BX. 
 353\ 
 G-55 
 
CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
MEMORIAL VOLUME 
 
 §>emi-Centemual annttoersarp 
 
 SECOND REFORMED CHURCH 
 
 GLENVILLE, N. Y., NOVEMBER 21, 1868. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://archive.org/details/cu31924029489816 
 
MEMORIAL VOLUME 
 
 £>emt-Centenmal Znnitotxsaxp 
 
 SECOND REFORMED CHURCH 
 
 GLENVILLE, N. Y., NOVEMBER 21, 1868. 
 
 Key. F. F. WILSON. 
 
 V^Vo^ne. ^H.U. 'Sjecers^Y v\er o^ rr\<iA Cs^o-^c^J 
 
 SCOTIA, X. Y. 
 1868. 
 

 /J,fqG>Wr 
 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Scotia, Dec. 15, 1868. 
 .Rot. F. F. Wilson, 
 
 Pastor of the Second Reformed Church, Olenmlle : 
 
 Rev. and Respected Sir : We, the undersigned elders and deacons of 
 the said church, at our first consistory meeting held after the semi-cen- 
 tennial anniversary of our church on the 21st ultimo, avail ourselves 
 of the united opportunity, through this note, to convey to yourself, the 
 high gratification we have derived from the accuracy, method and 
 power exhibited in your Historical Sermon delivered on that occasion ; 
 and further to add that the eminent clergymen who aided you in the 
 exercises of that day, lent much of charm and interest to the delightful 
 spirit then and there prevailing. 
 
 Now, reverend sir, believing, that all the sayings, doings and teach- 
 ings of that day, so memorable in the history of our church, should be 
 perpetuated, as a legacy of great religious and social value to the 
 present and coming generations of its early founders and patrons — 
 we respectfully solicit from you, a copy of your own sermon (and 
 that the work intended may still be more complete), desire you to pro- 
 cure from those distinguished individuals who favored us with addresses 
 on that consecrated day, copies or summaries of their efforts, so that 
 sermon, addresses, hymns, and all the programme, may be embodied 
 in one neat printed pamphlet, a tribute to the fifty years just passed, and 
 its noble actors. Trusting you will comply with our requests in Christ- 
 ian bonds, we subscribe ourselves most affectionately your friends. 
 
 John Sanders, 
 
 Daniel Van Gtttsling, J- Elders. 
 
 William: Tygert, 
 
 Luther B. Wilson, 
 
 Wi. J. Stevens, \ Beacons. 
 
 Ajbijah St. J. Rees, 
 
 To Hon. John Sanders, Moore, 
 
 Van Chiy sling, Wilson and others : 
 
 Dear Brethren : I acknowledge the receipt of your very courteous 
 note, requesting a copy of the Historical Sermon preached upon the 
 occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Reformed church 
 of Glenville for publication. I regret that time and materials were 
 wanting to make the sermon more efficient as pertaining to the history 
 of your church. But such as it is I most heartily place it in your 
 hands for your disposal. I will also with pleasure accede to your 
 wishes in procuring from those clergymen who were present and parti- 
 cipated in the services, such abstracts of their addresses as they may 
 deem proper to favor us with. 
 
 F. F. Wilson. 
 
 Scotia, Dec. 16, 1868. 
 
OF THE 
 
 SECOND REFORMED CHURCH, 
 
 GLENVILLE, N. Y., NOV. 21, 1868. 
 
 Order of Exercises : Singing, Hymn 468 — Reading the Scriptures 
 and prayer, by Rev. John Minor — Singing Celebration Hymn, writ- 
 ten by Rev. Peter Stryker, D.D. — Historical Discourse, by Rev. F. 
 F. Wilson — Singing Celebration Hymn, written by Prof. M. W. 
 Wilson — Address, by Rev. Joachim Elmendorf, D.D. — Singing and 
 Benediction, by Rev. John Minor. 
 
 Prayer was offered by Rev. John Minor, after which 
 the following hymn was suug, written for the occasion, 
 by Rev. Peter Stryker, D.D., of Philadelphia : 
 
 HYMN". 
 
 How great the kindness of the Lord 
 
 To us his people shown ! 
 ! let us join with sweet accord, 
 
 To make his goodness known. 
 We come to-day with joyful heart 
 
 Our grateful songs to raise ; 
 Do thou, G-reat God, thy grace impart, 
 
 And fill our hearts with praise. 
 
 We celebrate our Jubilee : — 
 
 For fifty years ago 
 Our fathers planted this old tree, 
 
 And thou hast made it grow. 
 
CELEBRATION HYMN. 
 
 And now beneath its foliage fair 
 We gather at thy shrine, 
 
 To eat the fruit beyond compare, 
 And sing of love divine. 
 
 Roll, on, thou flowing tide of time, 
 
 And on thy bosom bear 
 Us and our children to that clime, 
 
 Beyond the reach of care, 
 Where all the fathers we shall meet, 
 
 And join the church above; 
 All bending at the Saviour's feet 
 
 To celebrate his love. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 " And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and three 
 score and ten palm trees ; and they encamped there by the waters." — 
 Exodus, xv, 27. 
 
 The exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt was 
 accompanied with signal exhibitions of the Lord's 
 power and favor. He appointed over them Moses, a 
 leader and commander of superior wisdom. He turned 
 the hearts of the Egyptians toward them, and they went 
 out laden with "jewels of silver and jewels of gold and 
 raiment." And as their guide he went before them 
 "in the pillar of cloud by day, and in the pillar of fire 
 by night," to mark out a pathway for the army and 
 the places of encampment. And though the people 
 were brought into circumstances of extremity by com- 
 mon foes and the wants of a common nature, he gave 
 them victory and opened up sources of blessing com- 
 mensurate with divine power. Have you ever read so 
 grand a song of thanksgiving and triumph as Israel 
 sang over the wonders of the Red sea? "I will sing 
 unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the 
 horse and the rider hath he thrown into the sea." We 
 would naturally suppose that hearts so elevated in 
 sacred song could not soon forget the deliverance of 
 the right hand of the most high. But wait a little. 
 Their way lay through a wilderness, and not through a 
 garden of roses. A way in which every step called 
 for faith, patience and trial. In the wilderness there 
 was no water. At Marah there was water, but it was 
 bitter. 
 
8 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 How much like many of the delights of this world, 
 which our hearts long for, and when we taste of them 
 the sweetness is gone. . And the people murmured 
 against Moses. 
 
 Here we see that the human heart is the same in 
 every age. It is very common for congregations, even 
 now, to attribute their seeming ills to the weakness or 
 imprudence of their spiritual leaders. 
 
 Thus the dross appeared among the gold, and weak 
 hearts and murmuring spirits rose up in the camp of Is- 
 rael. But Moses faltered not. He presented their plea 
 to the throne, and the bitter waters were made sweet. 
 
 And there the Lord made a "statute and an ordi- 
 nance" with Israel, promising love and protection 
 upon the grounds of obedience. This greatly cheered 
 the hearts of the people, and they continued their toil- 
 some march and came to Elim. There were wells of 
 water. It was good, "and they encamped there by 
 the waters." There the palm tree, with its fan-like 
 leaves, afforded ample shade for refreshment, after the 
 burning heat and thirst of the desert. God had pre- 
 pared a place of habitation for his children and directed 
 them to its congenial clime. There all the people 
 enjoyed the felicity of repose and abundance. There 
 the Lord proved himself, and Moses, Aaron and Miriam 
 were encouraged for their important task. 
 
 Israel was the church, led by the Angel of the Coven- 
 ant through the wilderness to the promised land. He 
 was and is king in Zion, and is now conducting the 
 progress and government of his church by his divinely 
 appointed ministry in her pilgrimage through this 
 world to her enthronement in heaven. 
 
 He opens wells of water in dry and thirsty places 
 and imparts spiritual encouragement and strength to 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 9 
 
 the hearts of his children. And, like ancient Israel, 
 we seem to have crossed part of the desert of this life, 
 and stand to-day by the spiritual wells of water opened 
 by his own hand. 
 
 We have arrived at a distinct period in the history of 
 our church. A half century with all its golden streams 
 of blessing, success, privilege and responsibility is now 
 completed, and we pause awhile for review, repose and 
 thanksgiving. We are only a little one among the 
 "thousands of Israel," but the vine which our fathers 
 planted has become a fruitful vine " whose branches 
 run over the wall." 
 
 When Moses began the journey, the Lord directed 
 him to prepare a journal, and record all the remark- 
 able occurrences of the way for satisfaction and instruc- 
 tion. So we, as a people, turn to-day, to our statute 
 book, and from it, I shall endeavor to furnish a succinct 
 outline of our church organization and progress, and in 
 so doing, it will be necessary for me to advert to the 
 early settlement of the county and city of Schenectady. 
 For fifty years the power of the living preacher, in its 
 simplicity, has contributed largely, in shaping the mo- 
 rals, the piety and the character of the worshipers here, 
 implanting and strengthening the sacred germs of reli- 
 gion and education in our highly favored community. 
 
 The land of this beautiful valley dates back to the 
 earliest period of our colonial history. Schenectady 
 was the site of an Indian village named from the tribe 
 Schagh-nac-taa-daa, meaning "beyond the plains," 
 designating that barren tract of land west of Albany, 
 which has almost bid defiance to agriculture and enter- 
 prise for scores of years. 
 
 A few Hollanders inheriting the sturdy principles 
 of their fatherland settled here in 1644. The first 
 
10 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 grant of land at this point, bordering on the river, was 
 bought by Arent Van Curler in 1661, from the chief 
 of the Mohawk tribe. 1 
 
 The first written document containing the names of 
 the proprietors of Schenectady is dated May 8, 1663, 
 viz: A contract, binding them not to trade with the 
 Indians, but confine themselves to agriculture. It is 
 no surprise that they feared the natural ferocity and 
 cunning of the red men of the wilderness, as wild and 
 uncultivated as the trackless desert through which they 
 roamed. 
 
 And now as society advanced slowly, but surely, 
 along the pathway of prosperity, the people felt that 
 the higher wants of man's moral nature should find 
 a suitable expression in a house of worship. The 
 edifice of the Eeformed Protestant Dutch church in 
 the city was erected in 1684. This was the only 
 religious organization in the city for nearly one 
 hundred years. Its first pastor was Petrus Tassche- 
 macher. The mother JSTetherland furnished the first 
 clergymen for the Reformed Protestant Dutch church 
 in America, and among them were some of the most 
 distinguished divines that ever adorned the American 
 pulpit. 
 
 The first settlers had not only abounding forest and 
 unfilled lands to impede the march of civilization, but 
 human foes, wearing the inhumanity of a cruel nature, 
 beset them on all sides. A cloud of distress was hover- 
 ing over this band of heroic souls. The Indian with 
 his torch was drawing near the city. Feb. 9, 1690, a 
 general massacre occurred in the burning of the city, 
 by the French and Indians. Many lives were lost, and 
 their worthy pastor was numbered with the fallen. 
 
 1 See State Gazette. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 11 
 
 Thf frightful attack, in extreme winter, at midnight, is 
 strikingly portrayed in the following lines, copied from 
 the city journal : 
 
 ' They marched for two and twenty days 
 
 All through the deepest snow, 
 And on that dismal winter night 
 They struck the fatal blow. 
 
 They then were murdered in their beds 
 
 Without shame or remorse, 
 And soon the floors and streets were strewed 
 
 With many a bleeding corpse. 
 
 The village, then began to blaze, 
 Which showed the horrid sight, 
 
 But ! I scarce can bear to tell 
 The miseries of that night. 
 
 They threw the infants in the fire, 
 The men they did not spare, 
 
 But killed all that they could find, 
 Though aged or though fair. 
 
 The general destruction not only effected the welfare 
 of the village, hut the church for a time was unable to 
 support a pastor. In the year 1700, a second minister 
 came from Holland, and his ministry is spoken of as 
 successful, especially among the Indians. Thirty of 
 them embraced the Christian religion ; proving clearly 
 that inhuman as their general nature appeared, they 
 were not beyond the reach of divine grace. 
 
12 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 In 1748 another wave of trouble passed over the vil- 
 lage, and many of its inhabitants were slaughtered. 
 But notwithstanding these reverses, the village grew 
 up to a state of independence and importance. It was 
 incorporated in 1798, the third city in the state, Albany, 
 its more opulent neighbor, being the second. And 
 here let us enlarge our sphere of knowledge by con- 
 sidering the cause of education. "Where our fore- 
 fathers planted the church they built the school house, 
 that religion and education might develop and advance 
 the highest interest of mankind. 
 
 The first grammar school was opened in 1771, and 
 the same year changed into an academy. An academy 
 was erected by the consistory of the Reformed Protest- 
 ant Dutch church in 1785, on the corner of Ferry and 
 Union streets. Schenectady Academy was incorpo- 
 rated in 1793. The academy paved the way for the 
 college. 
 
 Union College. — The name of the College was signi- 
 ficant of the several denominations represented by its 
 trustees. The first petition for the college was made 
 » by the inhabitants north of the Mohawk river. Eleven 
 thousand dollars were subscribed by the residents of 
 Schenectady and Albany, which was largely increased 
 by General Philip Schuyler, of Albany. 1 
 
 The college was incorporated in 1795, by the Regents 
 of the state university. The city was then in its in- 
 fancy. The college was built in, 1804, east of the city, 
 on what is now called College street. It is occupied 
 at present by the public school of the city. But as the 
 number of students increased, and the fame of the col- 
 
 1 See State Gazette. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 13 
 
 lege grew in importance, and the city began to crowd 
 around it, it was thought advisable to provide more 
 extensive accommodations for collegiate purposes. A 
 tract of land was then purchased farther east, lying 
 along the Troy and Schenectady turnpike, overlook- 
 ing the city. 
 
 The new college buildings in all their massive pro- 
 portions were erected about 1812. The location was 
 well chosen. From the college compass, the student 
 and visitor, may enjoy a commanding prospect of a 
 wide range of country, combining the diversified 
 scenery of the grove, the landscape and the moun- 
 tain, in one single view. Its history numbers quite 
 one hundred professors and tutors ; and the alumni 
 nearly four thousand graduates. The substantial repu- 
 tation of Union College, and its large endowment, is in 
 a great measure, owing to the indomitable perseverance 
 and decided character of Dr. Nott. He was an extra- 
 ordinary man. He was chosen to the presidency ere 
 he had reached the prime of manhood ; and he honored 
 the exalted position with the lustre of a good name for 
 more than sixty years. His matchless sermon, on the 
 fall of Hamilton, preached when a young man, elevated 
 him to the first rank of American preachers, and won 
 a reputation for a life time. His presidential term is 
 the longest on record, excepting that of Rev. Martin 
 J. Routh, who was president of Magdalen College, Ox- 
 ford, for sixty-three years. And here let us briefly 
 state, that the venerable and excellent president of 
 Williams' College, Rev. Mark Hopkins, D.D., has held 
 the presidential chair for thirty-two years, having been 
 elected in 1836. 
 
 Thus I have briefly noted the salient points in the 
 history of our neighboring city, from whence so many 
 
14 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 of our privileges originated. There are eight evan- 
 gelical denominations, and a population- of about 
 twelve thousand inhabitants. It is a city of more 
 than usual intelligence and culture. The habits and 
 customs of the people are about the same as those of 
 their grandfathers. And now we turn to our home 
 to see what bright spots we can find in the short period 
 of fifty years. "We stand to-day on an eminence, from 
 which we cast a glance over the years that are past, 
 where harvest sheaves have been gathered for the' 
 master's garner. And we feel that the pensive words 
 of the poet, Ossian, apply to our hearts : 
 
 There comes a voice that awes my soul ; 
 'Tis the voice of years that are gone. 
 
 Scotia. — The land called Scotia was granted by the 
 governance council to Sander Leendertse Grlen in 1662, 
 embracing several hundred acres. 
 
 Sander Leendertse Glen was a native of Scotland, a 
 descendant of a Scottish chieftain, and named his new 
 home Scotia, in honor of his native country. He fled 
 from Scotland on account of persecution, and took 
 refuge in Holland, the home of the brave defenders of 
 a true faith. He emigrated to this country about 1640. 
 He built the first house north of the Mohawk river, of 
 which nothing remains save a few foundation stones 
 which wei'e excavated for building purposes. The 
 river whose onward flow symbolizes the march of 
 time, undermining all earthly things, gradually invaded 
 the land, so that the river now runs where the first 
 house stood ; heedless of the incursions it has made 
 upon the homes of the people who lived upon its 
 borders. It was a stone building of great dimensions 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 15 
 
 and a home where hospitality abounded. Sander 
 Leendertse Glen died in 1685. He was the largest 
 land proprietor in this whole section, and the town of 
 Glenville derived its name from him. 
 
 His son, John Alexander Glen, the ancestor of the 
 Scotia family, built' the present mansion located upon 
 a bluff of land at the bow of the river, about a half-mile 
 from the city in 1713. -This house of the olden time 
 has stood for one hundred and fifty-five years; and 
 descended by heirship from one generation to another 
 until its present incumbent, Charles P. Sanders, is the 
 sixth generation. It is one of the most eligible situa- 
 tions in this vicinity. John Alexander Glen died in 
 1731. He devised his Scotia estate to his son, Jacob 
 Glen, requesting him to build a house for his brother, 
 Abram Glen, on the opposite side of the highway, on 
 a ridge of land, affording a fine view of the low land, 
 the lake,_the river, and the city beyond. It is now the 
 comfortable residence of Charles P. Collins. 
 
 Jacob Glen died in 1762, leaving an only child, 
 Deborah Glen, who married John Sanders a wealthy 
 merchant of Albany. His wife, Deborah Glen, at her 
 decease, bequeathed her valuable Scotia estate to her 
 only son, John Sanders, one of the prominent founders 
 of this church, and father of the present Judge Sanders. 
 He married his cousin, Deborah, daughter of Robert 
 Sanders of Albany. His ample home, with its nume- 
 rous outbuildings and extensive gardens, would have 
 reminded one of the estate of a nobleman, more than 
 the abode of a private citizen. 
 
 He was a man of a warm and liberal disposition, and 
 neighbor, friend and stranger found a welcome at his 
 door. His generous and benevolent spirit still lives in 
 the hearts of his descendants in our midst. 
 
16 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 The face of the country was now assuming the 
 aspect of substantial industry. One great improve- 
 ment for the public, was the building of the dyke con- 
 necting the village of Scotia with the bridge in 1806, 
 a half-mile in length. 
 
 The covered bridge over the Mohawk river was- 
 built in 1809. It looks like a gigantic relic of yore ;. 
 and contrasts oddly with the 'present neat, strong and 
 elegant style of bridges of the present time. For 
 nearly sixty years, it has stood the rude attacks of the 
 north wind and tempest, sunshine and storm. And 
 when we survey its solid piers, its rude rafters, its- 
 long line of arches, and the immense amount of tim- 
 ber consumed in building, we do not wonder that it 
 still holds on to its existence. Previous to the open- 
 ing of the Erie canal and railroad, Schenectady was- 
 the main thoroughfare for trade in its transit from 
 Buffalo to the Hudson. 
 
 Heesville is a neat, thriving village, a quarter of a 
 mile west of Scotia, named in honor of its inde- 
 pendent landholder, Frederick Eeese, whose children 
 and grandchildren are supporters of the Reformed 
 church. The land lying along our river is rich and 
 fertile, amply rewarding the husbandman for his 
 honest toil. The soil is adapted to the growing of 
 broom-corn. Its vast fields stretch on as far as the 
 eye can reach, and when swayed to and fro by the^ 
 autumn wind, present a picture of beauty, which the- 
 artist's pencil may well covet. 
 
 "With these few items of knowledge pertaining to 
 our humble village, we pass on to the history of our 
 own church whose semi-centennial we this day cele- 
 brate. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, 17 
 
 In the winter of 1814, a prayer meeting was com- 
 menced in the village in the house of Robert and 
 Jacob G. Sanders (lately owned by Mr. Howe) by 
 G-erard Beekman, son-in-law of John Sanders and 
 father of Hon. James ~W~. Beekman, a distinguished 
 citizen of New York. Messrs. Gerard Beekman, 
 Robert and Jacob G. Sanders, Mcholas Viele, Simon 
 Van Patten, Cornelius DeGraff and others were its 
 most faithful adherents. And this is not the first 
 time that a prayer meeting has laid the foundation 
 for the church of Christ. Gerard Beekman left a 
 legacy of one thousand dollars for the benefit of the 
 church. 
 
 The first ministerial labors began in 1815 by An- 
 drew Yates, D.D., while a professor in Union College. 
 He had formerly held the position of vice president 
 of the college. He was a man of sterling piety, 
 tender love and warm zeal for the cause which he 
 espoused. He saw and felt the religious destitution 
 which abounded in this locality, and in connection 
 with his duties as professor, he entered upon the 
 real work of the missionary. We have not many 
 such noble instances of linking the devotion of 
 the missionary with the honors of the college pro- 
 fessor. He lifted up his voice in the " trumpet of the 
 gospel" when there were only a few earnest souls to 
 receive his teaching, and follow his counsels. But his 
 work has not fallen to the ground. It lives on in the 
 history of this church. He labored here about seven 
 years, and as far as we could ascertain, with little, or 
 no compensation for his services. Dr. Yates continued 
 his professorial duties until the close of life. He died 
 
18 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 in the city of Schenectady in 1844. We can say of 
 him as was said of G-eorge Herbert: 
 
 He heard the bells ring beyond the stars. 
 
 His remain s 'lie entombed in the old burial ground in 
 the city with his kindred in Christ. 
 
 A few active members of the Reformed Protestant 
 Dutch church of the city, living north of the river, 
 met at the house of Barent Cramer in the village of 
 Scotia. They elected John Haverly chairman, and 
 John Sanders clerk. Elders and deacons were chosen, 
 and measures taken preparatory to building a house of 
 worship. The church was called the North Branch 
 of the Reformed Protestant Dutch church of Schenec- 
 tady, subject to the rules of General Synod, Nov. 21, 
 1818. 
 
 The names of the following constituted the first 
 board of consistory : Elders — Cornelius DeGraff, John 
 Haverly, John Van Patten, and Aaron Van Antwerp. 
 Deacons — Alexander Van Epps, Cornelius Viele, 
 Simon Van Patten, and Aaron P. Schermerhorn. A 
 minute of this transaction can be found in the clerk's 
 book of records in the city of Schenectady. Some 
 timber had been prepared, and brick burned in the 
 village in 1815 and 1816. The builder was John Van 
 Patten. The mason George Marselus. The corner- 
 stone was laid by Cornelius DeGraff'; he had been 
 an influential member of the Dutch church in the city 
 and the chorister for thirty-two years. The building 
 committee which had been previously appointed were 
 the following: Charles H. Toll, Jacob Van Epps, Aaron 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 19 
 
 Van Antwerp, Robert Sanders, and Aaron B. Scher- 
 merhorn. Robert Sanders was their treasurer. They 
 placed all their papers, effects, and moneys in the 
 hands of the consistory, and were exonerated from 
 all further responsibility. Aaron B. Sehermerhorn 
 was treasurer of the consistory. 
 
 The corporation of the city embraced four wards. 
 The first and second wards the city proper. The 
 third the town of Rotterdam. The fourth the town 
 of Grlenville. The word town signifying a district 
 of country; General Jacob Swits (father of the Rev. 
 A. J. Swits), an alderman of the city, suggested that a 
 portion of the land lying within the city limits should 
 be appropriated for the support of the churches of 
 the wards of the city. Each church received as its 
 share of land three hundred acres. Rotterdam and 
 Gleuville were set off in 1820. 
 
 This was a very generous and timely appropriation. 
 
 Simon Van Patten was appointed a delegate to 
 represent this church at the distribution of said lands. 
 The consistory, that they might obtain their share of 
 laud, executed a bond with the mayor and aldermen of 
 the city : and the consistory did bind themselves and 
 their successors to keep this fund distinct from all 
 other property, and only its revenue to be appropriated 
 to the support of the gospel. 
 
 And here. we find a worthy resolution on record in 
 relation to the spiritual wants of the congregation : 
 '•' Resolved, That the consistory visit the families of the 
 congregation for conference and prayer, to awaken 
 zeal, harmony, and good-will among all the people." 
 It is a resolution worth recording upon all the church 
 books of our land, and practicing in every congre- 
 gation. 
 
20 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 John Sanders and John Haverly composed the first 
 delegation from this church to the classis of Albany, 
 Oct. 26, 1825. Under these prudent means the spi- 
 ritual work of the church steadily gained a hold upon 
 the hearts of the people, although the house of worship 
 was not completed. 
 
 May 21, a contract was made with John Van Patten 
 to finish the interior of the church edifice, and Fre- 
 derick Pees to superintend it. 
 
 In January, 1822, an agreement was made with the 
 Eev. Robert Proudfit, D.D., Prof, of Union College, 
 for one year's service ; one sermon each sabbath. And 
 this was but little Bible-teaching for so great destitu- 
 tion. 
 
 We now come to a brighter day. The church was 
 dedicated July 14, 1822. Dr. Tates, the veteran 
 missionary and laborer was invited to preach the dedi- 
 cation sermon. His discourse was so highly valued 
 that it was requested for publication. Thus the house 
 of the Lord was finished. The corner-stone had been 
 laid with joy, and the topmost stone was brought home 
 with shoutings, grace, grace unto it. "And the Lord 
 said unto his people : This is my rest forever, here 
 will I dwell. How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, 
 and thy tabernacles, Israel ! " 
 
 In August, 1822, the sacrament of the Lord's supper 
 was administered in this house of worship. Six per- 
 sons were added to the number of Christ's people. 
 And among this number we find an aged convert 
 John Marselus, eighty-four years of age. It is very 
 seldom the church can record such a late conversion. 
 And out of the twenty-three members who were pre- 
 sent at the first communion, only three are living to- 
 day : Nancy Prime, wife of Abram DeGraff ; Nancy, 
 
HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 21 
 
 widow of Frederick DeGraff ; and Mrs. Hannah Van 
 Patten, widow of Simon Van Patten, residing at Wash- 
 ington, D. C, over eighty years of age. It will be 
 an unspeakable satisfaction to these three aged sisters 
 in Christ, to read and witness the prosperity of 
 the church they have served through a long and 
 useful life. 
 
 In 1824 the pews were offered for sale. The prices 
 ranging from one hundred and eighty dollars to ten, 
 thus affording an opportunity of purchase for persons 
 of limited means which many churches seem now 
 almost to overlook entirely. And here we find a reso- 
 lution of considerable good sense: "Resolved, That 
 every member of consistory who comes an hour after 
 the fixed time be fined twenty-five cents." Is a simi- 
 lar resolution necessary now-a-days ? There is also a 
 resolution pertaining to the weather of a somewhat 
 novel character. " If the weather is unfavorable at 
 nine o'clock in the morning there will be no service." 
 We fear that this resolution is now appended to 
 some people's diary; for it only needs a few clouds 
 to float across the morning sky to give churches 
 in the city and country more vacant pews than full 
 ones. 
 
 Harmon Peters was the first sexton. If his duties 
 were promptly performed and the house kept clean 
 and neat, at the expiration of one year he was to 
 receive five dollars. The first chorister was Abram 
 Van Antwerp. His favorite tune was called Devizes. 
 Almost every person has a favorite tune or hymn. 
 
 In August, 1826, the classis of Schenectady was 
 formed from the classis of Albany. The people at 
 this juncture were weary of the mere accommodation 
 
22 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 of supplies. They felt able and willing to exert all 
 their power to support a pastor. 
 
 First pastor. — A call was therefore extended to the 
 Rev. James Murphy, of Warwarsing, N". T., August, 
 1826. He was the first pastor, and had the experi- 
 ence of a few years in the work of the ministry. His 
 support , was made up in part from the missionary 
 fund, and the residue from the people. Prayer meet- 
 ings were revived, but the number of praying persons 
 were small. It pleased God to make this ministry 
 one of considerable promise. 
 
 It was necessary for the congregation to provide for 
 the family of their pastor. October, 1829, a parsonage 
 was bought of Barent Cramer iu the ■. village, for the 
 sum of three hundred dollars. During this pastorate, 
 the sabbath school was instituted, which has been in 
 existence, over thirty years. Its worth in training and 
 fostering the youth of the church- cannot be too highly 
 prized. This valuable institution has been and is in 
 a flourishing condition. We have great care over the 
 children. 
 
 Walter T. L. Sanders, Esq., can be reckoned one 
 of the most faithful superintendents in the whole 
 county, managing two schools each sabbath, during 
 the. summer season. We also number many excellent 
 teachers in our denomination at present. In 1834, the 
 Rev. James Murphy was dismissed to connect himself 
 with the classis of Montgomery. The greater portion 
 of his, life and labors were spent in the valley, of the 
 Mohawk. At Herkimer "lie preached sixteen, years 
 and God was pleased to awaken and- enlarge the 
 churcb by one of the most powerful revivals of reli-, 
 gion that ever occurred in that village. He was a 
 
HISTORICAL 'DISCOURSE. 23 
 
 scholar of mord than usual attainments; He had 
 mastered several languages. He wrote a book enti- 
 tled Creation; or Geology and the Bible Consistent. He 
 was preparing another work for the press when death 
 summoned him away from his earthly to his heavenly 
 home. James Murphy was' horn in Dutchess county, 
 N. Y., December 17, 1787. He was educated at 
 Union College. He received the title of D.D. from 
 Hanover College, Indiana. He was married in Sche- 
 nectady, November 14, 1814. He was elected pre- 
 sident of the General Synod of our church, which 
 convened in New York in 1840. 
 
 He was pastor of our church for eight years. He 
 was dignified and pleasant in his manners, and 
 abounded in good works to the 1 close of life. He 
 died at Herkimer from the lingering effects of a fall 
 which he received on his return at night from a visit 
 to the house of the sick. His descendants, with one 
 exception, have quickly followed him to his grave. 
 His granddaughter, Catharine Beardslee, is the estima- 
 ble wife of J. H. Weber, Esq., of Herkimer, N. Y. 
 
 The pulpit remained vacant only a short time, 
 when they called and settled the Rev. Harmon B. 
 Stryker. 
 
 Second pastor. — Rev. Harmon B. Stryker was called 
 to the pastorate of this church, June, 1834. Three- 
 fourths of his time was secured, the remainder being em- 
 ployed in the city. He was licensed in 1822 to preach 
 the gospel. He labored for this people three years. 
 About thirty persons were added to the communion 
 of the church. We find the church now receiving a 
 new name. It was called the Second Reformed Protest- 
 ant Dutch church of Glenville, to distinguish it from 
 
24 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 the First Reformed Protestant Dutch church, located 
 at Grlenville Corners, where the Rev. John Minor is 
 now the faithful and beloved pastor. Rev. Mr. Stry- 
 ker stands among the fathers of our church, and is at 
 advanced life fulfilling the active duties of the minis- 
 try, with ability and success in the Church of the 
 Huguenots, Staten Island. His son, Rev. Peter Stry- 
 ker, D.D., was one of the most successful pastors of our 
 denomination, located in Thirty-fourth street, New 
 York, until within a few months, when he received 
 and accepted a call to a Presbyterian church (new 
 school), Philadelphia. He has kindly furnished an ex- 
 cellent hymn for our anniversary. 
 
 In 1834 the church was called to part with one of 
 her ablest friends, John Sanders. His remains lie in 
 the ancient family cemetery in front of the church, 
 around which its present owners are building a stone 
 wall of solid masonry. The Rev. Abram Messier 
 D.D., of Somerville, N. J., says when he was a student 
 at Union College in 1819, in company with a fellow 
 student, he spent a sabbath at the house of Mr. San- 
 ders, and conducted the services in a private room in 
 the village. He commends their faithfulness and 
 hospitality; and we are glad that there are families 
 now in our congregation, whose homes, like the home 
 of the beloved Gaius, are eminent in their care and at- 
 tention to the clergy. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Stryker having resigned his charo-e 
 the pulpit was supplied for one year by Rev. Abram 
 J. Swits of Schenectady. 
 
 Third pastor. — In the spring of 1838, the Rev. A. J. 
 Swits was called and settled as the third pastor of this 
 church. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. Ao 
 
 He was a graduate of our own seminary, New 
 Brunswick. He was licensed in 1820. He had occu- 
 pied two different fields of labor. The sermon at his 
 installation was preached and the charge given to the 
 people by the Eev. A B. Chittenden, pastor of the 
 church at Amity, N. Y. 
 
 The charge to the pastor was delivered by the Rev. 
 Thomas Bomeyn. The congregation at this time 
 numbered about one hundred families, and seventy 
 five in communion. God was pleased to bless this 
 ministry with two revivals. Eighty persons were 
 received into the communion of the church and a 
 number joined elsewhere. Thus the Lord not only 
 gave him a seed-time but a rich harvest of precious 
 souls, which will be fully realized when pastor and 
 people rejoice together at the " resurrection of the 
 just." 
 
 In July 17, 1840, the sabbath school held its 
 first pic-nic, in a grove near the church. John L. 
 Swits carried the banner. Charles B. Eames was 
 superintendent of the lower district bounding on the 
 river. In 1842, the Baptist church was organized in 
 our village. It is a vigorous congregation. The Rev. 
 
 Chester L. Van Allen is the present pastor. The 
 members are zealous, and cooperate faithfully with 
 their leader. Several revivals have marked its history. 
 In 1842, the Rev. A. J. Swits retired from this ministry. 
 His home is in the city of Schenectady, near the field 
 where he labored so well in the Gospel. 
 
 Fourth pastor. — Rev. A. B. Crocker was called as the 
 fourth pastor, in August, 1842. He was born in Cam- 
 bridge, Washington county, N. Y. He was educated 
 4 
 
26 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 at Princeton, K J. The parsonage was sold for six 
 hundred dollars. ' 
 
 The consistory, now feeling the need of more prayer, 
 drew up a resolution expressive of their wishes, and 
 recorded it upon their church book : "Resolved, That 
 there be two prayers offered on every sabbath morn- 
 ing before the hour of service." And this custom is 
 certainly worth reviving. People do not pray enough, 
 and especially previous to hearing a sermon. One way 
 to bear well is to pray well. If they pray more, min- 
 isters will preach more effectually. A great loss was 
 now sustained by the church in the death of Andrew 
 Yates, a member of more than usual activity. 
 
 The Rev. A. B. Crocker preached for this people 
 six years. In May, 1848, he was called to New York. 
 But his work for the master soon terminated. He had 
 scarcely put on the harness ere be was called to take 
 it off. We have not been able to obtain a correct 
 account of the communicants received in his ministry. 
 He married a lady in the city of Schenectady, who 
 also died in early life previous to her husband. 
 
 Rev. John Austin Yates, D.D., now supplied the 
 pulpit. He was professor in Union College, and son 
 of Dr. Andrew Yates, of precious memory. The son 
 followed in the footsteps of his honored parent. His 
 name is familiar to you all. He graduated at Union 
 College in 1822. He prosecuted his theological 
 studies at ISTew Brunswick, N. J. And also while in 
 Europe enjoyed the advantages of the University of 
 Berlin. 
 
 He was a man of large and liberal views, and par- 
 taking, in a great measure, the missionary spirit of his 
 father. His zeal and piety went a little further than the 
 doors of the college. You well remember his work 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 27 
 
 of love. We may say of him as was said of a greater : 
 " He being dead yet speaketh." 
 
 Let me now refer to quite an ancient custom. In 
 former times the cemeteries were generally around the 
 church, and in their simplicity were far more impres- 
 sive than the beautifully cultivated flower gardens in 
 which this fashionable age buries its dead. 
 
 Our dead lie under the shadow of our own church. 
 Let them sleep near the house of God where they 
 worshiped. That burial ground adds to the solemnity 
 of thia sanctuary. There this generation, who worship 
 here, will soon lie, pillowed in their graves, one by 
 one. 
 
 In 1849, a committee consisting of David F. Reese, 
 John Ostrander, James Vedder, Samuel Hagadorn 
 and Obadiah C. Lansing was appointed to survey 
 the ground, divide it into lots, and prepare a map of 
 the cemetery, which is in the hands of the treasurer. 
 It was enclosed with a stone wall by John Chamber- 
 lain and John Sanders. 
 
 The Rev. Edwin Vedder was engaged to supply 
 the pulpit for one year, in 1849. He -came among 
 familiar faces and customs. In a word, he came home 
 to preach the gospel. He was a child of this church 
 and the only clergyman from this congregation. At 
 the expiration of one year he accepted a call from the 
 Reformed Protestant Dutch church of Berne, N". Y. 
 And now in mature life, he is the successful pastor of 
 the Reformed church at Gallup ville, U. Y., not far 
 from the spot where he began his ministry with holy 
 aspiration and tender love for the sacred office. 
 
 Fifth Pastor. — The church, in looking around again 
 for a pastor, found, in 1851, a suitable person in the Rev. 
 
2.8 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 K". D. Williamson. He was the fifth pastor, and 
 installed on sabbath afternoon. The Rev. W J. R- 
 Taylor, of Schenectady, Rev. J. Nott and the Rev. G. 
 R. Williamson participated in the installation services. 
 Thus again in the goodness of the Lord they were at 
 ease. And the most of churches know how desirable 
 a little tranquillity is after the war of candidates. A 
 large accession of souls crowned the first year's labor. 
 And had Mr. Williamson's health continued sound, 
 this might have been the brightest page in the life of 
 this church. 
 
 In 1852, the Hon. John Sanders was chosen clerk 
 of consistory, which office he holds to the present time. 
 At this juncture a parsonage was needed ; and a com- 
 mittee was chosen, consisting of Abram Van Antwerp 
 John S. Lansing, and William Rector, to confer with 
 the ladies as to the expediency of building a parsonage. 
 Subsequently a sewing society was formed, which for 
 sixteen years has aided the church, by providing a per- 
 manent fund for contingent demand. This is almost 
 a wonder, for such societies are generally short-lived. 
 The spiritual growth of people was duly kept in mind. 
 A meeting was held for conference and prayer. Family 
 visitation was performed by the pastor with an elder. 
 
 The taste of the people was also stirred up to improve 
 the music. An organ was purchased which was at 
 once an ornament and help in maintaining a choir. 
 And under the prudent management of John S. Lan- 
 sing, our chorister, the choir has passed along with 
 uninterrupted harmony for twenty -five years, and a 
 united choir is certainly a new thing under the sun. 
 The church had now stood over thirty years. Time's 
 mark was upon it. The roof was considered unfit for 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 29 
 
 preservation. In this emergency the church found a 
 benevolent friend in Mrs. Catharine M. Sanders, of 
 Albany. A new roof was furnished at her own expense. 
 She also contributes largely toward the support of the 
 gospel here annually. And our church can truly say 
 in regard to this Christian lady, in "Israel many 
 daughters have done virtuously but thou excellest 
 them all." 
 
 In 1855, the Rev. W. D. Williamson resigned his 
 charge, and accepted a call from the Reformed Pro- 
 testant Dutch church of Warwarsing, 1ST. Y. Rev. 
 Cornelius Van Santvoord, D. D., who resided in Sche- 
 nectady, kindly consented to supply the pulpit in its 
 destitution for a short season. His services were 
 greatly appreciated ; but the church was not able to 
 secure so valuable a preacher. He is one of the 
 ablest scholars and thinkers of our denomination. 
 
 Sixth Pastor. — In 1857, the church presented a call 
 to the Rev. Elbert Slingerland. The cad was ac- 
 cepted, and he was installed. The Rev. Julius H. 
 Seelye of Schenectady officiated. The sabbath schools 
 were resumed in each district. Mr. Slingerland was 
 one of the fathers in the ministry. Age and experi- 
 ence were in his favor. He possessed a warm heart 
 and kind disposition. " Great men are always kind." 
 He toiled faithfully in this vineyard. He gathered 
 souls here for the master's crown. In 1860, he was 
 dismissed to the classis of Montgomery within whose 
 bounds he had received a call. At present he is in 
 Illinois enjoying the wisdom and tranquillity pursuant 
 to a useful life. 
 
 Abram Van Antwerp was summoned away by 
 death in 1860. We may say of him, as was said of 
 
30 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 Cornelius, " He was a devout man, and one that feared 
 God with all his house." 
 
 Seventh Pastor.— The Eev. Philip Berry succeeded 
 the Rev. E. Slingerland in the ministry here in 1861. 
 He was a licentiate of the Theological Seminary, and 
 one of the survivors of the wrecked Austria. He was 
 a young man. The people were greatly encouraged 
 with the prospects of their church. They flocked to 
 his aid and stayed up his hands, like Aaron and 
 Hur the hands of Moses on the hill top. His ministry 
 occupied about eighteen months. He then went as 
 missionary to Syria. He is a fine scholar and writer, 
 and has displayed an earnest love for the preaching 
 of the gospel. 
 
 And now we are coming up to the present moment, 
 and we come like victors bearing the trophies of a 
 successful warfare. To this hour you have looked with 
 cheerful anticipation. Tour thoughts have out- 
 stripped my pen in the line of marshalled words ; and, 
 in this narration I have endeavored, though imper- 
 fectly, to set forth the prominent points of knowledge, 
 and truth, in the history of the pastors, members and 
 events, entering into, and bearing upon the spiritual 
 and temporal prosperity of our beloved Zion. And 
 likely you may feel that in reviewing the whole 
 history of the church, its growth should have been 
 greater; but what church could expect much perma- 
 nent success in this incessant change of pastors? It 
 is enough to render the minds of the people unsteady, 
 and weaken their faith in the performance of religious 
 duty. The church needs a spiritual guide as truly as 
 Israel needed Moses to lead her on to Elim, where 
 she encamped by the waters. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 31 
 
 The custom, which is now adopted by many churches 
 of employing ministers by the year, or for a period of 
 three or, five years, is contrary to the policy of our 
 church, and fatal to their own spiritual growth and 
 character. The churches along our river which have 
 practiced such measures are the most inefficient and 
 unreliable in our denomination. 
 
 Eighth Pastor. — The present pastor was ordained 
 and installed June 14, 1864. It was the first ordina- 
 tion in the church. The day was as clear and beautiful 
 as the heart could desire. The examination took 
 place in the morning in the presence of the classis of 
 Schenectady. The Rev. William P. Davis of Guilder- 
 land delivered an appropriate sermon. The Rev. Dr. 
 Du Bois gave the charge to the pastor and people. 
 The state of the church was feeble., but the spirit of 
 the people determined upon enlarged effort, and in 
 all their endeavors they have succeeded nobly. They 
 are stronger to-day in finance and influence as a con- 
 gregation than at any former time. The exterior of 
 our house of worship, with the exception of a new roof, 
 is the same as it was forty-six years since. Its walls 
 stand firm and strong, witnessing to the substantial 
 work of the builders as they laid brick upon brick in 
 the careful work of erection. But the interior of the 
 church has been in a measure modernized. The pulpit 
 upon pillars, the squares and the old fashioned pews 
 have all been removed. There is a new platform 
 pulpit, new pews, and a new carpet covering the entire 
 floor; each and all exhibiting a freshness and taste 
 suitable to a gracious spirit of enterprise and Christian 
 activity. And for many of these late improvements 
 and a treasury containing the sum of two thousand 
 
32 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 dollars, we are greatly indebted to the industry and 
 prudence of the ladies of the congregation. During 
 the present ministry of four and a half years, we have 
 received about sixty persons into our communion. 
 We have enjoyed seasons of the outpouring of the 
 spirit. We have tasted of the "grapes of Eschol." 
 We have walked through the " land of Beulah." We 
 are a harmonious people, and may God's spirit bind 
 our hearts in closer union. Like Israel, we also have 
 tasted of the "bitter waters of Marah." We have 
 walked amid the graves of our worthy sires. We 
 revere their names, we cherish their memory. May 
 the mantle of their faith and benevolence fall upon 
 their children and children's children to remote gene- 
 rations. We feel that Thomas Cooper, in his prison 
 rhyme, composed in Stafford jail, truly breathed out 
 the experience of many of God's children and con- 
 verted a dreary prison into a palace : 
 
 Sorrow on earth hath uses; nutritive 
 Of joy griefs often prove; and power to find 
 Pleasures unfound before pains friendly give. 
 Oh, state beyond compare ! and for the mind 
 And body framed benignly. 
 
 On the night of affliction dawned the morning of 
 joy. We have followed the spiritual cloud of God's 
 presence, and it resteth here to-day. His banner of 
 love is our canopy. This is our land of Beulah. And 
 it becomes us as a people to acknowledge God's good- 
 ness to our fathers in all the past. Their years were 
 crowned with the divine favor. Their monuments are 
 their good deeds, deeply engraved in the memory of 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 66 
 
 Christ's people. They have left to us all a rich legacy 
 of alms and prayers, which will come up in remem- 
 brance before God. Let us emulate their holy lives, 
 and embalm in our hearts the memory of the great 
 and good. The bard of Fingal said : " The memory 
 of joys that are past is sweet and mournful to the soul." 
 
 "When the Israelites left Elim, they turned backward 
 toward the Red sea, to wander in an unknown wilder- 
 ness ; but, we trust, our onward march will enlarge 
 our borders, and multiply our labors, and consummate 
 our hopes, in the prosperity of the church and the 
 redemption of our souls. We must not turn away 
 from the cross. In the lapse of half a century, great 
 changes have taken place in our own homes as well as 
 in this church of Christ. Almost two generations of 
 human beings have crossed the threshold of death. 
 Names and, in some instances, whole families have 
 gone before us to the house prepared for all the living. 
 
 The names of Swits, Yates, Eames, Fort, Statt, 
 Van Antwerp, Haverly, Schermerhorn, and Barringer, 
 are names no longer heard in our social circle, or this 
 house of God. But they are identified with the history 
 of our church, and live in the precious thoughts of 
 God's children. I have not time to particularize, but 
 will allude to one family, in which death quickly did 
 his work. It is not often that the parents of one house 
 occupy the same grave. Obadiah C. Lansing and his 
 wife, Gertrude Lansing, after a protracted illness, died 
 within a day of each other, and were buried in one 
 grave: "lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in 
 their death they were not divided." 
 
 Fifty years the torch of the red man has been 
 extinguished. Civil strife and war have died away. 
 Physical force is not the arbiter of justice; but the 
 5 
 
34 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 majesty of equitable laws assert their supremacy over 
 the common mind for the protection of life and home. 
 And we are now called to the spiritual warfare of truth 
 and error. And for this conflict we must draw our 
 weapons from God's armory. We need no better. 
 They are the peaceful weapons of faith, hope and love. 
 
 Fifty years has not only accomplished great things 
 in the history of our own church, but the Reformed 
 Church, as a denomination, in proportion to her num- 
 bers, has acquired a power and influence that places 
 her side by side with the largest denominations in our 
 land, for piety, education and efficiency of resources. 
 
 The former part of the nineteenth century gave the 
 first missionaries to the heathen world. The precious 
 names of Scudder, Abeel, Van Dyke and Nevius, 
 stand first in that long line of consecrated names, 
 which planted the banner of the cross on the dark 
 coasts of error, and published to the benighted heathen 
 the story of a Saviour's love. How does our zeal 
 compare with theirs? All around us are the mighty 
 achievements of thought and labor. The world is 
 combining all its energies for the accumulation of 
 wealth and power. The electric telegraph is winging 
 the words of two continents from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific shore. The railway-train is facilitating trade, 
 and carrying, from the door of the Atlantic, millions 
 of souls to the great valley of the west. And shall 
 the world out-work the church. Let it not be said of 
 us, " that the children of this world are wiser in their 
 generation than the children of light." 
 
 It is our duty to take part in the evangelization of 
 the world, to bear our proportion of supporting home 
 missions, foreign missions, and every other agency of 
 our church in its appropriate sphere. Let us not bo 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 35 
 
 found wanting. For the Lord will hold us responsible 
 in accordance to our means. In the light of his holy 
 word it is a fearful thing to- live, and it will be much 
 more so to die. To-day we sing, and pray, and talk 
 of the church, and feel stronger and dearer to each 
 other, by communion with the worthy coadjutors in 
 this vineyard of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 And now may the seriousness of thought, the ten- 
 derness of heart, and the honesty of conviction, that 
 gathers around this anniversary occasion, find their 
 corresponding outgrowth in oneness of action, in har- 
 mony of feeling, and in holiness of life : " Till we all 
 come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge 
 of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the mea- 
 sure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." 
 
 Our God, our help, in ages past, 
 
 Our hope for years to come, 
 Our shelter from the stormy blast, 
 
 And our eternal home. 
 
 Note. Sitice the foregoing was in type, we have learned that 
 in 1840, application was made to the legislature for privilege 
 of changing the name of the church from the North Branch of 
 the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Schenectady, to the 
 Second Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Glenville, and 
 by the efforts of the Hon. Theodore W. Sanders, a member of 
 the lower house, the application was successful. 
 
 After the sermon was delivered, the celebration 
 hymn, written by Prof. M. "W. Wilson of Brooklyn, 
 ~N. Y., was sung: 
 
HYMN. 
 
 BY PBOF. M. W. "WILSON. 
 
 With joyful hearts we hail this day, 
 
 With recollections filled, 
 Of days and weeks long passed away, 
 
 And living voices stilled, 
 The blessed hours of praise and prayer ; 
 
 The scenes of joy and grief, 
 What wondrous times those moments were, 
 
 The seasons were as brief. 
 
 Just fifty years ago, was laid 
 
 In Christ the corner-stone, 
 Of this, our building here for God, 
 
 Nor yet our work is done. 
 Fathers and mothers worshiped here, 
 
 And on these altars laid, 
 Their offerings daily year by year, 
 
 While here on earth they stayed. 
 
 How oft from Mohawk's fruitful vale 
 
 With greenest verdure drest; 
 Their songs of prayer and praise have rolled 
 
 Even to the mountain's crest. 
 So let these lands re-echo still ; 
 
 With one continuous song ; 
 In sweetest tones o'er glen and hill, 
 
 And leafy trees among. 
 
CELEBRATION HYMN. 37 
 
 Great God, we thank thee for thy care 
 
 O'er us each passing year ; 
 Aid us thy goodness to declare, 
 
 And each one persevere. 
 In that good way the fathers went, 
 
 Give us success we pray, 
 So when on earth our time is spent, 
 
 We find eternal day. 
 
ADDRESS OF REV. JOACHIM ELMENDORF 7 
 D.D., OF ALBANY. 
 
 After expressing his gratification in being per- 
 mitted to attend and take part in these anniversary- 
 exercises, and his pleasure at hearing the interesting 
 sermon to which they had listened, he warmly con- 
 gratulated the church upon its manifest prosperity. 
 While several church edifices in the beautiful valley 
 of the Mohawk were dilapidated and neglected, the 
 one in which they were assembled bore proofs of a 
 ruling regard for the claims of taste, comfort, and pro- 
 gress. While other congregations were sadly dis- 
 tracted and were dwindling, theirs was united and 
 growing. While some were without pastors, the Lbrd 
 had given them one upon whose labors rested the 
 divine blessing. While in other communities the de- 
 scendants of those who organized and maintained our 
 Dutch churches were wandering into other ecclesiasti- 
 cal relations and communions, the honored names of 
 its founders are borne as honorably by children and 
 children's children in this church, who are loyal to the 
 Eeformed faith and order of their fathers. 
 
 He enlarged upon the impressive fact, that for fifty 
 years this building had been the safe depository of 
 the Bible, and that on successive sabbaths during all 
 this time, these walls had echoed with the voice of the 
 living preacher, proclaiming its priceless truths to in- 
 terested worshipers. Its elements of instruction, in- 
 terest, power, were referred to, and their influence 
 traced, not only upon the religious life and hopes, but 
 
ADDRESS. 39 
 
 also upon society and civilization. This community 
 could not estimate its indebtedness to this pulpit for 
 its social and intellectual elevation and order. Like 
 every pulpit from which a free Bible is faithfully 
 expounded, this has been mfluential in infusing the 
 saving element of our public life into individual charac- 
 ters. The fact that citizens in their various positions 
 of trust and influence, as well as Christians, were de- 
 pendent upon the word of God for a knowledge of safe 
 principals and unchanging laws, was too much over- 
 looked. Here and here only the full extent of indi- 
 vidual obligations is plainly taught. Here is revealed 
 the source of all authority: the ultimate judge of all: 
 the defender of the oppressed. The history of our 
 race had demonstrated that mere human culture and 
 ability from earthly sources, must ever be unable 
 to elevate lastingly man's social and religious con- 
 dition and give permanency to civil institutions. 
 Not that the efforts of human, philosophy had been 
 in vain. Its influence for limited periods had been 
 mighty and healthful. By it civilization had flou- 
 rished and mind enlightened and released, struggling 
 and pressing upwards for more and clearer light 
 had drawn up many nations from a midnight of 
 ignorance into the noon-day of science. Some of 
 of these were instanced ; but all had passed away so 
 completely, that we were reminded that they once ex- 
 isted, only by the lingering rays, which make visible 
 the heavy clouds resting upon their ruins. So must 
 pass away the liberty and greatness of our own and 
 other nations, if they should be deprived of the light 
 and power of the word of God. Let its sacred truths 
 be obscured in mists of speculation, or be buried in 
 cloisters, and ages as dark and dreadful as have ever 
 
40 ADDRESS. 
 
 oppressed the world would return. The past of this 
 pulpit is a guaranty for the future, that here the 
 trumpet shall give no uncertain sound, and that this 
 church within the sphere of its influence, will subserve 
 the highest social, and civil, and religious interests. 
 
 From the sermon they had learned that God had 
 granted this church special refreshings from his pre- 
 sence during its history, so that several pastorates had 
 been signalized by large accessions to its membership. 
 This suggested the sublimest truth and fact which can 
 be declared concerning this or any church, viz : that 
 peculiar and gracious presence of God, by which the 
 utterances of human lips become the wisdom of God 
 and the power of God to the salvation of those' who 
 believe. It was not human wisdom or eloquence or 
 earnestness or love in the gospel, which gave to it its 
 saving might, but it was ever and only the accompany- 
 ing Divine Spirit. Whenever a human spirit dead in 
 sins had been made alive : whenever a soul passed from 
 the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God, God 
 was here, demonstrating his own power and grace and 
 love. How such truth disclosed the infinite condescen- 
 sion of Jehovah, who deigns thus to dwell in temples 
 made with hands. How it hallowed this sacred place ! 
 How it encouraged the hope that in years to come, 
 faithful and prayerful ministrations here, should, in 
 their saving results, prove the abiding presence of the 
 Lord : that many should meet and wrestle with the 
 Angel of the Covenant, as Jacob did at Peniel : that 
 multitudes should encounter him as did Saul of Tar- 
 sus near Damascus. 
 
 The sermon also had stated, that of the company of 
 believers who were present at the first administration 
 of the Lord's supper within these walls, but three 
 
ADDRESS. 41 
 
 remained on earth. Fifty swiftly, silently, flowing 
 years had borne the rest deep into the realities of 
 eternity. How solemnly this inculcated the duty of 
 doing what their hands found to do with their might. 
 They had not, through the favor of the Lord and the 
 faithfulness of a Christian ancestry, obtained this in- 
 heritance merely for enjoyment and rest, but to work 
 for the salvation of souls and the glory of Christ. And 
 they should be certainly successful in tbeir efforts and 
 enriched in heavenly rewards, according to their mea- 
 sure of the spirit of th^ir master : according as they 
 brought their own plans into harmony, their souls into 
 sympathy, their very being into identity with those 
 spiritual forces, through whose silent and irresistible 
 working the kingdoms of this world are becoming 
 the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. 
 
 Singing. 
 
 Benediction by Rev. John Minor. 
 
EVENING EXERCISES. 
 
 Order of Evening Exercises: Singing by the Choir — Prayer by 
 the Rev. Denis Wortman — Hymn 552 — Address by Kev. Anson 
 Dubois, D.D. — Hymn 339 — Addresses by Rev. Denis Wortman 
 and Hon. John Sanders, Esq. — Prqjfer by Rev. Chester L. Van 
 Allen — Singing and benediction. 
 
 ADDBESS BY EEV. ANSON" DU BOIS, D.D. 
 OF SCHENECTADY. 
 
 Occasions of this kind possess a peculiar interest 
 and solemnity. They relate mainly to the dim and 
 distant past, in which we seem for the time ourselves 
 to move, holding converse with the good, useful, and 
 venerable of other days, into whose labors we have 
 entered and the answers of whose prayers we possess 
 as our heritage. The memories of the past! how 
 they throng this hour ! Every heart is full of them, 
 and here a,nd there as the pastor has recounted the 
 history of the church for the fifty years that are gone, 
 the moistened eye, or the quivering lip has shown 
 that the mind was holding a long lost, but dearly 
 loved converse with forms and voices all unseen and 
 unheard by us as they peopled again the mysterious 
 chambers of the soul. The early dead have claimed 
 a sacred recognition. Not alone the little ones hastely 
 snatched away from the fondling arms of the parents 
 like opening buds nipped by untimely frost, and re- 
 membered now only as the sweetness of a dream,.too 
 
ADDRESS. 43 
 
 sweet and too etherial to last, but also the sons and 
 the daughters of the household who had come to the 
 very opening of active and honorable life in all the 
 promise, all the hopefulness, and all the modest beauty 
 of their attractive age, but were then in the strange 
 yet holy providence of God, suddenly cut down. 
 Their names and memories constitute a part of the 
 most tenderly cherished traditions of the family, and 
 to-day their faces are revived in the heart, or come up 
 , along with the oft told stories of the home. 
 
 So, too, the faithful among the disciples of our Lord. 
 They have their honor now as the memory goes back 
 to them and brings them into the chief place in the 
 sanctuary. Though they were very obscure, and had 
 little or nothing of the world, with all of prejudice 
 obliterated by time, and all want of appreciation 
 rebuked by the good which has followed their labors 
 and prayers, and holy example, we crown them now 
 as the best beloved of God, and the greatest of his 
 blessings to the church. Men of faith, of patience, of 
 humble, earnest, unceasing activity, and of prayer, 
 their works do follow them, and to-day we see them 
 in spirit among this worshiping and thankful throng. 
 Many have died in the faith ; Christians of ripe expe- 
 rience, and with souls full of heaven while yet linger- 
 ing along the borders of time. There is a testimonial 
 of love to God and his cause by your presence here 
 to-day, but what a testimony deeply solemn and 
 affecting may you receive by a walk through this 
 church yard where so many, after faithful service done 
 are sleeping in Christ and in glorious hope of his 
 coming. 
 
 All these memories of fifty years, are the heritage 
 of this church ; and they belong not altogether to the 
 
44 ADDKESS. 
 
 past. There is a true and real value in them. Stability 
 comes of age, if we are but wise enough to avail our- 
 selves of it; accumulated power for all the memories of 
 the past gives us a hold upon the present. They are 
 the testimony of the dead through the generations, a 
 testimony we wish not to overthrow, but to unite to 
 the present, that like a continuous stream, God's mercy 
 may flow on from the past through the present into 
 the future. There is more of moral power in the 
 church with every year of its history, and the added 
 life of every saint. The Hudson far away at its source 
 is but a tiny brook, which the hand may turn, but re- 
 ceiving its tributaries in its onward flow, it widens 
 and deepens into an irrisistible flood, and now though 
 the mountains seek to impede its progress they are reft 
 asunder, and amid the' mightiest of them helplessly 
 witnessing its power, it flows on triumphantly to the 
 sea. The church of Christ comes to us from the ages ; 
 it bears with it the power of time, and more than that, 
 the power of God, and all opposition must be broken 
 down before it. Here to-day is the testimony of fifty 
 years. Go forth, Christian believers to the conflict 
 and the triumphs of the fifty years to come. 
 
 After singing Hymn 339, the Rev. Denis "Wortman 
 followed with an address. 
 
ADDRESS BY THE REV. DENIS WORTMAN, 
 
 OF THE FIRST REFORMED CHTTRCH OF SCHENECTADY. 
 
 He congratulated the church most heartily upon its 
 present prosperous condition. He. believed the church 
 had never been so united in spirit, so liberal in its 
 donations, so aggressive in its activities as now ; and 
 whilst full credit should be given to the elder people 
 of the congregation, he felt that much of its present 
 activity received its impulse from the earnest devotion 
 of the teachers and scholars of the sabbath school, in 
 conjunction with the interest taken in it by the pastor. 
 Fifty years had now passed since this church was 
 founded. More than two thousand sermons had been 
 delivered to this people. How much of truth had 
 been preached to them, enforced by how many argu- 
 ments, made clear by how many illustrations, pressed 
 upon their hearts by how many appeals ! How much 
 were they responsible for ! How many must have re- 
 ceived the truth to become to them a word of salvation ; 
 to how many, rejecting it, may it have proved possibly a 
 word of deeper condemnation ! Fifty years in that 
 long time how much a church, however small, might 
 do. Fifty years had now gone by, another fifty 
 stretched out before them. "Would they but now 
 consecrate themselves in all loyalty to Christ, ere fifty 
 more years should roll around, why might not every 
 member of this community be brought to Jesus, aye, 
 and an influence go out to quicken and serve to save 
 all in yonder city? None can tell the power of a 
 
46 ADDRESS. 
 
 single Christian, whose heart was full of Christ ; who 
 then could estimate the power of a consecrated and 
 sanctified church ? 
 
 To such a consecration, instant, sincere, entire, he 
 would earnestly exhort them. This church had been 
 exceedingly improved in its interior arrangements, 
 and it was well to call in Art and bid her give beauty 
 to the material structure. But there was a beauty 
 far surpassing this : when grace came to adorn the 
 soul with salvation, when the hearts of the worship- 
 ers were filled with love, and their radiant faces 
 showed the peace and joy that came with holy conse- 
 crations of the all to Christ. To illustrate the contrast 
 between the outward material beauty and the inward 
 spiritual, he set against each other the church of the 
 Madeleine of Paris and a little mission meeting in that 
 city. He had studied the symmetrical proportions of 
 that most magnificent temple of France, bad gazed 
 with wonder upon its surrounding colonnade of Cor- 
 inthian pillars, more imposing than any the world 
 bas seen since the Parthenon fell into decay, had 
 admired its richly graven frieze and cornice, its paint- 
 ings and colossal statues, had witnessed its sabbatb 
 throngs and heard the chantings of its rich robed 
 priests, and gathered up the associations of the place 
 that thronged upon him from the years gone by ; an/1 
 yet when turning from this to go through a long dark 
 passage to a little secluded room where two or three 
 young English Christians had gathered some two 
 score young English lads, otherwise without religious 
 instruction, for the purpose of studying the Word of 
 Life, and praying and talking of Jesus, he felt that 
 in that little room which no guide book mentioned, and 
 Paris did not know, in that most humble, loving, de- 
 
ADDRESS. 47 
 
 voted effort to teach Christ to the poor, there was a 
 ^beauty, there was a sweetness, aye, and a grandeur too, 
 with which the divine architect was better pleased than 
 with le Madeleine or any other material structure in all 
 the world. This beauty, this harmony, this interior 
 glory, he would have every individual develop. While 
 from year to year they sought to make their place of 
 worship more tasteful and commodious, he would 
 have them remember that their hearts were temples 
 also, the temples of the Holy Ghost, and would have 
 them — rather, God would have them — adorned with 
 every Christian grace. The speaker closed with 
 remarking that the morrow was the sabbath day, and 
 then they would begin another fifty years of praise and 
 prayer and work. How auspicious would it be if on 
 that day each Christian should give himself anew in 
 deliberate, earnest, hearty consecration to the cause of 
 Jesus. 
 
 THE HON. JOHN SANDERS. 
 
 The Elder, John Sanders, at this late period of the 
 interesting exercises, having been invited by his pas- 
 tor to address the audience, said : My friends, if, as one 
 of our distinguished speakers, my friend Dr. Dubois, 
 incidentally said, when rising to address you more 
 than an hour since, this whole anniversary subject 
 has been historically, religiously and biblically so ably 
 and exhaustively treated, that the crumbs falling from 
 the rich repast were the only material nutriment left 
 to him, so that he scarcely knew what to pick up, or 
 from what point appropriately to continue the exer- 
 cises ; now after his own subsequent masterly effort, 
 followed up by an illustrative discourse from the 
 
48 ADDRESS. 
 
 Eev. Denis Wortraan; it seems to me that you 
 must all feel that my chance is limited, and I confess,. 
 I myself feel, that my ingenuity (if any) is at an 
 alarming crisis ; but it is perhaps fitting, that some 
 member of this church, some one of its sons, should 
 be heard on this delightful occasion, so that, encou- 
 raged by the success of those speakers who have pre- 
 ceded me, I will venture to talk on and of, and about, 
 this church, its people and our anniversary, as 
 thoughts well up from memory ; and if thoughts will 
 not come, the fault is not mine, for please bear in 
 mind, I did not volunteer to occupy this position. 
 
 I can commence with a true and safe remark: this 
 semi-centennial anniversary day, has been one of the 
 most pleasant and joyous of my life. Here I have met 
 many neighbors and friends united to me by a com- 
 mon interest in this celebration, and some of them 
 like myself descended from the old pioneers of the 
 country ; and all mortal, destined to an endless immor- 
 tality. Here I have met the members of our church, 
 temples of the living God. 
 
 " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and 
 that the spirit of God dwelleth in you. — " I Cor. hi, 16. 
 And this church I recognize as a temple of God, a 
 house of prayer and praise. 
 
 How changed all is now, since the days of my boy- 
 hood some sixty years ago, and each change has made 
 its vivid impression upon my recollections. This par- 
 ticular spot, long before a church was erected upon 
 it, was the site of a young and magnificent orchard, 
 and commanded a prospect as beautiful and unequaled 
 as the eye of taste could well gaze upon. The glassy 
 lake at its base, the extensive woodlands adjacent to 
 it, and other surroundings, have been consecrated in 
 
ADDRESS. 49 
 
 my memory. Born in the vicinity, this spot was a 
 part of my paternal homestead, and sometimes the 
 scene of my boyish sports and innocent pleasures, 
 before the advance of maturer years had made life 
 serious, and I trust, perhaps, more useful. 
 
 I can well say that often during a few years of ab- 
 sence from the home of my birth, this heart has feel- 
 ingly echoed, the exquisite lines of Samuel Woadworth, 
 entitled, The Old Oaken Bucket. 
 
 How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, 
 When fond recollection presents them to view,; 
 
 The orchard, the meadow the deep tangled wild-wood, 
 And every loved spot which my infancy knew. 
 
 But it would not be appropriate on this occasion to 
 tell you, how often before this church was built, or a 
 body interred in its cemetery, myself and a brother, 
 now deceased, or myself and brother now living, have, 
 with fowling piece on shoulder, over this very ground 
 and its vicinity, chased the nimble squirrel) scared up 
 the timid rabbit, or sought out the gentle pigeon, with 
 other kindred game, sometimes victimizing the poor 
 innocents ; for Lake hill with its extensive orchard 
 and deep adjacent woods, was a favorite resort of the 
 sportsman's quarry. Nor how often I have drank 
 nature's cooling nectar from the crystal fountains at 
 its base, or how often glided over the clear bosom of 
 its lake, in pursuit of pleasure, of its water fowl, or 
 finny tribes; for this has passed away now; and, 
 although affording pleasant memories, is, in its changes, 
 only a lesson for the present, and a delightful contem- 
 pation for the future.. 
 7 
 
My excellent friends, what noble changes have ta- 
 ken place since I was ahoy ranging between the care- 
 less ages of thirteen a;nd seventeen years. In order to 
 give point to my remarks, I have said that this now 
 consecrated spot was once a heatiuful orchard and 
 hunting ground, that no house of God or hallowed ce- 
 meitery then occupied its commanding position ; and 
 now to carry out my design, I do not propose to enter 
 upon the early settlement of this valley, or the minute 
 details of the organization and subsequent history of 
 our church up to this day, for our estimable pastor 
 has elaborated that subject, with an accuracy, erudi- 
 tion and industry surprising to myself. When I re- 
 member, that being a native of another state (old true 
 blue Dutch New Jersey), and having ministered to us, 
 only four and one-half years in holy things, and most 
 acceptably too ; he could scarcely have been expected 
 to be familiar with our early data. 
 
 But on this interesting occasion I have been deeply 
 impressed with the Christian remarks, falling from my 
 friend, the Rev. Denis Wortman : 
 
 " That none can tell the power of a single Christian, 
 whose heart loasfullof Christ; who then can estimate the 
 power of a consecrated and sanctified Churchl" 
 
 Bear with me then, while I state, why the force of 
 those sentiments, sent a penetrating thrill through my 
 heart. 
 
 During the so-called war of 1812, between this 
 country and Great Britain, Gerard Beekman (of whon 
 our excellent pastor has already made mention), a 
 Christian -gentleman of great benevolence and compe- 
 tent fortune, residing in the city of New York ; while 
 that city was daily threatened with bombardment by 
 the enemy, in the autumn of 1814, accompanied by a 
 
ADDRESS. 51 
 
 a wife, then his whole family, removed to this village 
 of Scotia, and both became members of the family of 
 Robert and Jacob G-. Sanders, their relatives, mer- 
 chants and agriculturalists, then occupying what was 
 subsequently the residence of Mr. M. M. Howe. 
 
 Driven from his customary duties and religious pri- 
 vileges, by the anxieties of a timid and much loved 
 wife, this eminent Christian, taught the love of Jesus, 
 and of imperishable souls, at the feet of TJrs. Archi- 
 bald Ladlie and John H. Livingston, fathers of our 
 great Reformed church ; seeing the destitution of this 
 branch of our vineyard, with unhesitating fidelity, im- 
 mediately in his new home, raised an altar to the living 
 G-od : a prayer meeting was established in the parlor 
 of that residence ; there have I kneeled in my boy- 
 hood, there I have seen the old fathers of this church 
 and the young who afterwards became its officers and 
 principal ornaments, bow in childlike humility; and 
 under the leadership of Mr. Beekman, aided by the 
 admirable cooperation of Andrew Yates, D. D., vice 
 president of, and professor in Union College, for- 
 warded that holy work, which four years afterwards, 
 though the blessing of God, culminated in the organ- 
 ization of this church, whose semi-centennial anni- 
 versary, we now celebrate. 
 
 Having thus by prayer and influence, given an 
 impetus to a great movement in our Zion, this" emi- 
 nent Christian after a residence of many months 
 among us, again returned to his own city, leaving 
 $1,000 for the support of this object of his prayers 
 and care. Nor did his Christian solicitude end here : 
 by the provisions of his last will he directed that in 
 case his only child, the now Hon. James "W. Beek- 
 man, should not attain the age of twenty-one years, 
 
52 ADDRESS. 
 
 an additional sum of $8,000 should be paid out of 
 his estate as his further contribution to the funds of 
 the church. True the contingency did not happen, 
 and the legacy is lost ; but in the conditional provi- 
 sion, love to the master's cause and a missionary spirit 
 are clearly exemplified. 
 
 But our pastor has so well offered his beautiful 
 tributes to the worth of the patrons, early founders, 
 and pastors of this church, that additional eulogy 
 from me, would be supererj-ogation ; yet two names 
 are unintentionally omitted, or have not met my ear, 
 without whose mention this history is imperfect. 
 Albert W. Vedder, Esq. ; a citizen of excellent repute, 
 and now living in our midst, was for many years 
 our chorister, the immediate predecessor of our pre- 
 sent incumbent, John S. Lansing, Esq., and the fact 
 that Mr. Vedder is the grandson of our old patri- 
 arch, Cornelius De Graff, who, as has been stated, 
 was for many years choirister of the 1st Reformed 
 Dutch church of Schenectady, makes him to me and 
 others, a person of peculiar interest; and often as 
 I have listened to the melody of his choir on the 
 sacred sabbath day, I have associated my friend 
 with the virtues and musical powers of his excellent 
 ancestor. 
 
 Then, too, there was my venerated ideal of a Christ- 
 ian, John Chamberlain, familiarly known as Father 
 Chamberlain, a bright and shining light in our church, 
 earnest and powerful in prayer, constant in every good 
 word and work, and full of revival spirit, until at a 
 very advanced age, laden with the armor of salvation, 
 he was gathered to his fathers. And permit me to 
 add, from an acquaintance of many years with that 
 devoted Christian gentleman, that during the last 
 
ADDRESS. 53 
 
 twenty years before his decease, he was probably the , 
 most efficient, conspicuous and beloved member of 
 our whole church. 
 
 But, alas, the early patrons and members of this 
 vineyard have departed ; we can only love their me- 
 mories and profit by their example. The sods of our 
 valley grow green over their ashes ; eulogy cannot 
 reach them. 
 
 " For what are earthly honors now 1 
 They never deemed them worth their care, 
 And death has set upon their brows, 
 The wreaths they were too meek to wear." 
 
 Finding myself treading on illimitable ground, in 
 justice to the lateness of .the hour, I will only add : this 
 anniversary has been to me, and I trust to others, a 
 feast of fat things, a luxurious repast. 
 
 The admirable and elaborate historical sermon of our 
 pastor. . 
 
 The chaste and beautiful compliment to the progress 
 of our church and people, accompanied by an eloquent 
 tribute to the power and influence of the Bible, by 
 Dr. Elmendorf. 
 
 The sweet and touching memories of the past fifty years, 
 as the heritage of this church by Dr. Du Bois ; and 
 
 The hearty congratulations to our success, by the Rev. 
 Denis Wbrtman, with a concise review of what had 
 been accomplished in fifty years, and a far reaching 
 counsel as to what might and ought to be accomplished 
 in the fifty years to come ; connected with his grand 
 illustration of the contrast between the outward ma- 
 terial beauty and the inward spiritual, as shown by a 
 
54 ADDRESS. 
 
 .comparison of that magnificent temple le Madeleine of 
 Paris with its surrounding colonnade of Corinthian pil- 
 lars, and a little mission meeting of that city, formed a whole 
 so unique, enchanting and Christian-like, that I have 
 deeply drank in their inspirations, and without the 
 ability of adding one single word of power aSffa finale, 
 could I so do 
 
 ' Would throw the mantle of heaven around 
 This evening scene, and pin it with a star." 
 
 Prayer was offered by the Rev. Chester L. Van 
 Allen. 
 
 Singing and benediction. 
 
LIST OF MEMBEES 
 
 At the time of the, Organization of the . Church, since known as the 
 Second Reformed Church of Olenmlel. November 21, 1818. 
 
 * Husband and wife. 
 
 John Sanders, Albertina Ten Broeck.* 
 
 Eliza Anderson, widow of Dr. Anderson. 
 
 Frederick Rees : Susan Frank, wife of Frederick Rees. 
 
 David F. Rees. 
 
 Daniell Toll : Susan Swits.* 
 
 Cornelius Viele : Tanike De Graff.* 
 
 Rachel, widow of Philip Viele. 
 
 John Haverly. 
 
 Simon Van Patten : Hannah Toll.* 
 
 Charles H. Toll : Elizabeth Ryley.* 
 
 Cornelius De Graff. 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp. 
 
 Aaron D. Van Antwerp. 
 
 James Van Epps : Angelica.* 
 
 Alexander J. Van Epps. 
 
 Lawrence Van Epps. 
 
 John Van Vorst. 
 
 John N. De Graff. 
 
 Rebecca Viele, widow of Abraham De Graff. 
 
 Elizabeth De Graff. 
 
 Eva Van Driesback, wife of John N. De Graff. 
 
 John Marselus. 
 
 David Prime : Rebecca Toll.* 
 
 Peter Bath. 
 
 Abraham Van Vorst. 
 
CHURCH OFFICERS. 
 
 November 21, 1818. 
 
 ELDERS. DEACONS. 
 
 Cornelius De Graff, Alexander Van Epps, 
 
 John Haverly, Cornelius Viele, 
 
 John Van Vorst, Simon Van Patten, 
 
 Aaron Van Antwerp. Aaron R. Schermerhorne. 
 
 November 27, 1819. 
 
 John Sanders, David Prime, - 
 
 Charles H. Toll, Abraham Van Antwerp. 
 
 November 25, 1820. 
 
 Jacobus Van Epps, Peter Bath, 
 
 Daniel Toll. Abraham Van Vorst. 
 
 December 1, 1821. 
 
 Cornelius Viele, Simon Van Patten, 
 
 Aaron Van Antwerp. John N. De Graff. 
 
 December 7, 1822. 
 
 John Van Worst, Albert A. Nedder, 
 
 David Prime. David P. Rees. 
 
 December 5, 1823. 
 
 Daniel Toll, Andrew Yates, 
 
 John Sanders. Jacob Osborn. 
 
 December 11, 1824. 
 
 Simon Van Patten, Lawrence Van Epps, 
 
 Ebenezer Statt. Nicolas Van Patten. 
 
CHURCH OFFICERS. 57 
 
 December 10, 1825. 
 
 EUDERS. DEACONS. 
 
 Cornelius Viele, H. Prime, 
 
 Aaron Van Antwerp. Aaron Stephens. 
 
 November 7, 1826. 
 
 John D. Fort, Jacob Osborn, 
 
 David Prime. Alexander Van Epps. 
 
 December 20, 1827. 
 
 Andrew Swits. Nicholas Viele, 
 
 Simon Van Patten. Garrit Bradt. 
 
 December 25, 1828. 
 
 Cornelius Viele, John Stephens, 
 
 Lawrence Van Epps. Abraham Bradt. 
 
 November, 1829. 
 
 David Prime, Henry Barringer, 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp. Daniel Slover. 
 
 December 16, 1831. 
 
 John D. Fort, Francis Osborn, 
 
 Daniel Slover. John Stephens. 
 
 November 24, 1832. 
 
 Cornelius Viele, B. Bulman, 
 
 Lawrence Van Epps. Christian H. Brooks. 
 
 December 12, 1833. 
 
 Andrew Yates, William De Graff, 
 
 Garret Bradt. John N. Van Patten. 
 
 December 35, 1834. 
 
 David Prime, Theodore Sanders, 
 
 William Vedder. Francis Osborn. 
 
58 CHURCH OFFICERS. 
 
 December 10, 1835. 
 
 ELDERS. DEACONS. 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp, Obadiah C. Lansing. 
 
 Nicholas Viele. Christian H. Brooks. 
 
 December 15, 1836. 
 
 Andrew Yates, William DeGraff, 
 
 Daniel Slover. Teunis Fort. 
 
 December 23, 1837. 
 
 Obadiah C. Lansing, John Van Patten, 
 
 John Sanders. James Vedder. 
 
 December 20, 1838. 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp, James L. Van Epps, 
 
 Benoni Bulman. Kiohard Stephens. 
 
 December 7, 1839. 
 
 John Devoe, Charles B. Eames, 
 
 Kichard Oliver. Samuel Hagadorn. 
 
 December 7, 1840. 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp, John S. Lansing, 
 
 Nicolas Viele. John Ostrandcr. 
 
 November 7, 1841. 
 
 William Vedder, James Phillips, 
 
 Theodore W. Sanders. Robert Van Epps. 
 
 December, 13, 1842. 
 
 Cornelius Viele, Charles B. Eames, 
 
 John Chamberlain. Richard Stephens. 
 
 December 13, 1843. 
 
 Jamas Vedder, John S. Lansing, 
 
 John P. Ostrander. Samuel Hagadorn. 
 
CHURCH OFFICERS. 
 
 December 6, 1844. 
 
 59 
 
 ELDERS. DEACONS. 
 
 Andrew Yates, Abram W. Toll, 
 
 John N. Van Patten. James Van Epps. 
 
 November 12, 1845. 
 
 Richard Stephens, James Phillips, 
 
 Nicolas Viele. Jonathan Hagadorn. 
 
 December 19, 1846. 
 
 Christian H. Brooks, Lawrence Van Epps, 
 
 John Sanders. John S. Lansing. 
 
 December 22, 1847. 
 
 Cornelius Viele, Robert Van Epps, 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp. Samuel Hagadorn. 
 
 November 17, 1848. 
 
 James Vedder, John P. Ostrander, 
 
 David P. Rees. Evert Cragier. 
 
 December, 1849. 
 
 Abraham W. Toll, E. B. Sprague, M. D., 
 
 Charles H. Prime. James Van Epps. 
 
 December 11, 1850. 
 
 John Sanders, Jonathan Hagadorn, 
 
 David P. Rees. "William Stephens. 
 
 December 6, 1851. 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp, John S. Lansing, 
 
 Nicolas Viele. William Stepbens. 
 
 December, 1852. 
 Charles H. Prime, Abraham De Graff, 
 
 John P. Ostrander. Alexander Van Epps. 
 
60 CHURCH OFFICERS. 
 
 December 8, 1853. 
 
 BLDBBS. DEACONS. 
 
 Kichard Stephens, William S. Stephens, 
 
 John Sanders. John S. Lansing. 
 
 December 23, 1854. 
 
 Nicolas Viele, Abraham De Graff, 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp. Alexander Van Epps. 
 
 November 17, 1858, 
 
 Abraham Van Antwerp, Daniel Van Guysling, 
 
 Nicolas Viele, Albert Peek. 
 
 January, 1860. 
 
 Charles Prime, Christian P. Seely, 
 
 John S. Lansing. Ceo. Posson. 
 
 December, 1860. 
 
 Francis Osborn, Walter T. L. Sanders, 
 
 Daniel Van Guysling. Albert Peek. 
 
 November 25, 1861. 
 
 Charles H. Prime, Alexander Van Epps, 
 
 John Sanders. Christian P. Seeley. 
 
 December 4, 1862. 
 
 George Posson, Philip H. Dedrick, 
 
 Francis Osborn. Edward Moore. 
 
 February, 1864. 
 
 John S. Lansing, Christian F. Seeley, 
 
 Daniel Van Guysling. James Van Epps. 
 
 January 24, 1865. 
 
 Christian H. Brooks, William Tygert, 
 
 Francis Osborn. Albert Peek. 
 
CHURCH OFFICERS. 61 
 
 November 9, 1865. 
 
 ELDERS. DEACONS. 
 
 Daniel Van Guysling, Eugene L. Sanders, 
 
 John S. Lansing. Lansing Slover. 
 
 January 3, 1867. 
 John Sanders, Abijah St. J. Eees, 
 
 William Tygert. William S. Stephens, 
 
 William J. Stephens. 
 
 December 23, 1867. 
 
 Daniel Van Guysling, Luther E. Wilson, 
 
 Edward Moore. William J. Stephens. 
 
BX9531 .Gsl" """* ^ 
 
 Men Wii miiJSSfiHfflS. !? the semicentenn al an 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 029 489 816 
 
6AYI.ORD BROS. Inc. | 
 Syracuse* N. Y. ■ 
 Slocklon, C alit. y