PRESENTED TO THE LIBRABY
OP
PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Ppofessop }i9r\tiy van Dyke, D.D., liIi.D.
.N-DT8
TRINITY CHURCH
BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Copyrighted, 1897, by
Rev. morgan DIX, S.T.D.
A FORM OF THANKSGIVING TO ALiMlGHTY
GOD FOR THE TWO HUNDREDTH ANNI-
VERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE
PARISH OF TRINITY CHURCH. NEW YORK
TO BE USED IN TRINITY CHURCH,
WEDNESDAY, MAY THE FIFTH,
AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK, A.M.
THE RECTOR'S PASTORAL LETTER
MEMORANDUM OF THE
HISTORY OF THE PARISH
RECTORS OF TRINITY CHURCH
CHURCHES OF TRINITY PARISH
BY AUTHORITY
A.D. MDCCCXCVII
ORDER OF SERVICE FOR WEDNESDAY,
MAY THE FIFTH
^^^^^^^iLj
EMSMSMMMS
irfttt^nniat
Processional Hymn.
GOD of our fathers, Whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies,
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.
2 Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast;
Be Thou our ruler, guardian, guide and stay,
Thy word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.
3 From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defence ;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase.
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.
4 Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never-ending day ;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine.
And glory, laud and praise be ever Thine.
ORDER OF SERVICE.
Opening Sentences.
IN the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Ghost. Amen.
Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers: praised
and exalted above all for ever.
The Lord is in his holy temple : let all the earth
keep silence before him.
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the
glory, and the victory, and the majesty : for all that is in
the heaven and in the earth is thine ; thine is the king-
dom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Minister. The Lord be with you,
Answer. And with thy spirit.
Minister. Let us pray.
OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And
forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass
against us. And lead us not into temptation ; But deliver
us from evil : For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and
the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Minister. O Lord, open thou our lips.
Answer. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Minister. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Ghost ;
Answer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever
shall be, world without end. Amen.
Minister. Praise ye the Lord.
Answer. The Lord's Name be praised.
Psalm XCIIL
Dominus regnavit.
THE Lord is King, and hath put on glorious apparel:
the Lord hath put on his apparel, and girded him-
self with strength.
2 He hath made the round world so sure : that it can-
not be moved.
3 Ever since the world began, hath thy seat been pre-
pared : thou art from everlasting.
4 The floods are risen, O Lord, the floods have lift up
their voice : the floods lift up their waves.
5 The waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly :
but yet the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier.
6 Thy testimonies, O Lord, are very sure : holiness
becometh thine house for ever.
Psalm C.
Jubilate Deo.
BE joyful in the Lord, all ye lands : serve the Lord
with gladness, and come before his presence with a
song.
Be ye sure that the Lord he is God ; it is he that hath
made us, and not we ourselves : we are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture.
o
O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and
into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and
speak good of his Name.
For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting : and
his truth endureth from generation to generation.
Psalm CXXV.
Qui confidunt.
THEY that put their trust in the Lord shall be even as
the mount Sion: which may not be removed, but
standeth fast for ever.
2 The hills stand about Jerusalem : even so standeth
the Lord round about his people, from this time forth for
evermore.
3 For the rod of the ungodly cometh not into the lot
of the righteous : lest the righteous put their hand unto
wickedness.
4 Do well, O Lord : unto those that are good and true
of heart.
5 As for such as turn back unto their own wickedness :
the Lord shall lead them forth with the evil doers; but
peace shall be upon Israel.
The Lesson.
Isaiah LXI.
^ Then shall be said the Apostles' Creed.
T BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
1 and earth :
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord : Who was
conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary:
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and
buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose
arain from the dead : He ascended into heaven. And sitteth
on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From
thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost : The holy Catholic
Church; The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness
of sins : The Resurrection of the body : And the Life
everlasting. Amen.
Minister. The Lord be with you.
Answer. And with thy spirit.
Minister. Let us pray.
O Lord, show thy mercy upon us.
Answer. And grant us thy salvation.
Minister. O God, make clean our hearts within us.
Answer. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
A Collect for Peace.
OGOD, who art the author of peace and lover of con-
cord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal
life, whose service is perfect freedom ; Defend us thy
humble servants in all assaults of our enemies ; that we,
surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of
any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
A Collect for Grace.
OLORD, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlast-
ing God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning
of this day; Defend us in the same with thy mighty power;
and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into
any kind of danger ; but that all our doings, being ordered
by thy governance, may be righteous in thy sight ; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A General Thanksgiving.
ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we, thine
unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and
hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness
to us, and to all men. We bless thee for our creation,
preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above
all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the
world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace,
and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us
that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be
unfeignedly thankful ; and that we show forth thy praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our
selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness
and righteousness all our days ; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour
and glory, world without end. Amen.
ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, our stony rock
and our defence, our Saviour, and our might in whom
we trust : thou hast been our refuge from one generation
to another. Thou makest the outgoings of the morning
and evening to praise thee. We give thee humble and
hearty thanks for the blessings, temporal and spiritual,
poured upon this thy people for many years, and especially
for the foundation of this Church and Parish, and its pres-
ervation to this memorial day. And now, O heavenly
Father, unworthy of the least of thy gifts, and depending
solely on thy love and gracious goodness toward us, we
present to thy divine Majesty this offering of praise: and
we thank, thee for the light of the everlasting Gospel, which
hath shined heretofore and still doth shine ; for thy guid-
ance of the legal guardians of this Parish in the administra-
tion of their sacred trust ; for the spiritual children brought
forth by this Mother of Churches ; for blessing thy people
with increase and satisfying thy poor with bread ; for the
love of friends, and their help and brotherhood ; for deliver-
ance at sundry times out of the hand of the enemy and
adversary ; for all those thy servants who, having laboured
here from age to age, are now at rest in Christ ; for those
who now work here, some in the word and doctrine, and
some in serving tables ; for all the holy offerings made here
to thy glory; for gifts and mercies beyond our power to
number. And, we pray thee, O Lord, renew, preserve,
and multiply upon us thy mercy; grant thy benediction
to those who shall follow when our day has come to an
end. O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine Heritage.
And unto thee, O Father, thee, O Son, and thee, O
Holy Ghost, One Holy Blessed and Undivided Trinity,
be ascribed might, majesty, and dominion, henceforth,
world without end.
The Lord fulfil the desires and petitions of his ser-
vants as may be most expedient for them ; the Lord bless
us and keep us ; the Lord lift up the light of his counte-
nance upon us and give us peace, both now and for ever-
more. Amen.
13
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all
evermore. Amen.
^ Then shall be sung
ALL people that on earth do dwell.
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice :
Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell,
Come ye before Him and rejoice.
2 Know that the Lord is God indeed ;
Without our aid He did us make:
We are His flock. He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.
3 Oh, enter then His gates with praise,
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.
4 For why ? the Lord our God is good.
His mercy is forever sure ;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.
14
^Salutatoty Address by the Right Rev. Henry C.
Potter, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of New York.
^ On the conclusion of the Address shall be sung
Te Deum laudamus.
WE praise thee, O God : we acknowledge thee to be
the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee : the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud : the Heavens, and all the
Powers therein ;
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim : continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy : Lord God of Sabaoth ;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty: of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world : doth ac-
knowledge thee ;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty ;
Thine adorable, true : and only Son ;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory: O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou
didst humble thyself to be born of a Virgin.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death: thou
didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
IS
Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of
the Father.
We beHeve that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants : whom thou
hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory
everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people: and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.
Day by day : we magnify thee ;
And we worship thy Name : ever, world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy be upon us : as our trust is in
thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted : let me never be
confounded.
Benediction.
Retrocessional Hymn.
TEN thousand times ten thousand
In sparkling raiment bright.
The armies of the ransomed saints
Throng up the steeps of light :
'Tis finished ! all is finished.
Their fight with death and sin :
Fling open wide the golden gates,
And let the victors in.
i6
2 What rush of alleluias
Fills all the earth and sky !
What ringing of a thousand harps
Bespeaks the triumph nigh !
O day, for which creation
And all its tribes were made !
O joy, for all its former woes
A thousand-fold repaid !
3 Oh, then what raptured greetings
On Canaan's happy shore !
What knitting severed friendships up,
Where partings are no more !
Then eyes with joy shall sparkle
That brimmed with tears of late;
Orphans no longer fatherless.
Nor widows desolate.
4 Bring near Thy great salvation,
Thou Lamb for sinners slain ;
Fill up the roll of Thine elect.
Then take Thy power and reign !
Appear, Desire of nations !
Thine exiles long for home:
Show in the heavens Thy promised sign
Thou Prince and Saviour, come !
THE RECTOR'S PASTORAL LETTER
PASTORAL LETTER.
TO the Reverend the Clergy and the faithful laity of the
Parish of Trinity Church in the City of New York :
Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied unto you.
The years in their passage have brought this two
hundredth anniversary of the founding of our Parish ;
and, through the kindness of God, our fathers' God, it is
appointed unto us, now standing in our lot to-day, to do
what is becoming in the celebration of that event. It is,
therefore, meet, that your Rector should address you in
words of congratulation ; and that you should join in giving
praise for what has been done in this place for the greater
glory of Almighty God, the edification of the Church, ;ind
the salvation of men. How great are His signs! and how
mighty His wonders ! His kingdom is an everlasting king-
dom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.
Two centuries ago. May 6, 1696, the Charter was signed
which gave to this Parish its legal existence. New York
was then a small town ; the edifice erected on this spot in
1696 stood at the northern limit of the place, on the line of
the city wall ; the people of our faith were late comers, and
formed only a portion of the inhabitants ; the organization
of our Church in the Colonies was incomplete, no bishop
having ever visited these shores ; jealous and watchful
adversaries swarmed on every hand ; strong prejudices,
traditional hostility, armed many against us. Yet, under
God's blessing, the seed then planted struck deep roots
into the ground, and a tree arose and grew, and, spread-
ing, sheltered more and more, from year to year. Of the
citizens of New York, some of the foremost served first as
" Managers of the Church of England," and later as war-
dens and vestrymen of this Parish. An able and well-
learned priest, devout, intelligent, and resolute, took, and
held for forty-nine years, the reins of government. And
so the earlier days passed by. Their record has its lights
and shadows ; but the shadows faded, and the lights grew
brighter, until the Church had become a power in the com-
munity, recognized and respected throughout the Province.
Through the storm of the Revolution, the ship of the
Church passed safely. As that grand political movement
was not an outburst of mob fury, nor a wild assault on
social order, but a sober and thoughtful action, under law,
for the defence of individual liberty and the freedom of the
citizen, the Church, protected by the liberal and generous
spirit of the time, came forth from the tempest, secure in
her rights, and in peaceful possession of her estate and
property. Then began the second period in our history ; a
record of steady progress, enlarged opportunity, and suc-
cessful administration of a sacred trust. Within her own
lines our Church has grown to proportions larger than
those of some of our dioceses : outside those lines may
be found many a living witness to the munificence which
shared with others the good things received in former days.
Not without opposition has her work been accomplished ;
on this day of rejoicing, however, we prefer to pass over in
silence the details of hostility, interference, annoyance, ■
being minded the rather to renew our thanks to Him who
has delivered us out of the hands of our enemies, and scat-
tered, from time to time, the people that delighted in war
upon our liberties and life.
And so are we brought to this great commemorative day.
What hath God wrought! The old Parish renews her
youth. Eight chapels are required to accommodate her
people. Of the churches of the Parish, every one stands to-
day on its original foundation ; not one has been removed.
The lower part of Manhattan Island is cheerfully and gladly
regarded as the proper field of our missionary work. You,
my Reverend brethren. Vicars and Curates, are working
ably and with success in your respective districts; you,
dear people, are helping us by gifts, prayers, and example.
Strife and dissension are unknown in our household ; the
spirit of kindness, brotherly love, and charity binds this
large fold in one. The Gospel is preached, to rich and
poor, after the rule of the Bible and the Book of Common
Prayer ; modern and popular devices, more apt to distract
than to edify, find no favour among us ; from the plague of
rationalistic conceit, exalting individual notions above the
settled doctrine of the Church, we have graciously been
delivered. To the authorities of the Diocese we are, as we
have ever been, loyal; to all we try to be helpful, only
ceasing to give when a regard to the duties of trusteeship
enforces economy in outside benefaction. It is particularly
gratifying to feel that we enjoy the respect and esteem of
the good people of this community ; that we count no ene-
mies among them; that we find among them sympathetic
friends. And so we trust that it maybe with those Powers
who watch with sleepless eyes upon the world and the
affairs of men ; we hope that we may also find favour with
23
the Lord, and that His innumerable gifts, heretofore be-
stowed and still continued, may be taken as a sign and
guarantee of His acceptance of our imperfect efforts and
unworthy service.
On the Vicars of the Parish devolves the duty of speak-
ing to the people more fully of the history and state of the
Parish. But, brethren, let this day be to us, one and all,
the beginning of a new era of faithful and honest labour for
God, the Church, and our fellowmen. Let our offering be
that of faith, hope, and love ; of gold, frankincense, and
myrrh ; the gold of charity, the incense of devotion, the
myrrh of spiritual and bodily discipline. The younger
among you expect to see many years, and take part in
other anniversaries and commemorations ; we elders, near-
ing the verge of mortal life, shall ere long recite our Nunc
Dimittis, and move on and away. But happy are all they
who have had any part, large or small, in the present com-
memoration ; to them it shall be a pleasant recollection to
the end of their days. Let us rejoice together before the
Lord. Let us remember those who preceded us, and have
finished their labours, whose care is with the Most High.
Let us pray for those who shall come after that they may
advance the influence of the venerable Parish, uphold her
reputation, and be jealous of her honour. And now, to you,
and to all our good friends, of whatever name, who here or
elsewhere rejoice with us to-day, be peace and benediction,
in God the Father, and in the sprinkling of the Blood of
Jesus Christ, and in the sanctification of the Holy Ghost, to
whom. One Blessed and Undivided Trinity, be honour and
glory, dominion and power, henceforth, world without end.
Amen,
24
MEMORANDUM
MEMORANDUM OF THE HISTORY OF
THE PARISH, 1697 TO 1897.
THE Parish of Trinity Church in the City of New York
came into existence in the reign of King WilHam III.,
on the 6th day of May, A.D. 1697, on which day the Charter
was signed at the Fort by Governor Fletcher. Divine ser-
vice, according to the form and order of the EstabHshed
Church of England, had been statedly performed here, since
the date of the capture of New Amsterdam, in 1664, but
only by military chaplains, or transient clergymen licensed
for that purpose. An Act was passed by the Colonial As-
sembly, September 22, 1693, providing for the formation
of parishes in the City of New York, and the Counties of
Richmond, Westchester, and Queens, but this gave no
corporate existence to any religious body ; it was merely a
preparatory measure, and the Parish of Trinity Church was
the first formed under the provisions of that Act. The
credit of founding our Parish belongs to a body of gentle-
men styling themselves the Managers of the Church of
England, and to Governor Fletcher, who aided them in
their resistance to a project to settle a dissenting ministry
in the city and to prevent the Church of England from
securing the benefit of the legislation which had with some
difficulty been obtained from a body indisposed to favour
Episcopacy.
The Charter named the Lord Bishop of London the
Rector of the new Parish. Dr. Henry Compton was at
that time incumbent of the See. By his permission, the
Vestry chose WilHam Vesey to be the first Rector. A story
was invented many years afterwards, that he was a dissent-
ing minister, and a friend of Cotton Mathers, when called
to Trinity Church. This fable was the invention of enemies
of Mr. Vesey and the English Church. The Veseys were a
church family and Jacobites. William was born at Brain-
tree, Mass., educated at Harvard, and for some time served
as what we should call a lay reader : at the time of his
election as Minister of the City of New York he was con-
nected with King's Chapel in Boston, on the books of which
church his name appears. Mr. Vesey crossed the sea for
Holy Orders ; he was ordained to the diaconate July 25,
1697, by the Bishop of London, and to the priesthood on
August 2, following. Returning to New York, he com-
menced his ministry in the Dutch Church as the guest
of the Domines and their people, awaiting the erection of
the English Church. That building was opened for the
first time March 13, 1698. The present church occupies the
same site.
Mr. Vesey was Rector of the Parish from 1697 to 1746,
during the administrations of Governors Benjamin Fletcher;
Richard Coote, Earl of Bellomont; Edward Hyde, Lord
Cornbury; John, Lord Lovelace; Robert Hunter, William
Burnett, John Montgomery, William Cosby, George Clarke,
and George Clinton. His experiences were varied, some
of the Governors being friendly and helpful, some hostile.
The most serious trouble occurred during the administra-
tion of Governor Hunter, who assailed the name and hon-
our of the Rector and attempted a spoliation of the church's
property. Mr. Vesey went to England for redress, and
returned triumphant over all the enemies at home, and
further strengthened by an appointment as Commissary
of the Bishop of London, which gave him certain powers and
duties throughout the Provinces of New York and New
Jersey. From that time forward he had no further trouble,
and the church prospered and grew stronger day by day.
Among the more important incidents in this Rector-
ship were the endowment of the Parish by a gift of land from
the crown, and the erection of the first chapel of ease.
The land known as the Queen's farm included a tract of
sixty-two acres which formerly belonged to Ann eke Jans
Bogardus, and was sold in the year 1670, according to the
direction of the will. After the sale the title passed from
one owner to another until it finally became the property of
the crown. The church had a lease of this land for several
years, and finally in 1705 received a grant of it in fee. This
property, greatly impaired by large gifts to churches and
educational institutions, has been for one hundred and
ninety-two years in possession of the church. The claims
to it set up from time to time are without foundation. The
land was sold by Mrs. Bogardus's executors twenty-seven
years before the Parish of Trinity Church existed, and
thirty-five before it was granted to the church. The heirs
and descendants of Mrs. Bogardus were an intelligent,
shrewd, and respected body of citizens, living on Manhattan
Island and in full view of the property of their ancestress.
Not a vestige of evidence exists that any one of them ever
made objection to the regularity of the transfer, or made
any claim to the land, or any part thereof, or to any rents
or proceeds derived therefrom. No such claim was ever
29
heard of till sixty-five years after the sale, when all the
children and grandchildren of the original owner were dead ;
and, in every instance, prior to and after the Revolution, in
which the claim has been brought to trial in a court of law,
it has been dismissed as without evidence in its support.
The modern claimants are either persons trading on the
inexperience and ignorance of others with a view to pecu-
niary advantage, or dupes of what is simply a delusion
and a fraud.
St. George's Chapel, the first chapel of ease, was built
and opened A. D. 1752. Its erection was rendered neces-
sary by the growth of the Parish. This chapel was set
off and endowed as a separate church in 181 1, and has been
removed to Stuyvesant Square, where it now exists, one
of the largest and most useful of our city churches.
Upon the death of Mr. Vesey, A. D. 1746, the Rev.
Henry Barclay, his assistant, was chosen his successor.
Mr. Barclay had won a good name as Missionary to the
Mohawk Indians at Albany. During his administration a
second chapel of ease, St. Paul's, was built, and opened for
divine service in 1766.
The Rev. Samuel Auchmuty succeeded to the Rector-
ship on the death of Dr. Barclay in 1764. During his term
of office the troubles between the English Government and
the Colonies culminated in the Declaration of Indepen-
dence and the War of the Revolution. Many of the clergy,
considering their promise of allegiance to the British Con-
stitution as binding on conscience as their priestly vows,
remained loyal to the crown ; among them were Dr. Auch-
muty and his assistant, the Rev. Charles Inglis. On the
occupation of the City of New York by the American Army,
Dr. Auchmuty fled to New Jersey, whence returning, in
feeble health, and at personal risk and through much ex-
posure, on the reoccupation of the town by the British
troops after the battle of Long Island, he died March 4,
1777, and was immediately succeeded by the Rev. Charles
Inglis.
The church perished in the great fire of 1776, and con-
tinued in ruins until 1788. During that time St. Paul's
Chapel was used as the Parish Church. Upon the acknowl-
edgment of the Independence of the Colonies, Mr. Inglis,
and other loyalists, withdrew to Halifax. The Rector,
shortly before his departure, endured the distressing loss of
his wife and eldest son ; he was also placed upon the bill
of attainder and deprived of all that he had. His punish-
ment was unduly severe, as he was an earnest, high-toned,
and conscientious man, who might have been saved to the
country and the church. His merits were recognized at
home, and, in 1787, he was consecrated Bishop of Nova
Scotia, the first of the illustrious line of English Missionary
Bishops.
On the resignation of Dr. Inglis, the Rev. Benjamin
Moore, Assistant Minister, was elected Rector in 1783.
He did not enter, however, as the times were agitated and
church affairs were in confusion. The Rev. Samuel Pro-
voost, formerly an assistant of the Parish, and identified
with the cause of the Revolution, was recalled to the Par-
ish, and elected and instituted Rector, 1784. Subsequently,
Mr. Provoost went to England, for consecration as first
Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State
of New York, retaining his position as Rector of Trinity.
During his administration the Parish Church was rebuilt on
a larger scale. The Constitution of 1777, in its thirty-sixth
article, confirmed all grants of land within the State, and
all charters, made by Royal authority prior to October 14,
1775, and thus the title of Trinity Church to all her property
of whatever kind, including the lands granted by Queen
Anne, was secured forever.
Bishop Provoost withdrew from active service in the
Parish in September, 1800, in consequence of failing health,
and in the following year resigned his episcopal jurisdiction,
whereupon the Rev. Benjamin Moore, who had been elected
Rector seventeen years previously, was again called to that
position; he also succeeded Dr. Provoost as Bishop. Ur.
Moore's rectorship continued until the year 1816, though
for several years before his death the Parish was ad-
ministered by the Assistant Rector. Among its leading
events may be mentioned the erection of a third chapel of
ease, consecrated by Bishop Moore under the style of St.
John's. This beautiful church, one of the ornaments of the
city, was commenced A. D. 1803, and completed in 1807. It
has undergone alteration and enlargement three times, but
still stands on its ancient site, although, as in the case of
St. Paul's, everything else in the neighborhood has changed
and all other landmarks have been swept away.
In the year 181 1, Bishop Moore, finding himself inca-
pacitated for active duty, asked for an Assistant ; Dr. John
Henry Hobart was duly elected to that office. In 181 2, he
was also elected Rector of Trinity, with which church he
had been connected several years. Bishop Hobart's ad-
ministration was a hard one, and his life that of a champion
and fighter. A vexatious controversy, in which the Rev.
Cave Jones, an Assistant Minister, was the prominent figure.
disturbed the Parish ; a much heavier storm raged outside.
The Episcopal Church, in the years immediately following
the Revolution, was in a depressed condition ; predictions
were freely uttered, the dictate of eager hope, that she would
sink lower and lower and eventually die out; and at the time
of Bishop Hobart's consecration she was at a low ebb, and,
in the opinion of many, rapidly approaching the hour of dis-
solution. At this point that great man appeared, raised up
by God to awaken sleepers, inspire faith, take an aggressive
position, and lead up out of the darkness and weakness into
light, power, and a new life. The Rector of Trinity, having
at command her traditions, her reputation, and her financial
strength, became at once the champion of our Church
system, and worked with all his might, and with splendid
success, for evangelical truth and apostolic order, for relig-
ious and missionary effort, and the building up souls in
personal religion. He ran a noble course, and his influ-
ence is felt among us to this day.
The Rev. William Berrian succeeded Bishop Hobart
as Rector of Trinity Church in 1830, and held office until
the year 1862, when he died. During his Rectorship a new
chapel was built, for the accommodation of parishioners
who had removed to a distance from the Parish Church ; it
was commenced in 1851, and consecrated in 1855, some-
what before its full completion ; it is known as Trinity
Chapel. A large addition to the staff of clergy was made,
and the work expanded in all directions. Attacks were
made from time to time upon the Parish, which led to an
attempt at interference by the Legislature, at the instiga-
tion of some prominent clergymen and laymen in this
city, but these were defeated without detriment to the Par-
33
ish. The claims, already referred to by persons calling
themselves heirs of Anneke Jans, to a large part or the
whole of the church estate were made the subject of judicial
investigation in the highest court of the State, and the title
of the church was declared to be without flaw and secure
so long as any title in the State is safe.
Dr. Berrian departed this life November 7, 1862. On the
loth of that month the Rev. Morgan Dix, Assistant Rector,
was elected Rector. His institution under the charter, by
the Wardens and Vestrymen, took place in the porch of the
Parish church on Tuesday, November 11, and the formal
Institution by the Right Rev. Horatio Potter, D.D., Bishop
of the Diocese, according to the Order in the Book of Com-
mon Prayer, was held in the church, before a public congre-
gation, November 29, 1862. The present incumbent still
holds office, and is permitted by Divine Providence to see
this commemorative day and take part in its services.
During the present Rectorship the following additions have
been made to the facilities for work :
(a) Two new chapels have been erected, St. Chrysos-
tom's, consecrated 1879, ^^'^ St. Augustine's, consecrated
1877.
(b) The use of the chapel of St. Cornelius on Governor's
Island, New York Harbour, has been granted to the Corpo-
ration of Trinity Church by the War Department, and a
chaplain is maintained there for the advantage of the offi-
cers and soldiers at the post.
(c) The old church edifice formerly occupied by St.
Luke's Church, which came into possession of Trinity Cor-
poration December i, 1892, on the removal of St. Luke's to
One Hundred and Forty-first Street, is now maintained,
34
in connection with St. Jolin's, and designated as St. Luke's
Chapel.
(d) A new chapel, known as St. Agnes', has been built
in Ninety-first Street, near Columbus Avenue ; it was com-
menced in 1888, completed in 1892, and consecrated Sep-
tember 27th in that year.
(e) A system of daily parish schools with night schools
at certain points, and manual training, cooking and laundry
schools, now exists throughout the Parish ; in these schools
thirty-eight principals and teachers are employed, and 1,149
scholars receive instruction.
(f) A Parish Hospital has been established and is
maintained on the site of the ancient Rectory of the Parish,
having a medical staff of twelve physicians and three house
officers ; about three hundred and fifty persons received
treatment there last year.
(g) The Corporation, in addition to its own work, makes
provision for five beds in St. Luke's Hospital, two beds in
St. Mary's Hospital, a room in the Home for Indigent
Christian Females, and a room in the House of the Holy
Comforter; it also provides for the free interment of its
destitute poor in St. Michael's Cemetery, Newtown, L. I.
(h) The staff of clergy has increased from eight in
1862 to twenty-six in the present year. The designations
of " Vicar" and " Curate " have been adopted, each church
having its Vicar, and each Vicar as many Curates under
his direction as may be necessary.
(i) Seven Parish Houses and School Houses have
been erected or acquired at several points for the develop-
ment and accommodation of the religious, educational, and
industrial work.
35
(k) The Choral Service of the Anglican Communion
has been introduced and is maintained throughout the
Parish, the number of musicians employed being twelve,
and that of singers being about two hundred and fifty.
For the extension of the work, as indicated by these
statistics, the Parish is indebted under Divine Providence
to the endowments received nearly two hundred years ago
and held in trust for the advancement of religion, knowl-
edge, and charity, and to the liberal and progressive spirit
in which the trust has been administered by its legal
custodians. In addition to these, mention might be made
of works due, not to the Corporation, but to the people of
the Parish, who, by their gifts and personal work, have
nobly helped hitherto ; such as, for example :
1. The Mission House in Fulton Street, built and
maintained by the people of Trinity Church.
2. The Trinity Chapel Home for the Aged, sheltering
a dozen aged women, communicants of the church.
3. The Summer Home of St. Agnes' Chapel.
4. St. Chrysostom's Chapel Dispensary.
5. The Chapel Burial Plot of St. Augustine's.
Of Industrial Schools, Sunday Schools, Guilds, Associ-
ations, Brotherhoods, Girls' Friendlies, Cadets, &c., «&:c., there
are now about one hundred and ten in the Parish, reaching
thousands of persons through their officers and members;
of these there is no time to make particular mention, though
the recital would be interesting and instructive.
36
CHURCHES, TRINITY PARISH.
THE first church was begun in 1696 and finished in
1697; it was enlarged in 1737 and destroyed by fire
in 1776.
The second church was built in 1778 and pulled down in
1839.
The present church was commenced in 1839 and com-
pleted in 1846. It was consecrated on Ascension Day,
May 21, 1846.
St. Paul's Chapel was commenced May 14, 1764, com-
pleted in 1766, and opened October 30, 1766.
St. John's Chapel was commenced in 1803, completed in
1807, and consecrated that same year. It has been three
times altered or enlarged.
Trinity Chapel was commenced in 1851, completed in
1856, and consecrated on April 17, 1855, before it was
quite completed.
St. Chrysostom's Chapel was commenced on the 28th day
of October, 1868. Service was held in it November 7,
1869, and it was consecrated on October 30, 1879.
St. Augustine's Chapel was commenced September 2,
1876, completed in 1877, ^^^ consecrated on November
30, 1877.
37
St. Agnes' Chapel was commenced in 1888, completed in
1892, and consecrated in 1892.
The Chapel of St. Cornelius, built by the efforts of the
Rev. Dr. John McVickar, U. S. Chaplain, was given into
the charge of Trinity Church Corporation by the War
Department, in 1868.
St. Luke's Church came into the possession of Trinity
Church on December i, 1892.
38
RECTORS OF TRINITY CHURCH.
THE Rectors of Trinity Church have been the Rt. Rev.
Henry Compton, Bishop of London, named in the
Charter.
Rev. WilUam Vesey, February 6, 1697, to July 11, 1746.
Rev. Henry Barclay, October 17, 1746, to October 20,
1764.
Rev. Samuel Auchmuty, August 28, 1764, to March 17,
1777.
Rev. Charles Inglis, March 20, 1777, resigned Novem-
ber I, 1783.
Rt. Rev. Samuel Provoost, appointed Rector, April 22,
1784; became Bishop of New York, 1788; resigned Novem-
ber I, 1800.
Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, appointed Rector in 1783;
became Rector in 1800; died February 27, 1816.
Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, made Assistant Rector,
18 1 3; Rector, March 11, 181 6; died September 12, 1830.
Rev. William Berrian, D.D., October 11, 1830; died
November 7, 1862.
Rev. Morgan Dix, D.D., S.T.D., Assistant Rector, Sep-
tember 28, 1859; Rector, November 10, 1862.
^.,„
■V/Tr .'A"/., '//rr. - //,,,,,,./ - V',-r,rr...> /. O. (/.
m
•y'-fl/l,/'// ryf^-^/lft/'/, ^..rj:
^/ ^>
/f /■'/■//■ /// r • /j fr //f yy .
• /// f y^/'-j / rA/y/-f-// /'./ ///r ■ y///-f.j// y/'f/.j /'f-y////
rr .)j///// ///f'///f'f/ f /^ /A'-'jf^ //f/ r/'///// //'//■// f J/ /rS'.4^>.
■ // /fff.) r('/i.)frfrf//'f/ /'// • ^/jr///.ifr>?t/ J/'^T.y,' //f/y y/.j/, /rS'^^/.
■ /// //■/■^/i/- /'J ■ //■/ ^/ //// ' / / // /r//
li-^filli
-y/z/f/'f/-'/- /--y ■ //. 'Af/z/j ' ///r/// /f.J J//:i/ rff//.t//f//-/tf/.
■ // /ff.i /r,// //i/i>' ////ff^ ffA^/-r(/ /'/• f'/t/ffz-'/'f/.
' -/rf ////y '///////,/
'.> ^f//////f//ff//
//^ r,.,/.j,;-/ff/ // ,/,f.) y,r//, Jf ///.>//,-,/.
I'KivATELY rur
RECTOK. CHURl I
VESTRYMEN OK TRIM I
IN THE CITY OF > >
BY JAMES I'OTT AND COMt-A.NV
DESIGNS AND ILLUSTRATIONS FUR-
NISHH> BY TIFFANY AND COMPANY
PRIVATELY PUBLISHED FOR THE
RECTOR, CHURCH WARDENS, AND
VESTRYMEN OF TRINITY CHURCH
IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK,
BY JAMES POTT AND COMPANY
DESIGNS AND ILLUSTRATIONS FUR-
NISHED BY TIFFANY AND COMPANY
NEW YORK, A.D. 1897
DATE DUE
BX5920.N5T8A2
Trinity church bicentennial celebration
Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library
1 1012 00050 6982