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 15
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" Resolved, that the prayer of the petitioners be granted, and the Assembly hereby constitute the Presbytery of Chenango to be composed of the Rev. Edward Andrews, and the Rev. Asa Do- naldson, of the Presbytery of Otsego; the Rev. Elijah D. Wells, of the Presbytery of Cayuga ; the Rev. Egbert Roosa, of the Presby- tery of Columbia ; and the Rev. Ambrose Eggleston, of the Pres- bytery of Susquehannah ; and to be bounded on the north by the Presbytery of Oneida, on the east by the Presbyteries of Otsego
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and Columbia, on the south by the Presbytery of Susquehannah, and on the west by the Presbyteries of Cayuga and Onondaga. The Assembly direct the Presbytery so constituted and bounded, to meet at Oxford, on Thursday the 29th day of June, at eleven o'clock, A.M., and that the Rev. Asa Donaldson, or, in case of his absence, the senior minister present, open the Presbytery with a sermon, and preside until a Moderator be chosen ; and the Presby- tery of Chenango is hereby attached to the Synod of Geneva." This Presbytery was organized by the order of General Assembly, because the ministers who composed it were connected with three different Synods. Their organization as a distinct Presbytery, was therefore making an alteration in the boundary lines of the several Synods, which is one of the prerogatives of the General Assembly. Its boundaries are not very definitely described in the act for its organization. It may be considered as including in its territory the counties of Chenango, Delaware, and a part of Broome, and bounded on the south by the dividing line between the States of New York and Pennsylvania. No churches are mentioned as con- nected with it at its organization, and but five ministers. In their report to the General Assembly the next year, they report eleven ministers and seven churches. The churches were those of Co- ventry 2d, Colesville, Guilford, Franklin, Norwich, McDonough, and Windsor. Of these the church of Guilford had previously been connected with the Presbytery of Otsego, and those of Coles- ville and Windsor with that of Susquehannah. The others are supposed to have been connected with Congregational bodies now extinct. This Presbytery may be considered as taking the place of the Union Association, although not occupying precisely the same territory. The number of ministers and churches of this Presbytery rapidly increased. In 1829 they report to the General Assembly fifteen ministers, three licentiates, and fourteen churches ; and in 1831, twenty-four ministers, two licentiates, and twenty-five churches. In consequence of the great extent of territory embraced within the bounds of this Presbytery, and the increased number of ministers and churches connected with it, it was judged expedient that a division should take place. Accordingly at the meeting of the Synod of Geneva in October, 1831, at the request of the Pres- bytery, a new Presbytery, to be denominated the Presbytery of Delaware, was erected, composed of the ministers and churches belonging to the Presbytery of Chenango, east of the Unadilla river, and east of the Susquehannah river below its junction with the Unadilla, with the exception of the church of South Bainbridge. They were directed to hold their first meeting at Franklin, on the second Tuesday of April, 1832. This Presbytery at its organiza- tion included eight ministers and fourteen churches. In 1840, it appears from the minutes of the General Assembly that the Pres- bytery consisted of eight ministers and nineteen churches. In that
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year the General Assembly passed a resolution, permitting their Presbytery, if such should be their election, to join the Synod of Albany, notice of their decision to be given to the stated clerk of the Assembly. In accordance with this permission, the Presbytery became connected with the Synod of Albany, and its particular relation to the Presbyterian churches of Western New York was terminated.
The Presbytery of Bath, which, at its organization in 1817, com- prised seven ministers and seven churches, had, in 1828, increased to the number of fifteen ministers and twenty-five churches, and had under its care three licentiates. In extent of territory it reached from Elmira to Olean, with a width of about thirty-six miles. In consequence of this vast extent of territory, it was deemed expedi- ent that it should be divided ; the western members wishing to be organized as a separate Presbytery, and the others assenting. Ac- cordingly a new Presbytery, named the Presbytery of Angelica, was constituted by the act of the Synod of Geneva, at their meet- ing at Syracuse, Oct. 7, 1828, including the ministers and churches belonging to the Presbytery of Bath which were west of the divid- ing line between the counties of Steuben and Allegany. The Presbytery held their first meeting agreeably to the order of Synod, at Angelica, Nov. 25th, 1828. The original members were :- Ministers, Rev. Messrs. Robert Hubbard, Silas Hubbard, Moses Hunter, and Reuben Hurd. Churches-Ossian, Allen, Almond, Andover, Angelica, Black Creek, and Olean. At the meeting of the General Assembly in May, 1834, this Presbytery, on its own request, and by consent of the Synod of Geneva, was, on account of its geographical position, detached from that Synod, and annexe'd to the Synod of Genesee. The Presbytery at this time was com- posed of ten ministers, and had under its care nineteen churches.
At the meeting of the Synod at Penyan, October 4th, 1836, the Presbytery of Bath was again divided on their request in manner following, viz .- All that part of the Presbytery which lay to the north of the south lines of the towns of Hornellsville, Howard, Bath, Tyrone, and Reading, continued to be the Presbytery of Bath; the remain- ing part was constituted a new Presbytery, and denominated the Presbytery of Chemung, to hold their first meeting at Big Flats, on the last Tuesday of December, next ensuing. This Presbytery, at its organization, was composed of the following ministers, viz .- Rev. Messrs. David Harrowar, Charles Goodrich, Asa Donaldson, William M. Adams, John Frost, George Spalding, Daniel B. Butts, Elijah Buck, John Grey, Oren Johnson, Ethan Pratt, David I. Perry, and Egbert Roosa. The churches under its care were those of Green wood (formerly Bennett's Creek), Troupsburgh, Jas- per, Woodhull, Addison, Campbell, Mede's Creek, Catlin, Havanna, Hornby, Erwin, Painted Post, Big Flats, Elmira, Horse Heads, Southport, Lawrenceville, Mansfield, Wells, and Elkland. Of the
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ministers, Messrs. Donaldson and Roosa resided within the bounds of the State of Pennsylvania ; the churches of Lawrenceville, Mans- field, Wells, and Elkland, were in the same State. In 1844, this Presbytery numbered twenty ministers, thirty-two churches, and three licentiates. Of this number five of the ministers, one of the licentiates, and nine of the churches, were within the bounds of the State of Pennsylvania. These, on their request, and with the con- sent of the Presbytery, were, by an act of the Synod of Geneva, passed October 3d, 1844, constituted a Presbytery, denominated the Presbytery of Pennsylvania. The ministers connected with it, were, Rev. Messrs. Henry Ford, Elijah D. Wells, Octavius Fitch, Samuel J. M.Cullough, and Samuel Porter. The churches under its care were, Wells, Wells and Columbia, Sullivan and Richmond, Covington, Laurenceville, Wellsboro', Farmington, Elkland, and Beecher's Island.
The little Presbytery of Bath, which was organized in 1817, with seven ministers and eight churches, most of them very small and weak, had now, by division and sub-division, become four Presby- teries, including, in 1846, fifty-three ministers, sixty-seven churches, and more than five thousand communicants. Of the original mem- bers of the Presbytery of Bath, five have deceased, one has ceased to exercise the ministerial office, and the writer of these sheets alone remains in the performance of the functions of the ministry of re- conciliation on this territory. When he first commenced his minis- terial labors on this field, there were of the Congregational or Pres- byterian denominations but three ministers and four churches, on the territory afterwards embraced within the bounds of the Pres- bytery of Bath. At that period most of the territory was a wilder- ness. The inhabitants were comparatively few-scattered in groups distant from each other, and experiencing the privations and hardships incident to a new settlement. The roads where they ex- isted were in a most unimproved state, and travelling in any form was fatiguing. The inhabitants enjoyed few opportunities of at- tending on public worship, and the work of the ministry, to the few laborers on the field, was an arduous employment. The writer of these pages has been called from a distance of forty miles to preach a funeral sermon, being the nearest clergyman of the Presbyterian denomination to be obtained. He has not unfrequently travelled a distance of forty or fifty miles through wilderness roads, to assist in the organization of a new church, to afford a Sabbath's preach- ing, and to administer the sacraments to a destitute, feeble church, or to assist in a case of discipline, or give advice with a view to compose difficulties which had arisen in some troubled church. But, in the good providence of God, he has lived to see that which was a wilderness, both in a natural and in a moral sense, become, comparatively, a fruitful field, teeming with a numerous population, and presenting, at short intervals, houses dedicated to the worship
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of the triune God. For these pleasing results incessant thanks- givings should be rendered to the Almighty God, and to him be all the glory.
The Presbytery of Cayuga, according to its report to the General Assembly, in May, 1829, comprised thirty-three ministers, eleven licentiates, and forty-three churches. It retained, at this period, nearly its original limits, extending across the State from the Penn- sylvania line, to Lake Ontario, and including the Presbyterian church of Kingston, in Upper Canada. In consequence of the extent of territory, and the greatly increased number of ministers and churches, a division of it became expedient. Accordingly, on ap- plication of the Presbytery, the Synod of Geneva, at their meeting in Geneva, October 6th, 1829, organized a new Presbytery, to be denominated the Presbytery of Tioga, and to comprehend the mi- nisters and congregations belonging to the Presbytery of Cayuga, that were on the territory lying south of the towns of Enfield, Ithaca, and Groton. This Presbytery was directed to hold its first meeting at Owego, on the third Tuesday of the then present month. At its organization it was composed of the following ministers, viz. Rev. Messrs. Jeremiah Osborne, Ebenezer Z. Leavenworth, Samuel Robertson, Marcus Ford, Aaron Putnam, Peter Lockwood, and John W. Ward. The churches under its care were those of New- field, Candor, Dryden, Virgil, Berkshire, Owego, Chenango Point (now Binghamton), Union, Richford, North Berkshire, Danby, Caroline, Candor and Westville, Veteran and Spencer.
At the meeting of the Synod at Ithaca, October 1st, 1839, the Presbytery of Ithaca was erccted from parts of the Presbyteries of Cayuga, Geneva, and Tioga, and comprising the ministers and churches within the bounds of the county of Tompkins. The mi- nisters who composed it were, Rev. Messrs. William Wisner, D.D., Sawnel Parker, William Clark, Warren Day, Isaac Crabbe, Joseph K. Ware, Adams W. Platt, Hutchins Taylor, Luther Clark, Moses Jewell, and Edwards A. Beach. The churches which were under its care, were, Ithaca, Danby, Enfield, Mecklenburgh, Burdett, Hector, Trumansburgh, Dryden, Peruville, Ludlowville, Newfield, and West Groton. Each town in the county contained, at least, one Presbyterian church. In addition to the churches here named should also be noticed the church at the Pawnee missionary station, among the Western Indians. This church was received under the care of the Presbytery of Cayuga, June 19th, 1837, Rev. Lorenzo W. Pease, the missionary at that station, being a member of the Presbytery. This mission, under the care of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, was supported by the bene- factions of the church of Ithaca ; and, as the mission derived its pecuniary support from that church, it was deemed proper that the church at the mission station should be connected with the Presby- tery of Ithaca.
These Presbyteries, the erection of which has been narrated in
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this chapter, together with the more ancient ones of Geneva, Cay- uga, Onondaga, and Bath, with the exception of Angelica and Delaware, constitute the Synod of Geneva at the present time, which in the aggregate includes, according to the reports of the Presbyteries to the General Assembly in 1846, 197 ministers, and 42 licentiates, and 195 churches containing 20,790 communicants. But on account of defective reports, the reported number of com- municants is considerably less than the real number.
Some changes in the boundaries of the several Presbyteries other than those already noticed, have from time to time been effected. At the meeting of the General Assembly in May, 1825, the churches of Granby, Oswego, and Hannibalville were transferred from the Presbytery of Onondaga and Synod of Geneva, to the Presbytery of Oswego and Synod of Albany. The same year the church of Virgil was, by the act of the Synod, transferred from the Presbytery of Onondaga to that of Cayuga. At the meeting of the General Assembly in May, 1827, the churches of Colesville and Windsor were detached from the Presbytery of Susquehanna and Synod of New Jersey, and placed in connexion with the Presbytery of Chenango and Synod of Geneva ; and at the same time the church of Dansville was detached from the Presbytery of Bath and Synod of Geneva, and connected with the Presbytery of Ontario and Synod of Genesee. In October, 1828, Rev. Richard S. Corning and the church of Otisco, by an act of the Synod, were set off from the Presbytery of Cortland to that of Onondaga. In 1831, the church of Borodino was transferred from Onondaga to Cayuga; in 1834, the church of Cortlandville, from Cayuga to Cortland ; in 1835, the church of Virgil, from Tioga to Cortland; and Rev. Eleazar S. Barrows, and the churches of Cazenovia, Smithfield, and Nelson, from Cortland to Onondaga ; in 1838, the church of Enfield, from Geneva to Tioga ; in 1840, the church of Harford, from Tioga to Cortland ; in 1842, the church of Cameron, from Chenango to Bath ; and in 1846, the church of Reading, from Bath to Chenango. These alterations have uniformly been made with the consent of the parties concerned, and with a view to their convenience.
The Synod of Genesee, comprising the Presbyteries of Ontario, Rochester, Genesee, and Niagara, and which was constituted a separate Synod by act of the General Assembly, as has been nar- rated, in 1821, has experienced changes similar to those of the Synod of Geneva. Within the limits of this Synod are situated the now populous cities of Rochester and Buffalo, with many large and flourishing villages of recent origin. The population of the region at large has immensely increased, and the circumstances of the Presbyterian church have been in the main prosperous. The num- ber of ministers and churches has greatly increased, and the pecu- niary ability of the churches to support the institutions of religion is much enlarged.
On the eighteenth of September, 1823, an additional Presbytery
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was, by an act of the Synod, erected from the northern part of the Presbytery of Niagara, and the Western part of the Presbytery of Rochester. Its boundaries, in the act for its erection, are described in manner following, viz .- On the south, by the north line of the county of Eric, and the south lines of the towns of Shelby and Barre; on the east, by the west lines of the towns of Byron, Clarendon, and Murray, thence by a line running north to Lake Ontario ; on the north, by the same lake ; and on the west, by the river of Niagara. This Presbytery was to be denominated the Presbytery of Niagara, and was directed to hold its first meeting at Royalton on the last Tuesday in January, 1824. The remaining part of the original Presbytery of Niagara received the name of the Presbytery of Buffalo, but retained the records of the original Presbytery. The Presbytery of Niagara thus constituted, comprised the following ministers and churches :- from the original Presbytery of Niagara, Rev. Messrs. David M. Smith and George Colton, and the churches of Royalton, Wilson, Cambria, Lockport, Lewiston, and Niagara ; from the Presbytery of Rochester, Rev. Messrs. Andrew Rawson and David Pratt, and the churches of Gaines, Barre, Shelby, and Ridgeway. We have already stated that the Presbytery of Angelica was, by an act of the General Assembly, in May, 1834, transferred from the Synod of Geneva to the Synod of Genesee.
In 1828 the church of Rush was taken from the Presbytery of Ontario, and attached to that of Rochester ; and the churches of York and Moscow were taken from Genesee and attached to On- tario. In 1838 the church of Franklinville was detached from the Presbytery of Angelica, and connected with that of Buffalo ; and in 1844 the church of Nunda was disconnected from the Presbytery of Angelica, and united with Ontario.
The Synod of Genesee was organized in 1821, with four Pres- byteries : it now, in 1846, has six. At its organization the aggre- gate number of ministers was thirty-nine, and of churches seventy- one : in the reports to the General Assembly for the year 1846, the number of ministers is 136, of churches 143, and of communicants in those churches 16,046. The aggregate number in both synods, exclusive of the Presbytery of Pennsylvania, which is wholly with- in the State of Pennsylvania, is fifteen Presbyteries, containing 333 ministers, 340 churches, and 36,836 communicants. Under the care of the Presbyteries belonging to the Synod of Geneva were, at the time of the report, 42 licentiates ; those from the Synod of Genesee were not reported.
Although the number of ministers and licentiates considerably exceeds the number of churches, still a very large number of the churches are without pastors, and destitute of the stated preaching of the Gospel. A considerable number of the ministers are profes- sors in the Theological Seminary, teachers of Academies and High Schools, editors, or agents of religious and benevolent institutions ; and though some of these preach with frequency, they have not the
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care of a church. Some are through age or bodily infirmities incapacitated for stated preaching, and some, though good men and capable of preaching the Gospel with clearness, have not those popular talents necessary in this day of excitement to gain the atten- tion of an audience. The greater part of the licentiates have re- ceived their theological education at the Auburn Seminary, and about half of them were licensed by the Presbytery of Cayuga. They remain nominally under the care of the Presbytery which licensed them until they find a settled residence. Probably the greater part of them are in places without the bounds of Western New York. Many of the churches are small, and feeble as to pe- cuniary ability. Some of these are located in places of recent set- tlement, and others where irreligion has from the beginning prevail- ed, or other Christian denominations have the ascendency. Hence from inability, discouragement, and, perhaps, in some degree, indif- ference, they are without the stated preaching of the Gospel. This would be the case with very many of them, were it not for the aid afforded by the American Home Missionary Society. But though some of the churches are small and weak, others are large, and abundant in means to support the institutions of the gospel for them- selves, and to aid in the support of them for those who are destitute at home and abroad ; and with the ability they have also the ready mind. The Western Agency of the American Home Missionary Society embraces the eighteen westernmost counties in the State of New York. For the year ending May, 1843, it appears from the report, that the receipts from the field of this Agency during the year amounted to the sum of $10,207 78, being an increase of $2,767 80 over the receipts of the preceding year ; and exceeding the amount of appropriations to feeble churches within the Agency for the same period, $3,329 69. Nor does the Western Agency embrace the whole region of what we denominate Western New York. The counties of Onondaga, Madison, Chenango, Cortland, and Broome, are not included in its field.
When we consider that little more than half a century since, this whole region was a wilderness, inhabited by none but hostile Indians, destitute of roads and everything pertaining to civilized life ; when we contrast with that scene its present aspect, its nume- rous population, its splendid cities and villages, its cultivated farms and elegant habitations, its extensive manufactories, canals, and railroads, its numerous literary and benevolent institutions, the vast number of edifices erected for the worship of Jehovah, many of them large and splendid, the 340 organized churches with nearly 40,000 communicants of a single branch of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, with probably a much greater number in the other branches, we are led in astonishment to exclaim, " What hath God wrought !" "This is the Lord's doing : it is marvellous in our eyes." We must confess that it is not by might, nor by power of ·human effort, but by the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts.
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CHAPTER XI.
The Holy Spirit : the manner of His Operation. What constitutes a Revival. Revival of 1799. Revival in West Bloomfield : in Ulysses : East Groton : Homer : Sher- burne: Pompey: Otisco: Onondaga: Coventry : Sherburne : Windsor. Extracts from the Minutes of the General Assembly, the Presbytery of Geneva, and Synod of Geneva. Revivals of 1816 and 1817 ; in Cazenovia, Manlius, Sherburne, Norwich, Homer, Ontario, Auburn, Elbridge, Genoa First Church, Cayuga Village, Locke, Ithaca, Newfield, Binghampton. Revival in Romulus, Lyons, Palmyra, Geneva, Middlesex, Gorham, East Bloomfield, Victor, Phelps, Richmond, Livonia, Mount- Morris. State of the Church west of the Genesee River. Revivals. Ministers laboring in the Region. Character of the Revivals of this period. Means and Measures.
THE true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ glories in acknow- ledging the work of the Holy Spirit in converting sinners and building up Zion. He knows that it is not by power of human effort, but by the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts, that the Church of Christ is built up in this world. Any enlargement of the church in the number of her members, which is not the result of the opera- tion of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts of sinners, is to be con- sidered as marring her beauty, and detracting from her real power. Hence the history of the enlargement of the church in any of her branches is a history of the work of the Holy Spirit on the hearts . of mankind, turning them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God. Without these operations of the Holy Spirit, the true church would soon become extinct. An organized body might remain attending on the forms of religion, but it would be in reality a synagogue of Satan. God gives his Spirit in a sovereign way, when and how he pleases, and in such measures as he sees fit. Sometimes his Spirit is withheld; at others, it awakens and converts an individual sinner, leaving the rest to hardness and stupidity. At times one of a city and two of a family are taken, and the others are left. When God sees fit, the Spirit is poured out in copious showers on a congregation, in connexion with the use of the means which God has appointed, and many sinners in a short period are converted. Perhaps, in many places, or through an extended region, at one and the same time this visi- tation of the Divine Spirit is enjoyed. In these several ways the church of Christ is continued in this world and enlarged. But especially is it the case that the church is built up by means of special and extensive outpourings of the Spirit, quickening saints and converting sinners. Such was the fact in the days of inspira- tion ; such has been the fact in every period of the church down to the present time. That such should be the case God promised
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to his church :- " I will pour water upon him that is thirsty,, and floods upon the dry ground ; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel." Such a season as that here promised, may with propriety be denominated a season of the revival of religion. Such a season a goodly portion of Western New York experienced in the year 1799, which year, for a considerable time afterwards, was spoken of as the year of the great revival. The history of that revival has been narrated in a former chapter.
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