USA > New York > Dutchess County > Poughkeepsie > Anniversary discourse and history of the First Reformed church of Poughkeepsie > Part 5
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6. STEPHEN VAN VOORHEES, 1773-6.
The next pastor was Stephen Van Voorhees, (also written Van Voorhis), for whose history the records of the church furnish but little material. There is not found in them any copy or mention of either his call or his dismission. But in the Minutes of the Synod for October, 1772, it is recorded that he then presented him-
Corwin's Manual and Sprague's Annals.
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Succession of Ministers.
self to that body for examination and licensure, and that, in his examination, he afforded much satisfaction, and was received among the number of licentiates. In the minutes of the next session, held October, 1773, it is stated that among the calls presented, was "one from the congregation of Poughkeepsie upon Rev. Stephen Van Voorhis," and it was "approved by this Rev. Body." The precise date of his installation is un- known, but in the minutes of the consistory, his name appears as that of the minister, in the meeting held March 22, 1774, and thence continues to appear until May 2, 1776.
After leaving Poughkeepsie he, for a short time, sup- plied a Reformed Dutch congregation which then existed in Dover, in the eastern part of Dutchess county. From 1776 to 1784 he was the pastor of the church of Rhine- beck; from 1785 to 1788 of the churches of Phillips- burgh, (now Tarrytown, ) and Cortlandtown, and from 1788 to 1796 pastor of the Presbyterian churches of Assynpinck and Kingston, in New Jersey. He died November 23, 1796 .*
7. SOLOMON FROELIGH, 1776-80.
Solomon Froeligh (also written Freligh and Freylig), was born May 29, (O. S.) 1730, about two miles east of Red Hook, then in the county of Albany, now in the county of Dutchess. He was licensed by the Synod in October, 1774, and on the 11th of June, 1775, was ordained and installed pastor of the four Reformed Dutch congregations in Queens county, Long Island.
After living there for fifteen months he fled to Hacken- sack, N. J., and barely escaped being taken prisoner by the British army. In his flight he lost all his worldly
* Corwins' Manual.
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History.
goods, including even his books and clothing. As Hack- ensack was within the region that fell under the control of the British troops, Mr. Froeligh, in company with Dr. Livingston, sought refuge above the Highlands of the Hudson, and accepted an invitation from the then vacant congregations of Poughkeepsie and Fishkill to make a temporary settlement among them. He was not regularly installed over them, and therefore, strictly speaking, was only their "stated supply;" but inas- much as he remained with them and rendered all the service of a pastor for the space of four years, he was their pastor in fact if not in form.
Among the entries in the records of the church in his own handwriting is one which states that his wife, Rachael Vanderbeck, was, on the 19th of October, 1778, received into the communion of the church on Confes- sion of Faith.
In 1780 he accepted a call from the churches of Mill- stone and Neshanick in Somerset county, N. J., and was their pastor until 1786, when he accepted a call from the churches of Hackensack and Schraalenbergh in Ber- gen County, N. J., with whom he remained until the end of his life.
He was appointed Lector in Theology by the General Synod in October, 1792, and Professor of Theology in June, 1797.
In 1822 he headed the secession movement which resulted in the organization of the body known as the True Reformed Dutch Church, and thereupon (June 1823) was, by the Synod, removed from his office as Professor. He died October 8, 1827, in the seventy- eighth year of his age and the fifty-third of his min- istry .*
* Sprague's Annals.
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Succession of Ministers.
8. JOHN H. LIVINGSTON, 1781-3.
John H. Livingston was born May 30, 1746, in the "Livingston Mansion," * which was built by his father, Henry Livingston, and still stands on the bank of the Hudson a short distance south of Poughkeepsie. He graduated with honor at Yale College, and at twenty went to Holland, and for four years pursued his theolo- gical studies at the University of Utrecht. He was licensed by the Classis of Amsterdam in 1769, and, in the following year, returned to this country, and became one of the pastors of the Collegiate Church of New York city.
From that time forth his history is the history of the denomination with which he was connected. Such were his ability and influence, that, among all its ministers, he was conceded to be the foremost, and to him, under God, more than to any other man, was the denomination in- debted for the cessation of the intestine strife, which for many years imperiled its existence.
Soon after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, New York city was occupied by the British forces, and by them two of the three edifices used by the Collegiate Church for worship were sadly abused and desecrated. One, (the North Church,) was used as a hospital and for storage, and the other, (the Middle Church,) was convert- ed first into a prison, and then into a riding school for officers and soldiers. Dr. Livingston, being thus prevented from prosecuting his ministry in New York, removed first to Kingston, thence to Albany, and thence to Livingston Manor, in Columbia county.
In the records of the church of Poughkeepsie occur the following :-
* So say his descendants who, until recently, occupied the " Mansion,"
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History.
" 1781, July 9, Resolved to open a subscription list for raising a sum sufficient for the purpose of inviting the Rev. Dr. John H. Livingston, late of the City of New York, but at present at the Manor of Livingston, to become our minister."
" 1781, August 4, an invitation was made, and drawn up in proper form in writing, by which the Rev. Dr. Livingston was requested to perform the duties of a minister in the congregation as long as he shall find his situation to be convenient to himself and his family, promising to pay him for his service at the rate of three hundred and fifty bushels of wheat, and fifty pounds in specie per annum."
" 1781, August 6, the Rev. Dr. Livingston accepted of this invitation, and is accordingly become the minister of the con- gregation."
While engaged in his ministry here, Dr. Livingston resided with his father in the Livingston Mansion referred to above. The records of this church show that he was earnest and active, not only in pastoral work, but also in that of extricating the church from serious financial embarrassments in which it had become in- volved. At the close of his ministry here he wrote in the book of church records the following :-
" It having pleased the LORD to restore peace to America, in consequence of which the exiled inhabitants of the City of New York were permitted to return to their homes,-the Rev. Dr. Livingston took leave of the congregation of Poughkeepsie in an affectionate farewell sermon, Nov. 23, 1783, and opened his ministry again in the City of New York, Dec. 7, 1783.
Thus the church of Poughkeepsie is again become vacant."
Dr. Livingston was subsequently appointed Professor of Didactic and Polemic Theology in the Seminary in New Brunswick, (1784,) and President of Queen's, (now Rutgers,) College, (1810,) and retained these offices until his decease, January 20, 1825. His remains were buried in New Brunswick, and a monument, erected by order of the General Synod, stands over his grave .*
* Memoirs of Dr. Livingston, by Alexander Gunn.
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Succession of Ministers.
9. ANDREW GRAY, 1790-4.
The vacancy caused by the departure of Dr. Living- ston continued through the seven ensuing years. Many in the congregation were greatly dissatisfied with the consistory for allowing the church to remain so long without a pastor. Among them was Mr. Gilbert Living- ston, who, on the 2nd of March, 1790, on account of the negligence of the consistory in this and other matters, laid before that body a formal and written " grievance," which is still preserved among the archives of the church. Soon afterwards a subscription paper, dated June 28, 1790, and with the following heading, was circu- lated and obtained many signatures :
" We, the Subscribers, residents within the limits of the Reformed Dutch Church of Poughkeepsie, and in the vicinity thereof, being desirous of having Mr. Andrew Gray, (now a Student in Divinity with the Revd Doct' Meyers in New Jersey, when quallifyed for the Ministry,) for the Minister of the Said Church, to dispence the Sacraments, preach the Gospel, catechize the youth, and perform all other sacred ministerial functions as practised heretofore in the Church aforesaid, and to use the English and Dutch languages in his publick exercises in such manner as to the Said Church, from time to time, may be deemed proper and convenient,
THEREFORE, If the Church aforesaid make a call upon the Said Andrew Gray upon the principles above mentioned, and he accepts thereof and becomes the Minister of the aforesaid Church, Do hereby promise to pay and deliver, or cause to be paid and delivered, to the aforesaid Church yearly, and every year, the sums of money and articles written and specified opposite to our Respective names, so long as the Said Andrew Gray continues the Minister of the Church aforesaid, and we remain within the limits of the same, or in the vicinity thereof. Dated June 28th, 1790.
Thus urged and encouraged, the consistory, in the course of the same year, presented a call to the candi- date, Andrew Gray. The call itself is not among the records of the church; but there is an entry dated
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October 25, 1790, which states that the call had been presented, and that it was "determined to increase the same, and instead of thirty loads, to promise fifty loads " of firewood.
Also, in the Minutes of General Synod, it is recorded that at the meeting of October, 1790, Mr. Andrew Gray was examined and licensed, and that a call was pre- sented to him by the congregation of Poughkeepsie, which was approved ; and that arrangements were made for his ordination and installation on the 21st of Novem- ber, 1790 .*
Mr. Gray retained this charge a little more than three years. At the meeting of General Synod, October, 1792, he was appointed a missionary, with instructions to spend six weeks in visiting Hanover and other districts in the valley of the Susquehanna, where were many families of Dutch descent who had moved thither from the valley of the Hudson.t The result showed that, in the appointment of this their first missionary, the Synod had made a wise selection ; for his labors were crowned with abundant success, and he himself became so imbued with missionary zeal that he felt it to be alike his duty and his privilege to devote the remainder of his life to missionary work. Accordingly, on November 21, 1793, he sought a release from his charge in Pough- keepsie, and the consistory granted it on account of the very cogent reasons assigned, at the same time express- ing themselves as "deeply sensible of the griefs, dis- appointments and loss the congregation will sustain by this sad occurrence."
In the records of the church the name of Mr. Gray appears, for the last time, as that of the president of the
* Minutes Gen. Synod, Vol. I., pp. 207, 209.
+ Minutes Gen. Synod, Vol. I., p. 240.
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Succession of Ministers.
consistory, in the minutes of the meeting held January 2, 1794. He spent the remaining years of his life in preaching the Gospel, and establishing churches, on the outskirts of civilization in Pennsylvania and central New York, and died in 1819 .*
10. CORNELIUS BROWER, 1794-1808.
Cornelius Brower (also written Brouwer), was born in New York city in 1770, graduated from Columbia Col- lege in 1792, studied under Dr. Livingston, and was licensed by the Classis of New York in 1793. The call to him from the church of Poughkeepsie is dated Feb- ruary 3, 1794, and is attested by Rev. Nicholas Van Vranken, then pastor of the church of Fishkill.
He was ordained and installed July 13, 1794, and was the pastor of the church until the regular meeting of the Classis, April 19, 1808, when the pastoral connection was dissolved.
Mr. Brower supplied the church of Hyde Park from 1812 to 1815, was professor in the High School in Utica from 1815 to 1833, and served as supply in several neigh- boring churches until his death in 1845.+
11. CORNELIUS C. CUYLER, 1809-33.
Cornelius C. Cuyler was born in Albany, February 15, 1783. The middle letter was inserted in his name in order to distinguish him from six contemporaries of the same surname, all of whom were called Cornelius. He graduated at Union College in 1806, studied under Drs. Bassett and Livingston, and was licensed by the Classis of Schenectady in 1808. The call to him from the church of Poughkeepsie was dated October 18, 1808, and attested by Cornelius D. Westbrook, then pastor of
* Corwin's Manual, and Dr. Mabon in " Centennial Discourses."
+ Corwin's Manual.
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History.
the church of Fishkill. The ordination and installation took place January 2, 1809.
The ministry of Dr. Cuyler was so eminently fruitful that it may be called the turning point in the history of the church. The records show that, when he came, all the affairs of the church were in a confused and unsatis- factory condition, and that there were but forty-three members in full communion. Under his vigorous admin- istration order was soon brought out of confusion, and the membership rapidly increased. It was during his pastorate that the third edifice was erected, in 1822, in order to meet the wants of the enlarged congregation. At the close of his ministry here the reported number of members was 462, and the church was united, active and vigorous.
While in charge of this church he received several calls to other churches, among which was one from the Collegiate church of New York (1814) ; but such was his affection for this church, and so great was the bless- ing vouchsafed to his labors in it, that he declined them all. In 1833, however, although he was then only fifty years of age, he felt that his bodily strength was no longer adequate to the service needed by such an ex- tensive congregation, and, greatly to the sorrow of his loving and beloved people, accepted a call from the second Presbyterian church of Philadelphia. He was dismissed from Poughkeepsie, December 17, 1833, and continued to serve the church in Philadelphia until his decease, August 31, 1850 .*
12. SAMUEL A. VAN VRANKEN, 1834-7.
Samuel A. Van Vranken was the son of Rev. Nicholas Van Vranken, for many years the pastor of the church of Fishkill, and was born in Fishkill, February 20, 1792.
* Commemorative Discourse, by Rev. Joseph H. Jones.
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Succession of Ministers.
He graduated at Union College in 1815, and from the Theological Seminary in New Brunswick in 1817, and in the latter year was licensed by the Classis of New Bruns- wick. He served the united churches of Middletown and Freehold in Monmouth County, N. J., from 1818 to 1826, and the church of Freehold alone from 1826 to 1834.
He was called to the church of Poughkeepsie May 12, 1834, and was installed on the second Tuesday of the following September. He was dismissed. November 21, 1837, in order to take charge of the Broome Street Church in New York city, where he remained until 1841, when he was appointed Professor of Didactic and Polemic Theology in the Seminary in New Brunswick, in which office he continued until his decease, January 1, 1861 .*
13. ALEXANDER M. MANN, 1838-57.
Rev. Alexander M. Mann was born in the city of Philadelphia, March 16, 1808. He was the sixth of twelve children, two of whom, beside himself, are still living. He removed with his parents to Somerville, N. J., in 1813, and there spent the largest part of his boyhood. He united with the church when a little more than fourteen years of age, and soon after began to study for the ministry.
After a preparatory course in the academy at Somer- ville, he entered the Junior Class of Rutgers College in 1825, graduated from the college in 1827, from the Theological Seminary in New Brunswick in April, 1730, and in September of the same year was licensed by the Classis of New Brunswick. Immediately afterwards he was commissioned by the Domestic Missionary Society of the Reformed church to take charge of a church in Ithaca, N. Y., just organized, with 20 families and 32 communicants. Here his labors were greatly blessed,
* McClintock and Strong, Cyclopædia.
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History.
and, in seven years, the church had grown to 100 families, with an average yearly addition of 24 to membership. In 1837, for personal reasons, and against the desires of his people, he resigned this charge. A call was soon received from the church of West Troy, and an acceptance was given, conditioned on a trial of the field. Not being sufficiently encouraged by his labors there, he accepted the call extended to him by the church of Poughkeepsie, February 5, 1838, assumed charge of the church immediately, and was formally installed as pastor on the 22nd day of May following.
It was during his pastorate of nearly twenty years that the third parsonage was built, the Second church was formed, by members dismissed for that purpose, and the third church edifice was first renovated, and after- wards destroyed by fire.
Dr. Mann was dismissed from the church of Pough- keepsie, June 15, 1857. After leaving Poughkeepsie, he was for four years pastor of the church of Hoboken, N. J., and then accepted a call from the Presbyterian Church of Freemansburg, N. Y., where he also remained about four years. Then, feeling the burden of advancing years, he resigned, and has since been without pastoral charge. He has resided for several years in Farmer Village, Seneca Co., N. Y., and, until disabled by bodily infirmities, rendered excellent service in supplying vacant churches in the neighborhood.
He is now totally blind, and is the only survivor of those who were in the ministry of the Reformed church when he entered it, nearly 63 years ago. Dr. Mann was President of the General Synod at the Session of 1851, and received the degree of D.D. from the University of Rochester in 1856 .*
* From a biographical sketch prepared for this work by Rev. F. W. Palmer, under the supervision of Dr. Mann.
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Succession of Ministers.
14. GEORGE M. MCECKRON, 1858-67.
George Mairs McEckron (originally McEachron), was born September 3, 1826, in Argyle, N. Y., was graduated at Union College in 1848, studied theology at the Associ- ate Reformed Seminary in Newburgh, and was licensed June 30, 1851, by the Washington Presbytery of the Associate Reformed Church. He was ordained and in- stalled pastor of the Associate Reformed Church of Mongaup Valley, Sullivan County, N. Y., January 12, 1853, and retained this charge until April 20, 1858, when he tendered his resignation and the pastoral relation was
dissolved. The call to him from the First Reformed church of Poughkeepsie, was dated March 26, 1858. He was installed September 7, 1858, and his pastorate ex- tended over nearly nine years. During those years there were two notable revivals, one in 1858, and the other in 1866. In the latter year eighty-five persons were re- ceived into the church on confession of faith.
Mr. McEckron sent his resignation to the consistory February 18, 1867, and the pastoral relation was dis- solved by the Classis February 21. From October 13, 1868, to December 16, 1868, he was pastor of the Pres- byterian Church of New Hamburgh, and from February 7, 1869, to October 10, 1871, was pastor of the West- minster Presbyterian Church in New York city. He was without a charge until 1874 or 1875, when he became acting pastor of the Congregational church of Park- ville, Long Island. His name, as that of acting pastor, first appears on the records of that church January 13, 1875, and his resignation was tendered and accepted July 27, 1877. While thus serving a Congregational church, he still retained his connection with the Presby- tery of New York ; but on the 3rd of October, 1881, the Presbytery received a communication from him, stating that he had withdrawn from the Presbyterian Ministry,
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and requesting that his name be stricken from the roll of Presbytery .* The request was granted and his name was erased. He died, in New York city, July 14, 1884.+ 15. A. P. VAN GIESON, 1867 -.
The call to the present pastor, Rev. A. P. Van Gieson, was dated August 6, 1867. He began his labors in the church on the first Sunday of October following, and was formally installed as pastor at the stated meeting of Classis, held in the church on the fifteenth of the same month, (October 15, 1867).
SUCCESSION OF ELDERS AND DEACONS. 1716-1892.
The first elders and deacons were doubtless elected by the votes of the male communicants. Such is the re- quirement of the Constitution of the Reformed church now, in the forming of new churches, and such has been the custom from time immemorial.
From this first election until 1747, it is uncertain whether the officers were elected by the members of the church, or by the consistory. The records simply state that from time to time the elders and deacons were in- stalled, and say nothing definite concerning the manner of their election. At a meeting held December 9, 1741, the following action was taken :
" The old and new consistories have thought proper to give order, that every year on the first Tuesday in the month of May, for maintaining order in the Christian congregation, an election be held for choosing elders and deacons and church masters, according to the rules of the Synod of Dort, accord- ing to the wisdom which the Lord our God may continue to give to them."}
* Dr. Scouller's Manual and Records of Churches and Presbyteries.
+ The Courier, Poughkeepsie, July 20, 1884.
# Desem. den 9 dagh hebben de oude en nuwe Kerkenrat Goet Gedocht
om een order te maken om alle yaren een verkising te maken op de eersste
Succession of Elders and Deacons. 1716-1892. 77
This is ambiguous, but rather seems to intimate that the election was to be by the "Christian congregation." In 1747, the record is different, and is as follows :
" Consistory meeting held, and, after prayer, Gysbert Pele and Louwereus Van Kleeck were elected elders, and Pytter Van Kleeck and Pytter La Roy as deacons, and were installed February 8th."*
The record for the years following is of a similar char- acter, and from this it is evident that in and after the year 1747, the election was not by the members of the church, but by the consistory. The elders and deacons already in office chose their own successors. This was one of the grounds of complaint specified by Mr. Gilbert Livingston in his "Grievance" presented to the then ruling consistory in 1790, and referred to on page 69. He urged that the members of the consistory, by electing their own successors, were acting contrary to the require- ments of the Confession of Faith, and usurping a right and privilege which belonged to the church.
No change, however, was made until September 23, 1822, when at a meeting of consistory presided over by the Rev. Dr. Cuyler, the following resolution was adopted, viz :-
" Resolved, That this Consistory are of opinion that the present mode of electing Elders and Deacons ought not to be continued in this church, and, therefore, ask leave of Classis to have the mode of election altered, so that the elections be held by the male members of the church in good standing."
The leave thus asked was granted by the Classis at its regular meeting, held on the day following, and thence-
dingsdagh in de mant van mey om de christelike Ghementen in order te houden om ouderlingen in diyakenen in Kerkmesters te Kisen volligens it Regt van de Sinode van dort, volligens de Kennis die onse Heeren God har blift in te geven.
* 11 Jan. 1747 Kerken-Raadt gehouden en syn na aanroeping van's H. H. Naam verkoren tot ouderlingen Gysbert Pele en Louwerens van Kleeck, en tot Diakenen Pytter van Kleek en Pytter La Roy, en bevestigt 8 Febr.
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forth the elders and deacons were elected by the male members of the church until 1871. In that year, by order of consistory, the female members of the church were invited to take part in the elections, and thence- forth, until 1891, the officers of the church were chosen by all the members, without distinction of sex or age. At the meeting of General Synod held in June, 1891, the Constitution of the Reformed Church was so amended as to restrict the privilege of choosing elders and deacons to "the members of the church in full communion who shall have attained the age of eighteen years " ; and this is the rule which is now in force.
A very large majority of the elders and deacons of the church have been re-elected several times, and, either continuously or with interruptions, have served in their respective offices several terms of two years each. In the succession given below the re-elections are omitted, and the number opposite to each name indicates the date of the first election as deacon or elder.
ELDERS.
Machiel Parmentier,
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