USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 4 > Part 39
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The report had been printed in full " in confidence " for the information of the Vestry and other corporators. It was fully discussed, the resolutions were amended and then adopted. An edition of the report was printed for gen- eral circulation 1 which omitted the resolutions, some de- tails and " matter uninteresting to the public."
At a special meeting of the Corporation of Trinity Church, held Wednesday, September 28, 1859, action was taken upon a subject of great importance to the Parish. The office of Assistant Rector had been filled from time to time, when the exigencies of the Parish required it. Dr. Beach was appointed in 1811, Bishop Hobart in 1813, Dr. How in 1816, Dr. Berrian in 1823, and Bishop Wain- wright in 1841. The Assistant Rector has no right of succession ; in fact, the terms of his appointment are in- consistent with such an assumption : he is designated by the charter an " Assistant to the Rector and his succes- sors." Neither is it necessary that he should be chosen from the clergy of the Parish; the Vestry are free to choose from the whole body of the clergy of the Church.
1 Report of a Committee on the Condition of the Finances of Trinity Church.
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History of Trinity Church [1859
According to the provisions of the Charter, no meeting of the Vestry can be held without the presence of one of the two charter officers, the Rector or the Assistant Rector, except in case of the vacation of the office of the Rector by death, resignation, or other causes, when the Vestry may meet and elect a successor. The health of Dr. Ber- rian was so seriously impaired, through advanced age and infirmities, that anxiety began to be felt on the subject, for if he should become unable to attend the meetings of the Corporation, they would be paralyzed. Under these circumstances, and deeming it wise to prepare for an emergency, it was intimated to the Rector as the wish of the Vestry that he should nominate an Assistant Rector, the right to such nomination being vested solely in him. To this suggestion, after due consideration, he assented, and, having decided to make a nomination, he addressed a letter to the Rev. Dr. Higbee, stating his intentions and explaining his reasons for the choice of the clergyman whom he had decided to nominate; a copy of the letter was sent to every clergyman of the Parish except the pro- posed nominee, who remained in absolute ignorance of what was occurring, and having no suspicion, and receiv- ing no intimation from any quarter, of the Rector's design.
Under these circumstances the special meeting was held. There were present :
The Rev. William Berrian, DD.,
William E. Dunscomb and Robert Hyslop (Church Wardens), Alexander L. McDonald, Abel T. Anderson, Gulian C. Verplanck, Frederick Pentz,
Anthony J. Bleecker,
Gouverneur M. Ogden,
George Templeton Strong,
Francis R. Tillou,
Samuel T. Skidmore,
John H. Swift,
William H. Falls,
John J. Cisco,
Alexander W. Bradford, and
John A. Dix, Cyrus Curtiss,
Nelson Jarvis.
aleadlow
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Nomination of Morgan Dix
1859]
The Rector read the following communication to the Vestry :
" GENTLEMEN:
" You are called together on this occasion, in consequence of an earnest and respectful request which has just been made to me in a memorial signed by most of you here present, to nominate an Assistant Rector. I have been approached on this subject at different times by individual members of this Vestry, but I always felt such a reluctance to entertain the measure, as I had not hitherto been able to overcome. This was not owing to any sensitiveness in regard to my age, nor for- getfulness of the infirmities and maladies so apt to accompany it, which though life were spared, might, nevertheless, incapacitate me both physically and mentally for the discharge of my duties; but simply from the embarrassment I should find in making the choice, and the pain and disappointment which might be felt by others. But as there ought not to be any further delay, I have made up my mind to act at once in the matter, and to do my duty, however trying it may be to me, conscientiously and firmly, leaving the consequences to God. The person upon whom my choice is fixed, and which I trust may meet with your approbation and concurrence, though comparatively young in years, is mature in manhood and mind, accomplished in letters and the arts, a ripe scholar, a sound divine, an edifying and attractive preacher, and a most laborious, devoted, and faithful pastor.
"But it is not on these accounts alone that he is the object of my choice, but of other qualifications also which are rarely combined with high intellectual gifts, but which are nevertheless essential to the proper discharge of the duties of the office about to be filled.
" From my long and close observation of him he appears to me to be pre-eminently fitted for the place by the practical turn of his mind, by his orderly, methodical, and businesslike habits; and by his remark- able minuteness and accuracy in all matters of detail.
"I may likewise add, that I have entire reliance in his prudence, discretion, and judgment, and from his unaffected modesty, his well- regulated temper, and courteous manners, I look forward in case of his appointment and acceptance to a pleasant and harmonious intercourse with him for the rest of my days.
"I, therefore, beg to nominate the Rev. MORGAN DIx (to be preacher and assistant to the Rector and his successors in the celebra- tion of the divine offices of praying and preaching and other duties incident to be performed in the Parish Church and the Parish, as the
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History of Trinity Church [1859
said Rector shall require of him), as provided in the Charter of this Corporation.
" WILLIAM BERRIAN,
" Rector of Trinity Church. "NEW YORK, September 28, 1859."
A communication to the Vestry was then presented and read; it was signed by Edward Y. Higbee, D.D., Francis Vinton, D.D., John H. Hobart, D.D., Sullivan H. Weston, Frederick Ogilby, D.D., Benjamin I. Haight, D.D., and John F. Young, assistant ministers in the Parish, who stated that they had been informed by the Rector of his intention to make the nomination now made by him, and asked that action thereon be deferred for the present.
A motion was thereupon made that action upon the nomination now made by the Rector be postponed until the next meeting of the Vestry. The ayes and noes being called for on this motion, it was lost by the following vote :
AYES.
Alexander L. McDonald,
Anthony J. Bleecker,
Abel T. Anderson-3.
NOES. William E. Dunscomb,
Robert Hyslop,
Gulian C. Verplanck,
George T. Strong,
Samuel T. Skidmore,
William W. Falls,
Cyrus Curtiss,
Frederick Pentz,
Gouverneur M. Ogden,
Francis R. Tillou,
John H. Swift,
John J. Cisco,
Alexander W. Bradford,
Nelson Jarvis-14.
The following resolution was then moved :
"Whereas the Reverend, the Rector, has in the communication just read nominated the Reverend Morgan Dix, being an able Protes- tant minister in Priest's orders, to reside in the Parish (being now a resident therein) to be preacher and assistant to the Rector and his successors in the celebration of the divine office of praying and preach-
The Rev. Morgan Dix. D.D. Ninth Rector of Trinity Church.
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Election of Morgan Dix
1859]
ing and other duties incident to be performed in the Parish Church and Parish as the said Rector shall require of him, as provided in the Charter of this Corporation : Resolved that the Church Wardens and Vestrymen do consent to such nomination.
"The ayes and noes being called for upon the foregoing resolution it was passed by the following vote:
"In the affirmative,
" Church Wardens : William E. Dunscomb, Robert Hyslop.
" Vestrymen : Alexander L. McDonald, Gulian C. Verplanck, George Templeton Strong, Samuel T. Skidmore, William H. Falls, Cyrus Curtiss, Abel T. Anderson, Frederick Pentz, Gouverneur M. Ogden, Francis R. Tillou, John H. Swift, John J. Cisco, Alexander W. Bradford, Nelson Jarvis-16.
"In the negative,
" Vestryman : Anthony J. Bleecker-I."
A copy of the resolution was made and attested as fol- lows :
"In testimony whereof we have hereto subscribed our names:
" William E. Dunscomb, Robert Hyslop, Alexr. L. McDonald, G. C. Verplanck, George T. Strong, Saml. T. Skidmore, W. H. Falls, Cyrus Curtiss, Abel T. Anderson, F. Pentz, Gouv. M. Ogden, John E. Swift, John J. Cisco, A. W. Bradford, F. R. Tillou, Nelson Jarvis. Gouv. M. Ogden, Clerk." 1
On the first of October, 1859, Mr. Dix sent his formal acceptance of the office.2
The accompanying portrait represents Mr. Dix as he was at about that period. In the following month, the Rev. Dr. Vinton was transferred to Trinity Church, and the Assistant Rector and the Rev. Dr. Haight were as- signed to the charge of St. Paul's Chapel.
An interesting commemoration occurred in the latter part of this year. The trustees of the New York Protes- tant Episcopal Public School, better known as Trinity School, which under various forms had been conducted since 1709, were desirous of celebrating its one hundred
1 Records, liber iv., folios 370, 371.
9 Ibid., folio 373.
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History of Trinity Church
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and fiftieth anniversary. On their behalf, the Rev. Dr. John McVickar, President of the Board, sent a communica- tion to the Vestry, November 14, 1859, requesting the use of Trinity Church or Trinity Chapel for the service and the assistance of the Vestry in providing souvenirs of the occasion for the scholars. The application was cordially granted and two hundred and fifty dollars appropriated.
The anniversary was held in Trinity Chapel on Tues- day, December 20, 1859. It was an occasion of more than passing interest. This enthusiastic account accords with the recollections of the writer.
The day appointed for the service was Tuesday, the twentieth of December, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty-nine. The weather was very inclement, but, notwithstanding the severity of the storm, a large congregation manifested their interest by their presence in the chapel. The chancel, already decorated for the ap- proaching Festival of the Nativity, was, on account of the " darkness of the day, lighted by the corona which hangs from its ceiling. The scholars comprised in five classes, and in all more than one hundred in number, were placed in one body in the open space before the chancel-arch chapel-wise, on seats arranged longitudinally. Charles D'Urban Morris, M. A., Rector of the school, formerly fellow of Oriel College, Oxford University, England, in academic cap and gown and hood of his order, was present with the staff of teachers.
The music was supplied by the scholars under the direction of Mr. James A. Johnson, the Instructor in that department of the school. Mr. William H. Walter, the accomplished organist of Trinity Chapel, kindly presided at the organ, accompanying and sustaining the voices with his own rare taste and ability. Of the clergy there were present the Rev. William Berrian, D.D., Rector of Trinity
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1859]
Trinity School Service 465
Church, and twenty-seven others whose names are given, besides others whose names are not recorded.
The venerable Dr. Berrian presided on the occasion.
A Christmas Carol, the Three Kings of Orient, con- sisting of three solos, which represented by voices the three Kings, and were each preceded by a Trio, and fol- lowed by a chorus, was sung, as composed and arranged by the Rev. J. H. Hopkins, Jr., by the scholars.
Morning Prayer was said by the Rev. Dr. Eigenbrodt, Secretary of the Trustees and Chaplain of the school, and the Rev. Dr. Haight, formerly and for many years the laborious and indefatigable Secretary. The first two verses of the 79th selection, being the 100th psalm of David, were sung as the Introit to its own tune of The Old Hundredth. The Ante-Communion Service was said by the Rev. Dr. Berrian, assisted in the Epistle by the Rev. Dr. Price, and in the Gospel by the Rev. Dr. S. R. Johnson.
The Nicene Creed was then chanted, after which the first and second verses of the 102d hymn were sung to the tune Duke Street. The Rev. Dr. Mc Vickar then ascended the pulpit, and delivered the anniversary discourse, dur- ing the latter part of which the whole school arose and remained standing until its close.
At its conclusion, the Christmas Cantata, a chant composed of the various titles ascribed in Holy Scripture to the Saviour, being announced by the Chaplain, was sung, as arranged by the Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg.
The sermon by Dr. McVickar was one of marked felicity and appreciation of the position held by the school and the Parish which endowed it. His conclusion was :
"Scholars of Trinity School: To you I speak one word of affec- tionate interest, of warm commendation, and of Christian warning. It
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History of Trinity Church
[1860
may be the last I shall ever address to you. Continue worthy, in school and out of school, of the name you bear, and the Christian lineage that belongs to it ; and you will then be a daily comfort and blessing to those who love you at home, an honor and a joy to your School and Teachers, and hereafter, if spared in life, a blessing to your Church and country, either as Ministers at Christ's Altar or as members of Christ's flock; 'not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.'
" Remember that you are Scholars of no Mushroom school, here to-day and gone to-morrow. You bear in your hands and on your consciences the reputation of a CHRISTIAN SCHOOL that numbers its One Hundred and Fiftieth year. You should, therefore, feel this day as in foreign lands does the youthful heir of some old baronial line, looking back with honest pride and forward with a noble courage, eager to show in the self-denying duties of life, that he is worthy of his blood. When you name yourself, therefore, a scholar of Trinity, let that word of Faith sink deep into your heart, even as it stands indel- ibly imprinted on the volume each of you is about to receive in mem- ory of this day, a volume of mark ' in memoriam,' bearing on its front a noble seal prepared for this Jubilee, and to be henceforward the school-banner, a shield of gold, with an inscribed Cross, and the ad- monitory words, 'LABORE ET VIRTUTE,' emblematic alike of the Scholar and of the Christian; emblematic, too, I trust, of your own future course of usefulness and honor to yourselves, your Church, and your country. That noble career I may not hope to see; but still, as I behold it now in the vision of faith I bless God that I have been per- mitted thus to speak to you on this day of happy remembrance. God be with you! Amen."
Another interesting anniversary was soon observed : that of the fiftieth year since the ordination of the Rector to the Diaconate. The service was held in St. John's Chapel, on Sunday, March 18, 1860. His special sermon on that occasion was heard with great attention. The Vestry presented congratulations to their venerable head, and ordered the sermon to be printed.1
1 Records, liber iv., folio 403. The title is : Semi-Centennial Sermon, by the Rev. William Berrian, D.D., Rector of Trinity Church, New York. Published at the Request and by Order of the Vestry.
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Address by Dr. Berrian
1860]
The following passages contain reminiscences which, after the lapse of forty-five years, read like very ancient history, so rapid have been the changes since that already distant day.
"In this venerable Parish, endeared to me by the tenderest and holiest associations, I was baptized. In St. George's Chapel I was con- firmed, and received my first communion. In St. John's Chapel I was ordained Deacon1 ; in St. Paul's I preached my first sermon; and in each part of it, during the whole of my professional course, with the excepiton of one brief period, I have ministered ever since. To have lived in the same place for more than three-score and ten years among a people so migratory and shifting as ours; to have walked before you from my childhood unto this day; to have been connected with you for the greater part of that time by the most sacred and hallowed ties, are circumstances so unusual as to call for some special notice, and to awaken recollections mutually interesting to us both.
"When I call to mind the various changes and chances of a life so comparatively uniform and peaceful as mine, gladdened, indeed, by in- numerable blessings, yet chequered, also, with many troubles and trials; when I think of the multitudes who have gone before me, the playmates of my childhood, the companions of my youth, the friends of my riper years, and those in still closer relations who were as dear to me as my own soul, instead of my days appearing to me only as a span they seem to have been lengthened out beyond the ordinary limits allotted to man.
"But this illusion of the imagination can hardly seem strange, when the other changes are considered, which, in the course of a single life, have taken place in all the objects around me. I am old enough to have seen nearly the whole growth of this city, now ranked among the largest and wealthiest throughout the world. Within my recollec- tion, from an inconsiderable population of about 35,000 souls, it has risen to more than twenty times that number, and is still going on, from year to year, with a more rapid progression.
"Indeed, when I look back to its appearance at the time to which my memory reaches, and compare it with what it is at this moment, my life seems like a dream. The great thoroughfare of this city,
' On Sunday, the 18th of March, 1810, and by a singular coincidence this sermon was preached in St. John's on Sunday, the 18th of March, 1860, the same day of the week, the same month, and the same day of the month, just fifty years since.
19 4 781h
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History of Trinity Church
[1860
(Broadway), so thronged and bustling, now lined for miles with splendid dwellings, and costly stores, the pride of our people, and the admiration of strangers, was then, except to a small extent, not even a regulated street, but crossed a little beyond the Hospital by an elevated fort, built in the Revolutionary War, in which, with childish curiosity and painful recollections, I witnessed, with a multitude of others, a public execution in 1797.
"The plot of ground forming St. John's Park, a breathing-spot amidst the confinement and suffocation of a crowded city, a picture of repose and rural beauty amidst noise and confusion, a landscape on a miniature scale, tastefully adorned with shrubs and trees, some of which, from their size and stateliness, might be supposed to have sprung up before I was born, I nevertheless remember when it was a naked and sandy plain. In the intermediate space between this spot and Broadway, there was an extensive meadow, or wild morass, serv- ing as a resort, in winter for skaters, and at other seasons for gunners, and which, though at this time so valuable, was then regarded as ut- terly worthless. On the other side of the city, in what is now called East Broadway, opposite to the house in which I lived in early child- hood, near Chatham Square, there was only to be seen for a long dis- tance a succession of green fields, with rail fences, unbroken by a single dwelling. From these points both on the East and West; there was nothing North of them, with the exception of a few scattered buildings, but a rural suburb, consisting of kitchen gardens and coun- try seats, the sites of which it could never have been thought would be so completely blotted out and forgotten as they have been by the marvellous encroachments of this great city.
"In fact, there is one curious circumstance which I distinctly remember, that will indicate the narrow limits to which it was then confined. A younger brother of mine was lost on the 4th of July, on the Battery, and the town crier was sent out to find him.
" The changes in the state and condition of our Church are not less remarkable than those which have taken place in other respects in the city at large. Almost within the reach of my own recollection it was a unit, comprehending one parish alone, Trinity Church with its Chapels, St. George's and St. Paul's, and served by only four clergy- men, the Rector, Bishop Provoost, Dr. Moore, Dr. Beach, and Mr. Bisset. The Episcopal system, however, of doctrine, polity, and wor- ship, having a strong hold from ancient prescription upon the respect of the people in general, and still stronger upon the affections of many, as the religion of their fathers, kept pace in its progress with the
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Visit of Prince of Wales
1860]
growth of the city, and in a few years there were added to the number by the offsets from Trinity, Christ Church, St. Mark's in the Bowery, the Church du St. Esprit, St. John's Chapel, Zion Church, St. Stephen's, and Grace. This was the condition of the Church in this city, when I was called to the Parish, in 1811." 1
We come now to an event which completely upset the city of New York. In the year 1860, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, visited this country, and was received with tumultuous demonstrations of respect and affection by the citizens of New York and their official represent- atives. It being understood that he would be present at the Morning Service in Trinity Church on Sunday, Oct. 14th, the Rector and Vestry took order in preparation for the event. A sudden illness prevented Dr. Berrian from being present, and the duty of carrying out the arrange- ments was finally left to the Rev. Dr. Vinton, Senior Assistant at Trinity. An immense throng of people eager to see the Prince took possession of Broadway long before the appointed hour ; admission to the church was by ticket only, and perfect order was preserved by a strong force of police.
The royal party were received at the front entrance, by the Wardens, Mr. William E. Dunscomb and Mr. Robert Hyslop, each bearing a staff of office, and con- ducted to the seats provided for them at the head of the south side of the middle aisle. As the Prince and his cortège passed up the aisle, the organist, Mr. Henry S. Cutler, played a prelude on the great organ. Lord Lyons, the Duke of Newcastle, General Bruce, Dr. Ack- land, and the Earl of St. Germain were with the Prince.
The officiants included Dr. Potter, the Provisional Bishop of the Diocese; Dr. De Lancey, Bishop of West- ern New York; Dr. Odenheimer, Bishop of New Jersey ;
1 Semi-Centennial Sermon, pp. 10-16.
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History of Trinity Church [1860
Dr. Talbot, Bishop of the Northwest; the Rev. Drs. Vinton, Ogilby, Creighton, and Payne, and the Rev. J. F. Young. Besides these there were present upwards of thirty clergy, including Drs. McVickar, Seabury, and three from the British provinces.
The service was mainly choral. The Litany was intoned by the Rev. John Freeman Young, the responses being chanted. The Nicene Creed was sung to "the Gregorian tune 8." The Introit was Marcello's anthem from the eighth psalm: "O Lord our Governor, how excellent is Thy name."
The sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. Vinton from Daniel vi., 4, 5. It concluded with this reference to the presence of the heir to the throne of England :
" On this august and honorable occasion let me say to every one, the prayer of every American Churchman is to the Lord our heavenly Father, high and mighty, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the only Ruler of Princes, and Fountain of all goodness, that he would bless Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, the Prince of Wales, the Prince Consort, and all the royal family; that He would enrich them with His heavenly grace, prosper them with all happiness and bring them to His everlasting Kingdom; and let the lesson of this sermon be to each and every one-Be thou pious and faithful; be thou a man, a man of honesty, industry, uprightness and prayer; be thou a whole man-a man of true integrity of character, a Christian man, a Church- man; so that it may be said of each of us that there can he found none occasion against us except it be for the law of our God. And may God graciously visit on all of us the excellent spirit of His servant Daniel, for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory and power and might and dominion world without end."
After the sermon the Gloria in Excelsis was sung, ap- propriate Collects were read by the Rev. Dr. Creighton, and the Benediction was pronounced by the Provisional Bishop.
A Prayer-book provided by the Vestry for the Prince
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Visit of Prince of Wales
1860]
is thus described in a contemporary account. It was " bound in red morocco, of royal octavo size, and magnifi- cently embellished ; the gold clasp alone, on which was engraved the Prince's plumes with the motto 'Ich Dien,' having cost $250.00."
On the inside of the cover was another plume inlaid with gold, and on the richly embossed fly leaf was the follow- ing inscription in letters of gold tinted with various colors :
"To His Royal Highness, ALBERT EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES, from THE CORPORATION OF TRINITY CHURCH, NEW YORK, in memory of the Munificence of the Crown of England, Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, A. D. 1860."
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