USA > New York > New York City > A history of the Brick Presbyterian Church in the city of New York > Part 16
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It will have been noticed above that when the Ryan Fund seemed about to lie idle through the dis- continuance of the charity school, the trustees were able to transfer it to a kindred institution. The fact was, that as the church's secular school waned to its extinction, two Sunday-schools, which the Brick Church people had founded, were flourishing more and more, and had gradually become a chief interest of the church. We must now turn to study their origin and growth.
In New York at the beginning of the nineteenth century Sunday-schools were a decided novelty.
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Even in England the idea was but twenty years old, having been originated by Robert Raikes in 1781 to meet the needs of the poor children of Gloucester. In Great Britain the movement spread with aston- ishing rapidity, and more slowly it made its way to America. In New York it is said that the first school was opened by a poor negro woman in 1793, but with more certainty the beginning there may be dated from the school of a Mrs. Graham and her daughter, Mrs. Bethune, who had seen the English schools in operation, and now started one in New York in a private house in 1801. By this time the teachers, who in the earlier schools elsewhere had been paid at the rate of a shilling a Sunday, were volunteers. It is noticeable, also, that from the beginning they had been women.
Two more schools were started in the city by 1804, and these also were the work of private indi- viduals. It was not until nine years later that a Sunday-school was started by one of the churches, the old Dutch Church on Garden Street. But the advantages of this plan were at once apparent, es- pecially in giving more permanence than private management could secure; and when in February, 1816, the "New York Sunday-school Union" * was organized, for the purpose of encouraging the estab- lishment of schools throughout the city, the church- school had practically won the field.
Dr. Spring was among those who joined in the formation of this Union, and one of its early meet- ings was held in the Brick Church; but the best evi-
* See "Semi-Centennial Memorial Discourse of the Sunday-school Union," by Isaac F. Ferris, D.D., 1866.
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dence of the church's hearty interest in the move- ment was its establishment of two Sunday-schools of its own in the very first year of the Union's existence. These were "No. 3," * on Fair (now Fulton) Street, and "No. 23" on Henry Street.
Why, it may be asked, was no school started in immediate connection with the church itself? The " Old White Lecture Room" would have been avail- able for the purpose, and very convenient for a ma- jority of the children of the church. But it must be understood that these early Sunday-schools were not intended for the children of the church at all. These were trained by their own parents at home, the church undertaking merely to assure itself of the thoroughness of their home instruction, by bringing the children together for the recitation of the cate- chism on a week-day afternoon. The Sunday-schools, on the other hand, were distinctly missionary insti- tutions. They were intended for children belonging to the poor and ignorant classes, and were regarded merely as a substitute for the home teaching which was lacking in their case.
Of the history of the first sixteen years of the Brick Church Sunday-schools we unfortunately know but little. The records prior to 1832 have been lost, ; and the references in the session and trustees' minutes are few and fragmentary. We do not even know the number of schools maintained through- out this period-whether, for example, there were
* No. 1 was the school of the Garden Street Dutch Church referred to above. No. 2 was started by the Wall Street Presbyterian Church.
t A note written in 1837, states that these earlier records were then "in the possession of Miss Delia Stevens." She moved from New York about May, 1838.
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ever more than two, or how long precisely the second of the original schools, "No. 23," was continued .* We know nothing of the manner in which the schools were governed, except that they had superintend- ents,t as at the present time, elected, apparently, by the teachers, and that the general rules of the Union provided for a board of management, and systematic visitation by a committee. Apparently the instruction was biblical, for there is reference to the committing of passages of Scripture to memory (reward tickets were given for proficiency in this, as well as for attendance and good behavior), and one at least of the Brick Church schools seems early to have tried with success a plan of "selected and limited lessons," first put forth in New York in 1824. All the further details that we possess on this period are given in a report to the Union for 1827,į from which we learn that at that time School No. 3
* The facts known to us are very perplexing. In 1817 and 1818 there are references in the trustees' minutes to "The Sabbath school [singular] connected with this church," yet, apparently, schools No. 3 and No. 23 were both in existence long after that. From 1819 to 1825 "schools" are consistently referred to in the records. Then again in 1826 the singular number is used, and this falls in with the fact that the report of the Sunday- school Union for the next year (which happens to be in existence) includes no mention of School No. 23. We should, therefore, be certain that this second Brick Church school had been discontinued by this time, were there not references in 1828, 1831 and May, 1832, to "schools" once more. Before October, 1832, some sort of a "union" had taken place in connec- tion with the schools of the Brick Church, and after December, 1833, there was certainly but one school for several years. In 1839 the girls' depart- ment of the school is referred to as "The Female Sabbath-school attached to the Brick Presbyterian Church." Possibly this suggests the explanation of the plural used between 1828 and 1832, and also of the "union," in the latter year.
t See Appendix J, p. 527.
# See "Semi-Centennial Memorial Discourse of the N. Y. Sunday-school Union," 1866, by Rev. Isaac F. Ferris, D.D., p. 14.
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was for boys only, sixty-seven being enrolled; that there were twenty-one teachers, all men; that there was a library connected with the school including nearly four hundred volumes; and that the school was then situated at 208 William Street .*
When, beginning with 1832, our information be- comes more detailed we find that a number of im- portant changes have taken place. For one thing, as soon as the new chapel was completed, in December of that year, the Sunday-school took possession of the rooms in that building which had been especially. designed for its use, and this change of location, as might be supposed, was indicative of another change still more radical. The scholars were no longer drawn exclusively from the poor and unchurched families, but included the children of Presbyterian parents. We do not know when or how this change had taken place, but at the time now referred to it was an accomplished fact, as is evidenced by an appeal issued to the church-members in January, 1834, in the hope that they would interest themselves either "to obtain new members or bring in such of their own children as they may have previously withheld." Another important change that had taken place was the admission of girls, and the in- troduction of women teachers, although "the male department" continued to be the larger portion of the school.t
* From 1819 till 1826, it was the custom in appointing the annual offering for clothing the charity scholars, to direct that the surplus, if there were any, should be used to defray the expense of a room or rooms for Sunday-school uses.
t In December, 1833, there were seventeen men and fourteen women enrolled as teachers.
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In 1833 and 1834, it is evident from the records, the school was undergoing a thorough reorganiza- tion, and when this had been accomplished a good deal of satisfaction was felt in the result. The secre- tary, having been requested to "furnish some brief statement of the present situation of the school to such of the church and congregation as would prob- ably feel willing to exert their influence in the cause," wrote "that the school is in a flourishing condition under the immediate supervision of Mr. Seward,* and is well supplied with faithful, devoted and effi- cient teachers," and "that there has been ample pro- vision made for an additional number of scholars." The organization of the school effected at this time remained practically unchanged until 1840, and the description about to be given may therefore be taken to apply to the whole period ending in that year.
There were five officers elected annually by the teachers, namely, a superintendent, an assistant su- perintendent, a female superintendent, a librarian, and a secretary. The treasurer, on the other hand, was appointed by the session of the church. The teachers were apparently chosen with great care and entered upon their duties in a spirit of serious conse- cration. Before being appointed they were required to answer the following questions: "Are you so situ- ated in the providence of God that you can probably hereafter attend to the duties of a teacher with vigor and punctuality ? Can you attend ordinarily to a faithful examination and study of the weekly lesson ? When your scholars are absent, can you promptly visit them ?"
* Mr. B. J. Seward was agent of the Sunday-school Union.
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A fuller description of the teachers' duties is con- tained in an appendix to the constitution * wherein is stated what the superintendent expects the teach- ers to do. They are to be in their seats at least five minutes before the hour of opening and "ready to greet their scholars as they appear," thus "appro- bating punctuality and reproving delinquency." At the ringing of the bell and throughout the devotional exercises they are to maintain in their classes "per- fect silence." They are to allow "no idleness in any class for a moment." At the close of the session they are always to "accompany their classes to the door of the church, maintaining order among the schol- ars." And finally, teachers who are necessarily ab- sent are expected to provide substitutes.
Perhaps more important than rules and statements of duties was the spirit in which the work was under- taken, as expressed in the preamble of the constitu- tion just referred to. There "the teachers and con- ductors of Sunday-school No. 3" make it evident that in their opinion the work of teaching in the Sun- day-school was to be regarded as no merely routine exercise, no mere providing of a safe and suitable occupation for children on the Lord's Day, but as a genuine preparation of boys and girls for Christian life and especially for Christian service. It is very noteworthy that they mention with most emphasis the need of missionaries to heathen lands and of ministers at home, as their incentive to "unremitting labor." Their object, as they finally state it, is "to win souls to Jesus Christ, and to prepare them for usefulness in his kingdom."
* Adopted on December 21st, 1833. See Appendix W, p. 545.
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Until 1839 two sessions of the Sunday-school were held each Sunday, the first beginning at nine o'clock in the morning throughout the year, while the second began at half-past one in the afternoon from the first of October to the first of May, and at two o'clock from May to October. In June, 1839, it was decided to omit the afternoon session for three months, and later in the year it was voted to make this change permanent.
The sessions began and closed with devotional exercises, the interval being filled by the teaching of the lesson. For the most part the subject of study was a passage from the Scriptures aided apparently by some sort of "Question Book," but the fourth Sunday of each month was devoted to the teaching of the shorter catechism. At the close of the afternoon session it was customary for the superintendent to examine the scholars on the lesson for the day. Teachers' meetings for the preparation of the lesson were a regular institution. They were held on Sat- urday evenings "in the committee room of the chapel," * and were conducted by Dr. Spring.
The library was evidently regarded as an important department of the work of the school, though it may be feared that the "select books" which were pur- chased from time to time were of the sort that has caused the name "Sunday-school book" to be re- garded as a title of opprobrium. Select though the books were, the children were not allowed to choose among them for themselves, but it was the duty of the teachers to "choose such books from the library as they may judge most proper for their scholars,"
* Referred to sometimes as "the missionary room,"
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Once a year, on a Sunday morning in April, the school celebrated its anniversary by exercises held in the church. We do not know the nature of the ser- vice except that the secretary read a report which, sometimes at least, included a sort of history of the school, that Dr. Spring preached a sermon appro- priate to the day, and that on that occasion it was customary "to have the female scholars and their teachers sit in the front seats of the gallery next the Park, and the male scholars and teachers op- posite."
In the summer of 1837 a new light broke upon the Brick Church Sunday-school. Then for the first time it was suggested that a small amount of play be mingled with the school's discipline and study. One cannot but be impressed, in reading the accounts of the treatment of children in the time of our great- grandparents, with the almost utter ignorance of the men of that time in regard to the child-nature. Children were then commonly dealt with much as though they were merely old men and women dressed in bibs and pinafores. There was barely any attempt to appeal to distinctly childish tastes. There was very little consideration for the inevitable immaturities of childhood. Especially there was almost no appre- ciation of the fact that all teaching, and religious teaching quite as much as any, should be adjusted accurately to the children's intelligence and ex- perience.
An illustration of this is provided by the use made in the Brick Church Sunday-school one Sunday in 1850, of the tragic death of a scholar resulting from injuries received in an accident on Hague Street.
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Dr. Spring, with reference to the melancholy event, "addressed the children," we are told, "on the ne- cessity of being prepared for [Christ's] coming, and the danger of provoking God's wrath and curse in this life and that which is to come." Another inci- dent, which occurred a few months earlier, and which is curious enough to be quoted for its own sake, was no doubt made the text for a terrifying address upon the crime of theft. It seems that in May, 1849, the superintendent received from some unknown person a Bible in which, written in pencil on a slip of paper, was found the following pathetic message: "To the Superintendent of this School. Dear Sir, about three years ago, when the School was downstairs, this Bible was stolen with some others from the bookcase. Will you inquire for the owner in the school and ask him to forgive and pray for the thief."
But to return to the proposal which in 1837, marked the beginning of a fuller appreciation of the needs of childhood. As it happened the plan then proposed could not be carried out at once, but it afterward bore fruit, and even the proposal of it must have made the life of the little scholars dis- tinctly more worth living. The full record of the incident may be quoted: "June 27th, 1837. By agreement the teachers met this evening to take into consideration the utility of celebrating the coming 4th [of] July with the scholars. The committee re- ported verbally as follows: They have taken in con- sideration all the places in the neighborhood suit- able to visit, and found that they would probably be filled by many visitors and thus defeat the object in
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view; and also the lateness of notice prevents suit- able arrangements for the occasion. It was therefore concluded to postpone until another year."
In 1840 a radical change in the whole management of the Sunday-school was made by the session of the church, who were dissatisfied with the conditions which then existed. Up to this time the school, though closely identified with the church life, had been in a large degree independent. It had ap- pointed its own officers,* made its own rules, deter- mined its own policy, without any reference to the session whatsoever. The only superior authority to which it looked was the New York Sunday-school Union, an outside and undenominational society.
As early as 1836 the session had expressed some uneasiness in regard to the situation, and had ap- pointed a committee to consider "the measures to be pursued for the religious education of the children," and especially to provide for some direct intercourse between the children and the officers of the church. At that time, however, they did not undertake to interfere with the Sunday-school, but merely adopted additional means of ensuring the children's proper instruction. They were content to appoint "an afternoon service in the session room once a month,t in which the children and youth of all the church and congregation may meet for instruction in the cate- chism." ¿ The older members of the congregation
* Except the treasurer. See above.
t On the fourth Sunday.
# At an earlier time, before the day of Sunday-schools, such a service had been held weekly. In 1835, the General Assembly had expressed deep regret that the Sunday-schools seemed to have superseded very largely the catechetical instructions of the pastor.
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were invited to participate, and the pastor and elders were to superintend the course of instruction.
This expedient, however, after about three years' trial, proved to be inadequate, and on January 9th, 1840, the session, "having taken into consideration the existing state of the Sabbath-schools * and the present plan of instruction," referred the whole sub- ject to a committee. The report which this com- mittee presented two weeks later is of such interest from several points of view that it must be quoted in its entirety.
"The committee appointed to take into considera- tion the present system of instruction in the Sabbath- schools connected with this congregation, beg leave to submit the following suggestions and plan as their report :
"It appears to your committee that the original design of these schools has been to a great extent lost sight of, in the almost exclusive instruction of the children of families belonging to our own congregation and the gradual withdrawing from them of the poorer and more ignorant population around us.
"It may be assumed as a fact which will not be questioned that those who receive instruction in these schools are almost exclusively made up of our own congregation .¡ This circumstance throws no small weight of responsibility on this session to in- quire into the condition of the schools, both as it regards the system of instruction, the qualification of
* The plural is frequently used at this period, though it is evident that but one school existed, including a boys' and a girls' department.
t Three years later when 114 scholars were enrolled, all but fourteen were from Brick Church families.
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the teachers, and the number and progress of those who are taught.
"In the prosecution of these inquiries your com- mittee have been persuaded that there is a diminu- tion in the number * of young persons who receive religious instruction among this people which must awaken solicitude in the minds of all who feel the importance of bringing up the youth in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
"Your committee have no doubt that this is to be attributed in part to the widely scattered condition of the congregation and the great distance of many families from the place of instruction. But they are convinced that this is not the only evil. From a variety of circumstances neither necessary nor proper to be mentioned in this report, there has been un- happily so great a change of teachers in the school and, with few exceptions,; such instability in their attachment to this particular field of labor that more than once the whole system has been not a little em- barrassed by this single circumstance.
"It will at once be seen that these frequent changes must originate incompetency in the teachers them- selves as well as a want of confidence in parents in the whole system of Sabbath-school instruction, and both these things are lamentably true. Nor is this the whole evil. While parents have relinquished the instruction of their children to the Sabbath-school, and while the Sabbath-school has in too great a de-
* Whereas there were thirty-one classes in 1833, there were but twenty- two at the end of 1839.
t Among the notable exceptions were Abner L. Ely, Henry K. Bull, Albert Woodruff, Charles J. Steadman, John K. Starin, Henry Brewster, J. F. Donnell, and Miss Delia Stevens.
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gree failed to supply the place of parents, it is to be feared that parents have not themselves resumed their former wonted care of the religious instruction of their offspring; so that while the Sabbath-school has taken this great work out of the hands of parents and out of the hands of the pastor and elders, the work itself remains to a great extent unfulfilled.
"There are other evils also in the very constitution of the Sabbath-schools which in the judgment of your committee call for the kind but decisive inter- position of the session.
"The system of instruction in the Sabbath-school, designed to meet the views of various denominations of Christians, necessarily omits very important truths, and truths with which the youthful mind ought to be familiar. It is feared that teachers from among us, with some honorable exceptions, have lost their interest in the established institutions of the Church, so that there are few 'to guide her among all the sons she hath brought up'; and there is that in the system which, while it is independent of the Church of God, is insensibly weakening her influence and govern- ment and relaxing those bonds by which the mem- bers of a church as individuals are bound and obliged to walk together in truth and love.
"In view of these things your committee recom- mend the following plan and resolutions:
"1. Resolved that the Sabbath-school connected with this congregation be placed under the immediate superintendence of the pastor and an assistant elder by whom all its teachers are to be appointed and all its lessons assigned.
"2. Resolved that, with the exception of those
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whose age, infirmities or distance may excuse them, all the elders of this church attend upon this service, each one having the superintendence of assigned por- tions of the school, for the special purpose of securing the attendance of its classes and, in connection with their teachers, visiting the families of which they are composed.
"3. Resolved that it be the duty of all the members of the church-and their Christian fidelity is confi- dently relied on for this purpose-to take such parts in the instruction of the school as shall, upon a full view of their relations and condition, be assigned them by the session.
"4. Resolved that the session look with confidence to parents and guardians connected with this congre- gation to send their children to the school attached to their own church, to teach them carefully the lessons at home, and to make it a business of more serious importance to furnish their minds with instruction in the doctrines and duties of re- ligion.
"5. Resolved that the pastor of this congregation attend a weekly meeting on every Saturday evening with all the teachers, for the purpose of examining the lesson for the ensuing Lord's Day and that all the Sabbath-school teachers belonging to this con- gregation, in whatever schools they may teach, be invited to be present at this weekly exercise.
"6. Resolved that the monthly prayer-meeting established for Sabbath-schools be discontinued and henceforth united with the monthly prayer-meeting of this church, at which it shall be considered a lead- ing object to implore the divine blessing upon the
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instructions of the Sabbath-school and the youth and children of this people."
Unfortunately the school records close abruptly after announcing the succession of the pastor to the superintendency. Perhaps it was thought that since the session was in complete control, no separate rec- ords were longer necessary. At any rate, for the con- ditions that existed during the next six years we must seek elsewhere for our information. Enough, how- ever, is known to assure us at least that the change of policy was beneficial. One evidence of this is the fact that at some time prior to 1844 a branch or "mission" school * was started, an attempt to reach once more the poorer children for whom the schools were originally intended. We know also that the original Brick Church school (No. 3) was slowly in- creasing in numbers under the session management. In three years it achieved a gain of over twenty per cent. Further, the afternoon session was probably resumed at this time, for a little later we find it a regular feature of the school.
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