USA > New York > Orange County > Monroe > Chronicles of Monroe in the olden time : town and village, Orange County, New York > Part 10
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66 DANIEL N. FREELAND, 1847-1881.
66 THOMAS THOMAS, 1882 -.
The Sunday-school was organized in October, 1819.
The church in the village was dedicated February 15, 1853. Sermon preached by Rev. Wm. D. Snod- grass, D.D., from Ecc. v : 1,-" Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God."
Rev. Hosea Ball was born May 11, 1792; married Sarah Helms of Southfield, New York, September 12, 1817; studied theology with the Rev. Silas Con- stant; came to Monroe in 1824 and supplied the Presbyterian church for two years, during which there was no little religious interest under his min- istry. He organized the Sabbath-school while min- istering here. He preached at the old church at Seamanville, and during his residence in Monroe taught school at Buttermilk Falls five days of the week. He was settled also at Greenburg and Dobbs Ferry, in Westchester County. The latter portion of his life was spent on his estate near South- field, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising, but was often called upon to preach and solemnize marriages among the peasantry, by whom he was highly respected. His sermons and other papers full of interest are in possession of his daughters,
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residing in the village of Monroe, and show him to have been a man of earnestness in his profession and possessed of no mean talent. He died January 1, 1876.
Rev. John Boyd was born December 14, 1762; died at Monroe, 1842. He was married to Margaret Gaston, April 10, 1806, by William Boyd, his brother. He was graduated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1788; licensed to preach the Gospel, December 21, 1791, at Chamberstown ; was or- dained and installed, April, 1794, at Carlisle ; preached at Tuscarora and Falling Water, Virginia, from Octo- ber, 1794, to 1801, for £100 Pennsylvania currency for two thirds of his time; preached as supply for two years; called to Newton and Hardwick, Sussex County, New Jersey, April 13, 1803, for the sum of $250 at each place; resigned 1811. He preached at different places, mostly in New Jersey, until the year 1820, when he went to Monticello, where he preached until 1826, when he came to Monroe. He served this church as pastor until 1834, when he retired and dwelt among his congregation, honored and beloved until the day of his death. His children were Mary, unmarried ; Elizabeth, married to Mr. Frank Wood- hull; Margaret, married to Mr. Thompson of Ha- gerstown, Virginia; Matilda; and John Cumming, who was a twin. He became an eminent physician. The daughters are remembered with their mother, Mrs. Margaret Boyd, as ladies of unusual charms of person and manner. The family lived at the manse on the site of the Brooks mansion till Mr. Boyd built the late homestead in 1823, which was occupied until the death of Mrs. Dr. Boyd in 1896.
Rev. John Jay Thompson was born in Goshen,
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New York, and studied theology with the Rev. Ezra Fisk, D.D. He married Sarah, sister of Nathanael Webb, Esq., elder of the Presbyterian Church, and a well-known teacher and editor. The first settlement of the Rev. Mr. Thompson was at Centreville, Greene County, New York, whence he removed to Monroe in 1836. He served the church with great devotion and fidelity until 1846. During a portion of the time he taught in the public school, where he won the affection of the pupils by his gentleness and scholarship. The esteem in which he is still held illustrates the poet's line, "The law of love outlasts the rusted rod." Removing from Monroe, he taught at Bloomingburg, New York, several years, and died June 12, 1849. His funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. E. D. G. Prime, from the text, " The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart,"- Isa. Ivii: 1. It was a beautiful tribute to a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mrs. Thompson died March 10, 1888. She spent most of the time in Monroe, where she was a true "mother in Israel," de- voted to every good work. Their children were : Mary, wife of C. B. Knight; Sarah, wife of Mr. Stick- ney ; Grace, wife of David Felter; Julia Caroline, editor of "Woman's Work for Women," who died in Philadelphia; J. Howard, who died at Port Byron, New York; Benjamin W., whose biography appears elsewhere, and Margaret Boyd, wife of Rev. C. B. Newton, of Lahore, India.
The Rev. Daniel Niles Freeland was born in Phila- delphia, May 15, 1825. His ancestry on his mother's side were early identified with the history of that city and of the American colonies. His great-grandfa- ther was with Washington during the darkest hours
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of the Revolution, at Valley Forge and the crossing of the Delaware, and his brother was editor of " Niles' Register," the journal published at Baltimore that rendered notable service in supporting the cause of freedom. Another grandfather, Daniel Goodman, was one of the founders and an officer of the Second Presbyterian Church in the days of Whitefield, from whose ministry it sprung.
He attended the preparatory of the University of Pennsylvania under Rev. S. W. Crawford, D.D., and was specially prepared for college by the late Henry D. Gregory, afterwards Vice-President of Girard Col- lege. He entered the university in 1840, and gradu- ated in 1844. He entered Princeton Theological Sem- inary in the same year and graduated in 1847. He was called to the Monroe Presbyterian Church in the fall, and was ordained and installed pastor on March 9, 1848, by the Presbytery of Hudson.
The sermon was preached by the Rev. H. Milne, of Milford, Pennsylvania. The charge to the pastor was given by the Rev. John Newton Boyd; the charge to the people by the Rev. Robert McCartee, D. D., of Goshen, New York.
On the 21st of September, 1848, he was married by the Rev. C. C. Cuyler, D. D., to Mary E., the second daughter of Robert Burwell, of Philadelphia.
He served this church for thirty-four years, being called from it to a pastorate at Pelham Manor, a new enterprise on the Sound. He served this church as pastor for eight years, when, his health failing, he re- signed and entered on a service as stated supply to the churches of Hawthorne and Waldo in Florida. After six years in this field, his sight failing, he re- turned North, resigned active ministerial work and
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entered private life, living among his children, in whose Christian homes he enjoys a serene old age.
Rev. Thomas Thomas, the twelfth minister and third pastor, was born at Averuqueron, Wales. After the usual common-school education, he was prepared for college at Whitestown, near Utica, New York.
He was matriculated at Union College, Ohio, and graduated in 1877. He entered Alleghany Theologi- cal Seminary, taking a one year's course, completing his studies at Union Theological Seminary, New York, taking a two years' course. He received the degree of A. M. from the New York University. He was ordained and installed at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, where he preached seven years. He was called to Monroe in 1882, where he was installed pastor of the Presbyterian church, and after sixteen years of effi- cient service remains intrenched in the love and loyalty of his people. He married Miss Lillie Taylor, daugh- ter of John Taylor, an elder of this church.
A bright cluster of olive plants gather about their table, and are full of promise for the future.
The new Presbyterian church was built in the vil- lage, and the old white meeting-house, at Seamanville, was abandoned to the moles and the bats. The latter had literally taken possession of the attic. The occa- sional appearance of one in the room below was a sign for general inattention to the sermon, particularly on the part of the small boy. The evil one seems to pre- fer that form to that of an angel of light. A swarm of bees usurped part of their domicile one Sunday. They had alighted just under the eaves of the rear of the church the day before. During the service they sent their warriors into the auditorium to investigate the situation. They did not alight on the lips of the min-
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ister, but among his locks, warning him to unwonted earnestness, too. Even the hum of the busy workers failed to produce drowsiness with the habitual sleeper. The dominie thought to balance the account with the bees next day, but found that a neighbor, Austin Miller, had scratched his name on the red siding, which, according to the bee-hunter's code, gave him claim to honey and swarm. So transient are the sweets as well as the glory of the world !
Such of the material of the old building as was available was used in fitting up the basement of the new. The frame was sold to Nicholas Cock and Sons and was moved to Cornwall, for a wagon-maker's shop. The piece of ground left was literally God's acre. For seventy years it had been a cemetery.
" Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree shade,
Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, Each in his narrow cell forever laid,
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep."
Mingling with them are the ashes of one of the pas- tors, of two pastors' wives, and the children of four.
For years this beautiful piece of ground was un- fenced, trespassed upon by wandering cattle and made a potter's field for paupers. One of the pastors, shocked at such a condition of things, circulated a paper and obtained subscriptions for the building of a fence. The stone wall was built by the late Henry Hunter. The granite pillars were procured from the Pierson Granite Works at Ramapo. Iron gates were purchased and put in place to guard the sanctity of the ground. Intrusted with such an heirloom, it be- comes the sacred duty of the congregation to guard and keep it in neatness and order, in memory of those " who are not dead, only gone before."
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A bell was presented by Mr. Lewis H. Roe, of Port Henry, New York, in memory of his father, Genest M. Roe, M. D., who for many years was ruling elder in that church. The bell weighed one thousand pounds, and cost four hundred and fifty dollars. The inscription on the bell is "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sounds." It was hung in the belfry May, 1873. A handsome communion service was pre- sented by a summer visitor and worshiper, Mr. James K. Dunham, who was also an officer of the Broadway Tabernacle under the pastorate of Rev. Wm. M. Tay- lor, D.D. The pulpit Bible was the gift of Mrs. Han- nah N. Freeland, of Philadelphia, mother of the pas- tor of that name. The following have served in the eldership of this church :
ARCHIBALD CUNNINGHAM, JOHN TAYLOR,
SAMUEL GREGORY, J. WARREN HELME,
ANDREW VAN VALER,
S. C. VAN VLIET, JR.,
GENEST M. ROE, M. D.,
JOSEPH YOUNGS,
DAVID SMITH,
GEORGE R. CONKLIN,
JOHN K. ROE,
EUGENE MOGARRAH.
Messrs. Young, Conklin and McGarrah are the present board.
The Methodists very early held religious services in the town. They worshipped in the old mill of Nich- olas Knight, in a room where stood an ancient spin- ning-wheel, says my informant. Its thread and spindle were not inapt reminders of the brittle thread of life and destiny. Sometimes they met on Forshee Hill. They did not erect a church until 1840. It was dedicated in the winter of 1841.
The public mind at that time, as well as business, awoke after a long depression into new life. The
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Erie Railway was organized a short time before, and the track was laid to Monroe. This changed its site from the upper to that of the present village. The Methodists were quick to discern the advantage of their present location.
It started from the first with a numerous and ear- nest membership. The blessing of the Spirit of God has made the church largely instrumental in pro- moting the spiritual welfare of the place, and has contributed many a lively stone to the temple not made with hands. It has given also several of its sons to the ministry, as George Ezray and Seely Tuthill; while several of its clergy, as Rev. Messrs. Hoyt and Hearn, have bequeathed their work to their sons, well remembered here. That church also has had many worthy names on its roll, such as David Bull and Franklin Bull, Walter Roberts, Nathan Strong, Elisha Stevens, Samuel Cooley, and Peter Ball. The church edifice, very plain at first, was remodelled under the pastorate of Rev. D. McCartney, struck with lightning under that of Rev. Mr. Hearn, and is now a model of beauty and conve- nience. The congregation owns a fine manse in the village.
When first organized, Monroe was included in a circuit embracing Vail's Gate and other points. The clergy filled a number of appointments and some- times made their residence elsewhere. Usually there were two incumbents to supply the circuit.
The following are the names of some of the older and best-remembered ministers: Revs. T. F. R. Mercein, N. Humphreys, J. M. Hawkhurst, R. A. Shurter, J. Millard, D. B. Turner, W. Blake, E. Dennis- ton, M. M. Curtis, U. Messeter, S. H. Saxe, D. D. Gil-
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lespie, J. W. B. Wood, R. M. Roberts, D. McCartney, Z. N. Lewis, George Hearn. Some of the more re- cent appointments are Revs. J. B. Hoyt, E. Heroy, and G. W. Downs.
The Society of Friends also early held religious service in the vicinity, first at the house of James Cromwell, for about ten years. The Blooming Grove house was built 1815, that in the Clove about 1780, rebuilt 1820. The separation took place in 1828 when the orthodox severed from the other portion and built a house for themselves. While their num- bers have diminished in the neighborhood of Mon- roe, their young people having entered other com- munions, they still retain their strength in the lower part of the town, where their simple virtues and piety exert a beneficent influence on society.
The Episcopal congregation in Monroe at first worshipped in the Presbyterian, and then in the Methodist Church, building a house of worship in 1869, when it was dedicated by the Right Rev. Henry Potter, D.D., and placed under the care of the Rev. Chas. Babcock, rector at Greenwood and after- terwards Professor of Architecture at Cornell Uni- versity. He was succeeded by the Rev. Henry M. Dows, who served the church for many years, and left a record for scholarship, earnestness, and piety. Its corporate name is Grace Protestant Episcopal Church of Monroe. Its present rector is the Rev. A. H. Ormsbee. The congregation from small begin- nings is pushing its way among older churches, show- ing notable zeal and desire to build up society in the knowledge and life of the Saviour of the world.
The Roman Catholics have long held services in the town, but for many years in private houses or
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halls. At length they purchased the house built by John Jenkins in the village. This they fitted up as a chapel. They gave it the name of the Church of St. Mary's. In 1896 this was removed and a beautiful house of worship was built and con- secrated by Archbishop Corrigan, with the name of the Church of the Sacred Heart.
The church is an ornament to the village, and much is hoped from it in training those of that de- nomination in the ways of truth and uprightness.
Its priesthood have been Fathers Byrnes and Hughes. Fathers Hannigan and Ward officiate at present.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE CAUSE OF TEMPERANCE.
THE temperance cause has had earnest champions in Monroe. We have stated that John Brooks delivered a temperance lecture in Blooming Grove when he was a young man, long before the Washing- tonians or any of the modern reforms were thought of. The venerable man said some resented it, be- cause they regarded it as personal. There were many stills at that time in that town. But Monroe was not without at least one, on the Still Brook, kept by a Mr. Bell. It was not regarded as inconsistent for a Deacon Giles to have a distillery, or a minister of the Gospel to accept a glass of wine from the side- board of a parishioner. We have heard of one divine who would repair to the house of a good deacon after morning service and take what was called " a wee bit " to brace him up for the second, or afternoon, service; and of another who was accustomed to send away his demijohn for what was supposed to be molasses. When the messenger brought it home on a stormy evening, he was asked if he would not step in and have something to keep out the cold. He said, "No, I thank you ; I took a little of the molasses out of the jug." It was not unusual to have such spiritual refresh- ment at funerals and even ordinations. Bills are ex-
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tant- although, happily, not in the archives of a Monroe church - which contain, among the items of expense for such an occasion, a gallon of old Jamaica spirits. What wonder there should be scenes un- worthy such occasions, and cases of intemperance calling for the censure of the church! With such examples in high places, it were not strange if the youth grew up to regard such indulgence as not merely pleasant, but manly. One of the young men said he was startled, on his way from college, to hear the name of his own father quoted in the bar-room in justification of social drinking. But that was a feature of the time. Conscience had not awakened to the enormity of the evil. And yet even then there were those who, like the sons of Rechab, frowned upon it, and did what they could to stay the evil.
For the last sixty years the pastors in the town have been earnest advocates of temperance. It was always advocated on a Scripture basis that "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, at last it stingeth like a serpent, and biteth like an adder." On one oc- casion Rev. Cyrus D. Foss, then Methodist Episcopal pastor at Chester, New York, afterwards bishop, de- livered a memorable sermon in the Presbyterian church, from the text, "Every tree that the Lord hath not planted shall be plucked up," in which he compared the tree of intemperance to the deadly upas, poisonous in root, branch, blossom, and fruit.
A reform club was organized about twenty years since that flourished for a time, winning many from the saloons; and in a pleasant reading-room, fur- nished with books and games, and having discussions every week, much good was done. But it was al-
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lowed to languish and at length come to an end. Yet good came out of it, and some who were reformed stood firm.
The ladies of Monroe have always felt a deep inter- est in the temperance cause, and well they may, for it is usually woman that feels the heaviest weight of the curse, when she sees the strong arm of hus- band palsied, or the boy for whom she has prayed caught in the irresistible threads of the octopus of drink. They have encouraged speakers and attended meetings and bidden every effort to bar the current that has sometimes threatened to destroy all that is fair and promising. They have now an organization of their own, a branch of that society instituted by the late Miss Frances E. Willard, the W. C. T. U., and it is hoped it may save many a victim and throw up such a barrier against the saloon as shall be mightier than a wall of granite. A sanitarium for the application of the "gold cure " has been planted just beyond our border; while we welcome it as a humanitarian institution, it is sad there should be such a need. The true gold cure is the old motto, "Obsta principiis" ("Resist beginnings"), and the still higher one, " Touch not, taste not, handle not."
An incident of the reform club is worth relating. Some of the leading laity and older clergy had been very active, when one of the former playfully said : "We have heard from the old stagers, now let the young colts have a chance," meaning the young men.
This brought out the happy rejoinder from the Rev. George Hearn: "Yes, put up the old horses that have pulled you over the hard, dusty road, and bring out the young team and show up their points.
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Hitch them up, while the passengers rest awhile. The driver takes the reins, the bugle sounds. The colts prance and curve their necks and switch their long tails, but the coach does not move. The driver uses the whip, the hostlers take them by the bit, but they refuse to move in the direction wanted. 'Take them out,' says the driver. 'Give me the old stagers for work.' When they are hitched and the signal is given, off goes the stage amid the cheers of all inside or out." Quite true of other enterprises that advance only when the willing take hold.
CHAPTER XXV.
HUNTING AND FISHING.
E VERY nation and people have their recreations. Such are characteristic of the time and locality. Hunting and fishing are among the most primitive, becoming almost part of the necessary toil. The early settler feels a twofold pressure : that of clearing the forest of dangerous animals, and, being remote from market, the need of getting supplies for his table from forest and stream. Rifle and rod are his indis- pensable companions. Then there was plenty of game. The Dutch navigators declared they saw, from the Half Moon as they sailed up the Hudson, in the forest, lions, unicorns, and other fabulous beasts. The fire-water they drank probably confused their vision and their zoology, as is not unusual. One of the old people said he had seen in the meadow, just above Greenwood, tracks of panther and bear, where they crossed from one mountain to another, and those of wild turkeys as thick as chicken tracks about the hen-yard. Clinton mentions the presence of beavers and their work in constructing their dam. One well- known citizen tells of being pursued by a wolf when sent for the cattle on East Mountain. That leap and that howl, and his wild ride over the rocks, he never forgot. A party were going up to a certain fortune-
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teller's on Rye Hill when a bear met them. They suddenly lost their faith in the supernatural, leaving the witch of Endor to study the stars alone that night and wonder why the heavens were so unpropitious. Ursa Major sometimes put in an appearance in these terrestrial parts, if we may credit the story of the Prim Swamp bear-hunt of a later day. It seems the report was circulated in the village that a bear was seen in the swamp beyond the village, whereupon every huntsman was abroad with gun and pitchfork. A goodly number of dogs and boys followed. A Frenchman called Chevaux de Frise volunteered to go in and drive the animal from his lair. Like the boy Putnam, into the den he crept, then fell back, fol- lowed by the growling beast. Instantly the pack of dogs rushed in. As he wheeled, the little Frenchman grabbed the bear by the long hair on his haunches; then followed, said my informant, one of the wildest battles ever seen. The dogs yelped, the bear growled, the Gallic hunter was swung right and left in a wild tussle. One old man cried, "Hold him ! hold him !" then threw away his gun and fled. When the bear pre- sented a vulnerable side where he could be shot with- out injury to his brave antagonist, Mr. David Knight drew a bead on him and laid Bruin low.
Panther and wild-cat would often steal down from the mountains where they denned and seize a shoat or calf, when the whole neighborhood would turn out to hunt them to their lair. Even the women were good shots, and knew how to defend their poultry-yards from possum and hawk. Sly Reynard would occasion- ally depredate upon the harem of the old gray goose, perhaps killing the " very one she was saving to make a feather bed "; then there would be a fox-chase in 21
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earnest,- no "purp and anise-seed affair," but a wild tear around Pedlar Hill and Woodcock, resulting in the trophy of a red or a silver pelt. Deer were not infre- quent in the forests at quite a late period. In hunting these beautiful animals, it is related of one that he was so excited upon seeing a splendid buck approach, that he snatched his ramrod and stuck it into a log and dropped his rifle, being too excited to fire. Another was posted on one of the shores of Mombasha to watch for a deer, while others would drive him into the lake from the other side. As a fine buck came swimming toward the former huntsman, he attempted to seize him by the horns, when the agile beast lifted him on his antlers and tossed him headlong into the thicket, with his suit nearly torn from his body. Such were some of the sports and hair-breadth escapes of those stalwart men and women of old Monroe.
It is not singular that Izaak Walton should have many disciples in this region. For, as we have seen, there was much water there. The lakes and brooks were stocked with fish even when the Indian roamed the forest. He speared the salmon, as he leaped the falls of the Ramapo, and from his birch canoe enticed perch and pike to ingenious snares. The surveyor speaks of a trout-brook, near Sugar- loaf, where was an Indian settlement; so that these speckled beauties antedated the white man. Pick- erel and black and rock bass were an importa- tion of recent date. When Mr. Jonah Brooks caught his first four-pound bass, he insisted upon going home, because it was glory enough for one day. With what devotion many followed this apostolic avocation, even the dominie, of whom a wag said he always knew when his barrel of pork was out, for he would see him with his rod on his shoulder!
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