USA > New York > New York City > A history of the Brick Presbyterian Church in the city of New York > Part 15
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* "Br. Ch. Mem.," pp. 146 f.
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ministry. He says, "I may not omit to mention the sedate and venerable John * Bingham; the warm- hearted and heavenly-minded William Whitlock; the meek and childlike Richard Cunningham; the intelli- gent and upright Peter Hawes; the wise and useful Ste- phen Lockwood ;; the respected and pious Rensselaer Havens; the courteous Horace W. Bulkley; the con- servative and gentlemanly Alfred de Forest; the sober- minded John Stephens; the urbane and gentle John C. Halsey; the amiable and exemplary Daniel Oak- ley; the earnest and devout Abraham Bokee; the humble, lowly and refined John McComb; the guile- less and unassuming Samuel Brown; the modest and diffident William Luyster; the sincere and un- pretending Elijah Mead; the consistent and de- voted Richard Harding; and John Adams the in- flexible and just." To this list must be added one other name, in words recorded by the pastor of the church. Among the members of the original session, all of them men of worth and influence, "the ruling spirit," says Dr. Spring, "and the man eminent for discernment, practical wisdom, ardent piety, and vigorous action, was John Mills." Thus much for the elders and deacons of those early days. In regard to the congregation as a whole we fortunately pos- sess, in an address by one of the later officers, a brief characterization of the people among whom Gardiner Spring began his ministry. "As I remember this community in early life," says Mr. Daniel Lord, "the
* The Christian names, not in the original, are here inserted.
7 One of the most competent, most esteemed, and beloved members of the session. He was killed, almost in the sight of Dr. Spring, by a boiler explosion on the steamer Oliver Ellsworth, in 1827. He and his pastor were returning together from an ecclesiastical council in Connecticut. »
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Brick Church congregation was composed of men in the middle ranks of life-thinking, working, inde- pendent men ; men whom you could not drive by fear, nor coax by favor, and with whom you could not deal without intellectual conviction. Convince them and they were yours; fail to convince them, and they were the most independent body of men that could be seen." *
The other roll of names, which shall form the conclusion of this chapter, is of a different character from that of Mr. Holden, given above. It is only an extract from a reminiscent sketch t in a newspaper, and did we not supplement it from other sources would give us little more than a glimpse of the outer appearance of some of the people who attended the Brick Church in the twenties, thirties, and forties of the nineteenth century, yet even from such a source as this we may be able to gain some impression of the wholesome Christian graces of Dr. Spring's parishioners.
"Let us walk into the church a fine Sunday morn- ing in spring, and see whom we shall find there-you and I, reader-and I will answer all your questions. There is Moses Allen, with his bright, cheery face, [a man generous, active in Christian work, and prominent in all benevolent enterprises,¿ and there
* "Br. Ch. Mem.," p. 154.
+ By R. W. Newman, published in the "Evening Mail" in 1873. The text has been slightly rearranged and abridged. Additions are indicated by brackets.
¿ This insertion is from the session records, which add also: "We shall miss his beaming face. We shall miss the affectionate interest with which he regarded his associates. We shall miss his cheering words." Dr. Beven, the pastor at the time of Mr. Allen's death, described him in these terms: "Busy, familiar with earthly pursuits, wise with the wisdom that
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are] his pretty daughters, Miss Priscilla * and Miss Charlotte. They live in St. John's Square, and are among the admired belles of their locale. There is Eli Goodwin, of the firm of Goodwin, Fisher and Spencer, with his two interesting daughters, and a little one, Caroline, one of our first young ladies to make the tour of Europe in the old packet-ship days. She and Susan Spring, t daughter of the pastor, were in Paris together, and they were there called the 'beautiful Americans.' That is Jonathan Thompson with his wife; he is Collector of our Custom House. That is Daniel Parish [one of the trustees, a man of energetic temperament, reticent in speech, a strong adherent of Dr. Spring and the Brick Church],¿ and that Drake Mills [a trustee also, and described by his colleagues as uniformly attentive and courteous, one who fully commanded both confidence and esteem].
"In the next pew is Anthony Dey and his hand- some family. That is Miss Catherine Patton, an heiress, step-sister of Rev. Dr. Patton. She has since died, leaving handsome bequests to many charitable societies. There is Abijah Fisher, a man of talent and poverty, who rose to great distinction by his merits. That is Joseph Sampson, a large merchant, who lives at 116 Chambers Street. He recently lived gives a man influence and force among his fellow-men, he still lived as ever in his Master's presence. There was a peculiar sweetness and gentleness, a simplicity of demeanor, a directness of character in him, which belonged rather to the higher than the lower life." He was a prominent and prosper- ous banker.
* Afterward Mrs. Thomas P. Lathrop.
t Afterward Mrs. Paul Spofford.
# The following note in regard to him has an interest beyond its refer- ence to himself: "He was very matter-of-fact and indisposed to argue a point when he knew he was right, so that he kept from discussing doc- trinal points which made so large a portion of the church life of that period."
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in the elegant house at the corner of Broad Street and Broadway, now [1873] in process of demolition, There are Abner L. Ely [sagacious in counsel, firm in his convictions, serupulously honest, generous, conscientious, systematic in his benevolence,+ and Jasper Corning, whose family has long been con- nected with the church], and Thomas Egleston |that Imimble-minded and consistent Christian, 'ever en- teeming others better than himself,' much beloved for lus uniform courtesy and fidelity].| That tall, stri n is George Douglass, a merchant of good standb I a man of great and good mind. at Horace Holden of No. 34 Beekman Street. He was a great man in the church |the right hand of his pastor and deeply beloved by him-be- loved, in fact, by every one, an Invaluable friend, 'a Christian lawyer,' prompt and diligent in office, cheerful, useful, and wise]] There is Miss Maria Light, afterward Madame de Gourley; and there are Anson G. Phelps [unostentatious though pros-
+ Hep " A Memorial of Almer L,, Ely " (1878), He was a prominent real catato lunker. He failed in the panie of '97, Thirty years later he luni the satisfaction of paying off the whole of the ohl i lebteduess. The following la a potion of a letter sent locomno of the endditora at that thus, " Yunta uf yesterday, incluising chaque for debtodnosa to the old firm of , ja at hand I hardly know how to ox prosperity surprise and pleasure in the receipt of this money; not so much, I truat, in its money value as from its moral worth, Your own experience In mercantile life onist bear witness to the muity of auch memirna, affer having been outlawed and forgutton, flo far as regards yourasif, it la umuly the natural outgrowth of those religions principdea which you have illua Grated by an active Christian life; and I sincerely thank you, and thank dad, for such an esamipla by his followers." Mr. Ely's affection for the Back Church was deap and constant, " That I ch, " he called it in a letter to his pastor, dictated from his dying bed.
| Frun the session roourla.
| From the trustees' recorda and Disoaway's "Earliest Churches of N V,"p lời,
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perous, benevolent, given to hospitality, especially if the guest was a clergyman,]* and Daniel Lord, a great lawyer, a man of uncommon industry, and of the highest Christian character. He united with the church in 1833, at which time he was marked as a rising man. His fame has since increased, and he has been engaged in every prominent case in our courts for many years. ;
"There are James McCall, a merchant of high standing, Samuel B. Schiefflin, the druggist in Wil- liam Street, and Samuel Marsh,¿ of Erie Railroad fame, an old bachelor who lived at the Astor House as soon as it was built, and continued to do so till he died. William Black, of Ball, Black & Co., is yonder, and Isaac Kip, father of Bishop Kip of California. [Mr. Kip was one of those who had been in the church almost from the beginning of Dr. Spring's pastorate; and with him must be men- tioned another of the older generation, William Couch, who, in the course of his long connection with the church, served as deacon, elder and trustee]. § Shepherd Knapp, [a leather merchant in the 'Swamp,' and afterward for almost forty years President of the Mechanics' National Bank, a close friend also of
* "Disosway," p. 151.
+ His colleagues in the session record their appreciation of his "judg- ment, charity, cheerful service and consistent example," which "have tended to secure [the church's] harmony and prosperity." Daniel Webster was his intimate friend and often sat in his pew when in New York.
# He was a pew-holder, but does not appear to have been a member.
§ As deacon (from 1823) "he cared for the poor with great assiduity and wisdom and in the tender spirit of his Master." To his duties as elder (from 1834), he brought "a firm independent judgment exercised always in Christian modesty." In the board of trustees he served as clerk, then as treasurer, and finally for many years as president. From the session records.
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the pastor, and like Mr. Couch, a holder of the three church offices], was, with his family, an attendant at this church; and Guy Richards [admired and loved for his honor, his generosity, his frankness, and his genial courtesy],* was a conspicuous member."
* Thus characterized by one who well remembers him, and who sup- plies also the following facts: Mr. Richards' New England home training made him ever a sincere and childlike believer in the truths of Christianity, and for more than forty years he was a regular worshipper in the Brick Church. Not until late in life, however, did he make an open confession of his faith, being deterred by conscientious motives. The persuasion of his pastors, who had no doubt about his fitness, were for a long time ineffectual. One evening, in 1867, Dr. Newman Hall preached in the Brick Church to a crowded audience, from the text Gen. 24 : 31, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without?" Mr. Richards, being hard of hearing, was provided with an arm-chair and sat directly beneath the pulpit. That sermon brought him into the church, he being then above eighty years of age. He was a graduate of Yale, had studied law, followed the sea for several years, and later was highly successful in commercial life. The present pastor of the Brick Church is his great-nephew.
CHAPTER XIII
THE SCHOOLS: 1810-1850
"What children are to be at a more advanced age depends on the character they form in childhood. . . . Here, then, at this most interesting period of their existence, . . . when the understanding is docile, the memory tenacious, the fancy vivid, the sensibilities tender, and the character accessible by a thousand avenues which will be closed in maturer age-are parents called on to decide the deterioration and degen- eracy or the improvement and progression of human society."-GARDINER SPRING, "Hints to Parents," pp. 44 f.
"Your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give [the land], and they shall possess it."-Deuteronomy 1: 39.
I T will be remembered that, when in 1809, the Brick Church became a separate ecclesiastical body, it retained, according to the terms of the agreement, its one-half interest in the land and build- ing of the Presbyterian charity school on Nassau Street, and a proportionate responsibility for its sup- port and management. Almost immediately, how- ever, there came an opportunity to sell the property at an advantageous price, and thus dispose of the joint control, which, had it long continued, could not but have caused inconvenience. The sale, for $6,500, was effected in the spring of 1810.
The trustees of the Brick Church, although now without any school-building, did not intend that the charity school should cease. They entered at once into an arrangement with one Seabury Ely to take such charity scholars as the Brick Church might send to him, and to instruct them, in quarters pro-
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vided by himself, under the superintendence of the school committee of the trustees. He was to be paid at the rate of nine dollars a year for each child, books and stationery being furnished by the church. Under this arrangement thirty * children were in- structed in "all those branches of literature which it is supposed will be most useful to them," by which, however, it is likely that nothing more "literary" was intended than reading, writing, figuring, and the cate- chism. The church also provided for the "cloathing" of these scholars. (It is noticeable that in those days spelling was never explicitly mentioned as an essen- tial element of education.)
Our first inquiry concerns the sources of income for the carrying on of the school. In November, 1812, the annual accounts showed that $1,291.22 had been received "by collections and otherwise," and of this $654.60 had been expended. The word "otherwise" here employed refers evidently to cer- tain assistance from the State. For the State had by this time begun tardily to feel its obligation to share the burden of educating the poor. A movement had been started by a group of people in New York City in 1805 to establish free schools for such children as were not provided for by any religious organization. A society then formed to accomplish this end, and known afterward as "The Free School Society of New York," succeeded in opening in 1809, in a building on Chatham Street, the first non-sectarian school in New York City. School No. 2 followed promptly in 1811. These events had had an indirect effect upon public policy, and the State Legislature
* Forty for a limited period, beginning May, 1811.
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had, before the time of the separation of the Presby- terian churches, made a grant for schools, of which the Presbyterians had received £626, 6s., 5d., to be held as a fund whose interest should be used for the charity school maintained by them. The Brick Church, after the separation, had its proper share of this annual income.
In 1813, provision was made for still further State aid. The Legislature voted an appropriation and ordered that that part of it received by the City and County of New York should be apportioned among the Free School Society, the Orphan Asylum Society, the Society of the Economical School, the African Free School, and those incorporated religious socie- ties in the city by which charity schools were sup- ported. In return it was necessary to make regular reports to the State Commissioner. The funds thus secured, added to the collections taken in the church, evidently provided ample money for the Brick Church school expenses.
The provision of a permanent school-house, on the other hand, proved to be a difficult undertaking. At first, however, the prospect was hopeful, for soon after the sale of the old school property on Nassau Street, the Brick Church was so fortunate as to ob- tain from the city the grant of "Lot No. 21 in Augus- tus Street," agreeing to pay for it a low annual rental. This piece of land was given with the express stipulation that the church should erect a school- house upon it and maintain a charity school therein: otherwise it should revert to the city.
No doubt the expectation had been to build at once, but almost immediately a time of depression in
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business intervened, caused by the political disturb- ances which resulted in the War of 1812. The city authorities in May, 1813, deeming that the failure of the church to raise the necessary sum at that unpro- pitious time was excusable, were pleased to extend the period for erecting the school-house until the end of the war. When, however, peace had been de- clared and the months still increased to years with- out the fulfilment of the church's part of the agree- ment, the patience of the Corporation of the City was exhausted, and at some time prior to November, 1817, the lot on Augustus Street had been declared forfeited. The trustees of the Brick Church, when they applied for another similar grant, were refused, and were fain to be content with receiving back from the city some $671, which they had already paid on the first lot. Thus ended the last attempt to provide a permanent school-house; for by the time that re- turning prosperity made the church able to carry out its plan, the necessity no longer existed.
Meantime, during all the years covered by these futile negotiations the Brick Church scholars had continued to be taught in the manner already de- scribed, and for five years of that time Seabury Ely continued to be the teacher.
We learn from a report to the State, made in 1814, that the school was held throughout the entire year, and that the largest number of scholars (31) attended during the quarter extending from the middle of May to the middle of August. The ages of the chil- dren ranged from four to fifteen years. As to the supervision of the trustees we know that in 1812 they ordered "that the charity scholars be examined in
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the session room quarterly, the teacher being present at the examination." To the first of these awful en- counters the children were summoned on Saturday, June 6th, at three o'clock in the afternoon.
But our fullest information in regard to the man- agement of the school, and indeed, concerning its whole character, is provided by "The Rules of Gov- ernment of the Charity School," which were pre- sented by the school committee of the trustees and adopted by the board in November, 1814. They are comprehensive, and tell us in considerable detail the things we most desire to know. We learn from them, for instance, that there were at this time about thirty children, boys and girls, and that they were not now received at such an early age as formerly, the girls not till they were six, and the boys, evidently a duller species, not until they were seven. Many of these little people were orphans, for to such children pref- erence was given, but in any case they were children of Presbyterian parents who were, or during their life-time had been, in full communion with the church.
All applications for admission were entered in a certain book which the teacher kept, and were sub- mitted in due time to the school committee of the trustees, who made selection of the fortunate names. No doubt the children themselves might have ques- tioned this assertion of their good fortune in being selected, for the school was by no means intended to be a place of recreation. At nine o'clock each morn- ing and again at two each afternoon the scholars must be at the school door, and punctuality was greatly emphasized. Still more trying was the regu-
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lation that scholars must "appear in school with their clothes clean and whole." The teacher was strongly admonished to see to this important matter.
The first study that is mentioned in the rules- and it has a whole rule to itself-is the Shorter Cate- chism. All the scholars were "obliged" to commit to memory the whole or (merciful provision!) "such parts of it, as they may be found competent to"; and on Wednesday afternoon of each week, or at such other times as might be appointed, they must be at the church to recite what they had learned. This important study having been arranged for, an- other single rule of much less length was enough to cover all the remaining subjects in the curriculum- reading, writing, arithmetic, "and, if circumstances permit, the principles of English Grammar."
What penalties and punishments the teacher may have been allowed to inflict upon disobedient or negligent scholars we are not told. The rules dis- creetly refrain from inquiring too curiously into that subject. But under certain extreme conditions the trustees themselves, we learn, would step in and cause a scholar to be expelled. If a child was absent without adequate excuse for six days in succession or for more than eighteen days in one quarter ".
or " (these long dashes, suggestive of a very ominous pause, are copied accurately from the official text of the rules), "if any scholar shall be guilty of misbehavior, and, being admonished by the commit- tee, shall continue such misconduct," the sentence of expulsion must be imposed.
If a scholar did indeed thus misbehave, the record of his conduct was set down in that same
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book of the teacher's, already mentioned, and there it was carefully preserved for the eyes of the trustees. It was not necessary to send the record to them, for every week the school was visited by at least one of the board's school committee, and once a month the committee appeared in its entirety to "inspect" and "receive returns," especially as to the matter of conduct. Once in each quarter occurred the chief visitation, when the entire board of trustees of the Brick Presbyterian Church "in a formal manner" made their appearance to "inquire into the profi- ciency of the scholars and the attention of their teacher."
If Saturday was a holiday, no mention is made of that fact. At least Sunday was not, for here is the description of it. All the children of the school must attend divine service, morning and afternoon, and they must occupy the seats provided for them. Moreover, "during the whole of the service, and in coming into and departing from the church" they must "demean themselves peaceably and quietly" and must "return from church direct to their places of residence." Finally, they must "remain at home during the day and evening" and remember that the Lord's Day is to be kept holy.
Poor little charity scholars; their life, as outlined in the "rules," does not sound very cheerful; but after all, if Mr. Seabury Ely had any true love for children in his heart, perhaps their school-days were happy in spite of the committee; and in any case there was open the usual expedient of children, who turn even a stiff rule to some cheerful human use by regarding it as something to be broken.
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In 1816 took place another change even greater than the abandonment of the school-building, and still further indicative of the fact that the denominational schools were on the wane. The Presbyterians in that year ceased to hire their own teacher and sent their charity scholars to Free School No. 1, paying over to the commissioners of that school the portion of State funds received by the Brick Church, only stipulating that the Bible should be read in the school daily. The sole direct responsibility, therefore, which con- tinued to devolve upon the trustees was the clothing of their scholars, and for this purpose they still caused a collection to be taken annually, in Novem- ber or December, until the year 1829. Then a legacy from Mrs. Catherine Ryan, expressly for the use of the charity scholars, provided the trustees with all the money needed, and accordingly the collections ceased. At last in May, 1834, we find recorded a vote that any balance at that time remaining in the Ryan legacy should be turned over to the Sunday- schools of the church, from which it is evident that the whole charity school system had come to an end.
For the full explanation of this we must refer to a few facts outside of the history of the church. Ten years before this time there had begun a decided movement to remove the schools from religious in- fluence. The churches themselves had largely con- tributed to this result by their denominational rival- ries, as we perceive in an incident of the year 1824, when the suspicion that a certain church was trying to claim as scholars children belonging more natu- rally to other congregations, led the Free School Society and certain churches, including the Brick
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Church, to protest vigorously and demand a firm restriction of the offending church to the limits of its own parish.
It was significant, too, that at this time, New York State, and a year later New York City, excluded the clergy and the churches from administering the school fund. The gradual relinquishment by the Brick Church of its charity school was, therefore, not peculiar to that church, but a result of the general situation. As reported by Dr. Spring in a speech some years later, the Brick Church was solicited to surrender its individual rights and denominational feelings for the sake of the general good, and promises, he said, were made, not in writing, but "as a solemn matter of compromise and contract," that if the Brick Church withdrew from the field, the Pub- lic School Society should hold itself free from any other religious control or influence. From this time the Brick Church took no further part in the work of secular education.
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