USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 4 > Part 7
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"Very respectfully and sincerely, I remain, Dear Sir,
"Your affectionate son in the Gospel,
"BENJN T. ONDERDONK." Superscribed :
" TO THE RIGHT REV: " JOHN H HOBART, D.D. " Care of Mr. WILLIAM TUTTLE, " Windham, Greene County, New York.
"To be delivered immediately or forwarded if
the Bishop should have left Windham."
" QUEBEC, Sept: 26, 1827. "MY DEAR BISHOP,
" It will always give me pleasure to consult your wishes, and to promote the interests of the Church in your Diocese as far as I can, but I am of opinion that my powers of ordination do not extend to my dispensing with the oath of the King's Supremacy and subscription to the articles the 36th Canon required of all persons admitted into holy Orders in the Church of England. Some of these conditions I con- clude a foreigner cd not well come under. The Archd" of Quebec has written to Dr. Onderdonk & stated our various difficulties on the subject.
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Correspondence on American Orders
1827]
" By the Act Chap. 35 George 3.24, I perceive that the BP of Lon- don or any other BP appointed by him, is empowered to ordain a foreigner without his taking the oath of allegiance. I have requested the BP of London to extend this power to me, & to favor me with information with regard to the present case according to his ability & judgment. Enclosed I send you my letter to him, which you will have the goodness to forward and I shall without delay send a duplicate via the River St. Lawrence. I trust I need not add anything to assure you of my sincere desire to comply with your wishes as far as lies in my power.
"I am, my dear Bishop, "Your faithful and affectte Brother,
"C. J. QUEBEC.
" I have left the enclosed letter open and I request you to read it." Inscribed
" THE RIGHT REVEREND " BISHOP HOBART, "New York." "QUEBEC, Septem" 27, 1827. "MY DEAR LORD,
"I trust your LordP will excuse the trouble I am about to give you in the following letter.
"I have received a request from the Bishop of New York which I cannot comply with unless your LordP afford me assistance. The Bishop applies to me to ordain 'a clergyman of the French Reformed Church who has arrived in N. York to take charge of the French Protestant Episcopal Church there. It is essential,' the Bishop con- tinues, 'that he receive episcopal ordination, but a Canon of our Church forbids this until he has resided a year in this country; & un- fortunately the situation of the congregation requires his immediate services.'
" Should I be enabled to ordain him, Mr. Verren, Deacon, accord- ing to the Bishop's request, on satisfactory evidence, Mr. V. could then immediately officiate, tho' he could not until a year's residence have the stated charge of the congregation.
" By Act 24 George III ch. 35, I perceive that your LordP or any other Bishop appointed by you is empowered to ordain a foreigner without his taking the oath of allegiance.1
1 I therefore beg leave that this power may be granted to me in the present instance, if there be no objection to the measure.
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"I do not see, however, that I can be warranted in dispensing with Mr. V's subscription to the three articles of the 36th Canon; the second of which appears to involve some difficulty in a case like his unless it can be considered that the Liturgy of the American Episcopal Church being nothing else than the English Liturgy with some neces- sary adaptations to local circumstances, the words 'the Book of Common prayer' &c. are capable of an application to the former.
" I do not anticipate any hesitation on the part of Mr. Verren in subscribing the first of these three articles, because he can have no difficulty in stating his opinion of the King's sovereignty within his Majesty's own dominions.
"It will afford me pleasure to meet the wishes of the BP of N. York in the event of my being authorised to do so by the powers & information I may receive from home.
"By communicating any opinion you may obtain, bearing on the particular subject in question, together with your own private senti- ments regarding it, your LordP will confer an obligation on me.
" As the Bishop is anxious that Mr. Verren shd be ordained with- out unnecessary delay, I venture to suggest that the letter may be sent open, under cover to BP Hobart, N. York, in order that the issue of this application may be known as speedily as possible to the parties concerned. By this means shd the result be favorable Mr. V. will be enabled to proceed to Quebec for ordination without loss of time.
"I would further request your LordP to enclose the whole to my correspondents at Liverpool, Messrs. Shand, Ellis & Shand whom I shall direct to forward it immediately.
" I have the honor to be, my dear Lord, "Your faithful and affectionate Brother, "C. J. QUEBEC."
Inscribed
"The Right Honble and Right Reverend, "The Lord Bishop of London, " London."
When Bishop Hobart was in England he felt keenly that, notwithstanding the attention which he received, he could not officiate in even the humblest village church. Although he visited and was entertained by the Arch- bishop and Bishops, they could not request him to preach in their cathedrals or private chapels.
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Correspondence on American Orders
1828]
The following correspondence shows the first attempt to remedy this discourtesy to American clergymen.
Under certain conditions priests and deacons of the American Church can now officiate and hold benefices in the Church of England, but the legal status quo of Amer- . ican Bishops remains precisely the same to-day as it was when Bishop Hobart visited England.
American Bishops may preach in England but they are as liable to penalties as Bishop Hobart was. They simply do so because all parties agree to wink at the in- fraction of the law, or else are ignorant of its provisions.1
" QUEBEC 13th September 1828.
" RIGHT REVEREND & DEAR SIR,
"We have conferred upon the subject which was made doubly interesting to us by your recent conversation respecting it, namely some of the provisions of the act of the British Parliament which authorised the Consecration of the first Bishops for the United States.
" Feeling with you the anomaly of that part of the Act which would seem to prohibit clergymen ordained by American Bishops from performing the ordinary offices of their Profession whenever they may be within the British dominions, we are desirous of endeavour- ing to call the notice of our brethren in England to the inconsistency & inconvenience of such restriction. But we should be assisted in this endeavour & much gratified in our own feelings, if we could be favoured with the sentiments of our Brethren of the Church in America upon this point before we take any measures respecting it. If it should be thought expedient by the Bishops in the United States to make a direct appeal from themselves to the Archbishop & Bishops of Great Britain & Ireland upon this subject we shall be thankful to be favoured with a copy of such appeal.
" Earnestly desiring & fervently praying for the peace & prosperity of our Zion in every part of the world,
" We are, Right Reverend & dear Sir,
" Your affectionate Brethren,
" JOHN NOVA SCOTIA, "C. J. QUEBEC."
" The reader is referred for a clear statement of the law on this subject to an article by the Rev. Henry Barker in the Church Eclectic for December, 1904.
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The Rev. Horatio Potter thus writes to Bishop Hobart at the beginning of his ministry :
"SACO, October 15th 1827. " RT. REV. AND DEAR SIR,
" I hasten to inform you of an engagement which I have made for a few months. You may remember the conversation you had with me a few days before I left N. Y., & what was then said of my return to Union College. From what passed at that time I considered it my duty to enter College, if I could do so with propriety and accord- ingly I held myself in readiness to accept of the appointment whenever it should be made. But my brother who mentioned to me that Dr. Nott was ready to make an arrangement if it was desired, informed me at the same time of some who anticipated it and who were prepared to misconstrue it. Such a consequence though natural, would have been, by no means agreeable. I immediately requested that the appoint- ment might be withheld. You was then at the west. I recalled the particulars of our conversation, but I felt persuaded that under the circumstances you would be the last to condemn my decision. Pardon me if I say that I derive confidence from the reflection that the gentle- man whose opinion I thus ventured to conjecture, was my own Bishop, celebrated throughout America & Great Britain for his highminded & independent course. Soon after the wants of this people were represented to me. For six months they had been struggling with the greatest difficulties. In a quarter where the church was unknown a congregation had been formed, & a house nearly finished whilst they were depending upon occasional ministrations. The country was un- inviting and young men could not be prevailed upon to come this distance & subject themselves to the privations of such a place for a trifling consideration. Every day they were in danger of giv- ing way to despair. You had insisted that if ordained I must place myself in a situation to be useful. I felt anxious to show my attach- ment to the church & my respect for your wishes. Declining there- fore situations of some usefulness and far greater comfort, I resolved to begin my labours here. My engagement is indefinite. I have de- clined making a permanent arrangement at present. I have not asked for letters dimissory because I am willing to indulge the hope that I may return to my native diocese, a diocese, regarded by all, I believe, with pride, and left, by all who do leave it, with reluctance. After a few months should no field of usefulness open to me in your diocese and the situation of this Parish seem to demand my continuance here, I
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"The Episcopal Watchman"
1827]
shall beg leave to lay before you its claims and to ask your advice. My hope is that it will soon be able to offer a sufficient inducement for some person to come & take charge of it permanently. Whenever that time shall have arrived the principle object of my visit will be ac- complished. I am sorry to trouble you with this long account of myself. It has been the more particular because the circumstances of my ordination placed me in a delicate situation. Professions of personal attachment are cheap. Perhaps time will enable me to offer a surer pledge.
" With sincere respect " Yours " HORATIO POTTER. " My respects to Mrs. H .- "
The Episcopal Watchman was the successor of the first American Church periodical, The Churchman's Magazine, the final series of which ended in December, 1826.
The new weekly was issued in January, 1827, under the editorship of the Rev. Professor George W. Doane, afterward Bishop of New Jersey, and the Rev. William Croswell. It was able, vigorous, and sound in the faith, carrying out the principles of Seabury and Jarvis. It was continued until 1831.
Professor Doane writes the Bishop as follows :
"WASHINGTON COLL., "Decem' 3 1827.
" RT. REV. & DEAR SIR,
" A thought has within a few days occurred to me, which without waiting to think how you will receive it I shall freely suggest to you.
" In your address to the New York Convention you allude to an intended change in the Christian Journal from the monthly to the weekly form. If arrangements to this effect have not already been made might not the Episcopal Watchman be made to answer the ends desired ? You will perhaps be startled at the boldness of this pro- posal, I cannot help it, it is honest and well intended & that in these times is a good deal. Should you entertain the suggestion at all, my plan would be to enlarge & improve the sheet making it superior to any in the country, to have it delivered in New York by a carrier on
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Saturday morning, to publish with the name or names of responsible editors, and to make any arrangement which would secure to Messrs. Swords a fair proportion of the advantage. My object in proposing this arrangement, for which wise or unwise, I only am answerable, is the more efficient promotion of the interests of the Church. The division and subdivision of our efforts but too common among us is highly in- jurious. The Watchman has been & will continue to be devoted to the vindication and assertion of primitive & apostolic principles. It has been everywhere well received, and with very inadequate exertions thus far numbers 1200 subscribers in all parts of the Union.
"The Christian Journal in its present shape is eminently useful. A weekly paper cannot be made as that is the repository of ecclesias- tical documents worthy of presentation without detracting from that variety which will be expected.
"For my own part, I should wish the C. J. to be continued. And I do not believe that the circulation of the E. W. under your authority in your city & diocese would diminish its subscription materially, & perhaps with the additions which our influence might obtain here not at all. I refrain from going into further details until I hear from you in reply, which I hope, though my late experience is averse to the hope, you will allow me to do, anxious that it may receive your approbation.
" I remain with sincere respect & affection " Your son & serv', " G. W. DOANE.
"I owed you an apology for not going to your house the evening after I dined there, but before night I lost my voice entirely & the next day when I called you were out of town."
The attempt of Mr. Bergh and his friends in 1822 to form a free church on the East Side was followed by an effort to maintain services in the neighborhood of Corlear's Hook. The Rev. Dr. Aydelott, under the en- couragement given by Dr. Benjamin T. Onderdonk, who felt much disturbed over the neglect of that portion of the city, agreed to make the experiment of gathering a congregation in 1827.
Dr. Onderdonk was very sanguine of ultimate success,
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A Free Church Proposed
1827]
as may be seen by his letter to Bishop Hobart, undated ; it cannot be earlier than September, or later than De- cember, 1827.
Sunday 9th P.M.
" RT. REV. SIR,
"Not knowing whether I shall be able to see you to-morrow before the Vestry meeting, I take the liberty of mentioning to you in this way that I accompanied Dr. Aydelott this morning to Corlear's Hook. We had service in the school room which had been offered by Mr. Dick in Goerck street. The notice had been very short & be- tween 40 & 50 persons assembled. It was considered, however, a very good beginning and great interest was expressed in the undertaking by the persons with whom I conversed. The Dr. holds service there again this afternoon. He says that if he can be certain of compensa- tion for his services, by way of experiment he will locate himself in that quarter and do his best. He says that compensation in the pro- portion of $800 per annum is all that he will require in addition to what may be done by the good people there.
" Accordingly he will engage to labour there in endeavouring to form a parish as long as he can be assured of $200 per quarter. There is certainly a most promising field there for the increase of our Church which has gained but one new congregation (St. Philip's) on this island for 10 years, in which period the population has probably increased at the very least 20,000. In ye district of the city bounded by a line drawn from the East River to the Rutgers Street Presb" Meeting thence to ye Methodist Meeting in Allen Street & thence to St. Mark's Church, containing probably 10,000 inhabitants there are but three places of worship, & those small ones.
" An effort cannot but succeed. I have taken the liberty of troubling you with these particulars in order to submit to you whether they will not constitute a sufficient ground for bringing the subject before the Vestry to-morrow, and inducing them to aid us in so promis- ing an effort for the increase of our Church & for extending the ordi- nances of the Gospel to a too greatly neglected portion of our city.
"I am sure you will appreciate Dr. A's motive for anxiety to be immediately settled after his family have been so long in a deranged & uncomfortable state.
"What the Vestry may chuse to do ought not to be looked upon as a pledge of any permanent assistance but only as aiding in a very promising experiment. I think I see the first moving of a spirit, in
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the part of the city to which I now refer which will carry the enterprise thro' the divine blessing to a most prosperous issue.
"You will pardon me, Rt. Rev. Sir, for troubling you thus much, but I felt as if no time should be lost.
" Very sincerely & respectfully, " Your son in ye Gospel, "BENJ. T. ONDERDONK."
The actual population of New York was 166,136 in the year 1825.
Dr. Aydelott soon after became Rector of Christ Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, and the mission was abandoned until, six years later, the Rev. Lot Jones established the Church of the Epiphany in Stanton Street, recently known as the Pro-Cathedral.
The good work that had been done by the New York Sunday-School Society and similar organizations made Bishop Hobart and others prominent in Sunday-school affairs desirous for the establishment of a general society under which Sunday-schools could be fostered, suitable instruction books provided, and interesting literature for children published.
In the fall of 1827, a meeting was held in the city of New York for this purpose. There was a fair attendance, with some enthusiasm, and a careful scheme of work was laid out. In his Convention Address, Bishop Hobart makes this reference to it :
" It is with high gratification I state to you the complete organiza- tion of the General Episcopal Sunday School Union. The Rev. Mr. Whittingham has bestowed much time and labour in drafting the plan of instruction and in preparing the books for publication and in at- tending to the printing of them. Several members of the Executive Committee and especially our Secretary and some laymen, to whom this and other institutions are much indebted, have been actively em- ployed in this laborious work, and the unwearied labour and attention of our agent, Mr. Stanford, are devoted to it.
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Sunday Schools
1827]
"The tracts can now be furnished at a very cheap rate, and I hope and pray that the clergy of our Church and others who have charge of our Sunday Schools will connect their Schools with the General Epis- copal Union, and avail themselves of its publications. Sunday Schools ought to be considered as the seats of the religious instruction of the young and the ignorant; and that instruction primarily directed by the minister of the parish ought to be conducted agreeably to our own re- ligious tenets, and surely ought not to be subject to any extraneous influence or supervision." 1
The following memorandum or letter of Mr. Whitting- ham shows that Bishop Hobart's interest in the work was not merely in words. It was probably written soon after the organization in 1827.
" RIGHT REVEREND SIR,
"I have the honour to inform you of the appointment of the fol- lowing Committees of the Board of Managers of the General Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Society held on Friday, the 22d inst.
"A Committee to consider the expediency of, and if deemed ex- pedient to report measures for raising funds to provide books tracts &c. for the use of the Protestant Episcopal Sunday Schools; and also to consider the establishment of a General Depository and such branch Depositories as may be necessary: also to consider the expediency of establishing auxiliary Societies, and if deemed expedient to draft a form of a constitution to be recommended for such purpose: and to prepare a circular in relation thereto.
"This Committee consists of yourself as Chairman of the Board of Managers, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Rev. Benjamin T. On- derdonk, D.D., and Mr. Floyd Smith.
"A Committee to prepare and report such By Laws as may be necessary for the government of the Board, and for the transaction of its business.
" This Committee consists of yourself as Chairman of the Board of Managers, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Rev. J. F. Schroeder, and Mr. Thomas N. Stanford.
" A Committee to digest and report a system of Sunday School Instruction to be recommended to the Protestant Episcopal Sunday Schools.
1 Journal, Diocese of New York, 1827, pp. 26, 27.
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"This Committee consists of yourself as Chairman of the Board of Managers, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Rev. William Creighton, the Rev. Harry Croswell, the Rev. Wm. H. DeLancey, Mr. J. W. In- graham, Mr. J. W. Mitchell, and G. C. Morgan.
"It was resolved that the Chairman of the Board be Chairman of each of the above special Committees ; provided that the Chairman have the power of appointing another member of each Committee to act as a Chairman in his absence.
"According to the above resolution and to your appointment of the gentlemen first named on each committee in addition to the Chair- man, Secretary and Treasurer as provisional Chairmen, Dr. Onder- donk is provisional Chairman of the Committee on Funds, Depositories, and Auxiliary Societies; Mr. Schroeder of the Committee on By- Laws ; and Mr. Creighton of the Committee on a system of Instruction.
" The following gentlemen were elected by ballot to constitute in addition to the Rt. Rev. the Bishop, the Executive Committee : Rev. Dr. Onderdonk, Rev. Dr. Wainwright, Rev. Mr. Creighton, Rev. Dr. Lyell, Dr. J. S. Rogers, Mr. Floyd Smith, and the Rev. Mr. Whit- tingham.
"The special Committees are ordered to report to the Executive Committee at a meeting of that Committee to be held on the 3rd Tuesday in January, the said Committee having full powers to act in the premises.
"Dr. J. Smyth Rogers was unanimously appointed Treasurer of the Society.
"Your most obed' serv
"W. R. WHITTINGHAM.
" RIGHT REVEREND JOHN HENRY HOBART, D.D."
Bishop Hobart amid his constant cares was still mind- ful of his English friends, and especially of that devoted one, the Rev. H. H. Norris. He writes him :
"NEW-YORK, Jany 15, 1828.
" I am truly ashamed my very dear & excellent friend that so long a time has elapsed since I wrote to you. But really the pressure of my engagements & consequent cares &c, &c, have not left me that quiet time in which the heart delights to commune with an absent friend,
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Letter from Bishop Hobart to H. H. Norris
1828]
nor those few moments of leisure in which I would detail what I know interests you, our Chh affairs.
"I now send you by Mr Syms of Quebec who is acquainted with Bp Stewart & Archdeacon Mountain, some Chh pamphlets, & at some subsequent opportunity thro' Mr Simpson of Liverpool, will add to their number for the purpose of asking you to send them to some of the Bps & my other friends. For I do not, & never shall forget that there are many in England to whom I feel the deepest obligations, & whose virtues & kindness are most warmly cherished. With how much interest have I looked on all the recent changes in your country, & calculated on their effect on the Church, much I fear that low-Church- men & low Chh principles will be exalted & flourish. May God overule all for the good of his Chh & Kingdom.
"Is it possible that Sumner is to be promoted to Winchester in preference to such a Bishop as Bloomfield.
"But I want to know of your health, of that of Mrs Norris, of your son, & of all your friends whom I know. May I ask you to give them my kindest regards. I write now in haste, being in the midst of an unusually busy parochial season. But the additional duties which my absence imposed having been nearly discharged I really hope here- after to have time for writing to my friends. Indeed I feel that I must have it.
" ever truly & affecty yrs " J. H. HOBART.
"How is Mr Watson. I have been concerned to hear that his health is bad." 1
In a letter from Albany, January 31, 1828, the Rev. Dr. Lacey is glad to know of a proposed new edition of The Clergyman's Companion and that the Bishop will in- sert in it prayers for the Legislature and other officers of the State.
" Although in officiating as chaplain to the Legislature I have made many attempts at composition, selection, and emendation I have never pleased myself and consequently have nothing worthy of your perusal. I am now in the habit of using portions of the Liturgy almost exclusively."
1 Hobart letters in possession of the Rev. Arthur Lowndes, D.D.
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The following communications relate to the establish- ment of the Protestant Episcopal Press :
"NEW YORK Feby. 28th 1828. " RT. REVD. & DEAR SIR,
"At a meeting of the Com. of ' Publications and Sales ' held on the 26th inst. it was Resold to request an early meeting of the 'Execu- tive Committee' at which time a proposition would be submitted to their consideration for the establishment of a 'Sunday School Maga- zine' under the auspices of the ' Union.'
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