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 4
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fully discharged the ministerial and pastoral service in this church, with the strong and united attachment of the church and congregation, and revered and beloved by Christians of all denominations. In 1825, on the death of Dr. Livingston, he was chosen his successor. Although strongly attached to the work of the pulpit, and the pastoral office, he felt it his duty to accept. He sustained at the same time the offices of President of Rutgers College (the literary institution) and of Pro- fessor of Systematic Theology in the Theological Semi- nary. The combined duties were many and heavy, and he assiduously discharged them with untiring de- votedness. A few years before his death, in his ad- vanced years, he resigned his offices, and retired to his family circle in this city, laboring cheerfully, as oppor- tunity offered, and strength allowed, in various ways, for the interests of the Church and the cause of Christ, until disease laid him up in his chamber. He died on his birthday, in September, 1852, aged seventy-seven years. It was a remarkable circumstance that Dr. M. and his excellent wife died within a day of each other, and were buried at the same time. The scene of the funeral solemnities and exercises in this, the North Dutch Church, in all the attending circumstances, and in the presence of a very thronged congregation of the highest respectability, from various sources, deeply at- tentive and much affected, will not be readily forgot- ten by those who witnessed it.
In the growth of our city in the latter part of the last century, and the advance of this century, the pop- ulation, increasing and becoming compact within a lim-
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ited and convenient distance, filled the churches already built, of different denominations, and additional edifices were, time after time, erected. The three spacious edi- fices belonging to our Church were filled. The congre- gations were large, and required much ministerial and pastoral labor. In 1813 there was a distinct church and congregation formed in Garden street, and the Mid- dle and North Churches remained under the charge of the original corporate Church, now familiarly termed the Collegiate. During this year Dr. Milledoler was called, and Dr. Brodhead removed to Philadelphia. Drs. Milledoler and Kuypers were left to sustain the whole charge. The need of additional ministerial aid was strongly felt, but it was not procured till the spring of 1816, when the Rev. JOHN KNOX and PASCHAL N. STRONG were called, and were installed in July of that year. They both proceeded from the Associate Re- formed Theological Seminary in this city, under the care of Rev. Dr. Mason. They both entered on this im- portant field soon after their licensure. Mr. Strong, with a gifted and well-trained mind, proved an instruct- ive and acceptable preacher, and commended himself, by his pleasant pastoral intercourse and his devotion, to the interests of the denomination to which his Church was attached. Fond hopes were entertained that he would long remain an active and useful laborer at his post; but pulmonary disease fastened upon him, and in the fall of 1824 he was induced to seek the benefit of his health by resorting to the island of Santa Cruz. There he died in 1825, at the age of thirty-two. His remains are interred there, and a monument has been
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erected on the spot, by the Consistory. Dr. KNOX re- mains the senior pastor of this church, after a little more than forty years' faithful and unremitted service. There are only two engaged now in the pastoral office in this city, who have reached such a length of years in it, besides Dr. Knox, namely, Dr. Spring of the Pres- byterian Church, and Dr. Berrian of the Episcopal. In the case of all three, it was their first settlement in the ministry. Delicacy need not restrain me here from saying that the position which Dr. Knox has occupied, and now occupies, has been and is one of great value and usefulness. The consistent and continued development of his character, and of his course of usefulness, have won and secured to him the affection and confidence not only of the people of his charge, but of the whole com- munity.
After the removal of Dr. Milledoler to New-Bruns- wick, in 1825, a call was made, in the spring of 1826, upon the Rev. WILLIAM C. BROWNLEE, D.D. Dr. Brown- lee was born, educated, and licensed for the ministry, in Scotland. Immediately after his licensure he came to the United States and occupied successively several po- sitions of usefulness, and he soon became known to the Christian community. At the time he was chosen to the Collegiate Church he was Professor of Languages in Rutgers College. He gained a distinguished reputa- tion for the industry and ability with which he prose- cuted his pulpit services, while at the same time he prepared and issued from the press a number of treatises and works. As he was blessed with an athletic consti- tution, the prospect was that he would long remain in
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strength of body and mind, to be in "labors more abundant;" but an affecting proof was given that "in the midst of life we are in death." About thirteen years since, while in the full enjoyment of vigorous health and elasticity of spirits, he was in a moment prostrated by an apoplectic attack, which appeared for a time to be nigh unto death, and left him paralyzed on one side. Through the mercy of Providence he, however, gradu- ally recovered from the severity of the stroke, and at- tained a good degree of comfort of body and of mind, continuing to the present moment, still without the prospect of ever being able to resume active duty. While the recollections and affections of the people of his charge, and his colleagues, cluster around him, there is a silent, strong, and tender monition addressed to his colleagues, WORK WHILE IT IS DAY.
In addition to Drs. Knox and Brownlee, there are now in the ministry of this Church, THOMAS DE WITT, D.D., settled in 1827 ; THOMAS E. VERMILYE, D.D., set- tled in 1839; TALBOT W. CHAMBERS, D.D., settled in 1849.
When he who now addresses you, became one of the pastors of this Church, in 1827, the North and Middle Churches were fully attended, and the Sabbath evening service in the Middle Church was ordinarily crowded. The tide of removal of the churches, in the lower part of the city, had not yet commenced, and the great mass of those worshipping in the churches of different denominations, was in the vicinity, at a convenient dis- tance. A very large proportion of the congregation of the Collegiate Church resided below Fulton street, scattered
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along Broadway and Greenwich street, around the Bat- tery, through Beaver, Broad, Liberty, Cedar, John streets, Maiden lane, etc. North of Fulton street, the most substantial and fashionable citizens were residing along Broadway, and the streets running west to the North River, between Fulton and Chambers, and so reaching gradually beyond. Very soon, however, the increase of the commerce of the city led to the con- version of private dwellings into stores and warehouses, and also into boarding-houses. The process became more and more rapid, and the more respectable citizens were, one after another, going to the upper part of the city. The effect upon the numbers in attendance became more and more visible. It was felt that, in order not merely to preserve the strength and influence of the Church, but eventually its very vitality, it became ne- cessary to provide a house of worship in the upper part of the city, in the neighborhood to which the tide of removal tended. The Consistory, in 1836, purchased the house of worship erected a short time previous by a church organization of our denomination, in Ninth street, a little east of Broadway, in which the ministers of the Collegiate Church officiated, and in which a con- gregation in connection with it was gathered. In the mean time, measures were taken for erecting in that vicinity, a new, spacious, and substantial edifice. Lots were procured at the corner of Lafayette Place and Fourth street, near Broadway. The corner-stone was laid November 9th, 1836, and the Church was dedicated May 9th, 1839. The church in Ninth street was re- tained in connection with the Collegiate Church, and its
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ministers had the ministerial and pastoral charge of it till after the opening of the Twenty-ninth street Church, in 1854. In 1855, the Consistory, at the re- quest of a number proposing a distinct church organiz- ation, granted the church in Ninth street for that pur- pose, and appropriated an annual sum for a limited pe- riod to aid in the enterprise. The organization took the name of the Central Reformed Dutch Church, which is now under the pastoral care of the Rev. A. B. Van Zandt, D.D., with flattering promise of suc- cess. The course of the conversion of the part of the city below, and around into a scene of commercial busi- ness, so that very few families were left, caused the audiences in the Middle Church to dwindle away to a skeleton of what they once were. It became evident that the law of necessity must lead to and vindicate the relinquishment of that time-honored and endeared edi- fice, while the North Church would prove amply suffi- cient for the accommodation of those within the range of the lower part of the city. Perhaps there was no church edifice in the city on which so many recollec- tions and attachments, wide spread through the com- munity, rested as this. The desertion of it, and its subsequent appropriation to secular uses, was sadly viewed and felt by many. But the propriety of the measure, enforced by the constraint of circumstances, when resolved upon by the Consistory, was unitedly acquiesced in. The last sermon preached in the Church was on the evening of Sabbath, the eleventh of August, 1844. The senior pastor, Dr. Knox, preached from John 5: 20-24, followed by a brief address
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from Rev. Dr. De Witt, one of the colleagues, closing with the benediction in the Dutch language, the language first introduced, and long continued in it. All this time the population had been, and was rapidly extending beyond Fourth street, and buildings of the finest character were erected in the vicinity, more and more compact, and reached upwards with increasing force. When he who ad- dresses you took his residence in Ninth street, which he at present occupies, in 1843, it was quite on the verge of what could be viewed as in any way the compact part of the city, and the buildings beyond were com- paratively sparse. Now, the position may be termed central. Who that reviews, during the thirteen years past, the growth in population and of improvements, reaching northward, and on the adjacent shores of Long Island and New-Jersey, does not feel emotions of wonder connecting the past with the opening antici- pations of the future? Corresponding with this growthi of the city, church edifices in increasing numbers were erected by the different Christian denominations, many of them spacious and elegant. Soon the same tide which, ten or twelve years before, removed our citizens from the lower part of the city to the vicinity of La- fayette Place, carried them still farther and far- ther upward, while the improvements in building rapidly extended, and the population became more dense in the vicinity of Madison Square. The Con- sistory of our Church felt the urgent importance and desirableness of erecting a house of worship in that neighborhood. Accordingly, lots were procured at the
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corner of the Fifth avenue and Twenty-ninth street, and measures were at once taken for building. The corner- stone was laid by the senior pastor, November 26th, 1851, and the Church was dedicated on the 11th of October, 1854. This edifice, and the one in Lafayette Place, are distinguished for the solidity of their struc- ture, the beauty, chasteness, and finish of their archi- tecture, and their adaptedness to the purposes and uses of public worship. They are confessed by all to stand, in this point of view, prominent among the houses of worship in this city. Accompanying this discourse are neat plates furnishing a striking and correct view of them, with a description of their plan and archi- tecture, in the appendix. The name of "the Middle Reformed Dutch Church" is now appropriated to the Church on the corner of Fourth street and La- fayette Place, a name associated in many impressive and pleasant recollections with the Old Middle Church in Nassau street, and now rendered suitable and proper, as it is centrally situated between the North Church, in Fulton street, and the Church at the corner of Fifth avenue and Twenty-ninth street, these three being the houses of worship now attached to the Collegiate Church.
While costly and valuable edifices have been erect- ed for the accommodation of the wealthier classes of our citizens, the large masses of the poorer classes scattered through our city, need and should receive church accommodations connected with the ministry of divine truth, which is designed to be " preached to the poor." It is a gratifying circumstance, that so many ,
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means are employed and efforts directed, for the spirit- ual and temporal benefit of the poor, to raise them from their degradation in ignorance, vice, and wretch- edness, to the light, hopes, comforts, and holiness which the Gospel unfolds. The spiritual life and prosperity of any Church will always be intimately connected with the quickened spirit, and faithful efforts cherished and employed to diffuse the light of life and the bless- ings of salvation around, and to supply the means of grace to those who are destitute of them. The har- monious efforts and counsels of evangelical Christians of all denominations are called for to produce such a blessed result as to pervade this community now so largely populous with a rapidly advancing increase, with the light and power of divine truth, shedding its enlightening, healing, purifying, and beneficent influ- ence. Let every denomination, strongly impressed with the need of such blessings, by its organization and or- der extend this influence, and then, in common faith and love, rejoice in every effort, and seek to make the whole tributary to the prosperity of the cause of Christ, and the salvation of men. The Reformed Dutch Church should bear her part faithfully in such a service, in proportion to her means and opportunities, so that " her stakes may be strengthened, and her cords lengthened." There are now of our denomination, exclu- sive of the churches in the Collegiate connection, nineteen churches of distinct organization on Manhattan Island, or New-York City. Most of these, especially in the earlier part of this century, were originated by mem- bers of the Collegiate Church, and were encouraged and
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patronized by members of that Church, and also by it in its corporate capacity. The spirit of enlargement and of progress, with united and liberal effort, if called forth at an earlier period, in the reasonable anticipation of the future growth of the city, would have accom- plished much more. But we have reason to be thank- ful for the advancement which has been made, and should be excited by the consideration that our Church is the oldest in the city, and by the review of its onward history and its present position, to combine the ener- gies of our denomination in bearing the influence of the Gospel through her ecclesiastical organizations here in this city, and through every avenue that opens. It was not till the latter part of the last century and the early part of this, when the Dutch language had grown gen- erally into disuse, and renewed measures were taken for the building up of the Literary Institution and of the Theological Seminary, that our Reformed Dutch Church in America received a strong impulse and motive to seek the enlargement of her borders and the increase of her efforts. Of late years, progress has been stead- ily growing, and every encouragement is afforded to stimulate her exertions and excite her hopes. Her Lit- erary Institution and Theological Seminary, well estab- lished and in successful operation, her different Boards, appointed by the General Synod to take charge of the various objects of beneficence bearing upon her pros- perity, have opened a tide of influence which united faith, prayer, and effort will cause to deepen and widen, and spread blessings in its course. The term "Dutch " has long since been entirely disconnected with the use
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of the language, and the name of the Church is re- tained, simply and most properly, as indicating her his- torical origin and associations, and the standards of faith and order of church government handed down in her. Wherever churches have been planted, those who are from different ancestry, and other denominations of kindred faith, have entered, in large numbers, into her communion, and become attached to her character and order. The growth, slow at first, under the circum- stances stated, has been gradually gaining, and, under the influences and means existing, has for a few years past been more rapid. At present in her communion there are 368 ministers and 386 churches. Our Re- formed Dutch Church in America, throughout her his- tory, has been distinguished for her steady adherence to the truth and order she professes, while continually dwelling by the side of other evangelical denomina- tions, in the exercise of mutual respect and kindness. She has remained undisturbed in the midst of the agi- tating influences which have pressed around and invad- ed elsewhere. As the objects for Christian beneficent effort have been presented by Bible, Tract, Mission- ary Societies, etc., she has borne her part in proportion to her numbers and extent.
But it is rather alien from the purpose and bearing of a discourse on this occasion to dilate on the history and attitude of the Church at large, and this brief allusion must suffice. The Church of New-York, the first founded, from its position sustained a prominence in the view of the communi- ty, and was interwoven with the interests of the
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churches of the same faith as they successively arose. In the onward course of events, her responsibility in this position became increased. While admitting that human administration of such important trusts must par- take of attending infirmity, I may be permitted to say, in an impartial spirit, after somewhat of a careful re- view, that fidelity and watchful superintendence of her interests, in connection with the interests of the Church at large, have marked the course of the ruling authori- ties, and the people have dwelt together in harmony and confidence. It is perhaps rare that there is found for a succession of generations, in a collegiate connec- tion, often viewed as a delicate one, so continued and almost uninterrupted concord and confidence between the ministers, and so also between ministers and people. We revert to what, in the commencement of this dis- course, was alluded to as specially the theme of our meditations and exercises on this occasion, when the old NORTH CHURCH, after being repaired, is presented fresh and beautiful, in her native grandeur and just proportions. The term North, still appropriated to this edifice, standing in the very southern extremity of this extended city, steals strangely upon the ear of a stran- ger, but when explained, it recalls the lapse of time of near ninety years when it was erected in the northern extremity or suburbs of the city as it then was. The Episcopal Church of St. Paul's, in Broadway, and this Church, are the two oldest houses of worship in the city, erected within three years of each other. It is said that there was a friendly strife between the two denominations in erecting edifices which would vie with
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each other. It was a strife entertained in those feelings of kindness and habits of friendly social intercourse which had pervaded them. They remain links con- necting the present with the " olden times," and stand as memorials which to many minds will strongly recall the past. Well do they deserve to be preserved ; for, in the tide of architectural improvement, and the multi- plication of church edifices in our city, are there any that, taken as a whole, and in all respects, excel Old St. Paul's and the Old North, remaining in their general character as when first erected ? Till this year the " Old Brick Church," built in 1767, so venerable and so replete with associations, remained devoted to its sacred uses. But it has just been relinquished for the purpose of building in the upper part of the city, and the spot on which it stands has been sold, and is now to be ap- propriated to secular uses. Changed as is the part of the city within the vicinity and convenient range of this Church, now engrossed by commercial warehouses and employments, and by buildings occupied by tran- sient residents, the field is become more appropriate for missionary labor, to induce and gather in attendance on the sanctuary services out of the many in the fluctuat- ing population still resident in the lower wards, and of those who sojourn here or are passing through our city. This church will remain free and open, inviting them within its walls. Although it can not strictly and fully be termed a free church, as a number of pews are owned and occupied by individuals and families, yet far the largest portion are thrown open to those who may de- sire to enter and worship within it, and they will be
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gladly welcomed. To all practical intents and uses it may be considered a free church. While the families resident, and under direct and constant pastoral care and inspection, have been rapidly lessening in number, and are now become very few, the call is urgent to seek the spiritual welfare of the population of this part of the city, in the peculiar character and condition in which they are found. It is desirable that the best means should be devised and employed to attain and secure this object. Christians in this vicinity are de- sired to add their influence and cooperation in aiding the ministerial labors here employed for the spiritual welfare of this portion of the city. An inviting field is here spread around for pious youth, to engage in active exertion in doing good to the temporally and spiritually poor, spread in abundance through it. Con- venient and ample rooms in the adjacent consistorial buildings are furnished for Sabbath-school instruction and other uses promoting the great object. Our earlier houses of worship have passed away. A commercial warehouse has taken the place of the Old South, and the Old Middle still presents its outward form of struc- ture, reminding us of the past, while twelve years since it was relinquished as a house of worship, and has been used by the General Government as the Post- Office of this city. Let this old North Church stand, as linking the present with the memory of the past, and to impress upon us the right estimate of our privileges and responsibility, in spreading the influence of the Gos- pel in the sphere we occupy, and especially in not ne- glecting the field around this time-honored edifice. Well
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may we unite with the Psalmist, and say at this time, and in this place : "FOR MY BRETHREN AND COMPANIONS' SAKE, I WILL NOW SAY, PEACE BE WITHIN THEE. BE- CAUSE OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD OUR GOD, I WILL SEEK THY GOOD."
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APPENDIX.
[NOTE A.] The Reformation Struggle in Holland, AND THE
FIRST COLONIAL SETTLEMENT BY THE HOLLANDERS HERE. [Page 20.]
THERE is a brief reference in the Discourse to the struggle in the Netherlands, in the sixteenth century, against the combined Spanish, Imperial, and Papal powers, which issued in the independence of and the formation of a Federal Republic in the Seven Northern Prov- inces, and the rise and establishment of the Reformed Church there, and also of the first colonial settlement by the Hollanders here. Com- mendatory allusion was made to the recent works, which have gained so high a reputation in the literary world, "Prescott's Philip II.," and "Motley's Rise of the Dutch Republic." These volumes will have the happy effect of leading to the investigation and study of the history of the eventful period of the sixteenth century, particularly as portraying the severe and prolonged Reformation struggle in the Netherlands, and to trace the results and effects of it. There is no page in history more replete with thrilling events, having influences connected with them, than that which records the progress and consequences of that struggle. The reader is urgently referred to the "History of the State of New-York," by J. Romeyn Brodhead, Esq., the first volume of which is published, and comprises the period during the Dutch Colonial Government, from 1609 to 1664. The discovery and set- tlement of New-Netherland, and the course of events during the Dutch Dynasty, are minutely and carefully detailed. Mr. B., as agent of the State of New-York, for examining the Archives of State, at the courts of London, Paris, and the Hague, and procuring ma-
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