USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 4 > Part 33
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" It must be perceived that the whole will be necessarily a memo- rial of my father, to whose memory however it is intended more par- ticularly to appropriate one of the stained glass windows.
" Now I earnestly ask of you that instead of the purchase of Plate I may be permitted to expend the sum you intended for it in procuring a stained glass window as a memorial of the first Comptroller of your Corporation, in the purchase of a set of Communion Plate suitable for the little wayside chapel, and if there be anything left, of other furni- ture, a font or bell for instance, as may be required, and shall not be otherwise provided. Grant me, then, this favor with the permission to present the articles so purchased in your behalf and name to Trinity Chapel at Morley, and to put on them suitable inscriptions to that effect.
"For the imperfections of this communication I trust you will find excuse, in that it is written in a sick room amid the confusion of preparation for my voyage.
" My dear friends, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.
" May God bless you, is the fervent prayer of your affectionate friend and colleague.
" WM. H. HARISON.
" At Dr. Ludlow's, " No. 49 E. 23d St., "New York, Nov. 5th, 1853." 1
The letter was referred, with power, to Messrs. Falls, Strong, and Hyslop.
On the 13th of November, 1854, they reported, recom- mending that " the sum of eight hundred dollars be appro- priated to the payment for a stained glass window in a chapel to be erected in or near the village of Morley in
1 Records, liber iv., folios 142, 143.
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St. Lawrence County, in this Diocese, to be called Trinity Chapel to the memory of Richard Harison, the first Comp- troller of this Corporation and for suitable Communion Plate for said Chapel."1 They also recommended that other articles of furniture for the chapel should be pro- cured, if the sum were sufficient.
The Albany Street scheme was revived in the closing weeks of 1853. Articles appeared in several newspapers, and meetings of those interested were held. The matter came once more before the Board of Aldermen, and at their last session in 1853 an amendment was offered and carried, that Albany Street be extended to Broadway.
Prompt action was taken by the Vestry. On the 9th of January, 1854, a committee of five was appointed to oppose the measure, with power to call to their aid "any persons whose co-operation they may deem useful in carry- ing out the objects of their appointment."
While the members of the Parish and the whole city were discussing this desecration of a plot of ground used for burial purposes for at least two hundred years, with indignant comments upon the motives of the Aldermen, the Rev. Sullivan H. Weston preached a sermon in Trinity Church, on Sunday, February 5, 1854, upon the "Sanctity of the Grave." 2
It was a vigorous, sensible, and manly protest against the proposition of the Aldermen, and it showed that in every nation the abodes of the dead had been respected and guarded sacredly from profanation. A hearing before the Street Committee of the Board of Aldermen was held in February, and adjourned from time to time, while argu- ments were made in favor of the alleged improvement by
1 Records, liber iv., folio 182.
2 A sermon on the "Sanctity of the Grave," preached in Trinity Church, Sunday, February 5, 1854, and repeated by request in St. Paul's Chapel, February 12, 1854, by the Rev. S. H. Weston, A. M.
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Extension of Albany Street 389
the Hon. Edward Sandford, and against it by Mr. Peter Y. Cuyler. The execution of the resolution was then de- ferred. In January, 1855, a new Board of Aldermen at the first meeting passed an ordinance "to stay all proceed- ings in the matter." This was fortified by an order of the Supreme Court that all proceedings be discontinued. And so the invaders of the grave were baffled once more.
But the time was one of resolute and bitter conflict. While this attack upon the churchyard was in progress, the old attempts to get possession of the entire estate of the Corporation were renewed. Not only in the City of New York, but throughout the State, a firm conviction prevailed among certain persons, that the title of Trinity Church to its property was defective; nor did the failure of the heirs of Anneke Jans to prove their claims, nor the decisions of the Courts, in every instance favorable to the Corporation, deter individuals from the search for means to obtain possession of the landed estate. The long history of popular delusions presents no more striking in- stance than this of their persistence and of the apparent impossibility of enlightening the victims of the erroneous impressions, from which such delusions take their rise.
Mr. Rutgers B. Miller, a prominent lawyer of Utica, now appears upon the scene, asserting a claim by the State to the " King's Farm," on the ground that it was never legally conferred ; that the lease by Governor Fletcher had lapsed ; and that the lease by Governor Cornbury was null and void, as contrary to an act of the Provincial Assembly confirmed by the Queen. By dint of persistent letter- writing, he succeeded in interesting many persons in his contention ; he also submitted a hypothetical case to counsel, based on his alleged discoveries, and even gained the attention of the Commissioners of the School Fund and those of the Land Office of the State. In furtherance
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of the scheme, he proceeded to form an association for the recovery of the land for the State, of which the members were to receive a percentage of the value of the lands illegally held. It is hardly necessary to observe that Mr. Miller was President of this company of aggressors, and that he asserted that he had discovered and was in the possession of evidence amply sufficient to prove the invalidity of the Trinity Church title.
And now enters once more that conspicuous and persis- tent adversary of the Corporation, Mr. Christopher C. Kiersted. An account of his attacks on us July, 1851, when a suit was commenced in the Court of Common Pleas in the City of New York, and in April, 1852, when a similar action was begun in the Supreme Court, together with their signal failure, has already been given in this History. This indomitable individual again comes to the fore. A petition from him was presented in the Senate February 27, 1854, by Mr. W. Clark, " relative to the title of the State of New York to the King's farm : which was read and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary." 1
On Tuesday, March 7, the Committee reported, through Mr. Hopkins, their Chairman. He asked and obtained leave to bring in " a bill entitled An Act appointing Com- missioners to ascertain, adjust, and enforce the claims of the people of the State of New York to the King's farm and garden as claimed by the Rector, Wardens, and Ves- trymen of Trinity Church in the city of New York," which was read the first time and by unanimous consent was read the second time, and committed to the Committee of the Whole.
The matter seems to have ended there for the time, no further action being taken ; and so another storm blew over, without damage to the Church.
1 P. 260, Senate Journal, 1854.
2 Ibid., p. 315.
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The Anneke Jans Claims
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On Friday, March 17, 1854, a petition was presented in the Senate, signed by citizens of New York, and pray- ing "that the Attorney-General be authorized to call the trial in the Supreme Court of this State of the suit of Christopher Kiersted and others against Trinity Church." This petition was read and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.1 A similar petition was presented in the Assembly on the same day, and a Bill was reported to ex- pedite the suit, which after some discussion was passed, April 15, 1854.3
Under all these attacks the Church maintained a calm and dignified attitude, confident in the validity of her title. Nothing seems to have come of them at the time, beyond a strong desire to ascertain the exact condition of the Corporation. Exaggerated rumors were in circulation as to the value of the property, the alleged selfishness of the trustees, and the habit ascribed to them of using the means at their disposal for partisan purposes and the benefit of high-church parishes and individuals. Such current stories as these induced Mr. A. Lozier, of Livingston County to offer in the Assembly, on the 4th of March, 1854, a resolution calling on Trinity Church to present a report before April Ist, containing "a de- tailed statement of the number of lots of land, where situated, if under lease, when the leases will expire, the annual rents and incomes of all their property from what- ever source derived, and also the amount of debt owing by the Vestry of said Church, and the dates when each debt will be payable." 3
This action of the Assembly was considered by the
1 P. 393, Senate Journal, 1854. A printed form on behalf of Mr. Kiersted was widely circulated and signed. A large number of signed petitions are among the Archives of the State, now preserved in the Manuscript Department of the State Library. 2 Journal of Assembly, 1854, pp. 590, 1074, 1076. 3 P. 463, Journal of Assembly, 1854.
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Vestry, March 13, 1854. The Comptroller was " directed to make the report as so required, and for that purpose be authorized to employ such assistance as he may deem necessary." The Vestry also resolved " to meet again on the twenty-seventh day of March instant for the purpose of hearing the report." 1 And when the Vestry were in- formed of the proposed appointment of a commission to investigate the claim of the State to the King's farm, a committee of five was appointed to take charge of the whole matter. That committee was composed of Mr. Dunscomb, the Comptroller, Mr. Richard Ogden, the Clerk, Mr. Gulian C. Verplanck, General John A. Dix, and Mr. Anthony J. Bleecker .?
At the meeting, held on the 27th of March, the Vestry approved the report which had been prepared by Mr. Dunscomb, and, after being signed by the Clerk and Comptroller, it was forwarded to the Assembly at Albany. It contained all the information desired and other items not called for. The Vestry, however, stated emphatically that it was prepared and sent merely out of respect and courtesy, without acknowledging any right on the part of the Legislature, or either branch of it, to require such a report from the Corporation.
Little cause for alarm appeared in these repeated as- saults on the title and property of the Church. But much anxiety was felt as to the state of the Parish, and with good reason. A heavy debt had been incurred, on account of unlooked-for expenditure and continued contributions to other parishes, which the Vestry were unwilling to abridge. The cost of the new chapel, on the plan sub- mitted by the architect and approved by the Vestry, was to have been $40,000. Subsequently another plan was sub- mitted and adopted, increasing the estimate to $79,000,
1 Records, liber iv., folio 157.
2 Ibid., folio 158.
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Church Extension
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the Vestry never intending that the cost should exceed that sum. But little by little they found themselves involved, greatly to their disappointment and annoyance, in an expenditure of $230,000, for the chapel and its site. The corporate debt amounted, in 1854, to $668,000.
The character of the city was rapidly changing. The wealthy part of the population had removed to the upper districts ; the churches had followed them; the North Dutch, the Methodist Church in John Street, and St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in Barclay Street still held their ground ; with these exceptions, Trinity Church, St. Paul's, and the church in Beekman Street, formerly known as St. George's, alone remained in the almost deserted field. It was evident that heavy responsibilities and very heavy expenditures must be faced by the Vestry in order to save what remained and to prevent the lower part of the city from presenting an awful example of religious destitution.
It was under these circumstances that, on the 10th of April, 1854, General John A. Dix introduced a series of resolutions as follows : .
" Resolved, that the Standing Committee be instructed to report a plan by which the expenditures of the Corporation shall be limited to its income.
" Resolved, that the said Committee be instructed to inquire into the expediency of making the seats in Trinity Church, and in St. Paul's and St. John's Chapels, free.
" Resolved, that the said Committee be instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing free schools in connection with Trinity Church and its chapels.
" Resolved, that the said Committee be instructed to inquire into the expediency of devoting the funds of the Corporation, as far as may be practicable, after making provision for the support of the new chapel in Twenty-Fifth St., to the education and religious instruction of the poor of the city." 1
1 Records, liber iv. See also General Dix's testimony before the Senate Commit- tee, February 23, 1857.
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Upon the mover's motion, these resolutions were laid upon the table, without record at the time. They were sub- sequently taken up, considered, and substantially adopted.
In the course of the consideration of these very import- ant subjects, and the state of the Parish in general, an- other was brought before the Vestry, of equal, if not greater, importance : that of the status, duties, and rela- tions of the clergy. The charter of the Parish provides for the election and support of a Rector, and also for one additional Minister described as " Preacher and Assistant to the Rector of the said Parish and his Successors." These two are charter officers, and the only ones who have a life tenure of office. As the Parish grew, it became necessary to have other ministers, besides the " Assistant to the Rector." These stood on a different footing ; and as has been seen, difficulties arose from time to time, about their relations to the Parish, the Rector, and each other, their rank and precedence, their assignments to duty, and the places, rules, and order of their performance of their work. A series of questions was sent to the Rector by the Standing Committee asking his opinion on points con- nected with this subject, on several of which the Vestry appeared to be uncertain. The occasion was, probably, the addition of the up-town chapel to the number of the churches of the Parish, and the necessity of calling more Assistant Ministers, in order to secure an efficient perform- ance of the work in the deserted parts of the city. Dr. Berrian made reply to the questions referred to, June 22, 1854. His answer is of considerable length ; it contains much that is personal, referring to the clergy of the Parish, their preferences and the wishes of their friends; these matters may be passed over as of slight interest and less importance. But his views on certain fundamental points may very properly be presented in this connection. .
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The Preacher Assistant
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Having been asked the meaning of the clause in the charter : " Preacher and Assistant to the Rector of the said Parish and his Successors," he says : " The obvious meaning is that he is appointed for the purpose of aiding the Rector in the performance of his duties in the Parish when from its growth they might become not only too burdensome, but altogether impracticable to himself." Dr. Berrian quotes from the charter to show that this " Preacher Assistant" stands in a very close relation to the Rector, and consequently it is provided that he is to be nominated by the Rector, with the consent of the Wardens and Vestrymen, and to hold his office during his natural life or continuance in the city, unless displaced by the Rector for misconduct reasonably proved. Beyond this he says there is nothing in the charter which throws light on the subject.
The second query related to the status of Assistant Ministers. Were their duties recognized by the charter or defined by regulations and ordinances of this Corpora- tion? In his answer the Rector says that there was " nothing in the charter relating to Assistant Ministers, such a case in the infancy of the Parish not being contem- plated." As to the duties of such Ministers, the charter is, of course, silent. It does, however, mention what is expected of the "Preacher and Assistant," who was " to aid the Rector in the celebration of the divine offices of praying and preaching, and other duties incident to be per- formed in the same Church and Parish as the said Rector shall require of him." The Rector then considers the development of the Parish and the necessity which arose for other clergymen beside the Rector and Preacher Assist- ant. By implication the duties of the Assistants would be some portion of the work assigned to the Preacher Assist- ant. From his study of the charter and knowledge of
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the Parish the Rector is strongly convinced that "the language of the charter, however, implies, and uniform practice confirms it, for nearly one hundred and forty years in regard to them all, that the regulation of these duties and all of the matters connected with the interests of the Parish were under the direct and immediate care of the Rector."
Dr. Berrian then gives briefly the history of the change in the relation of the Assistant Ministers, and the asser- tion by the Vestry of authority over their appointment and duties, which was made in 1836.
The third query concerned the exact position of the Rev. Mr. Hobart and Dr. Haight in the Parish. Did they hold their office by the same tenure, and were their duties the same as those of other Assistant Ministers as Dr. Higbee, Bishop Wainwright, and the late Dr. Parks ?
"These gentlemen," the Rector in reply said, "were appointed in the first place to fill up vacancies in the Parish made by partic- ular emergencies and were continued in part for the same reason and in part for other reasons connected with the supposed interests of the Parish when those emergencies in some instances had passed away. They are now in the Parish without any special appointment to the peculiar duties of the Assistant Ministers devolving on those who have a more peculiar charge of a particular congregation, but to perform all the duties of a general nature which may be required of them by the Rector. Like the other Assistant Ministers their tenure of office is 'during the pleasure of the Vestry.'"
In answer to the query as to the competency of the Rector or Vestry to appoint any person to the office of " Preacher Assistant " unless he was in Priests' Orders and had been regularly nominated, the Rector replies that it is not seen how any further light can be thrown upon it than by the express language of the charter itself which makes it essential "that he should be in Priests' Orders and nom-
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The Assistant Ministers
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inated and chosen by the Vestry on a footing of entire equality with all other Assistant Ministers." The Rector remarks that " the nomination in all cases by the Rector was continued until 1836 or 1837, and then changed upon grounds which never appeared to me entirely satisfactory."
As to the question of the assignment of Assistant Ministers, the Rector considered it to be "surrounded and perplexed with almost inconceivable difficulties as to the judicious and delicate settlement of it by the Vestry in all its parts." The only Assistants then permanently assigned were Dr. Higbee at Trinity Church, and Dr. Wainwright at St. John's Chapel. No assignment had been made for St. Paul's, and nothing had been deter- mined in regard to an assignment to the new chapel. New assignments were necessary ; to return to the old rotary system would be unadvisable; the question was whether the places at St. Paul's and Trinity Chapels should be filled by clergy within the Parish, or by others to be brought in from outside. Dr. Berrian confesses his em- barrassment in his closing words: "It is a painful ques- tion, the decision of which is to be determined on grounds much higher than any which are personal."!
The discussion of these matters seems to have been informal : nothing appears on the Vestry Minutes. But it prepared the way for action of great importance to the Parish, and a complete reorganization of the clerical staff which took place some years later, and was adopted and in full operation in or about the year 1855, when the writer of this History came into the Parish as what was known as a "Junior Assistant." Under that system the Assistant Ministers were of two grades, distinguished as Senior Assistants and Junior Assistants. The Senior Assistants were assigned one to each church, by resolution
1 No. 578, Berrian MSS.
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of the Vestry, the Junior Assistants were placed under the direction of the Rector with power to designate their special work, to assign them to any church of the Parish in his discretion, and to change them from place to place at will. Before the end of the year 1855, the clergy of the Parish were so distributed among the several churches, each having a Senior Assistant ministering therein under special regulations by the Vestry, and a Junior Assistant taking his directions solely from the Rector. The plan had its advantages and disadvantages ; but the latter were found by experience to outweigh the former, and the sys- tem, after a trial of many years, was discontinued in favor of another which now exists, with no friction, and with much better results.
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CHAPTER XIX.
DIOCESAN MATTERS.
Administration of Bishop Wainwright-His Death-Funeral Services-Sermon by Dr. Higbee-Resolutions Adopted by the Vestry-Convention of the Diocese-Ser- mon by Dr. McVickar-Election of Dr. Horatio Potter as Provisional Bishop-Con- secration of Dr. Potter-Action of the Vestry Looking to the Support of the Bishop -Action of Legislature iu Regard to Trinity Corporation-Reply of the Vestry- Resolutions Regarding Assistant Ministers-Their Election-And Remuneration- Assignment of Assistant Ministers to the Various Chapels - Election of Messrs. Hobart, Eaton, and Haight as Assistant Ministers-Also of the Rev. William Henry Odenheimer-Nominations Made for an Additional Assistant Minister-Preparations for Consecration of Trinity Chapel-Letter from the Bishop of Fredericton Express- ing Regret at Inability to Preach Sermon at Consecration-Its Consecration-Sermon by Bishop Potter-The Music-Sermon by Dr. Berrian.
F OR seven years the Diocese of New York was without the benefit of an Episcopal head, its Bishop being under a sentence of indefinite suspension.
Bishop Wainwright, thoroughly aware of the condition of things, applied himself with vigor to the work which lay before him. He planned and carried out a complete visitation within a year after his consecration. He recon- ciled conflicting interests ; he was the friend and confidant of the clergy and the judicious adviser of the laymen in the various parishes. In the Diocesan Boards and gen- eral institutions he at once became a power for good. In his intercourse with the suspended Bishop, he was consid- erate and courteous. In addition to the Diocesan work he still retained his connection with this Parish, and was conscientious in the discharge of his pastoral work.
But, alas ! the energy with which he strove to meet
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every duty in that large and heavy work, and the frequent long and wearisome journeys through the Diocese soon told on his health.
During a visitation at Haverstraw on Sunday, August 27, 1854, a chill came on, when driving from the room used for services to the home of the missionary, the Rev. J. B. Gibson. On his return to New York it developed into a severe cold, and this was aggravated by his attendance at an important meeting of the Execu- tive Committee of the Church Book Society on the 30th of the month, in the evening, and his presiding on the following evening at an adjourned meeting, although hardly able to sit up. It was his last public act. Typhoid symptoms developed, and it soon became evident that no care or skill could prolong his life. He entered into the rest of Paradise on St. Matthew's Day, September 21, 1854, in the sixty-third year of his age. The sorrow felt in the Parish, the Diocese, and the whole city was sincere and profound. A great man and a beloved Father had been taken away, just as his work and character were be- ginning to bring peace and harmony to a Diocese which had suffered unspeakably in its deep distress.
On Saturday, September 23d, the funeral was held from Trinity Church.
From eleven o'clock in the morning until one o'clock in the afternoon the body of the Bishop lay in state in the north Vestry-room of the Church, where it was viewed by many hundreds of friends.
At twelve o'clock a meeting of the clergy was held in the south Vestry-room. The Rev. Dr. Creighton was made Chairman, and the Rev. Charles D. Jackson, of St. Peter's Church, Westchester, Secretary. In one of his most impressive and touching speeches the Rev. Dr. Hawks spoke of the sense of loss which the death of
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