USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Albany bi-centennial. Historical memoirs > Part 8
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
Few know the large numbers of Indian converts brought into the faith and of martyrs dying for the faith during this eventful period. However, let it be distinctly understood and well remembered that the work of these missionaries did not perish. Let those who think so visit the present Indian reservation at Caughnawaga, about twenty miles from Montreal. There a population of thirteen hundred, all
IOI
Catholic Indians, mostly of Mohawk blood, still reside, and attend mass at their ancient Catholic church. Some of them you see here to-day. The priest who is their chaplain occu- pies the same apartments once occupied by Charlevoix, the historian of New France, who lived at that early period and was companion to some that we have named. Other villages of the same character are also found in Canada. Does this look like wasted work ?
INCORPORATION OF ST. MARY'S.
Let us now pass over a period of one more century. In 1684, Father Jean de Lamberville, the last of that devoted band of Catholic missionaries, whose fruitful labor among the Indian tribes of New York we have so briefly catalogued, departed for Canada amidst the regrets and lamentations of the Onondaga chiefs who escorted him in safety to their borders. It was French treachery that made his departure necessary, but the Onondaga sages know that the good man had no share in it. In 1784 no trace was left of the rude chapels which had been erected among the Indians of New York, in the previous century. There were Catholics among the inhabitants of Albany, but without a church. Now and then the occasional visit of a priest enabled them to kneel at the holy sacrifice, celebrated in its simplest form in some private dwelling-house. Their increasing numbers soon made it necessary to erect a church and have a permanent priest. In 1796 a meeting of these was held in the house of James Robichaud and the Catholics of Albany were formally incorporated into a parish, as still appears by the records in the office of our County Clerk. The children of these founders may still be pointed out among the worshippers of St. Mary's and the other churches of Albany. In 1796 the corner-stone of a church was laid, and in 1797 the building was completed. The old inscription stones commemorating these events are still preserved in the walls of this present edifice, and the inscriptions are as legible as ever. The red seed, which fell upon the soil of Albany from the mutilated fingers of Father Jogues, sprouted again one hundred and fifty years later, and this parish of St. Mary's still remains the earliest tree. Here still it stands, the central point of a stately grove, which extends over the whole country formerly covered by the Iroquois lodges and the camps of their hunt- ing grounds. Long may that noble old tree flourish, its
102
branches far extended and its trunks deep rooted in the soil! Long may her people gather to worship at this shrine, earnest in their faith, devout in their worship, abounding in good works, gentle in their bearing towards all, but never tame to surrender that glory, which belongs to their God.
ST. MARY'S A CATHEDRAL.
Another leap of fifty years brings us to another memorable period. In 1846 Albany was erected into an Episcopal See. St. Mary's became a cathedral church, presided over by the Rt. Rev. John McCloskey, afterwards known as Cardinal McCloskey, the first ecclesiastic raised to that dignity on this continent. Tokens of that cathedral building and of Cardi- nal McCloskey's ministrations in it may still be seen in the basement chapel, underneath this floor. There is the same altar at which he officiated, with its altar stone, the same tabernacle, the same candlesticks, the same chancel rails. The floor of the sanctuary is also the same, and the old Sta- tions of the Cross so familiar to his eyes still hang about the walls. We have here present a witness to all this in the be- loved and venerable prelate who officiates this morning. You know him well. He was your pastor in the days I speak of. It is but a little while ago that the good Cardinal de- parted to his reward. Requiescat in pace.
THE PRESENT ST. MARY'S.
A shorter transit now brings us to a period in the history of St. Mary's crowded with memorable events of which we are nearly all of us witnesses. In the spring of the year 1867, an arduous task became necessary and was begun. The second St. Mary's, erected in 1828, a building prematurely old and ready to fall, was taken down and the building of this present church commenced. The charge of superin- tending this arduous task fell upon a man who was also broken by labors and prematurely old. Only one thing could make his hard task possible, and that was the love, the confidence and the generosity of St. Mary's congregation. If this new and last church has been completed, or nearly so, it is because that love, that confidence, and that gene- rosity has never failed. Glad am I on an occasion so mem- orable as this, in the presence of so many strangers, assem- bled in dear old St. Mary's, to offer this tribute to you, my dear brethren, who have stood by me during the past twenty years so faithful and so strong.
103
CONCLUSION.
And now let me be silent and let this present spectacle speak. What is it we see before us to-day ? What does this temple say ? What voices come to us from its pillars and its arches, from its organ and its altar, and from this unusual concourse of worshippers ? Here are chiefs and braves and women representatives of the Kanienga-haka, and other Iroquois who once peopled these valleys and hills which to- day we occupy. Although now Christians and Catholics, they may be taken to represent that heathenism, and darkness of superstition which once reigned here. But now they are one with us, in the same holy faith, and the same great hopes for eternity. They have among them those who know how to chant the same solemn canticles of the church in honor of the same Lord and Savior. Welcome, dear brothers of the Konochioni! Your fathers were once our most dangerous foes. We hail you now as among our dearest friends ! Welcome to our city, welcome to our church. That faithful martyr, Isaac Jogues, is father to you and father to us. Young Rene Goupil, whose un- discovered body still lies in the bed of the torrent at the foot of the hill of Ossernenon, is brother to us all, and Catherine Tegakwita, the sweet Lilly of the Mohawks, is our little sister.
What unaccustomed faces are these that occupy this morning so many of our front pews. They are something more than fellow-citizens. They are the civil authorities of our city. They have come here on this Bi-centennial Sun- day to recognize God and honor religion. They have come here expressly and publicly to acknowledge that all authority upon earth rests upon the higher authority of heaven, and that Albany, ancient Albany, is a religious and a Christian city. They, too, are heartily welcome. And who are these that we have seen standing in our midst in military attire, with their arms in their hands, and helmeted like soldiers ready for action ? They, together with the chiefs and pa- trolmen of the police, represent law, order and obedience to duty ; and that the truest love of country is that which has its source in the love of God. They, too, are welcome. And now let us turn our thoughts directly to the altar. It represents to us the authority of God, the claims of God, God's protection, God's love, God's mercy, the foundation of all our hopes in God. O may the dear Son of God, who
104
shed His blood for us upon the cross, give His blessing now to our beloved country; to the State of New York, to the city of Albany, to the parish of St. Mary's: inflame our hearts with the deepest gratitude for His past favors and with well-founded hopes of His future protection and of final sal- vation.
THE MUSICAL PROGRAMME.
A magnificent (musical programme was rendered during the service by the choir of the church, under the direction of Prof. Peter Schneider, assisted by Parlati's orchestra. The choir consists of sixty voices, and the manner in which they rendered the difficult music selected for the occasion reflected great credit not only upon them, but upon their conductor, Mr. John Cassidy, and Prof. Schneider. The solo parts were excellently sung by Mrs. Peter Schneider and Miss Josephine Lyons, sopranos; Miss Jennie T. Gilligan, alto; Mr. J. T. V. McCrone, tenor, and Mr. John J. Cassidy, basso. At the offertory Hummel's grand "Alma Virgo," soprano obligato and chorus, was rendered with excellent effect.
The Jackson corps, during the ceremony, went through appropriate evolutions. At the reading of the gospel they presented arms, as they did also at the entrance of Father Walworth and the prayer for inspiration. After the reading of the text they gave the military salute, and during the reading of the Te Deum the corps uncovered their heads. The only time they were seated was during the sermon, when arms were stacked. They saluted also at the elevation of the host, when the rolling of the drum and sound of the cornet, blending with the strains of the organ, produced a most stirring effect.
105
At the conclusion of the mass Father Walworth announced that the Te Deum would be sung in Eng- lish, in thanksgiving for the blessing bestowed on the city during its 200 years of existence. The grand old hymn sung by the entire multitude rang through the building in loudest tones, led by the organ and or- chestra.
MADISON AVENUE REFORMED CHURCH.
The union services of the Reformed churches of the city, at the Madison avenue church, were not the least notable feature of the opening day. This denomination is the oldest in the city, and the first congregation dates its history to a period almost half a century before Albany became a chartered city. For this reason a special interest attached to those services which be- longed to none of the others. As early as nine o'clock the audience began to assemble, and shortly thereafter the Hollanders marched to the church in a body. By the time the opening anthem was sung, the church was crowded to the doors, and even the Sunday school and prayer-meeting rooms were occu- pied. The church was tastily and appropriately decor- ated. Flags were wound from the gallery and choir loft, and the pulpit and chancel were banked up with potted plants. There was also a liberal display of cut flowers. One magnificent floral emblem was a minia- ture of the old Dutch church which stood on the cor- ner of State, Market and Court streets a century ago. In honor of the occasion an old office in the church was revived, that of voorleser, which was filled by Elder Stephen McC. La Grange. Standing at the voorleser's
106
desk, an ancient piece of church furniture brought from Holland when the city was young, he read the commandments. The pastors of the three Reformed churches were present and in turn conducted the order of services-the Rev. W. R. Davis, D.D., the Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman and the Rev. Joseph Paige Davis. A most notable feature of the services was the music under the direction of Prof. E. A. Bedell, organist. The number which attracted most at- tention was Bishop Doane's hymn, with music by Prof. Jeffery, "Ancient of Days," which was magnifi- cently rendered. Beautiful programmes, contain- ing illustrations of the seal of the Dongan charter and of the old church before alluded to, were distributed. The sermon was by the Rev. David D. Demorest, of New Brunswick, N. J., and was as follows :
"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established ; thou shalt be far from oppression -for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near thee."-Isaiah, liv; 13, 14.
It augurs well for the successful carrying out of the pro- gramme for the week that the devout recognition of God has been placed at the front. What could be more appro- priate than that the citizens of Albany should, on this first day of the week, the Lord's day preceding the days to be occupied with various exercises and festivities, assemble in their respective houses of worship, to call to mind with thankfulness God's goodness to their fathers and to acknowl- edge the good hand of the Lord, whereby from the feeble beginnings of two and a half centuries ago their city has reached its present proud position as the capital of the Em- pire State and a city known throughout the civilized world. The beginnings of the settlement at Fort Orange were small indeed. How small we can scarcely conceive, when we survey your city as it now is and contemplate the number of its inhabitants, its imposing buildings, its commercial im-
107
portance, its educational institutions, its wealth, its social character, and in short, all the elements that make a pros- perous city, and one to be desired for a home. You may well be excused for claiming with Paul that you are citizens of " no mean city." This service is especially appropriate when we consider that the tendency has always been, and it has never been stronger than it is to-day, to lose sight of the First Great Cause while contemplating the confessedly im- portant, manifest second causes, and so we give all the honor to the latter and none to the former. We attribute the founding and the growth of cities and states to the wise use men of genius, foresight and energy have made of circum- stances ; and for all material prosperity, intellectual elevation and progress in civilization give glory to the marvelous pow- ers of which man is possessed. We stand, as we well may, amazed and overwhelmed in presence of man's wonderful successes in discovering and applying and subjecting to his own will the forces of nature, and in so training the powers of his mind as to make them more and more capable of higher achievement. Ere we are aware we find ourselves offering to the human intellect the incense of devotion which belongs to the Father of Spirits only. We courteously leave a little corner of the vast field of human experience and action for the occupancy of supernatural forces, if indeed there be such, to which they may retire who take an interest in such mat- ters, and where speculative, devout, unworldly people may find amusement and, perchance, comfort. A few are bold enough to invade even that little territory and to take God out of that limited domain. They treat the question of the existence of the Supreme Being scientifically as they do man, beast, insect, steam or electricity. They put into their cru- cible him who holds the universe in the hollow of his hand, and in the last analysis find nothing-no God.
THE RELIGIOUS ELEMENT ACKNOWLEDGED.
Now the fact that you have invited a minister of religion to come to you, to gather up and to interpret the lessons of the past, and to help you to see, and to appreciate the po- tent and extensive influence of religion and of the church of God in the founding and building up of your city, shows that you have no sympathy with the holders of this atheistic principle. And besides, for confirmation of this, we need only look at your scores of temples devoted to the worship
108
of the true and living God, and to mark the crowds that on every returning holy day throng their portals, and to the re- ligious organizations and institutions which proclaim the universal recognition of the God in whom we believe and move and have our being. While, therefore, some men may think that cities and states can be founded and made prosperous and mighty without God, you do not think so, and we cannot think so. The experiment has been fairly tried. History is full of examples of its failure. God has always seen to it, and he always will see to it, that such efforts come to naught. " For the nation and kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish." " Righteousness exalteth a na- tion." God was devoutly recognized by Columbus in his first act, after he had planted his feet on the soil of San Sal- vador. " He, with his company, gave thanks to God kneel- ing upon the shore, and kissing the ground with tears of joy for the great mercy received." We also find the religious element connected with the founding of all the colonies. It was a most important factor in all movements and measures connected with their early history. It pervaded and to a large extent dominated them. We always find provision for the maintenance of worship and a reverent observance of the forms and ordinances of religion, and it is remarkable how much of the early colonial legislation was occupied with these things. Yet we ought not to wonder at this when we call to mind the close alliance of church and state in Europe, they being parts of one organism, so that it was a matter of course that care for religion could not here be separated from care for civil affairs. The forms of religion were various, accord- ing to nationality, predilection or the ecclesiastical relations that had been held by the respective colonists in such parts of the old world as they had left for the new. We find the Roman Catholic bringing his form of religion with him to Maryland; the Episcopalian, his to Virginia ; the Quaker, his to Pennsylvania and New Jersey; the Puritan, his to New England; the Scotch Presbyterian, his to New Jersey and Pennsylvania ; the Netherland Reformed, his to New Netherland. Every one of these has left a marked and in- delible impression on his respective State. It was the Re- formed church of the Netherlands that furnished the men and women who came to occupy the ground on which your city stands, that provided them with the ordinances of reli- gion and with men to administer them, and with the system
109
of instruction and training enjoyed in the fatherland. Now, if the religious element brought hither was a decided advan- tage to the infant colony, to this Reformed church the credit for it under God belongs. If it was a hindrance this same church must bear the blame.
THE REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH IN THE OLDEN TIME.
It is not my purpose to give you, in this discourse, in chronological order, a narrative of the facts connected with the early settlement of Albany and its history antedating the charter. This will be done by other hands, and happily, through the painstaking researches of your citizens, and especially of the late Mr. Munsell, the materials are abun- dant and at hand. My object is rather to trace the religious influences which were at work from the very beginning and which wrought without observation, yet most potently, and to refer to historical facts only so far as they may serve for the illustration of my theme. Let us then, in imagination, go back to-day, 200 years to 1686, the year in which you re- ceived your charter as a city. It is the morning of the Lord's day and we attend public worship in the little church standing at the intersection af Yonkers and Handelaers streets (State and Market), and are edified by the ministra- tions of the Rev. Godfredius Dellius, who had taken charge of the church in 1683, as the associate of the superannuated Dom. Gideon Schaets, who had served the church for thirty years, assisted for a time by Dom. Nieuenhuysen. Its first pastor was the Rev. Johannes Megapolensis, who came in 1642, in fulfillment of a contract made with the patroon Van Rensselaer, and remained six years, when he removed to New Amsterdam where he continued in the discharge of the pastoral office twenty years, being in charge at the time of the surrender to the British in 1664. The church building of which we speak was the second one occupied by the con- gregation. The first one was a temporary wooden structure, in which Dom. Megapolensis, after having held services in his parsonage for three or four years, gathered his congrega- tion. "It stood near the fort, in what is now called Church street. It was a plain, wooden building, 34 feet long by 19 wide, furnished with a pulpit ornamented with a canopy, pews for the magistrates and church officers and nine benches for the people. In this simple structure the congre- gation worshipped 13 years." The second building was also
IIO
of wood, was erected in 1656, and the pulpit and bell for it were imported from Holland. The third edifice was of stone, and was erected in 1715, and was built around and over the ancient wooden one the service being interrupted but two Sabbaths. In 1797 the north church was erected, but services were continued in the old stone church at the foot of State street until 1806, when it was taken down and replaced by the south Dutch church, which was built on the cemetery lot on beaver street, much of the material of the old building being used in this structure, which was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God in 1810. Thus there were two church buildings, two assemblies for worship, two pas- tors, but only one consistory or church organization until, in 1815, a division was effected, and a part of the consistory and also of the property was assigned to the South or Second church, and the Rev. Dr. John M. Bradford became sole pastor of the church in North Pearl street, and Rev. Dr. John De Witt the pastor of the church in Beaver street. In 1834, thirty members from the Beaver street church were dismissed to form the South Dutch church in Ferry street. The Holland and German churches were organized in 1855. A charter of incorporation was obtained in 1720, about the time of the occupancy of the third, or stone edifice. We attend public worship in the Dutch church on the Lord's day in 1686, not because we are absolutely necessitated to do so, for there is a little Lutheran church which had been estab- lished a few years before this time. But the Dutch church is the church of the place. It is attended by the chief people and the vast majority of the inhabitants. It has had the field entirely to itself for nearly two generations, having had in the earlier part of the time doubtless the ministrations of Voorleser and Krank-besoecker and subsequently of a suc- cession of able and learned ministers of the word. It had gathered in during that period such persons as had come from Old England or New England to make their home here. It was virtually the one church to which Providence entrusted the religious training of this infant community until it became a city and for years after that. Was this, church worthy of so important a trust ? Was the trust fulfilled ? We know how important is the very early training of the child ? Is the training of the infant city or state less im- portant ? We thus come to the specific inquiry, what influ- ence had this Reformed church of the Netherlands in the
III
molding of this community ? The only satisfactory way of obtaining an answer to this question is by considering the antecedents and characteristics of this church, the results to be expected and the results actually seen. We consider :
I. THE PREPARED MATERIALS.
I refer to the men and women who came hither to make this place their home. They came from a remarkable train- ing school, and not a little of their training had they received in the bosom of this Reformed church. That same church they brought with them so that their children and children's children, and all who should cast in their lot with them, might also be trained in it. Let us then go back to the fatherland and inquire whether she had there proved herself worthy of being intrusted with important work and interests here. When the first Dutchman came to Fort Orange about a century had passed since the first rays of evangelical truth had begun to penetrate the papal darkness of the Nether- lands. But in no country of Europe were the doctrines of the Reformations received more promptly, generally and joyfully, and in none were greater sacrifices made for their maintenances. The persecutions of the "churches under the cross" are unparalled in history Thousands gave up possessions, country and life for the sake of the word of God, scriptural worship and liberty to serve God as con- science might dictate. The contest with the Spaniard in this afflicted country was alike for civil and religious liberty, and nobly and heroically was it maintained for eighty years. But out of it came the Dutch republic, the leading commer- cial nation of Europe, the home of the oppressed, the seat of learning, the mistress of the seas, and also the Reformed church of the Netherlands, with her learned divines, sound doctrines, orderly worship, representative government and tolerent, catholic and missionary spirit.
THE TRAINING SCHOOL.
Now, these almost one hundred years were years that tried men's souls. They constituted a protracted, continuous school of discipline for three generations of people, and such as no other people have ever been placed in who yet survived and even triumphed. Their neighbors, the Huguenots, suf- fered as they did, but their oppressors were in power in their own land, and they triumphed. But here men were born in
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.