USA > New York > Queens County > Flushing > History of St. George's Parish, Flushing, Long Island > Part 4
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CHAPTER VIII.
THE REV. JOSHUA BLOOMER-THE WAR OF INDE- PENDENCE-FOUNDING THE PROTESTANT EPISCO- PAL CHURCH OF THE UNITED STATES. A. D. 1769- I790.
A FTER the departure of the Rev. Mr. Seabury, the parishes were for three years without a rector. The Society refused to continue its annual appropriation of £40, because the parishes had failed to fulfil their ob- ligations to Mr. Seabury. They finally appealed to Dr. Auchmuty, Rector of Trinity Church, New York, to come to their assistance. He called the three congregations together, preached an earnest sermon on the evils of di- vision and urged them to live in peace and harmony. He then heard the different accounts of their grievances, and finally undertook to persuade the Society to renew its contributions for their support. His efforts in this di- rection were successful. The Society recommended Mr. Joshua Bloomer to the Bishop of London for Holy Orders and appointed him "Missionary at Jamaica, Newtown and Flushing." The Secretary of the Society wrote to Dr. Auchmuty : "It had been determined not to send another missionary to those places on account of the great deficiency of the people in making good their prom- ised contributions to their late minister, Mr. Seabury. But your and Mr. Inglis' kind interposition in their be- half, have induced the Society to depart from their former
53
THE REV. JOSHUA BLOOMER.
resolution. I have directed the people of Jamaica, New- town and Flushing to deliver their obligations for their promised contributions in favour of Mr. Bloomer into your hands." This letter bears date February 28, 1769- the day of Mr. Bloomer's ordination.
The Society was to pay the missionary £20 per an- num. Each of the three congregations pledged itself to contribute £30 per annum for his support. A subscrip- tion paper was started in Flushing and bears the signa- tures of thirty-one persons who pledged themselves in sums from two shillings to £3 per annum. The paper was dated, May 23, 1769, the day appointed by the Gov- ernor, Sir Henry Moore, for the induction of the new rector.
The Induction Service was very impressive. Accord- ing to its rule, the church was closed, the ponderous key left in the door, and the people were standing around in the church-yard. The minister came, accompanied by the vestries, and stood before the closed door. The in- ducting person, a clergyman, or perhaps a church war- den, stood at his side with the Governor's warrant of In- duction. He then took the minister's right hand and placed it on the key, and pronounced the words : "By virtue of this warrant I induct you, Joshua Bloomer, into the real, actual and corporal possession of the parish church of Jamaica, called Grace Church, including the parish churches of Newtown and Flushing, with all their rights, members and appurtenances." The warden then opened the door and "put the minister in possession thereof," and henceforth the church was his for all sacred services and uses. The minister then tolled the bell and entered the church, followed by the people. The Com- mon Prayer was said, and after its close the minister sol- emnly declared his assent to all contained therein. The
54
HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE'S PARISH.
people then saluted and welcomed their minister and bade him God speed. Henceforth he was theirs and they were his.
The Rev. Joshua Bloomer was born in Westchester County, in 1735. He entered King's (now Columbia) College, and was graduated, with the degree of M. A. in
STAMP ON THE COVER OF THE VESTRY BOOK.
1758. His was the first class that graduated from the college. Among his fellow graduates, were Samuel Pro- voost, afterward the first Bishop of New York, Chancellor Joseph Reade, Judge Isaac Ogden, and others whose names are prominent in colonial history. Mr. Bloomer
55
THE REV. JOSHUA BLOOMER.
chose the military profession, and in 1759 entered the service as captain in the provincial forces raised in his native county, for operations against the French in Can- ada. He was soon promoted, and served with distinc- tion as major in the expedition of 1760. After the war he returned and entered mercantile life in New York. In this undertaking he was not successful. Later he resolved to follow out an earlier conviction and devote himself to the work of the ministry in the Church. He went to England to prepare for Holy Orders and to offer himself to the Society as a missionary to his native land, whose spiritual destitution he so well knew.
During Mr. Bloomer's rectorship, we read that a glebe was purchased by the parish. As this is a part of our history we must record how this was done. It was re- solved to raise funds by a lottery under the then existing Colonial laws. It was to be the "Church Glebe Lottery," with " not two blanks to a prize." The net proceeds of the venture were nearly $2,000, with which was pur- chased a farm of seventy acres of arable land, about a mile from Jamaica. Church lotteries were common at that time. In 1774 a lottery of £4,000 was projected to " purchase a piece of ground and erect a church there- on for a congregation of the Church of England, which now assemble in Horse and Cart street (now Williams), N. Y." A month after, another lottery was " projected, to erect a church in Brooklyn, under the patronage of the Rector and Vestry of Trinity Church." This was the be- ginning of St. Ann's Church.
In 1770, Mr. Bloomer writes : "I preach at the three churches of Jamaica, Newtown and Flushing, alternately, and generally to crowded assemblies, who behave during Divine service with the utmost decency and decorum. The churches are neat, well-finished buildings, but those
56
HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE'S PARISH.
of Newtown and Flushing rather small for the congrega- tions."
Mr. Bloomer began his work at a critical period of our country's history-just after the enforcement of the Stamp Act. The old vestry-book of this parish bears the hated stamp which shows that a tax of four pence had been levied by the British Crown on the purchaser of the book.
The impending storm of the Revolution burst upon the Colonies, and the Church had to bear the popular odium against England's rule. Congregations were broken up and churches were closed. Many of the clergy were in exile or prison, or were watched and harassed as sus- pects. But during the whole period, except on five Sun- days, Mr. Bloomer sustained the regular services in the three parishes. They were united in their rector. His hold upon their respect and affection was too firm to be disturbed. The confidence inspired by a godly and un- selfish life enabled him to minister in peace and with suc- cess in his extended cure, whether in heart men were rebels or Tories.
The occupation of the three towns by the British army, after the disastrous battle of Long Island, no doubt con- tributed much to the quietness of the three parishes. Flushing had its contingent of the army. A regiment of Hessians had winter quarters at Black Stump, and the place of their encampment was long known as the "hut lots." An excavation marked the spot where an ox was roasted when the Duke of Clarence (afterward William IV.) presented a stand of colors to the Hessian troops. Our own church-yard yielded its grim evidence of war when the excavation was made for the new church. In a supposed unused part of the yard a row of stalwart skeletons was exhumed. The fractured bones, the but- tons and pieces of tobacco pipes indicated the unceremo-
57
THE REV. JOSHUA BLOOMER.
nious burial of soldiers who had died of wounds. Some descendants may tell, as a family tradition, how an an- cestor fell in the old war and was buried in Flushing, across the sea.
The war must have greatly reduced the material re- sources of the parish. David Colden said that when the army of Gen. Clinton left Flushing in 1780, there "was
Evening Prayer,
Evening Prayer
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The Communion of Som
The Forgevener of Nas: The
the Life everlating Amen
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NR Father, which ut in
NimyThy Kingdom come
forgive thein that trefalta
which
Fer that both our heart of
temptation: Butd fiverunsfrom
Na bang defunded from the fear of our enemies nul
through the menta sof for
cânflour Saviour fator
And grant thì thị
Le Hory Clift
by thy greit mercy defre
PRAYER BOOK, 1771 .- THE PRAYER FOR THE PRESIDENT COVERING THE PRAYER FOR THE KING.
not a fourfooted animal but dogs, nor a wooden fence left in town." The final evacuation of Flushing, at the close of the war, is thus described by a contemporary : " In the morning there were thousands of soldiers around. In the afternoon they were all gone, and it seemed lone- some. "
Lord, have mercy upon us
58
HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE'S PARISH.
Among the treasures of the parish is a Prayer Book " donated by Rebecca Morrell, Little Neck, 1771." It bears marks of long use, and has certain evidence of hav- ing been on the desk and in use before and after it was treason to pray for "Our most gracious Sovereign Lord, King George." A paper on which is written the prayer for "Thy servant, the President of the United States," is pasted over the prayer for the king. This must have been done after 1783, as Flushing was in possession of the British troops during the Revolution, and those who read the service had to give good heed as to which prayer they used in those days ..
Another relic of this period is the old vestry book above referred to. This book was long lost. In 1895 it was discovered by Captain F. A. Hinman among some old books and papers in his house, and has been by him kindly returned to the parish. The first record it con- tains is dated 1770, and the last 1798. The book itself is a small quarto of about seventy pages, and is bound in paper covers of colored pattern, with the official stamp- a crown surmounting an elaborate monogram, and "paper, 4d," underneath.
In the first entry in this old book, appears the name of Francis Lewis as church warden. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mr. Lewis was born in South Wales in 1712, and was educated at Westminster. He early chose a mercantile life. The American colonies were then the field for young and ad- venturous spirits, and New York City the focus of activity and energy. Young Lewis arrived there in 1737, and established himself with the ample means at his com- mand. He visited Europe, travelled extensively in Rus- sia and other parts, and formed commercial relations in various branches of trade. But the old French war came
59
THE REV. JOSHUA BLOOMER.
on and a new field of adventure was opened. He took the contract to clothe the British army on the frontier and made headquarters at Oswego. His business knowledge made him a valuable aid in the transportation of ord- nance and military supplies. But when Oswego was captured by Gen. Montcalm in 1757, Lewis was made a prisoner of war and was sent to France. It is not known when he returned, but in 1769 he appeared and led suc- cessfully in a matter of great importance to St. George's Church,* and was a church warden during the three fol- lowing years. But the agitation which culminated in the Revolution had already begun. On his return he warmly
espoused the cause of the patriots. He was not the man for half measures, and was early among the "sons of liberty," to inspire and lead on to action. In 1775 he was sent, from this State, to the Continental Congress, where he took a leading part; and, with his fellow pa- triots signed the memorable document that has made the names of the signers immortal.
A man of such influence and of such restless and dar- ing activity, could not be otherwise than obnoxious to the government. He was marked as a dangerous rebel. The disastrous battle of Long Island had been fought, and New York City had fallen into the enemy's possession. The patriots were in hiding or exile. Mr. Lewis's family were on the farm in Flushing, and he was supposed to be with them. Mr. Lewis's farm consisted of about 200 acres, and was located where the village of Whitestone now stands. In the autumn of that year a company of British dragoons was sent to surprise and capture him. They surrounded his house, but he was conveniently
*Lewis headed the list of persons who pledged themselves to semi- annual payments for Mr. Bloomer's support. This paper was dated at Jamaica, May 23, 1769.
.
to the following forfond
Suck Church Wurdenis
del hommelin
William fewrust Robert Merrill Nath Vom den
l & Meeting of the Church Mandens
FIRST PAGE IN THE OLD VESTRY BOOK.
6 1
THE REV. JOSHUA BLOOMER.
"not at home." They searched for criminating docu- ments, and finding none, looted his house, burned his papers and extensive library, and destroyed his furniture. Worse than all, they took his accomplished wife captive and held her as a hostage for her husband. A part of the time she was without a bed or change of raiment. Gen. Washington remonstrated against this, as inhuman and contrary to honorable warfare, and Mrs. Lewis was released ; but the shock and exposure caused her death.
Mr. Lewis was afterward employed by Congress to purchase military stores for the army. He was sent by Gen. Washington on various secret missions for which, by his commercial knowledge and experience, he was well fitted. After serving his country in this way to the end of the war, he settled down to the quiet rural life of a Flushing farmer. He had spent his fortune for his coun- try during the war. He removed to New York in 1790, and died there in poverty in 1803, aged ninety years, having long outlived his earlier associates and friends .*
But to resume our direct history. A record of some interest was made in 1782 : "At a meeting of the minis- ter, church wardens and vestrymen of St. George's Church, August 1, 1782, present, the Rev. J. Bloomer, rector, and John Willet and David Colden, church wardens. and Robert Crommeline, John Mackrell, Thos. Fairchild and William Loweree, vestrymen, Mr. Crommeline informed the vestry that the Hon. Samuel Cornel, Esq., of North Carolina, late deceased, had by his last will piously given
*Other members of the vestry were prominent in public affairs at this period. John Willet (warden) was arrested as a British sympa- thizer, taken to Philadelphia, later imprisoned in New York, and finally released for lack of evidence against him. Nathaniel Tom (vestryman) was a member of the Provincial Congress in 1775. David Colden (vestryman) was a son of Cadwallader Colden, President of the Provincial Council. We find David Colden's name on Gen. Greene's "List of Tories."
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HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE'S PARISH.
£200 for the use of this church, and that the Hon. Henry White, Esq., an executor, had informed him that he was ready to pay the legacy to any person authorized to re- ceive it. Whereupon the vestry do appoint Mr. Robert Crommeline to receive the legacy, and the said Rob- ert Crommeline is hereby authorized to place the £200 at interest in the hands of the corporation of Trinity Church, New York, and to take the bond of the said cor- poration for it, payable to the inhabitants of the Town of Flushing in communion of the Church of England as by law established." Concerning the final disposition of this money, the parish records give us no information.
This, we believe, was the first legacy received by St. George's Church.
The connection of Mr. Crommeline's name with this pious gift, brings another incident to mind. On the in- terior wall of the church, near the south porch, there is a tablet in memory of Mr. Robert Crommeline, who died in 1791. He was long an active and devoted member and benefactor of the parish. A copy of his will has a clause in it which reads thus : "I give and bequeath to the inhabitants of the Town of Flushing the sum of one thousand pounds as a fund for the support of the minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the Town of Flush- ing for the time being, to be raised out of my real and personal estate." This will is dated, February 8, 1789. No record exists that this legacy was ever received.
After the United States had gained their independence, Mr. Bloomer was very active in those preliminaries which resulted in the organization of our American Church.
In October, 1784, there was a " voluntary meeting of sundry members of the Corporation for the Relief of Wid- ows and Orphans."
After the business of this important charity was fin-
63
THE REV. JOSHUA BLOOMER.
ished, the meeting resolved itself into an assembly of " several members of the Episcopal Church, both of the clergy and laity from the states of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania." A committee of correspondence was appointed " for the purpose of forming a continental rep- resentation of the Episcopal Church, and for the better
From Delafield's Life of Lewis. FRANCIS LEWIS.
management of the concerns of said Church." Mr. Bloomer was an active member of this primary assem- bly, and was appointed on this committee of correspon- dence. At a subsequent convention held in New York we find, "from the united parishes of Jamaica, Newtown
64
HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE'S PARISH.
and Flushing, on Long Island, the Rev. Mr. Bloomer and Mr. Joseph Burrows, Mr. Charles Crommeline, Mr. Dan- iel Kissam and Mr. John Johnson." At this gathering it was determined to appoint a committee of three clergy- men "to wait upon the clergy of Connecticut, when con- vened on the coming Trinity season, for the purpose of soliciting their concurrence in such measures as may be conducive to the union and prosperity of the Church." The Church in Connecticut had stood aloof from the Church in other states, and had acted for herself. In 1783, fourteen of her clergy had met at Woodbury and secretly elected Dr. Seabury as their candidate for the Episcopate. The secret was so well kept that, before it became known, Dr. Seabury was on his way to England, carrying a petition to the English bishops for consecra- tion. Mr. Bloomer was appointed on this important com- mittee, with the Rev. Benjamin Moore and the Rev. Abraham Beach. The mission was successful and the clergy of Connecticut sent a delegation of clergymen to the General Convention which was to meet that year. Connecticut did not approve of lay representation-and to this day, departing from the general rule, has no lay- men in the Standing Committee of the diocese. Besides this very important mission, Mr. Bloomer was chosen clerical delegate to every General Convention until his death. Mr. Bloorme died in 1790. Before his death he received from his Alma Mater the degree of S. T. D. He was rector of the united parishes for more than twenty years.
Among the articles deposited in the corner stone of Grace Church, Jamaica, in 1861, is a plate from a de- cayed coffin in the church-yard, inscribed, " Rev. Dr. J. B." This was, without doubt, the coffin plate of the Rev. Dr. Joshua Bloomer.
CHAPTER IX.
THE REV. WILLIAM HAMMELL-ASSISTANCE FROM TRINITY CHURCH, N. Y .- THE REV. ELIJAH D. RATTOONE-THE REV. ABRAM L. CLARKE. A. D. 1790-1809.
T HE Rev. William Hammell, of Hackensack, N. J., succeeded Mr. Bloomer as Rector of the three par- ishes. He entered upon his duties August 1, 1790, with a salary of $90. He was the first Rector of the three parishes who had been ordained by an American bishop. He was in deacon's orders when he came to Jamaica, and was advanced to the priesthood in the following October. Mr. Hammell's health was feeble and his eyesight im- paired when he assumed the laborious charge of the three parishes. In the first year of his pastorate he sought the aid and comfort of a wife, marrying the widow of an offi- cer of the English navy. To aid him further the vestries bought him a "horse, saddle and bridle for $25." The number of communicants in the parishes had been greatly reduced by the war and other causes. At Jamaica, there were twenty-one; at Newtown, twenty-seven ; at Flush- ing, thirteen.
The vestries were called together at Jamaica in May, I794. After service and a sermon the rector stated that his salary was too small, and that he needed an assistant. He had been called at a salary of £90 per year, "and as much more as could be raised." The "as much more"
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HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE'S PARISH.
proved to be a myth. The vestries agreed, after confer- ence, to raise his salary from £90 to £140. In the mat- ter of an assistant, it was resolved that the vestries should consult their respective congregations, and report at a meeting to be held on Monday in Whitsun-week, at Ja- maica. The members of the Flushing vestry present at this meeting were : William Ustic (the grandfather of the late Bishop Onderdonk), and Francis Lewis, church war- dens ; Gerardus Beekman, John B. Hicks, John Hutchins Smith and Thomas Fairchild, vestrymen. The proposed meeting was prevented by a storm and the reports were not heard.
In August, 1795, Mr. Hammell again called the ves- tries of the churches together for consultation. Great dissatisfaction had arisen from the very imperfect man- ner in which the rector rendered the service. This was because of defective sight and physical disability. He laid before them his pitiable case. Partially paralyzed, half blind and with little ability to perform the arduous duties of his holy office, he asked for their counsel and sympathy. What could be done? Would they grant him an assistant, or advise his resignation ? It was an affect- ing scene. There were generous, humane and noble- hearted men in those vestries. They considered his case with tenderness and affectionate respect. The parishes were poor, or at least they thought so. It had been diffi- cult to give one minister a decent living. They could only recommend his resignation. He bowed to their de- cision and resigned. But the vestries did not leave him there. They voted to pay his salary to November. Then they appealed to Trinity Church, New York, for help. The appeal was signed by C. Smith, David Titus and William Ustic, each a warden in one of the parishes con- cerned.
67
THE REV. WILLIAM HAMMELL.
The appeal met with a generous response. It was re- solved by the corporation of Trinity Parish : "That the vestry grant to the Rev. Mr. Hammell, a paralytic at an early period of his ministry and incapable of self-support, {100 a year for thirty years." This was a noble gift, and its record on the minutes of that corporation stands as a
From Perry's History. THE RT. REV. SAMUEL PROVOOST, D. D.
lasting testimony to its generosity and humanity. The period mentioned was a long one for "a paralytic in the early period of his ministry," but Mr. Hammell lived forty-five years after his resignation. The following is the obituary notice of the last rector over the three united
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HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE'S PARISH.
parishes : "Died : On the afternoon of Feb. 17, 1840, after a short illness, the Rev. William Hammell of the Episcopal Church, in the 78th year of his age "
In the October following Mr. Hammell's resignation (1795), the vestries of the three parishes met at Jamaica, and agreed to call the Rev. Thomas Lambert Moore, of Hempstead. Their action in this was harmonious. But there was an old controversy about the sale of a glebe. The vestry of Jamaica had sold it years before, and New- town and Flushing had claimed a portion of the money. At this meeting it was proposed that Jamaica should ap- ply the amount toward the purchase of another glebe, and Newtown and Flushing would do their part in meeting any deficiency. The Jamaica vestry would not agree to this. All seemed to forget "How good and how pleas- ant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity !" The old record states that "upon their refusal the church war- dens and vestrymen of Newtown and Flushing went off in a very abrupt and tumultuous manner, leaving the Ja- maica vestry to themselves. The Rev. Mr. Moore de- clined the call, and recommended that the Rev. Charles Seabury, a son of Bishop Seabury, be called for six months on trial. The vestry of Jamaica acted on this suggestion and Mr. Seabury accepted the call. He did not remain longer than the time specified. He received $25 for his services and $25 for his board. Flushing and Newtown did not join in the call.
The parish of Newtown now formally withdrew from the union of the three parishes, and carried out a long- cherished plan of having a rector of its own. We do not know how Jamaica and Flushing were again brought to- gether. Jamaica appealed to the old friend of lame par- ishes, Trinity Church, New York, and obtained a re- sponse. An appeal was made at the same time by the
69
THE REV. ELIJAH D. RATTOONE.
parish in Flushing with like success. Early in 1797, it was voted by Trinity Church : "That the treasurer pay the donation of £500 to the church in Flushing, the cor- poration of said church obligating itself to call a minister within fifteen months after the receipt of the donation ; and likewise within three years to vest the said sum of £500 in the purchase of a glebe." The same amount was given to Jamaica on similar conditions.
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