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history of St. Stephen's Parish in the City of Rem Dork 1805/1905
Gc 974.702 N422pr 1146764
23/46
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 3197
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofststeph00perk_0
St. Stephen's Church, West 69th Street,
history of St. Stephen's Parish in the City of Ren Pork 18051905
VEST
ENS
EN
W
OF
ZEN HO
STEPHEN'S
With Illustrations
NEW YORK EDWIN S. GORHAM, PUBLISHER 1906
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THE EDDY PRESS CORPORATION NEW YORK CITY
1146764
Table of Contents.
1. INTRODUCTION.
Early Churches in New York.
2. ORGANIZATION OF THE PARISH. Page 11 Purchasing the ground. Meeting of the congregation. The first Vestry. Election of a Rector. Location of the Church. Mr. Strebeck's report to Convention. St. Ste- phen's admitted to Convention. Re-incorporation.
3. THE FIRST RECTOR. REV. GEORGE STREBECK, 1805- 1809 Page 16 English Lutheran Church. Mr. Strebeck's family. Luther- an congregation to become Episcopalian. Action recon- sidered. Ordination of Mr. Strebeck. His first charge. His subsequent movements. Mr. Jordon Mott. Mott's Point. Jacob Coles Mott.
4. THE FIRST CHURCH. 1805 Page 27
Laying the corner-stone. The consecration. Cosmopolitan character. The first building. Appearance of the interior of the Church. Sunday services. Early music. Description of the pews. Gifts to the Church. Origin of Sunday Schools. Gifts from Trinity. Real estate described. Lot in Trinity Cemetery. A second appeal for aid. Generous response.
5. THE SECOND RECTOR. REV. RICHARD C. MOORE, 1809- 1814 . Page 41 Mr. Moore's early life. Begins work at St. Stephen's. Building of a chapel proposed. Condition of the parish. Dr. Moore's Society Meetings. Appeal to Bishop Moore. Spirit of Dr. Moore's ministry. Struggle against debt. Another appeal to Trinity. Mr. George Warner. Dr. Moore called to Virginia. Consecrated Bishop. His long life, ministry and death.
6. PARISH RECORDS Page 52 Unsatisfactory character of early records. The graveyard.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Burials forbidden. Cypress Hill Cemetery. Bodies re- moved from St. Stephen's Graveyard. Yellow fever and cholera.
7. THE THIRD RECTOR. REV. HENRY J. FELTUS, 1814- 1828 Page 57 Early life of Mr. Feltus. Ordained deacon. First charge in New Jersey. Called to Brooklyn. Characteristics of the man. Prominence in the Diocese. Another appeal to Trinity. The first church badly built. Efforts to build a new church. Failure of the scheme. Still struggling with debt. Acrostic to Bishop Hobart. Free church on the East Side. Loyalty of Dr. Feltus to his Bishop. All Saints' Church. Governor Clinton dies. Letter of Dr. Feltus to Bishop Hobart. Death of Dr. Feltus. Funeral services. Obituary notices. Poem on his death. Tribute to Dr. Feltus by Bishop Hobart. Tribute by Rev. Dr. Anthon. Seeking a new rector.
8. THE FOURTH RECTOR. REV. HENRY ANTHON, 1829- 1831 Page 73 Early ministry of Mr. Anthon. His marriage. Prominence in the Diocese. Declined two calls. Accepts St. Stephen's. Becomes Assistant Minister at Trinity Church. Successful work in the Sunday School. Testimony of Dr. Hawks. Testimony of Bishop Eastburn. Change in his theological views. His death. Memorial tablet in St. Mark's. Early Conventions. Official acts.
9. THE FIFTH RECTOR. REV. FRANCIS L. HAWKS, 1831. . Page 80 His early education. Admission to the bar. A member of the Legislature. Ordained deacon and priest by Bishop Ravenscroft. His marriage. Moves to New Haven and Philadelphia. Accepts call to St. Stephen's. Receives honorary degrees. Popularity as a preacher. His Church- manship. Resigns the rectorship. Accepts St. Thomas'. Calls to the Episcopate. Residence in New Orleans. Moves to Baltimore. Returns to New York. Lays the corner- stone of a new church. His death.
10. THE SIXTH RECTOR. REV. WILLIAM JACKSON, 1832- 1837 Page 85 Mr. Jackson's ordination and early ministry. Chosen rector of St. Stephen's. Other candidates elected and declined.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Mr. Jackson moves to New York. Asiatic cholera. The congregation broken up. Dr. Willett and Mr. Dominick. Report on the condition of the parish. "The Christian Benevolence Society." Prosperous condition of the parish. Bishop Henshaw defines Mr. Jackson's character. Mr. Jackson goes to England. Represents American Societies. Rev. Zechariah Mead locum tenens. Return of Mr. Jack- son. Christmas Day, 1836. Resumes work. Call to Louis- ville. Accepts. He resigns St. Stephen's. St. Paul's Church, Louisville. Mr. Jackson dies. Official record.
11. THE SEVENTH RECTOR. REV. JOSEPH H. PRICE, 1837- 1875 Page 94 Dr. Price's early ministry. Services at St. Stephen's. New church desired. Petition to Trinity. Old church repaired. Further financial trouble. Mr. Whittingham's description of the Church and Sunday School. The Sunday-school gal- lery. The children at church. Interior of the church. Early recollections of Mr. Jackson. Description of Dr. Price. Early Superintendents of the Sunday School. De- parture of Mr. Whittingham. Disquietude in the parish. The Carey Ordination. Testimonials to Mr. Carey. Can- didates ordained in 1843. Bishop Onderdonk's trial. Dr. Price's sympathy for the Bishop. Trials with his congre- gation. Visitations of the Bishop. Rev. Thomas Gallaudet assistant. First deaf-mute service. Rev. Arthur Whitaker's description of the Sunday School. Dr. Price's oratorical power. Changes in character of the neighborhood. Repairs on the church. Correspondent's account of an evening service. A notable funeral service. Last service in the old church. Seeking new quarters. The dead removed from the graveyard. Church property sold. Reason for aban- doning the site. Wandering for seven years. The Church of the Advent purchased. Regular services resumed. Dr. Price goes abroad. Rev. Mr. Hart in charge. The rector's return. Rev. Mr. Hart goes abroad. Information as to the property of the parish. Rev. J. J. Roberts assistant. Retrenchment necessary. Proposition made to the rector, which he accepts. Second proposition, which he rejects. His resignation requested and given. Mr. Hart elected rector. Death and funeral of Dr. Price. Bishop Potter's tribute to Dr. Price.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
12. THE EIGHTH RECTOR. REV. A. BLOOMER HART, 1875- 1891 Page 135 Mr. Hart's early ministry. Church of the Advent admitted to Convention. Mr. Hart its rector. Becomes rector of St. Stephen's. Rev. Prof. Hall assistant minister. His description of Mr. Hart. Sermon writing and preaching. Mr. Hart's marriage. Its influence upon his sermons. Sink- ing Fund established by Sunday School. Warren Street property sold for taxes. Hard times again. Greenwich Street property leased. Change of location considered. Consolidation with the Church of the Holy Trinity pro- posed. Mr. Hart's resignation conditional. Church in 46th Street to be sold. Assent of the Vestry to consolidation. Change of Vestry. Action of previous Vestry repudiated. The rector no longer officiates. The Rev. Dr. Hartley sup- plies the pulpit. Mr. Hart's resignation requested. Com- mittee selected to advise the Vestry. Mr. Hart resigns.
13. THE NINTH RECTOR. REV. CHARLES R. TREAT, 1892- 1899 Page 145 Elected rector. His education. Ordination. Accepts St. Stephen's. Discouraging outlook. Building redecorated. Memorial window. Considering removal. Chapel of the Transfiguration in West 69th Street offered and accepted. Consent of Standing Committee asked. Forty-sixth Street Church leased. Protest filed. First service in 69th Street Church. Rev. S. H. Treat assistant minister. Services at St. Stephen's. Death of the rector. His funeral. Resolu- tions of the vestry. Forty-sixth Street Church sold. Terms of sale.
14. THE TENTH RECTOR. REV. NATHAN A. SEAGLE, 1900 Page 156 Early education. Ordained deacon and priest. Early min- istry. Accepts call to St. Stephen's. Consolidation with Christ Church proposed. Not successful. Prosperity of the parish. Memorial gifts. Prof. Russell. Consent of Bishop and Standing Committee. Centennial Commemora- tion. Clergymen present. Address by the Bishop and rector of Christ Church. Evening service. Sermon by Archdeacon Nelson. Prominent members of the parish. Present vestry.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
APPENDIX.
A. Subscriptions for building the Church, 1805 Page 167
B. Names of the recognized dead buried in Cypress Hill Cemetery Page 172
C. Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Stephen's Parish. 1805-1905 Page 175
D. Delegates to Diocesan Convention. Page 177
E. Clergymen who have been associated with St. Steph- en's Church. Organists. Page 180
F. Present pewholders in St. Stephen's Church Page 181
F. Parish record for one hundred years. Page 183
Preface.
HE task of compiling the history of St. Stephen's Church has been a difficult one, owing to the fact that no vestry minutes are extant prior to 1873, and the parish records extend back only so far as 1809. To obtain information on many points, reliance had to be placed on the meagre newspaper items of early days, on the journals of convention in several dioceses, on published biographies, and on such personal reminiscences as could be gathered from letters of numerous correspondents.
The writer acknowledges his indebtedness for valuable assistance rendered by Mr. Hopper Striker Mott; Mr. Cammann, Comptroller of Trinity Corporation ; Mr. A. B. Manchester of Rhode Island; Archdeacon Benton of Louisville ; Mr. Robert H. Kelby, Librarian of the New York Historical Society (who was baptized in old St. Stephen's Church) ; Rev. P. P. Phillips, Miss Worth- ington (Librarian of the Theological Seminary), Alex- andria, Va., and the Rev. Joseph Hooper.
Sufficient information, however, has been gathered, respecting the early history of St. Stephen's, to show
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PREFACE.
that the parish encountered many misfortunes, and suf- fered reverses incident to repeated scourges of yellow fever and cholera, to the great fire of 1835, and to the financial panic of 1837, as well as to the excitement over the Oxford Tractarian movement. The latter half of the century also brought its own troubles, incident to the necessary destruction of its ancient build- ing, and the subsequent nomadic existence of the parish.
It is now, we trust, firmly anchored, in a favorable locality, and begins a new century of life under auspi- cious conditions.
J. NEWTON PERKINS.
NEW YORK, Easter, 1906.
Introduction.
T. STEPHEN'S Parish was organized in the year 1805. At that time the city of New York had not grown to the northward be- yond Anthony Street, but had spread to the east as far as Chatham Street, and along the west water front of Manhattan Island to Harrison Street. Country resi- dences of its citizens occupied the banks of the Hudson, and of the East River, above Grand Street.
When, on the 12th of March, 1805, a meeting of churchmen was held for the purpose of organizing a new Episcopal Parish, there were but eight clergymen, four parishes, and six (Episcopal) church edifices in the city.
1. Trinity Parish was organized in 1697. The sec- ond church, built in 1788, was then standing. It had two chapels, St. Paul's on Broadway, opened in 1766, and St. George's in Beekman Street, built in 1752. The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, the second Bishop of the Diocese, was also rector of the Parish. The three Assistant Ministers were the Revs. John H. Hobart, Cave Jones and Abraham Beach. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Provoost was still living, but had withdrawn from official life.
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2. Christ Church, built in 1793, stood on the north
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INTRODUCTION.
side of Ann Street, between William and Nassau. The rector was the Rev. Thomas Lyell.
3. St. Mark's-in-the-Bowery, among country resi- dences, was built in 1799. The Rev. William Harris was the rector.
4. The French " Church du Saint Esprit," which was organized in 1804, consisted of members of the ancient " Eglise des Refugées Française à la Nouvelle York " (which was organized in 1687). The second church building of this society was then standing, in Pine Street. The rector was the Rev. P. Antoine Albert, and the Assistant Minister was the Rev. Edmund D. Barry.
Across the East River, in Brooklyn, the Rev. John Ireland was rector of the only church (St. Ann's) ; and down the harbor, on Staten Island, the Rev. R. C. Moore was rector of St. Andrew's Church, Richmond.
The population of New York City at that time was about 47,000 ; as many as, at the present time, compose the cities of Yonkers, N. Y., or Norfolk, Va.
The list of clergymen in the entire State of New York entitled to seats in the Diocesan Convention in 1805, comprises twenty-one names; and parishes entitled to representation number fourteen.
One hundred years later (September, 1905) the roll of the Convention of the Diocese of New York (being but one of the five dioceses formed out of the original diocese of 1805), gives the names of 282 clergymen who are entitled to seats, and of 163 parishes entitled to representation.
Organization of the parish.
A T a meeting of Churchmen, held April 1st, 1805, it was decided to purchase of Mr. Cornelius Ray, three lots of the DeLancy farm, on the south- east corner of First and Bullock Streets, for the sum of $3,750.00, for the purpose of erecting a church edifice. The committee appointed to wait on Mr. Ray, and consummate the purchase, consisted of Cornelius Schuyler, Thomas Gibbons and Jordan Mott. The lots were not fully paid for until 1823; but on April 6th, 1805, Cornelius Ray, and his wife Elizabeth, transferred these lots, as above, to the rector, wardens and vestry- men of St. Stephen's Parish.
At a meeting of the congregation held on Easter Monday, April 19th, 1805, the following gentlemen were chosen officers of the new parish of St. Stephen's- the fifth to be organized in the city :
Cornelius Schuyler, Thomas Gibbons, Wardens. Jacob C. Mott (Clerk), Jordan Mott (Treasurer), Abraham Fowler, Isaac Emmons, Benjamin Clark, George Beck, John Fash, Vestrymen.
At a regular meeting of the Wardens and Vestry- men, on April 22d, 1805, it was voted to extend an in- vitation to the Rev. George Strebeck to become rector.
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12 HISTORY OF ST. STEPHEN'S PARISH.
Mr. Strebeck accepted the call on May 6th, following, and in a report to the Diocesan Convention that year, states that he had laid the corner-stone of the new church on May 7th, 1805.
The committee appointed to take legal steps to secure the organization of the parish were the Rev. George Strebeck, Cornelius Schuyler, and Isaac Emmons.
The New York Post, May 9th, 1805, says :
" Yesterday (May 7th) at 4 o'clock p. m. the corner- stone of the Episcopal Church was laid by the Rev. Mr. Strebeck at the southeast corner of First and Bullock Streets. The site on which the building is to be erected is both eligible and inviting, and from the rapidly in- creasing population of that part of the city, flattering hopes of soon collecting a large congregation are enter- tained.
" The expenses of the building are to be provided for by private subscriptions, which the wardens and vestry- men of said church are now engaged in soliciting from their friends and brethren of the Episcopal Church in this city."
On March 24th, 1817, the name of First Street was changed to Chrystie Street, in honor of Col. John Chrystie, of this city. This honor was conferred be- cause of his gallant conduct in the assault on Queens- town Heights, October 13th, 1812. He died from the wounds received July 2d, following. The name Bullock Street was likewise changed to Broome Street, in 1806.
The Rev. Mr. Strebeck, in a report to the New York Diocesan Convention of October, 1806, says concerning this new venture :
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St. Stephen's Church, 1805. (Corner of Bullock and First Streets.)
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ORGANIZATION.
" The persons engaged in this undertaking being very few in number, had to contend with many difficulties and embarrassments, which, however, they met and obviated with a degree of fortitude and zeal much to their honor ; and at length, by the blessing of Providence, brought their undertaking to that state of forwardness, that on St. Stephen's Day, the 26th of December, in the same year (a period of less than eight months from the time of its commencement), the church was consecrated to the service of God, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Moore. It is fifty-five feet in front, and seventy-five feet deep, and now completely finished inside. Since the time of its consecration Divine service has been performed in it three times every Lord's Day. There are now about one hundred families who are pewholders in it, and about sixty communicants. The congregation is increasing, and those who are regular members of it appear gene- rally to be sincerely attached to the doctrine and worship of the Protestant Episcopal Church. To me it is pecu- liarly gratifying that they join with fervor in the re- sponses of the service, and are generally opposed to the very idea of the least deviation from it. The attention with which they receive and wait on the ministrations of the clergy who occasionally visit them, has been particularly noticed and mentioned by several gentlemen who have officiated in this church, as being both gratify- ing to themselves and reflecting credit on those who yield to it.
" From the zeal which those who originally engaged in this undertaking have manifested, and which has not yet suffered any abatement of its fervor in the cause of
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the Church, as well as from its situation, being planted in a part of the city where an Episcopal Church was much wanted, and where the population is rapidly in- creasing, there is reason to believe that the congregation of St. Stephen's will, in time, become numerous and respectable."
GEORGE STREBECK, Rector.
New York, Oct. 7th, 1806.
Families who are pewholders, about 100; communi- cants, about 60; baptisms (infants 44, adults 3), 47; marriages, 33; funerals, 2.
On January 27th, 1806, the vestry gave the rector an honorarium of $500.00 for his past services, and voted him a salary of $1200.00 per annum.
The Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York, in the year 1805, assembled in Christ Church, Poughkeepsie. On the second day of the session, being October 2d, it is recorded that " a certificate of incorporation of St. Stephen's Church, in the city of New York, was read and approved, and this church was received into union with the Convention."
Thereupon the Rev. George Strebeck, as rector of St. Stephen's Church, and Messrs. Cornelius Schuyler, and Jordan Mott, lay delegates from that parish, took their seats in Convention.
At the opening of the session on this day, the Rev. Mr. Strebeck read prayers, and the sermon was preached by the Rev. Cave Jones.
The diocese at this time comprised the entire State of New York. The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D.,
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ORGANIZATION.
presided. Of the fourteen parishes which sent lay dele- gates to this Convention, five were located in New York City.
We learn from an authoritative source that the cer- tificate of incorporation of St. Stephen's Parish was made originally in the name of " The Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the City of New York." It thus continued for twenty-two years, when, to comply with the existing laws, the persons of full age in the congregation, by resolution, on February 12th, 1827, had the parish re- incorporated, by the name ".St. Stephen's." This cer- tificate was recorded the following day in the register's office. As they had protected their land by the name or title, in correspondence to that expressed in the original certificate, the lands thus held by them were now vested in the new name, by Act of the New York Legislature. (Chapter 288, passed April 16th, 1827.)
The Rev. Mr. Strebeck on May 5th, 1809, resigned to the corporation of St. Stephen's Parish the power which had been conferred on him to mortgage their real estate not to exceed $5000.00.
Because the original legal title of the corporation of old Trinity was " The Rector and Inhabitants of the City of New York, in Communion of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York," the mem- bers of St. Stephen's and of several other parishes claimed the right to vote at all elections held in Trinity Parish, until as late as 1814, at which time the cor- porate title of the latter parish was changed, by act of Legislature.
The First Rector: Reb. George Strebech. 1805-1809
N June 25th, 1797, certain English-speaking descendants of German Lutherans, residing in New York, were incorporated under the title of " The Trustees of the English Lutheran Church in the City of New York." The Rev. George Strebeck had informally officiated for these people before their incor- poration as a religious body. At a meeting of the trustees, held September 13th, 1797, the following reso- lution was adopted: "That the Rev. Mr. Strebeck have a certificate signed by the board, specifying his regular induction as a minister of the English Lutheran Church."
For a while this corporation worshipped in a frame building on Magazine (now Pearl) Street; but, later on, erected a commodious and substantial church on the corner of Mott and Cross (now Park) Streets. The name was afterwards changed (but not the corporate title) to the " English Lutheran Church Zion."
The Rev. George Strebeck, the first rector of St. Stephen's Parish, while a minister of the Lutheran Church, on October 24th, 1793, was married to Jerusha, only daughter of Isaac and Anne (Coles) Mott, by the Rev. Thomas Morrell, a Methodist minister. Mrs. Stre-
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THE FIRST RECTOR.
beck died in September, 1811, two years after they had left St. Stephen's Parish.
Their children were as follows:
(1) Jordan Mott was born in New York February 21st, 1796, and was baptized by the Rev. Johann Christopher Kunze, of the German Lutheran Church, April 3d, of that year.
(2) Ann Eliza was born in Newbern, N. C., in 1802. She married Joseph Hedden Ball, of Baltimore, in 1821; and died December 28th, 1829, leaving two children, and was buried in Newark, N. J.
(3) Margaret, b .-
(4) Lavinia (third daughter), was born in New York, October 5th, 1809, and her mother having died in 1811, she was adopted by her uncle, Jor- dan Mott, and for twenty-seven years was a member of his household, in the homestead at Mott's Point. She was married to Samuel Leonard Mott, October 15th, 1838, and died at Newark, N. J., 1894, at the advanced age of eighty-five years.
This family was the first to reside in the rectory of St. Stephen's-No. 51 First Street.
It was in 1804 that the Rev. George Strebeck, then a Lutheran minister, decided to become a candidate for Holy Orders, in the Protestant Episcopal Church. He also endeavored to have his congregation conform to the worship of the Episcopal Church, and at one time seems to have succeeded, for a resolution to that effect is among the records of the trustees of the Lutheran
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HISTORY OF ST. STEPHEN'S PARISH.
Church, under date June, 1804. This resolution was ratified at a subsequent meeting of the congregation in July. Measures, in accordance therewith, had been tak- en, and a certificate was obtained for a new charter ; but before it had been recorded, the trustees were advised that the Rev. Mr. Strebeck had submitted to the re- baptism of his children at Trinity Church. This act, in their opinion, threw doubt upon the validity of the sacraments of the Lutheran Church, to which they still adhered. Therefore, the congregation reconsidered their action, and decided that the church should remain, as heretofore, an "English Lutheran Church," and that the certificate of the new charter be not recorded. Upon this resolve the Rev. Mr. Strebeck resigned the pastor- ate. Mr. Strebeck and his wife were confirmed by Bishop Moore, in Trinity Church, June 29th, 1804.
On July 18th, 1804, Mr. Strebeck was admitted to the Order of Deacons, in the Episcopal Church, by Bishop Moore; and on March 10th, 1805 (the second Sunday in Lent), in Christ Church, New York, the same prelate advanced him to the priesthood.
The churches of Bedford (Westchester County), North Salem, and Steventown, had united for the pur- pose of settling a minister "who would perform Divine service in the different towns of Bedford, New Castle, North Salem, and Steventown, so often as should be, in proportion to the amount of their several subscriptions. On September 4th, 1804, the Rev. George Strebeck was called, and he immediately accepted the rectorship of the united parishes, and so continued until March, 1805, when he resigned his charge and went to New York.
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THE FIRST RECTOR.
Upon the resignation of Mr. Strebeck, he was succeed- ed in the rectorship of these united parishes by the Rev. Richard Channing Moore, who in 1809 again succeeded Mr. Strebeck, as the second rector of St. Stephen's Church.
The following letter, written by Mr. Strebeck from Bedford, December 20th, 1804, is interesting as showing something of his life at that time:
"I have taken a tour to Danbury. The churches there and in Reading seem to manifest a very con- siderable desire for my taking a station in .... The salary they propose is $500: to reside in Danbury the half-shire town of the county. It is pleasantly situated, and contains about one hundred houses on the Main Street. I have likewise, since seeing you, been addressed by the trustees of the North Salem Academy to take charge of that Seminary, with an excellent house, gar- den, etc., there, and also £150: or the whole profits of the building as I pleased. If it were not for the number of places in which I have to officiate, this offer would be pleasing, as (independent of house, wood, garden, pas- torage, etc.), it would place my annual income at nearly $800. I have not, however, come to any conclusion as yet, except that unless affairs here take quite a different turn to what present appearances indicate (as all think they will), I shall have to make this move somewhere in April next.
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