USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 2 > Part 15
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The House of Bishops were right in insisting that the new Bishop for New York should be a coadjutor during the life of the Diocesan ; unfortunately they did not act upon the line which they had taken. On the very day following, September 10th, they declared that they were ready to proceed to the consecration of Dr. Moore, the " Bishop-Elect of the Church in the State of New York" -and as such they consecrated him on the 11th. The certificate of his consecration proves this, and in the jour- nals of succeeding conventions he is always styled " Bishop of New York", as White and Claggett are styled "of
1 Half Century of Legislation, vol. i., p. 272.
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Pennsylvania " and "of Maryland " respectively. The ac- tion of the House of Bishops should have corresponded with their recorded opinion. This error, for so it must be considered, led to an unfortunate complication when Dr. Hobart was elected Bishop, his opponents endeavoring to induce the aged and infirm Bishop Provoost to assert a canonical right to jurisdiction in the Diocese of New York. The Diocese protested against any such resumption of jurisdiction, and the episode closed.
Little remains to be said of the Fifth Rector of Trinity Church. The end came suddenly to this much-afflicted man. On the 6th of September, 1815, he was seized with an attack of apoplexy which proved fatal. His death was announced in the evening paper of that date :
"Suddenly this morning, in the 73d year of his age, the Right Reverend SAMUEL PROVOOST, D.D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New-York.
"As among such a number of relations, and so long a list of friends, it is impossible to send particular invitations, without some, tho' invol- untary omissions ; the friends and relations of the family, and of Mr. Colden, and generally the friends of the Church, are hereby invited to attend the funeral of the Bishop from his late residence, No. 26I Greenwich street, tomorrow afternoon at 5 o'clock." 1
The Parish Church was put in mourning2 and other churches in the city paid a similar tribute of respect to the late Diocesan.
An account of the funeral is given in the New- York Evening Post of Sept. 11, 1815 :
"The funeral of Bishop Provoost took place on Thursday. Owing
! New- York Evening Post, September 6, 1815.
The Record of Bishop Provoost's death is on file at the Department of Health. It states that he died in Greenwich Street of apoplexy, aged 73 years, and was buried in Trinity Cemetery, the sexton being T. Collester.
No. 261 Greenwich Street in 1815, is now No. 279, between Murray and Warren Streets.
' Records, liber ii., folio 200.
1815]
Funeral of Bishop Provoost - 173
to the short time for preparation and notice, arising from the full habit of body in which the Bishop died, the tokens of respect were not such as would otherwise have been witnessed. Yet as far as information could be imparted, a solicitude was manifested to pay the last sad offices of affectionate regard. All the Episcopal clergy of the city, and some visiting brethren, attended, as did also those of other denominations. The Pall, covered with the Bishop's robes, was borne by the elder of . the Clergy, among which were some of the Bishop's old acquaintances and friends. In the procession was the Lieutenant Governor, the Judges of the Courts of the United States, the Mayor, the Recorder, and Members of the Corporation; Gentlemen of the Bar, Physicians, and the members of the different public bodies with which the deceased had been connected, as the Vestry of Trinity Church, Trustees of the College and of the Charity School, together with an immense number of the members of the Church, as well as of other denominations, who, besides the immediate friends and relations attended out of a deeply implanted and long standing regard.
"The procession, headed by the children of the Episcopal Charity School, of which Bishop Provoost had for many years been the protect- ing guardian and friend, moved at 6 o'clock down Greenwich-street, up Partition-street, and thence down Broadway to Trinity Church. During the whole time the bells in the City were tolled by the orders of the Corporation. As the procession passed St. Paul's, where the family of the Bishop used to attend divine service, the deep toned sound of that noble bell, which appeared to be muffled, seemed to speak the sense of his attendants of his former faithful services, as well as a regret for the happy days that are past, and greatly added to that deep feeling of sorrow, which pervaded the attending multitude.
"When the procession arrived at Trinity Church, after a solemn and mournful dirge from the organ, full service was performed. The Psalms and Lessons were read by the Rev. Mr. How ; a sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Harris ; and the funeral service was per- formed at the interment by the Rev. Mr. Jones. The Church was im- mensely thronged and the effect was deeply solemn and impressive.
" The members present, who had for many years been witnesses of the parochial labors of their departed Rector, bore testimony to the representations of the preacher, when he stated the regular, uniform, unintermitted and conscientious discharge of the duties of the Sanctu- ary, for which the Bishop was remarkable ; his amiable, easy, yet digni- fied deportment towards all the members of his flock ; and especially his charity and kindness to the poor.
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"The clergy who had been under his episcopal jurisdiction, bore equal testimony to the representation, of that inflexible integrity, that uniform adherence to principle, that spirit of impartiality, that cool, deliberate judgment in investigating, and that firm, unshaken constancy in executing which appears in every part of Bishop Provoost's admin- istration.
" He sought the happiness of his clergy, as the preacher justly en- forced, he studied their comfort : he guarded against any unhappy col- lisions, or he took the most effective means to heal them. His house ever presented a home to every visiting member of his spiritual family ; and they met with a hospitality, and a welcome truly affectionate and parental." 1
According to the terms of his will, dated August 5, 1802, the Bishop left to his eldest daughter, Susanna Eliz- abeth, the wife of George Rapelje, and to his daughter Maria, the wife of Cadwalader D. Colden, all his property, real and personal, to be divided equally between them, subject to the payment of an annuity of $125 to his son, Bousfield Provoost .?
The following reminiscences of the Bishop by Dr. Duer are of special interest, coming as they do from the pen of one who knew the Bishop so well and so intimately.
" Devout without ostentation, stately without pride, dignified with- out austerity, he commanded the respect and esteem both of his clergy and the people-and he won the friendship and affections of all admitted to his intimacy. . . . Besides being a learned and sound divine, he was a polite scholar and accomplished gentleman. He read the noble Liturgy of his Church with critical accuracy without impairing the devo- tional spirit it is so well calculated to excite. As a preacher he was not so happy. His deliberate sonorous declamation was better adapted to the reading desk than the pulpit. Although his enunciation was distinct as well as forcible, yet his sermons were delivered so emphatically- ore rotundo, that the exertion thus induced, together with his plethoric habit, rendered the public services of the Church tedious and laborious
New- York Evening Post, September 11, 1815.
$ Wills, Surrogate's Office, New York. Liber 52, folio 392. (In old Liber, folio 461.)
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Character of Bishop Provoost
1815]
to himself and to liis hearers. But it is by no means certain that these circumstances did not tend to the improvement of his sermons by ren- dering them shorter. In private life the Bishop, though studious and retired in his habits, and in mixcd companies oppressed by diffidence, was certainly more agreeable, and a greater favorite than in public life. He possessed a vein of genuine humor, which gave zest to his conver- sation without infringing upon clerical or conventional propriety-and the playfulness of his manner when surrounded by his family and in- timate friends, was quite captivating. He was particularly condescend- ing and attractive in his intercourse with the young ; with whose tastes and feelings, from the simplicity of his own character, he could more easily sympathize. I shall ever gratefully remember his kindness to me as a boy, and the companion of his sons.
"He would frequently admit us all to his study-the upper room in the back building of the house which stood at the corner of Nassau and Fair (now Fulton) street, where the large establishment of the Sun newspaper has been since erected-when he would show us his rarcst and most valuable prints, exhibit to us the objects of his microscope, and divert himself with our youthful wonderment ; and sometimes of a bright starlight evening, he would display to us the more fascinating wonders of his telescope, and from his serious and impressive explana- tions he seemed to derive a graver and more holy pleasure from our curiosity and admiration. I thought, at that time, that Bishop Provoost was perfection itself, but before many years had elapsed, I discovercd that he was but a man. His faults, however, were those of one whom he resembled both in character and station. Like Eli of old he was ever indulgent to his sons-and like Eli, he was punished by their loss." 1
In person, Bishop Provoost was of about medium height, stately and dignified in manner, and with a kind and intellectual face. In accomplishments he was a fine classical scholar, having an accurate knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. He could converse fluently in Italian, French, and German ;- and, as his sermons show, was well acquainted with ecclesiastical history and church polity. Readers of his sermons have found them remarkable for
1 Reminiscences of an Old Yorker, by the late William A. Duer, LL.D., Presi- dent of Columbia College, p. 16.
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brevity and force of diction. It is true that, unlike Dr. Hobart, he did not defend the dogmas or polity of the Church, and that none of his sermons were controversial ; but in the lessons they conveyed to his hearers he always assumes as granted the fundamental verities of the Christian faith, the Apostolic Succession of the ministry, and the cardinal dogmas of the Church ; they are simple in style; he never airs his knowledge of outside matters although its range was wide, he is neither pedantic nor diffuse; in fact, his sermons are more modern in style than even those of his immediate successors, Bishops Moore and Hobart, and totally unlike the ponderous orations of the English Bishops of the Georgian period.
To his business qualities, the state of Trinity Corpora- tion as he left it, as compared to its condition when he assumed its rectorship, bears witness; the most casual reader of the Records perceives the difference at once between the minutes of the proceedings either under his predecessor or his successor.
The trusted friend of Washington, John Adams, Jay, Hamilton, Chancellor Livingston, and Duane, he was able to guide the fortunes of the American Church in a period of great perplexity into a safe harbor of prosperity.
To his personal influence and popularity as the " Patriot Bishop" was largely due the overruling of the determina- tion of the Legislature to confiscate the property of the Corporation. To that fact may also be traced the com- manding influence which the Church had during his Rectorship in New York. The old distrust of it as a "piece of baggage left behind them by the British troops" had died out, and instead of that distrust, and almost hate, there had sprung up in American hearts a love and venera- tion for their Church as an American institution, and a desire to extend her boundaries beyond both the city and
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Memorials to Bishop Provoost
1815]
State of New York. Debates in conventions, committee meetings, legacies, benefactions, and erection of church edifices attest the growth of the love and veneration of Church people for their infant Church, and the respect with which it was held by the different religious organi- zations around it, and by the community at large.
A portrait of the first Bishop of New York, painted by Benjamin West, hangs in the Vestry-room of Trinity Chapel. Trinity Church contains a window to his mem- ory, and a panel on its bronze doors shows the effigy of the Bishop, on the occasion of his receiving the first Presi- dent of the United States, at the entrance to St. Paul's Chapel, immediately after his inauguration.
VOI .. 11 .- 12
CHAPTER XVI.
DR. MOORE'S RECTORSHIP.
Benjamin Moore's Birth and Ancestry-Graduates at King's College-Proceeds to England for Ordination-Ordained Deacon and Priest-Elected Assistant Minister- His Marriage-President of Columbia College-Regent of University of New York- Elected Rector 1783-Consecrated Bishop-Doors of Church to be Closed during Elections-Mr. Cave Jones Elected Assistant Minister-Institution of Society for Advancement of Religion and Learning-Election of Trustees for it and Grant of Lots-Benefactions to Rev. R. G. Whitmore-Grants to Assistant Ministers-Distri- bution of Hobart's Companion to the Altar-Parochial Statistics for 1803-4-Election of Rev. N. Bowen as Assistant --- and of Rev. Thomas Y. How-Donation to Miss Seabury-Bishop Moore Struck by Paralysis-Appoints Dr. Beach as his Assistant.
B ENJAMIN MOORE was born at Newtown, Long Island, October 5, 1748. His parents were Samuel and Sarah Moore. He claimed descent from Thomas de Moore, who accompanied William the Conqueror to Eng- land. The name of Thomas de Moore is found on the list of those who embarked at St. Valery ; and he survived the battle of Hastings.
The immediate ancestor of the Newtown family was the Reverend John Moore, an Independent Minister, and the first in the settlement, " having been permitted in New England to preach, but not authorized to administer Sacra- ments." He thus officiated for many years, dying in 1657.
Biographies differ as to whether Benjamin was the second or eldest child. According to Riker's Annals of Newtown, he was the eldest son.1
It is said of him that his parents despaired of his success in the world; for while his brothers took a keen
1 P. 333.
178
The Rt Rer. Benjamin Moore, P.O. Appointed Rector in 1983, became Rector December 22 nd, 1800. Consecrated Bishop of You Work,1801. Bird February 27th, 1816.
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[1800-1811] Dr. Moore and Columbia College
interest in farming matters, young Benjamin was of a quiet temperament and overfond of books. Being per- mitted to follow his tastes and inclinations, he was sent to King's College, where he graduated with honor in 1768. He then prepared for the ministry under the supervision of Dr. Auchmuty and in 1774 proceeded to England, where he was ordained deacon June 24, 1774, and priest, on June 29th by Dr. Terrick, Bishop of London, as the certified extract from the Registry of the Diocese of London proves.1
The circumstances have already been related (Part I., 362-4) under which he was elected an Assistant Minister to Trinity Parish, in February, 1775, Dr. Auchmuty at that date being the Rector.
Mr. Moore continued to serve as Assistant Minister under the Rectorship of Dr. Inglis, and was elected Rector in 1783.2 On March 20, 1779, he married Miss Charity Clarke.
His relations to King's, now Columbia, College were intimate and continuous for many years. Upon the flight of Dr. Cooper, May 10, 1775, Mr. Moore, an alumnus of the College, and now in Holy Orders, was appointed by the Governor Preses pro tempore, it being supposed that Dr. Cooper might return ; and upon the reorganization of the College after the Revolutionary War, with four faculties, Arts, Divinity, Medicine, and Law, Mr. Moore was appointed Professor of Rhetoric and Logic (1784-7). He was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of New York, 1787-1802. In 1789 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Di- vinity from Columbia College. December 31, 1801, he was appointed to the office of President of the College, which he had held ad interim more than twenty-six years
' Appendix XIV.
2 Part I., p. 443.
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before. He continued in that office until May 11, 1811, and was also a Trustee from 1802 to 1813.1
Mention has already been made of his election to the Rectorship in 1783, the setting aside of that Rectorship, and the election of Dr. Provoost in his place ; it has also been shown how on the nomination of Bishop Provoost he was finally called to the Rectorship, December 22, 1800. No doubt Dr. Moore had done much during the term of Dr. Provoost's Rectorship to win over by his quiet be- havior and modesty those previously opposed to him on political grounds. He appears to have been the model of a gentle, amiable, and unassuming Christian.
The consecration of Dr. Moore took place at Trenton, New Jersey, September 11, ISO1.
" Tuesday the Right Rev. Bishop Moore, D.D., returned to this city from Trenton, after receiving Episcopal Consecration by the Right Reverend Bishops White, Claggett and Jarvis ; to which sacred office he had been unanimously elected by both Clergy and Laity in the convention of the Episcopal Church, in the State of New York, lately held in this city ; in consequence of the resignation of the Jurisdiction over said Church by the Right Reverend Bishop Provoost. From the well known talents, zeal and activity of Bishop Moore, and the harmony and unanimity which prevailed among all the Delegates from the differ- ent parts of the State, the members of the Church may indulge the pleasures of hope, that as the sphere of his influence is now very con- siderably extended, the most happy consequences will result to every congregation in her communion, by the blessings of God upon his pious labours."
Attention has already been called to the vacillating ac- tion of the House of Bishops in refusing to admit that Bishop Provoost was by virtue of his resignation no longer de jure Bishop of New York-and stipulating that if Dr. Moore was to be consecrated it must be as a Coadjutor.
1 An Historical Sketch of Columbia College in the City of New York, By Nathaniel F. Moore. New York, 1846.
2 The Commercial Advertiser, September 14, ISO1.
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Consecration of Dr. Moore
1811]
Yet at Trenton, as appears from the official record of the General Convention for ISO1, Dr. Moore was consecrated not as Bishop Coadjutor but as Bishop. The Certificate of Consecration reads that Bishops White, Claggett, and Jarvis consecrated Dr. Moore
"into the office of Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York, to which the said Benjamin Moore, D.D., hath been elected by the Convention of the said State, in consequence of the inability of the Right Rev. Bishop Provoost, and of his declining all " Episcopal Jurisdiction within the said State."1
This certificate certainly justified Bishop Moore and the Diocese of New York in considering that Bishop Provoost had ceased de jure as well as de facto to be Bishop of New York.
The remarks made as to the lack of MSS. and papers in the case of the first Bishop of New York may be re- peated as to the second. Diligent search has been made wherever it was thought that such papers could be found, but neither among Diocesan records nor family collections have any been discovered. The minutes of the Corpora- tion during the Rectorship of Dr. Moore are un- usually scant ; consisting for the most part of a monotonous list of applications from different persons or congregations for grants of money or land, and of the liberal response to them by the Corporation. Some of the Records are worth transcribing ; here, for instance, is a resolution of the Board directing that in no case were the inner doors of the Church to be opened during State or city elections. The object of this resolution was to prevent electioneer- ing and canvassing within the sacred edifice. The outer doors were open; but the space between them and the inner ones, forming a lobby, was circumscribed enough in
1A Half-Century of the Legislation of the American Church, vol. i, p. 278.
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History of Trinity Church [1800-
area to prevent voters from collecting in considerable numbers. 1
On the 12th of January, 1801, Mr. Cave Jones was elected as Assistant Minister on the same terms as Mr. Hobart.2 The letter of acceptance from Mr. Jones is spread on the minutes of February 9th.3
The election of this gentleman was destined to lead to most disagreeable results, as will be seen hereafter.
August 16, 1802, we find that
"A plan for instituting a Society for the advancement of Religion and Learning was proposed to consist of Members of the Protestant Episcopal Church and to be stiled the Protestant Episcopal Society for promoting Religion and Learning in the State of New York, was read, considered by Paragraphs, and agreed to by the Board."
The Board then proceeded to elect the first Trustees, twenty in number. The Rev. Dr. Beach, the Rev. Dr. Bowden, the Rev. Mr. Hobart, the Rev. Mr. Jones, John Charlton, Peter Kemble, Robert Watts, John On- derdonk, Frederick De Peyster, Richard Harison, Jacob Le Roy, Francis B. Winthrop, Matthew Clarkson, Har- man Le Roy, William Jauncey, Rev. Mr. Pilmore, the Rev. Mr. Harris, William M. Seton, Martin Hoffman, and John Jones.
The Constitution of this Society is given in full on folio 178 and consists of eleven clauses ; the 6th is as follows :
"VI. The following are to be considered as the objects of the Society, that is to say - the adopting of measures to ensure a sufficient number and succession of pious and learned Ministers of the Gospel attached to the excellent doctrines and discipline of the protestant Episcopal Church ; to afford assistance to such young men as are of good charac- ter and competent abilities, but in circumstances which do not admit of prosecuting the study of divinity without aid ; to encourage those who may distinguish themselves by extraordinary attainments, to receive all
' Records, liber ii., folio 114. 2 Ibid., folio 107. 3 Ibid., folio 108.
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Generosity of Corporation
1811]
donations for pious purposes and to superintend the applications of them ; gradually to provide funds for the procuring of a theological library ; for the establishment of Schools and of one or more Fellow- ships in Columbia College ; in a word to pursue a system of measures whereby the Situation of the Clergy may be rendered respectable, the Church obtain a permanent support, and learning and Piety be gener- ally diffused throughout the State.
On September 13, 1802, the Committee on Leases re- ported that a number of lots, twenty-two in all, could be assigned to the said Society, producing a revenue of $1000 a year. The report was accepted, and on October 11th following, an additional grant of lots was made to the in- stitution ; further grants were made to it from time to time, until the total amounted to about £21,000 in money and twenty-eight lots of land.
On April 4, 1839, this Society was, by Act of the Legislature, incorporated as the "Society for Promoting Religion and Learning in the State of New York." It continues to this day as the Diocesan Agent for the Edu- cation of Candidates for the Ministry, and as such has done a great work in aiding young men in Hobart Col- lege, Columbia University, the General Theological Sem- inary and St. Stephen's College, Annandale. In fact, the last-named institution has been maintained by it for many years, and would not have been enabled to continue its work but for the Society.
All this and other good things have been the result of the original donation by the corporation of Trinity Church.
As an example of considerate generosity the following is worth recording :
" A letter from R. G. Whitmore, Clergyman of Duansborough, stat- ing his ill health and his necessities, was read, and thereupon resolved that two hundred and fifty Dollars be given to him and the Rector be authorized to inform him that if he should require any further
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assistance he can draw on the Treasurer for a further sum not exceeding two hundred dollars." 1
On June 14, 1804, the salaries of the Assistant Minis- ters were raised to £700 each.2
On August 9, 1804, five hundred copies of Mr. Ho- bart's Companion to the Altar were ordered to be pur- chased and delivered to the Bishop for distribution.
In the Hobart MSS., in the custody of the Registrar to the General Convention, are several returns from differ- ent parishes throughout the State. Among them is one from Dr. Moore, as Rector of Trinity Church for the year October 1, 1803, to October 1, 1804. He reports for the Parish, "Baptisms, 378; Communicants, about 1000; Marriages, 115 ; Funerals, 400."
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