Old Sands Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Brooklyn, N.Y. : an illustrated centennial record, historical and biographical, Part 47

Author: Warriner, Edwin, 1839-1898. 4n
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: New York : Published for the author by Phillips & Hunt
Number of Pages: 1202


USA > New York > Kings County > Brooklyn > Old Sands Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Brooklyn, N.Y. : an illustrated centennial record, historical and biographical > Part 47


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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491


Record of Members.


in an infinite tyrant." Such discussions were very frequent in those days. Mr. Smead had a w. and I child .-** Smith, Ad- aline, d .- Smith, Anna, rem .- Smith, Benj. and Jane E., 'rem. by c .- Smith, B. F., rem .-** Smith, Clark, a very ex- emplary member, d. 1874 .- SMITH, MRS. CORNELIA .- SMITH, CRAWFORD C., trus. and std. ; son of Geo. and Mary G. Smith ; b. in B'klyn, 1809, and now the only surviving mem- ber of the family. He was for some time treasurer of Kings Co .; afterward, treasurer of the city of B'klyn ; a few yrs. cash- ier of the Nassau Bank, and the past 20 yrs. its pres't. He has been familiar with the pastors and members of the Sands-st. ch. from his infancy, and there is no person living, probably, who cherishes a warmer interest in the old ch. than he .- SMITH, REBECCA, w. of Crawford C., dau. of Mrs. Anne Ingraham. - SMITH, EDWARD A .- SMITH, ELIZA .-** Smith, George, cl. Idr. and trus .; b. in Middletown, N. J. ; a carriage maker by trade ; came to B'klyn in 1800; d. 1826, age 5-7 ; bur. in the old ch .- yard, where the headstone was left when his re- mains were rem. to " Greenwood." He was an intimate friend and associate of Judge Garrison, and they were nearly always seen together at funerals, and in other public assemblies. The contrast in their size was noticed. "Uncouth, honest," are the words by which his pastor described him in the ch. records about 1819 .-** Mary Garrison, his w., was b. in Phila. ; came to N. J. when a child ; was conv. after her marriage; d. about 1849 ; age about 72; bur. in "Greenwood" beside her hus- band. She was a Dorcas, " full of alms-deeds and good works." Their children : Crawford C .; William ; Richard; John ; George ; Mrs. Cook; Mrs. Ayers; Mrs. Davis; Mary. -* Smith, Geo., son of the above; went away ; returned ; was not a mem- ber at the time of his death, about 1874; bur. in " Greenwood." -SMITH, GEO. A .-** Smith, Hannah, (Ist) d. about 1819, probably the same person whose name is on the record, 1798 .- ** Smith, Hannah, (2d,) d. " in the faith," 1845 .- SMITH, HENRY ARTHUR .- Smith, Henry R., rem., 1847 .- SMITH, JAS .- SMITH, JENNIE M .-* Smith, Jeremiah, member in 1798 .- Smith, Jerusha, rem .-** Smith, John, (Ist.) cl. Idr. and trus. He was a son of Geo .; bro. of C. C. ; d. in 1849, age 59; last words, " All is right." [J. B. Hagany, in Ch. Ad.] He is bur. in "Greenwood." A mural tablet in . commemoration of this good man may be seen in the old church. He was a carman at the ferry ; in later years retired from busi- ness; a useful member of Sands-st. ch. over 50 yrs. : none more sincerely loved. D. S. Quimby says: "His example was a great help to me." -* Smith, John, (2d,) son of Geo .; rem. about 1835. He is deceased .-** Smith, John G., son of John (1st,) S.S. lib'n ; d. June 2, 1873, age 56 ; bur. in " Greenwood," He was a clerk in B'klyn. Left a w. and 2 children .- Smith,


4


33


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Old Sands Street Church.


Julia, rem. by c., 1865 .-* Smith, Leanah ; see Valentine .- Smith, Lewis, rem. by c., 1871 ; member of this ch. 5 yrs .- Smith, Margaret, rem .- SMITH, MISS MARY G .- Smith, Mary M., dau. of Geo. and Mary G. ; unmarried; rem. to Texas, to live with her sister ; d. April, 1884, in Galveston, Texas .- SMITH, MOSES .- SMITH, PHOEBE .-* Smith, Richard, son of Geo .; bro. of C. C .; Idr. of a colored class in 1826; rem. to Southold, L. I .; d. in 1874; did not retain his membership in the ch .- Smith, Mrs. Sarah, rem. by c., 1872 .- Smith, Sarah F., rem. by c., 1868 .-** Smith, Sarah M., d. 1870 .- Smith, Sid- ney, rem .- Smith, Wm., S.S.t. and loc. pr., 1833; rem. He mar. Sarah Jane M'Keon ; she was a S. S. t. in 1852 .-** Smith, Wm., son of Geo., d. about 1850 .-* Ann, his w., was formerly Mrs. Ann Remsen. She died about 1880 .- Snedden, Mrs. Margaret, rem. by c., 1866 .- Snediker, Martha, rem. without c., 1848 .- *Snethen, Nicholas, the Ist (known or recorded) cl. Idr. in the Sands-st ch., was b., Nov. 15, 1769, at Fresh Pond, (Glen Cove,) L. I. His family came origin- ally from the foot of Mt. Snawthen, Snethen, or Snow- down, in Wales. His father was an officer in the British coloni- al army at the capt- ure of Montreal, in 1760. Later he en- gaged in the flour trade, and resided on L. I. Nicholas passed his boyhood and youth partly on a farm and partly on a freighting schooner, and ac- quired what knowl- edge he could. "Shortly after he became of age he went with his father to reside on Staten: Island, where he professed religion " among the Episco- palians. In 1791 the family removed to Belleville, N. J., and while employed there in tending a mill, he was converted under the preaching of the


493


Record of Members.


Methodists. These dates given by his son we accept, although they are slightly at variance with a statement quoted by Abel Stevens to the effect that Snethen was conv. in his 20th yr. [See sketch of N. S. by his son, Worthington G. Snethen, in Sprague, vii, 244. See, also, Boehm's Reminiscences, p. 232, and Stevens' Hist. M. E. Ch., iii, 260.] Neither Boehm nor the writer in Sprague's Annals makes any mention of Mr. Snethen's connection with the Brooklyn ch. The Rev. N. Levings, in Meth. Quar., 1831, p. 261, writing of the Brooklyn Meth. class when John Garrison j., in 1793, says : " The Idr. was Mr. Nich- olas Snethen, subsequently a zealous, useful, and popular preacher," etc. The writer does not state that there was no cl. Idr. previous to 1793, or that Mr. Snethen had no predeces- sor. Dr. Levings was conversant with some of the original members, and obtained his information directly from them. Dr. Wakeley, having consulted this authority, carelessly and inac- curately states that Snethen was appointed cl. Idr. by Woolman Hickson. [Lost Chapters, p. 312.] That means that he was made cl. Idr. before Sept., 1788. But Levings, Wakeley's authority, does not say that Hickson appointed Snethen cl. Idr .; and, furthermore, as Snethen was then only 18 yrs. of age, living miles away from B'klyn, and unconverted, the absurdity of that statement is apparent. Stevens [Hist. M. E. Ch., ii, p. 110] copies this anachronism. From a careful reading of Dr. Lev- ings' historic sketch of B'klyn Methodism, written in 1831, and taken from the lips of the earliest members, we infer that there may have been really no leader of the class, except the preach- ers, until about 1793, when Mr. Snethen was app'd. He entered the itinerancy (from Brooklyn, probably) in 1794, in the 25th yr. of his age. Appointments in the M. E. Ch. : 1794, Fairfield cir., Conn., with Zebulon Kankey ; 1795, Tolland cir., with Christopher Spry ; 1796, ord. deacon,-Vershire cir., Vt. ; 1797, Portland cir., Me., with J. Finnegan ; 1798, no app't recorded ; 1799, Charleston cir., S. C., with Jno. Harper; 1800, ord. elder, -Balt. and Fell's Point, Md., with T. Morrell, G. Roberts and P. Bruce ; 1801-2, with Asbury; 1803, Balt. city, with J. Wells and S. Coate; 1804, N. York, with M. Coate, S. Merwin, (E. Cooper and J. Wilson, ed's and book stewards ;) 1805, ditto, with F. Garrettson, A. Hunt, and J. Wilson; 1806-8, located ; 1809, (Balt. Conf.,) Fell's Point; 1810, Balt! city, with Asa Schinn and Robert Burch ; 1811, Georgetown, D. C. ; 1812, Alexandria, Va .; 1813, Frederick cir., Md., with James Smith ; 1814, located. His son writes concerning his entrance upon his itinerant work: "When he left home he was spare in flesh, his eye was sunken, his face wan, and a hectic glow sat on his cheek. Four yrs. of toil and hardship, being most of the time in his saddle, reversed the picture, and he brought back with him a well-developed person and elastic step,


494


Old Sands Street Church.


and the bloom of health was upon him." His Vershire cir. was the " Ist projected in the State of Vt." He had yellow fever by which his life was greatly imperiled in 1800. The ist camp- meeting ever held in Md., in 1803, was under his direction, and during that meeting, as he records of himself, he "fell twice in the pulpit beneath the overwhelming power of saving grace." He was active in introducing camp-meetings into the northern States. [See p. 159 of this work. ] "He was popular and useful while traveling with Asbury. As an active member he was present at the Gen. Confs. of 1800, 1804, and 1812. In 1800 he was sec. of the conf. His marriage, in 1804, to Susanna H. Worthington, brought him into the possession of a number of slaves. It is evident that he was opposed to the system of slav- ery. His views on that subject a short time previous to his mar- riage may be inferred from the following extract from the Jour- nal of the Gen. Conf. of 1800: " Bro. Snethen moved that this Gen. Conf. do resolve that from this time no slave-holder shall be admitted to the Meth. Epis. Ch .- Negatived." His son jus- tifies his holding slaves on the ground that the laws of the State forbade their manumission. The People's Cyclopedia states- on what authority we know not-that he did set them free. The cause of his location in 1806 is thus stated : " Bp. Asbury, who had very strong feelings against preachers being married, now told him that if the Fell's Point station, in Balt., would take a married preacher, he might go there. But Mr. Snethen would not consent even to consider a proposition so conditioned, and located himself forthwith, and returned to his Linganore farm." [W. J. Snethen, in Sprague's Annals.] It will be noticed that he was app'd to Fell's Point three yrs. later. His son informs us that during his location he declined an invitation to become ass't rector of Christ Ch., N. York, and that on the death of Asbury, the "Silver Trumpet," (for such the bishop called Mr. S.,) which had long been silent, resounded in ringing tones the praises of Asbury in a funeral oration which was published in pamphlet form. He engaged somewhat in politics ; was a Fed- eralist in 1816. As candidate for M. C. from Md. he was de- feated, and soon afterward retired from political strife. His camp-meeting sermons were often attended with great spiritual power. "It came to his ears that some one had attributed the result to animal excitement. He stated from the pulpit that he would repeat that sermon the next day as nearly as he could, word for word, and leave it with God to vindicate his word in the production of a similar result. Immense crowds of people came to hear him, and the result was even more signal than it had been on the first occasion." [W. G. Snethen, in Sprague.] The story of his able defense of the ch. in the time of O'Kelly's revolt, and his subsequent strange acceptance of the champion- ship of a greater schism, resulting in the formation of the Meth.


495


Record of Members.


Prot. Ch., is too long to be narrated here. (For an adequate ac- count, see Stevens' Hist. M. E. Ch., vol. iii, pp. 34, 261.) His son has given a statement of some of Mr. Snethen's own peculiar notions. He says that he proposed a Federal ch. gov't, bounded by state lines, the Annual Conf's sustaining a relation to the Gen. Conf. similar to that which the States sustain to the Fed- eral gov't. "Sad indeed," says Dr. Stevens, "to see a man so good and great, after a useful ministry of 30 yrs. or more, spend the remainder of his weary and declining life amid the anxieties and reactions of an impracticable experiment, and in conflict with the sympathies and endeared memories of his earlier and better years." In 1829 pecuniary troubles compelled him to sell his farm in Md. and remove to Indiana. In the fall of that yr. he bur. his w. and one of his dau., which broke up his family and forced him into the itinerancy of the new ch. ; but he was as busy as ever with his pen. In 1834 he was called to be one of the eds. of the Meth. Prot., and that yr. wrote for the paper about 120 articles on about as many subjects. "On his return to the West, in 1837, he was called to the head of a manual labor ministerial college. This institution soon failed for lack of funds. From 1830 to the close of his life he labored as the regularly stationed minister at different times in Louisville, Cin- cinnati, and Zanesville. He presided over the Gen. Conf. of the Meth. Prot. Ch. assembled in Alexandria, Va., in 1838 .. Some 2 yrs. before his death he was elected pres't of the Sneth- en Sem., in Iowa City. He d. " praising God," at the res. of his son-in-law, Dr. Pennington, in Princeton, Ind., May 30, 18.45, age 76, and was bur. in the village cem., by the side of his w. and 3 of his children. The grave is marked by a marble shaft, the top carved in the shape of an open Bible. A personal friend thus describes Mr. Snethen : " He was large and of command- ing appearance, with a most benignant expression of counte- nance ; and his countenance was a true index of his character. . In his manners he was a perfect gentleman. . . . His in-


tellect was comprehensive, energetic, versatile. . . . His pres- ence was always felt to be an elenient of power." It is still further said that he was " eminently conscientious " and " bold " in the defense of truth or duty; " exceedingly well-informed," and " as a writer, concise, luminous, and powerful." " While preaching at a camp-meeting in a strain of wonderful eloquence, he came suddenly to a dead pause, and taking up the Bible, and pressing it to his bosom, he exclaimed, 'My Book and heart shall never part !' and then holding it out to the men, [sitting on one side in the olden fashion, ] he exclaimed at the top of his voice, 'Brethren, it is your Bible !' and then turning to the fe- male part of his audience, he said, 'Sisters, this is your Bible !' and then wheeling around to the colored people who were be- hind the stand, he said, 'Colored people, ye sable sons of Africa,


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Old Sands Street Church.


it is your Bible !' There was an electric power in the appeal that nobody could resist-the whole of that immense cong. seemed completely dissolved." [Hon. P. B. Hopper, in Sprague's Annals.] -** Snow, Rob't, the best-remembered man in the early annals of B'klyn, was b. in Ireland in 1760, and arrived in N. York (so says Miss Denmead) on the day of the "Evacua- tion," and saw the ships with the British soldiers going out of the harbor. He married Susanna (Meir), wid. of a Mr. Smith. He mended shoes and she took in washing, whereby they earned


ROBERT SNOW,


First Sunday School Superintendent in Brooklyn.


a capital sufficient to enable them to open a small grocery. The sale of rum and gin, a supposed indispensable part of the gro- cery business, was so abhorrent to his principles, that he gave up the store. He soon found employment in what proved to be a permanent position as inspector of potash in the city of N. York. His integrity was unquestioned, and it was said at his funeral that his marks on potash were always taken in Eng. as a satis- factory guarantee of its good quality. He rem. to B'klyn ; be- came a member of Sands-st. ch., chief founder and supt. of the


.


497


Record of Members.


Ist S. S. in B'klyn, in 1816, and Ist pres't of the Apprentices' Library Assoc'n. A great lover of children, he had a happy tal- ent for addressing them. When LaFayette laid the cor .- stone of the Apprentices' Library building, in 1825, the S. S. children being present in a body, Mr. Snow, as pres't of the assoc'n, was called out to address them, and he responded admirably. He always remembered the little ones with gifts on the New-Year's anniversary. The Rev. T. W. Chadwick writes: "I well re- member Rob't Snow and his power over the children. When he said, 'Be a good boy, or Father Snow wont love you,' I deter- mined to be good." He was S. S. supt. till his death, and " when a lingering illness confined him to his house, next door to the ch., the scholars always looked for him at the door as they passed on their way to school. A week before his death he asked to have the children march before his window.". From the S. S. building on Prospect-st., bet. Wash'gt'n and Adams sts., the school marched in double file, up Prospect-st. to Fulton, and up Fulton to Sands-st., so as to pass the residence of Mr. Snow, which was on the Fulton-st. side of the ch. Thus they marched past the window behind which he sat, each boy doffing his cap, and each girl "dropping a courtesy," " while the good man re- turned bow for bow and blessing for blessing, as the tears rolled down his cheeks and dimmed his aged eyes." [Stiles' Hist. B'klyn, vol. ii, p. 23.] In later yrs. he was universally known as " Poppy Snow." Fortune did not always smile upon him. He met with heavy financial losses. Dan'l De Vinne says : "He bought very valuable property in Wm .- st., N. York, but lost it through defective titles; repurchased it and lost it again in the same manner. In those days there were no public records by which titles could be known. Mr. Snow was childless, yet he and his admirable wife fostered children and severally adopted them as their own, giving them a settlement or outfit in life, amount- ing sometimes to thousands of dollars. These children were not ungrateful to him ; when he was old and paralytic, and had lost all his property, so tender were these adopted children toward him, that they not only took the best care of him, but would not let him know the loss of his property, and even in- dulged him in the gratification of bequeathing property which had already passed into other hands." [MS. Journal.] His w., from rheumatism, was completely helpless for nearly 17 yrs. All this time he enjoyed uninterrupted health and spirits, and "waited upon her with all the gayety and assiduity of a suitor."


A few hours after her burial he was seized with partial paraly- sis, which rendered him, likewise, helpless and dependent till his death : yet he was remarkably cheerful in the midst of trials which would have bowed others to the earth. His old friend, De Vinne, says : " In person he was of small stature, with an open, pleasant, and animated countenance ; polite, affable, and


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Old Sands Street Church.


gentlemanly in manners; dressed very neatly in the old cos- tume of small clothes, and always carried a small umbrella for sun or rain. He possessed in an eminent degree the ardor and eloquence peculiar to his countrymen." He loved to sing, and had a habit of standing on tiptoe when singing the high notes. He d. in B'klyn, March 30, 1833, age 73, [L. I. Star, Apr. 3, 1833,] and left an enduring name, which will grow brighter as the fruits of his work increase. He seems to have had no me- morial in the Ch. Ad. His grave in the old ch .- yard was never marked by a headstone; and now, after all these yrs. of neglect, the Sands-st. ch. and S.S. ought to identify his remains, if pos- sible, and build a monument to his memory .-** Susanna, his w., d. in B'klyn Feb. 11, 1831, age 69. [See L. I. Star, Feb'y 16, 1831.] Miss Susanna Snow Denmead, a child of one of their adopted dau's, now deceased, said to the author : "Susanna Snow was handsome, intelligent, and generous, like her husband ; a great sufferer for years ; and yet she had a great deal of com- pany, and even in her helplessness had the oversight of her household affairs .- SODEN, WM. H .- SOMERVILLE, LOW- ERY, S.S. t. and std .; b. in N. of Ireland ; brought up in Ch. of Eng. till 16 yrs. of age; confirmed; afterward j. the Wesleyan Meth. Came to B'klyn in 1859, and j. Sands-st. ch, by c., (Dr. Hagany, pastor.) Dry-goods merchant, 1863-83, N. E. cor. Sands and Fulton; rem. when the property was purchased by the Bridge Co .- SONONBLOOM, J .- Southard, Marietta, rem. by c., 1867 .-** Sowden, Jas. B., d. of cancer .- Sperry, Henrietta C., S. S. t .; rem., 1848, to Newark, N. J. ; mar Rev. Dr. R. S. Maclay, miss'y to China and Japan .- Spingsteel, Anna and Polly, " charter members " of Yellow Hook (Bay Ridge) class, 1822 .- Stagg, Mrs. and Miss Ellen, rem. by c., 1874 .-* Stanley, Dan'l, S. S. t .; b. in Peekskill; came to B'klyn while young; d. in Rochester, N. Y., 1844, age 41 ; bur. in Mt. Hope cem .; left 3 children, viz., David, Edward, and Clarence. Edward d. at 14 .-** Rachel, Ist w. of the above, dau. of John and Mary Garrison ; d. Oct. 9, 1832, age 32. [Grave- stone in old ch .- yard. ]-STANLEY, CECELIA, 2d w. of Dan'l, was S. S. t. in 1829 .- Stanley, Clarence, youngest son of Dan'l and Cecelia ; b. in B'klyn, 1844; S. S. t. and lib'n in Sands-st., rem. to Nostrand ave. ch., 1871 .- Stanley, Mrs., rem. by c., 1871 .- Stanley, David, son of Dan'l, b. in B'klyn, was S.S. t., off. Miss'y Soc'y ; and std in Sands-st. ch. ; rem. by c., 1873 to N. York ave. ch .; std and S. S. t. there. Connected with the Ful -. ton Bank, N. York .- Josephine, w. of the above; rem. by c., 1873 .-* Stansbury, Lorenzo, cl. Idr. ; conv. at a camp-meet- ing in Croton, N. Y .; j. Sands-st. ch. by c., 1826, aged about 18. Rem. by c. to Carlton ave. (now Simpson) ch., 1846, where he continued to be cl. Idr. ; received the fullness of the love of God at a camp-meeting in Northport in 1851. He was known in


499


Record of Members.


business circles as a man of industry and integrity, at home as a kind Xn. husband and father, in the ch. as a useful and pow- erful exh., wonderfully gifted in prayer. After a few months of painless illness, he d. Dec. 6, 1852, age about 44. He gave dying counsels to his class, his family, and his unconverted friends ; last words, "I want to rest." [S. A. Seaman, in Ch. Ad.]- *Sarah, his w .; rem. by c., 1846 ; d. of pneumonia 1882, age 82 ; a Meth. 66 yrs. A son of the above is the Rev. J. H. Stans- bury, of the N. York East Conf .- Stawson, Rufus, rem .- *Stearns, Chas., loc. pr. and cl. Idr .; b. in Pittstown, N. Y., Nov. 11, 1810. His parents attended "Friends' Meeting." The father, a farmer, moved with his family to Rahway, N. J., in 1816; the boy attended dist. school, and was conv. at 16, in a great revival, (Thos. Sargent, pastor.) After using an exhorter's license for a time he rec'd his ist license to preach, dated Rah- way cir., July 16, 1832, signed Chas. Pitman, P. E. He learned the printer's trade ; mar. Miss Susan M. Martin at 21 ; moved with his young w. to B'klyn ; worked at 'his trade in a newspaper office ; received from the Sands-st. quar. conf. à recommenda- tion to the traveling connection. Appointments : 1834, (N. York Conf.,) Stamford cir., Conn., with O. V. Amerman ; 1835, New Milford cir., with J. P. Ellsworth ; 1836, ditto, with F. Donnelly ; 1837, Canaan cir., with A. Rogers ; 1838, ditto, with A. V. Shears ; 1838, ord. deacon by Bp. Morris; 1839-40, Granby cir., with A. Ackerly; 1839, ord. elder by Bp. Soule; 1841, Clinton, Westbrook, Essex, and Saybrook cir., with C. R. Ad- ams ; 1843-44, Hamden ; 1845-46, Ridgefield ; 1847, Derby ; 1848, (N. York East Conf.,) Derby, " Humphreyville ; " 1849-50, Easton ; 1851-52, Wilton, with W. A. Hill ; 1852, Zion's Hill, Bald Hill, and Georgetown ; 1853, Sag Harbor, N. Y. ; 1854-55, Huntington South cir .; 1856-57, Huntington and Lloyd's Neck ; 1858-59, Patchogue and Sayville; 1860-61, Rockville Center ; 1862-63, Northport and Centerport; 1864-65, Cold Spring, Woodbury, and West Hills ; 1866-67, Roslyn, Searington, and Port Washington ; 1868-70, Norwich and Oyster Bay ; 1871-73, Smithtown; 1874, Norwich ; 1875, Locust Valley and Bayville; 1876-78, Centerport and Dix Hills; 1879, Smithtown Branch, Comac, and Landing. The foregoing is a record of forty yrs. in the active ministry without a break. Allowance, 1854, Hunt- ington South cir. : " Brother Stearns' quarterage, $100 ; wife, $100; one child $16; 3 children, $24 each=$72; house rent, $50; table expenses, $114; moving bills, $20; total, $472. [Quar. conf. record.] In his conf. memorial [Min. 1880, p. 49] his brethren greatly commend his remarkable fortitude, meekness, humility, and modesty, and his uncomplaining ac- ceptance of laborious and undesirable app'ts. The same testi- monial adds : "As a preacher, Bro. Stearns was endowed with a full average ability and culture ; as a pastor, he was diligent,


500


Old Sands Street Church.


sympathetic, and conscientious. The religious element was ever with him, and permeated his entire spirit, and character, and work." His fatal illness lasted 11 weeks. Pneumonia, at- tended with hemorrhage, erysipelas, and paralysis, battered down the clay tenement. For the most part his mind was clear; his faith always firm. In his farewell message to the conf. he said : "Tell the brethren that I thank them for their kindness and forbearance during the 46 yrs. of my ministry." He d. in Smithtown, L. I., Dec. 20, 1879, age 69. His funeral serm. was preached by Dr. J. W. Beach, P. E., and his remains were bur. beside those of a son and a dau. in E. Norwich, where memorial services were conducted by the Meth. pastor, W. E. Tomkinson. The devoted and faithful w. of Bro. S. survives him-residence, E. Norwich, L. I., N. Y .- Stearns, Jno. C., withdrew .- Steb- bins, Artemas, loc. pr., in Sands-st ch. in 1818; withdrew about 1820, under Alex. M'Caine's ministry. He may have been the same man of whom the Conf. Min. give the following Pas- toral Record : 1810, (N. E. Conf.,) N. London cir., with Joel Winch and E. Marble; 1811, Easton and Mansfield cir. ; 1812, ord. deacon,-Somerset and Warren, R. I. ; 1813, Somerset ; 1814, ord. elder,-Ashburnham cir., Conn., with B. Shaw ; 1815, New Bedford, Mass. ; 1816, located .- Stephenson, F. R., rem .- Stephenson, Thos., was in Sands-st. ch. as a loc. pr., and recom. to the Annual Conf. in 1854. He was b. in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, Eng., June 9, 1830; wasc onv. at 17 ; united with the Wesleyan Meth. Ch., preached his Ist sermon when 19 yrs. of age; came to this country in 1853, and j. Sands-st. ch., (H. J. Fox, pastor.) Conf. Record : 1854, (New York East Conf.,) Southold, Cutchogue, and Mattituck cir., L. I,, with E. Oldrin; 1855, Southampton; 1856, ord. deacon,-Southold; 1857-58, Seymour and Gt. Hill, Conn .; 1859, ord. elder,-Bloomfield ; 1860-61, B'klyn, Johnson-st. ; 1862-66, sup'd ; 1867-69, B'klyn, Embury Miss'n, (1867-68, he was sup'y ;) 1870-72, Greenport, L. I. ; 1873-75, Glen Cove; 1876-78, Bridgeport, Wash'gt'n Park, Conn. ; 1879-81, Jamaica, L. I .; 1882-84, B'klyn, Pacific-st. On the 2d of March, 1857, he was mar. to Miss Frances R. Holmes, of Orient, L. I. [Ch. Ad.] In 1862, suffering from a disease of the throat, he asked to be placed on the retired list, and visited his native land; and while there he received from Pres. Lincoln a consular app'tment to Huddersfield, which he held for 4 yrs. The Ch. Ad. states that he declined a call to a wealthy Indep. Meth. ch. in Huddersfield, preferring to remain a mem- ber of the N. York East. Conf. Mr. S. is an able preacher ; his rhetoric is well-nigh faultless ; and his fine social qualities make him a favorite every-where. To him belongs the honor of hav- ing taken the initiative in the establishing of the " B'klyn Meth. Home for the Aged and Infirm," from the "Manual " of which, (1883) we quote the following: "In the autumn of 1882 the




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