BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 1891 A..£o.;:;^.^. ^yv/P^- CORNELL UNIVERSnV LIBRARY 924 082 451 372 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://www.archive.org/details/cu31924082451372 THE EARLIEST CHURCHES NEW YORK ITS VICINITY. GABRIEL P. DISOSWAY, A. M., COBRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ETC., ETC. "■Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mnrk ye well her bulworkB, conBider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generations following.'*' FSALMB. NEW YORK: JAMES G. GBEGOKY, 540, BROADWAY. M Dpqc.Lxv. 6 Entered aeconlitig to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, BY GABEIEL P. DISOSWAT, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern Bistrict of New York. u. A. AI.VORD, STKREOTVPER AN1> PEINTKB. TO THE REV. THOMAS B. VERMILYB, D. D., AND ABEL STEVENS, LL.D., so WELL KNOWN AND ESTEEMED FOE THEIR VALUABLE HI3T0EICAL EESEAECHES, AND AT WHOSE ADVICE ESPEOIAILT THIS WOEK HAS BEEN COMPOSED: TO THESE ESTEEMED FRIENDS IS NOW OFFERED, AS A TEIEUTB OP THE AUTHOIl'S EEGABDS AND PEIENDSHIP. PREFACE. The following chapters were not originally written for niiblination in a volume : hut werfi nonrmoRfid at fhp. PREFACE. be indulged. Our object has been to present the in- fomiation in a concise and clear manner. The chapters are collected into the present volume, that something useful may be better preserved, and made more ac- cessible to all who esteem and venerate the history, faith, and hope of our earliest churches. Gt. P. D. The Clove, Slaten Jskmd, Ghristmas, 1864. C OE"TEE"TS CHAPTER I. The CoUe^ate Reformed Dntcli Church of New York the Earliest Formed in North America — ^Motley's " Eise of the Dutch Republic"— Emigrants Sent to America by the West India Company — Director Minuifs An-ival, 1620— The Ziekentrooster— Rev. Jonas Michaelius, the First Ministor— Dominie Bogardus — First Church — The Second, St. Nicholas, How Built — Earliest Ministers— Garden Street Church Built^ Middle and North Dutch Built. Page 18 CHAPTER ir. The Dutch Early Introduced Schools in New Amsterdam— Evert Pietersen, the Zickentroos- ter— School house Built— Children Publicly Catechised— New Amsterdam becomes New Tork— The School Continued as Usual, but Broken Up for a time by Governor Cornhury — Schoolbouse Erected on Garden Street— Continued three-quarters of a Century— English Introduced in the Public Religious Services — "Sons of Liberty"— American prisoners in the Churches— Great Fire of 1776— School Reopened After the Peace of 17S8— New School- house Built in 1S47 89 CHAPTER HI. First Burial-place in New Tork — Services of the Church of England Introduced, 1664 — Mr. Vesey, the First Rector- Charlotte Temple's Grave — Rev. Elias Ncau — Dr. Vinton — Episcopal Free School Established — Episcopal Churches Closed in the Revolution — Drs. Cooper, Auehmuty, CharUon, Barclay, Inglis — Reply to "Common Sense" Seized by Sons of liberty and Burned— General Howe Lands in New York — The Great Fire, 1776— Dr. Inglis Retires to Nova Scotia, and there made Bishop — The King's Farm — Trinity Bafned and Rebuilt — St George's. St. Paul's, and St. John's built— Governor Fletcher's Arrival; a High Churchman— Churches Ordered to be Erected in Westchester, Suffolk, and Rich- mond — Citizens Taxed for theu* Support 54 CHAPTER IT. Trinity Church— tts Princely Liberality — Churches Helped — Queen's Farm — First Wardens and Vestrymen — Subscriptions to the Building — New Edifice — Governor Fletcher's Arms and Pew — King's Farm— Ministers'' Salaries Small — Fees— Rev. Mr. Vesey and his Assist- ants — Trinity Enlarged, 1787 — Queen Anne Presents Communion Sets, and the Bishop of London, a Parochial Library ^Death of Mr. Vesey 68 CHAPTER y. Rev. Henry Barclay Inducted into Trinity Church, 1746— Chapel of Ease, St. George's— Drs. Milnor and Tyn? — Washington an Attendant here — Dr. Samuel Johnston, an Assistant Minister of Trinity— Gulian C. Verplanck, his grandson, now a Vestryman — Dr. Johnston the First President of Columbia College— New Organ for Trinity— Dr. Barclay's Death — Rev. John 0?ilvie, his Death and Benefactions— St. Paul's Built, 1763 — Here General Wash- ington also Worshipped — Rev. Mr. Vardill, Benjamin Moore, and Dr. Bowden, Assistant Ministers in Trinity — Mr. Beach, of Connecticut,— Death of Rev. Dr. Auchmuty 71 CHAPTER VI. St George's Burned in 1814— Rebuilt by the Liberality of Trinity— Benjamin T. Onderdonk an Assistant Rector— Mr. Hobart, Assistant of Bishop Mnor2— Sketch of the Bishop— Mr. Hobart, a warm Churchman, Elected Bishop, 1811— His Death, 1830— Dr. Berrian Elected R«etor of Trinity, Rev. Henry Anthon and Dr. J. M. Walnwi-ight, Assistant Ministers— Dr. Wainwright becomes Bishop, and the Rev. Edward G. Higbee an Assistant Minister of. Trinity— Bishop Onderdonk — The Present beautiful Trinity erected, and Consecrated Mav 21, 184G— Rev. Thomas C. Brownell 80 CHAPTER YII. The Episcopal Church Early Regarded the Establishment of Schools— A School at first Held in the flelft-y— Beni'factions to the School, and a House Built on Rector Street— The New 8 CONTENTS. Edifice in Varick Street— Origin of King's, afterwards Columbia, College — The " King's Farm" — Twenty-five Thousand Dollar Legacy Page S6 CiECAPTER VIII. In 1685, the Jews Eefused Permission of Public "Worship by the City Authorities— Churches in Governor Dongan's Administration— Petition of the Jews— Synagogues Built in Balti- more and Richmond— Burial-place" in 1672— Mrst Synagogue Built in Mill Street — Jewish Families near it— Harraan Hendricks— Ee v. Gershom Isaac Jeshurun Pinto — Mr. Seixas— The Eabbifr— Names of the Present Temples — Jewish Worship^The Holy Light 94 CHAPTER IX. Luther's Name a Waymark in the Church — Two Centuries Ago a Lutheran Congregotion in New York— Eev. Jacob Fabritius— But Four Clergymen of the Established Church in New Netherlands — Conformity attempted — The Lutherans and Baptists Troubled — William Hal- let Fined Fifty Pounds, and a Baptist Preacher One Hundred Pounds, and Ordered from the Colony — Eev. Ernestus Goatwater Banished — Governor Stuyvesant Censured for his Persecutions — In 1664 New Amsterdam Becomes New York — Lutherans Erect a Church, . 1702 — Eev. Barnardus Arentius its Pastor — Eev. Jacob Fabritius— His Successors— Swedish Settlomenton the Delaware — In 1710, Three Thousand Palatines arrive in New York — Church Burned in, 1776^Grace (Episcypal) Church Occupies the Spot~Eev. Mr. Mahlenbergh — Swamp Church^Dr. Kunzie — Sliacifer— Strobel— GeisSenhainer — Dr. Milledoler in German Eeformed Church, Nassau Street 103 CHAPTER X. Origin of Friends or Quakers in England— George Fox — Early Persecuted at Boston — "Wil- liam Penn--Robert Hodson Arrives in New York, 1656— George Fox Visits Long Island, 1672 — Two Women the First Preachers— The Male Preachers— Persecutions— Mrsi Anna Bayard nobly Interferes in tlielr Behalf— Meeting-house on Liberty, Pearl, aUd Eose Streets— New Edifices qn Hester, Henry, Orchard Streets, Gramercy Park, and Stuyvesant Square 115 CHAPTER XI. L'Eglise du Saint Esprit— Its Pastors— Eev. Mr. Neau— His Descendants, Captain Oliver H. Perry, Dr. Francis Vinton— John Pintard, LL.D., and Members of this Clinrch— Marot's Psalms— Huguenot Psalmody— Old French Translation of the One Hundred and Thirty- seventh Psalm— The Church Eemoved to Leonard Street— Eev. Mr. Verren — Sacred Ora- CHAPTER Xir. Wall Sti'eet Presbyterian Church— Its Origin and Earliest Preachers- Church Erected on Wall Street— Whitefield Labors — Difference of Opinion in the Congregation- First Asso- ciate Eeformed Church, Built on Cedar Street— Eev. John Murray ; 131 CHAPTER XIIX Wall Street and Brick Churches — Eev. Dr. Rogers the " Father of Presbyterianism^' in New York — Rev. Gardiner Spring Called to Brick Church — His Church Turned into a Hospital in the War of the Revolution — Sorrowful Scenes in It — Wall Street Church "Charity School"— Rutgers and Cedar Street Churches Built— Drs. Miller and McKnight— Eev. Mr. Whelpley— Dr. Phillips- Wall Street Church Eemoved to Jersey (Jity— Members of the Brick Church — Anson G. Phelps — Horace Holden : 142 CHAPTER XIY. Cedar Street Church Foundpd— Dr. Romeyn Called — Church Removed to Duane, Street — Rev. Dr. Potts— Associations of Cedar Street Church— Old Members- William Hall, of Cleve- land, the only Surviving Member of the Original Subscribers to the Church — Peletiah Perit — Dx-. J. W. Alexandfer Installed— The New Church on the Fifth Avenue ' 160 CHAPTER XV. Scotch Presbyterian Church Built— Rev. John Mason— His Son, John M. Mason, D. D., Suc- ceeds him— Theological Seminaries Established— Dr. Mason in the Pulpit and as a Writer— His Work on " Catholic Communion"— President of Carlisle College— Eev. Messrs. Snod- grasa and McAuley Succeed him Ip the Murray Street Ciiurch— Church Sold, and Congrega- tion Remove to Astor Place— Associate Presbyterian Church— Earliest Churches— Foreign COKTENTS. 9 History — Eev; Jnmea I*rondfit Arrives in this Conntry, with Other Miniaters — New Union Formed, and its Loaders Kev. Thomas Clavli, Eobert Annan, Dr. Alexander Proudfit— Set- tlement of Irish Presbyterians in Orange County, New Yorlc, under Auspices of Col, Clinton — Another in Washington County Page 164 CHAPTER XVI. Colonel Rutgers Presents a Lot for a New Presbyterian Church — Dr. Milledolor Called— i>rs. McCloUan^ McAuley, and Krcbs his Successors — Edfornied Presbyterian Cliurch Orftanized —■William 0|rnok'— Rev. Mr. Mcliinney's Arrival — l-'irst Bacrnrnent — Alexander McLcod Installed^His Sermon on Ncsro Slavery — Church Erected on Chambers Street — l^ebuilt, and then Removed to Greenwich Village — Dr. McLeod's Last Public Appearance in the Pulpit— His Labors— Leading Members of his Church, Messrs. Agnew, tillTurd, Nelson— Kcv. John N. McLeod Succeeds his Father — Church Removed to Prince Street 174 CHAPTER XYII. Associate Presbyterian Church Formed by Eev. Mr. Beveridge, 1785, and House Erected on Nassau Street — His Successors Unite with the Genei-al Assembly of Presbyterian Church Ministers — Mngazine Street Chnrch, afterwards Pearl — Its first Pastor, Rev. Robert Forest — His Successors, John Clark, William W. Phillips, Walter Monteitli, Benjamin Rice, Henry A. Rowland, Charles H. Read— Church Burned and Rebuilt— Baptist Church Oftmmenced, 1762 — Its Founders— Elder Gano-Gold Street Church turned into a Stable for the British Cavalry — Ministers — New Stone Church built 1802— Slavery Question— New Congregation Formed on Rose Street — Eev. Mr. Parkinson — New Church Built on Broome and Elm Streets, Rev. Dr. Cone, Pastor^Churches sprung from Gold Street Congregation 186 CHAPTER XVIII. Baptist Churches, continued — "Bcthesda"— Second Baptist Church — Bethel, on Rose Street- Pastors — Rev. Mi% Chase — Plis New Church on Christie and Del an cey— Difficulties — Oliver Street Church — Rev. John Williams, Pastor ; Mr. Cone, Assistant— Abyssinian Church in Anthony, near West Broadway — Ministers — North Bercah Church in Van dam — A Colony from Gold Street— Destroyed by Fire, and a New House built in McDowell Street— Pastors — Other Churches from the Berean 199 CHAPTER XIX. The Moravian Church — " Unitas Fratrum"- Its Origin— Count Zinzendorf— Missions— David Bruce sent to Preach in New York and on Long and Staten Islands — Bishop Spangenberg's Visit — Captain Garrison — Mission Commenced on Staten Island — Ministers there — Ceme- tery-Commodore Vanderbilt's Family Vault— Mr. Binninger''s Grave— Church Built, 1763 — Church Records — Captain Jacobscn Shot — Sails a Missionary Ship — Pastors — Moravians in New York, 1736— Bishop Boehler's and ZinzendorTs Visit— Persecutions — Bishop Watti- vel's Visit — Fulton Street Church Built, 1751 — Pastors in New York— Benjamin Mortimer, William Vanvleek, afterwards Bishop, Mr. Bigler 205 CHAPTER XX. Origin of Methodism — Condition of England when Wesley Appeared — Opinions of Bishop Burnet and Archbishop Seeker and Butler — Wesley Preaching to the poor Palatines in Ireland, 1750— Philip Embury, the Father of American Methodism— Irish Lay Preachers, Swindells— Philip Guier— Walsh — Southey's Opinion of him—Embury emigrates to New York, 1760, delivering his Last Sermon in Ireland from the side of the Ship— Another Ar- rival, in 1760, at New'Tork, of Irish Wcslcyans— Paul Ruckle, Jacob Heck, and others 318 CHAPTER XXI. Methodist Church, continued— Captain Webb Appears— Rigsing-loft Obtained for Eeligloua Meetings— John Street Church Built, 1768, the First Methodist Church in America— Sub- scriptions to Build the Church from the Vestry and Rector of Trinity and others— Captain Wchb's Life— Boardman and Pilmore, the first Weslcyan Preachers to America, 1768— As- bury and Wright followed, 1771 — Embury's Death — Strange Scene in John Street Church on a Watch-night— An English Colonel the Cause of it— Apology — Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States .Organized, 1784-5— Rapid Advance since— Old Jolin Street taken down and a New Church Built in its place— Church Library— Sum merfield's Cenotaph— Third Church Erected- Fathers of Methodism in New York— Mr. Lupton and his Descendants 226 CHAPTER XXIL Description of New Netherland, by Father Isaac Jaques, a Jesuit Missionary, 1664— His Jour- neys-Murdered by the Indians — Earliest Catholic Families in New York— Governor Don- 10 CONTENTS. gan— Laws against the Eoman Catholics— Negro Plot— Catholic Priest Oflioiating in New Netherland— Jauies II., on the Throne, Favors his own Creed— Dtmgan Eecallerl— William and Marv Proclaimed King and Queen— The English Church heconies the Established one in New York — Persecutions- A Congregation formed in 17S3— St. Peter" s, Barclaj- Street, built in 1736— Rev. Mr. Nugent its Slinister- His Successors— St. Peter's Rebuilt in 1886, Bishop Dubois Laying the Corn er-S tone— St. Patrick's followed, in 1S15— Here Bishop Hughes resided— The Catholics Purchase Dr. Lyell's Episcopal Church, Ann Street— Dr. McLcod's, Chambers Street- The old Universal ist, on Duane Street, and the Presbyterian on Astor Place— Universalist Church— Rev. John Murray the Earliest Preaqhcr-A Society Formed — Rev. Edward Mitchell becomes their Minister— They Purchase a Church on Pearl Street, and soon alter erect the Brick Church on Duane Street, near Chatham— Mr. Mitchell continued their Minister until his Death, a period of Forty Years— His Successors in the Ministry Page 241 OHAPTEE XXIII. Huguenots amons: the Earliest Emigrants to America— Their First Ministers — Edict of Nantes —Henry IV.— Fall of Kochclle— Edict Revoked- Emigrjition of the Huguenots— Admiral Coligny (1555)— French Protestants reach Charleston, Boston, and New Rochelle— Rev. Daniel Bondet— New Paltz (16T7)— Walloon Churches- Staten Island 252 CHAPTER XXIT. Huguenot Refugees Settle New Eochelle, 1698— Church Organized and Built— David Bonrepos, D. D., first Pastor — Preaches on Staten Island — Receives " Letters of Denization" — Manor of Pelhara — Daniel Bondet the next Huguunot Minister^Ilis Early History— Missionary to the Nipmng Indians, 1693— War Compels him to Leave— Called to New Rochelle — Salary Thirty Pounds — Prayers in French — His Congregation Conforms to tlie Church of England, 1709 — New Church Built— Governor Hunter— Negro Gominunicauts — Lewis Roux, Hugue- not Minister in New York — Bondet's Death, 1722 — Pierre Stouppe Succeeds him—The "Aneiens," or Elders — Negro Baptisms — French "Dissenters" — Mr. Muulinars- Earliest Settlement of New Rochelle— Mr. Stouppe's Death, 1760— Buried under Chancel of the Chui'ch— His Successor, Rev. Michael Houdin 259 CHAPTER XXV. Rev. Peter Daille and Michael Houdin at New Rochelle — The Hugiienots there Conform to the Episcopal Church (1781) — Rev. T. Bartow, First Rector — His Descendants— Successors in the Ministry — Trinity Built — Rev. Mr. Bayard— Pennsylvania and Maryland an Asylum for Huguenots — Dr. Richebourg their first Pastor in Virginia-^" Mannikin Town" — Curious French ReJIc- Rev. John Fontaine — Huguenots in South Carolina, and Pnstors— Church in Charleston — Rev. Elias Prioleau— This Congregation the Only Ouo of the Kind in our Land —Its Liturgy 270 CHAPTER XXVI. Southold the First Settled Town on Long Island (1640), Rev. J. Youngs, Pastor — His Succes- Bors — James DavenpoH an Enthusiast, but Reforms— Southampton Church Built, 1G40— Rev. Mr. Pierson — the "■ Plantation Covenant" — The Reformers Emigrate to NewnrU, New Jersey — Ministers of Southampton — Salaries — Bridgehampton Parish — Ministers— Brookhaven the Largest Town — Rev. N. Brewster and Successors— Kasthampton Settled by Puritans (1648) — Strict Laws — Voting— Thomas James, Earliest Pastor— His Singulai- Dying Request — Eev. N. Hatting — Dr. Buell Preached Ten Thousand Sermons — Dr. Lyinan Beecher, the Fourth Pastor 290 CHAPTER XXVII. Churches on Long Fslund, continued— Huntington — Rev. Mr, Jones, First Minister— Rev. Eben- ezer Prime hi^ Assistant, then Solo Pastor^Gongregation much Dispersed by the Rcvolu- tioflary War— Outrages of the Enemy, and Permitte The same letter describes the Indians of the new coun-- try: "Savage and wild, strangers to all decency, yea, uncivU and stupid as posts, proficient in all wickedness and ungodliness, devilish men, who serve nobody but the devil; that is, the spirit, which in their language they call 'Manetto.' . . . They are as thievish and treacherous as they are tall ; and, in cruelty, they are more inhuman than the people of Barbary, and far exceed the Africans. . . . How these people can best be led to the true knowledge of God and of the Mediator Christ, is hard to say. . . . The country yields many good things for the support of life, but they are all to be gathered in an uncultivated and wild state. We have ten or twelve farmers, with horses, cows, and laborers in proportion, to furnish us with bread and fresh butter, mUk, and cheese. They are making a windmill to saw the wood, and we also have a gristmill. . . . The coun- try is goad, and pleasant; the climate is healthy, not- withstanding sudden changes of cold and heat. The sun is very warm ; the winter strong and severe, and EAKLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 17 continues full as long as in our country. The best remedy is not to spare the wood, of which there is enough, and to cover oneself well with rough skins, which can easily be obtained. . . . "Jonas Michaelius." Such is the graphic picture of our great city, when it was the Colony of Manhattan, over two centuries ago. In the horsemill here mentioned, prayers had been read for seven years ; then it was vacated, and a wooden church built on the shore of the East River, in Pearl street, between Whitehall and Broad streets ; and near by were also constructed a parsonage and stable. We know the region well, for it is the place of our own nativity — a native-born New Yorker. In 1633, the R'ev. Everardus Bogardus arrived, asso- ciating with him Adam Rolandsen as schoolmaster. He organized a church school, which has been handed down to the present day, an institution of great good to Church and State. Do the Puritans boast of their early minis- ters and schools of education? The Dutch of New Amsterdam share the same honor. A horsemill was built as early as 1626, and a tower added, in which were hung the Spanish bells, captured, the pi-evious year, by the West India Company's fleet, at Porto Rico. The Dutch settlers worshipped in the frail Pearl street church until 1642, when steps were taken to build a new edifice. This was done at the instigation of the celebrated navigator De Vreis. In his journal he says tliat, diaing with Governor Kieft, he said to his Excel-- 3 18 EARLIEST CIIUEOHES IN NEW YOEK. lency: "It was a shame that the English, when they visited Manhattan, saw only a mean barn, in which we worshipped. The first thing they built in Few Eng- land, after their dwelling-houses, was a fine church. We should do the same." A new church followed, erected within the fort (the present battery). " It was a shame that the English, who had such fine churches in their .settlements, should see them worshipping in a mean barn, when they had plenty of fine wood, and stone, and oyster-shells for lime, at their very doors." How to obtain the necessary funds, however, was now the question. Kieft promised to advance one thousand guilders on the company' s account, and De Vreis com- menced a private subscription with one. hundred more; but these sums were. quite insufficient, when a little management supplied what was wanting. A daughter of Dominie Bogardus was to be married, an^ the princi- pal citizens were invited to the marriage.. In the midst of the bridal festivities, the subscription-paper was in- troduced, when the guests emulated each other in their donations to the proposed work. John and Richard Ogden, of Stamford, contracted for the mason-work at two thousand five hundred guilders, with a bonus of one hundred more, should the work prove satisfactory. The roof was covered with oaken shingles, then called wooden slates. The church was seventy-two feet long, fifty-two wide, and sixteen high. In its front wall, on a marble slab, was this legend : ''An. Dom. MDGXLIl, W. Kieft, Sir. Gen., Heitft Be Gemeente dese Tempel daen Bowen.—lu tho year of our Lord 1C42, W. Kieft being Director-General, has this congregatiou caused this Temple to be built." EAKLIERT CHURCHES IW NEW YORK. 19 When the old fort at the Battery was demolished, in 1790, to make room for the Government Honsej buUt on the spot, this stone was found buried, and then it was removed to the belfry of the "Old G-arden Street Church," where it was preserved until both were de- stroyed, in the great conflagration of 1835. The writer well remembers that terrible night and fire, as he stood on the 'flat roof of a lofty store adjoining, and beheld this sacred temple, with hundreds of houses, en^jel- oped in the unconquerable, raging, fiery element. The town-bell of Manhattan was removed to the church in the fort, where its tones regulated the public business of the city, the courts, merry peals for weddings, the funeral knell, and the Sabbath assemblages. The old church in the fort was called " St. Nicholas," m honor of the tutelary and guardian saint of New Amsterdam ; and here, for half a century, from 1642 to 1693, the early Dutch settlers worshipped God. We add a tabular view of their ministers, in regular succession, as obtained from the Rev. Dr.. Dewitt, the best authority we know of the early ecclesiastical history of New Netherland : Everardns Bogardus, from 1633 to 1647 Joannes Backerus "1 648 to 1 649 Joannes Megapolensis . . . . " 1649 to 1699 : Samuel Drissius " 1652 to 1671 Samuel Megapolensis " 1684 to 1688 Wilhelmus Van Nieuvenhuysen . " 1671 to 1681 Henricus Selyns " 1682 to 1701 These ministers, it is said, were all educated in the universities of Holland, and weU prepared for theii 20 EARLIEST CHUEShES IN NEW yOIlK. important work. Dominie Bogardus, in 1647, took pas- sage for Holland, to meet some charges against Mm before tlie Classis of Amsterdam. Governor Kieft em- barked in the same vessel, which was lost at sea, all on board perishing. Dominie Backerns came from Curacoa, and, after a year spent here, he returned to Holland. Megapolensis preached at Rensselaerwyck, now Albany. Samnel Drissius was called on account of his knowledge of the French and English languages, that he might minister in hoth to the people. He preached once a month to the French Huguenots on Staten Island. Samuel Megapolensis, the son of the former-named, returned to Holland in 1668. Selyns preached at Burckelen (Brooklyn) and on Governor Stuyvesant's Bowerie, or farm. He went back to Hol- land in 1664, and, during 1682, was called to St. Mcholas Church. Henricus Selyns was the most distinguished dominie who came from Holland. Van Meuvenhuysen died in 1681, when an urgent appeal was made to Selyns, and he became pastor from 1682 to 1689, and died in 1701. He gave a strong and happy direction to the interests of the church. The literature of New Amsterdam was entirely dif- ferent from that of our day. In the place of novels, romances, magazines, and light reading, which now so often fill the centre-tables, there was to be found little else than Bibles, Testaments^ with the Psalm-Books ; still erery family possessed these household volumes. The matron' s Church books were generally costly bound, with silver clasps and edgings^ and sometimes of gold ; and these, suspended to the girdle by silver or gold EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 21 chains, distinguished the style of the families using them on Sabbath day^s. Sunday, in New Amsterdam, was better observed than by New Yorkers now. AH, arrayed in their best, attended the public services of religion ; and the people, almost exclusively Calvinists, "went ,to" the Reformed Dutch Church. The "Koeck," or bell-ringer and sexton united, was ia,n important officer on the sacred day, sum- moniQg the congregation by the ringing of the church- going bell. He also formed a procession of liimself and his assistants, to carry the cushions of the burgomasters and schepens from the City-haU to the pews appropri- ated to these officials. At the same time, the " Schout" went his rounds, to see that quiet was kept in the streets ,during divine worship, and also to stop the games of the negro slaves and Indians, to whom the day was allowed for recreation, except during the church hours. The Dutch Church was then located within the fort at the Battery, and the present Bowling Green, an open field, exhibited many country wagons arranged in proper order, while their horses were permitted to graze on the hill-sides which led down to the Hudson River. Soon after the entrance of Dominie Selyns on his pas- toral duties in St. Mcholas, a new church was talked of, and its consistory circulated a subscription for this object. He was settled in 1682 ; and Dr. Dewitt has in his possession a rare curiosity — a manuscript volume of the Dominie's, dated 1686, the Register of his church members, arranged according to streets. These are below WaU and east of Broadway, whilst the remaining families are placed "along shore," on the East River 22 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. and Governor Stuyvesant's Bowerie, or farm. This volume, doubtless, was the guide in his pastoral visitSj and it is a great honor, as well as advantage, to the Reformed Dutch Church, that its Register has been carefully continued and preserved from that early period until the present time. Garden street was then thought to be too far out of town for a new church ; still this was the spot chosen, and the deed conveying the property is dated in the year 1690. The lot was one hundred and twenty-five feet in front, and one hundred and eighty feet deep, and is defined as adjacent to the orchard of Elizabeth Dris- sius, the widow of Dominie Drissius. What changes ! Where the fruits of the orchard were once gathered, there now the Jews, with the brokers, assemble daily, to win and to lose the golden fruits of California, or the paper "greenbacks" of Uncle Sam. The new church was opened for divine service in 1693, before it was entirely finished, and cost sixty-four thousand one hun- dred and seventy-eight guilders, or twenty-seven thaa- sand six hundred and seventy-one dollars. It was an oblong square, and had a brick steeple. The windows were small panes of glass set in lead, and, according to the fashion of that day, many of them had the coats-of- arms of the elders and magistrates curiously burnt on the glass by a Mr. Gerard Duykinck. Other armorial pictures hung on the walls, and this sacred edifice was the only house of worship for our Dutch ancestors in New York until the erection of the "Middle Dutch," the present Post-ofiice, ]N"assau street. When this last- named was occupied, the Garden street church took the EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. S3 name of the "Old Dutch," and the Nassau the "New;" and, as soon as that on William and Fulton was erected, it was called the "North," Garden street the "South," and Nassau the "Middle." There is a head-stone in the old cemetery at Newark, New Jersey, with this inscription : " Here Lye ye Body of Peter Van Tilburgh, aged 76 years, Deo. ye 28, 1134. " Earth take my Eartll, Satan my sin I'll leave ; The World my Substance, Heaven my Soul." The tradition is, that the old gentleman, who must have been a Dutchman, gave the lot on which Garden Street Church stood, and that in the church was placed a tablet to his memory.* In 1699, the Eev. Gualterus Dubois -was associated with Dominie Selyns — two years before his death. Dubois continued in the pastoral office fifty-two years, till 1751. When the Dutch colony was transferred to the Brit- ish, in 1664, the worship of the Church of England was, of course, introduced, and the chaplain of the British forces conducted public services in the old Dutch church at the fort. There was a very friendly feeling between the two denominations, as their always should be among sincere Christians ; and when Mr. Yesey, the first rector, arrived, he was kindly invited to hold reli- gions worship with his people, on a part of the Sabbath, in the old Garden Street Church. When he was induct- ed into his sacred office. Governor Fletcher invited two * Librarian of the New Jersey Historical Society. 24 EARLIEST CHTJEOHES IN NEW TOEK. of the Dutcli clergymen to be present — Selyns, of New York, and Mucella, from Kingston. For more iinifor- mity, however, in our subject, we shall continue the sketches of the early Reformed Dutch churches before we trace those of the other denominations. In 1714, the Rev. Henricus Boel became the colleague of Dominie Dubois, and, during the year 1726, the con- sistory resolved to erect a new church. Five hundred and seventy-five pounds were paid for a lot on Nassau street at the time, directly north of the Huguenot Church, near by, in Pine. The length of the new edifice was one hundred feet, and breadth seventy, with tower at the north end ; and it was dedicated to the service of the Almighty in 1729. At first, it had no galleries, and the ceiling was one entire arch, without pillars. There were important changes made in the interior, after the introduction of English preaching, during 1784. The galleries were erected, and the pulpit removed from the east to the north end of the building. Its outlines are still preserved, particularly its turret and steeple, calling up, in the minds of our oldest citi- zens, many interesting and impressive remembrances. The face and hands of its venerable clock are there, which, so many years, regulated the time movements "down town." But they have long since ceased to point out the fleeting hours and moments. We have often wondered why the Government did not wind up the venerable regulator, and again set its pendulum in useful motion. Devoted, as the edifice now is, to the regulation and immense cransportation of our nation's mails, it seems most proper that our New York Post- EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 25 office should have such a public time-piece. Day and night a watchman stands in the belfry, on the look-out for fires, and a faithful city clock would be, as it were, a faithfiil companion to his vigilant, solitary hours. For years after the erection of the "Middle Dutch," the preaching was entirely in Dutch ; still, the want of English services was felt by very many of the con- gregation. All the public business was transacted in this language ; intermarriages between the English g,nd Dutch families were constantly increasing, and the Eng- lish was daily becoming the common tongue. In 1761, a petition* from the majority of the congregation was presented to the consistory, urging the introduction of English preaching. The older members of the church at once violently opposed the measure ; still, in 1763, a large majority of the consistory called the Rev. Archi- bald Laidlie, minister of the Scotch Reformed Church at Flushing, Holland. He reached New York in 1764, when some of the opponents to English preaching com- menced a suit in the civil courts, wliich was decided against them. This opposition seems very strange to us now, but we must not forget how deep in the human mind is the attachment to old associations, customs, and even language. When the "Middle Dutch" was erected, the ministers officiating in Dutch were Dominies Ritzema and De Ronde — the one settled in 1744, the other in 1751. Dr. Laidlie was a native of Scotland, and there thoroughly educated. Livin'g some years in Holland, he became acquainted with the Dutch language ; and kind, concili- ating in his spmt, he gradually disarmed the opposition 26 EAELIEST CHTJKCHES IN NEW YOEK. wMch existed when be first came to New York. He was, too, a powerful evangelical preacher. When the British took possession of New York he retired to Red Hook, where he ceased from his earthly labors in 1778. During his ministry of but a few years in the Middle Dutch Church, he used the English language on parts of the Sabbath, and the large edifice soon was filled. At this period, 1766, the Old South Church in Garden street was thoroughly repaired, and the necessity of another and third house of worship was felt. Accord- ingly, in June, 1767, the consistory resolved that "the church should be erected on the grounds of Mr. Har- pending ; that it should be one hundred feet in length and seventy in breadth, and should front Horse and Cart Lane (William street), and be placed in the middle of the lot." Mr. John Harbendinck, as he wrote his name, was an aged and excellent member of the church, and gave the lots for the new edifice. He died in 1772, at a very advanced age, leaving no children, and was a liberal benefactor to the Dutch Church, both in life and death. Directly back of the pulpit of this church con- spicuously hangs a coat-of-ai'ms, commemorative of this Christian man. Its motto is: "Dawdo Conseevat" (by giving, it is secured)— a true sentiment— for the best way of securing our property is by devoting it to good purposes. We think it doubtful whether this was really his coat-of-arms, but rather a design by the church to commemorate his liberality. At first, the painting was placed in the Garden Street Church, and then removed to the "North Dutch," where it still hangs. It is a relic of the "olden time," now one hundred years old, and EAEI.IEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 27 well worthy of preservation. Mr. Harbending was a tanner and currier, and this armorial has painted on it the implements belonging to his trade. The "North Dutch" cost twelve thousand pounds (sixty thousand dollars), and is a noble stone edifice, now venerable in years and associations. Upon the capital of each pillar are engraved the initials of those who donated them and gave subscriptions also. Isaac Roosevelt, one of the elders, laid the corner-stone, July, 1767, and Dr. Laidlie preached the dedication sermon on May 25, 1769. Tliis church was erected more especially for English preaching and services, and an additional preacher became necessary, when John H. Livingston, in after years so well Itnown as the venerable Dr. Liv- ingston, was called to this pious field of labor in. 1770. He was eminently useful and universally loyed during a long life. "When the war of the American Revolution broke out, this congregation warmly espoused the cause of inde- pendence, and consequently was scattered about the neighboring country. Whilst the British possessed the city, several churches, whose mpmbers had espoused the side of freedom, were abused and desecrated, and especially the Middle and North Dutch. The foi-mer was used as a prison, and afterwards for a riding- school of the British cavalry, witnessing great dissipa- tion and profanity ; its galleries were destroyed, leaving the bare walls and roof. In the North Dtitch there was a hospital ; pews and pulpit were torn down, and its waUs defaced. Nor can we properly pass by the well-known cruelties and outrages committed by the 28 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YOEK. Britisli soldiers -wMlst iu our city. The churches, the Old Sugar House in Liberty- street, the Jail, and the prison-ships, were memorials of these atrocities ; they became the abodes of cruelty, where thousands of patri- otic Americans perished, victims to hunger, cruelty, disease, and death. Many of their bleached bones, col- lected from Long Island, have been buried in old Trinity- Churchyard. Gratitude to the noble band of native Americans who have there erected the splendid mauso- leum over these remains ! Just before the Revolution a new and beautiful pulpit had been placed in the Worth Dutch Church, which mysteriously disappeared some time afterwards, and no traces of it could be discovered. After the close of the war, however, one of our citizens, visiting a country church in England, saw in its pulpit the striking resem- blance to that of the Noyth Dutch. A gentleman present remarked that it was probably the same, for it had been brought from America in a British ship ! Peace was concluded with England in 1783. The enemy left the city on the 25th day of November, which has since annually been celebrated as ' ' Evacuation Day . " Gladly the citizens again returned to their firesides and altars, after a tedious exile of seven years, and, with faith and prayer, began to build the waste places of their beloved Zions. The venerable Dominies Ritzema and De Ronde, who had preached in Dutch, preferred to remain where they had soj ourned. These were consequently declared ' ' emeriti, ' ' with a suitable annuity for life from the consistory. Dr. LiVingston was now the only Dutch Reformed minister in the city, and the "Old Garden Street Church," having, EAELIEST CHUECHES lET NEW YOEK. 29 escaped tlie damages of the war, was at once used for divine service. The " North" was repaired and again opened to God's worship in December, 1784, and the "Middle Dutch" on July 4th, 1790— Dr. Livingston de- livering a suitable discourse. There is a notice of this discourse written in an old Dutch Bible belonging to the New Jersey Historical Society : ' ' The first sermon that the Rev. Mr. John Livingston preached after joining his congregation after the war, in the Old Dutch Church, was taken out of the Book of Psalms, 124 Psalm, the whole Psalm, in Decem- ber 7, 1783, ia the forenoon. "Also, the first sermon Mr. De Ronde preached after joining his congregation after the war, in the Old Dutch Church, was taken out of the Book of Psalms ; 34 Psalm and the 4 verse, in December 7, 1783, in the afternoon. "On Tuesday, the 25th day November, that ever-mem- orable day the American army took possession of the city. General Washington and Governor Clinton entered, when the same day, that day, civil government took place."* . Dr. Livingston was now left alone in his ministerial work, his labors highly acceptable and greatly blessed by the Great Head of the Church. Occasionally he preached in Dutch to the old people. More ministe- rial aid was wanted, when the services of Dr. William Linn, from Elizabethtown, N. J., were obtataed. He became a finished writer and a powerful pulpit orator. His health failing, he retired to Albany in 1805, where he died in 1808. The Rev.. G^rardus A. Kuypers, after- * IProm a letter of the' "Librarian" to the author. 30 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. wards Dr. Knypers, succeeded Mm. He was an accu- rate scholar, preaching in Dutch, at the Garden Street Church, to those preferring that language. But the num- bers of such became fewer, until his last sermon to them was delivered in 1803. In 1795 Dr. John 'N. Aheel was called as a colleague minister, and the choice was eminently happy. His Gospel labors were accepted and blessed, and he was sometimes called "the beloved disciple, Jo7in." He died in, early manhood, during the year 1812, and amidst increasing usefulness. Dr. Livingston, resigning his pastoral charge at New York in 1810, accepted the Presidency of Queen's Col- lege, New Brunswick, with also a Theological Professor- ship. He continued faithfully to discharge these impor- tant duties to the very end of his life, in January, 1825, lecturing to his classes on the day before his death with unusual spirit and impressiveness. With benedictions on his family, he retired ; but, at the usual hour of fam- ily devotions, the next morning, he was found in his chamber, calmly resting in the arms of death. He had gently fallen asleep in Christ, aged seventy-nine, ripe in years, labors, and piety. In the year 1813, the Rev. Philip Milledoler became one of the collegiate ministers, and few, if any, were more beloved or successful in their holy work. On the death of Dr. Livingston, in 1825, he was chosen his suc- cessor, assiduously discharging his new duties for a few years, when he resigned on account of advancing years. He died on his birthday, in September, 1832, aged sev- enty-seven years — his excellent wife following him to the EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 31 heavenly rest the next day. They were buried from the North Dutch Church at the same time, and occupy the same tomb in Greenwood Cemetery. We well remember the impressive and solemn ceremonies of that occasion. To preserve a clear connection of our subject, we must refer necessarily to more modern times and men. In the year 1813, the old church in Garden street formed a con- sistory of their own, and the Rev. Dr. Matthews was cho- sen their pastor, and, when this church was destroyed hy the great fire in 1835, two new ones arose from it. One, retaining the original corporate character, located itself in Murray street, under the pastoral charge of the Rev. J. M. McAuley, 1838 ; but, in a few years, the congregation erected and occupied the beautiful white marble edifice on Fifth avenue and Twenty-first street. The second church from this division is the noble structure fronting Washington Square and adjoining the University. Drs. Matthews and Hutton were then its pastors. (1837.) ^VTien Dr. Linn retired, in 1805, more ministerial help was needed for the CoUegiate .charges — the North, the Middle, and the South Dutch Churches. Accordingly, in 1809, the Rev. John Schureman, with the Rev. Jacob Broadhead (afterwards D. D.'s), were called, and were highly acceptable. Soon, however, in 1811, Dr. Schure- man accepted a professorship in Queen' s College, New Brunswick, where he ended a useful life (1818) in his fortieth year, and lamented by all. In 1813, Dr. Broad- head took charge of a new congregation in Philadel- phia — the first of the Reformed Dutch Church formed there. With the divine blessing, he gathered a large au- 32 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN WEW TOBK.' dience, continuing to labor among them until 1826, when he again returned to New York, taking charge of the church in Broome street. Here he preached with suc- cess till 1837, when the health of his family led him to a country charge, and afterwards he was pastor of the Central Refo'rmed Dutch Church in Brooklyn. He died in June, 1855, aged seventy -four years, greatly heloved and honored. When Dr. Broadhead removed to Philadelphia, Drs, MUledoler and Kuypers were left to sustain the whole charge of the Collegiate Churches — the Middle and\ the North — and the necessity of more ministerial aid was strongly felt. This was procured in the spring of 1816, and the Rev. John 'Knox, with Paschal N. Strong, were called, and installed in July following. They were both students from the Theological Seminary under the charge of the eloquent Dr. Mason. Mr. Strong was a gifted preacher, and fond hopes were entertained of his long remaining a faithful watchman on the walls of Zion. But, a subject of pulmonary disease, in the fall of 1824 he sought to benefit his health by visiting Santa Cruz, and there he ended his pilgrimage, at the age of thirty- i two. Over his remains, in that sunny isle, his consistory erected, a proper monument. Dr. Knox then became the senior pastor, and, after nearly half a century's untiring labors, a few years ago he suddenly terminated them by a fatal fall from his porch. Dr. Knox, Dr. Berrian, and Dr. Spring, were the only three clergymen in New York who had reached the same length of years in their respective churches ; the last-named and vener- able man of God alone remains on the earth. With all EAKIIEST CI-ItJECHES IN lyiW TOEK. 33 three of them, their churches in this city were their first settlement in the Christian ministry, and where they always labored. When Dr. Milledoler removed to New Brunswick, a call was made, in 1826, upon Dr. William C. Brownlee. He was born, educated, and licensed for the ininistry, in Scotland. At the time he was chosen to the Collegiate Church he was Professor of Languages in Rutgers' Col- lege. He soon became an eminent writer and preacher, with the prospect of long continuing in the Lord' s vine- yard ; but he was an illustration of the impressive truth, that "in the midst of life we are in death." In the per- fect enjoyment of health and intellect, in a moment he was prostrated by paralysis ; but, through God' s good- ness, partially recovered from the severe stroke, withoul being able to resume active duties, and entered his rest on high in February, 1860. Dr. De Witt was settled in the ministry of the Colle- giate Churches in 1837, Dr. Vermilye in 1839, Dr. Cham- bers in 1849 — ^ministers who have secured the confidence and affection of their people, with the whole community. But it is not our intention to write about the living, except as is necessary for our immediate purposes. In 1836, the consistory of the Associate Dutch Churches laid the corner-stone of the new sacred temple in Lafayette Place, and it was dedicated May 9th, 1839. There was no church edifice in our city, around which so many recollections and associations gathered, as the old " Middle Dutch ;" but the time at last arrived when it must be vacated, from the increasing commerce, and the removal of the citizens " up-town." On the 11th of 3 34 EAELIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW YORK. August, 1844, the senior pastor, Dr. Knox, preached the last sermon within its hallowed and venerable walls. His text was, John v-. 20-24: "For the Father loveth the Son," &c. Dr. De Witt, one of the colleagues, fol- lowed with the apostolical benediction in the Dutch language, the same in which its sacred worship and services had been here commenced, one hundred and fifteen years before. On the 11th of October, 1854, the splendid edifice at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-ninth street was dedicated to Almighty God. The title of the "Middle Reformed Dutch Church" has been given to the edifice on Lafayette Place — a sacred name, associated with so many pleasant and impressive reminiscences, and now very proper from its relative position. In Fulton street stiU stands the North Church, and between this' and the Fifth Avenue edifice is the Lafayette, or "Middle" Dutch. These three are now the houses of worship forming the Collegiate Church. We have sketched more fully the Reformed Dutch Churches in New York, because they were more numer- ous, and more properly belong to the "olden time." To the names already mentioned, add the Rev. Dr. Talbot' s, and our list is com?plete of the ministers of this venerable church — from Dominie Bogardus, in the year 1638, to Mr. Chambers, in 1849. Dr. Vermilye was called to the city in 1839, where he is universally re- spected, and still spared to preach Christ. Outward appearances have changed some between our present costly and magnificent temples of the Lord and the humble early Dutch ehur&hes ; but the same EARLIEST CHCTRCIIES IN NEW YORK. 35 Bible and the same pure Faith remain unchanged, and so will remain to the end of time ! It must be remembered that we are speaking of the oldest denomination in America, and organized as early as the year 1620. For a long time the Reformed Dutch Church retained its distinctive customs, and even lan- guage, and of the former some were peculiar. Unlike the plainly attired Puritan, the Dutch dominies always appeared in their high circular pulpits with black s|lk gowns and large flowing sleeves. This sacred robe seemed indispensable; and it is related that, at the in- stallation of an early minister, who was not prepared with such a gaiment, the presiding clergyman refused to officiate. Fortunately for the candidate, a kind min- ister supplied his need,. or the ceremonies would have been postponed. All the pulpits had heavy sounding-boards, and the Psalms of the day set in movable figures, either upon the sides of the sacred desk or the church. The clerk occupied a little pew or box by himself, in front of the pulpit, prefacing the morning services fey reading the Scriptures, and, during the afternoon, the Apostles' Creed. He received 'from the sexton all the notices to be read, and then placing them at the end of a long pole, they were thus passed up to the dominie for pub- lication. There were no church clocks then, and the hour-glass supplied their place, which was placed in- variably at the right-hand of the preacher. It was the clerk's duty, too, when the last grains of the sand had run out, to remind him that the time to end the sermon had come, by three raps of his cane. An amiising story 36 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YOEK. is related of a dominie, who, seeing Ms clerk asleep, witii the people drowsy, on a warm summer's day, quietly turned the emptied glass up again. Then, after its sands had disappeared a second time, he remarked to his hearers that, as they had been so patiently sitting through two glasses, he would now go on with the third. I have seen the "old pulpit" of the earliest Dutch church in Albany. It was imported from Plolland, is a great curiosity, and still there carefully preserved ; and among its fixtures are those of such a primitive time-piece. Just before ascending the pulpit, the Dutch dominie raised his hat before his face, and silently offered a short prayer for a blessing on his coming labors. Then, when he had j)ronounced the last word of his text, and before the sermon began, he exclaimed: "Thus far!" This custom is said still to be preserved in some country churches. The discourse finished, the deacons rose, in their seats, went to the altar, listened to a brief address from the preacher, when they attended to the public collection. Each carried a long pole with a black velvet bag at the end/ to which was attached a little beU. One of these bells, from the "olden time," and used in the early Garden Street Church, has been carefully pre- served in our city. Once little iron-bound boxes were placed near the doors of the churches for the alms of the people, and such are still used in Trinity. There is an interesting chronicle about the earliest church bells of the Eeformed Dutch churches. The legend on the one of the "Old. St. Mcholas," at the Battery, was : '■'■Bulcior nostris tinnitihus resonat aer. P. Henomy me fecit. 1674." Thence it was transferred EARLIEST CHUEOHES IN JS'EW YOKK. 37 to -the Grarden Street Church in 1807. S6me thought it too small for modern times and fashion ; but Mr. Benson, one of the elders, insisted upon retaining the faithful old sentinel, as it came from Holland, and was the first one used in the colony of ISTew Netherlands. At last, with the church, both were destroyed by the fire of 1835. The bell of the "Old Middle Dutch" was presented by Colonel Abraham De Peyster, at that time a prominent citizen. WhUst the sacred edifice was building, in 1728, he died, directing in his will that a bell should be pro- cured from HoUand for its steeple. It was cast at Amsterdam, 1731, and it is said that a number of citizens there threw in pieces of sUver coin in the preparation of the metal. This is its legend : "Me feoerunt De Giara et N. MuUer, Amsterdam, Anno 1631. Abraham De Peyster, geboren (born) den 8 .luly, 1657, gestorven (died) den 8 Augustus, 1128. " Een legaat aan de Nederduytsobe Kerke, Neuw York." (A legacy to the Low Dutcb Church at New York.) Here the bell remained more than a hundred years, until the church was vacated and became the city post- ofBce ; then it was removed to the Ninth Street Dutch Reformed Church, and afterwards to the beautiful edi- ficej Lafayette Place. There it still rings its silvery tones, inviting the people to the Lord' s house, as it has sounded for generations long past. The father of the late John Outhout, Esq., states, in a letter to Mr. Frederick De Peyster, this interesting fact : Early in our Revolutionary struggle, when the British converted the "Middle Dutch" into a dragoon riding- school, his father obtained permission from Lord Howe to remove this bell. It was then stored in a secret place until the enemy had evacuated the city, when it was 38 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW TOEK. restored to its lormer and rightful position. For its size and clear, far-sounding tones, it is one of tlie finest ever cast, and duriag very many long years was called the "Firemen's Bell." It became a general favorite with them, springing to their important work and duty at its well-known signal of alarm. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOEK. 39 CHAPTER II. THE DUTCH EARLY 1NTROD0CBD SCHOOLS IN NEW AMSTERDAM — EVERT PIETERSBN, THE ZIEKENTROOSTER SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT CHILDREN PUBLICLY CATECHISED NEW AMSTERDAM BECOMES NEW YORK THE SCHOOL CONTINUED AS USUAL, BUT BROKEN UP FOR A TIME BY GOVERNOR CORNBURY SCHOOLHOUSE ERECTGSD ON GARDEN STREET CONTINUED THREE-QUARTERS OP A CENTURY ENGLISH INTRODUCED IN THE PUBLIC RELIGIOUS SERVICES " SONS OF liberty" AMERICAN PRISONERS IN THE CpURCHES^- GREAT FIRE OF 1776 SCHOOL REOPENED AFTER THE PEACE OF 1783 ^NEW SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT IN 1847. Geeatlt to their honor, the Dutch have long been dis- tinguished for their efforts to educate the young. Every- where schools were established, at the public expense, to teach their youth the catechism and articles of Religion.* When the West India Company first began the work of colonization in America, it bound itself to maintain among the settlers good and fit preachers, schoolmasters, and comforters of the sick.f Thus, the founders of New Amsterdam encouraged religion and learning ; and we find in tlie earliest records accounts of the establishment of schools at Fort Orange, Flatbush, Fort Casimer, and other settlements. The colony on the Delaware, New Amstel, furnishes an example. With the emigrants, ' ' the city of Amsterdam" promised "to send a person proper for schoolmaster, who shall also read the holy Scriptures in public, and set the psalm." Accordingly, "Evert * Broadhead, i., 462. ] Coll. K Netherlands, i., 220. 40 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOEK. Pietersen, who had been approved, after examination before the classis, as schoolmaster and ziekentrooster," was appointed to "read God's Word and lead in sing- ing." ISTo colony, however far east we may travel, was ever organized under religious auspices more favorable to its future prosperity. A few months afterwards, Dominie Everardus Welius, with four hundred new emi- grants, arrived, when the same Pietersen was appointed "fore-singer, ziekentrooster, and deacon." The like course was pursued on the settlement of Manhattan. In 1626, as soon as the colonial government was founded by Kieft, the first Director-General, Sebastian Jans Crol, with Jan Huyck, two ziekentrooster s, or "comforters of the sick," to a certain extent supplied the place of a clergy- man. In 1633, AVouter Yan Twiller, the second director of JSTew Netherlands, arrived, when Everardus Bogardus became the officiating "Dominie" at Fort Amsterdam, with 7i.dam Roelandsen, the fii'st schoolmaster.* Here, then, according to Dutch custom, we discover the fijst schoolmaster in Manhattan, who laid the founda- tion of a school which the Reformed Dutch Church reli- giously maintains to this hour. The earliest church edifice of New Netherlands was a plain wooden building, on the present Broad street, between Bridge and Pearl. In 1642, this building becoming dilapidated, an attempt was made to procure a new one, with the erectioii also of a schoolhouse. An old chronicle says: "The bowl has been going round a long time for the purpose of collecting money for erecting a schoolhouse.". Jan Gornelissen is mentioned as the second teacher in the * Alb. Rec, 1., 52. Old South Church in Garden Stkeet. Built 1693. EAULIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOEK. 41 Manhattan Church school ; the third, William Vestens ; and, in 1655, he was succeeded by Harmanus Van Ho- boocken, as chorister and schoolmaster, at "g. (guild- ers) thirty-five per month, and g. one hundred expendi- tures."* It must not be forgotten that there were others, at this period, teaching private seminaries ; and about 1652, John De La Montague conducted a second church school, with a salary of two hundred and fifty guilders. This continued, however, a brief period only, Vestens uninterruptedly continuing his iastitution from 1650 to 1655. The schoolmaster, ex officio, was always clerk, beadle, or chorister, and visitor of the sick.f In the year 1661, Evert Pietersen, who had left the settlement of JSTew Amstel and come to New Amsterdam, became the teacher of the Reformed Dutch church school, and he was the sixth. Van Hoboocken then was schoolmaster somewhere on the Bowerie. Governor Fish thinks that his schoolhouse stood where the present Tompkins Market has been located. It is well known what provision Governor Stuyvesant made for Ms colored people ; and it is very probable that Van Ho- boocken had these under his instruction. In the year 1664, Pietersen stiU schoolmaster, the Director-General issued an edict, requiring, as long the custom in the fatherland, "the public catechising of the children." This is among the good old fashions of the olden time greatly to be desired in our day. Pietersen and Van Hoboocken were commanded by the civil ordinance to appear "on Wednesday, before the beginning of the * Alb. Ren., xxv., 133. t Watson's Annals, 16fi. 42 , EAELIEST CHTJBCHES IN NEW TOKK. sermon, with the children intrusted to their care, after the close of the sermon, in the presence of the reverend ministers and elders, who may there be present," and thus be examined "on what they, in the course of the week, do remember of the Christian commands and cate- chism, and what progress they have made ; after wMch the children shall be allowed a decent recreation." "Done in Amsterdam, New Netherland, this 17th March, 1661, by the Director-General and Council."* We have thus traced this church school through its Dutch colonial history ; about three years after this, however, on March 12th, 1664, an event transpired in England, which soon was to change the name, govern- ment, and destiny of JSTew Amsterdam, now containing a population of fifteen hundred souls. On that day, James II. granted to his brother, the Duke of York and Albany, the territory between the Connecticut and Dela- ware Rivers, including all the possessions of New ISTeth- erland. In August following, the Duke's squadron, commanded by Colonel Richard McoU, of four ships, with ninety-four guns and four hundred and fifty sol- diers, anchored ofi" New Amsterdam. To resist such a force, the city was wholly unprepared, and Stuyvesant very unwillingly consented to capitulate. The name of Port Amsterdam immediately changed to Fort James, and, worse still. New Amsterdam became New York in name — a royal name unknown in history to virtue, great- ness, or renown. The ascendency of the Hollanders in numbers, character, and infiuence, however, continued a long while. Even now, after a period of almost two * Alb. Eec, xxii, 100. EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOBK. 43 centuries, amidst the changes of the city, and its present heterogeneous population, there can be found the honest maxims, the homely pictures, and the family Bible, of the fatherland. And so, also, have their churches and schools and dominies descended, with all their saving influences, to our day. At the close of Stuyvesant's administration, from charter provisions and the efforts of the clergy, " schools existed in almost every town and village"* in N,ew ISTetherland. Although New Amstei'dam became New York, and the Dutch, government had ceased in ISTew York, stiU the Dutch people. Church, and school remained. By the articles of capitulation, they had secured "the liberty of their conscience in divine wor- ship and Church discipline, with all their accustomed jurisdiction of the poor and orphans." It is very probable that Van Hoboocken' s school on the Bouwery was discontinued, but Pietersen taught as heretofore, and in 1655 he resided in De Browker Straat.f It must be remembered, that the ecclesiastical relations of the Reformed Dutch Church remained, as heretofore, under the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam Classis. The Church school continued still to be supervised by the deacons, but now, deprived of all aid from the public treasury, its support devolved upon the consistory. The efforts often made.to advance the English Church, at. times were severely felt by that of the Dutch ; but, tolerant to all, she maintained from the first the enjoy- ment of her own worship and school. L6rd Cornbury, a governor, was a well-known persecu- * CoIL New N., ii., 546. fValentiue's Manual, 1850. 44' EAELIEST CHURCHES TIS" WEW TOEK. tor of all denominations not Episcopalian. Among other infamous acts, he imprisoned and fined two Presbyterian ministers, and, by rigid measures, broke up the Dutch schools on Long Island. None can doubt, for a moment, but that he was acting contrary to the principles and teachings of the Protestant Episcopal Church. His own misguided zeal did this mischief. Still persevering in his obstinacy, Gornbury gave, the Dutch Church to understand that no Dutch minister or schoohnaster would be permitted to exercise his calling, without a special license from himself. This usurpation, directly opposed to the previously granted charter, given by William III. to the Reformed Dutch Church in Amer- ica, which said "that the ministers of said Church, for the time being, shall and may, by and with consent of the elders and deacons of the said Church for the time being, nominate and appoint a schoolmaster, and such other under officers as they shall stand in need of."* A com- mittee of the Consistory remonstrated against the gov- ernor' s claim, as contrary to this provision, and retained their rights and settled their own teachers as heretofore, although his illegal prohibition unjustly and disastrously injured the Dutch congregations in other sections of the province. In 1726, the Dutch Church school was under the charge of Barent De Forest, and there is no direct refer- ence to its history in official records until the year 1743 ; here the regular minutes commence again, from which we can learn, ever since, an uninterrupted account of the institution and its teachers. Another Church school * Act of Incorporation R. P. D. Church. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 45 "farther up town" became necessary, when Mr. Abra- ham De Lauoy took charge of it; he was also to dis- charge the duty of catechetical instruction to the children in the Garden Street Church, and De Lanoy at the New, or "Middle Dutch." In 1746, the consistoiy appropriated, in addition to his salary, ten pounds, New York currency, for one year, "to officiate as chorister alternately in the Old and New Church" (Garden and Nassau). Mr. Van Wageneii in- tending to resign in 1748, Mr. Daniel Bratt, chorister at Catskill, was appointed in his place, for five years, in the " New" (Middle) Church. He was also to act as school- master, and to be provided witfi a dwelling-house, school-room, twelve free scholars, and "for which he should receive twelve pounds ten shillings, with a load of wood for each scholar, annually, half nut and half oak." His services commenced in April, 1749. During the year 1691, the Dutch Church purchased from the Common Council, for four hundred and ftfty dollars, a tract of land on Garden street, between Wil- liam and Broad, — on the north side one hundred and seventy-five feet, on the south one hundred and eighty. Here a church had been built, 1693, and opposite, on the south side, the new schoolhouse and teacher's dwell- ing were erected, in 1784. To the curious in old matters, this property is now known as number fifty and fifty- ■ two, Exchange Place. Here this excellent Dutch Church school continued for seventy-six years, three-quarters of a century ! What eventful changes have taken place on this venerable, time-honored, and once sacred spot ! The church and its graveyard and the schoolhouse all have 46 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW TOEK. passed away, not a vestige of their former pious purposes remaining. And now, the keen dealers in notes, stocks, "greenbacks," and specie, crowd the whole once sacred region ! This is what has been called ' ' Young America ! ' ' In 1751, a Mr. Van der Slam received the appointment of " Consoler of the Sick and Catechiser," and Mr. Bratt as chorister and schoolmaster, his services terminating in 1754. The consistory now found it difficult to pro- cure a suitable person for "Voorleser" and schoolmas- ter, when they resolved, 1755, "to call a chorister, catechist, and schoolmaster from Holland." Such an one was obtained in Mr. John Nicholas Welp, who arrived from Amsterdam in 1765. For more than seventeen years, as schoolmaster and chorister, he performed his duties satisfactorily and with fidelity, when death ended his useful labors. During his ser- vices there had been great excitement and discussion about introducing the English language in the worship of the Dutch Church. It was finally deteimhied to call a minister who should officiate in English, while the Dutch was to be continued a part of the Sabbath. Dr. Laidlie was thus called, and delivered his first sermon in English at the Middle Dutch Church, in the afternoon of the last Sabbath in March, 1764, from 2 Corinthians V. 11 ; " Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. ' ' All the public services were conducted in the English language, except the singing, in Dutch, led ■ by Jacobus Yan Antwerp (Voorsanger, or fore-singer), as the congregation were not acquainted with English psalmody. The immense house was densely crowded, and many climbed in the windows on tl],is unusual occasion. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 47 This new measure, as might well be expected, gave great offence to some ; and finding all their expostula- tions in vain, at last they invoked the civil power. In 1767, more than three years after the settlement of the "English Preacher," a few members of the Dutch con- gregation presented a remonstrance to his Excellency, Sir Henry Moore, Governor of New York, complaining that the consistory had violated the constitution of the ■Reformed Dutch Church, by the introduction of English services in their public worship. Abel Hardenbrook, Jacobus Stoutenburgh, with Huybert Van Wagenen, and others, signed this remonstrance ; and the last- named was the schoolmaster in 1743 ; and the document failing in its object, he connected himself with the Eng- lish Church. Nine years before the death of Mr. Welp, the English language had been introduced into the Dutch pulpits, and had now become quite common, so that regard must be paid to this fact in the Selection of a new school- master. It had become necessary that he should "in- struct twenty poor children in reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well in both the English and Dutch lan- guages." In Mr. Peter Van Steenburgh, schoolmaster at Platbush, Long Island, was to be found such a person, when he was called, and accepted the invitation in 1773.* A new and enlarged schoolhouse was built, and for three years the school continued its operations under Mr. Van Steenburgh, amidst great public excite- ment, when it was compelled to disband. It was the moment of intense public excitement in New York. * Dunshee's History of the school, p. 72. 48 EAELIEST CHUECHES IW NEW YOEK. Here, in 1765, the Provincial Congress assembled, pass- ing the famous "Declaration of Rights." Here the stamped paper had been destroyed, and the Lieutenant- Governor hiing in effigy, in 1765. And the same year of Van Steenburgh's appointment, the " Sons of Lib- erty" destroyed a cargo of tea, on its arrival. From these and other similar causes, the city of New York was soon possessed by the British forces, and became the head-quarters of the enemy. Martial-law was de- clared ; many patriotic citizens fled to neighboring places for safety, and all the churches and schools were closed and discontinued during the war. Now we lose sight of the "Krank-bezoecker," "Voorsanger," and the " Voorleser," for several years. Not less than five thousand American prisoners were confined in the city jails, sugar-houses, and Dissenting churches. Sev- eral hundred crowded the Middle Dutch Church, until removed to make room for a cavalry riding-school. The North Church held eight hundred prisoners, and its pews were used for fuel. To increase these desecra- tions and these evUs, in July, 1776, a fire consumed four hundred and ninety-three houses, from Whitehall Slip to Cortlandt street. Trinity Church and the Luther- an, on the opposite corner, included in the number. Again, August, 1776, in the neighborhood of Coenties Slip, three hundred more houses were consumed. Li such times, and for seven long years, all church service ceased, and the schools and college closed. On the return of peace, the scattered citizens grad- ually returned to their old homes. The consistory of the Reformed Dutcli Church reorganized again in EABLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 49 Septemljer, 1783, four days only after the signing of the Treaty of Peace, at Paris, and before the British evacuated New York, in the month of November fol- lowing. Mr. Van Steenburgh, returning to the city in 1784, again took charge of his old Church School. This insti- tution, from its commencement until now, had been known as the "Public," "Free," or "Low Dutch School." It now used the term "Charity," as similar seminaries were called "Charity Schools," by the other denominations. They derived their support from the voluntary contributions of the church members. The Episcopal Charity School, founded in 1748, had received large legacies from those in her communion, aided by annual collections ; and from this circumstance, proba- bly, the term was adopted. This school subsequently discarded the title, becoming a chartered institution, with a less objectionable name. Most of these denom- inational free schools, that existed towards the close of the last century, have ceased long since. In the faU of 1789, commenced the practice of provid- ing each scholar with a suit of clothes, which was after- wards adopted in the Episcopal and Methodist Church Free Schools. To meet this new expense, public collec- tions were made in the respective congregations on the same Sabbath day. This was an interesting occasion with the scholars and their friends ; all turned out in their new suits, and, dressed alike, sang beautiful hymns before the congregations ; afterywhich and the sermon, the public collections were taken up. At times, these amounted to very large, generous sums, and the lib- 50 EAELIEST CHURCHES IW NEW YOKE. emlity of the Collegiate Dutch Churcli became pro- verbial. From the establishment of the Dutch Church School, in 1633, its schoolmaster, with only one or two excep- tions, had acted as chorister ; and in 1791, Mr. Stanton Latham, clerk in the North Church since 1789, super- seded Mr. Van Steenburgh, in consequence of his "sing- ing" talents. He also agreed "to teach fifty scholars for seven shillings per quarter," and his offer was accepted by the consistory. In 1792, it was deemed an indispensable condition of the admission of boys in future, that their parents or guardians "do, previously, by bond, engage themselves to bind them to some useful profession or employment, at the expiration of their terms in school, or secure to the consistory the power of so doing ;" but this plan was never carried out. Like his predecessor, Mr. Latham had enjoyed the advantage of having some pay scholars ; but, in the year 1795, it was resolved to admit none but "charity scholars' ' into the school. His salary was now fixed at two hundred dollars a year, house-rent free, with twelve cords of wood yearly for the school. In 1804, the num- ber of pupils was limited to sixty. During a period of one hundred and seventy-five years the deacons of the Dutch Church had constituted a Standing Committee, to manage the affairs of the school ; but in 1808, it was placed under the care of a "Board of Trustees." Its original members are well remembered — excellent names — John Stoutenburgh, Richard Duryee, Isaac Heyer, Abraham Brinckerhoff, EAKLIEST CHURCHES IK NEW YORK. 51 Attthony Dey, Jesse Baldwin, and John Mtchie, Jr. During the same year, the teacher's salary was increased to six hundred doUars. In 1809, Mr. Latham resigned his office, when Joseph Hinds, a graduate of the institution, "became an assistant teacher, untU the election of Mr. Forrester as principal, during the same year, when he adopted the Lancasterian system of instruction, in sand and on slate. It is here worthy of note, that the old eight-day clock, which had hung so many years in the Garden Street Church, was repaired and removed to the schoolroom. A venerable and faithful chronicler of time, precious time, it stiU, on the walls of the present schoolhouse, marks the rapidly passing moments. Duilng the year 1805, the Free School Society was founded in the city of New York ; and in 1812, the "Common School System" commenced in the State. These legal movements, consequently, affected the Chari- ty Schools of the city. When the Free School Society assured the public that children should have the same privileges, literary and religious, which they enjoyed in " their own church schools, most of these institutions dis- banded. But the Reformed Dutch Church, adhering to her own views on this important subject, declined the overture, following those principles which she had maintained for centuries. In 1818, the school numbered one hundred scholars— seventy-six boys and twenty-four girls. For seventy- six years the institution had now continued in Garden street, and a temporary removal to Duane street, near William, became necessary. Here the school remained 52 teAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. until 1835, -when it again removed to Elm street, corner of Canal; thence it occupied the basement of the Re- formed Dutch Church, on Broome and Greene streets, removing to the basement of the church on the comer of Greene and Houston streets, remaining one year, till its removal to No. 91 Mercer street. Here its sessions continiied five years, when temporary accommodations were prepared in the basement of the Ninth Street Church. In July, 1847, ground was broken for a new and permanent school edifice, on Fourth street ; and in November following, the old school took possession of it. Noah Webster, Esq., for many years the President of the Trustees, commenced the ceremony of dedication by solemnly commending the institution, its friends, teachers, and scholars, in devout prayer, to Almighty God. He thanked the Lord for His constant care and goodness ever extended over this signally blessed institu- tion of the Church ! The new edifice is admirably adapt- ed to its purposes. It is built of brick, and is forty feet front by forty-five deep, and three stories high. The "Honors" of the school, annually distributed, consist of a Bible, a Psalm-Book, with the Catechism and Liturgy of the Church, and a mounted engraved Testi- monial.* In the year 1843, the trustees appointed Henry T. Dunshee principal of the school ; and Mr. Forrester having been engaged in the faithful discharge of its arduous duties during the last thirty-two years, it was concluded that he ought now to be relieved, at the age * Mr. Diuuhee's History of tliis sohool, 1853. Refohsied Du'n.'ii Ciiukck in Gaudex I6ikei:t. ISOT. «. MhJpM^^^' ■"- MtDDLB DuTiJii (JiiutiC[i [X Xa.ss.vi; Striqet. Altered in 1T64. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 53 of nearly seventy years, from Ms responsibilities. He was, however, retained as catechist for twelve months, . when his long connection with the school closed. Few men, in his sphere and day, have been more useful ; and, at the advanced age of eighty years, he still lives, the monument of God's goodness and mercy! He is a Scotchman, horn in the environs of Edinburgh, 1775, and emigrated to America in 1794. Teaching has been his employment through life. We have described this venerable school thus fully, because, of all charities, that which imparts literary and religious education to destitute children, and prepares them for usefulness in Church and State, is the most important and praiseworthy. This, too, is now the old- est educational institution in our land, and most closely identified with the history of our city from its settle- ment, and allied to the most ancient Church within her borders. Even its associations become most interesting, delightful, and important. In 1863, the two hundred and thirtieth anniversary of this school was held in the Middle Dutch Church, Lafayette Place ; the Rev. Dr. VermUye delivered the diplomas to the graduating class, when the parting song was sung. 54 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. CHAPTER III. FIRST BUEJAL-PLACB IN NEW YORK SERVICES OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND INTRODUCED, 1664 MR. VESEY, THE FIRST RECTOR CHARLOTTE TEMPLe's GRAVE REV. ELIAS NBAU DR. VINTON EPISCOPAL FREE SCHOOL ESTABLISHED EPISCOPAL CHURCHES CLOSED IN THE REVOLUTION DRS. COOPER, AUCHMUTY, CHARLTON, BARCLAY, INGLIS REPLY TO " COMMON SENSe" SEIZED BY SONS OF LIBERTY AND BURNED GENERAL HOWE LANDS IN NEW YORK THE GREAT FIRE, IV/G DR. INGLIS RETIRES TO NOVA SCOTIA, AND THERE MADE BISHOP THE KING's FARM TRINITY BURNED AND REBUILT ST. GEORGe's, ST. PAUL's, AND ST.' JOHn's BUILT GOV- ERNOR Fletcher's arrival ; A high churchman — churches ORDERED TO BE ERECTED IN WESTCHESTER, SUFFOLK, AND RICH- MOND CITIZENS TAXED FOR THEIR SUPPORT. The first burial-place in the city was about the corner of Broadway and Morris street — four lots of twenty-five by one hundred feet. This was abandoned in 1676, and the north part of Trinity churchyard substituted. Trinity Church was erected in 1696, and incorporated the next year as the "Parish Church." On the transfer of the New Netherland colony to the British, in 1664, the worship of the Church of England was introduced, and the chaplain of the British forces conducted divine service in the Dutch church at the fort. A very friendly feeling existing between the two denomina- tions when Mr. Vesey, the first rector, arrived, he was invited to hold his religious services in the Garden EARLIEST CHTJEOHES IN NEW YORK. 55 Street Church on a part of the Sabbath. When he was inducted into his holy office, Governor Fletcher request- ed two of the Dutch clergymen to be present. Until the cessation of burials, by law, in the city. Trinity churchyard was a general cemetery, where mul- titudes, thousands on thousands, of the past generations have been interred. There is scarcely an old family among us but has some relative or friend sleeping in this sacred repository. Here lie the ashes of Generals Hamilton and Lamb, and Colonel Willet, with other Revolutionary heroic men — Captain Lawrence and Lieu- tenant Ludlow of the Chesapeake, heroes of the war of 1812. Wlio has not read the story of Charlotte Temple ? It was a tale of truth ; and the lady also slumbers here. What reverend histories are attached to the silent ten- ants of this vast field of the dead ! Nearly all the tomb- stones first placed are dilapidated or have perished. Some of the buried, however, have become a part of history, and will never be forgotten. In old Trinity churchyard repose the remains of many Huguenots, aad among them those of the Rev. Elias Neau, the paternal ancestor of Commodore Perry's wife ; and a Perry married the Rev. Dr. Vinton, a descendant of the seventh generation from this venerable and pious ancestor. The doctor now is a distinguished minister of old Trinity, after a lapse of more than one hundred and fifty years, and declaring sacred truth on the same reverend spot where his children's pious progenitor exercised the same holy calling so very long ago. Mr. Neau's memory deserves more notice. He was a tal- ented, good man, and appointed catechist of Trinity 56 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN WEW YOEK. wlien the Rev. Mr. Vesey "was its rector. After his appointment, for a number of years, he diligently dis- charged his important religious duties among the slaves and Indians, of whom there were isome fifteen hundred catechumens in the city. He could never collect them until candle-light, in summer or winter, except on the Sabbath, when they assembled after the last church services. He may be said to be the founder of the Free School of that church, so celebrated, serviceable, and numerous for many years. He closed a life of extra- ordinary usefulness in the year 1722, and his dust also sleeps in Trinity burial-ground, nearly on a line with its northern porch. At the commencement of the American Revolution, there was much animosity manifested towards the Epis- copal or Church of England. Most of its clergy took sides with the British, and hence were violently opposed by the Whig or American party. The Episcopal churches, generally, were closed, and many of their pastors sought safety in England. Among this number was Myles Cooper, D. D., President of King's (Colum- bia) College. Dr. Samuel Auchmuty succeeded the ReV. Mr. Charlton as catechist to the negroes, and assist- ant minister in Trinity ; and on the death of Dr. Barclay, in 1764, he was elected rector. He, too, was a stropg loyalist, and retired, for a season, to New Brunswick, New Jersey, with his family. Dr. Charles Inglis became assistant to Dr. Auchmuty in 1765, whom he succeeded as the rector of Trinity, two years afterwards. He was a decided Tory and Churchman ; and when Washington, with the American troops, took possession EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 57 of tlie city, the General, soon after his arrival, attended Trinity Church. One of his officers called at the rec- tor's house, leaving word that "he Avould be glad if the violent prayers for the king and royal family were omitted." But Inglis paid no regard to the request, informing Washington that "it was in his power to •shut up our churches, but by no means in his power to make the clergy depart from their duty." Whilst officiating on the Sabbath, a company of one hundred "armed rebels" marched into the church, with drums beating and fifes playing, their guns loaded and bayo- nets fixed. The congregation was thrown into great consternation, but Inglis, elevating his voice above the noise and tumult, went on with the services. The soldiers, finally, invited by the sexton, took seats, and the thing passed off without accident. When independence was declared, soon after, the vestries of the Episc6pal churches shut them up ; and at this moment the equestrian statue of King G-eorge in the Bowling Green was pulled down and demolished. All the royal arms, even on the tavern signs, were destroyed, and orders were sent to have them removed from Trinity, or the mob would do the work them- selves. Dr. Inglis wisely and immediately* complied. His family were removed to a distant part of the coun- try for safety, but he remained, "to visit the sick, bap- tize the children, bury the dead, and afford what sup- port I could (he writes) to the remains of our poor flock." He took possession of all the keys, "lest," he adds, "the sexton's might be tampered with." Thus, 58 EAPvLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. for the. present, the Episcopal churclies escaped the desecration of the war. At this moment of national excitement, Paine pub- lished his "Common Sense," earnestly justifying inde- pendence, and the rector of Trinity characterized it as "one of the most virulent, artful, and pernicious pam- phlets ever met with, and perhaps the wit of man could not devise one better calculated to do mischief. It seduced thousands." At the risk of life and liberty he answered it, "but, as soon as printed, his whole impres- sion was seized by the " Sons of Liberty," and burned. He sent, however, a copy to Philadelphia, where it was printed, with a second edition. Tliis, of course, swelled the catalogue of the rector's political transgressions, and he was compelled to retire to Flushing, on Long Island, and "keep as private as possible." Soon, General Howe defeated the Americans at the unfortunate battle on Long Island, wMch set him at liberty, with many Tories in New York. On the 15th of September, 1776, General Howe landed at New York with the English forces, when the Ameri- cans abandoned the city. Early the next morning Dr. Inglis returned to his house, which he found plundered of everything. "My loss amounts (he says) to near two hundred pounds, this currency, or upwards of one hundred pounds sterling. The rebels carried off all the bells in the city, partly to convert them into cannon, partly to prevent notice being given speedily of the destruction they meditated against the city by fire when it began." On the following day he opened one of the Episcopal churches and solemnized divine worship, EARLIEST CIIUECHES IN NEW YOEK. 59 wlien the citizens, now very few, generally attended, but they were Episcopalians. They congratulated each other on the prospect of returning security, but were to be mistaken and disappointed. On the next Saturday, the weather being dry, with the wind blowing fresh, the city was fired in several places, at the same moment, before daylight. The fire, raging with utmost fury, destroyed about one thousand houses, embracing a fourth of the whole place. Three Episcopal churches were burned — Trinity, the oldest and largest. It was now a venerable edifice, with an excellent organ, costing eight hundred and fifty pounds. The rector's house and the Charity School, two large buildings, with St. Paul's Church and King's College (Columbia), shared the same fate. The loss of church property was estimated to be twenty-five thousand pounds. Dr. Inglis was ordained in England, and, when peace came, in 1783, he was obliged to leave the States, as he himself, with his lady, were included in the Act of Attainder. With some of his flock, he accordingly went to Annapolis, Nova Scotia, where, in 1787, he was consecrated the first Colonial Bishop of that province. He died in 1816, aged eighty -two years. His son, John Inglis, was the third Protestant Bishop of Nova Scotia. In 1703, the "King's Farm" had been granted, by Queen Anne, to Trinity, and it thus became the cele- brated Trinity Church property. The old edifice had been enlarged in 1735, again during 1737, and burned by the fire of 1776. It was again rebuilt in 1778, and consecrated by Bishop Provost in 1791, and demolished 60 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. once more for the present splendid structure, whicli was opened during the year 1848. Trinity Church, afterwards, was enlarged, so as to embrace St. George's, Beekman street, "erected in 1752 ; St. Paul's, 1766 ; St. John's, 1807, with Trinity Chapel, Twenty-fifth street — all its chapels. The first Trinity was built in 1696 — a small, square edifice, with a very tall spire. One of its pews was appropriated to the Mayor and Common Council, and a sermon was annually preached to them on the day of the city elec- tion. St. Paul's Church and the "North Dutch" are the oldest houses of worship in our city, and were erected within three years of each other. It is said that a friendly social strife grew up between the respective denominations in building these sacred edifices, which would vie with each other in size and beauty. We do not know of two more noble or magnificent sacred edi- fices of their style among the hundreds of others in New York. They remain the same as when first erected — strong links between the present and the "olden time." Long, long may they continue the tabernacles of the Most High ! The new Governor of New York, Benja- min Fletcher, arrived in 1692. Despotic, and a bigoted Churchman, his darling project was to make the Church of England the established one of the land, and to intro- duce, at the same time, the English language. This, of course, was contrary to the wishes of most of the people, who still spoke the Dutch and "went to the Dutch Church." The Colonial Assembly of 1693 passed an act to build one church in New York, two in West- EARLIEST OHXJECHES IN NEW YOEK. 61 qliester and Suffolk, and one in Richmond, each to be settled with a Protestant minister, with salaries from forty pounds to four hundred pounds, raised by taxes on the inhabitants. Trinity was organized under this act. Its cemetery was to be Itept neatly fenced, and the "burial fees never to exceed eighteen pence for children, and three sliillings for adults. So great were the numbers la this city of the dead, as to amount to more than one hundred and sixty thousand at the period of the Revolution. All citizens were now taxed for the support of "the Church" of England, whilst other Christians were pro- nounced "Dissenters." We might ask. Dissenters from what 'i Is it not an historical fact that the Episcopalians are the Dissenters from the famous Reformed Churches of France, of Holland, Germany, and Switzerland? They are, moreover. Dissenters from the Waldenses, Albigenses, and the ancient British Christians, who early withstood Popery in Ireland and Scotland. For- tunately for the Dutch, at the surrender of their colony to the British rule, in 1664, they took care to secure their religious rights with regard to the worship and discipline of their churohes. The Episcopalians, then, were a mere handful, comparatively, mostly composed of the government officers, the military, and their de- pendents. StiU, from 1693 to 1776, all Non-Episcopa- lians were compelled, by unrighteous law, to pay taxes for the support of their small church. By the glorious war of the Revolution, however, the people were set free from all union of the Church and State, and the establishment of any sect in these United States. During 63 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEIf. this Britisli rule, many wlio loved the "loaves and fishes" left the communion of the other churches for the favored Established religion. Thanks to the bravery of our noble forefathers, we are delivered from all national or legal "High Churchism," "Puseyism," "Tithes," and "Popery." EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOEK. 63 CHAPTEK IV. TRINITY CHURCH ITS PRINCELY LIBERALITY CHURCHES HELPED queen's farm FIRST WARDENS AND VESTRYMEN SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE BUILDING NEW EDIFICE GOVERNOR FLETCHEr's ARMS AND PEW king's farm MINISTERS' SALARIES SMALL FEES REV. MR. VESEY AND HIS ASSISTANTS TRINITY ENLARGED, iTSY QUEEN ANNE PRESENTS COMMUNION SETS, AND THE BISHOP OF LONDON A PAROCHIAL LIBRARY DEATH OF MR. VESEY. Concerning "Old Trinity," volumes might be written. The more we examine, the more do we reverence and admire this ancient and munificent religious corpora- tion. In its early history, Trinity parish needed help, and was not "able to aid others. But, as far back as the year 1745, we find its first recorded gift of a com-' munion, pulpit, and desk-cloth, to Mr. Peter Jay, for the church at Eye. Since that distant period, its dona- tions to needy congregations have been princely and very numerous. There is scarcely a form in which this liberality has not been manifested — communion plate, baptismal fonts, Bibles, organs, bells, salaries, &c., &c. When Tom Paine' s "Age of Reason" was popular (1797), the vestry purchased, for distribution, two hun- dred copies of the "Antidote to Deism," and soon after, five hundred of "Watson's Apology." At one time they appropriated five hundred dollars for a negro burial-ground ; and in 1786, three lots of ground for the use of the senior pastors of the Presbyterian con- 64 EAELIE8T CHURCHES IN WEW YOBK. gregations in this city (Kos. 255, 256, and 257 Robinson street, now Park Place) ; in 1765, two lots to the corpo- ration, for the ferry to Paulus Hook ; in 1771, five hun- dred dollars towards building a public market. Their donations to aged and infirm clergymen have been immense. In 1T96, the Rev. William Hammel thus received £100 per annum for thirty years . . , . $7,500 1801-1816. Bishop Provost (annuity) . . 5,000 1811-1816. Bishop Moore " . . . 6,250 1813-1819. Dr. Beach " . . . . 24,000 Families of those dying in its (Trinity's) service . . 36,900 King's (Columbia) College, lf52, grant of land, between Murray and Barclay streets, and from Church street to the North River, valued at . . . . 400,000 1802. Society for the Promotion of Religion and Learning, thirty-two lots of land on Barclay, Warren, Green- wich, Hudson, Beach, and North Mooro streets . . 129,500 1-808-1826. African Catecheticallnstitute . . . T,0'72 1-825-1835. General Theological Seminary . . . 9,143 1836-1843. Episcopal Fund .... 58,800 1832^184'?. City Missions ... . . 13,900 Th^se are magnificent sums and benefactions to the cause of piety and Christian benevolence ; but what can equal Trinity's gifts to other churches? We append a few : ]'f98. St. Mark's, money and lots . . . .$150,110 1804-1811. Grace Church, including twenty-five lots 120,000 (In fact, Grace Church was built by the corpo- ration of Trinity.) 1812-1813. St. -George's, thirty-throe lots . . 220,235 ■ 1795-1809. St^ Peter's, Westchester .... 24,150 1191-1809. St. George's, Flushing .... 21,150 1191-1809. Grace, Jamaica, Long Island . . . 20,150 1192-1809, -St. James's, Newtown ..... 21,250 1791-1809. .St. Anne's, Brooklyn .... $16,000 1805-1846. ' St. Stephen's, New York . . 32,594 l^ARLIEST CHLTECHES IN NEW YOEK. 65 1807-1825. St. Michael's, Bloomingdale, and St. James's, Hamilton Square, including lots 75,100 1803-1847. Christ Church, New York . 74,200 1811-1846. Zion, New York . ... 39,370 1831-1842. St. Clement's, New York . 23,800 1 820-1 84G. St. Luke's . . ... 56,800 182'i-1842. St. Thomas's . . ... 32,300 1827-1845. All Saints' 31,500 1S30-1846. St. Philip's ...... 18,110 1835-184C. Church of the Nativity - 9,300 1837-1S4C. St. Bartholomew's 24,650 1838-1842. Annunciation 9,400 1845. Holy Apostles' 5,000 Tbese are autlientic extracts from Dr. Berrian's His- tory, omitting smaller donations, from two hundred dollars and upwards, to Episcopal churches in every section of our great State. Their record fills a dozen octavo pages of the volume, and the Doctor estimated, in 1847, that the "gifts, loans, and grants of Trinity Church, rating the lands at their present prices, consid- erably exceed Two Millions of Dollars— a sum more than equal, in the opinion of competent judges, to two- thirds of the value of the estate which remains." These figures speak volumes for the zeal, liberality, and piety of "Old Trinity," and as such we leave them, a com- ment on themselves. What an inestimable benefaction was the munificent gift of "Good Queen Anne," in 1705, of the "Queen's Farm," to the corporation of Trinity Church ! This property was then literally what it was called — a "farm," extending from St. Paul's Church, along the Hudson, to Skinner Road, now Christopher street. It was of comparatively little value, but long since has become a valuable and compact part of our great city. Mere nominal rents, or long leases, have rendered the 66 EARLIEST CHITECHES IN NEW YORK. property much, less productive than is generally ima- gined. What a blessing to the churches of our land, that the heirs of Anneke Jans, and speculators, did not succeed in their attempts to invalidate the title of Trinity to this vast and valuable estate ! The first wardens and vestrymen of Trinity were ap- pointed in 1697 : Thomas Wenham and Robert Lurting, wardens ; Caleb Heathcote, William Merret, John Tudor, James Emmot, William Morris, Thomas Clarke, Ebene- zer Wilson, Samuel Burt, James Evets, ISTathaniel Mars- ton, Michael Howden, John Crooke, William Sharpas, Lawrence Read, David Jamison, William Hudleston, Gabriel Ludlow, Thomas Burroughs, John Merret, Wil- liam Janeway, vestrymen. The property of this incor- poration was then unproductive, the English inhabitants few, with scanty means, but,they were zealous for their Church. Trinity was originally a small square edifice, founded 1696, and a special subscription of three hundred and twelve pounds thirteen shillings and seven pence was made to build the steeple, Avith a contribution of five pounds twelve shillings and three pence from the Jews. Yes, from the sons of Abraham ! This is a _ rem.arkable historical item, and we record their names : LeTyis Gomez, one pound two shillings; Abraham D. Luiena, one pound; Rodrego Pacheco, one pound; Moses Levy, eleven pence; Mordecai Nathan, eleven, pence ; Jacob Franks, one pound ; Moses Michael, eight shillings three pence : total, five pounds twelve shillings and three pence. Some gave their means and others their time to the pious undertaking. Mr. Samuel Burt was ordered to "goe down to Huntington with all expe- Tub First Trinity Cjittroit. Erihiriietl in 17-37. Dfstrovcd by firo in 1770. EARLIEST CHUECHE8 IN NEW YORK. 67 dition, and purcliase all the Oyster Shell Lime he can get there, not to exceed the rate of 8 or 9 shillings pr Loade for the nse of the Church : and that his expences in trav- elling and horse be defrayed out' of the PuMck Stock, he desiring nothing for his time and trouble." Colonel Peter Schuyler subscribed "five pounds, to be paid in boards." One hundred and seventy pounds two shil- lings and three pence were remitted from Holland to London, the amount collected for the "redemption of slaves ;" but, failing that use, was assigned to Trinity Church, ISTew York. At London, this sum was invested in "Strouds," thirty-eight pieces, and upon their arrival here sold for four hundred and forty-eight pounds. Another singiilar way was devised to increase the funds. Governor Fletcher granted the church wardens "a Com- mission for all Weifts, Wrecks, and Drift Whales, as should come on shoar on y^ said Island." The new edifice was about one hundred and forty- eight feet long and seventy-two broad ; the steeple one hundred and seventy-five feet high ; and over the door facing the river this inscription : "pes Augustam. "Hoc Trinitatis Templum fuudatum est anno regni illustrissimi," &c. " This Trinity Churcli was founded in the eighth year of the Most Illustrious Sovereign Lord William the Third, by the grace of God King of England, Scot- laud, France, and, Ireland, Defender of the faith, &c., and in the year of our Lord 1696; and built by the voluntary contributions and gifts of some persons, and chiefly encouraged and promoted by the bounty of his Excellency Colonel Benjamin. Fletcher, Captain-General and Govemor-in-chief of this Province ; in the time of whose government the inhabitants of this city of the Protestant religion of the Church of England, as now established by law, were incorporated by a charter, under tlip seal of the Province, and many other valuable gifts he gave to it of his private fortune." 68 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. On the walls were hntig the arms of some of the prin- cipal benefactors, and among these, conspicuously, Gov- ernor Fletcher' s, and under them the above legend. A pew, next to the chancel, was also presented to him, "to remaine forever to the aforesaid use." About this period Trinity received some valuable gifts : from Gov- ernor Fletcher, a Bible ; the Earl of Bellamont, ' ' a parcell of Books of Divinity, sent over by the Right Rev. Henry, Lord Bishop of London ;" "paving stones from the Piiil?: Blossom lodged in the steeple, being the gift of ye Lord Bishop of Bristol to Trinity Church ;" Lord Viscount Cornbury gave ' ' a black Pall, on condition no person dying and belonging to Forte Anne should be deny'd the use thereof. Gratis." The "King's Farme" was let on terms which seem singularly strange, contrasted with the high rents, high taxes, and high price of property now in that section of the city. George Ryerse was to have the farm a part of the year, with "his winter and summer grain, provi- ded he plant no Indian Corne next spring therein ; that he sew no more summer grain next spring than winter grain, ... he paying for the same the sum of thirty-five pounds — ^twenty pounds the first of November, and fif- teen pounds the first of May next ensuing." At that early day the salaries were very small. The rector's income was only one hundred pounds per an- num, with an allowance of twenty- six pounds from the Government towards his house-rent. The clerk's fees were : for attending a funeral, five shillings sixpence : a marriage, six shillings sixpence ; christening, nine pence. The sexton's fees: for ringing the bell, three EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOKK. 69 shillings ; digging a grave, six shillings ; marriage, three shillings sixpence ("every stranger pay double fees"). "For burying a man or woman in the chancel," the rector' s charge was five pounds ; a child, two pounds ten shillings ; under ten years, one pound five shillings ; " a marriage in the parish," thirteen shillings. The Rev. Mr. Vesey, the first rector of Trinity Church, was also the Commissary of the Province of New York, so that his labors were twofold. In 1715, the Rev. M5. Jenny was appointed an assistant to Mr. Vesey, at a. sal- ary of fifty pounds a year. After several services, he was removed to the parish of Rye. The Rev. Mr. Wetmore succeeded him in office, also attending to the catechising of the blacks every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday evening. At times, nearly two hundred attended his instructions. In 1726 he was inducted in the parish of Rye, Mr. Jenny being transferred to Hemp- stead. The Rev. Mr. Colgan was appointed catechist for Trinity in 1726. In 1737 Trinity was enlarged from its old square form to an oblong, seventy-two feet wide and one hundred and forty-eight long. During the reigns of William and Mary, Queen Anne, and one of the Georges, the royal bounty had presented to Trinity three communion sets, inscribed with the arms and names of the donors. The old communion cloth, &c., were given to the church at Rye. A present of valuable books for a parochial library, was made by the Bishop of London, and increased by other gifts, until their catalogue fills nine folio manu- script pages. For, a long time they were kept in an upper corner of St. Paul' s Chapel, but removed to the 70 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. General Theological Seminary, as a foundation of its present valuable collection. In 1732 Mr. Colgan was removed to Jamaica, and the Rev. Mr. Charlton appointed his successor, who contin- ued the humhle but important oflBlce of catechist to the slaves. In eight years he baptized two hundred and nineteen "blacks." The Rev. Mr. Yesey continued in the service of Trinity Parish, without interruption, for fifty years. His Chris- tian labors must have been great and abundant, but we have no written record of them, as the register, of the baptisms, marriages, and funerals he attended, is said to have been destroyed by the great conflagration of 1776. After a long life of honor and usefulness, he was gath- ered to his fathers in peace. A notice of that day styles him "a most tender, affectionate husband, a good, indul- gent master, a faithful, steady friend, and beneficent to~ aU." EAELIEST CHUEOHES IN NEW YORK. 71. CHAPTEK V. UEV. HENRY BARCLAY INDUCTED INTO TRINITY CHURCH, 1746 CHAPEL OF EASE, ST. George's — drs. milnor and tyng — Washington an ATTENDANT HERE DR. SAMUEL JOHNSTON, AN ASSISTANT MINISTER OP TRINITY GULIAN C. VERPLANCK, HIS GRANDSON, SOW A VESTRY- MAN DR. JOHNSTON THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE NEW ORGAN FOR TRSNITY DR. BARCLAY'S DEATH REV. JOHN OBIL- VIE, HIS DEATH AND BENEFACTIONS — ST. PAUl's BUILT, 1763 HERE GENERAL WASHINGTON ALSO WORSHIPPED BEV. MR. VARDILL, BENJAMIN MOORE, AND DR. BOWDEN, ASSISTANT MINISTERS IN TRINITY MR. BEACH, OF CONNECTICUT, A BOLD CHURCHMAN DEATH OF REV. DR. AUCHMUTT. The Rev. Henry 'Barclay was inducted into Trinity Church on the 22d of October, 1746, George Clinton, Governor of the province, signing his certificate of induction. A few years after, his congregation had increased so much as to need the erection of a chapel, although the old church would accommodate two thou- sand hearers. At this period there were only eight houses of worship in New York city. In 1748, the wardens were authorized to buy six lots of ground fronting Ifassau street and Fair street, from David Clarkson, Esq., to build a Chapel of Ease to Tiinity Church thereon. • Five hundred pounds was the price paid, but it was thought that other lots of Colonel Beekman, "fronting on Beekman's street and Van Cliff's stree;t, would be more commodious," when these were purchased for six hundred and forty-five pounds. A number of presents were made to the new undertaking, 72 EAELIEST CHUKCHES IW WEW YOEK. and among these, ten pounds from the Archbishop of Canterbury ; Sir Peter Warren, one hundred pounds, to whom a pew was assigned for his liberality. The chapel was called St. George's. Its dimensions were ninety-two by seventy-two feet, the steeple lofty, but irregular, one hundred and seventy-five feet high. It was built in a then new and crowded section of the city, near Beekman's Swamp (Ferry street). The venerable edifice was destroyed by fire in January, 1814, except- ing its walls ; but was rebuilt the next year. The writer, then a chUd, and living in John street, well remembers that burning, from the peculiar and brilliant effect of the fire upon the snow falling at the moment. St. Greorge' s has been the spiritual home of many lib- eral, useful, and pious Christians; Here, for a long time, lived, and labored, and died, near God's holy altars, that eminent servant of Christ, the Rev. Dr. MUnor. His parsonage was next to the church, and from its hallowed walls he was buried. Here, the Rev. Dr. Tyng fearlessly preached the truth, until he removed to his magnificent church at Stuyvesant Park. General Washington was a frequent attendant at St. George's during his revolutionary residence in ISTew York. Next to the Middle Dutch (Post-office), tliis is now the oldest sacred temple in our city. Let it not be forgotten that St. George's still belonged to Trinity Parish. In 1747, Mr. Charlton was removed to St. Andrew's, Staten Island, when the Rev. Samuel Auchrauty took his place as catechist to the blacks, with directions to assist the rector. The appointment was made at the particular request of Governor Clinton. St. Geougk's Cjiapel, IJurkaiak Sthekt, N, Y. Erected lTo2, EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YOEK. ' 73 He was born in Boston, and educated at Harvard Col- lege, and ordained by the Bishop of London. On Fri- day afternoons he gave catechetical lectures in St. George' s Chapel. In the year 1753, the Kev. Dr. Samuel Johnston, of Stratford, was called as an assistant minister of Trinity, with a salary of one hundred and fifty pounds per an- num. In consequence of his advanced years, and his professorship in Columbia College, he was to read prayers only on Sundays, and preach one Sabbath in a month. Gulian C. Verplanck, an honored New Yorker, is his great-grandson, and is, we believe, now a vestry- man of Trinity. He has written a memoir of this distin- guished clergyman.* Mr. Johnston was educated at the College of Connecticut, then at Saybrook ; and in 1716, became a teacher in the institution removed to New Haven. He was ordained a minister of the Congrega- tional Church in 1720, and settled at West Haven. At that period the Independent Calvinistic Church was the only sect known and tolerated in the colony. But after long and laborious investigation of the controversy be- tween his own and the Church of England, he changed his views, and joined the latter. He was admitted to priest's orders in England, and, returning to America, settled as a missionary at Hartford. He was for some time the only clergyman of the Church of England in the colony, and was the pastor of the first Episcopal clnirch in Connecticut. In 1729, a remarkable circumstance occurred in the life of Mr. Johnston. Dean Berkeley, afterwards Bishop, * Churchman's Jj^agazine, 1813. 74 EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEVf TOEK;. visited America, -when similar views and studies pro- duced an intimate acquaintance Ibetween them, which continued until the death of the Bishop, in 1752. In 1743, through the recommendation of Archbishop Seeker, the University of Oxford conferred on Mr. Johnston the degree of D. D. This was indeed a literary honor from that ancient university, and never lavishly bestowed. There it is still regarded with liigh respect, cheap as such " degrees" are now in our own land. In 1753, a charter was obtained for old Columbia College, when Dr. John- ston became its president ; and on the 17th of June, 1754, he commenced the collegiate course with a class of twelve students. What multitudes since have grad- uated from her venerable classical walls ; and among them have been some of the master spirits in our land. For nine years he filled his important stations with ability, but his age and infirmities increasing, he re- signed these in 1763, retiring to Stratford, Connecticut. In this quiet country retreat, he once more resumed the duties of a parish priest, at the age of seventy, with the same zeal he had manifested forty years before. After a short indisposition, in 1772, he expired without a strug- gle, and his remains were interred in the burying-ground of his church, where a neat monument was erected to his memory, with a Latin inscription, by his grandson, William Samuel Johnston. Dr. Johnston was warmly attached to the Church of England in her present form. His controversial writings exhibit a spirit of mildness and urbanity. very delight- ful, and too seldom found in polemic theology. In 1761, the vestry of Trinitj^ voted five hundred pounds EAEIIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOEK. 75 towards purchasing a new organ, several gentlemen proposing to increase the sum to seven hundred guineas. A Mr. Thomas Harrison was organist, with a salary of eighteen pounds, current money of New York, per quarter, to commence the first Sunday he should begin to "play." Old Trinity has always had fine choral singing, and she still maintains this reputation. We do not admire the intoning of her sublime services, as a mere matter of taste, but her solemn chants ^nd singing boys, to our non-Episcopal ears, are most -im- pressive and refreshing. Reader, we love music, and pardon this digression ! The next event in the history of Trinity Church was the death of Dr. Barclay, its rector, in 1764. He exhib- ited ardor and fidelity in the discharge of his duties ; he was meek, sweet-tempered, devout, and his life exem- plary. During his incumbency, St. George's Chapel was built and St. Paul' s designed. Immediately upon his death, the Rev. Samuel Auchmuty was chosen to fill his place. The Rev. Charles Inglis was called to be his assistant, with a salary of two hundred pounds per an- num, and "twenty pistoles for travelling expenses." A second assistant was thought necessary ,j when the Rev. John Ogilvie received the appointment, with the same salary, and entered on his duties in 1765. Mr. Inglis commenced life as a teacher in the Free School, Lancas- ter, Pennsylvania, was ordained by the Bishop of Lon- don, and settled at Dover, Maryland. Here he minis- tered during six years, baptizing seven hundred and fifty-six children, and, with "unwearied diligence," . "attended four churches." 76 EAELIEST CHUKCHES IK NEW TOEK. Mr. Ogilvie was educated at Yale College, and had been a devoted missionary among the Mohawks for seven years. Early in life he devoted himself to the service of God's altar, and with unwearied industry he discharged the duties of his sacred office. His conduct was regulated by the calm dictates of prudence, benevo- lence, and piety ; hence few clergymen were so useful or beloved. This good rector literally fell at the altar of the Lord. Going to church, as was his practice on Fridays, and apparently in good health, he read prayers and baptized a child. He gave out his text: "The Lord is upright. He is my rod, and there is no unrighteous- ness in Him," and this was his last message on earth. The unfinished sentence hung upon his dying lips ; but his Master came, and his work in the sanctuary was forever finished. Deprived of speech by apoplexy, he languished several days, and, without struggle or groan, calmly passed away, November 26, 1774, aged fifty-one years. He bequeathed three hundred pounds to the Charity School, one hundred pounds to King's (Colum- bia) College, and one hundred pounds to the Avidows and children 6f clergymen. Thus he exhibited in death the same attention to the happiness of his fellow-men which had regulated his conduct through life. Trinity Parish gained so much in ten years that it became necessary to • provide another chapel for its increasing members. St. Paul's was accordingly com- menced in 1763, just a century ago, and completed in 1766. In architectural design and beauty, it was une- qualled, at that period, throughout the land ; and, for its characteristic style, we do not think surpassed, even EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. , 77 in our own day of boasted progress. Some think tlie representation of the giving of the Law at Mount Siaai, directly over the altar, is inappropriate and objection- able ; but this is a mere matter of taste. It is a beauti- ful work. St. Paul's was opened October 30, 1766, and the dedication sermon preached by Dr. Auchmuty. After General Washington was inaugurated, at the old City HaU, Broad street, he retired to St. Paul's, with his officers, to unite in suitable religious services. There, too, that great man frequently received the Communion of the Lord's Supper. Alas! alas! who of his succes- sors, in their responsible office, imitates his pious exam- ple ! In 1774, the Kev. John VardUl was called as an assistant minister ia Trinity. It is worthy of note, that he was the god-father of that excellent citizen, General Laight. Mr. VardiU then in England, and the Revolu- tionary struggle going on, he never entered upon the duties of his sacred office. The Rev. Benjamin Moore and the Rev. Mr. Bowden were also called as assistant ministers in. Trinity. Soon after this period the trouble- some times of the Revolution came on, when the " Eng- lish clergy" experienced severe trials. They belonged to the "Church of England," and, of course, had their loyal feelings ; and this fact often brought them into difficulties, and even persecution. The Declaration of Independence greatly increased their trials, as not to pray for the King and the royal family, according to the Liturgy, was contrary to their conscience, oath, and duty ; and to use such prayers would have provoked inevitable destruction. To avoid both these evils, the only course was either flight or closing their churches. 78 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOEK. The last became imiversal, with the exception of the venerable Mr. Beach, of Connecticut. He was a bold Churchman, officiating as usual, and declaring that he would pray and preach for his King until his tongue] should be cut out. Strange enough, he was never dis- turbed in his loyalty ; but notwithstanding all his loyal, preaching and praying, down went the royal power, and with it an "Established Church" in America. When the Americans took possession of New York, most of the royalists rdtired into the country. Mr. Inglis removed his family, for safety, up the Hudson, and Dr. Auchmuty sought a home with his at New Brunswick, New Jersey, "the British again possessing New York, in 1776, Dr. Auchmuty returned once more to the cityi Searching the rubbish of his late venerable' church and his own house, destroyed by the great fire of September, he found the church plate, with a few trifles. Divine Providence had preserved him two chapels — St. George's and St. Paul's — where he commenced religious services again. In the midst of these troubles of war, the rector. Dr. Auchmuty, was taken to his eternal rest, March 4, 1777, Mr. Inglis preaching the funeral sei-mon on the 9th. It was delivered in St. Paul's, which he had consecrated to the Almighty, and where he had declared his last message, two days before his fatal illness. He was a man of humane and benevolent heart, an affectionate friend and husband, and a faithful minister. His mind clear to the last, he 'united in fervent prayer a few moments before he expired, and without a struggle or a groan; finished his course. Happy end of a pious life ! EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW TOEK. 79 Mr. Hildreth's death, tlie catecMst, followed the next year, when Mr. Amos Bull succeeded him, in 1777. The British evacuated the city on the 25th of Novem- ber> 1783, and "Evacuation Day" 'is still celebrated, yearly, by a military parade. This event had been delayed some, to afford the "Loyalists" ample time to remove from the country. Dr. Inglis, rector of Trinity,* was a fearless and conscientious "Loyalist," but very obnoxious to the "Rebels," as he called the Americans. He resigned his rectorship, Ifovember 1, 1783, and left for Nova Scotia — the wisest thiag he could have done. The wardens and vestrymen forthwith elected the Rev. Benjamin Moore their new rector — a "Tory," though not so obnoxious as Dr. Inglis. When the Whigs, however, returned to the city, in JSTovember, from their long seven years' banishment, the Churchmen among them became indignant that they should have a new Tory rector ; and they soon peti- tioned the State Legislature tliat a new election might be held. This valuable and curious document is still in existence. We find some well-known family names among its signers : — Cornelius Haight, John Rutherford, Thomas Lewis, Robert Thompson, Anthony L. Bleecker, William Duer, Edward Flenmng, George Leaycraft, John Pintard, Lewis Grraham, Simon Schermerhorn, Robert Troop, Marinus WUlett, Richard Deane, Anthony Rut- gers, Jacob Leonard, Thomas Hammond, William Deane, Edwai'd Dunscomb, Sam'l Johnson, Thos. Tucker, John De La Mater, John Holt, Jacob Morris, Thos. Smith, David Provoost, J. Fairlie, Anthony Lispenard, Theodore Fow- ler, John BaUey, Samuel Gilford, Daniel Dunscomb, &c. 80 EAELIEST CHtJEOHES IN NEW YOEK. CHAPTEE YI. ST. GEORGES BDRNED IH 1814 REBUILT BY THE LIBERALITY OF TRINITY BENJAMIN T. ONDERDONK AN ASSISTANT' RECTOR MR. HOBART, ASSISTANT OP BISHOP MOORE SKETCH OF THE BISHOP MR. HOBART, A WARM CHURCHMASr, ELECTBD BISHOP, 1811 HIS DEATH, 1830 DR. BERBIAN ELECTED . RECTOR OF TRINITY, REV. HENRY ANTHON AND DR. J. M. WAINWRIGHT, ASSISTANT MINISTERS DR. WAINWRIGHT BECOMES BISHOP, AND THE REV. EDWARD G. HIGBEB AN ASSISTANT MINISTER OF TRINITY BISHOP ONDERDONK THE PRESENT BEAUTIFUL TRINITY ERECTED, AND CONSECRATED MAY 21, 1846 REV. THOMAS C. BROWNELL. Aftee the v>ery great liberality of Trinity to St. George's, a severe calamity occurred in her history — the fire of 1814. Old Trinity, as usual, extended the helping hand, offering to rebuild St. George's, except its steeple, which was to be replaced by a tower. Trinity also reserved the right of selling at auction all the pews on the ground floor, except twelve near the doors, subject to a reasonable rent, and the • proceeds - should be appropriated towards the reimbursement of the expenses of the new buildings. The twelve pews, with all in the galleries, were to be disposed of by the vestry of St. George's. Soon after this the burying-ground was enlarged, by the payment by Trinity of fourteen thousand dollars for some adjoining lands, and a dwelling-house was also provided for the rector. These benefactions to St. EARLIEST CIIUECHES IN NEW YORK. 81' George's are estimated at not less than the sum of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars, and should never be forgotten by those worshipping on that sacred spot in Beekraan street. On the 30th of October, 1813, the Rev. Benjamin T. Onderdonk was made the assistant rector of Trinity, and during that year the Rev. Dr. Beach resigned the same place, when the vestry granted- him an annuity of fif- teen hundred dollars a year for life. He appears to have been among the excellent of the earth, pursuing a noiseless course of usefulness in his parish for twenty- nine years, and retiring from it without reproach. This commendation is infinitely better than that which is sometimes bestowed upon greater dignitaries in the Church. His old age was spent in quiet retirement on Ms farm, near New Brunswick, New Jersey, and he died aged eighty-eight years. On the 12th of April, 1813, the Right Rev. Mr. Hobart was made the assistant of Bishop Moore. This prelate died on the 27th of Feb- ruary, 1816, the vestry of Trinity attending his funeral ; and the church, with its chapels, were hung in mourning. Bishop Moore was a native of Newtown, Long Island, and was born October 5, 1748. He graduated from King's (Columbia) College, and afterwards became its president for many years. He pursuejd his divinity studies under Dr. Auchmuty, went to England in 1744, and was ordained by Bishop Tenick, of London, the same year. Next, he was appointed, with the Rev. Dr. Bowden, an assistant minister of Trinity, afterwards rector, in 1800, and then, in 1801, consecrated Bishop. ■Simplicity of character, with uniform prudence, are said 6 82 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. to have been his distinguished virtues. In Christian labors he was very abundant, the parish register stating that in thirty -five years he celebrated no less than three thousand five hundred and seventy-eight marriages, and baptized three thousand and sixty-four children and adults. After frequent attacks of paralysis, he expired at his residence, Greenwich Village, then near our city, on the 27th of February, 1816, aged sixty-eight. Upon his decease, Bishop Hobart was elected, in 1816, his succes- sor in the rectorship of Trinity. In 1798, Mr. Hobart returned to Philadelphia, and was ordained deacon by Bishop White, and elder, by Bishop Provoost, in April, 1801. He commenced preaching in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and then accepted an invi- tation to Christ Church, New ^Brunswick. His next parish was at Hempstead, Long Island. In 1800, he married Miss Chandler, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Chan- dler, eminent for his services to his Church, at home and abroad. Mr. Hobart was soon drawn from his rural charge, to be an assistant minister in Trinity. Many now remember his youthful zeal, eloquence, and fervor in the sacred desk, which, in after years, were sobered into a more practical improvement of his subject, and this he considered the great end of preaching. Bishop Hobart was a strong and able Churchman, and warmly attached to the distinctive principles of the Episcopal Church. Through evil as well as good report, he always manifested a bold, active, and perseve- ring defence of them. Pro Ecclesia Dei, he adopted as the standard of his wishes, duties, labors, and prayers. In 1811, a special convention was called to provide an EAKLIEST OHTJECHES IN NEW YOEK. 83 assistant to Bishop Moore, when a violent opposition manifested itself against Mr. Hobart for the office. He was elected, however, by a triumphant majority, and was consecrated, in Trinity, May 29, 1811. Bishop White was the consecrator. Bishops Provoost and Jarvis assisting. After this period his life was devoted to the active and unwearied discharge of his important duties. In contending for Episcopacy, as the primitive pattern of the Church, and the appointment of God, as he had a right to do, he was reproached and assailed on all sides. But nothing moved him. He even dis- couraged all amalgamation with other denominations for religious purposes. This, of course, was High Church- ism, and his views were not generally obeyed by his own clergy and people in his day, nor have they been since. In June, 1824, the Rev. John D. Schroeder, D. D., was elected assistant rector of Trinity, remaining fifteen years, and died in 1839. Bishop Hobart died at Auburn on the 12fch of Septem- ber, 1830. Like the venerable and good Bishop Moore, of Virginia, he was on his Master's work, away from famUy, and home, and nearest friends, when the Lord called him to the promised land of rest. He was fifty- five years old, and his remains Were deposited beneath the chancel of Trinity Church. In a recess, a large and magnificent monument has been erected to his memory, beautifully adorned in has so relievo, with a striking em- blematical representation of the consolation and hopes of religion. The monument has a proper inscription. His widow received an annuity of two thousand dollars. 84 EAELIEST CHTJECHES IW KEW YOEK. during her life ; and three hundred dollars were appro- priated for the education of the youngest son, untU twenty-one years of age. Dr. Berrian preached the funeral sermon, and prepared a memorial of his life. The Eev. Thomas C. Brownell was made an assistant minister of Trinity, June 11, 1818, and during the year he was elected Bishop of Connecticut, where, for many years, he faithfully discharged the Episcopal duties. The rectory of Trinity, vacant by the death of the Bishop, was supplied in the election of Dr. Berrian, who has recently been called to his home on high, after a long, constant, useful life in Ms Master's vineyard. In January, 1831, the Rev. Henry Anthon was made an assistant minister of Trinity, continuing this connection until December, 1836, when he was made rector of St. Mark' s. Here he discharged his sacred work with stri- king diligence and success, universally loved ; and he also has recently gone to the heavenly mansion. In 1836, Dr. J. M. Wainwright was appointed an assistant minister of Trinity, subsequently became bishop, and now likewise rests from his toils. We need say nothing about him, as he was one of our day, and all loved the excellent Bishop. During the same year the Rev. Edward Gr. Higbee was appointed an assistant minister of Trinity. In 1836, Bishop Onderdonk' s connection with Trinity was dissolved — the "Episcopal Fund" having reached an amount sufficient, of itseK, to support this officer of the Church. In his best days the Bishop was indefati- gable in the discharge of his public duties— a faithful pastor, going about doing good, especially among the EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 85 sick, the needy, and the distressed. But the best, we donbtnot, "May depart from graces given;" and we all know the disposition of the mind to poiat out human frailties, but we do not wish to indulge in this temper. We adopt those beautiful lines of Gray, and will not "Draw his frailties from their dread abode, Where they alike in trembling hope repose — The bosom of his Father and his God." During the year 1839 it was discovered that the roof of Trinity, yielding to the accumulated pressure of the snow, had swerved some, and it was resolved to build a new one. But, as this would not likely mend the diffi- culty, it was now determined to take down the church, and erect in its place a third one, of more massive and enduring character. This is the present beautiful Trin- ity, a magnificent temple, haying no equal in our land, and since the Eeformation, with the opinion of many, has seldom, if ever, been surpassed by other countries. The old Trinity, of which we have been discoursing so long, was pulled down during the summer of 1839. Concise as we have studied to be, once carefully engaged in our sketch, we could not make it shorter, with justice to the subject. The new Trinity was begun in the autumn of 1839, and was not completed and ready for consecration before May 21,4846. Its consecration awakened general and unusual interest. Some families, for past and present generations, had been connected with its sacred history. 86 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOKE. CHAPTEE VII. THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH EARLY REGARDED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS A SCHOOL AT FIRST HELD IN THE BELERY BENEFAC- TIONS TO THE SCHOOL, AND A HOUSE BUILT ON RECTOR STREET THE NEW EDIFICE IN VARICK STREET ORIGIN OF KINg's, AFTERWARDS COLUMBIA, COLLEGE^THE " KING's FARm" MORE NOTICE OF THE COLLEGE TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR LEG- ACY. TO IT FrOM MR. MURRAY ITS FIRST CLASS. The Episcopal Churcli, like the Reformed Dutch, at a very early period in its New York history, manifested | great concern in the religious instruction of the young and ignorant. A school was founded in Trinity Parish during 1709, and partly under the fostering care of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. At a later period, it received from the Corporation of Trinity that ample endowment which, with the contributions of individtials, secured for it stability and permanency. The schoolmasters received about fifteen pounds ster- ling from the venerable society, with fifteen or twenty pounds New York currency, as clerks of Trinity Church. Until the year 1748, the school-rooms were probably hired. In that year, however, the vestry ordered a char- ity school to be built near Trinity, and, until its comple- tion, Mr. Hildreth had leave to keep his school in the belfry of Trinity. The school was no sooner finished than, by some unaccountable accident, it was burned to the sround. The fire was also communicated to the^spire EABLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YORK. 87 of Trinity, wiieii, likely, the whole sacred edifice would have been destroyed, "but for the active and bold exer- tions of some persons who extinguished the iiames. Upon suitable inquiry, it was ascertained that the first man in the steeple was David Kent, who put out the "two lowermost fires," assisted " by a fat man, who soon went aAvay." These, with several others, succeeded in extinguishing the threatening flames, and received fifty pounds from the church- wardens for "their good service." The church school-house was soon rebuilt, at a cost of four hundred pounds, and its first misfortune rendered the undertaking more popular, as contributions came from all sides. The Free Masons gave fifteen pounds towards clothing the children. A Mrs. Field bequeathed to the school five hundi*ed pounds ; Captain Thomas Randall presented a bell ; and Mr. Alexander Troup, a large legacy. Mrs. Elizabeth Sharpas left two hundred pounds for the use of the charity school, and Mrs. Fran- ces Auboyneau four hundred pounds. The husbands of these two liberal ladies had been vestrymen of Trin- ity. Another noble legacy came from the estate of the Hon. John Chambers, for thirty-eight years a warden of the church. It was paid by his wife, to whom the ves- try voted thanks, with a request that "she will be pleased to consent that some public monument be erected at the expense of this corporation." When this excel- lent lady died, she exhibited another proof of her kind- ness to this charity school, in a legacy of five hundred pounds, its interest to be paid "towards the support of the girls only. ' ' Not long after, there was another devise 88 EAELIEST CHURCHES IN HEW TOEK. of five hundred pounds from Mr. Elias Desbrosses, "who had been a vestryman for twenty-two years.. Next fol- lowed a legacy of two hundred pounds from Mrs. Marga- ret Todd, and a large one from Mr. Nathaniel Marston's estate, who was for forty years a warden and vestryman of Trinity Church. About this period several other gifts were received towards this good work, and among these, one from John Stratford Jones, of one hundred and eighty-four pounds twelve shillings and ten pence ; and another of one hundred pounds, a benefaction of the city corporation. In the year 1795, a plan was reported to convey, in trust, certain property of Trinity Church for the charity school, when eight lots of ground on Lumber, near Rec- tor street, were thus granted to it. Soon after, however, bonds and mortgages, to the amount of tliree thousand pounds, were substituted for these lots, with a donation of one thousand dollars from the vestry of Trinity, and this was followed by a State appropriation. At this period, the New York Free School Society inter- fered materially with the original plan of this Episcopal institution, which was designed to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and agi-eeably to the doctrines of the Protestant Episcopal Church. It was now deemed expedient to introduce into the school the higher branches of English studies, with classical learning, under the name of the New York Protestant Episcopal Public School. Its grand feature of religious instruction was, however, preserved ; it now came un- der the supervision of the Bishop. Soon after this, John G. Leake made a donation of one EAELIEST CHrrEOHES IK NEW TOEK. 89 thousand dollars to it, and in the year 1832 the vestry of Trinity granted a lease to its trustees of five lota on Ganal, Varick, and Grand streets, where the Institution now stands, the balance, by rentals, bringing in an in- come to the Board. In 1845 the school iinderwent some other modifications, receiving the name of "Teinitt School," and is now among the most flourishing and useful literary institutions of the city. In the original endowment of Trinity by the colon^^l government, it evidently appears to have been the inten- tion to promote both learning and religion. As early as the year 1752, the rector and church- war- dens of Trinity parish waited upon Lord Cornbury, the governor of the New York colony, to ascertain what portion of the "King's Farm" his Lordship designed to appropriate towards the " coUedge which his Lord?, designs to have built." The origin of old "King's," afterwards "Columbia," can thus be traced to the exer- tions of Trinity Church. ISTo effectual measures, how- ever, were adopted for this purpose, until almost half a century afterwards. In 1754, commissioners were ap- pointed to "receive proposalls for the building of a college." The "King's Farm" had now been vested in Trinity Church, and its vestry gave lands for the erection of the college. " That is to say, a street of ninety feet from the Broadway to Church street, and from Church street all the lands between Barclay' s street and Murray' s street to the water side, upon this condition, that the President of the said CoUedge forever, for the time being, be a member of and in communion with the Church of 90 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. England, and that the Morning and Evening service in said Colledge be the Liturgy of the said Church, or such a collection of prayers out of the said Liturgy, as shall be agreed upon by the President or Trustees or Gov- ernours of the said Colledge." There has been a great deal of fault found by illiberal sectarians with these provisions ; but the cause of their adoption is most satisfactorily explained in the letter from the Vestry of Trinity, at the moment, to the Rev. T). Bearcroft, secretary of the "Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel." It says: "We never insisted on any condition, till we found some persons laboring to exclude aU systems of religion out of the Constitution of the College. When we discovered this design, we thought ourselves indispensably obliged to interpose, and have had the countenance of many good men of all denominations, and in particular the ministers of the Foreign Protestant Churches in this city, who are appointed Governors of the College, and continue hearty friends to it." Thanks to the founders of this venerable and eminent seat of learning, for laying its corner-stone on the firm basis of morality and religion ! The writer is no Churchman. At this period there were three semi- naries among the "Dissenters" of the JS'orthern colonies, and sectarian in their character. "Yale College" sub- jected its students "to a fine as often as they attend Public Worship in the Church of England, communi- cants only excepted, and that only on Christmas and Sacrament days."* Well might Churchmen of that day * Letter to Dr. Bearcroft, quoted by Dr. Bernan. History of Trinity Churoh, p. 103. EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOKK. 91 'complain of this narrowness and bigotry in early New England orthodoxy, which thus laid such a restraint on other men's consciences. The origin of the prejudice against King's College can easily be traced to the fear lest it should become, in the New York colony, an in- strument of the Established Church of England. This resistance really caused a delay of more than two years in obtaining a charter from the Legislature. What was still more prejudicial, it diverted one-half of certain funds voted by that legislative body to the college, but which were eventually divided between the institution and the city corporation. The grant, and its conditions by Trinity Church, to the college, of a portion of the "King's Farm," seemed to make the institution ex- clusijrely Episcopalian. As a matter of fact, however, no such advantage or preference was ever manifested, nor has it ever been charged. The very first act of the governors of King' s College, on the motion of the E,ev. Mr. Ritzema, minister of the Reformed Dutch Church, was to adopt a resolution to establish a professorship of Divinity "for the education of such youth as might be intended for the ministry in that Church." This request granted, the professorship was established "according to the doctrine, discipline, and worship established by the National Synod of Dort." This is decisive proof of the thoroughly liberal and catholic spirit of the coUege. Practically, too, the institution has not been exclusive. When it was desired to secure the services of the elo- quent Dr. John M. Mason, the office of provost was spe- cially created, to place him at the head and direction of the college. And to comply with the language of the 92 EAKLIEST CHTJRGHES IM" NEW YORK. charter, the merely honorary office of president, at the time, was conferred on the Rev. Dr. Harris, a most excellent, exemplary clergyman of the Episcopal Church. When Dr. Mason resigned, the office of provost was aholished, and the original duties of the presidency vested in Dr. Harris, who for many years most efficiently discharged its duties. The well known and respected Hon. Charles King for a long time has now been presi- dent, and, according to the charter, he reads each morn- ing, in the college chapel, a portion.of Scripture, with a brief form of prayer prepared for the purpose, and to which aU Christian men, of whatever denomination, may say amen !* It is very obvious, then, that no ground exists to characteriz.e Columbia College as a sectarian institution. ^ In the year 1754, King's College received a charter, by which, as we have noticed, its head is always to be a member of the Church of England, and its prayers are to be always used. Some provision for additional funds was made by lotteries, as once the fashion in New York ; and soon after, the trustees unanimously chose Dr. John- ston president of the new college. The institution re^ ceived another benefaction of five hundred pounds ster- liag from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, with also a bequest from Dr. Bristowe, of London, of his library — fifteen hundred volumes ; and, finally, another legacy, from Mr. Murray, of ten thousand pounds cur- rency — then twenty-five thousand dollars. He was a lawyer of great eminence in New York, about: the middle of last century, and Attorney-General of the Province. * Mr. King has recently resigaed, and the Rev. Dr. Barnard takes his place. Second Tbinity Ciiurcu. BuiU in 1783. EARLIEST CHTJECHES IW NEW YORK. 93 After the erection of the college building, and the purchase of its philosophical apparatus, the trustees found it impossible to cany out its liberal plans without encroaching on the permanent funds. To avoid this, collections were made in England for the joint use of this and a Philadelphia college, which produced for King' s six thousand pounds sterling. What numbers of useful, learned, and professional men have since graduated from its venerable classic halis ! The president was assisted by his son, William John- ston, and Mr. Cutting, a graduate of Cambridge, and Mr. Treadwell, of Harvard, Massachusetts, who became Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. He died in 1760, and was succeeded by Mr. Robert Harper, a graduate of the Glasgow University. 94 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. CHAPTER VIII. isr 1686, THE JEWS refused permission of public worship by THE CITY AUTHORITIES CHURCHES IN GOVERNOR DONGAn's ADMIN- ISTRATION PETITION OF THE JEWS SYNAGOGUES BUILT IN BALTI- MORE AND RICHMOND BURIAL-PLAdE IN 1672 FIRST SYNAGOGUE BUILT IN MILL STREET JEWISH FAMILIES NEAR IT HARMAN HENDRICKS — REV. GERSHOM ISAAC JESHURUN PINTO MR. SEIXAS ■, THE RABBIS NAMES OF THE PRESENT TEMPLES JEWISH WORSHIP THE HOLY LIGHT. What a wonderful people are the Jews ! Of course, they have no churches ; but, wherever Christians are to be found, they appear also, and, if not forbidden by law or persecution, erect their synagogues. Among the early settlers of JSTew York, came some Israelites ; and although they petitioned for liberty to enjoy public worship, according to "Moses and the Law," they were refused by the city authorities in 1685. In Governor Andros's description about the "Plantacons for New Yorke," he says : " There are Religions of all sorts, one Church of England, several Presbiterians and Indepen- dents, Quakers, and Anabaptists of severall sects, some Jews, but presbiterians and Independ'^ most numerous and Substantiall. . . . There are ab* 20 Churches or Meeting places, of w'^'' above halfe vacant, thier allow- ance like to be from 40''' to TO''' a yeare and a' house and garden. Noe Beggars but all poore cared ffor. If good Ministers could be had to goe theither might doe well EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 95 and gaine much upon those people.— 16* of Ap. 1678." * Such was the state of religion in our infant city one hun- dred and eighty -five years ago, and such the style of its royal English Governor. Nine years afterwards Governor Dongan reported that, "Every Town ought to have a Minister. New York has first a Chaplain belonging to the Fort, of the Church of England ; Secondly, a Dutch Calvinist, third- ly, a French Calvinist, fourthly, a Dutch Lutheran- there bee not many of the Church of England ; few Roman Catholics ; abundance of Quakers preachers men (a) Women especially : Singing Quakers, Ranting Quakers ; Sabbatarians ; Antisabbatarians : Some Ana- baptists, some Independents ; some Jews ; in short of all sorts of opinions there are some, and the most part of none at all. . . . The most prevailing opinion is that of the Dutch Calvinists." . . . "But as for the Kings natural-born-subjects that live on long Island {a) other parts of the Government, I find it a hard task to make them pay their Ministers. "ThO. D0NCTAN."t Some thirty years after this, we find a '■'■Petition of Abraham, De Lucena, Minister of the Jewish Nation,'''' to his Excellency, Governor Hunter. It "Sheweth, That yo"' Petitioners, Predecessors, Ministers of the Jew- ish Nation, resideing at the City of New York, by rea- son of their minis^rial ffunction, have from time to time beene Exempted by y^ Government, not only ; from bearing any Office Civil or Mlitary within tliis City : * Lond. Doc. III. f Lond. Doc. T. 96 EARLIEST CHXJECHES IN STEW YOEK. but likewise beene excus'd from severall Duties and Services Incumbent upon the Inhabitants of this city. Wherefore yC Petitioner most humbly beggs yo' Excel- lencies care of him (in Consideration of his ministeriall ffunction) That hee may likewise be excused from all such Offices, duties and services, and be allowed the like Priviledges and advantages within this city, as have formerly beene Granted to his said Predecessors, as Ministers aforesaid. . . . "Abraham de Lucena. "New York, IS"- Sept' 1710." Compared with other people, there are not very large numbers of Jews in America; still, they are found in every section of the Union. About 1660, probably, they made their earliest settlement in New Amsterdam. ; and these, doubtless, were Spaniards and Portuguese, who had first fled to HoUand from the bloody Inquisition. Shortly before the American Revolution, a congregation of Jews assembled in Newport, Rhode Island ; but, after the peace of 1783, they began to leave — some set- tling in New York, some in Richmond, Virginia, and other places. In Pennsjdvania, Israelites were found long before the Revolution, but no regular congregation was formed until the one in New York. In Maryland, the Jews were formerly excluded from equal rights of the people, but these disabilities were removed, and a large congregation formed in Baltimore. About 1780, two synagogues were founded in Rich- mond, Virginia. The Jews have no ecclesiastical author- ities in America, except the congregations themselves. Each makes its own rules of government, elects its own EAELIEST OHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 97 minister, wlio is appointed without any ordination, and lie is inducted into office by election, for a term of years, or during good behavior, according to the will of the majority. All the congregations make provision for their poor ; and hence, £|,mong iis, it is a rare thing to see an Israelite asking ahns. There is some evidence that a Jewish congregation did assemble for worship, according to their own forms, before the close of the seventeenth century. A burial- place was procured, very soon, in Oliver street, where monuments still stand, with epitaphs, inscribed as early as 1672. This ground was the gift of Noe WiUey, Lon- don, to his three sons, merchants in New York, to be held forever as a burial-place for the Jewish people. The generous Hebrew, however, could not govern futu- rity, and this trust was violated, like other charitable legacies sometimes, in our day. Part of the ground was sold, not many years since, for building purposes — the Tradesmen's Bank occupying some of its space, on Chatham street, and the New Bowery running through it. The small portion left, now separated from New Bowery by a plain iron railing, is quite fuU of Jewish graves and headstones. The earliest minutes of the Jewish congregation in New York are dated 1729, and written in Spanish and English, but reference is made to previous minutes of 1706. On Mill street, not now existing, the first synagogue was placed — a small frame building ; and this was suc- ceeded by a solid, neat stone temple in 1729-30. Its dimensions were thirty-six by fifty-eight feet. Here the Israelites continued to worship Jehovah in their own 7 98 EAELIEST CHTJECHES IN NE"W YOEK. way for nearly a century. While the fathers descended to the graye, their children occupied their vacant places before the ark. New Yorkers of the last fifty years remember this little lane or street, about where the present Beaver street runs. Its name was derived from a mill built on a little brook of water, where, it is related, the Jewish women performed their ablutions. For very many years this neighborhood was a favorite section for Jewish resi- dents. Here were located the families of Abrams, Laza- rus, Levy, Seixas, Meyers, Hendricks, Gfomez, Juday, Noah, Isaac, Nathan, Hart, &c. — all well-known names. Harman Hendricks, the great copper merchant, a few doors from this spot, made his immense fortune ; and when he died, twenty years ago, it was estimated at three millions of dollars. His three sons continue the same business in the same place, on Broad street, where they have remained fifty years. He was a decided IsraeKte ; and when he left the world the synagogue lost one of its best worshippers. No man stood higher in our community. He used to boast that in all of his immense money operations, no one could accuse him of taking more than legal interest, and that, ia this respect, he strictly kept the law of Moses. Some will say this was rkre for a Jew, but very rare now among Christians, on Wall and WiUiam streets. La 1833, the Jews, selling their property on Mill street, erected a spacious and elegant synagogue in Crosby street, with dwellings for the sexton and minis- ter. We have not ascertained the names of the earliest Jewish ministers ; one, however, was the Eev. Gershom EARLIEST CnUECHES IN NEW TOEK. 99 Isaac Jeshuruii Pinto, who died in the year 1766, but it is not known how long he officiated. He was succeeded by the Rev. Gershom Mendez Seixas, who came from Philadelphia with a number of Jews, served the temple for fifty years, and then descended to the tomb in 1827. The Rev. Isaac B. Seixas, a nephew of the former, fol- lowed him, continuing until his decease, October 15, 1839. We need trace the line no further. Thousands among us, Jews and GentUes, remember these well- known "Rabbis," whose duty it was to pray, preach, and interpret the Law in the synagogues. In the great "Exodus" from! Europe to our land, large numbers of Israelites arrive — so that they have, probably, ten or twelve sacred temples in our city. They all bear strik- ing and beautiful Hebrew names: AnsM GTiesed, The Men of Benevolence ; Shaary Shomaim, The Gates of Heaven ; Rod of Shalom, The Pursuers of Peace ; Im- manvM, God with us; &c. Another most magnificent and costly temple has recently been finished in Six- teenth street. Born within sight of the old Mill Street Synagogue, among our earliest impressions are scenes connected with it. The venerable Rabbi, reading out of the Book of the Law ; his splendid robes of office and long, flow- ing beard ; the men, with their silk scarfs ; the females latticed in the gallery, and the whole congregation chanting aloud in Hebrew, were sights and sounds to leave lasting remembrances upon a youthful mind. A narrow private lane ran from Beaver to Mill street, and upon its eastern side stood the old temple ; and very often have I looked in at the window to see if the 100 EAELIEST CHTTECHES IN NEW TOEK. "Holy Light" was burning before the altar. I never saw it extinguished ; and the rumor then was, that the lamp must be taken to the nearest synagogue, which was at Philadelphia, "to be re-lit." This ever-burn- ing little Jewish light was the wonder and mystery of the First Ward, among its youngsters, and some old folks, too. Alas ! alas ! Unbelieving Jew ! The sacred fire which first fell down from heaven upon the altar of the Taber- nacle was thence transferred to the Temple, and pre- served, unextinguished, until the destruction of this sacred edifice. Then the holy flame, so long watched, day and night, by the priests, went out forever ! And what need have we of this ever-burning light? The Temple, with all its glories, has passed away. But the Christian, now, has access to God on the ihercy-seat daily in prayer. The high-priest, under the law, only enjoyed this precious privilege annually, when within the veU, at the mercy-seat, and here God communed with him from between the cherubim. "We have no such lengths to go." We know where he " waiteth to be gracious ;" the eternal throne now is the mercy-seat, and the blood of Christ our introduction and plea. The pious Jews only possessed " shadows of good things to come," whereas we have, ia our closets of prayer and churches, the "good things" themselves. In Deuteronomy (iii. 64) we read: "And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from one end of the earth even unto the other. ' ' What a most striking proph- ecy, foretelling the calarnities of the people of Israel in consequence of their departure from God ! All these pre- EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 101 dictions have been fulfilled and are now receiving their fulfilment. Even in modern times, we have authentic accounts that three thousand Jews, old and young, men and women, went away from Spain, on foot, in one day, not knowing whither to go. Some reached Portugal, others Navarre, where they encountered many calami- ties. What stronger proof can any man desire of the fulfilment of Divine Truth? How they affect others, we know not, but they amaze and astonish us beyond ex- pression. In this condition they are to remain until the veil is removed from their hearts, and they again turn to the Lord their Grod. 102 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. CHAPTER IX. Luther's name a waymark in the church — two centuries ago a lutheran congregation in new york rev. jacob fabri tius but four clergymen of the established church in new netherlands conformity attempted the lutherans and baptists troubled william hallet fined fifty pounds, and a baptist preacher one hundred pounds, and ordered from the colony rev. ernestds goatwater banished gov. stuyvbsant censured for his persecutions in 1664 new amsterdam becomes new york lutherans erect a church, lyos rev. barnardus arentius its pastor rev. jacob fab- ritius— his successors swedish settlement on the dela- ware in 1710, three thousand palatines arrive in new YORK CHURCH BURNED IN lV76 GRACE (EPISCOPAl) CHURCH OCCUPIES THE SPOT REV. MR. MUHLENBERGH SWAMP CHURCH DR. KUNZIE SHABFFER STROBEL GEISSENHAINER^DR. MILLB- DOLER IN GERMAN REFORMED CHURCH, NASSAU STREET. Maetin Ltjthee's name has now become a striking waymark in the history of the world and the Church. It has immortalized him and his age, for from the cell of his monastery dawned truth which shall shine more and more, with increasing brightness, until its perfect day. The Lutheran is an ancient, honored, and eflBcient branch of the Redeemer' s kingdom on the earth ; and we learn from the Dutch records at Albany, that a church of the Augsburg confession was established in New York as early as the year 1663, just two centuries ago. The same record also states that the Rev. Jacob Pabritius, Lutheran minister at New York, was fined twice for EABLIEST OHTTECHES IN NEW YOEK. 103 some misdemeanors. It is not known what these were, but in 1675 he was forbidden to preach in the province. Our Dutch forefathers, it must be admitted, at an early day were stern in some of their religious views. Up to tlie year 1656, through aU. the vicissitudes of New JSTethefland, conscience seems to have enjoyed comparative repose. Some, who were persecuted in New England for its sake, could come here and wor- ship God, the Creator of all, according to the wishes of their own minds. ISTew Netherland was now, for a time, to lose this great honor. Governor Stuyvesant seems to have forgotten, at the moment, the tolerant and wise policy which enriclied and ennobled his father- land, by making it the asylum of the persecuted from all climes. This was more essential in a new country, but he unfortunately was persuaded to foUow the un- happy example of his more eastern Puritan neighbors. A public proclamation condemned those who presumed to preach without an appointment by the Dutch ecclesi- astical authority. As "numberless heresies and schisms' ' would arise from such conventicles, such were positively forbidden, as they differed from the established religion, propounded by the "Synod of Dort,"^ — "which was not only lawful, but commanded by the Word of God." A line of one hundred pounds Flemish was imposed upon all xmlicensed preachers; and all persons, male and female, married or single, attending the meetings, and listening to their exhortations, were subject, each to a penalty of twenty-five pounds. This was the first penal law against the blessed freedom of conscience that disgraced the statute-book of New Netherland, and was 104 EAELIEST CHUBCHBS IN NEW YOEK. passed to "promote the glory of God, the increase of the Reformed religion, and the peace and harmony of the country. "* It must not here be forgotten that, at. the period of this unwise -enactment, the Dutch jurisdiction extended only over Delaware, two settlements on the North River, New Amsterdam, Oostdorp, in Westchester, with eight villages on Long Island. There were but four clergy- men of the "Established Church'.' in the province — one at Beaverwick and two at the Manhattans, with the Rev. Mr. Polhamus, who ministered in the villages of Breuke- len, Midwout, and Amersfoort. The other towns got along in religious matters the best way they cordd. Those of Gravesend were Mennonists, rejecting infant baptism, the Sabbath, and the preacher altogether, "say- ing that through these entered aU sorts of contention into the world." Under such circumstances, and in such a country, the government determined to build up an Established Church and enforce conformity. It did not, however, attempt to accomplish this work by introducing more orthodox clergymen, but by bills of pains and penalties, fines and banishment — evils so familiar in all religious persecutions. The Lutherans were first troubled. At an early period the directors in Holland were solicited to allow this sect the liberty to elect their own pastor, with the free exer- cise of their own faith and worship, in New Netherlands. This, however, was refused, with orders "to employ all moderate exertions to lure them into our Churches, and * Alb. Eec, vii., 355-357. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN WE"W YORK. 105 to matriculate tliem in the public Reformed religion." But of what avail is moderation where conscience inter- poses her scruples? Fathers, contrary to their princi- ples, were compelled to attend the baptism of their children ia the Dutch Church, and, with the sponsors, to declare their belief in the truth and doctrines promul- gated by the Synod of Dort ! They objected, and many, consequently, were imprisoned ; complaints followed to Holland, when Governor Stuyvesant was censured,* and the Lutherans were then allowed to exercise their reli- gion "in their own houses." Still they demanded unin- terrupted freedom in their worship, but the Director- General declared his intention to enforce the law against conventicles.* Similar harsh measures were adopted in Beverwyck against the same sect. The Baptists next experienced the severity of the law. At Flushing, William Hallet, the sheriff, "dared to col- lect conventicles iu his house, and to permit one William Wickendam to explain and comment on God's Holy Word, and to administer sacraments, though not called thereto by any civil or established clerical authority." Hallet was removed from office for this offence, fined fifty pounds, and, failing to pay, he was to be banished. The Baptist preacher, who "maintained that he was commissioned by Christ, and dipped the people ia the river," was fined one hundred pounds, and also ordered from the colony. But he was "a poor cobbler from Rhode Island," with a wife and family ; so the fine was remitted, but the remainder of the sentence was rigidly enforced, t Up to this period the Dutch congregations * Alb. Bee, Iv., 212; viii., 170, &o. f -^^- '^^°-i ^™-> 2T4-7. 106 EARLIEST CHUECHES IK KEW TOEK. of New Amsterdam had been superintended by a "ziek- entrooster," or comforter of the sick, when a clergyman now arrived. This was the Rev. Everardus Welius, commissioned on the 9th of March, 1657; he was the first Dutch minister in New Amsterdam, arriving there the same year. At the same period came the Rev. Joannes Ernestus Goetwater, a Lutheran, with a commission from the con- sistory at Amsterdam, to act as pastor to the Lutherans at the Manhattans. He was immediately cited before the tribunals and forbidden to exercise his calling, and or- dered to leave the province. As he was sick, however, he could not comply with this severe and unchristian order, but was put on the limits, and finally compelled to embark for Holland. These early religious persecutions continued several years, especially against the Quakers on Long Island. Retributive justice at length visited the Director-General himself. His brother-in-law' s sister, Judith Farlath, lay imprisoned in Hartford, charged with being a witch, when the orthodox Governor Stuyvesant was com- pelled to implore for her that Christian forbearance which he had refused to others. A dispatch, too, came to him from the Directors at Amsterdam, severely cen- suring his persecuting course. "In the youth of your existence," they said, "you ought rather encourage than check the population of the colony. The con- sciences of men ought to be free and unshackled, so long as they continue moderate, peaceable, inoffensive, and not hostile to the government. Such have been the maxims of prudence and toleration by which the magistrates of EAELIEST CHTTROHES IN NEW YOEK. 107 this city have been governed; and the consequences have been, that the oppressed and persecuted from every country have found among us an asylum from distress. Follow the same steps, and you wUl be blessed."* Wise, noble, and holy sentiments for glo- rious old Protestant Holland ! From this time the Dutch persecutions ceased in New Amsterdam. In 1664, during profound peace, New Amsterdam was wrested from its rightful owners by the violation of all public justice and public law. This outrage was fur- ther increased by imposing upon our State the name of one unknown in history, only as a bigot and tyrant — the enemy of religious and political liberty. Thus New Netherland became New York. At this period the city contained about fifteen hundred inhabitants, and the only church was the Dutch Re- formed, built by Director Kieffc, withia the fort at the Battery. The service of the Church of England was now iatroduced, and Governor Nicolls, who appears to have been a man of liberal views, allowed the Lutherans to erect a church and to send to Europe for a preacher, a privilege vainly sought from Stuyvesant. Availing themselves of this offer, they built a small church in 1702, when the Eev. Barnardus Arentius became the pastor. The edifice was on the corner of Rector street and Broadway, and remained untU the Revolutionary period. Some accounts state that the earliest minister was Jacob Fabritius, who arrived in 1669, and, after eight years' labor, connected himself with the Swedish Lutherans at Wicaco, now Southwark, Philadelphia. "^ * Alb. Reo., iv., 427, &c. 108 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN WEW TOEK. Here he preached fourteen years, nine of which he was Wind, and died in 1692.* The names of his immediate successors we have not discovered ; but, from 1703 to 1747, the pastors were the Rev. Mr. Palkner, Berken- mayer, Knoll, Rochemdahler, Wolf, Hartwick, and oth- ers. The next Lutheran settlement was made by the Swedes, on the Delaware, in the year 1636, a colony sanctioned by the enlightened and illustrious monarch, Grustavus Adolphus. For many years Ihis Christian colony prospered ; but the English language prevailing, the churches, amounting to three or four, fell into Epis- copal hands. There were more Germans than Holland- ers in the New York congregation ; hence half of the services were performed in German and half ia Low Dutch. In 1710, some three thousand Germans, chiefly Lutherans, went from the Palatinate to England, and the next year were sent by good Queen Anne to New York. At the great fire in September, 1776, this church was consumed, and not rebuilt, the ground remaining unoc- cupied until 1805, when the Episcopalians purchased it and erected " Grace Church" on the spot. The year 1742 was memorable m the history of the Lutheran Church in America, from the arrival of the Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenbergh. His high intel- lectual and moral qualities; his indefatigable zeal, and long life of zealous labors for his Master's cause, have entitled him to the appellation of patriarch in the Amer- ican Lutheran Church. Some years before the burning of the old church on Broadway and Rector street, another Lutheran congre- * Rupp'3 Religious Denominations, p. 379. ^Baptist CiirECH, FAyETTE St., bear Olhek St. I I ^s'i ^i ^ '^ fr Old Chuech in Fbankpoet Street. EARLIEST OHXJECHES IN KEW TOEK. 109 gation erected a small edifice on Skinner street, now Cliff, and near HuU' s soap manufactory. Close by was their burying-gronnd ; and here they remained six years, and, in 1767, erected a substantial stone edifice, the "Swamp Church," on the corner of Frankfort and William streets. After the peace, in 1784, the remnant of the old Rector street society united with the " Swamp Church," when the Rev. John Christopher Kunzie, D. D., became their pastor. He continued to preach usefully, in the German language only, for twenty-three years, until his death, on July 24, 1807, aged sixty-three. The Eer. F. W. Geissenhainer, D. D., succeeded him, officiating in German until 1814, when a difference arose respecting the introduction of the English lan- guage. Dr. Geissenhainer removed to Pennsylvania, when the Rev. F. C. Schaeffer was called to officiate in German during the morning service, and the rest of the Sabbath in English. This arrangement continued some ' seven years ; then he formed an independent congrega- tion in Walker street, where he continued Ms solemn duties for some years. Dr. Geissenhainer was recalled to the " Swamp Church," continuing to occupy its pul- pit until sold to the colored Presbyterians. Mr. Schaeffer removing to "St. Matthew's," Walker street, in 1821, he preached in the English language alone. The congre- gation being much involved in debt, as is too often the case, this church was sold at auction in 1826, and these Lutherans removed to "St. James's," in Orange street, where Mr. Schaeffer soon after died. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Strobel, and, during the autumn of 1841, the Rev. Charles Martin took his place. Soon 110 EARLIEST CHUECHES IK NEW YORK. after this the place was given up, a pulblic school erected on the spot, and the society occnpied Coliseum HaU, Broadway. They immediately commenced the erection of a neat brick edifice, seventy-five feet by sixty, on Mulberry street, near Broome. It was styled the "Eng- lish Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. James." " St. Matthew's," wlien sold, was purchased by an individ- ual, and again disposed of in a few days to the Luther- ans of the " Swamp Church." The Rev. F. W. Geissen- hainer, Jr., was called to ofiiciate in English at the former, whilst his father remained with the "Swamp, Church." This experiment, however, did not succeed well, and, after four years' trial, the old Swamp Church was sold, as we have stated, and the congregation united with St. Matthew's — the services being con- ducted in both languages. Nor did this plan prove successful, the English hearers dwindling away until the services were conducted entirely in the German language. When Dr. Geissenhainer died, in 1838, the Rev. C. F. E. Stohlman was chosen his successor, and continued to preach in German with increasing success. Mr. Geissenhainer, Jr., resigned his charge in St. Mat- thew's, commencing a new enterprise on Sixth Avenue, corner of Fifteenth street, where a house of worship was erected, and called "The Evangelical Lutheran Church." We have thus traced the earliest Lutheran churches in New York with as much brevity as possible, from 1663 ; and we have sketched its direct branches since. There are in the city a number of other modern Lutheran congregations, but it is not in our ]plan to embrace such. EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOEK. Ill WTiat changes did the venerable Swamp Church wit- ness in our ever-changing city ! Built in the year 1767, almost a century ago, it was used successively by the Lutherans, the Reformed Methodists, the African Pres- byterians. Then it was turned into a livery stable, and next used for an auction shop. At last the old edifice was demolished, and a large German lager-beer hotel took its place. In widening Frankfort street, the re- mains of a military officer were disinterred ; and, from the sword and uniform, they were those of General Knyphausen, the Hessian leader during the Revolution. He was known to have attended this Church. There was another "German Reformed Church" in the city, of whose history we must say something. Among the earliest settlers of New York, some of the Germans were called Lutherans, and others Calvinists, and the latter known as "German Reformed," untU about the year 1758. Before this the German emigrants, in sentiments Calviuistic, and using the Low Dutch lan- guage, attached themselves to the Reformed Dutch Church ; those speaking German only, attended the services of the Lutherans. About 1758, however, a meeting was commenced to form a true German Re- formed Church, and a building used for a theatre pur- chased on Nassau street, at a cost of twelve hundred and fifty dollars. Here they commenced their church services, and the first minister was the Rev. Mr. Rosen- crantz. He had been preaching to the Germans on the Mohawk, but was driven away by the Indians ; and having officiated in New York about a year, two other miaisters succeeded him, whose names are unknown. 112 EARLIEST CHTTECHES TS NEW TOEK. The church soon writing to Heidelburgh for a pastor, the Rev. J. M. Kern was sent, reaching his charge in September, 1763. By his advice, the name, "German Reformed Congregation in ISTew York," was adopted, and they attached tliemselves to the Classis of Amster- dam and Synod of North Holland. This, consequently, connected them with the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church ; and he was installed January 27, 1764, by the ministers of that denomination. Their house of worship, old and decaying, was only used about a year ; and, ia 1765, the corner-stone was laid on the same spot, March 8th, by the Rev. Mr. Kern, each member of his consis- tory placing a stone of the foundation. He remained only a few years pastor, the Rev. C. F. Foersing suc- ceeding him in 1772, who was likewise installed by the Collegiate Church. In 1776, Mr. Grebhard became pas- tor, when the British possessed the city, and he then removed to Claverack, where he preached as long as he lived. In the month of December, 1783, soon after the close of the' war, the Rev. J. P. Gross became the minister ; and then, in May, 1795, the excellent Rev. Philip Mille- doler was called, continuing to labor with this little flock some ten years. After this, differences of opin- ion arose, but preaching continued, the Rev. Messrs. Runkle, Deyer, and Smith successively ministering from 1805 to 1814, although among much party spirit. During 1804, the Rev. Mr. Labagh was called, approved by the Classis, and labored with much more quiet until 1822, when he resigned the charge. Then the church was sold, and a new one erected on Forsyth street. The old EARLIEST CHTTECHES IN NEW YORK. 113 edifice passed into strange purposes under its new own- ers. For many years Mr. Bessonet, a well-known laii-d- fancier, with a rare collection of songsters, occupied the premises. Then followed Gosling, the English Jew, with his celebrated "Restaurant;" and now stores occu- py the venerable spot ! To the curious, the numbers are 64 and 66. The first pastor in the new house was the Rev. Charles Knouse, officiating until 1827; then the Rev. Grjsorge Mills, 1828 to 1833, when the Lutheran party, long strug- gling, obtained supremacy, and called the Rev. Lewis Smith. He preached three years, when he died. This small congregation unfortunately became involved in litigation before the Court of Chancery. In 1838, the Rev. J. S. Ebaugh began religious services in this church for the " German Reformed;" but before the year' s close, the Lutheran party were put in possession of the property by the Yice-Chancellor' s decision. But in 1844, the Chancellor, reversing this decision, returned the edifice to the German Reformed Church, when the Lutherans withdrew to a hall on Grand street. But they made a final appeal to the Court of Errors, and, in January, 1846, this bench reversed the decision of the Chancellor, and the Lutherans once more took possession of this house of worship. What a striking instance of the "glorious uncertainty of the law !" In the year 1820, was formed the General Synod of the American Lutheran Church. Prior to this, the denomi- nation had gradually become divided into five or six distant and different unconnected Synods. This union was propitious, and soon felt among the Lutherans of our 8 114 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. land. They have now many churches, seminaries, and a cojlege near G-ettyshnrg, Pennsylvania. The Luther- ans claim that their Church holds the grand doctrines of Christianity with fewer appended peculiarities than most other denominations. They share the smiles of Him who is King in Zion, and whose favor is life ; and we bid them G-od-speed in their religious progress. EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 115 CHAPTER X. ORIGIN OF FRIENDS OR QUAKERS IN ENGLAND GEORGE FOX EARLY PERSECUTED AT BOSTON WILLIAM PENN ROBERT HODSON ARRIVES IN NEW YORK, 1656 GEORGE FOX VISITS LONG ISLAND, 1672 TWO WOMEN THE FIRST PREACHERS THE MALE PREACH- ERS PERSECUTIONS MRS. ANNA BAYARD NOBLY INTERFERES IN THEIR BEHALF MEETING-HOUSE ON LIBERTY, PEARL, AND ROSE STREETS NEW EDIFICES ON HESTER, HENRY, ORCHARD STREETS, GRAMERCY PARK, AND STUYVBSANT SQUARE. The Society of Friends, commonly called Quakers, arose in England about tlie middle of the serenteenth century. Through, the ministry of George Fox and his pious labors, this religious body- organized with a regu- lar form of church discipline and government. He was born at Dayton, Leicestershire, England, in 1624, and carefully educated by his parents in the Church of Eng- land. He appears to have led a religious life from his childhood, and to have been deeply concerned for the salvation of his soul. Withdrawing from his former associates, he passed much of his time in retirement and reading the Scriptures. In this state of religious experi- ence, during the year 1647 he began his labors as a min- ister of the Grospel, travelling on foot through England. He refused to receive any compensation for preaching, from a conviction that this was contrary to the positive command of Christ. His pious, disinterested labors were crowned with much success, and in a few years a large 116 EAELIE8T CHURCHES IN STEW TOEK. body of persons embraced the religious principles wMcli he promulgated. The spread of his doctrines was surprising, some of the best families in England embracing them . Several clergy- men of the Established Church and other denominations also joined Ms infant society. A large number of min- isters, both men and women, were soon raised up among them, who travelled abroad, spreading the doctrines they had espoused. Persecution followed, and thousands of the Friends were confined in jails and dungeon^, and nearly deprived of their property. But these suflferings only animated them with fresh ardor and zeal. As early as 1655, some Quaker ministers travelled on the Conti- nent, establishing "meetings" in Holland and other regions. Some went to Asia and Africa, and several were imprisoned in the Inquisitions of Rome, Malta, and Hungary. About this same period the first Quakers reached Amer- ica, and on arriving at Boston they commenced their reli- gious meetings among the people, many of whom em- braced the new doctrine. The spirit of persecution, from which the Friends had so severely suflTered in Eng- land, made its appearance on this side of the Atlantic with increased power and cruelty. Various punish- ments were inflicted upon the non-resisting and peace- able Friends, until four of them were hung on the gallows.* Notwithstanding this opposition, the princi- ples of the Quakers spread in America, and in the year 1683 a large number of the Friends came to Pennsylva- nia, under the patronage of William Penn, founding that * Bancroft EAllLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 117 flourishing colony. Meetings were also settled in the Atlantic provinces from North Carolina to Boston, so that in time the largest body of Quakers were to be found in the United States. Like the Jews, some Qualters very early came to New Netherland ; and so, like them, they have no churches or "steeple-houses," but "meeting-houses." During the year 1656, Eobert Hodson, a preacher of this faith, reached New York with some of like faith, but, finding themselves liable to persecution, soon left. In 1672, Greorge Pox, the celebrated founder of this sect, trav- elled over Long Island, passing on by water to Ehode Island. He seems to have avoided New York, as he came across from Middletown, ,New Jersey, by water, to Gravesend, returning the same way.* In August, 1657, a few men and women, strangers, who had been expelled from Boston as worse than a pes- tilence, landed at New Amsterdam. They declared a kind and simple creed — peace on earth and good-will towards men. Oaths, they said, were a profanation ; " Swear not at all," the divine command ; wars an out- rage against humanity; and "Love one another" was the supreme wiU of God. Dorothy Waugh and Mary Witherhead were the two first women who ' ' publicly declared their principles in the streets." Christopher Holder, John Copeland, Humphrey Norton, Robert Hadshone, Richard Dowdney, and William Robinson, were the male preachers. The women were arrested, and Hadshone visited Heemstede to declare his peculiar tenets, where he was seized and committed to confine- * Prime's History of Long Island, p. 338. 118 EARLIEST CHTJECHES EST IfEW TOEK. ment. Governor Stuyvesant then sent a guard of mus- keteers to that place, and, seizing his papers, pinioned the Quaker during a night and day. Two defenceless women, who had entertained him, were also arrested, thrown into a cart, and the preacher, tied to its tail, was dragged hy night to New Amsterdam. Here he was cast into prison, and, when brought before the council, sentenced to two years' hard labor at the wheelbarrow with a negro, or to pay six hundred guilders (six hun- dred and forty dollars). The poor man vainly attempted a defence, and, forbidden to speak, was again remanded to confinement, "where no English were suffered to come to him." After some time he was taken out, placed in the council chamber, his hat removed from his head, when another sentence was read to him in Dutch, which he did not understand. An old account states : " But that it displeased many of that nation did appear by the shaking of their heads !" It is not at all agreeable to our taste to detail these wicked persecu- tions, but they form part of our chapter, and were car- ried much further, until Governor Stuyvesant' s sister implored her brother to libei"ate the unfortunate man (1657). This noble lady was Madame Anna, widow of Mcholas Bayard, who, with her family, accompanied Stuyvesant to America. She had three sons, from whose marriages have descended the Jays, Verplancka, and a Stuyvesant branch. Honored be the memory of this humane lady ! As we have noticed in respect to the Jews, the governor was at last, in 1663, reprimanded by his superiors in Holland, and these outrages ceased. Such was the introduction of peaceful Quakerism in EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 119 New Amsterdam. Its first stated meetings were con- nected with, those at Flushing as early as 1670. Some date the first Friends' meeting-house of JSTew York in the year 1696 ; others, 1703 or 1706. It was a small wooden building on Little Green street, near Maiden Lane, then Crown street. TMs remained the only place for the public worship of the Friends for the long period of seventy years. In 1794, this old house, now much decayed, was taken down, and a new one adjpining it placed on Liberty street. Here the Friends wor- shipped during seven years, until 1802, when a brick building took its place, sixy by forty feet ; and in Octo- ber, 1826, this was sold to that remarkable little Scots- man, Grant Thorburn. It became the most elegant and famous seed-store in our land. He was no Quaker, but wore the broadest brim and the plainest dress of that excellent people. Mr. Thorburn occupied the place for some ten yea?s, when fine brick stores followed. A second Friends' meeting-house, built of brick, was founded on Pearl, near Oak street, in 1775, and removed during 1824 to the spacious edifice near by on Kose street. In 1819, another Quaker house of worship was opened upon, the corner of Hester and Elizabeth sti'eets. We have now traced the Friends' meeting-houses from the earliest period, with their branches, down to 1827. During this year the great schism took place among them; the "Orthodox," separating, completed a house of worship upon Henry street, having occupied it twelve years ; then it was sold for a Jewish synagogue, ' ' Anshi Chesed" (the Men of Benevolence), in 1840, the old soci- ety occupying the commodious house on Orchard near 120 EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOEK. Walker street. The Rose street meeting became ' ' Hicks- ites." Recently, two beautiful Quaker meeting-bo-uses have been finished and occupied on Stuyyesant Square and Grramercy Park, the former with large and excellent school-houses. For the regular administration of disci- pline, the Quakers hold four meetiags, — preparative, monthly, quarterly, and yearly — and in all of them Divine worship is the first thing attended to ; then the secular business. These "meetings" rise in importance from one to the other, and, as a whole, we think, pre- sent as perfect a system of church discipline as can be found in any denomination. The followers of George Fox may safely claim this in their widely spread useful system. EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 121 CHAPTER XL l'eGLISB DU saint esprit ITS PASTORS REV. MR. NEAU HIS DE- SCENDANTS, CAPTAIN OLIVER H. PERRT, DR. FRANCIS VINTON JOHN PINTARD, LL. D., AND MEMBERS OF THIS CHURCH MAROt's PSALMS HUGUENOT PSALMODY OLD FRENCH TRANSLATION OF TSE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTT-SEVENTH PSALM THE CHURCH REMOVED TO LEONARD STREET REV. MR. VERREN SACRED ORATORS JfMBS SAURIN HIS BRILLIANT ELOQUENCE. The earliest Huguenot chapel in our city of wMch we find any notice, was erected on Marketfield street, then called Petticoat Lane, and near the Battery. It was a very humble edifice, but hither, on the Lord' s day, the French Protestants from the city, Staten Island, and New Rochelle, would meet to worship God. Some would walk from the latter place, and cheer their long journey by singing Marot's Hymns on the way. The same animating strains had often cheered their pious fathers at the stake, and amidst the bloody persecutions of France, their native land. We know nothiug of their earliest pastors. L'Eglise du Saint Esprit, the French Protestant Church in Pine street, opposite to the custom-house, was founded in the year 1704, and repaired 1741. In our day it has been demolished, its dead removed, and the venerable sacred place, like many others in our busy city, is now devoted to mammon. Lawyers' offices, custom-house brokers, a restaurant and lager-bier saloon, occupy the once hal- 122 EAELIEST CHUKCHBS IN NEW YORK. lowed spot. The Rev. James Laborde was the first pastor of Saint Esprit, and soon collected a flourishing congregation. For some years he was allowed, towards his support, " a j'^early salary of twenty pounds per ann. out of y" Revenue of this Province." The religious ser- vices were performed in the primitive manner of the French Calvinistic Churches; or, to speak more accu- rately, the Reformed Churches of France and Geneva. Saint Esprit was a plain stone edifice, nearly square, fifty by seventy-seven feet — its burial-ground in the rear, running to Cedar street. The Rev. Louis Rou was an early pastor of the "Reformed Protestant French Church in ISTew York." Among the names of his members we find, in 1713, Thomas Bayeux, Augustus Jay, Jean Carale, Cromelin, Vincent, Allaire, Le Febier, Pelletreaux, Giraud, Pin- tard, TeUou, Des Brosses, GiUiot, Butler, Burton, Perot, Ford, etc., etc. There was great excitement in the congregation (1724), caused by a party qixestion. Stephen De Lancey, a wealthy merchant, and patron of the Church, with oth- ers, jvere dissatisfied with their pastor, Mr. Rou. He was even dismissed for want of zeal, and the innovations which they contended he had introduced into their church discipline. But the Huguenot minister, with Ms friends, appealed from this sentence or decision to Governor Burnet and his co^^ncil, when they sustained the French preacher. Both parties published indignant memorials, and the dispute went so far, that when De Lancey was elected to the Colonial Assembly, the gov- ernor refused to administer the oath of oflice to him. EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 123 alleging that he was not a subject of the British crown. De Lancey, the Huguenot, contended that he had left France before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and, under the great seal of the Royal Jaines II., had received denization. The Frenchman was right, the Assembly sustaining his argument and claims against his excellency the " Captain-Greneral and Governor-in- Chief of the Province of New York, New Jersies, and Territories thereon depending in America." * About this period, a Rev. Mr. Moulinars was an assistant minister of Mr. Rou, and united with the party opposing him. They have left records of their views, in which they claim to have paid Mr. Rou in full, and that then the consistory could dismiss him whenever they saw fit. "We are not indebted unto Mr. Rou one farthing for all the time he hath served us," is their language. Still, the religious council deci- ded in Mr. Rou' s favor, and was ' ' of opinion that the said congregation be admonished that every person in it do aU in his power to preserve peace and unanimity in their congregation." That body also advised "that the ministers of the French congregation who shall oflBiciatf! next Sunday, be ordered to read publicly the said opin- ion and admonition immediately after divine service in the forenoon." All these eflforts, however, did not produce harmony. Moulinars had evidently a restless spirit, and was much opposed to the Church of England, then the established religion of the New York colony, and he was respected by the Huguenot colonists or French refugees. Through his eflforts a "meeting-house," as it is called, was erected 124 EAELIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YOEK. for the Frencli Protestants at New Rochelle, its members mirn baring one hundred persons. An old document of May 12, 1725, records, "that the same Mr. Moulin ars has declared (as can be proved), that he finds our Church (Episcopal) and that of Rome as like one another as two fishes can be ; . . . and one of the chiefest rea- sons of this violence against Mr. Eoa has no other ground than his constant affection to the Church, and the public approbation he has at all times given to its ceremonies and doctrines." The Churchmen complained that Moulinars caused "great prejudice in general to the Church of England, and in particular to that of New Eochelle, where he would come quarterly, from New York, and plead among the people." New Rochelle was then a parish, and its rector, of course, considered the French pastor a dissenter. From the parochial ac- count of the former, at this period, the town (New Rochelle) embraced two Quaker families, three Dutch, four Lutherans, and several of the French ; and the Huguenots, settling among them in the year 1726, gath- ered a congregation of about one hundred persons. The Rev. Mr. Neau was a man of more than ordinary eminence — his life useful, beneficial, and pious. Previ- ous to his escape from the religious persecution of France, he suffered confinement for several years in the prisons and galleys, and, during his dungeon life, learned by heart the liturgy, and became attached to the English Church service. When the Eev. Mr. Yesey was the 'first rector of Trinity Church, he appointed Mr. Neau catechist. For a number of years he faithfully discharged the duties of EARLIEST CHTTECHES IK NEW TOEK. 125 this important appointment among the Indians and the slaves, of whom some fifteen hundred were catechnmens in the city of New York. He could only gather them on Sunday nights, after the last public services. When properly prepared, he would present them to Mr. Vesey for baptism. Mr. Neau may be said to have founded the well-known Free School of Trinity, an institution so useful among the noble charities of our city. This ex- cellent Huguenot preacher closed his profitable life in the year 1722, and was buried near the northern porch of old Trinity, that holy temple of the Lord, where he had long worshipped and served Him. Here the remains of many French Protestants repose among the innumera- ble dead of that crowded and venerable graveyard ; and here may be found memorials of their honor, patriotism, and evangelical piety. The Rev. Mr. Neau, with his wife, Susannah, and daughter, Judith, left France for America, with other Huguenots, about the year 1685. Judith married a Robineau in New York, and tlieir only child became the wife of Daniel Ayrault. Their issue was six sons and five daughters ; and the second son, Daniel, married Susannah Bargrass, whose children were Daniel and Mary Ayrault. Mary became the wife of Benjamin Mason, whose children were two sons and two daugh- ters. The eldest son, Benjamin Mason, M. D., was educated in England, marrying Margaret Champlin, of Newport, Rhode Island, and their issue was three sons and one daughter. This daughter, Elizabeth Champliiy Mason, was the wife of the brave and patriotic Captain Oliver H. Perry, of the United States navy, who died 126 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. defending tlie standard of Ms country. From this last Tinion "were four sons and one daughter, Elizabeth Mason Perry. This lady married the Rev. Francis Vinton, D. D., and their children make the eighth generation from this reverend and early Huguenot. - The year 1686 was remarkable for adding a large Hu- guenot population to the society of New York. Many French refugees, for a time in the islands of St. Christo- pher and Martinique, at last found a safe home among the tolerant Dutch of New York. In 1695 their number had increased to two hundred families, distinguished for their social influence and religious fidelity. Many of them became prominent and valuable citizens. Johan- nes Delamoutaigne was one of this number, and was honored by Governor Kieft with an appointment as a member of the council, the second office in the gift of the government. He purchased a farm of some two hundred acres, at Harlem, for seven hundred and twenty dollars, calling it the " Yredendal," or Valley of Peace. It was situated east of the Eighth Avenue, between Mnety-third street and Harlem Eiver. A grandson of his, named Vincent, born April 22d, died May 26th, 1773, at the very advanced age of one hundred and six- teen years. Numerous descendants are now among our citizens from this early Huguenot emigrant, but some with abbreviated names. What New Yorker does not remember the name of the venerable John Pintard, LL. D. ? He was a communicant of Saint Esprit, an honored citizen, a philanthropist, and lover of the Bible. In his ' ' Recollections," he says that "the holy sacrament was administered to the Hu- EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 137 enots at New Rochelle four times a year — viz., Clirist- ts, Easter, Whitsunday, and the middle of September, iring the intermission that occurred, the communicants Iked to New York for that purpose. Prior to their parture on a Sunday, they always collected the young ildren and left them in the care of friends, while they ; off early in the morning, barefooted, carrying their oes and stockings in their hands. They were accus- ned to stop at a rock about twelve miles from New )rk, to rest and take some refreshment, . . . where they .t on their shoes and stockings. They then walked to 3 French church, where they generally arrived by the le service began. The interval between the morning d afternoon services was shortened for their accommo- tion, as they had to walk home again the same evening their families. They continued to worship after this inner till the American Revolution broke out, when Ls part of the country became harassed and overrun the British troops. They commenced their march T-ariably, on Sunday morning, by singing one of the ilms of Clement Marot. The sixtieth psalm, so appro- Late to their situation, was, perhaps, their greatest '•orite." What a striking example of Christian humil- , fidelity, zeal, and devotion! Mr. Pintard, after a ig life of honorable usefulness, was gathered to his hers, at the ripe age of eighty-five, in the year 1844. [n the early psalmody of the Huguenots, every psalm French version and metre had its own particular tune, e words and music both were written on the stave, her in their devotional books, or appended to their nted Bible. Such Bibles, published at Amsterdam, 128 EARLIEST CHUKCHES IN BTEW TOEK. have been found in onr day. We quote, as a specimeu, a. part of the one hundred and thirty-seventh Psalm, as it stands in our English Bible, and then the corresponding French verses, as sung by the Huguenots. The music was as low, plaintive chant, in the minor key, but beau- tifully adapted to the subject. It is not the style of modern psalmody ; but those who have listened to the sacred music of the Protestant French Church, and the same as used centuries ago, will not forget how delight- fully it harmonizes with the solemnity of public Christian worship. Psalm cxxxvii. — "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down; yea, we wept, when we rememhered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows, in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song ; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying. Sing U3 one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land ?" Here is the old French translation, as sung by the Huguenots : " Etans assis aux rives aquatiques de Babilon, Pleurions melaneoliques. Nous souvenans du pays de Sion, Et au milieu de I'habitation, Ofi de regrets tant de pleurs epandtmes Aux saules verts nos harpes nous pendSmes. Lors ceux qui U captifs nous emmeu^rent, De les sonner fort nous importunaient, Et de Sion les chansons reciter. Las I dimes nous, qui pourroit inciter ' Nos tristes coeurs a chanter la louange De n6tre Dieu en un terra dtrange ?" On this venerable spot of the Saint Esprit, in Pine street, the French Protestant congregations continued to assemble and worship for the long space of one hundred and thirty years. In 1834, they sold this property. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 129 erecting the elegant white marble edifice on Franklin, corner of Church street. It cost sixty thousand dol- lars.* Fourteen ministers have officiated in this congrega- tion since its establishment, and most only for a short time. During the year 1828, the Eev. Antoine Verren became pastor, succeeding the Rey. Mr. Penneveyre. The old Church was organized according to the doctrine and discipline of the Reformed Churches of Franc^ and Geneva, and continued so until the year 1804, when pas- tor and people resolved to conform to the Episcopal Church. The Rev. Mr. Verren has now faithfully occu- pied this field of Christian labor for nearly forty years, and still conducts the services of the sanctuary in the same language so eloquently used by Claude, Saurin, and other Huguenot evangelical preachers, two centu- ries ago ! What brilliant sacred orators must such men have been ! At one period, many of their descendants filled the pulpits of Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, Ley- den, and Harlaem, greatly contributing to preserve the renown of these well-known Reformed Churches. Their French style produced a real revolution in Dutch preaching, which then became entirely remodelled after the French Protestant manner, ever since maintaining an elevated rank. James Saurin was born at Msmes, in the year 1677, and soon, with his pious father, fled to Geneva, for religion's sake. Here, finisliing his studies, he began to preach, and became minister to the French * This sacred edifice haa been sold, and a new, beautiful one erected on Twenty-second street. 9 130 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOKE. Protestant Churcli in London, where he took for his model the celebrated Tillotson. When the well-known Abbadie here heard the young Huguenot for the first time, he exclaimed : "Is 'this a man or an angel who is speaking to us?" In 1705, we find Saurin at the Hague, preaching with the most astonishing success. The elevation of liis thoughts, brilliancy of imagination, with a luminous exposition of the Scriptures, produced the liveliest impression on the crowds thronging the sacred temple to hear him. It is not hard to judge what must have been the efiects produced by that noble and melodious voice, which resounded for five end twenty years under the vaulted aisles of this tabernacle at the Hague. Nothing can convey a clearer idea of his influence than the diligence with which his sermons continue to be read in our day. They contain passages, in our opinion and to our taste, deserving to be ranked among the master- pieces of human or sacred eloquence. EARLIEST CHURCHES IM" NEW YOEK. 131 CHAPTER XII. WALL STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ITS ORIGIN AND EARLIEST PREACHERS — :CHURCH ERECTED ON WALL STREET WHITBFIELD LABORS DIFFERENCE OF OPINION IN THE CONGREGATION FIRST ASSOCIATE REFORMED CHURCH, BUILT ON CEDAR STREET-;-REV. JOHN MURRAY NOTICE OP HIS LIFE AND LABORS. More than one hundred and fifty years ago (1707) the first steps were taken to commence a Presbyte- rian church in our city. The Dutch Calvinists among the Hollanders, the French Protestants or refugees of the Geneva school, with the Episcopalians, then formed principally the religious community. A few Presbyte- rians, assembling on the Sabbath, worshipped in a pri- vate house.' During the year 1707, the Eevs. Francis McKemie and John Hampton, two Presbyterian minis- ters, visited New York, from Maryland and Virginia, on their way to Boston. Mr. William Jackson invited Mr. McKemie to preach at his house, in the lower part of Pearl street, where he met a small audience, and baptized a child.* He then visited NeAvtown, Long Island. But a higher authority now interfered with his movements. A bigot, Lord Cornbury, governor of the New York Province, ordered Mr. McKemie' s arrest, by the sheriff of Queen's county, and his imprisonment, for discharging his ministerial duties without a license. After two months' confine- * Miller's Life of Rodgers. 132 EARLIEST CHUBCHES IN NEW YOKK. ment, he was discharged by habeas corpios, before the chief-justice. Thank God for this glorious, venerable, and righteous privilege of Christian civilization ! Mr. Hampton, not having preached in the city, was entirely discharged, and McKemie admitted to bail. In a few months he returned to New York from Virginia for trial, and, although acquitted by the civil court, was compelled to pay the costs of suit, amounting to eighty-three pounds seven shillings and sixpence. He published his trial in a pamphlet.* Notwithstanding this persecution, the little band of Presbyterians did not disperse for the next ten years, but continued public worship occasionally-in the Garden Street Dutch Church. In 1717, John MchoU, Patrick McKnight, Gilbert Livingston, Thomas Smith, with a few others, organized a congregation according to the disci- pline of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. . They called the Rev. James Anderson, an ordained Scotch- man, but at the time a member of the Philadelphia Pres- bytery. The new church was connected with this body, so that the old Wall street congregation was never Con- gregational, as has been asserted. There was at one time a small division of the congre- gation in favor of New England usages, and the tempo- rary secessionists obtained the services of the Rev. Mr. Edwards, but only for one winter, when most of them returned to the old fold. Mr. Edwards became after- wards the celebrated minister of Northampton ; but at this time he was a candidate, and only nineteen years of age. After preaching to this separate organ- * Smith's History of New York. EARLIEST CHUKOHES IN NEW YOEK. 133 ization for eight montlis, he declined to remain perma- nently. Mr. Anderson, with his people, first met in the old City Hall, at the corner of Wall and Nassau streets, the place being granted by the corporation of the city, and here they worshipped about three years. The following year, 1718, they purchased lots on Wall street, near Broadway, and in 1719 erected their first church. Towards its building aid was obtained abr&ad : "Cor." sent a donation, with a considerable sum from Scotland. A charter was obtained in 1720 from the "Council," but it was defeated by the interference and opposition of the Vestry of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Old Trinity had great influence at court in that early and illiberal day, and for more -than half a century the authorities obstinately refused a charter of incorpo- ration to the Presbyterian Church in New York. This is history, and is mentioned without unkindness to the living , or the dead. This hardship was more sbTere from the fact that legacies left to the Presbyterians could not be legally received, although that denomination was paying its full proportion of expense to support the Established religion. To meet this serious diBBculty, it was resolved to vest the fee of their church and ground in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This body temporarily held the important trust, and, after the American Revolution, reconveyed the property to the trustees of the Wall Street Church. In 1726, Mr. Anderson was called to a church in New Donegal, Pennsylvania, when the E.ev. Ebenezer Pem- berton became the. second pastor of 'the Wall Street 134 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. Church, the next year, and was ordained for the purpose, in Boston, August 4th. During his ministry the cele- Tbrated George Whitelield visited America, in 1740, and Mr. Pemberton was the only minister of our city who opened his pulpit to his use. For this kindness God recompensed him, as a number of individuals and fami- lies were brought into the church during Mr. White- field's labors. So great was the increase that it became necessary to enlarge the Wall Street Church in 1748. On this occasion the tablet of the new edifice was obtained from Boston, with a Latin inscription, of which this is the translation : "Under favor of God, this edifice, sacred to the per- petual celebration of divine worship, first erected in 1719 — again thoroughly repaired and built larger and more beautiful in 1748 — the Presbyterians of New York founding, for their own and children^ use^ hafve given, presented, and dedicated, and more illustriously adorned by religious concord, love, and the purity of faith, worship, and discipline. May it, by favor of Christ, endure to many generations." It has endured and will endure ! On the wall^ over the "magistrate's pew," was placed this inscription, in Latin: "Utfder the auspices of George II., King of Great Britain, Patron of the Church, and Defender of the Faith.' ' Whitefield's zealous ministry was also eminently suc- cessful in Philadelphia. On one occasion, whilst preach- ing in the. open air, a young lad of twelve years was among his hearers. For the accommodation of the preacher he held a lantern, but was go deeply impressed EARLIEST CHUKCHES XN NEW YORK. 135 hy the discourse that he could scarcely stand, and un- consciously the light fell, and it was broken and extin- guished. But these gracious impressions resulted in his conversion to the Saviour. This youth was John Rodgers, afterwards Doctor, who subsequently served as pastor of the Wall Street Church with such great fidelity and success for over half a century. What a wonderful man was George Whitefield ! He remarked to Mr. Rodgers, on one occasion, that he was the f®ur- teenth person he had met in the ministry whose conver- sion had followed his first visit to America. In 1750, the congregation, continuing to increase, Alex- ander Cummings was called to be the colleague of Mr. Pemberton, and ordained as such in 1750. Both soon after resigned. Shortly after this, a call was presented to the Rev. Joseph Bellamy, of Bethlehem, Connecticut, which he declined. It was repeated and urged, but he still refused. Then the Rev. John Rodgers, of St. George's, Delaware, was invited to be pastor, and he also, with the Rev. David McGregor, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, declined. After two years, in July, 1756, the Rev. David Bostwick, pastor of the Presbyte- rian Church, Jamaica, Long Island, was called, and he accepted in 1756. The settlement of Mr. Bostwick does not appear to have entirely healed the division in the Wall Street Church. In our day of universal .music, it seems strange that the subject of "Psalmody" should create serious differences among church members. But so it did then, and a few, dissatisfied with .the Wall Street Ch arch on this subject, ultimately withdrew in 1756, forming the First Associate Reformed Church in 136 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. Cedar street, no-w the "Scotcli Presbyterian Church.," or Seceders. In October, 1762, the Rev. Joseph Treat, of New Brunswick, became the colleague of Mr. Bostwick, and the following year he was removed by death, but be- loved by all. During the spring of 1764, the Wall Street Church invited the Rev. John Murray, recently from Ireland, to become Mr. Treat's colleague, but he declined, and afterwards settled in Newburyport, Mas- sachusetts. The congregation now renewed the invita- tion which they had presented ten years before to the Rev. John Rodgers. He accepted, and was installed September 4, 1765. The church revived and was greatly increased, so that a second place for divine worship soon became necessary. Ground was accordingly ob- tained by a perpetual lease from the Corporation, for forty pounds a year, at the corner of Nassau and Beek- man streets. This section was then called "in the fields," and the lot known as the "Vineyard." Here the "Brick Meeting," the second Presbyterian house of the Lord, was erected, and dedicated January 1, 1768. Many members of the Wall Street Church were among our most influential families, and a number of them came from Scotland and the north of Ireland. Here worship- ped Judge Brockholst Livingston, David Gelston, Wil- liam Edgar, Robert Lenox, Jacob Morton, Sylvanus Miller, George Douglas, Dr. John R. B. Rogers, Thomas Renwick, James Manning, Edward H. Nicoll, Robert Speir, Samuel Campbell, Dr. John S. McKnight, Joseph Greenleaf, the Lowries, John Greenfield, John Graham, EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 137 William Maitland, D. , T. Kennedy, Mr. Irwin, De Witt Clinton, &c. — a long, usefal, and pious list. To one original family of this congregation Princeton College and its useful seminaries are indebted for munificent benefactions. The Rev. John Murray, who declined a call to the Wall Street Church, was an extraordinary and noted man, and his name well deserves a notice in our histor- ical record. Bom in Antrim, Ireland, in 1742, he early entered the University of Edinburgh, and, graduating with high honor, he commenced his ministerial life when only eighteen. When scarcely twenty-one he reached this country, and in May, 1765, was ordained and settled as the Rev. Gilbert Tennent's successor in the Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. Here his labors were very successful, but in the year 1766, he became the pastor of Boothbay. It was an unpromising field when he entered upon his work, but his congregation soon became the largest in the State. People would travel seven and even ten miles to hear him preach. He was an eloquent preacher and a most faithful pastor, his piety like incense, both at the fireside and altar. Going from house to house, he exhorted aU to the duties of piety. In the year 1767, Mr. Murray organized a, Presbyterian church in Booth- bay, where he administered for the first time the Sacra- ment of the Lord's Supper. After his visit to Bristol, the town appointed a committee "to take meaST&es to have a church organized on the Westminster Confession and Presbyterian rules," and which he accomplished during the year. As a pulpit orator, many, who had 138 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOEK. lieard both, ranked Mm not inferior to the great White- field. In his manner, he was somewhat pompous, but in matter solid, solemn, and pathetic. His popularity became very great, and he possessed one peculiarity which would not answer at all in our "fast" day — his sermons often continued two or three hours long. Great, indeed, must have been his gifts, to have kept the attention of his audiences such a length of time. Mr. Murray always had an answer on any emergency. Judge Kinkley, a "pilgrim" descendant, and a dispu- tatious man, opposed the Scotch-Irish in Brunswick, Maine, and hearing him on a Sabbath mo'rning, the preacher said something which he did not relish, when, stepping into the aisle, he asked Mr. Murray if he "knew in whose presence he stood." "Yes," he replied, "in the presence of a judge of the inferior court of common pleas." " Then,'-' said the judge, " I will say unto you as the Lord said unto Elijah, 'What dost thou here,' John Murray?" The preacher immediately replied, in Elijah's answer, " I have been very zealous for the Lord Grod of Hosts," &c. (1 Kings xix. 10) ; and taking this for a text, he continued his discourse an hour longer. One of his early opposers, it is related, atNewburyport, where he afterwards settled, to try his qualifications, gave him, a text at the church door. Laying aside his prepared sermon, he discoursed with such ability and readiness as disarmed prejudice, and called forth at the moment the ejaravagant encomium, that the preacher had not been surpassed since the Apostles' days. The war of the American Revolution severely affected Boothbay, with other seaboard towns. Mr. Murray, zeal- EARLIEST CHTTRCHES IN NEW YORK. 139 )usly espousing the cause of freedom, entered into the ;entiments of his parishioners, and adopted country. In ;he year 1775, he was a delegate from Boothbay or Townshend to the Provincial Congress at Watertown. it one time he acted as president pro tern, of that body, is well as its secretary. When Sir George Collier, commodore of the British squadron, visited this harbor, in 1777, to complain igainst the inhabitants, he invited Mr. Murray on beard lis ship. He went, and soon settled the difficulty. 4. writer on board describes him as "a cunning, sensi- ble man, who had acquired a wonderful ascendency )ver, and had the entire guidance of, all the people in ;he country around Townshend." Early in the war, the British cruisers would often land at this harbor and steal fcom the Whigs, or Patriots. The people vainly remon- strated with the officers, when they obtained Mr. Mur- ray' s services. The minister,, donning his canonicals — svig, gown, and bands — visited the enemy's vessel, and alked with such power and eloquence, that the inhabi- ;ants had no more trouble. One writer says that "the iignity of his appearance was such, that aU the minis- ^rs in Maine put together would not equal him ; that he ivas -superior in personal appearance to any other man that ever walked God' s footstool ; that if he had not said \ word, such was the grandeur of his looks that he svould have carried his point ; and that the officers were greatly surprised to see such a specimen of dignity coming From the State of Maine. ' ' In such an extravagant praise, much allowance must certainly be made for the warmth 3f personal friendship. 140 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOKE. But British civilities did not long last towards the Presbyterian preacher. In 1779, so active had he be- come for the defence of the eastward, that a reward of five hundred pounds was offered for his apprehension, and he was obliged to leave home for a more safe shel- ter. When ISTewburyport was called on to furnish a company for actual service, during three days no re- sponse was made. On the fourth, however, Mr. Mur- ray addressed the regiment then under arms Tvith great aniniation and success, after which a member of his church stepped forward to take the command, and in two hours the ranks of the new company were filled. Mr. Murray' s residence at Boothbay was quite remote and retired ; and he received several invitations to be- come pastor at Newburyport, but declined them. He was even invited to the pulpit of Queen's Chapel, Ports- mouth, New Hampshire, by the Episcopal church- war- dens and parish, with a high salary, 1773. This must have been a "very low" Church, and no great advo- cates of what some Churchmen insist upon — "the true apostolic succession." He replied, however, that he was conscientiously a Presbyterian, and declined their gen- erous ofier. Newburyport still urging their claims on him, in 1781 he became pastor of that congregation. His salary was one hundred and fifty pounds — and one hun- dred pounds additional being voted to him from year to year. Here he preached nearly twelve years, to an im- mense congregation, numbering two thousand. He had a number of theological students. Mr. Murray died at Newburyport, in 1793, aged fifty-one, in great patience, resignation, and piety. He evidently had to encounter EARLIEST CHUKCIIES IN KEW YOEK. 141 strong prejudices through life, which greatly circum- scribed his usefulness. Some pulpits were even closed agaiast him; and on one occasion, we read that the Rev. Dr. Samuel Spring, a man of strong passions, at a funeral where both officiated, refused to shake hands with Mr. Murray. Some rhymester then wrote these lines : "Parson Spring Isegan to fling, And seemed to be in a hurry ; He couldn't stay to hear him pray, Because 'twas Parson Murray." Dr. Spring was a HopMnsian, and preached against original sin, when Mr. Murray delivered some sermons in reply, and, possessing wit, he wrote on the title-page of a book which Dr. Spring had published : " What mortal power, from things unclean, Can pure productions bring? Who can command a vital stream Prom an infected Spring ?" Although Mr. Murray did not accept the call to the Wall Street Presbyterian Church in 1764, still he occu- pied a very important charge in the very place where Whitefield's ashes slumber, and where he often reldii- dled his burning fires. 142 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IW NEW YOEK. CHAPTER XIII. WALL STKEET AND BEICK CHURCHES EBV. DR. RODGBRS THE "FATHER OF PRESBYTBEIANISm" IN" NEW YORK EEV. GABDINEE SPEING CALLED TO BRICK CHURCH HIS CHURCH TURNED INTO A HOSPITAL IN THE WAE OF THE REVOLUTION SORROWFUL SCENES IN IT WALL STREET CHURCH " CHARITY SCHOOL" RUTGERS AND CEDAR STREET CHURCHES BUILT DRS. MILLER AND MCKNIGHT EEV. MR. WHELPLEY DR. PHILLIPS WALL STREET CHURCH REMOVED TO JERSEY CITY MEMBERS OF THE BRICK CHURCH ANSON G. PHELPS HORACE HOLDEN. DuEiNG the montli of September, 1844, the corner- stone of the ne"w and elegant Presbyterian church, one hundred and nineteen feet long and eighty-five wide, was laid on Fifth Avenue, between Eleventh and Twelfth streets. It cost fifty -five thousand dollars, and opened for divine worship January 11, 1846 — the old pastor. Dr. Phillips (who had preached to this people twenty years), delivering the dedication sermon from Psalm cxxiv. 1-3: "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say ; if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us ; then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us." One hun- dred and thirty years before, the first movements had been made to organize a Presbyterian congregation in our city ; and the preacher, adopting the language of the text, recalled to tlie minds of his congregation the Eaeleest churches in new tork. 143 marked, successful, and gracious history of this branch of Christ's Church.* Well might he record the faithful- ness and the loving kindness of the Lord, who had for so long a period supplied this people with ahle and pious ministers. Truly may Dr. Phillips and his flock be thankful to the Great Shepherd of souls, that after thirty-eight years' zeal, labors, and prayers, he is stni permitted to continue their spiritual oversight ! The angular lot upon which the "Brick Chui;ch," afterwards known as- "Dr. Spring's," was built, tradi- tionally had borne the name of "The Vineyard." It was granted by the City Corporation, at a rent of forty pounds per annum, to Dr. Rodgers and Joseph Treat, ministers, with John Morris Scott, Peter R. Livingston, and others, trustees, for an indefinite period. Its iron railing, for so many years enclosing the old church, was removed and placed around the residence of Mr. J. T. Stranahan, South Brooklyn. After the dissolution of the collegiate connection between the Wall Street and the Brick Churches, Dr. Rodgers became sole pastor of the latter ; but his infirm- ities and age soon released him from public duty. A call was presented, then, to the Rev. Dr. John McDowell, of Elizabethtown, New Jersey ; next, to the Rev. Dr. Andrew Gates, East Hartford ; but both were declined. Three efforts were algo made to induce the Rev. Lyman Beecher, of East Hampton, Long Island, but for want of hannony this measure also failed, and so did the attempt to procure the services of the Rev. Dr. Spence, of Virginia. * Dr. Phipipa's "Memorial of the Goodness of God." 144 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YORK. The last official act of Mr. Spring' s venerable prede- cessor, the Rev. Dr. Rodgers, was to lay his hands upon his youthful head in the ordination service, August 8, 1810. Soon after, in the following May, this beloved and eminent preacher of Christ entered into the upper sanctuary. Dr. Rodgers has been justly called the "Father of Presbyterianism" in the city of New York ; Dr. Miller and Dr. McKnight were copastors with him, but he was their senior in their sacred office. The Wall Street and Brick Churches united in asking that both might equally provide the salary for this veteran of the cross, and that he might be regarded, to the end of his life, as their senior pastor. He literally went from door to door soliciting help to erect the "Brick Church," and thus accommodate the people then living out of town.* On the 28th of May, 1810, the session passed a resolu- tion inviting the Rev. Gardiner Spring to this pulpit. Accepting the invitation, he occupied the pulpit on the first Sabbath in June, preaching in the morning from the words : "Wherefore, come ye out from a^mong them and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will be a father unto you, and ye shaU be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." In the even- ing his text was, to a crowded audience, " By the grace of God, I am what I am." Dr. Milledoler, pastor of the Rutgers street congrega- tion, presided at the meeting called to make the applica- tion to Mr. Spring. He was then ordained. by the Pres- bytery of New York, and installed pastor August 8, 1810. The Presbytery which performed this solemn * Dr. Spring's Memorial Meeting EARLIEST CHUECHE8 IN NEW YOEK. • 145 duty consisted of Dr. Rodgers, Rev. George Fatoute, Rev. Peter Fish, Rev. Philip MHledoler, Rev. Samuel Miller, Rev. John B. Romeyn, with the Rev. Ezra Stiles Ely — and not one now remains ! ' ' The fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live for- ever?" Pleasant and favorable as this new era was in the history of the congregation, the old church had wit- nessed strange and sorrowful scenes in its earlier d§,ys. When the British forces held the city, this sacred edi- fice was used for a soldier's hospital; and we find an interesting reminiscence from the narrative of Levi Han- ford, Delaware county, New York. In 1775 he entered Lee' s army, at the early age of sixteen, and was ordered to break ground for the first fortifications on Governor's Island. Afterwards, captured by the Tories, he was imprisoned in that horrid "Black Hole," the "Old Sugar House." Here, crowded with four hundred or five hundred American prisoners, amidst its bad air and diet, he took the smaU-pox, and was removed to the small-pox hospital. Some of his brave companions there ended their sufferings by death ; but, recovering him- self, he soon again returned to the prison. Sickness once more prostrated him, and he was taken to the "Quaker Meeting Hospital" — the 61d Quaker Meeting- house in Liberty street — but slowly recovered, amidst scenes of disease and death. Hanford was next trans- ferred, with two hundred others, to the dreadful hold of the prison-ship " Good Intent," at anchor in the North River; Famine and pestilence soon reduced the poor, crowded, captive soldiers, in two short months, to less 10 146 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. than one hundred ! Wlien the rivfer began to freeze, in December (1777), this floating pest-house removed to .the Wallabout, alongside of the weU-known "Jersey," of terrific memory, where her decayed hulk long re- mained, a striking monument of the spot where thou- sands of brave hearts and lives were sacrificed to British cruelty. Here, again, our prisoner being taken sick, with sev- erfil companions, amidst snow and floating ice, was sent, in a leaky boat, half tilled with water, to the "hospital in Dr. Rodgers' Brick Meeting-house." Hanford writes : ' ' One poor fellow that could not sit up, we had to haul on the gunnel of the boat, to keep his head out of water ; but he got wet, and died in a few minutes after he was got on shore." . . . "From the yard I carried one end of a bunk, from which some person had just died, into the church, and got into it, exhausted and overcome." ..." I had now to remain here a long time, on account of my feet. And of all places, that was the last to be coveted; disease and death reigned there in all their terrors. I have had men die by the side of me ia the night, and have seen fifteen dead bodies, sewed up in their blankets, laid in the corner of the yard at one time, the product of one twenty-four hours. Every morning, at eight o' clock, the dead-cart came, the bodies were put in, the men drew their rum, and the cart was driven ofi" to the trenches." Such were the horrors of war once exhibited in the "Old Brick Church;" and few, comparatively, of the myriads who have there joyfully and quietly worship- ped Grod, ever imagined that such melancholy scenes EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YORK. 147 were once witnessed on this time-lionored and sacred spot! We have seen when the "Brick Church" was built and dedicated, on January 1, 1768. — ninety-six years ■ago — and that it was a branch of the Wall street con- gregation. Its oorner-stone was laid in the autumn of 1766. The Rev. Dr. Rodgors, its first pastor, preached the opening discourse, and a large congregation soon assembled, having the same trustees, eldership, * and ministry, with the one worshipping in WaU street. The Revolutionary War, not long after, scattered most of the members, as the Presbyterians generally espoused the American cause. Most of the Wall Street Church, with their pastors, at the commencement of the struggle, retired from the city. There was but little progress in religion, of course, during a state of war, just as was its patriotic cause. Confusion and ruin followed its path — evils of sanguinary warfare, and of even victory itself. Wall Street Church Avas occupied as barracks by British soldiers, and the "Brick Church" turned into a hospi- tal. Their ministers retired from the city, Mr. Treat never returning ; his pastoral relation dissolved Octo- ber 2, 1785. Dr. Rodgers came back during the fall of 1783, delivering a sermon on that occasion in St. George' s Chapel, which edifice, with St. Paul' s, were generously offered to the Presbyterians by the vestry of Trinity, untU their churches should be repaired. This is an instance of true Christian liberality, and worthy of record and imitation. At a subsequent period. Trinity presented a lot of ground, in Robinson street, for the use of the "senior Presbyterian minister." 148 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. The Brick Clmrch was repaired at great expense, and was reopened in June, 1784, by a discourse from Dr. Rodgers, from the words of the Psalmist: "I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the house of the Lord." The Wall Street Church also commenced once more its regular services the following year, when the Rey. James Wilson was installed as coUeagu© with Dr. Rodgers, August 10, 1785. He remained, however, only two years, when, his health requiring a milder climate (1788), he settled in Charleston, South Carolina. The congregation, for a few months, was then supplied by two candidates— the Rev. James Muir, from Scotland, with the Rev. Jedediah Morse, the author of the well- known American Geography. As the two churches became about equally divided in their choice of these ministers, they could not unite in a call for either. The next year, however, they called the Rev. John Mc- Knight, who was installed as copastor with Dr. Rodgers over the united churches. About this period the trustees purchased a lot on ]S"assau street, joining the one occupied by the Wall Street Church. Here they erected a building for a "Charity School," under care of the session and trus- tees of the Church. Its funds partly consisted of lega- cies left for this pious object, as weU as from voluntary subscriptions. It went into operation in 1799, and an annual collection was also taken for its benefit in both churches. This institution continued in useful opera- tion until, with similar schools of other denominations, it was placed under the care of our Public School Society. So parochial schools cannot claim to be a EARLIEST OHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. 149 modern institution. We think they should be annexed to every evangelical church. Relinquishing their funds to the public schools of the city, it was expressly and ■wisely stipulated, by 'the trustees, that no child whom they recommended should be excluded, and that the Bible should also be daily read in the schools. Prudent and pious forethought ! On the fifth of June, 1789, the Rev. Samuel Miller was ordained, and called to assist Drs. Rodgers ^nd McKnight. In the year 1798, a third Presbyterian Church was opened on Rutgers street. It was a spacious frame buUding. Its ground was the generous gift of Colonel Henry Rutgers, a member of the Reformed Dutch Church, and one of the most honored, liberal, and excellent men of that day. The Rev. Dr. Milledoler became its first minister, with the understanding that his labors be confined to that charge. During 1807, a colony from the Wall Street and Brick Churches founded the "Cedar Street" Church, as no pews could now be obtained in either of the others, from their crowded congregations. Dr. Rodgers laid the corner-stones and delivered the opening sermons in both of these new houses of worship. Much inconvenience attended the arrangement of this coUegiate charge ; and in the year 1809 the two congre- gations, till then united, amicably became distinct and separate churches. The Rev. Dr. Rodgers retained his connection with both, the Rev. Dr. Miller remaining in Wall street ; Dr. McKnight voluntarily continued his connection with both. 150 EARLIEST CHUECHES IK NEW TOKK. During this and the following year the church on Wall street was rebuilt ; in the interim, from Decemher 9, 1809, to August 11, 1811, the congregation continued their religious services in the old "French Protestant, or Huguenot Church, Pine street. The new house of the Lord was a costly, noble, and large brown stone edifice, and furnished by the voluntary contributions of its members. Dr. RQdgers closed his useful and pious : labors for the church militant in the month of May, 1811, leaving Dr. Miller the sole pastor. He was an eminent and honored servant of the Lord, and his colleague. Dr. Miller, has written his life — a biography worthy a place in every Christian's library. In. the year 1813, Dr. Miller removed to Princeton, for more extensive useful- ness as a professor of the Theological Seminary, and all know how highly he became respected by the Christian community at large. During 1815, the Rev. Philip Melancthon Whelpley accepted a call to the Wall Street Church. An eminent writer, an able divine, his course of duty was brief, rest- ing from his holy work July 17, 1824, at the early age of thirty years. Then, for a year, the church had no pastor, when the Rev. Dr. William W. Phillips, minister of the " Pearl Street Church," received the charge of the Wall street congregation, January 19, 1826. This sacred edi- fice was partially destroyed by fire in 1810, but immedi- ately rebuilt, the congregation, in the mean while, occupy- ing the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Chambers street. During the month of May, 1842, this new beautiful temple was vacated by the congregation, sold for three thou- sand dollars, and, stone by stone, removed to Jersey EARLIEST CHTJKCHES IN NEW YOEK. 151 City, where it is still used for God's holy service as a Presi3yterian church. Those who love the awakened, pious associations of former days, and to cherish them, may visit this hallowed spot, and, delighted, walk about Zion. Among our remarks, mention has been made that many have fallen asleepln Christ, members of the Old Brick Church congregation — and among them John Adams, Mr. Lockwood, Peter Hawes, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. De For- est, Mr. Havens, Messrs. Halsey, Mills, Whitlock, Prince, Bingham, Bulkley, Oakley, Bokee, McComb, Brown, Langster, Harding, and Phelps. They were pillars of the church militant, and their record is on high. Time would fail, as it were, to state the whole number ; but let us dwell a moment on the beloved memory of Anson G-. Phelps, who early joined the Brick Church. The writer knew him intimately, and esteemed him as a model Christian, and consequently worthy of all imita- tion. His house was ever open to Christian ministers and to prayer, and, as Mr. Horace Holden once remarked (who has since joined him in the heavenly land), "His parlors were never too good to be used for meetings of prayer." He was unostentatious amidst his great worldly prosperity, and the means which many of us spend in extravagance, pride, and vaia show, he devo- ted to charity and Christian benevolence — "not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, distribu- ting to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality." These were emphatically his noble traits. A more lib- eral Christian we never knew, and "the first twenty-five dollars he was ever master of, all he was worth, indeed, 162 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK save a few pennies," he contributed towards the educa- tion of a young man in his native village, Simsbury, Connecticut, for the ministry, and who had been a well- known Universalist. -Benevolence and liberality formed an essential part in his religious character. He was among the few men of large property who may be called their own executors — living givers. His last will contained magnificent bequests, and among them the noble sums of one hundred thousand dollars each to the African Colonization and Bible causes — favorite ones in life and death ! In these great charities we often met. "We visited the dying chamber of our departed friend, and found him "Strong in the strength that God supplies, And His eternal Son." His only regret expressed was that he had done no more to promote the cause of Christ. He was resigned and happy, loving the "Songs of Zion" to the last, especially those animating lines which have cheered so many pil- grims crossing over the narrow Jordan of death : " There is a fountain filled with blood." He could sing them with trembling voice and streaming, joyful tears. Just before his departure, one of his be- loved children said to Mm : " Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us — a place for you, dear father ;" and, with strong emphasis, he replied: "I believe it. I believe it." Thus, leaning upon the world's Redeemer, one of the most eminent, liberal, and pious members of the ' ' Old Brick Church" entered into the everlasting rewards promised to the faithful. EAKLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW TOBK. 153 ; The Brick Churcli lias taken a prominent part in all the great and benevolent enterprises for which onr age is so much distinguished. No religious society in the land, probably, has given more generously to foreign and domestic missions, with greater liberality in the impor- tant duty of educating poor' and indigent ydung men for the Gospel ministry. Princeton, Elizabethtown, ISTew York, Boston, the West, &c., have eminent ministers, once the beneficiaries of this church. « What tears of repentance, what songs of triumphant believers, have mingled in this time-honored, holy sanctuary of the Most High ! Children and children' s children, for several generations, have been baptized by its holy ministers, and multitudes laid in the silent grave, who have sweetly fallen asleep in Jesus ! Thou- sands could sing — " Here my kind friends, my kindred, dwell ; Here God, my Saviour, reigns." The vine, planted so many years before in the Old Brick Church, and so long watered with the early and the latter rains and the dews of heaven, was now trans- planted, as it were, to a new spot for far more abundant fruit. This people had very long been blessed with a succession of pious, able, and faithful ministers of salva- tion, and that same pure and blessed Gospel of Christ is stiU declared in the new church, to the comfort of believers and the preparation of immortal souls for heaven. May the successors of the Old Brick Church ever walk worthy of their high vocation, and transmit the true faith, with the fbrm of sound words, to their 164 EARLIEST CHtJECHES IN NEW YOKE. successors, as they received them, uncorrupted, from their pious fathers. Many of the sacramental host "haye crossed the flood" from the original communicants of the "Old Brick Church," and Horace Holden is now among this number. When he went to his heavenly crown, the congregation mourned the loss of a most exemplary, useful, and pious member. His venerable pastor, who had loved him so long and so well, selected for the funeral sermon, John xi. 35: "Jesus wept;" and the preacher beautifully said: "We must expect to weep. And we m,ay weep. . . . Yes, ye sons and daughters of affliction, ye may weep. In a world where sin has dug the grave of all that is lovely and beloved, you may not look for attachments that never die. In some views, the death of such a man as Mr. Holden is most undesira- ble and afflictive ; in others, it is an event of the most joyous kind. He is safe ; he is holy ; he is happy. He shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more ; nor suffer, nor sigh anymore." "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Mr. Holden was born at Sudbury, Massachusetts, November -5, 1793. Coming to New York (1809), he entered the law office of Mr. Ezra Bliss, and was admit- ted to the bar in 1811, and, during the war of 1812, sta- tioned at Sandy Hook, became attached to the staff of General Colfax. At first, he attended the ministry of the Eev. Dr. Mason, but became a member of the Brick Church, July, 1820. In the year 1823 he was ordained one of its ruling elders, and his pastor has declared, "No man was more punctual, more prompt, or more dili- EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. 155 gent in Ms high, vocation." Girt with spiritual armor, Horace Holden was always in the place where duty called him. His religion had a cheerful character. It had a charm for him. How many remember his prayers, and those cheering words of his : " O never let us leave thy side, nor let go the hand that guides us !" Mr. Holden was known among us as a safe, wise coun- sellor, and an earnest, faithful, able member of the bar. We will add, he was a Christian lawyer, never advising or defending that which an honest man and a Christian could not maintain and justify. His last illness was painful, from inflammation of the brain, but he knew his old, beloved minister, saying : " It is Dr. Spring, my dear pastor !" " Are you going to leave us ? Are you going home ?" asked the Doctor. With emphasis, the dying man replied: "Yes, I believe I am ; I am going home." As his last hour drew near, he repeated those beauti- ful lines of Dr. Watts : " A guilty, weak, and helpless worm. On thy kind arms I fall ;" when, his voice failing, he said to his weeping wife and daughter, "Finish" — and they added : " Be Thou my strength and righteousness, My Jesus and my all." Shortly after, the conflict was over, "the last enemy" conquered, and he was singing the "everlasting song!" We might mention here, too, the many beautiful testi- monials of sympathy offered to his afflicted family and friends. They came from the Bible, and Tract, and Sun- 156 EARLIEST CHUEOHES IN NEW YOEK. day Scliool Societies, &c., for all of wMcli lie was an active laborer ; but we need not name them, as his fame was in all the churches. On the 25th day of May, 1856, the Rev. Dr. Spring delivered a discourse, "The Memorial of Grod's Good- ness," as the closing sermon in the Old Brick Church. He selected for his text Psalm xlviii. 9-14 : " We have thought of thy loviag kindness, O Grod, in the midst of thy temple. That ye may tell it to the generations fol- lowing : for this God is our God for ever and ever ; he will be our guide even unto death." The religious services on this occasion closed the pub- lic worsMp of God in a sacred temple where it had been continued and enjoyed for eighty-eight years. A sketch was given of the Brick Church from its origin, and the preacher said: "Of God's goodness towards myself I might write volumes without exhausting the theme. . . . It is a coincidence which an old man may be pardoned for taking notice of, that this day, on which we now meet, completes the fiftieth year of our married life. It was on tlfe twenty-fifth of May, 1806, the Lord's day, that we were united in bonds not to be severed but by death. This twenty -fifth of May, 1856, also the Lord's day, celebrates our ' golden wedding.' .... Thirteen of our cMldren were born in the midst of you, and bap- tized in this house of God. Six of the fifteen have died since our connection with you, and you have sympa- thized with our trials and liberally provided for our wants. . . . Your unexpected bounty to us, two years ago, when I was thousands of miles from you, and knew not of the generous arrangement so nobly made in order EARLIEST CHUECHES IK NEW YOEK. 157 to relieve the solicitude of the evening of our days, demands this grateful and public acknowledgment." This was a munificent benefaction of five thousand dollai's a year salary from the congregation to their faithful pastor, and communicated to him by letter of June 13, 1854, and signed by a committee of the fol- lowing gentlemen : Horace Holden, Samuel Marsh, Mo- ses AUen, Ira Bliss, and Guy Richards,— some of whom, to use their own language, " have sat under your in^nis- try for more than forty years, and during that long pe- i-iod can bear testimony to your untiring industry, your unbending integrity in the exhibition of Gospel truth amid conflicts and parties, and your entire devotion to the appropriate duties of the ministry." In the most tender and pathetic manner, the venerable preacher closed his discourse, and among his last words on this occasion were : " Farewell, then, thou endeared house of God ! thou companion and friend of my youth, thou comforter of my later years, thou scene of trial and of repose, of apprehension and of hope, of sorrow and of joy, of man' s infirmity and of God' s omnipotent grace, farewell ! Sweet pulpit, farewell ! Blessed altar, fare- well ! Throne of grace, as here erected, and where God no longer records his name, farewell !" Dr. Spring made a proposition to the Presbytery of New York that his congregation would subscribe fifty thousand dollars, provided the other churches would raise one hundred and fifty thousand, to purchase the " Old Brick," and let it remain for the use of strangers in the lower part of the city. This liberal offer, how- ever, did jiot succeed. The old church was taken down 158 EARLIEST CHTJRCHES IN NEW YORK. and its dead removed, and a magnificent stone edifice, devoted to business purposes, now occupies the memo- rable spot. Here our excellent Observer, with several other papers and periodicals, are published, where the Gospel so long sounded. On the 31st of October, 1858, Dr. Spring delivered the dedicatory sermon of the New Brick Church, on Murray ' Hill, Fifth Avenue. His theme was the Sanctuary, and the text, "Ye shall reverence my sanctuary." — Leviticus xix. 30. This was an auspicious day with the congregation — ^the removal of a church hallowed by such affecting asso- ciations as concentrated around the spot of their fathers! prayers and graves. After an absence of two years and a half, they assembled in this new and beautiful court of the Lord, and could joyfully exclaim : " Having ob- tained help of God, we continue to the present day." The edifice is large, costly, and noble, and was solemnly dedicated to Him to whose name and worship, we trust, it will ever be devoted. It cannot be styled a gorgeous edifice, and has no decorated walls or splendid magnifi- cence. ' ' Strength and beauty' ' unite in this ' ' sanctuary.' ' Sacred place ! And here was the banner of salvation again set up in the name of the Lord. Dr. Spring delivered another suitable sermon, "Re- demption God's greatest work," on the fiftieth anni- versary of his ordination and installation as pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church. This was his text : " That I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people." — Isaiah i. 16. Referring to himself and God's good- ness, he remarked : " When I came among you I thought EARLIEST CHUECHES IK NEW YOEK. 159 it doubtful if I should remain a single year ; but He has kept me here fifty years. ... I can scarcely bring my- self to believe that the present discourse is the fiftieth anniversary service I have been permitted to enjoy among this people." Not long after, on the 15th of October, 1860, a meet- ing was held by the congregation, " to present a memo- rial to their venerated pastor on the occasion of his settlement over them." On this occasion the new Ra- dons edifice was crowded ; Horace Holden occupied the chair, and Augustus Whitlock, with George De Forest Lord, were appointed Secretaries. The Rev. Dr. Phillips offered prayer, and very impressive addresses were made by Mr. Holden, Daniel Lord, and Mr. Corn- ing. The Rev. Dr. Krebs read an address from the Presbytery of New York, which was signed, on behalf of that body, by John M. Krebs, W. W. Phillips, R. McCartee, Ebenezer Piatt, and Mr. Wm. Walker. The Rev. Samuel Spring, . D. D., of Hartford, a beloved brother of the Doctor, sent an address, which was also read by Gardiner Spring, Jr., on behalf of his uncle. The Rev. Dr. Rodgers, of Boundbrook, IST. J., a grand- son of the earliest pastor of the church, also addressed the meeting, together with Dr. Humphrey, Dr. Murray, John G. Adams, M. D., and Dr. Hoge. All their re- marks exhibited great respect and affection to Dr. Spring for his long-continued, successful labors in the church, with ardent wishes and fervent prayers that God would continue to bless his ministerial efforts. 160 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. CHAPTER XIV. CEDAR STREET CHURCH FOUNDED DU. ROMEYN CALLED CHURCH REMOVED TO DUANB STREET REV. DR. POTTS ASSOCIATIONS OF CEDAR STREET CHUKCH OLD MEMBERS WILLIAM HALLj OF CLEVELAND, THE ONLY SURVIVING MEMBER OF THE ORIGINAL SUB- SCRIBERS TO THE CHURCH PELETIAH PERIT DR. J. TV. ALEXAN- DER INSTALLED THE NEW CHURCH ON THE FIFTH AVENUE, A COLONY from the Wall Street and Brick Presbyterian Churclies, in 1807, founded the Cedar Street Church, Dr. Rodgers laying the corner-stone ; and he delivered the opening sermon. A subscription towards the new un- dertaking had been commenced in sums from one hun- dred to twelve himdred dollars, and soon amounted to forty thousand, with which the lots were purchased and the edifice erected. It was deemed expedient to organize this congregation independent of the three ■ other CoUegiate Presbyterian Churches then in New York. The movement was, in fact, one of New Eng- land men. Eiisha Coit and Selah Strong were tlae com- mittee, with the call for Dr. Romeyn to take charge of the newly formed Church. Mr. John Stoutenberg also carried an invitation to the same gentleman, for him to accept the pulpits of the Reformed Collegiate Dutch Churches ; but Dr. Romeyn accepted the Presbyterian. On the eighth of November, 1808, the congregation was / organized, with twenty-eight members ; and on the same EAELIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YORK. 161 day the Rev. John B. Romeyn, D, D., was installed, its pastor. A large society soon collected, and he contin- ued his labors untU his death, February 23, 1825, in the forty-eighth year of his age. After some two years' vacancy, during which the Rev. Dr. Payson and the Rev. Dr. Sprague were called, but declining, tlie Rev. Cyrus Mason was ordained pastor, in December, 1826. Resigning his charge, in 1836 he be- came a professor or the principal of the Grammar School in the New York University. During his ministry this congregation removed its place of worship to the new, elegant marble church on Daane street. The old lots were sold for seventy -five thousand dollars, in 1834, the congregation worshipping in the lecture-room of the Brick Church untU. their new edifice was finished, in 1885. This cost about forty thou- sand dollars, without the lot ; and here the congregation removed on the first Sabbath of the new year, 1836, assuming the name of the "Duane Street Church." During the ensuing month of May, the Rev. George Potts became its pastor. There are many delightful associations connected with tlie "Old Cedar Street Church." Perhaps no congre- gation in the city contained more useful and zealous members. Zechariah Lewis, so long connected with the Commercial Advertiser, and William Cleveland, were its first ruling elders ; and later, Elisha Coit, William Hall, Solomon Williams, Wilson, with Rufus Nevins, were deacons. We find, also, the names of Jonathan Little, Ives, Fitch, J. B. Caldwell, and Divie Bethune, Markoe, Masters, Hugh Auch'incloss, and. Cyrenius Beers, 11 162 EAELIEST CHTTECHES IW WEW YORK. ■ among the elders. Few churclies exhibited so many ven- erable faces in its aisles and pews as Old Cedar Street presented. General Ebenezer Stevens, with a family of six sons, Colonel Loomis, Colonel Varick, Archibald Gra- de, Mr. Walcott, afterwards the governor' of Connocticnt, Benjamin Strong, Amasa Jackson, James and William Lovett, William Codman, Darling, Irvings, Griswolds, Robert Halliday, Stephen Whitney, John B. Murray, WUliam Halsted, Hubbard, Gordon Buck, Levi Coit, that most excellent and useful citizen, Mr. Aspinwall, &c. There was quite a party for calling Mr. Holley, after- wards a distinguished preacher among the Unitarians. Dr. Romeyn manifested a great interest in the spiritual welfare of children, and secured their affection by Ms familiar manner of calling them all by name. His cate- chetical exercises were esteemed among his most useful, often nearly two hundred attending the classes, from five and six years of age to eighteen. In hearing the recitations, he would be assisted by the elders, then adding such explanations and remarks as were profitable to, all. Dr. Komeyn's ministry was owned and blessed by the great Head of the Church, and many heads of families among our prominent citizens professed faith in Christ during his Christian labors. For a long time, from twelve to sixteen persons were added to the congregation every communion day. Many came by letters from other churches ; and among such the ex- cellent and pious Mrs. Isabella Graham, Divie Bethune and wife, and Colonel Richard Varick, &c. Of the sixty- seven persons who united originally in the subscriptions for building the Cedar Street Church, only one is known EARLIEST CHUBCHES IN NEW YOEK. 163 to be living. This is the esteemed and venerable Wil- liam Hall, now in his eightieth year, and residing at Cleveland, Ohio. He has been greatly blessed in his earthly pUgrimage, having two sons in the sacred office, and one daughter the wife of a minister. Of the twenty- eight who founded this church, only two were living a few months ago — Peletiah Perit and Mr. Hall ; but the former, that excellent citizen and faithful Christian, has recently gone to his heavenly mansion and rewards, and the venerable Mr. Hall alone is left. In speaking of this fact himself, he says: "Our fathers, where are they ? and the prophets, do they live forever ?" Mr. Potts was succeeded in Duane street by the Rev. James W. Alexander, D. D., installed October, 1844, the members soon numbering four hundred. This church was also taken down. Splendid marble stores now occupy the spot ; and the congregation removed to their noble and beautiful new edifice on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Nineteenth street. Here Dr. Alexander continued his Gospel labors until released from them to obtain the promises of the heavenly world. Precious is his memory, yea, more precious than gold, and dear as raptured thrills of joy ! 164 EABLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. CHAPTER XV. SCOTCH PBESBTTKBIAN CHURCH BTJILT REV. JOHN MASON HIS SON, JOHN M. MASON, D. D., SUCCEEDS HIM THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES ESTABLISHED— DR. MASON IN THE PULPIT AND AS A WRITER HIS WORK ON " CATHOLIC COMMUNION" PRESIDENT OF CARLISLE COL- LEftE BEY. MESSRS. SNODGEASS AND MoAULET SUCCEED HIM IN THE MURRAY STREET CHURCH— ;-CHURCH SOLD AND CONGREGATION REMOVE TO ASTOR PLACE ^ASSOCIATE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH EARLIEST CHURCHES — ^FOREIGN HISTORY REV. JAMES PROUDFIT ARRIVES IN THIS COUNTRY, WITH OTHER MINISTERS NEW UNION FORMED, AND ITS LEADERS REV. THOMAS CLARE, ROBERT ANNAN, DR. ALEXANDER PROUDFIT SETTLEMENT OF IRISH PRESBYTERIANS IN ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YOBK, UNDEB AUSPICES OF COL. CLIN- TON ANOTHER IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. In the year 1768, the " Scotcli Presbyterian Clmrcli," a fine etone substantial house of worship, sixty -five by fifty-four feet, was erected on Cedar street near Broad- way. In June, 1761, the Rev. John Mason, of Scotland, arrived in New York, and now became its pastor, and his influence greatly promoted the union between the Associate and Reformed Churches. After the union, this congregation became " The First Associate Reformed Church in Kew York." Dr. John Mason was one of the most accomplished preachers and pastors of his day. His scholarship was rare— at the early age of twenty speaking the Latin lan- guage, on all the higher subjects of science, with as much ease as his mother tongue ; and he was equally familiar EABLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 165 with, the Hebrew. His lectures were in Latin, and at the age of twenty-four he taught logic and moral phi- losophy in the Seminary at Ahernethy. As a preacher, h.e was very diligent and instructive, and few ministers ever lived in New York more esteemed, and, when dying, so generally lamented. In connection with Governor Livingston, of New Jer- sey, Dr. Mason wrote, it is thought, some powerful po- litical papers before the Revolution, and was banished from the city. For thirty years he ministered in this old Scot' s church, and died in the year 1792. After the death of Dr. John Mason, his son, John M., then studying theology at Edinburgh, was invited to succeed his father in the pulpit, and he accepted. Re- signing the pastorship of the Scotch Cedar Street Church in 1810, with some of its members, a new congregation was organized, and, in 1812, they completed the elegant stone edifice on Murray street, then opposite Columbia CoUege. Here Dr. Mason continued to officiate untU elected Professor of Theology in the college at Car- lisle. In the year 1800 it was resolved to establish a theo- logical seminary, as the .only means to supply the in- creasing demand for ministers of the Associate Reformed Chuj-ch. Dr. Mason was sent to England, in 1802, for the purpose of obtaining funds towards the object, and secured six thousand doUars, the greatest part of which was expended for the purchase of a valuable library. Five Scottish ministers returned with him to the United States. During the fall of 1804, the seminary com- menced its sessions at New York, and was the first of 166 EAELIEST OHTJEGHES IS NEW YORK. the kind established in the United States. For many years it was our most famous theological school. The honor of its origin and admirable plan of study belong to Dr. Mason. At this period, the Doctor also had some connection with old and honored Columbia College, lecturing to the Senior Class on Greek and Latin criti- cism. Many graduates remember these rich, eloquent, and learned dissertations. We must also speak of his unrivalled pulpit elo- quence and immense popularity. He was one of the very few American preachers whose fame was as great in England as in the United States. Dr. Mason's writings rank high in our theological literature. His earliest work was upon Frequent Com- munion. For many years the Scottish churches had been accustomed to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's Supper not more than twice a year, and sometimes only once. Besides the usual preparation sermon, the sacra- mental Sabbath invariably was preceded by a fast on the previous Thursday, and succeeded by a thanks- giving day upon the following Monday. This, the Doc- tor believed, was palpably opposed to the spirit of the " Directory," which declares that " the Lord's Supper is frequently to be observed." Some, however, had be- come so wedded to the set "days," as to imagine that it was almost a profanation to celebrate the solemn ordi- nance without them. These additions to the New Tes- tament Passover Dr. Mason opposed, and his " Letters" to the " Associate Reformed Church" produced the de- sired change in many congregations. His great work, however, is a masterly treatise on EARLIEST CHtlECHES IW NEW TORK. 167 " Catholic Communion," puMshed in 1816. Preyious to its appearance, the Associate Reformed congregations, in common with other branches of the Scottish Church in our land, had been exclusive in their communion. Strange illustration how an orthodox Church may plainly contradict her own standards of faith ! In the /days of the Westminster Assembly exclusive communion was condemned, whilst the Confession of the Scottish Church declares, in the plainest terms, the duty of communion with all, in. every place, who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. At an early period, however, of the Scottish secession, a spirit of sectarian exclusiveness manifested itself in new terms of communion. These virtually unchurched all other Christian denominations. The Doctor' s great aim was to defend the doctrine of the Church on this subject, and to bring the pi'actice of the Church into harmony with her own authorized stand- ards. This work gave great offence to many, who could not or -w ould not agree with the author' s views ; but still it produced a catholic change in the administration of the Lord's Supper in a considerable portion of the Church of which its author was a member. After two years' residence at Carlisle College, Dr. Mason's health entirely failing, he returned to New York, where he finished his course in the year 1829. The Rev. William D. Snodgrass succeeded Dr. Mason in :the Murray Street Church, September 22, 1823, re- maining pastor until September 22, 1832, when he removed to the Second Street Church, Troy. Dr. Thomas McAuley, of Philadelphia, and fonnerly the pastor in the Rutgers Street Church, succeeded Dr. 168 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. Snodgrass, January 31, 1833. TMs sacred edifice heavily in debt, and many of the congregation removed, after eight years' ministerial labors of Dr. McAuley, they obtained another location. The property had be- come very valuable, and was sold. JSToble stores now occupy the once sacred spot. A commanding site Was obtaiaed on Eighth street at Astor Place, and the old church, taken down, was removed, and here rebuilt in 1842. It was known as the "Eighth Street," or the Church on Astor Place, its corporate name, however, remaining the ' ' Third Associate Eeformed Church. ' ' In November, 1845, Dr. McAuley resigned his pastoral relations. We find -no very authentic accounts of the earliest Scot' s Presbyterian Churches in this country, with the exception of a few once in South Carolina. There is much religious romance in their history. As early as the year 1680, Lord Cardon commenced a colony at Port Royal, as a refuge to his persecuted Presbyterian breth- ren, and their minister was the Rev. Dr. Diinlop, after- wards the Principal of the University of Glasgow. The Spanish invasion, with the English Revolution of 1688, led the exiles to abandon this religious settlement and return to their native land. Numbers of private per- . sons, however, remaining in Carolina, formed congrega- tions under a presbytery, which existed until the close of the last century. Of these early churches, a few years ago only one remained — the " Old Scot's of Charles- ton." During 1660 to 1688, that dark period of Scottish his- tory, numbers of Presbyterians, transported to the EARLIEST CHTJEOHES IN NEW TOEK. 169 American plantations, were sold as slaves.* Yes ! we have had on our continent white slaves as well as black ! Wodrow, an early historian, estimates their number at three thousand ; and they were sent mostly to Yirginia, Pennsylvania, and ISTew Jersey. To a congregation of these exiles in New Jersey, a Reverend Mr. Prazer preached for some years — then removed to New Eng- land—thence returned to Scotland. As the history of these earliest Scottish Churches is connected wjth that of the American Presbyterian, it is much to be regretted that the accounts of them are so exceedingly scanty. In the year 1736, the Associate Presbytery in Scot- land received a letter from a number of persons in Lon-: donderry, Chester County, Pennsylvania, solicitiag an ordained minister or a probationary, and promising to pay the expenses of his mission. The demand, how- ever, for laborers at home was so great, that only a friendly letter was returned, f The E,ev. Alexander Gellatly was the first minister sent to America by the Secession Church, who arrived in the year 1751, and, after a laborious ministry of eight years, completed his earthly mission at Octorara, Pennsylvania. In 1751, the Covenanters, or Reformed Presbyterians, commissioned the Rev. Mr. Cuthbertson, and he was followed, in 1774, by the Rev. Messrs. lind and Dobbin. The As- sociate Reformed Churches in our land arising from these denominations in Scotland, this very brief notice of them will not be out of place. * Dr. John Forsyth, in Rupp'a Religious Denominations, f McKenow's Hist. Seoess., i. 230. 170 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. During the year 1751, Messrs James Haines and John Jamieson came over, as Missionaries, and in 1752 Messrs. Gellatly and Arnot arrived. They were espe^ cially cliarged, by the Synod, to constitute themselves into a Presbytery, which they did, under the name of the "Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania." In the year 1753, the Rev. James Proudfit arrived, and after laboring as an itinerant for some years he settled at Pequa, Pennsylvania. The American Presbytery was strengthened in 1 758 by the arrival of the Rev. Matthew Henderson, and in 1781, the Rev. Messrs. John Mason, Robert Annan, with John Smart; in 1762, the Rev. William Marshall arrived. John Roger and John Smith came over in 1770. During that year, Thomas Clark, with most of his congregation, from Ballybay, Ireland, emigrated to America, and settled the town of Salem, Washington County, New York. He was fol- lowed by the Rev. Messrs. Telfair and Kinloch, the latter becoming the minister of the Burgher Congrega- tions, Shipper street, Philadelphia: Kinloch ultimately returned to Scotland, settling at Paisley. The American Revolution aided the union of the Associate Reformed Churches in America, which took place in October, 1782, under the name of the ' ' Asso- , ciate Reformed Synod of North America." They adopt- ed "the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Catechism, the Directory for Worship, and Propositions Concern- ing Church Grovernment." A small minority declined to enter this association, and from it have sprung, in our land, the "Covenanter" Church, and the "Asso- ciate." EARLIEST CHUEOHES IW NEW YORK. 171 Let US add a brief notice of tlie leaders "wlio effected this union. The Rev. Thomas Clark' was one, and no minister of his day, it is said, was "in labors more abun- dant." He was somewhat eccentric, and usually large crowds went to hear him. But he was eminently given to prayer, laborious and zealous, having many seals to his ministry. Thus making full proof of his Gospel mission, he died suddenly, after a most laborious life of thirty years, spent for the salvation of souls, at L®ng Cane, South Carolina, in 1796. Mr. Clark was the founder and the first minister of the Church at Salem, New York. We have spoken of the Rev. Dr. John Mason, another founder of the Associate Reformed Church, in a previous chapter. The Rev. Robert Annan had been a fellow-student with Dr. Mason, and coming to this country about the same period, embraced the same views of church polity. During the early part of the American Revolution, he zealously advocated the Whig cause, and about its close took charge of the newly formed Scot's Church, Bos- ton. Unable to enforce the discipline of the Presbyte- rian Church, he removed to Philadelphia, ministering to the Spruce Street Church. Then he accepted a call from a congregation in Baltimore, and, after six years' services, was succeeded by Dr. John M. Duncan. Mr. Annan was a man of eloquence, an able and se- vere controversialist. He wrote a short, excellent expo- sition of the Westminster Confession — a narrq,tive of the steps which led to the Union — a tract on Universalism, one on Civil Government, and engaged with Dr. Rush 172 EARLIEST CHURCHES IST NEW YORK. in a discussion on capital punishment. Mr. Annan died in the year 1818. The Rev. James Proudfit, another Unionist, also re- ceived his ministerial education at Abernethy, and his first settlement was at Pequa, Pennsylvania. Here, lahoriag upwards of twenty years, he settled at Salem, where he remained until his death, in 1802. The Rev. Dr. Alexander Proudfit was associated with him in the pastoral charge for some years before his death. Dr. Proudfit was one ,of the earliest Presbyterian ministers settled north of Troy, and abundant in labors for many years. He founded many congregations about Wash- ington County. So great was his knowledge of the Bible, as often to be called the Concordance. Of the other Covenanting Ministers, Messrs. ]>obbin, Lind, and Cuthbertson, we have been unable to obtain any authen- tic information; As early as the year 1734, a settlement of Irish Pres- byterians was made in Orange County, New York, under the auspices of Colonel Clinton, the founder of the Clinton family. Another colony went to Washing- ton County with Dr. Clark, about 1780, and from these have arisen the various Associate Churches in this region. We have nothing to do with the Theological ques- tions early dividing the religious denominations of our city, but briefly to notice the history of each. The old Associate Church in New York commenced about the year 1751, by the separation of the Scottish members from the Wall Street, in consequence of changes in the forms of worship.* There arose a difference about * Dr. Cleland and J. P. MHler. EAELIEST CHTJRCHES IN NEW YORK. 173 psalmody, those dissenting from the majority quietly withdi-awing and estabUsliing a new congregation with the name of the "Scotch Presbyterian Church," and placing themselves under the care of the Associated Presbytery of Pennsylvania. 174 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN. NEW YOBK. CHAPTER XVI. COLONEL RUTGERS PRESENTS A LOT FOR A NEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH DR. MILLEDOLBR CALLED DRS. MoCLBLLAN, MoAULET, AND KREBS HIS SUCCESSORS REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OR- GANIZED WILLIAM OGNEk REV. MR. MOKINNEy's ARRIVAL FIRST SACRAMENT ALEXANDER MoLEOD INSTALLED HIS SERMON ON NEGRO SLAVERY CHURCH ERECTED ON CHAMBERS STREET RE- BUILT, AND THEN REMOVED TO GREENWICH VILLAGE DR. MoLEOd's LAST PUBLIC APPEARANCE IN THE PULPIT HIS LABORS LEADING MEMBERS OF HIS CHURCH, MESSRS. AGNEW, GIFFOED, NELSON — ' REV. JOHN N. MoLBOD SUCCEEDS HIS FATHER CHURCH REMOVED TO PRINCE STREET. New Yobk now extending her borders towards its eastern section, a Presbyterian cliiircli was wanted there, when Colonel Rutgers presented a lot for the purpose, on the street named after himself. During the summer of 1797 the desired work was commenced, and the spacious frame building, sixty-four by eighty-six feet in dimen- sions, opened for the Lord's worship May 13, 1798. Although Wall, the Brick, and Rutgers Churches were now a collegiate charge, still it was believed that soon each of them would stand alone. So, when the Rev. Dr. Phillip MUledoler was installed a colleague with Drs. Rodgers, McKnight, and Miller, in November, 1805, the Rutgers street congregation was given to his more par- ticular care. When a separation of these churches should take place, he was to be considered its sole pas- EAELIEST CH0KOHE8 IN NEW TOKK. 175 tor.* This separation was made in April, 1809, by the presbytery. The venerable Dr. Rodgers, now bowed down by the burden of many years, still continued his pastoral duties, both to the Wall Street and Brick Churches. Dr. McKnight had resigned his charge, the presbytery consenting. Dr. Miller remained the colle- giate pastor of Wall only, and Dr. Milledoler was the only minister of the Rutgers street congregation. Four years afterwards he resigned his charge, and becj^e co-pastor of the Collegiate Dutch Reformed Churches in our city, and subsequently the president of Rutgers Col- lege. The Rutgers Street Church remained without a regular minister until October 17, 1815, when Alexander McClellan, afterwards Doctor, was ordained and installed its pastor. The Doctor, elected a professor in Dickinson College, was succeeded in Rutgers street by Rev. Thomas McAuly, August, 1822, and he was followed by the pres- ent well known, beloved, able, and useful Dr. John M. Krebs. His pious labors have been greatly prospered in that portion of our growing city, and in 1841-2, the pres- ent large stone house of worship was erected on the site of the old one.f In the year 1790 the Rev. James Reid visited the United States, on a mission from the Reformed Presbytery in Scotland. Reaching New York, he be- came the guest of Mr. John Agnew, whose excellent and pious family then resided at Peck Slip. In early life this gentleman had united with the Reformed Presbyte- rian Church, Ireland, and now joyfully opened his doors to the preaching, of the new missionary. He baptized * Dr. MiUer. f This congregation has recently removed to the upper part of the citj-. 176 EAELIEST CHTJECHES IK NEW TOBK. two children, William Agnew, afterwards a ruling elder in tlie cliiircli, and Mary Ann, then five months old, but subsequently Mrs. Dr. McLeod, the wife and the mother, of the only pastors who have ever labored in this church of which we are now writing. Mr. Agnew died in 1820, aged sixty-eight, both parents closing lives of eminent Christian consistency, and leaving children and chil- dren's children walking in the truth. "The righteous shall be held in everlasting remembrance ;" and this was the commencement of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in New York. Mr. James Donaldson, also a native of Scotland, united with the pious little band. Mr. Reid, after his return to Scotland, lived to nearly eighty, con- tinuing to preach even after afflicted with the loss of sight, until, full of years and blessings, he ended a well- spent life. Forty years after he left l^ew York the late Dr. McLeod visited him in Scotland. In April, 1793, the Rev. Mr. McKinney arrived from Ireland — an ardent friend of civil and religious liberty. His preaching attracted much attention, when Mr. Andrew Gifford, a member of the Scotch Presbyterian Church under Dr. John Mason's charge, cast in his lot with this infant society. For many years he was clerk of the session, surviving all its original members. Soon after this, Messrs. Currie, Smith, Nelson, and Clark, landing in New York, all members of the Re- formed Presbyterian Church, acceded to this society, when the regular Church session commenced, June, 1798. In August following, for the first time, the sacra- ment of the Lord's Supper was administered to fifteen or twenty communicants, in a school-room in Cedar street EAULIEST CHUEOHES IN NEW YORK. 177 — ^the Revs. Mr. McKinney and Gilbson the officiating clergymen. Among those present on this occasion was Alexander, afterwards the Rev. Dr. McLeod. There is an entry, by Mr. Gifford, in an old book of records of this kind, July 10, 1799 : "The following subscription is in- tended for each Sabbath that we have sermon: John Agnew, one dollar ; Andrew Gifford, fifty cents ; James Donaldson, three shillings ; Duncan Campbell, twenty- five cents ; James Nelson, twenty-five cents ; David Clark, twenty-five cents ; Samuel Radcliff, twenty-five cents ; John Thomson, twenty-five cents ; Mr. Boggs, twenty-five cents ; Hugh Small, twenty-five cents ; James Smith, twenty-five cents ; William Tait, twenty- five cents ; Mr. Fisher, twenty-five cents ; W. Acheson, twenty-five cents; Betty, sixpence; Letty, sixpence." Betty was Elizabeth Wilson, a very pious domestic in Mr. Agnew' s life. Such humble Christian females have al- ways been found in Christ' s fiock, sharing with the Mas- ter' s followers their scanty earnings, and preparing for the heavenly state where all earthly distinctions fade away. Some years after, we find these same persons giving their tens and hundreds towards the erection of God' s house. July 6, 1801, marks an era in the history of the Re- formed Presbyterian Church, NeT* York. On this day, Alexander McLeod was ordained and installed pastor of the united congregations at Wallkill and New Yoi'k. The committee meeting on this occasion were John Black, William Gibson, and Samuel B. Wylie, minis- ters ; Andrew Gifibrd and Robert Beatty, ruling elders. "On the article of slavery, Mr. Beatty promised to have the freedom of the three negroes belonging to him 12 178 EARLIEST CHURCHES IK NEW YORK. registered in the county court as soon as may be, viz., Sally and Candace at the age of twenty-five years, and Dick at the age of twenty-eight." Mr. McLeod had a previous call to Wallkill, but among the subscribers to it were holders of slaves, and with such he was unwilling to commune. The Presby- l!ery, considering the subject, "enacted that no slave- holder should be retained in their communion." The account adds: "No slaveholder has since been admit- ted to the communion of the Reformed Presbyterian Church."* In the year 1802, Mr. McLeod published his sermon, "Negro Slavery Unjustifiable," producing, it is said, an impression in favor of emancipation. The two congregations at New York and Wallkill, or Coldenham, engaged to pay Mr. McLeod a salary of four hundred and eighty-eight dollars annually, but at the expiration of three years he selected New York as the only field of his labors. The church here now contained about thirty members, and they met for religious ser- vices in a small room on Cedar street. Soon after, a neat and commodious frame church was erected in Chambers street, and prosperity followed the undertaking. In 1805, the session was increased by the addition of Dr. Samuel Guthrie, tBugh Orr, and William Aeheson, as ruling elders. At the close of 1812, the congregation numbered one hundred and thirty-eight communicants, when John Edgar and William Pattison were added to the session, with Mr. Thomas Gumming in 1817. This edifice, now too small, was taken down, and a large brick one erected on its site in the year 1818. Dr, * Rev. Pr. MoLeod's discourse, "The Stone of Help," December 26, 184Y. EAELIEST CIIXJECHES IK NEW YORK. 179 McLeod had continiied to labor with all diligence in his sacred calling ; he had composed, also, and published his "Ecclesiastical Catechism," "Lectures on the Pro- phecies," "Sermons on the War," and " Discourses on the Life and Power of True Godliness." These were productions of great mental power and theological knowledge, blessed to many readers. Opposite the church stood the old City Alms House, with many destitute children ; a member of this congre- gation commenced a Sabbath-school among them. She was a widow lady by the name of Grant Bossing, and this must have been one of the earliest religious institu- tions of the kind in our city. Her name should be grate- fully remembered and recorded. During the year 1827, some members of this congre- gation purchased the Heformed Dutch Church in Green- wich Yillage, as then called, to accommodate the people residing in that I'egion. Dr. McLeod opened it for di- vine service, and this became the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church in 'New York. There was, how- ever, some opposition to the measure, and during its discussion. Dr. McLeod, whose health had become im- paired, sailed for Europe. On his return, both congre- gations, now legally organized, offered him the choice of either for his future labors, when he decided to re- main with the old body, in December, 1830. About 1833-3, the storm of Secession disturbed the whole Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States, concerning which it is not necessary for us to enter into the details. A minority of this congregation seceded, forming a separate organization, and com 180 EAELIEST CHITECHES IN NEW TOKK. mencing suit for the possession of the property. But they were unsuccessful, and the congregation settled the difference hy voluntarily paying a sum of money to the "Seceders," to end the unprofitaWe controversy. Dr. McLeod and people had always acted on the defensive, and although their faith and patience were severely tried, mutual confidence and love again appeared and continued among the old flock. On the first Sabbath in December, 1832, Dr. McLeod made his last public appearance, having preached during the previous three months two discourses, on successive Sabbaths, from the impressive words, "To die is gain." The last time he addressed his people was the Com- munion Sabbath, and the occasion is engraven on many hearts. " I never rose," said the preacher,- "to speak to saints and sinners in the name of Jesus Christ without fear and trembling. How much more do I now tremble, under this load of infirmity, by which I am admonished that my work is nearly done." He spoke most impres- sively of the "Tree of Life," and suddenly closed, after distributing the symbols of our Saviour' s death, by ad- monishing all to make sure of Heaven, and added : ' ' But I feel that my labors in the sanctuary below are about to close. I shall soon go away to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise above." Two months after, on another Sabbath morning, from his dying bed, he blessed his family around him, in the name of the Lord, then prayed, and fixing his last look on his pious and beloved wife, watching at his side, said, distinctly, " It is the Sabbath, and I am at peace," and then fell asleep in Christ, February 17th, 1833, EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 181 aged fiffcy-eight years, and in the thirty-fourtli of M^ ministry. Dr. McLeod was the first pastor of this church, whose pulpit has not been vacant for almost sixty-one years. He was born on the Island of Mull, Scotland, June 12th, 1774, his father and maternal grandfather ministers in the Church of Scotland. His father's parish, the Eev. Neal McLeod, embraced the celebrated Island of lona, where Columba taught a pure faith and Gospel njore than twelve centuries before ! Dr. Johnson, in his visit to the Hebrides, called at the house of Neal McLeod, and pronounced him the " clearest headed man ia the Highlands." His son Alexander, deprived early by death of both parents, resolved to make the New World his home, reaching New York in 1792. Then eighteen years old, he went to Schenectady, on the opening of Union College, 1798, and graduated with honor. On the 24th of June, 1799, he was licensed by the Presby- tery to • preach at Coldenham, New York, and iu 1801 was iustaUed at New York. We have spoken of his writings, which are elaborate, and among the reprints of our day. Ardently attached to his own Church, still he co-operated with good men in good works, and stood fore- most among the literary men and pulpit orators of his day. The degree of D. D. was confered upon him by the University of Vermont, and the honorary one of M. D. offered to him from the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons. This he declined, lest, as he remarked, " he might be led away from his proper work." He also received formal calls to the Reformed Dutch 182 EARLIEST CHCTECHES IN NEW YOKK. Charcli' in Garden stteet, the Wall street and the Rutgers street congregations ; hut he declined them all; In 1812, he was elected vice-president of the College of New Jersey, and suhsequently, with Dr. Wylie, of Philadelphia, and Romeyn, New York, was invited to take charge of Dickinson College, Pennsylvania. But he would not leave his pulpit, with its important, sol- emn duties. It is worthy of remembrance that Dr. McLeod, in the year 1816, .visited Washington, and prepared the way to organize the American Colonization Society. He wrote the Constitution. What untold blessings would be se- cured to two continents and their myriad populations, if our Negro race, now causing, remotely, such horrors and bloodshed among us, could have been sent to Africa hj this noble philanthropy ! Dr„ McLeo^ d^arted this life, his work done, in faith, love, anJTope, February 17th, 1833, aged iifty-nine, and the thirty-fourth of his ministry. He rests in Greenwood, where his congregation have erected a suitable monument to his beloved memory. Mr. John Agnew, one of the first ruling elders of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, was also a good and remarkable man, by birth an Irishman, a descendant of the Covenanters from the earlier times. A merchant in Belfast, he had been severely fined by the magistrate, when taking an oath, for not "kissing the book." His windows had been also broken by the mob, becausa-he would not illuminate them for some victory of the Brit- ish over the American forces. He disliked the English rule of Ireland, and sympathizing with our land, he sought an asylum in New York, 1783. Mr. Agnew EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 183 possessed intelligence, sound judgment, and piety. From principle, he devoted a tentli of his income to the promotion of God's service, besides other voluntary benefactions. "You are going to leave us," said Dr. McLeod, his son-in-law, just before he expired. "I am," replied the djmig man ; "and I am going to a bet- ter country." "Do you know the way?" added the Doctor. "Yes," he answered, "as well as I know the way to the Coffee House" (the name of the old Ex- change). Mr. Andrew Gifford was another member of the origi- nal session of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church in Kew York. He was born at Loanhead, near Edin- burgh, and came to America before the formation of the Federal Constitution. A man of lovely character, he was intelligent, judicious, devout, and highly useful in the judicatories of the Church. He was liberal with his means, walking with God, and preparing for the life to come.' He died in the -Lord, at the advanced age of eighty -four, having lived a life of Christian consistency. James Nelson, also one of the earliest elders, was born in Ireland, and had been a ruling elder there. He was greatly attached to his Church, and served her faithfully ; stern, but softened with increasing years, he sought to do good with all men. Also reaching old age, he departed in the joyful hopes of the Gospel. Mr. Nelson was the father of Joseph Nelson, LL. D., for many years, though blind, the well-known classical teacher in New York city. His scholars were always among the best prepared for coUege. Ultimately, he occupied the professorship of languages iu Rutgers College, New Jersey. 184 EABLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW TOEK. To complete the list of tlie original session of the first Reformed Presbyterian Church, we must add the name of David Clark. He was a Scotchman, lived nearly forty years in New York, and died in 1836, " as a shock of corn ripe in its season." For some time after his settlement, Dr. A. McLeod made his home under the hospitable roof of Mr. Clark, and they remained devoted friends until death. In his will, he left one thousand dollars to the trustees of the church, in trust, for the sup- port of the Gospel, and "though dead," he thus speaketh, and does good. A few weeks before the death of Dr. A. McLeod, the congregation called his son, the Rev. John N. McLeod, as colleague with his father. He remains to this time its faithful pastor. In the year 1835, the congregation removed from Chambers to the Union Presbyterian Church, on Prince and Marion streets. This congrega- tion, since its establishment in New York, has main- tained itself in good feeling with the others around it. The father and the son have been its two ministers, the former serving his generation for more than thirty-three years, and the latter thirty-two. This is a beautiful coincidence in relationship and the sacred office, and, amidst the never-ceasing changes of our great city, such an example of stability in the pastoral relations is very seldom known. We do not remember a similar instance in the history of the hundreds of New York churches. In the year 1849, the congregation sold their church property in Prince street, and erected a new, fine house of worship on Twelfth street, and without any encum- EARLIEST CHTJE0HE8 IN NEW YORK. 185 "brance, a circumstance that can be so seldom written about our city churches. There have been three off- shoots, between the. years 184^8 and 1854, from this congregation, but made at periods not embraced in our plan. 1P6 EAELIEST CHtTECHES IN NEW TOEK. CHAPTER XVII. ASSOCIATE PBBSBYTERIAN CHURCH FOEMBD BY REV. MR. BEVERIDGB, 1785, AND HOUSE ERECTED ON NASSAU STREET HIS SUCCESSORS UNITE WITH THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH MINISTERS MAGAZINE STREET CHURCH, AFTERWARDS PEARL ITS FIRST PASTOR, REV. ROBERT FOREST— -HIS SUCCESSORS, JOHN CLARK, WILLIAM W. PHILLIPS, WALTER MONTEITH, BENJAMIN RICE, HENRY A. ROWLAND, CHARLES H. READ-7-CHURCH BURNED AND REBUILT BAPTIST CHURCH COMMENCED, 1762 ITS FOUNDERS ELDER GANO GOLD STREET CHURCH TURNED INTO A STABLE FOR THE BRITISH CAVALRY MINISTERS NEW STONE CHURCH BUILT 1802 SLAVERY QUESTION NEW CONGREGATION FORMED ON ROSE STREET REV. MR. PARKINSON NEW CHURCH BUILT ON BROOME AND ELM STREETS, REV. DR. CONE, PASTOR CHURCHES SPRUNG FROM GOLD STREET CONGREGATION. This first Associate Presbyterian ChurcTi in our city was formed by the Rev. Thomas Beyeridge, in the spring of 1785, and he afterwards settled at Cambridge, New York, and died at Barnet, Vermont, July 23, 1798. For this congregation, a house of worship was erected in 1787, on Nassau street, near Fulton. Its first pastor, the Rev. John Cree, was installed October 12, 1792, and remain- ing only two years, he removed to Pennsylvania. For eight years, this congregation remained without any pastor, when, early in 1821, the Rev. Andrew Stark was appointed by the Presbytery to supply the vacancy, and iastalled in May, 1820. Two years afterwards,, this congregation sold their house of worship in Nassau EABLIEST CI-ItJEOHES IS NEW YOEK. 187 street, and erected a new one on tte corner of Grand and Mercer streets, to wliich. they removed in August, 1824. There were two other branches of the Associate Church, one on the corner of Thompson and Prince, and the other at the corner of Houston and Forsyth streets. In May, 1822, the three "Associate Reformed" Churches of 'New York, with nine others elsewhere, "belonging to the same Synod, united with the Gene^ral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. Several years now passed away, during which period there was no Associate Reformed congregation in JSTew York. In the year 1831, however, the Rev. WUliam McAuley col- lected and organized "the Fourth Associate Reformed Church." Its members held their first meeting October, 1831, in the Rutgers Medical College, Duane street, and afterwards purchased the house of worship on Franklin, near Varick street, 1837. Here labored, with much acceptance and success, the Rev. James Lillie and the Rev. William McLaren. The "Fifth Associate Re- formed Church" was founded November, 1838, chiefly through the eflbrts of the Rev. James Mairs. At first he preached in a school-room, AUen street — ^then he removed to the Medical College, Crosby street, and died 1840. The Rev. Peter Gordon succeeded him, the congregation, May 1, 1844, purchasing a house of worship near Abingdon Square, on Jane street. These last-named churches we can only thus generally notice, as thfey do not belong to the oldest in our city, but were descendants of the "Associate Reformed." In point of time, there was an Associate Reformed congregation organized earlier than the Murray street one. This was the second or ' ' Magazine Street Church, " afterward Pearl, founded in the year 1797. Their house of worship, a substantial stone edifice, sixty-six feet long,' fifty-six wide, stood on Pearl, between Elm and Broad- way. It formed for a few years a collegiate charge with the Scotch Church, Cedar street, but separated again in 1804. The Rev. Robert Forest, a native of Dunbar, Scot- land, was the first pastor, installed in the spring of 1804, and labored here with talent and fidelity for seven years. He died in Stamford, Delaware County, ]S"ew York, in 1846, aged seventy-eight. He was succeeded by the Rev. John X. Clark, in 1811. After seven years' labors, he resigned the charge, and the Rev. William W. Phillips was installed, in 1818 ; but during' the year 1826, he was called, and accepted the Wall Street Church. The Rev. Walter Monteith followed Dr. Phillips, and installed August 23,'1826 ; his minis- try continuing until 1829, and then, in December, the Rev. Benjamin H. Rice took charge of the congregation* He resigned in 1833, and the Rev. Henry A. Rowland took his place, April 17, 1834. This church, three years afterwards, was destroyed by fire, but rebuilt. Mr. Rowland resigning the charge in 1843, the Rev. Charles H. Reed was installed December 13, 1843. There were Baptists as early as 1657 in ISTew Nether- lands, as we learn from a letter written by Dominies Mega- polensis and Drissius, of the Reformed Dutch Church, to the Classis of Amsterdam, August 5, 1657. The commu- nication relates to the state of religion in the province, 1657-1712. Speakiag of Long Island, it says : " Graves- EABLIEST CHUECHES IW NEW YOEK. 189 end, Middleburg, Vlissingen, and Heemstede, were es- tablislied by the English. Those of Gravesend are reported Mennonists : yea, they, for the most part, reject Infant Baptism, the Sabbath, the office of Preacher, and the Teachers of God's word, saying, that through these have come all sorts of contention into the world. When- eyer they meet together, the one or the other reads some- thing for one. . . . Last year a fomenter of error came there. He was a cobbler from Rhode Island, in ]S"ew England, and stated that he was commissioned by Christ. He began to preach at Flushing, and then went with the people iato the river and dipped them. This becoming known, the Fiscal proceeded thither and brought him along. He was banished the province."* His name was Wickenden. The same letter states that one young Indian had been instructed for two years, "so that he could read and write good Dutch." He was also furnished with a Bible, "in order to work through him some good among the Indians. But it all resulted in nothing. He has taken to drinking of brandy ; he pawned the Bible and became a real beast, who is doing more harm than good among the Indians." At that early period, as now, the vice of intemperance too often cursed both civUized and savage men. Said an Onondaga Chief, " When we visit Fort Orange, they never talk to us of prayer, and we do not know even if they pray there." About fifty years after this period, we find "the humble peticon of Mcholas Ey ers, brewer, a Baptist teacher in the * This letter was translated by the Rev. Dr. De Witt. See Doo. Hist., vol. iii. 103. 190 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. city of 'New York," to His Excellency Grovernor Wil- liam Burnet.* He states that he had. hired a house in Broad street, on the first Tuesday of February, 1715, "for an anabatised meeting-house,'' and "had been a public preacher to a baptist congregacon within this city for four years," and had "an ample certificate of his good behaviour and innocent conversacon." Mr. Eyers, therefore, humbly prays Governor Burnet, that he maybe permitted "to execute the ministerial! function of a minister within this city' ' to a Baptist con- gregation. Testimonials also were presented of his good character — "blameless, and free from any noto- rious public slander and vice, has gained himself the good na,me and reputation of his neighbours of being a sober, just, and honest man ; and is said to be an ana- baptist, as to his profession in religion." The Governor accordingly granted, on the 23d January, 1721, his request, and agreeably to the British statute at that period. This is the earliest record we have met with of a Baptist church in our city. The Rev. A. D. GiUette states, that the first Baptist church in ISTew York was founded in the year 1762, but that "Baptist wor- ship and an irregular church arrangement had been maintained" t in this city from 1669. We have an authentic account of the " First Baptist Church in the city of New York," in the Jubilee Ser^ mon, by the Rev. Mr. Parkinson, its pastor. It was de- livered in the " Gold Street Meeting-house," January 1, 1813, its fiftieth anniversary. Before the formation of this congregation, a Baptist society had existed, consist- *Doo. Hist., vol. iii. 480. fl^'iPP's Re'- Den., p. 54, EARLIEST CIIUECHES ITS' NEW YORK. 191 ing however of professed Arminians, but called Baptist, merely from their ordinance of immersion. It was founded by the Rev. Mr. Wickenden, of Providence, Mr. Whitman, of Grroton, and Mr. Ayres, New York, all of whom were Arminian Baptist preachers. Mr. Wickenden fii-st preached here about the year 1709, suffering three months imprisonment for officiating without license from the crown officer. Mr. Whitman came to the city at the invitation of Mr. Ayres, at whose house he preached occasionally for two years. Under his ministry, a number became serious ; he baptized Nicholas Ayres, Nathaniel Morey, Anthony Webb, John Howes, Edward Hoyter, Cornelius Stephens, James Daneman, Elizabeth Morey, Hannah Wright, Esther Cowley, Martha Stephens, Mrs. Miller. These twelve are said to have been the first persons baptized in this city. Fearing a mob, the females received the ordinance at night. The next day, however, the others were quietly baptized, in the presence of Governor Burnet. In the year 1724, Mr. Ayres was ordained the pastor of this little flock, by Elders Valentine Whitman, of Groton, and Daniel Whitman, of Newport. His hearers increasing, the private house could not accommodate them, when a lot was purchased on "Golden Hill" — John, Cliff, and Gold streets, and during the year 1728 a place of worship erected. To the pious band six more were added — WiUiam Ball, Ahasuerus Windal (Albany), Abigail and Dinah North (Newtown), Martha Walton, (Long Island), and Eichard StUwell, Jr. Mr. Ayres remaining their pastor seven years, then removed to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1731, where he died. A Mr. 192 EARLIEST CHUECHES IK NEW TOEK. John Stevens sncceeded Mm, baptizing six more persons — Robert North, Mary Murphy, Hannah French, Mary Stilwell, and two others whose names we have not ascer- tained. Mr.' Stevens going to South Carolina, their, meeting-house was sold as private property, when the Arminian Baptist Church, then numbering twenty-foui. members, dissolved, after a history of eight years. About 1745, Jeremiah Dodge, a Baptist from FishkUl, settled in N"ew York and opened his house for prayer- meetings. During the same year. Elder Benjamin Mil- ler, of Scotch Plains, visited the city and baptized Joseph Meeks, who, with Mr. Dodge and a Mr. Eobert Northi united in an invitation to John Pine, a licentiate at Fisk- kill, to be their preacher. His preaching place appears principally to have been the house of Mr. Meeks. In 1750, Mr. Piae dying, the little flock was visited by Elder James Carman, of Cranberry, and their number was increased to thirteen. They united with the Baptist Church at Scotch Plains, New Jersey, as a branch, in 1753 ; Elder Benjamin Miller their pastor, who preached to them and administered the Lord's Supper once a quarter. The congregation soon becoming too large for any pri- vate dwelling, a rigging-loft, on Horse and Cart street, was obtained for their public services. This was the early name of William street. As soon as the Baptists had erected their "meeting- house" in Grold street, on the 19th of June, 1762, they were solemnly constituted a church, by the assist- ance of Elders Benjamin Miller and John Gano. On the same day, John Carman and Samuel Edmunds EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEX. 193 ■were elected the first deacons, and Samuel Dodge, Clerk. Mr. Dodge remained a faithful ofiicer, both as deacon and clerk, from the constitution of the church until his death, a period of more than forty years. He ended his useful and unblemished life in Poughkeepsie, October 4, 1807, aged seventy-seven years. John Bedient was chosen next, resigning in 1809, when Deacon Rosewell Graves became clerk of the church. As soon as the Gold Street Church was constitute^, Elder John Gano was unanimously called to take charge of its pastorate. He had been ofiiciating at Yadkin, North Carolina, and his ' ' praise was in all the churches' ' — of Huguenot descent, and .born in New Jersey in 1727, where he was caUed to the Gospel ministry, 1754 ; he first preached at Morristown for two years, and then re- moved to North Carolina, where he collected a large congregation. His flock dispersed by the Indians in the war of 1756, himself and family fled for their lives. At New York, his hearers increased so much that it became necessary to enlarge their "meeting-house" in the year 1763. The congregation, then numbering forty-one members, and prosperous, was received into the Phila- delphia Association, maintaining this connection until October, 1790, twenty-seven years, when they took a dismission from that venerable body, to form an associa- tion with other churches in this city. On the 12th of April following, the representatives of seven Baptist Churches assembled in New York for this purpose — Scotch Plains, New Jersey ; Oyster Bay, Long Island ; Morristown, New Jersey ; Cannoe Brook, now Northfield ; Staten Island, with the first and second 194 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. (Bethel) in New York. This body adjourned to October 19, 1791, when its members formally united under the name of the New York Baptist Association. Its first meeting assembled October 31, 1792, when five other churches were added — Piscataway, Lyon's Farms, Mount Bethel, Potafrag, and Sag Harbor. The body then adjourned tiU the last Wednesday but one in May, 1793, and this month has been the time of its annual meeting ever since. The first church in New York consisted of two hundred members, and their peace was disturbed, Mr. Oano records, "by the arrival of two or three preachers from England." From his statement, they aimed to divide the church, but failed, causing however much trouble.* Soon after this, there arose much difference of opinion about Psalmody. The old custom had been to have the lines read, or "given out;" but now a large majority favored singing from the books, as is now the custom. The minority, however, numbering fourteen, took their dismissions June 5, 1790, and were constituted the "Second Baptist Church in New York," by Elders MiUer and Gano. Its first pastor was the Rev. John Dodge, a native of Long Island, born in 1738, and stu- died medicine. He became a Baptist in Baltimore, and joining the Second Church in New York, was licensed to preach January 14, 1771. During our Revolutionary "War, Mr. Gano became a chaplain in the army, and this church was dispersed. The last time he administered baptism, before this event, was on April 28, 1776, and the first, after his return, on * Life of Gano, written by himself. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 195 Septem"ber 4th, 1784. On reassembling his flock, Mr. Gano remarks : " We collected of our church about thirty-seven members out of upwards of two hundred ; some being dead, and others scattered into almost every part of the Union." The "Gold Street Meeting-house," in common with some other places of worship, had been turned into a stable for the British cavalry. Soon repaired, however, after the peace, Mr. Gano preached an appropriate ser- mon from this text : " Who is left among you that'saw this house in her first glory ? and how do ye see it now ? , Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing ?" Hag. ii. 3. The congregation soon again greatly in- creased ; and, much to the sorrow of its members, their pastor, after preaching to them nearly twenty-six years, removed to Kentucky. On the 4th of May, 1788, he delivered an affectionate sermon from " Fare ye well," Acts XV. 29 ; and the next day left with his family for his new home, reaching Limestone in May following. Dr. Benjamin Foster, of Newport, Rhode Island, suc- ceeded him, in 1788. He received his degree of D. D. from the College of Rhode Island, for his learned " Dis- sertation on the Seventy Weeks of Daniel ;" he excelled in the oriental languages. The Doctor's ministry, al- though acceptable, experienced difficulties, some of his members professing to discover in his discourses what was then called " New Divinity." With such controversies we have nothing to do, but ,tp record them. The difficulty, however, became so serious, that a number of persons took letters of dis- mission, and joined the Second Baptist Church. Dr. 196 EAKLIEST CHtlECHES IN NEW YOKK. Foster died of tile yellow fever, during the prevalence of that epidemic in 1798, aged forty-eight, and in the twenty-second of his ministry. Mr. William Collier, a licentiate of the Second Baptist Church, Boston, next occupied this pulpit, in 1800. In March, 1801, the " old meeting-house" taken down, a new one was opened upon the same spot, Sunday, May 2, 1802, Dr. Stephen Gano, of Providence, delivering the discourse, from " An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me," etc. Ex. XX. 24. The edifice measured eighty feet by sixty-five, buUt of stone, and cost about twenty-five thousand dol- lars. During its erection, the congregation worshipped in the French Huguenot Church, Pine street. In 1804, Jeremiah Chaplin, a young man from Dan- vers, Massachusetts, was called to aid Mr. Collier, whose health became feeble. Having faithfully served the Gold street congregation, he accepted a call from Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1804. Mr. Chaplin was ordained the same year, and returned immediately to Danvers. The Rev. William Parkinson, A. M., from Frederick- town, Maryland, became pastor of this congregation on the 8th of February, 1805, and, for the first time after his arrival, administered baptism to two subjects on Sunday, March 3, 1805, and eight the following month. Mr. Parkinson' s ministry was crowned with much suc- cess, his communicants increasing nearly one hundred during the first year of his Christian labors. After a few years, however (1808), some dissensions arose about doctrine and slave-holding. It was re- solved, "that in future, no person holding a slave for EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 197 life should be admitted a member," and a committee was appointed " to wait on sucli of the members as held slaves, to obtain, if possible, their consent to manumit them, at such periods as their several ages and times of past service might justify, and to take their certificates of the same accordingly." This question made dififer- ences of opinion, until, finally, twenty-six of the members requested a dismission, to be constituted a church. In March, 1811, their request granted, they formed a new congregation, under the name of "Zoar." They hired a little church on Rose street, opposite the Quaker meeting-house, inviting their old pastor, Mr. Parkin- son, to preach at its opening. But this society dissolved in less than a year. The Rev. William Parkinson continued in the pastoral office about thirty-five years, when he resigned, in 1840. At that period, it was thought expedient to remove the place of worship, when the new and elegant stone building was finished on the corner of Broome and Eli- zabeth streets, and opened for public worship in th^ spring of 1841. In July following, the Rev. Spencer H. Cone, D. D., of the Oliver Street Baptist Church, was invited to the pastoral office in this, and he entered im- Aediately upon its duties. In 1845, he reported nearly six hundred members in his communion. Some notice should be taken of the early churches that proceeded from old Gold street, and we follow the time of their organization. Peekskill, Stamford, Con- necticut, 1773. Abyssinian, Anthony street ; Newtown, Long Island ; JSTorth Baptist, Budd street, New York — all constituted in the year 1809. The ministers of these 198 EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOEK. congregations, when founded, were Thomas Ustick, who died in Philadelphia, 1803 ; Ebenezer Ferris, who consti- tuted the church in Stamford, 1773, preaching there for many years ; Isaac Skillman, afterwards Doctor, who became pastor of the congregation at Salem, New Jer- sey, where he ended his days ; Stephen Gano, son of the pastor in Gold Street Church, who studied medicine, and for many years served the First Baptist Church, Providence, Rhode Island ; Thomas Montanye, who labored for several years at Deer Park, Warwick, New York, and then in Southampton, Pennsylvania ; Corne- lius P. Wyckoff, pastor of the North Baptist Church in this city ; James Bince, who became pastor of the Bap- tist Church on Staten Island, and died at the early age of nineteen, in 1811. The Baptist Church on Staten Island was principally formed of persons who had been communicants in the old Gold Street Tabernacle. Elder Elkanah Holmes was one of the early and most useful preachers in that section. He afterwards retired to Canada. * * Mr. Parkinson'a JuMee Sermon. EARLIEST CHUBCHES IN NEW YOKK. 199 CHAPTER XVIII. BAPTIST CHURCHES, CONTINUED " BETHESDA" SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH BETHEL, ON ROSE STREET PASTORS REV. MR. CHASE HIS NEW CHURCH ON CHRISTIE AND DELANCEY DIFFICULTIES OLIVER STREET CHURCH REV. JOHN WILLIAMS, PASTOR ; MR. CONE, ASSISTANT ABYSSINIAN CHURCH IN ANTHONY, NEAR WEST BROAD- WAY MINISTERS NORTH BEEEAH CHURCH IN VANDAM A COLONY FROM GOLD STREET DESTROYED BY FIRE, AND A NEW HOUSE ' BUILT IN MCDOWELL STREET PASTORS OTHER CHURCHES PROM THE BEREAN. When tlie Rev. Mr. Parkinson resigned the charge of the First Baptist Church in Grold street, 1840, about seventy of its members, preferring to remain under his ministry, organized the "Bethesda Church." They held meetings in a school-room in Crosby street, Mr. Parkinson preaching for them, until prevented by in- firmity from officiating any longer. The Rev. J. C. Hopkins became their next pastor. SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH. The difficulties before alluded to in the First Baptist Church, during the ministries of the Rev. Messrs. Gano (1770) and Dr. Foster (1790), led to the establish- ment of the " Second Baptist Church in Kew York." Differences arose here also, and, in the year 1791, this congregation divided into two parties, both claiming the name of the " Second Church." But better counsels 200 EAELIEST CHURCHES IW NEW YORK. prevailing, they relinquished the title they had so long differed about. One party was called the "Bethel Church," and the other " The Baptist Church in Fayette street." Thus the "Second Baptist Church in New York" became no longer known by that name. BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH. After this division, the Bethel Church continued their worship in the little building on Eose street, near Pearl. In 1793, it numbered only thirty-seven members, the Rev. Adam Hamilton their pastor, who remained until 1795, when the Rev. Charles Lohatt succeeded him in the ministry for seven years. The Rev. Daniel Hall became the next pastor for fourteen years, and was suc- ceeded by the Rev. Johnson Chase, in the year 1817. Mr. Hall, early in his ministry, about 1806, removed with his congregation from Rose street to a small wooden building on Broome street, near the Bowery. "When Mr. Chase commenced the pastorate, a large congrega- tion soon collected, numbering, in 1820, over four hun- dred communicants. During the year 1820, they erected a commodious brick church, sixty-five by eighty-five feet in size, on the corner of Christie an'd Delancey streets. The congregation continued until 1830, when difficulties and parties arising, the following year, those opposed to the. pastor claimed to be the true "Bethel Church," and were .joined by the members of the Elizabeth Street Church and their pastor, the Rev. William G. Miller. Curious enough, both parties presented the usual letter to the Association, the one claiming Mr. Chase as their EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 201 pastor, and the other, Mr. Miller. Warmly contested, the matter was postponed a year, but finally settled in favor of Mr. Miller's claims. Mr. Chase and adherents then withdrew froin the Association, recording their reasons, and Mr. Miller's congregation was acknowl- edged as the true Bethel Church. Both still claiming the house of worship, very improper efforts were made to retain its possession. Mr. Miller' s friends, however, prevailed, and Mr. Chase retiring, his people worshipped by themselves, first in Mott street, and afterwards, at other places. Mr. Miller continued to preach in the Delancey Street Church until the edifice, embarrassed with debt, was abandoned. The congregation then retired to a public hall on the Bowery, and next to Sixth street. He re- signed his charge about the end of the year 1838, and subsequently, one hundred and seventy-six of the mem- bers, having been dismissed, formed the "Sixth Street Baptist Church." The "Meeting-House" on Delancey street, concerning which there had been such contention, became a public stable ! OLIVER STREET CHURCH. Oliver was formerly called "Fayette street," and here the portion of the Second Baptist Church com- menced public worship, when a separation took place in that congregation, during the year 1791. As we have before noticed, both parties had claimed the title of the " Second Baptist Church," but relinquishing it, this branch became known as the "Church in Fayette street," and, in 1821, the "Oliver Street Church." In 202 EABLIE^ CHURCHES IN NEW TOEK. the year 1795, this congregation built a house of wor- ship on the corner of Oliver and Henry streets. It was small, and again rebuilt in 1800 ; more permanently during 1819 ; and destroyed by flre^ 1843. A beautiful brick edifice succeeded in the following year. This congregation has been blessed with a regular, able, and permanent ministry, and its success constant. For nearly thirty years, from 1793 to 1822, that excellent and faithful man, the Rev. John WOliams, was the sole pastor. On the 22d of May, 1825, he rested from his Grospel earthly labors, aged fifty-eight. He was the honored father of the present WUliam R. WiUiams, D. D., so well known for his liberal, evangelical piety, learning, and pulpit eloquence among us. In the year 1823, the Rpv. Spencer H. Cone became the colleague of Mr. Williams, and remained pastor of the "Oliver Street Church" untU July, 1841, when he was called to the pulpit of the "First Baptist Church," in Broome street, near the Bowery. ABYSSINIAN CHURCH. This was a little colony from the "Gold Street Church," and constituted with only eighteen members, July 6th, 1809, and for several years they had no regular pastor. A house of worship was obtained on Anthony street, near West Broadway, which had been erected by the "Ebenezer" Church. Here, the Rev. J. Van Velsen and the Rev. Drake Wilson preached for several yearg, until 1824, and then the Rev. Benjamin Paul took charge of the congregation, remaining about six years. When he left, he was followed by the Rev. James EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOBK. 303 Hayborn, in 1833, who remained three years, until removed by death. Then followed successively, the Rev. William J. Loomis and Rev. WiUiam Moore. In 1841, the Rev. Samson White took the spiritual charge of this congregation. The Abyssinian Church has experienced in its history many trials and diffi- culties, especially from pecuniary embarrassments, the building once having been, on this account, sold at pub- lic auction. StUl the little band triumphed over Jhetr trouble, and, at one period afterwards, numbered more than four hundred and fifty communicants. NORTH BEBBAH OHUEOH. This church colonized from the Gold street congrega- tion, November 13th, 1809, meeting for divine services in Vandam, then Budd street. It was called the ' ' North Church," until 1818, then "Bereah" was added. A frame meeting-house was built in Vandam, near Hudson street, and continued to be their place of worship until 1819, when it was destroyed by fire. During the next year, a large and neat brick church was erected on McDougal, near Vandam street, where the Bereans stiU worship Grod. Its first minister was the Rev. C. P. Wyckoff, vho com- menced his labors in 1813, and was succeeded by the Rev. Amasa Smith, 1831. Then came the Rev. Aaron Perkins, 1835, and, in the year 1839, the Rev. Duncan Dunbar, who faithfully preached here a long time. The Berean Church continued very feebly several years, but eventually many members were secured. From these Bereans three other Baptist churches have arisen — 204 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. " Sabin ChuTcli," King street, in 1834; "Berean," 1838; "Providence," 1845; with a number of members dis- missed to aid in founding the Welsh and the Sixteenth Street Churches. In the year 1833, some three hundred communicants still remained. The Baptist is now one of our largest denominations ; and there are a number of other Baptist chiirches in New Tork city ; but as these are not directly traceable to the Gold street or first congregation, our historical plan does not embrace them. EAELIEST CHUEOHES IN NEW YORK. 205 CHAPTER XIX. THE MORAVIAN CHURCH " TJNITAS FRATRXJm" ITS ORIGIN COUNT ZINZENDORF MISSIONS — DAVID BRUCE SENT TO PREACH IN NEW YORK AND ON LONG AND STATEN ISLANDS BISHOP SPANGEN- BERg's visit CAPTAIN GARRISON MISSION COMMENCED ON ST'ATEN ISLAND MINISTERS THERE CEMETERY COMMODORE VANDERBILt'b FAMILY VAULT MR. BINNINGER's GRAVE CHURCH BUILT, 1763 CHURCH RECORDS CAPTAIN JACOBSEN SHOT SAILS A MISSIONARY SHIP PASTORS MORAVIANS IN NEW YORK, 1736 BISHOP BOEH- LER's and ZINZENDORf's VISIT PERSECUTIONS— BISHOP WATTI- VEl's visit FULTON STREET CHURCH BUILT, 1751 PASTORS IN NEW YORK BENJAMIN MORTIMER, WILLIAM VANVLEEK, AFTER- WARDS BISHOP, MR. BIGLER. The United Brethren, or Unitas Fratrum, or Moravi- ans, were originally Bohemian and Moravian Christians, and, persecuted for their religious opinions and non-con- formity in their native lands, founded a colony under Count Zinzendorf. It was located upon an estate of his in 1722, at Upper Lusatia, and called "Herrnhut," from its situation on the southern declivity of a hill. Count Zinzendorf had long entertained the idea of constituting a Christian community on what he believed to be the primitive apostolic congregations. Leaving all the distinctive doctrines of the various Protestant denominations entirely out of his plan, he adopted as articles of faith those fundamental Scripture truths alone in which all agreed. In the year 1727 he thus laid the foundation of the present society of the United Breth- 206 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. ren, afterwards devoting his energy, property, and life to its advancement. They admit no peculiar articles of belief, but confine themselves altogether to regulations of discipline and conduct. Avoiding all discussions on the speculative truths of religion, they insist upon indi- vidual personal experience in the power of the Gospel to produce a real change of sentiment and conduct, as the only essentials in religioii. The Moravians early undertook to preach the Gospel among the heathen na- tions. Their success in this field has been great, and much of their zeal is at this day devoted to the same pious object. The United Brethren in Germany, Eng- land, and America, have boarding-schools for the educa- tion of the young, which have sustained much i*eputation. Those at Bethlehem and Nazareth, in our own land, have afforded an excellent literary and religious education to very many pupils of both sexes. . All kinds of amuse- ment considered dangerous to strict morality, like balls, dancing, plays, and gambling of any kind, are forbid- den in their seminaries. Well would it be for our fash- ionable boarding-schools, where things are done d la mode de Paris, to imitate the pious Moravian teachers of youth in this respect. The Rev. David Bruce was sent to preach to the Moravians in New York and upon Long and Staten Islands. This is the earliest notice of the Brethren's labors on the latter island, where they recently celebrated the centenary of their Church. Tra- dition states that during Bishop Spangenberg' s voyage from Georgia to New York, in 1736, he became inti- mately acquainted with the captain of the vessel, Nicholas Garrison. He was a God-fearing seaman. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 207 and religious services were daily held on Ms vessel. Approaching New York, a severe storm arose, and the vessel being in extreme danger, fear seized all the crew except the pious Moravian, who remained calm, and engaged in fervent prayer. He cheered the dismayed sailors, having confidence that the 'Lord would save them. In a few. hours they safely entered the desired harbor. Tliis Captain Garrison commanded the ship Irene, and was employed in carrying the missionary colonists and stores from the Old to the New World. It is further supposed that he resided on Staten Island, and at his request the "Brethren" began their pious labors there among the settlers. We have authentic written records of several Mora- vian ministers who early visited and preached on Staten Island, from 1742 to 1763, when their first church was built. David Bruce came in 1742 ; Richard Utley, 1747 ; John Wade, 1749 ; Owen Price, 1750 ; Abraham Reinke, Jasper Payne, Abraham Rusmeyer, 1754 ; Rich- ard Utley, 1755 ; Jacob Rodgers, 1756 ; Thomas Yarrel, 1757 ; George Selb, 1761 ; Thomas Yarrel, 1762. These, too, met with opposition on the Island as late as 1789, >l)eing denounced by bigots from other pulpits. In 1756 there were only three communicants in the Mora- vian Church on Staten Island— Mr. Vanderbilt and wife and a lady named Inyard. During the month of Octo- ber, the same year, we find that the Rev. Thomas Yar- rel here attended the funeral services of John Van Deventer, who built the Moravian ship Irene, a large concourse attending, and among them the local and pro- ,vincial officers of Richmond County. 208 EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. The Moravian preachers became acceptable to the people of the island, and they desired the establishment of a cluirch among them. In the year 1762, they re- quested this favor from the ecclesiastical authorities at Bethlehem. The original letter is still preserved among the archives at Bethlehem: "The signers request that the little flock he^e might be remembered, and that a brother might be sent hither to preach the Oospel, and teach the little lambs which had been baptized by the Brethren." For the benefit especially of old Richmond County readers, we add the names signing this epistle : Richard Connor, Stephen Martino, Jr., Tunis Egbert, Jacob Vanderbilt, John Vanderbilt, Aaron Cortelyou, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Cornelius Vandeventer, Stephen Martino, Mary Stillwell, Cornelius Martino, and Peter Ferine. Numerous descendants of these early Mora- vians now reside near the present beautiful church, and many of its gravestones bear the same family names. The well-known Commodore Vanderbilt has here erected a very costly tomb, where the ashes of his venerable mother repose, and where he himself expects to be buried, when his voyage of life is over. We have often visited this sacred spot, and strolled thoughtfully about its heaped-up old graves. Near by the cemetery just referred to is a beautiful marble tomb, erected to the memory of Mr. Binninger. His family is one of the earli- est and best-known of the Moravians in our city. He was a pious young man, and died in the Lord, whilst seeking health, far from home, in sunny Italy. His remains were shipped for 'New York, the vessel wrecked on the coast of Spain, and all on board lost, it is said. The case, EARLIEST CHXJECHES IN NEW TOEK. 209 however, with .the dead body, floated to the shore, was saved, and reshipped to New York, and buried in this beautiful rural spot, resting in hope untU the last trum- pet will call all to the judgment. This burying-ground is very old, as it was used long before the Moravians came to the island. Part of the lot was purchased in 1763, for twenty-five pounds ten ■shillings, current money of the province of New York. In 1860 its area was enlarged. • » On the 7th of July, 1763, the corner-stdne of the Staten Island Moravian Church was laid, the Rev. T. Yarrel, pastor of the church in New York, preaching from Isaiah xxviii. 16 : "Behold, I lay in Zion for a founda- tion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation." The Rev. Hector Gambold was the first resident Moravian minister of this congregation, arriving in the following August. On the 7th of De- cember the church was consecrated, Mr. Yarrel again preaching, from "We preach Christ crucified" (1 Co- rinthians i. 23). We are not digressing, as Staten Island congregation appears to have been only a branch of the Moravian in New York until some years after this period. Its pastor and members were in the habit of visiting the city on com- munion occasions, there to celebrate the Lord's Supper. From the year 1769 to 1779, the official journals of this church have been lost. After 1779, however, the con- gregation communed at their own church, when they must consequently have had an independent formation. Scarcely any records have been preserved of the Staten Island Church during the Revolutionary War. Some 1J. 210 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IW HEW YOEK. British soldiers forcibly entered the parsonage one night, for the purpose of plunder, and did much damage. On another occasion, they endeavored to Ibreak into the house of Captain Christian Jacobsen. Alarmed, he "went to the door, when he was shot by one of the party, and soon after expired. The Captain is well known in Moravian history, as commanding the ship Irene, after Captain Garrison had retired from sea life. While Jacob- sen was master, his vessel was' captured by a French privateer, in 1757, and sent to the cold and barren Cape Breton. On the 12th of January, 1758, she was cast away. Taking to their boats, the crew, thrown upon a desert shore, were forced to work their way, with great toil and danger, through ice and snow, until they reached Louisburg. After this, Jacobsen purchased a ship in London, which he sailed until he built a new one at New York, called the Hope, and she was used by the Moravians in their passages across the Atlantic. In 1784, the Rev. James Birkby ministered to the Staten Island people. During 1787, the Rev. Frederick Moehring arrived, diligently laboring until 1793, and James Birkby to 1797. Moehring' s diary still exists. At the commencement of his ministry, his little flock numbered twenty-seven communicants. He became very intimate with the excellent Dr. Moore, afterwards Bishop of Virginia, frequently visiting the sick together. Moehring died in 1804, the year after he left Staten Island, when Dr. Moore preached a sermon in his memory, at his own parish church, St. Andrew's, Rich- mond. He said that he had been a spiritual father to him, in his pious advice and admonition. EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. 211 During the first half century of this Moravian church, its minister received no fixed salary, the people supply- ing him with provisions, grain, and fuel, &c. About 1798, the amount was fixed at twenty pounds cash, with other benefactions, and the sum was afterwards increased to one hundred and sixty dollars. Prom so small a sup- port, the minister's family often needed the common necessaries of life ; but Moravian Brethren are well- known self-denying followers of their Master. The Rev. N. Brown succeeded Mr. Moeihring in 1803, con- tinuing until he ended his earthly work, 1813. Then came the Rev. J. C. Bechler, and the second Sabbath after his arrival, the congregation celebrated its semi- centenary, October 10, 1813. He selected for his text the same words from which the foundation sermon was delivered, fifty years before : ' ' Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone," &c. At this anniversary, he stated that the archives of the church were defective, from the robbery of the parsonage and its papers during the Revolutionary struggle., Mr. Bechler remained, with much success, until 1817, and was succeeded by the Rev. George A. Hartman. He was consecrated bishop in 1835, and retiring to Herrnhut, Saxony, he died April 17, 1857, aged seventy-three years. Succeed- ing him, came the Rev. Gr. A. Hartman, remaining twenty years, until 1837, whose memory is stiU fragrant on Staten Island. Then followed Ambrose Rondthaler ; in 1839, the Rev. H. G. Clauder, for years a missionary among the Creek Indians. His successor was Rev. Bernard De Schweinitz, whose death occurred July 20, 1854, while on a visit to Salem, North Carolina, to cele- 212 EARLIEST OHUECHES IN NEW TOKK. brate a family reunion. Rev. A. A. Reinke was the next pastor, untU. October, 1860. After this, the Rev. E. T. Senseman, who, in September, 1862, was followed by the Rev. E. M. Leibert, the present beloved pastor, to whose authentic historical address, on the late cen- tennial anniversary in hi% church, we are indebted for much of our present information. From the establish- ment of the Moravian Church on Staten Island untU the present time, thirty- three ministers have preached here, twelve hundred and forty childi'en have been baptized, eight hundred and seven couples married, and twelve hundred and eight burials been attended by the pastors. Now, we consider the branch of the Moravian Church in New York. The Moravian Brethren, or Unitas Fratrum, who emigrated to Georgia in 1735, became acquainted with Jacob Boemper in New York, and made Boemper their agent for the purchase and forwarding of provisions, &o. Boemper was a pious German, and associated with a small circle of spiritually-minded men of different de- nominations, closely united in the bonds of Christian love. Rev. Augustus Spangenberg and Bishop David Mtch- man, passing through New York in the spring of 1736, on their way to Pennsylvania, were hospitably enter- tained by Boemper, and became personally acquainted with other members of this little circle, of whom the followuig are mentioned : Jacob Coelet, Thomas Noble, Richard Waldron, Samuel Pells, Jan Van Pelt, Joris Brinkerhoff, Cornelius Parant, and Peter Venema. In 1739, Rev. Frederic Martin, Moravian missionary on the Island of St. Thomas, spent some time in New EARLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW YORK. 213 York, and on his return from Pennsylvania ("vsrhere a few Moravians were settling), he became intimate with . Thomas Noble and others above mentioned. While in New York, Christian Henry Eanch, the famous Mora- vian Indian missionary, arrived from Germany, 1739. Martin met him, and took him to Thomas Noble's house. About this time, a "Pastoral Letter" from the Church Councils at Amsterdam, against the Moravians, arrived. The clergy were thus incited to preach against the " Brethren," when some of their friends became estranged. The deportment of Christian Henry Eauch, however, went far towards correcting erroneous impres- sions formed of the Moravians by such as were at first influenced by this pulpit war against them. In 1741, Bishop Peter Boehler spent a short time in . New York, while on his way from Pennsylvania to Europe. He organized a society in spiritual connection with the Moravian Church, consisting of nine persons. The following belonged to this earliest society : Thomas Noble and , wife, Ismajah Burnet, Jane Boelen, Martha Bryant (afterwards Nyberg), Helena Gregg (afterwards married to Rev. Hector Gambold, one of the first Mora- vian ministers of the New York congregation), Eliza- beth Hume (afterwards Okelyn), William Edmonds, and Mary Wendower (afterwards Burnside). Thomas Noble and William Edmonds were appointed laborers, or ministers, not in the present general sense of the term, but in its literal sense. They were not ordained preachers, but ministered to the spiritual wants of the society to the best of their ability.* * Est. Mr. Leibert, Staten Island. 214 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOKK. Bishop BoeMer was the first Moravian minister who preached a sermon at New York, in a private house, January, 1741. November, 1741, Count Zinzendorf arrived in New York, with a company of Moravians. He first landed on Long Island, and went to the house of Jacques Cor- telyou, a man of some note. The Count came to New York, December 2, 1741, and lodged at Thomas Noble' s house, who was a strict Presbyterian and a gentleman of influence. Zinzendorf renews or perfects the organi- zation effected by Boehler, and Jacques Cortelyou was appointed lay elder. Persecutions became quite violent from this time. Domine Boel, after preaching a sermon against the Mo- ravians, June 23, 1754, announced to his congregation that he would give them another sermon on the same subject the next Sunday. But he died that week, and at the time of his proposed sermon, his funeral services were held ! As early as the spring of 1743, the little band of Mo- ravians suffered some religious persecution. Bishop Boehler was cited to appear before the mayor of the city, accused of no crime except preaching the Gospel. Without trial, this servant of God was ordered to leave New York, and when he asked the reason for this hard, sentence, it was answered, "Because you are a vaga- bond." The bishop was a learned a,nd pious man, but meekly obeying this arbitrary sentence, he left, and re- mained temporarily with a friend on Long Island. A law had even been passed, but not ratified by the Eng- lish Government, forbidding all Moravian ministers to EARLIEST CHUKCHES IW NEW YOKK. 215 preach for one year ; and two missionaries, travelling through the province of New York to the Indians, in 1745, were seized and cast into prison. These were David Zeisberger and Frederick Post, and arrested at the instigation of the Rev. Mr. Barclay, the Church of England minister at Albany. They were accused of being French spies — strange suspicion against humble Moravian brethren ! But they were found innocent, after strict examination, and released. » In December, 1748, Bishop Johannes de Wattivel :,arrived from Europe, and made a regular organization of the church, its membership numbering less than one hundred. They met, during two years, for worship, in the house of Mr. Noble ; and, in 1751, purchased two lots ■ of ground on Fair street, now Fulton, where they erected a small frame building. Its corner-stone was . laid June 16, 1751, by Rev. Owen Rice, and the sacred edi- fice consecrated by Bishop Spangenberg, June 18, 1752. Moravian ministers who earliest labored in New York, from 1742 to 1757 : 1742. David Bruce. 1743. Peter Boehler (bishop). 1743-1745. Hector Gambold. 1745. 1746. Jacob Vetter. 1746. George Neisser. 1747. Hector Gambold and John Wade. 1748. George Neisser. 1748-50. James Greening. ' 1750-54. Owen Rice and Jasper Payne. 1754. Abraham Reinke, Jasper Payne, and Abraham Rusmeyer. 216 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. 1755. Henry Beck and Ricliard Utley. 1756-57. Jacol) Rogers. 1757. Valentine Haidt. 1757-65. Thomas Yarrel. 1765-75. G. Reiser. 1775. Gustavus ShewMrk. He ministered for a short time, the Revolutionary War breaking up the congre- gation, as it did most others in the city. After the peace, the congregation again collected. The Rev. Ludolph A^iRnsmeyer became pastor, and was succeeded by the Rev. Jamies Birkley and the Rev. Godfrey Peters, who died here, October, 1797. He was the first minister who had finished his course while in the service of this congregation. Next followed the Rev. Messrs. Meder, Bardill, Moulthier, successively, the last for seven years, and closing his ministry with the year 1812. Then the Rev. Benjamin Mortimer, who had been a faithful missionary among the Indians, took this pasto- ral office, successfully discharging its duties for seven- teen years, until his Gospel labors ceased by death in 1829. Thousands of ISTew Yorkers and others will re- member, at the mention of his name, his strikingly mild, dignified, and venerable appearance, and call to mind his sweet and humble piety and character. When he became infirm, a year before his death, the Rev. William Henry Yanvleek commenced his ministry in the Moravian Church, with much success, continuing it until 1836, when he became bishop. The Rev. C. F. Kluger succeeded him, and, in 1838, the Rev. Mr. Bleck became the pastor, who left for Salem, North Carolina, 1842, EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOEK. 217 when tlie Rev. David Bigler was appointed in his place. The old house on Fulton street was sold, and the Mo- ravian Brethren now occupy a new and heautiful place of worship on Houston street, their only one in our large city. We call the former the old house, because, as , was the arrangement with the earliest Moravian churches, the minister's residence was a part of the sacred ediiice, and he went into the sacred desk directly from his dwelling. We have written a long chapter about the Moravian Church, because but little, comparatively, is known about the "Brethren in Unity." They seek not noto- riety, or honor, or the praise of men, but the salvation of souls. They "walk by the same rule," and "mind the same thing." In principle, they have made St. Au- gustine's motto their own — "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty ; in all things, charity." 218 EARLIEST OHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. CHAPTER XX. ORIGIN OF METHODISM CONDITION OF ENGLAND WHEN WESLEY AP- PEARED OPINIONS OF BISHOP BURNET AND ARCHBISHOP SEOKER AND BUTLER WESLEY PREACHING TO THE POOR PALATINES IN IRE- LAND, 1V50 PHILIP EMBURY, THE FATHER OF AMERICAN METHOD- ISM IRISH LAY PREACHERS, SWINDELLS PHILIP GDIER WALSH SOUTHEy's OPINION OF HIM HIS GREAT LABORS AND SUCCESS EMBURY EMIGRATES TO NEW YORK, 1760, DELIVERING HIS LAST SERMON IN IRELAND FROM tHE SIDE OF THE SHIP ANOTHER ARRIVAL, IN 1760, AT NEW YORK, OF IRISH WESLEYANS PAUL RUCKLE, JACOB HECK, AND OTHERS. The lamentation of Bishop Burnet, on the state of the Church in his day, has often been quoted : "I am now," he says, "in the seventieth year of my age, and as I cannot speak long' in the world in any sort, so I cannot hope for a more solemn occasion than this of speaking with all due freedom, both to the present and to the suc- ceeding ages. ... I cannot look on without hanging over this Church, and, by consequence, over the whole Reformation. The outward state of things is black enough, God knows, but that which heightens my fears rises chiefly from the inward state into which we are unhappily fallen."* Archbishop Seeker, at the same period, says : "In this we cannot be mistaken, that an open and professed disregard is become, through a vari- ety of unhappy causes, the distinguishing character of the present age. Such are the dissoluteness and con- * "Paatoral Care." EAELIEST CHUECHEB IN NEW YOEK. 219 tempt of principle ia the higher part of the world, and the profligacy, intemperance, and fearlessness of com- mitting crimes, in the lower, as must, if this torrent of impiety stop not, become absolutely fatal." He further asserts, that "Christianity is ridiculed and reviled at with very little reserve, and the teachers of it without any at all." This sad testimony of the times, it must be remem- bered, was made only one year before that which ©om- memorates the epoch of Wesleyan Methodism. About this time, Butler also publislied his great work, on the Analogy between Religion and the Constitution and Course of Nature, as some check to the infidelity of that age. "It has come to pass," he says, "to be taken for granted that Christianity is no longer a subject of inquiry, but that it is now at lengtli discovered to be fictitious." Southey says: "The clergy had lost that authority by which many almost' command at least the appearance of respect." In the great majority of the clergy, zeal was wanting. Btirnet, in another place, ob- serves : " Our clergy had less authority, and were under more contempt, than those of any other Church in all Europe. It was not that their lives were scandalous, but they were not exemplary, as it became them to be ; and they never would regain the influence they had lost till they lived better and labored more." Such was the moral condition of Protestant old Eng- land when Methodism came forth from the walls of Oxford, not to revive the theological contest between Churchmen and Puritans, but simply to recall the masses to their Bible and their prayers. Wesley formed no 220 EARLIEST CHUEOHES IN NEW YORK. creed for Ms English followers, and in providing, whicli "was absolutely necessary, an organization for Methodism in the New World, where the system was destined to have its widest range, he abridged the "Articles of the Church of England," so as to exclude the most formida- ble of modern theological controversies, and thus enable both Calvinists and Arminians to enter its communion : he prescribed no mode of baptism, virtually recognizing all modes. Some sects strive to sustain their spiritual life by their orthodoxy. Wesley made no such vain attempt, and Methodism has sustained itself for more than a century, by caring especially for its spiritual life ; and it has had no outbreak of heresy, notwithstand- ing the myriads of untrained miads gathered within its communion. In this respect, no other religious body of modern times affords such an example ! It became a revival church in spirit, and a missionary one from its organization. Wherever there was a door opened to preach Christ, there John Wesley and his pious itinerants went. As early as the year 1765, he had visited the settlements of the "Palatines," in Ireland, on his missionary work. " Good Queen Anne," ia 1710, had extended her hands of pity and kindness towards these persecuted Luther- ans. She sent a fleet to Rotterdam, and conveyed seven thousand of them to Protestant England. The Govern- ment granted twenty-four thousand pounds for their im- mediate relief, and Her Majesty assisted three or four thousand of their number to emigrate to America, most of these settling in Pennsylvania and j^orth Carolina. Five hundred families also removed from England to EARLIEST 0HUK0HE3 IK NEW YORK. 231 Ireland, chiefly locating in the County of Limerick. Each settler was allowed eight acres of land, at an an- nual cost of five shillings an acre, which the Government agreed to pay for twenty years. Without any Gospel minister, these Irish Palatines greatly neglected religion, but as soon as Wesley' s itin- erants found them, they readily embraced the truth, which made them "free indeed." A more exemplary people was not then to be found in all Ireland. .The vices of profanity, drunkenness, and Sabbath-breaking, entirely ceased, and no ale-house was permitted among them. Wesley himself visited these Palatine settlements as early as 1750. In June, 1765, he writes : "About noon I preached at BaUingran, to the small remains of the Palatines. . . . Part had gone to America." Here Philip Guier, master of the German school, united with the new sect, the Methodists, and under his tuition Philip Embury, the father of American Methodism, commenced Ms education. As his name is so intimately connected with this type of Christianity, we dwell longer on his interesting history. In the year 1749, one of John Wesley's preachers lifted up his voice in the old city of Limerick. This was Robert Swindells, from, Dublin. In the true spirit of Primitive Methodism, he felt that the whole of Ire- land was his parish. It was on the 17th day of March, "Saint I Patrick's;" the streets were crowded, and among the visitors, many Palatines. That place was intensely Popish, and just as the people were coming from Mass, Swindells, with characteristic boldness, 222 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOEK. commenced singing in tlie streets, and then preached the Gospel truth to the crowds, from "Come unto m6, all ye that lahor and are heavy laden, and I will give yoTi rest." What a spectacle ! a solitary, humble Methodist preacher, without money, friend, or patron- age, standing up boldly on "Saint Patrick's Day," to declare Christ, the only friend of sinners, in Popish Lim- erick, one hundred and fifteen years ago ! God was in the word. Amidst this street congregation there was a young man educated for a Romish priest, whose mind had been also enlightened by plain, honest, praying Philip Guier, the Ballingran schoolmaster. Seeking an interview with Swindells, he abandoned his Roman- ism and sins, and, instead of a priest, became a Metho- dist evangelist. This was the remarkable, useful, and zealous Thomas Walsh, whose name, fragrant with so many pious associations, stUl hngers as a household word among many families in both hemispheres. " One of the few immortal names, That were not bom to die." In the year 1750-52, Mr. Wesley visited Limerick. Vast crowds came to hear him preach, and among others, we doubt not, was Philip Embury, the future evangelist of America. Guier became the first lay-preacher with the Irish Palatines, and to this day, " There goes Philip Guier, who drove the devO. out of Ballingran !" is the salutation which Romanists use as the Wesleyan itiner- ant rides past. Walsh had now begun to preach salvation through faith in Christ alone with wonderful power and success. EAELIEST CHUECHES Iti NEW TOKK. 223 Ilis parents were stern Roman Catholics, and, when a child, they taught him the Lord's Prayer with "Ave Maria" in Irish, his native tongue, and also the one hundred and nineteenth Psahn in Latin. At a later period, Wesley wrote respecting this Irish youth, that he was so thoroughly acquainted with the Bible that, when questioned concerning any Hebrew or Greek word, in the Old or New Testament, after a brief pause he would tell how often it occurred, and its meaning in each place. Such a master of biblical knowledge he declared he never saw before and never expected to see again. When he was converted, he declared that no saint or angel was ever again to be invoked by him, for he now believed that "there is but one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." ISTo man, he resolved, should be- guile him into a voluntary humility in worshipping either saints or angels.* From this time to his death, a more saintly life cannot be found in the records of popu- lar Protestant piety. If he had become a priest, as was early intended, with such devotion, he would have been canonized ; and well may Robert Southey declare that his Ufe "might, indeed, almost convince a Catholic that saints are to be fouhd in other communions as well as in the Church of Rome." He rose at four o'clock in the morning during his whole religious life, to study the Bible, often reading it upon his knees. His memory was a complete concordance, and no Catholic saint ever pored over his breviary more devoutly or diligently than this remarkable man did over the original Scriptures. * Steveiis'a History of Methodism. 224 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YORK. He weut like a flame of fire througli Ireland, preach- ing two or three times a day, and usually in tlie open air. Crowds of all denominations attended Ms ministra- tions, and Ms command of the Irish language gave him great advantage with the native Papists. They flocked to hear him, and would often weep, smiting their hreasts, and invoking the Virgia Mary, with sobbing voices, declared themselves ready to follow this new saint over the world ! One of his hearers called upon Walsh with money saved for masses, when he should be dead. "No man," replied the preacher, "can forgive your sins. The gift of God cannot be purchased with money ; only the blood of Christ can cleanse from sin." "No man, it is admitted," says Southey, "contributed more than Walsh to the diffusion of Methodism in Ireland." During nine years did this remarkable minister pursue his tireless course of doing good, until Ms final triumph and entrance into his promised and everlasting rewards. His last words were : " He is come ! He is come ! My beloved is mine and I am His! — His forever!" and died. But the most extraordinary fact connected with this German Palatine colony in Ireland, and evangelized by the Methodist itinerants, was not conceived at the time by Mr. Wesley ; it was destined to introduce Methodism into the New World. During his visit to these Pala- tines, in 1752, he licensed Philip Embury, one of these converted German Irishmen, as a "local preacher" among them ; and fourteen years afterwards this young man emigrated to New York. Here he opened his own hired house, a humble one-story building, for divine EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOBK. 225 services ; preaching, and forming the first Methodist society in America. In two years more he dedicated the first Methodist chapel in America. Thus was founded American Methodism, a church, as many assert, the predominant Protestant helief ,of the New World, from Newfoundland to California. Embury has left the record of his conversion, written with his own hand, in this evangelical language : "On Christmas Day, being Monday, the 25th December, in the year 1752, the Lord shone into my soul by a glimpse of His redeeming love, being an earnest of my redemption in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Philip Embubt." He married Margaret Switzer, an Irish Palatine, emi- grating to America in 1760, with his wife, two or three brothers, and their families, Paul Heck, wife and family, Yaler Fetle, Peter Switzer (Mrs. Embury's brother), Philip Morgan, and a family of the Dulmages. He delivered his last sermon in Ireland from the side of the ship in which he embarked for America, to a large con- course, some of whom came sixteen miles to hear him. With tears and uplifted, praying hands, he bade them farewell, arriving at Kew York August 10, 1760. During the year 1765, another vessel reached New York from Ireland, with Paul Ruckle and family, Luke Rose, Jacob Heck, Peter Barkman, and Henry WUli^^ms, with their families. These were all Palatines, but only a few of them "Wesleyans," — the emigrants intimate with each other. Embury preached his first sermon in his own house, to a company of six persons, besides his own family. 15 226 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. CHAPTER XXI. METHODIST CHURCH, CONTINUED CAPTAIN WEBB APPEARS RIGGING- LOFT OBTAINED FOR RELIGIOUS MEETINGS JOHN STREET CHURCH BUILT, iVeS, THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH IN AMERICA SUBSCRIP- TIONS TO BUILD THE CHURCH FROM THE VESTRT AND RECTORS OF TRINITY AND OTHERS CAPTAIN WEBb's LIFE BOARDMAN AND PIL- MORE, THE FIRST WESLEYAN PREACHERS TO AMERICA, 1768 AS- BURY AND WRIGHT FOLLOWED, 1771 EMBURy's DEATH- — STRANGE SCENE IN JOHN STREET CHURCH ON A WATCH-NIGHT AN ENGLISH COLONEL THE CAUSE OF IT APOLOGY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES ORGANIZED, 1784-5 RAPID AD- VANCE .SINCE OLD JOHN STREET TAKEN DOWN AND A NEW CHURCH BUILT IN ITS PLACE CHUKCH LIBRARY SUMMERFIBLd's CENOTAPH THIRD CHUECII ERECTED ON THE SPOT IN 1841-^— FATHERS OF METHODIS-M IN NEW YORK^— MR. LUPTON AND HIS DESCENDANTS. About this time, a singular event brought this little Christian band into more notoriety. At one of their re- ligious meetings a military oificer, in full uniform, made Ms appearance, and had come to unite in their devotions. This was Captain Thomas Webb, of the British army, who had, some years before, embraced Christianity under John Wesley's preaching, in Bristol, England, and was licensed by him as a "local preacher." He now became one of the principal agents to establish Methodism in America. A rigging-loft on William - street, No. 120, near John, next was the room for the meetings of the infant Methodist Society. In this humble place, PhiUp Embury and Captain Webb The Old Eiggikg-Loft. First place of Methoflist -worship in Nyw York. EARLIEST CHtlECHES IN NEW YORK. 227 preached, to increasing hearers, Christ and Him cruci- fied. In the changes of our busy city, this venerable building, so identified with earliest Methodism in Amer- ica, remained untU about the year 1855. "Old John Street Church," as it was called, or "Wes- ley Chapel," was next built and consecrated, October 30th, 1768; Mr. Embury, the Palatine, selecting for his text on the occasion, ' ' Sow to yourselves in right- eousness ; reap in mercy ; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." Like Paul, the tent-maker, "with his own hands" did Mr. Embury work as a car- penter on this sacred edifice. He was also a trustee and the treasurer of the new church. This property was obtained from Mrs. Barclay, the widow of the E.ev. Henry Barclay, the second rector of Trinity Church. I have before me a copy of the origi- nal subscribers to the new building. They are two hundred and fifty in number, and the list is a great curiosity. Captain Webb' s is the first and largest sub- scription, thirty pounds ; the next, WHliam Lupton, twenty pounds, which he increased to thirty afterwards. "Mr. Wesley's Prayer-Book," as it was called, was early used in this Methodist Chapel. It has his auto- graph, and the book now belongs to the Rev. Dr. John- son, the rector of the Episcopal Church, Jamaica, Long Island, a relative of Mr. Lupton, and whose name he also bears, William L. The clergy and vestry of Trinity Church also liberally aided the new undertaking. Dr. Auchmuty and the Rev. Messrs. Ogilvie and Inglis, its rectors, all making bene- 228 EARLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW YOEK. factions. Indeed, the most conspicuous citizens seem to have shared in the pious work, for among them We notice Philip and Peter Livingston, Theodore Van Wyck, John H. Cruger, James Duane (Judge), Peter Van Shaick, LL. D., Fredericlt De Peyster, Andrew Hamersley, James De Lancey, Lieutenant-Governor Ed- ward Laight, David Clarkson, Gabriel Ludlow, Joseph Eeade, Mcholas Stuyvesant, Mary Ten Eyck, Mrs. Lispenard, &c., &c. There are other "honorable women," not a few, on the subscription list; and a " Rachel" gave nine shillings, and "Margaret," seven shillings^unknown on earth, their names doubtless are written in the heavenly books. They were likely " col- ored girls" or servants, giving their mite, which was probably the most liberal of the whole. The memory of Captain Webb should be preserved and honored, for his character and exertions, with those of Mr. Embury, form some most important recollections of earliest Methodism in the United States. In the campaign of 1758, and before his conversion, Captain Webb served under General Wolfe. He was present at the memorable battle on the Plains of Abra- ham, when his gallant leader lost his life, and he himself received two wounds, one in his right arm, and another which deprived him of his right eye. Afterward he returned to England, professed religion, becoming a fol- lower of Mr. Wesley. He was soon appointed barrack- master at Albany, and came again to America. When he heard of the newly formed Wesleyan Society in New York, he hastened to their assistance. In his per- sonal appearance. Captain Webb united a portly figure EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 229 witti a fine commanding countenance, wearing over his forehead a strip of black ribbon and a blind, to conceal his wounded eye. This description is in perfect keep- ing with a finely engraved portrait of him, published in London in 1797, a copy of which is in possession of the writer. In this engraving, his right hand is placed on his breast, whilst the left points to a Bible, from which he appears to be discoursing, as it lies with his sword and cap before him. At the botton of the likeness is the coat of arms of his family, with this motto: "I have fought a good fight." From all accounts, he was a plain and very energetic speaker, performing his reli- gious duties without the fear of man. Nor were his pious labors, with those of Mr. Embury, unsuccessful. The people attended in crowds to hear them, until the Wes- leyans were compelled a second time to look out for a larger place of worship. They succeeded iu obtaining a more commodious building, about sixty feet long and eighteen feet broad, which had been erected for a rig- ging-house. The cut is a very correct exterior view of " Old John Street," as the first church was called. Its length was sixty feet, its breadth forty-two, and the walls were built of stone, the face covered over with a blue plaster, ex- hibiting an appearance of durability, simplicity, and plahmess. Entrances to the galleries were subsequently added on each side of the door. The interior was equal- ly plain, and remained many years in an unfinished state. There were at first no stairs or breastwork to the galleries, and the hearers ascended by a ladder, and listened to the preacher from a platform. For a long 230 EAELIEST CHUECHjES IN NEW YOEK. while, even the seats on the lower floor had no backs. At that period in our colonial history, no public religious services could be performed in churches except such as were established by law. Dissenters were therefore compelled to accommodate their places of worship in some way to meet this legal difficulty, which was avoid- ed by attaching a fireplace and chimney to the internal arrangements of Wesley Chapel, as it was thus con- sidered a private dwelling. A- small building of the antique Dutch style stood partly in front of the church, and became, after a while, the parsonage. The sextons used to reside in its basement. Peter Williams, a col- ored man, and one of the oldest members of the Church, served in this office. While a slave, for slavery then existed in New York, he purchased his freedom from hia own industry, and then amassed a respectable property by diligent labor. He lived to see his children well educated, and one son was for years a useful pastor of a Protestant Episcopal Church in this city. The old doorkeeper in the house of the Lord has long since left his post, and entered into that holy temple not made with hands, to go in and out no more forever. Very numerous audiences were soon attracted to Wesley Chapel, "to hear the word." In two years after its dedication, the congregation, which had com- menced, three years before, with six hearers, had in- creased to a thousand and over, at times filling the open area in front of the church. Such was the progress of the society, that Mr. Wesley was strongly solicited to send an able and experienced preacher to their assist- ance. In the letter sent to England with the request, EABLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 231 the members used the following strong and remarkable language : " "With respect to the payment of the preach- er's passage over; if they could not procure it, we would sell our coats and shirts to procure it for them." In answer to these earnest desires, Messrs. Boardman and Pilmore volunteered to be the first Methodist missionaries to this country. They arrived in 1769, and were the earliest itinerant Wesleyan preachers in America. They brought with them fifty pounds, " as a token of brotherly love," to the new church. In addition to these two missionaries, the Rev. Messrs. Asbury and Wright came over in 1771. Captain Webb returned in the mean time to England, and settled at Bristol, where he died at the age of seventy-two years, leaving this last and delightful testimony : "I know I am happy in the Lord, and shall be with Him, and that is all-sufficient." Thus true faith has her crown as well as her cross. His fellow-laborer in the field of early American Methodism, Mr. Embury, retired into the interior, where he closed his useful life in the spring of 1775, without a stone to tell where he lay. His grave was found in 1833, when his bones were removed to a neigh- boring burying-ground at Ash-grove, and here they were again recommitted' to their mother earth, with suit- able religious ceremonies. A plain marble tablet has been placed over his remains, with this inscription : PHILIP EMBFET, THE EAELIEST AMERICAN MINISTER OF THE M. B. OHUROH, HERE FOUND HIS LAST EARTHLY RESTING-PLACE. , "Precioiia ia the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." EARLIEST CHTTECHES IN NEW YOKK. Born in Ireland, an emigrant to New York, Embury was the first to gather" a little class in that city, and to set in motion a train of measures wMcli resulted in the founding of the John Street Church, the cradle of American Methodism, and the introduction of a system which has beautified the 'earth with salvation, and increased the joys of heaven. During the War of the American Revolution, most of the churches in this city were occupied as military pris- ons or hospitals. The Middle Dutch Church, now the Post-office, was a prison and charnel-house to hundreds. No less than three thousand Americans were confined in that ancient temple of the Almighty. Six and eight dead bodies might be seen of a morning conveyed from this sorrowful abode. Its pews were consumed for fuel, and the place was finally occupied as a riding- school for the British cavalry. Two thousand rebel prisoners, so called, Avere incarcerated in the North Dutch Church, William street. The Quaker meeting- house, formerly on Pearl street, was converted into a hospital. Wesley Chapel shared a similar fate, a regi- ment of Americans being confined here for several weeks. The small -pox broke out among them with dreadful fatality, and the whole corps, in consequence, soon after vacated the building. An old Dutch clergy- man, known as Dominie Sampson, occasionally preached in the chapel to the German refugees. Religious meetings at night were then generally for- bidden, but allowed in the Methodist church, as the British imagined, or rather desired, that the followers of Wesley should favor their cause. Still, the -services were sometimes interrupted and disturbed by the rude conduct of men belonging to the army. They would often stand in the aisles with their caps on during divine EAKLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 233 worship, careless and inattentive. On one occasion, before tte congregation was dismissed, they sang the national song, "God save the King." At the conclu- sion, the society immediately began and sang to the same air those beautiful lines of Charles Wesley : " Come, thou Almighty King, Help us Ihy name to sing. Help ns to p^raiso I Father all-glorious, O'er all victorious, Come and reign over us, Ancient of Days I " Jesus, our Lord, arise, Scatter our enemies. And make them fall I Let Thine almighty aid Our sure defence be made. Our souls on Thee be stayed. Lord, hoar our call," &o. Upon a Christmas eve, when the members had assem- bled to celebrate the advent of the world' s Redeemer, a party of British officers, masked, marched into the house of God. One, very properly personifying their master, appeared with cloven feet and a long, forked tail. The devotions of course ceased, and the chief devU, proceeding up the aisle, entered the altar. As he was ascending the stairs of the pulpit, a gentleman pres- ent, with his cane, knocked off His Satanic Majesty's mask, when, lo ! there stood a well-known British colo- nel. He was immediately seized, and detained until the city guard was sent to take charge of the offender. The congregation retired, and the entrances of the church were locked upon the prisoner for additional security. 234 EAELIEST CIIUECHES IN NEW YOElC. His companions outside then commenced an attack upon the doors and windows, but the arrival of the guard put an end to these disgraceful proceedings, and the prisoner was delivered into their custody. This attempt to dis- turb the services originated at the play-house, which at that time occupied a spot not far from the chapel, where Thorburn' s seed-store now stands. The British officers •were often actors, and doubtless obtained their masks and grotesque dresses from this theatrical wardrobe. There was, however, redeeming virtue enough in the British authorities to rebuke the rioters, and the devil- colonel made a public apology for his offence. To atone for what had been done, a guard of soldiers Vas regu- larly stationed, for a long time afterward, at the door of the chapel, to preserve order. A state of war is always inimical to the advancement of morals and religion ; and during the seven years while the foreign foe had possession of New York, it was a season of sorrow and trial to the Wesleyan So- ciety. AU the preachers from England, except Mr. As- bury, were obliged to return home, on account of favor- ing the British king and cause. Many of the society removed into the country, and those who remained in the city, now destitute of their own ministers, would repair to St. Paul' s Church, on Broadway, to receive the sacraments from the hands of an Episcopalian clergy- man. The glorious termination of the severe Revolutionary struggle introduced a brighter day to the Church of Christ. Until now, Methodism in America had been the same as Methodisnt} in England. In its objects, doc- EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 235 trines, and moral discipline, it remains so until this hour ; but Mr. Wesley' s powers over the American So- cieties ceased when the United States became indepen- dent of the political and ecclesiastical authority of the mother country. Accordingly, in the year 1784-5, the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States was organized. From that period, the march of Methodism has been rapid. Previous to the year 1817, six Methodist Epis- copal Churches had been erected in New York. Still more room was needed, especially for the members in the lower part of the city, and it was determined to erect a new and large church upon the spot where Wesley Chapel stood. The old waUs were accordingly demolished on the 13th of May, 1817, the Rev. Daniel Ostrander making a suitable address at the time, and on the first Sabbath of the new year, January 4, 1818, the new church was dedicated to the service of Grod the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Immense congregations attended on the occasion, by estimation not less than two thousand. The Eev. Dr. Bangs, Samuel Merwin, and- Joshua Soule, now bishop, delivered the dedicatory sermons, distinguished for most impressive eloquence, and attended with unusual pathos. The new church was one of the most commodious and beautiful in the city, and served as a model for many throughout the country. Its walls were of gran- ite, partly built from the materials of the old chapel, and the dimensions were sixty-two by eighty-seven feet. The cost was about thirty thousand dollars. It had a large lecture-room, and here was deposited a valaable library for tlie use of the congregation. To the credit of these early Methodists it should be men- tioned, that this collection of books commenced in the year 1792, and "was formerly located in the old parson- age. The example is worthy the imitation of all reli- gious societies. Here, too, was placed the old clock of Wesley Chapel, which still tells the hours of the sanctuary, as it has also marked the flight of so many annual rounds upon that consecrated spot. There was a beautiful cenotaph to the memory of the Rey. John Summerfield placed in the front and out- side wall of the church. He was President of the Young Men's Missionary Society, and its managers erected this memorial to commemorate his virtues, elo- quence, piety, and devotion to the holy cause. The monument is made of finely polished black marble, in the shape of a cone. An urn is fixed upon a pedestal at the base, with a few volumes of books on either side ; and drapery hangs in graceful folds from one part of the urn, while to the right of it there is a scroll half un- rolled. The following tribute, from the pen of Bishop Soule, is inscribed upon the tablet in the centre of the cenotaph : SAOBED aCo tfit JStemora of The Bet. John Summehfield, A. M. " A burning and a shining light." He commenced his ministerial labors in the Connection Of the Wesleyan Methodists in Ireland; But employed the last four years of his life In the itinerant ministry Of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in the United States. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOKK. 237 His mind was stored witli tlie treasures of science ; From a child he knew the Holy Scriptures. Meekness and humility TTnited with extraordinary intellectual powers Exhibited in his character a model Of Christian and ministerial excellence. His perception of truth was clear and comprehensive ; His language pure, And his actions chaste and simple. The learned and the illiterate attended his ministry With admiration, And felt that his preaching was In the demonstration of the Spu:it and of power. Distinguished by the patience of hope And the labor of love, . He finished his course in peace and triumph. BoEN IN Preston, England, January 31st, 1798. Died in this city, June 13th, 1825. This monument was erected by the Young Men's Missionary Society, of which he was President. This second churcli on the earliest spot of American Methodism, continued to be used for its sacred purposes for twenty-four years ; then it was taken down, and the third, which is the present edifice, was erected in 1841. When Wesley Chapel was finished, in the year 1768, the city of Kew York did not extend beyond the pres- ent Park. St. Paul's Church and the Brick Chapel were in the "fields," then so called. Its population did not quite reach twenty-two thousand, and three thou- sand of these were colored. Few cities of the world have increased more rapidly. In less than three-quar- ters of a century afterward, its inhabitants numbered three hundred thousand. The lower part of the city 238 EAELIEST CHURCHES IW NEW YORK. had become the business section, and residences were built far beyond this limit. Many new Methodist, churches liad been provided to meet the wants of this rapidly-growing population. It was now resolved to erect a smaller chapel on the spot, with two four-story brick houses, one on each side, as a source of income. The cut is a very excellent view of the whole. In its external appearance, the church is simple, plain, and neat — the inside beautiful and commodious, with a pulpit in a semicircular recess ; dimensions, forty-two feet by eighty. The basement is above ground ; it is an admirable room for religious meetings, and here may be seen the only relics of old John Street Church — its venerable clock and library. There are two tablets in front, with these inscriptions : this chueoh, the first eeectbd by the methodist society in america, Was built, 1168. Rebuilt, 1817. " According to this time it shall be said, What hath God wrought 1" Numbers zziii. THE FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Rebuilt, A. D. 1841. " This is my rest forever ; here will I dwell." — Psalms. It is a remarkable fact, and worth recording, that although, when Wesley Chapel was first founded, its members were compelled to solicit aid from Mr. Wesley to finish it, their successors own the present beautiful place of worship. Few spots have been thus more sig-, naUy blessed. As long as there are hearers of the Gos- pel in this great metropolis, may this consecrated ground EAELIEST CHUECHE8 IN NEW YOEK. 239 "be devoted to the preacMng of a pure, earnest, and evangelical faith ! Perhaps something should be said about the fathers of Methodism in New York. Among' the first trustees of John Street Church we find Captain Thomas Webb, who was the largest subscriber to the building — thirty- pounds ; WiUiam Lupton, who gave twenty pounds, and afterwards added ten pounds more. He was a mer- chant prince, and adopted this motto : " The church 1&rst, and then my family." He was an Englishman by birth, a man of wealth and piety, and of great service to the infant society. He died in 1794, and was buried in his own vault beneath Old John Street Church. He came to America in 1753, a quartermaster under George II., and belonged to the same regiment with Captain Webb. American Methodism is much indebted to these commis^ sioned pious officers of the British army. Mr. Lupton married a daughter of Brant Schuyler, and their eldest son became a minister in the Reformed Dutch Church. Mrs. Lupton dying in 1769, he then married Mrs. Elizabeth Roosevelt, whose first husband was Dominie Frelinghuysen, of Albany, and the second, Peter Roosevelt. He was a member of John Street Church, but removing to Long Island, where there was no so- ciety of this denomination, he became an Episcopalian, as his respectable descendants are now. Mr. Lnpton's second wife was a daughter of Lancaster Syms, a vestry- man of Trinity Church. Dr. Ogilvie, the well-known rector of that parish, married another daughter of Mr. Syms. Mr. Lupton' s daughter, Elizabeth, married the Rev. 240 EABLIEST CHTJECHES IN WEW YORK. John B. Johnson, of tlie Reformed Dutch Church ; and a daughter of hers, Maria, became the companion of the Rev. B. M. Johnson, Brooklyn. William Lupton John- son, D. D., of Jamaica, Long Island, named after his grandfather, and his brother, the Rev. Samuel Roose- velt Johnson, D. D., of the Protestant Episcopal Semi- nary, New York, are also children of Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson. How remarkably have the descendants of William Lupton, of old John Street Methodist Church, been blessed ! % Paul Heck, or Hick, Philip J. Arcularius, Thomas Carpenter, Abraham Russel, Israel Disosway, Joseph Smith, Andrew Mercien, George Suckley, Stephen Dan- do, were also early trustees of this congregation, and have all "died in the faith." Their descendants, num- bering hundreds, are among our best citizens in Church and State. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 241 CHAPTER XXII. DESCRIPTION OF NEW NETHERLAND, BY FATHER ISAAC JAQUBS, A JESUIT MISSIONARY, 1664 HIS JOURNEYS MURDERED BY THE IN- DIANS EARLIEST CATHOLIC FAMILIES IN NEW YORK GOVERNOR DONGAN LAWS AGAINST THE ROMAN CATHOLICS NEGRO PLOT CATHOLIC PRIEST OFFICIATING IN NEW NETHERLAND JAMES II., ON THE THRONE, FAVORS HIS OWN CREED DONGAN RECALLED WIL- LIAM AND MARY PROCLAIMED KING AND QUEEN THE ENGLISH CHURCp BECOMES THE ESTABLISHED ONE IN NEW YORK PERSBCU- TIONS-: — A CONGREGATION FORMED IN 1783 ST. PETEr's, BARCLAY STREET, BUILT IN 1786 REV. MR. NUGENT ITS MINISTER HIS SUC- CESSORS — ST. Peter's rebuilt in 1836, bishop dubois laying the CORNER-STONE ST. PATRICK'S FOLLOWED, IN 1815 HERB BJSHOP hughes RESIDED THE" CATHOLICS PURCHASE DR. LYBLl's EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ANN STREET DR. MoLEOd's, CHAMBERS STREET THE OLD UNIVERSALIS!, ON DUANE STREET, AND THE PRESBYTERIAN ON ASTOR PLACE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH REV. JOHN MURRAY THE EARLIEST PREACHER A SOCIETY FORMED REV. EDWARD MITCHELL BECOMES THEIR MINISTER THEY PURCHASE A CHURCH ON PEARL STREliT, AND SOON AFTER ERECT THE BRICK CHURCH ON DUANE STREET, NEAR CHATHAM MR. MITCHELL CONTINUED THEIR MINISTER UNTIL HIS DEATH, A PERIOD OF FORTY YEARS HIS SUCCESSORS IN THE MINISTRY. One of the earliest notices we find of New York is, "A Description of New ]S"etlierland, in 1644," Tby Father Isaac Jaques, a Jesuit missionary. He says: "No re- ligion is pubUcly exercised but tlie Calvinist, and orders are to admit none taut Calvinists ; taut this is not ota- served ; for there are, taesides Calvinists, in the colony, 16 242 EAELIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW TOBK. Catholics, English. Puritans, Lutherans, Anahaptists, here called Mnistes, &c." .... " On this island of Manhate, and in its environs, there may well be four or five hundred men of different sects and nations. The Director-General told me that there were persons there of eighteen different languages." Such was our great metropolis two hundred and twenty years ago. Jaques was a very early French missionary from Paris to Canada, arriving at Quebec in the year 1636, and thence proceeded to the Huron country. Captured by the Mohawks, he suffered almost every torture short of the stake. After a year' s captivity, he escaped to the Dutch at Fort Orange (Albany), from whom the missionary re- ceived most kind treatment. But his savage captors following, the Dutch refused to surrender him, and he was sent to New Amsterdam. There Governor Kieft, politely receiving the missionary, furnished him a passage to France. Shipwrecked on the English coast, with the loss of all he had, he finally reached his native land in utter destitution. After peace with the Mohawks, Father Jaques again returned to Montreal, and was selected as ambassador, to exchange ratifications with those Indians. He set out in May, 1646, passing through Lakes Champlain and George, naming the last "St. Sacrament," and reached Fort Orange in June. Thence, he visited the Indians ; and in September again sta,rted for the Mohawks, as a missionary of the Gospel, and reached Gandawwaga, the scene of his former, captivity, on the 27th of September. Jaques, on his former departure, had left a little box containing some trifling articles. The EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 243 harvest came, and the worm had spoiled the In- dians' fields and crops, and vthey imagined that the l30x held the Evil Spirit which had ruined them ; and in revenge, the missionary was doomed to die. He was invited to sup in one of ,tli& cabins, and, entering the door, received a blow, and fell dead to the earth. N^xt, decapitated, his head was fixed to the palisades of the village, and the body thrown into the Mohawk River. * Thus perished, in his fortieth year, as far as we have ascertained, the first missionary in New York ; and it is supposed that he was murdered in Montgomery County. A copy of the original French MS. was presented to the Regents of the University by the Rev. Mr. Martin, Superior of the Jesuits in Canada. Fourteen years after this (1658), orthodoxy and hetero- doxy came to blows on one occasion in New Wether- land. A Frenchman and an Englishman were arrested by the sherift' of "Breukelen," charged with refusing to support the Rev. Dominie Polhemus. The old record says : "They most insolently pleaded frivolous excuses ; the first, that he was a Catholic ; the other, that he did not understand Dutch," They were each fined twelve guilders.* The earliest Catholic families settled in New York during the administration of Governor Dongan, about 1685, under the reign of James II. The Governor was a Roman Catholic, and the preju- dices of the people became strong against his Church, and, under the administration of subsequent governors, very oppressive laws were passed against the exer- * Alb. Eec, siv. 184. 244 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. cise of its religion. By a law, enacted (1700) in the reign of William III. , every Catholic and Jesuit priest, who wonld come voluntarily into the colony, should be condemned to death. Thanks to more noble and Christian feelings, there- is no evidence that this out- rageous statute was ever enforced ! In August, 1741, John Ury, an Englishman, a reputed Catholic priest, was publicly executed in the city ; but we must re- member that he was indicted for being concerned in the "Negro Plot," a supposed conspiracy of the blacks, and othei's, to burn the place and murder its inhabitants. 'Nor is there any evidence that the law, passed against the Catholics, was brought into view at all in this case. Ury was a schoolmaster, and in vain did the poor man declare that he was a nonjuring clergyman of the Church of England, and could prove, by reliable witnesses, that he never associated with the negroes. He was con- demned and hung ! Infamous law, verdict, and act ! There were other Roman Catholic clergymen in New York, according to the catalogue of the Society of Jesus. It records, that "Father Thomas Harvey (Soci- ety of Jesus), a native of London, was in New York from 1683 to 1690, and subsequently in 1696, the interval being spent in Maryland, where he died in 1796, setat. eighty-four. Father Henry Harrison, Society of Jesus, was in New York in 1685, and returned to Ireland in 1690, and in Maryland, 1697. Father Charles Gage, Society of Jesus, was also employed there in 1686 and 1687."* Gage was stationed, an old account says, "at Norwich, the capital of Norfolk, at a very celebrated * Dog. Hist., iii. 110. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 245 cliapel, where Father Charles Gage excited a wonderful sensation by his sermons, and labored so zealously in that vineyard, that the faithful unanimously addressed a letter of thanks to the Father Provincial, for having provided them with such a distinguished preacher." Netherlands became a British province under the Duke of York, in the year 1644. He was a zealous Roman Catholic, and an avowed opponent to the Pro- testant faith, and upon his accession to the British throne, as the royal James II., he aroused the distrust of the American colonists, by elevating to power those of his own persecuting creed. It became, very naturally, his settled purpose to convert the Indians, and encourage Catholicism in his dominions. Romanists began to emi- grate rapidly, and the Collector of Customs, with several officials, were avowed Papists. Many of the citizens, especially the Waldenses and Huguenots, who had fled to this land from the religious persecutions of France, grew jealous of the Catholic influence, and feared its spread. Governor Dongan, although a Romanist, exhibited great religious toleration ; but this wise and judicious policy displeasing his royal master, he was suddenly recalled to Europe. Returning afterwards, he settled on his "Manor," Staten Island, the property remaining many years in the possession of his family. The attempt of James to restore the Catholic religion made hiin odious to the British people, and the birth of a son, in the year 1688, destroyed all hope of a Protest- ant succession. But the mails soon brought to the American colonists cheering intelligence. William, 246 EAELIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW YOEK. Prince of Orange, wlio had married Mary, the eldest daughter of King James, and was the champion of Pro- testantism in Europe, invaded England. The people everywhere flocking to his standard, William and Mary were proclaimed King and Queen of England. Poor, bigoted James, deserted even by his own children, sought refuge in benighted Catholic FraiUce ! Thus fare religious tyrants. These good tidings reached America in 1689, causing great excitement, and William and Mary were proclaimed on the British throne, by the flourish of trumpets through the colonies. The English Church now became established in-our land, and, like aU established "National" churches, at times itiaterfered with the precious rights of conscience. Our Divine Master teaches a different lesson. Before the American Revolution, New York was the depot of the captures by the British cruisers. In the year 1778, a large armed French prize-ship arrived for condemnation. The Rev. Mr. De la Motte, an Au- gustin Catholic priest, was her chaplain, and, with other officers, was allowed liberty, on parole of honor. His countrymen solicited religious services according to the forms of the Romish Church, when he applied for the proper permission from the public authorities. But this was refused, and De la Motte, not understanding the English language, imagined that he had obtained his request. Then he commenced the services, when he was arrested and closely confined until exchanged. This exclusion continued as long as the British laws prevailed, and no Roman Catholic priest was permitted to discharge the duties of his office in the colony of EARLIEST CHUECHES Ilf NEW YORK. 247 New York. Our National Independence acknowledged, every man, thanks be to God, has been allowed to wor- ship Him according to the free dictates of his own con- science. The Roman Catholics, availing themselves of this com- mon privilege, formed a congregation in New York, November, 1783, under the ministry of the Rev. Andrew Nugent. It is believed that he was sent here by the Bishop of Maryland. Vauxhall Garden then was situa- ted on the margin of the North River, between Warren and Chambers streets. Here a suitable building was erected for their religious services, and one of the most active men in its introduction was Sieur de St. Jean de Crevecoux, French consul for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Himself, with Jose Roix Silva, James Stewart, and Henry Dufflin, became incorporated, June 11, 1785, by the name of the ' ' Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church in the city of New York." This place not being well suited to its religious purposes, an appli- cation was made for the use of the "Exchange," then a building at the foot of Broad street, and occupied as a court-room. But failing in this attempt, measures were taken to erect a new church on the corner of Church and Barclay streets. It was a brick edifice, forty-eight feet by eighty-one in size, and finished far enough to have Mass celebrated for the first time on November 4, 1786. On this occasion the Rev. Mr. Nugent, the pastor, con- ducted the services, assisted by the chaplain of the Spanish ambassador and the Rev. Jose Phelan. In the following spring its name became " St. Peter's Church." Mr. Nugent officiated here until 1788, when the Rev. 248 EAELIEST CHUBCHES IN NEW" TORK. William O'Brien succeeded him in the priesthood, and continued to the day of his death, in the year 1816. Next came in the sacred office John Power, D. D., with the Rev. Charles C. Pise, D. D., as colleague. From the increasing congregation, it became necessary to rebuild "St. P'eter's," when it was taken down in 1836, and a most substantial stone edifice erected in its place. Bishop Du Bois laid the corner-stone, October 26, 1836, and duringlthe following September public ser- vices commenced in the basement, and Bishop Hughes consecrated the new building February 25, 1838. For more than thirty years " St. Peter's," in Barclay street, was the only Roman Catholic Church in JSTew York city, its sacred aisles often overcrowded, and its worshippers at times occupying the public street in front. This sight we have often witnessed. ST. PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL. To relieve St. Peter's, and accommodate the rapidly increasing Roman Catholic denomination, ' ' St. Patrick' s Cathedral" was founded, in the year 1815. It was a very spacious stone edifice, one hundred and twenty feet long and eighty Avide, on the corner of Mott and Prince streets, and enlarged a few years afterwards by the addi- tion of thirty-six feet to its length. Although it has no galleries, except the "organ-loft," two thousand persons (Jan be accommodated within its spacious walls and pews. " St. Patrick's Cathedral" is considered the seat of the Episcopate in this Diocese, and here then resided Bishops Hughes and McCloskey, with their subordinate EAELIEST CHUECHES Ilil NEW TOEK. 249 clergy. After tMs period, a number of new Eoman Catholic congregations sprang up in various sections of tlie city. Some old cliurclies of the other denominations "were purchased by the Catholics for their religious pur- poses. In 1826 they thus became owners of the Episco- pal church in Ann street, once Dr. Lyell's. The Rev. Felix Yarela, from Spain, was priest ; and it was de- stroyed by fire in 1834, when two new churches followed —the one on James street, 1835, continuing the" legal title of' "Christ Church," and the other, purchased in 1836, the "Reformed Presbyterian" house of worship on Chambers, calling it the " Church of the Transfigura- tion." Dr. Varela continued this pastoral charge. The Catholics also purchased the old Universalist church in Duane, near Chatham, naming it "St. An- drew's," and at the time under the pastoral care of the Rev. John Maginnis. So also passed away the Pres- byterian church on Astor Place, formerly Dr. Mason' s, in Murray street. What a comment on the changes of our ever-changing city ! The materials of the old church " down town" were brought to this spot and rebuilt in 1842. Those venerable walls, which so long resounded with the impressive, truthful appeals of Dr. Mason, the most eloquent preacher in his day, now witness the Mass and the dull monotonies of Romanism ! UNIVERSALIST CHURCH— (Itge). Among the old churches of ISTew York must be ranked the "Universalist." At an early period, the Rev. John Murray and other preachers of this faith occasionally visited our city and held religious meetings. After sev- 250 EARLIEST CHTJRCHES IN NEW YORK. eral years, three prominent memlaers of the John Street Methodist Society embraced the new doctrine of a lim- ited future punishment, with the final salvation of all men. On account of these opinions they withdrew from that congregation in April, 1796, and during the next month, with several others, fourteen in aU, formed the "Society of United Christian Friends in the city of Wew York." This society, at first, held their religious meet- ings in a private house, but, their members increasing, a small edifice was erected on Vandewater street, near Frankfort. For some seven years they conducted their meetings among themselves, using their own gifts. Mr.' Mitchell was an Irishman, and a man of much natural eloquence, and was ordained their preacher, July 18, 1803. The society stiU enlarging, the members pur- chased a house of worship erected on Pearl, between Chatham and Cross streets. In the spring of 1810, Mr. Mitchell received an invitation to preach in Bos- ton, as colleague with the Rev. John Murray, which he accepted. Recalled, however, to JSTew York, he returned, in the year 1811, to his former flock. Soon a new and larger house was required, when a neat and substantial brick church was built, on the corner of Duane and Augustus streets, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. Mr. Mitchell remained faithful in this pastoral relation until his death, in the year 1834, having been connected with the Universalist Society for a period of forty years. Mr. Brouwer and Mr. Snow, however, the other founders of the body, returned in after years to their old' Methodist fold in John street, both reaching well-known honorable old ages. EARLIEST CIITJECHES IN NEW YOEK. 251 After tlie death of tlie Rev. Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Edward Cook took charge of the society for a year, and then the Rev. Mr. Pickering, during two. By this time, the con- gregation considerably reduced and others established, in 1837 they rented their house of worship to the "West Baptist Church," and retired to a public hall on Forsyth street. Subsequently the place was sold to the Roman Catholics, who have greatly beautified it and continue tieir worship there. After this, the "Society of United Christian Friends," or the " First Universalist Church," ceased to assemble for public worship. Several other Universalist churches, however, sprang up in various sections of the city. 252 EARLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW YOEK. CHAPTEK XXIII. HUGUENOTS AMONG THE BAELIEST EMIGRANTS TO AMERICA — THEIR FIRST MINISTERS EDICT OF NANTES HENRY IV. FALL OF ROCHELLE EDICT REVOKED EMIGRATION OP THE HUGUENOTS ADMIRAL COLIGNY (1555) FRENCH PROTESTANTS REACH CHARLES- 'TON, BOSTON, AND NEW ROCHELLE REV. DANIEL BONDET NEW PALTZ (1677) WALLOON CHURCHES STATEN ISLAND. Among the earliest emigrants to America were the Huguenots, or French Protestants. The sacred rights of conscience brought them here, and they "brought their ministers of religion, a pure faith, and their Bibles with them. What greater treasures could have emigrated? We devote a chapter or more to the history of their earliest preachers in America, as very little is com- paratively known of these excellent, self-denying Chris- tian missionaries to our land. The famous Edict of Nantes, to speak accurately, was a new confirmation of former solemn treaties between the Fi-ench Gov- ernment and the Huguenots, or French Protestants. It was, in fact, a royal act of indemnity for all past ofifences. From the rolls of the superior courts the ver- dicts against the " Reformed" were erased, and to these pious Frenchmen unlimited liberty of conscience was recognized as a right. This important " Edict" marked for France the close of the Middle Ages and the true commencement of modern times. The document itself EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOKK. 253 "was sealed with the great seal of green wax, to testify its perpetual, irrevocable character. Henry lY., in sign- ing it, triumphed completely over the usages of the "Middle Ages," whilst the illustrious monarch wished nothing less than to grant the " Reformed" all the civil and religious rights which their enemies had refused them. France now, for the first time, raised herself above religious parties. StUl, such a new state policy did not fail to arouse the clamors of the violent, with the hatred of the factious. Henry, the sovereign, however, remained firm. "I have enacted the Edict," he said to the Parlia- ment of Paris ; "I wish it to be observed. This must serve as the reason why : I am king ; I speak to you as king. I will be obeyed." Royal language this. And to the clergy he added : ' ' Thy predecessors have given you good words, but I, with my gray jacket, — I will give you good deeds. I am aU gray on the outside, but I am all gold within." Honored be the memory of Henry IV. for such noble and generous sentiments ! During the first half of the seventeenth century more than eight hundred Reformed Churches could be counted in France, with sixty-two Conferences. Such was the prosperity of the Huguenot, Protestant, or Evangelical party in that vast kingdom until the fall of brave Rochelle, then emphatically called the " Citadel of Reform ;' ' and this great misfortune terminated the long religious wars of France. But, strange and wonderful to relate, amidst all this national religious prosperity and happiness, France again was to appear before the world the persecutor of her virtuous and religious citizens — the fatal destroyer 254 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOKE. of her own best interests. On the 22cl October, 1685, the famous Edict of Wantes was revoked ; in a word, Protestant worship was entirely abolished, under the penalty of arrest, with the confiscation of goods. In a fortnight. Huguenot ministers were ordered to quit the kingdom. Protestant schools were closed, and the laity forbidden to follow their pastors under severe and fatal penalties. But, in spite of all these enact- ments and persecutions, the Huguenots began to leave France by tens of thoiisands. It is impossible, in our day, to ascertain the correct amount of this emigration. But, assuming that one hundred thousand Protestants were distributed among twenty millions of Roman Catholics, we think it safe to calculate that from two hundred and fifty to three hundred thousand, during fifteen years, expatriated themselves from France. Sis- mondi estimates their number at three or fpur hundred thousand. Reaching London, Amsterdam, and Berlin, these French refugees were received with open arms and purses ; and thus Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Prussia, Holland, and America, all were profited by this wholesale proscription of perse- cuted pious Frenchmen. All agree that, wherever they went, they introduced the industry and arts by which they had enriched their own native land, thus abun- dantly repaying the kindness and hospitality of those countries which afforded them that safe asylum cruelly denied them in their own. This bird's-eye view of the French "Huguenots,*' "Protestants," or "Refugees," and their expulsion EARLIEST CHUEOHES IN NEW TOKK. 255 from France, we have taken for a better understanding of our present subject ; at this period there is increased attention to historical research, and we gladly contribute our mite to the important cause. The brave Admiral Coligny first conceived the plan of a colony in America, for the safety of his French persecuted Huguenot brethren. It was undertaken as early as the year 1555, but failed ; again attempted in 1562, and alike unsuccessful. But a century afterwiards, Protestant England took up the generous plans of the pious old Admiral, and with success. That nation then possessed twelve colonies in North America, and, when the Edict of Nantes was revoked, resolved here to offer safe homes to the persecuted French Protestants. Even before the Revocation, as early as 1625, some "refugee" families reached the settlement of New Amsterdam. In 1663, distribution of lands was made in Charleston to the Frenchmen, Richard Batin, Jacques Jones, and Richard Deyos, who were put in possession of freeholders' rights, and placed on a footing with the English colony.* Like concessions were made to other Huguenots. During 1679, Charles II. ordered two ves- sels to transport, at his own expense, French Protest- ants to Carolina, and in the next year some two thou- sand five hundred more selected this region for their homes. About the same period, others emigrated to Boston, where they erected a church in 1686. Their pastor was a refugee minister, named M. Lawrie, who was assisted by the Rev. Daniel Bondet, A. M. We shaU learn more of this early missionary at New Ro- * Weiss's Huguenots. 256 EAELIEST OHUECHES IN NETV TOEK. chelle. New Oxford, near Boston, -was the Frencli colony, and in 1686 it received from Massaclrasetts the liberal benefaction of eleven thousand acres of lands. A large body of the Huguenots went to Ulster, Kew York, a region, like their own native land, celebrated for its fertility and great natural beauties. 'New Paltz was settled in 1677, and for the information of many readers, we insert the original purchasers : Louis Du- bois ; Christian Dian, since Walter Deyo ; Abraham As- brouccf, now spelled Hasbrouck; Andrew Le Fever, often Le Febre and Le Febvre ; John Brook, said to have been changed into Hasbrouck ; Peter Dian or Deyo ; Louis Bevier ; Anthony CrispeU ; Abraham Dubois ; Hugo Frier ; Isaac Dubois ; Lemon Le Fever. A copy of this ancient agreement with the Indians still exists, and the curious antiquarian may find it among the State liecords at Albany. It is a very sin- gular document, with the signatures of both parties ; the patentees written in the antique French character, with the Indian hieroglyphic marks. A few ' ' Indian goods, ' ' kettles, axes, beads, bars of lead, powder, blankets, needles, twine, awls, with a clean pipe, were the insig- nificant articles given for these lands, now proverbially rich, and worth millions of dollars. This treaty was eventually executed on the 20th of May, 1677. During the last twenty years of the seventeenth cen- tury, the Huguenot emigration into Holland became a political event, and the first bloody " Dragoonade " gave the signal in 1681. HoUand, glorious Protestant Hol- land ! of all lands received most of the French Kefugees. Bayle called it "The grand ark of the refugees." No EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 257 documents exist by which their nnmbers can be correctly computed, but they have been estimated by historians from fifty-five to seventy-five thousand souls. The greatest numbers were to be found at Amsterdam, Rot- terdam, and the Hague. In 1680, there were not less than sixteen French pastors to the Walloon churches at Amsterdam. The Walloons and the Huguenots, in fact, were the same Protestant people — oppressed and perse- cuted Frenchmen. Of the former, as early as the year 1622, several families from the frontier, between Belgium and France, turned their attention to America. They applied to Sir Dudley Carleton for permission to settle in the colony of Virginia, with the privilege of electing their own magistrates. 'But the Virginia Company seemed to have imagined this request and privilege too republican. Hence many Walloons looked toward New Netherland, where some of their number arrived in 1624, with the Dutch Director Minuit. These French emigrants first settled on Staten Island, but afterward removed to " Wahle Botch," or the Bay of Foreigners, since anglicized or corrupted into Walla- bout. To the Chamber of Amsterdam was committed the superintendence of this new and extensive country, and this body, in 1623, had dispatched an expedition in the "New Netherlands," " wlfereof Cornelius Jacobs, of Hoorn, was skipper, with thirty families, worthy Wal- loons, to plant a colony there." They arrived in the beginning of May, 1623. In 1625, three ships and a yacht reached Manhattan, with more families, farming implements, and one hundred and three head of cattle. These were the earliest Huguenot settlers of which we 17 258 EAPIilEST CHtTECHES IN NEW YORK. have found any autllentic records. As yet there were no clergymen in the colony , of New Netherlands, hut two visitors, of the sick, as they were called in the Dutch settlements, were appointed for their important and pious duty, and also to read God's Word to the people on Sundays. Thus, more than two hundred, years ago, was laid the corner-stone of our Empire State, qn the firm and sure foundation of justice, morality, and religion. This historical fact places the ■ character of the Dutch and French settlers in the most honorable light. The Rev. Joannes Megopolensis, as early as 1642, took charge of the Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, and five years afterward became the Dominie at Manhattan. In 1652, he selected the Eer. Samuer Drissius for his colleague, on account of his knowledge of the French and English. From his letters, we learn that he visited Staten Island once a month, to preach there to the French Protestants. His ministry continued from 1652 to 1671. About 1690, the New York Consistory invited the Rev. Peter DaiUe, who had ministered among the Massa- chusetts Huguenots, to preach occasionally in French on Staten Island. From 1656 to 1663, more French emi- grants from the Palatinate obtained grants of land on the island, and in 1675 they erected a church near Rich- mond village. I have often visited the venerable spot, and all that remains to mark the sacred place is a single broken gravestone. Nor is any record of its history left. Second John Steeit Ciictecii. Wesi.ev CitAPEL, OR First John Strekt CncrKcir. EAELIEST CHUEOHES IK NEW YOEK. 259 CHAPTER XXIV. HUGUENOT REFUGEES SETTLE NEW BOCHELLE, 1698 CHURCH OR- GANIZED AND BUILT DAVID BONREPOS, D. D., FIRST PASTER PREACHES ON STATEN ISLAND EECBIVES " LETTERS OF DENIZA- TION" MANOR OF PELHAM DANIEL BONDBT THE NEXT HUGUENOT MINISTER HIS- EARLY HISTORY MISSIONARY TO THE NIPMOG INDIANS, 1693 — -WAIi COMPELS HIM TO LEAVE CALLED TO NEW ROCHELLE SALARY THIRTY POUNDS PRAYERS IN FRENCH HIS CONGREGATION CONFORMS TO THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND, 1709 NEW CHURCH BUILT GOVERNOR HUNTER NEGRO COMMUNICANTS ■ — -LEWIS ROUX, HUGUENOT MINISTER IN NEW YORE— BONDEt's DEATH, 1722— 'PIERRE STOUPPE SUCCEEDS HIM — THE " ANCIENS," OR ELDERS NEGRO BAPTISMS FRENCH "DISSENTERS" MR. MOU- LINARS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT OF NEW ROCHELLE MR. STOUPPb's DEATH, 1760 BURIED UNDER CHANCEL OF THE CHURCH HIS SUCCESSOR, BEV. MICHAEL HOUDIN. In the Documentary History of JSTew York* we find a "Petition from New Rochelle," of "above twenty" Huguenots, or French. Protestants, asking Governor Fletcher "to grant them for some years what help and privileges your Excellency shall think convenient" (1689). By the pious emigrants and sufferers for con- science, sake the village was first settled, naming it after their " Own Eoohelle, the fair Eoohelle, , Proud city of the waters." Tradition says they landed on Davenport' s JSTeck. But coeval with the commencement of the settlement was the organization of a Protestant church, in which the * Vol. iii. p. 926. 280 EARLIEST OHTJECHES IN NEW YOKK. Huguenots adhered to the pure principles of their pious forefathers, as contained in the "Articles, Liturgy, Dis- cipline, and Canons, according to the usage of the Reformed Church in France." "It was for their reli- gion," they said, "that they suffered in their native country ; and to enjoy its privileges unmolested, they fled into the wilderness." A church was immediately erected, about the year 1692-3, and constructed of wood, "in the rear of the Mansion House, close by the old Boston Eoad."* Louis Bongard, at the same time, "did give unto the inhabi- tants of New Rochelle a piece of land forty paces square for a churchyard to bury their dead," ... to "have a particular lane or road from Boston Road going to the churchyard, all along the swamp . . . making a door (gate) which shall be shut by those who will make use of it."— (Town Records of New Rochelle, p. 20.) Sub- sequently the town gave a house and three-quarters of an acre to this church forever. At this early period the Rev. David Bonrepos, D. D., was the first minister of this Huguenot church. He accompanied the emigrants in their flight from France, but we have ascertained nothing concerning his minisr try, except his resignation, in 1694. The following year, we find him laboring among the French Protestants on Staten Island, as the Rev. John Miller, describing the province of New York, states (1695) : " There is a meet- ing-house at Richmond, of which Dr. Bonrepos is the minister. There are forty English and thirty-six French families." On the 9th of March, 1696, "David de * Bolton's History of the Olmroh in Westchester County. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TORK. 261 Bonrepos, of New York city, Doctor of Divinity, and Blanche, Ms wife, did grant to Elias de Bonrepos, of New Eocltelle, husbandman, all that certaia parcel of land situate and lying at New Rochelle, in the Manor of Pelham . . . containing fifty acres of ground."* On the 6th of February, 1695-6, "letters of deniza- tion were granted to David Bonrepos and others. Elias Bonrepos was licenced to keep school withia y° town of Rochelle, upon the 23d of June, 1705."t Thus we discover that the minister and the schoolmaster came together with the Huguenots to America. Letters of administration were granted to Martha Bonrepos, wife of David Bonrepos, 25th of October, 1711.$ On the 24th of March, 1693, the General Assembly of the JSTew York Province passed an act by which the name of Pelham became one of the four districts of Westchester parish, and in 1702 New Rochelle contributed seven pounds three sMliings towards the rector's salary. During 1720 the benefaction increased to twelve pounds fourteen shil- lings one and a half pence. The Rev. Daniel Bondet, A. M., a native of France, was the next minister of the Huguenot church, New Rochelle. Born in 1652, he studied divinity and en- tered the ministry at Geneva, but fled to England upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Here he obtained holy orders from the Bishop of London, Henry Comp- ton, and reached Boston, with a company of French Protestants, in the summer of 1686. He was then em- ployed, also, during eight years, by the Society for * Town Eec, Lib. A., 304-5. f Albany Deed Book, vol. x. 65. J New Tork Surr9,'j;ate's OfBce, Lib. viii. 61. 262 EARLIEST CHTTECHE8 IN NEW TOEK. Propagating the Christian Faith among the Indians at New Oxford, near Boston. These were the "Mp- mugs;" and Cotton Mather, 1693, speaks of him as a faithful minister "to the French congregation at New Oxford, in the Mpmug country."* He complained of the sale of rum to the Indians " without order and meas- ure ;" a public disgrace and evil, alas ! fatally continued among the poor Red Men of the forests to oilr day. This settlement was broken up by the Indians in the year 1696, where he had labored on an "allowance of a salary of twenty-five pounds a year, and consumed the little he brought with him from France in settling himself for that service, and being afterwards, by reason of the war, compelled to fly from thence, his improvements were wholly lost." During the time of his stay there, about eight years, the same old account from which we have extracted adds: "It appears by a certificate under the hands of the late Lieutenant-Governor Stoughton, of Boston, Wait Winthrop, Increase Mather, and Charles Morton, that he, with great faithfulness, care, and indus- try, discharged his duty, both in reference to Christians and Indians, and was of an unblemished life and con- versation." After his call to New Rochelle, the same corporation, in consideration of his past sufferings and services, con- tinued his salary, which he enjoyed until the arrival of Governor Bellamont, from England, who settled upon him thirty pounds a year from the public revenue. The governor afterwards withdrew this benefaction, and suc- cessfully used his influence with the Propagation Society * Magnolia, B. vi. 6. EAELIEST OHtTKCIEES IN NEW TOEK. 263 to withdraw theirs of thirty pounds, so that the French missionary had only the twenty pounds a year from the New Rochelle church to support liimself and family.* In the year 1704, we find this record from the clergy of New York: "Mr. Daniel Bondet has gone farther and done more in that good work (conyerting the heathen) than any Protestant minister that we know ; we commend him .... as a person industrious in y« service of the Church and his own nation, y« French, at New Rochelle." At first Mr. Bondet used the French prayers ; but, subsequently, on every third Sabbath, the Liturgy of the Church of England. This important change took place June 12, 1709, all the members of the Huguenot church, except two, agreeing to conform to "the reli- gious worship. Liturgy, and rites of the Church of Eng- land as established by law. ' ' This official act was signed by "Elias Badeau, Andrew Reneau, J. Levillain, with twenty-six others. ' ' f Proper religious services were held on the occasion, June 13, 1709, in the old- wooden church, erected 1692-3 ; Bartow, the parish rector, being pres- ent, read the prayers, and the Rev. Mr. Sharp, an Eng- lish chaplain, delivered a discourse. Then conformity was proposed to the congregation, and adopted by sub- scribing their names to the proper document, f At the time it was hoped by Churchmen that this example would influence the French Protestant congregation in New York, likewise, to conform. Immediately, a committee of Isaac Guions, Louis * Doc. History of New York, vol. iii. f^f-pi. t "Dr. Hawks, MSS. Archives at Tulham." 264 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN HEW YORK. Guions, Jejeune, Anthony Lispenard, and Pierce Val- lean, with twenty-two others, petitioned the venerable Society for Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts to grant Mr. Bondet the thirty ponnds which had been withheld by the Earl-of Bellamont. They also asked for " a considerable number of Prayer Books in the French language." Both requests were granted, and his salary increased from thirty to fifty pounds per annum.* The congregation increasing, Governor Ingoldsby, in 1709, issued an order or license for the inhabitants to erect a new church, which was accomplished during the administration of Governor Colonel Robert Hunter, who zealously espoused the cause of the church. Mr. Sharp, thd chaplain, collected the subscriptions, with the Rev. Ehas Neau ; and they were made in sums from six pounds (Governor Hunter's) down to five shillings sixpence. The sums do not seem very large, but we must not for- get the relative value of money at that period and the present. So anxious were all to contribute towards the new undertaking, that even the females carried stones ia their hands and mortar in their aprons to finish the sa- cred temple. It was nearly square, of stone, and plain. A royal patent was secured from Queen Anne, February 7, 1714. t An old record of this date says that Mr. Bon- det "is a good old man, near sixty years of age, sober, just, and religious," . . . " minister of the French Calvinistic congregation at New Rochelle." The Vener- able Propagation Society forwarded to him ' ' ten pounds, in consideration of his diligence and care in performing English service, every third Sunday, for the edification * Dr. Hawks. f Alb. Reo.,,Lib. viii. pp. 1, 2, 3. EARLIEST OHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 265 of the French youth, who have learnt so much of that language as to join with him therein." At the request of the same body, in the year 1714, he took the religious charge of the Mohegan or River Indians. The same year he requests the honorable Society to allow him "the benefit of an English Bible, with a small quantity of English. Common Prayers, because our young people, or some of them, have sufficiently learned to read English, for to join in the public service when read in English." He also informs the same body, November 12, 1717, of the death of his wife (Jane) : " God having crowned the hardships of her pilgrimage with an honorable end, I keep and rule my house, as I ougbt to be exemplary in house ruling as in chixrch ministry. My congregation continue in the same terms that you have been informed by my precedents : forty, fifty, and sixty communicants. I have of late admitted to the Communion two negroes, to the satisfaction of the Church." Mr. Bondet experienced some trouble in his latter days from the Consistory of t\e French church in New York, and some of the people in New Rochelle separated from those who conformed to the Establisbed Church, and continued their religious services after their old way. The New York French Consistory approving this course, in opposition to the sentiments of their own lawful pastor, Monsieur Louis Roux, he was ultimately dismissed from this pastoral charge, and Ms place filled by a Rev. Mr. Moulinars. Monsieur Roux declares, in a letter to Governor Hunter (1724-5), that this new party had "fomented, for several years, a scandalous schism at New Rochelle." This religious strife continu 266 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. ing some time, the New York party ultimately left that Clmrcli ; while the seceders of New Rochelle erected.a meeting-hoTise of their own, styling themselves "The French Protestant Congregation," They seem to have been "Independents." Bondet died in the year 1722, aged sixty-nine, twenty- six of which were devoted to the ministry of this church. Eminently useful, under adverse circumstances, he lived greatly beloved, and thus lamented died. He was buried under the chancel of the old French church at New RocheUe. He bequeathed all his books (four hundred volumes) to the use of the Church. The E,ev. Pierre Stouppe, A. M., succeeded Mr. Bon- det, in 1724. He was also a native of France, born in 1690 ; and, studying divinity at Geneva, accepted a call to the French church, Charleston, South Carolina. Here he remained until the year 1723, when, resigning his charge, he conformed to the Church of England, went to England, and was ordained by Gibson, the Lord Bishop of London. He was appointed a missionary to New Rochelle, with a salary of fifty pounds' per annum, and proved very acceptable to his flock, receiving fifty pounds per annum, and preaching in French to those who only understood this language. When Mr. Stouppe arrived, his elders, or "anciens," as they are sometimes called, were Isaac Quantien and Isaac Guion. In a letter to the " Venerable Society for Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," he complains of the conduct of the seceding party, and that Mr. Moulinars had declared "that he finds our Church (the Established) and that of Rome as like one another as two fishes can be ; besides, EARLIEST CHUEOHES IN NEW YORE. 267 the said minister and his party have threatened the yet dissenting French inhabitants of New Rochelle of break- ing with them all commerce, and of suspending all acts of charity and support towards them, if even they should dare to join themselves at anytime to the Church. .... I heartily wish the honorable Society would pity our assaulted Church, and take some effectual means for the removing of the cause and instrument of the un- happy divisions we are in. Our endeavors here," without- theii' assistance, having proved of but little avail and of none effect. ' ' In 1726, he writes ' ' that he has baptized six grown negroes and seven negro children, fifty-eight young people, for the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, to which they have been accordingly admitted ; and that the number of his communicants at Easter last was thirty."* At first, Mr. Stouppe's salary from his church was only ten pounds nineteen shillings, "a little more than half part of it," he states, "actually paid; adding to that the provisions of firewood which they make to their minister for the time being, is by much the better part of his salary, though little in itself." He gives some valuable information concerning the, settlement of the Huguenots ia ISTew Rochelle. They numbered about a dozen families, "French Refugees," and most of them merchants. Purchasing six thousand acres of land from Lord Pell, they divided it into parcels of from twenty to three hundred apiece, and then sold it in lots to the Dutch, English, and French settlers, but most to the latter. Its population then numbered four * Dr. Hawks, MSS. from Fiilliam, vol i. 268 EARLIEST CHUBCHES IN NEW YORK. hundred persons, and among them, lie says, "two Quaker families, three Dutch ones, and four Lutherans. The first never assist our assemblies ; the Dutch and Lutherans, on the contrary, constantly assist, when divine service is performed in English, so that they may understand it; and their children likewise have been baptized by ministers of the Church. Only the French Dissenters have deserted it, upon Mr. Moulinars, for- merly one of the French ministers of l*^ ew York, coming and settling, now a year ago, among us ; and 'tis also by his means and inducement that, while he yet was min- ister of New York, they have built a wooden meeting- house, within the time they were unprovided for, that is, from my predecessor' s death to my arrival here. The said Moulinars and followers, to the number of about one hundred persons, and the said meeting-house, built by his persuasion, are the sole dissenting teacher, people, and meeting-house within New Rochelle bounds." No schoolmaster had yet arrived in New Rochelle ; but, greatly to the praise of the settlers, parents in- structed their own children, besides the teachings of their minister at church, during the summer. The num- ber of slaves was seventy-eight, and part "constantly attend divine service, and have had some instructions in the Christian faith, by the care and assistance of their respective masters and mistresses, so that my prede- cessors did not scruple to baptize some, and even to admit to the Communion of the Lord' s Supper ; and I myself have, for the same consideration, baptized fifteen of them within these three years, some children, and some grown persons, indifferently well instructed in the EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 269 fundamentals of our holy religion." Mi;. Stouppe adds that these slaves "shall always share in my assistance and care, and, as far as will be necessary to make them good and religious persons, without the least prejudice to the rest of my flock." Noble, pious sentiments and conduct for this early and zealous Huguenot missionary in America ! He continued thus faithfully to discharge his ministerial duties for a number of years. In 1756, he had eighty communicants, and officiated to numerous congregations, both of French and English. In an address to the "Venerable Society," about this period, by Jean Soulice, Peter Bonnet, Giel Le Count, Peter Sicard, and fifty-six others, "his preaching," they say, "is much to our satisfaction and edification, his doctrine being very sound and his pronunciation full, clear, and intelligible." Mr. Stouppe' s ministry closed by death in July, 1760. He evidently was a simple-minded, conscientious, zealous missionary of his Master, continuing during seven and thirty years to discharge faithfully the solemn duties of his mission. His remains were also interred under the chancel of the old French church, to await the resur- rection' s morn, when aU God' s true children shaU hear : " Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Mr. Stouppe was succeeded by the Kev. Michael Houdin, A. M. 270 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. CHAPTER XXV. REV. PETER DAILLE AND MICHAEL HOUDIN AT NEW ROCHKLLB THE HDGUENOTS THERE CONFORM TO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH (1781) REV. T. BARTOW FIRST RECTOR HIS DESCENDANTS SUCCESSORS IN THE MINISTRY TRINITY BUILT REV. MR. BATARD PENNSYLVANIA AND MARYLAND AN ASYLUM FOR HUGUENOTS — DR. RICHEBOURG THEIR FIRST PASTOR IN VIRGINIA " MANNIKIN TOWn" CURIOUS FRENCH RELIC REV. JOHN FONTAINE ^HUGUENOTS IN SOUTH CARO- LINA, AND PASTORS CHURCH IN CHARLESTON REV. ELIAS PRIO- LEAU THIS CONGREGATION THE ONLY ONE OF THE KIND IN OUR LAND ITS LITURGY. Rev. Michael Hottdin, A. M., was the fourth French, or Huguenot preacher at New Rochelle, and born in France, in 1705. He was educated a Franciscan friar, and on Easter Day, 1730, ordained a priest by the Arch- bishop of Treves, and subsequently preferred to the post of Superior in the convent of the Recollects at Montreal. But, disgusted with monastic life, at the com- mencement of the French war M. Houdin left Canada and came to the city of N'ew York. Here, at Easter, the same holy day on which, seventeen years before, he had entered the Romish priesthood, he now made a public, renunciation of Popery, joining the Church of England. Having attained great proficiency in the English tongue, in June, 1750, he was invited to Trenton, New Jersey, to labor as a missionary in that State. EARLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW TOBK. 271 Wlien M. Houdin first reached New York, with his wife, in June, 1744, Governor Clinton, suspicious of all Frenchmen at that moment, confined the strangers to their lodgings, and guarded them hy two sentinels. The next day, examined by his Excellency, he learned from him that "the French intended to attack Oswego with eight hundred men, the French having a great desire to be masters of that place." Then M. Houdin was ordered to reside at Jamaica, Long Island, where he complained that his circumstances were " very low," and he " could do nothing to get a living ; that his wife and himself must soon come to want unless his Excel- lency would be pleased to take him into consideration." After this honest appeal, the authorities advised his return to the city, on his taking the oath of allegiance. For some years M. Houdin officiated at Trenton and the neighboring places as an "itinerant missionary," and in 1759 his services were required as a guide for General Wolfe, in his well-known expedition against Quebec. Before marching, he preached to the Provin- cial troops destined for Canada, in St. Peter' s Church, Westchester, from St. Matthew x. 28 : "Fear not them which kill the body." The French chaplain escaped the dangers of the war, but his brave general fell mor- tally wounded, at the very moment of victory, on the heights of Abraham, September 13, 1759. After the reduction of Quebec, he asked leave to join his mission again, but General Murray would not consent, as there was no other person who could be relied on for intelli- gence concerning the French movements. While M. Houdin was stationed at Quebec, the Vicar- 272 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. General of all Canada made an attempt to seduce him from English alliance by an offer of great preferment in the Romish Church. This intrigue or invitation found its way to Generals Murray and Gage, when they sent a guard to arrest the Yicar- General. M. Houdin, returning to New York in 1761, was ap- pointed " itinerant missionary" to New Rochelle by the " Venerable Society of England," " he being a French- man by birth, and capable of doing his duty to them both in the French and English languages." The French Church at New Rochelle had been named "Trinity," and during his incumbency received its first charter from George III., which the present corporation still enjoys, with all its trusts and powers, and under which they are now finishing a new and very beautiful stone church. The charter is dated in 1762, and was exemplified by Governor George Clinton, 1793. In 1763, M. Houdin writes that the Calvinists used unlawful methods to obtain possession of the church glebe. These Calvinists were the few old Protestant French families who had not conformed to the Church of England, and Houdin says plainly of them : " Seeing the Calvinists will not agree upon any terms of peace proposed to them by our Church, .... we are in hope the strong bleeding of their purse will bring them to an agreement after New York court." The French Protestant preacher continued his pious labors among the people of New Rochelle until October, 1766, when he rested from them by death. He was a •man of considerable learning, irreproachable character, and esteemed a worthy Christian missionary. The last EAKLIE3T CHTJRCHES IW NEW YORK. 273 of tlae Huguenot preachers in New Roclielle, he was interred under the chancel of the old French church there, by the side of his faithful and pious pre- decessors in the sacred office, Bondet and Stouppe. Since the removal of this sacred edifice, long ago, the dust and ashes of these early French missionaries to our land have reposed beneath the public highway "to Boston," but not a stone tells where they lie, or com- memorates their usefulness, excellence, or pietj. This is a disgrace to the living, and a neglect of the pious dead. Their silent graves ought not to remain thus neglected and unnoticed. Some cenotaph or monument should point out the haUowed spot where these first Huguenot preachers Avere entombed. M. Houdin's funeral sermon was preached by the Eev. Henry Munro, A. M., of Tonkers, from Hosea iv. 13 : " Prepare to meet thy Gfod." In the rear of the church was the old French burying- ground, and here repose many of the departed exiled . Huguenots, tUl the resurrection of the just. On the earliest tombstones the epitaphs are illegible, but among those preserved are the following : VOICI LE OOBPS DB ISAAC OOUTAUT, AG. BE 50 ANS. VOICI LE CORPS DE SUSAJiA LANDEM, AS. DE 18. M. LB 6 D. S. L. 1'750. HERB LIES THE BODY OF ANDRE RANOUD, "WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON JRIDAT, TE 2 DAT OF DEC, A. D. 1758, AGED 25 TR. The Baptismal Register does not commence untU the year 1724, and for the information of the curious in olden times we copy an entry : " Ge Dimanche, 14 Mars, 1124, a ete baptise, sortie service du matin, fils de Thomas Wallis et Madeleine sa femme. Le PAre a ete present, an saint bap- 18 274 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. tdme, par Denys "Woertman et Elizabeth sa femme, Parrain et Marraine : le dit Peter est ne le six du dit mois. "Thomas Wallis, Peter Stouppe, " Denis Woebtman, Isaac QuAiifTAiN, Ancien." her "EUZABETH M WOEETJLMr. marque. The old clmrcli glebe was sold in 1800-1804, and the funds loaned on the present parsonage, and which feU to the church by foreclosing the mortgage in Chancery, 1821. From M. Houdin's death until the Revolution, divine services were performed in the French church by the Rev. Mr. Seabury, the rector of the parish. In his first report, he says: "The congregation consists of nearly two hundred people, decent and well behaved, part English and part French. The French all understand English tolerably well, and, except half-a-dozen old ^jeople, in whose hands^is the chief management of affairs, ifeH-'as "vp-eir as they do French. The greatest part of them would prefer an English to a French min- ister, and none are warm for a French one but the half- a-dozen above mentioned." "They had a glebe of near one hundred acres of land left them formerly, thirty acres of which they have re- covered. The rest is kept from them under pretence that it was given to a Presbyterian or Calvinistic French Church. They have also a parsonage-house ; but whether these endowments are so made that an English minister could enjoy them, I cannot yet learn. I have been thus particular, that the Society may be able to judge whether it is expedient for them to send another missionary to EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 275 Xew Roclielle or not." At this period in the history of New York, it mnst be remembered that the ' ' Venerable Society" of England supplied the colony with ministers of the Gospel — ^missionaries. Mr. Seabiiry, in another letter of October 1st, 1768, says of the New Rochelle French Church: "As there is a number of strolling teachers, especially of the sect of Anabaptists, who ramble through the coun- try, preaching at private houses, for the sake of making proselytes and collecting money, I have thought it best to visit them occasionally, as well to prevent any ill effects that might arise, as for the sake of a num- ber of well-disposed people who live there. I shall, however, carefully attend to the caution you give, not to neglect any particular case of East and West- chester."* During the American Revolution the French church at New RocheUe appears to have been closed, and its con- gregation much scattered. After the treaty of peace, the parish was regularly organized, and the royal charter granted to Trinity, in 1762, confirmed by Governor Clin- ton, in 1793. What was left of the French congregation mostly became Episcopalians ; and from 1781 to 1786, Mr. Andrew Fowler read prayers and sermons to the people. He was succeeded by the Rev. Theodosius Bartow, as a lay-reader, until he obtained holy orders. Mr. Bartow was the first rector of Westchester parish, and, by his mother, Bathsheba Pell, descendant of John PeU, the second proprietor of the manor of Pelham. At tills period, his salary was thirty pounds per annum, * N. T. MSS., Dr. Hawks. 276 EAELIEST CHtTECHES IN NEW TCfEK. and Lewis Pintard, Esq., apjpears to have principally paid it for a long time. For thirty years Mr. Bartow labored in this church, resigning his sacred office in the year 1819. He died the same year, and his remains sleep in the graveyard of Trinity, JS'ew Rochelle, not far from the site of the old Huguenot church and the graves of his predecessors in the Gospel ministry — ^Bondet, Stouppe, and Houdin. His age was seventy-two. The late John Bartow, of Baltimore, the Rev. Theodore Bartow, with the Eev. Henry B. Bartow, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, are his grandsons. By adding a few more names we can complete the list of Episcopal clergymen in New Rochelle to a modern date. The Rev. Renaud Kearney, A. M., was elected minister in 1819, and resigjiiagTh 1821, the Rev. Lewis Pintard, A. M., became the rector of this parish in 1821. He was born at the residence of his great uncle, Elias Boudinot, LL. D., at Prankford, Pennsylvania. His father was the Hon. Samuel Bayard, of Philadelphia, and his mother the only daughter of that excellent citi- zen, Lewis Pintard, LL. D. p ■^, ^ 7 During the ministry of Mr. Bayar d the present Trinity was erected in New Rochelle. In 1827, he changed the field of his ministry to Geneva, New York, and then to Genesee ; and during 1830, reorganized St. Clement' s, New York. In 1840, he made a tour through Europe to Syria and the Holy Land, for health. After four months' absence, and on his return, he died at sea, September 2d, that year. In 1827, the Rev. Lawson Carter, A. M., was called to fill the vacant parish, resigning 1839, EABLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW YORK. 277 when the Rev. Thomas W. Coit, D. D., became rector; and in 1849, the Eev. Richard U. Morgan, D. D., assumed the duties of the parish, who continues the excellent pastor of this time-honored flock. In a visit to New Rochelle, we found the original bell presented to the French Church du St. Esprit, New York, by Sir Henry Ashurst, of London. It now calls the people to the Lord' s house, as it did more than a century ago in our city. It bears this legend : "Samuel Newton Made Me, ItOS." The communion plate, a large silver chaUce and paten, was the gift of " Good Queen Anne." There are many descendants of the Huguenots in New Rochelle and its neighborhood, and such should veur erate and imitate the piety of their pious ancestors, who were providentially led, like Moses and the Israelites, from oppression and bondage to this land of deliverance — the Canaan in the Western World ! Pennsylvania, too, as weU as Massachusetts, afforded an asylum to many hundreds of French refugees, or Huguenots. These, at first settling in England, did not find that kingdom a refuge against intolerance, as it was then governed by the bigot James II. In the year 1690, Maryland also received a large number. We doubt not that these French emigrants, as was always the custom, had their own pastors with them; but in all our re- searches, we have discovered no such fact. Claude Philippe de Richebourg, driven from his native land by the Edict of Revocation, came with the first French colonists to Yirginia. Lands were given to them on the 278 EARLIEST CHXTEQHES IN NEW YORK. southern bank of James River, some twenty miles albove Richmond, near an Indian town called "Mannikin," and hence the name of the "Mannikin Town Settle- ment," afterwards the "Parish of King William." A Methodist Episcopal Church still occupies the spot, and retains its Indian name. In the year 1690, about three hundred more French refugee families increased the force of this young colony. The next year, two hundred more arrived, followed shortly by one hundred other families. Virginia, in 1674, decreed them the title of citizens ;* and by an act of her Legislature, in 1700, all who had built houses near the settlement were constituted a distinct commu- nity, under the title of ' ' King William' s Parish. ' ' Privi- leges were conferred upon them to remain in one body ; they were enfranchised from all the parochial contribu- tions which were levied upon the English colonists.- So they also became exempt from all the general taxes of the province. At first, this last favor extended only seven years, but at the expiration of the term it was again renewed. De Richebourg remained long the guide and spiritual counsellor of these expatriated French Protestants. Dissensions, however, arising among them, he restored peace by conducting a part of his flock into North Carolina, and establishing them somewhere upon the banks of the Trent River. Here, the Indians rising and massacring the whites of the neighborhood, the refugees were again compelled to abandon the lands they had cleared, and emigrate to South Carolina. * JDr. Baird, vol. i. p. 114. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 279 Claude Philippe De RichelDourg appears to have been a minister of deep and fervent piety, resigned in the midst of Ms persecutions, and, at the same time, of a serious character, strongly modified by the misfortunes and poverty of his lot in the land of exUe. His wUl was written in the French language, and is preserved in the public archives of Charleston. It is imbued with the genuine spirit of a true Christian believer, submitting to the great law of Providence, steadfast in the faith, and triumphant at the prospect and approach or his last foe. Among our researches, we have discovered a curious relic of the Virginia Huguenots. It is a manuscript of some twenty-five pages, written in French, the register of the baptisms in the "Manakin Town" Church, 1721, " Done by Jacques Soblet, Clerk." The curious docu- ment remains a standing evidence of the fidelity of these French Protestants to their Christian duties and ordi- nances. We copy literally a few of the entries : " Le 1 Avril, 1740, est nke Marie Wottkins, fiUe de Stephen Wottkins et ae Judith sa femme, a eu pour parrain William Hampton, pour marraines Magdelaine Ohastaiu et Marie Farsi. Jean Chast im." April 1st, 1740, was born Mary, daughter of Stephen Watkins, and Judith, his wife. She had for godfather William Hampton ;. for godmothers, Magdalen Ohastain and Mary Farsi. Jean Chastain. "Le 29 de Janvier, 1723-4, mourut le Sieur Antoine Trabne, &ge aupris de oinquante six £l sept annees: fut enterre le 30 du mtoe mois. "J. SOBIET, Clerk." Januaiy 29th, 1723-4, died Sir Anthony Trabne, aged about fifty-six or seven years. He was buried the 30th of the same month. J. Soblet; Clerk. Some of the Huguenot names extracted from this register are: "Monford, Dupuy, Martain, Harris, Flour- noy. Ford, Bernard, Porter, Watkins,. Cocke, Eobin- 280 EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. son,* Edmond, Stanford, Sumpter, Jordin, Pero, Deen Smith,* Williamson,* Brook,* &c., &c." Negeoes' ISTames. — Jaque, Anibal, Guillanme, Jean, Pierre, Olive, Robert, Jay, Susan, Primus, Moll, Pegg, Nanny, Tobie, Dorote, Agge, Pompe, Csesar, Amy, Tom, Cipio, Bosen, Sam, Jupiter, Tabb, Cuffy, Essex, Orange, Robin, Samson, Pope, Dina, Fillis, Ester, Judy, Adam, &c., &c. The historical reader may find, in Bev- erly' s History of Virginia, a very interesting account of these Mannikin refugees "I have heard that these people are upon a design of getting into the breed of buffaloes, to which end they lay in wait for their calves, that they may tame and raise stock of them ; in which, if they succeed, it will, in all probability, be greatly for their advantage ; for these are much larger than other cattle, and have the benefit of being natural to the climate. They now make many of their own clothes, and are resolved, as soon as they have improved that manufacture, to apply themselves to the making of wine and brandy, which they do not doubt to bring to perfection." From the early Huguenot stock, in Virginia, have descended hundreds of the best citizens of the Old Dominion — ^legislators, public officers, and ministers. Prom one family alone, the Rev. John Fontaine, the Rev. Dr. Hawks estimates the descendants and rela- tions at not less than two thousand ! He was a Calvinistic clergyman, and, expelled from Prance, fixst preached to his refugee brethren in Eng- land and Ireland. Dr. Hawks has published the life of * English ramea doubtless introduced by iutermarriago. EAELIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW TORE. 281 this remarkable, energetic man, a small volume I'uU of interest.'* He was a true sample of a true Huguenot. An exile in England, ignorant of its language, and un- accustomed to labor, he soon accommodated himself to new circumstances — by his own genius soon became a skilful artisan. He opened a little store, with a school also, at the same time continuing to preach in French. In 1695, he removed to Cork, to unite with some refu- gees, who had formed a church in that Irish city. And here he set a bright example to the flock of the most exemplary piety and good conduct. In his new home he was able to give his children excellent educations, three entering college, and one be- came a British officer. Peter received ordination from the Bishop of London, and with Moses, who studied law, both emigrated to Virginia in 1716. There were two daughters. The eldest, Mary Anne, married Mat- thew Mauray, a Protestant refugee from Gascony, in 1716, the next year joining his relations in this country. His son was the Rev. James Mauray, of Albemarle, Virginia, and a very estimable and useful clergyman of the Church of England. Francis, another son, in 1719, was also ordained by the Bishop of London, on the par- ticular recommendation of the Archbishop of Dublin, when he sailed for Virginia. Here he became a very eloquent and popular preacher, settling in St. Margaret's Parish, King William County. The sacred office in this useful French family seemed, as it were, hereditary from father to sons. It is .a well- * " A Tale of the Huguenots ; or, Memoirs of a French Refugee Family: with an Introduction," by F. L. Hawks, D. D. 282 EARLIEST OHtTRCHES IN NEW TOEK. known historical fact, that about the time of Louis XIV., there were formed, as among the ancient Hebrews, races of priesthood, such as the Delprats, of Montauban, the Saurins, of Msraes,* &c., &c. What Vandal-like and entire destruction of the Re- formed Churches in France followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes ! On the same day of its registra- tion, the destruction of the magnificent temple at Cha- renton, capable of holding fourteen thousand persons, was commenced. In five short days afterward, no traces of the immense edifice remained ! A frantic mob, armed with axes, mattocks, and levers, visited other places — Caen, Msmes, etc., and amidst the flourish of trumpets and shouts of joy, their Protestant churches fell in de- struction. Cheyron, the minister of the last-named, pro- nounced its final discourse, moving his hearers to tears when he afiirmed before God that he had preached the truth according to the Grospel, and exhorted them to persevere in the faith uuto death. Msmes' sacred tem- ple was soon a mere heap of ruins ; and in the midst could long be seen a single stone with this inscription : "Here is the house of God : here is the gate of heaven." Thus the Reformers of France saw the fall of eight hundred sacred temples they had possessed. Such severities bore their proper fruit, and the Reformed thought of nothing but quitting their native land. The ministers went first. But to simple laymen emigration was forbidden under most severe penalties. These pre- cautions, however, were vain and useless. The barba- rous cruelties did not duninish the emigration. AH who * Weiss's French Protestant Refugees. EAELIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. 283 h.ated servitude hastened to flee from the soil of France. As we have already seen, thousands came to Massachu- setts, New York, and Virginia ; and now crowds flocked to South Carolina for a new, safe, and quiet home. Their first arrival coincides with that of the earliest English colonists of Massachusetts and Virginia. In South Caro- lina they were placed on freeholders' rights, and a foot- ing of entire equality with the English settlers. From 1680 to 1687, from two to three thousand Huguenots emigrated to South Carolina ; some arrived after a short sojourn in New York, the warmer climate of the South presenting peculiar inducements to the numerous exiles of Languedoc, so that this region was called the " Home of the Huguenots in the New World." They founded four congregations and churches — one at Jamestown, on the Santee ; one at St. John's, Berke- ley ; one at St. Dennis ; and one in Charleston. The first three ultimately conformed to the Protestant Epis- copal Church, while the last maintains its distinctive character to this day, excepting the use of the French language. One thousand French emigrants embarked for South Carolina from the ports of Holland alone. These expeditions left Rotterdam, touching in England, on the voyage to America. In 1687, the Lord Commis- sioner of James II., by the royal bounty, sent six hun- dred English and French emigrants to Carolina. James Pierre Perry, of Neufchatel, also emigrated with three hundred and seventy -five Protestant families from Switzerland! To this company the British Gov- ernment liberally granted forty thousand acres of land, with four pounds sterling to each adult. During 1699, 284 EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW TOEK. tliree hundred French Protestants left France for con- science' sake, at first settling in Virginia, but soon join- ing their brethren of South Carolina. In the years 1711-33 and '40, others came over from Holland ; and in 1752, sixteen hundred more landed at Charleston. Jean Louis Gibert arrived with a large congregation of Huguenots, having a church of two hundred members, settling in the townships of New Bordeaux, New Ro- chelle, in the Abbey Ville district.* They named their settlement JSTew Bordeaux, in remembrance of the capi- tal Guyenne, their former home. In 1705 three hundred acres of land were granted to Eene Eavenel, Barthelemy Gruillard, and Henry Bueneau. It embraced one hun- dred French families and a church ;' their first pastor was Pierre Robert, and from that period they became the most flourishing colony of French refugees in South Carolina, t Some settled upon the western branch of the Cooper River, having for their first minister Plorent Philippe Trouillart. In 1782, there were not less than sixteen thousand foreign Protestants in South Carolina, and most of them French. One writer adds: "They live like a tribe, like one family. Each one makes it a rule to assist his compatriot in his need, and to watch over his fortune aiid his reputation with the same care as his own." At this period in our national history, at the close of the seventeenth century, English America had only a population of two hundred thousand," and the refugees formed a most important part. Their generous blood * Early Hist., Rosby, S. C. \ Dr. Eamsoy. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 285 flowed in the veins of a multitude of families when the war of Independence broke out.* The enemies of politi- cal despotism and religious intolerance, they increased the love of liberty among the other colonies. Wrong as they now are, at that important moment they ran to arms, and supported the American Revolution with the energy and bravery of their noble and pious ancestors. None were more patriotic or ardently devoted to the cause of liberty, or more eloquent in the national counieils, or more heroic on the battle-field, than these descendants of the French Protestants. During the reign of James II., a number of English- men, fearing the restoration of the Roman Catholic reli- gion, emigrated to South Carolina, accompanied by many Huguenots. These had taken refuge in England, but wished to withdraw themselves from the uncertain, pre- carious protection of a king who was openly attached to the Popish Church. In our land, aU found a home ; and although, at the moment, the English form of worship was the prevailing, still, the tolerance of Lord Shaftes- bury here opened a restiag-place to all Christians. "Here it was," says Bancroft, /'that the Calvinist exiles could celebrate their worship without fear, in the midst of the forests, and mingle the voice of their psalms with the murmur of the winds which sighed among the mighty oaks." Their first church was at Charleston, and they could be seen every Sunday repairing there, by families, in light canoes, from the plantations, to wor- sMp God without any fear or molestation. This church, erected at an early date, was burned in * Br. Ramsey. 286 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 1740, and again during 1796, but rebuilt, and it has been tbe object of pious liberality, and well endowed by the French refugees scattered through South Carolina. Its first pastor was the Rev. Elias Prioleau, the grand- son of Antoine Proli, Doge of Venice in 1618. Forced to leave France after the Revocation, he emigrated from the fertile region of Saintonge, with a part of his evan- gelical flock, to Charleston, where his descendants are still said to be found. Prioleau was not only an elo- quent preacher, but also a writer of merit. His descend- ants possess manuscripts of his works, which testify of an elegant style, vigor of mind, and purity of doctrine.* The Huguenots of South Carolina were distinguished, as they were elsewhere, for their sympathy to the suffer- ing. Gabriel Manigault, so well known in their history, and the creator of his own fortune, always exhib- ited charity to the poor, and he even refused to in- crease his wealth by the commerce in slaves, at that time so lucrative. At his death he bequeathed five thou- sand pounds sterling to educate indigent children at Charleston, t Isaac Mazocq, another refugee, donated a part of his patrimony to the religious and charitable institutions of that city, where he had taken up his abode, and, at his death, he left one hundred pounds to the Huguenot church there. Philip Gendron, also, bequeathed a part of his fortune "for the use of the poor of that church, so long as it shall continue to be of the Reformed faith." We have visited this time-honored, sacred spot, in the city of Charleston, and strolled among its venerable, * Presb., Feb. 23, 1860. f Ramsey. EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOBE. 287 heaped-Tip graves, many of which still remain. What haliowing associations linger around such an impressive place! Long since have the early Huguenots to "La Carolina" ceased to occupy its humble open seats ; but in the day of which we are writing, this tabernacle was crowded with the prayers and melodies of faithful French Protestants, and in the same language used by Claude, Saurin, and their congregations a century before. More recently, the old temple has been taken down, and a beautiful new edifice erected in its place. But the congregation carefully preserves some of its evidences of the " olden time." The Rev. Dr. Eosser, of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church South, informed the writer that he was invited on one occasion to preach in this new house of Huguenot worship. He is himself an eloquent descendant of the Virginia Huguenots. When prepar- ing to enter the piijpit, from the vestry, the " anciens," or elders, robed him in an old, worn, threadbare clerical gown. Perceiving his surprise, they remarked that this venerable and sacred mantle had been used by their early Huguenot pastor, and, when placed upon any stranger, the congregation considered it as a mark of especial affection and honor. The Charleston church alone, in our land, has main- tained until this day the Huguenot Calvinistic Liturgy in its primitive purity, with public worship according to the usages of the primitive French Protestant Churches. The language only of its earliest founders has been dispensed with. Its present pastor is the Rev. Mr. White, formerly of the Reformed Dutch Churchfon Staten Island. . 283 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. The Cliarleston Huguenot churcli uses a Liturgy in its public services, a copy of wMch lies before me, politely furnished by Daniel Ravenel, Esq., one of its authorized compilers. It is the "Litni^y of the French Protestant Church, translated from the editions of 1737 and 1772, published at Neufch^tel, with additional prayers, carefully selected, and some alterations ; ar- ranged for the use of the congregation in the city of •Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston': printed by James S. Burgess, 1836." According to its preface, Joseph Manigault, George W. Cross, and Daniel Eavenel were appointed a committee on the translation of this Liturgy, and presented the work on Sunday, October 23, 1836, as the result of their labors. It was principally compiled and translated from a French quarto copy, formerly used in the palpit of this congregation. The work containing no burial-service, oiae was added from the Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church, omitting the Rubrics. Neither were there any "Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings," which now 'were obtained in part from the same book, and a French work printed at Amsterdam, 1763, entitled "A Liturgy for the Protestants of France ; or Prayers for the Families of the Faithful, Deprived of the Public Exercise of their, Religion : with a Preliminary Discourse." Only one entire prayer was composed for the work,- the original of which was found among the papers of the Hon. Thomas S. Grunke, after his lamented death. The translation was made by Elias Hony, George W. Cross, and Mr. Grimke, the first and last of which gen- tlemen did not live to see the Liturgy printed, although NOKTir Eeformed Dutch Cihiroh, Cokner of William and Fulton Sts. EAKLTEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YOKK. 289 completed before they died. We have been thus par- ticular in oui* reference to this- Huguenot church, as it is the only standing monument in our whole land of the religious principles and worship which brought the French Protestants to this New World. In every other place, the descendants of these French refugees have long since united with other evangelical sects. Origin- ally, four French Protestant congregations existed in South Carolina; but three of their number conformed to the Protestant Episcopal Church, and were then sup- ported by the public funds. This Charleston church alone sustains its original distinctive character. After all our inquiries, we have been able to collect very little historical information concerning the early Huguenot preachers of South Carolina, and hence we have indulged in more general views than otherwise would have been the case. Still, they have a value and importance upon the subject of our, early American Church history, and we gladly add this mite of ours to aid the importaut subject. 19 290 EARLIEST CHUECHES IW NEW YOKK. CHAPTER XXVI. BOUTHOLD TUB FIRST SETTLED TOWN ON LONG ISLAND (1640), REV. J. YOUNGS, PASTOR HIS SUCCESSORS JAMES DAVENPORT AN ENTHU- SIAST, BUT REFORMS SOUTHAMPTON CHURCH BUILT 1640 BEV. MR. PIERSON THE "PLANTATION COVENANT" THE REFORMERS EMIGRATE TO NEWARK, NEW JERSEY MINISTERS OF SOUTHAMPTON SALARIES BRIDGEHAMPTON PARISH MINISTERS BROOKHAVEN THE LARGEST TOWN BEV. N. BREWSTER AND .SUCCESSORS EASTHAMPTON SETTLED BY PURITANS (1648) STRICT LjNj^S VOTING THOMAS JAMES, EAR- ,:, LIEST PASTOR HIS SINGULAR DYlS*^REQUES,T REV. N. ^HAT TING DR. BUEL PREACHED TEN THbUSA^fB. SERMONS— ^iitS^SBBAJiUi BEECHER THE FOURTH PASTOR. Some imagine that Long Island at one period was a part of Connecticut, and subsequently separated by the irruption of the Atlantic Ocean, forming the present " Sound." Into this geological question it is not neces- sary for us to enter. StiU, the churches on Long Island, except those in the vicinity of New Amsterdam, were founded by Connecticut men and preachers. Southold was the first town settled on the island, and in the year 1640, its earliest settlers coming from New Haven. They were mostly Englishmen, from Norfolk- shire, who had spent a short time in the New Haven colony. The Rev. John Youngs, their pastor, came with them, organizing their church. He was an excellent man, died in 1672, and his descendants a^re now nu- merous on Long Island. Next, a committee went to Boston for "aji honest and godly minister." Such was EARLIEST CHTrRCHES IN NEW TORK. 291 their instruction ; and what a pity is it that such a good desire does not satisfy the people of our day ! They obtained the Kev. Joshua Hohart, who died in 1717, aged eighty-eight years. The Rev. Benjamin Woolsey became the third pastor, in the year 1729, but remoTed during 1736. Next among the Southold pastors came the Rey. James Davenport, of remarkable history. He was born 'at Stamford, Connecticut, in the year 1710, graduaj;ing at ■Yale College, 1732, and ordained at Southold, 1738. Pious and ardent while at college, he became intimate with a wild enthusiast, named Lewis, who professed to know the will of God in all things, had led a sinless life for six years, and claimed a higher seat in heaven than even Moses himself. He particularly professed to know that not one in ten of all the New Haven church mem- bers could be saved. He afterwards turned a Quaker preacher. Davenport, embracing many of his fanatical notions, imagined that God had revealed to him the coming of His kingdom in great power, and also that he was especially called to labor for its advancement. On one occasion, he addressed his people for nearly twenty-four successive hours, until he was quite wild. Like all religious enthusiasts, his zeal soon became unrestrained, setting at naught all the rules of Christian prudence and order. He headed his followers, in procession, whilst singing psalms and hymns through the streets. A great advocate of trances and visions, he esteemed such in- ward impulses and feelings the rule of duty for himself and others. 292 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. Mr. Davenport also indulged another striking charac- teristic of religions enthusiasts ; he sat in judgment on the character of other ministers, often declaring them to be in an unconverted state. He told the people that they might as. well eat ratsbane as hear such unregene- rated preachers ! Against pride in di'ess he severely declaimed, styling it idolatry; and in New London, on one occasion, he kindled a large fire, and burned costly garments, with ornaments and many good books, and among them Flavel and Bishop Beveridge' s works, as heretical. Confusion and dissensions in the churches were the bitter fruits which followed these delusions. Davenport, however, at length saw the evil and folly of his fanatical ways, and by a public confession renounced them. In the year 1746, dismissed from Southold, he settled in Hopewell, New Jersey, where he died, 1757, aged forty-seven. SOUTHAMPTON. T^ae church at this place was erected at the same time with the one in Southold (1640), and these two were the first sanctuaries of the Lord within the entire Province of New Netherland ; they were founded two years before (1642) the Old Reformed Dutch Chui'ch in the fort at the Battery, and built by Governor Kieft. A company of eight men, called "undertakers," settled Southampton, and this number was increased to sixteen, before the emigrants left Lynn, Mass., and among them was the Rev. Abraham Pierson, of Boston, their first minister. The records of their early laws have been pre- EARLIEST OHDEOHES IN NEW YOEK. 293 served, and they are quite as remarkalble as the famous "Blue Laws" of New England. Mr. Pierson belonged to that school believing that all civil government, as well as ecclesiastical, was vested in the Church ; so that church members only should hold public office, or vote in the community. When this new colony was incorporated, Lord Sterling gave the settlers privilege to regulate those matters according to their own peculiar notions. Idolatry, witchcraft, her- esy, blasphemy, and smiting or cursing parenti, were punished with death. Profane swearing received either stripes, branding with a hot iron, or boring through the tongue, as "he hath bored and pierced God's name." Mr. Pierson, having served the church four years at Southampton, removed to Beaufortj Conn., some of his people going with him, where he ministered twenty- three years. His labors were very useful in promoting religion and education among the Indians. In the year 1666, Mr. Pierson, with most of his con- gregation and many prominent persons from Guilford, New Haven, and Milford, signed a "Plantation Cove- nant," to remove where they could maintain their no- tions of Church government, now impracticable in the Connecticut colony. Emigrating to New Jersey, the reformers selected a spot for their settlement, calling it " New Ark," which is now the beautiful city of New- ark. Here they made laws and customs after their own- notions and hearts, and planted the seeds of good order and industry, the fruits of which the people of that place enjoy to the present day, after a lapse of more than two hundred years. He died on the 9th of August, 1678. 294 EARLIEST CHTTECHES IN BTEW YORK. His son Abraham, for some time associated with him in the pastoral charge at Newark, became the first Presi- dent of Yale College. The Rev. Joseph Fordham, John Heinman, and Jo- seph Taylor succeeded Mr. Pierson in the pnlpit at Southampton. Mr. Taylor came in the year 1680, the people promising a salary of one hundred pounds, with a parsonage ; one hundred and eighty acres of land, " commonage," with one hundred also in the woods, to him and his heirs forever. The salary was to be paid in winter wheat at five shillings a bushel ; summer, four shillings sixpence ; Indian corn, two shillings sixpence ; beef, forty shillings per cwt. ; tallow, threepence per pound ; green hides, threepence ; whalebone, "eight- pence ; and oil, thirty shillings a barrel. Such were the prices of these staples a century and three-quarters ago. Whales were then caught in the waters of Long Island Sound, and this became a leading business with the settlers. These articles for the minister' s support were all to be good, merchantable, and collected by the con- stable. We imagine that aU the clergymen now labor- ing on Long Island are not as well supported as this reverend gentleman was, as far back as 1680. In the year 1792, the Rev. Herman Dogget was settled in Southampton, a preacher of fine talents and character, and although social and cheerful, it is stated that he was never known to laugh.* Bridgehampton parish is six miles east of the old Southampton church, and is remarkable for the length * Eev. S. I. Prime's Early Ministers of Long Island. EARLIEST CHTTECHE3 IN NEW YOEK. 295 of time its pastors served the congregation. In 1695, the Rev. Ebenezer White was the first settled, remain- ing fifty-three years, and he died at the age of eighty- four, in 1756. Rev. James Brown, the next pastor, set- tled in 1748, resigning 1775, and resided here until his death, in 1788. During the Revolutionary War this congregation had no preacher. After this the Rev. Aaron Woolworth came, in 1787. He died in the year 1821, aged fifty-eight years, and the thirty-fourth of his sacred oiBce. These three faithful men ministeued to this Long Island church a period of one hundred and twenty-six years, from 1695 to 1821. Greatly to their praise, it is said, that this congregation never dismissed a minister. The next pastor was the Rev. Amri Francis, who died in 1845, after a useful pastorate of twenty-two years. His death was very triumphant, remarking dur- ing his final hours, that he had "never conceived it possible, in this mortal state, to have such views of the heavenly world as he was permitted to enjoy." Dr. Woolworth' s name to this day remains a sweet savor in that region, and will long continue so. Brookhaven, the largest town in Long Island, was first settled by fifty "planters" at Setauket, a place so called ftom the Indian tribe formerly occupying the region. The Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, having three sons among the settlers, visited them and remained as minister of the place. Thus he continued forty-five years, and died in 1690, aged seventy. He was a remarkable man ; a grandson of Elder Brewster, of the famed "May- Flower," and pastor of the "Pilgrim Fathers." It is also said that he was a graduate in the first class of Har- 296 EARLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW YOKK. yard Unirersity, and probably the first native graduate in the New World. The Rev. George Phillips was the next minister, and, when ordained, the town of Brookhaven voted one hun- dred acres of land to him, in fee, with two hundred acres more, if he would preach there as long as he lived. Such offers, or bribes, we may add, are rare now. The Rev. David Youngs and Rev. Benjamin Talmage were the next pastors, the latter ordained in 1,754. Easthampton was settled by some families from Lynn and other Massachusetts towns, in the year 1648. They were stern Puritans, with peculiar and strict laws. In 1651, we find the following enactment : " Noe man shall seU any liquor, but such as are deputed thereto by the town, and such shall not lette youth and thpse,i EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOBK. American army, the former reaching a colonel's rank, and the scholar a patriotic and world-renowned fame. Colonel Barber, with his regiment, served under General Schuyler, at the North, and shared in the battles of Ticonderoga, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, German^ town, and Monmouth, nearly losing his life in the latter. He was also actiyely engaged in the battle of Springfield, and present, in 1781, at the capture of the British army in Yorktown. Praised be his patriotism ! His son, George C. Barber, for many years was a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church at Elizabethtown, and died one of its ruling elders. In the year 1786, the Rev. William Linn, D. D., was here installed, June 14, 1786. He was a native of Penn- sylvania, and born in 1752, graduating from Princeton College when twenty years old ; and soon we find him a chaplain in the American army. Remaining only a few months in Elizabethtown, he received and accepted a call to the Reformed Dutch church in the city of New York. To benefit his health, he removed to Albany, where he ended his ministry, nearly reaching his fifty- sixth year. He was a very popular and useful divine, and his son, the Rev. John Blair Linn, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, died at the early age of twenty-seven. A poet and orator, he gave promise of becoming one of the most able ministers in the land. His daughter was the wife of Simeon Dewitt, for many years the well-known Surveyor- General of the State of New York. EARLIEST CHTTECHES IK NEW YOEK. 379 CHAPTER XXXV. REV. DAVID AUSTIN SUCCEEDS MR. LINN, AND HAS A STRANGE HISTORY DECLARES THE COMING OP CHRIST (1796) GREAT EXCITEMENT TAKES THE VOW OF A NAZARITE REMOVES TO NEW HAVEN, AND FINALLY WAS BELIEVED OF HIS FANATICISM SUCCESSORS DRS. KOLLOCK, MCDOWELL, AND MURRAY SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, AND METHODIST EP1SC0PJ>.L REV. THOMAS MORRELL. The Rev. Dayid Austin succeeded Dr. Linn. He was born at New Haven, in 1760. Early iitted for college, lie graduated at Yale in 1779, and having spent some time in foreign travel, he returned, and became pastor of the Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church, September 9, 1788'. He has a strange history, and labored among his flock, greatly beloved and very useful, until the close of 1795. During that year, he suffered a violent attack of scarlet fever, and, although slowly recovering, still it affected his mind. He commenced the study of the Prophecies during his recovery, which soon plainly produced a mental disease, and he never entirely re- covered from this affliction. As soon as he resumed his pulpit labors, he commenced discoursing on the 60th chapter of Isaiah, and taught the personal reign of the Saviour, and that His coming would take place on the fourth Sabbath of May, 1796. An immense excitement followed, and on that Sabbath, multitudes could not find room to stand in his church. On the previous 380 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. evening, lie dwelt upon the preaching of Jonah to the Mnevites, and exhorted the people to follow their ex- ample. Mourning and weeping were now heard in all parts of the excited assembly. But the following day, the sun rose as usual, but with more than usual Sabbath brightness. The church was filled, and surrounded with a vast crowd, but the sacred day of rest passed away without any unusual occurrence, and many of his followers saw his and their delusion. His friends hoped that the mortifying disappointment would cure his false prophesying, and the Session remonstrated ; but, as is usuaLin such cases, his ingenuity found excuses for the delay of the predicted advent. He declared that the mere mercy of God prevented the punishment of the people, and he now took the vow of a Nazarite, preach- ing three sermons a day, through this section of the country. His constant theme was the near and certain approach of Christ, with His personal reign on the earth. As Joshua led the Jews into the promised land, and as John the Baptist was the forerunner of our Saviour, so he was to bring in the millennial reign of righteousness. The congregation, now seriously disturbed by his proceedings, appointed a committee to wait upon him, to learn his future intentions. He replied in writing, avowing his purpose "to institute a new church, and set up a new order of things in ecclesiastical concerns, independent of the Presbytery, of the Synod, or of the General Assembly." To warrant such a course, he re- ferred them to the third and sixth chapters of the pro- phecy of Zechariah. The strange letter from which this is extracted, was dated "April 7, A. D. 1797." EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 381 Mr. Austin' s elders, deacons, and trustees, haviijg no desire to establish a new and "independent" church anaong them, petitioned their Presbytery, that the " pas- toral relation between the Rev. David Austin and said congregation" might be dissolved. This request was granted, and after his removal he returned to New Haven, whence he imagined the Jews would embark for a literal return to the Holy Land. He even erected a wharf and houses for their use on the occasion, and, poor man, unable to discharge the debts thus incurred, he was imprisoned for some time. His mind recovering in some degree, in 1804 he re- turned to Elizabeth, and, refused his old pulpit, he again returned to New England. Mercifully continuing to improve, he once more .entered upon a course of useful- ness, and in 1815 received and accepted a call to the church at Bosrah. Here he regularly preached with great success until his death, February 5, 1831, aged seventy-two years. Up to the period of his severe aflBiction, Mr. Austin was universally admired and beloved. His conversa- tional powers were extraordinary ; his devotional exer- cises peculiarly impressive ; and few, it is stated, ex- celled him in public prayer. He edited and published a Bible Commentary, some of President Edwards' s works, and the "American Preacher," until it reached its fourth volume. At the height of his fame and usefulness, his intellect became disordered, from which he never wholly recovered. Let all who favor fanatical views about the speedy destruction of our world learn wisdom from his sad case. 382 EARLIEST CHUKCHES IN STEW YOKK. The Rev. John Giles was the next Presbyterian min- ister in Elizabethtown, a native of England, where he preached with great success for nine years. He reached America in 1798, and was installed pastor of this church, June 4, 1800, and after a short residence, he settled at Newburyport, Mass. (1803), where he labored diligently until his death, in 1824. During the year 1800, the Rev. Henry KoUdck took the spiritual charge of this congre- gation, and after a successful ministry of three years, was elected Professor of Divinity in the College of JSTew Jersey. Subsequently he settled in Savannah, Georgia, and ended his days universally lamented, December 29, 1819. His pulpit eloquence was unsurpassed during his day. In 1804, the Rev. John McDowell, D.D., was ordained the successor of Dr. Kollock, and with fidelity served this congregation twenty-nine years, and then, in 1833, became the pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. Mcholas Murray, D.D., was the next preacher, and settled here in 1833. The Second Presbyterian Church of Elizabethtown was organized in 1819, and its first and present minister is the excellent Rev. Dr. Magie. A Methodist Episcopal church was commenced here as early as the year 1785, the Rev. Thomas Morrell, one of the fathers of American Methodism, laboring here for many years. A major in the army of the Revolution, he was wounded, and distinguished himself on several occasions. Of great energy and fervent piety, he began to preach in 1786, and joyfully ended his earthly pil- grimage (1838) at the prolonged age of ninety-one years. EABLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOKE. 388 CHAPTER XXXVI. CHARLES II. INCORPORATES THE SOCIETY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL AMONG THE NATIVES OF AMERICA (1661) ARCHBISHOP TENISON ^WILLIAM III. INCORPORATES ANOTHER, AND OF GREAT SERVICE TO THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH COLONEL MORRIS HIS REPORT ON STATE OF RELIGION IN NEW JERSEY KEITH AND TALBOt's MIS- SIONARY TOUR JOHN BROOK, FIRST EPISCOPAL CLERGYMAN IN ELIZABETHTOWN HIS REPORTS ST. JOHN's BUILT (1706) HIS LABORS LORD COKNBURY UNITES THE NEW JERSEY AND NEW YORK PROVINCES IMPRISONS THE REV. MR. MOORE MR. BROOK, FEARING THE SAME TREATMENT," SAILS FOR ENGLAND CORNBURY REMOVED AND IMPRISONED, AND AFTER BECOMES A PEER MB. VAUGHAN THE NEXT MISSIONABY PISCATAQUA THE EARLIEST BAPTIST SETTLEMENT (1663), AND THEIR FIRST- PREACHER, HUGH DUNN SUCCESSORS CHURCH AT SCOTCH PLAINS EPISCOPALIANS AGAIN MR. VAUGHAN MARRIES A FORTUNE PREACHES IN ELIZA- BETH FORTY YEARS SUCCESSORS REV. MR. CHANDLER, ETC., ETC., DOWN TO 1853. ELIZABETHTOWN EPISCOPAL CHURCH. King Chaeles the Second, in the year 1661, incor- porated a religions company, for the propagation of the Gospel among the heathen natives of New England, and the parts adjacent, in America. It is more necessary to notice this incorporation, .because, for many years, the important work of colonial missions was conducted by the private zeal and liberality of some Christian people in Europe. Archbishop Terfison, becoming exceedingly concerned in the religious wants of the American colo- nies, or plantations, exerted himself in their behalf. 384 EARLIEST CHUKCHES IN NEW TOKK. Prom his representations to William the Third, His Ma- jesty, on the 16th of June, 1701, incorporated by royal charter the " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Poreign Parts." To this venerable bod; "' " )isco- pal Church in America owes an immense rhich she can best repay by similar activity and ty in the work of Christian missions. Under the fostering care of this society were, laid the earliest foundations of our colonial Episcopal churches. New Jersey was then a portion of the Kew York col- ony and government; and, in the year 1700, Colonel Morris wrote a memorial about the state of religion in the Jerseys. "The province of East Jersey has in it ten towns, vzt. : Middletown, Freehold, Amboy, Pisca- taway, and Woodbridge, Elizabeth Town, Newark, Aquechenonch, and Bergen ; and, I judge, in the whole province, there may be about eight thousand souls. These towns are not like the towns in England — ^the houses built close together on a small spot of ground — but they include large portions of the country, of from five, eight, ten, twelve, fifteen miles in length, and as much in breadth. . . . These towns, and the whole province, were peopled mostly from the adjacent colo- nies of New York and New England, and generally by persons of very narrow fortunes, and such as could not well subsist in the places they left. And if such people could bring any religion with them, it was that of the country they came from, and the state of them is as fol- lows : . . . Elizabeth T®wn and Newark were peo- pled from New England ; are generally Independents ; they have a meeting-house in each town for their public EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOKK. 385 worship. There are some few Churchmen, Presbyte- rians, Anabaptists, and Quakers settled among them." The memorial of Colonel Morris closes w^^^ +^i= good adyice, and, although suggested more tha itury and a half ago, is wholesome in our daj . the king, the archbishop, ye bishops and great men, admit no man, for so many years, to any great beneiice, but such as 'shall oblige themselves to preach three years, gratis, in America. With part of the living, let lii™^ maintain a curate, and the other part let him apply to his own use. By this means, we shall have the greatest and best men; and, ia human probability, such men must, ia a short time, make a wonderful progress in the conversion of those countries — especially, when it is perceived the good of souls is the only motive to this undertaking." In the years 1702-3, the Kev. George Keith and the Eev. John Talbot made a missionary tour to this region, the former publishing, in 1706, "A Journal of Travels, from ISTew Hampshire to Caratuck, on the Continent of North America." He says, I^ov. 3, 1703 : "I preached at Andrew Craig's, in the township of Elizabeth Town, on 2 Pet. i. 5: and baptized his four. children." On Sunday, December 19, following, he delivered sermons at the house of Colonel Townley, both forenoon and afternoon, from 1 Pet. xi. 9. "Many of that town," he adds, *' having been formerly a sort of Independents, are become well affected to the Churcli of England, and desire to have a minister sent to them. There I baptized a child of Mr. Shakmaple." At this period, Elizabethtown was the largest place in 25 386 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 'the province of East Jersey, containingsome three hun- dred families, and it is believed that these were the first Episcopal services ever held there. The Rev. John Brook was sent to America'by the Society for the Propa- gation of the Grospel in Foreign Parts, and, advised by Governor Cornbury to settle at Elizabeth Town and Perth Amboy, he writes from the former place, August 20, 1705 : "Shrewsbury, Freehold, and Middletown are already supplied by Dr. Janes, a very goode man. . . . There are five Independent ministers in and about the places I preach at, and the greatest part of the people are followers of them. . . . We design, God willing, next spring, to begin to build two churches — one at Elizabeth Town, the other at Amboy (November 23, 1705). I must expect no subscriptions before they be finished. I have gathered a large congregation at Pisca- taway, about twenty miles from Elizabeth Town. An Independent minister has left them since I came, and now they are very desirous that the Et. Rev. and Hon- orable Society would be pleased to send one of .the Church of England, who is not a Scotchman. If a min- ister of temper was sent hither, he might do more service than any other place I know." In the year 1706, on St. John the Baptist's Day, Mr. Brooks laid the foundation of a brick church at Eliza- , bethtown, calling it "St. John's," fifty feet long, thirty wide, and twenty-one high. His communicants num- bered ten. The congregation increasing, he obtained a barn for his religious services, and, he writes, "in har- vest we were obliged to relinquish, whereupon, the dissenters, who, presently after I came, were destitute EAKLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOKK. 387 of their old teachers (one of them being struck with death in their meeting-house, as he was railing against the Church, and the other being at Boston), would not suf- fer me, upon my request, to officiate in their meeting- house, unless I would promise not tcf read any of the prayers of the Church, which I complied with, upon condition I might read the Psalms, Lessons, Epistle, and Gospel appointed for the day, which I did, and said all the rest of the service by heart, the doing of ^hich brought a great many to hear me, who otherwise, prob- ably, would never have heard the service of the Church. . . . Their teacher begins at eight in the morning, and ends at ten, and then our service begins ; and in the afternoon, we begin at two. The greatest part of the Dissenters generally stay to hear aU our services. We shall only get the outside of our church up this year, and I'm afraid t'will be a year or more before we can finish the inside, for I find, these hard times, a great many are very backward to pay their subscriptions. At Amboy, we've got a great many of the materials ready to build a stone church with, fifty-four feet long and tliirty wide, next spring. . . . Upon my arrival here, instead of churches, which I expected, I met only with private rooms, except at Amboy, where there is an old little court-house that serves for one. . . . Al- most discouraged, to find the Church had got so little footing in these parts, I resolved heartily and sincerely to endeavor to promote her, so much as. in my power, in order to which I began to preach, catechise, and ex- pound, twelve, fourteen, sometimes fifteen days per month (which I still do). ... I drew a bill of fifty 388 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOKK. pounds upon my sister, who receives my money of Mr. Hodges, "wMch. I've given to Elizabeth Town ; ten pounds to Piscataway ; ten pounds to Amlboy ; five pounds to the church that is to be at Freehold ; two pounds to that* at Cheesequakes ; three pounds to- wards printing Dr. Ashton's piece against the Anabap- tists, and for Catechisms to give away — and it hath cost me above ten pounds in lidiag about the provinces of JSTew York and Pennsylvania, and this to get subscrip- tions. I should never have mentioned this, had not my circumstances obliged me to it. I could not have given near so much out of your one hundred pounds per an- num, had I not been very well stocked with clothes I brought from England, and had some money of my own. For, I ride so much, I'm obliged to keep two horses, which cost me twenty pounds ; and one horse cannot be kept well under ten or eleven pounds per annum. 'TwiU cost a man near thirty pounds per annum to board here ; and, sure, 'twill cost me much more, who, pilgrim- like, can scarce ever be thtee days together at a place. All clothing here is twice as dear, at least, as 'tis in Eng- land ; and riding so much makes me wear out many more than I ever did before. . . . I've so many places to take care of that I've scarce any time to study ; neither can I supply any of them so well as they should be. I humbly beg, therefore, you'll be pleased to send a minister to take charge of Elizabeth Town and Kaw- way upon him, and I'll take all the care I can of the rest." Such was the introduction of the Church of England in the province of New Jersey. In reading its account EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 389 from this earliest and zealous missionary, it reminds us of John Wesley's saddle-bag Christian heroes. We have extracted largely; from Mr. Brooks' s letter, as it is the best record of those times that we can present. In the year 1702, Lord Cornbury, the eldest son of Earl Clarendon, arrived in America, charged with the administration of the government of New. York and the Jerseys. These provinces had been divorced for some time, but the proprietors differing, they ceded Jiheir patents to Queen Anne, when her majesty placed both under the command of Lord Cornbury. He was a near kinsman of her own, and the two colonies remained thus united until the year 1735, each however preserving a distinct legislative assembly. Cornbury was a wicked adventurer, whose sole claim to this important command could only rest on his relationship to the Queen or roy- alty. Churdhman, as he was, his conduct became very arbitrary to ministers of his own denomination. The Governor imprisoned in Fort Anne, 1707, the Rev.- Thomas Moore, but he escaped ; when, Mr. Brooks fear- ing the same treatment, both left for England. An early writer says that "Mr. Brooks and Mr. Moore are much lamented, being the most pious and industrious mission- ers that the Honorable Society ever sent over," and "whose crime was for opposing and condemning' boldly vice and immorality." Wearied with Cornbury' s tyranny, the citizens of New York and New Jersey at last petitioned the Queen for his removal, when she had to revoke her kinsman's commission. Immediately, his creditors threw him into the debtor's prison, at the new City Hall on Wall street, 390 EARLIEST CHUKCHBS IN NEW YOEK. where the persecutor remained until the death of his father, Earl Clarendon, elevated him from the cell to the peerage of England. Mr, Brooks died in 1707, and two years afterwards the Rey. Edward Vaughan was appointed missionary for this region of N^ew Jersey, at a salary of fifty pounds per annum, which, he writes, "wiU not afford me a competent subsistence in this dear place, where no con- tributions are given by the people towards my support, and where I am continually obliged to be itinerant, and consequently at great expense in crossing ferries." This was one hundred and fifty years before the present day of well-known Jersey railroads and bridges. The Prop- agation Society, in 1710-11, sent over from Englanc^ a Mr. Thomas Halliday, to divide the missionary burdens with r Mr. Vaughan. The new missionary officiated at Amboy and Piscataqua, and reports that "Amboy is a place pitched on by the Jerseys as most commodious for their trade in the country, in good hopes that some time or other it will appear a well-peopled ally. . . Piscataqua makes a much greater congregation, and there are some pious and well-disposed people among them ; some come from good distances to this meeting, but there is nothing among us like the face of a Church of England ; no surplice, no Bible, no communion table ; an old broken house, insufiicient to keep us from the injuries of the weather, and where, likewise, the Anabaptists, which swarm in this place, do sometimes preach, and we cannot hinder, the house belonging to the town." Piscataqua was the earliest Baptist settlement in the State, the tract purchased from the Indians in the year 1663, and their EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW TOEK. 391 patent obtained the following year of Grovernor McoUs, under the Duke of York. Among tlie recorded settlers here, we find the Gillmans, Drakes, Hands, Hendricks, Martins, Higginses, Dunhams, Fitz Randolphs, Buttons, Fords, Davises, Mortons, Dunns, &c., &c. Most of these, it is supposed, were Baptists,* and their first preachers Hugh Dunn, John Drake, and Edmond Dunham. These, with Nicholas Bonham, John Smalley, and John Fitz Randolph, in the spring of 1689, were constituted a " Baptist Church" in Piscataway. Then succeeded the Rev. Benjamin Stelle, of French extraction, who died in 1759 ; who was followed by his son, Isaac Stelle, 1781 ; Reune Runyan till 1811 ; James McLaughlin, 1817 ; Daniel Dodge, 1832 ; Daniel D. Lewis, 1833, &c. The Seventh-day Baptist Church was formed by sev- enteen seceders from the Piscataqua Church, in the year 1707, the Rev. Edmond Dunham becoming their first pastor ; his son, Jonathan Dunham, was his successor, and Nathan Rogers the next preacher. During thirty years this congregation was the only one of the denomi- nation in the State of New Jersey. The Rev. Walter B. Gillette became its next pastor. In 1747, the Baptist Church at Scotch Plains was formed by members of the Piscataqua society, and the Rev. Jacob Fitz Randolph became their minister, and after him the Rev. Lebbeus Lathrop and E. M. Barker. Let us now return to the Episcopalians. In 1714, we find that "Mr. Vaughan is settled, and marrying a for- tune of 'two thousand pounds, and has taken up his residence at Amboy, and intends to serve it and Elizabeth * Hist. Col. New Jersey. 392 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. Town." Mr. Vaughan continued to minister at Eliza- bethtown for nearly forty years, remarkable for his amia- ble and social qualities, and beloved by Ms. own people. He became very intimate with the Rev. Mr. Dickinson, the Presbyterian pastor of the town, although in tem- perament and doctrine warmly opposed to each other. Just as Mr. Vaughan was dying, the intelligence came of Dickinson' s death, and among his last audible words he said : " O that I had hold of the skirts of brother Jonathan!"* After his death, the Eev. Mr. Wood occasionally servedthe Episcopal church at Elizabethtown and Kew Brunswick. Then an application was made to the Soci- ety in England for a permanent minister, and Thomas Bradbury Chandler was appointed catechist, and after- wards ordained, rector of the church. Subsequently he rose to distinction, becoming a very able defender of Epis- copacy. Under his ministry, in the year 1782, the church received a charter from the Crown, which still remains the law to regulate the secular affairs of the congrega- tion. The Revolutionary War had a ruinous effect upon this church. Connected with the Crown, a Churchman and a foe of popular libertybecame synonymous terms. Dr. Chandler retired to England, remaining there for some years after the war, but returning in 1785. He died 1790. His ministry protracted and able, his name will long be revered among the fathers of the Episcopal Church in New Jersey. The interior of the church was destroyed, and converted into a stable by the common enemy. After the close of the war it was soon repaired, * Murray's Notes on Elizabethtown. EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. 393 and for some time continued the only place for the pub- lic -worship of God in the town. After its repair, Dr. Ogden here preached with great power and success, but subsequently became a minister of the Presbyterian Ghurch. The Rev. Mr. Spragg, previously a Methodist minis- ter, was elected rector in 1789, and enjoyed the con- fidence and respect of his people. After a brief ministry of five years, he died suddenly, in 1794. The Rev. Mr. Raynor, who had also been connected* with the Methodist Church, succeeded him, 1795-6, but removed to Connecticut in 1801. He gave up Meth- odism for Episcopacy, and then Episcopacy to embrace Universalism. Strange changes ! He now preached the doctrine first declared to Eve in the garden of Eden by the lying serpent: "Ye shall not surely die;" a doc- trine whose boast and claim to antiquity are certainly beyond all question. The Rev. Dr. Beasley next occupied the pulpit, remaining until 1803. Then the Rev. Mr. Lilly served the parish (1803) for two years, when he, removing to the South, died. His successor was the Rev. Dr. Rudd, in 1806, and after a very successful ministry of twenty years, took charge of a large congregation at Auburn, New York. In June, 1826, the Rev. Smith Pyne was called to fiU the vacancy, and retired December, 1828. !N"ext suc- ceeded, in 1829, the Rev. B. G. ISToble, resigning 1833 ; and the Rev. Richard C. Moore, Jr., a most excellent and pious pastor, in February, 1834. In 1855, he resigned the rectorship of St. John's, and is now the 394 EAELIEST CHURCHES ITST NEW TOEK. pastor of Christ Ohurcli, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. During his long and fruitful ministrations at Elizabeth- town, the church was almost rebuilt, a fine Sunday- school room added, and the communicants largely increased. Grace Church, a missionary one, was also erected at Elizabethport by the zeal and liberality of his congregation. In the year 1853, the members of St. John's formed another congregation under the name of Christ Church, and erected a beautiful stone chapel and rectory in the Gothic style, at a cost of over thirty thousand dollars, including the lot. Its pews are free, and the Rev. Mr. Hoffman its zealous pastor. A parish library has also been founded. EARLIEST OHITEOHES IN NEW YOEK. B95 CHAPTER XXXYII. EXTENT OF NEW NETHBRLAND ITS SETTLERS PALATINES AT KING- STON (1660) BEAUTIFOL TRADITION '' TRI-CORS " FRENCH BIBLE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY CHURCH ORGANIZED AT NEW PALTZ BY REV. P. DAILLE (1683) THE "WALLOON PROTESTANT CHURCh" ■ HIS MISSION FRENCH THE COMMON LANGUAGE THE "dUZINe" . LOUISE DUBOISE, ELDER, AND HUGH FREER, DEACON DAILLe's GRAVE RECENTLY DISCOVERED INSCRIPTION HIS WILL BONRE- POS HIS SUCCESSOR AT NEW PALTZ (1696) DUTCH LANGUAGE INTRODUCED NEW CHURCH CURIOUS DOCUMENT. , The colony of New Netlierland continued forty years after the first agricultural settlement until 1664, when it was ceded to the British Grovernment. It had extended from New Amsterdam to the neighboring regions of Long Island and New Jersey ; and the Dutch population was to be found at Egopus, now Kingston and vicinity, and at Rensselaerwyck, the present Albany. Hollanders and Huguenots, soon settled in the valleys of the Hack- ensack, Passaic, arid Raritan Rivers, and along the Mo- hawk and Schoharie. Some of the Protestant French families from the Palatinate, in Germany, found their way to Kingston as early as the year 1660. They had fled the religious persecutions of France for a temporary asylum in Germany, and thence emigrated to America. There is a beautiful traditionary incident which gives a clear insight into their earliest religious life in America. As soon as they had unharnessed and unpacked their 393 EARLIEST CHX7E0HES IN JCEW TOKK. teams on tTie WallMl, "wliere they at first had intended to settle, at a place called the "Tri-Cors," then they opened their French Bible, and reading the twenty-third Psalm, engaged in the solemn duties of Christian wor- ship. Pious inauguration of their American history! Here they settled, and a few weeks after, among -the first buildings erected was a log cabin, answering the double purpose of a church and, school-house. In this humble place, doubtless, for the first time they enjoyed a free Gospel in their own sweetly-flowing tongue. Prom this fountain, springing up in the American Avilderness, they now imbibed religious liberty — a privilege, happiness, and realization- sweeter to them than life itself ; they had fled from home, and kindred, and country, to procure this inestimable blessing. Mrs. Hemans has finely por- trayed such a sublime sight in her "Huguenot's Fare- weU:"— "I go up to the ancient hills, Where chains may never be ; Where leap in joy the torrent rills ; Where man may worship God, alone and free. "And song shall midst the rooks Ije heard. And fearless prayer ascend ; While thrilling to God's most holy Word, The mountain pines in adoration bend. " Then fare thee well, my mother's bower ; Farewell, my father's hearth I Perish my home I where lawless power Hath rent the tie of love to native earth. " Perish I let death-lilte silence fall Upon the lone abode ; Spread fast, dark ivy — spread thy pall — I go up to the mountains with my God." EAELIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOEK. 397 To this little pious band in tlie American wilderness the Rey. Pierre Daille first gave the bread of life. The church at New Paltz was organized by him on the 22d of January, 1683, with the name of the "Congregation of the Walloon Protestant Church,"* after the manner and discipline of the Church at Geneya, and according to John Calvin' s tenets. Mr. Daille may be styled the great apostle of the Huguenots in America. His missionary services a;gpear to have been divided between the French Protestant churches at "New Paltz and New York, until his depart ture to serve the Huguenots in Boston. In the city of New York, Mons. Peter Pieret succeeded him, in 1697, who received towards his salary twenty pounds annually from the municipal government, f We learn this historical fact of the organization of the church at New Paltz from its record, ivritten in French MSS. It extends from 1683 to 1703, a period of nineteen years, during which the French was the prevailing lan- guage of the settlement. The entries were made by eight different hands, including the autographs of Abriaham Hasbrouck, Louis Dubois, and Louis Bevier, three of the original "Duzine," or "Twelve Patentees." At the close of the record are two or three entries in Dutch, and hence we conclude that then, about the year 1700, the French was superseded by the Dutch. Its first entry is the organization of the church, reading thus : " Jahuary 22d, 1683, Mr. Pierre DaiUe, minister of the Word of God, arrived at New Paltz, and preached twice * Hon. A. B. Hasbrouck. t ^°'^- ^s*- 338 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YOEK. on the Sunday following, and proposed to the families to choose by a majority of votes of the fathers of fami- lies an elder and deacon, which they did, and chose Louis Dubois for elder, and Hugh Freer for deacon, to aid the minister in the management of the members of the church meeting at New Paltz, Avho were then con- firmed to the said charge of elder and deacon. The pres- ent minister has been made to put in order the things wMch pertain to the said church." Thus early, one hundred and eighty years ago, was •organized a church in New Paltz, consisting originally of only ten or twelve families. Mr. DaiUe, their pastor, did not reside permanently among them, but visited them at their homes, preaching the Gospel and adminis- tering the Sacrament. His journeys must have been by water to Esopus, and thence on the land over the rugged intervening region — a tedious, toilsome road then. His last recorded service was the marriage of "Peter Gui- man, native of Saintonge, to Esther Hasbrouck, native of the Palatinate, in Germany, April 18, 1692." About the year 1724, he was settled in the French church in New York. In 1696, he removed to the French church, in Boston. He was a preacher of talents, and beloved as a faithful pastor. For a long time his grave has been an object of search by those who venerate his name and memory. It was accidentally found, 1860, in the Boston Granary Burial- Ground ; and some time after, while excavating a cellar in Pleasant street, some of the workmen struck the headstone. It is a slate-stone slab, with tliis inscrip- tion: EAKLIEST CIIUECHES IN NEW YORK. 399 HEKE LYES TB BOD-K OP YE REV. ME. PETER DAILLE, Minister of ye Feenoh Chuhoh, in Boston : DIED THE 21 op MAY, It 15, IN THE 67 YEAR OP HIS AGE. Mr. Daille buried two wives while residing in Boston ; lie left a widow, named Martha, and in his will directed his body to be "decently interred," "with this restric- tion, that there be no wine at my tuneral, and none of my wife's relations have any mourning clothes furnished them, except gloves." Measures have been taken to restore the newly-discovered, venerable gravestone of Mr. DaUle to its true original spot in the Grrauary Burying-Ground. The next pastor of the French church at New Paltz was the Rev. M. Bonrepos. This is the same minister who signs himself "the Pastor of this French Colony," in a communication, during the year 1690, to Governor Leister, from New Rochelle. He was naturalized at the same place, under the great seal of the province, in 1696,* and his first ministerial recorded services at New Paltz are dated May 31, 1696. In the year 1699 he held two communion services, when eight were received at the Lord' s table. His last ministerial record is dated June 19, 1700. The name of Bonrepos is among the most illustrious of the Huguenot leaders or Reformers in ; France, and we can easily imagine that this exiled Pro- testant French preacher was a worthy descendant of pious " noble sires ;" but we have never been able to * Doc. Hist. N. T. 400 EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW TOEK. discover any thing further of his history than this mere notice. Between the years 1700 and 1730, at New Paltz, the Dutch language took the place of the French, and, in consequence of this transition, the French church did not secure a settled ministry. Still, although the fathers of the colony did not have the ministrations of a preacher in their own native tongue, they were by no means neg- lectful of their Church obligation and duties. The early records of baptisms in the Reformed Dutch church in Kingston bear witness that many a tiresome journey was made to that place by these Huguenots, to enjoy the preaching of the Grospel and its holy ordinances. At a later period, when the Dutch language had be- come more general, the services of Dutch ministers from Albany and Kingston were obtained, and the Huguenots even erected a second church, which was dedicated to the service of the Almighty on December 29th, 1720. This was small, and the brick imported from , Hol- land ; its form square, each of the three sides having a large window, and the fourth a capacious door and portico. In the centre of its steep roof stood a little stefeple, from which sounded the horn, the notice of religious services.. At this period there appears a curi- ous document, written in French, designating the places which each seat-holder should occupy on the benches. It purported to be an article of agreement between the members of the congregation, and no doubt answered every purpose of a deed, securing the rights of the hear- ers to their sittings. EARLIEST CHUEOHES IK NEW" YORK. 401 CHAPTER XXXVIII. NEW PALTZ, CONTINUED REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH ^DOMINIE VAN DRIESSEN THE CCETUS AND CONFERENTI^ REV. MR. FRBTENMOKT JOINTLY CALLED BY ROCHESTER, MARBLETOWN, SHAWANGUNK, AND NEW PALTZ MR. GOETSCHIUS SUCCEEDED HIM A TEACHER OF THEOLOGY HIS YOUNGER BROTHER, AN M. D., TAKES HIS PLACE, PREACHING IN GERMAN AND DUTCH CALLED THE '^.DOCTOR dominie" CURBS A MANIAC BY MUSIC DIVISION IN THE CHURCH (1'76'7) DOMINIES OLD CHURCH AT NEW PALTZ TAKEN DOWN AND NEW ONE ERECTED REV. S. GOETSCHIUS THE MINISTER (l775) UNITES THE TWO CONGREGATIONS INDIAN INCURSIONS NEW PALTZ ESCAPES THE PASTOlt's LAST SERMON HIS. SUCCESSORS, REV. W. R, BOGARDUS, VAN OLINDA, AND VANDERVOORT. NEW PALTZ REFOEMED DUTCH CHURCH. From the dedication of the Second French Church at New Paltz, no permanent pastoral services were per- formed until 1731, when Dominie Vain Driessen visited the little flock, and from the records Ave learn that he ordained deacons and elders. He styles them " Our French Church," and his ministry among them contin- ued until May 11th, 1736. Twenty-two members were received on probation during his ministry at the Paltz. He came from Belgium origiaally, and sustained a thorough examination before the Presbytery of New Haven in 1727, and, after ordination, his first settlement was at Livingston Manor (now Linlithgow), and Eensse- laerwick (Kinderhook and Claveracl^). Here he was in- vited by Rob Livinston, who had j^st finished a church at the Manor, and removed soon after his death, in 1728. 26 402 EAELIflST. CHtTRCHES IN NEW TOEK. Mr. Van Driessen was not regularly installed at 'New Paltz, in consequence of Ms not having received ordina- tion and license from the Mother Church, which, at that moment, was regarded as most essential. Kotwith- standing this irregularity, he performed the duties of a pastor at New Paltz from 1731 to 1735, when he was called to Acquackanonck, remaining there till 1748. Dominie Van Driessen appears to have been a represen- tative man, as he was the first instance, in the northern section of the Reformed Dutch Church, of irregularity in ordination. This question originated the contention between the two parties, the Ccetus and the Conferen- tia. Notwithstanding he pursued this course to save the trouble and the expense of a journey to Holland for ordination, the regular ministry here denounced him, warning their churches against him, and in 1731 a simi- lar act was passed by the church of Kingston, calling him a schismatic with Johannes Hardenburg (father of J. R. Hardenburg). The old record says: "The said Van Driessen having preached dangerous doctrines, in a barn in Henley, on the Sunday previous in New Paltz, and on September 21st in Marble" (Marbletown). His heresy evidently consisted not so much in his doctrines as the want'Of regularity in his ordination.* Notwith- standing this opposition, his ministry was successful at New Paltz. From 1736 to 1751, no regular record has been dis- covered of this church, except occasional entries, when baptisms and marriages were solemnized by the Rev. Theodosius Frelinghuysen, of Albany, .and the Rev. * Hist. Hng. Church, New Paltz, by Rev. C. H. Stitt. EARLIEST CHUECHES IN NEW YORK. 403 Isaac Chalker, the Rev. Johannes H. Goetschius, with probably Dominie Mancius, from Kingston.* In the year 1741, the Consistory of JSTew Paltz, uniting with those of Rochester, Marbletowh, and Shawangunk, caUed the Rev. John Casparus Freyenmoet to be their pastor, for the sum of one hundred pounds per annum : Rochester contributing thirty-one pounds six shillings and a parsonage for one-third of his services ; Marble- town, thirty-six pounds fourteen shillings for a third ; and New Paltz and Shawangunk thirty-one pounds for the remaining third. After him, Johannes Henricus Goetschius served this congregation. He was born in Switzerland, and studied at Zurich, the birthplace of Zuingle, the great reformer. In the year 1748, he was properly ordained by the Classis of Amsterdam, and settled in the Hackensack church. He was a scholar and a teacher of theology, and a preacher of intrepid earnestness. It is related, that while preaching on Long Island, the doors of a church closed against him, he mounted the steps and delivered a powerful sermon to . a large and sympathi- zing congregation. A majority of the Hackensack Con- sistory also deliberated, one Sunday, about closing their church-doors against him, when, buckling on a sword, he declared, "I will do what I must for my rights," and, thus accoutred, actually entered the pulpit. Mr. Goetschius had charge of the Schraalenbergh and Hackensack congregations from 1748 to 1774, and taught theology at the latter place. During the whole period of his ministry, seven years, it Avas a season of the * Hist. Hug. Church, New Paltz, hy Rev. 0. H. StitL 404 EAELIEST CHtTECHES IN NEW TOPJC. Lord' s presence and power. At a single communion, in 1751, he received eighty-seven memlaers. . In the year 1752, Barent Vrooman received a call from New Paltz, and was installed the next year, ' remaining only till 1754, when he hecame pastor at Schenectady. Johannes Mauritius Groetschius, a younger brother of the dominie already referred to, came a physician to America about 1744, but immediately commenced the study of divinity. Ordained in the year 1758, he took charge of the High and Low Dutch church of Scho- harie, preaching in German and Dutch, and practising medicine. In 1760, he became the pastor of the two churches at New Paltz and Shawangunk, " each congre- gation to pay him forty pounds, good N&w TorJc gold,''^ an article so scarce and high in these war times. He was called the "Doctor Dominie," and his labors must have been extensive and arduous, extending, as they did, from .Bloomingdale to New Prospect, a distance of some thirty miles. A skilful physician, he was called, it is related, to visit a fearfully insane person, by the name of Jacob Lefever. Quick as thought the dominie took a violin, and playing with a masterly hand, the notes were so sweet and soothing that the maniac patient be came at once soothed and calm ; and, leaping from his bed, he danced until profuse perspiration followed the exercise, and, striking his hand on his head, he ex- claimed, "I have been crazy!" Permanent cure was the result of this novel, yet sensible, practice. Mr. Goetschius continued in this useful field of labor until his death, in 1771, and his ashes rest under the north side of the Keformed Dutch ehuroh at Shawangunk. EARLIEST CI-IUECHES IN NEW YOKE. 405 All readers of the religious history of these times will bring to remembrance the difficulties produced by the "Coetus" and " Conferentia" parties in the Reformed Dutch Church. To say the least of the contest, it was a pious strife, if we can with propriety use such a term. It terminated in an open division (1767), when a Second , Reformed Dutch Church of New Ealtz was organized by the Rev. Isaac Rysdyck, of Poughkeepsie and Fish- kill. I^oah Eltinge was chosen elder, and Petrus Van Wagenen deacon, and th^ new church numbered five members from I^ingston and ten from New Paltz. This new organization, however, arising from dissension, de- clined and died in a few years. Their ministers were the Rev. Gt. D. Cock, 1768 to '70; Rev. Ryneer Van Neste, 1774, with a salary of one hundred pounds ; and he remained pastor untU this congregation merged into the Coetus, or First Church of New Paltz, under the Rev. Stephen Goetschius. The old, or first church at New Paltz, was finally taken down, and its material converted usefully into a vUlage schoolhouse, still re- maining. On its site, a new and more commodious stone building was erected. With a hipped roof, similar to the "Old Middle Dutch," New York, and sur- mounted with cupola and beU, the last still usefully serving the village ' schoolhouse. This new temple of the Lord was dedicated to His service A. D. 1770. In the year 1775, the Rev. Stephen Goetschius took the spiritual oversight of this congregation, with the one at New Henley, remaining untU 1796, when he re- moved to the church of Marbletown. He received his preparatory studies under Dr. Peter Wilson, then of 406 EAELIEST CHtJKCHBS IK ISTEW TOEK; Hackensack, but afterwards professor at ColumMa Col- lege, and so well rememlbered by many liberally-edu- cated New Yorkers. Dominie GoetscMus obtained Ms bachelor' s degree at Princeton, reading divinity under his father, at Hackensack ; Dr. Livingston, New York ; Dr. Westerlo, Albany ; and Dr. Verbryck, Tappan. The preaching of this young licentiate happily healed the breach between the two congregations at the Paltz, uniting them into one communion, and thus restoring peace in their beloved Zion. He labored during the stormy times of the American Revolution, and says, in one of his discourses : "At the close of the war, I per- ceived there were places where new, congregations might be gathered. I did undertake, collected, and organized nine churches. Being the only minister in the Dutch Church in Ulster County, my labors in solemnizing mar- riages, in visiting, and performing parochial duties, were very severe, and rather more than I could endure ; biit the Lord helped me, as I have reason to believe."* He was a man of small stature, but bold and fearless in denouncing sin — a sound preacher. His vacant Sab- baths were spent at Wawarsing; a valley west of the mountains, distant twenty miles from Paltz. At this period the Indians visited its defenceless inhabitants with fire and death, and he speaks of preaching in a pul- pit cut and disfigured by their bloody tomahawks. The church had been set on fire, but it went out of its own accord, and thus escaped destruction by the intervening kind providence of the Lord. With the exception of three houses, the whole of this retired village was * Eev. Mr. Stitts'aHist. EAEMEST CHURCHES IN KEW TOEK. 407 burned to the ground. He also mentions an old man, an elder in the church, who, not able to retreat "with the other flying inhabitants, was shot and scalped on the road. It is a remarkable fact, that the Christian settle- ment of New Paltz escaped the scenes of cruelty and bloodshed which so early visited the surrounding neigh- borhood. This good fortune, we doubt not, was owing to the treaty early made with the Indans, the Huguenot settlers paying a fair compensation for their lands, and they then strictly respected its provisions. Toward the last of his ministry. Dominie Goetschius, to meet the wants of his younger hearers, preached alternately in Dutch and English. The former his vernacular, it was difficult for him, at once, to use the new language, but by perseverance he succeeded. His first discourse in the new tongue was from Rom. xiv. 8 : "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord," &c. He finally settled at Saddle River, there ending his ministry full of years and usefulness. The text of his farewell and last ser- mon, was Eph. vi. 24: "Grace be mth all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen." He thus concluded: "Farewell, farewell, friends and fel- low-Christians ! From henceforth ye shall see me no more as your ordinary shepherd and teacher in the sacred desk. Be of one mind ; be of good cheer ; live in peace, and the God of peace will be with you. " Omden will der vrieden myn Andder broderin, die tinner zyn ; Wensachre ik in vrede in alle packen,, Om dat Gon temple zeer ryn, Staat binnen were mureu neit klyn, Zalik steeds an voors pocdraoken." Ps. 122. 408 EARLIEST CHURCHES IBT NEVT YORK. After a vacancy of three years, the Rev. John H. Meyers took the pastorate of Paltz and New Henley, in 1799, preaching in hoth languages — and, it is said, elo- quently. A peculiar unction attended his sermons. In the year 1803, he settled at Schenectady, where he soon died. Then came the Eey. Peter Ditmas Preligh, his ministry lasting six years at the Paltz ; when, removing to Acquackanonck, New Jersey, in 1814, he there fin- ished his course. In the year 1817, the Rev. William R. Bog9,rdus occu- pied this field of Christian labors, continuing to 1831, and then he also took -the pastoral relation to the Re- formed Dutch Church of Acquackanonck. In the year 1857, he retired to Paterson, without any charge, and afterwards lived with his son-in-law, the Rev. J. Ro- meyn Berry, at Kinderhook. He was an untiring pastoral laborer, with a remarkable power to adapt his discourses to the wants of his flock, in preaching Christ. He has recently been called to his seat in the upper sanctuary. During his ministry, Kew Henley was separated from the Paltz, the latter retaining his exclusive services. In 1832, the Rev. Dominie Van Olinda siTcceeded him tiU 1844, and then removing to the church at Fonda, he soon died. Under his direction the new Paltz Academy was established, and by his efforts the second stone church there was taken down, and a new brick one built near its site, with parts of the material from the old. This is a spacious, beautiful house of the Lord, and dedicated December 17, 1839. After Dominie Van Olinda, the Rev. John .C. Vandervoort became the pas- EAKLIEST CHXTRCHES IN NEW YORK. 409 tor of this flock, 1845 ; and; faitMully laboring in the cause of his Master, he removed to the congregation at West Ghent. Here this good man, and full of the Holy Grhost, having ended a tedious sickness, fell asleep in Christ. He was succeeded by the present excellent pastor, in the year 1848, the Rev. 0. H. Stitt.* We have thus extended our notice of the earliest churches of New Paltz, because so little has been collected of their inter- esting history. * To this gentleman's researches we owe much of our New Paltz history. 410 EAELIEST CHTTRCHES IN NEW YORK. CHAPTEE XXXIX. FIRST CHURCH IN ALBANY, 1642 PULPIT IMPORTED ENLARSED SECOND AND THIRD CHURCHES REV. J. MEGAPOLENSIS THE EARLI- EST DOMINIE SALARY DOMINIE SCHAATS, 1652 REVS. M. NIE- MENHUYSEN AND N. VAN RENSSELAER LATTER SUSPECTED OF BEING A PAPIST ARRESTED, BUT RELEASED BY THE GOVERNOR REV. MR. DELLIUS ARRIVES, 1683 BAPTISMAL PJIGISTER PRE- SERVED DOMINIES LUOELLA, LEDIUS, AND VAN DRIESSEN CHURCH REBUILT IN 1715— REVS. C. VAN SCHLIE AND T. FRELING- HUYSEN, 1760 E. WESTERLO J. BASSET NEW CHURCH BUILT REVS. A. B. JOHNSON, J. W. BRADFORD, 1S05 FIRST SETTLER IN SCHENECTADY ITS MASSACRE, 1690 REV. MR. TASSOMAKER KILLED REVS. T. BROWN, B. FREEMAN, E. ERKSON, C. VAN SANT- YOORT, B. KOOMER, J, D. ROMEYN, J. H. MYERS, C. BOGARDUS, J. VAN VECHTEN FIRST AND SECOND CHURCH ST. GEORGe's, FIRST EPISCOPAL (1'762), J. DUNCAN, RECTOR REV. MR. DOTY AND AN- DREWS, AND ROGERS, ETC. CAPTAIN WEBB INTRODUCES METHOD- ISM PREACHES IN EEGIMENTALS — HIS SUCCESS WHITEFIELD CHURCH BUILT CONCLUDING REMARKS BLESSED RESULTS FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THESE EARLY CHURCHES IN NEW YORK AND NEW AMSTERDAM. As early as 1643 a small stone cliurcli was built, nine- teen Iby thirty -four feet, at Albany, and its pulpit im- ported complete from Holland, and is still preserved. The sacred edifice had pews for the deacons and magis- irates, with only nine benches, but the humble place of worship answered its pious purposes for thirteen years, when it was enlarged in a curious way. Small as was this infant church, as early as 1647 it could loan two EAELIEST CHTJKOHES IN NEW YOKK. 411 hundred guilders to the Patroon, for -which the " Diaco- nie" or Deacons receiyed an interest of ten per cent. In the year 1651, a new "stoop" or steps were added to the edifice, which, to use the language of an old record, would answer the purposes of the congregation ' ' for the next three or four years, after Ayhich it might be con- verted into a schoolhouse or a dwelling for the sexton." A new stone wall, built around the old church, enclosed it, so that the usual services were discontinued for three Sundays only. This second cburch remained ninety-two years, until 1806, directly in front of the present post- office, when the stone was removed to aid in the erection of the beautiful South Dutch Church. In the month of August, 1642, the Rev. Johannes Megapolensis arrived at Albany, under the patronage of the Patroow. He had a free passage to New Netherland, with an outfit of three hundred guilders, or one hundred and twenty-fo^^r dollars ; salary, eleven hundred guilders, thirty schepels or twenty -two and a half bushels of wheat, two firkins of butter, annually, for the first three years. In the year 1649, Megapolensis retired from Albany, and during 1652, Dominie Gideon Schaats came from Holland, his successor, at a salary of eight hundred guilders (three hundred and twenty dollars) per annum, for three years, and this sum was afterwards increased to thirteen hun- dred. He is supposed to have died in 1683 ; and as early as 1675, Mr. M. Memenhuysen was his colleague, when Dominie Nicholas Van Rensselaer arrived. He claimed not only the pulpit, but the Manor also ; and, strange to us, he was suspected of being a Papist ! A controversy ensuing, the Governor of the Colony 412 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOEK. espoused the part of the Dutch dominie. The magis- trates even ordered him to be arrested and imprisoned for "several dubious words" uttered in a sermon. But the Governor, releasing him, compelled them to show cause why they had confined the minister, with security of five thousand pounds each. His Excellency, however, fear- ful of raising a party against himself, 4iscontinued the proceedings, referring the matter to the Dutch Church at Albany. The pulpit and bell of the new church were sent by the West India Company from Holland, and both served the congregation a century and a half. During the year 1683, the Rev. Godfredius Dellius arrived to assist Mr. Schaats, now threescore and six- teen years old. The baptismal register of this venerahle Albany church has been regularly kept ever since. Dominie Dellius added many members to his congrega- tion, and especially from the neighboring Mohawk Indi- ans. Unwisely led into property speculations, he became involved, which ultimately led to his dismissal in 169U, when he returned to Holland. In the year 1700, the Eev. Mr. Lucella ofiiciated at Albany, — 1703, the Rev, John Ledius for two years, and during 1703, Petrus Van Driessen was called, and labored until his death, in 1738. The church was rebuilt in 1715, upon the old site, and during 1733 we find the Rev. Cornelius Van Schlie officiating here, who died in 1744. Then the Rev. Theodoras Frelinghuysen occupied the pulpit till 1760, when he returned to Holland, and the Rev. EUardus Westerlo succeeded him. He became one of the most eminent ministers in our land, dying (1790), in his fifty- EARLIEST CHTJECHES IN NEW YORK. 413 third year, greatly beloved. Whilst the British occu- pied New York, Dr. Livingston occasionally exchanged with Mr. Westerlo, and there was a disposition to call him to preach in Dutch, but he was too inflrm for this duty. In 1787, the Kev. John Basset was called. The congregation now larger, a new church was built on North Pearl street, and services continued in both. During the year 1796, the Rev. John B. Johnson became a colleague of Mr. Bassett, continuing till 1802, and died at Newtown, Long Island, in 1803. He appears lo have obtained great popularity. The Rev. John W. Bradford was called in 1805, with a salary of fifteen hundred dollars, and two hundred and fifty dollars more if he married. This year, the ground of the old church was sold for five thousand dollars, and its materials taken to aid in erecting a new one on Beaver street. Its imported pulpit, weathercock, and some small panes of glass preserved, are all that now remain of this old temple of the Lord, i Schenectady was the earliest inland settlement beyond Albany, and made by the Dutch, as the nearest landing on the Mohawk River. The first settler was named "Corlaer," before 1666; the name signifying "beyond the Pine Plains."* Schenectady was the frontier town, and had its stockades, blockhouses, and gates, but no enemies until the ever busy French interfered with the Indians. On the 8th of February, 1690, at midnight, the groijnd covered with snow, two hundred French and savages, entering the town before the guard had any warning, fired almost every house, and butchered sixty * Watson's Annals of New York. 414 EARLIEST CHUECHE3 TN KEW YORK. persons, without any regard to age or sex. Several were made prisoners ; while those who escaped, almost naked, fled towards Albany, in the. midst of a raging, terrible snow-storm, some losing their limbs from the intense cold. The minister' s house had been ordered to be saved, that he might be captured, but it shared the general destruction — his papers burned and himself among the murdered. This was the Rev. Mr. Tassomaker, the first settled minister in the place. He came from Holland in the year 1684. Before this period the inhabitants made their church visits to Albany, distant sixteen miles. The mur- dered dominie was succeeded by the Rev. ThomasBrower, in the year 1702, also from Holland, who continued his ministry untU 1728, when he ended his earthly labors. Next came the Rev. Bernardus Freeman and Reinhard Erkson, and in 1740, Cornelius Van Santvoort, from Staten Island, and he finished his course in 1754. His successor, Dominie Barent Koomer, continued the ministerial duties until his death, in 1782. There succeeded in Schenectady, the Rev. J. D. Romeyn and J. H. Myers, from New Jersey, Cornelius Bogardus, Jacob Van Vechten, all Americans, &c., &c. The first church was erected between 1684 and 1698, a more commodious one following in 1733, and is said to have been celebrated for its fine silver-toned bell, having much of the precious metal in its composition. St. George' s was the first English or Episcopal Church established here, about 1762, its principal benefactors Sir William Johnson and John Duncan. Previoiis to the American Revolution the congregation owned a val- uable library and organ, which were destroyed by some EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YOKE. 415 lawless wMtes and Indians. It was called the English Church, and such was then the opposition against every thing English, as even to exhibit itself in this outrageous way. The pastor, the Rev. Mr. Doty, escaped the vio- lence of the mob, as they did not discover his abode. The Rev. Mr. Andrews was the first pastor, Mr. Doty following him (1773), and retiring in 1777. Then there was Ho regular minister until 1791, when the Rev. Amni Rogers took the charge, succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Whitmore, Cyrus Stebbins, P. A. Proal, &c., &c# Captain Thomas Webb, one of Mr. Wesley's "Local Preachers," introduced Methodism into Schenectady. He was an officer in the British army, and, stationed in Albany, occasionally visited other places to preach the Gospel. On such a pious mission he went to Schenec- tady, in the year 1767, and preached with success. It was a strange sight to hear an officer in a military cos- tume delivering a sermon, but a number embraced the truth from his ministrations. George Whitefield also here followed Webb, in 1770, immense crowds assem- bling to hear him wherever he appeared. For several years the Methodist Society met in private dwellings for religious services, but finally, in the year 1809, a suita- ble church was built, which was succeeded by the pres- ent beautiful edifice in the year 1836. From these early evangelical Churches in New York and New • Netherland have issued the streams which everywhere among us gladden and' enrich our beloved Zion. What pen or mortal tongue can tell the results of these, holy institutions? Little did our pious fore- 416 EARLIEST CHURCHES IN NEW YORK. fathers, who laid the foundations of the Lord's temples in our land, imagine or ever anticipate the glorious and sublime results which our eyes behold. They long prayed, "Thy kingdom come!" and God, in a most wonderful manner, is answering that prayer in our later day. The mustard-seed which they planted has germi- nated, and lo! a tree has sprung up whose "healing leaves" are for every part of our happy land, and the cloud, arising not larger than a man's hand, has spread until its gracious showers have descended and enriched every region. In the beautiful imagery of the Scrip- tures, the Church "looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." Centuries have not buried the religious life and sentiments of our Protestant forefathers. They were Bible Christians. And who can doubt but their prayers have been answered in our day, and in the experience of their children and children' s children, by Him who has promised — "I will be a God to thee, and thy seed after thee i \