History of Duchess county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 54

Author: Smith, James H. (James Hadden); Cale, Hume H; Roscoe, William E
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 868

USA > New York > Dutchess County > History of Duchess county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 54

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The first church edifice was built in 1730. Of the cost and character of the house there exist no records to give us information.

"The Stone Church," the name by which it has been distinguished for more than a century, was built some time before the Revolution. In 1824 this edifice was remodeled and enlarged, and em- belished with its present tower. The expense of this improvement was about $3,000.00, and the name of Philip Schuyler is recalled as one of the building committee, and that of Stephen McCarty as the builder. In 1843, it was again improved at a cost of some $1, 100.00. The present parsonage was built in 1798, for Dominie Quitman, and is a commodious dwelling, well preserved for its years.

Undoubtedly the first pastor over the Luther- ans, and when they were united with the German Reformers in the occupancy of the church at Pink's Corner, was Rev. Joshua Kotcherthal. He was a Lutheran minister, and came to this country with the first company of Palatines, whom he set- tled at Quasack Creek, near Newburgh, in Orange County. He landed in New York January 1, 1709, from the ship Globe, Capt. Congreve. In that same year he returned to London on an errand to the Queen, and came back with the Palatines who came over with Governor Hunter in 1710, on the ship Midfort, Capt. Fowles. He took up his resi- dence in New Town, one of the Palatine villages, on the west side of the Hudson, in the West Camp. He served as Lutheran pastor for the Palatines, settled in New York, at Quasack Kil, at the West and East Camps, and at Rhinebeck. He began his records on shipboard, September 14, 1708, and they cover a period of eleven years,

274

HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.

beginning in 1708, and ending at his death in 1719.

Johan Christoval Hartwick * was pastor over the church, after the separation, from 1746 to 1758. His successor was Johannes Frederick Reis, whose pastorate began March 7, 1760, and ended Jan. 15, 1783. He died in 1791, and was buried at Churchtown. George Henrich Pfeiffer succeeded Reis. He served the church from 1784 to 1798. A tombstone in the Rhinebeck church yard closes his history in these lines :-

"Sacred to the memory of GEO. H. PFEIF- FER, a native of Germany, pastor of the Lutheran congregation in Rhinebeck, who died Oct. 26, 1827, aged about eighty years."

Frederick Henry Quitman was the next pastor, coming in 1798 and remaining until 1830. Rev. William J. Eyer succeeded him in the pastorate. His first baptism was recorded Oct. 24, 1828, and his last March 17, 1836. Rev. N. W. Goertner was the next pastor. He recorded his first bap- tism in January, 1837, and his last Oct. 24, 1845. It was during his ministry that the Red Hook German Reformed Church was brought into the Lutheran fold, and added to his charge.

The after pastors were :- Rev. Dr. Charles Shæffer ; Rev. Dr. Strobel, after whose pastorate the Red Hook and Rhinebeck churches became independent charges; Rev. Frederick M. Bird, 1860-'62 ; Rev. George W. Schmucker, 1862 to April, 1871 ; Rev. Charles Koerner, 1870 ; Rev. Samuel G. Finkel, 1871-'78 ; Rev. J. A. Earnest, the present incumbent.

The Reformed Dutch Church had practically its origin in 1730. On August 26th, of that year, Henry Beekman presented to Lawrence Oster- hout, Jacob Kip and William Traphagen, for themselves and "the rest of the inhabitants of the North Ward, a deed for two pieces of land, one containing two acres, and the other forty-four acres, for church and burial purposes. The deed recites as conditions that two elders and two deacons shall annually be chosen by a majority vote of the members of the said denomination, to act as trustees until they are able to call a minister of their own, when they were entitled to act ac- cording to the rules of the Reformed Church in Holland ; and, likewise, that within the space of

three years ensuing they shall build on two acres of the said land a church, in neglect of which con- ditions and provisions the lands were to revert to Henry Beekman or his heirs."

The first election of church officers under this deed was held June 28, 1731. The elders chosen were Hendricus Heermance and Jacob Kip. The deacons were Jacobus Van Etten and Isaac Kip. The elders and two deacons were thus elected an- nually and approved by the minister and consistory of the Kingston church, as required by the terms of the deed, until 1742, when the church on the "Flatts " found "itself in quality," as the deed ex- presses it, to support a minister in connection with the German Reformed Church, at Rhinebeck. The church was probably built as early as 1733. The deed required it to be built by that time, and old monu- ments, still to be found in its graveyard, show that the ground was appropriated for burial purposes in that year. It is not probable that this step would have been taken in advance of the erection of the edifice necessary to secure the title to the property. It is assumed, therefore, that the house was built in due time, and that services were conducted in it, as occasion required, by the minister from Kingston.

George Michael Weiss came into the pastorate of this church in 1742, and served it, in connection with the German Reformed Church, until 1746. From April 15, 1746 to 1750, there was, appar- ently, no settled pastor.

Eggo Toukens Van Hovenburg came into the pastorate December 23, 1750, and remained until February 26, 1763. From the close of his pastor- ate to March 26, 1769, there was no settled pastor.

March 26, 1769, Warmaldus Kuypers came into the pastorate, and remained until September 29, 1771. From that time to 1776, the church was again without a settled pastor.

June 2, 1776, one month before the Declaration of Independence, Gerhard Daniel Cock was evi- dently pastor, and continued thus until December 18, 1785, one year after the close of the war. From this date to October 28, 1787, there was no pastor.

Petrus DeWitt was Cock's successor, and John Broadhead Romeyn succeeded DeWitt, coming into the pastorate in 1799, and going out in 1803. October 1, 1801, Mrs. Montgomery presented the church with an acre of ground to take the place of that taken by the extension of East Market street through the church lands, which was done in this year. It was also during the pastorate of Dominie

*Johan Christoval Hartwick obtained a grant of 21,500 acres of land from the government in 1754. He died at the residence of Mrs. Judge Livingston, in Clermont, July 17, 1796, aged 82 years, 6 months, and was buried at the Camp Lutheran Church. His remains were subsequently removed to Albany and buried under the pulpit of the Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Hartwick Seminary, at Cooperstown, named for him, was erected and is largely supported with means left for that purpose in his will.

275

TOWN OF RHINEBECK.

Romeyn that the church lands were released, or attempted to be released, from the restriction in the deed forbidding their occupancy by liquor sellers, shopmen and peddlers, in an indenture bearing date September 2, 1801. Romeyn's suc- cessor was Rev. Jacob Broadhead, who served the church from 1804 to 1810. The present substan- tial church edifice was built in 1807-'8, and during the ministry of Jacob Broadhead.

Jacob Broadhead was succeeded in the pastor- ate by Dominie McMurray, who served the church from 1812 to 1820. Thereafter the succession was as follows : David Parker, from 1820 to 1827; George W. Bethune, from 1827 to 1830, during whose pastorate the present parsonage was com- pleted in which he was the first occupant ; James B. Hardenbergh, 1830 to 1836; James Lillie, 1837 to 1841 ; Brogan Huff, 1842 to 1851; Peter Stryker, 1851 to 1856, during whose pastorate the recess and a new pulpit were built, the heaters put in and the building otherwise improved ; William A. Miller, 1856 to 1859; Herman R. Timlow, 1859 to 1866 ; Goyn Talmage, 1867 to 1871 ; Alonzo P. Peeke, 1872 to 1879, and Rev. I .. Wal- ter Lott, the present incumbent, who was ordained and installed pastor of this church October 7, 1879.

The old cemetery was abandoned in 1845, not because it was full, but because it lies near the center of the village and interments were prohibited by the corporate authorities. There is a tradition among the people of this church that Col. Henry Beekman, the donor of the church lands, was buried in its cemetery, near the old church, and that the new edifice was built over his grave. His descendants have no knowledge at variance with this tradition. If this were so, it is singular there is no tablet or monument to be found to establish the fact. He died January 3, 1776, six months before the Dec- laration of Independence by the American Con- gress. His daughter and only child, Margaret, widow of Robert R. Livingston, died in June, 1800.

Excepting the Episcopal Church property and the Francisco premises, all the village of Rhine- beck lying east of Mulberry street and south of Chestnut street, is built on church land. It is traversed by South, East Market, Livingston, Par- sonage and Beach streets. On the laying out of these streets this land was laid out in lots which have all been sold under durable leases, subject to a yearly rent. There are over ninety houses on this land. On the church and cemetery lot of two acres, the houses of William Bergh Kip, Levy

Leroy and Mrs. John Killmer, on Mill street, pay rent to the church.

St. Paul's of Wurtembergh .- March 20, 1759, two farmers residing in the part of the precinct of Rhinebeck then called "Whitaberger Land," ad- dressed a letter to Henry Beekman, the proprietor of the said land, to which they received this an- swer :-

" NEW YORK, April 17, 1759.

" MESSRS. WAGER & BOLTZ :- Having received your letter of the 20th ult., concerning leave to build a church, etc., which reasonable re- quest I willingly grant, and give you what further assurance that shall be adjudged for such purpose necessary. Wishing you good prosperity in the meanwhile, am and remain

Your well-wishing friend, HENRY BEEKMAN."

To conduct a church in those days required a government license, and to receive and collect subscriptions for the erection of a church edifice, a special charter. That these were at once ob- tained and the edifice erected is certain. And it is equally certain that the edifice was erected and a grave-yard opened on the premises of said Wager and Boltz. Sept. 5, 1774, Henry Beekman con- veyed to Johannes Markwat, Michael Pultz and Adam Dipple, trustees for the time being of said church, 192 acres of land for the use of "the Pro- testant Church now erected in the southeast part of Rhinebeck, commonly called ' Whitaberger Land.'" June 1, 1785, George and Sebastian Pultz, and Paul and Sebastian Wager, also deeded to the church two acres of land. In this conveyance the church is designated as the "Wirtemburg church." Neither of the deeds refer to the church as "St. Pauls," or "Lutheran." It was certainly not known by these names until some time after the Revolution.

A new church building was erected in 1802, and in 1807 the church sold the 192 acres obtained from Henry Beekman, and devoted the proceeds to the payment of a debt incurred in the erection of the new edifice. The church edifice was thor- oughly repaired in 1832, and in 1861 it was en- larged and remodeled into its present condition. The first baptism was recorded October 22, 1760. The first pastor named in the record was Rev. J. F. Reis, who served the church from 1760 to 1785. George Henrich Pfeiffer served as pastor from 1785 to 1794, and was succeeded for a brief period by John Frederick Ernst.

Dr. Frederick H. Quitman came into the pas- torate in 1798. From that date to 1815, he

276

HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.

preached not only here, but in the church at Rhine- beck, at East Camp and Tarbush. February 4, 1815, Dr. Quitman agreed to preach in the Wur- tembergh church "on every third Sunday during the year-one Sunday excepted-namely, during the winter season one sermon, and from May until October, two sermons, one in the German and one in the English language," upon condition that they pay him "every year, in semi-annual payments, $200, and between twenty-five and thirty cords of wood," the congregation in Rhinebeck to make up what will pay for the remaining Sundays. They do this at his request, that he may be " freed in his ad- vancing years from the tedious task of continued traveling." It would, therefore, appear that he gave up the East Camp and Tarbush churches in 1815. He continued to serve the Rhinebeck and Wurtembergh churches until 1825. Toward the close of his ministry he had to be carried to the pulpit, and retained his seat while preaching. He died in the parsonage of the Rhinebeck church, and was buried in the Rhinebeck graveyard. He is well and reverentially remembered by all who knew him. His successors in turn were William J Eyer, 1825 to 1839, who, shortly after his settle- ment, preached altogether in the English language, and ministered exclusively to the Wurtembergh church ; A. T. Geissenhainer, 1838 to 1840; Chas. A. Smith next, to 1850; W. N. Scholl, to 1855 ; George Neff, 1855 to 1876; and Rev. J. G. Grif- fith, the present pastor, who came in September, 1876.

The Methodist Church came into Rhinebeck with Rev. Freeborn Garrettson, about 1793. A map of the town of Rhinebeck, made in 1797, shows a Methodist Church on a hill facing the road to Milan, a short distance beyond the house recently erected by Edwin Knickerbacker. In the immediate vicinity of this church was the residence of the Garrettson's, a little to the south- east, in a stone house built in 1772 by Thomas Conner, for a man by the name of Hagadorn. At what date this church was built, and with what funds, there lives no person, nor exists any docu- ments to tell us. That it was there because the Garrettsons were there, no one can doubt. The first knowledge gleaned of the presence of the Methodists in the village of Rhinebeck, is con- tained in a deed from Mrs. "Janet Mont- gomery to Rev. Freeborn Garrettson, Robert Sands, Simon Johnson Myers, Charles Doyle and Daniel McCarty, trustees of the Methodist Epis- copal Church at Rhinebeck Flatts, dated August

I, 180I, for one rood and six perches of land. This lot is now owned and occupied by John E. Traver, in Centre street. The lot on which the present church edifice stands was also a gift from Mrs. Janet Montgomery, in 1822. The corner- stone of the building was laid by Rev. Freeborn Garrettson, May 1, 1822, and the edifice was com- pleted October 6, following. The cost of the building was $3,559.88. The subscriptions amounted to $3,234.00, leaving the committee in debt $325.88, which indebtedness was assumed, and finally presented to the church, by Rev. Free- born Garrettson.

Rev. Freeborn Garrettson entered the ministry in 1775, and, we are informed, was appointed pre- siding elder over the district extending from Long Island to Lake Champlain in 1788. In 1827, while at the house of a friend in New York, he was taken suddenly ill and soon died, in the 76th year of his age, and the 52nd of his ministry. The church was incorporated with Freeborn Garrett- son, the nephew, William Cross, Nicholas Drury, Jeffery H. Champlin and William Mink as trus- tees, June 2, 1829, and the certificate thereof re- corded on the eleventh of the same month, in Liber No. I of Records of Church Incorporations, pages 97-98, in the Clerk's Office, of Duchess County. A deed for one rood and thirteen perches of land for a parsonage lot, in the rear of the church lot, was presented to the Church by Hon. Edward Livingston, November 12, 1829.

On this lot in the same year a new parsonage was built, at a cost of $1,305.79. June 30, 1832, Mrs. Catharine Garrettson presented the church with half an acre of ground south of the village, for burial purposes, on condition that the church should enclose it with a suitable fence and permit no more burials in the ground attached to the church. The deed for this ground bears date March 27, 1835. A deed for half an acre of land adjoining the parsonage lot was presented to the church by Mrs. Louisa Livingston, widow of the Hon. Edward Livingston, Nov. 7, 1838. In 1834 the church found itself in debt in the sum of $954.00, and appealed to the court for leave to sell the old parsonage and lot, the proceeds to be applied in payment of the debt. An order permitting the sale was obtained by John Armstrong, Esq., October I, 1834, a strip on the north of the lot, 32 feet front and rear, on which there was a "new school house," to be reserved. The sale was not im- mediately effected, and the premises continued in the possession of Harvey Seymour as tenant.

277

TOWN OF RHINEBECK.

November 12, 1838, it was resolved to sell the premises, with the reservation on the north, to Robert T. Seymour, for $600. Failing in this, it was rented to Mr. Seymour for another year at $50, and in 1839 was sold to Rev. Benjamin Griffin, presiding elder of the Methodist church, at the time for the Rhinebeck district, for $500, he to pay the expense of a second application to the court, and fence the lot reserved for the school house. In this house a classical school was taught by Rev. Samuel Bell, a Methodist minister from the east. That was the beginning of the Rhinebeck Acadeiny. The credit for building up the Academy is due to the Methodists, and very largely to Rev. Mr. Grif- fin. Bell, Marcy, Park, Comfort, Powers, Stock- ing and Schuyler, were all Methodists.

The school house on the old church lot was the property of Miss Mary Garrettson, probably be- cause it had been built with her money. Super- seded by the Academy, in the building of which she had taken an active interest, she offered it to the Methodist church, with a lot fifteen feet wide on the west of the Methodist church lot, in 1842, to be fitted up exclusively for religious meetings and purposes. The removal was effected, and the old lot sold to Rev. Benjamin Griffin, for five dol- lars per foot, in 1843. March 12, 1848, Miss Mary Garrettson transferred her trust of the church lot to the trustees of the church, having held it as sole trustee for twenty-six years. June 14, 1849, Mrs. Catharine Garrettson, widow of Freeborn Garrettson, died suddenly at Montgomery Place, the residence of her sister-in-law, Louisa, widow of Hon. Edward Livingston. Born July 13, 1752, she was in the 97th year of her age when she died.

In 1851 the portico and steeple were added to the church edifice, at an expense of $1,100. In 1853 the church received a donation of five acres of land in the Buco Bush * from Miss Margaret B. Livingston, which was sold for $70 per acre, and the proceeds applied to the payment of Church debts.

In 1854 the church obtained an order from the court to sell the lot purchased from Gilbert Akerly May 1, 1845, the proceeds to be applied to the payment of other indebtedness. On the 19th of February, 1856, Miss Mary Garrettson f made a gift to the church of five acres of land for an addi- tion to the cemetery, and the cemetery thus en- larged was called the " Rhinebeck cemetery of the Methodist Episcopal Church."

In 1863 the church edifice was greatly enlarged, internally reconstructed, and greatly improved, at an expense of six or seven thousand dollars. In 1868 the church received a gift from Miss Mary Garrettson of the Akerly lot, upon which was built the present commodious Sunday School and lec- ture room. In 1871 the parsonage was recon- structed and enlarged, and is now, with its fine situation, a very desirable residence .* With its enlarged premises and improved buildings the Methodist church property is now one of the most attractive features in the village.

The Baptist Church was brought into Rhine- beck by Robert Scott, an Englishman. His fami- ly, it is said, were Episcopalians, and he was brought up in the faith of the English Church. He received a classical education, but learned the trade of a cabinet maker in his native country. At an early age he became a Wesleyan, and trav- eled about in his own country preaching as a min- ister of that denomination. In the progress of his ministrations he became a Baptist, joined the Baptist Communion, and settled down to his trade. He came to America with his family, in company with the Vassars and Slatens, arriving in New York October 6, 1794, where he went to work for Gen. Morgan Lewis, in Leonard street, as a car- penter. On the persuasion of Margaret Beekman Livingston, he moved to Rhinebeck with his fami- ly, and opened a school in 1796. He shortly after became a merchant, in which business he remained four years, when he gave up that business and opened a boarding school, and for the balance of his life followed the occupation of teacher and surveyor.

His ministerial life, it is said, never ceased from eighteen years of age. The first beginning of church organization was June 2, 1821, when Elder Freeman Hopkins preached at Rhinebeck Flatts, and baptized the following persons : John Reed, William Styles, Calvin O'Hara, Wadsworth Brooks, Jacob Dedrick, Elizabeth Thompson, Ann Logan, Catharine Thompson, Elizabeth Ann Thompson and Caty Myers. These, with Robert Scott, James Canfield, Ann Cook, Elizabeth Scott, Mary Scott, Jane Scott, James Styles, Jr., and Sarah Styles, agreed to walk together in church fellow- ship, and were formally recognized as a church of the Baptist denomination in Rhinebeck on the 4th of July, 1821. Robert Scott, then at the age of 60, became their first pastor. There was then no

* Beech-Woods.

t Miss Mary R. Garrettson, only child of Rev. Freeborn Garrettson and his wife Catharine Livingston, died March 6, 1879. She was born September 8, 1794.

* In the fall of 1876, the organ was put into the gallery, at an expense of $2, 500, and was a memorial gift from Thomas Suckley, for his brother, Rutsen, who died the previous year.

278

HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.

house of worship for the Baptists, and their early meetings were held in various places. June 30, 1825, James Canfield was chosen as the first deacon. In 1823, Janet Montgomery gave to them a lot of land on which to erect a church, which was begun in 1824, completed in 1825, and the first service held therein on the third of July of that year. The building was 30 by 34 feet, 18 foot posts. During the following winter, the house being devoid of stoves, meetings were held in the school house.

Rev. Robert Scott died September 24, 1834, in the 74th year of his age. His successor as a settled pastor was Rev. Isaac Bevan. He came in 1842 and continued his pastorate to January, 1848. His successor was Terry Bradley, from Wilmington, Del. He lost his health, and resigned his call April 7, 1850.

Dr. James Lillie, having become a Baptist, and entering the service of the American Bible Union as a translator, took up his residence in Rhine- beck. He and his wife joined the church here June 19, 1852, and he for a short time supplied the pulpit. Rev. Samuel W. Culver came as Dr. Lillie's successor in 1854, and remained until Jan- uary, 1857. Rev. M. R. Fory preached several months during the year 1858. William I. Gill came to Rhinebeck from the University at Roch- ester, and was ordained here September 2, 1858. He remained until October 15, 1859. Thereafter for several years the records are meagre. It is recollected, however, that during this period the desk was supplied at different times by Rev. J. N. Smith, a missionary of the Hudson River Central Association, and Messrs. Harriman and Coit, from the Rochester University. In 1867, the baptistry and dressing rooms were built under the direction and at the expense of Hon. William Kelly. Rev. A. M. Prentice, a student in the Seminary at Hamilton, was called to the pastorate and ordained September 9, 1869. He served the church until January, 1874. Benjamin Franklin Leipsner was his successor. He preached his first sermon July 26, 1874, and his last June 13, 1875. Rev. George W. Barnes succeeded Mr. Leipsner, begin- ning his pastorate October 11, 1875, and ending it May 1, 1880.

The original church lot was 51 feet wide and 180 feet deep, a gift, as before said, of Mrs. Janet Montgomery in 1823. The deed for it was given after her death by Edward Livingston, her brother and heir, July 25, 1829, in fulfillment of her inten- tions. It was given to Scott, Reed and Canfield, and their successors in office, as trustees, forever.

In 1869, at the widening of Livingston street, William Kelly purchased what remained of the corner lots, and added the purchase, as a gift, to the church lot, which was thereby increased to 89 feet front and made a corner lot. It is located on the corner of Montgomery and Livingston streets, and is the most eligibly situated church lot in the village.

The Village Lutheran Church has a recent ori- gin. It was founded by Rev. Charles A. Smith, who came into Rhinebeck the successor of Rev. Augustus T. Geissenhainer in the pastorate of the Wurtembergh Lutheran Church.

The church edifice was built in the summer of 1842. The lot on which it stands was the gift of John T. Schryver. The house was built at a cost of $5,500, and when completed was, by common consent, the handsomest church edifice, in its in- terior finish and steeple, in the town.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Duchess county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 54

Author: Smith, James H. (James Hadden); Cale, Hume H; Roscoe, William E Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 868

Author: Smith, James H. (James Hadden); Cale, Hume H; Roscoe, William E
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 868