and out of it, vigilance and faith are the great sources upon which he 16 242 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. relies. He does not stand aloof from his fellow men, nor is he satisfied to do certain official things in an official way, but he is every man's friend, servant, and comforter. " His large heart and his invincible spirit give sincerity and force to all his undertakings, and he stands foremost among his contemporaries for the earnestness and success of his ministerial career. " As a preacher Dr. Geer is sound, logical, and persuasive. He has a good voice and his manner is unexceptionable. He preaches as if he felt his responsibility, and his tender, while serious, words go far to arouse the same feeling in his hearers in regard to their own condition. " The effect of this preaching is to awaken reflection. He does not send the audience home talking of extraordinary bursts of eloquence, but they go away edified and com- forted in holy truths." The Vestry rented the dwelling. No. 238 West Fifty- fifth Street, for a rectory, for the sum of fifteen hundred dollars. This year was further made memorable by the building of a substantial chapel of brick upon the rear of the site recently purchased, running parallel with Fifty- sixth Street, ninety feet in depth by thirty-seven feet in width. The larger and more valuable portion of the site fronting on Fifty-seventh Street was reserved for a church edifice to be afterwards built, when the chapel would be used for the Sunday-school. The chapel was capable of seating five hundred persons. It cost, together with an organ built by Messrs. Odell, twenty thousand dollars. St. Zimotbv's Cburcb, 56tb Street. REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. 243 During its construction the Vestry sold to the corporation of the Amity Baptist Church their former site and building on Fifty-fourth Street, for twenty thousand dollars. The same church building has been, and is now used by that society as its place of worship. The Rev. Leighton Williams, the present pastor, is the son of the Rev. Wil- liam R. Williams, S.T.D., LL.D., who was pastor of the same corporation from 1835 until within a few years of his death in 1885, and was one of the foremost leaders in the councils of his own denomination. An attractive and com- modious building has since been erected adjoining their church, called the "Amity Building," completely hiding the objectionable tenement-house. St. Timothy's Chapel was completed and opened for divine service, Easter Day, 1867, and was on that occasion thronged, hundreds being unable to find entrance. The Rector, the Rev. Dr. Geer, was assisted by the Rev. Dr. Twing, and the Rev. John Henry Hopkins. The Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter preached an admirable sermon, closing with a glowing extemporaneous address of congratulation to the Rector and the people on the advance made in their parochial life. The memorial window of the founder of the parish was removed from the former building and placed in the east window. The marble font and the chancel furniture were also brought from the old church. The stipend hitherto granted by Trinity Church, since the foundation of this parish, was, during 1868, increased to one thousand dollars, and again advanced in the following year, 244 ^^- TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. through the intervention of the Rev. Dr. Geer, to two thou- sand dollars per annum. This generous action of Trinity Church was gratefully acknowledged by the Vestry. May, 1871, the Vestry, en- couraged by the favorable issue of all former undertakings, ventured the building of a rectory. Plans and proposals were submitted, and work commenced on the easterly lot in Fifty-seventh street, which lot — 25 x 100 — had been reserved for that purpose. The rectory has a width of twenty-two feet, and a depth of sixty feet, is built of brown stone, and is four stories in height. The contract cost was twenty-one thousand and five hun- dred dollars, afterwards increased, for furnishing and com- pleting, by the sum of thirty-five hundred dollars. It was occupied by the Rector in May, 1872. This undertaking, however significant to the stability and completeness of the parish, was soon overtaken by the in- evitable recourse to mortgaging, thereby increasing the mortgage liability to forty thousand dollars, plus the float- ing debt. The parish was thus confronted with a bonded indebted- ness of fifty thousand dollars, subject to seven per centum interest, to which annual burden, taxes on the rectory were to be added. This was not the time to discuss the responsibility for the existing financial condition, but to ask how relief could be obtained. The people of St. Timothy made vigorous efforts, proportioned to the emergency. Ways and means were de- flntertor of St. Xlimotbs's Cburcb, 56tb Street. REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. 245 vised, and the struggle which a mortgage debt implies be- gan, and continued for fourteen years, the Rector meanwhile being secured in the undisturbed occupancy of the rectory. In 1887, Mrs. Amelia M. Collard, a former parishioner, died at her late residence in Danbury, Conn., and be- queathed by will to this corporation lands located at that place, the sale of which yielded about six thousand dollars. The amount of this bequest was applied toward the liquida- tion of the bonded debt. In pursuing our research, we find no noteworthy incident in the history of this parish until our attention is directed to the action of the Vestry in 1884, extending to their Rector a respite of six months from all active duties, that the in- creasing infirmities of his sight might be arrested, and invit- ing the Rev. Dr. John J. Roberts to assume charge of the ministrations of the parish in the meantime. For an ac- count of this respite, we copy from an address delivered by his esteemed friend, the Rev. Henry Mottet, at the memor- ial service : " His last great affliction — the loss of vision — was threat- ening him for ten years. He bore it so patiently, and he concealed it so successfully, that none knew of it till shortly before the time when he was forced to abandon, for a sea- son, his post of duty. Even in that long seclusion of dark- ness, he was cheerful and hopeful ; no murmur, no complaint escaped from his lips. He lived wholly with God and in thought of his people. To one who visited him in these dark days, he remarked that he was busy preparing sermons 246 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. for his people. Their names were all graven upon his heart ; therefore he remembered them, and prayed for them, and sent loving messages to them all. " The brief period of his restoration to his precious flock calls for no comment. Your joy and his, God alone can know and understand. I recall the night when I then met him among his boys and some of their friends. The whole expression of his face and every word he uttered was the outpouring of a heart big with gratitude for his restoration. It did not last long ; apparently his life-work had been fin- ished, and God raised him up again simply to prove to you and him His power. With redoubled energy he labored in your midst, as though he would make up for the months seemingly lost. On Sunday, March 15, 1885, the very first on which he felt that he could officiate alone, he conducted each of the services ; was in his accustomed place in the Sunday- school ; gave his usual kindly greeting to his flock gathering about him — especially the members of the Young Men's Bible Class — and, far uptown, read the Burial Service. " The last hymn sung that night was Abide With Me, and his hearty Amen, at its close, was noticed by many. The day after was his last here, and the beginning of the more blessed life beyond. There was no death, such as we con- sider it. He was alone in his room, reading his Bible — the story of God's call to Samuel while yet a child. The world may call it a coincidence ; oh, men and brethren, we may take it as God's chosen way for calling to go up higher, him, your pastor, who was in many ways so wondrously like Samuel of old ! REV. GEORGE JAR VIS GEER, D.D. 247 " I can fancy how that call rang in his ears ; how, with all his heart and soul he exclaimed : ' Speak, for thy servant heareth.' It was about the hour of evening prayer ; he called for help ; he sank back ; he was not. God had taken that noble saint to be with Himself." The order for the Burial of the Dead was held in St. Tim- othy's Church on the afternoon of Thursday. A large gathering of the clergy was present, which, with the congre- gation of the parish, filled the church. The services were conducted by the Rt. Rev. Henry C. Potter, D.D., assistant Bishop of New York, the Rev. Drs. Peters and Gallaudet, and the Rev. Mr. Mottet taking part. The members of the Vestry acted as pall-bearers. The interment was in Trinity cemetery. MINUTE OF THE VESTRY OF ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. The Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D. " It having pleased our Heavenly Father in His wise providence to call to the rest of Paradise the beloved Rector of St. Timothy's Church, the Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D., the Wardens and Vestrymen of the church place upon their record the following minute : " ' The work in St. Timothy's parish, which was begun by the Rev. Mr. Tracey, was so soon taken up by our departed Rector, that the good which has been wrought, and the position which the church now holds for future usefulness, are due, under God, almost wholly to the earnest, faithful exertions and loving care of our deceased pastor and friend, during a pastorate of twenty-eight years. 248 Sr. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. " ' The purity of his life, the sincerity of his godly teach- ings, his tender sympathy with those in affliction and be- reavement, his ready response to all calls of distress, his wise counsels, together with his rare social qualities, endear his memory to all whose privilege it was to know him, while his interest in charitable and religious societies, his enthusi- asm in the cause of free and open churches, his unceasing endeavors for the welfare of his parish, leave to us, his sorrowing associates, a blessed example. " ' To his bereaved family we extend, as the representa- tives of the parish, and also on our own behalf, our deepest and most sincere sympathy ; and pray that the God of all comfort, on whom our beloved pastor so trustingly relied, will give them from His abundance a full measure of heav- enly consolation.' " Resolved, That a copy of the above minute be given to the family of our late Rector, and that the same minute be published in TJie Churchman. "JOHN J.SMITH, \ Wardens. George Montague, Hubbard G. Stone, Welcome G. Hitchcock, Archibald Turner, Horace Manuel, , y^.trytnen. Enos T. Throop, James B. Young, Joseph S. Palmer, A. Howard Hopping. " St. Timothy's Church, " New York, March 23, 1885." REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. ZA,(^ MINUTE OF THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE. The Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D. " Entered into the rest of Paradise on Monday, March i6, 1885, the Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D., Rector of St. Timothy's Church, in the City of New York. " The following minute in memory of this, our departed brother, has been prepared at the request of the assistant Bishop and a large number of the clergy of the diocese : " ' In the death of Dr. Geer the Church has lost one of her most faithful, laborious, and useful servants. The record of his ministry in this city, extending through a period of nearly forty years, is one of hard and constant work well done. He was a very earnest man, and whatever he undertook he pursued with untiring zeal and with a great heart. He was not unacquainted with discouragements, but he met them with a confidence and strength that arose from deep conviction, clear views, an active conscience, and a living faith. " ' His sense of duty, his singleness of purpose, his mani- fest devotion of all his faculties to the Master's cause, and his loving soul, brought to him many friends and supporters, whose affection for him was very strong. And he was worthy of it all. " Our departed brother will be remembered by those who knew him well, as a remarkably intellectual and thoughtful man. His education was as thorough and complete as it could be made by diligent study in the best church and school, college, and theological seminary of his day, in our 250 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. land. As a scholar he stood high, and he possessed a more than ordinary share of common sense. No son of the Church was ever more loyal, or more thoroughly devoted to her best interests than he was. And what can be said that will adequately express the excellence of his character as a man, a friend, a companion ! Who that knew him, will not call to mind his quick sympathy, his heartiness, his cheerful- ness, his kindness, his charity ! We cannot think of him as gone, without feeling that we have lost some of the sun- shine and happiness of our life. How worthy of admiration was his manly independence, tempered as it was with genu- ine modesty and humility ! How faithful was he as a friend ! With what confidence did we go to him as an adviser ! How pleasant was he as a brother ! " We thank God for his example, which was so pure and bright. We thank God for the long and useful ministry of this. His servant, whose devotion was so true and whose work was so well done. " To the afflicted parish whose loss is so great, we extend a most sincere sympathy. " For the bereaved family of our dear departed brother, we earnestly pray that the Divine Spirit of love and com- fort may visit them and heal their bleeding hearts. " Alfred B. Beach, Thomas M. Peters, Charles E. Phelps, ^Committee:' William Tatlock, Thomas Gallaudet, , REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. 25 I We extract the following tribute to the memory of the Rev. Dr. Geer, from the address of the Rt. Rev. the assist- ant Bishop of the diocese to the Diocesan Convention in 1885: " The death of Mr. Athole was followed in March last by that of a veteran in the work of this diocese, the Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D., who departed this life on the Monday next before Palm Sunday. Unlike Mr. Athole, Dr. Geer was no stranger, whether on this floor or in this city. To labor among its most crowded sections he gave the best years of his Hfe, and to the cause of free churches he was early and uncompromisingly devoted. At first in the Church of the Holy Apostles, and later in St. Timothy's Church, he did a work, whose courage, patience, and cheerfulness must, I think, have been the admiration of all who knew him. For he had many discouragements, and they did not diminish with years. It is difficult enough to toil on with a church loaded with debt, and with the future holding forth but scanty promise of relief, even when one is young in years, and when personal anxieties and infirmities are largely ab- sent. But Dr. Geer, as the pastor of a free church, had all the uncertainty which comes from such conditions, at a time when he had passed middle life ; and he had, added to this, an increasing loss of hearing and of sight, which made his perseverance a daily marvel. Under these circumstances his sweet and uncomplaining nature, which was never soured, and which never despaired, was something to honor and re- member. In his own church he was often minister, choir, 252 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. and precentor, and out of it he was the faithful friend whose feet were never tired, and whose heart was never chilled. If we all loved him, it was because he was so essentially- lovable, and because no one of us ever left his presence without a sense of being better and braver for having met him." The Rev. Dr. Roberts remained in charge until June, when absence from the city caused his resignation. In July, the Rev. Lindsay Parker, then assistant minister of St. George's Church, New York, was elected to the rector- ship, but declined the invitation. During the vacancy of the rectorship, which continued for ten months, the Vestry decided to sell the rectory to meet the exigencies of the parish. The present occupant was the purchaser (in September, 1885) for thirty thousand dollars, under a cov- enant restricting the width of the building to twenty-two feet. The proceeds of this sale, together with the amount of the legacy from the estate of Mrs. Collard, and a contri- bution of two thousand dollars from the " Acorn Society " (an association of the younger members of the parish), diminished the debt to fourteen thousand dollars, bearing interest at five per cent. January 17, 1886, a memorial service, commemorative of the life and character of the late Rev. Dr. Geer, was cele- brated in the church. The Vestry had invited the Rev. Henry Mottet, Rector of the Church of the Holy Com- munion, to deliver the address. Letters were received and read from the Rt. Rev. assistant Bishop of New York, the REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. 253 Rt. Rev. Bishop of Connecticut, the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Long Island, the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Missouri, the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Ohio, and the Rev. E. Spruille Burford, Rector- elect of this parish. These letters, together with recollec- tions from the Rev. William Tatlock, D.D. ; the Rev. Theodore Babcock, D.D. ; the Rev. C. E. Phelps, and the Rev. James D. Wilson, D.D. (pastor of the Central Presby- terian Church), were published in a pamphlet by order of the Vestry, and circulated among the parishioners. A recital of that service is, therefore, omitted. THE REV. ELISHA SPRUILLE BURFORD, M.A. THE THIRD RECTOR. THE Rev. Mr. Burford was born in Mercer County, Kentucky. Much of his childhood was passed at In- dependence, Missouri, where his father was a mer- chant and banker. After graduating at St. Charles' College, Missouri, he went to New Orleans, where he commenced the study of law. When the Civil War broke out he, like all young men in that region, enlisted in the Confederate army. He served in the Virginia and Western campaigns, and in the latter became adjutant-general of the cavalry corps of General Bragg's army. At the end of the war he returned to New Orleans to resume his preparation for the bar. He sub- sequently entered upon a theological course for the episcopal ministry. In 1868, on Sexagesima Sunday, he was ordained to Holy Orders by the Rt. Rev. J. P. B. Wilmer, Bishop of Louisiana. Shortly after he was advanced to the priest- hood. His ministration began at Holy Innocents' Church, Evansville, Indiana, where he became its first Rector. Thence he removed to Louisiana, where he was successively Rector of St. James' Church, Alexandria, and Calvary 254 IRep. ]£. SpruUle Burforb, /ID.H. ( vj). \.^^ '[-0^-17^^ !• „ REV. E. SPRUILLE BURFORD. 255 Church, New Orleans. He next received a call to St. Mark's Church, Grand Rapids, the largest parish in the diocese of Western Michigan. Here his rectorate of less than six years was signally marked by the achievement of many excellent works. The parish was relieved from a burdensome debt, a large chapel was built (now a church), and a rectory purchased. He was a deputy to the General Convention of 1883. His resignation of the rectorship was accepted with reluctance, and only when it was found that the Rector was resolute. On December 22, 1885, he accepted the rectorship of St. Timothy's parish, and en- tered upon the pastoral charge during the Epiphany season. His letter of acceptance follows : " In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. " To THE Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Timothy's Church, New York City : " Brethren : " Trusting that I am guided by the great head of the Church, I hereby accept my election to the rectorship of St. Timothy's parish. New York, diocese of New York. God willing, it is my purpose to enter upon the pastorate of the flock during the third week in Epiphany-tide. " Relying first, upon the Holy Spirit, and secondly, upon your earnest desire for me to become j'our pastor, and thirdly, upon your prayers to God for a blessing to attend my ministrations, and lastly, upon your honest assurances of 256 ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. hearty co-operation and support for me and my family, I beg you will await my coming patiently, — vide i Corinthians, xvi., 10, I Corinthians iv., 19-20, ill St. John 14 verse. " Faithfully and affectionately " in the Lord Jesus Christ " E. Spruille Burford." "Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. 22, 1885." The rectorate of the Rev. Mr. Burford, which began so auspiciously, was destined to be of brief continuance, for early in the following year he tendered his resignation to accept an invitation from a church in Memphis. The Vestry failing in its efforts to obtain a reconsideration from the Rector, the pastoral relations were accordingly dissolved. Thereupon, the Vestry by the following resolution, ex- pressed its estimate of the ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Burford : " Resolved, That this Vestry desires to express to their friend and Rector, the Rev. Spruille Burford, their apprecia- tion of the valuable and efficient services rendered by him while Rector of the parish, and their sincere regret that he considers it his duty and interest to accept a call to a ' higher and a larger field of usefulness in a distant city of another diocese,' and to decline their unanimous request that he withdraw his resignation. " In Epiphany season of last year, when the Rev. Mr. Burford became our Rector, St. Timothy's Church was suf- REV. E. SPRUILLE BURFORD. 257 fering from the depression incident to a rectorship vacant for nearly a year. Under his leadership, the parish at once was invigorated as with new life, the attendance at the services largely increased, guilds and societies were formed, the Sun- day-school was reorganized, and interest aroused in building a new church edifice, until now, after the efforts of only a single year, all the parish organizations are efficient and doing good work, the congregations and Sunday-school have outgrown their accommodations, and arrangements have been made to proceed at once with the erection of a new church; — the credit for all of which is largely due, under the blessing of Almighty God, to the energy and devotion of our Rector. In his sundering of the official relations exist- ing between himself and St. Timothy's Church, the Rev. Mr. Burford cannot dissolve the cordial feelings and love which bind him to the hearts of his friends in St. Timothy's ; and, as representing them, the Vestry desire to assure him of the good will and interest which will follow him wherever he may be. " We wish you good luck in the name of the Lord." The resignation of the Rev. Mr. Burford took effect in May, 1887. Then he went to enter upon his duties as Rec- tor of Calvary Church, Memphis, Tennessee, the most influ- ential parish in that diocese, where he remained for nearly five years. During his rectorate he was a member of the Standing Committee. He again returned to New York, having received in October, 1891, a call to the rectorship of the Church of the Intercession, 158th Street and the West- ern Boulevard. 17 258 ST. TIMOTHYS CHURCH. The Rev. Mr. Burford died April 15, 1894. He had been ill for several weeks, premonitory symptoms appeared in the latter part of March during a trip to Indianapolis, whither he went to attend the funeral of a nephew. He was scarcely able to preach his Easter sermon, and really went from his couch of illness to the pulpit, in opposition to the advice of his physician. A carbuncle manifested itself soon afterwards, and he was removed to Manhattan Hospital where he died of blood poisoning. "THE REV. E. SPRUILLE BURFORD. "At a special meeting of the Vestry of the Church of the Intercession, held April 15, 1894, the following minutes were adopted unanimously: " ' Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God, in His inscru- table providence, to take to Himself our dearly beloved rector, E. Spruille Burford, to whom the congregation of this parish is devotedly attached ; " ' Resolved, That while our hearts are filled with sorrow and we deeply lament his departure in the prime of his life and usefulness, we return thanks to God for his noble exam- ple, and we cherish his memory of a beautiful life of sincere devotion to his people and calling. " ' Resolved, That these resolutions be printed in The Churchman, and entered in the minutes of the records of the Vestry, and that a copy be sent to the family of our departed Rector.' "Wm p. Haines, Clerk:' REV. E. SPRUILLE BUR FORD. 259 The funeral service took place at the Church of the In- tercession on Wednesday, April 1 8th. The body was con- veyed from the residence in I52d Street to the church, the members of the Vestry, as pall-bearers, walking alongside the hearse. The church was crowded. "The Rt. Rev. Bishop of New York, the Rev. Doctors Brady E. Backus, George R. Van De Water, and Henry Lubeck ; the Rev. Messrs. Henry A. Dows, Charles G. Adams, and Lawrence H. Schwab, were present in the chancel. The attendance of other vested clergymen occupying front pews was very large. Among them were the Rev. Dr. Thomas Harris, the Rev. Dr. John W. Brown, the Rev. Dr. D. Parker Morgan, the Rev. Stephen H. Cranberry, the Rev. Gouverneur M. Wilkins, the Rev. Dr. M. Van Rensselaer, the Rev. Dr. John P. Peters, the Rev. Dr. Frederick Van Kleeck, the Rev. Joseph Reynolds, Jr., the Rev. Karl Schwartz, the Rev. Charles F. Canedy, the Rev. Thomas McKee Brown, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Gallaudet, the Rev. Henry L. Myrick, the Rev. Dr. Charles D. W. Bridgman, the Rev. Henry Anstice of Rochester, the Rev. William M. Geer, the Rev. Dr. Edward H. Krans, the Rev. James O. Drumm, the Rev. Dr. J. W. Bonham, the Rev. Edward H. Cleveland, the Rev. Stephen F. Holmes, the Rev. Hobart E. Whitney, the Rev. J. J. Rowan Spong. Resolutions of the Bishop and clergy assembled at the funeral of the Rev. E. S. BuRFORD, Rector of the Church of the Intercession, New York. " First. Resolved, That, recalling the life and labors of 26o ST. TIMOTHY'S CHURCH. our departed brother, the testimony of which we have heard from so many who knew him in his different spheres and work, we feel tliat by his death the Church militant on earth has lost a brave soldier and a worthy priest, and we cherish the comfortable hope that the Church expectant has gained another ransomed soul to the vast army of the blessed dead. " Second. Resolved, That we extend our deepest and most heartfelt sympathy to the widow and family of our deceased brother, and to the parishioners of the Church of the Intercession on account of their sad bereavement, while reminding them of the 'comfortable doctrine of the Com- munion of Saints,' whereby we believe that through the victory of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, death effects only a temporary separation between the saints on earth and the saints in Paradise, to be followed by a most happy meeting again in the place of departed spirits, and finally in Heaven itself, where the Church triumphant will reign forever with Christ the King, in the holy city, the New Jerusalem, where ' God shall be all in all.' "Joseph Reynolds, Jr., Secretary." At a meeting of the Vestry of Calvary Church, Memphis, on April 26, 1894, the following resolutions were unani- mously adopted : " Resolved, That we have learned with deep regret of the death of the Rev. E. S. BuRFORD, late Rector of this parish, which sad event took place at Manhattan Hospital, New REV. E. SPRUILLE BURFORD. 261 York, on April 15, 1894. That we beg to tender to the widow and family of the deceased our sincere sympathy in their sorrow and bereavement, well knowing that they will derive their greatest comfort from the only true comforter and source of all peace, whose doctrines the deceased had taught so long and so well. That a copy of these resolu- tions be furnished the family of the deceased by the secre- tary of this Vestry, and be spread on the parish records and published in the New York Churchman." June, 1887, the Vestry extended a call to the Rev. Alexander Mackay Smith, which was declined. THE REV. HENRY LUBECK, M.A., LL.B., THE FOURTH RECTOR. THE Rev. Henry Lubeck, M.A., LL.B., was elected to the rectorship November 22, 1887. The Rev. Mr. Lubeck was born in Sydney, Australia, February 2, 1856, and was educated at Trinity College, Melbourne, and at Melbourne University, one of the best universities out of England. He was obliged, in consequence of continued illness, to leave both college and university. He entered the holy ministry in 1881, and was ordained priest the following year in the diocese of Grafton and Armidale, New South Wales. He was soon assigned by his bishop to the charge of a large parish, numbering fifteen hundred souls. Here he remained until again prostrated by the excessive heat of the climate and his arduous labors, when he resigned the pastoral charge. Under a conviction that a change of climate and a sea voyage would materially promote his health and useful- ness, he sailed for this country, arriving at New York in 1883. He was soon afterwards canonically received into the diocese of Albany. During his stay in Albany and prior to assuming any parochial work, he commenced the study of law at the Albany Law School, where, after going through 262 IRev. Iftenrs Xubech, /II5.H., XXJ ■■1 ■ ^[^^^^«H^^H i f<9l r^v_. -i'^SB^''^'''^''' /i-^^^KI^ ^ /' "" j^^S ■ "•' "'^^SSr ^^^^^^ ■ifcf: /^^**^ f ■ M^^L^ 1 1 .. j^.;: ^' 'p- te^ ■ ■• ■-^'' "wfe' v'-' r^»!-""-- ^tf^ ,1 ^^^ ■ ■ ■ ^^ ' ^ ^>^v- i Q>L-t4.^-V^€-€y/