USA > New York > Onondaga County > Jordan > Our church and her interests : being a souvenir of the past history and a survey of the present and future interests of the First Presbyterian Church of Jordan, Onondaga Co., N. Y. . . . > Part 1
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Gc 974.702 J76c 1521468
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02214 7034
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Verytruly Yours Edward Lose.
٢
STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY. PRINTERS AND ENGRAVERS, SYRACUSE, N. Y.
GEORGE H. DYGERT, PHOTOGRAPHER, JORDAN, N. Y.
hurth
And Her Interests
BEING A SOUVENIR OF THE PAST HISTORY, AND A SURVEY OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE INTERESTS OF THE
irst Presbyterian Church
OF
JORDAN, ONONDAGA CO. N. Y.
COMPRISING THE HISTORICAL PAPERS, &C., PRESENTED AT MEMORIAL SERVICES HELD DECEMBER 5, 1876, WITH ADDITIONAL MATTER PERTAINING TO THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE CONCERNS OF THE CHURCH.
its 0 Present
Pastor.
J. E. Close
[PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.]
SYRACUSE : STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1877.
1521468
Juscription.
To the Church, Congregation and Friends, of the First Presbyterian Society of Jordan, N. Y., as a Souvenir of its past History, and appeal for devotion to its present and future interests, this Volume is affectionately inscribed by its present Pastor.
Prefare.
The papers comprising this pamphlet, were prepared in lieu of the Historical Discourse, recommended by the General Assem- bly of the Presbyterian Church of the United States, to be de- livered in the several churches of her charge, during the Centen- nial of American Independence just closed.
They were presented at a Memorial Service and Sociable, held on Tuesday afternoon and evening, December 5, 1876 ; and are printed by desire of friends, who were greatly interested in the proceedings of the occasion.
Not intended originally for publication, but printed here (with slight revisions and additions) as read on the occasion, the critic will please peruse with that charity the circumstances demand.
The brevity of reference to some portions of the history, and to some of the people making it, is to be accounted for by the · loss and destruction of parts of the records.
Statements obtained from other sources, have been verified by careful investigation and corroboration, so that the reader may rely on their accuracy.
As more fully meeting the design of the General Assembly, in the recommendation referred to, and in the hope of deepening, and drawing out, to more profitable exercise, the interest awak- ened by the Memorial Services, the Author has added the dis- course delivered the following Sabbath morning, with that purpose and prayer ; and as a ready reference for present and future use, the appointinents for Church and Sabbath School services, and
6
PREFACE.
management of the several departments of our Society's work, are fully set forth.
Should the perusal of this compilation prove, in any degree, inspiring and profitable, to the friends of the Society, and promo- tive of Zion's advancement, the writer will rejoice.
Whatever pecuniary profit shall accrue, from the sale of this edition, will be applied to the interests of the Sabbath School, of which Mr. C. D. Barnes (the writer of its historical sketch) is the Superintendent.
The writer takes this opportunity to assure all connected with the church and congregation, of his sincere and earnest desire for their highest welfare ; and wishes them, in the fullest and best significance of the greeting-" A HAPPY NEW YEAR !"
He subscribes himself,
Your Pastor and Fellow-laborer, J. EDWARD CLOSE.
JORDAN, N. Y., January 1, 1877.
Brief Report of the Memorial SprUitES.
The Memorial Serbires
Commenced with a public meeting in the church, on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 5. 1876, at 2 p. M., followed in the evening by a Sociable (under the auspicies of the Ladies' Aid Society) at the house of Mr. Calvin Foote Daggett. They were largely attended.
The public meeting was opened with an anthem, beautifully rendered by the choir, as was also all the praise of the service. The choir consisted of the following persons :- Calvin Foote Daggett (Leader), Miss L. Daggett (Organist), Mrs. Isaac C. Otis, Mrs. Nancy Carson, Miss Tenney, Mr. John Tyler and Mr. Mead McKissick.
The Scriptures were then read by the Rev. Huntington Ly- man, of Triangle, N. Y. (former pastor of this church). The se- lection was Psalnı 115. " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory ! etc."
Prayer for the Divine blessing was offered by the Rev. George R. Smith, recently called to the stated supply of the church at Elbridge.
A history of the church, by the Pastor, and of the Sabbath School, by the Superintendent, were then read, interspersed with appropriate selections of music.
Rev. H. Lyman, pastor of the church in 1841, then addressed the meeting in a spicy speech (characteristic of Mr. Lyman), which was, unfortunately, not reported. The facts he gave con- cerning his connection with the church are found elsewhere in this publication ; while the references to his life, before and since, are found in our " Notes from or concerning former Ministers."
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OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
Obituaries of former deceased ministers were then read-the congregation singing verses 3 and 4 of Hymn 727, in the new Presbyterian Hymnal. After the reading of obituaries of mem- bers, and the benediction by Rev. H. Lyman, the assembly dis- persed, having given close and interested attention to a most en- joyable service.
The pastor received and conveyed to the congregation, the re- grets of the ministers of the village and vicinity, that they were unavoidably detained from being present, giving adequate ex- planations for their absence.
A meeting of Cayuga Presbytery, the same day, prevented the pastors of sister churches attending. Salutations of a cordial na- ture came instead of, but did not fill, the lack of their personal presence and sympathy.
At the memorial service in the evening, and during the day, former and present members and friends exchanged pleasant and profitable intercourse.
We were glad to have the company and fellowship of Rev. H. Lyman, Mr. Stuart MeKissick, of Albany, N. Y., Mrs. Chas. Chadwick, Mrs. Abrams, and Mr. David Carson, of Syracuse, also Mr. Alonzo R. Stevens of Oswego, all formerly connected with us-also to have greetings from many former ministers and members. The day will be long remembered with pleasure.
On the Sabbath following, the Memorial Discourse was deliv- ered to an audience-large, considering the severe inclemency of the weather.
Thus ended services, the impetus and interest of which will we trust, long be felt.
"Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And NEVER brought to mind ?"
Our Church And Society.
Historical Sketch by the present gastor.
.
First Presbyterian Society of Jordan, D. y.
historical Sketch.
The strenuous and persistent efforts of explorers and histori- ans, to recover from antiquity, and preserve for posterity, the relics and records of former ages and peoples, assert the native reluctance of humanity to part with any portion of its history. Men never lose their interest in the past. There is a strange fascination about it, which they cannot easily shake off-a fasci- nation born of that principle, by which all races and generations of men, all periods and events of time, are linked together in one history. That one history of the human family, like a mighty river, ever widened and deepened by the influx of innu- merable tributaries, flows on and on-one continuous current- to the great ocean of Eternity. Into that ocean, doubtless, num- berless other rivers of history, from other worlds, shall continue to flow, originated and directed by Divine Wisdom and Power.
If Livingstone's life was too brief to trace and map out, fully and accurately to its very source, the River Nile with all its tributa- ries, how inadequate is the life and labor of one historian-yea, of many-to trace back and map out this mighty river, with all its countless and varied tributaries ? Flowing into it are streams of distinct and versified characteristics, each giving to it volume and quality after its kind. Some of these are circuitous, shallow,
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OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
sluggish ; others are deep, broad, powerful ; some are clear and pure and wholesome ; others are dark, muddy, unwholesome : but each and all affect, for better or worse, the destinies of man- kind, and push human history forward to its climax and consum- mation.
American civilization-a stream broad, deep, powerful-of high origin, noble course, extensive influence-has vastly fur- thered, and is still advancing, the progress and power by which humanity is to be raised to a high, holy, happy destiny.
Our religious and educational institutions, as important tribu- taries, have given quality, as well as volume, to American civili- zation and prosperity. As surely as her vast rivers (such as the Mississippi and Hudson) have contributed to her material wealth, so surely her free schools and religious societies have developed the powers of her people-mentally, morally, spiritually.
If England's monarch, good Victoria, placing her hand on the Word of God, could say, " This is the secret of England's greatness !" America might fittingly respond, " Amen ! and amen !" for her power issues and is sustained thence and there- by. But for the Bible and its products, America could never have been what she is to-day ; and her prospects for the future rest upon the regard of her people, for that Tree of Life "whose leaves are for the healing of the nations."
The Centennial (as a joyful period of national history) is a fitting season for retrospect of the past. Explorers are busy, tracing and mapping out the origin and pathway of such a civili- zation ; not only in its general course, but in fuller detail and accuracy, those local tributaries and rivulets which have contrib- uted, each its share, to the growth and glory of the whole. This year of American Independence furnishes a most auspicions occasion to review and write up the history of American institu- tions : and considering how ninch of Presbyterian elenient en- tered into the foundation and development of this nation's life, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of these United States resolved, in a spirit worthy her origin and history, that her pastors would do a proper and profitable thing to recap- itulate and review the history of her local churches, for the grate-
17
OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
ful appreciation of her present members, and the inspiration of those who are yet to be her strength and stay. That the only clergyman who signed, and supported in Congress, the famous Declaration of Independence should have been a Presbyterian- JOHN WITHERSPOON by name-is a significant indication of the part which the Presbyterian Church and her sons have ever acted, and will ever act, in supporting and defending that glori- ous charter of civil and religious liberty.
While, however, we rejoice in our own record, and review our own history as a Presbyterian Church, we would not extol our own, to the disparagement of other evangelical denominations, but magnify all these as the security and strength of our great- ness and glory.
In tracing our history as a church, to its source, I have learned to sympathize with the great African explorer in his attempts to trace and map out the course of the Nile. He found that por- tions of the river were not get-at-able. Such has been the case with me. There are some breaks in the history which I have been unable to fill up. They are due to the fact that papers and parchments are not imperishable. The only enduring and eter- nal records are "the Books of Remembrance," kept by the divine and Infallible Historian. They alone will withstand the final conflagration. Human records, exposed to fire and other ele- ments, are liable to damage and loss. The Sessional Records, from the organization of our church, down to 1842, "are lost, stolen or strayed." A scripture scene describes our loss and search for them, not inaptly : " And the asses of King Saul's " Father were lost, and he passed thro' Mount Ephraim, and " passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them " not ; then they passed thro' the land of Shalim, and there they " were not ; and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, " but they found them not."
There is but a faint hope, however, that any Samuel will come to us, as one did to Saul, saying "They are found." Then the recent fire carried off our trustees' records from 1842 to the present time. These losses involve some omissions and imperfec- tions ; although, by inquiry and investigation, I have been en- abled, in some measure, to supply the lack from other sources.
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OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
The statements contained in this paper have been obtained from reliable sources, and verified, as far as possible, by the two or three witnesses whose harmonious testimony establishes their authenticity and authority.
As will be seen by the obituaries to follow this paper, a goodly number of the early settlers of this village were of Puritan origin and of Puritan faith. Coming hither, most of them, directly from the New England States, they brought with them regard for the faith of their fathers, and fidelity to the worship and service of their fathers' God. " A vigorous and hardy " people, firm set in the principles of honesty, and the practices " of virtue ; * * sober, industrious, frugal ; resolute, zealous and " steadfast" (as one writer describes them), we owe much to the lives and labors of these pioneers. They illustrated what the same writer referred to* says of the Puritans as a people. " The " gaze of the Puritan was turned ever to posterity. He believed " in the future. His affections and hopes were with the coming " ages. For his children he toiled and sacrificed ; for them the " energies of his life were cheerfully exhausted." It is a faithful delineation of those good old fathers and founders of our church, Botsford, Greene, Daggett, Norton, Otis, Stevens-names sug- gesting these very qualities.
These settlers, concerting together by community of interests and principles, formed the nucleus of our church organization. As early certainly as 1824, religious meetings were held in the school-houses. In 1825 was commenced the first Sabbath-school of Jordan, Mr. Alva D. Botsford being the superintendent. The Sabbath-school work largely aided and advanced, (as it always does), the establishment and increase of the church. Of its his- tory and results Mr. Chester D. Barnes will give us a paper, so that it is needless for me to occupy this with further reference to that work.
In 1824 and 1825 Rev. Stephen Porter, of Elbridge, (Father Porter, as he was called), preached once a Sabbath, at intervals of four or five weeks ; and in 1826 his successor to the charge of the Elbridge Congregational Church-the Rev. Timothy Stowe- continued these occasional supplies. By the obituary of Rev.
*Redpath.
19
OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
Timothy Stowe, it will be seen that he was for a long time act- ively interested in Jordan affairs. To his earnest efforts in the cause of education Jordan owes its academy, of which he was for a time the efficient and popular principal.
During the summers of 1826-28, several Auburn students recruited their health, and held religious services in the school- houses here. Of these Messrs. Crab and Kent, who died on the home mission field, are mentioned. Mr. Kent received as com- pensation a suit of clothes ; other students dispensed " the Bread of Life" for " the bread that perisheth," and were content withal.
The Botsford and Jenkyns family (always earnest and active in the support of religious meetings and enterprises) usually en- tertained these students.
The first step towards the organization of the Society was taken June 9, 1829, when, " pursuant to public notice, given on " the two preceding Sundays, conformably to the statute in such " cases made and provided" (as stated in the report thereof), a meeting, of which Dr. Aaron Pitney was president, and Lemuel B. Raymont, secretary, convened at 7 o'clock P. M., in the brick school-house (now owned by Nicholas Craner, clothier, and used as a dwelling-house), situated in the south-east corner of the Jor- dan academy lot.
At that meeting the first Board of Trustees (five in number) were elected by ballot. These, with a clerk, constituted the first officers of the society, and were as follows: HERMAN JENKYNS, AARON PITNEY, EBEN. MOORHOUSE, JAS. W. REDFIELD, EDMUND W. BOTSFORD, and SIDNEY M. NORTON, clerk. They are all de- ceased, and such obituaries of them as can be obtained are fur- nished in the sketches of " OUR DEPARTED FRIENDS."
The next step was taken by the Rev. Timothy Stowe, June 17, 1829. The records of Cayuga Presbytery state that, at a meet- ing held that date at Ludlowville-
" The Rev. Mr. Stowe presented a request from the members " of the church in Elbridge residing in Jordan, to be formed " into a separate church. Hereupon resolved, that Rev. Levi
·
20
OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
" Parsons and Justus Hough, with Mr. Smith (Elder) of Brutus, " be a committee to organize a church in Jordan, if they shall " deem it expedient."
The following extract from the diary of the Rev. Levi Par- sons, kindly furnished by his son, Dr. Parsons, of Marcellus, fixes the date of church organization at July 2, 1829.
EXTRACT.
" 1829. TUESDAY, June 16th .- Rode to Ludlowville ; attend- " ed Presbytery, Rev. Mr. Pomeroy, Moderator ; Presbytery ad- " journed just at night on Thursday. I am appointed on a " committee with Mr. Hough and Mr. Smith, of Brutus (Elder), " to attend to the formation of a church at Jordan."
" THURSDAY, July 2d, 1829 .- Left Clyde in the morning. " Went through Jordan, at which place met with Rev. Mr. " Hough and Mr. Smith, Elder, a committee from Presbytery to " form a church in that place, if we deemed proper. Rev. Mr. " Stowe and Mr. Ingersoll, who is preaching at Jordan, were " present. We proceeded to form a church consisting of 18 (8 " men and 10 women). It is expected a number will soon unite " to make it up to 30."
Of the organizing committee, only Elder Smith, of Brutus, survives. He now resides about two miles from Weedsport.
The members who were transferred from the Elbridge Congre- gational Church to form this Presbyterian Society, were Edmund W. Botsford, Alva D. Botsford, Delana Botsford, Mary Botsford (wife of Edmund W.), Thomas L. Carson, William Newall, Elizabeth (wife of Herman Jenkyns), Delatus Frary. Sally (wife of Elihu Frary), Sara Coonley (now Otis), William Nickerson, Matilda Stevens (wife of Robert Stevens), Thomas Stevens, John Stevens, and Eleanor (wife of John Stevens).
To these there were added, at the same time, or shortly after, from Jordan village and vicinity: Jane Carson (now Ward), our oldest member; Ebenezer Daggett and Mary P., his wife (father and mother of Calvin Foote) ; Salmon Greene and Amy, his wife (father and mother of Robert E. Greene) ; Eliza Bell, (mother of Mrs. Sarah Gillespie) ; Nancy McKissick (now
21
OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
Blakeslie) ; Ebenezer Moorhouse and his wife (from Cato) ; Pom- eroy Tobey and wife, and others. Of the original Elbridge members, but two remain with ns-Mrs. Herod Otis (Sara Coon- ley), and Mr. Thomas Stevens. Mrs. Mary Botsford (wife of Edmund W.) now resides with her son, Rev. A. P. Botsford, of Port Jervis.
Of original members from the village and vicinity, we have in connection with us now Mrs. Jane Ward (Jane Carson) and Mrs. Nancy Blakeslie.
The first Session elected July 2d, 1829, consisted of six elders : ALVA D. BOTSFORD, EBENEZER DAGGETT, SALMON GREENE, POMEROY TOBEY, WILLIAM NEWALL, EBENEZER MOORHOUSE.
All these are gone to their long home, and we trust a rich re- ward.
The Rev. John Ingersoll (who was preaching here at the date of the organization) came to Jordan in the spring of 1829. He was a member of the Rutland Congregational Association, and was the first minister of the church. He was not, however, in- stalled. He received a commission from the American Home Missionary Society, August 12, 1829, to labor in Jordan for one year from that day. He received as his salary $300 per year, a portion of which the Home Missionary Society paid. That Society's report for May, 1830, speaks of Jordan as a promising field. Mr. Ingersoll was a zealous temperance advocate, and Jordan, at that time, "a hard road to travel" in that direction.
JANUARY 20, 1830 .- The next meeting of the Presbytery after the appointment of organizing committee. The committee re- ported that they had organized the church at Jordan, and it was accordingly received under the care of Presbytery. Alva Bots- ford appears in the roll of Presbyterial meeting, June 15, 1830, as the first delegate to that body from this church.
The American Home Missionary Society's report for May, 1831, says that the Rev. William Page had succeeded Mr. In- gersoll as minister of Jordan church. There is no evidence of the church receiving any Home Missionary aid after this date.
22
OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
As Mr Page was the first minister who preached in the church building, this seems a suitable point to divide the society's history into two parts. We will refer, FIRSTLY, to the material struc- ture and temporal interests of the Society ; and, SECONDLY, to its spiritual oversight and interests.
The material Structure.
The land on which the church stands was bought of Horace Dodge, and conveyed by deed to the trustees, on the first of Jan- uary, 1830. It formerly belonged to Mr. Hollis Knowlton, one of the earliest settlers in Jordan. He now resides with his daughter, Mrs. W. C. Rodger. He was a liberal contributor to the fund for erecting this church. His wife (deceased sometime since) was one of its earliest members.
The church was built by subscription and cost $4,000. The original list of subscribers being lost, no names are given.
The building contract was taken originally by Ebenezer Dag- gett and Salmon Greene for $3,500. This firm put in the firm foundations, and sub-let the remainder to John Van Patten, builder, of Schenectady, for $3,000.
The stone for the foundation was drawn by a "Bee" of vil- lagers, who volunteered for the good work and united in it, irre- spective of religious belief. The laying of her foundation unified the sympathies and labors of all friends of the Christian religion in Jordan. May the Presbyterian church ever be foremost to promulgate and promote Christian unity ! Thomas Stevens (the oldest original male member of the church now living) drew the first load of stone with an ox team. He was then in the employ of James W. Redfield, one of the trustees. Edmund W. Bots- ford (one of the most sterling Christians) was most energetic and indefatigable in the erection of the edifice-a pillar of the church and a pattern of piety.
The church was built during the summer of 1830 and spring of 1831. June 30, 1831, the Cayuga Presbytery assembled in the church and dedicated it, a Professor of Auburn Seminary preaching the sermon.
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OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
The original plan of seats is as sketched below, being roughly copied from a plan drawn by J. McClure, Jr., about 1845.
Society.
29
28
W. Porter.
E. S. Drake.
26
27
T. K. Wright.
E. Daggett.
31
30
Society.
Greene.
24
25
Society.
P. Stevens.
33
32
E. Rotch.
G. Bell.
22
23
Mrs. Ward.
J. McClure.
35
34
A. McKissick.
W. Wright.
20
21
Norton.
C. Barnes.
37
36
T. L. Carson.
E. Stevens.
18
19
Barr.
H. Knowlton,
39
38
W. M. Pack.
Redfield.
16
17
Howland.
Botsford.
4L
40
Society.
Graves.
14
15
Stevens.
I. Otis.
43
42
H. Otis.
McClure.
12
13
Wood.
H. Dodge.
45
44
H. Otis.
Baker.
10
=
H. Otis.
J. Hough.
47
46
Botsford.
I. Otis.
8
6
Richards.
E. Daggett.
49
48
Dales.
Society.
6
J. McKissick.
W. Richards.
51
50
Meach.
Hendricks,
4 5
E. Daggett.
W. Nicholson. .
53
3
E. Daggett.
1
| D. Carson.
PULPIT.
R. Powers.
54
Entrance.
Entrance.
.
1
FRONT.
There were originally galleries around three sides of the church, as in the Elbridge Congregational Church. The en- trance was from the basement, as in the Methodist Church of this place now. The pulpit was on the north side, and the choir gallery on the south ; the seats facing the opposite way to what they now do.
24
OUR CHURCH AND HER INTERESTS.
The sale of seats took place shortly after the dedication. The following is a copy of the original conditions of sale and list of purchasers:
CONDITIONS FOR THE SALE OF SLIPS IN THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. "1st. The slips not to be sold less than they are appraised at.
2d. Those persons who have heretofore subscribed towards the building of said house will have the privilege of applying the sum so subscribed on their purchase (they fulfilling the condi- tions as set forth in that instrument), the excess, if any, over the amount of such subscription, to be paid in manner following : one-fifth in thirty days, the remainder in one year, with interest.
3d. Those persons who are not subscribers to pay one-fifth in thirty days, and the remaining four-fifths in one year, with in- terest.
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