USA > New York > History of the Church of Zion and St. Timothy of New York 1797-1894 > Part 14
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" (Signed) J. C. TRACEY, Rector."
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REV. JAMES COLE TRACEY.
This communication of the Rector was editorially noticed as follows :
" The attention of our New York readers is specially in- vited to the Rev. Mr. Tracey's communication in another column. Mr. Tracey is among the ablest, the most resolute, and the most efficient of our younger clergy, with a stout heart to face difficulties and a skilful hand to conquer them.
" In churchmanship he may be set down as a pattern of sound-mindedness, who, well understanding what he believes and why, holds on to it with a firm and steady grasp. The method and working of his mind, while there is anything to be done, are eminently practical. We have often had occasion to notice how apt and quick he is to take hold of things by the right handle, and any one who has seen him about his duties, will not need to be told that he is not a man to spare himself in a worthy cause. The work he has undertaken is a noble one, and one that has been sadly neg- lected in this city of late years, and the results which have already grown up under his hand show that there is a great need of it, and of him, in that section. What these results are, and in how short a time produced, may be seen from his communication, so that it is needless to recapitulate them here.
" We take pleasure in commending his enterprise to something more than the kind thoughts and good wishes of our readers."
At the Diocesan Convention of 1854, the following dele-
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gates represented the parish. Messrs. John G. Davison, Ambrose K. Striker, and Galen Terry.
On the afternoon of Sunday, November 24, 1854, the Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, Provisional Bishop of the Diocese, visited this parish. His consecration to that office had taken place on the Friday preceding, so that he now celebrated for the first time the order of confirmation. The occasion was peculiarly interesting to the Bishop, and he touchingly alluded to it upon his next visitation.
The Rev. Mr. Tracey's health, to the grief of his many and attached friends, had for some months been steadily declining from rapid consumption-the technical descrip- tion of the breaking down of a constitution naturally weak, and both physically and mentally long overtaxed. A brief trip to the South gave no relief, and left but strength enough, after travel, to return to the house of his father in the city of Baltimore, where he departed hence in the Lord, on the evening of Wednesday, the 6th June, 1855. His death was mercifully softened by the consolations of home, cheered by the constant attendance of his brethren in the priesthood, and hallowed by that heavenly food which strengthens the soul on its solitary way through the dark valley.
From an editorial in the Church Journal we copy a tribute to the memory of the Rev. James Cole Tracey.
" He was of ripe scholarship, and most studious habits, his fund of information was much more extensive than is usual even among our highly educated clergy ; and his own powers
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of thought, and his deep love for theology as an exact science, gave a weight and finish to his writings, by which the editorial columns of the Church Fournal have frequently been enriched. Faithful and successful in his pastoral re- lations, he has endeared himself to many among the laity. His last labor was the founding and building up of St. Timothy's Church, in the upper part of this city. The zeal and self-devotion with which he gave himself up to this work, were doubtless the chief cause of his premature death. Not content with living in the most humble and frugal sim- plicity far out in the suburbs, he devoted all that he could raise from friends, to the support of his infant parish ; and to provide for his own personal necessities, and gain yet more of means for the good work, he undertook additional labors with his indefatigable pen, not only in our columns, but also in the pages of the New York Review (to which he contributed a series of valuable articles on Russia), and other periodicals. The effect of this severe and exhausting toil upon a constitution naturally frail, was further aggra- vated by the pressure of parochial troubles upon a sensitive mind-troubles such as are more or less incident to every such enterprise, but which his weary, yet loving soul, found it hard to bear. No more shall we behold his bending coun- tenance of grave and gentle thoughtfulness ; no more hear the calm, contemplative softness of his measured speech ; no more see the steady gaze of his studious eye, fixed, as if unconscious of the busy life around him, and intent, with rapt abstraction, upon the great realities that wait for us
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beyond. He is gone! But let him not be forgotten. He has willingly, devotedly, laid down his life as the corner- stone of his youthful parish of St. Timothy. Let the Churchmen of New York, among whom he went in and out, so patiently struggling for their aid in his work carry out his plans, and build up his church as the only monument worthy of his laborious life, or of his early death."
Extract from a Baltimore paper giving an account of the burial services :
" The funeral of the Rev. James Cole Tracey, Rector of St. Timothy's Church, New York, who died at his father's residence in this city, on Wednesday last, after a lingering illness, took place on Friday afternoon from St. Luke's Church, Franklin Square. The body was carried from the residence of the father of the deceased, in the vicinity, by the reverend clergy of the city churches, all wearing sur- plices, who were in turn followed by the relatives and friends of the lamented dead. The coffin containing the remains, was constructed after the ancient form, broad at the head and tapering toward the foot, richly mounted with silver, and covered with purple, having on the lid a raised cross of crimson, of nearly full length. A garland of flowers lay upon his breast, a fit emblem of the virtues and graces of the departed, who in the bloom of early manhood, adorned with high attainments, and zealous in the discharge of his sacred functions, had been called away by death.
"On the arrival of the procession at the church, the re-
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mains were met at the door by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Whit- tingham, who, going before it toward the chancel, read the sentences in the office for the dead. After the body had been deposited in front of the chancel, the usual anthem was read by the Rev. H. Stringfellow, the Gloria Patri be- ing solemnly chanted by the choir. The lesson was read by the Rev. R. C. Hall, after which De Profundis was chanted in a touching manner. The services in the church being thus concluded, the body was removed to St. John's churchyard, Huntington, where the remainder of the service was said by the Rev. C. W. Rankin and the Bishop."
Action of the Vestry of St. Timothy's Church :
" At a meeting of the Vestry of St. Timothy's Church, held at the church in Fifty-first Street, City of New York, June 18, 1855, the meeting having been opened with prayer by A. B. McDonald, Esq., senior Warden of the Church, and presiding officer of the meeting, the death of the Rev. James Cole Tracey (who died at his father's residence in Balti- more, Md., June 6, 1855), having been announced, it was resolved that the following resolutions be entered by the Clerk of the Vestry upon the record of the meeting :
" ' Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God to remove from the scene of his earthly labors our beloved and faithful Rector, the Rev. Jas. Cole Tracey, be it therefore
"' Resolved, That the Vestry of St. Timothy's Church feel it to be their duty to record their grateful recollections of
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the short, but arduous labors of their devoted Rector, who originated this parish, and labored with unwearied and unremitting zeal for its permanent establishment.
"' Resolved, That the many excellent qualities of our de- parted pastor, his ardent piety, his zeal and faithfulness, as well as the pleasant and useful intercourse which we enjoyed with him, will ever be cherished in our memories.
"' Resolved, That while we deeply sympathize with his family and relatives in the irreparable loss which they have sustained, and when we call to mind the devotion of the deceased to the services of the Church, his deep religious faith in the Divine Mercy through Christ, we feel that both they and ourselves are called on to acquiesce submissively to the will of God, fully believing that he has entered into that rest which remaineth for the people of God.
"' Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the family of the Rev. Mr. Tracey, and to the Church Fournal.
" GALEN TERRY, Clerk of the Vestry."
At the Diocesan Convention of 1855, the Rt. Rev. Ho- ratio Potter, Provisional Bishop of New York, in reviewing the record of deaths during the past year, thus spoke: "Of the Rev. Mr. Tracey, so young, yet so able, so modest, so earnest and devout, so full of zeal and high principle in his endeavors to organize and build up a new parish, I need say nothing. Many an eye grew moist at the tidings of his departure, yet it was only those who knew him intimately, that knew all his worth and all the promise of his character."
REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D. IN CHARGE.
F OR a time, a shadow, not of despair, but of uncertainty and anxiety, rested over this bereaved parish. Its members realized, as probably they had not before, that, though numerically strong, they were financially feeble. For at this initial period of the history of the parish, with every incentive to extend a call to another faithful shepherd, to lead the people in carrying forward to a successful issue the cherished hope of its late Rector, they found themselves unable to do so. They were, however, bravely determined to withstand all discouragements, and steadfastly to hope for better prospects.
Their hopes were not long deferred. The Rev. Robert Shaw Howland, Rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles, who had watched the parish with much interest from its beginning, came forward to its rescue, by suggesting a quasi- union of the two parishes, terminable at the pleasure of either. A mutually satisfactory arrangement was entered into, by which the assistant minister of the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Rev. George Jarvis Geer, a life-long and esteemed friend of the Rev. Mr. Howland, was to assume, from November Ist, the supply of the pulpit on Sunday mornings, and render whatever other parochial service his
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clerical duties elsewhere would allow. Services were held thenceforward every Sunday, through the liberality of the Church of the Holy Apostles.
Other parochial expenses were borne by St. Timothy's Church until the election of the Rev. Mr. Geer to the rec- torate. The Rev. Mr. Geer, being then in charge of the parish, made his first annual report to the Diocesan Conven- tion in 1856, viz .:
" A small parochial school has been kept in the building. A Sunday-school, under an efficient superintendent, num- bering seventy to ninety scholars, has been twice in session on every Lord's Day. Strenuous efforts to effect the erec- tion of a suitable edifice have thus far proved unavailing. This accomplished, and the active services of a Rector thereby secured, a work, tenfold greater than is now possi- ble, might be at once entered upon."
The Vestry expressed its grateful acknowledgment to the Church of the Holy Apostles for its fostering care, and to the Rev. Mr. Geer for his regular observance of divine ser- vices after the death of the Rev. Mr. Tracey.
On September 26, 1857, the Rev. George Jarvis Geer was unanimously elected Rector of this parish, with authority to procure an assistant minister to aid in the parochial work.
A biographical sketch of the Rector-elect is reserved until his assumption of the full duties of the office. At this time he was also assistant minister of the Church of the Holy Apostles.
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REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D.
Friday evening, May 14, 1858, the Bishop of the dio- cese held one of the most interesting of his Confirmation services at the little church. A touching allusion was made by the Bishop to his personal relations to this infant parish, as the scene of his first episcopal ministration, and also to his deep interest in the pastor who first called that little flock together, and who, in their service, laid down his life. Of him the Bishop spoke in warmest terms of admiration, because, like a good shepherd, "he gave his life for the sheep," and fed with his heart's blood the roots of a tree which since his day has blossomed and borne fruit. His flock had been left to worthy successors who had carried on his work, and begun to reap his harvest.
April 29, 1858, the Rev. Richard Clarence Hall, a pres- byter of the diocese of Maryland, and a graduate of the General Theological Seminary in 1844, was presented by the Rector as assistant minister. His faithfulness and diligence in this relation are illustrated by his presenting to the Bishop, as the fruits of his first year's labor, a class of twenty-two persons for confirmation, only eleven of them being from church families or antecedents; the remainder were from different denominations.
The services were held in the Church of the Advent, kindly offered for the occasion by the Rev. A. Bloomer Hart, Rector, as the building used by St. Timothy's Church was too small to accommodate so large a congregation as usually attends on such occasions.
February, 1859, the Rev. Mr. Howland further evidenced
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his interest in this parish by offering to contribute five thousand dollars toward building a church for St. Timothy, upon the sole condition that an equal amount should be contributed from other sources. This noble and generous offer had to be declined.
Mr. Charles Franklin Robertson, then prosecuting his studies at the General Theological Seminary, became the superintendent of the Sunday-school. Upon his admission to Holy Orders June 29, 1862, he delivered his first ser- mon in St. Timothy's Church, where, in 1868, he also preached his first sermon after his elevation to the episcopate.
In 1886, Bishop Robertson thus referred to his early recollections of this parish :
" The little ark-like church was on the north side of Fifty-first Street, the lot was somewhat depressed. The parish and Sunday-school were overflowing with the life imparted by the contagious enthusiasm of Dr. Geer, taken up and carried out by the generous co-operation of his attached and devoted people; every corner of the building was occupied by children."
The Rev. Mr. Hall resigned his office November 17, 1859. In accepting the resignation the Vestry expressed by the following resolution its regret at the severance of a relation that had proved so acceptable.
" Whereas, the Rev. Richard Clarence Hall has resigned his pastoral charge of this church, and is about to remove to another field of labor, and whereas he has during the last
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two years while laboring in this parish, greatly endeared himself to all of us as a faithful pastor and preacher of the Gospel, sympathizing with those in affliction and distress, visiting the sick, and extending relief to those suffering from want and poverty, and has been very zealous in train- ing the youthful members of his flock in the paths of religion and virtue, showing them as well as all of us an example of a Godly life and conversation, be it therefore
" Resolved, That this Vestry hereby express their regret at being obliged to part with him, and their determination to ever hold him in their grateful remembrance.
" Resolved, That this Vestry commend him to the protec- tion and care of our Heavenly Father, and pray that health, happiness, and prosperity may attend him through life, and that his labors may be abundantly blessed to the salvation of many souls.
" Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing preambles and resolutions be signed by the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry- men of this church, and sent to the Rev. Mr. Hall."
The Rev. William Tatlock, of Connecticut (since D. D. and Rector of St. John's Church, Stamford, Connecticut), an alumnus (1860) of the General Theological Seminary, suc- ceeded as assistant minister and formally accepted the office January 23d. Before his admission to Holy Orders, which had but recently occurred, he was superintendent of the Sunday-school of this parish, hence he entered upon his office as no stranger. His connection, however, was
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soon to terminate, for on September Ioth of the same year he accepted a call to another diocese. Upon his withdrawal the Vestry adopted the following resolution :
" Resolved, That in the opinion of this Vestry the efforts of the Rev. Mr. Tatlock have contributed greatly to the prosperity of this church, and it is with regret that we must consent to his severing a connection which has been so advantageous to the parish.
" Resolved, That the present prosperous condition of the Sunday-school connected with this church is a pleasing evidence of his energy and zeal.
" Resolved, That the zeal and ability with which the Rev. Mr. Tatlock has devoted himself to the welfare of this church and its members, entitle him to our love and gratitude."
Under the persevering and acceptable ministrations of its devoted Rector, the parish had now acquired such a measure of strength and influence, as to awaken a spirit of enterprise on the part of the Vestry, com- mensurate with the increased growth of the congrega- tion which moved them to select another and more attrac- tive place of worship. The first act of the Vestry to further that object was the adoption of a Corporation Seal in
January, 1860. April 23, 1860, it was first affixed to a contract for the purchase of a large and desirable plot of land, at a cost of $10,000. This plot was located on the southerly side of Fifty-fourth Street, west of Eighth Avenue, having a frontage of one hundred feet and a depth of one
St. Timothy's Church, 54th Street.
بسام
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REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D.
hundred and seventy-five feet or thereabouts. A temporary, unpretending frame building thirty-five feet by eighty-five feet was erected upon a brick foundation. It was capable of seating three hundred persons, which was its chief merit, and cost $2575. It was opened for divine service Sunday, September 23d, of the same year. The progress of the parish is shown from the parochial report presented to the Diocesan Convention in session that week :
" Number of families, 109 ; baptisms, 65 ; confirmations, 31 ; communicants, 106; total contributions, $5641.97."
The Rev. Mr. Geer was elected associate Rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles in 1859. March 31, 1861, Easter Day, a beautiful altar window, a memorial to the founder of the church, was unveiled. It was the gift of the first class of girls in the Sunday-school, and was in the form of a medallion of rich mosaic glass, by Gibson. Each of the three lights had three emblems. The central light had the Dove, the Lamb, and a crown, with a scroll legend admir- ably applicable to the Rev. Mr. Tracey. The right hand light bore the monogram of Jesus, the font, and the pelican in her piety, and the other the alpha and omega, the chal- ice, and the open book bearing the words, "Faithful unto death."
The effect of the whole was very striking.
During this year other gifts were forthcoming. A hand- some font of statuary marble, with appropriate legend and
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carving, was presented by a lady member of the Church of the Holy Apostle.
The breaking out of the Civil War the following year, with its consequent financial disturbances, interrupted all attempts toward the liquidation of the amount due upon the site recently purchased. In 1863, the efforts of the friends of the parish were directed, and the assistance of friends without the parish was solicited, toward that object, with the gratifying result that the treasurer was enabled to announce, upon receiving the offertory on Easter Day, 1865, amounting to $7409.93, that the corporation was then free from all debt.
Whatever impetus the project of erecting a permanent structure upon this site had acquired, came to naught when the adjoining westerly lot was sold to a purchaser, who built thereon an enormous frame tenement-house. Its four stories of windows and doors over against the church involved such an amount of noise as would interfere with the comfort of divine service. Under this compulsion, which was grievously regretted by all, a site elsewhere became an imperative necessity.
The prosperous condition of the parish at this time opened the way for the auspicious events which signalized the year 1866.
February 23d the Vestry purchased, at a cost of $33,600, the eligible site on the southerly side of Fifty-seventh Street, west of Eighth Avenue, one hundred feet in front, nearly one hundred and eighty-eight feet in depth on the easterly
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side, and one hundred and seventy-five feet on the westerly, leaving an oblique boundary line or a gore fronting on Fifty-sixth Street.
This valuable gore lot was subsequently purchased by a generous member of its governing body, Mr. Welcome G. Hitchcock, and retained by him until such time as the church was able to own it.
The parish was now to have at this interesting period of its history the undivided labors, the wise forecast and ability of one who, stepping aside from an established parish, took hold of St. Timothy's Church, recognizing the field con- nected therewith as one of great usefulness and encour- agement.
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THE REV. GEORGE JARVIS GEER, D.D., THE SECOND RECTOR.
T HE Rev. George Jarvis Geer, D.D., was born at Water- bury, Connecticut, February 24, 1821. His early studies were at Cheshire Academy. He was grad- uated at Trinity College, Hartford, in 1842, and at the Gen- eral Theological Seminary, New York City, in 1845. He was made deacon in the latter year at Christ Church, Hartford, by Bishop Brownell, and priest in 1846 at Christ Church, Blaston Spa, by Bishop Delancey. Soon after graduating he had been called to Christ Church, Balston Spa, and he dis- charged the duties of an efficient rectorship of seven years. At the end of this time he was invited to the more extended field of an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Robert S. Howland, at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Ninth Avenue, New York; in 1859 he became associate Rector and in Novem- ber, 1866, he entered upon the rectorate of St. Timothy's Church.
Dr. Geer received the degree of S.T.D. from Columbia, and that of D.D. from Union College in 1862. By appoint- ment of the House of Bishops he edited and published with Bishop Bedell and the Rev. Dr. Muhlenburg, the Tune Book
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Tev. George Jarvis Beer, D.D.
Dec. Jami, Leen-
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of the Protestant Episcopal Church (1858). He also pub- lished The Conversion of St. Paul (1871.) In 1874, he served as a deputy to the General Convention. The writer extracts the following from a biography of Dr. Geer, written by Mr. J. Alexander Patten in the Lives of the Clergy of New York and Brooklyn (1874), as truthfully portraying his graces and character :
"Dr. Geer is peculiarly armed for his work in the field of the Lord. He goes about it with an earnest spirit and cheerful heart. He makes no failures, for he is persevering and not less practical. He always works harder than anybody else.
" Whatever may be the measure of his success, be it small or great, he is neither discouraged nor elated. But he keeps right on cheerful and confident, bold and determined, he sweeps away obstacle after obstacle, and in the end often astonishes those who are looking on, by his signal triumphs, but never himself, as he has not allowed his sanguine nature to contemplate anything short of success. He is sanguine, but only so because he has faith in works and prayer. With- out these he expects nothing. As neither is ever wanting, he has always a great hopefulness. He has been emphati- cally a worker in all the parishes he has been connected with. He does not believe in an ornamental, inefficient ministry, but in one that earns success by work, struggle, and heroism. If the sheep do not come to his flock, he goes after them. Self-sacrifice, toil, in season and out of it, vigilance and faith are the great sources upon which he 16
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relies. He does not stand aloof from his fellow men, nor is he satisfied to do certain official things in an official way, but he is every man's friend, servant, and comforter.
" His large heart and his invincible spirit give sincerity and force to all his undertakings, and he stands foremost among his contemporaries for the earnestness and success of his ministerial career.
" As a preacher Dr. Geer is sound, logical, and persuasive. He has a good voice and his manner is unexceptionable. He preaches as if he felt his responsibility, and his tender, while serious, words go far to arouse the same feeling in his hearers in regard to their own condition.
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