USA > New York > Suffolk County > Shelter Island > Historical papers on Shelter Island and its Presbyterian church, with genealogical tables > Part 8
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"New Haven, March 29th, 1774.
"Honored Sir:
"I take this opportunity by Mr. Hathoway to write you a few lines. By Cpt. Moses Sawyer, who came with him, I understand you are troubled with boils, for which am sorry, but am glad to hear the rest of the family are all well. I have not heard from you since my last, which I sent by Uncle Mumford when he was hear upon the
72
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
Assembly, which I suppose you have received afore this time. As the spring vacancy draws nigh, I begin to think of coming home, and I believe I shall want to bring home a pretty large bundle, as a good many of my shirts begin to wear out and some of my stock- ings, together with these I designed to have brought home, my cloath for a coat and some of my books which I make no use of, which I fear I shall not be able to perform, as having nothing but a pillow case which I was put to great difficulty with when I went home last, unless I had a pair of saddle-bags or some other con- veniency, or could get a passage directly home in some boat, tho' I have not heard from you, whether you designed to send a boat on purpose. I should be glad to hear whether it is worth while to bring all the things home which I have mentioned or in what man- ner I shall act, and I remain with love to all, your loving and dutiful son,
"JONATH. N'LL. HAVENS."
The third trustee of the original board, Mr. William Bowditch, was born on this island about the year of 1751. He was the son of Joel Bowditch and Bethiah Case. His father was one of the twenty men who founded the Town in 1730.
Mr. Bowditch at the time of his selection as Trustee was Over- seer of the Poor. He continued to serve the Town in various offices until 1794, when he was chosen Supervisor, which office he held for twenty years. Thus from 1784 to the time of his death, in 1820, he served the Town in almost every capacity, a period of thirty-six years. While as trustee he served this society from its incorpora- tion, 1785, with the exception of three years, likewise until his death, a period of thirty-two years. He is best remembered as Squire Bowditch, and is considered by some to have been the moving spirit in the building of the present sanctuary.
That Board of Trustees has continued in existence down to the present time, and as it is characteristic of such Boards to continue in existence as long as the corporation which they represent con- tinues to exist, and further, as this corporation gives every evidence of unending life, it is fair to assume that the Board will continue to exist until the end of time. Besides this, as the Rev. Mr. Harries said in his historical discourse, we may properly date the origin of this congregation from the time of the completion of the first meeting house, namely, in 1743. So that this assembly has existed
73
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
by regular succession one hunderd and fifty-five years. You will notice that we are thus speaking of the existence of the religious assembly or congregation on this island, not the church, for as yet we have not reached the time when God in His Grace gathered together a body in which to dwell a sanctuary "made up of living stones."
At this date it is said there still lived quite a large number of Indians on the island. This conflicts somewhat with a previous statement that upon the purchase of the island from the Indians the latter left the island. Perhaps not all, but only a portion. How- ever, what is here said is substantiated by good and sufficient evi- dence. The huts and wigwams of these remaining Indians formed quite a village on Sachem's Neck. In 1790 more than half of these were destroyed through fire, which broke out in one of them one morning, and spread to the rest, as they were pitched so near to- gether. Some of the aborigines are remembered by those living and present with us at this time. The last of this race became the subject of a remarkable conversion, under the early ministry of the Rev. Daniel M. Lord, who speaks of her in particular in one of his sermons as follows:
"Of the fruits of this precious refreshing from the presence of the Lord twelve were gathered into the church at one communion season. Among these was one, the last of the aborigines who was born on Shelter Island. She had lived in ignorance and in the detriment of sin, without God and without hope in the world. More than fourscore years had made its deep furroughs on her brow. She had often sold herself to letchery and rum. It may be said for many, many years that no one cared for her soul. But God's time came, when all her race had been laid in the grave, and all those whom she had known in her youth were beneath the clods of the valley, then it was that God's word was spirit and life.
"The small amount of truth which she had heard, for she could not read in all her lifetime, had a resurrection. She was created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, that she might walk in them. There are those present to-day (1856) who remember the bowed form but robust frame of Betty Tobs Caeser. They remember also the change that came over her. How she adjured the intoxicating cup and forsook her wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts and returned unto the Lord, who had mercy and abundantly pardoned. They saw the change and admired the grace that kindled in her heart
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Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
the flame of love to God and to man. Not this alone, there are some still lingering on these mortal shores who have listened to her voice in prayer and have been constrained to feel that her lips were touched with hallowed fire. Nor can they forget the scene of the last conflict of the dying Indian saint as visions of unutterable glory burst upon her sight. Each who witnessed that closing scene felt for the Christian to die is gain. Twenty-one years are past and yet the vision of that hour stands out before me as the sun of yesterday. Oh! death where is thy sting. Oh! grave where is thy victory. Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
In looking over the first inventory of this religious corporation we notice that no real estate is mentioned, though it is well known that a church building existed on this island. We are led to ask, therefore, to whom did that building belong? It belonged to cer- tain freeholders on this island who were instrumental in its erection. All its pews were under the control of certain families, who pos- sessed the sole and exclusive right to the same. In 1806 the parish sought to increase the seating capacity of the original building, and so they passed the following resolution: "Voted that the Pews occu- pied by Benjamin Nicoll, William Bowditch, Sylvester Dering, and James Havens, be made narrower so as to make room for a Pew in front of James Havenses pew and the next seat and another in front of William Bowditches Pew and the next seat, and that the Pews of Benjamin Nicoll, William Bowditch and Sylvester Dering, and James Havens be moved back at the expense of the Parish, to be paid by the Trustees out of the Public monies in their hands, that any person wishing to build a pew in either of these places, left for the purpose, may do it, by application to the Trustees on the following conditions, to wit, that they build the pews at their ex- pense, keeping an exact account thereof, to be delivered to the Trustees, and that they, their heirs and assigns have use, &c., and oc- cupy those pews untill called for by the Parish, when Parish shall pay the person who built them, their Heirs and Assigns, the price the Pews cost, after which they shall deliver them to the society." In 1808 the Parish sought to get control of all the pews, as the fol- lowing minutes of that date will show: "Voted that the Trustees con- sult the owners of Pews in the Meeting House, and know of them if they will sell them, and at what price, and if all the owners of Pews will sell, to call a Parish meeting that the Parish may determine to
75
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
purchase them or not." The purchase was never effected; and the whole system of ownership continued until the original building passed out of use because of decay.
Looking once more at that inventory, we see that the amount of personal property is given as £166 14s. 72d., or about $830. This shows that the legacy of Brinley Sylvester, amounting to £100, given in 1752, had increased to one and two-thirds of the original amount. It continued to grow so that the Trustees in the next inventory of 1793 reported it as about amounting to £188, or $940. The Society was thus in position to secure the preached Word, and did so by ap- plying to the Presbytery of Long Island at its spring meeting, held at Southampton Apr. 21, 1789. The following item is to be found in the minutes of that date: "Mr. John Taylor, a candidate for the min- istry from Connecticut, was appointed to preach at Sag Harbor and Shelter Island, they applying for supplies."
About this time Mr. Stephen Burroughs, author of "Memoirs of Stephen Burroughs," was engaged to teach school in this place. He speaks at some length in his "Memoirs" of his labors here as a school teacher, and mentions a number of citizens of that date with whom he lived and mingled.
Under date of Oct. Ist, 1795, we have the first reference in our Town records to the slaves that were on this island. According to the second census list there were thirty-three slaves on Shelter Island in 1776. These were owned as follows: five by Mr. Thomas Dering, fourteen by Mr. Nicoll Havens, two by Mr. Daniel Brown, ten by Mr. William Nicoll, and two by Mr. Obadiah Havens. Twenty-one of these were male and the balance were female negroes. At the close of the Revolution the chief principle in the bringing about of which was "that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," measures were taken to abolish the custom of slavery which had existed among the various colonies from their very inception. On Feb- ruary 22, 1788, the Legislature of New York passed an act for the manumitting of slaves within the Empire State. According to this act, slaves under the age of fifty years who were physically able to support themselves and thus not liable to become a charge upon the Town, could be given their freedom by their owners upon appli- cation to the overseers of the poor and justices of the peace of the county, subject to their approval. In accordance with this mea-
76
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
sure, on October 1, 1795, Mr. Sylvester Dering, Mr. Henry Dering and Mr. Nathaniel Gardiner applied for the privilege of manu- mitting a negro woman slave called "Matilda," of which they were the owners. These gentlemen being sons and son-in-law of Mr. Thomas Dering, deceased, had by inheritance come into posses- sion of this slave, and now desired to give her her freedom. The privilege was granted, and Matilda was, according to the Town records, the first slave to gain her freedom on Shelter Island. In 1799 Rensselaer Havens sought the same privilege for one of his slaves, named "Dick," which was granted. The same year Samuel B. Nicoll released three of his slaves, who were father, mother and child, named respectively, Cade, Elizabeth and Armenie. In 1801 Desire Havens released a negro woman called "Fide." In 1806 Sylvester Dering did the same for one called "Violet," while in 1821 his widow released a slave called "London." Under date of June I, 1804, Sylvester Dering makes affidavit to the birth of "Achilles, a male negro child born of a slave" belonging to him, and born the Ioth day of February, 1804. These comprise all the references to- ward slaves and slavery as it existed on Shelter Island to be found in our Town records.
In 1794 it was voted "That one years Interest of the monies belonging to the Freeholders and Inhabitants of this Town for the support of the Gospel be appropriated by the Trustees for that pur- pose: and paid into the hands of Benjamin Nicoll, James Havens and Sylvester Dering, who are hereby appointed our Committee to procure a Person to Preach the Gospel in this place and to pay the same as they may agree, not exceeding the rate of four dollars for each Sabbath." The same year we find this curious entry in the Town records: "At a Special Town Meeting (held April 29th, 1794) called for the purpose of regulating the clam fishery, it was resolved that a tax of three pence, for every bushel of clams dug by non- inhabitants of the island, the proceeds of which save 20% was to be paid into the hands of the Religious Society for the purpose of sup- porting the gospel or maintaining a school on the said island as the freeholders and inhabitants of said island shall at their annual Town Meetings direct." The way they, however, disposed of this tax was to repeal it the next year; at the same time directing what revenue had been received from it should be placed in the hands of a School Committee consisting of William Bowditch and Ezekial Havens, to be disposed of by them for school purposes. The reso-
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Rev. WHITEFIELD COWLES
AND THE FLY-LEAF OF HIS MANUSCRIPT SERMON PREACHED IN THE ORIGINAL MEETING HOUSE ON SHELTER ISLAND, N. Y., SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 1798
77
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
lution passed by the society this year voting the interest of the monies in the hands of the Trustees to the securing of a preacher was repeated in 1795 and 1796.
From the treasurer's accounts we learn that in response to these resolutions the Rev. Whitfield Cowles preached on four Sabbaths in 1796, for which he received £4; and in 1797 the Rev. Jacob Cram preached one Sabbath, for which he was paid £1 4s. In 1798 the Rev. Whitfield Cowles preached again for the society twenty-four Sabbaths, for which he received £9 12s. The Rev. Jacob Cram was the son of Jonathan Cram, of Hampton Falls, N. H., born Oct. 12, 1762, a graduate of Dartmouth College, in 1782. After preaching here he became the pastor of the church in Orient. He died in Exeter, N. H., Dec. 21, 1833. The Rev. Whitfield Cowles was the son of Capt. Josiah Cowles, of Southington, Conn., born June 3, 1764. He graduated from Yale College in 1788, and in 1793 re- ceived the degree of A. M. The next year, 1794, he was ordained at East Granby, Conn. The same year he married one of Shelter Island's fair daughters, Miss Gloriana Havens. She died in 1802. The following year he married again, choosing for his second wife Miss Desire Brown, also of Shelter Island. Mr. Cowles' picture is given on the next page, together with a fac-simile of the fly leaf of one of his sermons preached in the meeting house on Shelter Island, Aug. 21st, 1798.
Besides the clergymen already mentioned there were others who are known to have occasionally preached here, among them being the Rev. Dr. Buell, pastor of the Easthampton Presbyterian Church from 1746 to 1798. In 1799 and 1800 Mr. John Rudd taught school on this island. While here he boarded with Gen. Sylvester Dering, who became strongly attached to him. He was a young man of good promise, and after leaving this place he opened a school in New York City, where he gained the good will of Bishop Moore, who instructed him in divinity, after which he became an Episco- palian minister, subsequently receiving the degree of D. D. and be- coming the editor of a religious paper called the "Christian Mes- senger." The next year the Parish sought to gain a resident clergyman in the person of the Rev. Herman Daggett as preacher and teacher. Mr. Daggett had labored at Southampton for a num- ber of years, leaving there in 1797 and going to Westhampton, where he labored until 1801. The action of the parish in seeking to gain the services of Mr. Daggett was the following: "Voted that the
78
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
Trustees be requested to make application to the Rev. Herman Dag- gett to come and reside with us as a preacher of the Gospel and a Teacher of our school for the term of ten years. Voted that we will give the Rev. Herman Daggett for Preaching to us on the Sabbath, and for Teaching our school during the time before mentioned, Three Hundred and fifty Dollars per annum, to be raised in the fol- lowing manner:
"The Trustees annually to open a Subscription and present it to all the Inhabitants to sign what they will give for preaching each Sabbath for one year or during their residence on Shelter Island, the money raised by this Subscription together with the Annual In- terest of our Public monies to be appropriated as far they will go towards the payment of Two Hundred Dollars of the before men- tioned Salary-and in case the Subscription for the support of the Gospel and the Interest of the Public monies does not amount to the sum of two Hundred Dollars, it shall then be lawfull for the Trustees and they are hereby authorized and required to make up the deficiency out of any monies in their hands belonging to the Freeholders and Inhabitants of Shelter Island and given for the support of the Gospel-leaving the remaining part of the salary, viz., one hundred and Fifty Dollars to be raised by the Proprietors of the School-a true record of the votes.
(Seal)
"SYLVESTER DERING, Clk."
About the same time Mr. Daggett received this call or proposi- tion, he also received a call from the church at Middletown, now known as Middle Island, whither he went and was installed Oct. 20th, 1801. There he remained until 1807 or 9, when he removed to Connecticut. Dr. Prime in his history speaks of him in the highest terms as "a man of sterling talents, respectable acquirements and peculiar excellence of character." What the parish did upon failing in their efforts to bring the Rev. Herman Daggett in their midst we cannot tell. In 1804 they made application again to the Presbytery of Long Island, with this result: "Supplies were requested for Shel- ter Island, and Messrs. Lyman Beecher, Joseph Hazzard, Daniel Hall and Zachariah Green were appointed for the purpose. Mr. Foster also offering to supply, it was agreed that he should take one Sabbath on Shelter Island." These men doubtless discharged their appointment. Among them are the names of two men who have left behind them an illustrious record, one, the Rev. Dr. Lyman
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Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
Beecher, as an able theologian and the father of a family noted for great preachers, among them the world-wide famous Henry Ward Beecher; the other, Zachariah Green, who is best known as an in- tense patriot during the Revolutionary War, though at the time of its commencement but sixteen years of age. Of another of these brethren, Daniel Hall, I shall have much to say presently. The fol- lowing year, or 1805, the parish passed a resolution inviting the Rev. Benjamin Bell to preach to the inhabitants for one year, he to re- ceive for his services three dollars per Sabbath. Mr. Bell responded to this call and preached for the society, as is seen from the treas- urer's accounts. At the same meeting in which the parish invited the Rev. Mr. Bell, it was voted that "the Trustees repair the meeting house and pay for the same out of the Public monies in their hands for Religious purposes." That this was done the following entry will show: "To cash paid the Bills for shingling the Porch and repairing the Meeting House, £31.0.22." Another preacher who served during one Sabbath was the Rev. Mr. Boge.
About this time the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College, made a visit to this island during one of his vacation trips through Long Island. His experiences, observations and impres- sions of these various journeys he fully describes in a series of vol- umes entitled "Travels in New England and New York." In one of these letters Dr. Dwight speaks very fully of his visit to Shelter Island. In those days the ferry ran from Stern's Point to the nar- row neck of land just opposite on the northern arm of Long Island. The ferry was known as "Bushe's Ferry," so called because the owner's name was "Boisseau," which was pronounced "Busche." Not having the patronage in those days that the ferry enjoys now ac- counts for the poor or meagre accommodations that Dr. Dwight found, for he says: "We found the ferry had neither wharf nor ferry stairs on either side. The shore was a gradual slope. We were therefore obliged to ride to the boat, and with much difficulty to force our horses into it by leading them over the gunwhale."
Of the island itself, after describing its formation, soil products, etc., he says: "To the credit of the inhabitants, especially of the prin- cipal proprietors, it ought to be observed that they have customarily made considerable exertions to support schools and obtain the preaching of the gospel."
In 1806 the Rev. Daniel Hall, of Sag Harbor, where he had been pastor of the Presbyterian church for eight years, was asked to
80
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
become the minister of the parish, according to the following record: "At a Parish Meeting held on Shelter Island at the Meeting House on the 5th of May, 1806, to consult about engaging the Reverend Daniel Hall to preach to us the ensuing year; and after examining the subscription for his support, Voted that the Trustees of the Free- holders and Inhabitants of Shelter Island invite the Rev'd Daniel Hall to preach to us for one year, and that they make the deficiency of the subscription up to three Dollars a Sabbath out of the Parish Monies." As that subscription list is in existence, and is of im- portance in many ways, I give it here as follows:
SUBSCRIPTION RECEIVED FOR MR. HALL, 1806.
€
s.
d.
42
s. d.
Bowditch, William
3
18
0
Carried over 29
13
8
Bowditch, John.
I
6
O
Havens, Joseph, Sr
I 14
O
Bowditch, William, Jr.
O
13
0
Havens, David.
O
I3
O
Bowditch, Samuel.
O
8
8
Havens, Remington
O
13
O
Bousseau, John
O
8
O
Havens, Silvanus
O
I3
O
Conklin, Benjamin
3
18
O
Hains, Henry
I
I6
O
Case, Joseph.
O
17
4
Harlow, Daniel.
O I3
O
Case, Jacob.
O
I3
O
Harlow, Phebe.
O
4
4
Doughlass, Jonathan.
I
19
O
Mayo, Thomas
I I9
O
Dering, Sylvester
7
I6
0
Nicoll, Benjamin.
7 I6
O
Havens, Obadiah.
2
12
O
Pierson, Job
I 6
O
Havens, Ezekial
O
18
O
Reeve, Jonathan
O
8
O
Havens, Lodowick.
O
I7
4
Sawyer, Richard
O
I3
O
Havens, Augustus.
2
I2
O
Tuthill, Thomas ..
O
17 4
Havens, Joseph, Jr.
0
17
4
Havens, James, Jr.
I
O
O
29
I3
8
Total, 49 9 4
Dollars.
113.6612
Unmarked Contribution, 8.0872
$121.75
The Rev. Mr. Hall had just been released from his pastoral duties at Sag Harbor by the Presbytery upon his own request. He was the first settled pastor of that church, beginning his labors there in 1797 and continuing there until his removal to Shelter Island in 1806. Here he remained and served until his death in 1812. Mr. Hall has left an undying record behind him in the organization of this church, which he effected in 1808. In two years after his com- ing the condition of spiritual things had so far advanced as to make the organization of a church possible by the adoption, on Sept. 28th, 1808, of the following Confession of Faith and Church Covenant:
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Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
"Whereas it hath pleased God to favour us with the public ad- ministrations of his word, and considering the obligations that all are under, who have hope in the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and desirous of the advancement and prosperity of his King- dom, have severally agreed to the following articles of Faith and Covenant conformable to the order and discipline of the Presby- terian Church as established in the United States:
ARTICLES OF FAITH.
"We do profess and solemnly believe that there is only one living and true God subsisting in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
"That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the Word of God, and the only infallible rule of Faith and practice.
"That the original state of mankind was that of purity and hap- piness; but through the disobedience of the first Adam, his whole posterity are fallen into a state of sin and misery, exposed to all the evils of the present state, and condemnation of the future.
"That God of his abundant mercy hath sent his Son to redeem and save that which was lost, and that all who truly believe in him are justified, saved and accepted of God, and continuing in the faith will have an open entrance into his Heavenly Kingdom.
"That God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained to be the Judge of quick and dead, that then the Lord Jesus Christ will admit the Righteous to the full enjoyment of his Heavenly King- dom, and will sentence the wicked to everlasting punishment.
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