Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 167

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 167

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The following Pastors have served since its or- ganization: Revs. William P. Everett, 1863-65; J. Spencer Kennard, 1865-66; S. W. Foljambe, 1867 ; John Peddie, 1868-71 ; John Love, Jr., 1872-75; Joshua Day, 1876-77; John Humpstone, 1877-82; James Wolfenden, 1883-85.

STATE STREET BAPTIST CHURCH .- This church was organized in 1845, and a meeting-house erected same year, corner State and High streets. Sold to Calvary Baptist Church in 1865.

Pastors: Jacob Knapp, 1846-47; Edwin R. War- ner, 1 847-48; Jabez S. Swan, 1848-49; W. W. Moore 1849-51; Charles B. Post, 1852-54; William Arthur, father of ex-President Chester A. Arthur, 1854-64; T. W. Smith, 1864.

WASHINGTON AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH .- Build- ing, No. 252 Washington avenue, purchased in 1859.

Sold to Roman Catholics in 1866. Pastor: William P. Everett, 1860-64.

WASHINGTON STREET GERMAN BAPTIST CHURCH, on Washington avenue, was dedicated in 1854. Pastors: A. Von Pattkammer, 1857-61; H. Feltman, 1864-69; Wm. Argow, 1870-75; Henry Trumpp, 1877-80; John Jaeger, 1882 to present time.

FIRST AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH .- This was the first African Church formed in Albany, organized in 1820 as the Albany African Church Association. The church edifice was located north side Hamil- ton street, between Grand and Fulton streets. The name First African Baptist Society was taken in 1826. Property sold to Roman Catholics in 1869. Pastors: Nathaniel Paul, 1822-30; Calvin C. Will- iams, 1831; Samuel Treadwell, 1832-33; Thomas Ritchie, 1834; Nathaniel Paul, 1838-39; Jonas H. Townsend, 1843; John Kial, 1844; W. Surrington, 1846; William Garrett, 1849; J. Atkins, 1852; - Hausen, 1855; L. Black, 1859; T. Doughty Miller, 1860-64; John D. Bagwell, 1869. Discontinued.

SECOND AFRICAN BAPTIST CHURCH, organized 1870, Chestnut, near Dove. Pastors: Theodore D. Miller, 1872; Charles Charles, 1873; Henry H. Mitchell, 1879. It is now discontinued.

CATHOLIC.

ST. MARY'S CHURCH .- In the seventeenth century, Albany was the eastern gate to the Iroquois country. Here Catholic missionaries sometimes halted to take breath on their way to the Mohawk villages. Father Isaac Jogues, the martyr of Caugh- nawaga (now Fonda) was here more than once. Here he became acquainted with the good old Dutch minister, Dominie Megapolensis, and found in him a true friend in time of need. No organized body of Catholics is known to have existed here prior to October 6, 1796. On that day a meeting was held at the house of James Robichaux, in con- sequence of which they were formally incorporated. The certificate in the County Clerk's office is signed by Lewis Le Coulteaux and David McEvers, is wit- nessed by Sebastian Visscher and Archibald Camp- bell, and acknowledged before Robert Yates. The first church was built on the same ground since occupied by the second, and by the third or present St. Mary's. A drawing of it from memory was made by the late Peter M. Morange, Esq., and engraved for Munsell's Annals of Albany. The corner-stone was laid in 1797 by Thomas Barry, a prominent merchant of that day. Barry died in January, 1813, and was buried in the old St. Mary's Cemetery on State street, now covered by the Park. His re- mains now rest in the new St. Agnes' on the Troy road. Le Coulteaux was born in France of a noble family. From here he moved to Buffalo, and his name is well known there in connection with a revolt which sprang up in the congregation of St. Louis' Church in that city, suppressed with much difficulty by Archbishop Hughes. Prior to the erection of the first St. Mary's, divine service was occasionally celebrated 'at the old Cassidy home on the corner of Maiden lane and Chapel street; and

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RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.

also in the house of William Duffy in Court street, now South Broadway.

St. Mary's is older than any other Catholic parish in the State, with the single exception of St. Peter's, in Barclay street, New York. For many long years it was the only place this side of Detroit where an

emigrant pushing westward from the great city could bend his head before the august sacrifice. Tradition tells of many distinguished visitors to its shrine, among them such men as Lafayette and Talleyrand. The latter once had his lodgings close by, on the west side of Chapel street and south

ST. MARY'S, THE FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ALBANY. Erected by contributions of Catholics and Protestants in 1798, corner of Pine and Chapel Streets.

of Maiden Lane, in a small, quaint old building recently standing. The tramp of Corning's horses is now heard where the wily brain of the great diplomatist brooded in silence over his fallen fortunes.

The entrance to the primitive St. Mary's was on Pine street. The interior was about fifty feet square. The altar stood on the easterly side. The sanctu- ary was about twelve feet square; the altar plat- form three steps in hight. The pulpit was fixed to the wall at the northeast corner, about midway be- tween floor and ceiling, and near the sanctuary, from which it was reached by a long, narrow stair- case, the lower steps of which came within the sanc- tuary railing. The altar stood against the wall; was of modest, but tasteful appearance; and was inclosed by two wooden columns, surmounted by an oval. About 1822, the same hand to which we are in- debted for the exterior view of the church, graced the space over the tabernacle, and within this oval, by a representation of the three crosses on Calvary. There was a space of about four feet in front of the sanctuary; a range of pews, with an aisle of the same width, on the westerly side, an aisle or passage-way running north and south from the west aisle to the space; and an aisle at the entrance which opened on Pine street. A gallery was reached by a stairway beginning a short distance west of the entrance, and extended along the southern and western walls. The choir with its little organ occupied this western portion of the gallery. This organ, a gift from Mrs.

Margaret Cassidy, is believed to have been the first instrument of the kind ever introduced into Albany. A larger one was afterwards placed in the second church, which still does duty in the third, but so en- larged, remodeled and improved, that for sweetness and effectiveness it ranks among the best in the city.

A piece of marble, discovered when excavating for the present edifice, was undoubtedly the inscrip- tion stone on the first. The following quaint legend was engraved upon it:

[I. H. S.]

[Skull. ] (Cross-bones. ]

Thomas Barry,

Founders.

Louis Le Coulteaux,

E. C. Quinn, Master builder. A. D. 1798.

Another stone found at the same time bore upon its front the figures 1797. Both these stones have been built into the walls of the present church, and show their legends still.

Among the first clergy officiating in this primi- tive little building were Rev. Messrs. Thayer, Whelan, O'Brien and La Valenure. They seem to have been only transient, and their dates cannot be ascertained. It is known that Mr. O'Brien went from here to Canada. Rev. D. Mahoney was here from 1806 to 1807; Rev. James Buyshe in 1808. He died and was buried here. Rev. Mr. Hurley from 1808-9; Rev. Mr. Weddin, 1810-11; Rev. Mr. O'Gorman, 1812-13. He died in New

752

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

York in 1824. Rev. Paul McQuade, 1813-17; Rev. Mr. Hogan, 1819. He afterwards inaug- urated the notable rebellion in St. Mary's, Phila- delphia. Rev. Mr. Farnham attended from Utica in 1820; Rev. Michael Carroll, 1821-22; Rev. Mr. Bulger, 1823. Went from here to Utica, and died in New York in 1824. Rev. Mr. Brennan, 1824; Rev. Dr. Savage, 1825-26, and returned to Cork, Ireland. Rev. Charles Smith had pre- viously been a Methodist Minister. He was Pastor from 1826 to 1836, and had a stormy time of it. The Trustees ruled the church, and Freemasonry ruled in the Board of Trustees.

The first Catholic Sunday-school was initiated in 1828, in the gallery of this first church, on the Pine street side. Its first Superintendent was Mr. Peter M. Morange. Soon after, a day school was opened on the east side of Broadway, a little north of Quackenbush street. The young ladies of the Sunday-school conducted this also, teaching by turns, each two days in the week, until relieved by Mrs. James F. Meline, a singer in St. Mary's choir, who took sole charge. Before long it was deemed opportune to establish an orphan asylum. Sister Mary de Sales (Miss Barber, of Boston, a convert) and Sister Josephine were invited to conduct the institution, and the day school passed into their hands.

That this little church of 1798 must have be- come well crowded at last, is evidenced by the fact that the newspapers of the day refer to it as far too small to contain the congregation. At a sale January 7, 1829, forty-four pews brought $1,475.

The demolition of the old building began on the 14th day of September, 1829. The corner- stone of a second church was laid October 13th, and on the 29th of August, 1830, it was opened for divine service. In the meanwhile the congre- gation assembled for worship in the Lancaster School-house (now Albany Medical College). It is a singular fact, and one that indicates a very ab- normal state of things, that the corner-stone of this second St. Mary's was laid by Freemasons with their peculiar rites. In consequence of this, the Pastor, with a minority of the Trustees, refused to be present at the ceremony.

In preparing the ground for the new structure, it was necessary to dig away a great hill, and to open Steuben street, above Chapel. To push forward this work, members of the congregation contributed teams and personal labor, day after day, under the superintendence of "Yankee White," so called. Many still remember this as a busy and joyous time. One of the subscription lists, still preserved, shows the names of the following distinguished donors: Stephen Van Rensselaer, $100; Charles T. Dudley, $25; Edward C. Delavan, $25; Robert Dunlop, $25; Nathan Sanford, $50; Chancellor Jones, $50; Martin Van Buren, $50. William Mascraft, William Lush, Samuel H. Drake, Jesse Buel, A. Van Vechten, and others, contributed smaller sums.

The corner-stone, besides various coins and newspapers of the period, and some coins also which were evidently memorials rescued from the

ruins of the earlier building, contained a copper- plate with the following inscription:

ST. MARY'S CHURCH, ALBANY.

This stone was laid on Monday, October 12, 1829, by the President of St. Mary's Church, in the presence of the Trustees and a numerous con- course of citizens.

John Cassidy, President: Thomas Geough, Vice- President; John Duffan, Treasurer; James Maher, Secretary; Peter Morange, John Reynolds, Will- iam Hawes, Patrick McQuade, Timothy Hayes, Trustees; Rev. Charles Smith, Pastor; Peers, Master-builder, 1829.

The newspapers were not successful as memorials of the period. No metallic box inclosed them. They were simply deposited in the hollow stone, and when this was broken open, thirty-eight years later, their charred and mutilated remnants did not afford a single entire paragraph which could be de- ciphered.

This second building fronted on Chapel street. It was entered by a high, ungainly flight of steps, very inconvenient at all times, and in winter even dangerous. A small door, also on Chapel street, at the Pine street corner, gave admission to the base- ment, which served as the school-room. A house on Lodge street, adjoining the rear of the church, first used as an orphan asylum, afterwards became the rectory, or pastoral residence. In 1847, when the Diocese of Albany was set off from that of New York, and Bishop McCloskey assigned to its ad- ministration, St. Mary's became his cathedral, and this dilapidated rectory had just respect enough for the future Cardinal not to tumble down upon his head. In truth the church itself was weakly built, and lived out its short term of life very poorly. Its walls had to be secured against falling out by iron straps, and even this security was very unsatisfactory. We cannot apply to the master-builder who put up this second St. Mary's what Emerson says of "the hand that rounded Peter's dome, and groined the aisles of Christian Rome," that "he builded better than he knew." This fellow must have known better.

Its brief period of service, however, was a mem- orable time to Catholics of this region. Its registers record events of deep interest to many families in Albany, and to many now scattered widely and far away. Within its walls resounded many an elo- quent and memorable voice. Many hearts brought their fears, joys and tears to its altar and confes- sionals. Many little feet, since grown weary with more difficult travel, struggled up the steep hill- sides to its schools, and gathered to its festivals, confirmations, and first communions. Bishop Loughlin grew up to manhood within sound of its bell. At 83 Canal street, hard by, General Phil Sheridan was born, and it lived to witness the tri- umphal welcome which Albany gave him at the close of our Civil War. Not a few memorials of the old building still remain. Its altar, tabernacle, sanctuary railing, and stations of the cross still do duty in the basement chapel of the present church. Its bell is in the tower. Its font is preserved in the

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RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.

sacristy and still used, though not for baptizing. A fine large painting of the "Descent from the Cross," which served it for an altar-piece, still hangs above the high altar. It was bought, in 1843, at a sale of the collection of a Mr. Franquinet, of New York.

The Rev. Charles Smith continued to serve St. Mary's (to govern it then was out of the question) until 1836. After him succeeded several transient, or temporary clergymen: the Revs. J. Kelly, G. Par- doe, J. D. Urquhart, Joseph Stokes, and John J. Curtin. Rev. J. A. Schneller, a very learned and most excellent and active priest, was Pastor from 1837 to 1846. He had a stormy time of it. Near the close of his term, and for a brief while after- wards, the Rev. J. A. Kyle and the Rev. Edward Putnam frequently did duty. The latter was a con- vert. In 1846, when the Diocese of Albany was organized, Bishop McCloskey made St. Mary's his cathedral, and governed the parish in person until 1853, assisted by the Rev. Edgar P. Wadhams, af- terwards Bishop of Ogdensburg, and the Rev. Thomas Doran.

In September, 1866, the present Pastor, Rev. Clarence A. Walworth, was assigned to the charge of St. Mary's. The parish was heavily incum- bered, and yet it was absolutely necessary to build another church. The work was promptly begun. A new incorporation was made, under Act of March 25, 1863, changing its title to that of "St. Mary's Church of the City of Albany," and all the church property passed over, by deed, to the new trustees. The use of Association Hall, at the foot of State street, was secured for Sundays. The organ was taken to pieces, and stowed away in the loft of Thomas Behan's store, on Hudson street, below Broadway. By concession of the city, the church lot was extended about twenty feet on the eastern side to the ancient Chapel street line. A meeting of the congregation was called, and a generous subscription started, the names of Thomas Behan and Thomas Noonan heading the list for $500 each. Bishop Conroy and John Tracey after wards gave $1,000 each. A poor blind man, depending on his daily labor (that of flagging chairs) for the support of a large family, subscribed $25, and was one of the earliest to bring the money. The Hon. George H. Thacher, then Mayor of the city, al- though unsolicited, sent $100 (under injunction of secrecy, now violated) promising $100 per annum until the new church should be completed. He was never reminded of his promise, but the remit- tances came for three successive years. After its pews were taken out, the venerable building was made to serve one more good purpose, that of a fair, bequeathing thus to its successor, with a dying blessing, the sum of $11,000 net profits.

The corner-stone of the present St. Mary's was laid on Sunday afternoon, August 11, 1867, with great ceremony, by the Vicar-General, Father Wad- hams. The Rev. Ambrose O'Neill preached the sermon. The contents of this stone are as follows: the city newspapers of Saturday, August 10th; speci- mens of American coinage, obtained from the U. S. Mint at Philadelphia, from a silver dollar to a three-

cent piece; a half-dime, previously deposited under the second church by John McCardle, and a fifty- cent piece of 1867, stamped with his name; a list of all who at this ceremony contributed to the amount of $1; a plan of the interior of the old building; an original subscription book of 1829. All these articles were put into a leaden box, seven inches deep and one foot square, securely soldered, and for further security, the more perishable articles were wrapped in tin-foil. The box contained also a copper-plate, bearing the following legend:

"Prima hic, eodemq. in situ, ecclesia fuit A. D. 1797; secunda vero (qua olim Aedes Cathedralis) A. D. 1829. Hunc Tertia, cura Rev. Clarencii Wal- worth parochi constructæ, lapidem primarium pos- uit Adm. R. EDGAR WADHAMS, Vic. Gen. R. R. Dno. JOANNE CONROY, sedem tenente, Anno xxii. Pii ix Summi Pont. Nostri, ANDREA JOHNSON Præ- side, REUBEN FENTON Gubernatore, et GEORGIO THACHER urbis Præfecto.

" Præcip Fautores: RR. Joan. Jos. Conroy, Joan- nes Tracey, sen., Thos. Behan, Thos. Noonan.

"Nichols & Brown, Arch .; Rob'tus Aspinall et Soc. Fab. Mur; Joan. Parker, Fab. Lign.'

At the top of the plate, and running partly around it, are the words, "Ad honorem Dei Omnip. sub Patrocinio B. Virginis Mariæ," and at the bottom of the plate, "Die xi Aug. A. D. MDCCCLXVII."

The edifice thus commenced was so far com- pleted by February 16, 1868, that its basement could be used for religious services. On Sunday, March 14, 1869, it was solemnly dedicated at high mass by Bishop Conroy, the Vicar-General, Father Wadhams officiating as celebrant. The large altar- stone was consecrated in situ at that time, and car- ries therefore the privileges of a fixed altar. The new font was blessed in December that same year. The solid marble altar in the Lady Chapel, a dona- tion of Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan, the historian, was dedicated by Bishop Wadhams on Saturday, July 2, 1870, and is a privileged altar. In February, 1871, the beautiful stations of the cross, from Munich, were erected by the Bishop of Albany. The two confessionals nearest the altar date from a later pe- riod of the same year.

St. Mary's parish originally included all that part of the Diocese of Albany which lies in the valleys of the Hudson and the Mohawk. Schenectady, Utica, and Athens were among its stations, and its archives show residents of the first two elected into its Board of Trustees. At present it is only one of Albany's twelve parishes. St. John's Church, on South Ferry street, was purchased from the Episco- palians in 1839, and all the southern part of Albany was allotted to this new parish. In 1843, that sec- tion of the city which lies north of the center of Clinton avenue was formed into a third parish, that of St. Joseph, and a new church built on the north- east corner of North Pearl and Lumber streets. Next followed the formation of a parish for the new cathedral, built, in 1852, on Eagle street, which left the jurisdiction of St. Mary's limited on the south by Beaver and Lancaster streets; and finally, in 1858, by the birth of St. Patrick's, on Central ave- nue, the old mother-church was shorn of all her

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

territory west of Knox street. Since then the bound- aries of St. Mary's have remained unchanged.

CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION .- The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, is a superb structure, built of brown sand- stone in that style of architecture known as the Pointed or Gothic. Its form is that of a Roman cross. The exterior produces the impression of great beauty and majesty, the interior that of deep solemnity and devout reverence. Among cathe- drals in the United States it takes high rank. All its interior decorations are characterized by simplic- ity, richness and sobriety, as befitting a cathedral. The walls and ceiling are blocked and finished in imitation of freestone. Pillars, capitals, ribs and bosses represent the same material. The prevail- ing somberness of the interior is relieved by the strong, rich tints of the stained glass windows, especially those in the north and south transepts, and over the high altar; by the burnished brass of the high altar; the white and gold of the four side altars; the polished brass gas standards and brilliant tints of the sanctuary mural decorations. The principal altar was made in Paris of burnished bra s, elaborately wrought, and the other altars of Caen stone.

Since 1883, the church has been adorned with a magnificent set of stations of the cross, painted by that painstaking artist, A. Ertle, of New York City, whose work is emphasized by much originality and strength of treatment.

The corner-stone was laid July 2, 1848, by Archbishop Hughes, of New York, assisted by Bishop, now Cardinal, McCloskey, of New York, the first Bishop of Albany, and other distinguished prelates. Its construction occupied more than four years. The dedication service was held Novem- ber 21, 1852, by the same dignitaries who officiated at the laying of the corner-stone. Its total cost was about $150,000. The architect was Patrick C. Keely, of Brooklyn. In 1882, the cathedral was restored, at considerable cost, under the supervision of A. Ertle, of New York, and a rededicatory ser- vice solemnized by Right Rev. Francis McNeirny, Bishop of Albany, on October 8th of the same year. Right Rev. E. P. Wadhams, Bishop of Og- densburg, the first rector, was the preacher on this occasion.

Exterior dimensions .- The cathedral has a front- age of 95 feet on Eagle street, and a depth of 195 feet on Madison avenue. From water-table to apex of roof is 70 feet, and to top of finished stone spire 210 feet. The twin spire, when completed, will be of same hight.

Interior dimensions .- Nave, 125 feet ; transept, 96 feet; sanctuary, 35 feet square; hight of nave about 60 feet. Seating capacity, 2, 500. Particular attention was given to the acoustic facilities of the edifice, and the result is very satisfactory for pulpit utterances and choral effects.

First Bishop : His Eminence Cardinal John McCloskey, D.D., consecrated March 10, 1844; transferred to Albany May 21, 1847; promoted to New York May 6, 1864 ; created Cardinal, March 15, 1875.

Second Bishop : Right Rev. John J. Conroy, D.D., consecrated October 15, 1865; resigned Oc- tober 16, 1877. Present Bishop: Right Rev. Francis McNeirny, DD .; consecrated April 21, 1872, and appointed Bishop of Albany by right of succession, October 16, 1877. First Rector : Right Rev. E. P. Wadhams, D.D .; appointed Rector, 1852; conse- crated Bishop of Ogdensburg, May 5, 1872. Second Rector: Very Rev. P. A. Ludden, V. G .; appointed 1872, and transferred to St. Peter's Church, Troy, in 1880. Present Rector : Rev. John Walsh; trans- ferred from St. John's Church, Albany, February 25, 1882; installed rector of cathedral, February 27, 1882.

ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, Albany, was founded in the year 1837. The first Pastor was Rev. J. Kelly, and the first place of worship was at the corner of Herkimer and Franklin streets. On July 1, 1839, the present edifice, corner of South Ferry and Dal- lius, was purchased from the Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Paul's Church by the Trus- tees of St. John's Church, and thenceforth used as a temple of Roman Catholic worship. Rev. Father Kelly was succeeded by Rev. J. McDonough, in 1841, as Pastor. He was a man of resolute pur- pose, and an indefatigable worker in the cause of Christianity. Many of the oldest residents down town distinctly remember him and bless his mem- ory. In 1847, the Rev. Patrick McCloskey came from Schenectady to Albany and assumed charge of St. John's, and remained fourteen years. His mission in those early days embraced all the lower portion of Albany, Greenbush, and far out into the country on every side. He died in 1861, univer- sally mourned. His successor was the Rev. Cor- nelius Fitzpatrick, who for several years ministered faithfully to his people. In 1867, Rev. E. Bayard was transferred from St. John's Church, in Green- bush, to St. John's Church in Albany, and Rev. Cornelius Fitzpatrick replaced him in Greenbush.

Needing rest from the onerous duties of an exten- sive mission, the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Albany Diocese located him in Fort Edward, where he is the present Pastor. Rev. E. Bayard remained Pastor of St. John's for several years. He was a man well known for his amiable piety and charitable disposition. He died a few years since while Pastor of Bald- winsville, N. Y. In 1873 the Rev. John Walsh became Pastor of St. John's, which place he re- tained until 1882, when he was made Rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Al- bany. Father Walsh is remarkable as an orator of splendid powers and a devoted priest. In 1882 the Rev. James M. Ludden came from St. John's Church, Utica, where he was Pastor, and became Pastor of St. John's, a position which he most hon- orably and successfully fills to the entire satisfaction of his large and influential congregation.

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 167

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452