USA > New York > New York City > An historical sketch of Trinity Church, New-York > Part 9
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* Note to a funeral sermon of the Rev. Mr. Inglis on Dr. Auch- muty-Churchman's Magazine, vol. 5, pp. 82, 83.
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CHAPTER III.
ÅT a meeting of the Vestry, held on the 28th day of August, 1764, the Rev. Dr. Barclay having departed this life on the 20th instant-
It was unanimously resolved and ordered, that the Rev. Samuel Auchmuty be, and he is hereby elected, called, and chosen to be Rector of Trinity Church in this city, in the room and place of the Rev. Dr. Henry Barclay, late Rector, deceased; and that Mr. Williams and Mr. Stuyvesant be desired to wait on the said Mr. Auchmuty, to acquaint him with this resolution, and to know if he will accept of the said call, and report his answer thereupon immedi- ately to this Board.
The said Mr. Williams and Mr. Stuyvesant having waited on Mr. Auchmuty pursuant to their appointment, reported that he would accept of the said call; and he being introduced into the Vestry room, he again declared his assent to, and accepted the said call. Whereupon it was ordered, that this Board present the said Mr. Auchmuty to his Honour the Lieutenant Governour, and desire he may be admitted and Instituted as Rector, and Inducted into the said Church ; and a presentation being prepared for that purpose to the Honorable Cadwallader Colden, Esq., His Majesty's Lieutenant Governor, and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New-York, and the Territories depending thereon, in America, and the same being read, was signed and sealed by all the members present.
The proceedings with respect to the presentation of Mr. Auchmuty to the Governor, the Governor's admission to him, the letters of institution, the man- date to induct him, and the certificate of his induction,
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being the same as in the case of the Rev. Dr. Barclay, it is unnecessary to repeat them.
At the same meeting, the question being put, whether two Gentle. men of the Clergy should be called as Assistant Ministers to the Rector in his parochial dutys, or only one, it was resolved by a majo- rity, that for the present one would be sufficient. Whereupon it was resolved and ordered, that the Rev. Mr. Charles Inglis (a Gentleman well recommended by the Rector) be called as Assistant to the said Rector in his Parochial duties, and that he be allowed for that service by this corporation a salary of Two hundred pounds currency p. annum, besides what may be raised for him by subscription, and that he be also allowed twenty Pistoles for his travelling expenses.
Resolved, That the Rector and Church Wardens be desired to write to Mr. Winslow, returning him the thanks of this corporation for his kindness in performing Divine Service during the Indisposition of the late Rector, Doctor Barclay, and that they have power to present him the sum of fifty pounds as a gratuity for the same, and beg his acceptance thereof.
At the very next meeting of the Vestry, however, the question whether there should be one or two Assistant Ministers was reconsidered, and it was then
Resolved and Ordered, That the Reverend Mr. John Ogilvie, (a Gentleman well recommended by the Church Wardens,) be called as an Assistant Minister to the Rector in his Parochial duties, and that he be allowed for that service by this corporation a salary of Two hundred pounds currency p. annum, besides what may be raised for him by subscription.
The news of Dr. Barclay's death was communicated to the Society by Mr. Auchmuty in his letter dated September 10, 1764, together with the announcement of the fact, that he had been appointed to succeed him as Rector of Trinity Church ; and being thus de- cently provided for, he took occasion to return his most
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sincere thanks to the Society for their bounty to him as catechist to the blacks; which trust, as we have seen, was discharged by him with so much fidelity and success.
A short time after, the Rev. Mr. Auchmuty com- municated to the Board a letter to himself, from the Rev. Mr. Charles Inglis, in the following words :
PHILADELPHIA, Decemr 3d, 1764. REV'D, WORTHY SIR :
When Mrs. Inglis lay on her death-bed, I fore- saw the difficulties that would attend my removal from Dover, and therefore wrote to you then, releas- ing you from your engagement to me, and requesting you to provide some person to supply my place as assistant. Every letter you received from me since, was written in much distress and perplexity of mind, as you may naturally suppose, and in doubt as to my removal, in consequence of these difficulties on the one hand, and my inclination to settle at New-York on the other.
I have lately had a better opportunity of knowing the state of my mission than formerly, when my mind was first overwhelmed with my loss. I shall therefore lay its state before you, and then explicitly toll my resolution in consequence of it. This I should have done before had not my affliction, and per- plexity occasioned by it, prevented me. Mrs. In- glis's state of health was my principal reason for leaving Dover. Altho' there was much discontent among my people at hearing of my intended removal, yet this reason in some measure silenced, tho' it did not fully satisfy them. On her death, they renewed
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their solicitations for my continuance with more warmth, and indeed the principal cause of my removal was no more. When I engaged to settle at Norfolk, Dr. Smith proposed sending another person to succeed me at Dover. My people, however, would by no means consent to have him, nor is there any prospect of another to go there. There are two churches which are begun in my mission, chiefly through my persuasion, yet unfinished, and the congregations of these churches absolutely declare they will lay aside all thoughts of finishing them if I go away. A new mission is on the point of being opened, and that design must also necessarily drop, if I remove. Pres- byterians and Quakers are making daily encroach- ments on us, but especially a mad enthusiast, who has lately started up where the new mission is to be opened, has seduced many to his pernicious delusions, and even the rumour of my going away has gained him some proselytes, and elated him much. All these particulars put together, will leave no doubt, I think, with any impartial person, that it is my duty to con- tinue in my mission till it can be better settled. For my part, my conscience would ever reproach me to leave it thus, nor could I in that case expect a bless- ing from Heaven. Believe me, sir, it is with reluctance that I lay aside the thoughts of settling now in your city. I have the most grateful sense of your kindness, as well as the kindness of several worthy members of your church, with whom I had the honour to be acquainted. Be pleased to return them my sincerest thanks, especially to your Church Wardens and Vestry. This I should do now in person myself, but
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it is my opinion, as well as the opinion of all my friends, my going to New-York at this time, as matters are now situated, would answer no good end-perhaps perplex matters more. I shall be detained in this city a few days by the death of an uncle-in-law. It would give me much pleasure to hear from you in that time. If any thing I can do or say consistent with what conscience assures me to be my duty, will give any further satisfaction to you, or your people, you may readily command me; being with sincere esteem to them, and you, Rev'd Sir, your affectionate Brother and Servant in Christ,
CHARLES INGLIS.
What circumstances led Mr. Inglis to change his mind, and finally accept the invitation, which after so much reflection he had definitively declined, I have no means of explaining. He did not, however, move to New-York, nor enter upon the duties of his office, until the month of December, 1765.
On communicating this change in his intention to the Venerable Society, in whose employment he had been, he received permission to accept the appoint- ment of assistant to Dr. Auchmuty, and Catechist to the negroes at New-York.
In the outset of life, "he had conducted the free school at Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, for several years, to the satisfaction of all, and had thus become favourably known to the clergy of the neighbourhood, who now testified of him as a young gentleman of unblemished character, discreet in his behaviour, and free from even the suspicion of any thing unbecoming. With these high testimonials he went to England, was
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admitted by the Bishop of London to holy orders, and re-embarked for his humble mission, to which a sal- ary of £50 a year was attached. Such was the modest commencement of a career which was destined to be marked by various fortunes, and distinguished by ser- vices of the highest value to the Church.
" Mr. Inglis, after a long and dangerous voyage, arrived at Dover on the Ist of July, 1759, and at this distance of time, eighty-six years, it is " a circumstance of no ordinary interest, " that the son is still minister- ing with unimpaired vigour and energy one division of that important diocese which, when it was first placed under the father's spiritual superintendence, comprehended the whole of the British colonies in that quarter of the world.
"Mr. Inglis, on coming to his mission, found the situation unhealthy, from the neighbourhood of low, marshy lands. There were within it three churches, but that at Dover was in a most ruinous condition. He soon, however, contrived to restore it, and to build a fourth on the borders of Maryland. The mission comprised the whole county of Kent, thirty- three miles in length, and ten in breadth, with a popu- lation of 7000, of which a third belonged to the communion of the Church.
"In 1763, he informed the Society of its flourishing state, as evidenced by the erection and restoration of churches, the crowds who attended divine service, the return of dissenters to the Church, and the revival in many of a spirit of piety. His own health he described as much affected by the dampness of the situation, as well as by the excessive fatigue of having
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to attend stations distant severally, fourteen, seventeen, and eighteen miles from his own residence.
" During the six years of his ministration at Dover, he had baptized 756 children, and twenty-three adults, while within the same period," the number of his communicants had more than doubled.
" The Churchwardens and Vestry of Dover, on the occasion of his departure, wrote to express their great regret at his going, and to testify that he had with unwearied diligence attended four churches, dis- charging every duty of his functions, and conducting himself on all occasions in a manner truly laudable and exemplary."*
Mr. Inglis entered upon his duties, as an Assistant Minister in the Parish of Trinity Church, on the 6th of December, 1765. That they were faithfully and conscientiously fulfilled, may be fairly inferred from the whole course of his former life, and from the growing estimate of the importance and value of his services, which ultimately raised him to the highest rank in his profession. But of the peaceful tenour of his days in this new situation, I have been unable to find any striking memento, except one in the parish record, which is somewhat remarkable-that during his connection with it, a period of seventeen years, he appears to have married 925 couples.
The Rev. John Ogilvie, who was called as an Assistant Minister of Trinity Church a short time after the election of Mr. Inglis, entered, however, uner the duties of his office in the parish about a
Missions of the Church of England, pp. 323, 324, 325.
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year before him. In noticing this appointment, I can- not help remarking the judiciousness and fitness of all the appointments which were made by the Vestry ; nor from running into a digression to show the ground of the remark, in this particular case. He had long before commended himself to the approbation and good-will of all the churchmen in the colony, by his devotedness as a parish clergyman, and his zeal as a missionary.
On the removal of Mr. Henry Barclay to New-York, the Indian mission remained vacant for a considerable time, but was filled up in 1748, by the appointment, on Mr. Barclay's recommendation, of Mr. Ogilvie, as a young gentleman of an extraordinary good character, educated at Yale College, in Connecticut, and one who was, in an especial manner, qualified for the duty at Albany, by being able to officiate in the Dutch language.
The Rev. Mr. Ogilvie writes to the Society, that as soon as the season of the year would permit, he left New-York, and got to Albany on the 1st of March, 1749, and that he was very kindly received by the commanding officer of Fort Frederick, and by the chief persons of the place; that though the inhabi- tants thereof were much diminished by the removal of many English families in the late war to New- York, yet the number of his hearers had far exceeded his expectations ; that he preached twice on Sundays, and read prayers and catechized on Wednesdays near fifty white children; and as many of the blacks ap- peared desirous of instruction, he catechized them on Sundays in the afternoon after divine service. At a
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subsequent period, it appears that he had three ser- vices in the Church at Albany every Lord's Day, that all ranks of people might have the benefit of public worship; that his parochial duties were abundant and laborious ; and that his pious endeavours were blessed with signal success.
On the 5th of June he went up to the Mohawks with the interpreter of the Province. He was met there by two of the principal sachems, who congratu- lated him on his arrival, and expressed great thank- fulness to the Society for sending him to them ; and they promised to use their best endeavours to influ- ence the Indians to be attentive to his instructions, and to do all in their power to make his life agreeable. A few Sundays after this interview, he administered the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to thirteen of them, who behaved with great propriety and devotion, while too many others he remarked had so far degen- erated into drunkards, as that his chief hopes were placed on the rising generation ; the children being universally disposed to learn.
In a communication to the Society seven years later, he states that his endeavours had not been unsuccessful, many of the Mohawks of both castles appearing to have a serious and habitual sense of reli- gion. When at home, they regularly attended divine worship, and participated frequently of the Lord's Supper, and though out upon the hunt, several of them came sixty miles to communicate on Christmas- Day, 1755. The whole number of communicants at this time amounted to fifty.
In his account of those whom he had baptized in
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the following year, he mentioned that two of them were the children of the famous half-Indian king, who distinguished himself so much in the fatal expedition under General Braddock, when twelve principal men of the Mohawks fell in the battle, six of whom were regular communicants of the Church, and while they were in the field, good old Abraham, one of their sachems, performed divine service to them morning and evening.
Mr. Ogilvie appears to have retired from this mis- sion in 1760, in which he was succeeded by Mr. Brown, a chaplain in the army.
He was well remembered in my early life by several of our aged parishioners, and greatly admired as a popular and captivating lecturer. It was probably on this account that he was represented, in a very spir- ited portrait of him, painted by the celebrated Copley, and now in the Vestry office of Trinity Church, with the Bible opened before him, and familiarly engaged in expounding the Scriptures. I can easily conceive that there might have been good ground for this repu- tation, for I have a vivid recollection of one of his manuscript sermons that I met with some forty years since, written from the text, "We all do fade as a leaf," which at that time struck me as a composition of great elegance and beauty.
Though Dr. Ogilvie, as it may be presumed from his laboriousness and zeal in the stations which he occupied during the first part of his ministry, was doubtless diligent and faithful also in the discharge of his duties as an Assistant Minister of Trinity Church ; yet I have not been able to find any thing more in
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relation to it, than the scanty notice which I have already given .* Indeed, he himself, in one respect at least, from a thoughtless neglect, threw a mantle of oblivion over his own acts, which, however immaterial on private, could not be justified on public accounts. For I find an entry on the Parish Register, written by Mr. Inglis, after he had become Rector, that no returns of his baptisms and marriages appear to have been made, if he ever kept a record of them, and the blank therefore, with all its inconveniences has, and must remain, for ever unfilled.
The last trace that I can discover of him, is in one of his communications in 1774, wherein he recom- mends the inhabitants of Fredericksburgh to the notice of the Society, and promises that a glebe of at least one hundred acres of the best improved land, the right of which was vested in himself and two other gentlemen of rank and character, should be located and conveyed to the use of the Church. The Society's grateful acceptance of this proposal probably never reached that worthy person, whose death fol- lowed soon after it was made.
The following short sketch of his life and character, is gathered from a sermon which was preached to the congregation by the Rev. Mr. Inglis, on account of his death :
After indulging in a train of reflections which the
* Since this was written, I have accidentally met with a fuller account of his labours, in a funeral sermon, which was preached by Mr. Inglis on occasion of his death.
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occasion suggested, he remarks, " his death is an afflic- tion to you, and a general loss to the Church of God.
"Nine years have I lived with him in perfect har- mony and friendship. Much was he endeared to me by his many amiable qualities, by a union of affection and principles, and by our joint endeavours in the ministry of the Gospel. To mention him therefore in this place, which, now alas ! must know him no more, is not only a debt of friendship which I owe to his memory, but it may also be of service to you.
" He was born in this city, and many of you know that he remembered his Creator in the days of his youth. Even at that period, he strove to turn others to righteousness, which seemed to be the principal object of his whole life afterwards.
" He devoted himself early to the service of the altar, and his first situation after he entered into holy orders, as missionary to the Mohawk Indians, was such as suited his glowing zeal to promote the honour of God and the salvation of souls. I may say that he was placed on the fartherest limit of the Messiah's king- dom, for all beyond it was one dark and dismal gloom, unenlightened by any ray from the Sun of Righteous- ness. Here he faithfully laboured, and with success, to add the heathen to his Master's inheritance, and the uttermost part of the earth to his possession.
" Those qualifications which enable a person to be useful in the sacred ministry, were possessed by him in an eminent degree. His person was tall and grace- ful, his aspect sweet and commanding, his voice excellent, his elocution easy and pleasing, his imagina- tion "vely, his memory retentive, and his judgment
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solid. His temper was even, unclouded, and such as scarcely any accident could ruffle. His heart was humane, tender, and benevolent, burning with zeal for the good of others.
" With what unwearied industry he attended the duties of his function, you all know. Like the first heralds of the blessed Gospel, daily in the temple of God and in every house, he ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Indeed, I may apply to him what St. Paul says of himself to the Thessalonians, Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and unblameably he behaved himself among you ; how he exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you as a father doth his children, that ye might walk worthy of God, who hath called you to his king- dom and glory. The number of those who resorted to him for advice was very great, and few were capa- ble of giving better on every occasion. He knew how to comfort the afflicted, to confirm the wavering, to instruct the ignorant, to cheer the desponding, to strengthen the weak, and to check the forward. The time would fail me, to trace this excellent man through the various scenes of life, and the different characters he sustained with so much dignity and lustre. His conduct and manners were regulated by the calm dictates of benevolence, piety, and prudence, and were so happily tempered, that even those who were no warm friends to religion revered him. The conse- quence was such as might naturally be expected- few clergymen have been so extensively useful-few so much beloved and esteemed as Dr. Ogilvie.
" The concluding scene of his life was suitable to
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the former part of it, for he was about his Master's business when the awful message came to summon him into eternity. In the house of God, after de- voutly addressing his Heavenly Father in the evening service of our Church, he took his text, The Lord is upright, he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him; and whilst the unfinished sentence yet hung upon his tongue, his master called him to leave this scene of sorrow and of trouble, to be present with himself." *
In the brief period of ten years the parish had prospered to such a degree, under the laborious and faithful ministrations of its clergy, that it was deemed expedient to provide another church for the accom- modation of its members. The building of St. Paul's Chapel was commenced in 1763, and completed in 1766. In beauty of design, justness of proportion, and tasteful embellishment, it was unequalled, at the
* " He went to Church in seemingly good health, to lecture in the afternoon, which was his constant practice on Fridays. He read prayers as usual, and baptized a child. He gave out his text, but before he could proceed further with his lecture than to repeat a sen- tence or two, he was deprived of his speech by a stroke of apoplexy. Under the effects of this fatal disorder he languished for some days. During the interval, a great part of which was spent in prayer and devout ejaculations, he showed the utmost patience and submission. On Saturday morning, November 26, 1774, without a struggle or a groan, he expired, in the fifty-first year of his age. By his last will he bequeathed £300 to the Charity School, £100 to King's College, and £100 to the Corporation for the relief of the widows and children of clergymen, hereby exhibiting that uniform attention to the happi- ness and welfare of mankind, which regulated each step of his con- duct through life."
·
J. N . Gimbrede. sc
J.B.Forrest. del:
ST PAULS CHAPEL.
- F
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time, throughout our country ; and in this style of architecture has not been surpassed to the present day. It is a little singular, however, that the repre- sentation by L'Enfant, of the giving of the law at Mount Sinai immediately over the altar, where we celebrate in the holy mysteries the highest instance of God's love to sinful men, and which is objected to by many as inappropriate in position and offensive to taste, should nevertheless have been highly approved of by the Vestry of that day, and a formal record of it entered on the minutes.
The order for commencing the erection of this new chapel, on the Church ground upon the corner of Division-street, (now Fulton,) was passed at a meet- ing of the Vestry held the 3d day of November, 1763.
At this meeting it was also ordered, that what moneys might from time to time be in the hands of the Churchwardens more than was necessary to answer the annual expenses of the Church and Chapel, should be applied towards purchasing the materials and carrying on the building of the Church.
Though the estate of the corporation at that time had become more productive, its resources were still on a very limited scale. Authority was therefore given to the Wardens on several occasions, to borrow different sums not exceeding the gross amount of £15,750, for carrying on the building of the chapel, and finishing the porticoes and fences.
St. Paul's Chapel was opened on the 30th of October, 1766, and it was resolved by the Vestry, that the thanks of this Board should be given to the Rev. Dr. Auch- muty, for his sermon preached at the dedication thereof,
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and a copy of it requested for publication. At the same time, his Excellency Sir Henry Moore expressed a desire of introducing in it a band of music, which request was granted on the condition that the band should only join in such part of the service as was usual and customary in like' cases, and that no other pieces of music should be allowed but such only as were adapted to the service of the Church on such solemn occasions. It is a little remarkable, that one of the persons* who attended at the opening of this chapel, was also present, after the lapse of eighty years, at the recent consecration of Trinity Church. There are some other circumstances also in connec- tion with this building, which are worthy of notice. The inauguration of Washington, as President of the United States, took place, as is well known, at the City Hall. After the ceremonial was over, the General retired, with the civil and military officers in attend- ance, to St. Paul's Chapel, in order to unite with them in such religious services as were appropriate to the occasion. And here also he frequently received the holy communion, an act of faith and devotion, in which it is lamentable to think that he has not been imitated by any of his successors.
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