History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 16

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

USA > New York > Westchester County > History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II > Part 16

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

On the 16th of April, 1859, less than one year after the organization of the parish, the corner-stone of St. Paul's church was laid by Bishop Potter, according to the nsual forms of the Diocese. The Rev. Dr. Tyng, Rector of St. George's, in New York City, the Rev. Dr. Carter, Rector of St. John's, of Yonkers, and the Rev. Mr. Brewer, made addresses.

The foundation of the building was put up by Hugh Curran. The mason work was done by Dauiel Blauvelt, and the carpenter work by the firm of Ack- ert & Quick.

The church was opened for worship on Easter Day, April 8, 1860. The consecration was necessarily postponed until the building should be free frou debt. The Rev. Mr. Brewer was iuvested with the office of Rcetor of the parish, on Sabbath, April 22d, by Bishop Clark, of Rhode Island.

The order for the burial of the dead was first used in the church on the first day of June, 1860, when the remains of Ellen G. Brewer, the rector's little daughter, not quite three years of age, were taken in- to the house, to be borne from it shortly afterwards to the narrow house appointed for all liviug.

The gathering of the congregation and the building of the church, which had called out the greatest in- terest and energy, were now to be succeeded by the slower and more difficult work of bringing the parish into unity and spiritual strength. The support of the parish had hitherto been provided for by the volun- tary contributions of the congregation. But on the 14th of April, 1862, the male members were called to- gether to consider the question, "Shall the means for maintaining public worship in this church be pro- vided by renting the pews?" It was decided in the

YONKERS.

affirmative by a large majority and the rector ap- proved the decision. He had been an earnest advo- cate of the Free Church system, but he found it could not succeed in Yonkers. The result here was a periodical deficiency in the income. The change was not carried into effect till April 1, 1863. This action brought about an increase of the congregation, for in the same year the church had to be enlarged by the addition of a south aisle. By this the original design was completed, and twenty-three more pews were added. The money needed for this enlargement. was advanced by Messrs. Anstice and Mulford, who were secured by a mortgage on the building. An ad- dition was also built on the west end to receive a new organ.

In the spring of 1864, Mr. Brewer spoke of resign- ing his charge on account of impaired health. A meeting of the parishioners was immediately called, passed a resolution asking him to hold back his resignation, and requested the vestry to offer him a vacation and a continuance of his salary during the interval. A purse of $1200 was also made up and presented to him. Influenced by these proofs of his people's affectiou, he decided to remain with them, in case his health, through rest, should be restored. He resumed his duties on the 1st of October, after an absence of four months.

In 1865, the mortgage debt of $5000 on the church was paid. The ladies of the parish began the move- ment by raising $1900, and the work was completed through individual subscriptions. The church au- ditorium during the same year was greatly improved by coloring the walls and graining the wood work. A floating debt of $1500 was also paid. The build- ing, now free from incumbrance, was consecrated on Thursday, December 28, 1865, by Bishop Horatio Potter, assisted by the Rev. Dr. Washburn, and the Revs. Guilbert, Dickinson, Lyle, Hepburn and Brewer.

Mr. Brewer's health however, continuing impaired, he hoped a change to another parish might be the meaus of restoring his health and increasing his use- fulness. He also thought the Yonkers parish had reached a point at which its further growth and strength would be promoted by a change of rector. So, on the 1st of June, 1866, he tendered his resigna- tion to take effect on the 4th of July. His ministry of exactly eight years had been a great success. A con- gregation had been gathered, the parish had been or- ganized, a church had been built, freed from debt, and consecrated. He is still remembered with the great- est affection, especially by the poor, to whom he most kindly ministered. And it is a testimony to the geniality of his nature, that he was loved by all the other churches as well as his own. His personal magnetism was so great, that his departure was lamented as a great popular loss. He went from Yonkers to the Church of the Reformation in Brook- lyn, and subsequently from Brooklyn to Christ Church, Westerly, L. I., where he died a few years ago.

The Rev. Uriah T. Tracy succeeded Mr. Brewer on the 4th of October, 1866. He remained till Octo- ber 4, 1869, just three years. He is now rector of the parish of the Epiphany of New York City. After a vacancy of two months, on the 9th of December. 1869, the Rev. S. G. Fuller was elected rector of the parish. He resigned February 1, 1871, to become rector of St. Paul's, Syracuse, where he died a few years after. The next pastor was the Rev. David F. Bauks, who was elected February 13, 1871. Mr. Banks possessed superior pulpit and administrative ability. The Rev. Arthur Sloan was his assistant for one year. After a ministry of about five years Rev. Mr. Banks resigned January 31, 1876. He died at Southport, Conn. The Rev. Arthur Sloan became a minister in the same place. The Rev. C. Maurice Wines succeeded Mr. Banks and entered on his charge on the first Sabbath in May, 1876. He resigned September 27, 1879. He was stationed in Philadel- phia after leaving Yonkers, but is now at Coopers- town, N. Y.

The present rector is the Rev. William H. Mills, D.D., who took charge of the parish on the 1st of February, 1880. Dr. Mills is a native of Newton, Mass., was graduated at Brown University, Provi- dence, R. I., studied theology in the same place under Bishop Henshaw, entered into deacon's orders in Grace Church, Providence, R. I., in 1852, and into priest's orders in the same church August 30, 1853. His first charge was of St. Peter's Church, Manton, R. I., and he has since been successively rector of the Church of the Messiah, Providence, R. I., of St. Mary's, Dorchester, Mass., of St. Paul's, Erie, Pa., and of St. Paul's, Yonkers, N. Y.

The members of St. Paul's at present are two hun- dred and twenty. The Sunday-school has an enroll- ment of about one hundred and fifty scholars. Mr. Charles W. Seymour is the superintendent.

There are connected with the church the following societies : The Parochial Society, composed of ladies ; the St. Agnes Guild, composed of young ladies; the Industrial School to lead sewing, the Mothers' Meeting Society to meet poor mothers for the purpose of instructing them, the Women's Auxil- iary to the General Missionary Society, the Girls' Friendly Society for the purpose of bringing together girls who are here without homes for social purposes and instructions, and St. Paul's Guild for boys and young men. The Yonkers " Nursery and Home " is also under the charge of the ladies of St. Paul's Church.

The present officers of the parish are as follows : Senior Warden, Charles W. Seymour; Junior War- den, Samuel Swift, M.D .; Vestrymen, E. M. Le Moyne, A. C. Benedict, M.D., A. A. Patton, E. D. Harris, G. F. Whitney, M.D., J. Foster Jenkins, Charles S. Bonner, treasurer, and William A. Pardoe.

Christ Protestant Episcopal on Nepperhan Avenue .- In 1867 Miss Caroline Jones, who had spent most of

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

her life in Yonkers, appointed Rev. Lyman Cobb, Jr., her trustee for establishing a Mission Church or school in the place, and gave him one thousand dol- lars as the nucleus of a fund to that end. Shortly after she made her will, appointing Mr. Cobb and her sister, Miss Louisa Jones, her executors, and leaving to Mr. Cobb a lot of land for a church build- ing, but authorizing the sale of the said lot if thought best, and the purchase of another site. After her death the lot, not being desirable for a church, was sold, and the proceeds, with the one thousand dollars men- tioned, were invested in the Yonkers' Savings Bank. In 1871 Mr. Cobb selected the following gentlemen to join him in organizing a Free Church, viz .: J. Fos- ter Jenkins, M.D., Britton Richardson, S. Emmet Getty, George W. Cobb, Rev. M. R. Hooper and Rev. Charles W. Seymour. The site at the corner of Nepperhan Avenue and Elm Street was chosen in

1872. At that time the Savings Bank investment | in Dresden. In October, 1870, he left Germany with had grown to about six thousand dollars. The lot was purchased for four thousand dollars, a mortgage was given for the whole amount and the six thousand dollar fund was used in ereeting the church. The corner-stone was laid in 1872. The house was con- structed of wood, with the outer walls filled in with brick with deafened floors, slate roof, stained glass windows and a seating capacity of two hundred and twelve persons. A pretty vestry room with two large windows was provided in a wing off from the chancel. The chancel window is a reproduction of the window in Calvary Church of New York City, and was fur- nished by the same artist. It is a memorial donated by Miss Louisa Jones, who also gave as memorials the Bishop's Chair, the priest's chair, the stalls, the Lec- tern, the pulpit and the altar cloth. Miss Sarah Jones, Rev. Mr. Uhmnann has had much experience in teach - ing and planning. His pastoral career opens with ex- cellent promise. The church is very active, and much good must be the result of its new organization and its many forms of work and earnestness of life. another sister, donated the communion service and Rev. Lyman Cobb, Jr., gave a memorial font. The first service was held in July, 1872. Rev. Lyman Cobb, Jr., officiated for a while, holding the morning services. Serviees in the afternoon were held by the various THE REFORMED .- Reformed Church on South Broadway with its Reformed Church Chapel on Ludlow Street. The early history of this church is given in an address delivered by its present pastor at its twen- ty-fifth anniversary in April, 1868, and supplemented in a sermon also delivered by him at its fortieth anniversary in April, 1883. Both these deliverances are in print, and may be consulted by any one who desires fuller information than we have room for here. The following statement is closely condensed : clergymen of Youkers, Hastings and Riverdale. The Rev. S. S. Lewis afterwards officiated two years, and the Rev. William Hyde one year. Others succeeded till 1880, when the interest on the mortgage being behindhand, Mr. James C. Bell, the mortgagee, fore- elosed it, and bought in the property. Subsequently he deeded it to Mr. Cobb, who assumed the payment of a new mortgage of four thousand eight hundred dol- lars by giving his personal bond. Mr. Cobb now resumed the charge and held it with occasional assistance till April, 1884, when he left home for a tour in Europe. During his absence his son (having a power of attor- ney for the purpose) soll the property to Mrs. Vir- giuia Clark. After this, serviees were held regularly by Mr. Robert S. Carlin, a student in the General Theological Seminary of New York City.

From July, 1872, two Sunday and frequent week day services were held regularly. Recently the church has become flourishing. On Easter Monday, 1886,

Mr. Theodore J. Bayer and Mr. Charles H. Stengel were elected wardens ; and Messrs. William Webb, W. C. Poole, Henry Gaul, John Braithwaite, Samuel Hayward, Henry Back, Albert Hanson and George Taylor, vestrymen. The vestry clerk is Mr. S. Hay- ward. On the 16th of June, the Rev. August Ul- mann was elected Rector. From June 1, 1884, he had been assistant minister of St. John's. He as- sumed his new charge July 1, 1885.

Rev. Mr. Ulmann, born in Zellerfeld, Prussia, in 1845, was educated in the public schools, and after further private preparation, entered the "Schullehrer Seminar " (Normal School), to prepare for a position as school-master. In October, 1864, he became tutor in the family of Baron Von Hammerstein, a Hanover- ian nobleman, with whom in 1886 he removed to Dresden. In April, 1867. he entered as tutor the family of Mr. John Carey, Jr., of New York, living Mr. Carey, stayed one winter in England, and finally came to America, July 4, 1871. In October, 1872, he settled in New York as private instructor, and as organist and choir director of Trinity Church. In April, 1875, he was admitted candidate for Holy Orders. In September. 1876, he went to St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H., as master of French and German. Thence he cameto the General Theological Seminary in New York, in September, 1880, at which he was graduated in 1884. On the 8th of June of the same year, he was ordained deacon by the bishop of New York, and on the 21st of December was ordained priest. He received the degree of S. T. B. (Bachelor of Sacred Theology) from the General Theological Seminary in June, 1885.

The Reformed church (till 1867 known as "The Protestant Reformed Dutch Church ") of Yon- kers, grew out of a mission movement started in 1841. To that year, all church-going people in the vicinity had attended the only churches then existing on the cast side of the town, viz .: St. John's Episco- pal and the Methodist Episcopal on Broadway. There were, however, some residents who desired a church of Presbyterian faith and order. Mr. Eben S. Ham- mond, a student of the theological seminary at

YONKERS.

New Brunswick, N. J., about to graduate in July, first preached to these people on the 18th of April, 1841. Two days after, he met Rev. George Du Bois of Tarrytown, and Rev. William S. Moore of Union- ville, Reformed Church ministers, and so impressed them with what he had seen, that they brought the sub- ject before the Classis of New York at a meeting held the same day, and secured the appointment of a com- mittee consisting of Rev. Peter I. Van Pelt, D.D., of Fordham ; Rev. Thomas De Witt, D.D., of New York; and Rev. George Du Bois to visit Yonkers and report at the fall session. Rev. Mr. Du Bois acted promptly, and during the summer actually started a Yonkers mission. His friend and former

the 1st of August, Mr. Hammond directed the atten- tion of the people to his classmate, Victor Moreau Hulbert, who in July had been licensed to preach the gospel., By invitation, Mr. Hulbert visited them, preaching in both places on the 21st of August, 1842. His sermon to his Yonkers audience, forty in number, was from Solomon's Song, 8: 5. He was promptly engaged by the two congregations as a permanent supply. The church at Greenville was organized with ten members, and its house of worship was dedi- cated November 9, 1842. Mr. Hulbert was at onee called as its pastor, and ordained and installed on the 4th of January, 1843. He continued to be both its pastor and the supply of the Yonkers mission till

REFORMED CHURCH AND PARSONAGE.

parishioner, Mr. Charles Dusenberry, of Tuekahoe, cordially promoted the work. The committee's report to Classis on the 12th of October, 1841, resulted in the appointment of temporary supplies for the mission. The first of these, Rev. Dr. Samuel A. Van Vranken, of New York, preached October 25th, and thus the for- mal movement under Classical auspices began. The services were held in. the "Long Room " already mentioned, and were well attended from the begin- ning.

On the 13th of June, 1842, the corner-stone of a Reformed Church was laid at Greenville, about seven miles to the northeast and in the neighborhood of Mr. Dusenberry's home. Both Greenville and Yonkers now needed permanent supplies, About

November 12, 1845. On the 23d of April, 1843, how- ever, the latter furnished twenty-eight members, ten by letter and eighteen by profession, who were or- ganized into a church. It is, therefore, from this latter day, that the Reformed Church of Yonkers dates its proper corporate life.

On the 12th of November, 1845, Rev. Mr. Hulbert, having accepted a call from the Yonkers Church, was installed as its pastor. He continued in this relation till April 18, 1848, over two years and four months, making his first term of service as missionary and pastor both, about five years and a half in length. During this period the heirs of Mr. Lemuel Wells fulfilled his known intention by conveying to the people the lot on which the church stands, and soon

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

after the edifice was erected. The first service in it was held Angust 24th, and it was dedicated August 27, 1845. The building has since been lengthened thirty-six feet to the west, and internally improved.

Rev. Mr. Hulbert was twice pastor of the church. His first withdrawal from it in April, 1848, was upon a call made, declined, repeated and then accepted from the Reformed Church of Flatbush, Ulster County, N. Y. Upon its first presentation, a written protest against its acceptance, signed by almost every person in his church here, led him to decline it. Its urgent repetition, however, brought its acceptance. When he left Yonkers there had been upon the church-roll one hundred and sixteen members, of whom one hundred were still in the communion.

The next pastor was the Rev. Isaac S. Demund, called from the Houston Street Reformed Church of New York City, and installed in Yonkers, October 8, 1848. On the 8th of January following, the consis- tory made a contract for a parsonage on a lot adjoin- ing the church lot on the south, and presented by Mr. Ethan Flagg. It was built in 1849, and occupied by the pastors till 1852. Rev. Mr. Demund remained with the congregation till April 16, 1850. At his de- parture one hundred and twelve members were left on the roll.

Rev. Mr. Demund left Yonkers for the Reformed Church of Belleville, N. J. The pulpit was then vacant for nine months. The people invited Rev. Mr. Hulbert to return, but he declined. On the 21st of October they extended a call to the Rev. Dwight M. Seward, then pastor of the Congregational Church of West Hartford, Conn. Rev. Mr. Seward accepted this call, and was installed in Yonkers, Feb- ruary 12, 1851. The membership during the vacancy had diminished to one hundred and nine. During Rev. Mr. Seward's pastorate the Reformed Churches of Westchester County, previously connected with the Classis of New York, were organized into the Clas- sis of Westchester which continues to the present time.

Rev. Mr. Seward remained with the church a few days over fourteen months, till April 26, 1852. On the morning of that day the membership was 118. Yonkers had now been receiving its first rapidly in- coming population. The additions to the Reformed Church had been numerous, and like the previously existing membership, had consisted largely of people whose antecedents and preferences were not of or for the Reformed Church. Great efforts were made to change the denomination of the church. Formal steps were taken towards transferring it to the Pres- byterian connection. It was at one time thought by some that the transfer had been effected, when power- ful opposition appeared, the membership standing 72 against the movement to but 46 for it. Finally sepa- ration was determined upon, and the 46 members, with the pastor, withdrew on the 26th of April, 1852, and on the 10th of Muy were received by the Third

Presbytery of New York, and organized into the First Presbyterian Church of Yonkers. This move- ment was inevitable. It was simply the beginning of a series of events looking to timely provision for the various denominational homes the locality would thenceforward increasingly require. It was accompa- nied with acrimony, but this after a time passed away. The necessity for the event will appear from the fol- lowing analysis of the material of the Reformed Church membership when it occurred. It consisted of the pastor and 118 members. The pastor and 46 members withdrew, leaving 72 members behind, not one of whom then or ever afterwards followed the withdrawing party. Of those who withdrew, the pas- tor was a Congregationalist by education and ecclesi- astical antecedents ; 16 of the members had united with the church by letter from Congregational and 13 by letter from Presbyterian churches. The re- maining seven had united with it by letter from Re- formed churches, but of these seven, six were Congre- gationalists and the other one was a Presbyterian by antecedent. Of the 72 who remained, 38 had entered by profession, and 12 by letter from Reformed church- es. This material was solidly attached to the Rc- formed Church. We state these particulars only to show historically the naturalness of what occurred. Its accompanying circumstances were trying to many on both sides, but its results to the general church only met an inevitable necessity and contributed to the general good.

The separation was attended with division of the property. The withdrawing members agreed to take the parsonage, with all outstanding debts, except a trifling note, and the church building and lot, without incumbrance, were retained by the congre- gation. The parsonage continued for a time to be occupied by Rev. Mr. Seward. The lot, as stated, had been a gift of Mr. Ethan Flagg, one of the outgoing members, and the cost of the building was still a debt, which the Presbyterian brethren consented to assume. So the Reformed Church lost nothing for which it had paid. Yet the giving up of the parsonage was a great loss from the equipment it had enjoyed as a church, and a trial from which it did not wholly re- cover for many years.

The people now again called the Rev. Mr. Hulbert, und their second call he accepted. His second in- stallation took place November 9, 1852, and he re- tained his second pastorate till September 21, 1865, nearly thirteen years. As missionary and pastor to- gether, he served the church nearly eighteen years and seven months. His two pastorates, exclusive of his early missionary relation, extended over an aggre- gate period of about fifteen years and four months. He was called from Yonkers in September, 1865, to found a Reformed Church in White Plains. From that church, in 1872, he was called to the Reformued Church of Marbletown, Ulster County, N. Y., where he labored till April 1, 1884, when being about three-

YONKERS.

score and ten years of age, hc retired finally from active pastoral work.

The second Yonkers pastorate of Rev. Mr. Hulbert opened with great life in the church. At its close, in 1865, one hundred and forty-eight members were left upon the rolls. At his coming the church filled again so rapidly that its enlargement to its present size soon became imperative. A parsonage was also built within the church lot on the north side of the church, and the pastor entered it at or about the time when the enlarged building was rededicated, in June, 1854. This par- sonage was afterwards removed to the northeast corner ! added to the previous debt and the continuous run- of Prospect and Clinton Strects, and con- tinued to serve its end till the spring of 1872. The church prospered during Dr. Hulbert's second pastorate, but its finan- cial burdens were great, and when it closed, in 1865, it left a solid debt of $6,000, and a floating debt of $1650 more. But the pastor had done an earnest work and its future was assurcd.

All the three pastors of this church thus named are still living. Rev. Mr. (long since Dr.) Hulbert resides in Battle Creek, Mich. Rev. Mr. Demund, born in 1803, and now over eighty-two years of age, lives at Ridgewood, N. J., and Rev. Mr. (also long since Dr.) Seward, lives at South Norwalk, Conn. All, as far as is known, enjoy comfortable health. It is not yet time to speak suitably of their personal character, scholarly attainments and ministerial records. The praise of Rev. Mr. Demund remains in the church and in the community. We shall speak again of Rev. Dr. Seward with the history of the First Presbyterian Church. The long identification of Rev. Dr. Hulbert with the Reformed Church, as its founder and builder, entitles him to the gratitude of his old church and of all Yonkers people. His entire work in Westchester County, as pastor at Greenville, at Yonk- ers and at White Plains, covered a period of nearly twenty-six years, and throughout the county he was everywhere known.

assessed for the widening of Broadway in front of its lot and of Riverdale Avenue in its rear, as well as for the opening and grading both of Prospect and Clin- ton Streets on the south and west of its parsonage. In the spring of 1872 the Prospect Street property was sold, and the fine parsonage at 122 Warburton Avenue was built at a cost of sixteen thousand dollars. In the summer of 1872 the church was re- roofed and refloored, and its pews were reset in a new arrangement at a total cost of over five thousand five hundred dollars. After all these outlays were

LUDLOW STREET REFORMED CHURCH CHAPEL.

The present pastor is the Rev. David Cole, D.D., ' ning expenses, the church was found to have paid called December 8, 1865, received by the church as pastor-elect December 10th, and installed January 10, 1866. He is now in his twenty-first year of ser- vice. A few particulars respecting the experience of the church during his period will make its history complete.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 16

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286