USA > New York > Rensselaer County > East Greenbush > History of the Reformed church, at East Greenbush, Rensselaer County, New York > Part 7
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Regretting that I cannot now add more to the interest of this memorable anniversary, I can only send my most cordial saluta- tions "in the Lord " and remain,
Yours for Christ sake, WILLIAM J. R. TAYLOR.
NOTE .- The writer of the above tribute to his father died very suddenly on November 12th, 1891, on the cars near Gunnison, Col., on his way to Salt Lake City, Utah, to make an address in behalf of the American Sabbath. His remains were brought to New Brunswick, N. J., and buried on November 18th, in Elmwood Cemetery. He was born at the "Greenbush parsonage " July 31st, 1823, and hence was in his sixty-ninth year at the time of his death. He was a very faithful, useful, honored minister .- (P. T. P.)
VI.
ABRAM HENRY DUMONT.
1826-1829.
Mr. Taylor was followed (September 24th, 1826), by Rev. A. H. Dumont, who, after a term of three years and three months, was dismissed December 22d, 1829. He went from this charge to Pottsville,
ABRAM H. DUMONT.
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Pa .; was afterward general agent of the missionary society, and became pastor in 1833 of a Congrega- tional church in Newport, Rhode Island, dying in 1865. He appears to have been a man of decided abilities, winning the esteem and love of his people. The Greenbush and Schodack Academy, long and justly a local pride, and to which this congregation contributed almost the whole amount of the cost of erection, was projected and partly built before he removed, and no doubt largely through his in- fluence.
In October and November, 1829, the first addi- tion to the church edifice was made. The Consis- torial record of the enterprise is worthy of repro- duction. On the 17th of October
" The committee appointed to receive proposals reported several, and it was resolved that Mr. Fred- erick Lasher's offer being the lowest by $600, be accepted.
" Resolved, That S. N. Herrick and Samuel R. Campbell be the committee to superintend the repairs.
" Resolved, That the following be the repairs :
" 1. There shall be an addition of thirteen feet to the front of the whole building, containing one large door in front, two flights of stairs to the gal- lery, the old doors and windows closed, two doors to enter the body of the church-one opposite each
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side aisle-two recesses for stoves, one in each corner, the whole upper part of the new part floored.
"2. Across the space now occupied by the front doors, the steps to be extended, and seats made where the entrance to gallery is now.
"3. On the new part a cupola and belfry ; cupola twenty feet above the eaves of the building.
"4. The whole building covered with a new roof, and said roof to be turned gable end to the road.
"6. New outside casings to the windows-the windows now in front to be closed and inserted in new part.
" 7. A porch in front of large door and south door closed."
It was also "resolved that Mr. Lasher be author- ized to put an arched window over the front door, and two windows on the north and two windows on the south side of the new part of the building, and a door in front of the middle aisle." This description presents us with our only picture of the church as it was in the beginning, and after its first enlargement.
The above record is followed by a list of one hundred and twenty-three subscribers to the fund for building, the amounts ranging from one to thirty dollars and averaging about seven. They must have been expeditious in those days, for in six weeks the house was re-opened for service, and the Lord's Supper administered.
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But on the twenty-second of December, a few days after the re-opening, the church was surprised by the pastor's resignation. The minute is this : " Rev. A Henry Dumont presented in writing a request to be dismissed from these congregations with his reasons therefor. These being entirely satisfactory, it was resolved that, though the sepa- ration from our pastor is unexpected and painful, yet satisfied with his reasons, therefore his request be granted."
At the beginning of Mr. Dumont's ministry in 1826 the Consistories of both congregations sup- plied the pastor's pew with cushions. His wife, Julia Ann McKnight, was baptised and received into the church upon confession of faith. No names of persons received by him remain on the church records, all having died or moved away, but there are several who remember him. At the close of his short period of service, Blooming Grove felt herself able to support a minister alone, and in 1830 the connection was dissolved and the parson- age property divided.
NOTE .- Rev. Abram Henry Dumont, son of Peter Dumont and Elizabeth Swartout, was born at New York April 17th, 1800; licensed by Classis of New Brunswick April 20th, 1826 ; license signed by President John L. Zabriskie. He was called Sep-
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tember 21st, 1826, to take charge of the churches (Dutch Reformed) of Greenbush and Blooming Grove, near Albany, N. Y. He was ordained Octo- ber 17th, 1826 (but I do not know where or by whom). From Greenbush he went to Pottsville,
which he left March 2d, 1831, as they could not support a Presbyterian church, so he must then have belonged to some Presbytery. He went to Newport in 1833, and preached his last sermon there in December, 1840. He was called to the First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, N. J., and preached his first sermon as pastor of that church in January, 1841, and left there in the fall of 1845. He died January 3d, 1865, and at that time be- longed to some Presbytery in Connecticut. He was twice married .- (Miss E. S. Dumont, Newport, Rhode Island).
As we descend in this list of worthy names, many hearts will grow warm with the motions of deep and grateful memories.
VII.
REV. JOHN AUGUSTUS LIDDELL. 1830-1834.
On September 14th, 1830, a call was issued to Rev. John A. Liddell to serve the church of Green- bush at a salary of $400. For forty-three years
JOHN A. LIDDELL. From a Daguerreotype.
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other congregations had been associated with this, but from that time this church has supported a minister and enjoyed regular Sabbath services.
The call was accepted and he was ordained and installed on the fourteenth of November, 1830. He was dismissed on the twenty-sixth of May, 1834, after three years and six months of a memorable and blessed ministry.
Mr. Liddell was born in Scotland in 1806, educated in the University of Glasgow and in the United College of St. Andrews, and came to America about the year 1828. From this church he went to Pat- erson, New Jersey, for four years, thence to Lodi, New York, for the next ten, and supplied Cicero, Stone House Plains and Franklin, near Newark, N. J., the following two years. He died October 18th, 1850, at Stone House Plains, in the forty- fourth year of his age-the youngest of your trans- lated ministers.
Mr. Liddell was a child of pious parents and of many prayers, and he passed into the kingdom he knew not when. Brethren who knew him well, write of him that he had qualities as a preacher which invested his pulpit utterances with more than ordinary power. His sermons were clear, evangeli- cal, pungent, forcible and simple. He lacked the attraction of an attractive exterior and a graceful action, yet no one could 'fail to be convinced that
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an earnest heart prompted his solemn accents. He was a "son of consolation," wise to win souls, and possessed the faculty of attaching to himself the people of his charge in a peculiar degree. The lambs of the flock were the special objeets of his attention, it is said, and that must be the reason why so many of us, who were little children when he was here, love the sound of his name and think we remember him. It was clear to all that his con- trolling motive was love for Christ and the souls of men. His appeals to the conscience were direct and faithful, awakening and impressive. There was a fervor and pathos in his manner that touched and melted hearts. His was the glowing ardor of one who stood between the living and the dead, and preached in view of the judgment. In life and death he bore ample testimony to the sustaining and controlling truths he preached. They say that his weakness-the one spot on this beautiful sun- was an over-sensitiveness. He shrunk from con- tliet and preferred to retire, when he should have stood his ground.
The second addition to the church building, some sixteen feet on the rear, was made in the year 1833.
The report of this church in 1832 speaks of a powerful revival, sixty-five persons having at that time made profession of faith; sixty-seven more were soon afterward added to the number. It was
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the divine seal of approval upon the people's zeal and devotion. The whole church seemed to share in the pastor's spirit. In April, 1831, the semi- annual sacrament of the Lord's Supper had been increased to quarterly, and twice in that year- January and August-Consistory had asked the congregation to set apart fifteen minutes each day, between the hours of eight and nine in the evening, for "special prayer for a blessing of divine grace to rest upon this congregation ;" and the " third Tues- day in September" was observed as a day of "fast- ing, humiliation and prayer." The parsonage, too, adjacent to the church, was builded that year. With the offering of their hearts the people of God had given their money to His cause, and no wonder that the witnessing skies opened wide for a rain of light and love. Some few yet linger among us who were rescued from sin in that precious day of mercy, to whom this man of God was an apostle indeed, and who can say in a better than the Corin- thian sense, "I am of Paul-John A. Liddell led me to Christ !"
Revival services appear to have been held during much of this year. The house was thronged, and great numbers who were at times unable to enter, gathered about the high windows in wagons, in their eagerness to see and hear. Farm work was urgent, but the people went to church. The lanes
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were sometimes almost impassable in the opening spring, but the thoroughly awakened people disre- garded them and went. It was so at your house and it was so at ours. A relative of our family says that in that great revival our father, not then a christian, used to get up the wagon every day, and though the mud was half as deep as the wheels, take us to church. Our mother, in those days of enforced economy, left her rising bread and went to church! In the loving faith of her mother- heart she trusted that we might learn to feed on hidden manna-the Bread " of which if a man eat, he shall live forever." If my heart would suffer me, I would draw aside a sacred household curtain for the honor of our mother and our God. During that memorable revival of 1832 she gathered her children about her-probably in that evening hour which had been set apart for prayer, and as we knelt with her she prayed. Never can we forget the awe that came upon us. She talked to some One out of our sight about herself and her husband and her children. In that twilight hour we felt another Presence, and knew that her heart was burdened. We know now that she was wrestling for us-travailing in pain for her children's second birth. Blessed mother! Blessed Christ ! “One generation shall praise thy works to another."
When Mr. Liddell felt it to be his duty to ask to
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be dismissed, the Consistory tenderly bade him farewell and Godspeed, and passed the resolution which has been quoted again and again, and which, though quaintly and inelegantly expressed, is fit to be the watchword of any church : "Resolved, That we unanimously unite with each other that no division be found among us !"
"Eendracht maakt macht."
NOTE .- Among some papers recently found in the possession of Mr. Liddell's only living son, I secured the following data: After coming to America he spent two years in the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick, N. J., graduating from that institution April 15th, 1830. On the fifteenth of June, the same year, he was licensed to preach by the Classis of New York. From his naturalization papers, we discover that he did not become a citizen of the United States of America until July 12th, 1841, when he received his papers from the Marine Court of the City of New York. Signed John Barberie, Clerk.
MADE CHAPLAIN.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, To All to Whom These Presents Shall Come :
KNOW YE, That pursuant to the Constitution and Laws of our said State, WE have appointed and constituted, and by these Presents do appoint and constitute John A. Liddell Chaplain of
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the 128th Regiment of Infantry of our said State (with rank from 30th of August, 1845), to hold the said office in the manner specified in and by our said Constitution and Laws.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, We have caused our Seal for Mili- tary Commissions to be hereunto affixed. Witness, SILAS WRIGHT, Esquire, Governor of our said State, General and Commander-in-Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of the same, at our City of Albany, the 25th day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-five. SILAS WRIGHT.
Passed the Adjutant-General's Office.
THOMAS FARRINGTON, Adjutant-General.
Mr. Liddell's body lies buried at Totowa (Pater- son), N. J. The fatal sickness was dysentery, and the duration of it only ten days. Mrs. Liddell died April 8th, 1872, aged sixty-six years and eight months. She was buried beside her husband. -(P. T. P.)
VIII.
REV. EDWARD P. STIMSON. 1834-1852.
There is less occasion as this record enters the latter half of the century that the historian should dwell upon men and their work among you, with which so many of you are familiar.
The call of the eighth pastor, Rev. Edward P. Stimson, was approved by Classis October 28th, 1834, and he was ordained and installed the follow- ing month, and dismissed in April, 1852. The semi-
E. P. STIMSON.
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centennial year of the church was the third of his ministry, but no commemorative services were held. His pastorate was the longest in the history of the church, and nearly twice the average duration. During his term-in April, 1836-the bell for the tower was purchased at a cost of $337.10. It was rung twice each day for the first six months, and once a day for the next five months, partly, I believe, to accommodate the school at the Academy, and partly, no doubt, on account of its novelty.
According to the Consistory's reports to Classis, ten families were added, during his ministry, to the congregation, and the number of communicants was increased from two hundred and thirty to three hundred and fifty-five, an average of seven addi- tions per year.
Mr. Talmage, in his published address at the lay- ing of the corner-stone of the new church edifice on the fifth of June, 1860, says: "Rev. Edward P. Stimson, the eighth pastor, left to take charge of a new enterprise at Castleton. During his long pas- torate of seventeen and a half years-some of them joyful, some sorrowful years-the following im- provements may be mentioned, viz .: the addition of the north wing to the parsonage, widening of the pulpit and pews, erecting the Consistory room, hearse-house and horse-sheds, providing the church bell and procuring the musical instrument to aid in
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your songs of praise. The whole was so managed as to leave the church without any burden of debt -affording pleasing evidence that this congrega- tion is willing, as well as able, when properly ap- proached, to furnish the requisite supplies for any needed improvement.
NOTES .-- On September 10th, 1841, the ladies were given permission to alter the pulpit as they saw fit.
Subscriptions amounting to $43.00 were secured October 3d, 1843, to build the hearse-house.
The horse-shed, between the church and the school house, was built in 1845, by Joseph Brock- way, at a cost of $200.
On October 14th, 1848, a Mr. Witt, agent of the Western Railroad Co., gave the Consistory $148.50.
On December 22d, 1852, thirteen persons re- ceived certificates from this church to unite with the newly-organized Reformed Church at Castleton, of which Mr. Stimson became the first pastor.
He is remembered by the people of East Green- bush as a man of splendid physique, of very unusual executive abilities, and as having decided gifts as a preacher. He continued to exercise the office of a minister until 1861, after which he lived in quiet retirement at Castleton, and died there in 1876, in the seventy-first year of his age. His body rests in the cemetery at Castleton .- (P. T. P.)
JAMES R. TALMAGE.
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IX.
REV. JAMES R. TALMAGE.
1852-1860.
Rev. Mr. Talmage commenced his labors Octo- ber 1st, 1852, and concluded them February 1st, 1860, serving a little over seven years.
His ministry reached the period of seven years and four months. He was licensed in 1829, and preached successively at Pottsville, Pa., Jersey City, Pompton Plains, Blawenburgh, Athens, Brook- lyn, Greenbush, Chittenango, Warwarsing and Wilt- wick. He " ceased at once to work and live," and left behind him multitudes to thank God that they ever knew him, and to mourn his departure. His widow, whom also you loved and revered, sur- vives.
Accepting a call to Chittenango, Mr. Talmage kindly consented to give his influence to the project for a new church edifice, and in a few days pro- cured $5,000 in subscriptions, assuring success, and in the same year this second "house of prayer " was erected, at a cost, some say, of $8,000. The first reports to Classis of the "Religious and Benevo- lent contributions" of this church were made by Mr. Talmage, beginning with the year 1854.
Rev. Dr. Goyn Talmage, his brother, sends us the following affectionate tribute to his memory :
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PORT JERVIS, N. Y., Nov. 15, 1887.
Rev. J. F. Yates :
DEAR BROTHER :- You have requested me, either personally or by letter, to represent my brother, Rev. James R. Talmage, at the one hundredth anniversary of the East Greenbush Reformed Church. As I am providentially prevented from participating in the very interesting services of the occasion, I will avail myself of the opportunity of writing a few words of him who served in the pastorate of that church from 1852 to 1860.
Were I to attempt a full portrayal of the excellent qualities and life of James R. Talmage, the article would be regarded an exaggeration, except by those who were intimately associated with him as personal friends, or as his parishioners. All who were brought in close contact with him in the different Classes to which he belonged, and the congregations he served, will heartily endorse what I am about to write.
Dr. James R. Talmage was singularly pure in his life and con- versation. He kept his heart so carefully that it was manifest his conduct was shaped and his words spoken as under the Divine eye, and with a view to the Divine approval. While he was a cheerful companion, and enjoyed and contributed to the enjoyment of social life, yet he never forgot for a moment, or failed to impress others, that he was a christian.
As a preacher of the Gospel he held forth the word of truth with more than ordinary ability and with peculiar painstaking. Maintaining all through his ministry the study of the Scriptures in their original languages, he endeavored to give the mind of the Spirit in those portions which he brought to the pulpit for exposition. His sermons were rich in doctrine and highly prac- tical. They were prepared with exceeding care, with depend- ence upon the Holy Spirit for guidance. He seldom left a text until he brought out about all there was in it. Nothing worried him so much as to be compelled from force of circumstances to bring unbeaten oil to the service of the sanctuary. His hearers could not but acknowledge that they had opportunity of being
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built up in the things of the Kingdom. His pastoral work out of the pulpit was faithfully and prayerfully performed. He felt the burden of souls upon him, and for more than fifty years ceased not publicly and from house to house to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
Possessed of an exceedingly humble and modest spirit, he was absolutely without ambition for prominence, and even shrunk from positions to which his brethren thought he was entitled, and where his usefulness would be greatly enlarged. By reason of the meekness of his spirit, his real worth and force of charac- ter were but little known beyond the immediate neighborhoods where his ministry was exercised; but his spiritual mindedness, and christian example, and patient toil for souls, rendered his work faithful in every place where his Master sent him. The impression he made on his people was, that he was Christlike in temper and life, and therefore a pattern to be followed. He was extremely careful of the reputation of his ministerial brethren, and being himself devoid of envy, always rejoiced in their pro- motion to honor and usefulness. He manifested less resentment than any man with whom I have had association, with a single exception. When suffering wrongfully he never upbraided, but sought to excuse the wrong-doer by pointing out the palliating circumstances with which the mistake had originated.
He had three brothers (all yet living), who at various periods followed him in the holy office, to all of whom he was exceed- ingly helpful. They all recognize their deep indebtedness to him, and thank God to-day that in their early ministry they had before them such a striking example of pastoral devotion and faithfulness, and do not hesitate to acknowledge that any measure of success they may have attained, they owe in no small degree, under God, to their elder brother, now gone to his eternal reward.
A whole generation has passed away since James Talmage came to minister to the congregation at East Greenbush, but there are doubtless not a few of the fathers and mothers still
[9]
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remaining there who talk of him to their children and hold his life among them in fresh and precious and grateful remem- brance.
May this review of the history of your church, calling up afresh the faithfulness of God to its pastors and people for one hundred years, be fruitful in rich spiritual blessings to all whose privilege it shall be to join in the jubilee.
Faithfully yours,
GOYN TALMAGE.
NOTE .- The three brothers referred to in the above letter were (1) Rev. John V. N. Talmage, D.D., who has spent the most of his life since 1847 in the mission field at Amoy, China, but is now living at Bound Brook, N. J., in feeble health ; (2) Rev. Goyn Talmage, D.D., the writer of the letter, who died suddenly at Somerville, N. J., June 24th, 1891, in the seventieth year of his age ; and (3) Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, D.D., of Brook- lyn, N. Y., whose name and fame are world-wide.
Items of Record .- On February 1st, 1853, the Classis tried to settle the boundary line between Castleton and East Greenbush congregations by suggesting that it be a straight line running from the north part of the farm of Joachim Staats, on the Hudson river, to the farm of Mr. Warden, on the turnpike. This was opposed by Rev. Mr. Tal- mage as improper and unjust. The final agreement is not recorded.
In 1855 two acres of land were purchased from
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Walter Morrison for a burying ground. The price paid was $400, and enough to cancel the ground rent. The next year a fence was built around it at a cost of $100.
A resolution was passed by Consistory Septem- ber 2d, 1859, that funds be raised to clear the brambles from the burial ground.
In the winter of 1859 and '60 the question of building a new church was earnestly agitated. On January 6th, 1860, David Rector was appointed to ascertain the prospects of purchasing the Acad- emy grounds.
On January 10th a congregational meeting was held to consider the proposition of building a church. Of this meeting the Rev. James R. Tal- mage said, at the laying of the corner-stone on June 5th, 1860: "Who of us can forget that memorable Tuesday in January last, when, assembled in the old church, after a spirited dis- cussion, in which invited friends kindly and might- ily assisted us, it was resolved that we must have a new church, and that as soon as five thousand dol- lars were secured, the building committee should proceed ? And who that was present on the follow- ing Sabbath can forget the joyfulness of the people, when the chairman of the subscription committee announced from the desk that the required amount was secured ? The good work has been going on
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steadily. I have not been present to witness the steps, but sure I am that it has been going on ; there are convincing proofs-huge piles of weighty arguments all around us. May God continue to smile upon the enterprise, bringing it to a success- ful issue. He will-He will, only mind, looking to the hills whence help cometh, to lift each one ac- cording to his ability, lifting together, and con - tinuing to lift with good courage, and every muscle strecthed, until the topmost stone is laid. Amen."
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