A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 2, Part 11

Author: Dix, Morgan, 1827-1908, ed. cn; Dix, John Adams, 1880-1945, comp; Lewis, Leicester Crosby, 1887-1949, ed; Bridgeman, Charles Thorley, 1893-1967, comp; Morehouse, Clifford P., ed
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: New York, Putnam
Number of Pages: 752


USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 2 > Part 11


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29


The disappearance of the Bishop's library is to be re- gretted the more, because of his love of books and his liberal culture. Writing of him, General James Grant Wilson says :


" At East Camp, as his rural retreat was called, the patriot preacher occupied himself with literary pursuits, and with the cultivation of his farm and garden. He was an ardent disciple of the Swedish Linnaeus, and he possessed, for that period, a large and valuable library. Pro- voost was perhaps the earliest of American bibliophiles. Among his be- loved books were several magnificent Baskervilles, numerous volumes of sermons, and the writings of English bishops, including the scarce octavo edition of the poems of the eccentric Richard Corbet, of whom Provoost related many amusing anecdotes ; a rare Venetian illustrated Dante of 1547 ; Rapin's England in five noble folios ; a collection of Americana and Elzeviriana, and not a few incunabula, including a Sweynheym and Pannartz imprint of 1470. These were chiefly pur- chased while a student at Cambridge and contained his armorial book- plate with his name engraved, Samuel Provoost. It was not until 1769 that he adopted the additional letter which appears in his later book- plate and signatures. Among his literary recreations was the translation of favorite hymns in Latin, French, German, and Italian ; also the preparation of an exhaustive index to the Historia Plantarum of John Baushin, whom he styles "the prince of botanists." He translated Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered," for which congenial work he found ample leisure on the Dutchess County Farm. It was


1 See Appendix XI.


PRO


LIBERTATI


IOHN PROVOOST


PRO


LIBERTATE


Jam" Provost, Esq Coll; Det Cant.


PRO


LIBERTAVA


mi Provoost.


1


,


I20


History of Trinity Church


[1787-


never given to the world, nor any of his occasional poems in English, French, & German, of which examples are in the writer's possession." 1


The Bishop's bookplate is well known to collectors. I am so fortunate as to possess a volume with his father's bookplate, and the name John Provoost ; another with his own, and the name "Saml. Provost Esq., Coll Pet. Cant."; and a third, in the last state, having the Provoost arms impaled with those of the Bousfields (as I suppose), sur- mounted by a mitre, and having the name Saml. Provoost. All these are finely engraved in styles appropriate to the periods. His diocesan seal bore his armorial quarterings with the legend, "SAM'L PROVOOST D.D. BISHOP P.E.C. IN THE STATE OF N- YORK 1787."


And here it is in order to refer to the differences in spelling his name. At Cambridge and up to the year 1769 it appears to have been uniformly written "Provost"; afterwards he usually signed "Provoost," though there are instances of his signing himself " Provost," so late as I 786.2


.


In public documents of his day, the name is variously spelled - either " Provost " or " Provoost." In the Royal Licence, and consequently in all the consecration papers, the name throughout is Provost. Even in the Trinity Records, the spelling seems to have been according to the fancy of the clerk of the Vestry. So late as in the years 1796 to 1798 it is uniformly spelled Provost.


As far as can be ascertained, the New York custom of spelling the name seems to have been " Provoost," for we have found the name so spelled when not borne by re- latives of the Bishop. For example, among the State Documents at Albany there is, curiously enough, a petition


1 Centennial History of the Diocese of New York, pp. 129, 130, 139.


? See lithographic copy of autograph letter in Facsimiles of Church Documents : Papers issued by the Historical Club of the American Church 1874-79. (Document 36.)


121


The Bishop's Signature


18II]


from one "Samuel Provoost," a prisoner for debt. The signature is that of a well-educated man. The petitioner states that he incurred heavy expenses in the late war, by generously contributing to it, and therefore is now so re- duced that he cannot pay his debts, that he has a wife and two children, and is himself greatly advanced in age. From the sheriff's report, it appears that this debt, for which he had been so long imprisoned, was £9, and the endorsement on the petition is, " This is a good man." 1


The change of signature on the Bishop's part seems to have been caused by a desire to return to the original New Amsterdam or New York spelling of his name.


In the old Register of the Reformed Dutch Church the name is uniformly spelled "Provoost," and in the record of his baptism the name is thus written.


The first Convention of the Diocese of New York was held in June, 1787, in St. Paul's Chapel. Seventeen par- ishes were represented by six clergy and twenty-three lay delegates. The Secretary, Dr. Beach, in behalf of the Convention, made the following address :


" RIGHT REVEREND SIR :


" We the clergy and laity, representatives of the Protestant Episco- pal Church, now assembled in Convention, beg leave to address you, on this solemn occasion, with sentiments of duty and unfeigned respect.


" After having successfully accomplished the great object which you had in view, we congratulate you on your return to your native city, safe from the hazards of a long and tempestuous voyage, and in a great measure restored to health from a painful and dangerous illness.


" While we express, in terms of the warmest gratitude, the high ob- ligations we are under to the English Bishops for their paternal inter- position in our favor, we beg leave to present to you our hearty thanks for your compliance with our desires ; and thus, through many difficul- ties and sufferings, rendering our Church complete in all its parts.


" This propitious event, so long and ardently wished for, forms an important era in the history of our Church. We are now, by Divine 1 Document 2, 1619 and 1665, State Papers, Albany.


1


122


History of Trinity Church


[1787-


Providence, placed in such a situation that a regular succession of the ministry may be continued to us and our posterity, without being re- duced to the necessity of applying to a distant land.


" Justly reposing the highest confidence in your integrity, and piety, your love of peace and order, and in your unremitted endeavours for the advancement of true religion and virtue, we rejoice that the distin- guished honor of filling one of the first Episcopal chairs in these United States hath been conferred on a character so truly estimable ; and we trust that we, and those whom we represent, shall never fail to render you all due support, respect, and reverence.


" May it graciously please the Almighty Ruler of the Universe so to bless your ministrations, that a firm foundation may be laid for the peace and prosperity of our Church, which shall remain unshaken to the latest ages. And may you, Right Reverend Sir, long continue in the discharge of your sacred office, an example for our imitation, and an ornament to our holy religion ; and may we, and all those committed to your pastoral charge, derive from your ministrations a benefit which will be of everlasting duration : so that when we are called to account for our actions, we may give an account with joy; and remain one flock, under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ, the Bishop of our Souls."


The Bishop replied :


"REVEREND AND MOST DEARLY BELOVED :


" This affectionate address, your obliging congratulations on my return to my native city, and on the recovery of my health, and above all, your assurance of support in my ministrations, I receive with the utmost satisfaction and thankfulness.


"The object in my late mission being the independence of our Church, and a regular succession of the ministry, was of such magni- tude, that its happy accomplishment cannot fail of inspiring all its members with the highest gratitude to Almighty God, and to all who, under Him, have by their good offices contributed to its success.


" To the English Bishops, particularly, we are under indelible obli- gation, and I cordially unite with you in a public testimony of their benevolent and paternal exertions in our favor. Whenever we shall reflect on this important Era in the history of our Church, they must be remembered with honor and reverence.


"Let us, my beloved friends, zealously strive to make due improve- ment of the spiritual privileges which we now enjoy. Let our faith be sincere, and our lives unblemished, as our doctrine and worship are


123


Provoost's First Ordination


1811]


pure and holy, and God will continue to shower down His blessings upon us and our Church with a bountiful hand.


" May you, my Reverend Brethren, aided by His gracious Spirit, . continue to be watchful Shepherds of the flocks committed to your charge, and maintain the doctrines and discipline of this excellent Church with constancy and zeal, and at the same time with candor towards those who differ from us in religious opinions, that our modera- tion may be made manifest, and we may joyfully contribute to that peace and love, and charity which are so strongly enforced in the Gospel of our blessed Redeemer.


"Deeply sensible of my own imperfections, I feel with solicitude the weight of the important office to which I am consecrated. I rely only on the grace of God to enable me to discharge my pastoral duties with fidelity, to be instrumental in promoting true religion and virtue, in governing this Church in peace and unanimity, and laying a sure foundation for its lasting prosperity ; that thus, through His Divine protection, your expectation of my usefulness may not be disappointed.


"And now, unto God's gracious mercy and protection I commit you !


" The Lord bless you and keep you ! The Lord make His face to shine upon you ! The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace, both now and evermore ! " 1


In his Life of Bishop Provoost, Mr. Norton states that the first ordination held by the Bishop was on October 17, 1787, when two candidates were advanced to the order of Deacons. This is an error. The Daily Advertiser of July 17, 1787, gives the following account of an ordina- tion, presumably the first ordination by Bishop Provoost, as it is the first one noticed by the press :


"On Sunday last,? in St. George's Chapel, in this city, Mr. Richard C. Moore and Mr. Joseph G. J. Bend were ordained Deacons of the Episcopal Church, by the Right Rev. Samuel Provoost D.D. Bishop of said Church in this State. These gentlemen, according to the usage of the Church, are ordained Deacons, with special permission to preach ; and it is requisite they should continue Deacons for some time, previous to their admission into the order of Priesthood.


' Norton's Life, pp. 75-79.


9 That would have been July 15th, the Advertiser being published on the Tuesday of each week.


1


I24


History of Trinity Church


[1787-


" The Chapel was unusually crowded, the ceremonies of Episcopal ordination being novel in America. The solemnity of the occasion, the great good conduct which was observed through every part of it, and an excellent Sermon, adapted to the present time delivered by the Rev. Benjamin Moore, with an admired diction and eloquence peculiar to him, made a pleasing impression on the audience.


"We cannot, on this occasion, but with pleasure reflect that the Protestant Episcopal Church, in these States is now perfectly organized, and in the full enjoyment of each Spiritual privilege (in common with other denominations) requisite to its preservation and prosperity."


The Independent Journal of October 20, 1787, records an ordination to the Diaconate the previous Thursday, the 18th ; this must be the one referred to by Mr. Norton. The Protestant Churchman of January, 1856, gives a full account of the same ordination, as related by one who witnessed the scene :


" Columbia College was closed for the day. The President, Profess- ors, and Students all attended at St. Paul's ; and this, with the occa- sion, attracted a numerous audience. Here and there were to be seen venerable gentlemen in their large powdered wigs, and with their gold- headed canes-such as the Rev. Dr. Livingston, Rev. Dr. Rodgers, Rev. Dr. Kunze, and other non-Episcopal clergymen of the city, who had been invited by the Rev. Dr. Beach, and were all personal friends of the Bishop. His early ancestors were French Protestants, who had fled from France after the Massacre of St. Bartholomew in the year 1572. The Bishop was himself a native of this city, and was baptized in the Dutch Church in the Dutch language.


" In his Canonicals he read the Morning Prayer, and then left the reading-desk for an arm-chair within the railing of the chancel, and the Rev. George Wright ascended the pulpit. This divine was a native of Ireland, educated in Trinity College, Dublin, and, having been admitted into the ministry, came out to this Country.


" He was now Rector of St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn ; and he took for his text, 'Beloved, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves ; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.' He expatiated on the origin and design of the Christian Ministry, on the preached word, the right administration of the Sacraments, and the succession of the ministry from the Apostles' time to the present, as


125


Bend and Moore


18II]


constituting the only true Church. He admitted that sects had sprung up, but denied their validity ; comparing them to the man who would convey an estate to another, when no title was vested in himself.


" This boldness on the part of Mr. Wright made the Bishop restless and uneasy, lest Dr. Beach's invited clergy should take offence ; but fortunately no notice was taken, except by Dr. Rodgers, who enquired of Dr. Beach, whether Mr. Wright was aware that Bishop Provoost had been baptized by Domine Du Bois."


On the Sunday following, October 21st, the Deacons, Messrs. Richard Channing Moore and Joseph G. J. Bend, who had been ordained in July were advanced to the Priesthood in St. George's Chapel. They were thus not only the first Deacons, but also the first Priests ordained in this State through the English succession.


A few words may be added, relating to their sub- sequent history.


Joseph Grove John Bend was born about 1762. After his ordination, he was elected Assistant Minister to Bishop White at Christ Church and St. Peter's Church, Phila- delphia. In 1791 he was elected Rector of St. Paul's Church, Baltimore, which position he held till his death in 1812. He was one of the founders of the Baltimore Li-


brary and the Baltimore General Dispensary. During his Rectorship he was also continuously Delegate to the General Convention, member of the Standing Committee, and Secretary of the Diocesan Convention. He was the leader of the High Church party both in the Diocesan and the General Convention. In his parish he was an in- defatigable and systematic visitor, and his Church was noted for its number of week-day services.


Richard Channing Moore was born in 1762. He studied for the ministry under Dr. Provoost, and spent the first two years of his ministry at Rye. In 1789 he be- came Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Richmond, Staten Island, where he remained for twenty-one years. In 1809


-----


I26


History of Trinity Church


[1787-


he took charge of St. Stephen's Church, New York, and retained it till 1814, when he was elected to the Rectorship of the Monumental Church, Richmond, and to the Bishop- ric of Virginia, to which see he was consecrated on May 18, 1814. He died November 11, 1841. It has been said, referring to Bishop Moore, that


" The Episcopal Church was nearly prostrate in Virginia before his day. Her sacred Edifices were in ruins, and there were few to minis- ter at her altars. No wonder that, under the preaching and example of such a Prelate, her condition should have been changed. No wonder that her altars should once more be rebuilt, and songs of praise again resound in Edifices reared by the worshippers of olden times." 1


Dr. Moore found five clergy on his arrival in his diocese ; he left, at his death, one hundred.


In the Gospel Messenger for 1855 there is a vivid de- scription, from the pen of Bishop De Lancey, of the first confirmation held by Bishop Provoost.


"In a recent Episcopal tour in Courtland County, in this Diocese, I met, at the house of her son, Dr. R. C. Owen, the warden of Calvary Church, Homer, Mrs. Mary Owen, the widow of Dr. J. Owen, a native of the city of New York, born in 1774, whose maiden name was Mary Bell. She gave me an account, as an eye-witness, of the administration of the holy rite. She was then about 14 years of age.


"His first Confirmation was held in St. Paul's Chapel-Trinity Church was then in ashes. More than three hundred persons were confirmed. The candidates occupied the body of the Church below ; the congregation were in the galleries. The Bishop addressed the can- didates from the pulpit before Confirmation. Many aged persons were confirmed, some of them more than ninety years of age. She distinctly recollects two aged ladies led up to the altar by their coloured servants who stood aside till the rite was performed, and then led their mistresses back to their pews. The Bishop was in his Episcopal robes. She (Mary Bell) viewed the ceremony from the gallery.


"Among the clergy present, she recollects the Rev. Benjamin Moore, the Rev. Richard Channing Moore, and the Rev. Mr. Pilmore (Pilbury she thought his name was). She does not distinctly remember


1 The Hon. John Tyler in Sprague's Annals, vol. v., p. 372.


127


First Confirmations


18II]


the year, month, or day, but says it was in warm weather, and not on Sunday, and, she thinks, in the same year in which the Bishop arrived from England."1


In the early years of the American Episcopate the confirmations were naturally very large. At St. George's, Hempstead, on October 31, 1787, 157 persons were con- firmed. Whenever an ordination was to be held, such great crowds assembled that, as we learn from Bishop White, the Bishops made it a rule never, if possible, to ordain on Sundays, but on some Holy Day during the week.


From the Daily Advertiser of July 15, 1788, we learn that on July 13th, George H. Spieren of Perth Amboy and James Morris of Virginia, were ordained Priests in St. Paul's Chapel.


A few days before, on the 9th, the first ordination in the State of New Jersey was held by Bishop Provoost, when the same Mr. Spieren had been ordained Deacon.


On Thursday, the 4th of November, 1788, the Di- ocesan Convention was held in New York. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Joshua Bloomer, who had been a fellow classmate of Provoost at King's College. The Convention sat for three days, and appointed delegates to the General Convention which was to be held in Philadelphia in the July following. The chronicler of this gathering remarks :


" It must afford satisfaction to the friends of Christianity in gen- eral, and to every Episcopalian in particular, to be informed that under the Superintending care of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Provost, Bishop of this State, true religion is daily advanced, and more completely established in every part of this extensive diocese." 2


Prior to the meeting of the Diocesan Convention,


1 Gospel Messenger, xxix., 170, November 9, 1855.


New- York Journal, November 27, 1788.


I28


History of Trinity Church


[1787-


there had been a meeting of the Corporation of the Parish on October 27th, when the following resolution was moved by Mr. Richard Harison :


" Resolved, as the sense of this Board, that the union of the Prot- estant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is of great importance, and ardently to be desired ; and that the delegates ap- pointed to represent the Church of New York in the ensuing State Convention be instructed to promote the same by every prudent meas- ure consistent with the Constitution of the Church, and the respect due to the General Convention." 1


After considerable discussion, and counter-motions, the above motion was agreed to.


The motion had in view the incorporation of that part of the Church which was under the jurisdiction of Dr. Seabury. Bishop Provoost, being of the opinion that the resolution did not specifically safeguard the right of the laity in General Convention, dissented and requested that his dissent be entered on the minutes. That this was the ground of Dr. Provoost's objection is evident from the long discussion by the Vestry on the following October upon the presence of the laity in General Convention.


Bishop Seabury and his followers were known to be hostile to the admission of the laity to the Councils of the Church. Accordingly, when, on October 19, 1789, the usual notification from the Rev. Dr. Moore, Secretary to the Diocesan Convention, was read before the Board requesting it to choose delegates to the Convention that was to meet in November, Mr. Jay, after the election of the delegates, moved the adoption of the following resolution :


" That the delegates now chosen to represent this congregation at the next Convention be, and they hereby are, instructed not to assent to, but, on the contrary, to oppose every proposed constitution for the American Episcopal Church, and every proposed alteration in the one


1 Records, liber i., folio 513.


129


Admission of Laity in Conventions


1811]


of 1786, that shall not give to the laity Equal powers with the clergy in the making of all acts, laws, and regulations binding on the Church."


Mr. Harison moved, as an amendment, that all the latter part of the resolution from the words "not give," inclusive, to the end be obliterated, and the words, " Give to the clergy a power to bind the laity without their con- sent," be inserted therefor.


Upon motion of Mr. Hamersley it was ordered that the further consideration of the said resolution and amend- ment be postponed.1


At a meeting held seven days after, Mr. Warner pro- posed a resolution :


"That the delegates to the State Convention be, and they are hereby instructed to agree to, and adopt the constitution proposed by the general Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, lately held at Philadelphia, and any further measures that may have a tendency to cement the union which has taken place in the said Church."


Messrs. Jay, Duane, Bleecker, Randall, Hamersley, Jones, Carmer, Lewis, Ogsbury, Dominick, Warner, Laight, Ropes, and Harison voted in the affirmative.


In the correspondence between Dr. Provoost and Dr. White on the question of the admission of the Connecti- cut and Eastern Churches to the General Convention, Dr. Provoost is outspoken in his declarations that there must be a representation of both Clergy and laity in each State, and that the obligation to the English Bishops was not an implied one, but an actual one-that a third Bishop for America should be consecrated by them before the Church here could be considered as definitely organized.


He distinctly repudiates beforehand any action of the New York delegates looking to an annulment of these fundamental principles.


1 Records, liber i., folio 521.


VOL. 11 .- 9


130


History of Trinity Church


[1787-


For the information of Dr. White, he transmits a copy of the following resolution as passed by the New York Convention :


"Upon motion of Mr. Harison, seconded by Mr. Rogers, it was unanimously Resolved, That it is highly necessary, in the opinion of this Convention, that measures should be pursued to preserve the Episco- pal Succession in the English Line. And resolved, also, that the union of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the United States of America, is of great importance and much to be desired, and that the delegates of this State, in the next General Convention, be instructed to promote that union by every prudent measure consistent with the constitution of the Church, and the continuance of the Episcopal succession in the English Line." 1


Bishop Provoost was right in his contentions. The New York Convention and the General Convention had both accepted the principle of lay representation ; lay delegates had been elected, and had sat in both Con- ventions, as provided for by the second and third articles of the constitution as ratified in 1786. As to the obliga- tion to the English Bishops, it is abundantly proved by the MSS. of Bishop White. Dr. Provoost, when applied to by the Virginians to consecrate Dr. Griffith, had de- clined doing so, for the very reason of the lack of the ca- nonical number of three consecrators.


The General Convention met at Philadelphia, Septem- ber 29, 1789. The Bishop of New York had been suffer- ing for some time from what he termed " disorders in the head "; he had previously suffered considerably from these attacks, premonitory symptoms, no doubt, of the disease which ultimately caused his death.


The results of the deliberations of this Convention are matters of history.


Bishop Seabury and his clergy were admitted. The constitution, though amended in many respects, provided 1 A Half Century of American Church Legislation, vol. iii., p. 412.


I31


Inaugurating Washington


1811]


under its second article for lay representation ; but, on the other hand, the Bishops were to form a separate house. The proposal to consecrate a Bishop of Massachusetts by the three Bishops in America, Seabury, Provoost, and White, was referred to the English Archbishops for their sanction, failing which the Bishop-elect should proceed to England for consecration. It will thus be seen that while Bishop Seabury and his Clergy were admitted, the princi- ples insisted on by the Bishop of New York were main- tained : lay representation, and consent of the English Bishops prior to any consecration on this side.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.