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 8
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These terms were accepted by Mr. Haskell in the following communication:
I do hereby certify my approbation of the above resolve of the Wardens and Vestry, and also agree not to demand any money from them for my minister- ial services the present year, more than what can be raised by subscriptions, and in case of a deficiency, of a dividend among said Wardens and Vestry of twenty shillings each.
Witness my hand Samuel Haskell,
Peekskill, Rector of the above mentioned Churches.
6th May, 1797
In November the Vestry met and "examined the different accounts and receipts and found due to the Rev. Samuel Haskell the sum of seventy-four pounds towards salary, besides what has been raised by sub- scription, for which sum of seventy-four pounds the order is now given to the aforesaid Samuel Haskell upon the
106 The History of St. Philip's Church
Corporation of Trinity Church in consequence of their donation to the aforesaid Churches: which order, to- gether with the money which is due on the subscription paper at Peekskill, for the purpose of raising a salary for the aforesaid Samuel Haskell, he the said Samuel Haskell, does accept for the arrearages of salary without any further demands on the aforesaid Churches."
It was further agreed that "Mr. Caleb Ward and Mr. Caleb Morgan are appointed as a committee to examine and take charge of the parsonage house and farm when- ever the Revd Mr. Haskell is disposed to give it up."
At the close of 1797 Mr. Haskell became Rector of Christ Church, Rye.
The Rev. Samuel Haskell was born near Boston in 1762, being a descendant of Roger Haskell, one of the founders of Salem in 1639. At the age of nineteen he entered the Army and served under General Knox when New York was evacuated by the British troops in 1783. The following year he was honorably discharged on a sergeant's pension, and graduated from Yale in 1790. For two years he was a tutor in Queen's College, New Jersey. For four years he was Rector of Rye, and then took charge of the historic parish of Christ Church, Boston. He died at New Rochelle on the 24th of August, 1845.
After Mr. Haskell's departure from the united parishes there appears to have been no minister for at least four years, and no recorded attempt to secure one. In 1801 "Benjamin Douglas was appointed to call upon the Bishop and make enquiry respecting the probability of getting a preacher for our two Churches." Douglas being unable to make the journey to New York, "Joshua
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 107
Lancaster was appointed in his stead, and did go and make the above enquiry," and he was paid two pounds for the journey. He reported that "if a minister offered the Bishop would send one to us." In the Fall the application to the Bishop was renewed, and Douglas "called on the Bishop for a minister, and could not obtain any until Spring." At the Vestry meeting of November 6th, 1801, it was resolved "that the doors of the Churches be shut against Mr. Palmer for the future," but who Mr. Palmer was history sayeth not.
For nine years the parish was without a regular Rector, and occasional services were held as clergymen could be obtained. On May 20th, 1804, James Mandeville was paid £3-13-0 "for keeping of the Rev. Messers Cooper and Wilkins." Mr. Cooper was Rector of St. John's, Yonkers, and Mr. Wilkins of St. Paul's, East Chester.
The long interregnum was broken on April 7th, 1806, when the Vestry voted that-"the Rev. Joseph Warren should be Rector of the united churches of S. Peter's in Cortlandt Town and S. Philip's in Philipstown, and that notice of the same should be transmitted to the Bishop of New York by the Wardens."
His stipend was fixed at "two hundred dollars, to- gether with the Glebe," and that was paid in small instalments as witness this entry in the Minutes,
October 5th, 1807 Paid to the Rev. Joseph Warren cash 5 dollars.
James Mandeville.
Mr. Warren's ministry lasted barely two years, for on March 11th, 1809, it was voted that "Henry Garrison
108 The History of St. Philip's Church
and James Mandeville be chosen a committee to wait on the Bishop to intercede for a Clergyman," and the same year Jacob Lent, the schoomaster in the Highlands, was paid twenty-five dollars for "reading services in both Churches.' The committee appointed to see the Bishop reported that he "told them there was no Candidate at present, and that he would charge his memory with the application."
Relief came on December 9th, 1809, when "the Rev. Mr. Urquhart visited our two congregations and preach- ed at Mr. Mandevill's, and is to preach at the Highlands on Sunday 17th instant and the following Sunday at Fishkill town." The Wardens and Vestry held a special meeting at the house of James Mandeville in Peekskill and "after hearing Mr. Urquhart deliver an appropriate discourse, agreed that he should preach at the Highlands and then at Fishkill, and on his return to call the Wardens and Vestry to consult on the proper mode of conducting the affairs of the said Churches and to give a call to Mr. Urquhart, or other ways as the case may appear most proper to the aforesaid Wardens and Vestry."
The call was duly given on January 6th, 1810, and it was voted that one hundred and thirty dollars be paid him for his services to the first of May next. On April 17th, 1811, it was voted "that the Wardens and Vestry sign the certificate to the Bishop of the Protestant Episco- pal Church, New York, that John Urquhart has been duly chosen rector of the two united Churches of St. Peters and St. Philips."
Mr. Urquhart came to the parish from the North, having served as rector of St. Anne's, Fort Hunter, and
Cortlandtown October 6th, 1806 Received of fame Mandeville five Dolans
on account of the United Churches LA. yus and H. Peters Joseph Waren
1
SALARY RECEIPT OF THE REV. JOSEPH WARREN
1806
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 109
St. John's, Johnstown, N. Y., the latter the historic church built by Sir William Johnson. Of his work there we get a glimpse in the "Reminiscences of Bishop Chase" who says that in 1798 Mr. Urquhart was one of the three clergymen "above the Highlands."1 Writing of his journey to found the church in Utica the Bishop says:
Although some distance out of the way I could not deny myself the pleasure of going to Johnstown to visit my fellow laborer in the gospel, the Rev. Mr. Urquhart. Here I had the pleasure of beholding a goodly stone church, with an organ, built by Sir William Johnson, and endowed by that munificent person, with a glebe for the support of an Episcopal clergyman. The Church had been recovered by an appeal to the Legislature setting in Albany
but the glebe was still in the hands of those who had seized on it in the time of the war While the Presbyterian Minister was maintained in comfort, Mr. Urquhart received the support only of the few re- maining Churchmen whom poverty had detained in the place.2
It was therefore, possibly, owing to straitened circum- stances that Mr. Urquhart became principal of the Johnstown Academy from which position he came into the Highlands. His Rectorship was a troubled one, and ended under painful circumstances in 1813. The Vestry voted "ten dollars to assist Mr. Urquhart to remove to New York." One year later the Vestry of Trinity Parish voted a gift of one hundred and fifty dollars to Mr. Urquhart.3
1 Reminiscences of Bishop Chase, 2nd Edition, Vol. I, p. 22.
2 Ibid, Vol. I, p. 28.
3 Berrian's History of Trinity Church, p. 370.
110 The History of St. Philip's Church
Again the parish was left without the regular minis- tration of the Church, but with the advent of John Henry Hobart, the apostle of "Evangelical Truth and Apostolic Order" to the bishopric of New York there came a new sense of responsibility for the scattered sheep of the flock of God. Bishop Hobart arranged that the rectors of the parishes in the diocese should take under their charge adjacent vacant cures and minister in them as opportu- nity offered. In 1814 the Rev. Adam Empie, chaplain at West Point, and the Rev. John Brown, rector of St. George's, Newburgh, "were selected to supply the vacant congregations at Peekskill and Philipstown."1 In 1815 Mr. Empie reported "That in compliance with the appointments at the last Convention he has performed services and preached two Sundays at Philipstown and two Sundays at Peekskill, in each of which places he administered the Holy Communion, of the advantage of which they had for more than two years been deprived."2
The difficulty in obtaining a clergyman led to a sug- gestion that St. Peter's and St. Philip's should unite with Trinity Church, Fishkill, in calling the Rev. Petrus S. Ten Broeck, a Deacon residing in New York, as Rector. The Vestry so agreed, but the union was short lived. In 1817 the Vestry addressed a letter to Mr. Ten Broeck "to find out on what terms he will officiate as our Rector." In June it was voted "that we give the Rev. Mr. Ten Broeck such a call as is customary in like case in the State of New York, and consider him our 'Rector.' " The stipend was fixed at three hundred dollars. He ministered for one year and then became Rector of St.
1 Bolton's History of Westchester County, 1881, Vol. I, p. 136.
2 N. Y. Convention Journal, 1815.
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 111
Paul's, Portland, Maine, where he remained until 1831. Petrus Stuyvesant Ten Broeck was the son of Dirck Ten Broeck, and his wife Cornelia Stuyvesant. He married Lucretia Cutler of Portland, Maine. From 1831 to 1837 he was rector of Saccaoppa, from which place he went to Concord, New Hampshire. He died at North Andover, Massachusetts, on January 24th, 1849.
In 1820 the Rev. Isaac Wilkins was minister-in-charge for a brief period, and two years later Harry Garrison was instructed "to call on the Rev. Mr. Wm. Thomas and see if he will come and preach for us, and on what terms." The visit was fruitless. For five years the parish was vacant, and in 1826 the Reverend Edward I. Ives arrived with letters of Recommendation from Bishop Hobart.1 He assumed the charge of the united Churches at a salary of "three hundred dollars, and more if it can be raised," and in 1827 he was re-engaged for another year at a salary of four hundred dollars.
The effort to raise money for his support was made in the following appeal:
We whose names are hereunto subscribed promise to pay James Mandeville, Daniel Wm. Birdsall and John Oppie, or either of them, the sums set opposite to our respective names for the purpose of compensat- ing the Rev. Mr. Ives in part for his services in preaching in S. Philip's Church in Philipstown, and S. Peter's Church in Cortlandtown for one year from the 4th day of June instant. That is to say, one Sunday in S. Peter's Church and the next Sunday in S. Philip's Church and so on through the year. The one half of the money to be paid by the first day
1 Hobart MSS.
112 The History of St. Philip's Church
of November next if demanded, and the residue at the expiration of the year.
Cortlandtown, 21st June, 1826.
Pierre Van Cortlandt
20.00
James Mandeville
5.00
John Oppie
5.00
Stephen Currey
1.00
Isaac Purdy
5.00
Danl. Wm Birdsall
5.00
James Wiley
5.00
Jared Slon
2.00
Benjamin Ward
1.00
James Brewer
1.00
William Haight
1.00
Israel Jacob
2.00
John T. Gomier
1.00
Ann Sherwood
.50
John Currey
1,00
Jonathan Ferris
1.00
Allen B. Hazen
1.00
George Fowler
2.00
Edward B. Rathbone
10.00
Sarah Dusenbury
2.00
Ward B. Howard
1.00
G. Conklin
1.00
Caleb Morgan
4.00
John Miller
1.00
Nicholas Aray
25
$77.25
Inasmuch as all the foregoing names were residents of Cortlandtown, doubtless a similar list was circulated at Philipstown, and to these donations must be added the rent of the glebe farm, which was part of the rector's
The Rectors of St. Peter's and St. Philip's 113
remuneration. A note in the minute book says: "Mr. Ives left the parish for a call at the Eastward at the close of his year in 1829-from which time the churches were unprovided with a clergyman until Mr. Sunderland was called in December, 1832."
The late Samuel Gouverneur thus records the advent of Mr. Sunderland:
Friday, 28th of December, Rev. Mr. Sunderland arrived with letter from Bishop Onderdonk-Vestry meeting held at Crofts.
Sunday December 30th, Mr. Sunderland preached in S. Philips Church with a pretty good congregation -remained till the 1st of April at the rate of $300 per annum.1
Mr. Sunderland had formerly been a Baptist minister. He was ordered Deacon in Ascension Church, New York, on Friday, November 16th, 1832, by Bishop Onderdonk, and advanced to the priesthood by the same Bishop on Thursday, May 9th, 1833, in the Church of St. Philip's in the Highlands. He served the parish until 1835 when he was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Luck who continued until May 1st, 1836, and was paid $340. for the year. Mr. Luck was ordained in England and received into the Diocese of New York in 1835. Three years later he returned to England.2 He appears to have
Charles Luck 1
1 MS. Journal.
2 N. Y. Convention Journal, 1839.
114 The History of St. Philip's Church
been the last clergyman to minister to both churches, which were rapidly drifting towards the separation which was finally effected in 1840. For four months of 1836 the Rev. Mr. Peake officiated at St. Philip's and at Cold Spring, and then removed to Missouri.
In September of that year the Rev. Henry L. Storrs took charge of St. Philip's and remained long enough to witness the consecration of the Church in 1837. The Rev. E. C. Bull ministered from 1838 to 1839, and was succeeded by the Rev. Ebenezer Williams, who a few months later became Rector of the parish on its incor- poration in 1840.
CHAPTER V.
ST. PETER'S CHURCH AND ST. PHILIP'S CHAPEL WARDENS AND VESTRYMEN
1770-1840
M ORE than passing mention should be made of the faithful men who administered the tem- poralities of the united Churches from 1770 until 1840, when each church became an independent parish.
The following is a list of the Wardens and Vestrymen:
CHURCHWARDENS
Beverly Robinson
Caleb Morgan
Charles Moore
Joshua Nelson
Daniel Birdsall
Daniel Haight
Jeremiah Drake
Daniel William Birdsall
William Denning
James Mandeville
Caleb Ward
Harry Garrison
Lt. Gov Pierre Van Cortlandt
Major Bernard Hanlon
Silvanus Haight
General Pierre Van Cortlandt
VESTRYMEN
Thomas Davenport John Johnson Caleb Ward (Warden, 1790) Joshua Nelson (Warden, 1797) Jeremiah Drake (Warden, 1774)
James Mandeville (Warden, 1801).
Benjamin Douglass John Jones, Jr. Isaac Purdy
Cornelius Nelson
William Lancaster
Joseph Ferris
116 The History of St. Philip's Church
Henry Purdy Daniel Birdsall (Warden, 1772) Peter Drake Caleb Morgan (Warden, 1795)
Isaac Hurd
Jacob Nelson
Joseph Hopper Major Bernard Hanlon (Warden, 1808)
Nicholas Nelson
David Penoyer
Jacob Lent
Francis Pemart
William Nelson
Peter Corney
Elisha Covert
James Spock
John Oppie
Richard Arnold
Captain Frederick Philips
Silvanus Haight (Warden, 1795)
William Denning (Warden, 1790)
Jarvis Dusenbury
William Henderson
Isaac Davenport
Mephiboseth Nelson
Benjamin Ward
Jonathan Ferris
Joshua Lancaster
Stephen Nelson
Henry Romer
Tunice Cronk
Elijah Morgan, Jr.
Pierre Van Cortlandt
Daniel Haight
William B. Birdsall
(Warden, 1800)
John Garrison
Isaac Mead
James Wiley
John Gee
John T. Gomier
Ebenezer Burling
Frederick P. Gouverneur1
Harry Garrison (Warden, 1808)
Samuel Gouverneur
William Douglass
Richard Hopper
William Bates
Cornelius Mandeville
Smith Jones
Gouverneur Kemble
James Douglass
John F. Haight
Justus Nelson
Isaac Seymour
Daniel William Birdsall
Samuel Marks
(Warden, 1800)
A. E. Watson
John Nelson
John Uhl
Thomas Henyon
Henry Casimir de Rham
1 Afterwards known as Frederick Philipse.
Allen B. Hazen
117
The Wardens and Vestrymen
CLERKS TO THE VESTRY
John Johnson
1770
John Jones, Jr. 1805
Daniel Birdsall
1771
Nicholas Nelson
1808-9
James Clark
1772
Harry Garrison
1810-24
Henry A. Cooper
1791
William Birdsall 1825
Caleb Morgan
John Garrison
1826-37
Isaac Mead
1793
Frederick Philipse 1838-40
COLONEL BEVERLY ROBINSON (1770-74) was the principal personage of his time in the Highlands, the first Church Warden of the parish and the founder and principal benefactor of St. Philip's Chapel. Indeed, but for his zeal and liberality, it is difficult to see how the church could have been established and maintained at so early a period. The Robinson family came from Cleasby, in the county of Yorkshire, England. Perhaps the most famous of them was Dr. John Robinson, who became Bishop of Bristol, and British Envoy for some years at the Swedish Court. In 1713 he was translated to the See of London. He was also British Plenipotentiary at the treaty of Utrecht, being the last bishop employed on a political mission. The first member of the family to migrate to the American colonies was Christopher, a nephew of the Bishop. He was a vestryman in the parish of Middlesex, Virginia, in 1664, and married Miss Bertram.1 His eldest son, John, afterward President of the Colony of Virginia, was born in 1683, and married Catharine Beverley, daughter of Robert Beverley, author of the History of Virginia, published in 1708.
1 Bishop Meade, Old Churches and Families of Virginia, Vol. I, p. 378. Cf. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vols. XVI and XVII for a series of valuable articles on "The Robinson Family of Middlesex, Va."
118 The History of St. Philip's Church
Of this marriage there were seven children, amongst whom was Beverly. Another son, John, was Speaker of the House of Burgesses when Patrick Henry made his famous "treason" speech. His grave is marked by the following epitaph:
Beneath this place lieth all that could die of the late worthy John Robinson, Esq., who was a Representa- tive of the county of King and Queen, and Speaker to the House of Burgesses above twenty-eight years. How eminently he supplied that dignified office, and with what fidelity he acted as Treasurer to the country beside, is well known to us, and it is not un- likely future ages will relate. He was a tender hus- band, a loving father, a kind master, a sincere friend, a generous benefactor, and a solid Christian. Go, reader, and to the utmost of your power imitate his virtues.
Young Beverly grew up a contemporary and friend of George Washington, and their friendship continued until differing convictions ranged them in opposite camps during the War of the Revolution. It was on the strength of this old association that Robinson afterward appealed to Washington on behalf of the unfortunate André.
Beverly Robinson early manifested his loyalty to the Crown. In the year 1746 "he raised a Company in the Service of the King and Government of Great Britain on an Expedition then intended against Canada, and was ordered with his company to the Colony of New York; on the frontiers of the said Colony he did Duty (the greater part of the time) until the conclusion of that War, when the forces raised for the Expedition were Disbanded."
119
The Wardens and Vestrymen
The rapid growth of the city of New York attracted Mr. Robinson, and at the close of the Canadian episode he settled there,1 living in a corner house near the Long Bridge. In Colonial times the aristocrats were for the most part engaged in mercantile pursuits, and Beverly Robinson became one of their number, associating him- self in business with Oliver De Lancey, who afterwards commanded a loyalist brigade in the Revolution. The following advertisement appeared in the New York Mercury for May 28th, 1759:
De Lancey, Robinson & Co have removed their Store to the House2 where the late Colonel Joseph Robinson lived, being the corner house next the Royal Exchange.
There lived in New York at that time Frederick Philipse, nephew and heir of Adolph Philipse, to whom William III, in 1697, had granted an extensive tract of land bordering the Hudson river. To one of his three daughters, Susannah, whom he describes as "a lady of one of the best families with an ample fortune," Beverly Robinson was married on July 7th, 1748.
About twelve years before the outbreak of the War of the Revolution Mr. and Mrs. Robinson "retired into the country and settled in the county of Dutchess where his Estate laid." They took up their abode at Beverly, a mansion which he describes as "a wooden house lined with brick; it was," he adds, "originally begun in 1758, but was added to afterwards." This house became
1 He appeared as a witness to the will of David Clarkson, dated August 31st, 1749, and proved August 31st, 1751. (N. Y. Historical Society Collections, 1895, p. 340.)
2 Afterwards Fraunce's Tavern.
120 The History of St. Philip's Church
historic in the annals of the Revolution. The head- quarters of Heath, Parsons and Putnam, it was fre- quently visited by Washington when in the Highlands, and from its breakfast table Benedict Arnold made his hasty flight when he found that his treason was dis- covered.1
After the forfeiture of the Robinson estate Beverly was leased by the Commissioners on February 19th, 1779, to Sampson Dyckman at a rental of £36 per annum. His tenancy continued until 1785, when the house was purchased by William Denning, a merchant of New York. The homestead was unfortunately destroyed by fire on March 17th, 1892.
Mr. Robinson's wealth and character combined to make him the most influential resident of the southern section of Dutchess County. The upper Philipse patent embraced the whole of what is now Putnam County, and was divided amongst the three surviving children of Frederick Philipse, Frederick, Susannah, the wife of Beverly Robinson, and Mary. Frederick Philipse died young, leaving several children and a widow, who sub- sequently married the Rev. John Ogilvie, an Assistant Minister of Trinity Church. Mary married Colonel Roger Morris of the British Army.
Robinson's estate of 60,000 acres consisted of five parcels, which are fully described in his claim against the British Government, above referred to. The first comprised so much of Philipstown as lies south of Garri-
1 On January 15th, 1781, Solomon Blindering, a British spy, reports: "There are no troops at Col. Robinson's house which is converted into a Hospital." (Magazine of American History, Vol. X, p. 339-40.)
Bev: Robinson
CHURCH WARDEN, 1770-1774
121
The Wardens and Vestrymen
son Station, including the churchyard; the second, all of the town of Putnam Valley, with so much of Philipstown and of Kent as lie to the northward thereof; the third of about one half of the town of Patterson; the fourth of some 2,000 acres in what is now Dutchess County, and the fifth of 72 acres of meadow land near Constitution Island, which was then considered to have an especial value. On these lands Mr. Robinson had 146 tenants. His home was in the first parcel, at what has since been known as the "Beverly House." Mr. and Mrs. Robin- son were the only residents representing the Philipse family.
Himself a practical farmer on a large scale, he was an admirable landlord, treating his tenants with the greatest consideration. Before the Royal Commissioners in 1785, Captain Duncan Campbell testified that "Mr. Robinson was not only beloved and respected by his tenants, but was also universally respected and esteemed by all in the County in which he lived."
To the cultivation of his own 1500 acre farm and the oversight of his extensive estate he added the ownership of two large grist and saw mills and potash works. The larger of the two was on the Morris part of the Philipse patent and is marked on Erskine's military map as "Robinson's Mill," standing on the outlet to Lake Mahopac. It is said to have been erected in 1756, and was constructed of massive timbers covered with cedar and painted red. In this enterprise Colonel Roger Morris was a silent partner, and prior to 1764 one Dickin- son owned a third interest. The building originally cost £800 and produced an annual return to each of the two partners of £150. During the Revolution the mill and
122 The History of St. Philip's Church
store attached were seized by the American troops and the contents confiscated, the stock being valued at nearly £3,000. After the war "he heard the Mills were sold to one Smith." They were finally demolished in 1881.
The other mill was located at Continental Village, near Peekskill. In his evidence before the Commission in 1783 Mr. Robinson says, "I had on Lot No. 1 where the Rebels built their Continental Village a Grist Mill & Fulling Mill; they cleared me at least £100 a year and cost in building upwards of £900."
Attached to each of these mills was a general country store. The one at Mahopac was under the management of Thomas Henderson, who estimated the value of the stock, notes and book debts at £8,000. The Peekskill store was burned by the "rebel" troops. The schedule of the damage is set out as follows:
Seized or destroyed by the Rebels in the Store at Peeks Kill. 132 Barrels fine flour taken by order of the Prov Congress £285-12-0
Burnt in 13 Tons Pearl Ash 55 p Ton 715- 0-0
the 42 Barrels fine flour 76 Cwt @ 24/- 91- 0-0
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