USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 4 > Part 10
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" It may be interesting to some, to be informed of a coincidence which will be here stated. On the 9th of September, 1826, the writer having been but a few weeks a resident of this place, Bishop Hobart held confirmation in the church here. Towards evening of that day he was taken suddenly ill while alone in his room; a young man who has attended him in his last illness being in an adjoining apartment heard him fall; the writer was alarmed, and ran to his assistance, and found him lying on his face, faint, and somewhat convulsed. Orders were instantly given to call a physician, and Dr. Morgan, then an entire stranger to all concerned, was providentially found in the street, and in a few minutes was with the bishop. By a timely prescription and careful attention the threatened illness passed over, and the next day found our prelate consecrating a church at Moravia, nearly twenty miles from this place. Whenever the bishop has subsequently made any stay in this village, the doctor has called upon him. The bishop was from the first much pleased with this gentleman, and as will be seen, grew fond of him and placed the utmost confidence in him to the last. We now return to the narrative.
" He rested well for the greater part of the night of Friday the 3d; and though during most of the following day, Saturday the 4th, he suf- fered considerably, he found himself much better and more comfort- able on Sunday the 5th. It was evident however, that, under the most
1
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favourable circumstances, he could not in safety attend to his appoint- ments for the two following weeks. During the middle of the day, a letter, dictated by himself, was addressed to his son, Dr. William H. Hobart, in the city of New York, expressing the opinion of the bishop himself that he was convalescent; but as he concluded that he should not have sufficient strength to perform the duties of his visitation ap- pointments, it would be advisable for him to return home as soon as he should be able to travel, and he wished his son to come on for the pur- pose of attending him on the way.
"On Tuesday the 7th the symptoms were more unfavourable, but there was nothing by any means alarming either to the physician or himself. During Wednesday the 8th the bishop's disorder assumed a severer character, but he was evidently much more comfortable through a large portion of Thursday the 9th; but on Friday the 10th, the symptoms became seriously alarming, and towards the evening of that day assumed a fatal aspect.
"About nine the bishop's son arrived. His introduction into the room of his venerated father produced emotions better imagined than described and which will not be soon forgotten by those present. The bishop was in full possession of his powers of mind and voice. The inquiries he made after his family, the pious counsels he addressed to his child, the fervour of his religious feelings, the ardour of his affec- tionate language, produced for a time a most thrilling and overwhelm- ing effect. Painfully interesting as this interview was, it was truly gratifying to those who had hitherto surrounded the bishop's bed, that Dr. Hobart could hear from his father's mouth, not only his last ad- monitions and affectionate entreaties to make the Saviour of his soul the supreme object of his love, but that he might have from it an assurance that his father had the fullest confidence in what his physi- cians had done for him. This sentiment was very frequently expressed during the whole of his sickness. Though he had the advantage of the counsel of several of the most distinguished and able medical gentlemen from other villages and though he was very much gratified by their visits and still more by their untiring attentions, he never failed to assure both them and his attending physician that he had the most entire confidence in the latter. To him he addressed the most grateful, pious and tender remarks. Again and again he would say, 'My dear Doctor, give me your hand, it soothes me; you have been very kind and faithful to me; you have been most judicious in your treatment of me; you will not lose your reward; for whether I live or die, you have done your duty. God will bless you; my Saviour will
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bless you.' To his other attendants he was continually addressing the warm acknowledgments, imploring upon them the richest blessings. On receiving the slightest refreshment or relief, his first expression was ' God be praised ' and then he would tenderly and repeatedly thank the immediate agent. Time will not permit any thing like a narrative of his conversation and remarks to those in his room. Throughout his sickness none were admitted who were not necessary to his comfort.
"Though Bishop Hobart did not consider himself alarmingly ill till the latter part of his sickness, still he frequently observed, even in the earlier part of it, that it was the third attack of the kind; and such he had no doubt 'would some day be his end.' 'Perhaps,' said he, this may be that one: if so, God's will be done. O pray for me, that I may not only say this, but feel it as a sinner; for, bear me witness, I have no merit of my own; as a guilty sinner, would I go to my Saviour, casting all my reliance on him-the atonement of his blood. He is my only dependence-my Redeemer, my Sanctifier, my God, My Judge.' Such was the tenour of much of his conversation; and it was most earnestly wished that the writer had the ability as well as time to record, in the glowing language of the departed prelate, the evidence he gave of deep humility, of lively faith, of animating hope of the joys of heaven.
"On Sunday the 5th he requested the writer to perform in his room the office of visitation for the sick, in which, with his Prayer Book lying on his bed before him, he joined with that delightful fervour for which his manner has been so often admired. Frequently through the day and the night, he would request either the writer or the reverend brother who was with him all the time from Tuesday P.M. till he died, to use a short prayer. This practice was continued till he became too much exhaused to be benefitted by it. He often asked for some portion of Bishop Andrewes' Litany to be read. In his own repetition of them there was a thrilling effect upon those present.
"On Saturday morning the indications were so wholly discouraging. that his physicians advised that he should be informed that they con- sidered him in a very dangerous situation. Though the bishop had evidently regarded his case as very doubtful, he might not be aware that his time was so near out as it has proved to have been.
"The painful office of making the communication fell upon the writer, and it was suggested that if he had any thing to do or say there should be no delay, and allusion was made to his wishes as to the Lord's supper. 'Oh yes,' said he, 'the sacrament, the sacrament ; 1
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that is the last thing-that is all-let me have it.' There was a firm- ness and composure in his manner as he uttered the words, 'Well, God's will be done,' which moved every heart, and confirmed all present that the pious affection of this venerated and beloved bishop could not be shaken by the approaches of death.
"The sacrament was soon administered by the writer, and long will that solemn scene be remembered by all who beheld the trans- action, as one of the most tender and moving character .. When the person officiating came, in the confession, to the words, 'by thought, word or deed,' the bishop stopped him and said, 'You know the Church expects us to pause over those words ; pause now, repeating one of the words at a time till I request you to go on.' This was done and the pauses in each case were so long that a fear passed over our minds that he had lost his recollection, or had fallen asleep. This, however, proved not to be so ; He repeated each word, and after the third pause added 'Proceed, I will interrupt you no more.' At the proper place he requested to hear read the 93d hymn. As soon as the reading was ended, he sung clearly the second and third verses.1
"From this time, which was about nine o'clock in the morning, there was no very important change. During the night he said very little, and for about four hours before he expired, was nearly if not quite insensible to what was passing around. He sunk into the arms of death without a struggle; and his face soon assumed that engaging expression which had in life so often delighted those who loved him.
"The most expeditious preparations were made for his removal to the city for interment. A very respectable body of the inhabitants of the village assembled at the parsonage-house, where after a few remarks by the writer, he performed that service in the Clergyman's Companion, prepared by the bishop himself for similar occasions. The body being placed in a hearse, (Sunday, 3 o'clock P.M.) a procession was formed; the writer and some members of his family, with the wardens and ves- trymen of St. Peter's church, with some other members of the congre- .gation, followed the corpse in carriages, Dr. Hobart having previously taken his departure. The bell of St. Peter's church was tolled till the procession reached the edge of the village, when the people on foot and some others returned, and several carriages proceeded with the body to Weedsport where a canal-boat was in readiness; and it was committed to the care of the Rev. Francis H. Cuming, who, it should be stated, had been the constant attendant of the bishop, night and day from
1 The number in our present Hymnal is 456. The first line is,
"Thou God, all glory, honor, power,"
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Tuesday, P.M. The qualifications of this gentleman for a nurse, and his untiring assiduity made him a most important aid to the writer and his family during those trying days. He was so acceptable to the bishop, that he was unwilling to have him a moment from his room, except now and then he would command him to go and get some rest.
" The foregoing has been written to meet the supposed expecta- tion of the distant public, and the bishop's more immediate friends, that the writer would make them acquainted with the most prominent facts and incidents in the last days of that eminent man whose death fills the Church with mourning.
" JOHN C. RUDD." 1
A letter from Dr. Rudd, giving additional particulars, is incorporated in Dr. Schroeder's Memoir, the first part of which is here given.
"AUBURN, November 17, 1830.
" The preceding account was written, as it states, for the purpose of meeting the anticipated anxiety of the public to learn the particu- lars of the last days of one who filled a space unusually large in the public eye, and a still larger one in the affections of his people. It was a leading aim of the writer in that account to present only the promi- nent points immediately connected with the mournful event. There were very many incidents in the illness of Bishop Hobart, which might have been related with propriety, but for the desire that the earliest possible information might be sent off, and brevity was requisite in order to do this.
" The worthy publishers of 'Memorials of Bishop Hobart' have expressed a wish that I would extend the account already given, by adding a number of particulars, which have been related in private con- versations. I am fully aware of the difficulties, and frequent im- proprieties attending the detail of sick-room occurrences; and I am admonished on this subject by the recollection of the lively sensibility with which it was regarded by my venerated friend. Still I conclude I should have done injustice to the public, to him, and to myself, had I said less, and much more might doubtless have been expressed. In a case like the one which has filled the Church with an uncommon de- gree of interest, it would be reasonable to suppose that, under the peculiar circumstances of its occurrence, many incidents and remarks, gratifying to be known to the public, or to the immediate friends, would be remembered.
1 The Gospel Messenger, Auburn, September 13, 1830.
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"To the writer and his wife, Bishop Hobart, as had been custom- ary for him for many years, had much to say in relation to his domestic affairs, and the different members of his family. On such topics it is well known that he was not in the habit of conversing much, except with very intimate friends. On these subjects, during the earlier part of the Bishop's illness, and when none were in his room but Mrs. Rudd or myself, or both, he conversed in his usual way, expressing all that tenderness and anxiety for which he was distinguished, regretting repeatedly, that Mrs. Hobart and her sister could not be with him. It was, I think, in the course of Saturday the 11th, that he called me to his bedside and asked respecting the days upon which I had written to certain persons, and then moving his fingers in a calculation of the movements of the mail, he remarked, 'If I can hold out for two or three days longer, I shall undoubtedly see my dear wife;' and then, with some ardent expressions of attachment, he added, 'But if it be God's will that I should not see her, I trust there is a place of meeting for us, where no separations will be known.' This, and many other particulars, have been detailed to the Bishop's family and particular friends during our visit to the city of New York in October.
"Very few men, under any circumstances, ever evinced more gratitude for attentions of every kind, and surely no one under such circumstances of pain and suffering ever more carefully noted what was done for him. On one occasion there was a military parade in a field near the parsonage, the music of which, it was perceived, dis- turbed him. The writer went to the officers, and on stating the situa- tion of his friend, the music was instantly suspended, and the soldiers were soon marched off silently. On discovering what had been done, the Bishop wished to know the commander's name and observed, 'That was very kind in him-thank him and the officers for me.' ",
The news of the Bishop's death spread rapidly, and stirred the heart of the community. The towns and vil- lages through which the body was borne in a canal-boat- at that time the vehicle of travel in that part of the State -displayed signs of mourning, and the bier was watched, on its transit, with tearful eyes. At Albany it was trans- ferred to the steamboat Constellation, which arrived at New York on the 16th of September. The press of that
1 Schroeder's Memoir, p. 243.
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Funeral of Bishop Hobart
1830]
day gave much space to the details of the funeral service. From the account in the New York American the follow- ing particulars are taken :
" The remains of the lamented Bishop of this diocese reached this city yesterday morning in the steam-boat Constellation, from Albany, and were interred with the appropriate ceremonies last evening, beneath the chancel of Trinity Church.
" The procession formed at his late residence in Varick-street, in the following order :-
The Clergy. Pall Bearers. CORPSE. Pall Bearers. The Assistant Ministers of Trinity Church.
The Church Wardens and Vestrymen of Trinity Church, as mourners. Physician to the Family. Acting Governor of the State. The Mayor of the City. The Faculty and Students of the General Theological Seminary. The Faculty and Trustees of Columbia College. 1
The President of the Senate and the Court for the Correction of Errors. The Judges of the several Courts. The Vestries of the several Episcopal Churches.
Society for Promoting Religion and Learning in the State of New York. The New-York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society. The Auxiliary New-York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society. The New-York Protestant Episcopal Missionary Society. The New-York Protestant Episcopal Tract Society. The New-York Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Society. The Trustees of the New-York Protestant Episcopal Public School.
The Trustees of the New-York Protestant Episcopal Press. The Literary and Philosophical Society. The New-York Historical Society. Trustees of the City Library. Citizens.
" The procession moved at a quarter before five, and arrived at Trinity Church about half-past six. It was preceded by nearly eighty clergy- men, and extended about a mile in length-the number of persons belonging to the various societies to whom places were assigned being
IT
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about 700. The church, and the streets through which the procession passed, were thronged to excess. The burial service was read by Bishop Moore, of Virginia, assisted by the Rev. Dr. Lyell and the Rev. Mr. Schroeder. After the service an impressive and affecting discourse was pronounced by the Rev. Dr. Onderdonk, from the 35th verse of the fifth chapter of John :-
"' He was a burning and a shining light ; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.'
"The earth which closed over the remains of this venerated indi- vidual has seldom held one more deeply deplored within its bosom. Beside the irreparable loss to the religious society of which he was the head, and the bitter bereavement to the circle of his immediate friends, the public at large have sustained a lamentable deprivation in the with- drawal of so active a character from the scene of his usefulness.
"'Be ye wise as serpents, yet harmless as doves,' is the precept which seems to have guided the conduct of Bishop Hobart throughout his arduous career. Bland, frank, and affable, he mingled with the world like one who knew that the cure of souls is not incompatible with the courtesies of society; and the amenity of his manners concili- ated as many as the candour of their avowal taught to respect his opinions.
" It was these features that gave an almost apostolic colouring to his character, and enabled him, when walking among men in the zealous and indefatigable promulgation of his religious tenets, to claim the reverence even of those opposed to them. But one of the most marked characteristics of Bishop Hobart-and it is one that cannot be too highly honoured-was the noble, the almost romantic spirit of pa- triotism that animated his bosom. His country, her institutions, and her national character, was ever with him a theme of the most glowing enthusiasm: nor was it a blind devotion, a mere instinctive fondness for the land of his birth. His was a cast of mind, above all others, whose observation and research would lead the possessor to scrutinize the structure, and enable him to measure the value of such a political fabric as ours. He had studied the nature of this government in his closet; he had watched its influence upon the character of the people, while in the pursuance of his official duties; he had contrasted it as a whole with the establishments of Europe, and compared it in its details with that from whence it sprung. When to these he had added per- sonal observation, and had witnessed the operations of other systems from the nearest vantage ground, need we remind the reader how ener- getically and feelingly he poured forth his convictions on the subject ?
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" We need not dwell upon the accomplishments of Bishop Hobart as a scholar and a divine, nor assert that, with his talents, they were such as became his eminent and responsible station. The ability and diligence with which he laboured in his vocation are too well known to need commemorating here. But, in addition to the official care and general interest in the welfare of his fellow-men, so unceasingly mani: fested by Bishop Hobart, there was in him a warmth of disposition, that, blending as it did with both his personal and professional charac- ter, and giving equal fervour to his friendships and his faith, added ardour to sanctity, and enforced piety with affection. The disappear- ance of such a man from the accustomed places where his friendly hand was ever stretched out to warn or to support, where his exhorta- tions were always near to admonish, his prayers ever ready to console, is a mournful and a solemn subject for reflection. We would not in- vade the holiness of sorrow by drawing from such a cause of grief the usual trite consolations; yet surely if men realize in the spirit a reward for deeds done in the body, he has now the recompense that all would attain. He died in the immediate exercises of his duties ; and though called at so brief a warning-unlike the son of Aaron, who was struck from heaven for putting strange fire into his censer-the mandate that bade him thither found him kindling the true flame upon the altar." 1
The action of the Corporation, on this occasion, ap- pears from this transcript of the Records :
" Having received the afflicting intelligence of the death (while on a visitation to a distant part of his Diocese) of the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese, and Rector of this Church, and fully sensible of our duty to bend with humble submis- sion to the ordering of a wise and overruling Providence-it was
"' Resolved unanimously, That we shall ever hold in the most grate- ful and respectful remembrance, the truly Christian and Apostolic char- acter and eminent services of our deeply lamented Rector.
"'That as part of the Diocese of New York, and of the Protes- tant Episcopal Church in the United States, we feel it a duty to our venerated and beloved friend and pastor, to express, as we do hereby express, our high sense of his promptitude, unexampled zeal, and un- wearied exertions to promote every object connected with the best interests of religion, and of the Church, of whom he was one of the most able, disinterested, and indefatigable servants.
1 Schroeder's Memoir, p. 15.
VOL. IV .- 7.
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"'That the respectful and affectionate condolence of the Vestry be tendered to the afflicted Relict and family of the deceased.
"' That with the concurrence of the family of the deceased, his funeral be conducted under the direction and at the expense of the Corporation of Trinity Church, and that the expenses attending his last illness, and the removal of his remains to this city, be also defrayed by this Corporation.
"'That Mr. McEvers, Judge Irving, Mr. Hone, Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Johnson, be a committee to make such arrangements for conduct- ing the funeral of the deceased, as they may think best suited to manifest the feelings of this Church on this melancholy event.
"' Resolved, That in further testimony of our high respect for the memory of our late Rector, the members of this Vestry will attend his funeral as mourners, and wear the usual badge of mourning thirty days.
"'Resolved, That Trinity Church, and St. Paul's and St. John's Chapels be hung in the customary mourning until the festival of Christmas.
"'Resolved, That a certified copy of the foregoing resolutions be delivered to Mrs. Hobart, the respected Relict of our late Bishop.' " 1
And at a meeting on the 4th of October, the follow- ing resolutions were adopted unanimously :
" Resolved, That the thanks of this Vestry be presented to the Rev. John C. Rudd, D.D., Rector of St. Peter's Church at Auburn, for the affectionate and devoted attentions of himself and of his family to our late Rector during his last illness.
" Resolved, That the thanks of this Vestry be presented to the Rev. Francis H. Cuming, Rector of Christ's Church, Binghampton, and to Mr. Thomas Y. How, Junr., for their attentions to our late Rector, during his last illness, and in attending his remains to this city.
" Resolved, That the Comptroller, under the direction of the Standing Committee, pay all the expenses of every description attend- ing the last sickness of our late Rector, and the removal of his remains to this city, so as in their discretion, fully to indemnify those who may have incurred the same.
" Resolved, That the salary and allowance of the late Rector be continued to his widow until the end of the current half year, and that she have the use of the Rector's house until the last day of May next.
' Records, Liber iii., folio 49.
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" Resolved, That the Standing Committee consider and report to the Vestry, what further provision ought to be made for the support of the widow and family of the late Rector.
" Resolved, That a suitable monument be erected in Trinity Church to the memory of the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, D.D., late Bishop of the Diocese of New York, and Rector of this Church, and that Mr. Hone, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Weeks, Mr. McEvers and Mr. Laight, be a Committee for this purpose." 1
Letters of condolence and various resolutions on the occasion of the death of Bishop Hobart, late Rector of the Church, were presented and read to the Vestry, viz .:
From the Vestries of St. John's Church, Elizabeth- town, St. Andrew's Church, New York, and St. Paul's Parish, Baltimore; from the Clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Baltimore; from the congregation of Shearith Israel, New York, and from a meeting of the Lay Members of the Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Religion and Learning in the State of New York; the Trustees of the New York Protestant Episco- pal Public School; the New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society ; the Auxiliary New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society ; the New York Protestant Episcopal Tract Society ; the New York Protestant Epis- copal Missionary Society ; the New York Protestant Epis- copal Sunday School Society ; the New York Protestant Episcopal Press, and the Executive Committee of the Gen- eral Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union. It was thereupon ordered, that the Clerk of the Board acknow- ledge the receipt of the same several communications.
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