USA > New York > Nassau County > Hempstead > History of St. George's Church, Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y. > Part 10
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PHOTVÉLECTRE
THE REV. THOMAS LAMBERT MOORE.
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Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
While diligently performing the duties devolving upon him in that position, he devoted all his evenings to theological studies. In 1781, being furnished with letters of recommendation from the Rev. Dr. Charles Inglis, then rector of Trinity Church, after- wards Bishop of Nova Scotia, to the Rev. Dr. Tho- mas Bradbury Chandler, who was then residing in England, and was in high esteem with the Bishops and Government of England; Mr. Moore went to England for ordination. He remained in London: about a year. He was ordained deacon by the Bishop of London, the distinguished Robert Lowth, Sept. 21, 1781, and priest Feb. 24, 1782, by the Rt. Rev. Beilby Porteus, the Bishop of Chester. After his ordination he frequently preached to crowded churches in London and vicinity, with high approba- tion.
In his private diary he records having officiated and preached in the following churches, among others named, viz .:
Lord Chancellor's Chapel, Lincoln's Inn; St. Mar- garet, Westminster; St. Butolph's, Aldersgate; St. Lawrence, Guildhall, by order of the Lord Bishop of London ; St. George's, Hanover Square; All Hal- lows ; St. Bartholomew the Great ; St. Mary-Le-Bow ; St. Martin's, Ludgate Hill ; St. John's, Westminster.
The following letter to his brother, John Moore, Esq., of New York City, refers to his ordination and his efforts to secure a passage home.
" LONDON, 9th March, 1782. "MY DEAR BROTHER-The mail for the Packet having very unexpectedly closed, I have just time to **
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inform you that I am well; was ordained Priest, on the 24th ultimo, and shall embark for New York by first good opportunity. A Fleet it is said will cer- tainly sail in the course of Three Weeks, and I am not without hopes of being able either to procure a Chaplaincy on board one of the men of war, or of obtaining a passage upon an eligible plan.
" Remember me affectionately to sister Moore. Duty, love and compliments as respectively due. Kiss little Darling, and believe with every sentiment of gratitude and love,
"Your truly affectionate brother,
" THOMAS LAMB'T. MOORE.
" N. B .- Your letter by Packet arrived safe ; ac- cept of best thanks for its kind contents; and depend upon my complying with every practicable part of your advice. The Lottery Book you request has not been sent, so that I trust that I shall deliver it myself. I have written to my dear Rib informing her that I hope to meet with her by the latter end of June; don't suffer her to expect me sooner, and it may prevent a good deal of anxiety."
On the recommendation of the Right Hon. Ed- mund Burke,* then in the British ministry, Mr. Moore was appointed chaplain to the frigate Renown, in which he sailed for New York ; where, after stop- ping for a time at Halifax, the vessel arrived, Oct. 28, 1782. Mr. Moore proceeded almost immediately to perform clerical duties at Islip, in Suffolk County, to which charge he had been appointed by the Bishop of London, at the instance, probably, of the proprietor of the large estate known as "the Nicol
* From the Family Record, by John Moore, Esq.
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Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
Patent." The following is a copy of the Bishop's License, to which the Episcopal Seal is attached :
" Robert, by Divine Permission, Bishop of London -To our beloved in Christ, Thomas Lambert Moore, Clerk, Greeting : We do by these Presents Give and Grant to you, to whose Fidelity, Morals, Learning, Sound Doctrine and Diligence, We do fully Confide, our License and Authority, to continue only during our Pleasure, to Perform the Ministerial office at Islip, in Suffolk County, or elsewhere in the Province of New York, in North America-in reading the Common Prayers and Performing other Ecclesiastical Duties be- longing to said Office according to the form prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer made and Published by Authority of Parliament, and the Canons and Consti- tutions in that behalf lawfully established and pro- mulgated, and not otherwise, or in any other manner. (You having first before Us subscribed the Articles and taken the Oathes which in this case are Required by Law to be subscribed and taken.)
" In witness whereof WE have caused our Seal which WE use in this Case to be hereto affixed .. Dated the twenty-first day of September, in the Year of our Lord, 1781, and in the Fifth Year of cur trans- lation.
R. [I. S.] London. MARK HOLMAN. Dep'y Reg'r."
The legend of the seal attached to this License reads : " The seal of Robert Lowth, D.D., Bishop of London, 1777." On the field of the seal is repre- sented a unicorn rampant,-two swords crossed, and these surmounted by a mitre.
Mr. Moore extended his ministrations to Setauket, where he regularly held service. In this field he continued until called to Hempstead, where for four-
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teen years he labored indefatigably, and with most encouraging success.
Just before going to England Mr. Moore married Miss Judith Moore, sister to the Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, Bishop of New York, by which two families of the same name and, possibly, originally of the same stock, though the kinship cannot now be traced, were brought into union.
Mr. Moore was of an energetic and active nature, and participated in those memorable measures which saved the Church from extinction in this country- encouraged the drooping spirits of her children, and fitted her for vigorous action and rapid extension. He was present-as we learn from Bishop White's. Memiors *- at the meeting held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in May, 1784, and was one of the nine Clergymen from whom emanated the first effective measures to have the Episcopal Churches of the several States unite themselves in Conventions, and appoint deputies who should be authorized to form a confederacy of Dioceses, and become the source of law and the preservers of the unity of the Church in a compacted body in these United States.
There was a subsequent meeting held in October, 1784, of the same voluntary character, to " consult on the existing exigency of the Church." It is stated that deputies appeared at this second meeting, pre- paratory to definite organization, from several States. not represented at the previous one. As the names. of those present at the second meeting has not been
* P. 78 of 2nd edition.
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preserved, we are unable to say whether Mr. Moore was present likewise at this.
This last meeting formally recommended the churches in the several States to unite and organize themselves into State Conventions and send deputies to a General Convention at Philadelphia, in September, 1785. In compliance with this recommendation, clergymen and laymen of this State met in the city of New York, June 22, 1785, and organized the first Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New York.
In this primary Convention of New York, Mr. Moore's name does not appear-possibly the cause of his absence may have been that he had but re- cently been settled in the Rectorship of St. George's parish. But it is to be noted that several .other parishes in the State were also without represent- atives in that Convention.
But in the Second Convention of the Diocese of New York, held May 16, 1786, this Parish was rep- ·resented by its Rector, Rev. Mr. Thomas (L.) Moore, and Hendrick Onderdonk, Samuel Martin and David Brooks.
At the Vestry meeting, May 6, 1786, " Mr. Moore had leave to build a Vestry Room and to have a new Kneeling Board made round the Altar, and a cushion to put on it."
At a Vestry meeting, May, 1787, " It was agreed to repair the east-window (which was over the com- munion table) which could not be opened, and the resolution be carried into effect as soon as possible." In June the same year, the Vestry determined to
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" open for Mr. Moore a new subscription, which shall augment his salary from One Hundred to One Hun- dred and twenty Pounds per annum, and continue yearly and every year during his abode in this Town as Rector of said Church."
In February, (the 4th) 1787, the Rev. Samuel Pro- voost was consecrated at Lambeth Palace Chapel, England, the first Bishop of New York, and on the 7th of April following he arrived in New York. St. George's Parish, through its Rector, presented to the Bishop an address, to which the Bishop sent a courte- ous reply.
The Vestry, at a meeting held the year following (1788), took action to meet the requisition of the act of the Legislature passed April (4) 1788 (already noticed, p. 147) requiring an estimate to be made and sworn to before a County Judge of "the Real and Personal Estate of all and singular the Religious So- cieties in the State."
What the object was of this inquisition I have not been able to learn. But it is interesting to know that the return made from this parish in compliance with the act for 1788, was as follows :
Revenue from Pew Rents. £II. IS.
Collections .12. 0
Glebe Lands .40. 0
Homestead.
15. 0
Total 78. I
Real Estate, Valued.
Homestead
£150
Glebe Lands 600
Total 750
May 13, 1788 .- The thanks of the Vestry were
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Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
voted to Mr. Leffert Haugewout on his retiring from it, after a faithful service of 42 years.
At a meeting of the Vestry, held May 24th, 1788,. the Rector stated that he had received a call from St. John's Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and requested advice from the Vestry, whether they desired him to accept of it; whereupon it was by them-
" Resolved, That we are satisfied with his (Rev. Mr. M.'s) services, and we will faithfully endeavor to. comply with our engagements and honorably fulfil our promises made to him."
Sundry necessary repairs to the church and par- sonage were ordered to be made, "if sufficient money shall be raised for this purpose by the Young men of the Parish."
It is pleasant to see this recognition of the duty of the rising generation of Churchmen to take an interest in the welfare of the Parish and assume a part of its burdens. The reliance, in this instance, was justified, by the result. The repairs were made and paid for ;; and at the annual meeting of the parish, held June 2, 1789, it was-
" Ordered, That the thanks of the Corporation be publickly given to the young men of North Hempstead for the Generous Subscription raised by them towards painting the Parish Church."
What was done by the part of the parish lying in (South) Hempstead is left untold.
At the same meeting, "Mr. Kissam offered his services as Parish Clerk, provided Mr. Silvanus
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Begel would not officiate in full, and until another can be provided, and was accepted with thanks."*
This language is somewhat ambiguous. We are left in doubt whether 'Mr. Silvanus Begel ' was un- willing or incompetent to discharge the duties of Clerk. What were those duties ?
PARISH CLERKS.
It may be well to state what the office was and its. duties, especially because it is now discontinued, and because some may suppose he was the secretary of the Parish and Vestry to record its proc. edings. Such was not the position or the principal duty of the person who in old times was called the parish Clerk. He was the minister's assistant in divine service. A desk was assigned for his use, which in some par- ishes was placed in front of the reading desk-in others beneath the pulpit; and to him usually a salary was given. In early times clergymen filled the office. From the Latin term for a Clergyman ' Cleri- cus,' the name has been Anglicised into 'Clerks,' and this formerly was commonly pronounced-' Clarks." After a time laymen were appointed to perform the duties of the office.
Clerks usually wore no distinctive dress, but it was customary for them, until a recent period, to wear a. wig, which was often of formidable proportions.
It pertained to the clerks to lead in the responses in the service. Where readers were not common, this. was a help to a congregation. And even after educa- tion was shared by the people generally, it was.
* Parish Records, p. 129.
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Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
thought that the prompt and prominent voice of the clerk would serve to incite the congregation to do their part with the more heartiness. But in fact, the effect was usually the other way. Even the clerk's resonant and emphatic "Amen !" was but too fre- quently left without an echo from the congregation.
It pertained also, usually, to the clerk, to give out notices.
It was his duty, too, to announce the metrical por- tions which were to be sung, to select the tune, and to lead in the singing. The music for many years in this parish was wholly vocal. Organs were not to be heard in the land except in a very few churches, even down to modern times. There is a tradition that on. a few extraordinary occasions a bass viol and one or two other instruments were used in St. George's in early days. But as there was no choir, the singing being truly congregational, instruments could have been of little help. For the first years of the parish the singing was confined to the Psalms in metre, and the rugged version of Sternhold and Hopkins was used. A specimen or two of this version we take at random :--
Psalm 42.
Like as the heart doth breathe and bray the well-springs to obtain, So doth my soul desire alway with the Lord to remain.
My soul doth thirst and would draw neare the living God of might, Oh when shall I come and appeare in presence of his sight ?
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Psalm 23.
My Shepherd is the living Lord, nothing therefore I need : In pastures faire with waters calm: he sets me for to feed.
He did convert and glad my soule, and brought my mind in frame To walk in paths of righteousnesse, for his most holy name.
Yea, though I walk in vale of death, yet will I feare none ill:
Thy rod, thy staffe do comfort me, and thou art with me still.
And in the presence of my foes, my table thou shall spread: Thou shalt (O Lord) fill full my cup, and eke annoint my head.
Through all my life thy favour is so frankly shew'd to me, That in thy house for evermore my dwelling place shall be.
Psalm 133.
O how happy a thing it is, and joyful for to see Brethren together fast to hold the band of amitie !
It calls to mind that sweet perfume, and that costly oyntment, Which on the sacrificer's head, by God's precepts was spent.
It wet not Aaron's head alone, but drencht his beard throughout: And finally it did run down his rich attire about. &c.
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Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
It is a comfort to us to know that the spirit of de- votion is not easily quenched, and that the souls of our ancestors could be lifted heavenward through even such encumbering lines.
In later days the improved version of Tate and Brady was introduced. There were no Hymns in the early years of the parish history. Nor were there any in use in the Church by recognized authority until about 1786. At that time, in connection with the revision of the Prayer Book, twenty-five Hymns were introduced-two for Christmas, two for Good Friday, two for Easter, three for Whitsunday, three for Holy Communion, two for New Year, and one for funerals ; all of which, with but one exception- that for Good Friday-" From whence these direful omens sound," &c., are still in our Hymnal. The introduction of even this small number of Hymns gave much gratification to Churchmen, an expression of which is thus given by Dr. Wm. Smith of Chester, Penn.,-himself one of the Prayer Book Revisers, to the Rev. Dr .- afterwards Bishop White.
"CHESTER, April 17, 1786.
"DEAR SIR-My congregations were exceedingly pleased with the two Good Friday Hymns, which, as they had not books, were first read and then sung, and also the two Easter Hymns, No VII, and No. VIII ; but what above all seemed to make the greatest impression was the Two Communion Hymns, viz., No. XVII, beginning, " My God, and is thy Table spread," sung after sermon as an invitation to the Sacrament, and No. XVIII, beginning, " And are we now brought near to God," &c., sung after the Com- munion. It adds a Solemnity which they confess'd
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they had not experienced before. The Hymns are indeed beautiful, and every Line of them applicable to the blessed occasion. Have you yet introduced them in this way ? When you do, you will find it of use to read them for the first Time yourself, from the Place where you are, the Desk or Communion Table. Every Communicant will before another Day have them by Heart, as I believe was the Case here, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, as the Book was sent for and sundry Copies taken in writing. I mean of Hymns 17 and 18."*
Respecting the musical portions of the services in early days and the changes which took place, the following statement by Bishop White is interesting :+
" Within the memory of the author of this work there has taken place a most remarkable change, in refer- ence to the subject now noticed. When he was a young man, and in England, and even when he was there fifteen years after, he never, in any church, heard other metrical singing than what was either from the version of Sternhold and Hopkins, or from that of Tate and Brady. In this country it was the same ; except on Christmas Day and on Easter Sunday, when there were the two Hymns now appropriate to those days, which was strictly rubrical; they' being no more than passages of Scripture, put into the trammels of metre and rhyme."
The chants, such as the Venite, &c., were read by the Clerk and congregation. Such a feat as singing them was not attempted here, and, in fact, in scarce any Episcopal Church in the land until within the past seventy years. And under the system of the
* Jour. Gen. Con., Ed. by Bp. Perry, Vol. 3, p. 194.
t Memoirs Prot. Epis. Church, 2nd Ed. p. 256.
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Rev. Tho's. Lambert Moore.
Clerk's leading in music from his little desk *- taking the pitch usually from a tuning-fork-such a thing as an anthem could not be attempted.
But in time more attention was given to the musi- cal part of the service. Choirs were introduced.t The Clerk's duty was in this direction abbreviated, and gradually, with other changes of custom, his ser- vices were felt to be needless, and the office itself fell into disuse.
The first Clerk mentioned in our Records was Tho- mas Jecocks, in 1735, whose salary was to be thirty- five shillings a year. Mr. James Gildersleeve held the position from about 1800 until 1824 ; and he was the last one who filled it.
May 25, 1790 .- It was resolved to " take up," that. is, hire for the use of the church, £100 for needful repairs of the churchyard and Parsonage; and that. the Church Wardens give their bonds for this sum. And, further, " That the Coppers collected in the. Parish Church and at Success be sold for as much as. they will fetch."
" Ordered, That a new Register be purchased by Mr. Carman, for which he shall be repaid."
March 16, 1791, the Vestry, having received a gift towards the Communion Service, which is still in use, from Capt. Samuel Pintard :
" Ordered, That Captain Pintard be thanked by this. Corporation for the present made the Church of an Handsome Silver Plate, for the use of the Chancel,. and that the Rector be requested to signify to him the Same in writing."
* One is still retained in Trinity Church, Newport, R. I.
+ In 1803 Mr. James Hall became chorister, and, for his services. received $10 and the thanks of the vestry.
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St. George's Church.
Captain Pintard, who was a soldier at Oswego, in 1755, and wounded at Minden, says Judge Jones, re- sided in a house immediately east of the Parsonage, and his land adjoined the glebe. He was related to the Rev. Mr. Cutting, who married a Miss Pintard, and during the Revolutionary war, he was so much annoyed by the British troops quartered here, that he removed some of his furniture to the parsonage, closed his house, and went to New York to reside. But Col. Birch, then in command of the troops, took possession of the house and obtained, by a not over courteous demand, the furniture which had been placed under Mr. Cut- ting's care.
Mr. Pintard's land had been the property of the Rev. Mr. Seabury, who had purchased it from Mrs. Catharine, wife of the Rev. Dr. Jenney. Mr. Seabury sold it to Captain Pintard, and it afterwards passed into the possession of Dr. James Searing, and since to that of Thorne and Harper. The plate given by Captain Pintard, and which is a perpetual memo- rial of him, and better than monumental brass or stone, bears upon it in quaint lettering, the initials, A. B. F. It was a most useful addition to our com- munion service, which previously had consisted only of the silver chalice and paten given by Queen Ann, and a silver alms-basin, the gift of Mr. John March, in 1735.
COMMUNION PLATE.
Having mentioned our communion plate, it may be well to relate here the several sources from which we have received it.
Respecting the two pieces already mentioned,
TEJTO ELEGIPOTYCE CO.N.V.
CUP AND PATEN Presented by QUEEN ANNE TO ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, IN 1710.
1735 - SI
ED NE
ECCLESI
CORPORATE SEAL OF ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH.
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Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
which were the gift of Queen Ann, the following ac- count is given in the proceedings of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel .*
" At a monthly meeting of the Society, in 1706, the Lord Bishop of London, reported that her Majesty of her princely grace and favour, had been pleased (through his lordship's hands) to allow five large Bibles, Common Prayer Books, and Books of Homi- lies, as also pulpit cloths, Communion table-cloths, silver chalices and patens, for each of the five Churches in the government of New York, viz., Hempstead and Jamaica in Long Island, West Ches- ter, Rye, and Staten Island."
These pieces of plate bear the simple inscription " Annæ Regina." The chalice is large, holding about a quart ; the paten is small, and so formed as to admit of being used as a cover to the chalice. The alms basin, the gift of John March, Esq., in 1735, and so inscribed on its rim ; and the large silver plate now used as the principal paten, the gift of Captain Samuel Pintard, have been already mentioned. These pieces constituted the whole Communion set down to 1830, when a silver gilt flagon of modern form was added. In 1851 the church was presented with another chalice or cup, which bears this inscrip- tion : " Presented by Thos. Wm. C. Moore, Nephew of the late Rector, Rev. Thos. L. Moore, to St. George's Church, Hempstead, 1851."
In 1870 the service was made complete by the gift from Mr. Samuel Wood-descended from one of the oldest families of the parish, and who, with his brother
* John Chamberlayne, quoted Bolton His. Ch., &c., P 347.
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Abraham, left bequests to the church,-of a silver flagon, of large size and proper ecclesiastical design, which bears this inscription : "To St. George's Church, Hempstead, L. I. The gift of Samuel Wood. A memorial of his beloved parents, Epenetus and Catharine Wood : of his brothers, Epenetus, David, Abraham ; and of his sisters, Maria Wood and Mrs. Nellie Hewlett. Easter, A. D. 1870-being the 20th year of the Rectorship of the Rev. Wm. H. Moore in said parish." Around the flagon is en- graved in old English letters the words-" The blood of Jesus Christ Cleanseth us from all sin." These gifts are memorials of the givers, which are continu- ally before God. By them, though dead, they still speak.
The Bible, which was given St. George's Parish by Queen Ann, has not been preserved. But the Prayer Book is still in the possession of the parish. It is a folio, and, with the exception of the Morning and Evening Services, which are much worn, is in a good state of preservation. The type is large and dis- tinct, and the ink a brilliant black. The back of the book has been mended with parchment. The volume bears this imprint:
"London-Printed by the Assigns of Tho. Newcomb and Henry Hills, deceased, Printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Maj'ty, 1710."
The transition from the Royal government to the Republic, required the substitution of prayers for the President and Congress, for those of the Royal family- and Parliament. These changes, with others ordained by the General Convention of the Church at its early
PHOTOELECTROCONY.
MR. SAMUEL WOOD.
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Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
sessions, are exhibited in this Prayer Book by cover- ing the portions changed with paper containing the forms substituted. These were written in large print- like letters by the Rev. Mr. Moore.
In our narrative we have overpast the reference to an event in this parish which was of considerable moment, viz., the first ordination in this parish, which was also the first ordination in the Episcopal Church in the State of New York-and only ten had pre- ceded this in our Church in this country, all of them performed by Bishop Seabury of Connecticut. The following is the account found in a contemporary print of the transaction, and in the private diary of the Rev. Thos. L. Moore :
" 1785, Nov'r 2d, Wednesday .- Read the morning service previous to Mr. Jno. Lowe of Virginia receiv- ing Confirmation and Deacon's orders.
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