USA > New York > Tompkins County > Ithaca > History of the First Presbyterian church of Ithaca, New York, during one hundred years : the anniversary exercises, January twenty-first to twenty-fourth, 1904 > Part 1
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Gc 974.702 It31 1195448
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02209 4277
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https://archive.org/details/historyoffirstpr00itha
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م.صميم
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1 804
1904
HISTORY
OF THE 1
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
OF ITHACA, NEW YORK
DURING ONE HUNDRED YEARS
1.702 ,i
THE ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES JANUARY TWENTY-FIRST TO TWENTY-FOURTH
1904
PRESS OF ANDRUS & CHURCH ITHACA, N. Y.
Genel 7.50
Introduction
T HE Centennial Anniversary of the First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca was celebrated on January twenty-first, second, third and fourth, 1904. This was an event of great interest not only to the present resident members of the Church and congregation, but to many others as well. To former members of the Church still living, whose present addresses were known, engraved invitations were sent, as follows :
1804 1195448 4904 The Officers and Members of
The First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca request your presence at the exercises celebrating its One Hundredth Anniversary to be held in the church January twenty -first to twenty-fourth nineteen hundred and four Ithaca, New york
Unfortunately, 'time and tide ' were not most favorable on this occasion. Our Centennial occurred at a season when many who might otherwise have come to participate in it could not leave their business, and when travel was impeded by severe storms. During the first two days of the exercises, a 'January thaw,' following a considerable snowfall, made the streets like rivers, so that many were unable to venture out. Yet the occasion was one long to be remembered. The renewed interest in our history as a Church, the consequently more vivid realization of the life of the earlier day, the new appreciation of the large part God has given this Church to play,-not only in this community, but in the nation and in the world,-the delightful air of reminiscence, with the kindly greetings and congratulations of our friends,- all contributed to make a most interesting and memorable anniversary.
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
The following is the program as announced :
THURSDAY, 7.30 P. M.
The History of this Church during One Hundred Years, by the Pastor, REV. J. F. FITSCHEN, JR.
The Choir will render two anthems of the olden time :- " Sherburne," and " Russia." The Congregation will sing Hymns 587, 200, 573.
FRIDAY, 3.00 P. M. (IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL ROOMS).
A Paper on "Woman's Part in the Church's Work," by MISS MARY E. HUMPHREY.
Informal discussion of this theme by older Members. "Auld Lang Syne."
FRIDAY, 4:30 P. M.
An Organ Recital. A Paper on "Music in this Church," by MR. EDWIN C. TICHENOR.
FRIDAY, 7.30 P. M.
GREETINGS :
From the Sister Churches of Ithaca, by REV. R. T. JONES, D.D.
"The Co-operative Work of the Churches for the City's Welfare."
From the " First Church of Ulysses," (Trumansburg), by REV. J. S. NILES. " The Young People's Work in the Church."
From the Presbytery and the Seminary, by REV. PRESIDENT G. B. STEWART, D.D. "The Education and Qualification of Trained Leaders for the Church's Work."
Hymns 591, 446, 615.
"Nearer my God, to Thee," . Thomas Adams. "O rest in the Lord," . Mendelssohn. SATURDAY, 3.00 P. M. (IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL ROOMS).
" HOME-COMING DAY."
A Poem, by MR. ZENAS L. PARKER (Supt. of Sunday School, 1853-1855. ) Brief Addresses by former Members of the Church.
Letters from former Members.
" Blest be the tie that binds."
SATURDAY, 7.30 to 9.30 P. M. A Reception.
SUNDAY, 10.30 A. M.
An Address by REV. ASA S. FISKE, D.D. (Pastor 1884-1896). "The Presbyterian Contribution to the Life of our Nation." Hymns 622, 601, 598.
Festival Te Deum in Eb . Dudley Buck. "To Thee, O Country," . Eichberg.
SUNDAY, 12.15 P. M. (IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL ROOMS).
A Paper on the History of the Sunday School, by MR. JARED T. NEWMAN. Old Sunday School Hymns.
SUNDAY, 7.00 P. M.
An Address, by REV. PRESIDENT M. WOOLSEY STRYKER, D.D. (Pastor, 1878-1883). " Facing the Future."
Hymns 453, 457.
"I am Alpha and Omega," . Stainer. "Ho! every one that thirsteth," . Parker.
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INTRODUCTION
One of the most interesting features was the large and valuable Historical Exhibit, consisting of old books and documents pertaining to the early his- tory of this Church, photographs and portraits of former Officers and mem- bers, statistical and membership charts, besides papers and portraits pertain- ing to the Denomination at large, which had been loaned by the Presbyterian Historical Society of Philadelphia. This large exhibit (it contained over 1000 items) was arranged, systematically and attractively, in the chapel, and was inspected by many during the ten days it was continued. The great labor involved in gathering and arranging this material, and in systemati- cally cataloguing it, was efficiently performed by a committee consisting of Elder Duncan C. Lee, chairman, Miss Ella S. Williams, Miss Ada Stoddard, Mrs. George R. Williams, Miss Mary Phillips, Miss Mary Fowler, Mrs. William D. Ireland, Mrs. Henry Wilgus, Miss Jean L. Halsey, Miss Mary C. Wood, and the Pastor. The catalogue of this exhibit is included in this volume, pages 149-163 ; it is hoped it may be of value in future research. It was an opportune and valuable "find " when, a year or two ago, a bun- dle of old Church papers was discovered in the cellar of the Blood block ; among them were some documents of great value, as mentioned elsewhere in this History.
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While the records of the Church and Sunday School are fairly complete, it is to be regretted that they do not give fuller information in some respects ; e. g., statements of Church expenses and of benevolent contributions, which are meagerly reported in the earlier years. At the end of this volume all such financial items, as far as recorded, are tabulated. The Pastors' salaries and other congregational expenses for nearly fifty years were raised by sub- scriptions, of which few data are to be found. From direct statements made in the records and inferences from known conditions, it is certain that many missionary offerings, aggregating a large sum, are not included. Added to this is the further consideration that it has been and still is the policy of our Church to report as Church benevolences only such offerings as pass through the hands of the Church Treasurers ; yet it is well known that large contri- butions are constantly being made by members of our Church directly to local benevolences and to many other worthy philanthropic and missionary causes throughout the world.
NOTE :- While this volume has been in press these additional items concerning former Pas- tors have been received :
Rev. J. W. McCullogh was a graduate of Dickinson College.
Rev. David Torrey received the degree of D.D. from Hamilton College in 1863.
Rev. Wm. Neill McHarg died at Pueblo, Colorado, on March 30th, 1904, aged 89 years.
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
The special sources of information for the historical papers which com- prise this History of the First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca are :
Records of the Session, five vols.
Records of the Deacons.
Records of the Trustees.
Records of the Sunday School, six vols. and the Annual Reports.
Records of Missionary Societies, Maternal Association, etc.
Many interesting Old Documents, some of them of great value.
Records of the Presbytery of Ithaca.
Dr. Samuel J. Parker's Mms. History of the connection of this Church with the Oregon Mission. All Histories of Ithaca and of Tompkins County, to be found in the Cornell Library.
Histories of several of the other Churches of Ithaca.
Hotchkin's History of Western New York.
Letters from former Members of the Church.
Personal Testimony of many individuals.
The History of the Sunday School, by Mr. Newman, and still more the first paper on the History of the Church, by the Pastor, have been much expanded for publication in this volume; it has been felt that, in the more permanent record, much should be preserved which was of necessity omitted in public delivery. Many items of general and community interest are thus included ; these depict the conditions under which the Church has developed its life,-a life not separate from and unrelated to ordinary and current events, but interwoven with them, affecting them and itself being affected by them. As now published, the History of the Sunday School is taken out of its order on the program and is inserted so that the four historical papers follow in sequence. The Pastor's paper treats more at length the history of the earlier years; the other papers having more largely to do with the later years. Taken together, it is believed they present an accurate and discriminating History of the First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca.
History of the First Presbyterian Church of Jthara, 1804-1904
T HE Jesuits are said to have had a Mission Church at Cayuga as early as 1657 ; it was for the Indians who then and for a century and a quarter longer held complete and undisturbed possession of all this central portion of what is now the State of New York. It was then in large part an unbroken forest. Probably the first inroad of the whites into this immediate region was by Sullivan's little army, (a division of Col. Dearborn's army), in 1779. They came to chastise and break the power of the Indians, the Cayugas, members of the powerful federation known as the "Six Nations." Sullivan's inen passed through between the lakes Seneca and Tiohero (Cayuga), and did an effective work. The Indian terror thus lessened, and the distraction of the War of the Revolution hap- pily over, men turned their thoughts and their steps towards this unexplored but inviting territory. From Connecticut and Massachusetts, from New Jersey and older New York, and froin Eastern Pennsylvania, the hardy pioneers began to venture into these valleys seeking new homes. Mr. Horace King, in a Lecture on the Early History of Ithaca, delivered in 1847, says :
"In 1788, eleven men left Kingston, on the Hudson river, with two Delaware Indians as their guides, to explore the country west of the Susquehannah, which was then an unbroken wilderness. The course they pursued embraced a section extending several miles west of the Seneca Lake, a few miles north of the Seneca and the Cayuga, several miles also east of the Cayuga, and between the east and west lines so designated south to the Susquehannah. It was their design-if the appearance of the country answered their expectations-to make purchases and prepare for settlement. But, after being absent, thus occupied, somewhat more than a month, they returned to their homes, none of them having chosen or located a place for future residence. In April of the following year, however, three of the number, who were connected each with the others by marriage, determined upon revisiting the district which they had for- merly explored and making a location. Accordingly they came on, and without difficulty agreed in their selection. It comprised 400 acres of land, the western bound of which was the line of the present Tioga street. Upon that part of it which was in the valley, there were several 'Indian Clearings'; being small patches from which the hazel and thorn bushes had been removed, and which had been cultivated after the manner of the Indians. Having planted their corn on these places, and leaving a younger brother of one of them to take care of it, they returned to fetch their families. The names of these three men were, Jacob Yaple, Isaac Dumond, and Peter Hinepaw. They had served their country in the War of the Revolution, which was and is a sufficient guaranty that they had the spirit to persevere in, and the strength to execute whatever they undertook. Nor did they fail in this instance ; for the September fol- lowing found them again here, their families this time with them, having brought also a few
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
articles of necessary household furniture, some farming utensils, hogs, sheep, cattle, and horses.
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. In a short time three log cabins were erected. The first built, which was occupied by
Hinepaw, was situated on the Cascadilla creek near Williams' (now Campbell's) Mill ; the sec- ond, occupied by Yaple, was situated where J. B. McCormick's (now Miss Cowdry's) residence stands and the third, occupied by Dumond, was near the same spot. The only settlements within hailing distance of this were at Owego, where three families had located the year preced- ing, at Newtown (Elmira) where two or three families had previously settled, and at a point some four miles north of Cayuga Lake, on its outlet, where there were also two or three fam- ilies. The custom of the Indians was, when winter approached, to gather their wigwams into the valley or flat of the Six-mile Creek, extending as far up as Wells' Fall, and forming a con- siderable village ; there was also a large Indian village some two miles up the inlet ; but the great body of the Indians removed from this section to their reservation the second year after the first white inhabitants came in."
The first frame house in Ithaca was erected in 1800; built by Abram Markle, it soon came into the possession of Gen. DeWitt and was his resi- dence for a time ; it is the second house north of the creek on the west side of Linn street. In 1806 there were a dozen houses. That year the settlement was named Ithaca ; thus far it had been known as " The Flats," or " Sodom," or " The Pit." The first regular merchant, Mr. David Quigg, became estab- lished in 1804, and in that year a postoffice was opened. (This was also the year of the beginning of this Church.) In 1806, $300 worth of books were purchased and a Public Library started ; later, this was given to the "Ithaca Lyceum," then to the "Minerva Society " connected with the Academy, which last was established March, 1823. As early as 1810 Ithaca was re- garded as one of the most thriving and promising villages of the interior. (vid. Simeon DeWitt's letters.) In 1809, though there were but two or three marriageable young ladies in Ithaca, there were forty young men. These young men were accustomed to take the law into their own hands. At a very early period they formed a so-called "Moral Society "; it assumed the right to control and correct and improve the morals, and to punish the mis- deeds of the community.
" If a man became too drunken ; if one was a meddler in the affairs of others, if a person was dishonest, or mean, or if he did not understand the habits and customs of civilized life, as well as in the judgment of members of this society he ought to ; if one was a coward, or a bully, or a boaster ; or if some vagrant attempted to exhibit a puppet show, or to astonish the people by feats of legerdemain ; or to do any other act not recognized and authorized by the society ; he was sure, either to find himself suddenly placed under a crate, where he was drenched with water to the entire satisfaction of those who administered it ; or, mysteriously entangled in a rope and dragged to the creek, was souced again and again ; or was frightened into a race through the wild plum and hazel bushes, which were standing thickly and almost impenetra- ble, close by ; or was obliged to run the gauntlet of men on either side who struck him, or dis- charged fire-arms near him, as he passed ; or, having had a regular trial before the society, and having been convicted and sentenced to receive some unheard-of punishment, fled to escape its execution. These cases arose frequently ; but if they did not occur sufficiently often, the mem-
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
bers were at no loss or hesitation in raising feigned issues, so that they might not become rusty for want of practice."
This society continued to exist for fifteen or twenty years ; its lawless opera- tions reveal the conditions existing here when this Church was organized.
In 1800 the number of inhabitants in Western New York, exclusive of the Indians, was about 63,000. The number of Churches of the Presby- terian and Congregational denominations was small, and the ministers still less ; yet these were the pioneer Churches. But from this period the settle- ment of the country progressed with accelerated rapidity. The Indian title to the whole country had been extinguished, with the exception of compara- tively small reservations. In 1810 there were nearly 220,000 inhabitants. As has been stated, many of these early settlers came from Connecticut. Accordingly, we find the Connecticut Congregational Missionary Association sending Missionaries into this wilderness whither their former citizens had gone. Many others came from New York and New Jersey. Accordingly, the Presbyterian Church sent pioneer preachers also. In Onondaga County (then far more extensive than now), on the " Military Tract," (extending from near Syracuse southwestward to Ithaca), and westward to the Genesee river did these gospel heralds go. They were itinerant Missionaries ; their commis- sions were for a short time only; they returned to their eastern parishes. But about the year 1800 each of these denominations commissioned a more permanent Missionary who was to take up his abode on the field.
It is worth while pausing to note the development of our organized Home Mission activity. At first individual Churches acted, then Presbyteries and Synods ; finally, when the General Assembly representing the entire Church was organized, Christian Missions at home and then abroad became one of the most distinctive features of our Church life and polity. At the very first meeting of the first Presbytery this overture was considered, "That the state of the frontier settlements should be taken into consideration and Missionaries be sent to them to form them into congregations, ordain Elders, administer the sacraments, and direct them to the best measures of obtaining the gospel ministry regularly among them." At the first meeting of the Synod of Philadelphia, in 1717, we find the following record : " That we are all agreed to unite our endeavors for spreading the Gospel of Christ in these dark regions of the world, viz., the provinces of Western New York, the Jerseys, Pennsylvania, and the territories of Maryland and Virginia."
From time to time in their weakness they earnestly appealed to, and sent their petitions, or supplications, as they were called, to the Churches of Great Britain and of Continental Europe for help in their work of Christian
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
evangelization. Rev. Azariah Horton was sent in 1741 as the first Mission- ary to the Indians of Long Island, and in 1744 David Brainard was com- missioned to labor among the Indians of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The years of distraction during the Revolution interfered with the growth of the work, but at its close came reconstruction and reorganization ; the first General Assembly convened in 1789; it considered the missionary situ- ation, and at the next Assembly in 1790, a committee was appointed to con- sider the subject and devise means by which Missionaries could be sent to the frontier settlements of New York and Pennsylvania. In 1795 a form of instruction to ministers was adopted, bearing upon this subject, and in the year 1800 the first stated or regular Missionary, the Rev. Jedediah Chapman, was appointed by the Assembly, and by resolution, he was "authorized to employ catechists for the instruction of the Indians and colored people and other persons unacquainted with the principles of our holy religion." In 1802 what was known as the "Committee on Home Missions " was ap- pointed. This continued to be the order of things until 1816, when, because of the enlargement of and increased interest in the work, the Assembly, feel- ing the need of relief from so many details, concluded to transform its Standing Committee on Missions into a regularly organized Board, to be known as the " Board of Missions of the General Assembly of the Presby- terian Church in the United States."
Jedediah Chapman was born at Chatham, Conn., in 1741. Graduating from Vale College in 1762, he was soon afterwards licensed to preach the gospel ; he was ordained and installed Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Orangedale, N. J., and continued there until 1799. "In the Revolution he was such an ardent patriot that a large price was offered on his head. He served a year as Chaplain in Washington's army. General LaFayette was a frequent visitor at his house, and at his last visit to this country made many inquires about his old friend." He was Moderator of the Synod in Philadel- phia, in 1787, which then represented all the Presbyteries of the United States. When the Albany Synod was formed he was appointed to preach the opening sermon. He was also the first Moderator of the Geneva Presby- tery. In 1800 he removed his family to Geneva, having received the ap- pointment from the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church to labor as a Missionary one-half of the time for four years in the frontier settlements. The other half of his time was given to the Church of Geneva, of which he was the first Pastor. In 1813 he founded the Geneva Academy, now Hobart College. His Missionary appointments were renewed from year to year, for periods varying from two to six months, to the time of his death. It was also a part of his duty to make himself acquainted with the whole field, to
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
communicate information to the Assembly, and to exercise a superintendence over the whole missionary concerns of the Assembly in the region of West- ern New York ; $33 a month, later raised to $40, was the salary paid to him. Jedediah Chapman performed much more missionary service for the Assem- bly than any other individual, and his missionary reports were esteemed ex- ceedingly valuable. In his report of his services for the year next preceding the meeting of the Assembly in 1806, he says: "The general state of the country in the northwestern part of New York is progressing to religious or- der ; the number of congregations is rapidly increasing, and Churches are or- ganized. There are others in embryo; new towns are settling, which need particular attention, and are continually calling for ministerial labor. There is a large field open for the employment of Missionaries, and perhaps as great, if not greater, call for missionary services than at any former period."
The little settlement at the head of Cayuga lake was one of these needy places. Chapman came down from Geneva, and Williston* came over from Lisle, where, as Pastor, he was giving three-fourths of his time, spending the other one-fourth in the service of the Connecticut Missionary Society in Tioga, Cayuga, Onondaga, Chenango, and Broome Counties, his first labors being on the Military Tract (this being included in the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga, about seventy miles in length and fifty in breadth ; our present Tioga st., was part of its western boundary.) Very probably each of them had preached here previously ; Williston's evangelistic fervor, - (speaking of the whole region, he observes :
"The preaching of the gospel, and the attendance upon conference meetings, appear to have been the principal means which the Spirit has made use of to begin and carry on the good
* Seth Williston :- Born in Suffield, Conn., April 4, 1770 ; died in Guilford Centre, N. Y., March 2, 1851. Graduated from Dartmouth College in 1791 ; taught at Windsor and New London, Conn., one of his pupils being William Ellery Channing, the founder of American Unitarianism. He was ordained in 1797. After occupying several pulpits in Connecticut, temporarily, he went to Chenango County, N. Y., as a Missionary of the Connecticut Missionary Society ; he travelled extensively, suffering hardships, scattering the seed of the Word wherever he had opportunity, and laying the foundations of many Churches which have since become strong. His labors in this new country were prosecuted with the most untiring zeal and were attended by many tokens of the divine favor. "His eye was open to all the signs of the times and his heart seemed always to beat in quicker pulsations at every new victory that was gained over moral evil. He had an intelligent countenance, a grave and venerable aspect, a simple and puritanic manner, a vigorous and well-stored mind, and by no means lacking in general information ; uncommonly familiar with the bible and the history of the Church, and was accustomed to look much upon the events of Providence both as the fulfillment of prophecy and as the legiti- mate preparation for the universal triumph of the gospel." In later life he devoted much time to literature, publishing many volumes. He received the degree of D.D. from Hamilton Col- . lege in 1838 .- From Sprague's " Annals of the American Pulpit" and Appleton's Cyclopedia of Biography.
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HISTORY OF THE CHURCH
work." "The doctrines which God makes use of to awaken and convince sinners among us are those which are commonly distinguished as Calvinistic.")-
and Chapman's careful shepherding, followed doubtless by correspondence between them, contributed to the result. On January 24th, 1804, Rev. Jedediah Chapman, assisted by Rev. Seth Williston, organized this Church as the South, or Second, Presbyterian Church of Ulysses; the First Church of Ulysses having been organized by Chapman a year before at what is now Trumansburg. The new Church consisted of the following members :- Jacob Shepherd and Rachel his wife, Francis King and Mary his wife, Jacob Yaple and Mary his wife, George Brink and Sena his wife, Abram Johnson and Amy his wife, John Brink, Cornelius Suiderman, and Abram Dumond. Jacob Shepherd was chosen the first Elder ; he continued in that office until his death in 1865.
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