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HISTORY OF
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GARRISON
NEW YORK
Including, up to 1840, St. Peters Church on the Manor of Cortlandt
by E. CLOWES CHORLEY, B. D.
MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
NEW YORK
EDWIN S. GORHAM
1912
Of this edition, three hundred copies have been printed. This copy is
Copyright, 1912
E. Clowes Chorley
Garrison, N. Y.
HOWARD PRESS Poughkeepaie, N. Y
£CI.A314730
TO THE
WARDENS VESTRYMEN
AND
CONGREGATION
OF
ST. PHILIP'S CHURCH IN THE HIGHLANDS
vu
INTRODUCTION.
NO apology is needed for writing the history of an American Church founded in the reign of George III. In the diocese of New York there are but fourteen Anglican churches which ante-date the War of the Revolution, and it is of the utmost importance that their records should be permanently preserved. The purpose to tell the story of this Highland parish was in- spired by the accidental discovery of some historical notes in the handwriting of the late Hon. Hamilton Fish, LL.D., for many years an honored Church Warden of the parish. Further investigation revealed a wealth of material. We are fortunate enough to possess the minutes of the Vestry from its first recorded meeting of September 1st, 1770 — broken only for a few years during and after the Revolution — down to the present day, in addition to which Frederick Philipse, for thirty-seven years clerk and treasurer, kept all important letters and ac- counts.
It would have been possible to have constructed a narrative history of the parish from these sources without the wealth of quotation which the reader will find in the following pages, but the writer has chosen to allow the
ix
Introduction
records to speak for themselves. The arrangement of the chapters consequent upon an association of St. Peter's and St. Philip's in a common life of seventy years has involved some repetition, for which due allowance should be made.
The facts herein set forth have been gleaned from many fields, but, in most cases, authorities are quoted in the notes. Grateful acknowledgment is made of the courtesy of the librarians of Yale and Columbia Univer- sities, the General Theological Seminary and the New York Historical Society; the Rev. Dr. Hart, custodian of the Archives of the General Convention, the Comp- troller of the State of New York; Mr. James Nelson, Mr. Franklin Couch and Mr. H. Cammann, Comptroller of the Corporation of Trinity Church, for permission to use the valuable books and manuscripts in their hands, and to Mr. E. H. Virgin for reading the proofs. The Misses Philipse and Miss Van Cortlandt have freely placed the rich treasures of family papers and por- traits, so far as they relate to the churches, at our disposal.
Special mention should be made of the valued co- operation of Mr. Stuyvesant Fish, a Vestryman of the parish, who has proved unwearied in his search for material and most accurate in his estimate of its value.
While no effort has been spared to insure accuracy, it is too much to hope that no errors will be discovered. As Robartes wrote in the preface to his work on Tythes in 1613, "Who faulteth not, liveth not; the Printer hath faulted a little; it may be the Author hath ouersighted
Introduction
more," but, with all its imperfections, this modest con- tribution to the history of a church older than these United States of America is sent forth in the spirit of the words of the Psalmist:
Walk about Sion, and go round about her: and tell the towers thereof. Mark well her bulwarks, set up her houses: that ye may tell them that come after.
<c.-tt.
The Rectory,
Garrison, New York. All Saints Day, 1911
XI
CONTENTS.
FOREWORD Page
Chapter I. 1
The Church in the American Colonies. Chapter II. 8
The Church in the Colony of New York.
THE UNITED CHURCHES Chapter HI. 17
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel, 1767-1840. Chapter IV. 64
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel. The Rectors, 1770-1840. Chapters V-VI. 115-155
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel. The Wardens and Vestrymen, 1770-1840.
ST. PHILIP'S IN THE HIGHLANDS Chapter VII. 178
The Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands. 1770-1840. Chapter VIII. 225
The Parish of St. Philip's in the Highlands, 1840-1911. Chapter IX. 257
The Parish of St. Philip's in the Highlands. The Rectors, 1840-1911. Chapter X. 279
The Parish of St. Philip's in the Highlands. The Wardens and Vestrymen, 1840-1911. Chapter XI. 311
The Glebe Farm. Chapter XII. 340
The Churchyard. Chapter XIII. 347
The Parish Register. (Containing a list of Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages and Burials, 1809-1911.) Appendix. 394
Letters to the Corporation of Trinity Church and to Bishop Hobart , 1795-1813. Bibliography 413
Index 421
xiii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Opposite
! Page
St. Philip's Chapel in the Highlands . Frontispiece (From a drawing by George E. Moore, 1857)
St. Peter's Church, 1767 18
The Rev. John Ogilvie, D.D . 22
Minutes of First Vestry Meeting, 1770 32^
Receipt for Damages in the War of the Revolution, 1791 42 l
Interior of St. Peter's Church 54
The Rev. Andrew Fowler, M. A 88
Title Page of the Rev. Andrew Fowler's Principal Book.
On page 99
Salary Receipt of the Rev. Joseph Warren, 1806 . . 108
Colonel Beverly Robinson . 120
(From a miniature by John Plott)
William Denning 158
Lieutenant-Governor Pierre Van Cortlandt . . . . 160 (From a painting by Jarvis)
General Pierre Van Cortlandt 164
(From a painting by Collins)
Captain Frederick Philips 174
(From a painting by Gilbert Stuart)
Jacob Mandeville's House 188
Bishop Benjamin T. Onderdonk 206
Salary Receipt of the Rev. James Sunderland . . . 218
The Old Rectory 234''
St. Philip's Church in the Highlands 240 *
Bishop Horatio Potter 244 '
Interior of St. Philip's Church in the Highlands . . . 246
xv
Page j
List of Illustrations
Opposite Page
St. James' Chapel 248
The Samuel Sloan Memorial Rectory, 1911 . . . 250 * (From architect's drawing)
The Virginia Sturges Osborn Memorial Altar . . . 254
The Toucey Memorial Parish House 256 N
The Rev. Henry Lemuel Storrs, M.A 258
The Rev. Ebenezer Williams 260
The Rev. Edward Mills Pecke, M.A 264
The Rev. Joel Clap, D.D 266
The Rev. Charles Frederick Hoffman, M. A., D. D. . 268
The Rev. Albert Zabriskie Gray, D.D 270 ^
The Rev. Walter Thompson, M. A., D.D 272
The Rev. Carroll Perry, B. D 276
Samuel Gouverneur 280
John Garrison 282
Frederick Philipse 284
Henry Belcher 286 "
William Moore . 288
The Hon. Hamilton Fish, LL. D 290
(From a painting by Huntington)
Colonel Thomas Boyle Arden 294
Samuel Sloan . 296
Charles deRham 298
Henry Casimir deRham 300
Richard Dean Arden 302
Announcement of Vandue of the Glebe Farm, 1774 . 314
Affidavit concerning the Glebe Farm, 1792 . . . 316
Affidavits concerning the Glebe Farm, 1792 . . . 318
A Parochial Appeal and Subscription, 1774 . . . 320
A Page of the First Parish Register 348
xvi
CHAPTER I.
THE CHURCH IN THE COLONIES OF AMERICA.
THE Church in America is an integral part of the Holy Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ, and built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. Neither the Reformation in England, nor the Revolution in America, severed the chain of her historic continuity.
First upon the ground, she has remained steadfast ever since the founding of the nation. The beginnings of the Church are contemporaneous with the beginnings of the American Colonies; both took root the same day. With the hardy adventurer, seeking fame and fortune in virgin lands, there came the Priest of the Church to conquer the new world for Christ.
Whilst the Church was not permanently planted in Virginia until 1607, occasional services were held at least twenty-eight years before that date. In 1579, on his memorable voyage around the world, Sir Francis Drake arrived on the Pacific coast and anchored in Drake's Bay. The fleet carried its own chaplain, the Rev. Francis Fletcher, and during the stay of about six weeks Fletcher conducted services. To him belongs the honor of being the first Anglican to preach Christ in this broad land. The first serious attempt to colonize the West was made in 1585 under the direction of Sir Walter Raleigh. One hundred and fifty persons landed at Roanoke, naming the land Virginia, in honor of Queen Elizabeth.
2 The History ofSt.Philip's Church
There accompanied the colonists one Thomas Hariot, who was the first missionary to America. During the one year of their stay Hariot, "many times and in every towne where he came, made declaration of the contents of the Bible, and of the chiefe points of Religion, to the natives according as he was able." In 1587 the first native Indian, Manteo, was baptized. One week later there was baptized Virginia Dare, the first white child born in the Colony.
Fourteen years before the Puritan "turned to the new world to redress the balance of the old" an Anglican Church was built at the mouth of the Kennebec river, in what is now the State of Maine, and the minister in charge was the Rev. Richard Seymour, great-grandson of the Duke of Somerset.
The colonists of 1585-7 carried back to England glow- ing reports of the fertile land and balmy skies of Virginia, and their story appealed to the merchant anxious for new markets, to the statesman burning to annex new lands, and to the Churchman yearning to convert the Indian. A new Company was chartered, to which the Crown granted lands reaching from South Carolina to Nova Scotia. On the 19th of December, 1606, three small ships, commanded by Christopher Newport, set out for the New World. The largest vessel was of one hun- dred tons burden; the smallest, twenty. After battling with wind and wave for a whole winter they entered Chesapeake Bay, and sailed up the James river about thirty miles and effected their settlement at Jamestown, so named after the English King.
In that bold venture the Church of England took the warmest interest, and Robert Hunt, one of her Priests,
The Church in the Colonies 3
accompanied the adventurers as chaplain. The first act of the colonists on landing was to kneel upon the beach and return thanks to Almighty God for deliver- ance from the perils of the great deep. Such was the first permanent settlement of the Anglo-Saxon race and the Church of England in America.
The land was covered with virgin forest and peopled with savage and hostile Indians. But, undaunted by either, "Now falleth every man to worke; the Counsell contrive the fort, and the rest cut down trees to make place to pitch the tents; some provide clapboard to relode the ships; some make gardens, some nets." The dual purpose of the settlers must ever be borne in mind. They left home and kindred to extend the bounds or Empire, to find gold and to convert the Indians. Their great hope, admirably stated by Christopher Newport, was that their venture "would tend to the glory of God, his majesties revenue, our countries profit, our owne advantage, and fame to all posterity." Missionary zeal kept pace with commercial enterprise.
Captain John Smith, whom Bancroft calls "the true father of Virginia," happily has left behind a pamphlet entitled, Advertisement for the Unexperienced Planter of New England. From that precious record we are able to glean particulars of the earliest provision for public worship, to which the settlers were summoned morning and evening by the roll of the drum. 1 " I have been often demanded by so many how we began to preach the Gospell in Virginia . . . what Churches we had, and
1 The use of the drum to call the faithful to prayer was common in New England and New York down to the War of the Revolution.
4 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
our order of service. When I first went to Virginia, I well remember we did hang an awning (which is an old saile) to three or four trees to shadow us for the service; our walls were rails of wood; our seats unhewed trees. In foule weather we shifted into an old rotten tent, for we had few better, and they came by way of adventure for new." In that primitive structure, on the third Sunday after Trinity, June 21st, 1607, the Holy Com- munion was celebrated for the first time in Virginia. Thus did those devout Churchmen keep the sacred Feast, and for a while forget their loneliness and danger as they held mystic communion with "angels, archangels and all the company of heaven."
As the Colony prospered, a new church was erected which is described as "a homely thing, like a barn, set on cratchets, covered with rafters, sod and brush." This served until the settlement was devastated by fire in which Robert Hunt "our preacher, lost all his librarie and all that he had (but the cloathes on his back)," but on the arrival of new stores, "the mariners set aboute a church which they finished cheerfully and in short tyme" — too short indeed — for Captain John Smith tells us "the rain washed it neere to nothing in fourteen days." With the arrival of Lord Delaware in 1610 steps were taken to rebuild the Church, and we are indebted to Strachey, secretary of the Colony, for a description of the new and statelier structure. " The Captaine Generall hath given order for the repairing of the Church, and at this instant many hands are upon it. It is in length three score foote, in breadth twenty foure and shall have a chancell in it of Cedar, and a Communion Table of black Walnut, and all the pewes of Cedar, with fare broad
The Church in the Colonies 5
windows to shut and open as the weather shall occasion: a pulpit of the same wood with a font hewen hollow, like a canu, with two Bels at the West End. It is so cast as to be very light within, and the Lord Governour doth cause it to be kept passing sweete and trimmed up with divers flowers, with a sexton belonging to it."
In due course cedar gave way to red brick, and at James- town today there stands an ivy -mantled tower keeping watch and ward over a few weather-beaten grave-stones bearing eloquent witness to the piety and devotion of those few men who planted the Church in the wilderness.
Strachey describes the services in the church. "Every Sunday we have sermons twice a day, and every Thurs- day a sermon, having preachers which take their weekly turnes. Every morning at ten of the clocke, each man addresseth himself to prayers, and so at foure of the clocke before supper." Pomp and pageant were not absent from the little Colony and Jamestown Church must have presented a gay appearance. "Every Sunday when the Lord Governour and Captaine Generall goeth to Church he is accompanied with all the councell, captaines, other officers and all the gentlemen, with a guard in his Lordship's livery of faire red cloakes, to the number of fifty both on eache side and behind him; and, being in the Church, his Lordship hath his green velvet chair with a cloath, and a velvet cushion spread on a table before him on which he kneeleth; and on each side sit the Councell, captaine and officers, each in their place, and when he returneth home againe, he is waited on to his house in like manner."
The name of the Rev. Robert Hunt should stand high upon the honored roll of the makers of America. Ap-
6 The History of St. Philip* s Church
pointed Vicar of Reculver, in the county of Kent, in 1594, he resigned eight years later to accompany the Colonists in their hazardous venture. It is impossible to exaggerate the debt Virginia owes to his priestly devotion. Before the ships left the English Channel, the old chronicler says, " So many discontents did then arise, and Mr. Hunt, our preacher, was so weake and sicke that few expected his recovery, yet, he, with the greatest of patience and his godly exhortation (but chiefly by his true devoted ex- ample) quenched those flames of en vie and dissension." After the voyagers had landed, "Many were the mischiefs that daily sprung from their ignorant yet ambitious spirits, and then was the time that godly man, Master Hunt, did his part in healing our strifes, and he went from one to the other with sweet words of good counsell, how that we shall love and forgive our enemies; nay, he used more worldly arguments, pointing out that the welfare of our little band depended chiefly upon our union, for that we were in an unknown land, exposed to the attacks of the hostile natives, and we needed, therefore, all the ties of brotherly love." His arguments prevailed, "for we all loved him for his exceeding goodness, and the next day we all received the Holy Communion together as an out- ward and visible pledge of reconciliation."
Robert Hunt's apostolic labors were too much for his frail body and he sickened and died, the only recorded reference to the event being that of Purchas who says, "his soule questionless is with God." A fitting epitaph is that of a contemporary writer who said of him, "He was not in any way to be touched with the rebellious humour of a popish spirit . . . but was an honest, religious and courageous divine."
The Church in the Colonies 7
So was the old Church planted in the new land — planted thirteen years before the Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock, and two years before the Dutch came to New Amsterdam.
CHAPTER II.
THE CHURCH IN THE COLONY OF NEW YORK.
IN the year of our Lord, 1609, Henry Hudson, in the ship Half Moon, anchored inside Sandy Hook, and, not long after, cabins, protected by a fort, sprung up on Manhattan Island. A few years later the "Dutch West India Company" was organized, with permission to effect a settlement in America. In 1625 thirty families arrived from the Netherlands, and Manhattan Island was purchased for twenty-four dollars. Within five years the first Dutch Reformed Minister arrived and found fifty communicants. The Dutch remained in peaceful possession until the 8th of September, 1664, when the Duke of York's fleet anchored in the Bay. When the news was carried to Peter Stuyvesant he stormed, swore — and surrendered; New Amsterdam became New York.
With Governor Nicholls came the English Church in the person of a chaplain to the fleet. The various religious bodies dwelt in perfect harmony together, and for thirty years the chaplain conducted services at the chapel within the Fort alternately with the Dutch dominie, and during a portion of that period the Roman Priest also offi- ciated. So matters proceeded until 1693, when, because "Profaneness and Licentiousness had overspread the Province from want of a settled Ministry throughout the same, it was ordained by Act of Assembly that six Prot- estant Ministers should be appointed therein."
The Church in N ew York 9
Governor Fletcher interpreted the phrase "Protestant Ministers" to mean of the Church of England as by law established, and in 1697 steps were taken to build a church in New York, and Trinity parish was organized, with Compton, Bishop of London, as Rector at a yearly salary of one hundred pounds. The first Trinity Church, designed to be "the sole and only parish church and churchyard in this our said city of New York," was opened on March 13th, 1698, enlarged in 1737, and destroyed by fire during the War of the Revolution. A contemporary writer describes it as "standing very pleasantly upon the banks of the Hudson River, with a large cemetery on each side, and enclosed in front by a painted pailed fence." Its revenue was restricted by Act of Assembly to five hundred pounds, but, the writer remarks, "it is possessed of a farm at the north end of the city, which is lately rented, and will in the course of a few years, it is hoped, produce a considerable income." The first resident Rector of Trinity Parish was the Rev. William Vesey, who served faithfully for fifty years.
When the eighteenth century opened the population of the Province of New York was 25,000, distributed "in Twenty Five towns — ten of them Dutch; the rest English." Long Island is described as "a great place with many inhabitants." For the most part the Dutch were Calvinists, and the English, "some of them Inde- pendents, but many of them of no Religion and like wild Indians."
The religious conditions at that time are graphically pictured by the Rev. William Vesey, who writes, in 1697:
Besides this Church (Trinity) and the Chappel in the fort, one church in Philadelphia (Christ Church),
10 The History of St. Philip's Church
and one other in Boston (King's Chapel), I don't re- member to have heard of one building erected for the public worship of God according to the Liturgy of the Church of England in this Northern Continent of America from Maryland (where the Church was es- tablished by a Law of that Province) to the Eastern- most bounds of Nova Scotia, which I believe in length is 800 miles.
Church and State alike were aroused in England by the report of the irreligion in New York. When Lord Cornbury was sent out in 1703 as Governor he was in- structed to "take especial care that God Almighty be devoutly and duly serv'd throughout your Government. The Book of Common Prayer as by Law established read each Sunday and Holy Day, and the blessed Sacrament administer'd according to the rites of the Church of England. You shall be careful that the Churches already built there be well and orderly kept, and that more be built as the Colony shall, by God's Blessing be improved." Had Lord Cornbury 's character at all fitted with his instructions his services to the cause of Religion would doubtless have been more effective; as it was, in 1707, he imprisoned the Rev. Thoroughgood Moore in Fort Ann for celebrating the Holy Commun- ion "as often as once a fortnight," which "frequency he was pleased to forbid."
In 1702 the English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts decided to send six missionaries to America, and the Rev. Patrick Gordon and the Rev. George Keith arrived in the middle of the year. Their advent marks the spread of the Church outside the city of New York. Patrick Gordon was appointed to Jamai- ca, but "took sick the day before he designed to preach,
m
The Church in N ew York 11
and so continued till his death about eight days after." The apostolic labors of George Keith bore abundant fruit. When he preached at Hempstead there was " such a Multitude of people that the Church could not hold them, so that many stood without at the doors and win- dows to hear, who were generally well affected and great- ly desired that a Church of England Minister should be settled amongst them." Three days later he preached in New York on the occasion of "the weekly Fast which was appointed by the Government by reason of the great mortality . . . Above five hundred died in the space of a few weeks, and that very week about seventy." Keith's missionary journeys embraced New York, New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, and of his experiences he writes :
In all the places where we travelled and preached, we found the people well affected to the Doctrine which we preached among them, and they did gen- erally join with us decently in the Liturgy and Pub- lick Prayers, and the Administration of the Holy Sacraments, after the usage of the Church of Eng- land, as we had occasion to use them.
Slowly, but surely, the Church made headway. When the Rev. J. Thomas went to Oyster Bay in 1704 the people had been "wholly unacquainted with the Blessed Sacrament for five and fifty years together," yet seven years later he had "five and thirty of them in full Com- munion with the Church who (once) were entirely ignorant that Communion was a duty," and he had also "the most numerous of any country congregation within this or the neighboring Colonies." In Staten Island, where the Rev. E. Mackenzie was stationed (1704),
12 The History of St. Philip's Church
successful primary schools were established. The French congregation loaned their church building and the Dutch received the Prayer Book in their native tongue. In 1712 "a pretty handsome church" was opened, with a parsonage and glebe attached.
In those days Albany was an important trading center with a population of nearly 4,000, mainly Dutch. Some 300 soldiers were stationed in the fort to guard against the French and the Indians. In 1709 the Rev. Thomas Barclay commenced his missionary work, and for seven years was allowed the use of the Lutheran Church. A united effort was made to erect an Anglican Church, which called forth unexampled generosity. The town of Albany raised £200, the "poor soldiers of two Independ- ent Companies" giving £100; every inhabitant of the village of Schenectady contributed, "one very poor man excepted;" and three Dutch ministers added their contributions. The church was opened in 1717 and is described as "by far the finest structure in America."
In 1745 the Rev. William Vesey reported that in New York and New Jersey there were "twenty-two Churches, most of them commonly filled with hearers." Almost from the beginning the Church in New York engaged in missionary work. For three years the Rev. H. Beyre ministered to a Dutch congregation in Harlem (1710-13), where Colonel Morris had "persuaded the Dutch into a good opinion of the Church of England."
Even more worthy of note is the Church's ministra- tions to the slaves in New York. The missionaries and schoolmasters were instructed to prepare the slaves for Baptism and Confirmation, and sixteen priests and thirteen lay teachers were set apart for this work. In
The Church in New York 13
1704 a " Catechising School," under Mr. Elias Neau, was opened in New York to minister to those "who were without God in the world, and of whose souls there was no manner of care taken." Mr. Neau, having received from the Governor a license "to catechise the Negroes and Indians and the children of the town," left the French Church, "not upon any worldly account, but through a principle of conscience and hearty approbation of the English Liturgy," and devoted himself to work amongst the slaves. Many of the slave-owners opposed the effort, being "strangely prejudiced with a horrid notion thinking that the Christian knowledge would be a mean to make their slaves more cunning and apter to wickedness." In 1726 Trinity Vestry reported that there were in the city "about 1400 Negroe and Indian slaves, a considerable number of which had alreade been instructed in the principles of Christianity." This work was carried on till the Revolution.
Missionary work on a much larger scale was carried on amongst the Indians. There were five Indian nations bordering on the Province of New York, and the French Jesuits of Canada found in them a fruitful field for intrigue. Whereupon, the Lords of the Council (1703) requested the Archbishop of Canterbury to appoint "two Protestant Ministers with a competent allowance to dwell among them in order to instruct them in true Religion and confirm them in their duty to Her Majesty."
Lord Cornbury held a conference at Albany with five Sachems, who informed him that "they were glad to hear that the Sun shined in England again since King Wil- liam's death," and they hoped Queen Anne would be "a good mother and send them some to teach their Religion
14 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
and establish traffic amongst them, that they might be able to purchase a coat and not go to Church in bear skins." The first missionary to the Indians was the Rev. Thoroughgood Moore, who arrived in 1704 and was warm- ly welcomed by the Mohawks. In 1712 a chapel was opened for that tribe by the Rev. Thomas Barclay. The political difficulties with the French were a constant hindrance to the work of the missionaries. False reports were spread that "the white people were coming to cut them all in pieces," and that Mr. Barclay was "the chief contriver of the plot, and in league with the Devil." An even greater hindrance was the unwearying persistence of the Dutch traders in selling rum, but, in spite of all, the work was successfully prosecuted for many years.
The War of the Revolution seriously interrupted, but did not destroy, the mission of the Church in the Colony. The armed hostilities placed the Clergy in a most embarrassing position. They had solemnly taken the oath of supremacy to the King, and to omit the prayer for the royal family in the public services was against their oath and their conscience. In time of so great political excitement excesses were inevitable. The Cler- gy suffered severely. Some were "pulled out of their reading desks because they prayed for the King;" others were fined for not appearing at "militia musters with their arms." Many of the harassed Clergy closed their churches and fled for their lives, but, for a time, the Rev. Charles Inglis, Rector of Trinity Church, re- mained in the city. In April, 1776, the revolutionary forces arrived in New York. Mr. Inglis behaved with admirable discretion, yet remained true to his oath. It
The Church in New York 15
was intimated to him that General Washington would attend the service, and "would be glad if the violent prayer for the King and royal family were omitted." May 17th was appointed by Congress "as a day of public fasting, prayer and humiliation," and Mr. Inglis preached on "Peace and Repentance." On a later Sunday a company of soldiers marched into Trinity Church "with drums beating and fifes playing, their guns loaded and bayonets fixed, as if going to battle."
In September, when one of the churches was re-opened, "joy was lighted up on every countenance on the restora- tion of our publick worship." It was short lived. On the Saturday following, one-fourth of the city, including Trinity Church, the rectory and the school, was des- troyed by fire. Feeling ran so high that in 1783 Mr. Inglis resigned his rectorship and was transferred to Nova Scotia, and his was the signal honor of becoming the first Colonial Bishop of the Anglican Church.
Through fire and water God brought the Church in America into a wealthy place, and set her feet in a large room. In 1787, Samuel Provoost was consecrated first Bishop of the Diocese of New York in the Chapel of Lambeth Palace, and the Church was firmly established in the State.
From New York to the County of Westchester was not a far cry even in those early days, and the work of the Church spread northward to that county, part of which was still in the wilderness. That there was pressing need of religious work in the county was apparent from the fact that in 1693 there were not more than six commun- icants of the Church in Westchester. A most striking picture of the religious conditions is drawn by Colonel
16 The History of St. Philip's Church
Caleb Heathcote, who, writing of conditions in 1697, says:
I found it the most rude and heathenish country I ever saw in my whole life,' which called themselves Christians, there being not so much as the least marks or footsteps of religion of any sort; Sundays being the only time sett apart by them for all manner of vain sports and lewd diversions, and they were grown to such a degree of rudeness that it was intol- erable, and having then command of the Militia, I sent an order to all the Captains, requiring their men under Arms, and to acquaint them, that in case they would not in any Town agree among themselves to appoint Readers and pass the Sabbath in the best way they could, till such time as they could be better provided, that they should every Sunday call their companies under arms, and spend the day in exercise.
Given such a choice, little wonder that the Colonel reports, "Whereupon it was unanimously agreed on through the County to make choice of Readers; which they accordingly did, and continued in those methods for some time."
CHAPTER III
ST. PETER'S CHURCH AND ST. PHILIP'S CHAPEL
FOR just seventy years St. Peter's on the Manor of Cortlandt and the chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands were associated in a common paro- chial life. The threads of the history of the one are so closely woven with the other that the effort, in the next chapter, to recite the history of St. Philip's Chapel, without repetition, can only be partially successful. In this chapter events common to both are outlined.
St. Peter's Church stands on the Manor of Cortlandt, which included also the present parishes of North and South Salem, Somers and Yorktown. In 1697 eighty- three thousand acres of land were, by Royal Charter,1 erected into the lordship and manor of Cortlandt, the first Lord of the Manor being Colonel Stephanus Van Cortlandt, one of the members of the Council of the Province of New York. By the terms of the Charter the owner enjoyed the patronage of all the churches erect- ed on the Manor, and was required to pay "at our city of New York on the feast day of the Annunciation of our Blessed Virgin Mary, the yearly rent of forty shillings current money of our said Province."
In 1693 there was passed in the New York Assembly an Act for the Settlement of a Ministry. That Act provided for the maintenance of ministers in New York
1 Book of Patents, Albany, No. VII, 165.
18 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
city, and the counties of Kings, Queens, Richmond and Westchester. For the latter county two ministers were provided, one to be stationed at Rye, the other at West- chester. Although persistent efforts were made to cap- ture the provision for a Puritan ministry, the potent influence of Governor Fletcher secured it for the Church of England in the Colony.
The first missionary of the Church appointed under this Act in Westchester County was the Rev. John Bartow, formerly Vicar of Pampsford, Cambridgeshire. He was appointed to Rye in 1702, but through the in- fluence of Colonel Caleb Heathcote, took up his residence at Westchester, where there was already a wooden church with neither desk, pulpit nor bell. Two years later the Rev. Thomas Pritchard, a Welshman, took charge of the work at Rye, where, there being no church building, he preached in the Town House.
From these two centers the county was evangelized. In 1703 Mr. Bartow visited Eastchester and held occa- sional services, which resulted in the entire body of Pres- byterians conforming to the Church. In the same year he went to Yonkers, where services were conducted in a private house and sometimes in a barn. From Rye the Rev. George Muirson reached out to Bedford, where he preached every fourth Sunday, and found them "a very willful and stubborn people."
In 1724 the Rev. Robert Jenney held services at White Plains and officiated eight times a year at Mamaroneck, and the same year he extended his work to Northcastle. A notable addition to the strength of the Church was the adhesion of the French Huguenot congregation and minister of New Rochelle in 1709.
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St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 19
As time went on an effort was made to evangelize the northern section of the county. The manuscript records of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel show, that as early as 1744, the Rev. James Wetmore, of Rye, conducted church services at Peekskill. Writing on April 3rd, 1746, he says: "That as there are great num- bers of people in the wilderness northward of Bedford and Westchester, who have very little knowledge or sense of religion, Mr. Lamson's1 labors will be employed to good purpose among them." The Rev. Ebenezer Dibblee of Stamford, Connecticut, who traversed the same district in 1761, "found no settled teacher of any denomina- tion, but met several heads of families, professors of the Church of England, and many others well disposed towards it." His companion on the same journey, Mr. St. George Talbot, reports: "The state of religion I tru- ly found deplorable enough; they were as sheep without a shepherd, a prey to various sectaries, and enthusiastic lay teachers; there are many well wishers and professors of the Church among them, who doth not hear the liturgy in several years."
The first known step towards the erection of a house of worship on Cortlandt Manor was on March 23rd, 1750, when Andrew Johnson conveyed six acres of land for that purpose. He was the husband of Catharine Van Cortlandt. The deed ran as follows:
1 Rev. Joseph Lamson was born at Stratford, Conn., and after his graduation from Yale entered the Church. After his ordination in England he was appointed by the S. P. G. as assistant to the Rev. Mr. Wetmore at Rye to minister to the inhabitants of Bedford, North Castle, and Ridgefield at a salary of £20 per year. From thence he went to Fairfield, Conn., where he ministered for 26 years. He died in 1773.
20 The History of St. Philip's Church
Andrew Johnson of Perth Amboy, East Jersey, party of the first part, for the value of five pounds, conveys to Caleb Hall, Joseph Travis and Palatiah Hows, parties of the second part, a parcel of land ly- ing at a place called Peekskill, being a part of lot no. 8, beginning at the north-east corner of the second parcel of land lately purchased by Joseph Taylor, by the north side of Crumpond road, containing six acres, &c. to have and to hold in trust for a school and burying place, and also for their executors and successors in trust, to the only proper use, benefit and behoof and exercise of the public worship of God; and that it be for that purpose in the erecting and build- ing of a meeting house or houses for the religions, (un- der the protection of our most gracious majesty) either the Church of England, Presbyterian, Independents, Baptists or Congregationalists, &c. to erect and build a house for the religious exercise of public worship of God, with a convenient yard thereto, to them the said Caleb Hall, &c, their heirs and successors, in trust for the neighbourhood and inhabitants roundabout from generation to generation for ever, and for no other use, purpose or intent whatsoever.1
This gift of land was not utilized for sixteen years. But in 1766 certain subscribers, both of the Manor of Cortlandt and the lower part of Philipse's Upper Patent,2 appointed Trustees "for directing and carrying on a building, and for securing it to the inhabitants as a place of public worship, according to the establishment of the Church of England."3 The trustees were Beverly Robinson, Jeremiah Drake, Caleb Ward, Isaac Hatfield and Charles Moore. The church was called St. Peter's,
1 Westchester County Records, Lib. H, 339.
2 Now Putnam County.
3 Bolton's History of Westchester County, Vol. I, 119.
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 21
and was opened for divine service on the 9th of August, 1767, by the Rev. John Ogilvie, D. D., of New York. Born in 1723, Dr. Ogilvie was a graduate of Yale. He married Margaret Philipse, daughter of Nathaniel Mars ton. Ordained by the Bishop of London, his principal work was amongst the Indians at Albany and in Canada, and he subsequently became an Assistant Minister in Trinity Church, New York. He died Novem- ber 26th, 1774.
There is still preserved an old quarto Bible, printed in 1728, in which there is the following entry :
The gift of Mrs. Susannah Robinson,1 to S. Peter's Church, at Peekskill which Church was by the desire of Beverly Robinson, Esq., Messrs. Jeremiah Drake, Caleb Ward, Isaac Hatfield, and Charles Moore, trustees, appointed by the subscribers to said Church for directing and carrying on said building, and for securing it to the inhabitants as a place of public worship, according to the establishment of the Church of England, on Sunday the 9th of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty- seven, being the eighth Sunday after Trinity, conse- crated by the Rev. Dr. John Ogilvie of New York, for the service of the Holy Trinity, according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, as by law established, by the name of S. Peter's Church.
From a letter dated October 15th, 1770, it would appear that the church was by no means finished at the opening service, but it was subsequently made "a decent and comfortable building for performing divine worship in." A recently discovered letter, written by William
1 Wife of Beverly Robinson.
22 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
Denning in 1795 to the Rev. Mr. Hargill, sheds valuable light upon the building of St. Peter's. He says:
When S. Peter's was built, near Peekskill, so very unable were the Episcopalians to accomplish it that they called upon their friends of the Presbyter- ian congregation to assist them and promised that whenever the building was unoccupied by the Epis- copalian congregation, that of the Presbyterians should have the use of it. This seems to have been well understood and conceded by the Episcopalians.1
This fact may somewhat account for the attempt made by the Presbyterians, about 1789, to take possession of the church.
The church erected, steps were then taken to create a parish, with a vestry, in which the property could be legally vested. As early as March of 1770 the Trustees had petitioned Lieutenant-Governor Colden for a Royal Charter which was formally granted under date of August 18th, 1770.
Royal Charter of St. Peter's Church:
George the Third, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c, to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting:
Whereas, our loving subjects, Beverly Robinson, Charles Moore, Jeremiah Drake, Caleb Ward, John Johnson, Joshua Nelson, Thomas Davenport and Henry Purdy, on behalf of themselves and sundry in- habitants on the upper part of the Manor of Cort- landt, and the lower part of Philipse Patent, in com- munion of the Church of England as by law estab-
1 Archives of Trinity Corporation, Sept. 10th, 1795.
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St Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 23
lished, by their humble petition, presented on the 21st day of March now last past, to our trusty and well beloved Cadwallader Colden, Esq., our Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief of our Province of New York and the territories depending thereon in America, in Council, did set forth that the petitioners have at a great expense and trouble erected a con- venient house for a place of Divine Worship near Peekskill, to be according to the Church of England as by law established, and being very desirous of pro- moting the same, and settling a minister amongst them, did humbly conceive that if our said Lieuten- ant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief would be pleased to take the matter into consideration, and to grant them a Charter with such privileges, immunities and conditions as our said Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief should see fit, and that the said Beverly Robinson and Charles Moore may be ap- pointed church-wardens, and the said Jeremiah Drake, Caleb Ward, John Johnson, Joshua Nelson, Thomas Davenport and Henry Purdy, vestrymen in the Charter, by the name of the church- wardens and vestrymen of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill. No one being willing to encourage the pious intentions of our said loving subjects, and to grant their reasonable request, know ye, that of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have ordained, given, granted and declared, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do ordain, give, grant and declare, that the said petitioners and such other person and persons, and their successors for ever, as now are or shall hereafter from time to time be, as well of the Church of England as by law established, as members of the congregation of the said church in the herein above recited petition, called S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, and also contrib-
24 The History of St. Philip's Church
utors to the support and maintenance of a minister of the Church of England as by law established, to officiate in the said church for the time being, shall, with the rector of the said church of S. Peter's for the time being, forever hereafter be one body corporate and politic, in deed, fact and name, by the name, style and title of the rector and members of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near PeekskilL And them and their successors by the same name, we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, really and fully make, erect, create and constitute one body politic and corporate in deed, fact and name, forever, and will give, grant and ordain that they and their successors, the rector and members of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, by the same name shall and may have perpetual succession, and shall and may be capable in law to sue and be sued, impleade and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended in all courts and elsewhere in all manner of actions, suits, complaints, pleas, causes, matters and demands whatsoever, as fully and amply as any our liege sub- jects of our said Province of New York may or can sue or be sued, impleade or be impleaded, defend or be defended, by any lawful ways or means whatsoever; and that they and their successors by the same name shall be for ever hereafter capable and able in the law to purchase, take, hold, receive and enjoy any mes- suages, tenements, houses and real estate whatso- ever in fee simple, for term of life or lives, or in any other manner howsoever for the use of the said church, and also any goods, chattels, or personal estate whatsoever, provided always that the clear yearly value of the said real estate (exclusive of the said church and the ground whereon the same is built, and the cemetery belonging to the same) doth not at any time exceed the sum of one thousand
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 25
pounds current money of our said Province; and that they and their successors by the same name, shall have full power and authority to give, grant, sell, lease and dispose of the same real estate for life or lives, or years, or forever, under certain yearly rents, and all goods, chattels and personal estate whatsoever at their will and pleasure.
And that it shall and may be lawful for them and their successors to have and use a common seal.
And our will and pleasure further is, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and successors, ordain and appoint that there shall be forever hereafter belong- ing to the said church, one rector of the Church of England as by law established, duly qualified for the cure of souls, two church wardens and six vestrymen, who shall conduct and manage the affairs and busi- ness of said church and corporation in manner as hereafter is declared and appointed; and for the more immediate carrying into execution our royal will and pleasure herein, we do hereby assign, constitute and appoint Beverly Robinson and Charles Moore to be the present churchwardens, and Jeremiah Drake, Caleb Ward, John Johnson, Joshua Nelson, Thomas Davenport and Henry Purdy to be the present vestry- men of the said church, who shall hold, possess and enjoy their said respective offices until Tuesday in Easter week now next ensuing, and yearly, and every year thereafter for ever, on Tuesday, in Easter week, in every year, the rector and members of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, shall meet at the said church, and there by the ma- jority of voices of such of them as shall so meet, elect and choose two of their members to be church-war- dens, and six others of their members to be vestry- men of the said church for the ensuing year, which said church-wardens and vestrymen so elected and chosen shall enter upon their respective offices and
26 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
hold, exercise and enjoy the same respectively from the time of such elections, for and during the space of one year, and until other fit persons shall be elected and chosen in their respective places; and in case the church-wardens or vestrymen, or either of them, by these presents named and appointed, or who shall be hereafter elected or chosen by virtue of these presents, shall die before the time of their respective appointed services shall be expired, or refuse or neglect to act in the office for which he or they is or are herein nom- inated and appointed, or whereunto he or they shall or may be so elected and chosen, then our royal will and pleasure is, and we do hereby direct, ordain and require the rector and members of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, for the time being do meet at the said church, and choose other or others of their members, in the place and stead of him or them so dying, or neglecting or refusing to act with- in thirty days next after such contingency. And in this case for the more due and orderly conducting the said elections, and to prevent any undue proceedings therein, we do hereby give full power and authority to ordain and require that the rector and the said church- wardens of the said church, for the time being, or any two of them, shall appoint the time for such election and elections, and that the rector of the said church, or in his absence, one of the said church- war- dens for the time being, shall give public notice there- of by publishing the same at the said church imme- diately after divine service, on the Sunday next pre- ceding the day appointed for such elections; hereby giving and granting that such person or persons as shall be so chosen from time to time by the rector and members of S. Peter's church, in the Manor of Cort- landt, near Peekskill, or the majority of such of them as shall in such case meet in manner hereby directed, shall have, hold, exercise and enjoy such, the office or
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 27
offices to which he or they shall be elected and chosen, from the time of such elections until the Tuesday in Easter week next ensuing, and until other or others be lawfully chosen in his or their place and stead, as fully and amply as the person or persons in whose place he or they shall be chosen, might or could have done by virtue of these presents. And we do hereby will and direct that this method shall forever here- after be used for the filling up all vacancies that shall happen in either the said offices between the annual elections above directed.
And our royal will and pleasure further is, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant, that as well the church- wardens and vestrymen to these presents nominated and appointed as such, as shall from time to time be hereafter elected and chosen as is herein directed, shall have and they are hereby invested with full power and authority to execute their several and respective offices in as full and ample manner as any church-wardens or vestry- men in that part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, or in this our Province of New York can or lawfully may execute their said respective offices.
And further our royal will and pleasure is, and we do, by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, give, grant, ordain and appoint, that the rector and the said church-wardens of the said church, for the time being, or any two of them, shall and may from time to time, as occasion may require, summon and call together at such day and place as they shall think proper, the said rector, church-wardens and vestry- men for the time being, to meet in Vestry, giving them at least one day's notice thereon; and we do hereby require them to meet accordingly: And we do hereby give, grant and ordain that the said rector and one of the said church-wardens, for the time
28 The History of St. Philip's Church
being at least, together with the majority of the said vestrymen of the said church for the time being, being met in vestry as above directed, shall forever hereafter have, and are hereby invested with full power and authority by the majority of their voices, to do and execute in the name of the rector and mem- bers of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, all and singular the powers and au- thorities herein before given and granted to the said rector and members of S. Peter's Church, in the Man- or of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, any wise touching or relating to such lands, messuages and tenements, real and personal estate whatsoever, as they the said rec- tor and members of the said church in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, shall or may require for the use of the said church, and also in like manner to order, direct, manage and transact the general in- terest, business and affairs of our said corporation, and also shall have full power and authority in like manner to make and ordain such rules, orders and ordinances as they shall judge convenient for the good government and discipline of the members of the said church; provided, such rules, orders and or- dinances be not repugnant to the laws of that part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, or of this our Province of New York, but as or may be agree- able thereto, and that the same be fairly entered in a book or books to be kept for that purpose, and also in like manner to appoint the form of the common seal herein before granted, and the same to alter, break and remake at their discretion, and also in like manner to appoint such office or officers as they shall stand in need of, always provided that the rector of the said church for the time being, shall have the sole power of nominating and appointing the clerk to assist him in performing divine service, as also the sexton; anything herein before contained to the contrary
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel
notwithstanding, which clerk and sexton shall hold and enjoy their respective offices during the will and pleasure of the rector of the said Church for the time being.
And whereas there hath not yet been any minister presented or inducted into the said church, our royal will and pleasure therefore is, that until the said church shall be supplied with a minister of the Church of England as by law established, as is herein after mentioned, and also in case of every avoidance of the said church thereafter, either by the death of the rector thereof or otherwise, that the powers and au- thorities vested in the rector, church-wardens and vestrymen in vestry met as above mentioned, shall until the said church be legally supplied with another incumbent, vest in and be executed by the church- wardens of the said church for the time being, togeth- er with the vestrymen of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortland t, near Peekskill; provided always, the concurrence and consent of the major number of the whole vestrymen of the said church for the time being to be had in every thing that shall in such cases be done by virtue thereof.
And we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant that the patronage and advowson of the said church, and the right of pre- sentation thereto, shall forever thereafter belong to and appertain, and is hereby vested in the church- wardens and vestrymen of the said church for the time being, or the majority of them forever, whereof one church-warden shall always be one.
And further we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the rector and members of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, and their successors for ever, that this our present grant shall be deemed, adjudged and construed in all cases most favorably,
30 The History of St. Philip's Church
and for the best benefit and advantage of the said rector and members of S. Peter's Church, in the Man- or of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, and that this our present grant being entered on record, as is herein- after particularly expressed, shall be good and effec- tual in the law to all intents, constructions and pur- poses whatsoever, against us, our heirs and success- ors, according to the true intent and meaning herein before declared, notwithstanding the non-reciting, or mis-recital, not naming, or mis-naming any of the aforesaid franchises, privileges, immunities, offices, or other the premises, or any of them; and although no writ of ad quod damnum or other writs, inquisitors or penalties hath or have been, upon this account, had made, issued or prosecuted. To have and to hold, all and singular, the privileges, liberties, advan- tages and immunities hereby granted or meant, mentioned or intended so to be, unto them the said rector and members of S. Peter's Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, and to their successors for ever. In testimony whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent, and the great seal of our said province to be hereunto affixed, and the same to be entered upon record in our Sec- retary's office in our city of New York, in one of the book of patents there remaining.
Witness our said trusty and well beloved Cad- wallader Colden, Esq., our said Lieutenant Governor, and Commander-in-Chief of our said province of New York, and the territories depending thereon in America, at our Fort in our City of New York, by and with the advice and consent of our Council for our said province, the 18th day of August in the year of our Lord, 1770, and of our reign the 10th.A
a Book of Patents, Albany.
St Peter's Church and St Philip's Chapel 31
The first Vestry of the Parish, constituted by the Charter, was:
CHURCH WARDENS,
Beverly Robinson Charles Moore.
VESTRYMEN,
Jeremiah Drake, Caleb Ward, John Johnson, Joshua Nelson, Thomas Davenport and Henry Purdy.
The parish is in the singularly fortunate position of having a complete record of the minutes of the Vestry from Colonial times down to the present day. The only break is from 1775 to 1790, when, owing to the Revolu- tion and its aftermath, no Vestry meetings were held. Into an old oblong brown book the minutes from 1770 until 1795 were copied by Caleb Morgan with this en- dorsement :
The before mentioned record is copied from the original by me
Caleb Morgan February 13th, 1795.
and from that time onward the minutes are in the hand- writing of the different Clerks of the Vestry.
It will be interesting to reproduce exactly the first minutes of the Vestry :
S. Peters Church in the Manor of Cortlandt
Near Peeks Kill.1
Sep* 1st, 1770 at a meeting of the Church Wardens
1 In quotations from the minutes and other documents the exact spelling, etc., has been copied.
The History of St . P hilip9 s Church
and Vestry of St Peters Church in the Manor of Cortlandt near Peeks Kill
Present Mr Robinson
Mr Charles Moore
Mr Davenport Mr Jn Johnson Mr Caleb Ward Mr J Nelson Mr Jeremh Drake
Wardens
Vestr men
The Charter being read they Proceeded to Chuse Mr John Johnson Clark for the present year.
Resolved to Sett a Subscription of foot in favour of Mr John Doty and endeavour to settle him as our Minester.
Resolved that altho the Subscriptions mentioned to be paid yearly, yet all those who shall Subscribe to ye Support of a minester upon their moving out of the place Shall be Discharged from their Subscrip- tion.
Resolved that in order to encorage ye Inhabitants on the Lower part of Philips Patten1 to Subscribe to the yearly maintenance of a Minester that he shall officiate, one half of his time in the Neighbourhood of Jacob Mandev62 on every other Sunday.
Resolved that the transactions of this present meet- ing shall be read over at our next meeting, and at every meeting the transactions and Proceedings of the Vestry shall be read over.
The Coppy of ye Charter to be kept with the Clark, then adjourned to Monday 17th instant at 10 o'clock in the four noon.
Mr. Doty, chosen as the "Minester," had served the
1 Now Putnam County.
2 Mandeville.
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MINUTES OF FIRST VESTRY MEETING
1770
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 33
Church as a lay-reader during the summer of 1770, and, as he was a candidate for the Ministry, the thoughts of the Vestry naturally turned to him as the first Rector. The Vestry drew up a letter and a petition addressed to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, of which the following are copies:
The Church Wardens and Vestry of St. Peter's Church to the Secretary :
Peekskill, in the Province of New York, in America
October 15th, 1770. Rev Sir,
Permit us, as wardens and vestrymen for S. Peter's Church, to address you, and acquaint you with the steps we have taken for settling a Church, according to the established Church of England, and to solicit your assistance and interest with the Venerable So- ciety, that we may be so happy as to be patronized by them, and obtain their charitable assistance to- wards maintaining a minister.
It is about four years since a few of us first attempt- ed to begin the building of a Church in the manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill, in the county of West- chester, and on the 9th day of August, 1767, had got it so far finished, as to get the favor of the worthy and Rev. Dr. Ogilvie of New York, to open and conse- crate it, which he did, calling it S. Peter's Church; and have since (tho' not yet completely finished) made it a decent and comfortable building for per- forming divine worship in.
The next step we took, to enable us further to pro- secute our design, was to apply to his honor Lieut. Governor Colden for a Charter, which he was pleased to grant us. Being so far advanced in our undertak- ing, Mr John Doty, a gentleman educated at King's
34 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
College in New York, offered himself as a candidate for our Church, and has performed divine service for us most part of last summer; and has given such general satisfaction, that we have unanimously agreed to give him a call as soon as he is properly ordained, and authorized to perform the office of a minister. And as we are well acquainted with his moral life and con- versation, we beg leave to recommend him to the Venerable Society as a person worthy of that sacred function, and don't doubt but he will have ample testimonials from the worthy clergy of New York, of his education and abilities. We send, by Mr. Doty, our petition to the Venerable Society, a copy of our Charter and of our subscription paper for his mainte- nance, which amounts to £6 1-1 5s New York cur- rency annually; but as many of the subscribers are very poor, and some of them we apprehend will be necessarily obliged to leave the neighbourhood, we fear it will be difficult to collect some of the subscrip- tions, but that Mr. Doty may be sure of receiving something, we have given our bond to the Rev. Dr. Auchmuty,t as trustee for the Society, obliging us to pay annually to Mr Doty the sum of £40 currency during his continuance amongst us, as our minister, and if the whole subscriptions are received it is all to be paid to him. The Church is in a thickly settled country, (tho' no kind of public worship is established in the neighbourhood) yet at present there are but very few that profess to be of the Church of England, which makes it fall very heavy upon those few, so heavy, that we could not have gone thro' with our un- dertaking but by entering into an agreement with the people on the lower end of Philipse's upper patent,* in the county of Dutchess, that if they would join in the
f Rector of Trinity Church, New York. * Now known as Garrison.
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 35
building of St. Peter's Church, and in the subscription for the support of the minister, that when we ob- tained a missionary he should be settled for both plac- es, so as to make one congregation of the whole (we wish we could say parish for the number) to preach every other Sunday at the house of Jacob Mandeville, till such time as we could build a Church in that neighbourhood, so that we humbly request, if we are so happy as to gain the Venerable Society's assistance and protection, that Mr Doty may be settled by them as their missionary for both the above mentioned places. The Churches will be not more than eight miles asunder. It would give us great pleasure if we could inform the Venerable Society of our having a glebe and parsonage house provided, but that we are sorry to say is not yet accomplished. The people that make up our congregation are so very poor, that we have been discouraged from attempting to pur- chase a piece of land for that use. But we can never- theless assure the Venerable Society, that from the gracious offer of Mr Beverly Robinson, we have not the least doubt of having a very good glebe provided within the year. For a more particular account of the manner in which we expect to obtain the glebe, we must beg leave to refer you to Mr. Doty, who is well acquainted with every circumstance relating thereto. We are with the greatest esteem and respect, Rev. Sir,
your most obedient humble servants,
Beverly Robinson,) ^, , , ^v i *,r f Churchwardens.
Charles Moore J
For themselves and the rest of the vestry of St. Peter's Church.1
1 New York MSS. Fulham Archives, Vol. II, p. 524-6 (Hawks).
36 The Hist ory of St. Philip9 s Church
The petition ran thus :
To the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel in Foreign Parts.
The Petition of the Wardens and Vestry of St. Peter's
Church, in the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peekskill,
in the County of Westchester and Province of New
York in America.
Humbly sheweth,
That your petitioners, in conjunction with the rest of the people who form the congregations of the Churches aforesaid, having for some time labored under the lamentable circumstance of not enjoying an opportunity of publickly worshipping God in the decent and solemn order of the established Church of England, whose evangelical doctrine and discipline they profess and admire; and being convinced of how great utility such a sacred establishment would be, the County being thickly inhabited and almost en- tirely destitute of every kind of public worship, to- wards promoting the salvation of many souls and the prosperity of the Church of Christ have (tho' at pres- ent but few in number) been at the expense of build- ing a neat and convenient Church, for which they have received a charter from his Honour Lieut. Gov- ernor Colden. That being well satisfied of the char- acter and abilities of Mr John Doty, a gentleman ed- ucated at King's College, they have unanimously giv- en him a call and agreed, when he shall be properly ordained by his Lordship the Bishop of London, or any other English Bishop appointed for that purpose, to receive him as their minister for the said St. Peter's Church, and also for the neighbourhood of Jacob Mandeville, in the lower end of Philipse's patent, in Dutchess County, where it is intended to build another Church to be united as one congregation, and that they have cheerfully subscribed to the amount of £6 1-1 5s New York currency, towards sup-
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 37
porting him as such. But sensible that such a sum is not sufficient for that purpose, and being well assured of the benevolence and generosity of the Venerable Society, whose readiness on all occasions, as far as pos- sible to favor attempts of this nature has ever been deservedly admired, they take the liberty humbly to pray that they will appoint Mr Doty their missionary to the aforesaid places, and to grant him such part of their bounty as they shall think proper.
Your petitioners humbly beg leave to recommend to your favorable notice the infant state of St. Peter's Church, and to assure you that we shall ever esteem it a singular honour and happiness to be in any degree patronized by the Society. May heaven ever smile upon and bless your laudible endeavours to promote the glory of God; and at the great day of accounts crown all your labours here with everlasting happiness.
Sealed by order of the Vestry, this 15th day of October, 1770.
John Johnson, Clerk.1
Lest the language of the letter and petition to the Ven- erable Society should seem almost servile it might be well to recall that this Society provided for the spiritual needs of the American Colonies for more than seventy years. Those Colonies were under the ecclesiastical direction of the Bishop of London, and in 1696 the Rev. Dr. Bray was sent out from England to examine and report on the state of the Church. He found widespread spiritual destitution, and on his return to London he organized the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, known as the S. P. G. In 1702 that Society sent its first two missionaries, George Keith and Patrick
1 New York MSS. Fulham Archives, Vol. II, p. 526-7 (Hawks).
38 The History of St. P hilip9 s Church
Gordon, to America, and from that year until 1785 her gifts of men and means were almost the sole hope of the Colonial Church.
At one of the earliest meetings of the Vestry it was agreed that "the Common Seal of ye Corporation be a Dove with an Olive Branch in his mouth." The in- scription around the Seal is "Seal of St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel, New York."
When the Rev. John Doty returned in 1771 from his ordination in England the parsonage was not yet built, and he was hospitably entertained by Beverly Robinson. On March 23rd, 1772, the Vestry met and passed this laconic resolution: "Unanimously agreed to go and build Mr. Doty a house." An agreement was entered into with Jerediah Frost "to git the timber, draw the same, the boards and other materials which he may want for the said house. To do all the Carpenters and Joyners work, and paint and glaze the same for Seventy five pounds." That the house was built by special subscription is evident from the fact that in July Daniel Birdsall was instructed "to call on those Persons for the money they have Promd to give towards Building Mr Doty's house and to account to the Vestry when required thereto." In September it " was unanimously agreed to Build a kitchen and Piazar adjoin- ing to Mr Doty's house on the North side, and the follow- ing persons say Dan Birdsall, John Johnson, Joshua Nel- son, David Penoyer and Caleb Morgan have agreed with Jerediah Frost and David Penoyer to do the carpenter work and have each of them promised there payment." Such was the first rectory of the parish which stood on the glebe farm, in the Southeast corner of what is now Philipstown in Putnam County.
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 39
Hardly had the parish been established when the War of the Revolution broke out with most disastrous results to the United Churches. The material damage to the property was the least evil. The Rector was a Tory, and "a little previous to the War gave up his charge;" the senior Warden fought on the British side and lost alike his estates and his citizenship; the parish was politically divided; the churches were closed and the flock of God left unshepherded. There is no recorded meeting of the Vestry for fifteen years.
In this extremity the few faithful Churchmen were sorely tempted to renounce their allegiance. In a peti- tion adopted by the Vestry in 1795 to the Corporation of Trinity Church the conditions during the War are set forth in simple but graphic language:
This being the seat of the late War1 they were nearly destroyed between the British and American armies. In consequence of the injuries we suffered both pub- lic and private, we were rendered incapable, for many years, of doing anything towards repairing them; during which time we were repeatedly urged by dif- erent Denominations to embrace their respective modes of worship and reconcile ourselves to their ministrations. But firmly attached to the Episco- pal Church, we could never be led to conceive it our duty to forsake its interest.2
Nor were the "Denominations" content with moral suasion, for a determined effort was made to secure
1 St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel.
2 Archives of Trinity Corporation, 1795. For full text of this Petition see Appendix.
40 The History of St. Philip' s Church
possession of both the church building and the glebe farm. Writing in 1793, the Rev. Andrew Fowler details an attempt of the Presbyterians to gain possession of St. Peter's Church. He states:
Three or four years ago the Presbyterians made an attempt to take the Church and glebe by force; they called the Church by a new name "Union Church," and in order to carry out their schemes they chose one half of the trustees, as they said, out of the Church. The truth is they had once professed them- selves Episcopalians; but most of them have since proved themselves to be rank Dissenters, which the Presbyterians no doubt knew.
It was not until 1790 that the parish had sufficiently recovered to reorganize by the election of a new Vestry, when the name of William Denning appears as senior Warden. Mr. Denning had purchased the house and part of the forfeited estate of Beverly Robinson. Steps were immediately taken to secure incorporation under the laws of the State of New York, and at the Vestry meeting of November, 1791, they "Did then and there According to our Proceedings, sine a Certificate according to Law, and appointed Jarvis Dusenbury to appear before one of the Judges and git it acknowledged and to have it re- corded in the Clark's office as the Law directs."
On the 28th of December, the record runs:
It was then agreed to enter on this Book that they was acnoleged, and recorded as a Legal Body on the Westchester County Record, in lib. A of Religious Society's Page 26: the 22nd Day of Decr, 1791.
The outlook was gloomy indeed. Beverly Robinson,
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 41
hitherto the chief supporter of the parish, was in exile; other Tory members of the late Vestry had lost all their property, and Churchmen generally had so "suffered both public and private" that they "were incapable" of rendering material assistance. Both church buildings were in a ruinous condition ; the parsonage house was almost uninhabitable; and round the glebe "not a ves- tige of a fence remained." And to crown all, the parish was burdened with a debt of between three and four hundred pounds.
The extent of the material damage suffered by St. Peter's in the course of the War of the Revolution may be gathered from an interesting document preserved in the State Comptroller's Office at Albany. The Highlands and the northern part of Westchester suffered most severely from the fortunes of War. * St. Philip's Chapel was stripped bare, and "S. Peter's Church was much injured" whilst the French troops who occupied the parsonage house left neither fence nor lumber on the glebe. No compensation was ever obtained for the damage wrought upon the property in the Highlands, but William Denning writing to Bishop Provoost in 1796 says:
The damage done to the Parsonage and Farm was, after the most assidious pains, taken for that purpose, recompensed.2
At the close of the War appraisers were appointed to
1 In March, 1777, Colonel Bird with a detachment of British troops visited Peekskill and destroyed much valuable property. (History of New York during the Revolution, Thomas Jones, Vol. I, p. 177.)
2 Archives of Trinity Corporation, January 18th, 1796.
42 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
assess the damages, and a list of claimants and awards is still preserved. The damage to the farm was appraised at £300. In October, 1791, the Vestry gave power of attorney to one of their number, Jarvis Dusenbury, to receive the money from the State Treasurer. The docu- ment runs as follows :
Know all men by these presents, that we Caleb Morgan and James Spock, Trustees and Caleb Ward, Warden for the Episcopal Church at Peekskill, of the Manor of Cortlandt in West Chester County and State of New York, have made ordained constituted and appointed Jarvis Dusenbury of the Manor afore- said our true and lawful Attorney for us and in our name place and stead, to ask, demand, sue for Levy and recover of and from any Person or Persons, what- soever, all and every of accounts put in his hand which are now due on account of said Church, and to settle or compound as to his own said Attorney shall con- ceive most for our interest, and on receipt of our just due, a full and sufficient discharge in our name to
give — and one or more under him for the
aforesaid to constitute and appoint and at pleas- ure to revoke, in a full and ample manner as we might do were we personally present. Ratifying and holding for firm all our said Lawfull Attorney shall do in and about Premise.
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this 1st day of October in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and ninety-one.
►Trustees
Joshua Nelson James Spock Caleb Morgan
Caleb Ward, Warden.
^ ^ -1 V
^
c <
•— OS I— H
o
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 43
Six weeks later the £300 were paid to Jarvis Dusen- bury, who gave this receipt:
Rec'd Nov 21st, 1791, from Gerard Bancker, Treasr, a Certificate for Three Hundred pounds — in full for the claim of a Religious Society in Westchester County for Rails &c. £300. Jarvis Dusenbury.
The document is thus endorsed on the docket:
Abstract of Vouchers Value of Firewood, Timber
taken by the Army of the United States at different
times.
Beverly Robinson — A Religious Society. £300.*
This money was used to pay the debt on the " improve- ments" purchased on the farm and the balance due on the parsonage, so enabling the corporation to secure the title deeds to the property "agreeable to the conditions im- posed by Mr. Robinson;" but it left the parish with two churches and a parsonage badly in need of repair, and congregations utterly unable to meet the cost.
It is comparatively easy to picture material conditions of the United Churches during the closing years of the 18th Century. At the Vestry meeting held on Easter Monday, 1795, in the extremity of their need, an appeal for financial assistance was made to the Corporation of Trinity Church. Part of this petition has already been quoted.2 It ran as follows:
1 MSS. of the Colony and State of New York in the Revolutionary War. Vol. L, Folio 94. (Comptroller's Office, Albany.)
2 See page 39.
44 The History of St . Philip9 s Church
We, the Wardens and Vestry of the Protestant Episcopal Churches at Peekskill and the Highlands beg leave to represent to the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of Trinity Church in the City of New York, the unhappy situation of our respective Churches.
At length recovering ourselves
in some measure from the calamities in which we were involved by the War, and anxiously solicitous once more of enjoying a form of worship so well calculated to inspire Devotion, by our united efforts we so far repaired our respective Churches, altho tottering to their fall, as to enable us to use them for the noble purpose of Divine Worship. Besides the difficulties above mentioned, our Churches were loaded with a debt of several hundred pounds which we have wholly and happily discharged.
And now many reparations being essentially neces- sary to render them convenient, which we are unable to make, we beg leave to solicit the charitable and humane assistance of that Church in New York whom we consider as our head and upon whom the bounties of Providence have been showered down in rich pro- fusion— Could we by any means possess ourselves of about two hundred pounds for each of our aforesaid Churches, we flatter ourselves it would enable us, with our own exertions, to make the necessary repairs and to hold a respectable rank in the Church of Christ in this Land. Whatever that Church to whom we respectfully make this Petition shall see fit to be- stow upon us for the purposes above mentioned, will be very thankfully received, and gratefully acknowl- edged: and we, as in duty bound, should endeavor ever to maintain a just sense of the obligations we should be under for so timely and so truly needful aid and assistance.
With the greatest respect we subscribe ourselves
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 45
the Rector, Wardens and Vestry's devoted and most humble servants,
SilvenusHaight|Wardens Caleb Morgan J
Daniel Haight
Isaac Davenport
Isaac Mead
Elijah Morgan Jr Vestry Men.
William Douglass
Smith Jones
Harry Garrison Peekskill,
Easter Monday, 1795 Jacob Nelson Clerk.1
Whatever details of the parochial picture are lacking in the above petition may be filled in from a lengthy letter written in the Autumn of the same year by William Denning to the Rev. Mr. Hargill, then Priest in charge of the United Churches, and from a second letter a little later addressed to Bishop Provoost. It would appear that Mr. Hargill thought the parish, by a little effort, could increase his scanty support, and in combating this idea Mr. Denning explains fully their condition. Beverly in the Highlands,
10th September, 1795. Revd Sir,
It may perhaps not be amiss that I make a few re- marks to you upon the former and the present state of the Corporation of the United Churches of S. Peter's and S. Philip's, especially as from the frequent com- munications I have had with you on the subject, it ap- pears to me, you have been led to believe those con-
1 Archives of Trinity Corporation, 1795.
46 The History of St. Philip's Church
gregations are able to do more than they really are. Thus stood matters (after the War) when a few friends met and consulted about repairing and opening the two Churches for the purpose of hav- ing the Gospel preached to the people. For this pious and laudable purpose a subscription was set on foot, and altho the people appeared zealous, yet so inadequate was the sum subscribed, that the burthen fell on a few liberal patrons.
S. Philip's Church was decently repaired, glazed and painted: the Parsonage clear and under some small repairs. In this state our little fund was ex- hausted. We have had no further assistance than the Congregation, except from the worthy and pious Mrs. Ogilvie. The Congregations are unable to make further contributions at present. The people early anxious to have the Churches open, they have been gratified, but under very discouraging circumstances, particularly in their first essay of a preacher.
The Poverty and general inability of the people still keeps those United Churches in a languishing state, and, I assure you, Sir, that I am of the opinion the interests of Episcopacy would be greatly promoted by their being a little aided. I believe $1,000, with what has been done, would put this suffering Institu- tion in very compleat repair, and then with your own exertions I am sure it would become a respectable branch of our Church, and be found to merit the Patronage and protection of our Reputable Clergy whose attention has been so often experienced by oth- er infant institutions and who do not as yet know the state of the Corporation in question.
I have also to suggest to you that we have an Epis- copal school1 in forwardness the completion of which depends upon further assistance.
1 Probably the School at Garrison referred to in the Vestry Minutes of 1793.
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 47
I am sorry to be obliged to tell you that there is no present prospect of any other or additional encour- agement to the Clergyman, so that the Farm as it now is, and the salary subscribed is all we have to offer, and you must be the best judge whether those are inducements sufficient for you to continue. You will however do me the justice to recollect that on your first application to me about those Churches I gave you no other encouragement than what the above state- ment would justify. I told you the parsonage wanted repair and the farm fencing, that the whole sum to be expected from both Congregations would not exceed from £75 to £100 per annum, this I believe, you find literally true.
I do not however despair seeing those people one day better able to support a Clergyman and also seeing the Corporation respectable, and perhaps if it was better known, it would have some able advocates, for which purpose I have no objection to your show- ing this statement to whom you may think proper. I am with great Respect and Esteem, Your most Hble Svt,
Wm. Denning.1
Reverend Mr. Hargill.
To Bishop Provoost Mr. Denning adds:
The people are too poor either to compleat the Churches or to fence and repair the Glebe. It is needless to mention the exertions that have been made, from a disposition to promote this Episcopal Establishment, they have exceeded expectations after being so long abandoned. The Rev. Mr. Hargill is the present preacher at a salary from £75 to £100 a year, which requires every exertion to compleat, but
1 Trinity Corporation Archives, 1795.
48 The History of St. Philip's Church
it is increasing and with due encouragement will soon amount to a much larger sum. Mr. Hargill will, however, abandon those little Churches unless the house and farm can be put in better repair .... I conceive it a duty I owe to those poor people to request the favor of you, Sir, to lay this statement before the Vestry of Trinity Church.1
In recounting the benefactions of the Corporation of Trinity Church the Rev. Dr. Berrian mentions the following to the parish:1
1797 S. Peter's Church, Peekskill $750.
1807 S. Peter's and S. Philip's 1250.
1813 S. Philips Church in the Highlands 750.
do For the Rector 250.
A careful examination of the minutes of the Trinity Vestry shows the following entries:
November 13th, 1797. Resolved that the Treasur- er pay the sum of £75 to the Reverend A. Lile being the amount of an Order in his favor by Samuel Ward, Clerk of the Vestry of the Churches of Peekskill and the Highlands, and that the said sum be in part of the Donation to the said Churches.2
And on February 6th, 1798:
To the Episcopal Establishment at the Highlands, £300.3
Apparently, however, whatever donation was granted was not fully paid, as witness the following petition :
1 Trinity Corporation Archives, 1796.
2 Minutes of Trinity Corporation, Vol. II, 1797.
3 Ibid Vol. II, 1798.
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 49
Peekskill, May 10th, 1798.
We the Church Wardens and Vestry of the Church- es of S. Peter's near Peekskill and S. Philip's in the Highlands beg leave to report to the Rector and Vestry of the Corporation of Trinity Church that they are at present Destitute of a Minister, that they have a convenient Parsonage House, and a farm of upwards of 200 akers of land which Farm is in want of fencing. That the abilities of the Parishoners are unequal to providing a sufficient Salary to induse a Person qualified as a Preacher to accept a Call for the Churches. It has therefore been contemplated as a very Probable mode of succeeding in so Laudable and necessary a purpose that an application be made to the Corporation of Trinity Church requesting direc- tion of the Corporation to advance the Church War- dens and Vestry of the before mentioned United Churches such sums of the Donation to those Churches as remains yet to be advanced, which they would put out on ampel security the Interest of which together with what could be raised by Subscription, would in their opinion, soon amount to the Desired Sum. The Farm is rented for the present year for £35.
Pleas to Pay the Bearers, William Douglass senr and Daniel William Birdsall the sum of £400. x
Joshua Nelson Daniel Haight
Caleb Ward John Nelson
Wardens. Thomas Henyan
Elijah Morgan jr Danl Wm Birdsall
Vestry Men.
At times the Vestry did not find it easy to obtain the money which had been promised. In 1796 the Vestry
1 Archives of Trinity Corporation, 1798.
50 The History of St. Philip's Church
drew an order on William Denning "for the sum of six hundred pounds he making himself liable for that sum to the Corporation of Trinity Church it being a Donation from them to these Churches." Two years later, how- ever, the sum of one thousand dollars "yet remains due from the Corporation of Trinity Church." Shortly afterwards it "was agreed that a letter should be sent unto the Corporation of Trinity Church of New York which was done for the Purpose of obtaining an answer for an Order sent them in May 10th, 1798." The letter was as follows:
Peekskill,
May 10th, 1800. Gentlemen,
At a meeting of the Vestry of S. Peter's and S. Phil- ip's Churches on the 10th day of May, 1798, they did send you an Order for $1000 which order they have never received the money, and no answer thereto.
We the present Vestry would esteem it a particular favor if you would send us an answer by the first Opportunity as we now wish to put the Churches in good repair and give someone a Call to Preach for us.1
Daniel Haight Danl Wm Birdsall Benj Douglass Jr. John Nelson Joshua Lancaster John Jones Jr. James Mandevill.
One year later William Lancaster reports to the Vestry that "the moneys given as a donation to the Churches was not paid, and if a proper person was appointed the
1 Archives of Trinity Corporation, 1800.
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 51
money should be paid." Whereupon Mr. Benjn Doug- lass, Jr., was deputed "to goe to New York and Receive the sum of one thousand dollars and engage a Minister." His errand was fruitless. "Novr 26th. Mr Benjn Douglass Jr. reports that he called on the Treasurer of Trinity Church in New York for the Sum of one thousand dollars the Donation granted our Churches and the said Treasurer could not pay that sum until further orders from their Vestry in New York, and Retained in his hands the Order given the said Douglass to lay before the said Vestry for their consideration." Another effort was made to secure the money in 1806, and a letter was ad- dressed to Bishop Moore. On August 29th, 1807, Trinity Corporation passed this resolution:
That the further sum of £100 be granted to the United Churches of S. Peter's and S. Philip's towards payment for thirty-four acres of land lately purchased as an additional glebe, and that the same be paid with the £400 formerly granted for the same purpose and upon the like conditions as are expressed in the grant of that sum.1
It should also be stated that a further donation of $2,000 was made by Trinity to the building fund of the new St. Peter's Church at Peekskill in 1836-9.
In view of the unjust criticisms lately directed against the administration of the large estate of the Corpora- tion of Trinity Church it may be well to record on the authority of the Rev. Dr. Berrian, that up to 1842, "the aggregate amount of the gifts, loans and grants of Trinity Church, rating their lands at the present
1 Minutes of Trinity Corporation, 1807. Vol. II, p. 173.
52 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
prices (1842), considerably exceeds 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."1
The materials bearing on the spiritual side of the par- ochial work are very scanty, owing largely to the fact that there were long intervals when it was impossible to secure a clergyman.
The parish sent its first delegates to the Diocesan Convention in 1790 — Jarvis Dusenbury and William Denning who are accredited in the diocesan records as coming from "Peekskill and Beverly."2
Later delegates were:
1792. William Denning and States Dykeman.
1793. Rev. Andrew Fowler.
1794 . Rev. Andrew Fowler and Jarvis Dusenbury.
1795. William Duglass. 1796-7. Rev. Samuel Haskell. 1801 . Joshua Lancaster. 1804-5. Harry Garrison.
1806. Rev. Joseph Warren.
1807. Isaac Purdy.
1808. Rev. Joseph Warren and James Mandevill,
to whom was voted twelve dollars for "expenses." 1811. Daniel W. Birdsall and Harry Garrison.
At the convention of 1792 William Denning
certified that possession had been secured of the par- sonage house and glebe lands belonging to the Churches of S. Philips in the Highlands and S. Peter's
1 Berrian's History of Trinity Church, p. 386. 1 N. Y. Convention Journal, 1791.
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 53
near Peekskill — that they had given a call to the Rev. Andrew Fowler and provided for his support; and that the people seemed much pleased with having the gospel once more preached and divers services per- formed according to the usage of the Protestant Episcopal Church.1
The first parochial report was made to the Convention of 1807.
The United Churches of S. Peters, Cortlandt Town, and S. Philips, Philips Town, Rev. Joseph Warren. Baptisms, Adults 3: Children, 16: Total, 19. Marriages, 5. Communicants, 10.
And in 1808 the report of Mr. Warren was —
Baptisms, Adults 2: Children 16: Total 18. Marriages, 8: Deaths, 6: Communicants, 8.
The first recorded Episcopal Visitation was that of Bishop Hobart in 1816 who reported to the Diocesan Convention, "November I visited the Congregations of Philipstown and Peekskill.,, In 1817 the Rev. Petrus Stuyvesant Ten Broeck, who was then in charge of the churches at Peekskill, Philipstown and Fishkill, report- ed to the convention that "The congregation in these places have been in a depressed state in consequence of having been destitute of the regular services of a clergy- man for some time past, particularly, S. Peter's and S. Philip's which have been the longest destitute. They now appear to be reviving from their depression." He reports also :
Baptisms in Philipstown,
Adult 1. Infants 10. Total 11.
1 N. Y. Convention Journal, 1792.
54 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
In 1821 the Rev. Dr. Wilkins reported for the United Churches:
7 Baptisms, 3 Marriages, 21 Communicants, and a contribution of $4.37 for the "Missionary Fund."
As before mentioned St. Peter's Church was small1 and exceedingly plain. As it stands today the door is in the middle of the South side of the Church and there is a narrow gallery at the West end and running down the South side; no chancel, but a small raised platform. No pews were provided; the people sat upon rough hewn benches. But it appears that, in the early days, the Vestry rented ground in the church for the purpose of erecting pews. On April 28th, 1794, the Vestry resolved :
That Those persons who have taken up ground in the Church for pews Shall build from within Two months from Easter Sunday or forfit their Title to sd ground, and that we advertise the same imme- diately.
By the year 1826, if not earlier, pew rents were charged at St. Peter's, for on the 22nd of December the Vestry
Voted that Mr James Mandeville (by paying four Dollars and sixty two cents) have Pew No 5 in St Peter's Church in Cortlandt Town in exchange for his old pew.
Voted that Pier2 Van Cortlandt (by paying nine Dollars and sixty-two cents) have pew No 4 in St Peters Church, Cortlandt Town.
Voted Mr George Fowler have Pew No 6 for which he has paid eight Dollars fifty Cents.
1 On Saturday, February 27th, 1909, Mr. Stuyvesant Fish measured the exterior of the building and found it 28 x 36 feet.
2 Pierre.
St Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 55
Both churches kept up the old English custom of a "Clark," whose duty it was to lead the responses of the congregation, and in addition, St. Peter's employed a " Chorister." In 1793 the Vestry resolved that
Mr Caleb Morgan and Isaac Mead be appointed Clerks unitedly in S. Peter's and S. Philip's Churches, and that Gee be appointed Chorister in the Churches afore said till Easter Monday next.
The first mention of a sexton is in 1803, when it was voted "that Thomas Depew is Chosen Sexton for the ensuing year."
The six acres of land surrounding the church gave the Vestry a good deal of care. What was not used ior burial purposes, was rented and made to contribute to the revenues of the parish. In 1803 it was agreed
That James Mandeville have the Church ground for three years for forty shillings a year, and that the said Mandevill shall not paster Hogs in the said Lott and that he shall do his best inDever to keep the pews in good repair.
The following year Mandeville was "allowed twenty shillings for the plaster that He put on the ground." At the same meeting it was agreed "that the Church dor bee repaired and Lock put there on and Lik Wise Locks to the gate." " It wire" also " agreed that Tomy Curry have the care of the cees of the Church and gate and that the sade Curry shant Lit any cretters in to paster with out the permission of the Wardens and Vestry of sade Churches." Joseph Ferris was appointed "to put up the Division Fence Between the Church Yard of the Episcopal Church and the Baptist Church."1 The
1 A roadway now runs between these two churches.
56 The History of St. Philip's Church
following year the grounds were re-let to James Mandeville "for one year to Mow and turn in after Mowing young Cattle for three pounds pr year," and in 1824 he was allowed five dollars for mowing the grass on the church grounds.
By far the larger portion of the minutes of the United Vestry are taken up with the problem of ministerial support. That support came partly from the glebe farm but mainly from subscriptions, and many and devious were the methods adopted to raise the money. Whenever a new minister settled a "subscription was sett on foot" for his support. For the purpose of raising the subscriptions the parish was divided into two sections, and collectors appointed for each. Thus in 1771 Bev- erly Robinson was appointed "to collect that part of the first half year's salary that is subscribed in Dutchess County, and Jeremiah Drake that part which is sub- scribed on the Manor of Cortlandt." When John Doty was called as Rector in 1770 a petition was addressed to the S. P. G. "praying their assistance in his main- tenance," and the Vestry entered into a bond with the Rev. Dr. Auchmuty, trustee for the Society, "obliging the Church Warden and the Vestrymen for the time being, and their successors to pay unto Mr. Doty annually the sum of Forty pounds, New York currency, to which Bond the Clark was ordered to fix the seal."
What would now be considered a highly improper way of raising Church funds, a lottery, was exceedingly common in the Eighteenth Century. On January 4th, 1772, the Vestry "Ordered that Mr. Birdsall furnish a ticket in the Delaware Lottery out of the money col-
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 57
lected in S. Peter's Church, and that Mr. Robinson do furnish another in the same lottery out of the money collected in S. Philip's Chappell and that the said tickets be for the benefit of the said Churches, and that they both be marked or wrote upon in the presence of the Rev. Mr. Doty."1
How fared the speculation history sayeth not, but in April of the same year the Vestry took a deeper plunge when "It was unanimously agreed to sett on foot a Lottery for the benefit of S. Peters Church at Peekskill and S. Philips Chappell in the Highlands for the raising £360. The scheam to be for 1500 tickets at four dollars each. The whole to be divided into prizes from which 15 per cent is to be deducted for the aforesaid churches."
The Rector was instructed to go to New York "im- mediately in order to sett on foot the said scheame, and to engage such gentlemen there for managers and assis- tance as he shall think propper." In July Mr. Doty was again sent to New York "to forward the Lottery" and instructed "if a sufficient number of tickets cannot be reasonably sold so that the Lottery may be drawn, then Mr. Doty is desired to go to the Managers of the said Lottery and have it stopped, and the Patrons that have purchased tickets have their money returned to them again." Whether the lottery was carried through or no, we cannot tell, but no further mention is made thereof.
The first recorded instance of collections made in the Church is in 1771, when it was ordered that "a collection
1 The Delaware Lottery was for the disposal of land owned by Lord Sterling. The tickets were £4 each, N. Y. currency, or 46 shillings sterling, or 10 dollars. (Gaine's Weekly Gazette, March 23rd, 1772.)
58 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
be made in Church immediately after the Sermon," and David Penoyer and Peter Drake were appointed to make the collections in the church for six months to come.
In 1791 Mr. Dusenbury and Mr. Arnold were appoint- ed "to furnish the subscription roll on the part of St. Peter's, and that Mr. Arnold and Mr. Morgan to furnish the same on the part of S. Philips." It was further decided that the Wardens and Vestrymen begin both the subscription papers, but, adds the resolution, "it is hereby understood that the duplicate signing is designed to give equal encouragement to both, and that the pay- ment of one will discharge the subscription."
In 1795 the Vestrymen
met according to appointment at the Revd Mr. Haskell's and agreed that the monies raised in sd Church on Sunday by way of contribution shall be considered as belonging to the Minister of the sd Church independently of all considerations, excepting on particular occasions, when mention is made in public of the causes for which particular monies are wanted.
The system of keeping parochial accounts was primi- tive indeed. For many years there was no Treasurer, but in 1791 the Vestry "did then appoint Messrs. Caleb Ward, Caleb Morgan, and Sylvanus Haight treasurers for the temporalities of S. Peter's Church at Peekskill, and S. Philips Chapel in the Highlands, to receive all monies that is due or shall become due to the said Church- es, to keep and to hold the same until demanded by the Wardens and Vestry of the said Churches whomsoever they shall then be, and the above said Caleb Ward, Caleb Morgan, and Silvanus Haight do give a just and
St. Peter s Church and St. Philip's Chapel 59
true account of all monies which they shall or may receive into the aforesaid Wardens and Vestry of the above Churches."
It was too admirable a scheme to be workable. What really happened was that when money came into the hands of the Vestry it was handed over to one of their number, and then a draft was made upon him as needed. Daniel Birdsall was directed "to take charge of such money as shall be collected, which is to be applyd as Shall be hereafter Directed by the Vestry." Men who were in- debted to the parish invariably paid by "Note." In 1810 the committee appointed to "settle with James Mandevill" reported " a Balance due to the said Churches of Seventy three dollars and we have taken a Note payable to said Wardens and Vestry for that amount payable on demand."
The Vestry in turn paid the Clergy by means of "Orders" drawn on these debtors, and sometimes the Clergy drew an "order" on the Vestry in favor of a creditor.
Peekskill, 29th April, 1811. Gentlemen,
Please to pay Mr. James Mandeville or the Bearer Eighty five dollars on demand & oblige Your very H1 Sev*,
John Urquhart. The Wardens and Vestry of St. Peters Peekskill & S. Philips Highlands.
The order is countersigned :
Harry Garrison Warden Daniel Haight.
60 The History of St. Philip's Church
Here are two drawn by the Rev. Edward J. Ives who was Rector of the Church 1826-9:
To the Wardens and Vestry of the Episcopal Parishes of Cortlandt and Philips town :
Please to pay the bearer, Mr John Oppie, Esq. $15 and charge the same towards my services in the said parishes —
Peekskill Edward J. Ives.
11th Sept. 1826.
The Second is for Board:
To the Wardens and Vestry of the Episcopal Societies of Cortlandt and Philipstown —
Please to pay the bearer, Mr. John Oppie Esq. $56 for board from the 6th of June to the 11th of Septr, 1826.
Edward J. Ives. Peekskill,
11th Septr, 1826.
The endorsement on the back is as follows :
Rec'd 16th Oct 1826 from the Vestry the payment in full of this acct by Mr John Currie's Note with in- terest for $85-70- the balance to be paid to the Vestry.
It may be interesting to reproduce Mr. Ives' account with the Vestry eighty years ago: —
March 23rd, 1829. Reverend Edward J. Ives Dr.
To Cash reed of James Mandevill
on three seperate orders 125- 00.
To Cash Mr. Mandeville- Sub- 15- 00.
" Frederick Philipse- Sub- 150- 00.
" reed of John Oppie 111- 50.
" of Jas. W. Moyatt- Note 40- 00.
" of Daniel Haight per Order 25- 00.
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 61
To Cash reed from Peekskill Subscription 120- 00.
■ " General Van Cortlandt 10-00.
* on Notes Mr Wiley 106- 00. To amount on Highland Subscription 1827 60- 00
To Cash reed on Isaac Lent Note 28- 00
" of John Garrison 1826 Lent 15- 00
" on Mr Lent Note 50- 00
" on 1826 Subscription as Recollected 36- 00
|
891- |
50. |
|
|
To Cash of Daniel Haight for Wood |
||
|
cut off the Farm 1829 |
39- |
71 |
|
To Cash my Subscription I. G. |
5- |
00 |
|
1830 |
||
|
March 8th |
||
|
To Cash of F. P. Gouverneur on James |
||
|
Mandevill Note |
50- |
00. |
|
To No 1 Note by Order Vestry |
65- |
00. |
|
To Cash of F. P. Gouverneur S. |
50- |
00 |
|
" " John Garrison |
78- 00 |
|
|
To Cash Isaac Faurst Paint Church |
3- |
00. |
|
" John F. Haight |
2- |
00. |
|
To Daniel Haight - Subscription |
6- |
00 |
|
To Henry Garrison do |
10- 00 |
|
|
To Cash lent by John Garrison |
2- |
00 |
|
of Pierre Van Cortlandt |
5- |
00 |
|
John Warren's subscription |
||
|
paid to Frederick Philipse Esq. |
4- |
00 |
|
1830 |
||
|
May 19th |
||
|
To 1 Note signed by F. Philipse, |
||
|
Harry Garrison & Daniel Haight |
45- |
00. |
|
To 1 do do |
61- |
40 |
|
To be paid by Peekskill Committee |
183- |
39. |
$1500- 00
The History of St. Philip9 s Church
|
CONTRA CR |
|
|
1826 Credit by Service |
300- 00 |
|
1827 do |
400- 00 |
|
1828 do |
400- 00 |
|
1829 Year ends - 29th May, 1830 |
|
|
Services |
375- 00 |
|
Cr by Interest allowed |
25- 00 |
|
$1500- 00 |
In the early days of the parish it was the custom to compensate members of the Vestry for services rendered to the Church. Here are a few items culled at random from the records:
1771 Ordered that £3.0.0. a year be paid to Jerediah Frost as a reward to him for officiating the office of Clark.
The said Jerediah Frost was evidently the parish dark whose duty it was to lead the responses in public wor- ship.
In 1774 Peter Drake and Joshua Nelson, who were appointed to collect the subscriptions, were allowed "for their trouble 7 per cent each." In 1801 Joshua Lancaster was paid £2.0.0. for going to New York, and twelve shillings for writing the lease for the glebe farm, and five years later the Rev. Joseph Warren received $4.50 "for his journey to New York." In 1809 Harry Garrison and James Mandeville, the committee for renting the parsonage, were allowed one dollar per day each. The following payments made to members of the Vestry are recorded in 1820:
St. Peter's Church and St. Philip's Chapel 63
Paid Harry Garrison for his services for 10
days $15-00
Daniel Haight for his services for 10
days 12-00.
From the year 1830 the connection between St. Peter's and St. Philip's was nominal. It was inevitable. When Daniel Birdsall built the first store in the village of Peekskill in 1764 it marked the drift away from Cort- landt. As Peekskill increased, Cortlandt decreased. In 1829 the Rev. Edward I. Ives reported to the Diocesan Convention that "A new congregation has also been organized in the village of Peekskill, who contemplate the erection of a new Church as soon as their pecuniary resources are enlarged."1 That new church was erected in 1838. At the same time the other end of the parish at Philipstown was developing rapidly. Men of wealth and leisure awoke to the rare beauty of the Highlands and built their homes on the bank of the Hudson.
So in 1840 St. Peter's and St. Philip's, after an associa- tion of seventy years, came to the parting of the paroch- ial ways, each wishing the other "good luck in the name of the Lord."
1 N. Y. Convention Journal, 1829.
CHAPTER IV.
ST. PETER'S CHURCH AND ST. PHILIP'S CHAPEL. THE RECTORS.
1770-1840.
FROM the year 1770 until 1836 St. Peter's and St. Philip's were served by one Rector who officiated in both churches.
At the first meeting of the Vestry of which we have record, held on September 1st, 1770, it was resolved to "sett on foot a subscription in favor of Mr. John Doty and endeavour to settle him as our Minister." On October 15th it was "farther agreed to give Mr. John Doty a Call as Rector of this Church when he is properly ordained." The Vestry then prepared a petition to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel "recommend- ing Mr. Doty to them for our Minister, and praying their assistance for his maintenance," and also wrote a letter to the Rev. Dr. Burton, "Sec to ye Society giving an account of the state of our Church."
John Doty came of a good stock. The original family name was "Doten" and they hailed from Boston, in the county of Lincoln, England. Edward Doten was one of the "men of the Mayflower" who landed at Plymouth in 1620. Jabez, the son of Isaac Doten and Mary Faunce, was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts, on January 1st, 1716. He married Mary Ann Price of New York, daughter of a lieutenant in the Queen's
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 65
Fusileers. Jabez was the first of his family to leave Plymouth, and from that time wrote his name "Doty." On August 10, 1757, Joseph Harrop, mariner, of New York City, going on a privateering cruise in the ship-of- war called the "Stirdy Beggar," Captain Troup, "ap- points his trusty and loving friend, Jabez Doty of New York City, 'joyner,' his true and lawful attorney. Recorded in Clerk's office, New York City at the request of Mr. Jabez Doty, Joyner, June 28, 1762."
The Rev. John Doty was the eldest child of Jabez and was born in the city of Albany on May 8th, 1745. A descendant of his says of him :
While the paternal ancestors of Rev. John Doty were of the strictest Puritan stock at Plymouth, his mother was the daughter of an English military officer, stationed in New York. This union brought to him some means and good family connections, a conservative tendency in politics and religion, and a desire for culture, position and influence. He was the oldest son of his parents, and, 1768, entered King's College of New York City, now Columbia College.1
He left the college without a degree, in 1770, and dur- ing the summer of that year officiated at Peekskill and neighbourhood as a lay reader. On May 15th of the same year, he married, in New York, Lydia Burling, from whom he was subsequently divorced. His second wife (1819) was Rachel Jeffery of Boston, Massachusetts, who died at Montreal March 1st, 1860.
There were no Bishops in America, and it was there- fore necessary for John Doty to proceed to England for ordination. Armed with letters of recommendation
1 The Doten-Doty Family in America, pp. 155-7.
66 The History of St. Philip's Church
from the Vestry, he sailed to the other side, and on October 23rd, 1770, he was ordered Deacon in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall; and on January 1st, 1771, was made Priest in the same chapel by the Bishop of Norwich.1
It would be interesting, were they available, to read the letters of recommendation which John Doty carried with him to the Bishop of London, who had the over- sight of the Church in the Colonies, but we are able to reproduce the documents which accompanied the ordina- tion. The candidate was first required to put his hand to the Oath of Conformity:
I do declare that I will conform to the Liturgy of the Church of England as it is now by Law Establish- ed. John Doty.
The Certificate of Ordination to the Priesthood was thus worded:
by divine permission Bishop of Norwich to all
to whom these Presents shall come or whom they may in any wise concern.
Know ye that at an ordination holden by us with theAid and Assistance of Almighty God on the first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-one — in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall — we did admit and promote our beloved in Christ John Doty to the Holy Order of a Priest according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England in that behalf published and provided. He having been well recommended to us for His good life and virtuous attainments and proficiency in Learning with a sufficient Title and having been also first examined and approved by our Examiner. In Testimony Whereof we have caused our Episcopal Seal to be hereto affixed.
1 Two Hundred Years of the S. P. G., Vol. II, p. 885.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 67
Duly ordained, two other formalities had to be ob- served before he could leave England and assume the rectorship of the United Churches. One was formal appointment by the Venerable Society as one of their missionaries and the other was a license to officiate in the Colonies, issued by the Bishop of London. In the library of Fulham Palace, London, there is preserved a manuscript, "List of Persons licensed to the Plantations by the Bishop of London from the year 1745 inclusive,"1 where the date of John Doty's "License" is given as January 1st, 1771. It was worded as follows: —
BISHOP'S LICENSE
Thomas by Divine Permission Bishop of London To our beloved in Christ John Doty, Clerk — Greeting.
We do by these presents Give and Grant to you in whose Fidelity, Morals, Learning, Sound Doctrine & Dilligence, we do fully confide our License and Authority, to continue only during our pleasure to Perform the Office of a Priest in the Province of New York in America in Reading the Common Pray- er & Performing other Ecclesiastical Duties, belong- ing to the said office according to the Form pre- scribed in the Book of Common Prayer, made & pub- lished by Authority of Parliament & the Canons and Constitutions in that behalf, lawfully established & promulgated and not otherwise, or in any other man- ner (you having first before us subscribed the Articles & taken the Oaths which in this Case are Required by Law to be Subscribed and taken.)
In witness whereof we have caused our Seal which we use in this case to be hereto affixed. Dated the
1 This list is printed in the Collection of the Protestant Episcopal Historical Society, 1851, pp. 107-120.
68 The History of St. Philip's Church
first day of January, in the Year of our Lord 1771. (Seal) Tho. London.
It was also the custom that missionaries, before sailing, should wait upon the Archbishop of Canterbury to receive his "Paternal Benediction and Instructions." When John Doty did so he received, in common with other missionaries, the following written words of counsel and instruction :
That they always keep in view the great Design of their undertaking, viz. To promote the Glory of God, and the Salvation of Men, by propagating the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour.
That they often consider the Qualifications requisite for those who would effectually promote this Design, viz., — a sound knowledge of and hearty belief of the Christian Religion; an Apostolic zeal, tempered with Prudence, Humility, Meekness and Patience; a fervent charity towards the souls of men; and finally, that Temperance, Fortitude and Con- stancy, which become good soldiers of Jesus Christ.
That in order to the obtaining and preserving the said Qualifications, they do very frequently in their Retirements offer up fervent prayers to Almighty God for his Direction and Assistance; converse much with the Holy Scripture; seriously reflect upon their Ordination Vows; and consider the account which they are to render to the Great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls at the Last Day.
That avoiding all names of distinction, they en- deavor to preserve a Christian agreement and union one with another; as a Body of Brethren of one and the same Church united under the superior Episcopal order, and all engaged, in the same design of Propa- gating the Gospel.1
1 Hawkins, Missions of the Church of England, p. 424.
The Rectors of St Peter's and St. Philip's 69
With such counsels ringing in his ears John Doty set his face homewards, and arrived in the Highlands just five months after his ordination. At a meeting of the Vestry held on the 8th day of June, 1771, attended by Beverly Robinson, Charles Moore, Caleb Ward, Joshua Nelson, Daniel Birdsall and Jeremiah Drake, it was "Unanimously agreed by the Wardens and Vestry that the Rev. John Doty be presented to the rectory of S. Peters Church on the Manor of Cortlandt near Peekskill, and ordered that the Wardens do deliver him the key of said Church and give him possession according to Law." It is further recorded that "Agreeable to the above resolve, the Church Wardens did on the same day deliver the key to the Rev. John Doty and possession of the said Church."
Inasmuch as the Colonial Church was by law estab- lished it became the duty of the Vestry to present the Rector-elect to the Governor of the Colony for admission and induction. This the Vestry did at its meeting one month later, when the record runs:
The Rev. Mr. John Doty Having Excepted the Call given him the Last Vestry, Whereupon it is or- dered that the Board Present the said Mr. Doty to his Excellency the Earl of Dunmore, Governor and Desire he may be admitted and Instituted as rector and inducted into the said St Peter's Church, and a presentation being prepared for that purpose and the same being read wars Signed and Sealed by all the Members present and is as following, viz.
To His Excellency the Right Honorable John, Earl of Dunmore, Captain General and Governor- in-chief in and over the Province of New York and
70 The History of St. Philip's Church
the Territories depending thereon in America, Chan- cellor and Vice- Admiral of the same:
We the Church Wardens and Vestry men of St. Peters Church on the Manor of Cortlandt near Peeks- Kill in the County of Westchester, in Communion with the Church of England as by law established, the true patrons of the Rectory of S. Peter's Church aforesaid within your government, in all reverence and obedience to your Excellency, due and suitable send greeting in our Lord God Everlasting to said S. Peter's Church as yet having never been supplied and to our presentation of full right belonging to our be- loved in Christ, John Doty, Clerk, to your Excellency by these presents, we do present, humbly praying that you would vouchsafe him the said John Doty to the same Church to admit him to the Rectory of the said Church to institute and cause to be instituted with all its rights, members and appurtenances, and that you will with favour and effect do and fulfill all and singular those things which in his behalf are proper and fitting for your Excellency to do. In testimony whereof, we the Church Wardens and Vestry men aforesaid have to these presents put their hands and seals this eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy one.
Beverly Robinson Charles Moore,
Joshua Nelson, Caleb Ward, Danl Birdsell,
Wardens.
Vestry.
The Minute of the Vestry of September 28th read thus: —
The above written petition of us the Wardens and
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 71
Vestry affoursaid, Directed to the right Honorable John, Earl of Dunmore, the then Govnr of the Pro- vince of New York, praying him to admit, institute and induct the Revd Mr. John Doty a Rector of St. Peters Church, being presented to His Excellency William Try on Esqre, who superceded Govr Dunmore as Captn Gen1 & Gov1" in Chief in and over the Province of New York & the territories depending thereon in America, Chancelor and Vice Admiral of the same, His Excellency Did accordingly admit & institute him the sd John Doty, by virtue of certain letters of admishion & institution under the peroga- tive Seal in these words, to witt viz
I, William Tryon, Esq., Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over New York and the territories thereon depending in America, and Vice-Admiral of the same, do admit you, John Doty, to be Rector of the parish church of S. Peter's on the Manor of Cortlandt near Peekskill in the County of Westchester in the said Province, with all their Rights, members and appurtenances. Given under my hand and seal of the Province of New York, the 16th day of July, in the year of our Lord, 1771.
The Vestry were addressed by the Governor in these words:
His Excellency, William Tryon Esq., Captain General, Governor in Chief, in and over the Province of New York and the territories depending thereon in America, Chancellor and Vice-Admiral of the same, to all and singular Rectors and Parish Ministers what- soever in the Province of New York, or to the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the parish of Saint Peters, on the Manor of Cortlandt near Peeks Kill, in the County of Westchester in the said Province, and to each and every one of you greeting:
Whereas I have admitted our Beloved in Christ,
72 The History of St. Philip's Church
John Doty, Clark, to the Rectory of the Parish and the parish church of Saint Peters, on the Manor of Cortlandt, near Peeks Kill, in the County of West- chester, within this government, to which the said John Doty was presented by the Wardens and Vestry- men of the said parish, the true and undoubted pa- trons of the said parish, vacant, as having never before been supplied by any incumbent, and him the said John Doty I have instituted into the Rectory of the said parish and parish church with all their Rights, members and appurtenances observing the Laws and Canons of Right in that behalf required and to be observed.
To you therefore jointly and severally I do commit, and firmly enjoyning, do command each and every one of you that in due manner him, the said John Doty, Clark, or his lawful Rector in his name or for him into the Reall, actual, and corporate possession of the said Rectory, parish and parish church of S. Peter's, and of all the rights and appurtenances whatsoever to the same belonging. And you in- duct, or cause to be inducted, and him so inducted, you do defend.
And of what you shall have done in the premises hereoff, you do duly certify unto me, or other compe- tent Judge in that behalf when hereunto you shall be duly required.
Given under my hand and seal of the Province of New York, this 16th day of July, 1771.
WILLIAM TRYON.
Still another formality had to be observed before John Doty could enter upon his benefice. The Church in the American Colonies was under the laws of England, as the Anglican Church was an integral part of the State, and the Rector-elect was therefore required to assent to the
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 73
Thirty-nine Articles of the Faith. His having done so is thus recorded in the Minutes of the Vestry of September 28th, 1771:
The said Mr. John Doty, having first produced a certificate to this Board, of his having, in the pre- sence of severall witnesses, declared his unfeigned assent and consent to the 39 Articles of Religion agreed upon by the Archbishop and Bishops in the Convocation holden at London, Anno Domini, 1562, — and having prefixed these to his Majesty's royal declaration, after which he was, by virtue of certain letters mandatory, under the Seal, in due manner Inducted into the reall, actual and corporal possession of the Rectory and Parish Church of Saint Peter's aforesaid.
The form of assent, or, as it was called, the "Declara- tion of Conformity" was thus worded:
I, John Doty, do hereby declare my unfeigned assent and consent to all and everything contained and prescribed in ye Book entitled 'The Book of Common Prayer,' and administration of the Sacra- ments, and ye Rites and Ceremonies of ye Church, according to the use of the Church of England: to- gether with ye Psalter or Psalms of David, printed as they are to be sung or said in Churches, and the form or manner of making, ordaining and conse- crating Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
to which was also added assent and consent to the Thirty- nine Articles of the Church of England.
The minutes of the Vestry make no mention of Mr. Doty's resignation of the rectorship of the united church- es, nor of the time of his departure. It is, however, stat- ed in the report of the Society for the Propagation of the
74 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
Gospel for 1774 "That the circumstances under which he left his congregation at Peekskill did not raise him in the estimation of the Society, to whom his conduct, in that particular, hath been reported to his disadvantage, and as an act of ingratitude." What those circumstances were we have now no means of conjecturing, unless it should be the brevity of his service in a parish which had waited for his ordination and built him a parsonage. Obviously his offence was not a very serious one, for he continued a missionary of the Venerable Society until 1803. He is recorded as attending a Vestry meeting at Peekskill on August 13th, 1773, after which his name disappears from the parochial records.
Three days later the Rev. William Andrews, Rector of St. George's, Schenectady, writes from New York to Sir William Johnson: "My health has really suffered so much of late from constant confinement to a school, and from my attention to the mission, that I have, by the advice of Dr. Constable, been obliged to make an excur- sion abroad for the recovery of it. A principal induce- ment to undertake this, was the arrival of a clergyman at Schenectady, who kindly offered to supply my place, should I absent myself."1 A little later in the same letter he adds: "This gentleman who now officiates in my room, is personally known to Colonel Johnson, and I believe would, if agreeable to you and the people, accept the Mission. He is a relation of Mr. Ellices. A person of good abilities and fair character."1 This un-named clergyman was the Rev. John Doty. The records of the S. P. G. state that "At the request of the Church War-
1 Documentary History of the State of New York, Vol. IV, pp. 305-6.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 75
dens and Vestrymen of Schenectady, the Rev. Mr. Doty, a gentleman educated at King's College, New York, and ordained some time since for S. Peter's at Peeks Kill, is appointed to succeed Mr. Andrews1 with the former salary for the space of five years; after which time, one half will be withdrawn, and the congregation be in a condition, it is hoped, to increase their contribution to his support."2
The first services of the Church in Schenectady were held by the Rev. Thomas Barclay of Albany in 1710, and until the erection of St. George's, about 1762, were held in the Dutch Church. Of the town in those days the Rev. John Taylor writes: "It makes a singular appear- ance, being built in the old Dutch form — houses in general but one story, or a story and a half — and standing end- wise to the street." In this place John Doty spent a four years' active but troubled ministry. Every Sunday afternoon he catechised the children in open congrega- tion, in addition to which he conducted a class for "twenty poor negroes." In one year he baptized more than one hundred infants, "most of them brought in from the circumjacent country, in which there are many poor families to whom he had occasionally preached."
This admirable parochial work was disrupted by the War of the Revolution. In an historical sermon preach- ed in 1882 by the late Rev. Dr. Payne, he said of Mr. Doty:
1 The Rev. William Andrews was of Irish birth. He was recom- mended to Sir William Johnson for the mission at Schenectady by Colonel Croghan and Secretary Banyar, and was ordained by the Bishop of London in 1770. He afterwards removed to Virginia.
2 Report of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1774.
76 The History of St. Philip's Church
Not long had the new incumbent been proclaiming within these walls the gospel of peace, before the sounds of war were echoed from Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. The rupture between the colonies and the mother country was to try the souls of all, but of none more than the clergy of the English Church, who were sustained by the bounty of its So- ciety at home, and whose ordination vows would not allow them to disuse the liturgy, with the prayer for the king and royal family. Like many of his brethren, Mr Doty suffered between a sense of duty and the pressure of the times. He was arrested, and kept in ward for a while. On being released, he left for Canada; and divine service was suspended in the church during the remainder of the war.1
From various sources we can fill in the above outline. In his Annals of Albany Munsell states that St. George's library, the organ and a greater part of the interior were destroyed by a gang of Indians and lawless whites, and adds, "they even meditated the destruction of Mr. Doty's property; but they knew not the place of his abode, and, as none would inform them, he escaped their ire." Mr. Doty himself writes: "The Church had been on the decline for three years: two-thirds of the people only remaining, but those of decent deportment, and attached to the King ... So reduced were his people that he left in Schenectady only fifty-nine, exclusive of slaves among whom were sixteen communicants, and twelve catechumens."2
From the safe refuge of Montreal he writes on May 30th, 1778 to the S. P. G.,—
1 Pearson, History of the Schenectady Patent, p. 396.
2 Quoted in Fowler's MS. Biographies of the Clergy.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St Philip's 77
To avoid a long detail of the most il-liberal treat- ment he has received from his factious neighbors, he thinks it suffice to say, that after fifteen months inter- ruption of divine service, his people having suffered in various ways, and himself twice made prisoner, he found it absolutely necessary to retire with his family to Canada. To pay for which journey, and to dis- charge the debts necessarily incurred by him, through the deficiency of the peoples subscriptions, all the money he had, and could collect from the sale of his furniture was not sufficient; and his distress must have been very great had he not been appointed Chaplain to His Majesty's Royal Regiment of New York.1
Mr. Doty left Schenectady on October 23rd, 1777, and so great were the difficulties of travel, that it was nearly a month before he reached Montreal.2 To the foregoing must be added a more detailed statement of his exper- iences made under oath, a statement the more valuable because it is typical of the sufferings of many of the colonial clergy who adhered to the cause of the king.
At the close of the War of the Revolution the British Government was inundated with claims for compensa- tion for "losses and services" of the loyalists. Royal Commissioners were appointed to investigate and adjudi- cate upon the claims. For obvious reasons this could not be done within the confines of the United States, so the hearings took place in London and Nova Scotia. All claims had to be submitted in writing, and each claimant was required to appear personally before the Commissioners. These claims have been carefully pre-
1 Report of the S. P. G., 1779.
2 Stuart, The Church of England in Canada, p. 46.
78 The History of St. Philip's Church
served in the archives of the British Colonial Office, and they have been copied into forty-six folio manuscript volumes which constitute one of the greatest historical treasures of the Public Library of the city of New York.
These volumes contain a wealth of material for the student of the Revolutionary period as it affected both Church and Commonwealth. Therein are found the claims of the Rev. Charles Inglis, Rector of Trinity Church, of the Rev. Samuel Seabury, then Rector of Westchester, and afterwards first Bishop of the American Church, and many others. Two of the docu- ments are of absorbing interest to the parish of St. Philip's in the Highlands — the claims of the Rev. John Doty and Colonel Beverly Robinson, the first Rector and Warden of the united churches. The proceedings in Mr. Doty's case read as follows:
To the Honorable Commissioners appointed by Act of Parliament for enquiries into the Losses and Services of the American Loyalists.
The Memorial of John Doty, Clerk, one of the Missionaries of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and late Rector of St. George's Church, in the town of Schenectady &c, Province of New York, North America.
Humbly Sheweth,
That your Memorialist from the beginning of the late Troubles in America, adhered stedfastly to his Allegiance using his utmost endeavors to preserve the people committed to his care unshaken in their loy- alty; and especially from the Autumn of 1777 — to the Autumn of 1781 — faithfully discharged the duty of a Chaplain in one of the Provincial Corps in Canada. That besides the personal ill-treatment
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 79
he received from his deluded Countrymen, your Memorialist compelled to retire within the British Lines was deprived (for the most part) of his Living which he estimates at £80 Sterling per annum, to which your Memorialist adds the loss of 325 Acres of Land, an estate in fee simple situate lying and being on the South side of the Mohawk river, in the county of Tryon, and in the Township of Belvidere, which land, together with part of his moveable estate left at Schenectady, he values at £250 Sterling.
That in point of Living £140 New York Currency the Par of £80 Sterling would go as far at Schenectady as £140 will extend here (London); for which reason your Memorialist finds it extremely difficult to support himself and his Wife (the companion of his Misfortunes) in the expensive Metropolis, where with much less than the sum last mentioned he has been obliged to remain ever since his arrival on the British shore.
Your Memorialist therefore prays that his case may be taken into your Consideration in order that your Memorialist may continue to receive the small Annuity allowed to him since the Fifth day of January last, or such Aid or Relief which his Losses and Services may be found to deserve.
JOHN DOTY.
No date is attached to this Memorial, but it was pro- bably presented late in 1783, and in the February follow- ing Mr. Doty appeared personally in support of his claim. The official record is as follows:
Feby 6th, 1784.
Evidence on the Foregoing Memorial of the Rev.
John Doty.
Claimant sworn
Says he is a native of Albany in the Province of
80 The History of St. Philip's Church
New York, but was brought up from his Infancy in the City of New York.
Says at the commencement of the Troubles he was rector of S. George's Church in Schenectady — The first Step he took at that time was to warn the People Privately and used every means in his power to con- firm them in their Allegiance — He likewise as far as he thought right exhorted them from the Pulpit to the same Effect — This conduct soon drew upon him the Suspicion and Enmity of all who were of the opposite Faction — They did not molest him personally until after the Declaration of Independence at which time his Church was shut up — He was warned not to keep it open by Mr Wayne one of the Congress lest he should be troubled for it — Soon after this he was taken up and carried before the Committee of the Town and two young men swore they considered him as a person plotting with the Negroes against their State, and to destroy the Town: Claimant denied his being concerned in any Plott, but openly declared his Allegiance to the King. He was in consequence of this threatened to be sent to prison. He was acquitted of the Charge of Plotting to destroy the town and was discharged. Not many weeks after he was taken up again by two armed men as being a Tory, and sent off in a Wagon to Albany; when he arrived at Albany he was bailed by a relation who was on the Rebel side. The next day he, with the others who were carried down with him, were brought before the Committee where an Oath of Neutrality was tendered to them severally — He believes the others took the Oath but he refused to take any — He was however permitted to return home through the Interference of his Friends — He accord- ingly went back and staid at home till the affair of General Burgoyne, when from his Miscarriage des- pairing of relief he by means of his friends at Albany
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 81
obtained permission from General Gates to go unto Canada — The General offered him anything in his Gift as far as £200 a year — Claimant said he would consider of it, but begged he would let his Secretary make out his Pass, and immediately that he got it he departed unto Canada. He was appointed Chaplain to the first Battalion of Sir John Johnson's Regiment in which situation he continued till he arrived in England in the Autumn of 1781 — He had leave to come home for his Health — and he had business with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and he was permitted to act by Deputy1 and he received the half of the Pay — the Regiment is now reduced, and his half pay is assigned over to a Gentleman in Montreal of whom he was obliged to take up Mon- ey, but in about a year he shall be able to clear it off, and have his half pay clear — It was £60 a year. He was appointed a Missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 1773 — and has hitherto received £40 a year, but he has lately had a differ- ent Mission given to him at Sorenne2 which will pro- duce him £50 a year. He receives an allowance of £40 a year from the Treasury.
The record further states that Mr. Doty produced his commission as military chaplain signed by Sir Guy Carleton, and also the deed of the land for which he paid £80. He valued the land at 13s. -6d. per acre. He further testifies that
He lost by leaving behind him a Chamber Organ and his Library — He put the Organ in the Church for Security, and he values the Library and the Organ at £30 — and he meant to value his land at £220, and
1 As Chaplain.
2 Sorel.
82 The History of St. Philip' s Church
that the income of S. George's was secured to him by a Bond from the Church Wardens.1
On his arrival in Canada he was at once appointed Chaplain to His Majesty's Royal Regiment of New York, the sixtieth, and in addition to his military duties he ministered devotedly to such of the Mohawk Indians as were settled in Canada, many of whom had joined the royal army. Six miles from Montreal the Mohawks in 1778 "built a few temporary huts for their families and . a log house for the sole purpose of a Church and a Council Room." There Mr. Doty ministered 'to the whole assembled village, who behaved with apparent seriousness and devotion. " The record is still extant of how he admonished the Red Men to be faithful to their baptismal vows, and of how the Chief replied "that they would never forget their baptismal vows, nor the religion they had been educated in, and that it revived their hearts to find once more a Christian Minis- ter among them, and to meet together, as formerly, for the worship of Almighty God."2 In June, 1778, he accompanied his regiment to Quebec, and a little later General Haldimand informed Sir John Johnson that a memorial had been presented by the inhabitants of Montreal requesting the appointment of the Rev. John Doty to the management of a public school.3 The appointment was not made, and he sailed for England, accompanied by his wife, on October 23rd, 1781, on the
1 American Loyalists, Audit Office Manuscripts, New York, Book 1, Claimants, Lennox Library, Vol. XLI, p 45-51.
2 Two Hundred Years of the S. P. G., 1901, Vol. I, p. 139.
3 Canadian Archives, Haldimand Collection, Letters to Officers of the King's Royal Regiment of N. Y., Series B, Vol. 138, page 125.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philips 83
Integrity with "a convoy of 60 sail," being allowed to retain his chaplaincy during his absence.
In January, 1783, during a visit to England, Mr. Doty drew up a valuable statement on "The present state of the Church in the Province of Canada," in which he declares "The evening service of the Church of England is not performed : The weekly prayer days, Saints' Days are totally neglected: and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper administered not above three or four times a year at Montreal, not so often at Quebec and not at all at Trois Rivieres."1 Uncompromising Tory as he was, he adds that the Society "will not have the rank weeds of Republicanism and Independence to root out before they can sow the pure seed of the gospel, as was too much the case heretofore, in the Colonies, but on the contrary they will find a people (like the good ground) in a great measure prepared and made ready to their hand. The Protestants to a man are loyal subjects, and in general members of the Church of England."2
For this promising field John Doty "freely offered his services," and it was decided to make a "trial" by appointing him to establish a mission at Sorel. Sorel was then "the key of Canada," fifteen leagues below Montreal. Besides the garrison, which was "middling large," there were seventy Protestant English families. He arrived at Sorel on July 1st, 1784, and immediately applied to the Governor for a residence, provisions and a lot of land, and, until such time as a residence was pro- vided, he was quartered in barracks. The first service was held on July 4th, 1784, and was attended by "Dis-
1 Two Hundred Years of the S. P. G., 1901, Vol. I, p. 140-41.
2 Two Hundred Years of the S. P. G., 1901, Vol. I, p. 141.
84 The History of St. Philip's Church
senters, Lutherans and Churchmen." After four weeks, permission to use the Roman Church was withdrawn, and he applied to Major Johnson for the use of a govern- ment building. In 1785 he purchased "one of the Best houses in Sorel for fifteen guineas, and fitted it for a Church so as to accommodate above one hundred and twenty persons." The gift of a bell "encouraged them to add a steeple to their church." "The first Church in which he ministered," writes Canon Anderson, "was of wood, and it was originally a marine store, fitted up for divine service in something of church-like form, with belfry and bell."1 This was replaced by the aforemen- tioned building opened on Christmas Day, 1785, when "thirty-two persons received the Communion." John Doty writes in his diary: " Completed the first Protestant Church built in Canada, and opened it for Divine Service."
The following summer he visited Albany and was called to the rectorship of St. Peter's Church, which he declined in the interests of his work at Sorel. His stipend of £50 was paid by the S. P. G. and in 1786 the Government added an annual allowance of £100, to which were added grants of land, which in the course of time became quite valuable. From Sorel he reached out in his missionary labor to Montreal, where he ministered to a congregation of Germans, and to St. Armand, where 'he had a serious and crowded audience, and baptized six infants and one adult."
In 1793 he visited New York, where he is said to have received a call to St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn, as witness
1 Centennial Sermon in the Church at Sorel by the Rev. Canon Anderson.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 85
this paragraph in the S. P. G. report for 1797: "It is with concern that the Society has received information that they are deprived of the useful service of this worthy missionary, Mr. John Doty, by his removal to his native country to take charge of S. Ann's Church at Brooklyn in Long Island, in the Province of New York."
There is, however, no mention of this fact in the records of St. Ann's, and in September of the same year we find Mr. Doty preaching before H. R. H. Prince Edward at Sorel at a notable Masonic service.
In 1803 he resigned as a missionary of the Venerable Society, and removed to Three Rivers, where, on July 28th, 1819, he married Rachel Jeffery. He died on the 23rd of November, 1841, at the great age of ninety-six years, and was buried in the old cemetery where a simple stone bears this inscription :
Sacred to the Memory
of
the Reverend John Doty
who departed this life on the
23rd of November, 1841.
Aged 96 years.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
Mrs. Doty died in Montreal, March 1st, 1860. Writing in 1893 the Rector of the parish says: "Mr. and Mrs. Doty are still remembered by old residents of Three Rivers, who speak of them as devout and hon- orable gentle-folks, always bearing the dignified man- ners and the courtly grace of a bygone age."1
Nearly two years elapsed before St. Peter's and St.
1 The Church of England in Canada, 1759-1793, Rev. H. C. Stuart, p. 109.
86 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
Philip's secured a successor to Mr. Doty. At a meeting of the Vestry on September 18th, 1775, "it was unani- mously agreed to set on foot a subscription for the sup- port of Mr. Bennett Page during his preaching in S. Peter's Church, Peeks Kill." In all probability this was "Bernard Page," who was licensed by the Bishop of London to officiate in Wyoming parish, Pennsylvania, in 1772, from whence he removed to the Province of New York.1 A curious reflection upon him occurs in an advertisement of a lottery for a Church in Brooklyn:
New York, March 31st, 1774. Many Persons having been misled by an opinion, that the Church proposed to be erected by means of a lottery, at Brooklyn, on Long Island, is to be under the minis- try of the Rev. Bernard Page, the public is hereby assured to the contrary, and that it will be a truly Orthodox Church, strictly conformable to the doc- trine and discipline of the constitutional Church of England, as by law established, and under the Rec- tor and Vestry of Trinity Church, in this City.2
How long Mr Page ministered in the united churches it is impossible to tell. The meeting at which he was engaged as minister "adjourned until further notice," and no meeting is recorded for the next fifteen years. During those years the Colony of New York threw off all allegiance to the British Crown, becoming one of the thirteen United States and the "Church as by Law established" ceased to exist therein. Families were divided into hostile political camps, and the Highlands were ravaged by the armies. Two-thirds of what is now
1 Bolton's History of Westchester County, 1881, I, p. 132.
2 Rivington's New York Gazette, Thursday, March 31st, 1774.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 87
Putnam County, was sequestered from the ownership of Beverly Robinson and of his brother-in-law, Roger Morris. The people of the parish were scattered; the services were either suspended or held irregularly; and for several years there were no meetings of the Vestry and no settled minister.
The record takes up the broken thread with the elec- tion of Wardens and Vestrymen on Easter Monday, April 5th, 1790, but no steps towards obtaining a clergy- man were taken till the following year when it was "Agreed that a subscription paper be sett on foot for the purpose of raising a sallary for a minister to officiate in the united churches of S. Peter's and S. Philip's." Richard Arnold and Joshua Nelson were appointed to solicit subscriptions at Philipstown, and Jarvis Dusen- bury and Caleb Morgan were appointed to "furnish the said subscription role on the part of St. Peters." It was further agreed that "the Wardens and Vestrymen begin both the Subscription papers now mentioned, but it is hereby understood that the duplicate signing is deemed to give equal encouragement to both, and that the pay- ment of one will discharge the subscriber."
In November, 1791, the Vestry "did then agree to pay the sum of Twenty pounds for the suport of David Lamson1 to services in S. Peter's Church at Peekskill and S. Philip's Chappel in the Highlands until the first of April next, and it is further agreed that Joshua Nelson and Silvanus Haight shall furnish him with the necessarys agreeable to a person of his station out of the above Twenty pounds."
1 Probably "Lampson."
88 The History of St. Philip's Church
Apparently David Lamson's engagement was not renewed, for on the 7th day of August, 1792, the Vestry
did then agree with the Rev. Andrew Fowler to officiate as Rector of the Church and Chappie for one year, and they do promise to pay him for his ser- vice the sum of seventy pounds current money of New York, and have likewise agreed with John Bash- ford for the house which he now lives in until the first day of May next, and to give him the sum of five pounds for the same, and they do further agree to put Mr. Fowler on the Glebe farm the first day of May next.
Early in the following year the Vestry resolved that "the Rev. Mr. Fowler shall be inducted according to the mode of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this state now in use, with the Rectory of S. Peter's Church on the Manor of Cortlandt, and S. Philip's Chapel in Philips- town now in communion together and that the Induction into S. Peter's Church shall be made on Monday the 6th of instant January, and the Induction into S. Philip's Chapel when convenience will permit."
The next year Mr. Fowler was re-engaged for another annual term at a salary of eighty pounds, the Vestry further agreeing to repair the house and build a barn. It was also arranged "that both parties do agree to give each party three months warning previous to leaving or dismissing." A little later a minute records a complaint of the Rector "that the church at Peekskill had neglected to discharge their part of the first half year's salary."
In those days the growth of the Episcopal Church was
THE REV. ANDREW FOWLER, M. A. Rector, 1792-1794
The Rectors of St Peter's and St. Philip's 89
not regarded with favor by the Puritans. It is a matter of public record that during the Revolution the Presby- terians attempted to take the church on the Manor of Cortlandt by force. Mr. Fowler seems, however, to have maintained cordial relations with his ecclesiastical neighbors, as witness the following correspondence with Rev. Silas Constant, a militant Presbyterian minister of Yorktown.
Reverend Sir,
It is a rule in the Church to which I belong, that no minister not even one of our own Denomination, shall preach at any time in our Churches without liberty is first obtained of the Rector — Nearly the same rule I suppose is observed among the Presbyterians or Con- gregationalists, and as I feel an inclination to preach a sermon in Crown Pond1 within a short time, I therefore beg the favor of your Meeting House when it does not interfere with your own appointments for that pur- pose. A line in answer to this will oblige,
(Your) friend and honorable servant,
ANDREW FOWLER.
to which courteous request Mr. Constant replied :
Reverend Sir,
I received yours intimating your willingness to preach in this neighborhood, and I shall note your direction and give notice to the congregation. The Meeting House will be opened without objection, and hope your appointment will be when I can attend, if week day, if on Sabbath it must be when I preach at Peekskill,
Yours in sincerity,
SILAS CONSTANT.
1 Crompond.
90 The History of St. Philip's Church
Andrew Fowler was born at Guilford, Connecticut, on June 10th, 1760. He was the son of Andrew Fowler by his wife, Martha Stone, and a descendant of John Fowler, one of the founders of Guilford in 1639. 1 At the age of nineteen he entered Yale, a convinced Presby- terian, graduating in 1783, and receiving his Master of Arts degree ten years later.2
In the latter half of the Eighteenth century the burning question in religious circles in America was the nature and organization of the Church, and the point around which controversy raged most fiercely was the necessity, or otherwise, of the Episcopate. The fight waxed ex- ceeding bitter, and it produced an endless array of books and pamphlets.
So serious a question could scarcely escape the atten- tion of the young student preparing for the ministry, and he had not far to seek for materials. In the year 1711 an agent of the colony of Connecticut in London sent over eight hundred books, among which were the works of strong Anglican writers like Hooker, Chillingworth and Usher. These were in the Yale Library, and they at- tracted the attention of Andrew Fowler, who promptly sought permission of the President to read them.
The request unwittingly revived memories of the dark- est day in the annals of New England Puritanism. Fifty- seven years before a little group of Yale professors and ministers, including Timothy Cutler, then President of the College, had studied those same books. Their studies convinced them that "they were usurpers in the house of God," and they announced their intention
1 Smith, History of Guildford, Ct., p. 18.
1 Fowler, MS. Biographical Sketches of the Clergy.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philips 91
of applying for Holy Orders in the Church of England.1 Little wonder that the President, with such memories* promptly refused the request on the ground that the books in question were "dangerous." Possibly the refusal stimulated the young student's desire; at any rate they were obtained elsewhere, and as a result of their perusal, Andrew Fowler joined the Church. For seven years he was a devoted lay reader. In the Autumn of 1779 he became a churchman, and almost immediately " commenced reading prayers and sermons under the direction of the Rev. Bela Hubbard at West Haven, three Sundays in five; and at New Haven in 1782 he read prayers and sermons for the same Reverend gentleman two Sundays in five. These circumstances commonly took place in the same manner till he grad- uated, though at sometimes he read prayers elsewhere in his native State, he having the President's leave to do so."2 After his graduation he removed to New Rochelle where, he says, "I was principally engaged with a school." He found the Church in a distressed position, the churches in Yonkers, Peekskill, Rye and Westchester were closed, and some of them had been converted into military hospitals. Nor did the clergy escape. The Rev. Luke Babcock, Rev. Epenetus Townsend and Rev. Samuel Seabury were imprisoned, and the Rev. Ephraim Avery, of Rye, lost his life. The clergy were scattered; the churches closed and the flock of God were as sheep without a shepherd. England ceased to send out missionaries, there were no American Bishops, and
1 Perry, History of the American Episcopal Church, Vol. I, p. 24-7 ff.
2 Fowler, MS. Biographical Sketches of the Clergy.
92 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
consequently no ordinations. To Andrew Fowler the Church's extremity was his missionary opportunity, and he set out to gather the sheep again into the fold.
He writes in his Journal: "At the close of the War I collected the congregation at Rye and at White Plains . Began at Rye the first Sunday in April, 1784, and at White Plains the Sunday after.' ' In 1786 he ex- tended his efforts to Yonkers, of which he writes: "The congregation had been broken up by the War, and was for sometime destitute of a regular pastor. The Rev. Mr. Babcock died sometime before the peace took place. I read sermons and prayers there with great pleasure, and never saw any other conduct there than that which was truly christian and pious. I could go there but occasionally, as I was then principally engaged as a lay- reader at New Rochelle."1 In 1785 he was lay represen- tative of Trinity parish to the Diocesan Convention.2 From New Rochelle he removed to Long Island and served as lay reader at Brookhaven, Oyster Bay and Huntington.3
He was ordered Deacon by Bishop Provoost in St. Andrew's Church, Staten Island in 1789, and was ad- vanced to the Priesthood by the same Bishop in St. Paul's Church, Eastchester, one year later. His first parish was Christ Church, Oyster Bay. His rectorship of St. Peter's and St. Philip's terminated in the Fall of 1794, and he removed to Bedford, N. Y., where he min- istered for one year. Removing to New Jersey, he labored at Shrewsbury, Middletown and Spottswood.
1 Fowler, MS. Journal.
2 N. Y. Convention Journal, 1785.
3 Marvin, The Church in Suffolk County, p. 8.
The Rectors of St Peter's and St Philip's 93
A list of the New Jersey Clergy in 1798 shows him as "Minister of St. Mary's Church, Coles Town, on con- tract for one year only."1 Philadelphia was the scene of his work for one year, and his last charge in the North was S. Michael's, Bloomingdale, then a country place on the far outskirts of the city of New York.
In 1806 Mr. Fowler removed to Charleston, S. C, where the real work of his life was done. Writing under date of February 15th, 1807, to John Henry Hobart, then assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York, he says, "After I left New York the first place I went to was Wilmington, N. C. At this place I met with a Clergyman by the name of Walling, who is one of the most pleasant and agreeable men in the world." At Wilmington he was detained five weeks awaiting a ship to Charleston.
We who live in the Twentieth Century, when the Church has reaped all the finer fruits of the Oxford Movement, have little idea of the laxity of faith and effort which characterized the Church in America in the earlier years of the Nineteenth Century. When Andrew Fowler went South he wrote to the Rev. John Henry Hobart: "I conversed with Mr. Walling upon the state of the Church, which he tells me is deplorable. I find that the idea of Episcopacy is but little esteemed among either the Clergy or the people. They think it no matter what religion a man is of, provided he be honest."2
The attitude was typical of the times. The era of aggression had not begun. The missionary motive was yet unborn, and the Bishops were content with small
1 General Convention MSS.
2 Hobart MSS.
94 The History of St. Philip's Church
achievement. The Church was apologetic. But "there was the sound of the wind in the tops of the mulberry trees." In the city of New York there lived and labored a man to whom the American Church was to owe a new life. John Henry Hobart — not yet a Bishop — was dreaming dreams and seeing visions of a Church alive to her splendid heritage. He was the apostle of a new catholicity which blazoned upon its banner the motto, "Evangelical Truth and Apostolic Order;" the able and intrepid champion of the Church of God. Under the inspiration of his leadership apology gave place to aggression. Wise before his time, Hobart foresaw the tremendous power of the printing press and used it to the full in the circulation of books and tracts expounding and defending the nature and organization of the Church. Andrew Fowler was in the fullest sympathy with Hobart's purposes and methods. In season and out of season he sought to open men's eyes to the glories of the Catholic Church, and he was shrewd enough to see that the most effective method was the circulation of Church- ly literature.
His five weeks' enforced stay in Wilmington was used to extend the influence of the Church. He writes to Hobart: "I was invited to dine out every day while I was at Wilmington; it gave me a great opportunity of advocating the Church, and my friend Walling told me that I had been of great service to him among his own people."
He adds, " I find that there is nothing wanting to make the Church flourish in this State but half a dozen good Clergymen and a few small tracts on Episcopacy, Bap- tism and the Lord's Supper."
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philips 95
The few books he had with him were quickly exhaust- ed; "I had a copy of your Companion, one copy of your treatise on The Festivals and Fasts . . . these I was obliged to give away as some of my friends were so desirous to have them; it was a pity that I had not had many more. I wish, friend Hobart, that you would send me on a copy of the Canons of the Church, and some other small tracts which you may have it in your power to send gratis." How the literature was welcomed and used is seen in a further letter: — "Part of the pam- phlets I have this day forwarded to Dr. Walling, and the remainder I shall distribute among the members of my own parish as they stand much in need of them. The life of Dr. Johnson1 1 have had six days, and it has been read through by nine persons already."
When he arrived at Charleston he found that the parishes had already made their arrangements for the year, but under the date of January, 1807, he writes: "I am elected Rector of S. Bartholomew's Church, Edisto Island, the property of which I am to be put in possession of next Winter. The living consists of a plantation with sixteen negroes; the pew rents are not less than four hundred dollars, and it is the general opinion that the whole, including what will be raised by subscriptions, cannot amount to less than two thousand dollars."2
A later letter sheds interesting light on climatic con- ditions: "It is a great misfortune that the inhabitants
1 The Life of Samuel Johnson, D. D., the first President of King's College, in New York, by Thomas Bradbury Chandler, D. D., 1805.
2 Hobart MSS.
96 The History of St. Philip's Church
are obliged to leave here, and move off to some consider- able distance during the sickly months. As the heat increases, the country is filled with noxious vapors, and it will be ten o'clock in the morning before you can see the Sun for the fog." He adds, "I have never enjoyed my health better: I have eleven Communicants, and have baptized eight children."
With Charleston for a center he was in "labors oft" for forty years. In 1811 he resigned the rectorship of S. Bartholomew's parish and became an itinerant mission- ary for the rest of his life. For some time he labored at Columbia, S. C, where he "collected a considerable congregation of the best and most respectable citizens who attended public worship with great devotion."1 To him also belongs the distinguished honor of presenting the first class of candidates for the Apostolic rite of Con- firmation in the diocese of South Carolina on March 30th, 1813.2
In July, 1821, Florida was ceded to the United States by Spain. The churchmen of Charleston immediately took steps to send a minister to St. Augustine in order to establish church services. In an interesting and valuable historical pamphlet3 Mr. Fowler writes: "On Saturday, the 22nd of September, 1821, the Rev. Dr. Gadsen appli- ed to me, on behalf of the Protestant Episcopal Society, composed of young men and others, to go as their
1 Dalcho, Historical Account of the Church in South Carolina.
2 Southern Churchman, February 11th, 1869.
3 A Short Account of the Rise and Progress of the Protestant Epis- copal Church in the city of St. Augustine, East Florida, by Andrew Fowler, A. M., Charleston, 1835.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 97
missionary to St. Augustine in East Florida, for the space of two months, in order if possible, to collect and organize a Congregation in that place."
Although the position had already been refused by several of the clergy, Mr. Fowler readily consented, and in less than a week was on his way armed with a Circular Letter of Introduction to Christians in particular and to the Community in general. He arrived at St. Augustine on October 2nd, only to find the city in the grip of malignant yellow fever, and the inhabitants panic- stricken. He was strongly urged not to land, but no personal danger daunted him. Without a moment's delay he commenced his devoted and untiring ministra- tions to the sick and dying. In the course of five weeks he officiated at eighteen funerals and baptized eight children.
On Saturday, October 6th, he issued an address in the Florida Gazette: "The Subscriber takes this method to announce to the Public his intention to perform divine service, God willing, in this city on the morrow, at the old Government House. Service will commence precise- ly at 10 o'clock in the morning." The service was duly held, and the preacher "had a numerous, respectable and attentive audience." He returned to Charleston on November 9th.
Amid his manifold missionary labors Mr. Fowler found time to make some notable contributions to religious literature. He was the author of An Ex- position of the Book of Common Prayer: A Catechism of the Church and An Exposition of the XXXIX Arti-
98 The History of St. Philip's Church
cles. The estimate in which these works were held may be gathered from the address of Bishop Moore to the Diocese of New York, in which he says, "October 14th, 1807. Two hundred copies of Fowler's Exposition of the Liturgy of the Church, purchased by Trinity Church, to be distributed throughout this diocese."1
A. The other known publications of Mr. Fowler were: —
1 . A Short Introduction to Christian Knowledge, designed particularly for the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church at East- Woods, Oysterbay. New York, 1792.
2. Hymns. New York, 1793.
3 . A Sketch of the Life and death of Mrs. Hannah Dyckman, King's Ferry. Danbury, 1795.
4 . The Lessons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America; . . . with an explanation of all the Sundays and the principal Holy-Days throughout the year.
New Brunswick, N. J., 1798.
Second Edition, Charleston, 1838.
5 . A Form of Morning and Evening Prayer. Compiled for the use of an Academy. New York, 1802.
6. Short Instructions for those who are preparing for Confirmation.
Charleston, 1813.
7. A Sermon, upon the word Amen, Revelation XXII, 21. Delivered in S. Michael's Church, Charleston, Feb. 7th, 1813.
Charleston, 1835.
8 . A Short Account of the Rise and Progress of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the City ofS. Augustine, East Florida.
Charleston, 1835.
1 New York Convention Journal, 1807.
99 AH
EXPOSITION
OF THE
BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER,
AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE
SACRAMENTS
AK» OTHER,
RITES AND CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH, fcc.
ACCORDING TO THE USE OP TKE
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH
IK THE
UNITED STATES of AMERICA.
by ANDREW FOWLER, a. m.
RECTOR OF CHRIST-CHURCH SHREWSBURY, AND CHRIST-CHURCH MIDDLETOWN, »EW-JERSEY.
BURLINGTON, N.JERSEY, POINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, JBT S* C* l/STICX.
1805.
[COPY.RIOHT SECURED.!
100 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
Andrew Fowler made a notable contribution to the History of the Church in America.
Scattered in parishes throughout the land are materials of priceless value to the ecclesiastical historian of the future, and to that material Mr. Fowler added permanent value. At the instigation of Bishop Seabury he gathered materials for Biographical Sketches of the Clergy,1 and twice walked from Charleston to Connecticut in search of ma- terials. Writing to the Rev. Edmund Rutledge, a pro- fessor in the University of Pennsylvania, he says: "I have long since wished to see some Memoirs published of our Clergy, who are now dead and gone, and such indeed was my desire for it, that I actually made a considerable number of sketches for that purpose. On this occasion I applied to my brethren throughout these States, and to many other members of our Church, but with little success."
Those persons who have been so ready to believe that the early clergy were men of loose morals would do well to weigh the testimony of this investigator: "I found the names of more than one thousand ministers of our Communion before 1320, the most of whom are now dead, and have left behind them a good character. In- deed I found less bad characters than I had been led to expect."
In the same letter he adds: "I have often thought, and still do think, that a weekly paper, consisting of one sheet, and an octavo form, might be made most useful and pleasing to our people, containing historical nar- ratives, wherein the origin of our parish churches and
1 A few of these sketches were published in the Calendar at Hartford between June, 1854, and January, 1855.
The Rectors of St Peter's and St. Philip's 101
other circumstances relating to them, with sketches of the Clergy might be given in order to enable the historian to furnish a correct view of our ecclesiastical state in this country."1
He lived to a great age. On the feast of S. Thomas, 1850, he reverently received the Holy Communion and died the Sunday after Christmas aged ninety years and seven months. An obituary notice says of him:
It may be truly said of the departed that he was a great missionary. In five or more of our Dioceses he officiated for more or less time; but the greater part of his ministerial life, that is about forty years, was passed in South Carolina. He was first missionary of our "Advancement Society," and first missionary of "the Society for Missions of Young Men and others," instituted in Charleston, which was intended to act out of the diocese, and which continued until the "General Missionary Society" superseded the use of it. The Churches now flourishing in Columbia, Choran, S. Augustine and Wadesborough were planted by him. The old parishes of S. Bartholomew's, Edisto Island and Christ Church, each of them for several years found the benefit of his ministration. Few more industrious men, physically, mentally and socially have ever lived. "These hands," he could truly say, "have ministered to my necessities and those who were with me." Into the garden, the field, the orchard, the vineyard and the forest, he went — not for recreation, or to gain wealth, but to supply the deficiency of an inadequate salary; for he coveted no man's silver or gold, or apparel. More contentment, with the allot- ments of Divine Providence; more confidence in God, as respected himself and his family; more meekness
1 Letter in Hobart MSS. dated July 25th, 1830.
102 The History of St. Philip's Church
in his intercourse with men; more resignation in sick- ness, sightlessness, adversity, bereavement and the last conflict, I have not witnessed. He had a son in- tended for Holy Orders ; much care was bestowed and expense (involving serious self-denial) on his educa- tion. It was finished with credit at one of our chief colleges. The youth was now competent to provide for himself, and was just about to become a candidate for the ministry, but he died. It was a trial, met by his aged father in the temper of faithful Abraham, and with the resignation of holy Job.1
Mr. Fowler was succeeded in the Rectorship of St. Peter's and St. Philip's on the 15th of December, 1794, by the Rev. Samuel Haskell, who was in Deacon's Orders. The Minute reads:
We, the Wardens and Vestrymen of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Peeks Kill and in the Highlands do hereby respectfully notify the Rt. Rev. Samuel Provoost of the State of New York, that on the 15th day of December last we did unanimously and delib- erately make choice of and engage the Rev. Samuel Haskell to take the rectorship of the aforesaid Churches — We would further observe that by the prudent and faithful discharge of his office he has recommended himself to the good opinion of all ranks, and denominations of people in this place. We re- joice in the happy prospect we now have, that our Churches will soon be raised to hold a rank with the Church of Christ in this land. By our desire, and the desires of the respective members of our Churches, the Rev. Mr. Haskell goes to New York to obtain from the Rev. Bishop the Orders of Priest, that he may be enabled to minister to us the Holy Eucharist
1 Charleston Gospel Messenger, March 1st, 1851.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St Philip's 103
on the next Easter — with the greatest respect we subscribe ourselves
the Bishop's Most Obedient Humble Servants,
Silvanus Haight,
Caleb Morgan, Jr,
James Spock,
Jarvis Dusenbury,
Joshua Lancaster,
Elijah Morgan,
Henry Romer,
John Gee. The above is a true copy of a letter sent to the Rev. Samuel Provoost, Bishop of the State of New York.
Duly ordained, on the 23rd day of February, 1795, the Wardens and Vestry thus addressed Mr. Haskell:
We the Wardens and Vestrymen of the Protestant Episcopal Churches at Peekskill and the Highlands, having voluntarily and deliberately made choice of the Rev. Saml Haskell to minister in holy things in the aforesaid Churches, do now and hereby assign and consign to him the Rectorship of the same, in testi- mony whereof we hereby deliver to you Rev'd Sir, the keys of the same, trusting that, through the Grace of God, you will be enabled to discharge the office as a good and faithful Minister of Christ.
The high hopes for prosperity were not fully realized. Subscriptions fell off, and early in 1797 the Vestry, "after taking into consideration the state of the respec- tive Churches, are of the opinion that the annual salary of the Rev. Mr. Haskell cannot be raised the ensuing year, and that an address be presented to him, informing him, that the Vestry thro inability of raising the money by subscription, cannot think themselves bound to him
104 The History of St. Philip's Church
any longer than the 1st of February next." Sylvanus Haight, Ebenezer Burling and James Douglass were appointed a committee to draft the address, " which being drafted is in the following words"
Sir,
The Wardens and Vestrymen of S. Peter's and S. Philips Churches, having viewed with deep concern for some months past, the rapid decline of religious worship whereby the continuation of your annual support is rendered impossible, have thought it their indispensable duty to inform you thereof. Be pleased, Sir, to accept of our best wishes for the zeal you have always manifested in endeavoring to pro- mote virtue and true godliness among the people, and of enforcing your heavenly Father's Doctrine with the energy so truly becoming the christian's char- acter, and when your labours are finished here below, may you meet with that reward, the best of all Blessings — "Well done, thou good and faithful servant enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." January 31st, 1797.
That there had been some friction between the Rector and the Vestry is evident from this recorded resolution: "Resolved, that all disputes and controversies heretofore had between the Rev. Mr. Haskell and the Wardens and Vestry should finally cease."
The Rector was requested to vacate the glebe by the first of April, with the promise that "your salary will be collected as quick as possible." Permission was also granted him "to preach in either of the two Churches," his compensation to be "what collections may be made during the service of the day." In May of the same year the Vestry "resolved and agreed to continue the said
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 105
Mr. Haskell as Rector of the said Churches until the 10th day of December next — at which time Mr. Haskell does promise to relinquish his rectorship of said Churches, and to remove from the parsonage by the first day of April in the year 1798 — and the said Mr. Haskell agrees to accept for this present years salary of what money can, by proper exertions on the part of Wardens and Vestry, be raised by subscription from the inhabitants in case there should be a deficiency of forty pounds in each Church — the said Wardens and Vestry do promise to pay each of them the sum of twenty shillings beside their subscription. The said Mr. Haskell is at liberty to absent himself occasionally, not to exceed two weeks at a time."
These terms were accepted by Mr. Haskell in the following communication:
I do hereby certify my approbation of the above resolve of the Wardens and Vestry, and also agree not to demand any money from them for my minister- ial services the present year, more than what can be raised by subscriptions, and in case of a deficiency, of a dividend among said Wardens and Vestry of twenty shillings each.
Witness my hand Samuel Haskell,
Peekskill, Rector of the above mentioned
6th May, 1797 Churches.
In November the Vestry met and "examined the different accounts and receipts and found due to the Rev. Samuel Haskell the sum of seventy-four pounds towards salary, besides what has been raised by sub- scription, for which sum of seventy-four pounds the order is now given to the aforesaid Samuel Haskell upon the
106 The History of St. Philip's Church
Corporation of Trinity Church in consequence of their donation to the aforesaid Churches: which order, to- gether with the money which is due on the subscription paper at Peekskill, for the purpose of raising a salary for the aforesaid Samuel Haskell, he the said Samuel Haskell, does accept for the arrearages of salary without any further demands on the aforesaid Churches."
It was further agreed that "Mr. Caleb Ward and Mr. Caleb Morgan are appointed as a committee to examine and take charge of the parsonage house and farm when- ever the Revd Mr. Haskell is disposed to give it up."
At the close of 1797 Mr. Haskell became Rector of Christ Church, Rye.
The Rev. Samuel Haskell was born near Boston in 1762, being a descendant of Roger Haskell, one of the founders of Salem in 1639. At the age of nineteen he entered the Army and served under General Knox when New York was evacuated by the British troops in 1783. The following year he was honorably discharged on a sergeant's pension, and graduated from Yale in 1790. For two years he was a tutor in Queen's College, New Jersey. For four years he was Rector of Rye, and then took charge of the historic parish of Christ Church, Boston. He died at New Rochelle on the 24th of August, 1845.
After Mr. Haskell's departure from the united parishes there appears to have been no minister for at least four years, and no recorded attempt to secure one. In 1801 "Benjamin Douglas was appointed to call upon the Bishop and make enquiry respecting the probability of getting a preacher for our two Churches." Douglas being unable to make the journey to New York, "Joshua
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 107
Lancaster was appointed in his stead, and did go and make the above enquiry," and he was paid two pounds for the journey. He reported that "if a minister offered the Bishop would send one to us." In the Fall the application to the Bishop was renewed, and Douglas "called on the Bishop for a minister, and could not obtain any until Spring." At the Vestry meeting of November 6th, 1801, it was resolved " that the doors of the Churches be shut against Mr. Palmer for the future," but who Mr. Palmer was history sayeth not.
For nine years the parish was without a regular Rector, and occasional services were held as clergymen could be obtained. On May 20th, 1804, James Mandeville was paid £3-13-0 "for keeping of the Rev. Messers Cooper and Wilkins." Mr. Cooper was Rector of St. John's, Yonkers, and Mr. Wilkins of St. Paul's, East Chester.
The long interregnum was broken on April 7th, 1806, when the Vestry voted that — "the Rev. Joseph Warren should be Rector of the united churches of S. Peter's in Cortlandt Town and S. Philip's in Philipstown, and that notice of the same should be transmitted to the Bishop of New York by the Wardens."
His stipend was fixed at "two hundred dollars, to- gether with the Glebe," and that was paid in small instalments as witness this entry in the Minutes,
October 5th, 1807 Paid to the Rev. Joseph Warren cash 5 dollars.
James Mandeville.
Mr. Warren's ministry lasted barely two years, for on March 11th, 1809, it was voted that "Henry Garrison
108 The History of St, Philip's Church
and James Mandeville be chosen a committee to wait on the Bishop to intercede for a Clergyman," and the same year Jacob Lent, the schoomaster in the Highlands, was paid twenty -five dollars for "reading services in both Churches.' The committee appointed to see the Bishop reported that he "told them there was no Candidate at present, and that he would charge his memory with the application."
Relief came on December 9th, 1809, when "the Rev. Mr. Urquhart visited our two congregations and preach- ed at Mr. MandevilPs, and is to preach at the Highlands on Sunday 17th instant and the following Sunday at Fishkill town." The Wardens and Vestry held a special meeting at the house of James Mandeville in Peekskill and "after hearing Mr. Urquhart deliver an appropriate discourse, agreed that he should preach at the Highlands and then at Fishkill, and on his return to call the Wardens and Vestry to consult on the proper mode of conducting the affairs of the said Churches and to give a call to Mr. Urquhart, or other ways as the case may appear most proper to the aforesaid Wardens and Vestry."
The call was duly given on January 6th, 1810, and it was voted that one hundred and thirty dollars be paid him for his services to the first of May next. On April 17th, 1811, it was voted "that the Wardens and Vestry sign the certificate to the Bishop of the Protestant Episco- pal Church, New York, that John Urquhart has been duly chosen rector of the two united Churches of St. Peters and St. Philips."
Mr. Urquhart came to the parish from the North, having served as rector of St. Anne's, Fort Hunter, and
W e H
C
H
t— i W U W
-— ;_.»*
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St Philip's 109
St. John's, Johnstown, N. Y., the latter the historic church built by Sir William Johnson. Of his work there we get a glimpse in the "Reminiscences of Bishop Chase" who says that in 1798 Mr. Urquhart was one of the three clergymen "above the Highlands."1 Writing of his journey to found the church in Utica the Bishop says :
Although some distance out of the way I could not deny myself the pleasure of going to Johnstown to visit my fellow laborer in the gospel, the Rev. Mr. Urquhart. Here I had the pleasure of beholding a goodly stone church, with an organ, built by Sir William Johnson, and endowed by that munificent person, with a glebe for the support of an Episcopal clergyman. The Church had been recovered by an appeal to the Legislature setting in Albany but the glebe was still in the hands of those who had seized on it in the time of the war . . . While the Presbyterian Minister was maintained in comfort, Mr. Urquhart received the support only of the few re- maining Churchmen whom poverty had detained in the place.2
It was therefore, possibly, owing to straitened circum- stances that Mr. Urquhart became principal of the Johnstown Academy from which position he came into the Highlands. His Rectorship was a troubled one, and ended under painful circumstances in 1813. The Vestry voted "ten dollars to assist Mr. Urquhart to remove to New York." One year later the Vestry of Trinity Parish voted a gift of one hundred and fifty dollars to Mr. Urquhart.3
1 Reminiscences of Bishop Chase, 2nd Edition, Vol. I, p. 22.
2 Ibid, Vol. I, p. 28.
3 Berrian's History of Trinity Church, p. 370.
110 The History of St. Philip's Church
Again the parish was left without the regular minis- tration of the Church, but with the advent of John Henry Hobart, the apostle of "Evangelical Truth and Apostolic Order" to the bishopric of New York there came a new sense of responsibility for the scattered sheep of the flock of God. Bishop Hobart arranged that the rectors of the parishes in the diocese should take under their charge adjacent vacant cures and minister in them as opportu- nity offered. In 1814 the Rev. Adam Empie, chaplain at West Point, and the Rev. John Brown, rector of St. George's, Newburgh, "were selected to supply the vacant congregations at Peekskill and Philipstown."1 In 1815 Mr. Empie reported "That in compliance with the appointments at the last Convention he has performed services and preached two Sundays at Philipstown and two Sundays at Peekskill, in each of which places he administered the Holy Communion, of the advantage of which they had for more than two years been deprived."2
The difficulty in obtaining a clergyman led to a sug- gestion that St. Peter's and St. Philip's should unite with Trinity Church, Fishkill, in calling the Rev. Petrus S. Ten Broeck, a Deacon residing in New York, as Rector. The Vestry so agreed, but the union was short lived. In 1817 the Vestry addressed a letter to Mr. Ten Broeck "to find out on what terms he will officiate as our Rector." In June it was voted "that we give the Rev. Mr. Ten Broeck such a call as is customary in like case in the State of New York, and consider him our ' Rector.' The stipend was fixed at three hundred dollars. He ministered for one year and then became Rector of St.
1 Bolton's History of Westchester County, 1881, Vol. I, p. 136.
2 N. Y. Convention Journal, 1815.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St Philip's 111
Paul's, Portland, Maine, where he remained until 1831. Petrus Stuyvesant Ten Broeck was the son of Dirck Ten Broeck, and his wife Cornelia Stuyvesant. He married Lucretia Cutler of Portland, Maine. From 1831 to 1837 he was rector of Saccaoppa, from which place he went to Concord, New Hampshire. He died at North Andover, Massachusetts, on January 24th, 1849.
In 1820 the Rev. Isaac Wilkins was minister-in-charge for a brief period, and two years later Harry Garrison was instructed "to call on the Rev. Mr. Wm. Thomas and see if he will come and preach for us, and on what terms." The visit was fruitless. For five years the parish was vacant, and in 1826 the Reverend Edward I. Ives arrived with letters of Recommendation from Bishop Hobart.1 He assumed the charge of the united Churches at a salary of "three hundred dollars, and more if it can be raised," and in 1827 he was re-engaged for another year at a salary of four hundred dollars.
The effort to raise money for his support was made in the following appeal:
We whose names are hereunto subscribed promise to pay James Mandeville, Daniel Wm. Birdsall and John Oppie, or either of them, the sums set opposite to our respective names for the purpose of compensat- ing the Rev. Mr. Ives in part for his services in preaching in S. Philip's Church in Philipstown, and S. Peter's Church in Cortlandtown for one year from the 4th day of June instant. That is to say, one Sunday in S. Peter's Church and the next Sunday in S. Philip's Church and so on through the year. The one half of the money to be paid by the first day
1 Hobart MSS.
112 The History of St. Philip's Church of November next if demanded, and the residue at the
|
expiration of the year. |
|
|
Cortlandtown, 21st June, 1826. |
|
|
Pierre Van Cortlandt |
20.00 |
|
James Mandeville |
5.00 |
|
John Oppie |
5.00 |
|
Stephen Currey |
1.00 |
|
Isaac Purdy |
5.00 |
|
Danl. Wm Birdsall |
5.00 |
|
James Wiley |
5.00 |
|
Jared Slon |
2.00 |
|
Benjamin Ward |
1.00 |
|
James Brewer |
1.00 |
|
William Haight |
1.00 |
|
Israel Jacob |
2.00 |
|
John T. Gomier |
1.00 |
|
Ann Sherwood |
.50 |
|
John Currey |
1.00 |
|
Jonathan Ferris |
1.00 |
|
Allen B. Hazen |
1.00 |
|
George Fowler |
2.00 |
|
Edward B. Rathbone |
10.00 |
|
Sarah Dusenbury |
2.00 |
|
Ward B. Howard |
1.00 |
|
G. Conklin |
1.00 |
|
Caleb Morgan |
4.00 |
|
John Miller |
1.00 |
|
Nicholas Aray |
25 |
|
$77.25 |
Inasmuch as all the foregoing names were residents of Cortlandtown, doubtless a similar list was circulated at Philipstown, and to these donations must be added the rent of the glebe farm, which was part of the rector's
The Rectors of St Peter's and St. Philip's 113
remuneration. A note in the minute book says: "Mr. Ives left the parish for a call at the Eastward at the close of his year in 1829 — from which time the churches were unprovided with a clergyman until Mr. Sunderland was called in December, 1832."
The late Samuel Gouverneur thus records the advent of Mr. Sunderland:
Friday, 28th of December, Rev. Mr. Sunderland arrived with letter from Bishop Onderdonk — Vestry meeting held at Crofts.
Sunday December 30th, Mr. Sunderland preached
in S. Philips Church with a pretty good congregation
— remained till the 1st of April at the rate of $300
per annum.1
Mr. Sunderland had formerly been a Baptist minister.
He was ordered Deacon in Ascension Church, New York,
on Friday, November 16th, 1832, by Bishop Onderdonk,
and advanced to the priesthood by the same Bishop on
Thursday, May 9th, 1833, in the Church of St. Philip's
in the Highlands. He served the parish until 1835
when he was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Luck who
continued until May 1st, 1836, and was paid $340. for
the year. Mr. Luck was ordained in England and
received into the Diocese of New York in 1835. Three
years later he returned to England.2 He appears to have
1 MS. Journal.
2 N. Y. Convention Journal, 1839.
114 The History of St. Philip's Church
been the last clergyman to minister to both churches, which were rapidly drifting towards the separation which was finally effected in 1840. For four months of 1836 the Rev. Mr. Peake officiated at St. Philip's and at Cold Spring, and then removed to Missouri.
In September of that year the Rev. Henry L. Storrs took charge of St. Philip's and remained long enough to witness the consecration of the Church in 1837. The Rev. E. C. Bull ministered from 1838 to 1839, and was succeeded by the Rev. Ebenezer Williams, who a few months later became Rector of the parish on its incor- poration in 1840.
CHAPTER V.
ST. PETER'S CHURCH AND ST. PHILIP'S CHAPEL WARDENS AND VESTRYMEN
1770-1840
MORE than passing mention should be made of the faithful men who administered the tem- poralities of the united Churches from 1770 until 1840, when each church became an independent parish. The following is a list of the Wardens and Vestrymen :
CHURCHWARDENS
Beverly Robinson
Charles Moore
Daniel Birdsall
Jeremiah Drake
William Denning
Caleb Ward
Lt. Gov1, Pierre Van Cortlandt
Silvanus Haight
Caleb Morgan
Joshua Nelson
Daniel Haight
Daniel William Birdsall
James Mandeville
Harry Garrison
Major Bernard Hanlon
General Pierre Van Cortlandt
VESTRYMEN
Thomas Davenport John Johnson Caleb Ward
(Warden, 1790) Joshua Nelson
(Warden, 1797) Jeremiah Drake
(Warden, 1774)
James Mandeville (Warden, 1801). Benjamin Douglass John Jones, Jr. Isaac Purdy Cornelius Nelson William Lancaster Joseph Ferris
116 The History of St. Philip9 s Church
Henry Purdy Daniel Birdsall
(Warden, 1772) Peter Drake Caleb Morgan
(Warden, 1795) David Penoyer Francis Pemart Peter Corney James Spock Richard Arnold Silvanus Haight
(Warden, 1795) Jarvis Dusenbury Isaac Davenport Benjamin Ward Joshua Lancaster Henry Romer Elijah Morgan, Jr. Daniel Haight
(Warden, 1800) Isaac Mead John Gee Ebenezer Burling Harry Garrison
(Warden, 1808) William Douglass William Bates Smith Jones James Douglass Justus Nelson Daniel William Birdsall
(Warden, 1800) John Nelson Thomas Henyon
Isaac Hurd
Jacob Nelson
Joseph Hopper
Major Bernard Hanlon
(Warden, 1808) Nicholas Nelson Jacob Lent William Nelson Elisha Covert John Oppie
Captain Frederick Philips William Denning
(Warden, 1790) William Henderson Mephiboseth Nelson Jonathan Ferris Stephen Nelson Tunice Cronk Pierre Van Cortlandt William B. Birdsall John Garrison James Wiley John T. Gomier Frederick P. Gouverneur1 Allen B. Hazen Samuel Gouverneur Richard Hopper Cornelius Mandeville Gouverneur Kemble John F. Haight Isaac Seymour Samuel Marks A. E. Watson John Uhl Henry Casimir de Rham
1 Afterwards known as Frederick Philipse.
The Wardens and Vestrymen 117
CLERKS TO THE VESTRY
John Johnson 1770 John Jones, Jr. 1805
Daniel Birdsall 1771 Nicholas Nelson 1808-9
James Clark 1772 Harry Garrison 1810-24
Henry A. Cooper 1791 William Birdsall 1825
Caleb Morgan | John Garrison 1826-37
Isaac Mead j Frederick Philipse 1838-40
COLONEL BEVERLY ROBINSON (1770-74) was the principal personage of his time in the Highlands, the first Church Warden of the parish and the founder and principal benefactor of St. Philip's Chapel. Indeed, but for his zeal and liberality, it is difficult to see how the church could have been established and maintained at so early a period. The Robinson family came from Cleasby, in the county of Yorkshire, England. Perhaps the most famous of them was Dr. John Robinson, who became Bishop of Bristol, and British Envoy for some years at the Swedish Court. In 1713 he was translated to the See of London. He was also British Plenipotentiary at the treaty of Utrecht, being the last bishop employed on a political mission. The first member of the family to migrate to the American colonies was Christopher, a nephew of the Bishop. He was a vestryman in the parish of Middlesex, Virginia, in 1664, and married Miss Bertram.1 His eldest son, John, afterward President of the Colony of Virginia, was born in 1683, and married Catharine Beverley, daughter of Robert Beverley, author of the History of Virginia, published in 1708.
1 Bishop Meade, Old Churches and Families of Virginia, Vol. I, p. 378. Cf. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vols. XVI and XVII for a series of valuable articles on "The Robinson Family of Middlesex, Va."
118 The History of St. Philip's Church
Of this marriage there were seven children, amongst whom was Beverly. Another son, John, was Speaker of the House of Burgesses when Patrick Henry made his famous "treason" speech. His grave is marked by the following epitaph:
Beneath this place lieth all that could die of the late worthy John Robinson, Esq., who was a Representa- tive of the county of King and Queen, and Speaker to the House of Burgesses above twenty-eight years. How eminently he supplied that dignified office, and with what fidelity he acted as Treasurer to the country beside, is well known to us, and it is not un- likely future ages will relate. He was a tender hus- band, a loving father, a kind master, a sincere friend, a generous benefactor, and a solid Christian. Go, reader, and to the utmost of your power imitate his virtues.
Young Beverly grew up a contemporary and friend of George Washington, and their friendship continued until differing convictions ranged them in opposite camps during the War of the Revolution. It was on the strength of this old association that Robinson afterward appealed to Washington on behalf of the unfortunate Andre.
Beverly Robinson early manifested his loyalty to the Crown. In the year 1746 "he raised a Company in the Service of the King and Government of Great Britain on an Expedition then intended against Canada, and was ordered with his company to the Colony of New York; on the frontiers of the said Colony he did Duty (the greater part of the time) until the conclusion of that War, when the forces raised for the Expedition were Disbanded.' '
The Wardens and Vestrymen 119
The rapid growth of the city of New York attracted Mr. Robinson, and at the close of the Canadian episode he settled there,1 living in a corner house near the Long Bridge. In Colonial times the aristocrats were for the most part engaged in mercantile pursuits, and Beverly Robinson became one of their number, associating him- self in business with Oliver De Lancey, who afterwards commanded a loyalist brigade in the Revolution. The following advertisement appeared in the New York Mercury for May 28th, 1759:
De Lancey, Robinson & Co have removed their Store to the House2 where the late Colonel Joseph Robinson lived, being the corner house next the Royal Exchange.
There lived in New York at that time Frederick Philipse, nephew and heir of Adolph Philipse, to whom William III, in 1697, had granted an extensive tract of land bordering the Hudson river. To one of his three daughters, Susannah, whom he describes as "a lady of one of the best families with an ample fortune," Beverly Robinson was married on July 7th, 1748.
About twelve years before the outbreak of the War of the Revolution Mr. and Mrs. Robinson "retired into the country and settled in the county of Dutchess where his Estate laid." They took up their abode at Beverly, a mansion which he describes as "a wooden house lined with brick; it was," he adds, "originally begun in 1758, but was added to afterwards." This house became
1 He appeared as a witness to the will of David Clarkson, dated August 31st, 1749, and proved August 31st, 1751. (N. Y. Historical Society Collections, 1895, p. 340.)
2 Afterwards Fraunce's Tavern.
120 The History of St. Philip's Church
historic in the annals of the Revolution. The head- quarters of Heath, Parsons and Putnam, it was fre- quently visited by Washington when in the Highlands, and from its breakfast table Benedict Arnold made his hasty flight when he found that his treason was dis- covered.1
After the forfeiture of the Robinson estate Beverly was leased by the Commissioners on February 19th, 1779, to Sampson Dyckman at a rental of £36 per annum. His tenancy continued until 1785, when the house was purchased by William Denning, a merchant of New York. The homestead was unfortunately destroyed by fire on March 17th, 1892.
Mr. Robinson's wealth and character combined to make him the most influential resident of the southern section of Dutchess County. The upper Philipse patent embraced the whole of what is now Putnam County, and was divided amongst the three surviving children of Frederick Philipse, Frederick, Susannah, the wife of Beverly Robinson, and Mary. Frederick Philipse died young, leaving several children and a widow, who sub- sequently married the Rev. John Ogilvie, an Assistant Minister of Trinity Church. Mary married Colonel Roger Morris of the British Army.
Robinson's estate of 60,000 acres consisted of five parcels, which are fully described in his claim against the British Government, above referred to. The first comprised so much of Philipstown as lies south of Garri-
1 On January 15th, 1781, Solomon Blindering, a British spy, reports: "There are no troops at Col. Robinson's house which is converted into a Hospital." (Magazine of American History, Vol. X, p. 339-40.)
tfbea ■ tffodittSim-
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Church Warden, 1770-1774
The Wardens and Vestrymen 121
son Station, including the churchyard; the second, all of the town of Putnam Valley, with so much of Philipstown and of Kent as lie to the northward thereof; the third of about one half of the town of Patterson; the fourth of some 2,000 acres in what is now Dutchess County, and the fifth of 72 acres of meadow land near Constitution Island, which was then considered to have an especial value. On these lands Mr. Robinson had 146 tenants. His home was in the first parcel, at what has since been known as the "Beverly House." Mr. and Mrs. Robin- son were the only residents representing the Philipse family.
Himself a practical farmer on a large scale, he was an admirable landlord, treating his tenants with the greatest consideration. Before the Royal Commissioners in 1785, Captain Duncan Campbell testified that "Mr. Robinson was not only beloved and respected by his tenants, but was also universally respected and esteemed by all in the County in which he lived."
To the cultivation of his own 1500 acre farm and the oversight of his extensive estate he added the ownership of two large grist and saw mills and potash works. The larger of the two was on the Morris part of the Philipse patent and is marked on Erskine's military map as "Robinson's Mill," standing on the outlet to Lake Mahopac. It is said to have been erected in 1756, and was constructed of massive timbers covered with cedar and painted red. In this