USA > New York > Nassau County > Hempstead > History of St. George's Church, Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y. > Part 11
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"Nov'r 3d, Thursday .- After morning service Read by the Rev'd Mr. Bloomer and a Sermon by the Bishop, the same gentleman was solemnly ORDAINED PRIEST."
"On Thursday last, 3d inst., Mr. John Lowe, a gentleman from Virginia, received holy orders from the hands of the Rt. Rev. Samuel Seabury, Bishop of the Episcopal Protestant Church in Connecticut, in St. George's Church at Hempstead, on Long Island. As this was the first instance of an ordinance of the Church which has ever taken place in this State, the solemnity of the occasion was almost beyond descrip- tion-the excellent sermon delivered by the Bishop, the prayers and tears of himself, his presbyters, and the numerous assembly, for the success of this gentle- man in his ministry, will be long had in remembrance by every spectator."-The New York Packet, Nov.
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St. George's Church.
21, 1785 .- N. Y. Historical Society Calendar for year 1870, page 374.
The subsequent career of the Rev. Mr. Lowe I have not been able to trace. But the ordination was re- garded as being important and significant, because of the circumstances under which it took place, and which are thus referred to in a letter from the Rev. Mr., afterwards Bishop Provoost of New York to the Rev. Dr. William White of Philadelphia, in which Mr. Provoost, referring to the application which had been forwarded to England, to have himself and Dr. White consecrated Bishops-says :
"I expect no obstruction to our application but what may arise from the intrigues of the non- juring Bishop of Connecticut, who a few days since paid a visit to this State (notwithstanding he incurred the guilt of misprision of Treason, and was liable to confinement for life for doing so) and took shelter at Mr. James Rivington's, where he was seen only by a few of his most intimate friends; whilst he was there, a piece appeared in a newspaper under Rivington's direction, pretending to give an account of the late Convention, (the General Convention, 1785,) but replete with falsehood and prevarication, and evidently intended to excite a prejudice against our transactions, both in England and in America.
" On Long Island Dr. Cebra appeared more openly -preached at Hempstead church, and ordained the person from Virginia I formerly mentioned, being as- sisted by the Rev. Mr. Moore, of Hempstead, and the Rev. Mr. Bloomer, of New Town, Long Island.
" I relate these occurrences, that when you write next to England, our Friends there may be guarded
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Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
against any misrepresentations that may come from that Quarter.
" I am, with respects to Dr. Magaw and Mr. Blackwell, Dr Sir,
" Your most sincere Friend and Humble Servant, " SAMUEL PROVOOST .*
" New York, Nov. 7, 1785."
The strong prejudice which influenced the Rev. Mr. Provoost against Bishop Seabury is exhibited here in his persistent misspelling the Bishop's name, writing it always "Cebra," in the withholding the title "Bish- op," and in his misconstruction of the newspaper article to which he alludes, which is given in full in " Perry's Historical Notes and Documents,"t together with some further communications from the Rev. Mr. Provoost, and is free from the artfulness he attributes to it.
The exhibition of such an unamiable spirit towards Bishop Seabury was, unfortunately, not an isolated instance. In the New York Convention, June 14th, 1786, the following resolution was adopted :
" Resolved, That the persons appointed to represent this Church [in General Convention] be instructed not to consent to any act that may imply the validity of Dr. Seabury's ordination."
But it is a matter of pleasant reflection that the members of St. George's parish, so far from adding to the good bishop's burdens, did what they could to encourage and sustain him.
* Perry's Early Conventions-Hist. Notes vol. 3, p. 283.
+ A Half Century of Legislation of the American Church, vol. 3, p. 283.
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St. George's Church.
In those critical months to the Protestant Episco- pal Church in America, when, partly from opposition to the Bishop's consecration by the Scotch Bishops ; partly from sectional jealousies ;* partly from such ecclesiastical idiosyncrasies as moved Virginia to forbid her delegate-Dr. Griffith-to a general Con- ference, to take a seat as a member ; and South Caro- lina to stipulate that she would participate in the conference only on the condition that " No Bishop should be settled in that State," there appeared little prospect of bringing such divergent elements to coa- lesce harmoniously in the union of one body, and a permanent disassociation of the churches in the several States seemed inevitable-at that critical period this parish manifested its undiminished affection and respect for Bishop Seabury, and con- tributed its influence to promote that amiable inter- change of sentiment between him and Bishop White, the embodiments of gentleness and kindliness ; which, under God, averted the impending dissension of Churchmen, and led to that firm compact which has made the Church vigorous and victorious.
Bishop Seabury was regarded by the Churchmen of Hempstead with pride and affection, as the child of the parish ; and he reciprocated the feeling. Through
* An example of which is given in the following extract of a letter from the Rev. Mr. Parker of Boston, to Bishop White: "In these Northern States I much doubt whether a Bishop from England would be received, so great is the jealousy still remaining of the English nation. Of a Scotch Bishop there can be no suspicions, because wholly unconnected with the civil power themselves, they could in- troduce none into these States."-Church Documents, Connecticut, Vol. ii. p. 290.
Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore. 169
all his after years he frequently revisited the scenes of his youth and the home of his numerous relatives.
The private diary of the Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore contains frequent records of his officiating here.
In 1791, the Vestry of St. George's adopted a measure for which, probably, they had some reason not now to be discerned. It was by them " Ordered, that every person acting in any public office of the Church should declare his consent and assent to the doctrines and discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church;" and the following certificate of the compli- ance with this ordinance of those who made it, was drawn up and signed.
"SOUTH HEMPSTEAD, 21 July, 1791.
" The Vestry of St. George's Church in this Town having taken into consideration the necessity of Uniformity as well in Doctrine as in Discipline, have unanimously agreed to the following Resolutions, which Resolutions they sincerely subscribe for them- selves, and which they seriously recommend to all their successors in office, viz. :
" That every person acting in any Public office in this Church, shall, as soon as elected, declare his con- sent and assent to the Doctrines and Discipline of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and his conformity to the Canons made for the Government of the same.
"THOS. LAMBT. MOORE, Rector. Thos. Clowes, Church Wardens. George Hewlet,
George Weeks, Benj. Hewlet, Saml. Carman, Danl. Kissam,
Vestrymen."
8
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St. George's Church.
Having referred to the Diary of the Rev. Mr. Moore, we make from it one or two extracts. Un- der date of November 12, 1786, he notes that the number who partook of the sacrament that day was forty-one.
" 1783, Nov. 23 .- Read and Preached at St. Paul's Chapel (New York), morning; do St. George's, after- noon .- N. B. This was the last time that His M(ajesty) G(eorge) III. was prayed for in this State."
Up to 1787 all evening services were held in pri- vate houses, there being no provision for lighting the church ; evening services in Episcopal churches not being customary nor regarded favorably by Church- men generally. But the necessary arrangements. having been made, the church was henceforth used for evening services, as thus noted in Mr. Moore's diary:
" 1787, Nov. 25 .- Read and preached, morning, South Hempstead. Lectured in church, evening, first time of thus assembling."
We learn from this diary that from the middle of October until the following spring, it was Mr. Moore's custom to have but one service, either at Hempstead or at Success, where he officiated every third Sunday.
A continuance of some of the obtrusive peculiari- ties of the Quakers is probably aimed at in a resolution passed by the Vestry, May 29, 1792 :
" Resolved, That the Church Wardens and Vestry- men shall see due order observed in Church-and that no person be hereafter permitted to come within the walls of the same, whether Service or not -covered."
171
Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
At this meeting there was passed the following resolution-" That a new Parsonage House be erected next Spring, and that materials be purchased this season."
NEW PARSONAGE.
The above resolution was promptly carried into effect. The parsonage which was now to be displaced by the new one was built, as we have seen, in 1682.
And when the Rev. Mr. Seabury came here in 1744, it was in so ruinous a condition as to require such extensive repairs that it might be said to have been almost rebuilt. It had never been a com- modious dwelling. Its style was one that prevailed on Long Island at the period of its erection, and of which a few specimens still survive. It was a story and a half high in front, with a roof of a single pitch sloping down to one story in the rear. A front door in the middle of the house opened into a narrow hall running through the house, with two rooms on either side. At the rear end of the hall was a passage way into a small building in which was the kitchen. The ceilings were low, even on the ground floor, and lower still in the two or three rooms above.
The stipulations for the new parsonage directed it should be 44 feet front by 34 feet deep, witli a build- ing at the east end, for a kitchen. Mr. Mackrel, of Jamaica, was the builder, and the cost was to be £500 ; the Vestry stipulating to be at the expense of carting the lumber, finding the stone and digging the cellar. The lack of height in the old building was avoided in the new one, but unfortunately, the designer of the plan, if there was such a person, gave
172
St. George's Church.
the greatest height to the part of the building of the least use-the attic. The ceilings were but a little higher than those of the old building. And with a singular lack of foresight, the house was constructed without having in it a single closet ; a defect which has since been but very imperfectly remedied.
The building was regarded, at the time, as a rather imposing one. It was constructer largely of hewn oak timber, contributed principally by the parish- ioners on the north side of the island. This timber, not having been seasoned, by its warping and twisting has affected the regularity of the bevel and angles. Being covered only with shingles nailed to laths, renders it but too accessible to cold and wind.
All parts of the parish, which then included a large portion of the county and extended across the Island from the ocean to Sands Point on the Sound, actively participated in providing the new residence for their Rector, as the following inscription on its corner stone declares :
" This Parsonage was erected by the voluntary Donations of the Episcopal Congregation of North and South Hempstead, Anno Domini, 1793. Unity, Perseverance, and Public Spirit. Laus Deo."
The old parsonage building was sold for £40-the piazza to Mr. George Weeks for £5-and a part of it was removed to a lot on Greenwich Strect, which afterwards came into the possession of Mr. Henry Eckford, when it was taken down. Another part was taken to the land now owned by Mr. Stewart Haff.
PHOTO. ELEGTANTIPE CO . NY
-
173
Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
" Nov. 28, 1793 .- The Trustees chosen to sell the old parsonage, reported they had sold the west part to Mr. George Weeks, Jr., for £16."
In the new parsonage Mr. Moore dwelt during the last six years of his Rectorship. In March, 1794, the Vestry directed the sale of that portion of the glebe lands at the south-near the bay-designated as the Middle and Little Neck .* How many acres were comprised in the sale is not stated. The lands brought £350. With this sum and an addition of £50 more, on which the Rector agreed to pay in- terest, the Vestry bought for a glebe from Mr. Thos. Clowes, a piece of land of twenty-three acres, now lying in the eastern edge of the village of Hempstead, and whose northern boundary is the Farmingdale Road, and which was afterwards desig- nated as the Greenfield property, and " Green Farm."
By resolution of the Vestry a letter of thanks was sent, about this time, to "the Minister, Elders and Deacons of the Reformed Dutch Church, for the use of the Church at Success." It is surmised that the services of the church had been conducted at Success only since Mr. Moore was Rector, and were for the especial accommodation of the members of the parish residing in that neighborhood.+
At the Vestry-meeting in May, 1795, one of the Wardens, Mr. Thos. Clowes, was appointed Treas- urer of the "Sacramental Fund," and Col. Carman, "Treasurer of all Contingent Moneys." And it was ordered that £3 be allowed this year from the Sacra- mental Fund, for support of " Travelling Missionaries
* Parish Records, p. 144.
8* t Parish Records, p. 145 and 148.
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St. George's Church.
of this Church upon the frontiers of this and the neighbouring States." The purpose was excellent, but the proceeding was not in accord with the rubric in the Communion office, which designates the Rector as the dispenser of the fund, and prescribes the objects.
In October, 1795, a meeting of the corporation was held, and by its order,* the salary of the Rector was advanced to £200.
In April of this year-1795-at a town meeting, there was a resolution adopted respecting the
PUBLIC LANDS IN FRONT OF THE PARSONAGE,
of which the following is a copy from the Town Records, p. 390 :
"This is to certify that the inhabitants of South Hempstead, in Town Meeting assembled, the 7th day of April, A. D. 1795, did voluntarily and in a legal manner, as they were by law authorized to do, grant unto the Rev. Thomas L. Moore and his successors in office, all the land in front of the Episcopal Parson- age down to the brook, reserving the public roads above and below the hill for the use of the public, and prohibiting the Rev. Thomas L. Moore or his successors in office, from fencing said land or other- wise enclosing, under penalty of forfeiting this grant.
" Entered and compared with the original the fifth day of April, 1796. By Mr. Richd. Beadle, Town Clerk."
The following letter, in the possession of Mr. Jack- son J. Jones, of Seaford, found among the papers of
Parish Records, p. 153.
175
Rev. Thos. Lambert Moore.
his grandfather, explains the source of the above quoted resolution :
" SIR-I have again made application to this Town Meeting for a grant of the Land opposite the Parson- age. Deeming you to be a man of an independent mind, I hope you will give my memorial your ap- probation and support.
" As opposition to this Grant can only proceed from party motives, I rely upon your understanding and honour to frustrate the views of such characters.
" I am, with best wishes,
" Your Friend and Servant,
" THOS. LAMB'T. MOORE.
" S. Hempd. 7 April, 1795.
" MAJOR JACKSON."
In May, 1796, the Vestry
" Ordered-That a letter be written to the Right Rev. Bishop Provoost, laying before Him the situa- tion of this Corporation ; viz., That they are burdened with a debt of £200 and praying assistance from the Corporation of Trinity Church to relieve them, if it can be done."
This petition was not fruitless. Trinity Church, as in almost innumerable other instances, kindly gave the relief asked, and the Rector of St. George's was ordered to send a "Letter of sincere thanks to the Corporation of Trinity Church for their recent generous respectable donation." The donation was £500, more than double the amount asked. John Moore, Esq. was authorized and empowered by the Vestry to receive the donation, and deposit one-half in the Bank of New York, the remainder to be used for the present exigencies of the church.
.I76
St. George's Church.
These appear to have been, to pay an amount still due Mr. Mackrel, the builder of the Parsonage, repay the Rector the sum he had advanced for the parsonage house, and pay a long standing note due the estate of a former Senior Warden, Leffert Hauge- wout.
The south Parsonage was ordered to be rented, as heretofore, to Col. Carman, for forty pounds per annum .*
Mr. Moore, on becoming rector of St. George's, did not resume the services which his predecessors had been accustomed to hold at Oyster Bay, and which Mr. Cutting had been obliged to discontinue because of the perils attendent upon travelling there during the turbulence of the Revolutionary War.
As from this period an informal but practical dis- solution took place of the connection which by the enactment of the Assembly, in 1693, ordained that " Hempstead and Oyster Bay should be one par- ish," it will be proper to introduce here a sketch of the subsequent condition of
CHRIST CHURCH, OYSTER BAY.
As prefatory to that sketch, we first state certain proceedings in that town of a very early date, which will throw light upon remarks made by the mission- aries, Jenney, Seabury and Cutting, in their corres- pondence with the Venerable Society. One of the Duke of York's laws (1665) for the government of the Province of New York, says :
* Parish Records, p. 164.
177
Christ Church, Oyster Bay.
" Whereas the public worship of God is much dis- credited for want of painful and able ministers to instruct the people in the true religion, it is-Ordered, that a church shall be built in each parish capable of holding two hundred persons; that ministers of every church shall preach every Sunday, and pray for the King, Queen, Duke of York, and the Royal Family ; and to marry persons, after legal publication or license."*
But while houses of worship were thus ordered to be built, and ministers were expected, the law was of little effect until the Act of the Assembly of the Pro- vince, in 1693, for raising by tax a maintainance for ministers gave it practical efficiency. But Oyster Bay did not regard this provision favorably, as the follow- ing extract from the town record shows :
" 1693, Feb. 19 .- The town met together in order to a late Act of the Assembly for settling two minis- ters in the county, but nothing was done about it; but made return that it was a thing against their judgment -therefore could do nothing about it."
But the people of the town afterwards receded from this indefensible position, and, like good citizens, con- formed to the law.
" 1706, Sept. 14 .- Capt. John Dickenson and Wm. Frost, Sr., are chosen Trustees for the town, to act as provided by Act of Assembly, to build and repair their Meeting-Houses and other public buildings."
" 1707, Mar. 3 .- Justice John Townsend is chosen Treasurer of the town, to receive the £50 raised for the furnishing the church, &c."
* See Thompson, Ist ed. p. 103.
178
Christ Church, Oyster Bay.
" 1710, June 27 .- At a town meeting it was or- dered that 1 1/2 acre of land joining to the church be laid out for a church-yard."*
The place for worship had now been built (al- though not completed, as the missionaries long after this state), and,-
"1711, Feb. 16 .- Ordered, that the Trustees and Church Wardens [of the civil Vestry, Ed.]-should receive and lay out the money to be raised for that purpose to the best advantage for seating the church."
This building, after the custom elsewhere, was used for town meetings.
In 1768, Oyster-Bay petitioned the Assembly [for authority] to raise the ministers' and poor tax separ- ate from Hempstead.
The cessation of the Church services by Mr. Cut- ting was followed by a scattering of the congregation. The church building fell into decay, and in 1801 what remained of it was sold for the sum of $67, which was delivered to the Overseers of the Poor " until the same shall be called for by the religious Society, if any may demand it."
Meanwhile certain of the citizens of Oyster Bay had resolved to establish a Seminary or Academy -- and they petitioned the town to grant to them the plot of land on Church Hill, then lying unoccupied, on which to erect said seminary. To give weight to their appli- cation, the proprietors of the Academy obtained the following expression of the consent of members of the Episcopal Church that the land might be loaned for the purpose prayed for :
* Book D, Town Records, Folio 9.
179
Christ Church, Oyster Bay.
"Be it known to whom it may concern, that we whose names are hereunto subscribed, being the lawful Heirs and Descendants of the Pro- prietors of the Episcopal Church situate in the Town spot of Oyster-Bay, do freely and voluntarily agree to put the said church in its present situation (with the appurtenances thereunto belonging) into the charge of the Trustees of the Academy building in the said Town, and by them kept in trust until at some future day it may be found necessary to apply the said Church with its appurtenances for the use of said Episcopal Society.
" Robert Townsend, Administrator of the Estate of Samuel Townsend, dec'd. Samuel Haviland, John Jones, David Jones."
" Oyster-Bay, 1801.
At the time of this agreement the probability that the Episcopal Church would be revived in Oyster Bay, must have appeared very small. But these Churchmen very wisely stipulated, in view of the possibility of it. They evidently had an abiding, trust in the indefectibility of the Church. The Academy, which was opened in 1805, proved less enduring than its friends expected, being superseded by the public school; while the Church, on the other hand, exhibited renewed energy when its vitality was supposed to be extinct.
The first intimation we have been able to find- after this time-that the Episcopalians of Oyster Bay still cherished a love for the Church and a purpose to have her services, is in an advertisement in the Long Island Star, April 17, 1821, that-" the Rev. Dr.
180
Christ Church, Oyster Bay.
Bletsoe, has been appointed Principal of the Acade- my at Oyster Bay, and it is intended by the Trustees: to appropriate a part of Edmund Hall to the purposes. of an Episcopal Church, in which Divine Service will be performed regularly by Dr. Bletsoe."
Of this person little is now known further than that he claimed to be an English clergyman, and that be- cause of some defect in his credentials, he failed of being recognized by the ecclesiastical authorities of the diocese. Whether he carried out his purpose to. hold Church services we cannot learn.
Shortly after this time the Academy project failed, and the building was closed. The purpose of rees- tablishing the services of the Church was still enter- tained by the old members of the parish, and as a preparatory step, they bought up the now almost valueless stock of the proprietors of the Academy, and voted-the Academy had never been incorpo- rated - to give the building to the Church for a parsonage ; and such it is to-day.
In 1822, Mr. Edward K. Fowler, a resident in the neighborhood and a candidate for orders, began to hold services as a lay reader in the Academy, with en- couraging results. In a letter to Dr. James De Kay, in 1850, from Monticello, N. Y., he says : " On every occasion of public worship in which I was engaged in the Academy at Oyster Bay, the congregation was respectable, and oftentimes as large as the building would comfortably contain."
Upon his ordination, in 1823, by Bishop Hobart, he continued to officiate at Oyster Bay and at Hunt- ington on alternate Sundays, until 1826, when an
Christ Church, Oyster Bay.
affection of the throat compelled him to remove to another part of the State. But his services resulted in gathering the scattered members of the old con- gregation and in bringing in new ones, and in confirming in all the purpose to have the parish re- sume effective life.
After the Rev. Mr. Fowler removed, service was held occasionally in Oyster Bay by the Rev. Joseph F. Phillips, Rector of Christ Church, Manhasset, from 1833 to 1835.
In 1835 Christ Church, Oyster Bay, was made a missionary station of the diocese, and the Rev. Isaac Sherwood was appointed the missionary. From that date no marked progress was made for several years in reviving the parish. But in 1844 the question of a location for a church-building, which had caused some difference of opinion, was settled. It was ac- cordingly built, at a cost of $2800, upon the site and amidst the venerable graves of the former one, which is so frequently referred to in the correspondence of the missionaries with the Venerable Society. And in September, 1844, the Rev. Edwin Harwood became the minister of the parish.
Thus was the continuity of the parish life maintain- ed-the interrupted current flowed on again in the ancient channels. .
The church building erected in 1844 soon showed serious defects in its construction, and in 1877 the Vestry decided to take it down and erect another, at a cost of $12,000. David J. Youngs, Edward M. Townsend and William Trotter, Jr., were appointed the building committee. Messrs. Potter and Robert-
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