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 83
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423
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
1823, it again became a station, and has so re- mained to the present time.
In 1826, the church in Jefferson street was taken down, and such of the material as could be made available was used in the construction of a new one on Washington street, on the site of Eastman College, and opposite the church now occupied by the Methodists on that street. The ground on which the new building was erected was purchased in the interest of the Methodists, for $650, by Jo- siah Williams, a wealthy gentleman, who came to Poughkeepsie the previous year from New York and who also loaned the society, then burdened with a debt of $900 on the old church, the money needed in the construction of the new edifice, which was of the same width as the old one, forty feet, and fifty feet in length, with basement and galleries, and a seating capacity for about 500. It was dedicated Dec. 7, 1826.
In 1853, there were four hundred and two white and forty-seven colored members. In 1836-'7 the membership had increased to 616 ; and in 1840, when the Cannon street church was formed from this, the old church had 318 members and the new one 156. The present number of full members is 439 ; the attendance at Sabbath school, 282.
During the pastorate of G. S. Hare, the present edifice was erected, and was dedicated September 7, 1859. The site cost $6,500. The entire cost of ground, edifice and furniture was $29,400.03. Poughkeepsie has been successively included in the New York, Rhinebeck, Ashgrove, Rhinebeck, New Haven and Rhinebeck districts. In 1835, it gave name to the district in which it has since been included.
The succession of pastors since 1806, is as follows : D. Ostrander, F. Ward, R. Dillon, William Vre- denburgh, William Swayze, P. Moriarity, T. Plany, Zenas Covil, J. Crawford, Smith Arnold, E. Wool- sey, Z. Lyon, Peter Bussing, to 1812 ; W. Anson, W. Swayze, Marvin Richardson, Coles Carpenter and Samuel Luckey, 1812-'13 ; James M. Smith, Phineas Cook and Coles Carpenter, 1814; James M. Smith, 1815 ; William Jewett, 1816; Samuel Cochran, J. B. Matthias, Aaron Pierce, 1817; Samuel Cochran, J. B. Matthias and Luman Andres, 1818 ; Luman Andres, Smith Arnold and Jesse Hunt, 1819; J. M. Smith, Smith Arnold and Oliver Sykes, 1820; J. M. Smith and John Reynolds, 1821 ; Arnold Scofield and John Rey- nolds, 1822 ; Robert Seney, 1823 ; James Young, 1824; Aaron Pierce, 1825-'6; Marvin Richard- son, 1827-'8; W. Jewett, 1829-'30 ; W. Thacher,
1831-'2; George Coles, 1833-'4; J. Z. Nichols, 1835 ; S. L. Stillman, 1836-'7 ; Charles W. Car- penter, 1838-'9 ; P. P. Sanford, Robert Seney, J. Lindsey, B. Griffen, M. L. Scudder, (during whose term the church was remodeled and greatly im- proved,) L. M. Vincent, W. H. Ferris, L. H. King, Z. N. Lewis, M. D. C. Crawford, G. S. Hare, S. D. Brown, J. L. G. Mckown, DeLoss Lull, J. E. Cookman, W. G. Lewis, Q. J. Col- lins, William Lloyd, J. F. McClelland, C. R. North and G. S. Hare, the latter of whom, the present pastor, commenced his labors in April, 1880.
The Baptist Church of Poughkeepsie was organ- ized July 12, 1807, by a council which convened at the house of George Parker. The constituent members were sixteen in number, as follows : George Parker, William Young, John Harbottle, John Forbus, Isaac Waddell, Benjamin Bunker, William Goss, Benjamin Fuller, Jonathan New- house, Ann Vassar, Abigail Cornish, Edy Bullmore, Ruth Bunker, Eleanor Waddell, Sarah Goss and Naomi Burton. Meetings of the Baptist people had been held in an irregular way from 1800.
Rev. Francis Wayland, Sr., father of an illus- trous son of the same name and a member of the council by which the church was constituted, was immediately chosen pastor, in which office he continued with fidelity and success about four years.
In 1808 a house of worship was erected on the site of the present one. The land for that purpose was donated by a venerable citizen-Col. Talmadge. The house, though small and unpretentious, in- volved pecuniary burdens which were not fully removed until the lapse of fifteen years.
In 1820 the church instituted a Sabbath school, which is said to have been the first of its kind in the town of Poughkeepsie.
About 1839 a new church edifice was erected in LaFayette place, at a cost of $20,000, one-half of which sum was the generous donation of Matthew Vassar, Sr.
During the pastorate of Charles Van Loon, from November, 1843, till his death in 1847, large accessions were made to the church, and too, an unhappy division occurred in 1844, which parted the church into two bands, one remaining in the new church in LaFayette place, the other returning to the ancestral home in Mill street, which, in the meantime, had been the property of Universalists, who now own the church in La- Fayette place. The two branches were reunited under the pastorate of Rev. W. H. Wines in 1867, and met together in the LaFayette place house.
424
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
After the division in 1844, Rev. Aaron Perkins became for the third time associated with the Baptist cause in Poughkeepsie. He retained charge of the Central Church (the name adopted by the LaFayette place band,) about two years. Messrs. Fay, Hansell, Green, Goodspeed, Brackett, Lawson and Wines, filled up the years of its exist- ence with faithful services and with varied measures of success. Several were beginners in the ministry when they came here, and in other fields have subsequently achieved a pure and wide renown. The longest pastorate in the Central church was that of J. B. Brackett, D. D., covering a period of seven years.
In 1875, the building of the present fine church on Mill street was commenced. It was completed in 1877, and dedicated on the 16th of October of that year. Its cost was $58,000, and including fix- tures, $70,000.
The present membership is about 400; the at- tendance at Sunday school, of which A. A. Dayton is the superintendent, about 150.
The following is the succession of pastors to the present time :
Revs. Francis Wayland, Sr., 1808 to 1812; Lewis Leonard, 1813 to 1822 ; Aaron Perkins, 1822 to 1823 ; Rufus Babcock, Jr., 1823 to 1826 ; Robert W. Cushman, nearly a year; Aaron Perkins 1829 to 1833; G. Lansing Burrows, D.D., nearly a year; E. W. Dickinson and Thomas Wilkes, brief terms ; Rufus Babcock, Nov. 1839 to Sept. 1843; Charles Van Loon, Nov. 1843 to 1847; J. Hyatt Smith, two years ; Wm. F. Nelson, W. J. Loomis and Thomas Goodwin, brief terms ; Thomas E. Vassar, (supply,) more than a year ; Wm. O. Holman, nearly five years from June, 1857; C. W. Chandler, ;* Rufus Babcock, two years to 1866; W. H. Wines, 1866 to 1873 ; J. R. Ken- drick, D. D., Sept., 1873 to July 1, 1881.
First Presbyterian Church .- The organization of this church is of comparatively recent date, but the history of Presbyterianism in Poughkeepsie takes us back to a much earlier period.
From Presbyterial records, it appears that a Presbyterian church was in existence in Pough- keepsie Precinct in 1749, and that Rev. Chauncy Graham was pastor of it in connection with the church at Fishkill. It joined the Presbytery of New York Nov. 1, 1750. Mr. Graham was dis- missed from Poughkeepsie by that Presbytery, with the consent of the people, Sept. 29, 1752, but re- tained his connection with the church of Fishkill.
Upon his representation of the state of the con- gregation in Poughkeepsie, however, the Duchess County Presbytery, formed by the sanction of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia May 22, 1763, ordered him to supply them two Sabbaths, and Mr. Peck one, before its next session. Mr. Graham complied, but Mr. Peck did not-for reasons which the Presbytery "sanctioned." At the second meeting of the Presbytery, May 2, 1764, "Poughkeepsie and Charlotte Precincts applied for a candidate to preach to them on trial "; but the Presbytery, not knowing of one, permitted them to invite any licensed candidate to preach among them until its next meeting. On their re- quest that the Presbytery "supply them by its members until such candidates should be ob- tained," Mr. Mead was ordered to supply them the last Sabbath but one in June, Mr. Peck the last Sabbath in August, and Mr. Graham the Sab- bath before the next session of the Presbytery. Mr. Peck, who seems to have been quite a recu- sant, either obstinately refusing to obey his Pres- bytery, or declining for some special reasons to preach for the Poughkeepsie church, failed to ful- fill his appointment ; not so, however, the others. Nov. 12, 1765, the Presbytery ordained Wheeler Case at the joint request of the Poughkeepsie and Charlotte precincts, where he had alternately preached for a considerable time, and settled him in the pastorate over those churches. Oct. 12, 1769, Mr. Case requested, with the consent of his people in Poughkeepsie, " to be freed half his time from his labors with them till the next stated Pres- bytery, which was granted." May 9, 1770, he was allowed to continue his labors ; but Oct. 11, 1770, he was dismissed at his request from his pastoral relations to the church in Poughkeepsie. For several years before the settlement of Mr. Case, the two congregations of Poughkeepsie and Char- lotte (Pleasant Valley) Precincts were supplied under the care of the Presbytery by Deliverance Smith, a licentiate, and Rev. Mr. Thompson, uncle to the late Hon. Smith Thompson. Oct. 3, 1772, the Presbytery, in consideration of the "broken circumstances " of the congregation in Poughkeep- sie, ordered Mr. Kent to supply them the third Sabbath in October, Mr. Graham the second in November and the last in December, Mr. Mills the last in November, Mr. Mead the third in January, and Mr. Close the second in March.
From this time until 1786, Presbyterian interests in Poughkeepsie were almost altogether uncared for, from the unsettled condition of the country
# Soon retired to take orders in the Episcopal Church.
425
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
incident to the war of the Revolution. In 1786, Rev. Daniel Marsh, from New England, took the pastoral charge of the few Presbyterians who re- mained, and continued his labors for three or four years, when he left them.
In 1817 an effort was made to rehabilitate the Presbyterian interests. A congregation was organ- ized according to law, and occasional supplies were received from the Presbytery of North River, in which the Duchess Presbytery was merged.
All efforts to build up a Presbyterian church in Poughkeepsie were abortive till 1826. On the 18th of September in that year, the North River Presbytery reorganized the church with eighteen members, and installed Rev. Alonzo Welton as pastor Dec. 20, 1826.
The oldest of the present members, who num- ber 457, are Hon. James Bowne, who joined the church in 1828, and Hon. John Thompson and Mrs. Mary C. Herrick, who joined in 1830.
The congregation first worshipped in an old frame building on Church street, on grounds now occu- pied by the Fourth Ward school, formerly known as the Lancasterian school. Their first house of worship, on Cannon street, now St. Mary's church, was dedicated Dec. 19, 1826. It is the oldest church edifice in the city.
The succession of pastors is as follows: Alonzo Welton, installed Dec. 20, 1826, dismissed Dec. 14, 1831; Wm. Page, installed Jan. 23, 1833, dismissed April 15, 1834; Sylvester Eaton, in- stalled Nov. 30, 1836, dismissed April 1, 1840; Henry G. Ludlow, installed June 2, 1842, dis- missed Sept. 17, 1858 ; Francis Brown Wheeler, D. D., the present pastor, installed May 12, 1859.
The elders have been Joseph Allen, Daniel Hebard, Wm. Williams, M. D., L. F. Philips, Peter C. Tappen, Robert Wilkinson, Alvin Lath- rop, Roderick Andrus, Wm. Sedgwick, Wm. C. Sterling, Wm. Wilkinson, Joseph Bartlett, Sheldon C. D. Raymond; and the deacons, Jeremiah Platt, James Lockwood, Charles H. P. Mclellan, John N. Candee, Jeromus Wiltsie, Wales A. Candee, Isaac Tice, Alfred B. Smith .*
St. Paul's Church, Poughkeepsie .-- This church is situated on Mansion Square, at the corner of North Hamilton and Mansion streets. It is solidly built of stone and its walls, covered with ivy, are pretty and attractive, amid the surrounding trees.
The organization to which this building belongs is an offshoot from the older parish of Christ church and was formed in the year 1835. On the 28th of September, 1835, St. Paul's church and parish were duly incorporated by law, and the following gentle- men were elected: John Delafield and George P. Oakley, Wardens; Elias Trivett, N. P. Talmadge, Chas. H. Ruggles, Paraclete Potter, James Grant, Jr., A. S. Hatch, Hiram Veltman, S. B. Dutton, Vestrymen.
The Rev. Mr. Hatch was called to the Rector- ship, and accepted ; and the Vestry took immediate steps for the erection of a suitable church building. This was accomplished in the year 1836, by the building of a wooden structure, in "the Grecian Doric style," which was then fashionable, at a cost of about $10,000. The Rev. Mr. Hatch continued to be Rector till 1842, when he resigned, and in the following spring the Vestry elected the Rev. Dr. Milledoler, who occupied the position for four years, and in 1846 was succeeded by the Rev. Al- bert D. Traver.
The death of Dr. Traver in December, 1866, terminated a pastorship of twenty years' duration, which was of substantial benefit to the church and to the community. Shortly after Dr. Traver's death the Vestry called to the Rectorship the pres- ent incumbent, the Rev. S. H. Synnott, then of Cooperstown, Otsego Co., N. Y., who took charge in Feb. 1867.
In 1871, the wooden building erected in 1836, was demolished, in order to make room for the stone edifice which now occupies the ground. The total cost of this building, including windows, fur- niture, organ, &c., was about $32,000, of which one member of the parish contributed nearly $14,- ooo, and many others in equally generous propor- tions.
St. Paul's church, though somewhat distant from the center of population in Poughkeepsie, and for that reason disadvantageously located, yet by the beauty of its edifice and the attractive character of its services, has maintained both its prosperity and its usefulness in an increasing degree from year to year .*
Universalist Church .- The first preaching in this vicinity of the doctrine of final salvation to all men, occurred about sixty years ago, when a teacher of this faith preached under the willows which then stood on the east side of Washington street, a short distance north of the Northern Hotel. Who was the preacher, how many were
* We are indebted for the materials of this sketch to a Historical Dis- course, delivered by Rev. F. B. Wheeler, the pastor, July 7, 1878, to the Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle of May 12, 1877; to The Sunday Courier of Feb. 16. 1873 ; and to supplementary information from Rev. Mr. Wheeler.
* We are indebted to the rector, S. H. Synnott, for this sketch.
426
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
gathered on that occasion, or whether any converts were made, tradition does not inform us, and but for a trifling incident the fact would not probably be remembered.
Nothing further is known of the preaching of Universalism in Poughkeepsie until a few years prior to 1836; during which period Rev. T. J. Hillyer, of North Salem, Rev. Thomas I. Sawyer and Rev. Theophilus Fish are known to have preached occasionally in the court house and vil- lage hall, to fair audiences, and by their preaching succeeded in awaking an interest that led to the organization of the First Universalist Society of Poughkeepsie in December, 1836.
In February, 1837, Rev. J. D. Williamson, of Albany, was called by the society and became their pastor. During his pastorate, in 1843, the old Baptist church in Mill street, which stood upon the site of the present new edifice owned by that de- nomination, was purchased by James E. Slater, Benjamin Gile, John C. Holmes and H. D. Myers, who put it in thorough repair, when the Univer- salist society took possession, dedicated, and worshipped in it, with Rev. Mr. Bartlett as pastor, until November, 1844, when Mr. Bartlett was suc- ceeded by Rev Gibson Smith, who preached for the society till May 1, 1845, when he was succeeded by Rev. L. P. Rand.
On the division in the Baptist church, one branch of that society, desiring to possess their old spirit- ual home, made a liberal offer for it. The persons holding the title accepted it, and recovered the property, with the approbation and consent of the Universalist society, which afterwards worshipped in the court house and village hall, though they had no settled pastor.
In 1850, the Presbyterian church in Cannon street was purchased by the society and repaired, and regular services were held; but no pastor was called till 1853, when Rev. W. W. King assumed the charge and retained it till May 1, 1855, when he was succeeded by Rev. B. H. Davis, whose pastorate continued until May, 1, 1860. Rev. H. P. Cutting succeeded Mr. Davis and served as pastor until May 1, 1862. The church after that time was rented for various purposes until 1873, when it was sold to the Catholics.
No effort was made to resume services until 1879, though the legal organization was regularly kept up by the election of trustees. In 1879, the society purchased the Baptist church in LaFayette place, and dedicated it November 19th. The pulpit was supplied by the State Missionary Society
from that time until the spring of 1880, when Rev. James Gorton assumed the pastoral care, but re- mained only three months. The pulpit was again supplied by the State Missionary Society and others until the spring of 1881, when Rev. L. H. Squires became and still remains the settled pastor. The congregation numbers from fifty to seventy-five .*
The First Congregational Church of Poughkeep- sie was organized in the Carnes building, 310 Main street, September 10, 1838, by eighty-six in- dividuals, late members of the First and Secondt Presbyterian churches, who unanimously adopted a confession of faith and "principles of govern- ment and discipline."
Rev. Almon Underwood was induced to come and labor with the infant church, and commenced his services on the last Sabbath in August, 1837. The church worshipped in the Carnes building, where it was organized, until August 5, 1838, when it removed to the building formerly owned and oc- cupied by the Second Presbyterian church, on the corner of Mill and Vassar streets, now used as a Jewish synagogue, which was purchased for its use.
During the pastorate of Mr. Rice - 1855 to 1860-active measures were taken to secure a lot in a more central location, upon which to build a a larger and better arranged house of worship. A desirable lot, situated on the north side of Mill street, between Garden and Washington streets, was purchased, and the corner-stone of the present church edifice was laid June 1, 1859. The building was completed and dedicated June 5, 1860. The lecture room having been completed, public ser- vice was commenced in it Oct. 9, 1859, and con- tinued there till the dedication of the main edifice.
Following is the succession of pastors ; Almon Underwood, 1837-'44; Levi F. Waldo, 1844-'54; Chauncey D. Rice, 1855-'60 ; Moses Tyler, 1861- '62 ; James Leonard Corning, 1863-'69 ; Henry Loomis, Jr., 1869-'71 ; James C. Beecher, 1871- '75; and E. A. Lawrence, the present pastor, who commenced his labors Sept. 12, 1875.
The African M. E. Zion Church was organized in 1837, by persons who formerly belonged to the First M. E. Church of Poughkeepsie, which, at
* This sketch is prepared from a historical discourse delivered by Henry D. Myers at the dedication of the church Nov. 19, 1879, and from S. P. Heermance's Reminiscences, published in The Sunday Courier.
t This church disbanded about a year after the Congregational church was organized, many of its members returning to the First Presbyterian church, from which they separated on the question of old and new school ; others uniting with the Congregational church. It was in exis- tence some three or four years.
427
CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
one time, numbered fifty-eight colored members. Their first house of worship was erected in 1843, on the site of the present one, on Catharine street, between Mansion street and Cottage place; and the present one, a brick structure, in 1862, at a cost of about $4,000. The old church was \re- moved to the rear of the present edifice, and was soon after fitted up, and rented in 1863, to the Board of Education for the use of a colored school, for which purpose it was used for several years. In 1879 it was fitted up for a public hall, for which purpose it has since been used. The present pas- tor is Rev. Jacob Thomas, who entered upon his present pastorate in June, 1878, having previously served a pastorate of three years from June, 1861. The present membership is sixty ; the attendance at Sabbath school, which is superintended by the pastor, about the same number ; the average at- tendance being about thirty-five. The church is free from debt.
The Cannon Street M. E. Church, the second offshoot from the Washington street M. E. Church, was organized in April, 1840, by Rev. C. W. Car- penter, with the sanction of the latter church, of which he was then pastor. About one hundred and fifty-six (the number reported to the next Conference) withdrew from the parent church to form the new one. Soon after, Thomas M. Brewer, Thomas Simpson, Wm. Wall Reynolds, Edmund B. Bailey, Henry Way, David Norris and Egbert B. Killey were elected trustees, and assumed the financial responsibilities of the new enterprise. The old Baptist church in Mill street, (from which the Baptists had removed to their new church in LaFayette Place, built in 1839,) was rented for the use of the society. In 1842, that building was sold to the Universalists, and on the first of Novem- ber of that year was vacated by the new society, which worshipped for a while in the village hall, and subsequently in the court house, where they continued to hold services until the completion of the present church on Cannon street, the corner stone of which was laid by Bishop Janes, May 26, 1845. The total cost of the edifice and site was $8,650. It was dedicated Dec. 25, 1845.
The following is the succession of stationed ministers of this church: Revs. Fitch Reed, 1840-'42; Hart F. Pease, 1842-'44; John P. Merwin, 1844-'47 ; Benjamin M. Genung, 1847 ; Seymour Van Deusen, 1847-'49 ; George F. Ket- tell, 1849-'51 ; D. W. Clark, 1851-'53; W. Jewett, 1853 ; R. A. Chalker, 1853-'54; J. W. Beach, 1854-'55 ; L. W. Peck, 1856-'57 ; George
F. Kettell, 1858 ; Wm. J. Foss, 1859 ; George W. Lord, 1859 ; A. D. Vail, 1860-'61 ; A. M. Hough, 1862; Alex. Mc Lean, 1863-'64 ; E. R. Keyes, 1865-'67 ; E. L. Prentice, 1867-'70; M. S. Terry, 1870-'73; P. R. Hauxhurst, 1873-'76; W. H. Ferris, D. D., 1876-'79 ; Winslow W. Sever, 1879 to the present time.
The German M. E. Church was organized in 1847, by C. Lyon, in the Washington street M. E. Church. The late Rev. Daniel Duerstein was the missionary, aided by a German member of the Presbyterian church, Jacob Bahret ; and Mr. Duer- stein was appointed the first pastor. The congre- gation worshipped at Duerstein's house, on the corner of Church and Jefferson streets, (the first floor of which was fitted up for that purpose, ) until Oct. 28, 1849, and later, while their church was being built, in the Lancasterian school house in Church street, until March 31, 1850.
The first sermon in the German language was preached July 18, 1847, by the late Rev. J. Sauter, presiding elder, at the court house, and quite a large number of Germans were present. Mr. Duerstein preached his first sermon in the house of the late Jacob Bahret, in Jay street, to fifteen persons. Their growth was rapid. Their first report, in 1851, shows a membership of fifty-one.
August 18, 1849, a lot was purchased in South Bridge street, of James Kenworth, for a site for a church. The first service was held in the base- ment of the new edifice-a small frame structure -April 7, 1850, and Sept. 22, 1850, the church was dedicated by C. Lyon, presiding elder. The erection of a parsonage was commenced in 1862, and finished in May, 1863, at a cost of $1,250. Rev. George Abele, who was the pastor, collected the entire amount, $800 of which was subscribed by the generous citizens of Poughkeepsie.
Mr. Duerstein remained the pastor until May, 1850. His successors have been : Revs. Anthony Romig, C. Herdell, Leonard Mayer, F. G. Gratz, John Swahlen, C. F. Grim, J. G. Lutz, G. Abele, John Sauter, George Mayer, Wm. H. Kurth, J. Seidel, John Flad and C. Hoffroge, the latter of whom is the present pastor.
First German Lutheran Church of Pough- keepsie .* In the year 1847 the German residents of Poughkeepsie held a religious meeting in the village hall, which drew together Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Methodists. Rev. Mr. Duerstein preached ; but when, after several Sundays, it was
* We are indebied for the materials of this sketch to the pastor, Rev. G. C. Berkemier.
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
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