USA > New York > Westchester County > History of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the county of Westchester, from its foundation, 1693, to 1853 > Part 39
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I am, Reverend Sir, &c.,
PETER STOUPPE."
Writing to the Propagation Society in 1726, he thus de- scribes the state of his church :- " That he has baptized six grown negroes and seven negro children, fitted eight young peo- ple for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, to which they have been accordingly admitted, and that the number of his commu- nicants at Easter last, was thirty-three."a
MR. STOUPPE TO THE SECRETARY.
" New Rochelle, Dec. 11th, 1727.
REVEREND SIR :
According to the Honorable Society's order, signified unto me by your last of the 16th June, 1717, here you have the best ac- counts I could get upon the several heads and matters intimated unto mne in the aforesaid years.
1st. As to the church. It was built in the year 1708, upon the
» New-York, MSS. from archives at Fulham, vol. i. pp. 665-6-7-8. (Hawks.)
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AND CHURCH OF NEW ROCHELLE.
public or king's road, of strong materials, joint together with mortar, the inside plastered and white washed, of 40 feet length and 30 breadth. Partly by its own members, the inhabitants of New Rochelle, who gave it a number of days work towards it, partly by the contributions of the following charitable persons, members of the Church of England or well wishers to it, set- tled in divers parts of this province as you will see by the list here set down and recorded in our church book.
Fifty paces from the said church, there is a glebe of three and a half acres of land, upon part of which stands the parish house or the minister's dwelling place, built of wooden materials, the inside plastered, consisting of two rooms on a floor, a garret and a small kitchen house, the other part of said glebe serves for a dwelling place.
The salary subscribed for the minister by the members of New Rochelle church amounts at present to £10 19s. money of this province, of which, through negligence or pretended pov- erty of the subscribers there is little more than half part of it actually paid, so that the provisions of firewood which they make to their minister for the time being, is by much the better part of his salary, though little in itself.
There is no other endowment belonging to the Church that I know of. This is all what I can say upon that head.
2nd. ] come now to the second. The number of people that first settled New Rochelle was about a dozen of families, the most part of them were in Europe, trading merchants; being French refugees, they were all at first addicted to the Confes- sion of Faith of the formerly Reformed Protestant Church of France. These few families, I say, have conjointly bought of the Lord Pell, 6000 acres of land and divided it into lots and parcels, from 20 to 30, 40, 50, 60, 100, 200 and 300 acres a piece ; have sold afterwards the said lots and parcels to any who had a mind to buy them, English, French or Dutch, but so it happened that more of the French than of the two other nations proved desirous to settle among them. To this, if you add the increase and settlement of their children since that time, each of which
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
have their particular houses, or dwelling places, being set- tled upon so many respective lots and parcels of ground, the present number of inhabitants, comprehending young and old of both sexes, amounts to very near 400 persons. There is a doz- en of houses near the church, standing pretty close to one an- other, which makes that place a sort of a town; the remainder of the houses and settlements are dispersed up and down as far as the above said 6000 acres of land could bear. Nay, besides those, there were several other French families members of New Rochelle settled without its bounds. They are little or not at all improved in their fortunes, and a few tailors and shoe makers excepted, they all live upon the produce of their own land.
There is no church near or about New Rochelle, save one which from the one side of its bounds is three miles distant, and from the other side seven miles distant, and divine service is no oftener performed in it than once in a month, or twelve times in a year. Travelling is in all seasons difficult in this country, it being very rough and uneven, full of rocks and stones, hills, valleys, creeks, loose and bad bridges. The Fall is attended with great showers and the Winter with ice, snow and excee- ding sharp winds.
3rd. As to the 3rd head. There is two quaker families, three Dutch ones, four Lutherans and several of the French. The first never assist our assemblies, the Dutch and Lutheran on the contrary, constantly assist when divine service is performed in English, so that they may understand it, and their children like- wise have all been baptized by ministers of the Church. Only the French Dissenters have deserted it upon Mr. Moulinars, for- merly one of the French ministers of New-York, coming and settling, now a year ago, among us, and t'is also by his means and inducement that while he yet was minister of New-York, that they have built a wooden meeting house within the time they was unprovided for, that is, from my predecessor's death to my arrival here. The said Moulinars and followers to the nun- ber of about one hundred persons, and the said meeting house, built by his persuasion, are the sole dissenting teacher, people
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and meeting house, within New Rochelle bounds. The said Moulinars is supported partly by the contributions of his hearers, partly by the assistance of some of the French Dissen- ters of New-York, who in my predecessor's time, as well as now, have done much harm to our poor church and always obstruc- ted their reconciliation thereto.
4th. There is no school nor schoolmaster as yet in New Ro- chelle ; the parents take care to instruct their own children and that they do generally pretty well, besides what instructions are given to them in the church during Summer by the minister.
5th. As to the fifth article. I don't question but the Honorable Society knows that the Lord Pell when he sold the 6,000 acres of New Rochelle ground to the aforesaid families of Refugees who first settled it, gave in the same time 100 acres of land for the encouragement and benefit of any minister that would serve them, which land being laid out by the buyers in one of the worst places, upon a very rocky ground, and distant a mile and one half from the parish house, has been let by my prede- cessor and by me, for four pence sterling an acre, yearly rent, bating 20 acres, holden by a distracted woman not supported by the parish before last year, &c.
There is no other library but that which Mr. Bondet has left to the Church consisting of abont 400 volumes.
6th. The number of slaves within New Rochelle is 78, part of them constantly attend Divine service and have had some instructions in the Christian Faith by the care and assistance of their respective masters and mistresses, so that my prede- cessors did not scruple to baptize some and even to admit to the Communion of the Lord's Supper, and I myself have for the same consideration baptized fifteen of them within these three years, some children, and some grown persons, indifferently well instructed in the fundamentals of our Holy Religion.
I assure you, Sir, that they shall always have a convenient share in my assistance and care, and as far as will be necessary to make them good and religious persons without the least pre- judice to the rest of my flock. These Sir, are the 'sentiments
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
which I entertain and of which I shall endeavor to give to the Honorable Society the most convincing proofs.
I am, Reverend Sir, your most Obedient Servant,
PETER STOUPPE. "a
In 1729, he writes :- " That he continues his diligence in all parts of duty ; that besides the white, he hath baptized ten ne- gro children and one grown person, and hath thirty-four com- municants." The next year he informs the Society :- " That the French and English prayer books sent there by the Society have been of great use and even thankfully received by the peo- ple. His congregation improves, the number of communicants increases, and in the space of six months he baptized fifteen white children and three negroes."b Upon the 7th of April, 1733, he acquaints them :- " That his congregation increases, that he had thirty-three communicants last Easter, and hath within six months baptized eleven white and five negro children.c" The next communication from Mr. Stouppe is the following :-
MR. STOUPPE TO THE SECRETARY. " New Rochelle, Aug. 10th, 1733.
Rev. Sir,-Iu my last, April 10th, 1733, by Capt. Saml. Bourdet, bound for Bristol, there being then no ship besides in this town bound for England ; I informed you how I had heard of the Rev. Mr. Vesey, our Commissary, that the last 4 doz. of Com- mon Prayer Books sent by the Honorable Society to be given to the people, who desire them, were in his hands. Now Sir, I must inform you that I have received the same some time ago, and distributed some to the people as they made application for them. I say as they made application for them, for these people being none of my parishioners, but Dr. Standard's, I cannot sufficient- ly discern those that deserve to have them from those that do not, as my intentions are sincere, I am apt to think every man's so. Sure it is, the Honorable Society receive a great deal of
a New York, MSS. from archives at Fulham, vol. i. 678-9-80-1-2. (Hawks.)
: D Printed abstracts of Ven. Society.
· Ibid.
1
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AND CHURCH OF NEW ROCHELLE.
praises and blessings of them on that account, which I doubt not will have one day a good effect, and beget in time, not only love and respect, but a thorough conformity and willing ad- . herence to the Church.
As for my particular church. Sir, I have had 35 communi- cants last July communion, and since my last, of the 7th of April, I have baptized five white children. I have always a constant good number of hearers, and when divine service is performed in English the congregation is so numerous of late that people scarce can sit, some resorting from Eastchester, some from Mamaroneck, especially in the summer season, besides the English and Dutch of this town, who have all hitherto applied to me for supplying their spiritual necessities, particularly for administering baptism to their children.
Now, Reverend Sir, one thing I beg leave to offer to the Hon- orable Society's consideration is, that Christmas next there will be ten years since I have been admitted into Holy Orders by the present Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of London, and there- upon appointed the Honorable Society's missionary for this place. That during the said space of ten years, besides their an- nual salary to me, I have received but very small contributions from my hearers, not for want of good will or good understand- ing between them and me, (God forbid) there is no congregation in the province better united than we are, but because being crowded upon one another they have but little land, and being generally encumbered with the maintenance of large families of their own, they are unable to do it, and can but just pay their contributions to Westchester parish, whereof they make a part and have not as yet been discharged from.
Upon this account, Sir, my circumstances are but straight in comparison to those of other missionaries, who by law are allow_ ed yearly some £60, this country money, besides their salary from the Honorable Society, and as I conceive my sincere inten- tions and endeavours for the good of the Church as well as the ac- tual and constant performance ofduty to come short to that of none of my brethren, I make bold to intreat that Honorable Society in consideration thereof, and in consideration that clothing and
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
moveables are very dear in this country, that they would be pleased in their goodness to allow and bestow upon nie any small gratification, not that it may quicken my zeal for the Church and diligence in discharging my duty, for either of them can hardly receive any addition, but that it may comfort and ease me and my family under my present low circumstances. However, if the Honorable Society's fund will not permit them to grant this my humble request, I shall look upon a refusal on that account with all the resignation imaginable."
I am Reverend Sir,
Your most obedient, humble Servant,
PETER STOUPPE. "a
June 1st, 1735, he acquaints the Society :- " That the mem- bers of the Church increase at New Rochelle, that there is always a very handsome auditory when Divine service is per- formed, especially in the Summer season of the year, when the English, Dutch and Germans, settled within a mile or two, do join with them, and that he hath baptized since Christmas last, nine white and five negro children." Upon the 4th of Novem- ber, 1737, he transmitted the following account :- " That the state of his Church continues good, the members thereof being very assiduous and punctual in attending Divine service all the parts of the year, and being thankful for that blessing. He hath 32 communicants, and hath baptized within the year 12 white and 6 black children .?? b
In his letter of November 16th, he writes :- " That the neo- ple do regularly attend Divine Service at all seasons, that the last time he had thirty-six at the Holy Communion. That in the last year he hath baptized 11 white children and 4 blacks." The subjoined extract from a letter of Leonard Lispenard, and
· New York, MSS. from archives at Fulham, vol. ii. 265-6. (Hawks.)
Printed abstracts of Ven. Society.
447
AND CHURCH OF NEW ROCHELLE.
other inhabitants of New Rochelle to the Reverend Mr. Orem, da- ted New Rochelle, December 1st, 1742, shows that some of the former were disaffected to Mr. Stouppe. But whether its au- thors were members of the Church or not, is very uncertain :-
" I went to Mr. Lispenard's who lives in ye place to enquire con- cerning the inhabitants of it, who reckoned up with 80 families in the boundaries of the place, 31 of which were such as under- stood no French, 24 were Calvanists, and only 4 persons, which are from old France, that come to ye Church of England, and they are very ancient people ; wherefore I and a great many others are of opinion, that although the place is so situated that there seems to be an absolute necessity for a minister, yet we humbly conceive, he needs-not be a Frenchman, nor be ordered to read and preach in French, considering how things are cir- cumstanced at present. I and several others therefore entreat you to condescend so far as to represent our case truly, as I have donc to you, either to Mr. Bearcroft, or any other gentleman whom you think has interest enough to procure us a minister in Mr. Stouppe's stead, who the English complain has disappointed them very much since I have been to England, and for 9 weeks together, never repeated the service of the Church in English, but was either sick or gone to New-York, or made some excuse always on the Sunday when he should have preached in En- glish." a
In the year 1743, we find the members of the Church address- ing the Venerable Society on behalf of their minister as fol- lows :-
"New Rochelle, June 1st, 1743.
DR. BEARCROFT :
REV. SIR, -- Our minister, ye bearer hereof, having communi- cated to us his letter to you of ye ninth of Oct., 1742, wherein he expressed a desire of revisiting his native country, and asked ye Ilonorable Society's leave for that purpose; we took that
· New York, MSS. from archives at Fulham, vol. ii. p. 138. (Hawks.)
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
declaration as if he had resolved to leave us altogether and to serve our church no longer ; and therefore, made bold to address ourselves unto ye Honorable Society for providing us with another, that we might not remain destitute.
But learning now from his own mouth that he designs to go no further than London, and is willing to return, with ye Hon'ble Society's permission, for the service of our church. We there- fore, upon this consideration, take ye liberty to declare and ac- quaint you that our said minister, since his first coming, has constantly resided among us, preaching (as directed by ye Hon'ble Society,) two Sundays in Frenchi and one in English, much to our satisfaction and edification, his doctrine being very sound, and his pronunciation full, clear, and intelligible-upon which account we could have wished that he had finished his days among us without interruption, and we expected nothing else ; but as it happens, a strong desire to hear from his relatives has prevailed with him to take a journey for Europe. Howev- er, seeing now he explains his mind, and promises to return among us, we beg of the Hon'ble Society that they would ac- cordingly be pleased to send him again to us, by the first and next opportunity. But if, contrary to our expectations, it should fall out otherwise, we repeat our former petition, and beg leave to entreat ye Hon'ble Society not to leave us destitute, but to continue to us their charity in providing us with another in his room, as in their great wisdom they shall think fit. Such is the prayer of us underwritten members of NEW ROCHELLE church, who are with great respect,
Reverend Sir, Your most obedient humble servants,
and in ye name of all, JEAN SOULICE, PETER BONNET, GIEL LECOUNTE, PETER SICARD." (Signed by 56 others.)
In 1743, Aman Guion gave one acre and three quarters of land,
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AND CHURCH OF NEW ROCHELLE.
" which is now in possession of the Rev. Peter Stouppe," for the use of the minister and communicants of the French Church.
DEED FOR CHURCH LOT IN NEW ROCHELLE.
" To all Christian People to whom this Deed of Sale shall come : Aman Guion of New Rochelle, in the county of Westchester and Province of New York, Black- smith, sendeth Greeting : Know ye that the said Aman Guion, for and in considera- tion of the sum of five pounds ten shillings, current money of the Province of New- York, to him in hand paid by Isaac Guion and John Soulis, of New Rochelle afore- said, churchwardens or elders of the French Church, in New Rochelle aforesaid, according to rules and form of the Church of England, as by law established, now at or before ye ensealing and Delivery heroof, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknow- ledge and myself therewith fully satisfied, contented and paid, and theroof and of and successors, for the use of the minister and communicants of the French Church, in New Rochelle afforesaid, as is therein settled according to the Rules and form of the Church of England, as by law established. That is to say, a certain small parcel of land containing one acre and three quarters, more or less, which is now in the pos- session of the Reverend Peter Stouppe, now minister of the aforesaid church, in New Rochelle, and bounded as follows : Northerly by the Burying Place, Easterly by the land of Aman Guion, or a Lane or Road. Southerly, by the land that former- ly belonged to De Bonrepos, and Westerly by the land of William LeConte, as it is now in fence, together with all and singular the fences, fencing and other appurtenances belonging to said land. To have and to hold said granted and bargained, or intended to be hereby granted and bargained Land and Premises, to them the said Isaac Guion and John Soulis, and their successors forever, for the use of the French Minister, and communicants of the French Church in New Rochelle aforesaid, as it is therein settled according to the rules and form of the Church of England as by law established to them and their successors own and only proper use, benefit and behoof. And it shall and may be lawful for them the said Isaac Guion and John Soulis and their successors from time to time, and at all times for use hereafter, lawfully, peaceably and quietly to have, hold, use, occupy, possess and enjoy the before granted and bargained Land and premises, free and clear for the use afforesaid, ffreely and clearly acquited, exonerated, re- leased and Discharged from all manner, former and other gifts, grants, bargains, sales, leases, mortgages, entails, jointures, wills, Dowrys, Judgments, Execu- tions, Extents, and every other trouble and incumbrance whatsoever, to these be- fore granted and bargained Lands and premises, to them the said. Isaac Guion and John Soulis, and their successors for Ever, for the use above said. He, the said Aman Guion, his heirs, executors and Administrators, shall and will forever hereafter warrant and Defend by these presents, and that against all the just and lawful Claims of all and every other person or persons whatsoever claiming or that shall and may hereafter claim any just right, title, interest, property or de- mand, of, in or to said granted and bargained land and premises, or of, in, or to any part or parcel thereof. In witness whereof, he the said Aman Guion
29
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
has hereunto set his hand and seal, the twenty-sixth day of March, in the six- teenth year of the reign of King George the Second, Anno Domini, one thous- and seven hundred and forty-three.
AMAN GUION." &
From this time until 1750, nothing particular occurs with regard to the parish in the reports of the Society.
MR. STOUPPE TO THE SECRETARY.
" New Rochelle, June 8th, 1750.
REV. SIR,
In my former of ye 25th Oct., 1749, I informed you of the religious zeal which the members of New Rochelle Church do show on all occasions, whenever divine service is performed among them. How they do prefer ye hearing of a sermon to all idle and vain amusements, and had no more severed from ye Church by taking up with fanatical notions, contrary to sound doctrine, however current and common such notions had be- come some time ago; and I do with pleasure acquaint you now, that they are still the same people, very devout, constant and steady members of ye Church, and will continue such to the end of their days.
The number of actual communicants continues likewise to be 68, for as often as we lose some old ones by death, there are young persons who desire to be received and admitted in their stead, and since my last, have baptized 15 infants, viz : 11 white, and 4 black.
There being due to me a whole year's salary, unpaid last Lady day, 1749-50, I have drawn for the same on the Honor- able Society's treasurer ; and hope my letting it run into a year's salary will occasion no trouble to ye treasurer, for other-
· Town Book, Lib. A. 178. " Upon the petition of fifty-six freeholders and inhabi- tants of New Rochelle on the 2nd of April, 1771, the Commissioners of the Town closed a certain road, formerly laid out, running between the land of Joseph Drake and the Church Glebe, beginning at the school house, and so to run up to the post road, the highway, or containing by estimation two acres and three quarters of land, which money was to be applied and paid by the Town Clerk to the collector, for and towards the parish rates for the year ensuing." Town Rec. pages 178, 268.
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wise I shall draw for it every Six months. This, Sir, is what offers at present from,
Rev. Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
PETER STOUPPE."a ١
The following is from the Society's abstracts for A. D. 1756 :- " The Rev. Mr. Stouppe, the Society's missionary both to the English and French, at New Rochelle, informs the Soci- ety, by his letter of June 16th, 1756, that the Church continues there in a good state, and he officiates to numerous congrega- tions, both of English and French, and that the number of the communicants is increased to eighty, and he had baptized, in the preceding twelve months, thirty-four white, and six black children."b
Mr. Stouppe informs the Society, by his letter of June 5th, 1758, " that since the war broke out, there have been great al- terations in his congregations, which have lost many of the members by removals, and by enlistings in the King's service and by death ; nevertheless, the number of his communicants is seventy-four, and he had baptized within the present half year, fifteen white, and five black children."c
The ministry of this zealous and successful missionary was brought to a close, by his death, in July, 1760. The Rev. Henry Barclay, D. D., rector of Trinity Church, New-York, in a letter dated Sept. 3d, 1760, encloses the following address to the Society from the Church of New Rochelle, wherein they acquaint that body with the death of the Rev. Pierre Stouppe, who for thirty-seven years had been their missionary :-
VESTRY OF NEW ROCHELLE TO THE SECRETARY. " New Rochelle, July ye 30th, 1760.
REV. SIR.
We, the members of the Church of New Rochelle, in the
· New-York, MSS. from archives at Fulham, vol. ii. pp. 153, 154. (Hawks.)
Printed abstracts of Ven. Prop. Soc. from 20th Feb., 1756, to 18th Feb., 1757.
· Printed abstracts of Ven. Prop. Soc. from 21th Feb., 1758, to 23d Feb. 1759.
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
Province of New-York, in communion with the Church of England, beg leave to acquaint the Venerable Society, that it hath pleased Almighty God to call home to himself their late worthy missionary, and our faithful pastor, the Rev. Mr. Stouppe, by whose death we are bereaved of the inestimable blessing of the regular dispensation of the divine ordinances. This loss will be irreparable, unless we may be allowed to hope for the continuance of ye bounty, which has hitherto been dispersed for the support of the gospel amongst us, wherein if it shall please the Honourable Society to indulge us, we beg leave humbly to request that a successor may be sent to Mr. Stouppe, who is competently versed in the French language, that he may sometimes officiate therein for the benefit of some of our ancient people, but if this be not practicable, we shall be content to have the service wholly in the English tongue, which is by much the best understood by the greater part of the con- gregation.
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