USA > New York > Suffolk County > Babylon > History of the First Presbyterian church of Babylon, Long Island, from 1730 to 1912 > Part 5
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A FEW INTERESTING FACTS
Mrs. James B. Cooper informs me that her grandfather, Joshua Hartt, born at Dix Hills, Long Island, preached once in the Presbyter- ian Church at Babylon, probably before the war of 1812, taking his text from Joel III. 10. "Beat your plough shares into swords, and your prunning hooks into spears; let the weak say I am strong."
He incited the people to take up arms against Great Britain claim- ing that it was a righteous war, and wanted the people to maintain the rights of America.
Her grandfather and the great-grandfather of the present Judge James B. Cooper, was educated at Princeton college, New Jersey. He preached regularly at Hempstead and occasionally at Babylon and Smithtown. While preaching at Smithtown on one occasion he was fired upon by the British soldiers, the musket ball hitting the pulpit. The latter's great-grandfather was also a Revolutionary hero. The Rev. Joshua Hartt was imprisoned during the Revolution in the Provost Jail, the old Hall of Records in New York, that was recently torn down. He was taken the second time to the jail chained to a negro and im- prisoned for his rebellious talk. Being a very large and stout man and used to out door exercise, he soon became very sick from his close con- finement. Col Ethan Allen was confined there at the same time and they became close friends. When Mr. Hartt was very sick, his friend Ethan Allen, made a most beautiful prayer for his recovery. When they part- ed Col. Allen said to Mr. Hartt, go home and tell your wife (Abigail Howell Hartt,) that when you were sick and in prison a servant of the most high God prayed over you, and you recovered.
The records show that Mr. Hartt officiated January 13th, 1811>
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and baptised Wilmot Scudder, father of Edward A Scudder of Baby- lon, and this was the Sunday the sermon was preached.
The deed, dated November 4, 1783, for the ground on which the second church was built, states "together with the house now building on said land," so that the church building must have been begun earlier in the year. Thompson's history of Long Island says a bell was present- ed to the church built in 1839 by David Thompson, Esq., of New York
The bell in the present church was presented by H. A. V. Post, Esq., a veteran of the Civil war.
Mr. Post's residence is on the site of the house occupied by Nehe- miah Hartt in 1783 and is considered by most historians as being the site upon which the first house was erected in Babylon.
Prime's history shows that the Long Island Presbytery before 1811 used intoxicating beverages at their meetings. The following resolution was passed at a meeting of the Presbytery of Long Island at Acquebogue November 5th, 1811 :
"RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY .- That hereafter ardent spirits and wine shall constitute no part of our entertainment at any of our public meetings; and that it be recommended to their churches, not to treat Christian brethorn or others with ardent spirits as a part of hos- pitality in friendly visits."
Mr. Prime says that he was informed that from the passage of the above resolution "the meetings of the Presbytery ceased to be disgraced with the intoxicating beverage."He also gives credit to this Presbytery as being one of the first to move in the great work of reform. The cause of temperance was taken up in the Babylon Presbyterian Church in 1833.
The records show the church purchased a tankard and cups for twenty shillings on April 1, 1798. A platter and two plates on June 14, 1801. A bible for thirty shillings and a psalm book for six shillings December 15th, 1803.
The old communion service was sold by order of the session, as fol- lows: Tankard, forty-one cents; cup, twenty-three cents; cup, twenty- two cents, and a plate for sixty-three cents in all one dollar and forty- nine cents.
The bible purchased for the church in 1803 was probably the same one presented by the session to the Rev. E. J. Vail, and on his leaving the church, he presented it to Mrs. Mary Ann Carll, and the bible is still in possession of her family.
The First Presbyterian Church of Babylon today stands as a monu-
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ment representing the earliest history of the village. Its plain church lines attract the attention of everyone and the town clock in its tower is as useful to the rich as to the poor, teaching all to look daily at God's church, and remember that time lost can never be recovered, and the chance to do good to any one, neglected is also lost.
Men and women in their prime today cherish the associations of former years as well as the memories that have been handed down from their parents and grandparents.
In many cases even sacred memories of the past come to us from the great-grand parents. So the children of today are beginning to teach their little children to love this sacred church that stands and has stood for five generations, trying to teach the people that-
"You believe that God for his own glory created all things, visible and invisible, and that according to his eternal counsel, he governs all world's and events."
The second church register contains the records from March 25th, 1858 down to October 3rd, 1885, and contain a very complete re- cord of church members, and in many cases the dates of their deaths, also a list of marriages, giving dates and names of witnesses, and stat- ing whether a certificate was given. There is a complete list of in- fants baptised together with dates of births and names of parents, the adult baptisms are also entered in the regular minutes. These re- cords are all well preserved, and will be of great value to future his- torians.
Tothose who are interested in church music, it may be of interest to know how the elders in this church viewed the music at one of their sessions, held August 6th, 1863. They felt that the responsibility rested on them, according to their form of church government, and they viewed with pain and alarm, the great and marked decline in congre- gational singing: In their opinion it was caused by the selection of new, strange, and difficult tunes which the congregation could not sing, and they passed five resolutions in regard to the same. The first di- recting the organist, to select only such tunes as are found in the Presbyterian Psalmodist, unless permission be obtained to sing others from the session. Second, in the evening service there is no objection to an occasional use of any other good tune, but no new tune may be sung except with the intention of making it a common tune, which all the congregation can sing. "Third, Resolved, that the interludes as now practiced are a waste of precious time, a needless display on the
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instrument, and are destructive of devotional feeling ..... The session therefore, advise that the interludes be restricted to a very few notes, not exceeding six, which will afford ample time for the people to re. spire."
The fourth resolution showed their gratefulness to the ladies and gentlemen who sang in the vicinity of the organ, and the fifth resolution informed the congregation that the session will encourage sacred music in their own families, and throughout the congregation over which the Holy Ghost had made them overseers.
According to a census it was found in March, 1868, that there were sixty two children belonging to church members not baptised.
Now the sixth generation is rising and soon the seventh generation will be taught that God is love, and that the only way you can love God, is by planting in your heart the seed of charity, and the only way such love can grow, is by the child learning to do something for his neighbor.
Associations, mean in a large sense, more than a person realizes-in fact they are the real life of the individual, and the individuals make the world. So the sacred associations that cluster around the First Presbyterian Church of Babylon, are dear to the hearts of many of her people.
MEMORIAL WINDOWS OF THE CHURCH
None can sit in the church and read the inscriptions on the memor- ial windows without realizing that he is looking into the past, for they all bear dates of the last century.
The oldest date is-
In Memory of DAVID SMITH By his son, John W. Smith. 1802-1884
The records of the church show that David Smith joined the church March, 1833, and his son, David Smith, 2nd, May 5, 1833. The former David was a Revolutionary hero, and served in General Washington's army for seven years.
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The second oldest date is-
In Memory of CHARLES EDWY KETCHAM 1807-1898 Son of Thomas and Phebe Ketcham, grandson of Jesse and Temperance Ketcham, who were four of the thirteen charter members of this church.
The third oldest date is-
In loving Memory of our Father ROBERT OLIVER COLT Born 5th Aug., 1812 Died Dec. 15th, 1885
This window represents the four evange- lists, St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. Mrs. Colt was much interested in church work and was a very kind and generous woman. She was one of the writ- er's teachers in the Sunday school.
There are three windows in memory of women of the church, viz:
In Memoriam MARY A. TITUS, C. E. Society, 1836-1900.
In Memoriam EMILY S. KETCHAM, C. E. Society, 1842-1897.
In Memory of ADALINE L. KETCHAM Died November 18, 1898. By the Women's Home and Foreign Missionary Society.
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In memory of the pastors of the church there are four double win- dows as follows :
In Memoriam REV. GAYLORD L. MOORE 1812-1888 Laus Deo, pastor of this church, 1852-1856
In Memoriam REV. CHARLES W. COOPER 1830-1886 Laus Deo, pastor of this church 1857-1869
.
REV. JAMES McDOUGALL, Ph. D. 1836-1892 Pastor this church 1870-1873
JAMES C. NIGHTINGALE 1836-1895 Pastor of this church 1874-1880
Sitting in the pulpit on the right side is a window representing St. Michael-
In Memory of JULIA FOWLER COLT Born 3rd April, 1897 Died 15th April, 1897
On the left side of the pulpit is a window representing St. George-
In Memory of HANNAH FITCHETT COLT Born 21 May, 1893 Died 13th September, 1894
;
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The present officers of the First Presbyterian church of Babylon are as follows :
THE SESSION
James McLachlan, ordained in 1884
A. B. Leggett, M. D., ordained in 1884
John H. Baldwin, ordained in 1887
Charles M. Bergen, ordained in 1908
James H. Potter, ordained in
1908
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
J. B. Foulke, President
E. V. Ketcham, Secretary Elbert C. Livingston Clarence Carman, deceased Charles E. Arnold Edward S. Alley
Dr. W. H. Deale
CHURCH TREASURER
Charles M. Bergen
The steeple of the church has been struck three times by lightning. First in August, 1895; second in the fall of that year and again on June 12, 1911, at one o'clock in the morning.
The most damage was done on the latter date, but it was a singular fact the clock was not damaged nor did it stop running.
The building acts as a protector of the village in a double sense. Well may the people be proud of it long may it stand, and may its in- creasing influence bring many to do only that which is good in the sight of the Lord.
FINIS
REV. ROBERT D. MERRILL Present Pastor, Installed Oct. 31st, 1905.
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