USA > New York > Westchester County > History of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the county of Westchester, from its foundation, 1693, to 1853 > Part 4
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AND CHURCH OF WESTCHESTER.
had a shameful disturbance, hawling and tugging of seats, shoving one the other off, carrying them out and returning again for more : so that I was fain to leave off till the disturbance was over, and a separation made, by which time I had lost about half of the congregation, the rest remaining devout and attentive the whole time of service; after which we lock't the church door, and committed the key into the hands of the sheriff. We were no sooner got into an adjoining house, but some persons came to demand the key of their meeting house, which being denyed, they went and broke the glass window, and put a boy in to open the door, and so put in their seats and took away the pew cushion, saying they would keep that, however, for their own minister ; the scolding and wrangling that ensued are by me ineffable. The next time I saw my Lord Cornbury, he thanked me, and said he would do the church and me justice : accordingly, he summoned Mr. Hobbart and the head of the faction before him, and forbade Mr. Hobbart ever more to preach in that church ; for, in regard, it was built by a publiek tax, it did appertain to the established church, (which it has quietly remained ever since, and is now in possession of our Rev. Brother, Mr. Urquhart.) My Lord Cornbury threatened them all with the penalty of the statute, for disturbing divine service ; but upon their submission and promise of future quietness and peace, he pardoned the offence. Not long after this, my Lord requested me to go and preach at Eastchester ; accordingly, I went, (though some there had given out threatening words should I dare to come,) but though I was there very early, and the people had notice of my coming, their Presbyterian minister, Mr. Morgan, had begun service in the meeting-house, to which I went straight way and continued the whole time of service without interrup- tion, and in the afternoon I was permitted to perform the Church of England service ; Mr. Morgan being present, and neither he nor the people seemed to be dissatisfied, and after some time of " preaching there afterwards, they desired me to come oftener ; and I concluded to minister there once a month, which now I have done for about three years, and Mr. Morgan is retired into New England. The winter drawing on, and finding it too hard for me to ride from Mr. Graham's to attend on my ministry
2
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
on all occasions, I returned to Westchester, and there being no very suitable place for me to board at, I hired a house for half a year, where I lived alone, and had my victuals dressed at a neighboring house ; and at the end of half a year, being not per- mitted to renew my lease, I bought a house of my own, and five acres of land, at £100, where (I bless God) I have inhabited ever since in the conscientious discharge of my duty, hardly ever missing to officiate on the Lord's Day in my parish, and there have discharged that duty either in the Jerseys, at Rye, or at some other place, excepting thrice by reason of sickness, and twice for coldness and foulness of the weather, wanting a con- gregation ; always preaching twice a day in the summer, and once in the winter. I have been always ready to visit the sick when sent for, and before frequently, if I knew of it, not refusing in the time of very mortal diseases, which we have frequently had since I came here, few houses escaping either sickness or death, being by night and by day, frequently riding more than ten miles a day, I may say twenty. I have administered the sacrament of Baptisni to a great number of people, young and old, and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper publickly, three times a year at the three usual feasts, Christmass, Easter, and Whit- sunday ; to partake of which, I must confess, I have a few, gen- erally about twelve communicants, but have administered it to many on their sick and dying beds, who never received it be- fore. I take care to catechise the children in the church ; and to make amends for an omission of that duty at any time, I allow a schoolmaster twenty shillings per annum to encourage him to instruct the children in the church catechism. I can't repeat to you the many janglings and contentions I have had with Quakers and Dissenters ; nay, I may say with Atheists and Deists, but beg you will believe the whole course of our ministry has been very onerous and difficult; and if I have failed in any part of my duty, (as it seems you are informed,) let me know it in your next, that I may amend. Perhaps there is more my duty than I know of, especially if a minister may not be allowed judgment of discretion in things that do not re- spect canonical obedience, but be obliged to please singular fancies and humours repugnant to general reason and usage.
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AND CHURCH OF WESTCHESTER.
I must also tell you that our church is wainscotted, and in a short time will be ceiled over head, and more decently seated, and the communion table enclosed with rails and bannisters ; and am very sorry for that great loss we have had at sea of church ornament, not knowing how it may be repaired but by the same gracious donors.
Since my last I have received some old arrears, and hope to have my salary here better paid : when we are well settled, we may inform the remiss that they must pay their dues. I have obtained of the town of Westchester (on a time when it lay in my way to do them service with the Governor) a grant of twenty acres of glebe, and three acres of meadow within half a mile of the church ; which, in time, will be a convenient residence for a minister, and also a small share in some undivided land, which will be to the quantity of about thirty acres more, but about about four miles distant. I shall only add my humble thanks and duty to the society, and that I remain, &c., &c.
JOHN BARTOW."a
Colonel James Graham, to whom Mr. Bartow alludes in the above letter, was a native of Scotland, and a near relation of James Graham, Marquis of Montrose.b In 1691 he was returned as one of the four members of the Provincial Assembly for the City and County of New York, and in 1699 was chosen speaker of that body. He was the author of the law for the maintenance
· Hawks' New York M. S. S. from archives at Fulham, vol. i. 171 to 175.
b " The ancient and powerful family of Graham," says Sir Walter Scott, in the Lady of the Lake, " held extensive possessions in the counties of Dumbarton and Stirling. Few families can boast of more historical renown, having claim to three of the most remarkable characters in the Scottish annals; Sir John Græme, the faithful and undaunted partaker of the labours and patriotic warfare of Wal- lace, fell in the unfortunate field of Falkirk, in 1298. The celebrated Marquess of Montrose, in whom De Retz saw realized his abstract ideas of the heroes of antiquity, was the second of these worthies; and notwithstanding the severity of his temper, and the vigour with which he executed the oppressive mandates of the Punics, whom he served, I do not hesitate to name, as the third, John Graham, of Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee, whose heroic death, in the arms of victory, may be allowed to cancel the memory of his cruelty to the non-conformists, during the reigns of Charles II. and James II."
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
of the clergy, and settlement of the church in 1693. He was also Recorder of the city of New-York from 1693 to 1700, and subsequently received the appointment of Attorney General of the Province. He was elected senior warden of this parish in 1703, and for a time was one of its principal supporters. His residence stood on the spot occupied by the farm house of Wil- liam H. Leggett, Esq., of West Farms. He died in 1767, and left several children. Augustine was Surveyor General of the Prov- ince, and Isabella married the Hon. Lewis Morris, of Morrisania.a
In the vestry book of this parish occurs the following election for Church officers, about three months after Mr. Bartow's arri- val :- " Att a meeting held in the Borrough town of Westchester, by the parishoners of said parish, pursuant to an Act of General Assembly, entitled an act for the settling a Ministry and raising a maintainance for them, and Mr. John Bartow being settled minister of said parish, and his maintainance ought to be taken care for, do voluntaryly make choice of the Vestry & Church Wardens this 12th day of January, in the first year of the Queens Majesties Raigne 1702-3, as followeth :---
Present.
Mr. Justice Pell,
Mr. Justice John Hunt,
Mr. Justice Willett,
Mr. Justice Graham,
Mr. Justice Josiah Hunt, Mr. Justice Bayley.
Churchwardens.
Lieutenant Col. Graham, Justice Josiah Hunt.
Vestrymen.
Thomas Baxter, sen.,
Joseph Haviland,
Joseph Drake,
Thomas Pell,
John Archer,
Miles Oakley,
John Buckbee,
Daniel Clark,
Thomas Hunt, sen., of West Farms, Peter le Roy. Edward Collier, clerk. Erasmus Allen, Messenger.b
a Surrogates Office, New-York, Lib. xxvi 13.
b Westchester vestry book.
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AND CHURCH OF WESTCHESTER.
At a meeting of the vestry, " held this 3rd day of June, 1703, by reason of the County courte, this day its agreed upon by ye Justices and Vestry that they will meet at 12 o'clock on the 5th day of this instant month, in order to regulate matters concern- ing the parish and the maintenance of the minister."a
" Att a meeting held by the Justices & Vestrymen of West- chester, Eastchester, Yonkers & the manor of Pelham, being in one parish or division this 5th of June, 1703 :-
Present.
Mr. Justice Pell,
Mr. Justice Drake,
Mr. Justice Pinkney,
Mr. Justice Bayley,
Mr. Justice Hunt.
Vestry.
Mr. Joseph Drake, Mr. Joseph Haviland,
Mr. Miles Oakley, Mr. John Archer,
Mr. Daniel Clark, Mr. John Buckbee,
Mr. Thomas Hunt, Jr.
"It is agreed upon by the said Justices & Vestrymen, that there shall be raised fifty-five pounds for the Ministers maintenance & poor of the parish. The Quotas for each place is as followeth :-
Westchester, £27 18 0
Morris Anna,
3 70
Eastchester,
7.13 0
Pelham. 1 13 0
Rochelle, 7 30
Yonkers,
7 60
£55 0 0
To be paid unto the Churchwardens att or before the 15th of December next ensuing.
EDWARD COLLIER, Clerk."b
· Westchester vestry book.
b Ibid.
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
The next letter from Mr. Bartow to the Secretary bears date,
Westchester, in the Province of New- York, in America, May 25th, 1703.
SIR :
" My Lord Cornbury is very kind in countenancing the settle- ment of the Church of England, and to preserve that mainte- nance which has been provided by act of Assembly for orthodox ministers, altho' there have been great endeavours to annull that act since they saw the church pouring in upon them, which en- . deavours have been chiefly showed, in my parish of Westchester, as follows : the act of assembly doth unite Westchester, East chester, Yonkers, and the manor of Pelham, into one parish, who are obliged to contribute the sum of £50 per annum for the maintenance of an orthodox minister.
Now Eastchester, having an independent minister, endeavours at my coming, to make themselves a distinct parish, and used many means to prevent and disturb my settlement at Westches- ter, but all there attempts were frustrated by my Lord Cornbury ; and now they begin to come into better temper, many of them having left their minister are joyned with us: nay, the minister himself talks of coming to England for Episcopal orders.
Another obstruction has been in the manor of Pelham, the inhabitants of which are French Protestants, who have Mr. Bon- dett for their minister ; a gent in Episcopal orders, (but not using the liturgy of the Church of England) and therefore they have · the greater plea to sue for an exemption ; but the Quota, West- chester intends to lay annually upon them (viz. £5) is so incon- siderable, and the people many and wealthy, that my Lord Corn- bury would not hear of any alteration, and my Lord has pre- vailed with Mr. Bondett to cease from any further endeavours.
That land which my Lord of London obtained of her Majestie for the Church at Westchester, is now claimed by an heir; the case in short is thus :-
. John Richardson, of the parish of Westchester, married his daughter Mary to Joseph Hadley; the said John Richardson some time after. in his sickness whereof he died, makes a will and bequeaths to his said daughter Mary, one hundred acres of
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AND CHURCH OF WESTCHESTER.
land. The said daughter dyes also soon after her father, but left issue by the said Joseph Hadley, her husband. After her death, she dying without a will, Joseph Hadley, the husband of the deceased, sells this land to Thomas Williams; and the said Thomas Williams dyes in the possession of the said land intes- tate, and without heirs, and by that means, the land, by the judge and the jury, was determined to be escheated to the crown. But now George Hadley, the son and heir of the said Jos. Had- ley, which he begot of the said Mary, the daughter of John Rich- ardson, puts in his claim for this land as his mother's heir, al- ledging that his Father could not dispose of his mother's inher- itance, (altho' it was not settled upon her by deed of jointure, nor yet bequeathed to her and her heirs,) and the heir who was also his father's exectr. & admtr., has (as I am informed) received part of the said purchase money of the said Williams. I hum- bly beg you would lay this matter before the Society, that they may assist us with timely advice yt ye Church may not loose any of her rights. I have been at great charges since I left England, but doubt not God will provide things necessary for my subsistence ; my earnest desire is to answer the glorious ends of my mission, and my greatest circumspection is to be- have myself so as becometh one employed by so many great and good men : that I may never give a reason to reflect ; I have been upon duty ever since I came out of England, but as for the proportion and commencement of my salary, I thankfully submit it to the pleasure of the Society, for whose health and prosperity I shall ever pray, who am worthy sir,a
Your most humble, and obliged servant, JOHN BARTOW."
The subjoined letter from Colonel Heathcote to the Secretary will serve to throw additional light upon the early history of this parish.
* Hawks' New York M. S. S. from archives at Fulham, vol. i. 18, 19, 20. In 1704 Mr. Bartow received from the Society £50 per annum, and a benevolence of £30. See first report of Ven. Prop. Soc. issued in 1701.
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
COLONEL HEATHCOTE TO THE SECRETARY.
Manor of Scarsdale, New- York, 10th April, 1704.
SIR :
" Mr. Bartow showed me the copy of a letter (the original as he told me, being sent to my Lord Cornbury) wherein you acquaint him that the Society were displeased for his settiing at West- chester, being by my Lord of London, sent for Rye, and that he should get a line or two either from my Lord Cornbury, or at least from me, to satisfy him in that matter. I did in October last, give my Lord of London my reasons for the necessity of his being settled at Westchester, the people in that place having been the first in this county who desired a minister of the church ; and being disappointed, might have been of ill consequence, for no sooner was Mr. Bartow arrived, but ye vestry immediately came to me and gave me no rest untill I consented to use my interest with my Lord Cornbury to have him inducted there, and the inhabitants of Rye, supposing Westchester was first to be supply'd, were easy in that matter, there being on one hand, no fear of disobliging the people of Rye, and on the other, great dan- ger of hurting the interest of the church at Westchester ; I de- sired my Lord Cornbury to induct him there, and what I did therein being intended for the best, I beg that the society would not take amiss. Sir, being favor'd with this opportunity, I can- not omitt giving you the state of this county in relation to the church, and shall begin the history thereof from the time I first came amongst them, which was about twelve years ago, when I found it the most rude and heathenish county I ever saw in my whole life, which called themselves christians, there being not so much as the least marks or footsteps of religion of any sort. Sundays being the only time sett apart by them for all manner of vain sports and lewd diversions, and they were grown to such a degree of rudeness, that it was intolerable ; and having then the command of the militia, I sent an order to all the captains, requiring them to call their men under arms, and to acquaint them that in case they would not, in every town, agree amongst themselves to appoint readers, and pass the sabbath in the best manner they could, till such times as they could be better provi-
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AND CHURCH OF WESTCHESTER.
ded : that they should every sunday call their companies under arms, and spend the day in exercise, whereupon it was unani- mously agreed on thro' the county, to make choice of readers, which they accordingly did, and continued in those methods sometime. After which the people of Westchester, Eastchester, and a place called Lower Yonkers, agreed with one Warren Mather, and the people of Rye, with one Mr. Woodbridge, both of New England, there being at that time scarce six in the whole county who so much as inclined to ye church. After Mr. Mather had been with them for some time, Westchester Parish made choice of me for one of their churchwardens, in hopes of using my interest with Colonel Fletcher to have Mather inducted to ye living. I told them it was altogether impossible for me to com- ply with their desire, it being wholly repugnant to the laws of England to compell the subject to pay for the maintenance of any minister who was not of the national church, and that it lay not in any Governor's power to help them, but since they were so zealous for having religion and good order settled amongst them, I would propose a medium in that mat- ter; which was, that their being at Boston a French Protestant minister, one Mr. Bondett, a very good man, who was in orders by my Lord of London, and could preach both in English and French ; and the people of New Rochelle being destitute of a minister, we would call Mr. Bondett to the living, and the parish being large enough to maintain two, we would likewise con- tinue Mr. Mather, and support him by subscriptions. The ves- try seemed to be extremely well pleased with this proposal, and desired me to send for Mr. Bondett, which I immediately did, hoping by that means to bring them over to the church; but Mather, apprehending what I aimed at, persuaded the vestry to alter their resolutions, and when he came, they refused to call him ; so that projection failing, and finding that it was impos- sible to make any progress towards settling the church, so long as Mather continued amongst us : I made it my business, in the next place, to devise ways to get him out of the county, which I was not long in contriving, which being effected, and having gained some few proselytes in every town, and those who were of the best esteem amongst them, and being assisted by Mr.
-
-
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HISTORY OF THE PARISH
Vesey and Mr. Bondett, who very often preached in several parts of the county, baptizing their children. By these easy me- thods, the people were soon wrought into a good opinion of the church, and indeed, much beyond my expectation ; and the truth is, nothing is so agreeable to my natural temper, nor do I like any way in making converts so well, as by soft and easy means, in convincing men's minds, and satisfying them in all their foolish notions against the best of churches ; for as those are not only most agreeable to religion, so they likewise do the work most effectually ; for when anything of that nature is car- ried on with heat, loose and irreligious men immediately own the faith, and turn violent persecutors ; being overjoyed of any opportunity to gratify their natural temper, and by the rigour of their proceedings, as well as their vicious lives, not only bring a scandal upon the church, but prevent its growth, for all men who have any sense of virtue or honour, and might be a means of their conversion to bring over many more, abhor to be direct- ed by such guides ; and indeed to do a work of this nature effec- tually, it ought to managed with a more than ordinary care, and those on whom the conversion is to be wrought, in their infancy must be dealt with as much tenderness as children, for before they are well fixed and rooted, the denying them a rattle or some indifferent trifle, very often makes them start, but much more so when anything very material and reasonable in itself is with- held them. A mischief of this nature had like to have attended in this county for Westchester parish, which contains about six- teen miles in length, wherein there are three towns, in each of which there is a small church (viz.) Westchester, Eastchester, and New Rochelle, besides a place called Lower Yonkers, and it being impossible that my one minister could take due care of all those places, and then consequently very hard that any peo- ple should pay to a minister, it was morally impossible for them to have any benefit from ; and Rye Parish being under the like misfortune : I brought the towns in both parishes, except West- chester, to this result ; that they should petition the Governor's Council and Assembly, that instead of two ministers of the church, there should be three appointed for the county, and that
27
AND CHURCH OF WESTCHESTER.
they should live at the most convenient places for the service of the whole county, dividing the bread of life so equally, that every town might have their fair and equal proportion ; and when, with a great deal of pains, I had brought this matter to pass, and even whilst I was hugging myself with a satisfaction of having finished my task in this county, to my wonderful sur- prise, I met with a violent opposition from six or eight warm men of Westchester ; this storm, by degrees, run to that height that we were obliged to decline the matter; however, with the blessing of God, nothing shall discourage me, for I neither have nor shall be wanting in my best endeavours to preserve this peo- ple in a temper to receive the church among them ; and was I worthy to give my advice in these matters, it should be that every minister who is sent over by the society should be required to send a list of all the inhabitants of their parish, with the towns and places of their abode, dividing the list of each town and place into three distinct parts ; in the first, who are the commu- nicants ; in the second, those who come to hear them, but do not communicate; and in the third, which are Quakers and others, who are Dissenters, and that they should be strictly di . rected constantly to visit ye Quakers and those who dissent from the church, and use their best endeavours to persuade those who are reconciled to the church and regular in their lives, and do not communicate to receive the sacrament, and to give the society an exact account every six months, at least, what pro- gress they make therein ; and further, they should be ordered not to fail preaching in every town within their respective par- ishes, according to the proportion of the inhabitants; by this means the society will have a true account of the growth of the church, and what service is done by those they send over, and the bread of life will be equally dealt among the people ; and in case the ministers find that their duty is too hard, that they jointly solicit the government that this county might be divided into three parishes, for one of which there cannot be a better man than Mr. Bondett, whom I mentioned in the former part of my letter, whose character I have already very often and fully given to my Lord of London, and will be altogether needless to
28
HISTORY OF THE PARISH
insert here. We have in this county six small towns, viz. West- chester, Eastchester, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Rye and Bed- ford, besides a place called Lower Yonkers, containing about twenty families, and another the Manor of Philipsburgh, about forty families. Now, were those three ministers appointed for the county, viz. one at Westchester, which is the westermost part of the county, another at Rye, which is the eastermost, and another at New Rochelle, which is pretty near the centre; those dividing their duty fairly and equally, the whole county might be taken care of, and the ministers not over-burthened. Upon my word, sir, it gives me a great deal of concern, when I con- sider what pains and charge, the society have been and are at, to propagate the Gospel in these parts of the world, and that a gent (I mean Mr. Bartow, who is a very good man,) should be sent over on that errand to this county, which consists of about four hundred families, of which not above forty or fifty have any benefit of him; and should the minister of Rye serve us in like manner, not above one-third of the county would be better for all the cost and labor bestowed upon us, and notwithstanding the arguments which are used by the men of heat, that the congregation ought to follow the minister, and not he the people ; it will be time enough to preach up that doctrine twelve or fif- teen years hence, when perhaps the county won't only be much more willing, but more able to maintain six ministers than they can three now, besides those who live some three or four, others seven to fourteen miles from Westchester and Rye, tho' once in a great while they might come, I mean the masters and mis- tresses of families, yet it will be morally impossible for them to move their children so far, of whom the greatest hopes are, and with whom by catechising and other ways, the most pains ought to be taken. I had once formed a projection for fixing schools in this county for the benefit of all the youths therein, in order to their being trained up, not only in learning, but in their tender years to ingraft them in the church, but the storm which was lately raised upon me concerning church affairs, made me lay the thought of it aside for a while. However, if God is pleased to spare my life a little longer, I will, with his assistance, set it
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