USA > New York > Essex County > Bloomingdale > The New York of yesterday; a descriptive narrative of old Bloomingdale, its topographical features, its early families and their genealogies, its old homesteads and country-seats, the Bloomingdale Reformed church, organized in 1805 > Part 14
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On Nov. 24th an extra session was called at Hopper's whereat Post presented a deed which he and the pastor had received from Mrs. Barbara Asten of two lots of ground fronting both on Broadway and Mercer Street as a gift, the proceeds of which to be appropriated to the support of the Gospel in this place. This letter was thereupon drawn up and signed by the whole Consistory, and the pastor, accompanied by Post, requested to deliver it to Mr. and Mrs. Asten.
BLOOMINGDALE, Nov. 24th, 1815. DEAR MADAM,
We the Consistory of the Reformed Dutch Church at Bloomingdale, sensible of the benefit you have conferred on this infant Church, beg you to accept our most sincere thanks. The donation you have been pleased to bestow is a liberal one and will greatly aid us, we hope, in sup- porting the preaching of the Gospel among us, to which object we shall feel a pleasure in applying it according to your request. As the Lord has enabled and inclined you to devote a portion of your earthly substance for the promo- tion of the interests of this little Zion, He will, we trust,
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abundantly reward you,-reward you with His blessing which maketh rich. You doubtless derive great satisfac- tion from the belief that you have done good, but this is but a small part of the reward of such noble benevolence. All who shall reap the benefit of your liberality as long as the Gospel shall be preached in this house of God will remember you with gratitude, and in a better world you will, we trust, receive an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading.
Madam, we sincerely bless you for this seasonable and liberal benefaction, and we hope it will be the means of inducing others to whom God has given the ability, to follow your laudable example. We earnestly pray that the Lord will be pleased to restore you to health and lengthen out your days that you may yet see for yourself the happy result of your charity. We deeply lament the unfavorable state of your health; but the great Physician of soul and body, we hope, will arrest your disorder, or if this should not be consistent with His righteous will, will give you that faith and love-those rich supports and substantial consolations of his grace which will enable you to bear its progress with resignation and patience, and finally, to meet death with joy and triumph. As a small token of our gratitude, we hereby present you with as much ground in the rear of our church as will be necessary for a vault if it is your wish to build one-and when you shall have finished your course, we will perpetuate the remembrance of your liberality to this church by inserting a stone with a suitable inscription upon it on the right side of the pulpit of the New Church. We commend you to Jesus, the hope and salvation of every penitent sinner. Dear Madam, with great respect, Your friends and Brethren in the Lord, ALEXANDER GUNN, Pastor.
The property was ordered surveyed and a committee appointed to lease it.
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Stephen Jumel, the French merchant, had given a bell for the first church and this was still in use. In December, 1815, the sexton was directed to omit ring- ing it during the winter. Captain Newson made an offer of one for the new edifice in June of that year for which he was thanked, and Harsen and Lawrence were appointed to wait on him that he should be informed of the circumstances (what they were is not disclosed), under which the Jumel bell was held. At the inter- view the Captain stated that he was very glad to have the opportunity of making the gift and it was accepted. In May, 1816, now that the building was approaching completion, the above mentioned officers "tried" both bells and were of the opinion that either a selec- tion should be made or the material run into a new and larger one. Thereupon it was decided to hang the Jumel bell and get the consent of the Captain to dis- pose of his present for the benefit of the Church. The building committee was requested to confer with King and arrange to have it hung in the cupola. It was reported in June that the Captain was perfectly willing his bell should be made use of in any way the Consistory thought proper. Hopper and Daniel Mack, who had been elected to the diaconate in August, 1816, were authorized April 7, 1817, to make such dispo- sition. The highest offer was 15 cents a pound. It would be interesting to know what became of the Jumel bell. Captain Newson was doubtless Charles Newson, mariner, who appears in the City Directory of that period at 57 Pike St.
Lawrence had made a contract with Westerfield and Berwick in January of $1700 for finishing the edifice. Collections for considerable amounts came to hand now. Hardly a session passed without such an an-
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nouncement. And they were needed. Notwithstand- ing urgent endeavors sufficient funds were not forth- coming. The Consistory had become involved to a considerable extent "in building the new church in this place" and endeavors had been made to arrange with the creditors that the necessity to sell the Asten property be avoided. It was the original design of this benevolent woman that the proceeds of her gift should be appropriated to extinguish the debt, and she had recently expressed a desire that the lots be disposed of for that laudable purpose. Accordingly Post was authorized in June to apply to a Master in Chancery for liberty to sell. In July such leave was granted. Harsen and Prall were appointed in August to effect the sale at an upset price of $3750. It was stated later in the month that a verbal sale had been made at this valuation. At the October session the would-be purchaser declined and an offer at a lower price was made to him. Advertisement was sug- gested at private sale and a mortgage on the two lots adjoining, which had been bequeathed to the Church by Mrs. Asten's will, proposed. In November Striker and Post were deputized to sell two lots at auction. Eventually the property was sold to John Sharp, merchant, for $3000, by this description: all those two certain lots of ground situate in the Eighth Ward and designated in a certain map made by Adolphus Loss, Surveyor, of part of the estate of Barbara Asten by No. 6 and No. 21, fronting on Broadway and Mercer Street, being 74 feet, 10 inches north from Hester Street, containing in front and rear each 25 feet and in depth together from street to street 200 feet. Deed dated Feb. 21, 1817, signed by Alexander Gunn, Pres- ident, and James Striker, Clerk (L. 122, Conv. 377).
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The first impression of the seal of the Corporation which was adopted this month was attached to this instrument. It was presented by Hopper and Harsen and was made of silver with these initials "R. D. C. H." engraved thereon.
The disposal of the pews in the new edifice now engaged atten- tion. In July Col. Anthony Post H and G. B. Vroom were selected to put a valuation on the pews, according to their situation and size, so as to bring $16,500. Deacons Lawrence and Post were appointed to fix the rents at the pro rata of 13 per cent. of the valuation for the first three years, and to preside at the sale, which was set for the Tuesday afternoon after the formal opening of the church.
The Evening Post of July 31, 1816 contained this advertisement:
SALE OF PEWS AT BLOOMINGDALE
On Tuesday next, the 6th inst. the pews in the Reformed Dutch Church, lately erected at Bloomingdale, will be sold at Auction, the sale to commence precisely at 4 o'clock in the after- noon at the Church.
Harsen and Striker were chosen to notify the sub- scribers whose names have been heretofore indited. Rentals to commence Aug. I. In case of default in the payment of the rent for six months such pews should revert to the corporation. It was reported in August that 28 pews had been sold and leased, the latter for a term of five years. Some of the pewholders of this date whose names have been gleaned from the
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records were Isaac L. Varian, who later became Mayor of the City, Rev. H. G. Ufford, Mr. Smedes, John Hopper, Ichabod Prall, S. N. Bayard, the widow Beekman, Andrew Hopper, Gurdon S. Mumford, Andrew van Buskirk, Cornelius Harsen, and Archibald Gracie. It was resolved in October, 1818, that the pews occupied by the Elders and Deacons be altered and Striker, Harsen, and Post be a committee to engineer the matter. Because of a disagreement as to the plan to be pursued Prall was added. Finally the matter was shelved.
DEDICATION
The Reformed Dutch Church at Blooming- dale will be opened and dedicated to Almighty God next Lord's Day, when a collection will be made up for the benefit of the Church; the serv- ice to commence precisely at 10 o'clock in the morning. The church is a neat stone building situated near the five mile stone, and lately erected by the congregation under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Alexander Gunn.
Evening Post, July 31, 1816.
August 4, 1816. This was a great day in the village. The Church was dedicated with éclat. The pulpit was decorated with the damask cloth which Andrew Hopper had presented, and lying thereon was noted the large Bible, the gift of William King, the builder of the edifice, the exterior of which had been con- structed of stone. The long communion table graced the space just below the pulpit. The building was filled to the doors. Representatives of such Bloom- ingdale families as Beekman, Bayard, Van den Heuvel, Schieffelin, Post, Gracie, Livingston, Adams, Benson,
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Bogert, Bowne, Brower, Cargill, Cornell, Dana, Deas, Doremus, Dorland, Dusenberry, Felix, Fleet, Hegeman, Hardenbrook, Havemeyer, Howland, Jasper, Law- rence, Leggett, Low, Lozier, Magee, Mildeberger, Morris, Nash, van Orden, Quackenbush, Riker, Ritter, Schuyler, Sidell, Somerindyke, van Zant, von Post, Waldron, Arkenburgh, Carss, Clendining, de Peyster, Hanaway, Hardman, Hoffman, Meier, Mott, Sanford, Varick, Findley, Fish, and Remsen, without reciting many of those heretofore mentioned in the text, were present. A handsome lawn sloped to the Blooming- dale Road, along which a picket fence had been erected. From the gateway a path led to stone steps which provided entrance, iron scrapers having been inserted on an end of the upper step that the mud of the Road be not carried into the sanctuary. To one side hung the rope attached to the Jumel bell. Through the portals trooped the assemblage. We can well imagine the pride with which the pastor presided. The pre- centor stood in the gallery and led with a tuning fork the old-fashioned hymns and the psalms from the new books. Altogether a revival of religious interest was awakened which scattered seeds of activity through- out the district. An expense of fully sixteen thou- sands of dollars had been incurred, a portion of which was yet to be provided-a large sum for those days and this suburban locality. It was reported on Dec. 9th that the total amount obtained through the sub- scription papers had aggregated $1146.31, and some ninety dollars were yet to be collected. A larger amount was subsequently donated as shown by the list which follows. It is prefaced by an extract from the Minutes passed April 29, 1814, as hereinbefore given (p. 169), supplemented with this further obli-
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gation somewhat altering the caption of the list as detailed on page 177:
N. B. When the Church is built, the pews will be valued and sold at auction subject to an annual rent; and the amount of every purchaser's subscription will be credited as purchase-money either in part or in whole as the case may be.
Names
Places of Residence
Dlls.
Jacob Harsen,
Bloomingdale
500
Saml. A. Lawrence
250
Cornelius Harsen
66
250
Jno. Beekman
66
IO0
I. Prall
125
Caspar Meier
IO0
St. N. Bayard
IOO
John Asten
IO0
Abrm. K. Beekman
IO0
Gerard Beekman
IO0
John Horn
100
Andrew Hopper
66
IOO
William Jas. Stewart
IO0
Jn. S. Roulet
100
N. DePeyster
250
Magdalen Ritter
New York
100
Jno. Clendining
50
Wm. A. Hardenbrook
296
John Adams
66
100
Stephen van Rensselaer
Albany
100
Henry Rutgers
New York
IO0
Gerard de Peyster
100
J. C. van den Heuvel
IO0
Arch. Gracie
100
John Jacob Astor
66
50
100
John Hopper
IO0
Lemuel Wells
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Names
Places of Residence
Dlls.
Peter Hegeman
New York
50
Henry Post
50
Thomas Gardner
66
50
At the session at Hopper's on the 16th a letter was received from Lawrence declining to serve longer as deacon. During his service of two years much had been accomplished, very largely due to his initiative, and it was with regret that his resignation was ac- cepted. Mack succeeded to the vacancy. The next meeting was called at his residence. It was customary to land the wood for the heating of the Church at Harsen's dock.
Mrs. Asten was a daughter of Caspar Samler who in 1780 acquired 37 acres of land near the junction of the Bloomingdale and the Post Roads and later 15 acres additional. Three distinct Samler houses are located on the Commissioners' map of 1807. Samler died in 1810 and left his farm to his grandchildren. Some five acres of portion No. IV. thereof, that part which formed the angle between these two roads, he devised to the children of his daughter "Barbary should she have any." Effingham Schieffelin, William Coulthard, and James W. Anderson married her sisters.
Mrs. Asten died July 24, 1816, without issue leaving a will dated June 29th of that year (L. 53, Wills 290), wherein she bequeathed lots numbered 22 and 7 on the Loss map, extending from Broadway to Mercer Street, to the Church and Nos. 8, 9, 23, and 24 to "my particular friend, Rev. Alexander Gunn" and to his heirs forever. To him also was devised "my mahogany book case." To her sister Mary, the wife of Effingham Schieffelin Nos. 13, 14, 17, and 18 and a house and lot "adjoining Nassau Street" were be-
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queathed. Should she have no heirs the fee descended to the Church. The testatrix set apart lots desig- nated as Nos. 12, 28, and 27 from the proceeds of which Thomas Rose was to get $500, Henry Post $500, Judith Paul $250, Richard Harrison $1000, and a faithful servant $500. By codicil dated July 8th the above provisions for her sister and for Rose were revoked and the executors directed to sell Nos. 13 and 17 and to invest the proceeds and pay the interest to said Rose during his lifetime and to his present wife after his decease. On her death the principal re- verted to the Church to which also were bequeathed Nos. 14 and 18, immediately after the testatrix's death. Jacob Harsen, Alexander Gunn, and Ichabod Prall were nominated executors.
It was intimated that the heirs were inclined to take possession of this property, and in March, 1817, Harsen and Post were appointed to confer with them, with power to commence suits if necessary. They were advised that they should file a bill in chancery which was accordingly undertaken, and at the same time the lots were fenced on the Broadway front. Thereupon the attorneys for the heirs, Schieffelin, Coulthard, and Anderson, made an offer of $2500 each for the four lots bequeathed outright to the Church. (Nos. 7, 22, 14, and 18). In June the offer was raised to $2600. The Chancery bill was completed and filed and subpoenas served in July. The rear of the lots along Mercer St. was then fenced in order to take full possession. In August it was stated that the attorneys had purchased a pretended right to the property which had involved them in some difficulty, in consequence of which they had renewed the offer in writing and agreed to pay half the costs. It was thought advisable
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to let the suit proceed. In September a further propo- sition being received it was resolved to sell to Effing- ham Schieffelin, William Coulthard, and James W. Anderson, representatives of the heirs-at-law contesting the validity of the will, for $2700, each, under certain conditions which the lawyers later agreed to. Petition to the Chancellor for permission to sell was granted at a Court of Chancery held at Albany on December Ist. By the report for 1818 we find that settlement of the difference with the firm was effected Dec. 24, 1817. Most of the Consistory were present and the President (the pastor) and the Clerk (Striker) had executed the church deed as directed (L. 124, Conv. 429). The sum of $5633.29 was received and de- posited in the City Bank. Harsen announced that he had received a donation of $100 from Schieffelin for his trouble, which was turned in as a gift with thanks.
In August, 1817, application was made to the Con- sistory in town requesting aid. A loan of $4000 was granted on the personal bonds of Hopper, Striker, Harsen, and Post. It was decided that $3000 was sufficient and three bonds of $1000 each were prepared in September and signed by the above gentlemen with the exception of Post whose place was taken by Prall. Two of these bonds were redeemed in December from the proceeds of the Asten lots. Jacob Naugle was appointed singing leader at $20 per year and held that position from Jan., 1818 to Oct., 1819.
The yearly report of 1818 tells in detail the pay- ments made from the purchase-money received from the above sale and proceeds: "The President and Treasurer cannot but congratulate the Consistory upon the liquidation of so many heavy debts which
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have given all so much concern and trouble." It appears that the present debt was only $91.77 more than when the new edifice was begun.
The sum is so small that it may be said that the New Church is entirely paid for; that they are exactly in the situation in which they were before the corner-stone of that building was laid. ... We have gained in fact the church and the extinction of our old debt. Few churches in our land can congratulate themselves upon being in better circumstances. Have we not great cause, Brethren, for gratitude to that God who has been with us and helped us? The whole expense of our church, exclusive of the burial ground, is $16000. Three thousand was collected by the congregation. The rest Providence has furnished us from different sources.
From the Consistory in town $2500
" Mrs. Asten
8400
" individuals in small sums 3100
$14000
Yes, the sum of $14000 has been given us from the good hand of our God! This sum added to the $3000 raised in the congregation makes $17000. Surely we must say the Lord has done marvellous things. Let us rejoice and praise His Holy Name. Such being the happy result of our labours there is not one who has had a share in them and been ready at times to sink under their weight but on a review of the past will rejoice to the last moment, that God has honoured him in the work and made him the happy instrument of so much service to the interests of this Zion. We cannot find language to express our wonder and gratitude.
Signed by Alexander Gunn and Henry Post. Business was thereupon suspended and thanks were returned to God for His great goodness. It was resolved to
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erect a suitable monument to the memory of "our distinguished Benefactress," who had in fact built the Church. This had been erected prior to Feb. 2d and gave general satisfaction. It was decided that a lecture be delivered every other Sabbath evening in the old church which was to be put in condition to render it convenient and comfortable for the purpose. In April the President stated that the walk and con- versation of the members generally, so far as he knew, were according to the Gospel. The Lord's Supper had not been dispensed heretofore after the manner of the Dutch Church. On solicitation that this order be followed the Pastor readily agreed to adopt that form, as it was a non-essential and to gratify the wishes of the Consistory. The order as written by Dr. Kuyper would be followed. The method is different from that at present observed, as will be noticed:
I. After sermon, the form is read and an extemporaneous prayer delivered.
2. Another portion is read, and during the singing of a psalm or hymn the pastor de- scends from the pulpit and prepares the elements.
3. An address is made, concluding with an invitation first to the officers and then the other communicants.
4. When seated at table the elements are dispensed; then those who have partaken are dismissed.
5. While they retire and others approach the Clerk sings a verse of a Psalm or hymn; this to be repeated "at every succeeding table."
6. When the last table is served the minis- ter ascends the pulpit, reads the concluding
-
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part of the form, makes an extemporaneous prayer, and gives out two or three verses to be sung.
7. Collection and benediction.
In June Harsen and Striker were appointed to wait on Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Rose, who were to receive the income of lots Nos. 13 and 17 under Mrs. Asten's will, to ascertain if the life estate could be bought. No conclusion could be arrived at with the beneficiaries. Harsen and Post were requested to negotiate a sale of the Consistory's interest with the Life Insurance office. This was found impossible unless the execu- tors would assign the bond and mortgage now thereon. Coulthard had offered $1100 payable in 60 days, whereupon Harsen proposed that the lots be granted to him for that amount at 30 days, and this was agreed upon. Conveyance dated Oct. 5, 1818 (L. 13I, Conv. 433). With this money the other $1000 bond given for the loan of August, 1817, was paid and the final debt on the Church extinguished. In August of 1818 the manner of election of officers was changed. Hereafter an Elder and Deacon would be chosen one year and the rest of the members, two Elders and two Deacons, the following year. There- upon Striker was re-elected and Samuel A. Lawrence chosen as Deacon. On receiving his declination John Asten was unanimously elected to the vacancy on condition that he join the Church. In September a certificate was presented from "the Church in town" and Asten's name was accordingly entered on the books. It was stated that steps leading from the Road had been put in position by Post, who had also seen to the regulation of the property in front thereof. His "seasonable benefaction" was appreciated. A
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number of the attendants had removed from the village, among them former Deacon Mack. Those who had done so or died were erased from the records. Prall "moved up" in October. Robert Oliver was appointed sexton in place of Isaac Dey. A pump and cistern were provided for the parsonage and a well was sunk there the next month. A horse was obtained for the use of the minister.
In January, 1819, an endeavor was made to put a stop to the selling of liquors and other profanations of the Sabbath "in this place." Twenty shillings had been collected for the contingent fund of Classis. Wood Igs. per load. This method of computation was a relic of the English occupation. When the Federal government recast its financial arrangements upon the decimal system of the dollar, the shilling remained as a designation for several sums which were fixed for the several States by the last general quotations of the paper of the precedent colonies. 1 The cheapest shilling of all was the York shilling, in use in New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan, computed at 122 cents, or eight to the dollar, the colonial bill of credit being worth only $2.50 to the pound sterling.
Lock was engaged in October to sing. Consistory met at Asten's for the first time on December 7th. Application had been made to the summer residents
1 The Pennsylvania shilling was 132 cents, and such was the reckoning in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The New England shilling ran six to the dollar, or 163 cents, and this value held in Virginia, Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama. In Georgia and South Carolina the shilling was computed at 21; cents, or 4 shillings 8 pence to the dollar. The shilling remained the customary unit of domestic marketing in New York until long after the Civil War, and is still met with.
13
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during the past season for contributions and in April, 1820, subscription papers were circulated among the land-owners in the neighborhood for the support of the Gospel. The hamlet was sparsely settled, and largely by persons whose income, while ample for a careful living, did not allow of much extra expense. This state of affairs necessitated the solicitation of contributions at frequent intervals. Harsen, Striker, Post, and Prall were appointed a committee in this instance. This method was obligatory, as collections were taken up at divine service only on stated occa- sions. Each of these officers selected distinct dis- tricts to canvass. Donations were made by Mrs. Beekman and by Messrs. Weyman, Geo. Wilson, present Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Burnham, Low, Cargill, Bansel, Bayard, Buck, Meyers, Carrick, Jauncey, and Ogilvie, who lived near by. The after- noon services began the first Sabbath in April.
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