USA > New York > Orange County > Newburgh > Newburgh; her institutions, industries and leading citizens, historical, descriptive and biographical > Part 28
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REV. FREDERICK B. SAVAGE, D. D., the present pastor of Union Church, was born in Montreal, Canada, April 30, 1844. He was graduated at Phillips' Andover Academy in 1861, and at Williams College in 1865. He then studied theology two years in Union Theo- logical Seminary. After spending a year and a half abroad, he re- turned and resumed the study of theology with the Rev. Joseph T. Duryea, D. D., at that time pastor of the Classon Avenue Church in Brooklyn.
Dr. Savage was licensed to preach at Lanesboro, Minn., January 6, 1872, and was ordained at the same place, June 12, 1872. The fol- lowing year he became pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Coop- erstown, N. Y., and served two years. In January, 1878, he was called to the pastorate of Union Church in Newburgh. His honorary degree was bestowed by Union College.
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SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH.
This congregation was organized in 1848, and its first meeting- house was in Liberty Street, on property now owned by St. Patrick's Church. The Rev. William Jackson, from New Bedford, Mass., was the first pastor. He served two years, and was succeeded by the Rev. E. Hawkins, of Newburgh, formerly of Richmond, Va., who labored hard to build up the church and overcame many obstacles. In the hope of bringing about a reconciliation between fac- tions in the church, he resigned the charge, and was succeeded by the Rev. Peter Ran- dolph, of Chelsea, Mass., whose stay was less than twelve months. He was succeed- ed by the Rev. Mr. Sampson (white), who ministered to the people for a short period, and then the Rev. E. Hawkins was recalled to the pastorate.
Trouble arose again, some of the mem- bers being in favor of calling the Rev. Rich- ard Perry, of Plainfield, N. J. A split occurred, and the adherents of Mr. Perry left the church and worshiped under his ministration on Broadway near Dubois Street, but after a few months they repented and returned to the old body. But before this time the mortgage on the church prop- erty in Liberty Street was foreclosed and the property sold. The present house of worship, in Wil- liam Street, was built in 1871. In the following year there was a notable revival, and a great work was done by the Rev. J. H. Gaines, who assisted Pastor Hawkins. The Newburgh church established a mission in Pough- keepsie, which flourished for a time and then died. A few years later trouble came to the church in William Street, then under the ministration of Henry Duers, a young licentiate, of Yonkers, N. Y., which ended in a split; and spiritual interest waned. A mortgage of $1,100 was foreclosed and the church was sold at public auction, but the congrega- tion still continued to worship there. September 15, 1885, the present pastor, the Rev. H. T. Johnson, from Washington, D.C., was installed. He is a graduate of the theological branch of Howard Uni- versity. He began his work under many discourage- ments. Through the kindness of citizens the sum of $500 was raised, and a first payment upon the church property was made, and the deed is once more in the possession of the congregation.
SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH-William St. near Washington.
In 1889 the church, which had been a member of the Southern New York Baptist Association, united with the Hudson River Central Baptist Association. The present officers are the Rev. H. T. John- son, Pastor; William Hawkins, J. C. Jackson, L. F. Johnson, Lewis Townsend, J. H. Roberts, Deacons; William Hawkins, L. F. John- son, Lewis Townsend, Joseph Stewart and J. H. Roberts, Trustees.
ST. JOHN'S METHODIST EPISCO- PAL CHURCH,
Located on Broadway, corner of High St., was formally organized May 23, 1852, main- ly through the instrumentality of Joseph Longking, Henry Cornell, and James Mar- tin. In 1851 these gentlemen proposed to the trustees of the First, now Trinity, Church that that body should hire, for the use of a new Methodist society, the build- ing formerly occupied by the Second Pres- byterian Church-the applicants agreeing to pay the interest on the debt then existing on the building for that year. This propo- sition was not accepted by the First Church. After further consideration, and with the approval of the presiding elder of the dis- trict, and of the Rev. A. M. Osbon, the pastor of the First Church, Mr. Longking, and his associates determined to prosecute the enterprise; and in compliance with their request the presiding elder appointed the Rev. Aaron F. Palmer, a local deacon, preacher in charge until the ensuing session of the New York Conference. The society was organized at the residence of Mr. Cornell, at which time certifi- cates of member- ship were received from seven persons all of them from New York City. The originators of this movement had been strongly advised by Bishop Janes, on their de- cision to come to Newburgh. to at- tempt the organi- zation of a second Methodist Church.
Previous to this time arrangements had been made for the use of the Sec- ond Presbyterian Church edifice, and, on the 9th of June following, Henry Cornell, James Martin, John H. Waters, Nelson Austin and Joseph Longking were unanimously elect- ed trustees, and the articles of corpora- tion were formed. The building which had been rented for the society at the time of its organization was purchased by its trustees in March, 1853, for $5,000, and at about the same time
ST. JOHN'S M. E. CHURCH-Corner of Broadway and High Street.
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arrangements were made for erecting a parsonage and also a lecture room. These latter buildings were completed in September, 1853. The church edifice was dedicated on the 13th of June, 1853, and on the 25th of that month the society had a membership of 129 persons, nearly all of whom had been previously connected with the First Church.
In the Spring of 1874 the church was partially destroyed by fire, but was immediately rebuilt and greatly improved. Two years later, as the result of perhaps the greatest revival ever known in the city, the congregation and membership were so greatly increased as to necessitate an enlargement of the building. From that time it has re- mained as it is to-day, probably the largest church as to its seating capacity in Newburgh.
As an organization it has been exceedingly active and aggressive from its origin. Each year it has been visited with revivals, in some instances the number of converts reaching into the hundreds. Its present membership is, exclusive of probationers, over seven hundred, which makes it one of the largest churches, numerically, in the New York Conference. It is exceeded in respect to its numbers by only two others.
Following is the list of its pastors: 1852-53, Rufus C. Putney; 1854 -55, L. W. Walsworth; 1856-57, D. Buck; 1858-59, E. L. Prentice; 1860-61, J. P. Hermance; 1862-63, C. S. Brown; 1864-65, T. B. Smith ; 1866, G. H. Gregory; 1867-68, D. Lull; 1869-70, H. R. Birkins; 1871 -72, W. E. Clarke; 1873-74, G. H. Corey; 1875-77, L. H. King; 1878- 80, F. Hamlin; 1881-82, A. McLean; 1883, B. H. Burch; 1884-86, C. R. North; 1887-88. G. H. Gregory; 1889-91, E. S. Osbon.
Its present Board of Trustees is as follows: President-William H. Shannon; Secretary-George W. Fenton; Treasurer-John M. Wilson; William S. Wands, George C. Perkins, Lewis Vernol, E. Garrison, Edmund Sanxay and Ira Caldwell.
Its Stewards are the following: Theodore Westlake, Valentine Lambert, William S. Wands, Isaac W. Whited, Nathaniel Drew, Aaron Terwilliger, Emory Fowler, W. T. Coleman, James H. Crook, jr., Walton Westlake and Henry C. Poyer.
Sunday school Superintendent-James R. White.
REV. ELIAS SILLICK OSBON, D. D., was born in Middlebury, Vermont. His father was the late Rev. A. M. Osbon, D. D., widely known in this vicinity, twice as a pastor in Newburgh and twice as the Presiding Elder of the Newburgh District of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. His mother was the daughter of the Rev. Bradley Sil- lick, also a well known clergyman of his day. Two uncles were Meth- odist ministers. The different branches of the family have contrib- uted more than two hundred years of effective service in the ministry of that denomination.
His education was commenced in the public schools of New York City. During his father's pastorate of the church in Second Street, in this city, he was a scholar in the Newburgh Academy and in the private school presided over by the Rev. Mr. Connelly. For two years he pursued his studies at the New York Conference Seminary, at Charlotteville, Schoharie County, then one of the largest and most famous schools in the country, and would have entered college but because of his youth he was forbidden, by college regulations, to carry out his purpose. Turning his attention to business he accepted a sit- uation in a retail dry goods establishment. Always fond of the sea he became, at this time, enamored of the life of a sailor. Sailing from New York in an American clipper ship he spent eighteen months on the ocean, visiting various points in Europe, Asia and Africa. On his return he again engaged in business, entering a large importing house, first as an assistant to the confidential clerk, and on the retire- ment of the latter being promoted to that responsible position.
During an extensive revival in his father's church in Eighty-Sixth Street, New York, he was converted, joined the church and decided to enter the ministry. In 1858 his studies were resumed at the Hud- son River Institute, at Claverack, and in the following Autumn he was admitted to the Troy University. The class of which he was a member did not graduate owing to the failure of the institution. He afterwards pursued the prescribed course and graduated at the Syra-
cuse University. In 1885 the Upper Iowa University honored him with the degree of Doctor of Divinity. His life has been spent in the ministry in the following places: Eddyville, Hillside and Riverside, Milton, Goshen, Ellenville, Peekskill, and Greene Street, New York. In 1875 he became Presiding Elder of the Ellenville District, and is said to have been, up to that period, the youngest man ever appointed to that office in his conference. Returning to the pastorate he has since served the following churches : Bedford Street, New York; Middletown, St. James of Kingston, Poughkeepsie and West Harlem, now known as Calvary, New York. In the Spring of 1889 he was stationed in his present charge, St. John's, in this city.
A powerful pulpit orator, Dr. Osbon's aid is often obtained by his ministerial brethren for special services, as at the dedication of churches, and in preaching and raising money for the liquidation of church debts. He has also been extensively engaged in lecturing, without having sought engage- ments in that field, and he has won great appreciation from the general public. Dr. Osbon has seen a great deal of the world he lives in; he has crossed the Atlan- tic twelve times, and besides the voyages to Asia and Africa in his youth he has visit- ed almost every country in Europe from the Mediter- ranean to the North Cape.
Dr. Osbon has been twice married, first to Miss Sade J. Philps, a teacher in the State Normal School of New Jer- M.N.Co. sey. The fruit of this marriage was REV. E. S, OSBON, D. D. two children, one, a son, dying in infancy, the other, a daughter, Nellie, who died but a few days before her mother, as the result of an epidemic raging in Kingston in the winter of 1885. Second, to Mrs. Hattie Curtiss, of New York.
WESTMINSTER REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
On November 12, 1854, a second congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, composed of thirty-three members, was organ- ized and is now known as the Westminster Church. The first officers were William Thompson, James Frazer and William Johnston, elders; John Lawson and James Hilton, deacons. The public services of the church were first held in the court house. The church building was completed in November, 1855, and dedicated on the 25th day of that month. The morning service was conducted by Rev. Dr. James Christie, of New York, who delivered an able lecture on the 12th chapter of Isaiah. In the afternoon the discourse was by the Rev. J. R. Thompson from Genesis xxviii : 17; the evening service was con- ducted by Dr. Christie.
In 1872 the edifice was enlarged and now will accommodate about six hundred persons. In the basement is a commodious lecture room which is used by the Sabbath school, and for prayer meetings and church meetings.
After accepting a call from this congregation, the Rev. J. R. Thompson was ordained and installed pastor on December 12, 1855,
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and still continues in that relation, being the senior pastor of the city. From its organization the congregation has had a continuous growth ; and there have been on several occasions evidences of marked spiritnal interest, and special manifestations of a revival of religion. Twice in its history thirty members were added at com- munion and on one occasion over fifty persons were received into the fellowship of the church. Not one communion season in its his- tory has passed without an increase in its membership. Since its or- ganization over 700 persons have been members of the congregation. Its present membership is 300, with many attendants besides. There is a large and thriving Sabbath school, under the control of the Ses- sion of the congregation. This congregation has stood in the front rank in all reformatory movements. From its pulpit has sounded forth not only the Gospel trumpet, but also fearless protests against all social evils, with earnest pleas for the legal prohibition of the liquor traffic, for Sabbath observance, and for Bible principles as the basis of con- stitutional and statute law in the nation. As a part of the old historic Covenanter Church it occupies the place of a reformatory congrega- tion, where all social reforms will find a home and an uncompromising advocate. In 1891 a mission was established on Broadway. The present boards of officers are as follows: Elders-Andrew Little, R. M. McAllister. W. Thompson, J. C. Sloat, Isaac Cochran, William Lynn and Hugh Robinson; Deacons-Adam Patton, W. C. Johnston, John W. Magee, William Tweed, Thomas W. Gavey, John McNeal, James Boyd, William Hamilton, George B. Carver. The deceased officers are William Thompson, sr., William Johnston, Francis Wilson, James Frazer, sr. and John Frazer, Elders; and John Lawson and James Hilton, Deacons.
REV. J. R. THOMPSON, the son of Elder William Thompson, was born in Newburgh, prepared for college in the old Newburgh Academy, and graduated from the New York University in 1847. After studying theology for four years in the Reformed Presbyterian
WESTMINSTER REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH .- No. 169 Grand Street.
Seminary in Cincinnati, and afterwards in Northwood, Ohio, he was licensed to preach the gospel April 16, 1852.
Having spent more than a year in Europe, he returned and was called as pastor of the Westminster Church in Newburgh, N. Y., December 19, 1856, where he still continues in that relation. On June I, 1858, he was married to Miss Mary Frances Lawson, only daughter of the late John Lawson.
During his long pastorate, the longest now in the city, he has made the salvation of men the chief aim of his ministry, and at the same time in his pulpit has claimed the right of free speech on the great moral questions of the age. In the days of slavery his voice was
REV. J. R. THOMPSON.
always heard in favor of the oppressed, and now in the second great reform, the overthrow of the liquor oligarchy and the promotion of the cause of temperance, he occupies an advanced position.
CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Calvary Presbyterian Church was organized September 1, 1856, by the "Committee of Church Extension of the Presbytery of North River." Forty-five persons presented letters of dismission from the First Presbyterian Church. William G. Gillespie and John Mc- Clelland were unanimously elected ruling elders. On the 15th day of the same month a call was made for the pastoral services of the licentiate, S. Hildeburn McMullin. The call was accepted, and he was ordained to the work of the ministry and installed as the first pastor of Calvary Church, October 16, 1856. The ordination services were held in the Court House, and were conducted by the Rev. E. K. Bower, Moderator of the Presbytery.
The first meeting of the Session was held October 17, at the residence of Mrs. Catharine Sly, on High Street. On October 20 Moses Upright, William K. Mailler, Walter H. Gorham, Wessel S. Gerard, Peter Ward and Charles Johnston were elected as the first Board of Trustees. At the first communion, which was celebrated on Sabbath, November 2, the membership had increased to eighty- two.
Steps were at once taken toward the erection of a house of wor- ship. During the Winter of 1856-57 a sufficient sum was subscribed to justify the trustees in purchasing a site, and they secured the plot bounded on the east by Liberty Street, on the north by Farrington Street, on the west by Chambers Street, and on the south by the property now owned and occupied by Trinity M. E. Church, the
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price paid being $4,000. A plan for the church edifice, drawn by Gerard & Boyd, was adopted, and the contract for its erec- tion was awarded to John Little. Architect Withers was appointed to superintend the work in conjunction with a building committee
CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND MANSE-Corner of Liberty and Farrington Streets.
building, and over two-thirds of the amount raised to procure the pipe organ which is now in use.
In the Autumn of 1872 Mr. Bishop resigned the pastorate and ac- cepted a call to Orange, N. J., and was succeeded by the present pas- tor, the Rev. Jeremiah Searle, April 1, 1873.
Mr. Searle was installed May 6, 1873. At the in- stallation services the Rev. Wendell Prime presided, the Rev. William K. Hall offered the prayer of in- stallation, the Rev. George S. Bishop preached the sermon, the Rev. S. H. Jagger delivered the charge to the pastor and the Rev. Edward D. Ledyard the charge to the people. During this pastorate, which still continues, the church has been blessed in many respects in a remarkable degree. At its beginning there was resting upon the church and manse a mortgage debt of $13,500. This was reduced from time to time by special efforts and by the application of surplus revenue, until on the 1st of April, 1881, the entire debt was about $9,000. The great success which had attended similar efforts in neighboring churches prompted and encouraged the officers of the church to make an appeal to the congregation for that amount. The Rev. F. B. Savage, D. D., of Union Church, rendered valuable aid in the matter, and on Sabbath, April 10, 1881, the people responded nobly to the appeal; and on that day and a few days following pledges were received to the amount of $9,625, almost all of which pledges were fully re- deemed; and the burden of debt which had so long hindered and impeded the church in its work was completely removed.
In 1889 the church was supplied with new pews and carpets, and the electric light was introduced.
The annual contributions of the church average about $5,500. Up to September 1, 1881, when the quarter-centennial of the church was celebrated, there had been enrolled as communi-
consisting of Trustees Mailler, Gorham and Ward. Ground was broken in April, 1857. On the 9th day of July following, the corner- stone was laid, on which occasion, in addition to the service of praise under the leadership of the choir, prayer was offered by the Rev. Malcolm N. McLaren, D. D., of the Reformed Dutch Church; the Rev. Joseph McCarrell, D. D., of the Associate Reformed Church, read the scripture lesson, and Charles Johnston, on behalf of the board of trustees, read a statement in reference to the organization and progress of the church. In the absence of the pastor on account of illness, the Rev John Forsyth, D. D., of Union Church, after some appropriate remarks, laid the corner-stone, after which addresses were delivered by the Rev. Alexander R. Thompson, of Staten Island, and the Rev. J. M. Crowell, of Philadelphia, and the benediction was pronounced by the Rev. Dr. Forsyth.
The edifice was dedicated on the 24th day of February, A. D., 1858, by the Rev. Nicholas Murray, D. D., of Elizabeth, N. J., who preached from I Kings vi: 4 and viii: 16. The Rev. William T. Sprole, D. D., Joseph McCarrell, D. D., and the pastor took part in the ser- vices. The cost of the church building and its furniture was about $17,000. All the services, previous to the dedication, had been held in the Court House.
In April, 1860, Rev. Mr. McMullin resigned the pastorate. He was succeeded by the Rev. Judson H. Hopkins, who was ordained to the ministry and installed as the second pastor December 19, 1860.
After a service of three years Mr. Hopkins resigned. A long va- cancy ensued, the pulpit being occupied by a number of supplies, one of whom, the Rev. C. M. Wines, preached for three months and re- ceived a call to the pastorate, which he declined. This was a period of great trial and discouragement, and the fear entered many hearts that the church could not be continued.
At length they were united in calling the Rev. George S. Bishop, who accepted, and was installed in April, 1866. Mr. Bishop's minis- try was a very successful one, during which the membership of the church was stimulated to fresh activity, many souls converted, and new life communicated to every department of Church work. Dur- ing his pastorate a convenient manse was erected north of the church
cants 496, of whom 86 had died and 172 had been dis- missed to other churches, leaving at that time 238 names on the roll. The membership has increased to about 320 in 1891.
The present of- ficers of the church are as follows: Ses- sion-the Rev. J. Searle, pastor; Rul- ing Elders-Hugh S. Banks, John Dales, Charles L. Chatterton, Charles J. Howell, William G. Kimball, John McDougall, Hugh McKissock, Samuel W. Scofield and Augustus Senior. Deacons-Andrew Barnes, Thomas J. Jamison, Frank H. Ketcham, George PHOTO. BY ATKINSON. REV. JEREMIAH SEARLE. G. Peck and Chas. E. Petty. Trustees-Charles J. Howell, Thomas J. Jamison, Charles L. Chatterton, John Dales, Augustus Senior and James M. Crane. Church Clerk and Treasurer-John Dales; Treasurer of Benevolent Funds-George G. Peck; Sunday School Supt .- Augustus Senior.
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REV. JEREMIAH SEARLE was born at Coxsackie, N. Y., July 13, 1836, the sixth child and third son of the Rev. Jeremiah and Mary Tomb Searle. He received his preparatory training at Coxsackie Academy and afterward by private study, was gradnated from Rut-
FIRST UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-Corner of Montgomery and Fourth Streets.
gers College, New Brunswick, N. J., 1856, and from the Theological Seminary of the Reformed (Dutch) Church in the same city, May, 1858, and the same month was licensed to preach the gospel by the Classis of Monmonth. He received the degree of M. A. from Rut- gers College June, 1858.
Mr. Searle was married August 18, 1858, to Margaretta F. Con- over, of New Brunswick, N. J. Having in June of that year accepted a call from the Reformed Church of Blooming burgh, he was ordained to the ministry and installed pastor of that church September 21, 1858. In 1862 he was for several months chaplain of the 143d Regiment, N. Y. S. Volunteers, then stationed on the defenses of Washington, at Upton Hill, Va. Subsequently pastorates were filled at Oyster Bay, L. 1., Syracuse, Albany and Peekskill.
April 1, 1873, he began his ministry in Calvary Presbyterian Church of Newburgh, and under his ministration the church has greatly prospered.
FIRST UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
This congregation was organized December 6, 1859. During the preceding year the United Presby- terian Church of North America had been founded by the union of the " Associate" and the " Associate Reformed" branches of the Presbyterian Church. There were at that time two congregations of the As- sociate Reformed Church in Newburgh, both of which declined going into the United Church. A few of the members, however, had earnestly advocated the canse of union because they believed that denomina- tions so thoroughly one in doctrine and worship ought to be one in ecclesiastical organization. Be- ing in hearty accord with the principles of the United Presbyterian Church as set forth in the " Basis of Union," they felt it their duty to enter into the fel- lowship of that church by establishing a United Presbyterian con- gregation in Newburgh, and took steps accordingly.
They held their first meeting for public worship October 9, 1859, the Rev. John Service giving them a day's preaching. On the next Sabbath (October 16, 1859) the Rev. Peter Bullion, D. D., preached and organized the Sabbath school. When the United Presbyterian
Presbytery of New York held its first meeting, November 9, 1859. a petition was received from this people asking to be organized into a congregation. The request was granted, and on the 6th day of De- cember, 1859, the Rev. Alexander McWilliams preached by the ap- pointment of Presbytery and the organization was duly effect- ed. The elders chosen were George Gearn, George Lendrum, John Geddes, sr., and Matthew Stephenson, M. D. The fol- lowing trustees were appointed: Andrew Johnson, Benjamin W. Chambers, Thomas M. McCann, James S. Strachan. Robert Hyndman, George Lendrum, George Gearn, John Geddes, sr .. and John Brown.
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