USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > Old Sands Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Brooklyn, N.Y. : an illustrated centennial record, historical and biographical > Part 35
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His ancestry was of New England, and related to the many families of the name of Andrews, residing near Hartford, Conn., particularly in New Britain, whence his grandfather mi- grated to Oneida County, N. Y., in the early part of this cent- ury, settling in Whitestown, near Utica. George Andrews, father of the bishop, was married to Polly Walker, a lady of Quaker descent, connected not remotely with the Coffins and Gardiners of Nantucket. In early life she was a member of the Presbyterian church in Whitesboro, but when her husband, about the time of the birth of their son Edward, was converted, both together joined the Methodist Episcopal church in New York Mills, not far from their residence. The following, writ- ten by Dr. Buckley, appeared in The Christian Advocate, No- vember 11, 1880 :
The mother of Bishop Andrews celebrated her eighty-third birthday last Friday. She was born on Gunpowder Plot day. When she was a little girl more was said about it than now. One hundred and ninety-two, minus eighty-three, runs back to within one hundred and nine years of the landing of King William, and the recent rush of events had not obscured the memory of that great crisis in modern English history. We had the pleasure to be the pastor of this venerable woman eighteen
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years ago, and in view of her character and that of her family, congratulate her that God has satisfied her with long life and shown her his salvation ; that she has seen "her sons come to honor;" yes, she has seen her children's children, and their children.
Edward G. Andrews was born August 7, 1825, in New Hart- ford, Oneida County, N. Y. He was one of eleven children, all but one of whom lived to adult years, and became members of one or other of the evangelical churches-" so graciously did God, our Father, give his blessing to parental piety."
Having had elementary instruction in the common school, young Andrews subsequently studied for a while in the Oneida Institute, then under the care of the well-remembered and able Dr. Besiah Green. He began to study Greek with the Rev. Ira Pettibone, pastor of the Presbyterian church, New York Mills, and, very early, when not ten years of age, was sent, in the care of an elder brother, to the Cazenovia Seminary, (George Peck, D.D., principal,) forty miles from his home. With considerable in- termission he attended this school until he was nineteen years of age, when he entered the Wesleyan University, graduating there- from in 1847, with Orange Judd, Benjamin Pilsbury, Alexander Winchell, and others who have become an honor to the college.
While a student at the seminary he early made a profession of religion and united with the church. His precise age at the time we have not ascertained. He was licensed to exhort and to preach when eighteen years of age, in Hartwick circuit, Ot- sego County, N. Y., where he was teaching a private school. Nelson Rounds, D.D., was presiding elder, and Calvin Hawley, a man of wonderful power in prayer and exhortation, was the preacher in charge.
MINISTERIAL RECORD : 1847, supply, Morrisville and Pratt's IIol- low cir., with D. A. Whedon; IS448, ordained deacon, -(Oneida Conf., ) Hamilton and Leeville cir .; 1849, Hamilton; 1850-1851, Cooperstown; 1852, ordained elder; 1852-1853, Stockbridge; 1854-1855, teacher in Oneida (now Central New York) Conference Seminary, Cazenovia ; 1855, elected President of Mans- field, Ohio, Female College, and filled that position about one year, but the Minutes make no mention of it ; 1856-1863, Principal of Oneida Conference Seminary; 1864-1866, (New York East Conf., ) Stamford, Conn., with W. C. Hoyt; 1867, Brooklyn, Sands-street; 1868-1870, Brooklyn, St. John's; 1871-1872, Brooklyn, Seventh ave .; 1872 (May)-1884, bishop, residing most of the time in Washington, D. C.
His turning aside from the pastorate, in 1854, was occasioned by the failure of his voice, which he attributes to his " faulty
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manner of speech " in the early years of his ministry. Having engaged in educational work, which he intended to be only a temporary relief from pulpit labor, he continued therein for ten years, until, at length, unwilling longer to be kept from the occupation that was congenial to his tastes and desires, he returned to the pastorate.
The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by Genesee Col- lege in 1863, and that of LL. D. by Allegheny College in 1881. He preached a missionary sermon before the New York East Conference which was very highly appreciated. He was chosen orator at the twenty-fifth anniversary of his college class in 1872. At the semi-centennial of the Cazenovia Seminary, in 1875, he delivered the historical address, which was published. He was elected a trustee of the Wesleyan University in 1881, and the same year delivered a response to the address of wel- come at the semi-centennial exercises of the college.1
The records of Sands-street church were carefully revised by Dr. Andrews, and they bear testimony to the conscientious and painstaking attention which he gave to every part of the pas- tor's work. While in the New York East Conference (of which he has all along been claimed by his brethren to be a member, his name appearing on the roll in the Minutes for ten years after he was made a bishop) no minister was held in greater esteem among us. He was always recognized as a master spirit in the deliberations of the conference. His marked ability in debate was often strikingly displayed by his bringing forward at the opportune moment the suggestion or proposition that was sure to receive the unanimous approval of the preachers. He rep- resented the Oneida Conference in the General Conference of 1864. His election to the General Conference, held in Brook- lyn, in 1872, and his promotion by that conference to the highest position in the church, gave great satisfaction to his many friends, and his eminent efficiency and usefulness as a bishop prove the wisdom of the choice.
The accompanying portrait represents Dr. Andrews as he ap- peared when pastor of the Sands-street church. He now wears side whiskers, which have turned very grey, yet he seems to have retained much of the vigor of former years. The Christian Advocate describes him as " well built, with ruddy and pleasant
1 Semi-Centennial, Wesleyan University, pp. 8-15.
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countenance, and eyes shaded with glasses; neat in habit, of courteous yet dignified mien, retiring and unassuming, but ex- ceedingly social among friends."
The day he was twenty-six years of age, (August 7, 1851,) E. G. Andrews was married to MISS SUSAN M. HOTCHKISS, of Cheshire, Conn. Eva, their first-born, died in infancy. The other children are: Winnifred Elizabeth ; Helen, (Mrs. W. G. Nixon ;) Edward Hotchkiss, (class of 1885, Wesleyan Univer- sity,) and Grace.
REV. E. E. GRISWOLD, D. D.
LXXVIII. EDWIN E. GRISWOLD.
HE REV. EDWIN ELIJAH GRISWOLD, D. D., son of Elijah and Lydia Griswold, was born in Windsor, Ct., August 20, 1802. The family were descendants of the original settlers of that town. Among his relatives was Bishop A. V. Griswold of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Dr. Griswold's mother was of Puritan descent, and of the Adams family. She with her husband joined the Epis- copalians, but was an ardent admirer of Jesse Lee and his successors, who were often entertained at her home. She survived her husband, and in her later years became a Methodist and lived with her son.
Mr. Griswold records that during his infancy he was once so very sick that he lay a long time as if he were dead, and then recovered. When about commencing his public labors for Christ, he overheard his mother relating this incident to a friend, and saying,-" I then felt that my child was raised up to do or suffer a great deal in this world." This remark made a lasting impression upon his mind. He experienced religion at the age of fifteen, through the pastoral care of the Revs. Micah and Aurora Seager. He never ventured to determine the exact moment of his conversion, but he always remem- bered the strange, sweet peace which he experienced one day while following the plow, and humming the lines he had heard in the Methodist prayer-meeting-
"O! Christian, are you ready now To cross the narrow flood ?"
there came to his heart a comfortable assurance that he was ready. This was in June, 1817. The following March he joined the little society in the neighborhood, and as he was the only male member; he was appointed leader, and held
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the position until, some years later, he left home to join the itinerant ranks. His few early advantages he faithfully im- proved, attending the public school when he could, and study- ing by candle-light, and sometimes by fire-light, and even by moonlight, while others were asleep. Concerning his diligence as a student, and his call to the ministry, the Rev. George A. Hubbell writes :
In early youth he showed a fondness for study, reading all the family library, which contained a Bible, Prayer Book, Fox's Martyrology, Hervey's Meditations, Seneca's Morals, and Mason on Self-knowledge. At twelve years of age he began to draw books from the district library, select- ing Josephus, Rollins' History, Robinson's Charles V., and books of biography, voyages, and travels, to which he added two or three works of fiction. The practical character of his early reading stamped his mind with certain common-sense peculiarities which were prominent in all his public life,1
How he was led step by step to enter upon the life of an itin- erant preacher is thus told by the same writer :
Thoughts of the ministry were familiar to him from his childhood, when his grandfather laid a hand of blessing on his head and said, " This boy must be a minister." Soon after his conversion he heard the divine call to this work. The preachers urged it upon his attention ; and when he was seventeen years old, Rev. Cyrus Culver, unsolicited, gave him license to exhort. From this time he became more studious, and read all the Methodist literature within his reach. Six years later he was in doubt respecting his duty, and decided to settle down to business. He married Miss Nancy Webster, an amiable and estimable Christian laidy, and engaged in farming and school-teaching. But he was not at rest. After two years of vacillation the conviction became strong that he must give himself up wholly to the work of the ministry, in which, as an exhorter, he had been partially engaged for nearly ten years. Rev. E. Osborn, preacher in charge, gave him appointments on the circuit, and he was licensed to preach at the district conference held at Richmond, Mass., in October, 1827. In the spring of 1829 he was admitted on trial in the New York Conference.
He continued in the active work forty-three successive years, serving the church with acceptability and success, filling the entire pastoral term in every circuit or station. The following list of his appointments and his colleagues will enable the reader to follow the faithful itinerant from place to place, and may suggest many reminiscences of his work and his fellow- workers.
1 Memorial sketch, in The Christian Advocate.
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CONFERENCE RECORD : 1829, (New York Conf.,) Monkton cir., Vt., with Elias Crawford ; 1830, Monkton and Charlotte cir., with T. Sey- mour and A. Hazleton ; 1831, ordained deacon, -Windsor cir., Conn., with W. M'Kendree Bangs ; 1832, Windsor ; 1833, ordained elder : 1833-1834, Wethersfield ; 1835, New York, west cir., with J. B. Stratton, D. De Vinne, J. C. Tackaberry, and L. Mead ; 1836, ditto, with C. W. Carpenter, J. Covel, Jr., J. Z. Nichols, L. Mead, and I .. Pease, sup'y ; 1837, New Haven, Conn .; 1839-1840, Brooklyn, York-street ; 1841-1842, Newburgh : 1843-1844, Mid- dletown, Conn .; 1845-1846, Hempstead, L. I .; 1847, presiding elder, Hart- ford Dist., Conn .; 1848-1849, New York, Mulberry-street ; 1850-1851, New York, Ninth-street ; 1852-1853, Essex, Conn .; 1854-1855, Danbury ; 1856- 1859, presiding elder, Bridgeport Dist .; 1860, presiding elder, New Haven Dist .; 1861-1864, presiding elder, New York Dist .; 1865-1867, presiding elder, New Haven Dist .; 1868-1871, presiding elder, Long Island South Dist. ; 1872-1877, superannuated.
He was a member of four successive General Conferences, 1852, 1856, 1860, and 1864, once (1856) at the head of his dele- gation. In 1864 he received the degree of D.D. from Mt. Union College, Ohio. Dr. Griswold was twice married. At the close of this article the reader will find a sketch of his first wife. By a second marriage he became the husband of a very estimable lady, the widow of an honored Methodist preacher. His last six years were spent in comparative retirement at his home in Danbury, Conn., and from thence he " crossed over " on the 3d of April, 1878, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. About the time when the preachers had assembled in New York, and the secretary was calling the conference roll, he answered to the roll-call of heaven. Like Carpenter and Covel and Stillman, already sketched in this book, he closed his earth- ly life while his conference was in session, from whose annual meetings he had failed to be present only once in forty-nine years. Revs. G. A. Hubbell, B. Pilsbury, S. H. Bray, and John Crawford took part in the funeral services. Ile was buried in Wooster cemetery, Danbury, Conn.
Father Griswold was an able and interesting preacher, though his delivery was not the most attractive. In his later years his voice was husky at times, and his naturally stout frame and rounded shoulders, his broad face and bristling gray hair, gave him a unique appearance in a stranger's eyes; and yet, wherever he was known as a minister of Christ, he was universally revered for his eminent piety and talent. In all his public ministrations his thoughts were practical and clear, his rhetoric chaste and beautiful,
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and his prayers-what marvels of appropriateness, simplicity, and tenderness they were !
His friend, Mr. Hubbell, writes :
As a preacher, he was always interesting. His sermons were thoroughly studied and were models of good, practical sense. He indulged in nothing speculative, fanciful, or sensational, but preached the gospel only. * * * Ile fed the people with knowledge. Rarely did he preach controversially ; but when occasion demanded, he proved a master in this field, as discom- fited immersionists in Newburgh and Millerites in Middletown freely con- ceded. Having no collegiate edneation to fall back upon, he continued to study and grow in useful knowledge until the end of his ministry. He was a careful student of nature and of man. He kept abreast of the growing science and progressing thought of the age, and his sermons and conversation were enriched with the ripest thought. Few have been better versed in the English classics, or Christian theology, or current literature.
During the terms of his pastoral service in New Haven and Middletown he availed himself of most of the public lectures in science in connection with the colleges. The writer already quoted, adds :
As a pastor, he was singularly devoted to his work, being rarely absent for a single day, and with impartiality and fidelity looking after every member of his flock. Very gracious revivals attended his earlier ministry, especially in New York, New Haven, Brooklyn, and Newburgh, nearly two hundred souls being gathered into the church in the latter place.
During the seventeen years of his presiding eldership he manifested a deep interest in the prosperity of the churches, and a sympathetic interest in the welfare of the preachers. His administrative abilities were good. His quar- terly visitations were genial, conciliatory, and edifying.
The name of " Elder Griswold " will never cease to be dear to the present generation of preachers in the New York East Conference. The young men on his districts studied his char- acter closely, and all learned to admire the soundness of his judgment and the kindness of his heart. Now that he is gone the younger race of preachers find it no small honor and no easy task to wear his mantle and to wield his sword.
.
NANCY (WEBSTER,) his first wife, was nearly seven years his senior. She was born in Bloomfield, Conn., December 16, 1795. Having been converted under Methodist influences, she joined that " almost unknown and every-where derided people," against the wishes of her father's family, who, like their ancestors, were connected with the Congregational Church.
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Her memorial says :
When, four years after her marriage to Mr. Griswold, he entered upon the work of the ministry, although she would sometimes in pleasantry say that she was not responsible for the duties of a minister's wife-not having mar- ried a minister-yet she entered heartily with him into the great enterprise ; and, so far as the care of her young family and enfeebled health would per- mit, bore her full share of its responsibilities.2
She suffered extremely for twenty-five years from nervous prostration and neuralgic disease, and "finally consumption of the lungs supervened, and in a few days opened to her the gates of eternal life." . After some days of terrible spiritual conflict, she gained a complete triumph. "As the breath grew short and the pulses still, a luminous smile, completely indescribable, overspread her countenance, and she died with it beaming there." Thus she passed away, April 3, 1870, exactly eight years prior to the death of her husband. Their bodies repose side by side.
His widow, ARTEMESIA (WHITE,) is a daughter of the Rev. Nicholas White, of blessed memory, and was formerly the wife of the lamented Rev. John M. Pease, of the New York East Conference. Her present residence is Plainfield, N. J.
Children of Edwin E. and Nancy Griswold : Fannie E., resi- dence, Danbury, Conn .: Edwin C., graduate of Wesleyan Univer- sity, 1847, teacher in Wyoming Seminary, clerk on North River steam-boats, employee in Methodist Book Concern, New York, moved to Elyria, Ohio, book-seller there, now farmer-a lay delegate to General Conference in 1876; Harriet IV., (now Mrs. E. B. Stevens ;) Anne Augusta, (now Mrs. Horace Purdy ;) Mary Victoria, who died in childhood.
2 " X," in The Christian Advocate.
LXXIX. a. H, Wyatt
ANDS STREET CHURCH was left to be supplied in the spring of 1868, and the REV. ALBERT HARMON WY- ATT, A. M., having taken a supernumerary rela- tion in the New York Conference, was placed in charge for a short time, until the arrival of Mr. De La Matyr who was transferred from Western New York.
Wyatt is a name which Methodists have reason to honor. The church has preserved a memorial of Peter Wyatt, of the Virginia Conference, who in comparative youth closed a life of great usefulness in 1817.' Lednum mentions a Joseph Wyatt, one of the early Methodist itinerants from the state of Delaware, a man of marked talent, who served as chap- lain to the legislature of Maryland." William Wyatt, the fa- ther of the subject of this sketch, was a Methodist itinerant preacher of remarkable pulpit power. His parents before him were godly Methodists, pioneers of the denomination in Danby, N. Y. William's father was of English extraction; his mother of French. "From her" it is said "he took his physique and fire. The author formed the acquaintance of Chaplain William Wyatt in the army, attended a camp-meet- ing with him in Maryland in 1863, and heartily concurs in the following statement concerning him.
As a preacher he was sui generis. His sermons were written, elaborated, and thoroughly memorized. Ilis style was eccentric and very impressive. His voice
1 Minutes of Conferences, 1817, pp. 291, 292.
2 "Rise of Methodism,' pp. 226, 227.
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was clear and strong, and his enunciation distinct. IIs sermons were "arousements." Who that ever heard him preach on " The Closet," "Jacob's Ladder," "Sampson," "Stone Kingdom," or " The Valley of Dry Bones," can forget the impression made ? Ilis life and labors were a grand success. He was a good man, and, like Enoch, walked with God.3
The widow of William Wyatt, mother of Albert, is a daughter of the late Rev. Reuben Reynolds, of the Northern New York Conference.
Albert H. Wyatt was born in Speedsville, Tompkins County, N. Y., October 16, 1839. Before he was seventeen years of age, on the 6th of September, 1856, at a camp-meeting in the Wyo- ming Valley, Pa., he experienced the pardoning love of God. That same year he was licensed to exhort in Wilkesbarre, Pa., and he received local preacher's license October 16, 1857. He was ordained local deacon by Bishop Scott in 1862, and in the fall of that year he was appointed chaplain of the 109th Regi- ment N. Y. Volunteer Infantry. He prepared for college in the Wyoming Seminary, and was graduated at the Wesleyan Uni- versity in 1864, having joined the New York Conference in April of that year. The following is his
CONFERENCE RECORD : 1864-1865, (New York Conf,) West Harlem, N. Y .; 1865, ordained elder ; 1866-1867, White Plains; 1868, sup'y, supply, Brooklyn, Sands-street, a few months, then traveled in Europe ; 1869-1871, New York, Washington Square ; 1872-1873, (Wyoming Conf.,) Wilkesbarre, Pa .; 1874, (Erie Conf.,) Jamestown, N. Y .; 1875, (New York East Conf.,) Brooklyn, Summerfield ch .; 1876-1577, sup'y ; 1875-1879. Dunham, Conn .; 1880-1981, Brooklyn, South Second-street ; 1882-1883, Mid- dletown, Conn .; 1834, New Haven, St. John-street.
Mr. Wyatt was married, April 27, 1865, to MISS ANNIE E. BROWN. She died April 1, 1867. Her brief memorial says :
Her married life, of but two years' duration, was exceedingly happy ; yet with holy joy she bade farewell to husband and friends, and passed away to rest with Jesus.4
June 30, 1868, he was married to MISS MARTHA WASHING- TON PRESTON, of Buffalo, N. Y. This excellent Christian lady, after a brief illness, died in Durham, Conn., February 18, 1879. The writer was intimately associated with Brother Wyatt and huis family during the time of their residence in Glen Cove, L. I.,
3 Rev. II. Brownscombe, in The Christian Advocate.
4 Rev. B. M. Adams, in The Christian Advocate, May 23, 1867. 26
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in 1876 and 1877; and a more amiable and beautiful character than Mrs. Wyatt's he has rarely known. She was sister to Will- iam I. Preston, Esq., whose name appears in this book as a prominent member of the Sands-street church.
MISS GERTRUDE E. FIELD, daughter of the Rev. Julius Field, of the New York East Conference, was married to Mr. Wyatt, September 14, 1880. Two of his children died in infancy ; a daughter and a son are now living.
Albert H. Wyatt shone conspicuously among his associates in college, and has ever since been regarded as one of the most eloquent and useful men in our ministry. He speaks with re- markable ease and fluency, and his sermons sparkle with beauty and glow with heavenly fire. It would be impossible for any Christian, and difficult, indeed, for any sinner, not to love such a man as A. II. Wyatt ; yet he strikes telling blows against sin in the church and out of it, and has never been suspected of seeking popularity for its own sake. His modesty is often noticed and admired. In appearance he is rather tall and erect, with a broad forehead, dark complexion, raven locks, large nose, pleasant mouth, dark, full, and somewhat drooping eye, with an unusually calm and benignant expression.
Providence has been pleased to send upon Brother Wyatt re- peated and severe afflictions. By the failure of his health while pastor of the Summerfield church, in Brooklyn, in 1876, which rendered absolutely necessary a suspension for two years of his active ministerial work, and by the death of two wives, a father, a sister, Lizzie, (Mrs. Rev. Dr. W. P. Abbott,) and two infant children, all occurring within a few years, the gold in his character has been abundantly tested, but by no means dimin- ished or destroyed.
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Neb., Ist ch .; 1872-1873, (St. Louis Conf.,) Kansas City, Mo., Grand ave .; 1874-1876, (Southeast Indiana Conf.,) Indianapolis, Roberts Park chapel; 1877, Indianapolis, Grace ch., 1878-1883, local; 1883, supply, Denver, Colorado.
The author formed a very delightful acquaintance with Chap- lain De La Matyr in Baltimore, Md., in the year 1863, and was frequently permitted to hear him preach in the Methodist pul- pits of that city. A ride together by carriage to and from Gettysburgh, on the occasion of the dedication of the national cemetery, occupying a number of days, was an incident too rare and too pleasant to be easily forgotten.
While presiding elder of the Wyoming District, in 1867, Mr. De La Matyr was elected a delegate to the Republican State Convention, and was by that body put in nomination on the S ate ticket for the office of inspector of State- prisons. This drew him somewhat into politics, but he continued to receive appointments as a regular conference preacher for several years thereafter. While in Omaha he published a sermon on " The Relation of Church and State," opposing the taxing of church property in Nebraska. He received the degree of D. D. from the Willamette University, of Oregon. In 1878 he was elected to Congress on a Greenback ticket in Indiana. While in Wash- ington he identified himself with the Metropolitan church. About this time he became somewhat famous throughout the country as a political speaker and lecturer. His lecture on "Daniel, the incorruptible statesman," was often referred to in the papers as "abounding in glowing descriptions and lofty flights of eloquence." He preached nearly every Sabbath, however busily occupied he may have been with other matters during the week.
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