A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 85

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

USA > New York > A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 85

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Certainly Mr. Poyer had officially the most exacting position of the two. Mr. McNish had his energies concentrated in Jamaica, and although he made his influence felt throughout Long Island, and seems to have travelled all over it doing missionary work, his parochial labors must have been light. But in Mr. Poyer's case there was steady paroch- ial work all the time and a host of other troubles-pecuniary mainly-while the op- position confronted him at every step. From some of his letters we get a capital idea not only of his own little troubles, but of the con- dition of the places over which he was set to hold spiritual supervision.

The first position in the struggle was won by McNish. Settling in Jamaica before the arrival of Poyer, he took possession of the church and for some reason or another, Mrs. Urquhart, the widow of Poyer's predecessor, vacated the minister's house and turned it over to McNish. Gov. Hunter saw to it that the church was turned over to Poyer, but McNish, "an independent North Britain preacher who has had the assurance in the face of the contrary to aver that the Bishop of London as no power here," held on to the dwelling and the people, the ratepayers, not only refused to pay Mr. Poyer his stipend,

but actually handed over part of it to Mr. McNish. To oust McNish from the dwelling a suit at law was necessary and Gov. Hunter seemed unwilling at first to spend his money in that manner: besides the Judge before whom the matter would likely come was a Dissenter. Afterward he seemed willing to aid in bringing the case into a court of law, but by that time .Poyer hesitated about fol- lowing such a procedure and aroused the ire of the Chief Executive. It seemed a paltry case throughout, one in which Poyer had the worst of it-his salary unpaid or only partly paid, his dwelling withheld, his appeals disre- garded at headquarters, his congregation growing slowly, and personal indignities be- ing heaped upon him on frequent occasions. But for gifts of money from the home society it is difficult to see how he could have main- tained the struggle. His brother clergy, however, stuck to him all through and really forced the authorities to take some action -- getting some special instructions in his case from the Queen in Council; but even all that had paltry practical results. Even a suit at law which he instituted for the recovery of his salary dragged along so slowly as al- most to banish all hope of legal relief. Here are two of his letters to the Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, whose missionary he was, which are pathetic in their presentation of his case :

Jamaica L. I. Novr. 2d 1714.

HONORED SIR-It will be five years the last day of next month since my most honored patrons the Venerable Society were pleased to order me to embark to proceed on my Mis- sion which I obeyed and embarked that same day but there were inore hindrance than one that detained the Fleet 'till the Ioth of April and in the interim I was tossed about from one expensive harbour to another witth my family having my Wife visited on board with two fits of sickness and obliged each fit to bring her ashore for the help of a Doctor which was not a little trouble & charge to me and besides all this the £20 l' was forced to pay for our passage & the twice laying in

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

of sea Stores put me to very great straits the Ioth of April we left the Lands end of Eng- land and had a very tedious and uneasy pas- sage of 13 weeks lacking two or three days. In this passage I had great experience of the goodness of God and often had occasion to reflect on the Royal Psalmist's expressions in Psalnı 107. 23 &c where he has these words- They that go down to the Sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters these men see the works of the Lord and his won- ders in the deep &c. I saw indeed & won- dered and often expected in the great temp- ests we had to have been swallowed up of the merciless waves, but when we were in our trouble and almost brought to our wit's end We cried unto the Lord and he was graciously pleased to hear us and bring us tho' not into the haven where we would have been yet unto a Christian shore yea unto the Island where my, Mission was to terminate about 100 miles from my Parish Here the ship and part of her Lading was lost on the 7th July but not the life of one person.

The week following I did set out for this place where to this time I have not ceased (according to the ability that God hath given me) to instruct the Flock committed to my charge I have laboured faithfully in my Lord's Vineyard and in my private advice from House to House as well as public dis- courses I have exhorted them to faith in Christ and amendment of life and to live in Love I have likewise endeavoured to possess them with as due a sense of the fundamentals of our religion as I could and the Great God has vouchsafed to give such a blessing to my poor yet well meaning endeavours the num- ber of the communicants of the Church of England here before my time never exceeded 30 I have had above 60-of the Independ- ents who are the most numerous in my parish I have gained some and of the Quakers more some that were very rigid Independents since I came and that have reflected very much on our Church and constitution are now very frequently my hearers ; and among the Quakers where my predecessor, Mr. Urqu- hart thought it not worth his while to go I seldom have so few as fifty and often more than one hundred hearers.

And notwithstanding I have all along dis- charged the duties of a Parish Minister yet have I never received one penny of the Salary due to me by the laws of the Colony how to come by it I can't tell ; and without it or an

augmentation of my Salary from my Right Honble & Right Revd Patrons I cannot live in this dear place. I live very near much below the character of a Missionary and yet am running myself in debt. I am spending my strength & yet cannot get a competency wherefore I humbly beg the Venerable So- ciety will be pleased to consider my condi- tion, it is very necessitous indeed.

But I will trouble you with no more at this time but refer you to the Revd Mr Vesey who I understand is safely arrived in London how I have led my life here and in how mean circumstances I am he can if you'll be pleased to enquire of him very well inform you.

I have no more to add but my most sin- cere & hearty prayers to the Lord to bless prosper & keep my most honored Patrons and when the time of their departure hence shall come may God who is the rewarder of those who make it their study and delight to enlarge Christ's Kingdom here take 'em to the eternally happy enjoyment of himself in Heaven is the prayer of

Honored Sir &c &c

THOS. POYER.

Jamaica 15th Jany 1716-17

HONORED SIR-My suit at Law for the re- covery of my Salary here is as backward as my last gave you an account, so that I have nothing new to add on this head but that one of my lawyers is dead which put a stop to it last Term & what progress will be made in it the next I cannot tell, you shall be ac- quainted of the proceeding by every oppor- tunity.

The continuance of my troubles ( which alas liave no prospect of an end) and the tediousness of this lawsuit have almost wearied me out, I find a daily decay in my- self thro' the continual fatigue I undergo in this large parish which consists (as I have formerly observed) of Three towns which I serve alternately & how I have discharged my duty to the Souls I am entrusted with is well known to my good God and Great Judge & will I hope be testified by some of my people.

I humbly beg the favour of you to give my most humble duty to my most Honble Patrons & acquaint them that their poor Mis- sionary is labouring under many difficulties & reduced to the want of a great many nec- essaries : two Gowns and Cassocks I have al- ready worn in their service a 3d is worn very

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JAMAICA.

bare and my family wants are so many and pressing that I know not how I shall pro- cure another.

But pray give me leave to assure you that I am not reduced to this necessitous Con- dition thro' any extravagance in my way of living, 'tis well known to many here Dis- senters from us as well as friend's to the Church that I am contented to want many necessaries the better to be enabled to be hos- pitable, which is expected from the estab- lished Ministers here and which with my be- ing conversant with them hath ( I praise God for it) removed the prejudices of some and effectually brought others to 11s.

But under all my troubles this bears me up and is great comfort that God is so good 10 me as to continue his Blessing on my en- deavours I have lost none but have gained many the number of my hearers consisting of about 400 & Communicants above 3 Score, I have this last week gained two families from the Anabaptists & Quakers and baptized them. Many are often coming over to us and I am assured more would, were there according to their desire a Minister of the Church of Eng- land to preach to them in this Town every Lord's day.

But this I leave to the consideration of the Honble. Society and hope they will be pleased to consider my necessities and administer a little comfort to me in my troubles.

I pray God to bless guide preserve and keep my most honored Patrons may they be enabled to send out many faithful Labourers into Christ's Vineyard & amply rewarded for all their pious and good deeds. This is what offers at present from

Your most humble Servt THOS POYER.

Mr. Poyer's appeals to the home authorities for help were backed up by his own people in the following statement which was for- warded to London :

February 6th 1716

We humbly pray leave to lay before our Honble Patrons a true state of the case of the Church here and that as briefly as the nature of the thing will bear.

The Independents here being the most nu- merous do annually choose the Church War- dens & Vestry out of those of their own per- suasion who are the most inveterate against

the Church, every freeholder having a vote by Virtue of an Act of Assembly for settling the Ministry made in the year 1693 in which act there is a clause empowering them to call a Minister, the act also provides that such a Minister shall be inducted & established to entitle him to the Salary of foo per annual given by the same Act.

Now this Dissenting Vestry & Church Wardens have (as no other could be ex- pected of them) after the death of the Revd Mr Urquhart ( who enjoyed the Glebe & Sal- ary undisturbed for about six years ) called one Mr Geo: McNish who because of that call has seized upon the Parsonage House & Glebe pretends to all and has actually re- ceived some part of said Salary. This call is the only argument on which they insist & on pretence whereof they defraud the rightful minister both of the Glebe and Salary con- trary to the known laws and continued prac- tice of all the other places in this Province that stand upon the same foundation. To con- fute therefore their absurd notion the case may be stated thus. In Feb 1702 the Vestry & Church Wardens ( being as always Dissenters) called one Mr Hubbard a Dissenting Minister (one whom some of us have heard declare it a sin to say the Lord's Prayer). In the year 1704 Mr Urquhart was sent here by the Ven- erable Society & Bishop of London and was immediately inducted and established by the then Governor of this Province the said call given to Mr Hubbard ( who never did officiate as Minister of the Parish ) being deemed to be invalid because the person called was not qual- ified to accept & this proceeding of that Gov- ernor was declared to be right by another Act of Assembly in 1705 for the better explaining the former Act-Thus in like manner after Mr Urquharts death as is said before they called the said Mr McNish who being a Dis- senter like the other not qualified to accept thereof, our present Governor for the reasons aforesaid on the arrival of Mr Poyer imme- diately caused him to he inducted and estab- lished by the Chaplain Mr Sharpe on the 18tli day of July 1710 which we think ( with sub- mission) makes the matter very clear that the Salary & Glebe can belong to none but him ; for the Cure must not lie vacant for want of a call or presentation & not to call at all or to call a person in himself incapable of accept- ing is all one. And it can never be supposed that the Law intended any other than an Orthodox Minister for if otherwise nothing

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

but confusion must ensue about the disposal even 'amongst the Dissenters themselves all having an equal right.

To this false argument of the Church War- dens & Vestry . (as well as their principles) may be attributed the many affronts by them at sundry times given to our Minister even to the excluding him from sitting in the Vestry contrary to the Governors express Injunctions from the Crown signified to them.

Yet notwithstanding the imperious be- haviour of these our Enemies who stick not to call themselves the Established Church & tis Dissenters we can with Joy say the Church hath increased very considerably both in its number of hearers & Communicants by the singular care pain and industry of our present Labourious Minister Mr Poyer who notwith- standing the many difficulties he has struggled with has never been in the least wanting in the due execution of his Ministerial Function but rather on the contrary has strained himself in travelling thro' the Parish even beyond his strength & not seldom to the prejudice of his health which is notorious to all the Inhab- itants for almost 7 years last past in all which time he has not received one farthing of his Salary allowed him by the laws of this Prov- ince nor any private contributions that by the nicest search we can find out except about £18 ( this Country money) which was pre- sented to him by some of his people at his first arrival here purely on the account of the tediousness of his voyage from England & his having with his family been shipwrecked on this island about 100 miles from his parislı and at divers times since Gifts on the whole not amounting to Fifty pounds.

A year later Mr. Poyer reported a little progress in spiritual matters, but the situation unchanged in other respects. Writing to Lon- don, under date of October 24, 1717, he said :

Jamaica, October 24th, 1717.

The State of the Church in this Parish is much the same as. my last gave you an ac- count of saving that I had two new members added to it since, & baptized besides several Infants & some adult persons.

And liere I must desire vou to pardon me while I acquaint you that I have undergone more trouble in the discharge of mv Ministry here than I am able to tell you-for besides

the frequent abuses and affronts I receive from some of the Enemies of our Constitution be- sides that they make it their constant en- deavor to tire me with their ill usage and to starve me as some of the most inveterate among them do sometimes express themselves ; the service of the three towns which this Parish consists of bears hard upon me, and affords me as much business as I am able to go through with. I serve them by turns every other Sunday besides frequent Lectures on week days. Now to do this and to visit my people which I am often obliged to who live distant from me many of them about 12 miles, I am necessitated to keep two horses which is very expensive & troublesome to me & con- sumes me more Clothes in one year than would serve another that is not obliged to ride for 3 or 4. In Newtown & Flushing for want of the convenience of private houses I am forced to make use of Public ones which is a very great charge to me for I bring some of my family generally with me, If I did not they would be the half of the year without op- portunities of public Worship.

Mr. McNish held the fort-the house and glebe-until his death, in 1723, but the passing of that doughty antagonist made no difference in Mr. Poyer's worldly prospects. In fact they were worse, for the Presbyterians were actual- ly at law with him for the recovery of the church building, and in this they were finally successful. Tired of it all, Mr. Poyer became anxious to give up the struggle, and wrote a touching letter to London asking to. be re- lieved. The letter was dated June 16, 1731 :

By this opportunity I beg leave humbly to represent to my Honble Patrons the Ven- erable Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts that I have been their Mission- arv here 21 years & may without incurring the imputation of boasting say that my diligence in the discharge of my functions has been little inferior to any I pray God to give a blessing to the seed sown but so it is that be- sides the great and almost continual con- tentions that I have struggled withal amongst the Independents in this parish having had several law suits with them before I could have the Salary which the Country has settled upon the Minister of the Church of England several

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JAMAICA.

other law suits for some Glebe lands which we have lost and at last even the Church itself of which we had the possession 25 years is taken from us by a trial at law (with what justice I can't pretend to say) tho' I say I have en- deavored as patiently as I could to bear up 1111- der all these trials besides the loss of two Wives & Several children yet the infirmities of old age bear very hard upon me insomuch that I find myself almost unable to officiate at the three towns of Jamaica, Newtown and Flushing as I have hitherto done and which is absolutely necessary for the Minister of the Parish to do.

The intent of these are therefore to heg that my distressed state and condition may be laid before the \'enerble Society and that they will be pleased to permit me to quit my Mis- sion and to return to Great Britain as being for the reasons aforegiven not capable of bear- ing such fatigues and discharging my duty as I have done for so many years in this place. I humbly beg of my most honored patrons to consider my case & circumstances & I re- main &c THOS POYER

His resignation was accepted, but before the arrangements were completed lie was called higher and passed away January 15, 1732.

We must now return to the Presbyterian camp. Mr. McNish, broken in healthı, seems to have either retired from the active work of the ministry a short time before his death or to have obtained leave of absence, for he passed away at Newtown, New Jersey, March IO, 1722. It was under his successor, the Rev. Robert Cross, "an Irish gentleman," Thomp- son called him, that the crowning victory of the restoration of the old church was won. The dissenters-Presbyterians and Quakers- could not, however, avoid the payment of the salary for the maintenance of the Episcopalian minister, and this salary was paid out of the rates with grumbling and sometimes only after a legal process had been indulged in. The Quakers invariably paid under protest, when they paid at all. The result of the Revolu- tionary War put a end to all this.

In 1738 the Rev. Walter Wilmot, one of the best beloved of Jamaica's ministers, en- tered upon his work in the little stone church.

His ministry was spiritually a success, and the historic tabernacle had all it could do to- hold the worshippers. Under him the local Presbyterians lost much of the harshness which had come to them as a result of more than a generation of fighting with Friends on the one hand and Episcopalians on the other. They had won the victory and Mr. Wilmot was essentially a man of peace, a man who- had taken no part in the warfare and so was better able to heal up the wounds among the laymen, the result of years of friction. He was a native of Southampton and had mar- ried a daughter of the Townsend family, a family which had been locally famous for its- devotion to the doctrines of the Society of Friends, even before that society was fully organized. She was a devoted Christian and on her marriage openly embraced the Pres- byterian views held by her husband. His min- istry was destined to be a brief one. Mrs. Wil- mot died February 24,, 1744, in the twenty- third year of her age, and her husband joined her on the 6th of August following, when in his thirty-fifth year.

Under a succession of ministers and itin- erant preachers or students designated as. "stated supply," the cause of Presbyterianism barely held its own in Jamaica for a long term of years after Mr. Wilmot passed away. At times the membership fell off greatly, and in 1761 we read that it had but twelve commu- nicants. There were several causes for this. The preachers were, as a rule, able men, but there was continual difficulty in the payment of the stipend, and there were the usual di- visions in the congregation itself, so com- mon in the history of Presbyterian societies, which led to schisms of more or less im- portance. During the Revolution the min- ister was Matthias Burnet, who was installed in 1775, when in the twenty-sixth year of his age. He seems to have been an amiable but rather a weak brother, had married a lady be- longing to an Episcopalian family and was opposed to the Revolutionary movement. It ·was to his pro-British sentiments, however,

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that the little stone church was saved. during the occupation after the Battle of Brooklyn, from the desecration which befel most of the other places of worship on Long Island. When the struggle was ended the feeling against him on the part of the people generally was so in- tense that he was compelled to resign. He removed after a time to Norwalk, Connecticut, where he accepted fully the views of the Epis- copalian body and became rector of one of its churches. We are told, however, that he paid an annual visit to Jamaica, and in 1790 preached to a large congregation in the stone church. That fact is significant as showing how early the first bitterness engendered by the great struggle had passed over-so far as Jamaica was concerned.

The stone church served until 1813. when it was pulled down and a more commodious structure was erected in its place and opened for worship in January, 1814. At that time the Rev. Henry Wood was the pastor.

The English Church, even after it had lost the stone building and turned forever from all thoughts of possessing it again together with the glebe, seemed to wax in strength, slowly, but none the less surely. Its official. position was of itself a tower of strength, and the payment of the stipend was about as well. assured as anything worldly could be. The Rev. Thomas Colgan, who was the successor to the unfortunate and long-suffering Poyer, and who entered on his duties January 31. 1733, was a much more diplomatic and con- genial gentleman. He aimed to make friends all around and to antagonize no one and ap- pears to have succeeded. He seems to have accepted the situation as he found it and be- gan holding services in the building which then served as a court house. The old ani- mosity seemed to die out rapidly, the law- suits ceased, his stipend was paid as the law directed and he slowly built up a congrega- tion. Six weeks after he began his work he was able to report that 200 persons attended his services in Jamaica. The court house soon proved too small for the work, and with quite

an effort, aided by help from New York and elsewhere, the people secured a lot and erected a building for their own use. Under the name of Grace Church it was opened for service April 5, 1734. Governor Cosby and his fan- ily attended in state, the military lined the front of the building and the throng was so great that many persons had to be turned away. It was a memorable occasion-one which would have cheered the heart of poor Mr. Poyer beyond measure and set Mr. Mc- Nish to measuring out unstintedly the vials of destruction. Many gifts were made to the church, notably a Bible, Prayer Book, sur- plice and pulpit and communion table cloths by the wife of the Governor. After such an auspicious opening Grace Church flour- ished. Here are some extracts from Mr. Col- gan's letters to the London society which used to get such dolorous reports from Jamaica :

Jamaica Novr 22d 1740

We have yearly for these seven years last past increased in Church Members, so these buildings are generally well filled in time of Divine Service, & the worship of God is duly performed with decency and good order, the several sects which are around us do look upon the Church with a more respectful eye thian formerly, there being not wanting either in myself or people any Christian like or pru- dential means necessary to form a reconcilia- tion & union amongst us, some itinerant en- thusiastical teachers, have of late been preach- ing upon this Island the notorious Mr Whit- field being at the head of them & among other pernicious tenets, nave broched such false & erroneous opinions concerning the doctrine of Regeneration as tend to the destruction of true religion & of a holy and virtuous life and therefore I take this opportunity to beg that the Society would be pleased to bestow upon the people of this parish a few of Dr Water- land's pieces on that subject, & of his Lord- ship the Bishop of London's Pastoral letters upon lukewarmness and enthusiasm.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 85

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188