USA > New York > Suffolk County > Mattituck > A history of Mattituck, Long Island, N.Y. > Part 10
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A letter written in Deerfield, April 18th, 1817, by Mr. Reeve to his brother James in Mattituck indicates that he had lately visited his old home and had received a "unanimous and affectionate" invitation to become pastor of the church. The letter is bright with faith in God and full of good counsel for the church. There is a touch of humor in it when he asks that the Mattituck friends, in
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anticipation of his arrival about the first of June, "will please to put in a plain garden for us ; not, as I might say, of Pinks, but of Potatoes." As to the manner of the long. journey he writes, "Upon the most mature reflection and careful inquiry respecting the manner of removal, I have concluded to sell the heavy articles in the house with our out-door matters, and send the rest round from Phila- delphia to New York by packet, and thence down the Sound to the place of destination. Nathaniel and two of the Boys must go with the goods, and the rest of the children we can bring by land in our light wagon." He expected the expenses of the journey to consume the pro- ceeds of the sale of part of his goods. "The sacrifice," he said, "which we shall be obliged to make of our little prop- erty will be considerable, and when we arrive we shall be in want of almost everything." In a postscript this letter enlightens us as to what was the forerunner, a hundred years ago, of the church sewing society. "Sister Hetty," goes the postscript, referring to Mrs. Mehetable Reeve, "will attend to the Spinning Society."
Some of the oldest people in the parish remember Mr. Reeve and his southern wife. He used to drive to Matti- tuck with his large family in a roomy chaise on the alter- nate Sundays when services were held in the eastern end of the parish, and it was his custom to announce from the pulpit the family with which he expected to dine upon the occasion of his next visit.
Mr. Reeve served Union Parish with acceptance, but like his immediate predecessor he left no records. Thus for fifteen years, from 1810 to 1825, there is not a line to tell of births, baptisms, marriages, additions to the church or deaths in Mattituck. A complete roll of the
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members of Union Parish in 1825 contains the names of thirty-eight persons (out of a total of seventy-four) who were not members in 1810. These thirty-eight, therefore, several of whom were most influential members for years after, were a part of the fruit of the ministry of Mr. Bailey and Mr. Reeve.
From early manhood Mr. Reeve was subject to sea- sons of deep depression and in 1823 this tendency devel- oped into a permanent melancholia which unfitted him for further ministerial labor. The Union Parish then exhibited the character of its people by securing a home for Mr. Reeve and his family in which he was maintained for the remaining ten years of his life. A house was pur- chased for his residence by the trustees of Union Parish. After his death it was sold. It still stands, in good re- pair and neat appearance, the second house west of the railroad crossing in Laurel, on the north side of the highway.
The Rev. Nathaniel Reeve died Apr. 9, 1833, aged 73 years. He lies buried in the Mattituck church-yard, be- side his forefathers, and amid the people of his charge. His widow, Miriam Erwin, survived him nearly nine years, and her grave is next to her husband's. Her name was given by her husband's nephew, James Wickham Reeve, to his second daughter, Miriam Irwin Reeve, who became Mrs. Thomas W. Osborne. Mr. and Mrs. Reeve had thirteen children, of whom nine grew to man- hood and womanhood. The fourth son, Samuel, recently died in New York City, at the great age of ninety-six. A great-grandson, Horace Disbrow Reeve, Esq., of Phil- adelphia, published, in 1903, an interesting sketch of the life of "Nathaniel Reeve, Preacher and Patriot."
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A HISTORY OF MATTITUCK.
The parsonage property near Jamesport was never occupied by another minister. It was sold between the years 1825 and 1835, and the proceeds, about a thou- sand dollars, became the principal of a Union Parish bank.
The next minister after Mr. Reeve was the Rev. Abraham Luce. This name brings us into modern his- tory, for excepting an interval of four years, from 1835. to 1839, Mr. Luce ministered in Union Parish until 1845, and is well remembered by many persons now living. The beginning of Mr. Luce's ministry is also the begin- ning of the church's modern history in this, that from that date the records are complete. Session meetings were probably held before, but at this time the session began to keep regular minutes, attested by a clerk. This first clerk of session, who served for more than twenty- seven years, was Judge David Warner, of Jamesport. His Record Book is a model of intelligent and painstaking work. His manuscript is as plain as print, and very beau- tiful. The following memorandum is the first entry in his record :
"On the 17th day of June, 1825, The Rev'd Abraham Luce agreed to preach in Union Parish every second Sab- bath, or half the time, during one year-the year to be- gin the day and date above mentioned."
This is followed by a complete roll of church mem- bers in Union Parish, Aug. 13th, 1825. There were sev- enty-four members in the list. All of them have entered into the communion of the church above. The last sur- vivor was Lydia Wells, afterwards Mrs. Isaac Wilbur, who died Feb. 9th, 1898. It was still the custom to have new members received by vote of the whole church.
Sufothe bounty IS On the 1st day of January 1820 untenally Came before me. The within name Trustees, andmade Cash , that the within valorations of the property belong . - ing to terion Parish is just and no- Sivan before me the day and jean ustaben written David Warner one of the Judges of thi com. plus
I do huby certify that I am artistico than the within valuation is just-tornes my haver January 12 1825
Device Warner judge of Com. pleas_
·Inventory or Valuation of the Property belonging to The Parish of Union in the Town of Qui Siverheadband Suishold in the County, of Suffolk and State of New York January 1 st Perma Domine 18:25 made by the Trustees of the Said Squish.
1 Small Farm House and Scam thereon
-09 Containing 23 acres by estimation =1000.00 The yearlo valia. - -40.00
1040.00
Nuness our hands - I'm Woodhull DJ anos Reeve -
David Williamson .
Inventory
INVENTORY OF PARISH PROPERTY 1825. In handwriting of Judge David Warner.
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A HISTORY OF MATTITUCK.
Members asking certificates of dismission were likewise dismissed by vote of the church.
Judge Warner also kept record of births, baptisms and deaths, and began a record of marriages, but soon became discouraged and discontinued this. He records about twenty marriages from 1825 to 1828. Evidently they were not properly reported to him. It is easier for the minister who solemnizes the marriages to record them. In 1829 the judge knew of only two marriages, none in 1830 and 1831, and only two in 1832. After one he writes, "June near the middle. The day I don't know." After another, recorded out of consecutive order, "I did not hear of it until after the above." He then closed this department of records finally, with the note, "I have concluded not to record marriages. David Warner, Clerk." Among those recorded are :
Joseph P. Wickham to Phebe M. Reeve, April Ist, 1827.
Goldsmith Hallock to Betsey Ann Hallock, Feb. 12th, 1828.
William Wickham to the widow Abby Hubbard,* Nov., 1828.
The first regular session meeting with full minutes was held Dec. 22d, 1826, at the house of Deacon Nathan- iel Hubbard. The elders at that time were : James Reeve, John Reeve, Nathaniel Hubbard, John Woodhull, David Warner, Joseph Hudson, and Hezekiah Skidmore.
Mr. Luce lived upon his own farm in Northville. He was ministering to the West Hampton Church when he
*This was Abigail, daughter of Major John Corwin, and widow of Jolın Hubbard.
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agreed to give half his time to the Union Parish. There- after he preached one Sunday in four at Mattituck, one at Jamesport, and two at West Hampton, driving about this widespread parish through Summer's sands and Winter's .snows.
The beginning of his labors in Union Parish was marked by a large ingathering. Within a year twenty persons were received upon confession of their faith. So satisfactory were his ministrations that the engagement entered into for one year was continued without break for ten years. In the midst of this term, in 1830, mo- mentous events transpired. The two old church build- ings were replaced with new ones, and the people of the Middle District withdrew and organized the Franklinville Church-a parish within a parish.
Both of the old buildings were unsuitable for further use. That in Mattituck was 115 years old, and that in Aquebogue, 100. The people of the Middle District de- sired to have one new building erected, midway between the old. This was not an unreasonable proposition. Indeed, if the Union Parish was to continue as one, there were great advantages in this plan, for with the two houses of worship four miles apart it was impossible, .except on extraordinary occasions, to bring the entire congregation together. But both of the old buildings stood at centres of population, both were surrounded by the graves of generations past, and about both the sacred traditions and strong affections of the living were en- twined. However reasonable the considerations urged by the Middle District, and although a somewhat general understanding had taken shape long since that when the time for rebuilding came a central place of worship
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should be established, when the time for actual decision came the masses of the people could not bring themselves to vote that way, and it was determined to rebuild on the old sites. This decision was carried out, but a sad breach was made in the spiritual temple. Several families in the Middle District, embracing not a few of the most useful and honored members of the church, separated from the. Union Parish and established a church of their own. This new society was recognized by the Presbytery and taken under its care. Their house of worship was immediately built, midway between the others, two miles from either. The Franklinville Church was regu- larly organized, and its sanctuary dedicated, June 30th, 1831.
The new church built in Mattituck in 1830, on the site of the original building, was a great improvement in every respect upon the primitive structure that it replaced. It fronted the north as the present church does. Like the old building it had galleries around three sides. In the north gallery, facing the pulpit, the choir stood and sang without an instrument, under the leadership of Deacon John Reeve. He was succeeded some years after by Squire J. Franks Horton. When the present church was built, in 1853, the building of 1830 was moved and became the home of the newly organized Methodist Epis- copal Church. It is now the chapel of that society, joined to their elegant new sanctuary.
In 1835 the Rev. Abraham Luce left the Union Par- ish, but the esteem in which he was held by the people is attested by their calling him again to their service four years later. In the interim the parish was supplied by the Rev. Lyman C. Gilbert, and the Rev. Jonathan Huntting.
(March 10 # 14.30 meeting washeld af Mattetich senpol- house
vitia That a subscritation in circulated for the funzione of enelderes a men
haus am Mattitre h in the fact
Noted That Baratos : 3. º Bouton a ex "Horas have be the mis to unitatea enviowithin for that pinhore- listed That we main 1500$_
adjourned to mut next wed ded
ing at this place
Nathaniel Hutton Noch . Mames MaPre Cuit "Hedrerday evening the trime town" the meeting was accepque nous being ator a parish meeting was held on thisday evening the myth of March_ got's that a commeter bach pourles to confirm with the other parts of the rainsi on the subject of building
Beata
Barnabas t Wait James A Peur Paruo Worth La committee
wuming at this place!
MINUTES OF PARISH MEETING, March 10, 1830, to arrange for the erection of the second Meeting House.
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A HISTORY OF MATTITUCK.
Returning in 1839, Mr. Luce gave not half but all his time to the Union Parish until 1845.
Owing to the withdrawal of the Middle District there were only sixty-eight names on the Union Parish roll July 4th, 1831. Within a year sixty-three new names were added. This was the second revival under Mr. Luce's ministry.
Under Mr. Gilbert, in 1838, eleven persons were re- ceived into the communion. One of these was Patience Corwin, now Mrs. Hamlin. Hers is the earliest name on the Union Parish roll that is on the Mattituck roll at this time.
If Mr. Luce had continued with the Union Parish without the interim of four years, his pastorate would have covered twenty years. After his final departure in 1845 he yet lived twenty years, dying at the ripe age of seventy-five, Oct. 23d, 1865. On his tombstone, that stands on the highest ground in the Jamesport burying- ground, near the western end, these words are carved, quoted from his half-century sermon before the Presby- tery of Long Island, delivered in 1840:
"I hope for salvation by grace through the atoning blood of Christ. I know no other way; I desire no other."
A fitting inscription this, taken from his own words, to sum up the faith and hope of a faithful minister of the changeless gospel.
Mr. Luce was a man of solid, rugged character. He labored hard for Christ's sake, and the sake of souls, not for filthy lucre. The Rev. James T. Hamlin is authority for the statement that his salary in Union Parish could not have exceeded $250 a year. The same competent
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witness, who knew him well for nearly twenty years, characterizes him as "a plain and practical preacher." Mr. Luce was a man of prominence and influence in the Presbytery, and was its Stated Clerk from 1836 to 1841.
CHAPTER VII.
CHURCH HISTORY FROM 1845 TO THE PRESENT TIME.
In the preceding chapter the parish history from Rev- olutionary times to 1845 was traced. In 1845 the Rev. Abraham Luce concluded his ministry in Mattituck. It remains to set forth in this chapter the church history of Modern Mattituck, from 1845 to the present time, and this will include the Methodist Episcopal Church, es- tablished in 1853, and the Protestant Episcopal Church, founded in 1877.
After an interval of two years following the depart- ure of Mr. Luce, in which the Rev. Edward Harris among others served as supply, God in His providence sent to Mattituck the man who was destined to surpass all his predecessors in potent influence upon the people, to see the Union Parish dissolved and the Mattituck Church begin again its individual existence, to direct and confirm the Mattituck Church in substantial growth and development, to give to the people the strength of his youth and the ripe powers of his maturer years, and when laid aside from active duties by infirmity of age to con- tinue in the parish for yet other thirteen years, his very presence a benediction. That man was the Rev. James Trowbridge Hamlin.
Mr. Hamlin came to Long Island in June, 1846, to visit a friend. He was sent by the Rev. John Wood-
REV. JAMES TROWBRIDGE HAMLIN.
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bridge, then at Greenport, to preach in Mattituck. It was a case of love at first acquaintance. Mr. Hamlin con- tinued to supply the Union Parish, and Franklinville as well, from that day, and was ordained and installed, Nov. 4th, 1847, in the Franklinville church as pastor of Union Parish and Franklinville. And so for a time all the people from the western limits of Cutchogue to the eastern limits of Upper Aquebogue were again united under one pastor. It was fondly hoped that under Mr. Hamlin's acceptable and judicious administration the di- vided churches might again be incorporated in one. This, however, was not to be. The breach was too recent and the intense feeling that caused it though no longer active was still latent. Moreover, deep-seated divisive tenden- cies in the Union Parish itself proved even more power- ful than Mr. Hamlin's strong conciliatory spirit, and in 1853 the Union Parish was dissolved. Thereafter Mr. Hamlin ministered in Mattituck alone. During the four years of his wider pastorate it was his custom to preach in Franklinville in the morning and in Mattituck and Jamesport on alternate Sabbath afternoons.
It was on the 29th day of August, 1853, at 3 P. M., that the people of Mattituck and Jamesport met in their respective houses of worship and enacted the dissolution of Union Parish and the incorporation of two distinct societies. The Certificate of Incorporation of Mattituck Society was recorded Sept. 6th, 1853, in the County Clerk's office, in Liber A of Certificates of Religious In- corporations, p. 128. At the meeting of the Presbytery the following spring, March 21st, 1854, at the request of Elder James W. Reeve, the Mattituck Church was recog- nized as a separate organization. The members of the
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western end of the Union Parish had become the James- port Congregational Church.
The new roll of Mattituck Church, prepared by Mr. Hamlin, April 17th, 1854, contains the names of forty- two persons. Union Parish at the separation had eighty- two members. The elders in Mattituck were James Wickham Reeve, Barnabas Bailey Horton, and John Franks Horton. On March 31st, 1854, the session was in- creased by the ordination of Edward Reeve and Henry Reeve to the eldership. The trustees of the Mattituck Society at the time of its organization were Benjamin G. Hallock, David B. Hallock, Isaac R. Howell, Jr., James W. Reeve, J. Smith Tuthill and Henry Pike.
No sooner had Mattituck begun again to shift for itself than the indomitable enterprise of the people ex- pressed itself in a determination to erect a new building. The second edifice, that had been built in 1830 by the brothers Salter and Thomas Horton of Peconic, was sold to Thomas Hallock, was removed to the west of the burying-ground, and much to the surprise of the Presby- terians became the home of a Methodist Episcopal con- gregation.
Fifty years ago Presbyterians and Methodists did not live on very friendly terms in a community. There were even cases of discipline before the session of the Mattituck Presbyterian Church arising from the at- tendance of some of its members upon the services of the Methodists. Happily these grand divisions in the Lord's army now fight side by side in the battles of the kingdom in all the world. For many years the two churches in Mattituck have maintained unbroken friendly relations. It is a fact pleasant to record that in 1896,
ELDERS OF 1854.
John Franks Horton. Edward Reeve.
James Wickham Reeve.
Henry Reeve. Barnabas Bailey Horton.
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when the new Methodist church was erected and the old building was moved to the rear to serve as a chapel, the additional land required for these improve- ments was given freely to the Methodist society by the trustees of the Presbyterian parish.
The present Presbyterian building was erected upon the original site by Master-builder Andrew Gildersleeve. He and his wife carried their membership to Mattituck from the Cutchogue Church in June, 1854. His wife was Anna, the eldest daughter of James Wickham Reeve. Mr. Gildersleeve came of an old and prominent Brook- haven family. He was ordained an elder in the Matti- tuck Church in 1862, serving until his death in 1894. He was not only the builder of the church edifice, but during many years of devoted service was a prominent worker in the building up of the spiritual temple to God's glory.
The church then built was the present one, and yet not the present, for it was without the wings on either side and had neither steeple nor bell. It was a plain, substantial building, without the claims to beauty that the present church can modestly maintain. Neither were its surroundings so attractive as now. It was about this time that the trees were set out in front of the church that today give charm to the spot. To the late Joseph Parker Wickham the credit for this is due, and the follow- ing generations for whom he planted should keep his memory ever green.
In the church of 1853, before the extensions on the sides were added, the choir gallery, or platform, was in the north end of the audience room opposite to the pulpit. About that time, the present chorister, George B. Reeve,
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A HISTORY OF MATTITUCK.
assumed charge of the music, and he has rendered eminent service ever since. For years Mattituck Church has been renowned for its excellent music. This has been largely due to the able, conscientious and indefatigable leadership of Mr. Reeve. His predecessor as chorister was Elder John Franks Horton, and before him the leader of the singing for many years was Deacon John
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Reeve, the great-uncle of the present chorister, George B. Reeve.
In 1871 the church was rebuilt by O. K. Buckley of Greenport, being greatly enlarged by the extensions on the sides and greatly improved in appearance by the erection of the steeple, the symmetrical lines of which, in perfect proportion with the building, excite the admira-
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A HISTORY OF MATTITUCK.
tion of every artistic beholder. The fine bell, cast in the renowned Meneely Bell Foundry of West Troy, N. Y., was the gift, in 1877, of a visitor from New York City, Mr. John Sneden.
The same year that saw the erection of the church, 1853, saw the parsonage built. The lot on which it stands, one acre in extent, was given by Elder Edward Reeve to the parish in a perpetual lease, with a yearly rental of three dollars, and with a proviso that it should be used as a parsonage property only. In 1895 the parish made extensive repairs and additions to the parsonage, after purchasing outright the property from the heirs of Edward Reeve. At this time such of the heirs as dwelt in Mattituck gave their interest in the property to the parish for a nominal considera- tion.
Mr. Hamlin with his family occupied the parsonage - from the time of its completion until his death in 1892, a period of almost forty years. After his retirement from the active work of the pastorate, October Ist, 1879, he was made Pastor Emeritus, and the congregation showed their strong affection for him and a proper appre- ciation for his long unselfish service among them, by voting that he should occupy the parsonage as long as he lived. Nothing short of this would have been righteous; nothing short of this would have been pos- sible to the generous people that had bought a house to shelter the Rev. Nathaniel Reeve in his retire- ment.
Mr. Hamlin was thrice married. His first and second wives were sisters, daughters of Charles Parry, M. D., of Sandy Hill, N. Y. Both died in their youth, and eachı
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left in the care of the bereaved father an infant daughter. His third wife, who survives in honored old age as his widow, was Miss Patience Corwin, of Aquebogue, a de- scendant of some of the oldest families of Southold Town. Mrs. Hamlin resides in Riverhead, and is often a wel- come visitor in Mattituck, and it is counted a privilege to retain her name as one of the oldest on the Mattituck Church roll. Her daughter, Sarah R., is the wife of the Rev. Charles Albert Stonelake, of Newark, N. J. Mr. Hamlin's eldest daughter is the wife of Elder Benjamin C. Kirkup of Mattituck. His second daughter, Hattie, became the wife of Rev. William Hedges, her father's successor in the pastorate, but died in 1887, going before her aged father to the heavenly home.
It would require a volume to record all that the older people of Mattituck cherish in their memory of Mr. Ham- - lin's pastorate. In the years of his ministry the little church grew strong. The men who hold the offices of elder and trustee today were, most of them, trained under his influence. The elder portion of the present member- ship came into the communion of the church and therein was trained under his faithful preaching. The roll of forty-two members in 1854 had grown to seventy-nine in 1864 in spite of many deaths and dismissions. The years 1873 and 1876 were marked by powerful revivals. In the former eighteen and in the latter sixty-nine were brought into the communion of the church. At the time of his death the little band of forty-two was more than trebled.
After his retirement the people were glad when from time to time the Pastor Emeritus occupied the pulpit. They loved the man and they appreciated the sermons,
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which Dr. Epher Whitaker characterizes as "particularly original, rich, spiritual and elaborate." Dr. Whitaker further writes of him:
"In the beloved and trustworthy disciple who leaned on Jesus' bosom may be seen the proper type of the Rev. James T. Hamlin. . . He gave his eminently industrious life almost entirely to his own congregation. Their love for him was equalled only by his love for them. He had the greatest dread of even the possibility of appearing to be obtrusive, pretentious or assuming. Hence he maintained an excessive reserve everywhere except in his own congregation. His reserve was closely allied to his manly independence and his unwillingness to trouble or burden others. All the ex- penses of his classical and theological education were paid by his own earnings, except three hundred dollars, the gift of his father. He never accepted a cent from any other man, nor from any society.
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