USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > Lives of the clergy of New York and Brooklyn: embracing two hundred biographies of eminent living men in all denominations. Also, the history of each sect and congregation, Pt. 1 > Part 9
USA > New York > New York City > Lives of the clergy of New York and Brooklyn: embracing two hundred biographies of eminent living men in all denominations. Also, the history of each sect and congregation, Pt. 1 > Part 9
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
"The abused or perverted self is but an egotism of idolatry and selfishness. It is the ripe fruit of human depravity, the motive to every injustiee, the symbol of all unfairness and oppression. This self is its own god ; on its unhallowed altar the whole world is not too much to burn. What outrage, what eruelty, what Heaven-provoking erime has not been committed under the low inspiration of serv- ing self !
"On the other hand, the true idea of self, with which alone we wish to deal, is quite another thing. This is a living name for the entire estate which God has given us-God's acres in man's soul-bestowed upon each other with this one con- dition and charge : 'Oecupy till I come.' It is something to come in possession of a farm, of which the improvement must depend upon our industry. Around the homestead are spread out acres upon aeres in extent, meadow and pasture, marsh, river and wood. It is surely no sinecure to make the most of all these. But it is vastly more to be put in charge of one's own soul, to dress it and to keep it! The trusteeship of intelligence, and sensibility, and volition of all the risks and all the hopes of an immortal mind-this is ineomparably the heaviest of all eommissions.
"But sueh is the self whose eare and culture is now our study. It is that mys- terious world of thought and feeling which is at once pent up and boundless. Its sphere is within the chambers of the brain ; its outgoings, its visions, aeeept no boundaries. I speak of a gift which is no prerogative of kings or of seholars ; it knows no distinction by easte ; it is indifferent to wealth or poverty. It is the com- mon heritage of man. Like the unfeneed prairie, it touches the air and drinks the dew of heavenly eontaet, with nothing to come between.
"I mean this conscious portraiture of Deity which I earry in my bosom; alas! how marred and strangely blurred, as by the stroke of some rude hand, yet still the image of God. Within the limits of this self what powers I diseover of desire, of responsibility, of love, of hate, 'of acquisition, and of godlike beneficence. What uprisings of impulse are here. What ambitions strike their roots within this bosom ! And how deeply eonseious is this soul of its Creator's eare and respeet ! How lavish has He been in means of enriching and cultivating it!
" This selt is a gift which we all receive -- a domain which we are bound to oecupy. To fail of this is to ineur the doom of the miserable man in the parable, who hid his talent in the earth: 'Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer dark- ness.'
"It is after this interior wealth of character that St. Paul is reaching, when he charges his son Timothy to 'stir up the gift of God which is in him.' He is feel- ing for the sinews of strength in the soul of his young diseiple. He reminds him of his pious aneestry. He seeks to make him conscious of spiritual endowments which he receives by the grace of God in connection with his ordination. These gifts and endowments he is to stir up. The figure is that of fire whose dull embers are to be stirred together and blown into a flame. It is as if he had said, 'God has done mueh for you, son Timothy; search for that interior wealth of grace and mental gifts which He has hidden in your bosom; cultivate these; force them up to their highest development, and so make the most of yourself, for your race, and for your divine Master.'
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REV. FREDERICK G. CLARK, D. D.
"There is a splendid gift of God in every rational soul, however humble it may be. This gitt includes all our endowments, whether spiritual or intellectual-what- ever we find ourselves possessed of, which may be used for man's good or God's glory. This gift, this power of usefulness, this possibility of development, how- ever latent at present, is one talent which we must improve, and at last return with usury."
Dr. Clark is about the average height, and well proportioned. He looks younger than his years, and gives, in every respect, full evi- dence of being a man of clear-sightedness and great vigor of pur- pose. His head is not large, but it has prominent, intellectual char- acteristics, and his face is particularly beaming with intelligence and amiability. His manners are courtcous, and his blandness at once removes all restraints, even with the utmost stranger. He talks quietly, generally with a great deal of cheerfulness of tone, and in a manner which always serves to interest. You find that while he is a person greatly absorbed in his religious duties, he is likewise a critical observer in the world, and has the most sound and practical opinions on all current subjects. Close attachments are formed with him, for he is a man of a noble, pious, consistent life, and one whose conversation and deportment are not less fascinating than useful.
Dr. Clark is equally acceptable as a preacher. There is nothing sensational in his style; but, on the contrary, he leans to the most rigid models of pulpit propriety to be found in the earlier and stricter periods of the Church. With him everything is done " decently and in order," with a profound appreciation of the time, place, and his duties, and with a purpose single to the expounding of the Gospel. His sermons are written with clearness and pointed- ness, and with much scholarly tinish ; but there is not a word which is given for a display of rhetoric or of oratory. He speaks well, with ease, and graceful and timely gestures; but this, too, is done with solemnity, mingled with an ever apparent personal modesty. His mode of discussing a subject always shows matured and original thought.
Dr. Clark is certainly one of the most substantial men in the Presbyterian pulpit. His gifted and devout mind, and clear com- mon sense, give him great power as a preacher ; and his extended career has added to these an experience which is fruitful of good to all with whom he comes in contact.
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REV. NATHANIEL W. CONKLING, PASTOR OF RUTGERS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
EV. NATHANIEL W. CONKLING was born in Coshoc ton county, Ohio, December 21st, 1835. He is the son of the Rev. Nathaniel Conkling, an Old School Presby- terian clergyman, well known in New Jersey and Ohio, and his early studies were in those States. He was graduated at the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, and in theology at the Western Theological Seminary, at Alleghany, Penn. In the autumn of 1861, he was ordained and installed as the pastor of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, were he remained a year and a half, and then went to the Areh Street Presbyterian Church, in the same city, where he officiated for five years. He next ac- cepted a call to Rutgers Presbyterian Church, corner of Madison avenue and Twenty-ninth streeet, New York, where he was installed on the first Sunday in February, 1868.
The present Rutgers Church is a union of the former Rutgers street Church and the Madison avenue Presbyterian Church. The Rutgers street Church was founded in 1798, being the third Presby- terian congregation of New York, and with the Wall street, (Dr. Phillips,) and the Briek church, (Dr. Spring,) formed the three colle- giate Presbyterian churches of the city. These churches became in- dependent in 1809. The pastors of the Rutgers street Church were the Rev. Dr. Milledoler, Rev. Dr. Mcclellan, Rev. Dr. Thomas Mc- Cauley, and Rev. Dr. Krebs. The ground on which the first edifice of the Rutgers congregation was erected was a gift to them by the late Henry Rutgers. In 1841 a new church edifice was ereeted at a cost of forty thousand dollars, which in its day was regarded as one of the finest buildings in New York. The church, with its organ and fixtures, and the parsonage, were sold to the Methodists for an amount much less than their value, who sold them to the Catholics for the sum of forty-six thousand dollars. It is now known as the
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REV. NATHANIEL W. CONKLING.
church of St. Theresa, and is attended by a very numerous congrega tion.
Dr. Krebs received a call to the Madison avenue congregation, which he declined. An engagement was made, however, by which the Rutgers street congregation united with the Madison avenue in the occupancy of the church of the latter. This is the building which was ereeted by Mr. James Lenox, and is held by the trustees for the free use of a congregation of the Presbyterian faith. Both congregations preserved their own organization, and Dr. Krebs held the united pastorship. He was in ill-health for several years, and at length died from softening of the brain. Since that time the two congregations have adopted the title of the Rutgers Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Conkling was called to the pastorship. Under the charge of Mr. Conkling the church is again growing in numbers, and promises to have in the future some of the importance and influence which belonged to the Rutgers street congregation in former days. In 1873 the church building was enlarged and improved.
Mr. Conkling is of the medium height and well-built. His head is in excellent proportion to his body, and the features are regular, with not much that is specially striking about them. In fact, his head and face are those ordinarily seen in most intelligent men, and there is nothing in them to denote that he has any special quali- fications beyond this. The brow is not high, but it is quite brond; the eyes are small and deep-set ; the nose and mouth are well molded, and the expression of the whole is that of an amiable, good man. His manners are courteous and agreeable. He is easy and graceful in all his movements, and has a ready and cheerful flow of conversation. Withal there is a great deal of genuine modesty about his deportment, which, while it is not like diffidence, shows that he has great regard for clerical dignity and propriety. He is a lover of study, and has deep religious convictions. His mental perceptions are very clear and comprehensive, and his investigations are always of the most thorough character. Hence his mind is richly stored, and is particularly profound on the topics which most relate to his religious doctrines. He is not one to make any undue display of learning, and, in truth, he is rather inclined to be secretive of it from very fear of being thought pedantic. When it is called for, however, in the discharge of his clerical functions, he is found to be one of the safest reasoners in his church. At the same time his views have a newness and originality which is quite captivating.
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REV. NATHANIEL W. CONKLING.
Such a teacher and preacher as this must make his mark wherever he goes. And it has been a circumstance often commented upon, that the congregations over which Mr. Conkling has presided were made, by his style of preaching and exposition of the Scriptures, a thinking and clear-headed body of believers. They were not found groping in the dark in regard to their doctrines, nor were they to be changed by any new notions of the hour. Looking to him for intellectual light they were sure to receive it; and following his teachings, they were not only faithful to religious principles, but understood them in their origin and application.
Mr. Conkling has very agreeable manners in the pulpit. He is composed and self-possessed, but without the slightest sign of any- thing that is consequential. He is gifted and earnest in prayer, reads the psalms and hymns with distinctness and fervor, and preaches his sermon with dignity and grace of deportment, and in a fluent argu- mentative style of address. There is nothing in either manners or matter to cause special remark as being singular and personal to himself, but there is everything to interest and inform the serious- minded hearer. He treats religious subjects from a purely spiritual standpoint, and he makes the services of the house of God serious and solemnly impressive. There is no parade of his own views, no assumption of personal authority in announcing the religious and the moral law, and no effort to so impress the auditor that the after re- membrance will be more of the actions and utterances of the preacher rather than simply the memory of a profitable season of public wor- ship. On the contrary he shrinks away, and seems humble and as nothing in the presence of his responsibilities as a teacher of the Scriptures and a religious guide for men. His confidence comes from the truths which he utters, and his fluency is the ardor of faith. Ilis voice has pleasant modulations, and in passages of an emotional character becomes very tender and touching. His gestures are all well timed and expressive. From these characteristics it is to be seen that Mr. Conkling is one of the best models of the dignified, consistent clergyman of the day. In all his walks, and in his public ministrations, he looks strictly to the honor and dignity of his calling, and to the persistent discharge of his duties in the manner which will best accomplish fruits of immortal souls. The display of personal talents, and an ambitious seeking of positions and emoluments, give place to a studious private life and an humble public one.
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REV. THOMAS K. CONRAD, D. D.,
ASSISTANT RECTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE HEAVENLY REST (EPISCOPAL), NEW YORK.
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EV. DR. THOMAS K. CONRAD was born in the city of Philadelphia, January 19th, 1836. He is a nephew of Judge Conrad, a distinguished man in law and literature. His early academic studies were pursued in his native place, and he graduated at the University of Pennsylvania in 1855. Having determined to prepare for the Episcopal minis- try, he entered upon a course of private theological study with the late Bishop Alonzo Potter, of Pennsylvania. He was made deacon May 24th, 1857, at St. Philip's Church, Philadelphia, by Bishop Potter, and priest January 19th, 1860, at St. Mark's Church, Phila- delphia, by the same bishop. A few months after his admission to deacon's orders, he commenced to officiate as rector of the Church of All Saints, Philadelphia. This was November 1st, 1857, and he continued with the parish until 1859. At this latter period his attention had been turned to the want of another Episcopal church in Germantown, and during 1859 his efforts resulted in the erection of Calvary Church in that place. He was called as the rector, and thus remained for about four years, until 1863. IIe next received a call to St. John's Church, Clifton, Staten Island, N. Y., a wealthy and important parish, where he officiated with great zeal for nearly four years. After the resignation of this rectorship, he did not accept another immediately, but employed himself in giving occasional as- sistance to the Rev. Dr. Robert S. Howland, at the Church of the Holy Apostles, Ninth Avenue, New York.
This pastoral association led to an important religious movement in another field. Dr. Conrad very much desired to go into one of the fine up-town neighborhoods and establish a new Episcopal church. In this purpose he was very much encouraged by Dr. Howland, who also expressed a desire to aid such an undertaking with pecuniary
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Sincerely Yours This: ~ Conrade 1.
REV THOMAS K. CONRAD, D. D.
means of his own. As an experiment, a chapel-service was com. meneed at Rutgers Female College, in Fifth avenue, both Dr. How- land and Dr. Conrad officiating. These services were a signal suc- cess. Very soon a new parish, under the name of the Church of the Heavenly Rest, was organized, and steps taken for the erection of an edifice for public worship. The parish was organized May 18th, 1868, and is already large in the numbers, and influential in the character of its members. Dr. Howland is the senior rector, and Dr. Conrad is assistant, having the principal charge.
Arrangements were made to build the church in connection with other elegant and costly improvements, which were to be carried out for Dr. Howland on property belonging to him on Fifth avenue and Forty-fifth street. The visitor to this magnificent portion of the city will observe that the main church building has been erected in the rear of several lots, while the larger half of the front portion on Fifth avenue, and on Forty-fifth street is occupied by first-class resi- dences. A space on Fifth avenue between the houses, is occupied by the front of the church, which is not of the width of the main structure, but is uniform with the other buildings, and has a very tasteful architectural effect. Altogether the design, though new and of the most practical character, is harmonious and elegant, and does not in any manner detract from the merits of the church as an im- posing publie building. Nothing has been lost in the necessary dimensions, which are about one hundred feet in width, and one hundred and thirty-five in length, and, as completed, the building will seat about one thousand people. The interior is very beautiful. It is elaborate and costly, and shows the highest architectural and artistie taste. The pews and other fittings are in solid wood, and the chaneel has one of the most magnificent pieces of wood- carving to be seen in the United States. All the pillars are of polished variegated marble, and very expensive. The stained win- dows, and the painting of the walls and arches, show beautiful ar- tistic effeets. The reading desk is a pedestal with a spread eagle in brass, and the pulpit is a fine specimen of workmanship. The font is richly sculptured, and was presented by some of Dr. Conrad's friends in St. John's parish, Staten Island. This interior, taken as a whole or in detail, will bear the most critical examination. Turn where you will you are deeply impressed with its taste and beauty, and entire harmony with the sacred character of the edifice. The expenditure on this property amounts to more than two hundred
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REV. THOMAS K. CONRAD, D. D.
thousand dollars. The first public services were held in the new building in February, 1869, and regular services are now held twice each Sabbath.
Dr. Conrad received his degree of D. D., from Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg in 1868. He has published various occa- sional sermons by request.
He is tall, well-proportioned, and erect. His head is large, and of an oblong shape, with a large face. All the features are massive and prominent, but they are as finely molded as in a inore delicate cast of countenance. The forehead is full, broad, and high ; the eyes are large, oval-shaped, and clear; the nose is Roman, and the mouth is handsome and expressive. It is an intellectual and a man- ly face in the fullest sense. You see in it mental vigor, ambition, energy, and feeling.
His thoughts and acts have scope, meaning, and force, combined with an originality and individuality which are unmistakably his own. He is not a meek, but a proud man; but his pride is in a self- reliance which he always feels and displays; in an earnestness of mind and purpose which proves itself in its works, and in an ambi- tion which seeks not less moral excellence, than it does personal exaltation. He is a calm reasoner as to causes and effects, and as to forces and obstacles, and when he moves h: is sharp and effective, but it is calculation and not impulse. He is far-seeing, determined, and courageous. ITis natural qualities all fit him for positions of responsibility, and to be a leader rather than a follower among men.
Nature in man shows its defects and weaknesses. Like Pope, the greatest are sometimes the meanest. Brilliant talents, all-power- ful energy, and soaring ambition are often mningled with the most ignoble attributes of character. The evidence of genius is neither the evidence of truth nor of morality. We must look behind the blaze of talents for the true and noble man. Give him all greatness of mind, and the credit of all success in life's achievements, and still we know him not. He must be brought to the moral and man- hood test, and he must stand it, or he is like gold which the fire proves to be dross. Every publie character, and especially every minister of the gospel, should be brought to this test before the honors of fame are awarded to him.
. The gentlemanly manners, and the frank, manly speech of Dr. Conrad, are significant in this closer analysis which we propose. Without affectation of courtliness or dignity, he excels in both; and
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REV. THOMAS K. CONRAD, D. D.
while he is ever so much practiced in etiquette, there is a graceful- ness and naturalness in it that prove it to be nature and not acting. Then his sentiments are free-spoken-they bear the impress of the heart, and they reflect the upright and noble character. He has no disguises : in fact, the only impulsiveness he has about him is in his opinions. Sensitive, ardent, and fearless, he is never uncertain as to his views: nor does he hesitate to make them known. But he never wounds and never repels you even when he differs from you. He is gentlemanly, consistent and respectful in all things and at all times, and you are irresistibly impressed with this fact.
In the pulpit, you obtain a clear insight into his moral and reli- gious character. His sermons are aglow with feeling and strong in power of thought, and grasp of the mind. It is not superficial feeling or thought, but it is the genuine flow of the heart. He knows his own duty, and he tells you yours; he points out the agencies which make him bolder and better for his own struggle, and he inspires you with his own desires, hopes, and faith. He stands the champion of his own church, and of her teachings in the great matters of doctrine, and in all the rules of morals, and he bends the whole force of his nature, and the whole ardor of his convictions to do this work faithfully and effectively. He is keenly sensitive to failure, and he is justly proud of success, and hence all his duties show thorough sincerity and heartiness of effort. This is fully apparent in his sermons. They are written and delivered with care, and with a practical view to satisfactory results. His voice is smooth and powerful, and his manners are dignified and effective. With large resources of mind, great fixedness and purity of charac- ter, Dr. Conrad must be regarded, in the pulpit and in the other labors of the ministry, as one of the most brilliant and valuable members of the clerical profession at the present time.
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THE
REV. SAMUEL COOKE, D.D.,
RECTOR OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, NEW YORK.
EV. DR. SAMUEL COOKE was born at Danbury, Con- necticut, August 5th, 1815. His father was Judge D. B. Cooke, and his grandfather, Hon. Joseph P. Cooke, was a member of the Continental Congress, and considered in his day one of the most prominent men in Connecticut. Judge Cooke was a strict Presbyterian, and his son was seldom allowed to enter the churches of other denominations. At the age of sixteen the young man was sent to the village of Walden, New York, where his brother was engaged in a large manufacturing business. While here he gave evidence of a decided literary ability, which was coupled with excellent oratorical powers. He spent much of his time in study, and repeatedly received invitations to deliver lectures and Fourth of July orations in the leading towns of Orange County. He became a communicant of the Episcopal Church, and. having determined to prepare for the ministry, in the year 1835 en- tered the Episcopal Theological Seminary. He was graduated in 1838, and received calls to various positions in the churches, all of which he declined. Shortly after his ordination as deacon, being in delicate health, he made a tour through Western New York. During this trip he chanced to be at the village of Lyons, on a Sabbath, where there were a few Episcopalians but no church. When about leaving the place for Geneva, he accepted an invitation to remain and preach, the ministers of two churches having kindly offered their pulpits. He preached twice, and with great acceptability. A few days later, he was informed that six thousand dollars had been raised towards building an Episcopal church in the village, on condition that he ac- cepted the rectorship, and that a salary of eight hundred dollars was also subscribed. He felt it his duty to accept the call.
After his marriage with Miss Emma Walden, daughter of Jacob T. Walden, formerly of New York, and founder of the village of
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Mer sincerely yours. Sammel Cookie.
REV. SAMUEL COOKE, D. D.
Walden, he removed to Lyons, and held services in the Court House while his church was in process of erection. He resided in Lyons for a period of five years, when he was called to the finest church in Western New York, situated at Geneva. The church built in Lyons cost twelve thousand dollars, and the original number of communi- cants was only six ; but during the five years the debt was entirely paid, and the communicants increased to between one and two hun- dred. Soon after settling at Geneva, Dr. Cooke was elected one of the trustees of Hobart College, located in the town.
" The Great Hand," says a statement, " which had hitherto directed his efforts, did not destine him long to remain in his beautiful western home. One Sunday, feeling that he needed rest, he applied to several ยท rectors of neighboring parishes to exchange duties with him for the day ; but, strange to say, he was unable to succeed in his wish. Every one to whom he applied was either detained at home by official duties, or did not desire to leave his church for that Sunday. Thus, contrary to his earnest wish, he was obliged to remain at home. Truly 'man proposes, but God disposes.' That very day a committee of gentle- men attended service in the church, and at its close tendered him a call to the newly organized parish of St. Paul's Church, New Haven. Visiting the new field of duty to which he seemed thus directly called by God, and satisfied that here was an opportunity for advancing his Master's kingdom, after two years' residence in Geneva, during which time the church under his charge had greatly prospered, he removed to New Haven."
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