History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 56

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336

USA > New York > Orange County > History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 56

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In connection with this church we give, as a matter of record, the following extract from the will of Thomas Ellison, Jr., of New York, in 1793 :

The number of mere boys who found their way into the army was by no means inconsiderable. Lieut. Robert Burnet and Lieut. Alexander Clinton were but fifteen years old when they were commissioned. " I give and beqneath unto my brother, William Ellison, and my nephew, Thomas Ellison, and the survivors of them and the heirs of such survivors, all the lands I bought of Cornelins Tibout in New Windsor, Ulster Co., in the State of New York, containing in the several lots about fifty-five acres, in trust for a glebe for such minister of the gospel in communion with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York as shall hereafter be settled and have the care of souls in the said town of New Windsor, and his successor for the time being, forever. And also I give unto my said brother, William Ellison, and my nephew, Thomas Ellison, the sum of six hundred pounds, New York currency, in such of my bonds as he and my nephew shall choose, to be kept out at Aside from this general fact, it is related that there was a regularly-organized company of boys, from twelve to fifteen years of age, in Little Britain, who were "sollier boys" in earnest, having been several times on duty as home guards. The Hessian prisoners from Saratoga en route for Easton, Pa., passed through Little Britain and camped at Maj. Telford's tavern, then opposite the Burnet homestead. The prisoners , interest, and the annual interest arising therefrom to be paid to such

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

minister for the time being toward his sopport and maintenance; and if there should be no such minister at the time of my death, then my will is that the reuts and profits of the said lands, and the interest of the said sum of six hundred pounds, shall yearly be put out at interest by my said brother, William Ellison, and my nephew, Thomas Ellison, their heirs and executors (but not to be at his or their risk), and shall become principal and be added to the said sum of six hundred pounds yearly, mutil such minister shall be settled and have the care of souls in the said town of New Windsor, who shall officiate as a minister for one-half of his time at least, and then the interest of the whole anm thus accumu- lated shall be yearly paid to such minister and his successors for the time being toward his and their support and maintenance. And whenever the inhabitants for the time being of the said town of New Windsor in communion of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York shall become a religious corporation, then the said lands and the securities for the said moneys shall be conveyed and delivered to such corporation for the uses and purposes aforesaid."

The following have been the rectors of the church : 1848-50, Rev. Edmund Embury ; 1851-56, Rev. Reu- ben Riley (Rev. Beverly Robinson Betts, assistant) ; 1857-62, Rev. Christopher D. Wyatt ; *- 1862-63, Rev. R. H. Cressy ; 1864-67, Rev. Benjamin S. Hunting- ton; 1867-71, Rev. Richard Temple ; + 1872, Rev. Has- lett MeKim, now rector.

The church edifice is a neat Gothic building of stone, and is situated on the table-lands a short dis- tance south of the village of New Windsor.

NEW WINDSOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The New Windsor Presbyterian Church dates its organization from Sept. 14, 1764, at which time Jo- seph Wood, William Lawrence, Samuel Brewster, and Henry Smith were chosen elders. It was formally constituted May 5, 1766, by the Rev. Timothy Johnes, a committee of the Presbytery of New York. From the date of its constitution until 1805 it was associ- ated with the Newburgh and Bethlehem societies in the support of a pastor, and from 1805 to 1810 with the latter. From 1810 to 1827 it enjoyed only occa- sional ministerial labors. On May 1, 1827, the Rev. James H. Thomas was employed in connection with the church at Canterbury, and was installed pastor of both churches Feb. 12, 1828. The connection with the Canterbury Church was dissolved in 1834, Mr. Thomas serving the New Windsor Church exclusively until June, 1835. Rev. James Sherwood was installed pastor Ang. 5, 1835, and continued in that relation until April, 1840. The pulpit was subsequently vecu- pied by supplies,-Rev. N. S. Prime, Rev. Henry Bel- den, Rev. Isaac C. Beach, and Rev. James Bruyn. For several years past there have been no serviees held, although we believe a church organization is main- tained. For its connection with the Bethlehem Church, and also with the Presbyterian Church of Newburgh, the reader is referred to the history of the latter church in the history of Newburgh.

The first building erected by the society was a small structure in the village of New Windsor. It is said that it was occupied as a hospital during the encampment, and was subsequently destroyed by fire.

The present edifice was erected in 1807. It is a small wooden structure with spire, and adjoins the present village on the west. In the ancient burial-ground attached, the oklest monument is that which records the resting-place of John Yelverton, one of the found- ers of the village, who died June 12, 1767, aged seventy-four years.

ASSOCIATE REFORMED CHURCH, LITTLE BRITAIN.

The early history of this church has been noticed in another chapter. Whatever may have been its previous status, its records date from 1765, September 11th, when Patrick McClaughry sold to James Jack- son, Matthew MeDool (Dowell), and Andrew Craw- ford a tract or parcel of land containing one acre one rood and twenty-three perches, being part of the patent to Andrew Johnston, the intention of the pur- chasers, as expressed in the deed, being " to erect a meeting-house thereupon to be appropriated to Divine service in the public worship of God, for the use of a Presbyterian minister and congregation in connection with the Associate Presbytery in Pennsylvania." On the site thus purchased a church edifice was erected, and was occupied by the congregation until 1826. It was a square building with a barrack roof. The en- trance was in the middle on the east, and on each side of the door were stairs leading to galleries on the north and south sides. The pulpit was on the west, facing the entrance, and was one of the old-fashioned high structures with a sounding-board. On each side of the pulpit were square pews, with seats on all sides, so that part of the occupants had to sit with their backs to the minister. In front of the pulpit, and "between that and the door, were long seats or slip-, on each side of which were continued the box pews. On the south side of the pulpit the first pew was owned by the MeDowells; the second, by Robert Burnet ; the next and corner pew, by the Shaws and Kerno- chans. As it was not fully completed inside for sey- eral years after it was inclosed. descriptive recollec- tions vary somewhat. Outside, the south and west sides were shingled ; the west and north, elapboarded. One peculiarity it maintained among the early settlers, -it was universally ealled "The Meeting-Honse." In 1826 it gave place to the building which is now occupied by the society.

The first elders of the church were Matthew Mc- Dool (McDowell), Patrick McClaughry, and John Waugh. The first pastor was the Rev. Robert Annan, who was in charge in 1768. The records of the As- sociate Presbytery of Pennsylvania state,-

" Aug. 31, 1762, Mr. Robert Annan was called to the exercise of the pastoral office in the congregation of Marsh Creek and Cunawago, in Pennsylvania, and on the 8th of June, 1763, he was ordained and installed." April 15, 1767, he was called to " the congregation of Little Britain and Wallkill." April 21, 1768, the pastoral relation between him and the congregation of Marsh Creek and Cunawago was dissolved, and on

* Mr. Wyatt officiated also as rector of St. John's, Canterbury.

+ Rev. John Morgan officiated.

Robert H. Wallace

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NEW WINDSOR.

Oct. 2, 1772, he was installed pastor "of the United Associate congregations of Little Britain and Wall- kill."

Mr. Annan served the Little Britain and Neelytown (Wallkill) congregations until about 1783, when he removed to Boston. His successor was Rev. Thomas J. Smith, who was installed May 1, 1791. On his re- tirement the pastorate was vacant until 1812, when the Rev. James Serimgeour, who had served as pastor of the Associate Reformed Church of Newburgh from 1803, was installed. He remained in the charge until his death, Feb. 4, 1825. Rev. Robert H. Wallace was his successor, Oct. 6, 1825, and served until his death, when he was succeeded by his son, Rev. R. Howard Wallace, who is now pastor.

The original Presbyterial connection of the church was maintained until a recent date, when it united with the " Old-School" branch of Presbyterians.

REV. ROBERT H. WALLACE, D.D .- It has been deemed appropriate to introduce the life-sketch of the Rev. Dr. Wallace by the insertion of the follow- ing paper, prepared in 1857 by Rev. John Forsyth, D.D., present chaplain of the United States Military Academy at West Point, for a memorial volume, on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the Presbyterian Church of Little Britain :

" Mr. Wallace was born in the town of Montgomery, Orange Co., N. Y., on the 12th November, 1796. His parents were natives of the north of Ireland, and were warmly attached members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and distinguished for their at- tachment to revealed truth and the strength and triumphs of their faith. They reached a good old age, and having adorned the doctrine of God their Saviour during many years by holy lives, we have every reason to believe that they are now, with the great multitude, before the throne.

" Their son, the subject of this sketch, belongs to the class of men which is popularly described as 'self-made.' As the pecuniary resources of his parents were limited, he was early thrown upon his own ener- gies, and was forced to work his own way, amid diffi- culties, to the profession upon which his heart was fixed. His disadvantages were much increased by the removal of his parents to Susquehanna County, P'a., at that time a newly-settled region, with no insti- tutions of learning above the common school.

"Mr. Wallace began his course of classical study at the Montgomery Academy, then under Rev. Dr. Mc- Jimpsey, between whom and his pupil there was formed an intimate and life-long friendship. In his eighteenth year Mr. Wallace made a personal profes- sion of his faith in Christ, in connection with the church of which his parents were members; but, in 1821 he withdrew from that body and united with the church of Neelytown, to which Dr. MeJimpsey then ministered. This church was under the care of the Associate Reformed Presbytery of New York, by which, in the autumn of the same year, he was re-

ceived as a student of theology. The Presbytery then included sueh men as Drs. John M. Mason, Me- Jimpsey, Phillips, Seringeour, and MeLeod, and it was then usual to subject those who applied to be admitted to the study of divinity, but who had not gone through a regular academie course, to a thor- ough examination in the various branches of liter- ature and science. Mr. Wallace bore this test, ap- plied as it was by such men as have been named, and his attainments were declared to be equivalent to those gained in the ordinary collegiate curriculum. The approval of these strong men found later in- dorsement by Union College (now Union University ). which in 1834 conferred upon Mr. Wallace the degree of M.A., and later that of ' Doctor of Divinity.'

" As the operations of the theological seminary (then at New York, but subsequently removed to Newburgh ) were suspended, in consequence of the failing health of Dr. Mason, the principal professor. Mr. Wallace put himself under the directions of his former tutor and venerable friend, Dr. McJimpsey. He remained with him, prosecuting his theological studies, three years, the usual time required by the law of the A. R. Church, and was in due course licensed by the Presbytery of New York to preach the gospel, at a meeting of that body held in New- burgh, 15th September, 1824.

" For several years previous to his licensure, Mr. Wallace, in working his own way to the ministry, had been compelled to perform the double task of a teacher and a theological student. He had charge of several schools during this period, and in all of them he won the warm esteem of pupils and parents. But he found, as many others have done, the double labor of the school-room and study too much for his physi- cal strength ; and now, just as he had gained the object on which his heart had been so long fixed, it seemed as if he were destined to retain it in his grasp only for a moment, and must then part with it forever. " At the time of his licensure disease appeared to have taken such firm hold of him that his physicians were very dubious about his recovery, and in any event judged that he must seek a field of labor in the mild regions of the South. He prepared at once to aet upon this advice ; but while 'man proposes God disposes,' and it was soon evident that his Divine Master had other plans in regard to him.

" He was appointed by the Presbytery of New York to supply the church of Little Britain, then virtually vacant in consequence of the age and bodily infirmities of its venerable pastor, Mr. Serimgeour, who died a few months later. But it so happened that, through an exchange, his first sermon was preached in the pulpit of his friend and theological instructor, Dr. MeJimpsey, at Neelytown. With this excellent man Mr. Wallace lived on terms of intimate friend- ship, which was broken only by death. Dr. Me- Jimpsey was a man whom none could know and not love.

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

" Mr. Waliace spent the second Sabbath after his licensure in Little Britain, and thus was introduced into the field which he then expected he might never see again, but which he was destined to cultivate, amid many tokens of divine favor, for more than thirty years. This first visit to Little Britain was made in September, 1824. He was instantly and strongly urged to remain here as the pastor of the church, but he declined, as he wished to make an extended mis- sionary tour in the service of the Board of Domestic Missions of the A. R. Synod of New York. He was, in fact, the first missionary employed by that board, and he continued in their service until the following September. During this tour he visited Blooming- burgh, White Lake, New Milford, Lawsville, Bethany, Mount Pleasant, Pa., Ithaca, Erin, York, Caledonia, N. Y., and even went so far west as Detroit, then on the confines of civilization.

" His journey was performed on horseback, over a region then covered for many a weary mile with the unbroken forest, but which is now thickly studded over-so marvelous are the changes wrought by en- terprise in our country-with countless farms and villages. The appliances of comfortable travel were few and far between. Often the rude log hut was his only shelter. It was, in a word, a rough service, but we have no doubt it afforded him the invigorating ex- ercise, the health-inspiring medicine needed by his enfeebled frame.

"Early in the autumn Mr. Wallace returned to that an old friend had remarked to him 'that he Newburgh to attend meetings of Synod and Presby- . tery, and then to proceed to the South, where he pro- posed to spend the winter. Meanwhile a pressing call was put into his hands from the then vacant church of Caledonia, N. Y., and also from other places which he had visited proposals to settle were made to him. These he declined, and at the earnest solicitation of the fathers and brethren of the Presby- tery he abandoned his plan of a Southern journey and accepted the call from the congregation of Little Britain. He was ordained and installed in this charge on the 6th October, 1825.

" Few fields presented at this time a more unpromis- ing aspect than that into which Mr. Wallaee was led that he might cultivate it in the name of the Lord. The church was old and dilapidated, the number of communicants was small, piety was at a low ebb in the church, while outside of it vice' and irreligion abounded.

"Very soon after the settlement of Mr. Wallace measures were taken for a complete remodeling and an enlargement of the old church, a comfortable par- sonage was purchased, the congregation rapidly in- creased, a new life began to manifest itself, and, in a word, it was plain that old things were passing away. As the years passed Mr. Wallace grew in the affec- tions of his own people, and more and more won the warm regard of the neighboring churches, with whose pastors he has maintained the most fraternal rela-

tions. In New York, Newburgh, and elsewhere his appearance in the pulpit was ever a welcome sight to multitudes whose only regret was that the privi- lege was one so rarely enjoyed by them. He has been, indeed, always noted for his close keeping at home; rarely, if ever, did he leave his own pulpit, unless at the call of public duty or to recruit his enfeebled energies for a few weeks during the heat of summer.

" From the time of his admission into the Presby - tery of New York as a student of theology until the present moment Mr. Wallace has always exhibited a warm affection for the Associate Reformed Church. Though the state of his health would not allow him to take a large share in what may be called the public business of the church, he has been a regular attend- ant at the meetings of the Presbytery and Synod, and when topics of importance have been under diseus- sion he has taken a prominent part in the debates. Were it possible, we would gladly reproduce some of the speeches he delivered in Synod, especially on the question of close or catholic communion, as fine specimens of ecclesiastical eloquence. Unfortunately, no report of them has been preserved, and they live only in the recollection of those who heard them and who listened to the speaker with the most profound attention.

"On the occasion of the centenary and installa- tion of his son as associate pastor, Mr. Wallace said ought, indeed, to be a happy man in the review of the past and in the survey of the present.' The whole as- sembly gathered on that occasion doubtless adopted the sentiment. His ministerial course, when he en- tered upon his work, seemed as if it must be a brief one, yet he has been permitted to 'fulfill his course' for many years, to proclaim through all those the glorious gospel, to build up one of the old wastes, to prepare many souls to become jewels in the Re- deemer's crown, and who shall be, we trust, his own joy and crown in the day of the Lord Jesus."

Dr. Wallace continued in the discharge of his pas- toral duties at Little Britain for eleven years after the celebration of the centenary of the church and the publication of the above paper. He passed away on Feb. 9, 1868, at the ripe age of seventy-two, and closed with his death the record of a successful, devoted Christian pastor. His deeline was gradual, and his spirit passed to the God who gave it on a quiet Sabbath day, his end being full of peace, and manifesting in a remarkable degree the triumphs of his faith. Appropriate resolutions were adopted by the congregation and the session of the Little Britain Church, and by the North River Presbytery, in con- nection with the General Assembly of the Presby- terian Church in the United States of America, with which the church at Little Britain and its pastors united in 1867, from some of which the following extracts are made :

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NEW WINDSOR.

" Resolved, That the session has lost an able counselor, the ministry one of its Inightest ornaments, a miost able and prevailing man of prayer, the church an eloquent, powerful, and effective preacher and comforting, fatherly pastor, a genial, kind, and affable friend, an eminently con- placent andl pure gentleman."

" Resolved (by the Presbytery), That the example left us by our de- parted father and brother is one to be signalized as peculiarly distin- guished for constancy, for devotedness to the work of the ministry, for childlike Unt mighty faith, for faithfulness in the simple preaching of the cross, and for perseverance, particularity, and importunity in prayer."

Dr. Wallace was an eminently courteous Christian gentleman, dignified in manner, but genial and chcer- ful in the discharge of the varied duties of the pastor. Whatever he undertook he carried through in an earnest, decided manner, and he was a type of an attractive but faithful minister of Christ. He was possessed of strong intellectual qualifications, was a logical writer and thinker, and as a speaker clear, terse, eloquent, and effective. His power in debate was most strongly and powerfully manifested in the assemblies of the church, where he exerted great in- fnence. Ile was very systematic, possessed of an analytic mind, and performed all his labor according to a well-selected and carefully-elaborated rule of action. He was very successful as a pastor, loved and honored by all, and left behind him at his death a cherished memory adorned with good deeds and devoted self- sacrifice in the cause of the Master. He was buried in the ancient cemetery beside the church,

" Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering beap,"

surrounded by the dust of the "forefathers of the hamlet," his beloved wife, a former pastor, Rev. James Serimgeour, early and later members of the session, and a multitude of the membership of the church. A massive Scotch-granite monument to Dr. Wallace stands in the churchyard at Little Britain, bearing upon its north side these words :

" Fourth Pastor of the Presbyterian Church Little Britain, where through nearly 44 years he founded, framed, builded, by pureness, by knowledge, by love unfeigned. 'Thou hast made him most blessed forever : thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.' Erected by his friends."

It would scarcely be proper to close this sketch of Dr. Wallace without reference to his son, Rev. R. Howard Wallace, A. M., who, after acting as the as- sistant pastor of the Little Britain Church for a num- ber of years in pleasant association with his father, succeeded to the pastorate at the death of the former in 1868, and for nearly twenty-six years, amid the various changes incident to more than a quarter of a century of active service, has been the faithful, devoted, self-sacrificing, and successful minister of Christ to this people.

tered Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., and was graduated with the highest honors of his class from that institution in 1850. Having determined to con- secrate his life to service in the gospel ministry, he entered the theological seminary at Newburgh, and was graduated in 1853. The next year he was or- dained to the ministry, and labored for two years fol- lowing in Otsego County, N. Y. In 1856 he was in- vited by the session of the Little Britain Church to supply the pulpit during the illness of his father, the pastor, and in 1857 he was called by the church as eol- league with and successor to his father. The installa- tion services occurred in December of that year.

Although Mr. Wallace has received numerous in- vitations to take charge of other churches, and to en- gage in other Christian work during his long pastorate, a love for the place of his nativity, for the people and their descendants among whom his father labored so long, and a desire to see the work of the latter pros- per and grow, has induced him to devote the best years of his life and the richest products of his mind to the Little Britain congregation. The long period in which he has occupied the pulpit of this church, added to the previous service of his father, nearly completes the extraordinary period of seventy years of pastoral labor by the same family. When that period shall have been attained, Mr. Wallace proposes to carry out a long-cherished purpose to make an ex- tended tour in Europe and the remote East, and thus obtain that rest and physical and mental relaxation which failing health imperatively demands.

Mr. Wallace inherits many of the traits of his father, is an active, earnest, untiring worker, devoted to the leading Christian interests of the age, and a regular contributor to its current literature. During the late war he was granted absence by the church, and served in the army as chaplain of the One Hun- dred and Sixty-eighth New York Volunteers for sev- eral months. 1Ie studies with care the spiritual and material interests of the country, and by travel, read- ing, and close observation, though located in a retired neighborhood, has kept fully abreast of the discoy- eries and improvements of the age. He is an erudite scholar, and prepared his two sons for an advanced class in college, one of whom is now in the ministry, and the other a ruling elder in his native church.

UNION M. E. CHURCH, VAIL'S GATE.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 56

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1336

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336