Civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., Part 90

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : Munsell
Number of Pages: 1360

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In 1868, this parish purchased a suitable and commodious house for a rectory.

After a long and useful pastorate, Dr. Partridge died April 8th, 1883, and was succeeded by the present Rector, Rev. James H. Darlington. There were 400 communicants and 450 Sabbath-school scholars (July, 1883).

Rev. ALFRED HINSDALE PARTRIDGE was born at Hatfield, Mass., Dec. 14, 1811. He belonged to the celebrated Dwight family of Hatfield, and was a descendant in the eighth gen- eration from Deacon Cotton Partridge. He first studied in the Academy at Hadley, and then entered the General Theo- logical Seminary, New York, and grad. in June, 1838. He was made a deacon at St. Mark's Church, New York, July 1st, 1838, and a presbyter at St. Matthew's Church, Bedford, N. Y., July 20, 1839.

At the latter church, he was assistant to the Rev. Samuel Nichols for one year, but at the end of that time was him- self called to the rectorship, and hield that position for 16 years. While there, his great activity is shown by the fact of his organizing three new churches in as many different neighboring villages, holding the initiatory services under the trees. In May, 1855, he was called as Rector of Christ

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

Church, North Brooklyn. The church had been organized in 1846, being an offshoot of St. Mark's; and, when Dr. l'artridge eame, worship was held in a small frame build- ing moved from South Sixth st. to its present site, and called Christ Church in the Fields. This was afterwards sold for just $100.

Twenty-eight years seem a long time to remain in the rectorship of one church, but it is a short time in which to accomplish such great results as Dr. Partridge aecom- plished.

The rapid settlement of the neighborhood, and its selec- tion as a place of residence by a superior class of people, the general esteem in which the Rector was held, and his liberal and evangelical views with regard to church matters, drew many who had formerly been members of other congrega- tions to unite with Christ Church. After 28 years' faithful service, Dr. Partridge died April 8, 1883.

Rev. JAMES H. DARLINGTON, born in Brooklyn, 1856; grad. Univ. New York, A. B., 1877; A. M., Princeton, 1879; and Prineeton Theol. Sem., 1880; memb. N. Y. AAcad. of Sciences, 1877; located in Brooklyn, 1881; author of lectures on Amer. Literature, pamphlet on Church Government, ete .; Rector Christ Ch. since May 1st, 1883.

St. Paul's, E. D .- In the year 1846, the Rev. S. M. Haskins, Reetor of St. Mark's, having obtained assistance from Trin- ity Church, New York, and other sources, eoneeived the project of commencing Sunday-schools and regular church services, once a Sabbath, in the upper part of Grand street, Williamsburgh, and in the neighboring village of Maspeth. From this beginning, both this church and St. Saviour's, Maspeth, date their existence. The Rev. Wm. Walsh, for a time. took charge of both stations, but subsequently devoted himself to the church at Maspeth, which was first built. He was succeeded in Williamsburgh by the late Rev. George W. Fash, at that time associated with Mr. Haskins in the man- agement of St. Mark's parochial school. On the Sth of May, 1848, St. Paul's Parish, Williamsburgh, was duly organized, and Mr. Fash elected its first pastor. Services until May, 1850, were held in a school-room over a drug store in Grand street, one door from the corner of Graham ave. In 1849, two lots of ground were purchased by the parish, on the eor- ner of South 2d and 12th streets and Union ave. In May, 1850, the congregation removed to more commodious quar- ters in Franklin Hall, corner of Graham ave. and Remsen st., and contracted for the erection of a house of worship. But, becoming financially embarrassed, and compelled to vacate their previous quarters, they met in the basement of the Lu- theran Church, corner of Graham ave. and Wyckoff st., where their wants were supplied from Sabbath to Sabbath by various elergymen. April 30th, 1851, the Rev. Ilenry Floy Roberts was elected Rector, and, by his exertions, the building project was revived, the edifice completed at a cost of $1,200, and opened for publie worship on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, 1851, although it remained during the winter un- plastered; and, not until Christmas was it warmed and made comparatively comfortable by a $20 stove. In 1852, by the help of Trinity Church, New York, St. Paul's was free from debt, and the building completed. In July, 1854, Mr. Roberts resigned his charge, and the Rev. Edmund Embury entered upon the rectorship, Sept. 1st, but, in consequence of ill-health, resigned in April, 1856. He was succeeded, October, 1856, by Rev. Wm. A. Maybin. Meanwhile the church had been enlarged by the addition of a chancel, and had been newly and tastefully furnished. The parish now received from Mr. Barnet JJohnson a gift of five lots, valued at near $5,000, on the corner of Penn and Marcy aves., on which the corner-stone of a new edifice was laid Sept. 5th,

1860, and the church opened for divine service on Advent Sunday, Nov. 23d. 1861. Its cost was $24,760.

The Reetors sinee 1862 are as follows : Revs. John W. Clark, 1862-3; David F. Lumsden, 1863-'5; F. C. Wainwright, 1865; Ed. R. Atwill, 1865-'7; Wm. A. Maybin, 1867-'70; Dr. Fox, 1870-'1; Newland Maynard, 1871-'4.

In 1866, the floating debt was paid off through the liberal- ity of sister churches in New York and Brooklyn; and the free-seat system, which had been in foree since 1853, was abolished. In July, 1883, there were 225 communieants and 204 children.

Rev. NEWLAND MAYNARD, D. D., born 1839, in Toronto, Ont .; grad. Upper Canada Coll. and Berkeley Theol. Inst. Ct., 1869; located Staten Island, 1871; author of 25 Lectures on Foreign Lands; eleeted 1879 Fellow of Royal Hist. Soe. of Gt. Britain; rec'd gold medal for lectures on Sacred Art and Mediaval Architecture.

St. James' Church, E. D. (colored), was commeneed in 1846, and worshiped first in a small building in South Third st., near Ninth st .; later (about 1855), they moved to Fourth st., near South Eighth, at which time the Rev. S muel V. Berry (colored) was their Rector. Afterwards the Rev. Mr. Monroe (eolored) became Rector, who resigned, however, in May, 1859, and went to Africa. During this year, the frame building in Remsen st., latterly used by this congregation, was purchased for them by the Convocation for Chureli Ex- tension in Kings County. For a time, the services were kept up by the neighboring elergy, and by lay reading. The church was afterwards sold, the congregation disbanded, and the money appropriated, by order of the Bishop, to a colored church in South Brooklyn.

Calvary P. E. Church, E. D., South Ninth and Eightlı streets, organized Jan. 23, 1849, owed its existence in a great measure to the Rev. Charles Reynolds (at that time Reetor of Christ Chureh), and to Mr. William G. Dunn, the senior war- den. To meet the spiritual destitution of the northern part of Williamsburgh, the use of Lexington Hall, corner of Grand and Third streets was secured, services were held, and a church established in that part of the village. After a time Rev. Mr. Payne's services were engaged, and Odd Fellows' Hall, corner of North First and Third streets, was seeured as the place of assembling. Rev. Robert J. Walker was his suc- eessor, followed by the Rev. B. F. Taylor, and he by Rev. George Timlow. In 1851, lots were purchased on North Fifth street, and in the following year a small church edifice erected, which was consecrated on April, 16, 1853, by Bishop Wainwright. Rev. Samuel W. Sayres was Reetor from Sept. 1852, to October 15, 1856. His successor was the Rev. John P. Bansman; he was succeeded by Rev. Henry F. Roberts, who resigned on May 1, 1860, after a service of two years. In July, 1860, the Rev. Francis Peek entered upon his duties as Reetor: and during the early part of his administration a step vital to the welfare of the parish, was its removal from North Fifth street to its present location, where a commodious church edifice and a better neighborhood laid the foundation of future success. Mr. Peck resigned the Rectorship in Feb- ruary, 1882, after nearly twenty-two years faithful service, and was succeeded by the Rev. H. R. Harris, in April of the same year. The church had (July, 1883) 300 communi- cants.

The Sunday-sehool, which was established in the early his- tory of this church, had for its first superintendent, Mr. Wmn. G. Dunn. Present number of seholars, 460; volumes in li- brary, 675.

Rev. Francis Peck was succeeded in 1882, by the present Reetor, Rev. H. Richard Harris. In July, 1883, there were 30 communicants and 460 Sunday-school scholars.

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ECCLESIASTICAL ORGANIZATIONS.

Church of the Ascension (Greenpoint). In the fall of 1846, ¿ev. John W. Brown, of Astoria, Rev. Chas. Reynolds, of 'hrist Church, North Brooklyn, and Rev. John C. Brown, ar- anged for the holding of divine service in Greenpoint, ac- ording to the ritual of the Protestant Episcopal church. In October, the first service was celebrated by Rev. John C. Brown, in the parlor of Mr. David Provost's residence. Under Ir. Brown's guidance as a missionary, a room was forthwith tired, supplied with furniture from Astoria, and services vere regularly commenced. December 20, 1846, the parish vas organized, and incorporated Sept. 28, 1847. In the sum- ner of 1847, the services were conducted by Rev. Michael Schofield, who had recently become associated with Rev. J. W. Brown of Astoria, and a flourishing Sabbath-school was ulso gathered under Mr. Wm. Mulligan, a layman of Astoria. After a few months, Mr. Schofield was succeeded by the Rev. Henry Bartow, who resigned in 1848. The Rev. Robert J. Walker, was next appointed, in November, 1848, resigning in March, 1850, in order to devote his whole attention to Cal- vary church, Williamsburgh, where he had already been of- ficiating in addition to his Greenpoint duties. In May, 1850, che Rev. Thomas Clark was called to the rectorship at Green- point, which he filled until his death in August, 1852. Dur- ing his time, the congregation worshiped in the Sabbath- school room of the Dutch Reformed Church in Java street, and in the house of Mr. Charles Cartlidge, Franklin street. The Rev. Edward C. Babcock, A. B., deacon, entered on his duties as Rector on the 31st of October, 1852, the services being at that time held at Mr. Cartlidge's house, and the congregation numbering about thirty persons. A Sabbath-school was com- menced; and the first communion was administered on Sun- Iday, November 28, 1852, by the Rev. C. Reynolds, to thirteen persons.

About this time, also, three lots of ground, eighty- five feet front by one hundred feet deep, on the north side of K Street, midway between Franklin and Union avenues, were secured at a cost of $1,500. On the 30th of January, 1853, the congregation met for the first time in Odd Fellows' Hall, in K street, east of Union avenue, where they continued to worship until October following. On the 5th of July, 1853, the corner-stone of a lecture and Sabbath-school room was laid. It was opened for worship on Sunday, October 23, 1853, at a cost, for land, building and furniture of about $4,500. The pews in the early part of 1855, were voted free by the vestry. Mr. Babcock resigned November 1st, and died in December of the same year. The Rev. Merrit H. Wellman, entered upon his duties as Rector January 1st, 1857; his salary being assumed by the joint action of the vestry, the missionary I committee of the diocese, and the New York Pastoral Aid Society.

In the fall of 1858, through efforts of the parisli and the liberality of outside friends, an excellent organ was pro- cured, the building was ornamented and furnished, and a small balance of debt cancelled. With the close of 1860, the church ceased to receive assistance from the Pastoral Aid Society, and that derived from the Missionary Society was also much reduced, the vestry being now able to assume a larger pro- portion of the debt. The parish made a steady and healthful progress, during the rectorship of Mr. Wellman, who re- signed on May 1st, 1863. Rev. Francis Mansfield, was the next Rector, officiating first on the 28th of June, 1863. The congregation having largely increased, a new edifice became necessary, and the corner-stone of a permanent church was laid on the north side of the chapel, on the 23d of March, 1865. The church was completed at a cost of $20,000, and opened for divine service on the 16th of September, 1866. It is a Gothic structure of correct proportions and pleasing ef-

fect, with open roof, and organ chamber adjoining the chan- cel, designed by Mr. Henry Dudley; and is filled with a large and flourishing congregation. Rev. Thos. W. Haskins suc- ceeded Mr. Mansfield; and Rev. C. Ellis Stevens subse- quently became Rector; followed by the present incumbent, Rev. A. Whittaker. In July, 1883, there were 168 communi- cants and 345 Sunday-school scholars.

Rev. C. ELLIS STEVENS, born 1853, in Boston, Mass .; grad. Univ. Penn., and Berkeley Divin. Sch., Ct., 1875; located Bklyn., 1876; is a Miss. Sec'y. of P. E. Ch., in U. S .; was as- soc. Ed. of Living Church.

St. John's Church, E. D., was incorporated in 1851, and admitted into union with convention on the 24th of Septem- ber of the same year. The Rev. Benj. F. Taylor, then a missionary in Williamsburgh, was called to the rector- ship. This parish did not succeed in erecting a church edi- fice, and the congregation, never numerous, becoming scat- tered, the Rev. Mr. Taylor withdrew in 1854, and further ef- forts under this organization were abandoned.

Grace Church, E. D .- At the urgent request of several friends, the Rev. Alvah Guion, in April, 1853, visited the Third Ward of Williamsburgh, one and a half miles back from the ferries, having an industrious population of about 1,800 souls, among whom no Episcopal churchi had been es- tablished, and no place for public worship except a small temporary building put up by the Baptists. Mr. Guion de- termined, in reliance upon Divine favor, that a free Episco- pal church should be established in this section, amid this growing population. He established his residence in their midst, hired two rooms with folding-doors on the first floor of No. 243 Lorimer street, and on Sunday, May 15, 1853, preached a sermon to a congregation of five souls; and on the following Sabbath a Sunday-school was commenced with one scholar. After a year's hard labor he had secured a valu- able plot of land on Conselyea st., near Lorimer, on which to erect a church, as a free gift from Messrs. Charles M. Church, John Skillman and Joseph H. Skillman, on the con- dition that a church worth $5,000 should be erected thereon within two years. He had also collected a little over a fifthi of the above amount. The plans for the church edifice were prepared under his own direction; and he also, singly and alone (every member of the vestry, from inability, indiffer- ence, or want of faith in its ultimate success, having refused), assumed the entire responsibility of the enterprise. His zeal, faith and labors were finally rewarded with success. On the 8th of January, 1856, the church was fully completed; and, on the 10th of April, 1856, formally consecrated as a free Episcopal church. Grace Church is 92 feet by 44, being cal- culated to seat 500 persons; and, with all its accessories, fix- tures, etc., is an example of how neat, comfortable and com- modious a church may be built, even in a city, for a compar- atively small sum. Mr. Guion continued the Rector of this parish until the spring of 1868, when he was succeeded by the Rev. William S. Chadwell. The vestry, at the time of the consecration of the edifice, were Messrs. Jonathan James and James S. Guion, Wardens; Dwight Woodbury, Henry S. Samuels, Edward W. Townsend, Richard Sealey, Erasmus D. Brown, David B. Cunningham, Geo. K. Brooks and Wm. T. Anderson, Vestrymen. Mr. Chadwell was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Beers; and he by Mr. Coan.

St. Barnabas Chapel, E. D .- Services were commenced early in 1869, by the Rev. Henry A. Dows, now in charge of this mission, in a building rented for the purpose on the north-west corner of Evergreen ave. and Jefferson st. Churchi on Evergreen ave., between Chestnut and Stockholm sts., opened for Divine service, Dec. 12, 1869. Afterwards dis- continued.

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HISTORY OF KINGS COUNTY.

The following Clergymen of the Protestant Episcopal Church are residents of the city:

Rev. ROBERT BAYARD SNOWDEN, born in New York, 1833; grad. Williams Coll. 1854, and Union Theol. Sem., 1859; lo- cated in California, 1865-'70; in Conn .. 1870-'75; Fort Ham- ilton, 1976; was editor of The Church Magazine, 1876-'77; is contributor to papers.

Rev. HENRY H. LORING, A. M. (Hobart), born in Berkshire Co., Mass .; admitted to the bar, 1855; grad. Gen. Theol. Sem., New York. 1858; trustee of same, 1867-'76; Prof. He- brew and Bib. Interp. Kansas Theol. School, Topeka; editor church paper; is ou staff of The Churchman, N. Y .; located Fayetteville, N. Y .: Olean, N. Y., Brownsville, Pa., and Topeka, Kan .; translator and editor of Germ. Theol. mono- graphs: came to B'klyn, 1879.

Rev. JOHN GREENWOOD BACCHUS, born in Chestertown, Md., 1846; grad. Kenyon Coll., 1870; Cambridge Theol. Sem., 1873; alumnus lecturer at Theol. Sem .; located B'klyn, 1873.

Rev. I. BARNWELL CAMPBELL, born in Beaufort, S. C., 1815; grad. Nassau Hall, Princeton, 1835; and Prot. Epis. Gen. Theol. Sem., 1839; located Charleston, S. C., 1840-'58; New York, 1867-68; B'klyn, 1868-'84; did missionary service in late war, at Williamston, S. C.

Rev. J. A. ASPINWALL, born in New York, 1840; studied in France and Germany; grad. Theol. Gambier (O.) Coll., 1864; located Bay Ridge, L. I., 1864-'84.

Rev. W. G. MCKINNEY, born in Charleston, S. C. 1826; lo- cated Buffalo, Brooklyn, Charleston and Cleveland; did missionary work in La. and N. C .; author of My Early Re- ligious Impressions; Walter and the Prize Lottery; Archi- bald and Elvira; The Commandments Kept; Faith and Works, etc.

Rev. DAN MARVIN, Jr., born in New York, 1843; grad. Columbia Coll., 1863; studied P. E. Gen. Theol. Sem., N. Y .; was adjunct Prof. Greek, Racine Coll., Wis .; located St. Peter's Chapel, B'klyn, 1876-'77; Asst. Min. Ch. of Messiah, 1877-'79; Ch. of Holy Communion, Norwood, N. J., 1883-'S4 and Prin. Lafayette Acad., B'klyn.

Rev. JOSEPII REYNOLDS, born in Baltimore, 1854; studied at Univ. of Va .: grad. Gen. Theol. Sem., 1877; is chaplain Mon- tauk Lodge, F. A. M .; chap. 5th Md. N. G .: located Balti- more, 1878-'79; Harford Co., 1879-'80; B'klyn, 1880-'84.

Rev. PAULUS MOORT, born in St. Croix, 1850; grad. St. Augustine Inst., Raleigh, N. C., and P. E. Theol. Sem., Phila., 1882; located New York; destined to work in Liberia, Africa.

RT. REV. ABRAM NEWKIRK LITTLEJOHN, D. D. Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Long Island.

Bishop LITTLEJOHN is a native of Central New York, having been born in Montgomery county, December 13th, 1824. His early education was obtained in his native county; and, in 1841, he entered Union College, where he graduated with honor in 1845. Entering at once upon a course of theological study, he received deaeon's orders from the Rt. Rev. William HI. De Laneey, Bishop of the Diocese of Western New York, at An- burn, N. Y., on the 18th of March, 1848. He entered upon the clerical duties at St. Ann's Church, Amster- dam, immediately; and, after continuing there a year, removed to Meriden, Conn., where he officiated for a period of ten months. On the 10th of April, 1850, he was called to the rectorship of Christ Church, Spring- field, Mass., where he was ordained priest, November 10, 1850, and where he remained a little more than a year. In July, 1851, he succeeded Rev. Samuel E. Cooke, D. D., as Rector of St. Paul's Church, New Haven. Though yet a young man, not quite twenty-seven years of age, when he entered upon this large and important field of labor, he soon gave evidence of remarkable intellectual abilities. His sympathy with progress and with the friends of higher intellectual enlture, es- pecially among the young men, was so evident and hearty, that he attracted in large numbers the young men of the city into his congregation; and, at the same time, his own scholarship was so broad and thorough, and his ability as a speaker and writer so eminent, that he was in great demand as a lecturer and orator. In 1853, he was invited to give the opening lecture of a

course in Philadelphia, by bishops and elergymen of the Episcopal church, on topies connected with theo- logical science. The subjeet assigned him, and which he disenssed with masterly ability, was, " The Philos- ophy of Religion." These diseonrses were subsequently published, with an introductory essay by Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of Pennsylvania, and constitute a valuable contribution to the literature of the Church. He had already been for several years Lecturer on Pastoral Theology at the Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Conn., and he continued to sns- tain this relation to that school of the prophets, in ad- dition to the duties of his rectorship, during his resi- dence in New Haven, a period of ten years. In 1856, before he had completed his thirty-second year, the University of Pennsylvania conferred on him the lion- orary degree of Doctor of Divinity. In January, 1855, when yet but thirty-three years of age, he was nnani- monsly elected President of Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y. This honor he respectfully deelined. In the spring of 1860 he was ealled to the reetorship of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn, N. Y.

The position was one of peculiar responsibility and anxiety, and a man of less moral eonrage would have declined to leave a congregation so strongly attached to him as that of St. Paul's, and one in every respect so pleasant, for the trials and severe labors which he well knew would be inevitable in his new position. The Church of the Holy Trinity, originally erected in large part through the muuificence of one of its constituent

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ECCLESIASTICAL ORGANIZATIONS.

members, and through his subsequent misfortune in business so heavily mortgaged that, in 1856, it was with the greatest difficulty rescued from falling into the hands of the Roman Catholics, on a foreclosure sale for a mortgage debt of $100,000, was still staggering under an incumbrance of $65,000, and was as yet in- complete. It was a magnificent edifice, well worthy to become eventually, when completed, the cathedral church of a future diocese; but the congregation which worshiped in it were, neither in wealth or numbers, quite strong enough to bear so heavy a burden.

But the young and brave-hearted New Haven Rector saw in this persistent determination to " fight it out on that line " which actuated the members of the parish of the Holy Trinity, the possibilities of a magnificent future; and, stipulating that the debt should be reduced $10,000 before he entered upon his duties among them, he threw his whole heart into the work of building up the parish. The cheerfulness of his spirit, the rare courage with which he addressed himself to his work, the halo of enthusiasm with which he surrounded it, as a work done for Christ, and the eloquence and fervor of his preaching, attracted a constantly-increasing audience to the services of the church. There were yet dark days to be encountered. The financial depression of 1861 and 1862 made it a difficult matter to raise money even for the payment of the interest on the still heavy debt; but, when a time of greater financial prosperity came, and his congregation was strengthened by the addition of numerous men of wealth and generous hearts, he re- newed his efforts to throw off the burden of debt which had so long crippled the energies of the church. In January, 1863, $20,000 of the debt was paid, and the income of the church having more than doubled, and being in excess of the amount necessary to defray the current expenses, Dr. Littlejohn proposcd the cstablish- ment of a sinking fund, which has already greatly di- minished, and will, ere long, completely obliterate the original debt. Meantime, fully convinced that the chari- ties which began at home should not cnd there, he incul- cated both by precept and example, that wise liberality, in the support of all the benevolent institutions of the church, which should demonstrate that they did not live to themselves alonc, but unto Him who had re- deemed them. On the Western frontier, in Bellevue, Ne- braska, the parish of the Holy Trinity crected a church edifice named after itself, where the emigrants from our Eastern States could worship God as they had done in the land of their fathers. In the newer portion of this city, just where the advancing wave of population has reached its shores, on Fulton avenue, near Schenectady avenue, it has established a Free Chapel. A Classical and Commercial School for Boys, with religious as well as secular instruction, has been established, and is in a flour- ishing condition. The Church Orphan Asylum, the Home for Aged Women, and the other local church charities, and the Missionary, Educational, and Church Extension

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Civil, political, professional and ecclesiastical history, and commercial and industrial record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y., Part 90

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: New York : Munsell Number of Pages: 1360

Author: Stiles, Henry Reed, 1832-1909.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: New York : Munsell
Number of Pages: 1360