USA > New York > A history of the purchase and settlement of western New York : and of the rise, progress and present state of the Presbyterian Church in that section > Part 14
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speaks what he knows, and testifies what he has seen, and felt, and experienced, and can no more doubt of the benefits resulting from this union, than he can doubt of his own existence.
At the date of the dissolution of the Ontario Association but two churches west of the Genesee river were in connexion with that body. These were, the church of Murray (now Bergen), and the church of Riga. The church of Caledonia, on that territory, was the only one under the care of the Presbytery of Geneva. Some other churches had been organized, mostly, if not wholly, of the congregational denomination, but, on account of distance, had not connected themselves with any ecclesiastical judicatory. That part of the country was at this time in a state of rapid progress of settlement. The influx of inhabitants was great ; new settlements were formed, and foundations were laid for the organization of new churches. Such organizations rapidly took place. This was es- pecially the case after the close of the war with Great Britain in 1815. At the stated meeting of the Presbytery of Geneva, held at Ovid on the 12th and 13th days of February, 1817, the subject of a division of the Presbytery was taken into consideration. At this time the Presbytery consisted of twenty-nine ministers, and had under its care forty-five churches and seven licentiates. Of the ministers two only resided on the Holland Purchase, Rev. Hugh Wallis at Pembroke, and Rev. Miles P. Squier installed pastor of the church of Buffalo. Of the churches, six, viz. Attica, Warsaw, Buffalo, Hamburgh, Lewiston, and Pomfret, were on that territory. Several other churches were organized and two ministers were located on the purchase, wishing to unite with a Presbytery, when- ever one should be organized within a reasonable distance of their location. The Presbytery, in view of the existing circumstances, the vast extent of territory, the location of the ministers and churches on their territory, their present number, and the strong probability of the rapid increase of this number, both of ministers and churches, came unanimously to the conclusion, that it was ex- pedient that the Presbytery should be divided into four Presbyte- ries, and that application for this purpose should be made to the Synod at their approaching meeting. On the 19th day of the same month the Synod of Geneva being in session at Geneva, on the ap- plication of the Presbytery, the division was consummated in the following manner, viz. :
The ministers comprised within the counties of Steuben, Allegany, and Tioga, together with Rev. Ebenezer Lazell, and Rev. Lyman Barrett, and the church of Naples, were constituted a Presbytery, to be denominated the Presbytery of Bath. The other ministers and churches connected with this Presbytery were :
Minsters-Rev. David Higgins, Rev. James H. Hotchkin, Rev. Rev. Robert Hubbard, Rev. Clement Hickman, and Rev. Hezekiah
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Woodruff. Churches : Bath, Painted Post, Angelica, Alfred (now Almond), Prattsburgh, Wayne, and Elmyra.
The ministers and churches to the westward of the eastern boundary of the Holland Purchase, together with Rev. David Tul- lar and the church in Leroy, with Mr. David M. Smith, licentiate, were constituted a Presbytery, to be known as the Presbytery of Niagara. The ministers and churches of this Presbytery have been already named.
The ministers and churches comprised between the eastern boundary of the Presbytery of Niagara, and the dividing line be- tween the third and fourth ranges of townships in Phelps and Gor- ham's Purchase in the county of Ontario, together with Messrs. Warren Day, Ebenezer Everett, and Josiah Pierson, licentiates, were constituted a Presbytery, denominated the Presbytery of On- tario. With this Presbytery were connected Rev. Messrs. John Lindsley, Alexander Denoon, Ezekiel J. Chapman, Aaron C. Col- lins, Reuben Parmele, Silas Hubbard, Andrew Rawson, Ebenezer Fitch, D.D., and Comfort Williams, with the churches of Geneseo, 1st Caledonia, Livonia, Honeoye (now Richmond), West Bloom- field, Geneseo ; 2d Pittsford, Penfield, Parma (now Ogden), Gates (now Rochester 1st), South Bristol, Perry, and Mount Morris.
The Presbytery of Geneva was composed of the remaining minis- ters, churches, and licentiates. The territory which it occupied is bounded on the north by Ontario lake, on the west by the divid- ing line between the third and fourth ranges of townships in Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, on the south by the lines which at that time divided the counties of Seneca and Ontario from Tioga and Steuben, and on the east by the west boundary of the county of Cayuga, excepting from this territory the town of Naples. The ministers who composed this Presbytery were Rev. Messrs. Ben- jamin Bell, Charles Mosher, Howell R. Powell, Joseph Merrill, William Clark, Henry Axtell, Francis Pomeroy, Eleazar Fairbanks, Moses Young, and Stephen Porter. The churches connected with the Presbytery were those of Geneva, Ulysses Ist (now Trumans- burgh), Ovid, Palmyra, Junius (now Seneca Falls), Gorham (now Hopewell), Romulus, Hector, Lyons, Benton, Sodus, Phelps, Wol- cott (now Huron), Augusta and Gorham (now Rushville), Junius 2d, Galen (now Clyde), and East Palmyra. The licentiates under the care of the Presbytery were Messrs. Daniel S. Butrick, Stephen M. Wheelock, and Lot B. Sullivan. Mr. Butrick has since become a missionary to the Cherokee Indians, under an appointment from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
The state of the church, subsequent to the division of the Pres- bytery, was very prosperous. The influx of inhabitants, especially west of the Genesee river, was great. The number of churches was rapidly increasing, as also the number of members in each
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particular church. The number of ministers was also enlarged. In two years from the time of the organization of the Presbytery of Niagara, its number of ministers had increased from three- to ten, and its churches from seven to thirty-two, with one licentiate. The Presbytery of Ontario, instead of nine ministers, numbered twenty, and instead of thirteen churches under its care, had twenty- three, and two licentiates. The Presbytery of Geneva had also experienced an enlargement. Its number of ministers had increased from ten to seventeen, and its churches from seventeen to twenty- three, with three licentiates. The Presbytery of Bath had remained nearly stationary. One of its ministers, Rev. Clement Hickman, who had removed to the State of Indiana previous to the organiza- tion of the Presbytery, had deceased. The others continued with- out any addition to their numbers. Three churches had been added to the original number, and an accession of members had enlarged and strengthened some of them. The Presbyteries of Ontario and Niagara were extended, each over a large territory, and at this time contained thirty ministers, fifty-five churches, and three licen- tiates, with the prospect of speedy accessions. In view of these circumstances, it was deemed expedient from these Presbyteries to organize two additional ones. This was effected at the meeting of the Synod of Geneva, at the village of Geneva, Feb. 17, 1819. A new Presbytery, denominated the Presbytery of Rochester, was erected from parts of the Presbyteries of Ontario and Niagara, bounded on the south by the south boundary lines of the towns of Perrinton, Pittsford, Henrietta, Riga, and Bergen, and the Tona- wanda swamp, west by the west boundary line of Genesee county, north by Lake Ontario, and east by the line which separates the third from the fourth range of townships in Phelps and Gorham's Purchase. The Presbytery of Ontario, greatly reduced in extent, was bounded on the north by the Presbytery of Rochester, east and south by its original boundaries, and west by the Genesee river. A new Presbytery was erected, denominated the Presbytery of Genesee, and bounded on the north by the Presbytery of Roches- ter, east by the Genesee river, south by the original south boundary lines of Ontario and Niagara Presbyteries, and west by the west boundary line of Genesee county. The Presbytery of Niagara in- cluded all of Western New York west of the Presbyteries of Ro- chester and Genesee. After this division, the Presbytery of Ontario consisted of twelve ministers, nine churches, and one licentiate ; the Presbytery of Rochester, of six ministers, ten churches, and one licentiate ; the Presbytery of Genesee, of six ministers and seven- teen churches ; and the Presbytery of Niagara, of five ministers, twenty churches, and one licentiate. At this time the Synod of Geneva contained ninety-three ministers, one hundred and forty- five churches, and eight licentiates, exhibiting a deplorable defi- ciency of ministers to supply the churches with the regular
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administration of the word and ordinances of the gospel. This deficiency was in a peculiar manner felt within the bounds of the Presbytery of Niagara, the most recently settled part of Western New York, where we find twenty churches with but five ministers and one licentiate to supply them.
At the annual meeting of the Synod of Geneva, held at Auburn, October 3, 1820, the Synod then consisting of eight Presbyteries, and being extended over so large a territory, it was judged expe- dient that a division of it should be effected. Application was ac- cordingly made at the next meeting of the General Assembly for the erection of a new Synod, which was granted ; and the Assem- bly ordered " that the Presbyteries of Niagara, Genesee, Rochester, and Ontario be erected into a Synod, to be known by the name of the Synod of Genesee, and that they hold their first meeting at Rochester, on the third Tuesday of September next, and be opened with a sermon by the Rev. Ebenezer Fitch, D.D., or, in case of his absence, by the senior minister present." In accordance with this order, the Synod met at Rochester, on the eighteenth day of September, and was constituted agreeably with the manner pre- scribed by the Assembly. At this period, the Presbytery of On- tario consisted of thirteen ministers, and had under its care one licentiate and twelve churches. The Presbytery of Rochester con- sisted of twelve ministers, and had under its care three licentiates and fourteen churches. The Presbytery of Genesee consisted of eight ministers, and had under its care seventeen churches. The Presbytery of Niagara consisted of six ministers, and had under its care twenty-eight churches. The aggregate number in the Synod was thirty-nine ministers, four licentiates, and seventy-one churches.
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CHAPTER X.
The Luzerne Association. Union Association. All Congregational Associations in Western New York defunet. Great increase of the Presbyterian Church. Increase of Population. Rochester, Buffalo. Presbytery of Cortland erected. Presbytery of Chenango. Presbytery of Delaware detached from the Synod of Geneva and con- nected with the Synod of Albany. Presbytery of Angelica organized, detached from the Synod of Geneva, and connected with that of Genesee. Presbytery of Chemung constituted. Presbytery of Pennsylvania. A Contrast. Presbytery of Tioga erected Presbytery of Ithaca. Church at the Pawnee Mission Station. Statistics of the Synod of Geneva. Alterations in the Boundaries of its Presbyteries. Synod of Genesee. Presbytery of Niagara erected. Presbytery of Buffalo. Changes in the Presbyteries. Statistics of the Synod of Genesee. General Remarks.
IN the preceding chapter we have narrated the proceedings of a convention of delegates from different ecclesiastical bodies of Con- gregationalists, held at Clinton in 1810. Among the ecclesiastical bodies there represented, the Union Association and the Luzerne Association were enumerated. The Luzerne Association may be considered as the successor of the Susquehannah Association, though not embracing, perhaps, all the ministers and churches that had been connected with that ecclesiastical body. The Susquehan- nah Association had become extinct, as the writer believes, previous to the organization of the Luzerne Association, or what, perhaps, was the fact, in consequence of its organization. The Luzerne Association was composed principally of ministers and churches within the county of Luzerne in the State of Pennsylvania, the county of Luzerne at that period comprehending all the northern part of Pennsylvania from the Delaware river to a considerable distance west of the Susquehannah. Some ministers and churches in the contiguous part of the State of New York were also con- nected with this Association. It was organized in 1810. It sub- sequently became the Susquehannah Presbytery, the Congregational churches, by special arrangement, retaining the right to administer the government of their churches in accordance with the princi- ples of Congregationalism. This event took place, probably, in 1821, as no mention is made on the minutes of the General Assem- bly, of the Presbytery of Susquehannah until the year 1822. In 1832, this Presbytery was divided, and the Presbytery of Montrose was constituted from the eastern part of it. What ministers and churches in Western New York were connected with the Luzerne Association, the writer has not been able to ascertain.
The Union Association was formed by a division of the Oneida Association. That body, which was the first Association in the
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1
State of New York formed on the New England plan, had become somewhat numerous, and extended over a very large territory. At a meeting of the Association held at Westmoreland in the month of September, 1808, the subject of a division was taken under con- sideration, and a resolution was passed, dividing the Association into two ecclesiastical bodies, by a line corresponding with the south lines of the congregations of Warren, Sumner, Bridgewater, Sangersfield, and Augusta. The body composed of the ministers and churches south of this line were to constitute the Union Asso- ciation. But in consequence of the paucity of ministers in the southern division, it was agreed that all the ministers should be considered as members of both Associations, until the number of ministers in the southern division should warrant a more perfect separation. At this period the ministers in that part which pro- perly constituted the Union Association, were Rev. Roger Adams, pastor of the first church of Sherburne, Rev. William Williams, Rev. Ezra Woodworth, and Rev. Henry Chapman, pastor of the church of Burlington. The churches connected with the Associa- tion were those of Richfield, Exeter, Plainfield, Hamilton, Lebanon, Madison, Eaton, Sherburne first, Sherburne second, Columbus, Burlington, Lisbon, Hartwick, and No. 10. This latter church is supposed by the writer to have had its location in the tenth town- ship of what was called "The Governor's Purchase," being what has since constituted the northern part of the town of Norwich.
At the first meeting of the Association held at Madison, June 13th, 1809, Rev. Messrs. Simeon Snow, Joshua Knight, and Eli Hyde, were received as members. Mr. Daniel Nash, a licensed preacher of the Gospel, was ordained, and became a member of the Association. In consequence of this addition to the number of ministers, the division of the original Association was made com- plete. As a manifestation of the high regard entertained by the Association for the appropriate qualifications of those whom they should induct into the ministerial office, it may be noted, that at this first meeting they resolved, that, extraordinary instances ex- cepted, they would neither encourage, nor admit to examination before them, any applicant for license to preach, as a candidate for the ministerial office, unless he had received a degree at some col- lege, or produced evidence of having studied the languages, arts, and sciences under some able teacher or teachers ; nor unless he should be found, on examination, to possess a good degree of knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages, English Grammar, Mathematics, Logic, Rhetoric, Geography, and Natural Philosophy.
The following ministers were received, from other ecclesiastical bodies, as members of the Association, during its continuance, viz. Rev. Messrs. Whiting Griswold, Abner Benedict, jun., John Lord, Jesse Townsend, Luther Gleason, Charles Thorp, John Truair, William Stone, Josiah Moulton, Thomas W. Duncan, and Richard
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FORMATION OF ASSOCIATIONS AND PRESBYTERIES.
Dunning. The following were received by ordination, having pre- viously been licensed to preach, viz. John Alexander, Jesse Miner, Oliver Eastman, Asa Donaldson, Isaac W. Ruggles, Enoch Con- ger, and John B. Hoyt.
The following persons were licensed to preach the Gospel, viz. Roswell Whitmore, William M. Adams, Ebenezer Raymond, Asa Donaldson, Isaac W. Ruggles, Enoch Conger, Josiah J. Buck, and Lyman Rexford.
The following churches were received into communion with the Association after its organization, viz. Butternuts, De Ruyter, Ox- ford first, Oxford second (afterwards called Eastern), Nelson, Ply- mouth first, Coventry, Windsor, McDonough, New Berlin (after- wards named Lancaster), Bainbridge Green, South Bainbridge, Lisle second, and Chenango Forks. The following churches were connected with the Association, probably from the time of its or- ganization, but the records are not definite, viz. Guilford, Lisle first, Georgetown, Preston, and New Lisbon. The last hamed may be the same church which, in another place, has been called Lisbon.
Of the ministers of the Association, Mr. Griswold deceased pre- vious to the dissolution of the body. Whether this was the case respecting any other member, is not known to the writer. The following were dismissed to unite with other ecclesiastical bodies, viz. Mr. Williams, to unite with Oneida Association; Mr. Nash, with the Presbytery of Cayuga; Mr. Townsend, with the Oneida Association, or the Presbytery of Oneida; Mr. Adams, with the Presbytery of Onondaga ; Mr. Truair, with the Presbytery of Otse- go ; and Mr. Conger, with the Presbytery of Susquehannah. The church of Eaton was dismissed to unite with a Presbytery, and the churches of Norwich, and Mr. McDonough, to unite with the Pres- bytery of Otsego.
The Association dissolved the pastoral relation subsisting between Rev. Roger Adams and the first church of Sherburne, Sept. 4th, 1810. They installed Rev. Abner Benedict, Jun., as pastor over the same church, Feb. 13th, 1811, and dissolved the relation, June 22d, 1813 :- They dissolved the pastoral relation of Rev. Whit- ing Griswold to the church of Hartwick, but the date of the trans- action is not on record. They dissolved the pastoral relation of Rev. Henry Chapman to the church of Burlington, Sept. 4th, 1811, and installed him pastor of the church of Hartwick. Feb. 12th, 1812 :-- They dissolved the pastoral relation subsisting between Rev. Eli Hyde and the first church of Oxford. Sept. 11th, 1812 : -They installed Rev. John Truair pastor over the first church of Sherburne, July 5th, 1815, and dissolved the relation, Sept. 5th, 1820 :- They dissolved the pastoral relation of Rev. Jesse Town- send to the church of Madison, Feb. 20th, 1816, and on the fif- teenth day of January, 1817, installed Rev. Jesse Miner pastor of the same church. July 3d, 1816, Rev. Josiah Moulton was in-
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stalled pastor of the church of Hamilton, and dismissed from his pastoral charge, July 15th, 1819 :- On the twenty-fifth day of May, 1819, the Association installed Rev. Asa Donaldson, as pastor of the church of Guilford, and on the fifteenth day of February, 1820, a committee, previously appointed for the purpose, reported that they had ordained Mr. Isaac W. Ruggles to the ministerial office, and installed him pastor of the second church of Bainbridge.
On the seventeenth day of February, 1818, the Association or- ganized a Missionary Society, Rev. Charles Thorp, President ; but of the subsequent operations of the society, the writer has no infor- mation. In their minutes of the date of Sept. 4th, 1817, they speak of revivals of religion in the churches, making an addition of four hundred and thirty-three to the number of communicants. Again, Sept. 5th, 1820, they say that extensive revivals have been experi- enced in the churches.
At a meeting held Feb. 16th, 1819, the subject of a union with the Presbyterian church of the United States was discussed, but no definite action was taken ; but on the twentieth day of February, 1822, a resolution was passed, dissolving the Association. Some of the ministers had previously connected themselves with a Pres- bytery. Most of the remaining ones soon connected with the Pres- byteries within the bounds of which they were respectively situ- ated, and most of the churches soon followed their example.
With the dissolution of the Union Association, all the original congregational organizations of ministers and churches in Western New York had become defunct. The sentiment seemed to have become nearly universal, that Presbyterians and Congregationalists might, without collision, unite under one organization, and join all their powers in advancing the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. Nor has the experience of many years' trial contradicted this state- ment. The alienations, divisions, secessions, and excisions which have since taken place, have not been the consequence of the union of Presbyterians and Congregationalists in one ecclesiastical organi- zation, but have resulted from causes of an entirely different character.
From this period the enlargement of the Presbyterian church in Western New York has been very great. The whole country was rapidly being reduced to a state of cultivation. The increase of the number of inhabitants was constant. Immigration was still continued, and the natural increase was great. Of the immigrants a goodly number were pious. Revivals of religion were frequent. The organized churches were greatly enlarged in the number of their members, and in their pecuniary ability to build- houses of worship, and maintain a preached gospel. The call for an increase of the number of ministers was loud and earnest, to which, in a good measure, a favorable response was given. New churches were continually being formed, and the Presbyteries increasing in the
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number of their ministers and churches. Immediately after the completion of the Erie canal in 1825, the increase of population in Western New York was very rapid. Flourishing villages, and even cities, sprang up as it were by magic. The city of Rochester, on the site of which, in 1813, a Pagan festival accompanied with the sacrifice of a white dog, was held, and which at that time was almost entirely a wilderness, in 1834 was incorporated as a city, and in the following year was found to contain 14,404 inhabitants ; in 1840, the number had increased to 20,191; and in 1845, to 25,265. So also Buffalo, which, at the commencement of the late war with Britain, was but an inconsiderable village, and in 1813 was burned and wholly destroyed by the British troops, in 1832 was incorporated as a city. In 1835, it numbered 15,661 inhabitants ; in 1840, the number was 18,213; and in 1845, had increased to 29,773. As cities and villages now multiplied, and received large accessions of inhabitants, so also the population of the country at large was greatly increased, as may be seen by an inspection of the table at the close of the second chapter of this work.
In consequence of the increased number of the ministers and churches in the several Presbyteries, and the extent of territory covered by most of them, frequent divisions became necessary to promote the highest interests of the Presbyterian church. At the meeting of the Synod of Geneva at Skencatoles, October 4, 1825, the Presbytery of Onondaga was divided, and a new Presbytery to be named the Presbytery of Cortland was detached from it, to con- sist of ministers,-Rev. Messrs. Joshua Leonard, John Keep, John Lord, Matthew Harrison, John Brown, Caleb Clark, Hugh M. Boyd, Ebenezer I. Leavenworth, William J Wilcox, and Richard S. Corning, and the churches of Smithfield, Cazenovia, Fabius, Tully, Otisco, Homer, Truxton, German, Lincklaen, Harrison, Freetown, Scott, De Ruyter, Nelson, and Preble. The new Presbytery were directed to convene at Homer on the first Tuesday of the following November, for full organization, which took place accordingly. At the same time the church of Virgil was transferred from the Pres- bytery of Onondaga to that of Cayuga. On the minutes of the General Assembly for the year 1826, we find the following record : " An application for the formation of a new Presbytery in the county of Chenango and adjacent parts in the State of New York, was taken up, when the following resolution was adopted, viz." --
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