USA > New York > The Diocese of Central New York; the founding fathers > Part 8
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The impact of these efforts was not lost upon Central New York ; many must have endorsed Hobart's remarks when he recom- mended the Episcopal Union and urged adoption of its publica- tions. "Sunday Schools," he stated,
... ought to be considered as the seats of religious in- struction of the young and ignorant; and that instruction, primarily directed by the Minister of the parish, ought to be conducted agreeably to our own religious tenets, and surely ought not to be subject to any extraneous influence or supervision.
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During the 1820's and 1830's Sunday schools were started at many places in Central New York such as Oxford, Harpursville, Oneida, Manlius, Marcellus, Turin, Moravia, Onondaga Hill, Perryville, Oswego, Auburn, Ithaca, and Sackett's Harbor.
Probably none of these schools, and there were others, confined their efforts solely to the children of the poor as was true of earlier establishments in the older sections of the Church in America. The movement in Central New York began after this phase was on the wane and when a newer idea, namely, the tutoring of the children of the Church had become popular. Since the intellectual standards of these was higher than those not so fortunate, less and less atten- tion was given to developing reading skills. Generally classes were held within the church edifice. At Trinity, Utica, for example, during the ministry of the Rev. Henry Anthon (1821-1829) the school was held in the church, the girls on the east side, the boys on the west, each with their own superintendents. The rector fre- quently attended in a "black silk gown." Sunday school services were held here at nine in the morning and at three in the afternoon. At Homer, however, in 1833, classes were held in the basement while at Turin, in the same year, the children gathered at the minister's home on "Saturday" to "recite" and receive instruction. On the matter of location the Messenger, April 16, 1836, recom- mended that where possible separate quarters for classes should be arranged since the joint use of the church for regular services and Sunday schools led to no end of confusion. Such a scheme, how- ever, was not to eliminate open catechizing in church which as Mrs. E. G. Boulton of Sherburne records, took place on the first Sunday of each month by the rector. Each class, she stated, sat in the front pews to repeat the catechism, "no other lessons were re- quired." Later that year the Messenger reported the construction of "chapels" for Sunday school use.
A study of this paper and the Journal for these decades reveals generally that classes followed the Episcopal Union as to teaching method and subject matter. The missionary at Geddes, for example, in 1833 stated : "We shall soon organize and report to the General Protestant Episcopal Sunday School Union." This society strongly endorsed the use of the Catechism as did Dr. Rudd who in the Messenger in 1836 commented: "Among the modes adopted for elementary instruction the catechetical form has the sanction of the highest antiquity." But mere repetitious answers was not sufficient ; the rector must have assurance the pupil had an understanding of
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the answers. Probably an advanced school at the time was that at Trinity, Utica, which had a course of instruction arranged for five classes, the highest consisting of pupils above fifteen years of age and was taught by the rector. The subjects covered in this graded school included a knowledge of the prayers, hymns, and catechism, the use of the Bible and Prayer Book, the memorization of the col- lects, epistles, and gospels, a study of the Creed as revealed in the Scriptures, explanations of the liturgy, geography, and history, and preparation for confirmation. The emphasis at all times centered about the life of Christ and the Faith of the Church.
Supplementing class instruction were several tracts and maga- zines designed primarily for the youth of the Church. One of these, the Children's Magazine, was small enough to slip into a pocket, and was published monthly at twenty-five cents a copy by the Church Sunday School Union, later to be known as the Church Book Society. Here appeared articles that sought to stimulate the reader to a proper mode and conduct of life as well as to a knowl- edge of God and His Word. In one instance, the behaviors of ants was sketched with spiritual interpretations; in another, one learned of the beauty that came from the soul rather than from the body ; and in a similar vein the proper use of ornaments was stressed. Poetry too was used to convey lessons. The magazine also carried advertisements of books suitable for reading and class purposes, such as, "Questions on the Book of Common Prayer," "History of Our Beloved Lord in Easy Verse," "First Truths," and "Catech- isms, One to Four." At times the clergy tried their hands at this work. Dr. Rudd, for example, wrote and sold "The Influence of Female Character" while the Rev. C. W. Hayes published a vari- ety of Sunday School supplies. "A Churchman's Calendar" also appeared, by the Rev. A. C. Coxe prior to his coming to Western New York.
Although the administration of these schools was in the hands of the clergy, most of the teaching was intrusted to lay men and women whose abilities were probably as high as those in the public schools. In both, teaching experience and training was at a low level and knowledge was chiefly gained through memorization; in the case of the Church schools the lessons were drawn from mater- ials largely supplied by the Church Book Society. It is Dr. Addi- son's opinion that while useful results were obtained from these lessons they were altogether too elaborate ; moreover they were not adaptable to ungraded schools and in some instances cost too much
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for small parishes and missions. The Book Society became con- scious of these defects and proceeded in 1835 to revamp lessons and reading materials. Although not every church used these publica- tions it is probable a great many did.
During the years that followed the 1830's the methods of study and the curriculum of the Book Society, while improved in many ways, remained much the same. Recitation of memorized facts- catechising-was held in high esteem and most of the parochial reports reflect these teaching devices. At Auburn, for example, in 1849, "The ancient practice of . . . catechetical instruction. . . openly in the church has been continued through the past years instead of the second sermon on Communion Sunday." Brownville, Seneca Falls and others followed the same procedure while at Harpurs- ville in 1856 catechising was done on week days in conjunction with the parochial school. Again, the Messenger in 1868 com- mented that "as long as our children are thus drilled perfectly in the Catechism of the Church we may be sure of a harvest to the Church in after years"; while in an earlier issue appeared a state- ment praising "the Church's Training Schools" as the way of in- forming the youth of the purpose of God and Christ. Naturally, there were those who deplored certain aspects of this educational process ; they must have found some comfort in the views expressed by Bishop George W. Doane who in 1853 had declared that Sun- day Schools as conceived served a useful end but that they had become in time an hindrence. "They have superseded family train- ing. They have superseded pastoral instruction. They have super- seded the Church in her relations to the Savior's little children."
To aid in the "harvest"-and modern critics should be slow to condemn an educational philosophy that yielded such good fruits- many novel features were introduced. In the catechising, which Bishops De Lancey and Coxe participated in while on pastoral visitations, provision was made for recitation in church history. In some instances as at the Church of the Evangelists, Oswego, atten- tion was given to singing at afternoon services, while at Guilford in 1861 pupils were drilled in the "rudiments of vocal music," using perhaps Wm. B. Bradbury's, Golden Chain, a Sunday school song book, published in that year. At the same time a Children's Tune Book, containing hymns like "Let the Merry Christmas Bells Ring" and "Days Grow Longer" was released by the Church Book Society.
More conspicuous was the trend toward the erection of separate
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buildings, often called chapels, for school purposes. At Auburn, in 1843, the "Ladies Association" erected a brick "Sunday School room"; other parishes did the same, such as Trinity, Utica, St. Paul's, Oxford, St. Andrew's, New Berlin, and St. Luke's, Har- pursville. Meanwhile others fitted up their church basements for school purposes such as at Ithaca in 1860 and Sherburne four years later. Shortly before at Oswego the gift of the old court house to the Church of the Evangelists provided splendid facilities for the Sunday school. Again, as a means of stimulating pupil and parent interest, a system of rewards for scholarship and attendance was introduced. In 1861, for example, the Messenger carried an adver- tisement concerning reward cards for Christmas in bronze, purple, and red. Nor should one forget the influence of social activities such as the "Summer Excursion" at Hamilton in 1862. At the same time the quality of school literature, the Children's Magazine and the Dove for example, showed definite improvement.
The size of these publications increased and selected illustra- tions enriched their value. In the Children's Magazine for April, 1857, there appeared an illustrated article on the "Crucifixion" of more than ordinary merit; another on the "Egyptian Pyramids"; and there was a letter from "Lucius to Mary" informing the latter of missions, the diocesan and general conventions, the Sunday School Union, and other Church organizations. The same issue provided a listing of books for supplementary reading. Reference was made to a "Life of Bishop White," "Bread Upon the Waters," "Little Dora or the Lord's Day a Sign," "Willie and Robert, the Happy Life and Pious Death of Two Little Christians," and the "Sign of the Cross." Additional titles may be found in C. H. Brewer's, History of Religious Education. Another magazine for school chil- dren was the Standard Bearer of the Protestant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of Evangelical Knowledge.
According to modern standards these and other publications may have left much to be desired ; but they were widely used and were in agreement with the moral and religious atmosphere of the age. In pointing to their short-comings one should not forget that it was through the medium of these schools, the bishops, priests, and laymen of less than a century ago were trained and nourished. Another index of their value and contributions may be found in the growing number of schools, teachers, and pupils.
During the years 1830-1838 inclusive the Journal seemingly in- dicates for Central New York an average of sixteen Sunday schools
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per year, the lowest number being seven in 1830, the highest, twenty-one in 1837. Meanwhile the number of pupils ranged around seven hundred, an estimate that probably was low since some parishes though reporting the existence of schools were silent as to the number who attended. Other churches, however, gave such statistical data for only a few years ; as was true, for example, of Trinity, Utica. On the other hand this parish was most informa- tive of the work of the Sunday school. To illustrate, in 1835 the rector reported :
The Sunday School, now under the care of a superin- tendent in every way qualified for his office, and with a number of faithful and pious teachers, is more flourishing than at any former period. Its library contains 600 vol- umes ; and fifty copies of the Children's Magazine and four- teen copies of the Sunday School Visitor, are distributed among the teachers and scholars. Many of the children contribute their penny each, on the Lord's Day, to the Mis- sionary Fund.
The rector, however, had nothing to say about the number of his teachers-a practice unfortunately followed by many parishes so that no reliable estimate may be had as to the size of the teaching staff. Among the parishes that seem to have stressed Sunday schools were, in addition to Utica, those at Oswego, Oxford, Waterloo, New Hartford, and Seneca Falls. In a few instances summer schools were held.
Clearly the record for these nine years is not impressive. Many parishes made no reports at all probably because there was no resi- dent pastor for part or all of the year, though it is to be noted that in a few instances loyal laymen and women kept the schools going. Poverty also explains the absence of a school but here again it is gratifying to know that children often attended the schools of Prot- estant churches. On the other hand the total picture was not too discouraging; much spade work for the future was accomplished. During the years 1840-1848 inclusive the annual reports indicate an average of two hundred and eighty teachers and over fifteen hundred pupils. Highest ratings were in the growing counties of Oneida, Onondaga, and Jefferson, and in that solid home of the Church, Chenango county. Among the parishes that stood high were Trinity and Grace, Utica, with those at Elmira, Watertown, Brownville, New Hartford, Skaneateles, and Syracuse. The debit side of the picture, however, showed nearly one-fourth of the par-
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ishes without schools. During the next period 1849-1858 the over- all average was about four hundred teachers and twenty-three hundred pupils. Thanks to the growth of Utica and its environs, Oneida remained in first place with Oswego second, due in a large measure to the growth of the port there. Jefferson and Chenango were third and fourth, with Onondaga fifth, probably because of the scattered reports from that county. Finally, between 1859 and 1868 the annual average was seven hundred and eighty-six teachers and five thousand, two hundred and eighty-seven pupils. The five counties retained their same ratings except for Onondaga which climbed from fifth to third place. The largest Sunday school at that time was at the Church of the Evangelists, Oswego, with an annual average of nearly five hundred students.
Although the Church in Oswego county was booming due to economic prosperity and an expanding population, the splendid leadership shown by Mason Gallagher and Anthony Schuyler, rec- tors at the city of Oswego, should not be forgotten. They met exist- ing challenges and their labors were crowned with success ; this was also true in certain other places. Trinity, Syracuse, for example, received its start in part because of the local interest in Sunday schools. Nor should one overlook the influence of Bishops De Lancey and Coxe, both of whom supported these activities in many ways. At Geneva, for example, in 1849 the former delivered "A Charge to Clergy" on "Religious Training" in which particular stress was laid upon child education. There were four ways, the Bishop indicated, of guiding these young minds: by the agency of the Sunday schools ; by parochial schools ; by personal intercourse and friendly conversation; and by catechising. "The Sunday school," he stated,
is considered as part of the parochial cure. It is not an independent institution in the Parish over which the min- ister has no control. He is responsible for its conduct and its instruction ... All who teach are his assistants. All that is taught must emanate from him ... In no view of his min- isterial relations, can he disconnect himself from the guid- ance, regulations, and instruction of these schools.
But the Bishop did not believe that religious training began and ended in the Sunday school, and it was because of this conviction that his efforts also were slanted toward pastoral catechising and counsel. Even that was not enough. The Church, he affirmed over and over again, must carry its message into the day school. Here
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of course he met frustration from the American principle of sep- aration of church and state, toward which tenet he was friendly in many ways. There was no reason, however, why the Church should not have its own parochial schools where, in addition to instruction in secular subjects, religious training could be presented. It was largely as a result of his efforts along these lines that a number of such schools were started in Central New York.
One of the most successful of these was at New Berlin where under the rectorship of the Rev. Richard Whittingham the experi- ment did so well as to necessitate the addition of the Rev. G. L. Foote as Principal. Opened on December 6, 1842, as St. Andrew's School and Musical Institute it obtained its students not only from New York, but from places such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lan- sing, Iowa, and Dixon, Illinois. The primary object was to offer young girls a full English education with instruction in modern languages and musical science. The basic charge for a term of twenty-two weeks was ninety dollars which included tuition, board, heat, lodging, light, and washing; additional fees were added for lessons in drawing, language (Latin, Greek, German, and French), piano and organ, and in the theory of music. The daughters of the clergy were received at reduced rates. All parents were earnestly requested not to provide their children with jewelry and to furnish them simple and inexpensive clothing "suitable to the class room, walking and attendance upon worship."
Other comparable schools were founded at Syracuse by Dr. Henry Gregory, at Watertown by Dr. Theodore Babcock, at Pierrepont Manor by the future Bishop Paret, and at Waterloo by the Rev. Edward Livermore. Several co-educational institutions existed at Holland Patent and Westmoreland, while at Bingham- ton there was Miss Eliza Barton's Seminary for Young Ladies. According to the Messenger of 1861 these parish or parochial schools had three advantages that should commend them to all com- municants. First, the availability of an education that was fully equal to if not superior to that which might be found elsewhere. Second, a school system that led all others in influencing morals and manners. And third, a tutoring that made Gospel truths and duties a reality to the pupil and trained him to become a child of God.
According to another contributor to the Messenger :
The Parish School in this country is therefore today a day school of a high order, including all or as many as pos-
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sible of the children of the parish, having not only teachers but above them the Pastor who makes the School his instru- ment of reaching the children's souls.
Yet another contributor stressed the idea that the pastor in these schools should read the pupils the Morning Prayer and explain the Morning Lesson. But to maintain these efforts in Central New York was more than the laity were able to bear, particularly in the face of growing competition from the public schools. Thus while some parochial schools continued throughout the period cov- ered by this study their influence declined. Bishop Coxe was con- scious of this trend in addressing Convention in 1866. Since, he said, the laity did not wish to support church schools they were not to shirk their responsibilities to the Public Schools ; a task that was both a civic and Christian duty. And he begged the clergy to defend and save the public schools from the assaults of the irre- ligious and the aggressions of the Jesuits who schemed "to make America their Empire" and to subvert our religion and liberties "by obtaining the mastery of popular education."
Meanwhile the Messenger echoed the same theme when in 1867 it deplored the tendency of the American Church to sur- render children "to irreligious agencies or to institutions whose whole morals and teaching were intensely hostile to the catholic spirit of the English Reformation." In the same issue there was reference to the splendid work undertaken by Dr. Van Dusen of Grace Church, Utica, in sponsoring the "Ken Institute for board- ing and day scholars." Earlier, this parish had conducted an "In- dustrial School" while at St. Paul's, Syracuse, there was a school for girls directed by Mrs. Raynor of that parish. Also in the 1860's there was a vocational school at Calvary, Utica, that had in 1868 seven teachers and eighty girl pupils.
At these various centers and in the regular Sunday schools, libraries had meanwhile been established. Mention of these appears in the Journal of the 1830's. Trinity, Utica, in 1833 had a library of six hundred volumes; three years later, Trinity, Fayetteville, had one half that size. The content of these libraries must have been much like that at Sherburne whose parochial records show among others the following titles: Philip and His Garden, The Motherless Boy, Adam the Carpenter, Infant Martyrs, History of the Israelites, and the Memoirs of David Brainard. The educational value of these libraries was not overlooked, and many a pastor laid great stress upon this activity. In some instances he was able to
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enlist the aid of men like William C. Pierrepont, patron and friend of the Church in the "North Country." In 1863, for example, this layman endowed libraries at Adams and Pierrepont Manor, all purchases being made through the Church Book Society.
In conjunction with these efforts other rectors presented "week- ly lectures," especially during the winter. In some instances these were little more than prayer meetings but in others a more varied program was given either in the church or a private home. At New Berlin, for example, in 1859 the Parochial School gave instruction in Latin and Greek to candidates for Holy Orders ; talks on Church music, and public lectures on science. Mention should be made of the Bible Classes that were very common through the years under consideration. Bishop De Lancey strongly favored these, especially since they fitted into his scheme of religious training for adolescents and adults. On his elevation to office in 1838 he found the diocese possessed of a promising but young institution-Geneva College conceived and founded by Bishop Hobart. Central New York's interest in this effort was shown repeatedly. In 1849, to illustrate, William Pierrepont made a gift of two hundred dollars to the col- lege, while in 1854 the Junior Warden of St. Paul's, Syracuse, "With his characteristic munificence .. . secured to the corporation of Hobart Free College, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars to en- dow a prefessorship in that admirable institution of the Church." Smaller contributions are mentioned in the Journal from others at different times.
Central New York was also active in founding the De Lancey Training School in 1860, of which Dr. David H. McCurdy and Dr. James Rankine, one time rectors at Waterloo and Owego re- spectively, were Principals. Also interested in the movement were Drs. Henry Gregory, William B. Ashley, John Brandegee, and Messrs. Horace White, W. C. Pierrepont, and Horatio Seymour of Central New York. Nor did this area ignore the pleas for the support of the Doolittle Institute at Wethersfield, or Hobart Hall at Westmoreland. Precisely how much was raised for these pur- poses is not known; probably it was not over large, especially in view of the demands being made for diocesan, domestic, and for- eign missions. In these and other efforts, the Church in Central New York did not slight such matters. It was most interested in its Sunday and Parochial Schools, and there can be no question as to the lasting influence these institutions had upon the Church in this area.
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CHAPTER VIII
FAITH OF OUR FATHERS
During the course of the preceding narrative it is hoped not too much attention has been given to the institutional life of the Church in Central New York. To have separated this story from the larger history of the Church in the Dioceses of New York and Western New York would have damaged perspective and led to incomplete generalizations and conclusions. Equally unsatisfactory would be the end result were one to overlook these larger influences in rela- ting those other aspects of our history of which brief comment has been made. Indeed, since these influences became more personal and natural, stemming as they did from great leaders and move- ments, such a detached approach would produce a distorted and unbalanced story. Perhaps such is especially true of the theme sketched in this chapter. For though the faith of the Church in the early nineteenth century, as today, is in essence the same as radi- ated from Bethlehem and Calvary, its unfolding and flowering sprang from dedicated men of whom the Church in New York has an excellent record. One naturally turns, at this juncture, to Bish- ops Hobart, Onderdonk, and De Lancey.
The period before these Episcopal leaders assumed responsi- bility was of not much growth and development. So long as it was the "Church of England in the Colonies," lacking its own organ- ization, deprived of a resident episcopate, and dependent upon lim- ited resources, little might be expected. In some areas where a non-conformist attitude prevailed, the Church suffered because of its spiritual and temporal association with the Established Church in England. Criticisms of the Establishment was as wide spread in America as in England. In the latter even as late as 1830 one heard of the "Constitution in Church and State" or of the "Alliance of Church and State." Long before, for reasons patent to all, the American scene was quite the reverse. Here the theory of separa- tion of Church and State had grown prior to 1776 and before the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1789. Clearly, the Church in the Colonies had ripened in a climate strikingly unlike that of England. For instance, there had been no bishops. Most certainly the colonial clergy were aware of this clerical order ; for had not
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