History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 62

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 62

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It was a small beginning, but the church was united and energetic, and it went on increasing in member- ship every year. At the close of 1844 it had forty- two members, at the close of 1845 it had fifty-three, and at the close of 1846 it had sixty-three. At the last-mentioned date the church was notified that the building in which they worshipped would, on June 1, 1847, be required for another purpose, and that they would be obliged to inove out. The trustees thereupon took measures to secure a desirable site for

the erection of a new church edifice, and, finally, pur- chased of the late Martin Smith a piece of land on the northwest corner of Main and Washington Streets, where the Wendle brick buildings now stand, for the sum of seven hundred and twenty dollars. This, together with the amount required to erect the new church edifice, was obtained principally through the efforts of the Rev. Mr. Underhill, the pastor. The building, however, was not ready to be occupied at the time the congregation had to leave the house in Cortlandt Strect, and Mr. Allen Newman, a worthy Methodist brother, allowed the church to worship in his school-room, on College Avenue, just west of Broadway, and next to what is now St. Mark's Epis- copal Church. The room was in the Academy build- ing, which was afterwards transformed into the house in which the Misses Metcalfe now hold the Home In- stitute, a school for young ladies.

At the close of 1847 the church numbered fifty-ninc members The Rev. Mr. Underhill continued his labors until June, 1849, when he accepted a call to Peekskill. After leaving Tarrytown the Rev. Mr. Underhill died, but his remains were brought back for burial, and now lie in the Baptist Church plot in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

The new church building having been completed south of the Andre Brook, in the township of Green- burgh, and in Tarrytown proper, a new registry was made out and recorded April 19, 1847. The original name of the Church, "The Beekman Baptist Church of Tarrytown," was then dropped, and the name of "The First Baptist Church of Tarrytown " was sub- stituted for it, a name which it still retains. The cost of the new building was about five thousand dollars. The pulpit having become va ant by the resignation of the Rev. Mr. Underhill, a call was given to the Rev. Abel P. Buel, who accepted it, and entered upon his duties in 1849. He continued to serve the church until 1857, when he resigned, and was succeeded by the Rev. William H. Wines, of Boston, afterward Dr. Wines, who held thic pastoral office until toward the close of 1866. He was an earnest and successful worker, and the church greatly prospered under his ministry. He was also a man of sterling patriotism, and during the War of the Rebel- lion he threw the whole weight of his influence, as did nearly all the ministers in the placc, in favor of the great struggle for the Union. It is but justice to the pulpit of Tarrytown to say that its trumpet gave no uncertain sound in those dark days of trial and danger to the republic. While the Rev. Mr. Wines was pastor there was a religious awakening, espe- cially in the southern part of the village, and the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, the Baptist Church and the Second Reformed Church all re- ceived large accessions to their membership and a new impulse in their work. The pastors and churches co-operated with great harmony iu frequent Union Meetings, and in other ways, for the Christian cause.

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During Mr. Wines' ministry the church building was enlarged at an expense of four thousand dollars, and the membership, when he resigned in October, 1866, to accept a call to Poughkeepsie, had risen to one hundred and fifty. The church called the Rev. T. Edwin Brown, of Brooklyn, at a salary of three thou- sand dollars, as the Rev. Mr. Wines' successor, but the call was declined. In November, 1867, a call was extended to the Rev. David M. Reeves, late of Alabama, at a salary of two thousand dollars and the parsonage, which he accepted, and continued in the pastoral office until the latter part of 1870, when he resigned. In consequence of imperfect health the Rev. Mr. Reeves was for some time obliged to be absent, and the pulpit was filled by the Rev. Halsey W. Knapp, of New York. His labors were very acceptable, and benefited the church. The Rev. Mr. Reeves after- wards left the Baptist denomination and entered the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. He is now the Rev. Dr. Reeves, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Johnstown, New York. During his ministry at Tar- rytown he was noted for scholarship and fluent eloquence in public speaking. At the time of his resignation the church had one hundred and seventy- seven members. His successor was the Rev. George O. Whitney, a recent graduate from Hamilton Semi- nary, who accepted the church's call toward the close of 1871. But in about a year after entering upon his duties he had a severe attack of typhus fever, from which he did not recover. His death, in the morn- ing of his days, was deeply lamented. His dust lies in the plot of the Baptist Church in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. During his pastorate six were baptized and fifteen received by letter.

After his death several attempts were made to secure a pastor, but without success, until on Novem- ber 9, 1873, a call was extended to the Rev. George M. Stone, D.D., who accepted it, and entered upon his duties in January, 1874. The church prospered under his earnest ministry, fifty-nine having been baptized and twenty-five added by letter up to about the middle of 1879, when he resigned to take charge of a church at Hartford, Connecticut. It was while Dr Stone was pastor that the new church edifice on Broadway was begun, in the spring of 1875. The financial panic delayed the completion of the church, however, until June, 1881, when, happily, it was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God with its pecuniary obligations all paid. The church is a fine stone edifice, and an ornament to the town. It cost in the neighborhood of sixty thousand dollars, an amount which required a hard struggle to raise, but it was finally done.

Dr. Stone's successor was the Rev. George E. Horr, Jr., who was called in 1879, and continued as pas- tor until the early part of 1884, when he resigned in order to accept a call to the Baptist Church of Charlestown, Boston, in whose service he still re- mains. During his ministry in Tarrytown four-

teen were baptized and twenty-three added to the church by letter, and the new edifice, on the east side of Broadway, south of Main Street, was com- pleted, paid for and solemnly set apart to the uses of public worship. It was largely due to the inde- fatigable exertions of the Rev. Dr. Stone and the Rev. Mr. Horr that this heavy undertaking was brought to so auspicious a conclusion.

A few months after the Rev. Mr. Horr's resigna- tion, in 1884, the Rev. Malcom McGregor accepted the church's eall, and became its pastor. He laid down its responsibilities, however, in July, 1885, within a year or less after he had assumed them. The church at present is without a pastor, but the pulpit is occupied by the Rev. Mr. Hanna, as a stated supply, until April 1,- 1886. The church has for years been sustained through storm and sun- shine by a band of earnest Christians, men and womeu, whose courage and devotion are worthy of the highest praise. Among them may be mentioned with special honor Deacon Cornelius Curtiss and wife, Deacon John Bell and the late Mrs. Elizabeth L. Freeland. The church has received also most gener- ous contributions from Mr. Lewis Roberts and Mr. John H. Hall.

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH .- The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is the youngest of all the churches in Tarrytown. It is situated on the south side of Wildey Street, between Orchard Street and Mechanics Avenue. The ecclesi- astical body was organized in 1864. Previous to that time the colored Christians of the place had wor- shipped in one or the other of the churches in the village, as their preference or association determined. But the Rev. Jacob Thomas, Henry Foster, Amauda Foster and Harmond Jamerson met in the house of Henry Foster, Tarrytown, in 1864, and entered into an association, which was afterwards formally cousti- tuted and acknowledged by the higher church au- thorities as the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church of Tarrytown, in connection with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church of the State of New York. This society engaged the room over Odell's store, on the southwest corner of Washington and Main Streets, as their place of public worship. The buikling is now occupied as a store by the Requa Brothers. The society began with three members, but it soon increased in uumbers, and found its present accommodations too strait for it. Accord- ingly, in 1866, it removed to ampler quarters in the old Andre Brook Brewery building, uow known as the shoe-factory of Messrs. G. & D. Silver. Its pastor at the time was the Rev. Henry Dumpson, acting under the supervision of the Rev. Jacob Thomas. The Rev. Henry Brown, a local preacher of the African Church, also rendered valuable service in sustaining the enterprise. He often walked from his house to Tarrytown, a distance of eighteen miles, and back in order to minister to the little flock and cheer

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them in their effort. He afterwards removed to Tarrytown, where he became blind, and finally died on July 1, 1882. He was a zealous and warm-hearted Christian.

The idea of building a new house of worship seems to have originated in the mind of the late Henry Fos- ter. Although he did not live to see it realized, he left it as a dying charge to his wife, who still sur- vives, to do hier utmost in order that his desire might be accomplished. Feeling the sacredness of the charge thus laid upon her, she engaged in the effort at great sacrifice, and at last had the happiness to see that the object was gained. The Rev. Jacob Thomas lent his assistance, and by their combined and perse- vering labors a site was secured in Wildey Street, and the work of building commenced.

The building committee was composed of some of the best citizens in the community, and, with the ex- ception of the Rev. Jacob Thomas and Mrs. Amanda Foster, belonged to other churches,-three of them to the Second Reformed Church and one to the Asbury Methodist Episcopal. The committee were the Rev. Jacob Thomas, William Hoge, Hervey F. Lombard, Edward B. Cobb, J. O. Dorr and Mrs. Amanda Fos- ter. The Rev. Mr. Thomas was chairman, Mrs. Foster was treasurer, William Hoge assistant treasurer and Edward B. Cobb secretary.

The corner-stone was laid on October 10, 1867, by Bishop William H. Bishop, since deccased, who also addressed the assembly present, and was followed in appropriate addresses by the Rev. Dr. Clark, of the Episcopal Church at Elizabeth, New Jersey, by the Hon. William E. Dodge, and by the Rev. J. A. Todd, pastor of the Second Reformed Church. The new edifice, built of brick, was completed in the latter part of 1867 at a cost of $9125.85, and the con- gregation took possession of it with fervent grati- tude and rejoicing. The church has at present about forty members, and there are about thirty-five scholars in the Sunday-school connected with it. The church has had a succession of eight pastors, in- cluding the present incumbent, the Rev. Thomas O. R. Williams. In its peculiar field of operations the church is exerting a wholesome influence and ought to be sustained.

YOUNG MEN'S LYCEUM .- The "Young Men's Ly- ceum " was organized on June 22, 1866, as a Reading- Room and Debating Club. The place in which the meeting was held was the next building north of Silver's Shoe-Factory, then used by the Rev. Mr. Guilbert as a school-house. Its original members were the Rev. Edmund Guilbert, who was also its first president, W. Parnell, J. O. Jones, E. W. Hawes, M. Purdy, W. F. Metcalfe, E. M. Purdy, J. Kingsland and G. Herringshaw. In May, 1869, the Lyceum was incorporated by act of the Legis- lature under the name and title of the "Young Men's Lyceum." After holding its meetings for several years in different buildings, as convenience ii .- 25

or necessity required, the organization at length obtained sufficient funds to purchase a lot, and to erect a suitable building of its own upon it, on the corner of Broadway and Central Avenue, directly opposite the Second Reformed Church. The Lyceum Association now owns this property, and in addition to it a well-selected library of four- teen hundred volumes. It was all acquired by do- nations and contributions from the people of Tarry- town and vicinity, and it belongs essentially to them. It has been a popular institution, and its influence for good has often been felt in the community.

The chief features of the Lyceum are its library, , its public discussions of popular subjects and its occasional lectures.

In 1884-85 an effort was made to change the name of the institution, and in some degree its scope and aims, but it met with such decided dis- approval from the friends of the Lyceum that the whole matter was quietly dropped.

PUBLIC HALLS .- Tarrytown is amply supplied with public halls. They are three in number. The first is Smith's Opera-House, built on the southeast corner of Washington and Wildey Streets, in 1884, and owned by Mr. Henry T. Smith, editor and pro- prietor of the Tarrytown Herald. The hall will accom- modate an audience of from eight hundred to one thousand persons. The second is Masonic Hall, on the southeast corner of Central Avenue and Orchard Street, and extending through to Cottage Place. It was built by the Masonic fraternity, partly to meet their own wants, in 1885. Its corner-stone bears the inscription on the side toward Cottage Place, "A. D. 1885," and on the side toward Central Avenue, "A. L. 5885. Hishshahmer." The last word is Hebrew, and means, " Be thou cautious," or "Take thon heed." It will comfortably seat about six hundred. The third is Music Hall, on the north side of Main Street, one door west of Broadway. It was completed in 1886, and is owned by Mr. William L. Wallace. It is a magnificent hall, capable of com- fortably seating in the galleries and on the floor an audience of twelve hundred, and will accommodate on an emergency fifteen hundred persons.

PUBLIC SCHOOL.

SCHOOLS IN TARRYTOWN .- There are three princi- pal schools in Tarrytown proper, all of which are per- forming a useful service in their several spheres. The oldest, as it is the largest, is the public school known as "Union Free School, No. 1, Town of Green- burgh," and the two others are private boarding and day-schools for girls and young ladies.

The Union Free School, owes its existence to the liberality and public spirit of the late Captain Nathan Cobb. He having offered to give the land for the purpose, and to erect the school building at his own expense, a special school-mecting was held on March 16, 1850, at which it was resolved that "the offer of

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Captain Nathan Cobb to erect a suitable school building and to donate the same, together with the lot on which it stands, to the district," be accepted.

Captain Cobb accordingly erected a two-story and basement brick building, thirty-two by forty-fonr feet, and furnished it with all the appliances necessary for conducting a school. The entire cost of this under- taking was four thousand dollars, withont including the valne of the lot.

The records of the school show that the whole number of pupils in attendance during the year end- ing February 1, 1852, was two hundred and thirty- two, while the average daily attendance for the same period was one hundred and twenty-five.

The school was reorganized and became a Union Free School December 30, 1854, having the following Board of Education: Gilbert T. Davis, Cornelius Curtiss, N. B. Holmes, J. Q. Fowler and Ward Car- penter.

In 1867 a brick addition, thirty-two by forty-four feet, consisting of two stories and basement, and cost- ing six thousand two hundred dollars, was joined to the original building previously ereeted by Captain Cobb.

In 1882 the school-honse was again enlarged a second time, by the erection, on the west side of the original building, of a brick structure, twenty-six by forty-two feet, and three stories high, at a cost of eight thousand two hundred and forty dollars.

As it is now arranged, the building has six fine, large class-rooms, an assembly-room, a library-room and two play-rooms, all properly heated, venti- lated and furnished for the purposes intended. The public school library contains twenty-three hundred volumes. The corps of instruction consists of seven persons, one being the well-qualified principal, Mr. Homer A. Wilcox, who is assisted by six female teachers. The school can accommodate three hun- dred pupils, and has now an average daily attendance of two hundred and sixty. In respect to its equip- ment it ranks among the first schools in the county. The following-named gentlemen compose the present Board of Education : James S. Millard, William T. Lockwood, L. T. Yale, R. B. Coutant, M.D., and Nel- son MeCutehon.

MISS BULKLEY'S SEMINARY .- The next school in chronological order, following the date of its estab- lishment, is the boarding and day-school for young ladies, known as Miss Bulkley's Seminary. It was first opened in the house now occupied by Mr. Theodore H. Mead, in Van Wart Street, opposite the grounds of Mr. Frank Vincent, by Miss Jane R. Bulkley and Miss HI. L. Bulkley, in April, 1859. In 1870 it was removed into the large and commo- dious briek buikling on Broadway, nearly opposite the present Baptist Church, with pleasant grounds attached, and all the facilities for the successful prosecution of its work. Miss Jane R. Bulkley died on January 13, 1873, since which time the school

has been carried on by Miss H. L. Bulkley and Miss E. C. PInmley. Its history has been marked by great prosperity, and it has trained over thirteen hun- dred young ladies, and sent them out for usefulness in the world.

MOUNT HOPE SEMINARY .- The third and last school referred to is "Mount Hope Ladies' Sem- inary," under the care of Robert C. Flaek, A.M., principal. It was established in its present fine location, commanding the most beautiful views of the Hudson, in 1877. Professor Flack is a graduate of Union College, and has been teaching since 1859, with the exception of a year which he spent in trav- eling through Europe. He is assisted by accom- plished teachers in the several departments, and the instruction is faithfully given in them all. The local situation and the moral influence in the school are all that could be desired.

THE PRESS IN TARRYTOWN .- Not withstanding the early settlement of Tarrytown, the history of news- papers in the village does not go back beyond 1846. It was near to New York and the press of that city met the demands of the public for news. The first attempts here were fitful, and never produced any permanent result. In answer to inquiry, it is stated, by the Rev. George Rockwell, who, as a student in the Irving Institute, had opportunity to know, that with the exception of one or two printed "broad- sides," in the nature of lampoons, that were circu- lated in the village, there was no serious attempt to establish a paper until the summer of 1846. A prospec- tus was then issued inviting support. It was signed "Po- eantico," and the paper was to be called the Pocan- tico Gazette. About September 1, 1846, this paper ap- peared. It was a sheet of eight small pages, dignified in tone-quite sufficiently so, to say the least-care- fully gotten up, and contained several articles now of some value, as indicating the local condition of things at that time. There were also a list of churches and ministers, of teachers and business men in Tarry-" town, and an account of the freighting and traveling facilities then possessed. It was printed in New York, and though the publisher's name was not given, it was generally understood that the originator of it was Mr. William P. Lyon, principal of the Irving In- stitute, a flourishing boarding-school on Beekman Avenue. It could not have been a pecuniary success, for only one number of it was ever published.

In November, 1846, however, a smaller paper was published from the Irving Institute, and bore the name of the Irving Banner. It was edited by the teachers, and as it was gotten np chiefly for the liter- ary improvement of those in the school, it drew its support, for the most part, from its students, and from their parents living out of the place. It continued to be published monthly for a year, when the effort was abandoned altogether.

During the time of its publication some people outside of the school, actuated by jealousy, probably,

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attempted to subject the Banner and its conductors to a little ridicule. A couple of burlesque papers werc accordingly published at intervals, and circulated through the village. One was called The Pocantico Gazette, and Sleepy Hollow Whole Hog Standard, and the other The Poeantico Gazette and Sleepy Hollow Ring Tail Roarer. Both were evidently from the same source. At the head of the first column in the first number of The Whole Hog Standard, dated De- eember, 1846, is this announcement,-

" The Pocuntico Gazette und Sleepy Hollow Whole Hog Standard will be issued at our office, in the village of Tarrytown, on the first of every month, and served to subscribers at 6 cts. per mumber. Advertisements inserted on the most liberal terms. Marriages, births and deaths inserted gratis.

" SNAPP & FLASH, Editors.".

The articles were very well written, and, as a spec- imen, a single paragraph may be given to illustrate the way in which the writer took off the Irring Ban- ner. That paper had published an article on the " Wants of Tarrytown," such as a public hall, street improvements, etc., to which The Whole Hog Standard thus refers,-

"The wants of Tarrytown are like the wants of most other places. The people generally want to have everything their own way, and per- haps want more money. It is thoughit there are some who want office and some who want credit, some want employment and probably some want meat-the merchants and mechanics want more customers and better pay-the doctors want more patients, the people want less doc- tors, the lawyers want rich clients and more litigation, and those they already have want more common sense. There are some old bachelors who want spunk enough to get married, and it is whispered around that there are some young ladies who want husbands. We think this may be a mistake ; if we should discover that it is we will correct it in our next number."

These attempts all died out, and were, at intervals, followed by others equally unsuccessful, until October 17, 1868, when the first number of The Tarrytown Ad- vertiser was published by Mr. James H. Smith. His printing-office was first located on the north side of Main Street, west of the railroad, afterwards removed to Orchard Street, in the old Irving Hall (which burned down) and, finally, in the lower part of the building now occupied by the Tarrytown National Bank. After Mr. Smith had published his paper for about a year, he changed its name to The Tarrytown Argus, a name which it still bears. In the spring of 1875 he sold the paper and establishment to Mr. M. D. Raymond, of Clinton, New York. Mr. Raymond soon took charge of it, and issued the first number under his management on May 1, 1875. The paper has been a useful vehicle of intelligence to the com- munity, and always loyal to good morals and public order. Mr. Smith, on selling the Argus, removed to the eastern side of the county and established the New Rochelle Press.

A number of other papers have appeared and dis- appeared in the meanwhile-the Greenburgh Messen- ger, the Greenburgh Gazette, the Sunnyside Press, the Town Pump, etc.

The other paper now published in the village is The Tarrytown Herald. It was established in 1883,

by Mr. Henry T. Smith as editor and proprietor. He cousolidated with it the Port Chester Leader, which he had previously published, since 1878. Its attitude is always friendly to cvery good cause.

INCORPORATION OF TARRYTOWN .- On December 9, 1870, an election was held, pursuant to notice, at the office of Elias Mann, Esq., justice of the peace, for the purpose of ascertaining the wishes of the in- habitants in regard to the question of incorporation. The result showed two hundred and seventy-three votes in favor of incorporation, and eighty-five against it. The village was accordingly incorporated, and the following-named gentlemen were elected its first officers under the new system : President, Jacob Odell; Trustees, James Alexander, James W. Scrib- ner, M.D., Nelson Mccutchen ; Treasurer, William 1. Wood; Collector, John De Revere.

The Board of Water Commissioners, having charge of the water supply for the village, was organized May 6, 1875, with the following officers: President, Nelson Mccutchen; Secretary, Gulian Verplanck ; Treasurer, James W. Scribner, M.D.

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History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 62

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