USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 1 > Part 39
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likewise prayed that We would be graciously pleased for the better ac- commodation and conveniency of the inhabitants of our said city of New Yorke, that the same church might be made Parochiall and incorporate into one body Politicq in fact and name by the name of the Rector and inhabitants in communion of the Protestant church of England as now established by our laws ; and that as such, they and their successors may have, hold, use, occupy and enjoy all the rights, benefits, advan- tages, privileges, immunityes, Mortuarys and appurtenances as are usually held and enjoyed by all or any of our Parochiall Churches of our Church of England within our Realme of England, and also that We would be further graciously pleased to appropriate unto our said church the aforesaid yearly maintainance of one hundred pounds enacted by the aforesaid act, and make our further Royall grant of a certaine quantity of our land neere adjoyning to the said church unto the said petitioners in trust for the use of our said church and corporation.
Now, know ye that in consideracon of the great charge that our said trusty and well beloved subject, Benjamin Ffletcher, our Captain- Generall, as aforesaid, and the rest of our aforesaid loving subjects, in- habitants within our said city &c., have been at in the erecting of the said Church, and laying the foundation of a steeple, and the further great charge that must unavoidably acrew for the finishing the said church and steeple, and the providing it with suitable ornaments, as also for the erecting and providing a house neere the said church for the habitation of a minister to officiate in the said church in manner aforesaid, as well as of our pious inclinations to promote, propagate, and encourage all our loving subjects within our said province in that reverend and Godly duty, in worshiping and serving God according to the com- mendable rites and ceremonyes of our Protestant Church of England as now established by our laws, have therefore thought fitt, and do hereby publish, grant, ordaine, manifest, and declare that our Royall will and pleasure is, and by these presents do, grant and declare that the aforesaid church, erected and built as aforesaid, scituate in and neere the street called the Broadway, within our said City of New- Yorke, and the ground thereunto adjoining, inclosed and used for a Cemetry or Church yard, shall be the Parish Church and Church yard of the Parish of Trinity Church, within our said city of New York, and the same is hereby declared to be for ever separated and dedecated to the service of God, and to be applyed therein [thereunto] to the use and behalfe of the inhabitants from time to time inhabiting, and to inhabit, within our said City of New Yorke, in communion of [with] our said
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Protestant Church of England as now established by our laws, and to no other use or purpose whatsoever, any statute law, custome, or usage to the contrary in any ways notwithstanding. And that there shall be a Rector to have care of the souls of the inhabitants of said Parish, and a perpetual succession of Rectors there. And we do by these presents constitute our right, trusty, and well beloved the Right Rev- erend Father in God Henry Lord Bishop of London, and of our Privy Council, the first Rector thereof. And we have further thought fitt and, at the humble request of our said loving subjects, are graciously pleased to create and make him our said Right trusty and well beloved and Right Reverend Father in God Henry Lord Bishop of London and his successors, Rectors of the said Parish, together with all the inhabitants from time to time inhabiting, and to in- habit in our said City of New Yorke, and in communion of our aforesaid Protestant Church of England, as now established by our laws, a body corporate and Politiq, with the powers and privileges hereinafter mentioned. And accordingly our Royall will and pleasure is, and of our speciall Grace certaine knowledge and meere motion We have ordained, constituted, and declared, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do ordaine, constitute, and declare that he, the said Right trusty and well beloved Right Reverend Father in God, Henry, Lord Bishop of London, and his successors, and all such of our loving subjects as now are or hereafter shall be, admitted into the communion of [the] aforesaid Protestant Church of England as now established by our laws, shall be from time to time and for ever hereafter a body corporate and politque, in fact and name, by the name of the Rector and Inhabitants of our said City of New Yorke, in communion of our Protestant Church of England as now established by our laws. And that by the same name they and their successors shall and may have perpetuall succession, and shall and may be per- sons able and capable in the law to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleded, to answer and be answered unto, to defend and be defended in all and singular suits, causes, quarrells, matters, actions, and things of what kind or nature soever, and also to have, take, possess, receive, acquire, and purchase, lands, tenements, hereditaments, or any goods or chattells, and the same to use, lease, grant, demise, alien, bargain, sell, and dispose of at their own will and pleasure, as other our liege people, or any corporation, or body politicque within our realme of England or this our Province may lawfully do, not exceeding the yearly value of five thousand pounds, the statute of mortmaine or any other statute law, custome, or usage to the contrary hereof in any ways
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notwithstanding. And that the said Rector shall have the care of the souls of the inhabitants within the said parish, and in the communion of our said Protestant Church of England as now established by our laws. And have and enjoy to him and his successors for ever one messuage or tenement and appurtenances intended to be erected on part of the said church-yard, or near there unto as conveniently as can be procured. And our Royall will and pleasure is, further, that the patronage, advowson, donation, or presentation of and to the said Rectory and Parish after the decease of the said first Rector, or the next avoidance thereof, shall appertain and belong to, and he hereby vested in the Churchwardens and Vestrymen, or the major part of the said Vestrymen, together with either of the Churchwardens of Trinity Church for the time being. And that all the succeeding Rectors of the said Parish and Parish Church (except the first Rector thereof hereby constituted) shall be presented, collated, instituted, and inducted as other Rectors, Persons, and Vicars respectively are accustomed to be ; and we further declare it to be our Royal will and pleasure that the first Rector, and all the succeeding Rectors thereof, shall and may have, take, and enjoy such and the like Oblations, Mortuaryes, Easterbooks or Offerings, and other Ecclesiastical Dutyes arising within the said Parish of Trinity Church, as the Vicar, Rector, or parson of St. Mary Bow, within our city of London, in our Realme of England now en- joyeth, and shall have such and the like profits of burialls in the said Church, as the same shall be limited in the instrument of dedication thereof.
And we further declare that the said Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church in communion of our Protestant Church of England within our city of New Yorke, as now established by our laws, shall and may for- ever hereafter have a common seale, to serve and use for all matters, causes, things and affairs whatsoever of them and their successors, and the same seale to alter, change, breake and make new from time to time, at their will and pleasure, as they shall think fit. And further we will and ordaine, and by these presents do declare and appoint, that for the better ordering and manageing of the affairs and businesse of the said Corporation ; there shall be annually and once in every year forever on the Tuesday in Easterweek two Church Wardens and twenty Vestry- men duly elected by the majority of votes of the inhabitants of the said Parish in communion as aforesaid, which Church Wardens and Vestry- men shall be from time to time subject to our laws and statutes now in force or hereafter to be made for the choice of Church Wardens, Over- seers of the Poor and such other like Parish officers and other Parochiall
:
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dutyes within the said Parish in like manner as the inhabitants of any Parish within our Province are or might be subject and liable unto (except where it shall be otherwise hereby appointed). And we do by these presents constitute and appoint Thomas Wenham and Robert Lurting the first Church Wardens of the said Parish and Caleb Heath- cote, William Merritt, John Tuder, James Emott, William Morris, Thomas Clarke, Ebenezer Wilson, Samuel Burt, James Evetts, Na- thaniel Marston, Michael Howden, John Crooke, William Sharpas, Lawrence Reade, David Jamison, William Huddleston, Gabriel Lud- low, Thomas Burroughs, John Merritt, and William Janeway the first Vestrymen of the said Parish, to have and to hold and execute their said respective offices till the feast of Easther, [Easter] which shall be in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and ninety-eight ; and the said Church Wardens shall have and receive such and the like church dutyes and perquisites as the Church Wardens of the said Parish of St. Mary Bow do, may, might or ought to receive and shall be ac- comptable for the same, and all other moneys as shall come to them as Church Wardens in such manner as Church Wardens of any other Parishes within our city of London are or ought to be.
And we further declare it to be our Royall will and pleasure that the Rector, Church Wardens and Vestrymen shall make the number of the whole to be twenty-three persons, and the said Vestrymen or any eleven or more of them whereof the Rector for the time being or his assistant or clarke by appointment and one of the Church Wardens to be two, shall and may have and exercise the like power and authority for the ordering and regulating the affairs of the said Corporation and Parish of Trinity Church as the Vestry of the said Parish of St. Mary Bow now have and exercise in reference to Parish affairs, and upon the death or other voidance of any such vestrymen they or any eleven or more of them shall and may elect a fit person, inhabitant and house- holder in the said Parish to supply the same. And we further ordaine and declare, that the Church Wardens for the time being shall not at any time dispose of any of the Pews, or places in Pews in the said Church, to any person not an inhabitant thereof, nor without the con- sent and allowance of the Vestrymen for the time being or any eleven or more of them. And our further will and pleasure is, and we by these presents declare, that the Rector of the said Parish for the time being shall and may by and with the consent of the said Vestrymen and Church Wardens for the time being or any eleven or more of them, whereof one of the Churche's Wardens to be one, from time to time nominate one able Protestant minister in Priest's orders to reside in the
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said Parish to be Preacher and assistant to the said Rector and his suc- cessors in the celebration of the Divine Offices of Praying and Preach- ing and other dutyes incident to be performed in the said Church and Parish, as the said Rector shall require of him, and likewise to nomi- nate a fitt person to be Clarke of the said Parish and one or more Sex- ton or Sextons, to which Clarke or Sextons respectively there shall be such and the like dues, fees, perquisites and profits paid and allowed as shall be established by the said Rector, Church Wardens and Vestry- men in manner aforesaid, which said Preacher, assistant, Clarke and Sexton or Sextons and every of them shall continue in his said place during his or their naturall lives, if they shall so long inhabit there, ex- cept for some offence or misgovernment by them or any of them com- mitted and unlesse for cause reasonable proved they shall be displaced by the said Rector for the time being by and with the consent of the said Vestrymen or any eleven or more of them ; and that the Church Wardens of the said Parish of Trinity Church for the time being shall and are hereby required from time to time to pay the yearly sume of ten pounds to the Clerke to be appointed as aforesaid out of the profits and other the dutyes and perquisites to them accrueing in the said Church and Parish by four quarterly payments, that is to say on the feast of St. Michaell the Arch Angell, the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist or tenn days after every of the said respective feasts by equall and even portions. And we further ordaine and declare, that the said Church Wardens and Vestrymen or any eleven or more of them are by these presents authorised and required within the space and time of three hundred days next and after the sealing and enrolling of these presents to make or cause to be made an estimate in writing under the hand or hands of some sufficient person or persons qualified for the same of the charge and finishing the said Church and steeple and pro- viding a clock and one or more Bells for the same and other works necessary and requisite in and about the said Church and steeple, and of building a convenient house for the said Rector, and such sume or sumes of money as shall appear to them upon such estimate to be in their judgment competent to accomplish the premises and to satisfy and pay the debts incurred for or by reason of the said Church, shall be by them or any eleven or more of them charged upon all and every of the inhabitants in the said Parish, to be by them paid in seven years by twenty-eight quarterly and successive payments, the first whereof to commence and become payable to the Church Wardens for the time being, who are hereby authorised to receive the same at the first of the
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feast dayes aforesaid as shall happen after the assessing and taxing thereof, and the rest to be successively to them also quarterly paid at the successive feast dayes aforesaid until all the said twenty-eight quarterly payments shall be made and finished. And the said Church Wardens and Vestrymen or any eleven or more of them are hereby re- quired and authorised within three hundred and sixty-five dayes next and after the sealing and enrolling of these presents to assess, tax and rate the first of the said quarterly payments after a pound rate or other- wise, as they shall think most reasonable, equall and meet, and in like manner to assess every other of the said quarterly payments within fourty dayes after the time of payment of the next preceding quarterly payment. All which said assessments shall be confirmed and allowed by two Justices of the Peace within the said Parish and in communion of the said Church as aforesaid under their hands and seals and be col- lected by such persons inhabitants of the said Parish as by the said Vestrymen or any eleven or more of them shall from time to time under their hands and seals appoint.
And we further declare that if the estimate and computation to be made as aforesaid shall not be sufficient to discharge the debts incurred about the building and finishing of the said Church and Steeple and other the works hereby intended to be done, the said Vestrymen or any eleven or more of them shall and may charge and assess such addi- tionall sum or sums upon the said inhabitants of the said Parish in communion as aforesaid as shall be needful to perfect and accomplish the same so as such additionall sume together with the sume hereby charged and payable by the said twenty-eight quarterly payments exceed not in the whole the sume of five hundred pounds.
And We further declare it to be our Royall will and pleasure that the church wardens of the said Parish of Trinity Church shall cause all the debts, credits and contracts made and to be made with or by the artificers and workmen employed or to be employed for any work or building to be made or done in or about the said Church Steeple and premises to be entered and registered in one or more book or books to be kept for that purpose, and the said Vestrymen or any eleven or more of them out of the money collected and paid to the said Church Ward- ens upon the said quarterly payments or by any other ways or means for the use aforesaid, shall in the first place pay and discharge or cause to be paid and discharged, all such debts as shall become due unto the artificers and workmen imployed or to be imployed in and about the finishing the said Church Steeple, house and premises, and shall issue and pay or cause to be issued and paid to the said artificers and workmen
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as aforesaid all and every sume and sumes of money now or hereafter due and payable unto them their executors, administrators or assigns, proportionably according to the dates of the registering of their debts and credits as aforesaid with moderate interest if need shall be for their forbearance thereof.
And We further declare that the Church Wardens of [for] the said Parish for the time being together with any eleven or more of the said Vestrymen shall upon the Tuesday of [in] Easter [easter] week yearly forever, or at any time within tenn days after the said Tuesday tax, rate and assess the yearly sume of thirty pounds upon the Inhabitants of the said Parish in Communion as aforesaid, for the payment of the Preacher assistant to be nominated and appointed as aforesaid, and for the paying and defraying the other contingent charges that may yearly accrue within the said Parish which said assessment shall be confirmed and allowed in such manner as other the assessments hereby appointed to be made as aforesaid, and be collected and paid yearly to the Church Wardens for the time being by such person and persons as the said Church Wardens and Vestrymen shall appoint at the four usuall, or times of the year before mentioned, the first payment to begin and be made at the [that] feast day next and after the said preacher assistant shall be presented and enter to assist the said Rector in the said Church in manner aforesaid, and the said Church Wardens or either of them shall pay the said yearly sume of thirty pounds over and above all charges and deductions for collecting the same to the said Preacher as- sistant for the time being to be nominated as aforesaid upon the said four usuall feasts or terms in the year by even and equal portions.
And We further ordaine and declare it to be our Royall will and pleasure that the said Church Wardens, together with eleven or more of the Vestrymen of the said Parish shall and are hereby authorised from time to time to make rates and assessments in manner aforesaid for the repairing and amending the said Church, Steeple, Cemetery or church yard of the said Parish when need shall be, the said rates taxes and assessments for repairing and amending the church and premises to be paid to the said Church Wardens of the said Parish and those and all other the said last mentioned taxes rates and assessments to be made and collected, confirmed and allowed as aforesaid, and moreover of our special grace certaine Knowledge and meer motion, We do give grant ratify and confirm unto the said Rector and inhabi- tants, of our said City of New-York in communion of our Protestant Church of England as now established by our laws that the said Church and Coemetry or Church yard scituate lying and being within our said
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City of New-Yorke as aforesaid, shall be the sole and only Parish Church and Church yard of our said City of New Yorke. And our Royal pleasure is and we by these presents do declare that the said Rec- tor of the said Parish Church is a good sufficient Protestant Minister according to the true intent and meaning of the said Act of Assembly made in the aforesaid fifth year of our Reigne entitled an Act for the settling of a ministry, &c., and as such We do further of our like speciall grace certaine Knowledge and meer motion give grant Ratifye endow appropriate and confirm unto the said Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church within our said City of New Yorke and his successors forever the aforesaid yearly maintainance of one hundred pounds directed by the said Act of Assembly to be yearly laid assessed and paid unto the said sufficient Protestant minister for his yearly maintainance, to have and to hold the said yearly maintainance of one hundred pounds afore- said unto him the said Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church within our said City of New-Yorke and his successors to the sole and only proper use benefit and behoofe of him the said Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church within our said City of New Yorke and his successors forever. And We doe by these presents strictly charge require and command the Church Wardens and Vestrymen yearly constituted elected and appointed by the aforesaid Act of Assembly made as afore- said that they faithfully truly and without fraud annually and once in every year forever levey assess and collect the said yearly maintainance of one hundred pounds current money aforesaid according to the rules directions and clauses in the said Act of Assembly mentioned and under the pains and penaltyes therein contained and that the said Church Wardens mentioned in the aforesaid Act of Assembly do an- nually in four quarterly payments pay the said yearly maintainance of one hundred pounds leveyed, assessed and collected as aforesaid unto the said Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church and to his successors forever as of right they ought to do without any delay, lett, hindrance refusall disturbance or molestation whatsoever as they and every of them will answer the contrary under the pains and penaltyes in the said Act of Assembly ordained. And We further declare that upon any neglect or refusall of the said Church Wardens and Vestrymen (appointed by the said act) of their levying assessing collecting and paying the said yearly maintainance of one hundred pour ds as aforesaid that it shall and may be lawfull for the said Rector or incumbent of the said Parish for the time being to prosecute the said Church Ward- ens and Vestrymen in an action of debt in any of the Courts of Rec- ord within our said province wherein no Essoine, protection or wager
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of law shall be allowed any thing contained in the said Act to the contrary hereof in any wayes notwithstanding.
And We do of our like speciall grace certaine Knowledge and meer motion give and grant unto the said Rector and inhabitants of our city of New Yorke in communion, &c., full power and authority from time to time to appoint, alter, and change such days and times of meeting as they shall think fitt, and to choose, nominate and appoint so many others of our Leige people as they shall think fitt, and shall be willing to accept the same to be members of the said church and corporation and body Politicque and them into the same to admitt and to elect and constitute such other officer and officers as they shall think fitt and requisite for the orderly manageing and dispatching of the affairs of the said Church and corporation and their Successors, and from time to time to make, ordaine and constitute or repeale such rules, orders and ordinances for the good and welfare of the members of the said church and corporation, so that those rules orders and ordinances be not re- pugnant to the laws of our Realme of England and of this our province. And We further declare, and by these presents doe give, grant, lycence and permitt unto the said Rector and inhabitants, &c., that the said Church Wardens and Vestrymen, or any other appointed by them may from time to time and at all times hereafter upon the Lords day after divine service, or at any other time or times when they shall think [ it] convenient take and receive the free and voluntary gifts, alms, contri- butions, and offerings of all or any of our loving subjects, which col- lections, gatherings or receivings shall be imployed by them for and towards the finishing of the said church steeple and premises, or any other pious and charitable worke as to them shall seeme meete and con- venient, any Statute or Laws to the contrary hereof in any wayes not- withstanding. To have and to hold, all and every of the premises, together with all and singular the rights, customs, usages, benefits, members, advantages, advowsons, presentations, Mortuarys, oblations, offerings, ffees, perquisites, profits, Royaltyes, hereditaments and ap- purtenances whatsoever unto the said church, church yard and premises belonging, or in any wise appertaining unto them the sd. Rector and inhabitants of our said city of New Yorke in communion of the Protestant Church of England, as now established by our laws and their successors To the sole and only use, benefit and behoofe of them, the said Rector, inhabitants, &c., and their successors forever. To be holden of us, our heirs and successors in ffree and common soccage as of our mannour of East Greenwich in our county of Kent within our Realme of England, yielding, rendering, and paying therefor yearly
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