USA > New York > Putnam County > Garrison > History of St. Philip's church in the Highlands, Garrison, New York, including, up to 1840, St. Peter's church on the manor of Cortlandt > Part 14
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Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands 201
which has never been finished from want of means and is in consequence rarely used even in the milder season of the year) there is no other Church of any denomination on the same side of the River, within a distance of eight or ten miles and secondly, That the whole of Putnam County formerly belonged to the Philipse Family, all of whom were Episcopalians. St. Philip's Church was erected chiefly by that Family with the aid and exertions of Col. Beverly Robinson, who married one of the Branches, and resided on the Estate in this Vicinity and being an active and popu- lar man with a large tenancy under him, most of the tenants at that time, in the vicinity attached them- selves to this Church-and to this day it is well known that many of the largest families in the neighbouring country are descendants from Episcopalians.
St. Philips was built shortly previous to the Revo- lutionary War, but in consequence of the War and the retirement of Col. Robinson it was left in a very unfinished state. Some small repairs have occasion- ally been made by the inhabitants, as their means would allow but it has never been put in a comfort- able, indeed scarcely a habitable condition, it having been found extremely difficult to obtain from the Inhabitants, (from inability better than indisposition) a sufficiency for the support of a clergyman, by the united churches of Peekskill and Philips Town .- A more active feeling however has of late evinced itself, with the growth of this part of the Country, which is highly encouraging, and we have no doubt that with a donation of one thousand dollars from Trinity Church and what might be obtained from individuals, possibly Five hundred dollars, the Church could be plainly, but well repaired, finished and painted .- We feel ourselves however, bound to admit it as doubtful whether a larger sum than is above stated, could at the present period, be collected by the
202 The History of St. Philip's Church
Vestry, added to the charge of supporting a clergyman, altho' on the other hand we are confident, that if the Church be once put in order, its Congregation would rapidly increase and a sufficient salary soon provided for a Parish Minister-When also the advantage that this Church enjoys from the great facility of com- munication, for the occasional services of the Clergy- man, of West Point, New Burgh, Fishkill, and of other visitors at West Point, in the summer season, it will we hope be perceived that the donation solicited would be well bestowed and, as far as the spiritual interests of this Church in general are concerned, productively invested .-
It may be proper to add that St. Philips is the only Episcopal Church in the County, with an organized congregation. There is we believe an old Church at Paterson, a distance of near thirty miles, now gone to decay & never used, for the particular condition of which we refer to the Right Rev. Bishop of the Dio- cese.
Philips Town-June 28, 1834
(Signed)
Harry Garrison - Wardens
S. Gouverneur
Fredk. Philips John Garrison
Vestrymen
Danl. Haight
A. E. Watson
This formal petition was preceded by the following personal letter, written by Samuel Gouverneur:
Highland Grange, 7 April 1834.
My dear Sir :-
When I had the pleasure of seeing you last Fall, you promised to speak to our friend Mr. Johnson on the subject of aiding us in repairing St. Philip's
Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands 203
Church, and recommended our deferring it until the Spring. Our Congregation generally are poor, but increasing-We have made every exertion and shall still fall short $1000. If Trinity Church could aid us at present with about 500 D. and as much more when you settle with the Corporation for the Ground, they seem determined to take from the Church, in order to open Pine Street; it will enable our Vestry to fit up St. Philips respectably and comfortably.
Our Vestry have never asked for any assistance before-this Church was originally built by the late Col. Robinson, and the Philips Family, who all be- long to Trinity Church, and I certainly think we have a very fair claim on the Mother Church, for some assistance at this time. Believe me with great regard
Yours very truly, (Signed) S. Gouverneur.1
Thos. L. Ogden, Esq.
The request was renewed again the following year in these words:
To the Rector, Church Wardens & Vestrymen of Trinity Church in the City of New York.
The undersigned on behalf of St. Philip's Church, in Putnam County, would again beg leave respect- fully, to call your attention to the Petition submitted by them about a year since, for aid, in repairing the Church under their care.
Relying upon the encouragement that was last Season, indirectly given them, that some aid would be rendered by Trinity Church, and also upon the ex- ertion of certain individuals, by whom private sub- scriptions were solicited & obtained to the extent of say $350. to 400. a partial alteration & repair of
1 Archives of Trinity Corporation.
204 The History of St. Philip's Church
the Church was commenced and an expenditure has been already incurred of near $300. The Season has now again returned when the work should be resumed and finished without delay, and the undersigned would therefore earnestly hope that by an early donation from Trinity Church, and the private con- tributions, already obtained, this long neglected Church may be put in a state of decent repair at last, if not upon a footing with those of other denomi- nations but a few miles distant.
For the satisfaction of your Vestry, a statement of the proposed repairs, with an estimate of the cost is submitted upon the other side.
We are Very respectfully yours
Philips Town, April 16, 1836.
Charles Luck, Rector.
Harry Garrison, - Wardens.
S. Gouverneur,
John Garrison, Daniel Haight,
Vestrymen.
Fredk. Philipse,
The petition was accompanied by this estimate for the proposed alterations and repair of St. Philip's Church:
For Pulpit & Desk, Chancel & Pews, closing air door & other details inside-all which could not with any propriety be dispensed with $ 300.
For repairing window sashes & Green blinds (The sashes now are very old & it has no blinds whatever) 150.
For Portico on porch, there being now no protection whatever, from the weather, upon the outside 150.
Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands 205
Painting the Church inside and outside, it being now entirely bare-and also the fence proposed to be built around the yard For enclosing the yard about 214 acres with a Pale fence-the grounds being now en- tirely exposed-Stone Walls, by which it formerly was enclosed in part requiring constant repair, on account of the frost and also for clearing the grounds now overrun with Brush, and making a convenient wagon road, through the yard to the Church for use in stormy weather-and sundry minor expenses
350.
250.
$1200.
Philips Farm, April 16, 1836.
(Signed) F. Gouverneur Harry Garrison John Garrison Fredk. Philipse Danl. Haight.
There is no record of a favorable response to this appeal.
The alterations were not carried out until 1835 and were somewhat extensive. There is on record a contract between Samuel Gouverneur and George Lent, which provides for the building of "a Vestry-room, pulpit-desk and chancel," in addition to which the roof was shingled, and the entrance was removed from the middle of the south side to the east end of the church.
The account of the renovation is thus rendered :
Dr.
To contract of Geo. W. Lent,
$241.78
F. Griffin for Painting,
72.00
Terbon for Paint
130.53
$444.31
206 The History of St. Philip's Church
Cr.
Sundry subscriptions, mainly from New York,
collected by Rev. Mr. Luck,
$105.00
Henry De Rham for repairs
50.00
Saml Gouverneur for repairs 100.00
Mr. and Mrs. DeRham for Paint,
50.00
Miss Moore, for painting
5.00
F. Griffin, to paint,
2.00
F. Griffin, allowance for Brushes,
.63
Harry Garrison
10.00
Saml. Gouverneur to paint,
25.00
Collected by Judge Harry Garrison,
16.00
Balance due,
80.68
$444.31
The balance was paid by Samuel Gouverneur and Frederick Philipse.
Thus renovated the church was consecrated on the 27th of July, 1837, by Bishop Onderdonk, who reports to the Diocesan Convention:
Consecrated S. Philips Church, Philipstown, Put- nam County: a building erected before the Revolu- tionary War, and consequently, as we had no Bishop, not been consecrated; but recently renewed in the interior in a very neat and commodious manner.1
The Revs. Thomas Warner, Richard Cox and John Brown (St. George's, Newburgh) were present and assisted in the service, which was made more memorable by the ordination to the priesthood of the Rev. Henry Lemuel Storrs, minister of the parish.
In The Churchman, Bishop Onderdonk thus describes the service:
1 New York Convention Journal, 1837.
BISHOP OF NEW YORK
Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands 207
Thursday, July 27th, consecrated St. Philip's Church, Philipstown, and admitted its minister, the Rev. H. L. Storrs, Deacon to the Priesthood. The Instrument of Donation was presented on behalf of the Vestry, by the Hon. Harry Garrison, and read by the minister. The sentence of Consecration was read by the Rev. John Brown, rector of St. George's Church, Newburgh, Orange County; who also read Morning Prayer, assisted by the Rev. Thomas Warner chaplain and professor in the United States Military Academy, West Point, who read the lesson; the ser- mon preached by the Bishop; and the candidate presented by the Rev. Richard Cox.1
Reading between the lines of the records, it is possible to glean some idea of Church life and worship during the last years of the eighteenth and the opening years of the nineteenth centuries. The chapel was a barn-like structure of clap-boards, standing on a wooded knoll and surrounded by a few weather-beaten gravestones. It was built of oak and there is a tradition that the boards were axe-hewn from trees grown upon what is now the Highland House property. That it was a small building is witnessed by a pencilled note on the fly-leaf of the original minute book of the Vestry, which reads, "Sept. 7th, 1846. I measured the size of S. Philip's Church outside and find it 30 x 36 feet. F. P." (Frederick Philipse). Prior to 1835 the entrance was in the middle of the south side of the chapel, and the lofty rounded- top windows reached to the roof plate. The interior was severely plain. The walls were bare boards, not being plastered until 1835. The most conspicuous feature was the tall "three-decker pulpit," which stood
1 Churchman, 1837. Vol. VII. No. 21.
208 The History of St. Philip's Church
in the center and was surrounded by a Communion rail. There was a large window behind the pulpit. For sixty- five years there was no Vestry-room, but a portion of the west end was partitioned off by a blue curtain. In the early days pews were unknown, the worshippers sitting on rough hewn benches. In 1809 permission was ac- corded by the Vestry to Harry Garrison and others to build pews in the chapel. An unnamed writer of 1813 says of St. Philip's, "A few pews were erected by indi- viduals, and temporary seats of plank for the conven- ience of others."1
The services were as unpretending as the structure. There was no choir and no organ, but on special occasions a bass viol was used. The tunes were "set" by someone in the congregation. Maria Nelson was the first "singer," but complaint was made that "this was too much like the Methodists," and the experiment was abandoned. The minister read the Liturgy in a surplice, and during the singing of the hymn before the sermon retired behind the curtain to don a black gown for preaching. For many years the men sat on one side of the church and the women on the other. Almost every Sunday the children of the parish were catechized before their grave and rever- end elders. Unlooked for incidents at times interfered with the comfort and disturbed the gravity of the assem- bled worshippers. Not infrequently the stove smoked badly and induced an epidemic of coughing. Dogs accom- panied their masters to church, and, once at least, set to fighting in the middle of the service. After one of the dogs had indulged in a fit, dumb animals were excluded.
1 Hobart MSS.
Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands 209
The difficulties confronting the chapel in those early days were enough to daunt the bravest. For the first thirteen years of its history there were no Bishops of the Church in America, and for still another three years no Bishop in the whole State of New York. Appeal after appeal had been sent to England for Episcopal oversight, but political and other reasons prevailed against favorable action, and, as a contemporary writer said, "there seems no one to care for these few poor sheep in the wilderness."
The number of available clergy for the American Colonies was painfully inadequate. For the most part they were men who were sent out as missionaries by the English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and that admirable Society was limited on the one hand by lack of funds, and on the other by scarcity of men who were able and willing to cross the seas. Fewer still were the Americans who were qualified for Holy Orders, and few as they were, the difficulties in the way of ordination were well nigh insuperable. Orders could be only obtained at the hands of the English Bishops, and the journey was long and costly. In those days a voyage across the Atlantic was not without its real perils. When Joseph Lamson, one of the first of the clergy to preach at Peekskill, left America with Mr. Miner to seek ordination in England, he and his com- panion were captured by the French on the voyage, and were imprisoned in France and Spain for five months. Eventually both men reached England, where Mr. Miner died.1 Such incidents did not make it easier to gain recruits for the sacred ministry.
1 Two Hundred Years of the S. P. G., Vol. II, p. 356.
210 The History of St. Philip's Church
Scarcely was the parish of St. Peter's and St. Philip's organized when the political difficulties with England threatened to become acute. The Church was viewed with the gravest suspicion because of its English origin. There is an old tradition that when George Washington, with his staff, was riding past St. Philip's, one of his officers said, "That is a Tory Church," to which Wash- ington replied, "It is my Church." Whether that be true or not, it is an index to the current feeling concerning the Church in the Colonies. Certainly the Clergy were in a most embarrassing situation. At their ordination they had taken the solemn oath of allegiance to the King, and it was no light matter to violate that oath.
The idea that the Church in America was bitterly opposed to the struggle for Independence dies hard. The truth really is, it was sharply divided into two camps- Whig and Tory. Bishop Seabury was a Tory of the Tories; Bishop White was a Whig, and one of Washing- ton's trusted advisers; that line of division ran through the whole Church. Such sharp political dissension was very marked in this parish. The leading Churchman in the Highlands was Beverly Robinson, senior Warden of the parish, and in Cortlandt, Pierre Van Cortlandt. Beverly Robinson fought on the British side, and Pierre Van Cortlandt was one of the trusted leaders of the Revolution. The first Rector, the Rev. John Doty, though an American by birth, was an uncompromising Tory, whilst Joshua Nelson and Daniel Birdsall, two of his Vestrymen, were ardent Revolutionists. The manu- script records of the State during the Revolution show that Joseph Travis, Daniel Birdsall, Samuel Drake, Abraham and Ebenezer Purdy were members of the
Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands 211
"Committee" and that in July, 1776, Francis Pemart, James Spock and William Penoyer applied to the Pro- vincial Congress for leave to form a company of artillery.1 On the other hand in the list of Tories appear the names of Joshua Purdy, Elijah Purdy, Peter Drake, Peter Cor- ney, Isaac Hatfield and Caleb Morgan. On June 15th, 1776, Joshua Purdy, Peter Corney and Caleb Morgan were ordered under arrest and imprisoned in White Plains jail by the Commissioners to Detect Conspiracies.2 Politi- cally, the parish was divided against itself. Little wonder that the churches were closed, the Vestry meetings sus- pended, and no regular services held from 1775 to 1790.
The parish resumed its life in a crippled condition. It had no Rector; its former Warden and chief benefac- tor had fled the country; it had lost its glebe farm, on which it principally depended for the support of a min- ister; and of St. Philip's Chapel "nothing remained but the frame and the roof; the floor, siding, doors and win- dows being destroyed or taken away during the War."3
From 1790 onwards to 1830 the minutes bear ample witness to pathetic, and often vain attempts, to secure ministerial oversight. There were even fewer Clergy than before the Revolution. When Provoost became first Bishop of New York in 1787 he found himself with only a handful of Clergy for the entire State. The harvest truly was great, but the laborers were few. England could no longer be looked to for men, and in 1785 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel ceased to send out missionaries to America. Weakened by
1 Calendar of Historical MSS. 1664-1776, p. 473.
2 Ibid, 341, 455.
3 Hobart MSS.
212 The History of St. Philip's Church
the Revolution, the American Church was not yet in a position to supply her own ministerial needs. Hence in the life of the parish there were long intervals dur- ing which no Rector could be obtained, and the work languished. Sometimes the gap was filled by the employment of laymen who "read the services in the Church," but oftener the doors of the churches were closed and the bell rang out no call to public worship. Appeal after appeal was made to the Bishop, as witness the appointment of a committee in 1809 "to intercede with the Bishop for a Clergyman." But the Bishop was powerless, for he had "no candidate," and could only promise "to charge his memory with the application."
There was another, and very practical reason for the difficulty in obtaining a Rector, and that was the pitiful smallness of the remuneration offered. In those days the Highlands were scantily peopled by what the historian of 1813 calls "an indigent population," who gave scanty support to the two Churches, and the various Rectors shared the general poverty. In 1770 the Rev. John Doty was "passing rich on forty pounds a year," and in 1792 the Rev. Andrew Fowler was paid seventy pounds per annum, New York currency-one hundred and seventy-five dollars. The same modest stipend was paid to his successor, the Rev. Samuel Haskell, but in 1797 the Vestry intimated to Mr. Haskell that owing to "the rapid decline of religious worship it was impossible to continue his annual support." In 1806 the compen- sation of the Rev. Joseph Warren was two hundred dollars "together with the Glebe." In a letter dated March 5th, 1827, the Rev. Edward J. Ives writes from Peekskill to Bishop Hobart asking for assistance and
Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands 213
says, "My salary is insufficient to support me. I must have assistance from some source, or relinquish the charge of these Churches. The object of my writing you was, in part, to ask charity to support my little family. My salary for the ensuing year is to be only $300-a little more if they can get it-a scanty pittance indeed."1 Scanty as was the "pittance," it was not promptly paid. There were no pew rents, and the Rector's stipend had to be raised by subscriptions, which were not always forthcoming, for in 1794 we find the Rev. Andrew Fowler complaining to the Vestry that "the Church at Peekskill had neglected to discharge their part of the first half of the first year's salary." If, as happened at least once in the parish, the Rector was not popular, his stipend was not forthcoming. In the Hobart collection there is preserved an interesting letter written by Harry Garrison to the Bishop in 1813, in which he says, "we are as able today to support a good Rector as we were the first day he came to our place-but are not willing to pay him."2
It is not therefore surprising to learn-from another source-that "the present incumbent, although aided by a school, found it difficult to subsist last Fall until Captain Philipse, William Henderson and William Den- ning contributed by gift to his relief!"
The whole situation is summed up in a letter written ninety-six years ago to the Bishop, "Several essays were made to establish a respectable Clergyman, but the sums subscribed held out indifferent encouragement to such."3
1 Hobart MSS.
2 Hobart MSS.
3 Hobart MSS.
214 The History of St. Philip's Church
Little wonder that the sheep, so often unshepherded, strayed from the fold. The congregations diminished; the Holy Communion was infrequently administered; baptisms and confirmations were rare; and the dead were buried either by laymen, or without a service at all. A sad, though interesting, picture of conditions in 1827 is sketched by the Rev. Edward J. Ives. He writes to the Bishop:
In compliance with your request I came into the parishes of Peekskill and Philipstown immediately after I had received letters of recommendation from you to the most influential and wealthy Episcopalians who professed to belong to them. I found the Church in a wretched, disorganized state, its former mem- bers strayed from the "true fold," and but very few left who were nominally Episcopalians, and these ignorant of the usages and institutions of their Church. Methodism and Calvinism and what not had led them into the paths of error and schism, and the general cry was, "it is no matter what we are, so long as we believe in and agree the fundamental doc- trines of Christianity." Lamentable to relate, this cry (to the injury of our church) is made even among those who call themselves Churchmen. These pro- fessions of Charity on the part of Episcopalians are very pleasing to the ear of those, who once perse- cuted us to the death, but who are now from sinister motives adopting a contrary course. But it affords me infinite pleasure in mentioning to you that the societies now under my charge are in a more flour- ishing state than what they were two or three months after I came here. The Church in the Highlands has been repaired since I came here. They raised a subscription to the amount of five hundred dollars to do it. It is now well finished, and has had an
Chapel of St. Philip's in the Highlands 215
addition of five to her communicants. The Church at Peekskill is out of repair, and it requires about one hundred dollars to make it decent to meet in.1
One more factor added immensely to parochial diffi- culties, and that was the extreme bitterness of feeling between the Church and other Christian bodies-notably the Presbyterians, who were the oldest and strongest body in this vicinity. It was characteristic of the times. The letters of the missionaries of the Society for the Prop- agation of the Gospel are full of the bitter persecutions they suffered at the hands of those who served the same Lord. Neither one side nor the other made any attempt to "hold the faith in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace." On the contrary, they were at war. They re- joiced more over making one proselyte than in the turning of many sinners to repentance. The feeling against the Church was partly political, and partly doctrinal, but it was exceedingly strong. The weakness of the parish through the lack of a regular ministry was eagerly seized as an opportunity for an inroad. In 1813 it was reported of the parish to Bishop Hobart that
the congregation has been greatly lessened by other denominations taking advantage of the paralyzed state of the Churches remaining so long without funds, and without a minister, but on arrival of its prosperity, it would soon recover these members and many others.2
The most formidable personal rival of the Church was the Rev. Silas Constant, the minister of the Presbyterian Church at Yorktown from 1783 to 1825. Mr. Constant,
1 Hobart MSS.
2 Hobart MSS.
216 The History of St. Philip's Church
for some years, kept a journal in which he recorded his journeyings, and that journal has recently been printed for private circulation. He was untiring in his efforts to build up his church, and especially so in Peekskill and the Highlands, where he visited and preached almost daily. His journal records repeated services held in the house of the Birdsalls, the Drakes, the Wards and the Dusenburys, all of whom were members of the Vestry. He was persistent in his efforts to hold services in St. Peter's Church, and, thrice he records his preaching at "the Church in the Highlands." About 1806 Daniel Birdsall applied to the Vestry for leave to Mr. Constant to preach in St. Peter's. The application evidently caused some embarrassment, for on October 20th, 1806, it was
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