USA > New York > The Diocese of Central New York; the founding fathers > Part 6
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The day following his election as Bishop, a formal notice of the same was mailed him from Geneva under the signatures of Bishop Onderdonk, the Rev. Pierre A. Proal, and John C. Spencer. After some days of private meditation and prayer, and having sought the counsel of friends, De Lancey despatched a letter of acceptance. Additional correspondence followed, the essential sub- stance of which was contained within a communication addressed by Pierre A. Proal, Secretary of the Convention of Western New York, to the clergy and churches of the diocese announcing a special convention to be held at Auburn, May 8, 1839. The primary pur- pose of the meeting was the consecration of De Lancey as Bishop. On that day, and in accordance with the action taken by a previous gathering, the Convention was called to order by Acting Bishop Onderdonk. Various details-some of which will receive attention later-were then disposed with, following which a committee was appointed composed of Dr. Rudd, the Rev. Seth W. Beardsley, and Mr. Jonas Earll, all of Central New York, to wait upon the Bish- op, after his consecration, to conduct him to his seat in Convention, and to tender him a cordial welcome from the entire diocese.
48
LIFE IN WESTERN NEW YORK
The following morning at St. Peter's Church, Tuesday, May 9, and the Festival of the Ascension, the convention reconvened. Morning prayer was read by the Rev. Lucius Smith assisted by one of De Lancey's close friends, the Rev. Dr. George Upfold of Pennsylvania. Bishop Onderdonk preached the consecration sermon after which De Lancey was elevated to the episcopacy by the Rt. Rev. Alexander V. Griswold of the Eastern Diocese ; and the Pre- siding Bishop of the church, the Rt. Rev. Henry U. Onderdonk of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, the Rt. Rev. Benjamin T. Onder- donk of the Diocese of New York, and the Rt. Rev. George W. Doane of the Diocese of New Jersey assisting. The service was concluded by a celebration of the Holy Communion after which the Convention then listened to several soul stirring addresses two of which were moving in their comments in respect to the sever- ance of the clergy and laity from the episcopal authority of Bishop Onderdonk. Dr. Rudd's address as might be expected was well balanced and beautified by spirited references to De Lancey's prede- cessors, notably Bishop Hobart, "that distinguished Father in Israel whose monument adorns this sacred temple, and in whom you and he who now addresses you, long saw a most kind counsellor and guide, a most endeared and tender friend."
Bishop De Lancey's reply was a remarkable statement and con- stituted, so as to speak an avowal of his faith in the Church, its doctrines, and the general policy he hoped to pursue during his life in Western New York. Taken in conjunction with his sermon, delivered the evening of the same day, his remarks stand as of the highest importance. Concerning his views a summary will appear in a later chapter, though for the moment the following will indi- cate the trend of his thinking :
I come among you, not to distract and divide, I trust, but to bind and rivet your affections in the cause of our common Master, to lead this flock, as other and abler shep- hers have led them, in paths of unity, peace, and love, of ardent devotion to Christ, of unshaken attachment to His Church ... With this expression of my views and feel- ings I enter upon the duties of this important station, con- fiding in the strength which cometh from above, and affec- tionately and earnestly imploring your daily prayers in my behalf.
Later, as the Convention was about to close, the Bishop briefly announced that he would be about the diocese on the Master's busi-
49
THE FOUNDING FATHERS
ness in the very near future-a program he kept until almost to the end of a long and highly successful episcopate.
In the previous chapter, it will be recalled, mention was made of the status Central New York held in the Diocese of New York in 1838. There were, it was stated, fifteen parishes and forty-nine missions, not counting several unorganized groups that gave prom- ise for the future. Moreover, there were thirty-eight clergyman the great majority of whom were located in parishes and missions ; the remainder in residence without cures or serving the Church beyond the confines of the diocese. To these pertinent facts others should now be added so as to reveal the progress made under Bishop De Lancey. According to the Journal the total number of parishes and organized missions in the Diocese of Western New York in 1868 was two hundred and six of which one hundred and ten were in Central New York. Of the latter there were thirty-one that were self supporting, seventeen that were vacant, three that were seemingly extinct-St. Paul's, Montezuma, St. Paul's, Utica, and Apostolic, Geddes-and fifty-nine that were missions.1 Missing from this list were certain others that appear to have been organ- ized but did not have sufficient soil to lead to permanent results. Among these mention should be made of St. Stephen's, Martyville (1841), St. Andrew's, Evans Mills (1861). Zion, Bridgeport (1845), Ascension, Liverpool (1840) and a mission at Empyville established in 1863. Including these a total of sixty churches were founded during De Lancey's episcopate, the greatest growth being in Oneida and Jefferson with seventeen and thirteen establishments respectively.
Oneida likewise by 1868 had the largest number of communi- cants, namely, one thousand, seven hundred and thirty-four with Onondaga second, having one thousand, two hundred and sixty-one. Next in order was Chenango with nine hundred and thirty-six and so on to Lewis with but one hundred and forty-three, making a grand total of eight thousand, one hundred and fifteen for all of Central New York, which was almost eighty per cent more than there had been in 1838. Meanwhile total offerings-parochial and diocesan-had risen to slightly over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The following table illustrates the amounts per county in 1868:
1 The figures as given in the 1868 Journal, p. 195, do not precisely coincide with those given on pages 188-192.
50
LIFE IN WESTERN NEW YORK
Parochial
Diocesan
General
Total
Church Property
Broome
$ 1,720.26
$ 281.11
$ 343.80
$ 2,345.17
$ 40,700.00
Cayuga
8,872.71
469.87
488.72
9,831.30
51,480.00
Chemung
11,193.72
1,154.70
51.29
12,399.71
57,400.00
Chenango
12,370.07
1,406.91
2,106.85
15,883.83
70,000.00
Cortland
1,525.80
74.83
27.15
1,627.78
8,550.00
Jefferson
11,679.28
1,404.94
324.45
13,408.67
72,000.00
Lewis
2,232.92
145.42
71.02
2,449.36
33,000.00
Madison
1,601.39
198.90
61.16
1,861.45
30,000.00
Oneida
30,806.09
2,056.68
1,167.91
34,030.68
330,000.00
Onondaga
21,672.11
1,666.00
3,642.51
26,980.62
130,000.00
Oswego
17,931.32
508.09
323.43
18,762.84
109,000.00
Seneca
3,893.82
517.99
342.88
4,754.69
41,150.00
Tioga
2,270.72
376.82
109.96
2,757.50
20,900.00
Tompkins
2,344.50
209.79
641.16
3,195.45
28,000.00
Total
$130,114.71 $ 10,472.05
$9,702.29
$150,289.05
$ 1,022,180.00
The raising of these funds depended to a considerable degree upon the efforts of the Bishop, the clergy, and dedicated laymen. Not enough can be said of time, labor, and treasure spent by De Lancey in Central New York. Except for journeys to England in 1852 and 1858 and when burdened with illness he was faithful in his visitations to this area. The story of these pastoral calls is vividly sketched in his annual reports to Convention. In 1840, for example, he was at Ithaca on April 24th, preaching twice, confirming nine persons, and then hastened on to South Danby and Candor. "On the 27th I had the gratification of consecrating to the worship of Almighty God, a neat and chaste edifice at Owego, Tioga County, by the name of St. Paul's." During the remainder of the month he was at Richford, McLean, and Homer, thence on to Moravia, Aurora, and Hector and on Whitsunday, June 7th, "I spent in Elmira . . . where I preached twice, administered the Holy Com- munion, and confirmed thirty-one persons." The Bishop then trav- elled to Big Flats where he found the parish deep in the doldrums occasioned by financial worries which had led to a suspension of services and almost to the sale of the church edifice. Later in the month and continuing into July he was present at the various churches and missions in Oneida, Chenango, and Broome counties. In August he conducted services in the Academy at Liverpool, "a growing town on the bank of the Onondaga Lake where an opening for the Church has been made, in conjunction with Salina, where I also preached in the Presbyterian House in the afternoon of the same day." Then, after a Sunday at St. Paul's, Syracuse, where he
51
THE FOUNDING FATHERS
ordained L. B. Gallagher a deacon, he moved on to Baldwinsville, and thence on to the churches in Oswego, Jefferson, and Lewis counties, and closed his travel for the year at Trinity, Constantia, on September 7th. It had been a crowded calendar, one moreover, it must be remembered, that omitted his calls to the Church in Cayuga which were made on his swing throughout the western counties of the diocese.
On these visitations and those that followed in the years to come, he never overlooked such opportunities as presented themselves for preaching the Gospel and founding new missions. As evidenced in the itinerary of 1840 when he conducted services in churches of other faiths and on occasion did the same in schools and public build- ings. In substance, more than forty new stations were established and thirty-eight churches consecrated, more than half being in the counties of Oneida, Onondaga, and Jefferson. Among these conse- crations were some edifices that had been erected before his eleva- tion to the episcopacy and others though built after that date which were not consecrated until after his death. A goodly number, there- fore, of the church buildings constructed during his day reflected in many ways his ideas and attitudes as to architectural features and interior furnishings whereof more will be related in a later chapter. Meanwhile Bishop De Lancey vigorously stirred the hearts of his flock by cogent sermons and addresses on pressing matters affecting the National Church and the Diocese-such as the Oxford Move- ment, the Roman Church, Theological Training, Religious Educa- tion, and as always the Church Militant in Missions, Foreign and Domestic. Nor did he turn his back upon secular problems of signifi- cance as may be seen by a study of his words and deeds during the American Civil War. These pulpit and public utterances did much to enhance the reputation of the Church throughout Central New York and thus aided greatly in stimulating the spiritual and material well being of the parishes and missions therein. Finally, it may be observed, that Central New York was indeed most fortunate in having as its diocesan one who as Bishop, Priest, and Administrator guided the Church. He was the Good Shepherd and the Leader and not the Follower of fancy, whim, and undigested thought. Central New York did not mark time; it marched forward.
Naturally, the Bishop should not be credited with all the suc- cesses that people witnessed between 1839 and 1865. Nor was he one who ever laid claim to these achievements. What he did was done largely through the cooperation and self sacrifice of the rec-
52
LIFE IN WESTERN NEW YORK
tors, ministers, and missionaries scattered throughout the diocese. Their names are too many to warrant any comment except for a few of the more outstanding. First among these was Marcus Aure- lius Perry whose missionary work in Broome, Chenango, and Onei- da counties had started in 1819 and continued with much success into the 1840's. Since that time he had settled at Utica assisting in city missions, serving as a Principal of a Seminary, and officiating at intervals in neighboring churches. In 1868 he was the oldest resident priest in Central New York. Next in order were Ferdi- nand Rogers and John Bayley who came into this area in 1837; the latter to spend a rich life in Tompkins and Tioga counties before moving to Bainbridge and Guilford where he served from 1854 to 1857, thence to Lowville for a decade and then to Manlius where he was in charge of Christ Church through Easter, 1869. Rogers, by way of contrast, after ten years in Jefferson county-chiefly at Brownville-moved to Greene in 1846 and remained there as Rec- tor of Zion Church until after the founding of the Diocese of Cen- tral New York ; he died at Greene, January 17, 1876. Meanwhile in 1841 there came to New Berlin, Andrew Hull who after eight years journeyed to Elmira where he did so much to advance the work of Trinity Church in that community until his retirement in the summer of 1866. His parochial reports in the Journal relate in simple terms the record of a faithful servant. One of his friends was Dr. William D. Wilson, received in 1844 from the Diocese of Vermont, who began his pastoral life at Greene and Sherburne in 1846 before becoming Professor of Moral and Intellectual Philos- ophy at Geneva College, 1850-1867.
Among the students at Geneva who became priests and served for a time in Central New York was Joseph M. Clarke. Described as "one of the best and brightest graduates Hobart ever sent forth," he served for a time as tutor and then threw himself into parish work at Grace, Utica, and St. Paul's, Syracuse. In 1859 he became Rector of St. James', Syracuse, a post he honored well beyond 1868. His memory, like that of the parish he loved so much, is today enshrined in the Church of the Saviour at Syracuse. Another was William Paret, also a tutor for a while at Hobart, who did his pastoral apprenticeship at St. John's, Clyde, though in 1854 he moved to Jefferson county where for a decade he handled the churches at Adams, Pierrepont Manor, and Pulaski. Between 1864 and 1866 he was at East Saginaw in Michigan after which he moved to Trinity, Elmira, until his translation to the Diocese of Pennsylva-
53
THE FOUNDING FATHERS
nia in the spring of 1869. Later, he became Bishop of the Diocese of Maryland. A close friend of Paret's at Geneva was Henry A. Neeley who during the years 1852 to 1854 supplied at St. John's, Oneida-his home parish-and St. Peter's, Oriskany. The follow- ing year he was Minister at Calvary, Utica, and in October, 1855, he became Rector of Christ Church, Rochester, where he remained for seven years. Then, after serving as Chaplain at Hobart, he moved to Trinity, New York City, as Assistant Minister in the fall of 1864. A little over two years later his life was crowned by being chosen Bishop of Maine. Other Hobart graduates whose names are linked with Central New York were Napoleon Barrows of Utica and Rome, Herman G. Wood of Sackett's Harbor and Fayetteville, John G. Webster who worked at Port Byron, Jordan, and Weedsport, and William H. Gibson. The latter is remembered for his splendid work at St. Peter's, Oriskany, Grace, Utica, and especially, St. George's, Utica. For a time he was Editor of the Messenger, and the Church Eclectic, and was a contributor to the Churchman.
Also one time Editor of the Messenger was Dr. William A. Matson whose missionary work at Waterville, Bridgewater, West- moreland, and Whitesboro must have attracted the attention of his predecessor the "venerable" Dr. Rudd. Upon the latter's death in 1849, Matson, while at Oriskany, took over the management of the paper and continued as such until 1861; during these years he was in charge of Calvary, Utica, and St. Stephen's, New Hartford. He was also Secretary of the Diocese and for a time edited the well known Church Journal. While at Utica he met Henry B. Whip- ple who after a highly successful rectorship at Zion, Rome, moved in 1857 to the Diocese of Illinois. Two years later he entered upon his real life's work as Bishop of Minnesota. Known personally by him was Pierre Alexis Proul who left St. George's Church, Sche- nectady, in 1836 to become Rector of Trinity, Utica, where he remained until May, 1857. He was Secretary of the Diocese of Western New York from 1838 to 1857. He died at Utica in September, 1857.
Reference should also be made to Edward Moyses who came to Central New York as a young priest in 1853 and for more than a decade served at Cape Vincent, Manlius, Fayetteville, Marcellus, and especially at St. James', Skaneateles. Then there was Alfred P. Smith who after four years at Camden, Constantia, and Cleveland, became Rector at Cazenovia in 1850, a charge he was still holding
54
LIFE IN WESTERN NEW YORK
upon the founding of the Diocese of Central New York. He also did splendid work at St. Paul's, Chittenango, and St. Stephen's, Perry- ville. Another whose missionary work was so important was Jede- diah Winslow who came as a deacon in 1857 to Trinity, Camden, and Trinity, Canastota, and then journeyed north to Jefferson County where he remained, except for a year as Chaplain during the Civil War, until after 1868. Trinity, Watertown, and the churches at Carthage, Champion, Dexter, Adams, Brownville, and Antwerp owe so much to him. Equally prominent, though chiefly in Oneida County, was William Baker the missionary to such places as Paris Hill, Clayville, St. Paul's, Utica, Oriskany, and Camden. Late in life he became the Chaplain at the Church Home in Buffalo. Nor should one overlook the splendid work of Henry V. Gardner at Homer, Cortland, and St. John's, Oneida. For a time he was President of the Doolittle Seminary at Wethersfield Springs and was Principal of Cary Collegiate Institute from 1861 to 1864.
St. Paul's, Syracuse, remembers gratefully the pastorate of Wil- liam Bliss Ashley, 1848 to 1857. Dr. C. W. Hayes described him as of peculiar "gentleness and sweetness of disposition" and that amid the stormy days of the reign of the "Abolitionists" at Syra- cuse whose rescue of Jerry, a runaway slave, is memorialized in that city to this day. His successor at St. Paul's was George Mor- gan Hills who after serving at Lyons, Watertown, and Carthage, came to Syracuse where he remained until 1870. It was during his rectorship that St. Paul's was enlarged and a chancel added. This particular edifice had been erected during the rectorship of Henry Gregory, 1840-1848, "one of the most able, enthusiastic and self- denying Priests" Central New York has ever had. Seneca, Cayuga, and Cortland saw much of him prior to his coming to Syracuse where his fame today is shared by St. Paul's and the Church of the Saviour. He was the founder of the latter when it was known as St. James'. In 1858 he became President of De Veaux College, Buffalo ; the following year he was back in Syracuse where he owned and operated for several years the Church Book Depository. Dur- ing these sunset years he acted as missionary to Grace, Baldwins- ville. Death came to him in Syracuse in April, 1866. He had been born at Walton, Connecticut, in 1803 and had been ordained a deacon in 1829 at All Saints' Church, New York City. He was one who signed the Muhlenberg Memorial of October 12, 1853. Gregory must have known George De Normandie Gillespie who
55
THE FOUNDING FATHERS
came as a missionary in the fall of 1840 to Onondaga County and founded the Church of the Ascension, Liverpool ; he also served at Salina and Geddes. In the spring of 1841 he became Rector of St. Mark's, Le Roy, and later was in charge of the church at Palmyra. In 1869 he was Rector of St. Andrew's, Ann Arbor, and later Bishop of the Diocese of Western Michigan. I trust the readers of this volume will pardon a personal comment. While at Ann Arbor he had among his parishioners, Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Grisson, whose daughter married my father-a step led the latter finally, under Gillespie's guidance, to enter the ministry. It was while my father was at St. Paul's, Muskegon, Michigan, that I first met this white haired and saintly Bishop. His kindness, humility, and devotion to the Church is still known and respected in Western Michigan.
St. Peter's, Auburn, has been unusually fortunate in the rectors it has enjoyed. One of these, Walter Ayrault, who was made priest in that church in 1847 served the same with great success until 1852. Later in life he became Rector of St. Paul's, Oxford, and was in charge there in 1869. Another who did so much for St. Peter's and became the founder of St. John's, Auburn, was John Brainard who like Theodore Babcock of Trinity, Watertown, were serving their respective parishes with distinction when Central New York became a diocese in its own name. Then there was John Jacob Brandegee, a son of Connecticut and a graduate of Yale in 1843, who was a missionary between 1846 and 1849 in the West Indies and Rector of that lovely edifice, St. Michael's, Litchfield, Connecticut, 1849-1854. In February of 1854 he became Rector of Grace Church, Utica, a charge he held until his sudden death, April 6, 1864.
Among his many friends was Samuel Hanson Coxe who between 1845 and 1850 was in charge of the churches at Auburn, Caze- novia, and Perryville. For the next three years he was Rector at St. Paul's, Oxford, thence for a year to Connecticut, and then back to Oxford where he remained until 1857 when he accepted a call to Trinity, Utica. Of him Dr. Hayes has said,
... a calm, quiet man, as different as possible from his impulsive poet-brother, with curious limitations of thought in matters theological and ecclesiastical, but with an infinite fund of humor, and much beloved as a Pastor.
Much the opposite, in so far as depth of learning and scholarship was concerned was his friend, John V. Van Ingen, who for a few
56
LIFE IN WESTERN NEW YORK
years, 1836 to 1844, worked at Greene and Coventry in Chenango County. It was while he was at Grace, Rochester, that he became state and nationally known as one of the leaders of the High Church group. Hayes, who knew him well, described him as a man of great gifts and of a "wonderful capacity for making them avail- able to the utmost in every sphere of work to which he was called." Dr. Hayes also has much to say in praise of Rev. James Rankine who after a short rectorship at Owego, 1854-1860, was drafted by Bishop De Lancey to assume the Presidency of the De Lancey Di- vinity School at Geneva. Nor did he cease to direct and promote the fortunes of this school until his death in 1896.
Finally among the clergy who served in Central New York between 1838 and 1868 mention should be made of William E. Eigenbrodt, Rector at Bainbridge, New Hartford, and Greene be- tween 1837 and 1846, and who later acquired recognition for his services at General Theological Seminary as Professor of Moral Theology. George W. Horne, one time Missionary Bishop to West Africa, was a missionary at the Church of the Evangelists, Oswego, November, 1850 to December, 1851, while Edward Z. Lewis was Rector at Norwich from 1860 to 1868. Nor will St. John's, Ithaca, ever forget the long and meaningful ministry of William S. Walk- er, 1842 to 1865. And last of all there was Charles W. Hayes, far better known for his services in Western New York, who between 1854 and 1865 was either missionary or rector at Hamilton, Fay- etteville, Jamesville, New Hartford, Holland Patent, and Trenton. He was a prolific writer, his better known works being Catechis- ings for the Christian Year, Via Crucis, Early Years of the Church in Buffalo, and the Diocese of Western New York.
57
CHAPTER VI THE GLAD TIDINGS
A layman of the Church of England once wrote: "There is a tide in the affairs of man which taken at the flood leads on to for- tune." Few churchmen mindful of our Lord's command to spread the Gospel will miss the full meaning of this quotation taken from a Shakespeare play. The Church, it would seem, must meet its opportunities or "be bound in shallows and miseries." Perhaps no- tions of this type stirred Bishop De Lancey's mind when at the 1839 Convention he said :
Among the subjects to which I beg to direct the early and earnest attention of the Convention, as the result of my observation of the condition and prospects of the diocese are the following: 1. The adoption of some uniform plan for securing enlarged contributions to the Missionary and Edu- cation Funds, and other Church objects.
It will be noted the Diocesan spoke on the basis of "observa- tion." He had in brief studied the history of the Church in New York and was prepared to make certain suggestions as to its future. One of these, always to be uppermost in his thinking, was the ever present problems of missions. But in 1839 the situation was un- usually acute caused no doubt by the prospect that the new Diocese of Western New York would shortly be cut off from the financial aid its Mother, the Diocese of New York, had been giving to the Church upstate. It behooved Western New York to remember this and to understand that it had been and still was a missionary area and that the care of the churches within the diocese should have priority over other fields. There was little that was new in this statement. Both of his immediate predecessors had voiced the same sentiment on many an occasion. Western New York had been and still remained a frontier area, and the success of the Church was to rest upon a realistic appreciation of the fact.
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