USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Albany bi-centennial. Historical memoirs > Part 16
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
STATE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Rev. Dr. Holmes preached in the morning from Acts xxi : 39: "A Citizen of No Mean City."
After briefly touching upon Albany's proud history, Dr. Holmes said he choose rather to employ the past with a view to the improvement of the future, and to gather up the lessons of the by-gone centuries respecting the duties of citizenship. A proper discharge of our duties as citizens necessitates an increase of public spirit, and a general diffusion of intellectual culture, an attention to social obligations, and more impor- tant still, a thorough fulfillment of the political duties we are summoned to discharge. But the chief duty which devolves upon us in giving ennoblement to the city in which we live, respects its moral and spiritual improvement. Nor must we measure public morals by any other standard than the aver- age righteousness of the whole people. It is ours as citizens of this ancient municipality to diffuse divine light and life among all who dwell within the sphere of our influence.
187
The very rich and the very poor alike need Christian effort in their behalf. And the intermediate classes also require the expenditure of earnest activity. We must proclaim the sanctity of the Lord's day and the Lord's home, and the immediate duty of sincere repentance and having faith. The third century of our city's life should concern us far more than either the first or the second. Let us discharge our duties in connection with it, and God grant it may be a future filled up with ennobling experiences and divinely discharged duties.
AFRICAN M. E. CHURCH.
At the Israel M. E. church on Hamilton street, there was a very large attendance, and the sermon was by the Rev. Israel Derrick. Subject: "Fifty- seven years in Albany; or theConflicts and Con- quests of African Methodism." The preacher said in epitome :
No victory can be achieved without a well-planned and a hard fought battle. Endurance and perseverance, even against opposition, will eventually be rewarded. History is full of examples and illustrations which may help us to stand firm at our post of duty and put forth all the energies of body and mind, regardless of antagonizing forces, so that honest and earnest endeavor may be crowned with abundant success. African Methodism, during the last half century of this city, has been engaged in a financial, moral and religious conflict. God is on her side. She is destined to push the battle until the war is ended. Then will she return her armor to the armory of heaven and join the triumphant church on high.
It would seem that after so many futile attempts have been made by other colored denominations, that this Hamilton street African Methodist Episcopal church is destined by the God of Heaven to evangelize the colored people of this city, I call upon you this evening, on this, the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the City of Albany, to wheel into line and give a helping hand in this great work.
188
Let us be true to ourselves, to the city and State, and last, but not least, let us be true to the church ; and may the good Lord keep and prosper us until the end of time.
FIRST REFORMED CHURCH.
There was a large congregation at the First Re- formed church in the evening and the services were of much interest, the musical portion being also attractive. The pastor, Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman, chose his text from Deut. iv: 32: "Ask now of the days that are past." An epitome of the discourse follows :
This is the prerogative of the Reformed church. She dates back more than three hundred years. Her doctrinal standards and polity are derived primarily from the action of those who met at Antwerp in 1563, and in the beginning she was closely identified with the Reformers. In 1642 Johanes Megapolensis began to preach the gospel, and until the prese t time the Dutch church has been faithful to the city's interests. One of her members was commissioner to secure the charter and appeared with it before the governor of the State.
So we take our part in this Bi-centennial celebration, because we have as a denomination a firm hold upon the past, and the things which have been of importance to Albany in the past two hundred years, have likewise been closely associated with the Reformed church. There wor- ships with us a family but four generations removed from Peter Schuyler, the first mayor of the city.
We have in our membership direct descendants of Alex- ander Glen, who built the first church of Schenectady, and whose wife was Catharine Dongan, sister of him who was governor at the time the charter was granted.
But more highly are we honored, as a denomination, in the history we have had, in the long line of faithful ministers who have in our churches preached the gospel, in the godly men and women who have constituted our membership, in the memory of the missionaries who have gone out from us to do service for our Lord in foreign lands, in the two hun- dred and forty-four years of labor in His vineyard.
189
SIXTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
" Characteristic Elements in the Religious Faith of our Forefathers," was the subject of the Rev. J. D. Countermine's sermon at the Sixth Presbyterian church in the morning. He took his text from Acts xvii : 26 :
After an eloquent sermon he closed by saying : Out of the fatherhood of God naturally grows the great principle of the essential brotherhood of man. God has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth. Recognizing this, our forefathers gave early promise of becoming a free, united and happy people. How could it have been otherwise ? The national honor and strength, wealth and glory which we possess have come as the merit- able result not so much of what our forefathers did as of what they believed. It was their faith that made them great. Had they believed less, had they just left out of their creed the one doctrine of man's universal brotherhood, it is safe to say we never would have been what we are to-day, one of the leading nations of the earth. What we have said of America in general, is true of Albany in particular. Her greatness is due not so much to the beauty of her situation, or to the abundance of her natural resources, as to her men of character, enlightenment and faith. They were not per- fect, but the great truths which they loved and cherished are still the richest inheritance of the race. Possessing these truths we, as a city, have nothing to fear, for in them alone are life, honor, wealth, strength and immortality.
ST. PETER'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
" A citizen of no mean city " (Acts, xxi : 39) was the text of the discourse preached before a large congregation at St. Peter's church, in the morning, by the rector Rev. Walton W. Battershall. The reverend gentleman said :
The thought, lurking in that claim of St. Paul to his Tarsian citizenship, lies at the heart of this Bi-centennary of our charter day. Little as it was, Albany did good service
190
-
in those ancient days. All beyond it to the west and north, except the hamlet of Schenectady and the French settle- ments on the St. Lawrence, was unbroken wilderness. The stockade, thirteen feet high, was of little worth, if that living bulwark of savage allies should yield to the arms or bribes of the French
But in this picture of ancient Albany I cannot forbear to mention one landmark, in which we who worship at this altar have a peculiar inheritance. For about forty years after the peaceful seizure by the English, the old Dutch church at the foot of State street, and the Lutheran church on South Pearl street sufficed for the religious needs of the city. In the accounts of Peter Schuyler, the deacon of the Dutch church in 1683, and the first mayor of the city, we read that the thirteenth of January was observed as a day of fasting and prayer, to divert God's heavy judgment from falling on the English nation for the murder of King Charles, martyr of blessed memory, and that the expenses of the church therefor were seventeen guilders. In 1708, Thomas Barclay was chaplain of the garrison. Soon there was need of an English church in Albany. On the 21st of October, 1714, Governor Hunter issued letters patent granting a plot of ground in the street below the fort for a church and cemetery. Despite all obstacles, the work went on, and, in the course of a year, a stone structure fifty-eight feet long and forty-two wide, later known as St. Peter's church, stood in the middle of Jenker's street, one block below the present site-the first permanent footprint of the English church beyond the seaboard.
Such in brief outline is the picture which our Bi-centennial commemoration summons from the past. It is something to claim citizenship in "no mean city," a city that has a history and has had so much to do with the making of history.
But what avails it to study the past except to win from it light and energy for the duty of the present ? You, men of Albany, are molding the character of your city, not simply by municipal legislation, but by those personal traits, those daily dealings by which you made the moral atmosphere the business methods, the political life of the city. The import- ance of cities is not measured by their bulk any more than the importance of men ; but growth is every sign of health.
191
FIRST METHODIST CHURCH.
At the First Methodist church, in the morning, the Rev. H. A. Starks took for his text: "Then Sam- uel took a stone and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer," saying : " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." I Sam. vii: 12:
A principle, deeply implanted in human nature, and repeatedly recognized in scripture, leads to the observance of commemorative days. The city in which we dwell has come to the Two Hundreth Anniversary of its life.
To-day an attempt is being made to answer the question, " What of the history and influence of Christianity in Albany ? " Especially should our own society, the oldest in this city be interested in giving a satisfactory reply to this question. In 1760, two men, Philip Emburg and Thomas Webb, the former in New York, the latter in Albany, com- menced their labors. The Rev. Freeborn Garrettson was the founder of the Methodist creed in Albany. In 1789 a small but flourishing society was in Albany. In 1791 Mr. Garrettson dedicated the first Methodist church in this city. It was a small fifty-two by forty-four building on the south- east corner of Pearl and Orange streets. The first board of trustees was elected in 1792.
In 1805 Elias Vanderlip was appointed pastor on account of serious divisions which had arisen. In 1811 the common council gave the society the lot on Hallenbeck and Plain streets, sixty-six by one hundred feet. In 1813 the new edifice on Division street was built. A Sunday school was formed in 1816. In 1826 they moved into a large hall on North Pearl street, formerly used as a circus. From time to time new divisions arose and new societies were formed. In 1844 the Hudson street edifice was occupied. The pros- perity of the society was now assured by the large congrega- tion. In 1883 they moved again into their now elegant structure on the corner of Hudson avenue and Philip street.
TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
At Trinity Episcopal church in the morning the pastor, Rev. Dr. C. H. W. Stocking, chose his text
192
from Prov. xi : II : " By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted," and in conclusion said :
Two hundred years of human life and activity are but a small segment of the circle of being. We are but a handful of sand on the stretching shores of peoples and nations. The pride with which we begin this great Bi-centennial week should be tempered with humility. It is one of the fallacies of our day that a courageous and prosperous national life tends to improvement, and is inseparably connected with all advancement. The traveler stands to-day among the ruins of ancient temples to wonder at the marvelous civiliza- tion of Greece. The glorious city of the Tiber is a dusty relic, her language dead and her name and fame are but a romance, while Albany is stronger to-day than Rome ever was in all that constitutes general stability. They ordered their households with simplicity and virtue. They traded honestly, kept their hands from picking and stealing, and their bodies in temperance and chastity. They refreshed their minds at the stream of a pure education. Whatever of past prosperity Albany has had, whatever she now enjoys and whatever of hope for the future she cherishes, is rooted deeply in the truth that by the blessing of the upright the city is exalted.
OTHER SERVICES.
A large audience gathered to hear the Bi-centennial services given in the Bethel-El-Jacob synagogue on Fulton street, the rabbi, Rev. Dr. Distillator, having prepared a complete programme. Prayer for the rulers of the United States, by Rev. Mr. Zimmerman ; sermon touching the rise and progress of the Jews in Albany, by Rev. Dr. Distillator, ending with a prayer for the city officials. The synagogue was most handsomely decorated, the programme attract- ive and well rendered, and the congregation well pleased.
At the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady Help of Christians a solemn high mass was said, accom-
193
panied by an apropriate sermon in German delivered by Mgr. H. Cluever, pastor.
The Rev. William S. Boardman, a former rector, delivered the sermon at the Church of the Holy Inno- cents. The text: "My days are a shadow that is declining," 102d Psalm, 2.
MONDAY, JULY 19TH.
TRADES AND MANUFACTURERS AND CHILDREN'S DAY. EXERCISES BY SCHOOL CHILDREN.
MORNING .- Opening the city gates. Canoe races in front of the city.
AFTERNOON .- Grand parade of manufacturers, tradesmen and mechanics, with workshops on floats, etc. Marking with bronze tablets historical spots, accompanied by appropriate exercises.
EVENING .- Concert by trained chorus of one thousand school children in Capitol Park. Grand children's fete, closing with elaborate pyrotechnic display. A triple band concert in Washington Park.
OPENING THE CITY GATES.
About ten o'clock the historic ceremony of open- ing the city gates was beheld with great interest by a large multitude. The procession formed at the city hall, and previous to the hour of starting, the mayor's office was filled with members of the Bi-centennial committee wearing beautiful badges, city officials and prominent citizens.
After a little unavoidable delay, the processsion was formed under the direction of Col. John S. Mc-
194
5
6
1
Ewan, and chief assistant, Major Lewis Balch. The formation of the line was as follows :
Sergt. Winne and a platoon of police, Plattsburgh band, Burgesses corps, Crier Jacob D. Pohlman, City Marshal Craven, City officers, Recorder and Justices, headed by Mayor Thacher, President McCann and common council, Poughkeepsie band, Jackson corps, citizens' Bi-centennial committee. headed by ex-Mayor Banks, Caughnawaga Indians in costume, members of the board of trade and citizens generally.
The Burgesses corps, under Maj. Van Zandt, num- bered five staff, three line and thirty-six muskets and the Jackson corps, Maj. MacFarlane commanding, six staff, five line and thirty-two muskets.
Marshal Craven wore a broad cardinal sash about his waist, and carried in hand the traditional white wand. Mayor Thacher carried the emblem of author- ity, a sword. The procession presented a fine appear- ance, and not the least centre of interest were the Indians in their glaring costumes.
The route of march was as follows: Washington avenue to Lark street, to Hudson avenue, to Broad- way. Here the first or south gate of the city was located. The structure was of wood, thickly trimmed with evergreens, and extended from curb to curb. Above the horizontal on top was the following inscrip- tion :
" Ye Southe Gate of ye Citty, Leading to ye Fort, ye Ferrie and ye Pasture."
Between the uprights swung the city gates, con- structed of unplaned dark board, ten feet in height and sharpened at the upper end into the semblance
195
of a palisade. A heavy bolt and padlock kept the gates shut to all comers on the thoroughfare until the mayor had bid them welcome.
THE CEREMONY.
Just by this gate the procession halted. Mayor Thacher, sword in hand, accompanied by Marshal Craven and crier Pohlman, stepped forward, and key in hand unlocked the padlock. Two sturdy constables in blue uniforms put their shoulders to the gates, which swung apart from the pressure. The scene was picturesque and unique. Under the arch stood the mayor, flanked by his crier and marshal. The common council on the east side and the Bi-centen- nial committee on the west side stood grouped about the gate. In the centre stood the little bronzed and painted group of Mohawk braves, and the red coats of the soldiers and the band's blue uniforms hemmed in the circle. The background was thousands of citizens. As the gates swung open crier Pohlman stepped briskly forward and in stentorian tones shouted " Uncover." At the word every head was bared, and where a moment before had been the hum of voices was profound silence. Spake the crier :
Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. To all strangers without this gate. Keep silence, keep silence. The Mayor of the city is about to issue his proclamation. Peace, silence, and hear him.
Then Mayor Thacher, in loud tones, proclaimed :
To all ye of good fame and honest name, traveler, student, friend, who shall enter our gates this day and in the days that for three terms shall follow after this: Peace, welcome, cheer and greeting.
196
Hitherto have ye come after twice one hundred years, and within our walls to-day we celebrate this natal event. Join with us in the commemoration of the day when our fathers received their charter two hundred years ago.
Enter then beneath this triumphal arch and with us unite in parade and oration. Freedom, liberty and immunity we give thee for this time.
At the same time Marshal Craven tacked the pro- clamation on sheepskin on the gate, signed "John Boyd Thacher, mayor. Done in the ancient city of Albany this day, July 19, 1886."
After the proclamation, the Indians rendered an Iroquois hymn. The weird sound of the Iroquois song of welcome rose as the last nail was driven. The singers had taken their stand in the centre of the scene, facing the Mayor, and in tuneful chorus acknowledged the hospitality extended by this gen- eration to them as their fathers had welcomed our fathers on nearly the same spot two hundred and fifty years ago. The band then struck up "Yankee Doodle," composed near Albany in 1755, the proces- sion reformed and the strangers without the gates flocked within the city walls.
AT THE NORTH GATE.
Handelaer's street (Broadway) was packed with people and gay with color as the procession started from the south gate to the north gate, through which, on Sunday morning, February 9, 1690, Symon Schermerhorn dashed on full gallop, bearing the tidings of Schenectady's fate. The north gate is erected near Steuben street, opposite ye American express building, and is the counterpart of the south gate. The inscription over it reads :
197
Ye North Gate of ye Citty, Ye Greate road to ye Canadas.
At the north gate the same ceremony as at the south gate was repeated in the same impressive manner. As the proclamation was nailed in place, the Van Rensselaer cannon of 1630 thundered the first of the federal salute of thirty-eight guns, fired by Capt. Archie Young, from the pier which completed the terminus of DeWitt Clinton's great project. The procession then formed again and marched over the prescribed route to the Stadt Huys, where a modest collation had been spread for the participants. All through the day strangers flocked into the city through the gates, so auspiciously opened as the formal beginning of the Bi-centennial celebration.
THE SCHOOL CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL.
It was almost half past ten when the opening notes of "America " swelled from a chorus of half a thou- sand voices, led by Prof. George Edgar Oliver. At that time the tent, located in Capitol park, was fairly packed from end to end. Not only were the seats filled, but the canvas at the sides of the tent was raised and ; thousands crowded here in the vain endeavor to see over the heads of the spectators within. Such a pushing and jostling, such a clamber- ing over the ends of seats, such a struggle to raise one's eyes half a foot higher from the ground than nature intended, could not be seen save upon a Bi-centennial occasion. After Director Oliver had gracefully waved the children to the seats, upon the conclusion of the chorus, the Rev. Dr. J. Livingston Reese stepped to the front of the platform and offered up an eloquent prayer :
198
O Lord God Almighty and Generous Father, whom no eye has seen and can see, and yet who dwellest in the heart of the lowly and humble, we come to thee this day for thy special blessing. We thank thee for the lessons of the past, for the good examples of those whose names we now revere and whose virtues we would copy. We thank thee for the means thou hast given us in this land for the education of the young and their training in truth and holiness. Direct those who have charge of the schools of this city and to whom thou hast entrusted this great work. Fill their memo- ries with the words of the law. Enlighten their understand- ing with the illumination of the Holy Ghost. Impress deeply upon the children of this city the love and duty and the fear and reverence of thee, their Father and their God. Give them wisdoni to see that though old things pass away, yet there is no decline in faith, in the beauty of righteous- ness, in the gloriousness of purity, the splendor of virtue and the strength of truth. Make them strong in heart, full of courage, fearless of danger, holding pain and loss cheap when they lie in the way of truth and duty. Make them strong in love, true friends, tender neighbors, helpful citizens. Make them strong in faith, believing thy word and promises, ever trusting in the victory of good over evil. Make them strong in hope, undaunted by seeming defeat, ever looking beyond the mists and clouds of time into the clear shining of the eternal life. Make them strong in voice to sing thy praises, to magnify thy name, to resist evil. Oh God most loving, God most pitiful, strengthen thy children daily to do and to bear, to suffer and to hope, to fight the good fight, and at last to lay hold upon the crown of life everlasting.
Then the orchestra played a festive march, and the curtain rolled back on the first
HISTORICAL TABLEAU,
representing the arrival of Henry Hudson at the site of Albany. The characters were taken by these pupils from the High School.
Hendrick Hudson, William Newton; Robert Juet, Master's Mate, Lucius Washburn ; Hudson's Crew, Acton Borthwick, Edward O. Smith, Charles Scherer,
199
George Van Buren, Willard Van Wormer, Fred White; Mohawk Princess, Lillie Goodwin; Mohican Chief, Robert McCormic; Mohawk Chief, Fred Gay- lord; Indian Braves, Madison Ames, Benjamin Aus- tin, Paul Burton, Henry Dell, Arthur McHarg, Joseph Robe, Everett St. Lewis, Roscoe C. Sanford. The costumes were picturesque and historically correct, and the efforts of the children called out a shout of applause from the favored few who could see the tableau. The Indians looked very fierce in their feathers and war paint, and quite threw into the shade the peaceful and civilized Mohawks who sold bead- work and baskets in the park without, or struggled with their white brethren for a sight of the exercises within. After another musical selection, Miss Theresa F. Smith, of Public School No. 9, read a selection entitled "Fort Orange, 1660." It was first intended to have the reading by public school pupils, but it was thought their voices were not strong enough to fill the tent, and practiced elocutionists among the teachers were chosen instead.
The curtain next rose on a scene representing the presentation of the Dongan charter to the aldermen of "ye citty." In the centre was Mayor Schuyler and Town Clerk Robert Livingston, and ranged on either side were the burgesses and magistrates. The burgesses were six very pretty young ladies and when the town clerk unrolled the charter, and, bowing, handed it to Mayor Schuyler, all the staid old magis- trates took off their three-cornered hats and all the pretty burgesses waved their hankerchiefs. Then falling in, in procession, the curtain dropped as they
200
moved off. The characters and order of procession were :
Peter Schuyler, Mayor, Dwight Ruggles; Robert Livingston, Town Clerk, Lewis Anderson; Ye Magis- trates : Dirk Wessels, Acton Borthwick; Jan Jans Bleecker, Edward O. Smith; David Schuyler, Charles Scherer ; Johannes Wendell, George Van Buren ; Liv Van Schaick, Williard Van Wormer; Adrian Geritse, Charles Rhodes. Ye Burgesses: Katharine Ryser- doph, Carrie Shutter; Anneke Staels, Effie Clute; Catilina Von Ale, Frances Hayes; Margaret Wy- nantse, Sarah Gibbon; Anajestie Ryckeman, Nellie Pierson ; Perseverance Becker, Louise Hogan. Ye Procession : Ye Town Crier, Lucius Washburn; Ye High Sheriff, Randall Le Bouef; Ye Constables, Arthur Shirley, Fred White. Ye Mayor and Town Clerk, with charter; Ye Magistrates; Ye Justices of the Peace; Ye Military ; Ye Firemen.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.