USA > New York > New York City > An historical sketch of Trinity Church, New-York > Part 12
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"Whereas, it is the opinion of this Corporation that the appointment of three Assistant Ministers to the Rector will be the means of effecting harmony
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and conciliation among the different members of the Church, and be attended with many other salutary consequences : And whereas it is the wish and expec- tation of this Corporation, that Trinity Church should be rebuilt as soon as the funds of the Church will admit, when the appointment of three Assistant Min- isters will not only be useful but necessary ; there- fore,
"Resolved, That there be three Assistant Ministers to the Rector in his parochial duties.
" Resolved, That this Corporation will pay to the Reverend Mr. Uzal Ogden, and the Reverend Mr. Benjamin Moore, the sum of two hundred pounds each from the revenue of the Corporation, and that a subscription be immediately instituted for raising the remainder of the salaries of the above-named gentle- men to be paid in half yearly payments, and to continue during the residence of each respective sub- scriber in this city ; and that in case any moneys be actually received from the subscription more than the sum of three hundred pounds for each of the said gentlemen, that then such overplus shall be equally divided between the Rev. Mr. Beach, the Rev. Mr. Moore, and the Rev. Mr. Ogden.
" Resolved, That the salaries of the Assistant Min- isters commence from the day of their officiating as such, and that copies of these resolutions be trans- mitted to the Rev. Mr. Ogden and the Rev. Mr. Moore, and that they be requested to officiate in the chapels of this congregation in consequence thereof, as this Corporation do expect that the sums raised by subscription, together with the stipends from the
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revenue of the Corporation, will be adequate to their maintenance.
" And whereas a separate subscription for a parti- cular Assistant Minister, individually, will tend to perpetuate jealousies and animosities, therefore,
" Resolved, That there be no separate and distinct subscription for any particular Assistant Minister.
"Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. Uzal Ogden be, and he hereby is, confirmed in his appointment as an Assistant Minister to the Rector in his parochial duties.
" Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. Ogden be indulged with the leave of absence from the duties of his func- tion in this city, for two-thirds of his time for four years from the date of this resolution, unless there shall be sooner, three Episcopal places of worship, or a vacancy by the death, resignation, or dismission of any of the Assistant Ministers, and that until such time Mr. Ogden shall officiate seventeen Sundays in the year in both or either of the chapels, as shall be appointed.
" Resolved, That until the expiration of the above leave of absence, Mr. Ogden be allowed the one-third part of the salary intended to be given to him by the aforesaid resolutions of the twenty-ninth of July last, that is to say, one-third part of the sum allowed him from the revenue of the Corporation, and the one-sixth part of the sum intended to be raised by the subscrip- tion of the congregation."
The following entries on the minutes of the Vestry exhibit such a spirit of kindness, in a season of common calamity, as will no doubt be regarded with interest by the reader :
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TRINITY CHURCH, NEW-YORK.
" OCT. 29th, 1779 .- It being represented to this Cor- poration by one of its members, that the old Dutch Church in this city is at present used as a hospital for his Majesty's troops ; the Board impressed with a grateful remembrance of the former kindness of the members of that ancient Church, in permitting the use of their Church to the members of the Church of England, when they had no proper edifice of their own for that purpose, offer to the members of the ancient Dutch Church the use of St. George's Chapel for celebrating their worship on Sundays, and such other times as they shall choose to perform Divine service. They hope from nine to eleven in the morn- ing, and from one to three o'clock in the afternoon, will be convenient to the members of the Dutch Church. If these hours should be very inconvenient to them, the Vestry will endeavour to meet their wishes, as far as they can consistent with the duty they owe to their own congregation."
In the following year, Dr. Inglis communicated to the Board a letter addressed to himself from several of the members of the ancient Reformed Dutch con- gregation, in these words :
NEW-YORK, April 8th, 1780.
REVEREND AND DEAR SIR :
Major-General Patison having taken the earliest opportunity the recovery of the sick and wounded soldiery would permit of returning the old Dutch Church, of which we now have possession ; permit us, sir, through you, to return our most grateful thanks to the Vestry of Trinity Church, for their kind offer of St. George's Chapel, with the use of which we were
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so happily accommodated during the time our Church was occupied by his Majesty's troops. The Christian- like behaviour and kind attention shown in our dis- tress by the members of the Church of England, will make a lasting impression on the minds of the ancient Reformed Dutch congregation, who have always con- sidered the interest of the two Churches inseparable, and hope that this instance of brotherly love will evince to posterity the cordial and happy union sub- sisting between us.
We are, with great regard, Dear Sir,
Your most faithful and obedient servants, GARRIT LYDEKKER, V. D. M., ABEL HARDENBROOK, JOHN ALSTYNE,
WILLIAM ELLIS, HENRY BREVOORT, BARNARDUS SMITH, JERONIMUS ALSTYNE, ABEL HARDENBROOK, Jr., ISAAC KIP.
On the 13th of May, 1785, the Rector laid before the Board the proceedings of the Convention of Clergymen and Lay Deputies of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, held in New-York on the 6th and 7th of October last, which being read and considered, it was resolved by the Board, "that this Corporation do approve of the recommendations and propositions of the Convention of Clergymen and Lay Deputies held in this city on the 6th and 7th of October last, and that it be recommended to the mem- bers of the Episcopal Church within this State, that a
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meeting be held in this city on Wednesday, the 22d of June next, of all the Episcopal Clergymen within this State, together with Lay Deputies from the sev- eral Episcopal congregations, in order to determine on some plan of organization, and to appoint deputies to attend a general meeting of Clerical and Lay De- puties from the several Episcopal congregations within the United States, at Philadelphia, on the Tuesday before the Feast of St. Michael next.
" And it was further resolved, that James Duane, John Alsop, and Marinus Willett, Esqs., should be empowered to attend the proposed meeting on the 22d of June next, on the part of this congregation.
"The Convention of Clerical and Lay Deputies from the several Episcopal congregations within this State, having been held in this city on Wednesday, the 22d instant, agreeable to the recommendation of this Corporation, the following gentlemen were elected deputies to attend the general meeting of Clerical and Lay Deputies from the several Episcopal congrega- tions within the United States, to be held at Phila- delphia on the Tuesday before the Feast of St. Michael next, viz :
" Clerical Deputies .- Samuel Provoost, Abraham Beach, and Benjamin Moore.
" Lay Deputies .- James Duane, Esq., of New- York; Mr. John Davis, of Dutchess County ; Mr. Daniel Kissam, of Long Island.
"Upon the publication of the Journal, the Rector was requested to purchase, for the use of the congre- gation, one hundred copies of the proceedings of the Convention of the Deputies from the Episcopal
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churches, held in Philadelphia in September and October last."
At a meeting of the Vestry, held on the 6th of April, 1786, the Rector was "requested to recom- mend to the several Episcopal congregations in this State, to appoint deputies to meet in this city on the third Thursday in May next, in order to take into consideration the proceedings of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, held at Philadelphia in September and October last, and to appoint depu- ties to attend the Convention which is proposed to be held at Philadelphia on the third Tuesday in June next.
"And it was at the same time resolved, that the Rector and Assistant Ministers be the Clerical Depu- ties, and that James Duane, John Jay, Robert R. Livingston, Richard Morris, John Alsop, William Duer, and Paschal N. Smith, Esquires, be the Lay Deputies from the Episcopal congregations in this city, to attend the Convention proposed to be held in this city on the third Tuesday in May next."
A resolution was also passed, that the expenses of the delegates who might attend the General Conven- tion, should be paid by this Corporation, which, as was afterwards noted, amounted to £24.
" The Rector, Dr. Provoost, having obtained the necessary recommendation for consecration from the State Convention lately held in this city, as also a sim- ilar one from the General Convention held at Wil- mington ; the sense of the Vestry was taken, when it would be proper he should go to England for that purpose, and they were unanimously of opinion that
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he should proceed in the next packet. And on mo- tion of Mr. Farquhar, it was therefore resolved, that the sum of one hundred and fifty English guineas be advanced by the Treasurer to the Rector, on account of his expenses."
At a meeting of the Corporation of Trinity Church, held on the 27th of October, 1788, Mr. Har- ison moved that the Board should come to the follow- ing resolution, to wit :
" Resolved, as the sense of this Board, that the union of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is of great importance, and ardently to be desired; and that the delegates ap- pointed to represent the Church of New-York in the ensuing State Convention be instructed to promote the same by every prudent measure consistent with the Constitution of the Church, and the respect due to the General Convention."
Which motion having been recorded, and debates having arisen thereon, Mr. Duane moved that it should be previously determined, whether the question upon the original motion should now be taken, and the votes being thereupon called for, there appeared in favour of putting off the question-
Mr. Duane, General Clarkson,
Mr. Randall, Mr. Bleecker,
Mr. Livingston, Mr. Farquhar.
The other twelve voices were in the negative, viz :
Theophylact Bache, Alexander Ogsbury,
John Jones,
John Lewis,
Hubert Van Wagenen,
George Dominick,
Moses Rogers,
Nicholas Carmer,
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Andrew Hamersley, William Laight,
Nicholas Kortright, Richard Harison.
The question was then put upon the original motion, and carried in the affirmative. Whereupon the Board agreed to the resolution proposed by Mr. Harison and it was resolved accordingly.
At the request of the Right Rev. the Bishop, his dissent from the said resolution was entered upon the minutes of this Corporation.
On the 19th of October, 1789, a notification from the Rev. Benjamin Moore, Secretary to the State Convention, having been read, requesting this Corpo- ration to choose deputies to attend the State Conven- tion, which is to meet in the city of New-York on the first Tuesday in November next:
"The Board therefore proceeded to the election, and Messrs. Duane, Harison, Rogers, Bache, and Laight, were chosen Lay Deputies from this Church to the said Convention.
" Mr. Jay moved that the Corporation would adopt the following resolution, viz :
" That the delegates now chosen to represent this congregation at the next Convention be, and they hereby are, instructed not to consent to, but, on the contrary, to oppose every proposed constitution for the American Episcopal Church, and every proposed alteration in the one of 1786, that shall not give to the laity equal powers with the clergy in the making of all acts, laws, and regulations binding on the Church.
" Mr. Harison moved as an amendment, that from the words 'not give' inclusive, to the end of the reso-
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lution be obliterated, and the words, 'give to the clergy a power to bind the laity without their con- sent,' be inserted instead thereof.
"Upon motion of Mr. Hamersley, it was ordered that the further consideration of the said resolution and amendment be postponed."
At the meeting held on the 26th of October, 1789, a resolution was proposed by Mr. Warner, " that the delegates to the State Convention be, and they are hereby instructed to agree to, and adopt the constitution proposed by the General Con- vention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, lately held at Philadelphia, and any further measures that may have a tendency to cement the union which has taken place in the said Church.
"The question being taken, on motion of Mr. Jay, whether this resolution was in order, was carried in the affirmative, in the manner following :
" For the Affirmative .- Messrs. Van Wagenen, Randall, Hamersley, Jones, Carmer. Lewis, Ogsbury, Dominick, Warner, Laight, Rogers, and Harison.
" For the Negative .- Messrs. Jay, Duane, Bleecker, and Farquhar."
The question being then put upon the resolution proposed by Mr. Warner, it was in like manner carried in the affirmative, the voices of the Board being divided as upon the former question.
At a subsequent period, the 1st of November, 1790, a motion was made by Mr. Van Wagenen to the following effect ; that the delegates chosen to represent this Church in the ensuing State Convention, be
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instructed that they use their utmost endeavours to procure a compliance with the proposal made by the bishops at the last General Convention, for a ratifica- tion of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, except the 36th and 37th of the said Arti- cles. Whereupon the same was agreed to, nemine contradicente, and it was resolved that the delegates chosen by this Board be, and they are hereby, in- structed accordingly."
The heavy losses sustained by the great fire, the unsettled state of things during the revolution, and the continuance for some time after of the embarrass- ments of the Corporation, led to a great delay in the rebuilding of Trinity Church. In 1787, however, it was determined that measures for the purpose should be taken forthwith, and three commissioners were accordingly appointed to propose a plan for the build- ing, and to manage and superintend the work. Sub- scriptions for this object were to be solicited from the members of the congregation, and the committee on leases were instructed to select such lots of ground as were most proper to be sold in case the subscrip- tions should be found inadequate for the purpose. But both of these methods it would appear were found to be insufficient from the following entry on the minutes :
" The Corporation took into consideration the pro_ posal offered to them for hiring money by way of annuity for the purpose of rebuilding Trinity Church, and after some conversation, it was resolved that the further consideration thereof be postponed, and that a committee should be nominated to inquire into the probability of borrowing a sufficient sum upon inter-
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J.EVERS. DEL
TRINITY CHURCH,
BROADWAY, N. Y
REBUILT, 1788.
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est ; and a committee consisting of the following persons, to wit: A. L. Bleecker, Hubert Van Wage- nen, General Clarkson, Robert C. Livingston, and Theophylact Bache, was appointed accordingly.
" And this committee at the next meeting reported that there was a probability that a sufficient sum of money could be borrowed by the corporation upon interest, for the purpose of rebuilding Trinity Church."
The plan of the Church adopted by the Vestry was one which had been proposed by Dr. Bard, and drawn by Mr. Robinson.
" Dr. Johnson was requested to prepare an inscrip- tion for a corner-stone, to be placed by the Bishop in the foundation of Trinity Church; and the commis- sioners appointed to build the same were desired to superintend and give directions respecting the cere- mony, and to present as a compliment to the masons the sum of ten pounds."
In the next year the Church was completed, and the following inscription was placed over the eastern door beneath the porch :
D. O. M. TRINITY CHURCH
WAS FIRST FOUNDED IN THE YEAR 1696, ENLARGED AND BEAUTIFIED IN 1737,
AND ENTIRELY DESTROYED IN THE GREAT Conflagration of the City, Sept. 21, 1776.
THIS BUILDING WAS
ERECTED ON THE SITE OF THE FORMER CHURCH, In the year 1788.
Right Rev. SAMUEL PROVOOST, D.D., Rector.
JAMES DUANE, Esq. and JOHN JAY, Esq., Churchwardens.
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" It was resolved that the pews in Trinity Church should be sold on the first day of March next, pre- cisely at the hour of eleven in the morning, and that the church be opened, or consecrated, on the 25th of the same month.
" That the clerk advertise the sale of the pews, and that Mr. Bleecker be the auctioneer. *
" That a single pew be given to Mr. John Leake, to descend after his death to his nephew Mr. Norton, and that he be informed thereof by the clerk, and requested to make his choice previous to the day of sale.
"That a pew be appropriated for the use of the President of the United States, with a canopy over it, and properly ornamented. And that another pew, opposite to the President's, be set apart for the Gov- ernor of the State and members of Congress.t The Bishop was requested to wait upon the President, and inform him that the corporation had agreed to offer him a pew in Trinity Church.
" It was likewise resolved, that the purchasers of pews in Trinity Church should hold them for them- selves, their wives and descendants, as long as they should continue to be members of the church, and pay, or cause to be paid, to the collector appointed by the Vestry, within three months after it shall become due, such annual rent as might have been fixed by the Vestry before the day of sale, or be hereafter fixed by
* It appears by the minutes, that Mr. Bleecker was allowed £6 8s. for the sale of the pews.
+ At a subsequent meeting, a pew was likewise assigned in each of the churches to the members of the Legislature.
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them. That every purchaser should sign the condi- tions of sale, which, with the names of the purchasers, should be registered in the church books, and each purchaser should be entitled to a copy of such entry, if required. In case of non-payment of rents, or if the purchasers or their descendants should remove from the city, or cease to be members of the church, the pews should revert to the church, and not be transferable.
"It was also provided, that if any of the subscribers towards rebuilding Trinity Church should become purchasers of pews, they should respectively be en- titled to an allowance of fifteen per cent. upon the money subscribed by them, to be considered as part of their purchase money."
At a meeting of the Vestry held on the 16th of Jan- uary, 1786, it was resolved, " that a good lot of ground should be granted to each of the Presbyterian congrega- tions in this city, for the use of their respective senior pastors for the time being ; that the Rector should acquaint the pastors with the intentions of this body, and that they should be requested to agree on the lots their corporations respectively would hold, that deeds might be prepared accordingly."
The Rector afterwards laid before the Board sun- dry resolutions of the First Presbyterian congregation in this city, expressive of their thanks for the gift to this corporation, and also an extract from the proceed- ings of the Scotch Presbyterian Church to the same effect.
About the same time, "the Lutheran congregation of this city having offered the use of a bell for Trinity
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Church, the same was accepted, to be returned when- ever demanded, with the thanks of this Board."
It appears by the following entry on the minutes, that there were always two collections in the morning on Communion day :
"Resolved, That the money collected in church on those days when the Communion is administered, shall be added to the sum collected at the Communion, the whole to be applied by the Rector for the use of the poor of the congregation."
Shortly after the building was completed, Mr. Laight laid before the Board a plan for a ring of bells for Trinity Church. They were not actually ordered however till 1796. In the following year they arrived from England in the ship Favourite, Captain Drum- mond, who received a formal vote of thanks from the Vestry for his care and attention in the transportation of them .*
The charge of the bells was given to a committee, who were authorized to permit any number of men or ringers to ring them by way of practice, but with- out any compensation for so doing ; and the said com- mittee were also authorized to contract with such ringers for compensation for their services when they might be called upon, but it was not to exceed for any one day's service a greater sum than thirty dollars.
* On this occasion the chairman of the committee of repairs was requested to present the thanks of this Board to Doctor Kunze, the senior Pastor of the Lutheran Church, for the use of the bell which had been so courteously loaned to them, and to return the same, with the fixtures belonging to it.
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TRINITY CHURCH, NEW-YORK.
Before this resolution, however, the treasurer had been ordered to pay them forty dollars for their ser- vices on the 4th of July. It seems a little singular, that while the compensation was so large for a full set of ringers for a single day, that Mr. Moller was allowed but forty pounds for chiming the bells through- out the year .*
By a resolution of the Vestry, it was ordered that the bells in the different churches should not be rung on account of any public rejoicings, unless by the ex- press permission of the Rector.
The organ for Trinity Church, which was also import- ed from Great Britain, though of no great power was a sweet-toned instrument, and well adapted to the size of the building. Mr. John Rice was appointed, in 1791, the organist for one year, with a salary of £50, which was afterwards raised to £75, and it was made his duty to attend on Sundays, Prayer days, and such other occasions as the Rector might think proper.
A set of lustres was presented to the church by Mr. George Knox, father-in-law of one of the members of the Vestry at the present day ;f and in 1802 the committee of leases and repairs was ordered to pro- vide three large suitable chandeliers for Trinity Church, and a set also for St. George's and St. Paul's.
About this time a petition was presented by William Post, and one hundred and seventy-two other persons,
* The Bellows blower was allowed to receive two shillings a piece for showing the bells.
Mr. Robert Hyslop.
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members of this church, praying that the Rev. Joseph Pilmore might be called as an Assistant Minister, and a Sunday evening lecture established. A special com- mittee was appointed to consider the propriety of calling another Assistant Minister, and the means of supporting him. Mr. Pilmore had been a follower of Mr. Wesley, and for several years an itinerant preacher among the Methodists. From his enthusi- astic temperament, and the peculiar strain of his discourses, he was probably not acceptable to the more judicious and soberminded members of the parish, for the committee made no formal report on the subject, and the Vestry very shortly after proceeded to the appoint- ment of the Rev. John Bisset. The friends and admirers of Mr. Pilmore, unwilling to submit to the disappoint- ment, in a spirit of frowardness and discontent broke off from the parish, and set up a distinct church, with their favourite at its head. The Vestry, by the fol- lowing resolutions, seem to have regarded the course of these wilful persons as unchristian in its temper, and the act itself as almost schismatical :
" Resolved, That the late separation which has been made from the congregation of Trinity Church, appears to be unjustifiable, has a tendency to create discord and confusion, and ought to be discounte- nanced ;
" Therefore, Resolved also, That the admission of delegates from the persons who have so separated, into the Convention of the State, or the acknowledgment of them as a distinct church by that body, would, in the opinion of this Board, be highly improper, and ought to be opposed.
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"A letter from John Rutherfurd, Esq., was pre- sented to the Board, and read in the words following, to wit :
"NEW-YORK, October 2d, 1787. " GENTLEMEN :
"My intended removal from town, induces me to resign the offices of vestryman and clerk to the cor- poration of Trinity Church. Be assured that it is with regret I take leave of your body, and sincerely hope that my conduct while in office may meet with your approbation.
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