USA > New York > New York and its institutions, 1609-1871. A library of information, pertaining to the great metropolis, past and present > Part 10
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SUCCESS OF GREAT MEN.
ing his entire effects in a pocket handkerchief. They are eminently deserving of all the credit the world is disposed to accord them. To their comprehensive genius we are indebted for the facilities of our world-wide commerce, the roar and rush of our long-drawn railroads, the speed and magnificence of our river, lake, and ocean steamers, the number and magnitude of our manufactories and printing- presses, the stability of our national finances, and the found- ing of many of our great educational, benevolent, and religious establishments. Many of them have been at times severely criticised, because of their relations to commerce, banks, railroad stocks, etc .; and without attempting an apology for any of them, we only remark, that without their genius and money, their critics would have plodded the moors on foot, and died in profound ignorance of many of the comforts of this age.
Some of these men have not been personally religious, though most of them have shown a deference for sacred things. Starting with a purpose to win by diligence, fru- gality, and integrity, they have unflinchingly held to first principles, and demonstrated that honesty is beyond all ques- tion the best policy. One of the first representatives of this class among New York merchants is Alexander T. Stewart. Born in a humble home in Ireland, he early immigrated to New York, and at length opened a small store on Broadway, near Chambers street, doing all his own work, and toiling six- teen hours per day. His wife lived in a single room over the store, doing all her own work. Forced to raise money to meet his engagements or speedily become a bankrupt, to which he would not consent, he filled the neighborhood with handbills offering his goods at cost. His stock was soon sold, and as its quality was unsurpassed, his reputation was estab- lished. His noble resolve to sacrifice his goods and pay his debts was the key to his later success and world-wide fame. At the age of eighty years, and among the largest and richest merchants of the world, he attends to the minutest matters
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
of his business, never leaving the store at night until the last stroke of the pen is made, and everything adjusted.
Among the steamboat and railroad men of Manhattan, we could scarcely select a fitter representative than Cornelius Vanderbilt. A penniless youth, he began his marvelous career by paddling his own canoe between Staten Island and New York, from which he soon rose to the captaincy of a North-river steamboat. Some years later he commenced running opposition with half the old lines of travel leading to New York, at first with chartered, but finally with pur- chased and well-constructed boats. From steamboat lines he advanced to the control of railroads, and is likely to. die the acknowledged railroad king of the western continent. Whatever may be said of his bargains, his business has throughout been conducted on the cash system, paying every man the precise sum promised without any delay. He is now over eighty years of age, and lives in a plain brick dwelling with his second wife, to whom he was recently married.
Another class of successful New Yorkers began life reli- giously, or became so quite early in their business career. While these have been quite as active and powerful in extending commerce, building railroads, and developing the city, as those above mentioned, they have also formed the pillars in the churches, and have sent out their money in waves of blessedness to gladden the desolate plains of the whole world.
John Jacob Astor was an elder in the Lutheran church, and gave freely to many charitable enterprises. He was the wealthiest man in America at his death. His son, William B. Astor, is not only one of the richest, but one of the safest business men in New York, investing his enormous income almost wholly in real estate. With twice the wealth of his father, he has less than half his liberality. He is, however, an honest man, and an honorable landlord. His income-tax during 1870 exceeded that paid by the whole State of Ver-
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SUCCESS OF GREAT MEN.
mont. Among the wealthy iron merchants of New York, no man has run a more useful and brilliant career than William W. Cornell. Beginning life in the city a penniless boy at the anvil, he not only consecrated to God his heart, but his money, giving half of the first hundred dollars he was allowed to call his own to the missionary cause. Possess- ing a vigorous and well-balanced mind, he early rose from obscurity, making his business a power which brought him in contact with the leading men of the metropolis. While pressing with marvellous capacity an immense busi- ness, he found time for wide religious labors, identifying his name and money with every struggling enterprise of his denomination, and fell in middle life, ripe in every good work, and universally lamented by all who knew him. Of Daniel Drew, William E. Dodge, James Lennox, Andrew V. Stout, Robert L. Stewart, H. J. Baker, William A. Booth, A. R. Wetmore, and many others, we cannot particularly speak. They not only rank among the most successful men in busi- ness, but are among the most honored and generous .in their respective denominations. May they long live and prosper, reaping many a golden harvest for Christ and humanity, demonstrating that integrity, benevolence, and genuine piety may have their finest development in the rush and whirl of the metropolis. We conclude this chapter by adding that while it is true that the chances of failure are more numerous, and the trials of principle more severe than in a smaller town, the metropolis still affords to true, energetic, and well-balanced men the richest field for the development of all their noblest faculties, and for the accu- mulation of great wealth. But any young man hoping for great success in New York must expect to toil harder, live closer, and die earlier, after bearing through life an im- Inensely greater strain, both of head and heart, than in any other portion of the American continent.
VI.
THE CHURCHES OF NEW YORK.
REFORMED DUTCH-PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL-LUTHERAN-PRESBYTE- RIAN-BAPTIST-METHODIST-JEWS-ROMAN CATHOLIC-OTHER DENOMINATIONS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.
HE early religious history of Manhattan 2 presents many interesting reminiscences, which for want of space we cannot minutely present. Intolerance and persecution we Hu are, however, sorry to say, existed, in those good old days of " simplicity and sunshine." The troublesome doctrine of uniformity long retarded the genuine religious development of the people. The first Quaker preacher landed in 1656, but finding it unsafe for one of his faith and habits, departed unceremoniously. In 1707 a Presbyterian clergyman was arrested and compelled to pay the cost of an expensive suit, for preaching in a pri- vate house, and baptizing a child. In 1709, a Baptist minis- ter was imprisoned three months for presuming to preach in the city without permission from the authorities. The Jews were long denied the privilege of worship, and a law was passed, though never enforced, for hanging every Catholic priest who should voluntarily enter the city. These preju- dices, however, early passed away.
1
REFORMED DUTCH.
The island being at first settled by the Hollanders, it was but natural that the Dutch church should long have the pre-
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REFORMED DUTCH
cedency. A church organization was effected in 1626, and there are regular records since 1639. In 1642, a stone church
THE OLD DUTCH CHURCH, FULTON STREET, CORNER WILLIAM. ( In which originated and are now held the Fulton-street noon prayer-meetings.)
edifice was erected in the southeast corner of the 'fort at Bowling Green: The building was 70 by 52 feet, 16 feet high, and cost 2,500 guilders. It stood 99 years, and was then destroyed by fire. In 1693, the Garden street Dutch
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
church was erected, and in 1729 the Middle Dutch church, used since 1844 as the New York Post Office. It was in this church that the zealous Dutch submitted after much excite- ment and discussion to the introduction of preaching in the English language, to save their young people, who were flock- ing to the English churches. The first sermon in English was preached by the Rev. Dr. Laidlie, on the afternoon of the last Sabbath in March, 1764, the innovation being such a novelty that the building and its windows were packed beyond all description. This occurred just one hundred years after the introduction of the English government and language. The North Dutch church was the next erected, on the corner of what is now William and Fulton streets. The land now valued at $300,000 was donated by John Harpending ; the corner-stone was laid July 2d, 1767, and the house dedicated May 25th, 1769. The structure is of stone, 100 feet long by 70 wide, with a lofty steeple, and cost nearly twelve thousand pounds. It was in this venerable edifice that the far-famed Fulton-street daily prayer-meeting, characterized by unusual catholicity, fervent spontaneity, and the devout and pente- costal mingling of strangers, originated in September, 1857. Here it still continues. The Reformed Dutch have now 25 churches and chapels on the island, many of which are large and well attended, but their paucity indicates that this excel- lent denomination, first on the soil, has not been very aggres- sive.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL.
On the surrender of Manhattan to the English in 1664, the haughty conquerors not only took possession of the fort, but of the church also, and forthwith introduced the Episcopal service, changing the name of the building. to King's Chapel.
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PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL.
The service of the church of England was conducted here until the dedication of the first Trinity in February, 1697. This building, which stood on the site of the present Trinity, was a small, square edifice, and after being twice enlarged, was destroyed by the great conflagration of 1776. It was re- built in 1788, pulled down in 1840, and the present magnifi- cent structure completed and opened for worship, May 21st, 1846. It is solid New Jersey brown-stone from foundation to spire, except the roof, which is wood. The edifice, which is in the Gothic order, is 192 feet long and 80 feet wide, the side walls rising fifty feet. The spire stretches upward to . the lofty altitude of 284 feet, up the winding stairs of which hundreds ascend daily 308 steps (250 feet) to the tower, where they obtain a magnificent view of the city, and its im- mediate surroundings. The chimes of Trinity are surpassed by few bells in the world. Trinity was endowed by Queen Anne, and came into possession of a large farm owned by a Dutch woman named Anneke Jans, which now covers a large portion of the city. Trinity is the mother of Episcopal churches in America. It is the richest religious corporation on the continent, its property, mostly in city real estate, being valued at forty or fifty millions. Many of the streets of New York bear the names of her rectors and vestrymen.
The plan of a collegiate charge was early adopted by the Dutch and Episcopal churches of New York, and still con- tinues to a limited extent. St. Paul's, situated on Broadway, between Fulton and Vesey streets, a fine structure of reddish gray-stone, was opened for dedication October 30th, 1766. St. Johns, on Varick street, was erected in 1807, at a cost of over- two hundred thousand dollars, and St. George's was dedicated July 1st, 1752. All these were under the Trinity parish, though the last-named has since become a separate corporation.
The Episcopalians of New York are a vigorous and bener- olent body, forming really the strength of the denomination in the country, supporting numerous benevolent institutions,
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
and paying annually large sums to maintain feeble parishes, scattered over the interior of the State. Their churches and chapels (94 in all) outnumber those of any other denomina- tion on the island. They have been exceedingly happy in selecting names for their churches; besides the churches of the Holy Apostles, Holy Innocents, Holy Communion, Holy Martyrs, and Holy Trinity, we read of the church of St. Al- ban's, St. Ambrose, St. Andrew's, St. Ann's, St. Clement, St. John's, St. Luke's, St. Mark's, St. Paul's, St. Peters, St. Philip's, St. Stephen's, St. Mary's, etc., etc., until one feels that New York is a sainted community, notwithstanding the number of sinners reported to still lurk around its corners.
LUTHERAN.
The Lutherans, akin to the Reformed Dutch, were the third to establish a separate service. Indeed it appears to have been established before the English conquest, though no church edifice was erected until 1702, when a small stone building was reared on the corner of Rector street and Broad- way, which was also destroyed by the fire of September, 1776.
In 1767, they erected a substantial stone edifice on the corner of Frankfort and William streets, known as the "Swamp church," and others in different parts of the city, have been since added as the wants of the denomination have required. There are now about fifteen Lutheran churches on the island, several of which have large and wealthy con- gregations.
TRINITY CHURCH-Broadway opposite, Wall Street ; 80 x 192 feet ; 284 feet high.
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PRESBYTERIAN.
PRESBYTERIAN.
The Presbyterians, whose activity and strength are at this time second.to no Protestant body in New York, were long and bitterly opposed in establishing their system of worship. They met in private houses for a considerable period, and in 1716 organized their first society, connecting it with the Presbytery of Philadelphia. Having gained recognition. from the authorities, they were allowed to worship in the City Hall until 1719, when they opened their first edifice in Wall street near Broadway. This first building was enlarged in 1748, rebuilt on an enlarged scale in 1810, destroyed by fire in 1834, and again rebuilt and occupied until 1844, when it was sold and taken down; the congregation erecting what has since been known as the First Presbyterian church, corner of Broadway and Eleventh street. Their second edi- fice, the " Brick church," on the corner of Beekman and Nassau streets, was dedicated January 1, 1768, and stood at that time in the open field. The next was the Rutgers-street church, opened for worship May 13, 1798, which was fol- lowed by the Duane, established in 1808, and the church of University place in 1845. Many of their churches are now located in the richest parts of the city, with large Sun- day schools and intelligent congregations. It is doubtful whether two more wealthy or liberal congregations can be found on this continent than that of the First Presbyterian church, Dr. Paxton, pastor, which last year contributed to benevolent enterprises over one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, and the Fifth avenue Presbyterian church, Dr. John Hall, pastor, which contributed over one hundred and eigh- teen thousand dollars. Of these sums nearly a quarter of a million went to outside charities. A collection of $20,000 is no unusual thing for a Sabbath morning. Many of these churches establish and support missions in less favored local- ities. The churches and mission chapels of the Presbyterians
148
NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
proper number seventy, those of the United Presbyterians eight, of the Reformed Presbyterians seven, and of the Con- · gregationalists nine. Several magnificent institutions, which are elsewhere described in this work, have recently been projected by this denomination.
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BAPTIST.
The first Baptists on Manhattan were of the Arminian faith. They began their toil amid violent persecution, and immersed some of their converts at midnight, to avoid difficulty. Their first house of worship, the Arminian Baptist church, stood on Golden Hill, afterwards Gold street, and was erected about 1725. The history of the Baptist church in New York pre- sents some remarkable congregational feuds, and whether these have retarded or developed the growth of the denomina- tion we shall not attempt to decide. As neither faction have understood the principle of surrender, nearly every serious dissension has either resulted in the extinction of a church, or in the founding of one or two new ones. In 1770 a diffi- culty arose in the First church, during the pastorate of Rev. John Gano, respecting psalmody. Most of the congregation preferred to abolish the old custom of parcelling out the lines in singing, whereupon a number of members withdrew and established the Second Baptist church. The Second church gained accessions after the Revolution, when another strife arose, about equally dividing the membership, each party claiming to be the Second Baptist church, and virtually ex- communicating each other. Through the mediation of friends in 1791, the disputed title was dropped ; one section became known as the Bethel church, and the other the Baptist church in Fayette street. Thus one church literally, though un- happily, developed into three in twenty-one years. In 1802
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH-Cor. 39th Street and Park Avenue. Erected 1871; size 66 x 100 feet ; cost, including lots, $250,000 ; seating capacity, 1,000.
AT 1 5. OM
ST. PAUL'S METHODIST CHURCH-Corner 4th Avenue and 22d Street.
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METHODIST.
John Inglesby, a member of the Fayette street church, was licensed to preach, and the next year began to hold regular services in a hall in Greenwich street, which resulted at length in the First Ebenezer Baptist church. Inglesby's course was not approved by the Fayette-street society. His preaching savored of Antinomianism, and his society was refused ad- mission into the Association. The Ebenezer church of our day was organized in 1825, and after several removals is now located in West Thirty-sixth street. The Welsh Baptist church was founded in 1807, the Mulberry street, the Abyssi- nian, and the North Beriah in 1809, the Zoar church in 1811, the South Baptist in 1822, the Cannon street in 1827, the North Baptist in 1828, the Salem in 1834, the West church in 1835, the Berean in 1838, the Sixth street in 1840, and the Bloomingdale in 1843. The Old and the New school, the Colored, the German, the Welsh, and the Free-will Baptists, united, have about fifty places of worship in New York at this time, and rank among the most zealous and useful of our city churches.
METHODIST.
Methodism having become a power in Great Britain, drifted across the ocean, and, in 1766, sprang up in the New World. The first Methodist service was conducted by Philip Embury, an Irish Wesleyan local preacher, in his own house in Barrack street, now Park Place, to a congregation of six persons. A class was soon formed, and the place becoming too small for the congregation, a more eligible room was secured in the neighborhood ; where the little society unexpectedly sprang into public notice by the advent of Captain Thomas Webb of the English army, then stationed at Albany. Webb had served with distinction under Braddock and Wolfe, was a spiritual son of John Wesley, a man of sense and fervid elo-
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
quence, and as he preached in full uniform, laying his sword on the desk, he attracted great attention. The Rigging Loft . on Horse and Cart street, now William, between Fulton and John streets, until the opening of the first John-street church, October 30, 1768, was their temporary chapel, where many conversions occurred. The John-street church was rebuilt on the original site in 1817, and again in 1840, and is likely to long remain the monumental cradle of American Methodism.
The Forsyth street church was founded in 1790, the Duane in 1797, the Allen street and the Bedford in 1810, the Willet street in 1817, the Eighteenth street in 1829, the Green street in 1831, and the Mulberry (now the St. Paul's) in 1834. The Methodist Episcopal Church has now sixty churches and cha- pels on the island, valued at over two million dollars, many of which are large and beautiful structures. St. Paul's, at the cor- ner of Fourth avenue and Twenty-second street, is perhaps the finest edifice yet reared by the denomination on Manhattan. The building is of white marble in the Romanesque order, its length being (including chapel) 146 feet, and the width 75 feet. The height of the nave is 45 feet, and the top of the spire 210 feet. The audience room contains comfortable seat- ing for over thirteen hundred persons. The members of the Methodist church in New York, who number about thirteen thousand, retain much of the fervor and simplicity of the by- gone period, while in liberality they probably far excel their forefathers. Besides the churches mentioned above there are about a dozen others, scattered over the island under various Methodist titles, and offshoots from the parent body.
JEWS.
Some families of Jews are said to have been among the early settlers of Manhattan, but at what time they first estab- lished their worship is not certainly known. It is probable
1
151
JEWS.
that about 1706 they erected their first synagogue on Mill street, which was twice rebuilt and constituted their only place
JEWISH TEMPLE. (Fifth avenue, corner Forty-third street.)
of worship for over one hundred years. During the last forty years their numbers have greatly increased, and the twenty- seven well-ordered synagogues of our day attest their steady adherence to the faith of their fathers. Many of their syna- gogues are situated in rich and eligible localities, and the one recently erected on the corner of Forty-third street and Fifth avenue is one of the largest and richest structures on the island.
L
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS. .
ROMAN CATHOLIC.
The first Roman Catholic families entered New York dur- ing the administration of Governor Thomas Dongan, but
CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL. (Fifth avenue, between Fifty-first and Fifty-second streets.)
they were not allowed to establish their system of worship un- til after the Revolution. They first worshipped in a public
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ROMAN CATHOLIC.
building in Vauxhall garden, situated on the Hudson river between Warren and Chambers streets. Their first church edifice was on the site of the present St. Peters church in Bar- clay street, mass being first performed within its walls Novem- ber 4, 1786. No other Catholic church was erected for more than thirty years. St. Peter's was rebuilt of granite on a greatly enlarged scale in 1836, and still remains a substantial monu- ment of the denomination. Its front is ornamented with six massive Ionic columns, and a monument of St. Peter with the keys. In 1815 they erected "St. Patrick's cathedral," on the corner of Mott and Prince streets, and in 1826 they purchased of the Presbyterians a small edifice on Sheriff street, between Broome and Delancey. About the same time they purchased a church edifice from the Episcopalians in Ann street near Nassau, which was destroyed by fire in 1834, when the society divided, one section building the "St. James' church" on James street, the other purchasing a building of the Presbyterians on Chambers street, which they named the "Church of the Transfiguration." In 1833 they erected "St. Joseph's church " in Barrow street; in 1840 they purchased the Universalist church in Duane street, and in 1841 they purchased the "Se- cond avenue Presbyterian church." The Catholics have pur- chased nearly every church offered for sale in the city for many years past, their communicants being composed largely of the laboring classes, and occupying sections where Protes- tant churches have found it difficult to sustain themselves. This sect has wonderfully increased on Manhattan during the last fifty years, not to any considerable extent from the con- version of Americans, but from the very extensive immigra- tion of foreigners to this country, many of whom linger in the cities. They have now forty churches on the island, most of which are large, and their services are usually crowded without any regard to time, season, or weather.
The late Archbishop Hughes projected the largest and richest enterprise in church architecture ever undertaken in New York. He laid the corner-stone of the immense "St.
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NEW YORK AND ITS INSTITUTIONS.
Patrick's Cathedral," on Fifth avenue, between Fifty-first and Fifty-second streets in 1858, since which the work of construc- tion has slowly progressed. The extreme length of the structure is 332 feet with a general breadth of 132, and at the transept of 174 feet. The foundation is of Maine granite and the side walls of Westchester marble. The style of the building is decorated Gothic, with two lofty spires, and when completed is expected to be the finest architectural monument of its kind . on the continent.
The labors and sacrifices of the Catholics for the advance- ment of their church interests are proverbial. Their exces- sive liberality amounts to almost a crime (1 Tim. v. 8), giv- ing so extensively that when overtaken by sickness or misfor- tune vast numbers of them fall at once a burden upon the city charities. Being also a unit in politics they have found ways and means unknown to the Protestant denominations.
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