560 
 N48F-21 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i

 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 ^^l1lo•m••<L■■™a•JT!v•?lL'^?^'^'"^^■'''\'"C"■-''''i^''■^^ ' ' 
 
 WEST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CARMINE-STREET, N. V.
 
 H/,V.'Jij^ 
 
 FAMILIAR CONVERSATIONAL 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EVAiNGELICAL CHURCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 NEW-YOKK. 
 
 NCn-YOKK: 
 
 ROB I ; R T C A R T i: K , 
 
 55 Caniil street. 
 
 1S39.
 
 *.^ 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 
 1838, by the Author, in the Clerk's Office oCthe District 
 Court of the Southern District of New-York. 
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 W. B. & T. SMITH, 
 
 t 3 PIVISION-ST.
 
 TO THE 
 
 RECTOR OF ST. IHOMAS' CHURCH, NEW- YORK, 
 
 THE HISTORIAN, SCHOLAR, AND DIVINE; 
 THIS MTTI.E VOLLMB 
 
 IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 
 BT HI.I HUMBLE FRIE-MD, 
 
 THE AUTIIOK. 
 
 i/^'f'-Si;:f5
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 pari; 
 
 In'Cidektal HisTonv, 7 
 
 The Morals of our City Predecessors, - • 49 
 
 Colonial Slavery. — JSVgro Plot, - - - 70 
 
 The Priiiiiti\i: Imllaii Iiiliabitants of our Island, 7'.( 
 
 The Church in the Fort, - - - - 91 
 
 The Reformed Dutch Church, - - - 98 
 
 The r.piscopil Church, .... 10!) 
 
 The French Church, lot) 
 
 The auakcrs, US 
 
 The Lutheran Church, M') 
 
 The Jews, 155 
 
 'I'iu; Presbyterian T'liureh, - - - - 103 
 
 The iM()raviaii'<, ...-.- 187 
 
 The Baplirftx, 195 
 
 The Methodists 200 
 
 The Keforuied IVe^hylerian Cliureh, - - 214 
 Lijt of all the Churehe.-f in the City, alphabeti- 
 cally arranged. 217
 
 THE HISTORY 
 
 OK THE 
 
 CHURCHES OF NEW-YORK. 
 
 CHAPTER FIRST. 
 
 INCIDENTAL HISTORY OF THE CHTRCHES, 
 WHILE THE CITY WAS UNDER FOREIGN 
 GOVERNORS. 
 
 \_T/ic Interlocutors arc, an Vsci.r, and his two Nephews, 
 Henrv and Jotis.'] 
 
 Uncle. Well, Horiry, did you make out to 
 get a view of the ruins of the old church to-day, 
 or was the appearance of things in Cxarden- 
 slreet so altered by the fire, that you could liardly 
 find your way? 
 
 Henri/. Oh no, sir; we succeeded in finding 
 the objf'Ct of our search, al'hough the great fire 
 has indeed made astonishing changes in that 
 part of the city. John and 1, after having gone 
 arouiil the whole ruins left of the fire, and 
 clambering over one continued heap of rubbish, 
 from South to Broad streets, at last founrl our- 
 selves stand mg before the bare and blackened 
 walls, of what so lately was the Garden street 
 I
 
 8 T II E C U U U C H 1. 3 
 
 Church. But, uncle, did I understand you, this 
 morning, to say, that that was the spot where the 
 first church ever built in New- York city stood ? 
 
 John. Perhaps you did, Henry ; but / under- 
 stood uncle to make a distinction between the 
 first churches built in this city. If I recollect 
 aright, he said that the Garden-street Church 
 Avas the third built within the precincts of the 
 city, but the first one that was erected by the 
 will and contributions of the people, indepen- 
 dently of the government. 
 
 Uncle. You are right, John ; the govern- 
 ment, very soon after the settlement of the 
 colony here, caused a chapel for divine worship, 
 to be built within the walls of the fort; which 
 you may note down as the j^?"s^ church in New- 
 York ; the second, was built by Peter Stuy- 
 vesant on his farm, or "Bowery" about the 
 year 16G0 ; and, then, not many years after this, 
 the people procured a license to build a church 
 in Giarden-street, which you see was the third 
 in the city. 
 
 Henry. But was it called Garden-street along 
 there in those early days 1 
 
 Uncle. No. There was not much of a street 
 there then, when the church was first built ; it 
 was merely a lane on which the church stood, 
 which ran up back of the parsonage-garden, 
 where the minister lived, and from this came 
 the name, in after days, of Gardeji-street. 
 
 John. But you are not done, I hope, uncle?
 
 O F N K W - Y R K . 9 
 
 Have you nothing more to tell us concerning- 
 the history of this old and venerable church ? I 
 should like to hear more too about all the early 
 Christian churches in this city; but perhaps 
 your time may be too precious, and can be more 
 profitably spent in other waj'S. 
 
 Uncle. Oh no, my boys. Nothing can give 
 me greater pleasure, than to hear you express 
 the wish to learn something concerning the 
 early introduction of Christianity and its institu- 
 tions into our city : and it will be a source of 
 high gratification to myself, as well as some 
 improvement to you, I hope, to sit down and 
 talk over with you the early history of our city 
 churches. And I am glad that your interest in 
 the subject has led you to mention it ; but at the 
 same time that I make known to you my sin- 
 cere willingness to spend some portion of my 
 time so profitably, as in conversations with you 
 upon this interesting subject, I would remind 
 you, beforehand, that it will require consider- 
 able patience, and will perhaps draw upon your 
 fimd of selfdenial, to sit hour alter lioiir, and 
 perform what some people would call tho 
 drudgery of listening. 
 
 Henri/. It will bo no drudgery to us, sir; or 
 at all events, a pleasant drudgery. Besides, we 
 recollect to hear you say, sir, that nothing im- 
 portant or u.seful, especially in the line of infor- 
 mation or knowledge, can be obtained without 
 much labour and study.
 
 10 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Undc. You are riq-ht, and with such a dis- 
 position, tliere is but little doubt that you will 
 succeed in your attempts to acquire information 
 on this subject, and gain the end you have in 
 view; and if the same spirit follow you through 
 life, I will venture to predict, that you will find 
 all your undertakings, turning out to your 
 pleasure and benefit, even to a degree far beyond 
 anything you could anticipate. But as to the 
 importance of the study upon which we propose 
 to enter, I suppose that you have the same 
 thoughts with myself, viz., that it is great, espe- 
 cially to the young, and those engaged as 
 scholars in Sabbath-schools, who, as they grow 
 up, should become acquainted with, and be able 
 to converse intelligentlyabout the histories of the 
 various Christian churches in the city. There 
 is undoubtedly great ignorance on this point, 
 which is by no means confined to the young 
 alone, but which may be found among people 
 of all classes, both young and old, throughout 
 the city ; which, indeed, is not so much to bo 
 wondered at, when we consider that the great 
 mass of inhabitants that form the yearly increase 
 to our population, are from the surrounding 
 country, or other cities and towns, and conse- 
 quently cannot be expected to be familiar with 
 the history of churches or buildings, which they 
 never saw or heard of from their parents, or 
 other ancestors. I committed to paper, the other 
 day, a few thoughts on this subject, which you, 
 Henry, may read.
 
 O F N F. W - Y R K . 11 
 
 Henry. " The remembrance of historical 
 facts in relation to ecclesiastical institutions of 
 our citj" is almost altogether confined to a iew, 
 comparatively, of our citizens, and these gene- 
 rally far advanced in age, and fast hastening on 
 to the end of life's journey, who have come to 
 the knowledge of them by their own experience, 
 and by tradition ; or else the events are recorded 
 in books and precious manuscripts, locked up in 
 safely-treasurtd libraries, seldom to be read by 
 those w])0 might profit by the perusal, and 
 much less bv the young', wlio are thus debarred 
 from such important knowledge of earlier days. 
 In this flourishing London of the West, the 
 spirit of enterprise and innovation, utterly 
 regardless of the veneration with which they 
 used to be looked upon, with a ruthless hand, 
 has swept away all traces of many of those 
 vonerablo buildings, which wore once thoprido 
 and lionour of the honest and worthy colonists, 
 who esteemed it one of their first and best of 
 privileges to worship God, the God of their 
 fithfTS, in churches of their own erection and 
 consecration. Built by pious hands, and by the 
 contributions of pious souls, and set apart to 
 pious and devout purposes, they liave be'.n pull- 
 ed down by men, ignorant or regardless of their 
 history ana design, as if no longer needed for 
 use; or to maku room for something of moro 
 modern style." 
 
 Henry. Tliis puts rnc in mind, sir, of the
 
 12 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Chateaux, in France, whose antiquated walls, 
 built in feucLil timps, arc now demolished to 
 make way for establishnienls of more modern 
 taste and finish. But, as to churches, I had 
 always supposed that age added to their sacred- 
 ness in the eyes of the people univerjaily, and 
 secured the reverence and cherishing care of all. 
 
 Uncle. This is true with regard to many, but 
 not with all. There are many, who are not 
 only actuated by a simple desire of change and 
 novelty, but by a deep rooted prejudice against 
 the simplicity of former times, to destroy every 
 vestige of what they scornfully speak of as days 
 of Puritanism. But, if you will read on, you 
 will find that the churches of New-York have 
 had a harder enemy than the hand of man to 
 deal with — one more speedy in its operations, 
 if not more destructive in its efiects — I mean 
 the raging element of fire ; which is so good a 
 servant, but so cruel and terrible a master. 
 
 Henry. " Thus many of the churches which 
 stood conspicuously on our streets in the begin- 
 ning of the present century, built before and 
 after the revolutionary war, have disappeared. 
 Nor has the spirit of innovation been alone and 
 unassisted in this work; the raging element 
 fire, as if possessed by a determination to fall in 
 with the spirit of the times, and erase every ves- 
 tige of antiquity, has wrapped in its terrific 
 embrace many a tall and beautiful spire, and 
 left many a fine church with naught but naked
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 13 
 
 walls to mark its identity; some of which, for 
 man\' reasons, have never been rebuilt, and tlie 
 congregations have located in other parts of the 
 wide-spreading city." 
 
 Uncle. Tlius you see what agents have been 
 mainly instrumental in removing from our 
 sight, those venerable buildings, which the early 
 inhabitants of the city used to delight to gaze 
 upon, as temples dedicated to the worship of the 
 Most High, and in which they were accustomed 
 to meet week after week, for the offeiing up of 
 public prayer and praise to the true and living 
 God. But to preserve in your minds the re- 
 membrance of the church buildings, will not be 
 my only desire and object in these conversations 
 with you; but that you may make such a 
 record, in your minds, and on paper if you 
 pleasl^ of the f stablishments and progress of the 
 various di nominations of Christians in our city, 
 from its tirst si ttlunient by the Dutch, down to 
 the present time, as shall form an interesting 
 history for your own review; and if commiitcd 
 to writing by you, might bi.- made a useful and 
 important present to some Sabbath-school li- 
 brary. 
 
 John. The proposition ofcoinuiilting our con- 
 versations to writing, we will willingly and joy- 
 fully accede to, uncle, provided that you give us 
 more immediate assistance once in a while, 
 should we need it. Jiut to make our propo.«<d 
 history as complete as wc can, will it nut be
 
 14 THE CHURCHES 
 
 necessary for you, sir, to give iis some short 
 account of the discovery and first settlement of 
 New- York city? 
 
 Uncle. It will. And I will give you the 
 account in as {ew words as possible; and there- 
 fore begin by saying, what I presume you both 
 already know, that the first discovery of the 
 island, on which the great city of New- York 
 now stands, was made by Henry Hudson, in the 
 latter part of the year 1609. He was an 
 Englishman by birth, but was then in the 
 employ of the Dutch East India Company. 
 The object of the Dutch, in sending out Hudson, 
 was to discover some more direct passage to the 
 East Indies, than by doubling the Cape of Good 
 Hope, in order to facilitate their trade. But, by 
 his discoveries, finding that trade could be car- 
 ried on to advantage with the Indians in 
 America, they sent out other ships; and in 1614, 
 encouraged a company of merchants in Holland 
 to send out ships, and to establish trading-houses 
 among the Indians, and licensed them under the 
 name of the " West India Company." Accord- 
 ingly, this Company, in 1615, six years after 
 the discovery by Hudson, erected their first 
 fort and trading-house on the island where 
 New- York now stands, and which was com- 
 monly called Manhattan, as the Europeans 
 pronounced the Indian name. 
 
 Their object appears to have been that of trade 
 entirely ; as they seemed to have had at first no
 
 OF NEW-VORK. 15 
 
 intention of making- permanent settlements and 
 colonies iiere, as the English did at Plymouth 
 and Jamestown. Yoti doubtless recollect the 
 circumstances and causes which led to the set- 
 tlement of these first English colonies. 
 
 Henry. Yes, sir. Especially that of Ply- 
 mouth. We know that it was for the sake of 
 religious liberty, that the Puritan fathers of New 
 England forsook the homes of their native land, 
 and fled to the wilds of America. And that 
 causes then existed in England, which made it 
 necessary for them, either to surrenJer the 
 privileofc of worshippin.g God after their own 
 manner, and according to the dictates of their 
 own conscience, or to seek a home in some 
 other land ; they chose the latter. And conse- 
 quently they fled to the shores of America. 
 
 Uacie. You are riirht. But in Holland the 
 state of things was difl'c^rent. There was no 
 necessity there to flee the country, in order to 
 obtain the privilege of religious freedom, and 
 therefore, the only object that the first settlejs in 
 America from that country had in view, was 
 merely that of trading with the natives. In 
 return for b< ads and glittering trink* ts, the In- 
 dians could furnish tlicin with abundance of furs 
 and skins, valuable cargoes of which were con- 
 tinually shipped to Holland; as was also 
 tobacco an I copper. 
 
 Jo/in. Tobacco! uncle. Did the Indians use 
 tobacco ?
 
 16 TIIECHUnCIIES 
 
 Uncle. Yes! You must know that our coun- 
 try is the birthplace of this weed. The Indians 
 were undoubtedly acquainted with the use of 
 the tobacco-plant, long before the Europeans 
 came among them, and smoking was an Indian 
 custom. When Hudson's ship first appeared 
 in New- York Bay, or perhaps before he had 
 entered the Narrows, the natives came ofi" to 
 him, bringing with them abundance of tobacco, 
 and red copper pipes, which they used, and 
 which they ofTered to the strangers as their 
 best gifts. They also wore copper ornaments 
 about their necks. But to return to our history, 
 the whole possessions of the Dutch, which they 
 claimed around Manhattan Island, and which 
 extended many miles, north, south, and east, 
 were called by them. New Netherlands, after a 
 part of their country, in Europe. In the year 
 1623, another and a stronger fort was built on 
 the lower end of Manhattan Island, and called 
 Fort Am.sterdam. This stood on a high mound, 
 a few rods below, or south-west of the present 
 Bowling Green; and maybe considered as the 
 commencement of the city, which took the same 
 name as the fort, and was called New Amster- 
 dam. From this time forward, we must look 
 upon the settlement as a regular colony ; at first 
 under the protection of the West India Com- 
 pany, in Holland, who, in 1625, sent out Peter 
 Minuit, as the first regular commander.
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 17 
 
 CHAPTER SECOND. 
 
 INCIDENTAL HISTORY — CONTINUED. 
 
 Uncle. Peter Minuit was commander from 
 162.5 to 1629, during- which time nothing oc- 
 curred which would especially interest us in 
 our researches ; or which would aid us in 
 judiring of his moral or Christian principles. 
 
 Hcnnj. But he built no church, sir? 
 
 Uncle. No. But this might have been 
 owing altogether to the small number of inhab- 
 itants there, who could more easily and conve- 
 niently assemble for divine worship in some 
 apartment of the fort. This they were undoubt- 
 edly in the habit of doing, considering that most 
 of the first settlers were moral and Christian 
 n;en, who had known and appreciated the value 
 of Sabbath and sanctuary privileges in their na- 
 tive country, and who would be likely to hail 
 with joy the return of any stated period, more 
 especially the holy Sabbath, that would remind 
 them of the home from which they were now 
 so far removed. There was no occasion, then, 
 for a church in Governor Minuit's time — so in 
 Van Twillf-r's ; but it rr-mnined for William 
 Kieft, who arrived hcrr- as Governor in 1038, 
 to have the honour of creeling \.\\c first church
 
 18 
 
 THE CHURCHES 
 
 for the public worship of God, ever built in 
 New Amsteidam; or otherwise New-York. 
 
 John. We will remember his name, and note 
 it also in our books. But, sir, will you he good 
 enough to ttll us where this first church stood? 
 
 Uncle. I think that I have mentioned before 
 to you the chapel of the fort. This was the 
 church buill by the order of Governor Kieft, 
 and it stood wilhiu the walls of foVt Amsterdam, 
 and was afterwards long known under the name 
 of King's Chapel. Of its history we will 
 speak more particularly hereafter. But from 
 the erection of this chapel we may date the 
 commencement of the ecclrsiasticaf history of 
 the city of New-York. From that time to'the 
 present, the citizens of New- York have never 
 been without the possession of a church ; and 
 perhaps no one Sabbath has passed by without 
 the performance of public and divine worship, 
 by the people of some one denomination or 
 other. And this too, you will perceive, was a 
 Protestant Church; the people orthodox in the 
 fiith and practice of the Reformed Church in 
 Holland, and the congregation worshipping 
 after the manner of their Protestant fathers in 
 Europe. The services, then, were conducted 
 in the Dutch language altogether, which con- 
 tinued to be used In the Dutch Reformed 
 churches in the city down to the year 1764, 
 when the English language was first intro- 
 duced by the Rev. Dr. Laidlie, then pastor of
 
 OF N E W-YOR K. 19 
 
 the Middle Dutch Chinch. Of this change 
 you will hear farther when we come to con- 
 sider more particularlv the history of the Dutch 
 Church. 
 
 Hc/in/. We should like to hear more con- 
 cerning the native Indians, sir, whom the Dutch 
 found here when they first arrived. They 
 have all disappeared, and lilce the first churches 
 of the settlers that you mentioned, no vestige of 
 them remains to tell us what they once were, 
 or were they once lived and flourished. But 
 you have access to some history of them, 
 we presume, and we would beg the privilege 
 of gaining more information concerning this 
 branch of the almost exterminated race of the 
 red man. 
 
 Uncle. I am glad to hear you speak so feel- 
 ingly of the red men. They were noble sons 
 of nature — an extraordinary race — not wit li- 
 standing they were called "dogs" by the white 
 man, and by him treated with brutish cruelty. 
 I have many things to say to you about the 
 aborigines oi' this island, the Manhattans, as 
 they were commonly called, which 1 defer for 
 the p'ese'nt, with the promise that before lung 
 we will dt.'votc a whole conversation exclu- 
 sively to this interesting subje ct. 
 
 But before we jiroceeel Ut the particular his- 
 tory of the churche'S separately, pe'ihaps it will 
 be well for us to lake a general survey of the 
 circumstances relative to Christianity, wiiich 
 2
 
 20 THE CHURCHES 
 
 took place in the colonj'- under the different 
 governors, and the state in which the churches 
 then were. To do this, we will be obliged to 
 introduce more or less of the secular history of 
 the coloiij^ ; which, nevertheless, may be inter- 
 esting- to you. We have seen that Governor 
 Keift had the honour of building the first 
 church in New Amsterdam, in the year 1643. 
 He appears to have been quite an enterprising 
 man, and encouraged the inhabitants to build 
 houses without the fort, and thus to extend the 
 city; but as to his moral and religious charac- 
 ter, we have little or no means of judging; ex- 
 cepting that his erecting a church for the public 
 worship of God, argues much in his favour. 
 But the last, and by far the most celebrated of 
 the Dutch governors, was Peter Stuyvesant. 
 
 Henry. Oh ! yes, sir, we remember the name 
 of the brave Pel r us ISiuyvesant. 
 
 Uncle. His name is indeed worthy of remem- 
 brance. He began his administration May 
 27th, 1647, and governed the affairs of the colo- 
 ny until September, 1664, when he was obliged, 
 to surrender his power to the English ; who, 
 headed by Colonel Richard Nicolls, were too 
 strong for him. But he Avas nevertheless, as 
 you say, a brave man and a good soldier, and 
 was unwilling to submit, for a long time. But 
 at length, compelled by the entreaties of his 
 own subjects, he reluctantly yielded to the Eng- 
 lish, and signed the articles of capitulation on
 
 OF N EW-YOUK. 21 
 
 e 10th of September, 1661. But his surren- 
 ler was made on terms very honourable to him- 
 self, and extremely favourable to the inhabi- 
 tants. These articles were signed at his farm, 
 or Bowery, as the Dutch name for farm was 
 pronounced by the citizens. And that you 
 may sec that the governor was not forgetful of 
 the blessings and privileges of religious free- 
 dom, as well as civil and personal liberty, I 
 have copied ofT one or two of those articles of 
 capitulation, which you, John, may read. 
 
 John. "All people shall still continue free 
 denizens, and shall enjoy their lands, houses, 
 and goods, wheresoever they are, within this 
 county, and dispose of them as they please. 
 
 " The Dutch here, shall enjoy the liberty of 
 their conscience in divine worship, and church 
 discipline. 
 
 " No Dutchman here, or Dutch ship here, 
 shall upon any occasion ha pressed to serve in 
 war against any nation whatsoever." 
 
 Unchi. You see how strictly they guarded 
 their religious freedom; and to these articles 
 they ever after, until the great American revo- 
 lution, referred as the great charter of their 
 liberties. Colonel Nicholls was now governor, 
 and one of his first acts was to change the name 
 of the city from New Amsterdam to that of 
 New- York", in honour of th'- Duk-e of York, 
 who held tlie patent right of the province. 
 
 John. But what became of Governor Stuy- 
 vesant, sir, after this?
 
 22 T H E C H U R C n E S 
 
 Uncle. I was just about to tell you, that after 
 the surrender of the city, he retired to his coun- 
 try seat, 01 Bowery, until the next year, which 
 was 16G5, when he paid a visit to Holland, his 
 old home and native country. But returning 
 before the close of the year, he again retired to 
 his Bowery, and there enjoyed his estate for 
 man)'- years. At his death, his remains were 
 interi-ed in a small chapel, which he had 
 erected upon his own lands and which stood 
 near where the St. Mark's Church now stands, 
 in Tenth-street, and where the tombstone, 
 recording his name, age, death, &:c., still marks 
 the spot. 
 
 John. I recollect to have seen his tombstone 
 there, but had no idea of there being a church 
 so far out of town, in his day. Was this the 
 second one, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Yes. His chapel must have been the 
 second church ever built on Manhattan Island; 
 and it argues much in his favour, that he was 
 at the trouble and expense of building a church 
 for himself and his family: which as we learn, 
 comprised a large number of domestics. One 
 word about his character. He was an honour- 
 able man, a good soldier, a faithful governor, 
 and a firm Protestant; and has left a fame, 
 which his posterity, who are still amongst us, 
 are proud to own. With regard to his per- 
 sonal piety, or his vital, religion, we are not 
 able to know much at this late day, but must
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 23 
 
 content ourselves with hoping for the best, and 
 judging with that Christian chanty, which, as 
 the apostle Paul declares, never faileth, but 
 " hopethall things." 
 
 Henry. I should like to know, sir, what 
 clergymen were in our city so early as that, 
 and who could have officiated in Governor 
 Stuyvcsant's chapel ? 
 
 Uncle. Concerning the latter question, I may 
 fail to satisfy your curiosity entirely ; but think 
 myself not far out of the way in supposing that 
 the clergymen of the church of the fort might 
 have given him frequent help, especially one of 
 the most active of them, the Rev. Mr. Megapo- 
 lensis. 
 
 John. Megapolensis ! what a singular name? 
 
 Uncle. Yes, it is a singular name indeed to 
 us, and he must have been a man of singular 
 goodness too. But of this you will k-arn more 
 hereafter, when we come to speak of the Dutch 
 Church, and its ministers. 
 
 Governor Nicolls was a sagacious man, and 
 saw the propriety of allowing the inhabitants 
 all their ancient rights and privileges, both civil 
 and relicrious, that wore not incompatible with 
 their relation to the F^ing of England. And he 
 not only saw, but had the good sense to acknow- 
 ledge the loyally of the Dulch inhabitants, and 
 their firm altaclim<-nt to the Protestant ridigion. 
 Consequently, in most of his public acts, he 
 manifested a deference and respect to the former 
 2'
 
 24 THE CHURCH K9 
 
 habits and customs of tho colonists. Relisrious 
 liberty to ^voiship ( iod, after the dictates of their 
 own conscience, was what they valued most 
 highly, and in this he was equal to their wishes. 
 In fact this was one of the conditions of settlement 
 in the colony, which he ofTered as an inducement 
 to new planters ; which one of you may read to 
 us, as published 16G4. 
 
 John. " In all territories of his Royal Hipfh- 
 ness, liberty of conscience is allowed ; provided 
 such liberty is not converted to licentiousness, or 
 the disturbance of others in the exercise of the 
 Protestant religion.'' 
 
 Uncle. Neither did Governor Nicolls forget 
 that the people must have ministers ; and to 
 avoid all difficulties respecting the collections 
 for their support, we find him making the fol- 
 lowing regulation, which we may denominate 
 a prudent one, considering the state of the times 
 then. It ran in these words: — " Every township 
 is obliged to pay their minister, according to 
 such agreement as they shall make with him, 
 and no man to refuse his proportion ; the minis- 
 ter being elected by the major part of the house- 
 holders, inhabitants of the town." 
 
 Henry. But, uncle, as Governor Nicolls was 
 an Englishman, I suppose he meant this to apply 
 to clergymen of the Established Church of 
 England, did he not ? 
 
 Uncle. No. The people could choose a min- 
 ister of what denomination they pleased. The
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 25 
 
 connection of Church and State, recognized in 
 the British Constitution, was considered as con- 
 fined to England proper, and not extending to 
 the American colonies, although some of the 
 governors made some attempts to enforce it here. 
 Not so with Governor Nicolls. In 1665 we 
 find him authorizing the mayor and aldermen 
 to raise " 1,200 guilders" for the support of the 
 Dutch ministers in the city. But the law of 
 license was strictly adhered to by him. No 
 clergyman could perform a marriage ceremony 
 without a license from the Governor, or his 
 Council. Even schoolmasters could not teach 
 without a liceiisr-. And there is a record of the 
 sexton's of the Dutch church at Albany, apply- 
 ing to tlie Governor and Council, for the permis- 
 sion to bury "Lutherans and all" in his burying 
 ground; which, of course was granted. About 
 this lime also, a Lutheran clergyman, by the 
 name of Fabricius, being accused of disturbing 
 the peace by preachinij hisp<culiar sentiments, 
 was in consequence publicly rcprimati'led by 
 the governor. 1 only mention such things, as 
 matters of fact, to show you how great a change 
 time has wrought in the state of things since 
 then. 
 
 John. As great a change in the feelings and 
 habits of the pfO[ilp, I should think, sir, as thfre 
 has been in tiie old buildings which you spoke of 
 
 UncU. You are right. But of the two, I 
 think I should have much preferred encroach-
 
 26 T n E C H U R C H E S 
 
 ments upon the former than upon the latter ; 
 for we enjoy a fuHer blaze of Christian light 
 than they did, and consequently are able to 
 carry out to greater perfection the doctrine, espe- 
 cially, of freedom of conscience, and of human 
 and individual rights. But to return ; days of 
 public fasting, humiliation, and prayer, were of 
 quite frequent occurrence under almost all the 
 governors. On particular occasions the gov- 
 ernor would issue h\s proclamation, which was 
 ever met by the acquiescence of the people ; and 
 which they always manifested by closing their 
 stores, stopping all business for the day, and 
 attending in a body upon the public worship of 
 God. We find frequent mention of such occa- 
 sions in the records of the city ; and they never 
 failed to be devoutly observed by the inhabit- 
 ants. The Christian virtue of charity, too, was 
 always prominent, and flourishing, among the 
 colonists. Almshouses were erected in the city 
 very early, and the poor were so humanely 
 taken care of, that there were few or no beggars 
 to be found here. This was often spoken of by 
 strangers. There were many different sects 
 and denominations of Christians as early as the 
 year 1740; but few of them supported regular 
 ministers. The Reformed Dutch or Indepen- 
 dents, as they were called, and the Presbyte- 
 rians, were considered the richest, and were the 
 most numerous. The governors, for the most 
 part, favoured the Episcopal form of worship, 
 but this was not the case with all exclusively.
 
 OF NT W -YORK. 27 
 
 CHAPTER THIRD. 
 
 INCIDKNTAL HISTORY CONTINUED. 
 
 John. Were all the governors Protestants, 
 uncle? 
 
 Uncle. Yes. with one or two exceptions, they 
 were. Sir Thomas Donaran, however, who 
 succeeded Sir Edmund Andioss as governor, 
 was a professed Papist, though he was a man 
 of such integrity and moderation, that he has 
 always been classed among the best of govern- 
 ors. He was the first governor that suffered 
 the people to have a "General Assembly" in 
 the province; to which they might send repre- 
 sentatives of their own election, who could have 
 a voice in all the proceedings of the govern- 
 ment. In the same year of his arrival here, 
 thf assf-mbly of repiesentativrs wliich he had 
 allowed to the peopl<^ and which, together wiih 
 himself, constituted the government, passed an 
 act concerning marriages, as follows: which 
 may not be uninterf.<«ling to you, as showing 
 what once obtained here as the law of the land, 
 though it has long since been abrogated. 
 " Biums of marriTcrrs to be published in the 
 church, on tlic Lord's day; or when thrrff is 
 no church, they are to be advertised on the door
 
 28 THE C H U 11 C H E S 
 
 of the house of the constable of the town, where 
 the parties reside ; or else a license to be pro- 
 cured from the governor." 
 
 Unlike his popish master across the waters, 
 King- James II., Governor Dongan appears to 
 have been as little bigoted in religion as he was 
 tyrannical in politics. In the same year men- 
 tioned above, he seems to have acquiesced cor- 
 dially in another act of the Assembly, relating 
 to the institutions of Christianity, a part of which 
 runs as follows: "All persons professing faith 
 in God by Jesus Christ, to have free and full 
 liberty, unmolested, to exercise the mode of 
 worship agreeable to them, provided they do 
 not disturb the good elsewhere." This shows 
 him either to have been no bigot in his own re- 
 ligion, or that no opportunity for the avowal of 
 his real principles, was given him, by the con- 
 stancy of the people in their's. From his re- 
 fusing to obey the command of his popish mon- 
 arch, for the encouragement of the French 
 Jesuits among the Indians, as well as from hia 
 uniform conduct during his continuance in the 
 provmce, charity and the love of truth would 
 lead us to avow the former opinion. 
 
 Henry. I suppose there must have been some 
 Roman Catholics in the colony at this time, 
 sir. 
 
 Uncle. Yes; their first settlement here, how- 
 ever, was made while Sir Thomas Dongan was 
 Governor of the Province. James II., then King
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 29 
 
 of England, whom j'ou have already seen was 
 a Papist, and whom some historians have called 
 the "Priest-ridden Prince," naturally enoug-h 
 encouraged settlers of his own faith and per- 
 suasion. At this time too, many of the king's 
 servants in the colony openly acknowledged 
 themselves to be Papists: which gave great and 
 serious alarm to the old inhabitants, who were 
 parlicululy averse to anything like an approxi- 
 mation to Popery, and enthusiastically attached 
 to Protestantism. The collector of the revenues 
 and several of the principal olHccvs were among 
 the number that openly avouched the religious 
 tenets of the king; and a teacher in a newly- 
 established Latin school beingstrongly suspected 
 of Jesuitism, the apprehensions of the people 
 were very much increased. By these and 
 many other circumstances, a general dissatisfac- 
 tion arose among the people, which carried them 
 to a high pitch of excitement. And daily ex- 
 pecting to hear of the accession of a new Pro- 
 testant sovereign to the throne of England, some 
 of tiiern. led on by a man named Leisler, forcibly 
 wrested the government from the hands of the 
 LifUt. Governor, whom Sir Thomas Dongan 
 had left in charge In L<isler s public declara- 
 tion to the people of his intentions, and the rea- 
 sons of his apparent recoil, he says that what ho 
 did was for "the jjrotectioii and prese'rvation ol 
 the Protestant religion." 
 
 Jdka. lie must have been a zealous Protes- 
 tant, as well as a firm patriot; was he not, uncle?
 
 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Uncle. That he was zealous in both of these 
 characlpvs, there can be no doubt; but it might 
 have been better for himself, as well as for the 
 cause which he so openly espoused, had he 
 moderated his zeal a little, and delayed his opera- 
 tions for a few days at least; for he had no 
 sooner dispossessed the Lieut. Governor of his 
 authority, than the important news arrived, that 
 "William and Mary" were actually on the 
 throne, as Protestant sovereigns. This change, 
 while it ultimately proved the ruin of Leisler, 
 totally dilivered the inhabitants fiom all their 
 fear of Popery, and frightful apprehensions of 
 Romish influence in the colony. And when the 
 new sovereigns were officially proclaimed, and 
 publicly acknowledged by the colonists, a " pub- 
 lic and solemn thanksgiving to Almighty God" 
 was made: and a day set apart for the purpose 
 by the people. An ordinance made and pro- 
 claimed in the Province, about tliis time, may 
 give you some idea of the estimation in which 
 our forefathers here held the Christian institution 
 of the Sabbath. It bears date of the year 1G83, 
 and is in these words, as found in the records of 
 the city, which you, Henry, may read to us. 
 
 Henry. " Ordered, that no youths, maydes, 
 or other persons may meet together on the Lord's 
 day, for sport or play, under a h'ne of one shil- 
 ling for each ofllnce; and that no public houses 
 may keep open, or give entertainment on that 
 day, except to strangers, under a fine often shil- 
 lings.''
 
 O F X E W - Y O R K . 31 
 
 Unrle. There was a similar law passed a 
 few years previous to this, in 1670, while Col. 
 Francis Lovelace was governor, by which a 
 fine of "twenty guilders" was imposed for each 
 offence of Sabbath breaking. It is from such 
 evidences as these, which wc find scattered up 
 and down on the pages of their records, that we 
 judge of the Christian character of our Dutch 
 progenitors, and early predecessors in the city, 
 who lived so near the timts of the Reformation 
 as to have partaken much of its spirit ; and who 
 seem to have appreciated in some degree, at least, 
 the truth of that inspired sentiment, that righte- 
 ousness alone exalteth a nation, but sin is a re- 
 proach to any people. 
 
 But to return to our history. With the acces- 
 sion of new monarchsto the throne of England, 
 the people had all their grounds for the fear of 
 papal influence removrd. But, as you will 
 see, they could not congratulate themselves 
 much upon the change, in the colony, when 
 they found themselves under the dominion of 
 Col. Bpnjamin Fletcher, who arrived here as 
 Governor in 1692. 
 
 John. Why ; was he not a good Protestant, 
 sir? 
 
 Uncle. O yes, he was a Protestant, good and 
 true, as far as this part of his creed went; but 
 all his actions were infliirnctd by, and tinctured 
 with his excessive biq^oiry in favour of the es- 
 tablished Church of England. At first he po»- 
 3
 
 62 T 11 E C H U R C n E S 
 
 sessed a good share of popularity, but this ex- 
 treme devotedness to the Episcopal form of wor- 
 ship and church government, exhibiting itself 
 on every occasion, finally rendered him so 
 odious that he became quite intolerable to the 
 old inhabitants. As the Dutch inhabitants 
 formed tlie great majority in the province, al- 
 most all the governors had practised the en- 
 couraging of English preachers and school- 
 masters in the colony, as good policy. Among 
 the foremost in this project was Governor 
 Fletcher. We find him, accordingly, on his 
 first arrival, recommending this matter to the 
 assembly ; who, from their firm attachment to 
 the Dutch language, and th.eir devotedness to 
 the forms of the Church of Holland, the prac- 
 tice of which you will remember, was secured 
 to them by one of the articles of the surrender 
 in 1664, were extremely averse to his proposals. 
 This opposition on the part of the House of 
 Assembly, called forth a warm rebuke from the 
 Governor, in his speech at the close of the ses- 
 sion ; which has been handed down to us, and 
 which John, for our information, may read. 
 
 John. "Gentlemen: the first thing that I re- 
 commended to you at our last meeting, was to 
 provide for a ministry, and nothing is done in 
 it. There are none of you but what are big 
 with the privileges of Englishmen and Magna 
 Charta, which is your right; and the same law 
 doth provide for the religion of the Church of
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 33 
 
 England, against Sabbath-breaking and all other 
 profanity ; but as you have postponed the sub- 
 ject this session, I hope you will begin with it 
 the next meeting, and do somewhat towards it 
 effectually." 
 
 Uncle. As might be expected, the old inhabit- 
 ants were not very prompt in complying with 
 all his requisitions in regard to ecclesiastical af- 
 fairs. He wished to establish a ministry of the 
 Church of England in the colony by law, and 
 to make an annual tax upon the people for its 
 support. — This would have been introducing 
 what, Henry? 
 
 Henry. Something like the church system in 
 England, I suppose, Sir. 
 
 Uncle. Yes ; it would undoubtedly have led 
 to that ultimately, had the Governor been al- 
 lowed to have his own way in the matter. And 
 to anything that savoured of such an end, tlie 
 people, of course, were very bitterly opposed. 
 They were sincere lovers of the Dutch Church; 
 and remembered, too, the right that was con- 
 ceded to them at the time of the surrender, to 
 worship God in their own way, and according 
 to the dictates of their own consciences. But 
 the sectarian zral of the Governor was not to 
 be abated by any djiposition. Accordingly we 
 find him, at the next meeting of the Assembly, 
 addressing thfni in the following words : " I re- 
 commoridf <l to th'' fr)rm<r Assembly the shilling 
 of an able ministry, that the worship of God
 
 34 TII E CHURCHES 
 
 may be observed among' us, for 1 find that great 
 and first duty very much neglected. Let us not 
 forget that there is a God who made us, and who 
 will protect us if we serve him. This has been 
 always the first thing I have recommended to 
 you, yet the last in your consideration. 1 hope 
 you are all satisfied of the great necessity and 
 duty that lies upon you to do this, as you expect 
 His blessing upon your labours." 
 
 Henry. Certainly, he must have been a good 
 man, sir. 
 
 Unr.le. I am pleased to see you so willing to 
 extend the hand of Christian charity to your 
 neighbour. But you will have to learn, my 
 boy, as you journey on through the world, this 
 important lesson, that there is a great and radical 
 difl^erence, in the conduct of men, between jjre- 
 cept and 'practice ; much more between true 
 piety and the semblance of it. The words of 
 this bigoted sectarist were fair and good, but 
 we are constrained to say, that he exhibited no 
 corresponding actions. He cast severe reflec- 
 tions upon the existing and prevailing mode of 
 worship among the people, and w-ished to es- 
 tablish an " able ministry ;" by which you must 
 understand, a ministry of the Church of England. 
 And what was more material, he wished to have 
 the power of settling clergymen over the several 
 churches left with himself alone. Both of 
 which requisitions the Assembly of course re- 
 fused to grant ; yet, nevertheless, finally passed
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 35 
 
 an act to establish a permanent and regular 
 ministry in the colony, not to be of any particu- 
 lar or favourite denomination, and to provide for 
 its support. 
 
 John. Then one of Governor Fletcber's 
 crimes was that of being an ardent supporter of 
 the Church of England in the colony? 
 
 Uncle. Not at all, John. By a mistake on 
 this point, you would do as much injury to the 
 one party as you imagine to be sufTered by the 
 other. His ardency as an Episcopalian would 
 not have been at all obnoxious to the people, 
 had it not merged into bigotry. Had he come 
 to them in the kind conciliatory spirit of the 
 gospel, that spirit of Christian charity, forbear- 
 ance, and brotherly love, which they were so 
 willing at first to exercise towards him, no rup- 
 ture would have been experienced between 
 them. But as it was, an hierarchy was his sole 
 object. And he was violently enraged, when 
 he found that the power of inducting any in- 
 cumbent he pleased into the parochial duties, 
 was not granted to him by the Assembly; and 
 declared to them that he had power from the 
 King and Uuef-n to depose or su.spend any mi- 
 nister he plf-asid ; that whil.'^t he staid in the 
 government, he should lake care that neither 
 hcrr-sy, sfdilioii, schism, or rrbfllion be preach- 
 ed, nor vice or proliinily encouraged ; and that 
 he should cndravour to lead a virtuous and 
 3*
 
 36 THE CHURCHES 
 
 pious life amongst them, nnd to give them a 
 good example. His boastings with regard to 
 his own private character would have been 
 passed by entirely, or lightly answered by the 
 people, had they been but true. But when 
 they saw, and experienced too, the violence of 
 his temper, the extreme rudeness of his manner 
 towards themselves, and his excessive avarice, 
 and eagerness for acquiring wealth, with all 
 possible extension of their Christian charity, 
 they could not avoid the conclusion, that his 
 apparent zeal for the welfare of religion, was 
 nothing more than a bigoted partiality to the 
 English Church, aided by a strong desire to 
 increase his own personal wealth, by the exten- 
 sion of his individual influence. The worst 
 feature in his hierarchical proceedings, was his 
 direct intention to introduce, by his own exam- 
 ple, the papal custom of selling be/tejices, as 
 practised in England and elsewhere. 
 
 Henri/. But, sir, did not the Assembly vir- 
 tually side with him, by passing their act for 
 the support of a permanent ministry? 
 
 Uncle. Not at all. This act by no means 
 favoured the Episcopal church exclusively. 
 This was an error into which many others be- 
 sides the Governor fell. And to refute this 
 opinion of exclusive right being granted to one 
 church, which, indeed, prevailed pretty general- 
 ly at first among the people, a petition upon the 
 subject was sent from five of the church-wardens
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 37 
 
 and vestrymen of the citj^ to the Assembly, 
 which m^-t in April, 1695, praying to have the 
 decision of the Assembly on the point in dis- 
 pute, which was finally given in the following 
 words, which John may read; by which we 
 shall see, as I tolJ you before, that the Assem- 
 blymen, unlike their Governor, were not in- 
 fluenced by sectarianism. 
 
 Jokn. " Ordered, that the vestrymen have 
 power to call a dissenting ProtestaiU minister ; 
 and that he is to be paid and maintained as the 
 law directs."' But Governor Fletcher's zeal 
 was the means of some good, was it not, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Yts, there you are right, John. We 
 will not withhold from him his due on this 
 point. His exertions occasioned the buildmg 
 of the^rs^ Episcopal church, in the city of New- 
 York. This, you will doubtless remember, 
 was what we now call the Trinity Church, 
 built in 160G, on the same site which it now 
 occupies, at the head of VV'all-strcct, in Broad- 
 way ; and whoso lofty spire has stood for so 
 many years, towering to the skies. But its par- 
 ticular history we will consider hereafter.
 
 38 THE CHURCHES 
 
 CHAPTER FOURTH. 
 
 INCIDENTAL HISTORY CONTINUED. 
 
 John. But the people were not long harassed 
 by tlie presence of their tyrannical governor, I 
 hope, sir. 
 
 Uncle. No. Governor Fletcher remained, 
 to oppress them, only two or three years after 
 his violent attack upon their religious liberties. 
 In 1695, they had the pleasure of seeing him 
 bid a final adieu to the post of honour which 
 he had held in the colony, and of welcoming in 
 his stead, Richard, earl of Bellamont, who ar- 
 rived in 1697. '] he name of this governor I 
 mention to you, only on account of a memora- 
 ble law passed by the Assembly during his ad- 
 mii'iistration ; and one at which you would 
 doubtless be unable to conceal your unmingled 
 astonishment, were you to remain ignorant of 
 the circumstances which led to its passage. It 
 Avas a law with no less an import than the hang- 
 ing of everypopish priest that came voluntarily 
 into the colony. I wish you to note the date of 
 its passage, which was the year 1700. 
 
 Henry. We will remember it, sir, it was just 
 one hundred and thirty-eight years ago, I think. 
 But it is quite startling to me, who never dream- 
 ed of such a law before.
 
 O F N E W - Y O R K . 39 
 
 Uncle. Such a law, made by the highest au- 
 thority of the land, would be astounding indeed 
 to us, who live in a day when the turrets and 
 spires of Roman Catholic chapels and cathe- 
 drals are seen on every side, mingled with 
 those of Protestant churches of every denomi- 
 nation ; and who are daily accustomed to see 
 Papist and Protestant, irrespectively of creed, 
 associated in the common business and walks 
 of life, and living happily together, under the 
 same flag, as the ensign of their political union. 
 But all this wonder is removed when we carry 
 back our researches to the time of its enact- 
 ment, and examine the circumstances of the 
 colony, which called for such, apparently so 
 harsh, a legislation. You must picture to your- 
 selves, boys, the existence, in this then western 
 wilderness.of two great rival powers, the French 
 and the English, ever, and violently, contend- 
 ing for the supremacy. I'lic former possessing 
 a strong foothold in the north, or the Canadas, 
 and the latter planting her colonies all over the 
 more southern portions of the country, now 
 known as the New England and Middle states. 
 You must also keep in your memory, the e.vist- 
 ence of large and powerful tribes of tractable, 
 yet ferocious Indians, on the borders of these 
 provinces, who were e.xtrem'dy susceptible oi 
 European influence to bias them one way or 
 the other ; and in whose power lay the (jucs- 
 tion of the existence and perpetuity of those set-
 
 40 
 
 THE CHURCHES 
 
 tlomcnts that had gone out as pioneers into the 
 ■wilderness — which could be exterminated at a 
 blow by those red sons of the forest — savages 
 wlio could prove such good and faithful aUics, 
 but such terrible and insatiable enemies. — You 
 must then cast your glance up to the northern 
 portions of the province of New- York, and the 
 borders of Canada, and see those hordes of 
 popish priests, and Jesuitical emissaries of the 
 pope, sent by the French, wending their way 
 through the trackless forest to the wigwams of 
 the unsuspecting Indians, and laden with a sup- 
 ply of " fire-water" for their introductory epis- 
 tle, and with an abundance of arms and ammu- 
 nition, as vouchers of their sincerity, engaging 
 them to carry their hostile expeditions south, 
 and to take up the tomahawk and scalping 
 knife against the English settlers wherever 
 they could be found unprotected ; encouraging 
 them to break up English settlements, sparing 
 neither age nor sex among their victims, but 
 burning their houses with fire, and involv- 
 ing them in one general overwhelming ruin. 
 All tliis you must consider, and the wonder 
 vanishes. Is it not so 1 
 
 Henry. It is, uncle. But then j^ou would 
 have us consider this as a political, rather than 
 a religious movement, on the part of Lord Bella- 
 rnont and the Assembly? 
 
 Uncle. Yes, I would so ; considering it mere- 
 ly in the light of a legislative act. But it is not
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 
 
 41 
 
 at all likely that the Governor and the Assem- 
 bly, in legislating against the priests as their 
 political enemies and treacherous fjes, lost sight 
 of the hidiousness of that system, as a religion, 
 which could foster such merciless agents of 
 barbarity, and smile upon such horrid and cold- 
 blooded cruelties. Indeed, as you will see by 
 referring to the history of your state, it was 
 many long years after this before the members 
 of the Assembly could bring themselves to relax 
 their rigour against the disciples of the pope, 
 and blot from their memories those dreadful 
 scenes that had been acted on our northern bor- 
 ders, under tlieir supervision. 
 
 John. We will admit this act of the Assem- 
 bly of 1700 to a prominent place in our eccle- 
 sia.stical record, sir, nolsvith-standing you have 
 pronounced it to have been mainly a political 
 movement. And what else, sir, shall we re- 
 cord of Lord iiellainont's government? 
 
 Uncle. I have nothing more that would espe- 
 cially interest you, to say concerning him; but 
 I will mention to you, and wish you to ren)em- 
 ber, the name of his successor, Lord Corn bury. 
 Tlie name of thi-s man, wc will have frequent 
 occasion to use in speaking of the origin and 
 establishment of Presbyterianism in this city, as 
 he formed quite a conspicuous figure in the 
 hi.story of that church. Tlicrr-fore I wduM havo 
 vou remember al.'^o the dale of his doiiiiMion in 
 the province, which was from 1702 to 1708.
 
 42 T H E C H U R C H E 8 
 
 Henry. We have it, sir. But, was he a 
 great friend to the Presbyterians ? 
 
 Vacle. Oh, no. He was a great and bitter 
 enemy. And an avowed and open enemy not 
 only to this, but to every other denomination in 
 the colony, the Episcopalian excepted. And to 
 this hitter also, as to its real interest and final 
 prosperity, the event proved him to be, instead 
 of a friend, a virtual and effective enemy. For 
 such was his bigotry as a sectarist, and his anti- 
 christian severity, and, oftentimes, excessive 
 cruelty, which he exhibited towards those of 
 other denominations, that the church which he 
 cherished finally came to be regarded as an 
 enemy to the liberties of the people; which 
 stain required the total reorganization of the 
 church, after ihe revolution, to wipe away. 
 
 Jolm. What were some of his cruelties, sir? 
 
 Uncle. There is a long list of them, I assure 
 you, as you will find when we come to discuss 
 the subject of his conduct towards the Presby- 
 terians ; but at present I will mention only a 
 few, as showing you many of the difficulties 
 Avhich rose upas impediments in the pathway of 
 our forefathers, and with which they had to 
 struggle long and earnestly in securing to them- 
 selves, and to their children after them, the 
 blessed privileges of Christian liberty and reli- 
 gious toleration. The Presbyterians were not 
 alone the subjects of Lord Cornbury's violent 
 and bitter disposition. Against all non-Episco-
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 43 
 
 palians, who were called by the general, but 
 inappropriate, name of dissenters, were the 
 shafts of his unchristianlike severity directed. 
 All denominations, therefore, were alike fearful 
 of his relii^nous rage, and experienced, more or 
 less, the efi'ects of his animosity. He even car- 
 ried his highhanded measures so fJir, as to fre- 
 quently dispute the right of the Dutch to call 
 and settle ministers over their own churches; 
 and this directly in the face of the privileges 
 granted to them by the articles of the surrender. 
 And he recji^»ired also, in all cases, a license 
 from himself before a schoolmaster could, be pro- 
 cured by the people ! 
 
 Henry. Is it possible ! I can scarcely believe 
 these things to have taken place in New- York, 
 uncle. But what a happy circumstance it was, 
 that good old (Governor Stuyvesarit procured 
 those stipulations for the " liberty of their con- 
 scirnces in divine worship and church disci- 
 pline," when he surrendered the city to the 
 glish. 
 
 Uncle. It was inderd a happy, and what somo 
 would call a fortunate circumstance. But let us 
 consider it nut only thus, but a.s a highly provi- 
 dential event, that he was enabled, by the condi- 
 tion in which thf Encrlish ff)iui(l him, to rofpiirc 
 of his victor the a i^'ri't-ment to articles so liivour- 
 ablo lo himself and subjects. And for these, the 
 Dutch inhabitanl.s of New- York had rra.wu lo 
 bless the name of their valorous governor to 
 4
 
 44 T 11 K C H II R C H E S 
 
 their latest day. That article especially, relating 
 to their religious liberties, part of which yon 
 quoted, Henry, was a "magna charta" to them, 
 to which they looked, at all times, as the source 
 and defence of their liberties. This sheltered 
 them from the in)position of a tyrannical eccle- 
 siastical establishment, and was the motto of the 
 standard around which they rallied for protec- 
 tion. I'hc virtue of these capitulatory articles 
 the monarchs of England fully understood, and 
 they, therefore, never assumed such incon- 
 sistency of character and tyranny in action, as, 
 against justice, to force the practice of the forms 
 and modes of the English Church upon the 
 inhabitants of the province of New-York. But 
 you may rest assured, that to this intent, 
 they did as much as they could, consist- 
 ently with their relations to the colonists. 
 They sent out clergymen of the English 
 Church, to officiate wherever they could, among 
 the people ; gave licenses for teaching in the 
 colony, to members of the English Church, and 
 gave great inducement to the several governors 
 to be zealous in the work of making proselytes. 
 This was th(;ir common practice. But to Lord 
 Cornbury, special instructions were given, re- 
 quiring him to " give all countenance and en- 
 couragement to the exercise of the ecclesiastical 
 jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, as far as 
 conveniently might be, in the province: — that 
 no schoolmaster be henceforward permitted to
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 45 
 
 come from this kingdom, and to keep school ia 
 that our said province, without the h'ccnse of the 
 said Lord Bishop of London, &.c." 
 
 John. The Bishop of London, uncle ? What 
 had he to do with the colonies ? 
 
 Uncle. Well asked, John. It would have 
 heen better had you been here a hundred and 
 thirty years ago to ask Lord Cornbury that 
 question. He would have confined you in 
 prison, or set you as a gazing stock in the pil- 
 lory, it is likely; but that would not have vililied. 
 your sagacity. Lord Cornbury probably never 
 had that question whispered in his ear. — But 
 had he stopped a moment himself to consider it, 
 there were doubtless those in the colony, at that 
 day, who could have told him, that, though the 
 Bishop of London is "My Lord"' in England, 
 and enjoys princr-ly power, yet the bounds of his 
 jurisdiction, rightfully and constitutionally end 
 with those of South Britain. But to answer 
 your question more directly; the Bishop of 
 London appears to have had much to do with 
 the province. He considered the colony as a 
 part of his diocese ; and held a supervisory caro 
 over all the Episcopal clergymen that came into 
 it; whom ho considered as nothing more than 
 missionaries, subject to his control. 
 
 Henry. Missionarios, sir, as long ago as that? 
 
 Uncle. Oh yes, and much to their praise, a 
 Missionary .Voct*;///, too. At the time of which wo 
 are speaking, there was a "society for the propa-
 
 46 T H E C II U R C H E S 
 
 gation of the gospel in foreign parts" existing 
 in England, engaged continually in sending 
 out missionaries among the Indians, and all 
 through the province; some of whom were 
 eminent for their piety, and devotion to the wel- 
 fare of the Indians : among whom Mr. Barclay, 
 so long a missionary to the Mohawks, and after- 
 wards rector of Trinity Church, shines con- 
 spicuously. In 173G, this society had sixteen 
 missionaries in the province of New-York ; and 
 in 1750, they had fifty-nine missionaries settled 
 as rectors or otherwise, scattered throughout 
 the different colonies. It was undoubtedly 
 proper that these missionaries should have been 
 somewhat under his direction and care, and sub- 
 ject, in some degree, to his control ; but other- 
 wise his powers as a Diocesan could not, justly, 
 have extended to the province. But Justice was 
 what his devoted servant. Lord Cornbury, never 
 seems to have devoted a thought to; or if it 
 ever appeared in his actions, it came in as an 
 exception, while wjusiice was the rule. His 
 conduct not only set the religious community 
 against him, but greatly increased the number 
 of his political enemies. So much did the 
 knowledge of his malign disposition towards 
 the "dissenters" awaken the jealousy of the 
 people, in regard to his civil government, that 
 his every act underwent the closest scrutiny. 
 And it being impossible for him to make the 
 smallest digression unnoticed, his lordship daily
 
 OF XEW-YORK. 47 
 
 lost favour in the eyes of the people. They 
 appealed to the Assembly; and the Assembly 
 were all against the governor. Petitions from 
 all quarters were sent to England for his 
 removal, and finallj' this oppressive, hard-heart- 
 ed gfovernor, was deposed. 
 
 John. I hope, sir, that the people had a better 
 governor in his successor. 
 
 Uncle. Here your hope may be realized, 
 John. We Avill have no more such bigoted 
 governors to deal with, in our conversations on 
 this part of the history. Almost all his succes- 
 sors were mild and worthy men ; but as we 
 shall have occasion to speak of them again, in 
 connection with the early history of several of 
 the churches in the city, we will pass them over 
 for the present, and mention only one or two. 
 One of these is Governor Cosby, who was here 
 in 1733: unlike Lord Cornbury, he appears to 
 have been lenient in his treatment of the non- 
 Episcopalians. It appears that he had granted 
 a charter of incorporation to a church in Sche- 
 nectady, by which their privileges were very 
 matf'rially increasr d. Upon the occasion of 
 their presf nting him thanks for the charter, he, 
 in return, addressed them in these words, which 
 we may use as somewhat of a test of his spirit, 
 and wliich you, John, may read from this New 
 York Gazette, of 1734. 
 
 John. "Gentlemen; I shall always think 
 myself happy when I have an opportunity to 
 4*
 
 48 THECHURCHES 
 
 forward so (^ood a work as encouraging' of 
 pit'ly and religion in this province; and 1 shall 
 upon all occasions, be ready to promote what- 
 soever may tend to the good of His Majesty's 
 subjects under my government."' 
 
 Uncle. The other one I wish to mention is 
 Governor Clarke; who was in the province, 
 you will recollect, during the time of the famous 
 " Negro Plot," of which, as it forms quite a 
 chapter in our history, I will converse with 
 you more fully hereafter. It is for another 
 reason that 1 mention him now. In looking 
 over the N. Y. Gazette of 1736, the only public 
 paper then printed in the city, you will find 
 Governor Clarke's proclamation, specifying in- 
 structions received by him from England in re- 
 gard to certain forms of prayer for the royal 
 family, in which he was required to have the 
 same "published in the several parish churches, 
 and other places of divine worship within the 
 said province." This might, at iirst sight, ap- 
 pear like a reviving of the old spirit of intole- 
 rance, so conspicuous under Fletcher's and 
 Cornbury's administrations. But we must, I 
 think, put a milder construction upon it, and 
 view it in the light rather of a state than a 
 chv.rch movement. The attempt to settle an 
 ecclesiastical establishment in the colony had 
 failed as often as tried ; and the Dutch churches 
 were now secure in the enjoyment of their 
 chillers of incorporation. This, too, was vir-
 
 O F N E w - y O R K . 49 
 
 tually acknowledged in the proclamation. 
 Therefore I would rather have you consider the 
 Q,ueen Regent as looking upon the colonists as 
 subjects merely, and she their sovereign, 
 issuing this edict as she would any other 
 for the welfare of the royal family; as applica- 
 ble to all, indiscriminately, without any regard 
 to sect or creed. A more rigid construction of 
 such an edict on this subject, would encloud us 
 with inconsistencies and confusion. 
 
 This will end our conversation, boys, for to 
 day. When we meet again, we will talk over, 
 more leisurely, the habits, customs, and morals 
 of our city predecessors. 
 
 CHAPTER FIFTH. 
 
 THE MORALS OF OUR CITY PREDECESSORS. 
 
 John. Well, uncle, I belie ve you promised 
 us, when wc met again, something concerning 
 the cu.stoms, morals, and especially the religious 
 character of the old inhabitants of the city and 
 province. Did you not, sir? 
 
 UnrAe. Yes I did no. 1 have not forgotten 
 my promisf, and I think it will be :in intrrest- 
 ing exercise for us, to discuss somewhat at large,
 
 50 THE CHURCHES 
 
 the morals of the citizens generally, before 
 we proceed to the particular history of the 
 churches. This, though it may sometimes 
 require a slight exercise of our patience, 
 will yet richly repay us for all our atten- 
 tion; as it is of the first importance that 
 we should form some accurate notions of 
 the state of morals, and religious feelings, 
 among those whose secular history, as being 
 the founders and supporters of our goodly city, 
 is so highly interesting to us. We wish to 
 know what sense to apply to the term, when we 
 hear them spoken of as our " Christian ances- 
 tors,'" or " our pious forefathers." These points, 
 you will find have been slightly touched by 
 some of the historians of the state. But what I 
 wish to discuss with you now, we will glean 
 directlyfromsuch old manuscriptsand preserved 
 newspapers of the day, as we can find ; Avhich 
 are the purest sources of such information, and 
 from whose subject-matter, unshackled by the 
 judgments cf others, we can draw our own in- 
 ferences, and make our own final conclusions. 
 Here, as you see, is the regular file of a news- 
 paper, dating back as far as the year 1730; 
 which, as it is still printed, has been published 
 in this city, under the name of the " New- York 
 Gazette," for more than a hundred years. In 
 this, therefore, we will search for our informa- 
 tion. 
 
 Henry. But was it a religious newspaper, sir?
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 51 
 
 Uncle. No ; not as we understand that term ; 
 that is, exclusively religious ; for, then, the peo- 
 ple knew of no such distinction between the pa- 
 pers. It was merely a public print for the cir- 
 culation of foreign and domestic news in the pro- 
 vince; but, I am happy to say, it generally bore 
 a decidedly religious character. For, then, al- 
 though there was for a long while but this one 
 paper in the province, and it published only 
 weekly, yet there never was such a rage for 
 commercial and political news as to require the 
 exclusion of religious topics from its columns, 
 to which a large part of the paper was frequent- 
 ly devoted. This might have been owing in 
 some degree, though by no means in all, to the 
 smaliness of the place, and the extremely dimin- 
 tuivc commercial operations of the colonists, 
 compared with those of the present day. 
 
 John. The shipping business from this port 
 was not very extensive then, I presume. 
 
 Uncle. You are perfectly safe in such a sup- 
 position, John : as you will easily perceive by 
 noticing this paper of 5 731, which has in it but 
 one advertisement of a packet vessel, and that a 
 mere sloop, bound for Boston. Little more than 
 a hundred years ago, the arrival of a sloop or 
 a periauger from the eastward, or from Albany, 
 was an event that never failed to excite due no- 
 tice from the people; while the appearance of 
 a mprclmnt ship, or a man of wnr, ^l;ii)(ling up 
 the bay, was quite an era in the day-hi.'ilory of
 
 52 T H E C H U R C H E S 
 
 the metropolis. Where now you can see well- 
 built wharves, surrounded by an almost endless 
 forest of ship-masts, there was then little else 
 than an irregular, winding shore, with here and 
 there, perhaps, made fast to a stake or drawn up 
 high on the sand, a small fishing-smack, or a 
 tottling shallop. The day of steamboats and 
 railroads had not yet arrived. The period of 
 such improvements in every department of the 
 arts and sciences as we now see and enjoy, was 
 to them far away in the unknown future. Every 
 thing moved at a slower rate than at present. 
 What we are accustomed to call a "trip" to 
 Albany, and perform in a few hours, they used 
 to denominate a " voyage" which frequently 
 took them almost as many days. In short, the 
 change which the lapse of time has wrought, is 
 conspicuous in every thing about our growing 
 city ; except in the winds and the tides, which 
 now blow upon it with the same velocity, and 
 wash the shores of our island with the same re- 
 gularity as before. But to return from our 
 digression. If our researches tend to establish 
 the religious character of the public papers, we 
 shall advance not a little in our knowledge of 
 the religious character of the people who sus- 
 tained them. This mode of inference we will 
 consider as a safe one, until we see the purse of 
 an oppressive government sustaining that from 
 which the people have withdrawn their support. 
 Before such a crisis, this test of the public
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 
 
 morals is a good one. And when we find, in the 
 public business papers ofthe day, whole columns 
 devoted to religious subjects, essays on doctrinal 
 points in theology, exhortations to practical 
 piety or eulogiums on the Christian scheme; 
 when we see conspicuous notices of the preach- 
 ing enjoyed on the Lord's day in the churches, 
 comments on the sermon, and frequent quota- 
 tions of the texts in full; reflections upon the 
 state of the public affairs in the province, apply- 
 ing the words of inspiration suitable to the 
 occasions, for the instruction, reproof and ad- 
 monition of the people; frequent acknowledge- 
 ments of dependence upon God, as the Supreme 
 Ruler of the universe, for every blessing, civil, 
 religious and social ; we may justly conclude 
 that such were acceptable to the readers, and 
 found favour with the community at large. 
 These happy features which our public prints 
 display so little of in these days of greater 
 rcfinevienl, were quite prominent then, when 
 our forefathers w(>re not too wise to read from 
 their weekly paper, as wfl! as from the ever- 
 lasting book of nature continually spread open 
 before them, and acknowledge too, that " Thou 
 God rulest." If any raging fire which threat- 
 ened destruction to life or property, was sud- 
 denly arrested in its desolating course by the 
 exertions of the surrounding inhabitants, it was 
 publicly attributed to the " bh-ssing," "mercy," 
 or " providence" of God attending their labours.
 
 54 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Were any wastini^ pestilence or other threaten- 
 ing evils, by any means whatever averted from 
 the city, or from families; or a drowning man 
 rescued by the timely assistance of his neigh- 
 bours; the public papers would record, that 
 "By a good Providence," or "under God," 
 such and such means were successful.-^ Or, 
 were the colonists enlisted in a war with their 
 insatiable enemies on the north, the French and 
 the Indians, and their valour suddenly crowned 
 their arms with success ; in the people's paper 
 you would read, " The great Director of human 
 affairs, and Preserver of mankind," hath smiled 
 upon our struggle, and given us a victory over 
 our barbarous iocs. Such as these are what I 
 mean when I speak of the evidences of the reli- 
 gious character of the public papers. Nor are 
 they few or scarce. You will find them scat- 
 tered throughout almost every number of these 
 early prints ; affording us good consolation on 
 the question of the state of religious feelings in 
 the community then. 
 
 Henry. But, sir, the subjects might have 
 gotten this custom from their king, who always 
 in such state proclaimed himself to be, " By 
 the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, 
 France, and Ireland," &c. 
 
 Uncle. True, this might ha\-e been the case. 
 But if so, w^e have full reason to believe that 
 they so far improved upon the example, as to 
 drop the form upon occasions when their feel-
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 55 
 
 ing^s were not an echo to the spirit of the words. 
 But let the precedent have been what it might, 
 the simple fact is all that I would press upon 
 your attention. The same happy feature also 
 we find in the character of the public documents 
 of most of the governors, such as their messages 
 to the assembly, proclamations to the people, 
 &c., in which they acknowledge, in form and 
 appearance at least, the hand of an overruling 
 Providence, and the manifold blessings conse- 
 quent upon it as purchased for us through the 
 merits of Jesus (/hrist, the Saviour, even in rela- 
 tion to events of minor national importance. 
 Their weekly prims, for "dailies" belong to a 
 much later (late, teem with evidences of the 
 orthodoxy of the people in the faith and practice 
 of the reformed l^rotestant churches. 
 
 These, as if in obedience to the will of the peo- 
 ple, were considered alwuys open as a medium 
 ibr the circulation of religious as well as com- 
 mercial and political news. The state of the 
 churclns furm a source of much observation, 
 and you will lind frefjuent notices concerning 
 them. 
 
 John. Notices of the clergymen, too, I sup- 
 
 p03P. 
 
 Uncle. Yes, and of their preaching. Espe- 
 cially the leaders of any particular sect, or gen- 
 eral reformers in rrligion, were mentioned. 
 And of these latter, Whitfifld, in particular, was 
 the sulject of much remark. Uf him we find
 
 56 THE CHURCHES 
 
 ii 
 
 frequent and favourable notices in the New- 
 York j)apcrs. 
 
 Henry. Oh, sir, ho was a man of such celeb- 
 rity, that it was impossible for him to be passed 
 over in forgetfulncss. His fame was spread 
 abroad throughout all the colonics, and end- 
 less crowds of listeners wherever he went, 
 well attested the fact of his popularity; did 
 they not, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Yes, to a great degree your remarks 
 are true: and 1 am sorry to cast the least shade 
 upon the brightness of your retrospect. But 
 necessity would have you remember, that the 
 lapse of time has not worn away the truth of 
 the assertion, " a prophet is not without 
 honour, save in his own country, and among 
 his own kin" — which is as true and applicable 
 to the present as to the day of our Saviour's 
 utterance of it. 
 
 When a prophet is in our midst, Ave are 
 apt to disparage his abilities, and to under- 
 rate his claims upon our attention and obedience, 
 and to judge him with harsh judgment, and to 
 "stone him to death;" but when he is gone, 
 and the clods of the valley cover him, and two 
 or three generations intervene, the character of 
 his labours begin to assmne its proper place in 
 the affections of his successors; and his popu- 
 larity too, if I may so speak, increases, and 
 they begin to appreciate the worth of such a
 
 F N E W - Y O R K . 0/ 
 
 man, and to "build the tomb of the pvopliet." 
 So it was in some measure with the great Whit- 
 field. You have heard so much of his great- 
 ness and popularity, that no wonder you were 
 ignorant of the fact that for a long time he ap- 
 peared as one man struggling against a mighty 
 phalanx of enemies. He was surrounded with 
 enemies, and of these there were not a Jho who 
 would have wrested from him, even the last re- 
 fuge of an unfortunate man, his honesty. 
 
 Henry. George Whitfield liad such bitter 
 enemies! I hope not in New York, sir. 
 
 Uacle. It was in reference to this point alone, 
 that I mention his name to you at all ; only as 
 he is connected with the ecclesiastical hii^try of 
 the city. Besides the ordinary modes, we have 
 one other sure way of judging concerning his 
 reception hero; that is, by the tone of the pub- 
 lic papers of the day. And we will find our 
 examination on this point to be encouraging, 
 and stron'jlv in favour of your expressed hope, 
 Henry. We know that his enemies brought 
 heavy accusations against him, hut we know 
 also that they wep'; unjust, malicious, and alto- 
 gether unfounded in truth. Many fiilse reports, 
 and some printed articles, highly injurious to 
 his charactrr, had been widely circuhiled in the 
 diflTrrent parts of the country, and did him n\uc]i 
 mischief But of the public opinion concern- 
 ing Mr. Whitfield, in New-York, I ihinlc wo 
 can arrive at more satisfactory conclusions.
 
 58 THE CHURCHES 
 
 And with this view I have copied from the 
 New-York Post Boy (which was the same as 
 the New-York Gazette) of April, 174G, which 
 had quite an extensive circulation in the sur- 
 rounding country, the following extract ; which 
 undoubtedly did much to remove lingering pre- 
 judices among the people, and thus to help on 
 that great cause of righteousness, for the ad- 
 vancement of which all Whitfield's toils and 
 labours were endured, and all his strength and 
 life spent. You may read it, John. 
 
 John. " Mr. Whit(ield"s excellent parts, fine 
 elocution, and masterly address; his admirable 
 talent of opening the Scriptures, and enforcing 
 the most Aveighty subjects upon the conscience ; 
 his polite and serious behaviour ; his unaflccted 
 and superior piety ; his prudence, humility, and 
 catholic spirit, are things which must silence 
 and disarm prejudice itself By these qualifi- 
 cations of the orator, the divine, and the Chris- 
 tian, he has not only fixed himself deeper in the 
 affections of his former friends, but greatly in- 
 creased the number wherever he has preached; 
 and made his way into the hearts of several 
 who, till this visit, had said all the severe things 
 against him that enmity itself seemed capable of." 
 
 Uncle. This paper noticed also, from one to 
 another, the place of his preaching — his arrival 
 in the city — his departure from it, destination, 
 &c. 
 
 John. But I should like very much to know,
 
 O F N E W - Y O R K . 59 
 
 sir, whereabouts in this city, the groat Wliit- 
 field used to preach. I think I should gaze 
 with interest upon the spot, after what I have 
 heard. I suppose he must sometimes have re- 
 sorted to the streets and fields? 
 
 Uncle. He did in many instances. We 
 find very frequent mention made of his preach- 
 ing in the open fields in the neighbouring 
 country around. The old City Exchange, 
 which stood at the foot of Broad-street, near 
 Water-street, and which was built on large 
 arches, was a favourite place for itinerant preach- 
 ers. Here Whitfield might probably at times 
 have held forth. But as to other places, we 
 have more certain knowledge thnn probabilities. 
 During his first visit to New-York, say from 
 1745 to 1^60, he generally preached in the 
 Presbyterian Church in Wall-street, which was 
 then the only Presbyterian Church in the city. 
 And afterwards, a kw years before his death, 
 he was heard to preach in the Brick Church, 
 in Beekman-street ; which wa?, then, familiarly 
 called the "Brick Meeting," and in common 
 parlance, said to be " in the fields;" so little was 
 the city e.vtended in 17(J7. 
 
 Ueririj. I shill gaze upon the Brick Church, 
 with more pleasure and reverence than for- 
 merly, when I recoUfct that within those 
 walls the great Whitfield preached. But you 
 spoke of his death, sir. Will you tell us when 
 that event happened?
 
 60 T 11 K C H U R c n E s 
 
 Uncle. I think it was in tho year 1770. He 
 died and was buried at Newburyport, Mass. 
 The particulars of this event you can read in 
 his memoirs. I have an anecdote concerning' 
 this great and good man to tell you, which 
 took its rise in this city; but which I will re- 
 serve until we meet again. 
 
 CHAPTER SIXTH. 
 
 MORALS OF OUR CITY PREDECESSORS CON- 
 TINUED. 
 
 Henry. Now, sir, we are ready for the pro- 
 mised anecdote. 
 
 Uncle. Well, you shall have it. And I relate 
 the circumstance to you as nothing new or 
 strange, nor as untold before, but as deriving 
 its special interest to us, merely from the fact 
 of its having taken place in this city. 
 
 It was on .the occasion of his preaching 
 before the seamen of tho city; and the in- 
 troduction of the following bold apostrophe into 
 his sermon, was the circumstance I alluded to: — 
 "Well, my boys, we have a cloudless sky, and 
 are making fine headway over a smooth sea,
 
 O F N E W - Y R K . 61 
 
 before a light breeze, and we shall soon lose 
 sight of land. But what means this sudden 
 lowering of the heavens, and that dark cloud 
 arising from beneath the western horizon? 
 Hark! Don'tyou hcarthedistant thunder? Don't 
 you see those flashes of lightning? There is a 
 storm gathering ! Every man to his duty ! 
 How the waves rise and dash against the ship ! 
 The air is dark ! The tempest rages ! Our masts 
 are gone ! What next ?" The unsuspecting tars, 
 reminded of former perils on the deep, as if 
 struck by the power of magic, arose, and with 
 united voices exclaimed, " Take to the long- 
 boat !" 
 
 How such an opportunity of impressing di- 
 vine truth upon the mind of his hearers was in 
 this case improved by him, is not for me to say ; 
 but enough so, undoubtedly, to show such oppor- 
 tunities were sufficiently valued by him who 
 had sufficient abilities to produce them. Mr. 
 Whitfield's preaching was very effectual in 
 this city, as well as elsewhere, in the con- 
 version of multitudes to the cause of Christ, 
 the Redeemer. So blessed were his labours 
 here, that it was found necessary immediately 
 to enlarge the Presbyterian Church in Wall- 
 street, by the erection of galleries in it ; and a 
 year or two after, they were again obliged to 
 enlarge it nearly^ one third, to accommodate the 
 staled worshippers. 
 
 Jokn. But were the governors favourably 
 disposed towards Mr. Whitfield, sir?
 
 62 T II F. C H U R C H E S 
 
 JJiich. To this we will not seek a direct and 
 positive answer. But there is little hazard in 
 supposing that they gave him no very great en- 
 couragrmtnt; although, being a regular priest 
 in the established Church of England, they 
 could not well restrain him, as they might pos- 
 sibly have done, or attempted to do so, had he 
 appeared here without the canonical robes. 
 We find them generally to have been strictly 
 sectarian, and sometimes bigoted in their 
 attachment to the Church of England; where- 
 in, you know, Whitfield differed very ma- 
 terially from them. He was no sectarist; 
 he knew no church but Christ's ; no standard 
 of doctrine but the Bible ; no banner but of the 
 cross. And when he preached to the listening 
 multitudes that followed him in New York city, 
 and elsewhere, he preached to them, not as an 
 Episcopalian, but as a Christian merely, carry- 
 ing the messages of his great Master with faith- 
 fulness to his guilty fellow-mortals, without re- 
 gard to name or sect. This feature in his preach- 
 ing was well illustrated on one occasion, by 
 himself, which has come down to us as a matter 
 of history. Do you remember the anecdote I 
 refer to, Henry? 
 
 John. I should like very much to hear it, sir. 
 
 Henry. 1 think it was this. When Mr. 
 Whitfield was one day preaching in Market- 
 street, Philadelphia, from the balcony of the 
 Court-house, he cried out, "Father Abraham,
 
 OF N E W-YORK. UO 
 
 who have you in heaven? any Episcopalians?'' 
 "No!" "any Presbyterians? any Baptists?" 
 " No !" " Have you any Methodists, Seceders, 
 or Independents there?'' "No! No!" "Why, 
 who have you there ?"' " We don't know those 
 names here, All that are here are Christians — 
 beUevers in Christ — men who have overcome 
 by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of his 
 testimony." " O, is this the case ? then God 
 help me. God help us all to forgft party 
 names, and to become Christians, indeed and in 
 truth."' 
 
 Uncle, it would be well for the world, were 
 all professinfr Christians, in this respect, his dis- 
 ciples. And it mi2:ht have been better for our 
 city, perhaps, had tbe q-overnors g-enerally been 
 more friendly to ail evangelical sects, without 
 distinction. But this is leading us away ; our 
 business is with ficts, and not with surmises ol' 
 what might, or would have been tlie state of the 
 churches here, had the circumstances been dif- 
 ferent. What we should do, is, to mark with 
 attention th<! course pursur-d by our predeces- 
 sors, and iti imitating them, avoid only their 
 faults. 
 
 John. Hut we .slioiild be glad to sec that the 
 governors generally seemed to take so great an 
 interest in the success) and prosperity of tho 
 "English Church," and, through its instru- 
 mentality, tint .success of religion and nif)rality 
 in iho city and the province.
 
 64 T H E C H U R C II E S 
 
 Uncle. We should. And they gave the 
 best evidence of their interest in the matter, and 
 the host encouragement to the people ibr erect- 
 ing churches that tlicy could give; viz. their 
 personal attendance upon occasions of the dedi- 
 cation of churches to the service of the triune 
 God. We find fiequent notices of the govern- 
 ors' attendance, with their families, upon such 
 occasions. This was customarily practiced by 
 them. But their care, however, was not always 
 exclusively confined to the Episcopal Church. 
 Governor Montgomerie, with some others, is 
 an instance to the contrary. The churches, 
 then, had also a practice of greeting, in their 
 character as distinct bodies, the newly arrived 
 governors, when they first appeared here; 
 which gradually passed into a regular custom, 
 We see notices of it, more or less, Aowti from 
 the time of Lieutenant-Governor De Lancy, in 
 1758. The several churches, represented by 
 their clergymen, elders, and deacons, would 
 wait upon the governor in due form, to pay 
 their respects, and to wish him peace and pros- 
 perity, and to invoke the blessings of heaven 
 upon his person and government. This they 
 gave as their best boon, and offijred as the best 
 evidence of their loyalty as subjects, and their 
 benevolence as Christians. 
 
 Henry. I suppose liiat there were no Iheolres 
 in the city, in those days, sir; when the public 
 papers bore such marks of morality?
 
 F N E W - Y R K . 65 
 
 Uncle. No! Your surmise is correct. A 
 theatre was an almost unheard of thing in this 
 city, in the middle of the last century. The first 
 notice that I have found in the public prints, of 
 such an institution, was in a paper of the year 
 175'1 ; in which a "new theatre, in Nassau- 
 street," was advertised, and where two actors, 
 only, appeared on the stage. As no other notice 
 appears for some time, it was probablj' only 
 once in a long while ; or, what was more pro- 
 bably the case, the preparations were merely 
 temporary. It was not till towards the begin- 
 ning of the revolutionary war, that there came 
 to be a regularly established theatre in the city. 
 — Then we have a record of two, called the 
 "old,"' and the "new ;" one in John-street, near 
 Broadway; and the other in Beekman-slreet, 
 then known as Chapel-street, on account of " St. 
 George's Chapel," built there in 1755. 
 
 John. Only two! and those small ones, I 
 presume, sir. But now, what a list of them we 
 have. There is 
 
 Henry. Pray do not enumerate them, John. 
 It is enough to know the nuvibcr of these 
 schools of vice, and moral corruption, in our 
 city. Wc can only mourn over the change 
 in the public taste, with rogard to these 
 matters. Uncle looked in vain for the re- 
 petition of a scanty notice of a thfatre play, 
 in a public business paper, published in 
 ihia city seventy-four years ago ; and now
 
 6G THE CHURCHES 
 
 our most widely circulated daily papers, arc 
 filled with regular notices ol' these institutions, 
 which are so numerous. 
 
 Uncle. Your abhorrence of theatres is just. — 
 They have been cried up as "schools of morals ;" 
 but that cry has long since ceased to breathe in 
 the atmosphere of truth and sincerity. It has 
 now become an idle talc, to talk of the morality 
 of theatres. Instead of being schools of virtue 
 and morality, they are eminently those of vice 
 and irreligion; and a worse place of evening 
 resort for the young can hardly be imagined to 
 have an existence in our enlightened city. And 
 it is a happy feature in their history, that our 
 city predecessors, in years gone by, had domes- 
 tic ties and social joys enough, to bind them to 
 their happy homes, without seeking such vain 
 enjoyments. Their joyous fire-side was their 
 only stage, and in the cheerful circle themselves 
 were the actors ; and for haj)piness, they needed 
 not to resort to the crowded ball, or to the theatre, 
 overflowing with the giddy, pleasure-seeking 
 multitude. And we can confidently express the 
 opinion, that their religious scruples would have 
 prevented their attendance, had such institutions 
 then had an existence within the bounds of their 
 goodly city. 
 
 Joh7i. This is very satisfactory, sir. The 
 account you have given us, speaks well for the 
 moral and religious character of the former 
 inhabitants of the city.
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 67 
 
 Henry. But this is only the bright side of the 
 picture, 1 suppose. And there are, undoubtedly, 
 things, that could be told us, which would cast a 
 deep shade upon the brightness of the view. 
 
 Uncle. You are quite right, Henry. If 
 we find their excellencies in some things, wc can 
 also see their failings in others. But you ap- 
 pear to have already received some information 
 on this subject ; and I will thank you to men- 
 tion some things wherein you remember them 
 to have come short of the standard of the present 
 day ; or in other words, those which we now 
 look upon as blemishes m their moral character. 
 
 Henry. If I have been informed aright, they 
 had pi/blic lotteries, which were patronized by 
 all classes of society; intemperance was rife in 
 the land; and, lastly, the blot oi slavery sullies 
 their reputation. 
 
 Uncle. Yes, these charges cannot be denied; 
 they stand out prominently upon the pages of 
 their history. But if we iail to wipe away en- 
 tirely the stain, ht us endeavour, by a know- 
 ledge of the attendant circumstances, to mitigate 
 the rigour of our judgment. Public lotteries, 
 though now prohibited by the law of the state, 
 were much in vogue here eighty or a hundred 
 years ago; and not only here, but in all the 
 cities and provinces of his Britannic majesty, on 
 this side of the Atlantic; and in England too. 
 They were employed, by the government of 
 this and other provinces, in raising money for 

 
 68 THECHURCHLS 
 
 the public expenses, such as paying- and sus- 
 taining armies, erecting public buildings, for 
 charitable or other purposes, and for providing 
 forts and military stations on the frontiers. 
 Columbia College in this city, then, and for 
 many years, called " King's College," was 
 founded by the means of the avails of a pub- 
 lic lottery. They were in common use also 
 in Connecticut, and even in New-Haven, the 
 palladium, of Connecticut's religion and mo- 
 rality. There is still e.xtant, a printed scheme 
 of a lotteiy originated for the purpose of build- 
 ing a public wharf in that city. Whether this 
 was tlie famous "long wharf," or some ante- 
 rior one, you may reserve as a matter of inqui- 
 ry. You see by this, how extensively they 
 were in use. But it docs not appear, that the 
 people were, then, at all aware of the pernicious 
 tendencies of the system upon the community at 
 large. Tiiis was a lesson of sad experience, 
 which the lapse of time alone could teach them. 
 We, however, find a law, early enforced, for- 
 bidding the use of private lotteries. And al- 
 though this system of immorality existed long 
 in our cit}^ yet it is a matter of praise to the 
 great Ruler of the universe, in whose hands is 
 " the heart of the king," that a sound and health- 
 ful legislation has at length swept it all away. 
 
 John. Intemperance, sir, is the second 
 charge. 
 
 Uncle. But this is a charge which lies
 
 O F N E W - Y R K . G9 
 
 equally at the door of all, for many generations 
 back. Not that they favoured or countenanced 
 hitemperanre, but that they were, universally, 
 temperate drinkers, and the creature, alcohol, 
 was in common use. You will find frequent 
 mention in the old papers, of the joyous occa- 
 sions in this city, at the birth-day celebrations 
 of the king, princes, dukrs, &c. On these oc- 
 casions, the fTovernor, mayor, aldermen, and 
 chief men of the city, after the regular morning 
 service in the Trinity Church, were accustomed 
 to assemble at the fort, and spend the remainder 
 of the day in drinking bumpers to the health of 
 " His Majesty," &c. While the people with- 
 out, amply supplied with the same, or coarser 
 stimulants, kept up the scene. Here was the 
 great mistake of our predecessors; they were 
 unacquainted with the only touchstone of safety, 
 total abstiiievre. 
 
 Henri/. This we can the more readily pass 
 over, seeing we were all, so lately, in the same 
 condfmnation. 
 
 Viirlc. I3ut they wcro not altogether blinded 
 to the desolating rfircis of strong drink, though 
 they fjiib'd of reaching ih'- true ground of safe- 
 ty. We find the assembly of Nov. 1750, pass- 
 ing an act to restrain tavern-keepers and inn- 
 holdens, from selling strong liquors to servants, 
 and appronticcs ; and from giving laroe credit 
 to any. 'rhu.s we see that they had, at least, 
 some 8U.spicions of the monster.
 
 70 T H E C II U R C H E 3 
 
 John. Then, lastly, comes slavery, sir. 
 
 Uncle. Yes, and this is the most painful suh- 
 ject of all, boys; still we must meet it. But, 
 as the consideration of the subject will require 
 more of our time than we can at present spare, 
 we will defer it till we meet again ; when I 
 will present you with a short account of slavery 
 as it once existed iu the city and province of 
 New York. 
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTH. 
 
 COLONIAL SLAVERY. NEGRO PLOT. 
 
 Henry. Slavery, sir, is the last serious charge 
 I have to bring against the Christian character 
 of our city predecessors. And it is a point on 
 which we arc especially desirous of receiving 
 information, such as we are confident that you 
 can give us. We would like to gather some- 
 thing of its history here, sir. 
 
 Uncle. It is, indeed, a heavy charge, boys, to 
 bring against any people or nation. And in 
 giving you some historical data of its origin 
 and existence here, I must necessarily relate 
 many things that were consequent upon its 
 existence, which darken rather than brighten
 
 OF NEW -YORK. 71 
 
 the view we have already taken. Althouc-h 
 this moral blot no longer sullies our reputation 
 as a state, and the rising generation seem 
 scarcely to be conscious of the fact, yet the time 
 has not long been passed when all the horrors 
 and evils, both physical and moral, of such a 
 system of cruelty and oppression, were rife in 
 the midst of us. Consequently, when we advert 
 to some startling tales of fact, we will advert to 
 them as the legitimate fruits of the existence of 
 slavery, and blame our predecessors rather for 
 the system than for the fruits of it. You would 
 be surprised, in looking over the old newspa- 
 pers of that day, to see the numerous evidences 
 of the existence of that dreadful system that 
 abound there. Look, for instance, into this pa- 
 per, of the year 1730, and read. 
 
 John. New-York Gazdte, Septf^mber 21st, 
 1730. "To bo sold at Benjamin D'Harrctto's 
 house, one negro man, named Scipio, a cooper, 
 about 22 years old : and one ditto, named Mus- 
 ter, a house-carpenter and ploughman, and fit 
 for country wortf, about 26 years old.'' 
 
 Henry. Another, sir. October 12th, 1730. 
 "']"o be .sold on reasonable terms, a likely negro 
 girl, about 18 years of age — a likely negro boy, 
 about 10 years of age — both born in this city. 
 They can speak good English and Dutch, and 
 arc bred up to all sorts of housework. And 
 also, a new negro man. Inquire at the Post 
 Office, New York."
 
 72 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Jolm. And this in New- York! But there 
 must have been slaves in the city, I presume, 
 long before the date of this paper? 
 
 Uncle. Yes, nearly a hundred years before 
 this. Several {reQ negroes appear on the city 
 records, as patentees of lands, as early as the 
 year 1643, while William Kieft, the builder of 
 the first church, was still governor. And still 
 more, under Governor Stuyvesant's commis- 
 sion, in 1646. It is said that Governoi Stuyve- 
 sant came to New- Amsterdam, or New-York, 
 from Brazil, and brought with him some free 
 negroes, whom he settled, as freemen, upon 
 farms, near his own residence, on his bowery. 
 
 Henry. The governor's farm gave name, 
 I suppose, to the street now known as the 
 Bowery? 
 
 Uncle. Yes. It was formerly called "the 
 High Road to Boston." 
 
 John. Then this brave governor was not a 
 slaveholder ? 
 
 Uncle. It appears not from this. Some 
 have said that Africans were brought into 
 the city, as slaves, by the Dutch, before their 
 surrender in 1664 ; and that they were 
 procured from Curacoa, an island in the Car- 
 ribbean Sea. But others affirm, that they 
 were introduced into the province as slaves, 
 FIRST, by the English; instead of the Dutch ; 
 who brought them from Barbadoes, where 
 they purchased them in exchange for pro-
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 73 
 
 visions, and such other necessaries of life. 
 However this may be, we find early records 
 of their being here, and early acts of legislation 
 in regard to them as slaves, after the government 
 passed into the hands of the English. Slaves 
 in this province, and in our goodly city, were 
 treated generally in the same manner that they 
 are treated elsewhere. They were publicly 
 bought and sold ; let out as chatties or working 
 animals ; and looked upon as a race approxi- 
 mating to the brute creation. Their liberties 
 as men were very much restricted ; or rather, 
 their restrictions as slaves were unnecessarily 
 increased. They were debarred the privilege 
 of often seeing each other, or of assembling 
 more than two or three together at the same 
 time, except in the presence of some white per- 
 son. For slight crimes, they were " burnt in the 
 hand ;" which was a common mode of punish- 
 ment in those days. Antl lor crimes of greater 
 magnitude, huralng at the slake was the horrid 
 resort for punishment. There are many instances 
 of this kind on record. 
 
 Henry. This was one of the most dreadful 
 fruits of the system, sir. 1 suppose there were 
 slave auctions then % 
 
 Uncle. Yes. Slaves were generally sold at 
 
 fiublic auction ; and these auctions were general- 
 y held at the Cojfee House, a well-known place 
 of resort in those days. 
 
 The Provincial Assembly early laid taxes
 
 74 THE CHURCHES 
 
 upon slaves as propf-rty, which niii^ht have acted 
 somowhat as a depression upon the syfiteni. In 
 1737, the Assembly laid the following taxes by 
 law: For every negro, or other slave, imported 
 from Africa, the sum of 40 shillings; and for 
 every slave from other places, four pounds. 
 But the circumstance of most importance con- 
 nected with the history of slavery in this city, 
 was the celebrated " negro plot," in the year 
 1740-41, of which you have probably heard 
 somewhat. 
 
 Henry. It was during Governor Clarke's 
 administration, I believe, sir? 
 
 Uncle. It was: and it occasioned much dis' 
 turbancs in the colony for a long while. There 
 were, at the time of the " Conspiracy," about 
 eight hundred slaves scattered around in the 
 difTerent families in and about the city; and 
 these were supposed to be engaged in a horrid 
 plot, to burn the city and murder the inhabit- 
 ants, their masters. l"he first circumstance 
 that awakened the fears of the peoj)le was the 
 burning of the "King's Chapel," on Wednes- 
 day, March 18, 1741. This was the first of 
 that series of alarming fires which occurred 
 during that memorable winter of 1740-41 ; 
 and its origin was accounted for in different 
 ways. The report of a conspiracy among the 
 slaves, to burn the town and murdur the citizens, 
 had no* yet been spread, and the fire was as- 
 cribed to accident. This supposition at first
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 75 
 
 appeared plausible, and was without doubt 
 founded in the truth. But as soon as the 
 whisperings of a conspiracy began to circulate, 
 the whole torrent of accusation was turned upon 
 the poor slaves, and many of them were arrested 
 immediately upon suspicion, and confined in 
 dismal dungeons, to await trial and punish- 
 ment. 
 
 John. But were they indeed guilty? 
 
 Uncle. You have given me a difficult ques- 
 tion. There was undoubtedly something 
 connected with the Spanish negroes, who 
 had lately come into the colony, to give 
 rise to such an opinion. But at this late day, it 
 is extremely dilHcult for us to draw the line of 
 separation between the truth and error in the 
 case — between the innocent and the guilty 
 ones. Many were at first arrested upon mere 
 suspicion, or circumstantial evidence of their 
 guilt, and thrown into prison, there to await 
 their trial, and perhaps condemnation. Others, 
 for fear of the same fate, and urged on by 
 bribes as well as threats, confessed many things, 
 both true and false; and in some instances, to 
 save their lives, told talcs of their own in- 
 vention. Accusers were encouraged, and their 
 accusations were received, until, at length, a 
 "negro conspiracy" was believed to have been 
 really plaiuied; and many poor, unhappy, 
 friendless sons of Africa had to atone for their 
 crimes, real or fanciful, at the stake or on the
 
 76 THE CHURCHES 
 
 gibbet. Mnny a heart-rend incf talc of the un- 
 happy sulierors could be told, had we the time 
 to bestow upon their consideration ; and many 
 friendless slaves thus died, innocent of the 
 charge. One, poor Qimck, who belonged to a 
 Mr Rosev'flt, was burnt, on charge of setting 
 fire to the Chapel. Another, by the name of 
 Cvffi'c, was condenmed to die on the same day, 
 on charge of being a ringleader in the conspi- 
 racy. Both persisted in proclaiming their in- 
 nocence, even when assured they must inevita- 
 bly die. But on Saturday, May 30th, 1741, 
 both suffered a dreadful and cruel death, beinsr 
 buj-nt at the slake. The Recorder of the city 
 in that year says: "The criminals showed 
 great terror in their countenances, and looked 
 as if they would have gladly discovered all they 
 knew of this accursed scheme, could they have 
 had any encouragement in hope of pardon." 
 But no ! there was no hope of pardon ; and the 
 poor negroes could do nothing more than to 
 continually repeat the fruitless protestations of 
 their innocence. 
 
 Jo//7i. Were these all that were executed, 
 sir? 
 
 Ifnde. O, no ! Would that I could answer 
 you in the affirmative. There were executed, 
 in all, of white persons, /o?// ,• and of negroes, 
 twelve were burnt at the stake, and fourteen 
 were hanged. 
 
 Henry. And is the spot known, where
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 77 
 
 these dreadful orgies in honour of the spirit of 
 slavery were performed ? 
 
 Uncle. Yes, the spot is known, and I can 
 clearly point it out to you on the map of the city. 
 It was on a rise of ground, near what was called 
 " Polbaker's Hill," and is now to be found in 
 the middle of the block bounded by Uuane, 
 Chatham and Pearl streets, and City-hall place. 
 " City-hall place," you know is a new name for 
 " Augustus-street ;" and in those days, Duane- 
 street, was known as Barley-street. That spot 
 is now consecrated to nohl.-r service, being about 
 the site of the present Chatham-street Chapel. 
 What a change time has wrought ! Slavery no 
 longer shows its hydra head in the midst of us. 
 The year of 1799, which knocked off their 
 manacles, was a blessed day to the Africans of 
 New York. 
 
 Two years previous to this memorable year, 
 in 1797, the number of Africans, bond or free, 
 in communion with the different churches in 
 the city, was as follows: — 
 In the Dutch Church, nine members. 
 
 Presbyterian Church, twelve members. 
 
 Episcopal Church, one hundred and fifty 
 
 members. 
 
 Methodist (Jliurch, one hundred and 
 
 forty members. 
 Scotch Presbyterian Church, one mem- 
 ber. 
 German Lutheran Church, two members.
 
 78 THKCHURCHE8 
 
 In Mr. Pilmore's, Christ, Church, ten mem- 
 bers. 
 - Independent Church, five members. 
 Moravian Church, two members. 
 
 The whole number of coloured people in the 
 city in 1797, was about two thousand. Since 
 that time they have greatly increased. Of 
 their situation as citizens, and their condition as 
 Christians, we may, perhaps, have an opportu- 
 nity of conversing at some future time. 
 
 Henry. Where were these poor executed 
 Africans buried, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Those that were executed at the stake, 
 needed of course no grave to enclose their burnt 
 bodies ; their ashes were blown about by the 
 winds, and had no sepulchre but the wide world. 
 Those that were hung, were probably buried 
 near where Chambers-street crosses from Broad- 
 way to City-Hall Place ; as the " Negro Bury- 
 ing Ground" was long known on the north side 
 of a hill, sloping down from the Bridewell to- 
 wards Barley, now Duano, street. 
 
 This suspected conspiracy on the part of the 
 negroes, was considered by the inhabitants of 
 the city as a great calamity, as well it might, 
 had it been real; and on the occasion a day of 
 public fa.sting and ])raycr was observed. Here 
 is a short notice of it, given by the recorder of 
 the city, Mr. Horsemauden, in his account of 
 the conspiracy. You may read it, Henry, as 
 it will give us some acquaintance with the man-
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 79 
 
 ner in which such clays were kept in our city a 
 hundred years ago. 
 
 Henrij. "Wednesday, 13th of May, 1741. This 
 being- the day appointed by the lieutenant-gov- 
 ernor's proclamation, issued the 10th of April 
 last, to be observed throughout the province as 
 a day of public fasting and humiliation; the 
 same was reverently and decently observed, 
 particularly in this city, by persons of all per- 
 suasions; the shops were all shut up, and per- 
 sons of all ranks resorted to their respective 
 places of divine worship, and seemed deeply 
 affected with a sense of the calamities Avith 
 which we had of late been visited." 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHTH. 
 
 THE PRIMITIVE INDIAN INHABITANTS OF OUR 
 ISLAND. 
 
 John. You promised us, I lliiiik, sir, at some 
 future time, a history of the poor Indians, that 
 once inhabitf^d this island, where we now live 
 so happily. I hope that time has now arrived. 
 
 Hear//. Yes, uncle, we are both anxious to 
 hear the story of the red man. 
 
 Uncle. I am perfectly willing that your 
 7
 
 80 THE CHURCHES 
 
 wish, ill this respect, should be my law; and, 
 in conformity to this, before we touch the par- 
 ticular history of the difi'erent churches, we 
 wiJl turn back a step, and inquire somewhat 
 concerning the condition in which the Indians, 
 the primitive inhabitants and owners of the 
 country, were found by the Dutch navigators 
 and settlers. Nor will we consider it any in- 
 terruption of our church history, but as forming 
 a regular part of our general introductory nar- 
 ration. 
 
 Hoary. And I think it is but right, sir, that 
 we should take a glance at the history of the 
 poor Indians; who have been obliged to retreat 
 before the gradual encroachments of the white 
 man, until they are no longer to be seen east of 
 the Alleghanies. 
 
 Uncle. Yes, they have long disappeared 
 from these their former haunts and homes, 
 where thoy used to hunt their deer, light their 
 council fire, and dance their war-dance, with 
 no fearful apprehension of white intruders, or 
 European tyrants, who should drive them west 
 of the mountains, and finally force them into 
 the regions of the Rocky Mountains, for secu- 
 rity and rest. In the pleasant waters that sur- 
 round our city, they used to row their light 
 skiffs, and fish, undisturbed by the approach of 
 strangers. Here they used to live, and roam 
 through forests dark and deep, and in the sim- 
 plicity of their hearts, worshipped the Great
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 81 
 
 Spirit, whom they considered the God of Na- 
 ture. To him they erected sacrificial ahars, 
 where now the never-ceasing hum of a busy 
 and thriving city marks, the abode of civilized 
 man. And a special interest should be felt by 
 us, in the history of those much abused people, 
 whom the first navigators found in quiet pos- 
 session of this island, and who, but two short 
 centuries ago, were the sole and unrivalled 
 owners of the soil. 
 
 John. I have heard that they were the Man- 
 hatloes, sir. 
 
 Uncle. They have been sometimes called so, 
 I know. There has been heretofore some dis- 
 pute and much doubt, concerning their identity 
 with the other tribes that were found in the sur- 
 rounding country : and even their name was 
 for a longtime undetermined. Some have sup- 
 posed them to have been of the Mingoes, or a 
 part of the Five Nations; and others have 
 made them to be a distinct tribe, under the name 
 of Manhalloes, as you mentioned, or Maiihat- 
 tanoes, both of which propositions are doubtless 
 fabe. By the researches of the Rev. John 
 Heckcwelder, a Moravian missionary of much 
 note, who spent the greater part of his life 
 among the Indians, and probably had more 
 means for such information than any other man 
 then living in the United States, it is satisfacto- 
 rily ascerlainrd, that the Indians of .Manhattan 
 Island were of the powerful tribe of tlio Dela-
 
 82 THECHURCHES 
 
 wares ; but they had a provincial name, which 
 was Monsojs, or Minsi, as they called them- 
 selves; which word signified, in their language, 
 a peninsula. 
 
 John. But was not the island forrneriy called 
 Man'iadoes ? 
 
 Uncle. It was. But the name Manhattoes, 
 of the primitive inhabitants, or Manhattans, as 
 you will see, had a different origin. That the 
 New- York Indians, or the Minsi, were of the 
 tribe of the Delawarcs, there can now be but 
 little doubt ; as the descendants of that tribe, 
 among whom Mr. Hcckewelder was for many 
 years a missionary, were, fifty years ago, per- 
 fectly familiar with the history of Manhattan, 
 now New- York. Thry always spoke of it as 
 Manhattans, and Manhatlanink, which means, 
 in their language, the same as the island or place 
 of general intoxicaiion, from a general intoxica- 
 tion of the natives, said to have taken place upon 
 the first arrival of the Europeans; as we shall 
 see. 
 
 The Delawares were the most powerful and 
 extensive tribe of Indians in this part of the 
 country, and always prided themselves in never 
 having been conquered by the sword of other 
 nations. Their possessions extended from Man- 
 hattan Island, south almost to the Potomac, and 
 inland as far as or beyond the river which now 
 bears their name. 
 
 Henry. Whence came the opinion, sir, that 
 they were Mingoes ?
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 83 
 
 Uncle. The opinion that the primitive Man- 
 hattans were Mingoes might have arisen from 
 the fact, that the Indians who were known here 
 for many years after the settlement, and those 
 who came in here to trade at certain seasons of 
 the year, were Mingocs. But this is no evidence 
 of their having been the primitive owners of the 
 soil. The Mingocs and Delawares were always 
 inimical to each other. But the Delawares 
 were always able to maintain their sovereignty, 
 and to keep possession of their lands, until the 
 white man came; when they were obliged to 
 flee from the united forces of the whites and 
 Mingoes, who had become friends, in order to 
 possess themselves of the lands of the Delawares. 
 The Delawares then retreated south and west, 
 but the mingoes dwell for many years in differ- 
 ent parts of the State of New-York. With these 
 the old inhabitants of the city were quite familiar, 
 and always showed them great hospitality. 
 
 John. I suppose, of course, that the great en- 
 gine of the destruction of the Manhattans, was 
 Jire-waler. 
 
 Uncle. As was the case with the other tribes, 
 so with the Delawares. After thiy had once 
 tasted, they became exceedingly fond of ardent 
 spirits, or Jire-water, as they appropriately called 
 it. They wore ignorant of the ruinous conse- 
 quences of intemperance upon the health and 
 consiilution, until they found out the truth by
 
 84 THECHURCHES 
 
 sad, sad experience. Then their habits were 
 too strong to be easily broken. 
 
 I make these remarks in reference to the ac- 
 count given us by Mr. Heckewelder, of the first 
 arrival of the Europeans at this island, which I 
 will leave you to read. In it you will find the 
 account which the Indians thf msclvc s give of 
 that event. The ])on)pous landing of the white 
 man; the first experiment o^ fire-water upon 
 the natives; tlieir mutual barter; and the pro- 
 mise of the European siriingers to return again 
 the next year, you will find fully described. 
 
 CHAPTER NINTH. 
 
 INDIAN.S CONTINUED. 
 
 Vach. Mr. Heckewelder's account of the 
 first arrival of the Europeans at this island, to 
 which I have referred you, is of great import- 
 ance, as regards our knowledge of the primitive 
 Manhattans. Here is an extract from it. 
 
 Henry. "After this general intoxication had 
 ceased, (during which the strangers had con- 
 fined themselves to the vessel,) the red clothed 
 man came ashore again, and distributed presents 
 among the Indians, such as beads, axes, hoes,
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 85 
 
 Stockings, &;c. ; and made ihem understand, by- 
 signs, that he would see them again next year, 
 when thev would bring them more presents, 
 and stay u ith them awhile ; but that as his men 
 could not live without eating, they should want 
 a little land of them, where to sow seeds, and 
 raise herbs. The vessel arrived the season fol- 
 lowing, and they were much rejoiced at seeing 
 each other; but that the whites laughed at the 
 Indians, seeing that they knew not the use of 
 the axes, hoes, &c., which they had given to 
 them; they having hung the axes and hoes 
 (with no handlf s) about their breasts, as orna- 
 ments; and the stockings they had made use of 
 as tobacco-pouchi s. The whites now put han- 
 dles in the hoes and axes, and dug in the ground, 
 and cut down trees, and showed them the use 
 of the stockings. Here (say they) a general 
 laughter ensued among the Indians, seeing that 
 they had remained for so long a time ignorant 
 of the use of so \aiuablc instruments.'' 
 
 Uncle. Such is Mr. Heckewelder's account 
 of the origin of the name Manhodan. The 
 Mihicanni, (called by the English Mulligans, 
 and by the Dutch Mihicandcrs,) gave the same 
 name to this island, but derived its meaning 
 from a difT'rcnt source, — from some wood which 
 grew lu.Tf. 
 
 John. But was there no other name for the 
 island ? 
 
 UacU. The Mon.seys, or Minsi, who used 
 io live here, sometimes called it Laaphawa/t-
 
 86 THE CHURCHES 
 
 king, which is interpreted, the place ofstringhig 
 beads or wampum. They say this name was 
 given in consequence of beads being distributed 
 among them abundantly by the Europeans; so 
 tbat after the European vessel had returned, 
 wherever one looked, he would see the Indians 
 employed in stringing together the beads, or 
 wampum, the whites had given them. 
 
 Henry. The Europeans, I believe, made it 
 a custom, wherever they landed, to propitiate 
 the Indians with strong drink; did they not? 
 
 Uncle. Yes, they did. And so it is recorded 
 by Robert Juet, who wrote a journal of Hud- 
 son's voyage up the river which bears his name, 
 that "Sept. 21 St, 1G09, some people came aboard 
 the ship above the Highlands, whom Hudson 
 and his company made drunk. We astonished 
 the Indians, and filled them with fear." 
 
 ']'he Europeans, it seems, were too jealous 
 of their own interests to warn them against the 
 use of it; as they found they could always ef- 
 fect better bargains with them after having 
 made a free distribution oi fire-water. The la- 
 mentable consequence of this was, that the In- 
 dians were universally given to intoxication, 
 whenever they could procure their much-loved 
 whiskey; with which, provided compensation 
 was given, the whiles appear to have been al- 
 ways ready to furnish them. Such easy access 
 to the fire-water, brought things to a dreadful 
 pass in the condition of the poor Indians ; and
 
 OF NEW -YORK. 87 
 
 as they were unable to resist the least teinpta- 
 tion ot" the kind otlered lo ihcm, it hud them 
 open to all sorts of impositions and cruelties. 
 
 But a salutary law was passed by Governor 
 Andros and the Council, July 9th, 1676, which 
 served to protect the Indians, to some degree, 
 from such great cruelties. The law was to 
 this effect; that, if an Indian was seen coming 
 out of a house drunk, that would be sufficient 
 ground of evidence against the house, for the 
 conviction of its owners; and that, if an Indian 
 was seen drunk in the street, the house where 
 he procured the liquor being unknown, then 
 the whole street should be fined. This of course 
 reflects much honour upon the Governor and 
 Council of 1G7G. 
 
 Henri/. Governor Clinton, also, I believe, 
 in July, 1753, issued a proclamation, prohibiting 
 the sale of ardent spirits to the Indians ; a vio- 
 lation of which order was to be punished with 
 the utmost rigour of the law. 
 
 Jvhn. But what was worse than all this, I 
 have heard, that some of the Indians were slaves 
 to the whites. Was it so? 
 
 UacLe. Yes, I am sorry to siy, it cannot be 
 denied. It is a shamrful /'«c<, for we find it on 
 record, that many of the native Indians — lords 
 of the soil, were made to be slacts ; and I 
 could refer you lo many instances, in the public 
 papers, where rewards are oflered for ihem as 
 runaways from their mailers.
 
 88 THECHURCHES 
 
 This slavery of the Indians may be accounted 
 for in the following manner: — children were 
 taken as pledges from the Indians for debts; 
 the Indians, failing to liquidate the debts, failed 
 also to redeem their children, who consequently 
 grew up slaves. This we know to have been 
 frequently the case ; as we find that Governor 
 Clinton, in 1750, issued a proclamation, forbid- 
 ding "his Mnjesty's subjects, in the County of 
 Albany, to take any Indian children as pledges 
 for debts from the Indians; which has been 
 represented as a practice too common among 
 them." Thus were they ill-treated on every 
 hand. 
 
 John. But now the poor Indians are all 
 gone! 
 
 Uncle. Yes, the Indian Aborigines of New- 
 York, have all disappeared ! The dying em- 
 bers of their last council-fire have long since 
 gone out. No war-whoop for the last half 
 century has been heard among our hills, or re- 
 verberated along our verdant plains. And 
 their descendants are now no longer seen among 
 us, except with the silence and reserve of 
 strangers, visiting, as for the last time, the graves 
 of their forefathers. 
 
 The Minsi, or the real Manhattans, could 
 not brook the ill-treatment they received from 
 the white man, and fled westward from his ty- 
 ranny, to roam in freedom over the sweet val- 
 leys and verdant hills of Pennsylvania, But
 
 O F N E W - Y R K . 89 
 
 the Mingoes, for a long time continued to dwell 
 along the banks of the Hudson and the Mo- 
 hawk. Before they were driven too far north- 
 ward, they were in the habit of making regular 
 visits to the city, at particular seasons of the 
 year, bringing with them their peltry, brooms, 
 wooden-trays, baskets, &c., to dispose of to the 
 citizens. On such visits, they had particular 
 favourite spots for their encampments. And 
 one of these spots was about an old windmill, 
 which stood not far from Broadway, between 
 Courtlandt-street and CroicH-slrcet, as Liberty- 
 street was then called. And there they have 
 been encamped, as late as the year 1740; less 
 than a hundred years ago. 
 
 The last visit that the Indians paid, in a body, 
 to the city, was in the year 174G. Several 
 hundred of them then appeared to hold a con- 
 ference with the British Governor, George 
 Clinton. They came down the Hudson river 
 in their canoes, and landed where St. John's 
 Park now is, whose side on Hudson-street then 
 formed the river's brink. Thcmce they marched 
 in Indian file down Broadway, fo the governor's 
 house, at Fort George. They made a great 
 displiiy in their marches up ancl down the wide 
 street; and this is remembered as the last time 
 they came for the purpose of making treaties. 
 They were, as usual, presented with many gifts 
 by the governor and citizens.
 
 90 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Hr.nry. Can you tell us anything else of the 
 Manhattans, sir? 
 
 Uncle. The Manhattans, I said, were of the 
 Deiawares; and of the Delawart-s I can tell 
 you the following: — Like the Mohicans and 
 others, they were divided into three tribes, viz. 
 the TurUe, the Turkaj, and the Wolf. The 
 Turtle was considered the greatest or head of 
 the three; because of his being able to live both 
 on land and in water ; and on account of the 
 great number of eggs that the female turtle lays. 
 The Deiawares were very numerous, and were 
 spread over a great extent of country, from 
 Manhattan Island southward. They had a 
 great many branches and small tribes, that took 
 provincial names; as the Monscys, or Minsi, of 
 Manhattan. There was also another of these 
 branch tribes, that resided about Manhattan 
 Island, called the Unami ; and one of their 
 great chiefs, of the Turtle tribe, dwelt at Am- 
 boy, (across the New Jersey Bay,) where the 
 Europeans first arrived. 
 
 But the poor, ill-treated red men, have at 
 length all disappeared from our midst. Their 
 bones and their ashes mingled with the soil, are 
 all that now remain of them on our island. 
 Their graves, it is said, were not unfrcqurntly 
 cut into by the workmen, while digging down 
 the hills in the northeast part of the city, on the 
 Stuyvosant lands. They were known by the 
 quantities of oyster shells which had been inter-
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 91 
 
 red with the bodies. Some frail fragments of 
 pottery were also found. These were the last 
 relics of the noble race of the Manhattans. 
 Such is the short history of the primitive in- 
 habitants of our island ; and thus have they all 
 disappeared. And we can but mourn over 
 their fate. Instead of being taught by the white 
 man in the ways of Christianity, to pray — and 
 read God's holy will, and to prepare for a hea- 
 ven in another world, far more blessed than 
 their imaginary land of never-failing hunting 
 grounds, they were taught to love whiskey, 
 steal, swear, and fight, and instructed in the 
 ways of wickedness and deceit. 
 
 CHAPTER TENTH. 
 
 THE CHURCH IN THE FORT. 
 
 Uncle. You will rccollert that I told you, 
 that the first church ever built in the city, stood 
 within the walls of the old fort, a few rods 
 southwest of what we now call the Bowling- 
 Green. 
 
 John. It was built in 1642, I think. 
 
 Uncle. Yes ; and although some have sup- 
 posed there to have been anolher, prior to this, 
 8
 
 92 T H K c n r n c H E s 
 
 even so early as the year 1630; still, as there 
 is no diipct historical information concerning' 
 such a building-, we will consider the year 1642 
 as the date of the erection of the first church 
 within the bounds of our city, for the public 
 worship of Jehovah. This was completed in 
 Governor Kieft's time ; and by some is said to 
 have enclosed the prior one, which a vague 
 and uncertain tradition has handed down as 
 having been of frail materials, and standing on 
 the same spot. An organized church was un- 
 doubtedly in existence before 1G42; but some 
 room witiun the fort, perhaps, would have been 
 sufficiently large for their accommodation. 
 About this first church, at this day, little is 
 known. There has no description of the build- 
 ing come down to us. It was undoubtedly 
 built in the old Dutch style of architecture ; 
 and though it might seem uncouth now-a-days, 
 it then answered every conceivable or desirable 
 purpose for a church, in the eyes of those who 
 built it. 
 
 A Mr. Van der Donk, who lived in New Neth- 
 erlands about the lime of the building of the first 
 church, and wTote a short history of his own 
 times, has handed down to us a map of the city 
 as it appeared then, in which the roof and cupola 
 of the old church in the fort is visible above the 
 rest of the buildings. 
 
 Henry. Had it a steeple, sir ? 
 
 Uncle. I presume not, if by a steeple you
 
 OF N E \V - Y R K . 
 
 93 
 
 mean a spire. Some sort of a cupola it doubtless 
 had, accordin^to Mr. Van der Donk, as we find 
 it was furnished with a b-'U. This was the 
 common alarm bell of the city, and was runsfon 
 all such occasions as fires, insurrections, appre- 
 hensions of an attack from an enemy, &c. It 
 was also rung on some other occasions, of which 
 the following will give you an example. It is 
 noticed on the city records, that for slandering 
 the Rev. Everard 'Bogardus, first pastor of the 
 church in the foTt,a. feviale is obliged to appear, 
 at the sound of the bell at the fort, there, before 
 the Governor and Council, to say " she knew 
 he was honest and pious, and that she lied 
 falsely." 
 
 John. Slander was a crime then as well as 
 now it appears. 
 
 Uncle. Yes ; and the penalty was a fine, to 
 be paid in money, and for the benefit of the 
 poor. 
 
 Henrtj. A very good plan, I think ; and if it 
 were in force now, the poor might be very well 
 
 off. 
 
 Uncle. Perhaps so. But this incident shows 
 us how early the bell was in use at the fort. 
 The church, or rhafd as it is called, stood ad- 
 joining the Governor's hous", and the vaults be- 
 neath it became the burial place cf some of the 
 Dutch and Enelish govr-rnors, I suppose it look 
 the name of " King's Chapfl" soon after it ciime 
 into the hands of the English, which it ever aftei 
 retained.
 
 94 
 
 THE CHURCHES 
 
 John. How long:, did this original chapel 
 stand? c F 
 
 Uncle. It stood unaltered, as the Dutch built, 
 till the year 1691, when it was romodellt-d, and 
 perhaps the superstructure entirely taken down 
 and rebuilt. It then remained till the year 1741, 
 when it was dtstroycd by fire, at the time of the 
 famous Negro Plot, of which I have told you. 
 Henry. 1 remember, sir : it was the first of 
 the alarming fires. 
 
 Uncle. Yes; and it undoubtedly took fire by 
 accident, although the poor negroes had to suf- 
 fer all the opprobrium of the supposed deed, and, 
 what is worse, the dreadful effects of such a sus- 
 picion. The true and plain account of the fire 
 appears to be this, as was presented to the court 
 at the time of the trial of the accused incendiaries: 
 On the same morning of the fire, the Lieutenant 
 Governor ordered a plumber to mend a leak in 
 the gutter, between the house and the chapel, 
 which joined; and the man carrying his fire-pot 
 with coals, to keep his soldering iron hot. some 
 sparks were probably blown, and lodging on the 
 shingles of the roof, thus caused the fire. This 
 was on the morning of Wednesday, March 18th, 
 1741 ; and about one o'clock in the afternoon, 
 the fire broke out on the roof of the government 
 house, about 20 feet from the end ne.xt to the 
 chapel. ITpon the chapel's bell ringing, great 
 numbers of people Hocked thither to the assist- 
 ance of the Lieutenant Governor and his family, 
 and succeeded in removing their personal and
 
 O F N E W - Y O R K . 95 
 
 household furniture, and in saving most of the 
 valuable papers and records of the colony from 
 destruction. But unfortunately, at the time, a 
 violent gale was blowing from the southeast, 
 which rendered the flames so raging and heat 
 so intense, that the fire engines were of compara- 
 tively little use; and the buildings were left ex- 
 posed to the fury of the merciless element, which 
 soon reduced them to a heap of ruins. Active 
 measures, also, had to be taken to prevent the 
 flames from spreading into the citj^ around. 
 Thus perished the King's Chapel, which was 
 the oldest place of worship in the city of New- 
 York. 
 
 In its vaults were interred the remains of 
 several of the governors who had deceased 
 while here, and which were afterwards, in the 
 year 1797, removed to other burying grounds. 
 In that year, which you know was after the 
 American Revolution, the whole of Fort George 
 was razed, and the hill upon which it stood cut 
 down to the level of the surrounding streets, to 
 make room for the house of the Governor of the 
 state of New- York. 
 
 John. Did the Dutch clercrymea continue to 
 officiate in the chapel until its final destruction 
 in 1741 ? 
 
 Tnr.lt. No. They took their l(\ive of the 
 fort, as the ofliciating chaplains, in the year 
 169 1, when the primitive church of St. Nicholas, 
 as one of our historians haa called it, was taken
 
 9G THECHURCHES 
 
 down, to malvG room for the English edifice. 
 In this year they got their license to build the 
 old Dutch church in Garden-street, where the 
 Dutch congregation afterwilards assembled. 
 After that year, until the fire of 1741 destroyed 
 it, the chapel of the fort was under the special 
 care of chaplains from the Church of England. 
 About the English chaplains very little is 
 known, except merely the names of some of 
 them. The first one that I find mentioned, 
 after the erection of King's Chapel, in 1691, 
 upon the foundation of the old Dutch chapel, 
 was John Millar, who was appointed minister 
 and chaplain to the two companies of foot sol- 
 die."s, then stationed in New- York. In 1701, 
 his successor was Rev. Mr. Brisac ; and in 1737, 
 Rev. Mr. Orone. There were many others in 
 the same capacity, but about whom we find 
 nothing of interest to relate. 
 
 Henry. Who were some of the Dutch cler- 
 gymen, sir, besides the Rev. Everard Bogardus, 
 whom you mentioned as the first pastor? 
 
 Uncle. Mr. Bogardus, dying in the ytear 
 1647, was succeeded by the Rev. John and 
 Samuel Megapolensis, two brothers, who were 
 known here as rarly as the year 1644. The 
 Rev. Samuel Meg:ipolci)sis survived his brother, 
 and being a regular physician, both practiced 
 and preached, in and about the city, until the 
 year 1669, when it is said that he returned to 
 Europe. He appears to have been liked by the 
 people; so much so, that it is on record, that a
 
 O F N E W - V O R K . 97 
 
 Mr. Hagennan, and others in the congregation, 
 built him a commodious dwelling-house, at 
 their own private expense. Mr. IMcgapolcnsis 
 preached in the fort before and after the sur- 
 render of 1664. It is stated that he wrote and 
 published a pamphlet, giving an interesting 
 account of the country in those early days, 
 and of the Mahakuase tribe of Indians. Be- 
 fore Mr. Megapolensis left, there was associated 
 with him, in the ministry, the Rev. Samuel 
 Drisius, about whom little else is known, except, 
 that he was dead in the year 1669. About 
 this time, in 167U, the pulpit became vacant, 
 the elders and deacons applied to the Governor 
 to take some care to provide orthodox minis- 
 ters. Accordingly, the Governor issued his 
 proclamation, offering 1000 guilders, and a 
 house and fire-wood, to any clero-yman of good 
 character, who v.ould come o* r tVom Holland 
 and lake charge of the New- York church. 
 
 Henry. Lord Lovelace, I believe, was then 
 Governor, sir ? 
 
 Uncle. Yes; and in answer to his proclama- 
 tion, the Rev. Wilhemus Niewrnhuysen, D. D. 
 made his appearance from Holland, and was 
 settled in New-York in 1671. lit; preached 
 here for five years, whrn he removed, and offi- 
 ciated in the R( formed Dulch Church in Biook- 
 lyn, then culled Brookland, wheiu he diid in 
 1680. 
 
 He was succeeded by the Rev. Hmricus 
 Selyns, who was born and educated in Holland,
 
 98 THE CHURCHES 
 
 whence he came to preach in Brooklyn, and 
 in Governor Stiiyvcsant's chapel at the 
 bouwerie, until 1GG4, when he returned to 
 Europe. After a second call, he finally came 
 over and sf tiled in New- York in 1682, where 
 he officiatrd until his death, which happened in 
 the year 1700. 
 
 "After Dominic Sclyns left the church at 
 the bouiceric, for Holland, it probably becan)e 
 incorporated with the Church of New- York, (as 
 a transfer of members is recognized on their 
 minulejs,) whose ministers doubtless officiated 
 at times in that erlifice." 
 
 This brings us down to about the year 1693, 
 and the erection of the old Dutch Church, in 
 South-street, the first regular church ever built 
 in the city, about whose history we will con- 
 verse at another time. 
 
 CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 
 
 THE REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH. 
 
 Uncle. Our last conversation left us, I be- 
 lieve, at the destruction of the old Dutch Chapel, 
 and the commencement of the I8th century. 
 
 Henry. Yes, sir; and at the erection of the
 
 OF NEW-VORK. 
 
 99 
 
 Garden-Street church, which, you said, was 
 about that time. 
 
 Uack. Ves; in the year 1693. being about 
 two years afu-r the English had rebuilt the 
 chapel in the fort. This was the first of the 
 regular Dutch churches in our city; and was, 
 in the words of the historian Smilli, "of stone, 
 and ill-built, ornamented within by a small 
 organ-loft, and brass branches. ' 
 
 Ht^re is a view of it, as seen by Mr. David 
 Grira, in 1790. 
 
 iCl. 
 
 It stood for nearly a century, until the year 
 1791, when it was burnt; but, being rt built, it 
 stood till December IGth, 1835, when, us you
 
 100 THK CHURCHES 
 
 well know, it was again burnt to the ground, 
 in the " Great Fire,"' as it is appropriately 
 called. 
 
 Jokyi. Has it been built up again, sir 1 
 
 Uncle. Yes, but not on the old site. If you 
 will walk to the corner of Church and Murray 
 streets, you will sec a neat little church building, 
 with an inscription stone in the front, with name, 
 date, &c., which is all that now represents the 
 old Garden-street church. When the church 
 was first erected in Garden-street, there was 
 much complaint against the situation, as being 
 "■too far out of town;''' but now, hardly any 
 thing surrounds the old site, but high, six-story 
 stores ; and it is altogether too far down for the 
 accommodation of the consfresfation. There 
 was, of course, no Murray-street in those days. 
 
 The next Dutch church was erected in 1729, 
 and is the same that we now^ know as the 
 " Middle Dutch :" it was then spoken of as the 
 "New Church." Mr. Smith, the historian, 
 mentioned above, describes it as follows : " The 
 New Church is a high, heavy edifice, and has 
 a very extensive area. It has no galleries, and 
 will yet, perhaps, contain a thousand or twelve 
 hundred auditors. The steeple of this church 
 affords a most beautiful prospect, both of the 
 city beneath, and the surrounding country. 
 
 Henry. Has it been altered much since then? 
 
 Uncle. Not much, 1 believe, externally; 
 though, within, verjr materially changed. Mr.
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 101 
 
 Mr. Smith describes it, you see, as without gal- 
 leries. ' But galleries were erected in it a few 
 years after the time he wrote. Excepting a 
 slight injury by fire, sustained in the steeple in 
 the year 1745, it stood without farther change 
 or accident, until the breaking out of the Ame- 
 rican revolution. At this time, the Dutch 
 clergymen and most of the congregations, left 
 the city, and fled to the towns and villages in 
 the surrounding country. The Dutch congre- 
 gations being considered in the light of enemies, 
 and opposers to the interests of the crown in the 
 colonics, their churches were seized upon, as 
 lawful prey, by the British soldiery. 
 
 Henry. Did they use them as churches? 
 
 Uncle. No; but, as you will see, for far dif- 
 ferent purposes. The British, at the taking of 
 New- York, captured a large number of the 
 American soldiers; and the regular prisons of 
 the city being not largo enough to receive them 
 all, the Presbyterian, French, North, and iViid- 
 die Dutch Churches, together with the old 
 sugar-house, which still stands near the latter, 
 were metamorphosed into prixons. The Mid- 
 dle Dutch Church, it is said, had in it, at one 
 time, nearly three thousand Amc ricnn prisoners. 
 The pews were all torn out, uiid ustd as fire- 
 wood. It was afterwards turned into a riding 
 school for the British cavalry, in which they 
 used to practice themselves in horsemanship; 
 riding around, and teaching their horses to leap
 
 102 THK CHURCHES 
 
 over sticks raised K»r the purpose. But its most 
 common use was liiat of a prison ; and many a 
 poor, honest soldier, and devoted patriot, ended 
 his days within those walls, then rendered so 
 dreary and dismal by the desecrations of the 
 British hirelings. 
 
 John. The galleries, too, were then torn 
 down, I suppose. 
 
 Uncle. Yes : for they probably made as good 
 fuel as the lower pews. 
 
 Thus, you see what sacrilegious hands were 
 laid upon our places of public worship in this 
 city, during the revobition. But let us thank 
 God that those troublous times are passed. Af- 
 ter the peace between England and the United 
 States, in 1781, the former inhabitants returned 
 to the city, and rebuilt their churches, which 
 their enemies had destroyed. In old pictures of 
 the Middle Dnlch Church, you will notice a 
 small door on each side of the building', besides 
 the maia entrances at the ends ; but, within 
 later years, these have been closed up, and are 
 now no longer seen. 
 
 Henry. You mentioned the North Dutch 
 Church; when was that built, sir? 
 
 Uncle. The first stone of the North Dutch 
 Church was laid in 17(37; and the building 
 was completed and dedicated to the worship of 
 God, iri 17G9. The ground on which it was 
 built was gfuerously given for the purpose, by 
 John Hardenbrook, Esq., after whom, also,
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 103 
 
 John-street takes its name. And if you \\\\\ 
 visit that grand and beautiful church, which 
 stands at the corners of Fulton, William, and 
 Ann streets, you can see, over the puljjit, a 
 drawing of the "family coat of arms" of this 
 Mr. Hardcnbrook. 
 
 Jokn. Did those streets have the same names 
 in those days, that they have now. 
 
 Uncle. Ann-street was called as it is now, 
 and also a part of William-street. But there 
 have been some changes since. Fulton was 
 then known as fair-street ; and the upper part 
 of William-street, above John, by the very 
 curious name of Horse-and-cari-street, which 
 arose from there being a hotel in that part of 
 the street, with the sign of a horse and cart be- 
 fore the door. 
 
 John. That was, indeed, a singular name. 
 
 Henry. And I think that there arc very few 
 boys in the city who could find the Dutch 
 Church, at the corner of Fair and Horse-and- 
 carl streets. 
 
 Uncle. There have been many such changes 
 in the names of the streets since tlic revolution. 
 The lower part of William-street, for example, 
 from Wall-strcft down, was formerly called 
 Smith-slreet. But, for ihrso changes, you must 
 compare some of the old with tlio new maps of 
 the city. These three church* s, which wc 
 have nolicfd, were oil co7inrctcil.nn(i were gen- 
 erally spoken of as "the Associate Church." 
 9
 
 104 THE CHURCHES 
 
 So that ministers who were called to either of 
 these, were said to be called to the " Associate 
 Church;" which appellation is still in use. 
 Before we proceed to converse of their clergy- 
 men, I will just mention, that it was formerly 
 customary, in these churches, to use, in taking 
 up their collections on the Sabbath, and other 
 occasions, black bo,gs, hanging at the end of 
 long handles, with bells attached to them. 
 These would appear very singular now; but 
 we are assured that they were formerly in use. 
 
 John. The bells were to let people know 
 that the bags were coming, I suppose. 
 
 U}icle. Perhaps so. But, John, do you re- 
 member who was the last Dutch minister that 
 officiated in the old church at the fort? 
 
 John. I think, sir, that it was the Rev. Hen- 
 ricus Selyns. 
 
 U/icle. Yes; and, as he survived till the year 
 1700, he was the first minister of the Garden- 
 street Church, where he probably officiated for 
 six or seven years. Of some of these first pas- 
 tors of the Dutch, we know but little else than 
 the date of their settlement here, and of their de- 
 parture or death. Very comprehensive and 
 instructive memoirs of some of the later ones, 
 have been written and published; but I have 
 time to mention to you little else than their 
 names. Mr. Selyn's successor was the Rev. 
 G. Dubois, who was settled here from 1699 till 
 1756. His first colleague was the Rev.
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 105 
 
 Henricus Boel, who settled about the year 
 1713, and died in 1754. A sudden illness car- 
 ried him off in the 66th year of his age, after 
 having been a pastor here for fortij-one years. 
 His remains were interred in the old Dutch 
 Church, in Garden-street. He died esteemed 
 and lamented by all; and the public paper of 
 the day spoke of him in the highest terms. 
 The Rev. Johannes Ritzenia was settled, as an 
 associate pastor, in 1744: left the city during 
 thewar, in 1776, and died in 1796. Next came 
 the Rev. Lanibertu.«i De Ronde, in 1751, who 
 died, at Schaghticokc, in 1795. All these were 
 accustomed to preach entirely in the Dutch lan- 
 guage. And their first preacher, in the Eng- 
 lish, language, was the Rev. Archibald Laidlie, 
 a native of Scotland, who settled as one of the 
 collegiate pastors, in 1761. This introducing 
 of the English language was much against the 
 will and wishes of a great part of the Dutch 
 Church, especially the older members, who 
 were very much attached to their native tongue. 
 But there were others, who wanted the Engli.sh 
 language introduced into the pulpit, and thought 
 it absolutely essential to the welfare of the 
 Dutch Church, as it undoubtedly was. And 
 this diffi'rence of opinion, in rclntion to the lan- 
 guage, occasioned a very foolish and injurious 
 commotion, for sometime, in the Dutch Church. 
 But, on thi.s controversy, I will not dwell. 
 When you read the history of it, as now in va-
 
 1 06 T H E C II U R C II E S 
 
 rious ways printed, you may understand the 
 whole. About a fortnight after his arrival, 
 April 15, 1764, Mr. Laidlie preached his first 
 sermon, (the first ever delivered in the Dutch 
 Church, in the English language,) to a very 
 crowded and attentive auditory. His labours 
 among the people seemed to have been owned 
 and blessed of God, and a revival of religion 
 soon commenced in the church. The foUovv- 
 insr anecdote is related concerning him : At the 
 close of a prayer-meeting, one evenuig, some 
 pious, aged persons, who had always been ac- 
 customed to hear the gospel preached in Dutch, 
 their native tongue, gathered around Dr. Laid- 
 lie, and addressed him — "Ah, Dominie! we 
 ofTered many an earnest prayer in Dutch for 
 your coming among us; and, truly, the Lord 
 has heard us in E/iglish, and sent you to us." 
 Dr. Laidlie died at Red Hook, in 1780. His 
 collf!ague and successor was the Rev. John H. 
 Livingston, D. D. ; for whose history I must 
 refer you to his very valuable memoirs, written 
 by the late Rev. Alexander Gunn, D. D. Dr. 
 Livingston was settled in 1770, and died in 
 182.3. One of his colleagues was Rev. Wil- 
 liam Lynn, D. D., who was pastor from 1785 
 till 1805. His other colleagues and succes- 
 sors were as follows: the Rev. G. A. Kuypers, 
 settled 1789, and died in 1833; the Rev. John 
 N. Abeel, pastor from 1795 till death, in 1812; 
 the Rev. John Schureman, pastor from 1809
 
 OF XEAV-YORK. 107 
 
 till 1811; the Rev. Jacob Broadhcad, D. D., 
 settled in 1809; in 1813, removed to Philadel- 
 phia till 1826, when he returned, and settled in 
 the Broome-strcct Church; the Rev. P. Mille- 
 doler, from 1813 till 1820— now in New- 
 Brunswick ; the Rev. John Knox, who is still 
 with us ; the Rev. Paschal N. Strong, settled 
 1816, and died at St. Croix, W. I., April 7th, 
 1825; the Rev. Dr. Brownlee, settled in 1826; 
 and the Rev. Dr. De Witt, settled in 1827; 
 both of whom, together with Dr. Knox, are still 
 pastors of the "Associate Church." Of the 
 other Dutch churches, which are not "asso- 
 ciate,"' you, [lenry, may read this short account, 
 which I have taken from Mr. Goodrich's very 
 valuable Picture of New-York. 
 
 Henry. "The first church, at Ha?rlcm, one 
 of the oldest built on the island, was a small 
 wooden edifice, 57 by 30 feet; a new building 
 was erected in 1825, of brick, 50 by 65 feet, 
 with a handsome spire. 
 
 The fifth, in Herring-street, Greenwich, is 
 of brick, 84 feet by 6(3, built in 1827." Where 
 is Herring-street, sir? 
 
 Uncle. It is now called Bleecker-strect, and 
 the church is on the corner of Amos. The 
 present pastor is the Rev. Mr. M:nselliis. 
 
 Hr.nrii. "The sUtli, Noith-Wcst Cliurcli, 
 in Frank Jin-sr reel, 80 feet by 60, was built of 
 stone, in I8<i8. 
 
 The seventh, at Harsenville, or Blooming- 
 9»
 
 108 THE CHURCHES 
 
 dale; size, 72 by 57 feet, built of stone in 1814. 
 Pastor, Rev. Dr. Gunn." 
 
 Uncle. Mr. Hunt is the present pastor of the 
 Franklin-street church. Dr. Gunn has since 
 deceased. Ho was much esteemed in this city, 
 and is well known as the biographer of the late 
 Rev. Dr. Livingston. Read on. 
 
 Hinnj. '' Eigkth, North-East Church, in 
 Market street, is a handsome stone edifice, of 81 
 by 67 feet, built in 1819. 
 
 Ninlh, in King-street, built in 1826, of 
 brick, 50 by 60 feet, with a spire. 
 
 Tenth, in Forsyth-street, built in 1822, of 
 brick, 60 by 45 feet. 
 
 Eleventh, corner of Broome and Green 
 streets, built in 1823, of brick, 80 by 60 feet. 
 The choir in this church is very good. 
 
 Twelfth, corner of Greene and Hamilton 
 streets, is 56 by 75 feet, built, in 1824, of 
 marble. 
 
 Thirteenth, in Orchard, between Broome and 
 Delancy streets, is of brick, stuccoed; with two 
 handsome columns in front, supporting a neat 
 pediment: behind the portico is a square re- 
 cess, or vestibule, through which is the entrance 
 door: there are no galleries." 
 
 Uncle. To these you may add the one in 
 Ninth-street, near Broadway, now occupied by 
 one of the Associate Churches, who are erect- 
 ing an elegant and substantial building on La- 
 fayetie-Piace, corner of Fourth-street; and one
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 109 
 
 in Houstoun-street, corner of Forsyth, under the 
 care of Rev. Mr. Bourne, 
 
 The present pastor of the Market-street 
 church is Dr. Ferri.^, Avhose predecessor was 
 the R<^\'. Wm. M'Murray, D.D., now deceased. 
 The Rev. Dr. Baldwin ofiiciatos in the church 
 in Houstoun-street, corner of Greene, and Mr. 
 Demarcst in the one in King-street. 
 
 CHAPTER TWELFTH. 
 
 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 Unrle. We now come to speak of the esta- 
 blishmtnt and hi.story of the Episcopal Church, 
 in New- York city. 
 
 John. Is this older than the Presbyterian 
 church. 
 
 Uncle. By soirio years. The established 
 Church of England, you know, was Episcopal; 
 and consequently, most of the colonial govern- 
 ors that were sent out here, being friends and 
 members of that church, were anxious to have 
 public worship after their own accustomed 
 mann'^jr. The Dutch, however, as I have told 
 you before, were not disturbed in their use of 
 the only church in the city, until the year
 
 110 THE CHURCHES 
 
 1791, when King's chapel was erected. This 
 served as a place of worship for the Episcopa- 
 lians for five or six years. When Governor 
 Fletcher arrived in 1G92, he was very solici- 
 tous for the erection of another church. Ac- 
 cordingly, we find on the records of the Council 
 of November 8ih, 1695, a resolution for having 
 an estimate made of the expense of building a 
 wooden church, sixty feet long, and fifty feet 
 wide. But their plan being altered in 1696, a 
 stone building was erected on the main street 
 of the city, and was called the "English 
 Church,'" afterwards known as the "Trinity." 
 We now should say that the Trinity Church 
 stood between Broadway and Lumber-street; 
 but Lumber-street, then, was no more than the 
 bink of (he Hudson riccr, as you will see by 
 reading this passage from Mr. Smith's notes. 
 
 John. " Trinity Church stands very pleasant- 
 ly upon the banks of Hudson river, and has a 
 large cemetry on each side, enclosed in the front 
 by a painted paled fence. Before it a long walk 
 is railed ofTfrom the Broadway, the pleasantest 
 street of any in the whole town." 
 
 Uncle. This long walk, opposite the church, 
 which he mentions, was afterwards familiarly 
 known to the British soldiers as "the Mall." 
 The building was dedicated to the public wor- 
 ship of God on the 6th of February, 1697, when 
 divine service was performed in it, for the first 
 time, by the Rev. Mr. Vesey, rector of the parish.
 
 OF NEW- YORK. Ill 
 
 Mr. V'esey wasthe first regular clergyman sent 
 over here as " rector."' His original commission 
 from the Bishop of London is still preserved, 
 and can be seen among the manuscript papers 
 of the New-Yorlc Historical Society, at their 
 rooms in this city. In the year 1703, the City 
 Corporation granted the ground on which the 
 Trinity Church stood, to be a burial place for 
 the inhabitants of the city forever ;" and the pro- 
 ceeds of the burial charges were to go to the rec- 
 tor. The original church was a small, square 
 edifice, but aHbrded sufficient accommodations 
 to the congregation, till the year 1735, when it 
 was enlarged by an addition at the east end. In 
 1737, it was again augmented to the size in 
 which it apj-ejred at the time of its destruction. 
 
 John. "What! was the Trinity Church cics^roj/- 
 edl 
 
 Unrle. Yes ; you may add it to the list of 
 churches in tliis city destroyed by that all-de- 
 vouring element, /trc. On the night of the 20th 
 of September, 177G, when the British soldiery 
 held possession of the city, after the evacuation 
 of it by the American troop.s, a fire broke out in 
 the neighbouihood of Old-Slip, which was then 
 a disrepiitalile part of the city, and spread with 
 euch violenfe and fearful rapidity, as defied all 
 the efTorts of the inhabitants and soldiers to ar- 
 rest its progress. It spread wretcrly towards 
 Broadway, consuming every thing in its course. 
 Neither did this wide street successfully hinder
 
 112 THE CHURCHES 
 
 its progress. The sparks lighting on the shin- 
 gle vool's of the opposite houses, set them on fire, 
 and thus the conflagration continued. The 
 Lutheran Church, which then stood where 
 Grace Church now stands, and the Trinity, both 
 fell victims to the flames. This dreadful fire of 
 1776 ended ouly when it reached the College 
 Green. There were in all 493 houses consumed. 
 This fire extended over more ground than any 
 other that has ever occured in New-York. It 
 destroyed much less valuable property, however, 
 than the great fire of 1835. The venerable 
 "Trinity," thus burnt in 1776, was a very 
 spacious building, being 146 feet long, including 
 the ehancel and tower, 72 feet wide, and orna- 
 mented with a steeple 180 feet high. One of 
 the main entrances appears to have been on the 
 side fronting the river, and over it was an inscrip- 
 tion in Latin, a translation of a part of which 
 Henry may read to us. 
 
 Henry. " This temple of the Trinity was 
 founded inthe eighth year of our most illustrious, 
 and supreme lord, William the Third, by the 
 grace of God, king of Britain, Scotland, France, 
 and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &lc., and the 
 year of our Lord 1696." 
 
 Uncle. Mr. Smith, whom I have mentioned 
 before, wrote his History of New- York about 
 fifleon or twenty years before the great fire, 
 and from it you may read a short description
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 113 
 
 which he gives of the interior of the old 
 Trinity. 
 
 Johiu "The church is, within, ornamented 
 beyond any other place of public worship among 
 us. The head of the chancel is adorned with 
 an altar-piece, and opposite to it at the other end 
 of the building, is the organ. The tops of the 
 pillars which support the galleries are decked 
 with the gih busts of angels winged. From 
 the ceiling are suspended two glass branches, 
 and on the walls hang the arms of some of its 
 principal benefactors. The aisles are paved 
 with flit stones." 
 
 Uncle. From this WG can get a very good 
 idea of the internal appearance of the Trinity, 
 before its destruction in 1776. From its size 
 and height, it must have been considered, then, 
 and would be now, a noble structure. The 
 style of its architecture was simple; the win- 
 dows were arched in the (iolhic manner, and 
 the glass set in lead ; it was shaded by loUy 
 trees, and surrounded on every side by the 
 graves and monuments of the dead. Tlius it 
 must have presi-nldl a jilea.sing and impressive 
 sight to the passer-by, or the stranger, before its 
 enclosure had been entereij by the ruthless ty- 
 rant, its trees withered by the scorching heat, 
 its walls blackened with smoke, and its tall 
 steeple had bowed a victim to the flames. 
 
 Jnhn. ill what year was it rebuilt, sir? 
 
 Uncle. It lay in ruins during the remainder
 
 114 THE CHURCHES 
 
 of the war, and for some years after the con- 
 clusion of peace between Great Britain and 
 America ; when it was raised again from its 
 ashes in 1790. This new building, you know, 
 is the present Trinity Church, it is 104 feet 
 long, 72 wide, nnd has a steeple 200 feet high. 
 The house is less in length, but the steeple 
 higher, than the old one. 
 
 Henry. Who were some of the clergymen 
 of this church ? 
 
 U/icle. The Episcopal clergymen here, be- 
 fore the American war, were considered as mis- 
 sionaries, and were sent out by the English 
 Society for "Propagating the Gospel in Foreign 
 Parts," being ordinarily ordained for the woik 
 by the Bishop of London. The first of these 
 who officiated in the Trinity Church, Mr. Ve- 
 sey, wc have already noticed. He was rector 
 from 1696 to 1746. His successor was the 
 Rev. Mr. Henry Barclay, who had formerly 
 been a missionary among the Mohawks. He 
 came as rector to the Trinity Church in the 
 year 1746, and remained till 1764. His salary 
 was 100/. a-year, "levied upon all the other 
 clergy and laity in the city, by virtue of an act 
 of Assembly procured by Governor Fletcher." 
 He was for some time assisted in his labours by 
 Dr. Johnson and Mr. Auchmuty, 
 
 The Rev. Samuel Auchmuty, D. D., filled 
 the rectorship from 1764, till 1777. His suc- 
 cessor was the Rev. Charles Inglis, D. D., (after-
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 115 
 
 wards Bishop of Nova Scotia,) from 1777 till 
 1783. Aiier him, again, catne the Right Rev. 
 Samuel Provost, from 1783 to 1800; and the 
 Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D., from 1800 
 to 1816. Dr. Johnson was the first President 
 of Columbia College, and came to this city 
 from Str.-aford, Ct., in 1754. 
 
 Henry. In what year, sir, was Columbia 
 College'built? 
 
 Uaclc. The first stone was laid on the 23d of 
 August, 175(3. Dr. Johnson remained in the 
 city until 1703, when he returned to Stralford. 
 Before his leaving, however, the Episcopalians 
 had very much increased ; so much so as to re- 
 quire the erection of another church. This in- 
 crease was occasioned partly by the arrival of 
 emigrants from Europe, but principally by pro- 
 selytes from th.-' Dutch chtirchcs. Th.= Dutch, 
 who had always been accustomed to preaching 
 in their nntivc tongue, wrre very loth that their 
 mini.stersshould preach intheEnglish language; 
 and by this means they lost a great many fami- 
 lie.s from their congregations. The young peo- 
 ple, especially, were very averse to the Dutch, 
 and fond of the English language And in the 
 year 1752, though the old Trinity would con- 
 tain two thou.sand hearers, a n(!W church was 
 erected. This was called St. (ieorge's ( 'liaijel, 
 and was a neat edifice, faced with brown stone 
 and tiled. 
 
 10
 
 116 THE CHURCHES 
 
 John. The same that we now call by that 
 name, in Beckman-stj-cet, I suppose. 
 
 Uncle. It occupied the same spot, but is not 
 the same building-; for you must know that St. 
 George's Chape], too, has been once (Zcs//'0;^/eri 
 by fire. About twenty years ago, it was burnt 
 to the ground. You will notice that the pre- 
 sent St. George's Chapel has a short steeple, 
 like a tower. But the old one had a very lofty 
 steeple, it being 175 feet high. The spot it oc- 
 cupied was then called " Chapel Hill," and the 
 street in front of it, Chapel-street. The neigh- 
 bourhood about it was then a new, crowded, 
 and ill-built part of the city. At the dedication 
 of St. George's Chapel, which did not take place 
 till July 2d, 1756, the mayor of the city, accom- 
 panied by the recorder, aldermen, common 
 council, and other distinguished gentlemen, and 
 attended by fifty-two charity scholars, proceed- 
 ed, in order, from the City-Hall to the church. 
 The Rev. Mr. Barclay preached on the occa- 
 sion, what the public papers of the day speak of 
 as an "excellent sermon," from the text, "Re- 
 verence my sanctuary"; I am the Lord;" found 
 in Leviticus 26th chap. 2d verse. You may 
 take the Bible, John, and read to us the whole 
 verse in which it occurs. 
 
 John. Lev. xxvi. 2. — " Ye shall keep my 
 Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary : I am 
 the Lord."
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 
 
 117 
 
 CHAPTER TITIRTEENTH. 
 
 THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH CONTINUED. 
 
 Uncle.. In our la.^l convorsatioa about tlie 
 Trinity Cliiircli, I gavo you some account of 
 its dt'Struction, and of the- great fire which 
 drsolated the city at that time. Do you 
 rernr-inbor the year in which these events 
 happened ? 
 
 Ihary. It wu.s in tiie Li'.'ginning of tlic revo- 
 lution, iu 177G, I believe.
 
 118 THECHURCHES 
 
 U/icle. Yos, you arc right. And since our 
 last conversation, tlirough the kindness of Mr. 
 Dun lap, who wrote for us, last year, the inter- 
 esting Jittle History of New-York, I have been 
 able to procure for you a view of the Trinity 
 Church, representing it in ruins as he saw it 
 after the fire, in 1777. 
 
 Two years before, Mr. Dunlap had beheld it 
 in all its beauty ; but now its antiquated altar, 
 and costly chancel, its wing-cd angels, orna- 
 mented pillars, and high steeple, were all gone ; 
 and nothing but heaps of broken stones, and 
 blackened walls, were to be seen. But to go 
 on with our history. 
 
 In one of our (brmer conversations, you will 
 recollect, I mentioned to you that after the 
 American revolution, the constitution of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church, on this side of 
 the waters, was materially changed. This was 
 owing to the great change which the United 
 States experienced in her political relations to 
 the mother country. The members, and pro- 
 perty holders, of the Episcopal Church, had 
 been, mostly, the avowed and open enen)ies of 
 the American cause, and friends and dcfienders 
 of the British authorities in the colonics. Con- 
 sequrntly, before the conclusion of peace in 
 1783, many of thr^se flrd the country; and the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church began to rise 
 again, on a new foundation. A general eccle- 
 siastical convention of- delegates, from all the
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 119 
 
 States, Jvas held at New- York, in October, 1784, 
 which, after proposing a constitiuion for the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church in the United. 
 States of America, adjourned and met again at 
 Philadelphia, in 1785. At this convention of 
 1785, the proposed constitution was called up, 
 and adopted. 1 said that the constitution of the 
 church was materially altered. The main fea- 
 ture of this alteration, you will find embodied in 
 the preamble to the constitution, which one of 
 you may now read to us. 
 
 John " Whereas, in the course of Divine 
 Providence, the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 in the United States of America is become in- 
 dependent of all foreign authority, civil and ec- 
 clesiastical : And whereas, &c. 
 
 Uncle. Here it is; ''independent of all fo- 
 reign avlhorilij, civil and ecclesiastical ;" this 
 explains the nature of the change. Before, they 
 were under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of 
 London; wow i\\fy ware "■ indefcndent.^^ Be- 
 ioxH, the bisliops of the church were called 
 •* my lord," and enjoyed temporal authority ; 
 bat now, tlipy merely bore the title of " bishop." 
 And in thf; address of the convention to the 
 bishops of England, requesting the conferment 
 of the Episcopal character upon those ch(jsen 
 for tluit purpose, ihis was particularly noticed; 
 as you will see by this extract. 
 
 Henry. " And be it recommended to this 
 church, in the slates here represented, to pro- 
 10*
 
 120 THECHURCHES 
 
 vide, that tin ir resprctivo bishops may be call- 
 ed ' The Rli^rht Rev. A B, Bishop of" the Pro- 
 testant Epis'copal Cliurcli iti C. I).,' and as 
 bishop, may have no other title ; and may not 
 use any such style as is usually descriptive of 
 temporal power and precedency." 
 
 Uncle. An address, embodying' principles 
 similar to these we have noticed, was trans- 
 mitted by this association to the archi)ishops 
 and bishops of the Church of England, inquir- 
 ing whether an ordination of bishops for this 
 country iniq-ht be effected there; to which an 
 affirmative answer was returned. According- 
 ly, at the recommendation of the convention of 
 New- York, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Provost, and 
 the Rev Dr. William White, at the recom- 
 mendation of the convention of Pennsylvania, 
 were duly consecrated bishops of the churches 
 in their respective states. So that the Rev. 
 Samuel Provost, D. D., rector of Trinity Church, 
 was the Jirst bishop of the diocese of New- 
 York 
 
 In 1789, Biahop Provost was assisted in 
 his pastoral office over tlie Trinity Church, by 
 the Rev. Abraham Beach, D. D., and tlie Rev. 
 Benjamin Moore, D. D The Rev. J. Learn- 
 ing, D. D., resided in the city for some years, 
 though not as a settled rector. In 1795, the 
 name of the Rev. John Bisset appears on the 
 list, as an assistant mini.sler of Trinity Church. 
 In the year 1801, Bishop Provost, induced by
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 121 
 
 ill-health, some afflictions in his family, and an 
 ardent wish to retire from all public employ- 
 ment, gave notice to the General Convention, 
 then in session at Trenton, New Jersey, of his 
 intention to leave his ollice as bishop of the 
 diocese of New-York, and of his resignation 
 already tendered to a church convention of that 
 state. To this proposition, however, the Gene- 
 ral Convention were not prepared to accede, 
 though willing to provide Dr. Provost an as- 
 sistant in the duties of his l)ishopric, as you will 
 see by reading this e.\tract from the minutes of 
 the house of bishops. 
 
 H>:iinj. " While the house of bishops sym- 
 pathize most tenderly with their brotl)or Bishop 
 Provost, on account of that ill-health, and those 
 m<l incholy occurrences which have led to the 
 design in rpiestion, they judge it to be incon- 
 sistent with the sacred trust committed to them, 
 to recognize the Bishop's act as an effectual re- 
 signation of his episcopal jurisdiction. Never- 
 theless, being sensiljle of the present exigencies 
 of the church of New-YorU, and approving of 
 their making provision for the actual discharge 
 of the duties of iIk! episcopacy, the bisliops of 
 this house are ready to consecrate to the oiTice 
 of bishop, ruiy j/fison who may l)e presiriled 
 to them with the r(f|uisit;' ti stinjoriials frou) tin; 
 Qf-neral and State Conventions; and of whose 
 religiou.s. moral, and literary character, due sat- 
 isfaction may be given."
 
 122 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Uncle. Accordino-ly, at the Vf^comincndation 
 of the State Convention of New-York, the Rev, 
 Benjamin Moore, D. D., then rector of Trinity- 
 Church, was consecrated bishop of the New- 
 York diocese, in conjunction with Bishop Pro- 
 vost, in St. Michael's Church, Trenton, on the 
 1 1th of September, 1801. The house of bishops 
 were explicit in their declaration, that they 
 should consider the new bishop only as coad- 
 jutor bishop, during Dr. Provost's life, although 
 competent to all the episcopal duties. In this 
 year also, the Rev. John Henry Hobart and 
 the Rev. Cave Jones, appear as assistant minis- 
 ters of Trinity Church. 
 
 John. Mr. Hobart was afterwards bishop ; 
 was he not, sir ? 
 
 Uncle. Yes; consecrated in 1811. In 1804, 
 the Rev. William Harris was rector of St. 
 Mark's Church, Bowery, and the Rev. Joseph 
 Pilmore, rector of Christ's Church, which then 
 stood in Ann, but afterwards in Anthony-street. 
 near Broadway. Dr. Pilmore was from Eng- 
 land ; he began preaching in this city as a Me- 
 thodist, but finally became an Episcopalian. 
 He afterwards removed to Philadelphia, where 
 he died. The names of Rev. Thomas Lyell, 
 rector of Christ's Church, and Rev. George 
 Strebeck, rector of St. Stephen's Church, appear 
 in the printed list of 1808. In 1811, owing to 
 the flourishing state of the church in the diocese 
 of New-York, the increase of the bishop's
 
 O F N n \V - V O R K . 123 
 
 duties, and the boJily infirmities of Bishop 
 Moore, it was deemed absolutely necessary that 
 another assistant bishop should be appointed. 
 And at the request of thf Convention of the 
 State of New-York, the Rev. John Henry 
 Hobart was duly consecrated to the office of 
 assistant bishop, by the General Convention, 
 assi.-mbled in Trinity Church, New- York, May 
 29th, 1811. 
 
 John. Was Bishop Provost still alive? 
 
 UiicU. Yes, and assisted in the services of 
 consecration. So that tiiere were now no less 
 than three bishops in the diocese of New-York 
 at one lime. In liiis year also, we find the 
 names of several new ministers in the city ; 
 viz. Reverends Nathaniel Bowen, rector of 
 Grace Church; Tiiomas Y. How, assistant min- 
 ister of Trinity Church; and Rev. Ricliard C. 
 Moore, D. D., rector of St. Stephen's Church. 
 Dr. .Moore, in 1811, was consecrated bishop of 
 the diocese of Virginia, and removed thilijor. 
 In this year, the printi d list shows us the fol- 
 lowinof acce.ssion to the former number of min- 
 isters in the city of New- York- ; viz. Reve- 
 rends William Berrian, assistant minister of 
 Trinity; John Brady, assistant minister, and 
 Jofm kf'wliy, M. [).. rector of St. G-orije's ; 
 B'lijamin 'J'. ( )nd(rdoiik. assistant mini.stcr 
 of Trinity, and Ralph Williston, rector of Zion 
 Church.
 
 124 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Henry. Mr. Onderdonk is the present bishop, 
 I believe 1 
 
 Uyiclc. Yes; and you will notice that all the 
 four bishops who have been over this dio- 
 cese, were ministers at the Trinity Church in 
 this city, before their consecration to that 
 office. 
 
 CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 
 
 EPISCOPAL CHURCH CONTINUED. 
 
 Uncle. St. Paul's was the third Episcopal 
 Church built within tlie precincts of the city. 
 The first slone was laid on the 14lh of May, 
 1764. 
 
 Henry. It was built, then, before the great 
 fire? 
 
 Uncle. About twelve years before ; and 
 was saved from the like fate with the Trinity 
 only by the timely exertions of the neighbour- 
 ing- inhabitants, who, keeping the roof con- 
 stantly wet, thus extinguished the sparks as 
 they fell. In this they were aided by the flat- 
 ness of the roof, and the railing around it. St. 
 Paul's was quite in the outskirts of the city
 
 o r N E W - Y R K . 125 
 
 when first built. The same year in which the 
 foundation stone was laid, the lot. on which it 
 stands had been ploughed up and sowed icitk 
 wheat. And in 1826, there was a person re- 
 siding in the city, who well remembered the 
 building of the "third English Church," in the 
 wheat-field. This has always been considered 
 the most elegant and finished church in the 
 city. It presents a fine view from the Park, 
 and the appearance is very imposing, especially 
 to strangers, upon the first sight. The front is 
 an Ionic portico, the pediment of which con- 
 tains a statue of St. Paul, in a niche, in the 
 centre. 
 
 John. St. Paul has a cane in his hand, if I 
 recollect aright. VV^hat does that mean, sir 'I 
 
 Uncle. The design might liavc been, to sug- 
 gest, to the beholder, the peculiar character of 
 the Apo.stlc. You know he was called the 
 Cireat Apostle to the Gentiles. In this cha- 
 racter he traversed the greater part of Asia, as 
 it was then known, Greece, Macedonia, and all 
 the other countries lying aboui the Mediterra- 
 nean Sea. In tht'Se journeys ho doubtless 
 travelled, many a weary mile on foot, over the 
 hills and mountiiiri.s of those eastern countries, 
 with none other earthly aid than his staff. This 
 then reminds us of the perseverance and zeal 
 with which the first apostles of Christianity 
 spread thV; knowledge of the truth. 
 
 The interior of the building is finished in the
 
 12G THE CUIIRCHES 
 
 Corinthian order, with high columns supporting 
 an arched ceiling-. But liere, in this old maga- 
 zine, published in 1795, I have found a short 
 description of St. Paul's, which one of you may- 
 read 
 
 John. " The great window in front of this 
 church, is adorned with the monument erected 
 by order of Congrf ss to the memory of General 
 Montgomery. The pulpit and altar are de- 
 signed and executed with a remarkable degree 
 of taste. The steeple, which was finished last 
 year, (1794,) completes the external appearance 
 of the building; it is something more than two 
 hundred feet high from the ground. Above 
 the tower, rises a quadiangular section or story, 
 of the Ionic order, with proper columns, pilas- 
 ters, and pediments; the two next sections are 
 octangular, of the Composite and Corinthian 
 orders, supported by columns at the angles. 
 The whole is crowned \\\\.h a spire. The 
 church, tower, and first srction of the steeple, 
 are of stone : the rest is of wood. As no ex- 
 pense has been spared, and the several parts 
 have been directed by persons of taste and ca- 
 pacity, the structure is generally esteemed pre- 
 ferable to most of the kind in the United States." 
 
 Uncle. St. Paul's, you recollect, was built 
 before the Revolutionary War. Since, then, 
 with the increase of the city, the number of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Churches has increased 
 greatly. By looking upon this map of the city
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 127 
 
 you will see that the number of Episrnpal 
 Churches, in the immediate bounds of the city, 
 is now tirenly-sei-en, including the French 
 Church in Franklin street. You may mention 
 their names and location, Henry. 
 
 Henry. All Saints" Church, in Henry-street; 
 Christ Church, Anihony-strett ; Church of the 
 Ascension, Canal-street; Epiphiny, Stanton- 
 strect; Grace, Broadway; St. Clement's, Amity- 
 street ; St. Luke's, Hudson-street; St. Mark's, 
 Stuyvesant Place ; St. Peter's, Turntitth street; 
 St. Stephens, Broome-street ; St. Thomas', 
 Broadway; St. John's, Varick-slrcet ; St. Bar- 
 tholomew's, Lafayettv Place ; St. James', Ham- 
 ilton Square; St. Timothy's. Houstoun-street, 
 corner of Allen; St. Mary's, Manhattanville; 
 and Zinn Church, Moit-strect. 'J'he others, 
 sir, excepting the French, you have already 
 mentioned 
 
 Unrte. The history of the French Church is 
 full of interest, and deserves a separate consider- 
 ation. 
 
 All. Saitiis^ Church, in He nry-strert, was 
 built in It<28. Mr. Haight is its present pastor. 
 ChrixCx Church, w.ts built in 1823; rector, the 
 Rev. Dr. Lyell. The Chunh of the Ascension 
 enjoys the labours of the Rev. Dr. Eastburn. 
 'i'hc Epi-phnny was bfgun as a missionary 
 enterprise, and is sometimis known as tlif Mis- 
 sion Church, with the Rev. L. Jones for its 
 rector. The Rev. Mr. 'i'aylor officiates in 
 11
 
 l<28 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Grace Church, Avhich was erected in 1809. 
 
 This has long been one of the most popular 
 
 churches in the city. Over St. Clements, is 
 
 settled Mr. Bayard : and Dr. Anthon, over St. 
 
 Mark's. St. Mark's Church was founded in 
 1795. The spire, which adds so much to the 
 
 beauty of the edifice, was not raised till 1827. 
 St' Peter's has been lately built, in a new 
 
 part of the city ; its rector is the Rev. Hugh 
 
 Smith. 
 
 St. Stephetos was founded in 1805, is built 
 
 of stone, and its size is 75 feet by 54 ; rector, 
 Rev. Mr. Price. 
 
 St. Bartholomew's is of late erection, and is 
 
 a great ornament to the upper part of the city. 
 Mr. Kelly was lately the minister. 
 
 St. Thomas', commenced in 1823, was fin- 
 ished and consecrated in 1826. " It is made of 
 stone, and in the most pure Gothic style of any 
 edifice in the city. Its distinguishing features 
 are the two large, angular, projecting towers at 
 the northeast and southeast corners, which rise 
 in undiminished proportions, to a height of 80 
 feet, and end in pointed turrets of a dwarf size; 
 also, the immense Gothic window in front, be- 
 tween the towers, and occupying a large por- 
 tion of the surface; beneath this, and in each 
 tower, are the entrance doors." Its rector is the 
 Rev. Francis L. Hawks, D. D. 
 
 St. John'swas completed in 1810. It is one 
 of the most magnificent churches in the country.
 
 a F N £ \\' - V O R K . 
 
 129 
 
 " It is ornamented in front with a portico, and 
 four columns in the Corinthian style, which 
 are based on a flight of steps above the street ; 
 and from the roof of the portico and church, is 
 built the lofty and splendid spire, to the height 
 of 240 feet. The bishop and two rectors offi- 
 ciate alternately in Trinity, St. Paul's, and St. 
 John's." These areat present, Bishop Onderdonk, 
 and the Rev. Messrs. Schrceder, and Higbee. 
 The Rev. Mr. Mills officiates in St. TimotliT/s, 
 and the Rev. Mr. Forbes in Si. Luke's. St. 
 Luke's was erected in lS2i, and has a fine ap- 
 pearance from the street. St. Mary's was 
 founded in 1824.
 
 130 
 
 THE CHURCHES 
 
 
 CHAPTER FIFTEENTH. 
 
 THE FRENCH CHURCH, 
 
 Henry. You promised us, sir, a conversation 
 concerning tlie history of the French Church, 
 in this city, of which we are somewhat anxious 
 to hear. 
 
 Uncle. I did so, and am glad to see you mani- 
 fest such interest in the history of so interesting- 
 a people, as were the founders of the French 
 Protestant Church in this city. You have 
 heard more or less of their liistory, I know, and, 
 therefore, do not wonder that you are desirous 
 to Jfarn farther concerning them. 
 
 Heary. Yes, we have both heard of the
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 131 
 
 Huguenots; but would like to learn more con- 
 cerning their settlement in this country, and 
 the cause of their flight from Europe, 
 
 Uncle. Huguenots, you will remember, was 
 only another name for the reformed or Protestant 
 Calvinists of France, which was first given to 
 them about the year loGO. These devoted Pro- 
 testants underwent a persecution from the hands 
 of the Papists, with scarce aparallel.as/ocrMi^/^y, 
 in the history of religion, until a peace of short 
 duration was obtained for them, by Henry III. 
 King of France, 1576. This peace lasted only 
 ten years. Henry IV. succeeded to the throne in 
 1589. This prince hnd been educated in the 
 Protestant faith, and for a long time had been 
 at the head of the Huguenot party. This proved 
 an obstacle to his coronation, as king of France; 
 but sacrificing his conscience to the suggestions 
 of polic}', he finally consented to abjure his reli- 
 gion ; and in 1593 publicly professed Popery, 
 and owned the authority and government of 
 Rome. But he did not utterly forget his old 
 friends and allir-s, the Huguenots. By the fa- 
 mous edict of Nantes, in the year 1598, he grant- 
 ted to ihem the liberty of serving Ciod according 
 to their conscif-nce.?, and a full enjoyment of 
 civil right.s and privileges, without persecution 
 or molestation. Many other privileires were 
 granted, that were not even demanded by the 
 Huguenots. Thus, they lived happily, under 
 the provisions of this edict, for nearly a hundred 
 11*
 
 132 THE CHURCHES 
 
 years, whrti it was most cruelly revoked by 
 Louis XIV. in 16S5. 'J'hisweak prince not on- 
 ly revoked the edict of Henry, but followed up 
 the revocation by a measure still more tyrannical 
 and shocking. He addressed an express order 
 to all the reformed churches <o embrace the 
 Romish faith. The immediate consequence of 
 this unjust and cruel proceeding was, that the 
 persecuted Protestants fled the country in all di- 
 rections. Mure than half a million of these suf- 
 fering people, on this occasion, turned their backs 
 upon their native land, to seek a home and an 
 as^'kim in other countries, where they could 
 worship God according to the dictates of their 
 own consciences, and enjoy that peace which 
 their mother country had socruelly refused them. 
 This, in the event, pioved highly detrmiental 
 to the best interests of France, but greatly advan- 
 tageous to those countries and states where these 
 in'iustrious, skilful, and religious people settled. 
 Wherever they went, their inOuence, both as to 
 religion and learning, was good. Among other 
 countries, tlicir att* niion was turned towards the 
 new worlJ, and many of them found an asylum 
 in the then province of New-York. The most 
 wealthy settled in the city; others went into the 
 country, and planted the town of New Rochelle ; 
 and a (ew took up their abode at New Pallz, in 
 Ulster County. 
 
 John. How far, sir, is New RochcUe from 
 New- York?
 
 OF XEW-VORK. 133 
 
 Uncle. About twenty miles, in a north-easterly 
 direction. Tliose of ilum who rcsidtd in New- 
 York soon organized a church, upon ihe princi- 
 ples and model of the reformed church in their 
 native land : and, by their growth and foreign 
 accessions, formed a congregation, said to have 
 been superior, for numbers and riches, to all but 
 the Dutch. Concerning those of the devout 
 Huguenots who settled at New Rochelle, you, 
 Henry, may read the following; which, says 
 the Rev. Dr. Miller, '"can be depindt-d upon, 
 though received oralhf from an old Huguenot 
 woman of New Rochtlle.'" 
 
 Henry. " When the Huguenots first settled 
 at New Rochelle, the only place of worship 
 tliey had to attend was in New- York city. They 
 had taken lands on terms which required tlie 
 utmost exertions of men, women, and children 
 among them, to clear, and render tillable. They 
 were therefore in tiie habit of working hard till 
 Saturday night, spending the night in trudging 
 down on foot to the citv, attending worship twice 
 the next day, and walking iiome the same night, 
 to be ready for work in the morning. Amidst 
 all these hard.«hi|»s they wrote to France, wliat 
 great privileges they enjoijCiL .' ' 
 
 Unrle. You see what a privihge they con- 
 sidered it. to be permitted to meit once a-week 
 their brethren, assembled in the house of God. 
 They seiiltd two niini-stcrs over this congrega- 
 tion in New- York. Mr. Rou was the first called ;
 
 1S4 THE CHURCHES 
 
 and is represented a? having been a man of much 
 Icarnintr, but of rather an unhappy temperament. 
 Mr. Moulinaars, his colleague, was most distin- 
 guished for his pacilic spirit and unblameable 
 life : he was a man of moderate abilities, but 
 much beloved by his people. Between these 
 two ministers, an unhappy dispute arose, about 
 the year 1724. Of this, 1 will merely say a few 
 words. It was, indeed, an unhappy affair. Mr. 
 Rou was thought to have rather despised his 
 fellow-labourer, and for a longtime retained his 
 influence over the congregation, on account of 
 the superiority of his talents for the pulpit. But, 
 in this year, Mr. Moulinaars gained a majority 
 in his favour; andanewset of elders beingelected, 
 Mr. Rou was dismissed. But Mr. William 
 Burnet, a son of the celebrated bishop of that 
 name, being then Governor in the colony, and a 
 firm friend to Mr. Rou, by his influence, rein- 
 stated that gentleman in his pastoral office. 
 This caused a breach in the congregation, and 
 it became divided ; a part remaining with Mr. 
 Rou, but the majority leaving the church, and 
 connecting themselves elsewhere. Among those 
 who left it, with great reluctance, was a Mr. De- 
 lancej% who was a man of wealth and influence, 
 and had been a generous benefactor to the French 
 church. 
 
 Henry. Did Mr. Rou preach in the French 
 language ? 
 
 Uncle. Yes; as did his successors, even
 
 OF NE'.V-YORK. 135 
 
 down to the present day. On every Sabbath, or 
 every second one, the French inhabitants of our 
 city may, if they choose, hear the gospel preach- 
 ed in their native tongue. This practice has 
 been kept up, though the church would, doubt- 
 less, have been much more flourishing at present, 
 had the Ensjlish language been introduced into 
 their pulpit altogether, many years ago. The 
 Fiench church has suffered much from their 
 aversion to a change, as the Dutch formerly did 
 from a similar cause. The members of the 
 French church have dwindled away to a very 
 small number, though they have one of the finest 
 church buildiniis in the city. 
 
 Henry. This stands, 1 believe, on the corner 
 of Church and Franklin streets. But where- 
 abouts, sir, was the old one? 
 
 Uncle. The old French church stood fronting 
 on Fine-street, between that and C< dar, and near 
 Nassau-si rfft. Tliis venirable alifice you will 
 now, doubtless, call to mind, as it is only five 
 or six years since it was removed. It was one 
 of the oldest buildings in the city, at the umc of 
 its removal. Here you see a picture of it, as it 
 stood a few years ago. [Head of the Chapter.] 
 
 Henry. I now recollect, it, sir. It had a large 
 yard before it, on Cedar-street, as is here repre- 
 sented. 
 
 Uncle. Yes; and the white tombstones, with 
 which it was filhd, betok' ning thf abode of 
 numerous dead, together witli the old-fashioned
 
 136 THE CHURCHES 
 
 •charch, crowned with its ancient quadrangular 
 tower, under whose arched windows the doves 
 and swallows found a safe retreat, gave the 
 whole an aspect of peculiar sacredness in the 
 eyes of the beholder. But, like many other 
 sacred enclosures in this bustling city, it has 
 'been invaded by the ruthless hand of enlerprise 
 and improvement ; the slumbers of its dead 
 have been disturbed — the church, with its old 
 square tower, has been demolished — and the 
 spot itself is now covered with one solid mass 
 of lofty stores. 
 
 Johti. In what year was the old French 
 Church built? 
 
 Uncle. In the year 1704 ; as you will see by 
 ihe following inscription in Latin, which was 
 ■on the front of it ; — 
 
 ^iDEs Sacra 
 Gallor. Pkot. 
 
 Reform. 
 FyNDA. 1704. 
 
 Pemtvs 
 'Repar. 1741. 
 
 A plain translation cf which, is: This French 
 Prolestani Reformed Church was built in 
 1704; and repaired within in 1741. It was 
 removed, I 'believe, in 1832, and consequently 
 had stood for the period of one hundred and 
 iwenty-eight years. Mr. Smith, who wrote his
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 137 
 
 history about the year 1750, in a note, gives a 
 short sketch of the church, which Henry may 
 read to us. 
 
 Henry. " The French Church, by the con- 
 tentions in 1724, and the disuse of the language, 
 is now reduced to an inconsiderable handful. 
 The church, which is of stone, is nearly a 
 square, (the area was 70 feet long, and 50 
 broad,) and plain both within and without. It 
 is fenced from the street, has a steeple and a 
 bell, the latter of which was the gift of Sir 
 Henry Asshurst, of London. The present 
 minister, Mr. Carle, is a native of France, and 
 succeeded Mr. Rou in 1754. He bears an irre- 
 proachable character, is very intent upon his 
 studios, preaches moderate Calvinism, and 
 speaks with propriety, both of pronunciation 
 and gesture." 
 
 Uncle. During the revolutionary war, this suf- 
 fered, in common with most of the other churches, 
 from the hands of the soldiery, being used as a 
 prison. The new church was erected in 1832. 
 The present rector is the Rev. Mr. Verren.
 
 138 THE CHURCH ES 
 
 CHAPTER SIXTEENTH. 
 
 THE (iUAKEKS. 
 
 Uncle. We have been conversing somewhat 
 concerning the history oithe Episcopal Church 
 in this city; but, as we purpose to consider the 
 history ot the difltTcnt sects in the order that 
 they appeared in the colony, we should have 
 placf'd that of the Quakers next to the Dutch 
 Reformed. For we have abundant mention of 
 them as early as the time of Governor Stuyve- 
 sant. And how early was that, Henry? 
 
 Henry. He gave up his government in 1664, 
 I believe. 
 
 Uncle. So that it must have been some years 
 before 1664 that the Quakers, as a religious 
 sect, were first known here. It is thought that 
 they made their first appearance in 1657. In 
 that year five persons, by name Robert Hod- 
 son, Christopher Holden, H. Norton, IVlary 
 Witherhe'ad, and Doralha Wauijh, are said to 
 have arrived at New-York, then called New 
 Amsterdam. The last two were put into a 
 dungeon for declaring their piinciples in the 
 street. Robert Hodson went to Hempstead, on 
 Long-Island, where, holdinga meeting publicly, 
 he was apprehended by order of the governor of
 
 O F X E W - Y R K . 1 39 
 
 New Amsterdam, as were also two women ; all of 
 whom received punishment from the governor. 
 Robert Hodson was treated like a common 
 felon. First he was kd about the streets, "at 
 the carts tail,'' with his hands pinioned behind 
 him ; then beaten with a rope till he fell ex- 
 hausted; and afterwards he was set at the wheel- 
 barrow to work at hard labour. Such treat- 
 ment was continued until Governor Siuyvesant 
 was prevailed upon by his sister to let him go 
 free. 
 
 John. How could the good Peter Stuyvesant 
 be so cruel i 
 
 Uncle. There i.s much allowance to be made 
 for him. \ ou know that the peaceable Qua- 
 kers had been persecuted in all the colonial set- 
 tlements in North America, Rhode Island ex- 
 cepted; and Governor Stuyvesant went no far- 
 ther in the work of persecution than our other 
 good governors, especially those in the New 
 England colonies. Besides this, all officers 
 of the Dutch government in the colony, in 
 taking their oath of allegiance, had to pledge 
 thcrnselvf s to "maintain the Reformed religion, 
 in conformity with the word of (iod, and the 
 decree of the Synod of Dordrecht." This fa- 
 mous synod, which wa.s convened during the 
 years 1018 and IGl'J, laid strict requisitions 
 upon all governors, and other rulers. With 
 this in our view, we can more easily account 
 for the appearance of a persecuting sj)irit in the 
 12
 
 140 THE CHURCHES 
 
 conduct of Governor Stuyvesant. Many others 
 of this society, who removed from New Eng- 
 land, were treated by him with severity. Per- 
 sons were made liable to fines for lodging- a 
 Gluaker even one night. Though their num- 
 ber was still small, yet they continued to hold 
 their regular meetings in the face of all opposi- 
 tion ; and for the want of a more suitable place, 
 they were accustomed to assemble in a wood 
 between Flushing and Jamaica, on Long Island. 
 But here also they were wrongfully disturbed, 
 and apprehended by order of the governor. 
 Among the rest thus apprehended, was one 
 John Bowno, an inhabitant of Flushing, who 
 was treated with more than usual severity, and 
 sent to Holland for trial. His story is interest- 
 ing, and somewhat as follows : — Being per- 
 suaded by his wife to attend one of their meet- 
 ings, he was struck by their serious deportment, 
 and manifest desire to worship God in sincerity, 
 embraced their principles, avowed himself one 
 of their number, and gave his own house for 
 them to meet in. In consequence of this, he 
 was apprehended and taken under guard to 
 New Amsterdam, where, after suffering much, 
 and making no promise to discontinue the meet- 
 ings at his house, he was, in 1662, sent as a pri- 
 soner on board of a ship-of-war to Holland. 
 But, through contrary winds, he was landed in 
 Ireland, and permitted to pass through that 
 country and England, on engaging to appear
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 141 
 
 in due time in Holland. This promise he 
 faithfully fulfilled, and thus gave them a noble 
 example of truth and honesty. But his judges 
 there, finding him steadfast to his opinions of 
 religious duty, at length set him at liberty. 
 Soon after this he returned home, and found on 
 his arrival the government iu the possession of 
 the English. He saw also the Dutch governor ; 
 who, it is said, made an acknowledgment to him 
 for his cruelty in the treatment inflicted upon 
 him by his order. 
 
 Hr.nry. Were the English governors more 
 friendly to the Quakers than the Dutch had 
 been ? 
 
 VncU. Yes, much more ; so that their num- 
 bers increased very rapidly after the surrender. 
 In 1692, a yearly meeting was held at Flush- 
 ing; which shows that they were in a flourish- 
 ing state. In 1696, a meeting-house was built 
 in New- York. 'J'his was only three j'ears after 
 the building of tlie first Garclen-street Church, 
 and consequently was the third house erected 
 for public worship without the walls of the fort. 
 
 John. Whereabouts was this Quaker meet- 
 ing-house, .sir? 
 
 IJnch. It was probably the same building 
 that we find on a map of the city, piibli.shed in 
 172H. standing on a narrow street which con- 
 nected .Maiden-lane with Crown, now Libcrty- 
 streot. 
 
 This church was outside of the wall.j of tho
 
 142 THE CHURCHES 
 
 city, wliich once run along; where Wall-street 
 now is, and beinw afterwards sold to Mr. Grant 
 Thorburn, was for many years used by him as 
 a seed store. The store you undoubtedly re- 
 collect, as it has been pulled down only a year 
 or two. 
 
 Henry. Where did they build after this? 
 
 Uncle. In Pearl-street, on the blocic between 
 Franklin-square and Odk-street. There the 
 Quaker meeting-house, for many years, stood 
 separated from the bustling street by its neat 
 wooden railings. During the revolutionary war, 
 it suffered in common with the other non-Episco- 
 pal churches, and was used by the British army 
 as a hospital. When tliis property was sold, 
 the society again built in Rose-street. Besides 
 this, the Friends now have meeting-houses in 
 Hester, Henry, Carmine, and Downing streets. 
 
 Hennj. Why, sir, did the British army dis- 
 turb the Quakers, when they were so peaceable? 
 
 Uncle. They disturbed them merely because 
 they were peaceable. They wished to sec them 
 take up arms as loyalists. But the Quakers, 
 generally speaking, remained true to their prin- 
 ciples of prace. So early as 1G7.5, we find that 
 a considerable number of inhabitants at Oyster 
 Bay, L. I., being Quakers, refused to take up 
 arms and watch ag;iinst the Indians, for which 
 fines and taxes were levied upon them. But, in 
 1755, "the people called Quakers" advanced 
 largely from their substance in aid of the colonial
 
 OF NEW-VORK. 143 
 
 army against the French. This was an excep- 
 tion to their general rule. In the American re- 
 volution weagain find them neutral. And this was 
 peculiarly a time of trial to them. For, to attend 
 their yearly, and other meetings, they had not 
 only to pass the lines of the contending parties, 
 but over ground rendered still more perilous by 
 hordes of desperate men, who, for plunder's sake, 
 frequented that part of the country that lay be- 
 tween the American and British armies, and so 
 long known as the Neutral Ground. 
 
 From these lawless men, the Quakers expe- 
 rienced fre(|uont abuse, and robberies. On these 
 very grounds the meetings were frequently held, 
 as at Marmaroneck, Purchase, and Shapaqua. 
 Also, when the yearly meeting was h(dd on 
 Long Island, tlic members who came from a dis- 
 tance were liable, in going within the British 
 lines, to be taken up and imprisoned, and no less 
 so on their return. Accordingly, on their return 
 from the yearly meeting of 1777, eight persons 
 were apprehended, and imprisoned for several 
 month.s in what w;is called the " Fleet Prison," 
 lying at Esopus creek, in Hudson river. Many 
 others met with losses and abuse, in going to 
 and from the yearly meeting, but princi|ially 
 from the lawless men on the neutral ground. 
 And indeed, when the nature and circumstances 
 of the war, and the relative situation in which 
 the contending arn)ies were placed, are taken 
 into consideration, it is evident, as the Uuakcra 
 12*
 
 144 THE CHURCHES 
 
 themselves assert, that an inclulgenoo and liberty 
 were granted to them, hardly to have been ex- 
 pected. 
 
 Before we take leave of these peaceable peo- 
 ple, I will just mention something about which 
 you may inquire, should you ever be at the 
 town of Flushing, L. I. There were stand- 
 ing in that place, in the year 1800, two large 
 oak trees, under which George Fox, the great 
 founder of the sect of Quakers, or Friends, 
 preached, during his visit to this country about 
 the year 1670. Whrn they were once in 
 danger of being cut down, Mr. John Bowne, 
 perhaps a descendant of the person of the same 
 name whom we have noticed above, agreed to 
 pay the market price of the wood to the owner, 
 in order th:it they might be spared. Someday, 
 perhaps, you ni:iy have an opportunity of in- 
 quiring concerning- these trees. 
 
 Jo'm. Who were some of their ministers, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Ah ! they have no regularly educated 
 and ordained clergymen, as we have, John. 
 And this is one of their chief errors. They 
 have no pastors, entirely devoted to the work of 
 religion, to ''take care of the chv.rck of God," 
 as St. Paul expresses it; and none to whom his 
 other words of inspiration might be applied, 
 •' If a min desire the office of a bishop, he de- 
 sireth a good work." They profess to found 
 their practice on this passage of Scripture: — 
 " Freely ye have received, freely give.''
 
 OF XEW-yORK. 145 
 
 CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH. 
 
 THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. 
 
 U/ide. One of the earliest sects of Christians 
 that appeared in the city, after the surrender of 
 Governor Stuyvesant, in 1664, was that of the 
 Lutlierans. The terms, you recollect, on which 
 the Dutch governor capitulated were extreme- 
 ly favourable, not only to those of his own sect, 
 but to those also of every denomination ; for 
 they were to have " freedom of conscience" in 
 regard to matters of religion, and to be free from 
 restraint in reference to their mode, time, and 
 other peculiarities of worship. Many of the 
 Dutch inhabitants were undoubtedly Lutherans 
 at the time of surrender; but their numbers ap- 
 pearto have rapidly increased after these favoura- 
 ble terms in regard to faith were published by 
 Governor Nicolls, as an encouragement for set- 
 tlers. Indeed, so great was the number of Lu- 
 therans at that time, that the very next year after 
 the English flag had been displayed from the 
 hei:^ht3 of Fort Amsterdam, they petitioned for 
 liberty to send to Germany a call for a regular 
 pastor. Tills petition, of course, Governor 
 Nicolls granted, and in February, 1669, two 
 years after Colonel Nicolls had left the govern-
 
 146 THE CHURCHES 
 
 ment, the Rev. Jacobus Fabricius arrived in 
 the colonv, and bej^an his ministrations. 
 
 John. U, I remember his name : he had some 
 difficuhy with the g-overnor, 1 think you said. 
 
 Uncle. All the ditficulty was, that being ac- 
 cused of disturbing the peace of one of the 
 southern colonies by preaching his peculiar 
 sentiments, he was, in consequence of this, re- 
 proved by the governor, and hie liberty of leav- 
 ing the boimds of the colony, was at firet some- 
 what restricted; and afterwards ho was prohib- 
 ited altogether from preaching: and to show 
 you what customs obtained in those daj'^s, \vas I 
 believe the only reason why I mentioned the 
 circumstance at all. However, it is not much, 
 to be wondered at, considering the state of the 
 times then, thf< recency of the reformation, and 
 the relics of Papacy then to be found both in the 
 forms and doctrines of the Lutheran church, 
 that an outcry was made by American colonists 
 against its zealous j)reachers. Although Luther 
 was looked upon by all Protestant reformers as 
 the great and worthy leader of all opposition to 
 the ghostly power of the Pope, still some of his 
 peculiar doctrines were esteemed by them to be 
 as fatally erroneous and heretical as those held 
 by the " Mother Church" herself It is not un- 
 charitable towards our Lutheran brethren, to 
 say. (because it is a fact acknowledged by all,) 
 that of all the Protestant churches, the Lutheran 
 inost nearly res&cnbles the Roman. Hence it
 
 OF N EW-YORK. 147 
 
 was, I think, that Mr. Fabricius, and others 
 among the early Lutheran clergymen in the 
 colony, met with some trouble and opposition. 
 But you must not imagine from these remarks, 
 that the tide of opposition was setting strongly 
 against the Lutherans; rather the contrary. 
 For in the year that Mr. Fabricius arrived, on 
 the 13th of October, 1669, Lord Lovelace, who 
 had succeeded Colonel NicoUs in the govern- 
 ment, publicly proclaimed his having received 
 a letter from his master, the Duke of York, ex- 
 pressing his pleasure that "the Lutherans 
 should be tolerated, &c." And this was a great 
 deal for the Popish duke to declare; for after- 
 wards, you will rem'-mber, when he occupied 
 the throne of En<rland as James II, he man- 
 ifcsted his violent opposition to every thing 
 that savoured of Protestantism, and earnestly 
 endeavoured to e&'ablish Romanism in the 
 kingdom. Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Epis- 
 copalians, were all the same in his eye, so long 
 as they rcfu.sed allegiance to the Pope, and all 
 alike IVll the weight of his tyrannical bigotry, 
 wh' n a succession to the throne and sceptre of 
 Enc'land gavr him an occasion for the display 
 of that spirit, the exercise of which finally cost 
 him his crown and his kingdom. 
 
 Heur?/. You mentioned, sir, that the Luthe- 
 rans, of all Protestants, differ least from the 
 Romi.sh Church. I should like to know how 
 they differ from their fellow Protestants.
 
 148 THE CHURCHES 
 
 Uncle. A few words will explain this. 
 Since the age of the good Luther, the creed of 
 his followers has undergone many minor 
 changes, though the main features of their sys- 
 tematic principles remain the same. Luther, 
 you know, was educated a Romanist, cloistered 
 in one of their monasteries, ordained a priest in 
 their church, and had no one to instruct him in 
 the principles of Protestantism, and to teach 
 him that the Romish church was corrupt in 
 doctrine and deed, and needed reformation. 
 How wonderful, then, that he should have been 
 a reformer at all ! It would have been more 
 wonderful still, had he come out so entirely 
 free from the faults of Popery, as afterwards did 
 Calvin, Knox, and others. But to answer your 
 question more directly, Henry ; the disciples of 
 Luther differ from most other Protestants, in 
 the following particulars ; they affirm that the 
 body and blood of Christ are materially pre- 
 sent in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
 though in an incomprehensible manner ; and 
 they maintain some of the old religions rites 
 and ceremonies of the Papists; though in later 
 
 f'ears their public teachers have indulged in the 
 iberty of dissenting from the less important 
 symbols, and creed.s, and sf-clarian principles of 
 their founder. The Lutherans were formerly 
 very strict in relation to the principles of their 
 faith, and their religion made a part of their 
 civil polity, which, perhaps, benefitted the
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 149 
 
 cause of Christianity much in those early times 
 of reformation ; but there can now be but little 
 doubt that vital Christianity has flourished more 
 among the Lutherans, since they have adopted 
 the general sentiment that Christians are ac- 
 countable to God alone for their religious be- 
 lief and that errors in faith are not crimes pun- 
 ishable by the magistracy of the country. But 
 we must return to the history of the Lutheran 
 church in New-York. We have seen that they 
 werethene.xt to the Dutch Reformed, in settling 
 a minister, and consequently the history of their 
 church begins farther back than any other in the 
 city, the Dutch Reformed and the Friends ex- 
 cepted. 
 
 John. How long did Mr. Fabricius preach 
 here, before he was silenced by the governor? 
 
 Uncle. From the year 16(39 to I()75 ; just 
 six years. In 1075 he was forbidden to preach 
 any more in the province, either in public or 
 private. This severity was induced by the im- 
 prud'ncies of the rev. gentleman. His succes- 
 sor was the Rfv. Harnardus Arentius. 
 
 Henri/. Had the Lutherans a church in Mr. 
 Fabricius' time? 
 
 Uncle. No. In 1 07 1, as we learn from 
 Smith's history. Martin Hoffman, by the pnti- 
 tion of the minister and elders of tin; Lutheran 
 Society, in New-York, had liberty given him 
 to visit the s<ltlements on the D^lnwarr River, 
 to solicit contributiona to assist them in building;
 
 150 THE CHURCHES 
 
 a church. But ffom results, it aj^ears that he 
 was not successful in his mission. 
 
 The church in the fort, was, then, the only 
 one in the city. But about the year 1710, their 
 numbers being- very much increased by the ar- 
 rival of about three thousand Palatines from 
 Europe, under the conduct of Governor Hun- 
 ter, they erected their first church. Here, 
 John, on this old map of the city, see if you can 
 find the location of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Joh/ii. Yes, sir ; here it is, on the corner of 
 Rector-street and Broadway. 
 
 Henry. It was burnt down in the great fire 
 of the revolution, 1 think you told us, uncle. 
 
 Uncle. True; it was burnt at the same time 
 with the old Trinity. Some years before this, 
 it had a narrow escape from the flames. In one 
 of the old weekly papers there is a notice, that 
 the "German Lutheran Church." was, in Au- 
 gust, 1750, struck by lightning; which running 
 down the steeple, tore olf some shingles, other- 
 wise injured the roof, and finally set fire to it; 
 but by the rain and timely assistance, the risii^g 
 flames were extinguished. It was never rebuilt 
 after the fire in 1776, and Grace Church now 
 occupies the spot. About ten years before the 
 revolution, the German Lutherans built an- 
 other church. Where was that, John*? 
 
 John. Is not that singular looking old build- 
 ing, at the corner of Frankfort and William 
 streets, the one, sir?
 
 OF N E \V - Y R K . 
 
 151 
 
 Uncle.. You are rif^ht. Here is a view 
 
 of it, as it is slill to be seen. It was built 
 
 111 
 
 1766, and (Icdirnted on the first of May, 1767, 
 It was calW'd C'hrist's Church. This situation 
 was, then, of coiirsn, far out of town. "^I^hore 
 were but a fnw scaltcrin;: houses alon?? on tho 
 13
 
 152 THE CHURCHES 
 
 line of Chatham-street, then known a» (he 
 " High Road to Boston." The church stooc$ 
 not far from the borders of what was called 
 " Beekman's Swamp," and is even at present 
 sometimes known as the " Swamp Church." 
 
 The first pastor of Christ's Church was the 
 Rev. John S. Geroeck, who ofliciated there six 
 years, and was then succeeded by the Rev, 
 Frederick A. Muhlenberg. Mr. Muhlenberg 
 was the pastor until the year 177G, when the 
 breaking out of the war interrupted his labours. 
 From this period the church was destitute of a 
 regular pastor until the year 1784. But the 
 buildins: was not "closed" during all this time. 
 It was one of the few buildings in the city saved 
 from the desolating hand of the British soldiery, 
 and was used by the Hessians as their place of 
 worship. 
 
 Jo/m. Who were the Hessians, sir? 
 
 Uncle. They were soldiers from Germany, 
 long known in Europe for their bravery and 
 hardihood, and at that time under the pay of 
 England. They take their name from Hesse, 
 a principality of Gernjany. 'J'hese German 
 regiments had chaplains, who officiated by 
 turns in the Lutheran Church. The Hessians 
 were very attentive to the worship of their 
 father.s when in this country, and by their liberal 
 contributions to the plate on Sundays, the Lu- 
 theran Church was freed from debt, and had a 
 handsome surplus. They were famgu§ for their
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 153 
 
 beautiful singinsr, with which they celebrated 
 the worship of God, and soothed their melan- 
 choly hours. And though they sung in their 
 natire language, yet the Americans used fre- 
 quently to assemble around their places of wor- 
 ship and amusement, to listen and admire. In 
 this cemetry, many a poor stranger from Ger- 
 many was' buried during the long continued 
 war. Hessian officers, in full military cos- 
 tume, have since been disinterred, with their 
 side-arms, cocked hats, and boots. 
 
 At the restoration of peace, in 1784, the Rev. 
 Dr. J. C. Kunze. who had recently emigrated 
 to Philadf Iphia from Germany, accepted a call 
 to become the pastor of Christ Church, and 
 officiated until his death, which occurred in 
 July. 1S07. The portrait of tiiis venerable 
 pastor, which hangs in the halls of the New- 
 York Historical Society, you may perhaps 
 have an opportunity of seeing. Ho was much 
 esteemed in this city for learning and piety, 
 and held, for several years, the respectable 
 office of professor of languages in Columbia 
 Colleg<\ In (Jclober of the same year, the 
 Rev. F. W. Geissenhainer was installed in the 
 pastoral office, and remained willi his people 
 until 1':<I4, when he resigned and removfd to 
 Pennsylvania. His successor was the Rev. 
 C. F. SchailTur, who officiated till 1822. then 
 left and took charge of St. .Matthew's, the Eng- 
 lish Lutheran Church, in Walker-street. On
 
 151 THK CHURCHES 
 
 Dr. SchsefTer's leaving, Dr. Gcisscnhainer was 
 recalled to the old church, where he continued 
 till 1S30, when the con"ref;'ation removed to the 
 church in Walker-street, the Walker-street 
 conirregation having previously removed to 
 Orange-street. 
 
 John. Had they built a church in Orange- 
 street 1 
 
 U'lLcle. No : but they had jiurchased one 
 from the " Irish i^resbyteriun Church," riow 
 known as the Canal-street Church. 
 
 Henry. Is not Dr. Geissenhainer since dead ? 
 
 Uncle. Yes. He departed this life a month 
 or two ago, full of years; being at that time, 
 probably, the oldest clergyman in the city. He 
 came out to this country just after the close of 
 the revolutionary war, being induced to emi- 
 grate by the pleasant pictures of America, given 
 by a Hessian soldier on his return from thence. 
 
 Dr. Geissenhainer had an energetic; and well 
 disciplined mind, and was a man of extensive 
 and critical knowledge on various subjects. 
 He was peculiarly the friend of the poor, both 
 by counsel and pecuniary aid, a faithful pnstor, 
 and a sincere Chri.stian. And his end, like 
 that of all good men, was peace, and calm sub- 
 mission to the will of God,
 
 OF NEVP-TORK, 155 
 
 CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. 
 
 THE JEWS. 
 
 Uncle. We have continued our conversations 
 concerning- the difTcrent sects of Christians so 
 far, in reference to the date of their appearing 
 in our city, and in pursuance of our plan, we 
 will next turn our attention to the Jews, and the 
 time of their settling here; although, as you 
 know, they would consider it no privilege to be 
 considered a Christian sect. 
 
 Jokn. That is, they are not believers in 
 Christ. 
 
 L'ncle. And not only so, but through igno- 
 rance aod perversion, they esteem the name of 
 Christ a reproach, rseverth'eless, as they bear 
 so intimate and interesting a relation to the 
 sacred narrative of the Bible, there is much 
 interest connected with their history as a reli- 
 gious sect. The first that we hear of their 
 presence in the city, was about twenty years 
 after the surrender by the Dutch, in 1085, when 
 they petitioned the governor of the province for 
 tile liberty of exercising their own Ibrm of reli- 
 gion. This reasonable request, the governor 
 was inclined to grant; but upon referring the 
 question to the mayor and aldermen of the city, 
 V6*
 
 lob THECUHRCHES 
 
 in common council, objections were made, and 
 the following opinion thereupon was returned : 
 you may rend it, Henry. 
 
 Henry. " That noe publique worship is tole- 
 rated by act of assembly, but to those that pro- 
 fessc faith in Christ, and therefore the Jews' 
 worship not to be allowed. 
 
 Uncle. Faith in Ckrisl, you see, in the opin- 
 ion of the rulers of the city, was the necessa- 
 ry requisite for obtaining liberty to worship 
 publicly as an established sect. But this state 
 of things did not long remain. As rulers 
 changed, opinions changed, and the Jews finally 
 came to enjoy the same privilege that other de- 
 nominations did. 
 
 Hcnrij. In what year, sir, did they attain this 
 privilege 1 
 
 Uncle. Their synagogue in Mill-street was 
 built in 1730, but jt must have been a number 
 of years before this that they were admitted to 
 the common privilege of free worship: 1730 
 was quite early, in the history of the city, for 
 them to have a synagogue. It was about the 
 time, you will recollect, when the first printed 
 newspaper in the city made its appearance. 
 
 Henry. Why was Mill-street so called, un- 
 cle ? 
 
 Uncle. It is said that formerly there was a 
 mill seat and water course there, which gave 
 rise to the name of the street. And here is a 
 passage relating to the subject, in Mr. Watson's
 
 OF N £W-YORK. 157 
 
 collections, which one of you may give us in his 
 own words. 
 
 John. " I once heard from the Phillips' family, 
 that in early times, wht-n the Jews llist lield 
 their worship there, (Mill-street,) they had a 
 living spring in which they were accustomed 
 to perform their abhuioiisand cleansings, accord- 
 ing to the rights of their rehgion." 
 
 Uncle. This was very convenient for the 
 Jews ; and they appear to have lived as a quiet 
 and peaceable body of citizens, undisturbed in 
 the enjoyment of their privileges, and experien- 
 cing no open oppression, until the year 1737, 
 when their troubles opened afresh upon them. 
 This was owing to a question of political import 
 and interest, which at that day created a great 
 comniution in the city. The particulars ol this 
 case 1 will not detail to you, but only enumerate 
 them so far as they affected the ])eace and popu- 
 larity of the Jews. Then, as in these times, the 
 political elections were warmly contested. Two 
 candidates for the seat in the Assembly were be- 
 fore the citizen.s, supported by opposing parties. 
 One party had ( nlisted the favour of the Jews, by 
 which tliey had the prospect of gaining the elec- 
 tion, whil<! iIk- oppo.'^ilion used every exeitioii to 
 counteract their iii[lij(nce; and fur this ])urpu.^o 
 they obtained, as their counsellor in the court, a 
 Mr. Sniilli, who was then one of the most con- 
 spicuous lawyers in llu; city. The cause of his 
 clients was ultimately gained by Mr. Smith,
 
 ^58 
 
 THK CHURCHES 
 
 who urged the argument that the Jews were not 
 qualified electors. In point of fact, this argument 
 Avas not valid ; but the object of the oration was 
 obtained by the mere dint of his eloquence. A 
 portion of the account given by Mr. Smith, the 
 historian, you may read, as being a fact of much 
 interest in the history of the Hebrews in this city. 
 Here it is, Henry. 
 
 Henry. " Mr. Murray (the counsel for the 
 Jews) drily urged the authority of the election 
 law, giving a vote to all freeholders of compe- 
 tent states, without excepting the descendants of 
 Abraham, according to the flesh ; and with as- 
 tonishment heard a replj% which captivated the 
 audience into an opinion, that the exception must 
 be implied for the honour of Christianity, and 
 the preservation of the constitution. The whole 
 history of the conduct of England against the 
 Jews was displayed on this occasion, and argu- 
 ments thence artfully deduced against their 
 claims to the civil rights of citizenship. After 
 expressing the emotions of pity naturally arising 
 upon a detail of their suflerings, under the avari- 
 cious and barbarous policy of ancient times, he 
 turned the attention of his hearers to that mystery" 
 of love and terror manifested in the sacrifice of 
 Christ ; and so pathetically described the bloody 
 tragedy at Mount Calvary, that a member cried 
 out with agony and in tears, beseeching him to 
 desist,and declaring his conviction. Many others 
 u'ept; and the unfortunate Israelites were con-
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 
 
 159 
 
 tent to lose their votes, could they escape with 
 their lives; for some auditors of weak nerves 
 and strong zeal, were so inflamed by this oratory, 
 that, but for the interpositions of tlieir dema- 
 gog-ues,and the votes of the house in their favour 
 the whole tribe in this dispersion would have 
 been massacred that very day, for the sin of tlieir 
 ancestors in crucifying Jesus of Nazareth, and 
 imprecating his innocent blood upon them- 
 selves and their children." Why, sir, they 
 came near killing them ! 
 
 UacU. So our historian informs us. And 
 this singular fact goes to show us how great 
 power men of eloquence have over others, and 
 how the healed passions of men often hurry 
 them on to deeds of violence and wickedness. 
 But we should sufP^r no eloquence, on any oc- 
 casion, to pfMsiiade us to what is wrong, or 
 subvert our belter judgment. And if you will 
 take notice, you will sec that the historian re- 
 fers this i)igh transport of passion only to men 
 of " weak nerves and strong zeal," — such zeal 
 as was without knowledge. 
 
 Thus thi; votes of the Israelites were re- 
 jected, and they themselves, for a while, de- 
 prived of the common rights of citizenship. 
 
 The rily record.s show, that in 172H, the 
 Jews a[»pliod for a spot to be used by them as a 
 burying ground. A lot was accordingly grant- 
 ed them, 1 I '2 ff-et lon^r and .'jO broad, U'mt the 
 Cripplr, Bush or Swamp, oppo.'jite to what is
 
 160 T H E C H U R C H E S 
 
 now Cliathain-squave, on Oliver-street, then, a 
 long distance out of the city. Their burial 
 groiiticl remains in the same spot still, and has 
 so far escaped the disturbance which so many 
 other of these sacred grounds in our city have 
 met with, from the hand of enterprise and im- 
 provevicnt. 
 
 We will now devote a moment or two to 
 their synagogues. And on this subject, Henry 
 may read to us the account given by Mr. Good- 
 rich, in his Picture of New-York. Here it is. 
 He wrote in 1828, when the synagogue in Mill- 
 street was still standing. 
 
 Henry. " The Jews' Synagogue, in Mill- 
 street, built 1730, and rebuilt in 1818, is a stone 
 edifice, 58 by 35 feet. The worship is here 
 performed in the Hebrew language, and in the 
 same manner and form as in ancient times. 
 Strangers are admitted, but females are all ac- 
 commodated with scats in the gallery; the ser- 
 vice begins on Friday evening at sunset, and is 
 continued on Saturday morning at ten o'clock. 
 It is highly curious and impressive. The for- 
 mer Rabbi, Rev. G. Seixas, here officiated for 
 50 years regularly. The interior ornaments 
 are elegant and costly. A lamp is kept per- 
 petually burning before the ark. The ark is 
 the sacred depository of the Book of the Law, 
 (of which a valuable manuscript copy of great 
 antiquity belongs to the congregation,) and is of 
 a semicircular form, constructed in the most
 
 O F N E AV - Y R K . 161 
 
 finished style of workmanship, of curled maple 
 and satin wood, with slidin<j doors. The Rev. 
 Mr. Peixotto is the present Rabbi. 
 
 It is upwards of a century since the Mill- 
 rtreet congregation was established, and ffw, if 
 any. of tlie members then resided above Wall- 
 street. The increase of our cily has left few 
 families in that neighbourhood, and this, with 
 the great increase, and the continued arrivals 
 from the continent of Europe, rendered it neces- 
 sary to erect a new temple. Accordingly, a 
 new synagogue has been purchased in Elm- 
 street, north of Canal-street, formerly the African 
 Church, and has been elegantly fitted up by the 
 German and Polish Jews, whose form of prayer 
 is somewhat dissiniilnr to the Portuguese. The 
 interior, though suiall, is finished in a rich and 
 neat style. 
 
 A row of pillars supports the gallery, which 
 has a railing of carvfd mahogany. Tlie read- 
 ing desk, or pulpit, which stands in the centre, 
 facing the east, is of Mahogany, enclosed with- 
 in a railing of fret-work. The ark, on the 
 east side ol the church, and facing the desk, for 
 the reception of the law. is largo and circular, 
 of curled rnaplf! and mahogany, with a dome, 
 supported with Ionic columns, with caps and 
 bases. The ten commandments in front, are of 
 raised goldf n letters, on whilf marblo, support- 
 ed by gold cornucopias. In front of tlif holy 
 receptacle of the law, hangs a rich curtain of
 
 162 THE CHURCHES 
 
 blue satin, elegantly embroidered with Hebrew 
 inscriptions : — the interior of the ark opens with 
 sliding doors, and is lined with the same mate- 
 rial. The centre chandelier, together with four 
 smaller ones, and clusters of astral lamps over 
 the gallery, with the candelabras, are richly 
 finished with bronze and gold, the whole being 
 splendid and in good taste." 
 
 Uncle. This was writtin some years ago, 
 and since then, the old Mill-street synagogue 
 has been removed entirely. 
 
 The number of synagogues, in our city, has, 
 since then, been increased by one. They are 
 now as follows ; — one in Crosby-street near 
 Spring, of which Mr. Seixas is Rabbi ; the 
 second in Elm-street, as noticed above, of which 
 Mr. Hart is Rabbi ; and the third in Centre- 
 street, where Mr. Samuclson officiates. But 
 while the Jews are thus well supplied with 
 synagogues, it is a lamentable fact that many 
 of this interesting people have so far forgotten 
 the sacred claims of their own national reli- 
 gion, as seldom to step their feet within the 
 portals of a temple.
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 163 
 
 CHAPTER NINETEENTH. 
 
 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 Uncle. We come now to speak of the Pres- 
 byterian church in the City of New-York. 
 This body of Christians, so flourishing now, 
 was not known here until about tho year 1706. 
 Their number was then small, and having- yet 
 no organized church, they were in the constant 
 practice of nieetinir in some convenient, thotigh 
 private place, where their worship was con- 
 ducted among themselves : some of their own 
 numher taking the lead in praying, singing, 
 and expounding the .Scriptures. 
 
 Henry. Where the Presbyterians of New- 
 York the first known in America^ 
 
 Uncle. They were avion f^ the first, ahhough 
 the first presh/lerirs formed in this country 
 were at (Jharlrston and Philadelphia, near the 
 ytar 1701. There were also several regular 
 congregations of Pnsbyterians some time be- 
 fore this. Tho names of those who composed 
 the presbytf-ry of Philndclphia, were, Kev. 
 Francis M.VIemio, John Wilson, Jeflidiah An- 
 drews, Nathaniel Taylor, George M'Nish, and 
 Samuel iJavics. The first mentioned, the P' v. 
 Francis M'Kemic, visited New- York in 1707, 
 14
 
 164 THE CHURCHES 
 
 and wns cruelly nnd barbarously used by Lord 
 Cornbury, who \v;^s then governor of the pro- 
 vince. Lord Cornbury, as we have seen before, 
 was a violent churchman, and sufiered his sec- 
 tarian zeal to transport him far beyond all the 
 bounds of moderation and justice. 
 
 John. We remember, sir, j-our mention of 
 his conduct towards the minister at Jamaica, 
 Long Island. 
 
 Uncle. And his base treatment of Mr. 
 M'Kemie was hardly less glaring. This cler- 
 gyman, on his arrival in the city, had made an 
 engagement to preach in the old Dutch Church, 
 in Garden-street, when he was peremptorily 
 forbidden the attempt by the imperious Lord. 
 Having preached, however, to a small audience, 
 collected in a private house, in some part of 
 Pearl-street, he was apprehended and confined 
 by order of the governor, for two months, at 
 the expiration of which, having given bail for 
 his appearance at court, he was set at liberty. 
 On hi.s trial, however, he was acquitted : though 
 through the prejudice of the governor and the 
 court, he was not discharged until he had paid 
 the whole costs of the prosecution, which 
 amounted to nearly three hundred dollars; a 
 heavy fine for an unoirrndingf minister to pay, 
 and cruelly imposed. But the next year, 1708, 
 to the great joy of all, Lord Cornbury was re- 
 moved from the government. From this time 
 the Presbyterians increased very rapidly. In
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 165 
 
 1716, a plan was conceived of forming a regular 
 Presbyterian Church, and settling a stated 
 pistor. Measures were taken accordingly, and 
 the Rev. James Anderson, a Scotch clergyman, 
 who had been preaching at New Castle, Dela- 
 ware, was called to be their first pastor. 
 
 Jolm. Where was their church, sir, at that 
 lime? 
 
 Uncle. They had no church-building yet: 
 and for three years they met in the old City 
 Hill, which stood at the corner of Wall and 
 Nassau streets, fronting upon Broad-street. 
 But. Dr. John Nicoll. Patrick M'Night, Gilbert 
 Livingston, and Thomas Smith, having pur- 
 chased a piece of ground on Wall-street, laid 
 the foundition of the new church in 1719. 
 This was the first Presbyterian edifice ever 
 erected in New- York, and stood on precisely 
 the same site that the present Wall-street Church 
 occupies. 
 
 Jlciirij. W.is it as large as the present one? 
 
 Uncle. Not quite. You would be amused 
 by a rr-prcsentation of it. that an estimable citi- 
 zen of former days, Mr. David Griui, left, as it 
 app»-ar«'d in 1742. It was a small wooden 
 building, with no steeple or bell, and with only 
 three .small windows on each side; much un- 
 like the towering ((lini-is that have since adorn- 
 ed the spot. 
 
 In 1721, they |).tilione;l Culoml Schuyl'^r, 
 who then had the chief command in the colony.
 
 166 TIIK CHURCHES 
 
 for an act of incorporation, but were disappoint- 
 ed in their expectations, tlirouglr tiic opposition 
 made by tiic Trinity Church vestry-nifn. A 
 similar efibrt was made repeatedly to obtain a 
 charter, but as often proved unsuccessful; till, 
 at length, in 1/74, the petition, ihiough the 
 kind interference of Governor Tryon, was 
 favourably received in England ; the charier 
 was accordingly drafted, and ready for trans- 
 mission, when the breaking out of the revolu- 
 tionary war rendered all farther process in re- 
 lation to a charter from the British government 
 unnecessary. In 1722, a small number of the 
 members of this church withdrew, and meeting 
 statedly in a building in William-street, between 
 Liberty and Pine streets, called the Rev, Jona- 
 than Edwards, afterwards President of Prince- 
 ton College, to be their pasior. 
 
 Mr. Edwards accepted their call, and 
 preached to them for nearly a year, when 
 he returned to New-Haven ; and the sepa- 
 rated body soon after connected themselves 
 again with the Wall-street Church. In 1726, 
 Mr. Anderson was succeeded in his pas- 
 toral office by Mr. Ebenezer Pemberton, from 
 Bostoa. 
 
 John. But what became of Mr. Anderson 
 after this, sir ? 
 
 Uncle. 1 was about to tell you, that before he 
 left the New-York church, he received a call 
 from a congregation in New Donnegal, Penn-
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 167 
 
 sylvania ; where he settled. Mr. Pcmberton 
 remained a successful pastor for many years. 
 It was in his time that Mr. Whilffield first 
 visited the city, and he was th(; only minister in 
 New-York who welcomed that minister to his 
 pulpit. But his hospitality was richly repaid. 
 Mr. Whitefield's labours, you know, were very 
 much blessed, in the conversion of manywho 
 afterwards became firm and useful members of 
 the Presbyterian Church. The church at this 
 time, enjoyed quite an extensive revival of re- 
 ligion, and the congregation was very much 
 enlarged. Do either of you remember the 
 date of Mr. Whitefield's first visit to New- York, 
 about which we conversed some time ago ? 
 
 H'liry. My notes say it was the year 1740. 
 
 Uncle. Yes; and eight years afterwards, 
 owinj^ to the increase of stated worshippers, the 
 church edifice was rebuilt, and enlarged. And 
 the Rev. Ale.xander Cumming, then pastor of a 
 church in New-Brunswick, was in 1750 install- 
 ed collegiate pastor with Mr. Pemberton. But 
 these two pastors resignrd about the yi-ar 17.53; 
 Mr. Ctunming from ill health, and Mr. Pcmber- 
 ton on account of some difficulties that had 
 arison amonfr his people concerning the intro- 
 duction of the use of Watts' iiisiend of House's 
 psilms and hymns into the public worship. 
 The church were extremtly sorry to part with 
 cither of them, but especially Mr. Pcmbcrlon, 
 who had been so long their devoted pastor, and
 
 168 THE CHURCHES 
 
 friend. Attempts to prevail on him to remain 
 proved unsuccessful, as heconsidered ithisduty 
 to go. Hc'nrymay read to us what Mr. Smith, 
 whom I have before introduced to you as the 
 New- York historian, says of Mr. Pemberton, 
 and the church in Wall-street. You may stop 
 at the end of the hfih line of the Latin inscription. 
 Henry. " Rev. Mr. Ebenezer Pemberton, was 
 a man of polite breeding-, fine morals, and warm 
 devotion; under whose incessant labours the 
 congregation greatly increased, and was enabled 
 to erect the present edifice, 1748. It is built of 
 stone, railed off from the street, is eighty feet 
 long, and in breadth sixty. The steeple raised 
 on the southwest end, is in height one hundred 
 and forty feet. In the front to the street, be- 
 tween two long windows, is the following in- 
 scription, g-ilt and cut ia a black slate, six feet in 
 length ; — ■ 
 
 "AuspicANTo Deo 
 
 HaNC ^iDEM 
 
 CULTUI DIVI.-^O SACRA.M IN PKRPETUUM CELEBRANDO, 
 
 A. D. MDCCXIX. 
 
 Primo fundatam ;" «fcc. 
 
 The translation I leave to you, uncle. 
 
 Unde. It is simply this : — •" By the favour of 
 God, this sacred temple for the continual cele- 
 bration of Divine worship, was first founded 
 Anno Domini, 1719, 4'c.;" it afterwards states
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 169 
 
 the year in which it was repaired, and by whom 
 it was erected. Mr. Smitli, in the next para- 
 graph, speaks of i\Ir. Ciiniining- as a "young 
 man of learning anu penetration." 
 
 CH.\PTER TWENTIETH. 
 
 THE PRESBVTERIAN THURCH — CONTINUED. 
 
 Uncle. The difRcuhies in the Preybyterian 
 Church, which had occasioned Mr. Pemberton's 
 removal, unhappily contiuutd for nearly six 
 years; when Mr. David Bostwick, from Ja- 
 maica, Long Island, accepted their call; and 
 the party still oliM<.Wng lo tiie old system of 
 psalmody withdraw, and formed a new church. 
 Mr. Bostwick. was installed in the summer of 
 17.515; and the nfw church were successful in 
 sending a call to Mr. John Mason, of Scotland, 
 who settled as thf ir minister, in 1701. 
 
 Henri/. Where did the new congregation 
 worship / 
 
 Unrlr. In Cedar-strcot, betwrrn Broadway 
 and Nassau-street, where they built a church, 
 which stood until a few yi-ars ago; wh( n it was 
 torn down to make room for stores. Mr. Mnson 
 was succeeded by his son, the late Kev. John
 
 170 THE CHURCHES 
 
 M. Mason, D. D., who was also the first pastor 
 of the Murray-street Presbyterian Church. 
 Mr. M'Cloud, was aflerwar.Js settled over this 
 church, who, again, was succeeded by Dr. 
 M"Elroy, the pivscnt pastor, in 1824. The 
 congregation now worship in a beautiful edifice 
 in Grand-street.near ilsjunction with Broadway. 
 But to return; the Wall-street Church, at the 
 time of Mr. Bustwicks settlement, notwithstand- 
 ing the dissensioiis concerning the psalmody, 
 was very flourisliin'^;, and the congregation num- 
 bered twelve or fourteen hundred souls. Mr. 
 Smith has left us a few remarks concerning Mr. 
 Boslwick also, which one of you may read. 
 
 Joltn. " lie is a gentleman of mild. Catholic 
 disposition ; and being a man of piety, prudence, 
 and zeal, confines himself entirely to the proper 
 business of his function. In the art of preaching, 
 he is one of the distinguished clergymen in 
 these parts. His discourses are methodical, 
 sound, and pathc tic ; in sentiment, and in point 
 of diction, singularly ornamented. Redelivers 
 himself without notes, and yet with great ease 
 and fluency of expression ; and performs every 
 part of Divine worship with a striking solem- 
 nity." 
 
 Uncle. Mr. Smitli, was a cotemporary of 
 Mr. Bostwick, and -"'oubtless knew him well. 
 In the course of ;; lew years, Mr. Bostwick's 
 health began to decline, and this so seriously 
 intcriupted his labours, that the church gave a
 
 OF NEW-VOKK. 171 
 
 call to the Rev. Joseph Treat, who settled as 
 collegiate pastor in 1762. The illness of Mr. 
 Boslvvick, to the great grief of his people, soon 
 ended in death. After this event, a call was 
 sent to the Rev. John Rougcrs, and accepted ; 
 and in 1765, he commenced his pastoral labours 
 in New-York. The installation sermon on 
 this occasion, was preached by the Rev. James 
 Caldwell, of Elizabeth Town, New-Jersey. 
 
 Hennj. Was this the Mr. Caldwell that was 
 in the Revolutionary v/ar? 
 
 Uncle. Tlie same, 1 believe. He was a very 
 active patriot; and so much engaged in the 
 cause of liberty, that he was made a quarter- 
 master in the army. He met his death, you 
 will recollect, by an accidental shot. 
 
 Henry. And his wife was also killed during 
 the war. 
 
 Uncle. Inhumanly murdered; if we may 
 credit history. It is said that a cruel Hessian 
 discharged his inihsket into licr hosoin, as slie 
 sat at the window of her house with an infant in 
 her arms. Thus bloody arc the deeds of war. 
 Let us sincerely pray fur the happy time, when 
 nations shall learn war no more, but when they 
 shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and 
 their spears into pruning hooks, and Christ 
 shall be Lord and Judgi; among tlic nations. 
 
 Under .Mr. Hodgers ministerial labouis, the 
 church and congregation so rapidly increased, 
 that it was found necessary to provide for the
 
 172 THE CHURCHES 
 
 erection of another place of worship. Accord- 
 itiglv, ill 17GG, the foundation of a now meeting- 
 house was laid in Bcelnnanstrect, between Nas- 
 sau-street and Park Row, which was completed 
 in the course of the next year, Mr. Rodgers 
 preached the dedication sermon on Jan. 1st, 17 68. 
 
 John. This was known as " The Brick Meet- 
 ing-House,'" was it not, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Yes; and ^\■h('n first built, was so far 
 in the outskirts of tlui city, that it was commonly 
 said to be in the fields. Mr. Rodgers continued 
 the successful pastor of these two churches 
 until J775, when the breaking out of the Revo- 
 lution interrupted for a while his useful labours. 
 The two Presbyterian, suffered in common with 
 other churches, from the depredations of the 
 reckless soldiery. They were completely strip- 
 ped of every thing within, ornamental or useful ; 
 pews, galleries, and floors, were alike torn up, 
 and the whole were left, when the British evacu- 
 ated the city, mere naked shells. In Nov. 1783, 
 Dr. Rodgi-rs and Mr. Treat, with the greater 
 part of their fluck, returned to the city, and com- 
 menced repairing their shattered edifices. In 
 the meantime, by the kind invitation of the 
 Episcopal church, they worshipp<d in St. 
 George's and St. Paul's churches. The Brick 
 Church was repaired by June 1784, but the one 
 in Wall-street not till the succeeding June, 1785. 
 They were now able to .support but one pastor, 
 and the pastoral relation of Mr. Treat was accoid-
 
 OF NEW-YOBK. 173 
 
 ingly dissolved in 1784. But in August of the 
 next year, another minister, Mr. James Wilson, 
 from Scotland, was called and settled as a 
 colleague of Dr. Rodgers. Mr. Wilson continu- 
 ed his charge for three years, when, on account 
 of ill health, he was at his own request dismiss- 
 ed. The Rev. John xM'Knight succeeded him, 
 but his health failing, Mr. Samuel Miller, a 
 licentiate of Lewes' Presbytery, IMd., was called, 
 and installed June 5, 1793. In May, 1798, a 
 third church was erected, on a lot of ground, 
 given for the purpose by Col. Henry Rutgers, 
 at the corner of Rutgers' and Henry-streets. 
 Another associate pastor, the Rev. Dr. Mille- 
 doler, of Philadelphia, was now settled. In 
 1809, these three churches, Avhich had hitherto 
 been associate, and under one eldership, were 
 divided into throe distinct churches. Dr. Rod- 
 gers remained as common pastor to the Wall 
 and Beekman street churches, with Dr. Miller 
 as his colleague over the Wall-streelune ; while 
 Dr. Milkdoler continued his conntction, as sole 
 pastor, with the Rutgers' street Church. Since 
 1809, the number of Pn-sbylerian churches has 
 very much increased. How many do you count 
 on this list, John V 
 
 Jnkn. Twenty-nine, sir. 
 
 Unr.le. An astoni.shing increase in thirty 
 years. They have sprung up on every side; 
 and their histories, as a matter rj consequence, 
 are short, and of but little interest compared
 
 174 THE CHURCHES 
 
 with those of churches that have existed for one 
 or two ccnturirs. We will consider thorn 
 separately, and in the order of time as to their 
 origin, commencing of course with the oldest 
 one. 
 
 Henry. That is the Wall-street Church, 
 
 Uncle. Which in old times, was calkd The 
 Presbyterian Church, since for a half century it 
 was the only one in the city. 7'his church con- 
 tinued to enjoy the labours of Dr. Rodgers until 
 his death in 1811. In 1813, Dr. Miller was 
 called to the Theological Seminary, Princeton. 
 The Rev. P. M. Whelplcy was his successor; 
 who, in his turn, was succeeded by the Rev. 
 Wm. W. Philips, D. D., the present pastor. In 
 1810, before Dr. Rodgers' death, the old build- 
 ing was torn down and a new one erected. 
 This was burned in the summer of 1834, but has 
 again been rebuilt, with the same exterior walls, 
 which were left uninjured by the fire. 
 
 Henry. Dr. Rodgers must have been an old 
 man at his death. 
 
 Uncle. Yes: he was well advanced in life, 
 having attained his eighty-third year. Among 
 other faculties, his memory began to fail him 
 before he gave up his pastoral duties; so much 
 so, that, as I have often heard related by one who 
 recollects well the venerable pastor, he would 
 frequently, in the church prayer-meetings, give 
 out a favourite hymn for the second or third 
 time, not knowing that he had given it out be-
 
 OF N EM'- YORK. 175 
 
 fore. He came to the grave like a shock of 
 corn, fully ripe. Here, John, you may read to 
 us what the Rev. Mr. Owen says of him, in his 
 valuable sketch of the Presbyterian cliurches. 
 
 John. " Of Dr. Rodgers it may be said, that 
 he -was under God the father of the Presbyterian 
 Church in the city of New-York. He was a 
 minister of the gospel sixty two-years, forty-six 
 of which he spent in New- York. At his death, 
 the pulpits of all the Presbyterian churches in 
 the city were hung in mourning, and in most 
 of the churches funeral sermons were delivered. 
 He was the fiirsl moderator of the General 
 Assembly. 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIRST. 
 
 THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH — CONTINUED. 
 
 Uncle. Wc will proceed with our view of 
 the Presbyterian Churches. Next to the Wall- 
 ftreet, comf.s which V Henry. 
 
 Ihanj. The Brick Church, sir, in Beekman- 
 street 
 
 Uncle. Or the " Brick Meeting," a.s it was 
 sometimes familiarly calUd by the old inhabi- 
 tants. Dr. Rodgers, who, you know, was its 
 15
 
 176 THE CHURCHES 
 
 collegiate pastor at the time the associate 
 churches were separated, remained its so/e 
 pastor after that event, until his growing infir- 
 mities admonished him, on the one. hand, to 
 remit his active labours, and the congregation, 
 on the other, to seek for ministerial aid else- 
 where. Accordingly, a short time before this 
 venerable pastor took his final leave of earthly 
 things, the Rev. Mr. Gardiner Spring, a licen- 
 tiate" of a Massachusetts' association, accepted 
 the unanimous call of the church, and was set- 
 tled as their minister in August, 1810. On the 
 occasion of the ordination and installation of 
 Dr. Spring, Dr. Rodgers was present, and 
 " united for°the last tirae^in the laying on of the 
 hands of the Presbytery." Dr. Spring still 
 continues the pastor of the Brick Church. 
 
 John. As he was settled in 1810, he must 
 have been their pastor for more than twenty- 
 eight years. 
 
 Uncle. And has held his charge for a longer 
 period than any other Presbyterian minister now 
 in the city. 'Twenty-four new Presbyterian 
 churches have sprung up around him in this 
 growing metropolis, since he first began his 
 labours within its bounds. 
 
 Henry. What changes he has seen ! 
 
 Uncle. For a year or two past, there has 
 
 been some talk of removing the Brick Meeting 
 
 House, to make room for a post-office building; 
 
 but 1 believe that the danger is now past, and
 
 OF NKW-YORK. 177 
 
 the venerable edifice will still continue to grace 
 our city, and serve for many years to come, as 
 a temple for the ^Yorship of the Most High. 
 The Uiir(h was the Rutgers' -strett Church, 
 dedicated on the 13th of May, 1~98. Its first 
 pastor was the Rev. Dr. Millcdoler, who re- 
 signed in 1813. In 1815, Dr. M'Clelland was 
 installed as pastor, which relation he held until 
 D.^cember. 1621. He is now professor in the 
 New-Brunswick Theological Seminary. Dr. 
 M'Clelland was succeeded in 1822 by the Rev. 
 Dr. M'Aiiley, L. L. D., formerly professor in 
 Union College, Schenectady, who was dismis- 
 sed in 1829. The labours of Dr. M'Auley in 
 this congregation were exceedingly blessed. It 
 then had the largest number of communicants 
 of any church in the city. The Sabbath school 
 at one time embraced a thousand childrc n. On 
 his rrsignation, in 1829, Dr. M'Auley removed 
 tu Philadelphia, ond settled in one of the 
 churches of that city. He has since returned 
 to New-Yoric, and is now the pastor of the 
 Murraystrr:et Presbytr-rian (Jliurch. He is 
 also president of the New-York Theological 
 Seminary. 'J'he Rev. Mr. Krcbs, the pr< sent 
 pastor, wassfttled November 12, IboU. Which 
 church is ne.xt in order, Henry? 
 
 Henry. According to the list which you 
 handed us, it is the Scotch P rrsbyterian Chinch. 
 
 Unrlr. This we have aln-ady noliccd. The 
 next, in point of age, is the Pearl-strccl Church.
 
 178 TH E CHURCHES 
 
 This was organized about the year 1800, and 
 was at first under the care of the Rev. John M. 
 Mason, D. D., and the Rev. Robert Forrest. 
 Mr. Forrest left in 1808, and was succeeded by 
 the Rev. John Clark, 1810; Rev. W. W. Phil- 
 lips, D. D., 1818; llcv. Walter Monteith, 1826; 
 Rev. Benjamin H. Rice, D. D., 1829 ; and Rev. 
 Henry A. Rowland, 1833, who still continues 
 in the pastoral charge. When first built, this 
 church was quite in the suburbs of the city. 
 To the east of it, the ground was very low, and 
 the "fresh water pond," as it was called, came 
 almost up to the verj'' spot where it stood. An 
 old citizen told me, the other day, that he well 
 remembered the bridges over the marsh, on 
 which those, who came to church from the 
 easterly parts of the town, were obliged to 
 cross, and without which there could have been 
 no passing there. These low places have since 
 been all filled in, and are now covered with 
 houses. 
 
 Henry. Was not this church burnt down 
 last year ? 
 
 U/icle. Yes, and the congregation are now 
 rebuilding on the same spot. 
 
 John. The Canal-sired Church is the next, 
 sir. 
 
 Uncle. This church was first located in 
 Orange, near Grand-street, and was dedicated 
 in 1809. It was afterwards commonly known
 
 or NEW-YORK. 179 
 
 as the " Irish Presbyterian Church," and its 
 first pastor was the Rev. Mr. MNeice. 
 
 John. Why called the " Irish" Church, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Because the congregation was prin- 
 cipally composed of Presbyterians from Ire- 
 land. In 1825, they disposed of their old edi- 
 fice, and erected a new one in Canal-street, near 
 Greene. It is now known as the Canal-street 
 Church. The Orange-street building is now 
 used by the Evangelical Lutherans. Mr. 
 M'Neice was succeeded by Mr. Henry Blatch- 
 ford, in 1^15 : and he by the Rev. John Albur- 
 tis. in l^l'.t. In I'rc^^the Rev. Robert M'Cartee, 
 D. D., succeeded Mr. Alburtis, and resigned in 
 183G. 
 
 The ne.xt is the Duane-slrcel Church. This 
 was founded in I BOG, and the edifice erected, in 
 1808, on Cedar, near William-street. The 
 Rev. John B. Romeyn, of Albany, was their 
 first pastor. He preached until his death, 
 which happened on the 22d of February, 1825. 
 His successor was the Rev. Cyrus Mason, who 
 was ordained and installed in his pastoral oOice 
 December 7th, 1820. In 1834, the congrega- 
 tion disposed of their edifice in Cedar-street, and 
 erected a new one at the corner of Duane and 
 Church streets; whence comes their prcsrnt 
 name. In 1835, Mr. Mason look a dismission 
 from his charcjo. and removed to Providence, 
 R I : but reuirninglo New- York the succeed- 
 ing year, he was called to fill a jjiofessorship 
 15'
 
 180 THE CHURCH ES 
 
 in the New- York University, where he still 
 remains. His successor is the Rev. Mr. Potts, 
 from iMissisoippi. What is the next, John? 
 
 John. The Murray-streeA Church, sir. 
 Uncle. The Murray-street Church was or- 
 ganized about the year 1810. The Rev. John 
 M. Mason, D. D., its first pastor; continued his 
 labours there from the year of its foundation 
 till 1822, when, on account of ill-health, he 
 removed to Carlisle, Pa.; but returning to the 
 city in the course of two years, he died m 1829. 
 His successor was the Rev. Dr. Snodgrass, 
 who, in 1834, removed to Troy. The pastoral 
 office is at present filled by the Rev. Dr, 
 M'Auley, of whom we have already spoken, in 
 reference to the Rutgers'-street Church. The 
 Murray-street Presbyterian Church, is justly 
 spoken of by strangers, as one of the most 
 finished specimens of architecture that our 
 city churches aflx)rd. Its high steeple, tower- 
 ing far above all the surrounding buildings, ex- 
 hibits to the beholder a fine specimen of sym- 
 metry and beauty. But to pass on : 
 
 The Laii>hl-street C'lurch was organized 
 in May, 1811, with the Rev. Matthew La 
 Rue Perrine, D. D., for its first pastor. His 
 successor was the Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Cox, 
 who, in 1835, was called to act as Professor of 
 Rhetoric and Past(M-al Theology, in Auburn 
 Seminary. Dr. Cox is now pastor of the First 
 Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, L. I. His
 
 OF N E\V-YQRK. 181 
 
 successor, ia the Liight-street Church, is the 
 R3V. Flivel S. Mines, ibrmerly seaman's chap- 
 lain al Hxvre, iu France. 
 
 The SicC'ith Prcsbt/tcrian, Church was or- 
 ganized on the llth of March, 1818. Their 
 first builJinTf was in Sheriff-street, near DeJan- 
 cy. In lS2o, they erected another one on 
 Brooms, corner of Ridje-street. This was 
 burnt to the ground in 1S31, but was rebuilt the 
 next year. Mr. Elihu W. Baldwin, their first 
 pastor, preached until the year 183.5, when he 
 was elected president of Wabash College, In- 
 diana, to which state he removed. He was 
 succeeded by the Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, who 
 still occupies the pulpit. 
 
 The Al/ea-slreet Church was first organized 
 in 1819 ; but their present edifice was not open- 
 ed till the year 1834. The Rev. Henry White, 
 D. D., was settled in 1829, and remuined till 
 1837, when he was dismissed to take the chair 
 of Theology in the Now- York Seminary. The 
 Rev. Mr. liradh/yis his successor. 
 
 Concerning the remaining Presbyterian 
 churches in our city, Henry may read to us the 
 following succinct account, which I have pre- 
 pared, n)iinly from Mr. Owen's sketch. It 
 will present us with the dates of their forma- 
 tion, and othfr principal topics of interest con- 
 nected with lh( ir hi.>>tory. 
 
 Ilcnrj/. The Eighth P rrshytcrian Church 
 waa organized in October, 1810. The Rev. S.
 
 182 THE CHURCHES 
 
 N. Rowan, D. D., was installed in the pastoral 
 office, November, 1819, and resigned in 1830. 
 Their edifice, in Christopher-street, was erected 
 in 1821. Mr. H. Himttr, the successor of 
 Mr. Rowan, died in August, 1834; and was 
 succeeded by Mr. Smith, the present incumbent. 
 
 The Central Preslnjlcrian Church was 
 formed on the Sth of January, 1821. In the 
 same year they erected their churcii in Broome- 
 street. The Rev. Wm. Pation was their pastor 
 from the formation of the church until 1834, 
 when he resigned his charge. The Rev. Wm. 
 Adams, the present pastor, was his successor, 
 and came to New- York from Brighton, Mass. 
 
 The Boiccry Church was commenced under 
 the labours of the Rev. W. Staflbrd, in 1822. 
 In 1829, the Rev. Mr. Christmas was installed 
 over this church, and preached until his death, 
 in 1830. Dr. Woodbridge, hi? successor, was 
 installed over the Bowery Church in October, 
 1830, but has since removed to Bridgeport, 
 Conneclicut. 
 
 The Bleeckcr-slrccl Church was organized 
 «i 1825, and the edifice erected in 1826. Mr. 
 Bruen, its first pastor, died in September, 1829. 
 His successor is the Rev. Erskine Mason, D. D., 
 a son of Rev. J. M. Mason, D. D, who was 
 settled in 1830. Mr. Mason formerly preached 
 at Schenectady. He also fills a professorship 
 >n the New-York Theologicul seminary. 
 
 'JThe SpringslreU Church was organised
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 
 
 183 
 
 on the 29th of September, 1825, and then con- 
 sisted of o3 members. Within a year ov two, 
 the old building has been removed, and a new 
 one erected. Mr. H. Ludlow, their pastor, re- 
 moved in 1826 to New Haven. Mr. Patton, 
 from the Centre Church, is now his successor. 
 Here is a view of the West Church, as it is 
 seen from Varick-street. 
 
 fAri
 
 184 THE CHURCHES 
 
 The West Church was separated from the 
 "North Prcsbytericin Church" in 1831, and in 
 January, 1832, began to enjoy the stated labours 
 of its present pastor, the Rev. David R. Downer. 
 The edifice was erected in Carmine-street, at 
 the head of Varick, and dedicated in May, 1832. 
 
 Since Mr. Downer's settlement, the number 
 of communicants has increased from eighteen 
 to four hundred. 
 
 The First Free Church, with the Rev. Joel 
 Parker at its head, was formed in 1830. They 
 first worshipped in a room in Thamcs'-street, 
 and then in the Masonic Hall, in Broadway, 
 until the erection of an edifice at the coiner of 
 Deyand Washington streets. Mr. Parker left, 
 in 1833, for New-Orleans. His successor, the 
 Rev. Mr. Barrows, was installed July 28, 1835. 
 Within the past year this church has united 
 with the one worshipping at the Broadway 
 Tabernacle. They have now their old pastor, 
 again, from New-Orleans. The Broadway 
 Tabernacle is one of the largest rooms in the 
 United States. 
 
 The Rev. John A. Murray collected the 
 Second Avenue Church, in 1830. It was or- 
 ganized in 1831, and in 1833 the building was 
 erected on the Second Avenue, near I'hird- 
 street. Mr. Murray Icfi, to become an agent in 
 the American Home Missionary Society; and 
 his successor is the Rev. Charles S. Porter, 
 from Gloucester, Massachusetts.
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 185 
 
 The Second Free Church was orj^anized in 
 
 1832, and located in the old Chatham-street 
 Theatre, which was fitted up for their accom- 
 imodalion. Their pastors have been the Rev. 
 Mr. Finney, Rev. John Ingersoll, and Rev. 
 Air. Martin. 
 
 The Third Free Church was first com- 
 menced, in the Masonic Hall, in 1832, with 
 thirty-five members. Durins: the next year, an 
 edifice was erected at the corner of Houston and 
 Thompson streets. Their pastors have been the 
 Rev. Dr. Lansingf, and the Rev. N. E. Johnson. 
 They arc at present without a regular preacher. 
 Dr. L-insing left on account of ill health, and 
 Mr. Johnson to take charge of the editorial de- 
 partment of the Now- York Evangelist. 
 
 The Ydlagc Church was a colony from tke 
 West Presbyterian Church, and organized in 
 
 1833. 'i'hoir church building stands on Jane- 
 street, near the Eighth Avenue. lis first pastor 
 was the Rev. Wm. Page, from Poughkecpsie, 
 who is now in Michicfan. His successor was 
 the Rev. Diuiiel Clark, who resigned his charge 
 in lhesp'"ing of Xfi'M. 
 
 The Fourth Free Church, organized in 1834, 
 first worshipped in Congress Hall, Bowery. 
 Their edifice wa.s erected in 1^3;'), and stands at 
 the corner of Madison and Catherine streets. 
 Its first pastor was the Rev. Arthur Cranger, 
 who was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Sprague,
 
 186 THE CHURCHES 
 
 row of Hartford. The Rev. Joel Mann, of 
 Connecticut, succeeded Mr. Sprague. 
 
 The members of the Brainerd Church 
 erected their building on Rivington street, in 
 1835. The Rev. Asa D. Smith, their first and 
 present pastor, was ordnined and installed No- 
 vember 2d, 1834, before the church building 
 was completed. Mr. Smith was fiom the 
 Andover Seminary. 
 
 The Eighth Avenue Church was organized 
 April, 1835. This Church first enjoyed the 
 labours of Mr. Edwards, who was succeeded 
 by the Rev. Mr. Riley. 
 
 The MaiihcUtfl.H Church was organized in 
 June, 1834, and commenced worshipping in a 
 smnli building on Fourth-street, formerly occu- 
 pied by the Baptists The Rev. Mr. Slocum, 
 from Hanover, New-Jersey, was their first 
 pastor. 
 
 The Mercer-slreet Church was commenced 
 in 1835, under the pastoral care of the Rev. 
 Dr. Skinner, from the Andover Seminary, Mas- 
 sachusetts. Their building is one of the most 
 beautil'ul and commodious church edifices in 
 the city. Dr. Skinner is, also, a professor in 
 the New- York Theological Seminary.
 
 or NEW-VORK. 187 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-SECOND. 
 
 THR MORAVIANS. 
 
 Uncle. The next denomination of Christians 
 to the Presbyterians, known in the city, was 
 the Moravian, or the Society of "United Bre- 
 thren," as they call themselves. These made 
 their appearance in New-York about the year 
 173G. The society was then scarcely known 
 in this country, but since that time has extend- 
 ed v^ry rapidly. 
 
 John. Were the United Brethren from Eng- 
 land ? 
 
 Uadt. No: they were from Germany. They 
 were hist known there, under the name of 
 United Brethren, about the year 1721. In 
 this year, Nichol.is L^'wis, Count of Zinzen- 
 dorf, 'their great leader, settled at Bcnhohlsilorf, 
 afterwards called Hcrmkulk, a village in Upper 
 Lusatia, Germany, and soon gathered around 
 hirn numbers from Moravia, and elsewhere; so 
 that in t<'n years the new colonists amounted to 
 siK hiuidred. They gave their society the 
 namfr of U:l'l^■< Fialum,lhc Unity of Brethren, 
 or United Brethren, after the old society in 
 Switzerland: but ia the surrounding country 
 they were known as Ihrriihu tiers, and wore 
 10
 
 188 THE CHURCHES 
 
 generally considered by the Lutherans, as fa- 
 natical, though this opinion was probably for 
 the most part, the result of prejudice. 
 
 Henry. Then the United Brethren of later 
 times, are not the same as the ancient Moravians, 
 sir ? 
 
 Uncle. Whether they are or not, is a dispu- 
 ted point. Count Zinzendorf afFivmed that 
 they were ; and consequently used to say that 
 he was the reviver of an old society, not the 
 founder of a new one. And as the United 
 Brethren in later days have, in their extensive 
 missionary operations, manifested a zeal for the 
 cause of Christ worthy of the former followers 
 of John Huss, and as they themselves claim it 
 as a rightful honour, we will consider them as 
 a genuine branch of the old society of Mora- 
 vians ; and consequently of a more remote ori- 
 gin than their settlement at Herrnhuth, in 1721. 
 
 John. Then, sir, we must hear concerning 
 the origin of the ancient Moravians. 
 
 Uncle. This I will give you in iew words. 
 The Moravians, or "Bolieniian Brethren," were 
 first known in Germany, in the 15th century ; 
 when, animated and encouraged by the preaching 
 and example of the heroic J. Huss, they threw off 
 the yoke of Popery, and embraced Protestantism. 
 In the next century they connected themselves 
 ■with the Lutheran Churches in Saxony. But 
 after the death of Luther, in 1546, and their ex- 
 pulsion from their country in 1547, they gradu-
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 189 
 
 ally formed a connection with the Swiss 
 Church ; although on the express condition 
 that they should be governed by their own ec- 
 clesiastical laws. Thus they continued until 
 the year 1620, when all grounds of distinction 
 being removed, the two separate churches were 
 formed into one, under title of the " Church of 
 the United Brethren." This is the origin from 
 which the modern ^Moravians, who have been 
 known in Germany as Herrnhutters, and ia 
 this country as Moravians, or United Brethren, 
 are desirous to derive their descent. 
 
 Ilennj. Did Count Zinzondorf ever visit this 
 country, sir? 
 
 Uade. He did ; like George Fox, Mr. Whit- 
 field, and other modern reformers, he turned 
 his attention towards the growing colonies in 
 the west, and successfully sought to spread the 
 principles of his faith in these regions, by two 
 personal visits to America. Where he visited 
 and preached when here, wc shall see by-and- 
 b}'. Wc will first turn onr attention to the in- 
 troduction of Moravianism into New- York. 
 And on this subject you may read an extract 
 from this manu.script hlter of the Rev. John 
 Ettwcin, writtrii to the Rev. Dr. Miller, from 
 Bethlehem, Pcnn.sylvania, and bearing dale of 
 September Uth, 1707. 
 
 Henry. "The first accpiaintance of the 
 United Brcthrrn in the ( Jity of New- York, was 
 made by our mini.stors and missionaries on their 
 travels through New-York, with Mr. T. Noble,
 
 190 THE CHURCHES 
 
 (a merchant,) and other serious and awakened 
 souls in connection with liini, with whom Mr. 
 Noble held private meetings in his own house." 
 
 Uncle. Tiiis Mr. Noble was a respectable 
 merchant in the city at that time, and for a long 
 while a worthy meiiiber of the Wall-street 
 Prcsbyteriuu Church, during the ministry of 
 Mr. Pemberton. He may be said to have been 
 the founder of the Society of United Brethren 
 in this city. Read on. 
 
 Henri/. "Some of these missionaries I will 
 mention : the Rev. Augustus Gotlleib Span- 
 genberg, who staid some days in New-York, 
 in the years 173G and 1737, on his way to and 
 from Georgia, where a colony of the Brethren 
 had been settled ; and, likewise, on his passage 
 to and from St. Thomas, where a mission 
 among the negroes had been begun. Also the 
 the Rev. Frederick Martin, Missionary from 
 St. Thomas, on his way to Bethlehem." Where 
 is Bethlehem, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Bethlehem is a flourishing town in 
 Pennsylvania, on the Lehigh River. It was 
 settled by the United Brethren, and may be 
 considered their head-quarters in this country. 
 Besides a church, they Jiave several large 
 buildings for their different orders, and male 
 and female seminaries, which have been quite 
 celebrated. 
 
 Henry. "Likewise the Rev. Christian H. 
 Rouch, who, in July 1740, arrived at New-York, 
 being on his way as a missionary to the Indians
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 191 
 
 of that State. In the beginning of the year 1 74 1, 
 the Rev. Peter Boehler, on his journey to Eu- 
 rope, spent several days in New- York, and his 
 testimony proved a blessing to many souls." 
 
 Uncle. Such is the account of the first settle- 
 ment of the Society of United Brethren in this 
 city, in which Mr. Noble bore a conspicuous 
 part. In the year last mentioned by Mr. Ettwein, 
 Count Zinzendorf paid his first visit to New- 
 York. Tliis was his second voyage to America, 
 but during the first he appears to have confined 
 his attention almost wholly to the West India 
 Islands. He arrived in this city on the 2d 
 of December, 1741, and remained only till the 
 6th of the same month, when he proceeded on 
 his way to Pennsylvania, where the settlement 
 of Bethlehem had been just begun. He ap- 
 pears to have spent the whole of the year 1742 
 in journeying about, preaching, and establishing 
 missions in different parts of the country, and on 
 his return to Europe in January, 1743, he again 
 tarried a kw days in New-York. This latter 
 stay of his apparently had an important bearing 
 upon the establi.shincnt of a society in the city; 
 for it was at this time that Mr. Noble and others 
 prevailed on liie liev. Peter Boehler, who had 
 accompanied the Count thus far on his journey, 
 to remain with them and minister to their assem- 
 blies. This Mr. Boehler consented to do, but 
 was soon interrupted in his good work. A 
 fortnight had scarcely elapsed, when he was 
 I6»
 
 1^2 THE CHURCHES 
 
 apprehended bjf a constable, brought before the 
 governor's council, slightly questioned by thcin, 
 afid ordered to leave the town within fventy-Coiir 
 hours! This illegal command he was obliged 
 to obey, and forthwitb crossed the ferry to 
 Staten Island, where he remained until Mr. 
 Noble, and some other reputable citizens, came 
 over and presented him with a regular call to 
 be their minister. He then leturncd. 
 
 John. Who was this governor, sir, that ex- 
 pelled Mr. Boehler? 
 
 Uncle,. Governor Clarke ; who cared but 
 little more perhaps about justice in such matters, 
 than Lord (Jornbury himself. This calling of 
 Mr. Boehler may be looked upon as the first 
 establishment of the society, although it was not 
 regularly organized as a "Society of United 
 Brethren," until December, 1748, when Bishop 
 Johannes de Walterelle visited New- York. 
 The congregation was at this time small, num- 
 bering somewhat under one hundred. The 
 appointed places for meetings were at the house 
 of Mr. Noble, and elsewhere, until 1751, whei) 
 a chapel was erected. 
 
 Henri/. Where did the chapel stand, sir ? 
 
 Uncle. On Fair, now Fulton-strcct, near thq 
 <:orner of Dutch-street. It stood back feme dis- 
 tance from the line of the street, and was cn- 
 , closed by a high board fence, so as fo be scarcely 
 visible to passers-by. The present edifice is 
 /leatly built, facing the street, and bears on it
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 193 
 
 this inscription — "Founded 1751. RebuUi 
 1 820. Protestant Episcopal Church of United 
 Brctkreny 
 
 Henry. How do the United Brethren differ 
 from other Christians, sir .'' 
 
 Uarle. Mostly in their general manner of 
 living, and their customs; though in doctrine, 
 especially that relating to the Trinity, they dif- 
 fer somewhat from other evangelical denomina- 
 tions. They are said to hold some peculiar 
 views in regard to the Holy Spirit, and the moral 
 law, as contained in the ten commandments, and 
 and sotne peculiar customs in regard to matri- 
 mony, prayer, and general discipline. Count 
 Zinzendorf divided the members of the society 
 into different classes, accordingly as they were 
 young or old, married or unmarried, widow? or 
 widowers, each class having ovtr it a director 
 subject to its own choice, and all the classes 
 being under the superintcndancc of three co-as- 
 sistant elders. 'J'h;; particular attention paid by 
 the United Brethren to the instruction of youth, 
 and iheir prevailing custom of singing religious 
 hymns, of which exercise they make a great 
 part of thi'ir poblic worship to consist, are two 
 happy featuro. in their system. 
 
 John. And their missionary spirit, too, sir. 
 
 Uncle. Yfs, J<din : we can never lose sictit 
 of that. Wbonever we think of ( Jreenlnnd, St. 
 i'homas, and St.Cioix ; of Lajjland, Tartary, or 
 
 Guinea; of the Cape of Good Hope, the Island 
 
 ljaj)lan(i, li 
 iootl Hope,}]
 
 194 THE CHURCHES 
 
 of Ceylon, or of the Indians of our own country ; 
 unless we are carelessly forgtlful or unpardou- 
 ably ignorant, we cannot help thinking at the 
 same time of the self-denial, zeal, and continued 
 exertion, of these indefatigable Moravian mis- 
 sionaries. Their example is worthy of apostolic 
 times. 
 
 One thing with regard to their ministers, I 
 wish }-ou here to notice ; they receive no fixed 
 salaries ; but take what the sleioards provide 
 for them from the collections made at the public 
 and private meetings. As to their church gov- 
 ernment, the following paragraph will give us 
 some information : — "They have their minister 
 and a committee of the most trusty members of 
 the congregation. In matters of moment, the 
 minister has to consult the conference at Bethle- 
 hem, which is responsible to the general Synod 
 of the United Brethren." 
 
 Henri/. Did Mr. Boehler continue long the 
 minister of the society in New- York ? 
 
 Uncle. As his presence was required in Penn- 
 sylvania, he soon bid adieu to his congregation 
 in New -York ; but sent preachers to them from 
 time to time as he found it practicable, until 
 February, 1746, when the Rev. G. Neuser ac- 
 cepted a call to assist Mr. Noble in his labours; 
 which he continued to do till Mr. Noble's death, 
 when he acted as the sole minister. Some of 
 the ministers, who have officiated since that time 
 in the chanel in Fulton-street, 1 find enumerated
 
 OF NEW- YORK. 195 
 
 as follows: — The Reverends Owen Rice, 
 James Grceninq;, Ludolph A. Riis?nicyer, G. 
 Neuser again, Jacob Rodgeis, Thomas Yarrel, 
 Gustavus Shewkink, James Birkby, and God- 
 frey Peter ; the latter of whom departed this 
 life, during his ministry, October 27th, 
 1797. Since then Mr. YaVrel served again; 
 who with Mr. Neuser, remained in connection 
 with the congregation lonsrer than most of the 
 others, who generally remained only two, three, 
 or four years. The Rev. Mr. Kluge is the 
 present minister. 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-THIRD. 
 
 THE BAPTISTS. 
 
 Unrle. The next denomination that claims 
 our attention, is the Baptist. 
 
 There was a society founded here under this 
 name, as early as 1709. by several American 
 Biptist preachers; whose name was derived 
 merely from the characteristic mode of baptism, 
 and not from any similarity of doctrine to those 
 of the prespnt Biplij-l Church. Mr Parkinson, 
 pastor of the First Church, in Gold street, says
 
 196 THE CHURCHES 
 
 in his Jubilee sermon, that they were Professed 
 Arminiciiis. 
 
 This church seemed to flourish for a icw 
 years ; so much so that they erected a meeting- 
 house on Golden Hill, which they occupied un- 
 til the year 1731, when the church was entirely 
 dissolved. Their meeting-house was claimed 
 and sold as private properly, by one of the trus- 
 tees. 
 
 Concerning the rise of the present Baptist 
 Church in our city, Henry may read a short 
 account that I have prepared for you from Mr. 
 Parkinson's sermon. 
 
 Henri/. " About the year 1745, Mr. Jeremiah 
 Dodge, a member of the Baptist Church at Fish- 
 kill, settled in this city, and opened a prayer- 
 meeting in his own house. At these meetings 
 some of the members of the former church attend- 
 ed, and occasionally officiated. 
 
 In the same year, one of their number, Mr. 
 Joseph Meeks, was baptized, and thenceforth 
 became an efficient member of the church. 
 Soon after this an invitation was sent by Messrs. 
 Dodge, Meeks, and Robert North, to Mr, John 
 Pine (a licentiate in the church at Fish-kill) to 
 come and preach to them. Mr. Pine's labours 
 were very useful in establishing the church in 
 the doctrines of the Gospel. In 1750 Mr. Pine 
 died. 
 Afte r this, Elder James Carman (of Cranbury)
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 197 
 
 visited them, and performed baptism, at different 
 times. 
 
 In 1753, they united themselves to the church 
 in Scotch Plains, and enjoj-ed the labours of 
 their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Miller, once or twice 
 in a quarter. Mr .Miller had visited them but a 
 few times, when finding their congregation too 
 numerous to be accommodated in a private house, 
 a rigging loft, in Horse-and-Cart-street, was 
 procured and fitted up for public worship." 
 
 John. That was William-street. 
 
 Uncle. And the lofl used, must have been the 
 same one afterwards occupied by the Methodists, 
 in 1767. This building still stands, and should 
 be an object of interest and veneration, to these 
 two denominations now so flourishing and nu- 
 merous in our city. Read on, Henry. 
 
 Henri/. " Here they statedly assembled for 
 threeor four years, when the loft being otherwise 
 dL^posed of ])y the owners, they assembled again 
 in the dwelling-house of Mr. Meeks. In 1758, 
 having purchased a piece of ground, where the 
 church now stands in Gold-street, they commen- 
 ced the erection of a small meeting-house, which 
 was openrd on the 4th of March, 1700. Their 
 numbers now began rapidly to increase; and 
 having oblainr-d di.smis.'iion from the church at 
 Scotch Plain.-j in 17<r2, lliey were, on the lUth 
 of June of the same year, constilutt-d a church 
 by the a.ssistance of Elders'Bcnjamin Miller and 
 John Ciano."
 
 lyS THE CHURCHES 
 
 Uncle. Their first pastor, after this organiza- 
 tion, wastlie Rev. Mr. Gano, who had formerly 
 been settled over a church in Yadkin, North- 
 Carolina. 
 
 Mr. Gano was highly esteemed by his people, 
 and by the public at large; so much so. that his 
 church began to increase in numbers, and the 
 meeting-house was much enlarged for their ac- 
 commodation. The dimensions of the first house, 
 are not precisely known, but Mr. David Grim 
 has left a small drawing of it, which, as it is a 
 curiosity, 1 will one day show you. When 
 enlarged it measured 52 "feet by 42. 
 
 'I'husthechurch continued to flourish, until the 
 revolution, when Mr. Gano tnterrdas a chaplain 
 in the army, and his congregation were entirely 
 dispersed. Durino- this melancholy period the 
 meeting-house suffered great injury from the 
 British ; having been used as a horse-atablc. 
 
 After the peace, however, a short time only 
 elapsed before the church was restored to her 
 former prosperity. • 
 
 In 178S, Mr. Gano took leave of his people, 
 and departed for Kentucky, after having been 
 their pastor for 26 years. 
 
 His successor was the Rev. Benjamin For- 
 ster, from Newport, Rhode Island. The church 
 enjoyed the labours of Mr. Forster only for a 
 short while. For on the 2bl]i of August, 1798, 
 he died, after a settlement of about nine months 
 in this city.
 
 OF NEW -YORK. 199 
 
 The Rev. William Collier, fiom Boston, 
 succeeded, and officiated till the year 1804. 
 During his ministry here, the old building was 
 removed, and the present edifice erected. While 
 the new house was building, the congregation 
 worshipped in the old French Church, in Pine- 
 street. 
 
 Theirprcsentpastor,theRcv. William Parkin- 
 son, was Mr. Collier's successor, ivlr. Paikinscn 
 came to New-York from Frederick-town, in 
 Maryland, hi.<? native state. He scaled in 1SU5, 
 and has been a pastor here for nearly thirty-four 
 years. 
 
 Concerning the remainder of the Baptist 
 Churches in our city, you may read the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 Juhii. The Second, in Oli'er-itrect, founded 
 in 179o. and rebuilt of stone in 1810. Rev. 
 Mr. Cone, pastor. 
 
 The Third, in Anthony-street, founded in 
 1805, built of wood ; Mr. llayborn, pastor. 
 
 The Fui/rth, in Broome-street, founded 1806 ; 
 Rev. Mr. Blair, pastor. 
 
 The /'////'. ill Miilberry-strcef.founded in 1809. 
 Present edifice erected in 1817: Rev. Mr. Mac lay, 
 pastor. 
 
 The Sixth, in M'Dougalstrcet, founded in 
 1810; first built in Vandam-strcct. Rev. Mr. 
 Dunbar, pastor. 
 
 The Suulh, in Nassau-street, founded in 18'24; 
 Rev. Mr. Soraers, pastor. 
 17
 
 200 THE CHURCHES 
 
 The Union, in Stanton, near Forsytli-street; 
 Rev. Mr. Benedict. 
 
 The Bethel, in Bowery; Rev. Mr. Miller. 
 
 The Bethel, in Mott-street ; Rev. Mr. Chase. 
 
 The North, m Bedford-street; Rev. Mr. 
 Bronncr. 
 
 The East, in Grand-street; Rev. Mr. Mid- 
 dleton. 
 
 The West, in Duane-strect ; Rev. Mr. Dow- 
 ling. 
 
 The Ebenezer, in Houstoun-street ; Rev. Mr. 
 Marsh. 
 
 The Salem Church, in King-street. 
 
 The Emmaus Par, in (Jhrystie-street ; Rev. 
 Mr. Parkinson. 
 
 Neio Church, in Amity-street ; Rev. Mr, 
 Williams. 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURTH. 
 
 THE METHODISTS. 
 
 Henry. The Methodists, I believe, sir, were 
 not so early a sect in this city, as the Baptists. 
 
 Uade. No. And the reason was, that they 
 were very little known iu this country as a sect 
 at all, at the time the Baptists settled here.
 
 OF NEV-'-YORK. 201 
 
 Then when we remember that they orig'inated 
 in a foreign coirntry, we will not wonder that 
 the eighteenth century had almost elapsed be- 
 fore they were much known in New-York. 
 
 John. They commenced in England, I be- 
 lieve. 
 
 Uncle. They did so. But Henry may tell 
 us what he remembers concerning their rise. 
 
 Henri/. John Wesley was the founder of 
 Methodism. He was a member of the Oxford 
 university, and there he and his followers took 
 the name of Methodists. 
 
 John. Why where they called Methodists, 
 uncle ? 
 
 Uncle. Because they performed their religious 
 duties by certain fixed rules and methods. They 
 were sometimes denominated sacra.nentarians ; 
 and sometimes in ridicule, their fellow students 
 gave them the nick-name of the. godly-club. 
 You may go on Henry. 
 
 Henry. His sentiments began to spread, 
 about the year 1740, through all parts of Great 
 Britain and Iroland. Hut about the inlroduc- 
 tioM of Meihodi.«iii into tliis city, I can only say 
 that, if I remember aright, it was near the year 
 1708. 
 
 Uncle. You are correct; it was only a few 
 years before the breaking out of the American 
 Revolution. Mr. Weslfy always considered 
 the beginning of the Methodist Church, in 
 New- York, to be the beginning of it in America.
 
 202 THB CHURCHES 
 
 He had indeed foimerly visited Georgia, and 
 there organized a ciiurch, but on his departure 
 it had ciilii'cly dwindled away. 
 
 One of the iTio^t efficient organizers of tlie 
 Methodist Chiu.v. in this city, was Philip Em- 
 bury; a man ui oiuccrc pie'.y and true benevo- 
 lence, and who, iu his emigration from Britain, 
 had not left behind him his devotional and reli- 
 gious feclinsfs. Urged on by a lady of zeal 
 and .-ictivity, he opened the doors of his own 
 house, and there, with a little band of six or 
 seven, held the first Methodist Meeting that 
 New- York had ever seen. His honse, thus 
 rendered worthy of memory, stood on Barrack- 
 street, since known as Augustus-street. 
 
 Henri/. And now called, City-Hall Place. 
 
 Uncle. Thus they began. But continuing 
 to strugjrle on, through the scoffs and derision 
 of ungodly men, who considered them as great 
 enthusiasts, they gradually increased and 
 strengthened, until they were soon beyond the 
 fear of disturbance', or reach of opposition. 
 
 But Mr. Embury was not the only man whose 
 name is conspicnons in the early history of the 
 church here. There was another, whose 
 name was V/cbb. Captain Webb, (by which 
 he was generally known,) had been barrack- 
 master in the English Army, stationed at Al- 
 bany. 
 
 John. The Eno^lish, then, held possession of 
 this country ?
 
 OF N r: w - Y R K . 203 
 
 Henry. Yes. It was before the Revolution, 
 you know. 
 
 Uncle. Captain Webb, hearing of this feeble 
 band who were struggling against a strong tide 
 of opposition, came down to New- York, and 
 made his appearance among them as a friend. 
 His first appearance at one of their meetings, 
 was quite unexpected, and somewhat alarming. 
 The circumstance is described by a writer, in 
 the following language. Read it John. 
 
 John. " Once having met together as usual, 
 they were surprised, whilst singing, by the en- 
 trance of a man, in full military uniform, whose 
 appearance on such an occasion struck the 
 whole congregation with consternation. All 
 eyes were anxiously fi.\.ed upon him, to discern 
 whether any sinister purpose was intended by 
 this visit, from an officer of the Royal American 
 Troops ; but when they saw him disposed to 
 join in worship — when they saw iiim kneel to- 
 gether with themselves in solemn prayer, and 
 perceived the marked serenity of his features, 
 their fears were dispelled, and they recognized, 
 under the disguise of war, a brother, and a 
 faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Af- 
 ter the exerci.se3 were concluded, ho introduced 
 himself as Lieutenant Webb, from Albany ; and 
 from that moment he became the chief pillar of 
 this rising congregation." 
 
 Uncle. After this, (Japtain Webb and Mr. 
 Embury became conjointly the slated preachers 
 17*
 
 204 THE CUHRCHES 
 
 in the congregation : nnd the Lord of the har- 
 vest blessed, with au unsparing hand, their per- 
 severance and faithfulness. 
 
 Captain Webb's appearance was somewhat 
 of a iiovehy, and perhaps contributed not a little 
 to iiis popularity. He wasa large, stout man, — 
 always appeared in the pulpit with his reoi- 
 mentals — and wore a band around his forehead, 
 to cover a sightless eye which had been wound- 
 ed in the campaign against Quebec, in 1758. 
 
 John. He must have looked singularly 
 enough, sir. 
 
 JJack. True. But as he was a soldier of 
 the King of England, so his regimentals might 
 aptly remind him that he was a soldier too of 
 the cross, and owed allegiance to the King of 
 Heaven and earth. Their rooms in Barrack- 
 street soon became too straight for them, and 
 they u-crc obliged to seek accommodations 
 elsewhere. Accordin.gly a house in William- 
 street, contammg a large upper room, once oc- 
 cupied as a riafging-loft, was procured and fitted 
 up. Mr. Embury here preached from a pulpit, 
 made iril/i his men hands. 
 
 Hcnrii. In wha, part of William- street was 
 this 1 
 
 U/icIe. Only a f;w doors north of John-street. 
 The building is still standing, in a good state of 
 preservation, and is known as No. 120. It is 
 occupied as a store by those, and passed daily 
 by hundreds, who little think of its former use.
 
 OF NEW-TOnK. 205 
 
 Here Messrs. Embury and Webb continued 
 to preach, and to labour: and here God mani- 
 fested his spf^cial proscnce, in increasing their 
 numbers, and strengthening- their hands, until 
 17G8, when they began seriously to think af 
 erecting a church. This they knew to be, in 
 their present situation, a great undertaking. 
 Nevertheless, in due time, th^y had the pleasure 
 of seeing their utmost desire gratified. Their 
 first pljn was to rent a plot of grounJ, and erect 
 a wooden building. But by the activity and 
 zeal of one or two of the rnembers, they were 
 enabled to purchase a site on what was then 
 called Golden-hill, near ^Villiam-strcet. 
 
 Jnlm. You have mentioned Golden-hill be- 
 fore, sir. 
 
 Uncle. It is now known as John-street. 
 Hero they soon siw their most snnguine hopfs 
 accomplished, in the erection of a substantial 
 stone church ; which was dedicated on the oOth 
 October, 17G8. The sermon on this occasion 
 was preached by Mr. Embury, and from a pul- 
 pit made with his own h.Tnds. 
 
 After this, as they now liad a name and a 
 habitation, thrir meetings became more fully 
 attended, and the respectability of their sect, in 
 the eyes of the world, wa.? much advancrd. 
 
 Golden-hill had not then been levelled, na 
 as we find John-street now; and the church 
 had been pliced down some fert, in anticipation 
 of such a future change. But when liic hill
 
 206 THK CHURCHES 
 
 was levelled, so much was cut away, that the 
 building- stood .much higher from the ground 
 than was at first intended. The two side doors 
 led to the galleries. These galleries were not 
 finished till some years after the dedication, so 
 that they afforded seats to none but boys and 
 young men, who for a long time ascended by 
 means of a ladder. Sucli was Wesleijs Chapel 
 in New- York ; the first in America. 
 
 To screen the congregation from the gaze of 
 the passer-by, a high wooden fence was erected 
 before the whole front. There was a house 
 standing nearly in front of it, an old fashioned 
 Dutch building, that served as a parsonage, li- 
 brary, and sexton's domicil, until its removal to 
 make way for John-street, 
 
 Henry. John-.strcet took its name from John 
 Hardenbrook, I think you said. Uncle. 
 
 John. The man who gave the ground for 
 the North Dutch Church. 
 
 Uncle. And -(vhose escutcheon is still there 
 to be seen. As was usual in those days, part 
 of the expense of erecting the Methodist Church, 
 was defrayed by means of a lottery. Concern- 
 ing this mode of raising money for charitable 
 and benevolent purposes, in use by our prede- 
 cessors, we have before conversed. 
 
 We have seen the manner in which the Me- 
 ihodLst denomination rose, in our city, and the 
 rapidity with which their sentiments spread, 
 and their numbers increased.
 
 OF ncw-youb:. 207 
 
 As yet they had had no regularly ordained 
 ministers amonir them. But in 1769, the year 
 after the completion of the chapci, some of the 
 most influential in the society, having consulted 
 together, finally addressed a letter to Mr. Wes- 
 ley in En^lanri, beseeching him to send minis- 
 ters to labour among thtm; and promising to 
 support them even if they should be obliged to 
 seli their coats to procure their subsist; nee. 
 Such a call from such men, could not meet with 
 a refusal. And, accordingly, in the same year, 
 two clergymen were despatched to America; 
 viz. Rev. Messrs. Boardman and Pilmore. 
 Thpse brought with them fifty pounds sterling, 
 as a "toicen of brotherly love," from the bre- 
 thren in England to those in New-Yorh. A 
 part of a htter which Mr. Pi'morc wrote back 
 to Mr. Wesley, dated Philadelphia, October 
 31st, 1769, you may rt.ad tu us, John, as 
 it comprises some inibrmalion concerning the 
 rise of the church. 
 
 John. "Rev. Sir: By the blessing of God we 
 are safely arrived here, after a tedious passage 
 of nine weeks. We were not a little surprised 
 to find Cnptriin Webb in town, and a society of 
 about a hundred members, who drslrii to be in 
 close connection with you. This is the Lord's 
 doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. I have 
 prcnchfd several timrs, an;i the people lioc.li to 
 near, in multitudes. Here s ems to be a great 
 and cfTtctual door opening in this country."
 
 208 T 11 K C H U 11 C H E S 
 
 Uncle. Mr. Pilmore, after travelling- through 
 some of the southern states, and preaching to 
 crowds of eager hearers of the word, Avho every- 
 where met him, came to New-York, and finally 
 settled as the pastor of a church here. 
 
 John. I remember, sir; his church was in 
 Ann-street. 
 
 Uncle. Yes; though no trace of a church is 
 to be found there now. From this city ho writes 
 again to Mr. Wesley, under date of April 24th, 
 
 1770, fioin which an extract may be interest- 
 ing to us. Read it, Henry. 
 
 Henry. " Our house contains about seventeen 
 hundred hearers ; only about a third part of 
 of those who attend get in ; the rest are glad to 
 hear without. There appears such a willing- 
 ness in the Americans to hear the word, as I 
 never saw before. The numbers of blacks that 
 attends the preaching affects me much." 
 
 Uncle. 'Vh<^ effect of such representations of 
 want in spiritual thingsamong the people here, 
 was that more labourers left their homes in 
 England and embarked in this good cause. Ih 
 
 1771, the Rev. Messrs. Ashbury and Wright, 
 having vohujteered their services, were des- 
 patched to America. These were warmly re- 
 ceived by the people, who bid them welcome as 
 messengers of glad tidings to the western world. 
 They continued to travel through the colonies, 
 more particularly in the middle and southern 
 states, until their number was reinforced by the
 
 OF NEW-YORK. 209 
 
 arrival of Mr. Thomas Rankin, and Mr. 
 George Shadlbrd, in the year 1773. And to 
 these again were added in the next year two 
 more. From this time forward, there was no 
 lack of labourers in the field: and the rapidity 
 with which their doctrines spread through the 
 whole United States, bore ample testimony to 
 their faithfulness as preachers of the word, as 
 well as to the power of that word to renew the 
 heart and sanctify the life. 
 
 Henry. What became of Mr. Pilmorc, sir? 
 
 Uncle. Having imited himself with the Pro- 
 testant Episcopal Church in this city, his friends 
 built him a church in Ann-street, long known 
 as Mr. Pilmore's Christ Church. Here he con- 
 tinued to preach until his removal to Philadel- 
 phia, where he finally died. His church was 
 afterwards sold to the Roman Catholics. 
 
 Like other denominations, the Methodists had 
 some trouble during the war of tlie American 
 Revolution. In Maryland, one of their preach- 
 ers, Mr. Ashbury, was fined five pounds for 
 preaching pnlilicly. And through all the pro- 
 vinces they were regarded with rather a jealous 
 eye by the American parly. 
 
 Henry. Why so, Uncle? 
 
 U/irle. I suppose, because it was well known 
 that Mr. Wesley was a staunch loyali,<it, and 
 that some of their most prominent clergyman 
 had been opposed to the proceedings of the 
 Americans. But while this gave them enemies
 
 210 THE CHURCHES 
 
 on ooe side, it secured them friends on the other. 
 Conseqiicutiy, when all the other congregations 
 in this cily were dispersed during the war, and 
 their churches used for secular purposes, the 
 Methodists were not very seriously inconainoded. 
 They were only required to give up their chapel 
 in John street, lor llvmseoL ihe German troops, 
 in the fore-part of the Sabbath, while they them- 
 selves rnigiit use it during the remainder of the 
 day. They were considered as loyalists, and 
 were treated accordingly. On refusal to take 
 up arms in the American cause, many were 
 fined and Vv-hipped. Many of the societies suf- 
 fered by a deprivation of regular preaching. 
 But even in the midst of these troubles, and per- 
 plexities, their preachers found means to advance 
 the cause of truth ; and, like their brtheren of 
 other denominations, they embraced whatever 
 opportunity offered, to preach the gospel, and to 
 keep alive, and nourish, even in the midst of 
 war and tumult, the seeds of religion in the 
 hearts of the people. 
 
 During thii; time of commotion and inquietude, 
 by the recommendation of Mr. Wesley, Mr. 
 Ashbury was considered as a kind of swperin- 
 tendant of the Mcthodi.'?t Churches in America. 
 
 But in 17S4, Dr. Coke was sent out as a 
 Bishop, who should take upon himself the care 
 of the American Chuiches. He brought with 
 him credentials in Mr. Wesley's own hand 
 wiiting. '
 
 OF NEW -YORK. 211 
 
 Dr. Coke was received wiih open hearts by 
 the church, who joyfully welcomed him as their 
 bishop, — or swperinlendant, which appears to 
 have been Mr. Wesley's favourite term for 
 bishop. 
 
 John. I never knew that the Methodists had 
 bishops. 
 
 Uncle. You see that they have; and hence 
 their church is designated as the Mclhodist 
 Episcopal. One of the first of Dr. Coke's pub- 
 lic acts, was the ordination of Francis Ashbury 
 as superintcndant ; which was regularly per- 
 formed, at a conference of the church, in 1784. 
 This conference was held at the city of Balti- 
 more, and there the Methodists of America 
 were first formed into a regular church, and the 
 name of The Methodist Episcopal Church was 
 given them. 
 
 Henry. Were thoy like the Episcopalians in 
 their forms of worship ? 
 
 Uncle. They were, somewhat, at first. They 
 used in some of the larger towns and cities for a 
 few years, the prayer book of the English 
 Church, from which prayers were read on the 
 Sabbath, and at the morning service of Wed- 
 nesday and Friday. Bands and gowns wore for 
 sometime worn by the superintendanis, and somo 
 of the elders. But all of these, meeting with 
 opposition from the people, were gradually laid 
 aside, and given up. 
 
 After this regular organization of the Mctho- 
 18
 
 212 THE CHURCHES 
 
 dist Church, their cause greatly revived, and the 
 number of converts multiplied on every hand. 
 When Dr. Coke sailed for England, in the 
 year 1785, the members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, in the United States, numbered 
 about fifteen thousand. And about the period 
 of Mr. Wesley's death, they were stated to have 
 been forty-three thousand. 
 
 John. What a large number, sir ! 
 f*? Uncle. But from this period, such was the as- 
 tonishing progress of Methodism in this country, 
 that the enrolled members in 1820, were t%oo 
 hundred and eighty-thousand. 
 
 John. What must it be now ! 
 
 Uncle. A few words in relation to Dr. Coke, 
 the first Methodist Bishop in America; he was 
 born at Brecon, South Wales, on the 9th of Sep- 
 tember, 1747; at the age of sixteen was sent to 
 Oxford, where he received his education ; was 
 chosen to a responsible civil office at the age of 
 twenty-one ; and held a respectable curacy for 
 several years, where he became acquainted 
 with Mr. Wesley, and embraced his sentiments. 
 In 1784, he was ordained by Mr. Wesley, as 
 superintendent to the churches in America; 
 where he continued to labour for many years. 
 During the latter portion of his life he was 
 much engaged in the cause of foreign missions; 
 and towards India especially was his attention 
 turned. He was so much in earnest for the 
 salvation of the poor Hindoos, that he resolved
 
 O F N E ^\■ - Y R K . 21 3 
 
 10 go liimsclf, and devote liis life to the work of 
 evangelizing them ; and, accordinglj^ in the 
 year 1814, he embarked for India. But those 
 benighted shores he was destined never to see; 
 for on the 3d of JVIa\-, of that year, he was 
 found, by his servant, stretched on the cabin 
 floor, a cold and lifeless corpse ! Thus sud- 
 denly was this devoted man called away from 
 his earthly labours. He was buried at sea. 
 
 The Methodist Churches in our city, are nu- 
 merous : they have appeared in the following 
 order: 
 
 The First, is the John-street Church, of 
 ■which we have already spoken. The present 
 edifice was erected in 1817, and stands on the 
 spot occupied by the one built in 1768. It is 
 built of stone, and the interior finished in mod- 
 ern style. 
 
 The Second, stands in Forsyth-street ; first 
 built of stone, and was founded in 1789 ; rebuilt 
 in 1833. 
 
 The Third, in Duane-street, was founded in 
 1797. Its size is 75 feet by 50. 
 
 The/wM/7/!,isthe African Church in Church- 
 street, founded in 180U, and rebuilt in l«:iO. 
 
 The Fifth, founded in 1806, and built in Mott- 
 strcf't, of wood, has since been removed to 
 Willet-stn.'ct, near Jjroome. 
 
 The Sixth, in Allen-street, built of stone, 
 found.d in 1809; rebuilt in 1^3G. 
 
 The Seventh, in Bedford-street, corner of Mor-
 
 214 
 
 THE CHURCHES 
 
 ton, founded in 1809, built of wood ; size 60 feet 
 by 42. 
 
 The Eighth, founded in 1818, built of wood; 
 in Broorae-street^ since removed to Green-street, 
 near Broome. 
 
 The Ninth, the Bowery Village Church, 
 built of wood in 1818, in Seventh-street, then 
 called Nichols William-street. It has lately 
 been rebuilt with brick. 
 
 The Tenth, Independent Church, in Chrystie - 
 street; built in 1821 of brick. 
 
 The Eleventh, in Eio;htecnth-street, near the 
 Eig-hth-A venue, built of brick. 
 
 The Twelfth, a beautiful chapel, in Vestry- 
 street, near Hudson. 
 
 ^ The Thirteenth, is the Wesleyan Chapel, 
 in Mulberry-street, near Bleecker; lately erected, 
 and presenting an interior of striking neatness 
 and beauty, 
 
 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIFTH. 
 
 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 JJndc. Concerning the Reformed Presby- 
 terian Church, Henry may read this account, 
 which a friend has furnished us.
 
 OF NE W-\ ORK. 215 
 
 Henry. The Reformed Presbyterian Con- 
 gregation in this city, was founded in the year 
 1797. In 1800, the late Rev. Dr. M'Leod was 
 installed as their pastor, and in 1801, the church 
 edifice in Chamber-street, first occupied by 
 them, was erected. It was a small neat frame 
 building, to which a burying-ground was at- 
 tached, and was well known to the religious 
 public. In this place the congregation wor- 
 shipped, until by the increase of their numbers 
 and resources, a larger edifice was demanded, 
 and in 1818, the more extensive and commo- 
 dious building of brick, which still occupies the 
 old site in Chamber-street, was erected. 
 
 In these houses Dr. M'Leod discharged his 
 stated ministry, until his decease. For more 
 than thirty years he occupied a very prominent 
 place among the clergymen and other literary 
 characters of this city. His published lectures 
 on the "Scripture Prophecies;" his "Sermons 
 on the Late War ;" and " on the Life and Power 
 of True Cioilliness," and tlie many contributions 
 he was known to make to the various periodi- 
 cals of the day, remain as evidences of his dis- 
 tinguished abilities. 
 
 From m;iny large and wealthy congrega- 
 tions of other denominations, in this city, and 
 clsewlifre, and from different iufstiliilions, tiie 
 doctor receiv(;d invitations to change his eccle- 
 siastical relations, but he preferred remaining 
 with the people among whom he conunenccd 
 18»
 
 216 THECHURCIIES 
 
 his ministry. His abilities as a controversialist, 
 and L'loquence as a preacher, attracted large 
 crowds to his church, and for years it was a 
 place of resort, on the evenings of the Sabbath, 
 to many Christians of all religious persuasions. 
 
 Dr. M'Lcoddied in 1833. In 1835, the con- 
 gregation disposed of the church in Chambers- 
 street, and removed to the corner of Prince and 
 Orange streets, where they now worship. The 
 Rev. John N. M'Leod, the son and successor of 
 his father, Dr. M'Leod. is their present pastor. 
 
 The Reformed Presbyterians are strict old 
 fashioned Presbyterians, who take as their sub- 
 ordinate standards of faith, the Westminster 
 Confession, and what is styled their "Act De- 
 clarative, and Testimony Explanatory" of it. 
 
 Uncle. This will end, for the present, our 
 conversations concerning the churches of New- 
 York. 
 
 At some future time, it maybe interesting and 
 instructive to us to consider, more minutely, the 
 history and character of the ministers who have 
 been settled over our Evangelical Churches 
 here, since the first settlement by the Dutch.
 
 A LIST OF ALL 
 
 THE 
 
 CHURCHES IN THE CITY, 
 
 ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED. 
 
 AFRICAV. 
 
 Abvssinian Baptist, in Anthony-street. 
 A-*!>iiry Methodist, in Elizabeth-street. 
 Methodist, in Second-street. 
 Methoilist African Union, in Fifteenth-street. 
 St. Phihp's, Episcopal, in Centre-street. 
 Zion, liaptisl, in .Spring-street. 
 Zioii, .Methodist, f'hnrch-slreet. 
 Protestant Episcopal, Grand-street. 
 
 IJAPTIST. 
 
 First, in Gnld-^lrert. 
 iSccoiid. in Oliver street. 
 B<;thel, in tin- [Jowery. 
 Bethel, in .Mott-strcet. 
 Fifth, in Mulhorry-strect. 
 Beriah, .Vor//i, in .M'DougaUstreet. 
 Soiitli, in .\a---.^an-street. 
 Eif;hlh, in Flromne-strect. 
 North, in Bedford-strcot.
 
 218 
 
 East, in Grand-street. 
 
 West, in Duane-street. 
 
 Ebenezer, in Honstonn-street, 
 
 Salem, in Kinff-street. 
 
 Ennn;ins I'ar, in Chrystie-street. 
 
 New, in Aniity-strpet. 
 
 Congregation ol' Disciples, in Laurens-street. 
 
 CATHOI^IC. 
 
 St. Patrick's Catliedral, in Mott-street. 
 St. James, in James-street. 
 St. Mary's, in Grand-street. 
 St. Peter's, Barclay-street. 
 St. Joseph's, Sixth Avenue. 
 Transtignraiion, in Chamber-street. 
 German Catholic, in Second-street. 
 
 DUTCH REFORMED. 
 
 South Church, in Murray-street. 
 
 Branch of South Clmrch, in University ChapeL 
 
 Middle, in Liherty-street. 
 
 IS'orth, in William-street. 
 
 Branch of North, in Ninth-street. 
 
 North West, in Franklin-street. 
 
 North East, in Market-street. 
 
 Ninth, in Kinj^-street. 
 
 Church in Brooine-street. 
 
 Church 'u Greene-street. 
 
 Church in Bleecker-street. 
 
 Seventh, in Ilccrlam. 
 
 Mission Church, in Houstoun-street. 
 
 Young Men's Mission, in Third-street
 
 219 
 
 EPISCOPAL. 
 
 AH Saints' Church, in Henry-street. 
 
 Christ Church, in .Anthony -street. 
 
 Ascension, in Canal-street. 
 
 Epipliany, in Stanton-street. 
 
 Grace, in Broadway. 
 
 St. Clement's, in .Xmity-street. 
 
 De Sit. Esprit, in Franklin-street 
 
 St. Andrew's, in llicrlem. 
 
 St. liarthoioinew's, in Lafayette Place. 
 
 St. James', in Hamilton Square. 
 
 St. (je-orge's, in T'oekman-street. 
 
 St. Luke's, in Hudson-street. 
 
 St. ."Mark's, in Stuyvesant-street. 
 
 St. .Mary'.-i. in Manhattanvillc. 
 
 Sl .M.uttliew's, in Grand-street. 
 
 St. Michael's, in Bloomingdale. 
 
 Nativity, ill .Avenue D. 
 
 St. Peter's, in Twentieth-street. 
 
 St. Stc[ihen's, in Chrystie-street. 
 
 St. Tiioma-i', in Ikoadway. 
 
 St. Timothy's, in Houstovin-street. 
 
 Trinity, in Broadway. 
 
 St. Paul's, in Broadway. 
 
 St. Jolin's, ill Varick-siroct. 
 
 Zion. in Mott-strert. 
 
 Free -Mission, in Vande water-street. 
 
 CKRMAN. 
 
 German Christian, in EsHCX-street. 
 German Rf^foruii'd, in Forsvth-streot. 
 First Christian Cliapd, fSroome-strect. 
 Second do do Fourtccuth-straet.
 
 •220 
 
 FRIENDS. 
 
 flIeetiug-House, iu Rose-street, 
 do Ilestor-street. 
 
 do Henry-street, 
 
 do Downing-street. 
 
 JEWS' SYTVAGOGUES, 
 
 First Shearith Israel, in Crosby-street. 
 Second, in Elm-street. 
 Third, in Centre-street. 
 
 LUTHERAX EVANGELICAL,. 
 
 St. James', iu Orange-street. 
 St. Matthew's, iu Walker-street. 
 
 METHODISTS. 
 
 Mariner's Chapel, in Rosevelt-street. 
 Churcii, iu Allen-street. 
 
 do Forsyth-strcet. 
 
 do \Villett-street. 
 
 do Second-street. 
 
 do Seventh-street. 
 
 do Greene-street. 
 
 do Diiane-strect. 
 
 flo John-str(!et. 
 
 do Bedford-street. 
 
 do EighteeiUh-street. 
 
 do Vestry-street. 
 
 do Mulberry-streeL
 
 •221 
 
 Methodist Society, in Chrystie-street. 
 
 Associate Protestant Methodists, in Attorney-street. 
 
 do do do SuUivan-street. 
 
 Primitive Methodist, in Houstoun-street. 
 
 do do Ehzubeth-street. 
 
 MORAVIAN. 
 
 United Brethren, in I'uUon-street. 
 New Jerusalem Chapel, in Pearl-streeU 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN. 
 
 Associate Prcshvtorian. in Grand-street. 
 
 Second Associa'lu Pn-sbyterian, in Thompson-street. 
 
 Associate ReCorined, in Pearl-street. 
 
 Second Associate Reformed, in Prince-sUeet. 
 
 Brick Meetin',', Beekman-street. 
 
 First, in Wall-street. 
 
 Third, in Riitgers'-street. 
 
 Scotch, in (jrand-street. 
 
 Canal-street Church. 
 
 Duane-strcet Church. 
 
 Murray-street Cliiirch. 
 
 Laight'-street Cliurcii. 
 
 Seventh, ill Brooine-strcct. 
 
 Allen-Htrect Church. 
 
 F/iRhth, in Chri-slopher-strcet. 
 
 Spring-strcft CImnli. 
 
 Braimnl. in IJivinKtun-street, 
 
 Associate Rcliirnu'd, in Franklin-street. 
 
 Bowery, in Bowery. 
 
 Central, in Broome-strecl. 
 
 BrHmh of Central, in Second Avenne. 
 
 Scotch RuforniPfl, in Wavcrly-Place. 
 
 WcHt, in Carmine-street.
 
 222 
 
 Congregational, in Chatham-street. 
 Thompson-street Cluircii. 
 Fourth Free, in Madison-street. 
 Seventh Free, in Grand-street. 
 Madison, in Madison-street. 
 Eighth Avenue, in Seventeenth-street 
 Manhattan Island, in Fourth-street. 
 Sixth Free, (Tabernacla,) in Broadway- 
 Village, in Jane-street. 
 New, in Sixth Avenue. 
 Bleecker-street Church. 
 Mercer-street Church. 
 Providence Chapel, Thompson-street. 
 
 UNITARIAN. 
 
 First Church, in Chamber-street. 
 Second Church, (new,) Broadway. 
 
 UNIV^ERSALIST. 
 
 First Church, in Orchard-street. 
 Second Church, Bleecker-street. 
 
 WELCH. 
 
 Baptists, in Dominick-street. 
 Presbyterians, in Broome-street. 
 West Baptist, in Duane-street. 
 
 ■Congregation Primitive Christians, in Canal-street. 
 
 Reformed French Church. 
 
 [Total 150.
 
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