USA > New York > Orange County > Walden > Anniversary of the First Reformed Church, Walden, New York, October 1st and 2d, 1893 > Part 2
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The choice of a successor did not linger, but at once, Novem- ber 20, 1841, a call was prepared under the presiding of the Rev. J. B. Ten Eyck, upon the Rev. Charles Whitehead, then pastor of the Presbyterian church of Fishkill. The salary named was $600, with house and barn ; and Mr. Whitehead declined,
remarking frankly that the figure was inadequate, the Consistory receiving the word as a Christmas message on December 25th. A congregational meeting was called which recommended extra subscription for two years. The movement succeeded, Mr. Whitehead signified acquiescence with $700 salary, and the official routine was consummated with remarkable speed. On May 10, 1842, Mr. Ten Eyck met with the Consistory again, the call was renewed with alteration ; Classis in special session at Walden approved the call ; Mr. Whitehead was present, signi- fied his acceptance, was examined in theology, and received. Then, forgetting, we fear, the law of three Sundays' publication of the name, the reverend body proceeded to installation, the Rev. F. H. Vanderveer presiding, and the Rev. J. T. Demarest preaching the sermon from Ezekiel 37:1-14. So a single day saw the entire official procedure from Consistory's convening to consider a call, to the benediction by the pastor at the close of installation. It is doubtful whether such swiftness has a rival in Classical records. Already on the second Sunday of April Mr. Whitehead had begun his work, but he now preached an intro- ductory sermon from II Cor. 2:16. Then and thus began a pastorate of seven years, remembered doubtless by many here to-day as peculiarly happy. It was a period of very con- siderable progress numerically. In 1843 the record is 70 families and 79 members ; in 1849 it is 85 families and 142 members. One hundred and twenty-nine communicants were added to the church, an average annually of 18; 63 of them on confession, an average of 9. The Consistory was almost at once, September 5, 1842, enlarged to the usual number still maintained, four Elders and four Deacons. Among the new Elders of the time were Mr. Abraham B. Rapalje and Mr. Alex- ander Kidd, again and again elected, and Mr. Peter B. Cromwell, bringing from Berea church experience in the office, and serving some time as Treasurer. Among the incidental changes of the time was the substitution for the bass viol of a small melodeon played first by Dr. A. H. Thompson, then by Mr. George Crom- well ; also the succeeding of Mr. David Crist to Mr. David Tears as Chorister ; and the succession of another sexton, Mr. John V.
S. Keaeker. Ine Sunday-school received marked attention. The superintendents seem to have served for briefest terms, and not always by formal election : among them the pastor himself, also Mr. John Salter, who conducted a private school during the week in the Lecture Room, and in longer and repeated service, Mr. John J. Stewart. There were also lady superintendents, Mrs. Charles Whitehead, and then Miss Sarah Millspaugh. The Consistory well recognized its authority and responsibility in appointing a "committee to visit the school each month and examine the scholars on the subjects of proof recom- mended by the Sunday-school Union of the Reformed Dutch Church." Even in that day also the Consistory wrestled with the stern problem of the use to which the Sunday-school room- always unhappily styled "the basement "-might be put. There were reverence, hospitality, and economy in a resolution that only religious or church meetings be held there, or others as permitted by the Consistory-in which latter case they should say at whose expense the fuel and lights must be. One or two items as to this are of interest : significant of the times is the refusal of the room in 1844 for an anti-slavery lecture by unanimous vote excepting that of the member suggesting it ; in 1849 it was accorded Mr. John B. Gough for a temperance lecture. In temporal matters the church life was not now an easy one. The parsonage had been built, but was not all paid for. On June 6, 1842, the amount due upon it appears to be $iooo. A year later other accounts have made the church debt $2110. This was finally cleared away in 1844 by subscriptions of nearly $600, a claim relinquishment by Mr. Neafie of nearly $150, and the assuming of the balance, $1400, by Mr. Jesse Scofield.
Further, the original matter of the building account needed some little adjustment. Just why does not appear, but a new deed was executed in 1842 to Mr. Scofield, conveying to him with certain provisos all unsold pews in consideration of the amount due him April 1, 1840. This large proprietorship did not, how- ever, pass entirely approved. Some suggestion there was that it lowered the sense of congregational rights and retarded prosperity. A certain alienation from the church life, starting from this idea,
CHARLES WHITEHEAD
was soon checked, however, by personal and Christian conference, a result recorded by the Consistory with pleasure and the added wish, "May the God of love ever bestow upon us his guardian in- fluence, and enable us to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." It is Mr. Whitehead's expression, for the first three pastors until 1888 kept the record, with briefest exceptions under the hand of Augustus F. Scofield, George T. Van Arsdale, John D. Coe, Joseph G. Millspaugh, and T. E. Newkirk, and though assisted by clerks during session. And the comments from the pastoral and personal standpoint as above are happy amid the prosaic story of business affairs : as must also have been in the sessions the reading of religious selections in vogue at certain times. Despite the financial vexations, we are constrained to be- lieve this second pastorate a time not merely of apparent growth but as well of distinct spirituality and of a unified and earnest church life. Mr. Whitehead had the hearty sympathy of his people, and he roused their deep regret when, on March 12, 1849, he told the Consistory of a call to the Reformed Church at Hous- ton and Green Streets, New York, and asked their union with him in request to Classis for a dissolution of their relation. The Rev. J. B. Ten Eyck was present, the action was voted, and Classis dis- solved the connection, April 17th, and his retirement was recog- nized by the Consistory in resolutions strongly appreciative of him.
The Rev. Charles Whitehead was born in 1801, lived in early life in Philadelphia, was graduated at Dickinson College in 1823 and at New Brunswick Seminary in 1826, and was at once licensed by the Classis of Philadelphia. His first charge was a Presbyterian Church at Batavia, N. Y., then in order the Reformed Church of Hopewell, N. Y., the Second Reformed of Somerville, N. J., again a Presbyterian Church at Fishkill, N. Y., then at Walden, thereafter the Houston Street Church, the Second Reformed of Poughkeepsie, and finally the Washington Heights Church from 1853 to 1861. From 1861 until his death he was Chaplain of the New York City and Roosevelt Hospitals. His death occurred just twenty years ago. On a visit at Amboy, N. J., in 1873, he was administering the communion in the Presbyterian Church of that place. The congregation had just sung, and he
was commenting on the hymn prior to the distribution of the bread ; he began to repeat "One sweetly solemn thought," his voice failed, his hand fell, and, guided to a seat, he was not, for God had taken him. One writing of it a few days later, said of him thus : " Mr. Whitehead was not in the usual sense a learned or a great man, but he was in every sense a holy man. His dignified presence, his cultivated voice, his winning ways, made him an attractive and popular speaker, and his fervent faith and love of Jesus spoke in every word and ges- ture. No one seemed to carry his hearer nearer the Throne of Grace when he prayed, no one seemed to bring Christ so close to the view of the suffering and the dying when he talked to them of atoning love. He was eminent as a pastor. He was close to his congregation in church and at home, in joy and in sorrow, and time or absence made no weakening to the ties that bound him to his old parishioners. All the country side loved him." Another has written of him in the same light : "Of winsome manners, affable, sympathetic, gentle and refined, his social spirit and pious experience made him pre-eminently a 'son of consolation.' His mind was well-balanced, cultivated, and healthy. His preaching was strictly evangelical, practical, and adapted to the intelligent congregations which he served. He made no pretensions to oratory, learning, and profundity, but he 'rightly divided the word of life' and acceptably filled some of the choicest pulpits of his denomination. Nearly forty years of experience as a pastor fitted him admirably for that ministry to the sick, the suffering, and the dying which occupied the last twelve years of his life. His presence did good like a medicine, and his tender sympathies, cheerful face, and hopeful spirit cheered many a weary one, comforted many a sad soul, and guided many an inquirer. The blessing of many a dying one rested upon him."
In seeking a successor to Mr. Whitehead the church passed through perhaps its most trying experience. There were many candidates named : a list of eight is extant in the writing of Mr. Whitehead, recommended by the leading divines of the church, Drs. Milledoler, Wyckoff, Hardenbergh, and De Witt. But thought had turned at once toward the Rev. William Brush of Guilford.
He preached, as, we imagine, did also the Rev. D. McL. Quack- enbush. A meeting of the congregation gave only a majority vote for Mr. Brush ; the call was made, but, in the words of the record, "owing to some difficulties arising in the congregation the call was not accepted." Various indications there are of this as a critical time : a letter of Mr. Brush extant admits some read- ing between the lines ; the Consistory had occasion to defend themselves against some criticism of their course. But the minority yielded : God's will guided through the test to the tri- umph : the Great Consistory assembled, and after a brief prayer- meeting voted an approval of Consistory's action and a wish for renewal of the call. A second time it was presented and by a committee drawn from the former opposition ; but a second time Mr. Brush declined it; and thought turned elsewhere. The Rev. Martin V. Schoonmaker, of East New York, preached on the first Sunday of July, 1849 ; the families of the congre- gation were waited upon-the wiser plan-and their approval gained. Thereupon a call was made, July 5, 1849, the Rev. J. B. Ten Eyck presiding, was approved by the Classis of Orange on July 17th, and accepted. It named a salary of $700, which later was gradually increased to $rooo, with the parsonage prop- erty. Mr. Schoonmaker began his services on the first Sunday in August, and was installed on August 28th. The sermon was preached by the Rev. William Cruickshank from Eph. 4 : 8-11, and a pastorate began, memorable by reason of its duration, thirty- nine years, covering three quarters of the entire history of the church up to this 55th anniversary. It saw the church advance from a small and comparatively weak body to one large and with sub- stantial strength. Growing with the community and with faith- fulness of ministry, the church saw long period of progress and of the grace of God. In 1849, 85 families were reported ; in 1863 and until 1874, 100 is the number given ; thereafter for many years 80 is the annual statement ; in 1888, when the pastorate closed, there were about 115. Not a little of this increase was from the English Dissenter element entering the community with English industry during the first decade, added to thereafter and earnestly enlisting with their adopted church. In 1849 the membership is
reported as 142 ; its increase was gradual and a little fluctuat- ing until the highest number is reached in 1886 of 218, 207 being reported in 1888. To the membership during the whole time 601 were added, an average of 15 a year ; of them 395 were on confession of faith, an annual average of 10. On four occasions were there especially large additions of confessors, larger than any either earlier or later in the entire history ; in May, 1858, when there were 18, among them three later honored elders, E. W. Knapp, J. V. Tears, and Henry Suydam ; in Feb- ruary, 1876, when there were 16; in February, 1882, 16 again ; in February, 1886, 31, the largest of all. Into the Consistory came a long and loyal line of men, many of them oft elected and in their very names bringing to remembrance the years' history. Among those of them gone to their reward were Ebenezer W. Knapp, a supporter in spirit, word, and deed, never found wanting at the call of the church, noble-minded and generous ; Joseph G. Millspaugh, for twenty years consecutively in the Board, and amid his constant activities its Treasurer from 1858 to 1876 ; John V. Tears, faithful steward, sturdy churchman, true man ; John C. Scofield, the third in line of that surname to serve offi- cially and efficiently ; and many more whose names you know almost as well, and whose works do follow them. And among the living some who have gone to other church homes, some who are our strong dependence still to-day.
Through so long a pastorate only the most compact review is possible. Marked by trials often incident to church life, it was essentially an era of good-will and good report. During the first decade, 1849-1859, the current of church life ran so quietly that our attention is arrested rarely by movement out of usual routine. There was succession in the sextonship at intervals and interest- ing mainly for the almost amusing meagreness of the salary which seems to have been satisfactory. The annual compensation, beside the use of a pew, at first $25, became $30, then $35 on condition that the church be swept and dusted each month ; later and larger increases, we are sure, were not without corre- spondent growth in the suggestions of duty. One long term in the office deserves mention, that of Mr. James H. McCann, who
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MARTIN V. SCHOONMAKER
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continued in the service from 1856 for twenty-six years. There was succession likewise in the conduct of the music, the Choris- ter, Mr. David Crist, retiring about 1855 to be succeeded by Messrs. Henry Cromwell and Harvey Trickett, and in the early sixties by Messrs. D. W. Rapalje and William Latourette, Messrs. Trickett and Rapalje also officiating in order as organists. The Consistory took a commendable interest in the matter, voting its thanks to the Chorister, assisting the choir enlistment, arranging the gallery to their convenience, and finally approving the pur- chase of a new instrument. In 1859 the momentous question came, as to a so-called " Organ Melodeon." After a first adverse decision it was purchased, and from its introduction for several years was played by Miss Evelina Cromwell.
Some history, perhaps trivial, clings about the Lecture Room in this period and later. The Singing School's request for the room is perennial and with decision divided ; sometimes it was given, sometimes refused ; sometimes the society, sometimes the church, paid the incidental expenses. Significantly an anti- slavery lecture was admitted in it in 1854, an idea defeated ten years before. The records indicate a careful spiritual supervision. In 1858 the communion appointments, which had been fixed in 1846 for the first Sunday of each season, were made for the days of present usage, in May, August, November, and February. And the church had somewhat of out-station, the pastor being re- leased from second service twice a month for visit to the St. Andrews and Wallkill neighborhoods.
Temporal matters of the period demand little comment. The burial-ground,-laid out in 1846-had begun to be a care and a property blemish, to continue so until improvement forty years later. It had a wall at the foot ; it was surrounded by a fence as was the immediate church site, and also the parsonage --- all removed in later years. An addition to the parsonage was suggested as early as 1859, not to be accomplished, however, until twelve years later. In the same year also a committee was appointed to effect, and doubtless did so at once, the lowering of the pulpit in the church. The continued interest of Mr. Jesse .Scofield was evidenced in gift for other routine improvement in
1856. And a year later he died, at time not distant from the death (1857-8) of two men in the Acting Consistory, Mr. A. B. Rapalje and Mr. J. G. Woolsey. Two years later there was auction sale of such pews as he still had held from the early adjustment. Somewhat has been said of the vital relation of Mr. Scofield to this church. It was felt and acknowledged by the Consistory, who in resolutions of 1844, apropros of the church building, spoke of their gratitude and affection, his kindness and liberality ; and in resolutions on his decease, record him as the church's principal founder and liberal supporter, owning his wise counsels, his prompt liberality, his interested, faithful, and zealous membership. And to this day the church holds him in highest memory. Then as he leaves the church on earth, he leaves for it this word :
"To my two sons, William H. Scofield and Augustus F. Scofield :
"I herewith place in your hands the sum of Five thousand dollars, ($5000,) to be retained and held by you, or the survivor of you, upon this special Trust and confidence, that you will from time to time invest the same and keep the same invested, in good securities, and in your discretion to apply the yearly income thereof in keeping the Reformed Dutch Church Edifice (in the village of Walden) and the premises attached and thereunto be- longing, in good repair ; and if you should deem it necessary at some future time, in your discretion, to apply the whole or any part of the principal thereof to the use of said church .- This sum of money being now delivered to you and separate from my Estate, and it is not to be deemed or taken as a part of my Estate, and you are not to be accountable to the said church, the minister, the Elders, or Deacons, thereof, or the present or future Consistory, or to any future trustees thereof, for the application you may deem it proper to make of the same, nor for any loss of the same by reason of any investments you may make thereof or in any other manner whatsoever.
"[Signed] JESSE SCOFIELD.
" May 6, 1847."
The mention of the matter compels the later story of it at once. On the death of Mr. Scofield it appeared that the gift named had not been separated from his estate and given to his sons as defined in the writing. Having determined upon it and recorded it, delay in legal action bade fair to defeat his intention; the estate was intact without valid claim upon it in the matter. Well aware of their father's intention, however, in sympathy with it, and conscientiously observant of it, Mr. Augustus F. Scofield, Mrs. Lavinia L. Parmly, and Mrs. Frances Neilson, his son and daughters, voluntarily contributed the amount from their shares of the estate, and actually created the Fund of $5000 held in trust for the church. It was thus held in the family and its ad- ministration unreported to the Consistory until the death in 1890 of John C. Scofield, member and one time Elder of this church, son of Augustus F. and grandson of Jesse Scofield. In the settle- ment of the affairs of John C. Scofield and of his mother who died in 1889, the widow of Augustus F. Scofield and at the time still a member of this church, an agreement was reached between Mrs. Lavinia L. Parmly, an original contributor, and the heirs, Mrs. Ellen S. Betts, Mrs. Catharine D. W. Banning, and Mrs. Lila M. Scofield, daughters and daughter-in-law of Mrs. A. F. Scofield, and this church, whereby the Fund was transferred to the Con- sistory as Trustees, becoming the property of the church and under its administration, under conditions that the principal be kept intact, and the income be used for property repair and im- provement. This final and very acceptable action in the matter was recognized by the Consistory in a resolution of thanks tendered each individual participating.
The second decade of Mr. Schoonmaker's pastorate was marked by considerable property improvement. From 1860 dates that row of evergreens to protect the church door from the sweeping winds of winter. As early as 1861 there was some fault found with the church bell, and in 1864 it was replaced by the present one at a cost of $400. About the same time the church sheds and the parsonage barn were removed to their present locations, and more land was added by gift to the property. The call for money for repairs was constant, and finally a matter
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vi extensive renovation, suggested first in 1862, was undertaken. In June, 1867, a committee appointed in December of the pre- ceding year reported a subscription list of $2500 obtained : it was at once decided to proceed, and during the summer the work was done; the frescoing of the audience room, placing of gas fixtures, lowering of the pulpit a second time, renovating and refurnishing of the Lecture Room and other minor improve- ments, the whole reported in March, 1868 as costing $4000, of which $1320 were still unpaid, a debt not entirely cancelled until three years later, in 1871. Indirect methods of raising funds were quite in vogue; Consistory did not hesitate to hint their needs to the ladies. Yet we meet at this time, 1867, on the other hand, a resolution by that body deprecating a certain method just occurrent of raising funds for a destitute family, and admonishing members for concern therein. Current maintenance also proved some burden, in spite of report in 1868-9 that all seats are rented and more room needed. The second service apparently was not fixed in its appointment ; at times it was in the afternoon, at times in the evening ; sometimes the hour was left at the pastor's option ; and always the problem of proper lighting was in point. Spiritual interests were definitely pressed upon and by the Consistory, and wider affiliations were not for- gotten in the national Fast Day of war time, the last Thursday in September, 1861 ; and in a gift of $200 in 1864 to the endowment of Rutgers College.
The third decade of this pastorate begins the life of the church as a corporation. The denominational question of a name change had come to definite decision in the General Synod in 1867 when the old title, "The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church " was changed to the new "The Reformed Church in America," with the word "Dutch " permitted in brackets. Our Consistory at once styled our body in accordance therewith ; and in 1870, February 14th, the organization was incorporated, an action strangely delayed during all precedent years, under the title, somewhat ambitious and yet perhaps verbally exact, "The First-Reformed Church of America in Walden, N. Y." In March the corporate seal was adopted. And coincident with the incor-
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poration a new form of pew deed was adopted and accepted by the pew owners of the church, serving still to perpetuate a system of the past, established really as a form of original subscription. The important material improvement of this decade came early. The old debt had hardly been removed when parsonage enlarge- ment became a definite idea. In September, 1871, a congrega- tional meeting authorized for the parsonage, an addition of sixteen feet on the south side and a French roof. Messrs. Josephus Terbell, M. K. Hill, and Sylvanus Clineman were appointed a committee in charge, and $450 were at once subscribed. The work was done that autumn, and almost a year later the total cost was reported as $1800, of which $900 had been paid. The deficit lingered for years, lessened by $300 from the ladies in 1876, but added to otherwise, until in 1879 all notes were paid, accounts cancelled, and the church reported at the Spring meeting of Classis again free from debt. And later in the same year repairs on the church property were effected at a cost of about $500, approximately secured at once. As the period advanced (in 1876) Mr. Joseph G. Millspaugh retired from his long service as Treasurer, and was succeeded by Mr. John V. Tears, who held the office until his death fourteen years later. In the music matter also there was some transition; from 1869 and until 1884 Mr. Theron L. Millspaugh was Chorister, and he and the choir received repeated official testimony of appreciation. Mrs. Susan M. Bray succeeded Mrs. Evelina Cromwell Knapp at the organ in 1872, and continued with it until 1881 ; and in 1874 our excellent "Hymns of the Church " was substituted for the old " Psalms and Hymns " collection in our worship. Amid other details of service, for some reason, in 1871 a day of Humiliation and Prayer was appointed : in 1876 monthly union temperance meetings were arranged : the week of prayer service, also, through these times and until IS82, continued a union assembly with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of the house of worship in 1877 report is made that all eligible seats are taken.
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