USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > Old Sands Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Brooklyn, N.Y. : an illustrated centennial record, historical and biographical > Part 15
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On the sixth day of our session the subject of sanctification was called up, and Stebbins, its enemy, came on with his objections.4
Lorenzo Dow, as we could readily believe from our knowl- edge of the two men, found no admirer of his eccentricities in Cyrus Stebbins. He says :
Fune, 1804. Cyrus Stebbins objected to my preaching where he was stationed, [Albany, ] though the trustees were mostly friendly. He withdrew from the connection soon after, which showed what spirit he was of. August. 1804. When I arrived in Albany the preaching-house doors, which had been shut in Stebbins' time, were now open.5
During his first term in Brooklyn (1799) the membership di- minished; but his return, four years later, and the enlargement of the church building during that term, would indicate pros- perity.
The Rev. George Coles, who was pastor of the Methodist Epis- copal church in Hudson, N. Y., in 1822, without any definite knowledge of Mr. Stebbins' antecedents, makes a very charitable mention of him as the rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church in that place, who had formerly been a Methodist preacher. While in Hudson he received the honorary title of D.D. from Trinity College, of Hartford, Bishop Brownell then being pres- ident, and a personal friend.'
4 Manuscript autobiography.
" Dow's Journal, old edition, pp. 176, 178.
6 See " My First Seven Years in America," p. 249.
" Letter of G. N. Stebbins to the author.
146
Old Sands Street Church.
.
The following statement, by the Rev. Frank L. Wilson, is im- portant :
I learn from reliable sources that, notwithstanding he was regarded by his congregation in Hudson as a very able preacher, his resignation was request- ed on account of his habits of drinking. He was married twice. His last marriage proved unhappy, which is believed to account for his intemperate habits.8 He is remembered as a man inclined to portliness, short, broad- shouldered, and remarkably social. He had two sons and one daughter. One son, Cyrus Stebbins, a noted and talented lawyer, fell a victim to drink, and died in New York. The daughter married a Roman Catholic and became a convert to that faith. The other son, George N., is connected with the Washington Life Insurance Company in New York city."
Dr. Stebbins died in Waterford, N. Y., February 8, 1841, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. Bishop B. T. Onderdonk, in re- porting his death at the Annual Convention, said :
He closed the life of a devout Christian, a faithful minister of Jesus, and a divine of more than ordinary ability, by a truly Christian death, the approach of which, by a lingering and painful disease, was met as the spirit and armor supplied by Christ can alone enable the Christian to meet the king of terrors.10
The above somewhat but not greatly modifies Dr. Abel Stevens' statement that, "after entering the Protestant Episco- pal Church, he lingered through many years of comparative uselessness, and died in obscurity." This statement was made in view of the remarkably bright promise of his earlier years. His remains were buried in the St. George's church-yard, Schenectady, N. Y.
8 It may be that in later years he obtained the mastery over this besetment. 9 Letter to the author.
10 Journals of Conventions, N. Y. State, 1841, p. 59.
XXIV. D Buche
E have already made note of a sermon preached by the REV. DAVID BUCK in 1794, on the foundation of the original Sands-street church lefore the building was completed. He afterward spent two of the nine years of his itinerant ministry as pastor of this church.
Ile was born in the town of Freehold, Monmouth Co., N. J., Sept. 12, 1771. "His father's name was Ephraim Buck, and both he and his wife were devoted Methodists, as well as ardent patriots in the Revolution. So decided were they in favor of American independence, and so confident of its final success, that all the gold and silver money they had was exchanged for continental money in bills, put into jars and buried in the cellar."'
"When David Buck was about eighteen years of age, he embraced the Lord Jesus by faith."" At the age of twenty- three he began to travel his first circuit as a conference preacher.
ITINERANT RECORD: 1794, (New York Conf. ) Delaware cir., N. Y., with R. Dillon; 1795, Newburgh cir., with M. Swaim; 1796, ord. deacon, -- Long Island cir .; 1797, Redding cir., Conn., with A. Jocelyn; 1793, elected to elder's orders, but not ordained on account of the sickness and absence of Bishop Absury,3-no appointment named; 1799, ordained elder, -Albany city; 1800-1801, Brooklyn; 1802, Long Island cir., with J. Fennegan and Sylves- ter Foster, 1803; local,
The author has frequently heard his name mentioned by aged residents of Southold, L. I., whose fathers and moth- ers were converted under his ministry. Having taken a wife, and his health being infirm, he felt obliged to locate, but a- bated not in the least degree his zeal in his Master's work.
1 Letter of Rev. Valentine Buck to the author.
2 Rev. Elijah Hebard in Methodist Magazine, 1823, p. 279. 3 Il id.
:
I48
Old Sands Street Church.
He settled in Hempstead Harbor, (now Roslyn,) and, in com- pany with his father-in-law, William Valentine, and his brother- in-law, he purchased the paper-mill property, including the "old mill" in which Bishop Asbury preached, and which served as a preaching-place for many years.
His son, the Rev. Valentine Buck, himself now a veteran in the New York Conference, writes :
My father's house was, from my earliest recollection, the stopping-place of all the Methodist preachers on the Jamaica circuit, and of all others who chanced to be passing through the place. As a local preacher he was in labors abundant, preaching not only at Roslyn, but also at Searingtown, Herrick's, Glen Cove, Hempstead, Jamaica, and various other places; and his labors were always gratuitous,4
After twenty years' residence and ministry among the people, his popularity had not waned; and, as one of his brethren writes,
Few preachers could collect larger congregations of attentive and willing hearers. He was a powerful preacher. At quarterly meetings and camp- meetings, wherever he spoke, he was heard with interest and delight. God was with him, and the sacred unction usually attended his word, and hun- dreds on this island have reason to thank God that they ever heard him pro- claim the message of salvation.5
The old Jamaica circuit quarterly conference record book bears testimony to the fidelity and ability with which for many years he discharged the duties of recording steward.
In the year 1822, three years after the establishment of the Methodist Missionary Society, he wrote to the Corresponding Secretary, announcing the formation of an auxiliary society on the Jamaica circuit, of which he was one of the officers. The following extract reveals the character and spirit of the man :
This institution is, it is true, in its infancy, and its funds but small ; but our expectations are large. The interest already excited in the hearts of our brethren gives us reason to hope that this infant society will arrive to manhood, and become a powerful auxiliary to the parent institution. Dear brother, * * * if I possessed the energy and activity I did in 1793, when I first entered the traveling connection, I would hasten with cheerfulness to the heathen and savage tribes, to preach unto them a risen Saviour. That sys- tem of doctrine and discipline so zealously enforced by our venerable prede- cessors in the ministry must ultimately prevail. The prospect brightens ! The fields are white ; and although age and infirmities confine me to a more
4 Letter to the author.
5 Hebard in " Methodist Magazine."
149
Record of Ministers.
circumscribed field of action, yet I rejoice that God is raising up young men in every section of our country who are able to take the field, and who will, I hope, transmit to posterity the unsullied doctrines of the Gospel so success- fully taught by Wesley and his immediate successors in the ministry. Halle- lujah ! The Lord God omnipotent reigneth !
DAVID BUCK, Secretary.6
His old complaint, the gravel, aggravated by a violent cold, was the cause of his death. His suffering was extreme, but he endured uncomplainingly, expressing concern lest he should exhibit impatience, and at the same time giving utterance to his unwavering faith in God, and sweet hopes of everlasting rest. The author of his obituary records the words he uttered concerning his departure to his wife, his niece, Ruth Searing, and his son Valentine; and then adds :
When spoken to afterward by Sister Starkins, he said : " My conscience is pure; there is nothing that I have cause to fear or dread." These were his last words, and about one o'clock on Friday morning, May 2, 1823, his im- mortal spirit fled, we have reason to believe, to the mansions of the just.7
He was fifty-one years of age.8 He sleeps in one of the old- est Methodist burial-grounds on Long Island, close beside the little Searingtown church, in which he preached the Gospel as long ago as 1796.
NANCY VALENTINE was married to Mr. Buck about the time of the close of his itinerant labors, hence she never shared them with him; but she was a valued friend of the itinerants for many years, and gladly ministered to their wants, making her home a cheerful and comfortable retreat for them always .. She sur- vived her husband twenty-four years, and died at the resi- dence of her brother-in-law, Cornelius Westlake, in Newtown, (now Brooklyn,) November 9, 1847, in the seventy-ninth year of her age. She was buried beside her husband.
6 " Methodist Magazine," 1822, p. 120.
7 Hebard.
8 If copied correctly, the inscription on his tombstone says he had attained his fifty-fifth year.
XXV.
1
FTER five years of itinerant labors, divided between the states of Maine, Mass., Conn. and New York, the REV. PETER JAYNE was appointed to Brook- lyn,-the successor of David Buck. He had traveled the Long Island circuit the previous year, and as the Minutes indicate, occasionally exchanged with the Brooklyn pastor. The signature is from the trustees' record book of Sands- street, and was written in 1802.
Ile was born in Marblehead, Mass., March 16, 1778.1 Peter Jayne, his father, was a school teacher in Marblehead for many years, and attended the Congregational church. His mother's name was Dorothy. The elder Peter Jayne died in 1784, when the son was but six years of age, as we learn from the town records of Marblehead." Six years subsequently Le widow was married to Joshua Prentice.
An upper room was fitted up for Methodist meetings in their house, where it is believed the first Methodist society in Marblehead was organized. The name of Dorothy Prentice stands first on the list of seven females who formed the orig- inal class.3
Jesse Lee writes in his journal :
October 28, 1794: We proceeded to Marblehead to quarterly meeting. We held love-feast in Brother Prentice's house, and a few people spoke with life and freedom. The company was melted to tears. I was pleased to find them so much engaged in religion. Afterward we held watch-night; I preached and brother Ketcham exhorted.
1 Town Records.
2 These facts were gathered from the records by the Rev. Joseph Candlin.
3 Candlin's Historic Sketch.
151
Record of Ministers.
It was probably in one of these meetings that Peter Jayne, a youth of sixteen years, first made a confession of Christ. He was "licensed " by the quarterly conference of Lynn,' and when about eighteen years of age began to travel a circuit.5 The fol- lowing is his published
ITINERANT RECORD : 1797, (New York Conf.,) Middletown cir., Conn., with M. Coate; 1798, ordained deacon-Pleasant River, Me. ; 1799' Granville cir., Mass. and Conn., with E. Batchelor ; 1800, ordained elder- Dutchess cir., N. Y., with W. Thacher ; 1801, Long Island cir., with Billy Hibbard ; 6 1802, Brooklyn ; 1803-1804, (N. E. Conf.,) Lynn, Mass. ; 1805- 1806, Boston, with Reuben Hubbard and Samuel Merwin.
Contrary to the custom of the itinerants of those times, he was married during the first or second year of his ministry. While stationed in Lynn he preached and published a discourse, en- titled " The Substance of a Sermon preached at Lynn, in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, on the First Day of December, 1803, being the Day of Publick Thanksgiving for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts : and now made publick at the request of several of the hearers and others. By P. Jayne, Minister of said Church. Salem." Printed by William Carlton, 1803.1 In the preface he says :
You will discover from the contents [of this discourse, ] no doubt, that I am not entirely destitute of national pride, if such it may be termed, to feel pecul- iar attachment to the country that has brought us forth. * * * I hope no one will feel disposed to censure my attachment to the present administration, (when it is remembered that I am a member of a Church that has long been looked upon with an eye of contempt,) inasmuch as the administration which at present exists knows no one denomination more than another, or in prefer- ence to another. Here we all are equal, and have the vast field of action be- fore us, and stand or fall according to our character in the religious world. Do we wish for pre-eminence ? We must obtain it by our virtue and piety.
The sermon is founded upon Psalm cxlvii, 20 : "He hath not dealt so with any nation. Praise ye the Lord." His patriotic pride is plainly expressed in the following sentences :
4 Quarterly Conference record. A score or more of preachers were sent out by that church. See Memorial Sermon by Rev. Dr. Chas. Adams, 1841.
5 Minutes of Conferences, 1807, p. 146.
6 While the Minutes indicate that Brooklyn was included in his charge in ISO1, the quarterly conference records of both charges show that he received his support entirely from the L. I. circuit, and although, perhaps, exchanging at times with the Brooklyn preacher, he was not considered pastor of that church until 1802.
7 A pamphlet of 13 pp., in the library of the New England Methodist Ilis- torical Society, Boston.
:
152
Old Sands Street Church.
We are all blessed with liberty, free from anarchy ; a freedom not only to dis- pose of the labors of our hands as we please, but also to worship God according to the disposition of our minds. Free in body, free in mind, we are not necessitated to sacrifice our conscience or our interest to the caprice of a land- lord who is adding field to field till there is no place for the poor to dwell but at his covetous disposal. * * We are a nation of kings; the authority is vested in us all, generally speaking, according to our capacity and merit. No one presumes to govern us, or claim an exclusive right over us, upon the principle that his father hath left us to him as an estate. We are not sub- ject, therefore, to be governed by an idiot, or an infant of days, or what in its nature is far more impious, and in its consequences far more pernicious to society, by corrupt courtiers. Will any raise themselves to posts of honor and dignity amongst us? They must graduate by their wisdom and merit ; then they must have an eye upon their conduct, lest the same authority that invested them with power should divest them of it. So that, strictly speaking, while they rule they are our servants. Honorable station, to both rule and serve a nation of kings.
In thankfulness for spiritual blessings, he adds :
While the spirit, the pacific spirit of grace, has prevailed the past year in the accession of thousands of perishing sinners who have witnessed to the power of God to save in the Southern States, the windows of heaven have not been altogether closed to us in the Northern, especially in this commonwealth ; so that, while the South is giving up, the North reverberates, and will no longer keep back. Surely America will become a mountain of holiness, a dwelling- place of peace with truth and righteousness. Amen. Even so, Lord Jesus.
He laid the corner-stone of the old Bromfield-street church, in Boston, in 1806." On the fifth of September, that same year, he was called home from his useful labors in the city of Boston, a young man of twenty-eight. " His early death was deplored by his brethren as the eclipse of a morning star."9 The follow- ing item concerning his grave is from an article published in Zion's Herald several years ago :
Mr. Samuel Burrill was the richest man in the society, [First Methodist Episcopal church in Boston, ] owned his house, his shop, and other real estate, and was evidently a man of standing in the community. He owned a tomb in Copp's Hill burial-ground, and in that (then) new tomb was laid Rev. Peter Jayne, of blessed memory-Jayne, who, on the 15th of April, 1806, laid the corner-stone of the Methodist chapel in Bromfield's lane, now Bromfield- street church. The next year, 1807, the owner of the tomb became an occupant.
8 Stevens-Memorials of Methodism, p. 286.
9 M'Clintock and Strong's Cyclopedia.
153
Record of Ministers.
Willard S. Allen writes :
This old burial-ground is in the " North End " of Boston. The tomb may still be seen on the Snow Hill-street side of the burying ground, bearing the name of John H. Pitman ; no inscription appertaining to Peter Jayne.
Mr. Jayne is said to have labored under the embarrassment of "a deafness not. common to a man of his years," 8 and yet, despite this infirmity, he rendered himself eminently acceptable. We have no portrait from which to judge of his personal ap- pearance. He is described as "a handsome man, well- proportioned, with dark hair, refined and elegant in his manner." "
The following brief notice of him is found in the writings of Abel Stevens :
Peter Jayne was a well-beloved hope of the Church, a man of rare abilities and excellent qualities. His mind was capacious and critical, his information extensive, his style severe and forcible, his piety profound and uniform, and his manners were distinguished by a frankness and sincerity which marked him on all occasions. We regret that the resources of our information are so inadequate to the merits of such a man.10
SARAH, (CLARK,) the wife of Peter Jayne, survived him nearly forty years, and died the beloved and lamented widow of the Rev. Samuel Merwin. Her memorial is given in connection with the sketch of Samuel Merwin in this work.
We are indebted to the Rev. J. B. Merwin; D.D., for the fol- lowing item concerning the three children of Peter and Sarah Jayne :
Peter, the oldest, named after his father, was a son of great promise. While on a trip to Albany, on a commercial enterprise of his own, at the age of fifteen, he was knocked overboard by the boom and drowned. The older of the two daughters was adopted by her grandmother in Marblehead, married, and is now deceased. Eliza, the younger, was in our family as one of us. Until we were quite large we did not know that she was not our full sister. She was married to Mr. Chappell, in Baltimore, while my father was stationed there.
8 Conference Minutes, 1807, p. 146.
" This account of him was given to the author by the Rev. Dr. J. B. Merwin.
10 Memorials of Methodism, first series, P. 392.
XXVI. EZEKIEL CANFIELD.
HE REV. EZEKIEL CANFIELD was a noble specimen of the rank and file of early Methodist preachers. Stevens eulogizes him as "a veteran, mighty in la- bors if not in talents."" The records show that he was the successor of Peter Jayne in Brooklyn in 1803.
He was born in Salisbury, Conn., March 16, 1767. John Tooker, of Gloversville, N. Y., writes:
Ezekiel Canfield was my great-uncle. A friend, Mr. Win. Cozens, who knew his parents, says that his father's name was Jonathan, and he thinks that both the parents were Methodists .?
The Minutes say that when twenty-four years of age "he was made a witness of justifying grace, and joined the Meth- odist Episcopal Church." The following is his
CONFERENCE RECORD: 1794, Herkimer and Otsego cir., N. Y., with S. Weeks and John Wooster; 1795, Cambridge cir., with S. Fowler; 1796, ordained deacon, -New Rochelle and Croton cir., with Joseph Totten and Da- vid Brown; 1797, Litchfield cir., Conn., with Win. Thacher; 1798. Granville cir., Mass., with Daniel Webb; 1799, ordained elder,-Warren and Greenwich cir., R. I., with J. Hall and T. Bishop; 1800, Cambridge cir., N. Y., with E. Stevens; 1801, Brandon cir., Vt., with E. Washburn; 1802, not named on the list of appointments; 1803, Brooklyn; 1804, Albany city; iso5, sup'y; 1806, ditto, New Rochelle cir., N. Y., with Joseph Crawford and Henry Redstone; 1807, ditto, with Billy Hibbard, M. B. Bull and HI. Redstone; 1808, ditto, with Billy Hibbard and Zalmon Lyon; 1809, Croton cir., N. Y., with J. Lyon; 1810, Cortland cir., with Billy Hibbard; 1811, Suffolk cir., with S. Bushnell, 1812, Montgomery cir., with Francis Brown; 1813, New Windsor cir., with N. Em- ery; 1814, Newburgh cir .. with Z. Lyon; 1815, Croton cir., with Aaron Hunt; 1816, ditto; with Jesse Hunt; 1817, Stratford, Conn., with Reuben Harris; 1818, Goshen cir., with D. Ensign and T. Benedict; 1819, ditto, with D. En- sign; 1820-1825, superannuated.
Billy Hibbard in his autobiography mentions him as his colleague-a single man-in 1808. One year later, April 26, 1809, at the age of forty-two, he was married to Miss Alice Stow of Middletown, Conn.8
? Letter to the author.
1 Memorials of Methodism, p. 387.
3 Town Records.
155
Record of Ministers.
The late pastor in West Goshen, Conn., writes
The old records of this charge were burned in a dwelling-house, but it is definitely known that Ezekiel Canfield was twice on this charge, and he was the first Methodist who preached in the town. He delivered a sermon in a private house, standing on a half-bushel measure. This I learn from an old lady who was personally acquainted with him.‘
His last days were spent in Mayfield, Montgomery county, . N. Y., the home of his parents and other kindred. His life wore away with great suffering, which he endured with remark- able patience and resignation. " He declared that his faith was as unshaken as the pillars of heaven." With the prayer, "O Father, take me to thyself," trembling upon his lips, he passed on to his home in the skies, October 16, 1825, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. His funeral was attended by the Rev. Jacob Beeman, and his mortal form was laid in the Riceville ceme- tery, in the town of Mayfield. A tombstone marks his grave.
Ezekiel Canfield was a man of slender build, "a good off- hand speaker," modest in his deportment, cheerful and affable in his conversation, firm in his attachment to his friends, and plain and experimental in his preaching.6
ALICE, his wife, was the daughter of Solomon, Jr., and Alice (Abbott) Stow, of Middletown, Conn. She was converted in early life. Her husband found in her a faithful and useful sharer in his toils. After his death she returned to her childhood home, where she lived many years, esteemed and respected by all her acquaintances. Some are yet living in Middletown who distinctly remember "the little old lady," and often attended class-meetings in her house.
She died September 7, 1849, aged nearly seventy-six years. So sweetly did she fall asleep that one who watched her knew not the moment of her departure. Her last words were "Peace! peace ! peace ! " 1 She is buried in the Mortimer cemetery, in Middletown, Conn.
' Rev. George W. Hughes, -Letter to the author. .
" Conference Minutes, 1826, p. 509.
7 See The Christian Advocate and Journal, 1849.
12
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XXVII. WILLIAM THACHER.
ANDS STREET CHURCH numbered among her early pastors and presiding elders none more energetic and efficient than the REV. WILLIAM THACHER. Chief among the events of his ministry in Brooklyn was the erection of the "Old White Church."
He was born in Norwalk, Conn., April 3, 1769. His pa- rents were decided adherents to the creed of the Congrega- tional Church to which they belonged, and he and his two brothers were trained in the principles of piety. When a child of six years he declared his purpose to become a preacher. Two years later both his parents were removed by death. His father's dying request to a brother who ex- pected to adopt him as a son, was to have him graduate at Yale College, and study for the ministry. His uncle died, and he never went to college; nevertheless, by diligent study he acquired an excellent education.
He began to learn the tailor's trade in New Haven at four- teen years of age. Five years later, (1788,) he removed to New York, where he attended a meeting among the Method- . ists for the first time, and heard one of their ministers preach. Though unconverted, he admired the simplicity and zeal of that people, and his prejudice against them was thoroughly removed.
At twenty years of age he was living with the family of a Methodist class leader and exhorter in the city of Baltimore. By these favorable associations he was influenced to become a Christian, and was admitted by Henry Willis to probation in the Methodist Episcopal Church, June 19, 1790. The fol- lowing October he went to reside in the parish of Ripton, Fairfield Co., Conn., where the civil officers were peti- tioned to warn him to leave the town because he was a
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