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 15
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Now and again a case deserving of discipline pre- sented itself. A flagrant one occurred in March, 1821. Not being a member the culprit was suspended for six months. Another who was addicted to intoxica- tion fared in like manner. Committees were ap- pointed in each instance to converse with the guilty ones. The individual first mentioned repented of her sin, professed sorrow, and requested that the suspension be raised. This was done after careful examination in February, 1823. Another who was reported in August, 1824, was so humble and sorry for the sin com- mitted that repressive measures were not considered requisite. A tavern-keeper was advised in 1826 to abstain from the Communion Table as long as he kept his house open and transacted his business on the Lord's Day.
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In May, 1821, it was announced that the late Johannah Beekman had bequeathed four lots in trust, which were to be sold and one half the net proceeds be given to the Consistory. The portion of the will (L. 56, Wills, 384) relating thereto is as follows:
To my respected friend, Rev. Alexander Gunn, Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church and Congregation at Bloomingdale in the Ninth Ward, all those four lots of ground situate in the Tenth Ward of the City of New York, heretofore part of the Estate of Pierre van Cortlandt, to wit: lots Nos. 62 63 64 and 65, all fronting on the easterly side of Forsyth (late Second) Street, as the said lots are bounded and described in and by a map of the ground heretofore of Pierre van Cortlandt, deceased. To have and to hold the said four lots in trust, nevertheless, and to and for the following uses and no other, to wit, the said Alexander Gunn, his heirs and assigns and he or they are authorized to sell and convey them at public vendue or otherwise whenever he shall judge it most advantageous and good and sufficient deeds in fee simple to execute and deliver therefor and the proceeds of such sale, after de- ducting all necessary charges, taxes etc., he shall dispose of in the following manner, viz: One quarter of the net proceeds thereof he shall pay to the Treasurer of the Ameri- can Bible Society, one half to the Trustees of the Church at Bloomingdale of which he is now Pastor, for the sole benefit of said Church, and the remaining one quarter he shall keep for his sole use and benefit and that of his family. (Will dated March 5, 1821).
On the 29th of May it was reported that the lots had been sold at auction and brought $440. Har- sen bid in three of them, which he said the Consistory could have if they pleased. Two of them were ac- cepted in June, viz. Nos. 63 and 64, and Prall offered to advance the money necessary to fill them to the
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proper level. The Pastor and Harsen were appointed to make such a contract. These offers were noticed as being liberal ones-creditable to these gentlemen as friends of the Church and deserving of grateful remembrance. Alexander Gunn as Trustee conveyed to Henry Post Nos. 62, 63, and 64, each 25 X 100 feet, by deed dated June 14th, consideration $300; bounded west in front by Forsyth Street, north by the Dutch Church burial ground, east in rear by other ground of van Cortlandt, and south by lot No. 65, sold to Joseph Concklin. A lower price had to be accepted because the "removal of the Church ground fence" had reduced the size somewhat. Post sold Nos. 63 and 64 to Caleb Concklin later for $400.
The new singer, Humphrey, was engaged to lead in June, 1821. The winter evening lectures would begin in the old church in October. The afternoon services were resumed the third Sabbath in April, 1822. Friday previous to Communion Sabbath was set apart to be observed as a day of fasting, humiliation,
and prayer. In July, it was arranged that thereafter monthly collections be taken up from May to Novem- ber and quarterly for the rest of the year. The usual summer subscription was ordered. Striker and Prall were to cover the territory from Manhattanville to the van den Heuvel mansion and Harsen and Post the rest of the congregation. Post declined to stand again for election in August, and Richard A. Striker was chosen deacon. By invitation, Post sat and acted with the Consistory in November, when it met at his house after the summer vacation. Striker became Treasurer in the place of Post resigned. Thanks were voted to him for his faithful attention as Treasurer. A committee was appointed to inquire what alter-
Recht ASticker
0
Portrait and signature of Richard A. Striker, Esq., from the original painting in possession of Mrs. J. II. Maples
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ation could be made in the place "where the Clerk stands. "
The cupola was repaired in January, 1823, and John H. Striker made collector. The afternoon service began the first Sabbath in May at 4 o'clock. Post was appointed Church master. The Church and par- sonage were ordered to be put in a complete state of repair. On August 12th, the terms of Hopper, Harsen, and Prall having expired, they were re-elected. The regular fall collection was ordered. Striker un- dertook to collect donations in the neighborhood of his home, and Prall near by the Church. Among the contributors were Messrs. Boggs, Duryea, van Antwerp, Watkins (who married a daughter of James Striker), Joel Post, Gideon Lee, and Mrs. Bingham. Trees were planted in and about the grounds under the super- vision of R. A. Striker in November and the chimneys were ordered cleaned. It was found impracticable to have the work done "by the patent sweeps, " and "another method" was used. Consistory met at Quackenbush's residence for the first time. Thomas J. Emmons was engaged as sexton in June, 1824. Among his prescribed duties were to care for the prop- erty that it might not be injured in any way by boys or cattle, to prevent children from being disorderly, in the summer season to have the windows open so as to give air without rattling the blinds, to attend to the sawing of the wood, keep the stoves in order in both the old and new churches, to open and light with candles the former edifice on lecture evenings, and to direct the work of opening vaults and digging graves in the churchyard. Isaac Dey, former occu- pant of this office, was discharged. Asten presented some damask for a new cushion for the pulpit. The
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study at the parsonage was put in better condition. In August Striker, was re-elected Elder and Prall chosen in place of Hopper deceased. Asten, Richard A. Striker and James Quackenbush were elected Dea- cons, the latter in place of Prall. They were ordained in September. The afternoon service was suspended in November.
In January, 1825, it became known that the es- tablishment of a Dutch church was in contemplation in the vicinity of the Arsenal (the present building near Fifth Avenue within the limits of Central Park). A wish had been expressed that this Consistory take it in charge as a branch of the local church. John Williams, a communicant, offered to donate two or three lots as a site provided an edifice like unto Mr. Baldwin's or Doctor Rowan's would be built. Some opposition to this undertaking was evinced and the matter was postponed for further enlightenment. Later in the month it was decided to be inexpedient "under present circumstances." The election of church officers was changed from August 12th to the first Monday in October annually. It was found that members of the body were often absent in the country at the former date. Harsen, Prall, and Quackenbush were re-elected to their respective offices in October accordingly. A new cistern was constructed at the parsonage in March, 1826. Naugle re-engaged to lead the singing. Striker, Asten, and Richard A. Striker were re-elected the following October.
A list of donations to the Female Cent Society made by the ladies of the congregation this year supplies these names: Anna Maria Jackson, a granddaughter of Jacob Harsen, Mary Striker, the Elder's wife, Mrs. Post, wife of the Deacon, Mrs. Horn, Mrs. Clendining,
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Mrs. Russell, Mrs. Meier, Mrs. Kunze, Mrs. Ichabod Prall, Mrs. John Williams, Mrs. Savage, Mrs. Martin, Catherine Cosine, Rachel Cosine, Sarah Kent, Mrs. Cargill, Mrs. Westerfield, Mrs. Powis, Mrs. T. J. Stevens, Miss Lavinia Mott, daughter of the Rev. George Strebeck and adopted daughter of Jordan Mott, Mrs. Garret H. Striker, Mrs. Isabella Hamilton, Mrs. Quackenbush, Mrs. Feitner, Mrs. John Miller, Mrs. Amory, and Mrs. Bayard.
The location of the parsonage was found thus early to be unhealthful and the Pastor applied for consent to his removal therefrom. This desire was concurred in with the hope that a change of residence would prove beneficial to the health of his family, and his children be more conveniently educated. Board met at the old Church June 5, 1827, for the first time since the new edifice was occupied.
In 1828, a horse shed was put up adjoining the barn on the parsonage plot. Harsen, Prall, and Quacken- bush re-elected. Communion articles were purchased. Each was initialled with the usual style: "R. D. C. H." Those heretofore in use had been loaned by a friend. The new set consisted of one flagon, four cups, one bowl, and two plates. Subscriptions were received therefor and also for larger stoves, some complaint having been made that the building was not sufficiently warmed in winter with the present ones. Those who made donations here indited aid us in fixing the names of some attendants on the services. Mr. Gunn, Jacob Harsen, John Horn, Jr., Richard A. Striker, James Striker, Ann Striker, Caspar Meier, David Cargill, J. Prall, John Clendining, John Asten, Henry Post, John Williams, Joel Post, Augustus A. Prall, Richard Powis, Samuel A. Savage, Thomas Stevens, John Beek-
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man, S. N. Bayard, Samuel van Orden, Martha Amory, C. and R. Cozine, Mr. Park, Mrs. Leggett, Mr. Wester- field, Mrs. Martin, Miss A. M. Jackson, Mr. Quacken- bush, and Mr. Ackerman. Isaac Dey appointed sexton in May. Striker, Asten, and R. A. Striker were re-elected.
Shortly after the new church was contemplated, a cemetery in the rear thereof was arranged for. This was very necessary, for beyond a few private grounds there were no burial places in the vicinage. Mr. Gunn's duties occupied his time to such an extent that he requested to be relieved of membership on the building committee, and when Harsen expressed a willingness to assume the responsibility in the pastor's stead, the Consistory in June, 1814, donated to him sufficient ground on which to have constructed a family vault. This was the beginning of the local God's acre which was destined to hold the remains of so many old Bloomingdale residents. For over fifty years, this plot, lying in the shadow of the sanctuary, was used for the purpose designated and became a land- mark on the line of the Road. In November of the following year, the Church walls having delimited the location and size of ground which could be so used, resolutions were passed that the ends of vaults should be built against the rear wall of the building, and Post and Prall were appointed a committee to ascertain the usual size of such places of deposit. Fifty dollars was fixed as the price for the site of each vault. The disposition of the ground was put in the hands of Harsen and Post, whereupon Striker stated that he desired to buy sufficient space for his family sepulchre. This vault was the second to be constructed. A deed of the land, however, was not executed until December,
THE COMMUNION SERVICE
.
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The Church at harsenville
1816, when it was moved and carried unanimously that he be presented with the ground occupied. In the meantime, as a mark of gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Asten, ground was also granted them (Nov., 1815) should they wish to use it. Rules for the regulation of the cemetery proper were fixed upon in December. The sexton was allowed to charge for his services as follows:
For attending and inviting
$4.00
For opening a vault, infant under 2 years
2.00
5
3.00
66
66
IO
4.00
1.50
use of horse, in addition
2.00
These church fees were also agreed to:
For use of pall
1.50
privilege of interment in church vault
8.00
for grave for infant under one year
2.00
" child to age of 5 3.00
" all above that age
4.00
The digging of graves should commence at the north- east corner of the ground and continue regularly to the southeast corner of the stone wall, and no one but the sexton should do this work. The first interment was that of Elizabeth Board, the wife of Henry Post. At the session at Striker's Bay on January 8, 1816, space was granted therefor free of expense. There is no means of ascertaining just who were buried there. In the records, the names of a few are men- tioned. The next found is in June, 1817, when a Mr. Moore paid for the interment of his children. A pall was not obtained until October, 1818. The price for its use was raised to $2.00. Other families who
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had burial space in 1819 were Brown, Hoffman, Holmes, and Drake. In August, 1820, it is stated that James Buchanan, the British Consul, Mr. Drake, Mr. van Orden, Mr. Field, and Mr. Cozine had had children buried in the churchyard. Mrs. Waldron's remains were also interred, as were children of Mr. Brown and Mr. Holmes. The first use of the pall to be noticed was at Andrew Hopper's funeral, who was interred in the family plot at Ninth Avenue and 50th Street. In February, 1823, Mr. Cornell paid for the burial of his mother-in-law.
On the appointment of a new sexton in 1824, the pall was placed in his charge, and also the collection of funeral charges. Strangers or persons not pew- holders must pay in advance. The fee for digging a grave was fixed at one dollar. The question of en- larging the cemetery arose in January, 1825, and Harsen and Quackenbush were appointed to inquire where an acre of ground could be bought therefor. Diligent search failed to find a suitable spot and the committee was discharged in April. Mr. Freeman and Mr. Kinkade were interred in January of this year. Mr. Clendining's man was buried in October. Caspar Meier made application for ground for a family vault in March, 1826, which was granted. James Wester- field made a similar request in May. Deeds were approved in both instances that month. The plan of building a church vault was then entertained. Striker was designated to ascertain the cost and estimates were requested. The matter was not of such urgency as to require haste and fell asleep, in which state it remained for the next fifteen years. In June, 1827, Dr. Joseph Bayley made application for a vault space for his father-in-law, Col. Anthony
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Post, which was granted, and in May, 1828, Elder Prall submitted a like request with the same result. But seven vaults, occupying the entire space along the rear wall, were constructed in all.
From the records of St. Michael's Church the fol- lowing additional interments in the Harsenville ground are noted :
Mrs. van Buskirk, widow of Lawrence van Buskirk and daughter of Wm. Burnham. Her remains were re-
moved to the new vault at St. Michael's May 19, 1835. William Bowen, son of John Crump and Hannah his wife, aged 20 months, March 19, 1843.
Mary Elizabeth Ferguson, an inmate of the New York Orphan Asylum, aged 4 years, April 9, 1844.
Margaret Walker, aged 42, August 30, 1849.
Herman, son of James Punnett and Mary Meier his wife, aged 1 year 7 mos .; in family vault January 24, 1850. Catharine Elizabeth Purcell, died July 5th, aged 8 years, 2 mos. 6 days; in church vault, July 6, 1850.
Philip Knowel, son of Joseph and Elizabeth Kellow, both deceased, died August 28th, aged 1 year, 4 months, 3 days; in church vault August 29, 1850.
Robert Farmer, son of Abraham V. Barberie and Loretta Cadez his wife, died August 30th, aged 2 years, 14 days; in church vault August 31, 1850.
Walter, son of James Punnett and Marie K. his wife, aged 4 mos. 16 days; in family vault of his grandfather Caspar Meier August 1, 1853.
The Revised Ordinances of 1866, Chap. XLIX., Sections 1 and 2, prohibited the opening of graves south of 86th Street, and at a meeting of the Board of Health held June 19, 1872, this ordinance was amended so as to apply to all that part of the city south of 130th Street.
Among the holders of pews in 1826 were the fol-
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lowing individuals: Caspar Meier, Rev. Mr. Bansel, James Boggs, Catharine and Rachel Cozine, Theodore Mayer, Mrs. Andrew Hopper, Isaac L. Varian, John Cozine, Henry Post, Joel Post, John Clendining, James Burnham, Andrew Watt, John Parks, James Quacken- bush, John Moore, William Holmes, Ichabod Prall, Thomas J. Stephens, Henry H. Schieffelin, John Beek- man, Baron John C. van den Heuvel, John Williams, Aaron B. Jackson, Richard H. Striker, John Asten, David Cargill, Stephen N. Bayard, Jacob Harsen, James Striker, J. G. Russell, Jordan Mott, John Adams, Philo Mills, and Messrs. Martin, Savage, Leggett, Westerfield, Darke, Henderson, Tappan, Weed, Powis, and Horn. In 1831, Frederick C. Havemeyer and William Holden took pews, and in 1837 Messrs. Nolton and Riker.
The Church life had peacefully and fruitfully pro- ceeded after the financial troubles had been weathered through the instrumentality of the bounty of the devoted and benevolent woman Mrs. Asten. Let us quote for a space the words of Dr. Martyn:
Children were born, baptized and instructed in godliness at home and in God's house. Marriages were solemnized and the dead buried in the blessed hope of the resurrection. The little graveyard "was filled with all the nameless pathos of the here and the hereafter." Pastor and people walked hand in hand. The scene was like a vision of Acadia. But alas and alack! Where is the earthly Eden that is free from care and grief? In the land of nowhere! It was the year 1829. Without warning, like a bolt from the blue, the beloved pastor of this church fell dead, lisping "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Bloomingdale was aghast.
Notice of the passing was published in the Evening
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The Church at Tharsenville
Post and the Gazette, and in the N. Y. Spectator of October 2d appeared an obituary which speaks of the heavy loss which had been sustained, and of the truly evangelical character of the deceased, who was much beloved in private life. An estimate of his worth could be gleaned from his selection as biographer of Dr. Livingston. He was in his forty-fourth year, with much usefulness yet before him. Dr. Gunn's five children were born in Bloomingdale. One of them was the first to be baptized in the new House of Worship, 1816. The last child was named in honor of John Asten, 1818. At the first meeting of the Consistory held thereafter (Oct. 15) at the Harsen Man- sion, the following action was taken:
It having pleased Almighty God to remove by death, on the first day of this month, the Reverend Alexander Gunn, D.D., the beloved Pastor of Our Church,
Resolved that, whilst this Consistory desire to bow submissively and reverentially to the will of a holy and wise God, they feel their hearts penetrated with sorrow by the sore bereavement which they, in common with the Church over which they preside, have experienced in the removal of their late Pastor in the midst of his usefuless and in the 44th year of his age. A man greatly endeared to them by a course of more than twenty-one years' labor in their midst, by his consistent and exemplary piety and his prudence, zeal, and faithfulness as their spiritual guide and comforter, they do hereby record their deep sense of his worth and their loss, and are only comforted by the per- suasion they feel that he has already met the welcome and thrilling salutation "Well done, good and faithful servant" and that they in their desolation will be mercifully re- garded by the "Chief Shepherd" to whom they desire to look for succour.
The minute concludes as follows :
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The new Dork of Desterday
The Elder Mr. Prall presented the request of Sarah Gunn, the widow of our late Pastor, for a deed and right of a lot of ground in conjunction or moiety with Ichabod Prall in the yard of the Church for a vault of the same dimensions as the other vaults, Mr. Prall relinquishing a grant for a vault formerly made to him. Resolved that the above requests be granted and that a deed be made to the persons above named when requested.
In remembrance of his long and useful pastorate, a tablet to the Doctor's memory was erected by the Consistory on the south side of the lower vestibule in the fourth church edifice, about on the site of his tomb.
This memorial reads as follows:
ERECTED BY THE CONSISTORY to the memory of the REVD. ALEXANDER GUNN, D.D. Pastor of this Church from 1808 to 1829; When, on the Ist of October, and in the 44th year of his age, While "toiling still with a busy hand," he fell asleep and awoke in HEAVEN. For more than 21 years, he PREACHED and PRACTISED the Gospel in this PARISH.
"The memory of the just is blessed." Prov. x. 7.
For a time the life of the Church seemed to lie with him in the coffin. The exigency was met by supplies, the first, Rev. Isaac S. Ketchum, preaching in the new church on October 25th. Richard A. Striker was appointed to provide a preacher for the ensu- ing Sabbath and application was made to the Classis, which supplied these clergymen: Drs. DeWitt, Brown- lee, Knox, Kuypers, and Marcellus officiated during November; Rev. Messrs. Smith, John Frelinghuysen
Blooming Dale January 8th 1830 Francis Il hip Parton
Portrait and signature of Rev. Francis M. Kip, D. D., by courtesy of J. B. Vandervoort, Esq.
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The Church at harsenville
Jackson, van Pelt, and Dubois in December; Dr. Broadhead and Messrs. Baldwin, van Hook, and De- Witt in January, 1830, and Drs. Brownlee and Kuypers and Messrs. van Hook and Vermeule in February. At the request of Mrs. Gunn, the grates, etc., in the parsonage were purchased of her and the cloth around the pulpit, over which her husband had so long min- istered, was made a gift. In April, 1830, she applied for a certificate of dismission, which was granted. During this sad period, the officers met at the Har- sen Mansion at each session, a home feeling having engendered a desire to return to the birthplace of the organization. In June, Quackenbush and R. A. Striker were chosen to wait on the families of the congregation holding pews, to obtain their sentiments towards calling some one of the candidates heard, and to ascertain if Post and David Cargill would serve if elected.
Another evidence of Harsen's liberality presented itself in July. The Consistory was in his debt to the amount of some $400 with interest from September I, 1823, and a bond had been approved and authorized to be given him therefor in 1825, but had never been delivered. He now presented the claim and interest to the Consistory, with the gratitude of that body.
The Second Minister
The consensus of opinion in the congregation having been found to favor Rev. Francis Marschalk Kip, a call was prepared "taken from the printed form adopted by the Dutch Church." It provided for the payment of a salary of $500, and that he should live in the parsonage or in the vicinity. This call issued from Prall's residence in town on July 8, 1830. The par-
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The new Dork of Desterday
sonage, which had not been used since Doctor Gunn removed therefrom, was now put in thorough repair in the event that the new pastor should elect to reside there. Donations therefor were received from John Beekman, John Clendining, and Alderman Harsen among others. The church was given a complete cleaning and a new singing leader engaged. The call was accepted and the new minister was present for the first time at a meeting of August 16th, at Prall's. Born in New York city, Aug. 7, 1807, he was graduated from Columbia College in 1826, from the New Bruns- wick Seminary in 1830, and was licensed by the Classis of New York. This was his first charge. Harsen, Quackenbush, and R. A. Striker were chosen Elders and John Parks, John A. Striker, and David Patterson Deacons on December Ist. This completed the Board, James Striker having been too ill to attend for some two years. Committee appointed to call on new residents met with good results and was made perma- nent for the summer in March, 1831. R. A. Striker selected to attend Classis for the first time. The Domine at a special meeting held at Harsen's Septem- ber 27th resigned his call, after a service of only thirteen months. In accepting the resignation this expression of the Consistory's sentiments was spread on the minutes:
Resolved that, while in the providence of God we have been called upon to consent that the tie between us and our Pastor, the Rev. Francis M. Kip, be dissolved, it is with feelings of love and good will as well as with those of regret. And it is our fervent prayer and sincere desire that wherever God may cast his future lot, a blessing may attend upon him and his future labors in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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