USA > New York > Queens County > History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals. > Part 62
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The church was organized under the leadership of Rev. J. S. Ladd, then serving as missionary of the Long Island Association. 'The first regular pastor was Rev. W. B. Smith, who served the church three years. The second was Rev. William F. Benedict, who remained two years. He was succeeded by Rev. William A. Granger, who was called in September 1874 and is now (1881) completing the seventh year of his ministry.
The church edifice is a frame structure with brick basement and slate roof, gabled. Its value is $25,000. It was dedicated March 8th 1871 by Dr. Fulton, of Bos- ton, and Dr. Evarts, of Chicago. Its seating capacity is about 800.
One of the finest baptisteries in the land is in this
church. It is of the finest polished marble, and was the gift of Mrs. Horace Waters, of Brooklyn.
The first session of the Sunday-school was held Janu- ary 27th 1869. The first superintendent was Horace Waters. The number of scholars was about 30. The last report of the school, February 5th 1881 shows a membership of 170, arranged in 20 classes The present superintendent is A. L. New; the assistant superinten- dent is the pastor, W. A. Granger.
The prospects of both church and school are promis- ing. The members are thoroughly united, earnest and active. The church is entirely free from debt.
The First German Baptist church, at Dutch Kills, was the outgrowth of a Sunday-school which was organized in the garret of a house near the present house of wor- ship, with Herman Lekamp as superintendent, in 1870. The church was built about 1876, by William Diehl. At first this organization was a mission of the First German Baptist church, of New York. Rev. H. Schaffer was pastor. The name of the body has been changed and it is called Grace Mission of the East Avenue Baptist Church.
ST. PATRICK'S ROMAN CATHOLIC, DUICH KILLS.
In 1870 a meeting of the Romar. Catholic residents of Dutch Kills was held to take preliminary steps toward the erection of a church in the neighborhood. Thomas Doyle was elected chairman, Daniel O'Callaghan secre- tary, and Thomas Dobbins treasurer.
A few hundred dollars were raised; four lots of ground on the corner of William and Henry streets were pur- chased and a small edifice was erected thereon.
Rev. Father Goetz acted as temporary pastor, upon whose application Bishop Loughlin appointed Rev. Fa- ther M. M. Marco permanently. The Very Rev. Father Turner, V. G., in the absence of Bishop Loughlin, offici- ated at the dedication.
It was during Father Marco's term that the present pastoral residence was erected. In 1874 Father Marco was removed and his place was filled by Rev. John M. Kiely, now pastor of the Transfiguration church, Brook- lyn. Rev. Ignatius O'Brien succeeded Father Kiely as pastor in September of the same year, and re- mained until his death, which occurred November 23d 1878.
The church has been removed to a site on Crescent street, between Wilbur and Paynter avenues, adjoining the pastoral residence. It has been greatly improved and enlarged, having a seating capacity of 775. There are several religious confraternities attached to the church.
November 23d 1878 the present pastor, Rev. L. F. To- ner, became Father O'Brien's successor.
THIRD METHODIST EPISCOPAL, DUTCH KILLS.
The Third Methodist Episcopal Church of Long Is- land City had its inception in a Sunday-school, which was opened in a room on Jackson avenue November 19th 1871, by T. L. Stewart, assisted by his daughter and
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CHURCHES-REFORMED, CATHOLIC, METHODIST .- N. Y. & L. I. BRIDGE CO.
E. Wooley. A preaching service was soon after institut- ed and continued with considerable regularity.
The first preacher was Rev. R. H. Lomas. He was succeeded in May 1872 by Rev. B. Simon, who served the church until March 1878. Rev. A. Nixon then served one year. He was followed by Rev. R. H. Lomas, who returned to the pastorate and remained two years. In the spring of 1881 he was succeeded by Rev. J. H. Kirk.
The trench for the foundation of the present building was dug June 26th 1875, and the church was dedicated March 19th 1876, by the late Bishop E. S. Janes. It is a frame building on a stone foundation and is surrounded by a neat picket fence. About the close of the year 1879 two class rooms were added to the building. The value of the church property is about $2,500.
The Sunday-school numbers about 90 scholars and has over 300 volumes in its library. T. L. Stewart was the the first superintendent.
REFORMED, DUTCH KILLS.
Many of the early residents at Dutch Kills were mem- bers of the Reformed Church of Newtown, but as the population increased the want of some local organization and place of worship was felt. A Sunday-school was formed at a comparatively early date and met in the school-house east of the creek, near Skillman avenue, Benjamin Thompson of Ravenswood acting as instruc- tor. As soon as the school trustees elected under the city charter assumed the duties of their office, the priv- ilege granted many years ago of holding Sunday-school and religious meetings in school-houses was revoked, and subsequent sessions as well as services for worship were hield in the barn of John W. Payntar.
For several summers prior to the erection of the pres- ent church edifice the board of domestic missions of the Reformed church sent students from the theological seminary at New Brunswick to preach to the people dur- ing their vacations and to perform all manner of mission - ary labor among them. These missionaries were Rev. Messrs. Hart, Garretson, Pebender and John Van Neste. It was owing to the labors of the latter and the generos- ity of Mr. Payntar that the present church was built. The former took upon himself the trouble of rais- ing funds by subscription, and the latter donated a lot with a frontage of 75 feet on Academy street. The building which cost a little more than $4,000, was con- pleted in the spring of 1875. The pulpit, organ and pews were donated by John I. De Bevoise, another gen- erous friend of the cause.
A regular church organization was effected April 12th 1875, when the edifice was dedicated. John W. Payntar and Jabez Harris were chosen elders and Thomas Payn- tar deacon. The first pastor, Rev. William Perry, was installed the same day. He resigned September ist fol- lowing, and was succeeded by Rev. G. R. Garretson, who was installed December Ist and resigned April Ist 1877. October 17th following the present pastor, Rev. E. Gut- weiler, was installed. The members of the church at the
time of its organization were Mr. and Mrs. Jolın W. Payntar, Mrs. E. Van Alst, Anna Van Alst, Thomas Paynter, Georgiana Paynter, Mary E. Payntar and Mr. and Mrs. Jabez Harris.
The first superintendent of the Sunday-school was Thomas Paynter. Its present membership (1881) is 115. Its library contains 300 volumes. The sessions are held in the basement of the church, which has been fitted up for that purpose within the past year.
ST. JOSEPH'S GERMAN CATHOLIC, ASTORIA.
St. Joseph's German Roman Catholic church is under the pastoral care of Rev. H. Pauletige. The house of worship is a frame structure in which services were first held in July 1880. It will seat about 200 persons.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL, ASTORIA.
At Astoria is a flourishing Methodist Episcopal church which is under the pastoral care of Rev. J. Howard Hand. The writer has used his utmost endeavors to ob- tain an authentic history of this society but has failed to secure the co-operation of those whose aid was indispens- able to him in this design.
THE NEW YORK AND LONG ISLAND BRIDGE COMPANY
was chartered by the Legislature of New York on the 16th of April 1867, with thirty-five corporators, among whom were the engineer, Isaac D. Coleman, its principal promoter, and Hon. Archibald M. Bliss, afterward its first secretary.
The political combinations by which the charter was secured were made, it is said, by Harry Genet, as the complement of the similar enterprise, the Brooklyn bridge, which had just then been authorized. It was, moreover, the opinion of many engineers and far-seeing men of business, that the location of the Brooklyn bridge did not serve the purposes of so great and expensive a work, they reasoning that, as it could not take railway trains because of its necessarily high grades, and that even if the grades could be overcome, no paying road could be built, over or under ground, through twelve miles of New York and five miles of Brooklyn streets for other than the merely local rapid transit, which alone that bridge would serve. It could thus not be made the part of any system of through transport between Long Island, or even Brooklyn and the rest of the United States; but would be occupied, to the utmost of its ca- pacity, by the local passenger traffic of western Brooklyn and southern New York city.
However speculative may have been the purposes of some among the prime movers in the enterprise, there was a conviction among thinking men that Long Island should be suitably connected with the mainland, for every class of transportation; and that the bridge for this purpose should be so located from the center of New York city to the western center of the Island, as to give the shortest railway route into Long Island and
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HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.
into Brooklyn, through the less encumbered business streets of New York and the open lands of Long Island, and cross the East River at its narrowest point, where foundations for its piers could be located on rock in place at or near the surface of the water.
To secure the shortest and most direct route and in- sure the shortest spans possible it was necessary to cross Blackwell's Island, and after an exhaustive exami- nation Mr. Coleman selected the site south of Seventy- seventh street, New York, and running parallel with it and nearly at right angles with the river to Ravenswood. The selection of the locality was most creditable to Mr. Coleman's judgment and engineering ability, as it se- cured the shortest possible line to Long Island and Brooklyn, utilized Blackwell's Island, with its two nar- row channels, for two of its four main pillars; reduced the spans to the minimum in length, consequently in cheapness; found rock at the surface of the water for all of the piers, and at once insured a bridge of great strength and rare cheapness, factors of so great value in such an undertaking and so little understood, except by engineers.
Most of the time between 1867 and 1871 was occupied by Mr. Coleman and the officers of the company in sur- veying many different routes for the bridge and in finally adopting the present one, and surveying the lands and lots to be taken and giving the necessary legal notices. A few thousand dollars were subscribed in small sums and appropriated, and Mr. Coleman expended a still lar- ger sum from his private means.
The enterprise was evidently languishing because it was said " to be in the hands of the politicians." They had, no doubt, intended to bond the counties of New York and Queens, and perhaps Suffolk; and the people, considering it a public interest, neglected or discouraged private subscription to the stock.
About this time, 1871, the Legislature granted another charter, for similar purposes, to the "New York and Queens County Bridge Company," among whose corpor- ators was Colonel R. M. C. Graham, since then, and still secretary of the New York and Long Island Bridge Com- pany. The new company held one or two meetings and elected officers, but in the same year virtually disbanded, holding no further meetings, performing none of the acts required by its enacting law, and thus lapsing by limita- ·tion.
During this time Mr. Graham obtained from Mr. Genet and his friends all of their right and title to the New York and Long Island Bridge Company's charter; and Mr. Coleman having died, sought new parties, and reorganized the company on a purely commercial basis. Among these gentlemen were Messrs. William Steinway, John T. Conover, Archibald M. Bliss, R. M. C. Graham, H. C. Poppenheusen, O. Zollikoffer, Pliny Freeman, Os- wald Ottendorfer, Ed. J. Woolsey, Gotlob Gunther, Charles A. Trowbridge, Hermann Funcke, Edward Ein- stein, Abraham D. Ditmars, Willy Wallach, C. Godfrey Gunther, Charles F. Tretbar, Charles H. Rogers, John C. Jackson and Henry G. Schmidt. Later, in 1876, Thomas Rainey became a stockholder and was elected to
the direction. The board elected consisted of the twenty- one of these gentlemen who obtained an amendment to the charter conferring additional powers for obtaining right of way and extending the time for the commence- ment of work from April 16th 1871 to June ist 1879. William Steinway was elected to the presidency of the company and a general plan of action was adopted; but little actual progress was made up to 1873, when the great commercial crisis of that year supervened, prostrating nearly every such enterprise of the country, and creating the universal distrust that smothered industry up to 1880.
Notwithstanding this disheartening depression the new company made a move, toward the end of 1874, and ap- pointed a commission of engineers, consisting of Gen- eral J. G. Barnard, General Quincy A. Gilmore and Oli- ver Chanute, empowered to formulate the necessary en- gineering rules and data, and invite plans and propos- als from the best talent of the country among engineers and bridge builders; and to this end offer three prizes, for the best plans, of $1,000, $500, and $250.
The committee's circular presented an excellent norma of engineering for a very strong and first-class bridge structure. From twelve to fifteen designs were presented in 1875 and 1876; some of unquestiona- ble merit, and others less meritorious or wholly una- dapted to the situation. The committee considered these designs during 1876 and 1877, and finally in 1877 pre- . sented their report, recommending certain features of these plans, but none as decidedly superior to all others. At a special session of the board, and upon the pressing advocacy of Mr. Chanute, but not on the real merits in- volved, the plan of Mr. McDonald (an excellent plan for certain localities) was adopted for the first prize; that of Captain Eads for the second prize, and that of Mr. Flaad for the third. The only director taking actual issue was Dr. Rainey, who maintained that any suspension, and es- pecially the trussed cable system of a London engineer, presented by Mr. Morris, was better than any Canti- lever, or other bridge cut in two in the middle; that so long and high a bridge should be under the control of a cable in some form; and that this ingeniously designed but ugly Cantilever was the most untried and experimen- tal of all the plans presented.
An able and exhaustive report had been presented to the board in 1875 by Charles Bender; and Mr. Harding, besides resurveying the whole route and verifying the work of Mr. Coleman, collated a large number of plans and presented them in elaborate detail to the company before the board of engineers was constituted.
After this report of the board of engineers was adopted the company paid all of the salaries and prizes; and find- ing no one disposed to embark in the undertaking made no further effort; but closed its office, stored its records, and awaited the opportunities of the future.
Mr. Steinway, having lost a brother, being disheartened at the indifference of those in interest, and compelled to give his whole attention to his private business, proposed to Dr. Thomas Rainey, whose tastes and attainments led him in that direction, that if he would take the bridge in-
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THE BLACKWELL'S ISLAND BRIDGE.
terest in hand he would give him his entire support-a promise kept to the letter. With similar assurances from other members of the board he was elected to the presi- dency of the board in November 1877, again in 1879, and again in 1880; serving three years, and devoting 1879 and 1880 entirely to the interests of the company. During this time lie vainly sought to interest Mr. Vanderbilt, Messrs. Drexel, Morgan & Co., of the Long Island Rail- roads, and the various parties to the elevated railroad system. Mr. Vanderbilt thought it a good enterprise, but had enough, was "run to death," and wished rather to curtail than extend his business. Messrs. Drexel, Mor- gan & Co. also thought well of it and considered it in- dispensible to the Long Island railroad system-in fact that without it these roads would never properly de- velop or prosper; but said they were not railroad men, and wished to sell and realize on their investment. The elevated railroad men said that they had enough to do in New York, although everybody else sees that the splen- didly built Second avenue line is a complete failure with- out this bridge, and a singularly good investment with it.
While exhausting one by one these sources of capital, Dr. Rainey pursued a fixed purpose to interest with him the great bridge building firm of Clarke, Reeves & Co., of Phœnixville, Pa .; and at the same time make careful estimates by the engineers of this house of several of the different plans proposed, and especially of that pre- sented by Mr. Morris, and the plan of Mr. Fidler, of London. During the examination a new plan was sug- gested by Messrs. Clarke & Bonzano, at the suggestion, it is said, of Mr. Shreve, which was evidently supe- rior to all others, and which was consequently adopted. To enable Dr. Rainey to enlist the hearty co-operation of Clarke, Reeves & Co. he proposed to the board his resig- nation from the presidency, and a contract with the com- pany for furnishing right of way and building a first-class double track railway, carriage and walkway iron bridge, and receiving payment for the same in the total securi- ties of the company. This contract was realized on the 3d of December 1880, Charles A. Trowbridge having been elected to the presidency; and the detailed contract contemplated, with Clarke, Reeves & Co., was made on the 25th of March 1881. Dr. Rainey commenced work on the following day, on the Ravenswood pier, and he has now completed a large and expensive coffer-dam in the East River, within which he is building the first pier; a work of great difficulty in view of the very rapid cur- rents, and the near passage of many large steamers.
The charter of the company would have expired on the 20th of June 1879; but owing to Dr. Rainey's assid- uous efforts it was amended by the Legislature in 1879 and the time extended to the Ist day of Junc 1885. Dr. Rainey improved the occasion of this amendment to have section 10 repealed, which gave to Queens and New York counties the right to purchase the bridge when completed; and the section so amended that the height of the bridge, at the middle of each channel of the East River, should be at least 150 feet above average mean tidc-a change necessary to shipping and which neutral-
.ized the opposition of those who had so long and bitterly antagonized the Brooklyn bridge. This amendment further required that work should be commenced on or before the Ist day of June 1881. An attempt was made in the spring of 1880 to abridge this time for commenc- ing, but the spirit of fairness and good sense in the Leg- islature discountenanced the move against a body of men who had spent their own money only, and labored sedu- lously, not to speculate and sell their charter, but to un- selfishly enlist capital in the undertaking. So far is this true that none of the corporators receive any pecuniary benefit whatsoever from the transfer of their property, except such as accrues from the stock and bonds which they have purchased; discharging thus a high public trust in an honorable and praiseworthy manner.
Dr. Rainey has secured the co-operation of first-class citizens, and has pledges of $1,600,000 of his stock. He is unwilling, however, as the responsible financial head of the enterprise, to prosecute work on a large scale, or em- ploy this amount of the money of his friends, until an- other million dollars is secured, which, with his bonds, will enable him to realize the work without risking the million and a half named; a precaution to which no rea- sonable person can object.
He estimates that the revenue from this bridge, with the lowest and most encouraging tolls, will be, above all expenses, more than $2,000 per day, which will pay six per cent. each on $6,000,000 of stocks and $6,000,000 of bonds. The St. Louis bridge, with several competitors along the Mississippi, with a city much smaller than Brooklyn at one end and nothing at the other, with a very short and rich ferry in active opposition, takes in con- siderably more than $2,000 per day *; so that if the Ravens- wood bridge can be actually built for $6,000,000, of which there is not room for a doubt, even at only $2,000 per day receipts it becomes an excellent and safe invest- ment, and as such eminently merits the special attention of Queens county, of which it is by far the greatest and most vital public interest.
Of course it strikes the unprofessional. thinker as strange that this bridge should cost only six millions while the Brooklyn bridge, only three-fifths as long, will cost probably fifteen or sixteen millions, and the St. Louis bridge cost nearly fifteen millions. In explanation Dr. Rainey says: "Our four piers are placed on rock at or near the surface of the water. Were it necessary to sink our foundations by caisson as deeply as those of the Brooklyn and St. Louis bridges, they would cost us at least $6,000,000 more. Then our two spans (of 734 feet and 618 feet, aggregating only 1,352 feet) leave the total spans just 244 feet shorter than that of the Brooklyn bridge. Now, the division of these 1,352 feet into the two short spans makes the proportionate cost per foot much smaller than if they were longer, according to a well- known law, that if short spans are doubled in length their cost will increase not as the double, but more nearly as
* Since the above was written, Mr. Gould, who has purchased the St. Lonis bridge, has informed Dr. Rainey that the receipts are about $3,000 daily.
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HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.
the squares of the length; at the same time that when long spans are doubled, as our two into nearly the one at Brooklyn, the cost increases at a much higher ratio, somewhere between the squares and the cubes. We thus save in our two short spans at least $3,000,000 over the cost of the Brooklyn bridge. Again, our land will cost $1,000,000 less, making the total $10,000,000 less than the Brooklyn or the St. Louis bridge; each of which is only three-fifths as long as ours. Thus favored by nature we can accomplish with six what cost each of them fifteen millions of dollars; a fact that shows the superior pay- ing capacity of our enterprise as compared with other bridges of similar magnitude and importance."
In this connection we may appropriately introduce a biographical sketch of the gentleman who is conducting this great enterprise. .
THOMAS RAINEY.
Thomas Rainey, of Ravenswood, was born December 9th 1824, at Yanceyville, Caswell county, North Caro. lina; his ancestral families being Rennie, Hunter, Mur- ray and Hendrick, Mrs. Hendrick, who was Ruth Murray, having lived to the age of 10372. He was edu- cated at the Classical Academy of that place, up to 1842, when he went to the western part of Missouri. He taught for two years, pursuing scientific studies and medicine. He abandoned medicine, without graduating, in 1845-6, and commenced lecturing on mathematics, a favorite pur- suit, which he continued for five years.
In 1849 he published at Cincinnati a large work on Arithmetic by Cancellation, Geometry, etc., with a large amount of engineering data, which was stereotyped and sold very largely in the west. He then became interested in popular education, and edited and published the Western Review for two years.
In 1850 he was elected secretary of "The American Association for the Advancement of Science," at New Haven, Professor Agassiz being then elected its presi- dent.
In 1851 the national Whig committee got him to es. tablish a campaign organ for the State of Ohio, the Daily Republican, which closed with the Scott campaign.
He came to New York in 1852, and in 1853 the con- sulate of Bolivia was established for him, at the request of Bache, Maury and others, for purposes of scientific inquiry in that country, and he was appointed and con- firmed by the Senate; but the clamor of the party or- gans caused him to resign in 1854, when he went to the Amazon and remained one and a half years. He made several trips to and from Brazil in 1874, 1875 and 1876 and endeavored to establish steam communication with Brazil, which he abandoned only after the crisis of 1857, although he had a unanimously favorable joint Senate and House report on the Ist of March 1857 for $240,000 an- nually for ten years.
In 1857 he went to Europe in quest of material for his work Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post (Appletons, New York, and Trübner, London; see Alli- bone's Dictionary of Authors); and while awaiting the
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