USA > New York > New York City > An historical sketch of Trinity Church, New-York > Part 11
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" Mr. Inglis laid before the Board a letter from the present Bishop of London, directed to the Vestry of Trinity Church, New-York, in answer to a letter from this corporation to the late Bishop of London, de- ceased, which being read, was ordered to be entered on the minutes, and is in the words following, to wit:
" GENTLEMEN :
" It gives me great pain to send, as it will you to receive, this answer to your letter to the late Bishop of London from another and far inferior hand. His
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,
Majesty has been pleased to do me the great honor of appointing me to supply his place, which I can very readily do, at least in this instance, when I highly applaud, as I am sure he would have done, your choice of the Reverend Mr. Charles Inglis to succeed the late worthy Dr. Auchmuty in the Rectory of Trinity Church, New-York, by which choice you have done yourselves great honour, and most effec- tually provided for the welfare and interest of your Church and Congregation; as I know Mr. Inglis to be a person of the most eminent abilities, of great judgment, integrity, and piety, of unshaken loyalty, and firm perseverance in his duty, as he has fully shown by his late exemplary behaviour in the severest trials, by which he has merited the highest honours which his country has to bestow upon him. Your grateful acknowledgments of my late excellent pre- decessor's services, would have been highly agreeable to him : be assured that it will be my ambition to follow him in this, as well as every other part of the great and amiable example which he has left to his successors.
"I have the honour to be, with great truth and regard, Gentlemen, your most obedient and most faithful humble serv't,
"R. LONDON.
" LONDON, June 4th, 1777."
" On the Ist of April, 1777, the Rector communi- cated to the Board a letter to himself from the Rev. Mr. Bowden, desiring to resign his office as Assistant Minister, for the reasons therein given, which being 10
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read, was ordered to be filed and entered on the min- utes, and is in the words following, to wit:
" DEAR SIR :
" I have been for some time in doubt, whether I should return to New-York or not. I have at length determined not to return. Before Doctor Auchmuty's death I had two objections. The one-there was no prospect of a provision; the other-a weak, broken voice, and a tender habit of body. The former objec- tion may probably be removed by the Doctor's death, but the latter continues in full force, and alone deter- mines me to quit the city. I am very sorry to be under this necessity, as I shall be deprived of the society of my respected colleagues, of an agreeable circle of acquaintance, and many other blessings. But duty to myself, to my family, and my friends, must be regarded. Be pleased, sir, to communicate my resolution to the Church Wardens and Vestry at their next meeting, and assure them that it is with the greatest regret I withdraw my assistance from the Church, at this time of distress, and that nothing but inability could have induced me. I must beg, that you will excuse me from fulfilling my promise to preach next Sunday ; as I have resolved to quit the city, it will put me to a good deal of inconvenience to attend.
"I am, Sir, with respect and esteem, your obed't humble serv't, "JOHN BOWDEN.
" JAMAICA, March 14th."
"The Rev. Dr. Bowden was the eldest son of Thomas Bowden, Esq., an officer in his Britannic
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Majesty's 46th Regiment of Foot. This regiment was stationed in Ireland at the time of his birth, which was in January, 1751. His father came with his regiment to America upon the breaking out of the French War, and he soon after followed him, under the charge of a clergyman of the Church of England.
" On his arrival he studied for, and was entered at Princeton College, where he remained but two years ; his father returning with his regiment to Ireland, he went with him. After remaining some time there, he came to America, in 1770, and entered King's (now Columbia) College, where he graduated in 1772. Soon after he left college he commenced the study of Divinity, and went home to England, where he was ordained Deacon by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Keppel, Bishop of Exeter, in 1774. 'He was ordained Priest by the Rev. Dr. Terrick, Bishop of London.
"In the summer of 1774 he returned to New-York, where he was settled as an Assistant Minister in Trin- ity Church, in conjunction with the late Bishop Moore. Soon after the Revolutionary War broke out, the churches were shut up, in expectation that the British troops would take possession of the city, and he retired to Norwalk, in Connecticut. When the British troops took possession of Long Island and New-York, he returned ; but on account of the weakness of his voice, he declined preaching in Trinity Church, and retired to Jamaica, on Long Island, where he occa- sionally assisted the Rev. Mr. Bloomer, Rector of that parish. Upon the evacuation of this city he went to Norwalk, and took charge of the church in December, 1784. He continued there until October,
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1789, when owing to the weak state of his lungs, he accepted an invitation to take charge of the church at St. Croix, in the West Indies. After remaining in that Island about two years he found that his voice was no better, and that the climate had debilitated and weakened his constitution, he was therefore under the painful necessity of relinquishing preaching altogether. He returned to the United States, and settled at Stratford, in Connecticut. After residing there some time, he took charge of the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut, in 1796, where he continued until he was appointed, in the year 1805, Professor of Moral Philosophy and Belles Lettres in Columbia Col- lege. In this situation he remained, discharging its duties with exemplary fidelity, until the summer of 1817, when his declining health induced him to take a journey to Ballston Springs, where he departed this life, July 31st, 1817.
" Dr. Bowden was distinguished as an able advocate and defender of the Church; for which duties he was eminently qualified by his extensive acquirements in theology, and by his powers of clear and forcible rea- soning. He considered the Church of which he was a minister, as pure in her doctrine, apostolic in her ministry, and primitive and evangelical in her wor -- ship ; and therefore she possessed his warmest attach- ment, and her prosperity was the object that occupied his labours and his prayers. Having derived his opin- ions on the subject of the constitution of the Christian Church from the writings of those early ages, when, under the ministrations and government of diocesan bishops, her visible unity was preserved, he opposed
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with equal zeal and ability the encroachments of popery on primitive episcopacy, and those separations from the orders of the ministry, constituted by Christ and his apostles, by which Protestants are rent into sects almost without number. He advocated and de- fended episcopacy, as that apostolic and primitive bond of visible unity, by which alone Christians can main- tain the unity of the spirit. He was, indeed, a Churchman of the old school, whose leaders were distinguished by the union in their writings of evan- gelical truth with apostolic order, and in their lives, of fervent piety with deep humility. After the model of these masters of theology, he enforced the peculiar truths of the Gospel, unmixed with the dangerous speculations of Calvinism, which he exposed in many of his writings with great keenness and strength of argument ; and while he strenuously insisted on salva- tion through the merits of the Redeemer and the grace of the Holy Spirit, he checked the excesses of enthusi- asm and schism by maintaining that the merits and grace of Christ are applied to the soul of the penitent believer in union with the Church, for which the Re- deemer shed his blood, and which the Holy Spirit animates, by the regular and devout participation of its duly administered ordinances. His sermons were remarkable for weight of matter, and great simplicity and conciseness of style ; and, before his voice failed him, his delivery was forcible and interesting. Sim- plicity and dignity were those traits of his character which distinguished and adorned all his deportment and actions, and rendered impressive and interesting all his conduct as a Christian and a man. Unaffected
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in his piety, sincere and disinterested in his friend- ships, amiable and benevolent in social intercourse, he was beloved and revered wherever he was known." *
I became personally acquainted with Dr. Bowden at my entrance into Columbia College, in 1806, where he was then acting as Professor of Rhetoric and Moral Philosophy ; and I was honoured with his friendship in later life. In the long lapse of time between that period and the present, from my public position, and from travelling extensively both at home and abroad, I have had an opportunity of seeing society in most of its forms ; and I can truly say, that while in all my intercourse with it I have rarely seen one who was a greater ornament to his profession, I have never met with a more thorough-bred gentleman. In college even, where the highest claims to respect are often dis- regarded, if accompanied with the slightest peculiarity of manners; by the just consideration which he had for others, and the quiet dignity of his deportment, he gained the universal esteem and admiration of the students. He was a teacher without pedantry, who united the accomplishments of the scholar with a thorough knowledge of the world ; giving no occasion for ridicule to the most frivolous, and inspiring the more sedate with reverence and love.
Such was the impression which he made on others as well as myself, in the thoughtless season of youth. A short time after, when from my settlement in the parish where five-and-thirty years before he had been a min- ister, and where he was then a worshipper, I was
* Christian Journal, vol. 2, pp. 1, 2.
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brought into new relations with him in the endearing intercourse of social life. On every occasion where his brethren met together, he was a welcome and an honoured guest. Though habitually grave in his air and demeanor, he had nevertheless an inward cheer- fulness of spirit, which always promoted mirth and good humour in others. He had seen much of the world, and been a nice observer of it. He had there- fore gathered up an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes, which he brought out only on the most appropriate occasions, and related in the happiest manner ; each one of which had all the freshness of novelty, as none was ever marred by repetition.
I have merely added these touches of personal character to heighten the effect of a picture, which all who have known him will still consider to be very imperfectly drawn .*
* " The following is a list of his writings :
"1. A Letter from John Bowden, A.M., Rector of St. Paul's Church, Norwalk, to the Rev. Ezra Stiles, D.D. LL.D., President of Yale College ; occasioned by some passages concerning Church Government, in an Ordination Sermon, preached at New-London, May 17th, 1787.
"2. A second Letter from John Bowden, A.M., Rector of St. Paul's Church, Norwalk, to the Rev. Dr. Stiles, President of Yale College. In this letter the Rev. Dr. Chauncey's complete view of Episcopacy until the close of the second century is particularly con- sidered, and some remarks are made upon a few passages of Dr. Stiles's Election Sermon.
" 3. A Letter from a Weaver to the Rev. Mr. Sherman, occasioned by a publication of his in the Fairfield Gazette, for the purpose of 'Pinching the Episcopalian Clergy with the Truth.'
" 4. An Address from John Bowden, A.M., to the Members of the
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" The Rev. Dr. Inglis having communicated to this Board that his private affairs rendered it necessary for him to remove from this city, and he being desirous to resign the Rectory of the Parish of Trinity Church on that account, tendered to the corporation such his resignation, in the words following :
"In the name of God, Amen. I, Charles Inglis, Doctor of Divinity, Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church, in the city of New-York, before you the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the said Church, and in the presence of credible witnesses here present, for certain just and lawful causes, me and my mind here-
Episcopal Church in Stratford : to which is added a letter to the Rev. Mr. James Sayre.
" 5. Two Letters to the Editor of the Christian's Magazine : by a Churchman.
" 6. A Letter from a Churchman to his friend in New-Haven ; containing a few strictures on a pamphlet signed J. R. O.
" 7. Some Remarks in favor of the Division of the General Con- vention of the Church into two Houses ; the House of Bishops, and the House of Lay-Deputies : the one having a negative on the other.
" 8. A full length portrait of Calvinism.
" 9. The Essentials of Ordination.
" 10. The Apostolic Origin of Episcopacy Asserted, in a series of letters, addressed to the Rev. Dr. Miller, one of the Pastors of the United Presbyterian Churches in the city of New-York.
1
" 11. A series of letters addressed to the Rev. Dr. Miller, in answer to his continuation of letters concerning the constitution and order of the Christian Ministry.
" 12. Observations, by a Protestant, on a Profession of Catholic Faith by a Clergyman of Baltimore, and with the authority of the Right Rev. Bishop Carroll."*
* Christian Journal, vol. 2, p. 3.
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unto specially moving, without compulsion, fear, fraud, or deceit, do purely, simply, and absolutely resign, and give up the said Rectory of the Parish of Trinity Church, and my office of Rector in the said Corpo- ration of the Rector and inhabitants of the city of New-York in communion with the Church of Eng- land, as by law established, by whatsoever name the said Rectory may be most properly known and distin- guished, and also the said Church, with all the rights, members, and appurtenances, into the hands of you the said Church Wardens and Vestrymen the patrons thereof, with all my right, title, and possession of, in, and to the same, I quit, cede, and renounce them, and expressly recede from them by these presents.
"In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Inglis, have hereunto set my hand and seal, the first day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three.
" CHARLES INGLIS.
" Sealed and delivered in the presence of us,
" JOHN ALSOP, " GEORGE STANTON."
" The corporation do therefore accept of the resig- nation of the said Doctor Charles Inglis; and the Rectory thereby becoming vacant, this corporation came into a resolution for a choice of a successor, when it was unanimously resolved that the Rev. Mr. Benj. Moore be, and he is, hereby elected and chosen to succeed the said Reverend Doctor Inglis as Rector of Trinity Church, in the parish aforesaid.
" Resolved, That Messrs. - wait on Mr. Moore,
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and acquaint him with the above resolution, and know if he will accept of the appointment, which they accordingly did; and Mr. Moore being introduced, and declaring his assent to accept the said appointment, it was therefore further resolved, that the said Mr. Moore be presented in a convenient time to his Excel- lency Governour George Clinton, Governour of the State of New-York, for his approbation."
The presentation was prepared for that purpose, but whether it was actually offered to the Governor or not, is uncertain. It was followed, however, by no further action at the time on the part of the Vestry, and Mr. Moore did not in fact formally receive the office of Rector until seventeen years afterwards.
"By an Act of the Legislature of the People of the State of New-York, passed the seventeenth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, entitled ' An act for making such alterations in the Charter of the Corporation of Trinity Church, so as to render it more conformable to the Constitution of the State ;' the following gentlemen were appointed Church Wardens and Vestrymen of the said Church :
Robert R. Livingston, { Church Wardens. James Duane,
Richard Morris, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris, Isaac Sears, William Duer, William Bedlow, Daniel Dunscomb, Anthony Lispenard, Thomas Tillotson, John Stevens,
r
Vestrymen.
Marinus Willet, Robert Troup, Joshua Sands, Anthony Griffiths, Christopher Miller, Thomas Tucker, Hercules Mulligan, Thomas Grennell, William Mercier, John Rutherfurd,
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TRINITY CHURCH, NEW-YORK.
" The Trustees entrusted with the care of the tem- poralities of Trinity Church, by the Council appointed by the Act of the Legislature for the temporary government of the southern parts of the State, wher- ever the enemy shall abandon or be dispossessed of the same ; informed the Board, that agreeable to the desire of the Whig Episcopalians, they had requested the attendance of the Reverend Samuel Provoost in town, in order to perform Divine service at St. George's and St. Paul's Chapels, that Mr. Provoost had accordingly arrived in town on the second day of February last, and that he had very obligingly offici- ated from the day of his arrival to the present time.
" Resolved, unanimously, That agreeable to powers vested in the Church Wardens and Vestrymen of Trinity Church, by the act of the Legislature for making such alterations in the Charter of the Corpo- ration of Trinity Church, as to render it more con- formable to the Constitution of this State; the Rev. Samuel Provoost be called and inducted to the Rectory of Trinity Church, in the city of New-York.
" Resolved, That Mr. Duane, Mr. Lewis, and Mr. Morris, be a committee to wait on Mr. Provoost, and to inform him of his call and appointment, and request his acceptance thereof."
" Mr. Duane, from the committee appointed to wait on Mr. Provoost, informed the Board that they had accordingly waited on, and informed him that the Church Wardens and Vestrymen had unanimously resolved to call and induct him to the Rectory of Trinity Church, and that he had expressed his com- pliance with such request. Whereupon Mr. Provoost
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was introduced to the Board, and a call and induction being prepared for the purpose, it was signed by the members of the Corporation and presented to Mr. Provoost, and is in the words following :
" To all people to whom these presents shall come or concern : We, the Church Wardens and Vestry- men of the Corporation of the Rector and Inhabitants of the city of New-York, in communion of the Church of England, as by law established, do send greeting : Whereas the office of Rector of the Corporation of the Rector and Inhabitants of the city of New-York, in communion of the Church of England, became vacant, and the Reverend Mr. Samuel Provoost hath some time since, on the invitation of the Trustees appointed for the care of the temporalities of the said Church by the late Council for the temporary Government of the Southern district of this State, and other members of the said Church associated with them, taken the charge and care of the Episco- pal Church in the said city, belonging to the said corporation, on an assurance that he should be with due solemnity invested with the said office of Rec- tor thereof, as soon as it could be done according to law; And whereas by virtue of an Act, entitled an Act for making such alterations in the Charter of the Corporation of Trinity Church, as to render it more conformable to the Constitution of the State, passed the seventeenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four ; we, the Church Wardens and Vestrymen therein named, and who have subscribed and sealed these presents, are duly authorized to call and induct a Rector of the
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said Corporation and Church;' And we, having a high sense of the learning, piety, and integrity of the said Reverend Samuel Provoost, be it therefore known, that the said Church Wardens and Vestrymen have called and inducted, and by these presents do call and induct, the said Reverend Samuel Provoost to be Rector of the said Corporation, to hold, exercise, and enjoy the said office of Rector unto him the said Reverend Samuel Provoost, with all the profits and emoluments thereunto belonging, as fully and effectu- ally as any Rector of the said Corporation may, can, or ought to hold the same, by virtue of the said Act and Charter of the said Corporation.
" In witness whereof, the said Church Wardens and Vestrymen have hereunto set their hands and seals, the twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of this State the eighth.
JAMES DUANE, Church Warden.
FRANCIS LEWIS, WILLIAM MERCIER, THOMAS GRENNELL, DANIEL DUNSCOMB, LEWIS MORRIS, ISAAC SEARS, CHRISTOPHER MILLER,
WILLIAM DUER, &C. &C., Vestrymen."
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CHAPTER IV.
" A COMMITTEE was appointed on the 27th of May to ascertain the salary and emoluments proper to be allowed the Rector in future, and to report the same for approbation or amendment, which committee, at a subsequent meeting, begged leave to report :
" That from an account exhibited by the Rector to this committee, the sum total of the perquisites and emoluments which he has received between the second day of February last and the first day of June instant, amount only to £23 12s .; that it is therefore the opinion of the committee, that it is probable that in general estimation the perquisites and emoluments of the Rector of said Corporation have been overrated, and cannot be taken into account in ascertaining the support to be provided for the said Rector.
" Your committee are therefore of opinion-
" First, That a house shall be provided for the resi- dence of the Rector at the expense of the Corpora- tion.
"Secondly, That a sum of money shall be paid out of the revenue of the Corporation for the decent and comfortable support of the Rector and his family; that they are of opinion that seven hundred pounds
.
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TRINITY CHURCH, NEW-YORK.
per annum, in quarterly payments, will be sufficient for this purpose ; and that the Rector credit the Corpo- ration with all such sums of money as shall in any wise come to his hands for officiating as Rector of the Corporation, or performing his ministerial functions in the congregations thereof.
Signed, JAMES DUANE, Chairman of the Committee.
" In order that the affairs of this Corporation may be executed with attention, punctuality, and despatch, Resolved, That the business thereof be subdivided into five different branches, and that as many different committees be appointed for the due execution of them ; which committees shall be :
" Ist. A committee to audit the accounts of the Corporation, and examine its debts and credits.
"2d. A committee to attend to the leases of the Church lands, the propriety of granting new ones and on what conditions, and to recommend the same to the Corporation.
"3d. A committee to superintend and visit the Charity School, to keep the accounts thereof, and admit and discharge scholars agreeably to the rules of the school.
"4th. A committee to arrange, distribute, and rent the pews of St. George's and St. Paul's Chapels.
"5th. A committee to attend to the repairs of St. George's and St. Paul's Chapels, and the several cemeteries belonging to the Corporation.
" Resolved, That the Rector and Church Wardens be considered as members of each of the above com- mittees.
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"Resolved, That the ground rent which has accrued on lots of the Church ground between the 16th of September, 1776, and the 25th of November, 1783, be remitted and released to those tenants who, on account of the war, have been without the British lines during that period. Provided, that if any tenant obtained possession of his lot prior to the 25th of No- vember, 1783, that then his ground rent only shall be remitted and released to the time of his so obtaining possession. And provided further, that this resolution shall not extend to prevent this Corporation from deducting the amount of such ground rent from the sums which have been received by the late managers of the Church estate for lots of the Church land, and the lessees of which have been, as aforesaid, without the lines, and which sums after such deduction as aforesaid, this Corporation do intend to refund.
" On the 8th of June, 1784, it was unanimously resolved, that the Reverend Mr. Abraham Beach be, and he is hereby, appointed an Assistant Minister to the Rector, in performing the several parochial duties in this city ; and it was resolved at the same time, that the said Assistant Minister should be allowed such a sum out of the revenues of the Corporation, in addition to his fees and emolu- ments, and what might be raised for him by subscrip- tion, as should make a provision for his services equal in the whole to the sum of five hundred pounds per annum.
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