USA > New York > New York City > A discourse delivered in the North Reformed Dutch Church (Collegiate) : in the city of New-York, on the last Sabbath in August, 1856 > Part 3
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THE.
REFORMED DUTCH CHURCHI IN GARDEN STREET, BUILT IN 1507.
THE MIDDLE DUTCH CHURCH IN NASSAT STREET,
AFTER BEING ALTERED IN 1764.
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here referred to, were the lots on which the church was to be built, as well as a number of lots in the im- mediate vicinity, given to the Church by Mr. John Harpending, or, as he himself wrote the name, Herben- dinck, an aged, excellent, and influential member of the Church, who frequently officiated as elder and deacon. He was received a member of the Church in 1664, just previous to the transfer of the colony from Holland to England. He was married here in 1667, and died in 1722, at a very advanced age, leaving no children. No one in his day was more active and useful in advancing the interests of the Church, and it is said that such was his character in the community, that he was frequently named in wills as an executor. He was a liberal bene- factor of this Church, both in his life and at his death. Directly over the pulpit of this Church is conspicuously hung a coat of arms commemorative of Mr. Harpending. It has depicted on it implements belonging to the cur- rying business, and it is said that his trade was that of a tanner and currier. The motto inscribed on it is, "DANDO CONSERVAT," conveying the sentiment, that the best means of securing and giving permanence to our property is to devote it to beneficent uses. A doubt has arisen in my mind, whether this was originally a real coat of arms, or whether it was a design procured by the Church to commemorate his benefaction. It is a doubt which can not now well be solved. It was, at first, placed in the Old Church in Garden street. Af- ter the North Church was opened, it was removed to the spot where it now hangs. It is already stated, that there were in the Old Church several coats of arms
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hung on the walls, and a number graven in the stained glass of the windows.
The part of William street on which this North Church stands was then called "Horse and Cart Lane." It derived its name from a tavern built and in the direct vicinity of the Church, having the sign of a horse and cart inscribed on it. Probably, at its erection, car- men were in the habit of resorting to it. About the time when the North Church was being built, the population was pressing upwards slowly towards the locality, which became sparsely settled, with a continual increase. The Episcopal Church of St. Paul, on Broad- way, was built shortly before, and was opened for pub- lic worship in 1766. The site selected was, at the time, said to be "in the fields," and the ground on which it was placed was, the year previous, under cul- ture, and produced a crop of grain. The population of the city was, at this time, rapidly advancing. I find the enumeration of the inhabitants of this city, was, in 1756, 10,881, and in 1771, 21,863. Many of the churches of different denominations were built during this period, in what are now the first three wards of the city, engrossed by the interests of commerce. It may be well here to allude briefly to the process of the erection of churches prior to this period, 1771.
After the transfer of the colony to the British, in 1664, the Episcopal interest and worship were intro- duced. - The chaplain of the forces conducted public worship in the Reformed Dutch Church in the fort, as also Rector Vesey after his arrival. When the Dutch church in Garden street was opened, an invitation was
DANDO
CONSERVAT
THE COAT OF ARMS OF
JOHN HARPENDING.
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extended to Mr. Vesey to hold worship, with his people, on a part of the Sabbath. From the first there was a very friendly understanding between the two denomina- tions. At the induction of Rector Vesey into his office, in 1697, Governor Fletcher directed two of the Dutch ministers to be present, Selyns, of New-York, and Nu- cella, of Kingston. Trinity Church was opened for divine service in January, 1697, on the same spot where, after two successive rebuildings, the splendid edifice, recently erected, now stands. In 1702 a small building was erected on Broadway, at the corner of Rector street, by the German Lutherans, on the spot after- wards occupied by Grace Church. The congregation con- tinued small and fluctuating, and their house of worship was burnt down in the great fire of 1776, which also consumed Trinity Church, adjacent. The French Hu- guenots built a church edifice in 1704, measuring fifty feet by seventy-seven, fronting on Pine street, opposite the present Custom House, the burial-ground in the rear running back to Cedar street. This edifice is dis- tinctly remembered by our citizens, as it remained in its original form one hundred and thirty years, to 1834, when the grounds were sold, and the church taken clown, and the present edifice erected at the corner of Church and Leonard streets. Many Huguenots settled at a very early period here, and among the colonists from Holland there were a number of Huguenots and Walloons. Subsequently, amid the persecutions which preceded and followed the revocation of the edict of Nantes, larger numbers flowed in. At an early period the Reformed Dutch Church made provision for their spiritual wants. The Rev. Samuel Drisius was called
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to the church at New-Amsterdam in 1652, as a col- league with Megapolensis, on account of his know- ledge of the English and French languages, (having been settled in the Dutch Church at London,) that he might minister to the French and English, resident or visiting here. Subsequently our Consistory, about 1690, and afterwards, engaged the Rev. Peter Daille, who had ministered in the early Huguenot settlements in Massachusetts, to preach to the French, and occupy their pulpit during part of the Sabbath, when after a few years they formed a distinct ecclesiastical organiza- tion. The character of the first Huguenot settlers was eminently worthy, both here and in other parts of the State and the United States. An interesting fact is re- lated concerning the first settlers at New-Rochelle, in Westchester county. When they entered the forests, and with toilful labor engaged in clearing and cultivat- ing the fields, they resolved, in the spirit of deep piety which they brought with them, to unite with their brethren in New-York in the public worship of the Sab- bath, though at the distance of twenty miles. Such was their reverence for the sanctification of the Sabbath, that they would take up their march on foot in the after- noon of Saturday, and reach New-York by midnight, singing the hymns of Clement Marot by the way. En- gaging in the worship of the Sabbath, they remained till after midnight, and then took up their march in return to New-Rochelle, relieving the toil of the way by singing Marot's hymns. The first Presby- terian interest in New-York was gathered in the early part of the last century, and their first house of wor- ship was built in 1719, in Wall street, near Broadway,
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the pioneer of the extended Presbyterian Church that now exists. The first Jewish synagogue in the city was built in Mill street, in the lower part of the city, in 1729. The Episcopal St. George's Chapel, in Beek- man street, was built in 1752. The Moravian Church in Fulton street, between Nassau and William, was built in 1752. The Scotch Presbyterian Church in Cedar street, near Broadway, successively under the pastoral care of the Doctors Mason, father and son, was built in 1768. The German Reformed church in Nassau street, below John, in 1765. The German Lutheran Church, at the corner of William and Frankfort streets, was erected in 1767. St. Paul's Church, as before stated, was erected and opened for service in 1766. The Brick Presbyterian Church, erect- ed on a lot presented by the Corporation of the city, in what was then termed "the fields," was opened for service in 1767. A Baptist church was built in Gold street, between Fulton and John, in 1760. The first Methodist church in America was built in John street in 1768. Besides these, there was a small Friends', or Quaker meeting-house. These were the houses of wor- ship in the city at the opening of the North Dutch Church, in 1769. Those who trace, after the revolu- tionary war, first the slower, and then the more rapid growth of New-York, will mark the additional churches erected in the lower part of the city, and reaching by degrees to Canal street, and then still upwards, and will find of later years, one after another, the church edi- fices below Canal street, passing away under the force of the tide of removal upwards, and on the adjacent
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shores. At the time of the erection of the North Church the population was filling up more and more densely in the parts below, and making its way in that vicinity and upwards more sparsely. Hence the number of churches which, in a short number of years, had grown up.
The expense of the erection of this North Church, as audited after it was opened, was about 12,000 pounds, or thirty thousand dollars, which was much increased by some improvements shortly after made. On observ- ing the beautiful pillars which stud the galleries, it will be seen that there are initials of names inscribed on each of them, of those who presented the pillar, with a sum of money in addition. The corner-stone was laid on the 2d day of July, 1767, by Isaac Roose- velt, an elder of the church, and chairman of the building committee, and the dedication sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Laidlie, on the 25th of May, 1769.
At the time this North Church was being built, with the view of its being exclusively devoted to English preach- ing, it was deemed important to secure an additional pas- tor of suitable qualifications. The views of the people were at once directed to a young man, who, while en- gaged in the study of the law at Poughkeepsie, became the subject of divine grace, and felt constrained, by the Saviour's love, to choose the ministry of the Gospel as his work for life. He resolved, in 1766, to proceed to Holland to pursue a thorough course of preparation in her universities, with a view of being well fitted to en- gage in the service of the Church here, and in the hope
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that he might avail in opening the way for healing the dissensions and division which had existed for a number of years on the point, on the one hand, of remaining directly subordinate, in ecclesiastical jurisdiction, to the Church of Holland, or, on the other hand, of organiz- ing distinct, independent ecclesiastical courts, and edu- cating, ordaining, and supervising her own ministry here. The name of this young man was John H. Liv- ingston, afterwards so well known, in the Church and throughout the community, as the venerable Dr. Livingston, and who through a long life was emi- nently useful. As early as 1767, the Consistorial records advert to their correspondence with him and the Professors at Utrecht. The letters of the Profes- sors were highly commendatory, and the difficulty which he had himself entertained in relation to a sufficient capacity of voice to fill the churches, as it had been weak, became obviated. A call was at once directed to him, which was accepted. After spending four years at Utrecht, and receiving there the degree of Doctor of Divinity, he came to New-York in 1770 and was cordially greeted by all his colleagues in the ministerial work. Towards Dr. Laidlie he felt a filial reverence and affection, which he uniformly expressed through life, and he spake of him as his father in the faith and ministry of the Gospel. The ministry was prosecuted in harmony and success, and the Church flourished. At this time, however, the political agitation existed which soon ripened in the revolutionary contest. Not long after the breaking out of the war, the British gained possession of the city, and those who were favora-
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ble to the American cause, with their families, sought refuge and sojourned, during the war, in different places in the country. With almost solitary exceptions, the congregation was strongly united in the cause of inde- pendence, and was scattered around. During the occu- pation by the British several of the churches, especially where the congregations generally espoused the cause of freedom, were sadly desecrated and abused. Very con- spicuous among these were the Middle and Nortlı Reform- ed Dutch churches. The Middle Church was used as a prison, and afterwards as a riding-school for the British officers and soldiers, and became the scene of habitual ribaldry, profanity, and dissipation. The whole of the interior, galleries and all, was destroyed, leaving the bare walls and roof. The North Church was used as an hospital and for storage. The lower part was stripped of the pews, pulpit, etc., and the walls were much de- faced, but otherwise the building preserved the general character and aspect it originally possessed, and which it still retains. Those acquainted with the annals of our revolutionary history vividly recall to mind the atroci- ties and cruelties committed by the British forces while in possession of the city of New-York. The churches, the sugar-house, immediately behind the Middle Church, the jail, the Jersey prison-ship, and the thousands of Amer- icans who fell victims to disease, hunger, and cruelty, laid buried or bleaching on the shores of Long Island, recur to the mind as affecting memorials of this. Just previous to the revolutionary war, a new and very neat pulpit was placed in the North Church. After it was taken away no traces of it could be found. Some time
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after the close of the war, one of our citizens was in England, and, worshipping on a Sabbath day in a country church, his attention was directed to the pul- pit as strongly reminding him of this pulpit in our North Dutch Church. A gentleman, to whom he stated this after service, replied that it probably was the same, as it had been brought over from America during the revolutionary war, in a British ship.
The treaty of peace was concluded in 1783, and the British forces left the city on the 25th of November, which has since been annually celebrated here under the appellation of "Evacuation Day." The citizens gladly returned from their seven years' exile to their " altars and their homes." While they rejoiced in this long-desired reunion, they contemplated, with sadness, the desolations which had taken place, but at once arose unitedly, with prayer and in faith, to build again the waste places. On the 2d of December the Con- sistory met, and by resolution expressed their gratitude to God for his blessing, which had granted success in the struggle for independence, and returned them in peace to the place of their fathers' sepulchres, to their homes, and to the house of God. The aged ministers, who preached in the Dutch language, Ritze- ma and De Ronde, preferred remaining in the places where they had sojourned. They were declared " eme- riti," and a handsome annuity for life was conferred upon them by the Consistory. Dr. Laidlie had died at Red Hook, in 1778. Dr. Livingston was the only min- ister on the return. The old church in Garden street was at once opened for worship, as it had not been oc-
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cupied and damaged like the other churches. On the 15th of January following, the Consistory resolved to proceed at once to repair the North Church, and place it in a neat and proper condition. In December, 1784, it was again opened for divine service. On account of the impoverishing influence of the war, and the expenses that were otherwise necessarily incurred, the Middle Church was suffered to remain in its condition, laid waste for the present. In 1788, the Consistory adopt- ed measures to repair and place in complete order the Middle Church. This was accomplished at a consider- ably large expense. The church, thus renewed, was opened for divine service on the fourth of July, 1790, when a sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Livings- ton. Dr. Livingston, left alone in the ministerial work, was most diligent in various labors in the pulpit and in his pastoral intercourse. These labors were highly ac- ceptable to the people, and richly blessed by the Head of the Church. We have heard aged servants of Christ, who are now entered into their rest, with great interest and deep feeling refer to this. Dr. L., at that time, in order to gratify and benefit the aged people attached to the Dutch language, occasionally preached in that lan- guage. Anxious to obtain additional ministerial aid, the Church succeeded to obtain the services of Dr. WIL- LIAM LINN, then settled in the Presbyterian Church in Elizabethtown, N. J. He became distinguished as a classic and finished writer, and a powerful pulpit orator, and sustained an eminent position in the Church and in the community. By reason of the failure of his health, he retired from the active duties of the ministry to reside at Albany, in 1805, where he died in 1808.
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In 1789 a call was made upon the Rev. GERARDUS A. KUYPERS, (afterwards Dr. Kuypers,) then a young man settled at Paramus, N. J. He was an accurate Dutch scholar, and preached in that language purely and readily. It was stipulated that he should preach in Dutch, to those attached to that language, as often as would prove desirable and useful, and that the sermons in Dutch should be delivered in the old church in Garden street. The number of attendants on the preaching in Dutch became fewer, and the amount of service became great- ly lessened from time to time, and the last sermon in Dutch was preached to a very few hearers in 1803. Dr. Kuypers, who had before preached a large portion of his time in the English language, now officiated in it exclusively. He continued in the active discharge of his ministry, until his death, 1833, and is remembered among us for his courteous and affable manners, his kind and pacific spirit, his evangelical preaching, and his consistency of character. In 1795 the Rev. JOHN N. ABEEL (afterwards Dr. Abeel) was called as a col- league minister. He was born and brought up in the Dutch Church, but was, at the time, settled as pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. The choice was an eminently happy one. There was in him a more than ordinary combination of a well-balanced and dis- ciplined mind, with the harmony of the spiritual graces. His sermons were carefully and accurately prepared, clearly and plainly discussed in chasteness of style, and infused with a pervading unction and practical adapta- tion. In the progress of his ministry his labors became more and more acceptable and blessed. Such was the impression he left by the suavity of his disposition, and
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the pleasantness of his intercourse, in connection with the effect of his preaching, that he was sometimes re- ferred to as the " beloved disciple, John." After strug- gling with declining health for a year or two, he died in 1812, in early manhood, and in the very midst of extended and growing usefulness.
The old church in Garden street was taken down in 1807, and a new edifice erected on the same spot, which continued until it was destroyed in the great fire of 1835. It remained a part of the Collegiate Church until, in 1813, in compliance with a petition of the congregation, it was separated from the collegiate connection, and a distinct congregation was formed under the charge of a Consistory of their own, and Rev. Dr. Mathews was chosen their pastor. After the destruction of the house of worship, in the great fire, two bands were formed. One, preserving the original corporate charac- ter, located in Murray street, and soon chose as their pastor Rev. J. M. M'Auley, still remaining among them. In a few years the tide which, under the growth of commercial business in the lower parts of the city, was rapidly removing the leading members of the congre- gation to the upper parts, rendered it desirable to ex- change their site and remove. Accordingly, a few years since, the present beautiful edifice, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-first street, was erected. The second band purchased lots fronting Washington Square, adjoining the University, and erected the pre- sent house, a noble structure, most eligibly situated. A new church organization was formed, with Drs. Mathews and Hutton as pastors. After a few years Dr. Mathews retired, and Dr. Hutton has since been the sole pastor.
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After the retirement in 1805, of Dr. Linn, the need of additional ministerial aid was felt, as the three church- es, the South, the Middle, and the North, were then the collegiate charge. In 1809 the Rev. JOHN SCHUREMAN and the Rev. JACOB BRODHEAD (both afterwards D.D.) were called at the same time. They were both born and trained in the Reformed Dutch Church. At the time, the former was settled at Millstone, N. J., and the latter at Rhinebeck Flats. With the experience of sev- eral years in the ministry, they were both in the fresh- ness of early manhood, and had obtained a good report. They were both highly acceptable, and excited the hopes that they would long continue a blessing in the collegiate connection ; but Providence soon directed them to other spheres. Dr. Schureman, in 1811, ac- cepted a professorship in Queen's College, at New- Brunswick. He continued for a time in charge of the Reformed Dutch Church there, and then in one of the professorships in the Theological Seminary, where he died in 1818, in the fortieth year of his age, having discharged every trust with ability, and lamented by all. Dr. Brodhead in 1813 went to Philadelphia to take charge of a new and infant enterprise in rearing the first church of our denomination in that city. He soon, under the divine blessing, succeeded in gathering a large church and congregation, among whom he con- tinued to labor until 1826. In that year he returned to New-York, and took charge of the church in Broome street, successfully fulfilling his ministry there until 1837. The health of his family led him then to take his residence in the country, where lie officiated as pas-
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tor in a neighboring church, and afterwards as pastor of the Central Reformed Dutch Church in Brooklyn. In his advanced age, Dr. Brodhead spent three or four of his last years without a pastoral charge, but still was active in aiding his ministerial brethren, and supplying and promoting the interest of new or vacant churches. In every sphere that he occupied, the strongest attach- ment to him was cherished by the people, and his min- istry was greatly blessed. He died in June, 1855, in his seventy-fourth year, greatly beloved and honored, of which the most striking evidences were furnished.
The Rev. Dr. LIVINGSTON resigned his pastoral charge in the Collegiate Church in 1810, and in the fall of that year removed to New-Brunswick, in obedience to the call of the General Synod, to take charge of the Theo- logical Professorate then endowed and fully established, while at the same time Queen's College was revived, and he was chosen its first President. In process of time other professorships in the Theological Seminary were endowed, and those occupying them were associated with him in his latter years. He continued actively to discharge his duties, revered and beloved in the churches, and by the students under his charge, till the very close of his life. He died in January, 1825. On the day preced- ing his death he had lectured to his classes (as was then remarked) with more than usual vivacity of spirit, and impressiveness of manner, and in the evening was in conversation with his colleague and one or two other ministerial brethren, and breathing largely of that spir- itual unction which greatly characterized him. He retired, with his benedictions on his family. In the
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morning, at the accustomed hour of family devotion, as his chamber was entered, he was calmly resting in the arms of death. Every thing was unruffled around him, and indicated that he had, without a single strug- gle, breathed out his redeemed spirit, and at once gently fallen asleep in Jesus. He died in his seventy- ninth year, ripe in years, in disciplined, fervent piety, and the fruits of usefulness he left within the Church. The volume of his life published is valuable, not merely as the biography of a distinguished servant of Christ, both as a Christian and minister, but as connected with the history of our Church at an interesting period, in its forming tide of advancement and prosperity.
In 1813 the Rev. PHILIP MILLEDOLER, D.D., was called as one of the collegiate ministers. He was born and brought up in the German Reformed Church, and at the early age of twenty became pastor of that church in this city. In 1800 he removed to the pas- toral charge of the Pine-Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, whence he was called, in 1805, to the re- cently-formed Presbyterian Church in Rutgers street, in this city. From the early period of his ministry, the evangelical character of his preaching, the more than ordinary unction which pervaded it, and his personal character and devoted labors, gave him great weight, and attracted much attention in the Christian communi- ty. His onward course was one of great usefulness, and verified the anticipations which had been formed. Few ministries have been more successful than in the portion he bestowed on the church in Rutgers street. From 1813 to 1825 he faithfully, acceptably, and use-
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