USA > New York > Suffolk County > Babylon > History of the First Presbyterian church of Babylon, Long Island, from 1730 to 1912 > Part 2
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"WHEREAS, difficulties have existed which it has been hitherto found impracticable to obiviate-the harmony of the church and the fellowship of the members have unhappily and for a length of time been interrupted-the order of God's house and the ordinances of the gospel have been criminally neglected by us as a church. We therefore do view it as our duty in our present broken situation to come forward individually and acknowledge our obligations to adhere to the covenant we have once solemnly adopted, and this we consider the only prudent and practicable method of restoring the church to the order of the gospel.
WHEREUPON, the session having the approbation of the other members present, do RESOLVE that each member of this church be required, in order to enjoy the privileges of regular membership in this church, to make a profession of their love for each other, and their intention to adhere to the covenant of this church. And the session do agree to consider all those who within one year from this time make known to the session their acquiescence in the following profession as members in regular standing in this church."
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The "profession" which all the members were required to sub scribe is as follows :
"We, the undersigned, members of the First Presbyterian Church of Islip and Huntington South, lamenting the unhappy con- dition to which this church is reduced by means of our sins, penitently humbling ourselves before God. and imploring his pardoning mercy, do hereby acknowledge our obligation to adhere to the covenant of this church, as agreed upon at its organization in 1798. We renewedly profess our love for each other, and our intention to walk together in the fellowship of the gospel and in the communion of this church, agreeably to our former engagement.
Depending on the assistance of divine grace we thus promise."
This profession was signed by Jesse Ketcham, Anning Mou- bray, Thomas Ketcham, Henry Smith, Morris Barto, Thomas Wiggins, David Sammis, Eliphalet Moubray, Medad Rogers, Sarah Thompson, Kaziah Scudder, Deborah Sammis and Abigal Gould. On the following Sabbath the Lord's Supper was administered in the church for the first time since July 21, 1811-an interval of nearly seven years. The above profession, recommended and adopted at the meeting held April 11, was not signed until De- cember 14, 1818. In the following year an addition was made to the session in the persons of Medad Rogers and Thomas Wiggins, who were ordained August 1, 1819.
PASTORS AND THEIR WORK
Rev. Samuel Weed began his labors as a missionary in 1817. When the congregation was reorganized an effort was made to secure his services as pastor. He was ordained May 12,1819, but was not in- stalled. In the following year he was elected a Commissioner to the General Assembly. He was taken sick while the Assembly was in session, and died on the 25th of June, 1820, at Philadelphia. Dur- ing his ministry the membership of the church numbered 29.
Rev. Alexander Cummins entered upon the discharge of his duties in the latter part of the year 1820, and continued to perform the duties of pastor until the beginning of the year 1824. The ment- bership was increased by the addition of one person.
Rev. Nehemiah B. Cook commenced his pastorate in 1824, and continueed until 1832. The church prospered under his adminis- tration. During the eight years that he labored here, 42 persons were added to the church, all on profession of their faith but one. Of these, 27 were received at one time, August 12, 1832.
LOOG OUGOU GOOD
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Rev. Jonathan Cable commenced his labors as an evangelist at the beginning of the year 1833. Owing to the failure of his health, he was obliged to retire from his work, after laboring about four months. His work was very successful, resulting in the addi- tion of 98 persons to the membership. One of this number, Mr. Ralph Smith, became a minister of the gospel. During the few months of Mr. Cable's sojourn, at his suggestion the session was in- creased by the addition of Elvyn F. Ketcham, Silas Muncey, Samuel Ireland, Harry Brewster and E. C. Stadge. At his suggestion, also, the parish was divided into six districts, and one assigned to each elder, who was required to visit all the families in his district, and re- port at a monthly meeting of the session.
Rev. Ebenezer Platt supplied the pulpit until January 1, 1834, and then became pastor. During his pastorate the plan of visiting by the elders was continued with excellent results, and a prayer meet- ing was established in each district. During his pastorate, 31 mem-
bers were added to the church. Many cases of discipline were tried by the session, a number of persons were suspended, and several were excommunicated. The offending persons were those who had been impressed during the revival and admitted into the church before they were really converted. Rev. E. Platt retired from his pastorate. June 30, 1837.
Rev. Hollis Read supplied the pulpit of the church during the year 1838. There was still a great deal of trouble with some of those who had been admitted during the great revival, and one person was excommunicated. During the time that Rev. Hollis Read sup- plied the pulpit, 13 persons were added to the church, and among this. number was Miss Hannah D. Sackett, who went out to Bombay as a missionary, under the care of the American Board of Foreign Mis- sions. She was a most zealous worker. She became the wife of Rev. Robert W. Humes, and is now represented on the mission field by two of her sons.
Rev. Alfred Ketcham entered upon the discharge of his duties as stated supply, January 1, 1839, and remained until May 1848. The session was still troubled with cases of discipline, and several more persons were excommunicated. The system of visitation by elders was still continued with good results. During this pastorate 82 persons were added to the church.
Rev. Edward Vail having supplied the pulpit for six months, was installed as pastor November 8, 1848. The pastoral relation
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was dissolved at the close of the year 1851. During his pastorate 7 were added to the church.
Rev. Gaylord L. More began preaching February 15, 1852 and. remained until October 12, 1856, when the pastoral relation was dis- solved. During this pastorate 38 persons were added to the church, and steps were taken to organize a separate church at Islip.
Rev. Charles W. Cooper was called in the Fall of 1857. He was installed as pastor November 10, 1857, and the relation continued until the 21st of November 1869. This is the longest pastorate in the history of this church. At the beginning of this pastorate 21 were received as members, and at the close 16 were received. Dur- ing the twelve years 105 members were added to the church, and the session was increased by the addition of William A. Barto, Epenetus Wood and Gugy S. Taylor, who were ordained July 29, 1866.
Rev. James McDougall, jr., having supplied the pulpit for nine months, was installed as pastor May 24, 1871. He was elected President of the Collegiate Institute at York, Pa., and was dismissed at the meeting of the Presbytery in the Fall of 1873. During this pas- torate, 30 members were added to the church.
Rev. James C. Nightingale was called November 16, 1873, and installed as pastor February 10, 1874, and still continues in his pas toral office. During the present pastorate 33 members have been 'added to the church.
FORMATION OF CHURCH AT ISLIP
The number of members residing in Islip having increased to such an extent as to warrant the formation of a new congregation, letters of dismission were given to 28 persons, who were afterward formed into the Presbyterian Church of Islip. These persons were dismissed August 16 and August 23, 1857.
THE THIRD CHURCH EDIFICE
On account of the great increase in the membership of the church, the congregation felt straitened for room, and measures were taken to erect a new building. Additional land was purchased, 50 feet 8 inches X 78 feet, at the rear of the old site, to accommodate the new church. The new building was in size 40 X 50 feet. The en- tire cost of the church when completed was $3,410. The money to meet this expense was raised by subscription. The principal sub- scribers who contributed $100 or more were Nathanael and William
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Conklin, Timothy P. Carll, Julia Carll, Edward W. Underhill, A. P. Hamlin, James Carll, Samuel Ireland, Samuel and Ellis Strong. The ground was purchased May 28, 1838, and the building was com- pleted the same year.
THE PRESENT CHURCH EDIFICE
On the 24th of September, 1870, the corner stone of the pres- ent house of worship was laid. The old building was removed to the adjoining lot, and is now used for a lecture and Sabbath school room. On the 24th of May, 1871 the new church was dedicated to the service of Almighty God. The dedication sermon was preached by Rev. Henry J. Van Dyke, of Brooklyn. The cost of the church and lecture room, as they now stand, including the sum paid for the lot to which the old church was removed, is $13,714.39. Of this amount $5,000 still remains unpaid.
THE PARSONAGE
The old parsonage being unadapted for the purpose, was sold and the new one was built on a lot purchased for that purpose. The house is large and commodious, and is in fact a model parsonage. It was completed July 6, 1871. The cost of its construction was $7,538.30, of which amount $3.000 still remains unpaid.
MEMBERS
Since the organization of the church 568 persons have been admitted as members. The number at present upon the church register is 178. Of this number, however, some are not residing within the bounds of this parish.
OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH
Pastor-Rev. James C. Nightingale.
Elders-Epenetus Wood, Wm. A. Barto, Gugy S. Taylor. Deacon-Hiram Brush.
Trustees-R. O. Colt, James Baylis, Sidney L. Seaman, Henry Oakley, W. F. Norton, Benjamin P. Field.
SUMMARY
The church has passed safely through many trials, and has abundant reason to thank God for his goodness. We are now in possession of a church property admirably adapted to all our present wants. The contributions of the church are now given to all the boards, and there are no blanks in our report to the Presbytery for the
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last year. The great burden upon us is the debt of the church, and it is to our best interests that this should be removed as speedily as possible. For the last century and a half we have enjoyed God's
favor. May his richest blessings rest upon us all in years to come, and when our children's children meet a hundred years hence, may they be able to tell more wonderful things which they have received from the hands of a loving and merciful God.
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OUTLINE HISTORY
By Rev. Robert D. Merrill
The beginnings from which the First Presbyterian Church of Baby- lon, N. Y., has grown date back as far as the year 1730. At that time a small meeting-house was built near the spot where Christ Church, West Islip, now stands. Occasional services were held here, without any regular church organization, up to the year 1778, when the build- ing was destroyed by the British.
On the 14th of August, 1783, a subscription paper was circulated in order to obtain money for the erection of a new meeting-house, the organization to be of the Presbyterian denomination. Eighty-four persons joined in this subscription, giving varying amount which reached a total of £320 4s. It is interesting to note that each person who gave £10 or over was to have a vote in the calling of a pastor, the privilege to descend to his heirs. In the same year ground was pur- chased near the present site of the church, and a building begun prompt- ly. In July, 1790, a second subscription paper was passed in order to secure funds for the completion of the building. This was a two-story frame structure. That it was well built is proved by the fact that it is still in use, forming a part of the residence of the Misses Sammis.
Six years later, in June, 1796, an arrangement was entered into with the Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, in accordance with which one pastor was to serve both churches, giving half his time to each church, although living at Smithtown. A call was made out by repre- sentatives of both churches on July 22, 1796, to Rev. Luther Gleson, a Presbyterian minister, who had served as Chaplain in the Continental Army. At the next meeting of the Presbytery of Long Island, which was held the following spring, the call was placed in the hands of the candidate and accepted. On September 28, 1797, Mr. Gleson was regul- arly installed as pastor.
At about the end of this same year a church covenant was adopted. This covenant was signed by fourteen members on January 7th of the following year, the date usually given as the date of the completion of the church organization, the oldest church organization of the town of Babylon. The name adopted for the organization was "The First
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Church of Islip and Huntington South." Strictly speaking, the organ- ization was not completed until February 4, 1798, when Elders and a Deacon were ordained to office, the former being Isaac Thompson and Tredwell Scudder, and the latter Jesse Ketcham.
On the first Sunday of the following April the first Communion Service was held in the church.
The pastorate of Luther Gleson lasted about nine years, during which the scanty church records tell of increasing membership and the regular details of church work, but of few items of special interest. Unfortunately for the church, the first pastorate ended with trouble and conflict. Mr. Gleson was charged with conduct unbecoming a pastor, some of the charges being of a serious nature; the charges seem- ed to be substantial, and he was deposed from office by the Presbytery. Many of the church people stood loyally by him, and were bitterly op- posed to the action of the Presbytery. This caused a dissension which nearly wrecked the church. By the year 1818 the church membership had fallen from sixty-one to only eighteen. In this year the church covenant was renewed by the eighteen faithful members, and the church began the second chapter in its history.
For several years the pulpit had been supplied with some degree of regularity by a number of ministers. After the second signing of the church covenant, a renewed effort was made to secure a settled pastor, and as a result of the effort, a call was extended to Rev. Samuel Weed; Mr. Weed accepted the call and was installed on May 12, 1819. His pastorate, however, proved a very brief one, lasting but a year; while in attendance at the General Assembly in Philadelphia, he was taken ill and died suddenly.
Again for several years the pulpit was supplied by various minis- ters. In 1826 Rev. Nehemiah B. Cook became the regular pastor of the church, serving in the capacity for six years. During this time the work seems to have gone forward steadily ; the records show few items of an unusual nature. It is often a fact that such records accompany a healthy and satifactory condition of the church work and life.
In the year 1833 Rev. Jonathan Cable, an evangelist who had been at work in the church, was invited to become Stated Supply of the pulpit. He was not regularly installed, but gave to the church a most effective year's work. The membership increased largely during this time. Mr. Cable seems have won the hearts of all the people. A copy of a letter addressed to the congregation at the time of his resigna-
.
REV. CHARLES W. COOPER Born in 1830, died in 1886 Pastor from 1857 to 1869
REV. JAMES MCDOUGALL, PH. D. Born in 1836, died in 1892 Pastor from 1870 to 1873
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tion is still preserved in printed form, and tells much of his affection for the church and his zeal in the work. One noteworthy fact which the records of this period show is that a strict temperance pledge was adopted by the church to which every member was required to give his explicit consent. This seems an unusual action for early a year as 1833.
Rev. Ebenezer Platt was called as pastor in the same year, and served the church until 1837. He appears to have been an earnest organizer, for early in his pastorate the congregation was divided into districts for visitation, each district being assigned to one Elder. More- over a systematic effort was made to distribute tracts and temperance literature. The enlargement of the meeting-house was discussed at this time, showing a growth of numbers, but no action was taken for several years. Unfortunately, a large number of cases of discipline grew out of the adoption of the temperance pledge mentioned above, and these interfered with the work of the pastor and of the church.
In 1838 Rev. Hollis Reed became pastor of the church, serving only about one year. He was followed by Rev. Alfred Ketcham, who remained with the church for eight years. His pastorate appears to have been an active and useful one; many members were brought into the church; a new district arrangement of the congregation was adopt- ed; extra prayer meetings were established in the districts with special leaders. In 1839, a new church building was erected, which still serves as the lecture room.
Rev. Edward I. Vail became pastor in 1848, being installed on Nov- ember 28th by the Presbytery of Long Island. The records of this period are very incomplete, owing to the death of the Clerk, and the loss of many of the papers. Mr. Vail continued as pastor until 1851.
Rev. Gaylord L. More began to preach in February, 1852,and served as pastor until late in 1856. Early in his pastorate the roll of the church was revised, the membership as revised numbering 117. It is of interest to find in the records at this time the unanimous opinion record- ed that a separate church organization be formed at Islip; evidently the church work in that village had become of sufficient importance to demand such a step as soon as possible.
The pulpit having been supplied for one year after Mr. More had left, Rev. Charles W. Cooper was called as the pastor of the church in September, 1857, being regularly installed on November 10, following, In the year that intervened one most important action was taken in the
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dismission of twenty-eight members to form a new parish, to be known as The Presbyterian Church of Islip.
The pastorate of Mr. Cooper was unusually happy and effective. The records, which were kept with far greater care than formerly, tell of a prosperous condition of the church. The year following the in- stallation, nineteen members were received into the church on examina- tion at one time. There was a regular and constant growth. The pas- torate continued for twelve years, during which the people became deeply attached to the pastor. The church passed a hearty expression of regard upon the resignation of Mr. Cooper in 1869.
The following year Rev. James Me Dougall began his work in the church, serving for a number of months as supply, and being installed. as pastor by the Presbytery of Nassau, on May 24, 1871. This was an important day in the history of the church, for on the same evening that the pastor was installed, the new church building, which had been started the year before, was dedicated with appropriate exercises. This is the building which is still in use for church purposes. Two other items of importance appear at about this same time; one, the change of the name of the church to its present form, The First Presbyterian Church of Babylon; the other. the completion of the new house for the use of the pastor ; this house was occupied by him and his family in the summer of 1871; this is the house which still serves the same purposes.
Mr. MeDougall having resigned in September, 1873, to become the President of the Collegiate Institute, of York, Pa., Rev. James C. Nightingale became his successor, beginning his work with the first of the year 1874. He was installed on the 10th of the following February, and continued his work as pastor for more than six years. Few records of especial significance appear during this time, but the work of the church evidently went forward with harmony and steadiness. The well- kept records tell of steady growth and of healthful conditions. In October, 1880, Mr. Nightingale resigned on account of poor health, and against the strong protest of a good-sized minority the pastoral rela- tionship was dissolved.
The following February, Rev. Walter B. Floyd was chosen as Supply of the pulpit and Moderator of the Session; he was not installed as Pastor, but continued to serve the church until 1883. In June of this year Rev. James McDougall returned to the church as Supply for eleven Sundays. Soon after this, a call to the pastorate was given to Rev. James C. Hume; he accepted the call, and was installed on Nov-
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ember 14, 1883. During this pastorate three of the present Elders of the church were chosen and installed. Work was also undertaken at Deer Park, of a mission character. Mr. Hume continued as Pastor until the autmun of 1888.
In January, 1889, Rev. John D. Long was called; on April 17th, he was installed. He entered upon his work in an energetic manner, introducing illustrated services, inviting a succession of evangelists to hold special meetings, providing stages to bring those to church who lived at a distance, and in other ways making use of new methods of furthering the church work. Two items in respect to the Communion Service are worthy of mention; in 1889 the Session voted that only un- fermented wine should be used thereafter; and in 1897 the Individual Communion Cups were adopted, the sets which have since been in use having been given by one of the church members.
In January, 1898, the centennial of the church was observed with elaborate exercises which began on Sunday, the second day of the month, and continued each evening of that week through Friday, the seventh, the actual centennial day.
The following year the tenth anniversary of the installation of the Pastor was observed with appropriate exercises.
The missionary work which the church undertook at this time de- serves special mention; it was decided to support a missionary on the Foreign Field, and to raise $600 a year for this purpose. This support was given to Rev. Robert H. Milligan, whose field of labor was in Africa, and was continued for about six years.
The last night of the year 1900 a Twentieth Century Watch Night Service was held, with exercises fitting for that occasion.
Mr. Long resigned from the pastorate in December, 1904; a ma- jority refused to concur in his request for a dissolution of the pastoral relation, but the request was granted by the Presbytery ; Mr. Long con- tinued to serve the church until the May following; his pastorate was the longest in the history of the church, lasting sixteen years.
Rev. A. H. Fish, Pastor of the Islip Presbyterian Church, acted as Moderator during the next few months, the pulpit being supplied with preaching. In September, 1905, a call was given to the present Pastor, Rev. Robert D. Merrill. Mr. Merrill was installed on October 31st, following.
At that time the lecture room of the church had been placed in thorough repair and newly decorated by the gift of a member of the
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congregation. In the autmn of 1906, thorough repairs to the church building were undertaken, the congregation worshipping during the winter in the lecture room. These repairs and improvements included outside paint, interior decoration, a hardwood floor, new carpet in the aisles, new pews, a lower pulpit platform, new pulpit furniture, a con- crete floor in the basement, and new furnaces. In addition a door was cut as an extra means of exit at the side of the pulpit, and two small memorial windows were placed in the pulpit alcove, the gift of one of the church people. Granitoid walks had been laid in front of the church and connecting with church and lecture room a short time before this by the effort of the Men's Club of the church. Over $3,500 was raised for this work, the remainder necesary for the completion of the improve- ments being borrowed, amounting to $2,500. Of this last sum, $1.000 was paid in December last.
The church has at present 172 members.
In one hundred and ten years the church has thus had fourteen regular Pastors, in addition to Stated Supplies.
During this length of time the church has had, so far as the records show, twenty-three Elders; some of these gave long and valued years of service to the church. The longest term of service seems to have been that of Elvyn Ketcham, who was ordained to the office in 1833, and died in 1875, having served for forty-two years. Gugy S. Taylor served al- most as many years, having been ordained in 1866, and having died in 1905, after almost forty years of faithful service. Others have served between thirty and forty years.
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